The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-10-21

Boston, Mass, Oct 1A-Paul Re-
we're seems to Be Boston's favorite !
character, and no city ever had .
moro satisfactory hero. ~
The prime requisite for fame u |
. good press agent Revere was
fortunate In having .Longfellow.
Before Longfellow wrote up the
midnight ride In beautiful verse,
Paul Revere was NO more . popuv
lar hero than Dawes or Prescott,
the two men who accompanied him
on the now famous adventure. Il
During his lifetime. Revere had
made . name ~ . prosperous mer-
chant and mechanic and Z trust
worthy patriot He had the nick
names Of Bold Revere" and the
Mercury OF the Revolution" and he
was . we'll known character around
Boston. But when he died nobody
thought that he would ever figure
a. . statute in . public square. or
that people would pay to see the
room where he worked and the
contrivance with which he stirred
his toddy.
; Revere had been dead 40 years
when Longfellow happened on an
account OF the ride by which . man
named Paul Revere warned the
patriots around Boston that the
British were marching ON Concord,
April Is, 1775. 1t was only one Of
the many messages which Revere
carried, and It was not more i'm
portant than some Of hiD Other gov
ernment missions, but the. details
attracted the poet, and by touching
them up . bit he produced . MARIA
tive that was to put Paul rRevere's
name and picture in every Ameri-
can history.
In the main, Longfellow's story
stands unchallenged. A few hber-
ties with fact have been proved,
such as that Revere had the signal
lanterns hung In the North church
for the benefit Of certain other
colonists In case he was captured.
and did not, % the poem says, wait
impatiently on the other side Of the
river to catch the signal before
starting his ride.
A Great Press Agent
Longfellow's poem proved the
cornerstone to Revere's fame. His
career and souvenirs Of his exist
ence were eagerly unearthed. Once
he was discovered, he caught the
popular fancy. Now everywhere
! you turn in Boston and thersabouts,
you ind that the intrepid Paul has
been there first and made the spot
famous.
The house where he lived from
1770-1s00 still stands Is . historic
landmark in the old North Square.
1t is the Oldest house in Boston, II
not in the state of Massachusetts,. 1t
was over q hundred years old when
Revere bought it. Then it was
considered . mansion, and q good
example Of the colonial country
house modified to 1T a city lot. Now
1t is jostled by tenement structures
and looks out on a swarm of Ital-
fans, Russians and Slavs. The
contrast Of the old. dignified wood
en- house and the little Italians who
jabber school-book history at you
in chorus and then hold up their
hands for q nickel is sufficiently
picturesque to brighten the eye OF
the most faded traveller.
1t was from this residence that
Revere went out to his ride. The
spots where he got on his horse,
was captured by the British and in
other ways made history, have been
carefully located and labeled with
nice. permanent tablets. A town
within committing distance Of Bos.
ton has been named for him. The
so-called Coney Island of New Eng.
land has long been Revere Beach
though now for some obscure rea.
son it is referred to as Crescent
Beach. If this change of title evel
comes to the official notice Of Re.
vere's most fervent admirers there
will probably be- q controversy ant
editorials about It. and the Sigh
to Revere will be denounced in al
possible tones of patriotic invectiv,
until his name IL again on the cleo
trio lights and the hotel stationery
Revere is memoralized in Bostos
by q statue representing him as h,
draws rein to arouse some colon
list to the danger Of the approach
ing British. A large mural paintin,
in the state house ON Beacon Hill
shows him In full gallop, shoutin,
his message to . couple in a door
way. You get different glimpse o
his varied career when you se,
the old frigate constitution-Ol,
ironsides-anchored in Charles
town navy yard, for Revere had tn,
governments contract for the bras
and copper work when she was be
gun in 1874.
Il His Name Is Everywhere.
Besides all these reminders q
Revere's fame, there are I host O
shops, factories, and buildings tina
have taken his name, and a societ
has been organized to keen hi
memory always green and to main
tain his home as q place of histori
I interest.