William E. Dodge : the Christian merchant

WILLIAM E. DODGE:

The Christian Merchant.

B Y

C A R L O S M A R T Y N ,

A ułhor o f "A Life o ffohn Milton;' " The Pilgrim F a t h e r s o f New England “ A History o f the H u g uen otsW end ell Phillips : The Agitator ” etc.

PR IN TED IN THE UNITED S T A T E S .

F U N K & W A G N A L L S .

N E W Y O R K : g L O N D O N :

18 & 20 As t o r Pl a c e. 9 44 Fl e e t St r e e t.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by F U N K & W A G N A L LS,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.

P R E F A C E .

Th e r e are, in the com m unity, m any men of one­

sided force— men w ith a jut. T h e y m ake their w ay to success b y ♦concentration and intensity. T h e ir pow er lies in their narrowness. M ost men are hum an fragm ents. A s Em erson puts i t : ' “ O ne is a m outh for talkin g, another is an arm for striking, a third is a stom ach for d igestin g, and a fourth is a leg for w a lk in g ; this one is a pocket for retaining, and that one is a brain for p lan n in g— there are few com plete m en.”

T h is is esp ecially true in business, w hich is com ­ m only conceived of as founded in selfishness and carried on in greed. E xam p les of business success abound, w hich are studied and copied, bu t w hich are as d em oralizin g as the piracies of C ap tain K y d — and are based on m uch the same pr£neif)les.

W illiam E. D o d ge was a priqp&jif^ trade. H e was alw ays and ju s tly proud of ^ i ^ a ljf f r g . Y e t he was not subdued to w hat he w&fcftd ió*;; H e was a m er­ c h a n t ; bu t he was more. ..Star^ irfg on the d izzy h eights of prosperity, his "h^ad*.was never turned so that he lost his balance. O ne of the busiest of men, m an ip u latin g g ig a n tic affairs, he found tim e for a thousand interests outside of his counting-room ; and these, instead of interferin g w ith his com m ercial enterprises, w orked into them, tem pered them , and, in turn, ca u gh t from them som ething of the m ethod and ex a ctitu d e of the business habit. H e is the best exam ple in this generation of the business man in

religion, and the religiou s man in business. H is career proves that success in com m erce is not incon­ sistent w ith success in character. S u ch a lesson it is a pleasure to teach and an honor to practice.

M ichael A n g e lo entered a R om an palace w hich R ap h ael was decoratin g. T h e keen eye of the artist- poet in stan tly saw th at the figures on the ceilin g w ere too sm all for the room. P ic k in g up a piece of ch ar­ coal, he sketched on the w all an im m ense head pro­ portioned to the cham ber, and said, as he did so : “ I criticise b y creatio n .” T h e best criticism upon a narrow and selfish m ercantile spirit, is the exhibition o f a broad and generous business ch aracter— A n g e lo ’s criticism , b y d o in g better.

L ik e th at K h an in the E astern story, w hose gates stood ever open, n igh t as w ell as day, so th at when no tra ve ller passed, the wind sang in his door w ay ; b u t w h eth er k in g cam e or b eggar, G o d w as a constant g u e st— Mr. D o d g e carried an ear w ide open to catch e very tone of hum an interest, a hand outstretched in constant bu t discrim in atin g benefaction, and did not “ rem em ber to f o r g e t ” th at a t w h at tim e he least e x ­ pected the Son of G o d m igh t com e to test his h eart’s hosp itality.

O f such a man, w ho w ould not say, as L e ig h H unt does of “ A b o u Ben A d h em .”

“ M ay his tribe in crease! ”

In this book, w henever it was possible, b io gra p h y has becom e au to b iograp h y, and Mr. D o d g e has been asked to tell his ow n story. H ap p ily, such passages abound.

C O N T E N T S . P r e fa c e ... iii-iv F I R S T D E C A D E . (1805-15. JEt. 1-10.) Ch a p t e r I. F am ily R em iniscences... 12-16 Ch a p t e r I I . Childhood... 17-21 S E C O N D D E C A D E . (1815-25. ALt. 10-20.) Ch a p t e r I.

On the T h resh old ... 25~32 Ch a p t e r I I .

Old N ew Y o r k ... 33~5o

T H I R D D E C A D E . (1825-35. JEt. 20-30.)

Ch a p t e r I.

The N ew Sign on Pearl Street... 53—59 Ch a p t e r I I .

M arriage... 60-67 Ch a p t e r I I I .

Phelps, D odge & C o ... 68-73 C h a p t e r IV .

Business Saints and Sinners... 74-81 C h a p t e r V .

F O U R T H D E C A D E .

(1835-45- 30-40.)

C h a p t e r I.

O pp ortu n ity... 99~io7

C h a p t e r II.

D ifficu lties... 108-117 C h a p t e r III.

D evelo p m en t... 118-129 C h a p t e r IV .

A cross the O cean... 130-140 F I F T H D E C A D E . (1845-55. 40-5°-) C h a p t e r I. Sources of W e a lth ... 143-149 C h a p t e r II. C h a n g e s ... - iS o - ^ S C h a p t e r III. In the Counting-room ... 156-163 S I X T H D E C A D E . (1855-65. ^Et. 50-60.) C h a p t e r I.

Various E xperien ces... 167-172 C h a p t e r II.

Public A ffa irs... 173—179 C h a p t e r III.

E fforts for P eace... 180-188 C h a p t e r IV .

T o A rm s !... 189-198 C h a p t e r V .

S E V E N T H D E C A D E . (1865-75. JEt. 60-70.)

C h a p t e r I.

A fte r-m a th ... 215-225 C h a p t e r II.

T h e Contest for a S eat...226-229 C h a p t e r III.

Congressman D o d g e... 230-235 C h a p t e r IV .

W h at He Said in W ash in gton ... 236-247 C h a p t e r V . Monumental O ccurrences... 248-254 C h a p t e r V I. Schooling the B la c k s ...255-259 C h a p t e r V II. T h e A b origin es... 260-269 C h a p t e r V II I.

E yes and E ars W id e O pen...i . . . 270-276 C h a p t e r IX .

D oings and Sayings A broad and at H om e... 277-292 E IG H T H D E C A D E — B R O K E N . (1875-83. , JEt. 70-78.) C h a p t e r I. A t the F iresid e ... 295-300 C h a p t e r II. T h e Golden W ed d in g...3OI-3rP C h a p t e r III.

T ow ards E ven in g... 3II_3I$ C h a p t e r IV .

R est... 3'9-322 C h a p t e r V .

“ w ho valliantly served towards the public good and en­ couraged their heirs and successors to follow in like virtue and noble conduct.”—Ancient Patent o f the Dodge Family, dated A p r il 8th, ijo ó .

" I know not the man, at this period of time, who occupies a position more exalted above the valor of the soldier or the arts of the politician, w ith opportunities more auspicious in their bearing on the w ell-being of society, than a merchant, intelligent in mind, honest in principle, cultivated in tastes, simple in man­ ners, generous in sympathies, liberal in conception, bountiful in gifts— the accredited friend of letters, science, art, charity and religion, standing on the summit of com m ercial success, the honored almoner of a benignant Providence.”—Rev. W illiam Adams, D .D .

“ I hold every man a debtor to his p rofession ; from the w hich as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor them selves by w ay of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto.” — Bacon, “ M axims o f the Law ." Preface.

“ A Christian is the highest style of m an.”— Young,“ N ight Thoughts. N ig h t I V , t

F I R S T

D E C A D E .

WILLIAM E. DODGE.

C H A P T E R I.

F A M I L Y R E M I N I S C E N C E S .

“ Ot h e r th in gs b ein g eq u a l,” rem arks O liver

W endell H olm es, “ g ive me the man who has a lon g line of fam ily p ortraits h an g in g on his w alls.” C e r­ tain it is th at blood w ill tell, both for good and evil. T h e life th at has been soaked in anim alism for gen era­ tions, w ill repeat itself in the stunted form , the shallow pate, the sensual desire of countless d e­ scendants. It is likew ise true th at noble character begets after its ow n im age, and is reproduced in con ­

tinuous and g racious personalities. T h e law of

h ered ity sw eeps th rou gh nature and hum an nature. A sk the physicians if our ancestors decide noth ing for us, or if there be an yth in g th ey do not decide. “ R ead the description in m edical books of the fou r tem peram ents,” says Em erson, “ and you w ill think you are read in g y o u r own th ou gh ts w hich you had not yet told. F in d the part w hich b lack eyes, and w hich blu e eyes, p lay severally in the com pany. H ow shall a man escape from his p rogen itors ? It often appears in a fam ily as if all the qualities of the

ancestors w ere potted in several jars— som e ru lin g q u ality in each son or d au g h ter of the house. Som e­ tim es the unm ixed tem peram ent, the u nm itigated ( elixir, the fa m ily vice or virtue, is draw n off in a separate ind ivid ual, and the others are p rop ortion ally relieved or im poverished, as the case m ay be, b y the excess in th is one. W e often see a ch an ge of ex ­ pression in o u r com panion, and say his fath er or his m other com es to the w in dow s of his eyes— and fre­ q u en tly a rem ote relative. In different hours a man represents each o f several of his p rogen itors as if there w ere seven or eig h t of us rolled up in each m an’s skin ; and th ey constitu te the v a rie ty of notes fo r th at new piece of m usic w hich his life is.”

W illiam E. D o d g e illu strates this. H is fam ily is ancient. T h e ir origin al hom e w as not far from b u stlin g L iv erp o o l (then a fishing ham let), and under the w alls o f E n g la n d ’s oldest city, venerable Chester. A w a y b ack in the ch ivalric d ays of the E d w ard s and the H en rys the fam ily com es into historic notice, and m arches h on orab ly across the p ages of the m usty records of the H era ld ’s C o lleg e. S to u t k n igh ts and lusty m en-at-arm s were they, b a ttlin g valian tly for their co u n try and conscience,— p roclivities v iv id ly re-appearin g in th eir Y an k ee descendant.

T h e first A m erican D o d g e w as an E n glishm an , who landed at Salem in 1629— one o f the founders of em pire in the new w orld. H e was a “ gentlem an ” (the title in those d ays signified social position), and a prom oter o f schools and churches— q u alities again exem plified fu rth e r dow n and all a lo n g the Y an k ee line, and m ost illu strio u sly of all in our m erchant- prince.

T h is first D o d g e was nam ed W illiam . L a te r he was joined in N ew E n glan d b y his broth er R ichard. From them have sp ru ng descendants now settled in alm ost e very S tate in the U nion ; men and wom en 1 w ho have n o ticea b ly reproduced the personal w orth of their ancestors ; w ho have figured prom inently in the colonial and nation al annals, in the old Indian battles, in the R ev o lu tio n ary stru gg le , and in the w ar for the U nion ; and who, rem em bering, w ith M ilton, that

“ ... Peace hath her victories N o less renown’d than w ar,”

have served G o d and th eir fellow s in church and state.

T h e m ore im m ediate ancestors of W illiam E. D o d ge sw arm ed out of the old fam ily hive in Salem , b u t re­ m ained in N ew E n glan d. H is grand fath er, D avid D od ge, w as a m an ufacturer of arm y w agon s in the W a r for Independence, and a friend of G en eral Israel Putnam . A t the close of the w ar he becam e a farm er in C onn ecticu t. H e m arried a w idow , a Mrs. E arl (w hence com es Mr. D o d g e ’s m iddle name), a wom an o f stron g religiou s character, and an adherent of the fam ous W hitefield, th at ton gu e o f fire, whose preach­ in g W h ittier thus describes :

“ A nd the hearts of the people when he passed Sw ayed as the reeds sw ay in the blast, U nder the spell of a voice which took In its com pass the flow of Siloa’s brook, A nd the mystical chimes of the bells of gold On the E phod’s hem of the priest of old ; N ow the roll of thunder, and now the awe O f the trumpet heard in the Mount of L aw .”

T h e son of this couple w as D avid L o w D odge. H e w as a man alert, sagacious, en terprising— a self- tau g h t scholar, w ho in earlier life was a successful teacher, b u t who, later, g ave him self to business, in w h ich he w as e q u a lly successful. H is religious nature w as pronounced, and w hen g ra ce fertilized it, b ro u g h t forth a b ou ntifu l harvest of good works. L ik e his illu striou s son, he carried his p iety into his

life, and enthroned it in his L ed g er. Serious

im pressions m arked his boyhood, and som etim es deepened, som etim es ligh ten ed , as he g re w tow ard m anhood. B u t it w as not until he was an ad u lt that he united w ith the church. T h o se w ere the days w hich im m ediately fo llo w ed the R evo lu tio n ary war. T h e w h ole co u n try w as dem oralized. Men w ho had learned to be fam iliar w ith bloodshed and spoliation in the cam p b ro u g h t the m ilitary h ab it into peace. P ro fa n ity was gentlem an ly. D u e llin g was honorable. F o rce w as law fu l— the lesson of strife. M ost y o u n g m en im bibed this spirit, and paraded w ith rattlin g firelock or jin g lin g spurs, a ro llic k in g set, p la y in g at w ar w hen the battle-flags w ere fu rled and the cannon unlim bered. In such a scene, w h at w onder if religion w ere difficult ?

T h o se w ere the days, too, in w hich the tim e of the ch ildren belon ged to the parents. I f a b o y w ished to be his ow n m aster, he had to b u y his time. O n th is point the average fath er was inexorable. W h at w ould Y o u n g A m erica say to th at n ow adays ? B efore he cou ld leave the farm and set up as a school­ m aster, y o u n g D o d ge was obliged , fo llo w in g this now unfashionable custom , to p ay his fath er for a release.

that D avid D o d ge m et his fate (a g racious and enviable fate) in the ch arm in g person of Miss Sarah C leveland. She was the d au g h ter of A aron C le v e ­

land, a cu ltivated and reputable m erchant — an

ancestor o f ex-P resid en t G ro ver C levelan d , w ho a fterw ard s becam e a C o n g re ga tio n a l m inister. T h e y were m arried in 1798. B oth w ere at this tim e earnest and d evou t Christians. Soon a fter Mr. D o d ge e x ­ ch anged school teach in g for business, in w hich his career was lo n g and honorable. T h e exigen ces of trade called him h ither and thither. A t the outset he resided in H artford , Conn. T h en ce he cam e to N ew Y ork , only, how ever, a few years later to return to Y an k ee land, w here he continued to reside until his final rem oval to G otham , in 1825. Mr. D o d ge was a d ealer in d ry goods. T o this business he added the m anufacture o f cotton cloth, b ein g at the head of the first co tto n m ill ever erected in C onn ecticu t, w here now every nim ble little river is busy in turn in g a g re a t w ater w heel, and e very ham let is devoted to th at fabrication.

Side b y side w ith his business interests. D avid L o w D o d ge g av e him self to a w ide and diversified round o f co llateral pursuits. H e was the patron of churches, in one or an oth er of w hich he w as an officer for m any years. H e was the friend and co-laborer o f m inisters, w ith a w ell-used p rop het’s cham ber alw ays in his house. H e form ed and becam e P residen t of the N ew Y o rk P eace S o ciety, the first ever p u b licly o r­ g an iz e d — a reaction from the intense m ilitarism of his boyhood. H e w as one of the founders of the N ew Y o r k B ib le and T ra c t S ocieties ; children w hich still survive in increasing v ig o r and usefulness, and

i6 W IL L IA M E . D O D G E .

afford him a m onum ent m ore illu striou s and en du rin g than bronze or m arble. A n d it was in his parlors, dow n there at the corner of W illiam and P la tt streets, th at C h ristian clerk s o f his ow n and oth er stores form ed the Y o u n g M en’s M ission ary S o c ie ty — the John the B ap tist o f C ity M issions— and the Y o u n g M en’s C h ristian A ssociation of N e w Y ork . A ben evo­ lence so diversified and fertile cou ld not fail to bear good fru it in his ow n home. W h o can d ou b t th at the w orld is indebted to th is exam p le fo r the yet la rg e r com m ercial operation s and p h ilan th ropic efforts of the son, blen d ed lik e the fa th er’s in equ al and harm onious m easure ? 1

T h e g lo r y of the fathers is th e ch ildren— children not w h at th ey were, b u t w h at th ey w ould be w ith present opportunities.

1 The chronology of the family of David Low Dodge is as follows : Julia Stuart, Sarah Cleveland, David Stuart, Wi l l i a m Ea r l, Mary Abiah, Elizabeth Clement, Susan Pratt.

C H A P T E R I I . ■ C H IL D H O O D .

W i l l i a m E. Do d g e was born on the 4th o f S eptem ­ ber, 1805, in H artford , C on n ecticu t, w hich was then a tow n of a few thousand inhabitants. T h e population

was hom ogeneous. L ife was sim ple, alm ost A rcadian.

T h e tone was grave. In d u stry and econ om y w ere k in g and queen— the o n ly sovereigns reco gn ized and obeyed iu th at fiercely republican locality. T h e b attle w ith nature, rou gh and surly, had left its marks. T h ese Y an k ees carried brains in th eir fingers. T h e q u alities o f invention and en terprise w ere h ig h ly valued. E v e ry th in g conspired to develop self-reli­ ance. F a c u lty was the good genius of the place. T h e im portan ce of environ m ent is now m ore w id ely realized than it was then, but it w as as influential then as it is now. W ho can doubt th at the ch aracter of his b irth p lace m arked and m oulded th is b o y ?

M odern H artford has o b literated the spot w here y o u n g D o d g e first saw the ligh t. Im provem ent is a F ran kenstein w hich lives b y d evo u rin g the trad itions and sentim en ts o f the past. N o m atter. T h e w orld m oves on. A nd in this case, he m oved on w ith it ; nay, h elped lu stily to m ove it on— and up.

Mr. D a vid L o w D o d ge had tw o d ry g oo d s stores, w h ich he carried on upon a pay-as-you -go basis-— one in H artford , the other in L itch field , not fa r a w a y ,a n d

at th at d ate the seat of a law sch ool and an aristo­ cra tic center. T h u s from his tenderest years, W illiam breathed a business atm osphere, and was accustom ed to hear questions of profit an d loss, o f d ividen ds and no dividen ds, of w ays and means, discussed.

In the sp rin g of 1807, at the earn est solicitation of Messrs. S. and H. H ig gin so n , w h o w ere related to Mrs. D o d ge, em inen t and w e alth y im porters and jo b ­ bers, o f B oston, Mr. D o d ge entered into a cop artner­ ship, and opened a branch house in N ew Y ork . T h e store in H artfo rd was placed in ch a rg e of the senior clerk, th at in L itch field was intrusted to a Mr. Stephen D od ge, a w o rth y man, w ho had been co n d u ctin g it, but not a relative.

T h e residence w here W illiam had been born was retained and occu p ied b y Mrs. D o d g e ’s father, Mr. C levelan d . T h e next sum m er the y ello w fever in ­ vad ed N e w Y ork , and the D o d g e fa m ily took refu ge in the C o n n e cticu t mansion. A v o id in g the yello w fever, th ey fell in w ith a disease even m ore form id­

able— the sp otted fever. F irst the husband and

fa th er w as prostrated. H e w as b a rely convalescent w hen W illiam , a child of three years, w as stricken dow n w ith scarlet fever. In the m idst o f these e x ­ periences the w ife again becam e a m other, and was, of course, sh ut up and in. T h e fa th e r w atch ed d ay and n ig h t at the bedside o f his little son, who, after b e in g g iven up, fin ally rallied. T h e y e llo w flag was h ap p ily run dow n, and w h at had been a h ospital once m ore becam e a home.

W illiam was a p ecu liarly active boy. H e seemed to have solved the old problem of p erp etu al m otion ; a solution, fo r th e m atter of that, w hich is hit upon

by most h ea lth y boys. B ut if one w ere called upon to paint this lad in a word, the w ord w ould be alert. He kept his ears and eyes open, w ide open. N o th in g escaped him. W ith a b ig heart th ro b b in g in his breast, a clear head top p in g his shoulders, a b righ t, dark eye lig h tin g up his countenance, and a stron g arm h a n g in g a t his side, he was alw ays read y to help him self and to lend a hand. L ik e m ost honest and large natures, he loved anim als. H orses, especially, were his d elig h t, a p a rtia lity he never lost.

A t the outset W illiam w ent to school at his m oth er’s knee. Is there any oth er and later school quite equal to th at ? M ore th at is fun dam ental and a key to all the rest is learned from the lips and the exam ple of the m other, than from a n y and all other sources. T h e c h ild ’s heart is wax. H is feelin gs are an aspen leaf. T h e m other sits on a throne and weal or woe are m inisters to do her bidding. L ik e a g o d ­ dess, she decrees the future, origin ates predestination, and tells F a te him self w h at to do. In this case the m other was a queen w o rth y of her p rerogatives. She was a w om an of rare balance, a devoted C h ristian , and possessed solid ju d g m e n t and em inent fidelity. She w rote her tru th fu ln ess and love upon the open and receptive pages of the la d ’s ch aracter. T h e affec­ tion betw een these two was b ea u tifu l to see. It grew with his g ro w th , survived the ch a n g es of early and later m anhood, and blossom ed under the snows of age. L o v e ly m other ! W o rth y son ! W e can see the little fe llo w as he toddles across the floor to learn the alphabet from her patien t lips. W e m ark the teacher and the s tu d e n t ; and observe h ow carefu l she is to add those other and h igh er lessons w hich m ay

o n ly be m astered in the nursery, th at school of the h eart— lessons of filial affection, o f p u rity, of ch iva l­ rous regard fo r w eakness, of h elp fu l p ity for the un­ fo rtu n ate, of m artyr faith fuln ess to d uty, of reverent love for G od. A h , here is the sm ithy in w hich noble ch a ra cter is fo rged and w elded. It m ay be questioned w h eth er h istory exh ib its an y stron g-featu red and sp len did ch aracter w hich does n ot show this m other w ork. W h en Mrs. D o d ge had done her part, and done it w ell, in the fab rication of his m ental and m oral nature, he w ent forth to other, but never to b etter schools. A sad d ay for both. Sad for the m other, because her creation is to take on different, perhaps less hap p y tuition. T h e b aby is becom e a b oy, n e cessitatin g the la y in g aw a y other th in gs be­ side those lo n g dresses and tin y shoes. Sad for the lad, becau se now hands less g e n tle and a heart less lo v in g m ust m ould the yet nascent disposition and gu id e the still to tterin g steps. T h e sacred tie is not b rok en , b u t stretched. R iv a l influences begin to w ork. P ity the mother. P ity the child.

A t th is period the fam ily, as we have seen, was m igrato ry. Y o u n g D o d g e ’s schools w ere eq u a lly so. H e w as tau g h t first in N ew Y o rk , w h ith er he had been tak en in his in fan cy, then at N orw ich , in the land of stea d y habits again, and then in M endham , in N ew

Jersey. B u t alw ays his m other's p rayers accom ­

panied him. A n d his father, too, an able and ex p eri­ enced instru ctor, was of service to him at this tim e, in im p lan tin g h abits of stu d y and in p o in tin g out courses of reading. H e w as a n atu ral student, loved books, m ade friends o f them , im proved his o p p o rtu n i­ ties, and e a ge rly transferred the conten ts of his te x t­

books to his ow n brain. In this hom e there w ere other ch ildren — a nest of sisters with tw o brothers in it. A n only ch ild is to be pitied. Su ch an one misses the finest elem ents of culture. W h at becom es, in such a case, of the b earin g and forbearin g, of the social sym pathies, o f the generous rivalries, o f the g row th b y friction w ith kindred natures, of the de­ lig h tfu l comaradarie ? A n only child is apt to be a spoiled child. W here there are m any, all dem and so m uch th at no one can easily g et the whole. E sp eci­ a lly hap p y is it w hen the fam ily brood is m ixed. T h e sexes learn m uch from each other. It is easy to discern boys and girls who have grow n up apart.

W illiam , w e are told, was an unselfish and gallan t lad, fond of p lay but not fond o f strife, a p eace­ m aker, a tend er nurse in sickness, q uick to do any kind act fo r his sisters, and th eir stalw art cham pion. Y es, this was a b o y to love, to be proud of, to predict a high fu tu re for. So, in this p lace and in that, now in the streets of the roarin g c ity, now in the quiet m eadows and lanes o f the cou ntry, one d ay on his m other’s lap, and the next yon d er on the benches and upon the p lay-gro u n d o f the school, passed

“ ...Careless boyhood, living the free Unconscious life of bird and tree.”

S E C O N D D E C A D E .

C H A P T E R I. O N T H E T H R E S H O L D .

Th e R ev. Dr. Sam uel H anson C o x , father of the

present C leve lan d C o x , B ishop of W estern N ew Y ork, w as one of the m ost quaint and strik in g figures of

the b y-gon e generation. H is head was large, his

heart w as w arm , his eloquence was brillian t. He w as a w a lk in g cyclopaedia of fa ct and fan cy. H e had m arried a sister of Mrs. D o d ge, and w as therefore W illiam ’s uncle. It w as under his roof-tree in Mend- ham, N ew Jersey, th at the lad resided w hile at school in that tow n.

In the yea r 1818 his school life ab ru p tly term inated, w ith a suddenness th at su ggests the stop p age b y a ir­ brakes of a railroad train th u n d erin g a lo n g at the rate o f fo rty m iles an hour. H e w as not yet thirteen w hen a letter cam e from his fath er sum m oning him to N e w Y ork . O n reach in g home, he learned that, in fu lfillm en t of a prom ise m ade that he should serve as a clerk to the broth ers M errit, w hen th ey should g o into business, he w as to begin life at once in a w holesale d ry goods house ju st opened b y them. T h e little fe llo w took hold w ith a w ill, and tru d ged about for m ore than a year in a contented and ser­ viceable spirit. A t the end of tw elve m onths he was d eligh te d to receive a silver w atch as a token of his

em p lo y er’s h igh regard. A b o y ’s first w atch ! W e can see him fond le it, place it to his ear, fasten it o sten tatio u sly in his vest, show it to his parents, exh ib it it to his associates. A w atch and a rew ard of m erit, both in o n e ! W h o w ould not prize it ? It w as an old-fashioned affair, b ig enough for a tow n clock, alm ost, w ith a h eavy double case. H e w ore it fo r m any years, and it is now preserved as an heir­ loom in the fam ily. N o later tim e-piece, th ou gh fashioned b y G en eva ’s m ost cu n n in g artificers, could ever be to him w hat th at m assive tick er was, w atch and clock in one.

P resen tly, presto, another change. Mr. D od ge,

senior, w as called to take ch arge of a cotton m ill established b y him self and his associates at Bozrah- ville, in C onnecticut. It seem s that the fam ily was fin an cially em barrassed. T h e self-reliant lad , re­ solved now, as alw ays, to be independent, a help, not a clog, asked for and obtained a position in the co u n try store connected w ith the factory. It w as a goo d m ove fo r him and for the store ; fo r him, b e­ cause it w idened his experience, en larged his kn ow ­ ledge, and enabled him to m aster details in those low er grad es o f trade, w ith ou t w hich a business man is not co m p le tely equipped ; for the store, because the y o u n g c le rk ’s beam ing face, su avity of m anner and gum ption , cap tivated custom ers. E ve ry old h ousew ife w ithin a circu it o f ten m iles rid in g in upon errands o f barter, w ould rein up at the dism ounting- b lo c k and rem ain on horseback u ntil the p opular lad w as at lib erty to help her off and ch atter w ith her over the exch an ge of bu tter and e g g s for d ry goods and groceries. Y es, he m ust fetch in the saddle-bags,

and he m ust stand behind the counter— no one else w ould serve.

M arkin g a ll th is w ith g re a t satisfaction, the fath er said one d ay : “ W illiam , it pleases me to see you m akin g such headw ay. See here, boy, I have set apart this show case here at this end of the store for you r ve ry own. S to ck it to suit yourself. W h atever you m ake here shall be you rs alone.”

It was a ju d iciou s encouragem ent, earned and ap ­ preciated. H e did stock it w ith varieties, bo u gh t from peddlers, g e w g aw s w hich found a ready m arket. T h en and there in that little corner was laid the nest- e g g out of w hich was hatched the future m illionaire.

S ooth to say, his in d u stry and en ergy outran his strength, for, rem em ber, he was not yet fifteen. W o rk in g ea rly and late, and slig h tin g his meals, he soon fell sick. A boy cannot nibble at crackers and cheese when he should be eatin g g oo d roast beef, w ith ou t physical peril. S till less m ay he overstrain his v ita lity b y the n eglect of sleep and recreation w ith ou t a stern protest from nature. It was a w h ole­ som e lesson for the am bitious boy, early adm inistered, but not too w ell learned, for he never spared him self enough. C onsiderate of others to a fau lt, personally he illu strated G o e th e ’s line from first to last :

“ W ithout haste, without rest.”

W ell, as he w ould not pause of his own volition, nature too k him in hand and cried a halt. F o r w eeks he was a com p ulsory idler. H is regim en of con­ valescence consisted of tw o ite m s: first, huckleberries, of w hich he was ve ry fond, and the season for w hich chanced to fall upon these days of return in g health ;

second, lo n g drives ab out the co u n try on such erran ds as offered, interm in gled w ith d esu ltory tra d ­ ing, in a w agon w ith ou t sp rings— a m ethod w hich m igh t be w arranted to k ill or cure. In this case it cured, and he resum ed w ork w ith new vim. A year or tw o later we find him re g u la rly visitin g N ew Y o rk (in those d ays no pleasant jau n t o f a few hours, but a tedious jo u rn ey b y stage coach, o r yet slow er sailin g vessel) to b u y the entire stock handled in the store. C le a rly , his early w ith d raw al from school was not injurious businesswise. T h e French have a sa y in g :

L e monde est le livre (the w orld is a book). W ith this book W illiam becam e sp eed ily acquain ted— turned and thum bed every page. In so far as g e ttin g on in the w orld is concerned, it is far m ore essential to k n ow men than to know letters. H ap p y is he who know s both.

If th e m erchant was g ro w in g , in these years, so also w as the C hristian . T h e developm ent w as sim ul­ taneous, like the later and illu striou s m anifestation. T h o se childish prayers, lisped before the altar of a m oth er’s lap, the lessons learned out of the fam ily Bible, the careful instructions in the catechism , even the visits to the cold church, w ith the therm om eter below Z ero, w here the co n gregatio n , old and you n g, sat th ro u gh the lon g serm on w ith tin g lin g toes and finger tips, w hile w ater froze, b u t men and wom en g re w ; such w ere the seeds sown in the good grou nd of an honest heart, certain to sp rin g up by-and-bye and b rin g forth a gra cio u s harvest.

R eligio n w as in the air. B o zra h v ille was com ­ p letely evan gelized. T h e ve ry fa cto ry was a vast

T h ę co n tract took the form of a coven ant, w hich p led ged the p rop rietors “ to m aintain, as a prim ary o bject, a m oral and relig iou s establishm ent.” P re f­ erence was g iven to operatives w ho w ere C hristians, and a lth o u g h strict regu latio n s w ere enforced, a superior b o d y of w o rk in g people could a lw ays be found there. A con tinu ous revival w ent on. T h u s the g oo d w ere p rayed in and the bad w ere prayed out.

F rom B o zrah ville the generous co n tagio n spread into the su rrou nd in g villages. T h e pastors w ere evangelists. T h e people w ere lay w orkers. O c ­ casion ally some lum inary of the G o sp el blazed a th w art the local firmam ent, like the half-inspired N ettleton , w ho at this ve ry m om ent w as flashing the tru th into the conscience of crow ds yon d er at H a rt­ ford.

“ It w as as if an angel’s voice

Called the listeners up for their final c h o ice ; A s if a strong hand rent apart

T h e veils of sense from soul and heart, Show ing in light ineffable

T h e joys of heaven and w oes of h e ll! ”

D w e llin g in such a home, resid ing in such a com ­ m unity, reared amid such influences, there w as n o th ­ in g fo r it but to y ie ld or run. Y o u n g D o d ge yielded. H e had been preparin g to yield from babyhood. H is m oth er’s ch aracter and persuasions, his fa th e r’s con­ versations and exam p le (the elder D o d g e was him self instant and earnest in all this revival w ork), the in­ fectiou s atm osphere w hich he breathed w ith ou t as w ell as w ithin, w ro u g h t m ig h tily upon him. H e had not y e t seen his w ay to unite w ith the church. B u t his disposition was frank, cheerful, upright. H e had

no evil habits or associates. In his dealings he was honest and straigh tforw ard. H e w as a filial son. H e listened atten tiv ely and ap p reciatively to the instruction of pulpit. H e co u ld not rem em ber the tim e w hen he did not pray and read the Bible. In fact, he was a lread y a C h ristian , and needed only to m ake a public confession in order to fix his state and put his influence on the side of G od. It was neces­ sary th at he should stand up and be counted. T h ere is som ething spirit stirring, even to a spectator, in the hour w hich b rin gs a man face to face w ith the In­ finite, w hen he is m oved to debate in the arena of his soul the aw fu l question o f eternal destiny, and is aw akened to the consciousness th at he was m ade to

com panion w ith archan gels. In such an hour how

poor and triflin g earth seems, of how little w orth its p altry am bitions. T h e divine is felt in the human. T h e im m ortal in the m ortal soars and sings. L ife is reco gn ized as real and e a r n e s t; b u t the rou tine of the household and the w hirl of business are the b a t­ tle fields on w hich to win heaven. Self-sacrifice is transfigured into privilege. B urdens, d isap p oin t­ ments, tears, are ch anged b y the m agic of u nquestion­ in g faith into step p in g stones to a house not m ade w ith hands and a diadem w hich shall never fade aw ay. D aniel W ebster, of whom it m ay be said, as G rattan said of F o x : “ Y ou m ust m easure such a mind by parallels of la titu d e ,” w hen an inquisitive friend, w ish in g to exp lore the secret of that continen­ tal in tellect, asked him : “ W hat, Mr. W ebster, is the g reatest question you have ever considered ? ” stood for a m om ent in g rave silence, and then, tu rn in g tow ard s ifa£

3

3

have ever considered, sir, is m y personal relation to m y G o d ."

It was this trem en dous question w hich now forced ;tself upon the atten tion of W illiam E. D odge.

T w o events conspired to precipitate the crisis. B ein g en ga ge d one d ay in lo a d in g a w agon backed up again st the door, he was su d den ly called aw ay into the store. A n oth er clerk replaced him. H e had h ardly gone, and his su bstitu te had ju st com m enced w ork, w hen a p u lley dropped from ab o ve and struck the new co m er senseless to the earth. A few days later he died, but not w ith ou t W illiam ’s tender m inis­ try, b o d ily and spiritual. T h is p roviden tial escape made a never-to-be-forgotten im pression upon him. H e felt that he had been spared th at he m igh t serve G od and man.

Soon a fter he w ent to spend a w eek in H artford. T h e R ev. Dr. N ettleto n was in the m idst o f his evan ­ gelica l labors. T h e y o u n g man heard him repeatedly. H e was g re a tly im pressed. B efore return in g to his home, he called upon the R ev. Dr. H aw es, pastor of the C en te r C h u rch , whom he knew , and who said as th ey parted :

“ W h at, W illiam ! G o in g home, and ta k in g that hard heart w ith you ? ”

T h a t arrow hit the mark.

“ I w ill exch an ge the hard heart for a heart of flesh,” said he to him self. T h e op p o rtu n ity soon came. In a n igh t or tw o, a p rayer m eeting was held over w hich his fa th e r’s assistant, Mr. E rastus H yde, an excellen t man, presided. Presen tly, a call was m ade upon those w ho w ould do so to rise fo r prayers. In stan tly W illiam was on his feet. His^ni'

3

sister, M ary, at once joined him. A dozen others did the same. It was the b e g in n in g of an interest w hich soon kindled the county. T h is was on S u n d ay even­ ing, June 8th, 1821— a m em orable date. O n the first S u n d a y in M ay, 1822, W illiam , w ith M ary at his side, m ade a pu b lic confession of faith ; and the vo w thus taken was kept to the end. T h u s the cross m arked on him b y his m oth er’s finger, w as rem arked b y the H o ly G host. H e th rew him self im m ed iately and w ith ch aracteristic ardor into C h ristian w ork— and this, too, he never afterw ard s interm itted, no, not for one day.

T h a t he was a keen observer at this tim e is evident from the fo llo w in g criticism , w hich he w rote m any years afterw ard s to a y o u n g friend, upon the m anner o f som e of the preachers to whom he had listened :

“ In our village there w as no place save the school house for evening meetings ; but here w e met frequently and enjoyed several revivals. A t times w e would have, perhaps, a Metho­ dist preacher with but little theological education, but good, natural talents and a fine, full voice, who, without notes, would deliver a plain Gospel sermon, fresh from the heart, and secure the attention of all present. A nd I w as often ashamed when one of our men from N ew Haven or Andover would come along to preach, and I would have to take a bandbox and cover it with a towel, and place on the table candles, that he might read off his sermon— generally to a sleepy and inattentive audience.”

W e have been thus carefu l to d etail the religious experiences of y o u n g D o d ge, because it w ould be im ­ possible to understand his a fter career w ith ou t a com prehension of it. H e was a born m erchant. H e w as also a predestined C hristian . T h u s w ere tw o characters com bined in one personality.

C H A P T E R I. O LD N EW Y O R K .

In the yea r 1825 the D o d g e fam ily returned to N e w Y o r k — and, in so far as W illiam w as concerned, perm an ently. H ere he fou nd his arena, m ercan tile and religious. A s he steps into it at the age of tw en ty, w h at was it like ? H ow did it com pare w ith the c ity o f to -d ay ? T h e question is v e ry in terestin g and im portant. L e t us stop fo r a little and g e t it answered. A n d w ho can g iv e the answ er so w ell as Mr. D o d g e h im self? H e w as fam iliar w ith it then. H e had the exp erien ce o f five or six decades of con­

tinued residence here w hen he died. T h e w hole

kaleid o sco p ic scene, e very turn of the tube, he knew. A nd, referrin g to the entire record, he cou ld say, as a distin gu ish ed Frenchm an said of an eventfu l ch ap ter in F ren ch h isto ry : “ A ll of w h ich I saw, and part of w hich I w as.”

In com p lian ce w ith a ve ry flatterin g invitation ex ­ tended to him in 1880, b y m an y of the m ost em inent citizen s,1 he g av e a ch arm in g lectu re on “ O ld N ew

1 To the Honorable W illiam E . Dodge:

De a r Sir— T he g re a t ch an g es in o u r c ity , d u r in g y o u r lo n g and a c tiv e business ca re er, are bu t little u n dersto o d and a lm o st f o r ­ g o tte n . W ith th e d eta ils o f th ese ch an g e s d u rin g the last six ty

Y o r k ,” w h ich contains the ve ry details we wish to know , told by an eye w itness and participant. He said :

“ I am to speak of the N ew Y o rk of fifty to sixty years ago, and of some of the changes which have marked the half cen­ tury and more.

“ It w as a very different thing in those days to be a boy in a years you are especially familiar. Many incidents and reminis­ cences are known to you which would be of great interest to us.

We learn with pleasure you have been induced to write out many of your recollections as a citizen and merchant during this eventful period. We beg you will name some evening at an early date when we can listen to a lecture from you upon the changes through which the New York of your boyhood has become the New York of to-day. We are, very truly,

To M essrs. E . D . Morgan, John A . Stewart, J . J . Astor, Henry C. Potter, Samuel D . Babcock, and others:

Ge n t l e m e n— I beg to acknowledge your communication of the

17th inst., and in reply to your very kind request, it will afford me pleasure to meet you at the Association Hall, on Tuesday evening, the 27th inst., at 8 o’clock, and to deliver the lecture I have pre­ pared on the New York of Fifty Years Ago. I am, gentlemen,

Your friends and fellow-citizens, E . D . Mo r g a n, Jo h n A . St e w a r t, H . C . Po t t e r, Sa m u e l D . Ba b c o c k, J . J. As t o r, Sa m u e l Sl o a n, E . A . Wa s h b u r n, W . H . Va n d e r b i l t, He n r y Hi l t o n, Ja m e s M . Br o w n, Ho w a r d Po t t e r, Ro y a l Ph e l p s, F . S . Win s t o n, A . A . Low , H . B . Cl a f l i n, Pe t e r Co o p e r, Ch a r l e s H . Ru s s e l l, W . Wa l t e r Ph e l p s. Ne w Yo r k, April 1 7 , 1880. Ne w Yo r k, A p r il i g , 1880.

Very truly yours,

store from w hat it is now. I fear that many young men, anxious to g et started, would hesitate long before facing such duties as had then to be performed. My father lived at that time at 98 W illiam Street, now the corner of Platt. W illiam Street w as then the fashionable retail dry goods ce n te r; at No. 90 stood Peter M orton’s large store, the fashionable family store of that day.

“ I had to go every morning to V andew ater Street for the keys, as my employers must have them in case of fire in the night. There w as much ambition among the young men as to who should have his store opened first, and I used to be up soon after light, w alk to V andew ater Street and then to the store very early. It w as to be sprinkled with water, which I brought the evening before from the old pump at the corner of Peck Slip and Pearl Street, then carefully swept and dusted. Then came sprinkling the sidewalk and street, and sweeping to the center a heap for the dirt cart to remove. T his done, one of the older clerks would come, and I would be permitted to go home for breakfast. In winter the wood w as to be carried and piled in the cellar, fires were to be made, and lamps trimmed. I mention these particulars to show that junior clerks in those days did the w ork now done by the porters. T here were com­ paratively very few carts used by the dry goods dealers, most of the business being done by porters, with hand carts and large w heelbarrows, who stood at the different corners ready to take or go for a load. Each had a heavy leather strap over the shoulders, and a brass plate on the breast with his license number. T heir charges for any distance below or above Cham bers Street were twelve and one-half cents and. eighteen and three-quarters cents respectively. There were very few carts, and those of the old-fashioned two-wheel kind ; such heavy two horse trucks and large express w agons and other wagons as now fill our business portion of the city, were un­ known in those days.

“ T h e dry goods auction stores were m ostly on the corners, and on the blocks from W all to Pine streets. W hen our em ployer would purchase a lot of goods at auction, it w as our

business to go and compare them with the bill, and if two of us could carry them home, w e did so, as it would save the shilling porterage. I remember while in this store I carried bundles of goods up Broadw ay to Greenwich V illage, near w hat are now Seventh and E ighth Avenues, and Fourth to Tenth streets, crossing the old stone bridge at Canal Street. T h is had long square timbers on either side in place of railing, to prevent a fall into the sluggish stream— some fifteen feet below— which came from the low lands where Centre Street and the Tom bs now are. It w as called the Colic (though its true name w as Collect, as it took the drainage of a large dis­ trict), and w as the great skating place in the winter. Turning in at the left of the bridge I took a path through the meadows, often crossing on two timbers laid over the ditches where the tide ebbed and flowed from the E ast River. A t that time there w as no system of sewerage, but the w ater which fell w as carried off by the gutters and by surface draining.

“ I remember w ell the old Fly M arket, which commenced at Pearl Street where Maiden Lane crosses. T here w as a very large arched drain, over which the m arket was built, extending from Pearl Street to the dock. It w as so high that in passing along Pearl Street on the south sidewalk, one had to ascend quite an elevation to get over the arch of the sewer. Maiden Lane then w as as narrow at Pearl Street as Liberty is between W illiam and its present junction with Maiden Lane— only about fifteen feet wide. In the winter, when the streets were running with the wash of m elting snow and ice, the mouth of the sew er at Pearl Street would often clog up, and then the w ater would set back as far as Gold S tre e t; the sidewalk being constructed some tw o feet above the roadway, to provide for the great flow of w ater that cam e down from Broadway, N assau, W illiam , and Liberty streets. T h e boys used to get old boots, and, placing them on a pole, would make in the slush of snow and ice foot prints all across Pearl Street, as if persons had been passing, and then would run around the corners to see some poor stranger step into the trap and sink above his knees in w ater and slush.

“ T h ey tell a story of a young lady who w as com ing down Pearl Street, just as a heavy rain had filled the street back to Gold, and of a polite young sailor who saw her stand wonder­ ing how she could get over. He took her at once without asking, and, himself w ading across, knee deep, placed her on the other side all safe. She at once demanded what the im­ pudent fellow meant, when he replied, ‘ Hope no harm has been done ! ’ and, catching her up again, placed her back on the other side.

“ A t this time the wholesale dry goods trade w as confined almost entirely to Pearl Street, from Coenties Slip to Peck Slip, though there were a few firms further up, and any party intend­ ing to commence that business must first be sure that he could obtain a store in Pearl Street. W e now talk of w hat W all Street is doing ; then, if we would speak of the dry goods trade, w e would say ‘ things are active ’ (or ‘ dull ’ ) ‘ in Pearl Street.’

“ T h e retail trade w as mostly in W illiam Street and Maiden Lane, except three fashionable houses that were the Stewarts of that day. T hese were all in Broadway. Vandevoort, near Lib­ erty S tre e t; ‘ the H eights,’ near D ey Street, and Jotham Smith, who occupied the site of the A stor House. Stew art did not commence until 1824. The cheap retail dry goods stores were in upper Pearl and Chatham stre ets; the wholesale groceries were in Broad, W ater and Front streets. A t this time the trade w as mostly divided by sections, some selling almost entirely to the South, others to the North and W est, and others doing what w as called an Eastern and Long Island trade. The capital and business of one who w as then termed a jobber were very different from w hat are now suggested by that term. A firm with $>15,000 to $20,000 capital commanded good credit, and its annual sales seldom exceeded a few hundred thousand. I doubt if there were half a dozen persons w ho sold over a million each. N ow w e have many who sell that amount every month, and some of them over a million a week.

“ T h e styles of goods have also changed very much. Then nearly all dry goods were imported ; our calicoes or prints came in square hair trunks, containing fifty pieces e a c h ; very few

W IL L IA M E. D O D G E .

goods cam e in boxes— they were either in trunks or in bales. W e had a few domestic cottons, but they were all woven by hand. Power-loom s were not introduced till a few years later. O ur common cottons were all from India, and called India ‘ hum -hum s; ’ they had very strange names, such as ‘ Bafturs,’ ‘ Gurros,’ etc. Most of them were thin, sleazy goods, filled with a kind of starch to make them look heavy. A t present, nearly all cotton goods sold are of Am erican manufacture.

“ Our clothes and cassim eres were all imported. Large quantities of silks from France and Italy, and beautiful crapes and satins, for ladies’ w ear, were brought from India and China. Business w as p eriod ical; w e had our spring and fall trade. Y ou will remember there were but few steamboats, and no railroads, and it w as quite an event for the country mer­ chants to visit the city. T h ey generally came twice a year— spring and f a l l ; those from the North and E ast by the Sound o r North River, in sloops or schooners, often a w eek on their passage ; those from the South and W est by stage-coaches. It is very difficult to realize what it w as to come from Ohio, Indi­ ana, K entucky, Illinois, and Missouri, when most of the long journey w as by stage-riding night and day ; and even from our Southern States it w as a tedious trip to some point on the coast, w here the vessel might make the long journey less trying. T here were lines of schooners and ships running between N or­ folk, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, N ew Orleans and Mo­ bile, but these trips were often very long and the accom m oda­ tions poor.

“ O ver the stores in Pearl Street w ere a large number of boarding-houses expressly for country m erch ants; here they would remain a w eek or ten days, picking up a variety of goods, for most of them kept what were then called country stores. T h ey had to purchase dry-goods, groceries, hardware, medi­ cines, crockery, etc., etc. It w as a great object with the job­ bers to have one of their salesmen board at a large house for country merchants, so that they could induce them to come to their stores to trade. Most of the goods were shipped by sloops, bound up the North R iver or the Sound ; those for the

South, on schooners and brigs to ports whence they w ere taken into the interior. There were very few hotels, the principal ones being the City Hotel, which occupied the block in Broad­ w ay near Trinity Church ; the Pearl Street House, between Old and Coenties Slips, and Bunker’s, near the B ow ling Green. T hese periodical seasons were active times, the bulk of the busi­ ness being done in three months of spring and three months of fall. T h e winter and summer were com paratively idle. There w as a limited district from which to draw customers, and as soon as the North R iver and the rivers and harbors of the Sound were closed by ice. Pearl Street w as almost as quiet as Sunday.

“ N ew Y o rk w as then a com paratively small city, with a population of less than 120,000. One-fourth the present size of Chicago, it had extended very little above Canal Street. Most of the dwellings w ere below Cham bers, on the North River, but on the E ast R iver there w ere many up as far as M arket and R u tgers streets. The most of the merchants and families of wealth lived in the lower part of the town, in Greenwich below Chambers, and on the cross streets w est of Broadw ay from the Park to the Battery. Many merchants in Pearl Street lived over their stores, and John, and Fulton, Beekman, Gold and Cliff, were filled with private residences. T h e most fashionable resi­ dences, perhaps, were around the Battery and up Broadway and Greenwich to Courtlandt. It is interesting and instructive to think of the noble merchants who occupied those dwellings, all of whom have passed aw ay— such men as Robert Lenox, Stephen W hitney, James G. K in g, J. Phillips Phoenix, James Suydam, Cadw alader D . Colden, James D e Peyster, Pierre Irving, Gideon Lee, the Howlands, Aspinw alls, and many others who have honored the name of N ew York merchants.

“ T h e churches were then all down town— the old ‘ W all Street,’ ‘ Garden Street,’ (now Exchange Place), ‘ Middle ’ and ‘ North D u tch ,’ ‘ Trinity,’ and ‘ St. Paul’s,’ ‘ G race,’ ‘ Cedar Street,’ the ‘ Old B rick,’ (where now stands the Times Building), ‘ Liberty,’ (which Thorburn so long occupied as a seed store), and ‘ M urray ’ and ‘ R u tgers,’— then far up town. I remember when young Philip Melancthon W helpley w as pastor of the W all

Street Church, of which my father w as then an elder. He w as settled when only about twenty-one, w as a most eloquent man, but suffered from d yspep sia; he lived in Greenwich Street, back of T rinity Church. Some adventurous man had put up four small houses on W hite Street, then just opened, near Broadway, and as Mr. W helpley felt the need of exercise, and the rent w as very low, he ventured to hire one of these, but the excitement in the congregation at the idea of their pastor living out of the city w as so great that it came nigh losing him his place. Speak­ ing of churches, I often have thought there w as more of real worship when, in place of our present quartette, there w as in most of the churches a precentor standing under the pulpit, to give the key with his pitch-pipe, and all the congregation united in singing. T h e first Presbyterian Church built north of Canal Street w as the ‘ Broome Street,’ standing between Elm and Centre. My father-in-law, Mr. Phelps, who w as on the Committee of Presbytery appointed to select a location, told me that at that time the entire triangle from Broome to Spring w as for sale, and he advised the purchase of the whole, as the price w as very low, and he felt that the building of the church would add to the value, so that the sale of the other lots would pay the cost of the church. But the rest of the committee felt it was so far up town that there would be no chance of selling.

“ W hen the Bible House w as to be removed from Nassau street, the committee, all but one, decided to go no further than Grand S tre e t; the present site, at Ninth and Tenth streets, owned by Mr. Peter Stuyvesant, w as then fenced in and rented as a pasture or for vegetables. Mr. Stuyvesant w as at that time paying very heavy assessm ents for opening streets on his property, and, being himself interested in the Bible Society, offered the entire block for one hundred thousand dollars cash, which by one of the committee, the late Anson G. Phelps, w as considered a great bargain. Mr. Phelps could not for a long time induce his associates to agree with him, since they felt it w as so far up town that it would be out of the w a y ; but when informed that he should purchase it himself, if they did not, they yielded, and we can all see the wisdom of the choice. The

rents of the portion not required for their work now pay all expenses, salaries, etc., so that every dollar given to the Bible Society, goes for furnishing the Bible, and for nothing else.

“ Y ou all have noticed that the City H all is constructed on three sides of white marble, and on Cham bers Street of brown stone. Some thirty years ago there resided near me an aged gentleman of the old school, Mr. M cCom b, w ho w as the archi­ tect of the City Hall, and who told me that in m aking the esti­ mate of cost of the building they found that the difference between the marble and the stone for the rear would be fifteen thousand dollars. A s it w as so far up town that but few would see the back part of the HaJl, they decided to use the brown stone. In those days the city fathers were so far from the fashion o f these days, that they were calculating how they m ight economize in city expenditures.

“ Think of N ew Y ork without gas ! A t that time the street lamps were few and far between, often filled with poor oil and badly trimmed. T h ey looked on a dark night like so many lightning-bugs, and in winter would often go entirely out before morning. In 1825 the first gas-lights were introduced by the N ew Y o rk G as Company, which had contracted to light below Canal Street.

“ In 1834, the Manhattan Com pany obtained the contract to light above Canal S tre e t; we can now hardly conceive how our citizens could get on without gas, and yet it w as much safer w alking the streets then than now. Crime w as not so rife, and a murder w as a rare occurrence. T h e first murder I remember w as committed by a tailor of the name of Johnson, living in W illiam Street, near B e a v e r; he killed his wife, and the excite­ ment of his arrest, trial and hanging— which took place out of the city in a vacant lot east of Broadway, now a portion of W h ite Street— lasted for months. W e seldom open our morn­ ing paper now without the record of a murder in some one of the drinking saloons.

“ T here were no police in those days, but there were a few watchm en, w ho came on soon after dark and patrolled the streets till near daylight. T heir rounds were so arranged that

they made one each hour, and as the clocks struck they pounded with their clubs three times on the curb, calling out, for ex­ ample, ‘ T w elve o ’clock, and all is w ell,’ in a very peculiar voice. T h ey w ore leathern caps, such as the firemen now use.

“ Our streets were kept cleaner than now, since every one w as responsible for a space in front of his building extending to the middle of the street, the public dirt-carts passing on reg­ ular days and carting aw ay the dirt. T he garbage-m en, with large carts, cam e around to collect from the tub or half-barrel placed in the area. I remember a very eccentric old man, who w as full of fun, and in the season would dress himself up with the husks and tassels of the corn, and with a fancy paper hat, and who rang his bell, keeping time to a peculiar song, greatly to the amusement of the boys. It w as said that on one occa­ sion, a man passing cried out, ‘ W hy, old man, you take all sorts of trash in your cart.’ ‘ Oh, yes,’ said he, * jump in ; jump in.’ T here were then a special kind of street cleaners, in the vast number of swine, owned by the poorer classes that crowded some portions of the city, m aking travel dangerous. It w as by many claimed that they ate up the garbage thrown into the streets in spite of the law, and thus were to be tolerated.

“ T h e Sabbaths were for the most part very quiet, and but few vehicles were seen in the city. T here were no public cries, except those of the milkmen, who were mostly farmers from Lon g Island, and carried their milk in large tin cans suspended by a yoke from their shoulders. T h ey generally served real milk, but it w as sometimes said that they stopped to w ash their cans at the corner pumps. A lthough the Sabbath w as almost free from disturbances from carriages, still, for fear that some one might be passing during worship, the churches had chains drawn across the streets on either side, which were put up as soon as service commenced, and taken down at its close. W h at would our riding, sporting, Sabbath-breaking citizens say to such obstructions, if put up on Fifth or Madison A venues now ? “ T h e B attery w as the great point of attraction as a cool and delightful promenade, and in the warm season w as crowded every afternoon and evening; the grass w as kept clean and

green, and the w alks in perfect o rd e r; there w as a building near the south end, of octagonal form, called the ‘ Flag-staff,’ having an observatory in the top, and above it always w aved the ‘ national flag.’ In the summer and early fall a band of music in the evening enlivened the scene, and the grounds were crowded with the i l i t i of the c it y ; it w as as polite and marked a compli­ ment for a young lady to be invited by a gentlem an to take a w alk on the Battery, as now to be invited to a drive in the P a r k ; and on Saturdays the boys were allowed to play ball, etc., on the grass. Castle Garden w as then a fort with its ga rriso n ; and the guard w ere always seen w alking their rounds, on the parapet, and before the gate leading from the Battery, across the draw ­ bridge, to the fort.

“ T h e city w as so com pact that there were very few private carriages. I venture to say that there w ere not more than twenty-five families that kept a two-horse carriage. In fact, there w as very little use for o n e ; there were no pleasant drives out of the c it y ; the old Bloomingdale Road w as mostly used, blit in summer it w as very dusty, and there were no attractions. T h e old Boston Road, where are now the B ow ery and Third Avenue, and the Albany Road, which is now upper Broadway, were the only roads for pleasure travel, and were used by gentle­ men w ho lived in the summer at their country houses. These w ere along the E ast River, from w hat is now Eighth Street, up to a point opposite Hell Gate, on the North River, and along w hat were then Bloomingdale and Greenwich, say from w hat is now Fourth Street up to Eightieth Street.

“ T h e contrasts between the City Post-office of my early days and the splendid building of to-day, and the amount of business then and now, give a vivid idea of the progress of the city and country. T h e office then w as in the dw elling of the Postmaster, General Theodorus Bailey, who, having been appointed in 1804, converted his lower floor into the Post-office, living above with his family. It w as situated at the corner of W illiam and G ar­ den Streets, now E xchange P la c e ; the tw o parlors were con­ verted into the office; on Garden Street there w as a window for city delivery, and in W illiam Street a vestibule of about