Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1920-03-10
Miss Florence Minis Visits
Paul Revere Home.
Dear Advertiser:

The history of a city is the history
. of country in miniature. When civ
, ilization had reached its height .ir
Greece it passed to Rome. So in Bos
ton many of the famous places of his
toric interest have been left behind
in the progress of city, and they. are
; to be found only after careful search.
ing through intricate byways in the
Italian quarters.
One such spot is the home of Pau
Revere, supposedly the oldest house
in the city of Boston, built between
1850 and 1850. 1t is in startling con.
trast to the squalor that surrounds
it, for it is kept and preserved with
the characteristic New England prim.
ness and neatness.
Conspicuous in the first room en-
tered was fire place Of the typeto
ten read of. Although the facilities
for cooking were certainly not con
venient, the proportions of the fire
place, where the family meals were
prepared, would not lead US to be-
lieve that they had appetites after
Mr.. Hoover's own heart. To crafty
my curiosity stepped into the fire
place and stood erect with perfect
ease. / am sure there would have
been enough room for at least seven
more people to have stood with me.
Revere would doubtless have pur-
sued his life, which seemed varied
enough, in peace and contentment,
since he was the editor of the Boston
Gazette, silver-smith, blacksmith,
and copper-smith, had not the Revo-
luton ,interfered. Such a picturesque
event as his memorable ride will nev-
er take place again, for telegraph op-
orators and wireless telegraphers are
the heroes and heroines of present
war or peace messages of great inn
portance.
The buildings have the same last
ing qualities as the fighting spirits of
the patriots, for the boards of the,
floors, almost two feet wide .were
good state of preservation las wert
the ceilings, made of ground clam
and oyster shells.
The winding little stairway that
led to the second floor was quite mar
row, so that one could imagine his
sword clanking on the wall as he
climbed up.
1t was like the second part of Sc
rial story that one did not have to
wait for, to walk from Revere's home
!, to the Old North Church, built in
1928, in whose tower the lanterns
were hung, zone if by land and two
if by sea-" as a signal for him to ride
"booted and spurred" to give the
news of the British approach. l asked
if the lanterns were there, for though
the original might have been destroy
ed the American public likes to be
shown relics to complete the setting,
even if they are not originals. But
since this was church the sexton
Ilaughingly said, "No." The lanterns
were not there. The tower was cover
ed with ice so that one could not en-
ter its cob-webby interior for inspec-
tion.
On entering the church l found it
unusually well preserved, all snow
white except for several handsome
flags of the allies. The entire interior
was an elaborate network of pews,
some with the original name plates
| bearing such dates as 1924. Paul Re-
vere's pew was to be seen, with the
old English spelling on the tablet,
"peau."
The sexton seemed to take a spe-
cial pride in displaying the points of
interest, as though he were at least
descendant of the great man. Since
he was we'll Informed and was not,
he proved very satisfactory g1ide.
An age-old clock with an almost
wrinkled face was still keeping time
with a dull mechanic beat" at the
rear of the hall. dare say the preach
er never glanced at it in those old
days, for they tell us that the SER
mons were very lengthy, while the
straight backed worshippers sat in
their straight backed pews and lis
tened, and if they dared to noe, the
warden tapped them gently or dher-
wise on the head. This had seemed
more like a curious old legend until