The daily sentinel., 1909-07-07
HOW THERE CAME TO
BE A BOSTON COMMON

u
OF Washington or Idaho or the other
new states would mark out always.
as some of them do. 40-acre lot for
a common. What happened when
Boston was settled was this: That
William Blaxton. who was really a
hermit who had nestled down on tn,
peninsula, invited the colonists To
come and join him. And he reserved
46 acres for his own pasture, But he
found the Lords S Brethren" as dis
agreeable in American as he had
found the Lord Bishops" in Eng
land So. after few years, he left
Boston for the wilderness. and sold
his pasture to the other settlers. And
they were so good-natured about 1t
that they let all newcomers in to a
share to that purchase. For two cen
turies and more. quite until my boy
hood. people thought of 1t as a place
to pasture COWS on, TO fly kites on. TO
coast on and to maneuver their mill
tia. There were no good crops of
hay cut. as | see there are now.
At the northeast corner of it some
body planted double row of English
elms. For in those days whatever
was English seemed superfine to these
people. and they had not been taught
that the American elm is the queen
of the vegetable world. That is what
the French botanist Michaux called
II. and what is true unless the Sc
quota is the queen.
When in the earlier books of mem
oirs the writers speak of walking in
the Mall. they meant that they
walked under those elms To these
trees someone added sycamore trees.
or what we call buttonball trees.
which | believe are there to this day
When Dean Stanley came to Amer
lea years ago, | called on him at once
and | asked him what he wanted to
see. He said: The old historical i'm
pulse has broken out again. | want
to see the old elm on the common
| know that it has been blown down.
but | want to see what is left of II '
SO | took him to scion. compare
lively small, which is now encircled
by an iron fence to show where the
old elm stood. The old elm is sup
posed to have been there even in
BlaNton's time. II was certainly there
in 1851, when the townsDeople OF
that day hanged the Quakers on it.
II grew and it grew until the great
gale about so years ago DESTROYED
the tree itself, leaving only what was
hardly more than a sapling. which we
are cultivating still in memory of the
tree itself.
AS time went on people felt more
and more that great treasure was
left to them in this magnificent piece
of public property in the very heart
OF their town. After the war with
England, which We call the short
war in the year 1915. there was
some money left from sum which
mad been subscribed for the fortifica-
tlon OF the harbor. The people who
mad the money in charge spent ii
for fence, which we thought rather
ornamental. around the common. BY
that time the Mall had extended it.
self around the sides of the common
and parallel fences were built which
separated the Mall from the rest
The Mall was a gravel pathway foI
pedestrians. and horses and carriages
could not enter. Thus was the pas
ture land OF Blaxtons time. physical
ly separated from the rest of the
world II was not yet park with
trees, as to certain extent il is now
1t was what they called the training
held: 1t was "A COW pasture. and II
was good place to shake carpets.
and a tirst-rate place for boys to play
in. There are traditions of a duel
which had been fought on the com
mon.
There is a little pond of an acre
or two in the common, and some
Philistine tried to have this called
Crescent pond; but this was a mere
absurdity. The Frog pond it was.
the Frog pond it is and the Frog
pond ii Will be, though there have
been no frogs there for nearly CEN
tury The Boston boy has in, him
the making of a good citizen, who
Will surreptitiously carry family OF
frogs there and liberate them there
some dark night for the benefit of
posterity. The Frog pond was and
is a perfect place to sail boats in. and
| hope that sloops and schooners will
not go so wholly out of fashion but
that my grandson's great grandsons
may learn there how to set their jibs
and mainsails as their little fleets
sail backwards and forwards. Ed
ward Everett Hale in June Woman's
Home Companion.