Yale Unluersity Library 39002028259175 YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY LITTLE PILGRIMAGES AMONG OLD NEW ENGLAND INNS UNIFORM VOLUMES ? Little Pilgrimages Among English Inns By Josephine Tozier Little Pilgrimages Among French Inns By Charles Gibson Little Pilgrimages Among Bavarian Inns By Frank Roy Fraprie Little Pilgrimages Among Old New England Inns By Mary Caroline Crawford The Fair Land Tyrol By W. D. McCrackan Among Italian Lakes. By W. D. McCrackan ¥ Each, I vol., library izmo, cloth, gilt top, profusely illustrated, I2.00 ¥ L. C. Page ca. Company New England Building Boston, Mass. A CORNER OF THE TAP - ROOM OK THE WADSWORTH INN, HARTFORD ^ LITTLE PILGRIMAGES * * mm * ^ Old new England Tnn$« ^ BEING AN ACCOUNT OF LITTLE ^ JOURNEYS TO VARIOUS QUAINT S INNS AND HOSTELRIES OF .^ ^ COLONIAL NEW ENGLAND ? BY •P flDarie Caroline Crawford ^ Author of "The Komance of Old New England Roof- ¦jg; trees," " The College Girl of America," etc. .^ ^ ILLUSTRATED 1^ ^ — ^ ^ BOSTON , * ^ * , ^ X. C. page il Compans ^ * * » ? MDCCCCVII ^ ¦jg -^ •Jg •Jg; ¦Jg •^ -Jjg ¦jg -jg '^ Copyright, igoj By L. C. Page & Company (iNCORFORATBD) All rights reserved CL$3.IOt P First impression, October, 1907 Second Impression, December, 1907. COLONIAL PRESS Eleclrotypid and Printed hy C. H. Simonds 4* Ca. Boston, U.S.A. 'LL view the manners of the town, Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings And then return, and sleep within mine inn." Comedy of Errors. " ^T HERE is no private house in which people can en- VJ-' joy themselves so well as at a capital tavern. . . . At a tavern there is general freedom from anxiety; you are sure you are welcome . . . and the more trouble you give, the more good things you call for, the welcomer you are. . . . No,sir, there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn." Dr. Johnson. " ^r HE gods who are most interested in the human ^^d^ race preside over the tavern. . . . The tavern will compare favorably with the church. The church is the place where prayers and sermons are delivered, but the tavern is where they are to take effect, and if the former are good the latter cannot be bad." Thoreau. " ^M^HOE'ER has travell'd life's dull round Wr Where'er his stages may have been, May sigh to think he still has found The warmest welcome at an inn." Shenstone. JVritten on a Window of an Inn. FOREWORD A BOOK on Old New England Inns needs no elaborate justification. Few of us are so dull of soul that our pulses are not quickened and our imaginations stirred as we pass, at a country four-corners, a deserted house and rambling barn of unmistakable tavern de scent. There it stands, in its sombre and often disreputable coat of weather-stained shingles, mournful reminder of a fragrant time that is now no more, mute witness to the truth of the familiar plaint that bygone days were — what these are not. Always one is eager to know the story of such a house and to re- people its empty rooms, in fancy at least, with those who once made merry there. Be cause I have so often shared that wish I am happy to offer here some slight additions to available truth and tradition concerning these relics of the past, acknowledging, as I do so, deep indebtedness to Mrs. Alice Morse Earle's " Stage Coach and Tavern Days " and to Mr. Edward Field's suggestive book vii Foreword on "The Colonial Tavern." Town histories too numerous to name. Miss Elizabeth Ward's "Old Times in Shrewsbury," Rev. T. Frank Waters's Ipswich volume. Currier's " Ould Newbury," the valuable files of the New England Magazine and the carefully compiled works of the late Samuel Adams Drake have also been frequently consulted. But especially do I feel very deep and real gratitude to the many friends all over New England who have contributed, by their interest and kindliness, to the material for this book; and, in i particular, I wish to thank the Rhode Island Historical Society, through whose courtesy half a dozen of the plates published in Field's " Rhode Island at the End of the Century " are here reproduced. M. C. C. Charlestown, Mass., August, 1907. • •• Vlll CONTENTS CHAPTER I. When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordi nary ..... II. Madam Knight : Traveller and Tavern - keeper III. The Father of the Turnpike and Some Related Taverns IV. Gubernatorial and Other Tavern Junkets .... V. The Inns of Old Boston VI. Some Revolutionary Taverns . VII. Some Rhode Island Taverns in Which History Was Made VIII. The Taverns That Entertained Washington .... IX. The Wayside Inn . X. Entertainment for Man and Beast XI. Tavern Signs — and Wonders . XII. Old Tavern Days in Newbury XIII. The Inns of Ipswich XIV. Some Portsmouth Publicans and Their Famous Guests . XV. On the Road .... XVI. Some Taverns of Romance XVII. When Lafayette Came Back 2136 5473 104 121 148191 208228 241 2742923" 334351 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS A Corner of the Tap - room of the Wads worth Inn, Hartford . . . Frontispiece Roger Mowry Tavern, Providence ... 6 Old Ordinary at Duxbury ii Kimball Tavern, Bradford .... 24 Bull Dog Tavern, Providence .... 28 Pease Tavern, Shrewsbury . . . . 37 Conkey's Tavern, Pelham 43 Upton Tavern, Fitchburg 45 Boltwood's Tavern (afterwards the Am herst House), Amherst • • • . 53 Dwight House, Brookfield. — Frary House, Deerfield 62 Liberty Tree Tavern, Boston .... 84 The Green Dragon, Boston .... 96 Hancock Tavern, Boston . . . .102 Golden Ball Tavern, Weston . . . .104 Wright Tavern, Concord. — Cooper's Tav ern, Arlington 112 Arnold's Tavern, Weymouth. — Sawtell's Tavern, Shirley 114 Knapp Tavern, Greenwich. — Interior of Knapp Tavern (now Putnam Cottage) 120 Sabin Tavern, Providence 122 David Arnold Tavern, Warwick. — Peleg Arnold Tavern, near Woonsocket . 139 List of Illustrations PAGB Eleazer Arnold Tavern, near Quinsnicket, Lincoln. — Greenville Tavern, Smith- field 142 158 160 182192 197 Ye Olde Tavern, West Brookfield Williams Tavern, Marlborough Abbott Tavern, Andover . Wayside Inn, Sudbury . Tap - room, Wayside Inn, Sudbury Winn House, Woburn. — Paxton Inn, Paxton 209 Ellery Tavern, Gloucester. — Brigham's Tavern (now the Westborough Hotel), Westborough 224 Sign of the Hancock Tavern, Boston . . 229 Sign of the Benjamin Wiggin Tavern, Hop kinton. — Sign of the Wolfe Tavern, Newburyport 236 Sign of Boltwood's Tavern, Amherst . . 239 Coffin House, Newbury 243 Wolfe Tavern, Newburyport . . . .252 Notice of Prince Stetson Regarding His Taking Charge of the Wolfe Tavern . 259 Home of Mrs. Harriett Prescott Spofford, Newburyport. — Boynton Tavern, on the Newburyport Road .... 272 Whipple House, Ipswich. — Caleb Lord House, Ipswich 285 Ross Tavern, Ipswich 291 The Earl of Halifax (Stayers Inn), Ports mouth 296 Rice Tavern, Kittery, opposite Portsmouth 300 Purcell House, Portsmouth .... 306 Old Concord Coach. —Wadsworth Inn, Hartford 312 Groton Inn, Groton 328 Eagle Tavern, East Poultney . . . .331 List of Illustrations Fowler Tavern, Westfield Berry Tavern, Danvers Golden Ball Tavern, Providence Wiggin Tavern, Hopkinton . Jameson Tavern, Freeport Shepard Inn, Bath 334 342 355366 368370 Little Pilgrimages Among Old New En^and Inns CHAPTER I WHEN THE INN WAS A PURITAN ORDINARY " In the brave days of old," as writers of historical novels are fond of calling our colo nial period, every department of public life was bound up with the church. To this rule the " ordinary " or inn of the time presented no exception. Odd as it seems to us public houses were licensed for the express purpose of promoting the worship of God! Usually the ordinary was right next door to the meet ing-house; often such proximity was indeed the single condition upon which permits to sell " beare " were granted. Thus we find the records of 165 1 granting John Vyall of Boston " Libertie to keep a house of Com mon entertainment if the Countie Court Con- Among Old New England Inns sent, provided he keepe it near the neiv meeting house." The contrast to the present laws which prohibit the sale of liquor within a certain distance of any church is striking. Yet there was just as good a reason that the ordinary of the seventeenth century should be near the place of public worship as that the " hotel " of the twentieth century should be well removed therefrom. Physical as well as mental discomfort attended the church-going of that far-ofif time. A fire was never kindled in the colonial meeting house and it was almost necessary to contin ued existence that the good people who had come from miles away to worship the Lord should find a cheerful place in which to thaw out between the cold drive and the chilly service. Naturally the ordinary came in for a reciprocal benefit during the noon rest for refreshment. It then had opportunity to sell many a mug of the potent flip, invalu able for raising spirits which had been depressed by dreary discourses on Hell. Occasionally, indeed, pious folk were made so comfortable in the tap-room at noon that they were incapacitated for attendance at the afternoon service, thus bringing scandal upon the inn-keeper concerned. When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordinary So close was the relationship between the tavern and the church in Puritan days that religious services were not infrequently held in an inn pending the erection of a suitable meeting-house. Such was the case in Fitch burg, Massachusetts, and in Providence, Rhode Island, where Roger Williams preached for many years. No tavern with which we shall have to do is richer in traditions than this first hostelry ever established in the Providence settlement. Before its destruction about eight years ago, it was not only the oldest house in that city but it was long distinguished, among other things, as being the only one in the north end of the town that escaped when Providence was burned during King Philip's War. Goodman Mowry, who came to Rhode Island from Salem, was licensed in May 1655 to keep a house of entertainment, and was directed to " sett out a convenient signe at ye most perspicuous place of ye saide house thereby to give notice to strangers that it is a house of entertainment." From this time on Mowry's house was a prominent feature of the town's life. In many ways its uses were typical of hundreds of other ordinaries. Here the people of the settlement assembled 3 Among Old New England Inns and discussed the news; here the town coun cil held its meetings, and here was enacted several thrilling scenes of one of those ter rible tragedies which now and then darken the pages of early New England history. Among the young men helped by the noble Roger Williams during his life in Provi dence was a young Dutch lad named John Clauson, whom he had one day come across in a half-naked and starving condition and taken to his own home for food and shelter. No friends or family turning up to claim the youth, Williams brought him up in his own household, whence, having grown to man's estate, he went forth to serve his townsmen as a carpenter. Ere long he had so prospered that he acquired a tract of land and built himself a good house. Then, one winter morning in 1660 Clauson was found in a dying condition near a clump of barberry bushes which grew at the road side a stone's throw from Mowry's tavern. His head had been cut as with a broadaxe, and though he was tenderly cared for at Williams' home near-by, to which he was immediately carried, he soon died, in the presence of a little group of friends, includ ing Williams. But he did not pass away, 4 When the Imi Was a Puritan Ordinary difBcult as it was for him to speak, without first accusing a neighbour, John Hernton, of being the instigator of his murder and calling down upon this man, his children and his children's children the curse of being " marked with split chins and haunted by barberry bushes." The horror of the scene can be imagined when it is added that, among the first to reach the side of the wounded youth after he had been carried to the home of his child hood, were the father and mother of the very man he now accused of his death. They had been administering " sack and sugar whilst he lay wounded" says the record! Great excitement prevailed about the town when the news of Clauson's curse got abroad but, before long, the deed was fastened upon one Waumanitt, an Indian, and he was apprehended and taken to Mowry's tavern where he was locked up and securely guarded. In spite of the accusation of the dying man, John Hernton was not con demned by his townspeople, though the tradi tion that he inspired the deed probably died hard. The records are chiefly concerned with the expenses attending the trial of the Indian. S Among Old New England Inns As Clauson had no kindred, the town treas urer was directed to pay the charges for the prosecution from the sale of the property of the dead Dutchman. We find a bill rendered by Henry Fowler, the town blacksmith, " for irons " to bind the murderer. (This was the first murder in the settlement and none of the paraphernalia of punishment was at hand.) A guard of nine men, including " the man at Moories," charged three shillings a night to watch the prisoner; and Stephen Northup, the town constable, was paid three shillings for " warning the town about the prisoner." Landlord Mowry rendered a bill of four shillings " for houseroom for the prisoner," and at the preliminary hearing Roger Williams and Valentine Whitman, who could speak the Indian tongue, earned twelve shillings as interpreters. A Puritan ordinary, which was sometimes used as a church, was held, however, to be no proper place in which to confine a redskin murderer, and it was accordingly determined " that the prisoner Waumanitt shall be sent down unto Newport to the Collony prison There to be kept until his tyme of Triall." So, in a boat with two of the townsmen, who had been provided, — ^ still at the dead man's 6 o o When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordinary expense, — with " i pint of liquor, and pow der and shott to carry along with ye pris oner " the slayer of Clauson passes from further connection with the tavern. Not only was a tavern sometimes used as a meeting-house, as was the case with Mowry's, but a meeting-house was occasion ally turned into a tavern. So it happened at Little Compton, Rhode Island, where, to put an end to the struggle between opposing factions, the place which had served for the worship of God became a house of entertain ment for travellers. Our ancestors had no reverence for a meeting-house save as such, and the interchangeable character of these two public institutions, the church and the tavern, gave them no shock. The Great House at Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was the official residence of Governor Win throp, was in 1663 made a meeting-house, and later became quite easily the Three Cranes, a public house kept for many years by Robert Leary and his descendants. It is interesting to note that under the very roof which afterwards sheltered a tavern tap-room Governor Winthrop thought out the first of all New England temperance pledges, recorded in his diary as follows: "The 7 Among Old New England Inns Governor, upon consideration of the incon veniences which have grown in England by drinking one to another, restrained it at his own table and wished others to do the like." Yet Puritan New England saw very little drunkenness. Landlords were forbidden by the court in 1645 *' to suffer anyone to be drunk or drink excessively, or continue tip pling above the space of half an hour in any of their said houses under penalty of 5s for every such ofifence suffered; and every per son found drunk in the said houses or else where shall forfeit los; and for every exces sive drinking he shall forfeit 3s. 4d; for sitting idle and continuing drinking above half an hour, 2s 6d; and it is declared to be excessive drinking of wine when above half a pint of wine is allowed at one time to one person to drink: provided that it shall be lawful for any strangers, or lodgers, or any person or persons, in an orderly way to con tinue in such houses of common entertain ment during meal times or upon lawful business, what time their occasions shall require." The tithing-man saw to it that " strangers " obeyed the law, too. John Josselyn, an Eng lish visitor to Boston in 1663, bears witness 8 When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordinary to this fact as follows : " At houses of enter tainment into which a stranger went, he was presently followed by one appointed to that office, who would thrust himself into the company uninvited, and if he called for more drink than the officer thought in his judg ment he could soberly bear away he would presently countermand it and appoint the proportion beyond which he could not get one drop." Governor Winthrop, a few years before, had described thus the relation of one Boston constable to a lodger in a Boston ordinary: " There fell out a troublesome business . . . An English sailor happened to be drunk and was carried to his lodging; and the Constable (a Godly man and much zealous against such disorders) hearing of it found him out, being upon his bed asleep; so he awaked him and led him to the stocks, no magis trate being at home. He being left in the stocks, some one of La Tour's French gentle men visitors in Boston lifted up the stocks and let him out. The Constable, hearing of it, went to the Frenchman (being then gone and quiet) and would needs carry him to the stocks. The Frenchman oflfered to yield himself to go to prison but the Constable, 9 Aniong Old New England Inns not understanding his language, pressed him to go to the stocks. The Frenchman resisted and drew his sword. With that company came in and disarmed him, and carried him by force to the stocks; but soon after the Constable took him out and carried him to prison." When the stocks were not found efifective to cure drunkenness, a Scarlet Letter method was employed. Thus we find Robert Coles condemned in 1634 " for drunkenness by him committed at Rocksbury shalbe disfranchizd, Weare about his neck and so to hang upon his outwd garment a D. made of redd cloth & sett upon white: to continyu this for a yeare, & not to have it off any time hee comes among company; . . . also hee is to wear the D outwards." Besides being closely associated with the church, the Puritan ordinary was often the place where the court convened. At such times the public house became the resort of large numbers of people, and the heart of the tavern-keeper rejoiced within him. In what is now York county in Maine, the courts were usually held at the tavern of Samuel Austin, the jurors being allowed " two meals a day at the expense of the county 10 When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordinary during the time of their attendance upon the trial." One of the important functionaries at these tavern-trials was the court drummer, who drew two shillings a day for beating a tattoo to attract the populace to the seat of justice. It was before this court at Austin's Tavern in Wells that several good citizens and their wives were brought, in the middle of the seventeenth century, for saying " the Divil a bit; " and it was by order of a decree here made that George Gaylord was in 1661 subjected to thirty-nine lashes " for visiting the widow Hitchcock." Wherein this was considered a crime the records fail to state. Duxbury had several interesting old ordi naries. In 1660 Mr. Collier, who was emi nently distinguished in the public aflfairs of the colony, was licensed to sell the beverage to his neighbours in Duxbury, and this not at all for gain, but because the magistrates knew him to be a sober and discreet man and one who would not be likely to suffer any trans gression of their laws. Constant South- worth, one of the Deputies, was similarly distinguished in 1648. In 1678 Mr. Seabury was permitted " to sell liquors unto such sober minded naighbors, as hee shall thinke meet, soe as hee sell not lesse then the quantie II Among Old New England Inns of a gallon att a time to one p*'son, and not in smaller quantities by retaile to the occa- tioning of drunkenes." The ordinaries of the seventeenth century were far from luxurious in their furnishings as may be seen from almost any of the inven tories made up when they changed proprie tors. In 1674 John Whipple of Providence, who had come to that town from Dorchester, was granted a license to " keepe a house of Intertainment " and for years thereafter this was a famous place of resort. Yet when Whipple died in 1685 the inventory made it plain that his inn consisted of but two rooms, " ye lower room " and " ye chamber." In the " lower room " there was " an old bed stead and a bed cord," " a cubbard press," " 3 old curtains and a valian (valance) ," " an old Rotten feather bed about 12 pounds of old feathers in it," " a joynt work chest, r joyner worke chair " and " 3 other chairs." In the chamber there were " two feather beds and bolster (one old)," " a whitish cotton rug an old torne sheet a part of a bed stud and bed cord," " i pillow and pillow case," a " Red Coverlidd a bed blanket, much worne, three sheets," " three broken joynt stools and a Court Cubbard." 12 When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordinary Scarcely the outfit of the St. Regis this! But the early ordinaries, in the country at least, were not intended for guests who would pass the night. Their chief function was to circulate the festive flip up to nine o'clock in the evening and to thaw out pious pilgrims before and after meeting on Sundays. Ordi naries in the large towns were a different matter. When Hugh Gunnison, proprietor of the King's Arms in Dock Square, Boston, sold out his house with its furniture and appurtenances in 1651 he realized £600, a right goodly sum for those days. The list of his household goods is of particular inter est, not only for itself, but also because it shows that the custom of naming rooms ob tained in the New England inn of the seven teenth century as it had in the old England inn of the sixteenth. " In the chamber called the Exchange one halfe bedstead with blew pillows, one livery Cupboard coloured blue, one long table, benches, two formes and one carved chaire. " In the Kitchen three formes dressers shelves. " In the Larder one square Table banis ters drssers & shelves round. " In the Hall, three Small Roomes with 13 Among Old New England Inns tables and benches in them one table about six foote long in the Hall and one bench. " In the low parlor one bedstead one table and benches two formes, one small frame of a form and shelves, one Closet with shelves. " In the room Vnder the closet one child's bedstead. " In the Chamber called London, one bedsted two benches. " In the Chamber over London one bed sted, one crosse table one forme one bench. " In the Closet next the Exchange, shelves. " In the barr by the hall, three shelves, the frame of a low stoole. " In the upper p'lor one bedsted two chairs one table one forme bench and shelves. " In the Nursey one crosse Table with shelvs. " In the Court chamber one Long table, three formes one livery cupbord & benches. " In the closet within the Court chamber one bedsted and shelvs. " In the Starr chamber one long table, one bedsted, one livery Cupbord one chair three formes with benches. " In the Garret over the Court chamber one bedsted one table two formes. 14 When the Inn Was a Puritan Ordinary *' In the garret over the closet in the Court chamber one bedsted one smale forme. " In the foure garrett chambers over the Starr Chamber three bedsteds foure tables with benches. " In the brewhouse one Cop, twoe fatts, one under back, one upper back, one knead ing trough one dresser one brake. " In the stable one Racke & manger. " In the yarde one pumpe, pipes to convey the water to the brew house, fyve hogg styes, one house of office. " The signe of the Kinges Armes and signe posts." Except for a sign, — which all ordinaries were required by law to have, and tap room-fixtures, — which even the poorest of them did not lack, — this house of Gunni son's was very unusually equipped. It con tained no less than thirteen "bedsteds!" By 1675 ordinaries had so multiplied that Cotton Mather complained that every other house in Boston was an ale-house. And in 1696 Nathaniel Saltonstall of Haverhill, Massachusetts, protested thus to the Salem Court against the increase of ordinaries and ale-houses in the colonies: "Much Hon'd Gentlemen: I allways thought it great pru- 15 Among Old New England Inns dence and Christianity in our former leaders and rulers, by their laws to state the number of publique houses in towns and for regula tion of such houses, as were of necessity thereby to prevent all sorts, almost, of wick ednesses which daily grow in upon us like a flood. But alas! I see not but that now the case is over, and such (as to some places I may term them) pest-houses and places of enticement (tho not so intended by the Jus tices) the sins are multiplied. It is multi plied, too, openly that the cause of it may be, the price of retailers' fee etc. I pray, what need of six retailers in Salisbury, and of more than one in Haverhill, and some other towns, where the people, when taxes and rates for the country and ministers are collecting, with open mouths complain of povertie and being hardly dealt with, and yet I am fully informed can spend much time and spend their estates at such blind holes, as are clandestinely and unjustly peti tioned for; and more threaten to get licenses, chiefly by repairing to a remote court, where they are not known or suspected, but pass for current, and thereby the towns are abused, and the youth get evil habits; and men sent out on country service at such places waste i6 When the Inn Was a Puritajt Ordinary much of their time, yet expect pay for it, in most pernicious loytering and what, and sometimes in foolish and not pot-valient firing and shooting off guns, not for the destruction of enemies, but to the wonderful disturbance and affrightment of the inhabit ants, which is not the service a scout is allowed and maintained for. . . . " I am now God's prisoner," the letter con cludes, " and cant come abroad, and have waited long to speak of those and others but as yet cant meet with an opportunity. You have nothing here of personal animosity of mine against any man but zeal and faithful ness to my country and town, and to the young and rising generation that they be not too much at liberty to live and do as they list. Accept of the good intentions of, gentle men, your humble servant, — N. Saltonstall." Yet Cotton Mather and Nathaniel Salton stall to the contrary notwithstanding there was almost no rioting in the Puritan ordi nary. Had such been the case we should certainly find mention of it in Sewall's Diary, — and that incomparable picture of colonial Boston contains not more than half a dozen entries in all concerning tavern disorders. The longest is on the Queen's 17 Among Old New England Inns birthday in 1714: — "My neighbor Colson knocks at my door about nine P. M. or past to tell of disorders at the ordinary at the South End kept by Mr. Wallace. He desired me that I would accompany Mr. Bromfield and Constable Howard hither. It was 35 minutes past nine before Mr. Bromfield came, then we went, took Aeneas Salter with us. Found much company. They refused to go away. Said was there to drink the Queen's health and had many other healths to drink. Called for more drink and drank to me. I took notice of the affront, to them. Said they must and would stay upon that solemn occasion. Mr. Netmaker drank the Queen's health to me. I told him I drank none; on that he ceased. Mr. Brinley put on his hat to affront me. I made him take it off. I threatened to send some of them to prison. They said they could but pay their fine and doing that might stay. I told them if they had not a care they would be guilty of a riot. Mr. Bromfield spake of raising a number of men to quell them, and was in some heat ready to run into the street. But I did not like that. Not having pen and ink I went to take their names with my pencil and not knowing how to spell their names 18 When the Inn Was a Puritan Orditiary they themselves of their own accord writ them. At last I addressed myself to Mr. Banister. I told him he had been longest an inhabitant and freeholder and I expected he would set a good example by departing thence. Upon this he invited them to his own house, and away they went. And we went after them away. I went directly home and found it 25 minutes past ten at night when I entered my own house." The Judge of the Witches, as might have been expected, had little love for taverns. Sometimes, to be sure, he made pleasuring trips with his wife to the Greyhound Tavern in Roxbury, — a public house which had almost the odour of sanctity, situated as it was between the home of the saintly Eliot and that of the prayerful Danforth, — there to make a gala dinner upon boiled pork and roast fowls before riding home in the " brave moonshine." But his general attitude towards taverns and their proprietors was one of hostility as can be seen from an entry made in his diary September 20, 1771, when he wrote, " Thomas Hale was made a justice. I opposed it because there are five in New bury already, and he had lately kept an ordi nary and sold rum." The selling of liquor 19 Among Old New England Inns was not at all to Judge Sewall's taste. Readers who have followed the story of this magistrate's many courtships in an earlier book of mine ^ will recall, however, that he had not the slightest objection to partaking of " Canary " once it had been sold. • " The Romance of Old New England Churches." 20 CHAPTER II MADAM KNIGHT: TRAVELLER AND TAVERN- KEEPER Every one who has explored at all the annals of early New England has met with the name and the fame of Sarah Knight. The arduous journey from Boston to New York which this intrepid woman made in 1704 and an account of which she at that time committed to paper is far too remark able not to have become a classic allusion among writers who treat colonial subjects. Yet one has to search far and long before one can find the diary as originally printed; and few who read therein Madam Knight's diatribes against many of the public houses at which she stopped during her journey realize that the lady herself became a tav ern-keeper towards the end of her life. It was of course a very unusual experience which this Boston-born woman invited when she set out on horseback, and with no proper 21 Among Old New England Inns escort, to make her journey to distant New York two long centuries ago. Some idea of the remoteness of that time is gained from remembering that Peregrine White, the first child born after the landing of the Pil grims at Plymouth, had just died, that it was five years before the birth of Dr. John son, one year before the birth of Benjamin Franklin and twenty-seven years before the great Washington came as a little child among us. Madam Knight's father and mother were among the first settlers of Charlestown and are both buried in the Copp's Hill cemetery, Boston. For many years they lived on North square, in a house which was later the resi dence of Samuel Mather. It was on the doorstep of this house that Captain Kemble saluted his wife, one Sabbath day, after returning from a three years' absence, thus calling down upon his head the penalty of two hours in the stocks " for lewd and unseemly conduct! " This was in 1673 when the daughter who was to make his name remembered was a child of seven. The year of Sarah Kemble's marriage to Richard Knight cannot be determined, nor is there any data to show what manner of 22 Madam Knight man he was. At die time of the famous journey he must have been either dead or abroad, however, for no husband properly protective would have allowed his wife to undertake so hazardous a trip merely for the sake of settling an estate. To be sure the lady was not absolutely alone. The government post man gave her the benefit of his manly protection a part of the time and when he was not available she hired another guide. But the entertainment afforded at the ordinaries along the way was often of the rudest and the roads for the most part were exceedingly rough and wild. The Vade Mecum for America, issued in 1732, gives the names of all the taverns on the road to New York going hy way of New London and as this was almost exactly the route Madam Knight followed we may believe that she spent her first night, after leaving Boston, at the Dedham ordinary, afterwards kept by Nathaniel Ames, the celebrated almanack maker. The first license for this tavern is dated 1658. The flavour of those far-away days may best be caught, if we follow Madam Knight's own crisp account of what she heard and saw during her trip. The journal's first date is 23 Among Old New England Inns Monday, October 2, 1704: "About three o'clock afternoon, I began my Journey from Boston to New Haven; being about two Hundred Mile. My Kinsman, Capt. Robert Luist waited on me as farr as Dedham, where I was to meet ye Western post. I vissitted the Reverd. Mr. Belcher, Ye Min ister of ye town, and tarried there till eve ning, in hopes ye post would come along. But he not coming, I resolved to go to Bil- lingses where he used to lodg, being 12 miles further. But being ignorant of the way, Madm Belcher, seeing no persuasions of her good spouses or hers could prevail with me to Lodg there that night. Very kindly went wyth me to ye Tavern, where I hoped to get my guide. And desired the Hostess to inquire of her guests whether any of them would go with mee. But they being tyed by the Lipps to a pewter engine, scarcely allowed them selves time to say what clownish . . . [Here half a page of the MS. is gone] . . . Pieces of eight, I told her no, I would not be accessary to such extortion, " Then John shan't go, sais shee. No, indeed shan't hee; And held forth at that rate a long time, that I began to fear I was got among the Quaking tribe, beleeving not 24 Madam Knight a Limbertong'd sister among them could out do Madm Hostes. " Upon this, to my no small surprise, son John arrose, and gravely demanded what I would give him to go with me? Give you, sais I, are you John? Yes, says he, for want of a Better; And behold this John look't as old as my Host, and perhaps had bin a man in the last Century. Well, Mr. John, sais I, make your demands. Why, half a pass of eight and a dram, sais John. I agreed, and gave him a Dram (now) in hand to bind the bargain. " My hostess catechis'd John for going so cheep, saying his poor wife would break her heart . . . [Here another half page of the MS. is gone] . . . His shade on his Hors resembled a Globe on a Gate post. Hiss habitt, Hors, and furniture, its looks and goings Incomparably answered the rest. " Thus jogging on with an easy pace, my Guide telling mee it was dangero's to Ride hard in the Night (wh his horse had the sence to avoid) Hee entertained me with the Adventures he had passed by late Rideing, and eminent Dangers he had escaped, so that remembring the Hero's in Parismus and 25 Among Old New England Inns the Knight of the Oracle, I didn't know but I had mett with a Prince disguis'd. " When we had Ridd about an how'r, wee come into a thick swamp, wch, by Reason of a great fogg, very much startled mee, it being now very Dark. But nothing dismay'd John: Hee had encountered a thousand and a thousand such Swamps, having a Univer sal Knowledge in the woods; and readily Answered all my inquiries wch were not a few. " In about an how'r, or something more, after we left the Swamp, we come to Bil- lingses, where I was to Lodg. My guide dis mounted and very Complaisantly help't me down and shewd the door, signing me wth his hand to Go in; wch I Gladly did — But had not gone many steps into the Room, ere I was Interrogated by a young Lady I under stood afterwards was the Eldest daughter of the family with these or words to this pur pose, (viz) Law for mee — what in the world brings You here at this time a night? I never see a woman on the Rode so Dreadful! late in all the days of my versall life. Who are You? Where are you going? I'me scar'd out of my witts — with much more of the same Kind. I stood aghast, Prepareing 26 Madam Knight to reply, when in comes my Guide — to him Madam turned, Roreing out: Lawfull heart, John, is it You? — how de do! Where in the world are you going with this woman? Who is she? John made no Ansr. but sat down in the corner, fumbled out his black Junk, and saluted that instead of Debb; she then turned agen to mee and fell anew into her silly questions, without asking me to sitt down. " I told her she treated me very Rudely, and I did not think it my duty to answer her unmannerly Questions. But to get ridd of them, I told her I come there to have the post's company with me to-morrow on my Journey &c. Miss star'd awhile, drew a chair, bid me sitt. And then run up stairs and putts on two or three Rings (or else I had not seen them before) and returning, sett herself just before me, showing the way to Reding, that I might see her ornaments ... I paid honest John wth money and dram according to contract and Dismist him, and pray'd Miss to shew me where I must Lodg. Shee conducted me to a parlour in a little back Lento wch was almost fill'd with the bedstead wch was so high that I was forced to climb on a chair to gitt up to ye wretched bed that lay on it; . . ." 27 Among Old New England Inns Varied and exciting as had been Madam Knight's first day it was luxurious travelling compared with that of the day which followed. At her next stopping-place she was served " cabage of so deep a purple " that she concluded the cook must have " boild it in her dye-kettle!" But "having here discharged the Ordnary for self and Guide (as I understood was the custom) About Three afternoon went on with my Third Guide, who Rode very hard; and hav ing crossed Providence Ferry, we come to a River wch they Generally Ride thro'. But I dare not venture ; so the Post got a Ladd and cannoo to carry me to tother side and hee ridd thro' and Led my hors." The lady's sensations in the canoe are amus ingly described. "It was very small and shal low, so that when we were in she seem'd redy to take in water which greatly terrified mee, and caused me to be very circumspect, sit ting with my hands fast on each side, my eyes stedy, not daring so much as to lodg my tongue a hair's breadth more on one side of my mouth than tother, nor so much as think on Lott's wife, for a wry thought would have oversett our wherey: But was soon put out of this pain, by feeling the Cannoo on 28 Madam Knight shore, wch I as soon almost saluted with my feet; and Rewarding my sculler, again mounted and made the best of our way forwards." A little further on in that same day's jour ney Madam Knight actually did ford a river, however, knowing that she must either " Venture the fate of drowning, or be left like ye Children in the wood. So, as the Post bid me, I gave Reins to my Nagg; and sit ting as steady as just before in the Cannoo, in a few minutes got safe to the other side." The end of this day's travel was marked " by the Post's sounding his horn, which assured mee hee was arrived at the Stage, where we were to Lodg: and that musick was then most musickall and agreeable to mee." This tavern was Haven's in what is now North Kingston, Rhode Island, " a clean comfortable house," where Madam Knight was promptly served with " Chocolett made with milk in a little clean brass Kettle." The bed " was pretty hard Yet neet and hand some " and, had it not been for a topers' dis pute in the adjoining kitchen, our lady trav eller would have felt herself quite fortunate for the nonce in her fare. The next day, however, she was forced to ride twenty-two 29 Among Old New England Inns miles before coming to any tavern. And then the proprietor brusquely refused to give shel ter! The name of this surly taverner was Davol spelled Devil in the old records. And Madam Knight, as we might have known, did not neglect the opportunity thus offered her to make sharp puns on this bad land lord's name. In New London she was the guest of Rev. Gurdon Saltonstall, minister of the place, and through his good offices, a young gentleman, Mr. Joshua Wheeler, was persuaded to guide her as far as New Haven. Here the doughty dame informed herself of the manners and customs of the place and at the same time worked right diligently at the affair she had come upon. Some of her descriptions of Connecticut life in that day are very interesting: " On training dayes the Youth divert them selves by Shooting at the Target, as they call it, . , . where he that hits neerest the white has some yards of Red Ribbon presented him, wch being tied to his hattband, the two ends streeming down his back, he is Led away in Triumph, wth great applause, as the winners of the O'lympiack Games ..." Madam Knight's study of the Connecticut Indians is also diverting. 30 Madam Knight After two months stay in New Haven our traveller resolved to push on to New York. " Being by this time well Recruited and rested after my Journy, and my business lying unfinished by some concerns at New York depending thereupon, I resolved to go there with my kinsman, Mr. Thomas Trow bridge of New Haven and a man of the town who I engaged to wait on me there." At Rye the little party lodged " in an ordi nary wch a French family kept. Here being very hungry, I desired a fricasee wch the Frenchman undertakeing, mannaged so con trary to my notion of Cookery, that I hastned to Bed supperless." At this house Madam Knight did not even have a room to herself; after she had laid her down on the hard bed provided, she heard a rustling noise nearby and upon inquiry found that the maid was " making a bed for the men " on the floor not far from her own couch! New York impressed Madam Knight as a less desirable place of residence than Bos ton, for she found that, — even two centuries ago, — its inhabitants " were not so strict in keeping the Sabbath." (At this time, too, it is worth noting, Boston had a population of ten thousand people as against New York's 31 Among Old New England Inns five thousand.) Madam Knight was herself a genial soul, though, and she describes with very evident appreciation the " Vendues " she attended and the " Riding in Sleys about three or four Miles out of Town where they have Houses of Entertainment at a place called the Bowery " in which she had a share. Early in January she was again in New Haven and now, at length, she comes to " an accommodation and distribution " with those involved with her in the settlement of the estate. Accordingly in February she writes that " the man that waited on me to New York taking charge of me I set out for Bos ton. We went from New Haven upon the ice (the ferry not being passable thereby) . . . and went on without anything remark- abl till wee come to New Lon,don and I lodged again at Mr. Saltonstall's — and here I dismist my guide and my generos enter tainer promised me Mr. Samuel Rogers of that place to go home with me. I stayed a day longer here than I intended by com mands of the Honble Govenor Winthrop to stay and take supper with him whose won derful civility I may not omitt. The next morning I Crossed ye Ferry to Groton, hav- 32 Madam Knight ing had the Honor of the Company of Madam Livingston (who is the Govenors Daughter) . . . and divers others to the boat — And that night Lodgd at Stonington and had Rost Beef and pumpkin sause for sup per. The next night at Haven's and had Rost Fowle! " Haven's appears to have been well named. It was on March third that Madam Knight " got safe home to Boston," having been nearly a fortnight on the road. No wonder her " Kind relations and friends " flocked in to welcome her and hear the story of her " transactions and travails." She had been away five months in all and that in a day when men, much less women, scarcely ever travelled the 271 miles which the Vade Mecum gives as the post route to New York. Nothing but verse could adequately express her emotions so she wrote on the window- pane of her room: " Now I've returned to Sarah Knight's Thro' many toils and many frights Over great rocks and many stones God has presar'vd from fracter'd bones." Hazardous and exhausting as had been this journey to New London it by no means 33 Among Old New England Inns discouraged Sarah Knight, however. For when her only daughter Elizabeth married, some eight years later, the Colonel John Livingston " whose first wife was the Gov enors Daughter " our traveller again made her way to the Connecticut town, where she successively speculated in Indian lands, man aged a shop, cultivated a farm and, — last but not least, — kept a tavern. She bought her Norwich property in 1717 and the year following she was, with others, brought before Richard Bushnell, Justice of the Peace, for selling strong drink to the Indians. She tried to shift the blame of the liquor- selling upon her maid, Ann Clark, but refus ing to acquit herself by swearing that Ann was solely to blame, she was sentenced to pay a fine of twenty shillings. AU the while, however. Madam Knight was moving in good society in Norwich, and writing what was called poetry for the edification of her select circle of friends. In 1722 she moved to the Livingston farm on the west side of the road from Norwich to New London and opened there a " place of entertainment for travellers " where she lived until her death September 25, 1727, in the sixty-second year of her age. She lies 34 Madam Knight buried in the New London cemetery. The famous Diary was preserved in the family of Christopher Christophers of New London, whose wife, Sarah, inherited it, among other effects, from Madam Livingston, who was Sarah Knight's daughter. Later it passed, by inheritance, into the possession of Mrs. Icha bod Wetmore of Middletown, Connecticut, who allowed its publication in 1825 under the supervision of Theodore Dwight of New York. Reviewers generally regarded it, when first given to the world, as a clever forgery and it was classed in libraries as fiction. Now, however, it is highly prized as an authentic picture of early New Eng land and its author is widely acclaimed one of the most interesting characters of her time. 35 CHAPTER III THE FATHER OF THE TURNPIKE AND SOME RELATED TAVERNS The first post-road to New York, over which Madam Knight travelled in 1704, went by the way of Providence, Stonington, New London and the shore of Long Island Sound, a distance of two hundred and fifty- five miles. Just eighty years " after that doughty dame's journey. Captain Levi Pease put on a regular stage between Boston and Hartford and the beginning of systematic communication between Boston and New York was established. Pease was a Connect icut man (born in Enfield in 1740) but after his marriage he removed to Massachusetts, and it is with a little Massachusetts town, Shrewsbury, near Worcester, that his fame is most intimately bound up. Shrewsbury, moreover, is particularly interesting to us because, at the time Pease started his stage route, there were no less than three noted 36 H > The Father of the Turnpike taverns in the place, — Farrar's, Baldwin's and Howe's. Farrar's Tavern is now better known as the Pease Tavern for the reason that the " Father of the Turnpike " eventually came, to be its landlord. But Major John Farrar, an army officer of considerable distinction, was in charge during the Revolution and during the visit made to the village in 1789 by General Washington while on his way to Boston. For all travellers to and from the New England capital the house was a pop ular resort, for it stood on the corner formed by the junction of the " great road " with the road to Westboro', about one mile from the Northboro' line, right in the current of travel. Very likely, therefore, it was at this tavern that John Adams overheard in 1774 the conversation which, tavern-hater though he was, so impressed him that he set it down with scarcely concealed pleasure: "Within the course of the year, before the meeting of Congress in 1774, on a journey to some of our circuit courts in Massachusetts, I stopped one night at a tavern in Shrewsbury about forty miles from Boston, and as I was cold and wet, I sat down at a good fire in the bar- 37 Among Old New England Inns room to dry my greatcoat and saddlebags till a fire could be made in my chamber. " There presently came in, one after another, half a dozen or half a score substan tial yeomen of the neighborhood, who, sitting down to the fire, after lighting their pipes, began a lively conversation on politics. As I believed I was unknown to them all, I sat in total silence to hear them. One said: * The people of Boston are distracted.' An other answered : ' No wonder the people of Boston are distracted. Oppression will make wise men mad.' A third said: * What would you say if a fellow should come to your house and tell you he was going to make a list of your cattle, that Parliament might tax you for them at so much a head? And how should you feel if he was to go and break open your barn to take down your oxen, cows, horses and sheep?' 'What would I say? ' replied the first, ' I would knock him in the head.' ' Well,' said a fourth, ' if Par liament can take away Mr. Hancock's wharf and Mr. Rowe's wharf, they can take away your barn and my house.' " After much more reasoning in this style, a fifth, who had as yet been silent, broke out: ' Well, it's high time for us to rebel ; we 38 The Father of the Turnpike must rebel some time or other, and we had better rebel now than at any time to come. If we put if off for ten or twenty years, and let them go on as they have begun, they will get a strong party among us, and plague us a great deal more than they can now. As yet they have but a small party on their side.' " With such talk as this stirring in Shrews bury it is not to be wondered at that the town produced one of the most effective leaders of the Revolutionary War, General Artemas Ward. Ward was born in 1727 in the house afterwards known as the Baldwin Tavern, which his father had built two years before and which passed in 1755 into the possession of Henry Baldwin of Pelham, New Hamp shire. Only a heap of stones now marks the site of Baldwin's tavern but it was in its day a fine house and a very noted resort. We cannot do better than linger for a little while over its traditions. One of these concerns a murder committed here on a certain night by a traveller who had taken a room with his ill-starred victim. In the morning the guilty party had fled but the hideous blood stains on the bedstead testified that the dead man on the floor had met his end only after a terrible struggle. 39 Among Old New England Inns One habitue of this tavern was old Grimes of Hubbardston, immortalized by Albert G. Green in a curious poem which praises more ingeniously than honestly a somewhat dis reputable character. For Grimes was the kind of man who could, and did, ride his horse straight into the tap-room of the Bald win Tavern in case he was too unsteady, — as not infrequently happened, — to dismount outside. The poem, however, with its curi ous division of theme, (the first two lines of each stanza refer, it will be noted, to the man's character and the last two to his clothing) is interesting enough to be quoted in full: OLD GRIMES Old Grimes is dead, that good old man, We ne'er shall see him more; He used to wear a long blue coat All buttoned down before. His heart was open as the day, His feelings all were true; His hair was some inclined to gray He wore it in a queue. Whene'er he heard the voice of pain, His heart with pity burned ; The large round head upon his cane From ivory was turned. 40 The Father of the Turnpike Kind words he ever had for all, He knew no fell design; His eyes were dark and rather small His nose was aquiline. He lived at peace with all mankind. In friendship he was true; His coat had pocket-holes behind, His pantaloons were blue. Unharmed, the sin which earth pollutes He passed serenely o'er; And never wore a pair of boots For thirty years or more. But good old Grimes is now at rest Nor fears misfortune's frown; He wore a double-breasted vest. The stnpes ran up and down. He modest merit sought to find And pay it its desert; He had no malice in his mind No ruffles on his shirt. His worldly goods he never threw In trust to Fortune's dances, But lived ( as all his brothers do ) In easy circumstances. His neighbours he did not abuse Was sociable and gay; He wore large buckles on his shoes And changed them every day. 41 Among Old New England Inns His knowledge hid from public gaze. He did not bring to view; Nor make a noise town-meeting days. As many people do. Thus undisturbed by anxious cares. His peaceful moments ran; And everybody said he was A fine old gentleman. If, however, you would have fact instead of poetry concerning old Grimes, see the History of Hubbardston. For he was no fictitious character; the ancient roof-tree on the Gardner road with which he is identified has burned down within the past six months. After the Baldwins, father and son, had passed to their rewards, the tavern bearing their name came into the possession of Cap tain Aaron Smith, one of the Shrewsbury men who had fought at Bunker Hill and who afterwards followed Lafayette. When the Marquis came to Worcester in 1824 Aaron Smith, then in his eighty-ninth year, marched from his home to greet his old commander and present to him an elegant cane which he had carved from a grape-vine brought from the Jerseys. It is, however, with Captain Smith's share in the Shays Rebellion that the 42 "AoiM< OU The Father of the Turnpike principal interest of his career lies for us. For it was in the court-yard of his tavern that the rebellious ones had their rendezvous and from that spot they hurled defiance at Judge Ward who then lived in the house directly opposite. This insurrectionary movement was nur tured in Conkey's tavern, Pelham, by Cap tain Daniel Shays, an adventurous soul who lived within half a mile of that hostelry (built in 1758) and so found it very conve nient to develop there a plan for resisting what seemed to him the tyranny of the judges. Shays saw, as did many another, that the people had been made very poor by the enormous expense attending the Revolu tionary War. And as imprisonments multi plied for debts which there was small hope of ever being able to pay he conceived the notion of stopping all court action and so setting matters right. He had brooded too long, among his lonely Pelham hills, upon sufferings which only time and patience could remove; and these broodings, rein forced by a consciousness of power and inflamed by the drinks served before Land lord Conkey's 61azing fire combined to make him a rebel of thoroughly dangerous type. 43 Among Old New England Inns His following was confined very largely to Worcester county and among his men were many from Shrewsbury. Captain Aaron Smith rallied his old soldiers in response to Shays' command, and several others, who had fought in the Revolutionary War under Gen eral Ward, now took up arms against their old neighbour and commander, solely because he was the representative of the majesty of the law. It took real courage to defy these desperate men when they presented themselves at the court-house steps and with drawn swords and fixed bayonets forbade Judge Ward to go about his business. Lincoln's History of Worcester credits . the usually silent judge with a magnificent burst of eloquence as the bayonets of his former soldiers penetrated his clothing. He told them that " he did not value their bayonets; they might plunge them into his heart; but while that heart beat he would do his duty; when opposed to it his life was of little consequence; if they would take away their bayonets and give him some position where he could be heard by his fellow-citizens and not by the leaders alone who had deceived and deluded them, he would speak but not otherwise." 44 The Father of the Turnpike Struck with admiration for their old com mander's courage the bayonets were with drawn and then, with great fervour and irresistible logic. Judge Ward proceeded to reason with the people, showing them that, though their grievances were not to be denied, they had taken an utterly wrong way to relieve them. His hearers were not a little impressed and they finally allowed Judge Ward to go in peace. Then, the Court having adjourned to a certain day in Jan uary, those under arms marched back to their headquarters in front of the Baldwin Tavern. Here, ere long, the militia found them out and dispersed them, sadder and wiser men. Shays having already left his followers to hide himself in obscurity. Still another tavern, — in Fitchburg, Mas sachusetts, — is interestingly connected with the Shays Rebellion. This, the present home of Mrs. S. A. Fairbanks, was then known as the Upton Tavern and officers were in pur suit of rebels who fled there for protection. But the servants of the law did not find their men for they neglected to examine sufl^ciently the crooked little closet under the stairs in the front hall. The Shays Rebellion crisis in Shrewsbury's 45 Among Old New England Inns history was in 1787, — and Levi Pease's coach had for four years now been tooling through the village. It took great faith in the value of the enterprise to run empty wagons to Hartford and back as was done for some little time, but Pease had performed many hard things before and so knew how. During the Revolution he had often carried important messages at great peril of his life; it is related of him that on many a moonlight night he lay on his back and paddled his boat with his hands lest he be betrayed to some suspicious eyes. So he was just the man to start our first stage line. For money he turned to his friend Reuben Sykes, who had previously driven a stage with him from Somers to Hartford, — a distance of twenty miles, — and on October 20th, 1783, at six o'clock in the morning. Pease started from Boston, as did Sykes from Hartford, in " two convenient wagons " I Each made the allotted trip in four days, the fare being ten dollars each way, and the transfer from Pease's coach to Sykes' being effected at Spencer, the highest point between Boston and Spring field. So successful did the enterprise soon grow to be that Pease became the owner of 46 The Father of the Turnpike a Boston inn, on the spot where St. Paul's church now stands. Still it was hard travelling in those earliest days if we may trust Josiah Quincy. " I set out from Boston," he says, " in the line of stages lately established by an enterprising Yankee, Pease by name, which in that day was considered a method of transportation of wonderful expedition. The journey to New York took up a week. The carriages were old and shackling, and much of the harness made of ropes. One pair of horses carried the stage eighteen miles. We generally reached our resting-place for the night, if no accident intervened, at ten o'clock and after a frugal supper went to bed with a notice that we should be called at three the next morning, which generally proved to be half- past two. Then, whether it snowed or rained, the traveller must rise and make ready by the help of a horn lantern and a farthing candle, and proceed on his way over bad roads, . . . Thus we travelled, eighteen miles a stage, sometimes obliged to get out and help the coachman lift the coach out of a quagmire or rut, and arrived at New York after a week's hard travelling, wondering at the ease as well as expedition of our journey." 47 Among Old New England Inns Captain Pease was not a man to endure poor roads if he could help it, however, and so with his usual enterprise and energy he soon set on foot a movement which resulted in the first Massachusetts turnpike, laid out in 1808 from Boston to Worcester through South Shrewsbury. Much earlier than this he had bought better horses and more com fortable wagons, so that he was able to adver tise in the Massachusetts Spy or the Worces ter Gazette, under date of January 5, 1786: " Stages from Portsmouth in New Hamp shire to Savannah in Georgia. " There is now a line of Stages established from New Hampshire to Georgia, which go and return regularly, and carry the several Mails, by order and permission of Con gress. " The stages from Boston to Hartford in Connecticut set out during the winter season, from the home of Levi Pease, at the Sign of the New York Stage, opposite the Mall, in Boston, every Monday and Thursday morn ing precisely at five o'clock, go as far as Worcester on the evenings of those days and on the days following proceed to Palmer, and on the third day reach Hartford; the first Stage reaches the city of New York on 48 The Father of the Turnpike Saturday evening, and the other on the Wednesday evening following. " The stages from New York for Boston set out on the same days, and reach Hartford at the same time as the Boston stages. " The stages from Boston exchange pas sengers with the stages from Hartford at Spencer, and the Hartford Stages exchange with those from New York at Hartford. Passengers are again exchanged at Stratford Ferry and not again until their arrival at New York. " By the present regulation of the stages, it is certainly the most convenient and expe ditious way of travelling that can possibly be had in America, and in order to make it the cheapest, the proprietors of the stages have lowered their price from fourpence to three pence a mile, with liberty to passengers to carry fourteen pounds baggage. " In the summer season the stages are to run with the mail three times in a week instead of twice in the winter, by which means those who take passage at Boston in the stage which sets off on Monday morn ing, may arrive at New York on the Thurs day evening following, and all the mails during that season are to be but four days 49 Among Old New England Inns going from Boston to New York, and so from New York to Boston. " Those who intend taking passage in the stages must leave their names and baggage the evening preceding the morning that the stage sets off, at the several places where the stage puts up, and pay one-half of their pas sage to the place where the first exchange of passengers is made, if bound so far, and if not, one-half of their passage so far as they are bound. " N. B. Way passengers will be accom modated, when the stages are not full, at the same rate, viz. three pence only per mile. " Said PEASE keeps good lodging &C for gentlemen travellers, and stabling for horses." Before he could afford the high rents of Boston, Shrewsbury was the centre of all this activity on Levi Pease's part. The Farrar Tavern came into his possession in 1794 and here he brought his family to live. In the northeast room upstairs the Free Masons held their meetings, — according to Miss Ward's very delightful " Old Times in Shrewsbury," — and the room is still called the " Masons' Room." Across the passage is what was formerly a dancing hall divided SO The Father of the Turnpike in the middle by a swing partition which could be raised and lowered at pleasure. Behind the house, in its salad days, was a large open shed for the protection of loaded wagons and, near-by, another shed contain ing benches and chairs where the teamsters were served. Under this shed, in the side of the house, slight holes were cut, one above the other to a window in the second story. These holes were large enough to hold on by and to admit the toe of a man's boot. Thus, by dexterous use of hands and feet,' the men who must rise at cock-crow could let themselves out of the house without disturb ing the members of the family. The Exchange Hotel, still standing in Worcester and still used as a public house, was the Worcester office for Pease's stage line. Built in 1784 it was originally owned by Colonel Reuben Sykes, Pease's partner, and was called successively, the United States Arms, Sykes's Coffee House, and Sykes's Stage House. Washington stopped here for breakfast in 1789 when, says the chronicler, " he politely passed through town on horse back. He was dressed in a brown suit and pleasure glowed in every countenance as he came along." Here it was, too, that Lafay- 51 Among Old New England Inns ette was staying on that occasion when Cap tain Aaron Smith tramped in from Shrews bury and was affectionately embraced by his old-time commander. In 1799 a company was formed to extend the turnpike from Worcester to Amherst. Thus was a new chain of taverns brought into the service. At Amherst the star house of the town was the predecessor on the same site of the present Amherst House. Ever since 1757 there has been a tavern on this spot, the first in the series being kept by David Parsons. His son, Gideon Parsons, Joel Dickinson, Solomon Boltwood and Eli jah Boltwood were successively landlords, the last-named ranking for some thirty-odd years as one of the most genial publicans of Western Massachusetts. The registers in his day bore the names of many men of national and some of international fame, while in front of the fire at night sat doctors of divin ity, learned lawyers, members of the General Court and of Congress. So gifted in his profession was " Uncle Elijah," however, that people of every station felt equally at home under his hospitable roof. The tavern in his day was a two-story yellow building with a tap-room occupying .^2 The Father of the Turnpike the entire front. On the second floor was a ball-room, arched overhead and extending to the roof. Here dinners of ceremony were served and old-time assemblies held. From a stout post in front of the house was sus pended an imposing sign of a lion. About 1 82 1, when Amherst College was established the wooden building was torn down and a handsome brick structure (which stood until 1879) entertained travellers in its stead. In 1838 Harvey Rockwood became the propri etor, — and the Boltwood Tavern was super seded by the Amherst House, — as the stage line had already been superseded by the railroad. 53 CHAPTER IV GUBERNATORIAL AND OTHER TAVERN JUNKETS After writing the title of this chapter it occurred to me to look up the etymology of " junket " and see why the term consorts so naturally with adjectives like " gubernato rial," and " aldermanic." I found that the noun was originally spelled juncate, from the Italian giuncata, cheese; and that, from denoting a cheesecake in the time of Johnson it came to mean delicate food when used by Milton and to be spelled ']unket and describe " an entertainment by stealth " when em ployed by Swift. Now, though there is no evidence that the entertainments of which this chapter is to speak were conducted by stealth, it certainly is true that a great deal of the patronage by which the old-time tav erns waxed rich came in connection with official business and was paid for by the public money. It is fairly clear, too, from the protests one meets in the pages of colonial 54 Gubernatorial and Other Tavern funkets history, that a disproportionate amount was often felt to be spent upon these entertain ments. So we will let our title stand ; it may serve to illuminate the real character of cer tain official expeditions even now under way. About one hundred and seventy years ago there was a very famous junket from Boston to the western part of the Bay Province in order that the Council of Governor Jonathan Belcher might consult with the Indians of that section. An account of this trip which called itself " A Diary of Surpassing Inter est " was published and because the thing is very rare and shows that our junket really had in it the elements of " a stolen entertain ment " I herewith reproduce it. The tour must have been a great occasion at the several taverns where the official party halted for refreshments and to tarry over the night. Hardly a single one of the public houses here referred to is standing to-day though the names of several of the landlords will be familiar to readers of this book. " On Wednesday morning, August 20th, 1735, about six o'clock," says the diary, " his Excellency, attended by a number of gentle men, set out from Boston on a journey to Deerfield, about 120 miles. We got to 55 Among Old New England Inns Larned's at Watertown \ after seven, 9 miles. Set out at 8 for Sudbury thro. Weston, got there at \ hour after 9, 1 1 miles-20-. Set out again at 12, got to Colonel Woods at Marl borough -J after i, 10 miles. Set out at \ after 2, got to Colonel Ward's at Shrews bury, about 4, 10 miles. Set out at 5 to Col. Chandler's at Worcester about 5 miles, 25- 20 25 First day 45 miles " 2 1 St, Thursday i o'clock P. M. set out from Worcester, got to Leicester about 28 minutes after 2, 6 miles. Set out about 3 for Brook field, got to a house in Brookfield about 4, 8 miles. Set out about \ hour after, got to Col. Dwights at Brookfield a little before 6, 8 miles. 68 8 Second day 22 miles. " 22nd. Friday about 8 set out from Brook field for Cold Spring, got to Capta. Lyman's about \ hour after 11, 15 miles, set out about \ after 2 for Hadley, got there about 56 Gubernatorial and Other Tavern funkets I after 5, 15 miles, got to Col. Stoddard's at Northampton over the Ferry about Sunset, 3 miles. 15 45 15 22 3 33 Third day 33 100 miles. " 23rd. Saturday. Sabbath Day, tarry'd at Northampton. " 25th. Monday morning about 10 o'clock a clock set out from Northamton for Hat field, got to Captain Williams about 11, 5 miles. Set out at 2 for Deerfield, got there about \ after 4. 15 miles, Monday 20 miles. " 26th. Tuesday tarry'd at Deerfield. Deerfield 20 miles. " 27th. Wednesday at Deerfield. There was a Tent erected of about 100 foot long, where the Govr dined with the rest of the Gentlemen, & where in the afternoon the Tribe of the Caguarogas (or French Mo hawks) was sent for, & after the usual Salutation & Conference, they were dismist. " 28th. Thursday at Deerfield. The same was Gone [through] to the Housetonacks, & to the Sattacooks & Mohegans together, in the forenoon. In the afternoon the Mo- 57 Among Old New England Inns hawks were sent for again, & had a con ference. It lasted about an hour & an half. " 29th. Friday at Deerfield. The Housa- tonnocks were sent for, & had a conference, it lasted about an hour & an half, (in the forenoon.) Then the Mohawks were sent for, received their Presents after a short Conference, & dined with the Governor & Gentlemen in the Tent. & after Dinner the Govr took his Leave of them. " 30th. Saturday at Deerfield. The Hou- satonnocks were sent for & after some Con ference received their Presents, & were Dismist. Then the Scattacooks were sent for & in like manner received their Pres ents, the Mohegans received theirs after Dinner without any further Conference. These three Tribes dined with the Governor. "31st. Sabbath Day at Deerfield. In the forenoon the Revd. Mr. Sargent was ordained to preach the Gospel to the Tribe of the Housetonnock Indians. The Revd Mr. Ash ley of Deerfield began with Prayer, the Revd Mr. Appleton of Cambridge preached 2 Tim: 2: 21. 'If a man therefore purge himself from these he shall be a Vessell unto Honour, sanctified & meet for the Master's Use & prepared unto every good work.' The 58 Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets Revd Mr. Williams of Hatfield gave the charge, & the Revd Mr. Williams of Spring field the right hand of Fellowship. In the afternoon the Rev Mr. Williams of Spring field preached from Is. ii., 4: ' And he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many peoples and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares & their Spears into Pru ning Hooks.' " September ist Monday between 11 & 12 we set out from Deerfield for Fort Dummer, got their about 5, 25 miles. Monday 25 miles. Fort Dummer 145 miles. " 2nd Tuesday we set out from Fort Dum mer a little after 8, ferried across the River, got to Ensign Field's at Northfield about 11, 13 miles, set out from thence about \ hour after 12, got to a River where we stopt, about 2, 10 miles, set out at \ hour after, got to Mr. Rand's at Sunderland \ after 4, 12 miles, set out at 5, got to Kelloggs at Hadley Ferry, \ after 6, 10. 13 ID12 10 Tuesday 45 miles. 59 Among Old New England Inns " The Cover. & others went over the Ferry to Northampton I lodged at Hadley, got to Col. Stoddards over the Ferry about 8 next morning, 3 miles. "3rd Wednesday set out from Northamp ton about 9, got to Lieut. Ingerson's at West- field I hour after 12, 17 miles. Set out for Springfield about 3, got to Springfield Ferry about 4, 6 miles; crossed the River, got to Mr. Sherriff Marshfield's \ after 4, i mile, 7 miles. 17 7 Wednesday 24 miles. " 4th Thursday we set out from Springfield about ten o'clock, got to Scots' at the Elbow at I, 15 miles, set out about \ hour after 2, got to Col. Dwight's at Brookfield \ hour after 5, 15 miles. 15 15 Thursday 30 miles. " 5th Friday, we set out from Brookfield about \ hour after 7, got to Leicester about \ before 11, 16 miles. Set out about \ after, 60 Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets got to Col. Chandlers at Worcester about \ after 12, 6 miles. i6 6 22 miles. " set out \ hour after 2, got to Col. Ward's at Shrewsbury about \ before 4, 7 miles, set out about \ hour after 4, got to Col. Woods at Marlborough about 6, 10 22 10 39 Friday about 4 miles. " 6th Saturday we set out from Marlbor ough \ after 7, got to Sudbury at 9, 10 miles; set out at II, got to Larned's at Watertown \ before i, 11 miles, set out \ after 2, got to Boston at 4, 9 miles. 10 II 9 Saturday 30 miles." There are several places named in the 61 Among Old New England Inns journal upon which it may be well to remark. The house of Colonel Dwight was upon Foster's Hill in Brookfield. It was purchased, not many years ago, by the Qua- boag Historical Society and measures were being taken to have it put into good repair when, one night, it burned to the ground. Governor Belcher, in whose honour the Cold Spring here referred to was afterwards called Belchertown, had been in office several years at the time of this junket and was highly regarded by the people in spite of the fact that there was some opposition to him among the so-called favoured classes. In 1742 he was removed from his office in Massachu setts but was soon appointed governor of the province of New Jersey, where he was wel comed with open arms and did much to help Jonathan Edwards,^ — in whose " Great Awakening " he had been deeply interested, — put Princeton University on its feet. The " Sabbath day " that the party " tarried at Northampton " was doubtless spent in hear ing Edwards preach. As for the errand which occasioned the junket: it had to do with a very real griev ance of the Indians. Land speculators were ' See " Romance of Old New England Churches." 62 IJWKJUT HOUSE, ISROOKEIKM) FKAKY HOUSE, DEERFIELD Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets crowding them close and there was need that a judicial-minded body should listen to their story and do what they could to adjust matters. Almost forty years earlier another famous case had been tried in this very locality by a junketing party from Boston. The house with which that trip is associated was later a tavern and, fortunately for us, is still stand ing. It is called the Frary House and is now owned by Miss C. Alice Baker, a descendant of Samson Frary, whose name the place bears. The older part of the Frary House was built in 1689, the other half being added in 1748 when the whole house was used as a tavern. The spacious dancing hall of the place, which is thirty-three feet long and proportionately wide, was the scene of raany a festive gathering in those tavern days and its spring floor still responds, at Miss Baker's private parties, to the impetus of the " light fantastic toe." Gaiety had no share, how ever, in the visit of officials that now concerns us. Back in the earliest days of the house it was the home of some simple people in whose family there lived a young serving- woman, 63 Among Old New England Inns Sarah Smith. Through this young woman the place is associated with one of those horrible child-murders occasionally to be found in New England history. Though Sarah Smith pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering her illegitimate baby the jury of twelve men, — Joseph Par sons, foreman, — decided against her and. Justice Winthrop having condemned her to hang on the following Thursday, such pun ishment was duly meted out to her. In accordance with the custom of the times Rev. John Williams preached a sermon before her on the day of the execution. But his words appear to have made no very profound im pression upon her, for her ghost is said to have long haunted the house in which she committed her crime. Up to forty years ago it appeared with remarkable regularity, I am told. Possibly, however, the apparition con nected with the place really owes its origin to some unrecorded crime done during the days when the house was a tavern. Certainly the place has age enough to have survived several murders. Its first Boniface was Salah Barnard who in 1763 bought it from David Arms for 64 Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets £175. His son Erastus was a tavern keeper also, pursuing this business until 1815. Miss Baker bought the estate May 24, 1890 and had the old house thoroughly restored. It enjoys the distinction of being the oldest house in Deerfield. Governor Endicott's peregrinations were most laudably free from extravagance. The bills presented on his account by Joseph Armitage, who kept the tavern just half-way between Boston and Salem and therefore came in for considerable patronage from per sons having business before the Courts of Essex County, were always modest. " From the Court of election 1651 till the end of October 1651 the governers Expenses" were: " to beare and cacks 6 d beare & cacks to himself and some other gentlemen i s 2 d beare and cacks with Mr. Downing i s 6 d beare & a cack 6 d 3s8d" The lesser lights in the oflScial train were not so abstemious for during the same period they ran up a bill for a considerably larger amount. 65 Among Old New England Inns " to the Sargeants from the end of the Court of elections 165 1 till the end of Oc tober 1 65 1. bear and cacks i s 2 d for vitalis beare and logen 5 s to Benjamin Scarlet the Governors man 8 d bear & vittells 2 s to the Sargents i s 9 d beear & cacks i s to a man that Carried a letter to wame a Court about the dutchmen i s 6 d to the Sargeants i s 2 d I4s3d' These bills were ordered to be paid in the following form: " Mr. Auditer I pray you give a note to Mr. Treasurer for the payment of 17s iid according to these two bills of Joseph Armi tage. Date the 7th of the 11 mo 1651. Jo Endicott." But these gubernatorial and other junkets were not always promptly paid for and this fact accounts for the preservation of many old-time tavern bills that, in the ordinary 66 Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets course of things, would have perished long ago. Armitage, for instance, had been for some years retired from the duties of tavern- keeper, when being in money difficulties, he attempted to collect a bill long overdue in the following petition: " To the Honered Court now sitting at Salem: The Humble pitition of Joseph Armitage, Humbly sheweth that in the time that I kept Ordinary there was some expences at my Hows by some of the Honored magis trates & Deputys of this County as apears by the bills charged upon the Auditer Generail, which I never Receaved. " Therefor your Humbell petticionir doth humbly request this Court that they would give me an order to the County Treasurer for my pay & so your poure petitioner shall ever pray for your prosperity Joseph Armitage." Armitage's previous calling, — that of a tailor, — ought to have given him wide expe rience in collecting bad debts, but evidently he had not profited by the teachings of adver sity for he was continually involved in pecu niary difficulties. His successor at this Lynn 67 Among Old New England Inns "Anchor" was much more prosperous; though he made his house popular he col lected money owed him and for forty years flourished as a tavern-keeper, — and other wise. Thomas Marshall, for so this func tionary was named, arrived in Lynn from London in the latter part of 1635 and, soon after, became a freeman of the colony. When Cromwell went into the business of saving England, Marshall felt a call to help him, and returning to the mother country sat on the right hand of the Lord Protector, — if his own statements can be relied upon. At any rate he had a " captain " before his name and the lustre of military glory all over it when he came back to Lynn after the war, eager to discuss with any traveller who would listen to him, his experiences while with Oliver. John Dunton promised to be a good victim when he passed that way in 1686, but Captain Marshall did not succeed in holding him long. If there was boasting to be done Dunton wanted to do it himself. He has left us this account of his call at the Anchor: " About two of the clock I reached Capt. Marshall's house which is half-way between Boston and Salem; here I staid to refresh nature with a pint of sack and a good fowl. 68 Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets Capt. Marshall is a hearty old gentleman, formerly one of Oliver's soldiers, upon which he very much values himself. He had all the history of the civil war at his fingers end and if we may believe him Oliver did hardly anything that was considerable without his assistance, and if I'd have staid as long as he'd have talked, he'd have spoiled my ram ble at Salem." Executions were great junket occasions at the old-time tavern for the gallows often stood very near the public house and our Puritan forbears had no qualms about send ing to " everlasting punishment " one who had been proved guilty of crime. Apropos of the grewsome structure near what was long known as Porter's Tavern, Cambridge, one satiric rhymster wrote: " Cambridge is a famous town, Both for wit and knowledge, Some they whip and some they hang, And some they send to college." An especially gala day in the University City was September i8, 1755, thus cheerfully described by a Boston gentleman who had just seen a negro woman burnt for com- 69 Among Old New England Inns plicity in the murder of her master: " Exe cution day a clear but for the time of year a Cold day about i o'clock sat out for Cam bridge saw ye execution Mark hanged and Phillis burnt then to Bradishes, & then to morses drank some punch with Mr. Moreley Tom Leverett Mr. Cooper Tom foxcroft Ned Emerson & others & walked down with Jonathan Bradish and then to mr. Moreleys house tarried till ten supped & refreshed nature sufficiently and then went home and went to bed & slept woke up very finely refreshed." The sermon that accompanied this occasion was preached by the Rev. Mr. Appleton on the appropriate text " The Way of the Transgressor is Hard." Those old-time clergymen were so exas- peratingly sure they were right! Nor did they make fine distinctions. To us of today it is almost inconceivable that Rev. Dr. Ezra Stiles could have written in the margin of his almanack for the year 1789, against the date February 13, " General Ethan Allen of Ver mont died and went to Hell this day " — but there it stands. And this because a patriot of the highest integrity was a free thinker! Allen and his men, by the bye, made their headquarters at the " Catamount " 70 Gubernatorial and Other Tavernfunkets tavern, Bennington, Vermont. One of the rooms in this hostelry, which stood until 1871, was designated as the "council room." Here the brave band of Green Mountain Boys laid their plans for the capture of Ticonderoga and drank good New England rum the while. The old tavern account-book bearing Ethan Allen's unbalanced score is still preserved. Auctions of human beings and public whippings were other junket occasions at the New England tavern. Criminals and pau pers were both sold here the former to the highest bidder, the latter to the lowest; and lashes on the bared back were administered with neatness and dispatch. At Israel Clif ford's tavern in Dunbarton, New Hamp shire, one Gould, a sheep-thief, was sold at public auction for " damages and costs," taxed at £2-12-10 after having been vigor ously " whipped thirteen stripes by Archi bald Stark, Constable." None of the many junkets with which we have had to do seems to me so revolting however as those which attended the sale of paupers. In the town of Wareham, on Buz zard's Bay, at the tavern of Benjamin Fear ing such events frequently took place if we 71 Among Old New England Inns may trust Bliss's " Colonial Times on Buz zard's Bay." The sales were made, this writer tells us, in the tap-room of the inn, " where the landlord as he served the thirsty guests from his decanters, discussed with them the value of the services of the paupers, for whose keeping they had come to bid. The town records bear ugly testimony to the truth of this in the following words: " Jurned from the meeting house down to Benjamin Fearings house to vandue the poor." I hope I am right in saying that this revolting cus tom has quite passed away in New England though in Pike County, Pennsylvania, only eight years ago, signs were posted, " A Woman for Sale " and Mrs. Elmira Quick, seventy-seven years old, was put up, in Rutan's Hotel, " to be sold to the lowest bidder for keep for a year " while men clinked glasses in the bar-room.^ '"Stage Coach and Tavern Days," p, 221. 72 CHAPTER V THE inns OF OLD BOSTON When John Dunton, the voluble London bookseller whose praise of Ipswich fare we shall later encounter, took his pen in hand to describe a Boston landlord the result was as follows : " He is a person so remarkable that had I not been acquainted with him it would be a hard matter to make any New England man believe that I had been in Boston; for there was no house in all the town more noted, or where a man might meet with better accommodation. Besides he was a brisk and jolly man whose con versation was coveted by all his guests as the life and spirit of the company." The date of this paragraph is 1686 and the man who inspired it w^^s George Monk, host of the " Blew Anchor," which used to flourish on the ground now occupied by the Globe newspaper buildings and which, in early times, divided with the State's Arms 73 Among Old New England Inns the magisterial patronage of the town. Robert Turner had been an earlier landlord here and Savage has preserved for us one record of entertainment during his day which is decidedly interesting; he tells us that " at the sign of the Blue Anchor Turner fur nished lodgings and refreshments to members of the government, to juries, and to the clergy, when summoned into synod by our general court." That the law-makers did not stint themselves at the Anchor we are persuaded after seeing an old bill of an elec tion banquet when two hundred and four diners consumed 72 bottles of Madeira, 28 of Lisbon, 17 of port, 10 of claret, 18 of porter and 50 " double-bowls " of punch, in addition to unspecified cider. This inn was one of the most popular of the seventeenth century hostelries, but it was neither the oldest nor the most famous of the Boston taverns of that day. Cole's, licensed in 1634, antedates it by several years and was the first house of entertainment in the New England metropolis. It probably stood near the site well known to us today as the " Old Corner " of " Bookstore " fame. Here Sam uel Cole, who is classified as a " comfit- maker," saw to the comfort of Miantonomoh 74 The Inns of Old Boston when he and his dusky retinue visited Gov ernor Vane in 1636 and here too, the Earl of Marlborough took up his residence when he came 0|Ver to Boston on colonial business. Winthrop had urged his Lordship to accept the hospitality of the Governor's mansion but the haughty nobleman assured him that the house wherein he was staying was " exceedingly well-governed " and intimated that he would, therefore, remain where he was. The distinguishing name of the second ordinary started in Boston cannot be given, but we know that its landlord was William Hudson, senior, that his license was issued in 1640, and that his previous occupation had been that of a baker. His name is on the list of those who were admitted freemen of the Colony in May, 1631, and we find him repeatedly noted as active in the town's affairs. His house was on the site afterwards given over to the " Bunch of Grapes," of which there will be much to say a few pages further on. A very celebrated house of this period was that called the King's Arms, and kept by Hugh Gunnison at the head of what is now Adams (Dock) Square. The date when 75 Among Old New England Inns Gunnison was first allowed to " sell beer " is 1642, and as he is then spoken of as one who keeps a " cooke's shop " it is plain that he must have begun very early to serve the public at this stand. In 1643 we find him humbly praying the court for leave " to draw the wyne which was spent in his house," explaining his reasonable request by saying that he felt it to be unfair as he knew it to be unprofitable to care for people who had purchased their liquor elsewhere. He asks this favour in order that " God be not dis honored nor his people grieved." With the coming in of Puritan rule in England, Gun nison diplomatically changed the name of his inn from the " King's Arms " to the " State's Arms ; " when the Stuarts were restored the house resumed its old insignia. A rival and a near neighbour of Gunni son's was William Hudson, Junior, whose house was at what is now the upper cor ner of Elm and Washington streets. He, too, was influenced by the coming in of Cromwell, though not in quite the same way as Gunnison. He, " with divers other of our best military men " crossed the ocean to take service in the Parliamentary forces, leaving the inn to the care of his wife. When he 76 The Inns of Old Boston returned, after an absence of two years, it was to find her publicly accused of having been unfaithful to her marriage vows. Very likely some of the many sailors who fre quented the house had stolen her heart away. For Dock Square was then what its name would indicate, the centre of the city's trans portation. At high tide the water came nearly up to the houses here and from Hudson's to the dock below was but a stone's throw. The most convenient inn for those who drew their wealth from the sea was, however. Ship Tavern, which stood on the south west corner of what are now North and Clark streets. It was a brick building with a projecting second story and the date of its erection was surely as early as 1650. Thomas Hutchinson, father of the Governor, was some time its landlord, and in 1663 John Vyal presided over its destinies. Here King Charles's commissioners lodged when they came to America " to settle all disputes ari sing in the New England colony." In the course of their business, — and as a result of too liberal indulgence in Master Vyal's " best," — one of them, Sir Robert Carr, assaulted a constable in the public room of 77 Among Old New England Inns the house and found a fresh dispute on his hands. He was immediately summoned by Governor Leverett to come to his house and answer the complaint lodged against him! Sir Robert Carr, however, was a resourceful gentleman; moreover, he remembered very well Leverett's affront to the commissioners in keeping his hat on his head when their authority to act was being read to the coun cil. Very Well, too, he knew that Leverett, who had served under Cromwell, would find as wormwood a flaunting of Stuart authority. So, with manifest joy, he replied to the summons as follows: " Sr, Yors I receyved last night in answer to wh as I am Sr Robert Carr I would have complied with yor desyres, but as I am wth ye Kyng's Com- mision, I shal not grant yor requests, both in respect of his Majestyes honor and my oune duty." Yet with all his insistence upon royal authority he could not make the colonists come around. His commission issued endless proclamations from the Ship Tavern and sounded trumpets without cease; but Boston folk went quietly on their way, unconscious, as it seemed, of the trouble they were making for themselves by refusing to be subdued. 78 The Inns of Old Boston Characteristically, they persecuted in their turn. Nicholas Upshall, the noble Quaker who kept the Red Lion in North street, they threw into jail for his outspoken condemna tion of the rigour with which the authorities were dealing with his sect. Upshall had come to New England on the Mary and John of Winthrop's fleet but he was very soon in durance, and eventually he was ban ished for having attempted to get food to two Quakeresses who were starving in Bos ton's jail. Prison treatment broke his health and he died as a result of it. Probably he is the only Boniface we shall meet who suffered death for conscience' sake. With the birth of the Royal Exchange, which stood on the southwest corner of Exchange and State streets, came the dawn of that brilliant pre-Revolutionary Boston dear to writers of romance. By 171 1 the business of entertainment was being carried on here but it was not until fifteen years later, when Luke Vardy had become land lord, that the place took on the colour which has made it famous. It was then the resort of all the young bloods of the town, who, brave in velvets and ruffles, in powdered hair and periwigs, swore by the king and 79 Among Old New England Inns drank deep draughts of life and liquor. From this inn, Benjamin Woodbridge and Henry Phillips, both scions of Boston's first families, adjourned to the Common in 1728 to fight a duel. Woodbridge had made a slighting remark about a friend of Phillips, and the latter had thrown the contents of his wine-glass in the insultant's face. Nothing but the death of one or both could wipe out this score. So it came about that, soon after sunrise the next morning, young Wood- bridge was found lying dead among the wet grasses of the community cow-pasture as the price of his careless words. Phillips es caped on a man-of-war which was just weighing anchor. The immediate outcome of this crime was the enactment of a law whereby the convicted offender in a duel was " to be carried publicly in a cart to the gallows, with a rope about his neck, and set on the gallows an hour; then to be impris oned twelve hours without bail," and finally executed. The person killed in a duel was denied " Christian burial " and interred " near the usual place of execution with a stake drove through his body." British officers were very fond of patroniz ing the Royal Exchange, — perhaps because 80 The Inns of Old Boston its high-sounding name appealed to their aristocratic fancy, — and an engaging story associated with the house is that of the instant capitulation here of Captain Ponsonby Molesworth, a nephew of Lord Ponsonby, to the charms of Susanna Sheaffe, eldest daugh ter of the Deputy. The youth was marching with his soldiery, resplendent in the red uniform of His Majesty's service. The maiden happened to be within the house and, attracted by the music, stepped to the bal cony. At once Molesworth saw her and was captivated by her beauty. Pointing her out to a brother officer he exclaimed, "Jove! That girl seals my fate!" Apparently he felt quite sure that Susanna would find him irresistible and such proved to be the case; they were married almost at once. Vardy's was a favourite resort of the Ma sonic fraternity, also, mine host being a brother of the order. At one of their fes tivals Joseph Green thus apostrophized him: " Where's honest Luke, that cook from London ? For without Luke the Lodge is undone. 'Twas he who oft dispelled their sadness, And filled the Brethren's hearts with gladness. Luke in return is made a brother As good and true as any other, 8l Among Old New England Inns And still though broke with age and wine, Preserves the token and the sign." It was in front of this house that there occurred on March 5, 1770, the " famous Boston Massacre." As to just how the trouble began or what were the exact cir cumstances attending it accounts do not agree. The reports made at the town-meet ings in Faneuil Hall and the old South Church conflict with those written at the time; and at the trial (at the October term following) of Captain Preston, the com mander of the troops, and the soldiers impli cated in the massacre, the testimony was such that they were acquitted. What we do know, however, is that a chance collision between a sentry and some youths quickly developed into an attack with stones, clubs, snow-balls and other missiles upon the guard of British soldiers, and that five individuals were killed and several were slightly injured as a result. The story goes that the sentinel was first attacked, as he stood guarding the Custom House where the king's treasure was depos ited, and that, retreating up the steps as far as he could, he loaded his gun, shouting lustily the while for help. Then the cor- 82 The Inns of Old Boston poral and six privates of the main guard who were stationed on what is now State street, opposite the door on the south side of the Town House, came to his relief. It was alleged that they did not fire upon the crowd until they were themselves first attacked. However that may be, the first blood of the Revolution was then shed. Thus it comes about that the Royal Exchange is shown in the background of Revere's well-known pic ture of the Boston Massacre and so may be classed, almost in spite of itself, among the important Revolutionary taverns. A Boston inn with an incontestable right to this appellation was the Liberty Tree Tav ern which stood on the east side of Wash ington street, between Essex and Beach streets. The " Book of Possessions " tells us that in 1635 this plot of ground was appor tioned to Garrett Bourne for a house and garden. The year following Bourne became a freeman, built his house and took posses sion. He set out a variety of shade trees about his house, many of which were elms. In 1646, he transplanted an elm selected on account of its shape and vigour, a little dis tance northwest of his house. Garrett Bourne " built and planted better than he knew." 83 Among Old New England Inns In about a century the house became noted as a tavern, and a little later on, as the meet ing-place of the Sons of Liberty. In about the same time that transplanted elm became famous as the Liberty Tree, as the Sons of Liberty used to rally under its wide-spread ing branches. It was under this tree that the first public act of resistance to British tyranny showed itself. At dawn, on the 14th of August, 1765, an effigy of Andrew Oliver, the stamp officer, was discovered hanging to one of the larger branches, which caused great excitement. The sheriff was ordered by the colonial Governor Hutchinson to remove the efl5gy from the tree. But such was the intensity of public feeling, he declared he dare not do so. It was creating a local revolution, and was removed by stratagem. The tree became famous about 1760, and was named the Liberty Tree about this time. On Feb. 14, 1766, it was pruned by the order of the Sons of Liberty. The ground about the tree had become sacred soil, and was designated as Liberty Hall, and really became the original stamp ing ground of the Revolution, in defiance of the " stamp act." In 1767 a flagstaff was erected, which went up through the branches, 84 The Inns of Old Boston upon which was hoisted a flag as a signal for the assembling of the Sons of Liberty. In August, 1775, the Tories, encouraged by their British allies, and led on by one Job Williams, armed with axes, made a furious attack upon the Liberty Tree, and it was ruthlessly cut down. This vandal act caused great excitement. At the close of the Revo lution a liberty pole was erected on the stump of the old tree which long served as a point of direction. This pole having served dur ing the second war with Great Britain, and having gone into decay, another one was erected about the time of the arrival of Gen eral Lafayette as the guest of the nation in 1824. The modern brick building now on this site has embedded in its front wall a tablet with a Liberty Tree in bas-relief. Of other famous Revolutionary inns there were, of course, several in Boston. The old est of these was the Bunch of Grapes which goes back to 171 2, if not earlier. The first landlord here of whom we know was Francis Holmes, and after him came William Coffin in 173 1, Joshua Barker in 1749, Colonel IngersoU in 1764, John Marston in 1767, William Foster in 1782 and James Vila in 1789. Upon the arrival of Governor William 85 Among Old New England Inns Burnett in 1728, he was escorted from the Neck to the Bunch of Grapes by a large body of enthusiastic citizens, headed by the Lieu tenant-Governor, the Council, and Colonel Dudley's regiments. Burnett had in his train also a tutor, a black laundress, a stew ard and a French cook upon whom, as we may readily believe, the Bostonians gazed with no little wonder. Governor Pownall is another of the colo nial grandees who frequented the house in its earlier days. There is a pleasant story of a kiss which he once delivered standing on a chair there. Pownall was a short, corpulent person but a great ladies' man, and it was his habit to salute every woman to whom he was introduced with a sounding smack upon the cheek. One day a tall dame was pre sented and he requested her to stoop to meet his proffered courtesy. " Nay, I'll stoop to no man, — not even to your Excellency," exclaimed the Amazon, with a haughty toss of her head. " Then I'll stoop to you, madam," readily retorted the gallant Gov ernor, and springing to a chair beside her he bent over to do his obeisance. A less ingratiating visitor to the inn was Sir William Phips who once threatened to 86 The Inns of Old Boston thrash the landlord for some fancied slight. He could have done it, too, for he was a man of Herculean strength and his caning of Captain Short of the Nonesuch frigate and his assaults on the Collector of the Port Bren ton left their mark upon the victims as well as upon history. When the voting in the General Court was proceeding in a way which did not please him he sometimes rushed into the chamber cane in hand and drove his opponents from their places! One writer ^ has given us a very vivid picture of him sitting at his window in the Bunch of Grapes, which no one else dared approach, and glaring out at the pedestrians on King (now State) street. Much of interest was to be seen from that window, for the street was filled with " horses, donkeys, oxen and long-tailed trucks, and a sprinkling of onfc-horse chaises and coaches of the kind seen in Hogarth's realistic pictures of London life. And to these," adds Samuel Adams Drake, who has written delightfully of old Boston Taverns as of most other colonial subjects, " should be added the chimney-sweeps, wood-sawyers, market-women, soldiers and sailors, who are ' Frederick Walter Norcross in the New England Magazine. 87 Among Old New England Inns now quite as much out of date as the vehicles themselves are. As there were no sidewalks, the narrow footway was protected, here and there, sometimes by posts, sometimes by an old cannon set upright at the corners." Thus the traveller coming to the Bunch of Grapes could alight from his horse, coach or chaise at the inn's very threshold, directly under the gilded cluster of suggestive fruit which dangled temptingly over the doorway of the inn. One of these bunches of grapes now hangs in front of the lodge-room door of St. John's Lodge in the Masonic Temple, Boston, by reason, of the fact that it was in the tavern they originally adorned that St. John's Lodge, the first Masonic lodge in America, was organized July 30, 1733 by Henry Price, a Boston tailor, who had received authority from Lord Montague. The house lived up to its sign, it is interesting to note, for it was known far and wide as " the best punch- house in Boston." When the time came to distinguish between conditional loyalty and loyalty at any cost, the Bunch of Grapes became the resort of the High Whigs, who made it a sort of political headquarters where patriotism was the password. And 88 The Inns of Old Boston when public feeling was still further inten sified by military occupation and bayonet rule, a scarlet coat was an inflammatory signal in that tap-room. Upon the evacuation of Boston by the royal troops, this house was naturally the very centre of rejoicing and Stark's victory at Bennington was celebrated here with pecul iar fervour. " In consequence of this news," writes one who was an actor in the affair, " we kept it up in high taste. At sundown about one hundred of the first gentlemen of the town, with all the strangers then in Bos ton, met at the Bunch of Grapes, where good liquors and a side-table were provided. In the street were two brass field-pieces with a detachment of Colonel Craft's regiment. In the balcony of the Town-house all the fifes and drums of my regiment were sta tioned. The ball opened with a discharge of thirteen cannon and at every toast given three rounds were fired and a flight of rockets sent up. About nine o'clock two barrels of grog were brought out into the street for the people that had collected there. It was all conducted with the greatest propriety and by ten o'clock every man was at his home." When Stark himself came to town he was 89 Among Old New England Tnns royally entertained by the patriotic Marston, and when Lafayette returned from France in 1780 with the news that his country would lend us her aid he, too, was received here with all honours. A charming picture of the kind of enter tainment furnished at this inn has come down to us. For the dinner, served at two o'clock, — to which the guests would have been sum moned by the ringing of a bell in the street — there would be perhaps twenty persons. Once seated, they chatted together pleasantly while discussing salmon in season, veal, beef, mut ton, fowl, ham, vegetables and pudding. Each had his pint of Madeira set before him and each served himself to that portion of the joint he liked best, all the carving being done at the table. Five shillings a day was the usual charge for this excellent fare. Less picturesque than some of the Revo lutionary gatherings, but quite as important to the progress of America, was the meet ing in this tavern of the Ohio Company, which, under General Rufus Putnam and other Continental officers carried on at Mari etta the first concerted movement of New England towards the Great West. The loyalists gathered in great numbers at 90 The Inns of Old Boston the British Coffee House. Here was per formed in 1750, by an amateur company of red-coated officers, Otway's " Orphan," an event which caused the enactment of a law prohibiting, under pain of severe penalties, the performance of stage plays in Boston. And here, in 1751, was formed the first association in Boston to take unto itself the name of club. It was called the Merchants Club, though crown officers, members of the bar, army and navy men and gentlemen of high social rank as well as merchants were admitted to membership. For a long time this club represented the ripest culture and the most brilliant wit in the colonies. But when the clouds of the Revolution began to gather, the Whigs took themselves off to the Bunch of Grapes over the way. Thus we find John Adams writing, under date of 1771 : " Spent the evening at Cordis's, in the front room towards the Long Wharf, where the Merchants' Club has met these twenty years. It seems there is schism in that church, a rent in that garment." There was indeed as James Otis had discovered not long before. Here, one evening in 1769, Otis received the drubbing that was to cost him his reason. 91 Among Old New England Inns The brilliant young orator had delivered his famous speech against the Writs of Assist ance only a few days before, and in this speech he had so criticized Customs Com missioner Robinson that his friends feared harm might come to him as a result. But Otis had no forebodings of evil. Had not the Boston mob carried him on their shoul ders? There was only exultation in his thoughts, therefore, as he strolled down King street to the British Coffee House on the evening that was to mark his undoing. Very likely, though, he was wondering in his sub conscious mind, as he made his way along the uneven street, who could have written the note which requested a meeting at the Coffee House at that hour. He was to learn only too soon. Outside the inn he paused beneath the broad sign to speak with a friend. Then he went within. Immediately he was jostled into a corner and set upon by a party of roughs at whose head he recognized his enemy, Robinson! Otis's friend did what he could in the way of rescue, but he was promptly overpowered and hurried into the street. Meanwhile the great orator had been thrown to the floor where he was left, stunned and bleeding, 92 The Inns &f Old Boston with a great cut in his forehead. Futile now were his rare gifts. His brain became clouded as a result of the blows he had received, and ultimately he became insane. Thus the Tories accomplished by brute force what they were never able to do by argument, — the silencing of the most potent voice ever raised against royal encroach ment. Otis's gifts of satire alone would have won for him their hearty hatred. Once when Governor Bernard had interrupted him to ask whose authority he was just then citing, he had replied coolly, " He is a very eminent jurist, and none the less so for being unknown to your Excellency." Yet Otis refused to pose as a martyr, and never alluded to his sufferings, save for some such purpose as John Adams records, apro pos of the complaints of William Molyneux. That gentleman had been petitioning the leg islature for favours which it did not choose to grant, and for several evenings he had wearied the company with the recital of his grievances, ending his story always by saying " That a man who has behaved as I have, should be treated as I am is intolerable." Otis listened for some time without retort, but at length, perceiving that the whole club 93 Among Old New' England Inns was out of patience, he jumped up and said gayly, " Come Will, I too, have a list of grievances; will you hear it?" Expecting sport all cried out, "Ay! ay! let us hear your list." " Well, then in the first place I resigned the office of Advocate General which I held from the crown, which produced me — how much do you think? " " A great deal, no doubt," said Molyneux. " Shall we say two hundred sterling a year? " " Ay, more I believe," said Molyneux. "Well, let it be two hundred. That for ten years is two thousand. In the next place, I have been obliged to relinquish the greater part of my business at the bar. Will you set that at two hundred pounds more?" " Oh I believe it is much more than that! " was the answer. " Well, let it be two hundred. This, for ten years, makes two thousand. You allow then I have lost four thousand pounds sterling? " " Ay, and more too," said Molyneux. Otis went on : " In the next place I have lost a hundred friends among whom were men of the first rank, fortune and power in 94 The Inns of Old Boston the province. At what price will you estimate them? " " D — n them! " said Molyneux, " at noth ing. You are better off without them than with them." A loud laugh from the company greeted this sally. " Be it so," said Otis. " In the next place I have made a thousand enemies, among whom are the government of the province and nation. What do you think of this item? " " That is as it may happen," said Moly neux, reflectively. " In the next place you know I love pleas ure, but I have renounced pleasure for ten years. What is that worth?" " No great matter: you have made politics your amusement." A hearty laugh. " In the next place I have ruined as fine health as nature ever gave to man." "That is melancholy indeed; there is nothing to be said on that point," Molyneux replied. " Once more," continued Otis, holding down his head before Molyneux, " look upon this head!" (There was a deep half-closed 95 Among Old New England Inns scar in which a man might lay his finger — ) " and, what is worse, my friends think I have a monstrous crack in my skull." This made all the company look grave and had the desired effect of silencing Molyneux, who was really a good companion. Yet, notwithstanding his wrongs, Otis was so generous that, when Robinson had apolo gized, he magnanimously refused the dam ages awarded him by the court. Another inn frequented by Otis and one which will probably outlive all its contem poraries in the endurance of its fame is the Green Dragon, which Daniel Webster once pronounced the " headquarters of the Revo lution." Here Warren, John Adams and Paul Revere all assembled and plotted and here used to resort hundreds of patriots for the express purpose of conferring with their chiefs. The house was kept in 171 2 by Richard Pullin; in 171 5 by Mr. Pattoun; in 1734 by Joseph Kilder; in 1769 by John Cary and in 1771, when it became the place of meeting of the Revolutionary Club, by Benjamin Burdick. In the local events which preceded the encounter at Lexington the men who met here all had important parts to play. Says Revere : " In the fall 96 The Inns of Old Boston of 1774 and winter of 1775 I was one of upwards thirty, chiefly mechanics, who formed ourselves into a committee for the purpose of watching the movements of the British soldiers and gaining every intelli gence of the movements of the tories. We held our meetings at the Green Dragon Tav ern. This committee was astonished to find all their secrets known to General Gage, although every time they met every member swore not to reveal any of their transactions except to Hancock, Adams, Warren, Otis, Church and one or two more." Doctor Church proved to be the traitor among them.* The men of the Green Dragon group it was who gave the alarm on the eve of the battle of Lexington, who spirited away can non under General Gage's very nose and who, again and again, in the course of the war, performed swiftly and well dangerous pieces of work. Dr. Warren was the idol of the crowd, and between him and Revere a very warm friendship sprang up. When he sent the silversmith word, therefore, that he must instantly ride to Lexington he knew that the alarm would be spread with all "See "Romance of Old New England Roof-Trees." 97 Among Old New England Inns possible dispatch " through every Middlesex village and farm." It was in this inn that a great mass of Boston mechanics voted with acclamation to urge the adoption of the Con stitution by the Federal Convention. The walls of the Green Dragon so shook as they made this resolve, that Samuel Adams exclaimed whimsically, " Well if they want it they must have it." The tavern stood on Union street and was a two-storied brick building with pitch roof, showing above its entrance a metal dragon. The site of this most famous of Boston inns is how marked by a tablet having the fa bled monster sculptured thereon in bas-relief. During the British occupation of Boston, the several lodges of the regiment held their meetings here. Thus there are associations of many kinds connected with the house. No one of these is more interesting than the celebration here of that Pope Day which cost Governor Hancock one thousand dollars. Boston had long observed the anniversary of the momentous Gunpowder Plot by proces sions from the North and South End respect ively. Each section had its marchers and its Pope, and when the two met there was sure to be a riot, for the rivalry between these 98 The Inns of Old Boston two districts was exceeding bitter. From these combats, in the course of which the rival effigies of the papal sovereign were always dragged from their thrones and fists, stones and clubs circulated freely, there arose a degree of ill-feeling which Hancock feared might prove very prejudicial to the patriot cause. So, having in vain endeavoured to suppress the disagreements, he formed the brilliant idea of setting the bickerers all down together at a great feast spread in the Green Dragon. His plan worked like a charm, and though the spread cost him a great deal of money, — which he never spent without pain, — he had the satisfaction of knowing that it put an end to the riots which had long disturbed the community. Another famous hostelry of eighteenth cen tury Boston was the Cromwell's Head which stood near King's Chapel on School street. It was kept by Anthony Brackett in 1760, by his widow in 1764, and later by his brother Joshua. Marquis de Chastellux, of Rocham- beau's auxiliary army, lodged here when he was in Boston in 1782, and had the felicity to make the acquaintance of Paul Jones. It speaks badly for the gallantry of the little admiral that he is said to have read to the 99 The Inns of Old Boston with Governor Shirley about matters mili tary. By one who saw him then he is described as exceeding tall with large hands and feet and a patrician air which com manded homage. Twenty years later, when Washington was again in the vicinity of Boston, he was chiefly associated with the George or St. George Tavern which stood on the Neck, near the Roxbury line. This inn was surrounded by an estate of eighteen acres which included a stretch of field and marsh from Roxbury on the south to the great creek on the west. It had orchards and gardens about it and com manded a good view of both Boston and Cambridge Bay. In 1775 it was a military centre for just below it the Americans had thrown up their entrenchments. Despite the fact that the inn was well within range of the British musketry General Washington used to visit it daily during the siege and, standing on its low porch, was wont to view the enemy's position through his field-glasses. His uniform, with its buff-coloured facings, was an easy mark for the British sharp shooters, and several of their bullets, which lodged in the veranda posts, bore evidence of their zeal and vigilance. lOI Among Old New England Inns The sign at this inn depicted a globe with a man breaking through the crust, like a chicken from its shell. Apropos of this we have a characteristic story of Continental soldiery. A regiment had just made a forced march from Providence and hungry, wea ther-beaten and broken with fatigue they reached this inn. When the wag of the crowd espied the man on the sign with his motto, " Oh, how shall I get through this world," he exclaimed, with a rueful look at his own battered person, "'List, darn ye I 'List, and you'll get through this world fast enough." With the Hancock Tavern in Corn Court, where Talleyrand is said by some to have stayed during his visit to Boston in 1795 there is connected a story of romantic if tragic interest. The diplomat took a fancy to a delicately-worked pen-knife in the landlord's possession and offered to buy it whereupon it was given to him with the compliments of mine host. Soon after leav ing America Talleyrand went to Homburg and there became enamoured of a beautiful baroness known to the world as Cordelia. This woman in her turn admired the pen knife and with a kiss and a jest her lover 102 HANCOCK TAVEllN, IIO.STON The Inns of Old Boston gave it to her. Later he deserted her and she was found dead on the floor of her apartment with an open note addressed to M. de Talleyrand on the table by her side. " I have burned all your letters," this note read. " They do no honour to my memory nor to your heart. You are the author of my death; may God forgive you as I do." The lovely baroness had stabbed herself to the heart with that pen-knife which had once been the property of a Boston boniface. 103 CHAPTER VI some revolutionary taverns The tavern was the breeding-place par excellence of the Revolution. What more natural than for a lot of men, sitting around a blazing fire and talking by the month of their wrongs, to say finally to each other "Let us rebel!" Flip all around and then more flip would be drunk to this reso lution; after which our sturdy forefathers would go home in the light of the twinkling stars full to the brim of patriotism, — and of New England rum. But they were by no means beside themselves with either. It was an age of hard drinking and hard thinking and very careful plans were laid ere the first seditionary step was taken. Occasionally, of course, the landlord was on " the other side." Such was the case with Captain Jones, keeper of the Golden Ball Tavern in Weston, Massachusetts, in whose house the British spy, John How, received 104 oo Some Revolutionary Taverns hospitality while out on a mission for General Gage previous to the battles of Lexington and Concord. It was a fine spring morning early in April, 1775, that a loutish-looking fellow presenting the appearance of a Yankee farmer, strolled into the stable yard of the Joel Smith Tavern in the centre of Weston and asked for work. When questioned as to what he could do, he said he was an expert gunsmith, and from that led the talk into warlike channels. But he was a little too glib, and he was soon told that no Britishers were wanted for hire there. He protested vehemently that he was not a Britisher, but the men of this public house would have none of him, asserting that they knew per fectly well by his talk that he was a Britisher and a spy. By this time quite a crowd had gathered in the tavern-yard and, to escape from their anger. How hurried up the road. His in structions had been to examine the bridges and fording-places, as well as to find out the state of public feeling and he was in the midst of the former occupation when Cap tain Jones of the Golden Ball caught sight of him. To the captain's question as to what 105 Among Old New England Inns he was doing down there. How replied that he was looking for flagroot; but when he found that Jones was a Royalist in his sym pathies he revealed his true character, and was promptly taken into the tavern and pro vided with a good dinner. Hardly had he finished the meal, however, when there came word that the mob were after him, and he was hastily escorted by Jones's negro servant to the house of Mr. Wheaton, another Roy alist who lived in a remote part of the town. There he safely spent the night while thirty baffled men searched every nook and corner of the Golden Ball in the hope of finding him, contenting themselves, when sure he was not there, with drinking a new barrel of rum Jones offered them. In a day or two How pushed on to Worcester and, the next week, turned up at Concord with his observation primed for any sign of military stores he might come upon. Meanwhile he had sent back word to General Gage that if he attempted to march artillery over the Weston road not a man would come back alive. This little incident at Weston it was, then, which caused the Tory general's change of plan, and brought on the battle of Concord. The builder of the famous Golden Ball 1 06 Some Revolutionary Taverns Inn (erected in 1751) was Colonel Elisha Jones, an ardent Tory, who, at the time of his death, three months before the battle of Concord, commanded the Royal Middlesex Regiment. His Weston estate, which is now the home of General Paine, was confiscated during the Revolution, as was most other Tory property, and the tavern was kept in the family only by Landlord Jones consent ing to take the oath of allegiance. He kept it, too, so far as is known. Certainly Paul Revere did not find the atmosphere of the house at all oppressive when he spent a night there while on his way to receive the pris oners taken at Saratoga, whom he conducted to Winter Hill. The Buckman Tavern, on the right of the Bedford road in Lexington, saw the assem bling, preparatory to the battle of Lexington, of the minutemen who belonged to Captain Parker's company. From here, too, the Brit ish were fired upon, and in the house, which still stands, may be seen to-day shot-holes to attest that the regulars fired back. The object of the British in marching to Concord was to destroy the stores John How had told them were there. Almost as soon as Major Pitcairn reached the town he went 107 Among Old New England Inns to a tavern where he had often lodged, sometimes in disguise, and finding the door closed, forced his way in and put innkeeper Jones under guard while the place was searched. He must have felt richly rewarded, for his men found three 24-pounders, com pletely furnished with everything necessary for mounting, which the Major very speedily put out of commission. Then he demanded that mine host serve him breakfast! One of the buildings which now forms part of the modern Colonial Inn was a storehouse at this time, and was also visited in 1775 by John How. From the earliest days. Concord had been quite rich in taverns. On the spot where the present public library stands Sergeant William Buss long kept an old-time ordi nary. Buss was a most estimable — not to say extraordinary — person, for, not desiring to sell " strong waters," he asked the select men to exempt him from that duty when they gave him an inn license in 1660 or earlier. Just where he drew the line is not clear, because it is hardly possible that the selectmen, in granting his request, sustained him to the extent of permitting him to sell neither fermented nor distilled liquor. Buss 108 Sotne Revolutionary Taverns was, however, supplemented in his ministra tions by Major Simon Willard, whose duties included the exercise of the " trainband " as well as the sale of wine and " strong wa ter." This Simon Willard was a good deal of a man. He came to America from Kent county, England, and was at Cambridge, Massachusetts, as early as 1634. With the Rev. Peter Bulkeley, he joined in the pur chase of the tract of territory we know as Concord, and he soon became an important person in the direction of matters there, being possessed of considerable means as well as of strong common sense. About 1660 he went to Lancaster, and in 1672 to Groton, in both of which towns he has left his impress upon history. In King Philip's war, he led a com pany, with distinction to them and to him self, and in times of peace he was closely identified with the militia of the Massachu setts Bay Colony. His first wife was Mercy Shays, and his second and third were sisters of President Dunster of Harvard College. His seventeen children have done much to preserve the name and the fame of their pro genitor. The old Willard house at Concord survived until about thirty years ago, when 109 Among Old New England Inns it was destroyed by fire. Its site is now marked by a tablet not far from the first south bridge. In 1666 John Hayward kept the Black Horse Tavern on the main street and for years afterwards he welcomed the travel ling public there. Before the Revolution, Ephraim Jones presided over an ordinary near the west end of the Main street burying ground, and adjacent to the old wooden jail; feeding the prisoners was part of this tav ern-keeper's business. Most interesting for our purposes, how ever, because still standing, is the Wright Tavern, established in 1747, and a public house during the War of the Revolution, — even as it is to-day. Here some of the Eng lish officers made their headquarters during their few hours' sojourn in the town on April 19th, and here, tradition says, Maj. John. Pitcairn, who commanded the British marines, observed as he stirred his brandy and sugar, " In this way we will stir the blood of the Yankees before night." This place was also the rendezvous of the Con cord Minutemen while awaiting, on that same morning, tidings of the advance of the English, and hither came Captain Smith no Some Revolutionary Taverns and his company from Lincoln to report. The Wright Tavern, therefore, has every claim to the reverence it annually receives from thousands of pilgrims, who there rest from their labours, and partake of needed refreshment in the course of " doing " Con cord. Its age alone would make it worthy of veneration. Opened about 1747 by a militia captain named Ephraim Jones, it passed in 1751 into the possession of Thomas Munroe, formerly of Lexington, who made the place, — as Jones had done before him, — a very popular resort for town officials and others. Amos Wright began to be landlord here in 1775 and, though he was the head of the house for only a short time, his name clings. At present the property belongs to the " First Parish Society," into whose care it was willed by the late Reuben Rice and Judge E. Rockwell Hoar. Its old fireplaces are now reopened, and the inside of the house is restored to somewhat of its former antique appearance. Externally it has changed surprisingly little from the aspect it presented away back in 1775, when Doo- little and Earle painted it as the back ground for their picture showing the royal troops drawn up in Concord square. Ill Among Old New England Inns The prices formerly charged at this house are interesting. When ordinaries were first established in Concord a meal cost a six pence, but in 1779 it was enacted in a neigh bouring town that there, — and very likely here, also, " A mug of West India flip should cost 20 pence. " A mug of New England flip should cost 12 pence. "A good dinner should cost 12 pence. " Breakfast and supper, each, should cost 15 pence. " Lodging should cost 4 pence." At the Munroe Tavern in Lexington the brutality which disgraces the English sol diery of April 19, 1775, first became evi dent. Percy reached this tavern with rein forcements about two o'clock in the after noon. One party of his men entered the house and, after compelling the inmates to serve them to whatever they wanted, ruth lessly shot down John Raymond, an infirm man residing in the family, only because he had become alarmed at their roughness and brutal conduct, and attempted to leave the house for a place of greater safety. At Cooper's Tavern, in Arlington, Jabez 112 WRIGHT TAVEItN, CONCORD COOrliK'S TA\KRN, aki,in(;ton Some Revolutionary Taverns Wyman and Jason WinShip, two aged citi zens who had come, unarmed, simply to inquire the news " were most barbarously and inhumanly murdered by the British, being stabbed through in many places, their heads mauled, skulls broken and their brains dashed out on the floors and walls of the house." ^ Arnold's Tavern, Weymouth, Massachu setts, is another house of Revolutionary in terest, for here was organized on March 9, 1775, the committee of correspondence for that and neighbouring towns. Of this com mittee Dr. Tufts was chairman and Cap tain White, Major Lovell, Major Vining and Mr. Joseph Colson other members. At Sawtell's Tavern, Shirley, in the old Bay State, the rights of New England peo ple to representation when they had paid taxes were vigorously asserted. Obadiah Sawtell kept the house, and when the Gen eral Court was formed, he was sent as the town's first representative. He was a dele gate, too, to the convention which adopted the Constitution of the United States. How extensively persons from outside appeared ' Deposition of Benjamin and Rachel Cooper, taken May lo 1775 while the facts were fully known. "3 Among Old New England Inns at Shirley for accommodation, tradition does not inform us, but the tavern was the place where, on gala days, the townspeople conducted their games and sports, and here, too, the veterans of the French and Indian wars long made their boasts of valour. Greenwich, Connecticut, has a Revolu tionary tavern of quite unusual interest, for it was from here that General Israel Put nam, "old Put," rushed out (in 1779) with his face half shaved, to take that daring ride down the stone steps, the story of which is one of our most cherished American tradi tions. In those days the house was the Israel Knapp Tavern, one of the most popular hos telries on the main road between Boston and New York. Along this road Sir Edmund Andros journeyed to take his seat as the Governor of New England in 1686; in 1775 a messenger bearing the news of Lex ington spurred his horse past the inn, and Washington and Lafayette were only a few of the others who made the highway his torically famous by passing over it. To-day automobiles by the score speed along here every hour and their passengers stop for re freshment at the Putnam Cottage tea-room, 114 Some Revolutionary Taverns even as their ancestors were wont to do at Israel Knapp's taproom. The house probably dates back two hun dred years. Certainly the land on which it stands was bought in 1692 by one Timothy Knapp, and the interested student may find in the Greenwich land records the following deed, dated 1729: "Know all men by these presents that I Timothy Knap of Greenwich in the County of fairfield & Colony of Connecticut for ye love good will & fatherly afection which I have and do bear to my loving & dutiful son Israel Knap of the same place County and Colony aforesd do fully freely & absolutely give & grant unto my aforesd son Israel Knap his heirs excrs or admrs for ever soitin pearsal or pearsals of land within ye bounds of greenwich the half of my now Dwelling hous and the one half of my home lot & ye one half of a barn when it is bilt & finished & the one half of my orchard & the land on south side of the street that is bounded north by the streets & east by the land of Ebeneezer Mead & south by the land of Sam'l Mills & west by ye meads lands for him ye sd Israel Knap his heirs asigns for to have & 115 Among Old New England Inns to hold ye above bargained premises with all Rights privalidgs and apurtanances to ye same belonging or in any wis apurtaining & do promis to warrant secure & defend the above bargained premises from all former bargains seals rents taxes or in cumbrances what so ever made or contracted before the Daye & Date hereof always provided that sd Israel Knap is not to sell nor let out sd premises to any man or persons who so ever during the life of his father & for the con firmation of this above written Deed of gift I have hereunto sett my hand & seal this twenty first Day of March anno qui Domini 1729 "Signed sealed & de- The tenth day of April anno livered In the presents domini 1729 then appeared of Caleb Knap Jue. the person of Timothy Knap Jo^m Marshal did acknowlidg the above Entered Aprill ye 19th Day written deed of gift to be 1729 by Joshua Knap Re- his free and voluntary act corder & deed " Gershom Lockwood Justiceof ye peace." The deed of this transfer seems worth giv ing in full because it establishes the claim of this house to a place among the very few early New England taverns which still en tertain the public. To it, as to the Williams Tavern at Marlboro, the Wayside Inn at 116 ARNOLD S T A\ FRN, Wl \ MOUTH SAWTELL'.S TAVERN, SHIRLEV Some Revolutionary Taverns Sudbury, and the West Brookfield Tavern, the automobile has given a new lease of life. The really interesting history of this house begins, however, with the Revolu tion. Greenwich was debatable ground all through that struggle and British soldiers were almost as much there as our own men; similarly there was a considerable number of people resident in the town who had Tory symf)athies. Among these was Israel Knapp himself, and it is said that his tavern was for a long time the secret meeting-place of those who strove to defeat the Colonies' cause. Thereby hangs a highly romantic though rather dismal tale. Israel Knapp's favourite son, Timothy, shared the Tory proclivities of his father, but he was deeply in love with the beautiful daughter of the patriot, Jonathan Mead, who lived nearby. It is believed that the girl returned his affection but she felt that loyalty to her father's cause compelled her to refuse Timothy's offer of marriage, and the youth, not unnaturally, was deeply hurt by this. As he left the house the evening of her refusal to give him the answer he so ardently desired he exclaimed, reproach fully, though with some anger as well, 117 Among Old New England Inns " One day you will speak to me, but I shall never answer you." One evening, shortly afterwards, when he was approaching the Mead home, probably to make another attempt to win the girl of his choice, her father, mistaking him for one of the British marauders of whom the town was full, shot him through the heart. In an agony of love and remorse, the girl threw herself upon his lifeless body and besought him to speak to her. But he could not re spond either to her voice or to her warm caresses. His body lies buried on the grounds of his father's tavern. " Old Put " had himself been doing the gallant the night before he was surprised by the British at this inn. The story goes that he had escorted a pretty maiden. Mistress Bush of Cos Cob, to a dance in that part of the town known as Pecksland, and that it was in the wee small hours of the morn ing when he retired. Next morning he slept considerably later than was his habit, and he had only shaved one side of his face when the news came that a large force of British and Tories was approaching along the Post Road from New York. With the lather still on his face, Putnam saddled his horse, ha- ii8 Some Revolutionary Taverns stened to the Congregational meeting house, — which was only a few rods west of the Knapp Tavern, — and drew up his little body of Continentals. Resistance by such a small number was futile, however, and after the first volley he ordered his men to look to their own safety as best they could. Then he started on a gallop towards Stam ford for reinforcements. The nearest way was down some steps cut for pedestrians in the rocks of what is now known as Put's Hill. The British thought that they had surely captured the American general when they saw him spurring his horse to this precipitous place. But " old Put " was equal to anything, and without a second's hesitation he galloped down the steep incline, turning in his saddle to shake his fist at the astounded dragoons, who dared not follow him, and to call, " Darn ye, I'll hang ye to the next tree when I get ye." That very day he returned with rein forcements and captured a considerable num ber of prisoners. Since the Revolution, the Knapp Tavern has been the property of various owners, though it was held until 1812 by Margaret Knapp, daughter of the old tavern-keeper. 119 Among Old New England Inns Then the Tracey family held it for more than fifty years and, in 1901, the late Colo nel Herschel Adams, — whose wife, Helen Reddington Adams is a descendant of John Reddington, a Greenwich soldier of the Revolution, — bought the place and was in strumental in turning it over to the Putnam Hill Chapter, D. A. R. as their headquar ters. The house is tastefully furnished with choice pieces of the Colonial and Revolu tionary period, nearly all of which have well-authenticated histories. Of particular interest is a desk in the reception room, which was long the property of Colonel Barrett, who led the American troops at Concord. Upon this desk Putnam, while a guest of Colonel Barrett, once wrote a letter to Washington. 120 ,.,-^r' niii3iajwi KNAI'P TAVERN, (JREENWICIl INTERIOR OF KNAl'R TA\'ERN (NOW PUTNAM COTTAGE) CHAPTER VII some RHODE ISLAND TAVERNS IN WHICH history WAS MADE The smallest of the New England states is very rich in historic taverns. Allusion has already been made to the Roger Mowry Tavern which no longer survives but which stood on Abbott street. Providence, nearly two hundred and fifty years — from the dark days of King Philip's war to the dawn of the twentieth century! This is a very long time in our land of rapid changes, so long a time indeed that it is small wonder that scarcely a trace of the original building could be seen in the house as it last looked. But the huge stone chimney and the rear view of the tavern from the top of the hill upon which it stood proved amply satisfy ing to one in search of evidence of antiquity. Another Providence tavern of venerable association is connected with the first overt act of rebellion credited to our colonist fore- 121 Among Old New England Inns bears. This is the Sabin Tavern, formerly located on South Main street. Providence, in one room of which the party met to organ ize the expedition which destroyed the Gas- pee. This act took place nearly three years before the Concord and Lexington fight but the sturdy patriots of Rhode Island were so filled with resentment against the overbear ing conduct of the Gaspee's ofiicers that they resolved to strike an effective blow. The obnoxious schooner was commanded by Lieut. William Dudingston, and its adver tised mission was " to prevent breakers of the revenue laws, and to stop the illicit trade, so long and so successfully carried on in the colony." The manner in which these orders were carried out was what chiefly offended. For the Gaspee's commander insultingly over hauled all vessels sailing up and down the bay, not excepting market boats; and he even went to the length of molesting and plundering people on shore. In the Provi dence Gazette of March 28, 1772, we find the following reference to one of these dep redations: "A number of men belonging to the armed schooner that has been for some time past cruising in the river interrupting ¦ 122 SAIUN TAVERN, PROVIDENCE Some Rhode Island Taverns the traders, firing on Oyster boats &c we are told landed on the Narragansett Shore a few days since & carried off several Hogs be longing to the inhabitants, and also a Quan tity of Fire wood." Individuals appre hended by the Gaspee within the bay were sent " to Boston for trial, contrary to an act of Parliament, which required such trials to be held in the Colonies where seizures were made." This was not for a moment to be tolerated and Darius Sessions, the deputy-governor, began to be besieged with complaints, all of which asked for information concerning the real authority of this British commander in taking charge of the navigable waters of the state. Thereupon Chief Justice Hopkins was asked for an opinion. He gave it: "no commander of any vessel has a right to use any authority in the body of the Colony, without previously appearing to the gov ernor and showing his warrant for so doing, and also being sworn to a due exercise of his office." Naturally this decision precipitated a spirited correspondence between Governor Wanton and Lieut. Dudingston. Subse quently all the letters which passed between 123 Among Old New England Inns them were submitted to Admiral Montague, who was in command of the British fleet at Boston. But, following a custom not yet outgrown, the Admiral stoutly upheld his " man " replying to the governor " that he Dudingston, has done his duty and behaved like an officer, and it is your duty as a gov ernor to give him your assistance and not endeavor to distress the King's officers for strictly complying with my orders. I shall give them directions," he continued, " that in case they receive any molestation in the execution of their duty, they shall send every man so taken in molesting them to me. I am also informed, the people of Newport talk of fitting out an armed vessel to rescue any vessel the King's schooner may take car rying on an illicit trade. Let them be cau tious what they do for as sure as they at tempt it and any of them are taken I will hang them as pirates." This was the threat which inspired the gathering at Sabin's tavern. A favourable opportunity to strike an effective blow was supplied by the grounding of the Gaspee about seven miles below Providence, while chasing the sloop Hannah commanded by Benjamin Lindsay. The Hannah continued 124 Some Rhode Island Taverns up the river and arrived about sunset at her wharf in Providence. Then, in the words of Col. Ephraim Bowen, one member of the Gaspee party, " Lindsey immediately in formed Mr. John Brown, one of our first and most respectable merchants of the situa tion of the Gaspee. He concluded that she would remain immovable until about mid night, and that now an opportunity offered of putting an end to the trouble and vex ation she daily caused. " Mr. Brown immediately resolved on her destruction, and he forthwith directed one of his trusty shipmasters to collect eight of the largest long boats in the harbor, with five oars each; to have the oars and row locks well muffled, to prevent noise and to place them at Fenner's wharf, directly opposite to the dwelling of Mr. James Sa bin, who kept a house of board and enter tainment for gentlemen. About the time of the shutting up of the shops, soon after sun set, a man passed along the main street, beat ing a drum, and informing the inhabitants of the fact that the Gaspee was aground on Namquit Point, and would not float off until three o'clock the next morning; and inviting those persons who felt a disposi- 125 Among Old New England Inns tion to go and destroy that troublesome ves sel, to repair in the evening to Mr. James Sabin's house. " About nine o'clock I took my father's gun, and my powder horn and bullets and went to Mr. Sabin's, and found the southeast room full of people, where I loaded my gun and all remained there until about ten o'clock, some casting bullets in the kitchen and others making arrangements for depar ture, when orders were given to cross the street to Fenner's wharf, and embark; which soon took place and a sea-captain acted as steersman of each boat; of whom I recol lect Capt. Abraham Whipple, Capt. John B. Hopkins (with whom I embarked) and Capt. Benjamin Dunn. A line from left to right was soon formed, with Capt. Whipple on the right, and Capt. Hopkins on the right of the left wing. " The party thus proceeded until within about sixty yards of the Gaspee, when a sentinel hailed, 'Who comes there?' No answer. He hailed again and no answer. In about a minute Dudingston mounted the starboard gunwale, in his shirt, and hailed, 'Who comes there?' No answer. He 126 Some Rhode Island Taverns hailed again, when Capt. Whipple answered as follows: " ' I am the sheriff of the county of Kent [expletives]. I have got a warrant to ap prehend you [ditto] so surrender !' " I took my seat on the main thwart, near the larboard row-lock, with my gun by my right side, facing forwards. " As soon as Dudingston began to hail, Joseph Bucklin, who was standing on the main thwart, by my right side, said to me, ' Eph, reach me your gun and I can kill that fellow.' I reached it to him accordingly; when, during Capt. Whipple's replying, Bucklin fired, and Dudingston fell; and Bucklin exclaimed, ' I have killed the ras cal.' " In less than a minute after Capt Whip ple's answer the boats were alongside of the Gaspee, and boarded without opposition. The men on deck retreated below as Dud ingston entered the cabin. " As soon as it was discovered thatt he was wounded, John Mawney, who had for two or three years been studying physic and sur gery, was ordered to go into the cabin and dress Dudingston's wounds and I was di rected to assist him. . . . 127 Among Old New England Inns " Dudingston called for Mr. Dickinson to produce bandages and other necessaries for the dressing of the wound, and when finished, orders were given to the schooner's company to collect their clothing and every thing belonging to them, and put them into the boats as all of them were to be sent on shore. All were soon collected and put on board of the boats, including one of our boats. They departed and landed Duding ston at the old Still house wharf at Paw- tuxet, and put the chief into the house of Joseph Rhodes. Soon after, all the party were ordered to depart, leaving one boat for the leaders of the expedition; who soon set the vessel on fire, which consumed her to the water's edge." Col. Bowen's account of this affair, writ ten when he was eighty-six years old, is illuminatingly supplemented by John Maw- ney's recollections of the night's work, pub lished about 1825 in the Providence Ameri can and Gazette. He heard the drummer passing through the streets, he tells us, and, attracted by the extraordinary announcement he was making, hurried to the Sabin Tav ern. After some persuasion Mawney con sented to join the expedition as surgeon ; 128 Some Rhode Island Taverns and it is over his professional duties on the eventful evening that he lingers with most pride in his narrative. " When I was summoned to the cabin," he says, " I found Lieut. Dudingston in a sitting posture, gently reclining to the left, bleeding profusely, with a thin white woollen blanket loose about him, which I threw aside, and discovered the effect of a musket ball in the left groin; and thinking the femoral artery was cut, threw open my waistband, and taking my shirt by the collar tore it, when Mr. Dudingston said, ' Pray, sir, don't tear your clothes; there is linen in that trunk." Undoubtedly Mawney's work was skilful though he was only a student, for after the wound had been dressed Lieut. Dudingston offered him a gold stock-buckle as a testi monial of his gratitude and when he refused to accept this urged upon him a silver one which he wore with pride until his death. Three days later the Providence Ameri can and Gazette published the bare facts of the Gaspee's destruction, but hours before the press had presented the thing in outline the story was well known throughout the Colony and in neighbouring colonies as well. 129 Among Old New England Inns In that era the newspaper came straggling after instead of anticipating the events of the day. Of course every possible endeavour was made to apprehend the offenders, the initial reward of one hundred pounds sterling be ing increased to five hundred pounds " to any person or persons who shall discover the persons guilty " and a hundred pounds addi tional for the discovery and apprehension of the person " who acted or called them selves or were called by their accomplices the head sheriff or the captain." Notices of these rewards were freely distributed throughout the towns in the Colony but with out other effect than that accorded the King's proclamation which was posted on the hay- scales near the northeast corner of the Mar ket house, and which Mr. Joseph Aplin, a distinguished lawyer, struck down with his cane immediately after reading. Even the Royal Commission especially appointed to search out the participators in this bold deed could find out nothing! Yet the people of the town knew well about the details of the affair and such let ters as this quoted by Mr. Edward Field 130 Some Rhode Island Taverns in his " History of Rhode Island " passed freely through the mails: " Providence, Ye 23rd June 1772. " Dear Brother: " If I had no other motive to embrace this opportunity of writing to you yet grati tude would oblige me. . . . Doubtless you have heard of the skirmish down the river, and of the burning of the armed Schooner and badly wounding the captain; so I shall write no more concerning the affair (though I was on the wharf when the boats were manned and armed and knew the principal actors), lest it should be too much spread abroad; and perhaps you have seen the thundering proclamation in the newspaper and the reward of £100 sterling offered to any person or persons who shall discover the per^ petrators of the said villainy, as it is called. " The clock strikes eleven. We take no note of time but from its loss. . . . " From your affectionate brother " and sincere friend Solomon Drown Junr." With Rhode Island's next brave strike in behalf of liberty the David Arnold Tav- 131 Among Old New England Inns ern at Old Warwick is connected. The deed in question was the capture of the British General Prescott by Major William Barton of Warren on the night of July 5, 1777. For some six months previous to this. Providence had been in a state of most in tense excitement owing to the arrival at Newport, early in December, of the British fleet and troops commanded by Sir Henry Clinton. To defend the inhabitants of the colonies from the depredations of the soldiers (who were wont to come on shore and in dulge in the wildest kind of revelry), and to guard against any surprise or attack on the town, state troops were posted at various points along the shores of Narragansett Bay. In the month of June, 1777, a regiment of Rhode Island troops, under the command of Col. Stanton, was stationed in the town of Tiverton. Maj. Barton was an officer of this regiment. Barton had previously served at Newport, and was faniiliar with the island and its sur roundings as well as with the offenses which had been there committed by the men from the British ships. Moreover, he ardently admired Gen. Charles Lee, who was now 132 Some Rhode Island Taverns a captive in the hands of the enemy. (Lee, it should be parenthetically explained, was not known for nearly a century later as " the most worthless character which the Revolu tion brought to notice.") Resentment, then, against the British, a loyal zeal to rescue Lee, and desire to distinguish himself, were motives which worked together in Barton's mind, and caused him to carry out a plan second to none in the Revolution for bold ness and adroit performance. Prescott, as Maj. Barton knew, frequently spent the night at the house of a man named Overing about five miles above Newport on the west road leading to Bristol Ferry. Be cause Prescott's errand at this house was one of which he had no reason to be proud, the guard was. only a slight one. Barton's plan, therefore, was to cross Narragansett Bay from the mainland, seize Prescott and carry him to the American camp. Not long after Barton had hit upon this idea, he received from a man named Coffin, who had escaped from the island, many de tails concerning the Overing house. Thus he had at last suflicient information to enable him successfully to carry out his project. For a time he kept the plan to himself, but 133 Among Old New England Inns at last he went to Col. Stanton and unfolded it to him. To his delight this officer prom,- ised him all possible aid. Barton declined to explain to his friends the details and ob ject of his night-errand so that the utmost confidence was called for on their part. This much, however, he did tell them; that it was necessary for the purpose of the mys terious affair, that five whale-boats be pro vided. In a few days these were forth coming. The only thing now needed was men. The regiment was ordered paraded, and thfe colonel having thus provided his subor dinate with an opportunity to ask for volun teers, forty, the necessary number, were quickly chosen. With them and the follow ing order from his colonel. Barton pro ceeded to do his work: " Headquarters Camp at Tiverton, " 5th July, 1777. " Lieut. Col. Barton, " You will proceed to the Island of New port and attack the enemy when and where you think proper and make Report to me of your proceeding. "Jos: Stanton, Jr. Colo." 134 Sofne Rhode Island Taverns Not until two days after the beginning of active operations did Barton explain to his volunteers the nature of the enterprise upon which they had embarked! But though they were greatly astonished at the boldness of the plan, not one of them wished to with draw, and it was, therefore, with the full quota of men that he proceeded with his perilous undertaking on the evening of July 9th. No plunder, no liquor, silence and implicit obedience were the conditions im posed as the forty-one men embarked on the five boats waiting at Warwick Neck with oars already muffled. Barton's boat took the lead. To distinguish it from the others a pole was set up on which was tied a white handkerchief. He was followed swiftly and silently as he made his way close to the west ern shore of Prudence Island, taking care to avoid the enemy's ships, which lay near Hope Island. Yet they went quite near enough to hear the sentinel call in the black night "All's well!" When the landing was made at that point on the shore nearest the Overing house, one man was left with each boat and instructed to push off in case any break in the plans should occur. Then the five divisions 135 Among Old New England Inns pushed on up to the house. There were three entrances and it was arranged that all were to be attacked while one group of men guarded the road and another acted on emer gencies. No sooner was the front gate opened, however, than a sentinel advanced and de manded, " Who come there? " No reply was made and the party kept on; a second time the sentinel inquired, "Who comes there?" " Friends," retorted Barton, who was now nearly up with the guard. " Advance and give the countersign," was the response. " We have none," said Barton, " but have you seen any deserters tonight? " This naive retort so surprised the guard that John Hunt, one of the party, was able to overpower the man and take away his gun before he had time to realize that these were enemies and not friends. Told to pre serve silence under penalty of instant death, he became as one dumb. To enter the house and capture Prescott Was the work of only a few moments, for Mr. Overing, much frightened, immediately indicated the room where he was soon found. 136 Some Rhode Island Taverns sitting in his nightclothes on the side of the bed. " Are you General Prescott? " demanded Barton. " Yes," replied the man. " You are my prisoner." " I acknowledge it, sir," replied Prescott. The general was then told that he must accompany them at once, and, thsugh he begged for time to dress, he was allowed opportunity to put on only a few garments. Time was very precious just then. Had Major Barrington, the general's aid, who in an attempt to give the alarm jumped from the window of the chamber where he had been sleeping, not been captured by the men outside, the whole affair might have mis carried. There was none too much time as it was, for scarcely had the little party made their way through the meadows to the boats when three cannon and three rockets, the signal of alarm, came from the island; some of the household had spread the news and the whole camp was aroused. Barton and his party proceeded on their way unmolested, however, and Prescott said admiringly as they rowed past the British vessels lying at 137 Among Old New England Inns anchor, " Sir, I did not think it possible you could escape the vigilance of the water- guards." From the landing-place to David Arnold's tavern at Warwick neck was not much of a walk, but Prescott, whose bare feet had been scratched by the blackberry vines in the meadow they had recently crossed, begged so hard for a pair of shoes that a pair was obtained for him from one of the officers at the Warwick neck station. Samuel Cory, of the expedition, was directed by Barton to take the shoes to the general and put them on. There was some difficulty about this as Prescott kept protesting that his feet were so swollen the shoes would not fit. " My orders were to put the shoes on General Prescott, not to see that they fitted," said Samuel grimly, as he vigorously executed the order. Upon their arrival at the tavern, the two prisoners were assigned rooms and carefully guarded. Next morning at breakfast Pres cott ate little, and Mrs, Arnold, the land lord's wife, thinking he did not like her fare, made some remark on the subject. But the British general assured her that he had no appetite. He likewise had no cravat, 138 DA\'ID ARNOLD TAVERN, WARWICK PELEG ARNOLD TAVERN, NEAR WOONSOCKET Some Rhode Island Taverns and Mrs. Arnold, noticing this, kindly gave him one of her best white handkerchiefs to remedy this defect of toilet. Soon after the morning meal, the two distinguished pris oners were driven under guard to Provi dence, in a coach General Spencer had sent out for this purpose. From Providence, Prescott was forwarded to General Washing ton's headquarters in New Jersey, and in the spring he was exchanged for General Lee, as Barton had hoped would be the case. Peleg Arnold's tavern at what is now Union village, near Woonsocket, is another Revolutionary tavern rich in historic asso ciations. As a house of entertainment the place dates back to 1739, when Lieut. Thomas Arnold, the father of Peleg, was licensed to keep a public house. Situated as it was on the " Great Road " leading to Worcester, it was widely patronized by weary travellers, and when the father died in 1765 Peleg began to carry on the busi ness. To his door, ten years later, rode a dusty messenger with the exciting news of Concord and Lexington, news which so aroused the tavern-keeper that throughout the Revolution his house was the centre of all the patriotic enterprises of that section. 139 Among Old New England Inns Here the town-meeting was held and here men were recruited for service in the army. Here, too, a little later, were deposited arms for distribution among the North Smith- field soldiery. When Peleg Arnold died, he had for many years been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. Another Justice Eleazer Arnold was also a Rhode Island tavern-keeper and a man of unusiaal qualities. His license to keep a public house is dated August 14, 1710, and the privilege then extended is thus formally recorded: " Whereas the Lawes do Provide that no Person Inhabiting on our Collony shall keepe any Publick house of Entertainment for strangers, Travilers or others, nor Re- tale Strong drinke, unless they have a licence from the Councill of ye Respective Towne whereunto they do belong; And Whereas you Justice Eliezer Arnold Inhabitant of this Towne of Providence, in ye CoUoney of Rhode Island & Providence Plantations in New England haveing desired of ye Towne Councill of sd Providence that they Would Grant unto you a licence in order to that Purpose, whereby you might be in a Capac- itye to keepe a house of that Order & for 140 Some Rhode Island Taverns that imploy: The Towne Councill of said Providence being mett, & haveing Consid ered your Request, and to ye end that stran gers, Travilers & other Persons may be ac comodated with suteable Entertainment at all times as Ocation Requires do by these presents Grant un to you ye abovesd Jus tice Eliezer Arnold licence & libertye to keepe a Publick house of Entertainment in sd Providence Towneshipp at your dwell ing, for the Entertaineing of Strangers, Travilers & other Persons, both horse and foote. Carters, Drovers, &c: at all times for & duiring the full & just Terme of one yeares Time forward from ye day of the date of these presents: And that at all times duiring the said Terme of time you do (within your Prescinks) well & truely Ob serve, do & keepe good Orders according as ye lawes do Require Persons Who are licenced to keepe such houses to do & Per- forme. Dated August ye 14th: 1710." This old house has been designated for generations as " The Stone Chimney House " by reason of its huge fireplace and chimney of stone. It has been said that this form of construction was used on the side to the northwestward, north and northeastward to 141 Among Old New England Inns protect the house from the fire-arrows of Indians who dwelt in the primeval forest that there stretched out. This explanation, too, is given for the mortar-laid shingles on the roof. Unfortunately for the story, how ever, there are facts to show us that the rela tion between Eleazer Arnold and his red- men neighbours were most unusually friendly. Within the tavern when he died was " an old bed the Indians used to lie on!" For its time Justice Arnold's tavern was unusually spacious. It had four rooms on the lower floor and on the second floor were two chambers one of which contained a fire place. The living-room was large and com modious with its huge fireplace, the great " summer " beam upon which the guns were wont to be placed, and over the fireplace a strong eye-bolt to which could be attached a block and tackle to aid in hauling great logs to the fire. Mantelpieces, as one careful student of colonial days has pointed out, were no part of the interior furnishings of really old houses. " Whatever was arranged about the walls was hung on long hooks made of natural branches, fitted according to the ingenuity of the owner." The date of 142 ELEAZER ARNOLD TAVERN, NEAR QUINSNICKET, LINCOLN -;<¦.?, '¦^Jji^pi.'.t^ Jit 't^ fJREENVlLI.E lAVERN, SM II'IIFI lil.D Some Rhode Island Taverns this house is 1687, and here Jiistice Arnold long held his court. The Greenville Tavern, Smithfield, Rhode Island, dates back to 1730, and with its sec ond-story piazza, overhanging roof and huge chimney certainly suggests old-time revel ries and romjantic rendezvous. Divers merry parties were wont to congregate in this old inn and sip flip or cheering toddy around its blazing fire. Mr. Edward Field quotes an ancient rhyme which throws into sharp relief one such congenially occupied group: " Landlord, to thy bar room skip. Make it a foaming mug of flip — Make it of our country's staple, Rum, New England sugar maple. Beer that's brewed from hops and Pumpkins, Grateful to the thirsty Bumpkins. Hark ! I hear the poker sizzle And O'er the mug the liquor drizzle, And against the earthen mug I hear the wooden spoon's cheerful dub. I see thee, landlord, taste the flip; And fling thy cud from under lip, Then pour more rum, the bottle stopping, Stir it again and say it's topping ; Come, quickly bring the humming liquor. Richer than ale of British vicar, 143 Among Old New England Inns Better than Usquebaugh Hibernian Or than Flacus' famed Falernian, More potent healthy, racy, frisky, Than Holland's gin or Georgia's whisky. Come, make a ring around the fire And hand the mug unto the squire; Here, Deacon, take the elbow chair. And Corporal Cuke, do you sit there; You take the dye tub, you the churn. And I'll the double corner turn. See the fomenting liquor rise And burn their cheeks and close their eyes; See the sidling mug incline. Hear them curse their dull divine Who on Sunday dared to rail Against B — 's flip or Downer's ale Quick, landlord, fly and bring another. And Deacon H. shall pay for 'tother Ensign and I the third will share, Its due on swop for the pyeball mare." From this highly convivial verse, we dis cover that though there was seldom much furniture in a typical tap-room, a flip-iron was an indispensable fixture. This, when heated, gave to certain mixtures a burnt, bitter flavour which was much liked. The ingredients stirred together varied in dif ferent parts of the colonies but one much 144 Some Rhode Island Taverns approved by Rhode Island palates consisted of home-brewed beer sweetened with sugar molasses or dried pumpkin and flavoured with a liberal dash of rum. An era which could enjoy such barbarous drinks not unnaturally encouraged barba rous customs. Certainly no softer adjective may fitly characterize the shift marriages which took place in Rhode Island, not far from one of the taverns we have here been discussing. In the records of the town of Warwick appears the following entry: " These are to signify unto all ministers of justice that Henry Strait Jun of East Greenwich in ye colony of R. I. and Prov. Plantation took Mary Webb of ye town of Warwick in ye colony afousd. widow in only a shift and no other Garment in ye presns of Avis Gordon May Collins and Presilar Crandall and was Lawfully Married in sd Warwick ye first of August 1725 by me Recorded ye 5th of Nov 1725 Pr John Wickes T. C." In South Kingstown this same curious custom prevailed and it is there recorded that " Thomas Cullenwell was joyned in Marriage to Abigaile his wife the 22d of February 1719-20. He took her in marriage 145 Among Old New England Inns after she had gone four times across the Highway in only her shift and hair lace and no other clothing. Joyned togather, in mar riage per me George Hassard Just." The third record, which is somewhat fuller, shows us what this extraordinary wedding custom meant to its participants: " In the town of Newport in the Colony of Rhode Island and on the 13th of Sep tember 1714 John Gavett of the town and county above said did meet with Sarah Stephenson, widow, in the street within the town abovesaid stark naked save only her shift and they being lawfully published the said John Gavett did accept in marriage the above said Sarah Stephenson stark naked save only her shift without housing or lands or any personal state whatever, and in said street I did join together in marriage the above said John Gavett and Sarah Stephen son on the day and year above said as wit ness my hand and seal hereto affixed. "Nath'l Sheffield Assistant." Let it not be thought, however, that this custom was peculiar to Rhode Island. Such was far from being the case; shift marriages 146 Some Rhode Island Taverns for the purpose of escaping the debts con tracted by the bride's deceased husband took place in many of the colonies, — certainly in Pennsylvania and in all the New Eng land states. And a pitiful commentary they are upon the crude civilization of our tav ern-loving forbears. 147 CHAPTER VIII THE TAVERNS THAT ENTERTAINED WASH INGTON Of all the distinguished guests with whose names tavern traditions are proudly linked, Washington is, of course, the most eminent. The tavern that can boast of having given him shelter for a night has ten times the chance of preservation accorded the ordi nary old building. One writer indeed be lieves that the Washington tavern business is greatly overdone and, in speaking of an inn interesting chiefly for its age, points out triumphantly that it is " innocent of Wash ington associations." Just here, however, we will take the other tack and trace care fully the hostelries honoured by the Presi dent's party during his official visits to New England. "Thurs. Oct. 15, 1789," says his Diary, " I commenced my journey about 9 o'clock for Boston and a tour through the Eastern 148 Taverns That Entertained Washington States. The Chief Justice, Mr. Jay — and the secretaries of the Treasury and War Departments accompanied me some distance out of the city. About lo o'clock it began to Rain and continued to do so till ii, when we arrived at the house of one Hoyatt, who keeps a Tavern at Kingsbridge, where we, that is. Major Jackson, Mr. Lear and my self with six servants, which composed my Retinue dined. After dinner, through fre quent light showers we proceed'd to the Tav ern of Mrs. Haviland at Rye. . . . Oct. i6 About 7 o'clock we left the Widow Havi- land's and after passing Horse Neck, six miles from Rye, we breakfasted at Stam ford [Connecticut] which is 6 miles fur ther. At Norwalk, which is six miles fur ther we made a halt to feed our horses. . . . From thence to Fairfield where we dined and lodged, is 12 miles. October 17. — A little after sunrise we left Fairfield, and passing through Et. Fairfield, breakfasted at Stratford, which is ten miles from Fair field. ... At this place I was received with an effort of Military parade; and was at tended to the Ferry, which is near a mile from the center of the Town, by sevl. Gen tlemen on horseback. . . . From the ferry 149 Among Old New England Inns is about 3 miles to Milford." The tavern in Milford, — now no longer standing, — was kept by Andrew Clark, — and not very well kept either. Lambert's history tells us that, during his New England tour of 1789, Washington twice put up here. The house had been opened very early in the town's history by one Tomlinson who, in 1656, was sued by the authorities because " he had broken the jurisdiction order by selling strong water, wine and beer at greater prices than was allowed, and kept a disorderly house in that he suffered young men and maids to come there and dance and play at shuffle board." Washington's criticism of the house was that he did not find the food good, — and that it had no silver spoons! Not much relishing his supper of boiled meat and potatoes, he called for a bowl of milk, which was brought him, with a pewter spoon that lacked a handle. He asked for a silver spoon, but was told the house af forded none, whereupon he gave the servant- maid a two-shilling piece and told her to go and borrow one. She accordingly borrowed one for him at the minister's. ^ From Milford," the Diary continues, " we took the lower road through West 150 Taverns That Entertained Washington Haven and arrived at New Haven before two o'clock; we had time to walk through several parts of the City before Dinner. . . . The Address (of the Assembly) was pre sented at 7 o'clock and at nine I received another address from the Congregational Clergy of the place. Between the rect. of the two addresses I received the Compli ment of a visit from the Govr. Mr. Hunt ington — the Lieut. Gov. Mr. Wolcott — and the Mayor Mr. Roger Sherman." Sunday finds the President enjoying the hospitality of the town's best tavern. " Went in the forenoon to the Episcopal church," the Diary records, " and in the afternoon to one of the Congregational Meeting-Houses. Attended to the first by the speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Edwards, and a Mr. Inger soU, and to the latter by the Governor, the Lieut. Governor, the Mayor and Speaker. These gentlemen all dined with me (by in vitation) as did Genl. Huntington, at the House of Mr. Brown, where I lodged, and who keeps a good Tavern. Drank tea at the Mayor's. ... At 7 O'clock in the evening many Officers of this State, belonging to the late Continental army, called to pay their respects to me." 151 Among Old New England Inns The keeper of this " good tavern " had not been very long in the business, it ap pears, for in the columns of the Connecticut Journal for April, 1786, we find the follow ing: "Jacob Brown, one of the proprietors of the stages, informs the public that he has opened a house of entertainment in the City of New Haven." " This house must have faced the Green," says Mr. Henry T. Blake, secretary of the New Haven Colony His torical Society, " for in May, 1787, Mr. Brown advertised that ' he has removed from the house lately occupied on the Green to Colonel Hubbard's elegant stone house near the old market where those who wish to take passage in the stage and others may be decently entertained.' " This second house it was to which Washington came, and it is still standing at the junction of Church, George and Meadow streets. To-day, too, as in Washington's time it dispenses liquid refreshments. Only now its wares are served without lodging, over the counter, by the glass, — and they are of Teutonic appeal. The house was built by Dr. Hubbard, who died in 1794, and was, in its day, one of the most elegant private residences of the town. That Saturday evening of Washington's 152 Taverns That Entertained Washington visit it was again thronged with handsomely- dressed gentlemen. A constant succession of civic, ecclesiastical and military dignities streamed through its spacious parlours. At seven the Committee of the Legislature ap peared; at eight the Governor and the mayor made their bows and at nine the Rev erend President of the College and the Con gregational ministers arrived. Later numer ous worthy citizens of the town paid their respects to the nation's head. After the Sunday dinner at Brown's to which the Diary refers, the President heard the great Jonathan Edwards preach. His entertainers had expected that the distin guished theologian would furnish a sermon suitable to the extraordinary occasion, but Edwards, with characteristic other-worldli- ness announced that his text was, " Train up a Child in the Way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." He added immediately that, in speaking on these sacred words, he would address himself principally to the children in the galleries! In this connection it is pleasant to find a charming story of the President's encounter, that afternoon, with one of those very chil dren. He went, as the Diary records, to 153 Among Old New England Inns drink tea with the Mayor, Mr. Sherman. Roger Sherman's house is still standing, on Chapel street, next to the Union League Club building. Its door on that faraway occasion was opened, as the President was leaving, by Mr. Sherman's little daughter Mehitabel. Washington, putting his hand on her head remarked kindly, " You deserve a better oflice, my little lady!" "Yes, sir," she replied with a courtesy, " to let you in." One earlier visit to New Haven the Pres ident had made. This was in the summer of 1775, when on his way to take command of the Continental forces at Cambridge. On this occasion he stopped at the house of Isaac Beers, then situated on the lot where the New Haven House now stands. The proprietor was the son of Mr. Nathan Beers, who was killed in his own house by the Brit ish troops during their invasion of New Haven in 1779. The house had been kept by Mr. Beers as a place of public entertain ment since about 1760; and until he retired from inn-keeping in 1778 was the most prom inent hostelry in New Haven. Public din ners were frequently held here, and John Adams records that when he stopped there in 1774 on his way to the Continental Con- 154 Taverns That Entertained Washington gress he " talked of politics with Mr. Beers." While Washington was a guest at this house he was aroused very early in the morn ing to review the company of one hundred and sixty Yale students which had been formed, soon after the battle of Lexington, to serve the cause of the United Colonies. " Left New Haven at 6 O'clock," we find to be the entry of October 19, " and arrived at Wallingford (13 miles) by half after 8 o'clock, where we breakfasted and took a walk through the Town. . . . About 10 o'clock we left this place, and at the dis tance of 8 miles passed through Durham. At one we arrived at Middletown, on Con necticut River, being met two or three miles from it by the respectable citizens of the place, and escorted in by them. While din ner was getting ready I took a walk around the Town from the heights of which the prospect is beautiful. . . . Having dined, we set out with the same escort (who con ducted us into town about three o'clock for Hartford, and passing through a Parish of Middletown and Weathersfield we arrived at Harfd. about sundown. At Weathersfield we were met by a party of the Hartford light horse and a number of Gentlemen 155 Among Old New England Inns from the same place with Col° Wadsworth at their head, and escorted to Bull's Tavern where we lodged." This tavern, the most noted in Hartford, was called the Bunch of Grapes from its carved sign bearing that device. It stood at or near the point of intersection of Asy lum street with the west side of Main street. M. de Chastellux, who visited the house during the Revolutionary War, commented on it as "a very good inn; kept by Mr. Bull, who is accused of being rather on the other side of the question; a polite method of designating a tory." The punctiliousness with which Wash ington fulfilled all his engagements in the course of this triumphal tour is very im pressive. Occasionally, of course, the weather interfered with plans made but when such was the case we find the matter carefully explained in the Diary. Accord ingly there is recorded on Wednesday, Oc tober 21, "By promise I was to have Break fasted at Mr. Ellsworth's at Windsor, on my way to Springfield, but the morning proving very wet, and the rain not ceasing till past ten o'clock, I did not set out until half after that hour; I called, however, on 156 Taverns That Entertained Washington Mr. Ellsworth and stay'd there near an hour — reached Springfield by 4 o'clock, and while dinner was getting, examined the Con tinental Stores at this place. A Col°. Worth- ington, Colo. Williams, Adjutant General of the State of Massachusetts, Gen. Shepherd, Mr. Lyman and many other Gentlemen sat an hour or two with me in the evening at Parson's Tavern, where I lodged, and which is a good House." Until ten years ago this building stood at the west end of Court street though sadly shorn of its barns, sheds and dance-hall, all of which were prominent features in Wash ington's day. At that time it was a huge, rambling, unpainted structure with a lofty wing, which, when afterwards detached, was called the " light-house." Zenas Parsons was succeeded as landlord by Eleazer Will iams and when James Monroe came to Springfield, early in his presidency, he found John Bennett in charge. Soon after wards, the property was sold to Erastus Chapin, and, in 18 19, a company of public- spirited townspeople bought its site for a square and moved the main part of the old tavern to its last resting-place at the foot of Court Street. 157 Among Old New England Inns For the President's party in 1789, Palmer was the next stop, breakfast being taken " at the House of one Scott." This tavern is sometimes called " Scots at the Elbow," probably from its situation near the " ford " afterwards the " bridge " over the Quabog river. It was for many years a very famous inn. Brookfield came next in the itinerary and the tavern which had the honour of enter taining Washington at dinner (October 23, 1789) is still standing, near the centre of West Brookfield village, directly on the main street. Built in 1760 by David Hitch cock, it was occupied by him as a hostelry till 181 1. He, therefore, was the host at Washington's visit. Ten years later he en tertained for the night another President, John Adams, on his way to Quincy, his home-town. Lafayette was entertained here in 1825 and there is a tradition that Jerome Bonaparte and his lovely American wife passed a night here soon after their mar riage. Nowadays the tavern is a favourite resort of automobile parties, who find its combination of old-time atmosphere with modern improvements, of fragrant tradi tions with excellent food very attractive. 158 Taverns That Entertained Washington This is, indeed, one of the few " taverns that entertained Washington " which I can cordially recommend to the twentieth-cen tury wayfarer. Most of them are not inns any longer, and of such as are, the least said the better, — too often. From Brookfield, — where the President received an " Express which was sent to me by Govr. Hancock giving notice of the meas ures he was about to pursue for my recep tion on the Road and in Boston, with a request to lodge at his House," the party pressed on " to Spencer, lo miles further, and lodged at the House of one Jenks, who keeps a pretty good tavern." The bread at this tavern was particularly good, if one may trust the landlord's wife; she used to tell the story that the General at breakfast remarked, " Madam, your bread is very beautiful." " Commenced our course with the Sun," says the Diary on October 23, " and passing through Leicester met some Gentlemen of the Town of Worcester, on the line between it and the former to escort us. . . . We were received by a handsome Company of Militia Artillery in Uniform, who saluted with 13 Guns on our entry and departure. At this ^59 Among Old New England Inns place also we met a Committee from the Town of Boston ... On the Line between Worcester and Middlesex I was met by a troop of light Horse belonging to the latter, who escorted me to Marlborough, where we dined, and thence to Weston where we lodged." Washington's stopping-place in Marlbor ough still welcomes guests; and to-day, as in his time, it is known as the Williams Tav ern. Erected in 1665 by Abraham Will iams, it has ever since been a popular resort for travellers. In early days court was held here, and the old-time cells may still be seen in the basement. The Duke de la Roche- foucault was once entertained here, and when Landlord Pease — of whom we have already heard — started his first line of mail-coaches in 1786 this house was one of the principal stopping-places on the mail route between Boston and New York. The Weston tavern patronized by Wash ington in 1789 was that of John Flagg. " On October 24," the Diary continues, " dressed by Seven o'clock, and set out at eight — at ten we arrived in Cambridge, according to appointment; but most of the Militia having a distance to come, were not 160 Taverns That Entertained Washington in line till after eleven; they made however an excellent appearance, with Genl. [John] Brooks at their Head. At this place the Lieut. Govr. Mr. Saml. Adams, with the Executive Council, met me and preceded my entrance into town — which was in every degree flattering and honourable. To pass over the Minutiae of the arrangement for this purpose, it may suffice to say that at the entrance I was welcomed by the Selectmen in a body. Then following the Liet Govr. and Council in the order we came from Cambridge (preceded by the Town Corps, very handsomely dressed), we passed through the Citizens classed in their different pro fessions, and under their own banners, till we came to the State House; from which across the Street an Arch was thrown; in the front of which was this Inscription — 'To the Man who unites all hearts' — and on the other — 'To Columbia's favorite Son ' — and on one side thereof next the State House, in a pannel decorated with a trophy, composed of the Arms of the United States — of the Commonwealth of Massa chusetts — and our French Allies, crowned with a wreath of Laurel^ was this Inscrip tion — 'Boston relieved March 17th, 1776.' 161 Among Old New England Inns This Arch was handsomely ornamented, and over the Center of it a Canopy was erected 20 feet high, with the American Eagle perched on the top. After passing through the Arch, and entering the State House at the S° End and ascending to the upper floor and returning to a Balcony at the N° end; three cheers was given by a vast con course of people who by this time had as sembled at the Arch — then followed an ode composed in honour of the President; and well sung by a band of select singers — after this three Cheers — followed by the different Professions and Mechanics in the order they were drawn up with their col ours through a lane of the People, which had thronged abt. the Arch under which they passed. The Streets, the Doors, win dows and tops of the Houses were crowded with well dressed Ladies and Gentlemen. The procession being over, I was conducted to my lodgings at a Widow IngersoU's, (which is a very decent and good house) by the Lieut. Govr. and Council — accom panied by the Vice President, where they took leave of me. Having engaged yester day to take an informal dinner with the Govr. [John Hancock] to-day, but under a 162 Taverns That Entertained Washington full persuasion that he would have waited upon me so soon as I should have arrived — I excused myself upon his not doing it, and informing me thro' his Secretary that he was too much indisposed to do it, being resolved to receive the visit. Dined at my Lodgings, where the Vice-President favored me with his Company." "Oct. 25. — Attended Divine Service at the Episcopal Church whereof Dr. Parker is the Incumbent in the forenoon and the Con gregational Church of Mr. Thatcher in the afternoon. Dined at my lodgings with the Vice-President. Mr. Bowdoin accompanied me to both Churches. Between the two I received a visit from the Govr. who assured me that indisposition alone prevented his doing it yesterday, and that he was still in disposed; but as it had been suggested that he expected to receive the visit from the President which he knew was improper, he was resolved at all haz'ds to pay his Com pliments to-day. " Oct. 26. — The day being Rainy and Stormy, myself much disordered by a cold and inflammation in the left eye, I was pre vented from visiting Lexington (where the first blood in the dispute with G. Brit'n was 163 Among Old New England Inns drawn). Rec'd the Complim'ts of many visits today. Mr. Dalton and Genl. Cobb dined with me, and in the Evening drank Tea with Govr. Hancock and called upon Mr. Bowdoin on my return to my lodgings. " Oct. 27. — At ten o'clock in the morn ing received the visits of the Clergy of the Town; at eleven I went to an Oratorio (at King's Chapel) and between that and 3 o'clock rec'd the Addresses of the Govr. and Council — of the Town of Boston — of the President etc. of Harvard College and of the Cincinnati of the State; after wch at 3 o'clock I dined at a large and elegant Din ner at Faneuil Hall, given by the Govr. and Council, and spent the evening at my lodgings." The evident satisfaction with which Wash ington throughout his Boston stay refers to " my lodgings " is particularly interesting when one recalls that underneath this phrase lurks a sly thrust at pompous John Hancock. On the raw chill day of the President's ar rival the Governor's suite and a throng of the townspeople were on hand to welcome him, but the Governor himself failed to put in an appearance. He did not wish to recognize a superior personage within his 164 Taverns That Entertained Washington official jurisdiction! Consequently he al lowed the crowds to contract what was for years known as " the Washington cold " while awaiting him. But Washington had as high a sense of personal dignity as did Hancock; he had also a much nicer appre ciation of when it is improper to show per sonal pique. Finally, therefore, he rode be tween the throngs on State street, past the State House to his cold dinner at Mrs. In gersoU's on Tremont street near what is now Scollay square. And there all that day he kept his room, refusing flatly an invitation to dine with Hancock. The following morn ing the Governor realized his fiasco and, though suffering from gout, caused himself to be carried to IngersoU's to present his apologies in person. Madame Hancock al ways insisted that her husband was really too ill to leave his house on the day of Washington's entry, but the impression that Hancock intended to slight the man who had been elevated, instead of him, to the place of President has none the less endured. The one person who came out of the affair with flying colours appears to have been the cook at IngersoU's who, at the last minute, secured some very excellent fish for the dis- 165 Among Old New England Inns tinguished guest's dinner and so saved the credit of Boston hospitality. The boarding-house thus honoured stood at the juncture of Tremont and Court streets for many years. If its walls could have spoken, we should have for quotation a de licious description of that historic encounter between Hancock and Washington the day after the President's arrival! The visit was preceded by the following note: " Sunday 26th October, " half-past twelve o'clock. " The Governor's best respects to the President. If at home and at leisure, the Governor will do himself thq honor to pay his respects in half an hour. This would have been done much sooner had his health in any degree permitted. He now hazards everything, as it respects his health, for the desirable purpose." To which the President replied : — " Sunday, 26th October, one o'clock. " The President of the United States pre sents his best respects to the Governor, and has the honor to inform him that he shall 166 Taverns That Entertained Washington be at home till two o'clock. The President need not express the pleasure it will give him to see the Governor; but, at the same time, he most earnestly begs that the Gov ernor will not hazard his health on the occa sion." When Hancock arrived, swathed in red flannel, and was carried by two men into the President's drawing-room Washington was most gracious, however. He gave full weight to the excuse of unmerciful gout and, in the afternoon, returned the visit with all courteous haste. But he returned to his lodgings to sleep, though Hancock had ex tended, and he had accepted, an invitation to be his guest while in Boston. Salem was the next town which the Pres ident honoured with his presence for a time. His description of the journey thither is interesting: "October 29. Left Boston about 8 o'clock. Passed over the Bridge at Charles-town, and went to see that at Mai den, but proceeded to the College at Cam bridge, attended by the Vice-President, Mr. Bowdoin, and a great number of Gentle men. . . . From Boston, besides the number of citizens which accompanied me to Cam- 167 Among Old New England Inns bridge, and many of them from thence to Lynn — the Boston Corps of Horse escorted me to the line between Middlesex and Essex County, where a party of horse with Genl Titcomb met me and conducted me through Marblehcad to Salem. ... At the Bridge, 2 miles from this town, we were also met by a Committee, who conducted us by a Bri gade of the Militia and one or two hand some Corps in Uniform, through several of the streets to the Town or Court House, where an Ode in honor of the President was sung — an Address presented to him amidst the acclamations of the People; after which he was conducted to his Lodgings. Rec'd the Compliments of many different classes of People and in the evening, be tween 7 and 8 o'clock went to an Assembly, where there was at least an hundred hand some and well-dressed Ladies. Abt. nine re turned to my Lodgings." The house from whose balcony Washing ton made his first bow to Salem' people was that of Abijah Northey. But he passed the night at the private residence of Joshua Ward, — a building now numbered 148 Washington street, — in a room on the sec ond story behind the ivy-covered wall. To- 168 Taverns That Entertained Washington day the place is called Hotel Washington, in honour of the distinguished visitor it once entertained. Washington went to Ipswich also. In the Diary we find the following allusions to his visit: "Friday October 30, 1789. From this place (Beverly) with escorts of Horse I passed on to Ipswich, about ten miles; at the entrance of which I was met and wel comed by the Selectmen, and received by a Regm't of Militia. At this place I was met by Mr. Dalton and some other gentlemen from Newburyport; partook of a cold col lation and proceeded on to the last-men tioned place, where I was received with much respect and parade about four o'clock." J. B. Felt, the Ipswich historian, writing in 1834 while many still remembered the particulars of Washington's visit, remarks: " George Washington is escorted into town, receives a short address; dines at the inn, then kept by Mrs. Homans; reviews a regi ment mustered to honor him; is visited by many; stays three hours and leaves for New bury, through lines of a multitude compris ing both sexes of all ages, who had assem bled to give him, with deep emotions of gratitude, a welcome and a parting look." 169 Among Old New England Inns The Ipswich tavern thus honoured above its fellows was built in 1693 or thereabouts, and was first used as a tavern in 1724 by Increase How, whose widowed daughter, Susanna Swasey, there carried on the inn for many years, marrying meanwhile Capt. George Stacey of Marblehead (June 30, 1763) and afterwards, Capt. Richard Ho man of the same town. Upon Mrs. Homan's death, her stepson, George Stacey of Bidde- ford, conveyed to her son. Major Joseph Swasey, his interest in the tavern. The major had served with honour in the Revo lutionary War, and Swasey's Tavern was for many years a notable feature of the town. Its taverner was town clerk as well and be cause of his sudden death during the prog ress of a town meeting (April, 1816) was long remembered in Ipswich. In 1805, his tavern became the property of John Heard, whose son Augustine sold the place to Zenas Gushing, from whose heirs it was purchased by Dr. William E. Tucker, the present owner. Originally the house was three- storied and hip-roofed, but it has been so remodelled that no trace of its antiquity remains. In Newburyport, Washington was greeted 170 Taverns That Entertained Washington with overwhelming enthusiasm. The Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet of November fourth reports the visit thus, " Friday last the BELOVED PRESI DENT OF THE UNITED STATES made his entry into this town; and never did a person appear here, who more largely shared the affection and esteem of its citi zens. He was escorted here by two com panies of cavalry, from Ipswich and An dover, Marshall Jackson, the High Sheriff of the County of Essex, the Hon. Tristram Dalton, Esq., Major General Titcomb, and a number of other officers, as well as several gentlemen from this and neighboring towns. On his drawing near, he was saluted with thirteen discharges from the artillery after which, a number of young gentlemen placed themselves before him, and sang as follows: "*He comes! he comes! the Hero comes! Sound, sound your trumpets, beat, beat your drums; From port to port let cannons roar. He's welcome to New England shore. Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome Welcome to New England's shore.' " The lines in the first verse which call for the beating of drums and roaring of cannon 171 Among Old New England Inns were instantly obeyed after the pronuncia tion of each word: and to the vocal was joined all the instrumental music in both choruses, which were repeated : — Then the President, preceded by the several compa nies of Militia and artillery of this town, the musicians, selectmen. High Sheriff, and Marshall Jackson, . . . passed to the house prepared for his reception. Here a feu de joy was fired by several companies of mili tia." The Newburyport house which extended hospitality to Washington is still standing, and is now the public library of the town. Up to the time of Washington's visit, its owner had been Nathaniel Tracy, an inter esting character who made vast sums during the Revolutionary War from his fleet of privateers. Besides this elegant home on State street, he at one time owned Craigie House in Cambridge, well known as Wash ington's headquarters and the home of the poet Longfellow. Tracy's cellars were al ways stocked with the choicest wines and all the appointments of his table were sumptu ous in the extreme. Thomas Jefferson often stayed with him, and many other distin guished people were glad to visit at his 172 Taverns That Entertained Washington home. But, just before Washington's visit, he became hopelessly involved in financial difficulties and selling his estates, retired to his farm-mansion near-by. Thus it was that the house which his father, Patrick Tracy, had built for him, passed temporarily into the hands of the Honourable Jonathan Jack son, Patrick's son-in-law; and since it was to Jackson's care as United States marshal that arrangements for Washington's Massa chusetts visit had been entrusted, some of the unoccupied rooms in this house were furnished and made ready for the accommo dation of the town's eminent visitor. From Newburyport the President pro ceeded to Portsmouth " and was received," says the Diary, " by the President of the State of New Hampshire, the Vice-Presi dent, some of the Council — Messrs Lang don and Wingate of the Senate, Col° Parker, Marshall of the State and many other re spectable characters; besides several Troops of well cloathed Horse in handsome Uni forms and many officers of the Militia also in handsome (red and white) uniforms of the Manufacture of the State. With this cavalcade we proceeded, and arrived before 3 o'clock at Portsmouth where we were re- 173 Among Old New England Inns ceived with every token of respect and ap pearance of cordiality, under a discharge of artillery. The streets, doors and windows were crowded here as at all the other places; and alighting at the Town House odes were sung and played in honor of the President. The same happened yesterday at my entrance into Newbury port. . . . From the Town House I went to Colonel Brewster's Ta'n, the place provided for my residence." This house is no longer standing, having burnt down in 1813 after a very interesting and varied career described at length in the chapter devoted to Portsmouth Taverns. In none of the New England towns he visited, did Washington enjoy himself more than at Portsmouth. On the evening of his arrival the State House was beautifully il luminated and rockets were let off from the balcony. The next morning found him at tending divine service at the Queen's Chapel, and in the afternoon he listened to a lauda tory address delivered by Dr. Buckminster at the North Church. On Monday the President went on an excursion down the harbour in a barge rowed by seamen dressed in white frocks and accompanied by another barge containing an amateur band which 174 Taverns That Entertained Washington " did their possible " at frequent intervals. The Diary says that " having lines, we pro ceeded to the fishing banks a little without the harbor and fished for cod, — but it not being of proper time of tide, we only caught two, — with which about ten o'clock we re turned to town." Of those two trophies Washington drew from the watei: but one. The other was hooked by Zebulon Willey, who was fishing in the vicinity and who, when he observed the President's bad luck, came alongside and handed over his line with a big one already on it waiting to be hauled in. It proved to be a very good pull for Zebulon, for the President gave him a silver dollar and all his after life he had a first-rate fish story to tell. When the lines had been finally drawn up, the distinguished guest was rowed by the white-jacketed sailors straight to the hos pitable vine-hung door, at Little Harbour, of Colonel Michael Wentworth and his wife who had been Martha Hilton. From this point they returned to town by carriages, passing, on the way, the residence of Cap tain John Blunt who had first met Washing ton on the famous " Crossing the Delaware " 175 Among Old New England Inns occasion. Blunt had for many years owned and sailed a coasting-vessel which plied be tween Portsmouth and Philadelphia, and he knew the Delaware nearly as well as the Piscataqua. Accordingly, when Washing ton, that winter day, observed the floating ice of the river, and asked if there were no one in the boat acquainted with the stream, Blunt's name was immediately spoken, and he was personally requested by the Presi dent to take the helm. Undoubtedly, there fore, there were pleasant reminiscences in terchanged when the President and his pilot met again in 1789 on the Little Harbour road. Dinner and tea that day were taken at the beautiful Langdon home. The President sat two long hours for his portrait the next morning, after which he called on President Sullivan at the famous Stavers Inn. Thence he proceeded to the home of his secretary, Tobias Lear, to pay his respects to that gentleman's aged mother. The crowd about the door while this ex traordinary event was going on is said to have been the greatest Portsmouth has ever known. And well it might be; you and I would have been eager also to catch some glimpse of the party in the southwest par- 176 Taverns That Entertained Washington lour of the old Lear house during that de lightful hour when the President held the little relatives of his favourite private sec retary upon his knee and talked to the ven erable Mrs. Lear of her son's admirable service. Lear, to be sure, had not always been a man up to Washington's standard of punctuality. He apologized to his employer twice in a very few weeks for tardiness by explaining that his watch was wrong; but Washington had replied, " Mr. Lear, you must get a new watch, or I must get a new secretary," and the secretary saw the point. The evening following the call at the Lears' found the President at " the Assem bly, where there were about seventy-five well dressed and many very handsome ladies, among whom (as was also the case at the Salem and Boston assemblies) were a greater proportion with much blacker hair than are usually seen in the southern States." Early the next morning the honoured guests quietly left town " having earnestly entreated that all parade and ceremony might be avoided on my return. Before ten I reached Exeter, fourteen miles distance. This is considered as the second town in New Hampshire and stands at the head of the tide waters of the 177 Among Old New England Inns Piscataqua river. . , . It is a place of some consequence, but does not contain more than one thousand inhabitants. A jealousy sub sists between this town (where the Legisla ture alternately sits) and Portsmouth, which had I known it in time, would have made it necessary to have accepted an invitation to a public dinner; but my arrangements having been otherwise made I could not." Haverhill, therefore, was the next town whose hospitality the cavalcade accepted. The account of this visit which has come down to us from the graphic pen of George Wingate Chase, makes very interesting read ing. The President journeyed in an open carriage, he tells us, drawn by four horses accompanied only by his secretary, Mr. Lear, Major Jackson and a single servant. Mr. Lear, upon a beautiful white horse, rode in advance of the carriage, which was occupied by Washington and Mr. Jackson, and driven by the President's private coach man. The tavern used was variously called " Mason's Arms," from its sign of free masonry, and Harrod's, after its proprietor; it stood on what became later the site of the Town HaU. The President had been ear nestly invited to be the guest of Mr. John 178 Taverns That Entertained Washington White, whose daughter had often been a visitor at his own home in Philadelphia, but in Haverhill, as so often before during this journey, he expressed his preference for a public house, observing with a smile that he was " an old soldier and used to hard fare and a hard bed." On alighting at the tavern, he was intro duced to a number of the town's prominent citizens and then, after a short rest, he took a walk to see the sights of the place, remark ing repeatedly, as he made his way along the street now named after him, upon the pleasantness and beauty of the scenery, the thrift and enterprise of the citizens. " Haver hill is the pleasantest village I have passed through," he delighted his entertainers by observing. With Washington's stay here is associated more of those charming stories about his fondness for children. Among his visitors with their fathers, were Mary White and Betsey Shaw, two bright little maidens of eight who were playmates and fast friends. While engaged in easy conversation with the gentlemen, the President called the little girls to him, and taking one upon each knee, soon completely dispelled their shyness by 179 Among Old New England Inns his kind words and gentle manner. During the interview he drew from his pocket a glove and smilingly inquired, " Which of the little misses will mend my glove?" Both were naturally eager for the honour, so they were told to do it between them and given each a hearty kiss upon the lips when they returned the glove, neatly repaired, half an hour later. The news of this reward spread rapidly, and not long after the visit ors' departure, there came a timid knock at the door, and two more little maidens entered, requesting permission to kiss the President's hand. Washington saw the point, and gladly expressed willingness to exchange kisses with the little beggars. His duties towards the children of Haverhill were not yet all performed, however, for scarcely had he retired to his room, — early, in accordance with his usual custom, — when he heard a great uproar downstairs and learned that it proceeded from a small boy who said he " must see George Wash ington." Doubtless, the little fellow had listened to so many stories from his mother's lips about the " great Washington " that he expected to find the President some super human thing. At all events he only stared i8o Taverns That Entertained Washington dumbly when let into Washington's pres ence. Very kindly he was asked what he wanted. " I want to see George Washington," stammered the little fellow. The President smiled. " I am George Washington," he said, patting the lad's head gently, " but, my little friend, I am only a man." The landlord's little daughter, too, won a kiss that night for deftly applying the family warming-pan to the " best bed " in Washington's room. Yet better than any of these stories about children one likes, I think, the incident at tending Washington's departure on the ferry boat early the next morning. Among those who had tried hard to obtain an interview with the President was Bart Pecker, an old soldier who had been in the famous " Wash ington Life Guards," but who, with decli ning years, had become so addicted to drink that he was not regarded as a credit to the community. Although he pleaded hard for a chance to speak to Washington, whom he declared he was " well acquainted with " he was purposely kept in the background on account of his habits and shabby appear- i8i Among Old New England Inns ance. But just as Washington was stepping upon the ferry-boat Bart's patience gave way and with a fierce ejaculation that he would " speak to the General," he pushed through the crowd and thrusting out his hand, cried excitedly, " General, how do you do? " Apparently Washington recognized the voice for, turning quickly, he grasped the outstretched hand and, quietly slipping a gold-piece into it, said, " Bart, is this you? Good-bye, good-bye." From Haverhill the distinguished party journeyed to " Abbot's tavern in Andover, where we breakfasted, and met with much attention from Mr. Phillips, President of the Senate of Massachusetts, who accom panied us through ... to Lexington where I dined, and viewed the spot on which the first blood was spilt in the dispute with Great Britain, on the 19th of April, 1775. Here I parted with Mr. Phillips and pro ceeded on to Watertown. . . . We lodged in this place at the house of a Widow Cool- idge near the Bridge, and a very indifferent one it is." The Andover tavern was excel lent, however, and there is a very pretty story of Washington's stay there. His rid ing-glove had again become torn and he 182 Taverns That Entertained Washington asked his landlord's little daughter to mend it for him. This she did so neatly that, when she returned the glove, Washington took her upon his knee and gave her a kiss. Which so elated Miss Priscilla Abbott that she would not allow her face to be washed again for a week! This old tavern, long the residence of Samuel Locke, is still standing, and is in an excellent state of preservation though no longer used for the entertainment of the public. Needham, Sherburn, HoUiston, Milford and Menden were the places next along the route, and by the end of this day (Novem ber 6) the party has reached Taft's at Ux- bridge, having travelled thirty-six miles. Taft's inn made a very good impression upon the President; we find him writing, the day after his stay there, this character istic letter to the proprietor: " Hartford 8 November, 1789 "Sir — Being informed that you have given my name to one of your sons, and called another after Mrs. Washington's fam ily, and being, moreover, very much pleased with the modest and innocent looks of your two daughters, Patty and Polly, I do for 183 Among Old New England Inns these reasons send each of these girls a piece of chintz; and to Patty, who bears the name of Mrs. Washington, and who waited more upon us than Polly did, I send five guineas, with which she may buy herself any little ornaments she may want, or she may dis pose of them in any other manner more agreeable to herself. As I do not give these things with a view to have it talked of, or even to its being known, the less there is said about it the better you will please me; but that I may be sure the chintz and money have got safe to hand let Patty, who I dare say is equal to it, write me a line inforrning me thereof, directed to ' The President Of the United States at New York.' I wish you and your family well, and am your humble servant, GEORGE WASHINGTON " Jacob's Inn in Thompson, Connecticut, "not a good house;" Colonel Grosvenor's in Pomfret and Perkins Tavern in Ashford are next noted in the Diary which then says: " It being contrary to law and disagreeable to the People of this State to travel on the Sabbath day — and my horses, after passing through such intolerable roads, wanting rest I stayed at Perkins Tavern (which by 184 Taverns That Entertained Washington the bye is not a good one) all day — and a meeting-house being within a few rods of the door, I attended morning and evening service and heard very lame discourses from a Mr. Pond." Washington's temperate allusion to the Connecticut Blue laws does him great credit. For the tithing-man who reminded him of them was not an over-courteous person, and insisted with more stubbornness than rever ence that the Head of the Nation pause in his journey home to observe the Sabbath rest. As for the Ashford Tavern, it was a good house later if not just then. And it still stands, though now deserted. Since 1804 it has been known as Clark's Hotel, and for more than ninety years one of this family owned it. Then, in 1897, ^^ was sold to Henry F. Hall, a wealthy lawyer of Wal lingford, who intended to make it into a commodious home for summer boarders, but was prevented by illness from carrying out his plan. Now the building is becoming a prey to the elements though it is on the much-travelled Hartford and New York turnpike and once, as we have seen, enter tained Washington. " The house of one Fuller at Worthing- 185 Among Old New England Inns ton, in the township of Berlin " provided the next breakfast after Hartford had been left behind, and " Smith's on the plains of Wallingford " was another stopping-place. New Haven was reached before sundown. " At this place," says the Diary, " I met Mr. Elbridge Gerry in the stage from New York, who gave me the first cert'n ac'ct of the health of Mrs. Washington. November ii. Set out about sunrise and took the upper road to Milford, it being shorter than the lower one through West Haven. Break fasted at the former. Baited at Fairfield; and dined and lodged at Maj. Marvin's 9 miles further. November 12 — A little be fore sunrise we left Maj. Marvin's, and breakfasting at Stamford, 13 miles distant, reached the Widow Haviland's, 12 miles further; where, on acct. of some lame horses, we remained all night." The following day finds the President back " at my house in New York, where I found Mrs. Washington and the rest of the family all well — and it being Mrs. Wash ington's night to receive visits, a pretty large company of ladies and gentlemen were pres- sent." The " tour through the Eastern States " had consumed almost exactly a 186 Taverns That Entertained Washington month, and had made glad, — or sad, ac cording to their deserts, the hearts of some twoscore landlords. Rhode Island, it will be noted, had had no share in this tour. The truth was that the citizens of that state were a good deal averse to the new government and did not ratify the Constitution until May 29, 1790. This done, however, their state was at once included in the new order of things, and the President determined to make a short tour there just as he had done to the other parts of New England. Accordingly we find the Pennsylvania Packet of August 28, 1790 printing: "The President arrived at Newport at eight o'clock on Tuesday morning (August 17) at which time he was welcomed to the state by a salute from the fort. From the landing place he was attended to his lodgings by the principal inhabitants of the town, who were severally presented to him. He then walked round the town, and surveyed the various beautiful prospects from the eminences above it. At four o'clock he was waited on by the most respectable citizens of the place, who conducted him to the Town Hall, where a very elegant dinner was provided, and sev- 187 Among Old New England Inns eral toasts drank. After dinner he took an other walk accompanied by a large number of gentlemen. On Wednesday morning at nine o'clock the President and his company embarked for Providence." The ancient chariot in which Washington rode from place to place during his visit to Providence is still preserved and the Golden Ball Inn in which he had his headquarters also survives. This house was dedicated in 1783, an elaborate advertisement in the Ga zette of Dec. 13 informing the citizens of Providence that " the Golden Ball Inn, op posite the State House, is ready for guests, and the proprietor, Henry Rice, is ready to please all who will honor him with their presence in the new inn." Mr. Rice's cus tom came promptly. The commanding posi tion of the house, on the hill, and its size and imposing appearance drew to its doors whatever rich and distinguished travellers might be passing through. Over the en trance door hung a large beautiful golden ball, and within were broad curving stair cases, and large and sunny rooms of varied shape. One item of equipment to which the proprietor pointed with pardonable pride 188 Taverns That Entertained Washington was the wooden buttons by which all the doors could be fastened securely. A famous early entertainment given in this house was the Lafayette Ball of 1784. The young Marquis had brought over with him from France several young gentlemen of aristocratic birth, and they and he were promptly made free of all the fine homes in Providence. Finally, as an event of partic ular elegance, this party at the Golden Ball was arranged. When the evening arrived all the beauties of the town were on hand, elegant in rich flowered brocades over short, quilted petticoats of silk or satin, with square-cut bodices and powdered hair to set off, as did their high-heeled slippers with silver buckles, their exquisite women's charms. A miniature of one of the guests thus apparelled has come down to assure us that the Golden Ball was a famous resort in its day. The men at that party were scarcely less gorgeous, for they wore silken hose and knee breeches adorned with silver buckles, while rich brocaded coats, lace ruffles and powdered hair made them still further irre sistible. The ball room that night was bril liantly lighted with hundreds of wax tapers which shed their soft glow over the gay 189 Among Old New England Inns scene, and to the music of fifes, bugles and fiddles Providence belles and the young noblemen from o'er seas danced the flying hours away. It was therefore, to a house already fa mous that Washington came that August of 1790. The room which he occupied on the second story was later used by President Monroe and President John Quincy Adams during visits to Providence, and in 1824 Lafayette again stopped here. The name of the house has been changed twice since its salad days, first to the Roger Williams House and later to the City Mansion House, generally known as the Mansion House. Until within a few years it remained a house of entertainment and it still stands, in an excellent state of preservation owned by a man who is very proud of its connection with Washington. 190 CHAPTER IX THE WAYSIDE INN Those of us who love the flavour of colo nial days and delight in surviving monu ments of that time cannot be too thankful for the preservation and continued use as an inn of the Red Horse Tavern in Sud bury. Sudbury was a great tavern town originally, and Longfellow, when he spoke of Landlord Howe's establishment simply as " a " wayside inn was giving it a perfectly correct description. For it was then only one of many. But, through the genius of the Poet of America this tavern has since be come " the " Wayside Inn, the most widely known and deeply loved of all, the old tav erns in New England. Happily it is really old and undeniably quaint. Sudbury was one of the first towns settled by our Puritan forbears, Rev. Ed mund Browne, who named the place after the Suffolkshire home of his childhood, be- 191 Among Old New England Inns ing among the passengers who sailed on " the good shipp Confidence " April 24, 1638 and settled here in " the wilderness." The place, however, had rich natural advan tages, and these lusty young men from old England were soon prosperous as a result of their choice of a home. John How was among the first in the settlement to be admitted a freeman. In England he had been a glover, but, there being slight demand for gloves in new towns of the seventeenth century, he turned his attention in 1661 to the trade of tavern- keeper. Very early, therefore, we find a How keeping a tavern. Longfellow, in ac counting to an English friend for the coat of arms and justice authority with which his Landlord Howe is endowed said (Dec. 28, 1863) " Some two hundred years ago an English family by the name of Howe built in Sudbury a country house, which has re mained in the family down to the present time, the last of the race dying two years ago. Losing their fortunes, they became innkeepers, and for a century the Red Horse has flourished, going down from father to son. . . . This will account for the land lord's coat of arms and for his being a jus- 192 The Wayside Inn tice of the peace, things that must sound strange to English ears." As a matter of fact, however, there was nothing strange about an inn-keeper in colo nial New England being both a gentleman and a squire. John How was a selectman as early as 1642 and in 1655 he was ap pointed to see to the restraining of youth on the Lord's day. Nor was this at all in compatible with his week-day uses. But Longfellow knew that an English reader would not understand this. James Fenimore Cooper, writing a quarter of a century ear lier, knew it also for he says, " The inn keeper of Old England and the inn-keeper of New England form the very extremes of their class. The one is obsequious to the rich, the other unmoved and often appar ently cold. The first seems to calculate at a glance the amount of profit you are likely to leave behind you; while his opposite ap pears only to calculate in what manner he can most contribute to your comfort with out materially impairing his own. . . . He is often a magistrate, the chief of a battalion of militia, or even a member of a state leg islature. He is almost always a man of 193 Among Old New England Inns character; for it is difficult for any other to obtain a license to exercise the calling." The first Landlord How was emphatically " a man of character." The proximity of his tavern in Marlborough to the Indian plantation brought him into intimate con tact with the redskins, but he soon won their confidence and good will by his uniform kindness. Once he settled a dispute regard ing a pumpkin-vine, which sprang up on the premises of one Indian while bearing its fruit upon that of another, in an impres sively statesmanlike manner. Calling for a knife he divided the pumpkin squarely in halves, giving equal portions to each claim ant! It was not John How, though, whose inn Longfellow celebrated. His place was in Marlborough as has been said and his sign that of the Black Horse, while " the Way side Inn " was the enterprise of his grand son and displayed a prancing steed of bril liant red over its doorway. According to some authorities, David How opened his house in 1714; certain it is that it was in full swing two years later, for Sewall, that incomparable diarist records that he started with a friend for Springfield on the 27th of 194 The Wayside Inn April of that year, " treated at N. Spar- hawk's, and got to How's in Sudbury about one-half hour by the sun." The original house was a small one, gen erally supposed, says Mr. Homer Rogers, who bought the estate after the death of the last How, to be the L in the rear of the present edifice. David How kept the tavern until his death in 1746, when it passed into the hands of his son, Ezekial, by whom it was enlarged as increased demand for rooms made necessary. The business done by the house at this time was considerable, for it was on the great highway by which the mail travelled westward from Boston and passen gers were glad to pause for a night here while pursuing the wearisome journey to the further part of the state and beyond. The fiery steed on the front of the sign was to distinguish the house from the Black Horse Tavern in Marlborough while on the back were later added the initials of the first three owners : "D. H. 1686 E. H. 1746 A. Howe . . . . , . 1796" While Ezekial Howe was the landlord 195 Among Old New England Inns there was established the following price- list of charges at this Sudbury tavern: " Mug best India flip . . . .15 New England do .... 12 Toddy in proportion . . . A good dinner ..... 20 Best supper and breakfast . . 15 each Common do 12 Lodging 4" The nature of the entertainment for which these modest prices were asked may be gathered from this description written by President Dwight of Yale early in the nineteenth century: "The best old-fash ioned New England inns were superior to any of the modern ones which I have seen. The variety was ample and the food was always of the best quality. The beds were excellent; the house and all its appendages were in the highest degree clean and neat; the cookery was remarkably good; and the stable was not less hospitable than the house. The family, in the meantime, were possessed of principle, and received you with the kind ness and attention of friends. Your baggage was as safe as in your own house. If you were sick you were nursed and befriended 196 oo < The Wayside Inn as in your own family. No tavern-haunters, gamblers or loungers were admitted any more than in a well-ordered private habita tion; and as little noise was allowed. . . . In a word you found in these inns the pleas ures of an excellent private house. To finish the story, your bills were always equitable, calculated on what you ought to pay, and not upon the scheme of getting the most which extortion might think proper to de mand." Yet the tap-room was an important part of every tavern's equipment and that of the Inn in Sudbury was, and is, one of the most interesting apartments in the whole house. In one corner, over the bar, is the wooden portcullis raised or lowered according to the demand for liquid refreshment and we may still see here the ancient floor worn by the feet of hundreds of good fellows now gone to their long home; overhead are heavy oak timbers dating back to the days when flip reigned instead of cocktails. Upstairs you are shown the travellers' rooms which peo ple of no particular importance occupied in common and the state chamber still deco rated with its wall paper of bluebells wherein slept Lafayette on his journey to 197 Among Old New England Inns Boston in 1824. Above is the garret where slaves were accommodated and which was used as a store-house for grain at the time when an Indian invasion was feared. Orig inally, too, the dance-hall was in one of these upper rooms. A day passed under this roof one hundred and fifty years ago would have spread before us all the colour and movement, all the pic turesque charm and interest of a typical New England tavern. A great deal earlier than we would then have thought pleasant, we should have been awakened by the rum bling of heavy market-wagons taking into Boston the produce of the rich Connecticut valley. There was no time on the down trip for the drivers to loiter by the way but in the afternoon, on the return, we should have found the canvas-topped wagons filling the road in front of the house while their owners refreshed themselves with excellent toddy in the tap-room and the horses partook of satisfying oats in the comfortable barns near by. Yet the real event of the day was, of course, the coming, about breakfast-time, of the mail coach from Boston. We would be on the porch awaiting it, for the music of 198 The Wayside Inn the horn would have heralded its approach and no one with blood in his veins would willingly miss the spectacle of its arrival, as the dexterous driver wheeled into the yard and brought his foaming bays to a standstill at the front door. Every one in the house arose to that occasion! Yet in a trice it is all over. The black stable boys have taken out the horses, the genial host has welcomed the travellers, — stiff and taci turn as might be expected of men who have ridden since three o'clock on an empty stom ach, — and interest is transferred to the din ing-room tables spread with bountiful break fast cheer. A half hour later came the speeding of the parting guest to give one another thrill, for a journey had consider able hazard about it back in the eighteenth century. Of the soldiers who marched up to the Red Horse, stacked their muskets and re tired to the tap-room for rest and comfort many tales might be told. In 1724, during Lovewell's war, the steel-capped and buff- coated men who patrolled the roads of the vicinity made the place their rendezvous, and during the French and Indian war troops hurrying to the frontier stretched out 199 Among Old New England Inns and snatched a rest under the old oaks in front of the house. When the Worcester minutemen, led by Timothy Bigelow, were hurrying down to Lexington, they, too, tar ried for a brief space at this ancient land mark. Ezekial How himself had a not unim portant share of Lexington's glory. He was at this time lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Middlesex County Militia, of which James Barrett of Concord was colo nel. In the May of the following year the legislature made him colonel, which com mission he held until 1779 when he resigned. The number of Sudbury men in actual serv ice at Concord and Lexington was .three hundred and two. " The inhabitants of Sud bury never can make such an important ap pearance probably again," a Revolutionary soldier has written of the event. The first news of trouble came to the town between three and four in the morn ing of that first Patriots' Day, carried to the Sudbury member of the Provincial Congress by an express from Concord. Immediately the church bell was rung, musketry dis charged and the six companies of the town mustered into service. By nine o'clock all 200 The Wayside Inn the men had reached Concord, and Land lord How had distinguished himself for particular gallantry in the affair at the old North Bridge. It does not, however, appear that he took further part in the active op erations of the Revolution, though he con tinued to command his militia company and rendered important service as a member of the various committees charged with the makeup of quotas and the preparation of muster rolls. It was, therefore, altogether fitting that Washington should honour Sud bury and its inn with a brief visit during his triumphal progress through New Eng land in 1789, stopping here for lunch and warmly shaking hands with the veteran land lord who had been one of the heroes of Con cord. Colonel How died in 1796 and again we turn to an inventory for intimate insight into life of a century ago. His appraised the famous coat-of-arms at $4, his firearms at $8, his library at $10, the clock at $30, a silver tankard at $25, the " other plate " at $30, and the homestead of 240 acres of land at -$6,500 thus bringing the entire appraisal up to $9,531.48. By the will it is made clear that the inn then consisted of new and old 201 Among Old New England Inns parts, for the Colonel speaks of " a new kitchen at the west end of the dwelling- house, with the lower room adjoining thereto, also the long chamber over the aforesaid room, with the north-west bed chamber in the old part of said dwelling- house." The residue of the estate, after many minor legacies and several personal articles bequeathed to " my well-beloved granddaughter, Hepsibah Brown," was left to the Colonel's third son, Adam How. Adam How was the antiquarian of the family and he spent a great deal of time tracing the family line back to the nobility of England. Apart from this, however, he did little to add to the lustre of the name. He kept the inn until 1830 when he was succeeded by his son, Lyman, whom Long fellow thus describes: " Proud was he of his name and race, Of old Sir William and Sir Hugh And in the parlour, full in view, His coat-of-arms, well-framed and glazed, Upon the wall in colours blazed ; He beareth gules upon his shield, A chevron argent in the field. With three wolf's heads, and for the crest A Wyvern part-per-pale addressed 202 The Wayside Inn Upon a helmet barred; below The scroll reads, ' By the name of Howe.' " It is with this Landlord Howe that the " Tales " are bound up. So, before passing to them let us see, if we can, what manner of man the original of Longfellow's Boni face really was. Rather imposing in ap pearance we find him, dignified and grave appropriately, it would appear, a leader of the Congregational choir in his town, a member of the school committee and justice of the peace. Because he was all his life a bachelor he left no Howe to survive him in carrying on the inn; but this was perhaps just as well because, during his time, the railroad came to supersede the stagecoach and ere his death, the stream of guests at the Red Horse had shrunk almost to a van ishing point. In the year following this good man's departure, we find the following interesting entry in Longfellow's diary, " Drive with Fields to the old Red Horse Tavern in Sudbury — alas! no longer an inn! A lovely valley, the winding road shaded by grand old oaks before the house. A rambling, tumble-down old building, two hundred years old; and till now in the fam- 203 Among Old New England Inns ily of the Howes, who have kept an inn for one hundred and seventy-five years. In the old time, it was a house of call for all trav ellers from Boston westward." Ten days later the poet writes Fields : " The Sudbury Tales go on famously. I have now five complete, with a great part of the ' Pre lude.' " The first series of the poems was pub lished on Nov. 25, 1863 under the title " Tales of a Wayside Inn," which Charles Sumner suggested in place of the " Sudbury Tales " of the initial advertisement. All the characters described in the series are real but they were never at any inn together. The musician was Ole Bull; the poet, T. W. Parsons, the translator of Dante; the Sicil ian, Luigi Monti; the theologian. Profes sor Treadwell of Harvard; the student Henry Ware Wales. Parson, Monti and Treadwell were in the habit of spending the summer months at the Sudbury Inn and Longfellow also had known the place in its palmy days, as is shown by the following entry made by him in the year 1840: "The stage left Boston about three o'clock in the morning, reaching the Sudbury Tavern for breakfast, a considerable portion of the route 204 The Wayside Inn being travelled in total darkness, and with out your having the least idea who your companion might be." Thus he was able to reproduce vividly the fragrant atmos phere of the place in that time " When men lived in a grander way With ampler hospitality." Longfellow's description of the inn fits just as well now as it did fifty years ago: " Across the meadows bare and brown, The windows of the wayside inn Gleam red with firelight through the leaves Of wood-bine hanging from the eaves Their crimson curtains rent and thin. " As ancient in this hostelry As any in the land may be, . . A kind of old Hobgoblin Hall, With weather stains upon the wall And stairways worn, and crazy doors. And creaking and uneven floors. And chimneys huge and tiled and tall. A region of repose it seems, A place of slumber and of dreams. Remote among the wooded hills ! For there no noisy railway speeds. Its torch-race scattering smoke and gleeds; 205 Among Old New England Inns But noon and night, the panting teams Stop under the great oaks that throw Tangles of light and shade below, On roofs and doors and window sills. Across the road the barns display Their lines of stalls, their mows of hay. Through the wide doors the breezes blow, The wattled cocks strut to and fro. And, half eff'aced by rain arid shine. The Red Horse prances on the sign." Gone, however, are many priceless fur nishings of the house, among them that little desk in the tap room whereon the score of the drinkers was wont to be set down. Gone, too, from the window sash is that rhyme inscribed June 24, 1774 by "William Moli- neaux Jr., Esq.," " What do you think. Here is good drink. Perhaps you may not know it. If not in haste do stop and taste. You merry folks will show it." Yet there is no one of us, I take it, who would not prefer Longfellow's poem about this inn to the mere goods and chattels it once possessed. And better than any young 206 The Wayside Inn blade's offhand verse is the great poet's allu sion in his Prelude to " The jovial rhymes . . . Writ near a century ago. By the great Major Molineaux, Whom Hawthorne has immortal made." For, has not he " immortal made " this most fascinating of all old taverns? 207 CHAPTER X ENTERTAINMENT FOR MAN AND BEAST Those of us who have been brought up with the idea that our Puritan ancestors liked to be uncomfortable have only to read Sam uel Sewall's Diary to be fully persuaded of the contrary. Sewall, to be sure, was of redder blood than many men of his time; and yet his delight in " roast fowl at Comp- ton's " (an Ipswich inn very noted in its day) and in the almonds tendered him by the ladies of his roving fancy did not pre vent him from standing up in the Old South Church to confess his sin in having accepted " spectral evidence " at the trial of the witches, nor from keeping one day annually for fast and prayer in remembrance of that event. No, Puritans both believed deeply and enjoyed deeply. Study of tavern bills makes it quite clear that they keenly appre ciated such comfort as could be had in those days. 2o8 WINN HOUSE, WOHURN PAXTON INN, PAXTON Entertainment for Man and Beast So, by no illogical sequence, it was con sidered an honour to a Puritan to keep a good tavern. John Adams, travelling through Connecticut in 1771, found that Landlord Pease " was the great man of the town; their representative &C as well as tavern-keeper, and just returned from the General Assembly at Hartford." Lieut. Winn was proud to keep a Woburn tavern with his family arms displayed as a sign board. General Paxton was glad to have his portrait painted on the sign of the inn named after him, and Dr. Nathaniel Ames of Ded ham, Massachusetts, was a person of such position that it is hard to tell whether one should characterize him as a druggist, an almanack-maker or an inn-keeper. The almanac was a capital advertisement for his house, at any rate, — as witness the follow ing in the issue for 1751: " ADVERTISEMENT " These are to signify to all persons that travel the great Post-Road South West from Boston that I keep a House of Publick En tertainment Eleven Miles from Boston, at the Sign of the Sun. If they want refresh- 209 Among Old New England Inns ments and see cause to be my guests, they shall be well entertained at a reasonable Rate. N. AMES." Upon this advertisement hangs a tale well worth telling. The old hostelry in Dedham had been kept as early as 1 658 by Lieu tenant Joshua Fisher, surveyor, apothecary, innholder and officer of " ye trayne band." His son and successor was Captain Fisher, who was also called Joshua. About 1735 one of the latter's daughters married Dr. Nathaniel Ames, our friend of the adver tisement, who, since 1726, had been success fully publishing the almanacs which bear his name. Ames' wife and infant son died soon after his marriage, and he thereupon entered into a lawsuit with the families of his sisters-in-law for what would have been their share in the land and inn. The turning-point of the suit hung upon the term " next of kin." Ancient common law and English law mUitated against the ascension of property, that is the inheritance by a father or mother from a child; in ab sence of husband, wife or lineal descendant, property passed on to the " next of kin," which might be a distant cousin. The Prov- 210 Entertainment for Man and Beast ince Laws, however, substituted, by general interpretation, the so-called civilian method of counting kinship, by which the father could inherit. So Dr. Ames thought that he had a case; and though he was twice defeated in the courts he stood out pluckily for what he believed to be his rights with the result that, in 1748, after himself preparing unaided both case • and argument, he tri umphed before the " Superior Court of Ju dicature, etc., of the Province of Massachu setts Bay! " Thus it was that what had been Fisher's Tavern came to bear the name of Ames. To win his case was not enough for this excitable person, however. He had suffered a good deal in mind and purse by the law's delay and his keen wits, darting about for an effective way of making Chief Justice Dudley and his associate Lynde smart for their failure to unite with Judges Saltonstall, Sewall and Gushing he hit upon the idea of caricaturing the Court. Accordingly he had painted and hung in front of his inn a sign which cost him forty pounds, — and some subsequent trouble. For the sign rep resented the whole court sitting in state and big wigs before an open book entitled 211 Among Old New England Inns PROVINCE LAWS. The dissenting judges are shown with their backs to the book. Of course the learned gentlemen heard of the sign, and, of course, they sent a sheriff to bring it before them. But Dr. Ames, who happened to be in Boston at the time, also heard of the sheriff's errand and rode out to Dedham in all haste. When the officer of the law arrived he found on the pole where the lampoon had hung only this legend : " A wicked and adulterous gen eration seeketh after a sign, but there shall no sign be given it." With this episode as a starter, and the almanac in which to follow up the advan tage, the tavern became more famous than ever. The almanac-maker lived here for fifteen years and here were born, by his sec ond wife. Dr. Nathaniel Ames and Hon. Fisher Ames, both men of distinction in their time. Richard Woodward did the honours of this house in September, 1774, for the famous Suffolk Convention where was chosen the committee that drafted the first resolutions in favour of fighting things out with Great Britain. And during the Revolution, as during the French and In dian War, this tavern was the centre of 212 Entertainment for Man and Beast whatever went on for the cause of freedom. All the well-known patriots, including Washington, Lafayette, Hancock and Adams are said to have often eaten and drunk within its walls. It has now been dust for almost a century, though, and its sign-board, too, perished long ago. But in that enter taining book, "The Almanacks of Nathan iel Ames 1726-1775," the author, Sam Briggs, gives an illustration of the painting from a drawing found among Dr. Ames' papers after his death. Before leaving the subject it is interest ing to read Ames' own allusion, in the Al manack of 1752 to the disappearance of the Sign: " The Affairs of my House are of a Pub lick Nature, and therefore I hope may be mentioned here without offence to my Reader: The Sign I advertised last Year by Reason of some little Disappointments is not put up, but the Thing intended to be signified by it is to be had according to said Advertisement. And I beg Leave further to add, that if any with a View of Gain to themselves or Advantage to their Friends, have reported Things of my House in con tradiction to the aforesaid Advertisement, 213 Among Old New England Inns I would only have those whom they would influence consider, that where the Narrator is not honest, is not an Eye or Ear Witness, can't trace his story to the original, has it only by Hear-say, a thousand such witnesses are not sufficient to hang a dog: & I hope no Gentleman that travels the Road will have his Mind bias'd against my House by such idle Reports." This bold challenge seems to have had its due effect, for, in a letter dated Monday morning, June ii, 1753, which Mr. Field quotes, custom that was to have gone else where is given to Ames's Tavern. " Before I heard from you this morning," says the letter-writer in question, " the Gen tlemen had concluded to dine at Gay's but I took the pains to see 'em again & we have agreed to have the Dinner at your house. I hope you will have evrything in that agree able & genteel order that will Recommend your house to the Gentlemen & my prefer ence of it before Gays acceptable to them & the Ladys. " I am your hble Servant " Ezekial Price We propose Bacon Lamb 214 Entertainment for Man and Beast ChickenGreen Peas &ctr Asparagrass Sauces &ctr for the Dinner " There will be about twelve chaises in cluding those we meet so that you will pro vide for 24 persons. We are to meet some Company from Newport who will set out tomorrow & the next day being Wednesday we shall set out & be at your house abt 10 o'clock unless the Weather is so bad we can't proceed." There is no evidence of any public-house in Lancaster, Massachusetts, — afterwards a famous tavern town, — until 1690 when Na thaniel Wilder received official permission to " Retale wine, Beere, Ale, Cyder, Rum, &c." His home was a garrisoned house on the southeast slope of George Hill, and he remained the sole innholder until his death in 1704, after which the business was carried on for a time by his widow. During the next twenty-five years, however, the list of those " privileged to sell " was a long one, among the most prominent people on it be ing Justice John Houghton, who lived oppo site the State Industrial School grounds. In the Middlesex Court Files is preserved the following letter from Houghton which is of 215 Among Old New England Inns interest for its picture of tavern-days in Lan caster away back in 1715: "To Capt. Samuel Phipps of Charls- towne. " Worthy Sr. After my Humble Serv ice & Due Respects Presented to ye Hon- 'r'able Justices of ye County of Middlesex, together with yourselfe, these are to acquaint you that I am under such Indisposition of Body that I could not attend this Last Ses sion of ye General Assembly, nor can I as yet Possibly (with comfort) come to pay my excise nor to Renew my Licence, but I have sent ye money for ye last years excise by Joseph Bradbrook, the Bearer hereof, which I hope will be to acceptance & in case yo'"" Hon'" shall see cause that my Licence may be continued I hope you will abate neer one halfe of ye excise for Doubtless I have paid very Deare considering what I have Drawne Compared with other Townes. I had but one Hogshead of Rum ye last year & that wanted about 12 Gallons of being full when I bought it: & it wants severall Gallons of being out now besides about 10 or 12 Gallons Lent out & were it not that I am concerned with writing of Deeds & 216 Entertainment for Man and Beast Bonds & other Publique Concerns of ye Town affaires, which Occasion Persons often to come to my House, in order to Signing & Issuing such things, I should not be will ing to be concerned with a Licence; for what drinks I sell I do it as cheap as at Boston & besides ye first cost I pay twenty shillings pr Hogshead for carrying it up, besides the Hazard; & as for Cyder there is none to be had, nor like to be this year at any price, fruit is so scarce, & for wine I never sold 5 Gallons in all ye yeares I have had a license. So that my Draught being so Little (there being no Road or thorough fare for travilers through our towne) I hope your Hon" will consider ye Premisses & do therein as in your Wisdom & Justice it shall seem meet, which will oblidge " Your Humble Servant "JOHN HOUGHTON " Dat. Lan"- July y^ 27*^: 171 5." This letter must not be taken to mean that Lancaster folk did not drink, however. The trouble is that they manufactured and con sumed large quantities of fermented bev erages, — at home. The orchards of the town were very famous, and cider became a 217 Among Old New England Inns product of such commercial importance that, when a highway was being constructed, it was expressly stipulated that the road should be of such width as to make it " feasible . . . to carry comfortably, four oxen with four barrels of cider at once." In an old mem orandum book of Judge Joseph Wilder is " an acompt of Cyder made in the y"" 1728 " for his neighbours. There were 616 barrels in all of which 61 went to " the Reverend Mr. John Prentice! " The people of Hadley, conscious of the evil effects of liquor houses, were in no haste to have an ordinary, and when the subject was agitated in January, 1663, they pro ceeded with great caution, choosing a com mittee of ten to consider the matter, and to report to another of seven; the latter were to report to the town and the town was then to choose the man most fit to keep an ordi nary. Yet after all this no man was chosen, and until 1668, when we find that Richard Goodman had his license " continued " there is no further mention of the matter. After 1668 there is no notice, for almost a quarter of a century, of an inn or ordinary in either Hadley or Hatfield, but during this period Joseph Kellogg, the ferry-man, had liberty 218 Entertainment for Man and Beast to entertain such travellers as passed that way. Moreover, in September, 1684, Dea con Philip Smith was licensed to sell wine to persons " in real need," — meaning the sick, — and in March, 1678, Samuel Par- trigg had liberty to sell liquors " to the neigh bors," and in 1681 " for the helpfulness of neighbors;" four years later this privilege was extended to the retailing of wine. A famous .Hadley liquor-case of this period was that of Doctor John Westcarr complained of hy the Indians for having sold to them contrary to a law made by the General Court in May 1657 forbidding such traffic — to an Indian, — under the penalty of 40 shillings for every pint. Doctor West carr, when examined by Captain John Pynchon, confessed that he had had two barrels of liquor in the spring and, upon being asked what he did with it, said that he had used most of it in preparing medi cines. The testimony of half a dozen In dians proved so convincing to the court, however, that Dr. Westcarr was heavily fined. Of the custom of sharing rooms in prim itive taverns early travellers give conflicting accounts. Madam Knight's testimony we 219 Among Old New England Inns have already read, and an English officer put himself on record to the effect that " the general custom of having two or three beds in a room to be sure is very disagreeable; it arises from the great increase of travel ling within the last few years, and the small- ness of their houses, which were not built for houses of entertainment." Captain Basil Hall, on the other hand, declared that even at remote taverns his family had exclusive apartments; while in crowded inns it was never so much as suggested to him that other travellers should share his quarters. The cost of these quarters was for the most part very reasonable. When John Tripp and his wife put up at the Bowen Inn, Barrington, Rhode Island, they were presented with the following bill: s.d. To i Dinner 9 To Bread and Cheese 7 To breakfast and dinner i 3 To I Bowl Toddy 9 To lodging you and wife 6 To ij Bowl Toddy i \\ To \ Mug Cyder \\ To lodge self and wife 6 To I Gill Brandy 5^ 220 Entertainment for Man and Beast To breakfast 9J Mug Cyder \\ To J Bowl Toddy 4J Dinner 8 To 15 Lb. Tobacco at 6d 76 To \ Bowl Toddy 4^ To \ Mug Cyder \\ To Supper 6 Typical fare and typical treatment at one of this better class of taverns is thus de scribed by Adam Hodgson: "Every ten or fifteen miles you come either to a little vil lage composed of a few frame houses, with an extensive substantial house, whose respect able appearance, rather than any sign, dem onstrates it to be a tavern, (as the inns are called,) or to a single house appropriated to that purpose and standing alone in the woods. At these taverns you are accosted, often with an easy civility, ... by a land lord who appears perfectly indifferent whether or not you take anything for the good of the house. If, however, you inti mate an intention to take some refreshment, a most plentiful repast is, in due time, set before you, consisting of beef-steaks, fowls, turkies, ham, partridges, eggs, and, if near the coast, fish and oysters, with a great va- 221 Among Old New England Inns riety of hot bread, both of wheat flour and Indian-corn, the latter of which is prepared in many ways and is very good. The land lord usually comes in to converse with you and to make one of the party; and as one cannot have a private room, I do not find his company disagreeable. He is, in gen eral, well informed and well behaved, and the independence of manner which has often been remarked upon, I rather like than oth erwise, when it is not assumed or obtrusive, but appears to rise naturally from easy cir cumstances, and a consciousness that, both with respect to situation and inteUigence, he is at least on a level with the generality of his visitors. At first I was a little sur prised, on enquiring where the stage stopped to breakfast, to be told, at Mayor Todds; — to dine? At Col. Brown's — but I am now becoming familiar with these phenom ena of civil and political equality. . . ." At the Ellery Tavern, Gloucester, as in many another old New England hostelry, the intercourse between the landlord and the lawmakers was so familiar that mine host had every reason to think himself quite as good as anybody. The selectmen of the town regularly held their meetings at this 222 Entertainment for Man and Beast inn and in 1744 the annual salary of the five men chosen for the office was five doUars apiece the rest being taken out in tavern charges, which amounted to thirty pounds old tenor. The following year the citizens evidently thought they would economize, and they accordingly voted the selectmen a sal ary of five pounds old tenor apiece and " to find themselves." This particular house of fers a beautiful example of the overhanging second story and the lean-to, or sloping- roofed ell. It was built in 1707 by Parson White, but James Stevens afterwards made a tavern of it and there held sway until 1740 when it came into the hands of Land lord Ellery. In the town of Cambridge, Massachusetts, also, the selectmen met at a tavern, the one chosen frequently being the Blue Anchor which had been established as an ordinary as early as 1652. Their bill there for 1769 amounts to nearly five pounds. By what seems to-day an interesting para dox " Ordination Day " was perhaps the most profitable tavern-gathering in the year. Then the visiting ministers were entertained by an especially good brew called " ordina tion beer " and sometimes there was even 223 Among Old New England Inns an " ordination ball " in the evening, for which the sanction of the cloth had been obtained. The bill at one Hartford ordina tion Mrs. Earle gives as follows: /. s. d. To keeping Ministers 2 Mugs Tody 5 Segars I Pint Wine 2 4 5 10 3 9 3 Lodgings 3 Bitters 9 9 3 Breakfasts 3 6 15 Boles Punch I 0 24 dinners I 16 1 1 bottles wine 3 16 5 Mugs flip 5 Boles Punch 5 10 6 3 Boles Tody 3 6 With unconscious humour this bill is en dorsed " all paid for except the Minister's Rum." Very often a tavern would be famed far and wide for its particular variety of drink. Brigham's Tavern at Westborough used to prepare mulled wine in this perfectly irre sistible fashion: a quart of boiling hot Ma deira, half a pint of boiling water, and six 224 ELLERV TAVERN, GLOUCESTER HK1(;HAM'S TAVERN (NOW THE WESTUOROUGH HOTEL), WRSTROROUGH Entertainment for Man and Beast eggs beaten to a froth, all sweetened and spiced. Nutmeg was a favourite flavouring and fashionable ladies and elegant gallants always carried the delicate dainty in their pockets. Some New England taverns were famous for their spruce, birch and sassafras beer, boiled with quantities of roots and herbs, with birch, spruce or sassafras bark, with pumpkin and apple parings, with sweet ening of molasses or maple syrup. One song writer of colonial times declared joyously, " Oh, we can make liqour to sweeten our lips Of pumpkins, of parsnips, of walnut-tree chips." Everybody appears to have drunk and fre quently the most unexpected persons, dropped, liked Silas Wegg, into poetry on the joys of drinking. For instance in 1757 S. M. of Boston whom there is reason to think was Samuel Mather, the son of Cot ton Mather, sent to Sir Harry Frankland, the hero of Agnes Surriage's romance, a box of lemons with these lines: — "You know from Eastern India came The skill of making punch as did the name. And as the name consists of letters five, By five ingredients is it kept alive. 225 Among Old New England Inns To purest water sugar must be joined, With these the grateful acid is combined. Some any sours they get contented use, But men of taste do that from Tagus choose. When now these three are mixed with care Then added be of spirit a small share. And that you may the drink quite perfect see Atop the musky nut must grated be," Of making many flips there was no end. Each landlord had his own opinion as to the proper way of mixing this indispensable article and every tavern bill one finds is punctuated with entries charging it up to the thirsty traveller. John Adams said that if you spent the evening in a tavern you found it full of people drinking drams of flip. Certainly the old tap-rooms were cheerful and inviting gathering-places with the landlord cheerily presiding over his cage-like counter, surrounded by cans and bottles and glasses, jars of whole spice and loaves of sugar with rows of suggestive look ing barrels in the background " Where dozed a fire of beechen logs that bred Strange fancies in its embers golden-red. And nursed the loggerhead, whose hissing dip Timed by wise instinct, creamed the bowl of flip." 226 Entertainment for Man and Beast The loggerhead, more commonly called the flip iron, was a regular part of the chimney furniture in " ye olden time : " it was con stantly kept warm in the ashes all ready to impart at short notice the puckering bitter ness and curious scorched taste beloved of our ancestors. Sometimes, at Hallow E'en, parties of twentieth century young people get out the paraphernalia of Colonial tip pling and try how it all seems; but I have yet to meet a modern who enjoyed the re sults. We of to-day are too far from the digestions of our ancestors to delight in their drinks. 227 CHAPTER XI tavern SIGNS — AND WONDERS The custom of naming the tavern and placing before its door a signboard with a more or less appropriate device was brought to New England from Holland and the mother country. There was, indeed, a time when our laws required such a sign; and in France Louis XIV expressly prescribed that " Tavern keepers must put up Syn- boards and a bush: Nobody shall be al lowed to open a tavern in the said city and its suburbs without having a sign and a bush." The " bush " here referred to was just what the name would imply, set on a pole or nailed to the tavern door. Hence the proverb " Good Wine needs no bush." The variety and incongruity of tavern signs eventually became a matter of note and prompted the following curious rhyme in the British Apollo in 1710: 228 SIGN OF THE HANCOCK TAVERN, BOSTON Tavern Signs — and Wonders " I'm amazed at the signs, As I pass through the town. To see the odd mixture, A Magpie and Crown, The Whale and the Crow, The Razor and Hen, The Leg and Seven Stars, The Axe and The Bottle The Tun and The Lute, The Eagle and Child, The Shovel and Boot." Often, however, these titles were mere corruptions, as in the case of the " Three Broiled Chickens," the popular name for an old tavern still standing in Woburn, Massachusetts, and kept in Revolutionary days by Lieutenant Joseph Winn who had hung outside his house, with pardonable pride, his coat of arms showing three spread eagles on a shield. When the sign was a portrait of some person in public life it gen erally reflected the political tendencies of the landlord. John Duggan hung out from his house in Corn Court a Hancock prcsent- rnent remotely after Copley because he ad mired the patriot and wished to show it. The " Leg and Seven Stars " of the rhyme just quoted was however merely a deviation 229 Among Old New England Inns from the " League and Seven Stars " or Seven United Provinces. "The Axe and the Botde " was the Battle Axe differently arranged; the "Goat And The Compass" once read "God Encompasseth us;" the " Bag of Nails," a tavern at Chelsea, Eng land, is a corruption of the word " Baccha nals," — singularly appropriate, surely for a tavern. In a curious English volume published in 1825 some extraordinary examples of tav ern misnomers are given. There is " The Magdalen " for instance, so named because of its proximity to a female asylum which bore this title. " Nothing but being in the neighborhood of such an institution could have rendered such a sign in any way ap propriate for a public house," comments our author " for we have never perceived anything in the manner of conducting such concerns as was conducive to virtue, but rather destructive to the morals of youth, and particularly of females." In justice to New England taverns it should, however, be said, that this stricture does not apply to them save in exceptional cases. Apart from other reasons, a landlord was too afraid of losing his sign. For, following the custom 230 Tavern Signs — and Wonders in England, Massachusetts, by an act of the General Court in 1710, gave to the sheriff or deputy power, when a tavertier had com mitted any irregularity, " to cause his sign to be taken down." The Punch Bowl was a favourite tavern- sign. Brookline, Massachusetts, had a very famous house bearing this name and in the Boston Evening Post of January 11, 1773 one may find a notice that " a Bear and a Number of Turkeys will be set up as a mark at the Punch Bowl Tavern in Brook line." This introduces us to turkey shoots, a favourite diversion early in the nineteenth century. Captain Basil Hall saw such a " shoot " advertised at a tavern in Tewks- bury and asked the landlord about it, where upon that functionary " laughed at my curi osity but good-humouredly enlightened my ignorance by explaining that these shooting matches were so common in America, that he had no doubt I would fall in with them often. I regretted very much having passed one day too late for this transatlantic battle. It appears that these birds were literal barn door fowls, placed at certain distances, and fired at by anyone who chooses to pay the allotted sum for a shot. If he kills the bird 231 Among Old New England Inns he is allowed to carry it off; otherwise, like a true sportsman, he has the amusement for his money. Cocks and hens, being small birds, are placed at the distance of one hun dred and sixty-five feet; and for every shot with ball the sportsman has to pay four cents. Turkeys are placed at twice the dis tance, or one hundred and ten yards, if a common musket be used; but at one hundred and sixty-five yards if the weapon be a rifle. In both these cases the price per shot is from six to ten cents." Horses of several colours, white, black and red, were often used for tavern signs here and in England. Addison frequented the White Horse Tavern, Kensington, and there many of his Spectator papers were written, including, very likely, that of April 2, 1710, in which he thus advocates a cen sorship of signboards: — "Our streets are filled with blue boars, black swans and red lions; not to mention flying pigs and hogs in armour, with many other creatures more extraordinary than any in the deserts of Africa. My first task, therefore, would be like that of Hercules, to clear the city from monsters. In the second place I would for bid that creatures of jarring and incongru- 232 Tavern Signs — and Wonders ous names should be joined together in the same sign; such as the bell and the neat's tongue; the dog and the gridiron. The fox and goose may be supposed to have met, but what have the fox and seven stars to do together? And when did the lamb and dol phin ever meet except upon a signpost? " One Massachusetts Inn which still displays the sign of a red lion is that at Stockbridge. No New Englander, however, seems to have had the hardihood to borrow the Boar's Head sign and name which Shakespeare has immortalized by association with the frolics of Falstaff and Prince Hal. But the Golden Ball, originally set up in honour of royalty, graced the Tory tavern of Colonel Jones at Weston, Massachusetts, as well as many other houses strictly republican in their sym pathies. As for the BeU, that was to be seen in every kind of combination, and in England as well as here was so common as a sign that the following rhyme was made upon it: " Around the face of blue-ey'd Sue, Did auburn ringlets curl, Her lips seem'd coral dipp'd in dew Her teeth two rows of pearl. Joe, of the Bell, whose wine, they said. Was new in cask, as he in trade, 233 Among Old New England Inns Espous'd this nonpareil; ' You keep the bar,' said Joe, ' my dear, But be obliging. Sue, d'ye hear, And prove to all who love good cheer They're welcome to the Bell.' " A London rider chanc'd to slip Behind the bar, to dine, And found sweet Susan's yielding lip Much mellower than her wine. As Joe stepped in, he stamped and tore. And for the London beau he swore He'd dust his jacket well. ' Heyday I ' says Sue, ' What's this, I trow ! You bade me be obliging Joe; I'm only proving to the beau. He's welcome to the Bell.' " Probably the most famous Bell Tavern in New England was that at Danvers, Massa chusetts, which is now no longer standing, but which will always be remembered for its connection with Elizabeth Whitman, generally believed to have been the model for Hawthorne's " Hester Prynne." This was a typical inn of the pre-Revolutionary period. Here prices and everyday gossip were discussed; here, on Sundays, the more remote villagers left their horses while at tending church, and here, after the two 234 Tavern Signs — and Wonders hours' service, they returned to enjoy their dinner in the warmth of a snug corner. This tavern saw mourning for the death of Queen Anne and rejoicing over the acces sion of the first George. The odious Stamp Act and all Parliament taxes on the colonies were here patriotically denounced and tea was duly proscribed. When one hardy soul disdained the warning concerning this over taxed beverage, he had to furnish punch for the crowd repeating three times as he drained his cup, the following chaste coup let: " I, Isaac Wilson, a boy I be, I, Isaac Wilson, I sells tea." The sign of the house was a wooden bell and the host informed the people of his good cheer by the following strain: " Francis Symonds Makes and Sells The best of Chocolate also Shells. I'll toll you in if you have need. And feed you well and bid you speed." A very spirited sign is that which long hung before the Benjamin Wiggin tavern in Hopkinton, N. H. and which, more lately has been identified with the recently-burned 235 Among Old New England Inns Perkins Inn of that same town. Littleton, Massachusetts, displayed before its Law rence Tavern a sign upon which was painted a soldier and the excellent advice, " Pay Today And Trust Tomorrow." About the time of the Revolution tavern- signs bearing the head and name of William Pitt became very popular in New England. The landlord of the tavern at York, Maine, put up such a sign and added boldly to it the words, " Entertainment For the Sons of Liberty." In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as will be seen by reference to the chapter which treats the inns of that town, there was a less spontaneous honouring of WiUiam Pitt by a taverner. Upon pre-Revolutionary tavern-signs Gen eral Wolfe was a favourite figure. Boston had a Wolfe tavern near Faneuil Hall and when General Israel Putnam became a land lord at Brooklyn, Connecticut, he hung out over his front door a bravelv-painted full- length of this hero. The Wolfe Tavern at Newburyport displavs to this day a bold presentment of the English officer's rather comical profile. Beehives upon tavern signs were by no means uncommon. One such bore the motto, 236 SIGN or THE BE.N'JAJIIX WIGGIN TAVERN, Hf)PKINTO.N' SIGN OF THE WOLFE TAVERN, NEWBURYPORT Tavern Signs — and Wonders " By industry we thrive " and another this rhyme : " Here in this hive we are all alive. Good liquor makes us funny. If you are dry step in and try The flavor of our honey." The Worcester Society of Antiquity owns the sign of Walker's Tavern, a famous house in Charlestown, New Hampshire, which dis played dozens of realistic bees hovering around a properly symmetrical hive! The old sign of the inn at Paxton, Massa chusetts shows upon one side Lord Corn wallis and Charles Paxton shaking hands across a well-loaded table at which they appear to be dining. Over the picture are the words: "Our good cheer tends to make enemies friends." But one must not con clude from this that the poltroon marshal of the Admiralty Court of Boston was a favourite among the good citizens of this town. Such, indeed, was far from being the case; they could not forget that Paxton had never fulfilled his promise to give them a bell for the meeting-house if only they would call their settlement after him! Fi nally, they presented to the General Court 237 Among Old New England Inns of Massachusetts a petition praying that their town " Paxton " be changed " to a name more agreeable." This petition was not granted but it was doubtless a salve to the indignation of Paxtonians that the effigy of this man, described as " an intriguing politician and a despicable sycophant" was hung in effigy upon the Liberty Tree which formerly stood at the corner of Essex and Washington streets. Signs had their distinct uses, of course, in a time when many streets were without name or number. The amusing story is told of a member of the famous Beef-Steak Club frequented by Johnson and Smollett who, while spending a day in Calais with Lord Sandwich, became so interested in conver sation that he strolled along the ramparts far from the Silver Lion Inn at which he was a guest. Then, as he could not speak a word of French, he was at a loss how to find his way back, undl he bethought him to clap a silver shilling to his mouth and assume the attitude of a lion rampant. Thereupon, a soldier who supposed him deranged, led him very promptly to the inn where it was believed his keepers would be looking for him. The vigorous lion long 238 7, Tavern Signs — and Wonders displayed before Boltwood's Tavern in Am herst, Massachusetts, may have similarly served some muddled mind in days gone by. Moreover, the signs helped people to find the wonders! The [Boston] Columbian Cen- tinal of April 28, 1810, announces one of these as follows: " MONSTROUS sight! " To be seen at A. Pollard's Tavern, Elm street — A white Greenland sea BEAR, which was taken at sea, weighing 1000 wt. This animal lives either in the sea or on the land. They have been seen several leagues at sea, and floating on cakes of ice. . . ." Sometimes a " whole caravan of living animals " was advertised to be displayed at one or another of the taverns. The Salem Gazette of Jan. 30, 1824, gives a list which reads like a Barnum circus-bill as on ex hibition at the Essex Coffee House, — among them " a six-legged heifer " and " the ichneumon, an animal famous for destroy ing reptiles' eggs, and is worshipped by the Egyptians." A touch which reminds one of the Prologue used by Shakespeare's " horny- handed men of Athens " lurks in a footnote 239 Among Old New England Inns assuring the public that " the room is con veniently fitted, so that Ladies and Gentle men can view the animals with perfect safety." Once, at least, a New England tavern ap pears to have been the scene of a bull-fight. The affair was thus heralded in the Essex Register of June, 1809: "SPORTSMEN, attend! "The gentlemen SPORTSMEN of this town and its vicinity are informed that a Grand Combat will take place between the URUS, ZEBU, and Spanish BULL, on the 4th of July, if fair weather, if not the next day, at the HALF-WAY HOUSE on the Salem Turnpike. There will also be ex posed at the Circus, other Animals which, for courage strength and sagacity are in ferior to none." Again the reassuring land lord adds that " No danger need be appre hended during the performance!" 240 CHAPTER XII OLD TAVERN DAYS IN NEWBURY That Thomas Hale whose appointment as justice Samuel Sewall opposed in 1721 on the ground that " he hath lately kept an ordinary and sold rum " was the first of a long series of Newbury landlords who ulti mately attained distinction in the town's af fairs. Described as a man of immense size (he is said to have weighed over five hun dred pounds!) with a strong and sonorous voice that could be heard at a great distance, he was long captain of the militia and, in spite of Judge Sewall, became a successful justice of the peace. But he was not by a good deal the first innkeeper in the town. The earliest license was granted almost a century earlier (in 1635) ^o Francis Plumer. This was the very year of the town's incor poration. Four years later Edmund Green- leaf was ordered to be ensign for Newbury and alloweid to keep a house of entertain- 241 Among Old New England Inns ment; and by 1644 "Tristram Coffyn Sr. is allowed to keep an ordinary, sell wine and keep a ferry on the Newbury Side . . . of Carr's island." Tristram Coffyn possessed a clever wife whose superior intellect had the effect, as not infrequently happens, of getting her hus band into trouble. The County records for September 1653 say that " Tristram Coffyn's wife, Dionis, was presented for selling beer," at his ordinary in Newbury, " for 3 pence a qt." Having proved, " upon the testimony of Samuel Moores, that she put 6 bushels of malt into the hogshead she was discharged." The law which she was supposed to have violated had been passed in 1645, and or dained that " every person licensed to keep an ordinary shall always be provided with good wholesome beer of 4 bushels of malt to the hogshead, which he shall not sell above 2 pence the ale qt on penalty of 40 shillings the first offence & for the second he shall lose his license." Goodwife Coffyn had merely worked out a problem in pro portion (?) and demanded a higher return for what she represented as better beer. This progenitor of the Newbury Coffins was also the founder of the Nantucket fam- 242 Old Tavern Days in Newbury ily of the same name. He had not long been keeping the ferry and selling beer when he disposed of all his property on the Mer rimac to remove to the island town. His son, Tristram Jr., fell heir, by marriage, to another ordinary, the house now known as the Coffin house. (Edmund Greenleaf 's li cense had been transferred in 1650 to Henry Somerby, his son-in-law, and upon Somer- by's death in 1652, young Coffin took over the widow and the house.) He was deacon of the first church in Newbury and lived in this house for more than half a century pass ing the property down, upon his death, to his youngest son, Nathaniel. Nathaniel abode here until he was eighty, discharging meanwhile many offices of trust in the col ony. His son, Colonel Joseph Coffin, born December 30, 1702, was the next occupant of the house, and for nearly thirty years acted as the town's clerk. He had eight children, two of whom, the Rev. Paul Cof fin D, D, and Charles Coffin M. D. were graduated at Harvard. Another son, Joshua, occupied the half of the house not given over to his father's use. His children — there were finally twelve of them — in creased to such an extent that he was obliged 243 Among Old New England Inns to ask for leave to enlarge the old roof-tree and the letter in which he did this gives us a vivid glimpse of a family quarrel. It reads : " Honored Sir, " 'Tis in your power to make my life (as to outward circumstances) either Happy or Miserable & I am sure 'twould be with the Greatest Regrett I should do anything to Render your life uneasy. I don't ask you to give me house or land at present, although I don't think in that case I should be un reasonable (considering my family Increases so fast), but at present I only ask Leave to build a Bedroom chimney on my own cost for our present comfort. Which when you have properly weighed the affair & Consid ered what you have done for Bro. David and Paul, not to mention Boyd, for their convenience, & my present need of what I ask, I Cant suppose you will single me out from the rest of your children as an object of your Displeasure. Since I don't know as either of them have done more to merit your favour, I now Intreat you, Sr, in this Request to treat me only as a son, whose happiness so much depends on your appro- 244 Old Tavern Days in Newbury bation & afection. I am Sr, with all Due Reverence & Duty " Your Dependent son, "Joshua Coffin." Hard indeed must have been the heart which could have withstood this plea for a chimney! Joshua Coffin, the historian of Newbury, lived and died in this house. He, like all the descendants of the innkeeper Tristram, followed and adorned gentlemanly pursuits. Another early taverner of Newbury was Hugh March, licensed in 1670 by the court at Ipswich " to keep an ordinary and sell strong drink," For several years previous to March's appointment, there seems to have been considerable difficulty in finding a person well suited to the profession of inn keeper for, two years before. Captain Paul White had undertaken the work rather under protest. White already sold liquor in a wholesale way, and, once introduced to the new occupation, seems to have taken to it very well. At any rate we must so con clude from finding that his wife petitions in 1682, three years after his death, to have 245 Among Old New England Inns the license he had taken out transferred to her. Meanwhile our friend March, who had begun to keep his famous Blue Anchor Inn because he wanted to, became involved in quite an interesting domestic complication. When his license was granted he had bought an " antient tavern " of Stephen Swett and expended a large sum of money in repairing and enlarging it. Then his good wife Ju dith died and he married Dorcas, the daugh ter of Daniel Bowman of Connecticut, whom he believed to be a widow but who, as he was subsequently persuaded, was a deserted wife instead. They had been living together two years when he learned that her first hus band was alive and in Virginia! The affi davits, numbering nine in all, in which Hugh and his sons asserted that the woman had all the while had knowledge of her husband's existence, are on file at the off.ce of the clerk of the Supreme Court in Bos ton and make very interesting reading. The decision of the General Court went against March, however, for it reads " In the case now in Court, touching Hugh March & Dorcas, his wife, the Court, upon what they have heard alledged by them both in the 246 Old Tavern Days in Newbury case and duly considered thereof, do judge that the said March ought to take the said Dorcas & retayne hir as a wife, and to ob serve and & fuUfiU the marriage Covenant according to his engagement." Mrs. March's statement that the whole story had been built upon the malice and ill-will of March's children had evidently made due impression upon the Court. But March refused to accept the decision and, rather than support the wife urged upon him by the judge, sold all his real estate, — except just enough for his own uses, — and so was, of course temporarily disqualified from serving as innkeeper. His idea appears to have been to continue the trade through his son John, but as he soon quarrelled with him, also, we finally find him left high and dry, though sdll keeping up a good fight for what he conceived to be his rights. The petition he sent to the Ips wich court at this stage of the game is most quaint and interesting. " To the honderd County Court sitting at Ipswich this 26 of September 1682 " The petition of Hugh March of New bury humbly showeth, That whereas the towne of Newbury being destitute of an 247 Among Old New England Inns ordinary for neer two yeres, being find twise, and likely to be fined the 3rd time, and could find no man that would undertack it, divers of the most considerable men of the towne applyed themselves to mee to keepe the ordinary, at which time i had no need of it or inclination to it, being well sat'ld upon a farme of my owne which was suffitiant to maintaine me; but by the ofton porsuasions and solicitations of those men I was wiling, provided I might have the free consent of the towne and the approbation of the Court, which I had freely and fully in a publick towne meting, by way of voate and by this court's free exceptacion, which moved mee to purchase at a deare rate that place which was the antient place of an ordinary, wch being out of repaire caused me to disburse great sums of mooney in repairing the ould and building new to fit it for the townes and cuntrys benifit, which caused me to sell one good farme and wholy to leave my farm that I lived uppone. " The ordinary that I bought, tho old and out of repayer, cost me 120 lb besids to the valeu of more than 440 lb I layd out in building barn, stable and housing, with bed ding &c to fite myselfe for giving publick 248 Old Tavern Days in Newbury conveniant entertainment for the country and towne. "This ordinary was by me kept about 12 yeres, and no man had just reason to com- plaine for want of anything that was con veniant, nor did yt ever I heard. Besides the law saith, page 82, that no man shall lose his licance before he be convicted of some broache of law, which i never was: " Altho I put the ordinary out of my hands for a time, yet it was for my lively hood and that I might live by it as an or dinary, " It hath bene the uisiall custom of courts and townes to put antiant persons into such places and callings to bee a help to them, rather than to turn them out after all thayr cost to ye undoing and that because the pres ent selectmen do not give ye approbation under thayre hands. I had not only the aprobation of the selectmen, but of the towne also, and of this hondred court for 12 years together, and tharfor hope yt this hondred court will consider my case, and not to suf fer any man to be undon by the by and selfe ends of any selectmen ; for, if so, the country will scarsly ever be well provided for with an ordinary to content, wch will be a dis- 249 Among Old New England Inns grace to the country in other places in the wourld, for who will lay out such an estate to keep an ordinary to be at the mercy of the next new selectman whether he shall hould it above one yeare or no? " This hondred court hauing in some measure understood how i committed my estate to my sone, and the way that he haue had to deprife mee of my licanse and like wise of my estate, wch i am depely soncable of my afflicttion, being further agrivated by his execution granted from the hondred court of asistence wch I presume your hon ors are not unsonsable of: he hauing little mercy on his father, I hope you, the fathers of the land will haufe more mercy upon mee. " In granting yr poore petioner his licence for the ordinary as formerly, wch (under correction) I conceive is but a rationall re quest, either to my self or som other yt may be put in, so that I may haue the bonifit of that my estate in that way as formerly, and in so doing you shall oblidg, your humbe petioner, to pray. HuGH MARCH." The Ipswich court did not grant this re quest, but the Boston authorities, to whom 250 Old Tavern Days in Newbury March then appealed, looked with more favour on his cause, and, in AprU, 1683, he was again licensed " to keepe a house of publick entertainment in Newbury," — the wife who had precipitated all this to-do hav ing considerately died the month before. A hundred years later there were at least two very famous taverns in " ould New bury; " Nathaniel Low's almanac for 1788 gives the names of all the most noted inn- holders on the road from Boston to Ports mouth and those he mentions in Newbury are Oliver Putnam, who kept what has lat terly been known as the lUsley house, and WiUiam Davenport, proprietor of the Wolfe Tavern. Oliver Putnam had formerly been a blacksmith and scythe-maker and it is very likely that he preferred his early calling. Certain it is that, after keeping a public house for about fifteen years, he sold out to Isaiah lUsley, who retained possession of the place until May 25, 1802, when he passed the estate over to Stephen lUsley Jr. By this time it had ceased to be an inn and so its history does not properly concern us any longer. The Wolfe Tavern was much more persist ently hospitable. When William Davenport 251 Among Old New England Inns bought the house in 1743 he was a carver, not an innkeeper at all, and he occupied the place as private residence for nearly twenty years. But in 1762 he caused extensive alter ations and additions to be made to it and opened it as a house of entertainment for travellers hanging out as a sign a board adorned with the features of General Wolfe, his hero. For William Davenport had been the captain of a company that had gone to help Wolfe at Quebec. There is a tradition that he gave his wife a guinea when he left Newbury in 1759 to join the troops and the story further goes that, by prudence and economy, she was able to return the guinea to him, unused, when he returned home. Very like this guinea helped to buy the extra furnishings necessary to the transfor mation of his house into an inn. Be this as it may Davenport had been on the Plains of Abraham with his company September 13, 1759, the day// (>'%„[ REsPEdTJHiLLr iNFoiiAi iiri; i'nii.TC, 7///A ///^/ havf put in comphlf u/iair ihnl M-M^h TAvr.iiN. ronmrlj' kv/il hy M' Ji.uh.v/v/nvl State Slifcl , NOTICE OF PRINCE STETSON RICGAKDING MIS TAKINCJ CHAK(;E OI'' THE WOI.KE TAVERN Old Tavern Days in Newbury verse on trade and politics with Mr, Tracy who interested me greatly with an account of all the vicissitudes of his fortune since the beginning of the war, , , , I left New buryport the thirteenth at ten in the morn ing and often stopped before I lost sight of this pretty little town." Apparently this sprig of the French nobility found the Wolfe Tavern a house to make one regretful at leav ing. In 1804, Thomas Perkins, who had for some years served at the old stand under Moses Davenport, was licensed as an inn holder and assumed control of the Tavern on his own account. By 1807, however. Prince Stetson is found to be the landlord, — ¦ and during his incumbency it was that the famous old building perished in the great Newburyport fire. Almost the last public occurrence of im portance with which the original Wolfe Tav ern may be connected is, therefore, New- buryport's first celebration of Washington's birthday, in the year 1796. The president had many warm friends in the town, and, because they knew that he intended soon to retire from public life they caused the fol lowing to be printed in the local paper early 2S9 Among Old New England Inns in February, " At the desire of several gen tlemen it is requested of those who incline to meet in celebration of the Birthday of the President on Monday next the 22nd in stant, that they call or send and enter their names by Saturday noon or before with Mr. Richardson at the Union Hall, where it is proposed to dine on that day at 2 o'clock." This announcement met with a hearty re sponse and in addition to the dinner at Union Hall, — where there were toasts and long speeches in praise of Washington, — a large number of merchants and mechanics sat down to a similar repast in the Wolfe Tavern. Thus, very appropriately, the old building is linked to the present mode of honouring the memory of our most distin guished citizen. Prince Stetson was not to be daunted by fire, however, in his laudable desire to serve the Newburyport public in a hostelry named the Wolfe Tavern, Only two weeks after the conflagration we find him informing his friends and the public that he shall open his Tavern on Monday next " in the House of Col. Bartlett, State St, where he solicits their favors." Bartlett's house proved to be only a temporary accommodation for the 260 Old Tavern Days in Newbury tavern; three years later, Mr, Stetson re moved to Salem and Benjamin Hale set up the sign of General Wolfe at the corner of State and Harris streets where it still swings. It is interesting to note that the sign had remained in its place all through the Revo lutionary War, notwithstanding the hatred of everything which savoured of royal power. Once, to be sure, the Essex Journal declared that this portrait of General Wolfe, displayed in the very centre of the place " is an insult to the inhabitants of this truly republican town." But, fortunately, there were still some older inhabitants who re called the ardent love which had prompted William Davenport to name his inn after the hero of Quebec and the obnoxious sign was allowed to swing on unmolested. Not long ago it was repainted by a well-known artist and to-day it is a very interesting and stately reminder of old tavern days in New bury. Not that the Wolfe Tavern had a mon opoly all that time of public entertain ment in the toy^^n. The Essex Gazette of January, 1771, proves the contrary by this notice : 261 Among Old New England Inns "INN AT NEWBURY-PORT " William Lambert, from Yorkshire in England, begs Leave to inform the Publick that he has taken the Inn at Newbury-Port, formerly occupied by Mr. Choate, which is now completely repaired, and new furnished with convenient Furniture, and the greatest variety of excellent LIQUORS. He has also provided commodious Stabling for Horses and every Accommodation for Trav ellers and others. He humbly intreats Cus tom and will strive by his good Entertain ment to merit the Publick Favour, at the Sign of the Wentworth Arms, near the Ferry, in Newburyport." Six months later we find that Robert Calder from London, who writes himself down as " late servant to his excellency Gov ernor Wentworth," has purchased WiUiam Lambert's lease and offers, in addition to the attractions of his predecessor's advertise ment " best Entertainement with diligent at tendance." Not for nothing had he bent to the imperious will of Governor Went worth, it would appear. Major Ezra Lunt was another of the late eighteenth century innkeepers in Newbury, 262 Old Tavern Days in Newbury adding the calling of publican quite easily to that of publisher, stagecoach proprietor and veteran of the Continental army. His inn was on the northwesterly side of Fed eral street, near the corner of Water street. The splurge par excellence in the inn- keeping way was made, however, by the enterprising landlord who advertised at the SIGN OF THE AMERICAN EAGLE in the summer of 1799, Under this patriotic headline " Samuel Richardson Informs his friends and the public in general that he has removed from Union Hall into that spa cious and convenient building lately occu pied by Captain Ebenezer Stocker, East Corner of the Ferryway Wharf, — which he has opened for public Entertainment and will make every exertion to gratify and please those who may visit his House, Every favor will be gratefully acknowledged. Good accommodation for a few Boarders: likewise Stabling for Horses." It is inter esting in this connection to note that the Newburyport selectmen had fixed by law the price of these various items of service. So, because the landlords could not under bid in price they overbade in attractions. The law placed " Dinners at taverns, for 263 Aniong Old New England Inns travellers, of boiled or roast meat, with other articles equivalent, exclusive of wine at i /,6. Supper and breakfast i/ each. Lodging 4/ . Keeping a horse for one night, or for twenty-four hours, with English hay 2/ — ." The Tracy house, which had accommo dated Washington, became briefly the Sun Hotel, early in the eighteenth century, its proprietor, Jacob Coburn, informing the public (May 5, 1807), under a sign which quite effectively reflected the features of Old Sol, " that he has opened a spacious HOTEL in State street, Newburyport, the former mansion of the late Honorable Nathaniel Tracy Esq., and where Mr. James Prince last resided. Having at considerable pains and expense put the above in a situation suited to accommodate gentlemen he assures them with confidence that they will find every convenience and an unremitting atten tion to ensure the favor of the Traveller. Good horses and carriages to be had at all hours." The dwelling-house of the eccentric " Lord " Timothy Dexter also descended temporarily to tavern uses, heralded by the following genial announcement: "The sub scriber of Weare N. H. acquaints the public 264 Old Tavern Days in Newbury that he has taken the noted house on High Street, Newburyport, known by the name of Dexter House (where the Lion and the Lamb lie down together in peace and where the first characters in the land are known to make their stay) which he opened on the 20th ult. as a house of Entertainment for the weary traveller who may sojourn thither, and for the conviviality of the jovial citizens of the town who may wish to spend a social hour freed from the cares of busy life; and he respectfully solicits their company, fully persuaded that he shall be enabled to afford them satisfaction. Country people are in formed that he will entertain them as rea sonably and with as good cheer, both for man and beast, as any regular Innitccper between M'Gregor's Bridge and Newbury port, having commodious and convenient stables with good attendance. He flatters himself they will call and see William Caldwell." This advertisement might have been written yesterday, so mod ern is its tone and so little archaic its spell ing. Yet its date is April, 1810. Prince Stetson, formerly of the Wolfe Tavern, returned to Newburyport in 1823 and assumed charge of the Washington hotel 265 Among Old New England Inns on the corner of State and Temple streets. He had the honour of serving Lafayette when the Marquis visited the town in 1824, and took the spacious apartments in the Tracy house which Washington had occu pied during his visit in 1789. The land lord's son, Charles, then a lad of thirteen, had the honour of acting as valet de chambre to the liberty-lover who had done so much for America in her hour of need. A tavern which is constantly mentioned in John Quincy Adams's account of his young manhood days in Newburyport is Sawyer's on the Bradford road at or near Brown's springs, and within the present lim its of the town of West Newbury. One in teresting entry in the diary of this law stu dent is that of May 21, 1788. " I walked," he says, " with Pickman in the evening to Sawyer's where we drank tea and made it almost ten o'clock before we got home. I then went up with my flute to Stacy's lodg ings, our general headquarters. About a quarter before twelve Stacy, Thompson, Putnam with a couple of young lads by the name of Greenough and myself sallied forth upon a scheme of serenading. We paraded round town till almost four in the morning," 266 Old Tavern Days in Newbury The charming home of Mrs, Harriett Prescott Spofford, near Newburyport's pic turesque chain bridge, was once a tavern, also. It was then close to the public high way and its landlord, Ebenezer Pearson, was therefore not exempt from suspicion when Major Elijah P, Goodridge of Bangor, Maine, told, December 19, 1816, of having been assaulted about nine o'clock the previ ous evening, very near its doors, and robbed of a large sum of money, Pearson proved to be only one of the many who were sub sequently accused, however, and, when Dan iel Webster took the matter in hand he made Goodridge so contradict himself on the wit ness-stand that verdicts of " not guilty " were brought in for all the defendants. The whole thing appears to have emanated from the brain of the Major who, in order to escape financial trouble and at the same time account for the loss of his personal property, devised the scheme of a robbery and carried it into effect, firing with his own hand the pistol of the " assailant," One Newburyport tavern-keeper was a good deal more permanently embarrassed by the cleverness of one of his guests, as we shall see from the following papers on file 267 Among Old New England Inns at the State House in Boston and having to do with the escape of Bridget Phillips, who had been sent to Newburyport for safe keep ing during the siege of Boston: " To the Honorable Provincial Congress at Watertown, June 22, 1775 " The petition of Bridget Philips humbly showeth that she hath lately arrived from Ireland and is desirous of going to her hus band now in Boston, She therefore prays the Honorable Congress that they would give her a permit to go into the town of Boston & your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. BRIDGET PHILIPS." In answer to this petition the following resolution was adopted June 24, 1775: — " Resolved, that General Ward do not suf fer or permit Bridget Phillips, wife to an officer under General Gage, to go into Bos ton, nor any other person whatever, without leave first obtained of this Congress, or some future house of representatives; and that an express be forthwith sent to the committee of safety for the town of Newburyport, to order them to take the most affectual meas- 268 Old Tavern Days in Newbury ures to prevent the said Bridget from going out of this province, or to Boston." The lady got the better of the law-makers, however, as the following letter shows : — "Newburyport, 26th July, 1775. "Sir: — " We received some time since a Resolve of the late Congress ordering that Bridget Phillips (who called herself the wife of a Captain Phillips in Gen. Gage's Army) should not leave the Province & that the Committee here be desired to attend to her. Upon the receipt of it we applied to the Tavern Keeper, at whose house she was, to keep an eye upon her movements & to in form us should she take any suspicious steps, at the same time informing her that she must not leave the Province. This she judged to be very harsh but appeared for a month past so to acquiesce in it as to elude any suspicion in us that she would take pains for her escape. Upon the arrival of the New General at Cambridge she seemed to flatter herself, her case might be more tenderly considered by them & that upon application they would permit her to go tb her husband. 269 Among Old New England Inns This she mentioned to several of the com mittee but was told she must not go to Cam bridge without consent of a majority of them. However that she never asked & the 1 8th Inst, she took place in a Chaise with Capt. John Blake (formerly of Boston) from hence to Salem, giving out that she was going to Head Quarters at Cambridge. The Tavern Keeper (Mr. Greenleaf) sup posing it not beyond the limits by the Order & from a faulty Inattention never gave the Committee notice. It was not for a day or two known by us that she was gone. Upon enquiry we find that she hired a Chaise & Boy at Salem & in company with Benjn Jenks (who is said to belong to Casco Bay) she went the next day to Haverhill & the next to Portsmouth & by the assistance of this Jenks procured herself to be put on board the Scarborough Man of War there. This Intelligence was bro't us by the said Mr. Greenleaf whom we sent in pursuit of her. " As she was a Woman & appeared of Some Fashion we did not think it expedient to put her under close Confinement neither did we suppose by the Order it was intended. 270 Old Tavern Days in Newbury She left here two Trunks supposed to con tain valuable apparrell which might prevent in Mr. Greenleaf the apprehention of her intending to go off. We judged it proper to give you this information & as she wrote for her Trunks to be sent to Boston we beg your Order about the delivery of 'em. Upon this occasion give us leave to remark what we hinted formerly to the Committee of War at Cambridge the ease with which an escape may at any time be made to the sta tioned ship at Portsmh as things are now ordered. We are respectfully " Your obedt servnts " JONA, TITCOMB, " p, order of the Committee. " To the Honb. James Warren, Esq., speaker of the House of Representatives, to be communicated." The result of all this was that, though Bridget did not get her trunks. Landlord Greenleaf was made pretty uncomfortable, — and what was of far greater importance, — ¦ the seaport towns were given leave to do whatever might seem to them wise in the way of preventing other such escapes. 271 Among Old New England Inns The privileges of tavern-keeping were so great that often a man with every right to whatever his house might earn was made exceedingly uncomfortable by his rivals. Such was the case with the host of the Boyn ton Tavern on the road between Newbury port and Rowley, In March, 1811, the other landlords of Byfield protested against Boynton's tavern, stating that while it had been established for some time they doubted whether its continued existence was neces sary, " The influence of this tavern is per nicious to the morals, the peace and comfort of some families in the vicinity," declares the protest; after which it goes on to allege that " the undersigned are credibly informed that people are there at very unreasonable hours in the night " and that " even the holy Sabbath is profaned by persons who there pass the Sacred hours in an idle and disso lute manner," Whereupon the petitioners humbly prayed " that the license of Mr. Boynton may not be renewed," Somehow, though, the tavern lived on, and once it was even able to add to its capacity, thereby bestowing the name of Adding upon the latest scion of the family. Another child of this eccentric landlord had been called 272 HOME OF MRS. HARRIETT PRESCOTT SPOFFORU, NEWIiURVPORT BOYNTON TAVERN, ON THE NEWIIURVPORT ROAD Old Tavern Days in Newbury Tearing because tavern-repairs were in that stage of development at his birth. Verily, some of those old time publicans were men of decided originality! 273 CHAPTER XIII THE INNS OF IPSWICH Few New England towns of the twentieth century preserve so much of the aspect of " ye olden times " as Ipswich, Massachu setts, Dozens of its houses, still occupied as homes, date back more than a century, and of these a fair number have, happily for us, been at some time in their history a tavern. Our forefathers, it must be remembered in explanation of this, knew nothing of the luxury of hot tea and coffee and so if they would drink anything but water, malt beer and other spirituous drinks had to be sup plied and dispensed by somebody. In the records of Ipswich the malster and the tav ern-keeper appear very early. The first li cense to sell was granted Robert Roberts by the Court of Assistants in 1635 and soon many men of high reputation sought like privilege; in 1652 Mr. Robert Payne, Mr, Bartholomew and Jeremy Belcher all re- 274 The Inns of Ipswich ceived licenses. Deacon Moses Pengry also kept an ordinary and dispensed spirit! The manner in which the deacon came to be a taverner is interesting because charac teristic of the times. Corporal John An drews had been his predecessor in the stand on High street known for far and wide as the White Horse, But because the corporal kept his bar open after nine o'clock and encouraged young men to drink a petition protesting against the renewal of his license was presented to the Court. The license was accordingly renewed only " until Salem Court" where in June 1658 a second peti tion was filed in which it was alleged that the recalling of Andrews' privileges " will be an affectual meanes for Ye remooving of much sin and evill and minister cause of joy and thanksgiving to many of gods people, amongst us." In answer we find a statement that " the Court having considered of the petetion of many of the Inhabitants of Ipswich, to gether with Ye complaint and information of divers strangers for want of needfull and convenient acomodation and entertaynment at the other ordinarye and the intymation of the selectmen of the need of two in that 275 Among Old New England Inns town, have thought meet to license Corporal Andrews to keepe an ordinary for the enter taynment of strangers only till the next court at Ipswich, and not longer, provided that the Inhabitants doe at the sayd Court present some meet pson to keepe an ordinary wch will accept of the same and the Court shall approve of, only he hath liberty in that tyme to sell wyne and beere to townsmen out of dores." The suitable person fixed upon was Deacon Moses Pengry. He accordingly re ceived his license on September 7, 1658, An drews being permitted to retain his until the following March. The Corporal meanwhile appears to have vented his spite upon the innocent Deacon for in the Court Record of April 28, 1658, we find that " Corporal John Andrews stands bound to ye Treserer of this County in the sum of fiftye pound upon condidtion the sayd John Andrews shall appeare at the next Court held at Ipswich to. answer to what shall be objected against him about a vehement suspition of severall misdemeanors and facts as pulling down the signe of Moses Pengry and Mr. Browne his gate and dore and Lieut. Sam. Appleton his gate." Mr. Browne and Lieut, Appleton, it is signifi- 276 The Inns of Ipswich cant to note, had been among the signers of the petition which recalled the Corporal's license, * Daniel Ringe was licensed in 1661 to keep an ordinary but " not to draw beer above a penny a quart, and to provide meate for men and cattell," The following year John Perkins, Andrew Peters, and John Whipple were licensed, the last to sell not less than a quart at a time and none to be drunk in his house. All were bound " not to sell by retail to any but men of family and of good repute nor sell any after sun sett; and that they shall be ready to give account of what liquors they sell by retail, the quantity, time and to whom," The house of John Whipple is now the home of the Ipswich Historical Society and because it is recognized as the finest existing specimen of colonial archi tecture it is herewith reproduced even though none of the liquor its proprietor dispensed was " drunk on the premises." Mr, Jonathan Wade, one of the leading citi-- zens, was also licensed to sell at about this time and though there is no record that Wade broke the liquor law he appears to have been an unpleasantly contentious per son. In 1645 he had been summoned to 277 Among Old New England Inns trial and fined sixteen shillings for " afront- ing the Court" and in 1658 he had to pay a fine of five pounds and witness fees for " expensive prices in selling grindstones and other things," These were days, it will be seen, when to set a prohibitive cost upon common necessities was punishable by law. Innkeepers were restricted along with the rest, 6d a meal being the limit of what they were allowed to charge (1634). In the quality of the comfort provided as well as in the matter of prices the public appears to have been protected, too, at Ipswich, The inventory of Richard Lumpkin, one of the earliest innkeepers of the town, shows that his house was well equipped even so early as 1642, the date under which it is filed in the Ipswich Deeds, For he had IN THE HALL One large table, one stoole, two formes 0-15-0 Three chaers and six cushions 4-0 In bookes 2-10-0 One pair of cob - irons, one fire pan \ one gridiron, and two paire of tram- > lo-o mels and one paire of bellows ) one muskett, one fowling piece i-io-o 278 The Inns of Ipswich IN THE PARLOR one table with six joined stools three chairs and eight cushions one bedstead, one trundle bed and curtins one paire cob -irons one firepan one chest one fether bed, two bowlsters two pillows, two flock beds, five blanketts one rug one coverlett one warming pan with other implements l- 5-0 14-0 I- 1 0-0 0- 4-6 0- 4-0 8- 0-0 6-0 IN THE CHAMBER OVER THE PARLOR one bedstead, one trundlebed lo-o two flock bedds, one fether bed, one fether \ bolster, four blanketts, two pillows > 4- 0-0 two coverletts ' four chests, two boxes i- 5-0 one table 3-0 one corslet i-io-o one fetherbed tike i-io-o IN THE LEANTO seven brass kettles, one iron kettle 4-10-0 one small copper i- 0-0 one iron pott, four posnetts, with other imple ments I- 0-0 Ten pewter dishes, etc, 2- 0-0 In plate 4" 0-0 279 Among Old New England Inns From this inventory we gain a good idea of the furnishings of an average Ipswich tavern, but we are even more fortunate in possessing a racy picture of actual life in such a house, as it leaped hotly from the pen of the gifted bookseller and publisher, John Dunton. Dunton was the gay Lothario, immor talized by Pope in the Dunciad, who mar ried (August 3, 1682) one of the sisters of John Wesley's mother and of Defoe's wife. This lady seems to have shared some of her husband's Bohemian tendencies for always they called each other Philaret and Iris, and when their honeymoon days were over they settled down in the Black Raven in Prince's street, London, where they lived for two years without a single care. In 1685, how ever, following Monmouth's insurrection there came such a depression in the book trade, that Dunton resolved to leave his lov ing spouse and come to New England to sell his wares. Accordingly he sailed from Gravesend in the October of that year reach ing Boston after a four months' voyage. He sold his books, visited Cambridge, and paid his respects to the venerable Eliot in Rox bury. The chief interest of his journeyings 280 The Inns of Ipswich for us, however, attaches to his stay with Mr. and Mrs. Stewart at their house in Ipswich, — a visit which he describes thus in a letter he sent home to his wife: " My Landlady, Mrs. Wilkins, having a sister at Ipswich which she had not seen for a great while, Mrs, Comfort, her daugh ter (a young gentlewoman equally happy in the perfections both of her body and mind) had a great desire to see her aunt, having never been at her house nor in that part of the country; which Philaret, having a desire to see, and being never backward to accomodate the Fair Sex, profers his serv ice to wait upon her thither, which was read ily accepted by the young lady, who felt herself safe under his protection. Nor were her parents less willing to trust her with me, " All things being ready for our ramble I took my fair one up behind me and rid on our way, I and my Fair Fellow Trav eller to Mr. Steward's who wife was Mrs. Comfort's own aunt: whose joy to see her niece at Ipswich was sufficiently Expressed by the Noble Reception we met with and the Treatment we found there; which far outdid whate'er we could have thought. And tho myself was but a stranger to them, 281 Among Old New England Inns yet the extraordinary civility and respect they sliowed me, gave me reason enough to think I was very welcome. It was late when we came thither and we were both very weary, which would not excuse us from the trouble of a very splendid supper, before I was permitted to go to bed; which was got ready in so short a time as would have made us think, had we not known the con trary, that it had been ready provided against we came. Though our supper was extraor dinary yet I had so great a desire to go to bed, as made it to me a troublesome piece of kindness. But, this being happily over, I took my leave of my Fellow Traveller, and was conducted to my apartment by Mrs. Stewart herself, whose character I shant at tempt tonight being so weary but reserve till tomorrow morning. Only I must let you know that my apartment was so noble and the furniture so suitable to it, that I doubt not that even the King himself has oftentimes been contented with a worser lodging. "Having reposed myself all night upon a bed of Down, I slept so very soundly that the Sun, who lay not on so soft a bed as I, had got the start of me and risen before me; 282 The Inns of Ipswich but was so kind however as to make me one of his first visits, and to give me the BON JOUR; on which I straight got up and dressed myself, having a mind to look about me and see where I was: and having took a view of Ipswich I found it to be situated by a river, whose first rise from a Lake or Pond was twenty miles up, breaking of its course through a hideous swamp for many miles, a harbor for bears; it issueth forth into a large bay, where they fish for whales, due east over against the Island of Sholes, a great place for fishing. The mouth of that river is barred. It is a good haven town. Their Meeting House or church is built very beautifully. There is a store of orchards and gardens about it and good land for Cattel and husbandry. " But I remember I promised to give you Mrs, Stewart's character &, if I hadn't, yet gratitude and justice would exact it of me. Her stature is of a middle size fit for a woman. Her face is still the magazine of beauty, whence she may fetch artillery enough to Wound a thousand lovers; and when she was about i8 perhaps there was never a face more sweet and charming — nor could it well be otherwise for now at 283 Among Old New England Inns 33 all you call sweet and ravishing is in her Face; which it is as great a pleasure to behold as a perpetual sunshine without any clouds at all; and yet all this sweetness is joined with such attractive vertue as draws all to a certain distance and there detains them with reverence and admiration, none ever daring to approach her nigher or hav ing power to go further off. She's so oblig ing courteous and civil as if those qualities were only born with her, and rested in her bosom as their centre. Her speech and her Behavior is so gentle sweet and affable, that whatsoever men may talk of magik therein none charms but she. So good a wife she is she frames her nature to her husband's: the hyacinth follows not the sun more will ingly than she her husband's pleasure. Her household is her charge. Her care to that makes her but seldom a non-resident. Her pride is to be neat and cleanly, and her thirst not to be Prodigal, And to conclude is both wise and religious which makes her all I have said before, " In the next place I suppose yourself will think it reasonable that unto Mrs, Steward's I should add her husband's Character: whose worth and goodness do well merit. 284 WHIPPLE HOUSh, IPSWICH CALEB LORD HOUSE, IPSWICH The Inns of Ipswich As to his stature 'tis inclining to tall: and as to his aspect, if all the lineaments of a sincere and honest-hearted man were lost out of the world, they might be all retrieved by looking on his face. He's one whose bounty is limited by reason, not by osten tation; and to make it last he deals dis creetly; as we sowe our land not by the sack but by the handful. He is so sincere and « upright that his words and his meanfng never shake hands and part but always go together. His mind is always so serene that that thunder but rocks him asleep which breaks other men's slumbers. His thoughts have an aim as high as Heaven tho their residence be in the Valley of a humble heart. He is not much given to talk though he knows how to do it as well as any man. He loves his friend and will do anything for him except it be to wink at his faults of which he is always a severe reprover. He is so good a husband that he is worthy of the wife he enjoys, and would even make a bad wife good by his example." So much for this model keeper of what is to-day the Caleb Lord house. But not all the literature connected with Ipswich taverns echoes, as do the letters of John 285 Among Old New England Inns Dunton, with praise of Ipswich housewives. John Adams, for instance, has only impa tient scorn for the hostess of Treadwell's Tavern at Ipswich. " Landlord and land lady are some of the grandest people alive, landlady is the great-grand-daughter of Gov ernor Endicott, and has all the great notions of high family that you find in Winslows, Hutchinsons, Quincys, Saltonstalls, Chand lers, Leonards, Otises, and as you might find them with more propriety in the Winthrops. Yet she is cautious and modest about dis covering it. She is a new light; continually canting and whining in a religious strain. The Governor was uncommonly strict and devout, evidently so in his day; and his great-great grand-daughter hopes to keep up the honor of the family in hers and distin guish herself among her contemporaries as much. ' Terrible things sin causes,' sighs and groans the pangs of the new birth. ' The death of Christ shows above all things the heinous nature of Sin! How awfully Mr. Kent talks about death! how lightly and carelessly! I am sure a man of his years, who can talk so about death, must be brought to feel the pangs of the new birth here or made to repent of it forever. How dreadful 286 The Inns of Ipswich it seems to me to hear him, I am so afraid of death and so concerned lest I a'nt fit and prepared for it. What a dreadful thing it was that Mr. Gridley died so! — too great, too big, too proud to learn anything; would not let any minister pray with him; said he knew more than they could tell him, asked the news and said he was going where he should hear no news.' " Thus far landlady. As to landlord, he is happy and as big, as proud, as conceited as any nobleman in England; always calm and good-natured and lazy, but the contem plation of his farm and his sons and his horse and pasture and cows, his sound judgment as he thinks, and his great holiness, as well as that of his wife, keep him as erect in his thoughts as a noble or a prince." I would rather have been a guest of the red-blooded Stewarts, would not you? The touching story of Lydia Wardwell, who was tied to the fence-post of the Ipswich Tavern where the Court sat, and lashed on the bare back with thirty cruel stripes makes one boil with indignation, even at this distance of time at the ultra-religionists who were so little Christ-like. Of course the act of this " young and tender chaste person " who " as 287 Among Old New England Inns a sign of spiritual nakedness " walked into the Newbury meeting-house, unclothed, dur ing the hour of public worship must have administered a sad shock to the Christians of that day, Whittier's description of an other Quaker maiden who similarly distin guished herself makes us feel the horror of the scene: " Save the mournful sackcloth about her wound. Unclothed as the primal mother. With limbs that trembled and eyes that blazed With a fire that she dare not smother, . . " And the minister paused in his sermon's midst And the people held their breath, For these were the words the maiden said Through lips as pale as death : , . . " Repent I repent I ere the Lord shall speak In thunder and breaking seals I Let all souls worship him in the way His light within reveals. " She shook the dust from her naked feet. And her sackcloth closely drew And into the porch of the awe-hushed church She passed like a ghost from view." But fanatical and unfortunate as was this mode of testifying love for the Lord it 288 The Inns of Ipswich would not seem to call for brutal treatment before a crowd of tavern-loafers and one does not need to be a Quaker to feel with George Bishop in his "New England Judged " that the punishment much too nearly fitted the crime. Bishop explains the young woman's act as follows : " Seeing the wickedness of your priests and rulers to her husband [a perse cuted Quaker] she was not at all offended with the truth but as your wickedness abounded so she withdrew and separated from your church at Newbury, of which she was sometimes a member and being given up to the leading of the Lord, after she had been often sent for to come thither, to give a reason of such a separation, it being at length upon her in the considera tion of their miserable condition, who were thus blinded with ignorance and persecu tion, to go to them, and as a sign to them she went in (though it was exceeding hard to her modest and shamefaced disposition) naked amongst them, which put them into such a rage instead of consideration, they soon laid hands on her, and to the next court at Ipswich had her, where without law they condemned her to be tyed to the fence-post 289 Among Old New England Inns of the tavern where they sat — and there sorely lashed her with twenty or thirty cruel stripes. And this is the discipline of the church of Newbury in New England, and this is their religion and their usage of the handmaid of the Lord, who in a great cross to her natural temper, came thus among them, a sign indeed, significatory enough to them, and suitable to their state, who under the visor of religion, were thus blinded into cruel persecution," Bishop, it is interesting to note, stands alone among the early writers in palliating the offence of Lydia Wardwell and in condemning the men who punished her. Some of the petitions for inn-keeping priv ileges in Ipswich are exceedingly quaint. In 1733, for instance, John Stacey, being incapable of labour, reminded the Town " that there is a convenience on the northerly side of the Rock by Ebenezer Smith's for setting an house upon " and prayed that " he might obtain a grant for setting a house for selling cakes, ale etc for his livelihood." His request was granted and the resulting house is still standing upon the site to which it was removed in 1834 from the ledge in front of the old Seminary building, An- 290 The Inns of Ipswich other old hostelry which may still be easily found is the Ross Tavern built in 1734 and now situated on one of Ipswich's busiest streets under the shadow of a magnificent elm. The town boasts also of an inn at which our first President was entertained, — a famous old place long known as the Swa sey house, some account of which will be found in the chapter on the Washington taverns of New England. 291 CHAPTER XIV SOME PORTSMOUTH PUBLICANS AND THEIR FAMOUS GUESTS Portsmouth was exceptionally rich in inn-keepers of unusual personal qualities and they, in turn, had opportunity to entertain many guests of high distinction. For the first regular stagecoach run from any town north of Boston to that centre of New Eng land industries came from Portsmouth, ter minating at the inn of Mr. John Stavers. It was the enterprise of his brother Barthol omew who in April, 1761, thus announced his venture: " For the Encouragement of Trade from Portsmouth to Boston "A LARGE STAGE CHAIR, With two good horses well equipped, will be ready by Monday the 20th inst. to start 292 Portsmouth Publicans and Guests out from Mr. Stavers, innholder, at the Sign of the Earl of Halifax, in this town to per form once a week; to lodge at Ipswich the same night; from thence through Medford to Charlestown ferry; to tarry at Charles town till Thursday morning, so as to return to this town the next day; to set out again on the Monday following: It will be con trived to carry four persons besides the driver. In case only two persons go they may be accommodated to carry things of bulk and value to make a third or fourth person. The price will be Thirteen shillings and sixpence sterling for each person from hence to Boston, and at the same rate of conveyance back again; though under no obligation to return in the same week in the same manner. " Those who would not be disappointed must enter their names at Mr. Stavers on Saturday, any time before nine o'clock in the evening, and pay one half at entrance, the remainder at the end of the journey. Any gentleman may have business transacted at Newbury or Boston with fidelity and despatch, on reasonable terms. " As gentlemen and ladies are often at a loss for good accommodations for travelling 293 Among Old New England Inns from hence, and can't return in less than three weeks or a month, it is hoped that this undertaking will meet with suitable encour agement, as they will be wholly freed from the care and charge of keeping chairs and horses, or returning them before they had finished their business." The establishment of regular conveyances between Boston and Portsmouth marked an important step in the history of transporta tion. To be sure this was not the first stage coach of the country, for Jonathan Ward- well established on May 13, 1718, a line that ran from his Orange Tree in Boston to Rhode Island, and in 172 1 there was a road- wagon over the same route. Moreover, in 1734, two stagecoaches were advertised for this same much-travelled road. But Bar tholomew Stavers' line was the first so far north, as has been said, and it prospered from the very beginning. A month after the initial advertisement " several stages having been performed with satisfaction, notice was given that five persons could be carried; that in future the vehicle would leave on Tuesday instead of Monday night and ar rive back on Saturday night." In Novem ber 1762 it is announced that the " Stage 294 Portsmouth Publicans and Guests Chaise will run, except in bad weather, through the winter; fare $3.00." The distinctive name given this convey ance is interesting. The method of transpor tation set up in 1767 between Salem and Boston was a " Stage Chaise " while on the shorter routes out of Boston a " Stage Coach " and a " stage wagon " were used. In 1772 Boston was connected with Marble- head by a "stage chariot;" by May 1763 we find Bartholomew Stavers announcing " The Portsmouth Flying Stage Coach Is now finished, which will carry six per sons inside; runs with four or six horses; each person to pay 13s. 6d, to Boston, and 4s, 6d. to Newbury, Sets out from the sign of the Earl of Halifax, every Tuesday morn ing between 7 and 8 o'clock, goes through Newbury to Boston, and will put up at good inns on the road where good entertainment and attendance are provided for the passen gers in the coach. The subscriber, master of the stage coach, is to be spoke with from Saturday night to Monday night, at Mr, John Stavers's, innholder, at the sign of the Earl of Halifax. " Bartholomew Stavers." 295 Among Old New England Inns The speed usually attained by a Stavers coach may be judged from the fact that a special express from Boston carrying impor tant news made the journey between eleven o'clock one morning and two the next after noon. But " on the road good entertainment and attendance were provided for the pas sengers in this coach;" and at Portsmouth they had the extreme felicity to be dropped at the door of the Earl of Halifax, where the coachman's brother John exercised hos pitable sway! John profited so much from the establish ment of the " Stage Chair" that in 1765 he left his first inn on Queen street for the stand which still survives, and which history and romance have combined to make one of the best-known buildings in Portsmouth, The new inn was completed in 1770 and the old sign of the " Earl of Halifax " was transferred to identify the site. In the upper room of this house the Masonic meetings of St. John's lodge were for several years held, and the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire also met here. But it is with a romantic marriage rather than with Masonry that the house's history is chiefly bound up. For it was in the door- 296 THE EARL OF HALIFAX (STAVERS I.\N), PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth Publicans and Guests way of this inn that Dame Stavers " in her furbelows " once said " as plain as day " " Oh, Martha Hilton I Fie I how dare you go About the town half dressed and looking so 1 " only to receive from the barefooted girl she had hoped to shame the laughing assurance that she would yet ride in her own chariot. She did, too, for, as I have elsewhere^ told, she very soon after made an ineradicable impression upon Governor Benning Went worth, leading personage in the Colony and owner of '*..., A Great House looking out to sea, A goodly place, where it was good to be," But it was also good to be at the Earl of Halifax back in 1774 or thereabouts. At any rate the Tories thought so and used to gather nightly to drink to the King and his continued prosperity. So much indeed was the house a place of resort for " the ruffled and laced government officials " that John Stavers became very unpopular with certain other of his townsfolk. The Sons of Lib- • See " Romance of Old New England Roof-Trees." 297 Among Old New England Inns erty, especially, looked with hostile eye upon the Tory gatherings in the Earl of Halifax, and, one day, when Hopley Yeaton was marching a company of recruits down the street, he threateaed to smash the inn's win dows if any one looked out. No one looked as it happened and apparently this so dis appointed Portsmouth's liberty-lovers that they resolved to make an opportunity to af front Landlord Stavers, Accordingly, a few days later, a mob gathered in front of the house and began to chop at the post upon which swung " The portrait of the Earl of Halifax In scarlet coat and periwig of flax." In not unnatural irritation Mr. Stavers armed his slave with an axe and bade him tell the invader to desist. Confused in the crowd, the poor black lost his self-command and struck to the ground with the side of his weapon Mark Noble, who was wielding the encroaching axe. Noble survived — but was an insane man for almost all of the forty years he afterwards lived. Of course this terrible assault still further enraged the crowd, and five minutes later 298 Portsmouth Publicans and Guests there was not a pane of glass left in any of the tavern's windows. Meanwhile Mr. Sta vers, taking a liberal supply of gold in his pocket, hastened to the stable by the back door, and, bridling his little black mare, rode for his life through Jefferson street. Two men on horseback came hotly pursuing, however, and ere he had gone many miles, drew near enough to hail him and bid him stop. This he had no intention of doing and, adroitly turning into a barn, just after he had passed a curve in the road he gave his followers the slip. Then he took refuge for a fortnight in Stratham with William Pottle Jr., a man who had usually supplied his inn with ale, and whd because of his Tory sym pathies soon had plenty of troubles of his own, Portsmouth all this time was in the great est commotion and there was crying need that someone with a cool head should take the mob in hand, John Langdon, with other leading patriots of the day, went to the inft with all possible speed, therefore. Langdon arrived just in time to put a check upon what had now become wanton destruction. As he entered the northeast parlour one of the mob had just raised a chair to dash in 299 Among Old New England Inns pieces an elegant mirror! Langdon seized the young man's arm, " Stop," he said, "have a dash at me first; you may perhaps be doing more harm than good here." The affrighted slave had immediately dis appeared, and for a long time could no where be found. At length he was discov ered in a large rain-water tank in the cellar, nearly up to his chin in water! His master, when he was enabled by Captain Langdon's good offices to return to town, was seized by the Committee of Safety and thrust into Exeter jail, where he might have languished much longer than he did had not the victim of the assault sent out the following almost lucid letter in his behalf: " Portsmouth, February 3, 1777 " To the Committee of Safety the Town of Exeter: " Gentlemen : — As I am informed that Mr. Stivers is in confinement in goal upon my account contrary to my desire, for when I was at Mr, Stivers a fast day I had no ill luck nor ment none against the Gentle man but by bad luck or misfortune I have received a bad blow but it is so well that I hope to go out in a day or two. So by 300 RICE TAVERX, KITTERY, OPPOSITE PORTS.MOUTH Portsmouth Publicans and Guests this genUemen of the Committee I hope you will release the gentleman upon my account. I am yours to serve, Mark Noble. " A friend to my country." Once released our landlord soon removed all suspicions as to his Toryism, Though he was personally opposed to taking up arms against his brother Englishmen he willingly took the oath of allegiance and loyally kept his promise not to oppose in any way the effort to procure independence. The dam age the mob had done his house was not easily forgotten, though, and so slow was he to make the needed repairs in the place that many distinguished officers of the Revolu tion feasted in rooms that had scarcely a pane of glass in the windows. When the place was finally refitted, he took the hint the mob had so rudely offered and substi tuted the name and features of William Pitt for those which had offended the patriots of Portsmouth. In 1782 when the French fleet visited Portsmouth all the officers put up at this inn and here to visit them came Lafayette having made the trip from Provi dence on purpose. Upon this occasion as on many another of state the white uniforms of 301 Among Old New England Inns these brave young men had no doubt been renewed by contact with the large meal chest in Landlord Stavers' attic; it was their habit to complete their morning toilet by rolling over there a few times, thus making up for the lack of the white powder to which they were accustomed. John Hancock, Elbridge Gerry and Gen eral Knox were other distinguished guests at this house and Louis Phillippe and his two brothers failed to be accommodated here only for lack of room. (The future king of France was immediately made welcome, it is interesting to add, in the hospitable home of Governor Langdon and he so enjoyed his stay there that he asked with keen interest years afterward of a Portsmouth lady who had just been presented to him at court, " Is the pleasant mansion of Governor Langdon still standing? ") Washington also once honoured the house with his presence, walking down Pitt street, on foot, to pay his call of ceremony, at the end of his visit in 1789, to General John Sullivan, President of New Hampshire, and his Council here convened. Concerning the house which was Wash ington's own headquarters during this visit 302 Portsmouth Publicans and Guests to Portsmouth something has been said in another chapter but the grewsome story con nected with the place remains to be told. High Sheriff Thomas Packer lived in that house in 1768, and it was in order that he might not be late for his dinner there that he sacrificed the life of Ruth Blay and made his name infamous in history. This unfortunate young woman was in dicted in August, 1768, for concealing the death of an illegitimate child, an omission which made it impossible to determine whether the babe had been murdered or whether it had been dead when born. The English statute prescribed the penalty of death for this offence, so poor Ruth Blay was driven to the gallows in an open cart shrieking in a truly blood-curdling way. Her case had, however, awakened much sympathy, and it was believed that the Gov ernor would grant a reprieve. But when the hour appointed for the execution arrived the papers had not come, and the sheriff, not wishing to be late home for dinner, ordered the execution to proceed. When the reprieve arrived, only a few moments after the spirit of the young woman had taken flight, the indignation of the 303 Among Old New England Inns crowd was so great that they gathered that evening around Sheriff Packer's house, and erected an effigy bearing this inscription: " Am I to lose my dinner This woman for to hang ? Come draw away the cart, my boys — Don't stop to say amen Draw away, draw away the cart i " Subsequently it was learned that Ruth Blay's child had been still-born and that she was by no means a murderess. The transition of the Packer house into " Colonel Brewster's Ta'an " as Washington called the place in his Diary, is interesting. Mrs. Packer had a mania for building ex tensions to her residence, and whenever her husband was absent on his duties of office she improved the opportunity to add a room or two. The house was thus enlarged until it had the proportions of an inn, and Colo nel Brewster was glad to take it over as such in 1786. This was by no means the Colonel's first essay as a landlord, however, for he had long successfully exercised that function at the Bell Tavern, a house which had been built 304 Portsmouth Publicans and Guests in 1743 by Paul March and which displayed from a post in front an attractive bell, painted blue. Here the patriots were wont to congregate while the Tories were making merry at the Earl of Halifax, drinking as long if not so deeply as their red-coated rivals. During the period of Col. Brew ster's incumbency of the Bell Tavern, the Marquis de Chastellux was here entertained and in the published account of his travels he speaks of Mr. Brewster as " a very re spectable man, and much attached to his country," After Colonel Brewster had transferred his interest to the Packer house Jacob Tilton became the host at the Bell, Tilton seems to have been chiefly known as the father of Johnny Tilton, a town idiot of whom Mr. Charles W. Brewster speaks with regretful tenderness in his delightful book, " Rambles About Portsmouth." Johnny, it seems, had not always been an idiot; his defect of mind was the result of a fall occasioned by a childish attempt to fly. He had been watching the hens flutter out of the loft win dow in his father's stable, and supposing he could do the same he stood upon the window frame and, flourishing his arms in imitation 305 Among Old New England Inns of the hens' wings, fell to the ground, per manently injuring his brain. Yet his an swers, like Hamlet's, had " a happiness that often madness hits on, which reason and sanity could not so prosperously be deliv ered of," as when, appearing one day at the mill with a sack of corn to be ground, he replied to the miller's query what he knew, " Some things I know, and some things I don't know, I know the miller's hogs grow fat but I don't know whose corn they fat on." After a long and varied career the Bell Tavern was swept away by fire in 1867, One of the landlords at the Bell had been a Mr. Purcell whose widow afterwards kept the Portsmouth boarding-house with which the career of John Paul Jones is bound up. On June 23, 1779 it was resolved in Con gress " that Robert Morris should be au thorized to take measures for speedily launching and equipping for sea the Amer ica, then on the stocks at Portsmouth, N, H, ; " on the 26th John Paul Jones was unanimously selected to command her. Jones at once proceeded to Portsmouth, but found the America only half built in stead of almost ready to be launched. He was under the necessity, therefore, of settling 306 PURCELL HOUSE, PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth Publicans and Guests down for quite a stay, pending the comple tion of his vessel, and the house in which he took up his quarters is the one on Middle street now known as the Lord house. There were great doings in this house and out of it while the son of a Scotch gardener superintended the construction of his ship. Some hint of his social activities at this time may be gained from " The Tory Lover " of Sarah Orne Jewett; two years before he had been the hero of that historic quilting- party during which Miss Mary Langdon and her friends made from pieces of their best silk gowns the " first edition " of the stars and stripes that Europe ever saw, and the first to be saluted by the guns of a Eu ropean naval power. This very flag, indeed, it was which served as the winding sheet for the sixty brave men who gave their lives that the Bonhomme Richard should conquer the Serapis! When the birth of the Dauphin of France was officially communicated to Congress in the summer of 1782, Jones testified to the " pleasure and gratitude which he really felt " by a grand fete. At his private ex pense he had artillery mounted on the Amer ica, and amid the flags of different nations, . 307 Among Old New England Inns — with that of France in front, — fired sa lutes throughout the evening interspersing these festive sounds with a brilliant display of fire-works which Portsmouth folk crowded the river-banks to witness. More romances than could be told in many books the size of this one doubtless had Jones for their hero during these two visits to Portsmouth, for neither man nor woman could resist the wonderful personal magnetism of the little admiral. Even so perfectly balanced and unemotional a character as Dr, Franklin once said of him in a letter to an eminent woman : " No matter what the faults of Commodore Jones may be, I must confess to your ladyship that, when face to face with him, neither man, nor, so far as I can learn woman, can for a moment resist the strange magnetism of his presence, the indescribable charm of his manner, a commingling of the most compliant deference with the most per fect self-esteem that I have ever seen in a man ; and above all the sweetness of his voice and the purity of his language. I offer these thoughts to the gracious consideration of your ladyship no less as a warning than as a favourable introduction." No Portsmouth girl captivated the heart 308 . Portsmouth Publicans and Guests of this charmer, however, for he seems al ways to have kept clearly in mind his duty to Aimee de Telison (natural daughter of Louis XV) while worshipping with the pur est adoration the Duchess of Chartres, wife of Louis Philippe Joseph, known as the " sailor prince." Jones' friendship with this sweet and lovely woman had developed dur ing the two months that the Ranger lay in Brest harbour. Once, at a luncheon she gave for him, his perfect command of sea- craft so delighted her that she sent an attend ant to bring from her jewel case a Louis XV watch of rare design and great value which her grandfather, the Count de Toulouse (son of Louis XIV by Madame de Montespan), had worn when commanding the French fleet in the great battle with the English and Dutch off Malaga. This mark of favour almost overwhelmed Jones, but he rallied to accept it with the graceful words : " If fortune should favour me at sea, I will some day lay an English frigate at your royal highness' feet." Fortune did favour the gallant soldier and he was soon able to fulfil almost literally his promise by presenting to the Duchess of Chartres the sword of the Serapis' captain. 309 Among Old New England Inns And when he died, alone in his French apartments at the early age of forty-five, the pretty token with this lady's miniature on its dial was found clasped in one hand. All through his career, punctuated as it was by more or less serious friendships with women on two sides of the Atlantic, he had evi dently worshipped with a holy love this most pure and adorable of duchesses. 310 CHAPTER XV on the road After Levi Pease had proved that money was to be made by conducting stage lines, a good many people went into the business, and taverns prospered proportionately. As we have already seen, however, riding in the early conveyances was not an unmiti gated joy, for, even after the roads improved, the vehicles were for a long time crude in the extreme, Thomas Twining, a young Englishman who visited the United States ,in 1795, has left us a vivid picture of the kind of " stage-waggon " in which he trav elled. It was " a long car with four benches. Three of these in the interior held nine pas sengers, A tenth passenger was seated by the side of the driver on the front bench. A light roof was supported by eight slender piUars, four on each side. Three large leather curtains suspended to the roof, one at each side and the third behind, were 3" Among Old New England Inns rolled up or lowered at the pleasure of the passengers. There was no place nor space for luggage, each person being expected to stow his things as he could under his seat or legs. The entrance was in front over the driver's bench. Of course the three passen gers on the back seat were obliged to crawl across all the other benches to get to their places. There were no backs to the benches to support and relieve us during a rough and fatiguing journey over a newly and ill-made road." Not until twenty years later, when the Concord coach, — so-called because it was first built in Concord, New Hampshire, — came into use, was there anything like com fort to be had while on the road. One of these original coaches which has seen years of service in old tavern days is herewith reproduced, loaded with a group of merry young people costumed to celebrate an Old Home Day in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. The condition of early eighteenth century roads and the structure of the primitive stage being taken into consideration, it seems as if the time made by the drivers was often surprisingly good. When Israel Hatch" put on daily stages from Boston to Providence 312 i.-- fS OLD CONCORD COACH WADSWORTH INN, HARTFORD On the Road about 1793 he covered the distance between five o'clock in the morning and two in the afternoon, changing horses once at the half way house in Walpole. And every rival did the thing a little better than those who pre ceded him. Hatch's line had been running only ten years, when the Columbian Centi- nal and Massachusetts Federalist advertised as follows: "PROVIDENCE STAGE " A New line of Stages will commence running on Monday, the 2d day of January next, and will start from the Bunch of Grapes Tavern, State Street, in Boston, every morning, precisely at 8 o'clock, and arrive at Providence the same afternoon; and also will start from Barker's Tavern, in Provi dence (formerly Thomas Seahen's), head of Packet-Wharf, and arrive at Boston the same afternoon, " The Proprietors of these Stages have been particularly attentive to the neatness, elegance and convenience of their Carriages, the goodness and strength of their horses, the carefulness and civility of their Drivers; Z^Z Among Old New England Inns and have, and will use exertion for the ac commodation of their Passengers, " The Proprietors take this method to in form the public, to prevent impositions, that they are not accountable for any baggage unless receipted for from this date. "Asa Foot. "Abel Wheelock. " Isaac Trask. " Gragg & Easte. "N. B. — The Stage Books wiU be kept at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern, and at Asa Foot's Tavern (formerly kept by Mr. Forbes), Brattle-Square, and at Mr, J. Wheelock's Marlborough-Street No, 37, sign of the Indian Queen, in Boston; and at Barker's Tavern, in Providence (formerly Thomas Seahen's), head of Packet- Wharf, " Extra Carriages, of all kinds, may be had at either of the Stables of the above Subscribers, at the shortest notice, " Also, Intelligence carried by express, " Boston, Dec. 30, 1803," By 1 83 1 the famous Telegraph Line from Boston to Albany was binding its drivers by contract to make seven miles an hour on the 314 On the Road average, including stops! This was in the high tide of our staging days, however, and the reign of the railroad was then not far off. To accommodate the most aristocratic of the Albany passengers the famous Wads worth Inn, Hartford, which still survives, — tap-room and all, — was built. The development of stage travel may be interestingly traced by comparing the " time tables " published in the almanacs of the day. In the first year of the nineteenth cen tury the Old Farmer gave a list made up of twenty-five different entries and telling with exactness the conditions of travel be tween Boston and Albany, Providence, New York, Leominster, Portsmouth, Amherst, Plymouth, Salem, Marblehead, Taunton, New Bedford, Dorchester, Milton, Cape Ann, Medford, Newburyport, Haverhill, Groton, Cambridge, Roxbury, Brookline, Watertown, Dedham, Quincy and Canton. This modest list covers all the lines running out of Boston in 1801, By 1819, however, business had so increased that the following from the " List of Stages that start from Tavern in Boston " published in the Mas sachusetts Register of that year represents only a few of the lines quoted, 315 Among Old New England Inns " Albany mail by Northampton from Earl's, Hanover street, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 A, M, By Springfield from Earl's, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 2 A, M. " Albany accommodation by Framingham and Northampton from Boyden's, Brom- field's lane, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at I A. M, " Burlington (Walpole, Burlington, Wind sor, Hanover and Montreal Mail) from Boyden's, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 A. M, " Concord, N. H., and Hanover over Lon donderry turnpike from Barnard's, Elm street, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 A, M, " Duxbury every Monday, Wednesday and Friday 3.30 A. M, and evening, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 5 A. M, from Davenport's. " Framingham, from Patterson's Wednes day and Saturday at 2 P, M, "Gloucester, from Miller's Elm street, every day at 1 1 A. M. " Haverhill, from Wild's, Tuesday, Thurs day and Saturday at 10 A. M, " Newport and New Bedford from Boy- 316 On the Road den's Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 4 A. M, " New York commercial mail by Worces ter, Stafford and Hartford from Earl's daily at I A. M. " New York middle line from Earl's, in summer to Norwich, Conn., Tuesday, Thurs day, Saturday and Sunday, 5 A. M. In win ter on middle road to Hartford Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 A. M, " Providence mail from Davenport's every day except Sunday at 9 A, M, " Salem from Davenport's daily except Sunday at 9 A, M. and 4 P. M. " Lunenburg and Groton from Boyden's Tuesday and Thursday at 8 A. M., and Sat urday at 4 A. M, " Plymouth and Sandwich to Falmouth from Davenport's Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 5 A, M." From Badger & Porter's Stage Register, 1836, I note the following: " Boston and Albany mail stage via North ampton leaves 7 Elm street, Boston, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 A, M, Distance 317 Among Old New England Inns to Albany 165 miles. Fare from Boston to Northampton $4.50, to Albany $8.75, " Boston and Montreal L. C. stage, new line, via Haverhill, N. H., leaves Boston every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. " Boston, Concord, Hanover, Burlington, Montreal and Quebec mail stage, leaves Wilde's, No. 11 Elm street, Boston, every morning except Sunday at seven o'clock. " Boston and Worcester accommodation stage leaves 7 Elm street, Boston, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 A, M. and ar rives in Worcester at 4 P. M. Distance 42 miles. Fare $2. " Boston and Providence mail coaches, leave Marlboro Hotel, Boston, every morn ing, Sundays excepted, at. 5 A. M; to meet the steamers for New York, and leave Prov idence every morning at 7 A. M,, and arrive in Boston at i P, M. Also the steamboat mail coach leaves Providence on the arrival of the boats from New York, An accom modation coach leaves as above daily at 1 1 A. M. for Providence. Fare $2. " Boston, Haverhill and Concord, N. H, Mail stage leaves No. 11 Elm street, Bos ton, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, at 318 On the Road 7 A. M., and arrives in Concord at 6 P, M. Distance sixty-eight miles. Fare $3, " Boston and Keene, N, H, North Star line via Lowell leaves Nos. 7 and 9 Elm street, Boston, Tuesday, Thursday and Sat urday at 5 A. M., and arrives in Keene same evening. " Boston Forrest Line stages for Saratoga, Albany, Troy and Lake George, leave stage office. No. 9 Elm street, Boston, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 2 P. M., via Low ell, Nashua and Charlestown. " Boston and New Bedford mail stage via Taunton leaves Marlboro Hotel, Boston, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, at 7 A. M. Arrives at Taunton at i P. M., and in New Bedford the same evening. Fare $3. " Boston, Plymouth, Sandwich, Falmouth and Barnstable, mail stage, leave Stone's City Tavern, Boston, every morning except Sunday, at 4 A. M., and arrives in Falmouth and Barnstable same evening connecting with the boat for Nantucket. " Boston, Fitchburg, Fitzwilliam and Brattleboro, Vt,, mail stage leaves Wilde's, No, II Elm street, Boston, every day, at 5 A, M, Fare $3.75, • " Boston, Portsmouth, N, H,, and Port- 319 Among Old New England Inns land. Me,, accommodation stage, leaves East ern Stage House, 84 Ann street, Boston, every morning, except Sundays, at 8, and arrives in Portland, at 5 P, M, Distance to Newburyport, 38 miles, fare $2; to Ports mouth, 60 miles, fare $3 ; to Portland, 1 10 miles, $6, " Boston, Concord, N, H., and Burlington, Vt., Mail Pilot Line, leaves the stage office, No, 9 Elm street, Boston, every day for Burlington, Distance 210 miles, " Beverly and Boston stage leaves Stone's City Tavern, Boston, every day, except Sun day, at 4 P. M., and arrives in Beverly at 6, Distance 16 miles. Fare $1, " Gloucester and Boston, mail stage, leaves City Tavern, Brattle street, Boston, every day, except Sunday, at 11 A.M., and arrives in Gloucester at 4 P. M, Fare from Boston to Lynn 62-^ cents; to Salem, $1; to Man chester, $1,50; to Gloucester, $1.75; to Sandy Bay,, $2, " Newton Upper Falls and Brighton stage, leaves Wilde's, No, 11 Elm street, Boston, every day at 4 P. M., for Newton Upper Falls; and Tuesday and Saturday continues through to Dover and Taunton, 320 On the Road " Omnibuses and Coaches " Charlestown and Boston hourly coaches. A coach leaves Simond's Hotel (late Jack- man's), Charlestown, at 7 A, M., and 5 Brat tle street, Boston, at 9 A. M., and continues to leave each place every hour until 8 P, M, every day except Sunday, The coach stops at each of the intermediate hotels in Charles town. A room is provided at each of the public houses for the convenience of pas sengers, " New line of half-hourly coaches between Cambridgeport and Boston leave as follows, viz,: Half-past 7 A.M., and continue to leave each office every half-hour through the day, until 8 P, M. Passengers taken and left at any place in Cambridge, Cambridgeport and Boston. Office in Boston at 51 Brattle street. Fare to Cambridge 25 cents, Cam bridgeport 12^ cents, " Roxbury and Boston hourly omnibuses (old line) leave Roxbury Hill every morn ing except Sunday at 7 Norfolk ave,, Wash ington St., Boston, at 7, and continue to leave each place every half-hour through the day until 8 P. M. from Roxbury and 8,30 from Boston. Fare 12J cents. 321 Among Old New England Inns "Jamaica Plains. The old line runs an omnibus to Jamaica Plains, leaving Norfolk avenue and Washington street at lo A. M., 4 and 6 P, M, Fare 25 cents, " East Boston. An omnibus called the ' Maverick ' and connected with the ferry boat is in constant requisition for passengers going to or coming from East Boston," Later on in the forties two fine omni buses called the " Governor Dudley " and " General Washington " were run between Boston and Grove Hall, They were long and had very high wheels and a steep flight of steps in the rear, with iron railings on each side. The guard stood on the steps and collected the fares, while the driver held the reins over four and sometimes six horses. These omnibuses were highly decorated and were embellished with portraits of their namesakes painted on each side. The Dock square and Canton street line was soon after established by Hobbs & Pres cott, who afterwards sold out to J, H. Ha- thorne, who in turn sold out to the West End Road at the time of the consolidation. Hobbs & Prescott also had a line running to the Norfolk House. 322 On the Road Some of us who are still in the early thir ties remember well these old Hathorne coaches, lumbering yellow things which plied between Salem street, Charlestown, and Northampton street, Boston, and never ran on Sundays because Mrs. Hathorne wished the horses to have one day in seven for rest. Groton, which is several times mentioned in these lists, was a famous coach ing centre. The earliest line of stage coaches between Boston and Groton thus advertised itself in the Columbian Centinal of April 6, 1793. "NEW LINE OF STAGES " A Stage-Carriage drives from Robbins' tavern at Charles River Bridge on Monday and Friday in each week, and passing through Concord and Groton, arrives at Wyman's tavern in Ashley in the evening of the same days; and after exchanging pas sengers there with the Stage-Carriage from Walpole it returns on Tuesdays and Satur days, by the same route to Robbins's. , , , The Charlestown Carriage drives also from Robbins' on Wednesday in each week, and passing through Concord arrives at Richard- 323 Among Old New England Inns son's tavern in Groton, on the evening of the same day, and from thence returns on Thursday to Robbins, , . , Another Car riage drives from Richardson's tavern in Groton, on Monday in each week, at six in the morning, and passing by Richardson's tavern in Concord, at ten o'clock in the fore noon, arrives at Charlestown at three o'clock in the afternoon. , , ," Very likely it was from one of these " Car riages " that the hero of the following graphic little sketch descended: "At early dusk on some October or November evening, in the year 1794, a fresh, vigorous, bright- eyed lad, just turned of fifteen, might have been seen alighting from a stage-coach near Quaker Lane [now Congress St.] as it was then called in the old town of Boston, He had been two days on the road from his home in the town of New Ipswich, in the State of New Hampshire. On the last of the two days the stage-coach had brought him all the way from Groton in Massachu setts; starting for that purpose early in the morning, stopping at Concord for the pas sengers to dine, trundling them through Charlestown about the time the evening lamps were lighted, and finishing the whole 324 On the Road distance of rather more than thirty miles in season for supper. For his first day's jour ney there had been no such eligible and ex peditious conveyance. The Boston stage coach, in those days, went no farther than Groton in that direction," * The first public conveyance between Bos ton and Groton was a covered wagon hung on chains for thoroughbraces. The trans portation price was two dollars for each passenger. By 1807 there was a tri-weekly line of coaches to Boston and as early as 1820 a daily line, which connnected at Gro ton with others extending into New Hamp shire and Vermont. Not long after this there were two lines to Boston running in competition. One of these, the Telegraph and Despatch line had a driver named Phin- eas Harrington, familiarly called " Phin " by the tavern-keepers and by his passengers of whom he never took more than eight. " Phin " was a very little man and it was said of him that on cold and stormy nights he used to get inside one of the lamps fixed to the box in order to use the lighted wick as a foot-warmer! [ ' Memoir of Hon. Nathan Appleton in the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society v. 249, 250." ] 325 Among Old New England Inns Besides the stagecoaches the carrier wag ons added greatly to the business of Groton and helped largely to support the taverns. For, in those days, the town was on one of the main thoroughfares leading from Boston to Canada via New Hampshire and Ver mont. Often as many as forty huge wagons drawn by four or six horses each would pass through the village in a single day, laden on the down-trip with country produce and, on the return, with the hundred and one articles found in the village stores of the northern states. The list of those who have been tavern- keepers at Groton is a very long one. In the early days no great preparations appear to have been necessary here for the enter tainment of strangers, the result being that many farmers took in casual travellers whom they treated quite as members of the family. By 1752, however, Groton had so developed as a stopping-place that Caleb Trowbridge, Jr. declared that he " lives upon a publick Road leading from Dunstable to Harvard, which is frequented by many Travellers; that the publick Houses on said road are fifteen Miles distant from each other;" that he " has only Liberty to Retail, yet is often 326 On the Road crowded with people who want necessary Refreshment, but is not allowed to sell it to them; he therefore prays he may now ob tain a Licence as an Innholder." His prayer was graciously granted. Isaiah Thomas's Almanack for 1785 prints a list of Groton innholders for that year, and among them appears the name of Cap tain Jephthah Richardson, who for many years kept a tavern on the site of what is now the Baptist Church. During the war of 1812, this house was locally famous as a recruiting station. It was also well known to wayfarers as an important staging centre. Groton is so fortunate as to possess to-day a well-preserved Revolutionary tavern, in which guests are still entertained. Orig inally a dwelling-house and occupied before our struggle with England by Rev. Samuel Dana, — who had the hardihood to preach a warm defence of George III and his meth ods to a congregation notably patriotic in their sentiments and so to earn his dismissal from church and town, — it was kept during the latter part of the war by Captain Jona than Keep. Capt. Keep was succeeded by his brothers, Isaiah and Joseph, who were landlords as early as 1798. In 1825, Joseph 327 Among Old New England Inns Hoar, who had just sold the Emerson Tav ern at the other end of the village street, became the incumbent. Excepting the year 1836, when Moses Gill and his brother-in- law, Henry Lewis Lawrence, were the land lords, Mr. Hoar continued in charge until the spring of 1843 when he sold out to Thomas Treadwell Farnsworth, At this period the house was a temperance one, Daniel Hunt, James Minot Colburn and Joseph Nelson Hoar (a son of the former landlord) have since been proprietors here. For a time in recent years the place was managed by three daughters of Mr. Hoar under the name of Central House, but its present owner is Charles H. Dodge and its present title the Groton Inn, Twining's description of stagecoach travel having been quoted, some pages back, it seems only fair to give one or two other persons' views on this interesting subject. John Mellish, who travelled in 1806 did not seem to find it bad: " Having taken my leave of a number of kind friends with whom I had associated during my stay in Boston, I engaged a pas sage by the mail stage for New York, and was called to take my place on the 4th of 328 GROTON INN, GROTON On the Road September at two o'clock in the morning. It is the practice here for the driver to call on the passengers before setting out, and it is attended with a considerable degree of convenience to them, particularly when they set out early in the morning. The mail stages here are altogether different in construc tion from the mail coaches in Britain. They are long machines hung upon leather braces with three seats across, of a sufficient length to accommodate three persons each, who all sit with their faces towards the horses. The driver sits under cover without any division between him and the passengers; and there is room for a person to sit on each side of him. The driver, by the post-office regula tions, must be a white man, and he has charge of the mail which is placed in a box below his seat. There is no guard. The passengers' luggage is put below the seats, or tied on behind the stage. They put noth ing on the top and they take no outside pas sengers. The stages are slightly built and the roof suspended on pillars; with a cur tain to be let down or folded up at pleasure. The conveyance is easy and in summer very agreeable." Then as now, no doubt, impressions of 329 Among Old New England Inns travel depended very much upon the tem perament of the traveller, John Lambert, who toured Vermont and lower Canada at just about this same time, gives a most mel ancholy account of his trip from Burlington to St. Albans: "I had an uncomfortable seat in the hind part of the wagon upon the mail bag and other goods, I might, indeed, have sat in front along with the driver, but my legs would have been cramped between a large chest and the fore part of the wagon. Of two evils I chose the least: but I shall never forget the shaking, jolting, jumbling and tossing, which I experienced over this disagreeable road, up and down steep hills, which obliged me to alight, (for we had only two poor jaded horses to drag us) and fag through the sand and dust exposed to a burn ing sun. When we got into our delcQtable vehicle again, our situation was just as bad; for the road in many parts was continuaUy obstructed by large stone; stumps of trees, and fallen timber; deep ruts and holes, over which, to use an American phrase, we were * waggon'd ' most unmercifully." Perhaps the nature of the country, as well as tem perament, had, after all, something to do with these differing accounts, 330 On the Road It would be interesting to know whether Lambert rested his weary bones, on that journey to Canada, at the Eagle Tavern, East Poultney, Vermont. It was there in his time as it is to-day, right across the road from the village green and exceedingly hos pitable in aspect, though it now takes in only an occasional guest for whom provision can not elsewhere be found. In Revolutionary days the house was a famous rallying cen tre, and it was here that Captain William Watson delivered that famous toast: "The enemies of our country, — may they have cobweb breeches, porcupine saddle, a hard trotting horse and an eternal journey." It was this doughty captain, too, who, upon the death of his good dog, Comus, placed the remains in a wooden bqx and buried them beside the road back of the tavern, erecting, to mark the spot, a stone with this inscription: " Comus is dead ! Good dog, well bred; Here he hes — enough said." Within a stone's throw of the Eagle Tavern, Horace Greeley learned the printing trade and very often, no doubt, he spent an eve- 331 Among Old New England Inns ning in its public room talking politics to the other lads of the little town. And now, just to take out of our mouths the taste of Lambert's grumbling, let us en joy the description supplied by Abdy, the Oxonian, of stage travel as he found it in the New England of 1835: " I left Northampton on the i6th at three, A. M., for Boston, and arrived at that place about eight in the evening. The road was good and if we had not changed our vehicle three times during the journey, and stopped at the various post-offices for the bags, and at the hotels for refreshment, we should have got in much sooner. The first fifteen miles were performed in an hour and forty min utes. The distance is ninety-four miles. The passengers were inclined to be sociable and as it was a fine day and the country not uninteresting, the journey passed off pleas antly enough. An English coachman would have been somewhat amused with the ap pearance of the stage and the costume of the driver. The former was similar to some that are common enough in France though not known on our side of the channel. It was on leathern springs; the boot and the hind part being appropriated to the luggage, 332 On the Road while the box was occupied by two passen gers in addition to the ' conducteur ' and as many on the roof. On the top, secured by an iron rail, were some of the trunks and boxes, and inside were places for nine; two seats being affixed to the ends, and one, par allel to them across the middle of the car riage. Our driver sat between two of the outsides, and, when there was but one, on the box over the near wheeler; and holding the reins, or lines, as he called them, in such a manner as to separate his team into couples, not a-breast, but in a line or tandem fashion, drove along with considerable skill and dexterity. When he got down, he fas tened the ' ribbons ' to a ring or a post in front of the house where he had occasion to pull up." A pleasant picture surely, this of the genial driver fastening his ribbons before the hospitable New England inn where his stage-load of sociably inclined travellers are to stop for their noonday meal, ShaU we not leave them at the door, enveloped in the welcoming smile of the landlord, who in anticipation of their coming has prepared for them the choicest viands of which his larder can boast? CHAPTER XVI some taverns of ROMANCE The alluring adjective " romantic " is conferred upon taverns for widely different reasons. This old house in Westfield, Mas sachusetts, for instance, has for years been thus distinguished because it was supposed to be the scene of an ardent salute bestowed upon Landlord Fowler's wife, one Revolu tionary morning, by no less a person than the British General Burgoyne, who was then returning, a prisoner, to the Continental camp at Cambridge. But, a few years ago, an enterprising student of local history ar rived at the conclusion that the kisser was not Burgoyne at all, but the German Gen eral Riedesel; evidence further went to show that the kissee was in all probability the landlord's daughter instead of his wife. At this point, however, our naive lady gave up research for she could not see why Riede sel should have kissed any strange young 334 Some Taverns of Romance woman when his own charming wife was near at hand! To-day, therefore, the Fowler Tavern may be said to memorialize a KISS, the parties thereto being undetermined. Some other New England taverns no longer standing have more clearly defined reasons for reverence at the hands of those who love romance. The old Fountain Inn at Marblehead was the opening scene of the most romantic story in all American history. For it was here, as she was scrubbing the tavern floor, that Sir Harry Frankland first caught sight of Agnes Surriage! The gallant Sir Harry was at this time (1742) collector of the port of Boston, and he had come riding down to Marblehead's picturesque coast to transact some business connected with old Fort Sewall, then just a-building. At the Fountain Inn he stopped for a long draught of cooling ale. And, there before him in the tap-room, vigorously wielding the Colonial substitute for a mop, was a beautiful girl-child of sixteen, with black curling hair, dark eyes and a voice which proved to be of exceeding sweetness, as the maiden, glancing up, shyly gave her good-day to the gallant's greeting. The girfs feet were bare, and this so moved 335 Among Old New England Inns Frankland's compassion that he gently gave her a piece of gold with which to buy shoes and stockings. And then he rode slowly away, wondering why his heart was beat ing so much more quickly than was its wont. Shortly afterwards Frankland was again in Marblehead on business, and he was not slow, we may be sure, in finding his way to the tavern for another mug of ale and an other sight of the charming child, just bud ding into womanhood, whom he had seen performing with patience and grace the du ties that fell to her lot as the daughter of humble fisherfolk. He was surprised to find her feet still bare and he asked her, a bit teasingly, what she had done with the money he gave her. Quite frankly she replied, blushing the while, that she had bought the shoes and stockings, but was keeping them to wear to meeting. This reply argued hitherto unsuspected depths of poverty on the part of Agnes's parents, and Frankland was not long in looking them up; nor was he so long as one feels he ought to have been in obtaining from them permission to re move their daughter to Boston to be edu cated as his ward, 336 Some Taverns of Romance For several years, however, the relation between these two was exactly what Frank- land had said it would be, and Agnes was in close touch with her Marblehead pastor as well as with her mother. Meanwhile, she was being taught reading, writing, grammar, music and embroidery by the best tutors Boston-town could provide and she grew daily, we are told, in beauty and maidenly charm. So the inevitable end was helped to come. At first, one is forced to believe, Frankland had not meant to wrong the child so trust ingly given into his care. But the death of Agnes's father threw the girl permanently on his hands just at the very time when his sudden elevation to the baronetcy made mar riage to her appear an impossibility. So there came about a situation which caused Agnes to be dropped by the ladies who had formerly been kind to her, and that made the baronet decide to set up a new home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, instead of re maining in censorious Boston. I have elsewhere * told the story of the idyllic life led by these two at Frankland Hall, of their visit in 1754 to Frankland's [' See " Romance of Old New England Churches."] 337 Among Old New England Inns home in England, of Sir Harry's surprise and Agnes's chagrin at the coolness of their reception there, and of the tragedy of the Lisbon earthquake, which gave the maiden a superb opportunity for heroism and the man the very fright he needed. For, while pinned down by a weight of stone and suf fering untold agonies from the pain of a wound in his arm, our young gallant vowed to amend his life and atone to Agnes, if God in his mercy should see fit to deliver him. When the deliverance came through the self-forgetful" devotion of the woman he had so grievously wronged he wasted not a moment, we may be sure, in summoning a priest to tie the knot too long ignored. That his spirit had been effectually chastened, one reads between the lines of this entry in his diary, which may still be seen in the rooms of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston: " Hope My providential escape will have a lasting good effect upon my mind," Sir Harry Frankland was no libertine. All his life he passed in fasting, humiliation and prayer the anniversary of that Lisbon earth quake. With the old Bell Tavern in Danvers, Mas sachusetts, is connected the sad death of 338 Some Taverns of Romance Elizabeth Whitman, from whose touching story Hawthorne is believed to have drawn the inspiration for his " Scarlet Letter," Elizabeth Whitman was the daughter of the Reverend Elnathan Whitman, pastor of the Second Church, Hartford, Connecticut, and one of the Fellows of the Corporation of Yale College, — a man distinguished for scholarly traits, the love of rare manuscripts and forgotten books, and whose library at the time of its destruction in 1831 had been for years the envy of our large universities. His daughter, however, cared less for litera ture than for life and though engaged, first to the Reverend Joseph Howe of Church Green in Boston, and after his death to the Reverend Joseph Buckminster, whose name and memory is an illuminated page in the history of New England Congregationalism, died alone at a Danvers tavern with no hus band at hand to acknowledge himself the father of her dead child. Though I shall not repeat here this girl's sad story which I have told in another place,^ I am glad to reproduce an advertisement, new to me, which I have recently found in the Salem Mercury of July 29, 1788 and which is in- [" See " Romance of Old New England Roof-Trees."] 339 Among Old New England Inns teresting because inserted by the keeper of the Bell Tavern in the hope of identifying his mysterious guest: " Last Friday, a female stranger died at the Bell Tavern, in Danvers; and on Sun day her remains were decently interred. The circumstances relative to this young woman are such as to excite curiosity and interest our feelings. She was brought to the Bell in a chaise from Watertown, as she said, by a young man whom she had engaged for that purpose. After she had alighted and taken a trunk with her into the house, the chaise immediately drove off. She re mained at this inn until her death, in expec tation of the arrival of her husband whom she expected to come for her, and appeared anxious at his delay. She was averse to being interrogated concerning herself or con nections; and kept much retired to her chamber employed in writing needle-work &c. She said, however, that she came from Westfield, in Connecticut; that her parents lived in that State; that she had been mar ried only a few months; and that her hus band's name was Thomas Walker; — but always carefully concealed her family name. Her linen was all marked E. W. About a 340 Some Taverns of Romance fortnight before her death she was brought to bed of a lifeless child. When those who attended her apprehended her fate they asked her, whether she did not wish to see her friends: She answered that she was very desirous of seeing them. It was proposed that she should send for them; to which she objected hoping in a short time to be able to go to them. From what she said and from other circumstances, it appeared prob able to those who attended her, that she be longed to some country town in Connecticut: Her conversation, her writings and her man ners, bespoke the advantage of a respectable family & good education. Her person was agreeable; her deportment amiable & engag ing; and, though in a state of anxiety arid sus pense, she preserved a cheerfulness, which seemed to be, not the effect of insensibility, but of a firm and patient temper. She was supposed to be about 35 years old. Copies of letters, of her writing, dated at Hart ford, Springfield, and other places, were left among her things. — This account is given by the family in which she resided; and it is hoped the publication of it will be a means of her friends' ascertaining her fate." I, personally, believe that Elizabeth Whit- 341 Among Old New England Inns man was waiting for her husband in the old BeU Tavern. But diverse points of view are always stimulating, and some readers may like to compare with my story of her life the following extract from the history of Danvers: "She was possessed of an ar dent poetical temperament, an inordinate love of praise, and was gifted with the nat ural endowment of beauty and perfect grace, while she was accomplished with those re finements which education can bestow. She was lovely beyond words. But her natural amiabilities were warped and perverted by reading great numbers of romances, to the exclusion of almost all other reading. She formed her idea of men by the exaggerated standards she saw in the books to which she resorted; and thus when she looked around her she saw no one who realized her ideal. She subsequently became intimate . . . with Judge Pierpont Edwards." Evidently Mr. Hanson himself gave too much weight to the statements in that meretricious volume " Eliza Wharton," whose treatment of the dead woman's story he proceeds indignantly to condemn. Danvers still has one picturesque old hos telry, the Berry Tavern, which has enter 342 Some Taverns of Romance tained the public for over seventy years and upon whose site stood yet another inn more than one hundred years back of that. Nearly opposite the Berry Tavern there long flour ished, too, the house of Deacon Gideon Put nam, which was run by John Piemont at the time John Adams went to the Court in Ipswich before he was President. Lancaster, Massachusetts, has a number of romantic taverns, among them the Old Brick Inn used by William Dean Howells in " The Undiscovered Country " as the shelter for his heroine when she and her spiritualistic father have lost their purse and their way. " ' We will stop at that tavern,' said Egeria." " They had been passing through a long reach of woodland that stretched away on either side of the road, when they came to a wide, open plateau, high and bare. It looked old and like a place where there had once been houses, though none were now in sight; from time to time in fact the ruinous traces of former habitations showed them selves by the wayside. A black fringe of pines and hemlocks bordered the plain where it softly rounded away to the eastward; a 343 Among Old New England Inns vast forest of oak and chestnut formed its western boundary. At its highest point they came in sight of a house on the northern slope, a large square mansion built of brick; an enormous elm almost swept the ground with its boughs on its eastern side; before it stood an old-fashioned sign-post, and west ward, almost in the edge of its forest lay its stabling. " ' That must be the tavern,' said Boynton, instinctively making haste towards it," This Brick Inn, which Howells with true artistic feeling prefers to call the Elm Tav ern, was built in 1804 for the traders of the Union Turnpike Company, Lancaster was then getting to be an important staging town and several houses had sprung up in answer to demand. To-day, however, these are either private residences, abandoned houses or places of doubtful repute, — such as Ege ria and her father soon discovered their " Elm Tavern " to be. During the years between the incorporation of Lancaster and its destruction by the Indians in 1676, there is no record of any public hostelry within its borders. But in 168 1, the year of the re- setriement of the town, the Great and Gen eral Court ordered " that for the future the 344 Some Taverns of Romance selectmen of all Towns shall approve of all Persons to be Licenced before Licence be granted to any of them by the County Courts to keep such Publique House or be Retailer of Strong Liquors in any of said Towns, and all Persons shall annually renew thare Li cense at the Spring Court in thare respective Countys," All innkeepers were further re quired to have " some inoffensive sign, obvi ous, for direction to strangers, and such as have no such sign after three months so Li cenced shall lose thare Licence and others be allowed in thare stead." The first man to profit by this requirement was Nathaniel Wilder whose license was granted in 1690 and whose place of doing business was a garrisoned house on the southeast slope of George Hill, A highly romantic figure was this first Lancaster landlord. In 1673, he had mar ried Mary Sawyer, grand-daughter of John Prescott, and in 1676 had fled with this young wife and an infant son from an Indian massacre in the course of which most of his near neighbours were slain. The revolting tragedies of this day so burned into his mind that, the following August, he and three other men murdered on Hurtleberry Hill, 345 Among Old New England Inns Concord, some Indian women and children whom he there encountered. Now, as it fell out, these were not " bad Indians " but the wives of two Christians and when their bodies were found " not far from another, some shot through, others their brains beat out with hatchets," the perpetrators of the assault were immediately arrested, tried and condemned to death. Upon trial, however, it was found that Wilder had not actually participated in the act of killing, and he escaped by paying a heavy fine. But the blood shed on Hurtle berry Hill was paid for all the same by the Wilder family, for he himself was shot down by an Indian at the outset of the morn ing assault made upon Lancaster July 31, 1704, by the French and Indians led by Chevalier Beaucour, — and two of his sons later paid with their lives for their father's crime against the redmen. In 1717, Capt. John White, also famous as an Indian fighter, kept a licensed ordi nary in Lancaster for a single year. By trade Capt White was a smith, but he be came renowned as an associate of Captain Lovewell in his campaigning against the Indians, He was the hero of the day, 346 Some Taverns of Romance March lo, 1775 when he marched through Boston at the head of his sixty rangers, mostly from Lancaster, Groton and that vicinity, displaying ten bloody scalps, worth a thousand pounds bounty, won by the night surprise of a war party near the source of the Salmon river in New Hampshire. When Still River was a part of Lancas ter, Captain Samuel Willard held a license and kept an inn in an admirably preserved specimen of the better class of farmhouses of the period. He was afterwards an inn keeper in the Mrs. Charles Nichols house, and it was while here that he led some In dian attacks. His charge for an ordination dinner, which included wine, has come down to us as 3s 6d though the usual price of a meal was less than half that. Casual lodg ing for a person was four pence per night in Lancaster, for a horse six pence for twenty-four hours, and for a yoke of oxen a penny or two more. Many romantic traditions cling about the South Lancaster house formerly known as the Bowers Inn. Built in Revolutionary days by Dr. Josiah Wilder, it was for many years one of the most stately and commodi ous mansions in the whole country side. In 347 Among Old New England Inns 1778, Dr. Wilder lost three children by death within six wee^ks, and his wife, also, apparently died of the same dread fever that had stricken down the little ones. When placed in her coffin she was so wondrously fair, however, that her husband could not believe the spirit to have left her body and, with the faint hope that she might still breathe to spur him on, he worked and worked over her until, at last, she smiled into his eyes and LIVED, literally raised from the dead. From 1800 to 1805 the house was kept as an inn by Captain Josiah Bow ers, wlu) fought at Bunker Hill, hut did notliing else for a lifetime which was to his credit. After leaving the inn he took up his residence in another Lancaster house, and there he and his sharp-tongued wife lived a cat and dog life until, one day when her gibes were too bitter to be borne, — he walked around to the well and threw him self headlong into it. Happily, he left a considerable sum for the benefit of worthy Lancaster widows, so that his name is to-day identified with what means comfort and sol ace to many care-worn women. John Ayers of Brookfield, — known in early days as Quawbawg, — was another 348 Some Taverns of Romance calculating landlord who finally came out a hero. In 1674 history shows us this land lord refusing to pay his share of the parson's support on the ground " that he keeps the ordinary and has for time past and should be free from it." (The tavern keeper usu ally furnished the sacrament wine, and re peatedly was given hints " to accommodate the church occasion.") But, though he would not contribute to the parson's salary, John Ayers proved himself every inch a man when King Philip's war broke out the fol lowing year. Things were looking pretty black just then for Quawbawg. The redmen had made a sudden rush upon the little set tlement, and the men had been forced to hurry their terror-stricken families to the shelter of Ayers' Tavern. Eighty-two per sons were shut up within the walls of the house, and to this number were soon added four more for two women gave birth to twins. At the beginning of the fray many of the men were killed and wounded, but when the Indians, " like so many wild bulls," piled up hay and wood against the walls and set it on fire, the few who had survived sal lied out and intrepidly quenched the flames. " The next night," says a witness^ " the sav- 349 Among Old New England Inns ages renewed their attack. They used sev eral stratagems to fire us, namely by wild fire on cotton and linen rags with brimstone in them, which rags they tied to the piles of their arrows sharp for the purpose and shot them to the roof of our house after they had set them on fire, which would have much endangered in the burning thereof, had we not used means by cutting holes through the roof and otherwise to beat said arrows down, and God being pleased to prosper our endeavors therein." Thanks, however, to the rain " sent by the Lord for the salvation of His people " and to relief brought from neighbouring towns Sergt. Ayers's ordinary as well as its host of invol untary guests were saved from conflagration and from worse than death at the hands of the Indians. The old house survived for many years, but it has now long since fallen into decay. 350 CHAPTER XVII WHEN LAFAYETTE CAME BACK Many of the public houses at which La fayette stopped during his visits to this coun try in 1824 and 1825 have already been des cribed in the chapter on the Washington taverns, but it seems worth while to speak of the Lafayette inns in a group because of the opportunity thus afforded to rehearse one of the most interesting episodes in our social history. Few Americans under fifty, I dare say, have read the story of Lafayette's triumphal tours through New England, but it is a tale well worth hearing, not only be cause one of the greatest men associated with our country's history is its hero, but also because it spreads before us, as in a pano rama, the habits and customs of a time now gone for ever. Free punch as well as bread and cheese were furnished at the city's expense to the m'en waiting to escort Lafayette into Boston 351 Among Old New England Inns on that occasion, and Josiah Quincy, who tells this incident in his " Figures of the Past," remarks that though there would have been the greatest indignation had someone proposed to provide free books at the ex pense of the taxpayers, there seemed no rea son whatever why municipal punch should not flow on this and similar occasions! When all is said, however, there was no occasion similar to that 1824 t^^^ of La fayette. Congress had offered to send a ship expressly to convey to our shores him who had once ventured his all in our defence, but the noble Republican preferred to come over as a private citizen and so sailed quietly from Havre. But, once within our borders, he was the guest of the nation, and the salute which welcomed him just before he landed at Staten Island was, by direction of the President, that due to the highest military rank in our service. In New York every kind of public honour was paid him and, — what must have touched him most, — the citizens generally mounted the revolutionary cockade (black and white) in compliment to him who had languished in an Austrian dungeon out of desire that the French peo ple should be free. 352 When Lafayette Came Back The first spot in New England which it pleased Lafayette to visit during this tour was Putnam's Hill at Greenwich, or Horse- neck, as the place is generally called, in allu sion to the doughty general's hazardous ride. Lafayette chose to walk down this hill, and, as he made his way along the steps cut in the precipice, a salute of twenty-four guns was fired in his honour. From Greenwich to Stamford and from Stamford to Bridge port and New Haven the aged soldier trav elled rapidly, every bridge and toll-gate along the way being thrown open freely to him and his escort. The enthusiasm which pervaded all classes in these Connecticut towns is worth noting. The story is told of an old lady in charge of a turnpike gate to whom a facetious traveller observed : " Well, madam, I suppose you are very glad Gen eral Lafayette has come, as you must have made oceans of money to-day at the gates?" The old lady felt very indignant at the re mark. " Sir," she replied, " you must know that the General and his friends go through this gate free of toll; and I should like to have him pass a thousand times!" "Oho, then your gates are free now?" "Yes," re plied the Connecticut dame, without a mo- 353 Among Old New England Inns ment's hesitation, " for such men as Lafay ette, but not for those who come so far be hind him." Even the horses were exhorted to make the most of this extraordinary occasion. " Behave pretty now, Charley," the driver of Lafayette's coach was heard to say to one of his pair, " behave pretty, you are going to carry the greatest man in the world." Morse's Hotel was the General's New Haven headquarters and here he was met by the veterans of the Revolution and many friends and associates of other days. In front of the house passed a procession of military corps and of Yale students and, after reviewing these, Lafayette enjoyed a breakfast " with the mayor, aldermen and about one hundred invited guests which was handsomely served up by Mr, Morse at the expense of the city," While the feast was in progress word was brought in that the wives and daughters of the honoured guests were overflowing the parlours and begging the honour of being presented to the great man. Such a call was, of course, not to be refused by a gallant Frenchman, and, the duties of the table being ended, the Marquis hastened to put himself at the service of the ladies. 354 GOLDEN BALL TAVERN, PROVIDENCE When Lafayette Came Back A visit to the public green, some private calls, and an inspection of the College, occu pied the rest of the forenoon, and about three o'clock the General took his departure on the lower road by East Haven, Guilford, Saybrook and Lyme to New London, Morse's Hotel was afterwards the Franklin Hotel but the place as a public house dis appeared many years ago. In Norwich the crowd from the wharf bridge to the hotel of the great general was so dense that it was only with difficulty that Lafayette and his escort could make their way through, and during the supper which followed reiterated cheers were repeatedly sent up from outside; at each of these bursts of enthusiasm the hero of the occasion pre sented himself at the window and bowed his appreciation. The Providence inn honoured by Lafay ette's presence was the Golden Ball of which we have already heard in connection with Washington's visit to New England in 1789, Thither the people's guest rode uncovered in a barouche drawn by four white horses and followed by an imposing procession. Upon his visit to the State House, crowds of ladies strewed flowers in his path, and after- 355 Among Old New England Inns wards, at the hotel, he received for nearly two hours in his apartment and appeared at intervals on the piazza in response to the tumultuous applause outside. Then, about half past four, he set off for Massachusetts, being met just beyond Pawtucket by the aides of ,His Excellency, Governor Eustis, who escorted him to the mansion which still stands, though sadly degenerate, and which is variously known as the Shirley or Eustis House, Roxbury, Lafayette, it is interest ing to note, availed himself more of private hospitality than Washington had done. There was not the danger there would have been in the President's case of offending cer tain citizens by accepting the entertainment offered by certain others. It had been two o'clock in the morning when Lafayette reached Roxbury, and he was an old man. Consequently, it was not until the following afternoon (Tuesday, Au gust 22, 1824) that he made his entry into Boston and was presented by Governor Eus tis to Mayor Josiah Quincy (the elder). Every possible arrangement had been made for the entertainment of the city's distin guished guest, with the result that all the buildings along the line of march were taste- 356 When Lafayette Came Back fully hung with bunting and the French and American flags were everywhere shown ap propriately entwined. On the site of the Old Liberty Tree Mr, S, Haskell had just erected a four-story brick building, which he had named Lafayette Hotel, in honour of the expected guest. At this point, therefore, the decorations were especially effective, A civic arch had been reared twenty-five feet high, decorated with French and American flags and displaying in the centre a large scroll with the words "WASHINGTON AND LAFAYETTE: A REPUBLIC NOT UNGRATEFUL," Upon tablets at either side in golden letters was the following: " The fathers in glory shall sleep That gathered with thee in the fight, But the sons will eternally keep The tablet of gratitude bright; We bow not the neck and we bend not the knee, But our hearts, Lafayette, we surrender to thee." On the east side of the arch were two inter esting verses on the Liberty Tree " Of high renown, here grew the tree Of elm, so dear to Liberty; 357 Among Old New England Inns Your sires, beneath its sacred shade, To Freedom early homage paid, " This day with filial awe surround Its root that sanctifies the ground And by your father's spirits swear The rights they left you'll not impair." Upon reading these verses, Lafayette, to whom liberty had meant so much of sorrow and service, was deeply affected. So was the crowd on either side, and the ovation they then gave the aged general was such that the procession had to come to a halt. Whereupon a most pleasing incident oc curred. For from the door of the hotel emerged a beautiful young girl with a silk sash of red, white and blue draped across her shoulders, and bearing upon a silver salver glasses and a bottle of the red claret wine of France. Stepping to the side of the barouche she invited the General to par take, which he did with his usual graceful courtesy. Thus it came about that the first refreshment taken by Lafayette in the new city of Boston was furnished him from the hotel bearing his name, now Brigham's Hotel. .358 . When Lafayette Came Back After this incident another and remark able one took place. As Lafayette rode up Tremont street, receiving on all hands the homage and congratulations of the immense throngs that greeted him, he perceived, seated on a balcony of a house then called " Colonnade Row," Mme, Scott, the some time wife of the sturdy old Governor John Hancock. She had been his hostess in the old Hancock mansion on Beacon street as far back as the year 1781, and now, after a lapse of forty-three years, was instantly recognized by the general. With the inborn courtesy of a Frenchman, Lafayette directed his con veyance to stop in front of the house, and rising, with his hand placed over his heart, made a graceful obeisance, which was grace fully returned. Then the lady burst into tears and exclaimed, " I have lived long enough ! " The procession had now come to Boylston street, and was ordered to halt. The pupils of the public schools, under the direction of their teachers, had been arranged in a double line on the Tremont-street mall, and were protected by peace officers. The children had been instructed during the past month to sing the national hymn of France, " The 359 Among Old New England Inns Marseillaise." They were all provided with bouquets of bright flowers; the girls were all dressed in white, wearing red sash rib bons and blue ribbons on their summer hats; the boys were also attired in red, white and blue, white pants, blue jackets and a red rib bon on their hats. The moment Lafayette entered the mall, the children struck up, in good voice and time, that glorious anthem " Marseillaise," The effect was electrical. The third incident of the day now took place, and, as was each of the others, was entirely unexpected by the committee! A young girl threw her bouquet in front of Lafayette, Her patriotic act was instantly taken up and every child all along the line threw bouquets upon the mall, and Lafay ette literally passed over a bed of natural flowers, strewn at his feet, and in his honour. It was the most affecting incident of the day, A battalion of light infantry was formed on Park-street mall, and passed in review by the general. As he entered the State House grounds a salute was fired by artil lery posted on the high ground south of the Frog Pond. He paid a short visit of cour tesy to the governor and council, after which he was escorted to his lodgings in the stately 360 When Lafayette Came Back old-time residence of Thomas Amory, Esq., now standing at the corner of Park and Beacon streets. Shortly after reaching his lodgings, he appeared on the balcony, hav ing on either side of him Governor Eustis and ex-Governor John Brooks, both of whom wore their old Continental uniforms. The dinner of that festal day was served at the Exchange Coffee House on State and Congress streets, — not the magnificent build ing erected by Charles Bulfinch in 1808, but the less pretentious structure which suc ceeded that elegant edifice on the same site and which continued until 1853 to be a popular tavern and the starting-place of most of the stages. Among the toasts of the occasion was this neat one by General La fayette : " The City of Boston, the CRADLE OF LIBERTY. May Faneuil Hall ever stand a monument to teach the world that resistance to oppression is a duty, and will, under true republican institutions become a blessing." On Phi Beta Kappa day Lafayette was in Cambridge to hear the great oratorical triumph of Edward Everett, a speech so inspired, so overpowering, that at its close every man in the assembly was in tears. 361 Among Old New England Inns Josiah Quincy, who was present as a recent Harvard graduate, wrote, twenty years af terward, that he could conceive of nothing more magnificent in the way of speecli-mak- ing. And certainly the effort must have been magnificent if it, as a whole, lived up to this paragraph in it: " Welcome, friend of our fathers, to our shores! Happy are our eyes that behold these venerable features! Enjoy a triumph such as never conqueror or monarch enjoyed, — the assurance that throughout America there is not a bosom which does not beat with joy and gratitude at the sound of your name. You have already met and saluted, or will soon meet, the few that remain of the ardent patriots, prudent counsellors and brave warriors with whom you were asso ciated in achieving our liberty. But you have looked round in vain for the faces of many who would have lived years of pleas ure on a day like this, with their old com panion in arms and brother in peril. Lin coln and Greene, Knox and Hamilton, are gone; the heroes of Saratoga and Yorktown have fallen before the only foe they could not meet. Above all, the first of heroes and of men, the friend of your youth, the 362 When Lafayette Came Back more than friend of his country, rests in the bosom of the soil he redeemed. On the banks of his Potomac he lies in glory and in peace. You will revisit the hospitable shades of Mt. Vernon; but him whom you venerated as we did you will not meet at its door. His voice of consolation, which reached you in the Austrian dungeons, can not now break its silence, to bid you wel come to his own roof. But the grateful children of America will bid you welcome in his name. Welcome! thrice welcome to our shores! And whithersoever throughout the limits of the continent your course shall take you, the ear that hears you shall bless you, the eye that sees you shall bear witness to you, and every tongue exclaim with heart felt joy. Welcome! Welcome! Lafayette!" Charlestown, Medford, Dorchester and Quincy were also visited by the General, but in each instance he returned to Boston to sleep. On the day before his departure from the city he dined in a marquee on Boston Common with twelve hundred peo ple, probably the largest number ever seated at a single dinner-table in New England, Then on Tuesday morning he left the city, escorted by a troop of cavalry, to visit Ports- 363 Among Old New England Inns mouth, Lynn, Marblehead and Salem did him honour on the way, the Lafayette Cof fee House in the last-named city being the scene of his entertainment, Beverly, too, saluted him as he passed through to Ipswich, in which town he partook of a collation at the public house of Mr, Treadwell, Through Rowley to Newburyport went the distinguished Frenchman, and in the latter place he was entertained, as Washington had been before him, in what was formerly Na thaniel Tracy's mansion house and is now the Public Library, Wednesday found him in Portsmquth, a guest at the elegant mansion house of Gov ernor Langdon. Then he returned to Bos ton and prepared for a fresh start; New York, Washington and Philadelphia were still awaiting him! Thursday morning, ac cordingly, found the General passing through West Cambridge and Lexington on his way to Worcester and beyond. On the spot where the first blood of the Revolution was shed a marquee had been pitched, and here the guest of honour partook of refreshment. A similar entertainment was enjoyed at Con cord, and that night the hero lodged with Mr. WUder in Bolton, with whom he had 364 When Lafayette Came Back a previous acquaintance. Friday morning he journeyed to Lancaster, where he greeted the surviving soldiers of the Revolution, as usual, and listened to an address delivered by the Rev, Dr, Thayer. Thence he pressed on to Worcester through Sterling and West Boylston. Judge Lincoln was his host in the shire town and the addresses, given and received, were most touching and sincere. Bennett's Hotel, Hartford, now no longer a public house, honoured itself by honouring him, but because he had been detained over night at Stafford by an accident to his car riage he could not stop in Connecticut's cap ital so long as he had intended to do, and about half past three set sail on the steam boat Olliver Ellsworth towards New York. At Middletown he left the steamer to salute the townspeople gathered in his honour, but by the time Saybrook, further down the river was reached, the General was fast asleep, worn out with the fatigue of his fort night of festivity, and in spite of the disap pointment of thousands he was not awak ened. So, wrapped in needed slumber, he passed out of New England. The following June, however, he was back again laying the corner-stone of Bunker 365 Among Old New England Inns HiU monument to the accompaniment of Webster's matchless oration. And on this occasion he journeyed up into New Hamp shire and was entertained at Dunbarton by the son of General Stark. In nearby Hop kinton (N. H.) he held a public reception in front of the Wiggin Tavern and was greeted, no doubt, by a large number of the town's citizens. Yet the only data that has come down to us about the day comes from an entry made by Miss Betsey P, Eaton, afterwards Mrs, Brockway, in her school dictionary: " June 22, 1825, Keeping school in this village this summer, and Esquire Chase called at the door saying LAFAY ETTE was here, and wished me to dismiss the school that we might all have the pleas ure of shaking hands with so distinguished a personage. His aids were Ignatius Sar gent and Peter C. Brooks, citizens of Bos ton," To this time in our history, though in no way connected with Lafayette, belong sev eral well-preserved Maine taverns of his toric and staging interest. First place among these will undoubtedly be accorded to the house in Freeport, in which were 366 WIGGIN TAVERN, HOPKINTON When Lafayette Came Back signed the final papers separating Maine from Massachusetts. Built about a century and a quarter ago for Dr. John Hyde, a successful physician of that day, the house was afterwards sold to a landlord who made it famous as the Jameson Tavern. It was one of the principal stopping-places between Boston and Bangor, and many well-known men timed their journeys " down-east " so that they might enjoy the comfortable beds, good cuisine and excellent liquor this inn offered. For in those days Maine was not a prohibition district and the Jameson Tav ern displayed a roomy bar in what is now the kitchen of Mrs, Charles Cushing's pri vate residence. The thing that chiefly distinguishes this house, however, is the fact that in its front northeast room there met in 1820 the com missioners who were empowered to make Maine a state. The representatives of both Maine and Massachusetts worked more than a fortnight here on the matter and in the end it was settled that Maine should give Massachusetts $180,000 for her part of the public lands in that state. Of this sum $30,000 was in Indian claims which Maine assumed, and the remaining $150,000 was to 367 Among Old New England Inns be paid in forty years with interest at five per cent. The commissioners which made this bargain included Timothy Bigelow of Groton, Massachusetts, Levi Lincoln of Worcester, Benjamin Porter of Topsham and James Bridge of Augusta, Maine. These four chose Silas Holman of Bolton, Massachusetts, and Lathrop Lewis of Gor ham, Maine to complete the board. Nego tiations had been begun, some time previous, by the three commissioners from Maine joined by Daniel Rose of the Senate and Nicholas Emery of the House and proceed ing to Boston they had been met by the Mas sachusetts commissioners. It was only after a long session, during which the board sat at several towns and cities in Massachusetts that they met at Jameson Tavern in Free- port and signed the final papers. Machias, Maine, has an old Burnham Tavern which has recently been purchased by the Daughters of the American Revolu tion, who will use it as a museum; and in the town of Durham, Maine, there stands a well-preserved house, now owned by Mr. Wesley Day, which is an excellent specimen of the better class of early public houses in that state. 368 ^-^^i^^i^---i^ s:^ JAMESON TAVERN, FREEPORT When Lafayette Came Back Bath, Maine's shipping city, is able to point with pride to the Shepard Inn, an old mansion which is still in the family of those who made it famous a century ago as a stag ing-house. The first sight that met the trav eller who entered here early in the nine teenth century was a little window in the front hall which served as a bar, and over which were handed hot toddies, gin fizzes and many another delectable drink. Up stairs in those bygone days was a big room provided with a swinging partition. When a big banquet or a dance was being pre pared for, this could be hooked up out of the way, but on ordinary occasions it di vided the upper part of the house into two rooms, where as many temporary beds as might be needed could be set up for the accommodation of the travellers (mostly men) whom the big yellow coaches had brought to the door. The greatest treasure in the house, then as to-day, was the wall paper of the north parlour. This was brought from Italy more than a century ago by Captain James Hall, a relative of the inn's original proprietor and is in coloured sheets about a yard square. One of the scenes depicted is the Vatican of Rome. 369 Among Old New England Inns With the passing of the stagecoach, how ever, this and hundreds of other old taverns closed their doors to the public for ever. They had served their time, and they quietly made way for a more busUing generation. " No longer the host hobbles down from his rest In the porches cool shadows to welcome his guest With a smile of delight and a grasp of the hand And a glance of the eye that no heart could withstand. "When the long rains of Autumn set in from the west The mirth of the landlord was broadest and best; And the stranger who paused over night never knew If the clock on the mantel struck ten or struck two. " Oh the songs they would sing and the tales they would spin As they lounged in the light of the old-fashioned inn; But the day came at last when the stage brought no load To the gate as it rolled up the long dusty road." But though the age of the stagecoach has passed, the reign of the motor-car is now on, and dozens of vehicles draw up at the inn door in place of the single rumbling coach. Other times, other manners and not worse manners either, from the landlord's point of 37° When Lafayette Came Back view; for these merry loads of automobilists have good appetites and pay well for what is served them. Moreover, if they are gra ciously and hospitably received, they come again and again. There is, indeed, nothing they like better than journeying in twen tieth century touring-cars among the old New England inns, whose proprietors have adapted their houses to meet modern de mands. THE END. 371 INDEX Abbott, Miss Priscilla, 183. Abbotts's Tavern, Andover, Mass., 182. Adams, John, 37, 91, 93, 96, 154, 158, 209, 226, 286, 343. Adams, John Quincy, 190, 266. Adams, Helen Reddington, 120. Adams, Colonel Herschel, 120. Adams, Samuel, . 98, 161. Addison, 232. Allen, Ethan, 70, 71. Ames, Hon. Fisher, 212. Ames, Nathaniel, tavern- keeper, 23, 209. Amherst College, 53. Amherst House, 52, 53. Amory, Thomas, 361. Anchor Tavern, Lynn, 67. Andrews, John, tavern- keeper, 276. Andros, Sir Edmund, 114. Aplin, Joseph, 130. Appleton, Hon. Nathan, 325. Appleton, Samuel, 276. Armitage, Joseph, tavern- keeper, 65, 66, 67. Arms, David, 64. Arnold, Eleazer, tavern- keener, 140. 142. Arnold. Peleg, tavern-keeper, 139. 140- Arnold, Thomas, tavern- keeoer, 139. Arnold Tavern, Old War wick, R. I., 132, 138. Arnold's Tavern, Union Vil lage, R. I., 139. Arnold's Tavern, Weymouth, Mass., 113. Austin, Samuel, tavern- keeper, 10. Ayers, John, tavern-keeper 348. Baker, C. Alice, 63, 65. Baker, Erastus, 65. Baldwin Tavern, Shrews bury, Mass., 37, 39, 40, 45. Barker, Joshua, 85. Barrett, James, 200. Barnard's, 316. Barnard, Salah, 64. Barrington, Major, 137. Barton, Major William, 132, 134, 13s. 136, 139- Beaucour, Chevalier, 346. Beers, Isaac, tavern-keeper, IS4- Belcher, Gov. Jonathan, 55. 62. Belchertown, 62. Bell Tavern, Danvers, Mass., 234, 338, 340. Bell Tavern, Portsmouth, N. H., 304, 306. Bennett, John, tavern-keeper, 157- Bennett's Hotel, Hartford, Conn., 365. Bernard, Governor, 93. Be rry Tavern, Danvers Mass., 342. Bigelow, Timothy, 200. 373 Index Bishop, George, 289. Black Horse Tavern, Con cord, Mass., no. Black Horse Tavern, Marl borough, Mass., 195. Blake, Capt. John, 270. Blake, Henry T., 152. Blay, Ruth, 303. " Blew Anchor Tavern," Boston, 73, 74. Blue Anchor Tavern, Cam bridge, 223. Blue Anchor Inn, Newbury port, 246. Bliss's " Colonial Times on Buzzard's Bay," 72. Blunt, Capt. John, 175. Boltwood, Elijah, 52. Boltwood, Solomon, 52. Boltwood Tavern, 53. Bonaparte, Jerome, 158. Bourne, Garrett, 83. Bowen, Col. Ephraim, 125, 128. Bowen Inn, Barrington, R. I., 220. Bowers Inn, 347. Bowers, Capt. Josiah, tavern- keeper, 348. Bowman, Daniel, 246. Boyden's, 316. Boynton Tavern, 272. Brackett, Anthony, 99, 100. Bradish's Tavern, Cam bridge, 70. Brewster, Charles W., 305. Brewster, CoL, 304. Brick Inn, Lancaster, Mass., Bridge, James, 368. BrigKS, Sam., 213. Brigham's Hotel, 358. Brigham's Tavern, West borough, 224. British Coffee House, 91, 92. Brookfield, 56, 60, 62. Brooklyn, Conn., 236. Brooks, Peter C, 366. Brown, Jacob, tavern-keeper, 152. Brown, John, 125. Browne, Rev. Edmund, 191. Bucklin, Joseph, 127. Buckman Tavern, The, 107. Buckminster, Rev. Joseph, 339- Bulfinch, Charles, 361. Bull, Ole, 204. Bulkeley, Rev. Peter, 109. Bunch of Grapes Tavern, 75, 85, 88, 89, 91. 313. Burdick, Benjamin, 96. Burgoyne, Gen., 334. Burnett, Governor William, 86. Buss, Sergeant William, 108. Carr, Sir Robert, 77. Calder, Robert, 262. Caldwell, William, tavern- keeper, 265. Catamount Tavern, Benning ton, Vt., 71. Chapin, Erastus, 157. Chartres, Duchess de, 309, 310. Chase, George Wingate, 178. Chastellux, Marquis, de, 99, 156. 256. Christophers, Christopher, 3S. Church, Doctor, 97. Clark, Andrew, tavern- keeper, 150. Clark's Hotel, 185. Clauson, John, 4. Clifford's Tavern, Dunbar ton, N. H , 71. Clinton, Sir Henry, 132. Cobum, Jacob, tavern-keeper, 264. Coffin, Dr. Charles, 243. Coflin, Col. Joseph, 243. Coffin, Joshua. 2i3, 245. Coffin, Nathaniel, 24?. Coffin, Rev. Paul, D. D., 243. 374 Index Coffin, Tristram, Jr., 243. Coffin, William, tavern- keeper, 85. Coffyn, Dionis, 242. Coffyn, Tristram, Sr., tavern- keeper, 242. Cold Spring, 56, 62. Cole, Samuel, tavern-keeper, 74- Coles, Robert, 10. Colonial Inn, Concord, Mass., 1 08. Concord, N. H., 312. Conkey's Tavern, Pelham, Mass., 43. Cooper's Tavern, Arlington, 112. Cordis's, 91. Cornwallis, Lord, 237. Cory, Samuel, 138. Craft, Colonel, 89. Craven, Lady, 100. Cromwell, Oliver, 68, 76, 78, 100. Cromwell's Head Tavern, Boston, 99. Currier, John J., 253. Gushing, Zenas, 170. Dalton, Hon. Tristram, 171. Dana, Rev. Samuel, 327. Danvers, Mass., 234. Davenport, Anthony, tavern- keeper, 256. Davenport, George, 254. Davenport, Moses, tavern- keeper, 256. Davenport, William, tavern- keeper, 251, 255, 256. Davenport's, 316. Day, Wesley, 36S. Deerfield, 55, 57, s8, 65. Dexter, Timothy, 264. Dickinson, Joel, 52. Dinwiddle, Governor, 100. Drake, Samuel Adams, 87. Drown, Solomon, Jr., 131. Dudingston, Lieut. William, 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128, 129. Duggan, John, tavern-keeper, 229. Dunbarton, N. H., 71, 366. Dunton, John, 68, 69, Ti, 280. Durham, Maine, 368. Duxbury, Tavern at, 11. Dwight's, Col., Brookfield, 56. Dwight, Theodore, 35. Eagle Tavern, 331. Earl of Halifax Tavern, 295, 298. Earle, Alice Morse, 72, 224. Earl's, 316. Eastern Stage House, 320. East Poultney, Vt., 331. Eaton, Betsey P., 366. Edwards, Jonathan, 62, 153. Edwards, Judge Pierpont, 342. Ellery Tavern, Gloucester, 222. Emery, Nicholas, 368. Endicott, Gov., 65, 66, 286. Essex Coffee House, 239. Eustis, Gov., 361. Everett, Edward, 361. Exchange Coffee House, Boston, 361. Exchange Hotel, Worcester, Si- Fairbanks. Mrs. S. A., 45. Faneuil Hall, 361. Farnsworth, Thomas Tread well. tavern-keeper, 328. Farrar, Maior John, 37. Farrar's Tavern, Shrews bury, Mass., 37, 50. Fearing, ¦ Benjamin, tavern- keeper, 71, 72. Felt, J. B., 169. Field, Edward, 130, 143, 214. Fields, James 'T., 203. Fisher, Joshua, tavern- keeper, 210. 375 Index Fisher's Tavern, Dedham, 211. Flagg, John, tavern-keeper, 1 60. Foot, Asa, tavern-keeper, 314- Fort Sewall, Marblehead, 335. Foster, William, 85. Fowler, Landlord, 334. Fowler, Henry, 6. Frankland, Sir Harry, 225, 335, 338. Franklin, Benjamin, 308. Frary, House, 63. Freeport, Me., 366. Gage, General, 106. Gaspee, 122, 125, 126, 127, 129. Gerry, Elbridge, 186, 302. Golden Ball Inn, Providence, R. I., 188, 189. Golden Ball Tavern, Weston, Mass., 104, 106, 233. Goodman, Richard, tavern- keeper, 218. Goodrich, Elijah P., 267. Greeley, Horace, 331. Green Dragon Tavern, 96, 97, 99- Greenleaf, Edmund, tavern- keeper, 241, 243. Greenwich, Conn., 114. Greyhound Tavern, 19. Grimes, Old, 40. Groton Inn, 328. Gunnison, Hugh, tavern- keeper, 13, 75, y6. Hadley, 56, 60. Hale, Thomas, 19, 241. Hall, Capt. Basil, 220, 231. Hall, Capt. James, 369. Hall, Henry F., 185. Hancock, Governor, 98, 159, 162, 164, 166, 167, 229, 302. Hancock, Madame, 165. Hancock Tavern, Boston, 102. Harrington, Phineas, 325. Hatch, Israel, 312. Hatheld, 57, 59. Hathorne, J. H., 322. Haven's Tavern, North Kingston, R. I., 29. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 207, 234- Hayward, John, tavern- keeper, no. Heard, Augustine, 170. Heard, John, 170. Hernton, John, 5. " Hester Prynne," 234. Hilton, Martha, 175, 297. Hitchcock, David, 158. Hoar, Judge E. Rockwell, III. Hoar, Joseph, tavern-keeper, 328. Hodgson, Adam, 221. Holman, Silas, 368. Holmes, Francis, tavern- keeper, 85. Homan, Capt. Richard, 170. Hopkins, Capt. John B., 126. Hopkins, Chief Justice, 123. Hopkinton, Mass., 237. Hopkinton, N. H., 235, 312, 366. Houghton, John, tavern- keeper, 215, 216. How, Adam, tavern-keeper, 202. How, David, tavern-keeper, 194- How, Ezekial, tavern-keeper I9S- How, John, 104, 108. How, John, tavern-keeper, 192, 193- How, Increase, tavern-keeper, 170. Howe, Rev. Joseph, 339. Howe, Lyman, tavern-keeper, 203. 376 Index Howells, William Dean, 343. Hudson, William, Sr., tavern- keeper, 75. Hudson, William, Jr., tavern- keeper, 76, 7T. Hunt, John, 136. Hurtleberry Hill, Concord, Mass., 345. Hutchinson, Governor, 84. Hutchinson, Thomas, 77. Hyde, Dr. John, 367. lUsley House, 251. lUsley, Stephen, Jr., 251. IngersoU, Colonel, 85. IngersoU's, 165. Ipswich, 169, 208, 247, 274- 291, 343- Jackson, Hon. Jonathan, 173. Jacob's Inn, 184. Jameson Tavern, 367. Jewett, Sarah Orne, 307. Joel Smith Tavern, Weston, Mass., 105. Jones, Captain, tavern- keeper, 104, 107. Jones, Col. Elisha, 107. Jones, Ephraim, tavern- keeper, no. Jones, John Paul, 99, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310. Josselyn, John, 8. Kellogg's, Hadley Ferry, 59, 218. Kemble, Captain, 22. Keep, Capt. Jonathan, tavern- keeper, 327. King's Arms, Boston, 13, 75. Knapp Tavern, 114, 118, 119. Knapp, Timothy, 115. Knight, Sarah, 21 et seq., 219. Lafayette, 42, 51, 85, 90, 158, 189, 197, 266, 301, 351-366. Lafayette Coffee Houses, Salem, Mass., 364. Lafayette Hotel, Boston, 358. Lambert, John, 330. Lambert, William, tavern- keeper, 262. Lancaster, Mass., 343. Langdon, Mary, 307. Larned's Tavern, Watertown, 56. Lawrence Tavern, 236. La Tour, 9. Lear, Tobias, 176, 177, 178. Leary, Robert, tavern-keeper, 7- Lee, Gen. Charles, 132, 133, 139- Leicester, 56, 60. Leverett, Governor, 78. Lewis, Lathrop, 368. Liberty Tree Tavern, 83. Lincoln, Levi, 368. Lincoln's " History of Wor cester," 44. Lindsay, Benjamin, 124. Littleton, Mass., 236. Livingston, Elizabeth, 34, 35. Livingston, Madam, 33. Locke, Samuel, 183. Longfellow, Henry Wads worth, 191, 192, 194, 203, 205, 206. Lord, Caleb, 285. Lord House, Portsmouth, N. H., 307. Lovewell, Capt., 346. Low, Nathaniel, 251. Lumpkin, Richard, tavern- keeper, 278. Lunt, Major Ezra, tavern- keeper, 262. Machias, Me., 368. Marblehead, 335. March, Hugh, tavern-keeper, 245, 247, 250. March, Paul, tavern-keeper, 305. 377 Index Marlboro Hotel, Boston, 318, 319- Marlborough, E^rl of, 75. Marlborough, Mass., 56, 61. Marshall, Thomas, tavern- keeper, 68, 69. Marston, John, tavern- keeper, 85, 90. Mather, Cotton, 15. Mather, Samuel, 22, 225. Mawney, John, 127, 129. Mead, Jonathan, 117. Mellish, John, 328. Milford, Conn., 150. Miller's, 316. Molesworth, Captain Pon sonby, 81. Molyneux, William, 93. Monk, George, tavern- keeper, 73. Montague, Admiral, 124. Montesquieu, M. Lynch de, 256. Monti, Luigi, 204. Moores, Samuel, 241. Morris, Robert, 306. Morse's Hotel, New Haven, 354- Mowry Tavern, 121. Mowry, Landlord, 3, 5, 6. Munroe, President, 190. Munroe, Thomas, in. Munroe Tavern, Lexington, 112. Newburyport, 170, 172, 236, 241-273. Newburyport Marine Society, 253- New Ipswich, N. H., 324. Nichols, Mrs. Charles, 347. Noble, Mark, 298, 301. Norcross, Frederic Walter, 87. Northampton, 57, 60, 62. Northey, Abijah, 168. Northfield, 59. Oliver, Andrew, 84. Otis, James, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96. Overing House, 133, 135. Packer, Thomas, 303. Paine, General, 107. Parker, Captain, 107. Parsons, David, 52. Parsons, Gideon, 52. Parsons, Joseph, 64. Parsons, T. W., 204. Parsons, Zenas, tavern- keeper, 157. Patterson's, 316. Paxton, Gen. Charles, 209, 237. Paxton, Mass., 237, 238. Pearson, Ebenezer, tavern- keeper, 267. Pease, Levi, tavern-keeper, 36, 48, so, 51, 160, 209, 311. Pease Tavern, Shrewsbury, Mass., 37. Pecker, Bart, 181. Pengry, Deacon Moses, tav ern-keeper, 275, 276. Perkins Inn, Hopkinton, N. H., 236. Perkins Tavern, Ashford, Conn., 185. Perkins, Thomas, tavern- keeper, 259. Phillippe, Louis, 302. Phillips, Bridget, 268. Phillips, Henry, 80. Phips, Sir William, 86. Pickman, 266. Pitcairn, Major, 107, no. Pitt, William, 236, 301. Plumer, Francis, tavern- keeper, 241. Pollard's Tavern, Boston, 239- Porter, Benjamin, 368. Porter's Tavern, Cambridge, 69. 378 Index Portsmouth, N. H., 174, 236, 292-310. Pottle, William, Jr., 299. Pownall, Governor, 86. Prentice, Rev. John, 218. Prescott, Gen., 132, 133, 137, 138. Preston, Captain, 82. Price, Henry, 88. Price, Ezekial, 214. Prince, James, 264. Prudence Island, 135. Pullin, Richard, tavern- keeper, 96. Punch Bowl Tavern, Brook line, Mass., 231. Purcell, Landlord, 306. Putnam Cottage, 114. , Putnam, Deacon Gideon, tavern-keeper, 343. Putnam, Gen. Israel, 114, 236. Putnam, Gen. Rufus, 90. Putnam, Oliver, 251. Putnam's Hill, Greenwich, Conn., 353. Pynchon, Capt. John, 219. Quincy, Josiah, 47, 352, 362. Red Horse Tavern, Sudbury, 191. Revere, Paul, 96, 100, 107. Rice, Reuben, in. Rice, Henry, 188. Richardson, Captain Jeph thah, tavern-keeper, 327. Richardson's Tavern, Groton, Mass., 324. Riedesel, Gen., 334. Ringe, Daniel, tavern-keeper, 277. Robbins's, 323. Roberts, Robert, tavern- keeper, 274. Robinson, Commissioner, 92, 96. Rochefoucault, Duke de la, 160. Rockwood, Harvey, 53. Rogers, Homer, 195. " Romance of Old New Eng land Churches," 20, 62, 339. " Romance of Old New Eng land Roof-Trees," 197, 297. Rose, Daniel, 368. Ross Tavern, Ipswich, 291. Royal Exchange, 79, 81, 83. Rutan's Hotel, 72. Scott, Madame, 359. St. George Tavern, Boston, lOI. Sabin Tavern, 122, 124, 126. Salem, 167. Saltonstall, Rev. Gurdon, 30. Saltonstall, Nathaniel, 15. Sawtell's Tavern, Shirley, Mass., 113. Sawtell, Obadiah, tavern- keeper, 113. Scot's Tavern, 60, 158. Sessions, Darius, 123. Salter, Aeneas, 18. Sargent, Ignatius, 366. Sawyer's, 266. Sewall, Samuel, 17, 19, 20. Sewall's Diary, 17, 208. Shays, Captain Daniel, 43, 45. Shays Rebellion, The, 42, 45. Sheaffe, Susanna, 81. Shepard Inn, Bath, Me., 369. Sherman, Roger, 151, 154. Ship Tavern, Boston, 77, 78. Shirley, Governor, loi. Shrewsbury, Mass., 36, 50, S6, 61. Simond's Hotel, Charles town, 321. Smith, Aaron, 42, 52. Smith, Sarah, 64. Somerby, Henry, 243. Southworth, Constant, tavern-keeper, 11. Spencer, 159. 379 Index Spencer, General, 139. Spofford, Mrs. Harriett Prescott, 267. Springfield, 60. Stacey, John, tavern-keeper, 290. Stanton, Col. Joseph, 132, 134- Stanwood, Joseph, 254. Stark, Gen. John, 89, 366. Stavers, Bartholomew, 292, 295- Stavers, John, tavern-keeper, 292, 29s, 297. Stetson, Prince, tavern- keeper, 259, 265. Stevens, James, tavern- keeper, 223. Stewart, Landlord, 281. Stiles, Rev. Ezra, 70. Stockbridge, 233. Stocker, Captain Ebenezer, 263. Stone's City Tavern, Boston, 319. Stratford Ferry, 49. Sudbury, 56, 61. Sunderland, 59. Sun Hotel, Newburyport, 264. Surriage, Agnes, 225, 335. Swasey House, Ipswich, 291. Swasey, Major Joseph, 170. Swasey, Susanna, tavern- keeper, 170. Sykes, Colonel Reuben, 46, Symonds, Francis, tavern- keeper, 235. Taft's Inn, 183. Talleyrand, Baron de, 256. Talleyrand, 102. Tilton, Jacob, tavern-keeper, 305. Titcomb, Jonathan, 271. Tracy, John, 257. Tracy, Nathaniel, 172, 264. Tripp, John, 220, Trowbridge, Caleb, Jr., 326. Tucker, William E., 170. Turner, Robert, 74. Twining, Thomas, 311. Upshall, Nicholas, 79. United States Arms, 51. Upton Tavern, 45. Vane, Governor, 75. Vardy, Luke, tavern-keeper, 79> 81. Vaudereuil, M. de, 256. Vila, James, 85. Vyall, John, I, 77. Wade, Jonathan, 277. Wadsworth Inn, Hartford, Conn., 315. Wales, Henry Ware, 204. Walker, Thomas, 340. Walker's Tavern, Charles town, N. H., 237. Wallace, tavern-keeper, 18. Walpole, 313. Wanton, Governor, 123. Ward, General Artemas, 39, 44- Ward's "Old Times in Shrewsbury," 50. Wardwell, Jonathian, 294. Wardwell, Lydia, 287, 290. Warren, j'ames, 271. Warwick Neck, R. I., 135, 138. Washington, George, 37, 51, 100, loi, 148-190, 201, 260, 302. Washington Hotel, New buryport, 265. Watertown, 56, 61. Watson, Capt. William, tavern-keeper, 331. Waumanitt. 5, 6. Wayside Inn, Sudbury, Mass., 116. Webster, Daniel, 96, 267, 366. 380 Index Wells, Me., Tavern at, ll. Wentworth Arms, Newbury port, 262. Wentworth, Gov. Benning, 297. Wentworth, Col. Michael, 175- West Brookfield Tavern, 117, 158. Westcarr, Dr. John, 219. Westfield, Mass., 334. Weston, 56. Whipple, Capt. Abraham, 126, 127. Whipple, John, tavern-keeper, 12. Whipple, John, 277. White, Capt. John, tavern- keeper, 346. White, John, 179. Whitman, Elizabeth, 234, 339. Whitman, Rev. Elnathan, 339- Whitman, Valentine, 6. Whittier, John Greenleaf, 288. Wigglesworth, Edward, 257. Wiggin Tavern, 235, 366. Wilder, Nathaniel, tavern- keeper, 215, 345. Wilder, Dr. Josiah, 347. Wild's, 316. Wilde's, 319. Willard, Major Simon, log. Willey, Zebulon, 175. Williams, Abraham, tavern- keeper, 160. Williams, Eleazer, tavern- keeper, 157. Williams, Job, 85. Williams, Rev. John, 64. Williams, Roger, 4, 6. Williams Tavern, Marlboro, Mass., 116, 160. Winn, Lieut. Joseph, tavern- keeper, 209, 229. Winship, Jason, 112. Winthrop, Gov,, 7, 9, 75. Wolfe, General, 236, 252. Wolfe Tavern, Newburyport, 236, 251, 253, 255, 265. Woodbridge, Benjamin, 80. Woodward, Richard, tavern- keeper, 212. Worcester, 56, 61. Worcester Society of An tiquity, 237. Wright, Amos, tavern- keeper, in. Wright Tavern, The, Con cord, Mass., no. Wyman, Jabez, I12. Yeaton, Hopley, 298. York, Maine, 236. 381 This preservation photocopy was made at BookLab. Inc. In compliance with copyright law. The paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper) (OO) Austin, 1995 YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ^^9 ^P^^' B ^9 ^^B"' B ^^ /^inAS-- V® ^^m mBRbsb^ss '"''-'* * *^ f«' •RW'''. ¦' - —,3..". ' — :¦¦** ^:.S,