The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-06-11

Boston Sixty Years Ago.
For the historian OF New England manner
In the first third Of this century. and especial
for those who were born In the colony OF Mas
| sachusetts Bay. q delightful book has beel
| produced, The Recoitections oJ a Ne,o Enoldn,
Bovhood. BY the Rev. EDWARD T. HALE tCas
sell Publishing Cor The Bostonian char
acter can only be understood By one VIII,
knows something Of what Boston was II
the epoch preceding railways. when tn
Puritan capital retained most OF the pecu
liarities which had marked It from the days o
Winthrop to those OF Hancock. 1t was the au
thor's father. Nathan Hale for many years the
owner and the editor Of the Boston Adpertise,
to whom the city was indebted for the railroad
to Worcester. the first link in the chain Of land
communication with the rest Of the continent
which. when completed was to relieve Boston
from Its isolation and to sensibly m odify the
type OF its Inhabitants. 1t is the Boston o.
those ante-railway times which lives again In
the pages Of this interesting book.
:.
At tho date whom Mr. Hale's "reminiscences
begin Boston was still large country town.
As late as 1917. In q description Of the place
accompanying q show which q Frenohman had
made by carving ana painting the separate
houses. It was pointed out with exultation
that there were nine blocks OF buildings in the
city. This means that all the other buildings
stood with windows or doors on each OF the
four sides. and. In most instances. with trees
or perhaps little lanes between. The reader.
therefore. must imagine q large and pretty
country town. where stage coaches still clat-
tered In from the country. and brought all tho
strangers who did not ride In their own
chaises. Large stables. always OF wood. were
provided for the horses thus needed. When.
IN 1929. 1t was reported that the new Tre-
mont House was to have no special stables
for Its guests. the announcement excited al.
most universal surprise: whtle to children.
tho statement that there was to DO a tavern
or hotel without sign was still more extra
ordinary. At thut time people were used to
seeing signs swinging on posts in front Of the
taverns. Mr.. Hale can remember the Indian
Queen" in Bromfleld street. the Bunch OF
Grapes" in State street: 1.-THE Lamb" where
the Adams House now is: The Lion" where
the Boston Theatre is. and nearly opposite to
these the Lafayette Tavern. All these houses
would now be small. but to New Englanders
they seemed very large. and were. in fact
largo enough for their purpose They were
all called taverns. the appellation inn being an
anglomaniac innovation introduced during the
last fifteen or twenty years.
The moro important business streets OF Bos.
ton In 1925 were paved In tho middle with
round stones from the neiehboring beaches.
then. as now. called cobblestones. The use of
bricks for sidewalks was just coming In. but
generally the sidewalks were laid with fiat
states or shaleS in the neighborhood. which
were put down in any shape they happened to
t.
corners. Anthracite coal was first tried In
Boston in 1924 Gas appeared about the same
time. but 1t was not introduced into dwelling
houses until Pemberton square was built In
the years succeeding 1885. 1t was. we learn.
surprise to every one when Papanti introduced
1t in his new Papanti's Hall. Mr.. Hale
tells US that to prepare for that occasion the
ground glass shades had q little rouge shaken
about In the interior. that the white gas light
might not prove too trying to the complexion
Of the pretty girls below. In the authors
bovhood there were no railroads. nor was
there any steam navigation beyond fifteen
miles The first steamboat in Boston harbor
went to Nahant and back again about 1926.
The first steam railway ran trains to Newton,
nine miles. In 1888. One result OF tho imper-
|ect facilities for travel was that everybody
lived In Boston the year round. excepting a
handful OF rich people who had country places
n Dorchester. Roxbury Newton. Brookline.
Watertown. Waltham. Brighton. Cambridge.
or Medford. accessible by
! horse and chaise. What we call
ouggies were unknown. and. at that epoch.
gentleman and lady would certainly ride in q
,haise. which was not the English chaise. but
covered vehicle hung on O
springs. In such town the supplies OF food.
lnless brought from the imme diate neighbour
1000. came from the seaboard or western
'ivers In sloops orSchooners. In the third de-
'ade OF this century Bostonians drew their
iour by sea from points as far south az Rich
nond. Such products as did not como In this
way were brought from the Interior districts
u Massachusetts, by great wagons. with large |
cams OF horsea For these horses and wagons |
hero were on Tho Neck" and beyond huge |
heds and stables. The country teamstsr left his |
iorses and his load there while he came into |
own to make sure where 1t WAS to be deliv-
red. 10 pick up the stray corn which was
catered in these sheds great focks OF pigeons
ongreRated. OF whom q wretched handful
urvive to this day. These details are men,
Toned to give some idea OF the country fash
On OF Bostonian lives at the period under re-
lew. Two or three weeks out OF town In sum
1er was large allowance for vacation. No
ody dreamed Of closing church In summer,
nd the school vacation was fortnight and
hree days In August.
30 lar everything seems rural and primitive
nough. On the other hand, so far AZ Mr..
lale can remember. the houses and the mode
life In them were quite as elegant and f1n-
he'd as they are now. Furniture Was stately.
old. and expensive. The author tells us that
o uses chairs. tables. and sideboard In his
ouse to-day which are exactly as good now
, they were then. CARPETS. then OF English
'ake. covered the whole floor OF evs>y room.
nd were OF what we should now call perfect
uality. In summer these carpets were always
ken up. and India mattings substituted In
10 living rooms" Dress was certainly as
egant and costly as It is now; 80 were porce-
in, glass. table linen. and all table furniture.
! the days OF which the author writes. de-
inter OF wine continually stood on sideboard
every parlor. SO that glass OF wine could
'adily be offered at any moment to guest
would have been, It seems, matter OF re-
ark H. whom q visitor made an evening call
netting to eat or drink was not produced at
ne o'clock 1t might be crackers and cheese;
might be mince pie: 1t might be oysters or