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EARLY RECOLLECTIONS

NEWPORT, R.I.,

FROM THE YEAR 1793 TO 1811.

GEORGE G. CHANNING.

NEWPORT, R.I.:
A. J. WARD; CHARLES E. HAMMETT, JR.
BOSTON, MASS.; NICHOLS AND NOYES.
1868.

V>«7

J
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by
GEORGE G. CHANGING,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

c

L -, "I

OAMBKIDGE :
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON.

Lulled in the countless chambers of the brain,
Our thoughts are linked by many a hidden chain.
Awake but one, and, lo, what myriads rise !
Each stamps its image as the other flies.
Each, as the various avenues of sense
Delight or sorrow to the soul dispense,
Brightens or fades ; yet all, with magic art,
Control the latent fibres of the heart.
Childhood's loved group revisits every scene, —
The tangled wood-walk, and the tufted green.
Indulgent Memory wakes, and, lo ! they live,
Clothed with far softer hues than light can give.
Thou first, best friend that Heaven assigns below,
To soothe and sweeten all the cares we know;
Whose glad suggestions still each vain alarm,
When nature fades, and life forgets to charm,
Thee would the Muse invoke : to thee belong
The sage's precept, and the poet's song.
What softened views thy magic glass reveals,
When o'er the landscape Time's meek twilight steals !
The Pleasures of Memory.

PEEFACE.

T HAVE not stretched this " simple story " of
Newport life, manners, and customs to the
length which it might have reached, if I had
chosen ; because I felt that ample justice to my
subject could be done within narrower limits,
and that a less pretentious volume might attain
a more extensive circulation, and so prove rriore
useful to my native town, not merely now, but
in years to come.
Had Newport remained stationary as when
I left it sixty years ago, I might never have
thought of reviving in order the events, &c,
which are herein described: but it having be
come literally a watering-place, viz. a summer
residence for fashionables, it occurred to me, that
I might profitably unlock the storehouse of
memory, and give such a familiar narrative of
" olden time " as would prove acceptable in old
homesteads and to new-comers ; and I now sub-

VI PREFACE.
rait the work with all its unintentional errors,
if any should crop out, to the residents, and
to the visitors who, it is presumed, will flock
from year to year to " the island " not surpassed
for pleasantness and salubrity, even by that
from which it derived its name.

INTRODUCTION.

' I ""HE impressions which the mind receives
during the period between childhood and
early manhood remain, in a great degree, indeli
ble during the subsequent periods of life, even
to old age. Speak when you will to an old
man of the scenes which he witnessed during
his childhood, of what occurred at school, of
the age and disposition of his playmates, of the
church where he was christened, of the pew
at the head of which he stood enfolded by a
parent's arm, and from which he gazed at pleas
ure over the whole congregation, or with wide-
open mouth received his first lesson in psalmody
from the choir, whilst they sang the sweet old
tunes of Jordan, Lenox, Ocean, Bristol, Saint
Martin's, Old Hundred, &c. ; speak to him of the
street-gutter in which, after a rain, he erected
his tiny water-wheel, amusing himself with its
circling eddies and mud-splashes; of the vast

Viii INTRODUCTION.
delight which swelled his young bosom when
"Independent Day" was ushered in, with the
roar of cannon from Fort Wolcott, the ringing
of bells, and the reveille drum-beat; of the
"star-spangled banner," thrown to the breeze
from hill-top and " fore-top," proclaiming a na
tion's birthday ; and, finally, speak to him of the
day of national sorrow, when the same bells,
muffled to a plaintive tone, and the same guns,
with measured solemnity, announced Washing
ton's death, and of the Sunday following, when
the churches were draped in black, and he lis
tened to the music, subdued to a familiar " re
quiem," — Pleyel's Hymn; and then look into
the old man's eyes, and watch his quivering lips,
and listen to the " thousand and one stories "
of that early time, — if you would know of the
vividness and particularity of the memories
clustering about home.
It will be seen from the foregoing, that the
writer has had in mind the picture of his child
hood, gradually expanding, and softening to the
autumn of his being. Believing that a familiar
narrative of his recollections of the place where
he was born and brought up will yield more

INTRODUCTION. IX
pleasure and instruction to the few remaining of
his own time, and especially to those who have
more recently taken possession of the lovely
island, than an elaborate history, it will be his
aim to interest children, as well as men and wo
men, with a simple story of what he once saw,
heard, and felt. Children like to read about
children ; and such reading, faithfully descriptive
of the faults, follies, -sins,, and virtues of the
young, based upon experience, will often prove
the most wholesome means for their early moral
and spiritual training. Who has ever forgotten
those vivid sensations of pleasure or mortifica
tion, which printed statements of juvenile virtue
and vice have occasioned ? I shall never forget
the picture-books which were issued, in rapid
succession, by Mr. Newbery, from his juvenile
book shop, at the corner of St. Paul's Church
yard, London ; viz., King Pippin, Farmer Gyles,
Harry Graceless, Goody Two- Shoes, &c. " Rob
inson Crusoe " was my delight. Who will ever
be able to parallel that inimitable story of De
Foe? Numberless attempts have been made;
but they have proved utter failures. Mr. Day's
delightful work, entitled " Sandford and Mer-

X INTRODUCTION.
ton," * was a great favorite. Even " Gulliver's
Travels " was rendered, by its illustrations, a fas
cinating book to children. " Valentine and Or
son " was likewise a great favorite.
Children seldom fail of being interested in
graver themes than those already named. The
Sunday school and Bible classes can be electri
fied by happy illustrations of gospel truths.
Christianity should never be presented to a child
in a dubious shape. I shall never forget my
happy sensations, when, at ten years of age, I
listened to the reading of the Scriptures, and to
the prayers offered by a dear brother, in my
mother's family. Reverence and faith then
awoke in my heart; and fresh in remembrance
are those devotional exercises which softened

* No story-book, in early and late life, has interested me more than
this. " Thomas Day," its author, " was born in 1748, bred to the law,
and called to the bar, but very soon left the profession, and devoted
his time to literary pursuits, and became the advocate of human
kin. His admirable poem, ' The Dying Negro,' and his ' Fragment
of a Letter on Slavery,' mark him amongst the first of those who
exerted their efforts to emancipate a large portion of the human
race from cruelty and tyranny. His latest work, the ' History of
Sandford and Merton,' will long remain an instance of the successful
application of genius to form the minds of youth to active and
manly virtue." It is. a book that should be in every family. It is
instructive, and vastly, entertaining.

INTRODUCTION. XJ
my heart, as they did that of a lad belonging to
the same school with myself, with whom I grew
up in great intimacy, who gave me some of his
early and late experiences. These revived in my
mind a happy experience of the poet Milton,
who had the satisfaction, in looking back to his
youth and early manhood, of being able to say,
that in various places and situations, where
many things of doubtful character were deemed
lawful, he could take God to witness " I have
lived sound, and untouched from all profligacy
and vice ; having this thought perpetually with
me, that, though I might escape the eyes of men,
I certainly could not the eyes of God." The
truest life may be predicted of that soonest con
secrated to God, that which dawns in the fresh
Heaven-inspired morning, when the dew is on
the grass, and before the desire has been felt
" to catch folly as it flies."
Most natural and beautiful is the affection
which prompts the parent to preserve on canvas,
or photographic plates, the face of his child ; but
it is marvellous, that he is not at least equally
desirous to preserve those more lovely features
of the soul which find early expression in the

xii INTRODUCTION.
child's little eager, outstretched arms at the
sound of its father's voice, and still earlier
speech as it nestles confidently on its mother's
bosom ; and such heavenly beauty will be the
sure reward of parental fidelity.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
Preface  v
Introduction  vii
CHAPTER I. Childhood  17
II. About Home  20
HI. Schools  41
IV. A Vacation  64
V. Meeting-houses, Churches, Ministers ... 70
VI. Lawyers. — Legal Practice  113
VII. Physicians. — Medical Practice  125
VIII. Commerce  132
IX. Mechanics. — Manufactures  146
X. Business Men  155
XI. Markets  157
XII. Social Intercourse  164
XIII. Legal Punishments  17S
XIV. Insanity  177
XV. Politics  184
XVI. Jews and their Synagogue  198
XVII. Books  204
XVIII. Distinguished Men  207
XIX. Old Acquaintances  229
Benjamin Hadwin  229
Stephen Gould  230
David Buffum, Sen  231
Clarke Rodman  231
Nancy Carpenter  232
Sally Dennis  233
XX. Miscellaneous  235
Religious Meetings of " Friends "  235
Marriages at " Friends' " Meetings  239
Customs  239

XIV CONTENTS.
Miscellaneous (continued). pAOE
Furniture  245
An Episode  248
Parlor and Drawing-room Furniture  250
Chamber Furniture  252
Carriages  255
Health  256
Climate  257
total Eclipse of the Sun  262
Value of Real Estate  263
Fuel. — Artificial Illumination  265
Liberty Tree  268
Stone Mill  270
Mock Funeral  271
Odd People  273
Another Oddity  277
Clerical Anecdote No. 1  278
Clerical Anecdote No. 2  279
In Memoriani  281
Conclusion. — Last Words  283

EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER I.
CHILDHOOD.
" This fond attachment to the well-known place,
Whence first we started into life's long race,
Maintains its hold with such unfailing sway,
We feel it even in age, and at our latest day.'
"\ /TY earliest recollection is of a Small-pox
Hospital, established at Conanicut, a
small island west of Newport, about eight
miles in length and one in breadth, and hid
from the centre of the town by Fort Wolcott,
named in honor of Oliver Wolcott. He was
a brave man through the Revolutionary War, a
member of Congress, and a signer of the Dec
laration of Independence. I was but three and
a half years old when taken by my father on
board a ferry-boat lying at Ferry Wharf, and
conveyed to the island, there to be inoculated
with small-pox virus. Of course, I was too
young to understand the controversy, both pub-

18 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
lie and private, which raged at the time, in con
sequence of the daring proposition, made by
Dr. Isaac Senter, to open so dangerous an
establishment; but the doctor's great medical
reputation, and all but universal popularity,
overcame the opposition ; and the hospital very
soon was in full operation. Excellent nurses
were obtained ; and the work assigned to them
was indeed very burdensome, more so on ac
count of the constant care of so many children.
I have- a perfect recollection of the skinless arms
and hands of the patients, which were daily
exhibited for the inspection of the physician.
Many were very sick ; but all recovered. The
usual precautions were taken, by the free use
of disinfecting agents, to prevent any ill effects,
when communication should be renewed be
tween the island and the town. I very well
recollect how suffocating was the process, when
I was held over a rosin-pan to be smoked. I
also remember how excited I became on see
ing our colored man, Fortune, throw silver
coins, handed to him by my father, on burning
coals in the kitchen fireplace. It was explained
to me in due time, the why and wherefore of

CHILDHOOD. 19
this burning of silver. Very soon after these
purifications, we were permitted to return to
our several homes; and the good doctor was
congratulated warmly on his great success. I
carried the scar on my left arm as a sort of tro
phy, and would frequently pull up my frock-
sleeve to prove what a brave boy I had been.
My keen memory has retained all of the little
incidents connected with that hospital experi
ence. The food given to us little children was
bread and milk, and meal dumplings and mo
lasses. Nothing else crossed our lips, save some
bitter stuff, now and then, in the way of medi
cine. When getting well, we, young and old,
were permitted to ride short distances in an ox
cart. One morning, the pin intended to hold
the cart-body in its place got loose, and down
we all tumbled into sand and dirt. When riding,
it was usual to cover the patients with blankets.
Although so young, I remember the rig of the
boat, and the play of the waves, as we were
conveyed to the opposite shore. My father held
me on his knee ; and when we reached our home,
about the dinner-hour, I was' regaled with a
scrap of meat from the wing of a bird.

20 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER II.
ABOUT HOME.
' I "HE next event within my childish recollec
tions was the death of my father, about six
months after our return from Conanicut; viz.,
Sept. 21, 1793. I remember being taken to the
room where his body had been prepared for
burial. I retain a vivid recollection of his coun
tenance to-day ; and it is seventy-four years since
-I stood in that chamber of death. I witnessed
from the house of a relative, where I and my
younger brother had been sent, the funeral pro
cession down Mary Street; and nothing struck
me so forcibly as the white handkerchiefs held
by my elder brothers, and which they frequently
put to their eyes. I was not old enough then to
understand the cause of this. Carriages were
not used at funerals. The attendance on such
occasions was very general. The procession
formed in pairs, — men on the right hand,

ABOUT HOME. 21
women on the left. The hearse was plain, no
plumes, and the coffin covered with a velvet pall.
I call to mind the gloves laid upon the coffin, a
customary gratuity to the " bearers." After the
interment, the friends of the deceased were re
quested by the sexton to precede the mourners
to their home. When funerals were arranged to
take place early in the week, notices were read
from all the pulpits, save that of " Old Trinity."
At that church, the sexton, Mr. Daniel Vernon,
would give the invitation after the benediction,
in a most distinct manner from the organ-loft.
Another method was adopted for notifying the
time and place of a funeral. A list of names
of those to be invited was given to the sexton
of the church where the deceased had been ac
customed to attend, and who, upon calling at
each door, would say, " You are hid to the fune
ral of Mr. or Mrs.  , at the second tolling of
the south or north bell," as the case might be ;
viz., the Episcopal, Rev. Theodore Dehon's, or
the Congregationalist, Rev. William Pattin's.
Prayer was offered at the house ; but the Scrip
tures were not read, nor hymns sung, except at
the Episcopal Church.

22 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Another reminiscence of my childhood was
the music of the chimney-sweeps, when, at early
morn, the cry " Sweep-ho ! " reached my ear, and
my eyes beheld their sooty heads crowning the
chimney-tops. At that time, the only fuel was
wood ; and, as the town was built of tinder,
otherwise pine lumber, and so liable to frequent
conflagrations, it behooved householders — in
accordance with, the law then existing, which
made any neglect of chimney-sweeping a penal
offence — to use every precaution against fires.
In the midst of so many wooden buildings, every
one felt bound to maintain a sort of " Self-incor
porated Mutual Insurance Company." Thus,
by vigilance in each residence, there was but one
fire in Thames Street during the whole of my
juvenility and early manhood. As a further
proof of our forefathers' bump of caution, I have
a series of almanacs bound in one volume,
from 1770 to 1774; on the margins of which,
records were kept with reference to the regular
chimney-sweepings, in order to prevent any dan
gerous accumulations of soot.
There were only six brick buildings in the
town —including the State House, oftener called

ABOUT HOME. 23
Court House, and the market at the foot of the
"Parade" — in 1793; and no more afterwards,
during my minority. One reason for this was
a prevalent notion that' the humidity of the
atmosphere of Newport would be absorbed in
brick edifices, rendering them unhealthy abodes.
I shall never forget the burning of Mr. Francis
Brinley's extensive ropewalks, — erected near the
present site of the Fillmore House, — the most
extensive establishment of the kind in the counr
try. The smoke from the immense tar-kettles,
and from the large amount of the same combus
tible in barrels, was wafted by a strong wind into
every section of the town. The houses on the
hill were largely impregnated with it. It hap
pened in August, 1797, one of the very hot
test days, rendering the air insupportable.
It was a sight worth seeing, — the processions
of hardy seamen, from time to time passing by
our house and down Mary Street, bearing upon
their shoulders immense hempen cables, manu
factured by Mr. Brinley for the use of United-
States frigates sent to this noble harbor for their
outfit. It was curious, the ease with which these
huge ropes were borne through the streets by the

24 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
sailors, who took the " lock-step ; " and, by this
means, the weight of the cable was distributed,
and none were overburdened.
I was a sickly child at the first, being very
thin, face pale, and frame wiry. Neighbors were
busy in prophesying my early death ; but my
mother, upon hearing from them, as she fre
quently did, that I could not be raised, showed
no uneasiness, and took no pains to remove their
convictions of my speedy demise. Her mind
-was made up that I should live. Her system
of hygiene was quite novel at the time, but now
almost universal in well-ordered families. Her
first step caused much commotion in the neigh
borhood. She had me dipped in water drawn
from a deep well, so cold that the cattle were
prone to breathe upon it for a while, and agitate
it with their muzzles, before they would drink.
In this icy grave I was daily buried. The sen
sations I then experienced left so deep a mark
upon the memory, that, up to this late period of
my life, I retain the keenest recollection of their
poignancy. But no matter : these daily immer
sions worked well, — worked to a charm. I was
fed entirely upon bread and milk, and whitepot,

ABOUT HOME. 25
pronounced whitpot. This last was strictly a
Rhode-Island dish, and sometimes called the
"poor man's custard." It was compounded of
best white Indian meal (only ground iri the south
part of the State), and of pure, new milk, with
enough of the best molasses to give it a yellow
tinge. After leaving my native home for good,
I made repeated efforts to obtain a taste of this
favorite dish. I procured the same meal, and,
unadulterated milk, with genuine treacle, but
always failed to get Rhode-Island whitepot. If
I could have taken with me to my new home a
" Newport cook," all would have gone well. A
Newport cook! such a treasure could nowhere
else be found. The "journey-cake," vulgarly
called Johnny-cake, — how can I sufficiently ex
tol it? Its manufacture is a lost art. No break
fast-cake could compare with it for tastefulness
and nourishment. By this method of dieting,
if such it could be called, and a judicious use
of sulphur, for nearly three years, I throve until
my bones began to grow, and were soon covered
with abundant flesh of uncommon whiteness and
purity. From being a miserable-looking boy,
I became a vigorous youth, and an athlete of no

26 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
mean pretensions. Thanks to a good Provi
dence, and to maternal tenderness, for a long
life of almost uninterrupted health!
My mother, whom memory has photographed
more perfectly than chemical art could ever have
done, was the daughter of William Ellery, whose
patriotism and courage were evinced, when he
put his signature, as one of the representatives
from Rhode Island, to the Declaration of Inde
pendence, July 4, 1776. She received her edu
cation in the stern school of Puritanism, which
eminently fitted her for the responsible trust
which devolved upon her at the death of her
husband; namely, the care of a large family
of sons and daughters, to be brought up and
educated, and with means so limited, that none
but herself, I feel sure, could have escaped run
ning into debt. Her book-keeping was not after
the Italian method (double entry), but strictly
by " single entry." In one word, she never
bought what she had not ready money to pay
for. There were no written invitations to parties
in my day. The way, if one wished to assem
ble many or few friends to an early evening

ABOUT HOME. 27
gathering, was to send a son or daughter of
suitable age with "mother's compliments to
Mrs. or Miss  , requesting the pleasure of
her company to tea this or any other evening,
and, if agreeable, to bring her work." By this
method, social intercourse was maintained, with
out severely taxing the purse. Money, now so
lavished upon furbelows and jewels to adorn a
single family, would have rendered doubly
beautiful hundreds of Newport girls, in their
cotton cambric slips with a single hem or
flounce. " Waste not, want not," was a
maxim practically enforced, without the aid of
Miss Edgeworth's charming story to that effect.
These impromptu invitations seldom failed
to attract groups of very charming and sensible
women. All stiffness and formality, common to
more stately occasions, were unknown at these
sociables. I will cite one more incident in proof of the
comprehensive way in which money matters
were treated when I was young. At Dr. Pat-
tin's church in Clarke Street, notice had been
given that a weekly collection of subscriptions
would be taken up, or, if preferred, monthly or

28 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
half-yearly. Upon trial, it was ascertained that
only one pew-holder wished the privilege of
contributing weekly. ' She was a " mother in
Israel," with limited means, and whose annual
bestowment amounted to thirteen dollars. She
was asked by the church committee to with
hold the weekly sum of twenty-five cents, as it
would save them some trouble in making fifty-
two entries per year, and to contribute the
whole amount per annum, if agreeable. The
old lady straightened herself up, and said, —
" It will be much easier for me to pay the
small sum per week than the larger amount
per year; and so I must decline your propo
sal." She was right ; and if every one of small
means would adopt the above rule, and liquidate
the small items of indebtedness as often as
they are incurred, there would be fewer hard
thoughts entertained, and a world of trouble
saved. The most prominent traits in my mother's
character were a love of independence, great
firmness, inflexible integrity, and unqualified
adherence to simple truth. She was deeply
offended by paltry equivocation; but her with-

ABOUT HOME. 29
ering look, on the utterance of a downright lie,
inflicted a keener wound than corporal punish
ment. She exacted reverence from a child, not
merely as her right, but as an act beneficial to
him ; and, careful to acknowledge his presence
by a smile, she required, in response^ his ready
bow. Her exactness" was once subjected to a
painful test. The following incident will illus
trate it. When winter set in, the boys of the
family became busy over their skates. There
was a famous cutler in Newport, — by the name
of Stevens, I think, — who manufactured the
smooth iron or rather steel skate, in preference
to the Russia hollow iron pattern. The finish
was perfect, and the edge of exquisite sharp
ness, and hence most favorable for speed, and
for elegant evolutions ; and sometimes after a
severe cold spell, all things being ready, and per
mission obtained, " Ho ! Easton's pond ! " be
came the cry. Once upon a time, I recollect
an event, connected with the skating, mania, —
and the reminiscence is as vivid to-day as when
it occurred, sixty-seven years ago, — which in
volved two of the youngest boys in disgrace. A
brother next to me in age proposed a visit to

30 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
the pond, one morning, at an earlier hour than
usual, hoping to escape, " by hook or by crook,'' ,
maternal eyes and ears, and the punishment
consequent upon truancy. Our stealthy depar
ture from the homestead, on that splendid morn
ing, was indeed a narrow escape; and it was
only because the mother's ear deceived her, and
the unusual sound we made, she thought came
from an opposite direction to the one we took.
In less than half an hour, the two happy boys
reached the pond. There were many boys and
men, and one girl (beautiful as Hebe), already
shooting off in every direction, emulous of
success, in graceful gyrations. The pond, ow
ing to the clear sunlight, presented an unbroken
surface of crystal ; and no one dreamt of an air
hole. My brother, in an effort to reach a goal,
a marked stake, in order to cut off a competi
tor plunged into one of those openings in the
ice; not having perceived the slightest differ
ence between the surface of the ice and the
water, there being no wind to ruffle the latter.
He could swim a little, I knew ; but young as I
was, only ten years, I ran on my sharp runners
immediately towards him, beckoning and cry?

ABOUT HOME. 31
ing with all my might for help. No one moved,
as they feared the ice would be too tender in
the neighborhood of the spot where my brother
had broken through. It was the custom of the
time to use a balance-pole to steady the body
when skating. I had one of these, and I had
enough presence of mind and fearlessness to
make use of it. I stretched my body, small as
it was, in such a manner as to divide the weight
as much as possible over so frail a support ; and
by pushing the pole to the almost drowned boy,
and holding it close to the ice, he was enabled
to crawl up to the firmer stratum. Upon my
brother's rescue, I persuaded him to give up an
immediate return home, which he had proposed,
and to go to the farmhouse, then owned by Mr.
Nicholas Easton, close by. We received a
warm welcome, being well known to the family.
The almost drowned boy was supplied with
warm garments, which, although much too
large, sufficed for the emergency. It took the
whole day to dry the lad's clothes ; and it was
not till a late hour that we reached home. I
had agreed to tell the dreadful story of the
hair-breadth escape of my poor brother. I

32 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
thought I should have a caress, if not a kiss ; but,
woe's me ! such a withering look closed my lips,
and dried the one big tear, and a voice unmis
takably distinct pronounced the " To bed, to
bed! cold and supperless to bed!" quenching
the hope of forgiveness, and making our cham
ber an ice-chamber, and our bed a stone. We
had broken our mother's injunctions.
One would have supposed, that, after such an
experience, I should have shunned the water as
a mad dog shuns it. But it was not possible
for one born on an island, and one as beautiful
as Rhode Island, and in a town memorable, in
revolutionary annals, for a boundless love of
liberty by a majority of the people, to be so
subdued by domestic rule as to withstand the
temptation to bathe in the limpid water which
girdled that lovely island. Yet, notwithstand
ing the irrepressible attractions of the beach, —
its glorious surf and , majestic marine music,
and the splendid diving at the wharves, — our
good mother (and she really was a good
mother, and loved us so well that she wished
to save us from harm as long as she could by a
strong arm and an iron will) issued this edict:

ABOUT HOME. 33
" No swimming henceforth will be allowed."
Regardless of this command, I became an ex
pert swimmer. The kind relative whose name
I bear, found it out, and came to the wharf
where the boys met at high tide, and encour
aged us in our efforts to excel. It was the sil
ver-money era ; and my uncle, frequently during
the summer season, would gladden the hearts
of the lads by throwing into the deep water a
silver dollar. Then came the sport. The water
being perfectly clear, every object therein was
plainly visible. It was a sight to witness, the
boys on every projection of the wharf diving
at just such an angle as to cut the water so
sharply as to make no splash. The boy who
happened to make the " belly-bumper " move
ment, as it was termed, was ejected from the
circle. Jumping was not allowed. When the
prize was seized, and the boys had resumed
their clothes, the whole party would adjourn to
a small beer and cake shop in Mary Street, and
which is still standing, kept by an excellent
colored woman, named Mareer, where the dol
lar was spent, and our benefactor cheered by
the refreshed "scamps," as some of us were
3

34 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
called. My mother, not liking to relinquish-
her authority, and yet unwilling to leave it
optional with me to tell a lie or speak the
truth, did not say to me when I returned from
school, during the summer months, " You have
been swimming!" but she would call me to
her, and, after receiving the respectful bow
(then deemed the parent's right,) would run
her hands hither and thither through the golden
locks (now gray enough), to ascertain if they
were dry or moist. If I had been careless about
drying my hair, I was punished; otherwise, I
escaped. Both parties seemed satisfied ; for, if I
was punished, I never whimpered. — N.B. One
of my brothers was so docile as to be taught
the art of swimming on a table, going through
the motions, and seemingly as well satisfied as
were the disobedient children with their actual
aquatic exercises. But then he never had been
dipped. If there had been a phrenologist in my
rnother's day, he would have said that her bump
of caution was largely developed. One day
when I was amusing myself with some revo
lutionary relics left by my father, which were

ABOUT HOME. 35
lying in confusion on the garret-floor, my mother,
suspecting that my busy fingers might lead to
harm, asked from the stairs what I was doing.
When I answered that I was playing with my
father's gun, she said, very decidedly, " Let it
alone." — " Why, mother," said I, "the gun has
no lock on it." To this she answered, " I say,
let it alone : it may go off, even if it has no lock
on it." To this sage decision I made no other
reply than by dropping the dangerous weapon
upon the garret-floor.
Many years after, a phrenologist asked leave
to examine my head. Though I had no faith
in the science of which he was an adept, I con
sented, and was- told that the bump of caution
was wonderfully large. It brought to my mind
my mother's warning voice over the gun affair,
and almost in detail a great number of instances
of caution on my own part, — such as being
a timist from childhood; never neglecting an
appointment; never entering, or alighting from,
a car, when in motion ; saving more than one
boy from drowning ; and catching many a child
from under cart-wheels.
The most painful event in Newport, within

36 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
my recollection, was the death of a beloved
relative, caused by the accidental explosion of a
fowling-piece, upon the farm of Mr. Irish, on the
Beach Road. The spot is still designated by
suitable memorials.
Another violent death occurred near my
mother's house. It was that of Mr. Myers, of
Richmond, Va. He was riding, one dark even
ing, through a narrow pass at the north of our
house, rendered exceedingly dangerous by its
roughness, and which the town council wilfully
neglected to repair; and, meeting some unseen
obstacle, was thrown upon the sharp edge-stones
or flagging, receiving an injury in his head,
which, after a few days of acute suffering, ter
minated his life. He was buried according to
Jewish custom ; and hence the funeral took place
early the evening following. I shall never forget
the scene. It was in the midst of a thunder
storm, and by torchlight. All the male Jews of
the town were present, and assisted at the cere
mony, which mainly consisted in the nearest of
kin filling the grave. The attendance of citizens,
notwithstanding the tempest, was very large.
At every flash of lightning, the ghastly pallor

ABOUT HOME. 37
on each countenance was fearfully strange to
me. After this sad event, the grade of the pas
sage was made safe. I often thought, in my
school-days, upon the satirical saying, " Put a
lock upon the barn-door after the horse is stolen,"
but never fully apprehended its meaning, until
this catastrophe, and when the " fathers of the
town " awoke to long-neglected duty.
Amusements. — My playmates were quite nu
merous ; not, perhaps, as select as is deemed
necessary at the present day, but quite as re
spectable, — only less showy in externals. There
was genuine heartiness in the juvenile exercises
of my day, but which sometimes ran into ex
cess, and demanded rebuke, if not discipline and
correction. That the reader may see the marked
difference between the variety of methods for
promoting physical diversions when " we were
young," and such as prevail at the present day,
I will as briefly as possible narrate my own
experiences and recollections.
Foot-races were deemed of primal importance.
Although the word " athlete " may not have had
place in our spelling-books or dictionaries, its

38 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
meaning found expression day by day. No defi
nite distances were marked out; but the chal
lenge, " Catch me, if you can," put every sinew
and muscle in motion, and soon determined who
were to be the successful runners in the schools.
We had base-ball contests, but without the sys
tematic terminology of the present day. Instead
of such bats as are in common, use now, a small,
round, and sometimes gnarled stick, without any
prominent head, constituted the club, and tested
the skill of the combatants. I was reminded, a
few years ago, of a similar play at Westborough,
in Massachusetts, where the instrument was of
the same ungainly shape, and where the fight
was most admirably sustained, and the game in
the end a drawn one. Pitching quoits was very
common, both by young and old. It put in ex
ercise the whole muscular frame. v These were
frequent trials of strength in the lifting of
weights. I remember a young lad being chal
lenged in this way ; viz., a bet was offered that
he could not lift from the floor three fifty-six-
pound weights secured together by a cord. He
accomplished it with apparent ease. I do not
suppose Dr. Windship would consider it much

ABOUT HOME. 39
of an achievement at the present day ; and yet I
would not advise young lads to try such a ven
ture. I will instance another and more extraor
dinary physical effort, made by Mr. William V.
Taylor, formerly an officer on board the India-
man " Mount Hope," afterwards attached to the
United-States navy. He was not stout, but
very muscular. One day, on Gibbs's Wharf,
hearing a wordy dispute about the lifting of
weights just then accomplished by a lad, Mr.
Taylor said sportively, " I can beat that." This
was doubted. Mr. Taylor, " suiting the action to
the word," took from the warehouse a twenty-
eight-pound weight, which he raised on his little
finger, and, after holding it at "arm's length,"
wrote with a piece of chalk, held between thumb
and finger of the same hand, his initials, " W. V.
T." I witnessed the feat, and joined with my
comrades in pronouncing the young seaman the
champion in muscular tactics. Besides the art
of lifting, the leaping of ditches and the scaling
of craggy mounds, &c, varied our youthful gym
nastics. There were no regattas in my day. Aquatic
exercises were confined, for the most part, to the

40 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
sailing of a few full-rigged boats. What won
derful changes are witnessed in marine matters
since that remote period ! One may sit now for
hours gazing without weariness, from various
prominences in the harbor, upon beautiful nau
tical panoramas.

SCHOOLS. 41

CHAPTER III.
SCHOOLS.
The school's lone porch, with reverend mosses gray,
Just tells the pensive pilgrim where it lay.
Mute is the bell that rung at peep of dawn,
Quickening my truant feet across the lawn ;
Unheard the shout that rent the noontide air,
When the slow dial gave a pause to care.
Up springs,' at every step, to claim a tear,
Some little friendship formed and cherished here ;
And not the lightest leaf, but trembling teems
With golden visions and romantic dreams !
Pleasures of Memory.
A S much of my boyhood was taken up in
being schooled, and in school studies, this
chapter will be devoted to an account of the
primary and grammar schools, as they existed
from 1794 to 1804. As this period embraces a
variety of interesting incidents, in singular con
trast with those happening at this present, I
must be allowed great freedom in narrating them.
It may be a mark of " second childhood," — this
clinging to the past; and yet ere-long many of
my readers will be old enough to sympathize

42 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
with it. My aim will be, mainly, to give simple
sketches of my day and generation, which may
have escaped the notice of earlier annalists, and
which, I hope, will give pleasure to those who
still live, and who have always lived, in Newport;
and especially to those occupying localities once
owned by men of the olden time, — men of
wealth, of worth, and of intelligence, but " whose
places shall know them no more."
Very few persons, probably, who " have taken
to Newport," within a few years, as the American
Brighton or " Baden-Baden," have any knowl
edge of a prior occupation of the place, for a
number of years, — not summers merely, but the
year round, — by distinguished Southerners, who
in great numbers, with their families, took up
their abode in the " Eden of America " (so called
by Doctor Jedediah Morse in his wee, wee geog
raphy) ; not wholly on account of the salubrity
of the climate, or of its peculiar mildness com
pared with many places of the same latitude,
but because of the private school kept there, —
the most respectable establishment of the kind
then existing in the States. In proof of the
desirableness of this school, I need only add,

SCHOOLS. 43
that, in order to facilitate intercourse between
Southern cities and Newport, a very beautiful
ship, called the " Rose-in-bloom," commanded
by Mr. Burdick, a " Newport boy," was kept in
constant sailing trim, freighted with Southern
edibles, and fitted with elegant accommodations
for passengers, the number of whom rendered
the " Island Home " as lively, as fashionable, and
perhaps more intellectually brilliant, than now.
There was no attempt at outward display, no
building of extravagant residences, and no costly
equipages. The native population, being dis
tinguished for their good sense and good-natured
simplicity, proved eminently attractive to all well-
disposed visitors. I remember the names of a
few of the Southern notables of that day; the
Marions, Gists, Smiths, Haynes, Alstons, Ham
iltons, Flaggs, Rutledges, and Kinlocks, of South
Carolina; Randolphs, Myers, and Lathams, of
Virginia; &c, &c. Pardon this episode, and
accompany me, if you will, to the primary school
where I first commenced " the art of spelling and
reading the English language with propriety."
The room occupied by the matron-teacher,
Mrs. Sayre, and her daughter (" Miss Betsy," as

44 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
she was called), situated near the corner of Mary
and Clarke Streets, was a low, square chamber
on the second floor, having no furniture, no
desks, nor chairs, excepting a few for tea'chers
or visitors. The children, boys and girls (the
former dressed the same as girls), were furnished
by their parents with seats made of round blocks
of wood, of various heights. These movable
seats, at least thirty in number, would constitute
as great a curiosity at this day of school accom
modation and luxury, as would the old " ten-
footer" district schoolhouses, were they set up
for public gaze in one of our streets. Mrs. Sayre
was a model teacher in her day. It was at the
time of reading from Noah Webster's spelling
and reading book, when an urchin, alias brat,
sometimes softened into varlet, being pinned to
the mistress's apron, was hammering or stutter
ing over a monosyllable, turning red and pale
by turns as she jostled the poplar rod at her side,
— it was just at that moment, when her eyes
were bent on the sewing she was preparing for
the girls, and on the garter-knitting for the boys,
and she listening to and correcting the poor
boy's mistakes, — it was just then that the block

SCHOOLS. 45
gyrations commenced, not exactly as on a pivot,
but in sweeps, forming larger or smaller circles
according to the whim of the block-mover, — it
was just at that moment of astounding com
motion, when the old lady, taking notice of the
tumult, raised the wand, viz. the poplar pole,
and with distinct, nay, fearful articulation, cried
out, in regular, syllabic order, " Mi-rab-i-le-dictu,"
which Latin word sounded in my right ear very
much like " My rabble dick you." Of course,
this, to us meaningless, word excited as much
open-eyed and open-mouthed admiration as is
produced by a grandiloquent orator. By the
way, the poplar pole spoken of above was a
very popular tree in my day. The planting of
it became a kind of passion, and its offshoots
sold readily at twenty-five cents apiece. It was
introduced into Newport, and largely cultivated,
by Mr. William Tilley, the patriarch of the Tilley
family, always held in great esteem. If my
memory is not at fault, Deacon Tilley hired of
the Trinity-Church Corporation the ten-acre lot,
now a portion of Kay Street, on part of which
stood the Trinity-church House, so called, occu
pied, when I was a boy, by Mrs. Pollock, a lady

46 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
from the South. It was on this lot that Mr.
Tilley raised this tall unsightly tree, ugly from
its very, leanness. A few of its ghostly trunks
and straight, stiff branches may yet be occasion
ally met with in our suburban towns. I have
spoken, casually, of my wearing frocks or " slips.''
I remember the fabric was English calico, of a
uniform groundwork, either dotted, or sprigged
with fanciful figures. It was an economical age
when 1 figured; and it was not uncommon for
the gown of the grandmother to descend as an
heirloom to the grandchildren. There were nine
children in our family ; and when the frock of my
eldest sister reached me, a boy of five years of
age, it was almost threadbare, and past fading.
Boys were thus kept in frocks, that they might
be profitable beneficiaries of what would other
wise have fallen into the rag-bag.
Quite near our juvenile schoolrooms, there
lived a very worthy colored woman, named
" Violet," who kept exposed in a window-frame
a few specimens of cake and candy, rendered
very attractive by the neat and tasteful way
in which they were arranged. A few of us
urchins were furnished now and then with a

SCHOOLS. 47
few coppers; and hence followed early trading
propensities, with " Violet " for instance. Other
boys there were less favored with means for
procuring similar gratifications, and they could
only look wistfully at the sweets. The good-
natured, kind-hearted woman was not slow in
discovering the reason for this self-denial; and
so on one day when the fortunate ones had
retired, and the unfortunates still lingered, she
bid them go round the house, and then gave to
each a copper, telling them they could now buy
candy for themselves if they pleased. They
soon found their way back, shouting to the
old woman, " A stick of candy, Violet ! " and
were supplied as promptly as would have been
the best paying customers.
Violet, whilst evidently intending to keep up
the appearance of doing a regular business,
practically repudiated the worldly apothegm,
" There's no friendship in trade."
To return to Mrs. Sayre's primary school: I
recollect very well the disagreeable sensations
connected with the " dark closet," the prison of
the disobedient. It was not resorted to, save
in extreme cases. I remember what a fright

48 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
was caused by one of the boys swallowing a
marble (he is still alive), which led to a sudden
dismission of the school. At the close of the
school on Friday afternoons, we were sent to a
vacant room below stairs, where we recited the
" commandments," repeated the " Lord's Prayer,"
and received commendation or censure accord
ing to our good or bad conduct during the
week. I remember most gratefully the happy
influence of Mrs. Sayre's discipline and instruc
tion. She was firm but gentle in manner and
speech, governing by signs rather than by
words. My preparation was excellent for the
higher school I was soon to enter, especially in
reading and spelling. The junior teacher (Miss
Betsy) had under her care children of advanced
standing. She was an excellent teacher, and
was affectionately remembered for her assiduity
in behalf of her scholars. During the recess
twice a week, Mrs. Sayre taught colored chil
dren spelling and reading, gratis. This good
lady and her daughter were greatly respected
and beloved. The latter married Joseph Rogers,
Esq., of Philadelphia.
The first schoolhouse of any note in the

SCHOOLS. 49
town was owned and managed by a gentleman
of acknowledged ability for those days. Com
pared with buildings used for similar purposes
now, it was a mere shanty, a " ten-footer." It
was scant in length, breadth, and height, and
poorly ventilated. The furniture, viz.-the desks
and benches, was of the most ordinary stamp.
The former, used for the writing exercises, had
leaden inkstands in the centre ; and their sur
face was more or less disfigured with rude
indentures, so as to render straight or curved
strokes with the v pen next to impossible: and
the latter, the benches without backs, were so
tall and shaky as to be very uncomfortable, es
pecially to the shortest boys, whose legs had to
be suspended, causing often extreme pain, and
consequent disturbance; bringing on them un
deserved punishment from the monitors, unless
warded off by a bribe, in the shape of a top or
a knife, or a handful of marbles. On the ros
trum were two or three chairs for distinguished
visitors, and a small desk for the master, on
which reposed, not often, a punctured ferule,
surmounted by an unpleasant-looking cowskin.
So exceedingly disagreeable were the daily min-
4

50 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
istrations of these instruments of instruction,
that every method was adopted for their de
struction. But the master was more than a
match for our organ of destructiveness. Such
was school No. 1 in the State of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations. It certainly was
not the prototype of the school at Rugby,
where Dr. Arnold ruled successfully, without
making any of the distinguishing marks which
characterized my pupilage. As the school grew,
assistants were employed. Mr. Maxy was an
excellent teacher of the languages. Mr. Tay
lor (a most worthy citizen) taught the lower
branches. The tree is known by its fruit:
whilst, therefore, it must be granted that the
greater number of the scholars were of the genus
Booby, there were some of rare brightness of
mind, whose intellectual culture did credit to
those efficient and faithful teachers.
Our schoolroom had to be swept and dusted
twice or thrice a week, and the classes were
obliged to do this in turn. As, this was a dis
agreeable task, those boys who had money (and
these were generally of Southern parentage) could
easily buy substitutes from among the poorer

SCHOOLS. 51
boys. During my nonage, the Puritan spirit did
not die out. It was an age of force. Punishment
was deemed necessary. Exhibitions of author
ity constituted, day by day, a series of domestic
tableaux. The discipline of the school was in
accordance with the government of the home.
It was arbitrary, with rare exceptions, in the ex
treme. Children were required to bow or kiss
the hand, when entering or leaving either home
or school. The school to which I was sent
differed in no respect from inferior ones in the
matter of corporal punishment. The ferule and
cowskin were almost deified. Apologies in
creased, rather than abated, the swellings of the
hand, and the wales upon the back. An appeal
to parents was of no more avail than beating
the air. This severe discipline was not inter
fered with by the clergy; for, in their day, they
had to run the gauntlet; and as the men, and
even the boys, of that age were notoriously ad
dicted to swearing, drinking, gambling, and
other vices, it was deemed necessary to subdue
these evils by blows. No faith existed then in
behalf of moral suasion. It -is delightful to re
member that none of my name, as boys, at least,
were guilty of uttering an oath.

52 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
The only classical school in Newport, strictly
-speaking, during my pupilage, was kept in New
Church Lane, by Mr. John Frazer, a Scotchman.
He was a good teacher, especially in Greek,
Latin, and mathematics. Mr. Frazer lived near
a brother Scotchman, a snuff-manufacturer: his
house was at the corner of the same street
(Church) as Frazer's, and was afterwards occu
pied by Dr. William Turner. Ferguson was the'
most noted blasphemer in the town, and exas
perated us boys by his abusive language when
passing his shop. We finally proposed enter
taining him with a musical play upon his name,
which was Adam Ferguson. One day we took
our seat upon a flat board, nailed upon the top
of the posts of the fence of Trinity Churchyard,
keeping time to the music with vibrations from
the heels of our shoes, whilst we sang, in syllabic
order, his name, — Adam Ferguson. It was not
long before he heard our provoking retaliation
of his oft-repeated insults; and he appeared,
ready to pour his curses and his blows on
our devoted heads. But we not only escaped
them then, but were never troubled with them
afterwards.

SCHOOLS. 53
Mr. Clarke Rodman (a Friend) had, in his
own house in M.ary Street, quite a large school,
devoted to the. education of a class of boys and
young men living at the South End, who were
styled the "roughs." It was thought singular,
that a man belonging to the " Society of
Friends," a non-resistant by profession, should
have attracted to his school so many disorderly
youths. But, though avowedly a non-resistant,
he never suffered any act of disobedience to go
unpunished. His manner of conducting the
spelling was original. The word being given
out, followed by a blow from a strap on his
desk, the whole class, simultaneously, would bel
low out the word, — say the word " multiplica
tion," — properly divided. His ear was so true,
that he easily detected any misspelling. When
this happened, he would demand the name of
the scholar who had failed : if there was any
hesitancy in giving the name, the whole class,
instead of being dismissed, — spelling being the
last exercise, — was detained, until, by repeated
trials, accuracy was obtained. So many voices
upon a single word, in so many keys, produced
an amusing jingle, which invariably attracted to

54 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
the spot all passers-by. A Mr. Knox, with re
markably long feet and an ungainly appearance,
devoted most of his time to teaching very poor
children their A B C, in a small building in the
rear of Trinity Church.
Having given the reader a brief but accurate
statement of the schools in Newport during my
boyhood, I will give, in the next place, my recol
lections of some of the school-books then used.
The advanced scholars in our school studied
the Greek and Latin text-books of the day.
The principal English books were Murray's
Grammar, Noah Webster's Spelling-book, the
Columbian Orator, Woodbridge's Dictionary,
Daboll's, Pike's, and Walsh's Arithmetics, and
Morse's small Geography.
Upon my debut at this well-appointed semi
nary, I received, as an elementary help in the
English branches, a much-abused, dog's-eared
spelling-book, by the celebrated Noah Webster.
It had for a frontispiece the outlines of a man's
head, of which the groundwork was a dismal
blur. I was so ashamed of this " way to learn
ing," that I petitioned somebody to give me a
pistareen (twenty cents), in possession of which

schools. 55
I felt so rich — richer than I have ever felt since
— and so grand, that I hastened to Mr. Jabez
(then called Jaby) Dennison's book and sta
tionery store, and purchased a fresh-bound, blue-
paper-covered " Webster." I turned over my
treasure, examined its exterior, and then allowed
myself a glance at its pictorial embellishments.
I saw the old man looking wistfully at his par
tially stripped apple-tree, and at the urchin,
whose courage laughed to scorn the old man's
first argument, a handful of earth, but who
shrunk from the well-aimed missiles that proved
to him that there was some virtue in stones.
After this interview, I ventured to hope that the
author of the book had taken compassion upon
his juvenile readers and students, arid had orna
mented his titlepage with a fresh engraving of
his noble self. But no : the same doleful coun
terfeit presentment of a man came in sight ; and
so provoked did I feel, that I took the book, the
day after I had purchased it, back to Mr. Denni
son, and asked him to return me the money,
which he consented to do. Passing from his
store, I was attracted by a pleasant display of
fruit and cake at Mrs. Hammatt's shop, in Spring

56 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Street. The shop still remains, with the win
dow-bar across, as it met my longing eye sev
enty years ago. I could not resist purchasing
a few coppers' worth of the sweets. In some
way, to me very strange, Mr. Dennison dis
covered my second purchase, and, being a man
of some humor, followed me very stealthily to
the school; and after all were seated except
ing the master, and the Bible had been read,
as was the custom, by one of the scholars (un
less it happened to be Paul's defence before
Agrippa, which the master thought no one
could read properly but himself), just when the
scholars were about to resume their studies, Mr.
Dennison presented himself to the master, and,
with one of his most winning smiles, said to him,
" Sir, I have ventured to trespass upon school
hours, because of the immense success which I
feel sure has resulted from your efforts in teach
ing; for information has just reached me, that
one of your pupils has so keen an appetite for
knowledge, that he has eaten his spelling-book."
So curious a revelation could not be hushed up.
The scholars, and some outsiders, tried hard to
discover the possessor of so sharp a taste for

SCHOOLS. 57
learning ; but the enigma was not solved. Here
it will be appropriate for me to introduce an
other fact relating to the Webster Spelling-book.
William Cobbett, a renowned satirist of the day,
published, in one of his political essays, a last
will and testament, which contains the follow
ing item : —
" I give and bequeath to Noah Webster the
sum of fifteen Spanish milled dollars, to enable
him, the said Noah, to procure a new engraved
likeness of himself for his Spelling-book, that
children may no longer be frightened from their
studies ; with this special proviso, that he omits
the usual addendum of Esq. from his name."
The title of " schoolmaster," in the days to
which these papers refer, carried great weight
with it. His opinion, as when Goldsmith wrote
the " Deserted Village," stood for law and gos
pel. It was rumored, that a boy who was a
great favorite, and who had left the primary
school with singular distinction, had been called
by his new teacher " a fool." The lad, who was
very gentle, bore the reproach with rare compo
sure, confident of being able at no distant day
to change the opinion of his new master. A

58 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
memb'er (not a relative) of the lad's family,
hearing how his pet had been treated, accosted
him with " Well, my boy, he says ypu are a fool :
now let us put the fool's-cap on the maligner's
head. Just bring your books, and recite to me,
for half an hour a day, for a few weeks, and I
will show you how to put the boot on the other
leg. All that you need, my boy, is to be less
bashful ; to stand up like a man, fearing nothing
but sin ; and you will very soon see master and
classmates changing their tune, — you becom
ing the judge, and they the complaisant solici
tors." In less than a quarter of the time
named, as the story runs, the " fool " held the
reins in his hand, and, at the early age of four
teen, entered Harvard College, whence he grad
uated the first of his class, having the English
oration, and held, for the fifty years preceding
his death, the most distinguished position as
philanthropist and divine. Some of the best
scholars in our school were " mealy-mouthed : "
they1 did not dare to say " their souls were their
own." Their timidity was frequently held to
be sheer stubbornness ; and one boy from the
South was afraid to look the teacher in the face,

SCHOOLS. 59
and became so cowed as to lose all pluck,
and yet he was not lacking in intellectual
power. It is a great pleasure to me that I can remem
ber clearly, and with ease draw an accurate
plan of, the schoolroom where I was educated,
and recall the face and form of most of the
scholars who occupied seats therein. It may
gratify some of my readers to have their names
written out by one who studied and played with
them. It certainly will be acceptable to the few
survivors of my fellow-students to enter with
me the chamber of memory, and review our
old lessons, and fight over again our old intel
lectual battles.
The pupils, many of whom were entitled
"foreigners," having been born at the South,
and with whom I was intimate, were — James
Hamilton, who at middle age became an active
politician (he was remarkable for his beauty) ;
States Gist, a fine fellow, who died in Newport,
lamented by young and old, and was buried in
the common burial-ground; Robert and Wil
liam Smith (sons of Bishop Smith), both edu
cated at Harvard College; Messrs. Haynes,

60 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Shubrick, Kinlocks, Rutledge, Washington' and
William Alston, Henry Flagg, afterward Mayor
of New Haven; Simmonds, Daniel Latham,
— all of South Carolina: Francis Marion, of
Georgia; Randolph, Moore, Smythe, Marshall,
Mathews, of Virginia; and Gyles and John
Mardenborough, from the West Indies.
The Newport boys, in 1799, were S. O. Aueh
muty, William Vernon, two Phillipses, George
S. Rathbone, R. Partlow, Wickham, Wood, Ben
jamin and Grant Mason, Edward Littlefield,
James Stevens, Robert Newman, George W.
Ellery, George Whitehorne, Benjamin Pierce,
Timothy Pierce, Tilleys, Tew, William W.
Russel, Lawton, Francis Brinley Fogg, John
Easton, Hazards, Lee, PeckhamJ Wilbur Eddy,
William C. Gibbs, Charles King, Sandford,
Cozzens (late of West Point), William Cozzens,
Davenport, Goddard, Hammet, Harkness, John
Stevens, Robert Stevens, B. B. Mumford, Carrs,
Melville, David Oliphant, Nason, Callender,
Talman, Trevitt, Cranston, Sherman, Howland,
R. Coggeshall, Godfrey, Levitt, Saunders, Mal
bone, Breeze, Underwood, Tanner, Bannister,
Thurston, Edward Senter, Partlow, Fowlers,

SCHOOLS. 61
Gardners, Clarkes, Potters, Mayberry, Bull, Hun
ter, Buffum, Dennis, Tillinghast, Greene, G.
Wanton, Vaughn, Barbour, Collins, Spooner,
Oxx, Richmond, Yeomans, Townsend, Bush,
Kane, Sayre, Waring, Earl, Ailman, Seatle,
&c. Enough, it may be said, of the names of my
schoolmates. There were other worthy lads
from the island, and many from the neighboring
towns ; but " too much of a good thing is very
bad," and so I forbear.
There were no attempts at intellectual prog
ress outside of the schools, save the formation
of a literary club, called the " Social Union,"
composed of young men, mostly graduates of
the academy. A considerable number of books ,
were collected, newspapers were taken, written
addresses were made, debates were sustained,
and once a year a supper was enjoyed, provided
by one of the noted cooks of the day. The
room occupied by the society was formerly the
office of my late father, William Channing.
Amongst those who took part in the debates,
the late Henry Y. Cranston, of Newport, was pre
eminently the peer. He was uniformly kind,

62 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
courteous, and scrupulously considerate, when
measuring swords with more feeble competitors,
of whom I acknowledge myself to have been
one. Eloise Payne, the daughter of Schoolmaster
Payne (a teacher of great celebrity in his day,
in Boston, Mass.), and sister of John Howard
Payne (the renowned dramatist and poet), came
to Newport about the year 1807-8, and opened
one of the most noticeable schools in America ;
and, until her health failed, she exerted a great
influence for good in the moral and intellectual
culture of girls, — not only the residents of
Newport, but also of many from New York and
Boston, who boarded in Miss Payne's family.
Perhaps no young lady-teacher ever enjoyed
more deserved repute than Miss Payne. Her
voice was delightfully sweet and winning. Her
face was the index of unusual intellectual power.
Her eye, lustrous and penetrating when she spoke,
awakened confidence and love when she was
silent. Her skill in penmanship was admirable.
She attracted many, and held them spell-bound
by her grace in conversation. Her religious
faith yielded the fruit of holy living; so that,

SCHOOLS. 63
though her life was short, her death was deeply
lamented. I have frequently been gratified by
the expression of affectionate remembrance of
this faithful teaictier by the few pupils who still
survive to call her blessed.

64 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER IV.
A VACATION.
"Let thy recreations be ingenious, and bear proportion with thine
age. If thou sayest with Paul, ' When I was a child, I did as a
child,' say also with, him, ' But, when I was a man, I put away child
ish things.' — ' Weir also the child's coat, if thou usest his sports.' "
"\T7HILST many hours of each day were
devoted to school studies, a good
portion of three years was spent in useful
employments about home. At times I cher
ished longings for rural pursuits. We owned
considerable land in near neighborhood of the
homestead ; and, by judicious culture, its prod
ucts in cereals, hay, and fruit constituted most
important items in the domestic economy.
The farmers on the island were even then
noted for their skill ; and their steady advance
for half a century in husbandry has elicited
from strangers visiting Newport unqualified
commendation. The only danger now to be
apprehended lies in the temptation to sell

A VACATION. 65
estates near the city for ornamental rather than
productive purposes.
During my pupilage, the thought was never
entertained, that such a quiet, staid place as
Newport, so rigidly attached to customs and
laws of " Mede-and-Persian "-like conservatism,
could ever change into what is now a gay and
fashionable watering-place.
My early taste for agriculture, already referred
to, lasted through my academic life, but was
overruled by parental authority, as soon as I
was offered a lucrative mercantile position,
which was accepted and entered upon, as a
matter of course.
My walk from our homestead, now in the
occupancy of Mrs. Gyles, opposite the Episcopal
Church Schoolhouse, were up by Mr. Brinley's
rope-walk to the Easton farm on the east, to the
Irish farm on the west, then by a short turn
down a most precipitous road, to the Beach.
Owing to the steepness (which might have been
easily graded to the present slope, had the fathers
of the town been wise enough to provide against
the extravagant waste of horse-flesh), all the
sand needed for domestic and manufacturing

66 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
purposes had to be carted by small quantities
up the bluff, until a full cart-load was obtained.
Crossing the first beach, I always lingered about
the celebrated fissure, called Purgatory, and
would sometimes venture to look down the fear
ful cleft. At one of my visits, I .heard of a gen
tleman who bore the name of Meriam, minister
of Trinity Church, who had ventured to leap
across it, losing his hat for his pains. This was
deemed a great feat at the time. One of my
elder brothers once crept and slid down the em
bankment to the opening of the gulf, and then
swam through the deep water, which every high
tide pours into it. Afterwards, by extraordinary
skill, as it seemed to me, he retraced the slippery
steps, and alighted upon the grassy mound.
From Purgatory, I pushed on to the " Hanging
Rocks," fabled to be movable, near to the second
beach, and stopped for a cup of milk at the
Gardner farm, which was in the neighborhood.
Hereabouts were caught by Mr. Young, a cele
brated Newport fisherman, the bass and tautog,
and now and then a " sheep's head " (finer in
flavor than the English turbot) so famous in
the island's history. The Manhaden fishery, in

A VACATION. 67
August, for oil and manure, was vastly attractive
sport to the boys, who, for their tiny pulls at the
seine, were permitted to carry home as many of
the finny tribe as they were able. Another
of my excursions was to " Green End," to the
Honeyman farm, and to the pleasant residence
of Elder Bliss. He belonged to a sect styled
" Seventh-day Baptists." He was patriarchal
in manner and costume ; was highly respected,
but very eccentric at times. I heard him preach
one very hot Sunday in July, for Dr. Pattin, in
his shirt-sleeves, provoking many smiles. When
the wind blew a tempest from the south-east,
and the sound of the breakers was heard in the
town, I hasted to " Hog Hole ; " a sight worth
seeing when I was a boy, with its secret, wind
ing paths to the natural rocky amphitheatre,
studded, as it seemed, with superb agates, emer
alds, and diamonds. I never heard the legend
that gave it its name. Perhaps there was none.
From the headland close by was and is still' a
magnificent view of the Southern " offing." In
the winter, the water round the beach is mar
vellously warm, owing to the mingling of the
Southern Gulf-stream with the Northern Ocean.

68 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Another, and more charming walk still, was to
" Brenton's Neck." It derived its name from
Jahleel Brenton, who, in the early history of the
colony, became its possessor. His name stands
first on the Record of the Artillery Company of
the Town of Newport, incorporated in 1741.
There were, during my boyhood; several ship
wrecks at this neck of land, where there were
formidable rocks, near to what was known after
wards as the Collins farm. Whenever the ti
dings of such disasters reached the town, a
stream of people would set towards the scene.
The last one which I witnessed was that of a
brig from Russia, loaded with hemp and iron.
It was a strange sight, — the rail-fences in every
direction covered with the hemp rescued from
the wreck, and exposed to the air before being
stored. I frequently strayed into the adjoining
district of Fort Adams, then unfinished. From
thence I looked at Beaver-tail Light and towards
Point Judith. I never was so happy as when
within hearing of the surf. Saturday afternoons,
in pleasant weather, were generally given to
excursions to " Malbone's Garden," to " Mian-
tonomy Hill," and to the " Block House," which

A VACATION. 69
surmounted it. Although these localities had
become wastes, still the ruins of the famous
mansion, were peopled to my imagination,
which was already kindled by frequent stories
of the almost regal position of the owner of the
estate, and of his^ sumptuous feasts, — in the
preparation of the last of which, the elegant
mansion was destroyed.
One of my recreations was to ring the even
ing bell of old Trinity. The sexton, Mr. Uriah
Gordon, became so satisfied with my expertness
in ringing, that he trusted me with the keys of
the gate and the church porch. I was vain
enough to believe, that no one but myself could,
with so few pulls at the rope, "set" the bell,
and bring out its loudest tones< It was not very
pleasant, I confess, walking among the graves ;
and it tried my courage, as I was only a lad, to
lay the ghosts which fear set in my path.
It is fit, having described the scenes of my
childhood and the incidents of my school life,
to appropriate a chapter to churches and minis
ters.

70 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER V.
MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS.
" There stands the messenger of truth. There stands
The legate of the skies. His theme divine,
His ofiice sacred, his credentials clear.
By him the violated law speaks out
Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet
As angels use, the gospel whispers peace."
W 7HEN I was young, it was considered by
Congregationalists, Baptists, &c, a con
cession to Romanism to call places of worship
" churches." I had supposed, after a long absence
from Newport, that, on my return to old scenes, I
should hardly find Puritan prejudices still in full
force. It was ordered, however, that I should be
disappointed. Being desirous of examining the
church where I received my earliest religious
impressions, — viz., the Second Congregational,
under the pastoral care of Rev. William Pattin,
the successor of Rev. Ezra Stiles, of Connecti
cut, — I called at a house in Clarke Street, where
the old sanctuary still remained, and asked of an
old lady to lend me the keys of the CHURCH. I

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 71
was answered, with some appearance of ill feel
ing, that they were not the keepers of church
keys. Upon this announcement, I expressed
some regret, as I wished very much to sit once
more in the old pew where I had listened for so
many years to Mr. Pattin's exhortations. " Oh ! "
I received for answer, "we have the meeting
house keys : we have nothing to do with Zion
Church." The keys were withheld until I re
peated " meeting-house," when my wish was
granted. Reader, please accompany me to the place
where in my boyhood, instead of drinking the
simple and pure milk of the word, I was fed on
strong meat, exceedingly dry and hard of diges
tion ; and hence I became morally dyspeptic.
Of this I was not aware, until healthier spiritual
food revealed my almost chronic disease of hard
ness of heart. It was not because of any thing
peculiar in the views presented by the pastor;
for, at the time, the then accredited doctrines of
Christianity were, with a few exceptions, one
and the same in all the churches; but because
of my teacher's abstruse way of stating his reli
gious convictions. The church, or, more prop-

72 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
erly speaking, the meeting-house, lacking in every
thing deserving the name of architectural order,
proportion, or convenience, without form or come
liness, was cold as the north pole in winter, and
at fever-heat in summer. The windows, which
clattered violently when there was any wind,
and which a few coppers' worth of wood would
have choked into silence, constituted the bassoon
accompaniment to Mr. Yeoman's pitch-pipe in
the choir. Fire was deemed an element utterly
irreconcilable with devotion in our meeting
house. With the thermometer at zero, how
could the minister, by no means a warm-blooded
man, be expected to inflame the souls of his
hearers with spiritual caloric? In the coldest
weather, he was muffled to the chin. The softer
sex had foot-stoves ; but the live coals in these,
when kindled at home, were nearly dead before
being placed at the head of the pew. The boys,
poor fellows! were to be pitied, in their well-
worn short jackets, and thin overcoats, hardly
reaching to their knees, with trousers, but no
drawers (an article almost unknown), with very
short socks, and shoes of poor leather, porous
enough to absorb the snow and rain. Boots

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 73
were a great luxury, and India-rubbers were
unheard of.
The singing, notwithstanding the pains taken
to instruct in the art, was execrable, although I
took part in it! At one time, the choir did
what choirs are apt to do, — went off in a huff.
Discord ran riot the next Sunday. The scene
was at the same time ludicrous and painful.
Four of the congregation, with the leader already
referred to, volunteered as a quintette to " carry
the singing." There were two bass voices, one
tenor, and two treble. If they had started, and
kept together to the end of each verse, the music
might have been pleasing. But no : they had
been in the habit of singing Lenox, Worcester,
Bridgewater, and a hundred other fugue tunes,
in which one part runs a race after another,
fearful of not winding up together on the last
syllable. But the most disagreeable feature of
the performance was the thinness of the tones,
owing to the singers sitting in their separate
pews, which happened to be at the cardinal
points of the compass.
It was common for many who did not relish
the minister's dry, expository lectures upon the

74 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Old Testament, to send to the sexton, Tun
bridge Stevens, for information on Sunday
mornings. The answer was always concise:
" Expounds in the morning ; preaches in the
afternoon;" or vice versa.
Our minister of the Clarke-street Church was
unpretending and courteous. He was a good
classical scholar, and educated several young
men from the South, one of whom lived for a
time in his family. He forbore using illus
trations or exhortatory appeals. He delighted
in tying hard, metaphysical knots. He never
diverged .a moment towards the sensational.
Whilst an acknowledged believer in Calvinism,
he seldom felt obliged to broach the peculiari
ties of that faith; for only in the instance of
the Murray doctrines had he an adversary.
Sunday was the least agreeable day of the
week. Children were not allowed to see,
hear, or talk about any thing that was, bright,
sunny, and cheerful. The texts, however long,
must be remembered and repeated, a hymn
memorized, (I can remember very many at this
late period) a designated seat occupied; and
thus the tiny, flexible frame of the boy was kept

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 75
in durance until the canonical hour (sunset)
was reached. The minister brought with him
to Newport a Connecticut custom, of commen
cing the sabbath at sundown on Saturday, and
closing it at sunset on Sunday, when the read
ing of secular books, and ordinary week-day
work, were allowable. There were no " ex
changes " between the ministers of the town
in my day. Baptists had no fellowship with
Congregationalists, because of their unbelief in
the validity of infant baptism. Episcopalians
had no sympathy with those who denied Church
government by bishops ; and even Dr. Hopkins
and Mr. Pattin had their theological differences,
which, for a time at least, prevented church-
fellowship. It would seem, however, from the
removal of the old Clarke-street bell, with its
clanging, discordant sounds, to the new Congre
gational church in Spring Street, that all past
variances had become harmonized.
Fast-days were observed by the Congrega
tional churches of Rhode Island, and by them
only. It was a day not recognized by the State
government, but was observed by the churches
just named, in consequence of the example set

76 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
by Massachusetts, whose reverence for the cus
toms of the Pilgrims kept the day even more
outwardly sacred than the sabbath ; hence the
proclamation of the Bay State was read by the
Congregational Rhode-Island ministers.
Thanksgiving Day was appointed by the State
authorities in a series of resolutions, which the
Governor of the State was requested to make
known ; thus relieving his Excellency from a
co-equal participation in the matter. The peo
ple always seemed jealous of the exercise of any
authority by the executive department of the
State. Whilst, therefore, every other of the New-
England Stages was summoned annually by the
Governor and Council to keep Thanksgiving
Day, the "chief" of "little Rhody" was only
permitted to express meekly, by the seal of
the State, the will of the representatives.
A curious custom, how introduced I know
not, existed among the men of our society, with
few exceptions, on the Lord's Day, during the
summer season. At the main entrance of the
church, there was a grass-plot, which was occu
pied by the " heads " of the religious families,
for conversation, (perhaps about trade, &c, who

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 77
knows ?) until the introductory prayer had been
offered ; when, with one consent, the outsiders
would enter, and make their way through the
broad and side aisles, wholly unaware, appar
ently, of having caused any disturbance. As
these were the " lords of creation," and held the
purse-strings of the parish, the minister knew
too well how ineffectual his feeble voice would
prove in rebuking a long-established custom, or
in offering any remonstrance to this weekly an
noyance. It remained, therefore, for my grand
father, Hon. William Ellery, the oldest member
of the society, to give these offenders a subtle
rebuke. One very pleasant Sunday morning,
as he entered the yard, the gentlemen in attend
ance opening to the right and left, lifting their
hats, as was their wont, Mr. Ellery said to them,
in his blandest tone, " Gentlemen, I perceive
that you do not like short prayers." They
simultaneously replied, " Oh, yes ! we prefer
such." — " Well," replied my grandfather, " I
cannot understand how that can be, when you
never come in in time to hear one." The effect
of these few words was magical : there was no
further disturbance.

78 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
The Clarke-street Society was, in its golden
days, as well attended, by an intelligent, wealthy,
and exemplary society, as any in the town.
During the sessions of courts of law, and of
the Legislature, very many of the judges, barris
ters, and political experts, were to be seen in
our homely place, of worship. A few years
later, there was, numerically speaking, a great
falling-off. Many of its aged men and women,
the pillars of the society, had died; and very
many of the younger ones, aspiring to somer
thing more promising than home toil, were
eager, at the first opening, to seek their fortunes
abroad. Thus, by the withdrawal of so many
from active co-operation in church matters,
means for the support of the ministry were
constantly diminishing, and gradually prepared
the way for the minister's departure. In time,
the church-members became reduced to a few
faithful women, who appointed one of their
number, at communion seasons, as deaconess,
to receive from the minister's hands the sacred
emblems, and present them to the communi
cants. I will here insert a reminiscence which had

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 79
escaped me in its proper place. It was cus
tomary in the Second Congregational Church to
hold, once a month, a lecture, preparatory to the
season of communion. It was seldom that
the attendance upon these occasions exceeded
the usual church-members. Shortly after the
late Dr. Channing received ecclesiastical author
ity to preach as a candidate, being on a visit to
Newport, he was invited to deliver the lecture.
It was soon noised about; and, being a great
favorite in the town, an audience greeted him,
such as had never before assembled on a
similar occasion ; and they listened with evident
interest to the sermon, said to be his first, from
the text, Acts iii. 6 : " Silver and gold have I
none; but such as I have, give I thee." It
aimed, by its fervor, earnestness, and practical
bearing, to enlist the sympathy of his hearers in
behalf of true Christian- charity.
I recollect the minister's catechetical exercises
at his house in behalf of the children of his flock.
He asked questions from the only question-book
extant:* and whether they were unanswerable
* Westminster Catechism.

80 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
I am not able to say ; but it is very certain,
that except in a single instance, when my
brother, the late E. T. Channing, responded,
the catechist was compelled to read for our edi
fication both question and answer.
The good minister was often called to visit
the sick and dying, and to baptize infants when
sickness or any other cause rendered it necessary
to perform the rite at home. When sent for at
a late hour of the night, his constitutional timid
ity obliged him to seek companionship. I was
a boarder in his family, and, although young
(between fifteen and sixteen years of age), was
known to be fearless : so I was frequently roused
from my sound sleep to accompany him on his
errands of mercy ; but though I tried to appear
unconscious of his numerous shakings and affec
tionate appeals, yet he always triumphed. On
one of those occasions, an infant, the daughter
of a parishioner in Broad Street, was thought
to be dying with scarlet fever. The minister
knew that Mrs. Pollock had, for this disease, a
remedy which had proved efficacious at the
South : so wishing, if possible, to save the child,
he ventured to call at Mrs. Pollock's house at

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 81
the unseasonable hour of one in the morning-.
It was very chilly ; and it was not until several
blows on the door with the " knocker" that there
was any response. The old lady, at first very
indignant at the fright we had occasioned her,
and at the certain death which she prophesied
would follow her exposure to the night-air, so
far relented as to give the recipe viva voce, with
which we departed, — the pastor full of hope of
being an instrument in God's hand for the re
covery of the child ; and I, in my ignorance, not
a little perplexed (under the information we had
received of the critical condition of the infant)
by his large faith and benevolence. When we
reached the house, we found the child was so
near death, that the rite of baptism must be
hastened, which was too impressively adminis
tered ever to be forgotten by me. The scene
is a's vividly present at this moment as it was
then, sixty-five years ago. Such stillness, such
sweet blending of the voice of prayer with the
heaven-absorbed breathings of the child, were-
enough to have melted a stoic's heart.
Another of my night excursions with our min
ister was as follows : The good man was sum-
6

82 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
moned again to console a family, because its
"head" was missing, or, as the messenger said,.
" was lost." It was so dark when we got into the
street that I meekly suggested, " Our dipt candle
will hardly last for a long search of Mr  ."
The minister answered encouragingly, and we
soon reached the desolate dwelling. The wife,
who had never been separated before from her
husband, and having anxiously waited for his
return until midnight, could think of no one but
her minister to whom she could turn for help.
I faintly asked where Mr.  had dined. The
place was named, — Clarke Street, the very street
where we lived. I, boy-like, dashed off, and
soon had the knocker in my hand, by the help
of which I brought some one to the window,
from whom I learned that the lost man was
safe in bed. I ran back with the tidings ; and
not many days after it was revealed to me, that
the delinquent, usually a temperance man, had
been allured to a dinner-party, and in due time
was rendered incapable of returning to his
home. The circumstances revived in my mind
a wise saying of a prophetess of that day, " It
is always best for the head of a family to be at

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 83
home before dark, or certainly before the nine-
o'clock bell rings, unless his wife is with him."
Conference Meetings. — The first of these
which I attended, was held once a fortnight
in a hall owned by Mrs. Penrose, situated at
the lower end of Church Street, or New-church
Lane, — I cannot remember which. Besides
the devotional exercises, questions in writing,
suggested from Bible readings, were proposed
to the minister of the Second Church, who
was constituted the leader; and answers to
them were rendered at the next session of the
conference. These meetings excited great curiosity at the
time. They were novel, and viewed by some as
an unjustifiable departure from ancient canon
ical rules. Very many texts, hard to find by
the less knowing ones, caused them to be very
anxious to learn their significance. At any
rate, the Bible became a hand-book in my day.
There, were occasional meetings at the pastor's
house. I recollect accompanying my mother
to them. I was quite a go-to-meeting lad. I
delighted in attending those held by the " New

$4 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Lights," when religious experiences were de
fined by the converts. The Indians from Nar
ragansett were frequently present. The church
where these. meetings were held is still stand
ing, — opposite, I believe, the dwelling-house
of the late Dr. Hopkins.
Before taking leave of our meeting-house and
its worthy pastor, I will give an account of my
last visit to it, a few years before it was remod
elled, almost rebuilt, for the use of a Baptist
society. I found it in a most dilapidated state.
There still remained in the ceiling the hole
made by the unlucky tread of one of my small
playmates, and which had been such an eyesore
to our minister as to elicit from' him sermon
after sermon upon the Wonderful beauty and"
grandeur of Solomon's temple, with allusions
to the conventicle of the Covenanters and the
primitive cabin of the Pilgrims, none of whom,
he believed, would have allowed such a blemish
to remain (pointing to it) in the place conse
crated to the worship of God. Being once
riiore in the church of my childhood, I began
gazing above and below, and proceeded to look
in at each pew. On the right hand of the

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 85
broad aisle, at the top, I saw, by the help of a
vivid imagination, my old friends, Mr. and Mrs.
Champlin ; on the left hand opposite was Mr.
Samuel Vernon's pew (always well filled) ; next
in the rear was that of Mr. Benjamin Pierce;
and next behind was the spot occupied by my
parents and their children. In our once well-
filled pew I sat down, and looked up at the most
forlorn pulpit imaginable, and as it were at the
man to whom I did not listen very carefully
from the age of three and one-half to twenty-
one years. I felt bewildered by the ghosts of
the men and women which started up in every
pew and in the galleries, — the men, in coats of
many colors, small-clothes, knee-buckles, silk,
thread, and woolen stockings, shoes with buckles
steel and plated, high-top boots, cocked hats,
and wigs of every shape and hue ; the women,
in huge, sharp-pointed bonnets, well-starched
stomachers, close-fitting gowns, wide belts, many
gold beads, hoop ear-rings, and with gloves
manufactured at "the Point," from sheep-skin,
generally colored blue; — I indeed felt bewil
dered. I know not how long I sat musing : but
at last the fire burned, and from the front gal-

86 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
lery the thunder-and-lightning music ' broke
forth, and the before-dead worshippers (many
with silver-headed canes in hand), uprose and
wheeled to face, as well as to hear, the sweet
music ; and there I once more beheld the choris
ter, Mr. Yeomans,, my earliest musical teacher
and well-tried friend ; and oh, when the frisky
tune of " Ocean " burst forth, how I felt myself
choking with delight, and straining every nerve,
mental and physical, to join in the closing re
frain ! When I settled do-^vn in my old seat,
there seemed to arise before me my old spiritual
teacher, with bands, cassock, gown, silk gloves
out at the finger-ends for convenience when
leaves of the Bible, hymn-book, and sermon
were to be turned, and with a peculiar lurch of
the right hand when some glowing thought was
striving for utterance ; then and there, by force
of memory and the association of the place,
returned to me the very tones which had again
and again lulled me to sleep, despite the nudges
in the side, and the chucks under the chin, more
than a hundred times administered by the better
sort of listeners in the pew. When the pause
after the " grace " was broken, and the crowd

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 87
seemingly vanished, my dream faded with the
last step of Tunbridge, the sexton ; and I rolled
forward without effort from sweet twenty-one
to ripe fifty-one. In quietness I sat alone, and,
as a finale to my visions, deciphered the
" initials " of all the children who had sat in that
same pew, mine amongst the number, scratched
with a pin on the painted board upon which
used to repose Dr. Watts' s Psalms and Hymns.
Our minister was very conscientious, and
his bump of self-denial extra large. The latter
trait is shown in the following anecdote : A
Mr. Manchester, a shoemaker, who lived, where
he worked, near the " Parade," was perhaps
the best workman in his line in the United
States. I doubt if he had his equal in London
or in Paris. The finish and fit of his shoes were
unrivalled. Mr. P., soon after his settlement,
heard of the excellence of Mr. Manchester's
handiwork. On meeting one of his parish
ioners, he acquainted him with the fact of his
having secured the promise of a pair of Mr.
Manchester's shoes. . " Yes," replied his friend,
" Mr. Manchester is a grand workman ; but he
does his best work on Sundavs." On the Mon-

88 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
day morning following this conversation, Mr.
Manchester appeared at the parsonage, holding
an admirable pair of shoes, which the minister
eyed with a dubious look. " Mr. Manchester,
when were these shoes made?" — " They were
made yesterday," was the prompt reply. " Well,"
said the disappointed "divine," "I want the
shoes," handling them quite daintily; "but my
conscience will not allow me to encourage
your desecration of the sabbath;" and so they
parted. Dr. Samuel Hopkins. — This divine was
quite aged when I came on the stage. His
success, if he enjoyed any, must have been
mainly owing to his scholarly reputation and
piety; for he was devoid of all the gifts of
oratory. His voice lacked mellowness and
compass. His manner wanted grace and ear
nestness ; and when my mother compelled me
to attend his services, as she always did when
her own minister was absent, I never forgot the
chill that came over me ; and my only conso
lation was the certainty, that ere long the good
doctor would use the press, rather than the

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 89
pulpit, as a medium for his dark sayings. But
in this I was mistaken ; for he wore the gospel
armor to extreme old age.
Dr. Hopkins was a dogmatist of the " first
water." He adhered, with exceeding pertina
city, to extreme views respecting infant respon-
sibleness, and of man's willingness to suffer any
degree of woe for the glory of God. Whether
such views cropped out in his sermons, I dare
not assert, for I was too young to receive intel
ligibly such ideas ; but I was not too young to
hear the opinions of others respecting them.
The doctor, although tender-hearted as a child,
felt conscientiously bound to advocate dogmas,
peculiarly his own, which, however, caused great
disaffection in the town, and especially among
parents. The knowledge of such advocacy
having been spread abroad, and exciting much
feeling, a young man, a wag in his day,
sketched a caricature (a mere daub) on coarse
paper, of brick-dust color, which vividly illus
trated the painful features of the doctor's dis
courses. It was placarded at the corner of
Mary Street, and caused great sensation. So
unusual a method of opposing opinions had

90 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. -
never before been tried ; and, repulsive as it
was, it did its work then, and required no sub
sequent revival.
One would have supposed from his face,
that the doctor was eminently ill-tempered and
unforgiving. On the contrary, as before inti
mated, he was kind, gentle to a fault, and given
to charitable deeds, even beyond what was pru
dent. His society was mostly composed of
laboring men ; and, but for aid from one mem
ber who was rich, the doctor's funds would
always, have been at a low ebb. He was un
gainly in gait and dress, — wore, when on
horseback, a robe of stuff called at the time
calamanco, a glossy, woollen material, of green
color, which was secured round the waist by
a silk girdle. His head-gear was a red cap,
over a wig. He rode with his arms a-kimbo.
The doctor's manner of life was singularly
simple. His table was spread on Sundays for
the especial benefit of a few aged friends, who
lived afa distance from the meeting-house, hy
two or three individuals, who sent food ready-
cooked for the doctor's guests.
It was an age of contradictions when the

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 91
doctor flourished. His stern, immutable doc
trines were preached, and fiery darts were figu
ratively hurled at men's heads; but not one
word was uttered agairfst intemperance, against
swearing, gambling, and riotous living. The
pulpit then had no anathemas against these
vices. The slave-trade received no rebuke,
save from a few radicals, who, in turn, were
shunned as enemies to good order. Many
young men, of respectable parentage, who had
been my playmates and school-fellows, sank
into the drunkard's grave.
The last time I heard, or rather pretended
to hear, the doctor preach, was one Sunday
when Dr. Pattin was away, or sick. He was
then so physically disabled as to make assist
ance necessary, which was rendered by Mr.
Newport Gardner, the sexton of the church, a
colored man, remarkably intelligent, considering
the slight opportunities he enjoyed for mental
culture. He always accompanied the doctor,
as he advanced in years, into the church, and
up the pulpit stairs. During the introductory
services, he would remain on a little seat out
side the pulpit, fronting the congregation, until

92 EARLY fiECOLLECTIONS.
the parson was fairly underway in the ser
mon, and would then descend to the floor,
keeping his eye on the pulpit until the last
prayer, when he would assist the doctor to his
home, which was but a short distance from
the church.
I read, at the time of its publication, Mrs.
Stowe's celebrated romance, entitled " The
Minister's Wooing." Her representations of
Dr. Hopkins's silent and irresponsible courtship
may have in it a shadowy semblance of truth,
although I must confess my ignorance of any
of the items woven into her matchless fiction.
Dr. Hopkins lived near our house. There were
great talkers in my day ; and every thing in the
shape of a fact, rumor, or legend, concerning
every body and every thing, relating to the past
and present, was sifted and filtered to a nicety
unknown at the present day ; and, if any such
characters existed in connection with the court
ship as shine out in Mrs. Stowe's story, they
would be found in the printed gossip of the
day, or in posthumous history. Dr. Hopkins
lived almost exclusively in his study, plodding
for dear life over his favorite themes. It is im-

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 93
possible, from the nature of the case, that he
could have allowed himself to be suborned into
love-making, after the pattern in the book.
Rev. Theodore Dehon. — I have very pleas
ant recollections of this most truly devout
Christian minister. I was acquainted with him
during his whole ministry in Newport, from
1797 until 1810. I remember with great pleas
ure his kind welcome of me in Charleston,
S.C., in the winter of 1811, whilst I was pre
paring for a voyage, as supercargo . of the ship
" Commodore Preble," bound to Lisbon. Mr.
Dehon received his degree at Harvard College,
in the class of 1795. He was warmly attached
to my eldest brother, who was a member of the
class of 1794. They grew up together ; and it
may truly be said of them, that their souls were
knit as were the souls of David and Jonathan.
Although educated in differing households of
faith, they went hand in hand, and heart to
heart, in the love and fear of God, — each to his
calling; and, in a few years after the death of
my brother, Mr. Dehon followed him to the
heavenly mansions, — as we trust, to renew for

94 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
eternity the friendship which made their early
fife so sweet.
We read in Scripture, that the Jews had no
dealings with the Samaritans. It was the re
fusal of the former to allow the latter to take
part in rebuilding Jerusalem and the ancient
temple that gave rise to the hatred which after
wards existed between the two races. I would
not have any one infer from the above item
in sacred history, that any thing like so bitter
an enmity characterized the differences existing
between the various sects in my day, especially
in the case of the Episcopalians and Congrega
tionalists. But there was a marked lack of
cheerful intercourse in the commonest concerns
of life, and very little everi of a speaking or
bowing acquaintance. I was not old enough
at the time of Mr. Dehon's union with the
" Church of England," as it was then denom
inated in Newport, to understand the ground
of contention between the faith he cherished,
and that of Baptists and Congregationalists;
for they were all Calvinists. Some there were
who charged him with clerical pride, with the
" holier-than-thou " feeling. Mr. Dehon was,

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 95
confessedly, very peculiar — it would be termed
starched at this late day of modern refinement —
in gait, dress, voice, and manner. Others there
were, more charitable, who ascribed his extra
dignified and set ways, in and out of the pul
pit, to a deep consciousness of the sacredness'
of his calling. He was morbidly sensitive on
this point; and a very delicate and nervous
organization rendered this feature of his clerical
character still more apparent.
Notwithstanding the Congregational preju
dices fostered at home, I was frequently per
mitted to attend Mr. Dehon's church, and to
sit in the pew of my highly respected employer,
for whom I was named ; and I often received a
kind pat on the head, when, in answer to the
question, " What is your name ? " the response
was quick, and intended to be effective, — :
" George Gibbs;" dropping for the nonce my
family name. When I grew older, I perceived
this was a childish, artful dodge. I relished very
keenly the soul-inspiring music of blind Birken-.
head, at Trinity Church, played on the best
organ then in America, the gift of George Berk
ley, Bishop of Cloyne. Rev. Mr. Dehon was one

96 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
of the handsomest men in the town ; his com
plexion, very fair and brilliant. His dress, 'for
richness, when compared with the ultra-Puritan
coarseness and undress of other ministers, ren
dered him at times exceedingly conspicuous.
His walk was so measured and apparently
studied, though perfectly natural, that many
playful boys, and especially one who belonged
to his church, and who, I believe, became a min
ister, successfully imitated his gait.
When I contrasted the comparative grandeur
of Trinity- Church architecture and embellish
ments, and its singular impressiveness and
beauty at the Christmas season, with the cold
and cheerless aspect of our dilapidated, unfur
nished meeting-house, I could not withhold an
occasional regret for my connection with the
latter. There were, however, two or three asso
ciations connected with Trinity Church, which.
invariably offended me, young as I was, as
often as I turned my head towards the organ-
loft. I could not bear the crown and mitre
on the top of the organ. I was taught to hate
popery, — I did not know why ; and these signs
of man-worship were too significant for my

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 97
parents' spiritual digestion. In the second
place, during my boyhood, the services of the
church were responded to by a burly, pompous
clerk ; and when he named the psalm or hymn,
as the minister retired to the vestry to part with
the surplice, — prefacing it with "Let us sing
to the praise and glory of God,"- — I felt in no
way inclined to mingle my thin and tiny voice
with the rough and loud intonations of the
chorister, being aware of his bad habit, only too
common at that day, but by no means pleasant,
when connected with church matters. In the
third place, I was early taught to hate slavery ;
and it kindled my youthful ire, when I became
acquainted with the stratagem employed by the
Vestry to conceal the presence of colored people
during service, which was effected by placing a
frame, with pear-shaped apertures, at the side
of the organ, through which they could see the
minister and congregation without being seen.
Mr. Dehon's pulpit services were deservedly
esteemed. Perhaps no minister in the town
influenced, religiously, more minds and hearts
than he. The tone of his discourses was em
phatically serious. His gestures were effective,
7

98 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
and his appeals in behalf of the cause he ad
vocated wonderfully touching. I was strangely
moved at the sight of tears falling from old and
young eyes. It was mysterious to me then, but
not afterwards, when riper years revealed the
charm of Mr. Dehon's eloquence. His sermons
were eminently practical. No one was left in
doubt of the preacher's meaning.
I cannot close this brief sketch of so truly
devout a minister of Christ, without mention
ing the universal respect entertained in my
native place for Bishop Dehon. He was pos
sessed of a most heavenly temper. His printed
discourses evince an intense love of God ; and
hence his entire consecration to the Christian
ministry, which could Jiot fail of inspiring
others with a like affection. Whilst some may
have carped at a peculiar mannerism, not one
disallowed the bishop's mental power and spir
itual worth. It was felt to be a great loss when
he dissolved his connection with the Episcopal
Church in Newport.
During Bishop Dehon's residence in Newport,
he suffered much from an incipient and con
stantly increasing tumor pn the back of the

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 99
neck. It was, perhaps, one of rthe largest
known in surgical practice ; and hence its re
moval involved not a little hazard to life. The
sufferer, after consultation with the most emi
nent surgeons in Boston, determined to abide
the consequences of an operation ; making, pre
viously, all necessary arrangements in case of
an unfavorable issue. It was a terrible affair;
but it happily terminated without loss of life,
and the bishop continued a prosperous ministry
for many years. He died in Charleston, S.C.,
in 1817.
Rev. Michael Eddy. — I leave the " church,"
and come once more to one of the plainest of
meeting-houses ; the one under the pastoral
care of Rev. Mr. Eddy, generally pronounced in
the town Edee. He was a Baptist clergyman,
and no worthier man ever discoursed of heav
enly themes. I was often taken, when quite
young, to his church, — I should have said meet
ing-house, — not far in the rear of the State
House, more frequently called Court House, as
the courts were holden in the Representative
Chamber. Elder Eddy had the most open and

100 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
gladsome countenance imaginable. His smile
was a benediction ; and the grasp of his hand
indicated the possession of a warm heart. I
recollect two very small chandeliers suspend
ed from the ceiling by a blue rope, with here
and there a little wreath of gold leaf. The
chandelier was a block of wood, of circular
shape, with a number of branches, which tempt
ed my gaze oftener than my attendant deemed
proper. A more inelegant thing my better-
educated vision never beheld. The chorister
chewed the tune, and swallowed his words ; for
not one was ever articulated. There was sound
enough, but no substance. Mr. Eddy's voice
seldom expanded beyond the natural conver
sational tone ; and yet there was no lack of
persuasiveness, for his eye entreated when his
voice was most subdued. He always read the
text from a pocket Bible ; and, although he sel
dom quoted from it save by force of memory,
he uniformly held it with -his left hand, and
with the fore-finger between the pages contain
ing the text, so that he might refer to it
whenever it was necessary. I often became
wearied, and somewhat impatient; waiting for

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 101
the " Elder " to remove the finger, and close the
book, which was a visible announcement to the
congregation that the sermon was ended. Once,
I recollect, I mistook the sign, and gave a spring
from the seat to the floor a little too soon, which
mortified our good housekeeper, who had the
care of me. There were several of Elder Eddy's
society who lived on the island, two or three
miles from town, and who were in the habit of
riding to meeting on horseback, the husband in
front, and the wife in the rear, seated on a pil
lion, with her arm round his waist for security.
Two of these, couples — Mr. and Mrs. Joshua
Peckham, and Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Peck-
ham — I always delighted to meet as they ap
proached the horse-block, standing near the
porch of the main door of the meeting-house.
They were goodness personified. Four hap
pier-looking people I never met with.
I do not believe there ever was a minister
more beloved than Mr. Eddy. He was not
extolled on account of intellectual gifts. These
were few, but well ordered. It was self-cul
ture, principally, which rendered him so useful
in his public services. It was his inestimable

102 JEARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
spiritual graces which awakened such intense
love for him, whether in the pulpit or out of
it. I recollect one day, upon reaching home,
I heard the saddest wail from the bedroom
and, upon asking what had happened, was
told that Elder Eddy was dangerously sick
at Bristol, about ten miles from Newport, and
that the news had so completely overwhelmed
Rachel, the good woman who had so often
taken me to her minister's meeting when a
child, as to send her inconsolable to bed. Such
sympathy between the pastor and people was
universal. Mr. Eddy was liberal and catholic towards
all, of whatever name. His warm, sympathetic
word, and ready grasp of the hand, were the
property of the poorest body in the town. He
maintained the dignity of the clerical office,
without repressing innocent expressions of joy
in others. But few men lived so useful and
blameless a life. He took pleasure in fishing
in deep water from the rocks at the Second
Beach, hooking bass, bluefish, and tautog, and
in the harbor for tomcod or perch; and was
equally skilful as a " fisher of men," drawing

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 103
them, 'not with rude jerks, but wifh silken cords.
My brother, William E. Channing, always spoke
of Mr. Eddy with the respect due to an emi
nently good man.
Rev. Gardiner Thurston. — He was the min
ister of the Second Baptist Society in Newport.
The meeting-house was a good-sized, but an
unusually plain edifice. I think it had no
steeple. Notwithstanding its entire want of
external architectural beauty, it possessed an
attraction within, that fully compensated for all
deficiencies. Parson Thurston, as he was called,
had the power of attracting great congregations,
and of attaching to himself not a few friends.
He was not a learned man ; but his working
of the gospel-net proved that " he lived his ser
mons." Old Thomas Fuller somewhere re
marked, that it was said of one who preached
very well and practised very ill, that " when he
was in the pulpit he should never go out of it,
and that when he was out of it he should never
go into it ; " but Rev. Mr. Thurston, whose min
istry was prolonged to nearly half a century, had
a profitable sermon, and an audience, not only

104 EARLY .RECOLLECTIONS.
in the church, but in every house and shop, by
the seaside, at Gravelly Point (where he bap
tized), at the bedside of the sick, and in the
" house of- mourning." He was not dependent
upon a written discourse, but was always pre
pared to contend with sin, and encourage virtue.
He lived at a time when ministers were not
annoyed with hypercritical hearers, always boast
ing of their readiness to eat the bread of
heaven, but only when it was made savory, and
easy of digestion, or after a certain formula.
Their hearers were chiefly among the unedu
cated, just such as heard Christ gladly. They
were comfortable livers and devout worshippers.
They gladly fed on the milk of the word, until,
" grown into the stature of perfect men in Christ
Jesus," they could bear strong meat. The Bible,
when I was a boy, had a far greater number
of readers than it has in this palmy period of
extra-refined civilization. There are legions
of formalists now, but, in Thurston's time, com
paratively few. People flocked to the houses
of worship then, because they were poor in
spirit, hungering for the bread of heaven, and
thirsting for the water of life ; because they

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 105
were deaf, and would have their ears un
sealed ; and were blind, and would see the
way into Canaan. Now, they go up the broad
aisle flaunting their rich brocades, ribbons, and
jewels, and with heads so uncovered, as to
draw down, if that were possible, the ghostly
anathemas of St. Paul ; and if, perchance, while
in the occupancy of their luxuriously cushioned
pews, the minister who is to speak to them of
holy things is of less mental stature than their
accustomed favorite, they scarcely have the grace
to appear to hear the word.
I recollect hearing a contemporary of Parson
Thurston give, as a proof of his conscientious
ness, at a time when the slave-trade was deem
ed a pardonable offence, his absolute refusal to
use his craft (that of a cooper) for the manufac
ture of any description of cask used in the ship
ment of New-England rum "to the coast."
This was a staple commodity in Rhode Island ;
and the high prices offered for casks was an
immense temptation to swerve from duty ; but
the pecuniary sacrifice he bore most cheerfully.
Ministers were often obliged to work with their
hands, as well as with their brain and heart.

106 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Their salaries, many of them, were grievously
small. Rev. Joshua Bradley. — When Parson Thurs
ton was released from ministerial services in
consequence of physical infirmities, the Second
Baptist Society invited Rev. Joshua Bradley to
follow him in the ministry of our Lord. Mr.
Bradley was quite young, of less than average
height, of compact frame, with hair of raven
blackness, and with a voice of great compass.
He would be considered at the present day a
sensational or revival preacher. During his
ministry of six years, his church increased be
yond the rate of any previous period. The
baptismal rite by immersion occurred once a
month ; and the candidates were so numerous
as to render necessary the use of a week day
for the performance of the rite. The throng of
spectators added to the excitement of the scene.
The place selected was south of the " Blue
Rocks," so called, near the shipyard where
the " Mount Hope " was built, on Washington
Street. Oftentimes a strong south-west wind
would so disturb that portion of the harbor as

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 107
apparently to make the administration of the
ordinance fearfully hazardous. But the young
divine was never daunted ; and, by going off
into deep water, the physical effort was rendered
comparatively easy. Till I got accustomed to
the sight, it was very painful ; yet its attraction
was irresistible.
I have pleasant recollections of the singing-
school under the direction of Deacon Babcock,
whose sacred concerts were generally well at
tended. I was one of his pupils. I also recol
lect a great snow-storm which happened about
the time of Mr. Bradley's ministry, from the cir
cumstance that the immense front door of his
meeting-house was barricaded from top to bot
tom with a drift of such dimensions as to
require many days' shovelling before entrance
could be obtained. It was the greatest fall of
snow within the experience " of the oldest in
habitant." Elder Bliss. — I have spoken of him during
a day's experience when he kindly officiated for
Dr. Pattin, who had but recently recovered from
a severe illness. He was a Sabbatarian, or Sev-

108 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
enth-day Baptist. When very aged, he attempted
to perform the rite of baptism at " Gravelly
Point;'' and, whether from physical infirmity
or from slipperiness of the ground, he stumbled
and fell, with her whom he held by the hand, in
deep water, causing great consternation. They
were shortly extricated ; and this was the last
public religious service in which he engaged.
Rev. Frederick Smith. — He was minister
of the Moravian Church, or " United Brethren."
I used occasionally to attend his meetings, held
in one of the humblest-looking buildings, near
my mother's house. Charles King, the cele
brated portrait-painter, and one of my play
mates, whose religious education was in
harmony with this sect, used to call for me
that I might accompany him to the church.
Certain evenings were devoted to the reading
of missionary reports, in an upper chamber ;
for the church and the pastor's house were
under the same roof. This upper room I shall
retain the recollection of as long as my memory
lasts : it was so faintly lighted as to render
objects somewhat ghostly; and then the min-

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. 109
ister's voice was peculiarly dismal, and so em
barrassed by an impediment as to render atten
tion very painful. I often became wearied,
and my head would drop, indicating unseemly
drowsiness, which my companion tried to over
come by a frequent nudge. The seats of the
church were made of planed boards, with nar
row backs. The music was always of a plain
tive type. I rejoiced when " love-feasts " were
announced from the pulpit, to be held on cer
tain evenings, open to all who could contrib
ute a coin, — a fourpence-ha'penny, once in com
mon use, but now very rare. At these love-
feasts, after remarks from the minister tracing
them back to apostolic times, little cups of
very nice chocolate, with a savory bunn, were
presented to each guest, young and old, girls
and boys, in exchange for the little coin, al
ways forthcoming.
When last in Newport, I made a point of
looking up my Moravian friends ; but learned
that the sect had there become extinct, and that
the building which they had occupied had been
converted into a public school.

110 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
Rev. Mr. Mervin. — This gentleman was
minister of the Methodist Church. I enjoyed
his preaching, as it was less prosaic than the
usual style of other churches in town. The
music was more fiery and emphatic than else
where. It exhilarated me ; and I loved to catch
and repeat their high-toned choruses. _ My taste
for this form of worship has never died out.
Rev. John Murray. — Although an unac
credited minister, his visits to Newport were so
frequent, and his preaching so sensational, that
I should feel my record incomplete without ref
erence to a few recollections of his varied gifts.
Almost all the ministers were afraid of him,
because of his mental and elocutionary gifts.
He was held as a disturber of the peace, a very
incendiary. When he was informed, from time
to time, of the wretched " Laodicean " plight
of . the Newport churches, he would hasten
there, his soul overflowing with the doctrine
of " Universal Amnesty." He rang so many
beautiful changes on this theme, that none
ever tired. He obtained the lower hall of the
State House for his meetings, which were some-

MEETING-HOUSES, CHURCHES, MINISTERS. Ill
times threatened with disturbances, but which
never affected his straightforward preaching.
He never lost an opportunity of disturbing the
" dry bones " of sectarianism. He was nomi
nally Orthodox ; believed in a qualified " Trin
ity," and in an unqualified "Atonement," minus
the vicarious clause. The Universalist dogma,
" Salvation to all," was the beginning and the
• end of the Murray school. I shall never forget
the unction with which he used to read the
doxology, commencing with —
"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow."
The peculiar salubrity of the climate of
Newport attracted a large number of clergy
men from various quarters during the summer
months. The fact, that many intelligent South
erners made it their home, drew attention to
its charms ; and even then were quite notice
able the handsome carriages and gay horses
which they kept.
Besides the ministers already named in this
chapter, I remember listening frequently to
Rev. Messrs. Griswold, of Bristol ; Crocker, of
Providence ; Gano, from Providence ; Holmes,

112 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
from Cambridge ; Morse, from Charlestown ;
Parish, from Byfield ; Osgood, from Medford ;
and Gardner, of Boston. The arrival of these
gentlemen, from time to time, caused a great
stir in town ; and the churches, for the time
being, were thronged by those who seldom at
tended church, except to hear " some new
thing." I was struck with the appearance of
Rev. Jedediah Morse. He was tall, slim, cadav
erous; and, owing to the thinness of his long
neck, he felt obliged to wear an immense stock.
Dr. Gardner, of , Trinity Church, Boston, was
wonderfully presentable, — of good figure and
expressive countenance. He had one peculiar
habit, — that of carrying an umbrella, howevej
fair the weather. His mode of reading was
admirable, — a gift to which no other clergy
man, during his day, could lay claim.

LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE. 113

CHAPTER VI.
LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE.
" The good legal advocate is one that will not plead a cause wherein
his tongue must be confuted by his conscience."
TT was a very common thing, when I was
young, for lads to attend court between
school hours. The judge was, to them, an
awful personage, sitting apart on a high seat.
The opening ceremony by the crier, with his
Oyes, oyes, oyes, had a sensible effect upon the
bar and witnesses, commanding silence. My
attention was directed to subordinate officers,
with arms full of buff-colored books, which were
placed in front of the bar. I understood better
their purpose as I grew older. Instead of the
judge charging the jury, so universal at the
present day, the court* were passive listeners
to the law authorities, as quoted by the counsel,
pro and con, in support of their several argu-
* Court of Common Pleas.
S

114 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
ments. Whe"n the juries were bidden to retire
in order to consider the cause of action, and
make up their verdict, the books and papers
used in the trial were taken by the sheriff or
his deputies to the lobby, and from thence to
the jury room.
It was a very exciting day in Newport when
the Circuit Court of the United States held its
semi-annual sessions. Especially was this the
case when it was noised about that distin
guished legal combatants were to argue. I
perfectly well recollect contests between dis
tinguished lawyers of Connecticut; and be
tween Otis and Dexter, of Massachusetts, —
Judge Cushing (almost superannuated, as I
thought) on the bench. At another time, I
witnessed a most important legal battle fought
by the last two advocates. Each had an assist
ant at the opening. One of these, from Prov
idence, R.I., was so homely, that a gerieral
impression prevailed, that no case could be suc
cessful, if managed by so uncomely a person ;
but Mr. Otis, the accomplished pleader, was too
wise to be the slave of appearances. He knew
his man, 'and, as the case progressed, gave sig-

LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE. 115
nificant proof of his confidence in the legal
brother. This gentleman exhibited so much
legal talent, that his great personal disadvan
tages became less and less apparent as he made
his case clear. Eloquent, legal sparring never
failed attracting a multitude of listeners to the
Court House. I may be permitted to indulge in
an episode relating to the impression made
upon a youthful mind by these two distin
guished men.
Mr. Otis, as already referred to, was of ordi
nary stature ; but he could at pleasure assume a
lofty air, which had the effect at once of engi
neering successfully the cause he had in hand
into the good graces of the jury. His manner
was wonderfully winning ; his voice, melodious,
clear, and of great compass, and as flexible as a
child's. He was ever ready to concede what
ever of right reasoning there was in his oppo
nent's argument, but never failed to denounce
severely equivocation or falsehood. Mr. Otis
was, by nature, a rhetorician of the first rank.
He never handled his weapons lightly, unless his
adversary's cause was weak, when pity mingled
with contempt, and he left him to the tender

116 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
mercies of the jury. In action, Mr. Otis was
graceful. " He suited the action to the word "
in that just proportion which always rivets
attention ; and his statements were so candidly
and accurately rendered, that they were even
seldom questioned. If, in arguing a cause,
some features of it struck him as likely to em
barrass the Court, he would, without awakening
a suspicion of his motive, gently and gradually
anticipate objections, and thus fortify himself in
advance against any attack from his adversary.
Mr. Samuel Dexter was a very different sort
of man. He had a hard face, very much of the
Huguenot type, a dark complexion, a compressed
mouth, a telling eye, and a majestic presence.
His voice was round, his articulation so perfect
that no word was lost by a ready listener. He
seldom gesticulated, and lacked the grace and
fervor that distinguished Mr. Otis. There was
no horizontal pointing of the finger, nor graceful
waving of the arm, with him, as with Mr. Otis.
He was a believer in strict legalism. Every
question at law in his mind had to be reduced as
any problem in mathematics, so as to be meas
ured, weighed, and numbered. He seemed to

LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE. 117
disdain metaphor. He never attempted to gain
a cause by smooth pleading, rhetorical flour
ishes, or questionable illustrations. He would
brush away all such advocacy as a mere imper
tinence. He was a strong man ; an honest man.
He never sought a client, and never lost one.
As it was often the case in the management
of important legal questions before the United-
States Court for Rhode-Island District to em
ploy distinguished lawyers from neighboring
States, I have ventured, as prefatory to notices
of the principal advocates connected more im
mediately with the Newport bar, to introduce
sketches of two eminent lawyers of Massachu
setts, who were frequently pitted against each
other at the above-mentioned tribunal. The
recollections in respect to these gentlemen are
ingrained in my memory. As far as they go, I
feel sure they are correct, though, doubtless,
some persons are still living who may retain
of them a better memory. I seem to see and
hear Mr. Otis and Mr. Dexter to-day, as dis
tinctly as in Newport more than half a century
ago. I have drawn the outlines of their por
traits accurately ; and, if my coloring is called

118 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
in question, that is a matter of taste, for which
I do not feel responsible.
The most eminent Newport lawyers were,
during my time, Asher Robbins, William Hunter,
and Benjamin Hazard.
Mr. Robbins united the power of strict legal
analysis with great forensic and rhetorical gifts.
In cases of appeal, demanding pathos, he was ad
mirable. He insinuated himself into the hearts
of jurymen, by the sly way to which Curran
once had successful recourse ; viz., that of an
ticipating his opponent's arguments, and then,
in a very felicitous manner, exposing their weak
points. As a statesman and politician, he held
a high rank ; and some of the most influential
members of the United-States Senate bore their
testimony to his fidelity in committee matters,
and to his signal ability in preparing and dis
cussing topics of interest to the State which he
represented, and which were also of wider ap
plication. Mr. Robbins's voice was often embar
rassed, apparently, by a chronic complaint of
the lungs, but which never hindered the per
formance of all his professional and public
duties.

LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE. 119
Hon. William Hunter. — Hardly any legal
advocate sustained himself with greater ability
than this gentleman. I have many pleasant
recollections of the graceful and forcible manner
with which he addressed a jury or a politi
cal meeting. Especially at the latter was he
deemed indispensable, when exciting subjects
were to be agitated. It was my good fortune
to listen to several declamations by a brilliant
Scotch orator of the name of Ogilvie, at the
Masonic Lodge building. His manner strik
ingly resembled that of Mr. Hunter. The only
drawback to the success of the latter as a pub
lic speaker was an apparent enlargement of
the tongue, which prevented rapid and distinct
articulation ; and yet he was successful in the
assembly and in court. I had occasion to visit
him frequently with messages from my employ
ers, but never found him so absorbed in office
matters as to be visibly disturbed by such in
trusions. Wifh mercantile jurisprudence Mr.
Hunter was well acquainted ; and, as the com
mercial marine of Newport supplied ample ma
terial for litigation, Mr. Hunter had his full share
in the settlement of these suits. It was not

120 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. ,
only at the bar that he became distinguished ;
but in the Senate of the United States, asso
ciated with Mr. Burrill, he labored, although
unsuccessfully, for the prevention of the " Mis
souri Compromise." Subsequently, Mr. Hunter
received honorable mention as minister of the
United States at the court of Brazil.
Benjamin Hazard. — This gentleman was
one of the best chamber or advisory lawyers in
the State. He seemed to delight in a knotty
case. It was then that his coolness, patience,
and collectedness in unravelling legal subtleties
became evident, and hence his reliableness in
all difficult cases. In important legal issues,
lawyers of celebrity in other States, as already
alluded to, were retained. I well recollect one
from the State of Connecticut, who, in pleading,
seemed to be unable to hold " the thread of his
discourse " without the constant use of a hand
kerchief drawn alternately through the thumb
and fingers of each hand. In a like manner,
Mr. Hazard seemed to feel the necessity of a
frequent recourse to his snuff-box. Mr. Hazard
was no orator, like Hunter or Robbins. He in-

LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE. 121
dulged in no flights of fancy. It was not in
his way; but he had a way — a "dry way,"
some called it — of mapping out his case with
" buts and bounds," and so accurately as to
rivet the attention of court and jury, and, better
still, secure for his client a favorable verdict.
Although a mere lad, I frequently found myself
listening with pleasure to this acute and able
counsellor. Besides the members of the profession al
ready alluded to, our courts were attended by a
galaxy from the Providence bar. There was
Burrill, the legal logician ; Searle, keen as a
razor, and skilful beyond precedent in foiling
an adversary; Crapo, not handsome, but with
sense enough to make one forget externals ;
Bridgham, dry, classical, and persevering;
Bourne, ponderous and magisterial ; and Bur
gess, sensational. No man could make such a
ferment in an audience as the latter.
I have dwelt more at length upon items of
legal practice than some of my readers may
have deemed necessary, because of the benefit
and pleasure which attendance upon courts of

122 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
law in early life afforded me. Very many legal
" precedents " aided me in after-life. Even the
direct and cross examination of witnesses helped
me not a little in the study of evidence, and
impressed me with the need of teaching and
enforcing the principles of moral science in the
schools of the day ; for it was painful to ob
serve how the constant habit of profane swear
ing had almost obliterated from the public mind
the sacred obligation of an oath.
An Interesting Controversy.' — While an
apprentice to Gibbs & Channing, I became ac
quainted with a lawsuit of long standing, which
increased in bitterness as years rolled on. The
cost of litigation to both parties vastly exceeded
the sum at issue. I once heard Mr. Channing
express his deep regret, that when the parties
met at Mr. Gibbs's house in Newport, and he
appointed mediator, with a view to a compro
mise of the matter in dispute, he did not take
the responsibility of paying out of his own
pocket the sum about which the parties differed.
The question at law arose from a construc
tion entertained by the plaintiff, as to the le-

LAWYERS. — LEGAL PRACTICE. 123
gitimate meaning of a letter addressed by the
defendant to him, which letter was as follows : —
N. R., Esq. Providence, Jan. 20, 1796.
Dear Sir, — Our friends, Messrs. R. M. & Co.,
merchants in New York, having determined to enter
largely into the speculation of rice, and other articles
of your produce, in Charleston, but being entire stran
gers there, they have applied to us for letters of intro
duction to our friend. In consequence of which, we
do ourselves the pleasure of introducing them to your
correspondence as a house on whose integrity and punc
tuality the utmost dependence may be placed. They
will write you' the nature of their intentions ; and you
may be assured of their complying fully with any con
tracts or engagements they may enter into with you.
The friendship we have for these gentlemen induces
us to wish you will render them every service in your
power. At the same time, we flatter ourselves the cor
respondence will prove a mutual benefit.
We are, with sentiments of esteem, dear sir,
Your most obedient servants,
(Signed) C. & JST.
The foregoing letter was received by Mr. R.,
and held by him as a regular mercantile letter
of credit ; and he did, in accordance with it and
upon its receipt, purchase, in behalf of said

124 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
R. B. M. & Co., Southern produce, amounting
to twenty-five thousand dollars, for which sum
they drew in favor of Mr. R., on C. & N, which
"hills were refused payment, and protested. An
action was brought by Mr. R. vs. C. & N, and
argued before the Circuit Court for Rhode-Island
District, and a verdict for the full amount re
turned in favor of the plaintiff. An appeal was
made to the next Circuit Court of the same dis
trict, which issued in favor of Mr. R. It was
then taken to Pennsylvania District, when the
decision resulted in favor of C. & N:, the de
fendants. Subsequently v the case was carried
up to the Supreme Court of the United States
at Washington, at the February tertn, 1813, and
decided against Mr. R. Thus, seventeen years
were occupied in settling the meaning of a
plain, straightforward mercantile letter. Mr. R.
not only lost the sum for which he brought the
action, but not less than twenty thousand dol
lars in costs.
I commend the foregoing reminiscence to the
attention of business men, if I should have such
for my readers.

PHYSICIANS. — MEDICAL PRACTICE. 125
CHAPTER VII.
PHYSICIANS.  MEDICAL PRACTICE.
" We should become anxious rather to take care of health when
we have it, than first to lose it, and then exert ourselves to recover it."
" Health is that which makes the bed easy, sleep refreshing, that
revives strength, promotes cheerfulness, makes the body plump and
comely, which dresseth it up in Nature's richest attire, and adorns the
face with her choicest colors." — Advice of an Eminent Physician.
"IV TY recollections embrace a familiar ac
quaintance with those devoted profes
sionally to the healing art. Quackery was not
the sin of my day and generation. Simple phys
ical maladies were cured by the mildest domes
tic treatment: viz., wormwood tea, as an emetic;
oil, for constipation ; balm and sage, for colds ;
salt and vinegar, as gargles ; burdock and mus
tard, for poultices. These constituted the fam
ily " cure-alls." Pills, tinctures, healing-plasters,
blisters, powders, fitted to cope with grave or
acute diseases, were never administered, save
by direction of thoroughly educated physicians.
One or two men there were in town who
claimed, by authority of " seventh-son " descent,

126 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
the power to work miraculous cures, — the power
since claimed by " mediums," under the sanction
of " spiritualism." It was a pure allopathic age ;
homoeopathy and hydropathy were not yet born ;
and hence bleeding, blistering, and physicking
remained for years the general rule. I shall
never forget the screams of children when under
treatment. They would begin whining at the
first clatter of the spoon in the cup of healing ;
and when the napkin under the chin was well
tucked in, and the little hands were held as in a
vice, then came the tug of infantile and motherly
war. Such crying ! such choking! — oh! who
can adequately describe the struggle, as of
life and death ? The first sign of interference
with allopathy appeared upon the importation
from England of a variety of patent medicines;
such as Solomon's Balm of Gilead, Mrs. God
frey's Cordial, Dalby's Carminative, and the like.
These were heralded by immense placards, sur
mounted by the " Lion and the Unicorn," from
many apothecaries' windows. Now, these cor
dials were just so many hot drops, obtained
under pretence of innocent medication, but, in
fact, only for stimulating purposes. There were

PHYSICIANS.  MEDICAL PRACTICE. 127
hard drinkers in 1795, besides those who fre
quented tap-houses.
I was well acquainted with most of the phy
sicians in the town. Dr. Isaac Senter was at
the head of his profession, and was equally dis
tinguished in surgery. In size, in height, and
in countenance, he presented the finest specimen
of manly beauty in Newport. His mental gifts
were rare, his character was blameless, his con
versation delightful. He was our family physi
cian. I have spoken of him once before, as the
fearless practitioner, when so many denounced
the idea of small-pox inoculation. Dr. Senter
exerted a sort of enchantment when summoned
to a sick-bed. If the case demanded only
" simples," his smile proved more potential than
his recipe. If the symptoms indicated serious
disease, he would most happily blend treatment
both serious and encouraging. His death was
universally lamented. At home, and in distant
lands, the highest commendation was awarded
him for medical and surgical superiority. I
shall ever retain a vivid recollection of the
Sunday when Dr. Pattin discoursed in the
morning upon the death of Washington, and

128 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
in the afternoon presented, ably and forcibly,
the reasons why the departure of such a man
as Dr. Senter should be lamented, and his mem
ory embalmed. Notwithstanding my youth and
consequent inexperience as regards death-scenes,
I shall hold fast, to the latest hour of my life,
the mournful aspects of our house of worship,
the subdued voice of the singers, the unusual
emphasis of the preacher, — all tending to ren
der that day one of the most noteworthy within
my recollection.
Dr. Jonathan Easton. — I always .entertained
great respect for this patriarchal professor of
the healing art. He blended so much benignity
of manner with his medicine, as to render the
bitter comparatively sweet. I am not aware of
the extent of his practice; but, in many of the
most respectable families, he inspired the utmost
confidence. I have reason to cherish the most
grateful recollections of this estimable physician
and valued citizen. When suffering from a se
vere eruption on the back, I consulted a young
but very popular doctor, who, on examination,
confessed he had never witnessed a similar case.

PHYSICIANS. — MEDICAL PRACTICE. 129
I was compelled to relinquish my usual busi
ness, and spent much of my time in Mr. Charles
Feke's apothecary shop. Whilst there one morn
ing, Dr. Easton came in, and Mr. Feke stated my
case. Upon examination, the doctor decided it
was an aggravated attack of " shingles ; " and
gave a prescription, which, in three, days, effected
a cure. The pain incident to this case was ter
rible; very much like that from needle punctures,
constantly increasing in number and sharpness.
Dr. Edmund T. Waring. — He had much of
the grace of manner of Dr. Senter, in whose
footsteps he evidently aimed to walk. He was
affable, and possessed a sweet voice. He had
no small talk. Sympathy in behalf of aged,
infirm, and querulous persons he expressed so
delicately, that he never lost a friend, nor gained
an enemy. He had a pale, thoughtful, express
ive face. He was born at the South, and in
herited Southern tendencies. His temperament
was even, which aided him in distinguishing
one disease from another. His native politeness
never prevented, in exigent cases, his announ
cing a decision, however opposed to the opinions

130 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
of his patients. He was a thoroughly educated
physician. He married the eldest daughter of
Hon. Francis Malbone.
Dr. William Turner. — This gentleman, in
person, presented a striking contrast to Dr. Sen
ter in height and size ; but his sinewy frame
was equal to any amount of professional labor.
He was very active, and of rather a nervous
temperament, as I always thought. His face
denoted firmness ; his manners were the reverse
of showy ; and his directions were free from
wordiness. He was just the man to contend
with a severe and complicated disease, and
hence was frequently consulted in difficult
cases. I recollect perfectly his management of
a case (malignant typhus) at the residence of
Mr. Robert Rogers, on the Parade. The sub
ject, Mr. Henry Flagg, a Southerner, was a
particular friend of mine ; and I was sum
moned, in company with Mr. John Slocum, to
watch with the patient. It was one of the
coldest nights in December ; and, so violent was
the disease, we were compelled to extinguish
the fire on the hearth, and to keep one window

PHYSICIANS. — medical practice. 131
partially open. It seemed, humanly scanned, a
case beyond the control of medicine or of stim
ulants : but Dr. Turner remained unmoved ; and,
at a moment when every one present deemed
death near at hand, he discerned a symptom (a
certain sign to him of recovery), and gave direc
tions pertinent to a case of convalescence. In
a few days, many hearts were cheered with the
news of the young man's recovery.
I knew by name other physicians ; viz., Mason,
King, and Hazard, who were well reputed, and
had their full share of practice. In a few in
stances, distirtguished medical men were sent for
from Boston and Providence. I remember, in
the distressing sickness of Mr. Gibbs, which
proved fatal, there were in attendance from the
towns just named, Drs. Bowen, Danforth, and
Warren. Besides the regular surgical practice,
there was a famous bone-setter, by the name
of Sweet, who lived in Narragansett, aud from
whom have descended many men, bone-setters,
living principally in Rhode Island and Connec
ticut, and whose skill, it is said, has been ac
knowledged in a great number of instances.

132 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER VIII.
COMMERCE.
" The band of commerce was designed
To associate all the branches of mankind ;
And, if a boundless plenty be the robe,
Trade is the golden girdle of the globe."
/^WING to the unrivalled excellence of
Newport Harbor, it was, very early in
the settlement of the island, considered a most
important site for naval and mercantile ship
building. It happened to be the only port
accessible, with the wind strong at north-west,
which, being almost a " trade-wind " in the win
ter months, afforded a good harbor and safe
anchorage to a host of vessels in the inner
harbor, and a glorious roadstead for ships and
frigates of any tonnage. The frigate General
Greene was built by Mr. Gibbs, for the Gov
ernment. She was commanded by Christopher
Perry, father of O. H. Perry, of Lake-Erie fame.
The sloop-of-war Warren was built at Warren.
Nearly all of the United- States vessels were

COMMERCE. 133
fitted for sea at Newport. It was a grand sight,
— the arrival and departure of so many gallant-
looking ships, among them the Constitution
(afterwards hailed as Ironsides), the Congress,
President, and United States, The Congress, I
well recollect, was entirely rigged, and furnished
with ample cables, from Mr. Francis Brinley's
ropewalk. Another reason why Newport was
used for naval and commercial marine purposes
was the mildness of its climate. Southerners,
as already referred to, discovered this pleasant
circumstance, caused by the warm current of
sea-water from the Gulf of Mexico, which laves
the shores around Newport, preventing the accu
mulation of floating ice, or of an ice blockade ;
and thus serving to increase its value as a port
of entry and departure.
Mr. Gibbs was at one time more extensively
engaged in mercantile pursuits than any other
man in New England. His books prove this.
He transacted the greater part of the wholesale
business in his native State, in Connecticut, and
in a good part of Massachusetts. Notwithstand
ing its limited bbundaries, its small population,
its lack of hard timber, and its whole southern

134 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
border frowning with rocks, the town survived
many commercial rubs, and at one time ri
valled New York. At the time when Mr. Gibbs
wielded an immense capital (for those days),
and when he took into partnership Mr. Walter
Channing, the business of the place assumed
an importance hardly to be credited at this day.
Very many of the richest men in New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to-day, are
the descendants of men whose wealth had its
rise and growth from their connection, as agents,
with these two distinguished men.
My mercantile apprenticeship commenced in
the spring of 1804, and continued until my
majority, late in 1811. As I happened to be
the youngest of Gibbs & Channing's employes,
I was expected to take the whole care of the
store ; viz., to open and close the doors, to make
the fires, sweep the floors, dust the furniture,
and arrange the books in daily use. No re
quired duty was to be neglected, however menial,
which circumstances might render necessary. I
recollect on one occasion, when a vessel was just
leaving, that certain articles, indispensable for
the voyage, had been left in the porch of the

COMMERCE. 135
store ; and I was summoned to take them, as
speedily as possible, to the wharf. I seized a
wheelbarrow, loaded it, and ran through Thames
Street at the busiest hour, meeting sundry young
ladies (who did not withhold the usual nod of
recognition on account of my servile employ
ment), and reached the vessel just as she was
being loosened from the wharf. I never lost
caste by that act; and, during a long life, I
have never shunned carrying a bundle from
fear of offending " eyes polite."
Boys apprenticed to any business were not
permitted to be in bed after sunrise, however in
clement the weather. I recollect a day in win
ter, one of unusual severity for Newport, and
one declared by "the oldest inhabitant" never
to have been surpassed, — the streets a glare
of ice, and trees losing their branches from the
weight of the icicles, — I recollect, that on such
a morning, before daybreak, I was on hand at
the store of my employers, and had all things
in readiness at that early hour for the partner
whose business it was to prepare answers to
letters (received at night), for the morning's
mail. The watchmen were often alarmed by

136 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
the fire and lamp-light streaming through the
shutters, and would raise an alarm note, which
was immediately hushed by an explanation
from the " youngest apprentice." There were
three clerks ; viz., Julius Auboyneau (to whom
I became warmly attached), Rodolphus Mal
bone (son of Francis Malbone), and Mr. Joseph
Lopez. They were all of them as accurate and
expert book-keepers as was possible under so
defective a system as that of " single entry."
The Italian method, by " double entry," so uni
versally adopted now, was either not known in
my time, or, if known, not deemed preferable to
that already in use.
That I may convey some idea of the extent
of the business transacted by my employers, ]
will name the vessels belonging to them whilst
I was in their service: viz., ships Russell,
George and Mary, Friendship, Eagle, Hercules
Courtney, Commerce, Washington, and Mount
Hope ; brigs Sally, John, and Brandywine ; and
schooner Federal. These vessels were sent to
Batavia, St. Louis, Isle of Bourbon, Havana,
Surinam, Holland, London, Denmark, Sweden,
Russia, Trieste, and France. Amongst_ the

COMMENCE. 137
masters of- these vessels were John and William
Wood, Henry Hudson, John Earl, David M.
Coggeshall, William Cozzens, Robert Lawton,
John Boit, and Benjamin H. Rathbone. The
casualties to the above-named vessels numbered
only three : viz., ship Russell was captured by
the French, and sent to Isle of France ; ship
Hercules Courtney, captured; and the ship
Washington, a magnificent new ship, built on
the Point, was shipwrecked, and totally lost,
near Cronstadt, Russia. The most successful
voyages, five in number, were those of the
Mount Hope; Captain Boit, Francis Malbone
supercargo, to the Isle of France. She was one
of the largest Indiamen then known amongst
us, about, six hundred measurement tons. Her
freight was about one hundred and twenty
thousand Spanish milled dollars, a large sum
for those days. After the fifth voyage, she was
sold to Mr. Haskett Derby, of Salem, who made
a voyage in her to Rio, thence to London and
Lisbon. At the latter place, he invested his
funds in merino sheep at very high cost, but not
too high, if the season of the year had been the
early spring, instead of early winter." Upon ar-

138 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
riving in New York, Mr. Derby found himself
embarrassed for want of accommodations for
his large flock. The Government allowed him
a space near the then Custom House, upon
which to erect buildings for temporary shelter.
The temperature became so cold, and so differ
ent from the usual climate of Portugal, that it
was next to impossible by artificial means to
protect such delicately constituted animals ; and
a large, nay, much the largest, number perished.
The consequence was, Mr. Derby made a bad
business of it; and the Mount Hope changed
hands, and was turned into a whaleman.
There were other distinguished merchants in
Newport; viz. Messrs. Christopher Champlin,
George Champlin, Samuel Vernon, Robert Ste
vens, sen., Deblois, and others. The elder Mr.
Champlin headed the list It was said of him,
that he never would permit a vessel of his to go
to sea on a Friday. Whether this idiosyncrasy
grew out of some painful association in his
mind relating to " Good Friday," or from some
other cause, I was never able to determine.
Mr. George Champlin, a most quiet, unobtru
sive man, exerted an admirable influence in the

COMMERCE. 139
town by his uniform fairness in his daily busi
ness. He never wronged in number, weight, or
measure, or in his landmarks and shipmarks.
He never demanded more for an article than he
was willing to take, expecting to be beaten
down. He never made work for lawyers : if he
ever sought one, it was more to have the advan
tage of his services as a mediator, than as an
advocate. He, indeed, was a true representa
tive of the " good merchant." Mr. Robinson
Potter, S. T. Northum, Bowen & Ennis, Henry
Bull, and many others, gave celebrity to " little
Rhody." Messrs. Brown & Ives, and Clarke &
Nightingale, of Providence, had large dealings
with Newport.
The coasting trade added immensely to the
life of the place. Most of the importations
from abroad were sent off in schooners and
sloops to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Bal
timore, Norfolk, and Alexandria, — consigned
principally to Minturn & Champlin, of New
York; John Parker, of Boston; John Maybin,
of Philadelphia; Henry Payson, of Baltimore;
Christopher Fry, of Norfolk ; and John G. Ladd,
of Alexandria; and the Providence merchants

140 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
named above. In return for these shipments,
goods suited for foreign markets were ordered.
None of the commercial marine of Newport
were sent to other ports to be loaded.
Besides the coasting trade, Newport was en
livened from day to day by the arrival and de
parture of very handsome and commodious
packet sloops, used in part as passenger boats ;
they were elegantly finished and furnished ; the
latest of these was named the Golden Age,
which was owned by Captain Perry, who was
also proprietor of a line of stages, called the
"commercial line," which ran daily between
Newport and Boston. This undertaking origi
nated in the hope of avoiding the tedium and
great cost attending the stage-coach system of
travelling between Boston and New York ; and
it was soon discovered that the route from Bos
ton vid Newport and the Sound was vastly the
easiest, and was very generally adopted. This
arrangement continued until the veteran Bun
ker brought the old and sure steamer Con
necticut on the route ; and then boating by
wind-power very much declined. During the
period of " packeting," it was no unusual thing,

COMMERCE. 141
when the wind was at north-east, at Newport,
for the best sloops to reach Peck Slip, New
York, in sixteen to seventeen hours; and the
same from New York, with the wind free and
full at south-west, would land passengers in the
same time in Newport. This commercial ma
rine record would be imperfect without some
reference to the great amount of labor required
for repairing, graving, caulking, rigging, loading
and unloading, of vessels arriving and depart
ing in the regular way, and for aid to vessels
driven into the harbor by stress of weather. In
connection with this last class, I well recollect
the arrival of a Boston ship, driven into the
" West Passage " by a violent gale from south-
south-east, and almost stranded whilst in near
neighborhood to a dangerous shoal. Intelli
gence was brought to Newport vid Conannicut.
When I heard of the disaster, I asked my em
ployer, Mr. Channing, to allow me time to send
off relief. This was granted ; and, although the
attempt was thought to be fearfully dangerous,
I was so successful as to enlist the aid of a
dozen experienced seamen, who obtained a stiff
and safe sloop, on board of which I placed haw-

142 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
sers, a cable, and anchor ; and, in a few hours
after sunrise, they were under way, and, not
long afterwards, were alongside the ship, heavily
laden with sugar, and just in time to save her
from being stranded. I felt rather elated at my
success, especially after having heard, from sev
eral sea-captains, all sorts of unfavorable predic
tions. Had my love of sea adventures been
fostered, I might have turned out another Anson
or Selkirk, or Captain Dampier; but my wise
maternal guardian reverenced the adage, that
" a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,"
too well to license any thing like Quixotism in
her progeny.
The business of Gibbs & Channing required
the daily employment of four truckmen. Their
names were Castoff, two Richmonds, and Wil-
bour. The number of workmen in various
offices, on ship-board and on the wharves, aver
aged fifty. It was quite a sight every Saturday,
near sundown, to witness the crowd, now and
then a hundred men, who gathered about the
counting-house door on the wharf side, to be
paid for the week's work. This department
was assigned to me for a number of years.

COMMERCE. 143
The money was drawn in bills, small denomina
tion, and silver change, from the Bank of Rhode
Island, and so arranged as to facilitate the pay
ments in " no time," understood, in my day, to
mean the shortest period. The wages at that
time were very low, in comparison with the
amount paid now, — only five to six shillings
per day. But it should be remembered that
that sum then would purchase nearly or quite
treble what it could obtain now. Whilst in
Newport in October, 1864, I heard of one of
my old friends, Mr. James Hart* almost a cen
tenarian, who was head man amongst the la
borers, and upon whom I called. I found him
quite feeble in body, but with a memory all
alive in respect to matters and things connected
with his early days. I thought I would tax this
last faculty, and so asked him if he could recol
lect the sum I used to pay him on Saturdays.
He promptly answered, " Five shillings per day."
Decimal currency was not in use in my day.
How much it would increase the perplexity of
shopping to the women of the present day, —
what frowning, what taxing of the brain, — were
* Died May 1, 1866, aged 99 years, 7 months, and 18 days.

144 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
they obliged to calculate, by pounds, shillings,
pence, and half-pennies, how much they ought
to pay, and how much receive in change. ! But,
in the olden time, perhaps only one of a family
would go on a cheapening expedition, while ten
remained at home : now, the eleven are more
likely to be found hovering round the counters
devoted to silk and lace, while house and chil
dren are left to the tender mercies of servants.
It has been so common, in statistical records,
to couple commerce with manufactures, that it
might be deemed a sad loss of memory to treat
of one without reference to the other. Well,
now, the truth will oblige me to say very little
or nothing about spinning or weaving, except
in regard to one establishment situated near the
town cemetery, called a duck factory, where, for
a time, an article was made, in imitation of the
Russia fabric ; but it never proved remunerative,
and was finally abandoned. I can recollect the
wonderment which the clattering machinery
excited in us, when, on our Saturday after
noon excursions to Miantonomi Hill, &c., we
used to stop at the building, and look through
the windows, and watch the strange movements

COMMERCE. 145
of the machinery within. The spinning-jenny
had not been invented. Foreign manufactures
of cotton and wool were used by the "richer
classes " in the large towns ; but the country
people depended very much upon domestic
spinning and weaving. I recollect we had in
our house a loom for weaving silk ; but it never
yielded more than a braid. But we had cheap
and good music, which cost nothing, and so ex
quisitely soothing, notwithstanding its monoto
nous vibrations, as always to make it welcome :
I refer to the whiz from the large old family
spinning-wheel. There was a pewter manufac
tory, where the business was carried on quite
extensively. Pewter dishes and pewter plates,
mugs, &c, were kept as bright as is silver ware
at the present day. Its use lessened very much,
as crockery and glass ware became common. I
recollect, however, that my grandfather Ellery
was accustomed to eat his meat from a pewter
plate. The shoe manufacture was quite exten
sive. Those in Newport who were famous, and
not only there, but at the South, were the Carrs,
the Lawtons, Rodmans, Burdicks, Dunhams,
Pryors, and Manchester. 10

146 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER IX.
MECHANICS. — MANUFACTURES.
"1VTEWPORT furnished accomplished work
men in various industrial branches. The
cooper's trade was extensive and profitable when
the slave-traffic was sanctioned by Government.
Hogsheads and smaller casks, calculated to hold
New-England rum, the great stimulus to , the
African trade, not criticised and denounced as at
the present day, kept coopers at work night and
day. The capital invested in the importation and
distilling of molasses was very large, and gave em
ployment to very many skilful operatives, and to
quite a number of truckmen, who hardly knew
of an idle moment. The manufacture of rum
from molasses increased the shipping interests of
the town, and more than a dozen vessels were
constantly going and coming to and from Cuba
and Surinam. The coasting trade also was
vastly increased from the same manufacture.

MECHANICS. — MANUFACTURES. 147
Boat-building constituted a very extensive
feature in the mechanical thrift of Newport.
It was mainly pursued on Long Wharf and at
the Point. Boats were of all sizes and shapes :
some, for rough work ; others, for pleasure excur
sions. Often in summer, when the weather was
favorable, the inner and outer harbor would ap
pear dotted with such craft. The two fastest
boats belonged, — one of them, to the Custom
House ; the other, to Captain Perry, the owner
of the beautiful sloop Golden Age, already
spoken of. They were rival boats. It was sel
dom, if ever, that the first was beaten. Her
trim, after many experiments and trials in order
to obtain the greatest speed, was peculiar, —
low at the stern, and high at the bows. Mr.
John Slocum, the "boarding" officer ofthe port,
had the control of her. I shall always hold him
in grateful remembrance. When he appeared in
the street, with beaming face, dressed neatly
in semi- Quaker garb, all ready for a trip, the
boys, within hearing of his liquid and mellow
voice, would run, hoping to obtain a sail. It
was not often, however, that this boon was
granted; not from any lack of kindness on his

148 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
part, but because of the number of applicants,
and his unwillingness to show a preference.
The broad-beam boats, which are now so com
mon, were unknown sixty years ago. Long
boats, of great speed and capacity, were used
for transportation of goods from vessels that
were too deeply loaded for entrance to the
wharves near Thames Street. Perhaps no
where on the American coast can be found
so many sea attractions as around the water-
line of Newport. Water excursions were of
every-day occurrence. Newport boys were early
educated for sea life. They were accustomed,
at a very early age, to frequent the wharves, to
inhale the sea air, to talk with sailors, listen
to their stories, and become interested enough to
plan a voyage. As preliminary to a cabin-boy's
experience, nothing was more common than foi
lads to run up the rigging of vessels ; and one,
I remember, prided himself on having reached
the truck, — the mast-head. Many of these
Newport boys became first-rate seamen. Pleas
ure-boating helped lads to become fearless and
expert in guiding their tiny barks to the fishing-
grounds in the outer harbor, to the " Dump-

MECHANICS. — MANUFACTURES. 149
lings," " Beaver-tail," &c. They knew how " to
luff" in a squall, to sail "close-hauled," or "let
off and go free," as suited them best. One of
the liveliest and most picturesque scenes, often
visible from Fort Adams (dismantled in those
days), was, in a pleasant " south-wester," the
rapid grouping and parting of the fleet of pleas
ure-boats, cresting the waves with sea-foam.
Things have changed wonderfully from sixty-
five years ago. Now, there are large scow-
looking boats, and skippers, always on hand in
summer-time, to float off, into deep water, pleas
ure-seekers or fish-seekers, for a reasonable con
sideration. The only regular barge boat was
the one which used to ply between Fort Wol
cott (then under the command of Major Francis
Jackson, of Revolutionary memory), and the
town. Carpenters. — There were but few of these.
It was only at long intervals that new houses
were built, and generally of very small dimen
sions. Repairing and fence-making necessarily
caused good demand for job-workmen, many of
whom became thrifty; and their descendants

150 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
are reaping, in many quarters, the fruits of their
excellent example and untiring industry. I well
recollect three names of most excellent standing;
viz., Hammet, Ailman, and Seatle. Lumber was
in great demand; this was owing to scarcity of
trees on the island, and because land for tillage
was worth vastly more than for wood-culture.
Rail fences, so common at the period anterior to
the Revolution, and which the British destroyed
for fuel, led to the substitution of stone walls
over all the island. No objects are more striking
to those who drive out of town now-a-days, than
the massive smooth-faced walls of slate, lining
the roads, and constituting the dividing lines
between the several estates. I knew several of
the name of Swinburne who were caulkers,
gravers, and rigger's. Mr. Lee, a most excellent
man, was the principal mast-maker. Mr. Dav
enport, who lived near the duck factory, did
most of the mason work. Messrs. Cozzens &
Weaver manufactured hats. Colonel Tew, Mr.
Gould, and Mr. Barbour were the tailors. The
cordage-manufacturers were Francis Brinley,
Deacon William Tilley, and his sons, George,
William, John, Abraham, and Thomas. The

MECHANICS. — MANUFACTURES. 151
last time I was in Newport, I visited the little
tenement just west of the late residence of Mr.
Francis Brinley, which, I always understood,
was the house of the patriarch Tilley, and
where most, if not all, of his children were born.
This family, for influence and respectability, was
held in great esteem. The cabinet-makers were
Coe & Palmer, Lawton, Holmes Weaver, Dea
con Vinson, and Mr. Goddard. The beaver-hats
in my day were very costly, and worn only by
the " dons." Cocked hats, worn by men of
age and standing, appeared on state occasions.
The common felt hats covered the heads of boys
and men who could ill afford high-priced articles.
These cheap hats were stiffened with paste and
glue (gum shellac being then unknown), ,and
retained their shape no longer than the wind
remained at west or north-north-west. A damp
" south-wester " and a genuine " south-easter "
(very significant terms in my day) would reduce
our head-coverings to the most grotesque and
forlorn shapes imaginable; and if, upon going
to bed, no pains were taken to block out the
body and rim, and a north wind, or wind from
any neighboring points, were to spring up in the

152 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
night, then the hat, when called for in the morn
ing, would be found rigorously opposed to ad
mitting the head. And didn't we cut a figure,
as we stemmed the ridicule of those who had
learned by experience how to guard their head
gear from the ill effects of a humid atmosphere?
The barbers were, Mr. Center, remarkably polite
to his customers ; Mr. Faisneau, who excelled in
the use of the razor and scissors ; and Mr. Cog
geshall, whose little box of a shop adjoined the
open lot, owned by the late Mr. Coe, in Thames
Street. He was highly esteemed by economical
mothers. His price for boys was only four-
pence-halfpenny per head ; ' and, whenever he
failed to cut close according to home measure
ment, we were sent back to receive a. few more
clips. We were so " shaven and shorn " by Mr.
Coggeshall, that when the weather was cold on
Sundays, and the meeting-house even colder
than the out-door atmosphere, it became the
most natural thing in the world to lift one's fin
gers, nearly frozen, to ascertain if a head re
mained on our shoulders.
The owners of three valuable estates near to
the first beach were induced, after the purchase,

MECHANICS. — MANUFACTURES. 153
to provide nets or seines, with which to catch
manhaden, a species of fish which never failed to
come in shoals upon the beach about the close
of summer, and which constituted the base of
a powerful compost. The seine twine was im
ported from Europe, and was of great strength.
The seines were manufactured by persons ex
perienced in "network." Examining one day
an old Sam Johnson's octavo Dictionary, my
eye caught the above word, and the old pedant's
definition. Of course, a mere boy, I was more
perplexed with the definition than with the
word, and I had not courage to look up the
meaning of the terms used in the explanation
of it ; hence I concluded to learn it by heart,
and to use it whenever I felt like making a dis
play of my learning. Here it is : " Network,
any thing reticulated, decussated, between the
interstices of the intersections " ! The only
mathematical instrument maker was Mr. S.
King. An image at the door, holding a quad
rant, indicated the branch of business to which
he was devoted. Each quadrant, compass, and
sextant was sent, upon a ship's arrival, to Mr.
King for correction and adjustment. W. Cor-

154 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
nell, Nicholas Geffroy, W. Nichols, and Thomas
Arnold were manufacturers of jewelry and sil
ver plate. The latter gentleman rendered him
self somewhat obnoxious to the rigid sectarians
of the day, by too strong an, attachment to Mr.
Murray, the great Universalist preacher. Not
withstanding this predilection, Mr. Arnold was
one of the most reliable of men in his branch
(that of silversmith) ; and I have a sample of
his spoons, which have been in wear for four
score years, unique in their shape, but of the
purest metal. Chaffee & Lyon were dealers
in brass castings, &c. Sailmaking was carried
on very extensively by Mr. Spooner. He did a
vast amount of work for Gibbs & Channing.
I recollect the partial destruction, by a dog be
longing to Mr. Spooner, of the record-book of
receipts of duck and delivery of sails, from and
to Gibbs & Channing; which event, for a time,
threatened a legal suit between the parties, but
was happily compromised. The saddlery busi
ness was under the control of Mr. D. Williams.

BUSINESS MEN. 155

CHAPTER X.
BUSINESS MEN.
" The good trader is he who wrongs not the buyer in number,
weight, or measure. These are the landmarks of all trading, which
must not be removed; for such fraud were worse than open felony."
TT may be a gratification to the few surviving
friends who were brought up with me, and to
their relatives, to read the names of the princi
pal store and shop keepers, whose places of busi
ness were either on the wharves, or in Tnames
Street; viz., Simeon Martin, Bowen & Ennis,
Earl & Allston, Christopher Fowler, Stephen
Cahoone, Lopez Dexter & Miles, John Cogges
hall, Christopher Rhodes, Gilbert Chase, J. &
S. Whitehorne, Saunders Malbone, Mein &
Rogers, Samuel Brown, John L. Boss, William
Engs, Daniel Sheldon, Nicholas Geffroy, David
Thacher, William Langley, Henry Bull, James
Taylor, Jabez Dennison, P. O. Richmond, Peter
P. Remington, Charles Gyles, S. Ambrose,
Thomas Bush, Peter Bours, Luke Bours, Greene

156 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
& Tillinghast, Caleb Greene, Benjamin Hadwin,
Thomas Hornsby, Chaffee, Peter Kane, Jacob
Richardson, Stephen Gould, William Miller,
David Wilder, Henry Moore, William Moore,
Thomas Mumford, Clarke Cook, Silas Dean, Job
Sherman, Nathaniel Sweet, Harvey Sessions,
Isaac Gould, Daniel Vaughn, Valentine Whit
man, John Barbour,  Dockeray, J. & S.
Townsend, and Charles Feke.
Until the enactment of the embargo, under
President Madison, no place of the size of New
port, on the seaboard, was more distinguished
for commercial activity than " little Rhody."
After the removal of the embargo, there was a
slight re-action, but nothing to indicate the pre
vious prosperity ; and finally, when the few
remaining capitalists withdrew from business
pursuits, the town subsided into comparative
inaction. Subsequently, a move was made in
furtherance of the whale-fishery. This, how
ever, failed to be productive, and was aban
doned.

MARKETS. 157

CHAPTER XI.
MARKETS.
r I "HERE were only two public places ap
pointed for the sale and purchase of pro
visions, when I was a boy ; viz., that on Ferry
Wharf, a one-story building, now turned into a
police station. By provisions, I mean every
description of meat, poultry, game ; fish of all
kinds; and pure white corn-meal, peculiar to
the island. I ought to say a word more about
the fish market. Accounts have been sent from
Havana, more or less exaggerated, of the sur
passing excellence of the fish for sale in that
city ; but I will venture to affirm, that, in qual
ity, freshness, and variety, no fish market could
have excelled that 'at Newport. There are those
living who will testify to the rich banquet pro
vided by our old friend, Thomas Townsend,
whose selection of tautog for broiling, bass for
boiling, and perch for frying, was always of the

158 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
best. Besides, Newport held the monopoly of
the turtle trade. Our vessels were actively
employed in bringing from Nassau, and neigh
boring ports, fruits and turtle. Soup, that
was soup, could be had, of the most delicious
flavor. The turtle was of the green species,
and of peculiar richness. It required, however,
a Rhode-Island colored cook to manufacture
from it a soup that would satisfy the taste of
the lovers of good living of that day. Before
the wooden bridge was swept out to sea, which
connected the island with Tiverton, nothing
was more common, after the arrival of live tur
tle, than for the " lords of creation " at that day
to arrange for a turtle-soup dinner at the bridge :
the dinner of course included game, common to
the island, and the best of wines from Madeira
and Cadiz. I am not stating this luxurious
mode of living as commendable, but in order
that the similarity of the habits of the past and
present may be duly noted by the reader. I
must say a word about the fruit which was cul
tivated on the island and in the town. The
greening apple was the great staple, whether
for the production of cider or for house use,

MARKETS. 159
and had a zest which increased rather than sat
isfied the appetite. Next to the apple was the
" Gardner " pear, incomparable for its beauty
and flavor. There were peaches, too, more lus
cious than any of Southern growth ; and what
clime save Newport ever yielded such quinces?
Sugar being comparatively cheap, say six to
eight cents per pound for brown, and eight to
eleven cents for white, almost every householder
Could afford to preserve the best of such fruit,
and to manufacture from it three grades of
marmalade. The highest grade was made from
the fruit when perfectly cored, and deposited in
a brass or copper kettle, first subjected to a se
vere polish. A little pure water covered the
bottom of the vessel, and then the sugar and
fruit were added; when fire sufficient to cause
boiling would reduce the mass to a rich dark
jelly. The second and third grades were made
from the core and peel: these were stewed in
molasses, and thought quite good enough for
children. The preserving process consisted in
first parboiling the whole quince before removing
the skin, and then quartering and peeling it,
removing the core, and placing the quarters

160 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
upon a flat dish to cool. The sirup, free from
scum and semi-transparent, being ready in a
bell-metal skillet, each piece of the prepared
quince was dropped gently into it, and then
watched until it changed from a cream color
to a light pink. It was, and continues to be,
one of the most delicious preserves. Tumblers
were used for the deposit and safe keeping of
this fruit, properly secured from the air.
Having in my boyhood witnessed all that is
above described, I thought my recollection of
such valuable receipts might sharpen the appe
tite of some of the new-comers, to whom they
are kindly submitted.
The greengage plum, a very rich fruit, was
quite common in the gardens in the town. The
black-heart or mazard cherry, grown on the
island, was as good as the best. It was so
wholesome that any quantity might be eaten
without harm. Another pear, which I had al
most forgotten, was the St. Germain. It had a
very marked flavor.
The brick market, now the City Hall, at the
foot of the Parade, notwithstanding its base
ment was used for nearly half a century for

MARKETS. 161
the sale of meat, has been considered an archi
tectural gem, even by Mr. Allston. It was a
place of resort, at early morning, by epicures
(and there were many in Newport), in search
of the choicest cuts of beef and mutton. The
latter, particularly, was excellent, raised upon
the island, and slaughtered near home. The
oxen were corn-fed, and, when exposed in the
shambles, exhibited a " mixture " very delectable
in the eyes of critical gastronomists. Rhode
Island had always been famous for poultry,
and up to this day has not lost its reputation,
as the season of Thanksgiving in Massachusetts
abundantly proves. And what shall be said of
Rhode-Island cookery, — especially that within
the circle of Newport? It commanded uni
versal favor. There were no " tin kitchens "
then to dry up the birds, large and small ; but
roasting was done on a long spit, arranged for
rotatory motion, upon two large kitchen andi
rons, having crotchet supports. In many cases,
smoke-jacks were used ; in others, weights be
came the moving power. The meat, whilst
being cooked, was always exposed to the open
air of the room. Now, reader, suspend your
11

162 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
admiration a little, while the poultry has been
made ready, artistically trussed, every pinfeather
extracted, the fire charmingly ignited, the baster,
salt-box, and dredging-box close at hand, and
the jack trotting its mystic revolutions; and
how long, think you, before you will see a rich
" puff," and enjoy a culinary aroma, beyond the
knowledge, or even the imagination, of any
modern gourmand?
The second and third stories of the market
building were used for a theatre. Here, for
several seasons, the celebrated " Hodgkinson
company" delighted our admiring eyes. It was
only a miniature " playhouse," for so it used
to be called; but it was charmingly cosey, and
the audience seemed to feel that they received
a full equivalent for the price of admittance.
If the play happened to be dull, the dress circle,
so called, filled with the beauty for which New
port was so famous, more than compensated for
scenic and dramatic deficiencies. The enter
tainments were of the most respectable type,
and always closed at an early hour. I well
recollect a juvenile performer, named Dickenson.
He was a poor boy, just from England; and,

MARKETS. 163
upon hearing that a company of comedians
were at Newport, he found his way there, and
was employed for a time, changing scenes, snuff
ing candles, &c. There were no lamps then in
use, excepting for the " foot-lights." Candles
had the preference. After a brief trial, Mr.
Hodgkinson, the manager, discovered in young
Dickenson an undeveloped talent for imperson
ating old men ; and very shortly his name was
on the play-bill. It was his first appearance ;
and so remarkable was his representation of the
character assigned him, that he became the " old
man" in every play, — the hero of the stage, —
though only nineteen years of age. After un
wearied efforts in his profession, Mr. Dickenson
gained not only renown in genteel comedy,
but wealth, and, better than wealth, the esteem
of the citizens in his adopted home, Boston,
changing his name to Dickson ; and where he
became an extensive importer of fancy goods
from England, and lived many years in the en
joyment of a well-earned reputation and an
ample fortune.

164 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER XII.
SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.
TVTEWPORT people, in the olden time, were
seldom, if ever, moved to extravagant
demonstrations of hilarity. The restraints upon
the young, excepting the two gala-days, " Elec
tion " and the " Fourth of July," kept them
within bounds ; and the more advanced, trained
in their youth to domestic duties, seldom sought
amusement abroad. In fact, Newport life, as I
remember it, was prosy enough. It is true,
there were entertainments provided by men of
wealth, — whist clubs, for instance ; on which
occasions, elaborate dinners were given, and
houses consequently turned upside-down. At
these parties, confined to the male sex, there was
an immense consumption of wine and punch ;
and when the dinner closed, generally on the
verge of night, some one of the company would
rise, and announce the crowning toast (ascribed

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. 165
to General Knox, of "Revolutionary" celebrity),
" Sup where we have dined, with caVds." The
company would then adjourn to a room already
prepared, and commence shuffling and dealing
cards until near midnight, when the rites of
Bacchus would be observed over the flowing
bowl. Others, of less means, had their side
boards well stocked with stimulating beverages;
viz., Jamaica and St. Croix spirit, Hollands gin,
brandy, sherry, port, and Madeira wine, Brown
stout, &c, &c. : and with these entertained their
guests or callers by easier methods. When
friends made an evening visit, the first words
uttered, after shaking hands, were, " What will
you take ? "
For children, a dancing-school was kept in
" Penrose Hall," in Church Lane, by Monsieur
Carpentier, where lads and lasses were taught
graceful motion. Although the teacher was
lame, he was wonderfully successful in his art.
Monsieur Carpentier was also employed in
many families as an instructor of the French
language. Dufief 's " Nature Displayed " was
the text-book.
The monotonous aspects of society were now

166 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
and then disturbed by the arrival of some har
lequin company, or of a sagacious elephant, or
learned pig. Concerning the elephant, I have a
reminiscence to relate. Amongst my childish
reading, anecdotes concerning animals, especially
those which represented them as talking and
acting very much like human beings, — vide the
fables of those times, — suited my boyish tastes ;
and when, one morning on the way to school,
my eye was arrested by a huge picture of an
elephant, to be seen within for a quarter of a
dollar, children half price (that is ninepence,
New England currency), I thought no more of
my studies that day, but only of the picture.
I owned a silver ninepence, part of a gift of a
near and dear relative, who was rich, and who
made my mother a visit annually. My small
coin burned in my pocket during school-time;
and when, upon leaving, I told a playmate my
intention of seeing the great sight, he said I had
better let him go first, and he would tell me all
about it. I, not imagining that I was to be
choused out of the promised pleasure, handed
him the Spanish "bit," expecting, of course, it
would be returned in due time. Then, for the

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. 167
first time, I understood the meaning of the slang
word " sell." I never saw the elephant ! My
vision wonderfully improved after this expe
rience. " Tea parties " constituted one of the prom
inent features of my early life. They were
formal enough to satisfy the most rigid asceti
cism. Urbanity formed no part of our early
training. To be natural was next to being
called a " natural-born fool." It was an age of
pure art, — the art of walking uprightly, with
unbending joints; the art of shaking hands
after the "pump-handle" formula; the art of
looking inexpressibly indifferent towards every
body and every thing. Let me describe very
briefly one of these fashionable gatherings. The
hour was prudent, — about 7 p.m. in winter.
No entertainments of the kind were given in
summer. The ladies' costume seldom exceeded
in richness an English cotton cambric, having
a broad hem, or, a still greater extravagance, a
single flounce, with short sleeves, long white kid
gloves, white cotton stockings, and shoes with
sharp-pointed toes. Mr. Geffroy or Mr. Cornell
bored ears, and furnished rings to any pattern,

168 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
according to the taste and means of the appli
cant. Young girls and aged fashionables wore
round the neck strings of gold beads, the largest
in the centre. When the company had assem
bled, the reception-room being ready, with high-
back chairs placed in close order round the
room, near to the wall, every one took the seat
most agreeable to himself. No one stood : it
was not thought genteel. No one vacated a
seat to an elder, or to a superior in mental
acquirements or social position ; for such a
movement would have been fraught with embar
rassment. All, then, present being starched to
the wall, and perfect silence reigning, a side
door would be set ajar, and gradually opened for
the entree of tea on one waiter, and sugar and
cream upon another. As it seldom happened
that all were accommodated at the first round
with a cup of either chulan, hyson, or gunpow
der; of course the supplying of each with two
or three cups was a work of time. With the
addition of eatables of all sorts and in the
greatest profusion, the whole constituted a feast
fit for the gods, provided the gods lived, breathed,
and drank sub silentio. Now and then a whis-

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. 169
per might be heard ; but, as a general rule, any
deviation from the strictest formality was dis
couraged. As no one changed places, it often
happened that two taciturn persons would sit
in close proximity for a whole evening without
uttering a word. Instead of modern laughter,
volubility, and perpetual motion, the silent sea
sons of our time were awfully repellent to the
young, who nevertheless had not sufficient cour
age to break the spell. Boys, if admitted into
so serene an atmosphere, were required " to be
seen, and not heard." Woe to the young ad
venturer who happened to arrive at one of these
solemn moments, when only one chair was va
cant, and every eye was surveying him from
head to foot, and he not knowing how to dis
pose of himself iu the centre of the room ! I
repeat, woe to such a one, with neck-cloth tight,
hands straight and rigid as those of poor Bob
Acres in the play, and with face of crimson
dye! — woe to this poor victim of Puritan fri
gidity. At the proper time, nuts, raisins, figs,
and apples were distributed ; and, for a time, the
movement relieved the irksomeness of the scene.
When, at about the close of such festivities,

170 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
things were growing hopeless, some one, having
no respect for good manners, would propose the
singing of a song. A pause ensued ; eyes were
cast down. A dead silence prevailed, until, en
couraged by a sudden rustling of dresses and
the moving of chairs, a voice struck up " In the
downhill of life," then "Erin go Bragh," " Fresh
and Strong," increasing the volume of sound to
an indescribable degree, and " Meeting of the
Waters," and finally winding up with " Adams
and Liberty," — the same tune, I believe, which
now bears the title of " Star-spangled Banner."
But no response, as in these days of huzzas,
greeted the unwearied friends of song.
In the course of each winter, there were held
" subscription assemblies," — the last one being
Washington's birth-night ball, — when were pro
vided sundry huge loaves of frosted plum-cake,
manufactured by " the Duchess," * the most cele
brated cake-maker in Rhode Island. The work

* This excellent woman was universally known in the town, and
universally beloved. Late in life, she occupied a small house in
School Street, still standing, and there annually entertained three
families (whom she had faithfully served, until made free) with a
most sumptuous " tea-drinking." She was long a member of Dr.

SOCIAL INTERCOURSE. 171
was done in our kitchen, having an ample oven,
and required a day and night for its completion.
Owing to the scarcity of public carriages in the
town, there being but two, — one owned by Mr.
Place (an old and highly respected hackman),
and the other driven from Townsend's Coffee
House, by a young man named Drummond, —
it became necessary to give early notice of the
day and hour when the assembly was to take
place, so that no delay in conveying the com
pany to Masonic Hall might occur. The trans
portation, accordingly, commenced at the hour
of 6 p.m., and occupied over two hours. When

Pattin's church; and, at her funeral, there were present a large num
ber of the most respectable and influential families in Newport. She
was buried in the ground appropriated without distinction to all the
inhabitants. A humble slab points to the place of this Christian woman's inter
ment, having on it the following inscription, written by the late Wil
liam E. Channing : — In memory of
Duchess Quamino, a free Black,
of distinguished excellence ;
Intelligent, industrious, affectionate, honest, and of exemplary piety j
who deceased
June 29, 1804, aged 65 years.
" Blest thy slumbers in this houce of clay,
And bright thy rising to eternal day."

172 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
the company had assembled, a rule, previously
adopted, was carried out, — that of drawing for
partners for the first two dances. By this ar
rangement, the least comely of the company
were sure of dancing twice ; and very often they
wel-e on the floor for many other dances, their
-agreeable conversation compensating for ' any
lack of personal charms. Waltzes and polkas
were unknown ; and hardly had cotillons be
come popular. I can only recollect the minuet,
country dance, and reel.
Boys and girls had their amusements and
games. Now and then, some ventriloquist or
juggler would appear, and announce a series of
performances, — all the more agreeable in pro
portion to their inexplicability.

LEGAL PUNISHMENTS. 173

CHAPTER XIII.

LEGAL PUNISHMENTS.

T HAVE given, in a previous section, some of
my early recollections of home and school
government. In stating, as I propose doing,
facts with regard to the methods adopted for
enforcing criminal jurisprudence, I shall doubt
less, in my inferences, startle a few of my con
temporaries, whose memory of by-gones may
be less tenacious than my own.
An early impression, which experience has
never weakened, convinced me, that moral sua
sion, had school-teachers and parents been will
ing to use it, would have proved vastly more
effectual, in counteracting youthful indiscretions,
than the adopted idea of the child's innate pref
erence of wrong to right, and hence the neces
sity of anticipating misdemeanors by suspicious
looks and querulous tones. Now, the effect of
this espionage upon children was to inaugurate a

174 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
systematic duplicity, which, with the frequent
allusion to the "rod in pickle," fairly turned
the house and schoolroom into places of almost
justifiable rebellion. I cannot help believing,
that confidence manifested to the young by
parents and teachers- would have prevented a
multitude of criminal delinquencies cognizable
by the courts.
The public modes of punishment established
by law were four; viz., executions by hanging,
whipping of men at the cart-tail, whipping of
women in the jail-yard, and the elevation of
counterfeiters and the like to a movable pillory
platform, which turned on its base at the bidding
of the officer, so as to front north, south, east,
and west, in succession, remaining at each point
a quarter of an hour. During this exhibition of
the majesty of the law, the neck of the culprit
was bent to a most uncomfortable curve, pre
senting a facial mark for those salutations of
stale eggs, which seemed to have been preserved
for the occasion. Once, I remember, the sen
tence included branding. The place selected
for the infliction of this punishment was in front
of the State House. This building included a

LEGAL PUNISHMENTS. 175
Court House, a hall for military drill, also for
itinerant preaching when Whitefield and Murray
" contended for the faith," according to their
own peculiar views ; where the sage " Town
Council" met once a month; and, finally, where
the town meetings were held, generally under
the leadership of Messrs. Thomas Pitman, who
lived in Broad Street, and of Daniel Dunham,
who lived in Thames, I believe on the corner
of Bridge Street. They were two noted politi
cians of the Republican type. They held the
reins in town affairs for many years ; did about
all the town talking ; and, in fact, kept things
so straight, that none of opposite political opin
ions felt it worth while to question their de
cisions. Besides the use of the pillory, the minor trans
gression of theft was dealt with by whipping
the culprit after a pattern peculiar to Rhode
Island ; viz., fastening his hands to the tail of
a cart, and drawing him along on his feet by
horse-power, to prescribed distances, in Thames
and Spring Streets ; then and there administer
ing the legal number of stripes on the bare back.
The more private method for the correction of

176 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
female delinquents was of a milder character,
dispensed in the jail-yard, in presence of many
witnesses of the same sex, or was commuted to
imprisonment in the common jail, or to confine
ment in coops at the almshouse, and where
inebriates met with well-deserved punishment.
Inebriety upon the homoeopathic scale, such as
simple reeling or an occasional sprawl, as the
spirit moved, were held to be venial offences.
As for a temperance lecture, nothing of the kind
was ever deemed necessary or proper : the very
suggestion would have been thought to evince
greater insanity than that which it proposed to
remove. Roger Williams's crowning idea was
liberty in its most comprehensive sense. Hav
ing felt the sting of persecution in Massachu
setts, he looked more leniently than he would
otherwise have done upon a habit which has.
done more to demoralize humanity than any
other that can be named.

INSANITY. 177

CHAPTER XIV.
INSANITY.
/^VNE of the mightiest and holiest distinc
tions of the present age is the universal
expression and manifestation of sympathy in
behalf of public institutions for the relief and
cure of the insane. The wonderful contrast
between a former age — the age to which these
pages refer — - and this hallowed time of be
nevolent enterprises can hardly be measured. I
perfectly" well recollect instances of men and
women being inclosed in strait-jackets, chained
to staples in the centre of the rooms, in the
midst of filth, and subjected to an atmosphere
fearfully offensive. In one case, that of a highly
respectable and intelligent woman, I became
deeply interested. The house where she was
confined was just in the rear of my mother's
residence. She was the daughter of a minister,
whose peculiar doctrinal views, especially those
12

L78 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
relating to what was then termed "the unpar
donable sin," so influenced a naturally excitable
temperament as to induce insanity of the worst
type. Her father, feeling wholly unable to con
trol her madness, confided her to the care of
kind but very ignorant people, who could mere
ly furnish food for the body; and even that
was so poorly served as to be revolting to o'ne
whose appreciation of what was neatly prepared
and palatable was as keen as ever. No medi
cation was deemed necessary ; and hence no
earnest efforts were made to remove or to les
sen the offensive features of her prison-house.
When she slept, it was generally found that her
resting-place was the bare floor. A miserable
bed there was, but too uninviting even for her
wearied frame. From being handsome, she
became, in a year or two, the most haggard,
attenuated, and wild-looking creature my eyes
ever beheld. Her clothes often remained un
changed for weeks. Being well acquainted with
the family who had charge of her, I often saw
her, almost always in a standing position. Lad
as I was, the scene is as vivid in my old age as
it was in my youth. The effect of this lady's

INSANITY. 179
early religious training cropped out continually
in her prayers, and most heart-searching they
were ; in her praises, sometimes exultant, and
then 'sad and moody. Her quotations from
Scripture were apt and forcible, harmonizing
as she frequently did the Old and New Tes
taments. I frequently listened to her Outbursts
of indignation at every species of wrong and
falsehood; and then immediately would follow
expressions of tenderness towards human in
firmity, which a flood of tears would intensify,
prompting a prayer for the delinquent, and ges
ticulations as if she apprehended for him some
dreadful calamity. I drank in all the by-play
of this, to me, fearful drama. She was an ob
ject of pity, but not of intelligent charity. I
saw her one day in her dreary chamber, on her
knees, murmuring what was to me a dead lan
guage. It was the usual hour of the evening
meal. She grhsped from the hands of the at
tendant the tin vessel containing prepared tea,
and, after a moment's silence, recited that por
tion of the Apocalypse where the church of the
Laodiceans is rebuked for its- lukewarmness ;
and then, with fiery vehemence, she burst forth,

180 'EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
" So then, because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee but of my
mouth," and, suitirig the action to the words,
dashed the whole of the tea into the attendant's
face. It was an age when the healing art was con
fined to physical disease. Mental derangements,
to most observers, seemed to be akin to demon-
ology ; and the notion existed, that, as the
apparent sufferer was mentally dead, physical
suffering, or the consciousness of pain, must in
such case be impossible, and hence the absence
of any attempt to lessen the unfortunate pa
tient's sufferings.
There were not, perhaps, more insane persons
in Newport, in proportion to its population, than
in other towns; but somehow the number of
these and of idiotic cases, who were allowed to
walk the streets, and to become familiar with
persons whom they met, were very numerous.
Many of these found their home at the " poor-
house," and others were cared for at private
residences. There was one lunatic, Moody, by
name, and moody by nature, who was carefully
shunned, especially by children ; and yet he was

INSANITY. 181
never known to have committed any act of vio
lence. He was very tall, with a gigantic frame
and hairy visage. His head, which was huge
and bushy, was always uncovered. He strode
about with the air of one who is the " owner of
all he surveys." Owing to his great height, he
was able to peer into gardens, and to frighten
by his haggard looks whoever might be there.
There was another case, that of a young
woman by the name of Sally Hastings, who,
with her mother, Prudence, lived at the alms
house, both with wandering propensities. Sally
was in person very masculine ; and, owing to
her unbonneted head and dishevelled hair, none
were very ready to accost her. Her insanity
was caused by a lover's treachery. The alms
house being contiguous to the town's burial
place, Sally spent much of her time in read
ing epitaphs ; some of them prompting a laugh,
others a sigh or a tear. There was a genuine
oddity, whose home was in Thames, fronting
Mary Street. He had a most erratic way of
demonstrating his weak-mindedness or insanity ;
viz., running into houses, opening doors into
chambers, closets, &c, never touching or disturb-

182 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
ing any thing, and leaving the premises as noise
lessly as he entered. There was a man of a
similar type,_who was full of projects. Some
were so extraordinary as to subject him to the
nickname of " Crazy Sam." Once, however, he
obtained the title of " Conjurer." It was owing
to a notion he entertained that a wink or blink
of the eye was an unpardonable offence. Being
in a field at haymaking, he observed a young
lad with eyes opening and shutting with fright
ful rapidity. In a moment, it occurred to this
monomaniac, that he could cure the distemper,
as he called it ; when, turning to the boy, he said,
" Josh, did you ever see a toad wink in a dark
entry ? " A negative answer prompted the order
to find a toad at once, and remove it to a per
fectly dark room or entry, and he, Josh, would
see a most remarkable phenomenon. The boy
having caught the animal, and retired with it
into total darkness, after staring for a great
while, and not discovering any thing remarkable,
he thought it must be owing to the eyes of the
toad being averted from him ; and so down on
his knees he dropped, and went crawling in
every direction for the longed-for sight, staring

INSANITY. 183
and staring, until he felt a strange sensation in
his eyes, a fixedness or rigidity in the lids, which
led him to forego any further acquaintance with
the detestable worm-catcher, and to go at once
into the light ; when, lo ! he discovered his in
firmity was cured.

184 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER XV.

POLITICS.

" Count not a courtier's promise, that he is bound to prefer thee.
Seeing compliments oftentimes die in the speaking, why should thy
hopes live longer than the hearing? "
T WAS brought up amidst the most jarring
political events. Upon the closing scenes
of Washington's administration, there quickly
followed the initiation of measures, and the
avowal of principles, quite opposite to the for
mula laid down by Mr. Adams, who had tri
umphed over Virginia's favorite son ; and hence
the formation of two schools of politics, — the
one, " Federal," close, and conservative ; the
other, " Republican," liberal, and radical. The
ruling spirit of the first was Hamilton ; of the
last was Jefferson. One of the most exciting
causes of dissension was Jay's treaty. I shall
never forget the evening when Mr. Jay was
burnt in effigy. It was in 1795, upon his return
from England. The people interested in this
demonstration of opposition to the Government

POLITICS. 185
rallied under the Jeffersonian banner, met in the
neighborhood of my mother's house. The name
of the patriot, then to be branded as a traitor to
the cause of liberty, was placarded in large capi
tals, and attached to the breast of the effigy.
The dress was of courtly style, and on the head
was the " cocked hat " of the day. Behind the
figure were two disguised musicians, discoursing
with drum and fife, most hideously, the " Rogue's
March." From that time, and until I bade adieu
to my native place, politics raged in every house,
office, shop, bank, and church. Lines of sepa
ration were rigidly drawn between the two con
tending parties. Business relations even were
suspended. Intermarriages were interdicted,
and neighborly visiting interrupted. The only
neutral ground, so far as the clergy was con
cerned, was the church. No reference was made
there to agitating topics. The minister might
battle in support of his peculiar views of reli
gious doctrine, and call John Murray to account
for his heresies ; but he could not pecuniarily
afford to adopt Mr. Jefferson's admission, —
" We are all Federalists ; we are all Repub
licans." An avowal of such a dogma would

186 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
have reduced his " living " to starvation point.
Even I, a luckless wight, did not escape political
contempt ; simply, because my name bore close
resemblance to the Tory Premier of England, —
" George Canning." The then postmaster of
Newport, a rabid Republican (the term Demo
crat was not then in use), uniformly called me,
derisively, by that name.
Belonging, as I did, to the Federal or John
Adams party, 1 worked with my elders with
great zeal. I had an ardent temperament, and
anxiously waited for the time when I could cast
my first vote. Previously, I constituted one of
a company of electioneering juveniles. It was
made their duty to wait upon aged and infirm
voters of the right stamp, and accompany them
to the polls. One of these, Mr. Jabez Dennison,
I was directed to attend ; a most excellent man,
and universally respected, excepting on voting
days. He was partially paralyzed on one side,
and suffered from a contraction of his fingers.
Previous to reaching the State House, I placed
in the hand least affected the State "prox," so
called, which he retained; but, whilst working
our way up to the moderator's stand, a mis-

POLITICS. 187
chievous person, aware of the infirmity of my
aged friend, forced into his hand three oppo
sition tickets, without his knowledge, so that
he dropped into the box, which happened to be
then empty, four votes instead of one, which
caused some disturbance ; but as only one of
the tickets was endorsed by the voter, a legal
exaction, it was perceived most clearly that no
fraud was intended, and the trouble subsided.
I make mention of this political incident merely
to show how party firebrands were manufac
tured " in the days when we were young."
Town-meetings offered easy opportunities for
the exercise of fisticuffs. The taste for ardent
spirit could be easily indulged, as each party
kept open house in the neighborhood of the
State House ; and hence only a short time was
required to effect a collision between such war
ring elements. The combatants were generally
selected by each party for the ring, whose boxing
qualities were well known. One of these con
flicts I well recollect. It took place in Washing
ton Street, on the " Point." Captain M. and
Mr. L. were the contestants. The backers were
numerous, and terribly excited. As Captain M.

188 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
aimed a blow at his opponent, the latter, not
liking the sinewy look of the arm, jerked him
self aside at the moment of danger, thus pre
cipitating his adversary to the ground, and
greatly injuring him by the fall. The coward,
a Republican, got a severe handling; and an
adjournment to the Court House was agreed
upon, where fresh fights continued until dark.
Political profits and losses were estimated by
this anti-peace method !
The general election, appointed by the charter
of King Charles IL, occurred the first Wednes
day in May. This event brought together the
executive departments, representatives from all
parts of the State, including New Shoreham, or
Block Island, quite out at sea. The governor
and staff occupied the principal rooms in Town-
send's Coffee House ; and as, during a series of
years, the town of Providence furnished the can
didates for gubernatorial honors, the day pre
vious to the election proved as bustling in the
town as the day following, — so many packets
arriving with flying colors, crowded with pas
sengers, bringing to the capitol the dignity and
wisdom of the State. It was expected of his

POLITICS. 189
excellency, in virtue of the sum of four hundred
dollars, his annual salary, that he would keep
open house at Townsend's, for the refreshment
of his constituency on election day. The escort
from the governor's quarters to the State House
consisted of the artillery company, under Colonel
Fry ; and, previous to their departure, they were
regaled, as they stood in front of the Coffee
House, with a glass of wine, the liberal gift of
his excellency, handed round by colored waiters.
In return for this allowance, the infantry fired
several rounds of cartridges, and then the line
of march commenced. After the governor and
staff followed the senators and representatives
elect; the latter holding paper packages contain
ing the votes or prox of each town. The idea
of making election returns to the secretary of
state by a town clerk was, up to the time of
which I am speaking, not dreamed of in Rhode
Island, — the last State which adhered to the
ancient charter from England. After the votes
were canvassed, and the result announced by
the committee, proclamation was ordered to be
made by the sheriff of the county from the bal
cony of the State House. It occurred to this

190 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
officer, or rather to his deputy, John Richards,
that, as the governor was an acknowledged bon
vivant, it would be well to add to the customary
prayer of " God save the State of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations," the words " FOR
the year ensuing," which was done audibly,
and caused a marked sensation.
The mutual hostility, already alluded to, was
expressed as freely in the House of Representa
tives of the State, as at town or county meet
ings. The debaters were able men. Amongst
them I well recollect Burgess, Searle, Mason,
Bridgham, Hazard, Robbins, Hunter, Bourne, E.
R. Potter, and Turtelot. One officious member, a
Republican, would, as opportunity offered, boast
of his tender-heartedness, of his readiness to com
miserate and relieve the oppressed and down
trodden, which vaunting never failed to kindle
the ire of Mason, and to point his satire, as he
charged this "benevolent, Christian gentleman"
with sundry most antichristian acts towards
disabled slaves, during that hellish " middle pas
sage," with which the tender-hearted and honor
able gentleman was most intimately acquainted ;
and which charge was never parried nor denied.

POLITICS. 191
The party strife which ran so high in New
port, when even debates were not free from
offensive personalities, raged almost as strongly
whenever the .Legislature met in Providence,
South Kingston, or Bristol.
Owing to the poverty. of the State, the honor
able Senate, composed of ten or twelve members
(exclusive of the governor, attorney-general,
treasurer, and clerk), were occasionally made, by
order, of the "lower house," a-standing body.
This happened whenever the above popular
body wished the Senate to meet them in " grand
committee." To make this statement clear to
the present generation, I must tell them, that,
in the House of Representatives, there was no
raised chair, or rostrum, for the speaker, but
only a long table in the centre of the hall ; so
that instead of having sufficient number of
chairs for distinguished visitors, or for law offi
cers, or especially for the accommodation of the
" honorable the Senate " when asked to pay
the House a visit, the forme,r were compelled,
upon every such occasion, to stand in their
places until their accustomed seats were trans
ferred to the Representative Chamber by mes-

192 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
sengers in waiting ; and when the session of
the " grand committee ! " was closed, then sena
tors, &c, were again compelled to stand and be
gazed at, until the said noble seats were made
ready for them in the upper house. So, for less
than fifty dollars, the State of Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations suffered its dignity
to collapse now and then, and to become the
laughing-stock of the people, during the whole
of its corporate existence under the charter.
The State recognized, as a portion of its legis
lative apparatus, a legal adviser entitled " attor
ney-general." He attended all the sessions of
the General Assembly, and prepared or revised
most of the bills and resolves offered for adop
tion. This arrangement was w~ise, as it lessened
very much the chances of appeals and amend
ments. The first session, always held in New
port, which never lasted over a week, was
devoted to the election of officers civil and
military, of caucus candidates for every county
and town in the State. It was a critical time,
when political power was centred in the hands
of a few chosen ones, who were prone to use it
with immitigable rigor.

POLITICS. 193
There were only two parties in Rhode Island ;
viz., the Federal and Republican. Lines were
very strictly drawn, as I have already intimated.
The title of Democrat had not yet become a
distinctive epithet. Mr. Jefferson never used
the term. With him originated the happy allu
sion to national unity, " We are all Federalists;
we are all Republicans : " signifying the possi
bility of enjoying a strong as well as liberal
government. But this halcyon period never
culminated " whilst we were boys," nor since.
The dogma prevailed then, and prevails still,
that the blessing of political liberty must ever
depend upon "Argus-eyed" opposition of the
" ins " to the " outs ; " that, however painful party
conflicts, they must be patiently borne, as the
price of civil purification.
It would be difficult to exaggerate the intense
excitement which was kindled in Newport by a
series of letters, published, I think, in the " New
port Mercury," a paper of unquestionable au
thority with the Federal party, signed N. Gef-
froy and Nich's Geffrey, implicating President
Jefferson's political orthodoxy. Mr. Geffroy was
a respectable gold and silver smith, and lived
13

194 EARLY .RECOLLECTIONS.
next to the open lot in Thames Street, on which
stands the house once occupied by Jahleel
Brenton, afterwards by Mr. Walter Channing,
and since then by Mr. Coe. Mr. Geffroy's
name was used to conceal that of the real
author; for Mr. Geffroy was not intellectually
capable of producing such political libels. Not
withstanding the unwearied efforts to trace the
misrepresentations to the true source, nothing
reliable could be discovered. Among those sus
pected was Mr. John Rutledge, of South Caro
lina, a summer visitor at Newport. Mr. Rut-
ledge's anger was so excited against his supposed
maligner, a senator from Rhode Island, that he
inflicted upon him severe chastisement. I can
not recall the exact drift of these political fire
brands ; but I well recollect the eagerness of both
parties to obtain, from week to week, the news
paper 'which was made the medium for commu
nicating them to the public.
Other causes of party embroilment existed,
and were every day at work alienating members
of religious societies, and friends hitherto, and
disturbing the peace of neighborhoods. The
Republican party assumed the exclusive right

POLITICS. 195
and title of " liberty men," and manifested their
partisanship by erecting in various sections of
the town "liberty poles." These exhibitions
were offensive to the " Federal clique," and
measures not always peaceable were adopted
for their removal. Tempestuous nights were
sometimes selected for these raids ; and, besides
these, lampoons in doggerel measure appeared
almost every week in the opposing paper.
The tragic event which resulted in the death
of young Austin, by Mr. Selfridge, in State
Street, Boston, Aug. 4, 1806, roused a most
vindictive spirit between the two political organ
izations then existing throughout New England.
The collision in Boston was caused by vehe
ment discussions in the " Chronicle," edited by
Mr. Benjamin Austin, the father of the. deceased,
in behalf of the cause of Republicanism ; and
by a publication in the " Boston Gazette," the
warm advocate of Federalism. The altercation
was very bitter and personal, and implicated
Mr. Selfridge's honesty. After Mr. Selfridge's
trial for manslaughter, and his acquittal, he
very imprudently visited Newport, the hotbed of
political contention, and about the worst place

196 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
of refuge he could possibly have chosen. Upon
his landing at the wharf, all things having
been prepared for his reception, he was met
by an excited populace, who, after some colli
sion, permitted him to pass unharmed to his
lodgings at Mrs. Rogers',corner of Thames and
Mary Street; and nothing further transpired
until late at night, when a large number of per
sons, qualified to discourse the. music of Pan
demonium, assembled at the aforementioned
residence, and made night hideous with their
unearthly sounds. Whilst this concert was go
ing on, another feature of the programme was
being enacted. An effigy of Mr. Selfridge, pre
pared during the evening, had been carried in a
very noiseless manner to the State House; and,
by the help of ladders, was suspended by the
neck from the balcony. This effort to disgrace
Mr. Selfridge was rendered abortive, in conse
quence of the proverbially early rising of Mr.
Charles Feke, a noted apothecary, who, upon
removing his shop-shutters at his residence on
the Parade, discovered the figure of a man
hanging by the neck from that lofty elevation ;
and, as the keys of the State House were de-

POLITICS. 197
posited by Sheriff Dennis with him for safe
keeping, he hastened to the spot; and, upon dis
covering its character and its purpose, he cut it
down, and threw it into the cellar before any one
had been permitted to see it. The disappoint
ment of the parties interested found expression
in every kind of expletive. Mr. Selfridge left
town early the next morning.
The persistent antagonism between the two
leading powers of Europe, viz. England and
France, growing out of the " Orders in Council,"
on the one hand, and the " Berlin and Milan De
crees," on the other, were continually subject
ing American commerce to serious interruptions,
placing our " marine " between two fires abroad,
and kindling political torches at home. Party
spirit was born when the confederacy drew its
first breath, and will never die out so long as
there is an office of profit or of ambition un
disposed of, or a national treasury unexhausted.

198 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER XVI.
JEWS AND THEIR SYNAGOGUE.
T TAVING received the best portion of my
mercantile education from Jews, I desire
to offer a tribute of gratitude for their kindness
to me during my apprenticeship.
Mr. Joseph Lopez, kinsman of Moses and
Aaron Lopez, was chief clerk in the counting-
house of Gibbs & Channing, for several years
previous to the dissolving of that copartnership.
He doubtless became a thorough proficient in
book-keeping, under the guidance of his relative,
Moses, who was acknowledged to be one of the
best of mathematicians and accountants. He
and I were mutually attracted. He was deaf,
and hence I was constantly exercised in vocal
modulation. When my voice was too loud, he
would meekly whisper, " Not quite so loud."
Sometimes, when he was eager for an answer,
I, with boyish impudence, would speak very

JEWS AND THEIR SYNAGOGUE. 199
low, and then feel conscience-stricken when he
ascribed the subdued tone to thoughtlessness.
My aged friend, " an Israelite indeed in whom
there was no guile," felt conscientiously bound
to observe the " times and seasons" peculiar to
the Mosaic ritual. On Friday afternoons, he
left the counting-room about 3 P.M. in winter,
and at 5 in summer, in order to prepare for the
due observance of the sabbath on the morrow.
Passover week, and at the great day of Atone
ment, my friend would absent himself from
business for two or three consecutive days. He
was equally conscientious in making up to his
employers for his absence on these to him most
holy days. During Mr. Gibbs's long business
life, he had a singular way of adjusting accounts
which he feared, from their long standing, could
never be liquidated, save by severe litigation.
Some of these bore the following credits : " By
death ; " " By unable to pay ; " " By won't pay."
Mr. Lopez, with characteristic exactness, did
not deem such settlements creditable in an ac
count-book ; and so he went to work in a quiet
way, and first examined the " By death " item,
and, upon corresponding with .the supposed de-

200 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
funct, soon ascertained that the dead was alive.
Mr. Lopez consequently felt it to be his duty to
iog the memoryoi the delinquent, stating that Mr.
Gibbs, for some reason, had cancelled the debt
in the manner stated, which brought a cheerful
response, and the payment of the full amount
due. The other instances of indebtedness were
liquidated in response to similar hints. I recol
lect once trying my luck with reference to a
charge far back in the ledger. It happened in
this way : A miller called one day at the store.
to purchase a piece of ravensduck, with which
to make or to repair sails for his windmill ; and,
having given his name to be entered in the bill,
it struck me that I had seen that name before ;
and, upon turning to the alphabet of the " petty
ledger," there it was with an unsettled item,
which the old customer, after a few demurs,
paid. My employer was pleased with my reten-
tiveness, but thought I had been a little too nice
in the matter of interest. Mr. Lopez died not
a long time after the events herein recorded of
him. In this connection, I recall a proof of the
power of my voice, strengthened as it was by
such constant exercise in the answers to the fre-

JEWS AND THEIR SYNAGOGUE. 201
quent questions of Mr. Lopez. A captain, trum
pet in hand, came one morning to the foot of
" Gibbs's Wharf," to hail his vessel lying off
Fort Wolcott; but, failing to make himself
heard, I, though only sixteen years of age, said
to him, " Let me try." After a little hesitation,
he handed me the trumpet ; and, at the first cry
of " Sail-ho ! boat ! " the painter was loosened,
and the boat aimed for the shore.
Besides the family of Lopez (whose residence
was on the north side of the Parade, near the
Newport Bank, or in the same building), I was
well acquainted with Mr. Moses Seixas, cashier
of the Bank of Rhode Island, whose family oc
cupied the bank building on the south side of
the Parade. He and his son, Benjamin, who
was the teller, were in stature so short, that I
thought the vault or safe, which occupied a por
tion of the cellar _and was very shallow, had
been constructed with especial reference to their
convenience. Directly over the safe, secured to
a timber in the ceiling, was a block and tackle,
by help of which the heavy iron door was raised
from its bed. One set of the bank keys, at the
close of bank hours, was regularly left at our

202 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
store for safe keeping by the teller. On the Jew
ish sabbath (Saturday), I was expected to take
the keys to the bank, when a Christian officer
would be in attendance ; for this service, I always
received some token, usually in the shape of
Passover bread and bonbons resembling ears,
in memory of those cropped from Haman, when
hung for his intended cruelty to Mordecai. It
was in the same bank where, for five consecutive
years, I assisted the teller in counting Spanish'
milled dollars for shipment in the Indiaman,
Mount Hope, whose voyages were made to the
Isle of St. Denis, Bourbon, for coffee ; which
article cost from eight to ten cents per pound,
and was sold in Newport at twenty-eight to thir
ty-two cents. Brown & Ives, of Providence,
were large purchasers.
Besides the Jews already named, there were
several other eminent men of that fraternity.
Among them, I well remember a Mr. Levara.
During their residence in Newport, there was
occasional worship iu the synagogue. Gradually
these impressive services subsided, and finally
died out ; and then the building was left to the
bats and moles, and to the occasional invasion,

JEWS AND THEIR SYNAGOGUE. 203
through its porches and windows, of boys, who
took great pleasure in examining the furniture
scattered about. I had often been apprised
of a suspended lamp over the altar, the light of
which had never been extinguished. This legend
excited my curiosity; and one day, upon going
into the lofty gallery, I espied it, and expected to
see the flame which had been first kindled at
Jerusalem issuing from its socket, but my child
ish hope was destined to be foiled. It was not
until the death of the Touros, long after I had
left Newport, that their valuable gifts, appro
priated for the repair of the synagogue, of the
street in front of it, and of the cemetery, effected
an entire change in the external aspects of those
ancient sacred relics. I never go to Newport
without treading those courts where my old
friends worshipped, and visiting the burial-place
where they are entombed. The Hayes and
Myers families are there: the former, eminent
Jews of Boston ; and the latter, of Virginia, —
all of them very dear friends of mine.

204 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.

CHAPTER XVII.
BOOKS.
" Solomon saith truly, ' Of making many books, there is no end; '
so insatiable is the thirst of men therein, as also endless is the desire
of many in buying and reading them. Proportion an hour's medi
tation to an hour's reading of a staple author. This makes a man
master of his learning. Books that stand thin on the shelves, yet
so as the owner of them can bring forth every one of them into use,
are better than far greater libraries." — ¦ Fullek's Holy State.
T CANNOT help contrasting the paucity of
readable books in Newport in 1795, with the
almost infinite supply at the present date.
The Redwood Library, now so plenteously
endowed with every variety of elementary, en
tertaining, intellectual, and profound literature,
had no attractions to the people generally sev
enty years ago. What books there were remain
ing after the American Revolution served only
to interest a few seedy-looking students, \yho
were seen, occasionally, wending their solitary
way to academic shades. I recollect looking
now and then into that sepulchre of folios and
quartos (the octavos, and volumes of less dimen-

BOOKS. 205
sions, were mostly carried off by the English),
shrouded with dust. It was only a brief look,
however. But now what a change from the
dark, antique, dry, mystical past, to the bright,
beautiful, and appealing present, when every
order of mind may obtain food, easy or hard of
digestion, according to its taste !
Many times I have found myself musing over
the comparative scantiness of educational and
literary means for mental culture when I was
young ; greatly wondering that so many men
and women should have been so well instructed
in the then existing schools. And this wonder
was more strongly excited, when I remembered
that the prominent tendency was to indulge the
imagination, rather than instruct the reason.
" Novel-reading," and that not uniformly of
the purest type, constituted the mental enjoy
ment, not merely of the young and pleasure-
seeking, but quite a number of old ladies, whose
reading and knitting kept perfect time.
Mr. Richardson, the postmaster, and Mr. Wil
der, an extensive bookseller and stationer, were
the only dealers in novels and heart-rending
romances, — such, for instance, as Evelina, Ce-

206 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
cilia, and Camilla, by Miss Burney; Sir Charles
Grandison, Pamela, and Clarissa, by Richardson;
Tom Jones, Jonathan Wild, Joseph Andrews,
and The Miser, by Fielding; Roderick Random,
Sir Launcelot Greaves, and Peregrine Pickle, by
Smollett; Three Spaniards, Fatal Revenge, &c,
&c. ; Gil Bias, by Le Sage ; Robinson Crusoe, by
De Foe ; The Arabian Nights' Entertainments,
Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, &c, &c.
These constituted the light literature at that early
time. The favorite female authors were Han
nah More, Mrs. Barbauld, Miss Edgeworth, Miss
Burney, Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Opie, and Mrs. Inch-
bald. The poets most read were Shakspeare,
Milton, Spenser, Dryden, Goldsmith, Cowper,
Pope, and Thomson ; of historians, Hume, Gib
bon, arid Robertson ; of essayists, Johnson, Addi
son, Steele, and McKenzie ; of satirists, Swift,
Cobbett, Barlow, &c, &c.

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 207

CHAPTER XVIII.
DISTINGUISHED MEN.
"Hundreds of names might be cited of men who have early
determined to have some one distinct plan of life. From early man
hood, they steadily pursued a settled object, and thus brought out
their powers, and rose to distinction. Indeed, it would be hard to find
a man really worth}- of eminence, who had not earnestly directed his
attention to one business or profession."
TTON. WILLIAM ELLERY. — I had such
frequent intercourse with my venerated
grandfather, and received from him so many
lessons of wisdom, so many valuable hints, so
much good advice, and such positive delight,
that I should be false to my happiest recol
lections, were I to withhold them in this con
nection. I need say nothing of ,Mr. Ellery's
public services. Are they not written in the
archives of the nation? Is not his name con
spicuous amongst the signers of the Declaration
of Independence? Let me, then, very briefly
narrate a few simple incidents indelibly stamped
upon my memory during the period of adoles
cence. Mr. Ellery was a well-read lawyer ; and,

208 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
upon his appointment to the collectorship of
Newport by Washington, he proved himself in
every respect equal to so responsible an office,
which was renewed during the Presidency of
the first Adams, of Jefferson, Madison, and
Monroe, until his death, Feb. 15, 1820, at the
age of ninety-two. His character commanded
uniform respect. He required promptitude of
those having business with him. Sometimes
he felt annoyed at the careless posture and man
ner with which the customary oath was treated.
Once when I was at the Custom House on the
"Parade," a burly " skipper " came in, and ex
pressed his wish to make an entry ; and, whilst
it was being prepared by the deputy, he lolled
about and against the office desk, until the oath
was ready to be administered to him ; then the
collector required him to take an erect posture
in the centre of the room, and to hold up his
right hand, whilst, in a clear voice, the solemn
averment was made. I recollect witnessing,
some years after this experience, a very different
mode of procedure at the Custom House in Bos
ton, when a distinguished importer of French
goods made an entry, and 1he usual words,

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 209
" You solemnly swear," were hurried over by
the collector, who, in the same breath, said,
" Mr. T., you have made an error of nine shil
lings : just correct it." Whilst Mr. Ellery was so
precise, and sometimes uncomfortably exacting,
in the performance of official duties, he was one
of the most easy and agreeable of men at home,
especially when surrounded by young people,
and when recounting scenes connected with
college life. I shall never forget the account he
once gave to us boys of the robbery committed
by sundry students, his classmates, in the hen
house of the parish minister whose services
upon the sabbath they were compelled to at
tend. The reverend pastor's sleeping-room was
known to be in a remote quarter of the house;
but, being Saturday night, he happened to be up
late in his study, and, when the purloining be
gan, he was so concealed as to be able to listen
without being discovered, and thus became ac
quainted with the names of the aggressors. In
the morning, the " reverend father " sent an invi
tation to them, three in number, to dine with
him, which invitation could ¦ not be refused.
As the guests of the pastor, they were expected
14

210 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
to sit in the minister's pew in the afternoon.
The pastor, when he came to the text, quoted
from Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, " Let them
that stole, steal no more." After the usual style
of sermonizing at that day, he added, by way of
application (which was considered, in that simple,
unadorned, but practical age, the gist of the dis
course), " Methinks I see in yonder pew three
hopeful youths, who last night robbed my hen
roost ; I say unto them, Steal no more ! " There
was a wag in the same class, who, when occa
sion offered, took great delight in quoting Scrip
ture. When he and others were out nutting in
forbidden ground, and this lover of profane wit
was in the tree, shaking the branches, a rustling
noise reached their ears, which they construed to
be human footsteps, when those below fled in
an opposite direction. The youth in the tree,
having on a loose gown, was detained by the
branches which entangled him, until the cause
of the disturbance was discovered, which proved
to . be a hog rooting amongst the leaves : he
then wittily took his revenge upon his cowardly
associates by bellowing out an apt quotation
from Scripture ; viz., " The wicked flee, when

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 211
no man pursueth ; but the righteous are bold as a
lion." Once more, this same wag and his as
sociates, having need of some kindling wood,
surreptitiously removed a " sign " from a neigh
boring inn at a late hour, and split it up ; but
the theft being unexpectedly discovered, and
suspicion fastening upon them, an 'attack upon
their club room was instantly agreed upon.
The attack was foiled by sounds which arrested
the injured party at the foot of the stairs, indi
cating religious worship ; and especially were
they awed by a text from Matthew, — " An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh for a sign,
and there shall no sign be given it."
Occasionally my grandfather related incidents
connected with his horseback journeys as a
member of the Continental Congress held at
York and Philadelphia. He took with him as a
companion, in one instance, my father, and, in
another, Judge Dana, of Cambridge. These
journeys were often prosecuted under severe ob
stacles, and with many personal dangers. The
necessary clothing was carried in saddle-bags,
which were made of thick russet leather, and
well lined, to prevent the articles inclosed from

212 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
being chafed. When ready, the two gentlemen
crossed the West Passage to Narragansett, and
took their departure from Cranston. I have not
space to write out ten of the hundred or more
adventures, serious and ludicrous, which varied
the transit, occupying nearly a month, from
Rhode Island to Pennsylvania. Late in life, I
was favored with the perusal of my grandfather's
diary, which revived in my memory the thrilling
stories which excited so great an interest in the
hearing when I was merely a boy.
One more of these stories included the fol
lowing peculiarity of an Old Cambridge divine.
Whenever, at the close of public religious ser
vices, rain happened to be falling, the good
minister, thinking his flock could never hear too
much of a very good thing, would not hastily
dismiss them, but let fall remarks and anecdotes
suited to the time and place ; looking, however,
very wistfully out of the window^ if haply he
might find a pause in the drops, and, in such
case, cry out, " Let us embrace this slatch ; glory
be," ,&c. ; and then be the first to escape.
The facts under this and previous headings
are detailed in their order. Although trusting

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 213
wholly to memory, I believe nothing essential
to a good understanding of the " times " em
braced in these " Recollections " has been omit
ted, or in any wise exaggerated. Every thing
has come up naturally, yielding me, perhaps,
much greater pleasure than will be obtained by
my readers.
I might give quite a popular registry of say
ings and doings which were repeated to me
from time to time in reference to my beloved
and honored grandparent ; but, a« the sole intent
of this little volume is to give merely my own
recollections of men and things, I must refrain
from what would otherwise be a highly pleasur
able undertaking.
I cannot close this tribute to a learned and
good man, without alluding to some domestic
relationships which rendered his long life a bless
ing to the young and old with whom he was
connected. Mr. Ellery was eminently deserving
of the title of scholar. His knowledge of the
works of the best authors in Latin and Greek
was extensive. His taste for the classics was
developed at an early age, and continued to
almost the last day of his earthly sojourn. Hor-

214 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
ace was his favorite satirist among the poets.
He was not, however, so wedded to ancient
classics, as to be forgetful of the claims of a
host of English philosophers, critics, historians,
men of science, poets, &c, to his study and ad
miration. His small Bible, full of marginal
notes, held a prominent place upon his study
table, and was read reverently by him daily.
He was conscientiously disposed to concede the
largest liberty in matters of faith ; and he was
no dogmatist in the maintenance of views pecu
liar to his early religious culture. His extreme
old age was not so much the product of a
robust constitution, as of great regularity and
simplicity of living. He avoided medication as
far as possible. He very seldom found it neces
sary to consult a physician. He was hospitable,
and provided an excellent table ; indulged him
self and his guests with two minute glasses, of
old sherry wine: the 'toasts being, "All our
friends ; " " All our enemies." He preserved the
custom introduced by Rev. Ezra Stiles ; viz., of
eating pudding before meat. He would say
jocosely to us boys, " Now, the boy who eats
the most pudding shall have the most meat."

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 215
But he could not often beguile us in this way ;
and hence we invariably eat sparingly of the
first, especially whenever the last belonged to
the poultry genus. Even late in life, my grand
father seldom allowed himself the luxury of a
fire in his sleeping-room. His habit was to con
fine himself pretty closely to the house between
October and May. He carried on his corre
spondence with the Government with an ordi
nary quill, taken from a native bird, and used
the common "foolscap" paper, manufactured
at the Brandywine mills in Delaware, having
rough edges and a peculiar brownish hue. His
handwriting was stiff, but remarkably legible.
The quarterly accounts which he rendered were
very accurate ; so much so, that I believe they
were never returned by the comptroller of the
treasury but once, and then only involving the
difference of one cent, during his long collector-
ship. His excessive scrupulousness was thought
to be his only fault. During the noted embargo
era, — a measure which he at heart repudiated,
— he never deviated a hair's breadth in the
execution of the law. Neither friends nor foes
had power to warp his judgment, or abate the

216 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
exactness which his sense of official duty de
manded. Mr. Samuel Elam. — I have pleasant recol
lections of Mr. Elam, and of his weekly visit to
the town in an English phaeton, very lofty, and
of yellow color, to attend the directors' meeting
of the Rhode- Island Union Bank, of which- he
was president, I believe, from its incorporation
until his death, Oct. 24, 1813. His dress was
that of the " old English gentleman," of the
Quaker type. He never wore any other than
a drab-colored coat and small clothes, and white
satin vest. He gave princely entertainments at
his country seat, which he named Vaucluse,*
situated off the East Road, on the island, about
five or six miles from Newport. His library,
from its superior excellence, attracted much
notice. No one was ever more ready to benefit
a poor student, by loan of his best books, than
Mr. Elam; but he exacted their punctual return,
and that they should be entirely free from blem-

* The name of a village and remarkable fountain in France. Its
scenery is most picturesque; but it derives its chief celebrity from
having been the residence of Petrarch.

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 217
ish. He was fond of having young persons at
his hospitable board, whom he relieved from
all needless constraint, by a most cheerful and
encouraging manner. His tumblers and wine
glasses were highly ornamented, and bore his
initials. Mr. Elam was often at our counting-
house, in consultation with my employers re
specting matters connected with the foundation
and superstructure of a stone bridge at Tiverton.
I kept the record of the cords of stone dropped
into the abyss ; for so it seemed fit to be
called at that day. Previous to this undertak
ing, several wooden structures had been swept
away by driving storms through the " East
Passage." This last attempt, therefore, to con
nect the island with the mainland, proved to be
a gigantic affair ; and but few persons in New
port believed that it could ever be accomplished.
It took years of labor to bring to the surface the
angular point upon which was to rest the future
road-bed of the causeway and draw. No one
deserved, or more justly received, credit for the
inception, engineering, and completion of the
work, than Mr. Elam. It was a great day of
rejoicing, — the day of its opening; and no one

218 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
was happier than he who laid its corner-stone,
and was permitted to witness the crossing and
recrossing of the throng of men and women
on the day of its completion.
Gilbert Stuart. — It has been a matter of
dispute whether this eminent portrait-painter
was born in one of the western counties of
Rhode Island or in Newport. I knew Mr. Stuart
for a number of years in Boston ; and we fre
quently talked about our birth-place. He used
to speak of Newport as his earliest home, and
of circumstances and events which left no doubt
in my mind that it was his native place. -He
never alluded to any other locality in the Nar
ragansett region, as having been the pla'ce of
his birth.
• Mr. Stuart was an admirable talker ; but, what
was more rare, he was a good listener. He took
boundless pleasure in relating anecdotes con
nected with his early life and professional labors.
He told me one day, that while painting the
portrait of a gentleman for many years a resi
dent of Newport, whose face wore an expression
of unvarying gravity, it occurred to him that the

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 219
, i
sitter was related to one of his old schoolmates ;
and, wishing to provoke a smile upon his imper
turbable face, he ventured to ask him if he had
ever heard of one of the juvenile pranks of an
uncle of his. The answer was in the negative,
his features relaxing a little at the thought that
his venerable and remarkably sedate relative
could ever have indulged in a mischievous act;
but the narration of the incident so excited the
risibles of his sitter, that it became difficult to
tranquillize his features to the softened expression
which the artist aimed to transfer to the canvas,
and which finally relieved it from the stiff and
sombre air which had gathered over it. As
often as I gaze upon the painting, I feel con
vinced of the accuracy of Mr. Stuart's statement.
The smile is exquisitely tempered.
Stuart's success in male portraits was unsur
passed by any American artist for truthfulness
and color. That of the senior Mr. Gibbs, often
exhibited in the gallery at the Boston Athaeneum,
will never be forgotten. Mr. Stuart's female
portraits were less interesting to me. Perhaps
it was only a fancy of mine ; but he seemed to
have wearied of painting the varied feminine

220 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
dress of the period, covered with lace, and the
garniture of the head, rich in ornaments.
I was once excessively amused with Mr.
Stuart's description of a visit to Newport, at a
late period of his eventful life. He recounted to
me the incidents at his house in Boston. It was
upon one of his brightest days, his easel pre
pared, and a huge pinch of snuff held in sus
pense,1 that I replied to his first question, —
" When were you last at the island ? " I named
the time, which proved to be as long as that
between his earliest departure and latest return.
" Oh ! " he said, in reply, " you have done wisely
in refraining from breaking the spell with which
long absence is sure to invest any particular spot.
Now, I had not been in Newport, for many,
many years, when I made up my mind to go
on a pilgrimage in hope of meeting some old
familiar faces. I felt, before starting, that the
changes I should witness would cause sadness ;
but my mind was made up, and so southward I
bent my steps."
It was something of a journey then to New
port, — through Walpole to Providence the first
night, and by the packet down the river the next

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 221
day. " I landed somewhere near Ferry-wharf
Lane, and was directed to respectable lodgings
in Broad Street, quite near to the State House.
Next morning, I began my search for old land
marks and frosty heads. The former were scarce
enough. I could hardly recognize localities once
familiar. The dust and grime of many years
covered spots which were fresh and fair in my
boyish days. I strayed to the upper part of the
town, gave a look at the graveyard and at head
stones with most quaint inscriptions, made my
bow to the Liberty Tree, and walked at my lei
sure down Thames Street. It would have been
better named ' Long Lane ; ' for owing to its nar
rowness, its want of sidewalks, and its centre
flat-stone gutter, " lane " would have sounded
less pompous, and been more truthful. I
passed along, looking eagerly at the signs, that
I might read the names of old friends. People
stared at me, and I at them ; but we could not
identify one another. Beginning to feel rather
' blue ' over the ' wrecks of time,' I thought I
might while away a portion of my visit in the
organ-loft of ' Old Trinity,' and perchance, by
force of memory and a vivid imagination, revive

222 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
some of the sweet music that used to reach me
in my humble pew from one of the best instru
ments then in America, the gift of George Berk
ley, Bishop of Cloyne. I then visited the stone
mill, and mentally renewed my questionings re
specting that strange and meaningless structure;
cast a glance at the Redwood Library building,
admired its unique architecture, so classical, so re
fined ; examined a few folios, and reverently gazed
at their pictorial embellishments. From thence I
roamed in the neighborhood of ' Brinley's ' rope
walks ; visited the beach where I had so often
bathed ; and after exploring the inner and outer
and above and below passages of that once, in
my view, gigantic building, the State House, I
returned to my lodgings, to muse over the scenes
of my childhood and riper years. In the after
noon, having nothing better to do, I made a
second visit to the church, examined the ancient
tablets in memory of Marmaduke Browne and
others, and finally exhausted the daylight in
reading familiar names on the monuments in the
yard." Mr. Stuart was born in 1755, and died in
1828.

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 223
Charles King. — I have already alluded to
my early intimacy with this deservedly esteemed
son of Newport. He was, as a boy, faultless in
temper and disposition. He evinced respect for
the aged by graceful salutations ; and to those of
his own years he was endeared by joyousness
and unselfishness. Very early in life, his love of
art became apparent. He followed his bent at
first in simple sketches of familiar objects, his
perseverance finally culminating in a well-earned
distinction. In 1857 we met. Having just
bathed, he was returning from the beach, where
we both in former years disported ; at one time
breasting the curling breakers, and, at another,
yielding to their embrace, which bore us high and
dry to the shore. Fifty years had elapsed, and
yet the same genial smile and the same sweet
tone greeted me as of yore. His love of New
port never intermitted ; and during his profes
sional life, and at his decease, he left many
valuable remembrances to the place where he
was nurtured, and to the Redwood Library,
whose interests were ever precious to him.

224 early recollections.
Malbone. Malbone's Garden. — The name, as
above, was endeared to me by a long acquaint
ance with him who was always addressed by
the title of Captain. I mean the Hon. Fran
cis Malbone, who commanded the oldest mili
tary corps in the State, and which still holds
the first rank for discipline and soldierly bearing.
Who will ever forget the noble stature, the gen
erous spirit, and the contagious merriment, of
this excellent man ? He had a relative, Mr. God
frey Malbone, whose history and habitation be
came quite interesting to me in my juvenile and
maturer years. Amongst my earliest rambles,
not one comes home to my recollection so fresh
and fair as that which had its terminus at Mian-
tonomi Hill. The block-house, so called, with its
Indian legends, and the relics of rural cultiva
tion in and around " Malbone's Garden," were
to me full of attractions. The well-defined paths,
with their borders of boxwood, preserved so.
many years in that splendid enclosure, after its
proprietor, dismayed by the destruction by fire
of his dwelling, had forsaken it for a home in a
neighboring colony (Connecticut), were so beau
tiful in my eye, as to leave impressions almost as

distinguished men. 225
vivid to-day as in my youthful peregrinations,
sixty-five years ago.
At the time, or about the time, of the Revolu
tion, Colonel Malbone, who had the reputation
of being a , Tory (rather an opprobrious epithet
then, when British bayonets threatened compul
sion to British rule), marking the rapidly growing
determination of his fellow-citizens to become
independent of the Crown, decided to vacate his
patrimonial estates, and to retire to what was
then considered a wilderness ; namely, Pomfret,
Conn., afterwards named Brooklyn. He pur
chased a large number of acres on the Quine-
baug River. He built himself a house, and
furnished it with every luxury. Being a strict
Episcopalian, at least in name, he built a manse
for his curate, with a glebe attached. He owned
a great number of slaves ; and, although profane
swearing was considered allowable in the master,
it was otherwise with the slave.
In selecting his future home, Colonel Malbone
showed a genuine perception of the beautiful.
Whatever may have been his habits of thought
and life, Colonel Malbone evinced a memorable
-outward respect for the Christian institutions in
15

226 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
which he was brought up ; and one of his first
acts after his removal was the erection of an
Episcopal church. He selected a lovely spot,
and the1 chapel exhibited the truest and rarest
architectural proportions. To this day, it is
carefully preserved, and with its surroundings
of superb trees, and other rich rural adornments,
constitutes a beautiful feature in that section of
country. In near neighborhood to the church is a cem
etery where repose a number of Colonel Mal
bone's near relatives, viz. the Brinleys and Foggs.
During a residence of four years in Brooklyn, I
frequently visited the locality, and the mansion
once occupied by Colonel Malbone. His estab
lishment reminded one of the descriptions given
of those belonging, par excellence, to the "old
English gentleman."
When I was in Brooklyn, I frequently met in
the road a colored man, a descendant of one of
Godfrey Malbone's slaves, who bore the name
of Frank Malbone.
Oliver H Perry. — In youth, and in riper
years, he was noted for personal beauty and pre-

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 227
cocious manliness. He was one of the hand
somest boys in town. His beauty was after the
similitude of David, when Jesse presented him
to the great prophet of Israel ; viz., " Now, he
was ruddy, and, withal, of a beautiful counte
nance, and goodly to look to." His deportment
in early manhood was indicative of that firmness
and resolution which, in later years, forced the
flag of England to strike to the " Stars and
Stripes." The admirable picture exhibited in Boston,
representing Commodore Perry's victory on Lake
Erie, especially pleased me by its accurate like
ness of the young naval hero.
I should like to indulge in a free and full ex
pression of my admiration of this son of Rhode
Island, as I became aware of his powers in
mature life ; but, as these " Recollections " are
designed mainly to preserve the incidents of child
hood and youth, I am reluctantly compelled to
withhold a more ample tribute to what he ac
complished in behalf of the country. I may,
however, memorize a few facts in connection
with Commodore Perry's early experiences.
He entered the navy in the spring of 1799,

228 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
when he was only fifteen years of age, as mid
shipman, now styled " naval cadet," and made
his first voyage in the frigate General Greene,
under the command of his father, Captain Chris
topher Perry. He afterwards served in the John
Adams, in the frigate Constellation, and in the
schooner Revenge, which latter vessel was
wrecked upon Watch-hill, Conn., Jan., 1811.
Commodore Perry was born in Newport, R.I.,
in August, 1785 ; died in Port Spain, Island of
Trinidad, Aug. 23, 1819. His remains were
removed to Newport. A lofty -monument in the
town cemetery bears record of a people's grati
tude and love.

OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 229

CHAPTER XIX.
OLD ACQUAINTANCES.
" Should auld acquaintance be forgot, .
And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of o' lang syneV " "
"DENJAMIN HAD WIN.— A man exceed
ingly fond of old costly books. He interested
me mainly by his persistent efforts in hunting up
valuable books stolen from the Redwood Library,
and which were known to have been scattered,
during the Revolutionary war, in several of the
country towns, especially in Narragansett, Bris
tol, and Warren, and not a few even in New
port. I never saw a man more elated than was
friend Hadwin, when he showed a folio volume,
devoted to illustrations of English Heraldry.
He hooked it, he said, from one of the best
libraries in Newport. Nearly all of the folio
volumes, the gifts of Abraham Redwood, were
restored to the shelves of that' unique library
by Mr. Hadwin. I always felt that he deserved

230 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
a niche amongst the contributors to probably
the most ancient institution of the kind in the
country. Stephen Gould. — A most excellent man, and
highly respected, a member of the " Friends "
community. His main business was watch
cleaning and repairing. I delighted in visiting
him, that I might observe the removal of the
parts which held the watch-work together, and
the adjustment of the hairspring arid verge. Mr.
Gould's disposition was so bland, and his con
versation so agreeable, that I hardly passed a
day without " dropping in." He had a good
mind and a warm heart. Holding military
tactics as antichristian, and military fines as
unwarrantable exactions, he adopted the non-
resistant tenet held by the " Friends ; " and,
when visited by the clerk of a company with
a bill for non-attendance at roll-call, he, Mr.
Gould, would open a drawer, and go on with
his work, leaving the officer to take as much
money as he pleased. I once offered to settle
the bill for him; but he refused, as it would
seem to the collector of the fines, that he tacitly

OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 231
consented to the justice of such claims. He
never looked at the bill, nor even examined
his money-drawer, in order to ascertain how
much he had involuntarily parted with
Mr. Gould was devotedly attached to the study
of natural history.
David Buffum, Sen. — He was an approved
and gifted minister amongst " Friends." He
was as conscientious in fulfilling his farming
trusts, as in preaching the word. He was a
guileless man, and of uncommon intellectual
power. I went frequently to hear him at the
fifth-day (Thursday) meetings, especially when
a wedding was to come off. There was some
thing in the manner of intoning the prayers
and preaching at " Quaker meeting," which
was very attractive. The voice used in that
way had a marvellous effect in enchaining the
attention of the auditor.
Clarke Rodman, also a " Friend," and already
spoken of in these " Recollections," was a trust
worthy servant of the town in the town clerk's
department. He had a large family, all of

232 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
whom bore scriptural names. His youngest
son, Caleb, was a particular friend of mine. Mr.
Rodman was quite clever, in the English use of
that term : —
" A man severe he was, and stern to view ;
I knew him well, and every truant knew;
Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face."
I sometimes thought he would have been more
lenient, had his smoking propensities been less
enslaving. I used to see him more than once
every day, but never without his long and curved
pipe. Late in life, he became an approved min
ister of the weekly, quarterly, and yearly meet
ings. He always. welcomed me to his house.
Nancy Carpenter. — Properly Anna, after the
prophetess. Attached to the same faith was
this admirable woman, with whom I boarded for
a number of years whilst serving out my mer
cantile apprenticeship. If, at any time, I was
boisterously gay, she would give me one of her
ineffable smiles, and, by a gentle pat on the head,
indicate her willingness to forgive me, if I would
check my mirth. Sometimes she would say,

OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 233
" George, I shall be obliged to send to thy uncle,
•unless thou art willing to lessen thy noise." But
she never did send; for she was the personifi
cation of good nature.
At her house, opposite Captain Eng's store,
in Thames Street, I first became acquainted with
the method of " Friends' religious meetings " at
private houses. We young folks were some
times in Mrs. Carpenter's sitting-room, perhaps
just after tea, when a few sisters, accompanied
by an elder, would happen in. Almost immedi
ately, conversation would subside, and we were
in a " Quaker meeting." The silence continued
half an hour, and then the grasping of hands
signified that the meeting was over. Gossiping
had no countenance amongst this grave people.
Sally Dennis. — Another Quakeress, who kept
what was termed in her day a huckster's or fruit
shop. She confined herself simply to retailing
sweets, — viz., candy, figs, nuts, &c. ; and she'
always kept the very best. "Her face was as
smiling as a basket of chips on a frosty morn
ing." Although somewhat advanced in life
when I first knew her, her complexion was free

234 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
from wrinkles, and soft as the skin of a child.
1 never saw a wrinkled Quakeress in my life >
they are too sweet-tempered to allow of that
deformity. The boys, and sometimes the girls,
made her shop a sort of juvenile exchange.1

MISCELLANEOUS. 235

CHAPTER XX.

MISCELLANEOUS.

"DUBLIC Religious Meetings of " Friends."
— The most noted assembly was held at
the spring "yearly meeting." During my boy
hood, no season was more earnestly looked for,
by old and young, than this convention ; em
bracing all New England, and delegates from
other similar associations, at home and abroad.
According to tradition, rain was always expected
about this time : I will not vouch for the fulfil
ment of the prediction, nor for a similar an
ticipation when the basket-vendor made his
appearance. I was never able to trace back, in
any of the Rhode-Island legends, why Quaker
gatherings and basket-vending had any thing to
do with the falling of rain ; but my ears could
not have deceived me, when at the appearance
of the neat slate or drab colored bonnet, and at
the cry of "Baskets,'' I heard "Look out for

236 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
rain." So much for an episode which may
have tired the reader; and yet I may appeal
to a sober fact, that very many pleasant books,
not mine however, are made up of inconse
quential fancies. I deal in facts, and not in
fancies, and will go on with my account of
" Friends' meetings."
The meeting began on First day, Sunday, at
Portsmouth, on the island, and at the adjourn
ment, to assemble for business on Second day,
Monday, at Newport, and continued from day
to day, until the close of the following First-day
(Sunday) afternoon. During the previous week,
the town was filled with " Friends," clothed in
their peculiar garb, exquisitely neat, and of the
subdued colors which contrasted so strikingly
with the showy dress of the world's people. It
was pleasant, however, to see the readiness with
which every house was thrown open for the
hospitable entertainment of " Friends," strangers
sometimes, drawn together from all quarters, and
even from distant continents, for communion and
sympathy. Nothing excited my notice so much
as the caps worn by the staid women and lovely
girls. I had often heard of sheer muslin; but.

MISCELLANEOUS. 237
when seen in stomachers and caps faultless in
whiteness and polish, the impression of the
beauty and the fitness of that material, as worn
by the guests in my mother's family, has never
been effaced from my memory.
At the final Sunday-afternoon meeting, which
was held at a later hour than usual for the ac
commodation of outsiders from other churches,
the gathering was immense. At one of these
anniversaries, the public were permitted to hear
addresses from two young women, one of them
recently from England, both very handsome and
wonderfully .eloquent. The English devotee,
Ann Alexander, held the throng in breathless
attention. The silence during her address was
so profound as to be " felt ; " and, when disturbed
for a moment by the emphatic elevation of the
speaker's voice, it only became intensified from
fear of losing an after-word.
Marriages. — If there was an entertainment
I particularly relished in my boyish days, it was
a Quaker wedding, — so free from parade, and
so eminently truthful and binding. With the
world's people, a priest or magistrate is expected

238 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
to officiate ; but, with " Friends," the parties
themselves do the publishing and the marrying.
At a public weekly meeting, they declare their
intentions; and at a similar gathering, the week
or fortnight following, just before the elders on
the high seats prepare to close their silent or oral
worship, they stand up, and, taking each other by
the right hand, the man says,* " In the presence
of God and these witnesses, I,  , take A. B.,
whom I hold by my right hand, to be my wife,
promising, by divine assistance, to be unto her
a faithful and affectionate husband ; and, forsak
ing all others, I promise to cleave unto her, and
to her alone, until God, by death, shall separate
us." The woman, after the same manner, merely
changing the pronouns, covenants fidelity and
affection to the man whom she has chosen for
her husband, so long as life lasts ; and then
they seal their vows, by repeating the gospel in
junction, " Whom God hath joined together, let
not man put asunder." After the solemnization
of the rite followed the signing of the marriage
certificate ; first by the husband and wife, then
* The words I use may not be literally exact.

MISCELLANEOUS. 239
by the near relatives, and such other persons as
felt inclined. " The boys " were always glad to
sign the connubial record.
" Friends," in my day, had their peculiarities.
They were clannish, of few words, and only such
as would bear repeating ; unobservant of other
people's defects, and strict in criticising their
own; proverbially neat; never in debt, — hence
never sued ; pure in speech — " yea, yea, and nay,
nay;" temperate in eating and drinking; anti-
slavery in word and act; free from parade at
funerals ; affectionate at leave-taking, — fare
well signifying their faith, hope, and love.
Customs. — Every community is noted for
idiosyncrasies, usages, customs, which consti
tute no mean items in the construction of its
history. First, Foot-stoves were in constant re
quisition, when I was a boy, by women, at home
and at church. Parlor fires were not kindled un
til a certain period designated in R. B. Thomas's
Almanac had arrived. When the equinoctial
gale came unseasonably, the keeping-room, as it
was called, \yas deserted, and the kitchen fire
place became the resort of both old and young.

240 early recollections.
A piece of furniture called a settle, with its high
back and of semicircular shape, was a highly
esteemed seat at such times ; and, when the coals
were glowing of an early autumnal evening, the
old sepulchral chimney, with its cosey corners,
was hailed as a godsend. Second, Twice a year,
a noted cheap shoemaker, from Bristol, visited
Newport, to obtain the length of the feet of every
boy and girl: the width, and fulness or slim-
ness of the instep, were never considered. Two
or three pairs of shoes had to answer for the
year. Boots were a great luxury ; they were of
the " Suwaroff" pattern, of a length but a lit
tle below the knee, sometimes surmounted by a
yellow or buff-colored top, or black silk tassel.
India-rubber shoes and boots were unknown.
The toes of boots and shoes were sharp-pointed,
and the heels very high.
Boys wore deep ruffled shirts, the ruffles fall
ing half way down the back. Young men
wore " small clothes " and knee-lacings. La
dies wore high-top combs, and hair in huge
puffs on each side of the head. Shoulder-straps
were common; but the elastic suspender was
reserved for modern times. S.nall, double-case

miscellaneous. 241
silver watches, of the most ordinary make, there
were ; and now and then, as at the present day
in an old-fashioned family, might be found one
of those nondescript time-keepers which were
generally within half an hour of the true time.
Gold watches for show were displayed on great
occasions. Warming-pans were used in cases
of sickness, and by stealth at other times, when
the thermometer ranged in the neighborhood
of zero. Muffs of fur were rare indeed. Some
of black silk, quilted with cotton wool, might
frequently be seen. Socks and stockings were
of domestic growth. Boys might be seen with
bare feet in summer, excepting Sundays, when
the best gear was aired. Stiff, plaited ruffs,
of the " Elizabethan _" age, were often deemed
ornamental on the necks of the fair. Trousers,
and not pantaloons, was the name given to that
portion of male dress covering the lower limbs.
There were no separate shirt-collars, iieck-ties,
or " dickies," worn sixty years ago. The collar
of the shirt, when starched, stood up nearly to
the ears, and was inclosed by what was called
either a cravat or stock or neckcloth or " pud
ding." Young men wore ruffled shirt-bosoms.
16

242 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
The boys' inner garment was surmounted by a
very wide collar and ruffle. Bosom-pins, of va
rious patterns, were common. I had presented
to me, by a cousin, a pair with cornelian heads,
united by a gold chain, which I still own. It
obtained for me, at that juvenile period, some
notice. Oh, the simplicity of that age, when
a thin gold ear-hoop and a string of gold beads
constituted the beginning and the end of female
finery! There were no professional dentists
then ; but there were in most mouths splendid
teeth, and hence I infer that the modern recourse
to their aid must be owing to the increased
luxury of 'living.
It was not thought necessary to have the
streets of Newport furnished with sidewalks.
The custom prevailed of walking in them mid
way. Thames Street was rendered very dis
agreeable, by permission given to owners of
wharves to place, at their several openings,
posts, in order, as it was averred, to prevent
houses and stores so situated from being in
jured by the passage of carts and trucks by
them. For many, many years, this liberty as
sumed the semblance of a right ; and it was not

miscellaneous. 243
until very many persons were injured on dark
nights, by falling against these obstructions,
that measures were proposed for their removal.
By and by, a scheme was suggested by a young
man, a schoolfellow of mine, for ridding the
town of the nuisance. It was carried out in
the manner following; viz.: On one blustering
dark night, when windows and window-blinds
were shaking, and when every light in the stores
and houses was extinguished, a youthful band
of reformers, with saws in hand, proceeded to
cut down these offenders. The work went
bravely on until the day dawned, when only
one of the posts remained. Our leader, a noto
rious wag, thinking it best to perpetrate a joke,
took from his pocket a lump of chalk, and wrote
on the lone upright intruder the words —
" POST-PONED."
It was suspected, but never discovered, to
whom, mainly, the public were indebted for
this cutting rebuke ; but the ghastly object was
quickly removed, and in due time sidewalks
were introduced. Of sunshades and parasols
there were none. Silk umbrellas had not been
thought of. Oiled linen ones, stiff, unwieldy,

244 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
capable of standing alone, were the only ones
to be seen on the street. High-top combs, horn
and shell, were in vogue. Hoops, whether of
steel or cane, were not to be found. A lady
in the street to-day, with the wind boxing (a
sailor phrase) from north-east to south-west, and
from south-east to north-west, — quite a gale, —
minus the stiffened crinoline, would present an
accurate duplicate of the style of street costume
in England, France, and this country, sixty years
ago, as given in Akerman's Repository, the
accredited London standard of fashion at that
day, still extant in some old families. These
pictorial sketches of ladies' tight-fitting costumes
excited as much admiration in the beholders of
that day, as is now awakened by the waste of
silks, and accompanying " waterfalls," " rats,"
" mice," et caztera.
It was the custom for watchmen to cry the
wind and weather ; aud, when the nights were
stormy and cold, many of them received a mug
of ginger-and-cider flip. When a death occurred,
it was usual to engage persons to watch the
body from an adjacent room : this was done to
guard against the possible intrusion of rats and

MISCELLANEOUS. 245
mice, then a common tenantry. At funerals, it
was customary to place gloves upon the coffin,
as gifts to the pall-bearers. The usage is still
sometimes observed.
There were no door-bells in my day; huge
brass knockers indicated the mode for obtaining
admission into dwellings. Many of the ancient
houses in Newport still retain this bright em
bellishment. Town meetings were summoned by a town
officer, who was always accompanied by the
town drummer. A town crier was appointed by
the town, and the office has been sustained up
to the present time. It was the custom at the
close of the old, and opening of the new year,
to ring the church-bells.
Furniture. — Cowper, in his poem of the
" Sofa," gives happy illustrations of the progress
made in the manufacture of comfortable seats.
But it was long after the poet's day before such
a luxury as a sofa was allowed in Newport, as a
general thing. Puritan simplicity never got
beyond the construction of a settee, generally
made of cane ; rocking chairs were of still later

246' EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
date. The antique high-backed chair was the
crlory of the old homestead, which modern love
of imitation has aimed to renew in fashionable
circles, or spent itself in the purchase, at any
price, of the original. But what shall I say of
the peculiar " high chair," in which babies, held
on the nurses' shoulders, were soothed to sleep ?
It was not being "rocked in the cradle of the
deep," I can assure my readers ; and, when to
those vibratory mqtions (by which the nurse
tried to supply the place of rockers to the chair)
were added impulsive claps upon the poor little
one's unresisting back, you may, without the
force of a vivid imagination, reckon up the
many severe squalls in those kitchens and bed
rooms (for there were no nurseries then, nor
sweet-tempered nursery girls, so common (?) now-
a-days) from the tiny throats of those little
sufferers. One of my recollections in this con
nection I must give at any cost. Having wit
nessed many specimens of this branch of baby
management, I once tried my skill at it. I was
on board a large pleasure packet, with a great
number of passengers, amongst whom was a
lady, with a nice-looking baby, but not a nice-

MISCELLANEOUS. 247
acting one. Such crying I had never heard
since I left my quiet home. The mother went
into the cabin, and, after sundry shakes, tossings,
and endearments, returned to the deck in a hope
less condition. Recollecting the labors of my
time in behalf of " brats " (as that polished age
was in the habit of calling " aside " sweet, long-
robed, squalling infants), I ventured, young as I
was, to ask the loan of this precious one ; which
was promptly granted. The job I had under
taken attracted quite a crowd around me ; and,
very soon after occupying the seat of honor (one
of the veritable high-backed chairs of my infancy
and childhood), I commenced the up-and-down
struggle, as for very life, at first gently patting
the little one's back, and singing one of my
chromatic tunes ; and it began to yield, by a sort
of whine. In a little while, I ventured to change
its position by placing its breast and limbs across
my knees, and then longitudinally passing my
hand down its spine, as I had often seen done
at home, till finally the little sobbing creature
subsided into a heavenly calm. I then quietly
removed it to a berth in the cabin, where it slept
until we reached the end of our voyage. A vote

248 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
of thanks awaited me. I bowed acceptance;
and thus ended, for a time at least, my duties as
a nurse. An Episode. — It was a custom in Rhode
Island (where beach-sand was cheap), after wash
ing-day was well over, for the cook to dot the
kitchen floor, previously washed and holystoned,
with little mounds of wet fresh sand ; and these
hillocks were gracefully arranged to please the
eye of " Missis" when summoned to witness the
cook's skill. On one of these occasions, a man,
having some question to ask, opened the kitchen
door, and thoughtlessly stepped upon one of
these miniature mounds, before it had been ex
hibited, and approved by the mistress of the
house ; and received for his carelessness a word
and a blow, which penalty he never incurred
again. The maid, in her department, iu those
days, claimed equal respect with the mistress.
Furniture. — Sideboards of the peculiar kind
then used are seldom seen at the present day.
The various stimulating beverages were ex
hibited in Dutch liquor-cases in an open space

MISCELLANEOUS. 249
below, or in triangular liquor-stands above : these
last held bottles and glasses richly gilt, with sil
ver labels suspended, designating the contents
of each ; and especially do I remember the
names of the liqueurs, " cherry bounce " and light
wines, peculiarly the property of the ladies. It
was deemed quite inhospitable to suffer a guest
to be long in the sitting-room, without asking
him what he would be pleased to take. It was
one of the chief tests of hospitality, this proffer
ing of the sparkling glass ; and, when the host
enjoyed an enviable reputation for having the
best wines, he experienced no lack of company.
The rich-carved salver or waiter was a prominent
feature of the sideboard ; and the taper-shaped
wine-glasses and bumper tumblers, bearing the
owner's name richly engraved, always excited a
pleasant glance from boon companions. There
were punch-bowls of every size, shape, and fin
ish. Men of the old school were 'expert in
mingling the various articles which constituted
genuine punch. The compound consisted of
the juice of lemons (noti limes), Jamaica rum,
St. Croix ram, arrack (a spirituous liquor dis
tilled only in India), and the best of loaf-sugar,

250 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
— the whole cooled down in the well. There
were no ice-houses nor refrigerators in my day.
A boat-shaped ladle was used in dealing out this
pleasant liquor, "nectar," so called. There were
a few persons — old sea-captains, traders at ports
in the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean, &c. — who
indulged, as they smoked, in drinking "burnt
brandy." By way of applying the lesson which these
sorry habits — formed in an early era of the
world's history, and continued on, on, on, to
this boasted age of refinement — emphatically
teach, I may be permitted to say, that all the
sins we outwardly deplore or inwardly conceal
are traceable to boyhood and girlhood. Adult
age would be happy and peaceful, were there no
- " damned spots " to be rubbed out. Experience
teaches that an ounce of .prevention is worth a
pound of cure. Apply the maxim religiously to
childhood and youth, and all would be well and
remain well. Precept, without example to en
force it, was as valueless then as now.
Parlor and Drawing-room Furniture. — This
furniture sixty years since, though very simple

MISCELLANEOUS. 251
and plain, was not then accounted mean, as
there was no metropolitan standard. House
keepers in New York, Boston, and Newport,
furnished their houses in equal style ; or, if there
was any superiority, it was in favor of "little
Rhody." A carpet was the most expensive arti
cle, yet it was seldom of a higher grade than a
" Kidderminster." Light was not then excluded
by window shades and blinds : hence the colors
of a carpet quickly faded from fiery red, deep
blue, and grass green, to brick color, to pale lilac,
and to the salt-water hue.
The plate of a looking-glass was very small,
with too 'wide a frame for beauty. This lack of
symmetry was owing to the costliness, of plate-
glass and the cheapness of wood. The latter
was of pine, gilded, or of mahogany veneers.
A round mirror (with side-sockets for candles)
was deemed a very elegant ornament; and it
was very amusing to children, from its glass
being so formed as to diminish apparently what
ever it reflected.
The most valuable chairs were of mahogany,
with straight, varnished backs, consisting of a
centre-piece supporte/1 by a narrow slab on each

252 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
side. The seats, many of them, were of pol
ished leather, stained black. When the seats
sloped forward, it required no little skill to sit
upright. The bellows and the hearth-brush (the
former studded with polished nails, and the lat
ter painted in lines or circles) hung at opposite
sides of the fireplace, more for show than use.
The sideboard I have already described; and
the schedule is complete when is added a small
card-table, the circular edges and legs of which
were inlaid with diamond-shaped pieces of
white ivory. Owing to the lack of machinery,
this beggarly account of parlor furniture (as it
would now be esteemed), which could be pur
chased at the present day at from fifty to
seventy-five dollars, probably cost then from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars.
Chamber Furniture. — This, of course, was
less attractive than that of the story below.
The bureau was of dark polished mahogany,
frequently ornamented with fanciful carving and
swinging brass handles. It was much smaller
than that now in use ; and the drawers , had
none of the divisions for jewelry, &c, lined with

MISCELLANEOUS. 253
velvet, esteemed indispensable by the fashiona
bles of the present day. In the best chamber
the bedstead was surmounted by a cornice, to
which was attached calico or dimity curtains,
looped for the display of the fringed counter
pane. This " best " chamber was used only on
great occasions.
When General Washington was iri Newport,
at the time of the Revolution, he and Count
Rochambeau slept under these canopies ; and
the descendants of the household honored by
these distinguished guests preserved this fact in
the family record, as one always to be remem
bered. There was a great deal of family pride
in those days ; and I was never more amused
than when girls ransacked books of heraldry to
ascertain the "coat of arms" said to have be
longed to their ancestry in the old countries.
Whenever these significant proofs of " gentle
blood" were ascertained, the fond fathers were
persuaded to transfer them to the panels of
coaches or chaise-bodies. They were seldom
noticed, however, or their purpose understood;
and hence jealousy and envy failed of a place
in the minds of the humbler classes.

254 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
The ordinary bedstead was unsteady, and
creaked with every motion ; and its frame was
held together by iron bed-screws. Sometimes'
it was furnished with a "sacking bottom;" but,
generally, the bed or under-bed of straw was
laid on cords, and the feather bed above : these,
generally speaking, were not of the softest text
ure. I used to hear a great deal about live-
geese feathers; and I ventured to ask, in my
simplicity, if those of the dead geese would not
be softer. Hair mattresses had not been in
vented. Our progenitors were unwisely eco
nomical in some things, and in beds and bedding
especially. I read, in later life, one of Dr.
Franklin's experiences, in which he alludes to
some of his domestic hardships, particularly in
winter. The story, which was very amusing,
revived in my mind recollections of similar
trials. Often, owing to a scant supply of bed-
covering, I had to jump to the floor; and, by
swinging my arms backwards and forwards,
after the fashion of wood-sawyers, for a few
minutes, I got into a glow. Probably I am in
debted to my hardy nurture for ah unusual
amount of physical health and activity, through
a long life.

MISCELLANEOUS. 255
Carriages. — In my early days, the conve
niences for travelling in Newport were very lim
ited. Of double teams, there were three coaches,
two phaetons, and two public hacks. These,
with a few dozen chaises, having leather seats
for drivers resting on an iron frame in front, and
half a dozen wagons, constituted all the vehicles
there were in the town. Of course, every farm
er on the island had these conveniences; and
strangers had their carriages : hence the princi
pal business streets often wore the appearance
of great activity. Occasionally a scrub-race
would come off, much to the delight of the ur
chins. Narragansett was famous for her breed of
"pacers," whose motion, although not graceful,
was easy, and therefore highly valued by men.
I hardly recollect ever seeing a side-saddle.
Young ladies' out-door exercise was confined
to walking and an occasional drive. Every de
scription of pleasure vehicle was mounted in the
air as high as possible, rendering the " getting
in and out," especially with spirited horses, quite
inconvenient and dangerous. The inconvenience
and hazard, however, were readily incurred,
rather than the sacrifice of the grand appear-

256 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
ance of the vehicle towering through the streets,
causing as much wonder among the uninitiated
as John Gilpin's journey to and from Islington.
Health. — Perhaps no town in the country
has been blessed with a greater degree of health
than Newport. In common with all other pla
ces, certain well-known diseases — viz., measles,
whooping-cough, scarlet and typhus fever —
were at times prevalent. During my mercantile
probation, there were two seasons of great
alarm. The first was the introduction of several
cases of yellow fever from Providence. The
Spanish consul, Wiseman, died of it. The sec
ond trouble was local, and much more distress
ing. A sudden and most malignant disease
appeared in the house of Mr. Nicholas Geffroy,
in Thames Street, near the residences of Mr.
Walter Channing and Mr. George Champlin.
It was supposed to have originated from some
foul substances thrown upon the ground occu
pied by Mr. Geffroy. Mr. Geffroy had several
mechanics in his employ : most of them died,
and in only a few hours after they were attacked.
Two members of Mr. Champlin's household

MISCELLANEOUS. 257
were smitten with this disease : one of them,
Miss Ruth Channing, afterwards wife of Rev.
Caleb Tenny, very narrowly escaped. A case
occurred in the residence of Mr. David M.
Coggeshall. A death, which occasioned general
grief, was that of Mr. Tillinghast, of the firm of
Greene & Tillinghast. He was one of our best
and most influential citizens. It was quite re
markable, that, in a street narrow and compact
as that of Thames, the disease never crossed to
the west side, and extended only short distances,
north and south of Mr. Geffroy's house. Such
a visitation was very surprising, as our town, on
account of its uniform salubrity, was the resort
of invalids from far and near.
Newport has always been noted for the lon
gevity of its inhabitants. The great age to
which many of them attain is recorded in al
most every number of the " Newport Mercury,"
a journal now in the one hundred and ninth
year of its age.
Climate. — The town, until within a very few
years, was wholly exposed to the sea. There
were, in my day, only about a dozen dwellings
17

258 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
east of the road now called Bellevue Avenue;
viz., those of Messrs. Hazard, Easton, Irish, F.
Brinley, William Tilley, Peleg Gardner, Thomas
Wickham, Fry, Pollock, Harkness, and Hunt.
The foregoing were owners and occupants. But
very few respectable dwellings were leased, and
to this circumstance the town was indebted
for a permanent instead of a floating popu
lation : for very many years, there was not a
noticeable increase or decrease.
The spot once called " the Hill," — the highest
elevation between Thames Street and the beach
— has become the property of rich people; and
the transformation of dingy, unsightly dwell
ings into quite handsome edifices seems almost
miraculous. I will now return to the topic,
" Climate," from which I have allowed myself to
digress a little. The fog, borne in by the south
winds from the sea, at early morn, was always
considered healthful, so entirely the reverse of
evaporation in low lands ; and, when very dense,
many preferred vapor to sea-bathing. This
healthful humidity was favorable to female
comeliness. It was an infallible cosmetic with
those born in the town. Girls who live in great

MISCELLANEOUS. 259
cities eight months in the year, and who only
resort to this Eden during the summer solstice,
must not expect to gain the peach-bloom tint so
exquisite once on the cheeks of Newport's fair
daughters ; and it is reasonable to believe, that
the deterioration in the home-born of this gen-
eration is owing to the change for the worse in
the food, exercise, dress, and hours of amuse
ment, of the present day, as compared with the
good old primitive habits of Newport society
sixty-five years ago.
There is another noticeable fact with regard to
the climate of Newport. In Boston, which is
only about seventy miles from Newport, there
prevails, in the spring of the year, a north-east
wind, which, if not unhealthy, is unutterably dis
agreeable, producing in many a painful stricture
across the chest, and exciting inelegant, if not
irreverent, expletives, such as I should not be
willing to repeat. To enjoy this east wind in
perfection, just embark from Boston in a fishing
" craft," in the month of May, bound to the Bay
of Chaleur; and you will find nine times out of
ten, before you have passed Cape Cod, that you
have imbibed enough of it to suffice for a lifetime.

260 EARLY EECOLLECTIONS.
Now, in Newport, one is seldom annoyed by a
north-east wind : it becomes tempered by its over
land journey. I never felt obliged to increase my
clothing, or to guard my ears and lungs, on ac
count of it. The intense frigidity of northern
blasts is so softened by the warmth "of the Gulf-
stream, that the climate of Newport in the win
ter and spring is much milder than that of
Boston. I often visited the beach in winter,
when the wind was strong from the south-east, to
hear the roar of the breakers, and to watch their
wild and grand crests as they rushed on the
shore ; and was surprised to find that the tem
perature of the water would have answered for
bathing, if the atmosphere had been equally
"warm. It was ascertained by the owners of the beach
farms, that the immense shoals of fish, thrown in
by the surf, might be easily caught in seines of
sufficient magnitude, and converted, by the help
of kelp and sand, into a valuable compost. I
have already alluded to the seine fishery at the
beach, but have not spoken of the effect of the
compost upon the olfactory nerves of those who
visited the island. It was urged by them, that

MISCELLANEOUS. 261
there could be no greater nuisance than the pu
trid fish-heaps intended for manure, and that the
health of the town would be endangered by al
lowing its continuance. I was well acquainted
with the facts of the case, being a clerk to the
owners or agents of four of the largest of the
beach farms. The manufacture of the nets re
quired the importation of large quantities of
seine-twine from England, and furnished em
ployment to a number of men and women.
Now and then, large barley crops were needed
for the manufacture of malt, at one establish
ment in town, and at several in Albany. To
obtain these crops, alternate layers of sand, fish,
and seaweed were spread upon the land, I be
lieve in August and September. Whenever
other culture was preferred, then the three ar
ticles above mentioned were turned into muck-
heaps. The effluvia was unmistakable; but
none were annoyed save those who were par
ticularly sensitive. When last passing from
Tiverton to the island, I was regaled with this
fragrant memorial of boyish days. I never
heard of any deleterious effects from the use of
the manhaden-fishery as a manure. There have

262 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
been such striking changes since I left my native
place, that it is hard for me to identify localities,
once familiar, especially tracts of land fertile
under grass and tillage, now built over, or ap
propriated to floriculture. One spot I well rec
ollect, — the lot on the beach road, now belong
ing to Mr. Sears. Its yield of grass was so
heavy in 1801, that the owner had to remove
portions of it, as fast as cut, to neighboring pas
ture lands, to be cured.
Total Eclipse of the Sun. — Perhaps one
of the most remarkable celestial phenomena,
certainly the greatest in our day and generation,
occurred on the 16th of June, 1806, at 10 o'clock,
a.m. There had been much anxiety lest the
' weather should prove unfavorable ; but this did
not prevent juveniles from preparing a quantity
of smoked glass, with which to screen the eye
in its persistent gaze upwards ; and so exor
bitant was the demand upon the glaziers, that,
in some instances, perfect panes were broken,
to serve the purpose of partial obscuration.
The daybreak presaged a brilliant morning.
,The air was profoundly still, and laden with

MISCELLANEOUS. 263
the sweet breath of dawn. As the hour of the
eclipse approached, the sky gradually darkened ;
the birds returned to their nests ; and the fowls
went back to their roosts, sure that the even-tide
had come, inviting to their accustomed repose.
Every house had its expectant gazers. The
noise of the streets subsided to the quietude of a
shady covert. The harbor where I stood, pre
sented the loveliest scene imaginable. Vessels,
with their passive, loosened sails, waiting the
usual morning breeze ; Fort Wolcott, with its
banks of emerald green ; and the sea enveloped
in a semi-transparent haze, — rendered those mo
ments among the most memorable of my life.
When newspapers reached our lovely island the
day fpllowing, it was amusing to scan the no
tices of the great event. Prose and poetry, in
every style and measure, vied in illustrating the
momentary total eclipse of the world's great
luminary. Value of Real Estate. — By reference to
the tax-book in Newport in 1852. I ascertained
that only twelve non-residents, alias summer
visitors, were named as owners of real estate, —

264 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
four from Boston, viz. Messrs. Bourne, Derby,
Sears, and Mason; and eight from New York
and other places. The four gentlemen from
Boston were assessed on f 47,500 real, and on
865,000 personal estate ! It may therefore be
admitted, that the above, with those from New
York, viz. Messrs. Hall, De Rham, Kane, Law
rence, Wetmore, Middleton, &c, were the pio
neers in transforming the almost primeval shades
of Newport, where never before a bird had been
startled by .a footstep or by the report of a gun,
into elegant estates, combining the attractions
of the sea, with the rich cultivation, the bloom
ing gardens, and the velvet lawns, seldom found
near the shore. Since then, fabulous prices
have been paid for desirable situations. When
in Newport in 1857, I visited the locality where,
in boyish days, I had removed the bars for the
entrance or exit of my mother's horse and cow,
and where I practised sundry rural gymnastics :
to my surprise, not a vestige of the famous four-
acre lot was visible. In the place of the once,
to me, beautiful enclosure stands a portion of
the Fillmore House, and many less pretentious
buildings. The lot was sold, as I understood at

MISCELLANEOUS. 265
the time, to Lieutenant-Governor Collins, at
about ^800, and used by him, for a number of
years, as a pasture. Our homestead, at the cor
ner of Mary and School Streets, was given away
for nearly the same sum. The farm belonging
to my father's estate in the near neighborhood, at
Fort Adams, was sold for four or five thousand
dollars. The same property now is worth " a
mint of money." The price for landed property
then (1803) was not deemed low; for the place
was not growing in wealth or population. The
commercial enterprise, apparent when the Cham-
plins, Vernons, Gibbses, Gardners, Robinsons,
&c, &c, flourished, had nearly died out ; and
who could have imagined that such torpor in
trade would ever be followed by an activity so
remarkable as that of the present day ?
Fuel. Artificial Illumination. — In my boy
hood, the forests of New England were thought
sufficient for the supply of fuel for all time. No
one dreamt of an inadequate store for all sea
sons. Gradually, however, reports came that the
woods began to show signs of thinness. The
lofty pine, the beautiful maple, the wide-spread

266 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
oak, and noble walnut, had soon to bow their
heads in obedience to the pressing wants of the
islanders. By and by, a discovery was made,
that, at no greater distance than seven or eight
miles from Newport, coal could be obtained at a
less price than the current rate for wood. The
news spread very soon, that this anthracite
would compensate for any deficiency in wood.
It was found, however, to be too hard for ordi
nary purposes ; and, after a fair trial, utterly
failed of acceptance, save in a very few families.
A good deal of Scotch coal was brought from
New York ; which was consumed in grates, and
in stoves suited for such fuel. The discovery
of anthracite caused quite a sensation in Bos
ton; and it was not long before a company was
formed and incorporated in .that town, called
the " Rhode-Island Coal Company." Mr. Moses
Hayes wks the president, and Colonel Joseph
May the secretary and treasurer. I had a cer
tificate for five shares given to me, which was
fortunate, as they yielded nothing. The last
time I was in Newport, I learned, that the mine,
after a lapse of years, had been re-opened, and
was yielding quite a good article for manufac-

MISCELLANEOUS. 267
turing purposes whenever intense heat was re
quired. Just at the right moment were brought
to light in Pennsylvania those immense beds of
coal, formed from petrified wood, first burned
and then buried for ages in mother earth, until
needed. What an incalculable, blessing that vast
mining district ! The fuel supplied by this be
neficent dispensation of Providence is not only
enjoyed by those living on the borders of the At
lantic, but by dwellers on nearly all of the inland
rivers of the country ; and big ships are impelled
by this mighty agent, even around the globe.
Our forefathers were content to grope at
night by the light of a farthing candle, and, to
ignite it, had recourse to a tinder-box, with its
flint and steel accompaniments. How little is
thought, in this lucifer-match age, of the hard
times of our progenitors, especially on a winter
morning, when they were compelled, with tinder-
box between their knees (often containing damp
tinder), to catch a spark, if a spark would abide
long enough to be caught by a brimstone match !
It was an after-thought, the discovery and ap
plication of phosphorus as an ignitible agent.
Candles were a great luxury (little children

268 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
were obliged to find their Way to bed in the
dark). There were two kinds : the inferior were
of the dipt class, with large wicks requiring the.
use of snuffers (an article almost unknown in
this age of gas) every few minutes. From the
dipt we advanced to the mould candles ; and, in
order to insure greater hardness and whiteness,
the richest families substituted mutton tallow :
that from beef, having a yellow hue, was ac
counted of much less value. By and by, whale-
oil was introduced in a few families, but only a
few, as the smoke was offensive. Spermaceti oil
and candles followed. The last and greatest
luxury was the wax candle. Gas was manu
factured from coal, and exhibited by Mr. David
Melville, as early as 1804, in the Representatives'
Hall in the State House. The light was brilliant ;
but how to render the gas innocuous was a se-'
cret for a later period to make patent. I was
one of the boys, with staring eyes, who witnessed
the experiment; and now every city and large
town in the United States is supplied with it.
Liberty Tree. — We of this age can hardly
comprehend the significance attached to the

miscellaneous. 269
planting of a tree which was to be consecrated,
every fibre of it, — root, trunk, limb, branch, and
twig, — as the symbol of national liberty. The
words " American Liberty " were hateful words
to the Tories ; and they vented their spleen upon
this symbol of deliverance from the British yoke.
But it was not possible for threats or overt in
juries to crush the spirit which inaugurated the
planting of it.
Whenever the name of the successful can
didate for the Presidency had, in due time,
been ascertained and declared, then commenced
in Newport preparations for celebrating the in
auguration at the coming 4th of March. I re
member the scenes which took place when John
Adams was inducted into office, 4th of March,
1797 ; and when Mr. Jefferson received the dis
tinguished honor, in 1801; and, in 1809, when
Mr. Madison took the accustomed oath. At" all
these celebrations, and amidst the uproar, the
Liberty Tree, at the head of Thames Street, was
surmounted with the star-spangled banner, and,
in the evening, illuminated with as many lamps
as there were limbs and branches. It was the
main spot for assembling the partisans of the

270 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
fortunate candidate. When Mr. Jefferson was
heralded as the victor over Mr. Adams, then the
uproar was measureless, owing to the triumph
of the Republicans over the Federalists.
This tree, so dear to my childhood, remained
for a long time after my removal from Newport;
and not until the infirmities incident to age ren
dered it necessary was the axe laid to its root.
The spot should long ago have been occupied by
a commemorative monument.
Stone Mill. — The problem concerning the
origin and purpose of this ancient structure is
no nearer solution than it was two hundred
years, and more, ago. Speculations of all sorts
with regard to it, both here and abroad, have
nearly died out ; and notwithstanding the al
lusion in an ancient deed to the ownership of
the land, " my stone mill standing thereon," it
has never been imagined, that the aforesaid pro
prietor had any thing to do with the construction
of this unique pile of stone and mortar. The
very style and grace of the structure preclude
the idea that it could have been erected upon
almost a barren waste, merely to grind Indian

miscellaneous. 271
corn to powder. Not a vestige of any similar
edifice has ever been seen on this continent.
The notion that Indian sagacity might, with
out a precedent, have wrought such a massive
and artistic work, is taxing credulity unwarrant
ably. It strikes me as reasonable as any previous
theory regarding this unaccountable handiwork,
.that a race of men, unknown to modern times,
might, upon reaching this beautiful spot (finding
stone in abundance, with shells and sand easily
convertible into mortar), be impelled to rear a
memorial of some familiar home legend. Let
us be grateful that we have so innocent a topic
for the gossip and wonder of the new-comers to
Newport, and for the speculations of men of
science. When the population was native, " the mill "
stood uninjured ; but since the place has been
given up, in a good degree, to aliens, it has
been found necessary to wall it in, so as to bar
out a new genus of peckers, known by the name
of " stone-peckers."
Mock Funeral. — Very shortly after the death

272 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
of Washington, the whole country, from the in
tense excitement which the event had occasioned,
held meetings to determine upon the most ap
propriate methods for demonstrating their grief
at so great a national bereavement. In most
of the cities and large towns, eulogies were de
livered in churches by ministers of the greatest
repute, and by surviving officers of the army and
navy. In addition to these expressions of public
grief, there were, in a few instances, mock mili
tary and civic funerals. It was a gala-day in
Newport for the children, when the solemnities
were observed. At sunrise, noon, and sunset,
the artillery company (incorporated in 1741)
fired minute guns. At twelve o'clock, a military
and civic procession was formed, and proceeded
to Trinity Church, where, after appropriate re
ligious exercises, a eulogy was pronounced by
Major Daniel Lyman, a distinguished citizen, a
member of the bar, and also of the Society of
Cincinnati, whose badge struck my eye as the
cortege passed by. Upon the close of the ser
vices at the church, in the broad aisle of which
had been placed a coffin, covered with a pall, on
which were laid a sword, a sash, and an army

MISCELLANEOUS. 273
cocked hat, the military formed in order of rank,
and, with the citizens, marched to solemn music,
following a hearse bearing the insignia of the
man " first in war, first in peace, and first in
the hearts of his countrymen," towards the
common burying-ground, so called ; and there, a
grave having been previously prepared, was de
posited the cofiin of the General, over which
were discharged volleys of musketry. At the
close of the ceremony, the band struck up " Hail
to the Chief;" and the military returned to
" quarters," and were dismissed.
The upper story of the duck factory, overlook
ing the burial-place, was appropriated to the use
of the women and children ; and such a throng
of babies and young people was seldom seen be
fore in our town. The scene is indelibly woven
into my memory, especially the mass of people
in black. The color, to a boy of ten years, was
sombre enough, and remained for a while an
enigma, which an elder brother found it difficult
to explain
Odd People. — Newport was a wonderfully
queer place in the olden time,1 having some
18

274 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
strange customs, one of which was the military
salute paid to young married people, on the
evening, or rather night, of their marriage, pro
vided the husband was a member of the " artil
lery company." Whenever it was ascertained
that such a marriage had taken place, notice was
given to a section of the company to meet at
the armory with two musicians, and, with guns
loaded and primed, from thence to proceed at
midnight to the house of the happy couple so
quietly (in slippers or stocking-feet, according to
the weather) as to avoid any unusual sound,
and then and there fire a volley loud enough to
rouse a neighborhood ; following the same with
a drum-and-fife salute or serenade. If the hus
band happened to be a commissioned officer,
he was honored with a salute from the muzzle
of a brass field-piece. These latter explosions
occasioned the loss of many panes of glass,
which the happy and highly honored man was
expected to replace. An uncle of mine received
the salute from a brazen six-pounder, and had
to pay the penalty. There were no impertinent
police-officers or watchmen interfering in such
matters then, as they do now.

MISCELLANEOUS. 275
Newport liked to encourage odd peoplp in
their whimwhams. For instance, there was a
middle-aged gentleman who received particular
attention from all whom he met on his way from
above the brick market, now called City Hall,
down Thames Street to Townsend's Coffee House
at '"Change" hours, twelve o'clock. He was
genial and extremely polite ; wore powder ; and
but for his exquisite neatness, contrasting with,
and making painfully noticeable, the ordinary
dress of others, he would have passed up and
down street as a good-looking man, such as
now usually crowd the street at mid-day. As
soon as he came in sight, the naughty boys
would shout, " Here comes bandbox ! " He re
ceived the title of Beau.
There was an old bachelor of great wealth,
who once ventured on a courting expedition in a
pleasure boat having a flaunting pennon, known
as one of the crack boats of the time, and he
himself arrayed in a manner not befitting his
age. The lady whose hand and heart he felt
sure of obtaining, lived on the "Neck," in the
neighborhood of Fort Adams, and was consid
ered very attractive in town and country, whilst

276 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
the hopeful wooer was ungainly, commonplace,
and nearly double the age of the fair one.
Wealth constituted his sole passport to a wo
man's good graces, and even this had failed
him in several previous attempts; but "love is
blind," and hope encouraged him to try again.
Our hero prepared himself for the adventure
with care. He wore a costly beaver, — a great
luxury in those days ; buff-leather small clothes,
satin vest, silk stockings, velvet shoes, and silver
knee and shoe buckles. After landing at a con
venient inlet, the hopeful "youth," in the com
pany of a waggish friend, bent his steps to a
lordly mansion, once the property of an English
Tory. At his entrance, a low bow was met by a
respectful courtesy. When both were seated,
there was silence for a few moments, at last
broken by the courtier, who asked the lady if she
heard a sound like the tick of a watch, to which
question she gave an affirmative nod. "Well,"
said he, wonderfully encouraged, " that is the tick
from a splendid watch in my breeches pocket."
Upon this announcement, the lady, convulsed
with laughter, by signs dismissed the intruder
from her door. He, poor man, never doubting

MISCELLANEOUS. 277
that his rich apparel, large fortune, and superb
time-keeper (not then, as. now, an every-day pos
session), would obtain for him the long-coveted
prize, returned home, a wiser, if not a better,
man. Another oddity lived on the Parade, and ren
dered himself conspicuous by the use of big
words. Frequently he would gather an audience
by his gesticulations and rodomontade. I hap
pened once to be near his premises, when a
humble woman was passing who had ignorantly
excited his ire. He stopped her, and, stretching
himself to his utmost height, said, " Rebecca S.,
Rebecca S., I wish you to know that I am
a respecter of nuisances ; and that transcend
ent punishment awaits you for suffering your
ducks to lie, night after night, dormant in my
beef-barrel, unless, without further surreption,
you remove the bipeds." The plain English of
the matter was simply this: This grandiloquent
railer owned a strip of land contiguous to the
dwelling of the ignorant trespasser, and had left
in his gateless yard an old one-headed barrel
lying on its bilge, which had formed a comforta-

278 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
ble lodge for her two ducks ; and for this offence,
when no "fence" had been raised by the com
plainant, he berated her in these ridiculous and
other incomprehensible words.
A Clerical Anecdote. — There was a friend
of mine, born and brought up in Newport, who
entered the ministry from a pure love of the pro
fession. He was serious, without voluble or
volatile tendencies. His pleasant look showed
that he could be amused, but, like the Prince of
Denmark, "was never known to smile." He es
chewed merriment, to say the least. It was the
fault of his time (sixty years since), that minis
ters felt obliged to wear a sober countenance, and
to measure their words by a canonical gauge.
When this gentleman obtained a settlement in
Massachusetts, his mien impressed some per
sons with the idea that he belonged to the Meth
odists. He was never known to be guilty of a
witticism but once. He had formed an intimate
acquaintance with a clergyman in a town next
to the one where he ministered, a man very tall
and thin, with a chalky face, who wore round
a wonderfully long neck a large white stuffed

miscellaneous. 279
stock. These two agreed to take a journey,
quite a long one, as it was then held; viz., from
Charlestown to a town distant about twenty-
three miles. How long they were preparing for
such a venture was never known. In due time,
however, the Christian brothers, with Sunday
looks, having hired an old-fashioned chaise (not
old-fashioned then), and a horse of questionable
speed, and swung their trunk upon the axle,
started on a little summer trip. Upon approach
ing the tavern where they proposed spending
the night, they saw a large gravestone at the
right hand of the main entrance, bearing the
following inscription : " Rum, Gin., Brandy." A
girl, coming to the door, was accosted by one of
the serious gentlemen in the words, following,
— to wit, "I did not know" (pointing to the
stone) " that those persons were dead ; " to which
she, having glanced at the pallid faces of the
travellers, responded, " If they are dead, I should
judge, from your looks, that you must have been
the chief mourners at the funeral."
Clerical Anecdote No. 2. — Another friend
of mine sought, whilst a lad, to obtain his fa-

280 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
ther's consent to his leaving the dry-goods busi
ness (to which he had been apprenticed), in
jrder to become a minister of the gospel. The
idea of his leaving home, of his leaving New
port, for a residence in another State, to be edu
cated, was so repugnant to his father's feelings,
that he firmly withheld his consent. So there
was no change, until the master of the young
man, one day, whilst sitting in the back room of
his store, overheard the following colloquy be
tween a customer and his apprentice : " My
young man, I wish to buy a handsome coat-
pattern." The apprentice showed him several
pieces; but the customer was not suited, until,
looking at the shelves, he saw a piece of extra
gloss and finish, when he said, " I like that ; I
will take two yards ; but will it wear well, my
young man ? " The young man answered, " I
don't think it will wear well; for yesterday I
sold a pattern from the same piece, and it was
returned because the tailor pronounced it ten
der.'" The tender conscience of the young man
so pleased the customer, that he bought two
yards from a piece that had been fully proved.
The master, without saying a word to the ap-

in memoriam. 281
prentice, upon meeting his father gave him an
account of what had happened, which so grati
fied the parent's heart, that, at dinner-time, he
said to his son, " H  , you may study for the
ministry." The young man availed himself at
once of the liberty, was ordained when twenty-
five years of age, and remained in professional
service for forty-five years, when feebleness of
body compelled his resignation.
I cannot close these " Recollections," without
gratefully acknowledging my indebtedness to
one with whom I grew up, from whom I re
ceived many valuable mercantile hints, and an
example worthy of the closest imitation.
Julius Auboyneau was for many years the
prominent clerk in Gibbs & Channing's count
ing-house. In 1816, he was made supercargo of
ship Eagle, on a voyage to St. Denis, Isle of
Bourbon. Upon his return home, he resumed
his clerkship ; and his familiarity with its duties,
together with his graceful penmanship, rendered
his services invaluable. We were very much
attached to each other ; and the intimacy never

282 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
flagged during the few years (after his return
from India) which preceded his death. His man
ner was courteous; his temper, charming; his
integrity, unassailable.
Mr. Auboyneau married one of the most amia
ble, intelligent, and beautiful girls in Newport, —
the youngest daughter of the Hon. Francis Mal
bone. She soon became a widow ; and with her
child, an only son, went to France, where her
husband's brother, Armand Auboyneau, a noble-
hearted man, lived, who manifested for her the
truest brotherly kindness to the end of his retired
and worthy life. She did not long survive the
death of this beloved brother.
George Engs. — He was one of the promi
nent members of the " Social Union," and with
him I was very intimate. He had none of the
buoyancy, flippancy, and bluster, so common in
most young men of his time. He was staid in
look, manner, and utterance, inflexibly upright,
self-accusative, of an even temper, and well in
formed. Devoted to the business pursued for
many years by his father, Mr. William Engs, he
acquired habits of industry which commended

CONCLUSION. — LAST WORDS. 283
him to general approbation. Pleasure with him
never amounted to a necessity. I am reminded
of his patience during a very severe illness, which
I was permitted to alleviate.
In taking leave of my readers, I hope that my
reminiscences of Newport sixty-seven years since
may, have afforded them some, pleasure. The
volume was written at first simply for my own
amusement, and that of a few friends. An after
thought, however, very common with authors,
suggested the possibility of a wider circulation.
The peculiarities which characterized the pe
riod of my youth were to me full of interest.
In this fast age, so rapid have been the changes
for the better, at least as many imagine, that we
are apt to overlook all that was admirable and
enduring in the lives of a painstaking and wor
thy population.
We may laugh over the dress, manners, and
usages of a by-gone age ; but each generation
will in turn furnish merriment for the next.
I mark the growth and prosperity of my na
tive place, — its stately hotels, elegant mansions,
beautiful cottages, and the incorporated and free

284 EARLY RECOLLECTIONS.
libraries ; but naturally the heart of an old man
fondly esteems the old time as- the best time,
fraught as it is with his earliest and strongest
memories, — with his first love of home, of na
tive place, of country; with the dawning con
sciousness of natural beauty ; with the first
manly impulses towards independence, and the
awakening of the religious sensibilities.
I have lived and been happy in other places;
but, if any name is written on my heart, it is the
name of Newport, where my parents were born,
and where my father and numerous relatives are
buried.* Unequalled as Newport is in my eyes
in natural beauty, I hope she may excel in every
good word and work, so that her sons, to the
latest generation, may be proud to acknowledge
their birth-place.

* My mother died in Boston, May 25, 1834, aged 82, and was
buried in Cambridge.

Cambridge: Stereotyped and Printed by John Wilson and Sun.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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