N.YORKTHE:bROO]~LYN SUsPi~NSioN B-R~DE-Now BUILDING. Leugth of River Span,..1616 feet. Length of New York Approach,. 1441 feet. Total Lengath,..'.. 5878 feet;. ii. EachLand Spa, 940 fet. 64 Broklyn 6. 941 feet. Total Height above Hitgh Tide,. 268 " -- - - - - - _____ - — ~~~~__ _ - - - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ — _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _- ~ - - - ~~~~~~~~~~iiiL 4-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —=-~~~~ ~ -- 8800K ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ---- 14-c —' —--—.*.- — NY Each~l~=2=_~r Land —— r=- Spn. — 94 fet Booln.94 ee. oalHegt boe ih id,.26 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS, 1609-1873. THE BRIGHT SIDE OF NEW YORK. A LIBRARY OF INFORMATION, Pertaining to the great Metropolis, past and present, with Historic Sketches of its Churches, Schools, Public Buildings, Parks and Cemeteries of its Police, Fire, Health and Quarantine Departments of its Prisons, Hospitals, Homes, Asylums, Dispensaries and Morgue and all Municipal and private Charitable Institutions. BY REV. J. F. RICHMOND, (FIVE YEARS CITY MISSIONARY IN NEW YORK.) JLLUSTRATED WITH UPWARDS OF 200 ENGRAVINGS. JVE W YORK: E. 2 -ET, 80ET, O ro cad.-way-. A. L. BANCROFT & CO., San Francisco. H. C. WRIGHT & CO., St.' Louis. J. H. HUMMEL, New Orleans. IRA S. SMITH, Chicago. RANDALL & FISH, Detroit. 1872. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S71, by E. B. TREAT, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. PRRSB OF CABLTON & LANAHAN, 200 Mulberry-street, N. Y. PREFACE. "IT is too late in the history of the world," one has said, " for an author to apologize for publishing a book;" hence few are now guilty of such affectation. Nevertheless, the causes that led to a production, the manner of its preparation, and the object sought in its publication, are often matters of interest and profit to a thoughtful reader. The volume now offered to the public is not the result of an empty desire to make a book, but to furnish in a concise yet sufficiently extended form for ordinary use a history of the American metropolis, with the origin, objects, growth, and present condition of its numerous institutions. Many excellent works bearing on this subject have been issued during the last twenty years by various publishers and authors, and by the separate corporations, varying in size from the large quarto to the thirty-cent guide-book. Some of these have traced minutely the early history of the island, others have sought to exhibit New York as it is, some have traced the.history of the churches or of a single institution, and one has traced the career of most of the societies devoted to private charities. As no one of them has, however, attempted to cover the whole subject, a small library of these books has been indispensable to one wishing to be tolerably conversant with the history of New York and its institutions. The author has often felt the need of a comprehensive volume, giving information in relation to the prisons, dispensaries, the municipal institutions, the cemeteries, hospitals, schools, the parks, markets, quarantine, etc., etc. While informing himself on these Viii PREFA.CfE. subjects, he was induced to write a series of articles, describing the islands in New York harbor and many of the institutions, which were published in one of the monthlies of the city. The brief histories of a few of the institutions given proved highly satisfactory to some of the managers, and at their suggestion he at length decided to undertake the preparation of this work. In examining the several institutions, the author has endeavored to dismiss all denominational prejudice, and present honestly the history and merits of each. He has in every place looked for something commendable, and almost invariably found it. The two hundred institutions of New York, many of which are colossal enterprises, are highly creditable to the humanity and benevolence of our people. The author does not endorse the idea so often advanced, that " we have too many charitable institutions," nor does he believe that they could or should be greatly consolidated. Institutions, like armies, may be too large for successful management. Many of ours are already as large as they ever should be, and the younger and smaller ones, if well conducted, are certain to rapidly increase in magnitude. We believe every denomination should provide its homes for the aged, and found asylums for its orphans. We have contemplated with high satisfaction the march of events in this direction. It has not been our purpose to present any new theory for the establishment or management of an institution. An imperfect system has often proved eminently successful under judicious administration, while the most perfect has repeatedly failed through mismanagement. Hence, abstract discussions of theories or systems are of uncertain value. No one can wade through many hundred published reports of the institutions, as we have done, without being impressed with the fact that in the minds of all these managers there is a manifest desire for progress and great efficiency. While the history of our institutions discloses the fact that provision is made for every class of unfortunates, and that the benevolence of the people PREFACE ix is rapidly increasing, it exhibits, also, most noticeably the recog. nized power of mind and of moral instrmentalities. Brute force no longer reigns. Public justice is no longer a revenge, but an expedient for the safety of community, and the reformation of the criminal. Sixty years ago truant youth were hurled into a prison, where, under the tuition of mature criminals, they soon became hopelessly corrupted. Now, in a Refuge or an Asylum-a school with a sanctuary-they are impressed with ideas and moral motives, and soon-rise to usefulness. The blind and the deaf-mute are educated, asylums rise for the reformation of fallen women and the inebriate, while the halls of the hospital and the prison resound with the ministrations of religion. The most advanced in evil are still considered within the reach, and susceptible of, moral influence, and for whose recovery scores are willing to toil. For much valuable information in the preparation of this work, the author cheerfully acknowledges his obligation to " A Picture of New York in 1848," " Valentine's History of New York," Appletons' "American Cyclopedia," the " Gazetteer of the State of New York," the " Manuals of t Common n the Common Cocil," the "Charities of New York," " Half-Century with Juvenile Delinquents," " Public Education in the City of New York," " Watson's Annals of New York," Miss Booth's " History of the City of New York," and to the printed reports of the several institutions whose histories are briefly presented. Also to the managers, superintendents, chaplains, and physicians of the institutions, who, with a few exceptions, have manifested an interest in his undertaking, and promptly furnished such information as was within their reach. The author has gathered his statistics from the most reliable sources, and trusts they will be found very generally correct. Of the labor and difficulty in preparing a work of this kind in a great city of strangers, where things are changing with kaleidoscopic rapidity, few have any conception who have not undertaken it. Of the style, he has only to say that he has labored to present X PEFACE. the largest amount of matter in the smallest space; and has sought to minister to the understanding, rather than the imagination. In tracing the early history of the island, and the colonial history, he has sought to select, and so group the principal events, as to make them readily found, and easily remembered. He has not sought to unduly encumber the volume with the names of officers, or with unimportant statistics. It has been his aim to present a portable book, richly illustrated, within the reach of all; containing all the information that the masses care to read, of the development of the city, the origin and work of its institutions; in fine, a comprehensive work and guide, acceptable alike to the citizen and the stranger. How far he has succeeded he leaves for others to judge. The volume has been prepared amid the duties of a laborious pastorate. During the last five years he has visited, as occasion has offered, each of the institutions described, and to many of them he has been called to offer consolation to the suffering. The reports, statistics, and other items, have been thus collected, and any missing facts supplied, when possible, through correspondence. The chapters have mostly been written nights, after conducting an evening service. The labor of its preparation, notwithstanding the numberless perplexities such an undertaking involves, has been a pleasant and profitable one-and he can only wish the reader a similar experience in its perusal. Hoping the fruits of these snatches of time and toil may be made to minister in some degree to the intelligence and good of the people, we send this volume forth on its mission to the world. J. FRICHMOND. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PACU EARLY HISTORY OF MANHATTAN......................... 17 The Great Metropolis.............................. 17 Original Settlers of Manhattan...................... 19 The Advent of the White Man...................... 21 The First Grave................................... 22 Hudson explores the River......................... 23 Founding of the Dutch Dynasty..................... 25 Peter Minuits, the First Governor................... 26 Wouter Van Twiller............................... 26 W illiam Keift.................................... 27 Peter Stuyvesant, the Last of the Dutch Governors..... 28 The Surrender of the Dutch Dynasty................. 30 Manners and Customs.............................. 32 CHAPTER II. ENGLISH COLONIAL HISTORY............................ 36 Successful Administration of Colonel Nicols........... 36 Recapture of Manhattan by the Dutch................ 37 The Career and Tragic End of Leisler, the People's Choice. 39 Captain Kidd, the New York Pirate................. 46 Rip Van Dam.................................... 52 The Trial and Triumph of Liberty................... 54 The Negro Plot of 1741............................ 60 Triumph of the Anglo-Saxon........................ 65 Troublous Times Approaching....................... 68 CHAPTER III. IMPORTANT INCIDENTS OF THE REVOLUTION, AND LATER HISTORY OF NEW YORK................................ 72 ii CONTENTS. PAGV New York Government at Sea....................... 72 Plot to Assassinate Washington...................... 73 Shocking Barbarity of English Officers................ 74 Hale and Andr6, the Two Spies..................... 80 Arnold in New York.............................. 84 British Evacuation............................... 89 The Burr and Hamilton Tragedy of 1804.............. 90 Robert Fulton, and the " Clermont".................. 96 Public Improvements of 1825....................... 98 CHAPTER IV. NEW YORK As IT IS.................................. 101 1. Description of the Island........................ 101 2. Population at Different Periods................. 103 3. Streets and Avenues of New York................ 105 The Plan, the Pavements, and the Modes of Travel. Wall Street. Broad Street. Broadway. Fifth Avenue. The Boulevard. 4. The Architecture.......................... 114 Hotels. Astor House, Fifth Avenue, St. Nicholas, Grand Central. Cooper Institute. Academy of Design. Theaters. The Astor Library. American Bible House. Publishing Houses. The Park Bank. Life Insurance Buildings. The City Hall. The New York Court House. The New York Post Office. Stores. Stewart's, Claflin's, Lord & Taylor's, Tiffany'R. etc. 5. Business in New York......................... 131 Causes of Business Failure. Business in Real Estate. NClasses of Rich Men. Politicians. CONTENTS. X1 Past Speculators and Stock Gamblera Success of Great Men. 6. The Churches of New York.................... 142 Reformed Dutch. Protestant Episcopal. Lutheran. Presbyterian. Baptist Methodist. Jews. Roman Catholics. Other Denominations and Missionary Societies. 7. Parks and Squares............................. 158 8. How New York is supplied with Water............ 166 9. The Schools and Colleges of New York............ 169 10. Public Security................................ 180 Metropolitan Police Department. Metropolitan Fire Department. The Health Department. Quarantine Department. Maritime Defences. United States Navy Yard. 11. New York in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. 198 12. The Libraries, Monuments, and Markets of New York. 206 13. The Cemeteries of New York..................... 214 The Early Cemeteries. New York Bay. Greenwood. Cypress Hills. Evergreen. Calvary. Wood Lawn. CHAPTER V. INSTITUTIONS OF MANHATTAN ISLAND AND WESTCHESTER CO. 281 ASYLUMS........................................... 281 1. New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb....... 281 2. Institution for the Improved Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb.................................... 287 3. The New York Institution for the Blind............ 289 4. Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane............... 294 5. The New York Orphan Asylum................... 299 xiv CONTENTS, PAGQ 6. The Colored Orphan Asylum.................... 302 7. Orphan Home and Asylum of the Protestant Episcopal Church.in New York.......................... 305 8. The Sheltering Arms......................... 308 9. The Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum............. 312 10. New York Asylum for Lying-in Women............ 315 1. New York Magdalen Benevolent Asylum.......... 317 12. Society for Half-Orphan and Destitute Children..... 321 13. The Leake and Watts Orphan House............... 325 14. The New York Juvenile Asylum.................. 328 15. The House of Mercy (Protestant Episcopal)........ 333 16. Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society.... 336 17. House of the Good Shepherd.................... 339 18. St. Barnabas House............................ 341 19. The Institution of Mercy (Roman Catholic)......... 344 20. Orphan Asylum of St. Vincent De Paul......... 347 21. Society for Destitute Roman Catholic Children...... 349 22. New York Foundling Asylum (Roman Catholic)..... 354 23. The Shepherd's Fold............................ 356 24. Woman's Aid Society and Presbyterian Home for Training Young Girls.......................... 357 25. St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum...................... 359 HOSPITALS AND INFIRMARIES........................... 360 1. The Roosevelt Hospital.......................... 360 2. The Presbyterian Hospital....................... 364 3. St. Luke's Hospital............................ 367 4. New York Hospital............................ 371 5. The Hospital of St. Francis...................... 374 6. St. Vincent Hospital............................ 375 7. German Hospital and Dispensary................. 379 8. Mount Sinai Hospital........................... 382 9. Bellevue Hospital.............................. 386 10. The Nursery and Child's Hospital................ 389 11. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary................. 394 12. The Woman's Hospital of the State of New York... 399 13. Institution for the Ruptured and Crippled........... 403 14. House of Rest for Consumptives.................. 408 15. New York Infirmary for Women and Children...... 410 CONTENTS. XV PAGB 16. New York Medical College and Hospital for Women.. 413 17. The Hahnemann Hospital........................ 415 18. The Stranger's Hospital.......................... 417 19. The New York Ophthalmic Hospital............... 419 20. The New York Aural Institute................... 419 21. Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital................. 421 HOMES..42.......................................... 423 1. Association for the Relief of Respectable Aged Indigent Females.................................. 423 2. Ladies' Union Aid Society of the M. E. Church..... 426 3. American Female Guardian Society and Home for the Friendless................................... 430 4. The Home for Incurables........................... 434 5. Samaritan Home for the Aged.................... 436 6. The Colored Home........................... 439 7. The St. Luke's Home........................... 442 8. The Presbyterian Home.......................... 446 9. Union Home and School for Children of our Volunteer Soldiers and Sailors............................ 449 10. The Female Christian Home...................... 452 11. The Home for Friendless Women................. 453 12. Women's Prison Association of New York (The I. T. Hopper Home).................... 457 13. Roman Catholic Home for the Aged............... 461 14. Chapin Home for the Aged and Infirm............. 462 15. Baptist Home for the Aged........................ 463 16. Home for Aged Hebrews....................... 464 17. Ladies' Christian Union, or Young Woman's Home.. 467 18. Hotel for Working Women (A. T. Stewart's)....... 470 19. The Water Street Home for Women................ 471 MISSIONS, INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS, AND MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 477 1. The Five Points Mission......................... 477 2. The Five Points House of Industry................ 483 3. Woman's Boarding House........................ 486 4. The Howard Mission and Home for Little Wanderers. 488 5. The Midnight Mission............................ 492 6. Wilson's Industrial School....................... 494 7. The New York House and School of Industry...... 497 Xvi CONTENTS. PAGN 8. The Children's Aid Society....................... 499 9. Society for the Employment and Relief of Poor Women. 504 10. New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor..................................... 505 11. Young Men's Christian Association................. 508 12. New York Prison Association.................... 511 PRISONS AND DISPENSARIES............................ 514 1. The City Prisons................................ 514 2. The New York Medical Dispensaries............... 519 CHAPTER VI. INSTITUTIONS OF BLACKWELL'S ISLAND..........5......... 523 1. The Islands and the Authorities.................. 523 2. The Hospitals of Blackwell's Island............... 527 3. The New York Penitentiary..................... 531 4. The New York Almshouse........................ 536 5. The New York Workhouse....................... 541 6. The New York Lunatic Asylum................... 545 CHAPTER VII. INSTITUTIONS OF WARD'S ISLAND........................ 551 1. The Buildings of the Commissioners of Emigration... 551 2. The New York Inebriate Asylum.................. 557 CHAPTER VIII. INSTITUTIONS OF RANDALL'S ISLAND...................... 562 1. The New York Nurseries....................... 562 Buildings for the Healthy Children. Infant Hospital. Idiot School and Asylum. 2. Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents 568 CHAPTER IX. INSTITUTIONS ON HART ISLAND........................... 572 The Industrial School, and the School-Ship Mercury".. 572 CHAPTER X. NEW YORK INSTITUTIONS ON STATEN ISLAND............ 578 1. Sailors' Snug Harbor........................... 578 2. Seamen's Fund and Retreat...................... 582 Tim ORIGINAL PURCHASE OF THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN FOR $24 BY PETER MINUITS, THE FIRST DUTCH GOVERNOR, IN 1624. - =e — ~ —-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~: - --- -------- - -- NEW Your. (MANHATTAX) IN 1656. NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY OF MANHATTAN. THE GREAT METROPOLIS-ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF MANHATTAN — THE ADVENT OF THE WHITE MAN-THE FIRST GRAVE-HUDSON EXPLORES THE RIVER-FOUNDING OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY-PETER MINUITS, THE FIRST GOVERNOR-WOUTER VAN TWILLER-WILLIAM KEIFT-PETER STUYVESANT, THE LAST OF THE DUTCH GOVERNORS-THE SURRENDER OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY-MANNERS ANDi CUSTOMS. THE GREAT METROPOLIS.'jEW YORK is the most populous,, wealthy, and splendid city on the American continent. Its location, climate, surroundings, and connections have all been favorable to its growth and greatness. gy It stands on the little island called by the E E1I.Indians Manhattan, but Brooklyn, Williamsburgh, Greene Point, Jersey City, Hoboken, Yon — kers, and Tarrytown, are but its suburbs, containing: the residences of its laborers, clerks, and merchantprinces. Among the earliest localities to feel the tread of the European stranger, it has through all' its history been deservedly popular as a landing depot, anld now receives fully five-sevenths of all entering the country.. About five thousand vessels annually enter its bay, which is suf2 18 NEW YORK AD ITS INSTITUTIONS. ficiently broad and deep to anchor the collected navies of the world. Its imports and exports are more than fifty per cent of the whole United States, and amount to five hundred million dollars per annum; while the aggregate trade of the city reaches nearly four thousand millions. Nearly three hundred railroad trains make daily communication with its suburbs. The taxable property of the island reported at less than half its value reaches nearly a thousand millions, and the annual tax about twenty-five millions. New York is the great storehouse of the nation's wealth, the centre of its financial operations, and of its political, industrial, economic, scientific, educational, benevolent, and religious enterprises. New York furnishes most of the newspapers, periodicals, books, pictures, models of statuary, architecture, machinery, and handicraft, for the numerous great States clustered around it, and for the broad Canadas. There is poverty in New York, deep and squalid; but it is offset by wealth, countless and dazzling. There is ignorance here, profound and astonishing; but there is learning also, brilliant and extensive as can be found on the globe. There are sinners in New York, black and guilty, as ever disgraced the world; but there are saints also, spotless and benevolent, as ever adorned the Church of God. All extremes meet in this great metropolis. Here are the denizens of every land, the babblings of every tongue, the productions of every clime, the inventions of every craft, and the ripened fruit of every desire. At a single glance can be seen, as in a vast mirror, pictures of age and infancy, beauty and deformity, industry and indolence, wealth and beggary, vice and sanctity. New York, with its immense libraries, art galleries, daily press, literary associations and lectures, its benevolent institutions, and architectural wonders, is one of the richest fields of human culture in the known world. There is on every hand something to interest, please, and profit everybody, of whatever country, talent, or temperament. It is a luxury to tarry in New York, though it be but for a month, a week, or a day, ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF MANHATTAN. 19 to listen to the rumble of its wheels, the whistle of its engines, the clicking of its telegraphs, the voice of its orators, the chime of its bells, the strains of its music, and the roar of its artillery. Whose mind is not enlarged as he contemplates the progress of its growth, the rush of its improvements, and the majestic sweep of its commerce Who can stand upon its elevated observatories and closely contemplate its leagues of solid masonry, everywhere thronged with immortals as important and hopeful as himself, without such emotions as he never experienced before? Who can press through the whirl of its daily activities, without thinking of eternity; through its neglected sinks, without thinking of pandemonium; or its cultivated parks, without thinking of paradise All do not live in New York, nor can they; yet every thoughtful American should visit it, snuff its ocean breezes, contemplate its massive piles, peep into its institutions, and gather inspiration from the rush of its activities. For any who wish to visit it, or who do not, this book has been written. To obtain a correct and adequate knowledge of New York, let us begin at the foundation. ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF MANHATTAN. - v OR many ages Manhattan lay buried l__ Ein these western solitudes, separated by a wide and stormy ocean from all nthe bustling activities of the civilized world. During a long period it is now known to have been the favorite resort of the Indians of the Hudson river country who gathered here in vast numbers, built their rustic villages, and spent the summer months in fishing, baking clams, and hunting. Centuries before civilization found its way to 20 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. these shores, the broad bay now whitened with the sails of a hundred nations was dotted with the canoes of an ingenious race, whose history is now too nearly obliterated. Their lands they owned in common, the only divisions being between the different tribes. Their habitations were constructed of saplings and bark, with no windows, floors, or chimneys. Their villages were located on spots of ground naturally clear of wood, and contained from twenty to several hundred families, which in time of war they surrounded with a fence or stockade. To agriculture they gave no attention, save the planting of Indian corn, beans, peas, and pumpkins. Both sexes were exceedingly fond of display in dress, illustrating the old saying, that "man in robes or in rags is a proud little animal." The Indian women wore long, black hair, plaited and rolled up behind, where it was fastened with a band. Their petticoats were ornamented with exquisite taste and skill, and would bring a fine sum in our day. This garment hung from a belt or waist-girdle made of dressed deerskin, highly ornamented with Indian money called sewant. Pendants hung upon their foreheads, necks, and arms, and handsomely trimmed moccasins adorned their feet. The men were no less attentive to dress. Upon their shoulders they hung a mantle of deer-skin, with the fur next their bodies, while the outside of the garment displayed a variety of designs in paint. The edges of the mantle were trimmed with swinging points of fine workmanship. Their heads were variously ornamented; some wearing feathers, and others different articles of a showy character. Their necks and arms displayed ornaments of elaborate workmanship. They painted themselves in a variety of colors according to their peculiar tastes, rendering their appearance grotesque and frightful. They were tall and slender, had black or brown eyes, snow-white teeth, a cinnamon complexion, and were fleeteand sprightly. They had no care but to provide for present subsistence and secure pleasure. They were very superstitious, believing in dreams, signs, and various omens. THE ADVENT OF THE WHITE MAN. 21 They had crude notions of the Great Spirit and the Spirit Land. When one died they placed his body in a grave in a sitting posture, shielding it from contact with the earth by a covering of boughs, and from the wild beasts by a burden of stone and earth. By his side in the grave was also placed his implements of war and pleasure, some money and food to serve him on his journey to the Spirit Land. The science of war was his greatest accomplishment, and to die without any display of weakness or fear, his highest virtue. Oratory was considerably cultivated among them. When first discovered their manners and habits contrasted so strangely with everything in Europe, that they were supposed to possess few, if indeed any, of the affections and higher emotions of humanity, but to be more closely allied to the lower orders of creation. Time has, however, shown their native regard for integrity and honor, and under the appliances of mental and moral culture, the Indian head and heart have proved capable of high attainments. THE ADVENT OF THE WHITE MAN. - - T ___ HE wants of the race had fairly out-: —- _~ grown the capacities of the East. An accession of new ideas was demanded; human liberty could not be realized amid the crushing despotisms of the Old World, and benevolence, the divinest grace of the soul, a languished for want of a broader theatre on which to work out and exhibit its sublime developments. Divine Providence opened the gates to this western world. Varrazzani, a Florentine in the employ of the French Government in the sixteenth century (1525), is believed to have been the first white man who sailed through the Narrows, and looked upon the placid waters of the New York bay and its green islands. In 1609 Henry Hudson, an intrepid English 22 NEW YOX AND ITS INSTTUTIUONS. navigator in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, sailed from Europe in search of a northwest passage to the East Indies. The vessel in which he sailed was a yacht, called the "Half Moon," of about eighty tons burthen, and would be considered a very diminutive thing for an explorer in our day, when canal boats carry three hundred and fifty tons. His crew consisted of fifteen or twenty sailors, partly of Dutch and partly of English birth. He traversed the American coast from Newfoundland to the Chesapeake bay, and then turned again northward to explore more carefully the country thus passed. On the 2d of September he rounded Sandy Hook, and on the 4th he anchored near the Jersey shore in the south bay. As the waters swarmed with fish, a boat was lowered to catch some, and the crew is believed to have landed on the foam-fringed beach of Coney Island, and to have been the first white men who ever set foot on the soil of the Empire State. It is not wonderful that Hudson forgot his mission, and became enchanted with the gorgeous scenery everywhere spread out before him. Majestic forests, that had slumbered on through the solitudes of the ages, waved on the shores; the little hills were crowned with grass and a variety of fragrant flowers; the waters swarmed with finny tribes, while birds of strange plumage and song flitted through the air. A hitherto unknown race, with strange manners and showy trappings, came to his ship in their canoes with corn and other vegetables, for which they received from the generous commodore axes and shoes, which they hung about their necks for ornaments. THE FIRST GRAVE. Hudson continued at his anchorage about a week, and on the 6th of the month dispatched a boat to explore the harbor. The little crew passed through the Narrows and took a view of the green hills of Manhattan, after which it sailed out toward Newark bay. On their return an unfortunate collision HUDSON EXPLORES THE RIVER. 23 occurred between the party and the natives, and an English sailor named John Coleman was struck in the neck by an arrow and killed. Two others were wounded. Coleman had long been associated with Hudson on the seas, and his death was greatly regretted. It is probable that the sailors were the first aggressors. A grave was dug on Sandy Hook, and on the 9th of September he was mournfully interred, and the spot has since been known as Coleman's Point. HUDSON EXPLORES THE RIVER. On the 11th of September Hudson sailed through the Narrows, and after anchoring one day in the New York bay proceeded up the river to the present site of Albany, hoping to find the long-sought passage to the East Indies. Unwilling to believe he had reached the head of navigation, he despatched a party to sound the river higher up. They proceeded eight or nine leagues, and finding but seven feet of water they returned with the unwelcome intelligence. The voyage up the river, though a disappointment, was a pleasant excursion. The rocky Palisades, lofty Highlands, and the majestic curves of the sweeping silver current, appear to have lingered long in the minds of these bold adventurers. The natives gave them a friendly reception, spreading before them the best the country afforded. The country was indeed rich. Hudson declared that in one Indian village he saw a quantity of corn and beans sufficient to fill three ships, and that the neighboring fields were burdened with luxuriant crops. Two unfortunate occurrences in this voyage tarnish the character of Hudson and his crew. They communicated to the red man the fatal, intoxicating bowl. Sailors must always have a revel while on shore, and one occurred during their stay at Albany-the first on the banks of that beautiful river. Secondly, he had rudely captured while at Sandy Hook two natives, whom he designed to carry with him to Holland. Both escaped on his passage up the river, or at 24 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. their drunken carousal, and with manly courage collected their forces to resent this breach of faith on his return. A fleet of well-filled canoes at Spuyten Duyvil attacked and attempted to board the vessel. A musket shot from the ship killed one native and scattered the rest. Opposite Washington Heights the attack was renewed as the vessel floated down _=I_, =- -— _ _ THE "HALF MOON" ASCENDING HUDSON RIVER. the stream. Another volley of musketry stretched nine more in the cold embrace of death, after which they desisted. The thunder of the white man's weapon, and the deadly plunge of his missile, was more than they could understand. A little caution and moderation would have saved these stains from that otherwise brilliant record of this peerless navigator. On the 4th of October Hudson set sail for Holland, to make known the facts of his wonderful discovery. FOUNDING OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY. 25 FOUNDING OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY. _ i- UDSON had scarcely made known the.3li - results of his voyage in Holland, ere ~, E' trading vessels were fitted out by the enterprising merchants, and despatched to these shores to reap the golden harvest held out in the valuable fur trade. These experiments were highly successful, and agents were stationed here to continue the business during the absence of the ships. These agents established their headquarters on the southern point of Manhattan Island. The " United New Netherland Company," composed of a number of merchants, was chartered in 1614, for a brief period, and in 1621 the "West India Company," larger and richer than the former, was permanently incorporated. This great company was invested with nearly all the prerogatives of a general government. They were allowed to appoint their own governors, settle the ends and forms of administrative justice, make treaties, enact laws, and were granted the exclusive control of trade on the whole American coast. In 1623 a stanch vessel (the "New Netherland," which continued her trips regularly for more than thirty years) brought over thirty families to begin a colony. These were landed at Albany, and a settlement began. Two years later (1625) another company came over in two ships, bringing horses, cattle, sheep, swine, agricultural implements, and seed grain, and began a settlement on Manhattan. The first fort was erected in 1615 by the traders, and stood in the rear of the present Trinity church, on the bank of the river, the tides then reaching where the western wall of the churchyard now stands. In 1751 some workmen digging in the bank in the rear of the church, discovered a stone wall which was afterwards ascertained to be the remains of the long-forgotten fort. In 1623 a new fort, a block-house, was constructed a little south of 26 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. what is now the Bowling Green, which served the matter of defence for ten years. PETER MINUITS, THE FIRST GOVERNOR. The affairs of the colony having become sufficiently important to require the presence of a director-general, Peter Minuits, of Westphalia, was appointed in 1624, and immediately assumed the reins of government. To conciliate the Indians he purchased the entire island of Manhattan for twenty-four dollars. The Governor established his residence in the block-house, around which he erected strong palisades The imports into the colony in 1624 amounted to $10.654, and the exports, wholly of skins and furs, amounted to $11,000 In 1631, the last year of his administration, the imports were $23,000, and the exports $27,204. During the administration of Minuits the rival claims to territory between the English and the Dutch were started, but no adjustment -was reached. Minuits, having been recalled by the company2, vas in April, 1633, succeeded by WOUTER VAN TWILLER. Van Twiller was a relative of Mr. Van Rensselaer, one of the principal directors of the company, and whose descendants have been extensive landholders in America. It was this relationship that secured him his appointment, he having been previously but a clerk for the company. In person he is described as close-jointed, short, and exceedingly corpulent. As some one has said, "He looked as if Dame Nature had designed him for a giant, but changed her mind." IHis administration was marked by the rebuilding of the fort on a greatly enlarged scale; by the purchase from the Indians of "Nut" (now Governor's) Island; also two in the East river above Hurl Gate, now known as Ward's and Randall's Islands. Everardus Bogardus, the first clergyman of Man. WILLIAM KEIFT, THE THIRD GOVERNOR. 27 hattan whose name has come down to us, is believed to have come over in the ship with the Governor. During this reign the first church edifice was erected. It was a wooden structure, and stood on Pearl street, near Broad. Adam Roelandsen, the first schoolmaster, was introduced about the same time. The town was but a hamlet of thatched buildings at that period. Hundreds of painted savages still roamed over the island, pursuing game through the tangled woodlands, and grew their vegetables in its mellow deposits. A steady trade with them was continued, in which they exchanged their furs and vegetables, receiving too often gin, rum, or glass beads in return. Indeed, one has well said, " The kindhearted Dutchmen had conceived a great friendship for their savage neighbors, on account of their being pleasant men to trade with, and little skilled in the art of making a bargain." WILLIAM KEIFT, THE THIRD GOVERNOR. The ship " Herring" arrived at Manhattan on the 28th of March, 1638, bringing the newly appointed Governor. The affairs of the colony had progressed but slowly. It had been founded by a company of merchants, who weighed everything from a financial standpoint; high tariffs were laid upon the industry of the settlers, which produced dissatisfaction and led to frequent altercations between the people and the authorities. They were held together, however, by the fear of a savage enemy constantly prowling around them. Keift's administration continued nine years, and became unpopular and unprofitable to the company in consequence of the Indian war, into which he was unfortunately drawn. The first advance toward popular government was, however, taken under his administration. The people were allowed to elect eight representatives to assist the Governor in administering the affairs of the colony. Building lots were then first granted the citizens. In 1642 a stone tavern was erected on what is now Pearl street, which afterwards became the City Hall. A 28 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. stone church was also erected in the south-east corner of the fort. Governor Keift, having been relieved from office, set sail for Iolland in the ship ".Princess," July, 1647. Several prominent persons were on board, among whom was Dominie Bogardus, who had married a wealthy widow on Manhattan, but had resolved to make one more visit to the fatherland. The voyage proved disastrous. The pilot mistook the channel, entered the Severn, and wrecked his vessel on the coast of Wales. Of the Qne hundred persons on board but twenty were saved. PETER STUYVESANT, THE LAST OF THE DUTCH GOVERNORS. Success had not particularly crowned the undertaking of the company. It was computed that the West India Company had, between the years 1626 and 1644, expended upon the settlement over two hundred thousand dollars above all returns made to it, and that not more than one hundred men remained in the city, exclusive of the officers and employes of the company, at the close of the Indian war in 1645. Stuyvesant, it was hoped, would retrieve these losses, and secure the enlargement and stability of the town. He had been the director of the Dutch colony at Cura~oa, where, in a battle with the Portuguese, he had lost a leg. He was a brave man, with considerable breadth of mind and great force of character. He was also imperious, impatient of contradiction, absolute and despotic in his notions of government He, however, excelled all his predecessors in efforts for the advancement of the colony, and the good of the people, among whom he settled after the English conquest, and remained a private and amiable citizen until the close of his life, leaving an honorable posterity not extinct at this day. His administration was characterized by great vigor, and the town soon exhibited marked improvements. As is usual, some of his subjects were pleased, and some dissatisfied. Drunkenness and profanity were strictly prohibited, and no PETER STtUYVESANT, THE LAST DUTCH GOVERNOR. 29 liquors were to be sold to the Indians. Other abuses were speedily corrected. In 1648 he established a weekly market; in 1652 the city was regularly incorporated; the next year the palisades on the line of Wall Street were erected, and in 1657 the streets were laid out and named. The population of the place had also wonderfully increased. But the martial fires of the old Governor still slumbered in his capacious frame, and waited an opportunity for an outburst. This was soon given. Three nationalities had established their colonies on these shores. The English in Virginia and Maryland, and on the eastern coast, had protested against the establishment of New Amsterdam, which divided their colonies. The Swedes established themselves on the banks of the Delaware, under the protest of the Dutch. The Swedes built Fort Christina as a matter of common defence, and the Dutch, to protect their own trade in that locality, erected in 1650 Fort Casimar, near the mouth of the Brandywine, and but five miles from this Swedish fortification. Regarding this an encroachment, the Swedish Governor in 1654 adroitly captured the fort, changed its name, disarmed and paroled the little garrison. The next year Stuyvesant received orders to recapture the fort, and drive the Swedes entirely from the river. This was a welcome message to the old warrior. The whole force of New Amsterdam was soon afloat in seven ships of war, with the intrepid Governor as commander, and the whole Swedish territory speedily capitulated. But the victorious Dutch had no time to rejoice over their successes. Two thousand armed savages, taking advantage of the defenceless state of the colony to avenge the shooting of a squaw some time previously, overran STUYVESANTS SEAL. the town, after which they departed to Iloboken, Pavonia, 30 NEW YOEK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. and Staten Island, and in three days murdered one hundred of the inhabitants, carried into captivity a hundred and fifty more, besides destroying property valued at two hundred thousand guilders. Stuyvesant soon returned, and while he made every preparation for a vigorous war against the Indians, he at the same time so appeased them with kindness and presents, that from motives of fear and friendship they were glad to conclude a peace by the release. of the captives. His power over the Indians was always wonderful. THE SURRENDER OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY. A still greater danger had long hung over the Dutch colony. The English had from the first claimed the entire continent as having been discovered by Cabot. In vain did the Dutch urge their own discovery, their title honorably secured from the Indians, and the fact of possession. The Plymouth colony established at New Haven spread gradually over the country, until it held much of Long Island and Westchester. The Virginia colony absorbed the territory on the Delaware so triumphantly wrested from the Swedes. Stuyvesant's appeals to the company for the means of defence were unheeded. The accession of Charles II. to the English throne, in 1664, brought matters to a crisis. He granted to his brother James, Duke of York, a patent of the territory lying between the Connecticut river and Delaware bay, covering the whole of the Dutch dominion in America. The Duke immediately despatched four ships, with four hundred and fifty soldiers, to take possession of the territory he had thus acquired. Late in August, 1664, the little fleet cast anchor near Coney Island. The soldiers were landed and took possession of the block-house on Staten Island, and soon cut off Manhattan from the neighboring shores. The resolute Governor made what preparation possible for defence, but the colony was not able to resist a siege. The palisades, effectual enough against the Indians, were of little use against English troops. The fort itself was a mere sham. The pop THE SURRENDER OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY. 31 ulation amounted to about fifteen hundred, and could furnish but a few hundred, at most, able to bear arms; and to crown all, not over six hundred pounds of gunpowder could be collected in the colony. The town, standing on the southern point of the island, was exposed from all sides to the raking fire of the fleet, and must have soon been one smoking ruin. Still, the brave Governor could not brook the thought of surrender, and as soon as the fleet anchored in the bay, he sent a messenger to inquire what object they had in thus entering a friendly port. The commander returned a reply asserting the claim of Great Britain to the territory, and demanded an immediate surrender, giving assurances that all submissive inhabitants would be secured in their liberty and estates. Having promised to give a reply on the following morning, the Governor convened his council and the city magistrates, and informed them of the demand, but withheld the letter containing the terms of capitulation. A demand for this document on the part of the burgomasters greatly enraged the Governor, who dissolved the assembly and declared his purpose of defending the town. The English commander understood the condition of the colony. Knowing its defence utterly impossible, and that secret heart-burnings had long existed among a portion of its inhabitants, he issued an artful proclamation to the inhabitants, and made arrangements for recruiting in the settlement. The landing of troops at Brooklyn to storm the town, and the anchoring of the ships in front of the fort, convinced all that the crisis had fully arrived. Crowds gathered around the venerable woodenlegged Governor, among whom was his own son, pleading for the stay of hostilities by the surrender of the town. For a time he was inflexible, saying, "No! Iwould rather be carried out dead; " but he at length yielded, performing no doubt the most painful service of his life. On the morning of the 8th of September, 1664, Stuyvesant marched his troops outof Fort Amsterdam with the honors of war, and the English took possession and raised on the flagstaff the ensign of their country. Thus closed the reign of the Knickerbockers, after holding 32 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Manhattan fifty-five years, and establishing a flourishing and interesting colony. Governor Stuyvesant soon after departed for Holland to give an account of his administration to the West India Company, after which he returned, lived STUYVESANT IIJS. and died on a large farm he had previously purchased in the Bowery. A large pear-tree of his planting stood until three years ago at the corner of Third avenue and Thirteenth street. This monument of the good old days has now disappeared-the last of the Knickerbockers. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. ___-__ lHE first money in use on Manhattan was Wampum, i.e., small beads made of shells, sometimes wrought into belts and worn as ornaments. Wampum was of two kinds, white and black or purple color, the dark colored being twice as valuable as the other. Wampum consisted of cylindrical pieces of testaceous fishes, (hard-shell clams or oysters,) a quarter of an inch in length, and in diameter less than MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 33 a pipe stem, drilled lengthwise so as to be strung upon a thread. A piece of white wampum was counted equal to a farthing. The Dutch and English traders carried into the interior their knives, combs, scissors, needles, awls, lookingglasses, hatchets, guns, blankets, etc., and sold them to the natives for seawant or wampum, and with this wampum returned and purchased their furs, corn, venison, etc., on the seaboard, thus artfully avoiding the great labor of transporting the furs and grain through the country. This circulating medium was used in New England also, and was finally regulated by civilized governments. The Dutch kept five festivals, Kerstydt (Christmas), Nieuw jar (New Year), Paas (the Passover), Pinxter (i.e., Whitsuntide), and San Claas (i.e., Saint Nicholas, or Christkinkle day). CHRISTMAS was a great day for shooting-matches. Turkeys and other fowls were placed at a long distance from the marksman, every one paying for his shot and bearing away all he hit. This festival is still continued in New York, the shooting having been superseded by Church services and festivals, in which the Christmas tree, containing a present for each expected to attend, forms the principal object of attraction. Presents are given profusely in all circles. Merchants are expected to give presents to all in their employ,, and often expend thousands of dollars in carrying out this costly programme. The ingenious stories of Santa Claus are not repeated as much as formerly, though the children are as much interested in them as were those of the preceding generations. PAAS was long very generally observed by the Dutch, and colored boiled eggs may still be found in many families in, the city and country on the return of this festival. PINXTER. is scarcely remembered. NEW YEAR was the great festival of the whole-season. The tables were spread with cakes, cider, wines, indeed everything calculated to tempt and satisfy the appetite. Everybody received calls, and all went to, see their friends. General Washington resided in New York 3 34 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. during the first year of his Presidency, in the Franklin House, at the head of Cherry street. On the first day of January, 1790, he was waited on by most of the principal gentlemen of the city. They were severally introduced to the President, who received them with marked cordiality, and after an agreeable interchange of thought they severally withdrew, greatly pleased with the appearance and manners of the President, to most of whom he was a personal stranger. In the evening the ladies came to call on Mrs. Washington. The evening was beautiful, and many came. All were cordially received, and after being seated, coffee, plain and plum cake were served, which was followed by familiar conversation, in which Mrs. Washington was conspicuous. The General, who had been greatly pleased with the calls of the gentlemen, was present during the evening. Not being familiar with their usages, he ventured to ask whether this matter was casual or customary, to which a lady replied that it was their annual custom, received from their Dutch forefathers, and which they had always commemorated. After a short pause, he observed, "The highly favored situation of New York, will, in process of years, attract emigrants, who will gradually change its customs and manners; but let whatever changes take place, never forget the cordial, cheerful observance of New Year's day." Emigration has not changed this ancient custom. English, Irish, Scotch, Jews, and Gentiles, rich and poor, continue the practice; tables groan under a burden of rich viands and cakes, costly wines, lemonade, and rare fruits. Nearly every house is still open for callers, who begin their circuits in the morning, many of them continuing their travels until the small hours of the night. While there are some things pleasant and desirable in this ancient custom, it is also attended with so much excess, that the first day of January closes annually in New York upon more tipsy dandies than can be found in almost any other city in Christendom. THANKSGIVING is now very generally observed in New York, services being held in most of the churches, and al MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 35 business is suspended. This custom originated in New England, and has gradually spread its way through most of the country. INDEPENDENCE DAY, originating with the publication of the Declaration in Philadelphia, is a great holiday in New York. The incessant discharge of fire-arms from early morn'till evening, is very distressing to people of weak nerves. The brilliant fireworks during the evening of the 4th of July, in the parks and squares, are not excelled in the world. The Dutch mansions were complete models of neatness and order. The floors had no carpets, and were almost worn out with repeated scourings of soap and white sand. Their parlors were choicely kept, and their tables contained no rich plate. Dancing was a common recreation among the Dutch. The supper at a dance consisted of chocolate and bread. All marriages among the ancient Dutch had to be published three weeks beforehand in the churches, otherwise a license must be purchased from the Governor. This latter was considered costly. A good suit of clothes worn at church was invariably taken off and laid away on the return. The Dutch were fond of posterity. A father sometimes gave his son a bundle of goose-quills, telling him to give one to each of his sons. Gentlemen in good circumstances thought nothing of carrying a bag containing a hundred pounds of meal through the streets, and would have been ashamed of a porter. It was the custom of the early Dutch merchants and speculators to make their fortunes out of their customers and nothing from their creditors. Alas! how the world changes I 36 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. CHAPTER II. ENGLISH COLONIAL HISTORY. SUCCESSFUL ADMINISTRATION OF COL. NICOLS-RECAPTURE OF MANHATTAN BY THE DUTCH-THE CAREER AND TRAGIC END OF LEISLER, THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE —CAPTAIN KIDD, THE NEW YORK PIRATERIP VAN DAM-THE TRIAL AND TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY-THE NEGRO PLOT OF 1741-TRIUMPH OF THE ANGLO-SAXON-TROUBLOUS TIMES APPROACHING. <- ^~_' jUGCH dissatisfaction was very reason_.I~ -~ ably expected with this sudden change'~_4 Al- ^t'~ ~ of authority, though it proved, upon j'- j_-:_p gthe whole, quite satisfactory to the? ~~ ~ I > n Dutch colony. The inhabitants were,. _:^^fllH; confirmed in their right of property - ~'-*-~i1 and their custom of inheritance; they were allowed to continue their commerce with the Holland merchants, liberty of conscience in matters of religion was not abridged, and they were promised exemption from impressment in war service against any nation whatsoever. They were allowed to elect inferior officers and magistrates, and any who were dissatisfied were permitted to leave the country. The first English Governor, Col. Richard Nicols, established the system of trial by jury, a hitherto unknown procedure in America. The Dutch Government at that period was reputed the most liberal government in Europe; but, unfortunately, the Government had never had control of the colony, that having been committed to the mercenary management of a private mercantile corporation. Every precaution to strengthen the hold of the new government on the inhabitants was taken. All grants of RECAPTURE OF MANHATTAN BY THE DUTCH. 37 land previously made were renewed or confirmed, and all individual interests were carefully guarded. All property belonging to the West India Company was confiscated and sold at auction to the inhabitants. This linked the new administration to their titles, and made it essential to the possession of their property. It was not until July 12,1665, that the Governor felt safe in attempting any decided change in the government. On that day he issued his proclamation revoking the old system of burgomasters and schepens, introducing in their place a Mayor, a Board of Aldermen, and a Sheriff, all of whom were to be appointed by the Governor. The name of the city was also changed to New York, in honor of the Duke. Colonel Nicols, after a successful administration of four years, was at his own request relieved from duty, and was succeeded in office by Colonel Francis Lovelace, an officer of the English army. RECAPTURE OF MANHATTAN BY THE DUTCH. jj1 N 1672 war again broke out between England |-i and Holland. The sturdy Dutch having " i waited anxiously for an opportunity to recover their lost possessions in America, fitted out a squadron of five ships to cruise on the American coast, with instructions to inflict as much injury as possible upon the English colony and commerce. Though the authorities at New York were apprised of this fact, little preparation for defence wks undertaken. Governor Lovelace appears to have been a moderate, good-natured genius, vastly more interested in trips of pleasure than the affairs of government; hence, he scrupled not to leave for distant parts of the country, though the city was liable to be surprised at any hour with the approach of a hostile fleet. In his absence the fort was 38 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. left under command of Captain John Manning, a whitefeathered hero, full of pomp and bluster, every way capable of eating a rich dinner and of adjusting a pair of shoulderstraps, though quite incapable of conducting any ordinary correspondence or of resisting an attack. In February, 1673, a rumor reached the city that the enemy's fleet had been discovered off the coast of Virginia. The Governor was luxuriating among his rich friends in Westchester. A hasty summons from Captain Manning brought him to the city, where several hundred troops were mustered, but as no enemy appeared they were soon dispersed. In July he planned a trip to Connecticut. (A New York summer vacation.) A few days after his departure, two Dutch men-of-war appeared off Sandy Hook. The affrighted Manning again sent a dispatch to the Governor, and caused the drum to be beaten through the streets for recruits. The only noticeable response was from the Dutch malcontents, who, overjoyed at the sight of the flag of the "fadderlandt," on pretence of doing service, entered the fort and spiked many of the cannon, after which they departed, leaving the chickenhearted captain to fight his battle on his own line and in his own way. Meanwhile the enemies' ships advanced in front of the fort, and after some interchange of communications, in which Manning exhibited the greatest imbecility, the city with its fortifications was surrendered without firing a gun in its defence. The pusillanimous conduct of Manning, in surrendering the city without the slightest resistance, was a matter of great mortification to the English people, who then, as now, prided themselves on their military prestige. After the English authority was again established on the island, Manning was arraigned and tried by court-martial for cowardice and treachery, and was convicted. Iis sword was broken over his head in front of the City Hall, and he was incapacitated from holding any station of trust or authority under His Majesty's government ever afterward. The Dutch commanders appointed Captain Anthony Colve THE CAREER AND TRAGIC END OF LEISLER. 39 Governor, who changed the name of the city to New Orange, and proceeded to reorganize the municipal institutions, conforming them again to those of the fatherland. Expecting an attack from the English to recover their lost territory, Governor Colve with commendable dispatch repaired the palisades, improved the fortifications, and placed the city in a good state of defence. But the Dutch were not long allowed to enjoy the fruit of this toil. The treaty of peace signed February 9, 1674, between England and Holland, restored Manhattan to the English crown, and on the 10th of November, 1674, the Dutch Government departed from American soil for the last time. THE CAREER AND TRAGIC END OF LEISLER, THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE. _g _=-" - P_:S soon as the final cession of MIana * - n Si hattan to the English dominion had been secured by the peace treaty with the Holland Government, the Duke of York applied for and received from his brother Charles; II. the confirmation of his former title to the country, and immediately appointed Sir Edmond Andros Governor of the province. Andros, though a man of ability, was the unscrupulous tool of his master, the Duke of York, and his arbitrary tyranny over the people soon rendered his government immensely unpopular. During his adininistration seven public wells were dug, a new dock was constructed, new streets were laid out, and the "bolting act" passed. This latter granted the inhabitants of Manhattan the exclusive monopoly of bolting flour; a business which, twenty years later, furnished employment and subsistence to nearly two 40 NEW YORK AD ITS INSTITUTIONS. thirds of the population. Andros was recalled in 1683, and Colonel Thomas Dongan appointed in his stead. The death of Charles II., in 1685, brought the Duke of York to the English throne under the title of James II. The great political battles between Catholicism and Protestantism in Europe were now fiercely renewed, James seeking with every appliance the restoration of the Roman Catholic religion in England, as it had existed at the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. The American colonies were largely peopled with Protestant refugees, who had fled the tyranny of the Old World, and who could but take a lively interest in the pending struggle. It was known that Governor Dongan, though a man of moderation and caution, was a zealous Catholic, who had received instructions from his master to favor the introduction of the Roman Catholic religion into the province. As the contest proceeded in England, the tides of public feeling ran high in this country. The climax was reached on the reception of the news of the landing and proclamation of the Prince of Orange, and the abdication and flight of the former king. The revolution in England immediately extended to this country. The Bostonians rose to arms, deposed the English officers, sent them back to the mother country, and established a popular government. New York was more conservative. Governor Dongan, too tolerant in his policy to please the king, had been superseded a short time previously by Francis Nicholson, another Catholic, who, on the reception of the news, betook himself on board a vessel lying in the harbor, and sailed for England, leaving the colony without a ruler. Two political parties quickly came to the surface, each of which avowed its loyalty to the reign of William and Mary. One consisted of the members of the late Council, supported by a few wealthy citizens, and claimed that the colonial government was not subverted by the revolution in England, or by the flight of the Governor; that the second in authority with the Council inherited the power to administer the government, until matters should be definitely settled by the THE CAREER AND TRAGIC END OF LEISLER. 41 crown. The other party, which embodied the masses of the people, maintained that by the overthrow of the late king, and the abandonment of the country by the Governor, the previous system of government was totally overthrown, and that the people were empowered to appoint a provisional government of their own. But in times of general and intense excitement there is little chance for discussion; prejudice and inclination are immensely more potent than logic. The public money of the city, amounting to ~773 12s., had been deposited for safe keeping in the fort, which was garrisoned with a few troops. A crowd of citizens took possession of the fortification withbut resistance, after which Jacob Leisler, senior captain of the trainbands, was unanimously appointed to take command of the same, with power to preserve the peace, and suppress rebellion until instructions were received from England. The gentleman thus elevated to be the principal hero, and bear in the end the sad penalty of this exciting epoch, was one of the oldest and wealthiest of the Dutch burghers. He had entered Manhattan as a soldier in the service of the West India Company in 1660, and soon after married the widow of Cornelius Vanderveer, and thus became uncle of Stephanus Van Cortlandt and Nicholas Bayard, who were afterwards the principal instigators in his execution. He had already held a commission in the colony, and fully demonstrated his capacity and loyalty. No sooner had he taken possession of the fort, however, than active measures were undertaken by the opposite party to subvert his administration. Nicholas Bayard became the principal opponent of the Leislerian Government. Bayard was the cousin of Mrs. Peter Stuyvesant, of genuine Holland origin, had by mercantile pursuits amassed a large fortune, and had long been an active politician. IHe had served as Mayor, and was at this time colonel of the trainbands, of which Leisler was senior captain. Iis party having failed to get possession of the fort or custom-house, he next tried, but in vain, to disaffect the militia. Finding his influence gone, and alarmed for his personal safety, he, with Colonel 42 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Peter Schuyler, took refuge at Albany, where they labored industriously to excite hostility to Leisler and his party. Leisler was supported by Massachusetts, and the General Court of Connecticut, by the citizens of other provinces; but the authorities at Albany, probably through the influence of Bayard, refused for a period to recognize him. His administration appears to have been just, and considering the times, moderate. The first Mayor elected by the people was under his administration. France having espoused the cause of the exiled king, war broke out on the frontier between the French of Canada and their Indian allies, and the English colonies. The thriving settlement at Schenectady was burned, and nearly all the inhabitants massacred in one night. These depredations led to a general movement on the part of the authorities at Albany, New York, and New England, and two expeditions were fitted out, one against Montreal, and the other against Quebec. Neither of these accomplished their mission, and Leisler's administration can hardly be regarded a success though his motives were certainly only those of a genuine patriot. In December, 1689, a messenger from the English Government arrived at Boston with a communication addressed " To Francis Nicholson, or, in his absence, to such as for the time being takes care for preserving the peace and administering the laws in his Majesty's province of New York." Anxious to obtain possession of the letter and what authority it might confer, Bayard and one or two of his adherents secretly entered New York, and on the arrival of the messenger asserted their pretensions and demanded the missive. After some deliberation, however, the messenger delivered the package to those actually in power. The document authorized the person in power to take the chief command as LieutenantGovernor, and to appoint a council to assist him in conducting the government. Leisler carried out these instructions. A riot ensued, in which an attempt was made to seize Leis THE CAREER AND TRAGIC END OF LEISLER. 43 ler, after which he issued a warrant for the arrest of Bayard and others, on the charge of high misdemeanor against his Majesty's authority. Bayard was arrested and thrown into prison, and on the following day a court was called to try him for treason. Finding his affairs suddenly brought to extremities, Bayard confessed his faults, and supplicated for mercy, which was granted, though he was retained a prisoner for fourteen months. Early in his administration, Leisler had sent a report of his doings to the English throne. It was, however, written in broken English, a language he had never mastered; and as every disappointed English Governor stood ready to malign his motives and decry his usurpations, a violent prejudice was probably excited against him. Late in the year 1690, the Prince of Orange appointed IHenry Sloughter Governor of New York, and Major Richard Ingoldsby Lieutenant-Governor, who set sail for America with several ships and a small body of troops. A storm separated the vessels at sea, and Ingoldsby landed two months previous to the arrival of his superior. On landing, Ingoldsby announced the appointment of Sloughter, and demanded the fort for the accommodation of his troops. Leisler expressed his willingness to surrender the fort and his entire authority, but very properly demanded that previous to it the newcomer should produce his royal commission. The papers were, however, in the possession of Sloughter, and no sort of credentials could be produced. Leisler then offered the City Hall for the accommodation of the English troops, declining to surrender the fort until an officer duly commissioned arrived. Ingoldsby, with a haughty dignity, such as no wise officer sensible of the proper forms of authority would exhibit, issued a proclamation calling on the people to assist him in overcoming all opposition to his Majesty's command. This was bravely replied to by Leisler on the following day, charging whatever of bloodshed should ensue to his opponent, and forbidding him to commit any hostile acts against the city, fort, or province, at his utmost peril. A cloud of 44 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. wild agitation and uncertainty hung over the city for seven long weeks, until on the 19th of March the missing vessel, with the storm-tossed Governor, entered the harbor. Sloughter immediately landed, selected his council from among the enemies of Leisler, and proceeded to the City Hall, where he published his commission. Having sworn in the members of his council, he directed Ingoldsby to demand possession of the fort, though it was now eleven o'clock at night. Leisler, to avoid any deception, dispatched Ensign Stoll, who had seen Sloughter in England, with a message to the Governor, charging him to eye him closely. A second demand was made for the fort, and Leisler dispatched the Mayor and another prominent officer to make to the Governor all necessary explanations. and to transfer the fort. On entering his presence they were, however, handed over instantly to the guards, without being allowed to speak. Another ineffectual demand for the fort was made, after which the matter was allowed to rest until the next day. On the following morning, Leisler addressed a polite and congratulatory letter to the Governor, asking to be released from duty, and offering the fort with all its arms and stores, expressing also his willingness to give an exact account of all his doings. An officer dispatched to receive the fort was ordered to release Bayard and Nichols, who were still in confinement, and to arrest Leisler and his principal adherents. Bayard and Nichols were at once admitted and sworn into the council, and Leisler and eleven of his friends arrested. Two weeks later they were arraigned for trial. Leisler set up no defence, alleging that the court had no authority in the case - that the king of England only could decide whether he had acted without his authority or not. Leisler and his son-in-law, Milborne, who had acted as Secretary, were pronounced usurpers and traitors, and condemned to death. On the 16th of May, 1691, amid a storm of rain, while the dissipated Governor and his satellites were revelling at a drunken feast, they were brought out for execution. The scaffold TIE CAREER AND TRAGIC END OF LEISLER. 45 was erected on the ground now covered by the New York post office, and in full view of Leisler's fine residence. Milborne offered a prayer for the king, queen, and the officers of the province. Leisler delivered a long address, which displayed the workings of a fine mind, and a good heart, after which he died without a murmur, amid the tears and lamentations of the populace. Thus closed the career of the first New Yorl Governor elected by the people. Leisler does not appear to have been unduly ambitious for political honors. He was a patriotic, honest, high-minded Dutchman; wholly destitute of the arts and intrigues of the modern politician. Chosen by his countrymen, like Washington at a later period, he devoted himself with all his energies for the advancement of the common weal, and died a martyr to the cause he served. Possessed of great influence, he incited no insurrection to prevent his execution; and wasted none of his vast estate in purchasing a pardon. He did not cringe and beg for life as his enemies had meanly done; but asserting his sincerity, like an honest, brave man he expired, trusting in God, and praying for his enemies. His execution, ordered over the signature of a drunken Governor, was the first ripe fruit of that spirit of English usurpation which culminated at length in the numerous gory fields of the American Revolution. Four years after his death, his worthy son, after a series of well-timed efforts, secured from the English Parliament the triumphant reversal of the attainder, and the complete exoneration of his father from the charge of usurpation. 46 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. CAPTAIN KIDD, THE NEW YORK PIRATE. iNE melancholy event in human the =~-~I ~ I~ I I w history too frequently gives place to another still more appalling. The frontier war begun during the administration of Leisler, continued its ravages for a number of years after his death. Governor Fletcher wisely formed an alliance with the Iroquois Indians, who proved a valuable defence against these hostile inroads. It was clearly the design of the French Government to harass and cripple the frontier settlements, until such times as it could overwhelm the cities, and so wipe out the English authority from the country. During these perilous years, great losses and calamities were inflicted on the colonies, and the people sighed for security and rest. But another evil, equally disastrous to the development of the city, had long preyed upon its commerce. The slave trade had been considered legitimate since the founding of the colony, and the Dutch have the unenviable honor of introducing this inquitous system. During the continuance of the Dutch dynasty, however, this trade appears to have been carried on by Iransient Dutch traders, who obtained the blacks from the African kings, on tne coasts of Guinea, and to have formed no part of the regular business of the shipping merchants of Manhattan. This continued policy of legalized theft and brutality necessarily corrupted the men of the sea, and fitted them for any undertaking of treachery and daring. It is difficult inculcating theft and honesty in the same lesson. During the continuance of the war between France and England, many privateers had also been fitted out from England,and New York, to prey upon the French merchantmen, which greatly encouraged the licentious tendencies of the sailors. It is CAPTAIN XIDD, TH3I NEW YORK PIRATE. 47 said that many of these, failing to seize the legitimate objects of their pursuit, to prevent failure to the expedition, fell upon friendly vessels, which they plundered and sunk, returning in triumph with their booty. So difficult is it for adventurous men, long trained in these schools of vice, and feasted with ill-gotten gain, to return to the walks of common industry, that at the close of the war the seas literally swarmed with armed pirates. Many merchants suspended business in consequence of these incessant perils; and it is even hinted that not a few of them, as well as higher functionaries, including Governor Fletcher himself, became abettors and partners in these piratical enterprises. The American seas, with a thinly populated coast of two thousand miles, indented with numerous harbors, rivers, and inroads, and with a poorly organized government, furnished perhaps the safest retreat for these wandering corsairs. Their merchandise was largely disposed of through the Spanish merchants, who had been so deeply demoralized by their Central American plunders that they cared little whence they received their goods, provided they yielded a satisfactory profit. It is probable that New York merchants, also, were not guiltless. Before the conclusion of the war, these depredations became so alarming that many New York merchants besought the English ministry to institute measures to suppress piracv. Governor Fletcher, who had been accused on every side of complicity with these malefactors, was removed, and Lord Bellarnont nppointcd in his stead, with instructions to extirpate piracy from the American seas. As every English vessel was at that time engaged in the war with France, Bellamont formed a stock-company, in which the King, Chancellor Somers, the Earl of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Oxford, Bellamont, and Robert Livingston, became shareholders. A written agreement was made, consisting of several articles, which recited, in substance, that Bellamont should furnish ~5,000, this sum being four-fifths of the outlay in the undertaking, and that the remaining fifth should be 48 NEW YORK ANli ITS INSTITUTIONS. supplied by Livingston, and the captain of the expedition. Livingston, at the opening of the negotiations, had introduced Captain William Kidd (some limes called Robert Kidd), with whom he had just crossed the Atlantic, as a man well qualified for such an undertaking. Kidd was a Scotchman by birth, had followed the sea from Lis youth, had been captain of a privateer in the West Indies, and was at that time captain of a packet plying between New York and London. He was in the prime of life, and had several years previously married a respectable lady in New'tork, with whom he had since lived, in his own house, in Liberty Street, where he was regarded a wealthy and honorable seaman. It is said that the first rich carpet on Manhattan was in Kidd's parlor, though he is not believed to have been greatly dishonest until the last three years of his life. As he was an experienced and resolute commander, with extensive knowledge of the lurking places of the pirates, and of many of the pirates themselves, he was considered (forgetting the force of his old habits) the fittest person to take charge of the expedition. It is now easily discovered that two fatal mistakes were made in planning this expedition. First, the vessel should have been a regular man-of-war, under the direction of the general government, in which the captain had no capital, and from which no one expected a profit. On the other hand, though commissioned by the king, and expected to promote the public good, it was the property of a private corporation, and expected to bring large pecuniary returns. The prizes captured were to be taken into Boston Harbor, and delivered to Lord Bellamont. The parties agreed that if no prizes were cap tured, the ~5,000 advanced by Bellamont should be refunded, and the title of the vessel be vested thereafter in Livingston and Kidd. But as soon as Kidd delivered to Bellamont prize goods to the amount of ~100,000, then the ship was to belong to Livingston and Kidd. Bellamont and those he represented were to receive four-fifths of the net proceeds, the remaining fifth belonging to Livingston and Kidd. The CAPTAIN KIDD, THE NEW YORK PIRATE. 49 second mistake was in the contract made with the crew. Kidd agreed to furnish about one hundred men, who were to receive one-fourth the value of all captures, but who were to be enlisted with the distinct stipulation, "no prize, no pay." While it was certain that these terms would secure a crew, it was also certain that few besides the most daring and foolhardy would be induced to embark. The result was that his crew was made up of the most suspicious class, many of whom had probably been pirates themselves, and hence open to the most violent temptations when afloat on a foreign sea. A commission bearing the great seal of England was issued December 11, 1696, and the following Aplril Kidd set sail for New York in the"' Adventure Galley," a fine ship with sixty sailors, which had been fitted out for the expedition. Here he visited his wife, and cruised for some time around the coast, capturing a French privateer, for which he received the thanks of the Assembly of New York, and two hundred and fifty pounds as a complimentary reward for his fidelity. While here he continued to recruit his force until it exceeded one hundred and sixty men, after which he sailed for the East Indies and the eastern coast of Africa. Up to this point his fame continued unsullied, and by what process the change in his career was produced is not certainly known, He afterwards protested that, failing in the pursuit of the pirates, his crew became mutinous and forced him, contrary to his will, into his career of infamy. It is more probable that, finding himself in possession of a strong ship completely armed, with a large and. well-selected crew obsequious to his wishes, the temptation to prey upon the weak instead of encountering the strong overcame him, and he thus became one. of the most intrepid and successful pirates that ever hoisted the black flag on the seas. Upon the commerce clustering along the coasts of Malabar and Madagascar, he conducted a career of outrage and plunder, by which in a short time he, amassed countless treasure, and inflicted such destruction as to render his name a terror on the seas, and; a theme for every 4 50 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUONS. future historian. Satisfied finally with his accumulations, he resolved to return. To avoid detection he exchanged his vessel, with a large portion of his crew, for a frigate he had captured, and in 1698 brought his vessel into Long Island Sound, and on Gardiner's Island buried a large amount of treasure in the presence of the proprietor of the estate, whom he laid under strict injunctions of secresy. IIe next repaired to Boston under an assumed name, with the design, it is believed, of selling the frigate, after which he hoped to join his family and spend the remainder of life in quiet splendor. Apprehended in the streets at Boston, he was arrested by order of Governor Bellamont, one of the chief promoters of the enterprise, who had heard startling rumors concerning him, and had been anxiously watching for his return. He was sent to England for trial. It being considered difficult to substantiate the charge of piracy, he was arraigned for the murder of William Moore, one of his crew, whom he had unfortunately killed while at sea, by hitting him with a bucket for insubordination. After an unfair trial he was hanged in chains at Execution Dock, May 12, 1701. The rope broke and he ascended the scaffold the second time. Six of his accomplices were executed the same day. Tradition says that after the capture. of Kidd his crew returned with the vessel to Gardiner's Island, where they ascertained that two ships were in pursuit for their capture. In an attempt to escape they ran their vessel some distance up the Hudson river, where she was blown up and sunk, the sailors dispersing on the shore with such treasure as they could bear away. The buried treasure on Gardiner's Island was taken up by a commission appointed by Governor Bellamont, and consisted, besides considerable rich merchandise, of three bags of gold dust, two bags of coined silver, one bag of coined gold, two bags of golden bars, one bag of silver bars, one bag of silver rings, one bag of silver buttons, and one of jewels and precious stones, including agates and amethysts. The treasure was at that time valued at about two hundred thousand dol CAPTAIN KIDD, THE NEW YORK PIRATE. 51 lars, and with this Kidd doubtless thought it would not be difficult to secure his release, if his royal commission, which he still held, proved insufficient. The treasure thus obtained was believed to be but a fraction of his accumulations, and various rumors concerning buried riches have been revived by every succeeding generation down to our day. Acres of soil have been dug over by eager gold hunters. A pot containing eighteen hundred dollars in money ploughed up in a corn-field at Martha's Vineyard over twenty-five years ago, was believed by some to be a part of Kidd's money. Several families on Long Island it is said became unaccountably rich, and were believed to have shared in his accumulations, though this is uncertain. In 1844 an excitement was occasioned by the discovery of a sunken vessel near Caldwell's Landing on the Hudson river, supposed to be the one sunken by Kidd's sailors. A stock company to pursue the search was hastily formed, sinking the fortunes of many though it brought up nothing but mud. The affairs of the company, after being manipulated by designing men, were wound up with litigation, disclosing great deception, and the false imprisonment of an honest man, who had been unwarily drawn into the association. Captain Kidd was not the only American pirate. His royal instructions named " Captains Thos. Too, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, Captain Maze, and other subjects, natives or inhabitants of New York and elsewhere in America, they being Pirates upon the American seas," as persons to be pursued and captured. His unusual notoriety arose from the facts that he was fitted out by several members of the English nobility, all of whom were tried for their lives, after his disgrace, but acquitted; from the valuable treasures discovered, and the summary punishment with which he was overtaken. His career forcibly illustrates the facts that sin brings its own punishment, and that " the way of the transgressor is hard." His wife and daughter continued to reside, though in great retirement, in New York for some years after his death; but 52 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. as he left no sons, it cannot be supposed that any of the excellent families bearing the name are his descendants. RIP VAN DAM.:R I/t\f~ URING the administration of the five colonial governors, immediately suc"-"2 ceeding Lord Bellamont, and reaching down to 1731, but little of general interest to! WI posterity occurred, save their occasional mer~: cenary usurpations, and an unsuccessful expedition fitted out at great expense against the ll French in Canada. Upon the death of Governor Qq Montgomerie, which occurred July 1, 1731, the i, Hi chief functions of government devolved upon Rip Van Darn, the oldest member of the council, and efx offcio, the second officer in the government. Van Dam was a genuine Iolland Dutchman, his father having settled in the city during the reign of Governor Stuyvesant. IHe had acquired a considerable fortune in mercantile pursuits, and was at this time conducting an extensive foreign trade. Ile had long taken an active interest in public affairs, was familiar with all the machinery of the government, and as lie sought the good of the people, being one of them, they were greatly pleased with his administration, and nothing exciting occurred during the thirteen months of his continuance in office. On the 1st day of August, 1732, he delivered the seals of government to his successor, Colonel William Cosby, former Governor of Minorca, who had just arrived with his royal commission. Cosby was despotic and avaricious, and had not sustained an unblemished character in his former administration. While in England he had, however, opposed an obnoxious sugar bill, likely to seriously affect the colonists, which gave him a transient popularity on his arrival. The RIP VAN DA. 53 assembly then in session granted him a revenue for six years, and a present of five hundred and fifty pounds for the service he had rendered them in parliament. Van Dam, during his administration, had performed the whole service of government, and had accordingly drawn from the treasury the customary salary, amounting to about two thousand pounds. The English crown, at the request of Cosby, had, however, furnished him with an order requiring Van Dam to refund half of the money to his superior. One of Cosby's first acts was to produce this order, and demand immediate payment of the money, but soon found that, in the plucky Dutchman, he had really caught a tartar. Van Dam expressed his perfect willingness to divide the salary of two thousand pounds, on condition that Cosby should also divide the six thousand pounds he had received as perquisites, since his appointment, and previous to entering upon the duties of his office. Cosby soon brought a suit against Van Dam, before the judges of the Supreme Court, as barons of the Exchequer, functions which their commissions allowed them to exercise. This was literally taking the adjudication in his own hands, as the governor was ex officio Chancellor of the Exchequer, and two of the judges were among his most intimate friends. Van Dam's counsel excepted to the jurisdiction of the court in the case, and demanded that the case be tried in a suit at common law. The validity of this exception was supported by one of the judges, but overruled by the other two. Van Dam's cause was thus declared lost, and he was compelled to refund the money. But the people declared that the cause should not rest here. This continued contempt, with which everything of colonial origin was viewed and treated by the English crown and ministry, could no longer be silently tolerated. They were already growing weary of rapacious, tyrannical Governors, whose sole object was to repair their broken-down fortunes from the unrequited industry of their subjects. The judge who had sustained the exceptions of Van Dam's counsel was hastily re 54 NEW YORK AD ITS INSTITUTIONS. moved from office, and Van Dam suspended from the council. This arbitrary procedure, against one of their own longtrusted and honored citizens, aroused the indignation of the populace, whose loud murmurs were heard in all parts of the town. THE TRIAL AND TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY. -; P to this period, but one newspaper had been published in New York. That was The New York Gazette, by William Bradford, started in October, 1725, under government patronage, by which it had been continued until this time. Supported by government, it had, however, been a mere sycophant, and very naturally espoused the cause of Cosby in this controversy. During the progress of this trial, _|B/ ]New York was startled with the issue of a new and independent paper, called the New York Weekly Journal, and published by Peter Zenger. This enterprising little sheet thought' it entirely within its'province to examine the affairs of government, scrutinize and advise the Governor, question the proceedings of the Court of Exchequer, discuss questions agitating the assembly, and present its own showing of the grievances of the colonies. Week after week, its columns teemed with earnest, spicy, and witty articles, in which the cause of Van Dam was with marked ability maintained, and the policy of the Governor arraigned. Smarting under the scorn of the people, and wounded by the incessant discharge of these paper bullets, the Governor resolved to take the offensive. The columns of the Gazette had boldly stood in his defence; but these were not sufficient: opposition must be suppressed. It was resolved to select four of the issues of the paper, containing the most obnoxious articles, which were to be burned by the common hangman, the officers of the THE TRIAL AND TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY. 55 city and the populace being required to attend the ceremony. Scarcely anybody attended, however; which convinced the mortified Governor that he had entered this paper warfare at his own charges. But one thing remained, and that was to crush the editor. Zenger was accordingly arrested on a charge of libel, and as an enormous bail was exacted, which he could not procure, he was thrown into jail, and denied the use of pen, ink, or paper. Here he continued more than eight months, without, for a single week, suspending the issue of his paper, giving direction to his friends through a chink in the door. His paper lost none of its vitality by his confinement. Its ablest articles are. believed to have been written by Van Dam's lawyers, and other deposed officials. On the 4th of August, 1735, Zenger was brought out of his cell for trial. Every preparation, it was believed, had been made by the Governor and his friends to secure his conviction. There were but three eminent lawyers in New York at that timeWilliam Smith, James Alexander, and Mr. Murray. Smith and Alexander, having been employed to defend the prisoner, were greatly surprised by the Governor, who, for a pretended offence, ordered their names to be stricken from the list of attorneys. It now looked as if the court party were to have things all their own way. But the friends of Zenger were not to be thus outwitted. They had silently engaged the services of Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelphia. IHamilton, though eighty years of age, had not greatly declined in mind, was a man of warm and generous impulses, and one of the most brilliant barristers of his day. A more able or dignified advocate could scarcely have been found in the world, and his appearance in the crowded court-room, just as the case was called, almost stunned the leaders of the prosecution. The case was tried in the Supreme Court, with a jury of twelve of the citizens. The prosecution produced certain statements printed in Zenger's paper, and claimed that they were libelous, and that the jury were required to render a verdict of guilty, when satisfied that he had published them. Hamilton admit 56 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. ted their publication, and proposed to introduce the full evidence of their truthfulness., To this the attorney-general objected, claiming that the truth of a libel could not be taken in evidence, and that a libel became all the more dangerous because of its truthfulness. The fact of publication having THE KIPP BAY IOUSE, AND HOME OF MAJOR ANDRE DURING IIS TREASONABLE CORRESPONDENCE WITI ARNOLD. been now fully admitted, and all evidence on the part (f the defence being summarily ruled out by the court, nothing remained but for the counsel to sum up the case for their respective clients. Hamilton proceeded in a bland and eloquent manner to state the case, after which he labored to impress upon the jury that they were to be judges of the law, as well as of the facts in the case, and that they were not to be trammelled by the interpretation of the court. Hamilton's address was so ingenious and pertinent that we cannot forbear introducing a few extracts from it. " If," said he, "a libel is understood in the large and un THE TRIAL AND TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY. 57 limited sense urged by Mr. Attorney, there is scarce a writing I know of that may not be called a libel, or scarce any person safe from being called to account as a libeller; for Moses, meek as he was, libelled Cain, and who is it that has not libelled the devil; for, according to Mr. Attorney, it is no justification to say that one has a bad name. Echard has i=1-= —fi* ~~ is.= OLD CITY HIALL IN WALL STREET. libelled our good King William. Burnet has libelled, among others, King Charles and King James, and Rapin has libelled them all. How must a man speak or write, or what must he hear, read, or sing, or when must he laugh, so as to be secure from being taken up as a libeller. I sincerely believe that were some persons to go through the streets of New York nowadays and read a part of the Bible, if it were not known to be such, Mr. Attorney, with the help of his innuendoes, would easily turn it to be a libel. As, for instance, the sixteenth verse of the ninth chapter of Isaiah:' The leaders of this people [innuendo, the Governor and Council of New York] cause them [innuendo, the people of this province] to err; and they [meaning the people of this province] are destroyed' [innuendo, are deceived into the loss of liberty, which 58 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. is the worst.kind of destruction]. Or, if some person should publicly repeat, in a manner not pleasing to his betters, the tenth and eleventh verses of the fifty-sixth chapter of the same book, then Mr. Attorney would have a large field to display his skill in the artful application of innuendoes. The words are:'His watchmen are blind; they are all ignorant; yea, they are greedy dogs, which can never have enough.' But to make them a libel, no more is wanting than the aid of his skill in the right adapting of his innuendoes. As for instance,' His watchmen [innuendo, the Governor, Council, and Assembly] are blind; they are ignorant [innuendo, will not see the dangerous designs of his excellency]; yea, they [meaning the Governor and his Council] are greedy dogs, which can never have enough [innuendo, of riches and power.] "' He then proceeded to show that these illustrations were perfectly in keeping with the case under trial, and urged the jury to decide for themselves concerning the truth or falsehood of Zenger's articles, after which he concluded as follows: "You see I labor under the weight of many years, and am borne down by many infirmities of body; yet, old and weak as I am, I should think it my duty, if required, to go to the utmost part of the land, where my service could be of any use in assisting to quench the flame of persecution upon information set on foot by the government to deprive a people of the right of remonstrating (and complaining too) against the arbitrary attempts of men in power-men who injure and oppress the people under their administration, provoking them to cry out and complain, and then make that very complaint the foundation for new oppressions and persecutions. I wish I could say there were no instances of this kind. But to conclude, the question before the Court and you, gentlemen of the jury, is not a small or private concern; it is not the cauise of a poor printer, nor of New York alone, which you are now trying. No! it may, in its consequences, affect every freeman that lives under the British Government upon the main of America. It is the best of causes; THE TRIAL AND TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY. 59 it is the cause of liberty; and I make no doubt but your upright conduct this day will not only entitle you to the love and esteem of your fellow citizens, but every man who prefers freedom to a life of slavery will bless and honor you as men who have baffled the attempts of tyranny, and, by an impartial and incorrupt verdict, have laid a noble foundation for securing to ourselves, our posterity, and our neighbors, that to which nature and the laws of our country have given us a right-the liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power, in these parts of the, world, at least by speaking and writing the truth." The venerable barrister closed amid a general outburst of satisfaction and applause, and the attorney-general offered but a weak response. The jury were charged that they were judges of the fact, but not of the law, and that the truth of the libel should not enter into their deliberations. After a few.minutes' absence, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of "not guilty." The anxiety of the assembled populace being thus happily dismissed, their joy burst forth in loud and continued cheers, which rent the air, carrying everything before them. Hamilton was seized by glad hands, and borne from the court-room on the shoulders of the people. On the following day a public dinner was given him by the inhabitants, and the freedom of the city was presented to him in a magnificent gold box, and when lie set sail for Philadelphia it was amid the roar of cannon. The spirit of independence brought out so emphatically in'76 had already begun to work in the minds of the people, and Hamilton's earnest utterances fell upon their hearts like sparks in a magazine. Whether this triumphant defeat of the Governor affected his health or not, we cannot tell, but he was shortly afterwards reported sick, and expired on the 7th of March, 1736. This great and decisive battle for the liberty of the press, so ably contested in the face of such frightful dangers, has had its influence on the government and inhabitants of Manhattan to the present day, and we cannot tell how deeply we are 60 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. indebted to the burning appeals of that brilliant orator, and the fearless decision of that faithful jury. THE NEGRO PLOT OF 1741. [i:,:i:g!.OPULAIR panics rank among the most \ ~sS L ij)i'' fatal disasters that can overtake a peo_:y ple. The frenzy of wild and excited ki _ 4, \1'// masses in a populous city, like the combustion of vast stores of inflammable - material, is truly frightful. In such i periods neither age, nor rank, nor sex, nor condition, can be said to afford any pledge of permanent security. Among others, the celebrated Popish Plot concocted by Titus Oates of England, and the no less singular Witchcraft delusion of New England, may be mentioned as examples. The New York negro plot of 1741 may be ranked with the preceding, and deserves a passing notice in this chapter on colonial history. The lapse of the one hundred and thirty years which have since intervened has thrown so dense a haze over the period that nothing can be certainly known concerning it, save what has been transmitted to us by successive historians. It is impossible for us to determine how many grains of truth found place in that storm of prejudice and passion, which resulted in the heartless slaughter of a multitude of ignorant and defenceless beings. The population of New York at that time amounted to about ten thousand, nearly two thousand of whom were colored slaves. Having grown up in ignorance and moral neglect, they were considerably addicted to pilfering and other vices, and often caused their masters considerable anxiety. The most stringent measures were adopted to prevent their assembling together; yet, as in all slave communities, a latent THE NEGRO PLOT OF 1741. 61 fear filled the minds of the whites, which every now and then burst forth into a matter of public alarm. Some time in the winter of 1740-41, a Spanish vessel, manned in part with black sailors, was brought into the harbor as a prize, and the negroes sold at auction, having previously enjoyed their freedom, and not relishing their changed relations, it was but natural that some complaints and threats should fall from their lips which were not particularly heeded at the time. On the 18th of March, 1741, the Governor's house in the fort was discovered to be on fire, and despite the efforts to save it the flames continued to rage until the building, the King's chapel, the Secretary's office, the barracks, and stables, were wholly consumed. The Governor, in reporting the matter to the Assembly, declared that a plumber had left fire in the gutter between the house and the chapel, and that from this circumstance the accident had probably occurred. Some days later the chimney of Captain Warren's house, situated near the fort, took fire, but no damage occurred. After a few days a fire broke out in the storehouse of one Van Zandt, and was said to have resulted from the carelessness of a smoker. Three days later a cow stable was discovered to be on fire, but this was soon extinguished; and the same day the house of Mr. Thompson was found on fire, the fire having begun in the chamber where a negro slave slept. Coals were discovered the next day under John Murray's stable on Broadway. On the day following two more fires occurred, one in the house of a sergeant near the fort, and the other on the roof of a house near the Fly Market, both of which were extinguished with slight damage. It now came to be believed that these fires were the work of incendiaries, and who the guilty parties were became a matter of earnest inquiry. Some wise head conceived that these Spanish slaves had undertaken to destroy the city, while others believed the whole colored population of the island had conspired to burn the city and massacre the whites. One of the Spanish negroes, living near where a fire had occurred, on being ques 62 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. tioned, was considered a suspicious character; the demand for the arrest of the Spanish negroes became general, and they were accordingly thrown into prison. Another fire occurring during the afternoon, while the magistrates were in consultation, the panic became so general that negroes of all ages were arrested by the wholesale and thrown into close confinement. Search was now instituted for strangers, but as none were found many families concluded to escape from this threatened Sodom before it was consumed. The stampede to the suburbs and regions round about became general, and every available vehicle was drafted into service. On the eleventh of April the Assembly offered a reward of one hundred pounds and full pardon, to any one who would turn State's evidence and make known the plot and the names of the conspirators. This was far too tempting a bait for a class of terrified, ignorant negroes, who saw nothing but the dungeon and a frightful death before them, unless by some revelation they were to regain their liberty, and such wealth as they had never aspired to. For the investigation of the case the Supreme Court convened on the 21st of April, Judges Philipse and Iorsmanden presiding. Robert Watts was foreman of the grand jury. It soon became evident that the liberal reward offered ten days previously was destined to be fruitful in results. Those days and nights had been spent by the wretched prisoners in gloomy meditation, and nearly every one was ready to make disclosures. Among the first examined was Mary Burton, a colored servant girl indentured to John Hughson, keeper of a squalid negro tavern on the west side of the island. Mary testified that Caesar Varick, Prince Amboyman, and Cuff Philipse* had been in the habit of meeting at the house of IHughson, talking about burning the fort, the city, and murdering the people,. and that Hughson and his wife had promised to help them, after which llughson was to be the governor and Cuff king. She stated that no whites had been present at these times except her * Slaves then bore the surname of their masters invariably. THE NEGRO PLOT OF 1741. 63 master and mistress, and Peggy Carey, an abandoned Irish woman living at Hughson's. Peggy was next brought before the court and promised pardon on condition of general confession. She, however, denied all knowledge of any conspiracy, or of the origin of any of the fires, and said that to accuse any one would be to slander innocent persons and blacken her own soul. The law at that time was that no slave could testify in a court of justice against a white person. Yet Mary Burton, a colored slave, here testified to matters implicating Peggy Carey, a white woman, which she, Peggy, emphatically denied. But the city had gone mad, and Mary Burton, who a month previous would have been spurned from a court-room, had suddenly become an oracle, and on her testimony poor Peggy and the negroes named were found guilty and sentenced to be executed. Death now staring Peggy in the face, she became greatly alarmed, and begged for a second examination, which was readily granted. She now testified that she had attended a meeting of negroes held at a wretched house near the battery kept by John Romme,'and that Romme had promised to carry them all to a new country and give them their liberty, on condition that they should burn the city, massacre the whites, and bring him the plunder. This ridiculous twaddle, evidently fabricated for the occasion, was received as proof positive, and the persons named (except Romme, who fled for life, though his wife was arrested) were severally brought before her for identification. The work of public slaughter began on the eleventh of May, when Cuesar and Prince were hanged, denying all knowledge of any conspiracy to the last. Hughson and his wife having been found guilty, were shortly after hanged, in connection with Peggy, who had been promised pardon for her pretended confession, every word of which she solemnly retracted with her dying breath. We will not follow the details of this strange investigation further. Suffice it to say that, finding confession or some new disclosure the only loophole through which to escape, nearly every prisoner'prepared 64 -NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. a story which availed him nothing in the end. Every attorney volunteered to aid the prosecution, and thus left the terrified slaves, without counsel or friend, to utter their incoherent and contradictory statements and die. From the 11th of May to the 29th of August, one hundred and fifty-four negroes were committed to prison, fourteen of whom were burned at the stake, eighteen hanged, seventy-one transported, and the remainder pardoned or discharged. The loquacious Mary Burton continued the heroine of the times, deposing to all she knew at the first examination, but able to bring from her capacious memory new and wonderful revelations at nearly every sitting of the court. At first she declared that no white person, save Hughson, his wife, and Peggy, was present at the meeting of the conspirators; but at length remembered that John Ury, a supposed Catholic priest and schoolmaster in the city, had also been implicated. IIe was at once arrested, and on the 29th of August hanged. The panic now spread among the whites, twenty-four of whom being implicated were hurled into prison, and four of them finally executed. Personal safety appeared now at an end; everybody feared his neighbor and his friend, and the Reign of Terror attending the Salem Witchcraft was scarcely more appalling. We cannot conceive how far this matter would have extended if the incomprehensible Mary Burton had not, inflated with former success, begun to criminate many persons of high social standing in the city. While the blacks only were in danger, these persons had added constant fuel to the fire; but finding the matter coming home, they concluded it was now time to close the proceedings. The further investigation of the case was postponed, and so the matter ended. That some of the fires were the work of incendiaries (perhaps colored) there appears to us but little doubt; but that any general conspiracy existed is not probable. The silly story that a white inn-keeper should conspire with a few negroes to massacre eight thousand of his own race, that he might occupy a subordinate position under an TRIUMPH OF THE ANGLO-SAXON. 65 ignorant colored king, is simply ridiculous; yet for this he and his wife were hanged. The trials and executions were a frightful outrage of justice and humanity, presenting a melancholy example of the weakness of human nature, and the ease with which the strongest minds are borne down in periods of popular delusion. TRIUMPH OF THE ANGLO-SAXON.'Fi_ HE scheme of kingcraft to make the authorities independent of the people, ______ ^;l | by securing a permanent revenue, was. again and again introduced by the Colonial 1v I Governors, but as often resisted by the Assembly. Sir George Clinton, having alienated the: people by his unfortunate administration, was su — perseded in 1753 by Sir Danvers Osborne, who had received royal instruction to insist on a permanent revenue. This being emphatically resisted, the dispirited Governor, who had just buried his wife, seeing nothing but trouble and failure in the future, terminated his existence by hanging himself with a handkerchief from the garden wall of John Murray's house' in Broadway. He was succeeded by Lieutenant-Governor James Delancey, whose accession was hailed with delight. It was under his administration that Kings (now Columbia) College was founded, the charter being signed by Delancey, October 31, 1754. The same year the scheme for a public library was projected, and the Walton House, long the palace of the city, erected. This building, erected by William Walton, a son-in-law of Delancey, was four stories high, built of yellow Holland brick, with five windows in front, and a tiled roof encircled with balustrades. This edifice,. 5 66 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. which would attract no unusual attention now in a country village, was then considered the wonder of America, and had a wide European fame. It is still standing on Pearl street, and contrasts sadly with the magnificent iron-fronted business palace of the Harpers, now nearly opposite. The city was now being enlarged; new streets were laid out and constructed, and piers and ferries established. But the most exciting topic of this period was the war with France, which resulted finally in the conquest of Canada. The establishment of French and English colonies on this continent resulted in incessant friction between these rival powers, and led ultimately to a gigantic struggle between the two most warlike nations of the world. The English, having planted themselves on the Eastern seaboard, advanced westward, claiming all between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, while the French, possessing Canada in the north, and the mouth of the Mississippi in the south, claimed all lying between. These incessantly interfering claims for rich territory, which neither owned, led to numerous bloody wars, extending in their influence from the St. Lawrence to the Ganges, for the possession of a country which, twenty years after the cessation of these struggles, passed from under the control of both. The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, closed the third colonial war, which had been prosecuted with great vigor, and which had resulted in the capture of Louisburg by the English arms. By the treaty, however, this captured territory was restored to France, leaving things again in statzu uo, and ready for new hostilities. In 1749, George II. chartered the Ohio Company, granting six hundred thousand acres of land, in the vicinity of the Ohio river, to certain persons of Westminster, London, and Virginia, thus paving the way for new national troubles. It was in 1753, to avoid an open rupture which was rapidly approaching, that a young man of Virginia, destined to be heard from ~George Washington), volunteered to carry a letter of ineffectual remonstrance, several hundred miles through a dangerous TRIUMPH OF THE ANGLO-SAXON. 67 country, to the French commander. In 1755 three expeditions were fitted out against Canada-one under General Braddock, to dislodge the French from Fort Duquesne; one under General Shirley, for the reduction of Niagara; and one under Willialn Johnson, a member of the Council of New ork, against Crown Point. All three signally failed, though Johnson, gaining a slight advantage over the French, wounding and capturing their cormmander, magnified it into a victory, for which he was rewarded by the English Govern ment with ~5,000 and the title of baronet. WASHINGTON AT TEE AGE OF FORTY. t he title of baronet. The preparations of 1756 were more extensive than in the preceding year, the Governors of Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland uniting in the campaigns, and pledging nineteen thousand American troops. This year closed also with the success of the French arms. Preparations for war were renewed in 1757, on a greatly enlarged scale. Four thousand troops were pledged from New England alone, and a large English fleet came over to take part in the struggle. Yet this year ended again in disaster, with a loss to the English of Fort Henry and three thousand captured troops. The affairs of the English colonists had now become very alarming, filling New York and the whole country with intense anxiety. The English colonists outnumbered the French by nearly twenty to one; yet, as they were divided in counsel, their expeditions had either 68 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. been overtaken with disaster, or beaten by the French, who, united under a single military Governor, had so wielded their forces, and attracted to their ranks the Indians, as to have spread general disaster along the whole frontier. It was in this critical exigency that William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was called to the helm of State, and so rapid were his movements, and comprehensive his plans, that the three years of disaster were followed by three of brilliant victory, culminating in the reduction of Louisburg, Frontenac, Crown Point, Ticonderoga, Niagara, and Quebec, thus obliterating forever, after a doubtful struggle of one hundred and fiftysix years, the French dominion from the country. The triumphant conclusion of this long and anxious struggle was the occasion of great and universal rejoicing in New York. The merchants had long looked for the enlargement of their commerce, and the citizens for the expansion of the city. TROUIBLOUS TIMES APPROACHING.,J,,lj ~ IHE year 1760, which so honorably l A 1 t ljB I closed the war, was also marked by' w A}.- ithe death of Lieutenant Governor lHCjSpaI ~Delancey, who was succeeded by Cad^'5 _ |' walader D. Colden, a zealous royalist, who -i~/N^ ~ continued in power five years. It was during this term that the noted Stamp Act was passed, which rendered his administration a very stormy and unpleasant one. The news of the passage of this Act was followed in New York by the issue of a new paper called the " Constitutional Courant," which first appeared in September, 1765, by the placarding of the streets with "The Folly of England, and the Ruin of America;" by the organization of the TROUBLOUS TIMES APPROACHING. 69 "Sons of Liberty," and the appointment of a "Committee of Correspondence," to secure unanimity of action among all the merchants of the country in resisting the aggressions of England. THE OLD BRIDEWELL. While there existed in the nature of the case many reasons why these colonies should eventually rise to independency, it is also certain that proper treatment on the part of the mother country would have long delayed such an event. The colonists had no desire to sever their connection with the home government; indeed, they long clung to its usages and authority. In the bloody campaigns against the French they had sacrificed the lives of thirty thousand of their sons, and burdened themselves with a debt of thirteen million pounds, sterling. An honorable acknowledgment of their undoubted interests and rights would have permanently cemented them to the English crown: but these were persistently denied. The colonists were regarded as greatly inferior to the people of England. Pitt, the friend of America, once said in Parliament, " There is not a company of foot that has served in 70 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. America out of which you may not pick a man of sufficient knowledge and experience to make a governor of a colony there." This underrating of the American intellect led to the appointment of weak and tyrannical Governors, which yielded at length its legitimate fruit. The colonists resisted taxation because they were not represented in the English Parliament; but the matter of taxation was not so grievous as the wholesale suppression of manufacture. America abounded with iron; but no axe, hammer, saw, or other tool, could bemanufactured here without violating the crown law. Its rivers and marshes teemed with beaver, but no hatter was allowed to employ over two apprentices, and no hat of American manufacture could be carried for sale from one colony to another. No wool could be manufactured save for private use, and the raw material could not be transported from one colony to another. Everything must be sent to England for manufacture, and return laden with heavy duties. The colonists were prohibited from opening or conducting a commerce with any but the English nation, and every article of export must be sent in an English ship. The repeal of the Stalnp Act was followed by the duty on tea, glass, etc.,-legislation equally obnoxious to the colonies. The British naval officers were petty lords of the American seas. They compelled every colonial vessel to lower its sails as it passed, fired into them for the slightest provocation, boarded them at pleasure, and rudely impressed into their service sailors who were never allowed to return to their families. These things could but yield a bloody harvest. The failure of the Governors to secure a permanent revenue was followed by the quartering of troops in New York, which the populace felt was another scheme for the destruction of their liberties. The citizens of New York were first to resist these aggressions. It was here that the Sons of Liberty first organized, and raised the first liberty pole. The Manhattan merchants were first to cease the importation of English goods-a contract grossly violated by other merchants in TROUBLOUS TIMES APPROCAHING. 71 America, but rigorously adhered to in New York, to the ruin of many strong houses. Here the first blood was shed in behalf of liberty. It occurred in a conflict between the citizens and the English soldiers, January 20, 1770 (over five years before the battle of Lexington), on a little hill near the present John street. It was in relation to the liberty pole, and long known as the battle of Golden Hill. New York was the scene of the greatest suffering during the Revolution. Early captured and partly burned, it lay seven years in ruins under the heel of the conqueror, who had here established his principal headquarters, and monopolized all its churches, public buildings, and many private residences. Here the first Federal Congress was organized in 1785, the federal constitution adopted in 1788, and President Washington inaugurated in 1789. First to espouse the cause of independence and organize defence, though its commerce was wholly ruined, and its inhabitants lay starving and bleeding through perilous years, it uttered no murmur of complaint; and since the establishment of independence its citizens have been second to no others in promoting the interests of their country and of humanity. 72 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. CHAPTER III. IMPORTANT INCIDENTS OF THE REVOLUTION AND LATER HISTORY OF MANHATTAN. NEW YORK GOVERNMENT AT SEA-PLOT TO ASSASSINATE WASHINGTON-SHOCKING BARBARITY OF ENGLISH OFFICERS-HALE AND ANDRE, THE TWO SPIES-ARNOLD IN NEW YORK-BRITISH EVACUATION-THE BURR AND HAMILTON TRAGEDY OF 1804-ROBERT FULTON AND THE " CLERMONT "-PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS OF 1825. NEW YORK GOVERNMENT AT SEA. g ILLIAM TRYON, the last colonial.$- Lf~/ Governor, entered New York July 8, 1771. He occupied the house - in the fort, which had been rebuilt after the excitement attending the ~-: - negro plot subsided, and which was now again destroyed by fire. His family (except the servant girl, who was burned alive) barely escaped with life, a daughter leaping from a window of the second story. As revolution was brewing, business was so generally prostrated that no public improvements were made during his administration, except the founding of the New York Hospital. Tryon having returned to England, the government again devolved upon Cadwallader D. Colden until his return, which occurred June 24, 1775. The next day Washington entered New York on his way to Cambridge to take command of the Provincial army. The country was now fully in rebellion, and Tryon found his bed filled with thorns. The idea of rocking his weary frame and aching head into repose on the billows of the bay appears now to PLOT TO ASSASSINATE WASHINGTON. 73 have been suggested, but the fact that rest for a Crown Governor could only be found on the other side of the Atlantic was not yet so manifest. He, however, continued at his post, and kept up a semblance of authority against the Provincial Congress, until the latter part of August, when he removed his headquarters on board the "Asia," an English man-of-war, from which he for some time kept up a communication with his friends on shore. He also caused the principal archives of the city to be placed on board the ship " Duchess of Gordon." These were carried to England, but again returned by royal order in 1781. PLOT TO ASSASSINATE WASHINGTON. a.^' BOUT the 24th of June, 1776, a most barbarous plot was discovered among the tories of New York, including' the / Mayor and several of General Washington's guards. The plan was, upon the approach of ~~ ~: the British troops, to murder Washington and all the staff officers, blow up the magazines, and secure the passes of the town. About five hundred persons were engaged in the ~]'~ conspiracy, and the Mayor acknowledged that he - had paid one of the chief conspirators ~140, by order of Governor Tryon. One of the soldiers belonging to Washington's guards being convicted was executed in the Bowery, in the presence of twenty thousand spectators. Severity to the few was doubtless mercy to the many. 74 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. SHOCKING BARBARITY OF ENGLISH OFFICERS. fT IE condition of the captured soldiers -^',,<' ^ " of the Continental army, and of I IX Wll- many of the inhabitants of New York, during the Revolutionary 4l Wijtb^ period, presents one of the most,'l__.!'^' melancholy chapters of human suf}""-:lB^ -;- fering in the history of the world. The several churches were con-:'-fl ~ —~f ~verted into prisons, hospitals, mili-:-~~..- tary depots, and riding schools The Bridewell, in its half-finished condition, the new jail, sugar-houses, and various prison-ships, were filled with soldiers and political prisoners promiscuously huddled together. In winter, without fire or blankets, they OLD PROVOST, NEW YORK. perished with cold, and in summer they suffocated with heat. In the burning season every aperture in the walls was crowded with human heads, panting for a breath of the outside world, SHOCKING BARBARITY OF ENGLISH OFFICERS. 75 while the ghastly eye turned anxiously from the misery and death within, in quest of a green leaf or a friendly countenance. Sick, wounded, and healthy lay on the same floor, rendered putrid with filth, and vocal with the sounds of human agony. Jailers and guards exhibited a love of cruelty horrid beyond expression, and many are said to have been poisoned by these fiendish attendants for their watches and silver buckles. They were not regarded as prisoners of war, but as pinioned rebels, to be starved and tortured until killed or goaded into the royal army. While a few remonstrated against these shocking inhumanities, the friends of the ministry cried out, "Starvation, Starvation to the Rebels; nothing but starvation will bring them to their senses." The old sugar-house, one of the chief dens of human torture, was constructed of gray stone, and stood in Liberty street, east of Nassau, and immediately adjoining the Middle Dutch Church, or what is now the old New York Post-office. This sugar refinery, erected in 1689, had passed through an honorable career from the days of Leisler downward in its legitimate use, but was now, under foreign rule, destined to depart from the good old way; its sweetness to be changed to gall and bitterness, and its cheerful business hum to the sighs and wails of the suffering and starving. The edifice contained five low stories which were each divided into two rooms. The walls were very heavy, and the windows small and deep. The yard was encircled with a close board-fence nine feet high. Within these walls were at times huddled 400 or 500 prisoners of war, without beds, blankets, or fire in winter, wearing for months the filthy garments that covered them on the day of their capture. Hot weather came, and with it the typhus fever, which prevailed fearfully, filling the dead cart on each returning morning with wrecks of wasted humanity, which were rudely dumped in the trenches in the outskirts of the city. The meagre diet of these suffering patriots consisted of pork and sea biscuit; the latter, having been damaged by salt water, were consequently very mouldy, and much worm 76 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. eaten. We present a cut of this memorable structure, which stood as a monument of the several periods through which it had passed until 1840, when it was demolished by the march of modern architectural improvements. This cut and several others in this volume were engraved by Alexander Anderson, M.D., when in his eighty-eighth year, and were obtained, with valuable information in relation to the prisons of the Revolution, from Charles I. Bushnell, Esq., of New York, who has perhaps taken a deeper interest in the study of that interesting period than any other writer of our times. THE OLD SUGAR-HOUSE IN LIBERTY STREET. But dreadful as were the prisons, and the old sugar-house in Liberty street, the prison-ships are of still more terrific memory. In 1779 the "Prince of Wales" and the" Good Hope" were used as prison-ships. The " Good Hope " being destroyed by fire the following year, several old hulks formerly employed as men-of-war were anchored in the North and the East rivers, and were called hospital ships, though it soon became apparent that they were but wretched prisons for captured Americans. Among these may be mentioned the " Stromboli," the " Scorpion," the " Hunter," the " Fal SHOCKING BARBARITY OF ENGLISH OFFICERS. 77 mouth," the "Chatham," the " Kitty," the "Frederick," the "Glasgow," the "Woodland," the "Clyde," the "Persever ance," and the " Packet." (See cut page 100.) But none attained such appalling notoriety, as a monstrous crucible of human woe, as the "Jersey." This vessel was originally a British line-of-battle ship, built in 1736, and carried sixty guns. She had done good service in the war with France, and had several times served as a part of the Mediterranean squadron. In the spring of 1776 she sailed for America as one of the fleet of Commodore Hotham, and arrived at Sandy Hook in the month of August. She was subsequently used as a storeship, then employed as a hospital ship, and was finally, in the winter of 1779-80, fitted up for a prison ship, and anchored near the Wallabout in the East river, near what is now the Navy Yard, where she lay until the close of the war, when the day of retribution arrived, and she was broken up and sunk beneath the muddy waters of the East river to rise no more. Dismantled of her sails and stripped of her rigging, with port holes closed, with no spar but the bowsprit, and a derrick to take in supplies, her small lone flag at the stern became the appropriate but unconscious signal of the dreadful suffering that raged within. Hundreds of captured prisoners were packed into this small vessel, where, with but one meal of coarse and filthy food per diem, without hammocks, or physicians, or medicines, or means of cleanliness, they wretchedly perished. Thousands of emaciated skeletons were during these perilous years cast into the billows of the bay, or left half covered in the sand banks and trenches. The bones of the dead lay exposed along the beach, drying and bleaching il the sun, whitening the shore until washed away by the surging tides. About twelve thousand prisoners are believed to have died on these vessels, most of whom were young men, the strength and flower of their country. The spirit of Yankee adventure was not wanting, however, even in those floating dens of pestilence and famine. The 8 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. prisoners on board the " Jersey " secretly obtained a crow-bar, which they artfully concealed and used on windy and stormy nights to break off the port gratings, when good swimmers would plunge into the water and make their way to the shore. Thus numbers escaped to their friends, to tell the sad story of their sufferings and reveal the still sadder fact of the numbers who had died. A singularly daring and successful feat was undertaken in December, 1780, by some adventurous New England captains suffering on the "Jersey." The best boat of the ship had returned from New York about four in the afternoon, and was carelessly fastened at the gangway, with her oars on board. A storm prevailed, and the wind blew down the river, producing an immense tide. At a given signal a party of prisoners placed themselves carelessly between the ship's waist and the sentinel, while the four captains en tered the boat, the fastening of which was thrown off by their friends. The boat passed close under the bow of the ship; and was at a considerable distance from her before the sentinel at the forecastle gave the alarm and fired at her. The second boat was manned with much dispatch for a chase, but she pursued in vain. One man from her bow fired several shots at the deserters, and a few guns were discharged from the shore; but all to no effect. The boat passed Iell-gate in the evening, and arrived at Connecticut with her precious freight the next morning. Very few deserters were captured. Civilians also suffered with the soldiers. On one of the coldest nights of the century a party of British troops crossed the Hudson river on the ice and proceeded to Newark. After capturing the little garrison they burned the academy and rifled many of the dwellings. They then entered the house of Justice Hedden, and carried him from his bed a prisoner, with no clothing to screen him from the dreadful blast save his shirt and stockings, wounding his wife in her head and breast, who remonstrated against this inhuman, procedure. Fortunately, a few militia pursued them and rescued the Jus SHOCKING BARBARITY OF ENGLISH OFFICERS. 79 tice, who was dreadfully frozen, and must have perished long before reaching New York. When the traitor Arnold entered New York, he speedily procured the arrest of more than fifty of the warmest friends of independence, who were hurled into dungeons and other places of confinement, where they long continued. The poor prisoners were kept in profound ignorance of the progress of the war, and were led to believe that their cause was hopelessly lost. Imagine the feelings of one of these sufferers, in the old sugar-house in Liberty street, as he one day stood leaning in bitterness of soul against the high fence which surrounded it, when a citizen, passing near by, without halting or turning his head, said, in a low tone, " General jBurgoynee is taken, with his whole army. It is the truth; you may depend upon it." His sinking hopes revived. He lobbled back into the gloomy den, to whisper in palsied ears the cheering truth, and raise, even in those death-glazed eyes,. the thrice welcome vision of a country saved. That friendly informant would have suffered severely if discovered; but his contribution to these wasting patriots was more valuable than the gold of Ophir or the affection of woman. But the plant of liberty does not die of hunger, or thirst, or nakedness, or reproach, or contumely. Nay, these but accelerate its immortal development; and, amid the sufferings of the prisons, the privations of the camps, the wails and sobbings of widows and orphans, it continued its sublime expansion, until, at length, bursting through every opposition, it spread its benign shadow o'er all the land. In the midst of these appalling sufferings, the British officers of New York amused themselves by planning a theatre, consenting themselves to become the comedians-a practice which they continued, in the edifice in John street, for several years, the tory population attending and applauding their entertainments. 80 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. HALE AND ANDRE, THE TWO SPIES. ORTITUDE under the smart of un*~p i merited sufferings is one of the rarest traits of humanity. *f J War is not only characterized by 1i*1 B general suffering and disaster, involv- ing nearly every family of the country, but by personal adventures and sacrifices, which not unfrequently leave a sting to rankle in the minds of successive generations. There is a moral sublimity in one's voluntarily casting himself between his country and its fiercest enemies, uncovering his own brave head to receive the blow, that by his sacrifice kindred and posterity may glide unscathed and peacefully down the stream of time; but this sublimity is greatly intensified when young men of brilliant abilities, stainless reputation, and of undoubted worth to society nobly assume responsibilities attended with extraordinary perils, and likely soon to culminate in saddest failure and ruin. The career of Nathan Hale and of John Andre, two of the most brilliant and virtuous young officers representing the opposing forces of that stormy period, presents one of the most striking examples of this kind in the annals of time. Iale was born in Coventry, Conn., June 6, 1755; graduated with high honor, at Yale College, at the age of eighteen years, and soon became a successful teacher. His parents designed him for the ministry; buft the crash of arms at Lexington so aroused his patriotic impulses that he immediately wrote to his father, stating " that a sense of duty urged him to sacrifice everything for his country." HIe soon after.entered the army as a lieutenant, and was, a few months later, promoted to the captaincy. While stationed with the troops near Boston, he was noted as a vigilant officer; and, in the early part of September, 1776, when in New York, he, with an associate, planned and- cap HALE AND ANDRE, THE TWO SPIES. 81 tured a British sloop laden with provisions, taking her at midnight from under the guns of a frigate. Just before the capture of New York, Washington became exceedingly anxious to ascertain the plans of the enemy, who were encamped in force on Long Island. A council of war was held, and an appeal made for a discreet officer to enter the enemy's lines and gather information. Captain I-Iale, who I l! -.&X was only twenty-one years of age, came nobly forward and offered to undertake the perilous mission. IHe entered the British lines in disguise, examined the - island, made drawings and memoranda of everything most important, ascertained their plans, conducting his enterprise with great capacity and address, but was accidentally apprehended in making his. escape. But while Hale was making discoveries at Long Island,. a portion of the British army had crossed the East river under cover of the fire of their fleet, and had captured New York,, General Howe taking up temporary headquarters in the vicinity of Fiftieth street. Hale was brought to the headquarters of Howe, who delivered him to the notorious Cunningham, ordering him to be executed on the following morning, unless he should renounce the colonial cause. He was unmercifully hanged upon an apple-tree, and his remains cast into an unknown grave. Andre was born in London, in 1751; was educated at Geneva, after which he entered a counting-house. Disappointed in love, he abandoned business and entered the army, where he rose by the intrinsic worth of his character to be captain, major, and finally adjutant-general, under Sir Heniry, 6 82 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Clinton, chief commander at New York. As he had read extensively, had a vigorous memory, brilliant powers of conversation, understood several languages, wrote poetry, and was a fine singer, he became naturally a universal favorite in all select circles. His enthusiasm for the loyal cause was unbounded; and Sir Henry Clinton appears to have committed to his pen the treasonable correspondence which was conducted for more than eighteen months with Benedict Arnold. Their letters were written in disguised hands, Arnold using the signature of " Gustavus," and Andre that of "John Anderson." Some of these letters are believed to have been written in the Kipp Bay House, a cut of which is inserted on page 56. This edifice, erected of Holland brick, in 1641, was considered a mansion of such respectable grandeur during the revolution, that in the forced absence of the proprietor, who was a whig, it was made the headqnarters and place of banqueting and pleasant resort of British officers of distinction. Here Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Percy, General Knyphausen, Major Andre, and their satellites beguiled many a weary hour. It was at this house that Major Andre partook of his last public dinner in New York, and with his characteristic conviviality sung at the repast a song beginning: "Why, soldiers, why, Should we be melancholy boys, Whose business'tis to die?" etc. In ten short days from that time this gay and accomplished officer was a prisoner, and found it his sad" business to die" as a malefactor. But we have somewhat anticipated our story. Andre was selected to ascend the Hudson, have an interview with Arnold, and complete the arrangement for the capture of West Point. From the " Vulture," an English man-of-war, he landed near Haverstraw, at dead of night, held the expected conference with the American traitor, lay concealed for some time HALE AND ANDRE, THE TWO SPIES. 83 within the American lines, but was captured at Tarrytown, in an effort to return to New York. After an impartial trial he was, at the age of twenty-nine years, executed as a spy, at Tappan, October 2, 1780. While there are some points of similarity in the career and fate of these accomplished young men, there are also remarkable contrasts in the treatment administered to them by the authorities into whose hands they fell. Neither of them contested the principles upon which they were sentenced, but manfully recognized the importance of these rules of war, though Andre begged that the application of the rule might be changed, and he shot instead of hanged-a matter to which Iale was profoundly indifferent. Hale was approached by the authorities with advantageous offers, on condition that he would join the enemy, which he resolutely spurned, at the loss of his life; but Andre was subjected to no such temptations. Iale, captured in the afternoon, was executed at day-break on the following morning; while Andre was granted ten days to prepare for his approaching doom. Iale, during the short period of his confinement, was made in every conceivable manner to feel that he was considered a traitor and a rebel. lie saw no friendly countenance, and heard no word of respect or compassion. The hasty letters he wrote to his father and sister were destroyed, and he was even denied the use of a Bible and the counsels of a clergyman at his execution. On the other hand, the generous Americans, half-forgetting the treachery of Andre, lavished to the last their attentions and affections upon his accomplished person, Washington shedding tears when he signed his death-warrant. Andre, as he was going to die, with great presence of mind and the most engaging air, bowed to all around him, thanking them for the kindness and respect with which he had been treated, saying, " Gentlemen, you will bear witness that I die with the firmness becoming a soldier." Hale had received no respect, and no kindly attentions; hence, he had none to 84 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. return. He was a mere youth, but with a manly courage, mighty in death on the scaffold, exclaimed, " I am so satisfied with the cause in which I have engaged, that my only regret is that I have not more lives than one to offer in its service." While we can but respect the attainments and admire the bearing of Andre, we are no less favorably impressed with the manly accomplishments and fortitude of Hale, several years his junior, who passed through one of the most trying ordeals in the history of the world, and whose name has not had its deserved prominence in American history. ARNOLD IN NEW YORK. /MONG all the blackened names that /AA*/. darken the pages of New York his^ RW ^ ~tory, no one has stood forth so con_,~- tffl ^P. ispicuonsly, or been so emphatically a hissing and a by-word among all " — _ R B - classes, as that of Benedict Arnold. He was born of respectable parentage at Norwich, Conn., January 3, 1740, where he received the usual commonschool education of his day, being designed by his friends for a mercantile career. His early associations and habits gave evidence of an unprincipled, adventurous, and changeable ARNOLD IN NEW YORK. 85 nature, which unfortunately grew worse and worse through all his career. His greatest talent was doubtless in military pursuits, where he always appeared as an intrepid, dashing, and successful chieftain. Among the first at the outbreak of the Revolution to abandon business and mount the saddle, he was during the early northern campaigns more conspicuous than any other, exhibiting everywhere a genius and fortitude challenging the respect of friend and foe. But his treacherous and selfish nature, his vanity and extravagance, were everywhere as conspicuous as his military successes, resulting in repeated perplexities and difficulties, rendering him forever unpopular and an object of public suspicion. Overlooked and slighted by Congress in its army appointments, convicted of / peculation and reprimand- ed by his superiors, and strangoelv ambitious for luxury allclnd display, he satani- cally resolved to betray his a \ country's cause, and sell his influence for a bag of gold. He was probably long restrained from this traitor- / ous undertaking by the counsels of Washington, who highly appreciated his abilities, though he disapproved of his unscrupulous conduct. Recovering from a wound received in battle, he was appointed to the command of Philadelphia. Here he married for his second wife Miss Margaret Shippen, whose father was subsequently chief justice of Pennsylvania, and was at that time considered one of the chief men of the State, though strongly attached to the tory interest. His wife was one of the chief belles of the city, and probably added some stimulus to his extravagant temper. She had been an intimate friend of Major Andr6, with whom she con 86 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. tinned to correspond after her marriage, and which probably paved the way for the undying dishonor of her husband. Having resolved on great treachery, Arnold sought and obtained from Washington command of West Point, one of the principal bulwarks of the country and the key to the interior. Iis iniquitous correspondence with British officials is believed to have been continued for eighteen months before its detection. In this he proposed to so dispose of the troops at West Point that the place, with all its forces and munitions, would fall an easy conquest; for which he was to be rewarded with a General's commission in the royal army, and a purse of ~10,000 of English gold. Deserting his country which had raised him from obscurity, robbing her of his influence and service, seeking with artful strategy to enslave her patriots and desolate her plains, in the period of her deepest poverty and distress, he committed one of those unpardonable crimes which the world has never been able to overlook. Twice he narrowly escaped capture; a singular providence, however, ordered that his crime should not be wiped out with his blood, but that, through the twenty-one years of his ripened manhood, his dejected crest should be blazoned with the marks of his infamy, and that he should live and die a despised exile from the land of his nativity. He would have been captured, and humanly speaking should have been, by Washington at West Point, had it not been for the unaccountable stupidity of Colonel Jameson, commander at North Castle, to whom Andre was given after his arrest. The papers found in his stockings, containing plans of all the West Point fortifications, a description of the works, the number of troops, the disposition of the corps, etc., etc., were all in Arnold's handwriting. These Jameson dispatched to Washington, but insisted on sending a letter stating these facts to Arnold, which apprised him of his danger and led to his hasty flight. The letter from Jameson was received by Arnold while at breakfast with his wife and several officers. He was greatly startled, but quieted the officers by stating ARNOLD IN NEW YORK. 87 that his presence was needed at the fortifications, and that he would soon return. His wife, with her infant child, had come from Philadelphia to join him at his post of duty but ten days previously. Summoning her to their private room, he informed her of his crime, and the necessity of his immediate flight. Overwhelmed with the announcement, she screamed, swooned, and fell upon the floor, and in this perilous condition he left her and fled for his life. Gaining the "Vulture," still anchored in the river, he proceeded to New York. Here he received his royal commission, and at length the stipulated price for his treason; but his crime was too naked and wanton to secure respect even from those for whom he had sacrificed his honor. He soon caused multitudes of patriots to be arrested and cast into dungeons, but in his precipitate flight from West Point he had left all his papers, and hence could produce no evidence against them. Covered with scorn, he lived in partial concealment, sometimes in the Verplanck Iouse in Wall street, and again on Broadway, near the Kennedy House, Clinton's residence and headquarters. To save him from utter contempt when he rode out, English officers attended him, though it is said many of them thought it an ungracious task to appear at his side in the streets. While here, a plot was laid in the American camp for his capture, which nearly succeeded. The American troops were so stung with the disgrace he had brought upon their arms, that many were ready to enlist in any feasible enterprise to bring him to speedy retribution. Sergeant-major Champe, of the American dragoons in New Jersey, was the daring spirit of the band, who, by a connivance with his commanding officer, deserted the ranks and galloped toward the Hudson, but so hotly was he pursued by several troopers not in the secret that he plunged into the river and swam across to New York. His perilous adventure gave the strongest evidence that his desertion to the British was genuine; hence, he was warmly received by all. IIe thus gained free access to Arnold's residence in Broadway, and adroitly matured a 88 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. plan for his capture. His comrades were to cross from New Jersey in a boat opposite the house, under cover of darkness, pass up through an adjoining alley, enter the garden and gain access to the rear of the dwelling, seize and gag the victim, carrying him by the same route to the boat. Champe had loosened the pickets of the fence, the hour was appointed for the undertaking; but unfortunately, on the day previous to its execution, Champe's regiment was ordered to embark for Chesapeake, and Arnold removed his headquarters to another dwelling. Champe's comrades were punctual at the rendezvous, where they waited several hours for his appearance; and then returned in disappointment to camp. Not long after Champe made his escape from the southern army, and returned to his friends, to clear up the strange mystery that had hung over his conduct. Arnold left New York to command an expedition against Virginia, and afterwards led one against New London, Conn.; and is said to have watched with fiendish cruelty the burning of the town, almost in sight of the place of his birth. At the close of the war, he went to England, where he died unlamented, in 1801. It is said that he once expressed the sorrow that he was the only man living who could not find refuge in the American Republic. ^^>^^z^0000 BRITISH EVACUATION. 89 BRITISH EVACUATION. Tm HRE surrender of Lord Cornwallis at " m 10 Yorktown, on the 17th of October, X:- o ~1781, with seven thousand English troops, was really the signal for terminating the weary struggle. Lord North, the English Premier, was compelled to resign the following March, and RockCORNWALLIS. ingham, the leader of the peace party in Parliament, was appointed to fill his place. Negotiation followed for many months, ending in the complete emancipation of the colonies from British rule. On the 25th of November, 1783, at 12 M., the British flag was taken from the staff on the fort, the troops embarked, and the long expatriated citizens were allowed to return to the full possession of their city and property. Washington tarried until the 4th of December, when he took his farewell of his officers amid such expressions of profound sorrow as have rarely been exhibited in army circles. The city, seven years a prison and military depot, had greatly sunken into decay; commerce was wholly ruined, and general desolation brooded on every side. Though escaped from the boiling caldron of war, it was long disquieted with civil feuds growing out of the late struggle. Its population at the close of the war amounted to about twenty-three thousand, and though numerous improvements were contemplated, so deep and universal was the poverty of the population that little of public enterprise was undertaken for more than fifteen years. 90 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. THE BURR AND HAMILTON TRAGEDY OF 1804. REVOLUTIONARY period opens a wide theatre for the development of the rarest genius, and for the grandest X* l @'7~ display of all the richest qualities of the human soul. And while it is true that great benevolence, patriotism, or self-sacrifice at such times glows with HAMLTON. a richer coloring, it is no less true that selfishness, peculation, and treason, are branded with a deeper infamy. The stirring events of the American Revolution brought to the surface a multitude of able and brilliant men, some of whom by directness and sterling integrity towered higher and higher through all their history, while others equally gifted, choosing the tortuous paths of stratagem and guile, sunk into national contempt, and blackened their names with undying disgrace. While few names in American history, on their bare announcement, suggest more than those of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, it would be difficult to find two young men whose early circumstances presented more numerous points of similarity, or upon whom nature and providence had more profusely lavished their gifts and opportunities. Born in the middle of the eighteenth century, with but eleven months' difference in their ages, educated in the first circles of the times, fortunate in their matrimonial alliances; both small of stature, beautiful in person, courtly in carriage, rarely gifted in mind, distinguished for gallantry on the field of battle, and for success at the bar, they certainly had opportunities wide as the world for the realization of the highest worldly satisfaction, and for immortal renown. Hamilton was born in the West Indies, where he lost his mother in childhood; his father early failed in business, continuing through life in poverty and dependence, leaving his son under the charge of relatives. The Revolution found THE BURR AND HAMILTON TRAGEDY OF 1804. 91 young Hamilton a student in King's (Columbia) College, where he displayed such extraordinary qualities of mind that he soon rose from obscurity to shine through life as a star of the first magnitude in the political and intellectual world. Having? adopted New York as the city of his residence, he espoused the colonial w - presents many interesting reminiscences, AS.' ^ which for want of space we cannot minutely sake>M- present. Intolerance and persecution we are, however, sorry to say, existed, in those -~ —-s- good old days of " simplicity and sunshine." The troublesome doctrine of uniformity long retarded the genuine religious development of the people. The first Quaker preacher landed in 1656, but finding it unsafe for one of his faith and habits, departed unceremoniously. In 1707 a Presbyterian clergyman was arrested and compelled to pay the cost of an expensive suit, for preaching in a private house, and baptizing a child. In 1709, a Baptist minister was imprisoned three months for presuming to preach in the city without permission from the authorities. The Jews were long denied the privilege of worship, and a law was passed, though never enforced, for hanging every Catholic priest who should voluntarily enter the city. These prejudices, however, early passed away. REFORMED DUTCH. The island being at first settled by the Hollanders, it was but natural that the Dutch church should long have the pre REFORMED DUTCH 143 cedency. A church organization was effected in 1626, and there are regular records since 1639. In 1642, a stone church THE OLD DUTCH CHURCH, FULTON STREET, CORNER WILLIAM. (In which originated and are now held the Fulton-street noon prayer-meetings.) edifice was erected in the southeast corner of the fort at Bowling Green. The building was 70 by 52 feet, 16 feet high, and cost 2,500 guilders. It stood 99 years, and was then destroyed by fire. In 1693, the Garden street Dutch _= —s_~=-= —=~ —_~-=:T-;;~,~-= — ----- s~-== 144 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. church was erected, and il 1729 the Middle Dutch church, used since 1844 as the New York Post Office. It was in this church that the zealous Dutch submitted after much excitement and discussion to the introduction of preaclhing in the English language, to save their young people, who were flocking to the English churches. The first sermon in English was preached by the Rev. Dr. Laidlie, ol the afternoon of the last Sabbath in March, 1764, the innovation being such a novelty that the building and its windows were packed beyond all description. This occurred just one hundred years after the introduction of the English government and language. The North Dutch church was the next erected, on the corner of what is now William and Fulton streets. The land'now valued at $300,000 was donated by John IIarpending; the corner-stone was laid July 2d, 1767, and the house dedicated May 25th, 1769. The structure is of stone, 100 feet long by 70 wide, with a lofty steeple, and cost nearly twelve thousand pounds. It was in this venerable edifice that the far-famed Fulton-street daily prayer-meeting, characterized by unusual catholicity, fervent spontaneity, and the devout and pentecostal mingling of strangers, originated in September, 1857. Here it still continues. The Reformed Dutch have now 25 churches and chapels on the island, many of which are large and well attended, but their paucity indicates that this excellent denomination, first on the soil, has not been very tggressive. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL. On the surrender of Manhattan to the English in 1664. the haughty conquerors not only took possession of the fort, but of the church also, and forthwith introduced the Episcopal service, changing the name of the building to King's Chapel. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL. 145 The service of the church of England was conducted here until the dedication of the first Trinity in February, 1697. This building, which stood on the site of the present Trinity, was a small, square edifice, and after being twice enlarged, was destroyed by the great conflagration of 1776. It was rebuilt in 1788, pulled down in 1840, and the present magnificent structure completed and opened for worship, May 21st, 1846. It is solid New Jersey brown-stone from foundation to spire, except the roof, which is wood. The edifice, which is in the Gothic order, is 192 feet long and 80 feet wide, the side walls rising fifty feet. The spire stretches upward to the lofty altitude of 284 feet, up the winding stairs of which hundreds ascend daily 308 steps (250 feet) to the tower, where they obtain a magnificent view of the city, and its immediate surroundings. The chimes of Trinity are surpassed by few bells in the world. Trinity was endowed by Queen Anne, and came into possession of a large farm owned by a Dutch woman named Anneke Jans, which now covers a large portion of the city. Trinity is the mother of Episcopal churches in America. It is the richest religious corporation on the continent, its property, mostly in city real estate, being valued at forty or fifty millions. Many of the streets of New York bear the names of her rectors and vestrymen. The plan of a collegiate charge was early adopted by the Dutch and Episcopal churches of New York, and still continues to a limited extent. St. Paul's, situated on Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey streets, a fine structure of reddish gray-stone, was opened for dedication October 30th, 1766. St. Johns, on Varick street, was erected in 1807, at a cost of over two hundred thousand dollars, and St. George's was dedicated July 1st, 1752. All these were under the Trinity parish, though the last-named has since become a separate corporation. The Episcopalians of New York are a vigorous and benevolent body, forming really the strength of the denomination in the country, supporting numerous benevolent institutions, 11 146 NEW YORK AND Irrs INTITUTIONS. and paying annually large sums to maintain feeble parishes, scattered over the interior of the State. Their churches and chapels (94 in all) outnumber those of any other denomination on the island. They have been exceedingly happy in selecting names for their churches; besides the churches of the Holy Apostles, Holy Innocents, Holy Communion, Holy Martyrs, and Holy Trinity, we read of the church of St. A1ban's, St. Ambrose, St. Andrew's, St. Ann's, St. Clement, St. John's, St. Luke's, St. Mark's, St. Paul's, St. Peters, St. Philip's, St. Stephen's, St. Mary's, etc., etc., until one feels that New York is a sainted community, notwithstanding the number of sinners reported to still lurk around its corners. LUTHERAN. The Lutherans, akin to the Reformed Dutch, were the third to establish a separate service. Indeed it appears to have been established before the English conquest, though no church edifice was erected until 1702, when a small stone building was reared on the corner of Rector street and Broadway, which was also destroyed by the fire of September, 1776. In 1767, they erected a substantial stone edifice on the corner of Frankfort and William streets, known as the "Swamp church," and others in different parts of the city, have been since added as the wants of the denomination have required. There are now about fifteen Lutheran churches on the island, several of which have large and wealthy congregations. li-i — ~ ~ ~ ~ ~;H mo %a~~~~~~~~,%;itl~~masu -~CS-1Maul TRTMTY iiupca- ioadway opvot~iie ovll x i- Ivet.,41 fee fligt -4-- - - - - L(Tf-= -=;- -- C - - -Z~;~C;= —---- | e-T~-===o-~1~-"-5-~-= I: — ~ -~ —____.~ |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C-=; — -- | M1ADISON AvNNui RWEFORMED CMaRCH-CORNER SST -STREET. Rev. II. D. TANSY:, Pastor. Ei-e- te-l(l 1870. Co06t$1-0,000. Lots, $90,000. Spire'88 fee t. PRESBYTERIAN. 147, PRESBYTERIAN. The Presbyterians, whose activity and strength are at this time second to no Protestant body in New York, were long and bitterly opposed in establishing their system of worship. They met in private houses for a considerable period, and in 1716 organized their first society, connecting it with the Presbytery of Philadelphia. Having gained recognition from the authorities, they were allowed to worship in the City Hall until 1719, when they opened their first edifice in Wall street near Broadway. This first building was enlarged in 1748, rebuilt on an enlarged scale in 1810, destroyed by fire in 1834, and again rebuilt and occupied until 1844, when it was sold and taken down; the congregation erecting what has since been known as the First Presbyterian church, corner of Broadway and Eleventh street. Their second edifice, the " Brick church," on the corner of Beekman and Nassau streets, was dedicated January 1, 1768, and stood at that time in the open field. The next was the Rutgers-street church, opened for worship May 13, 1798, which was followed by the Duane, established in 1808, and the church of University place in 1845. Many of their churches are now located in the richest parts of the city, with large Sunday schools and intelligent congregations. It is doubtful whether two more wealthy or liberal congregations can be found on this continent than that of the First Presbyterian church, Dr. Paxton, pastor, which last year contributed to benevolent enterprises over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and the Fifth avenue Presbyterian church, Dr. John Hall, pastor, which contributed over one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars. Of these sums nearly a quarter of a million went to outside charities. A collection of $20,000 is no unusual thing for a Sabbath morning. Many of these churches establish and support missions in less favored localities. The churches and mission chapels of the Presbyterians 148 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. proper number seventy, those of the United Presbyterians ei(rlt, of thie Reformed Presbyterians seven, and of the Congregationalists nine. Several magnificent institutions, which are elsewhere described in this work, have recently been pr ojected by this denomination. BAPTIST. The first Baptists on Manhattan were of the Arminian faith. They began their toil amid violent persecution, and immersed some of their converts at midnight, to avoid difficulty. Their first house of worship, the Arninian Baptist church, stood on Golden Hill, afterwards Gold street, and was erected about 1725. The history of the Baptist church in New York presents some remarkable congregational feuds, and whether these have retarded or'developed the growth of the denomination we shall not attempt to decide. As neither faction have understood the principle of surrender, nearly every serious dissension has either resulted in the extinction of a church, or in the founding of one or two new ones. In 1770 a difficulty arose in the First church, during the pastorate of Rev. John Gano, respecting psalmody. Most of the congregation preferred to abolish the old custom of parcelling out the lines in singing, whereupon a number of members withdrew and established the Second Baptist church. The Second church gained accessions after the Revolution, when another strife arose, about equally dividing the membership, each party claiming to be the Second Baptist church, and virtually excommunicating each other. Through the mediation of friends in 1791, the disputed title was dropped; one section became known as the Bethel church, and the other the Baptist church in Fayette street. Thus one church literally, though unhappily, developed into three in twenty-one years. In 1802 % I I _.-. II 1 5=i - --- 5lj F -- ------ -,- ——;'=_x-: — "~ -r=c ----—; —--- ---- r —; —-—. --.. ---;r 3.T-2L —-Cz- — z'I " —- —r ~- —z Tn I' -—. z` II~,, TaIc FIRBT BhPTIBT CKuRca —Corner RBth Ytreet snd Park Avenue. &rected 11; size 66 x 100 feet, cost, inc)uing lots, ~'L0,000, seating capacity, 1,000 - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ --- -~~~~~~~-~ ^!~!1 —---- 1111 8~~~~~~~~~- ma —---- -------- PA8 SHOIT HRC-Crer4h vnu ad22 tr METHODIST. 149 John Inglesby, a member of the Fayette street church, was licensed to preach, and the next year began to hold regular services in a hall in Greenwich street, which resulted at length in the First Ebenezer Baptist church. Inglesby's course was not approved by the Fayette-street society. His preaching savored of Antinomianism, and his society was refused admission into the Association. The Ebenezer church of our day was organized in 1825, and after several removals is now located in West Thirty-sixth street. The Welsh Baptist church was founded in 1807, the Mulberry street, the Abyssinian, and the North Beriah in 1809, the Zoar church in 1811, the South Baptist in 1822, the Cannon street in 1827, the North Baptist in 1828, the Salem in 1834, the West church in 1835, the Berean in 1838, the Sixth street in 1840, and the Bloomingdale in 1843. The Old and the New school, the Colored, the German, the Welsh, and the Free-will Baptists, united, have about fifty places of worship in New York at this time, and rank among the most zealous and useful of our city churches. METHODIST. Methodism having become a power in Great Britain, drifted across the ocean, and, in 1766, sprang up in the New World. The first Methodist service was conducted by Philip Embury, an Irish Wesleyan local preacher, in his own house in Barrack street, now Park Place, to a congregation of six persons. A class was soon formed, and the place becoming too small for the congregation, a more eligible room was secured in the neighborhood; where the little society unexpectedly sprang into public notice by the advent of Captain Thomas Webb of the English army, then stationed at Albany. Webb had served with distinction under Braddock and Wolfe, was a spiritual son of John Wesley, a man of sense and fervid elo 150 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. quence, and as he preached in full.uniform, laying his sword on the desk, he attracted great attention. The Rigging Loft on Horse and Cart street, now William, between Fulton and John streets, until the opening of the first John-street church, October 30, 1768, was their temporary chapel, where many conversions occurred. The John-street church was rebuilt on the original site in 1817, and again in 1840, and is likely to long remain the monumental cradle of American Methodism. The Forsyth street church was founded in 1790, the Duane in 1797, the Allen street and the Bedford in 1810, the Willet street in 1817, the Eighteenth street in 1829, the Green street in 1831, and the Mulberry (now the St. Paul's) in 1834. The Methodist Episcopal Church has now sixty churches and chapels on the island, valued at over two million dollars, many of which are large and beautiful structures. St. Paul's, at the corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-second street, is perhaps the finest edifice yet reared by the denomination on Manhattan. The building is of white marble in the Romanesque order, its length being (including chapel) 146 feet, and the width 75 feet. The height of the nave is 45 feet, and the top of the spire 210 feet. The audience room contains comfortable seating for over thirteen hundred persons. The members of the Methodist church in New York, who number about thirteen thousand, retain much of the fervor and simplicity of the bygone period, while in liberality they probably far excel their forefathers. Besides the churches mentioned above there are about a dozen others, scattered over the island under various Methodist titles, and offshoots from the parent body. JEWS. Some families of Jews are said to have been among the early settlers of Manhattan, but at what time they first established their worship is not certainly known. It is probable JEWS. 151 that about 1706 they erected their first synagogue on Mill street, which was twice rebuilt and constituted their only place JEWISH TEMPLE. (Fifth avenue, corner Forty-third street.) of worship for over one hundred years. During the last forty years their numbers have greatly increased, and the twentyseven well-ordered synagogues of our day attest their steady adherence to the faith of their fathers. Many of their synagogues are situated in rich and eligible localities, and the one recently erected on the corner of Forty-third street and Fifth avenue is one of the largest and richest structures on the island. 152 ow YOK AND I ITS INSTrrUTIONS. ROMAN CATHOLIU. The first Roman Catholic families entered New York during the administration of Governor Thomas Dongan, but CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL. (Fifth avenue, between Fifty-flrst and Fifty-8econd streets.) they were not allowed to establish their system of worship until after the Revolution. They first worshipped in a public ~~~~~~~~~~ —;~ til after th~e Inevolution. They flirst worshipped in a public ROMAN CATHOLIC. 153 building in Vauxhall garden, situated on the Hudson river between Warren and Chambers streets. Their first church edifice was on the site of the present St. Peters church in Barclay street, mass being first performed within its walls November 4, 1786. No other Catholic church was erected for more than thirty years. St. Peter's was rebuilt of granite on a greatly enlarged scale in 1836, and still remains a substantial monument of the denomination. Its front is ornamented with six massive Ionic columns, and a monument of St. Peter with the keys. In 1815 they erected " St. Patrick's cathedral," on the corner of Mott and Prince streets, and in 1826 they purchased of the Presbyterians a small edifice on Sheriff street, between Broome and Delancey. About the same time they purchased a church edifice from the Episcopalians in Ann street near Nassau, which was destroyed by fire in 1834, when the society divided, one section buildillgthe " St. James' church" on James street, the other purchasing a building of the Presbyterians on Chambers street, which they named the "Church of the Transfiguration." In 1833 they erected " St. Joseph's church " in Barrow street; in 1840 they purchased the Universalist church in Duane street, and in 1841 they purchased the "Second avenue Presbyterian church." The Catholics have purchased nearly every church offered for sale in the city for many years past, their communicants being composed largely of the laboring classes, and occupying sections where Protestant churches have found it difficult to sustain themselves. This sect has wonderfully increased on Manhattan during the last fifty years, not to any considerable extent from the conversion of Americans, but from the very extensive immigration of foreigners to this country, many of whom linger in the cities. They have now forty churches on the island, most of which are large, and their services are usually crowded without any regard to time, season, or weather. The late Archbishop Hughes projected the largest and richest enterprise in church architecture ever undertaken in New York. He laid the corner-stone of the immense " St. 154 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Patrick's Cathedral," on Fifth avenue, between Fifty-first and Fifty-second streets in 1858, since which the work of construction has slowly progressed. The extreme length of the structure is 332 feet with a general breadth of 132, and at the transept of 174 feet. The foundation is of Maine granite and the side walls of Westchester marble. The style of the building is decorated Gothic, with two lofty spires, and when completed is expected to be the finest architectural monument of its kind on the continent. The labors and sacrifices of the Catholics for the advancement of their church interests are proverbial. Their excessive liberality amounts to almost a crime (1 Tim. v. 8), giving so extensively that when overtaken by sickness or misfortune vast numbers of them fall at once a.burden upon the city charities. Being also a unit in politics'they have found ways and means unknown to the Protestant denominations. OTHER DENOMINATIONS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES. The " Church of the Strangers " originated with the present pastor, Rev. Chas. F. Deems, D.D., formerly of North Carolina, who preached the first sermon in the small chapel of the University, on the twenty-second day of July, 1866, to fifteen persons. Service was held weekly until the chapel was filled, and in May, 1867, the congregation removed to the large chapel of the University and organized a Sabbath-school. Temporary organizations to conduct the business were formed, and on Jan. 5, 1868, a church organization was effected and twenty-two communicants enrolled. The membership now numbers two hundred. Members are required to subscribe to the Apostles' Creed and profess an earnest "effort to be saved from their sins through our Lord Jesus Christ." In October, 1870, the congregation removed to OTHER DENOMINATIONS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES. 155 the old Mercer-street Presbyterian church, which had been purchased and generously presented to the society by Cornme TIIE CHURCH OF TIE STRANGERS. lius Vanderbilt, Esq. The temporal affairs are conducted by the Monthly Yeeting, composed of all communicants and subscribers. The seats are free, and all members and resident attendants are expected to subscribe a weekly amount. Annual expense of church, $10,000 The Moravians were first organized in New York in 1748, 156 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. and have at this time two churches. The UJniversalists began in 1796, and have at present three churches and four missions. The Unitarians organized in 1819, their first sermon being preached by Dr. Channing, of Boston; they have at this writing five congregations. The Friends opened their first Meeting House in 1703, and have now five congregations on Manhattan. The members of the Greek church have just opened a temporary chapel, and are soon to erect a church on Lexington avenue. The churches and chapels of the Protestant denominations now number four hundred and thirty, with seating for nearly 400,000 persons. The church property exclusive of endowments amounts to at least $30,000,000. About one and a half million dollars are annually required to support the Protestant churches, and these contribute, beside their current expenses, five millions to other charities. The New York City Mission and Tract Society was organized nearly fifty years ago. In 1835 it employed twelve general missionary laborers and the number has been steadily increased until it now exceeds forty. The missionaries have not, until recently, attempted to form societies. There are three missionary societies operating in the City, under the direction of the Protestant Episcopal church, and one connected with the Reformed Dutch church. There has been also for many years a city missionary society connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, which was reorganized and incorporated in April, 1866. Under the presidency of the late W. W. Cornell, Esq., whose munificence and unaffected piety have rarely if ever been excelled, this organization became the most vigorous for city evangelization of any in the metropolis. During the last four years three of its missions have developed into self-supporting churches, with good houses of worship; a number of fine chapels have been erected, and nearly twenty new societies organized. There are over 260 city missionaries at work in New York under the direction of the Protestant churches, beside scores of agents and visitors of the numerous benevolent societies. These missionaries make OTHER DENOMINATIONS AND IISSIONRY SOCIETIES. 157 about 800,000 visits per annum; they carry gladness and sunshine into many caverns of darkness and poverty, disseminate religious knowledge, relieve the suffering, and gather the wayward into the sanctuaries. Though much is said and written about the neglect of the masses in large cities, it is nevertheless certain to those who are in circumstances to know, that few sections of Christendom are more thoroughly canvassed by the pious than the lanes and streets of Manhattan. 12 VII. PARKS AND SQUARES. =. - ~s~ —~- = - —. SQUAEl SEMET 1855.-OW CENTRAL PARK. TSQU are eighteen public and seveal priate parks andR THERE are eighteen public and several private parks and squares on Manhattan, covering in all over a thousand acres or one-fourteenth of the entire island. Many of the early parks have either disappeared or been greatly changed during the last few years. rThe Battery, which now contains twelve acres, was originally somewhat smaller, and was early profusely set with Lombardy poplar trees, all of which have now disappeared. This park, affording a fine view of the bay, and fanned with the cool breezes from the ocean, was for many years the most popular resort of the city for all classes. It is being again improved with walks and trees, after being long neglected. Bowling Green, so named because the PARKS AND SQUARES. 159 favorite bowling place of the military officers of King George, is a small oval enclosure at lower Broadway. It was fenced with iron before the Revolution, and the heads of the posts were broken off and used as cannon balls during the war. The City Hall Park contains ten acres. Many great and beautiful trees in this were cut down after the erection of the Marble IIall, to enable the populace fronm all quarters to get a view of the edifices) St. John's Park, which contained four acres, is said to have once presented, besides its beautiful fountain and beds of rare flowers, a greater variety of trees and shrubbery than any other spot of its size in the world. It is now covered with the Hudson River R. R. freight depot, ornamented with the costly bronze statue of the present railroad king, who has just demolished a fine church, and many other costly structures in another part of the city, to make place for the erection of another immense depot, the largest on the continent. Stuyvesant square contains four acres, and was presented to the city by the late Peter G. Stuyvesant. Tompkins square contains ten acres, and is much used as a place of military parade. Fit contains few ornaments. Washington square was formerly the Potter's Field, and was thus used during the Yellow Fever periods of 1797-1798, 1801-1803. It contained until recently nine and a half acres, and is believed to have received the bodies of 125,000 strangers. The recent extension of Fifth avenue has somewhat marred this beautiful park, by forcing a wide street through its center.. Union and Madison are very attractive centers, surrounded with high iron enclosures, containing beautiful fountains seats for visitors; and a fine growth of young trees. Murray Hill Park, adjoining the distributing reservoir, is being much improved, though the absence of shade has hitherto prevented it from being a place of general resort for the neighborhood. New parks are being formed on the upper parts of the island, among which we mention Observatory 160 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Place, containing 26 acres; Manhattan square, containing 19 acres; and Mount Morris, containing 20 acres. Central Park, the largest of all, was laid out in 1857; is two and a half miles long, three-fifths of a mile wide, contains 843 acres, and is twice as large as the renowned Hyde CENTRAL PARK PLAYGROUND. Park of London. It has cost in the purchase of land, and its improvements, over $11,000,000; anrid is now maintained and steadily improved, at an annual expense of $250,000. It has twelve grand entrances, contains five and a half miles of bridle path, nine and a half of carriage roads, twenty-seven miles of walks, so admirably arranged with arched passageways, that the pedestrian is never obliged to step on the carriage or bridle ways. Near the south-east corner stands a large three-story stone building, formerly a State arsenal. This has been purchased by the Park Commissioners, and was, until recently, filled with animals and serpents, with _n!: —-~ —- ---— ~ — -— ~.~ A-'~~~~~~~~~~__ __ —-- ~~~~~~~~~- -- - - f i r -- -;,-s~~~~=~S —-— ~L-~ ~ i —~~_~~_ mils o wlks soadiralyarrnge wth rehd assge. astht hepeestia i nve olied o te o te ar rige" - - or brdewts ertesuhes onrsad large thren-story stone building,~P hYFormel~ tt asnl PARKS AND SQUARES. 161 many ancient and modern curiosities. It has recently been rejuvenated, and adapted to the convenience of a Society lately incorporated, and known as the "American Museum of Natural listory." Tllis society has in a short time collected an at iore than $100,000; and rendering their Museum one of tihe most attractive centres for the naturalist, the antiquarian, or the curious, oni the entire island. The building contains three stories, and the collection is so arranged for exhibition, that the visitor is enabled to contemplate by progressive stages the various phases of animal life from its lowest to its tighest developments. p On the fiast floor le fro inds sponges from the East Indies, dome-shaped corals, and specimens of 162 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. the lowest known orders of animal existence. He next finds hundreds of specimens of fishes, including the dolphin, bladder fish, etc. Reptiles follow, with a fine exhibit of the boa constrictor. Cases are devoted to conchology, exhibiting the principal mollusca found in the different parts of the world. 10,000 specimens of Lepidoptera, presented by C. T. Robinson, exhibit all known varieties of American and European moths and butterflies. 4,000 varieties of beetles and other insects have been presented by Baron Osten-Sacken. Birds from all countries, exhibiting nearly every variety of size, habit, and plumage, from the humming-bird to the eagle, are interestingly grouped. The collection of mammals exhibits the kangaroo, fox, tiger, wild boar, ibex, leopard, lion, camel, stag; all crowned on the upper floor with a large variety of monkeys, which form the climax of the lower tribes, and approach nearest to man. The entire collection of the late Prince Maximilian, comprising 7,000 specimens, and various large and small collections, have been here classified for the study of the people. The first reception was given by the managers of the Museum on the 27th of April, 1871, to a thousand delighted visitors. A large and eligible structure is soon to be erected on Manhattan square for this Museum of natural history; also appropriate accommodations for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Department of Public Works has been empowered to proceed with the arrangement of these structures, at an expense not exceeding $500,000 for each. The trustees of the Museum of Natural History design it to equal, if not surpass, any similar institution in the world. Around the arsenal are buildings and cages with bears, eagles, serpents, and numerous other varieties of animals, The collection of rare living animals, reptiles, and birds is very large, numbering in all about six hundred, or over one hundred and thirty varieties. On the northern extremity of the Park, stands what was originally St. Vincent's Convent. The chapel of this has PARKS AND SQUARES. 163 been remodeled and decorated, and now contains the statuary, one of the most attractive collections in the country. A little north-east of this building are the nursery grounds, covering two and a half acres, where choice trees and shrubs are grown. Contiguous thereto is a vegetable garden, containing specimens of most of the esculents that will thrive in this climate, properly arranged, and the name of each so conspicuously placed, that a person passing by can readily recognize it. A spacious greenhouse, with approved heating apparatus, has recently been added, to preserve the tropical collection which has recently been greatly increased, 353 valuable plants being donated at one time by James Lenox, Esq., and 71 by Dr Wood. A large zoological garden is being constructed, with underground. accommodations for bears, seals, the walrus, beaver, etc. The best meteorological observatory in the country has been established, and a fine astronomical observatory is soon to be completed. A Palaeozoic Museum, containing life-size representations of most of the animals believed to have existed in America, during the secondary and post-tertiary geological periods, is being prepared. This will certainly be a cabinet of great interest. A line of stages now carry visitors through the Park, halting at its chief places of attraction. No pains or expense are spared to make the Park all the most fastidious could desire. A bronze figure for a fountain has just been cast in Munich for the Commissioners, and the basin for the same is a block of polished Westerly granite, seventeen feet square. Several costly and ornamental structures for the sale of pictures, refreshments, and mineral waters, have recently been erected. The site of this Park was originally perhaps the most broken of the island, and considered by many irredeemable; yet the toil of thousands of men, aided by powerful machinery, has crushed the rocks, so graded and enriched the sur 164 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. face, as to have made the "desert blossom as the rose." Verdant lawns spread away, where only rocks and poisonous laurel once appeared. Trees from all countries wave in the breeze and the broken places still remaining are so artfully CENTRAL PARK CASCADE. concealed with dense rows of choice shrubbery, that the delighted visitor rarely discovers them. Appropriate space is laid out for ball play and military parade. Placid lakes covering forty-three acres, dotted in summer with pleasure boats and snow-white swan, are no less attractive to skating parties in winter. The Commissioners offered $4,000 for the best plan for laying out this plot of ground, and thirty-five studies were presented, some of which came from Europe. Mr. F. L. Olmsted and Mr. C. Vaux proved the successful competitors. The millions already invested in this undertaking have by no means completed the improvements of this imperial park. Thus far they have made wonderful progress. The portion completed is so finely ornamented with PARKS AND SQUARES. 165 fountains, terraces, stairways, arcades, sculpture, statuary, rustic arbors, and pavilions, that one wearies with the repeated yet ever-diversified exhibitions of genius, beauty, and taste. It is the favorite resort of all classes, and is visited by about ten millions annually. F — CENTRAL PARK MINERAL SPRINGS. A stranger, spending a day in New York, should pass through Broadway, Washington market, ascend Trinity steeple, and visit Central Park. In the first, while he thinks of " Vanity fair," his attention will be perpetually attracted to objects of unrivaled and substantial costliness; and at the market will behold such an accumulation of commodities, and commingling of nationalities, as none can well describe. From Trinity steeple, two hundred and fifty feet above the pavement, he obtains a bird's-eye view of neighboring cities, of the broad rivers and bay whose waters are whitened with ten thousand sails; he hears the distant roar of innumerable wheels, and looks down upon the masses of diminutive creatures that are ceaselessly surging below. At the Park everything is charming, nature on parade in her gayest and sweetest attire. VIII. HOW NEW YORK IS SUPPLIED WITH WATER. EFORE the introduction of the Croton, the inhabitants of Manhattan suffered perpetual perils from fires, drought, and the im~1 _| J^ purities of their daily beverage. m —- I. - A liberal supply of pure water is one of the first conditions of health and happiness, with any people; but how to thus supply a vast city has been a question that has agitated the Solomons, the Caesars, and the Montezumas. For many years the inhabitants of Manhattan depended upon public and private wells. In 1659, there were eleven public wells in the little city-two in Wall street, three in Broadway, four in Broad street, and two on the East river side. These were used for watering horses and extinguishing fires, the families mainly depending upon private wells in their own yards. As the city enlarged, the demand for water increased; various schemes were discussed and experiments vainly tried, during half a century, until a board of Commissioners finally took the matter resolutely in hand, and after eight years of study and toil, completed in 1842 the most extensive and magnificent enterprise of the kind in modern times. A dam thrown across Croton river raised the water forty feet, forming Croton lake. The aqueduct proper is constructed of stone, brick, and cement, arched above and below, is seven and a half feet wide, and eight and a half high, with an inclination of thirteen inches to the mile; the flow of water for some years was about twenty-seven million gallons daily, but at present reaches nearly sixty millions, its full capacity. In Westchester county it crosses twenty-five THE CAINO-CENT LPA. e THE CASINO-CENTRAL PARK. (Restaurant.) =~~~~~~~-=Li-;::-f - - -- - I II I - -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A~~iLLLiAM)1il~u ~i ~a.(ozr t Hrle- 7e — bLAWOtlN AiqUEDUCT1 BAND 11161i Biuut;E-(over tile Harlemn Wver ). HOW NEW RIEK IS SUPPLIED WITH WATER. 167 streams, averaging from twelve to seventy feet below the line of grade, besides numerous brooks furnished with culverts. The water is carried across Harlem river in vast iron pipes on a bridge of granite, 1450 feet long, which is supported by fifteen arches, the crown of the highest being 100 feet above high-water mark, to prevent interference with navigation. Two deep valleys are ingeniously crossed, between this river and the receiving reservoir opposite Eightysixth street, which covers thirty-five acres, and contains 150,000,000 gallons. Several years since a retaining reservoir was added, covering over 100 acres, and thirty-eight feet deep, capable of holding one billion and thirty million gallons. Two large reservoirs have just been constructed-tlhe " Storage reservoir," and the "l High Service " at Carmansvi lle. From the receiving to the distributing reservoir, a distance of two and one-fourth miles, the water is conducted through several lines of iron pipe three or four feet in diameter. The distributing reservoir for the principal part of the city stands on Murray Hill, between Fortieth and Forty-second streets, fronting on Fifth avenue. It covers more than four acres, is divided into two parts, is 40 feet above the pavements, 115 above tide-water, and holds twenty million gallons. The entire distance from Croton lake to Murray Hill is forty-one and a half miles. Three hundred and forty miles of main pipe have been laid, to carry the water through the city. The water has been introduced into 67,000 dwelling-houses and stores, into 1,624 manufactories, 307 churches, into 290 buildings used as hospitals, prisons, schools, or public buildings, and into 14 markets. Seventy-two drinking hydrants are now in use in the city. The Croton water supplies Sing Sing prison, all the Institutions of Blackwell's, Randall's, and Ward's Islands, forms the numerous artificial lakes and ponds in Central Park, the fountains in all the other parks, is used for sprinkling the streets, and extinguishing fires. Its original cost was about nine millions, but the continual expense of repairs, building of new reservoirs, and of pipes, have swelled 168 NEW YORK AND rrS INmITISONS. the amount to nearly forty millions, a great but never-to-be regretted expenditure. A water tax is imposed on every building supplied, which is graduated according to the size of the structure. A onestory of sixteen feet width is taxed $4, a five-story with a width of twenty-five feet, $12 per annum. In manufactories, the Commissioners design to collect one cent for every one hundred gallons used, as nearly as may be. The water tax during 1868 amounted to $1,232,404.95, and since its introduction in 1842 to over $18,000,000. In November, 1868, the water was shut off for five days, for the inspection and repairing of the aqueduct. During the suspension of the flow of water, the reservoirs were reduced over nine feet, reminding us that if the supply should be cut off, our hydrants would fail in about fifteen days. The Croton ranks among the purest streams of the world. Its waters are collected in a district of 352 square miles. Mountains and hills of azoic gneiss receive the rainfall, which is filtered by the pure silicious sands and gravels, to gush out in numberless springs and brooks, which flow in sparkling transparency to the lake, the great reservoir. Here the sediments are mainly deposited, before the aqueduct is reached. A stone wall has been thrown around the lake, to isolate the drainage from the surrounding farms. A careful analysis of the water shows that the amount of impurity during a whole summer amounted to but 4.45 grains per gallon, or 7.63 parts in 100,000. Dublin is the only city in Europe supplied with water as pure as the Croton, and Boston, Philadelphia, and Trenton, only in America. Nine old wells were filled and covered in 1868, though two or three hundred still exist. Their waters are greatly polluted, and are fruitful sources of disease, the only remedy-filling them all-should be promptly attended to. By means of a new purchase of water-right in the spring of 1870, the volume of water during the dry season has been much increased, and the city saved from any anxiety in relation to the supply of this indispensable element. THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF NEW YORK. -- I _-_____-__ HEADQUARTERS OF NEW YORK BOARD OF EDUCATION. (Corner Grand and Elm.) THE early Dutch settlers of Manhattan were educated in the first common schools known in Europe, and have the immortal honor of establishing the first on this continent, for the education of all classes of society, at the public expense 170 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. The Dutch government bound the company to support ministers and schoolmasters, and the company imposed the same obligation on the patroons, in their respective agricultural colonies. Here, as in the mother-country, the schools were under the direction of the established church; the importance of a secular education for all, controlled by the state, and untrammelled by denominationalism, was not yet understood. The offices of minister and schoolmaster appear to have been united in one person, during the reign of Peter Minuits, the first governor, but were divided at the advent of his successor, in 1633. During the first forty years, the schools were held in such premises as could be obtained. An effort indeed appears to have been made to erect a school-huuse in 1642, but the funds raised for this purpose were again and again diverted for the common defence against the Indians, who roamed over nearly the whole island, so that no building for school purposes was probably erected until after the English occupation. Peter Stuyvesant evidently took considerable interest in education, for at his surrender of the colony to the English, there were in lNew Amsterdam, a town of fifteen hundred inhabitants, twelve or fifteen private, and three public schools, besides a Latin school established in 1659, whose reputation had attracted students from various parts of the continent. With the transfer of the government from the Dutch to the English, the public support of the schools (save to the Latin, which continued but a few years) was withdrawn. The sturdy Dutch, however, kept on the even tenor of their way for many years, both in church and school. The " School of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church," now conducted at No. 160 West Twenty-ninth street, dates back in its origin to the Dutch dynasty, and is probably the oldest educational institution in the country, its managers' having, however, imbibed the enlightened sentiments of their cotemporaries. Early in the eighteenth century, English schools became somewhat common in New York, and on Long Island. In 1710, the school still existing and known as THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF NEW YORK. 171 "Trinity School," was established by William Huddlestone, under the direction of a society connected with the English church, and in 1754, King's College (now Columbia) was established. The Dutch struggled long and zealously against the extinction of the language and customs of their country, and as late as 1755 imported a zealous Holland schoolmaster, who served them with great acceptability for eighteen years, but was mournfully compelled ere his death to introduce English studies in the school, and to listen to preaching in the English language in the church. The capture of New York by the British, in 1776, was the signal for closing the schools, which continued until the evacuation, seven years after. It was not until near the close of the last century that the public mind was aroused to the importance of providing the means for the general education of the people. From the establishment of the English government in 1664, down to 1795, all efforts to educate the masses were made by individuals, or by local churches; but in the year last named, in compliance with the recommendation of that enlightened governor, George Clinton, the New York Legislature passed an act, appropriating $50,000 a year for five years, for the maintenance of schools in the several cities and towns of the State, in which the children should be taught English grammar, arithmetic, mathematics, and such other branches of knowledge as are necessary to complete a good English education. In 1805, the State government set apart the net proceeds from the sale of 500,000 acres of vacant lands, for a permanent fund, for the support of common schools, to be. securely invested until the interest thereof should amount to $50,000 per annum, which sum was to be annually divided( between the several school districts, according to the number of their scholars. This fund was further increased by the: proceeds of certain bank stocks and of the lotteries author — ized by the Act of 1803. The first distribution occurred inr 1815. A little previous to this movement in. the Legislature,, 13 172 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. organizations began to spring up, both in Europe and America, for the education of the poor and the neglected. The " Manumission Society," to improve the condition of the colored race, organized in 1785, was the first in our country, and two years later it established a school in Cliff street, and soon gathered one hundred pupils. This society continued its work for forty years, firmly established several schools, but in 1834, voluntarily surrendered its charge with considerable valuable school property to the State government. These are now the Colored Schools, under control of the Board of Education. A " Female Association for the Relief of the Poor," was organized, and in 1802 opened a school for white girls. This society existed about half a century, proved the feasibility of such undertakings, and led to the organization of the " Free School Society," which afterwards became the "Public School Society of the City of New York." The s" Lancaster system," viz.: that five hundred or a thousand children could be properly instructed by a single teacher, then very popular in England, was introduced into this city, and in due time failed. In 1827, a number of ladies organized the " Infant School Society," and the next year the same was introduced into Boston. Charleston, and other places. The movement now looks to us supremely silly. Children were received into these schools in New York at from two to six years of age, and in Boston, always in the advance, at from eighteen months to four years. The system of instruction adopted was the "Pestalozzian," and does not differ materially from the course pursued at present, by most infant-class teachers, in our Sunday schools. The " Free School Society," afterwards the " Public School Society," incorporated in 1805, managed by many of the wisest and purest men of the State, was for nearly half a century the great educational power of the city, if not of the country as well, and its managers deserve the lasting praise of posterity. Singularly wise in counsel, and economic in management, collecting vast sums among its friends, employ THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF NEW YORK. 173 ing millions from the public treasury without ever intentionally squandering a dollar, it ran the most unselfish and NEW YORK FREE SCHOOL BUILDING, OPENED IN 1809 IN TRYON ROW. brilliant career in the annals of popular education. Still, it came to be questioned whether the work of a whole community should be surrendered to the few, and whether the State did wisely in committing the funds for the education of the children, and the erection of suitable buildings, into the hands of a private corporation, whose affairs might not always be managed by men as wise and good; and after considerable agitation, in April, 1842, the Legislature passed an act, by which the Board of Education, whose members were, until recently, elected by the people, was organized. During the next eleven years, the two organizations continued their independent operations, but the Public School Society, shorn of its former income from the State treasury, found its embarrassments continually multiplying, until it finally accepted a proposition from the Board of Education, to consolidate the two interests, which was practically accomplished 174: NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. in 1853. The property transferred by this society to the Board of Education, though somewhat encumbered, amounted to $600,000, but the fruit of their toil, evinced in the intelligence and virtue of the generations they instructed, was their noblest monument. At the close of the first eighteen years of their operations, they asserted that of the 20,000 poor children instructed in their schools, but one had been traced to a criminal court. Daring the forty-eight years of its continuance, it had under instruction no less than 600,000 children, of whom over twelve hundred became trained teachers, and one acquainted with its workings declares, that of a class of thirty-two boys in 1835, two have since been judges of the Supreme Court, one a member of the Legislature, one a City Register, several Principals and Assistants in the schools, one an Assistant Superintendent, one a clergyman, and several distinguished merchants. A very remarkable record indeed! The advantage of thus uniting these great educational interests, and of combining the wisdom and skill of those trained veterans, who had so thoroughly solved these problems, appears in the present condition of the schools of our city, which in discipline and scholarship are second to no other in the world. The Board of Education consists of twelve Commissioners, who have the general supervision of the schools, the appropriation of the moneys set apart for their maintenance, the purchase of sites, and erection of new schools, the furnishing of supplies, books, stationery, fuel, and lights. There are also one hundred and ten Trustees, until recently elected by the people, five for each ward, one beilg chosen each year for a term of five years. There are also twenty-one Inspectors of schools, who were, until the present year, nominated by the Mayor, and confirmed by the Board of Education. The members of our last Legislature, madly intent on the one-man power, vested the entire school authority of the city in the Mayor. HIe is henceforth to appoint the Board of Education, the Inspectors, and all the THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF NEW YORK. 175 Trustees in the several wards, completely absolving the people from all responsibility in directing and regulating a GRAMMAR SCHOOL NO. 66 FOR'EMALFS... (West Eighteenth street; erected 1869.) matter, more than any other, connected with the happiness and success of their children. There are now ninety school-buildings owned by the city, besides numerous hired ones, which cover more than twenty acres of ground, and the floors above the basements of the same, about seventy acres additional. The old buildings were plain as will be seen by the accompanying cut, but many of those recently erected cover several lots of ground, are lofty and elegant structures, with several fire-proof stairways, and all necessary apartments for the complete accommodation of two thousand scholars. The second cut repre 176 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. sents the new building in West Eighteenth street, and contrasts favorably with the one erected in 1809. There are now besides the thirty-six corporate schools of the several benevolent societies, and which are partly under the control of the Board of Education, sixty-three Grammar schools, which are divided into forty-six departments for male scholars, forty-four for female, and six for colored students. There are fifty-six Primary departments, fifteen evening schools for males, eleven for females, and three for colored children. There are two Normal Schools, and one High School. The Board of Education employs over twenty-four hundred teachers, over two thousand of whom are females. The number of scholars on register during 1869 was 237,325, with an average attendance of about 103,000. The annual expense of the public schools amounts to about $3,000,000. The Board of Education appoints its President and Clerk, also the City Superintendent, and his assistants. The Superintendent grants two grades of certificates, to persons of suitable age, who have completed the course of study, after which they may be appointed to teach. The books and other requisites are purchased by the board in large quantities, stored at a central depot, and distributed to the several schools when needed. In 1866, the Free Academy was, by Act of Legislature, erected into the College of the City of New York, and became a separate corporation, the members of the board of Education being ex officio members of its board of trustees. Advanced students from the public schools are admitted with free scholarship, and the trustees are authorized to draw on the Board of Supervisors, who shall raise by general taxation a sum not exceeding $125,000 per annum, to defray the expenditures of the institution. Besides these general provisions for the benefit of advanced students, there are several Academies and Colleges belonging to the Roman Catholics, taught by Jesuits, and various orders of Brothers and Sisters. Columbia College, the. oldest in the State, is situated on THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF NEW YORK. 177 Fourth avenue and Fiftieth street. It has departments for law and mining, and a separate college for Physicians and Surgeons. It is under the control of the Protestant Episcopal church, and has a property of several millions. The New York University, a large four-story Gothic structure of free-stone, at Washington square, was founded in 1831, has the several departments, and has graduated many students. There are two extensive theological seminaries in the city. RUTGERS FEMALE COLLEGE. (Fifth avenue and Forty-first street.) The " Union Theological Seminary" (Presbyterian), founded in 1836, and open for students from all denominations who have graduated at a college. The trustees of this Seminary last year purchased four acres of ground on St. Nicholas avenue, between One Hundred and Thirtieth and One Hundred and Thirty-second streets, and are now erecting new and more commodious buildings, which it will require several 178 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. years to complete, and will involve an expense of about half a million. The students will occupy buildings distinct from the Professors. The library room is to be fire-proof, and will contain about 28,000 rare and valuable works. The city contains also the " General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church," established at New Haven in 1819, afterwards removed to this city, and located on Twentieth street, between Ninth and Tenth avenues. There is prospect of this being removed to Westchester or to some other location out of town. There are beside these, ten Medical Colleges and Academies, several Business Colleges, and a number of institutions of a high order for girls, Rutgers Female College, on Fifth avenue, opposite the reservoir, ranking among the first. An effort is being made at this writing to secure an endowment of $500,000, to greatly enlarge and improve the facilities of the Institution. Much has already been secured, and the complete success of the undertaking is confidently expected by the friends of the enterprise. Besides the schools just enumerated, there are over 320 independent ones, large and small, of a sectarian and umiscellaneous character, with more than 1,500 teachers. It is to be regretted that so many parish and other schools, not controlled by the Board of Education, have come into existence for the perpetuation of antagonistic creeds and nationalities. The school property of the Board of Education has cost over five millions, and is now worth twice that amount. A careful examination has proved that 40,000 more scholars than ordinarily attend could be seated in the present buildings; this is probably as many or more than are taught elsewhere. We need but one system, and one organization, to control the ordinary branches of education. Our "Free," "Public," and "Common " schools, notwithstanding all these diversions, have been the chief glory of our city for sixty years, and are eminently so to-day. Every movement toward the division of the School Fund, for the promotion of sectarian interest, should be zealously resisted by every thoughtful THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES OF NEW YORK. 179 American. Sectarian schools of a high order supported by private corporations, for a few advanced students, are eminently proper; but the State should always control the secular education of all the children, compelling their attendance. Our children, representing, as they do, nearly every nationality, should study the same books, in the same buildings, and play in the same yards. Thus only can that homogeneity be secured that shall give security and permanency to the Republic. The State also should ever, as now, encourage the reading of the Bible in the schools, that great and only true educator of the conscience; not, indeed, in any sectarian spirit, but from great and manifest civil considerations. X. PUBLIC SECURITY. METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT-METROPOLITAN FIRE DEPARTMENT-THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT-QUARANTINE DEPARTMENTMARITIME DEFENCES-UNITED STATES NAVY YARD. METROPOLITAN POLICE HEADQUARTERS. (300 Mulberry street.) THE Metropolitan Police service has grown, from small and imperfect beginnings, to be a great and effective department of the city government. Many experiments and numerous changes of government and reorganizations have contributed PUBLIC SECURITKY. 181 to bring the force to its present efficiency. Twenty-eight years ago, portions of the city were patrolled at night by laborers, porters, cartmen, &c., each carrying a lantern. When a regular police force was at length provided, it fell under the control of corrupt officials and rings, and was of uncertain service to the city, until the Legislature in 1857 took the matter in hand, and provided for the appointment of Police Commissioners, independent of all city control. Since that, the department lias rapidly improved in discipline and efficiency until now; bult as the new charter of 1870 has again lodged the appointing power in the Mayor of New York, it remains to be seen whether the same untrammeled efficiency in the maintenance of public orAer shall be continued. The metropolitan district was, until 1870, composed of the cities of iNewv York and Brooklyn, and of portions of Richmond, Kings, and Westchester counties, which were divided into 43 precincts and several sub-precincts. At the close of 1869, there were on duty in New York, 2,232; in Brooklyn, 446; in Richmond Co., 29; and in Westchester, 22; making a grand total of 2,729, including captains, subordinates, and patrolmen. These patroled incessantly about 500 miles of open streets in New York, 350 in Brooklyn, the villages of Yonkers, Tremont, and Morrisania, while a few on horseback scour the suburbs of the two cities mentioned, and others floated around the rivers and bay. A squad of forty are on service at' the various halls of justice, called the Court Squad, and twenty-two are detailed for special service. Four are in charge of the House of Detention, at No. 203 Mulberry street. This is a prison for the detention of witnesses who are to give evidence in the trial of culprits, and one of the rankest legal abominations of New York. During 1869, 194 men and 52 women, or 246 witnesses, were detained in this gloomy tenement an aggregate of 10 years, 7 months, and 13 days. During the seven years just passed, 1,955 persons have here been detained as witnesses, and the aggregate of such detention has amounted to 182 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. 29,714 days, or nearly 85 years. One poor victim of this oppressive law was detained 269 days awaiting the trial of the case, about which he was supposed to know something, leaving his family, wholly dependent upon him, to suffer every form of destitution. He was an honest mechanic, charged with no crime, but unfortunately knew something of the crimes of others. During 1869, 5 persons were detained over 100 days each, 16 over 60 days each, 25 over 40 days each, and 45 over 20 days each. It is due to the Commissioners to say, that they have again and again appealed to the Legislature for the modification of this system, by allowing the depositions of these witnesses to be taken in due form, after which they might be allowed to return to their homes and occupations. The Sanitary Squad consists of a captain, four sergeants, and fifty-seven patrolmen. A detachment of these look after the safety and workings of the numerous ferry lines communicating with New York, and tell us that about ninety umillion people cross on these lines to or from the metropolis in a year. Others test hydrostatically at intervals, arrd by course, every steam boiler on the island; causing defective ones to be repaired or removed. They examine and license suitable persons as engineeers. Others execute the orders of the Board of Health. Still another detachment looks after truant children, conmpelling thousands to return to school, and conveying some to the Juvenile Asylum. Some members of the Sanitary Squad have ranked among the most pious, benevolent, and useful men of New York. The Detective Squad consists of a captain and nineteen subordinates. These are all shrewd, adroit, and skillful men of good reputation, whose business it is to unravel the deepest schemes, ferret out the darkest crimes, and entrap the shrewdest villains. Their knowledge of polite thieves, counterfeiters, forgers, and burglars, is very extensive. Great thieves are continually watched by them, so that they know at once whether they were in a city at the time of a robbery or not. They scent PUBLIC SECURITY. 183 crime across a continent, even across the ocean. A man hitherto considered reputable is arrested for forgery or burglary, and it comes to be known that the detective can tell how much money his wife has expended in the city for twelve months. Though living in private quarters all her movements have been watched, and all her purchases ascertained and recorded. They grasp at every clue, and follow it to its result, often discovering the perpetrator of crime from the slightest accident. When men who have spent their money set up the plea of having been robbed, the detective is sure to search them out, and expose them. Millions of dollars worth of stolen goods are annually recovered by this force, bnt with all their art, some great rogues escape. Horrible murders and bold robberies remain veiled in impenetrable mystery. Much of this detective work is performed by the " Merchants' Independent Detective Police," established in 1858, and by members of the several other detective organizations. The headquarters of the Police department are a fine marble structure, at No. 300 Mulberry street, containing elegant offices for all the officials, with telegraphic communications with every station-house in the department; rooms for the instruction of candidates for the force, and for the trial of offenders. The Commissioners are very strict with the members of the force, fining and discharging many for dereliction, intemperance, or other vicious habits. The pay of a patrolman is $1,200 per annum, but as he has no Sabbath, or other privileges, such as most men enjoy, his compensation is not large. Men are selected and distributed according to their fitness for the different undertakings. The tallest are stationed along Broadway, those with mechanical knowledge tend toward the Sanitary, and those of penetration and adroitness, toward the Detective squads. Their appearance is always that of tidy, well-dressed, courteous officers, erect and manly in bearing, and in the prime of life, the average age being about thirty-five years. 184 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTIPUTIONS. During the last nine years, the police have returned over 73,000 lost children to their parents or homes, and found above 40,000 houses left open, through the carelessness of inmates, affording unembarrassed opportunities for the entrance of thieves and burglars. That policemen are sometimes rash, unduly severe and evil, we doubt not; yet the regulations and discipline of the department are so severe, as to render them generally effective, and without them nothing would be safe for a day. They are distinguished for their valor, and their numerous bloody encounters with rioters, and villains of every grade, are well known and startling. During 1869 they arrested no less than 56,784 males, and 21,667 females, making a total of 78,451. METROPOLITAN FIRE DEPARTMENT. Manhattan has several times been sadly impoverished with conflagrations. On September 21st, 1776, while the British were in possession of the city, a fire broke out in a wooden grogshop, near Whitehall Slip, and as there were then no engines in the city, and the men were mostly in the army, little resistance could be offered. 493 buildings were destroyed, reducing the impoverished population to great suffering. On the ninth of August, 1778, the second great conflagration occurred. This began in Dock, now Pearl street, and consumed nearly 300 buildings. In May, 1811, another fire broke out in Chatham street, when nearly 100 houses were destroyed. In 1828 a large fire occurred, and nearly a million dollars of property was destroyed. The most destructive fire, however, occurred in 1835. It began on the night of the sixteenth of December, in the lower part of the city. The weather was colder than it had been known for over fifty years. The Croton had not yet been introduced, little METROPOLITAN FIRE DEPARTMENT. 185 water could be obtained, and that little froze in the hose before it could be used. The buildings were mostly of wood, HEADQUARTERS NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT. (127 Mfercer street.) greatly favoring the work of destruction. For three days and nights the flames raged furiously, sweeping away 648 houses and stores valued at $18,000,000, and leaving 45 acres of the business portion of the city a desert of smoking ruins. To crown the disaster, the insurance companies unanimously suspended. On the 19th of July, 1845, another great conflagration occurred, second only to the one just described. It began in New street, near Wall, sweeping onward in a southerly direction, until 345 buildings were consumed, inflicting a loss of at least five millions. The Fire Department of New York has, irn some form, existed since 1653, but never attained to any eminence in 186 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. point of discipline or quiet efficiency, until within the last few years. For many years it was composed of volunteer forces, who served gratuitously; the engines were worked by hand; the force, though large, was undisciplined, frequent collisions occurred between the different companies, and the noise, riot, and plunder at the fires became intolerable. On the 30th of March, 1865, the Legislature created the paid " Metropolitan Fire Department," the commissioners of which, after some litigation and much opposition, proceeded to reorganize and suitably discipline the force. This has gone steadily forward until New. York can at length boast of as intelligent, disciplined, and vigilant a Fire Department as can be found in any city in the world. The force, at this writing, consists of a Chief Engineer, an Assistant Engineer, ten District Engineers, and five hundred and eighty-seven officers and men. Each Company consists of a Foreman and his Assistant, an Engineer, and nine firemen. Each Company is provided with a house, with appropriate rooms for rest, drill, and study. The basement of the building contains the furnace which keeps the water in the engine hot; the horses are harnessed, and everything ready so that when the signal of a fire is received, ten or fifteen seconds only elapse before the whole company is flying to the scene. These twelve men accomplish with six times the dispatch, and with no noise, insubordination, or theft, what forty but poorly accomplished under the old regime. When on duty they have the right of way, taking precedence of everything, save the U. S. Mail, and their smoking engines go dashing through crowded streets at a fearful pace, but as everybody takes pains to clear the track, few collisions occur. The men undergo the most rigid examination, both physical and moral, before they are admitted, and are only discharged on account of failing health or bad conduct. No nationality, political sentiment, or religious belief is taken into the account; but good moral METROPOLITAN FIRE DEPARTMENT. 187 conduct, tidiness, subordination, and fidelity to duty are always required, and compensated with timely promotions. The Department has thirty-seven steam-engines, second size, costing four thousand dollars each, and manufactured by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire. It has also a floating engine which throws several powerful streams, which is used to extinguish fires on the piers, or in vessels anchored in the bay. The horses, which now number one hundred and fifty-six, are the finest and best-trained in America. They are large, well-formed, fleshy, and perfectly docile. They understand their business as well as the firemen. The sound of the gong puts them on needles until they are fastened to the engine, which they whlirl through storm, mud, or snow-banks with a speed which is often surprising. Occasionally an unhappy circumstance occurs. A false step in the haste of departure precipitates a poor fireman near the door of the engine-house, just in time to be crushed by the pondrous wheels of the engine in its rapid exit, and his sorrow-stricken comrades toil on for hours against the raging element, before they have a moment to return and shed a friendly tear over his remains. Sometimes New Yorkers sit down to their breakfast-tables, and glancing at. the morning paper, read of an immense fire that has occurred, during the night, where several devoted firemen were crushed beneath the falling walls, or went hopelessly down into a sea of flame from the roof or floor of a building, while, in discharge of a perilous duty. Sometimes an engine bursts, spreading terror and death on every side. The means of public safety are attended with private toils and woes that would fill volumes. The signals are now mostly given by telegraph, and few people hear of a fire within a few blocks of their door, unti1 all is over. The police have charge of the order to be observed in the vicinity of a fire; they frequently draw ropes at a proper distance, inside of which none are allowed. but thee 14 188 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. firemen, and those directly interested. Though the city is constantly enlarging, the loss by fires is steadily diminishing. In 1866, there were 796 fires, with a loss of $6,428,000. In 1867, there were 873 fires, with a loss of $5,711,000. In 1868, there were 740 fires, with a loss of $4,342,371; and in 1869, there were 850 fires, with a loss of but. $2,626,393. But forty-three of the 850 fires of the last year extended to adjoining buildings, which gives some idea of the rapidity with which the work of extinction is conducted. The headquarters at 127 Mercer street contain the offices of the Commissioners, Chief Engineer, Secretary, Medical Officer, Telegraph, Bureau of Combustible Materials, and Fireman's Lyceum. The last-named, organized quite recently, now contains a library of over 4,000 volumes, besides many curious engravings, and relics of the Department. Beside the thirty-seven engine-houses, and fifteen truck-houses, the Department has a repair yard in Elizabeth street, where most of its work is now done, a number of hospital stables in Chrystie street, and eleven bell-towers. All fines imposed on firemen, and all imposed on citizens for violating the hatchway and kerosene ordinances, go to the " Fire Department Relief Fund," for the relief of the widows and orphans of firemen. THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Every great center of population is occasionally overtaken with pestilence, and with various local and travelling diseases. Manhattan has not been the exception. In 1702, the yellow fever was brought from St. Thomas, of which over six hundred persons died, about one-twelfth of the entire population. In 1732, an infectious disease appeared, of which seventy persons died in a week. In 1743, a bilious plague prevailed, of which two hundred and seventeen died. In THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 189 1745, malignant fever prevailed; and in 1747, the bilious plague reappeared. Yellow fever returned in 1791, 1794, 1795, 1797, 1799, 1801, 1803, 1805, 1822, 1856, and 1870. Over thirty-five hundred died of cholera in 1832, nine hundred and seventy-one in 1834, five thousand and seventyone in 1849, three hundred and seventy-four in 1852, and a small number in 1866. There are a few cases of cholera nearly every year. A great city, unless carefully guarded, soon becomes a sink of putrefaction, which not only aggravates but engenders disease. To prevent as far as possible this unnecessary waste of human life, the sanitary interests of the metropolis have been for some years committed to the care of a Board of Health Commissioners, vested with large power, who have given their entire attention to this branch of the public service. THE NEW HEALTH DEPARTMENT, under the present charter, consists of the Police Commissioners of New York, the Health officer of the Port, and of four Commissioners of Health, appointed by the Mayor, for the term of five years, with a salary of $5,000 each, two of whom must have been practising physicians in the city, for a period of five years previous to their appointment. The Department is divided into four bureaus. The chief officer of one is called the " City Sanitary Inspector." This officer must be selected from the medical fraternity, having practised ten years in the city. Complaints against fat or bone-boiling establishments, or other questionable buildings or practices, are made to this officer. Another is styled the "Bureau of Sanitary Permit." This Bureau grants licenses for burials, without which a dead body cannot be brought into or removed from the city. Another is the 1" Bureau of Street Cleaning." The chief officer of the fourth Bureau is called the " Register of Records." This is the bureau of vital statistics. He records without charge all marriages, births, deaths, and the inquisitions of the coroners. It is the duty of every clergyman, or magistrate, solemnizing matrimony, to report the 190 NEW YORK AND ITS NSTITUTIOS. same to this officer, and of physicians to report all births and deaths occurring in their practice. The former Board of Health was very vigilant and useful, guarding with scrupulous care the sanitary interests of the city, warding off cholera and various contagious diseases, and rendering the metropolis so salubrious as to impoverish many physicians. The first year of the new Board has witnessed the ravages of yellow fever on Governor's Island, with a number of deaths. QUARANTINE DEPARTMENT. Every large city is compelled to provide a Quarantine, as a matter of self-preservation, especially seaport towns. The first measures for a Quarantine in New York were inaugurated by the passage of an act in 1758, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. By Act of May 4th, 1794, Governor's Island was made the Quarantine,'and in larch, 1797, a lazaretto was directed to be built on Bedloe's Island. The ravages of yellow fever led in 1799 to the purchase of thirty acres of land on Staten Island, five of which were ceded to the United States Government for warehouses, and on the remainder permanent quarantine buildings were erected. The first buildings were erected with the material taken from the demolished lazaretto on Bedloe's Island. In 1819, a long brick building was erected; in 1823, a fever hospital; in 1828-29, a smallpox hospital; and such subsequent additions were made as the wants of the Institution required. The great increase of population on Staten Island, and the return of yellow fever in 1856-58, many cases occurring in the vicinity of the quarantine, the long-cherished desire for its removal burst forth in a frenzy, of which the whole populace seemed to partake. On the evening of the 1st of September, 1858, the buildings were entered by the excited multitudes, the sick carried on their mattresses into the yards, and every building save the women's hospital destroyed by fire. This last-named edifice QUARANTIE DEPARTMENT. 191 was destroyed the following evening, making the ruin complete. Quarantine is now located on the east of Staten Island, several miles below Castle Garden, on artificial islands constructed for that purpose. The sick, until a year or two since, were kept in vessels stationed in the lower bay for that purpose. During 1869, the West Bank Hospital was completed at a cost of over three hundred thousand dollars. This is one of the largest and best-arranged quarantine buildings in the world. The foundation consists of crib-work of heavy timbers fastened together, filled with stone and sand, and sunk. The crib contains 15,000 cubic yards of stone, and 56,000 cubic yards of sand. The Hospital is a one-story edifice, divided into eight wards, each 89 feet long and 24 wide, and can accommodate fifty patients each. The Hospital is supplemented by other buildings, used as baggage house, wash-house, deadhouse, and apartments for superintendent, physicians, nurses etc. The buildings are lighted with gas, and connected by telegraph with New York. During 1869, 213 vessels arrived from ports infected with yellow fever; and in 1870 no less than 365 such vessels, with at least 470 yellow fever patients on board. Thirty vessels carrying about 18,000 persons were detained at Quarantine, having small-pox, during 1870, and ten vessels with ship fever, yet so vigilant were the health officers that no panic occurred on shore, and none of these diseases spread in the city. Yellow fever, however, broke out in the autumn of the last year among the troops on Governor's Island, eighty-three of whom were prostrated and thirty-one died. The health and prosperity of the Metropolis are more largely dependent upon quarantine vigilance than many suppose. Another building for the detention of persons exposed to disease, while on passage in an infected vessel, has been commenced at West Bank, and a warehouse for the storage of infected goods will follow, making our Quarantine complete and unrivalled. The annual expense of this branch of our measures for public security, exclusive of permanent im 192 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. provements, amounts to about $50,000. The Quarantine Commissioners have exclusive control of the Hospital, and are distinct from the Health Department of the city. MARITIME DEFENCES, ORTIFICATIONS erected under the trained skill of cultivated military engineers have long been the chief means of defence for all civilized cities and - -- -~countries. It is therefore a little remarkable, that while New York was from the earliest settlement the chief city and heart of the country, no general effort to suitably fortify its approaches was made until the outburst of the war of 1812. Rude fortifications were then placed upon some of the small islands, in the upper bay, and Fort Lafayette was commenced on Hendricks Reef, 200 yards from the shore, in what is known as the Narrows, the water doorway to the Metropolis. This fort, when completed, had cost about $350,000, and mounted seventy-three heavy guns. Its chief fame during the half-century has arisen from the fact of its having been made the house of detention for political prisoners during the late civil war, and some who read this notice will require no fuller description of it. The elements were unfriendly to this fortress, however, and on the first of December, 1868, it was destroyed by fire, leaving only the naked walls. The government is about to rebuild it on a greatly improved scale. In 1824, Fort Hamilton was commenced, immediately opposite the former, standing on an eminence on the Long Island shore. It was completed in 1832, at an expense of $550,000, and mounted sixty heavy guns. It has recently been supplemented with a strong battery, and now numbers in its armament some of the celebrated Rodman guns, that discharge a MARITIME DEFENCES. 193 FORT LAFAYETTE, NEW YORK HARBOR. spherical ball weighing a thousand pounds. Several of the other guns throw balls weighing four hundred and fifty pounds. Directly opposite these works, on the Staten Island shore, stand Forts Richmond and Tompkins, both new and improved works, constructed of gray stone, mounting many guns of huge calibre. Fort Tompkins is a water battery of formidable appearance, while Fort Richmond occupies the bluff in its rear, spreading out with its accompanying batteries at great length, and is so arranged as to shoot over Fort Tompkins, and sweep the channel for miles. Batteries Hudson, Morton, North Cliff, and South Cliff have been completed, and another is now being constructed. The channel at this point is but little more than a mile wide, and these fortifications are so arranged that with suitable projectiles and management, such a shower of balls and shells may be rained as to prevent the entrance of a fleet of iron-clads. The upper bay is favored with several islands, admirably arranged for fortifications. Ellis Island, two thousand and fifty yards southwest from Castle Garden, is occupied by Fort Gibson, built in 1841-44, mounting fifteen or twenty guns, and requiring a garrison of one hundred men. Bed 194 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. FORT HAMILTON, NEW YORK HARBOR. (Long Island side of Narrows.) loe's Island, situated 2,950 yards southwest of Castle Garden, is occupied by Fort Wood, erected in 1841, at a cost of $213,000, on the site of a fort built at the beginning of the century. It has space for eighty guns, and a garrison of three hundred and fifty men. A strong battery is now being added to this fort. Governor's Island containing seventy-two acres, and situated ten hundred and sixty-six yards from Castle Garden, is also wholly devoted to maritime defence. Its largest work is Fort Columbus, a star-shaped fortification with five points, standing on the summit of the island, with quarters for many troops. Castle William is a three-story round tower, situated on the west shore of the island, six hundred feet in circumference, and sixty feet high, mounting over one hundred guns. South Battery fronts on Buttermilk channel, separating the island from Brooklyn (which channel was once forded by cattle, but now affords anchorage for heavy ships), and mounts fifteen heavy guns. An immense barbette battery is now be MARITIME DEFENCES. 195 ing constructed on this island, which will require several years for its completion. Governor's Island, in time of war, requires a garrison of a thousand men. Acres of its surface are covered with heavy cannon, and with pyramids of balls and shells, thoroughly painted to resist the action of the elements. Ihere recruits are drilled for the service, and deserters detained as prisoners. There are also very extensive works at Saldy Hook, New Jersey, calculated to prevent the occupation of the lower bay, as a place of anchorage to an enemy's fleet. Fort Schuyler, a large strong fortification, constructed of gray stone, mounting over three hundred guns, and requiring a war garrison of fifteen hundred troops, stands at Throgg9 Neck, several miles up the East river, and is designed to prevent the approach of armed vessels to New York by way of Long Island Sound. This fortification is being extensively remodelled, at an expense of several hundred thousand dollars. Willet Point unites with Fort Schuyler in guarding this eastern channel of approach, wlhich, with the late improvements at lIurl Gate, requires to be more carefully defended than formerly. Willet Point is the principal engineer depot of the Department of the East. IHere the surplus stores which accumulated during the war were largely deposited. Here bridge-trains, and equipage, intrenching, mining, and other tools, are preserved for use, in future field service. The depot is guarded and cared for, and the property issued by engineer troops. This place is also, at present, the Torpedo School of the United States army, and extensive experiments in that line are now being made. Many millions have been consumed on these fortifications and their armament, which cover all the strong points about the harbors, and vast sums are still being expended; yet, with all this, it is doubtless true that New York is not defended as its importance demands. The old walls, guns, and round shot of the fathers are of little use in these days of improved projectiles and floating batteries. And while we would not encourage a useless expendi 196 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. ture in the arts of war, too much pains can scarcely be taken by the government to prevent the capture of the Metropolis, in the event of a sudden conflict with a maritime power. It should also be remembered that while the nations are beating their ploughshares into swords, and their pruning hooks into cannon and shells, to thoroughly prepare for war is the surest promise of peace. THE UNITED STATES NAVY YARD. THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD. (Marine Hospital in the distance.) Having looked in vain for the appropriate niche where a brief account of the United States Navy Yard might be introduced, we insert it here. In 1801, the government purchased fifty-five acres of ground located on Wallabout Bay, now lying between the Eastern and Western Districts of the city of Brooklyn. Subsequent purchases have increased the amount to about two hundred acres, which cost originally THE NITED STATES NAVY YARD. 197 ENTRANCE TO NAVY YARD, BROOKLYN'. $40,000, and is now valued at twenty millions. The Navy Yard proper covers about fifty acres, is laid out with paved streets and walks, which are kept very clean. The Dry Dock, begun in 1841, is a vast structure, capable of taking in a ship 300 feet long, and cost between two and three million dollars. It is emptied by steam pumps. The yard contains large buildings to cover ships of war while in process of building, extensive lumber warehouses, great numbers of cannon, pyramids of shot and shell, shops, foundries, etc., etc. A Naval Museum, filled with curiosities sent home by officers, a Marine Hospital, with barracks for troops, cottages for officers, and other necessary appendages, are spread around the premises. It is a place of curiosity, and is visited by many thousands annually, but as it occupies nearly the heart of the city, the enterprising property-owners would gladly see it removed. Congress has begun to debate the matter of its removal, and it will probably be accomplished before many more years elapse. XI. NEW YORK ALL THE YEAR ROUND. - EW YORK is situated in latitude (of City Hall) 40~ 42' 43" North, longi-.__ m tude 74~ 0' 3" West, and a little south of the centre of the belt described as the north temperate zone. As the city stands in the H %i upper bay, eighteen miles from the Atlantic....f1 Ocean, the extreme rigor of the ocean blast is,lost ere it reaches the city, calming gently down into a bracing and healthful breeze. The cli-....Juj mate is quite changeable, often characterized by the extremes of heat and cold, yet, all things considered, is perhaps as salubrious as that in any other part of the world. New York, unlike London and many other cities enveloped half the year in an impenetrable fog, is blest with a clear atmosphere, so that despite the smoke of a hundred thousand chimneys, its inhabitants can nearly every day in the year look upon a sky as blue and fair as the Italian. WINTER IN NEW YORK. New York has a brief but emphatically a northern winter, the great sheets of salt water lying around it rendering the atmosphere very chilly, and usually making the impression, that the weather is colder than the thermometer indicates. The winter begins properly"about the first of December, and continues about three months, but as the mercury seldom falls WINTER IN NEW YORK. 199 below zero (Fahrenheit) the weather may be considered but moderately cold. About once in ten or twenty years, however, the cold becomes intense. The winter of 1740-41 was thus marked. The rivers were frozen, and the snow, which was six feet deep, covered the earth for a long period. Just twenty years later (1760) the cold was so intense that the Narrows were frozen over, and men and teams crossed without danger. But the coldest ever known since the settlement of the country occurred in 1779-80. The Hudson River was one solid bridge of ice for forty days, and Long Island Sound was nearly frozen over in its widest part. The bay was so solidly frozen, that an expedition with eighty sleighs, and as many pieces of artillery, crossed to Staten Island, and returned to New York in the same manner. The city was at that time held by the British garrison, trade almost wholly suspended, and the suffering among the populace became intense. The British commander, under severe penalty, ordered the inhabitants of Long Island and of Staten Island to cut their timber and draw it to the city for sale, but even this failed to bring the needed supply. Many families sawed up their tables and chairs to cook their food, and covered themselves in bed day and night to avoid freezing to death. A shipbuilder named Bell cut up a rope cable worth six hundred dollars for backlogs, and a spar equally valuable for fuel.:Another severe winter was experienced in 1820 and again in 1835, and the rivers have been again so frozen in our day as to afford safe crossing. 1Occasionally there is a fine run of sleighing, lasting several weeks. This is a gay and brilliant period for the wealthy classes, and a golden harvest for the livery stables, each team and sleigh earning the proprietor from one hundred to two hundred dollars per day. But this period of festivity is one of deep privation and suffering among the poor. A heavy fall of snow suspends all operations on public works, building, grading, etc. It is not unusual to have seventy or a hundred thousand men out of employment at mid-winter, half of 200 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. whom have no money to pay rent, provide the necessaries of life for their families, or to bury their own dead. It is at this season, often characterized by immense losses and sufferings, that the deepest religious impressions are made upon the masses by the Churches. An old divine once quaintly said that "the Lord did not enter New York until after the rivers were frozen over." This is not true; yet such is the rush of business and pleasure, that no general spiritual harvest is gathered until after the holidays. A cold winter, affording fine opportunities for sleigh-riding and skating, is much relished, and except the suffering among the poor, resulting from insufficient food, clothing, and fuel, is by far the most healthy and desirable. SPRING IN NEW YORK. Spring may be said to open generally about the first of March, and is considered pleasant to all except those afflicted with pulmonary complaints. To this class the air is moist, harsh,, and severe, until near the middle of May. Parks, lawns, and gardens are clothed with the finest green by the first of April, and fragrant flowers bud and bloom in rich luxuriance. Spring is the period for projecting new parks, streets, piers, public buildings, letting contracts, opening business, etc. Everything hums with excitement from the Battery to HIarlem bridge, the rivers and bay are white with sloops and crafts laden with brick, lumber, sand, and a hundred other articles of domestic commerce, and everybody plans and hopes for a business harvest. The beauty and toil of this busy period are marred and aggravated by the advent of "May-day." On the first few days of May nearly half the families exchange houses, filling the streets day and night with SPRING IN NEW YORK. 201 loads of furniture and clouds of dust. The sidewalks are thTonged in the meantime with women, boys, and girls, carrying mirrors, pictures, books, vases, babies, birds, dogs, etc., etc. Half the houses need repairing, and every family " must be served first; " hence, masons, plumbers, painters, and glaziers are in great demand, many of them toiling night and day. After a few weeks the houses are adjusted, the streets swept, the families appear in church, the children in school, and everything assumes a more cheerful aspect. * These extensive removals necessitate the annual compiling of a new City Directory, which is gotten out with great dis* " The New York City Directory for 1871-72, just issued, is quite as interesting and complete as any of its predecessors. It contains 1,268 pages, exclusive of 172 pages of advertisements, and sixty-two pages of miscellaneous matter; the present volume contains 200,953 names. It is quite amusing to note the singularity of some of the names to be found within its pages. For instance, there are a number of Houses and only one Foundation; a number of the Goodkind, Corns and Coffins, several Plants, some Lively and some Nott, Long, Short, and Hot. Of the different colors, there are 547 Whites, 91 Blacks, 938 Browns, 3 Blues, and 253 Greens. Then there are 30 Whiteheads and 2 Redheads; 22 Bulls, 3 Cowards, 1 Happy, 1 Hen, and 1 Chick. Of the Seasons, there are 32 Winters, 24 Springs, and 5 Summers; of household utensils, 5 Pitchers, 16 Bowles, 1 Broker, 2 Allwell, and one Sick; of horse-fare, 4 Oats, 3 Straws, and 33 Hays. There are, also, 60 Lords, 21 Dukes, 321 Kings, 10 Queens, 20 Princes, 14 Barons, and 24 Earls. The O's occupy seven columns, and the M's 85 columns. The ancient name of Smith occurs 1806 times. There are 36 Barbers to 1 Shaver, 5 Shoemakers, 7 Tinkers, and 1 Blower; 56 Pages with only 1 Blot; 1 Untied, 2 Loose, and 1 Blind; 3 Lawyers against 28 Judges, and 2 Juries with no Verdict. Then again there are 40 Popes, 11 Priests, and 81 Bishops, 12 Peacocks and 2 Heads; 2 Books, 4 -Bound; 16 Coffees, with 18 Beans; 26 Shepherds with 11 Flocks; 1 Ship, 2 Masts, and 64 Seamen. Of the different nations, there are 5 Englands, 18 Irelands, 4 Wales, 2 Chinas, 2 Germanys, 2 Frenchmen, 8 Germans, 2 Dutch, 1 Irish, 32 English, 99 Welsh, and only 2 Americans, and 7 Turks. Of the different fruits, there are 3 Apples, 4 Peaches, 7 Plums. Then come 7 Moons, 1 Morningstar, and 1 Gentleman. The name of George Washington occurs 9 times, that of Thomas Jefferson twice, John Quincy Adams four times, and Sly, Smart, and Slick once each. There are 2 Clocks, and 39 Hands; 1 Lion, 3 Bears, and 96 Wolfs; followed by 14 Divines, and 9 Deacons. The shortest name in the Directory is Py." 202 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. patch. The note on preceding page appeared in the New York Tribune, June 17, 1871, and will explain itself. SUMMER IN NEW YORK. This period, the loveliest of all in many parts of the world, is here, to all classes, the most unpleasant and trying of the whole year. During July or August, nearly every year, the heat becomes intense, sickness greatly prevails, and death reaps an abundant harvest. Business, with few exceptions, is almhnost wholly prostrated, many large houses not selling for months sufficient to pay their rents. Merchants, bankers, clerks, ministers, nearly all who have means, fly with a part or all of their families to the country, visiting the watering places, the White Mountains, the Catskills, their farmerrelatives, the conventions, and camp-meetings, and not a few cross the Atlantic. Schools are suspended, churches deserted, and many of them closed. Beer-gardens, soda and ice-creamsaloons, ice-dealers, and a few others reap their annual harvest. Physicians, druggists, and undertakers find little time for relaxation, and the few clergymen remaining in the city have incessant calls to minister to the sick, and to bury the dead. The ferries, excursion-boats, and railroad-trains are crowded with eager thousands, anxious to snuff the breezes of the country or bay, if it be but for a day or an hour. The parks, squares, and suburbs are thronged on Sabbath with countless thousands unable to proceed to any greater distance from the scorching city. This period is particularly fatal to infant children. Men and women, from sultry tenements, may be seen all hours of the night, walking the streets with pale, gasping infants in their arms, most of whom with a change of air might SUMMER IN NrW YoxK. 203 recover, but who soon find a narrow cell in the neighboring cemeteries. The mortality among the laboring classes is often great during the heated term. On the 17th of July, 1866, the mercury stood at 104~ in the shade, and 135~ in the sun. One hundred and sixty-nine cases of coup de soleil, or sunstroke, were reported in New York alone, besides a large number in Brooklyn and Jersey City, a large per centage of which proved fatal. Over twenty head of fat cattle in the market-yard on Forty-fourth street died of heat, and scores of horses fell dead in the streets. Laborers and quiet citizens were alike prostrated. A carpenter at work in the gallery of a church fell to the audience-room, and was carried home by his fellow-workmen to die. A huckster was overcome in his wagon on the same block, the same day. A young lady, oppressed with heat, started with some friends for New England, by one of the Sound steamers, but expired soon after leaving the pier. A seamstress in the upper part of the city, without any exercise or fatigue, fell from the chair in which she was sitting, and instantly expired. A wealthy lady on the east side of the city entered her private coach to visit a sick friend. On entering her friend's house, she felt a sense of faintness stealing over her, and after making some hasty inquiries, remarked that she did not feel well, and would not sit down. She returned to her carriage, and ordered the coachman to drive home quickly. lie did so, but on opening the carriage door found only her lifeless form. IThis excessive heat never continues more than a few weeks, and rarely above a few days. The perils of such seasons are frightful, especially to dissipated and careless people. The burning rays pour down for weeks without rain or dew, upon leafless streets, until the pavements glow with heat like a fiery furnace, in which humanity is sweltered and baked alive. It is not proper at such times for strangers to enter the city, and many of those who do, after remaining a short time in the Morgue, are deposited by the authorities in an 15 204 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. unknown grave. The summer of 1869 was unusually cool, and that of 1870 warmer than any experienced in more than twenty years. Fewer sunstrokes, however, occurred than in 1866, as many of the laborers wore cabbage-leaves under their hats, a simple experiment which probably saved the lives of thousands. AUTUMN IN NEW YORK. September brings the return tide of a surging population. The great heat of the season has passed, vacations are ended, and nearly every resident is anxious to see how it looks in New York., Teachers of the public schools, and scholars who have been luxuriating amid the shades and glens of the green mountains, return to resume their labors and studies. Churches, refitted and refurnished, are opened with impressive and attractive services, and glad pastors and people exchange their mutual congratulations. The wholesale dry-goods trade has already opened, crowding many of the down-town streets with such piles of new boxes that the pedestrian can scarcely pass. iNew stores are opened with brilliant windows, new books and styles announced, and handbills profuse as the leaves of autumn spread in every direction. The markets abound with fruits and vegetables of every description, and from every part of the country, rich and luscious$ but, however plentiful, through the perverseness of the middlemen, they are always costly here. Autumn is preeminently the season for music, promenade, and parade. Music is much cultivated in New York. Singing is taught in the public schools, the Sabbath-schools meet twice, devoting most of one session to singing, so that children with little talent in that line, by this long-continued drilling, nearly all learn to sing. In autumn one is attracted by music at the park, music at the school, music at the church, concert, theater, in the AUTUMN IN NEW YORK. 205 drawing-room, and in the public street. Military organizations, target companies, and the members of various societies, parade the streets, or ride after richly caparisoned horses, wearing unique uniforms, filling the air with strains of music. Organ-grinders, from every nation, and of every age, multiply at every corner, to the disgust of merchants and householders. At this season hundreds of persons from the surrounding country flock to the city in quest of situations, but failing to obtain them, depart in disappointment, or linger to swell the ranks of vagrants and criminals. Cold weather seldom arrives earlier than December, leaving three delightful months for business, study, and pleasure. The climate during the whole of autumn is bracing, cheerful, and bland beyond all description. XII. THE LIBRARIES, MONUMENTS, AND MARKETS OF NEW YORK. MERCANTILE LIBRARY-CLINTON HAL. (Astor Place and Eighth street.) THE LIBRARIES. THE libraries of Manhattan far excel those of any other city on the continent. The first public library was established in 1729, when Rev. John Millington, Rector of Newington, England, bequeathed 1622 volumes to the " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." Rev. John Sharp, chaplain of Lord Bellamont, having some years previously presented a collection of books, they were now arranged THE LIBRARIES. 207 and offered for the public use under the title of the "Corpo. ration Library." But the librarian soon died, and the library was neglected. In 1754, a few enterprising minds organized the " Society Library," and by grant of the Common Council, added this old library to their own collection. The society was chartered by George III. in 1772, and still flourishes with a library of about 50,000 volumes. " THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY," which has done more than any other to preserve the reminiscences of early New York, was founded in 1804. Its rooms contain, besides the library, many choice and rare curiosities. " THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION" has held its fiftieth anniversary, and is, perhaps, the most popular institution of its kind in the city. It owns its fine edifice, Clinton Hall, on Astor Place, has a property valued at half a million, and a library of one hundred and twenty thousand volumes, which increases at about ten per cent. per annum. Its reading-roomn contains four hundred papers and magazines. THE "ASTOR LIBRARY" is the largest in New York, and contains one hundred and thirty-five thousand volumes, mostly solid works. It is emphatically the great library of reference for scholars, and fills an important place in the literary facilities of the metropolis. The cut presents a view of the original structure, as provided for by the bequest of John Jacob Astor, but which has been enlarged by his son, William B. Astor. The present building and library form a worthy monument of two worthy men. Besides these we may mention the " Apprentices' Library," of fifty thousand volumes, the " Library of the American Institute," the " New York City Library," the " Printers Free Library," the " Women's Library," the " Harlem Library," the "Mott Memorial Medical Library," the "New York Law Institute Library," and the immense libraries connected with the large institutions of learning. Honorable Peter Cooper has also during this year, on the occurrence of his eightieth birthday, surprised the community with the gift of $150,000, 208 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. to found a complete library for working men. To these will also soon be added the "Lenox Library," founded by the distinguished philanthropist whose name it bears, who has just set aside land and $300,000 for the erection of appropriate buildings, opposite Central Park, to which he adds his entire collection of statuary, paintings, and books, said to be the most valuable in the country, and money sufficient to make it complete and unrivaled. Besides these, there are numerous reading-rooms judiciously distributed through the city, furnished with all the periodical literature of the day, opened by the Young Men's Christian Association, and other benevolent societies. MONUMENTS. Some portions of New York and vicinity are thickly studded with monuments, commemorating the names and deeds of the great, the patriotic, or the admired. Some reared by private enterprise over the remains of friends have cost large fortunes, and money which might have blessed the world has, in more than one instance, been foolishly thrown away. Some very laudable efforts in this line have, however, been undertaken. Churches have reared chaste monuments in memory of devoted pastors, students to eminent men of letters, and soldiers to attest their respect for fallen comrades. The soldiers' monument, which lifts its modest head on the western elevation of Greenwood cemetery, and the one erected by the Seventh regiment in Central Park, are very imposing testimonials of patriotic regard. The beautiful monument of Columbus, the peerless navigator, and that of the learned Humboldt, and one of Shakspeare, all recently placed in Central Park, are worthy of mention. Old Trinity church-yard contains several, the most important of which is -- III' I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.. -l-T-F~l i Tii 1 ~ I II~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1I F"Ls.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,i_..{........... NEW YORK H1ISTOIRICAL S()CIETY —S'ocon(I Avenue, cur. Elevuiith Strect. I&E/ -7._T NP:~V Y~)P.K 90.'ITY LIBR ~R~ —-67 Unive-crsity Place,. Np~w YurK SOC[PTY LiBR\RY 67 U.-ilersity Place ~~~~-i a m_. ~ _,.1. - _ a COLUMBIA COLLEGE —Fiftieth S treet. between 4th aria 5th A venlues. COLLEGEs = S - -r. _3d Street and4thAvenue. CLGEF-7- A N R((N-o 3Stead4Avu COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND St'RGEONS -Cor. 23d street and 4th AveinlC e. MONUMENTS 209 THE MARTYRS' MONUMENT, erected by the Trinity corporation in 1852, to the memory of those patriots who died in the old Sugar House and in other prisons during the Revolution. MARTYRS' MONUMENT. WORTH MONUMENT. (Trinity Church Cemetery.) (Madison square and Fifth avenue.) It is a chaste Gothic structure of brown stone, standing on a granite foundation, about forty-five feet high, appropriately inscribed, and crowned with the American eagle. THE WORTH MONUMENT, erected on the west side of MIadison square by the corporation of the city of New York in 1857, is the only one completed at the public expense. The monument is a four-sided chaste granite obelisk; its sides, besides presenting the equestrian image in high relief, are nearly covered with inscriptions, setting forth the career of 210 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. the hero of Cherubusco and Chapultepec. Handsome bronze reliefs are introduced between the several inscriptions. THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT stands at the south-east portion of Union square, and is a colossal bronze equestrian WASHINGTON MONUMENT. (Union square and Fourteenth street.) statue, executed with great artistic skill by Browne, and was erected through the laudable efforts of Colonel Lee. The figure is fourteen and one-half feet high, and stands upon an immense granite pedestal of the same height, making the whole twenty-nine feet. This representation of the Father of his country has been universally admired. The means for its erection were contributed by the inhabitants of the neighborhood. It is said that the gentlemen who circulated the subscription called one day on a property-owner, noted alike MONUMENTS. 211 for his wealth and avarice. The subject being presented, the miser stated that he could give nothing, and remarked that no monument was necessary. Laying his hand upon his breast he exclaimed, with emphasis, " I keep the Father of his bountry here." "Well," responded the intrepid collector, "if the Father of his country is there, he is in the tightest place he ever found." THE LINCOLN MONUMENT, erected in September, 1870, by the Union League Club, stands at the south-west corner of Union square, and corresponds in position with the Washington monument on the opposite corner. The pedestal consists of three Dix Island granite stones, which weigh in all over forty tons, and is twenty-four feet high. The statue, which represents the deceased statesman in citizen's dress, but covered with a Roman toga, is of bronze, nearly eleven feet high, and weighs three thousand pounds. The design was formed by H. K. Brown, Esq., and is a faithful representation of the martyred President. In his left hand he holds the Proclamation of Emancipation, and a galaxy of stars on the pedestal represent the States of the Union. THE VANDERBILT MONUMENT, erected in 1869, and crowning the western wall of the immense freight depot which covers the old St. John's Park, is by far the most elaborate and costly undertaking of its kind on Manhattan. It was conceived, and carried forward to completion, mainly through the untiring exertions of Captain Albert De Groot. The whole scene in bronze is one hundred and fifty feet long, and over thirty feet high, with admirable groupings of ancient and modern representations, and is designed to allegorically exhibit the brilliant and successful career of the dashing Commodore. The central and chief figure is the Railroad King, a life-like and correct statue, twelve feet high, weighing over four tons. On the left of this central figure everything is seafaring, representing his early beginnings on the New York Bay, his later travels, and his patriotic munificence. In the distance Neptune in bold relief is seen, in a half-re 212 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. dining posture, looking seaward, while a schooner, a steamer, a steamship, and miscellaneous aquatic groupings, complete the center of the picture. On the right terra firma, the theater for a king of railroads, spreads away. At the extreme right, corresponding to Neptune, stands the figure of Liberty, while the intermediate space exhibits forests, cultivated fields, railroad track with tools, tunnelS, switchmen, and dashing trains. The whole weighs over fifty tons, and cost half a million dollars, which was contributed by New York bankers and capitalists. It is an appropriate recognition of the perseverance and thrift of a modern Knickerbocker, who, without patrimony or schools, has carved out his own diploma, and compelled the world to sign it. THE MARKETS. The marketing on Manhattan seems to have been, for some years, a system of general huckstering. For the better security of seasonable supplies the authorities ordered in 1676, that all country people bringing supplies to market should be exempt from arrests for debt, and that the Market-house, a small building devoted to that use, and the green before the fort (the present site of Bowling Green), should be used for the city sales. In 1683 markets were appointed to be held three times a week, to be opened and closed by ringing a bell. In 1692, a market-house for meat was ordered at the foot of Broad street, and subsequently nearly every slip on the East river side, where the city mainly lay at that time, had its market-house. " Bear Market " (Washington), so called from the fact that bear meat was first sold in it, was the first on the west side. The present structure was erected in 1813, and though low, gloomy, and in a decayed condition, has for many years been the principal wholesale market of the city iljili ii'i III~: I i:''' ~I ( It' I; iii:ii''!li!;II j tI;jii,'' ~i i ii,, i' ~''"'" i I iill!I i i, I I' i/ 1 i;ili';;'' i: Iii!ii i!, ,,~:.I!~~~~::~~~~:; ~i ~ ~;il''": /jljii'''i'' ii'""'i''jl~ 11;11 11 Iltjjll'l II (ii'' 1111:;(jlil i I:~.~: ~ 1''I:'';iii:nilii:'::!I''' ir ii I; "''~''':"~"'' I' "''?1 i;ii I:ii,i ~" I'::::: jiiji ~~:I \rrrA r~ lli,: ijl! n k ~;e::..~~.. 1;.11! 111:''' I~~,, ie:II rii 11 Ili~i i! IiI;;'' i -''!l''.i: I;:bjiiid:.;i~ llllllliil n — u=rrmbleatw~i;i II " %'i'' iii: '" 3 %iii -~ 11.1,11 -- ijjljlf!lll iii ~~ r, 1:1!1''' )Irrs'~'I:irfi,,,!I iiI i I i 1:'1 J'I: I r; ~I,,~I.~~.1, Z i;'i I i cc r I w I I I 1/ji j/f i I' I: /i I'i I''' v 111 I~i..,I I~:1 I.:st 1, / iii'iii ii'~ 11'''''''" )I~(ll/illl ~ ~;:~ I~I~(.;:II'' I Ii'' 1".111 b:liiii i,:!iliilll;;iii;:,!,I I;Iliii/jl /jili i I;.f I jl Iiiijjiiiiiiriri 111IF i r;i I ~:i~ Ii; ~.illli;l;il. IIiiXII1.'~''i.,.. i: I r,I, " "~ II'':~ i;I 1III,,!t l'i ill '',~ ~~~~. ~: III,I):':'' ;iiSii I, ~~~ ...'~ 1' ~.: ~I!'*I *~l:,ri il ii I: I~~~;,ril THE STEAMER " BRISTOL," 0r THE NAIIRAGANSET SrEAIMSHIP COMPANY-BOston Line. THE MARKETS. 213 The market proper contains five hundred and three stands (with many outside), and furnishes employment and subsistence for about 10,000 persons. Its annual business is believed to exceed $100,000,000. The market buildings, numbering fifteen, are judiciously distributed through the city; most of them are still owned by the corporation, and bring an annual income of several hundred thousand dollars. Several fine market buildings have recently been erected by private parties. The Manhattan Market Company, chartered a year and a half since, are now erecting the largest and finest market building yet undertaken on the island. It stands on the block between Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth streets, Eleventh and Twelfth avenues. The main structure, which is of iron, stone, and Philadelphia brick, is 800 feet long and 200 feet deep, and will contain 800 stands. The interior of the structure is 80 feet high, well lighted, and if Washington is ever removed, this appears certain to become the principal wholesale market of the city. XI1. THE CEMETERIES OF NEW YORK. 1 MRHE bustling glittering cities of the living 19. IS stand in such close proximity to the silent >Go'^^ ubut more populous ones of the dead, that. —[' N this sketch of Manhattanr would be quite imperfect, were no mention made of the _]P. aplaces where rest the eight generations that have successively peopled the gay metropolis. The Burial-places of Manhattan were for many years connected with the separate churches, and as late as 1822 there were twenty-two of these church burying-grounds south of the City Hall. In 1794 the Potter's Field was located at the junction of the Greenwich and Albany roads. This was at a later period removed to what is now Washington square, from whence it was removed to Randall's, then to Ward's, and finally to Hart's Island. The negro burying-ground was long at the corner of Broadway and Chambers street) on the site now occupied by A. T. Stewart's wholesale store. In 1729, a Jewish cemetery was laid out near what is now Chatham square. The land was given by a Mr. Willey of London to his three sons, then New York merchants, to be held in trust as a place of burial for the Jewish nation "forever." But so uncertain are the securities of earth, that the place has now long been covered with stores and warehouses. In 1813, all burials below Canal street were prohibited. The plan of erecting marble cemeteries farther up town was now proposed, and two were constructed between Second and Third streets, Bowery, and Second avenue, with 234 and 156 vaults respectively. They were constructed entirely of stone, and calculated to receive a large number of bodies. It was I-__ MAIN EN TRANCE TO GRZEEOOD CEMETERY. --—'' A —= - t~zLi -N~~ A =- — ~ _ I —--- ~~~~~-=.Sk''U. -NTss.K8 Tsv X$6O -;- THE CEMETERIES OF NEW -YO i. 215 however, soon discovered that this plan must be a failure. In 1842, the plan of rural cemeteries was fully inaugurated by the laying out of Greenwood, which had been incorporated in 1838. In 1847, a general law was enacted by the Legislature, conferring upon voluntary associations the right of establishing rural cemeteries, which was soon followed by the laying out of Cypress Hill, Ever Green, New York Bay, Calvary, and'others. In 1842, the Trinity corporation purchased thirty-six acres of ground, on Tenth avenue and One Hundred and Fifty-fifth street, of Mr. Carman, for a cemetery, which is the only one now in use on the island. This cemetery has recently been much injured by the laying out of the Public Drive, which passes through it, ruining many of its -vaults, and convincing us that the land should never have been devoted to a cemetery. The grounds are richly shaded and kept in good cultivation. Here sleep the remains of Bishops Wainright and Onderdunk, of Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration, of Madame Jumel, Aaron Burr's last wife, of Audubon, the renowned naturalist, of John Jacob Astor, and many other distinguished personages. The vault of President Monroe is seen, though his remains were several years since removed to Virginia. John J. Cisco, of Wall street, and other living capitalists, conscious of coming doom, have here erected granite or marble structures for their last earthly homes. Land has now become very valuable in this locality. The grounds were originally obtained for $14,000, but the corporation has refused $80,000 for the water front simply. In 1851, an ordinance was passed prohibiting all burials on the island south of Eighty-sixth street, except in private, vaults and cemeteries. NEW YORK BAY cemetery is situated, as its name implies, on the New York Bay, in the State of New Jersey, two and one-half miles from the Jersey City ferry. The cemetery now comprises about fifty acres of level land, is nearer the 216 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTIUTMONS. City Hall than any other, and contains the mouldering forms of over 50,000 persons. GREENWOOD, the oldest and most noted of all our rural cemeteries contains four hundred and thirteen acres of land, purchased of over sixty different owners. The grounds are situated in Brooklyn on Gowanus heights, about two and a half miles from South ferry, the higher portions of which were crimsoned with the blood of the slain at the noted battle of Long Island, fought August, 1776. The surface, graded at immense expense, is beautifully undulating and diversified, producing constant and gratifying changes of scenery. Seventeen miles of broad carriage-roads constructed of stone, and covered with gravel, bordered with paved gutters, and fifteen miles of foot-paths, nearly all of which are covered with Scrimshaw concrete pavement, free from duLt, mud, and weeds, conduct the visitor to every part of the grounds. The entrance-ways are all elegant, the northern, completed in 1863, being the most imposing. Its outer gate, closed only at night, opens on Fifth avenue, and is the principal way of access to the vast population of New York and Brooklyn. The gateway, reached by an approach, graded at great expense, is an elaborate Gothic edifice, massively constructed of the best New Jersey sandstone, is 132 feet long, 40 feet deep, terminating above in three pinnacles, the central of which is 106 feet high. The deep triangular recesses of the pediments above the gateways are filled on both sides with groups of sculpture formed of Nova Scotia sandstone, representing the Saviour's entombment and resurrection, the resurrection of the Widow's Son, and the raising of Lazarus. Still higher are figures in relief representing Faith, Hope, Memory, and Love. A bell tolls with each passing procession, and a clock marks the speed with which we are gliding to eternity. The grounds are being enclosed with an iron fence, and otherwise constantly improved. About six thousand are annually interred here, and at the close of 1870 the whole number of interments amounted to ~" - -;--- -I —" — --- --- -~-;-.-: -- = ——; —-.r -I-L. —. —r _.1 —: - f -— ~~1 t Z;~ - —- clli- -- =- —-I-.=-- -;-= I;?~ _.= -I-,air I:___- I' r-— r- 1 -=L1= —-; —— —- = —- ----- -— —-e r I —-—; —; LS-? -~t ---— -- i;TrllrJ1S D I, ll~i -,;I~~ i ~F\i auiiirr -pp6aiul6LLPliP E~.i;rt t: YLCm,. t I. r i ~ —--------------- -~;~ —~-;-'Xl!i;;Cd:~Sr L~~' b: P bct-L ----- ";'' \rPzt:Q*.iO 6rl I u 1~ iis _.r~;zesJt:-rJ; ~ I,rcW; i\cr\Ssl.\i~~ir i`LJ-~J ~ MIgg CHA(IUr.l.b: (:d.;,-i'.(ISUHIS4T -- \r r ~. \ ~~ ~~~~~~~- C - - - - = - E~~~~~~-i-=-~~= ~~~~~~~~ —i;-= — — I =w.*Was3E~~~~_ —.r - i h~~~~~~-L-r~=_ v E~___L~~ —7== —-WEIYHl'o^>-reenwod Ceetery THE CEMErERIES OF NEW TYO. 217 150,000. It is the most favorite resort outside of New York, its finely wrought vaults and over 2,000 monuments, some of which have cost large fortunes, attracting much attention. The monument of Charlotte Canda is perhaps the most noted of all, though those of D. H. Lewis, De Witt Clinton, Colonel Vosburgh, and others, are very imposing. Here clergymen, merchants, bankers, and common laborers find a space and think not of'the amount of marble that marks their resting-place. Mr. Peter Cooper, Rev. I. W. Beecher, and many others, have selected the place for their final repose beneath the shades of the sighing willows. The receipts last year amounted to over $250,000, and the expenditures to $247,000. The permanent fund for the improvement of the cemetery, arising from the sale of lots, legacies, donations, etc., amounts to nearly three-quarters of a million, and is certain to be considerably increased. CYPRESS H-ILL cemetery is situated on that elevated ridge north of the Brooklyn and Jamaica turnpike, known as the "backbone of Long Island." It lies partly in Kings and partly in Queens counties, is about five miles from the ferry at Peck Slip, and comprises 400 acres. About half of the grounds are still covered by a natural forest, and the other portions profusely set with trees and shrubbery, thus blend. ing witht he wild luxuriance of nature the chaste embellishments of art. A brick arch, surmounted by a statue of Faith, and supported by two beautiful Lodges, forms the front, or southern entrance. The view from the elevated portions of this cemetery is very extensive, presenting, besides nearly every variety of landscape scenery, a bird's-eye view of the surrounding country, and the neighboring cities. Brooklyn, New York, Jersey City, the majestic Hudson, and the Palisades are spread out with panoramic grandeur; farther to the north rise the hills of Connecticut, and to the south, far as the eye can extend, stretches the broad Atlantic, bounded by the horizon. Over 85,000 interments have been made in these grounds since 1848. The forms of 4,060 of our brave 218 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. soldiers lie sleeping here, in a section set apart exclusively for them. About 35,000 bodies have also been transferred to these grounds, from old burying-grounds in New York city and Brooklyn. The Sons of Temperance, the Odd Fellows, the Masons, and the Metropolitan Police have set apart sections for the members of their fraternities. Family lots measuring 16 by 25 feet may be secured here on the payment of from $125 to $250, according to location. The CEMETERY of the EVERGREENS, situated east and about three and a half miles from Williamsburgh, covers the western termination of the mid-island range of hills, and affords numerous varieties of surface and natural ornament. The eye of the visitor is greeted with hills, dells, lakes, lawns, interspersed with a rich growth of cultivated and forest trees. This cemetery, which is also one of the largest, has not yet become as noted as the two preceding, but is sure to increase in popularity. CALVARY Cemetery, laid out in August, 1848, and situated in Newtown, Long Island, is owned by and devoted exclusively to the Roman Catholic church. The grounds comprise seventy-five acres, and already over 183,000 interments have been made. WOOD LAWN. cemetery, situated in Westchester County, eight miles north of Iarlem Bridge, was incorporated December 29, 1863, and contains over 300 acres. The late Rev. Absalom Peters was the chief agent in the laying out of these beautiful grounds. The rapid march of the city northward led him to seek the establishment of a large cemetery, which should be to upper New York and Westchester what Greenwood had long been to lower New York and Brooklyn. This cemetery is easily reached by the Harlem Railroad. It was laid out in 1865, since which over 8,000 interments have been made. The grounds are now being rapidly improved, and the last report showed an increase of 65 per cent. over the interments of the previous year. Several other cemeteries are also in use. To these silent monumental cities :S-~~~~~~~-- 2&~- I —-, —-- w7!!~~~~~MN / g THz FOUNTAIN-Greenwood Cemetery W. /4IIV ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-fl,,~~~~~~~ Ii tN ~'~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~: I':.-~ ~ ~.iII c3 "~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~M I1 I'll "feel!: I Geller~~~~~~~~~~!,I?,,L 011 iiiM, i1~ii " i~ k'I 111'I iI:jlrilhl~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~t 1;. I,`L:'''''':il~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ntlls, Baltic S i_:.nnJ lit;I( ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ )II~~~~~~~li ji/(I~~~~~~~~~~~jtl!I~li jo 3 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Avn ) THE CEMETERIES OF NEW YORK. 219* of the dead, about 25,000 are being annually consigned, whose places in the gay and busy world are filled by others, who, after a brief and uncertain struggle, yield in turn to the great destroyer. An occasional visit to these spots of solemn grandeur, linked so closely to our very being, must be attended with the best results, to a reflective mind. One cannot linger amid such scenes, and consider that beneath this surface of exquisite adornment moulder the remains of the brilliant, the wealthy, the good, and the gay, without having his ambitions for worldly advantage greatly sobered, and his whole mind improved. " Here are the wise, the gen'rous and the brave; The just, the good, the worthless, the profane; The downright clown, and perfectly well-bred; The fool, the churl, the scoundrel, and the mean; The supple statesman, and the patriot stem; The wreck of nations, and the spoils of time." * The lapse of 60 pages after 219 is accounted for by the omission to number the illustrations in their order. (-I11TTr. (.T " T,';*K-. ) 1 aA T:v,.!"''-* \4. TT!;-:;, I' I" "'.' I.. - ~/......7 _ a~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7m _ -...... ~_ 3 CHAPTER V. INSTITUTIONS OF NEW YORK ISLAND AND WESTCHESTER COUNTY. NEW YORK INSTITUTION FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF THE DEAF AND DUMB. (Washington Heights, One Hundred and S&ity-se8ond street.) HAT deaf-mutes have existed in the world since the early ages, is a fact clearly established by both sacred (..~'a and profane history. Speechlessness appears for the most part to have been the result of deafness; articulation resulting from imitation, a matter to which the mind of the deaf is not naturally directed. For many ages it was confidently believed that these persons were inexorably shut off from all social intercourse with their race, and the idea of restoring these faculties or of repairing their loss by education seems never to have occurred to the ancients. The civil authorities in many instances appear to have openly approved of, or connived at, the practice of destroying such children as did not bid fair to be of service to the State. If allowed to live, they were deprived by statute of their inheritance, of all right to buy or sell, make a donation or will, and were classed with the insane and the idiotic. The ameliorating influences of Christianity finally intercepted the blow, and they were no longer murdered as useless incumbrances of society; yet pitiable indeed was their condition through all the medieval ages, locked up to their own untutored musings, and enduring the most cruel neglect. In the seventh century John, Bishop of Hagulstad, is said to have with much pains taught a deafmute to speak a few sentences, and in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries numerous private efforts were made with some success. A Spanish monk, Pedro Ponce, who died in 1584, was the first teacher of deaf-mutes. Another Spanish. monk, named Juan Pablo Bonet, published about 1620 the first treatise on deaf-mute instruction, and is believed to have invented the dactylology, or one-hand alphabet, used so generally in France and America. The numerous treatises on the 282 NEW YO AD rrs INSTITUTIONS. education of deaf-mutes issued in various parts of Europe during this century show a general awakening on the subject among the learned. Dr. John Wallis, mathematical professor at Oxford, deserves the credit of being the first practical instructor of the deaf and dumb in England. He never had a large number of pupils, but continues it for nearly fifty years with tolerable success. The first school of this kind supported by government was established in Leipsic, in 1778, under the patronage of the Elector of Saxony, which continues to this time. Early in the present century John Braidwood, a member of a family who for sixty years had carried on a system of instruction for the deaf and dumb in England without disclosing its principles to the public, came to this country and attempted the establishment of a school. He was warmly supported by several gentlemen of wealth, but the enterprise soon failed through his habitual dissipation. The year 1816 is memorable for the organization of a society in New York for the instruction of the deaf and dumb. Samuel L. Mitchell, LL.D., the Rev. John Stanford, and Dr. Samuel Akerly, who at a later period rendered such efficient service in foundingo the Institution for the Blind, were its chief promoters. The wisdom of the undertaking was by many questioned, because a similar institution was just then being opened at Hartford, one being supposed amply sufficient for the whole country. An inquiry, however, soon disclosed the fact that over sixty deaf mutes were then living in the city of New York, and subsequent investigations have proved that while one in twenty-three hundred of the general population is blind, one in about two thousand is deaf and dumb. The act of incorporation bears date of April 15, 1817, and in the following May the school was formally opened in one of the rooms of the City Hall, with four scholars. During the first eleven years of its operations the society had no building of its own, but in 1829 the school was removed to East Fiftieth street, to the grounds now occupied by Columbia college. The success of the system of instruction led to an annual increase of students, and made necessary the enlargement of the building, which was three times accomplished during the quarter of a century spent at this location. The prudent sagacity of the board of management secured the title of two entire blocks of ground, lying between Forty-eighth and Fiftieth streets, Fourth and Fifth avenues. This valuable property, purchased at different NEW YORK INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB. 283 periods for about $54,000, was afterwards disposed of at about $325,000. The rush of the rapidly expanding city now began to disturb the operations of the Institution, and the managers began to cast about in quest of more eligible quarters. Fanwood, at Washington Heights, nine miles north of the City Hall, was finally selected, and thirty-seven and one-half acres of ground purchased in 1853, at a cost of $115,000. The buildings, which are the largest and finest in the world for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, cover about two acres, are of brick, with basement,-copings, and trimmings of granite, and have cost several hundred thousand dollars. A mortgage of $175,000 has just been removed by the sale of nine and one-half acres of the land for $263,000, leaving a balance to complete other needed improvements. The front walls, which are panneled, are faced with yellow Milwaukie brick, to save the expense of painting. The main edifice, which contains the apartments for the officers and teachers, the reception-rooms, offices, the library, and mineralogical cabinet, etc.) is flanked by two vast and well-arranged wings, one of which is devoted to the male, and the other to the female pupils. A central building, separated in construction from the others, but united to them with covered passageways, contains in the basement kitchen and appendages, on the first floor the dining-room, and on the next the chapel. The sexes are carefully separated, and meet only for meals, instruction, and divine worship, under the oversight of their instructors. The buildings are capable of accommodating over five hundred pupils, and are about equal to the demands of the deaf and dumb of this State, which are believed to amount to about two thousand one hundred of all ages. They occupy one of the most commanding locations on the entire island, overlooking the beautiful Hudson, and have been universally admired for their beauty and exquisite arrangement. This Institution was at first designed for a private charity, but the good sense of the public soon awoke to the fact that the State owed the means of instruction to all its children, whether blind, deaf and dumb, or possessed of all the five senses. As these unfortunates are widely scattered, and to enjoy the advantages of an institution are compelled to reside far from home in an expensive city, it becomes the duty of the State to provide for their maintenance during the period of their instruction. From these considerations it was early taken under State patronage, which has since formed its'principal 284 NEW YORK D ITS INSTITUTIONS. support. The annual cost of the Institution amounts to about $300 per inmate, exclusive of permanent improvements. Application for admission as a State pupil must be made to the Superintendent of Public Instruction at Albany, accompanied by a certificate from the Overseer of the Poor in the town where the applicant resides, certifying that his parents or guardian are unable to pay for his board and tuition. State pupils must be between the ages of twelve and twentyfive. Pupils are admitted at the charge of counties between the ages of six and twelve. Pay pupils are also received from families of means. The regular course of instruction lasts eight years, with three years additional for those selected for good conduct and capacity for higher studies. An untaught deaf-mute is the most ignorant creature in the human family. To him all the past is a blank, all the present an inexplicable mystery, and all the future a profound uncertainty. lie has no proper conceptions of the Supreme Being, which affords one of the clearest evidences of the necessity of a Divine revelation. There have been three principal systems employed in their instruction: 1. Articulation, or the theory that articulation is indispensable to the clear comprehension of thought. This system is believed to have been founded by Pedro Ponce, long practised by Wallis, Pereira, and the Braidwoods, has been for a century the common system taught in Germany, but has not been much practised in this country until quite recently. 2. Gesticulation, or the theory that every idea of which the mind is capable may be expressed by signs. This was taught by Sicard, Bebian, and others. 3. The American system, which combines the best fundamental principles of the two preceding, with practical additions. The language of gestures is clearly the only universal channel of intelligent communication in the world, and savages from all countries have in this way been able to hold some conversation. This can be learned by deaf -mutes spontaneously, and in all systems is more or less employed. At the New York Institution the beginner, when introduced into the class-room, finds placed before him cards containing the printed names of objects. Either the object or its picture is placed by the side of the card. The teacher points first to the name and next to the object, and thus the connection between names and things soon becomes familiar. They are then taught to spell with their fingers by the Manual Alphabet a few short words, and the names of familiar objects. NEW YORK INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB. 285 Wheih about fifty words have been thus learned, embracing all the letters of the alphabet, short phrases containing an adjective and a noun are formed, which they are required to write on large stationary slates, placed all around the classrooms, and thus they are advanced until able to transfer their knowledge of signs to the printed page. The progress made by these hitherto untaught children of silence is surprising, and those who complete the full course attain to high scholar ship. The language of signs is much more definite than many suppose, and these speechless brethren are here taught to discern between the things that differ. At a recent examination, with no previous intimation, a class was called upon, in sign language, to write and explain the difference between the nearly synonymous terms of " conceal and dissemble," "antipathy and hatred," " courage and fortitude." In every instance the proper English word was instantly written on the slate by each member of the class in answer to the sign, and the nice distinctions of signification made. Several years since the more advanced students organized themselves into the "Fanwood Literary Society," which now numbers over one hundred members. The society meets every Saturday evening, and is characterized by animated discussions and lectures in the pantomime of the Institution. The three last days of August, 1867, will long be remembered by these silent brethren as the national convention of deaf-mutes, held at the New York Institution. Four hundred of the former pupils of the Institution, and over one hundred graduates of others, assembled, and took part in the interesting exercises. Seven of these national conventions have now been held. More attention than formerly has recently been given to the matter of articulation. This, the Principal believes to be an accomplishment, and a matter of decided value in certain cases, though of little service to most congenital mutes, and a system that can never supersede the more enlarged and cultivated language of signs. To keep the Institution, as it has long been, in the forefront of this benign movement, Mr. Engelsman, a German expert in this system of instruction, has been employed, and such semi-mutes and others as by experiment exhibit talent for articulation are placed under his instruction. This class at present numbers over fifty students. A new brick building, one hundred feet by thirty, and three stories high, has just been erected for the better accommoda17 286 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. tion of the mechanical department. In addition to a good education, the students, unless wealthy, are taught trades, so that maintenance will not be a difficult problem when they return to the outside world. Shoe-making, cabinet-making, tailoring, dress-making, printing, bookbinding, and engraving, have been taught with success, in addition to horticulture and gardening. Less than twenty per cent. of the whole number, but nearly forty per cent. of the adult deaf mutes of the State, marry and rear offspring, not more than one in twenty of whom inherit the infirmities of their parents. The Institution is free from sectarian bigotry, the minds of the pupils being wisely directed to the Bible, without which there can be no complete culture of mind or heart. Prayer is offered by one of the teachers in the sign language every morning and evening in the chapel before the whole school. On the Sabbath a sermon suited to their capacities is delivered in the same manner. At table, when all are seated, one tap of the drum, the vibrations of which none hear but all feel, calls the vast family to silence, after which a blessing is invoked with signs by a teacher standing in one of the aisles, and at the close of this another tap is the signal for turning plates and beginning the dinner. The sanitary condition of the Institution is all that can be secured in our day, less sickness and fewer deaths occurring in it than among the more hardy population around it. The library contains about two thousand volumes, three hundred of which are rare books on deaf-mute instruction. About two thousand two hundred pupils have been educated since the opening of the Institution. The professors have always ranked among the best educated men of the State. Half of those now employed are graduates of the Institution. Dr. Harvey P. Peet was called to the office'of Principal in 1831, and filled this position with great ability for thirty-six years. IHe is the author of many of the textbooks in this and other American institutions. Weary with the toil of years, he resigned his position at the close of 1867, and was succeeded by his son, Isaac Lewis Peet, A.M., who had been the Vice-Principal for fifteen years, and who bids fair to attain to the celebrity of his excellent father. Aa Bb Cc D d Ee Ff Gg Hh I i Kj Xk LLI Ii J~j Mm Nn 0 o pp Q qq Rr S T Tt E DEAF ANDDUMB ALPHABET THE DEAF AND DUTMB ALPHABET. INSTITUTION FOR THE IMPROVED INSTRUCTION OF DEAF MUTES. (Broadway, between Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth streets.) FFERENT systems foi the instruction of deaf mutes have been adopted in different countries. The French have practised upon the sign language, while the Germans have long made a specialty of the system of articulation. Several years ago, Bernhard Engelsman, a learned German skilled in the art of teaching deaf-mutes in this latter system, came to New York, and on the organization of this Institution was appointed its Principal, and thus became the founder of this system of deaf-mute instruction in this country. The new Institution was opened March 1, 1867, with ten pupils, at No. 134 West Twenty-seventh street. The building soon became too small for the increasing number of scholars, so that in May, 1868, the school, having nineteen pupils, was removed to No. 330 East Fourteenth street. The number of students steadily increased, amounting in 1869 to about thirty-all the building could accommodate. The society was incorporated under the general act of Legislature in 1868, and on the 12th of April, 1870, the Legislature, by special act, placed it on a level with the New York Institution at Washington Heights, so that indigent students, if they prefer, may be instructed here; as at the other institution, at State expense. The sum of $10,000 was also given by the State for the establishment of the Institution, and several thousand had previously accumulated in the treasury of the society, from the donations of its friends. The demand for increased accommodations led the trfstees to lease two large and eligible houses on Broadway in the summer of 1870, where the school is at present conducted. A desire existing in many minds to obtain from the city a site on which to erect buildings, a formal application was accordingly filed in June, 1870, with the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the city of New York, asking a grant of land for the purpose above named; and accordingly, on or about August 1st, 1870, the president had the gratification of receiving the deed of a grant of land, situated on the westerly side of Lexington avenue, and extending from Sixty-seventh 288 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. to Sixty-eighth streets, a distance of two hundred feet and ten inches, being the entire front of a block, consisting of eight lots, besides four lots on the rear of these, being two on Sixtyseventh and Sixty-eighth streets, respectively, and forming one plot, at the annual rental of one dollar, for the period of ninety-nine years. " This land to be devoted to the purposes of this Institution, and for such purposes only." Plain and substantial buildings are to be erected on these grounds as soon as possible. The Institution is directed, and in part supported, by an association of several hundred gentlemen, mostly of German extraction, who are annual contributors. On the 15th of July, 1869, Mr. Engelsman, who had been for two years its Principal, severed his connection with the Institution, and was immediately engaged as teacher of articulation at the New York Institution at Washington Heights. The practicability of imparting instruction by both the French system of signs and the German system of articulation in one Institution will therefore be fairly tested, and differences of opinion upon this question be finally settled. The Association now resolved to bring their Institution more prominently before the public, and to obtain the recognition and aid of the State. Professor F. A. Rising, A.M., a graduate of Williams College, who had been an instructor in the Ohio Institution, and also in the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and had been for several months the VicePrincipal with Mr. Engelsman, was appointed Principal of the Institution. He is a gentleman of talent and energy, entirely devoted to his calling, and since his assuming charge of the Institutionit has secured the patronage of the State, and now ranks favorably with sister institutions throughout the United States. Previous to their removal to Broadway thirty-four pupils had been received, about half the number being day-scholars. At the close of 1871 there were six lady teachers, and there had been admitted during the year seventy-five pupils, fifty of whom were boarders. Three large houses are now wellnigh filled, and the applications for admittance are still ulinerous. THE NEW YORK INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. (Ninth avenue and Thirty-fourth street.) A striking exhibition of the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator is seen in his raising up, from time to time, agencies to guard and foster every interest of society. For many ages the blind remained wholly untaught, and sat mournfully, Bartimeus like, along the crowded thoroughfare of human life. Nothing was undertaken in America to ameliorate their condition, until within the last half century. Dr. Samuel Ackerly, Samuel Wood, and Dr. John D. Ross have the honor of being chiefly instrumental in inaugurating a movement for this long-neglected class, which will crown their memories with undying renown. Early in 1831, through their influence, a society was organized in New York, for the purpose of founding an institution for the education of the blind, and on the 21st of April, the same year, the State Legislature passed an act incorporating the society, with the title of " The New York Institution for the Blind." A school with six pupils was opened May 19, 1832, at 47 Mercer street, under Dr. Russ, which was the first of its kind on the conti 290 EW YORK AND ITS mSTrTmONS. nent. By the aid of fairs and donations, a piece of ground and buildings on Eighth avenue were obtained of James Boorman, at a nominal rent, with covenant to sell. An instructor in the mechanic arts was procured, and on December 2d, 1833, their first public exhibition was held in the City Hall. The proficiency of the sixteen pupils present, in reading from raised letters, their knowledge of geography, arithmetic, of music, and the skill of their workmanship in mats, mattresses, and baskets, excited great interest. In the inception of the movement, the managers only contemplated the instruction of the blind of their own city; but as applications continued to pour in from abroad, they soon felt the necessity for enlarged and better accommodations. The present site of the Institution was obtained of Mr. Boorman at a reduction of $10,000 below its market value. On the 30th of April, 1836, $12,000 were given by the State, on condition that $8,000 more would be raised by the managers; and in 1839 another grant of $15,000 was made, to assist in erecting the buildings. When the site was originally obtained, it was far outside of the improved portions of the city, but is now in the midst of a densely-populated section. It is situated between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth streets, fronting on Ninth avenue, is two hundred feet wide and eight hundred feet deep. The building was originally a three-story, constructed of Sing-Sing marble, strongly buttressed and surmounted with turrets, presenting an imposing fagade of one hundred and seventy-five feet, with a north and a south wing one hundred and twenty-five feet each. The building has been greatly improved during the last year by the addition of a mansard story, enlarging the accommodations, and enhancing its general appearance. A broad yard of fine cultivation is spread in front of the Institution, and the workshops occupy the rear. The society is a private corporation, and elects its board of twenty managers annually, which are divided into four committees; one on finance; one on supplies, repairs, and improvements; one on music and instruction; and one on manufactures. Each committee has charge of the department indicated by its name, and holds a weekly meeting, while as a board of managers they meet monthly for the transaction of regular business. The managers serve gratuitously, many giving much ~ o ~ Y,.anv.. g valuable time to the interests of the Institution. It has never been the design of the managers to make this a permanent NEW YORK ISTITUTION FOR THE BLND. 291 " Home " or " Asylum" for the blind, nor yet a " Hospital" for the treatment of optical diseases, neither is it a PnsoM where persons are involuntarily detained, but emphatically a school for instruction, to be entered or abandoned on mutual agreement. Only about seventeen per cent. of the blind were born without sight, the rest having lost it by disease or accident. During the thirty-nine years of its operations, the Institution has had under its instruction something more than one thousand different persons, most of whom have been young. On January 1, 1871, its students numbered 129, though 157 names had been on the roll during the year, none of whom had been in the Institution over seven years. In 1834 the managers began to receive State pupils, i.e., the indigent blind, who have since been educated at the public expense. Only those are now received and educated as New York State pupils who are residents of the counties of Suffolk, Queens, Kings, and New York. Application for admission must be made to the Superintendent. Pay pupils are also received at $300 per year. About ninety-four per cent. of all received have been New York State pupils; the remaining six per cent. have been pay pupils, and those admitted from New Jersey. The total expenditures of the society during the first thirtyeight years amounted to $2,025,000. The managers thankfully acknowledge the generous aid received from the Legis laturo, which has amounted to over $20,000 per annum on an average; yet to their credit be it remembered that sixty per cent. of all their expenditures has been obtained through their own management and liberality. The society was for many years encumbered with debt, which was at length removed, though the improvements of the last year, amounting to about one hundred and twenty-five thousand dnllrS,. have again somewhat involved the Institution, which indebtedness the managers have secured by mortgaging the property. The annual expense of the Institution at present amounts to about $45,000, which appears at first view like a large sam; but when we consider the unavoidable expenditures of its triple instruction departments, literary, musical, and industrial, the extra service necessary to care for so many who walk in perpetual darkness, and the wastes of material in their instruction, our opinions are greatly modified. Books for the 292 NEW YORK AN ITS INSTITUTIONS. blind are expensive. The American Bible Society furnishes a Bible to those who have sight for forty-five cents, but the same society charges, for the cheapest Bible for the blind, $32. A map of the United States, suited to an ordinary schoolroom, may be obtained for $3 or $4; but one of the kind adapted to the blind costs $75; and so on to the end of the chapter., Books, however costly, ate required in all branches of study. The literary department embraces a thorough English course, including higher mathematics, philosophy, chemistry, history, etc. Particular attention is given to music, in which the blind often excel. In the Industrial department, mat, broom, and mattress making, and many kinds of fancy work, are taught. Much material is unavoidably wasted in the workshop, where so many clumsy fingers must feel their way to knowledge and usefulness. The course of instruction pursued by each pupil is the one for which he appears to be best adapted. Some pass through all three departments, others but one. The most gratirying mesults have crowned the thoughtful endeavors of this benevolent association. It has supplied the means of culture, of subsistence, in some cases of affuence and of great usefulness, to a large portion of the community who otherwise must have remained a burden to themselves and their friends. Among the students of former years may now be numbered merchants, mannfacturers, life and fire insurance agents, organists, teachers, farmers, and clergymen. During the last two years, the use of the sewing machine has been introduced among the girls, some of whom have already proved themselves adepts in its management, performing the finest and most difficult tasks with great facility. Every encouragement to industry is afforded. As soon as one becomes a successful workman, he receives some wages, when he is encouraged to open an account with a saving bank, which many have done. The last year of their stay, they receive full journeyman's wages for all they do, to enable them to start business for themselves when they return to the outside world. The Institution is under Protestant management, but persons of any creed are received, without designedly interfering with their religious faith. About one-third of the teachers in the Institution are blind, and have been educated within BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM FOR TIE INSANE. 293 its walls. Among the number is Mr. Stephen Babcock, who is a cultivated Christian gentleman. The principal difficulty in the matter of educating the blind has been in the lack of a system of writing and printing adapted to the touch of all. Carefully compiled statistics show that, with the line-sign system mostly employed in this country, not more than fortyeight per cent. of the blind pupils have ever been able to read with tolerable facility. The Superintendent of the New York Institution, Mr. William B. Wait, has had this matter for several years under examination, and after the most thorough analysis of the principles of the language, and of the wants and capacities of the blind, has finally invented, and introduced into his school, a new point-sign system, which all can readily learn, which may be written by the blind, and which will greatly aid in their education. At a convention of Superintendents of the various Institutions for the blind in the United States, held in Indianapolis in August, 1871, this system, after thorough discussion, was unanimously adopted as the system of point writing and printing for all the American Institutions. Mr. Wait is now engaged in adapting the system to the writing of music. BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE. AMONG all the diseases that afflict our fallen world, none is so dreadful as insanity. The wretched maniac not only suffers the waste and collapse of his physical organism, but is often tortured with the greatest conceivable agonies of mind. We can trace this disease back to the early ages. The Israelites were threatened with madness if they disobeyed the Divine command.-Deut. xxviii. 28. David feigned madness when he visited Achish. Nebuchadnezzar lost his reason; and Jesus of Nazareth wrought many miracles on the insane. The causes of insanity are various. Nearly one-third of all the insanity in the world is hereditary. The exciting causes from whence much of it springs are both physical and moral. In France the largest number of cases by far are said to result from moral excitement, but in England and the United States, from physical. Insanity, to a great degree, is an evil attending high civilization. Dr. Livingstone found but one or two instances of it among all the African tribes he visited, but one of the Bakwains, who was to accompany him to Europe, became insane from the throng of new ideas that entered his mind, and committed BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE. 295 suicide. Insanity was a rare thing in China under a galling despotism, but since the rebellion it is said to have much increased. In India and Japan there are few lunatics. In Italy, Austria, and Spain, less than in the more enlightened countries of Europe. In France one in a thousand is insane, in England one in seven hundred and eighty-three, in Scotland one in five hundred and sixty-three, in the United States one in seven hundred and fifty. These facts do not argue in favor of ignorance and despotism, but of a more serious attention and conformity to the established conditions of life and healthy activity. The Bloomingdale Asylum for the Insane is a branch of the New York Hospital. The old South Hospital, erected in 1806, was for fifteen years wholly devoted to the insane. The Legislature assisted in the organization of this branch of the hospital from the first, and in 1816 increased the annual appropriation to $22,500, on condition that the treatment of the various forms and degrees of;inlanity should be continued. The propriety of removing the insane to a more quiet retreat than could be afforded in a great city was early felt by the " governors," and a committee to select a suitable location was appointed. The purchase of the present site and grounds, consisting of forty-five acres, was early recommended. Some considered the land at Bloomingdale too remote from the city, and the attention of the committee was called to several other sites; but, after examining each, they adhered to their original recommendation, saying that within forty years from that time it would be rather wished that the establishment were at a greater distance from the centre of population, a prediction that has been literally fulfilled. The Hospital at that early day was managed by a board of liberal and large-minded governors, who, without established precedents to guide them in their difficult undertaking, founded an institution for the insane, which, in its appointments and treatment, was far in advance of any in this or in any other country. The Institution is situated on One Hundred and Seventeenth street, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, seven miles north of the Citv Hall. The main edifice, capable of accommodating seventy-five patients, was completed and ready for the reception of inmates in June, 1821, and was at that time the finest building of its kind in the world. The "governors" resolved to give the 296 NEW YORK AD ITS INSTITUTIONS. Asylum the appearance of a palace rather than a jail, and contracted to have the walls of marble, but, failing to obtain this, hewn brown stone was substituted. The ceilings are high, the stories furnished with ample corridors, the window frames are of iron, ingeniously concealed, the apartments spacious and exquisitely furnished with every comfort of the best-regulated home. Books, papers, pictures, music, indeed, everything calculated to awaken lofty and pleasant sentiments, are collected and grouped together in the happiest manner in this building. Lectures and exhibitions are at times added. The inmates are not closely confined here, as only the quiet and convalescent remain in this building. The edifice contains also the apartments for the warden and assistants, the reception and reading rooms, which are as quiet as if no lunatic were on the premises. A building for the more violent of the male sex was erected in 1830, at some distance to the north-west of the main edifice, and in 1837 another for females was added, situated in an opposite direction from the main building. These were originally sixtyy forty feet, three stories high, constructed of brick, but were in 1854 much enlarged and improved. The original cost of the property somewhat exceeded $250,000. The laundry is a separate'building, seventy-five by forty feet, and three stories high. The washing is performed with machinery in the lower story, the second floor contains drying, ironing, and store rooms, and the third the dormitories for the domestics. The Asylum is capable of accommodating without undue crowding, which is never resorted to, about one hundred and seventy inmates, and is always full. The patients are classified and separated according to the form their mental ailments have assumed, whether monomania, mania, dementia, idiotism, or delirium a potu. Iarsh treatment is never resorted to, and the appearance of the largest liberty is granted all except the most violent. The general treatment is arranged so as to recover from physical disease when necessary, and restore mental self-control by dissolving all morbid associations. A part of the grounds is devoted to gardening, and a great variety of trees and ornamental shrubbery adorn the premises, making them a terrestrial paradise during the sultry season. The buildings are surrounded with separate and appropriate yards, where the patients enjoy prolonged out-door recreation during pleasant weather, without destroying the distinctions BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE. 297 established in their medical classification. Religious services are conducted every Sabbath by the chaplain, and are attended by many of the patients. The warden and matron appointed by the "governors " have charge of the buildings, supplies, kitchen, servants, etc. The superior officer of the Asylum is, ihowever, the resident physician, who is required to be a married man, reside on the premises, give his undivided attention to the Institution, and who is solely responsible for the treatment of the patients. Patients are received from any part of the State, on such conditions as can be agreed upon, from eight to thirty dollars per week being required, according to their circumstances, three months' board being required in advance. The expense of conducting the Institution the last year was $108,736, and the receipts from the patients $107,852. The laying out of the Boulevard, which alas become the great pleasure drive of the island, passing within a hundred and twenty feet of the Men's Lodge, where the most disturbed are domiciled, has laid upon the society the necessity of removing the Asyluln to a more retired location. The experienced physician, D. Tilden Brown, who has been connected with the establishment since 1852, has recommended that the new Institution be located where it can remain undisturbed by any large settlement for at least fifty years; that such ample grounds be secured that fifty acres may be appropriated for the exercise of each sex, leaving sufticient for gardening and farming purposes, and a still further extension for long walks and drives on the asylum property alone. He further recommended that the premises be not only supplied with an abundance of good water, but be as beautiful in their location and surroundings as could be obtained. The " governors " have recently purchased nearly three hundred acres of land at White Plains, with a view of erecting at no distant day at that place, unless a more eligible plot can be procured, large and commodious buildings, in keeping with the most advanced theories of treatment in this age. It will probably take a number of years, however, to remove the Asylum. The whole number of inmates under treatment during a year average from 275 to 335, from fifty to eighty of whom are said to recover; from thirty-fire to fifty are pronounced "improved;" a smaller numbei are returned as "not improved;" and twenty-five or thirty die. The largest number are females, and the majority of all received between the ages of twenty and thirty years, after which the 298 NxW YORK END ITS NSTITUTIONS. number decreases with every decade up to eighty years. Early admission into an asylum is considered desirable, affording not only physical safety to the patient and his family, but greater probability of permanent recovery. The presence of relatives often greatly irritates the poor sufferer, enforced submission always proves sadly injurious, and but few possess the mental and moral faculties to successfully control the insane. The undertaking is the most difficult and dangerous in the world, requiring great sagacity, skill, and delicacy of treatment. THE NEW YORK ORPHAN ASYLUM. " The Orphan Asylum Society in the city of New York " is the oldest and one of the best endowed of its class in the United States. Mrs. Joanna Bethune was the original proposer of its plan, and has been pronounced the mother of the institution. This lady, before the Orphan House was planned, had been deeply interested in a society that cared for widows and young children, and as these widows died leaving helpless little ones, her kind heart often grieved that these, by rule, should be excluded from the assistance of the society, which they now more than ever required. Hence the step between a widows' society and an orphan asylum became to her natural and necessary. The first call for the Orphan Asylumn Society was from the pen of Mr. Divie Bethune, written at the request of his wife. Mrs. Bethune continued her earnest exertions in behalf of the society for more than fifty-four years, serving successively as trustee, treasurer, second directress, and first directress. She died in peace July 28, 1860, aged ninety-two years. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 7, 1807, granting privilege to hold personal and real estate to 18 300 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. the amount of $100,000, for the legitimate uses of the society. The power to bind out children was granted by a special act passed February 10, S09, and in 1811 an act was passed ranting the society $::00 per annum from the fund arising from auction duties. this annuity was continued forty-two years, but was discontinued in 1853. The original charter was limited to twenty-one years, and has since been twice renewed. The business of the society is conducted by a board of (lady) trustees, annually elected by the society, of which all ladies contributing one dollar and fifty cents per year are members. The operations of the society began in a small hired house in Raisin street, and in April, 1807, the society held its annual meeting in the City Hotel, on Broadway. The orphan children, more than twenty in number, were presented to the view of the public on this occasion, and an appeal made for means to provide enlarged-accommodations. The public generously responded, four lots of ground in Greenwich were purchased, and the same year a brick building fifty feet square, and designed to accommodate nearly two hundred children, was completed, at an expense of $15,000. Mr. Philip Jacobs bequeathed to the society two houses and lots on Broadway, a house and lot in Warren street, one in Pearl street, and a tract of wild land, the annual income of all amounting to about $4,000. The litigation attending the acquisition of this property cost $15,000, but in 1833 the court confirmed the bequest, which laid the foundation of the permanent prosperity of the society, and forms still the basis of its invested resources. The devastation produced by the cholera in 1834, which swept away the female teacher and a number of the children, induced the society to abandon the city and build an asylum in the country,. Nine and a quarter acres of land were purchased west of Broadway, between Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth streets, and the corner-stone of the new edifice laid with appropriate services June 6, 1836. The building was one hundred and twenty by sixty feet,, ith three stories and basement, and cost $45,000. In 1855 two spacious wings, corresponding in size and style with the first building, were added at a cost of $40,000, affording accommodations for more than have ever been received. The buildings are of brick, stuccoed in imitation of yellow marble; the yards and play-grounds are ample; the location THE NEW YORK ORPHAN ASYLUM. 301 being on high ground, and near the Hudson, is one of the finest on the island. The land purchased for $17,500, with the growth of the city and the laying out of the new Public Drive, has increased in value to at least a.nillion, and the manaoers have recently sold three and a half acres of their grounds for the handsome sum of $300,000. The society has purchased thirty-seven acres of land at Hastings, and contemplates the removal of the Asylum to that place at no very distant day. Orphan children under ten years of age are admitted from any locality; they are clothed, boarded, educated, and trained to habits of industry, the girls in the several departments of the house, and the boys in the garden and yard. None admitted are allowed to depart until they have spent one year in the Institution, and have made some progress in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Children are indentured to married persons, keeping house in the State of New York, regular attendants of Protestant chu.rches, and duly recommended by their pastors. During the first thirty years of its existence the society received 931, and had an annual average of 170 inmates, which were supported at a trifle less than $42 per annum for each child. Its family has at no time since much exceeded two hundred, but the doors of the Asylum have never been closed against a proper applicant. One room is devoted to infant orphan children, who are reared with great carefulness. No death has occurred in the Asylum in three years. The invested funds of the society bringing an income of about $10,Q00, less than half the annual expense of the Institution, while on the one hand a blessing, have nevertheless proved a bar to shut away the donations of the benevolent, leaving the managers to annually struggle with their expenditures. The Superintendent, Mr. Charles S. Pell, is an educated gentleman, formerly principal of Public School No. 8, New York city, and has successfully conducted the affairs of the Asylum for twenty years. 3 —-:_42_COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM. (One Hundred and Forty-third street and Tenth avenue.) This Institution was the first established in the city for the relief of the colored people, who had been for ages crushed under the tyranny of caste, and excluded from nearly every public and private charity. But the period arrived for a change in public sentiment. The emancipation of the colored population in the West Indies was followed by marked results in this country. About 1833 Miss Anna I. Shotwell and Miss Mary Murray boldly took in hand the matter of establishing a Home for colored children. Their earnest and continued appeals to the public secured in small sums at length about two thousand dollars, and in 1836 a board of twenty-two lady managers were elected, with an advisory committee of five gentlemen. A constitution was adopted, and the enterprise fully launched, under the title of the "Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans." But so violent was the prejudice against the colored race, that three long months were spent in a fruitless search for a suitable building. Property-owners could be induced, on no conditions, to lease an empty dwelling for such uses. A small frame cottage was at length purchased on Twelfth street for $9,000, COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM. 303 which the friends of the enterprise furnished with their halfworn furniture, a mortgage of $6,000 remaining for some years on the property. In 1838 the society was duly incorporated by act of Legislature. The building purchased soon proved too small, and after repeated applications to the Common Council, a grant of sixteen city lots on Fifth avenue, between Forty-third and Forty-fourth streets, was made, to which several were subsequently added by purchase, and a suitable edifice erected at an expense of $7,000. IIere the operations of the society were successfully conducted for sixteen years, amid the waning prejudices of the people. But one last great storm gathered and finally broke upon this excellent Institution. The frenzied rioters of July, 1863, burst open its doors, heaped together its light furniture, which was saturated with highly inflammable material, and despite the efforts of a few brave friends to save it, was set on fire, and in twenty minutes the edifice was a smoking ruin. Thirty minutes previous to their entrance the matron had no apprehensions of danger. The Asylum at that time contained 233 children, who under the prudent management of the officers of the Institution, and covered by a special providence, nearly as striking as when the Hebrews were in the furnace, were marched through the midst of this screeching mob to the station-house in Thirty-fifth street, without receiving the slightest harm. Here they remained three days, crowded together to make place for the bleeding, groaning ruffians arrested by the policemen. When order was again restored, the children, under a strong guard, were removed to the almshouse on Blackwell's Island. When the children were marched out of their loved Asylum, so soon to be destroyed, a little girl picked up the large family Bible in the dining-room, from which she had been accustomed to hear read twice each day those lessons of Heavenly wisdom, and putting it under her arm she carried it to the station-house, and thence to Blackwell's Island. The apparel of the children, the clothing and private effects of the officers and teachers, and the records of the society, kept by the same secretary for twenty-seven years, were nearly all destroyed. The managers now wisely resolved to remove the Institution to a more retired locality. Their grounds, with the rapid growth of the city, had now greatly increased in value, which they were enabled to sell for $175,000; and a beautiful plot of ground, at One Iundred and Forty-third street and Tenth ave 304 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. nue, was purchased for $45,000. The children remained in the almshouse, attended by their officers and teachers. receiving such instruction as the circumstances would admit, from July 16, to October 19, 1863, when they were removed to the Fields mansion, now the HIome and School for Soldiers' Children, at Washington Heights. A large bowling-alley was converted into a school-room, and the main edifice extensively repaired. The corner-stone of their new Asylum was laid in August, 1867, and the buildings completed in September, 1868. They are constructed of brick, in the Rhenish order, three stories with basement, with a frontage of two hundred and thirty-four feet, and a depth of one hundred and twenty-five feet, surmounted with three unique, octagonal towers, and have accommodations for over three hundred children. The first floor contains reception-room, parlor, private apartments for officers, infant class-room, and chapel, which is very large and beautiful, used during the wdbk for the general school-room for the larger scholars. Adjoining is a spacious veranda, the favorite resort of the children during brief intermissions. Immediately over the chapel, on the west side of the building, is the principal dormitory for the girls, containing eighty-six tidy single beds. Two other apartments are set apart for the same use for the girls, and two for the boys. The buildings are for the most part fireproof, the stairs being constructed with stone steps, and part of the windows furnished with sheet-iron blinds. The washing, drying, cooking, and pumping are performed with steam, and the edifice heated with the same element. The parlor very appropriately contains the picture of Miss Shotwell, its principal foundress. The fiends who meanly sought the destruction of the Institution had no conceptions of the splendid future certain to dawn upon the enterprise. Driven from an edifice of $7,000, they soon entered one worth $130,000. " The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot." The cosey wood cottage formerly occupied by the owner of the premises still stands, and is occupied as an infirmary. The ample lawvns, yet unadorned by art, are exquisitely beautiful, the architecture faultless in style and proportions, the view from the observatory so rich and extensive that one cannot visit this peerless place, and contemplate its saintly charities, without feeling himself improved and drawn prrptibly nearer to Heaven. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL ORPHAN HIOME AND ASYLUM. 805 The Asylum contains at this writing 282 children, about 1,650 having been received since its opening, June 9, 1837. Children are received between the ages of two and ten years, and are retained until they complete their twelfth year, when they are apprenticed, generally to farmers. Much of the lighter work of the establishment is performed by the older girls, and a number are employed permanently in the sewing-room, and in special service in different parts of the house. The board of children received and again withdrawn by their parents is placed at the moderate rate of seventy-five cents per week. The schools are well conducted, and the usual per capita appropriation from the State educational fund is received. An appropriation of $25,000 was received from the Legislature in 1869, and the sum of $6,570 from the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections. The annual expenses of the Institution exceed $30,000. Service is conducted every Sabbath, generally by a city missionary. The matron, Miss Jane McClellan, has had charge of the Asylum many years, and merits special credit for the tidy and systematic arrangement of all its departments. ORPHAN HOME AND ASYLUM OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN NEW YORK. HIIE society having control of this Institution was or r_'ir ganized in 1851, its affairs being under the direction _ of a board of trustees and managers, composed of ladies representing nearly every Episcopal church in the city of New York. There is, as usual, an advisory committee of gentlemen, to whom in cases of difficulty they appeal. Any member of the Protestant Episcopal church may become an annual member by the payment of three dollars,. or a life member on the payment of fifty dollars at one time.. The object of the Asylum is the care, support, and religious training of orphans and half-orphans. Children are received into the Institution between the ages of three and eight years only, and may be retained, the boys until they are twelve, and. the girls until they are fourteen. Children taken without: charge must be entirely given up to the Institution, otherwise, 306 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. the sum of seventy-five cents per week is charged for their support. The committee on receiving and dismissing children meets every Friday, to whom application may be made; but their by-laws declare that admissions shall be regulated invariably by the amount of funds in hand, or by anticipated receipts that are reasonably certain, so that the finances may never be embarrassed. Children are indentured, or adopted only to married persons keeping house, members and regular attendants of the Protestant Episcopal church, and recommended by their pastor. Girls are not bound in families where there are apprentices, and neither boys nor girls are permitted to go to a tavern, a boarding-house, or where liquors are sold. Children are taken from the Institution on trial for three months, when, if the employer is dissatisfied, he is allowed to choose again, or if the child has just cause of complaint it may be recalled. All indentures expire with the eighteenth year of the child, and none are allowed to go so far from the city that some one of the managers cannot visit them annually. The Asylum stands on Forty-ninth street, between Lexington and Fourth avenues, is two stories high, besides basement and attic, is in the Gothic order, and has accommodations for one hundred and sixty-five children. In 1868 a rear wing, containing an infirmary, was added to the main building, at an expense of $32,000, which contributed greatly to the safety of the children and the convenience of the Home. The Institution has, besides the matron and three female teachers, a nurse and six domestics. The children number, on an average, from one hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty; and the Institution is supported at an annual expense, exclusive of repairs, of about $15,000. Only two deaths have occurred in the Institution during the last four years. A religious school, similar to Sunday schools, is conducted in the Institution every Friday, many young ladies consenting to teach on that day, and one of the pastors in the city devotes some time-to catechising the children. In 1868, the heart of the matron was made glad in receiving the sacrament of the Lord's Supper from one once an orphan boy in the Asylum. It has long been the custom of the managers to meet at the Home every Friday, to cut and make garments for the children. Many friends of the society have gladly attended these meetings, furnishing as they do an opportunity to gratify that yearning desire in every true woman's heart, to minister to the helpless and suffering. PROTFSTANT EPISCOPAL ORPHAN HOME AND ASYLUM. 307 This is the only orphan house of the denomination in the city, and has completed its nineteenth year without receiving anything from the city authorities, and but a small amount from the State. Its permanent fund from legacies is rapidly increasing, and now amounts to forty-four thousand dollars THE SHELTERING ARMS. (Manhattanville.) INSTITUTIONS for the relief of orphans, half-orphans, the aged, sick, and blind, have greatly multiplied in New York during the last fifty years; yet a few observing minds discovered that there still existed a large and helpless class in the community, to whom no door of generous hospitality was open. Each Institution being established for the relief of a single class, always sufficiently numerous to tax it to its utmost, others, equally needy and worthy, were necessarily excluded. The asylum for the blind, and the one for the deaf-mute, received inmates at a certain age, but where were the poor homeless children to spend their earlier years? There were hospitals for sick and crippled children, as long as surgeons pronounced them curable, but incurables could not be admitted. Some institutions received half-orphans, or poor children, free, on condition that they were surrendered to the institution; but many parents, in pressing need of temporary relief, were unwilling to irrevocably surrender their children. The half-orphan asylum could not receive the children of the father deserted by his wife, of the wife abandoned by her husband, nor of parents who were both sick, in the hospital. These considerations led to the founding of the Sheltering Arms, an institution which proposed to extend the arm of relief and defence to multitudes not hitherto provided for. When the enterprise was first sug THE SHELTERING ARMS 309 gested, some regarded it as a useless undertaking, and suggested that it would be difficult to find children not hitherto provided for, while others, more considerate, thought it too vast, if not quite Utopian. The society having been organ ized, the President, Rev. Thos. M. Peters, D.It., generously offered his own house, situated at the corner of One Hundredth street and Broadway, free of rent for ten years, which was opened on the 6th of October, 1864, and forty children, all the building could accommodate, immediately received. The first child received in anticipation of opening the Institution, was a little deserted blind girl of four or five years, and soon after, a helpless crippled boy, unable to gain admittance into any hospital, because incurable, was received, and after seventeen months, flew away to that land where the inhabitants no more say, "I am sick." The operations of the first eighteen months proved two things. First, that their accommodations were inadequate to the demands made upon them; and secondly, that the gener(sity of the public would support a larger family. In 1866, another building was erected by the trustees, at an expense of $10,000; the number of children increased to ninety, and the annual expenses of the Institution from $6,000 to $11,000. But a new difficulty soon confronted them. The Boulevard, in its wide sweep up the island, cut through their grounds, taking nine of their twenty-two lots, leaving the remainder in two pieces, and too small for their use. After examining several pieces of property, the trustees purchased an acre of ground, situated on One Hundred and Twenty-ninth street and Tenth avenue, in what is called Manhattanville. Their plan of building is partly modeled after the rough house of Wichern, near Itamburg, on the Iorn, i.e., to erect cottages, so that the children may be divided into families of equal number; but the great value of ground on Manhattan has compelled them to unite several under one roof, instead of scattering them around the field as at Hamburg. Their new building was completed, and the clildren removed to it on the 5th of February, 1870. It is a two-story brick, with basement and attic, in the Gothic order, with slated French roof, and is composed of five sections. The central portion, rising a little above the rest, it thirty-six by forty-seven feet, and contains office, parlor, kitchen, linen and work rooms, infirmary, and all necessary sleeping apartments for adults. The two wings are each fifty by forty feet; each contains two cottages, with 3 3 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUT10MS. accommodations for thirty children each, affording space for one hundred and twenty in all. Each cottage contains its separate dining-room, play-room, wash-room, and dormitory. An appeal was made for $5,000 donations, the amount necessary to erect a cottage, the name of the donor to be given to the building. Mrs. Peter Cooper generously furnished the sum to erect a cottage for girls; Mr. John D. Wolfe, one for boys; another friend gave the amount for the third, and the Ladies' Association have undertaken to pay for the fourth. The school-house is a separate building. The ground and buildings have thus far cost about $75,000, and the trustees purpose to duplicate these buildings, as soon as their finances will admit, and increase the number of inmates to about three hundred. A small Episcopal church stands in the rear of the Institution on the adjoining street, where the children attend service. The president of the society is an Episcopal clergyman; representatives of other denominations are, however, in its board of management. Children are received without regard to creed or nationality, and the managers acknowledge onations from Jews, Gentiles, and all denominations of Christians. The internal management of the Institution was, from its commencement until the spring of 1870, committed to the Sisterhood of St. Mary, of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Six of them took charge of the four families of children, and found time to write articles for their monthly paper, conduct fairs, collect subscriptions, and attend to sundry other matters. Their habit strikingly resembled that worn by the orders of the Romish faith, and, as they were believed by many to be too closely allied to them in many points of faith and practice, it was considered best by the board of management to remove them from the Institution. Miss Sarah S, Richmond, an estimable lady of piety and culture, has at present the charge of its internal management, and is assisted by hired help. These lady managers are deserving of great credit for the sacrifice and toil bestowed on these homeless children, many of whom are "rough casts of uncultivated humanity," but are soon subdued by gentle treatment and faithful instruction. The Institution has, at this writing, one hundred and twenty-five children, ten of whom are incurable invalids who could gain access to no other institution. Children are received at any age, from infancy to fourteen years, subject to the call of their parents or relatives; but if left to the managers, are retained until farther advanced in THE SHELTERING ARMS. 311 years than in most institutions, that their habits of virtue may be more thoroughly confirmed. In addition to an English education, they are to be taught trades as far as possible. Board is charged of such as are able to pay, but all received from this source has not exceeded one-sixth of the current expenses of the Institution in any year. The State has contributed some small sums to the Institution; but the city authorities, giving unnnmlmbered thousands to others, have not been importuned* by the Sheltering Arms to impose heavy burdens on the public for its support. Their president and managers have taken the wise, Christian, and statesman-like view, that private charitable corporations should be supported by those especially interested, and that public officials should not be invoked to compulsorily draw supplies from those who might disapprove of their principles or practices. All honor to the Sheltering Arms for this most wholesome example, so eminently worthy of imitation. They have wisely sought, by the dissemination of knowledge relating to their work, to develop a charity in their friends, affording abundant supplies not easily affected by the caprices of legislation. The undertaking of the society has thus far proved a magnificent success. * The policy has been somewhat changed since writing the above -- ROMAX CATIIOLIC ORPHAN ASYLUM, BOYS' BUILDINGS, FIFTH AVENUE. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ORPHAN ASYLUM. (Corner Mott and Prince streets.) In April, 1817, the " Roman Catholic Benevolent Society" was incorporated by act of Legislature, the Right Rev. Bishop Connolly being its first president. The Institution for several years consisted of poor wooden structures located at wlat is now Prince street, but was at that time far out of the city. The present edifice, at the corner of Mott and Prince streets, stands on the original site, and was erected in 1825. It is a large four-story brick, with accommodations for three hundred and fifty children It now stands in the midst of a dense population, and is occupied by about two hundred of the larger girls, who are employed in needle and laundry work, and other industrial pursuits. These are adopted or indentured at from fourteen to seventeen years of. age. A few, regarded as more than ordinarily brilliant, are sent to the academy in Forty-second street, where they pass gratuitously through a three years' course of instruction. The Asylum has been from the first under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, who superintend the studies of the children, instruct the girls in the THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ORPHAN ASYLUM. 313 various industrial arts, and attend to all the interests of the household. In 1846, the Asylum being inadequate to the demands, the society obtained from the Common Council, for one dollar a year, a grant of 450 feet of the west end of the block lying between Fifty-first and Fifty-second streets, fronting on Fifth avenue. Upon this site was completed in November, 1851, a beautiful four-story brick edifice, since known as the boys' buildings. The building consists of a central portion sixty feet by thirty, with front and rear enclosed balconies, fifteen feet wide on each story, and of two wings of the same height. In the rear of the northern wing is a building fifty by twenty-five feet, used for kitchen, la.undry, etc. The ceilings are high, the entire building well ventilated and warmed, and well arranged with class-rooms, dormitories, chapel, etc. In the rear is a large play-ground, while the grounds in front are richly cultivated, and profusely set with choice shrubbery and flowers. In 1857, the authorities granted the remaining portion of the same block of ground, extending to Fourth avenue, for additional buildings. Madison avenue, having since been extended, forms at present its western boundary. A plan was now formed for the erection of one of the largest. and finest orphan houses in the country, for the reception and training of the smaller girls. The northern wing, two hunldred feet in length and five stories high, was begun in 1866, and sufficiently completed for the reception of the children on the 23d of August, 1868. The basement contains the kitchen, laundry, heating appliances for the whole establishment, etc. The cooking, washing, and heating are performed with steam. The first floor contains a dining-room of immense capacity. All the additional stories of this wing are to be devoted to dormitories. after the other portions are completed. These floors afford ample space for one hundred and fifty single beds each, and even more could be introduced. The high price of building materials at the time of its erection, and the purchase of the needed machinery, swelled the cost of this first section of the enterprise to nearly $150,000. In March, 1869, the main edifice fronting on Madison avenue was begun, and completed in the space of a year. This contains the parlors, school-rooms, the private apartments, and was completed at a less expense than the preceding. Another immense wing, the counterpart of the one first erected, is soon to follow, which will contain the chapel, infirmary, and vari 314 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. ous needed accommodations. The buildings are all five stories above the basement, constructed with excellent taste, of pressed brick and freestone; in the Gothic order, with French roof, and will afford accommodation for one thousand children. This establishment, both for its colossal proportions and the beauty of its architecture, greatly exceeds the two preceding, which had previously been considered large and model asylums. About three hundred of the smaller girls, composed of orplans and lialf-orphans, are here domiciled at this writing. A regular English course of study is taught on five days of the week, a portion of Saturday and the Sabbath being devoted to the Roman catechism, and other exercises of religion. The last Legislature contributed $10,000 of the people' money to this Institution. NEW YORK ASYLUM FOR LYING-IN WOMEN. (No. 83 Marion street.) The condition of many virtuous and worthy women, left homeless and friendless, in the most critical period of their history, led several humane physicians and a number of excellent women, in 1822, to organize a society for the purpose of establishing a lying-in asylum. Then, as now, desertion from intemperance, destitution arising from long sickness, the unkindness of some husbands, or the loss of a partner by death, made such an asylum necessary. A ward had been devoted to these patients for twenty years in the New York Hospital, but a more private asylum was considered desirable. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature March 19, 1827. The business of the society is conducted by a board of thirty-three female managers, annually elected by the society, which is composed of such females as contribute the sum of $3 per annum toward the support of the Institution. The work of the society began in some rooms il Orange street, leased for $275 per annum, where it continued eight years. The sixth annual meeting of the 19 316 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. organization was held in the lecture-room of the Brick Church, on the 12th of March, 1829, and the report was read by Dr. James 0. Bliss. In this he stated that thirty-four patients had been received during the year, that their accommodations were entirely inadequate to meet the wants of the class they were seeking to benefit, and recommended the plan of building a suitable asylum. Rev. Dr. Macauly and Dr. Cock followed with addresses, in which they approved of the plan of erecting a new building. A subscription paper was immediately prepared, and the sum of $550 subscribed during the day. Three lots were purchased far out of the city, and in 1830 the Asylum now standing at No. 85 Marion street was erected. The three lots cost $2,750; and the building, which is a substantial three-story brick, forty-five by sixty feet, capable of accommodating fifty patients, $8,707. Tie Asylum has been supported by private subscriptions, with small exceptions. In presenting their sixth report, in March, 1829, the managers gratefully acknowledged the reception of $200 from the corporation, which is a singular paragraph to read in these days, when millions are donated to similar charities. To remove a debt, at a later period, $1,500 were granted, and during the half century of its operations about $7,000 have been received from the city, and nothing from the State. The hospitalities of the Asylum are given without charge to virtuous, indigent women only, evidence of bonafide marriage being invariably required. The Institution was established when foundling hospitals were not appreciated in this country, and when man believed such institutions calculated to encourage vice. It has been the opinion of the managers that to throw the Institution open to all who should claim its assistance would unavoidably very soon confine its operations to the vicious alone, as virtuous married women would not become the associates and fellow-pensioners of the degraded and abandoned. Hence, to make the charity of value to the most worthy class, for which it was chiefly undertaken, none but the virtuous could be received. But in declining to receive those considered improper subjects, they did not abandon them to absolute destitution, for about the year 1830 a system of out-door charity was established. The city was divided into nineteen districts, and a physician appointed to each, who visited gratuitously by day and night all persons not admitted into the Institution, whenever application was made at the office -NT~'"'"~"~' { BI'{'' }l'l~'"'::~'~.'~.'ROTESTANT HA&LF 01.P11.A.N Ay.FSr T.M NEW YORK MAGDALEN BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 317 in the basement of the Asylum. This arrangement, with some modification, still continues. Since the opening of the Asylum, 3,600 inmates have been received, and over 12,000 out-door patients have been attended by the district physicians. The number of applicants is not as large as in former years, 85 only being admitted during the last twelve months. The Institution is the most purely charitable of any on the island, as no board or other fee is required; yet, situated in a retired nook at the head of Marion street, though one of the oldest, it is really the least known of any in the city. The managers, unwilling to be entirely supplanted by other institutions, are now considering the propriety of removing the Asylum to a better locality. The matron, Mrs. Hope, has taken charge of the Asylum over fifteen years, and proved herself an intelligent and conscientious Superintendent. The Asylum has furnished hundreds of wet nurses to families in need of them, and situations to hundreds of others, who would otherwise have gone back to abodes of destitution, if not to ruin. Mrs. Mayor Hall is one of the active managers of the Institution. NEW YORK MAGDALEN BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. (Ftfth avenue and Eighty-eighth street.) N the year 1828, several Christian ladies, representing -1/) different religious denominations, established a Sunday schoolin the female penitentiary at Bellevue among those committed for variouscrimes, and others who, required medical treatment. Interesting facts resulting from these efforts were communicated to the public, and such an interest awakened in the community that on the first day of January, 1830, the New York Magdalen Society was organized. Two years later the society was for some cause disbanded. The interest awakened, however, did not decline, for on the. extinction of the old organization three new ones sprang up, one in Laight, one in Spring, and one in the Carmine Street Churches. About the same time a society of gentlemen was organized, called the "Benevolent Society of the City of New York." In January, 1833, these societies were all again dis 318 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. banded, and the " New York Female Benevolent Society" was organized, its officers and members being largely composed of persons who had given inspiration to the earlier organizations. Subsequently the term "Female" was stricken out, and " Magdalen" inserted. The object of the society is the promotion of moral purity, by affording an asylum to erring females, who manifest a desire to return to the paths of virtue, and by procuring employment for their future support. This society issued its first report in January, 1834, and among its list of members stands the name of Mrs. Thomas Hastings, whose life has been largely devoted to the success of this enterprise, and who, in this, the thirty-ninth year of its operation, is its first directress. The present society began its benevolent work in a hired upper floor in Carmine street, near Bleecker. The inmates did not exceed ten in number at any time previous to 1836. The society early arranged for the permanent establishment of the Institution, and a plot of ground, containing twelve city lots and an old frame building, was purchased at Eighty-eighth street and Fifth avenue, for the sum of $4,000. This location thirty years ago was far removed from the city, but is now becoming a very attractive part of it, and its streets will soon be lined with costly palaces. After occupying the old wooden building nearly twenty years, the enterprising managers (all ladies) resolved to erect a new building, though at that meeting there was not a dollar in the treasury to defray the expenditures of such an undertaking. Trusting in the overruling providence of Him who had hitherto directed their efforts, they arranged their plan, and erected a fine three-story brick edifice, the means being provided from time to time by the generous public, to which they have never appealed in vain. Additions have since been made, and the buildings, which can now accommodate nearly a hundred inmates, have cost over thirty thousand dollars. Property has so appreciated in this locality that the Asylum and its six remaining lots are valued at near $100,000.. The yard fronting on Eighty-eighth street has a high brick wall, the other parts of the ground being enclosed with a strong board fence. The first floor of the Asylum contains rooms for the matron and assistant matron, a parlor, a large work-room, and a neat chapel, with an organ and seating for a hundred persons. The two upper stories contain the sleeping apartments. The girls are not locked in their own private apartments, as in the Steenbeck Asylum of Pastor Heldring, in NEW YORK MAGDALEN BENEVOLENT SOCIETY. 319 Holland; but the door leading from each floor is locked every night, and it would perhaps be an advantage if noisy and mischievous ones were always compelled to spend the night in their own apartments. Girls are taken at from ten to thirty years of age, and remain a longer or shorter period, according to circumstances. None are detained against their will, unless consigned to the Asylum by their parents or the magistrates. A Bible-reader visits the Tombs and other prisons, and encourages young women who express a desire to reform to enter the Xsylum. Most of them have been ruined by intemperance, or want of early culture. The most hopeless among fallen women are those who have lived as mistresses. Many of these have spent years in idleness, affluence, and fashion, holding for their own convenience the threat of exposure over the heads of their guilty paramours, and have thus developed all the worst traits of fallen humanity. Not a few of these have been thoroughly restored to a virtuous life by this society. Industry is one of the first lessons of the Asylum, without which there can be no abiding reformation. A pure literature is afforded, with the assistance of an instructor, for those whose education has been neglected. When the inmate gives evidence that true womanhood is really returning, a situation is procured for her in a Christian family in the city or country, the managers greatly preferring the latter. The chaplain, Rev. Charles C. Darling, has been connected with the Institution over thirty years, and has rejoiced over the hopeful conversion of many of its inmates. Every Sabbath morning the family assembles for preaching, a Bible class is conducted by the chaplain in the afternoon, and again on Thursday afternoon, unless there is unusual religious interest among the inmates, when the service is devoted to preaching, exhortation, and prayer. The inmates often weep convulsively under the appeals of truth; a score at times rise or kneel for prayer, at a single service. With some, it is deep and lasting, but with others it passes away like the morning cloud. At times, they hold prayer-meetings among themselves, with good results, and on other occasions their assemblies are broken up with bickerings and contentions. Many of them are talented and well favored, formed for more than an ordinary sphere in human life. They have recently formed themselves into a benevolent society, designated "The Willing Hearts," and have sent several remittances of clothing to a devoted missionary in Michigan. The 320 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. matron, Mrs. Ireland, an esteemed Christian lady, has presided for years with great skill over the Institution. This is thfe pioneer asylum of its kind in New York; the numerous similar societies now in operation have grown up through its example, and many of their managers were once associated with the Magdalen Society. The society has nobly breasted the tide of early prejudice, and conquered it. It has met with discouragements, as might have been expected, in every phase of its history, yet these have been of the kind that add momentum to the general movement, and make success the more triumphant. The statistics presented at its thirty-eighth anniversary are more than ordinarily interesting. During the last year, 188 had been in the Institution, with an average family of nearly fifty. It was also stated that during the last thirty-five years 2,000 inmates had been registered, 600 of whom had been placed in private families, 400 returned to relatives, 400 had left the Asylum at their own request, 300, weary of restraint, had left without permission, 100 had been expelled, 300 had been temporarily transferred to the hospitals, 24 had been known to unite witl evangelical churches, 20 had been legally married, and 41 had died. More than six thousand religious services had been held. But figures cannot express the amount of good done. Every fallen woman, while at large, is a firebrand inflaming others; an enemy sowing tares in the great field of the world. Her recovery is, therefore, not only a source of good to herself but of prevention to others. The Asylum is maintained at an expense of about eight thousand dollars per annum. A permanent fund is being raised for the support of the chaplaincy. The Legislatture recently donated $3,000 to the society. SOIETY FOR THE RELIEF OF HALF-OPHANS. 321 SOCIETY FOR THE RELIEF OF HALF-ORPHANS AND DESTITUTE. CHILDREN. (No. 67 West Tenth street.) RPHAN children have always been considered suitable objects of compassion and aid; hence, asylums for their protection and instruction have throughout modern times been favorite establishments of the benevolent. In many cases the condition of the half-orphan is quite as pitiable as the orphan, and has an equal claim on our charity. Its mother may have been left in great destitution or debility, or the father, the only surviving parent, may be insane or crippled. Many children whose parents are still living, but dissipated and reckless, are as badly off as either class before mentioned. No institution in New York opened its doors for the reception of half-orphans until January 14, 1836. An affecting circumstance led to the founding of this charity. A young widow of Protestant sentiments, unable to take her two children with'her to her place of service, consigned them to a Roman Catholic asylum, and for a time paid all her earnings for their board. Unwilling to have them trained in a Romish institution, and unable to provide for herself and them in the city, she took them from the asylum and went into the country. The lady with whom she had lived was Mrs. William A. Tomlinson, and the courageous departure of her excellent servant, from whom she never afterwards heard, produced a deep and salutary impression on her thoughtful and pious mind. The relation of the story to several benevolent ladies excited sympathy, and on the 16th of December, 1835, seven of thein assembled to mature a plan for organizing a society. On the same night the most disastrous fire ever known in the city occurred. The First Ward, east of Broadway and about Wall street, was almost entirely destroyed. The Merchants' Ehanange and six hundred and forty-eight of the most valuable stores in the city, and considerable church property, were consumed, inflicting a loss upon the community, besides the suspension of business, of $18,000,000. The society faltered amid these forbidding surroundings, but soon rallied, collected a little money, and began its operations. On the fourteenth day of January, 1836, a 322 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. basement having been hired in Whitehall street, the directors threw open their door, and announced themselves ready to admit twenty children, and four were at once received. The conditions of acceptance were these: 1. The death of one parent. 2. Freedom from contagious disease. 3. A promise from the parent to pay fifty cents per week for board, unless satisfactory reasons were given why it should not be required. 4. No child received under four nor over ten years of age. The apartments being wholly unsuited, a house in Twelfth street was taken and the children removed to it in May, 1836, and at the end of the first year 74 had been received. The entire expense of the first year, including rent, furniture, salaries, medicine, one funeral, and all otheriousehold requisites, amounted to $2,759.06. At the close of the second year 114 had been received. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 27, 1837, vesting the corporate-powers of the society in a self perpetuating board of nine male trustees, who were empowered to receive bequests, and hold property to any amount, the annual income of which should not exceed fifty dollars for every child received; and the appropriation of the income and the internal and domestic management of the Institution were committed to a board of female managers, consisting of a first and a second directress, a secretary, a treasurer, and twenty-six others, residing at the time of their election in the city of New York. The board is also vested with power to bind out, to proper persons, children who have been surrendered to the Institution, and all those not known to have friends in the State legally authorized to make such surrender. The children are not kept after they reach their fourteenth year, all being either returned to their parents or sent out to service. Their food is simple, abundant, and nutritious, and though smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping-cough, and all the other diseases common to children, have occasionally crept into the Institution, but very few have died. Many of them have been vulgar and intractable at their entrance, but have soon yielded to wholesome discipline and example. In May, 1837, the family was removed to the Nicholson I-louse, then No. 3 West Tenth street, which had been purchased by one of the trustees, and was sold to the society the following year. This building furnished accommodations for one hundred and twenty children, and was soon filled. During the summer of 1840 a house was rented in Morristown, New SOCIETY FOR THE RELIEF OF HATLF-ORPHANS. 323 Jersey, and 47 of the children taken there to spend the hot season. In 1840, the society, having received several liberal donations, purchased some valuable lots on Sixth avenue, where a three-story brick edifice sixty-four feet wide was erected, the cost of all but a little exceeding $20,000. In May, 1841, the children were removed to it, and the number again much increased, some of the younger ones remaining in a part of the wood building on Tenth street, called at that time "the Nursery." This new building on Sixth avenue was occupied for sixteen years, though never equal to the demands, and after much discussion about removing the Institution out of the city, and other schemes for enlargement, more lots were finally secured adjoining those on Tenth street, the present building erected, and the children removed to it amid the financial panic in the fall of 1857. The edifice is substantially constructed of brick trimmed with brown stone, is four stories above the basement, has a front of ninety-five feet, and cost, exclusive of grounds, over $37,000. The basement contains, besides wash-room and laundry, a fine playroom; the first floor, a kitchen, dining-room, parlor, and rooms for the matron. The second floor is devoted to school-rooms, the third contains dormitories for the girls, and the fourth the dormitories for boys, and an infirmary. The society has discharged all its indebtedness, converted its buildings on Sixth avenue into stores which bring a fine income, and now ranks among the most successful and best-established institutions of New York. Since its organization, three thousand and thirty-three halforphan children have been admitted to share its advantages, between two hundred and three hundred being the average number for several years past. All are instructed in the rudiments of English learning, under the inspection of the Board of Education, and the usual percentage of the school fund and the State orphan fund are paid to the Institution. Public prayers are offered with the children every morning and evening; a fine Sabbath-school is conducted in the building, and all attend church. Early rising, industrious habits, great cleanliness, intellectual, moral, and religious instruction, are the chief characteristics of the Asylum. The Institution is Protestant, but not denominational. Mrs. Tomlinson, its chief foundress and promoter, continued its first director for twentyseven years, and died in 1862. During the year 1869 the only remaining one of the seven who first organized the soci 324 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. ety, Mrs. James Boorman, was also called to her reward. In May, 1870, Miss Mary Brasher, who had held a place of usefulness in the board for more than twenty years, was also discharged by the great Master. The toils of these worthy ladies have sometimes appeared thankless. They have ever sought to strengthen the bond between the parent and the child, by insisting on a small payment for weekly board whenever possible, and thus have wisely prevented many parents from drowning their natural affection in idleness and dissipation. Yet their good works have not saved them from being occasionally covered with abuse by the dissolute and ungrateful. Numbers of the children, however, haie given evidence of genuine conversion while in the Institution, and many more after having gone to live in Christian families in the country. Some who had not been heard from for years, when converted, have taken the earliest opportunity to write to the managers, breathing grateful emotion for those who had picked them from haunts of penury or dissipation, planted in their tender minds the seeds of truth, which were now developing into a holy life. Surely, He that went about doing good, andwho took children in His arms, and blessed them, will not be unmindful of these toils, but in the day of final reckoning will say, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me." LEAKE AND WATTS ORPHAN HOUSE. (West One Hundred d a Tenth street.) Many years ago, two young men were engaged in the study of law in the office of Judge James Duane, one of the early celebrities of the New York bar. Their ambitious and thorough bearing gave promise of more than ordinary success, to which they both ultimately attained. One was known as John George Leake, the other as John Watts. Mr. Leake inherited a considerable estate from his father, and a long career as a legal adviser and a prudent business man, brought him at last to the possession of great wealth. He had no children; and, after making a fruitless search through England and Scotland for some remaining kindred, he experienced the unenviable sadness of knowing that he was the last of his race; that, among all the scattered millions of earth, not one existed who was bound to him by ties of consanguinity. His later years were passed in comparative retirement in his own house at No. 32 Park row, visited and known only by several acquaintances of his earlier years, among whom was Mr. John Watts. Mr. Leake desired to perpetuate his family name in New York, and after his death, which occurred June 2d, 1827, 326 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. his will disclosed the fact that he had selected Robert Watts, the second son of his old friend, to inherit his estate, on condition that he and his descendants should take and forever bear the surname of Leake; but, in case of his refusal to accept it on these conditions, or of his decease during his minority without lawful issue,then the entire estate was to be devoted to an orphan house, of which he furnished the design, and appointed the seven ex-oqffcio trustees. The last will and testament of Mr. Leake was found among his papers in his own handwriting, finely executed, with his full name at its commencement, but, unfortunately, he had neglected to add his signature at its close, and to secure the proper witnesses. He named four executors, only two of whom, however, Hermon LeRoy, and his old friend, John Watts, survived him. The surrogate of the county refused to admit the will to probate, on account of its imperfect execution, and a long and expensive litigation ensued. The authorities of New York claimed that Mr. Leake died intestate, and that his property fell to the city; but after a series of ably contested suits, in which thirty thousand dollars of his savings were squandered, the highest judicatory decreed that the instrument was a valid testamentary document so far as his personal property was concerned, but that the landed estate, valued at seventy or eighty thousand dollars, escheated to the State. Up to the period of this final decision, which occurred about the close of 1829, it was not known whether or not Robert would comply with the conditions, and receive the estate, which still amounted to about four hundred thousand dollars. He had waited quietly for the close of the litigation, and then decided to accept it. Application was made to the Legislature for the enabling act, but ere its passage he died suddenly, to the great disappointment of his friends, leaving all his possessions to his father. Mr. John Watts, who was also very wealthy, being niow far advanced in years, and having no surviving sons, took a most sensible view of the situation, and immediately proceeded to carry out the design of his departed friend, namely, to establish the Orphan House. On the 7th of March, 1831, an act passed the Legislatpre incorporating the Leake and Watts Orphan House in the city of New York. The testator wisely directed that the Orphan House should be erected from the income of the estate, so as to preserve the capital for a permanent endowment; consequently, the structure was hot LEAKE AND WATTS ORPHAN HOUSE. 327 commenced for several years. A plot of twenty acres of ground was selected at Bloomingdale, One Hundred and Tenth street, and on the 28th of April, 1838, the corner-stone of the building was laid in the presence of a large audience, several distinguished clergymen of New York taking part in the exercises. The edifice, completed November 1843, consists of a large central building and two wings; the front entrance is reached by a broad flight of sixteen granite steps, while the porticos, front and rear, are supported by six immense Ionic columns. The basement is of granite, the three succeeding stories of brick, well appropriated to schoolrooms, dormitories, play-rooms, and all other needed apartments, capable of accommodating three hundred children, though the income from the endowment is not sufficient for so large a family. The eastern wing is devoted to the boys, the western to the girls; each story is provided with a wide veranda, skirted with a high, massive balustrade, and furnished with an outside stairway, affording excellent facilities for escape in case of fire. A one-story building in the rear, connected with the main building by a covered passage-way, has recently been added, and is used as the kitchen and dining-room. The schools are well conducted. The children are all dressed alike; are well taught in the principles of Protestant Christianity, and appear healthy and happy. Since the opening of the Institution, about one thousand orphan children have here found a happy home, the average number at present being about one hundred and twenty, and are supported at an annual expense of about $26,000. The cost per child has more than doubled during the last fifteen years. The original cost of the land and buildings was about $80,000, which has so wonderfully increased in value that the trustees have recently sold four acres for $130,000. The excellent Superintendent, Mr. W. I. Guest, has spent his whole life in public institutions. He was twenty years connected with the nursery department of our city charities, and has now closed his sixteenth year in the Orphan House. NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUM. (One Hundred and Seventy-sixth street.) Every great city contains a large floating population, whose indolence, prodigality, and intemperance are proverbial, culminating in great domestic and social evil. From these discordant circles spring an army of neglected or ill-trained children, devoted to vagrancy and crime, who early find their way into the almshouse or the prison, and continue a life-long burden upon the community. It becomes the duty of the guardians of the public weal to search out methods for the relief of society from these intolerable burdens, and the recovery of the wayward as far as possible. That a necessity existed for the establishment of this Institution, appears from the fact that two companies of distinguished philanthropists, in ignorance of each other, arose in the autumn of 1849, to inaugurate some movement for the suppression of juvenile crime. Each company applying to the Mayor, they were happily united, and after careful discussion, and repeated appeals to the Legislature, the New York Juvenile Asylum was incorporated June 30, 1851, with twenty-four managers, the Mayor, the Presidents of the NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUM. 329 Board of Aldermen and Assistants, and some other officials, being ex-officio members of its board. After the failure of their first application to the Legislature for a charter, in 1850, a number of Christian ladies formed an association, and opened an " Asylum for Friendless Boys," in a hired building, No. 109 Bank street. They entered this inviting field with considerable enthusiasm, and toiled with marked success until the chartering of the society, when they voluntarily transferred their charge, consisting of fifty-seven boys, to the managers of the new Institution. The charter made it obligatory upon the board that the sum of $50,000 should be obtained from voluntary subscriptions, before it should be entitled to ask from the city authorities for a similar sum, or to call upon them to support its pupils. The board was permanently organized November 14, 1851, and so vigorous were the exertions of its members, that, by the following October, the required $50,000 were pledged, and an appeal to the supervisors was responded to one month later with a similar snim, thus securing $100,000 for a permanent location and buildings. After taking possession of the building in Bank street, a House of Reception was, at the beginning of 1853, opened on the same premises, and soon after a building at the foot of Fifty-fifth street, East river, was leased, to be occupied temporarily as an Asylum. During the year 626 children were received, and during 1854 no less than 1,051 were admitted, making a permanent family of two hundred. The buildings being uncomfortably crowded and illy adjusted for such an enterprise, the Institution seriously suffered in all its branches. After much difficulty the board selected and purchased twenty-five acres of rocky land at One Hundred and Seventy-sixth street, near the IIigh Bridge, where very commodious buildings were erected of stone quarried from the premises, and made ready for occupation in April, 1856, with accommodation for five hundred children. The buildings have been several times enlarged, and now consist of a central five-story, skirted by two vast wings of four stories each, supplemented with rear extensions, and appropriate outbuildings for shops, play, etc. A three-story brick, one hundred and eight by forty-two feet, has just been erected to supply some needed class-rooms, a better gymnasium, a swimming bath, and the appropriate industrial departments. The cost of these buildings has exceeded $140,000. They stand on a lofty eminence, two points 20 330 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. only on the island being higher, surrounded with cultivated gardens, finely-arranged gravel walks and carriage-ways, and with play-grounds covered with asphaltum, and shaded with trees of rare growth. A large platform, with seats, has been erected on the central roof of the main Asylum, affording visitors an extended view of the enchanting scenery of Fort Washington and the High Bridge. The location in summer is one of the choicest in the world, though somewhat bleak in winter. The children who come under the care of the society are between the ages of five and fourteen, and may for the sake of brevity be divided into two general classes. First, the truant and disobedient; secondly, the friendless and neglected. The first are either voluntarily surrendered by their parents for discipline, or committed by the magistrates for reformation. The second class found in a state of friendlessness and want, or of abandonment, or vagrancy, may be committed by the mayor, recorder, any alderman or magistrate of the city. The charter requires that, when such commitment shall have been made, a notice shall be forthwith served on the parent, if any can be found, and that the child shall be retained twenty days at the House of Reception, during which period, if satisfactory assurances or securities for the training of the child be given, the magistrate may revoke the commitment; but if not, it becomes the ward of the managers of the Asylum, who may indenture the same at discretion to a suitable person. The House of Reception, No. 61 West Sixteenth street, is a broad, well-arranged, four-story brick edifice, with iron stairways, first occupied in 1859, and cost, including ground, $40,000. It accommodates comfortably one hundred and thirty children, and is always filled, as most remain here four or five weeks before they are sent to the Asylum. The first great lesson inculcated after admission is cleanliness, without which there cannot be self-respect, laudable ambition, or godliness. The child is stripped of its filthy garments, taken by a kind woman to a vast bathing tub, supplied with jets of hot and cold water, and thoroughly scrubbed, after whiI. it is clothed with a new clean suit, retained alone until pronounced by the physician free from infectious disease, after which it is assigned to its appropriate class, and enters upon the study and discipline of the Institution. Bathing is NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUMIJ 331 continued regularly twice a week during the year, ample facilities being provided in both Houses. The schools, long under the able Principalship of James S. Appley, Esq., are conducted by graduates selected for their skill in discipline, and the children make rapid progress in study while they remain in the Institution. The libraries of the Asylum contain nearly two thousand volumes. Fifty of the boys are at present instructed and employed in the tailor shop; thirty in the shoe shop, fifteen at a time; others toil in the gardens, supplying all the vegetables for the family; while others are made useful in cleaning halls, washing vegetables, sweeping yards, making the beds in the dormitories, etc. Hours are set apart for family and public religious instruction and worship, for lectures, instruction in music, temperance meetings, and other opportunities of culture. The children retire at a quarter before eight in summer, and at seven in winter, and are required to rise with the sun or before it. Nine or ten hours are thus given for uninterrupted sleep. The managers secured for a number of years for their Superintendent the services of Dr. S. D. Brooks, an educated physician and a gentleman of fine administrative talent, coupled with a long experience in training truant children. He has recently connected himself with the " New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb," and his place in the Asylum has been filled by Mr. E. M. Carpenter, late of the House of Refuge, at Rochester, New York, another gentleman of large and successful experience. The sanitary interests of the Asylum have been so well conducted that of the fifteen thousand three hundred and thirtysix children admitted since its opening in January, 1853, only sixty-three have died, and during 1864-65 but one death occurred. The correctives applied are mainly moral, the rod being very rarely employed; but the hundreds of unruly boys received annually make more and more necessary the erection of a high enclosure around the premises. The building was long poorly supplied with water from wells, and the danger of ire was a source of deep and constant anxiety, but the construction of the high-service reservoir has at last obviated this difficulty. A steam pump has recently been connected with the general heating apparatus, capable of throwing two hundred gallons of water per minute to any part of the buildings, with well-arranged iron pipe and hose for the speedy ex 332 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. tinction of fire. The plan of the Institution is the early return of the children to their parents, or their indenture to responsible families in the country; hence few remain over six months. The State of Illinois, the garden of the West, was early selected as the place for the deportation and indenturing of the children, and over three thousand have been placed in these Western homes. A House of Reception, under charge of a resident agent, has been established at Chicago. This agent regularly visits the children and corresponds with the families in which they live, taking care that justice is done to all concerned. Children are not indentured without the consent of their parents, except in extreme cases. They are often placed in large numbers in a township or county, and thus allowed to continue their early acquaintance, and rival each other in attainments and worth. Clergymen and other persons of character are requested to instruct and otherwise care for them after their indenture, and very few have turned out badly. More than $250,000 have been contributed by private parties toward the support of this Institution since its establishment, its chief revenue being derived from the city government. It is admirably conducted, and ranks among the best institutions of the age. THE HOUSE OF MERCY. (Eighty-sixth street, North river.) Woman has in all time borne a conspicuous part in works of benevolence and reformation. There is an intensity in the female nature which generally develops into positive traits of character, either for good or for evil. She loves or hates with all her heart, and can hardly occupy a middle ground. The instincts of a good and true woman are easily aroused by the cries of the wretched and helpless, and her entire nature is at once thrown into efforts for their relief. In the quickness of her perceptions, in the depth and constancy of her sympathy and affection, as well as in the sublimity of her faith, she has often excelled her more hardy companion. But alas! an angel corrupted becomes a devil, and a woman abandoned to treachery and lust becomes a mournful wreck, of all others the most difficult to recover. Nature thus abused seeks to avenge itself of the outrage, by sadly inverting all her high-wrought faculties, degrading to the deepest infamy all that was formed for sublimity and purity. Only woman can intimately superintend the recovery of her own 334 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. fallen sex, and the age has produced not a few who have successfully toiled in this dark and forbidding field. The Iouse of Mercy was founded in 1854, through the untiring exertions of Mrs. S. A. Richmond, wife of the late Rev. William Richmond, formerly rector of St. Michael's Church, New York. The act of incorporation was passed February 2d, 1855. The efforts of the society for several years were on a limited scale, and conducted in private houses hired or gratuitously furnished by the friends of the enterprise. The zeal and efforts of Mrs. Richmond, who was a Christian lady of rare endowments and great address, during the infancy of the movement are infinitely above all praise. She not only sought with the most careful training the reformation of the fallen in the Institution, but shrank from no other toil or exposure. For several years she so successfully plead the cause of the society at the markets, in the streets, and before the counters of the merchants, that the supplies of the Iouse were never exhausted. When her failing health compelled her to resign the superintendency in the Institution, she still conducted the branch office at No. 304 Mulberry street, receiving and sending to Eighty-sixth street the women who desired to reform. he was succeeded in the management of the Institution by several members of the sisterhood of St. Mary, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who had spent some time at St. Luke's. At first only the internal government was committed to them, but for several years past the financial department, in connection with the trustees, has been in their charge also, leaving the committee of ladies to whom this was at first assigned as merely representatives from their respective churches. The sisters have succeeded with much satisfaction both to themselves and others. The younger class of fallen women are taken, a large part of them being between twelve and twenty years of age. They are not compelled to remain against their will, and if very refractory are sent away. Deep-rooted virtue is with them a plant of slow growth, hence a period of exclusion from ordinary society for one or two years is considered essential to their thorough reformation. Many return to their friends, after spending a few weeks or months in the Institution; some depart at the request of the sisters, or without it; others remain long, and then go to service in good families, or enter upon the responsible duties of the conjugal state. Quite a large number of the inmates have been confirmed as members of AIR i. ~ nE ERW RHN sLX 7..i; =m sI.:s, ~n ~!l _:7 I _ en _,=I F ORHA ANLMOFSTIN&T D AL.(e ta-e M47. THE HOUSE OF MEROY. 335 the church by the bishop at his annual visit to the Institution, a few of whom have failed in the performance of their religious obligations, but many of them have nobly persevered. The Institution is mainly supported and entirely controlled by the Protestant Episcopal church, one of her clergymen officiating as chaplain. On the 16th of June, 1859, ten lots of ground, containing a large country mansion, were purchased at a cost of about $12,000. The property is situated between Eighty-fifth and Eighty-sixth streets, near the Iludson river. Six lots have since been added. Several successful fairs have been held, and a number of State and city donations received, the largest of which was granted by the Legislature of 1867, amounting to $25.,000. The earnings of the inmates have thus far been small, and the society depends upon its annual subscribers and the gifts of the benevolent for the support of the House. When the mansion was purchased it was said to be able to accommodate one hundred inmates besides the ladies in charge, but like too many other estimates it fell short just one half. It has never afforded the space or arrangement for suitably classifying and dividing its forty-five or fifty inmates, a matter of vital importance in such an institution. For several years the society sought for means to enlarge their buildings. The State grant of 1867, supplemented by liberal subscriptions from the friends of the enterprise, enabled them in 1869 to carry forward this much-desired project. The corner-stone of the new building was laid by Bishop Potter of New York on the 16th of October, 1869, in the presence of Bishops Southgate, Lay, Quintard, and a large number of clergymen and friends of the Institution from the city. An interesting address, containing valuable reminiscences of the past, was delivered by Rev. Dr. Peters. The building occupies a beautiful site, almost overhanging the Hudson, fronting on Eighty-sixth street, and at a pleasant remove from the new Boulevard. It is built of sandstone and red brick, relieved with dressings of Ohio stone. On entering the principal door, access is had to a spacious hall; openiLg out of this are offices, and beyond a broad staircase of iron ascending to the upper stories. On the floor above is a corridor, ninety feet in length, lighted by windows taken from the old oratory, thus connecting the old building with the chapel, dining-hall, and school-rooms. The chapel is fifty feet 336 NEW I ORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. in length, terminating at the eastern end in a circular apse; the altar and reredos are of carved stone, supported by pillars of polished marble, the sanctuary being laid with encaustic tile. At the west end, on either side of the door, are apartments for the Sisters, and above these, behind an open arcade, are two concealed galleries, one for visitors and the other for the sick. In the second story are placed the infirmary, a Sister's room, bath-room, and a mortuary; over these a dormitory, divided into little rooms by low wainscot partitions and curtained doors. A slender bell-turret surmounts the roof, rising to the height of eighty-eight feet. The basement contains laundry, kitchen, pantries, and store-room. The stained glass for the windows was imported from England. The edifice cost $30,000, and the sixteen lots, with their buildings, are now valued at $100,000, and are free from debt. The number of inmates is now to be increased from forty-five to one hundred, and the managers propose to eventually remove the old frame mansion and complete a large quadrangle, inclosing the property of the Institution with permanent buildings in the style of the one just erected. HEBREW BENEVOLENT AND ORPHAN ASYLUM SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. (Seventy-seventh street and Third avenue.) ^ ~ N the 8th of April, 1822, a number of gentlemen of 3I the Jewish persuasion, residents of the city of New ^^?^ York, organized the " Hebrew Benevolent Society," which was incorporated by act of Legislature February 2, 1832, granting power to hold real and personal estate, the annual income of which should not exceed $2,000. The objects of the society were stated to be "charitable, and to afford relief to its members in cases of sickness and infirmity." In January, 1845, the "German Hebrew Benevolent Society," a rival organization, sprang up, which was the same year incorporated, and exerted a large influence for fourteen years. The objects of this organization, as set forth in its act HEBREW BENEVOLENT AND ORPHAN ASYLUM SOCIETY. 337 of incorporation, were-" to assist the needy, succor the helpless, and protect the weak." The proceedings of this society were transacted and the minutes kept in the German language. In 1847 this society voted $1,500 out of its general fund, and a portion of its annual receipts, toward the erection of a hospital. The Hebrew Benevolent Society promptly united in this movement, but, as the wealthier congregations withheld their support, the enterprise failed for lack of means. In 1859 the German Society having voted to appropriate the hospital fund for the establishment of an orphan asylum, and a home for aged and indigent Jews, and the opinion having become general that the cause of charity would be promoted by a union of the two societies, they were happily united, and a supplementary act of incorporation passed April 12, 1860, under the title of the " Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society of the City of New York." The new organization proposed " to relieve the sick, succor the poor and needy, support and comfort the widow, clothe, educate, and maintain the orphan." This was to be done by the establishment of a well-regulated system of out-door relief for the poor; by founding and maintaining an asylum for Jewish orphans; and by establishing a home for the support of the aged poor. Any Israelite may become a member of the society on the payment of one hundred dollars. The business of the society is conducted by a president, vice-president, a treasurer, and eighteen trustees, six of whom are annually elected at the meeting of the society in April. The last act of incorporation granted power to hold estate, the income of which should not exceed $15,000; authorized the city to grant land to the society for the erection of suitable buildings; and clothed it with the same power to manage and indenture orphans that had been given to other societies. In 1861 the Corporation granted a beautiful plot of ground on the corner of Seventy-seventh street and Third avenue, and the sum of $30,000 toward the erection of an asylum. The corner-stone of the building was laid September 30th, 1862, and the edifice formally dedicated November 5, 1863. The Asylum consists of a main building and two wings, the principal front, on Seventy-seventh street, being one hundred and twenty feet, with a depth of sixty, and cost $40,000. It is constructed of brick, is three stories high, besides a high basement and sub-cellar. Thie ceilings are high, the halls wide, the apartments conveniently arranged 338 NEW YOREK AD ITS INSTITUTIONS. with all the modern improvements, and crowned everywhere with completest order and tidiness. The lecture-room (or miniature synagogue), like every other part of the Institution, is replete with Jewish taste and trimming. A yard one hundred and twenty-five feet by one hundred and two, lying between the Asylum and Third avenue, is devoted to a beautiful flower-garden, and ample play-grounds are furnished in the rear. The Superintendent, Louis Schnabel, is a Jewish rabbi, and conducts the services of the Institution. At the opening of the Asylum fifty-six orphans, who had been provided for by the society in various places, were transferred to it, and the number has since reached one hundred and fifty-eight, the full capacity of the building. The children attend the public schools daily, where they generally excel in their studies, and when promoted to the grammar department they also take up the study of Hebrew in the Asylum. These Hebrew scholars are divided into five classes, and many of the students attain a fine education. Experimental workshops have recently been added, which if successful will soon be greatly enlarged. Ninety-five of the one hundred and fifty-eight in the Institution during 1869 were born in New York, and the remaining sixty-three represented eleven of the American States, and seven of the countries of Europe and Asia. Eight were admitted at the age of five, two at seventeen; the larger portion are, however, received between the ages of seven and twelve years. Indentures are made only to Hebrews of good standing. Eight members of the board of directors are constituted a committee of charity and relief, who investigate by personal visitation the circumstances of all applicants. During 1869, 3,926 persons were relieved at an expense of $13,425. One hundred and forty-six persons were assisted to go West, South, or to return to friends in Europe. The Hebrew fair, held during the last year, and one of the most successful ever held on Manhattan by any society, netted the Asylum $35,000, and the Mount Sinai Hospital over $100,000. HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. (Ninetieth street and East river.) This Institution was commenced on the 2d of October, 1857, by five members of the "Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd," belonging to the Mother House of Angers, in France. The operations of the society began in a house in Fourteenth street, but in 1861 they erected a convent and chapel at the foot of Ninetieth street, East river. In 1864 a five-story brick building, fifty feet by ninety, was reared on Eighty-ninth street, one hundred and twenty-five feet from the convent, and in 1868 and 1869 another of the same size was joined to the end of the former, stretching across to Ninetieth street. The cost of their buildings has now exceeded $275,000, and another edifice is still to be added to complete their plan. The order was founded by Pere Eldes in 1661, with the avowed object of affording a refuge for fallen women and girls who desired to reform. Being an enclosed order, a veil of secrecy is thrown over most of their doings. The Lady Superior converses with the outside world through an irongrated ceiling, inside of which the curious are seldom permitted to step, and the order, except a few outside Sisters, are 840 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. forever concealed in the shadows of the cloister. By reception of novices, the order now numbers ninety members, besides the out-door Sisters; twelve of these are engaged in founding an order in Brooklyn, and eleven in Boston. The Institution is a house of correction, seeking the reform of abandoned women, some of whom come voluntarily, others by persuasion, some are sent by the courts, and some are placed here by their friends. The Sisters declare that moral means alone are employed for the reformation of the inmates, and that those who come voluntarily can depart at pleasure; but some who have escaped have told doleful stories about the discipline and fare, upon the merits of which we shall not attempt to decide. The Sisters dwell in the convent, but some of them are said to be always with the inmates both night and day, in recreation, toil, devotion, and slumber. The inmates are divided into four classes, each of which is entirely separated from all the' rest, with whom they are never allowed to communicate. The first class consists of penitent magdalens, who have been converted from the error of their ways, and who have been admitted to a low grade of the order. The second class is composed of penitent women and girls, received into the Asylum but not yet converted. The third is a preservation class, composed of children who are in danger of falling, most of whose parents are bad. The fourth consists of girls between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, who have been committed by the magistrates, and who remain during the term of commitment. About twenty-nine hundred have been received into the Institution since its founding, very many of whom are said to have reformed, though the screen which prevents public inspection leaves greateir place for distrust than with almost any other institution in New York. In February, 1870, no less than seven hundred inmates were concealed within those walls, three hundred of whom had been sent by the magistrates, and the superioress informed us that one hundred and fifty more could be well accommodated. Their chief occupation is machine and hand sewing, embroidery, with various other species of remunerative handicraft, and laundry work. The Institution has a priest who conducts service every morning in the chapel, where all attend. This institution is noted as the place of the involuntary confinement of Mary Ann Smith, the daughter of a Romanist, who had embraced Protestantism. Many of the ST. BARNABAS HOUSE. 341 girls received remain permanently through life, a few afterwards marry, some after their reformation go out to service in good families, and not a few descend again to old practices and "wallow in the mire." The Public Authorities have dealt very liberally with this Institution. ST. BARNABAS HOUSE. (No. 804 Mulberry street.) HIS House was originally opened by Mrs. William ^,^^1 Richmond, under the name of the " IHome for Home^^1 less Women and Children." Before her death it was purchased by the New York Protestant Episcopal City Mission Society, and opened in June, 1865, under the name of the St. Barnabas House. In 1866 the society purchased the adjoining building, No. 306 Mulberry street, in the front of which the chapel was located, leaving the basement, second story, and attic of this building, as well as all of the building No. 304, for the purposes of the Home. A rear building, connected with No. 306, furnished convenient rooms for the clergy and committees. The buildings are of brick, of moderate size, and contain fifty beds, sixteen of which are for children. The House was opened by the above-mentioned society as a sort of experiment, and an executive committee was appointed for its management, who relied mainly on special contributions for its support. The IHouse is designed as a place of refuge for homeless women and children, applying from the streets or wandering in from the country; also for women discharged from the hospital, cured, but requiring a few days of repose to recover strength, but destitute of home, friends, and money. It is however intended only as a temporary resting-place, hence most of those admitted are sent to situations during the first week. The average stay of 2,150 women in the House during 1869 was three and one-fifth days. During 1865 there were but two months that there were over eighty inmates received. In November, 1866, the 342 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. number reached 166, and in December 196. Each month in 1868 brought over two hundred, the largest number in any month being 262. A little family of sixteen children who have no homes are kept as steady inmates, clothed and instructed. One room is set apart as a wardrobe department, where garments are made and repaired. Nearly six thousand persons have been received during the last three years, of whom 3,602 were Protestants, 2,203 Roman Catholics, and 7 Jews. Of this number, 1,924 were sent to situations, 1,456 to other institutions, and 1,835 returned to their friends. But one death occurred in the House during that time. During the same time the House afforded 46,958 lodgings to the homeless, and supplied 188,163 gratuitous meals to the hungry. The annual expenses of the Institution amount to about $7,000. The business of the House has outgrown its accommodations, and the managers have appealed for means to greatly enlarge their borders, and supply several desirable apartments never yet provided. Destitute and afflicted families in the neighborhood almost daily apply at the Institution for assistance. A visitor is sent to investigate the case, and if found to be one of real distress relief in some form is administered. Some are allowed to come to the House for meals, others are supplied with coal, garments, or money for rent. Much attention is given to the sick. The House the last year has been managed by the " Sisterhood of the Good Shepherd," a new order of females in the Protestant Episcopal church. Several Sisters were organized under the above title by the bishop of the diocese, in St. Ann's church, on the second Tuesday after Easter, 1869. At the time of the organization there were three Sisters received, also three visitors, and one associate. Some of these have since retired from active service, and as these organizations are not popular among Protestants, only enough have been received to keep good the original number. The habit worn by this order is the most simple of any we have yet seen, and hence less objectionable. They are much devoted to their undertaking, and abundant in toil, making several hundred visits to those sick or in prison per year, besides conducting the Houser of St. Barnabas. A small room on the third floor has been set apart for an Oratory, where the Sisters all retire at twelve o'clock each day for prayer, which is offered by the superioress, all others joining in the responses. ST. BARNABAS HOUSE. 343 The room is neatly carpeted, has chairs and a small reading desk, but contains no images, pictures, or ornaments of any kind. Family prayer is also daily conducted in the House, and all the inmates are required to attend. A chaplain conducts service every Lord's Day. A number of ladies and gentlemen from the surrounding parishes conduct a Sundayschool for the benefit of the children in the House, and those of the neighborhood. The register contains the names of over two hundred scholars, less than half of whom attend regularly. There is also connected with the Institution an industrial society, composed of twenty-two ladies, who hold a weekly sewing school, with an average attendance of sixtyfive girls. The Institution is located in a neighborhood greatly needing its influence, and has been already a rich fountain of blessing to thousands. 21 TIlE INSTITUTION OF MERCY (BOYS' BUILDING). THE INSTITUTION OF MERCY. (No. 33 Houston street.) This Institution is situated at No. 33 Houston street, adjoining and controlled by the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy. The society was incorporated in 1848, under the general act of May 12th of that year, and the three-story brick building corner of Houston and Mulberry streets purchased at a cost of $30,000. This is the Convent, or home of the Sisters of Mercy. The same year the edifice known as the Institution of Mercy, a plain four-story brick, forty feet by seventy-two, was begun, on lots adjoining the purchased building, and sufficiently completed to receive inmates in November, 1849. The Sisters of Mercy are a religious order of Roman Catholics, founded by Catharine McAuly, a lady of fortune of Dublin, in 1827, and the order was approved by Pope Gregory XVI. in 1835, and confirmed in 1841. The order has in view the visitation of the sick and prisoners, the instruction of poor girls, and the protection of virtuous women in distress. The first community in the United States was established in Pittsburg in 1843, but none entered New York until 1846, when Archbishop Hughes invited them to THE IN TUTION OF ERcrY. 345 come from Ireland and establish an institution. The Sisters are subject to the bishops, but have no general superior, each community being independent of the rest of the order. The Sisters are divided into two orders: choir sisters, who are employed about the ordinary objects of the order; and lay sisters, who attend to the domestic avocations of the convent, etc. Candidates for admission into the order undergo a "postulancy " of six months; they then receive the white veil and enter the novitiate, which lasts two years, being permitted at any time to return to the world before the vows are finally taken. The presiding mind in each community is the Mother Superior. Agnes O'Conner was the first in New York, and the present one is the fourth. The community at present numbers 49, 12 of whom are at the Industrial Home at Eightyfirst street. The Sisters teach a select school of day scholars at the Convent, and another in Fifty-fourth street for their own support, so as not to be an expense to their Institution. The Sisters are a corporate body, holding their own property, and elect annually their board of eight trustees from their own number. Archbishop Hughes ordered each Catholic pastor in New York to collect $500 to assist them in founding their Institution in 1848, and a number of private donations were also received. The Roman Catholic churches in the city continued for several years to take collections for this cause, but this is no longer considered necessary. Virtuous girls of any age, out of employment, are received into the Institution, and remain a longer or shorter period, according to circumstances. Machine and hand sewing, embroidery, and laundry work, form the chief employment of the inmates. Many young females from other countries, just landing on our shores, with little or no means, have been picked up by this society and raised to industry and respectability, who would otherwise have soon sunken into pits of infamy. Since the opening of the Institution, over eleven thousand girls have been admitted, and the Sisters have found places of employment for about twenty thousand. This last number includes some from the House of Protection at West Farms, and many who have not been received into either institution. The earnings of the girls go toward the support of the Institution, deficiencies being provided for by private and public donations, and by fairs. The Institution has accommodations 346 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. for about seventy-five, though in times of great destitution one hundred and twenty have been crowded into it. The Sisters do also a vast amount of outside visiting every year. Clad in their sable habit, they glide like shadows through the crowded streets, finding their way to abodes of sickness and poverty in garrets and cellars. They search the prisons of this and of neighboring cities, "prepare" the Catholic culprit for the scaffold, administer as far as means will permit to the wants of the destitute, and prepare for the sacraments ten times more children than the same number of priests. However much one may criticise their work, or pity their delusions, they are certainly abundant in self-sacrifices, untiring in toil, and rank among the best of their denomination. They are well informed, especially in matters of their own church, polite in their attentions to literary visitors, and if disrobed of the habit of the order, and dressed for the drawing-room, a few of them would be pronounced handsome. For several years past the Sisters have been engaged in the erection of a building for an " Industrial School for the Destitute Children of Soldiers and Others." This was finally completed and occupied in the autumn of 1869. It stands on a block of ground contributed by the authorities, bounded by Madison and Fourth avenues, Eighty-first and Eighty-second streets. It is situated on high ground, is an imposing fourstory and-attic structure, in the Gothic order, with stone copings, and has accommodations for five hundred children. It has a front of one hundred and sixty feet, a depth of sixty, and a rear extension for the engine which heats the building, for wash-room, laundry, and other conveniences. It cost, with its furniture, $180,000, $105,000 of which were contributed by the State, always liberal to prodigality to the Institutions of Roman Catholics. It had at our visit to it, February 22d, 1870, 80 children. The children of soldiers are to be taken free, as are all others twelve years of age, some pay or clothing being required with those received at an earlier age. ORPHAN ASYLUM OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL. (Thirty-ninth street, near Seventh avenue.) HE society by which this Institution has been established began its work in the year 1859, in a hired house in West Twenty-sixth street, where it continued until January, 1870. The building was capable of accommodating sixty girls and thirty boys, and was always well filled. A band of Catiolic females (fourteen at present), known as the Sisters of the Holy Cross, whose Mother House is in the north of France, have had charge of the Asylum from the first, instructing the children, and performing all the labor of the household. Several years since, the managers purchased several valuable lots of ground, situated on Thirty-ninth street, near Seventh avenue, at a cost of $38,000. In 1868 the first half of the Asylum was begun, and sufficiently completed to become tenantable early in January, 1870. The portion erected is sixty feet square, leaving space for an addition of the same size, which will doubtless be added at no distant day. The building is a French Gothic, constructed of pressed brick, with Ohio free-stone trimmings, is five stories above the basement, including two attic Mansard stories. The kitchen, laundry, and children's dining-room are in the basement. The first floor contains reception-room, parlor, dining-room for the sisters, and the large sewing-room where the girls are taught needle-work. The upper stories are appropriately divided between school-rooms, dormitories, and storerooms. The building, which is a model of neatness and taste, has thus far cost $74,000, and when completed will be an architectural ornament to that portion of the city. The cut represents the building as it will appear when fully completed. The children represent, in their nationality, Italy, Germany, Poland, England, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, France; and America. They are taken from any country, of any religion, and at any age not below four years, and are retained, the boys until they are eleven or twelve, and the girls until they are sixteen. The Englishl text-books employed in the public schools are used, to which are added a course of study in French, the Catholic catechism, etc. The girls are all taught trades, and fitted for self-maintenance when 348 NEW YOK AiD ITS INSTITMTIONS.. they leave the Institution. The Asylum has at present nearly two hundred children, and when completed will afford space for about four hundred. A donation of $15,000 was last year received from the city. The ladies in charge, though not fluent in English, are prepossessing in appearance, polite to visitors, and deserving of credit for the order and vigor with which their affairs are conducted. POMAN CATTOLICT, PROTECTOT Y (BOYS' BUILDING). SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF DESTITUTE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHILDREN. ( West Farms.) The plan for organizing this Society, and founding this, Institution, originated with the late Levi Silliman Ives, D.D., LL.D., formerly bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of North Carolina, but who joined the Roman Catholics while on a visit to Rome, in 1852. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 14, 1863, making it the duty of the courts that "whenever the parent, guardian, or next of kin of any Catholic child about to be finally committed shall request the magistrate to commit the child to the Catholic Institution, the magistrate shall grant the request." The management of this Institution is committed to aboard of about twenty-five laymen of the Roman CatholiG church, the Mayor, Recorder, and Comptroller of New York being annually added as members ex officio. The Society began its labors soon after its organization, in a hired house in the upper part, of the city, receiving at first only boys; but after a. 350 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. few months a girls' department was added. Their first plan was to apprentice the children after a very short detention at the Protectory, but their Third Annual Report pronounces the apprenticeship system, as then practised, a " great evil," and for two reasons: 1. Because the children were not prepared by previous discipline and education to ensure contentment, obedience, and fidelity. 2. That the avarice of the persons to whom they were apprenticed caused most of them to be overworked, their education neglected, and the necessary supplies of food and clothing withheld. Three-fourths of those apprenticed up to that time, it was stated, had " become perfectly worthless." The crowded condition of their buildings, and the manifest necessity of retaining the children until sober and industrious habits had been formed, induced the managers to purchase a farm of one hundred and fourteen acres (since increased to one hundred and forty acres), at West Farms, three miles above Harlem bridge. On the first of May, 1866, their lease having expired at Yorkville, the family of four hundred bqys was transferred to West Farms, and quartered in farm-houses, and such other buildings as could be secured, until a wing of the present building could be completed. This wing was greatly crowded for two years previous to the completion of the main building, seven hundred or eight hundred boys, with their overseers and instructors, having constantly occupied it, it furnishing all their apartments, besides appropriating space for workshops, offices, etc. The -main structure is now completed. The original wing is two hundred and fifteen feet long, forty feet wide, and four stories high, while the front and main edifice, which forms a transept or colossal cross, presents a handsome facade of two hundred and thirty feet, is fifty feet wide, and five stories high, with attic. It is a truly imposing structure, surmounted by a lofty tower, is built of brick, with marble trimmings, in the French Gothic style of architecture, and cost $350,000. They are now able to increase the family of boys to about twelve hundred, and afford them much better accommodations than ever before. The boys are wholly committed to the control and education of the Christian Brothers, belonging to the society originally organized in France by Jean Baptiste De La Salle, in 1681. They are a society of laymen organized for the gratuitous education of the poor, giving themselves wholly to the church as teachers, laboring, wherever appointed, with a salary SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CHILDREN. 351 just sufficient to meet their expenses. When they take the vows of the order they renounce all plans of business, and all thoughts of entering the priesthood. In 1844 some of the fraternity emigrated to Canada, and in 1847 found their way into the United States. Brother Teliow, the Rector (superintendent), an educated Prussian, a gentlemen of modest bearing, but of wise and decided administrative ability, hlas had control of the House since its opening. lie is assisted by twenty-two of the brothers, who eat and sleep in the rooms with the boys, superintend their toil and studies, attend them at. worship, and in their recreations. The brothers are usually mild and generous in their treatment, seldom inflicting corporal punishment, but more wisely appealing to their honor and interests. Neither the grounds nor the buildings have any formidable enclosures, and the boys are often sent to the village, and sometimes to New York, entrusted with horses and other responsible matters. True, some forget to return, but the policy of trusting them is believed to do immensely more good than evil, and when one absconds a hundred are ready to volunteer as detectives, to compel his return. They carry on the manufacture of ladies', misses', and children's shoes on quite a large scale, the boys mastering every branch of the business, though this has not yet been made as remunerative as at the House of Refuge. Particular attention is paid to agricultural and horticultural pursuits, and some are employed in the manufacture of hoop-skirts, others in tailoring, baking, and printing. They manufacture their own gas, do all their kitchen and laundry work, so that celibacy here is a practical thing, from superior to minion. The boys make the shoes for the girls' department, but ask and receive no favors in return. Their ages vary from five to seventeen years, a large portion of them being quite young anld mostly of Irish parentage. Nearly one-half are unable to read when committed, but, several hours per day being always devoted to study, many attain to respectable scholarship, and a few enter upon the study of the classics. Music is also taught. There are no definite rules governing the period of detention. Most of them are returned to their parents, and many return the second time to the Institution. Parents who have neglected children to their ruin, rarely exhibit much improvement on a second trial. About one hundred and fifty yards from the premises just described stands the girls' building, two hundred and sixty 352 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS nine feet long, varying in width from forty-five to seventy feet. It is built in the Romanesque style, with high basement and three stories of brick, and two attic stories of wood and slate. Its foundation stone was laid July 4th, 1868, and was sufficiently completed to receive its inmates November 1, 1869. It is admirably adapted to its use, and cost over ROMAN CATHIOLIC PROTECTORY (GIRLS' BUILDING). $200,000, though it is but about half the size of the original design. The cut represents the building as it is, whereas the one in the City Manual presents the one in prospect. The basement contains the kitchen, dining room, laundry, furnaceroom for heating the building, etc. The cooking is done with steam. The first floor contains reception rooms, offices. work-rooms, etc.; the second is divided into a series of school-rooms, with folding partitions, so arranged that the whole can be thrown into a vast hall for religious exercises, with seating for two thousand persons. The third floor is the dormitory, with three hundred and fifty beds, a row of cells being constructed at each end of the room for the accommodation of the Sisters. The fourth floor is divided into several dormitories arranged for hospital purposes, with baths and closets, and is supplied with hot and cold water. The fifth is for storage. The management of the girls' department is committed to the Sisters of Charity of Mount Saint Vincent Convent, twelve of whom, when we visited the Insti SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF ROMAN OATHOLIO HILDEN. 353 tution, had charge of its family of two hundred and fifty girls, and taught all branches of study and toil, except a few intricacies of skirt-making and handicraft. The girls, like the boys, are nearly all received from the courts, as vagrants or criminals, are ignorant and spoiled children, and make large demands on the patience of their teachers. Their new building has accommodations for six hundred inmates, which will doubtless soon be filled without making any appreciable change in the seething masses of the great city. Skirt-making is the principal employment of the girls, each being taught every part of the business, and each in turn takes her part in the duties of the kitchen, laundry, and chamber. During the first seven years of its operations the society received over three thousand five hundred truant children, many of whom have been recovered from a life of crime, and now bid fair to be industrious and good citizens. Its work, however, has but just begun. The buildings are large and beautiful, but everything around and within gives evidence of great economy. But while the children at the House of Refuge are supported at an annual expense of less than seventy dollars per capita above their own toil, the managers of this Institution declared that during 1867 the net cost of maintaining the boys, exclusive of their own labor, the interest on land, buildings, etc., was one hundred and thirteen dollars per head, and ninety-six dollars for the girls. The entire expenditures of the Society, up to January, 1868, amounted to $469,034.02, of which $164,807.49 had been given by State and city grants, the remaining $304,226.53 having been provided by private donations, the labor of the children, and by public fairs, one of which, in 1867, yielded a profit of over $100,000. We have been unable to obtain the last published report of the Society. The principal motive in founding the Institution was to save the children of Catholics from the influence of Protestantism, which prevailed in most other institutions. It, however, makes no attempt to proselyte, and has refused to receive some children who had Protestant parents or guardians. The farm cost $60,000, and is now valued at $150,000. A dairy of forty cows is kept, and most of the vegetables consumed are grown on the premises. THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING ASYLUM. (Lweington avenue and ixty-eighth street.) OJNDLING hospitals have been common in many countries of Europe for several centuries. The first (^'^ is believed to have been established at Milan, in the year 787. In the seventeenth century they were placed on a common footing with other hospitals in France, and in the following century they were established in England. iMore than one hundred and forty are said to exist in France at this time, two in Holland, seventeen in Belgium, many in Prussia, one of which covers an area of twenty-eight acres. The Child's Hospital of New York has received many of these stray waifs of humanity for several years past, yet an Institution devoted exclusively to this class, founded and managed on the most open and liberal scale, has been considered necessary by many, and has finally been established. The New York Foundling Asylum was incorporated October 9, 1869, and a hired brick edifice, No. 17 East Twelfth street, was opened two days later, by the Sisters of Charity connected with the convent of Mount Saint Vincent, near Yonkers. Sister Mary Irene was placed at the head of the Institution, and has since been assisted by ten other members of the order. The first child was left at the Institution on the 22d of October, 1869, and up to the 25th of April, 1871, nineteen hundred and sixty had been received, sixty-two per cent. of whom had died. The Institution was at length removed to No. 3 North Washington square, into a large building containing twenty-eight fine rooms, where it will remain until the Hospital is erected. A cradle is placed in the vestibule where the little stranger is silently deposited, and a ring of the bell announces its presence. They are brought in by physicians, nurses, midwives, and mothers, at all hours of day and night. The children are numbered according to their admission; their names and those of their parents, if known, are entered in a large book kept for that purpose, but if nothing is known of them they are named by the Sisters. Sometimes a letter accompanies a child, the contents of which are entered with the number and name of the infant. Sometimes a ring, a ribbon, or some other little valuable by which it may hereafter be iden ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —- -7 Tqz (5,);:vD il,~l,,:. i ril'.- Ap.e. al..l 6-5th Street. Seepage 13'.) It iiAL. UAL' L....iz.r I i...C.-.. ki,..tL~i'.i.a,L. -L, c j. A.VkiLUC, A & B.) )r Jos.0 H 0IPHANI AsYnUM. (Corner iio hts,-iintia SircLt bid Avcnuie A.) THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING ASYLULM 355 fified accompanies it; these are all numbered and preserved. Infants are taken without charge or fee, without regard to color, nationality, or parentage. No questions are asked unless there is a disposition to communicate, and statements made are not disclosed. The cradles are long, with a babe at each end, and an attendant to every three children or a little less, some of whom are on duty in every room at all hours of day and night. The author looked through the several apartments at the half-a-hundred little creatures scattered in cribs, on the floor, in the arms of the nurses, some lauglhing, some crying, some asleep in blissful ignorance of the clouds that darken their infant horizon, and concluded there were as many handsome babies among them as could be selected from an equal number in any community. Children are given out to healthy women to nurse, who are remunerated at the rate of ten dollars per month. These nurses are required to bring the children to the Institution twice each month for inspection, and are frequently visited at their homes by the Sisters. The Sisters refuse to adopt them even in the best families, which we pronounce a decided mistake. Certainly, if charity to the children only influenced the movement, nothing better could be hoped for than to see them adopted into respectable families. Daring the last year a part of the children have been housed at West Farms, the house in the city serving as a place of reception. More than four hundred different women have been employed as nurses, and the superioress reports the expenditures of the Institution as exceeding $6,000 per month. Tile city authorities last year leased the Asylum, for ninetynine years, for the annual rental of one dollar, a plot of ground two hundred by four hundred feet, lying between Sixty-eighth and Sixty-ninth streets, and fronting on Lcxington avenue. The tax levy of 1870 also contained a clause granting the managers one hundred thousand dollars toward the erection of buildings as soon as a similar sum should be collected by private subscription. A grand metropolitan fair was accordingly planned and held in the Twenty-second Regiment Armory hall during November, 1870, the proceeds of which amounted to over $71,000. Mrs. R. B. Connolly also collected $20,575, which, with some other subscriptions, brought the sum to the required figure, so that the legislative appropriation became available. This Foundling Hospital is now rapidly rising to completion. 356 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. The Sisters are very enthusiastic about their enterprise. Precisely what effect the establishment of this Institution will have upon the dissolute portion of society is yet to be seen; but that the crime of infanticide has been already greatly lessened appears from the police statistics. From one hundred to one hundred and fifty dead infants per month were before the opening of this Institution found in.barrels and vacant lots, in various parts of the city, whereas not more than one-tenth of that number are now reported. That it will greatly increase the social crime, we hardly believe. This has existed in all ages, unawed by shame, law, and other consequences, and will only decrease as the principles of a pure religion are more generally and more thoroughly imbibed. THE SHEPHERD'S FOLD. (Eighty-sixth street and Second avenue.) $IHIS association, composed of members of the Protest-, ant Episcopal church, was incorporated under the -* general act of April 12, 1848, on the ninth day of March, 1868. The object of the society, as set forth in the certificate of incorporation, is "The care of orphan, half-orphan, and otherwise friendless children." The object is similar to that of the " Sheltering Arms," to provide for a class of children who, through drunkenness, desertion, crime, or other causes, are practically parentless, yet excluded by rule from regular Orphan Asylums. The management of the Institution is committed to a board of twenty-one trustees, nearly half of whom are ministers. The internal management of the house is under the immediate supervision of an association of ladies, who report monthly to the executive committee appointed by the trustees. Children are admitted at any age between twelve months and fifteen years, but must be surrendered to the Institution at admission, unless they are temporarily admitted, to assist a poor parent, at four dollars per month. An advisory committee, consisting of two gentlemen and three ladies, meets every Monday, at three P.M., for the ad WOeMAN" AID soCIETY. 357 mission and indenturing of children. The operations of the society began in Twenty-eighth street, after which the Institution was removed to Second avenue, between Fifty-first and Fifty-second streets. On the 29th of April, 1870, it was again removed to its present location, corner of Eighty-sixth street and Second avenue, where a three-story wood cottage, with a wing, was leased for five years. The building stands on an eminence and is surrounded by ample grounds, with a broad lawn in front overspread with the branches of noble trees. The location is both healthful and beautiful, affording abundant space for the recreation of the children. The managers hope to secure the means and purchase the property, after which they purpose to erect buildings similar to those known as the Colored Orphan Asylum. The city authorities gave them last year $5,000, which sum has been set apart as the beginning of a building fund. The lnstitution has at present sixty-tihree children, all it can well accommodate. The matron, Mrs. Russell, has great skill and kindness in the management of children; and the teacher, Miss Welsh, has managed to throw such a charm around the school-room that many of the children prefer their lessons to play. May the Institution prosper, gathering thousands into its elevating fold who would otherwise ramble in ignorance and infamy, proving a sorrow to themselves and a scourge to society. WOMAN'S AID SOCIETY AND HOME FOR TRAINING YOUNG GIRLS. (Corner Thirteenth street and Seventh avenue.) IS organization was first known as the "Women's Evangelical Mission," and was formed to operate for the recovery of young women in our public institutions, and for other fallen women who needed assistance in their efforts for reformation. At a later period it was changed to a home for training young, indigent, and inexperienced girls for places of respectability and usefulness, and the class the managers first sought to reach have been entirely excluded. The inmates received are between 22 358 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTONS. the ages of thirteen and twenty-five, with a few exceptional cases. Many of those received during the last three years have been orphans, or friendless girls exhausted by hard service, and nearly ready to perish. In this Home their health has been recruited, their morals improved, a situation in a Christian family in city or country has been provided, where they have gone with better prospects. All persons admitted as inmates must pledge to obey the rules of the house, to remain a month, and accept of such situations on leaving as the matron shall approve. The Society is governed by a board of female managers, members of the several Evangelical churches, nearly all of whom thus far have represented the Presbyterian and Reformed Dutch. The missionary and chaplain is an Evangelical minister, whose duty it is to preach on the island, if necessary, besides conducting the services of the Home. From May, 1868, to 1870, the Home was situated at the foot of Eighty-third street, East river, in a fine old family mansion, with inviting groves, ample and well-arranged grounds. The location was one of the most retired, airy, and salubrious on the island. The number of inmates has varied from twentyfour to thirty-six during the past three years, 152 being the total for the year closing in 1869, and 114 for the year ending in 1870. During the year closing January, 1871, the managers report 188 admissions, 141 of whom were placed in families, seven returned to friends, nine sent to other institutions, eight were dismissed, six left at their own request, and fifteen remained. Some were inexperienced young girls, members of good families, but, chafing under necessary parental restraint, had sought relief in flight. The managers had picked them up just in time to save them. The Home is now situated at No. 41 Seventh avenue, corner of Thirteenth street, where a four-story brick house has been leased for three years, at an annual rental of $2,000. The building affords accommodations for about thirty inmates. A school is conducted every afternoon. The Society was incorporated under the general act passed April 12, 1848, on the twenty-fifth day of November, 1870. The expenditures of the Institution during the last year amounted to $7,180.76. Rev. W. A. Masker is the chaplain and superintendent, and Mrs. Masker the matron. ST. JOSEPH ORPHAN ASYLUM. (Corner of Eighty-ninth 8treet and Avenue A. HE St. Joseph Orphan Asylum was incorporated by special act of the Legislature in 1859. It was founded through the laudable toil and zeal of Rev. Father Joseph IIelmpraecht, a Roman Catholic priest. The building was erected in 1860, and is a five-story brick, eighty by forty feet, fronting on Eighty-ninth street, at the corner of Avenue A. The stories of the building are rather low. The object of the Institution is the support and education of orphans, half-orphans, destitute and neglected children, connected with the Roman Catholic faith and of German origin. The number of inmates averages about one hundred and sixty, and the capapity of the Asylum is equal to about two hundred inmates. The office of the Asylum and secretary is at No. 70 East Fourth street. THE ROOSEVELT HOSPITAL. (West Fifty-ninth street.) This Institution was founded and endowed by the bequest of the late James H. Roosevelt, Esq., of New York city. This gentleman inherited a fine estate from his parents, which he very materially increased during his lifetime, and finally bequeathed it to the founding of one of the most humane and excellent charities of the world. During his early years he pursued the study of law, graduating with honor after passing the usual course at Columbia College. Some time after his graduation he was admitted to practice, and expected to marry Miss Julia Maria Boardman, an estimable lady of this city. But one month had scarcely elapsed, after his admission to practise law, ere he was smitten with a stroke of paralysis so severe as to entirely frustrate his most cherished earthly plans, and render him an invalid for life. For more than thirty years he could only walk with the aid of crutches, THE ROOSEVELT HOSPITAL. 361 spending most of the time at his residence in New York, shut out by his infirmities from the chief circles of business and fashion. During these years he gave quiet attention to the improvement of his fortune, to books, and the cultivation of those tempers so invaluable in time and eternity. Though he never married, the most affectionate relation subsisted between him and the lady of his early choice through all his years, to whon he left st death, which occurred in November, 1863, an annuity of $4,000, nmaking her also the executrix of his estate. IIis estate at his death, which approximated a million, and has since been much increased, consisted in real estate situated in New York and Westchester counties, and in valuable and available stocks. A sufferer through most of his life, his mind was naturally drawn out in sympathy for those as afflicted as himself, and whose condition was even more pitiable because destitute of the means of comfort he enjoyed. Most of his personal estate he therefore left "in trust to the several and successive presidents ex ocffio, for the time being, of the respective managing boards of those five certain incorporations in the city of New York, known as'The Society of the New York hIospital,''The College of Physicians and Surgeons,' The New York Eye Infirmary,''The Demilt Dispensary,' and'The New York Institution for the Blind,' and to the -Ionorable James I. Roosevelt, Edwin Clark, Esq., John M. Knox, Esq., and Adrian I. Muller, Esq., all of New York, for the establishment, in the city of New York, of a hospital for the reception and relief of sick and diseased persons, and for its permanent endowment." This board of nine trustees has sole charge of the Institution and its endowment, and has power to fill all vacancies occurring from death, resignation, or otherwise, of any of the four trustees not before designated by title of office, from male native-born citizens, residents of the city of New York. The use of his real estate he bequeathed to his nephew, James C. Roosevelt Brown, of Rye, N. Y., the same to be also divided equally between his heirs, but in case of his or their demise without lawful issue, then the same was to be disposed of by his executors, and the proceeds added to the Hospital endowment. This nephew survived him but forty days, and died without issue, leaving the property to the Institution to which his uncle had devoted it. The act incorporating the Roosevelt Hospital was passed by the Legislature February 2, 1864, granting the corpora 362 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTIUTIONS. tion power to receive the legacy, and any others that might be added, to purchase and hold property free from taxation in carrying out the directions of the founder of the Institution. In 1868 a whole block of ground was purchased lying between Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth streets, Ninth and Tenth avenues, for the sum of $185,000. This ground is now valued at $400,000. The corner-stone of the Hospital was laid on the last day of October, 1869, Rev. Thomas De Witt, D.D., Edward Delafield, M.D., and other distinguished gentlemen, taking part in the services. When the usual contributions of papers, etc., had been placed in the corner-stone, Dr. Delafield, president of the board, moved it to its place, saying, " I now lay the corner-stone of the Roosevelt Hospital, and may centuries pass before what is deposited here will again be revealed to mortal eye." The Hospital fronts on Fifty-ninth street, and is to consist, if the plan is ever entirely completed, of four pavilions, each one hundred and seventy feet long by thirty wide in the central part forming the wards, and a front of fifty-six feet on Fifty-ninth street. The pavilions are to be three stories high, of brick, with rich stone trimmings, above a high stone basement, covered with Mansard roof. The wards are each thirty feet wide by ninety-three long, and fifteen feet high, arranged for twenty-eight patients each, affording 1,494 cubic feet of space to each. The basement of the one now erected contains an ophthalmic, a children's, and an accident ward, and some small rooms for delirious patients. The main stairways are all to be of iron and stone. Ventilating shafts are to be placed at the end of each ward, to carry off foul air and introduce fresh. The lavatories, supplied with vapor baths, shower baths, basins, etc., are situated at the southern end of the pavilions, separated from the wards by wide halls. In the center of the block fronting on Fifty-ninth street is the administration building, through which is the entrance to the H-ospital. This building contains the offices and apartments for officers, the apothecary room, chemical laboratory, etc. In the rear of this stands another separate building, containing the kitchen, laundry, the heating and ventilating apparatus. This and the pavilion before described are now completed and the other central pavilion and the administration building will soon follow, furnishing accommodations for six hundred patients, and costing about $600,000. These can be completed, leaving an THE ROOSEVELT HOSPITAL. 363 endowment fund of at least $600,000 for the support of the Institution. It is likely that this is as far as the building plan will be carried, unless other legacies are added to the enterprise. The site is an elevated and beautiful one overlooking the Hudson, and as most of the hospitals have been erected on the eastern side of the island, the selection appears to have been well made. The locality will soon be crowded with a dense population, that will need the liberal provisions of this generous benefactor. THE PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK. (East Seventieth street.) On the second day of January, 1868, Mr. James Lenox, a distinguished member of the Presbyterian Church of New York, addressed a circular letter to a number of gentlemen of his own denomination, setting forth the fact that while the Jews, the Germans, the Roman Catholics, and the Episcopalians had each established a hospital for themselves, the large and influential body of Presbyterians had undertaken nothing of the kind. The envelope contained the draft of an act of incorporation, and of a constitution. The circular further declared that a large and eligible plot of ground, and funds to the amount of $100,000, would be made over to the managers if the enterprise were undertaken. Thle gentlemen addressed were severally invited to act as managers, and informed that a public meeting would be called to fully inaugurate the movement as soon as their concurrence was secured. The letter, with its munificent proposals, received prompt and encouraging replies, and on the 13th of January, 1868, a meeting of these gentlemen was held in the lecture room of the First Presbyterian church, when a temporary organization was effected. On the 28th of February, 1868, the Legislature passed the act of incorporation, authorizing the Institution to hold real estate and personal property to THE PRBBYTEEIAN HOSPITAL. 365 any amount, free from taxation. On the 26th day of March, the board of managers maturely considered and accepted the charter, elected their officers, Mr. Lenox being chosen President, and the Presbyterian Hospital became a corporate Institution. On the 17th of June, Mr. Lenox conveyed in due form to the board of managers, for Hospital uses, the block of ground lying between Seventieth and Seventy-first streets, Fourth and Madison avenues, valued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to which he added the princely sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in money, paying the exorbitant governmental succession tax on the transfer of the property of twelve thousand dollars. The site so generously contributed is ample in extent, in the vicinity of Central Park, and is considered one of the most salubrious and eligible on the island. The recent developments in medical science and hospital hygiene have so greatly modified former theories that, by protracted consideration of the subject, the managers hope to avoid the mistakes into which others have fallen. The sum of $1,300 was expended in obtaining designs from several distinguished architects, and the one adopted it is believed will secure all known advantages. The Hospital, which is nearly completed, consists of three pavilions, an administration building, and a boiler-house, all connected in the basement, first and second stories, by corridors of light construction. All the buildings (except the boiler-house) are three stories high, and attic in Mansard roof, with accommodations for three hundred patients. The first story and attic will be twelve feet high, respectively; the height of the second and third stories will be fourteen feet and six inches in the clear. The basement story of pavilions will be devoted to the accommodation of hot-air chambers, engine-rooms, fan-rooms, etc. The first floors of pavilions will be occupied by private wards, with all their necessary accessories, while the three upper stories will contain the public wards. A spacious and well-lighted amphitheater (for surgical operations) will occupy the third and fourth stories of the middle portion of the north pavilion in the rear. The dead-rooms will be located in vaulted chambers, just outside, and in the rear of this pavilion. The administration building, one of the three central buildings, fifty feet by ninety-two feet, has the middle portion projecting, in order to gain a carriageporch to main entrance, above which is located the chapel 366 - Ew YOK A ND ITS INSTITUTIONS. with its spire. Side-entrance porches are also provided. The basement of this building contain the kitchen (which extends through to the second floor), the bakery, scullery, larder, ice, bread, and store rooms. Special care has been given to the subjects of heating and ventilation. The wards are heated by indirect radiation; the remainder by direct radiation. The outer walls of pavilions are double, with an air-space between them. The ventilating and heating flues of glazed earthen-pipe are built in the inner wall, having openings provided with controlling registers at the top, bottom, and midway between the floor and the ceiling of the rooms. The fresh air is conducted through shafts from the top of the buildings to the fan-room in the basement, whence it is driven to the coil-chambers, which supply the air to rooms above. Other flues conduct the foul air to the lofts above attic stories, where they all unite in spacious ventilating lanterns, heated by steam-coils. The windows, extending from three feet above the floor to the ceiling, are provided with double sashes, for direct ventilation, without exposing the patients to currents of air. As regards the exterior elevations, the architectural effect is the result obtained by accentuating certain prominent features existing in the plan, in a quiet manner, and in using the materials, Philadelphia brick and Lockport limestone, according to sound rules of construction. To the princely liberality of Mr. Lenox many large and small subscriptions have been added by the friends of the enterprise in NTew York, Messrs. Robert L. & A. Stewart contributing fully $50,000. The Hospital will probably be dedicated free from debt, but with inadequate endowment, leavingample scope for the further exercise of large liberality. The Presbyterian Hospital is one of the grandest benevolent enterprises of our times, and eminently worthy of the enlightened and generous denomination that has established it. The annual reports of the Institution, replete with histonic learning, are model publications of their kind, and wor. thy of permanent preservation. TIT. (Congregationalist-late Rev. Dr. J. P. Thompson's Church.) -----— C- -------- ST. LuREz's HOSPITAL. (5th Ave., cor. 54th Street ) ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL. (Fifth avenue and Fifty-fourth street.) NL the year 1846 the Rev. W. A. Mulenberg, D.D., pas4\? tor of the Church of the TIoly Communion, deeply im^ll^ npressed with the neglect of the church generally in -t~- making no adequate provision for her sick poor, and believing that a hospital, conducted on more strictly religious principles than any in the city at the time, was greatly needed, presented the subject to his congregation at the festival of St. Luke, and informed them that with their consent he would set apart a portion of their collection that day toward the beginning of a Church Hospital. Thirty dollars were accordingly laid aside, and on the return of the festival the next year another collection was taken. A parochial institution only was contemplated for several years, but as the enterprise came to be known it met with such unexpected favor, that its friends resolved to lay the matter before the Episcopalians of the city at large. In the winter of 1850 the two lectures previously delivered by Dr. Mulenberg in the Church of the Holy Communion were repeated in St. Paul's Chapel, and afterwards printed and widely circulated. On the first day of May, 1850, the St. Luke's Hospital was incorporated under the general act of Legislature passed April 12, 1848, committing the control of the Institution to thirteen managers. In March, 1851, the Legislature amended the charter, increasing the number of managers to thirty-one; and in February, 1854, it was again amended, granting the corporation permission to hold personal estate to the amount of $250,000, and real estate not exceeding $100,000, over and above the value of buildings and improvements erected thereon for the purposes of the corporation. About the time of its incorporation the managers, proposing to carry out their undertaking on a liberal scale, appealed to the public for $100,000. This amount was soon subscribed, and was mostly given in large sums. An eligible site of twenty-four city lots, situated on Fifth avenue and Fifty-fourth street, had been previously, for certain considerations on the part of Trinity Church, granted by the city corporation to the Church of St. George the Martyr, on con 368 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. dition that there should be erected thereon, within three years from the date of the grant, a hospital and free chapel for British emigrants. As"the buildings had not been erected, and the land was soon to revert to the city, the managers of St. Luke's applied to the authorities for an extension of the time, which was finally granted, and after considerable negotiation the transfer of the title from the Church of St. George the Martyr was effected, on condition that the corporation of St. George should always be entitled to a certain number of free beds in the contemplated Hospital. Eight additional lots were also purchased at an average expense of $1,500 each; a plan for the building prepared by Mr. John W. Ritch was adopted; and in May, 1854, the corner-stone of the Hospital was laid, with appropriate services conducted by Bishop Wainwright. When the building was begun the managers only contemplated the erection of the central edifice and one wing, but they soon resolved to erect both wings, and accordingly appealed to the public for an additional hundred thousand dollars. On Ascension Day, 1857, the chapel, having been completed, was opened for divine service; and on May 13,1858, the Hospital proper was opened for the reception of patients. lThe buildings, which form a narrow parallelogram with a wing at each end, and a central edifice with towers, front on Fifty-fourth street, facing the south, extending longitudinally from east to west two hundred and eighty feet. The elevations of the several fronts are of square red brick. The central building contains on the first floor the office, the examination room, and appropriate apartments for the physician and the superintendent. On the second floor is the chapel, the distinctive feature of the Hospital. This is rectangular in form, eighty-four by thirty-four feet, with a ceiling forty feet high. The roof is elliptical, with bold traverse ribs resting on corbels. A narrow gallery extends around three sides on a level with the floor of the third story, and so supplements the audience room that several hundred persons are comfortably seated at the Sabbath afternoon service. The wards extend from the central building in either direction, the western wing being devoted to the male, and the eastern to the female patients, respectively. One ward is also appropriated to children, and is a very interesting department. The Hospital has spacious and airy corridors for the exercise of convalescent patients, bath-rooms, closets, and separate apartments for ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL. 369 the treatment of the delirious or noisy. The buildings have accommodations for over two hundred patients, and have cost, with their furniture, about $225,000. A rear building contains the apparatus for heating the whole edifice with steam, the cooking, washing, and drying being performed by the same agent. A fan ten feet in diameter for ventilating the Hospital is also driven by the same machinery, capable of discharging 40,000 cubic feet of air per minute. The same machinery carries the water to the tanks in the attic, fronm whence it is distributed through the building. The projector of the Institution early conceived that its usefulness would be much promoted by placing its wards under the chllarge of a band of Christian women. Under his own pastorate such a band had originated in 1845, known as the " Sisters of the Holy Communion," being the first community of Protestant "Sisters of Charity " in this country. They were accordingly fitted for the undertaking. The donations of a few wealthy friends enabled the Sisters in 1851 to erect a dwelling suited to their use adjoining the Church of the Holy Communion; and in 1854 the building adjoining their own was rented, and converted into an infirmary, with fifteen beds. Here the work of St. Luke's Hospital began, and more than two hundred patients were treated ere tfie opening of the Institution on Fifty-fourth street. The Sisters have had charge of the hospital since its opening, attending to its multiplied toils with scrupulous exactness through all these years, with no financial compensation. Even their apparel is furnished by an arrangement of their own, so that nothing but board is received at the Hospital. No vows bind them to their work nor to each other. It is a voluntary association of unmarried Christian females, somewhat akin to the Lutheran Deaconesses of Kaiserswerth, so well known in the hospitals of Germany and Prussia. The Hospital is conducted on the principle of a family. The Superintendent, who is also the chaplain, sustaining the relation of father, and the lady superior that of mother, to the inmates. One ot the Sisters has charge of the drug department, and saves the Institution annually the wages of an apothecary. The ministrations of the gospel, according to the forms of the Protestant Episcopal church, are daily attended to. Scriptures and prayers are read in each ward every morning, and a service is conducted every evening in the chapel, when the doors leading into the long wards are thrown open, and 370 NEW YORK AND rrs INSTITUTIONS. the large organ breathes forth its melody. The regular church service with preaching is conducted every Sabbath morning, and in the afternoon the chapel is thrown open to the inhabitants of the neighborhood, who attend in large numbers upon the preaching of the Word. About eight thousand patients have been treated since the opening of the Hospital, a small fraction of whom only were able to pay their own bills. More than thirty beds are now supported by a permanent endowment of $3,000 each, and over a score more by annual subscriptions of from two hundred to three hundred dollars each. The board of the patients was long held at four dollars per week, but has since been increased to seven dollars for adults, and four dollars for children. St. Luke's Hospital, situated in a central and wealthy neighborhood, with its beautifully cultivated lawns and elegant surroundings, if managed with the courtesy and skill that have hitherto characterized it, will long continue one of the finest institutions of the city. NEW YORK HOSPITAL. New York continued for many years without any adequate accommodations for its sick and disabled citizens. Though its original city charter was granted in 1686, no serious effort appears to have been made toward providing a public hospital until 1770. The population of the city at that time amounted to over twenty thousand. In that year a number of enterprising citizens liberally signed and circulated a subscription for tllis purpose. On the 13th of June, 1771, the governor of the colony, under George III., granted a charter, in which he named the mayor, the recorder, the aldermen and their assistants of the city, the rector of Trinity Church, one minister from each of the other denominations then in the city, thepresident of King (afterwards Columbia) College, and several other prominent citizens, as members of the corporation. Twenty-six governors were also named for the management of the business of the society. The original chlarter title was the " Society of the Hospital in the City of New York in America," but by an act in 1810 the name was changed to the " Society of the New York Hospital' Through the efforts of two eminent English physicians, Drs. Fothergill and Dun — 23 372 NEW YORK AND IsTrruTIUONS. can, numerous contributions to the funds of the society were made by persons of London and elsewhere. The following year the provincial Legislature granted it an allowance of ~800 ($2,000) per annum for twenty years. Highly encouraged with these prospects of revenue, the governors, in 1773, purchased five acres of ground in the outskirts of the city, and began the erection of the edifice. On the 27th of July, 1773, the foundation stone was laid; but on the 28th of February, 1775, when the structure was nearly completed, it was accidentally destroyed by fire. This sudden misfortune inflicted upon the society a loss of over se venteen thousand dollars, and would have entirely paralyzed its efforts had not the Legislature come to its assistance with a grant of $10,000. The toil of rebuilding began amid the outbursts of the Revolutionary war, and continued until the capture of New York by the British, September 15, 1776. For seven years it was, in its half-finished condition, occupied by British and Hessian troops as barracks, and occasionally used as a hospital. Independence having been secured, work was resumed, and on January 3, 1791, it was so far completed that eighteen patients were admitted. Its colonial revenue, of course, ceased with the breaking out of hostilities, but in 1788 the Legislature directed that $2,000 per annum for four years be paid to it from the excise funds. The funds of the society were now rapidly increased by donations from private citizens, and liberal grants from the Legislature. By an act of 1792, $5,000 per annum were granted; in 1795 the sum was increased to $10,000, and the following year to $15,000; subsequently it was made $22,500, which amount was paid annually until 1857. An act of 1822 exempted all the property of the society from taxation. Arrangement was made with the United States Government in 1799, which continued until recently, whereby sick and disabled seamen in this port were received, and paid for by the Collector of Customs, at the rate of seven dollars per week. The Hospital stood until recently on its original site, which is the most elevated and eligible one on the lower part of the island. Its grounds, which were handsomely laid out and ornamented with choice shrubbery, covered an entire block. They are bounded by Broadway on the east, Church street on the west, on the north by Worth, and on the south by Duane streets. The central Hospital was a large convenient building of NEW YORK HOSPITAL. 873 gay stone in the Doric order, with accommodations for two hundred patients, besides the numerous rooms appropriated to business, visitors, surgery, medicine, the resident officers, and servants. In 1806, in answer to a growing and general desire, a new building termed the South Iospital was erected for the treatment of insane patients, and devoted to this use until 1821, when this branch was removed to Bloomingdale. After the removal of the insane patients, this building was devoted to the treatment of seamen, and termed the Marine Department In 1853 it was torn down, and a splendid hospital erected on its site at a cost of $140,000, with accommodations for 250 patients. In 1841, on the opposite extreme of the grounds, had been reared the North Hospital, with accommodations for 100 patients. From the time of opening this Institution, in 1792, to 1856, it is said that 106,111 patients were admitted, of whom 77,390 were cured, 4,768 relieved, and 10,893 died. The majority of the latter were brought in from the streets in a dying condition. In 1857 the annual State appropriation of $22,500 ceased by statute limitation, after which the Legislaturle occasionally responded to the urgent appeals of the governors with greatly reduced appropriations, nothing being granted after 1866. The city government refused any aid, and private donations and bequests were also withheld, through a determination to force the governors to lease or sell the valuable grounds around the Hospital. Dtring these years, with tlhe rapid increase of our population, the number of casualty platients correspondingly multiplied. Tllis Hospital, situated so near the crowded centres of the metropolis, had always had the larger number of these unfortunates, no one of whom was ever rejected, anld but few of whom were able to pay, however long and expensive might be their treatment. The pay patients were also received at little more tlan half the expense of their support. The result was that after the withdrawal of the State annuity the governors found their finances continually embarrassed and annually growing worse and worse. In 1864, withl much effort $80,000 were raised by subscription to relieve the overburdened treasury, but 1868 left it still in debt about $100,000. About that time tle governors decided to lease the grounds and remove the IIospital. In Marchll, 1869, the grounds occupied by the main building and North Iospital were leased, and in May the patients were removed to the South Hospital, where operations were continued until Feb 374 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. ruary 1st, 1870, when the old New York Hospital entirely suspended. A line of majestic business houses already covers most of the premises. The rent of these grounds, when all are leased, will probably amount to $200,000 per annum; yet it is saddening to see this time-honored Institution, where Dr. Valentine Mott devoted his best attentions forty-eight years, and where a hundred and fifty thousand patients have been treated, crowded into obscurity, when the suffering population needs its accommodations more than ever, because more numerous than in bygone years. It is probable that another hospital will be opened by the society somewhere, but no plan has yet been agreed upon. The hospital library and pathological cabinet rank among the finest of the world, and are annually receiving valuable additions. The library contains 8,431 volumes. The office of the society is at No. 13 West Eleventh street. HOSPITAL OF SAINT FRANCIS. (East Fifth street, between Avenues B and C.) iHIS Hospital was founded by the " Sisters of the Poor f of St. Francis" (an order of Roman Catholic females whose mother house is in Germany), in 1865, and in 1866 the Institution was duly incorporated. A brick edifice, fifty feet wide and four stories high, was purchased in East Fifth street and converted into a hospital, where their operations were conducted until the present summer. Lots adjoining this building were purchased in 1869 at a cost of $35,000, and a four-story brick structure, with a front of sixty-six feet, was completed last May, at an expense of over $40,000. After entering the new building, the Sisters proceeded to demolish and rebuild the old structure immediately adjoining, in the style of the new building, though they were heavily in debt on the portion of the structure just completed. A small building situated on East Sixth street, immediately opposite and connected with the old building, contains the patients of extreme age. With the completion of the buildings the Sisters expect to have wards SAINT VINCENT'S HOSPITAL. 375 for over two hundred patients. Most of those admitted thus far have been German or Irish, though persons of any nationality are received. The great feature of the Institution is, that it proposes to be free to nearly all patients admitted. The eighteen Sisters not only propose to do all the labor of the Hospital with their own hands, but to beg from door to door the money to build and support it. This Hospital, though young and unknown to most of our citizens, has received from the Legislature from $5,000 to $7,000 per annum. It is situated in a section of the city where, on the present terms, it is certain to be well patronized, and may be a useful Institution. Two of the Sisters go out incessantly to gather funds and supplies. They claim to have treated eight hundred patients annually, thus far, but as they have as yet issued no annual report, precise information in relation to the Institution is not easily obtained. SAINT VINCENT'S HOSPITAL. ~:~, ^ (Comer of Eleventh streend ent ndSeen avenu.) HE society for the founding of this Institution was organized in 1849, and the Hospital opened the following year. On the 13th of April, 1857, it was duly incorporated by act of Legislature, under the legal title of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. It was first established in Thirteenth street, in a three-story brick building so arranged as to accommodate thirty beds. It needed but a short time to make known the existence of such an institution; and very soon these accommodations became insufficient to meet the increasing demand. The building adjoining was then rented and fitted up, and room was thereby secured for seventy beds. For a few years this proved sufficient, but as the Institution became more widely known, even this was found inadequate, and a larger building became a necessity. Accordingly, the present Hospital, situated on the corner of Eleventh street and Seventh avenue, then known as the Half-Orphan Asylum, was rented and fitted up. This 376 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. building required extensive alterations and repairs, and was also soon found too small. In 1856 the Sisters held a fair in the Crystal Palace and realized the handsome sum of thirtyfour thousand dollars. Their treasury being thus replenished, they purchased two adjoining lots, and erected a large wing to their building. In 1860 a Floral Festival was held in the Palace Gardens, and a sum of nearly twelve thousand dollars was realized. The same year an adjoining lot on the opposite side of the main building was purchased, and another wing erected. The Hospital is situated on high and dry ground, in a comparatively retired and quiet portion of that thicklypopulated part of the city. It is three stories high, with basement, presenting a front of one hundred and fifty feet on Eleventh street, the grounds extending through to Twelfth, furnishing an ample rear yard for the exercise of convalescents. Tle Hospital now contains one hundred and fifty beds, with space for more if circumstances should so require. It is divided into five well-regulated wards, besides which there are several well-furnished private apartments for the use of persons who require special accommodations or care. To clergymen or other persons stopping at hotels, or to strangers of means, overtaken suddenly with disease, these rooms offer peculiar advantages, combining the comforts of a home with the advice and treatment of the Hospital. The operating theatre connected witX the surgical ward is on the third floor of the left wing, the room being furnished with a fine skylight in addition to the ordinary windows. The entire management of the Institution is conducted by fifteen of the Sisters, no female help being employed, and no male except the Board of Physicians, and a nurse in each of the male wards. The entire edifice is heated with steam, and watched over with scrupulous tidiness in every part, though on account of its piecemeal construction it is sadly wanting in that general design which facilitates labor in its management. The design of the society at its organization was to make it a self-supporting Institution; hence it existed several years without any legal incorporation, or asking any grants from the city or State. But the multitude of charity patients that annually knocked at its doors induced the managers to reconsider and finally change the nature of their enterprise. In 1863 the Comnmon Council granted the Hospital $1,000, in 1864, $1,000, in 1865, $2,000, in 1867, $2,000, in 1868, SAINT VINCENT' HOSPITAL. 377 $3,000. The Board of Public Charities, in 1867, also gave it $1,000. The last Legislature gave it $5,000. In 1868 the Sisters purchased the main building of their Hospital, which up to this had been leased. The entire expense of their buildings and grounds has exceeded seventy thousand dollars, upon which there remains an indebtedness of $25,000 secured by bond and mortgage. Mr. Charles Gibbons, several years since, generously presented the society with an endowment contribution of $5,000, and it is quite remarkable that no wealthy Roman Catholic of the country has undertaken to increase the amount. The Institution is, of course, distinctly Roman Catholic in its management; pay patients are, however, taken from any denomination, and allowed to receive the visits 6f their own spiritual advise-is, though the stated services are always conducted by a Romish priest. Patients were admitted for many years at three dollars per week, always paying one month's board in advance, and free beds were granted associations and clubs for $120 per annum. But the greatly augmented cost of carrying on the Institution, occasioned by the war, led them to increase the price to six dollars for males, and five for females per week, and the cost of a free bed to $175 per annum. Many charity patients are still admitted. In 1859 and 1860 over two hundred of this class were admitted, whose average sojourn was six months, at an expense of over twelve thousand dollars to the Institution. During 1869 nearly two hundred and fifty were treated gratuitously. Since the founding of the Iospital, twenty-two years ago, over thirteen thousand patients have received treatment within its walls. The larger portion of those who have died have been afflicted with pulmonary complaints. It may be doubted whether any hospital in the land is conducted on more strictly economical principles. The Sisters serve for life, with no expense to the Institution save board, the mother house, St. Vincent's Convent, furnishing their apparel. The dispensary is even conducted by one of the Sisters, thus saving the usual salary of an apothecary. The pub lished report of 1860 showed the amount of wages paid for the year to have been $894, and the year closing with 1870 to have been $2,420.24. The self-imposed penury and patient continuance in unrequited, life-long toil, and sleepless vigi 378 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. lance for the advancement of the interests of "Mother Church," by many Roman Catholics, notwithstanding all their errors of faith and practice, present a sublime anomaly in the history of the world, and are eminently worthy of imitation. Y- GERMAN HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARY. (Seventy-seventh street and Fourth avenue.) Until recently, the hospitals of New York have been largely patronized and controlled by citizens of foreign nationalities. Hospitals are much more common in Europe than in this country. London alone contains over fifty, many of them of a general character, averaging about three hundred beds each. Americans, for the most part, prefer to be treated at home, even in extreme cases; but Europeans resort to the hospital when overtaken with slight illness. The hospitals of Europe often treat both the in-door and out-door patients, hence the thoughts of an invalid are naturally turned toward the hospital. t is this early education that has prompted so many foreigners to plan for a hospital soon after taking up their residence in an American city. " The German Hospital of the City of New York" was incorporated by the Legislature April 13th, 1861, and its first board of directors.was organized February 15th, 1862. A subscription, opened in 1861, slumbered through several years. The treasurer's report shows that up to 1865 less than $14,000 had been received. 380 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. The subscriptions of 1866 exceeded $53,000; of 1867, $36,000; and of 1868, $28,000. A plot of ground situated on Fourth avenue and Seventy-seventh street was leased to them by the city authorities for fifty years, at a nominal rent, and the directors purchased six additional lots on Seventy-sixth street. The plan at that time was to erect two fine pavilions, extending along Seventy-seventh street, from Fourth to Lexington avenues, with an administration building between them. The corner-stone of the western pavilion was laid September 3, 1866, and the edifice so far completed that the building committee transferred it to the board of directors October 28, 1868. The expenditures of the enterprise at that time having far outrun its income, the edifice could not be used until the heavy indebtedness could be removed. In the beginning of 1869 the directors, still burdened with debt, and seeing no prospect of receiving large donations, despaired of ever carrying through the original plan, and accordingly sold the six lots formerly purchased on Seventy-sixth street. The $25,800 thus received enabled them to cancel their most pressing obligations, still leaving a debt of $20,000, and the Hospital unfurnished. At this critical moment, Mr. II. E. Moring volunteered to undertake another collection, and with much perseverance succeeded in raising over $11,000, with which sum eighty complete beds and the other furniture were obtained. On the 13th of September, 1869, the Hospital was finally opened for the uses for which it had been erected, since which a large number of patients have been treated. The edifice is a beautif l, three-story brick, with French roof. The stories are high, well ventilated, heated throughout with steam, and contain one hundred beds. Tile whole is divided into six wards and five private rooms. The directors were last year very agreeably surprised by receiving the princely gift of $50,000 in United States bonds, from Baron Van Diergardt, a noble German philanthropist. This sum has enabled them to cancel all their indebtedness, leaving $40,000 in the treasury. They now propose to repurchase the lots so recently sold, or obtain others, and proceed with the erection of the other buildings so greatly needed, as the inconveniencies of the present building originate in the fact that all parts of the administration are crowded into what is but a part of a well-considered plan. The incompleteness of the Hospital appears from the fact that the present building contains no kitchen of sufficient size, no separate room for a pharmacy, no room for GEEMAN HOSPITAL AND DI8PENSARY. 381 surgical instruments, no suitably arranged operating theatre, no rooms sufficiently separated from the main building for patients giving symptoms of contagious disease. All these prerequisites are provided for in the general plan. Patients are admitted regardless of color, creed, or nationality. From the time of opening the IIospital until October 1, 1870, 739 patients were admitted, of whom 82 died, 600 were dismissed, and 57 remained. Of those admitted, 300 were treated free, 19 paid in part, and 420 paid in full. In 1866 the German Dispensary previously established was by an amended charter united in interest and management with the Hospital. This continues at its old location, No. 8 Third street. During 1870 it dispensed medical aid to 15,000 patients, and to about the same number the year previous. About one-third of these were of American birth, and nearly eight-nintlis of the remainder were from Germany. The college of physicians connected with this dispensary have collected the best library of medical periodicals in the United States. The German Hospital and Dispensary are conducted by learned and skillful physicians, and with the completion of their new buildings are certain to take rank among our best institutions. EEEZ i; MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL. (Lexington avenue and Sixty-sixth street.) The many thousand Hebrews of New York took no distinctive part in the hlospital accommodations of the metropolis until about twenty years ago. The act of Legislature by which the Jewish Hospital was incorporated bears date of January 5, 1852. About that time Sampson Simson, a wealthy Hebrew, donated a lot of ground in Twenty-eighth street, near Eighth avenue, and the society purchased an adjoining lot and erected the handsome brick Hospital, still in use, at a cost of nearly $35,000. The corner-stone of the structure was laid with appropriate exercises in the presence of a large concourse of citizens on the 25th of November, 1853, and the Hospital opened for the reception of patients amid much rejoicing on the 17th of May, 1855. One hundred and thirteen patients were admitted the first year. The Institution is under the control of twelve directors, three of whom are elected annually by the members of the society and serve four years. Members are admitted on the annual payment of five dollars, or one hundred paid at one time, which entitles them to a voice at all meetings of the society, and to a preference in the benefits of the Hospital. In 1853 Mr. Touro, of New Orleans, increased the capital of the society by a donation of $20,)00, and in 1863 two of the MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL. 383 directors proposed to contribute $10,000 each, on condition that the Board should raise a permanent fund of $50,000, which was soon accomplished. During the sixteen years of its operations, it has received 6,925 patients; about 5,500 of them have been restored to health, and,about 1,400 surgical operations have been performed. The design of the society, as set forth at its incorporation, is to "afford surgical and medical aid, comfort, and protection in sickness to deserving and needy Israelites," but their charities have extended far beyond their own persuasion. Many sick and disabled soldiers during the war were received and treated in their Institution. When in 1866 the city was threatened with cholera, a ward was prepared and promptly tendered to the Board of IIealth. Casualty patients have always been received and every possible alleviation afforded, often at considerable expense to the managers; and whenever a poor unfortunate has lost a limb by amputation, the directors have invariably procured him an artificial one. True to the instincts of their illustrious ancestors, they regard every man in distress a brother, and opening the tent door bid him welcome to the enjoyment of their hospitality. In their printed report they say, " The ear of the Hebrew is never deaf to the cry of the needy, nor his heart unmoved at the suffering of a fellow man, whatever be his creed, origin, or nationality." Several of the Jewish Rabbis give unwearied attention to the religious interests of their patients, and suffering Gentiles are allowed to receive visits from their own spiritual advisers. The Hospital contains a small synagogue. They also own a burial-place, and bury the dead without charge to the friends of the deceased. The necessities of the public and the wants of the society some time since outgrew the capacity of their modest building, which has never been able to accommodate over about sixty-five patients. Their surroundings have also sadly changed. At the time of opening the Iospital, the neighborhood was clean, airy, and quiet. But.during the last few years the building has been surrounded by factories, breweries, and workshops, whose steam engines are puffing day and night, to the great annoyance of the patients, who sigh for quiet and rest. These factories have brought also a class of families that add greatly to the noise and filth of the neighborhood. In October, 1867, a steam boiler exploded within a hundred feet of the Iospital, and was thrown several hundred 384 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTIUTIONS. feet in the air, crushing a dwelling and some of the inmates in its descent. The concussion at the Hospital was terrible. The walls were shaken, windows shattered, and the panic among the poor patients indescribable. This occurrence settled the matter of removal, and the directors began to inquire for a more eligible site. The Common Council granted them a lease of twelve lots situated on Lexington avenue, between Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth streets, for ninety-nine years, at a nominal rent of one dollar per annum. The corner-stone of the new Hospital was laid in the afternoon of May 25, 1870. After music by Eben's band, the Rev. J. J. Lyons offered an earnest and thoughtful prayer. Mr. Benjamin Nathan (since wickedly murdered), president of the society, after depositing the metal box containing the history of the movement and other documents in the stone, with an appropriate address, presented to Mayor A. Oakey Hall a silver trowel, which had upon one side of it a Hebrew inscription signifying House of the Sick, and on the other an inscription of gift, with the names of the officers and directors. The Mayor, after congratulating the society and the city upon this new movement of charity, said: "Other cities boast of peculiar and familiar titles descriptive of their inhabitants. There is the'City of Brotherly Love,' as Philadelphia is called, and there is Brooklyn,' The City of Churches;' but the city of New York proudly and gloriously boasts of being the great'City of Charities.' It is therefore doubly appropriate that the Mayor of that city should be here, as it were, the high-priest of these ceremonies." He then descended from the platform, and having placed himself near the stone, continued as follows: " I now proceed to lay this corner-stone in the name of our common humanity; in the name of the common mortal life to which we all cling; in the name of those ills of the body and the mind to which we are all subject; in the name of universal mercy, which we prayerfully demand; and in the name of that universal death which we all reverently expect. And Jehovah grant that, as long as time endures, angels of compassion, with healing on their wings, may hover round the site of this Mount Sinai Hospital." After the stone had been lowered to its place the Mayor struck it several times with the gavel, and concluded the ceremony by adding: " Lie thou there, 0 corner-stone, and, according to the sen MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL. 385 tence of the noble prayer which has been offered here to-day, mayest thou ever rest beneath the site of an hospital that shall be the shelter of suffering humanity, without distinction of faith." An eloquent and appropriate address was then delivered by the Hon. Albert Cardozo, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, from which we extract the following paragraph: "And now;from its foundation, I dedicate the beautiful edifice about to be erected on this spot to the charitable purposes for which it is designed. I dedicate it in the name of the union of these States-may both alike be perpetual!-whose theory of religious liberty and equality, faithfully maintained from the birth of the nation-may it never be violated!-has attracted so many to these shores, who have shed lustre upon our race, and who have repaid their adopted country for its protection by devoting treasure and talent, and life itself, to her interests. "I dedicate it in the name of the State of New York-may the career of both be upward and onward in prosperity forever!-under whose parental and protecting care and benign influence and policy the Institution has thriven and grown, from insignificant and dependent infancy, until it has attained its present extended usefulness and proportions. "I dedicate it in the name of the City of New York-catholic and profuse in its generosity towards all laudable objects -our pride, our home; with which our dearest interests and hopes are identified, and for whose welfare our heartstrings vibrate with tenderest emotion and sensibility; whose progress in all that makes a city really great, while only keeping pace with our affection, has excited the admiration and amazement of the world, and provoked at times the envy of her less-favored sisters of both this and the old country; whose munificence towards this and all deserving charitIes marks her pre-eminent, as in everything else, for entire freedom from bigotry, and for devotion to the cause of humanity and the sacred principle of religious liberty. And in the name of all these, speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves-for the helpless, the hapless, and the forlornI invoke the aid of all to sustain this admirable charity and make the Institution a perfect and permanent success." The work thus happily begun is being rapidly pushed forward, and the present autumn will probably witness the 386 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. completion of one of the finest hospitals in our city. The building will front on Lexington avenue, extending across the entire block; it will consist of a fine central edifice, with two wings, constructed of brick and marble, in the most approved style of architecture. It is three stories high, besides basement and attic, with Mansard roof, heated with steam, will accommodate two hundred beds, and cost, in its construction and furniture, $325,000. The subscription building fund amounts to nearly one hundred thousand dollars at this writing, the old hospital and grounds are expected to bring toward a hundred thousand when vacated, and the Institution has now a permanent endowment fund of another hundred thousand. The Charity Fair inaugurated on the 30th of November, 1870, netted the Hospital the large sum of $101,645, besides the $35,000 appropriated to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum. Surely the Hebrews of New York are making an excellent record. May a kind Providence direct and save them! BELLEVUE HOSPITAL. (Twenty-sixth street, East river.) HIIE Bellevue Hospital is one of the largest Institu-: tions of its kind in the United States, and one of the 3 noblest monuments of municipal charity in the whole world. In 1816 a stone building fifty feet by one hundred and fifty was erected at Bellervue, as a penitentiary for minor offenders. The same year the new almshouse was erected in close proximity to the latter, and in 1826 the Hospital was established near the two just described. The three Institutions, and over twenty acres of land, were enclosed with a stone wall, and became known as the Bellevue establishment. The opening of the Iouse of Refuge in 1825, and the prison at Sing-Sing in 1828, furnished accommodations for criminals, so that at the removal of the inmates of the almshouse to Blackwell's Island, in 1848, the Iospital interest naturally took the entire possession of Bellevue. The old ahlshouse, constructed of blue-stone, is now the ~ 1 ________ _ - 1- | A= ====_ _ __ II /1 _______ 4 4~~~~~~2 .:I: 2 I2<-~L~7'7 71it BODES AT TE ORGUE AWAITI IDNTIFICATIN AND BODIES AT TRIC MORGUUIE AWAITING IDENTIFICATION AND REX lIVIL., BELLEVUE HOSPITAL. 387 central edifice of the Hospital. Various changes and additions have been made from time to time, until the buildings now present a continuous line of three hundred and fifty feet, all four stories high, the central one crowned with a lofty observatory. The Hospital contains thirty-five wards, and has space for about twelve hundred patients. The ceilings are now considered too low and the ventilation quite defective, yet every improvement possible for the comfort of the patients is made. The Hospital is heated throughout with steam, the cooking and washing being performed by the same agent, and the apartments are all lighted with gas. Each building has a piazza with external iron staircases, affording pleasant exercise to convalescents, and ample means of escape in case of fire. In the basement of the main building are kept the drugs, the Iospital clothing, and much of the provision stores. Here is also the printing office of the commissioners. The side walls of the wide entrance wayof the first floor present on the one hand the stone on which George Washington stood when he took the oath of office as first President of the United States. The stoneis appropriately inscribed. On the opposite side the commissioners have placed a beautiful inscription in white marble, to the memory of Dr. Valentine Mott, so long regarded as the chief ornament of the medical fraternity of New York. The office of the warden and the business room of the commissioners are found on the first floor, and on the second are private apartments for the warden, engineer, apothecary, and matron. The third floor contains similar apartments for the resident physicians and surgeons; while the fourth contains the operating theater, surrounded with circular seats raised in the form of an amphitheater, with space for several hundred students. This floor contains also the library, and the consultation room. The surgical instruments formerly kept here have been removed to the first floor, and placed with other curiosities in a large room adjoining the entrance hall. They are all placed in charge of one person, who is held responsible for their condition. The attic contains the tanks from which hot and cold water is distributed through the building. The Hospital has recently been furnished with spring beds, which, besides lessening the labor, adds greatly to the comfort of the patients. The museum is being steadily enriched with specimens of morbid'anatomy, illustrating nearly every variety of 388 NEW YORK AND rIT INSTITUTONS. disease. The Hospital is placed under a medical committee of inspection, who examine it weekly, making such recommendations as they think proper. This Hospital, as all know, is a municipal institution, controlled by the Commissioners of Charities and Correction. Hence all sick poor are entitled to treatment free of charge. A surgeon is detailed to examine all applicants, and if they require continuous medical treatment he assigns them to their appropriate ward in the Hospital; if the illness is slight, they are sent to the Bureau of Out-door Sick. An average of seven or eight thousand are treated annually in this Hospital, about ten per cent. of whom die; a large part of the deaths occur, however, amtong infants and casualty patients. Though the patients are nearly all paupers, the surgeons employed are second to none, and the treatment throughout is the best science can afford. The bodies of the dead, unless taken away by their friends, are interred in the City Cemetery on Hart Island. As a school of clinical instruction, Bellevue ranks among the first in the world. The students of all medical schools in the city are granted admission tickets, and several hundred are in constant attendance. In 1866 the commissioners added the Medical and Surgical Bureau for the Relief of the Out-door Poor, which is manned by a large corps of physicians, who treated over 17,000 patients the last year. During the same year a building, similar to the famous Morgue of Paris, was constructed, as a temporary receptacle for the exhibition and identification of the unknown dead. The body is stretched upon a table so that it can be viewed through a glass ceiling day and night for seventy-two hours. If not identified, a minute description of the person is recorded, a picture taken, and the garments worn are still kept on exhibition for twenty or more days. A convenient room has been added to this building for the deliberations of the coroners. During 1869 there were received at the Morgue 149 bodies, 70 of whom were recognized by friends, and 79 not identified. Several acres of ground are still connected with the Hospital. The yards are finely cultivated and add greatly to the beauty and healthfulness of the Institution. —' -/=-~2. -- U - THE NURSERY AND CHILD'S HOSPITAL. (Lexington avenue and Fifty-first street.) Among all the woes of this sorrowful world, perhaps none are more touching to consider or record than those endured by helpless, speechless childhood. If early years are well supplied with the appliances of life and culture, the privations, exposures,. and tempests of later years may be triumphantly borne; but neglect and misfortune in the morning of life, if not instantly fatal, may so extend their shadows as to sadden and ruin a noble existence. Many causes conspire to afflict childhood. Death robs many a brighteyed child, in the earliest dawn of its existence, of her whose love and care can never be supplied. Its father may be at that instant on the Indian Ocean, in Asia, or on the Rocky Mountains. Poverty may drive the mother to give the food nature provided for her own infant to that of another; thus, to save herself from starvation, she half starves her child. Some mothers are insane, and some suffer with lingering illness, and are themselves conveyed to hospitals. Add to these the numberless illegitimate births, where shame for 390 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS, past crimes leads to the commission of another for its concealment, and we gain a faint conception of the ills the race encounters at the threshold of its existence. Reflections of this kind, particularly those of wet-nurses, compelled by want of subsistence to neglect their own babes and care for others, led to the founding of the "Nursery and Child's Hospital." And is it not eminently fitting that woman, to whom God in His providence has committed the race, and to whom He has given the finest susceptibilities for its culture, should be the founder and manager of this worthy Institution? Early in 1854 Mrs. Cornelius Du Bois, whose mind had become thoroughly imbued with this subject, undertook to interest her friends and the public in behalf of the infant children of the poor, and so successful were her endeavors, that on the 1st of March, less than a month from the time of beginning, a society was organized, with $10,000 subscribed to commence the enterprise. On the first day of the following May a building was opened in St. Mark's place, which was so soon filled that it was found necessary to add the house adjoining; but, the pressure for room still continuing, a more eligible building was secured on Sixth avenue, where the society carried on its work for two years. The original intention was to provide a nursery for the infants of laboring women, and others deprived by any cause of their mothers. -The design was to provide for healthy children, but unfortunately disease is not slow to march through the tender ranks of childhood, and it soon became apparent that, in order to the successful maintenance of a nursery, a hospital with physicians, nurses, and all needful appliances must be added. Every week the number of applications increased, and the managers soon became convinced that the limits hitherto assigned to their undertaking were not commensurate with the wants of the city, and that their borders must be greatly enlarged. This could not be done without money. An application to the city authorities finally secured the permanent lease of a lot of land one hundred feet square on Fifty-first street, between Lexington and Third avenues. The Legislature was appealed to in 1855, and again in 1857, and the sum of $10,000 was granted to aid in building. Several public entertainments and many private donations so swelled their building fund that they were permitted, in May, 1858, to complete a fine three-story brick building, at a cost of THE NURSERY AND CHILD'S HOSPITAL. 391 $2S,000. The main building is sixty feet deep, with a front of one hundred and nineteen feet, with two wings of twentyseven and forty feet, respectively. Up to this period no illegitimate children were admitted, but the large numbers they were compelled to refuse induced a deeper study into the necessities of these most wretched of all infants. The late Isaac Townsend, then one of the governors of the almshouse, was led to the careful consideration of the same subject, and came to the same conclusion, viz., that a foundling hospital should be established in New York. In 1858 the Common Council appointed a select committee to examine and report on the expediency of founding such an Institution. The committee carefully examined the subject, conferred with eminent physicians, collected statistics, and reported in favor of sch a IIospital. Their report showed that in one week, out of 503 deaths, no less than 107, or thirtyfive per cent., were under one year of age, 54 being returned as still or premature births. But these published bills of mortality could not guess at the hundreds and thousands of cases known only to certain women and their physicians. The annual report of the Police Department, the observations of thoughtful medical advisers, and others, proved that ilfanticide had become a widespread and appalling crime in American cities, and extended from the marble palace of Fifth avenue to the dingiest hovel on the island. It was believed that the establishment of foundling hospitals in the principal cities of Europe had prevented the extensive practice of child-murder in those countries. As early as 1670, Louis XIV. placed the Foundling Iospital of Paris on a common footing with the other hospitals of the city; and in 1778 a. lying-in asylum was established by Marie Antoinette. In 1739 Thomas Coram founded the London Foundling Hospital,. which has since been recognized as one of the most useful: charities of England. In our country villages and towns, where every one is known, infanticide is believed to be rare, hence, many indiscreet girls and women, on pretence of a visit or an offered situation, have in the seclusion of a great city sought concealment, and there blackened their souls with infanticide. The statistics gathered in one instance showed that,. out of 195 cases, only 37 belonged to the city. Many younggirls are annually thrust from the homes of their parents on the discovery of their sad condition, some of whom enter as a last resort dens of infamy to run a brief career of crime, which 392 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. terminates in an awful death; while others, whose desire for concealment is stronger than for life, are drawn from the water by our policemen, and described by the coroner. Through the unceasing exertions of Mrs. Du Bois, aided by the Common Council, a foundling hospital or " Infant Home" was erected in 1861. It was a model building of its kind, constructed of brick and freestone, with three stories above a high basement, fronting on Lexington avenue, at the corner of Fifty-first street, and a little removed from the original Nursery and Hospital. About the time of its completion, yielding to the pressing demands of the hour, it was surrendered to the sick and disabled soldiers, who occupied it four years, but at the return of peace it was restored to its founders, and appropriated to the uses for which it had been erected. In October, 1865, it was formally opened for the reception of inmates. Great inconvenience was experienced still for want of sufficient room, and from the separation of the two buildings. This led the enterprising managers, in 1868, to erect, at an expense of over thirty-one thousand dollars, a third building, covering the vacant space between the two former, the basement of which contains a play-room for the children, the rest being largely appropriated to a lying-in asylum. The buildings are now entirely completed and paid for. They contain fourteen wards, besides suitable school, dining, and play rooms, and other needful apartments. The aim of the society is not to encourage vice, but to prevent it. Hence females seeking admission are required to furnish certificates from responsible parties, stating that until recently they have sustained virtuous characters. It opens its doors for the relief and reoovery of unfortunates who have no other refuge in the wide world. Each woman admitted is required to nurse and care for one child besides her own, and if her child dies, to nurse two during her stay. On leaving she receives a certificate of recommendation from the managers and house physician, which usually secures her a good situation. Children under six years of age are received, for which the parent is expected to pay ten dollars per month for an infant, seven dollars or a child who can walk, and nine dollars for a hospital or sick child. The great majority, however, pay nothing. The city a'uthorities now pay five dollars per week for every indigent lying-in woman, and five dollars per month for each child when nothing can be obtained from the parent. THE NURSERY AND CHILD'S HOSIITAL. 393 During the year closing with March, 1870, 108 mtants were born in the Hospital, and the inmates averaged about three hundred and fifty, two-thirds of whom were children. The expenditures of the Institution during the same time amourted to $55,241. During the last year 116 infants were born in the Institution, 1,083 persons cared for, and 43 wet nurses provided with situations. The servants sometimes find an infant placed at the door of the Institution in the early hours of the morning, and others are left by heartless mothers who never call for them. These are kept and instructed until they are eight or ten years of age, when they are adopted into good families. The infants are fed condensed milk, preparations of barley, etc., and as they advance eggs and other solid articles of diet are added. An able board of physicians give much time to the care of the sick, and the Institution is watched over night and day by an experienced matron, Mrs. Polman, who possesses rare fitness for the critical position. An annual ball is held in behalf of the Institution. This questionable method of sustaining a worthy charity has nevertheless proved eminently successful, as the managers have realized $10,000 or $15,000 from each, thus drawing large sums from the voluptuous public, which lacks the principle to give until entertained with some frivolous amusement. On the 4th of July, 1870, the Society opened on Staten Island a country nursery, for the benefit of the sickly children of the Institution, at an expense of $50,000. The Legislature of 1870 gave $25,000, and in 1871 added the other $25,000, thus fully equipping this country retreat for these infant sufferers. The society is now thoroughly furnished for its undertaking, and will doubtless run a long and useful career. The Institution is Protestant, but -ot denominational. NEW YORK EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY. (Corner of Second avenue and Thirteenth street.) The disorders of the eye and its appendages are more numerous and diversified than those of any other member of the human body, and some of the operations for its relief require the nicest combinations of delicacy and skill. Whatever knowledge the ancients may have possessed of this subject, certain it is that the medical fraternity, during the middle ages, walked in profound darkness. It was not until the latter part of the seventeenth century that the anatomy of the eye was well understood. The German surgeons have the honor of rescuing from deep obscurity the science of ophthalmic surgery. In 1773 Barthe first founded the Vienna School, which has since become so celebrated. The impulse given to the subject in Germany was soon communicated to England, and in 1804 Mr. Sanders founded the London Eye Infirmary, whence'have sprung similar charities in various parts of Great Britain and the Continent. NEW YORK EYE AND EAR IN LRMARY. 395 In 1816 Edward Delafield and John K. Rodgers, graduates of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City, sailed for Europe to improve themselves in the knowledge df their profession. They had attended the usual course of lectures, each had practised a year in the New York Hospital, but as the institutions of our country were yet in their infancy they hoped by foreign study to render themselves better fitted for the responsible duties of the medical profession. While pursuing their studies in London they were induced to become pupils in the recently established Eye Infirmary. They had given the usual attention to the study of the treatment of the eye, but soon discovered that they and their American instructors were profoundly ignorant of the whole subject. They instantly saw that here was an open field of great usefulness wholly untrodden in their own country, and they devoted themselves with untiring assiduity to this new branch of knowledge. Returning in 1818, they nobly resolved to establish an Infirmary. They were both young, possessed little means, had no reputation as physicians, yet in August, 1820, they hired two rooms on the second floor at No. 45 Chatham street, and publicly announced that on certain days and hours of each week indigent persons afflicted with diseases of the eyes would be gratuitously treated, and furnished with all necessary medical appliances. What was undertaken as an experiment soon proved a success, for in less than seven months four hundred and thirty-six patients had applied and received treatment, and many astonishing recoveries had occurred. IIaving thus demonstrated the feasibility and utility of the undertaking, they now resolved to bring the matter before the public, and ask for the means to really found an Infirmary. A public meeting convened at the City Iotel on the 9th of March, 1821, to consider this subject, was eminently successful. A permanent organization was effected, and a committee raised to solicit subscriptions and temporarily conduct the Institution. The members of the society were denominated governors, and they resolved that the payment of forty dollars or upwards should constitute one a governor for life, or the payment of five dollars per annum a yearly governor, with the privilege of sending two patients to the Infirmary for treatment at all times. The operations of the society were continued in the same 396 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. rooms until 1824, when a part of the old Marine'Hospital was rented for the sum of $500 per annum. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature March 29th, 1822, and the sum of $1,000 was granted in each of the two following years. In 1845 the accommodations at the Hospital being totally inadequate, a three-story house at No. 97 MIercer street was purchased and fitted up for the Infirmary. But after a few years the number of patients became so great that it became manifest that a larger building must be obtained. In 1854 the Legislature, in answer to repeated memorials, granted the sum of $10,000, on condition that $20,000 more should be raised by the directors and expended in building. Over $30,000 were soon subscribed by the friends of the enterprise, and in 1857 the present building was erected. It stands on the north-east corner of Second avenue and Thirteenth street, is a handsome four-story brown stone, with appropriate apartments and space for seventy-five beds for patients. It was a source of deep mortification to the prime movers in this undertaking, who had introduced this system into the country, and had planted themselves in its largest and wealthiest city, to see two kindred institutions securely founded and richly endowed, one in Boston and the other in Philadelphia, while they were left to toil on in comparative poverty and obscurity for six and thirty years. On their entrance into the new building tlle society entered upon a new era. Its enlarged accommodations for patients from abroad greatly swelled the numbers of those who sought its remedies. Previous to 1855, thern had been treated 48,528 patients, but during the last sixteen years no less than 98,875 have sought relief at the Infirmary. An army, in all, of 147,403. The Infirmary is open daily, Sunday excepted, from twelve o'clock to one and a half, for the gratuitous treatment of eye patients; and diseases of the ear are treated every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, from two o'clock to four. The poor from all parts of the State are entitled to its privileges. The cost of the building, with the site on which it stands, has amounted to $65,000, and is now valued at nearly twice that amount. At its opening there remained a debt upon it of $10,000. This has since been removed, and commendable exertions have since been made by the directors and surgeons to secure an adequate endowment, to establish free beds, and to furnish the patients gratuitously with glasses, artificial eyes when needed, etc. NEW YORK EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY. 397 The State long since withdrew all pecuniary support, though patients are freely received from all parts of it, and the Common Council grants it but $1,000 per annum. Of the 9,290 treated during 1870, 7,387 were for diseases of the eye, and 1,903 for diseases of the ear. Of the 415 patients kept in the Infirmary, 203 were at the expense of the Institution. The endowment fund, contributed by Mr. Grosvenor, Mr. Burrall, Dr. IIarsen, Chauncey and Ienry Rose, Madame De Pon, Mr. Alstyne, and o(thers, has been carefully invested and now yields an income of $11,000. Though several new institutions of this kind have recently been established in this city and Brooklyn, the surging tide of sufferers has not been diverted from this old and wellknown Bethesda. This society has certainly accomplished an excellent work, and is justly entitled to the lasting gratitude of the public. Its whole history hlis been an exanple of the most rigid economy and self-sacrifice, but the fruit of its benevolent exertion has been rich and abundant. Frequently has the unwilling occupant of the almshouse recovered through its exertions. Iis family, long scattered or consigned to a home of wretchedness, has been collected and raised by industry to comfort and independence. Here the infant, born blind, has first opened its eyes upon its mother's face, and the few remaining days of the old man have been cheered by the returning light of day. From these rooms the broken-down student has returned to his books, and the lone female to her employment, happy in the recovery of sight, the loss of which made poverty a double calamity. Here many an anxious mother has shed tears of joy over the recovery of a longafflicted child. If it is praiseworthy to educate and support the blind, is it less so to prevent blindness? Surely it is much cheaper to prevent pauperism than to support it, all other considerations ignored. The benefits accruing to the whole country, through the better education of the medical fraternity, is not the least advantage to be considered from the founding of this Institution. The knowledge acquired has been freely offered to humanity at large. Clinical teaching and courses of lectures have been regularly given at the Infirmary for years, and every facility afforded to all medical students to perfect themselves in this branch of surgery; thus affording the public a better protection against the mistakes 398 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. and unskillfulness of their medical advisers. Dr. Edward Delafield, its chief founder, whose name and toils have been conspicuous in nearly every part of its history, still survives, to mark with peculiar satisfaction the increasing success of this cherished Institution. THE WOMAN'S HOSPITAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. (Fourth avenue and Fiftieth street.) The advances made in almost every branch of medicine and surgery during the present century have far exceeded those of any similar period in the history of the world, yet woman, borne down by peculiar and loathsome sufferings, has sighed in vain for relief until within the last few years. In 1852, Dr. J. Marion Sims, originally from Alabama, made known to the profession the result of his long and patient investigations of some of those hitherto incurable ills that afflict woman. IIe had discovered the surgical remedy whereby with one or more operations a disease of the most distressing character, that had for ages baffled the skill of Europe, was radically cured. The announcement was hailed with high satisfaction by the medical fraternity. The successful treatment of these cases, it was found, required the careful management in minute detail of such trained nurses as are rarely found in private houses. Secondly, the operator, in addition to the knowledge and skill of a good surgeon, must possess peculiar adroitness of manipulation, the gift of very few, requiring large and constant experience not often attained in a 400 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. general hospital. Third, the successful treatment of many patients could be conducted nowhere but in a hospital. From these considerations it was deemed expedient to establish an institution where this treatment could be made a specialty. The subject being laid'before a number of wealthy benevolent ladies of New York, they entered upon the task of founding an Institution with a very commendable zeal. In February, 1855, the Woman's Hospital association was formed, with a board of managers consisting of thirty-four ladies, a work of woman for the benefit of her own sex. On the 4th of May, 1855, the association opened a hospital in a hired building, with forty beds, and conducted its operations for over twelve years on this limited scale. During that period, however, over twelve hundred patients were discharged, either cured or greatly relieved, besides the hundreds of outdoor patients treated. The city generously contributed a block of ground lying on Fourth avenue and Fiftieth street, and in May, 1866, the corner-stone of the Woman's Hospital was laid. On the 10th of October, 1867, the new building was thrown open for inspection and for appropriate services, and on the 15th for the reception of patients. While the building was being erected, the property occupied on Madison avenue was sold, and the patients removed to Thirteenth street, where they continued eleven months. The new I-ospital is one of the prettiest buildings on the island. Its basement is of polished stone, the four additional stories of brick, with angles and pilasters ornamented with finely wrought vermniculatcd blocks. The windows are beautifully arched, the ceilings higher than in any other hospital in the city, and an elevator ascends from basement to fourth floor, to the great convenience of patients, nurses, and visitors. The building contains 75 beds, and cost, with its furniture, $200,000. The upper floor is devoted to charity patients from New York State only, who are required to render some service in the labor of the house, if able. The price of board on the third floor is six dollars per week, on the secold floor eight dollars, the first floor being divided into private rooms which rent for fifteen or twenty dollars per week. During the year closing November, 1869, 236 patients received treatment in the Institution; of these, 151 were cured, 13 improved, 6 discharged as incurable or unsuitable for this treatment, 6 died, leaving 60 still in the Hospital. The expenses of the Institution during the year THE WOMAN'S HOSPITAL OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 401 amounted to $22,000, of which sum $14,000 were received from the pay patients, and the remainder raised by subscriptions and donations. The surgical department, under the direction of the skillful Dr. Emmet, has been so organized that out-door patients are gratuitously treated three days in the week, and during the year 1,369 of this class had been admitted. The report of the year closing November, 1870, showed that 262 patients had been under treatment in the wards, of whom 167 were discharged cured, 17 improved, 12 received no benefit, and 9 died, leaving in the Hospital 57. Over eighteen hundred out-door patients had also received medical treatment. The annual expenses had slightly decreased, as had also the receipts from the patients and from donations. Ovarian tumors of astonishing magnitude have been successfully removed at this Hospital. The business of the association is conducted by a board of males styled governors, and an associate board of females termed supervisors. A hundred ladies have pledged to supply the annual deficiency in the finances, the liability of each not to exceed one hundred dollars. They deem this course preferable to fairs, lotteries, etc. The State, city, and community have honored themselves in contributing toward the establishment of this much-needed Institution. Thousands of physicians from all parts of our country have attended on clinical days, and returned to their own fields to put in practice the knowledge acquired. The founder of the Institution has introduced the discovery into England and France, receiving distinguished honors from those nations, but, what is more desirable still, the satisfaction of knowing that his system for the amelioration of human suffering is being reduced to practice in all parts of Europe. During 1869 a modest gentleman, Mr. Baldwin, whose name was withheld until after his death, contributed the princely sum of $84,000 toward the erection of another pavilion, similar to the one in use. The association was still somewhat in debt on the present building, but this munificent donation has imposed the duty of raising an additional $50,000 to complete the project, which will probably be aczomplished at no distant day. In 1868 Mr. Henry Young contributed $3,000 for the endowment of a bed which he is allowed to assign to such patients as he shall choose at all times. During the last year Mrs. Robert Ray and Mrs. H. 25 402 NEw YORR AD rrs INTITUTImONS. D. Wyman have each contributed a similar sum. The managers desire to have these excellent examples followed until half of the beds in the Institution are free, and if a sufficient endowment could be secured it would be their pleasure to make the Woman's Hospital entirely free to every suffering female who may need its treatment. The fame of the Woman's Hospital has spread through all the land. In the spring of 1870 the wife of an army officer, suffering under a malady pronounced incurable, came from Arizona. With the courage of a brave and true woman, stimulated by the love of life that she might still minister to husband and children, she travelled incessantly fourteen days and nights, through the three thousand miles that separated her from the goal of her hopes. When presented to the surgeon in-chief, he informed her with marked kindness that the chances were sadly against her. She calmly scanned his face for a moment, and then replied, "Before I saw your face, sir, I feared I should die; but now I know I shall live." Faith and skill wrought together, she recovered, and carried to her distant home grateful memories of the Woman's Hospital. INSTITUTION FOR THE RELIEF OF THE RUPTURED AND CRIPPLED. (Corner of Lexington avenue and Forty-second street.) The generations of the last two centuries have been renowned above all others for those discoveries and inventions which minister to the wants of suffering humanity. The physical sciences have always been slow in their development, yet with these the art of healing is most intimately connected. It is sometimes said that little progress has been made in literature during the last two thousand years. Modern authors do not surpass the ancient classics, modern orators have not equalled Demosthenes and Cicero, and the volumes of modern poets are laid aside for those of Homer and Virgil. Euclid, who flourished three centuries before Christ, has not been excelled by geometricians; astronomers have improved little on La Place, and law has improved but slowly since the days of Blackstone and Mansfield. Medical science, however, has advanced with rapid strides in our day, diminishing suffering and greatly lengthening the period of human life. Statistics show that longevity las increased in Paris, since 1805, seventy-one per cent., and that 404 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. while the annual deaths of London in 1780 were one in twenty of the population, in our day they are reduced to one in forty. The great increase of hospitals, infirmaries, and dispensaries, during the last quarter of a century, has evinced decided progress in the right direction, exhibiting on the one hand a thoughtful generosity among the wealthy, and timely relief from the woes that afflict the indigent on the other. But while much was accomplished for the blind, the deafmute, for eye and ear patients, there still existed a very numerous class of ruptured and crippled for whose relief no institution had been founded. In 1804 a society was formed in London for the relief of the ruptured, which gave advice and trusses to poor persons properly recommended. Several others have since sprung up from this example, but it is believed that the citizens of New York have the honor of founding the first institution for the gratuitous and thorough treatment of hernia and all classes of orthopedic surgery. The prime mover in this laudable eLte prisc was Dr. James Knight. In 1842, when public clinics were first introduced in our medical colleges, Dr. Valentine Mott, Professor of Surgery in the University Medical College of New York, appointed Dr. Knight, who had devoted much attention to the construction of surgical apparatus and the treatment of deformity, to take charge of the orthopedic branch of the Institution. Vast numbers of poor cripples and ruptured persons applied for treatment, and Dr. Knight supplied not a few of them with surgical apparatus at his own expense, which drew heavily on his slender means, but which nevertheless greatly enlarged his practice, and became in the end a source of wealth. At a later period Dr. Knight became one of the visitors of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, and on these visits he often found helpless cripples whom he believed might have been made useful and self-supporting if they had received proper treatment in early years. Dr. Knight had long felt the necessity of a society to undertake the improvement of this class of sufferers. I-e at different times issued circulars to the benevolent of the city, setting forth the subject, urging the importance of an organization, but received no response. He next prepared a paper which he presented to the principal surgeons, the mayor, and to several other distinguished gentlemen, who gave it their signatures. With this encouragement he next sought the co-operation.of Mr. R. M. Hartley, the cor INSTITUTION FOR RELIEF OF RUPTURED AND CoU PLED. 405 responding seeretary of the Association for Improving the Condition of tle l'oor. This thoughtful philanthropist had long felt the necessity of such an institution, but had been deterred from any movement in that direction from want of professional aid. HIe instantly recognized in Dr. Knight the aid he had so long needed, and on the 10th of April, 1862, he brought the subject before the managers of the Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor, and introduced the Doctor to that body. After due consideration, the Society was, on the 27th of March, 1863, incorporated under the act of 1848. The private residence of Dlr Knight, No. 97 Second avenue, was rented at a moderate price, the managers pledged to defray the expenses of the enterprise for three years, and on the first day of May the Institution was opened with Dr. Knight as resident physician and surgeon. During the first month 66 patients were treated, 10 of whom were taken into the Institution, and at the close of the year the number amounted to 828. With each succeeding year the nurmber has increased, amounting in the year just closed to 2,507, or 11,764 during the first seven years; and even this number would have been quadrupled but for the lack of accommodations. It has been ascertained that at least one in fifteen of the population is ruptured; persons of all ages, from the youngest infant to the octogenarian, being thus afflicted. These cases are largely among the poor and laboring classes, unable to purchase trusses and other surgical appliances. The children in the Institution present many sad examples of deformity. There are cases under treatment for lateral curvatures, spinal and hip diseases, deformed limbs, paralytic qa/f^tions, club-feet, weak ankles, weak knees, bow legs, and white swelling. Scores of astonishing recoveries occur annually of those who a few years since would have been pronounced incurable, and left to limp or crawl to an early grave. Another class of patients are th<.o suffering from varicose veins, which are relieved by the laced stocking, which, like suitable trusses, spring supporters for hip diseases, and utero-abdominal supporters, have always heretofore been far hevond the reach of the poor on account of their costliness.'The society manufactures its own instruments at less than one-fourth the price hitherto paid All indigent persons applying receive counsel, and any of these instruments needed, gratuitously. The building in Second avenue was purchased in 1866, but was never able to accommodate over thirty, and 406 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. as most of those admitted are compelled to remain from six to eighteen months, and a few even longer, hundreds were annually turned away, who, with careful in-door treatment, could have been saved from a life of deformity and suffering. The manifest necessity for the movement, and its auspicious beginnings, led the managers to appeal to the public for the means to found, on a firm basis, a suitable institution. This has been responded to by a number of benevolent gentlemen, among whomn mnay b)e mentioned Chauncey Rose, Esq., who has contributed the handsome sum of ninety thousand dollars. The Legislature, in 1867, enlarged their charter, granting power to hold real estate to the amount of two hundred and fifty tlousand dollars, and personal to the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It also granted, thrnogh the Supervisors of New York county, twenty-five thousand dollars toward building. The new edifice was entered by the surgeon and patients in the spring of 1870, and formally opened with appropriate exercises on the eleven:h of the following No)vember. When the edifice was finished, an indebtedness of $50,000 remained on the property. John C. Green, Esq., the president of the society, nobly proposed to donate the sumn of $50,000, if the board of managers would within thirty days collect a similar sum, which was soon accomplished, sweeping away all encumbrar,. es with a stroke, and leaving $50,000 as the foundation of a permanent endowment fund. The building occupies five lots of ground on the north-west corner of Lexington avenue and Forty-second street. The ground plan consists of a central portion one hundred and ffteen by forty-five feet, to which are attached semi-circular wings of twenty two feet radius at three angles, two facing the south on Forty-second street, and one at the north-east angle on Lexington avenue. A wing, rectangular in form, thirty-two by twenty-two feet, is also attached to the northwest ange. The heavy walls, which are seventy-nine feet high, are of brick, trimmed with Ohio free and Connecticut brown stone, their blended colors forming a grateful relief to the eye. The basement, which is ten feet high, contains a reception hall, with seats for one hundred out-patients, consultation-rooms, kitchen, dining-room, store-r)omrs, laundry, and the nuanufacturing department for the construction and repairb of surgico-mechanical appliances. The first floor, reached by a broad flight of steps, is bisected by a spacious hallway, INSTITUTION FOR BELIEF OF BUPTUBED AND CRIPPLED. 407 while a narrower one, running at right angle with this, divides it into equal parallelograms. This floor contains a receptionroom, a spacious hall for the meetings of the managers, appropriate rooms for the family, and several apartments for patients. The second and third floors, which have walls eighteen feet high, are each divided into three longitudinal divisions, to be occupied by the children; the central one on each floor is a clear space where they receive their food and instruction; the (others contain their beds, clothing, etc. The fourth floor is an open expanse for convalescent patients to enjoy the sunlight, free air, and amuse themselves with suitably limited calisthenics. This story is eighteen feet high, covered with a large central and several smaller domes, through which the invigorating sunlight pours its mellow rays upon the pale but hopeful patients. The building contains an admirable system of ventilation, is heated throughout with steam, and well supplied with bath-rooms, hot and cold water. The spacious stairway is fire-proof, and the building is furnished with a fire-proof elevator, worked with steam, which carries patients' food and all other appliances from the basement to the fourth floor. The edifice has been completed at an expense of $250,000, including the site, and has ample accommodations for two hundred patients. The Institution is now prepared to receive pay patients, both children and adults, and the society has entered, we trust, upon a new era in its useful career. Its labors in the past, aside from all humane and moral considerations, have been abundantly successful, relieving the city of hundreds who must have been beggars and paupers, and supplying the means of comfort and independence to many worthy families. The children are instructed in English and German, and many who never saw a book at home make surprising progress. The Institution in its management is Protestant, though not denominational, and sound Christian morals are inculcated in the minds of its inmates, who represent all creeds and nationalities. Without disparagement to any, we can but regard this as among the very first institutions of this great metropolis. THE HOUSE OF REST FOR CONSUMPTIVES. (Tremont, N. Y.) E idea of founding an institution for the better treatment of consumptives, we are told, originated in the mind of Miss E. A. Bogle, of White Plains. Her mother having died with consumption, she was led to reflect much upon the nature of the disease, and having spent fifteen months in a camp hospital at David's Island during the war, and taken charge of the Home for Incurables at West Farms after her return, she conceived the idea of establishing an institution where pulmonary complaints should be made a subject of special study and treatment. She communicated the idea to the Rev. T. S. Rumney, D.D., of White Plains, who entered with spirit into the movement and became the founder of the Institution. The society was organized in September, 1869, and on December 1st a House of Rest for Consumptives was opened at Tremont, with one female patient. The author visited the Institution on the last day of January, 1870, and found five patients, three male and two female. The building leased at Tremont is a very eligible one, with fine surroundings, on the line of the Harlem Railroad, though it is the purpose of the trustees to purchase land and erect suitable buildings at White Plains at no distant day. It is designed to be a charitable institution, receiving patients afflicted with pulmonary complaints from any and every denomination, supplying all with medical treatment and nursing; alo " with the ministrations of the Gospel according to the forms and doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church." Any person or society may establish a free bed, to be constantly occupied by any invalid he shall designate, on the annual payment of three hundred dollars. It is the desire of the managers to have as many of the beds free as possible. Persons become members,f the society on the annual payment of ten dollars, or a life member on the payment of one hmndred at one time. It may be doubted whether the best location has been selected, a dry atmosphere being thus far considered the most important desideratum for consumptives. While it is too early in the history of the Institution to THE HOUSE OF REST FOR CONSMPTIVES. 409 make any safe prediction concerning it, may we not, however, rejoice in the undertaking, and hope that new light may be shed on this hitherto dark subject, and that thousands who would otherwise sink pale and lifeless into premature graves may be spared for years of toil and usefulness. Other diseases that successfully baffled the skill of the medical fraternity for ages have been conquered by the investigations of modern times. The small-pox was the raging scourge of the world until Dr. Jenner, by long study and careful experiments, disrobed it of its power. Certainly, in a climate like ours, where three-fourths of the people are afflicted with pulmonary diseases in some of their forms, and all are liable to be, no more important subject can challenge the researches of the physician, or the charities of the benevolent. NEW YORK INFIRMARY FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN. (No. 128 Second avenue.) Until very recently it has been difficult, if not quite impossible, for a woman to obtain a complete medical and surgical education; either in this or in any other country. That she possesses the talent, and should by instruction secure the fitness to successfully treat the delicate cases of her own sex, is to us a matter of plainest common sense; yet such has been the prejudice of the medical fraternity and of the world at large, that for ages she has been debarred from the halls of the medical college, and from the operating theater at the hospital. A growing desire to enter this wide field of usefulness has been evinced by the female sex for the last fifty years, and is becoming more and more contagious as opportunities in this direction are afforded. Something more than twenty years ago, Misses Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell managed to press their way through a medical course, and graduated at a medical college in Cleveland. Several years were subsequently spent in the prosecution of these studies in Europe, after which they returned, NEW YORK INFIRMARY FOR WOMEN AND OIMLDRE. 411 and with the aid of a few friends founded the first medical charity conducted by female physicians, and the first hospital in the world for the instruction of women in medicine and surgery. The Institution was incorporated in December, 1853, under the general act of 1848, with a board of eighteen trustees, among whom stand the names of II. Greeley, H. J. Raymond, Charles A. Dana, Elizabeth Blackwell, etc. Their first movement was to open an infirmary or dispensary in a single room near Tompkins square, with a capital of fifty dollars, to be attended three times a week by Doctor Elizabeth Blackwell. Three years later, reinforced by the return of Doctor Emily Blackwell from Europe, and by Marie E. La Krzewska, a lady of medical attainments, a hospital department was added. This last step was taken amid many fears and doubts on the part of sundry trustees and friends of the cause, lest, through the prejudice of the public, the death certificates signed by a woman should not be recognized by the authorities, and the means necessary to defray the expenses of the enterprise should fail. But the faith of woman discovered light ahead and pressed on. The names of several distinguished practitioners were secured as a consulting board, and in the fourth year the infirmary was by the State and city placed on the list receiving governmental assistance, which official recognition was considered more valuable than the financial aid secured. In 1862 a subscription was started, which resulted in the purchase of the fourstory brick building, twenty-six by seventy feet, situated at No. 128 Second avenue. The building cost $17,000, but the improvements and other changes have since doubled its market value The society in addition to about $1,000 annually received from the State, has recently received $10,000 from the city, which has enabled it to remove the mortgage on its property and to lease for a term of years the adjoining building, thus greatly enlarging its accommodations. During the first five years that the infirmary was located on Second avenue, 31,657 sick persons were treated, the greater portion being out-door patients. On account of their limited accommodations, but 640 were received into the house, 353 for the practice of midwifery, only five of whom died, an average of one per year. The small percentage of deaths establishes the capacity of woman to successfully conduct a hospital. Their business is rapidly increasing, as no less than 6,413 were treated or supplied with medicine during 1869. More 412 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. than one hundred have been received into the house annually for several years past, the ma jority being obstetrical cases, though all other patients in the general practice are treated. The poor are furnished gratuitously with medicines, and visited at their homes by the physicians. The instruction of young women' for nurses, and for the practice of medicine, had been from the first a leading feature in the Institution, yet the managers desired to make satisfactory arrangement with some medical school for the graduation of their students, and thus avoid the necessity of establishing a separate college. Failing to complete such arrangements, an application to the Legislature for a college charter was made in 1865, and in due time granted. The course of study is rigid, lasting three years, and requiring the students to be present in the Institution at least eighteen months during that time. The faculty of professors and lecturers, like the board of trustees, is copDosed of males and females. Fifteen or twenty students taking the regular course have been in attendance since the organization of the college, besides other ladies who have simply attended lectures. An educational fund amounting to $100,000 has been called for, to which appeal the late Chauncey W. Rose, whose name is connected with so many benevolent undertakings, responded with a donation of $5,000. The fund at this time amounts to above $30,000. The annual expense of the Institution had not exceeded $7,000 up to the period of opening the second building, and five hundred dollars have never been received in any year from pay patients. The society performs a work of great charity among the poor, administering in times of greatest need to hundreds of widows, and to others who by desertion or deception are rendered equally forlorn, and richly deserves the unstinted support of the benevolent. All honor to this pioneer college of female physicians. NEW YORK MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN. (Corner of Twelfth street and Second avenue.) The great and multiplied difficulties which every lady has been compelled to encounter in the study of medicine and surgery has by no means dampened the ardor of the sex for such an undertaking. In all parts of Europe, as well as in America, women are loudly knocking at the door of the college and the hospital. The University of Zurich, in Switzerland, conferred the degree on its first female medical student in 1867, and the number of Russian women applying for admission into the college of medicine at St. Petersburgh has been so numerous, that the subject was several years since brought up for discussion in the Imperial Council of Education. These applications have been numerous in England, and in some recent instances, in France, ladies have received opportunities in hospitals and colleges not hitherto granted. Ten native female physicians have recently graduated in India. But no country affords such opportunities to women as America, and no city to female medical students as New York. The prevalence of liberal sentiments has of late thrown open to them the great city hospitals and dispen 414 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. saries, with their admirable clinics; and colleges, encouraged by the first medical talent of the age, have been erected with every appliance for their especial culture. The infirmary established by the Blackwell sisters, and so successfully conducted, proved the practical capacity of woman as a medical adviser, and was an indispensable prerequisite to a successful appeal to the public for means to establish an institution for such education. This having been clearly demonstrated at that infirmary, the projectors of this Institution established first the college, leaving tle practical matters of hospital and dispensary to be added at a later period. The origin of this Institution should perhaps date from April, 1863, when a series of lectures were delivered to a class of females by Mrs. Losier of this city, in her own private parlor. This lady had graduated some sixteen years previously at a well-known medical college, and in these lectures was assisted by Doctor I. WI. ard. In the autumn of the same year, rooms were rented at No. 724 B3roadway. Two or three years were subsequently spent at No. 74 East Twelfth street, and in June, 1868. the present eligible building, corner of Twelfth street and Second avenue, was purchased. The society was incorporated as a medical college in 1863, and tlee following year the act was amended adding the term " Ilospital." The trustees are all females. The main building is a fine fourstory bruwn stone, twenty-six by eighty-one feet, and cost $43,000. A rear addition, fronting on Twelfth street, twentyfour by fifty-five feet and three stories high, has been added, containing dispensary, anatomical, lecture, and dissecting rooms. The hospital department was not opened until September, 1869, since which about four hundred female and children patients have been received. The dispensary has also treated several thousand indigent applicants. The Homeopathic system is principally taught, with a liberal leaning to all other good practice. The course of study lasts three years, and aims at great thoroughness, the students being required to practise in the dispensary and diagnose in the Hospital. Great pains are taken to perfect their attainments in obstetrics, a field in which they are expected to find their largest practice. In order to matriculation, the applicant must present an approved certificate of good moral character, be eighteen years of age, have a good English education, including elementary botany and chemistry, and be under the instruction of a respectable medical practitioner. HIAHNEMA17N HOSPITAL. 415 A free scholarship is offered to one graduate from each chartered female college in this State. The expense of tuition does not exceed $130. Students are not hoarded in the Institution. About thirty students are now in attendance, and nearly sixty have been graduated. After graduation, one or two years are usually given to the further pursuit of their studies, before they really begin practice. Two of the graduates of this Institution are now conducting a lucrative practice in this city, and may be seen daily riding in their carriages to the dwellings of their patients. Others are practisilg in other places, and proving that the practice of medicine is at present the most remunerative calling open to a woman. The Institution received $10,000 from the State in 1869, about $7,000 having been previously received from the city. It has also received many private donations, among which we may mention one from Mrs. Losier, M.D., one of its founders, of $10,000. HAHNERMANN HOSPITAL OF THE CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK. (Fourth avenue and Sixty-seventh street.) HIIS is the only homeopathic hospital in the city and State of New York, and the first in its inception in the United States. It was founded Ly and through the influence of its medical director, Dr. F. Seeger, who advanced from his own funds the first thousand dollars toward launching the enterprise. Its organization and incorporation took place early in the fall of 1869. The inaugural exercises were held in the rooms of the Union League Club, on the 15th of December, 1869, and Dr. John F. Gray presided. Addresses were made by William Cullen Bryant and George C. Barrett, the latter at that time president of the Hospital. Some choice pieces of music were sung by Miss Clara Louise Kellogg. A temporary hospital was opened in a hired building, No. 307 East Fifty-fifth street, where it still continues. During 1870 forty patients, all but one charity cases, were treated. There are now many more applicants than can be 416 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. admitted with their limited space. Measures were early taken toward the erection of large and permanent hospital buildings. The Legislature of 1870 granted the corporation twelve city lots lying on Fourth avenue, between Sixtysevelith and Sixty-eighth streets; also the sum of $20,000 toward the erection of buildings, on condition that an equal amount bai raised by private subscription. About $15,000 at this writing have been secured, and an effort is being made to secure $50,000 more from the Legislature. The new structures will consist of a fine administration building, fronting on Fourth avenue, and of two fine pavilions extending one hundred and twenty-five feet along Sixty-seventh and Sixty-eighth streets. The entire front on Fourth avenue will be two hundred feet ten inches. The pavilions, besides high basement, will have two stories each, and a Mansard story, will accommodate one hundred and seventy-five patients, giving over 1,300 cubic feet of space to each. The buildings are expeeted to cost, when completed, about $200,000. All the newest developments in the science of hospital cor.structure have been embodied in the plan, and it is believed the Institutioli will be a worthy representative of its kind. In the autumn of 1868 Dr. Seeger was chiefly instrumental in founding and securing the incorporation of the Northeastern Iomeopathic Medical and Surgical Dispensary, which still continues at No. 307 East Fifty-fifth street. IIe has been from the first its chief physician. Since its opening over forty thousand patients have been treated, over eightyfive thousand prescriptions made, and more than two thousand visits made gratuitously to the sick at their homes. State and city aid has been received in defraying the expenditures, and liberal contributions have been made by prominent gentlemen of the city. The dispensary is a separate Institution from the Hospital, though several of the officers serve in both boards. THE STRANGERS' HOSPITAL. (Corner Avenue D and Tenth street.) HE number of great and good men who industriously gather fortunes that they may thereby advance civil< ization, remove or assuage human suffering, is believed to be happily upon the increase. The policy of appropriating wealth during the lifetime of the giver, under the economy and direction of his own guiding mind, is also a valuable improvement on the old legacy system. Mr. Peter Cooper, Mr. James Lenox, and Mr. Daniel Drew have furnished the wealthy of New York with some excellent examples of this kind. It is also our pleasure to record another in the founding of the Strangers' Hospital. Mr. John H. Keyser, a New York merchant, and the architect of his own fortune, has been able during the last year " to realize a longcherished desire," in the founding of an institution for the relief of the suffering. Early last summer (1870) he purchased the old Dry Dock Bank, at the corner of Avenue D and Tenth street, and began remodelling the structure. The building stands on a plot of ground fifty by one hundred and sixty feet, having in the rear an irregular L-shaped piece of land. The structure is of brick, four stories high; the three upper of which are divided into wards, and contain space for over one hundred and eighty beds. The first floor contains the offices, a fine reading-room, and a large chapel. The building is well ventilated; the walls are coated with a preparation of india rubber, to avert the absorption of any infectious material. The structure is heated with steam; Russian, Turkish, and mercurial baths are provided, and every other appliance needful in a well-ordered Hospital. The first patient was admitted January 12th, 1871, but the formal dedication did not occur until the evening of the 7th of February. After prayer by Rev. J. S. IIolme, of Trinity Baptist Church, the opening address was made by Dr. Otis, president of the medical staff of the Hospital, who, after a few preliminary remarks, indicated the object and scope of the Institution as follows: "It is not intended," said he, "for the benefit of the wealthy, who in times of sickness can com26 418 NTEW YOEK AND IS INSTITUTIOlNS. mand the comforts of a well-ordered home and the attendance of a skillful physician or surgeon. Nor yet for the beggar, who leads a life of dissolute idleness, rotating in winter and in sickness about the charitable institutions of this city. It is intended for the succor and restoration of the deserving sick poor, and in an especial manner for that sadly numerous class of people in this great city who have seen better days People to whose sufferings in poverty and sickness, education and refinement put on a keener edge; strangers-strangers to the homes of plenty and comfort in which they have been born and nurtured, and from which misfortune and disease have parted them. Nor is it alone to the strangers within our midst that the privileges of this great charity are extended. Whoso is in need of the especial aid this Institution is intended to afford-even though afar off-according to the broad rendering of its patron-is entitled to be counted a stranger, and to be taken in. Such as suffer with grave disease, requiring skill and an extended experience not readily attainable in the rural districts, will be permitted to receive, equally with'the strangers within our gates,' all the benefits of the Strangers' Hospital. And yet another class To those, either rich or poor, suddenly stricken down by accident or disease, the doors of this place are open at every hour, by night as well as by day, and every comfort and assistance will be afforded them." The Institution and its furniture, at the time of opening, had cost over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, all of which was paid by the generous founder, who also proposes, by the divine blessing, to entirely support it in its operations. The Institution is to be conducted under Protestant auspices, but it is not denominational. Mr. Keyser attends the Baptist church, but is not a communicant. THE NEW YORK OPHTHALMIC HOSPITAL. (Corner Twenty-third street and Third avenue.) t HE New York Ophthalmic Hospital was incorporated April 21st, 1852, and was opened for the treatment of patients May 25th of the same year. It was founded chiefly by Mark Stephenson, and was first opened at No. 6 Stuyvesant square. The Institution was conducted by a corps of physicians of the Allopathic practice until the year 1867, when at the instigation of certain interested parties a revolution in its management was produced. At the annual election of the board of directors of that year, seventeen of the nineteen elected were inclined to the practice of Iomeopathy, and they immediately appointed a board of surgeons of that school to take charge of the Hospital. During the four and a half years since the introduction of IIomeopathic practice, over five thousand patients have been treated, and the number now amounts to about fifteen hundred per annum. The Institution has been for many years at the corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-eighth street, in a leased building but after much exertion the managers have succeeded in raising funds, and are now erecting a fine structure of their own, situated corner Twenty-third street and Third avenue, at a cost of nearly $100,000. With the entrance of the society into this improved edifice, affording ample accommodations for in-door patients, will doubtless come a greatly enlarged business, allowing the public to choose between the two methods of medical treatment. NEW YORK OPHTHALMIC AND AURAL INSTITUTE. (No. 46 East Twelfth street.) HE New York Ophthalmic and Aural Institute was incorporated, under the general act of 1848, on the 28th day of August, 1869. It was founded and put in working order by the personal efforts and private means of Dr. H. Knapp, of this city, formerly professor in the University of Heidelberg. The premises at No. 46 420 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. East Twelfth street, where the work of the Institution is conducted, is his private property. The objects of the Institute are: 1. "The treatment of patients suffering from diseases of the eye and ear, belonging to all classes of society. 2. The advancement of medical science, in particular the branches of Ophthalmology and Otology. This is effected by the experience derived from the examination and treatment of patients, by scientific investigation, and systematic medical instruction." The Institution, working as a Hospital, was opened for outdoor patients on the 18th of May, 1869, and for the reception of in-door patients in the following June. At the issue of their last report it appeared that 5,559 had been treated in the Dispensary, and 468 in the Hospital. Three classes of in-door patients are received. The first class pay from three to five dollars per day for board, and the usual prices for professional services. The second class pay from one to two dollars per day, with no additional charges. The third class are indigent patients, and are admitted gratuitously. The expense of the Institution the last year amounted to $15,102.09; of which sum the pay patients contributed $7,812.69, the State $1,288.82, the city of New York $1,000, and the remaining $5,000 were generously supplied by Dr. Knapp. The society has received for the present year a grant of $2,000 from the State, and a similar sum from the city authorities. The Dispensary is located in the basement of the house, which has a large hall, used as a waiting-room, and capable of seating about sixty people; a reception-room, in which the patients are treated; two dark rooms for examinations with eye and ear mirrors, and other instruments; and a separate waiting-room for severer cases, especially such as have to undergo operations. Two wash-hand stands, one in the reception-room and another in the hall, with warm and cold water, offer great convenience and relief to the surgeons and patients. The dispensary is a charity, open to the poor daily from one to three o'clock P.M. The in-door department, entirely separated from the Dispensary, occupies the four stories of the house. The latter is twenty-five feet in front, but widens posteriorly to fifty-two feet, having in the rear a yard sixty feet broad and twentyfive feet deep. A spacious hall, with a large winding stair MANHATTAN EYLE ND EAR HOSPITAL 421 case in the centre, forms a most excellent natural ventilator, while, in addition, a proper ventilation and light flue runs from the kitchen hall to the roof. The in-door department resembles a private hotel more than a hospital, having a considerable number of smaller and larger bed-rooms, a parlor, dining-room, piazza, bath-rooms, etc., with accommodation for thirty patients. The furniture is neat but plain in the top floor, handsome and elegant in the lower stories, thus affording to the inmates all the comforts which are compatible with the objects of the Institution. The beds are of the first quality throughout. A matron has charge of the establishment. Experienced and trusty nurses are in constant attendance on the patients. The position of resident physician is filled by a competent ophthalmic and aural surgeon. MANHATTAN EYE AND EAR HOSPITAL. (No. 233 East Thirty-fourth street.) IS HE Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital was chartered by the Legislature of the State of New York, May 5, 1869. The society began its work in a temporary building, No. 233 East Thirty-fourth street, on the 15th of October, 1869, by opening a daily clinic for the gratuitous treatment of the poor, and providing thirteen beds in suitable wards for such cases as might require surgical operations or other careful in-door treatment. The society, thus far, has neither asked nor received State or municipal aid, its funds being generously provided by the benevolent men who planned the enterprise, and their friends. The board of directors, its officers, and the surgical staff serve gratuitously. The directors have purchased a plot of ground on the south-east corner of Park avenue and Forty-first street, having a frdntage of one hundred feet on the avenue and eighty feet on the side street, at a cost of $50,000, and $15,000 have been paid on the same. Upon this they purpose to erect suitable hospital buildings as soon as the funds can be secured. On the first day of January, 1871, the society issued its 422 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. first printed report, detailing the account of its proceedings, and showing that, during the fourteen and one-half months of its active existence, 1,227 patients with diseases of the eye had been treated, and 430 with diseases of the ear. The Hospital is always open for the reception of in-door patients, and on every secular day at two o'clock P.M.. for such as may attend gratuitously the Dispensary for the out-door service. Many cases have occurred in the experience of the year to illustrate the beneficent character of the work done by the Hospital. We append a few: " An old man, who was once in affluent circumstances, but had lost his property, so that he was an object of charity, was brought to the Hospital blind. One eye was found to be hopelessly disorganized by disease, and the other fast becoming so. An operation was at once performed on the eye least diseased, and in which he could just distinguish light from darkness; it did not avail much, however, and then, on consultation, it was decided to remove the most diseased eye, trusting that this radical procedure might be of benefit to the eye which was rapidly becoming as hopelessly affected. This was done; in a few days the sight of the remaining eye began slowly to improve, and continued to do so until in about three months he was again able to read and write, and he is now earning his bread. This poor man was so destitute of means that he was not able to pay his board for one day of the three months he was in the Hospital, and but for its charity his eyes would have very soon been beyond all hope. " A day laborer, with a family dependent upon him, had been blind for a year. He was led to the Hospital by a friend; he was found to have a cataract, which was removed by an operation, and in six weeks he was able to leave the Hospital with sight enough for all ordinary purposes, and has now been at work for a year. He was also unable to pay his board. "A poor man, a widower, and his four small children, came into the Hospital with Ophthalmia, contracted in their overcrowded tenement from a child that had returned diseased from the Westchester Reformatory. They formed a piteous group, and were in immediate danger of blindness. They were ragged and unclean; special arrangements were made to cleanse, clothe, and treat them, and after prolonged and painstaking care they were all saved from blindness. "An old lady, in reduced circumstances, was brought in ASSOCIATION FOR RELIEF OF AGE]D INDIGENT FEMALES. 423 blind with cataract; she was operated upon, and her sight restored, so that she could read and write the finest print or writing. " A man who had for many years occupied a fiduciary position became blind and was brought to the Hospital, where he was operated upon for cataract, and his vision restored. " A poor seamstress, blind with cataract, was operated upon and her sight restored. "A poor old man, who had for some years been shut up at his house by his relations as hopelessly blind, was brought to the Hospital, operated upon for cataract, and useful vision restored. So we might go on to narrate several scores of cases in which blindness was either cured or prevented. " What is said of the cases of disease of the eye holds true also with regard to cases of diseases of the ear." ASSOCIATION FOR THE RELIEF OF RESPECTABLE AGED INDIGENT FEMALES. (East Twentieth street.) |HE society which still perpetuates this noble charity began its career during the last war with England, and has now issued its fifty-eighth annual report. In other lands, where institutions have attained the hoary growth of centuries, this statement would occasion no remark; but here, amid the rush of new events, and the ceaseless change in nearly every locality, we can but feel that this deserves the appellation of time-honored. The wants of human nature are identical in all ages, hence an institution to provide for aged females, whose declining years were saddened by poverty, was needed in this city sixty years ago. The common almshouse, filled as it usually is with the dregs of society, is not a place of comfort to persons of refined sensibilities. For the relief of this class, a few benevolent ladies were moved with compassion. Meetings for the discussion of their plans were held, and in the autumn of 1813 an association was formed, which was the nucleus of this society. The organization of the society occurred on the 7th of February, 424 NEW YORK AND INSTITUTIONS. 181.4, in the session room of the Brick Presbyterian Church, when a constitution was adopted, and a board of sixteen managers elected. The managers held their regular meetings for three years in the same church, after which they were held ia private houses, until the completion of the Asylum in 1838. During the first twenty-four years, the society simply gave pensions to its needy beneficiaries in money and clothing, and thought of nothing beyond. But in 1833 the plan of erecting a suitable Asylum was proposed. In the winter of 1834, after a sermon preached by Dr. Schroeder, in the Church of the Ascension (then in Canal street), setting forth the wants of the society, a collection of $310.20 was taken for the enterprise. But the impression made on the audience was better than the collection. Mr. and Mrs. Peter G. Stuyvesant, who were listeners, soon presented the society with a deed of three lots of ground, the site of the present building. John Jacob Astor nobly, headed a subscription with $5,000, on condition that $20,000 should be raised in a year. The ball being now fully in motion, many merchants and persons of wealth were successfully appealed to, and the amount realized. The Asylum was commenced in 1837, and the following year completed and thrown open for the reception of inmates. The edifice is a four-story brick, with a fine basement and subcellar, with accommodations for about one hundred persons, including resident officers and employds. The want of an infirmary was soon apparent, and Mr. Astor again pledged $3,000, which, with numerous smaller sums, enabled the managers in 1845 to purchase tho adjoining lot and complete the desired building. In 1816 the society received from the Common Council $300, and the year following, $250, which, with a recent State donation of $6,000, comprise all sums ever drawn from the public authorities-a fine record, indeed, in this age of public plunder. This society, being the pioneer of its kind, has exerted a most healthful influence in the city and country, and its managers, being selected from the several denominations, have infused its spirit into all the churches. Persons are not admitted under sixty years of age, and are required to furnish their own rooms, pay an entrance fee of fifty dollars, and leave what other property they may inherit to the Institution. No denominational tests are urged in the admission of candidates, though the greater number are from the Reformed Dutch and the Presbyterian churches. It may be interest ASSOIATION FOR RELIEF OF AGED INDIGENT FE[ALES. 425 ing to state that the Asylum at one time sheltered a near relative of President Washington, and has at this writing, within its walls, a cousin of General Lamb. The Asylum is conveniently arranged, the rooms are large and cheerful, and perfect order and tidiness reign in every department. The same cook has had charge of the kitchen twenty-seven years. The inmates have nearly all lived to a remarkable age. The obituary record shows that some died at 84, some at 85, others at 86, 89, 93, and 97. In 1851 the vestry of Trinity church granted the association a burial plot in their cemetery, and the same year similar donations were received from the trustees of Cypress Hill and of Greenwood. As the Asylum is likely to continue for generations to come, and constantly enlarge its operations, all these plots and many more will probably be needed. In the winter of 1822-23 an auxiliary society was formed under the direction of Mrs. E. Mowatt and Miss Ann Dominick (now Mrs. Gillett, the First Directress), the object of which was to provide suitable clothing for the pensioners. This arrangement has been continued through all these years, accomplishing an incalculable amount of good. The plan of providing for out-door pensioners did not cease with the opening of the Asylum, but still continues. In 1851 their printed report showed that no less than eighty-seven had been regularly assisted during the year, and that one of these had died at the ripe age of 100 years, who had annually received aid since the formation of the society. The inmates of the Asylum have numbered from seventy to one hundred for many years past, and the expense of the Institution has ranged from ten to twenty thousand dollars per annum. Plans for the erection of a new edifice on Fourth avenue and Seventy-eighth street have been adopted. The new Asylum will be of stone, five stories high, surmounted by a Mansard roof, and is estimated to cost $175,000. When this is completed the old Asylum in Twentieth street will be disposed of. Notwithstanding the great multiplication of benevolent societies during the last quarter of a century, hundreds are still knocking at these doors who cannot be admitted until death shall remove the present inmates, or enlarged accommodations are provided. Services are held regularly by the pastors of the neighborhood, and skilled physicians have always freely rendered their services. ADIES' UNION AID SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. (Forty-second street, near Eighth avenue.) 0 the ladies of the Methodist Episcopal church must l be accorded the honor of founding the first denominational Institution for the support of the aged and infirm members of their persuasion, whose circumstances especially require it. The Home in East Twentieth street had preceded it twelve years, and proved the necessity and feasibility of such enterprises; but this was not denominational, and, great as had been its usefulness. there still remained a wide field in every religious organization for the largest endeavors of the self-sacrificing, and the charities of the benevolent. Under the profound conviction that a home should be provided for the aged and indigent of their own communion, a meeting was convened on the 4th of March, 1850, at 459 Broadway, and was presided over by the venerable Nathan Bangs. A committee of inquiry was appointed and several subsequent meetings held, which resulted finally in the adoption of a constitution, and the organization of a society, which consists of a board of seventy, or more, female managers, elected annually from the various Methodist churches in New York, and an advisory committee of gentlemen. On the 1st day of November, 1850, the building No. 16 Horatio street was leased at an annual rent of $480, and soon after its doors were thrown open for the reception of inmates. Much of its furniture was contributed by the friends of the enterprise. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature June 19, 1851, seven months after the opening of the Institution. During the first year twenty-three inmates were admitted, two of whom died, and the second year ten more were received, and one died, leaving an average family of thirty for the second year. This not only completely filled the building, but forced upon the minds of the managers the necessity of providing more enlarged accommodations. About this time, a fine plot of ground on Sixty-first street and Broadway was purchased, and a plan of a building prepared. A little consideration led to the conclusion ', i,. ^.'i siil'Jrkiju ~J~a ~.iu.Li~ FILE MJrriioIwiLT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. LADIES' UON AID SOCIETY OF THE M. E. CH. H 427 that these lots, situated in so eligible a part of the city, might be advantageously disposed of, and a much larger plot obtained thereby, farther out of town. In 1853 twelve lots were selected and purchased on the Kingsbridge road, at One Hundred and Forty-second and One Hundred and Forty-third streets. The increase of the price of building materials, and the want of available funds, delayed for two years longer the commencement of the much-desired edifice. But God, in His inscrutable providence, was preparing them a site for their Bethesda in one of the loveliest portions of the city, where the aged inmates might remain in convenient communication with their churches'and friends. In 1855, Mr. William S. Seaman, an aged member of the Allen Street M. E. church, donated to the society two choice lots on Forty-second street, near Eighth avenue, on condition that the annual interest of the estimated value of the property should be paid to him during his lifetime. The society promptly accepted this generous gift, soon purchased the lot adjoining, and the following summer began the erection of the Iome. Mr. Seaman died nine months after the conveyance of the property, but his last days were cheered with the assurance that the cherished Institution would be immediately erected, on the site he had so benevolently contributed. The corner-stone of the new building was laid with appropriate services, September 16th, 1856, and the Institution dedicated by Bishops Morris and Janes, assisted by other clergymen, April 27th, 1857. The family, after residing six and a half years in Ioratio street, was removed to these more eligible quarters on May 1st of the same year. The edifice is a substantial brick, sixty-two feet front and eighty-two deep, four stories high, with a brown-stone front, and is constructed in the Gothic order. The main entrance, over whicl is the clapel and infirmary, projects several feet from the body of the building, and is reached by a broad flight of stone steps. The basement, which is entirely above ground, contains the kitchen, dining-room, laundry, storerooms, and pantry, besides a broad entrance hall, all conveniently arranged. On the right of the vestibule, on the first floor, is a commodious parlor for visitors, and on the left, one for committees. A large and airy rotunda adjoins, entered through sliding doors, lighted by a dome of sixteen large windows, which may be raised by cords for ventilation. This is surrounded by convenient rooms for inmates, the superintendent's being among them, and so arranged as to make com 428 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. munication easy with any or all of the family. The second and third stories have circular corridors, which are surrounded by pleasant apartments, each having one or more windows, and a ventilator. On either side of the front entrance is a flight of stairs leading to the second story, where over the vestibule and the parlors is the tasty chapel, with seating for one hundred persons, and immediately above this is the infirmary, a large airy room, commanding an extended view of the city and adjacent country. When erected it was said to contain space for the accommodation of one hundred persons, but that number has never been received. It is heated by furnaces throughout, each room having its register. It is well provided with bath-rooms and Croton, has an ample cellar, and at its erection was one of the best ventilated and finest arranged buildings in the city. The lot purchased cost $6,400, the edifice $30,000, and in 1867 the building adjoining was added at the cost of an additional $20,000. The property is now valued at $125,000. The purchase of the last building made space for the reception of several aged men. Down to the time of entering the new building the family averaged twenty-five, since which it has been at least trebled, and now averages over eighty. Since its opening, in 1850, 194 beneficiaries have shared its generous hospitality, of whom 90 have died, and 21 have been otherwise provided for. At the opening of the new building a debt of $23,000 remained against the property. The number of inmates soon greatly increased, prices advanced, the war and other providences swept away many of their generous friends, and during these trying periods the managers were often, like Professor Francke at Halle, driven in deep anxiety to the Lord with the pressing wants of the Institution. With much exertion the current expenses were, however, met, and the debt gradually reduced. In June, 1864, a strawberry festival, as is their annual custom, was held, and on the first of July at the meeting of the managers the proceeds were announced to have amounted to $588. The treasurer inquired, "Shall the money be used in paying the interest due on the debt at the Greenwich Savings Bank? " At this point Mr. Samuel Halsted, a member of the advisory committee, stepped forward and presented a receipt in full from the president of the bank. He and his excellent brother Schureman had silently by subscription, raised the amount necessary to cancel all in LADIES' UNION AID SOCIETY OF THE M E. CEu.H H. 429 debtedness and to thoroughly repair and repaint the building. A thrill of joy at this delightful surprise ran through every heart, and found expression in the long-meter doxology, which was sung with great zest, all the members rising to their feet. Several grants have been received from the Common Council and the Legislature, though the sentiment now very generally prevails in the denomination that such donations should neither be solicited nor received. The society has held several moderately successful fairs, realized something every year from donations, festivals, and lectures. It has also been remembered with several small legacies, among which we may mention that of Mrs. Bishop Hedding, of $2,300. The New York Preachers' meeting annually arranges to supply the Home with preaching, once on each Sabbath, by the pastors stationed in the city. Prayer-meetings, class-meetings, and love-feasts are held statedly, and are often seasons of great interest. Many of the inmates are infirm, some have been entirely helpless for years, and most of them live to very advanced age. In 1854 Mrs. Sarah W. Kairns died, at the advanced age of 117 years, and the same year Mrs. Elizabeth Cairns, aged 100 years. "With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." The New York Conferences, during their sessions in the city, have, at the invitation of the managers, enjoyed some interesting tea-meetings at the Institution, and the old ladies have several times been agreeably surprised by the members of the different churches, who have spread their tables with delicacies, and left other substantial tokens of their regard. The managers now contemplate the removal of the Institution farther up town, to secure more enlarged accommodations. The resident manager and recording secretary, Mrs. Matilda M. Adams, has held some important position in the board since the organization of the society. She is a lady of solid culture, of genial piety, and possesses in an eminent degree those varied administrative faculties befittin her position, and so rarely blended in the same person. May she and all who have toiled with her in this blessed work, and those whose sorrows they have assuaged, meet in that Home where "the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." HOME OF THE FRIENDLESS, EAST TWENTY-NINTH STREET. THE AMERICAN FEMALE GUARDIAN SOCIETY AND HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS. (No. 29 East Twenty-ninth and No. 32 East Thirtieth streets.) Thirty-seven years ago a number of Christian ladies in New York were moved to begin a work in behalf of the helpless, the exposed, and the forsaken. An organization known as the " American Female Guardian Society" was formed, and its executive committee for some time held their weekly meetings in a small rear basement under the old Tract House. These devoted women visited the city prisons, and the manufactories where hundreds of young girls were employed, distributing religious tracts, papers, Bibles, Testaments, giv. ing counsel to the inexperienced, and providing situations for many out of employment. They also scanned the poorest districts, employed pious female missionaries to visit from house to house, to instruct and encourage the ignorant and desponding. Poor forsaken children, destined for the almshouse, were taken to their own houses and provided for until suitable homes could be obtained for them. At that time there were no "Girls' Lodging Houses," " Working Women's Unions," or " Iomes," where innocent, penniless young females could apply for a night's lodging and the necessary helps to TEE AMERICAN FEMALE GUARDIAN SOCIETY. 431 a situation. No doors save those leading to the prison, the almshouse, or the brothel, were certain to open to the indigent, friendless, unfortunate girl or widow, unexpectedly thrown into the whirl of this great city. To guard young females, to provide for helpless childhood, and to care for the sorrowing widow, seem to have been the leading thoughts of the association. A work so eminently Christ-like, now commended by the most vile, was then watched with indifference and suspicion by many of the good. The managers of many of the pioneer benevolent associations, in their triumphant contests with the prejudices and calumny of their generations, have fought battles requiring a courage and deserving the honor of a Wellington or a Washington. The great change wrought in public sentiment, concerning Christian duty to the friendless and fallen, the decided support cheerfuliy given during the last twenty years, and the numerous similar charities that have sprung up in every section of the country, are sources of the most profound satisfaction to the surviving early friends of this excellent Institution. During the early years of the movement their records show that more than temporal advantage came to many houses of destitution, scores if not hundreds were converted to God, and drawn into the fold of the great Shepherd. Still their efforts lacked concentration and thoroughness, for want of a building suited to their undertaking. No plan for the reception of inmates really commensurate with the aims of the society was adopted until 1847, when a building situated on the corner of Second street and the 13owery was rented. About this time the managers issued a printed appeal for means to erect a Iome for the Friendless, calling attention to the numbers of females constantly out of employment, and the scores of orphan or deserted children who, by early care, might be saved from pauperism and prison. The means came, lots were purchased on East Thirtieth street, and in December, 1848, the HIome, a fine three-story brick edifice, with accommodations for at least one hundred and fifty persons, was dedicated, to the great joy of the managers, who had toiled amid embarrassments so many years. The sphere of usefulness of the society was now greatly enlarged. Hundreds were annually fed, instructed, and furnished with situations. This Institution is not a Home for those who are friendless because guilty of crimes against society; nor to adult paupers, of whom the Scriptures say, " If any will not 27 432 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. work, neither shall he eat;" nor yet for the aged, infirm, or diseased, for whom other establishments have been erected. It is a temporary asylum for homeless, friendless children, an arched and gilded passage-way from dingy, remorseless poverty, to a home of affection, culture, and elevation. It is a temporary refuge for destitute young women, not fallen, but within the age and circumstances of temptation, needing protection, and willing to live by honest toil. It contains a department for small children also, but such only are taken as afford the prospect of early adoption. Children do not remain at the Home over three months on an average. The plan of the society is a radical divergence from the old orphan asylum system. Instead of keeping the children within the narrow limits of an asylum for years, forming habits and intimacies which must ultimately be broken, they are early placed in Christian homes, where daily contact with the affairs of common life enters largely into their training. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 6, 1849, and was amended requiring magistrates to commit vagrant and deserted children to the care of this society April 3, 1857. In 1856 the society erected another fine building on Twenty-nlinth street, i nmediately opposite the Home, connecting the two with a bridge. This edifice has a front of seventyfive feet, is four stories ligh, constructed of brick in the Romanesque order, and contains the chapel, the Iome School (for the instruction of the children while remaining in the Institution), an Industrial School, the publication, and other offices of the society. The six lots on which these buildings stand cost originally less than $12,000, but are now valued, exclusive of buildings, at $75,000. The property of the society at present, including the four buildings purchased for industrial schools, is probab'.y worth $150,000, and is free from debt. The society began the publication of the " Advocate and Guardian" in 1835, which has been a valuable medium of communication with the benevolent public, bringing hundreds of friends to select children or confer donations, besides blessing many with the valuable religious matter with which it has always been filled. Its circulation amounts to about 33,000 at present, bringing a small revenue above its expenses. The society conducts its business through a president, vicepresident, two secretaries, a treasurer, and thirty-five or more managers, annually elected, representing the different Evan THE AMERICAN FEMALE GUARDIAN SOCIETY. 433 gelical denominations. These are divided into the necessary committees, and give much time to the Institution. Seventeen years ago the society opened its first industrial school, Mrs. Wilson having previously established the feasibility of such an undertaking. It has now eleven of these schools securely founded in different parts of the city, with an average daily attendance of about 1,500 childref, while the names of several thousand are on register. These are emphatically mission movements, as they are established among and gather in the most ignorant and degraded of the population. Thousands of ragged, neglected girls treading the slippery glaciers of time, and certain to plunge after a short career of vice into the darkest ruin, are thus annually reached, instructed in letters, and trained to useful industry. But the influence extends beyond the children. The parents are reached, and soon a mothers' meeting is established. Women who have not seen the inside of a church in thirty years, perhaps never, are drawn out to a mothers' meeting composed of women as ignorant and poor as themselves, where the Scriptures are read, prayer offered, and exhortations given by earnest women who go out to seek and save the lost. Many are awakened, some converted, nearly all are improved. Rum and other evils are partially or entirely abandoned, industry and its attendant blessings follow. The amount of good accomplished in this single branch is incalculable. Another branch is the Dorcas Department. This contains the garments, bedding, etc., sent in barrels and boxes from hundreds of churches in various parts of the country, and what is prepared by the benevolent in the city. From these shelves supplies are drawn to cover the half-naked children admitted to the Home, and to fit them for a long journey to a country home with their newly-appointed guardians. Poor widows and deserted women, with children, are also assisted to enable them to keep their families together. The demands on these shelves are enormous. From 1847 to 1863, over 12,000 beneficiaries were admitted to the Home; an average per annum, including readmissions, of 2,000. During the year closing in 1869 the report shows that 5,811 persons had received aid from the society, 1,000 adults had been provided with situations, and 452 children had been in the Home. During the same period 1,650 loaves of bread had been given to the poor, and 42,000 loaves furnished for the children of the industrial schools. During the year closing in 1870, 619,000 434 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. meals were given away, and nearly as many furnished with situations as during the previous year. The society now carries forward its work at an expense of about $80,000 per annum. It has as yet no endowment, and has received but little from either city or State. It is eminently worthy of the contributions and sympathy of the public. HOME F03 INCURABLES. (West Farms.) tJ R public hospitals are open for the reception of such X\ A~ patients as entertain a reasonable hope of recovery or relief. Were incurables to be admitted indiscrimin-1 ately, their wards would soon be filled to repletion, and the masses for whom they were designed would be hopelessly excluded. The general provision made by the city for incurables on Blackwell's Island is entirely insufficient for the wants of the community, leaving ample scope for the exercise of private charity. Many incurables not dependent on charity also prefer the quietude of a private "' Home," where the ministrations of religion may be regularly enjoyed. The Protestant Episcopal church of New York has the honor of organizing the first society for the establishment of such an Institution in the country. The certificate of incorporation bears date of April 4th, 1866. A board of twentyfour managers annually elected are charged with the administration of the affairs of the society, and any person approved by a majority of the managers may become an annual member on the payment of ten dollars, a life member by the payment of one hundred dollars, or a life patron by the payment of one thousand To secure to the patients greater quietude, purity of atmosphere, and sunlight, the Home was located in the country. A wood dwelling, with choice surroundings, situated at West Farms, two and a half miles above Harlem Bridge, was first leased and afterwards purchased by the society, and is still occupied for the Iome. The residence of the superintendent and chaplain, who is an Episcopal clergyman, stands in the rear of the Home. Though the Institu HOME FOR INCURABLES. 435 tion is under the management of the Episcopal church, some charity patients have been admitted from other denominations, and pay patients come when they can be admitted, from all classes of orderly people. All admitted are said to be taken for life, vet the physician's annual reports give the number of those " withdrawn" and " discharged,"-probably those who have unexpectedly recovered. Persons are taken who are afflicted with any incurable disease at any age, but with few exceptions those tlLhs far received have belonged to one of these three classes —paralytics, subjects of malignant diseases, and consumptives. Several dreadful cases of cancer, attended with indescribable sufferings until vitality has been devoured, have l)een treated at the HIome, and the society has found a compensation in the fact that these were cases to whlich no other hospital offered a suitable asylum. The Home was opened June 8th, 1866, and during the first year seventeen male and sixteen female patiellts were received, of whom four died and three withdrew, leaving twenty-six under treatment. At the close of the second year twenty-eight remained. During the year ending June 8, 1869, fourteen had been admitted, eight had died, five rel ieved or discharged, while twenty-nine remained. Seven or eight have since deceased, and as many mlore have been received. In May, 1869,. a cottage a short distance from thle Home was hired and soon filled, one of the managers generously presenting his own check for the entire rent. Most institutions boast of the numbers admitted and sent away in triumph, but this, from the peculiar nature of the charity, can mention only the few who, though far beyond hope of recovery, are so nourished and watched over that life is protracted for months and sometimes years. Pay patients are admitted for six dollars per week, unless separate rooms are taken, when the price is increaseI to eight or ten. The Home, considering the limited numbl) received, has been an expensive charity, the patients being for the most part helpless, requiring constant attention and a varied and liberal diet. Tlie expenditures of the Home the first year amounted to $6,849.29, toward whicl the pay patients contributed $1,844. Duringr the year ending June 8, 1869, the expenditures, including some increase of furniture and small repairs of buildings, amounted to over $14,000, toward which the pay patients contributed $3,343. The report at close of year, June 8, 1870, showed that besides covering all past expendi 436 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS tures the society had an invested fund amounting to $36,000. The society has neither solicited nor received assistance from the public treasuries, but has been generously remembered by private Christian charity. A single donation from Messrs. Henry and Chauncey Rose amounted to $30,000. From the estate of Peter Lorillard $2A00 have been received, besides numerous smaller sums from many friends of the enterprise. During the last year forty-five patients have been in the Institution, of whom thirty remain. The report of 1869 appealed for $100,000 to enable the managers to so enlarge the Home as to accommodate one hundred patients. The last report follows in the same strain, recommending the erection of a large hall for the aged. The Institution should be enlarged, and doubtless soon will be. THE SAMARITAN HOME FOR THE AGED. (Corner of Ninth avenue and Fourteenth street.) i HEE association for the establishment of this Institution was organized at the residence of Mrs. James McVickar, April 15, 1866, and the act incorporating the society passed the Legislature March 23, 1867. The enterprise was at first intended to provide for aged and indigent females, and grew mainly out of these two facts: First, the several institutions of a similar character were known to be so crowded that applicants were constantly refused for want of room; secondly, because all others of the kind in the city, with a single exception, were denominational, and their doors closed against applicants, however worthy, from other religious bodies. The printed circular distributed at its organization declared that the "Home" should " be absolutely free from all sectarian bias, and open, in its direction and its objects, to persons of all Protestant denominations." That its " Board of Managers " should " always continue to represent indiscriminately our common Protestant Christianity in all its various forms." At the election of its officers and managers ladies connected with the Episcopal, THE SAMARITAN HOME FOR THE AGED. 437 Dutch Reformed, Unitarian, Baptist, Quaker, Methodist, Universalist, and Presbyterian Churches were elected. An advisory committee of gentlemen, a legal adviser, and a physician, were also appointed. The society began its benevolent undertaking in a hired building at 253 West Thirtyseventh street, in May, 1866, ten months before its legal incorporation. None are admitted under sixty-five years of age, except in special extreme cases. An entrance fee of $100 was at first required of those admitted, but the constantly increasing expense of living, and the uncertainties of income, have led the managers to advance the price to $250. The first inmate of the Samaritan Home was an American woman of seventy, who had always supported herself until by partial paralysis was left helpless and homeless. The attention of the society was also early directed to the pitiable condition of many aged and homeless men. Some of these had been once the children of fortune, others for a period successful merchants, but having outlived their families and encountered reverses which had swept away their means, were now pining away the evening of their career in saddest destitution and friendlessness. Destitute of all those arts of self-accommodation, that tact and skill in the kitchen and nursery which render the presence of an infirm woman more endurable and less trying to charity, how dreary the lot of old men who have known better days, to find themselves in the last twilight of existence, when retirement and comfort are so desirable, wifeless, penniless, friendless, childless, or, what is still worse, to have ungrateful children who leave them to eke out their last sad hours in a. crowded, squalid almnshouse, with heartless officials for their only guardians. In May, 1868, two years after the formal opening of the Home, the department for aged men was opened. This necessitated the hiring and furnishing of another house, which was t.ken on the same block, No. 259 West Thirty-seventh street. These buildings were, however, unsuited to the enterprise, being old, cold, and without cellars. On the 1st of May, 1869, the managers leased and transferred the Home to the corner of Ninthl avenue and Fourteenth street. This building is a large double house, fifty feet front, constructed of brick, with three stories and basement, bisected' with halls, and is well adapted to the wants of the Institution, It is surrounded by fine open grounds for gardening, and is leased for five years, at an expense of about five thousand 438 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. dollars per annum. It belongs to the Astor property, and that wealthy family could hardly dispose of it better than to donate it to the Samaritan Home. Persons are received at the Home on a probation of three months, after which period the board takes definite action in the case. If the applicant is not confirmed as a permanent inmate, the admission fee is returned, deducting board at two dollars per week since the date of admission. Those admitted are expected to assist, if able, in performing the light work of the house and garden. No system of labor has yet been introduced to provide income, the inmates being too much broken down to perform much service. During 1868 three of the aged women and one of the men passed away to the better land. In 1869 two more aged ladies died, and in 1870 six more were laid to rest. Mr. Charles T. Cromwell some time since presented the Home with a fine burial-place at Cypress HIill Cemetery, which is already occupied by the remains of the mouldering dead. Like all societies, this in its beginnings had its struggles with poverty and the indifference of the public, but it has passed the crisis. Its managers have not only met their expenditures, but have established a building fund which already amounts to over $20,000. Its friends are now annually cheered with a few large and many small donations, besides its annual subscribers, upon whom it mainly relies for support. The expense of the Institution amounts to $9,000 or $10,000 per annum. Living near the Home, we have often visited it and found it always a well-ordered asylum of comfort and refinement. There are now twenty aged men and twenty-four women comfortably domiciled in their appropriate apartments, with space for several more. The men can be seen any day occupied with light tasks around the garden and yards, or reading their favorite books. The women, seated in easy chairs, spend their day between light needle-work or knitting, and in reading the religious magazines. All appear cheerful and contented. They speak of their matron, Mirs. Julia J. Trew, in terms of high appreciation. Divine service is conducted by some clergyman every Sabbath, and religion sheds it hallowed radiance among them through all the year. Turning away from the door of this Good Samaritan, we can but pray that it may long survive to pour wine and oil into the wounded heart of hoary humanity. THE COLORED HOME. (Sixty-fifth street and First avenue.) BE first meeting for the organization of this excellent charity is believed to have been convened at the residence of MIrs. Maria Banyer, at No. 20 Bond street, in the autumn of 1839. The plan for relieving the suffering poor among the colored population is said to have originated with Mliss Shotwell, AMiss Jay, the first contributor, generously presenting a thousand dollars toward the founding of the Horne at their first meeting. At a subsequent meeting a board of managers was formed, a constitution adopted, and the organization perfected under the title of "The Society for the Relief of Worthy Aged Colored Persons." It was duly incorporated in 1845, under the title of "The Society for the Support of the Colored Iome." Soon after its first organization a building on the North river, known as "Woodside," was opened, and twelve inmates at once received. Through the liberality of Mr. Ilorsburgh, a property on Fortieth street and Fourth avenue was purchased in 1843. The act of incorporation, in 1845, was followed by a grant of $10,000 from the Legislature, which sum had been previously appropriated toward the erection of a State Hospital in this city, but was now transferred to the managers of the Colored Home for 1lie erection of permanent buildings. The next year arrangements were made with the Commissioners of the Poor, which still continues to receive, at a very low rate, the colored paupers of the city, unless medically unfit for the Colored Iome. Forty-four lots of ground on First avenue, between Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth streets, were purchased in 1848, and the following year a portion of the buildings now occupied were completed. The Institution consists of four departmnents-the IIome for Aged and Indigert t he Hospital, the Nursery, and the Lying-in Department. The admissions to the IIospital exceed those of the other three divisions combined. The buildings at present form a hollow square, with a fine flower-garden in the center. Fronting on Sixty-fifth street stands the beautiful brick chapel erected in 1858, under the supervision of the excellent chaplain MacFarlan. The first floor of this build 440 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. ing contains a parlor, appropriate apartments for the superintendent, steward, physician, matron, and the dispensary. On the floor above is the chapel, well arranged, with galleries on the sides, and seatings for six hundred persons. From either end of this building extend at right angles the male and the female wings, four stories high, capable of accommodating a hundred and twenty persons each. Each floor is a ward extending the whole length of the building, and contains twenty-eight beds. These wings are connected in the rear by another two-story building, divided into smaller apartments containing from five to eighteen beds each. This is devoted, in part, to the nursery and the lying-in department, founded by the bequest of Mars. Jacob Shatzel in 1847. About fifty are annually received into this last-named department, who leave when they are able, some to service in Christian families, others to their old habits of vice and dissipation. The buildings are heated with stoves, and baths with hot and cold water have recently been introduced. The nursery contains children over three years of age, who cannot gain admittance into the Colored Orphan Asylum. The average number in this department is about twenty. The Institution is designed for the colored poor of New York county, yet, when space will allow, persons from outside the county are taken, and pay one dollar and eighty-two cents per week if they require medicine, and if not, one dollar and five cents, three months pay being required in advance. The State appropriated $12,000 to this charity in 1866, in 1867 $3,858, and over $4,000 have since been received from the same source. The Commissioners of Charities and Corrections pay a stipulated price for the board of pensioners admitted under their direction, but this is only a moiety of what is actually expended in their support. The excellent Chauncey Rose remembered the Institution with a bequest of $16,000. About one thousand persons are annually cared for, at an expense of about $30,000. Dr. James D. Fitch held the position of resident physician twenty-six years The Institution has a chaplain, a resident, a house, and an assistant house physician, which receive a trifling pecuniary compensation for much earnest labor. Many of the inmates are very old, some pressing into their second century. Most of the inmates are pious, and, as the majority of them are Methodists, the chaplain is selected from that denomination, though ministers and missionaries from all evangelical churches are always well received. The in THE COLORED HOME. 441 mates hold prayer-meetings in their rooms, in addition to the regular services. Every winter a Christmas tree grows up suddenly, whose prolific branches bring forth something nice for every inmate, which is received with great joy. On these occasions addresses are delivered by some of the prominent men of New York, and this holiday period is remembered with much interest all the year. Ill I flut 1!!{ "; IfI?' 1, {q,!i li Itrll l ST. LUKE'S HOME IN HUDSON STREET. ST. LUKE'S HOME FOR INDIGENT CHRISTIAN FEMALES. (Madison avenue and Eighty-ninth street.) This Institution was originally opened in the city of New York, on May 1,1852. A year or two previotus to that, an aged female called at the rectory of St. Luke's church, in fudson street, and asked the rector, Rev. Isaac II. Tuttle, whether there was not an asylum or a home of the Episcopal church, where a lady of fourscore might find a retreat for her remaining days. The good man replied, " Madam, I am sorry to say our church has none, but by the grace of God it shall have; " and from that day he set about the work of establishing that much-needed Institution. On St. Luke's Day, October 18, 1851, he preached a sermon oi1 the importance of founding a Home of this kind I- He conferred with some of his clerical brethren on the subjoct, and invited several of his congregation to meet at the rectory and consider the ST. LUKE'S HOME FOR INDIGENT oHRISTIAN FEMALES. 443 subject. Soon a constitution was adopted, and a subscription liberally signed to support the charity. Two floors in a building were first hired, and several women, who had some employment, were allowed to occupy these furnished rooms gratuitously. Next an entire building was leased, the fiist floor rented for a store, and the remaining three occupied as the Home. Such as lacked the means of procuring food were assisted by their personal friends, or by members of St. Luke's church. After a few years, its managers resolved to make the enterprise more gene/a1, and to enlarge its plans and accommodations. The Legislature passed an act of incorporation in 1856 or 1857, and it thus passed from a parish to a general institution under the control of the Protestant Episcopal church of New York. The real estate and finances are vested in a board of managers numbering not less than seven or more than twentyone ministers and laymen of the Protestant Episcopal church, of whom the bishop of the diocese is the president, and the vice-president is the rector of the Institution. An associate board of lady managers has charge of the internal workings of the Institution, and now numbers in its board representatives from thirty-eight churches. About the time of its incorporation a large brick dwelling immediately adjoining St. Luke's church was purchased, the ground being leased or a term of years. This edifice was afterwards enlarged, but was never large enough to accommodate over thirty-two inmates at one time. A desire for a larger edifice led to an effort to collect a building fund, and $19,000 thus collected were deposited in United States securities in the safe of the Royal Insurance Company, which was robbed, inflicting a loss of $14,000 on this society. This delayed the erection of the new building several years, but the difficulty has been overcome. On the eighteenth of October, 1870, the corner-stone of the much-desired structure was laid by Bishop Potter, in the presence of a large number of the clergy and citizens of New York. The building is located on the north-east corner of Madison avenue and Eighty-ninth street, one block from the Central Park, and two blocks only from one of the principal entrances to the Park. The building is four stories high and in the form of an L, with main entrance on the corner; it extends eighty feet on Madison avenue and seventy-five feet on the street. The 444 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. style is medieval Gothic, with Mansard roof, and three towers. The materials are Philadelphia pressed brick trimmed with Buena Vista stone. On the first floor is a vestibule, a fine octagonal hall, 15 x 15, a large room, 38 x 19, for the meetings of managers, and a dining-room, 33 x 19, intended to seat some sixty or seventy persons; the whole so arranged that by opening folding-doors a sweep of over seventy-three feet can be obtained. Back of the main entrance hall is a roomy inner private hall and corridors leading to dining-room, etc. On the same floor will also be found the matronns room and office, the infirmaries, the rector's and doctor's office, and five chambers, adapted to the use of such of the inmates as may, through great age or infirmity, find it difficult to ascend the stairs. Two elevators ascend to the upper story, and three stairways afford means of escape in case of fire. There are 208 doors, 114 windows, 67 marble wash-basins, and 77 rooms, affording space for seventy-four inmates. The building was erected with the strictest economy, and cost $55,000. On grounds contiguous to the Home, Miss Caroline Talman has just erected a small church, a memorial of her deceased parents, thus securing to the beneficiaries of the Home a convenient place for public worship. Applicants for admission into the Home must be persons of respectability in reduced circumstances, and members of churches represented in the board of associate managers, and contributing to the support of the Institution. An admission fee of one hundred dollars is required from each beneficiary, and the person is then received for life. Every inmate, if able, is required to keep her own room in a neat and clean condition, to take her turn in dusting the parlor and in washing the dishes; but if ill, her meals are carried to her room, and the attention of the physician and the nurses promptly provided. The Institution contains a library of pleasant and interesting books, and visitors read to those who are sick or unable to read for themselves. The old ladies at the Home. in March, 1867, formed themselves into a benevolent society, to fashion little garments for the children of the "Sheltering Arms," another Institution of the same denomination. The material they obtain from their friends outside, and do much more than one would suppose The firat year after their organization they gave away 25 pairs of hospital slippers, 109 garments, 48 pillow-slips, 2 dresses, and 15 ST. LUKE'S HOME FOR INDIGENT CHRISTIAN FEALES. 445 pairs of knit stockings. Thus, while they receive, they find it blessed to give. Many applicants have long been waiting admission into the Home, and a year or two since one actually died of joy on receiving the welcome summons to enter the Institution. Rev. I. IH. Tuttle is still the chaplain of the Institution. IIis presence among the inmates is always as a ray of sunshine, and to him are referred all differences and difficulties. PRESBYTERIAN HOME FOR AGED WOMEN. (East Seventy-third street.) The first Presbyterian church in New York was erected in 1719, since which many costly structures have been reared, and the denomination now ranks among the most populous, wealthy, and benevolent of the city. But while the members of this church have contributed liberally to many excellent enterprises, it is a little remarkable that no charitable institution distinctly Presbyterian was ever projected until very recently, In April, 1866, several ladies, members of the different Presbyterian churches of the city, moved with the laudable desire to provide for the poor members of their own communion, invited their pastors to confer with them and consider the propriety of establishing a "Home for Aged Women," in whose advantages Presbyterians might specially share, and in whose direction they should have entire control. The meeting was held in the lecture PRESBYTERIAN HOME FOR AGED WOMEN. 447 room of the First Presbyterian church, and was entirely successful. The facts disclosed at this conference showed so clearly the want of such an Institution, that the pastors and members present pledged a cordial support in the undertaking. A board of thirty-two female managers, and an advisory committee of five gentlemen, were accordingly elected, and measures taken to immediately inaugurate the enterprise. On the eighth of June the building No. 45 Grove street, then known as the "Lincoln Home," which had been a temporary hospital for disabled soldiers and sailors, was rented, and after much cleansing pronounced ready for occupation. The first inmate was received on the ninth of July; the next day another was added; on the twenty-third one more, and the report at the end of the year showed that fifteen had been admitted. No regular matron was appointed until October, and her official relation to the Institution was dissolved the following spring, and the present incumbent appointed. The society continued its operations in the same house until April, 1870, when, its new and commodious building having been completed, the family was removed to it. The house in Grove street was never able to accommodate over thirty, besides the matron and servants; hence a small number only of those anxious to gain admission could be received. During those four years, however, fifty beneficiaries were admitted, three of whom died the second year, six the third, and several the year following. Among the inmates the managers mention the mother of a Presbyterian clergyman, the widowed mother of a devoted and successful missionary to China, and the daughter of Dr. McKnight, one of the early pastors of the First Presbyterian church of this city. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature December 7,1866. The Institution is called the Presbyterian Home, but its doors are open to Congregationalists, to the Reformed Dutch, and to the several divisions of the Presbyterian family, making it very general in its character, certain of numerous beneficiaries, and of liberal supporters. All applicants for admission must be sixty-five years of age, residents of New York city, having been three years a member of the churchy and recommended by the church session. Three dollars per week must be paid for board, and at death the funeral expenses defrayed by the church or party made responsible at her entrance. The auspicious beginning of the enterprise led the man28 448 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTI01M. agers at the close of the first year to confidently appeal to the benevolence of the denomination for the means to build and furnish an asylum in some sense adequate to the wants of the churches interested. This was soon responded to by Mr. James Lenox, by the donation of four choice lots of ground on Seventy-third street, between Madison and Fourth avenues, worth $40,000. Donations of money came also from many sources, so that at the end of the year $13,000 were invested as a building fund, and the third report showed that $62,000 had been contributed toward building. The building when completed was appropriately dedicated, Drs. Paxton, Murray, Thomson, Hall, and several distinguished laymen taking part in the exercises. The edifice is an elegant four-story brick, trimmed with Ohio freestone, surmounted by a chaste tower, and is charmingly arranged for the accommodation of the inmates. All its rooms and halls are lighted from the exterior. There are two staircases extending to the upper story, and its heating and ventilating apparatus are of the most approved character. The basement contains kitchen, laundry, and other appropriate rooms. The first floor contains visitors' room, committee-room, and well-arranged chapel, with seating for a hundred and fifty persons. The next floor has an infirmary, a ladies' room, and the rooms for the most infirm. The interior is supplied with iron doors, and the entire structure nearly fire-proof, the staircases being of iron, with little wood-work exposed to the action of fire. The edifice cost over $100,000, and is the finest building of its kind yet reared on the island. The Institution will, however, soon be too small to accommodate the aged and worthy poor of the one hundred and sixteen churches connected with the enterprise. May these consecrated homes of piety and rest for the comfort of the worthy poor be multiplied in all our denominations, until saintly pilgrims are no longer left in penury to suffer alone. UNION HOME AND SCIIOOL. (One Hundred and Fifty-first street and the Boulevard.) The care of orphan and friendless children is always one of the first duties of Christian civilization; but when the parents of these dependent ones bravely sacrificed their lives in defence of their native land, the least that a nation's gratitude can do is to provide maintenance and culture for their helpless offspring. On the 22d day of May, 1861, a few patriotic women, almost without means, but impelled by the pressing necessity of making some provision for the children of those who were certain to be sacrificed in the impending struggle, organized the "Union Iome and School for the Maintenance and Instruction of the Children of our Volunteer Soldiers and Sailors.' The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 22, 1862.\ Until 1867 the Institution was carried on in an inconvenient hired building not capable of accommodating over eighty children, and supported by the contributions 450 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. of the benevolent, an occasional fair, and some small State appropriations. In 1867 a large festival was planned, from which the handsome sum of $98,998.40 was realized. This enabled the managers to pay all their outstanding indebtedness, including the mortgage on a building and six lots of land purchased the previous year for $28,000, on Fifty-eighth street, and make other preparations for enlargement. About this time the propriety of removing the Institution to the country, where land was cheap, began to be discussed, and accordingly a large frame building, known as the " Laurel Hill Seminary," at Deposit, Delaware county, was purchased and repaired, at an expense of over $16,000. The building, however, did not prove satisfactory, the children suffered with diseased eyes, and arrangements were made to remove again to New York. In the spring of 1868 the managers purchased the Fields mansion, situated at One Hundred and Fifty-first street and the Boulevard, with ten lots of ground, for $32,000. The property on Fifty-eighth street has since been sold to pay for this new property at Washington Heights. The Fields mansion is a large brick edifice, with stone facings, seventy by eighty feet, and when purchased was three stories high. Over $11,000 were expended in repairs. But when the family had just settled, the ladies were notified by the Commissioners of Central Park that the edifice must be removed at least twenty-five feet, by April, 1869, to make way for the opening of the Boulevard. What would have once been considered an impossibility has been successfully accomplished; the building was moved forty feet, improved with two additional stories and a Mansard roof, at an expense of about $25,000. When compelled to remove the children for the removal and repairs of the building, it was proposed to transfer them to the building at Deposit, but about that time news was received that this building had just been destroyed by fire. Its value was nearly covered by insurance. Happily an old-fashioned country house near Harlem bridge was leased for a few months, until the building at Washington Heights could be put in order. On the 6th of June, 1870, the newly refitted Iome and School was reopened with appropriate services, the children having been previously transferred to it. The building is well adapted to its use, and has accominodations for three hundred and fifty children. The kitchen, laundry, and dining-room are in the basement. The first floor contains the reception-room, a fine committee-room, a UNION HOME AND SCHOOL. 451 aarge chapel, and two school-rooms, which can be connected with the former for Divine service. The other stories are devoted to dormitories, school-rooms, etc. One room is called the armory, and contains the boys' uniform and miniature sabres, which they are allowed to wear on public occasions. Several acres of ground at least should be connected with the Institution, to afford the play and exercise necessary for the health of the youthful inmates. The location is certainly one of the finest in the world, situated on a lofty eminence, fanned with pure breezes, and surrounded with trees and yards of surprising beauty. The lofty observatory affords a commanding view of the Hudson and the East rivers, the New York bay, and the surrounding country. Up to January, 1870, three thousand and forty children had been admitted. The only condition required for admission is proper evidence that they are the children of soldiers or sailors, and that the surviving parent, if any, is unable to support them. No payment is required for food, clothing, or instruction. No papers of surrender are required of the parent, to whom they are cheerfully returned as soon as able to provide for them, and their vacant places are immediately filled with other needy applicants. The schools appear to be well conducted. The present matron, Mrs. E. M. Cilley, has very creditably conducted her work. The Common Council and the Legislature have made several handsome appropriations toward this enterprise. The Institution is free from sectarianism, and clergymen of all denominations are welcomed to the Home. Another fair was held in December, 1870, in the Twentysecond Armory, New York city, but, owing to the fact that an unusual number of charity fairs had just been held, less interest than formerly was taken in this, and the proceeds did not exceed twenty thousand dollars. The patriotic ladies who have so nobly carried forward this commendable charity are worthy of all honor, and merit the thanks of more than soldiers or soldiers' children. MIrs. U. S. Grant is the chief officer of the society, having gained the presidential chair several years in advance of hei husband. THE FEMALE CHRISTIAN HOME. (No. 314 East Fifteenth street.) HIS Institution was established in the summer of 1863, by an association of benevolent Christian ladies, in a small hired building, No. 180 East Seventeenth street. The,bject of the organization was to provide a respectable Christian home, at moderate expense, for women obliged to earn their own livelihood. The enterprise proving a success, the managers, in 1867, purchased the building No. 14 East Thirteenth street for $18,000. The number of inmates in this building never exceeded thirty-three at one time, and the numerous applications made by worthy females induced the managers to dispose of this property and enlal ge their accommodations. In May, 1870, the home was removed to the newly purchased building, No. 314 East Fifteenth street. The building is a beautiful four-story brown-stone, with high basement, twenty-six by seventy feet, and cost $29,000. From its windows the inmates overlook the Stuyvesant Square park, rendered vocal with feathered songsters, beautiful and fragrant with waving branches and blooming flowers. The I-ome now stands in one of the choicest blocks in that portion of the city, and has the appearance of a private residence. An indebtedness of $10,000 remains on the property at this writing, which the enterprising managers will probably remove ere this volume sees the light. The building contains apartments for fifty inmates, and is far too smnall to accommodate the multitudes anxious to gain admission. The price of board varies from three dollars and a half to five dollars per week, according to the room occupied, use of furniture, food, fire, and light being included. None are ad mitted without satisfactory testimonials to the propriety of their conduct, the respectability of their characters, and theii expressed willingness to submit to the regulations of the Home. The matron is charged with the conduct of the house, the keeping of the daily accounts of purchases and donations, and the enforcement of the rules. Morning and evening prayer is regularly conducted, and each inmate is required to be present. A Bible-class is con THE HOME FOR FRIENDLESS WOMEN. 453 ducted every Sunday afternoon, and all the inmates are expected to attend. The receipts from the boarders during the last year covered the expenses, exclusive of rent, furniture, etc. The inmates consist of students, teachers, sales-women, book-keepers, copyists, and those employed in the various departments of needlework. Young ladies from the country, spending a few months of study or business in New York, should apply, and count themselves happy if admitted to one of these Christian Homes established during the last few years for the safety and comfort of their own class. THE HOME FOR FRIENDLESS WOMEN. (No. 86 West Fourth street.) DEEP and abiding interest during the last few yearshas been manifested in the condition of fallen women,'.) and of those who stand on the slippery precipice ready to descend. This interest is not confined to us nor to our country, but is being similarly manifested in all Christian lands. A few years ago, a devoted Christian lady in Glasgow became concerned about the outcasts of her sex, and resolved to go to work in their behalf. Meeting in the street one of the lowest of this class, she procured her lodgings in a poor but pious family, clothed her, and labored with her until she saw a change. Then she procured her employment. Encouraged with her success, and strengthened with pious associates, arrangements were made for enlarging the enterprise. Street girls were taken, and soon more applied than could be admitted. In twelve months they reported two hundred and fifty fallen women reclaimed, many of whom gave evidence of saving faith. Only twenty of those admitted had relapsed, eighty-five reformed girls had been restored to their parents, forty were employed as servants, forty-five in miscellaneous employments, and sixty-six still remained under their care. The Home for Friendless Women in New York was organized by 454 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. a number of Christian ladies and gentlemen in 1865, and the building No. 22 West Houston street, having been leased, was opened with suitable religious services on the 27th of December of that year. At the close of the first year their report showed that one hundred and twelve had been admitted, of whom fourteen had been dismissed for bad conduct, twelve went out of their own accord to former habits, ten of the thirty-two sent to situations left them, yet after inquiring into the conduct of those returned to friends, and of those remaining in the Institution the society believed that sixty per cent. of the whole number had been saved. The second year eighty-two were admitted, but one sent away for misconduct, two placed there by friends escaped, forty-six were provided with situations, twenty-three returned to their friends, five sent to other institutions, three were honorably married, and thirty-two remained. Eighty-five per cent. this year gave evidence of reformation. During the five years closing January, 1871, the whole number admitted amounted to four hundred and twenty-six, about seven-tenths of whom appear to have reformed. The society continued its operations in Houston street until May, 1869, when a more eligible building was taken at No. 86 West Fourth street. The building in Houston street was in the midst of the evil it sought to remove, and consequently many drifted in with little desire to reform, and after annoying the inmates were either dismissed or else departed of their own accord to join old associations. The change in location has been followed by a corresponding change in the character of the applicants. The class hardened by long years of crime less frequently apply, while those drawn away from the path of virtue by misplaced affection, sudden temptation, or the most fruitful of ail causes, destitution, are still readily reached. The Home is pleasantly located Its long double parlor on the first floor is also the chapel, where divine service is regularly conducted on Sabbath afternoon and on Tuesday evening by a city missionary, where a Bible class convenes twice each week, taught by the female managers, and where family worship is daily conducted by the superintendent and others. The windows of the upper stories look out upon the beautiful Washington Square park, with its shaded walks, crystal fountain, and waving trees. made vocal with the melody of their feathered songsters. Still it is far from being adequate to the demands of the undertaking. It can well accommodate only thirty, beside the THE HOME FOR FRIENDLESS WOMEN. 455 officers, with suitable lodgings and work-rooms, hence scores if not hundreds annually apply in vain, who might be reformed and saved if suitable accommodations could be secured. The managers have felt the necessity of classifying and grading the inmates according to their moral status, of introducing a system of promotions, and of devoting a department to indigent young women in danger of ruin, who might depart from the Home without necessarily carrying with them a diploma of degradation. A Lying-in Asylum is also a necessary appendage of an institution of this kind, without which they are compelled to turn away the class in which the largest number of true penitents is found. This wise, systematic management cannot be successfully executed in a small, illarranged, and crowded building. The managers have appealed to the public for $50,000 to build or purchase a suitable Institution, which we hope will be soon forthcoming. The twenty thousand or thirty thousand fallen women of the city, whose numbers are steadily increasing, should remind us that too few institutions for their recovery have been founded, and those few on too small a scale. That multitudes of these might be reformed has been already proved, yet the managers truly say that " those saved during the past ten years by all the institutions of New York working for this class will not equal the number mustered out by death during a single year." Several causes conspire to fill great centers of population with fallen women. 1. Many grow up without the opportunities of refinement, crowded together in a miserable tenement-house where six or twelve persons sleep in the same apartment. The proprieties of life, if ever known, are soon forgotten. 2. The demoralizing tendencies of public amusements, and the desire for greater display than common industry can support. 3. Destitution. The methods by which their recovery is sought are: 1. Kindness. 2. Toil. 3. Wise and unwearied religious effort. Industry is one of the best appliances for reformation. At the Home, sewing, paper-box making, and other species of toil are prosecuted, and each irl, to stimulate her energies, receives half her earnings. The religious services have been crowned with most gracious results. Under the appeals of the man of God, trooping memories of that land of early innocency have come rushing through the soul, and many have broken down outright and wept convulsively. Many have professed religion, 456 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. and several after obtaining situations have united with the church. The financial affairs of the society are under the control of a board of gentlemen managers, while the internal and domestic management is conducted by ladies. The Home is maintained without any charge to the inmates, at an expense Df about ten thousand dollars per annum. It is Protestant, but not denominational. i' "o ~ i',-~ IIIi'~t~ IXIIII h._.! WOMEN'S PRISON ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK. "THE ISAAC T. HOPPER HOME." (No. 213 Tenth avenue.) This Institution was founded in 1845, by the distinguished gentleman whose name it bears, as the " Female Department of the New York Prison Association." It is managed by a board of thirty ladies, who are elected annually by the members of the society. Mr. Hopper belonged to the Society of Friends, was for many years inspector of prisons in Philadelphia, and finally entered into the work of reforming criminals with a love and zeal only less than that of a Howard. IHe continued the agent of the society up to the period of his death, in 1852, performing an incredible amount of service for the trifling salary of $300 per annum. Known to be in moderate circumstances, the society repeatedly proposed to increase his salary, which he as persistently refused, though his successor's was immediately fixed at $2,500. 458 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. His excellent daughter, Mrs. J. S. Gibbons, the corresponding secretary of the society, who partakes so largely of the spirit of her father, is the only surviving member of the original organization. Mr. Hopper's long familiarity with prison life led to the profound conviction that nothing could be done for the reformation of female convicts without entirely separating them from the opposite sex, and placing them under the exclusive control of suitable persons of their own sex. Hence the organization of " The Women's Prison Association." The work undertaken by this society is the most difficult in the world, requiring a mingled wisdom and tenderness, connected with a moral heroism found nowhere but in cultivated and sanctified woman. The objects of the society are, " the improvement of the condition of prisoners, whether detained on trial or finally convicted, and the support and encouragement of reformed convicts after their discharge, by affording them opportunity of obtaining an honest livelihood and sustaining them in their efforts to reform." It is a death grapple with sin in its strongest dominion-the heart of a disgraced and ruined woman. The sympathy the society received from the public, during the earlier years of its history, was not flattering. The habit of regarding and treating the convict as the irreclaimable enemy of society was too common even with good people, and a holy horror seemed to fill the minds of others that a society to benefit such creatures had been formed, as if humanity and sympathy for criminals were an endorsement of crime. Its principal encouragement came from its fruits. Sometimes the helpless victims of wrong suspicion and unjust commitments were found. Here was an. easy victory for the right, accompanied with the indescribable joy of lifting up a crushed and despairing soul. Many were found who from childhood had been utterly perverted by example and instruction, so that all the springs of motive and action needed purifying. But having never known the path of life, or felt the full power of sacred truth, they soon melted under the softening appliances of reclaiming mercy. Others, after years of grossest error and shame, gave evidence that the moral sense was not entirely obliterated, that there remained still a spring that responded to the touch of human kindness. In the melting atmosphere of Christian tenderness, nourished by saintly example, and encouraged by WOMENS PRISON ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK. 459 the voice of religious instruction, in many instances the latent seeds of early culture have budded into a life of blessed fruit and promise. In some instances melancholy victims of drunkenness, bloated, loathsome, friendless, and apparently hopeless, after spending a' term" in the cell, have returned to this "Home" for amendment. The kind appeal has brought the irrepressible tear, the encouraging smile, the blush of animated hope; reproof and caution have been responded to with confession and promise of amendment. The boisterous tone is subdued to mildness, the defiant eye quails before sympathy and interest, a tide of pent-up emotion and affection bursts out to gladden the deliverer, who feels it infinitely "more blessed to give than receive." But there have been also many lamentable failures. Some ran well for a time and then relapsed into old habits, to pass through the same processes of arrest, trial, and commitment, and then to plead successfully again at the " Home " for opportunity of amendment. Some have been so positive in evil courses that more restraint was necessary to preserve the order of the Home than the managers were willing to exercise, and so have been dismissed. It is confidently believed, however, by those longest connected with the Institution, that over sixty per cent. of all sent out from it have done well. Many have married and now fill respectable stations in society, sending frequent and grateful communications, and sometimes donations of money, to the Home. For several years after organizing, the society carried on its operations in a hired house, trying to raise the means to build. Failing in this, it finally purchased the house it had occupied at No. 191, now No. 213 Tenth avenue, for $8,000, paying down only one-fourth of the amount. The building was sadly out of repair, and about $8,000 more have been expended in improvements. It is now a commodious, fourstory brick, with brown-stone basement, with accommodations for fifty persons. The Common Council has made them a few small appropriations, but the society claims, and we think ustly, that these have been most meager, since their whole abor and expenditures have been for those who would otherwise have been a permanent pest and expense to the city. There are no special tests for admission. All are received on trial, and if sincere in the matter of reformation receive every encouragement. If faithful and contented for one month, the society pledges to provide them a situation and 460 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. furnish, them with comfortable apparel. If refractory they are dismissed, but taken at the next application, for another trial. Scores are sent away to service every month, and as many more received from the prisons. Many remain connected with the Home, and go out as seamstresses by the week or month. These spend their Sabbaths at the Institution, where their washing is done for them, and pay fifty cents per week to the society, and retain the residue of their wages. Those in the Institution are employed at sewing and laundry work, which always gives the best satisfaction to customers, and which the managers make renumerative. In 1852, when 154 were received, the receipts from labor amounted to $1,090. In 1866, when 286 were received, the receipts from labor amounted to $1,155.47, and in 1869, when 408 were admitted, the receipts from labor amounted to $1,996.77. Since the organization of the Home, in 1845, the society has received 4,897 persons, an annual average of 187, the larger number of whom, notwithstanding all their discouragements, have gone out to lead virtuous and useful lives. The expenditures of the Institution now amount to from six to eight thousand dollars per annum, and the income is about able to balance them. Prudent management has enabled the managers to cancel all their indebtedness. In 1865 the Iome received a legacy of $50,000 from Charles Burrell, Esq., of Hoboken, New Jersey; and during 1869 a bequest of $500 was received from Miss Louise C. Parmly of this city, daughter of Dr. E. Parmly, one of the originators of the Men's Prison Association. The interest only on these sums is used. The Institution is preeminently Protestant, though the largest number by far who have shared its benefits have been Roman Catholics. One evening in each week is devoted to a general prayer-meeting, and two public services are conducted every Sabbath by the city missionaries, the pastors of the vicinity, or by theological students from one of the seminaries. The managers, physicians, and clergymen, have always served gratuitously. An evening school is also conducted in the Institution by a competent instructor, with very good results. ROMAN CATHOLIC HOME FOR THE AGED POOR. (No. 447 West Thirty-second street.) OR many years the young have been industriously'-B sought out and carefully educated by American Catholics, but, until recently, their aged poor of both sexes have been almost wholly neglected in all schemes of denominational charity. Their convents, institutions-of learning, and cathedrals have risen rapidly in every part of the country, but not an institution for the infirm and indigent, who had given all their savings through life to the Church, was undertaken until about three years ago. About that time several members of the community known as the " Little Sisters of the Poor," organized in France in the year 1840, came to this country and established the first institution of their order in the city of Brooklyn. Eleven have now been organized in different parts of the country, and others are in contemplation. The Sisters hold and manage their institutions, collecting and begging the means for their maintenance from door to door. The Institution in New York was opened at No. 443 West Thirty-fourth street, in a hired building, on the 27th of September, 1870, and removed to No. 447 West Thirty-second street on the 15th of the following December. There are twelve sisters connected with the enterprise, four of whom go out almost constantly gathering money and supplies from any and all available sources. The superioress, Mother Sidonie Joseph, is one of the group that came from France as before stated. The Sisters began without a chair or table, and with no money, we are told, but so pressing have been their importunities that the public has been compelled to heed their demands, and they now occupy three fine brick buildings adjoining each other, which they have leased for two and one-half years for the yearly rental of $1,700 each. Besides paying the rent of over $400 per month, they have managed to lainly furnish their buildings, and are now providing for a family of nearly one hundred aged and afflicted persons. Besides providing accommodations for the Sisters, the buildings contain space for about one hundred and ten persons, which will doubtless soon be filled. -The Sisters occupy the 26 462 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. central building, No. 447, the second floor of which has been converted into a chapel, where mass is said regularly by a priest. No. 445 is devoted to the aged men, and No. 449 to the aged women. Persons of good moral character in indigent circumstances are taken for life without money or goods, and without regard to sex or nationality. Several of the inmates are not active Roman Catholics, though they are not Protestants. We gladly chronicle this auspicious beginning of denominational charity for the relief of the aged and destitute of this sect, so populous in all our great cities, and hope these enterprises may be still more widely extended. Every society should, if possible, provide for the relief of the unfortunate and destitute of its own faith. CHAPIN HOME FOR THE AGED AND INFIRM. VERY denomination of Christians and Jews in New f York city has found it necessary to make provision for the poor and unfortunate of its own pale, and the march of benevolent enterprise in this direction for the last few years has been exceedingly gratifying. Something more than two years since, a society, composed principally of members of the Fifth Avenue Universalist church (Rev. E. II. Chapin, pastor), was organized, for the purpose of founding and maintaining a home for the aged indigent of their society and acquaintance. The society encountered such discouragements as usually attend enterprises of this kind. During the last year several lots were purchased by the managers, situated on Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh streets, between Lexington and Third avenues. A fair to aid in the accomplishment of the enterprise was held in the armory of the Twenty-second Regiment, for a number of days, beginning April 10th, 1871, which netted the society about $10,000. Subscriptions have been vigorously circulated, and about fifty thousand have at this writing been thus realized. The Legislature has also recently favored the Institution with a donation of $10,000. With these sums the managers are THE BAPTIST HOME FOR AGED AND INFIRM PERSONS. 463 now erecting the "Chapin Home," which will probably be furnished and opened for the reception of inmates some time during the present year. THE BAPTIST HOME FOR AGED AND INFIRM PERSONS. HE " Ladies' Home Society of the Baptist churches of the City of New York" was duly organized, and incorporated, March 19, 1869, with the design of providing aged, infirm, and destitute members of their denomination with a comfortable home in which to spend the last years of life. The payment of three dollars or more constitutes a person an annual member of the society; fifty dollars constitutes a life member, and one thousand, a life patron. The constitutidn provides that eighty female managers, members of Baptist churches or congregations in the city of New York, shall control the Institution, and shall hold their offices three years respectively, one-third retiring each year. Applicants as beneficiaries must be recommended by their pastor, and the deacons of the church to which they belong, as in good standing, and without the means of support. An entrance fee of $100 is required. The first anniversary of the society was held in the Madison Avenue Baptist church, March 31, 1870, when a vigorous and successful effort was made to complete the subscription of $100,000, which had been asked for at the commencement of the enterprise, for the purpose of purchasing grounds and erecting buildings. Noble responses were not only made to this permanent fund, but liberal subscriptions also toward the annual support of the Home. Encouraged by these expressions of interest, the managers leased for two years the building No. 41 Grove street, at an annual rent of $1,800, which they furnished, and on the 30th of June formally opened with thirteen inmates and a temporary matron. As no part of the permanent fund, or its interest, could be applied for current expenses, the ladies planned a fair which was held in the following November, in Apollo Hall, corner of Twenty-eighth street and Broadway, and which netted the society $10,689. 29 464 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. The Legislature, during a late session, passed an act directing the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the city of New York to lease to the society ten lots of ground, situated on Lexington avenue, between Sixty-seventh and Sixty-eighth streets, for the nominal rent of one dollar per annum. The title to this ground was promptly accepted by the trustees of the society, though the wisdom of the measure was seriously questioned by many friends of the enterprise. Several public meetings, to discuss the matter, were held by the subscribers, and other members of the denomination, in which strong men were arrayed on either side, but at the final vote of the members of the Home Society a majority sanctioned the action of the trustees. This unfortunate measure has, however, greatly disturbed the harmony of the society and unsettled its plans of building, some of the subscribers refusing to pay their subscriptions. This deliberate and emphatic protest against State and municipal endowments of denominational enterprises, entered into by so many earnest and thoughtful men, is an earnest of the sentiment rapidly developing in all the Protestant denominations, and certain to, sooner or later, control the Legislation of this country. While we can but regret that this false step has been taken in the early history of this society, we still wish it great prosperity, with many and liberal supporters. There are now in the Home twenty-nree inmates, several of whom are very aged, and one is in her ninety-fifth year. In this home of refinement, Christian influence, and comfort, relieved from toil and anxiety, they pleasantly spend the evening twilight of time, and serenely await the coming of their Lord. HOME FOR AGED HEBREWS. the autumn of 1848, Mrs. Henry Leo, a devoted Jewess of New York, was called to visit an afflicted woman of her own faith. She not only found her a great sufferer, but enshrouded in deepest poverty and destitution. While affording relief in this case, her mind was impressed that some general movement should be inaugurated for the relief of aged indigent Hebrews. Attending service HOME FOR AGED HEBREWS. 465 at the synagogue soon after, she laid the matter with great earnestness before a number of the ladies of the congregation, and on the 21st of November, 1848, the " B'nai Jeshurun Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society," for the relief of indigent females, was formed, and rules foi its government adopted. Mrs. A. H. Lissak, and Mrs. David Samson, deceased, were among its presiding officers, and the Rev. Ansel Leo acted for many years as honorary secretary. On March 20, 1870, at a meeting of the board of directresses held in the Thirty-fourth Street synagogue, the President, Mrs. Henry Leo, the chief foundress of the society, presented a report calling attention to the number of destitute aged and infirm Hebrews in the city, who were constantly making application for relief which the society was unable to confer; also urging the ladies to devise some practical measure which, when adopted, might furnish permanent relief to these distressed and suffering co-religionists, without interfering with the original objects of the organization. After a full discussion, it was determined to call a general meeting of the society, which was held on the 13th day of March at the B'nai Jeshurun synagogue, a large attendance of lady members attesting the interest they felt in the cause and the subject which had brought them together. The object of the meeting having been fully stated and explained to them, the following resolutions were offered: W7ereas, It is quite evident that we must provide some means to care for the aged and infirm of our persuasion who are increasing in numbers, and are destitute of the common necessaries of life, many without friends and any visible means of support; therefore, be it Resolved, That it is incumbent upon us, bearing in mind the sacred tenets of our holy faith, to care for all such; and, viewing also the misery now endured by Hebrew women, unable to earn a livelihood, unacquainted with any trade, or when able to sew, etc., refused work; therefore, be it Resolved, That we hereby authorize our board of directresses to provide for all such destitute co-religionists; open, establish, and maintain a Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews, and adopt all rules and regulations for the government of the same; also a school of industry, where sewing and the like may be taught to those unskilled, and where work obtained shall be given out to such poor women as need it to manufacture, the profits arising from same, after deducting certain ex 466 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTTUTIONS. penses, to be given to them for their benefit. And, be it also Resolved, That we authorize our president and board of directresses to make expenditures from the treasury of our society, and adopt any measure they think proper for carrying out the objects and purposes expressed in the foregoing resolutions. A quorum being present, the resolutions on motion were unanimously adopted. In compliance with the foregoing, a committee was appointed from the board of directresses, who after much trouble succeeded in obtaining a lease of the building No. 215 West Seventeenth street for one year, and on the twenty-fourth day of May, 1870, the house was declared formally opened and dedicated as a Home for Aged and Infirm Hebrews, it being the first and only Institution of the kind in the State of New York. The industrial school formed has given remunerative employment to hundreds of Hebrew women, and to some of the Christian faith also. The Homne in Seventeenth street is a brick cottage, capable of accommodating about fifteen persons. A building fund has been established, and besides disbursing $5,000 during the year in support of the Home, and on other charities, several thousand dollars have accumulated toward the purchase of permanent buildings. The society is composed of several hundred ladies who pay an annual subscription of five dollars each. As the adherents of this faith in New York are not lacking in wealth, enterprise, or liberality, we presume it will not be long ere a large and well-ordered home for the aged shall have been provided. THE LADIES CHRISTIAN UNION, OR YOUNG WOMEN'S HOME (Nos. 27 and 28 Washingto s8uqare.) HE benevolent of New York have been much engaged during the last fifty years providing asylums and homes for orphans, half-orphans, the aged, blind, deaf, and for many otherwise afflicted. The morally fallen have received recently such attentions as were hitherto unknown. But amid these multiplied charities a numerous and interesting class of virtuous persons, much in need of care and help, was long overlooked-that class of girls and young women, who, by the death of parents, the reverses of fortune, the loss of a situation, or of health, are either thrown suddenly upon their own resources or the uncertain charities of a calculating world. In large cities, where fortunes are suddenly lost, and where most of the casualties of society occur, this class of persons is always unpleasantly large. In November, 1858, a number of Christian women, representing several different denominations, convened for the purpose of forming the " Ladies Christian Association of the City of New York," their special object being "the temporal, moral, and religious welfare of women, particularly of young women dependent upon their own exertions for support." In May, 1860, the first "Home " in America for virtuous " Young Women" was opened by this society in a hired dwelling at No. 21 Amity place. Here it continued two years, when it was removed to No. 160 East Fourteenth street, where three more years were spent, when it was removed to Nos. 174 and 176 of the same street. The act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 5, 1866, under the name of "The Ladies Christian Union of the City of New York." The need of a permanent building, larger and better arranged than any hitherto occupied, had been long felt. The importance of the undertaking had been demonstrated from the first; more had thronged the doors than could be admitted. During the first four years one hundred and sixty-one had been admitted. During the fifth year seventy-five persons were admitted. An earnest appeal for funds to purchase or build a suitable edifice, published in the report for 1866, brought the noble response of $1,000 468 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. from an unknown friend, with a pledge for $4,000 more, afterwards increased to $9,000 more, on condition that $50,000 should be procured within a given time. The amount was finally subscribed, though owing to some reverses it has never all been collected. On the first of May, 1868, the Home was removed to its present location, on the northeast corner of Macdougal street and Washington square. The managers purchased two four-story brick houses, with a front of fifty-five and one-half feet, the lots being one hundred and twenty-five feet deep (containing brick stables in the rear), for the sum of $50,000. The buildings front on Washington Square park; they are substantially built, with high ceilinos, are well arranged and ventilated, and for convenience of access, purity of air, and pleasant surroundings, could scarcely be excelled on this portion of the island. The basement furnishes a fine kitchen and laundry, a dining, and a sewing room. The first floor contains two fine parlors, a committee room, the apartments for the superintendent, and others for transient boarders. The upper stories are devoted to lodging-rooms, with baths on each floor. The carpeting, bedding, and furniture all display neatness and taste; the walls are ornamented with pictures and various specimens of art wrought by the inmates. The ladies contemplate adding another story, with Mansard roof, as soon as their funds will admit of it. A small debt still remains on the property. The Iome at this writing contains eighty-seven inmates, and is always, except in the extreme heat of the season, full. It is not purely a charitable Institution. Each inmate pays a weekly board of from $3.50 to $6, according to her circumstances and the room she occupies. A relief fund has been established to assist those who through sickness, loss of employment, or other causes, find themselves unable to pay their board. When the buildings are owned and furnished the income from the boarders will about pay the expenses. The girls are all of an interesting class. Many of them are the daughters of clergymen and other distinguished gentlemen. Every inmate is required to be either engaged in something useful or fitting for it. Of 29 inmates, in 1865, 18 were artists, one a copyist, three were teachers, eight dressmakers and seamstresses; 203 different inmates were received during 1869, of whom 19 were artists, 33 teachers, 70 seamstresses; the remaining 81 were saleswomen, book-keepers, copyists, etc. Many young ladies tarry here while com THE LADmIES CHRISTIAN 0ION. 469 pleting their education. Some teach in private families, somu in the public-schools, some are pupils in the school of design, others work at embroidery or some other species of ingenious handicraft. There are hours for receiving company, when both sexes are admitted, but all are required to depart at ten in the evening. The Home is well supplied with books and periodicals. The house committee holds a meeting every Friday from twelve to one o'clock, when applications for admission are received and acted upon. Satisfactory testimonials of character are required in all cases, and valid reasons for their remaining in the city. Unmarried women only are received, preference being given to the younger class. The Institution being an outgrowth of the great awakening of 1857, and the third article of the constitution making advancement in active personal piety the first duty of the members, it is not surprising that the religious element has always been a marked feature in the movement. Family prayer is daily conducted. Every Thursday evening a Bible class is taught at the Home, and on Wednesday at eleven A.M. a ladies' prayer-meeting is held at the social parlors, over the chapel of the Broadway Tabernacle, corner of Thirty-fourth street and Sixth avenue. Sectarianism is ignored, all attend the churches of the neighborhood on the Sabbath, and many of the young wopen teach in the Sunday schools. The Iome has been the spiritual birthplace of many thoughtful young ladies, and from its well-ordered circle some have ascended to the "HEouse of many mansions" on high. The superintendent, Mrs. S. F. Marsh, formerly the wife of a clergyman, a lady of rare executive and social qualities, with a nature too kind to be soured and too brave to be discouraged, has presided over the Institution with very great success for the last eight years. May she, with that association of pure spirits which established this model and pioneer Home, and who have so long and successfully toiled to elevate the young women of our day, reap the richest fruit of Christian toil on earth, and an imperishable crown beyond the grave. HOTEL FOR WORKING WOMEN. (Fourth avenue and Thirty-third street.) MERICA presents greater attractions to the laboring classes than almost any other country in the world. Its abundance of cheap, but valuable land, its free schools, Republican government, and religious liberty, coupled with the liberal remuneration of toil, and the respect of the laborer, rendering it of all countries most desirable for ambitious industry. There is a benevolence, also, which finds expression in the opening of "boarding-houses," "homes," and "hotels," for the comfort and advancement of those who toil singly and alone for an honest subsistence. Mr. Alexander T. Stewart, who has hitherto done little toward placing his name among the benevolent of the metropolis, has recently, we are told, set aside six millions of dollars for the erection of two immense structures, one for workingwomen, and the other for working-men. The structure for working-women, which is now nearly completed, stands on Fourth avenue between Thirty-second and Thirty-third streets. The building, which is of iron, and fire-proof, has three fronts; that on Fourth avenue being one hundred and ninety-two feet six inches, those on Thirty-second and Thirty-third streets, two hundred and five feet respectively. The area covered by the structure is forty-one thousand square feet. The main building will be six stories high, with an additional story, in Mansard roof, and over the central portions of each front, a space of one hundred feet, there will be an additional story with a superimposed Mansard roof, making the centre of each front eight stories. At the extremities of these central elevations, and also at the street angles, are turreted towers, twenty-four feet in width and height. The entire central height will be one hundred and nine feet. The grand entrance on Fourth avenue has a width of fortyeight feet; the portico is two stories high, with massive cluster iron columns, resting on octagonal-shaped pedestals, and supporting foliated capitals. The design of the structure, with its different stories, their piers, columns, pilasters, and arches, crowned with the unique towers, presents a finished THE WATER-STREET HOME FOR WOMEN. 471 architectural design. The first story contains twenty-four fine stores, each fifty-two feet wide and seventy feet deep. A wide stairway conducts to the interior. A portion of the halls are covered with marble. A steam elevator, running to the upper floor, ascends on either side of the staircase. The stories are high, averaging from nineteen feet six inches to eleven feet five inches. There is a large interior court-yard, ninety-four feet by one hundred and sixteen, which is to be ornamented with fountain, gold fish, etc. The whole structure is heated by steam coil, the engine being so arranged as to work the elevators, drive in hot weather an immense fan for cooling the apartments, and afford mechanical appliances to the kitchen and the laundry. The dining-room is thirty by ninety-two feet, and another room of the same size is to be used for concerts, lectures, etc., and still another of similar dimensions will contain the library, and be the reading-room. The inmates are to pay a fixed price for the use of rooms according to their size and location, and the board will be conducted on the restaurant plan. If the proprietor really deals as liberally with the inmates as some now suppose, this Institution, situated in an eligible portion of the city, will be a valuable acquisition to the toiling women of Manhattan. THE WATER STREET HOME FOR WOMEN. (No. 273 Water street.).J-U1RING the summer of 1868 the reading public was startled with a series of well-written articles published in Packard's Monthly, and partially reprinted and commented upon by most of the papers, purporting to set forth the career of the "Wickedest Man in New York.' The attention of the city was thus called to the condition of society in Water street and its vicinity, and so profound was the conviction, in many thoughtful and pious minds, that something should be undertaken for this sin-blighted locality, that it resulted in a noon-day prayer-meeting, established in the dance-house of John Alleii, and conducted with much fervor for a considerable period. Though the effort did not 472 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. result in the conversion of a large number from the neighborhood, it considerably sobered many, and had an excellent effect upon Christians of all denominations who took part in the undertaking. Water street contains a few wholesale business houses, conducted through the day by amiable gentlemen residing ih other places, but the resident population of the locality is perhaps the most depraved and infamous on the entire New York island. Murder and robbery have never been as frequent here as during the worst days of the Five Points, but for low groggeries, scandalous brothels, and dance-houses, where every sentiment of decency is ignored, and the whole populace reduced to the lowest scum of moral degradation, the locality has long been unrivaled. Sailors and roughs of the lowest order, whose means will not admit them to houses equally disreputable but higher up on the ladder, here assemble nightly to waste their money and lives'in drink and frantic revelry. The dance-house girls, also, are the most ignorant and helpless of their class. Many of them, reared in the neighborhood, have little knowledge of anything better, and little compunction for a life of crime. Some of them have never seen the better parts of the city, attended school or church, or been in any manner reached by the ministrations of religion. They are the slaves of the proprietor in whose miserable shanty they dwell. HIe claims as his property the miserable garments they wear, so that, when one attempts to escape from brutal treatment, she is not unfrequently arrested for theft, and thrown into prison. It was in this slum of moral putrefaction, after the excitement of the noon-day meeting had subsided, and religious efforts in the locality had been mainly suspended, that the Rev. William I. Boole, a member of the New York East Conference, and pastor of one of the city churches, under the inspiration of " a profound and responsible conviction," opened this Home and refuge for fallen women. The founder believed that greater good would result from an institution founded in the midst of this sea of social crime than from one removed from the locality, because of the ready access afforded those for whose benefit it was opened, and the reformatory influence it would exert in the neighborhood. Like the ladies at the Five Points, he was enabled to seize upon one of the chief citadels of corruption in the locality. THE WATER-STREET HOME FOR WOMEN. 473 The c Kit Burns Dog-Pit," rum, carousal, and brothel shop, had obtained a world-wide notoriety, the proprietor gathering lucre from the most brutal and corrupting expedients ever tolerated in a civilized town. The proprietor of this establishment, with no sympathy in the object of the mission, was strangely moved to offer his building for the moderate rent of one thousand dollars per annum, obligating himself to continue the lease for six years. The lease was at once taken, and the work of cleansing and remodeling the premises undertaken. The building is a four-story brick. twenty-five by thirty-four feet, with a rear extension which originally contained the "pit," but which has since been changed into a kitchen and several bath-rooms. On February 8, 1870, in presence of a vast concourse of people that crowded the building, the "pit," and the adjoining street, the Institution was solemnly dedicated by the Rev. Bishop Janes, the Revs. S. H. Tyng, G. W. Woodruff, S. W. King, and W. McAllister taking part in the exercises. The addresses contained many pungent utterances, and produced a profound impression. The Iome was not formally opened for the reception of inmates until the 10th of March, 1870, and in a short time the applications for admission were so numerous that many were turned away for want of room to accommodate them. In projecting the Institution, it was believed that some difficulty would be experienced in drawing these abandoned creatures into it, and it was proposed to hold evening meetings in the hall set apart for public worship, to which it was hoped they might be attracted, and so impressed with truth as to be led to seek refuge and aid in this Christian Home. But as more than could be admitted have from time to time presented themselves, without solicitation, no plans for reachin them have been necessary. The internal management of the Home is under the direction of two resident matrons and a missionary, who are constantly employed in self-sacrificing labors of love, and who are heartily identified with the movement, receiving no stated salary, but trusting entirely to the unsolicited contributions of the friends of the cause for their supplies. The matrons have charge of the domestic department, direct the girls in their household duties, and conduct the religious meetings when held exclusively with the inmates of the Institution, in which they are assisted by Christian ladies from the city. The mis 474 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. sionary, Mr. Henry M. Little, has charge of the Sabbath preaching, the daily and evening prayer-meetings held in the hall, and acts in concert with the matrons in the general administration of the Home. The duties of the day begin and end with prayer, in which all join. A general prayer-meeting is held on Tuesday evening, and another on Thursday evening, of each week, when the missionary is assisted by Christian brethren from the up-town churches. These services are designed to reach the vile young men of the neighborhood, and have in some instances been crowned with marvelous results. Men so dissipated and reckless as to have been wholly abandoned by their friends, and given over as quite incorrigible, have drifted into these services, where they have been awakened and converted, after which they have returned to their homes and pursued honest careers. A young Englishman of liberal education, and who had been a journalist, but by dissipation and other vices had sunk himself to the depths of despair, resolved to commit suicide. He filled his pockets with brick, and stood on the pier for the fatal plunge. By some influence the dreadful act was delayed, he went to the Water-street prayer-meeting, was reclaimed by Divine grace, and has stood firm for months in a pious and useful career. Other examples might be given. The only condition of admission to the Home is a desire to reform, though they may not know by what process the reformation is to be effected. The managers believe that nothing short of Divine grace can reform a fallen woman; hence they desire to retain each inmate until she has been genuinely converted to God, and thus rendered sufficiently strong to lead a virtuous life on her return to the outside world. A genuine change of heart is the first, last, and great thing sought by the managers in the reception of an inmate. In the meantime work from the stores is taken, each inmato receiving one-half of her earnings. The labor thus far, however, has not been very productive. During the first five months after the opening of the Iome, about one hundred inmates were admitted, some of whom were pronounced the " most desperate characters of the street." But few of them returned to their old ways, many became industrious, tidy, and serious, and about ten per cent., it was thought, gave evidence of a changed heart. But with the more perfect organization of the Institution has been given also a larger measure of spiritual influence, and we learn that more than THE WATER-STREET HOME FOR WOMEN. 475 fifty per cent. of all admitted during the last six months have deliberately entered upon a genuine Christian career. The labors of Christian ladies, who assemble several times each week to mingle prayers and exhortations with the inmates in their upper rooms, have not failed of gratifying results, and are more effective than services conducted by persons of the opposite sex. Meetings for song, conversation, and social intercourse are also held occasionally in the parlor under the direction of the resident officers. Friends from the neighborhood and others are sometimes invited to attend. These gatherings are characterized by all the freedom of a well-ordered family, and at some of them conversions have occurred. More than once since its opening, that devoted Christian vocalist, Philip Phillips, has volunteered to sing his choicest songs to the inmates of the Home and the assembled populace of that demoralized neighborhood. On one occasion, a careful distribution of handbills and complimentary tickets through the dance-houses and liquor saloons of the locality brought together an immense crowd of both sexes, even filling the platform, on which Mr. Phillips sat, with abandoned women. An eye-witness said, "It was indeed a novel entertainment for those ears, always filled with blasphemy and foul speech, to hear' Singing for Jesus,' from the silvery lips of our sweet singer in Israel. "At times the deep silence was almost painful; and when Mr. Phillips sung the'Dying Child,' there was scarcely a dry eye among those so little accustomed to weep. The songs were interspersed with those short, sweet exhortations which Mr. Phillips so effectively uses to promote the deeply spiritual character of his singing, and on this occasion were more than usually blessed in their appropriateness and effect. When, near the close, he asked how many would join in the request for prayer and try to live a better life, more than forty hands went up, and several of the women near him said aloud,'I will, Mr. Phillips; I will try.'" The founder of the Water Street Home for Women is not wealthy, and at the beginning invested the few hundred dollars he possessed to obtain the lease and pay the rent for a part of the first year. It required a large faith in the infinite Provider to launch an enterprise of this character in this locality, against the judgment of so many excellent people; yet, believing himself Divinely directed, he set about the work without fear. The Home is carried on exclusively 476 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. as a toryk of faith, no solicitation in any form being made for funds, except prayer and reliance upon God. In the right time means came to defray the expense of repairing, furniture was contributed, and bread given. The rule is not to incur debt. More than once " the last loaf has been eaten" at supper, with no knowledge of what should be on the morrow, but He that feeds the ravens has through His servants sent a timely supply. May the Home never lack encouragement! We rejoice in the auspicious opening of another refuge for the most despised and helpless class in this sin-darkened world. Truly there is something appalling in the case of a fallen woman. A man may descend to deepest prodigality, waste his substance and become a companion of harlots, yet his return is hailed with highest joy. But a fallen woman is pronounced lost, and given over as incorrigible. IIer reformation, if not openly ridiculed, is long viewed with distrust, even by the excellent of her own sex. This movement in Water street has already resulted in the discontinuance of eight or ten brothels in the vicinity, and the policemen patrolling the locality pronounce it much improved. THE FIVE-POINTS MISSION. (No. 61 Park street.) A quarter of a century ago the Five Points in New York presented the most appalling state of society on the American continent. The locality was a low valley between Broadway and Bowery, originally covered by the Collect pond, and the name was acquired by the converging of three streets instead of two, one of the blocks terminating in a sharp point. The ground, being marshy and uninviting, was settled by the poor and dissolute, mostly from foreign countries, who by degrees became so notoriously disorderly, that it was not considered safe for a respectable person to pass through it without a police escort; and these officers were often maltreated and murdered. About fifty thousand persons inhabited this locality, without a Protestant church, or a school, bidding utter defiance to all law and decency. There were underground passage-ways connecting blocks of houses on different streets, making crime easy and detection difficult. Every house was 478 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. a filthy brothel, the resort of persons of every sex, age, color, and nationality. Every store was a dram-shop, where from morning to morning thieves and abandoned characters whetted their depraved tastes, concocted and perpetrated crimes and villainies, rendering day and night hideous with their incessant revelries. The respectable inhabitants living within five minutes' walk of this appalling carnival were astonishingly indifferent to the fearful degradation which there existed, many believing that the majority among them preferred to riot in wretched vices, to starve upon the scanty wages of crime, to be housed in kennels, poor-houses, or jails, racked with loathsome disease, and scourged by the law, rather than dwell in quiet respectability by their own careful industry. To the ladies of the Methodist Episcopal church must ever be accorded the high honor of inaugurating measures for carrying light into this God-forsaken valley of moral blackness. As early as 1848 the Ladies' Home Missionary Society of this denomination, having previously established several missions in different parts of the city, which have since grown into large, flourishing churches, turned its attention toward this longdespised center of abandoned humanity. Impressed with the magnitude and difficulties of their undertaking, the society selected a number of Christian gentlemen of high standing, who were constituted an advisory committee, upon whom it has always safely relied for counsel and means. In the spring of 1850, Rev. L. M. Pease, of the New York Conference, was appointed to this unpromising field. A room, twenty by forty feet, at the corner of Little Water and Cross streets, was hired, fitted for holding service, and on the first Sabbath filled with the most motley, filthy, and reckless group that ever crowded a religious service. A lady described it as " a more vivid description of hell than she had ever imagined." The Sunday school began with seventy unruly scholars. For a time confusion reigned. The boys would turn somersaults, knock each other down, and follow any other vicious inclination. Order and system were gradually introduced, and in time this school became as orderly as any in the city. Intemperance was the universal crime and curse of the locality, and it soon became evident that nothing could be accomplished unless this fiery tide could be arrested. A series of temperance meetings were commenced (which have been continued more or less ever since), and over a thousand signed THE FIVE-POINTS MISSION. 479 the pledge the first year. The next chief difficulty in the way of success was the universal poverty of the population. Reformation with many involved immediate starvation, unless solne new channel of industry could be opened. The hunger of a starving family must be somewhat appeased with bread before their minds can be interested in the Gospel. Mr.'~-= —, _... - Tli FIVE-POINTS MIISION.'l'liG FIVE-POUTS MI=SSION. Pease, with characteristic energy, soon arranged to supply a hundred with needle-work, becoming personally responsible to the manufactories, suffering constant pecuniiary loss on account of the poorness of the work. This incdustrial department required his constant attention to prevent thefts and losses; drew him in part away from the pastoral and outside spiritual toil contemplated by the managers, which, with some unfortunate business complications, resulted at length in the severance of his connection with the Ladies' Missionary 30 480 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITTIONS. society. Mr. Pease gave evidence of the deepest devotion te his work, and surprised all his friends by early making hie residence and removing his family into the center of this abandoned neighborhood, that the whole weight of his influence and toil might be thrown into the movement. The next year Rev. J. Luckey was appointed to this field. The accommodations of the Mission were totally inadequate, and measures were set on foot to secure permanent buildings. Mr. Harding generously offered the society the use of the Metropolitan Hall for a public meeting, the lHutchinsons and Alleghanians volunteered to sing gratuitously, and Revs. Beecher and Wakeley to speak on the occasion. The hall was crowded, and $4,000 secured for the Mission. The next year the hall was again tendered, and John B. Gough lectured to a delighted audience, which subscribed $5,000 toward the Mission. In 1852, after mature deliberation, the society purchased the Old Brewery, a name it bore from the business once carried on in it, for the sum of $16,000. The large building was at this time in great decay, but inhabited by hundreds of the most desperate characters in the city, and was the acknowledged headquarters of crime in this fearful locality. There were dark, winding passage-ways extending through the whole edifice, various hiding places for criminals, and dark, damp rooms, where scores of wretched families herded promiscuously together. The avenue extending around the outside of the building was familially known as " Murderer's Alley " and" The Den of Thieves." To demolibh this literal pandemonium and erect in its place a temple of mercy to humanity, and of worship to God, was one of the noblest triumphs of Christianity. Inspection proved the building incapable of repair; it was pulled down, and on the 27th of January, 1853, the corner-stone of the new building was laid by Bishop Janes, of New York, several distinguished clergymen, representing different denominations, taking part in the exercises. On the sixteenth day of the following June it was solemnly dedicated to the service of education and religion; and the managers and missionaries, with feelings too deep for expression, found themselves in possession of a brick building, seventy-five by forty-five feet, and five stories high, containing, besides a neat parsonage, chapel, and school-rooms, two stories, extending over the entire building, to let at reasonable rates to suitable families. The schools, which had been conducted in a temporary wooden building in the park, were transferred THE FIVE-POINTS MISSION. 481 to their commodious rooms, the parsonage was furnished by members of the different Methodist churches, and everything assumed an aspect of thrift and progress. The day school has been successfully conducted by competent instructors through these twenty-one years, averaging from four hundred to five hundred scholars daily, affording the means of culture to many thousands who must otherwise have groped in profoundest ignorance. The usual per capita appropriation from the State educational fund is made to the Institution. The Sunday school is also large. A visitor is constantly employed by the society to canvass the neighborhood and look after absentees. The children receive a lunch each day, which amounts to about one hundred and thirty thousand rations per annum given to the hungry. The scholars are all clothed by the society, and many garments and bed-quilts, besides articles of food and fuel, are furnished to their inuigent parents. A large congregation assembles morning and evening on the Sabbath to listen to preaching by the missionary; a weekly prayer-meeting and a class-meeting are also well sustained. A "Free Library and Reading-room" has recently been opened. The number of converts remaining at the Mission is never large, as reformation is usually followed by improved business opportunities, when they unite with the regular churches in the city or elsewhere. Through the liberality of a friend who bequeathed the society $22,000, the Board has recently made a fine addition to the building, greatly improving the facilities of usefulness. The property of the society is now valued at about $100,000. The society has for the last ten years issued a small monthly paper, entitled "A Voice from the Old Brewery," which, besides acknowledging all receipts of money and goods, contains many spicy articles of general interest. It has a steady circulation of 4,000. The society was duly incorporated in March, 1856. Over two thousand destitute children have been place in Christian homes, most of whom have risen to respectability and usefulness, and quite a number to wealth and distinction. Situations have also been furnished to many thousand adults. The work of the society is conducted at a cash expense of over $20,000 per annum, not mentioning the thousands of dollars' worth of clothing, produce, etc., received and distributed from churches and friends all over the land. 482 NEW TORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. During the twenty-one years of its operations, six different ministers have been successively employed by the society as resident missionaries or superintendents, a traveling financial agent having been also employed during most of the time. Te present superintendent, Rev. J. N. Shaffer, a man of great prudence and perseverance, has now entered upon his tenth year of successful and unceasing toil in this critical field. Great credit is due the Ladies' Home Missionary Society for the marvelous change wrought in this locality during the last two decades, for though other vigorous organizations are now in the field, it must ever be remembered that this society wrought out the plan, furnished the stimulus, and trained the chief founders of those kindred Institutions in its own chosen field. ({No. 155 Worth stIreet. ) Mr. Pease was at first employed by the Ladies' Holmle MissionFIVEPOINTS HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. (No. 155 Worth street.) ary Soiety of the M. E. Ch urch at the Five Points, bt, differvidual effort made by Rev. Lewis Morris Pease to the smethods of 1850, to obtain employed, and some unfor a class of wretched females,rring, an alienation was prom an abandoned which eslted in the sever-ife, were debarred from any other, through lack of employment. Mr. Pease was at first employed by the Ladies' Home Missionary Society of the M. E. Church at the Five Points, but, differing in his views from those of the society as to the methods to be employed, and some unfortunate complications occurring, an alienation was produced which resulted in the severance of his connection with the society, alid the establishment of an independent enterprise. In the autumn of the same year he hired two houses, admitted fifty or sixty inmates whom he supplied with work; in February an additional 484 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. room was added; and in May, 1851, four houses were taken, and the number of inmates increased to one hundred and twenty. In 1853 eight houses were taken, and five hundred persons supported either by their industry or the donations of the benevolent. Needle-work, basket-making, baking, strawwork, shoemaking, and ultimately farming, formed the chief employments. Mr. Pease began the enterprise with great courage, but with scanty means, and must have soon failed if Providence had not raised up friends who early came to his assistance. After conducting the enterprise over three years, he succeeded in enlisting a number of gentlemen, who procured a charter and assumed the management of the Institution, Mr. Pease remaining the superintendent. The entire expenditures of the enterprise during the three years and a quarter, closing with the incorporation of the society in March, 1854, amounted to $48,981.87, more than half of which was profit on the work of the inmates, the remainder being made up by donations. Soon after the incorporation of the society, the trustees resolved to relinquish the rented buildings and erect permanent ones of their own. A plot of ground on what is now Worth street was purchased, and in 1856 they completed a massive six-story brick edifice, with a front of fifty-four feet, covering nearly the entire depth of the lots, and seventy feet high. Much of the means necessary to complete the edifice was contributed by friends, and the remaining incumbrance on the property was removed several years later by a bequest of $20,000, received from Mr. Sickles. In 1864, Chauncey Rose, Esq., whose generosity extended to so many institutions, presented the board with the handsome sum of $10,000, which led to the purchase of several adjoining lots. Here they erected a large two-story building, the ground floor, ninety by forty-five feet, being devoted to a play-room for the children, while the upper was divided by sliding partitions into appropriate school-rooms, and thrown on the Sabbath into a large chapel. After a few years it became manifest that the growing wants of the Institution demanded more ample accommodations. The hospital department, confined to a single room, was far too small to accommodate the afflicted of the Institution and neighborhood. The chapel ceiling was too low. More dormitories were needed, and a better nursery. An article setting forth these wants, published in the " Monthly FIVE-POINTS HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. 485 Record," the organ of the Institution, brought pledges in a short time to the amount of $10,000, to which one of the trustees generously added another $10,000. Arrangement was also made with the City Mission and Tract Society, which loaned the House of Industry $20,000 without interest, for the privilege of using the chapel. The frustees then decided to erect on the site of the school-rooms a new and commodious building. The edifice was begun in August, 1869, completed and dedicated in February, 1870. The two buildings, though somewhat unlike in design, form an imposing pile about one hundred feet square. The stairs are fire-proof, the beams are of iron, water and gas are carried to every floor. The chapel, seventy by forty-five feet, is massively pillared, arched overhead, and has stained glass windows. The school-rooms afford accommodations for five hundred scholars, and the dormitories for over three hundred beds. The ground and buildings of the society have cost $125,000. The whole number received into the House during the sixteen years since its incorporation amounts to over nineteen thousand, and the names of twenty-one thousand children have in the same time been enrolled in the day school, with a daily attendance varying from two hundred and thirty to four hundred and twenty. During this period 4,135,218 meals have been furnished to the poor, and about nine thousand sent to situations. WORKING WOMEN'S HOME, NO. 45 EIJZABETH STREET. WOMAN'S BOARDING-HOUSE. The trustees of the HTouse of Industry, commiserating the fate of the many thousand females in the city toiling by the day or week, with no relatives or homes, resolved, in 1867, to open a Working Women's Home, where this class might find clean, well-ventilated rooms, wholesome food, and facilities for self-improvement, under Christian influence, at moderate expense. An immense building, No. 45 Elizabeth street, was accordingly purchased, refitted, and furnished, at an expense of $120,000. The building extends from AMott to WOMAN'S BOARDING-HOUSE. 487 Elizabeth streets, is fifty-six feet wide, two hundred feet deep, and six stories high, besides basement. It was dedicated September 26, 1867, and thrown open for boarders on the first day of the following month. The House at this writing has two hundred and sixty boarders, and has rooms for about one hundred more. Room-rent, gas, washing, use of parlor anl bath-room, are furnished for the small sum of $1.25 per week. JMeas are provided on the restaurant plan at such moderate rates, that the whole expense of living does not exceed three or four dollars per week. This Home has a separate superintendent, and is a distinct Institution, though managed by the same board of trustees. This eminently philanthropic movement has been very successful, though the largest expectations of the founders have not yet been fully realized. The entire expenditures of the Board from 1855 to 1870, including both Institutions, amounted to $600,000. The organization employs no travelling solicitor, but makes its appeal through the press, and depends upon the generosity of the public for the several thousand dollars necessary to defray its monthly expenses. The society, in i857, commenced the ssue of the " Monthly Record," which now has a circulation of 5,000 copies. It is sent to subscribers at $1.00 a year. Nearly all the shoes worn in the Institution and given away in the neighborhood, amounting to fifteen or twenty hundred pairs every year, are received gratuitously at second hand, and are repaired in their own shop. At least ten thousand garments are given away annually. Boxes of clothing and provision are received from all parts of the country, and from some of the large hotels in the city liberal donations of provision are sent daily. Since the organization of the society there have been five superintendents successively employed-Messrs. Pease, Talcott, Barlow, Halliday, and Barnard. Upon this officer is laid a heavier burden than is usually borne by similar officials in other institutions, as to his discretion is committed the whole matter of admissions, dismissals, and the dispensing of outside charities. That these officers have been wise and efficient, the prevent prosperous condition of the Institution attests. UTTLEi. N-Y~..... VIEW OF THE OLD ROOKERY THAT OCCUPIED TlHE SITE OF THE HOWARD MISSION. THE BLACK SEA OF SIN. HOWARD MISSION AND HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS. (No. 40 New Bowery.) Some portions of the city of New York present as dismal moral deserts as can be found on the entire globe. A portion of the Fourth Ward, with its narrow, crooked, filthy streets and dilapidated buildings, filled with a motley population collected from all countries, packed at the rate of 290,000 to the square mile, has long been noted as one of the principal "nests" for fever, cholera, and other deadly malaria on the island. But the moral aspect of this locality is even worse than the sanitary. Nearly every second door is a rum-shop, dance-house, or sailors' lodging, where thieves and villains of both sexes and of every degree assemble, presenting a concentration of all the most appalling vices of which fallen human HOWARD MISSION AND HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS. 489 ity is capable. The following statement from the superintendent, Rev r. r. Van Meter, will afford our readers a concise view of this most important work. "REv. J. F. RICHMOND-Dear Brother: In compliance with your request I forward to you a brief statement by the Board, of our work and the way we do it: " This Mission was organized by the Rev. W. C. Van Meter, in May, 1861, and until 1864 was conducted by himself and an Advisory Committee; when, at his request, it was regularly incorporated and placed under the control of well-known citizens, who constitute the Board of Managers, by whom its finances are administered, and all disbursements regulated under a system of strict accountability. From the beginning the funds have passed through the hands of a responsible Treasurer, by whom full reports of receipts and expenditures have been made each year, and published in the daily papers and in the " Little Wanderer's Friend." OBJECT.-The announcement at the beginning remains unchanged: " Our object is to do all the good we can to the souls and bodies of all whom we can reach, and we cordially invite to an earnest co-operation with us all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." NOT SECTARIAN.-The Constitution requires that "not more than three members of the Board shall be chosen from the same denomination." THE FIELD cannot be fully described, for New York has become the almshouse for the poor of all nations, and the Fourth Ward (in which the Mission is located) is the very concentration of all evil and the head-quarters of the most desperate and degraded representatives of many nations. It swarms with poor little helpless victims, who are born in sin and shame, nursed in misery, want, and woe, and carefully trained to all manner of degradation, vice, and crime. The packing of these poor creatures is incredible. In this Ward there are less than two dwelling houses for each low rum hole, gambling house and den of infamy. Near us on a small lot, but 150 by 240 feet, are twenty tenant houses, 111 families, 5 stables, a soap and candle factory, and a tan-yard. On four blocks close to the Mission are 517 children, 318 Roman Catholic and 10 Protestant families, 35 rum-holes, and eighteen brothels. In No. 14 Baxter street, but three or four blocks 490 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. from us, are 92 families, consisting of 92 men, 81 women, 54 boys and 53 girls. Of these 151 are Italians, 92 Irish, 28 Chinese, 3 English, 2 Africans, 2 Jews, 1 German, and but 7 Americans. HOWARD MISSION (WHEN COMPLETED). OUR WORK is chiefly with the children. These are divided into three classes, consisting of 1st. Those placed under our care to be sent to homes and situations. 2d. Those whom we are not authorized to send to homes, but who need a temporary shelter until their friends can provide for them or surrender them to us. NOTE.-These two classes remain day and night in the Mission. 3d. Those who have homes or places in which to sleep. These enjoy the benefits of the wardrobe, dining and school rooms, but do not sleep in the Mission. Food, fuel, and clothing are given to the poor, after a careful inspection of their condition. Mothers leave their small chil HOWARD MISSION AND HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERES. 491 dren in the day nursery during the day, while they go out to work. The sick are visited, assisted, and comforted. Work is sought for the unemployed. We help the poor to help themselves. The children over whom we can get legal control are placed in carefully selected Christian families, chiefly in the country, either for adoption or as members of the families, where they are tenderly cared for in sickness and in healthsent to Sunday School and Church-receive a good Common School education-trained to some useful business, trade or profession, and thus fitted for the great duties of mature life. DAY AND SUNDAY SCHOOLS. —The attendance, neatness, order, cheerfulness enthusiasm, and rapid improvement in the Day and Sunday Schools are the best testimonials that our teachers can have of their fitness for their work. CoNCLUSION.-Since the commencement of the Mission more than 10,000 children have been received into its Day and Sunday Schools, hundreds of whom have been placed in carefully selected Christian homes. Many of them have grown up to usefulness and comfort, and some to positions of influence and importance. We know that our work prevents crime; keeps hundreds of children out of the streets, keeps boys out of bar-rooms, gambling houses and prisons, and girls out of concert saloons, dance-houses, and other avenues that lead down to death; and that it makes hundreds of cellar and attic homes more cleanly, more healthy, more happy, and less wretched, wicked, and hopeless. We never turn a homeless child from our door. From past experience we are warranted in saying that one dollar a week will keep a well-filled plate on our table for any little wanderer, and secure to it all the benefits of the Mission. Ten dollars will pay the average cost of placing a child in a good home." Many apply at the Mission for a child. It is amusing to hear their inquiries and the replies of the superintendent. " Have you a nice little girl to send away into a good family?" said one of two well-dressed ladies, who entered the office while we there in quest of information for this chapter. " No, we have not-yes, we have one," said the superintendent, "a dear little girl who is just recovering from measles, and who has been exposed to scarlet fever and will probably be sick with it by to-morrow. She needs some good, kind mother to love her, and nurse her, and train her up. I 492 NEW YORK AxD rrs NTITUTIONS. am afraid the angels will come for her soon, unless some of you mothers take her." They were not in search of such a child and turned toward the street. When a class of these children was taken West some years ago an old lady of wealth came to their lodgings and said,' If you have a crippled bov give him to me; my dear boy died with the spinal complaint.' There was one little fellow in the group afflicted with this spinal difficulty, and she took him to her nice home, procured the best medical skill in that part of the State, and after years of good treatment he recovered, and is now a successful man. In September, 1861, the "Little Wanderer's Friend," the organ of the Mission, a 16mo. now issued quarterly, was established. It contains the music sung in the Mission, the history of the Institution, and other selections and thought gems. It has now a circulation of five thousand copies. The Institution is conducted at an annual expense of from $35,000 to $40,000, which is derived from voluntary contributions. THE MIDNIGHT MISSION. (No. 260 Greene street.) j HE Midnight Mission grew out of a conversation between the Rev. S. II. iHillyard, chaplain of St. Barnabas Mission, and Mr. Gustavus Stern, now a missionary, who had just arrived from England, where he had observed the operations of a mission among fallen women, established some ten years previous by Mr. Blackmore, a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Mr. I-illyard had already given the subject some thought, and his mind being now more than ever awakened to its importance, he brought the matter before the St. Barnabas Missionary Association, at one of its regular meetings, rehearsed the account of the London movement, and read extracts from the biography of Lieutenant Blackmore. Two gentlemen of the Association volunteered their assistance in establishing a similar move. ment in New York, and the little band was soon strengthened by many additional members. A sermon by Dr. Peters, yield THE MIDNIGHT MISSION. 493 ing a collection to the society, and a public meeting in the Sunday-school room of Trinity Chapel, in which Bishop Potter, Drs. Dix, Tuttle, Montgomery, and others gave the movement their cordial support, led the managers to hire rooms and at once open an Institution. Rooms were taken for three months at the corner of Twelfth street and Broadway. The plan of the society is to send out in the evening its members two and two upon the streets, with printed cards of invitation, which are given to young women supposed to belong to the suspicious class, and to such as seem inclined to hear some words of exhortation are added, and an appropriate tract given. In this way many are drawn into the mission building, where they are kindly received by Christian ladies, offered refreshments, drawn out in conversation until ten or eleven o'clock, wheln a hymn is given out and sung, which is followed by an earnest exhortation and a prayer. At their first reception seventeen were drawn in, at the second ten, though the night was stormy, and at the third twenty-six. On the first of May, 1867, the society removed to a fine, three-story brick house, No. 23 Amity street, which was rented at $2,500 per annum. This building was capable of well accommodating eighteen or twenty lodgers besides the officers, and was generally filled, while scores sought admission in vain for want of room. In May, 1870, the Institution was again removed to a larger house, capable of accommodating thlirty inmates. The trustees have recently purchased the large house, No. 260 Greene street, at a cost of $22,000. It is to be extensively improved and adapted to the use of forty-five or fifty inmates. All were taken at first who expressed a desire to reform, but preference is now given to the younger class. Work is furnished the inmates, and half the earnings of each given for her own use. During the four years, 592 have been received into the Institution. Of the 202 sheltered duriug the last year, 28 were sent to other institutions, 47 placed in good situations, 15 were returned to friends, and 49 returned to a life of sin. About fifty encouraging letters were received during 1869, from those who had been placed in situations. The managers have sometimes been deceived by these artful creatures, whose ways are so "movable" that they succeed in deceiving the very elect. But with all the discouragements naturally attending an enterprise of this kind, the society has held steadilv on its way and gives promise of great usefulness. :'LII ~~~IIgi WILSON'S INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. (Corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's place.) The first industrial school established in this country was commenced some time in the year 1853. Its chief founder was Mrs. Wilson, wife of Rev. James P. Wilson, of the Presbyterian church, who became its first directress, and served the society with great efficiency until her removal from the city, in consequence of her husband's accepting a call to serve a church in an adjoining State. The school began in a hired room in an upper story on Avenue D, betweell Eighth and Ninth streets. On May 13th, 1854, the Legislature passed the act incorporating the society as " Wilson's Industrial School for Girls," in honor of her who had been chiefly instrumental in its establishment. In May, 1855, the society entered the previously purchased building, No. 137 Avenue A, Mrs. Wilson generously contributing $1,000 in securing the property. It has never been the purpose of the society to rival or supplant our excellent Public School system, but to go into the lanes and streets, to gather in and benefit a class too poor WILSON'S INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. 495 and filthy to enter the Ward schools. The children gathered here were for the most part barefooted, ragged street children, obliged to beg their daily bread, and so degraded in appearance and morals that if many of them were admitted into a Public School another class would be soon withdrawn to avoid the unpleasant contact. IIere they were allowed to enter at all hours, in consequence of their vagrant habits, though punctuality was much encouraged-a rule that could not be tolerated in the Public Schools without destroying all classification and order. None have been admitted unless too poor to attend anywhere else; and as soon as their circumstances have sufficiently improved, they have been promptly transferred to the Public Schools. The efforts of these Christian ladies, in going to the very lowest sinks of society, seeking with all the sanctified arts of kindness and culture to collect and polish these discolored fragments of our degraded humanity, are worthy of more than human commendation. The children are sought out by a visitor, and induced to attend the school. The exercises are opened in the morning with brief religious exercises; after this they go to their books for two hours, after which general exercises and singing are continued until dinner. All are furnished with a simple but good dinner consisting of beef, vegetable soup, boiled hominy and molasses, codfish, bean soup, an ample supply of good bread, which the economical matron manages to supply at the rate of three cents per child. A half-hour is given for play, after which they return to their rooms and are instructed for two hours in sewing and other handicraft. Attendance and good behavior are rewarded with tickets, which a prompt girl is able to accumulate to an amount representing ten cents per week. These are redeemed with new clothes, which she is allowed to make and carry home. All industrious girls earn some wages, and some who have become experts receive large pay. Custom work is taken in and prepared with great skill. A dress-making class was early formed, with a capable woman instructor. In 1855 a department was organized to instruct them in general housework, and in 1866 a class for fine sewing, embroidery, etc. In 1854 they organized a Sabbath school, which has at present an average attendance of three hundred and twenty-five scholars. Like most mission schools, the managers have found it difficult to secure plenty of good teachers. If some of the many Christian people in our large churches, corroding 31 496 NEW YOR AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. for want of something to do, would go to their relief, it would be a blessing to all concerned. A Bible-reader began her work in April, 1863, and out of this has grown a weekly "mothers' meeting." A weekly temperance meeting, and a prayer meeting, are regularly held. The labors of a missionary were secured in 1866, and the services immediately crowned with the conversion of sinners. These converts were advised to attach themselves to the neighboring churches, but as they had never been anywhere else to service, they felt a reluctance, and refused to go. This made necessary the forming of an organization of their own, which was effected in June, 1869, with a membership of thirty-three, since increased to sixty-one. The organization is evangelical, but not denominational; clergymen of several denominations have been invited to administer the sacraments. During the first eleven years no legacy was received, and but two donations from the city authorities. The late Chauncey Rose, at a later period, remembered the Institution with $20,000, and others have since turned a portion of their benefactions in this direction. In the spring of 1869, the society purchased a fine four-story brick building, fifty by ninety feet, on the corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's place, at a cost of $84,000. A debt of $14,000 still remains on the property, which the generous public have been invited to assist in removing. A vacant lot adjoining the building was included in the purchase for the erection of a chapel. Two floors of the building did not come into the possession of the society until May, 1871, since which the building has afforded the very best accommodations for a large school, and brought a small income. The present matron has presided over the Institution with great acceptability fifteen years. NEW YORK HOUSE AND SCHOOL OF INDUSTRY. (No. 120 West Scteent street.) HItE society that established this industrial enterprise, was duly incorporated by act of Legislature in 1851, with thesign of furnishing employment in- eea e work to infirm anid"destitute females at such a rate of remunerat6ioras'sIo old afford them a liveli:ffid.r.Tsne' 6signedio'encouarage supineness and beggary, but the principle oself-hel ase lel f-respect. It generously proposes to help those who are willing to help themselves, and those first and only who are destitute of employment. Iteye.r employs those to whom other avenues of industry are open, and it never turns away a needy, industrious widow if it can be prevented. Its organization, which is vested with power of selfperpetuation, consists of a board of about fifty Christian ladies, with an advisory committee of gentlemen to assist them in managing their finances. The House, which is situated at No. 120 West Sixteenth street, is a wooden structure, with a rear building fitted up for an industrial school, and cost about $16,000. the society purchases goods, and makes marketable garments, and sells them in its own store, drawing in the meantime all the custom work its managers are able to secure. Three general committees have the principal management of the business: 1. The Purchasing, which selects and procures all the fabrics; 2. The Cutting, which prepares the work for the seamstresses; and, 3. The Appraising, which attaches a card to each garment, stating the price that will be paid for making, and when made, the price at which it may be sold. Besidedthese three committees which are formed from the directresses, there are several from the managers, viz., a Visiting, a Distributing, a Registering, a Paying, and one on Ordered Work. Work is given to needy women from every part of the city, and unlike most other establishments, this society gives employments through all seasons of the year. It furnishes two kiads of work: 498 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. I. FINE ORDERED WORK. Those only who excel in needle-work find employment in this department. Bridal outfits, embroidery, braiding, knitting, quilting, and other choice and difficult tasks are produced with astonishing proficiency, and compare favorably with the best imported specimens in this line. Some of these undertakings require, in order to their successful completion, as much talent and effort as is required to enter one of the learned professions, and the society has found it difficult to secure the services of a sufficient number of this class to be able to fill all orders of this kind with despatch. n. HOUSE-WORK. This includes all ordinary sewing for household use, garmlnts~forlsth" sexes-and of every description. Large orders are taken from some of tie- missions and promptly filled. Here the miserably poor, whose hands have been so hardened as to incapacitate them for neat sewing, find employment. Several years ago, a class was formed from these adults by the managers, to teach them to become expert seamstresses; but after much effort it was found impossible to much improve them, and so the undertaking was relinquished. During 1870, 258 women were employed, and $10,165 paid for such service. Receipts from sales of garments during the same time amounted to $8,873.70, and from ordered work, $4,710.69. The society has all the appliances for doing three times the amount of work, but fails to dispose of its stock, owing largely, we think, to the fact that its House is situated in a poor business locality, and with no adequate scheme for wholesaling. The society has an invested fund of about $18,000, besides its real estate. There is a sewing-school also connected with the House, where one hundred and thirty girls were instructed in 1870. Spiritual instruction is blended with manual. Portions of Scripture and hymns are orally taught, and a good library has been provided. Three hours on Wednesday, and three on Saturday, they are instructed in needle-work. Each is encouraged to finish a garment, which becomes her own. An annual exhibition is neld in January, when their work is examined, and each girl receives the garment she has made. THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY. 499 Many of the girls who were here a few years ago are now filling fine situations, and the religious instructions inculcated at the House have resulted in their conversion. The hall in the rear building is hired for an Episcopal Sunday school, which has led some to erroneously suppose that the House was denominational. The society is not limited in its operations by creed or nationality. An infant industrial school has also been established, which is open daily to small children of both sexes. The supervision of this is committed to Mr. Brace of the " Children's Aid Society." About fifty children attend, mostly from crowded tenement-houses. A comfortable dinner is provided for them, and it is hoped that, by thus surrounding them for a few hours each day with elevating influences, they will be stimulated to self-help and self-respect. The managers have made arrangements so that those formerly in its employ, but whose age or misfortune now incapacitates them for toil, receive a small annuity. A Bibleclass and a Mothers' Social and Religious Meeting are held one day each week in the school-room. The women assemble, and while engaged with their needles, the Bible is read, expounded, and its claims urged upon them. The benevolent ladies who projected this Institution, and have nobly sustained it during twenty years, often amid difficulties that have caused them nights of sleepless anxiety, have performed a noble work that will never be forgotten. They have raised the fallen, cheered the faint, and covered the naked with a garment. They have carried bread to the homes of the famishing and the fatherless, and many times assuaged the sorrows of her who was ready to Derish. THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY. (Office No. 19 East Fourth street.) MONG the numerous organizations established during the last half century for the improvement of society, few have been more energetic or successful than the Children's Aid Society, formed in February, 1853. The prime mover in this association at its organization, and down through the eighteen years of its wondrous 500 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. career, has been Mr. Charles Loring Brace, the present secretary of the society. While pursuing a theological course in New York city, he gave much labor to various institutions, seeking the recovery of neglected vagrant and delinquent children, and to the prisons where mature criminals were confined. A trip to England and other parts of Europe, where he carefully examined the institutions, and the measures formed for the reformation of the fallen, led to the conclusion that the chief evils of society resulted from the neglects of childhood, and that the largest efforts of the philanthropist should be bent in this direction. Some time after his return he drew together a number of intelligent and benevolent gentlemen who had already manifested an interest in this subject, and organized this society, the object being to "improve the condition of the poor and destitute children of the city of New York." One outside of this city would be surprised to know how large a number of little orphans and half-orphans, children cast out from their homes, or who have drifted here by the tide of emigration, or have run away from their parents in the surrounding country, and the offspring of dissolute parents, are here living vagabond lives, subsisting as best they can, sleeping in boxes, under stairways, and in the lobbies of the printing offices. These are at first the newsboys, boot-blacks, pedlers, errandboys, petty thieves, but become at a later period the pickpockets, gamblers, street loafers, burglars, and prostitutes. There are always probably ten thousand of this class floating around the city, a few of whom try to be honest and industrious, but many more live entirely by their wit and skill. The society during the eighteen years of its operations has expended, aside from its purchases of real estate, about $940,000. It has devised and opened a system of lodging-houses for the boys, and also for homeless girls, and has at present twentytwo industrial schools, scattered through the various parts of the city, for poor and neglected girls. The homeless, after some instruction, are taken to the West, if they can be induced to go, where good situations are provided. The experiment of opening a lodging-house for newsboys and bootblacks was so novel, that scarcely any could be found to encourage the measure, and much search was required to find a building that could be hired for such use. At length the loft of the Sun Building was secured, and after spending a thousand dollars in furnishing it, the boys were invited to THE CHILDEEN'S AID SOCIETY. 501 come in. The first night, March 18, 1854, the room was crowded with these wild, ragged roughs, many of whom were hatless, bootless, indescribably filthy, and covered with vermin, a large part of them unable to read or write, and some of whom did not know their nationality or names. A man of admirable tact and fitness, Mr. C. 0. Tracy, had been providentially secured to take charge of this branch of the enterprise. He addressed the boys kindly, and informed them that they were not objects of charity, but were to be considered lodgers in their own hotel, paying six cents each for his bed, the rules of the house being that they should keep order among themselves, and use the bath. They cheered him lustily, and one of the largest boys soon stepped forward and paid for a week's lodging in advance. There was much "larking " and mischief manifested, requiring great patience and wisdom on the part of the superintendent, but with admirable adroitness he soon introduced the Lord's Prayer, which they were induced to repeat, the evening school followed, and finally the full religious service. Many of these boys were found to be earning several dollars per day selling papers, and none of them less than from fifty to seventy-five cents, all of which they squandered on theatres, cards, dice, lottery-tickets, and costly meals in the saloons. To correct these habits, he introduced checkers, backgammon, and other games to keep them from the streets, and contrived what has been a blessing to thousands, the Newsboys' Savings Bank. A table, with a drawer divided into small compartments, with a slit in the surface over each through which the boys could slip their pennies, was prepared, and each box numbered for a depositor. As any undue authority would have sent them flying to their original Arab life, he called them together and explained the object of the bank, to induce them to save their money, and called for a vote as to how long it should be kept locked. They voted for two months. Having obtained a majority vote for a good measure, they were always held strictly to their own law, however deeply they might repent afterwards. The amount saved by some in that time astonished all of them, the value of property was impressed on their minds, some took their accumulations to the city Savings Banks, and others purchased good clothes. This invention did more to destroy their gambling and extravagant tendencies than everything else. A plan for lending penniless boys money to begin business of some kind was introduce& 502 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. Sums varying from five to fifty cents were loaned, generally returned the same day, often the same hour, and did much to encourage industry and thrift. Thus the work of reformation advanced; they became more tidy, industrious, studious, regular in their habits, and serious at divine service. Ministers and other speakers were invited to address them. One has well said, " There is something unspeakably solemn and affecting in the crowded and attentive meeting of these boys, and the thought that you speak for a few minutes on the high themes of eternity to a young audience, who, to-morrow, will be battling with misery, temptation, and sin, in every shape and form, and to whom your words may be the last they ever hear of friendly sympathy or warning." The seed has sometimes sprung up suddenly, and in other instances after many days. At one service a boy addicted to thieving was so impressed that at its close he called the superintendent aside, confessed his crimes, gave up a dark lantern, a wrench, a pistol, and has since filled a good place as an excellent boy. No story of misfortune has ever been presented to the boys without eliciting a generous response and material aid. They contributed to the "Mount Vernon Fund," to the Kansas sufferers, to the Sanitary Commission, and to the relief of sufferers from great fires in the city. Thousands have gone to the country, scarcely any of whom have turned out drunkards, some of them have entered the ministry and the learned professions, and many of them have accumulated property. Many of them are singularly talented; and, being early schooled to tact and self-reliance, they almost invariably succeed in any undertaking. The newsboys and boot-blacks of New York are a new crop each year, ragged and ignorant as their predecessors. So the toil of this society continues from year to year. The society has five lodging-houses at present, the one at No. 49 Park place being the largest, having accommodations for two hundred and' fifty. A fund of $70,000 has been provided to build or purchase a building in that ward. Three of the trustees have recently purchased the building occupied in the Sixteenth ward. It is a four-story brick in Eighteenth street, near Seventh avenue, has accommodations for a hundred boys, and cost $14,000. The same fruit has not attended the lodginghouse system among the girls, yet it has been a necessity and a success. The edifice No. 27 Saint Mark's place has been purchased for a Girl's lodging-house, at an expense of THE OMLDREN'S AID SCIETY. 503 $22,500. The lodging-houses are supplied with reading. rooms, evening schools, music, and meals. The twenty-two industrial schools for poor girls are located in the different sections of the city where the class for which they were instituted are most numerous. These children and half-grown girls are sought out by visitors appointed by the managers. They are such as do not attend the ward schools, wild, ragged, apparently untamable, many of them growing up within a few blocks of Union square and other fashionable centers, living in cellars, garrets, or miserable shanties, without any of the advantages of school or church. They are when found filthy, indolent, quarrelsome, and profoundly ignorant of everything. They cannot close a rent in a garment, or attend to any household duty. In these schools they are taught, besides other species of handicraft, the use of the sewing-machine, which invariably secures them a good situation. Beside the paid teachers, many ladies of culture volunteer to assist in conducting these schools. During the last nine months, 7,000 different children have been under instruction in these industrial schools, 12,000 have found quarters in the lodging-houses, and 2,298 have been placed in homes, mainly in the West. The managers express deep gratitude that no railroad accident has ever occurred while conducting the more than eighteen thousand children to their new homes in various parts of the country. The children are not legally bound out, so but that if they prove truant, or their employers play the tyrant, the connection may be at any time dissolved. No one not engaged in this work can appreciate the magnitude of the evil this society is toiling to prevent, or the good it is yearly accomplishing. Notwithstanding the increase of population, the sentences to the city prisons, for such offences as children usually commit, are less than formerly. We find the total for vagrancy for 1869 only about half what it was in 1862-2,071 as against 4,299, and the females only numbered 785 against 3,172 in 1862; the total of this year, 646 less than in the year previous. In petit larceny, the total was only increased from 2,779 to 3,327 in seven years, though population has probably increased thirtyfive per cent. in that time, and among females it has risen only from 880 in 1862, to 989 in 1869; while the total is 836 less than last year. "The commitments of boys under 15 years are less than four years ago-1,872 in 1862 against 1,934 in 1865, and of 504 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. girls between 15 and 20, less than they were seven years ago -1,927 against 2,081; and of those under 15, less, being 325 in 1869 against 372 in 1862; the total commitments in 1869, as against 1862, are 46,476 to 41,449; in 1868 they were 47,313. " The arrests for vagrancy are 2,449 against 3,961 in 1862; for picking pockets, 303 against 466; for petit larceny, 4,927 against 3,946, and against 5,260 in 1865, and 5,269 in 1867. "The arrests of minors are less than they were in 1867, and but little greater than in 1863, 12,075 against 11,357; and those of female minors have fallen off, in seven years, 2,397 against 2,885 in 1862 to 3,132 in 1863-the total amount of all ages is 78,451 in 1869 against 84,072 in 1863, and 71,130 in 1862. " The marked changes which everywhere occur in criminal records of our city, in the arrest and punishment of girls, is especially due, we believe, to the agency of'Industrial Schools.'" SOCIETY FOR THE EMPLOYMENT AND RELIEF OF POOR WOMEN. WENTY-SIX years ago, under the influence of the Rev. Orville Dewey, D.D., pastor of the church of the Messiah, this society was organized, and has the honor of being the first of its kind in New York. The object of the society is to prevent, in a measure, the pauperism which forms so painful a feature in the community; to supersede the daily almsgiving, which, instead of benefiting, only tends to deepen the degradation of this class by depriving them of a healthful self-dependence; to elevate them to the rank of independent laborers, and insure them a fair compensation for their toil. The annual payment of three dollars at first made a person a member of the society, but in 1847 the sum was changed to five dollars, and in 1865 to eight dollars. The management is committed to a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and twelve managers, all of whom are ladies. Each subscriber is allowed to send one applicant to the directors, but is held responsible ASSOCIATION FOR IMPROVING THE CONDIION OF POOR. 505 for any delinquencies in the person thus sent. Goods are purchased, manufactured into garments, and disposed of in the store kept by the society, and in such other ways as the managers shall direct. During 1869 work was given weekly to ninety-six women, and three thousand two hundred and sixty-one garments were manufactured. The society has experienced some difficulty in disposing of its goods, the sales of the year amounting to but little over $3,000. The report of 1870 shows a small decrease on the previous year. Other societies in the city have grown up from the example furnished by this, and now control many times its amount of labor and capital. The society owns no building and operates with a small capital. The managers have recently proposed to open a Mission House for missionary work among women and girls. They propose to keep the girls through the day, providing dinner, giving them instruction in useful studies during the morning hours, devoting the afternoon to needle-work in all branches. Every girl in turn to take part in the housework under the direction of a competent matron. They thus hope in time to establish a seamstress, a dressmaking, and a washing department, each of which shall be self-supporting. The new building to contain rooms to be used on Sabbath for Bible classes and Sunday school, and on week evenings for reading-room, lectures, music, and other entertainments and instruction suited to the wants of the pupils. The society is wholly controlled by the Unitarians. THE NEW YORK ASSOCIATION FOR IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE POOR (Office in Bible House.) ~~ YW YORK, like every other great and populous city, 1 is largely overrun with an army of beggars of both sexes, representing all ages and nationalities. Some of these are wealthy misers, retailing pretended sorrows to increase their gains, others meanly beg to avoid industry, a large number are improvident. and some hitherto industrious and 506 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. successful are so reduced, in times of general embarrassment, that begging becomes a necessity. Many of this latter class, finding themselves thus sadly in decline, become demoralized, and sink down to the slum of common pauperism. It is hardly a virtue to give indiscriminately to all that ask, because dissipation, idleness, and needless vagrancy, would be thus greatly increased. All have not the time to inquire into the character and condition of applicants, hence the necessity of a carefully organized association, to whom the worthy poor may successfully apply. In 1843 this Association was formed, and in 1848 it was duly incorporated. The wonderful increase of foreign paupers had greatly swelled the army of straggling mendicants. To meet the demands, more than thirty almsgiving societies had been formed, many of which gave far too indiscriminately; all acted independently, thus furnishing an opportunity for artful mendicants to draw at the same time from several societies without detection. This society did not design to supersede any other, but simply to supply what in others was manifestly lacking. But so wise and comprehensive was its plan, that in a short time most of the others disbanded, leaving a far greater burden for it to carry than it had originally anticipated. The Association divided the city into twenty-two districts, which are again subdivided into sections, so small that the visitor residing in each could call at the house of every applicant. No supplies are given save through the visitor. The Association gives no money, and only such articles of food and clothing, in small quantities, as are least liable to abuse, giving always coarser supplies than industry will procure. The design of the Association is not the mere temporary relief, but the elevation of the moral and physical condition of the indigent; hence, temporary relief is resorted to when compatible with its general design. It requires every beneficiary to abstain from intoxicating drinks, to send young children to school, to apprentice children of suitable age, thus making the poor a party to their own improvement. During the twenty-seven years of its operations, the Association has relieved over one hundred and eighty thousand families, varying from five to fifteen thousand per annum, amounting to at least 765,000 individuals. Its disbursements down to October, 1870, amounted to $1,203,767.53. The labors of the Association for the elevation of the indigent and the suppression of unnecessary pauperism, have ASSOCIATION FOlR IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF POOR. 507 been crowned with the most gratifying results. Its last annual report states that the average number of families relieved for the ten years ending with 1860 was 8,632, in a population averaging about 625,000 souls; while in the decade closing with 1870, with a population of over 900,000, but 6,131 families had been the annual average number relieved. These figures show that during the first decade named there was an absolute gain in the pecuniary independence of the masses previously relieved of seventy-one per cent., and during the ten years closing with 1870 an additional improvement of jifty-four per cent., or the substantial gain of one hundred and twenty-five per cent. during the last twenty years. It will thus be seen that the amount of relief afforded by the sums of money expended give but an imperfect estimate of the service rendered by this Association to the cause of humanity. Always managed by wise, philanthropic minds, it has ever been first to discover the source of public evil, and prompt to suggest and apply the true remedy. Indeed, to this Association more than to any other are we indebted for the successful inauguration of more than a score of our most excellent charities. Besides furnishing the public with volumes of statistics, accumulated with great expense, in relation to our population, the causes and remedies of poverty, the unhealthy condition of our dwellings, and many other things which have led to great reforms, it has waged unceasing war with the public nuisances of the city, its lotteries, Sabbath desecration, gambling dens, intemperance, and many other evils. In 1846 a system for the gratuitous supply of medical aid, to the indigent sick in portions of the city not reached by existing Dispensaries, was organized. This led to the founding of the Demilt Dispensary in 1851, and the North-western Dispensary in 1852. In 1851 it projected the New York Juvenile Asylum. A Public Washing and Bathing Establishment was established in 1852, at an expense of $42,000, and the following year the Association procured an act to provide for the care and instruction of Idle Truant Children. In 1854 the Children's Aid Society was formed by the demands of a public sentiment which this Association had largely created. The Workingmen's Home was erected in 1855, by the direction of the Association, at an expense of $90,000. During the war it held steadily on its way, and 508 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. accomplished a vast amount of good in more ways than we have space to enumerate. We mention in honor of this society-last, but not least-in 1863 it organized the society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled, which ranks today among the noblest charities of New York. The Honorable Robert M. Hartley has been the indefatigable corresponding secretary and agent of the society since its formation, and to the patient thinking and incessant toil of this gentleman is the public indebted for much of the good accomplished by this and by several other societies. We cheerfully acknowledge our obligation to the secretary and his associate, Mr. Savage, for various items of information embodied in this work. THE YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORLK (Corner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-third street.) HE Young Men's Christian Associations are societies which have for their object the formation of Christian character and the development of Christian activity in young men. The first Association was organized in London on the sixth of June, 1844, and on the ninth of December, 1851, the first on this continent was formed at Montreal. The Boston Association established December 29, 1851, was the first in the United States, and the following years organizations sprang up in Washington, Buffalo, New York, the latter organized June 30, 1852. For several years little correspondence existed between the different Associations; but in 1854 the plan of holding an Annual Convention for the mutual interchange of thought, the gathering of statistical and other information, was introduced. This Convention, held in Buffalo, recommended to the Associations the formation of a voluntary confederation for mutual encouragement, having two agencies for carrying on its work, viz.: An Annual Convention and a Central Committee, the functions of these being only advisory or recom YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION BUILDING. (Cor. 23d St. and 4th Ave.) YOUNG MEN'S OHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NEW YOMK 509 mendatory. Sixteen of these National Conventions have now beenl held, many of which have been large and impressive. Tile Association organized and conducted, during the late war, the Christian Commission, whose toils and usefulness cannot be too highly commended. There are now in the United States seven hundred and seventy-six associations and sixty-two in the British Provinces; with a membership of over one hundred thousand. Twelve of these have already erected or purchased buildings of their own, and twenty-one more at least are collecting funds to do so. The Association in New York city was the third organized in America, and has a membership at present of over six thousand. The headquarters of the Association were for several years at No. 161 Fifth avelnue; and to reach the masses of young men in the various wards of the city, four branches have been formed, one of which is at Harlem, one at No. 285 I-ludson street, one at No. 473 Grand street, and one for colored men at No. 97 Wooster street. Each branch is supplied with a library free to all the members, with a reading-roomn supplied with the principal magazines and papers of the city, and with occasional lectures from distinguisled men. The Association appoints several committees to which the principal labor is committed. It has a committee on Invitation, on Membership, on Employment, on Boarding-houses, on Visitation of the Sick, on Devotional Meetings, on Choral Society, on Literary Society, and one on Churches. Young and middleaged men from all evangelical denominations unite, forgetting denominational distinctions, and do annually a vast amount of good. Iundreds of young men loitering in the streets are picked up and saved from dens of dissipation and crime. Strangers are recommended to suitable boardinghloses, introduced to members of churches in their neighborh]ood, aild many furnished with good situations ir: business. For several years the Association contemplated the erection of a suitable building, which, in addition to its ample accomnlodations, would furnish an income, so greatly needed in the prosecution of its work. An act of incorporation passed the Legislature April 3, 1866, granting power to hold real or personal estate for the uses of the corporation, whose annual rental value should not exceed $50,000. A plot of land on the south-west corner of Twenty-third street and F'ourth avenue was purchased, at a cost of $142,000. On the 13th of January, 1868, ground was broken, and on De32 510 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. cember 2d, 1869, the building was dedicated, Drs. Dewitt, Tyng, Adams, Kendricks, Thompson, Ridgaway, Messrs. Dodge, Randolph, General Howard, Governor Hoffman, and Vice-President Colfax taking part in the exercises. The edifice, which is very attractive, is five stories high, with a front of eighty-six feet nine inches on Fourth avenue and one hundred and seventy-five feet on Twenty-third street. Immense blocks of granite form the base of the walls, and as they ascend Ohio free and New Jersey brown stone, with their varying colors, are agreeably interspersed with an occasional vermiculated block. The windows, in a variety of forms, exhibit the beauty and strength of the arch-line, and the polished archivolts are richly ornamented with carved voussoirs. The central door is marked by rich columns and surmounted by the arms of the Association. The roof is crowned with a superb central and three angular towers. The ground floor is rented for stores. Entering on Twenty-third street, ascending a flight of stairs, you pass to the right into the grand hall, capable of seating one thousand five hundred persons, so perfectly ventilated that a crowded audience departs, at the close of a lecture, leaving the air as pure as it found it. The hall is furnished with a Chickering piano-forte and a pipe organ, which cost $10,000, both of which were purchased with the proceeds of a concert held in the hall on the evening of the 1st of December, 1869. To the left of the staircase is a pleasant reception-room, from which is an entrance into the secretary's room, the large reading-room, to three committee-rooms, to a wash-room, a bath-room, to a gymnasium, and after descending two flights of stairs to a bowling-alley. Upon the next floor is the library, capable of containing twenty thousand volumes, a small lecture-room, with seating for four hundred persons, four smaller rooms for evening classes in penmanship, drawing, book-keeping, the sciences, and the languages. The upper stories are rented to artists and others. The edifice cost, exclusive of the site, $345,000, on which there remains a debt of $150,000, which the managers hope to remove with the rent of the stores. Such an embodiment of modern Christianity is rarely seen in one building. The noble edifice presents the study of architecture, the first floor exhibits the activities of business, while farther up are found painting, music, eloquence, conversation, reading, study, recreation, and worship-all that can attract, expand, and ennoble the soul. THE PRISON ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK. (Bible House.) HE Prison Association of New York was organized on the evening of the 6th of December, 1844. The objects of this Association, as set forth in its constitution, are: 1. A humane attention to persons arrested and held for examination or tried, including inquiry into the circumstances of their arrest, and the crimes charged against them; securing to the friendless an impartial trial and protection from the depredations of unprincipled persons, whether professional sharpers or fellow prisoners. 2. Encouragement and aid to discharged convicts in their efforts to reform and earn an honest living. This is done by assisting them to situations, providing them tools, and otherwise counseling and helping them to business. 3. To study the question of prison discipline generally, the government of State, county, and city prisons, to obtain statistics of crime, disseminate information on this subject, to evolve the true principles of science, and impress a more reformatory character on our penitentiary system. The Association was duly incorporated, with large power for the examination of all prisons and jails in the State, during the second year of its operations, and required to report annually to the Legislature. A female department was organized the first year (The Isaac T. Hopper Iome), which soon became an independent society, abundant in labor and rich in results. Its history and workings are elsewhere traced in this work. During the twenty-five years of its operations closing with 1869, the Association visited in the prisons of detention of New York and Brooklyn, 93,560 poor and friendless persons, many of whom were counseled and assisted as their cases required. The officers of the society carefully examined 25,290 complaints; and at their instance 6,148 complaints were withdrawn, as being of a trivial character, or founded on mistake, prejudice, or passion. During, the same period, 7,922 persons were discharged by the Courts on the recommendation of these officers as young, innocent, penitent, or having of 512 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. fended under mitigating circumstances, making a total of 133,922 cases, to which relief in some form had been extended. During the same period 18,307 discharged convicts had been aided with board, clothing, tools, railroad tickets, or money; 4,139 of the same class had been provided with permanent situations, swelling the number to 156,368. But the principal work of the Association has been intellectual. It has again and again examined every prison, penitentiary, and jail throughout the State (numbering about one hundred in all), and those of the surrounding States, and of the Canadas, pointing out faithfully in its annual reports the defective constructure of these establishments, the incompetency or barbarity of keepers, the chief defects of our prison system, and lias sought industriously to educate public sentiment and influencle the Legislature toward a more humane, rational, and reformnatory system of prison administration. The Association hlas colnd l ted a valuable correspondence with enlightened mnen of tile Old World, who have mnade this subjcct a matter of special study, thus bringing together the researches and experiments of all countries. It has collected volumes of statistics which no student can afford to do without. It informs us that the sixty-eight county jails of New York State cost annually about a quarter of a million of dollars for their maintenance, of which sum not five hundred dollars are expended with any view to meeting the religious wants of the prisoners. N'one are supplied with libraries or facilities of instruction, and scarcely any have Bibles, though the statute specially enjoins it. An earnest inquiry has been made by the Association into the sources of crime, and the walt of due parental care and government llas been found the most prolific of all. To improve society, we must lractise upon the injlunction, " Train llu a child in the way lie should go; and when lie is old, he will not depart from it." Of the approximate causes, drink is most potent. Two-thirds of all prisoners interrogated acknowledged that tlley were of intemperate habits, and not one in a hundred had totally abstained from its use. Next inl the scale comes lewdness. Of six thousand women committed to jail il one year, over three-fourths were prostitutes, and near half tlhe men prisoners interrogated confessed tlat they were frequlcnters of brothels. Theaters are sources of great evil. Nearly fifty per cent. of all committed to prison have frequented these places. ....~ili r mi~i~i li I~, j,1 I!!111t,~i,~,~,J ~'','IIlJ!;I,'~l'i ii~rhi j I i11~5 I_ ~i ~''''Illllmnj ~~~~~~~~~~I' "_~_u_ M&ia "-the carriage, used i cariyi ig cri whiual La tU1 L~uUr L aiid Tumbto Blackwull's Island. /' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~j~~ ~ I I /11'" l].I "': " ii':. ~ ~ l~iillil:i i, iiii~!!II!lt~ I! t ~h "! 1 it C OURT OF ~PECIAL BESSIONSl~a INl T'-, / I COURT 0' t3PECIAL inESSIONS IN TUX ~),1* 1 i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4,,......~....."'~,,:i' _ _ _ BIDGZ 0o? SIGHS " —connectingp inner and ri ter Prison in the Tombs. i II,:':'~/', ~ PRIACHING TO THE FALLEN WoVxmEi IlN B Auo-aZt. THE CITY PRISONS. 513 The gambling saloon, above all other places, hardens man's moral nature. Of 975 prisoners at Auburn, 317 were acknowledged gamblers, about one-third; and the same proportion was found in the prisons of Connecticut. Ignorance and vice are found in sad conjunction. In the State of New York but two and seven-tenths per cent. of the general population are unable to read; but of its criminals thirty-one per cent. do not possess that ability. Early indolence is another source of great evil. It has been ascertained that, of the prisoners of the whole United States, more than four-fifths have never learned a trade. The Association has contended nobly for the introduction of skilled labor into our prisons, and the retention of prisoners until they are masters of their trades, thus furnishing the means for honorable subsistence after their release. The Associatioul has ranked among its members many of the first mnen of the State. Its office is in Room 38, Bible louse. tALLS OF JUSTICE OR TOMBS, CENTRE STREET. THE CITY PRISONS. The first building used as a jail on Manhattan was on the corner of Dock street and Coenties slip. After the erection of the City Iall in Wall street, the criminals were confined in dungeons in the cellar, while debtors were imprisoned in the attic apartments. The next prison erected was known as the "New Jail," called also the "Provost" (see page 74), from its having been the headquarters and chief dungeon of the infamous Cunningham, the British provost marshal of the Revolution. It was a strong stone building erected for the imprisonment of debtors, and is now the Hall of Records. The pillars which now ornament it are of later origin. The next was the Bridewell (see page 69), a cheerless, gravstone edifice, two stories high, with basement, a front and rear pediment, which stood a little west of the present City ITall. t was erected for the confinement of varants, minor offenders, and criminals awaiting trial, in 1775, just in time to serve as a dungeon for the struggling patriots of the Revolution. The building was scarcely finished, the windows had nothing but iron bars to keep out the cold, yet in the inclement season the British thrust eight hundred and sixteen American prisoners, captured at Fort Washington, into this build j| I i' ___________ II i i 2 r!~~ rkI` II' RI..OR.OF MALE PRI O N ~,,,,l, l m *sEC:oT, —"zuvII 6xog _........_ <'~ ~'-~ ~~~' as==-_ r-_- _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_*:e —___,wcI_~ i;~~ =a — THE CITY PRISONS. 515 ing, where they continued from Saturday to the following Thursday, without drink or food. During these perilous years all the public and many of the private buildings, besides numerous sugar-houses and ships, were crowded with suffering American prisoners of war. New York was indeed a city of prisons} The Bridewell was finally demolished, and much of the material used in the erection of the Tombs in 1838. After the establishment of independence a large stone prison surrounded by a high wall was erected on the west side of the island, three miles above the City Hall, called at that time Greenwich village. i-t was ready for the reception of convicts in August, 1796, was designed for criminals of the highest grade, and was the second State Prison in the United States. Sing-Sing prison was begun in 1825 and completed in 1831. The New York County Jail, situated at the corner of Ludlow street and Essex Market place, was opened in June, 1862, and took the place of the old Eldridge street jail. It is built in the form of an L, ninety feet on each street, forty feet deep and sixty feet high, leaving a yard of fifty feet square, surrounded by a high wall, in which prisoners are allowed to exercise. The building contains eighty-seven cells. Besides the above there are four other places of involuntary confinement on Manhattan, all of which are under the control of the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections, and in each of which a Police Court convenes every morning to examine the charges brought against persons arrested. The Halls of Justice, the principal buildings situated between Centre, Elm, Leonard, and Franklin streets, on the side of the old Collect Pond, was begun in 1835 and completed in 1838. It is a two-story building constructed of Maine white granite in the Egyptian order, is 253 by 200 feet, and occupies the four sides of a hollow square. The front on Centre street is reached by a broad flight of granite steps, and the portico is supported by several massive iEgyptian columns. The windows, which extend through both stories, have heavy iron-grated frames. The female department is situated in the section which extends along Leonard street, and is presided over by an amiable Christian matron who has held her position with great credit for more than twenty years. In the front of the edifice are rooms for the Court of Sessions, the Police Court, etc., which have given it its name, "Halls of Justice." In the centre of the enclosed yard, distinct from the other buildings, stands the men's prison, 152 by 45 feet, containing 148 cells. State 516 NEW YORK.AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. criminals have been executed in the open court. The prison stands on low, damp ground in the vicinity of a poor and riotous neighborhood, is poorly ventilated, was never calculated to well accommodate over two hundred prisoners, yet, the annual average is nearly four hundred, and often greatly exceeds that number. It has lately been condemned by the grand jury of the county as a nuisance, and as the Commissioners have repeatedly recommended the building of a large and well-arranged, prison in a more suitable locality, it is not likely that the frowning, dingy "Tombs" will long continue in the city. The building as it appeared some thirty years ago contained a high tower which was destroyed by fire on the day appointed for the execution of Colt, and is believed to have been a part of the unsuccessful plan for his escape. The next largest is the Jefferson Market prison, situated at the corner of Greenwich avenue and Tenth street. Its exterior is of brick, and contains besides its court-rooms twenty-five large cells, a single one of which sometimes contains ten or twenty drunken men. The daily commitments here amount to from thirty-five to fifty, and in seasons of general disorder many more. Adjoining the prison stands engine house No. 11 of the old fire department, which has been arranged for the female prison. This prison is kept remarkably clean, notwithstanding the masses of seething corruption huddled together in it day and night through all the year. The cells are well warmed but not furnished with beds, as the prisoners are usually detained here but one night, and never but a few days. Many of them are so filthy and so covered with vermin, that beds cannot be kept in a proper condition. The third district prison is known as the Essex Market, situated at 69 Essex street, and is a little smaller than the one just described. The fourth is situated at Fifty-seventh street and Lexington avenue; the cells, capable of holding about forty prisoners, are in the basement under the Court-house. Small as these prisons are, no less than 49,423 persons were detained in them during 1870. All classes are seen here, from the ignorant imbruted bully to the expert and polished villain. Some are abashed and sit weeping over their folly; others are reticent and collected. The visitor is often surprised to learn that that handsome female leaning over the banister, clad in rich silks, with gold chain, pin, and bracelets, is a prisoner arrested for disorderly conduct. The business at the Police Courts, and also at the Court NEW' YIMK D)ISPENSAItY. Vorl/t- \Vest corner qo Centre and WhiAte S'reets. NORTHER N DISVENSARY. Wiver' t,. P ace corner of Chri^tnopher Sreet. AASTRN' D1iPENIA'SA.Y. NJo. 57 Fssex Street. DEMILT ITSPENPARY. Comner of Second A n'v e aiarl Fast Twenty- Third Street. THEO CITY PRISONS. 517 of Sessions, is dispatched with wonderful rapidity. At the former the Justice hears the charge of the officer, the explanation of the prisoner, and decides without counsel or jury whether he shall be discharged, fined, or detained for trial at tlhe Court of Sessions. Thle vast majority of all arrested are discharged after spending a night in the station-house. Thle Court of Sessions convenes every Tuesday and Saturday for the trial of all cases involving doubt, argument, or proof. Tllis is strictly a criminal court, and the prisoner is allowed to introduce counsel and witnesses. A visitor from the counltry where a criminal suit consumes from three to ten days takes his seat in the court-room and is surprised to see six or ten cases disposed of in thirty minutes. The names of Mrs. Blake and Bridget - are called. Bridget llas been the servant of Mrs. B., who has caused ller arrest for stealing money from the drawer. Mrs. B. takes the witness stand, makes her full statement to the Judgle, answers all his questions as to how she knew Bridget took the nmoey, when she caused her arrest, &c. The policeman is next called, who states that he arrested her and found the money. Bridget, who has been leaning on the iron railing which cuts off the prisoners' space from the main court-room, is now called upon. She las no counsel, but wishes Mrs. R. to speak in her behalf. The lady is heard-states that Bridget lived several years in her house, and was never known to steal. The Judge recalls Mrs. Blake and inquires hurriedly, H' Ilas she ever stolen anything of you before? " On being told that she has not, he turns to Bridget and says, " The Court suspends judgment as this is the first offence, but if you ever come here again I sllall send you to Blackwell's Island." Two men are arraigned for striking a policeman who arrested them in a drunken row, swinging a loaded revolver. Tle officer gives his testimony, after which he is thoroughly sifted by the counsel of the prisoners, who tries in vain to entangle and embarrass him. Next come witnesses for the prisoners (old cronies), who drank freely with them on the occasion referred to, but who know they were not drunk or disorderly-that the pistol fell out of his pocket, and that the officer was wholly to blame. The officer is recalled, and reaffirms what he has said. " Have you no witnesses to sustain you?" says the Judge. Thle officer had not supposed it necessary to bring any. The Judge wrings about on his chair, runs his fingers through his wliskers and says, "The law 8.S NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. forbids disorderly persons carrying loaded fire-arms; I file them ten dollars each." Two colored men next respond to the call. The one upon the stand is about forty-five, and deposes that he lost a watch worth twenty-five dollars, and that tlle prisoner leaning on the rail took it. Tlie prisoner is a plump, well-formed youth of twenty-two, who meanwhile rolls up his eyes and sweeps the entire audience of the court-room.' Did you cause his immediate arrest " inquires tile Judge. "Yes, sir." "Did you find the watch?" " I did." " Who arrested him?" "Officer Cone." The officer is called, and details in few words the arrest, search and the recovery of the lost property. The Judge turns to tlhe prisoner and inquires, "Have you counsel?" "Yes, sir." "Who is he?" A name is given. " le is not here," says tle Judgee; "I sentence you to the Penitentiary for six months." In this way the business goes on for lours. Witl all tllis dispatch tle truth is generally reached, and tile principal errors are on the side of mercy, dismissing far too many to satisfy justice or answer the ends of good government. Religious services of some kind are held in the Tombs on every day of the week except Saturday. Sunday morning aud Tuesday forenoon are set apart for tlhe Catholics, while Sunday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon aie devoted to the Episcopalians. Monday is reserved for the Methodists if they choose to employ it, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday being devoted to various Protestant Societies who send male and female representatives to read the Scriptures, exhort and pray with the prisoners. We have been explicit iii tlis statemnent because it has b)een asserted that onlv Catlolics had free access and full conveniences for c(01d llecting worshlip in this prison. A vast amount of missionary labor is expended here annually by members of all delomninations. Tllese pious endeavors are often crowned wit excellent results, and though the seed often falls upon a barrenT soil. the faithful sower sliall not lose his reward. NORTH-WESTERN DISPENSARY. (Ninth avenue corner West Thirty-sixth street. ) THE NEW YORK MEDICAL DISPENSARIES. Perhaps no enterprise for the amelioration of the condition of the suffering poor of the city of New York has been more widely patronized, or accomplished more for the physical relief of the last three generations, than the dispensary system. On the fourteenth day of October, 1790, at a meeting of the "Medical Society of the city of New York," it was resolved, " That a Committee be appointed to digest and publish a plan of a Dispensary for the medical relief of the sick poor of this city, and to make an offer of the professional services of the members of this society to carry it into effect." Urgent and eloquent appeals were soon made to the public through the several daily papers, and on the 4th of January, 1791, a meeting of benevolent citizens convened in the City Hall in Wall street, where a constitution and the necessary by-laws were adopted. Hon. Isaac Roosevelt was chosen President, and Drs. Bayley and Bard senior physicians. The New York Dispensary was first established in Tryon street, now Tryon row, where it continued in a single room thirty33 520 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. eight years. The first annual report declared that 310 patients had been treated during the year, contrasting strangely with the report of 1871, which announces that 38,770 had received treatment during the last year, and about 79,000 prescriptions made. It is also worthy of note that the first was made when but one dispensary existed on the island, the last when over twenty of various kinds are engaged in a similar work. The act incorporating the New York Dispensary passed the Legislature April 8th, 1795, and in 1805 a union was effected between the Dispensary and the Kine-pock Institution, which had been established three years previously in the rear of the brick church opposite the Park. The number of patients annually increased, amounting in 1828 to 10,000. Efforts were then made to secure better accommodations, the authorities contributed a lot of land on the corner of Centre and White streets, a three-story brick edifice was erected and made ready for occupation on the 28th of December, 1829. The building and furniture cost a trifle more than eight thousand dollars. During the last four years the old edifice has been removed and a new and beautiful building erected in its place, covering the entire site and costing $72,488. The lower floor is divided into stores and rented; the second is the Dispensary, with very commodious apartments; the two upper floors are also rented for business uses. This large outlay has been partially met with generous donations from the trustees and friends of the enterprise; a mortgage of $20,000, however, still remains on the property. The last Legislature granted the Institution $10,000. This Dispensary grants medicine and the attention of its physicians to the suffering poor of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Wards without charge. It occupies that section of the city where the most of its business is transacted, where large fortunes are made, but where few besides the poor tarry over night. These, however, are herded together in vast numbers, affording an abundant harvest for cholera, small-pox, ship-fever, yellow-fever, etc. Without the New York Dispensary this crowded section would often be turned into a carnival of suffering, endangering the lives of the whole population. Since its organization in 1790 it has treated 1,463,747 patients. The Northern Dis8pensary was the second on the island, organized in 1827. It is situated on the corner of Christopher street and Waverley place. In 1834 the Eastern Dispensary was organized. This fur THE NEW YORK MEDICAL DISPENSARIES. 621 nishes medicine, medical and surgical services gratuitously to the sick poor of that section of the city bounded by Pike street and Alien, First avenue, and Fourteenth street, to the East river. This Dispensary during the first thirty-five and one-half years of its existence has administered to 768,828 patients, an annual average of over twenty-one thousand. Of this number 352,267 were native Americans, the remaining 416,561 were born in foreign lands. The average cost of each patient to the society has been 14j cents, The Dispensary is situated over the Essex Market. The trustees own no building, but now contemplate the erection of one. The Demilt Dispensary was organized in 1851. In 1852-53 the trustees erected a fine three-story building on the corner of Second avenue and Twenty-third street, at a cost of $30,000 including the site. This property has with the growth of the city doubled in value, and is free from debt. The territory assigned to this Dispensary is comprised in the Eighteenth and Twenty-first Wards, or that portion lying east of Sixth avenue between Fourteenth and Fortieth streets. The population of this district in 1850 was 31,557, in 1860 it amounted to 106,489, and in 1870 to 111,638. During these twenty years it has treated 464,596 patients, over eighty-five thousand of whom have been treated by the physicians at their homes, and 899,075 prescriptions have been dispensed, an average of 125 per day. The North-eastern Dispensary was incorporated in 1862. It ministers to the sick poor residing between Fortieth and Sixtieth streets, and between Sixth avenue and the East river. During 1870, 13,309 persons received gratuitous treatment at the Dispensary, and 3,101 patients were treated at their dwellings. Eighteen physicians constitute the medical staff. The North-eastern Homoeopathic Dispensary was founded in 1868. It is situated at 307 East Fifty-fifth street, in hired buildings, and has treated since its opening over forty thousand patients, and made over eighty-five thousand prescriptions, and two thousand visits. The North-western was incorporated in 1852, and began in hired rooms at No. 511 Eighth avenue. It is designed to bless the sick and suffering poor in that large district lying west of Fifth avenue, between Twenty-third and Eighty-sixth streets. No funds for the permanent establishment of the Institution were raised until 1866, when a subscription was started which secured during the next 522 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTNUTIONS. two years about nineteen thousand dollars, to which the Corporation added the sum of $15,000. A piece of land purchased on Broadway was again sold at a profit of $10,000. The trustees have now completed one of the finest Dispensary buildings on the island, at a cost of $83,000, an indebtedness of over thirty thousand dollars still remaining on the property. Besides affording very ample and commodious apartments for the use of the Institution itself, it contains a large store, and a beautiful hall rented for divine service. When this indebtedness is removed it is believed the income from the building will render the Dispensary nearly self-sustaining. The number of patients treated varies from 10,000 to 15,000 per annum. Besides these there are also various other Dispensaries established for the treatment of special diseases, as the Ntow York Dispensary for the Treatment of Cancer, the New York Dispensary for Diseases of Throat and Chest, the New York Dispensaryfor Diseases of Skin, and others. Most of these Institutions receive $1,000 per annum from the Corporation, to which the State sometimes adds an additional thousand or more as they may need. Aside from this they are supported by private donations. The amount of good resulting to the city and country from the kindly treatment administered to these 200,000 patients, who annually apply to these well-arranged Institutions of mercy, is incalculable. The results from the system of free vaccination alone, are ample for all the expenses of the entire undertaking. This charity of all others is least liable to abuse, and is annually attended with great and manifest advantages to our whole population. CHAPTER VI. INSTITUTIONS OF BLACKWELL'S ISLAND. THE ISLANDS AND THE AUTHORITIES. (Office of Commzisioners of Charities and Corrections, corner Eleventh street and Third avenue.-See cut above.) Before entering into a detailed account of the institutions located in the East river, let us pause and consider briefly the history of the Islands themselves and the policy of those who control them. One cannot contemplate without feelings of high satisfaction the extensive municipal charities of the city of New York. In their origin they were few and meager, dating far back when the city was small, and the public mind but 524 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. poorly enlightened on questions of this kind. The little hovels and shanties of the past have all been superseded by colossal brick and stone structures, containing all the modern improvements of the age, with every known convenience for the relief of the indigent of all ages, the blind, the afflicted, the insane, the inebriate, and for the correction of the criminal. Our public charities, which once consisted of a little Almshouse, have now multiplied until more than thirty buildings, many of them the largest of their kind in the country, have been brought into requisition. The penal and correctional institutions, though they have not kept pace with the charitable, have also been greatly enlarged, and are now valued at nearly $3,000,000. The charitable institutions, with their grounds and furniture are valued at $5,500,000, and the annual expenditures in the maintenance of these buildings, with an annual register of 92,000, and an average population of eight thousand, and the necessary expenditures in new buildings and grounds, amounts to $2,000,000. The great increase of our population, and the consequent enlargement of our municipal institutions have necessitated the outlay of large sums in securing real estate, and the selections for the most part have been very judiciously made. Those beautiful islands of the East river, in particular, separated on either side from the great world by a deep crystal current, appear to have been divinely arranged as a home for the unfortunate and the suffering, and a place of quiet reformatory meditation for the vicious. A brief sketch of these islands will not be out of place in this volume. BLACKWELL'S ISLAND is a narrow strip of land in the East river, extending from Fifty-first to Eighty-eighth streets, about a mile and a half in length, and contains one hundred and twenty acres. It was early patented to Governor Van Twiller, and was subsequently owned by the Blackwell family, from whom it derives its name, for more than a hundred years. The ancestral residence, a cozy wood cottage over a hundred" years old, situated near the centre of the island, is still in fine repair, and likely to long survive the present generation. This island was purchased by the city July 19, 1828, for the sum of $30,000, but the authorities were compelled in 1843 to expend $20,000 more to perfect the title. The little steamers owned by the Commissioners, making several trips per day in the interest of mercy and justice, are the only vessels allowed to land at her piers with INSTITUTIONS dF BLAOCKWLLS ISLAND. 525 out special permit. The labor of docking, building sea wall, and the admirable grading by which the island is made to slope gradually on either side to the water brink, has all been performed by inmates of the Penitentiary and Workhouse. The island is now valued at $600,000 exclusive of buildings. WARD'S ISLAND, situated immediately above the preceding, takes its name from Jasper and Bartholomew Ward, its former proprietors, and extends from One Hundred and First to One Hundred and Fifteenth streets, containing about two hundred acres. It was formerly known as " Great Barcut," or "Great Barn" Island, and was termed by the Indian "Ten-ken-as." It was purchased by Van Twiller in 1637, confiscated in 1664, and granted to Thomas Delavel. The Wards obtained it in 1806, and in December, 1847, a part of it was leased (afterwards purchased) by the Commissioners of Emigration for the establishment of the Emigrant Refuge and Hospital. Over half of the island is now owned by these Conmmissioners. The Commissioners of Charities and Corrections purchased a portion of it June 18, 1852, and have since made several additional purchases. The Potter's Field, the place of interment for paupers and strangers, was for some years located here, but has recently been removed to Hart Island. Ward's Island is wider than Blackwell's, and the soil more arable. The portion of this island owned by the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections is valued at $360,000. RANDALL'S ISLAND takes its name from Jonathan Randall, who purchased it in 1784, and resided upon it nearly fifty years. It lies north of Ward's Island, and extends nearly to Westchester county. It was formerly known as "Little Barn" Island. This island was also patented under the Dutch Government, and, like Ward's, was confiscated in 1664, and also granted to Thomas Delavel. It was subsequently at different periods denominated " Bell Isle," " Talbot's Island," and " Montressor's Island." It was purchased by the city in 1835 for $50,000. Thirty acres of the southern portion have since been sold to the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents. Besides furnishing ample grounds for the numerous Nursery buildings it contains a large and productive farm, cultivated by the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections, furnishing large amounts of vegetables for the institutions. Their portion of the island is valued at $520,000. 526 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. IIART ISLAND is situated in the town of Pelham, Westchester county, in Long Island Sound, about fourteen miles from Bellevue. This island became the property of Oliver Delancey in 1775, who sold it to Samuel Rodman for ~550. In 1819, it was deeded to John Hunter, who died September 12, 1852. After his decease his heirs deeded it to John Hunter jr., grandson of the preceding, July 10, 1866. The United States Government leased it for army uses December 5, 1863, for one year, for the sum of $500, with privilege of retaining it five or less years longer at an increased rent, the buildings erected by government to remain the property of the lessor. A village of one-story wood buildings, for the accommodation of troops, was soon erected, spreading over the principal parts of the island. Under authority of an act of Legislature passed April 11, 1868, authorizing " additional facilities for the interment of the pauper dead in the city of New York," the Commissioners of Charities and Corrections on May 16, 1868, purchased all except three acres of the southern point (which the owner hopes to sell to the United States for the erection of a light-house), for the sum of $75,000. The island is estimated to contain about one hundred acres, but is suffering constant loss from the action of the tides. It is probable that the Penitentiary will be removed to this island in a few years at most. The management of the municipal charities and corrections of Manhattan was for years committed to five Commissioners appointed by the Common Council. In 1845, the whole was placed under the charge of one Commissioner; in 1849 the number was increased to ten; and in 1859 the number was again changed to four, to be half Democrats and half Republicans, appointed for the term of six years by the city Controller. The new charter of 1870 increases the number to five, to be appointed by the Mayor for the term of five years, abolishing the equal political representation. The present board is composed of intellectual, high-minded gentlemen, representing both political parties, as well as the Protestant and the Roman Catholic faith. Their annual report now amounts to an octavo volume of five hundred or six hundred pages, and one cannot examine one of these without perceiving that our municipal institutions are managed with great discretion and skill. Those great problems which have puzzled the humane and thoughtful in all ages such as the best moral treatment for the insane, the relief and elevation of INSTITUTIONS OF BLACKWELL S ISLAND. 527 the indigent, the reformatory discipline of criminals, the recovery of vagrant and truant youth, the measures for securing the lowest bill of mortality among foundlings, the reformation of the inebriate, and the best ygienic and economic conduct of public institutions, are made matters of constant study, resulting in frequent and manifest improvements. As might be expected, visitors in large numbers throng the institutions, but all are treated with decided urbanity. Many of the Superintendents, Wardens, and Chiefs of Departments, have retained their positions many years, a few more than a quarter of a century, and to whose intelligence and kindness we cheerfully acknowledge our indebtedness for many facts presented in this volume. A Protestant and a Roman Catholic chaplain give daily attention to the spiritual wants of the inmates of these buildings, holding brief and earnest services in each every Sabbath. Missionaries from any and all of the denominations are granted every reasonable opportunity to carry the messages of the gospel to those receiving either corrections or charities. In conclusion, we can but feel that our municipal institutions, are a credit and an ornament to the great city which fills and supports them. THE HOSPITALS OF BLACKWELL'S ISLAND. ELLEVUE was for some years the only hospital under the management of the public authorities of New York City. After the erection of the Penitentiary, one of its rooms was set apart for a hospital. In 1848, during the administration of Moses G. Leonard, Commissioner of the Almshouse, at that time acting under the Common Council of the City, the first hospital building was erected on the Island called the " Penitentiary Iospital. The building was of brick, and was completed in 1849, the same year that the " Ten Governor" system came into existence. The name was changed to the " Island Hospital " by resolution of the Governors December 15th, 1857. The Governors appointed a committee to examine the building soon after its 528 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. completion, who reported that they found it "constructed in a most reckless and careless manner, and was as a public building a reproach to any city." It was pronounced insecure, and the Governors were about to pull it down, when it was accidentally destroyed by fire on the morning of February 13, 1858. At the time of the disaster, it contained 530 inmates, who were all removed without loss of life. It is believed that it would soon have fallen down if it had not been thus destroyed. The corner-stone of the Charity Hospital, erected on the site of the one so happily destroyed, was laid with appropriate services July 22, 1858. An address was delivered on the occasion by Washington Smith, Esq., President of the board of Governors. This magnificent structure is of stone quarried from the island by the convicts, and is the largest hospital about New York, and probably the largest on the continent. It is a three and a half story, 354 feet long, and 122 wide. The two wings are each 122 by 50 feet, and the central building 90 by 52, and 60 feet high. The entire hospital is divided into twenty-nine wards, most of which are 47x feet in length, and ranging from 23 to 44 feet in width. The smallest ward contains 13 beds, and the largest 39. The Iospital contains 832 beds, but has capacity for 1,200, and each bed has 813 cubic feet of space, affording an abundance of pure air in all its parts. In 1864 no less than 1,400, most of them sick and wounded soldiers, were domiciled here. The eastern wing of the building is occupied by the males, and the western by the females, and the whole so classified as to accommodate to the best advantage the large number of patients always under treatment. Wards are set apart for consumptives, for venereal, uterine, dropsical, ophthalmic, obstetrical, and syphilitic disorders. Also for broken bones, and the other classes of casualty patients. Two wards are set apart for the treatment of diseases of the eye and the ear, and are in charge of distinguished physicians, who have made the diseases of those organs their special study. The stairways are of iron, the floors of white Southern pine, which, with their frequent ablutions and scourings, and the snow-white counterpane spread over each bed, gives such unmistakable evidence of neatness, as to quite surprise many not familiar with the conduct of public institutions. From six thousand to eight thousand patients are annually treated in this Hospital, most of THE HOSPITALS OF BLACKWELL'S ISLAND. 529 whom are charity patients, four hundred or five hundred of whom die, and most of the remainder are discharged, cured or relieved. -.- =_ _ ==_, SMALL-POX HOSPITAL. A short distance below this main Hospital, situated on the extreme southern point of the island, stands the Small-Pox Hospital, erected in 1854. It is a three-story stone edifice, 104 by 44 feet, in the English Gothic order, with accommodations for one hundred patients, and cost $38,000. This is the only hospital in New York devoted to this class of patients, and hence receives them from all the public and private hospitals, from the Commissioners of Emigration, and from private families. It is a fine building, well arranged and admirably conducted, designed not only for paupers, but for pay patients, where, secluded from friends to whom they might impart their disease, they receive every attention that science and the most skillful nursing can bestow. This Hospital is rarely empty, and receives from two hundred to one thousand patients annually. For want of suitable buildings persons afflicted with other contagious eruptive diseases have been from necessity placed in the Small-Pox Hospital, sometimes to their detriment. This difficulty is being obviated by the erection of separate pavilions for such cases. ithe Fever Hospitals, devoted principally to the treatment of typhus and ship fever, consist of two wooden pavilions, of tyrphus and ship fever, consist of two wooden pav~ilions, 530 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. each 100 feet in length, one of which is assigned to either sex. These structures are capable of accommodating about one hundred patients, though a larger number is of necessity at times admitted. They are situated on the eastern side of the Island, between the Charity and Small-Pox Hospitals. A warden has the general supervision of these several hospitals. The medical direction of them was, until March, 1866, under the supervision of the Medical Board of Bellevue, but at that time the Commissioners appointed a separate board, consisting of two consulting and twenty-two visiting physicians and surgeons. Two valuable members of this board lost their lives in 1868, from pestilential disease contracted while in the discharge of their hospital duties. This board is industriously collecting a museum in the Charity Hosital, which is annually receiving many valuable additions. he grounds around these institutions are very inviting, the view rich and diversified, and everything, save the countenance of the suffering patients, wears an air of cheerfulness. The Hospitals for Incurables are situated on the Alms House grounds, and are briefly described in the account of that Institution. The Epileptic Hospital was established in 1866, for the treatment of a class of unfortunates hitherto abandoned as incurable, and permitted to go through the several stages of their disease until it ended in idiocy, insanity, or death. The Commissioners have the credit of establishing the first of its kind on this continent, and with the exception of a small one in London, the first in the world. The Paralytic Hospital was also established in 1866. These were first placed under the control of a distinguished physician with two assistants, but as he was soon compelled to retire, they were for a time under charge of the Medical board of Charity Hospital, but have since been transferred to the board of the Lunatic Asylum. These hospitals are pavilions on the grounds devoted to the Lunatic Asylum, and their establishment has already been a source of relief to many. They contain sixty-five beds each, and are always well filled. -~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C- - --` CHAT~~~~~~lTY —- -IOSPTA1, I ——;WEL S ILAND - ----- --- --= —s —--— L — - --z-. __ - -_T= —-L ----- ----------. _.. _ —~ — --- -L ——.- - — - — i — —------ -- __ -I_... -------------— —--—: —---- —.-. — ---— ~ —------ ...-. —-LT; —- —--- -__________________________ -- ---— '-. ___ —— ZI- ---— _ ----- _ i_ -------- -- - — ---- _ ---- —--— 1 --— 7_ _ -i —--- --— ~-- i-;; —-------—.CC. ' —-— T- —--— L - ~` —— —I -_ —. ---------— —. — ----- -L —--i-l ---— . - -----—'`-t — --- --------— _ —-— -- --- ---------— II — ___ = —- —--— __. -L —ar ---—:; —-----— ~ —----- _ —Llj —---- ---- ---- ----;I —----- I —---- -- —. — --- --— -- - —- —— —=T=Z- __ ____ —------—;-= —---------- ---— ------------ ----- -_-- -: — --------— r —-- -—; —---- _... -.= _ _____ __ — —-~ —___ i L- au0OIu LI QI JI111 iriiir4s Iiir UIIII'';4,j. —p -" -s o - —=-= r rl? lo c,~e c' 03 "- -0'5 C r ---- -1 pa QQ j __ r~- 31 —~4 I 5G - -~P1 yl IlbC~Lh ~I CT(i- q rs UT L- Pi rt, _ --- ~L-- c —- PIN1TENTIAnY. BLACXWELL'S IdLAil). THE NEW YORK PENITENTIARY. HIE New York Penitentiary on Blackwell's Island stands nearly opposite Fifty-fifth street, and was the first institution established on the island. The southern wing of the building was begun soon after the purchase of the island in 1828, the central portion was next added, and the northern wings are the result of subsequent additions. The building is constructed of hewn stone and rubble masonry, and consists of a central portion 65 by 75 feet, with three wings each 50 by 200 feet, and several stories high. The floors are of stone and the stairways of iron. There are 500 cells for males, and 256 for females, yet the building is often rather small to accommodate the aspiring candidates. The prisoners sent here are from the New York courts, whose term of confinement with the majority is from one to six months, though occasionally one remains several years. When a prisoner is received, a record is made of his name, age, weight, and the condition of his health; also of his nationality, history, and the offence for which he was committed. Every convict is expected to perform some service unless sick, when lie is sent to the hospital. Most of them are allowed to follow their former occupations, and are employed at times as blacksmiths, wagon-makers, boat-builders, carpenters, coopers, painters, wheelwrights, shoemakers, tailors, gardeners, stone-cutters, boatmen; etc.; and others, whose former indolence has kept them from every useful occupation, are instructed in the sublime arts of blasting, quarrying, and pounding rocks. The island originally abounded with rich quarries, most of which have now been exhausted in the erection of the princely edifices that crown its surface, a very large proportion of the toil having been performed by the convicts. A gang of men is daily Eent to Randall's and another to Hart Islands; to the latter of which, on account of its isolated condition, there is prospect of the entire Penitentiary establishment being removed. The erection of the Infant Hospital, the Inebriate Asylum, the new Insane Asylum, and every other new edifice, furnishes a large amount of toil in grading and ornamenting, to which their time and 532 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. toil are devoted. Their toil, however, is not rigorous. Indeed, it is immensely lighter than many of us accomplish who are yet out of prison. Toil is also one of the most salutary forms of discipline that can be administered to criminals of any age, grade, or nationality. Without this there can scarcely be reformation, and the neglect of it has plunged most criminals into the sea of infamy in which they are engulfed. A few learn trades while on the island, which enable them, on their return to society, to earn not only an honest, but a comfortable livelihood. The convicts bradndoeurto_ gare all well clad.= -.......in striped woolen garments, and -e -mbe of== provided with suitable bedding _ =_son, a_ and food. We saw two small et........e — P- regiments of _daeyfloig340wre- them at dinner, -_ which consisted Ada~ilyp~- v ea _ of one pound of beef, ten and a quart of vegetable soup per man. At breakfast, they are served with GUARD-BOATS. ten ounces of bread, and one quart of good coffee each. The number of prisoners retained on the island is less than it was twenty years ago, more being retained in the city prisons, and a large number are now annually sent to the Workhouse. On December 31, 1851, 803 were in confinement at the Penitentiary, and during the twelve months immediately following, 3,450 were committed. In 1853, 5,236 were committed, and at the close of the year 1,176 remained. The year 1869 began with 502 inmates; 1,563 were committed during the year, and 461 remained at its close, making a daily average of 477 prisoners, maintained at an expenditure of $73,972.35. Of those committed 1,224 were males, and 339 females. 276 of them were between the ages of fifteen and twenty years; 427 from twenty to twenty-five; 316 from THE NEW YORK PENITENTIARY 533 twenty-five to thirty, after which the number in each semidecade steadily decreases. Twenty were under fifteen years of age, ten of whom were girls, and but one was above seventy years at commitment, and that one a female. These figures confront us with the astounding fact, that about one half of all who enter the Penitentiary, are under twenty-five years of age, and appeal anxiously for the adoption of some measure to arrest the progress of these cadets of crime, ere they are irrevocably enrolled in tle ranks of that army, whose march terminates only at the State Prison, or on the gallows. Of the 1,563 committed, 730 were of American birth (but mostly of foreign blood); 482 came from Ireland, 168 from Germany, 74 from England, 25 from Scotland, 24 from Canada, 13 from France, 12 from Prussia, and the remaining 35 represented the other countries of Europe and the West Indies. Of the crimes with which they were charged we may state thl. L 1,7S were committed for petit larceny, 259 for assault and battery, 34 for grand larceny, 27 for burglary, 22 for vagrancy, and a smaller number for nearly every other species of mischief in the catalogue of crime. The largest number were committed for six months, and the next largest for two months; 62 were for one year, 6 for eighteen months, 12 for two years, and 3 for four years; 1,146 were committed for the first time, 245 for the second, 94 for the third, 41 for the fourth, 17 for the fifth, 6 for the sixth, 7 for the seventh, 2 for the eighth, 1 for the ninth, and 4 for the tenth term. Of the 1,563, there were unmarried 962; married 507; widows 68; widowers 26. -Of their mental culture we are informed that 1,052 could read and write well, 156 could read and write imperfectly, and 355 were totally uneducated. Of their former occupations we observe that of the males 394 were reported as laborers, 59 teamsters, 53 waiters, 52 shoemakers, and the remainder were scattered through over a hundred trades, though in fact many have never followed anything. Of the females, 224 were reported as domestics, 53 seamstresses, 13 dress-makers, 10 laundresses, etc. These are employed with the needle, and in other branches of usefulness around the Institution. One cannot look over an audience of these convicts, and meet the glances of their brilliant eyes, without being assured that the Penitentiary contains as much talent as any other structure in the county 34 4i34 NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. of New York. And how sad the reflection that this magnificent pile of masonry, that crowns this green island, is a crowded pandemonium-an empire of fallen Lucifers, of wasted energies, disappointed ambitions, and perverted genius, not likely to again rise to a virtuous life, or a blissful immortality. The moral condition of prisoners has from a remote period enlisted the sympathies of the benevolent, and led to associated efforts for their relief, yet improvements in prison discipline progressed but slowly until within the last fifty years, leaving still ample scope for the study of the thoughtful. Justice is not often administered with undue severity in our country. Indeed it is frequently quite too lax to promote the public good. Yet the best ends of penal justice are not often secured in our public prisons, and are far too frequently utterly ignored. The object of imprisonment should be three-fold: 1. To separate the culprit from society, whose security he endangers, and whose confidence he has forfeited. 2. To make him sensible of the law he has violated; and 3. To secure if possible his reformation and return to the useful walks of life. The first two parts are tolerably well secured in all countries, but the last and most important is rarely attained, and far too seldom attempted. A keeper of a prison should be selected for his moral qualities, and one who ignores or scoffs at the reformation of a convict thereby demonstrates his utter incompetency for so important a calling. Every possible incentive to reformation should be held out, and every influence introduced and fostered likely to excite the desire of amendment, or to bring up from the depths of his fallen nature the return of buried manhood. While the reformation of the criminal is neglected, a large percentage of those under confinement, especially the younger and more hopeful portion, are certain to return to society more determined villains than when they left it, and the penal institution, instead of suppressing, virtually increases the crime. The Commissioners have had under advisement for some time past the matter of introducing a more rational system of reformatory discipline, than that of mere compulsory toil. The prisoners have been carefully classified, and a system of evening school instruction introduced. The matter of entering the school is entirely voluntary, though after entering they are not allowed to abandon it at pleasure. The school was \1l —'- 5 I " -- - " MAVE (.'lN'1CTS. PET.'lql },Al:Y 1 1..MAt I;\ l I ] V LSa. l ID.. ---- _, — =Z Z B D GIAA i)Ou xVLCTS. PENITENTIARY BLACKWELI'S ISI AND. Ad~~~~~~~~~~~~~: ---- ~~~~ — = - =~~~~~~~~~~~~I- - - - ~ WOtI< -/-I n, —- - - -- - - -a- - - ~ - r\(lI -