Hesperian Student.
VOL, 4.
University of Nebraska,
NO 3.
MAKCH,
Qui ttonIroilolt.ToMolL.
1875.
SkotvltoM or Now York Olty.
I.
Without wearying Iho patience of the
render with tin introduction, I will at onco
begin my sketch, commencing at the south
era extremity of the city.
The tint object to notice Is the Battery
so culled from having been the site of old
Ft. George. It Is u crescont-shnped plat of
ground, of ten and a hair acres, now used
as a park. South of the western end of
this park is Castle Garden. This building,
which is nearly circular in form, was once
a fort called Castle Clinton, and was entire,
ly surrounded by water; but since then the
Bhore has been "spliced out" to It. Here,
as perhaps all know, immigrants are receiv
cd ami protected from the roguery which
was once practiced upon foreigners.
At the foot of Broadway, and nearly ad
joining the Battery, is Howling Green, a
email park upon which onco stood a leaden
btatue of George III. In 1770, the citizens
melted It into bullets with which to light
the British. Around this park still cluster
borne of the old buildings formerly the
homes of the aristocracy.
After leaving Bowling Green, wc find
nothing of special interest until wo reach
Trinity Church, which stands at the head
of Wall Street, seemingly to guard and
to watch over the busy, bustling crowd
that is almobi continually surgin'g to and
fro in pursuit of fortune. A merely pass
ing notice of this church will not sulllce,
and though most, no doubt, have heard and
read much of Trinity Church, a few
concerning it may not be uninteresting.
An Episcopal Church was built in 1090
where Trinity now stands. This was con
Mimed by tire in 177(1, and rebuilt in 171)0.
In 18IJ9 this was torn down and the present
church begun. The year lb 10 witnessed
tin completion of tin renowned building. '
Ills 11)2 feet in length, 80 feel in width and
the walls (JO feet in height. But leaving the
body of the church let us ascend into the
spire, which is daily open to visitors on
the payment of a small fee. Wo iirst pass
up quite a distance upon n winding stair
way of stone, then finish the ascent upon
wooden steps. About two thirds of the
way up we como to the chime-bells. There
were formerly nine of these, but the num.
ber hivs lately been increased to ten. By
this timo the journey begins to be tiresome,
but continuing the ascent the top of the
stairs is finally reached. This is said to be
250 feet above terra firma. From this po.
faltlon, on a clear day, a fine view of the
city can be obtained. South of us Now
York Bav is spread out, dotted hero and
there with ferries, or with tug-boats slowly
drawing their burdens along, while occa.
sionally a ship is seen departing for the
Old World with Its burden of living freight,
or returning, having passed in Bafcty
through the perils of tho Atlantic. As wo
look out upon the bay, nearly tho first ob
ject that meets our eyes is Governors Island
two thirds of a mile distant. Upon this is
land FL Columbus and Castlo William are
situated. To tho right, a mile and a half
from us, aro two smaller islands, Ellis and
Bedlow's, and about four miles farther out
Staten Island Is distinctly seen. On the
west of us is Jersey City, and on the east
Brooklyn tho former separated by tho Hud
son, or North Itiver, the latter by Eastttlv
or, across both of which ferries are almost
constantly plying. The most noticeable
objects, as we look toward Brooklyn, are
the piers for the East Blver bridge the
Brooklyn pier almost completed, the oth
er yet lacking several feet of the intended
height.
But with this hurried glance we will
descend and notice some of the old and
quaint epitaphs in tho churchyard below.
The majority of the tombstones are sand
stone and aro fast crumbling away. On
the north side of the church is a large one
of marble, restored by the vestry with the
inscription of the original still preserved-
The following is a part of the inscription:
"Here lies the body of Mr. Wii.mam
Bhadkoui), Printer, who departed this Life
Mnv 215. 1752. aired 1)2 Years: He was
born in Leicestershire, in Old England, in
1000; and came over to America in 1082
before the City of Philadelphia was laid
out: Ho was printer to this Government
for upwards of 50 Years; and being quite
worn out with Old age and labour, he left
this mortal State in the lively Hopes of a
blessed Immortality.
' Ker.der, reflect how noon you'll quit thin Stage ;
You'll lluil lull Tow itliiin to Mich mi Atfc.
l.iru'i full of I'nln: Lot hero's n IMnce or Kent,
Prepare to meet jour (.101)! thou ou arc lilcst.'"
Upon a tombstone, the top ot wlncli is
imikiMi itr mid which bears the date 1707,
facts ' appears tins epuapn :
"Tho Moreno lilnMf noiMoroii wave
lime tod mo to nail fro
In Spoilt of godB decree
I harlmur here below
Where 1 do now rV niiclior'rldo
With ninny or our fleet
Yet once nualn I must eet Mill
My Admiral Chrlet to meet."
Here is another:
" Here Lyes ye Body of John Craig Who
Departed this Transotorey Life September
yo 14th 1747 Aged 47 years."
With a notice of one more object ot in
terest, I will close this already tedious
sketch. I refer to a monument which
stands in tho northeast corner of the church
yard. A resolution for its erection was
passed Juno 8, 1852. Upon one side of it
is this inscription:
Bached to the memohy ok
those bravo and good men who died whilst
imprisoned in this city, for their devotion
to the cause of AMERICAN ihjjjsi'J!i.
DENCE." Delta.
What is n Book; and what Is it to
Read?
To have been spoken before tho Fhilo
mathean Society of tho State Normal
School, Juno 19th 1874, by W. Stewart
Black, who was drowned in tho Missiourl
river, May 20' 1874.
One of tho most incomprehensible ob
jects to tho savago is a book. A church
he can understand. A place where wane
people vorship the Great Spirit at once
suggests tho holy tent in his distant camp.
A festive galhoring would bo an intelligi
ble affair Tho more closely he observes,
the more numerous tho points of resem
blance he can trace between fashionable
ami barbaric society. A military parado
ho might comprehend at onco. Tho
measured tread or gathered legions would
indeed differ not a little from the wild
rush of his own barbaric clan; theinspir
ing call of trumpet and horn, of drum
and fife, blending with all those numer
ous iustiuments which make the music of
war so splendid and so spirit-stirring,
would bo unlike the horrid dissonant
noises with which the savage sounds out
his bloody errand. But the object and
purpose of tho display would bo scon
at a glance, and wake up all the warrior
within his bosom. Show him some fine
trophy of art in tlio form of a painting and
it will suggest to him tho rude sketches
of horses, warriors and buffalo chases
traced on his robe with charcoal and red
root, or the llKeness of birds and beasts
tattooed on liis own skin. But place be
fore him a book, or take him Into' a public
library and ho is utterly confounded.
True the tiers of books, and the laby
rinthian succession of apartments would
evoke his admiration. Tho red, blue, pur-
pie and gilt, and various other colors of
bindinir. miirht please him very much,
but so many blocks of wood painted in
different colors and arranged on the
shelves would suit his tancy equally wen.
The mystery of tho library to the savage
would be tho hooto in it. What are they,
and for what are they made?
T.f.t linn llni'nr now and watch the
movements of the inmates and his won
dor will increase. His eye will rest now
on the naturalist as with anxious look and
hmtlinu air he reaches from shelf to
shelf, takes volume after volume from its
dusty retreat, looks into each as the con.
juring medicine-man at home gazes into
the fire to see tho spirit in tho coal?, cop-
ies something from eacli book in strange
characters, stuffs the manuscript in his
pocket and walks proudly off.
I he man of science sits for hours un
conscious of the presence of tho wonder
ing savage, and seems more and more be
wildered as he gazes upon a single page.
Ti.n 0nvnrr. watches a third individual
reading a favorite poet and marvels at tho
inllucuce that dilates his eye, kinetics mc
cheek, and sends madness through his
frame. He is astonished at tho reader of
fiction, looking upon what seems to .him a
vacant page, and yet seeming to seo spir.
its, living, moving, talking, loving, hating,
fighting, dying. Should ho sock an x
planation of tho enigma, it would deepen
rather than solve the mystery, xuu iu.
him through an interpreter, "Here is a
book by tho aid of whoso characters lean
tell you how your people live at home."
Point to the passage and read, letting the
interpreter explain. You then taKO an
othervolumoandsayherols one which,
. .... n 11 n1nllt tllA
when I look at it, tens mo "" -great
white man who came to this country
long ago, in the time of your great great
irmndfathcr. when there
ly road and understand would show you
that tho sun docs not move as it seems to,
nnd tell you how largo those stars aro and
how far it is to them." And so you pro
coed, adding mystery to mystery, till tho
savages are lost in amazement.
But there aro other mysteries about
books which tho savago would not oh
serve their power to cletermino the char
acter and destiny of cortaln individuals.
A few pages of a single volume falls as
It were by chance under the eye of a boy
In his leisure hours. Thoy fascinate and
fix his attention ; they charm and hold
his mind; and the result is, the boy be
comes a sailor, and is wedded to tho sea
'or life. No force can undo the work be-
gun by those few pages; no love of fath
er or mother, no temptation of money or
honor, no fear of suffering or disgrace, is
an overmatch for the enchantment con
jured up and sustained by those few pa
ges A single book has made a boy a sea
man for life perhaps a pirate, wretched
in life and death. Another book meets
the eye of some youth and wakes his ho
ly aspirations, which ever afterwards burn
within his breast. Another youth in an'
unhappy hour meets still another volume
whioh makes him a hater of his fellow
men and a blasphemer of God. One
book makes one man a believer in good"
ness and love and truth ; another makes
another man doubt and deny tho sacred
verities.
A book then is indeed a wonderful
thing. And it is well that we rellectocca
sionally upon the power which lies in tho
written page. What is a book? What is
it to read ? These may seem trilling ques
tions. Nothing is more familiar, and
nothing seems better understood. I wish,
however, to define, somewhat formally, a
book, and the process of reading. Chil
dren, as we know, are generally taught
that whatever is printed is to oe regard,
cd with deference above what is spoken.
Tho mother says to tho little girl, "Mary,
dont let baby have the newspaper, he will
tear it." As a consequence of this, many
children learn to esteem books as oracles
of wisdom and truth. Henry Crabb Rob-
inson tells us in his diary that when a
child he was corrected for misspelling a
word on tho authority of his spelling
book. On being told that it was printed
wrong ho says, "I was quite confounded.
I helieved as firmly in tho infallibility ot
print as any good Catholic in tho infalli
bility of his church. I know naughty
boys would tell stories, but how a book
could contain a falsehood was incompre
hensible." Not a few men live and die
with the same impression, and never
cease to esteem a book as in same way en
dowed with a mysterious authority by the
very fact of its being a book. There are,
too, many who would never think of
spending fifteen minutes in listening to
stupidity or commonplace from men's
lips, but who make it their duty, and im
agine it is useful, solemnly to read, bo-
Kinrn tin nmnr
Itnvn nnrl nnflrtran nnv nmnnnt nt inalnlri.
"And hero is another " ... ,. , ,
boovTouiay'-whlchifyou could on- ity which an accredited author choses to
I;
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