The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-01-09
The Bonaparte Estate at Ror.
dentown, N. ].
"reminiscences of "Belfast's Grand Old
Man."

Man,"
personal letter from Mr. Alfred johnson
under date of Jan. 3rd, contains so much ot
local and general interest that we have taker
the liberty of printing the flowing nara.
graphs:
IL was much interested in reading the notice
you reprinted this week from the New York
Herald about the Joseph Bonaparte estate al
Point Breeze, Bordentown, N j., and now
owned by Harris Hammond, son of..John Havs
Hammond, Esq. I thought had already sale
enough about the place in The Journal, SO die
not send the clipping to you, though about g
half dozen people mailed or gave it to me the
day after it appeared. l went on to the New
York performance for the benefit of the Wo.
mans Titanic Memorial Fund, given in the
Century Theatre on Friday, the 9Th of Decem.
Der, at the Hammond's invitation, and went
with them to spend the following Sunday at
the Point Breeze estate, and the elaborate
plans for restoring it, under Mr.. Shinn's direc.
tion, were discussed that day.
"We entered two of the underground pas
sages, through which coach and four might
have been driven, at the rivers bank, and pen
etrated for some distance until our passage
was prevented by brick walls, built by the
members Of the Catholic church, who occupied
it for school site for some time. We then
went to the surface and traced their course by
means of the hollows, which had sunk foot or
more at intervals across the lawns and fields
and chestnut groves that surround the house.
Mr.. Harris Hammond, like all the members
of that family, is of wide and catholic
tastes, and two objects of interest which at
tracted my attention. and of which | noticed
no mention in the article, were: full sized
sparring ring built in the open air. for the
amusement of his sporting friends who come
down for week-end from New York, and are
not all amateurs; and a wild cat recently i'm
ported from South America, which roamed the
place, chained between couple of darkies.
VINO were on just as friendly terms with their
ferocious companion as we are in the habit of
being with cur seekest "coon cats" Then,
too, the house is full of lot of the most in
teresting pictures and framed documents, some
of them bearing the signatures of Washington
and his contemporaries.
I've read with great regret in this week 5
Journal of the death of Augustus Perry, ESQ.,,
Belfast's oldest resident. He had been often
in my mind during the past weeks, while l
have been burning the midnight oil in going
over and arranging the list of persons who
have died in Belfast since 1875 for the chapter
on Neurology in Vol. II. of Wiliamson's His
tory | had been struck with the advanced
ages TO which many of the former residents
lived. and the very night Of Mr. Perry's death
| made resolution TO call and paw nv re-
spects to him upon my next visit to Belfast.
and try to get the benefit of his knowledge of
early times, in clearing up hazy questions
That rich fund of "reminiscences of by-pope
days must have sunk down with him into the
grave is probable from the character of his
interesting paper delivered at the One Hun
dredth Anniversary of the First Congregation
al Chu ch held in 1896, which also, by strange
coincidence, l was reading, with view to re-
ferring to it in the history the night of his
decease. The quaint, correc ly attred figure
and the kindness and courtesy OF this old-time
gentleman, are among the earliest recollection
Of the summers of my childhood spent in Bel
fast. well recall the first time went to the
post office to obtain money order The on
Grafton seemed to a com plicated one. and |
dreaded showing my ignorance of the method
of procedure. But the character of my "busi
ness,'-I forget now its nature-was such that
myself to his questioning by asking him what
he did when he went to get money orders.
81 stood, hat in hand, bashful trembling boy
feeling out of place to begin with, and in
constant dread lest my father might come in
and find me almost hidden behind others in
front of Mr.. Perry's green covered desk in
the little room that used to be in the rear, left
corner of the post office. The kindly, white
haired gentleman,-an old man even then, we'll
nigh third of century ago,-took in the
situation with one keen glance over his gold.
trimmed spectacles, and reaching across his
desk from his seat in front of the window
which looked out on Peirces Parlor Theatre
took the money from my trembling hand. The
kindness of his voice and his perfect courtesy
reassur ed me at once, as he went through the
process of making out the order, with as much
form and courtesy as if I'd been His Honor.
the Mayor of the period. Judge johnson him.
SELF. he o!0 IL all III such way that l was
spared the embarrassment of showing my ig-
norance; and still recall perfectly how left
the old gentleman with his snow white hair
and rosy cheeks, surrounded by the iron grat-
ings of his Office, elated with the feeling that
for the first time in my life had been treated
like man.
BLANKET LANE, (Prospect)
Fred Alley and Edwin Killman are employed
by Isaac NJ Cummings cutting lnmhar and
kiln wood. number of choppers are wanted
in Blanket Lane C. 3. Cummings cut his
foot slightly last week :. Eugene Young has
noyed his hav preSS from Soorenor+ g.. g. g