Morning journal and courier., 1883-11-01
NEW HAvEN's FILMS AND GREEN
Descriptions, Historical Items aud An. ecdOtes of Persons and Things Con-
 rected Herewith.
BY HENRY HOWE. Tcopyrighted 1888 by Henry Howe.l

BY HENRY HOWE.
 Copyrighted 1888 by Henry Howel
 CM TWENTY-FIVE oHAPTERs-oHApTER K
 The Site of BatGel Chapel-A Famous
 Female BemInary-Rev. ClaudIus Her-
 rick-HGs4ory of the Herrtck, Foster
 and Other Noted Films as Given by
 Professor Rrewer-B&keweli's DrRw-
 tngs-A Triumph of Art.
 Numbers of grandmothers now dwell in our city who in their girl days went to school on the site of BatteH chapel. There on that corner, back in g yard about four rods from the street, once stood the mansion and fe- male seminary of Rev. Claudius Herrick, who died May 26, 1881, aged ffty-six years. It was famous spot early in this century from having been one of the very first insti- unions established in the Union for the in- struction of yonHg ladies in the higher branches. Prior to that time the ever inter- esting sex to whom we go for our wives and among whom each of us finds his mother and that too at an early date--were not thought of enough consequence to be taught much beyond the B and C's of learning.
 A tall blonde and sweet tempered, gentle voiced man was Claudius Herrick, the inevi- table consequence of being enveloped in a sort of cloud of maidenly innocence and budding beauty, whose possessors he was gracefully conducting along through the highways and byways of pleasing knowledge. The mansion was what they call double house, two stories with door in the center, low between joists, and never having had 8 particle of paint uron 1t, was browner than rat. A deep garden was in the rear and in front on the outer edge of the walk stood two noble elms, only about seventeen feet we here propose to pay a tribute. And the grandmothers we fancy will be glad to get some memorials of those dear old elms that pleased their youthful eyes and did nothing but good every moment of their lives. For these we are indebted to very careful histo. riRn, Professor William Fl. Brewer, who was In at their deaths, counted and recounted their rings, brought in play his woodscraper and microscope and thus revealed to the world the entire secrets of their ives-whsn they started from the seed when transplant ed, when they had 8 hard time of it in grow ing, when they expanded rapidly, and so on up to the very moment of their final taking of under the death-dealing saw of braWny- hmbed Irishmen. They were probably the oldest elms iH our city. The professor is the historian of our eIms. As long ago as when a youth in our college he began his investi- gstions and took notes of these very trees, the Herrick elms. These he has preserved to this day. He eliminates the poetry and goes for the skeleton facts The professor tells us that the south tree was by far the largest and was removed September 25. 1877. At four feet from the ground and the small est portion of the trunk it's girth was thir- teen feet six inches. It was sawn through at Al feet, when the concentric rings showed it to be 131 years of age, or within year or two of it either way. After the first ninety years its growth had been slow. It had been set out in this place between 1740 and 1750, when MT. Clap was president of the college The north tree was taken down May 22d and 23d, 1879. It was set out in 173S or 1739, then about ten years old, the very slight growth of the rings in She years succeeding the setting out indicating that period. This tree showed 151 annular rings, which proved it made it's first wood at four feet from the ground (Where it was sawn through) about 172S, and was set out in this place in 173S or 1739.
 In April, 1881, an elm was taken down in front of the Foster mansion on Elm street, which Mr. Brewer found was set out in the fall of 1773 or in the spring of 1774. To our queries the professor has kindly given us some additional notes in regard to other elms of our city, from which we quote: "The large elm that was cut 1n front of the Scien- tific school on Grove street when the clock tower was built in 1866 had been set out in 1787 to 1790, if my memory serves me right. have mislaid my notes on this matter. Two large elms killed by gas were cut in June, 1866, on Temple street at the corner of George. The tree on the northeast corner had diameter of trunk (the wood exclusive of the bark) at 4 or feet froH2*he ground, khrounb The tree at that point had SC rings Itprob- ably started from the seed in 1777 or ITS. and was set out apparently about 1790 or 1791. think there was great planting of slms between 17S6 and 1796."
 In July, 1856, MT. Bakewell took portraits in pencil of the Herrick elms, which are now to be seen framed in the College library. These were drawn for the late E. 0. Herrick, 3 son of Claudius and college treasurer, be- fore whose home they had stood. He had also made faithful drawing of the old homestead itself, which MT. Herrick in his lifetime with loving pride showed to us, but where 1t is now is so far beyond our ken that the learning of it is as hopeless desire.
 In our notice of Robert BakeweH we omitted to introduce an interesting incident. In the twilight of an evening in the summer just passed we were standing upon the sward of our Green conversing with an old gentle man upon his peculiaritfes, his shynass and Bakewell was never married, and to our remark that perhaps in his early life he had some disappointme of tender ns- ture, which might partially account for this, he replied, ''Yes he had @ heart history that know" His reioinder astonished us. Our surmise was indeed correct and in all we listened to the revelation, which, however, was different from our an- ttoipation and about in this wise: "You re- said he, ''about fifty years ago Aol 1f vi yol in roli0i0r1 when occurred condition of things of which the present generation have but faint con ception, when for days together the people would drop their business and flock in crowds to church and labor for the conver- sion of their fellow men. It was in the year 1882, think, or thereabouts, that there was B great season of this kind, 8 four days meeting held in the Center churcl. On an evening after the close of an eloquent ser- mon from the Rev. Dr. Thomas Skinner, of Philadelphia, the speaker invited those who were ready to take Ia stand on the Lords side to rise in their seats." Up they sprang all over the house until perhaps one hundred were standing, men, women and children. l to be in the seat behind Mir. Bake we'll, then young man, when I saw him ean forward and with both hands grasp the back of the pew in his front He rose about slx inches and then overcome by his modesty Tell back. Ths speaker dropped 8 few more words of sublime exhortation and the tears stood in many eyes. It was indeed solemn Icene. Again saw Bakewell bend forward md grasp the pew, and then he arose to his 'eet and there he stood with the light of heaven upon his brow, and so remained until | 1is dying day-and that was his heart histo- | 'y."
 We do not know that any person other | han Mir. Bakewell has ever even attempted | Q make accurate portraits of any of our | ,lms. To make painting of large noble 1 ,lm, such view as one would get standing | tightly or one hundred feet from it's bole; to | dye it's erial perspective, conveying the | jense of looking under, would indeed be a | triumph of art such as we have never seen | in the completeness of its beau y in any painting of any large wing-expand- ng tree, like that of the Pelatiah Perit elm | )n Hillhouse avenue. Any artist who at the | ;Iese of long life of labor should finally | nd it with such superb triumph would win | Imong his fellows the crown of undying | ame.