iiiiiiiiilii Qass V I w J Book— £^ CO C ^ w I— I BOSTON AND HER STORY FREDERICK A. GUINDON SUB-MASTER BUNKER HILL SCHOOL BOSTON, MASS. D. C. HEATH & CO, PUBLISHERS BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO ^75 Copyright, 192 i. By D. C. Heath & Co. 2 E I Jun lO 1^21 ©CI.A617284 PREFACE The purpose of this book is to tell the story of Boston in a simple and interesting way, which will appeal especially to pupils of the early grammar school age. It does not pretend to give all the details of historical occurrences nor of modern things of interest, but aims to present the most important facts in a way that they can be understood easily , and with a thread of interest that will increase the probability of their retention. The story is divided into four parts: the Settlement of Boston, including the Physical Features of Original Boston; the Boston of Earl}^ Colonial Days; the Boston of Revolutionary Days; the Boston of To-day. In each part the story is told by the use of fictitious characters, who are made to take part in genuine events, accurately described. The localities described in the fourth part are not held to be the only places of interest nor even those most worthy of atten- tion, but an attempt has been made to present material from which one or two facts about each section of Boston may be learned, with the view of obtaining a clearer conception of the extent and attractiveness of the city. Throughout the book emphasis has been placed upon the mean- ing and value of the events described, and special attention has been given to simplicity of language and clearness of expression. The fundamental principle upon which the work is based is that of presenting a few historical facts with enough of the element of interest added to make reasonably sure that the facts will remain in the reader's mind long after the thread of the story has been forgotten. In many cases the authorities upon given points have disagreed, so in this volume the facts are given the iii IV PREFACE interpretation favored by the weight of evidence with due regard to the reputation for accuracy borne by the authorities concerned. The keynote of the story is the portrayal of the growth and development of the Boston Spirit, which is true Americanism; courageous, democratic self-government, based upon exact justice for each and every individual. The author makes grateful acknowledgment to Mr. John F. McGrath, Master of the Eliot School, Boston, Mass., for inspira- tion, guidance, and criticism in this work, to Mr. Harvey N. Shepard for valuable information and for encouragement in this task, to Miss E. Gertrude Dudley, Master of the Marshall School, Boston, Mass., for criticism and revision of the English of the book, and to Miss Lura A. Chase, Miss Catherine J. Cunning- ham, Miss Mary V. Cunningham, Miss Elizabeth L. McCarthy, and Miss Agnes C. Moore, all of whom are teachers in the Boston Public Schools, for very thorough criticisms of the manuscript and for many valuable suggestions. The author acknowledges his further indebtedness to Mr. Charles F. Read and Mr. William B. Clarke of the Bostonian Society, to Mr. Luke J. Doogue, and to Mr. Frank Selew of the Massachusetts Department of Waterways for very valuable assistance in securing illustrative material for this book. CONTENTS PAGE I. Introduction , i II. Physical Features of Original Boston . , . . , 4 III. Settlement of Boston 12 IV. Boston in Colonial Days 21 V. Revolutionary Boston 44 VI. Modern Boston „ . . , 100 BOSTON AND HER STORY I. INTRODUCTION! Many years ago, when only a very few white men had come to live in the great New World of North America, there lived, in that part of the country that is known now as Maine, an Indian boy who was quite different from most of his red-skinned brothers and sisters. What- ever he saw, he wanted to know all about. *^Why can the birds fly through the air, while I must walk?" "What makes the sun so bright?" ''Where does all the water in the ocean come from?" Many, many questions such as these he asked whenever he saw or heard of a new thing. Sometimes the older Indians answered his questions, and sometimes they left him to find out as best he could. He listened to what the old men said and thought over their answers, wondering, wondering, wondering. He asked so many questions that his people called him "Wantano." One day he heard some braves talking about some strange, new people who had white skins, who lived in ' The Indian boy and the other boys and girls who are found in this book never Uved and never did the things related in the story. They show what boys and girls living in those times might have seen and done. — Author. 2 BOSTON AND HER STORY houses, and who did thmgs in ways very different from the Indian ways. He wondered much about these queer people and longed to see them. One day his chance came. The chief of the tribe ordered ten young men to take their canoes, to paddle southward along the shore until they should find some sign of the strangers, and to find out if the things they had heard about them were true. Wantano begged so hard to go with them that the chief told the young men that they might take him along. The party of Indians went slowly along the shore, searching every little stream for traces of the white men, and in a few days came to the little settlement known as Salem. The new people proved to be quite as wonder- ful as the Indians had heard, and, better than all, they were very kind and friendly to the red men, making them welcome and giving them valuable presents. Wantano was so happy that he did not know what to do with himself. Here were so many new things to ask and to wonder about. The white people soon grew very fond of the boy and made his visit so pleasant that when the other Indians set out for home, he remained in Salem. The white men taught him to speak their language, and told him all they could about the wonderful things of which he had been thinking and wondering. After living there for some time, he stopped wonder- ing about the white men and their ways, because now he understood them, but one thing still puzzled him. He often heard the men speak of a white man who lived all alone away to the south. INTRODUCTION 3 Now in an Indian village, a man living apart from the rest was likely to be a very wise man, who kept away by himself so that he might think deeply of things too difficult for the other Indians to understand. So it hap- pened that Wantano began to wonder about this very wise white man, living all alone off to the south. The Indian and Canoe more he thought about him the stronger grew his desire to find him and ask him about all the wonderful things that such a wise man must know. Several weeks of wishing and longing went by. Then one day he told his white friends what he wanted to do and set out in the new canoe he had built for himself, paddling southward along the shore to find the mar- velous white man. II. PHYSICAL FEATURES OF ORIGINAL BOSTON Before Wantano left his good friends at Salem, they told him that the man he wanted to find had built him- self a house in the shelter of a hill that stood with two other hills on a strip of land extending out into the water. Some Indians had called the place Mishawmut or Shawmut, which means ''near the neck of land," but the few white men who had seen it called it Trimountaine, meaning "a place with three hills." Keeping in mind what they had told him, Wantano set out, leaving Salem soon after sunrise one morning. He paddled steadily all the morning, saw many places where points of land ran into the water, some with one hill, some with many, but none with just three large hills upon it. When the sun grew hot at noon, he landed and rested a while in the shade on the shore. Again he set out, and, after an hour or two, he came to an open stretch of water. There on the west shore of this bay stood three large hills, almost in a row they seemed. He paddled toward the shore, but could see no house on the hill toward the south, and not a sign of the man for whom he was looking. Turning around he went northward to see the other two hills. The middle one was set well back from the shore, so he tried the one on the north next. A large stream came down past this PHYSICAL FEATURES 5 hill, and he had to work hard to drive his boat up against the river current. He kept in close to the shore to look for a house. Wantano followed the left shore, which turned to the west, giving him a view of the other side of this north hill. No sign of a house could he see. Now the river broadened out and wound and twisted until he found that it brought him close to the inland side of the middle Blackstone's Cabin Near Beacon and Walnut Streets hill. He had worked hard, but now his reward came, for there, on the southwest side of the middle hill, far enough down from the top to be sheltered from storms, stood a small log cabin. In the doorway of the cabin sat a white man, with a large book in his hand as if he had been reading. Near him on the ground stood a spyglass. As the canoe came in sight, he picked up the glass and looked through it at 6 BOSTON AND HER STORY the boy. Wantano waved a friendly greeting with his hand, as he had seen the white men do at Salem, and the man in turn made a sign to him to come ashore. The man stood up, a tall, slight figure, and came part way down the hill to meet the Indian boy. In this way Wantano came to know the "wise man," William Blax- ton, or Blackstone, the first white settler in Boston. The white man and the Indian boy met near the foot of the hill, and Blackstone gave the boy a pleasant greeting. "What brings the young brave to the home of the white man, and from what place does he come?" he asked. "From the camp of the white men at Salem, O Great Chief, to see the wise white man who lives alone, and to learn the wonderful things that he knows, that the Indian boy may be a wise man too," replied Wantano. Then Wantano told how he had gone to Salem and lived there a long time in the village, how the white men had been good to him, and how he had heard of the wise man and longed to see him. The boy's story pleased Blackstone and made him feel very friendly toward the little Indian. Blackstone was a rather shy, quiet man, who had come to live in this place because he liked to be where there were but few people, so that he could give his spare time to reading and thinking about the small store of precious books he had brought with him from England. Still, at times, he felt very lonely, and the coming of this bright, interesting Indian lad made a pleasant break after the long time he had spent without seeing a single person. PHYSICAL FEATURES 7 He invited Wantano to come up to the cabin to visit with him for a while. The boy was deHghted and eagerly accepted the invitation. The house was nearly square in shape, made of rough logs, smoothed off on the in- side, and plastered on the outside betwxen the logs with mud and clay to keep out the wind. The doorway faced down the hill toward the southwest, and was fitted with ' l/z/^y. \\ \VAs>'\'iWliii^/wA/ k/ Inside of a Log Cabin a door of smoothed logs, that could be closed tightly in case of storm. A small window was cut in each of the two side walls, with a rude shutter for each one, while opposite the door was a great fireplace, built of stone plastered with clay„ Here Blackstone used to build a fire of Axy wood to cook his meals, to keep him warm, and to furnish light for him to read by after the sun had set. His furniture was scant, consisting of a few things that had come over from England — a bed, a chair or two, a small table, 8 BOSTON AND HER STORY and last but most important, a good-sized box, or chest, that held his books. The man and the boy sat on the grass before the house, and Blackstone asked all about his friends in Salem. He was surprised at the skill with which Wantano spoke EngHsh. He enjoyed the eagerness with which the Indian boy told what he knew and asked questions about what he did not understand. ' Wantano asked about the rivers — where they came from and what their names were, why the white man chose this spot for his home, how he lived and what he found to do all day. These new friends found so much to talk about that the sun sank before they had finished, and Blackstone asked the boy to share his supper and spend the night with him, promising to show him many places of interest on the next day. They had supper, and shortly after- ward Wantano rolled himself in his blanket and went to sleep close by the wall, outside the house, for he had not learned to sleep indoors as w^hite men did. Very early in the morning, Wantano went a little way up the river to a quiet spot where he soon speared enough fish for their breakfast, while Blackstone busied himself with gathering and chopping his day's supply of wood. After these chores were done and their breakfast was eaten, Blackstone took the boy to the top of the hill, passing a fine spring of water on the way, a little above the cabin. From the summit of his hill, Blackstone pointed out to Wantano that the whole region was somewhat hilly, a row of rather low hills running along close to the shore, PHYSICAL FEATURES beginning some miles to the northeast and running toward the southwest. Turning his back to the shore, he showed another range of hills farther inland which curved around to the southeast and seemed to join the shore hills a few miles to the south. They saw also that a similar range of inland hills curved from the northwest to the northeast, not so high as the one on the south. These ranges made the region where they were seem like the inside of a dish, with the hills for the edge. The hilltop on which they stood was the highest of three peaks of the same hill, one peak northeast of them, the other south. Facing the water again, he told Wantano to notice the large body of deep water with scattered islands to the east and southeast protecting the shore from the open sea. From this open water, a deep cove ran into the land a Httle to the south, and beyond that the shore curved in to form a wide, shallow bay with marsh land on its shore. Somewhat farther south a river, which the Indians called Neponset, came out after winding its way down from the inland hills. Northeast of them they saw a large river which proved to be two rivers emptying through one mouth. One river, whose Indian name was Mystic, came from the northward, while the other wound around from the south- Blackstone Statue lO BOSTON AND HER STORY west to meet the first one near its mouth. The second of these two rivers broadened out behind the hill on which they stood, and formed another wide, shallow bay. This bay, w^hich had much marsh land on its shore, lay just north of the other bay which they had seen, and w^as separated from it only by a narrow strip of low land. This strip or neck of land was all that joined Blackstone's land to the mainland, and often it w^as covered by water when storms made the tide very^ high. It was on account of this neck that the Indians called the place Shaw^mut. Blackstone showed the boy a spot on the opposite shore of the river where a hiU sloped evenly down toward the water, near where the two rivers came together. He also pointed out two hilly islands to the northeast, which he said w^ould be good for people to settle upon, as they were well protected from the sea. He thought that his place was better though, because he had two good springs of water, one near his house and the other on the opposite slope of the same hill. They w^alked down from the top of the hill, visited the second spring, and drank some of its water, finding it clear, sweet, and cold. Then they roamed about, seeing where Blackstone raised his little supply of vege- tables, where he cut his firewood, and where he dug the clay to plaster his outside walls and fireplace. That afternoon, in the Indian's canoe, they set out to explore along the river, paddling up to the place where it widens into a large bay. When they came to the neck of land they had seen from the hill, they drove the boat in PHYSICAL FEATURES ii to the shore. As he stepped out from the canoe, Wantano fitted an arrow into his bow and shot it across the neck. He watched where it struck and ran to get it where it lay on the farther shore, with its tip just touching the water. He went back to Blackstone, and together they carried the canoe across to the water on the other side. They went out into the other bay, had a look at the cove north of it, and then came back to the place from which they had started, at the foot of Blackstone's hill. It was not yet sunset time, and Wantano said that the place was much smaller than he had thought it was, as they had gone all around it in so short a time. Blackstone agreed with him that it was not very large, but enough for one man and perhaps one Indian boy, if he cared to stay for a while. POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED 1. William Blackstone was the first white settler in Boston. He came about 1625, directly from England, with some other men who went back to England after a short time. 2. Boston was a peninsula, bounded by a large bay on the south, its harbor on the east, and a river which widened into a bay on the north and northwest. 3. The Peninsula of Boston was connected with the mainland by a very narrow strip of low land between two bays. This strip or neck of land was the reason for the Indians' naming the place Shawmut. 4. A large hill with three peaks occupied most of the land. Because of these three peaks, the white men at first called the place Trimountaine. 5. Inland were two ranges of hills which nearly shut in Boston as if it were a dish or basin. III. SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON Wantano told Blackstone that he would like to remain for a little time with him. He said that he would fish in the river and hunt in the woods while Blackstone was busy with his work. They sat at the door of the house and talked over this plan, Blackstone finally deciding that the Indian boy should stay as long as he wished. He was free to go and come as he pleased, only Blackstone wished to see him by the time the sun set each evening. He should do such work as Blackstone wished him to do, but was free to set out for home when- ever he tired of living with his new white friend. This plan worked very well, as it gave Blackstone some help with the tasks about his house, and in return he gave the Indian lad much of his food and tried to teach him about the white folks in Europe. It came about that the late afternoon always found the two seated near the log cabin, Wantano asking questions', and Blackstone trying to explain what the boy did not understand. ^'If England is so fine a countr\% why do the white men leave it to come here?" asked the boy. The white man told him about God, whom the Indian knew as ''Manitou," or ''The Great Spirit." Blackstone ex- plained what the Bible is, and how men have different ways of understanding its meaning and doing honor to . 12 SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON 13 God. . ''This is called religion," he said. ''In England many men believe that their way is the only proper way to show honor to God and that no other way should be allowed. Most of us who have come to this new country do not think as most of the English people do in these matters, so it was more pleasant for us to come to this new country than to remain in England." Wantano asked if that was what made the white men The First Church in Boston Built in 1632 » From Antique Vicivs of Ye Town of Boston come to Salem, and he was told that it was the reason in the case of most of them. "Is that what brought the white chief Winthrop, who came to Salem before the Indian boy left there?" Blackstone replied that he believed that to be the reason, and added that he felt sure that Winthrop would not stay long in Salem, but would bring some of his colonists farther south, nearer to Blackstone' s home. 14 BOSTON AND HER STORY Every evening found the man and the boy talking together in this way. So autumn and winter passed away, Wantano staying as a sort of guest with Black- stone. He could not be looked upon as a servant, be- cause no true Indian would ever leave his own people willingly to become a servant for white men. In the late spring of 1630, Blackstone's idea of what Winthrop would do proved to be right, for he came with a number of his people and made a settlement on the side of the river opposite Blackstone's farm, at the place that Blackstone had pomted out to Wantano as a good place for a settlement. John Winthrop had come from England with more than a thousand men and women, bringing a written statement from the King giving him the right to make settlements in the new countr>^ This written paper was called a charter. It was necessary for Winthrop to have such a statement, in order that no one should make trouble for him for settling on this land. King Charles also appointed Winthrop Governor over all the settlements in this part of the country. Winthrop's party came first to Salem, in 1629, and in the spring of the next year moved farther south. Part of them chose the land opposite Blackstone's home and named the settlement Charlestown in honor of their King, also calling the river there the Charles River. Others went farther up this river and started a village about five miles from the CharlestowTi location, calling the place Watertown. A third group settled part way up the Neponset River, south of Blackstone's land, at a SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON 15 place which the Indians called Mattapan. This is not the place we know now as Mattapan, but was the be- ginning of the town of Dorchester. Mattapan, as we know it, is about three miles farther up this river, and was settled later. The party in Charlestown was the largest of the three John Winthrop After a painting in the State House at Boston, attributed to Vandyke and the men set right to work building houses and getting things in shape for a peaceful, happy town. Soon, how- ever, trouble came to them in the form of severe sickness. One after another became sick and died, until it seemed as if their graveyard was growing faster than their town. William Blackstone and Wantano watched their com- 1 6 BOSTON AND HER STORY ing, and saw the work they did. Blackstone did not Kke the idea of having people Hving so near him, but he did nothing about it except to keep away from them as much as he could. Day by day they watched the houses grow, a large house for the Governor and small houses for the rest of the people. One day Blackstone saw them carry some one out from the village to the slope of the hill, where they made the first grave in the new colony. A few days went by, and another trip was made and another grave was dug. Then the trips became very frequent. He knew that something terrible was the rnatter. He spoke to Wantano of what he had seen, and Wantano told of some bad water he found when he went over there before the new people came. That night they talked a long time about the trouble that had come to the new settlers, and after the boy had gone to sleep, Blackstone sat by the fire and thought. He thought how happy he had been, far from all troubles that come to settlements, and he was verv^ sorry for the poor sick people across the river. He felt that it was his duty to help them. In the morning he wrote a note to Governor Winthrop, inviting him to come to visit him for the purpose of look- ing over his land to see whether it was a better place for his people than Charlestown was. Wantano took the note across to Charlestown, and Governor Winthrop came back in the canoe with him. Winthrop told all about the bad conditions in his town, and Blackstone showed the Governor where he might SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON 17 place his colon)' williout being in Blackstone's way. Winthrop decided to accept the offer, and they agreed that Winthrop should take the southeast side of the hill including the other spring which Blackstone had shown to Wantano. Going back to Charlestown, Winthrop told his people what he had done, and they were well pleased. The An English Ship or 1630 men who helped Winthrop in running the affairs of the colony met in the Governor's house on September 17, 1630, and voted to move the colony. They named the new town Boston, in honor of the town of Boston, Eng- land, from which many of the best men in the colony had come. By the time cold weather came, most of the people had moved over to the new town, although a few wished to remain in Charlestown and did so. i8 BOSTON AND HER STORY William Blackstone was no longer alone. He met the new people and helped them gladly; but after a while he longed to be alone again, so he sold his land in Boston, and prepared to move to a place he had heard of in Lons- dale, Rhode Island. He asked Wantano to go there with him, but the Indian boy did not reply at once. At last the day came when Blackstone must go, and Wantano gave him his answer. ''The Great White Chief Reduced Facsimile of the Heading, Signature, and Seal of the Massachusetts Charter of 1628-1629 has been more than a father to the young Indian brave. The white man goes to his new home far from where the Penobscot tribe dwells. White men live with other white men. Indian boy must join his tribe." So parted "the wise white man who lives alone" and Wantano, and we, too, shall leave Wantano paddling his canoe back to his own people, an older and a wiser Indian boy. SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON 19 POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED 1. Men had different ways of serving God. When some had ideas differing from most of the other Enghshmen, they found it more pleasant to leave England. Most of the people who came over to this country at first came for this reason. 2. John Winthrop was given a charter, or paper giving him the right to settle in the new land. He brought over about a thousand people from England, in eleven ships, with many horses and cattle. 3. Winthrop was made Governor of all the settlements in this part of the country. 4. Winthrop's party came to Salem in 1629, and the following spring, 1630, made three settlements farther south. J One party of these people named the river north of Blackstone's home the Charles River, in honor of their King, and settled on its north bank, calling the place Charlestown. 6. Before the summer had passed, many of the people became sick and died from drinking bad water. 7. Blackstone invited Winthrop to bring his people over to settle on his land where there were springs of good water. Winthrop decided to do this, and Blackstone divided his land with him. 8. On September 17, 1630, Winthrop's colony founded the new town of Boston, named in honor of Boston, England, and most of the people moved over from Charlestown before cold weather came. 9. A short time after the colonists came to Boston, Blackstone sold his house and land, which was about where Louisburg Square is now, and removed to Lonsdale, Rhode Island, driving before him a small herd of cattle and a few horses. QUESTIONS ON MAP OF 1630 1. What sort of coast line did Winthrop's men find near their settle- ment? 2. What made Boston harbor safe for their vessels? 3. What rivers empty into Boston harbor? 4. In what directions from these rivers did Winthrop make his settlement? 5. What may the point of land upon which they settled be called? 20 BOSTON AND HER STORY 5&I em. Hassach usett5 Boston *in 1630 — Original peninsula of Boston. 1 . Three Hills of Trimountaine. 2. Blackstone's Home 3. W'inthrop's first location in Charlestown 6. What is another name for the narrow strip of land that joined this point of land to the mainland? 7. What was the shape of this point of land? 8. Was the land level or hilly? What tells us this fact? Q. In what direction is Boston from Salem? 10. In what direction was Winthrop's Boston settlement from his first location in Charlestown? IV. BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS The colonists that Winthrop moved over from Charles- town got along very well in their town on the peninsula, which they novs^ called Boston. Many more people came over from England to live here, some wealthy people who wished to try Hfe in a new place, some workmen in the different trades who felt that they could live much better in the new colony than at home, and some poor men and women who agreed to work as servants in the new town in return for money to pay for their trip across the ocean. All these newcomers did not remain in the town of Boston, but many settled along the banks of the Charles and Neponset rivers because the land was more fertile. Some laid out farms on the slopes of the inland hills, and they soon were very comfortable and happy. Two different types of life began to be seen — the town life and the country life. Stores, shops, and business places of many kinds grew up in the town, while the folks living outside the town gave their time to the raising of food for themselves and to sell to the people in the town. The people living on the farms needed the things that were made in the town, just as the town people needed the food raised in the country. From the first few hundred who came to the places around Boston in 1630, the numbers grew so that in 21 22 BOSTON AND HER STORY about fifty years there were more than fifteen thousand people, with many horses and cattle, living in and around Boston. Let us go into the Boston of this time and meet some of the people. There were three distinct classes in the colony, and the way each lived and dressed was very different from that of the other two. First there were the rich men and their wives and children. These belonged to wealthy families in England. They had plenty of money to buy fine clothes with and lived in grand style without any need of working. Many owned shares in the great East India Company, which had vessels trading in all parts of the world. Others were younger sons of great families in England. They were given fortunes when they settled in the new world, or else they had large incomes from the estates at home. This class, of course, wanted to live just as their own folks at home lived, and were very much interested in all that went on in England. They wished to make the colony as much like the mother countrv^ as they could. The second class was made up of the working people and storekeepers, whose fathers had been working people before them. There were many different sorts of work- ingmen in Boston. Carpenters, shipbuilders, bootmakers, Costume of a Rich Lady in THE Colonial Times BOSTON IN COLONI.\L DAYS 23 hatmakers, ironworkers, brassworkers, and men of many other trades had come over from England to settle. They trained boys of the colony to be skilled workmen, fit to carry on the trades and to train other boys in turn, for the colonists wished to make as many of the things that they needed as possible. They had been brought up to know that they must work hard and live simply in order to keep their families Colonial Dress from want. They wished to make life in the colony such that their children would grow up to be good, useful men and women, with a keen sense of right and justice. They were much more interested in having a good, safe, busy town in w^hich to raise their families than in how things were going on in England. Of course, they had not lost their love for their mother country, but with them their colony affairs came first. 24 BOSTON AND HER STORY The third class was the servant class. JMaiiy of these were poor people in England who sold their services for a number of years to some of the wealthy class in return for the money to pay for their passage to America. Others were Indians from some of the neighboring tribes who hired themselves out for short periods as servants. Most of the white servants had little interest in the town and cared only for the welfare of their masters. Some of these, however, became workmen or storekeepers after they had worked as servants long enough to pay back the cost of their passage from their old homes. Most of these men became valuable citizens in the town. The three classes differed from each other in the kind of clothing they wore, in the way they spent their time, in the methods of training their children, and in the manner in which they worshiped God. Even the way people named them when speaking of them differed according to their class. The rich folks wore fine silk, satin, lace, and broadcloth, and boots of soft leather. They spent their day in dressing, reading, and visiting, and brought up their children to follow their style of living. Private teachers taught the children music, Latin, and the way to conduct themselves in grand homes. They worshiped God in the way their people in Eng- land did, building a church and supporting ministers for that purpose. The working people wore leather clothing largely, for their working clothes, with homespun wool or linsey- woolsey, made of linen and wool, for Sunday dress. Their week days were spent in toil, the men at the trades BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS 25 and the women in the homes. Their Sabbath was spent mostly in attending church services. The children were sent to school, when it was possible, and they had many tasks at home to take much of their spare time. Most of this class had strong reasons for not liking the English form of religion, so they supported their own churches and worshiped God in the way that seemed best to them. The servants dressed almost wholly in leather, spent most of their time in toil, and had little to do with the training of children, as most of them were unmarried. Their church was usually that of their masters, in which a special place was made for them, but some of the servants attended the English Church. Any prominent man of the first class, as well as the ministers and the Governor, was spoken of as ''Mister" and his wife as "Mistress." The ordinary man and his wife were known as "Goodman" and "Goodwife," while the servants were called by name without any title, as Mary Smith or Henry Brown. If a workingman or his wife did anything to bring disgrace upon them- selves, they lost the title "Goodman" or "Goodwife" and wxre spoken of as if they were servants. How the families of the ordinary folks in the town lived, and what the boys and girls of that time did to spend their days can be seen best by following a family day by day through a week in March, because that month was one of the most important in the whole year. 26 BOSTON AND HER STORY A Week in March In a small house near Dock Square lived Goodman Thomas White and Goodwife Hannah White with their twin children, Ruth and Edward, who were nine years old on their last birthday. Goodman White was a chandler, or candle-maker, and had his little shop in the back part of the first floor of his house. He was a very busy man but found time to watch carefully over his children and to take a lively interest in the affairs of the town. He was a kind but strict father, and hoped and prayed with all his heart that Ruth would grow up to be as good a housekeeper as her mother, and that Edward would become an Mould FOR ^MAK- g^pert candle-maker, with book-learning enough to enable him to read and un- derstand his Bible thoroughly and to take his place as an active citizen of the town. A good while before sunrise, on a cold Monday morning, Goodman White came downstairs from his bedroom into the great kitchen that took up one w^hole side of the first floor of the house. Going out through the side door, he flung open the hea^^^^ wooden shutters of the windows to let in the first pale light of morning through the oiled- paper panes. Back again in the kitchen, he raked over the ashes of last night's fire in the large open fireplace, and with a few dry chips of w^ood kindled a blaze from BOSTON IN COLONL\L DAYS 27 the live embers. Soon he had boiling the kettle of water that had been left beside the fireplace overnight. This was the first step toward breakfast. By this time Goodwife White had come downstairs, and the voices above told them that two hmigry children would not be long dressing in the cold rooms upstairs. Down they came, Edward first, and his sister a moment after. Ruth was a pretty little girl, rather short and slender, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and round, rosy cheeks. She came downstairs with a happy smile on her face, and a bright and loving word for each one of the family. She was dressed in a dark woolen dress that was close-fitting and nearly touched the ground. Her neck and head were uncovered, but later, when ready to go out-doors, she would put on a white linen neckpiece or collar and a hood or cap which would leave only her face showing. In dress she was a small but exact copy of her mother, and she looked more like a very small woman than a little girl. Edward was larger for his age than his sister was, and seemed stronger and more sturdy. His hair was dark brown like his father's, and his eyes were brown also. His cheeks were round and red, and his manner was pleasant but not as lively and cheerful as Ruth's. His clothing consisted of a linen shirt, fastening at the neck with a cord, the ends of which hung down in front, knee A Colonial House in Boston 28 BOSTON AND HER STORY breeches very mucli like the trousers boys wear to-day, long woolen stockings, and rather rough leather shoes. He also had a jacket with a skirt coming nearly to his knees, with a vest beneath it that buttoned up to the neck and hung down a httle below his waist. The trousers, coat, and vest were of dark red homespun woolen material, and were very much like his father's Sunday clothing. Children of this time looked like Uttle men and women, and their parents wished them to talk and act as if they were grown up. Once downstairs, the busy day for these children began. Ruth hurried about the kitchen, helping her mother get breakfast ready. Edward went out into the back yard to help his father pump and carry in the water needed for the day. After this task was done, and his father had gone into his shop to work until breakfast was ready, Edward went out into the woodshed to cut enough wood to keep the fire going all day. To cut this wood and pile it neatly in the kitchen was his task every morning. By this time the meal was ready, and the family went to the table. All stood up while the father gave thanks to God and read aloud a page or two from the Bible. They sat down, and each ate a hearty breakfast of oat- meal porridge and milk, cornbread, and cheese, and when all had finished, Goodman White again gave thanks to God and the meal was over. No meal was begun or ended without grace being said by the head of the family. After breakfast, Edw^ard at once set out for school, which began at seven o'clock from March to October, BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS 29 and at eight o'clock during the rest of the year. Children then did not have any long summer vacation, but were sent to school the whole year through. He walked up Cornhill to School Street, where the Latin School was located. This is the oldest public school in America, having been founded in 1636. Edward entered the A Colonial Kitchen Fire-place Latin School in November, on his ninth birthday. Before coming to this school, both Ruth and he attended Goodwife Chapman's "dame school" on Brattle Street, where Ruth still w^ent. In the Latin School, he studied Latin and Greek, with some mathematics, as all the boys did. They had to work very hard and were punished very severely if they failed. Whippings were given for failure in lessons as well as for bad conduct, and very hard whippings they 30 BOSTON AND HER STORY were too, for the master and the parents also beUeved that a boy would learn much more quickly if he was afraid of being whipped for failing. Goodman White had a faint hope that he might be able to send his boy to Harvard College to study for the ministry. He felt that he ought to get ready for college; then if he were unable to go there, he would have had part of a good education anyway. The schoolroom was not much like the schoolrooms of to-day. Bare walls, rough desks and benches, no pictures or maps, and very few books even, made the schoolroom a place which the boys were glad to leave as soon as they could. A large fireplace at one side of the room kept those boys near it too hot, while those at the other sides of the room were very cold. What writing they did was done with pens made from goose feathers, called "quills," with ink usually made at home and brought in by the boys, each one bringing his own. The ink was often made by mixing hot tea with a solution of iron. When Edward reached school just before seven o'clock, there were about twenty other boys in the schoolroom. His class was the lower class with the younger boys who had not been in the school very long. Promptly at seven o'clock the master opened school with a prayer and the reading of some pages from the Bible. Then the boys went to work studying and reciting their lessons. This kept up until eleven o'clock, when the noon recess began, after the master had closed school with a prayer. On all other days, the boys went home to dinner at eleven o'clock, but on ^londay, they had to remain BOSTON IN COLONI.^L DAYS 31 until twelve. During this hour, they were asked questions about the sermons they had heard in church the day before and about the Bible lessons they had learned. Also, boys who had been noisy and disorderly in church A Dame School were punished at this time. Edward had been a good boy this week, so he did not have to be punished. At one o'clock school began again and went on, just as it had during the morning, until five o'clock, when it was dismissed for the day. The boys trooped out with a shout of joy, for the one playtime they had in the whole day. They played whatever games the season of the 32 BOSTON AND HER STORY year permitted. They coasted, built snow houses, or skated, until just before six o'clock. Six o'clock was the supper time, and the boy or girl who w^as late went to bed without any supper, so they were very careful not to stay out too long. When Edward started off to school right after break- fast, Ruth remained at home to help her mother. She washed the dishes and swept the kitchen floor, while her mother made ready for the weekly washing of the family clothes. Just before eight o'clock she left home to go to school at Goodwife Chapman's ''dame school." "Dame schools" were kept by women in their own homes, where they took young children, both boys and girls, and taught them with their own children. The boys were taught to read, spell, write, and do sums, while the girls learned to read and write a little, but spent most of the time learning to do the things necessar>^ for house- keeping, such as cooking, sewang, spinning, and weaving. Ruth's school began at eight o'clock, and she was just as busy all the morning as Edward was in his school. She had learned to read and \\Tite very well, and was becoming so good a scholar that she soon would have learned all that Goodwife Chapman was able to teach her. For several months now, she had been helping to teach some of the younger children. The noon recess began at eleven o'clock, and Ruth hurried home to help her mother with the dinner. School began again at two o'clock, but Ruth and some of the other older girls did not attend in the afternoon. Her afternoon was spent with her mother, knitting BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS 33 stockings for her father and brother or sphmmg and weaving flax and wool to make cloth for new clothing. She had little playtime, in the sense of playing outdoors, but she was so happy at her work, singing and talking to her mother, that it really seemed more like play than toil to her. As soon as it began to grow dark, the mother and daughter left their other work and started to get supper ready. Supper was very much like breakfast, consisting of cornmeal porridge, milk, bread, and cheese. Dinner at noon was the principal meal of the day. At that time they had a pudding made of Indian corn served first, and then fresh meat, either beef, chicken, or pork with different vegetables. The meals were much the same every day in the week except on Saturday when they usually ate fish instead of meat at dinner, as many people do now on Friday. Just before six o'clock, Goodman White stopped work in his shop, set things in order for his next day's work, and then came into the other part of the house. Edward was home on time, and all sat down to the evening meal. After it was over, Ruth and her mother cleared away the dishes, washed them, and tidied the room. Edward brought in what water would be needed for the night, and then sat down beside his father near the fire. They Ruth at School 34 BOSTON AND HER STORY talked about his work at school and his Bible lessons until the Goodwife and Ruth had finished their tasks. Then they all sat by the fire, with a lighted candle on a stand by the side of the father's chair. The father spoke of the good things he had noticed about each one of them during the day, corrected any faults he had seen, and read to them from his Bible for a few minutes. At the end of the reading, the mother and her two children went upstairs to bed, while the father saw to it that all was right for the night. He covered the burning logs in the fireplace with ashes so that they would burn slowly all night and still have some fire in the morn- ing, snuffed his candle, and w^nt upstairs himself. Soon the house was very still as sleep came to the tired folks to rest them after a long day and to get them ready for another busy day. It was hardly later than eight o'clock, yet nearly every house in the town was as quiet as theirs. Tuesday was just such another day as IMonday had been, with the same tasks and the same duties. Only one unusual thing happened. During the breakfast time, dinner time, and supper time, a man went through the main streets ringing a bell and crying, "Hear ye! Hear ye!'' He was the town-crier, who was announcing that on Wednesday the yearly town meeting would be held, at which all churchmen could vote for the Selectmen to govern the town. At this meeting they also voted upon certain questions about the welfare of the town. A list of these questions, which was called a warrant, was tacked up outside the BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS 35 door of the meeting house on King Street, where all could see what they were. All the men in town could attend the meeting, but only those who were regular members of the church were allowed to vote. The Best Bedroom in a Colonial House On Wednesday, because it was Town Meeting Day, the boys had a holiday from school. Edward went with the other boys to find a place in the gallery, or balcony, of the meeting house, where they might see and hear what took place. At just nine o'clock, one of the leading men of the town, who had been chosen leader, or moder- 36 BOSTON AND HER SIORY ator, as he was called, and who sat at a desk or table at the front of the hall with the minister, struck the desk with a small mallet, or gavel, as a signal that the meeting was to begin. The minister rose and all the men did likewise. He then gave thanks to God for the good things that had happened in the town during the past year, and prayed that God would direct the men to act wisely in that meeting and would bless the town dur- ing the coming year. After he had finished, the men sat down and the moderator started the proc- ess of electing the Select- men. Close watch was kept to see that none but church members voted. By the time the election was finished it was after eleven o'clock. The meet- ing stopped then, and all went home to dinner. At one o'clock the meeting began again. The questions that had been put in the warrant were read, argued, sometimes changed, and finally voted upon. After they had stayed about an hour listening to the talk of the men, Edward with the other boys slipped quietly out of the meeting house. Soon they were in the midst of a group of happy boys coasting down the slope of Beacon Hill. It was so seldom that they had a free Colonial Church with Gallery BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS 37 afternoon that they all made the most of it and had more fun than they had had for many weeks. Thursday was another day just like Monday and Tuesday for Ruth and Edward, but not for their parents. Every Thursday was ''Lecture Day" for the grown folks. That meant that many of the working men who were not very busy did no work at all on Thursday, but dressed up in their Sunday clothes and spent the morning strolling about the town, visiting their neighbors and discussing the questions of the times. Busy men like Goodman White kept hard at work during the morning. About half past eleven all work stopped for the day, and, as soon as dinner was over, the men and women went to the meeting house. The lecture began about one o'clock, and it proved to be a sermon by the regular minister or a visiting minister. It lasted two or three hours or sometimes longer. After the lecture, the people spent some time in the meeting house, greeting and talking with their friends and learning all the interesting news of the people in other parts of the town. This Lecture Day was the only time in the week that the grown people had for any pleasure outside their own homes. It shows how little real pleasure they had when listening to a long sermon seemed to them a time for enjoyment. It shows also that the people of early Boston really enjoyed serious things. Friday was market day, and that meant more to the goodwives than to anyone else. On that day the farmers from the places outside the town drove in with their 38 BOSTON AND HER STORY wagons loaded with all sorts of things raised on the farms. Probably every goodwife in the town and many of the mistresses went during some part of the day, usually in the morning, to Market Field, near where the Old State House now stands, to trade for the things they needed for the table for the coming week. The boys had to be in school as usual, but what sport they had at 't| f! "17 " "^ [" •' r n" I First Town House in Boston, 1658 The Old State House now stands on this site. The old Market Field was near, in what is now State Street noontime down in the market place! Many a time Edward \vas almost late for supper on Friday night because he got a ride on a farm wagon that was starting back home and he stayed on the wagon too long. Saturday was not a school holiday as it is now, for the children had to go to school just as on any other day. In the afternoon, however, instead of their regular lessons, the boys had to studv their Bible lessons for Sunday. BOSTON IN COLONIAL DAYS 39 They were free at three o'clock, but they did not have this time for play. Right home from school they must go to prepare for the Sabbath, which began at sunset on Saturday. Sunset was usually considered to mean six o'clock. Every member of the family must have his bath, and the supper and supper dishes must be out of the way by six o'clock. From that time until six o'clock Sunday evening, no work must be done except what was truly necessary. After supper on Saturday night, the family gathered as usual around the father at the fireplace. He questioned the children closely on their Bible lessons, and then read to them from his Bible for a longer time than on the other nights. Sunday was the worst day in the week for the boys and girls, and probably the boys suffered more than the girls. Dressed up in their best clothes, they were expected to keep spotlessly clean all day. They were not to run or jump, but must walk slowly and quietly. They could not talk except in a very low voice, and for them to smile or laugh was considered very improper conduct. The whole family arrived at the church, or the meeting house, as they called it, before nine o'clock. The men sat on one side of the aisle and the women and girls on the other, while the boys were sent to the gallery, with a man appointed especially to watch them and to make them behave. The service began with a prayer by the minister, lasting about twenty minutes. Next, all the people joined in singing a psalm, or sacred poem, set to music, and then 40 BOSTON AND HER STORY came the sermon by the minister, usually lasting two hours or more. While the service was going on, a man, called the tithing-man, who had a long cane with a rabbit's foot fastened to it at one end, walked up and down, watching the people. If he saw a little girl falling asleep, he would tickle her face with the fur to wake her up, but if he saw someone in disorder or not giving at- tention to the sermon, his cane would come down upon that person's head with a good hard blow. The man in the gallery with the boys had such a cane also, and he seemed to find real joy in rapping the boys over the head. In addition to this punishment, the boys who did wrong were reported to the schoolmaster, who punished them again in school on Monday. When the service was finished, the family went home to dinner and returned to church at two o'clock, when a service similar to the one of the morning, both in kind and in length, took place. By afternoon, the boys had had about as much goodness for one day as they could stand, so the tithing-man found plenty to do during the second service. It was about six o'clock when the family reached home from the afternoon service, and the Sabbath was over. A little better supper was set out on Sunday night, and the family stayed up a little later. Perhaps a neighbor came in for a short visit, and the whole family seemed to feel that this was the pleasantest time in the whole week. That night when they had gone upstairs, Edward said BOSTON IN COLONL\L DAYS 41 to his sister, " Ruthie, I should hate to be a girl on Sunday. You don't even get the chance to see how funny the sleepy, fat men look when they get rapped on the head with that cane." POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED 1. About fifty years after Boston was settled there were more than fifteen thousand people in and around Boston. 2. The people in the town and those living outside needed the things that the others produced, so they were glad to exchange goods. 3. Three classes of people were found in the town: rich people, workingmen and their families, and servants. These classes were differ- ent in habits, education, religion, and interests. They were even called by different titles. 4. The children of this time seemed to be small copies of their parents in dress and manners, and had practically no time for play. 5. The Latin School prepared boys who had learned to read and write, to enter Harvard College. Private schools, called " dame schools," taught the younger boys reading, writing, and arithmetic, and taught the girls some reading and writing and much in the line of housekeeping. 6. The people of Boston were serious people, who were interested in and enjoyed serious things. 7. Town business was conducted by *' Selectmen," elected at a yearly town meeting in March. For many years, only church members had any vote in town meeting. 8. Thursday was Lecture Day, a sort of half-Sunday, devoted to attending a religious lecture and meeting neighbors. 9. Friday was Market Day, when the farm people brought in their products to trade with the town people. 10. The Sabbath began at six o'clock on Saturday and lasted until six o'clock on Sunday. Sunday was devoted to long, solemn church services. 42 BOSTON AND HER STORY i?r " " C C '- D c ^ •M -w c/: *-