Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1885-10-02
NEW YORK LETTER.


Where the great Brooklyn Bridge crosses |
Pearl street is a little space called Franklin
Square It is said that Franklin when
travelling 'jour," wandered into Bradford's
printing Office which stood near this spot. It
it not Square, as its name would indicate,
nor circle, nor triangle, nor hyPothenuse,
but one of those indescribable figures for
which geometry finds no name but irregular.
The Franklin Square of to-day is not the
Franklin Square of fifty years agO-or hun
bred years ago, for matter of that-when
Franklin Squares, which was then embraced
in "The Maiden's Walk" was one OF the
fashionable sauntering places of the city
Here the lovers of hundred years ago met
their sweethearts on the banks Of the beauti-
full dock or lake, and crossing the Lovers
Bridge" they never failed to claim lovers
privilege. to which the crossing of the
Lovers Bridge" entitled them; and they
wandered into the green fields along the
Bowery Lane, picking the cowslips and the
daisies, and perchance fnding-after anxious
search - that omen of good luck, four
leafed clover Right under the bridge was
the house in which Thomas Jefferson lived
when he was Secretary of State, and General
Knox, the Secretary of War, was near
neighbour and across the way were the lodgl
ings of Tom Paine; and it was here that Tai
levrand found quarters when driven an exile
from his native land It was the fashionable
French quarter, and this, in all probability,
decided Mr.. Jefferson in selecting it for his
abode. At that time broad lawn stretched
away to the banks of the East River, and gar
dens and orchards were to be seen as far as
the eve could reach. All that is altered now,
The gardens and orchards disappeared many
years ago, and where the pink of our aristoc-
racy once dwelt is now to be found the vilest
dregs of our population. Only block away
lived Tohn Allen-called the wickedest man
in New York-and it was here that Jerry
McAuley founded his Water Street Mission,
which from an humble beginning grew and
blossomed into the Cremorne Mission, where
Jerry McAuley died An humble follower of
Christ was Jerry, who first saw his Saviour'a
face through a opnvicts prison bars. He had
been a river thief, a gambler and prize
fighter; but when lie put his hand to tile
plough he never looked back. Utterly friend
less, with crime deep-scarred in every Inca
ment of his face, who would trust him, who
would believe him ? He had faith in Jesus
that might have moved a mountain; it did
nearly as much, for it moved the hearts of
men and -ontcasts-seemingly of
God forsaken. From Wall street came rich
bankers, and from South street great mer=
chants, and In the humble Water Street Mis-
sion, surrounded by drunkards, harlots and
thieves, they knelt down and prayed and
their prayers have been answered and the
harvest was great. Mr.. Hatch and William
Z. Dodge had faith in the convict and i'll his
work, and that faith never wavered with Mr.
Dodge ''till the silver thread was loosed and
the golden bowl was broken" After Mr..
Dodge died, Jerry began to fall and lie, too,
passed the Golden Gate. " These two
friends, whose lines were cast so far apart
one wealthy merchant, and the other con-
vict-are to be remembered by future gener-
atoms. A statue is to be erected to William
E. Dodge by the Chamber of Commerce, and
drinking fountain to the memory of Jerry
McAuley.
But I find have wandered away from
Franklin Square. On the west side is the
great publishing house of the Harpers, whose
names are known wherever civilization has
obtained a foothold. One after another the
Brothers pass away, but the business goes on
without perceptible jar, turning out its hun
dreds of millions of pages of history, philoso-
ply, travel, science, and all the multitude
nous forms of human knowledge. From
here go forth "Harper's Magazine" 'Har-
pers' Weekly" and "Harpers' Bazaar"
Speaking Of the Brooklyn Bridge, it is one
of the finest points for general observation
in the city. Under your feet is the river,
freighted with busy life, and on either side
of you are the rushing trains, bearing between
the two cities sixty or seventy thousand peO-
pie per day. To the west are Governors
Island and Bedloe's Island on which stands
the magnificent pedestal for Liberty Enlight-
ening the World, to which the New York
World" made such a splendid contribution;
and still far beyond, in bold relief against the
sky, the Orange Mountains of New Jersey.
To the north rises the great city, with its mil
lion and half Of souls and its fifteen hun
dred millions of treasure. Here and there
some mighty building raises its head far
above its dingy fellows. One of the most
prominent is the ugly ''Tribune" building
and beyond that the POstOfiice and the spire
of the Western Union Telegraph Co., the
Mutual Life Insurance Co., the great build
ing of the Standard Oil Co., and farther, the
square turret Of the Produce Exchange Al
most opposite is the Cyrus Field building,
erected over Washington's headquarters. on
the corner of the Battery and the Bowling
Green. One thing strikes the old New
Yorker sadly, and that is the change in every
thing. The splendid opulence of Broadway,
with its mighty buildings and its costly stores,
are to him no compensation for the old-time
memories when the city was not 1.-THE so
rich nor quarter as pOpulOus. Modern inn
provements are daily destroying the old land
marks, and in a few years SCARCELY any that
have the slightest historical interest will re-
MAIN
The great public have not yet come to the
aid of the stock market, SO Bulls and Bears
are tearing each other. The revelations Of
the past two years have had decidedly con-
sentative effect Bank Presidents in States
prison-Cashiers in exile-Trustees commit |
ting suicides Stockholders goingto the -.
Perhaps we shall strike solid ground at last |
The financial purgation has been severe but
wholesome aud after a time we may begin |
to realize, as our fathers did before us, that |
Honesty is the best Policy" B.