The Republican journal., 1870-02-17
LETTER FROM BOSTON.
Correspondence of the Journal.

Saw It--The Grave of Gov. Andrew An
Incident by the Waysde--- Tomb and Resi-
dence Of Gen. LincoIn---Monument to the
First Settlers of bingham = The Oldest
| Church in America --Rev. Mrs. HannafOrd
---Home Again
Boston, Feb. 18th, 1870
A hurryng and trampling Of many feet--a
sharp loud call of 'sall aboard''-the noisy
ringing of q bell-the short, angry piercing
screams of q steam whistle-a swift revou-
ton of wheels, and we were safely out from
the depot-running smoothly along on the
iron tracks that stretch between Boston and
Cohasset. A ride in the stcam-cars is like
nothing else under the sun. We are on the
express train. The track is free from OBJ
structions. The engineer crowds on steam,
and we fly through space with almost the
rapidity of lightning. The trees and houses
vanish as quickly rs seen The sharp ott-re-
peated sound of the whistle warns of the
presence of danger, whilst the swift, trcmcnd-
Gus bounds of the iron steed tells us that he
is fiery and impatient of control, and may
any moment dash Us to destruction. And
yet how obedient to the will of that man of
Drawn and nerve who guides him on his im-
petuous course. Oh, it is grand The dash
and daring, and power fill us with an excite
ment which floods heart and brain, cau.ing
the eye to sparkle with an added luste.. and
the blood to tingIe along the veins until it
creeps in q red flush to cheek and brow.
And so we iourneyed-out from The roar,
the rattle and the constant din of the city
into the heart Of the green fir woods-past
snow-covored fields, quiet f:llm-houses, and
beautiful yillages-through desolated or
chards, and by the silent cities Of the dead
where the pale sleepers rest unmindful of
the ntruding presence that comes so near to
them until just when the red flush of the sun
lies low, we come to our abiding place.
| bingham, as [ saw it one summers day,
in its gala dress of green and garlands Of
roses, was lovely beyond expression. Hing
ham in its spotless robe of snow and ice
decorated trees-sparklng like diamonds in
the morning sunbeams, was scarcely less
so, though with !, beauty more cold, more
chilling, if more pure. Of the many objects
of interest in this ancient town | had only
time to visit the most important The grave
Of her who had been my friend, the fair.
1 y
dolized wife-gonc swift and early to her
death, drew me first to the village cemetery.
A long. smooth road winds gracefully from
the main entrance Of this home of the dead.
to the brow of a hill, from whence you gaze
off to the rcccding banks of the South Shore
the distant town of Hull, and the restless
waters of Massachusetts Bay Just here,
within sound of the sobbing and soughng
of the sea, and within sight of the old ances-
trail home OF his wife, where the first happy
Years of his welded life were passed, lies
all that Is left OF Massachusetts, honored states
man, the lamented Governor Andrew His
remain were brought here in the early winter,
and are as yet unmarked by stone or monu-
ment. But loving hands have Strown above
the grave and lot in which he lies buried,
! fresh green boughs. Through these the snow
had softly sitted, making Il pretty picture Of
green and whte--lt emblems of him who
sleeps beneatn--for to those who knew him
best his memory will be ever fresh and pure
Leaving this hallowed spot, we proceeded
slowly, by circuitous path to q more an
cient part of the Cemetery, where some of
the first settlers lie buried. stopping on the
way to admire the abrupt descent of tile hill
to the lovely valley below AZ this place was
shown TO me an elegant monument erected
to the memory of a Young suicide who like
the unhappy Dido Of Carthage, killed herself
! for love. 1t was a sad story-but-hers is
not the only unwritten history. Nearly every
| life has its doubled down page Aud proba-
bly, she could have lived. The poet says
IT'S the coward ,neaks to death
| The brave lie on.
! Here is the tomb of Gen. Lincoln, built
more than Il century ago. A large, deep
vault dug down into the ground securely
walled up and then covered with earth even
to the entrance, which can he gained only by
digging away many feet of earth. Above the
mound rises q small square pile of fields
rocks upon which, rests flat stone bearing
the family name of Lincoln In another
section OF the village | was shown the old
family mansion Of General Lincoln erected
over one hundred and fifty years ago In
close proximity to this tomb is the monument
erected to the memory OF the first settlers of
bingham. 1t is a plain heavy shaft of gran
ite bearing the inscription. TO the First
Settlers OF bingham" in gilt letters on its
sides Within the large circular mound that
surrounds it lie the bones Of many of the first
inhabitants. A few graves are left undis-
turbed as mementoes Of the past But in
nearly all cases the stones are very much
worn and the inscriptions nearly obiiterated
| by age. Very dank and dark they looked, |
| these rough black stones, with their messy
sides; and bending over some Of them read |
in the scarcely legible letters that above two
hundred years ago had some Of thcm been
placed here.
Emerging from the Cemetery, we found
ourselves besides what is called the Old Ship. |
or in other words the Oldest meeting house in |
America, and if correctly informed the first
one ever erected for the sole purpose of a |
church, 1t was built in the year 1851, and is
with few slight changes, Just us originally
erected. In appearance it very much resem- |
bles a large old fashioned two storied house, !
with two wings OF porchcs projecting one
from the front the other from the side of the
main ediiice The roof is tall and peaked
sloping from all four sides to q sharp point in |
the centre, This is surmounted by tall and
pointed steeple The old high backed square
| boxes which contained the pews have been re-
moved within the year, and more modern
seats put in their stead. But the high pulpit, |
which is reached by 4 flight of steps, the
sounding board, the wide spacious gallery,
and everything else, in fact, remain the same
as before. The many large, and roughly
hewn timbers that appear are wonderful to
eyes of this generation One would say that
their was timber enough in this ancient
church to construct two or three modern cdi-
| fees.
Going thence, we took a hasty survey Of
| No lorfr In