Milford chronicle., 1889-09-06
THE ORIGIN OF CITIES.
THEY ALL, IT APPEARS, CAME FROM
A VERY SIMPLE BEGINNING.

In the oiden Times They Grew Very Slowly.
but Now They Spring Up in Short order.
Some of the Many Causes That Result In
cOngreEating People.
Cities, the centers Of the moral and intel
lectual activity Of modern civilization, came
from very simple and humble beginnings.
When the primeval man began first to feel
the need Of association with his fellows for
the purpose Of self defense, commerce or car
rying on various branches Of primitive manu-
facture he formed with them a village for the
more convenient execution Of his projects
If the trade were carried ON by sea this vii
lage became a seaport. II il was the head
quarters Of a chief II became the capital Of a
tribe or nation, and other villages paid trib
ute to It. II it was placed under the protec
ton of "A Deity it was called holy city. The
word Babylon means the "City of the God.n
The name Heliopolis, literally translated, IS
"Holy City" Troy was a sacred city in the
truest sense, having, according 10 the legend,
been built by Neptune. Mecca has been
sacred city since the time Of the patriarchs.
IN THE DAYS OF THE CONQUERED
II a city was tho central seat of authority,
like Nineveh, Babylon, the capital of the
Pharaohs, Athens or Rome, population flowed
to it, and it became the home Of learning, the
arts, Of civilization in all its forms If it was
on the seashore, like Carthage, Alexandria,
Osta or Marseiles, it became in time great
by its commerce, while it might also some
times be the residence of the sovereign. If
there were mineral waters they became the
resort of those in pursuit Of health, and vii
lagos were formed about them, as by the
Romans at Aix-la-Chapelle and at various
points in Italy, Germany and France The
habit Of visiting medicinal springs Is by no
means Of modern origin n a station or stop
ping place on one Of the lines of trade and
travel between Asia and Europe in ancient
times was Of considerable Importance it be-
came a powerful center Of commerce and !
civilization, like the Arab city Of Palmyra,
whose queen, Zenobia, is a conspicuous per-
sonage Of history.
The origin and growth Of modern cities Is |
more interesting. After the fall OF Rome |
and the chaos that succeeded the world had, |
so % speak, to be recreated. During the dark
ages there was hardly a place in Europe |
worth the name of city, except Rome, Byzan-
tium, Marseiles, Paris, London and few
others This was the state of things after the
Franks and other German tribes had overrun
system was about 10 be evolved What are
now called France Germany and Austria had
to their condition Of virgin forest,
with clearings here and there which repre-
iented small cities, castles with villages at
.ached, or monasteries with farms inclosed
By wall When the conquerer divided the
country among his subordinates
he building Of castles began ON a scale hith-
,rto unknown
The castle was located on a hillside, as
lear the top of hill as possible if water
'ould be obtained for the moat about it or for
he cattle Wells were generally sunk with
II the walls TO supply the lord and his gar
ison. y large number of retainers were
needed to perform the work, to care for the
logs and horses, 10 cultivate the fields, to
make armor aud clothing. These could not
lways be accommodated within the walls
md were obliged TO build their huts outside
'ut as near rs possible, that they might escape
within in time of danger Others who ex-
rcised trades or who titled the soil, without
leing more intimately connected with the
astle's occupants than by the obligation to
ender military service from time to time,
elped 10 increase the population OF this vas
al village which, if the situation was of suf-
cient commercial Importance became in
iIne IA city
THE FRENcH PLAN IN AMERICA
There was another way in which villages
we're formed at the same epoch II was often
esirablo that in some wild forest region the
rees should be cut down and a plantation
made in the clearing Then number Of
aSSlls or serfs were sent to the locality desig-
ated and a temporary shelter prepared Tor
hem on the edge of the forest A tract of
md considerably longer than wide was as
gned TO each, which was cleared On one
nd Of each Of these tracts a house was built
or each of these vaSSals, in front Of which ,
an the village street The houses We're suf- ,
GENTLY near together for the protection Of
ne inhabitants from brigands or wild ami
lals or for the carrying ON conveniently Of I
ldividual trades. On the seashore the VII {
iges, IN most cases similar appendages Of I
istlos, were aggrandi4ed by fishing or com !
Ierce with other countries AS the monas- {
ries of the middle ages were in reality feudal d
'rtresses they might in the same manner be 1
lie germ Of villages that afterward became !
ties. /
From these different beginnings came most (
the towns and cities Of modern Europe a
time the castles disappeared or became, {
'rhaps, mass Of ruins, but the city re-
en- villages Or small cities perched on hill
les, some Of which, having no special rea.
n for being, have fallen into decay, while !
hers may have lived and hourished by force y
some special industry. The French car 3
ed the manner Of clearing a forest and .
unding a village to America 1t is notable a
Detroit which was laid out in long, mar +
w strips Of land one end of which was on !
e river and the other end a mile or more \
ck in the country. The houses were built :
ong the river and formed a compact vii :,
&c, whose population was always near to- 4
ther at night while the men cultivating i
e fields were never far apart in the day q
he. This method Of arranging the farms +
IS convenient as a means Of defense from
e Indians
The world no longer moves on in medieval
shion. Cities are not now slowly evolved C,
'm a network of crooked lanes and alleys n,
process that goes on for hundreds Of Il
airs, as at that gloomy epoch. They sprins
IN day, as during the prevalence Of the Il
Id fever in California or in a new crusade q
emigrants, as in Oklahoma, and are laia
{ with painful precision by the square ana 10
npass and not by the accidental develop
nt Of population. Ii our development is
IS on accelerating its rate Of spred in this
inner neither steam nor electricity will suf-
0 fifty years hence New and more effect.
motive powers will have to be discovered. ii
San Francisco Chronicle. q
SolumOn's Temple.
7he small hoy If oltr household = NOT ne