Two Thousand Miles on an Automobile - Being a Desultory Narrative of a Trip Through New England, New York, Canada, and the West, By "Chauffeur" by Arthur Jerome Eddy
page 179 of 299 (59%)
page 179 of 299 (59%)
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feeling that apartments would rent better if the musty
associations of the spot were obliterated by some such name as "Buckingham Heights," or "Commonwealth Crest;" "The Acropolis" has been prayerfully considered by the freemen of the modern Athens;-- whatever the decision may be, certain it is the name Bunker Hill is a heavy load for choice corners in the vicinity. There are a few old names still left in Massachusetts,-- Jingleberry Hill and Chillyshally** Brook sound as if they once meant something; Spot Pond, named by Governor Winthrop, has not lost its birthright; Powder-Horn Hill records its purchase from the Indians for a hornful of powder--probably damp; Drinkwater River is a good name,--Strong Water Brook by many is considered better. It is well to record these names before they are effaced by the commercialism rampant in the suburbs of Boston. At the Town Hall in Lexington we turned to the right for East Lexington, and made straight for Follen Church, and the home of Dr. Follen close by, where Emerson preached in 1836 and 1837. The church was not built until 1839. In January, 1840, the congregation had assembled in their new edifice for the dedication services. They waited for their pastor, who was expected home from a visit to New York, but the Long Island Sound steamer--Lexington, by strange coincidence it was called--had burned and Dr. Follen was among the lost. His home is now the East Lexington Branch of the Public Library. We climbed the stairs that led to the small upper room where Emerson filled his last regular charge. Small as was the room, it |
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