Essence sublime! serenely curling vapor! How gloriously thou roll'st from chimneys high, Thy vapory wreath the goddess did enshroud, And the great globe decays in flames of fire, NEWPORT, R. I. SNODGRASS. "COL. ELIAS DAYTON" (XI. 58). — This distinguished and "trusted officer" of the Revolution, here and repeatedly elsewhere spoken of in the very historically important "Original Correspondence," published seriatim in this Magazine, from the ably editing hand of Mr. E. F. De Lancey, was son of Jonathan Dayton, of Elizabeth Town, N. J., and born there in 1737. Until his death, in 1807, he was one of its most honored and beloved citizens. He had signalized himself in the military service of the colony during the French war, before that with Great Britain, in which throughout he most gallantly fought for our liberties, and was specially in the confidence of the commander-in-chief, as the Emmet papers show, and also a very interesting biographical sketch of him contained in Dr. Hatfield's "History of Elizabeth." In person and bearing he strongly resembled Gen. Washing ton. W. H. SOCIETIES NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC, GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY.-The first meeting of this society after the summer recess was held on Wednesday at the society's house, 18 Somerset Street, the president, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, Ph.D., LL.D., in the chair. The death was announced of William A. Whitehead, of Newark, honorary vice-president of the society for New Jersey; also of Hon. Stephen Salisbury, a life-member of this society and president of the American Antiquarian Society. Hon. Nathaniel F. Safford and Rev. Dr. Increase N. Tarbox were appointed a committee to prepare resolutions of respect. President Wilder expressed the thanks of the society for the invitation extended by the town of Ipswich to attend the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of that place on the 16th of August. An account of the proceedings of that occasion was given by Mr. Safford and others in a graphic and interesting man ner. Following the announcement of some important donations to the society, by John Ward Dean, an able and elaborately prepared paper was read by the Rev. William Barrows, D.D., of Reading, the subject being "The Great American Desert, Historically Considered." When this "Desert" first appeared in print it embraced all we now own west of the Mississippi, from the British line south to the Spanish and west to the mountains. The germ idea of a desert, the speaker showed, lay back in Jefferson's letter to Dupont, 1803, when, preparing for the Louisiana purchase, he called the tract wanted "a barren sand." Lieuten ant Pike, who has left his name on one of the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, made a Government survey of the head-waters and regions of the Mississippi, Missouri, Platte and Arkansas, in 1805-7, and reported the country as incapable of cultivation, and that it must be left to Indians and buffaloes. Histories and school books repeated Pike's and Jefferson's mistakes. Washington Irving garnished them in his "Astoria," and in 1819-20 Lieutenant Long, of the army, confirmed and enlarged them in the report of his exploring tour. The people did not study much about the "desert" till the Ashburton-Webster treaty of 1842 turned attention to our possession of Oregon. The Doctor quoted English authors to show how they cultivated the delusion in their policy to secure Oregon. About that time emigration across the Mississippi and Missouri was turning those "arid tracts," great swamps,' ""barren sands" and "American Sahara" into a fine agricultural region, now called Minnesota, lowa, Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, etc. At the close of the paper a committee was chosen to nominate officers for the next year, consisting of Hon. Nathaniel F. Safford, Colonel Albert H. Hoyt, John T. Hassam, Cyrus Woodman, William B. Trask, Rev. Henry A. Hazen and Rev. Dr. I. N. Tarbox. 99.66 BERKSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.The 25th quarterly meeting of this society was held at Pittsfield, Mass., in the Athenæum, during the second week in August. Professor Perry presided, and the meeting was one of unusual interest throughout. He read a letter from "Josh Billings," containing a tribute to Lanesboro, his native town. Mr. Shaw had been invited to write the history of Lanesboro, but said he could not, as he is "only a paragraphist" and not a writer of history. Rev. A. B. Whipple read a very interesting paper on the history of Hancock, the longest and narrowest town in the county, its western side reaching one-third the length of the State's boundary on New York State. It was settled in 1767, and called Jericho, but made a town and named Hancock in 1776. He gave a biographical sketch of Samuel Hand, the most prominent citizen of the town for some years, and the first man to go to the Legislature from Hancock, who kept his money in an old chest which had a double bottom. He also sketched the Douglas family, who were among the prominent settlers and the ancestors of Stephen A. Douglas; and the Townsend family, of which Martin I. Townsend, of Troy, is the most prominent, and who, when a boy, worked hard on his father's farm, and subsequently went to Williams College, where he graduated with honor. Several other Hancock boys went through Williams, and are now scattered all through the Western States. Caleb B. Gardner had the first hotel in Hancock, built of logs, and the first clock which came into history of the Baptist church of the town, one of the oldest churches in the county. The paper was discussed by Prof. Perry, who added facts of interest, and by Mr. Lewis, of Chicago, whose ancestors lived in Hancock; also by J. E. A. Smith, Rev. Joseph Hooper and others. THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. A meeting of the Executive Committee was held at the rooms of the society, in the Westmoreland Club-house, August 16, Edward V. Valentine, Esq., in the chair. Numerous gifts of books and manuscripts were reported, some of great rarity and value. Acceptances of membership were read from Colonel Samuel Adams Drake, Boston; General C. W. Darling, Utica, N. Y.; Mrs. Martha J. Lamb, New York City; C. A. Hack, of Taunton, Massachusetts; Mrs. Virginia Hannon, Frankfort, Kentucky, and G. P. Frierson, Esq., Columbia, Tennessee. The secretary, Mr. Brock, reported that the second and concluding volume of the Dinwiddie Papers, of more than 700 pages octavo, with analytical index and portrait of Governor Dinwiddie, his arms, autograph, etc., was nearly printed, and would soon be ready for delivery to the members of the Society. The Virginia Historical Society was founded in 1831. During its useful existence of more than half a century it has been sustained by a membership embracing the worthiest and most honored names in our State and country, with many of those of Europe. Its first president was the pure-minded and revered John Marshall. BOOK NOTICES MICHIGAN PIONEER COLLECTION. Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan. Vols. I., II, III., IV., 8vo, pp. 554, 680, 712, 593. Published respectively in 1877, 1880, 1881, 1883. This admirable publication is the work of a Committee of Historians, chosen for the purpose of preserving in permanent form as much of the early history of the State of Michigan and its pioneers as is obtainable. The information has been gathered from the first settlers themselves whenever practicable, and from old letters, papers, and documents. The State Librarian, Mrs. Harriet A. Tenney, sent out a general circular eleven years ago, calling attention to the importance of gathering historical materials. It was not until 1874, however, that a meeting was held for the purpose of organizing a State Pioneer Society. Vol. I. gives a complete history of the movement and its results; also publishes at length many of the early papers read before this new and enterprising institution. John D. Pierce, the first superintendent of public instruction in Michigan, presented a curiously instructive paper on the 3d of February, 1875, in which he describes the inception and origin of the Michigan school system-about 1835. There were then no canals, no railroads; even the old "We slow coach was scarcely to be found. had," he says, "the lumber wagon and the Indian trail. We forded rivers, waded marshes, and when night came, if we found a shanty, with a piece of old carpet for a door, we turned in for the night, and all were satisfied. But, notwithstanding all this, the people then here came mostly from the region of school-houses, and were anxious for schools." Another paper of unusual interest was read before this society during the same year, on "Internal Improvements," by the President, Hon. O. C. Comstock. The Reports of Counties occupy a large portion of the volume; while an elaborate account of the annual meetings of 1877 and 1878, with the papers read, and other matters of consequence, fill the pages of Vol. II. The" History of Methodism in Detroit," A Michigan Geological Expedition," "History and Times of John Norvell," "Law and the Legal Profession,' 'The Mound Builders and Their Work," and "Incidents in the Administration of Indian Justice," by Gurdon S. Hubbard, of Chicago, are among the attractions of Vol. III. As we turn the leaves of Vol. IV., we find the same excellent editorial work, and equally interesting and valuable historical material, well distributed, from the first page to the last. Of the papers inserted, we can only mention as among those particularly interesting: "Doctor Douglass Houghton," Michigan's first geologist, by Prof. Bradish; "The Old Cass 99 66 House." "Detroit Half a Century Ago," and "The Bark-Covered House," by William Nowlin. Numerous portraits grace each of the vol umes. PROTECTION AND FREE TRADE TODAY. At Home and Abroad, in Field and Workshop. By ROBERT P. PORTER. 12mo, pamphlet, pp. 48. Boston, 1884: James R. Osgood & Company. This essay, published in a neat and convenient volume for the benefit of the general reader, was read before the Arkwright Club in Boston on the 7th of August, 1884. Mr. Porter is the champion advocate of Protectionist doctrines in this country. He spent considerable time in England investigating the condition of labor there, and his theories were well formulated before he crossed the ocean. He shows in clear, graphic language how agriculture, commerce and manufacturing in the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Holland have been affected by these two economic policies, Protection and Free Trade. Through his researches abroad, the author is well equipped for the discussion of industrial progress, and however much the reader may dissent from some of the opinions expressed, the array of facts presented is sure to engage careful attention. The work will be especially appreciated by business men, farmers and artisans. "The Present Condition of British Labor," the "Effect of Foreign Competition in England," the "Effects of Free Trade in Holland," the "Free Trade and Protection of Germany," The American System." "The Ultimate Benefit to the Consumer," "How the Farmer Reaps the Benefit," "East Indian Wheat Competition," "Workingmen Benefited by Protection," A Word for Woman," and the "American Point of View," are among the topics treated at length. APPLETON'S DICTIONARY OF NEW YORK, and vicinity. With maps of New York and its environs. Sixth year. Revised each year to date of issue. 16mo, paper, pp. 248. New York, 1884. D. Appleton & Co. There is no better or more accurate guide to the City of New York than this Dictionary of the Messrs. Appleton. The price is only thirty cents, it is of convenient size, and it abounds in sketches of institutions gleaned from the most trustworthy sources. Visitors from abroad or from other portions of America will find it helpful in a multitude of directions. THE THEATRE; Its Early Days in Chicago. A paper read before the Chicago Historical Society, February 19, 1884. By J. H. McVICKER. 12mo, cloth, pp. 88. 1884, Chicago. "The drama was gaining strength in this country about the time the place where we now dwell entered the ranks of civilization," says Mr. McVicker. "A bright sky came toward the end of September, 1833, and the treaty was signed which terminated the red man's claims to the land of Chicago." During the winter following, the few inhabitants depended on a debating society for amusement; and the "storekeepers played checkers while waiting for customers. A few months later, the first theatrical performance was given in Chicago, in a private house. The original of the first application for a theatrical license, together with others covering a period of nine years, from 1837, were found in the solitary vault belonging to the city that withstood the flames of October 9, 1871, and are said to be the only authentic records bearing on the subject. The first home of comedy and tragedy (a little room in the "Rialto," a frame building in Dearborn Street) has been described by the poet B. F. Taylor as a 'den of a place, looking more like a dismantled grist-mill than the temple of anybody. The gloomy entrance could have furnished the scenery for a nightmare, and the lights within were sepulchral enough to show up the coffin scene in Lucretia Borgia." The various sketches of early life in Chicago which Mr. McVicker has introduced into his paper are truthfully drawn. A child was on one occasion refused admittance to a school for the reason that the parents were connected with a theatre. The boarding-house of thirty or forty years ago is pictured to the letter; and the whole work teems with important historical material. THE HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE PRENTICE, OR PRENTISS, FAMILY, in New England, etc., from 1631 to 1883. By C. J. F. BINNEY. Second edition. Published by the Editor. Boston. The sketches of prominent members of the Prentiss family with which this elegant and excellent work abounds, together with numerous well engraved portraits, render the volume something more and better than a mere genealogical text-book. Turning the pages at random, we find for instance, that Dr. Nathaniel S. Prentiss, for thirty years town clerk of Roxbury, Massachusetts, when a boy, made a studio of an old carriage in his father's yard. During nine years he was principal of the Roxbury Latin School. He was a religious man of the old Puritan type, tall and stout, with a full face. Charles Prentiss who graduated from Harvard College in 1795, was subsequently famous for his essays in prose and verse. He became editor of the AntiDemocrat and the Child of Pallas in the early part of the century; he also edited the Washington Federalist; and, in 1809, the Thistle, a Boston theatrical paper; in 1811, he was the editor of the Independent American, in Washington, D. C. He was the author of the first school history of the United States, and it had a great sale. Hon. John Prentiss, in 1799, at the age of 21, established, under many embarrassments, with seventy subscribers, the New Hampshire Sentinel, which he edited 48 years. In 1805, he purchased the copyright of Adams's Arithmetic for $200 per year for twenty years, and in 12 months sold 60,000 copies. In turning over these pages we find authors, politicians, clergymen, and good, substantial citizens in every branch and generation. There are many living who will remember the brilliant orator, S. S. Prentiss, whose famous speech in the "Mississippi Contested Election Case." charmed Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. His brother, Rev. George Lewis Prentiss, D.D., long a resident of New York City, and Professor of Pastoral Theology, Church Polity, and Mission Work in the Union Theological Seminary, is a well-known author. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Edward Payson, D.D., and her popular and admirable writings are in every library in the land. Of one of her late works, 'Stepping Heavenward," 70,000 copies were sold in this country, and tens of thousands in Europe, five different London houses having printed it without a copyright. Narcissa, the daughter of Judge Stephen Prentiss, married Dr. Marcus Whitman, and perished in the Whitman massacre at Walla-Walla, in 1847. Another member of this remarkable family was George D. Prentiss, of the Courier-Journal, the witty and talented editor and poet. Mr. Binney has executed his work with fidelity, skill and good taste, and produced a book of exceptional and permanent interest. CAPTAIN RICHARD INGLE, the Maryland "Pirate and Rebel," 1642-1653. A paper read before the Maryland Historical Society, May 12th, 1884. By EDWARD INGLE, A.B. Svo, pamphlet, pp. 53. Printed by the Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore. There is much welcome information in this little brochure. During the seventeeth and eighteenth centuries pirates were constantly appearing along the American coasts, and their depredations upon trading vessels and settlements rendered them the terror of the colonists. But men were sometimes styled "pirates" who were by no means wild rovers on the high seas in pursuit of plunder. Richard Ingle has been handed along from generation to generation as a "pirate," |
