New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-06-05
BOSTON.
LITERARY NOTES.

IllEfhAhA MILES,
UKw AooK NY GEORGE LUNT-" OLD EEw-ENGLAND
TRAITsp-cHARAcTERIsTICs OF THE GOOD OLD
rnR-QuEER PEoPIE-oLD-FAsmoNED VANITY
= PRAYER or FAITH-"LRE IN DANBURY." BY
..THE DANBURY NEWS MAN"-IuS PREFACE-A
PUBLISHER WHO Is TO BE LECTURER.
tRRoM A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TBE rRBUSE.l
BosroN, June 2-The lovers and LADDERS Of
~the good cid times have treat before them In "Old
eW.England Traits IA book which Hurd HOughton
of the Riverside Press about to publish. 1t pro
fesses to be edited by George Iunt" though suspect
written by George Lunt" would represent the truth
quite as accurately tbs picture Of New England life
IA it was in Newburyport so GO years and one
can fancy Mr.. Lunt, who was, believe. originally
EewburypOrt man. listening 10 these old legends told
him by parents and grandparents in the quiet OF Summer
evenings, and taking them down with ready PEN 10
show us, amid the hustle OF the life that
IT, the Quaintness and quiet Of the life that was He be-
gins by startling statement that the Winters OF New
England, so years ago, commenced earlier ana "ere
than the Winters of the present WIN tue
Winter Of 1878, that long, slow season OF SHOWS anu
SINS" fresh in mind pitee ones ancestors II t"ey
faced longer cold and keener blasts NeWouypor1 was
Of the very oldest Of the New-Eneand
Its situation is uncommonly beautiful, and early IN the
present century and for series OF years oeiOre 10
town on the American coast surpassed IL IN commercial
enterprise and activity. The habits ana Tamtlous VI
the Mace were well calculated to make race OF haIuy
-Roanlen and thelr IeputabVh iNi o1Ni'' -
well known As the commercial aud maritime import
BOSTON increased that OF NewburypOrt decreased,
tll now the dear old town has wenngh gone 10 Sleep
with It's fair still silent in the sun, the roses ana
lilies in ITS oldfashiOned gardens and It's tail ems
.ayiug in the Summer wind blowing up softly from the
reA In this book Of Mr.. Dunps, there is no dramatic
force no rush tumult Of nedentto read 1t is like
looking into mirror where shadows OF the old days
come and 60 and faces which those old days knew, are
reflected IL amusing 70 read Of the boyish oombats
between northenders and sOuthenders, which usually
took place In the Winter and where the weapons were
snow halls that sometimes, when the feud was desper-
ate we're with malice aforethought dipped in water and
frozen over night There were the Summer berry
parties the Fall "nuttings" the thousand and one old
fashioned delights There culture, too; and IT
would be hard 20 find pleasanter or more
unostentauOusy sensible society than the denzens OF
Newburyp0rt half a century To one young lady'
indeed more sensitive temperament than usual her an
history profoundly and wildly real that one
day when she came to recitation she burst into pas
sion of tears and on being asked the of her emo
ton cried the midst Of her sobs, Oh that good man.
Socrates! To think they should have treated him SOY
In those old times respectable young women used TO
take service with neighbOrs and friends for the annual
allowance Of their board and one calico gown, which
used in those days TO cost four and sixp9Ree yard
This was in the times when man worth $4,000
or $4,000 was considered by his neigh6ors as
rich. There were families in Newburyport then
whose residence gave IL n N6lllOuhucu
tincton, among whom were the Loweus' VINO
gave name afterward TO the wonderful city OF spndes
Il was one Of this family who, amid the desOate ruins
of Luxor struck by the hand Of fatal disease conceived
the idea OF that noble institute in Boston which bears
ms name In this Institute have heard James Russell
Lowell an ohshoot from the same stock, lecture on
poetry himself the poet, OF all American poets, whom
critics have most hOnored. NewburypOrt, too, re-
ded the JacsOns famous in mechanics and in two OF
the learned professions The direct ancestors OF Long
fellow were from that locality Hannah f. Gould wrote
pleasant moral there. The record would be TOO
long OF all the Tracys Daltons Greeneas Davenpors
Hooper, Bradburys, JOhnsOns, Collins, Bromhelds' ana
Others who made themselves and the old town famous
but one must omit TO mention the selsyled Lord
Timothy Dexter that sublime fool who. on the strength
of little money accidentally amassed proclaimed him
self by an inscription beneath wooden statue OF him
self in front his residence Lord of the East Lord
Of the West the greatest philosopher in the Western
World" lie seems to have had passion for wooden
satues Tor be decorated his courtyard with great
number OF them
As specimen Of the rigOr and exremities OF early
NewEngland life among its hardy agricultural p0pu-
aOn Lunt presents extracts from letter, received
from a venerable friend who. emlgrating Westward in
his youth by his industry the pOssessor Of
considerable fortune with which he built church and
endowed a comfortable school. THIS good old man
wrote IN his old age:
NY mother has stirred butter in teacup with a |
DUiuE a
Ny father had about hall acre Oh o innb
Old COW cot the and died. Then came the pineH
we as little children had flee TO the woods 10 get
sonething 70 sustain hfe-nO schools, no meetings
nothing but hunger and despair. 1 lVed WIN my |
sixteen my Father improved slittle IN living Wnen
..tle over ,ruu.y one ! got me wife-we was |
both PoOr-thfee knile three iork snr Seep Sonss
But was gOod-Iny wire always ssauHis ~
me- through al Ssgnd from me day Of our marriage
uut the day OF Death. No man never had DStteL
wife than had-always kind TO the Poor and 10 al her
IotoDs She is now in the Grave Yard, and my judg-
uient is she well prepared for the next Wota9Da1
wears / have Erected monument over her grave
weighing tons, ana t%entyon sso ies' nlSh-"
spendid mOnument-cOst me over soO0'
The same old man wrote:
"I wruug more bells the fan OF Richmond than any
man in the United States, which they was All purchaseu
with one mans money! was the number, aGSe ones
small ones-it is true little opposed to the
War-but no matter. The Brick Church and the Bnlo-
eot nie now over $4,000 Taey all Pad for aud
am out Debt have furnished every SUCK OF WOOD
Tor the Church. and have carried the most OF ~ III since
IL was bult. stin wiring the Bells on al occasions
Noepd OF quaint and curious characters figure in Mr.
LIMITS pages-an old halfcrazy shoemaker who worked
always but would sell Of his wares, lest he should
spoil his assortment "an Englshman, small grocer,
whose wife used TO tell him. married ye neither TOT
love nor for money for the convenience OF the
sbop "a Justice who cOnvictng man for stealing
snrts BY the rather direct evidence OF finding SIX OF
the stolen articles upon his person, at once cried out In
sad surprise What a villain! Why didn't you tell me
you was villain aud tue time Of the court Of the
witnesses and OF the SPECTATOR by owning up that you
were a villain in the first plaeeF
There are numerous ghOstly legends connected with
the old town az with all old New-England towns and
Mr. Limit recOunts astonishing piece OF Juggery,
which let Hermann and Heller read and despair. IL
was told MI L. by person OF undOubted Yeraclty'
and the faith this reposed IN the narrative ia
good illustration OF the extent Of human credulty aud
,he uncertainty of human testimony.