The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-13
NEW BEDFORD STORIES.
ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING
PLACES TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.

when the Glory of New Bedford Was
Greatest MIR. BulIen Knew the
Place WeII-His Last Visit Was
over Quarter Century Ago,
when He Sailed Away on the
"CachaIot"-His Impressions of the
Present and Memories of the Past.
BY Frank T. Bullen, author of THE
Cruise of the Cachalot," "A Sack OF
Shakings." etc.
Copyright, 1901. by Frank T. Bullen)
Irresistibly the mind is drawn to a
comparison between New Bedford,
Mass, and Bedford, Eng, If previous
to the visit it's owner has been CONVEX
SAINT with the namesake. And strange
though it may seem, it is nevertheless
strictly true that while at the time OF
New Bedfords birth, Bedford was
hoary with antiquity, boasting a Won
derful past of hundreds of years; to-
day there can be no question that New
Bedford looks as much senior to Bed
ford as if the respective ages of the
two places were reversed. can easily
imagine the wonder of a citizen of New
Bedford who, having first read well so
much of the history of English proVin-
cial towns as would make him fairly
conversant with their age and historic
interest, should suddenly alight from
a Midland train in the midst of the
bright new, red brick, built-yesterday-
looking town of Bedford. He would first
of all feel, am sure, that he had been
cheated in some mysterious way and
would stroll along like a man in a
dream expecting presently to see the
bright, busy streets with their pain
fully new appearing houses and shops
moulder away into queer ancient-look-
ing ivy-clad erections looking really a
thousand years old. Later he would
gradually descend into the dim past,
but that would certainly be his first
impression, that the New Bedford was
the English town, Old Bedford the
American.
When 1 was last in New Bedford
twenty-six years ago, like most other
sailors, 1 did not stray far from the
waterfront and felt as if my intru-
sion uptown would be resented. Know
ing nobody, and by sheer stress of cir
cumstances caring little for anybody
as long as l was not in his power, like
most other sailors, as say, my expert
ences were confined to those lively
NNai lCLS WHERE StdldI6TS InOSI Ola con-
gregate. And what a concourse it
wasl l do firmly believe that nowhere
in the wide world could have been
found such a congeries of fortuitous
atoms of the human race as in New
Bedford, quarter of a century ago.
From all the isles of the South they
came. sturdy of limb and clear of eye
from Polynesia, 1.-the, sinewy, and cruel
visaged from Malaysia, black with the
blackness of soft coal from East At
RIGA, stolid and naughty from Arabia,
and last, but greatest both in number
and Importance. the stately cavalier
like Portuguese from that Atlantic
cluster of jeweled isles, the Azores.
Cape Nerdes and MADEIRA. A whole
series of articles might be written by
a competent man on the queer trans
mutations which have brought into
closest, most intimate, and, / dare to
say, most beneficial contact, these
dusky denizens of one of the most
retrogade, hide-bound of nations with
the sturdy outstanding Puritans of
England's prime who feared not the
lace OF man nor rocked ought of right
DIVINE except it was that of the only
wise King Invisible, Eternal in the
heavens.
But as such a comparison. such
series OF articles is utterly beyond eth
er my scope or my intention. 7 must
marx back to that quaint scene thar
Hllsnt then be witnessed any day along
the WharVes OF New England's metrop-