News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-11-30
MASSACHUSETTS LETTER.
4NONs AOShs 1OO-
NEwBURYPORT NOTES.

w ullSuSlu anu OdIIlSOH are 'UdlH6S
of reverend memory" names that give
a charm to all places associated with
them.
Newburyport was settled in 1855,
and contains some old, old buildings
that lead the visitor to fancy for
moment that he has strayed backward
into some other age. l had a good
opportunity not long ago, to get some
pleasant glimpses of this historical
place. My guide first took me to the
church in which Whitefield once
preached, and in which his bones now
rest. 1t is a quiet little church that
would hardly attract passing glance,
save for its associations. An English
man once visited this church and ask
ed to see the great preachers remains.
The wish being granted, he took the
opportunity to see all, and to become
the possessor of a part of rib. This
bone was never missed, but months
after a package arrived at Newbury-
port from beyond the sea. A letter
came with it. Both were from the
Englishman. The package contained
the long lost rib. In the letter the
writer confessed that his admiration
and love for W hitefield were so great
that he could not resist taking away
the bone for a relic. An awakened
conscience led him now to return it.
1t is to be hoped that admiration and
love seldom find such novel expression.
Some of Whitefield's illustrations
are even now so effective that they are
often quoted by revivalists. One
comes to my mind as | write. The
wording is forgotten. The thought will
long be remembered. ''SuppOse
silkeE thread were suspended from
Heaven, and that by cllnging to it
YOU could sometime reach the JOY and
peace of the better country; how
close would be your hold Your
thought of God is like that silken
thread" Next door TO the house
where Whitefield died in 100, is the
birthplace of Garrison. Neither house
would attract attention were one ig-
norant of the great names associated
with it.
A short ride from the heart of the
city, takes the visitor 10 views un-
rivalled for quiet beauty. One can
wander for a long distance On the
banks of the Merrimack, having the
clear, blue, sparkling river on one
side, the fragrant pines and delicate
wild flowers on the other. On Deer
Isle in the river is the home Of
Harriet Prescott Spofford, the well
known magazine writer. The house
is large and attractive in appearance.
Some years ago the home was sadden
ed by the death of a much loved child.
This bereavement threw a deep
shadow over Mrs. Spotford's life. Far
dearer to her was the voice of her
child than ''the voice of fame" The
chain bridge leading from the main
land to the island is a novel sight to
one unaccustomed to that kind of
structure.
Newburyport was once the home of
the excentric Timothy Dexter, who |
styled himself Lord Timothy Dexter. |
He rose from poverty to great wealth
by his own eXertions and built himself |
a fine residence in this city. His eccen-
tricity once found expression in a
pamphlet, containing no pauses save
at the end, where he put in half page
Of points in mass, adding note that
his readers could ''pepper the dish to
suit themselves" The title of his first
literary venture also suggests his
oddity "a Pickle for the Knowing
Ones" Like the famous painter.
Rem brandt, he was once seized with
the strange desire TO know what effect
his death would produce upon his |
neighbors and friends, and so arrang-
ed his own funeral procession in an
elaborate manner. In an old book
hat first appeared in print in 1928,
md is naturally yellow with age, is
somewhat quaint but enthusiastic de-
'cription of the view from one of the
church towers of Newburyport. The
description, though penned SO long
ago, is so correct that it will do well
20 form a conclusion to these some
what rambling notes of the town
''On the North flows the Merrimack,
visible about four miles and exhibiting
two islands in its bosom. Northeast !
the Isles of Shoals appear at dis
lance like clouds in the horizon. East
ward the ocean spreads illimitably. At
a small distance from the shore is |
Plumb Island; in the same direction
Cape Ann is dimly seen standing a
great length into the sea. lmmedi- |
ately beneath the town itself, with its
churches and beautiful houses, its
harbor and shipping appears as a
proper centre of this circle of scenery, |
and the whole bears on the mind Il
and brilliancy strongly |
that which accompanies a
delightful morning in May"
Z. S. F.