The Republican journal., 1908-01-16
BELFAST TO WOLfvILLE.
NOTES BY THE WAY, WRITTEN FOR
THE JOURNAL.

The staterooms are large and we'll lit
ted up. In the purser's office are two
efficient and courteous young men, Mr..
Frank Pierce of Bncksport and Mr..
Frank T. Parker of Belfast. By their
invitation l spent an hour in the office.
This boat is not quite as fast as some
others on the line. but her excellence
in other respects makes up for little
hardness.
found Boston gayly adorned in her
Christmas attire, and many of the
stores-especially such large ones as
those of Houghton & Dutton-were
marvels of the decorators art. Such
gorgeous adornments were a contlnu-
Gus attraction to the passing CROWDS,
who stopped to gaze and feast their
ewes. in some places blocking the
streets.
The removal of the surface cars from
the chief business parts of the city Is a
great convenience Most of the travel
is now underground, and pedestrians
are hardly conscious of the muitltudes
that are moving to and fro just under
their feet In some places, however,
the incessant roar of the elevated cars
is almost deafening. On coming from
East Boston through the tunnei-Whol-
ly unconscious that you are under water
w.th ships overhead-the first stop is
at the foot of State street. Here you
are below the bottom of the sea. But
YOU don't remain long, for a monster
elevator quickly lifts you up perpen-
dicularly some thirty or forty feet, not
into the air, but into the subway. You
are still underground; but you roll along
in beautiful cars a few moments, until
a stop is made. If you step out here
you find yourself in brilliant lighted
mammoth cave-for Boston now has
miles of artificial caves. You ask your
self Where am l? Well, you are some
ten or twenty feet below the original
bottom of the cellar of the old State
House. On coming up the steps to the
street you find yourself in this famous
old building of Colonial days, now prop
ped up on stits-so to speak-and used
as a station for the subway. by TINS
means the historic structure serves a
purpose, and will no doubt be preserved
for many generations. The rev, or
present State House-though quite old
was begun in 1893, and finished and
occupied in 1895, the year before wash
ingtop's death. Just across the way
from the old State House stands the
tall Brazer building, 81 State street, on
the site of the first Meeting House
erected in Boston. Here the celebrated
John Cotton preached, who came from
England to Boston and settled over
this church in 1888. Some few rods
away stands another tall granite build
ing Oh the site of the second Meeting
House. Large tablets on the great
buildings tell, in brief, the history OF
the churches that once stood upon the
spot in the early colonial times. King
Chapel, a few blocks distant on Ire
mont street was built in 1749, though
the first edifice was erected in 1856, and
the society celebrated its two hundredth
anniversary in 1886, Prof, Peabody of
Harvard giving the historical address.
1t is difficult for US to realize that
Boston, now so large, had at the time
of the Revolution population OF only
some 1900; and during Washington's
presidency less than 20 900 In l72l the
year of the small pox ravage, the popu-
lation was about 1000, and nearly 6,0OC,
or half of the people, took the disease,
and S44 died. Such calamity could
not happen today in any civilized land,
thus showing the progress made in all
human affairs.
The chief topic of conversation while
| was in the city was the stringency OF
the money market. While spending a
forenoon in the Franklin Savings Bank
with nv cousin. James E. Whitney, the
president, a loan of 100000 was made
to Boston man for one year. He was
obliged to pay seven per cent. and to
give as security $115,000 worth OF tour
per cent. bonds at current market value.
Part of them were Boston city bonds
and part Boston IL Maine r. r. bonds.
This loan shows the high value of money
at the present time. The presidents
room is large and substantially furnish
ed. Upon the walls hang large pictures
or former pres idents of the institution,
who have done their work and passed
away. There is also large portrait of
BENJAMIN Franklin, for whom the bank
is named. The amount of invested
funds is now thirteen million dollars.
On Friday at Up. m. took the steam
er Prince Arthur for Yarmouth, n. S.
The passenger list numbered 500. About
100 of them came from New York and
were an hour late in arriving, but the
boat waited The purser told me that
the steamer carried 100 on some of her
trips during the summer. Only two
trips a week are made now, bat earlier
in the season when the rush of travel is
on daily trips are made, and some days
there are two boats. There are two