Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-02-13
BOSTON LETTER.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE.


dence of William Warren, whose name
as an actor will endure as long as the
traditions of the stage in Boston. Be.
fore the old house disappeared, abouts
year ago, to give place to u tall hotel
u sale of Warren relics was held, and
q host of admirers of the departed
comedian We're on hand to secure SOU
venirs. Among them was John H
Woodbury. of New York. Mr.. Wood
bury bought the front door of the
house, and the old-fashioned easement
that held the door was given in charge
of Andrew Lees for restoration by Mr..
Woodbury., after it's removal by the
carpenters. 1t is now restored to it's
ancient easement, and ready to be
turned over to Mr.. Woodbury.. 1t is
his purpose to give the door to some
historical society. The house of Miss
Fisher was the mecca for years of
every actor or actress of note in the
country. 1t was also u quiet, homely
house for respectable actors, and it
is said that Mr.. Warren was the only
man who was ever granted the per-
mission of latch key. The house
had a quiet air, as it was in II snug
little "Englishy" place, just around
the corner from the city's turmoil and
hustle. The oldsters will remember
Mr.. Warren at his front window or in
sage which ran along by the side of
the house.
::
Some idea of the enormous scale
upon which the work of construction
of the new Southern Terminal Station
is to be carried forward will be found
in the fact that 10000 Oregon piles
will be required for foundation bed
of the proposed structure. The single
item of the cost of this timber, eXclu-
sive of carriage and the labor of plac-
ing in the ground, is in the vicinity
of $4,000, and some bright calculator
has even gone so far as to reckon the
acres of forest land which have been
denuded in far away Oregon to fur
nish the 10000 sticks of straight tim
ber to be sunk deep into the mud and
clay subsoil along the banks of Fort
Point channel beneath this greatest
railroad terminal in the world. At
the present time quite battery of
pile drivers has been collected on the
open ground at the foot of Summer
street, but this number will be aug
mented to the proportion of q battal-
ion as soon as an opportunity for work
is made by the demolition of the build
ings on the 20 odd acres of condemned
territory. Before completion the ex-
cavation must be carried two feet be-
low high water level. An interesting
test is being made to ascertain the
strength of the piling already in place
and it's ability to stand the enormous
weight of the structure which will
rest upon it. Three piles, 81 feet long,
have been selected, upon which has
been placed an aggregate weight of
10000 pounds of pig iron. This weight
will be doubled before the test is COM
pleted, and if the sticks stand undis-
turbed the engineers will feel conf
dent to go ahead with the pile plan al
ready drawn. A daily increasing army
OF men is at work on the ground.
x i i X
One of the events of last week is the
discovery of the dead body of miser
and recluse. His name was Isaac
Lewis and he came to what is now
Boston and was then the town of
Dorchester, about 30 years ago. He
has been in the receipt of good in
come, part of which he has invested
real estate. He has lived alone and
almost in squalor, although on the
street he appeared dressed respectfully.
The police and neighbors, knowing his
age, feebleness and the fact that he
was once in an insane asylum, have
kept an eye on him. Recently he
was not seen for two days, and when
the police broke in the door, his dead
body was found. The extremity OF
the recent cold snap had killed him.
Deeds to valuable unincumbered prop
erty were found in the room. A son.
in-law came over from New York and
took charge of the body.
II
One OF the city fathers has started
out on a crusade against theatrical
parties and is now full to the brim of
enjoyment in studying technique,
tones, modelling and all the rest of
that sort of thing in which artists so
revel. The magnificent opportunity,
the golden chance of u lifetime, comes
to them as license committee. In
that capacity it devolves upon them to
pass upon all the merits of the posters
and printed matter spread by the
theatres on the multitude of bill
boards and displayed elsewhere within
the city limits. This all comes of an
ordinance passed several years ago,
making it obligatory for every house
devoted to thespian entertainment to
send samples of the paper to be put
up for the committees inspection and
approval before used. 1t was supposed
that managers are living up to the
ordinance, but the other day the COM
mittee came to the conclusion that
some of the theatres were just bit
lax in complying with the require
ments of the enactment, so it gave
them little "hunch' in the shape of
Il notice calling attention to the rules
and regulations. No names are men,
toned, and if the committee had any
particular house in mind it can only
be guessed at
II ;: -
Mrs. John Ritchie, Jr., president of
the Ladies' City Relief Fund, says that
"Never before has she witnessed so
much real suffering on account of lack
of work as at the present time. Able
bodied men, willing and anxious to
work, are unable to get employment,
and are in consequence forced to ap-
ply for charity. If such persons pre-
sent themselves to the overseers of the
poor, they become paupers, and as
such they lose the right to vote. The
unemployed of Boston are sadly in
need of food and fuel, and it is every
ones duty as humane individuals
living in a humane community, to
come to the rescue. If the needs of
the suffering in Armenia and in India
appeal to the public, how much more
ready should we be to relieve the nee
essities of those at its very doors. {"
Last week Alderman Berwin offered
to give his months salary to the char
ity if his colleagues would do the
same. No one else has "come up," but
Mr.. Berwin, to his lasting credit, did
not insist on the conditions, but gave
as, or better than, he promised.
\
The faculty at Harvard College hav,
voted TO abolish the time -honoret
stree rush." There is much feeling IL
Cambridge over the matter, and should