Ocean to Ocean on Horseback

st

ramingh

ingham, Ma

9, 1

orcester, where it had been announced I would lecture on the following evening. The Revere House was fixed upon by comrades of the G. A. R. as a rendezvous before starting. Here I found a

nd E. A. Williston, who were mounted; and Captain Charles W. Thompson, adjutant-general Department of Massachusetts; Ca

ok at the Monument we rode around it and then headed for Brighton. The rain was now falling in torrents and quickening our pace we

e and when we dismounted at the Cattle Fair Hotel all who were not in covered conveyances were drenched to the skin. Here the ent

clock in the evening. My clothing was thoroughly soaked and my cavalry boots filled to overflowing. Having secured accommodations for the ni

HROUGH C

ond

tate

r, Massa

Te

our in the morning. I found Paul Revere, my equine companion, in good spirits and fancied that the

of the place, while passing through some of its streets especial inquiry was made concerning its population, schools and industries. I learned that South Framingham is twenty-one miles from Boston, at the junction of the Boston and Albany and Old Colo

. Indeed, it really seemed as though the first days of my journey were to be baptismal days and I regret exceedingly that these early stages of the trip

t of whom were residents of the city and vicinity. Lectured at the Opera House in the evening, being introduced to my audience by Colonel Finley of Charlestown, to whom previous

erations had been residents of Worcester and vicinity made that city of unusual interest to me, and I trust the reader

ne River, the second city in Massachusetts, the heart

are of all the good we know. Nature, that "comely mother," has laid her caressing hand upon it. Art has made many a beautiful structure t

RCESTER MA

r Monument. Apparently that mighty five years' struggle, that brilliant victory, bringing freedom to two million fellow-creatures, bringing power, union, glory to the nation, has burned itsel

has no plac

d tomb. It is the resting-place of Timothy Bigelow, the early patriot of Worcester. Here in the sunshine and the t

he brave, wh

country's w

ln Square. He immediately laid aside his tools, proceeded directly to his house, opened the closet, and took from it a canister of tea, went to the fire-place, and poured the contents into the

n were fired, and messengers were sent to every part of the town to collect the soldiery. As the news spread, the implements of husbandry were thrown by in the field; and the citizens left their homes, with no longer delay than to seize their arms. In a short time, the 'minute-men' were paraded on the green, under Captain Timothy Bigelow. After ferv

nsecration exercises, the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment was engaged in its memorable struggle and

GLAND PA

aptly illustrates the rapid growth of Worcester. The number of letters sent out in 1809 was about 4,400. The number of letters taken out fifty years later was 523,808. Main street reaches Lincoln S

it the civil terms of the courts are held, with numerous ante-rooms for the jurors and for consultation. Th

1812. It possesses a very valuable library, especially rich on subjects of local interest to Americans. The newspapers filed here include over four thousand volumes, beginning w

e substantial buildings, with their wide halls, high ceilings, and strong walls, were built on honor. There it has stood in its dignity, more flimsy, more showy a

g, but justly celebrated, Clark University, which is devoted to sci

ghland street to Newton Hill. It is only about a mile from Lincoln Park, but it is six hundred and seventy fe

stands the house in which George Bancroft, th

n Salisbury Pond, are located the fa

hty thousand volumes; the High School on Walnut street; the Museum of the National Historical Society, on Foster street; All Saint's Church; the Polytechnic Institute; the Co

s many manufactories, it seemed to me I had before my eyes an object lesson of the wonderful resources, the vim, the

ointed to decide whether it would be wise to attempt

square there was enough meadow to warrant the settling of sixty families, adding these words: "We recommend that a prudent and able committee be appointed to lay it out, and that du

d by canal and railway, and supporting a dense population," proving so strong a contrast between the past generation's humble anticipations, and our overflowing prosperity, I

ving, we a

nd and a

e on age

ving is

rations will look back upon this age a

nd Four

s Ho

ld, Massa

Elev

the Boston and Albany Turnpike. The prospect of meeting my wife and daughter, whom I had not seen for several months, and the lecture appointment for Springfield made this one of the memo

ing in Hartford and had come up to Springfield early in the morning, reaching the city several hours before my arrival. This visit with my f

the G. A. R. The introduction was by Captain Smith, Commander of the Springfield Post, who

BRIDGE, S

was spent with my wife and daughter and a few friends who had called for a socia

could easily spend another day with Hattie and Alice and still reach Pittsfield early in the afternoon of the fifteenth.

tears when the King had cut off free speech in the Commons; he had seen ritualism, like an iron collar, clasped upon the neck of the church, while a young jewelled courtier, the Duke of Buckingham, dangled the reputation of sober England at his waistcoat. A colonial enterprise, pushed by some Lincolnshire gentlemen, had been noised abroad, and the war

pot was obtained by a deed signed by thirteen Indians, and Pinchon, in loving remembrance of his old English home, christened the new

ry, his wife, were t

ade to stand in the stocks for "

not attending town

Robert Breck was called to

who never heard of the gospel, I do not pretend to say, but I cannot but indulge a hope that God, in his bou

e River Gods heterodoxy was his crime. For this the Rev. gentleman was not only tried by a council of the church, but a sheriff and his posse a

USETTS MI

few of the articles which we cons

" owned the first umbrella in Springfield. He never profaned the a

ield. It was considered a great curiosity,

stove, made its appearance in Springfield. The stove was mad

s brought the first piano

nd no poor. Great similitude in their buildings, the general fashion of which is a chimney-always of brick or stone-and a door in the middle, with a staircase fronting the latter, and running up by the side of the former; two fl

ngfield became one of the most important

reserved as a memento of stirring days, when many a negro was p

e historian Bancroft lived there at one tim

o convention of 1860 which nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. Mr. Ashman also had th

ll of his prose works first made their appearan

esting to those fortunate enough to

nd the water shops, distant about two miles, on Mill River. Main Arsenal is on a bluff overlooking the city, and is one hundred and sixty feet above the river. It is a partial copy

nd is three stories high, each floor having storag

INGFIEL

es have made thi

rsenal. From f

gan, rise the

ilent pipes no

illages with s

d will rise, how

angel touches t

ment and dis

ith those awf

longer from its

's great organ s

as songs of

lodies of l

wo other buildings are use

n turned out. During that time $32,500,000 have been expended. When Sumter was fired on about 1,000 weapons per month were being made. Three months later, 3,000 were made each m

residents, namely of Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Am

me one, I think, has called it the "city of homes." Its streets are broad, and well shaded by elms and

. It is ninety-eight miles from Boston, one hundred and twe

es. It had only four cars and twenty-five horses. Three years ago horses were displaced by electricity. Now, in the busy season, the daily mileage of transit on the thirty-fi

and tasteful. Haynes & Company have the largest

o help them. Now their building is one hundred feet square, and s

THE BERKSH

n annual output of 80,000 weapons. They ship goods to Russia and other countries. The Wesson Car Company in 1860 sent $300,000 worth of goods to the Egyptian government. The

80,000 books. Adjoining the library is the beautiful new art bu

manesque style. It contains a public

ing structure, is built of

in the midst of this a deep ravine, with a brawling little brook through it. Imagine five lakelets covered by Egyptian lotus, and the different varieties of water-lilies. Thro

th

ell

, Massa

hirte

ckly said, Paul was mounted and I rode slowly away from the Bates House, turning occasionally in the saddle until entirely out of

p, the trip from Springfield to Russell was anything but what I had pictured when planning my overland tour in the saddle. Some consolation was found, however, in recalling similar experiences in

I was out of the saddle over an hour on account of dinner, and compelled to face a pelting storm throughout

nks of the Westfield River, upon which it relies for water-power in the manufacture of paper, its only industry. It has direct communication with Eastern and Western Massachusetts through th

N THE BERK

th

et H

Massac

ourte

green banks fertilizing the meadows and turning the factory wheels that here and there dip down into its busy current. The Indian name "Agawam," by which it is known nearer its mouth, seems more approp

and castile soap being applied to relieve the injured parts, and the cumbersome saddle-cloth which had been doing duty since we left Boston was discarded for a simple blanket such as I had used while in the cavalry service. This was a change for the better and was made at the right time, for, as I afterwards had some difficulty in keeping the direct road, the equipment of my horse relieve

field, having a graded school and several manufactories. The scenery throughout

nth

hire

ld, Mass

Fift

greeable task, for my journey lay over the picturesque Hoosac Mountains whose wooded sides and fertile valleys were almost a fairyland of loveliness at this season. Owing to this delay

OF PITT

hth

hire

ld, Mass

Sixt

respondence. The afternoon was passed in a stroll through the town, where I saw much that was of i

ur different states. To one who sees, for the first time, the luxuriance of its vegetation, the beauty of its forest-covered hills, the broad shady

et, its bare shaft ninety feet, with many a memory of the French and Indian wars attached to it. In 1841, it was struck by lightning. In 1861 it was cut down, even stern men weeping at its fall. It was replaced by a fountain, whose stream may be raised to the height of the old tree. This park also holds a huge shaft of granite, upon which stands the bronze figure of a soldier, flag in han

by Thomas Allen. It contains a large free library, an art gallery, and a very entertaining museum of curiosities. Next door to the Athen?um is the large white Court House, said to have cost $

nd two of the handsomest of

THE BERKS

the finest lawn border each edge of the sidewalk. Society is the choicest, for the summer residences of New York's four hundred intermingle with the magnificent old mansions owned by the staunchest of Massachusetts' old blue-blooded sons and daughters. Cropping out through the elegance of this little city are some queer old Yankee traits. Lawlessness there is none. No policemen guard the park, with its ideal lawns, but a polite notice informs passers-by that this being no thoroughfare, tre

nics, in that majestic curve, whose grace travelers, familiar with the mountain scenery of both hemispheres, pronounce unequaled. On the east the Hoosacs stretch their unbroken battlements, with white villages at their feet, and, if the sunlight favors, paths of mingled lawn and wood, enticing

oint, and thought with pleasure of the many beautiful links in the chai

th

au H

u, Ne

event

He amused me with stories of the Lebanon Shakers, among whom he had lived many years, and whose peculiar belief and customs have always set them widely apart from other sects. Perhaps the most singular point in their doctrine is that God is dual, combining in the One Person the eternal Father and Mother of all generated nature. They believe that the revelation of God is progressive, and in its last aspect the manifestation was God revealed in the c

lected governor, by a plurality of 50,000 votes above his fellow-candidate, John A. Dix. He won popular attention by his strong opposition to certain political abuse