The quaint old Puritan annalist, James Blake, wrote as a preface to his book of records:
"When many most Godly and Religious People that Dissented from yeway of worship then Established by Law in yeRealm of England, in yeReign of King Charles yefirst, being denied yefree exercise of Religion after yemanner they professed according to yelight of God's Word and their own consciences, did under yeIncouragment of a Charter Granted by yeSdKing, Charles, in yeFourth Year of his Reign, A.D. 1628, Remoue themselues & their Families into yeColony of yeMassachusetts Bay in New England, that they might Worship God according to yelight of their own Consciences, without any burthensome Impositions, which was yevery motive & cause of their coming; Then it was, that the First Inhabitants of Dorchester came ouer, and were yefirst Company or Church Society that arriued here, next yeTown of Salem who was one year before them."
Nonconformity, then, was the "very motive and cause" which settled Dorchester, the oldest town but one in Puritan New England, and planted there a sturdy yeomanry to whom freedom of conscience was more than home and dearer than life. Nor was this "vast extent of wilderness" to which they succeeded by right of purchase from the heirs of Chickatabat any such narrow area as that of the same name, recently annexed to the city of Boston. It extended from what is now the northern limit of South Boston to within a hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line, thus giving the township a length of about thirty-five miles "as yeroad goethe." The late Ellis Ames, of Canton, a competent authority, says the town "was formerly bounded by Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, Wrentham, Taunton, Bridgewater and Braintree," so that its history is the history of a large part of the towns in Norfolk county and a portion of Bristol. The manner in which the original territory has been gradually reduced is thus told by Mr. Ames: "Milton was set off in 1662; part of Wrentham, in 1724: Stoughton, in 1726; Sharon, in 1765; Foxborough, in 1778; Canton, in 1797; strips were also set off to Dedham, probably, in 1739; and before the whole was annexed, portions of the northern part of the town were set off to Boston, at two several times: in 1804 and in 1855." Since that date another portion has been severed to make the northern quarter of Hyde Park. Honorable John Daggett, the historian of Attleborough, which was then a part of the Rehoboth North Purchase, says there was a dispute concerning the boundary between Dorchester and that town, which was finally settled by a conference of delegates, held at the house of one of his ancestors.
Why those "most Godly and Religious People" chose to settle where they did rather than on the Charles river, as at first intended, Mr. Blake proceeds to tell us in his annals. He says they made the voyage from England to New England in a vessel of four hundred tons, commanded by Captain Squeb, and that they had "preaching or expounding of the Scriptures every day of their passage, performed by Ministers." Contrary to their desires, the ship discharged them and their goods at Nantasket,but they procured a boat in which part of the company rowed into Boston harbor and up the Charles river, "until it became narrow and shallow," when they went ashore at a point in the present village of Watertown. But after exploring the open lands about Boston, they finally made choice of a neck of land "joyning to a place called by yeIndians Mattapan," because it formed a natural inclosure for the cattle they had brought with them, and which, if turned into the open land, would be liable to stray and be lost. This little circumstance fixed the original settlement on the marsh now known as Dorchester Neck.
The honor of the name Dorchester appears to belong to Rev. John White, minister of a town of the same name in the mother country, who planned and encouraged the exodus to America. But the hardy little band of exiles who received the title from old Cutshumaquin, the successor of Chickatabat, little knew what their wild territory was destined to become in the course of a hundred years. They were loyal subjects of the English throne, building their log cabins and rude meeting-house on Allen's Plain under protection of a charter from King Charles; there they hoped to found a permanent town, where the worship of God should be maintained in accordance with the dictates of the Puritan conscience, without interference of churchman, Roman Catholic, Baptist, or Quaker. There was room in the unexplored forests to the south for pasturage and for the overflow, whenever, as Cotton Mather said when the whole state contained less than six thousand white inhabitants, "Massachusetts should be like a hive overstocked with bees."
The first meeting-house in Dorchester, a very unpretentious structure of logs and thatch, was completed in 1631, and no free-holder was allowed to plant his domicile farther than the distance of half a mile from it, without special permission of the fathers of the town. It stood near the intersection of the present Pleasant and Cottage streets, and that portion of the former highway between Cottage and Stoughton streets is supposed to have been the first road laid out in the early settlement. Shortly after, this road was extended to Five Corners in one direction, and to the marsh, then called the Calf Pasture, in the other. The present names of these extensions are Pond street and Crescent avenue. From Five Corners a road was subsequently laid out running, north-east to a point a little below the Captain William Clapp place, where there was a gate which closed the entrance to Dorchester Neck, where the cattle were pastured. It was on this street that Rev. Richard Mather, the first minister of the town, Roger Williams, of Rhode Island fame, and other distinguished citizens resided. The next undertaking in the way of public improvements was the building of two important roads, one leading to Penny Ferry, thus opening a highway of communication with the sister Colony at Plymouth; the other leading to Roxbury, Brookline and Cambridge.
In Josselyn's description of the town soon after its settlement may be read:
"Six myles from Braintree lyeth Dorchester, a frontire Town, pleasantly situated and of large extent into the maine land, well watered with two small rivers, her body and wings filled somewhat thick with houses, ... accounted the greatest town heretofore in New England, but now giving way to Boston."
Through what hardships and privations this infant freehold was maintained can be understood by those only, whohave read the records of the colonial struggle against a sterile soil, a rigorous climate, grim famine, hostile Indians, and a total lack of all the appliances and comforts of civilization. The years 1631 and 1632 were a period of great distress to the Dorchester farmers, on account of the failure of their crops and supplies of provision, and Captain Clapp wrote concerning it: "Oh! yeHunger that many suffered and saw no hope in an Eye of Reason to be Supplied, only by Clams & Muscles, and Fish; andBreadwas very Scarce, that sometimes yevery Crusts of my Fathers Table would have been very sweete vnto me; And when I could haveMeal & Water & Salt, boyled together, it was so good, who could wish better. And it was not accounted a strange thing in those Days to Drink Water, and to eatSamporHominewithout Butter or Milk. Indeed it would have been a very strange thing to see a piece of Roast Beef, Mutton, or Veal, tho' it was not long before there was RoastGoat."
In 1740, the same year that Whitefield visited New England, on his evangelistic mission, the crops were again cut off by untimely frosts, and Mr. Blake wrote in his annual entry-book: "There was this year an early frost that much Damnified yeIndian Corn in yeField, and after it was Gathered a long Series of wett weather & a very hard frost vpon it, that damnified a great deal more."
It is not unfair to suppose that the habits of rigid economy learned in this school of adversity influenced the passage of the celebrated law against wearing superfluities, quite as much as their austere prejudice against display. Be that as it may, the attention of the court was called to the dangerous increase of lace and other ornaments in female attire, and, after mature deliberation, it seemed wise to them to pass the following wholesome law:
"Whereas there is much complaint of the wearing of lace and other superflueties tending to little use, or benefit, but to the nourishing of pride, and exhausting men's estates, and also of evil example to others; it is therefore ordered that henceforth no person whatsoever shall prsume to buy or sell within this jurisdiction any manner of lace to bee worne ore used within orlimits.
"And no taylor or any other person, whatsoever shall hereafter set any lace or points vpon any garments, either linnen, woolen, or any other wearing cloathes whatsoever, and that no p'son hereafter shall be imployed in making any manner of lace, but such as they shall sell to such persons but such as shall and will transport the same out of this jurisdiction, who in such a case shall have liberty to buy and sell; and that hereafter no garment shall be made wthshort sleeves, whereby the nakedness of the arm may be discovered in the bareing thereof, and such as have garments already made wthshort sleeves shall not hereafter wear the same, unless they cover their armes with linnen or otherwise; and that hereafter no person whatsoever shall make any garment for women, or any of their sex, wthsleeves more than halfe an elle wide in yewidest place thereof, and so proportionable for bigger or smaller persons; and for the prsent alleviation of immoderate great sleeves and some other superfluities, wchmay easily bee redressed wthout much pr udice, or yespoile of garments, as immoderate great briches, knots of ribban, broad shoulder bands and rayles, silk lases, double ruffes and caffes, &c."
But the court did not confine itself to prescribing the size of a lady's sleeves, or the trimming she might wear on her dress: it passed other timely laws to restrain the idle and vicious and preserve good order throughout the community. It was ordered in 1632 "that yeremainder of Mr. (John) Allen's strongwater, being estimated about two gallandes, shall be deliuered into yehands of yeDeacons of Dorchester for the benefit of yepoore there, for his selling of it dyvers tymes to such as were drunke by it, knowing thereof."
In 1638 the court passed a curious law regulating the use of tobacco, which runs as follows:
"The Court finding since yerepealing of yeformer laws against tobacco yelaw is more abused than before, it hath therefore ordered that no man shall take any tobacco in yefield except in his iourney, or meale times, vpon pain of 12dfor every offence, nor shall take any tobacco in (or near) any dwelling house, barne, Corn or Haye, as may be likely to endanger yefireing thereof, vpon paine of 2sfor every offence, nor shall take any tobacco in any Inne or common victualling house; except in a private room there; so as neither the master of the same house nor any other gueste there shall take offence thereat; wchif they doo, then such p son is forth wthto forebeare, vpon paine of 2s6dfor every offence."
One office created by the court of that early period it might not be a bad idea for the authorities of the present day to revive. Wardens were appointed annually to "take care of and manage yeaffairs of yeSchool; they shall see that both yeMaster & Schollar, perform, their duty, and Judge of and End any difference that may arrise between Master & Schollar, or their Parents, according to Sundry Rules & Directions," set down for their guidance.
In all matters coming within the province and jurisdiction of the colonial church the law was even more exacting than in merely civil affairs; and singularly enough, the town authorities took it upon themselves to seat all persons who attended divine service in the meeting-house where it seemed to them most proper. With the full approbation of the selectmen, responsible persons were sometimes allowed to construct pews or seats for themselves and their families in the meeting-house; but it appears on one occasion that three citizens undertook to "make a seat in yemeeting-house," without first getting the full permission and consent of the town fathers, an act deemed exceedingly sinful, and for which they were arraigned before the town at a special meeting and publicly censured. After duly considering the case it was decided to allow the seat to remain, provided it should not be disposed of to any person but such as the town should approve of, and that the offending parties acknowledge their "too much forwardness," in writing, which they did in the following manner:
"We whose names are underwritten, do acknowledge that it was our weakness that we were so inconsiderate as to make a small seat in the meeting-house without more clear and full approbation of the town and selectmen thereof, though we thought upon the conference we had with some of the selectmen apart, and elders, we had satisfying ground for our proceeding therein; wchwe now see was not sufficent; therefore we do desire that our failing therein may be passed by; and if the town will grant our seat that we have been at so much cost in setting up, we thankfully acknowledge your love unto us therein, and we do hereupon further engage ourselves that we will not give up nor sell any of our places in that seat to any person or persons but whom the elders shall approve of, or such as shall have power to place men in seats in the assembly.
[Signed]. INCREASE ATHERTON,SAMUEL PROCTOR,THOMAS BIRD.
At another time one Joseph Leeds, a member of the church, was accused of maltreating his wife; the charge was sustained, and after the case had been considered at several special meetings,it was settled by his confessing and promising "to carry it more lovingly to her for time to come." But Jonathan Blackman, another erring brother, was charged with misdemeanors that could not be so easily overlooked; he was accused of lying and also of stealing. He had been whipped for these offences, but refused to come before the church for wholesome discipline, and ran away out of the jurisdiction. Accordingly he was "disowned from his church relation and excommunicated, though not deliuered up to Satan, as those in full communion, but yet to be looked at as a Heathen and a Publican unto his relations natural and civil, that he might be ashamed."
Another class of statutes—laws that have a queer sound in nineteenth-century Massachusetts—were designed for the encouragement of special public service. Here are examples of some of them:
"1638. For the better encouragement of any that shall destroy wolves, it is ordered that for every wolf any man shall take in Dorchester plantation, he shall have 20sby the town, for the first wolf, 15sfor the second, and for every wolf afterwards, 10sbesides the Country's pay."
"1736. Voted, that whosoever shall kill brown rats, so much grown as to have their hair on them, within yetown of Dochester, yeyear ensuing, until our meeting in May next, and bring in their scalps with yeears on unto yetown treasurer, shall be paid by yetown treasurer Fourpence for every rat's scalp."
The same year the town offered a bounty for the destroying of striped squirrels.
Now that the recent death of Wendell Phillips brings freshly to mind the bitter opposition with which the early champions of abolution were treated in Boston and vicinity, it is pleasant to find in the musty records of the Dochester Plantation emphatic evidence that they not only recognized slavery as an evil, and the slave-trade as a heinous crime, but that they set their faces like a flint against it. The traffic in slaves began among the colonists in the winter of 1645-6, and in the following November the court placed on record this outspoken denunciation of the practice:
"The Gen'all Co'te conceiving themselves bound by yefirst opertunity to bear Witness against yehaynos & crying sin of man stealing, as also to prscribe such timely redresse for what is past, and such a law for yefuture as may sufficiently deter all others belonging to us to have to do in such vile and odious courses, iustly abhored of all good and iust men, do order ytyenegro interpreter wthothers unlawfully taken, be yefirst opertunity (at yecharge of yecountry for psent), sent to his native country in Ginny, & a letter wthhim of yeindignation of yeCorte thereabout, and iustice hereof, desiring orhonoredGovrnrwould please put this order in execution."
How men so clear in their convictions of the rights of Africans could be guilty of the most heartless injustice to Quakers and their friends, it is not easy to explain; and yet they mercilessly persecuted one of their own fellow-citizens, Nicholas Upsall, and made him an exile from his home, for no greater crime than that of countenancing and befriending members of the Society of Friends. He kept the Dorchester hostelry, and was wont to entertain Quakers as he did any other decent people; but for this he was apprehended and tried by the court, and sentenced to pay a fine of £20 and be thrown into prison. Finally, finding it impossible to entirely prevent his friends from holding intercourse with him, he was banished from the settlement for the remainder of his life. That curious book,"Persecutors Maul'd with their own Weapons," contains the following account of the case:
"Nicholas Upsall, an old man full of years, seeing their (the authorities) cruelty to the harmless Quakers that they had condemned some of them to die, both he and elder Wisewell, or otherwise Deacon Wisewell, members of the church in Boston, bore their testimonies in public against their brethren's horrid cruelty to the said Quakers. And the said Upsall declared that he did look at it as a sad forerunner of some heavy judgment to follow upon the country; which they took so ill at his hands, that they fined him twenty pounds and three pounds more at another meeting of the court, for not coming to their meeting, and would not abate him one grote, but imprisoned him and then banished him on pain of death, which was done in a time of such extreme bitter weather for frost, snow and cold, that had not the heathen Indians in the wilderness woods taken compassion on his misery, for the winter season, he in all likelihood had perished, though he had then a good estate in houses and lands, goods and money, also a wife and children."
One of the officials who for a time had charge of poor Upsall during the period of his imprisonment was John Capen, of whom the old chroniclers have left a pleasanter record, namely, a transcript of several of his youthful love-letters. The following will serve as sample:
"SWEETE-HARTE,
"My kind loue and affection to you remembered; hauinge not a convenient opertunety to see and speake wthyou soe oft as I could desier, I therefore make bold to take opertunety as occassione offers it selfe to vissit you wthmy letter, desiering ytit may find acceptance wthyou, as a token of my loue to you; as I can assuer you ytyours have found from me; for as I came home from you yeother day, by yeway I reseaued your letter from your faithfull messenger wchwas welcom vnto me, and for wchI kindly thanke you, and do desier ytas it is yefirst: so ytmay not be yelast, but ytit may be as a seed wchwill bring forth more frute: and for your good counsell and aduise in your letter specified, I doe accept, and do desier ytwe may still command yecasse to god for direction and cleering vp of your way as I hope wee haue hitherto done; and ytour long considerations may at yenext time bring forth firme concessions, I meane verbally though not formally. Sweete-harte I have given you a large ensample of patience, I hope you will learn this instruction from y'e same, namely, to show yelike toward me if euer occassion be offered for futuer time, and for yepresent condesendency vnto my request; thus wchmy kind loue remembered to yorfather and mother and Brothers and sisters wththanks for all their kindness wchhaue been vndeseruing in me I rest, leauing both them and vs vnto yeprotection and wise direction of yealmighty.
"My mother remembers her love vnto yorfather and mother; as also vnto your selfe though as it vnknown.
"Yorsto command in anything I pleas.
"JOHN CAPEN."
In this connection may very properly be given another letter written at about the same date. Punkapoag, the summer residence of Thomas Bailey Aldrich, the poet editor of the Atlantic, was a part of colonial Dorchester and one of the points where the famous John Eliot began his missionary labors among the Indians. In the interest of the natives at that station he wrote the following letter to his friend, Major Atherton, in 1657:
"Much Honored and Beloved in the Lord:
"Though our poore Indians are molested in most places in their meetings in way of civilities, yet the Lord hath put it into your hearts to suffer us to meet quietly at Ponkipog, for wchI thank God, and am thankful to yourselfe and all the good people of Dorchester. Andnow that our meetings may be the more comfortable and p varable, my request is, ytyou would further these two motions: first, ytyou would please to make an order in your towne and record it in your towne record, that you approve and allow yeIndians of Ponkipog there to sit downe and make a towne, and to inioy such accommodations as may be competent to maintain God's ordinances among them another day. My second request is, ytyou would appoint fitting men, who may in a fitt season bound and lay out the same, and record ytalsoe. And thus commending you to the Lord, I rest,
"Yours to serve in the service of Jesus Christ,
"JOHN ELIOT."
Following this missive a letter on quite a different subject, dictated by the redoubtable Indian chief, King Philip, may be interesting. It bears date of 1672, and is addressed to Captain Hopestill Foster of Dorchester:
"Sryou may please to remember that when I last saw You att Walling river You promised me six pounds in goods; now my request is that you would send me by this Indian five yards of White light collered serge to make me a coat and a good Holland shirt redy made; and a prof good Indian briches all of which I have present need of, therefoer I pray Srfaile not to send them by my Indian and with them the severall prices of them; and silke & buttens & 7 yards Gallownes for trimming; not else att present to trouble you wthonley the subscription of
"KING PHILIP,
"his Majesty P.P."
One of the best commentaries on the lives and characters of the chief actors in the history of the Dorchester Plantation may be read on the tombstones that mark the places where their precious dust was deposited. From Rev. Richard Mather, the most noted pastor of the church of that period, to the humblest contemporary of his who enjoyed the rights and priveleges of a free-holder, none was so mean or obscure that a characteristic, if not fitting, epitaph did not mark the place of his sepulture. From the many well worth perusing, the following are singled and transcribed for the readers of this sketch.
Epitaph of James Humfrey, "one of yeruling elders of Dorchester," in the form of an acrostic:
"I nclos'd within this shrine is precious dust.A nd only waits ye rising of ye just.M ost usefull while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station,E uen to old age he Seur'd his Generation.H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder beU nto the Church & Town: & Pastors Three.M ather he first did by him help Receiue;F lynt did he next his burden much Relieue;R enouned Danforth he did assist with Skill:E steemed high by all; Bear fruit Untill,Y eilding to Death his Glorious seat did fill."
"I nclos'd within this shrine is precious dust.A nd only waits ye rising of ye just.M ost usefull while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station,E uen to old age he Seur'd his Generation.
"I nclos'd within this shrine is precious dust.
A nd only waits ye rising of ye just.
M ost usefull while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station,
E uen to old age he Seur'd his Generation.
H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder beU nto the Church & Town: & Pastors Three.M ather he first did by him help Receiue;F lynt did he next his burden much Relieue;R enouned Danforth he did assist with Skill:E steemed high by all; Bear fruit Untill,Y eilding to Death his Glorious seat did fill."
H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder be
U nto the Church & Town: & Pastors Three.
M ather he first did by him help Receiue;
F lynt did he next his burden much Relieue;
R enouned Danforth he did assist with Skill:
E steemed high by all; Bear fruit Untill,
Y eilding to Death his Glorious seat did fill."
When Elder Hopestill Clapp died his pastor, Rev. John Danforth, composed the following verses for his grave stone:
"His Dust waits till ye Jubile,Shall then Shine brighter than ye Skie;Shall meet and join to part no more,His soul that Glorify'd before.Pastors and Churches happy be,With Ruling Elders such as he;Present useful, Absent Wanted,Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented."
"His Dust waits till ye Jubile,Shall then Shine brighter than ye Skie;Shall meet and join to part no more,His soul that Glorify'd before.Pastors and Churches happy be,With Ruling Elders such as he;Present useful, Absent Wanted,Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented."
"His Dust waits till ye Jubile,
Shall then Shine brighter than ye Skie;
Shall meet and join to part no more,
His soul that Glorify'd before.
Pastors and Churches happy be,
With Ruling Elders such as he;
Present useful, Absent Wanted,
Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented."
William Pole, an eccentric citizen of the village, before his demise, composed an epitaph to be chiseled on his monument, "Ytso being dead he might warn posterity; or, a resemblance of a dead man bespeaking yereader;" so under a death's head and cross-bones it stands thus:
"Ho passenger 'tis worth your paines to stay& take a dead man's lesson by ye way.I was what now thou art & thou shall beWhat I am now what odds twixt me and theeNow go thy way but stay take one word moreThy staff for ought thou knowest stands next ye doorDeath is ye dore yea dore of heaven or hellBe warned, Be armed, Believe, Repent, Fairewell."
"Ho passenger 'tis worth your paines to stay& take a dead man's lesson by ye way.I was what now thou art & thou shall beWhat I am now what odds twixt me and theeNow go thy way but stay take one word moreThy staff for ought thou knowest stands next ye doorDeath is ye dore yea dore of heaven or hellBe warned, Be armed, Believe, Repent, Fairewell."
"Ho passenger 'tis worth your paines to stay
& take a dead man's lesson by ye way.
I was what now thou art & thou shall be
What I am now what odds twixt me and thee
Now go thy way but stay take one word more
Thy staff for ought thou knowest stands next ye door
Death is ye dore yea dore of heaven or hell
Be warned, Be armed, Believe, Repent, Fairewell."
The virtues of one who was "downright for business, one of cheerful spirit and entire for the country" are recorded in this fashion:
"Here lyes ovr Captaine, & Major of Suffolk was withall:A Goodley Magistrate was he, and Major Generall,Two Troops of Hors with him here came, svch worth his loue did crave;Ten Companyes of Foot also movrning marcht to his grave.Let all that Read be sure to Keep the Faith as he has don.With Christ his liues now, crowned, his name was Hvmfrey Atherton."
"Here lyes ovr Captaine, & Major of Suffolk was withall:A Goodley Magistrate was he, and Major Generall,Two Troops of Hors with him here came, svch worth his loue did crave;Ten Companyes of Foot also movrning marcht to his grave.Let all that Read be sure to Keep the Faith as he has don.With Christ his liues now, crowned, his name was Hvmfrey Atherton."
"Here lyes ovr Captaine, & Major of Suffolk was withall:
A Goodley Magistrate was he, and Major Generall,
Two Troops of Hors with him here came, svch worth his loue did crave;
Ten Companyes of Foot also movrning marcht to his grave.
Let all that Read be sure to Keep the Faith as he has don.
With Christ his liues now, crowned, his name was Hvmfrey Atherton."
The following was written on the death of John Foster, who is mentioned in the old annals as a "mathematician and printer":
"Thy body which no activeness did lack,Now's laid aside like an old Almanack;But for the present only's out of date,'Twill have at length a far more active state.Yes, tho' with dust thy body soiled be.Yet at the resurrection we shall seeA fair EDITION, and of matchless worth.Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth.'Tis but a word from God the great Creator,It shall be done when he saith Imprimator."
"Thy body which no activeness did lack,Now's laid aside like an old Almanack;But for the present only's out of date,'Twill have at length a far more active state.Yes, tho' with dust thy body soiled be.Yet at the resurrection we shall seeA fair EDITION, and of matchless worth.Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth.'Tis but a word from God the great Creator,It shall be done when he saith Imprimator."
"Thy body which no activeness did lack,
Now's laid aside like an old Almanack;
But for the present only's out of date,
'Twill have at length a far more active state.
Yes, tho' with dust thy body soiled be.
Yet at the resurrection we shall see
A fair EDITION, and of matchless worth.
Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth.
'Tis but a word from God the great Creator,
It shall be done when he saith Imprimator."
The clerk of the old Dorchester Church seems also to have been a maker of elegiac verse; for after the decease of Rev. Richard Mather, the pastor, and one of the ablest divines of colonial New England, the church records contain the two complimentary stanzas quoted below, the first being an evident attempt at anagram:
"Third in New England's Dorchester,Was this ordained minister.Second to none for faithfulness,Abilities and usefulness.Divine his charms, years seven times seven,Wise to win souls from earth to heaven.Prophet's reward his gains above,But great's our loss by his remove."Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather,Sons like him, good and great, did call him father.Hard to discern a difference in degree,'Twixt his bright learning and his piety.Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down,So can't his soul or his deserved renown.From 's birth six lustres and a jubileeTo his repose: but labored hard in thee,O, Dorchester! four more than thirty yearsHis sacred dust with thee thine honour rears."
"Third in New England's Dorchester,Was this ordained minister.Second to none for faithfulness,Abilities and usefulness.Divine his charms, years seven times seven,Wise to win souls from earth to heaven.Prophet's reward his gains above,But great's our loss by his remove."
"Third in New England's Dorchester,
Was this ordained minister.
Second to none for faithfulness,
Abilities and usefulness.
Divine his charms, years seven times seven,
Wise to win souls from earth to heaven.
Prophet's reward his gains above,
But great's our loss by his remove."
Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather,Sons like him, good and great, did call him father.Hard to discern a difference in degree,'Twixt his bright learning and his piety.Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down,So can't his soul or his deserved renown.From 's birth six lustres and a jubileeTo his repose: but labored hard in thee,O, Dorchester! four more than thirty yearsHis sacred dust with thee thine honour rears."
Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather,
Sons like him, good and great, did call him father.
Hard to discern a difference in degree,
'Twixt his bright learning and his piety.
Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down,
So can't his soul or his deserved renown.
From 's birth six lustres and a jubilee
To his repose: but labored hard in thee,
O, Dorchester! four more than thirty years
His sacred dust with thee thine honour rears."
This couplet to three brothers named Clarke must suffice for epitaphs:
"Here lie three Clarkes, their accounts are even,Entered on earth, carried up to Heaven."
"Here lie three Clarkes, their accounts are even,Entered on earth, carried up to Heaven."
"Here lie three Clarkes, their accounts are even,
Entered on earth, carried up to Heaven."
Before taking leave of these fascinating old records, so rich in facts and the stuff that fiction is made of, it will be interesting to have an estimate of the growth of the Dorchester Plantation; for this purpose the valuation of the town is given, a century from the date of its settlement:
The tax for that year, assessed on real estate, was £72 16s 6d; on personal estate, £9 14s 11d.
When all who took up the original claims on Allen's Plain had passed through the vicissitudes of their troubled lives and been numbered with the silent majority in the field of epitaphs, already alluded to, and their descendents were on the eve of the great struggle which was destined to sever them from the mother country, and the hearts of patriotic men began to feel the premonitory throbs of that spirit of independence soon to fire the first shot at Lexington, the Union and Association of Sons of Liberty in the province helda grand celebration in Boston, on the fourteenth of August, 1769. From John Adams's famous diary we learn that this jovial company, including the leading spirits of the time, first assembled at Liberty Tree, in Boston, where they drank fourteen toasts, and then adjourned to Liberty Tree Tavern, which was none other than Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester. There under a mammoth tent in an adjacent field long tables were spread, and over three hundred persons sat down to a sumptuous dinner. "Three large pigs were barbecued," and "forty-five toasts were given on the occasion," the last of which was, "Strong halters, firm blocks and sharp axes to all such as deserve them." The toasts were varied with songs of liberty and patriotism by a noted colonial mimic named Balch, and another song composed and sung by Dr. Church. "At five o'clock," says Mr. Adams, "the Boston people started home, led by Mr. Hancock in his chariot, and to the honour of the Sons, I did not see one person intoxicated."
The demolition of Hollis Street Church in this city destroys another old historic land-mark, which, like King's Chapel, the old State House, and other venerable structures, have a record that endears them to the popular heart. A brief sketch of the three buildings which have successively occupied the site, which is so soon to be left vacant, is worthy of preservation.
The name of the church and the street on which it stood was bestowed in honor of Thomas Hollis, of London, noted for his liberal benefactions; and his nephew of the same name devoted a bell for the edifice, in 1734.
The land on which the original structure was erected, was presented for that purpose by Governor Belcher, in 1731; and in April of the same year, by permission of the selectmen of Tri-Mountain, or Boston, a wooden building, sixty feet long and forty feet wide, was began, which was finished and dedicated in midsummer of the following year.
In the great South End fire, on the twentieth of April, 1787, and in response to an imperative demand, a second, and larger wooden house, was erected on the site of the first, and made ready for occupancy in the course of the following year. This building was planned by Charles Bulfinch, and in its architecture resembled St. Paul's Church, now standing on Tremont street.
Within a year the Hollis Street Society has removed to an elegant new edifice on the Back Bay, and the brick building they left behind must now disappear in the march of improvement. It was erected in 1811, in order to accommodate the prosperous and rapidly-growing society for whom it stood as a place of worship. To make room for it, the wooden meeting-house already referred to was taken down in sections and removed to the town of Braintree.
The several clergymen who have been the honored pastors of Hollis Street Church are worthy of mention in this connection. The first was Rev. Mather Byles, a lineal descendant of John Cotton and Richard Mather, who was ordained pastor, December 20, 1732. He was dismissed August 14, 1776, on account of his strong Tory proclivities. His immediate successor was Rev. Ebenezer Wright, a young divine from Dedham and a graduate of Harvard, who remained the pastor until the new meeting-house was finished, in 1788, when he was dismissed at his own request, on account of ill-health.
The next pastor was a man in middle life, who made himself an acknowledged power among the Boston clergy, Rev. Samuel West, of Needham. He died in 1808, and was succeeded by Rev. Horace Holley, from Connecticut, who was installed in March, 1809, and remained till 1818. Rev. John Pierpont, who resigned in 1845, made way for Rev. David Fosdick, who preached there two years, when Rev. Starr King was settled in 1845, and remained till 1861, Rev. George L. Chaney then took the place till 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. H. Bernard Carpenter, the present pastor.
Half an hour later Edmonson marched into his friend's room. His face was flushed, and his eyes had a triumphant glitter. It was an expression that heightened most the kind of beauty he had.
"You are booked for a visit, Bulchester," he began, seating himself in the chair opposite the other. "I have accepted for you; knew you would be glad to go with me."
"That is cool!" And Bulchester's light blue eyes glowed with anger for a moment. His moods of resentment against his companion's domination, though few and far between, were very real.
"Not at all. In fact it is a delightful place, and I don't know to what good fortune we are indebted for an invitation. Neither of us has much acquaintance with Archdale."
"Archdale? Stephen Archdale?"
"Yes. You look amazed, man. We are asked to meet Sir Temple and Lady Dacre. I don't exactly see how it came about, but I do see that it is the very thing I want in order to go on with the search. Another city, other families."
"But—." Bulchester stopped.
"But what?"
"Why, the possible Mistress Archdale,—Elizabeth. Of course I am happy to go, if you enjoy the situation."
A dangerous look rayed out from Edmonson's eyes.
"I can stand it, if Archdale can," he answered. "How fate works to bring us together," he mused.
"I don't understand," cried the other. "What has fate to do with this invitation?" Edmonson, who had spoken, forgetting that he was not alone, looked at his companion with sudden suspicion. But Bulchester went on in the same tone. "If it is to carry out your purpose though, little you will care for having been a suitor of Mistress Archdale."
"On the contrary, it will add piquancy to the visit." Then he added, "Don't you see, Bulchester, that I dare not throw away an opportunity? Ship 'Number One' has foundered. 'Number Two' must come to land. That is the amount of it."
"Yes," returned Bulchester with so much assurance that the other's scrutiny relaxed.
"I suppose it is settled," said his lordship after a pause.
"Certainly," answered Edmonson; and he smiled.
Lady Dacre and train, having fairly started on their two day's journey, she settled herself luxuriously and again began her observations. But as they were not especially striking, no chronicle of them can be found, except that she called Brattle Street an alley, begged pardon for it with a mixture of contrition and amusement, and generally patronized the country a little. Sir Temple enjoyed it greatly, and Archdale was glad of any diversion. When they had stopped for the night, as they sat by the open windows of the inn and looked out into the garden which was too much a tangle for anything but moonlight and June to give it beauty, Lady Dacresprang up, interrupting her husband in one of his remarks, and declaring it a shame to stay indoors such a night.
"Give me your arm," she said to Archdale, "and let us take a turn out here. We don't want you, Temple; we want to talk."
Sir Temple, serenely sure of hearing, before he slept, the purport of any conversation that his wife might have had, took up a book which he had brought with him. He was an excellent traveler in regard to one kind of luggage; the same book lasted him a good while.
Lady Dacre moved off with Stephen. They went out of the house and down the walk. She commented on the neglected appearance of things until Stephen asked her if weeds were peculiar to the American soil. In answer she struck him lightly with her fan and walked on laughing. But when they reached the end of the garden, she turned upon him suddenly.
"Now tell me," she said.
"Tell you what?"
"Tell me what, indeed! What a speech for a lover, a young husband. Has the light of your honeymoon faded so quickly? Mine has not yet. Tell me about her, of course, your charming bride."
Stephen came to a dead halt, and stood looking into the smiling eyes gazing up into his.
"Lady Dacre," he said, "the Mistress Archdale you will find at Seascape is my mother." Then he gave the history of his intended marriage, and of that other marriage which might prove real. His listener was more moved than she liked to show.
"It will all be right," she said tearfully. "But it is dreadful for you, and for the young ladies, both of them."
"Yes," he answered, "for both of them."
"You know," she began eagerly, "that I am the——?" then she stopped.
Stephen waited courteously for the end of the sentence that was never to be finished. He felt no curiosity at her sudden breaking off; it seemed to him that curiosity and interest, except on one subject, were over for him forever.
When Lady Dacre repeated this story to her husband she finished by saying: "Why do you suppose it is, Temple, that my heart goes out to the married one?"
"Natural perversity, my dear."
"Then you think sheismarried?"
"Don't know; it is very probable."
"Poor Archdale!"
Sir Temple burst into a laugh. "Is he poor, Archdale, because you think he has made the best bargain?"
"No, you heartless man, but because he does not see it. Besides, I cannot even tell if it is so. I believe I pity everybody."
"That's a good way," responded her husband. "Then you will be sure to hit right somewhere."
"I will remember that," returned Lady Dacre between vexation and laughing, "and lay it up against you, too. But, poor fellow, he is so in love with his pretty cousin, and she with him."
"Poor cousin! Is she like a certain lady I know who chose to be married in a dowdy dress and a poke bonnet for fear of losing her husband altogether?"
But Lady Dacre did not hear a word. She was listening to a mouse behind the wainscotting, and spying out a nail-hole which she was sure was big enough for it to come out of, and she insisted that her husband should ring and have the place stopped up.
When the party reached Seascape the summer clouds that floated over the ocean were beginning to glow with thewarmth of coming sunset. The sea lay so tranquil that the flash of the waves on the pebbly shore sounded like the rythmic accompaniment to the beautiful vision of earth and sky, and the boom of the water against the cliffs beyond came now and then, accentuating this like the beat of a heavy drum muffled or distant. The mansion at Seascape with its forty rooms, although new, was so substantial and stately that as they drove up the avenue Lady Dacre, accustomed to grandeur, ran her quick eye over its ample dimensions, its gambrel roof, its immense chimneys, its generous hall door, and turning to Archdale, without her condescension, she asked him how he had contrived to combine newness and dignity.
"One sees it in nature sometimes," he answered. "Dignity and youth are a fascinating combination."
In the hall stood a lady whom Archdale looked at with pride. He was fond of his mother without recognizing a certain likeness between them. She was dressed elegantly, although without ostentation, and she came towards her guests with an ease as delightful as their own. Stephen going to meet her, led her forward and introduced her. Lady Dacre looked at her scrutinizingly, and gave a little nod of satisfaction.
"I am pleased to come to see you Madam Archdale," she said in answer to the other's greeting. There was a touch of sadness in her face and the clasp of her hand had a silent sympathy in it. It was as if the two women already made moan over the desolation of the man in whom they both were interested, though in so different degrees. But the tact of both saved awkwardness in their meeting.
Archdale stood a little apart, silent for a moment, struggling against the overwhelming suggestions of the situation. Even his mother did not belong here; she had her own home. Perhaps it would be found that no woman for whom he cared could ever have a right in this lovely house. When these guests had gone he would shut up the place forever, unless——. But possibilities of delight seemed very vague to Stephen as he stood there in his home unlighted by Katie's presence. All at once he felt a long keen ray from Sir Temple's eyes upon his face. That gentleman had a fondness for making out his own narratives of people and things; he preferred Mss. to print, that is, the Mss. of the histories he found written on the faces of those about him, which, although sometimes difficult to decipher, had the charm of novelty, and often that of not being decipherable by the multitude. Stephen immediately turned his glance upon Sir Temple.
"You are tired," he said with decision, "and Lady Dacre must be quite exhausted, animated as she looks. But I see that my mother is already leading her away. Let me show you your rooms."
Sir Temple's eyes had fallen, and with a bow and a half smile upon his lips, he walked beside his host in silence.