Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1849-08-30

ed, he was obliged to become a day-labo,er
in order to obtain subsistence. lii, prob.hl.
that he marie here, though from The des.
'ruciion Of the records it is impossible to do.
teImine. His eldest son was bound ann,s,.
tice on board merchantmen belon o;no ~
this port, and was serving in the foreca,,le
when the news ofhis unces death reached
HIM. By this event he became Premier Bar-
on oil Ireland, with the hereditary privilege of
wearing his hat in the royal presence. He
retained a strong attachment, TO his na,ye
land and no Rhode Islander, to hi, kuowl.
edge, approached Thin fifty miles of his resi-.
dence without receiving an invitation to hi,
hosPlsablc mansion aud the worthy captain
10 whom he was apprenliced, received from
him annually cask OF wine until the period
of his death. WIZ pe''o'
ANY sketch Of Newport which did net in.
clude particular accoun, of The Old Stone
Mill, would be like the play, with the par, Of
Hamlet LETT out. This singular edifce ha,
excited more curiosity, interest, and specula-
tion' Than any other remain in our countrv.-
hahough It may have been used as wind
mil'' there is every probability tha, it wa.
erected for some other purpose and various
are the conjectnres as to what this purpose
might have been. No similar structure is 10
be met with in any section of our countrv-
Had the English found it here, it would seem
that they would have made some allusion TO
II and had 1t been erected subsequently, SO
singular piece Of architecture could scarcely
have failed to excite passing notice. The
most reasonable suppositions with regard to
this relic Of another age, are, that it was eth
er Of nte-Columbian origin and built by the
Mortimer during their visit to this New
World, which it is now generally admitted
that they made, or it was erected for a fort
by traders who might have visited the island
previous to it settlement in 1858. A particu
'ar description of this structure has been trans
United to the Royal Society of Ant;quarlans
at Copenhagen and from this, Professor
Kafn, one Of the most learned antiquarians of
Europe, in an article Of great ability, has aim
ed prove its Scandinavian origin and to
identify it with similar ediflces erected in the
north Of Europe previous to the twelfth cen,
tory. He says, There 10 no ms,akinp, in
this instance. the style in which Tic more an
cien. etore et6ces Of the North were cons,ruc
led, which belongs TO the Roman or Ante.
Gothic architecture, and which, especially az.
Ter the time Of Charlemagne, diffused itself
from Italy over the whole of the north and
west of Europe, where it continued TO PIE;
dominate until the close of the twelfth cen,
fury that style which some authors have.
from one of its most striking characteristics,
called the round arch style, which in England
IS denominatcd the Saxon, and sometimes The
Norman architecture. From the characters
'ics of the ancient structure of Newport, am
persuaded that all who are familiar with old
Northern architecture, will concur tha
this building was erected at a period not later
than the twelfth century" The learned pro-
fessor next brings forward three anccn, edifc
es in Denmark belonging to this period, and
also structure among the ruins of Mellifonl
Abbey, which in the general principles Of
their construction bear sitoug resemblance
to the Old Mill lie goes on to prove tha
Bishop Eric made voyaga to tire shores Of
Nanagansctl Bay in tho early part of the l2,h
century, and that while there he probably
erected the building inqueston, as portion of
church or monastery. Ee supposos, that
after the thirteenth century the NorhTen
gradually intermxed with the aborignes, as
was the case at later period in Greenland,
and that they lost all traces of the civil za,ion
they had inherited from their ancestors, as the
connection with the mo,her country was for
gotten.