USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Bristol > History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Volume I > Part 38
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Prof. Pattee's first poem, The Solitary Pine, was published in The Granite Monthly of April, 1883. Other early contribu- tions were made to The Youth's Companion, the Springfield Republican, the Boston Journal, and other periodicals. His first publication in book form was a monograph on Literature in the Public Schools, published in Cincinnati in 1891. The Wine of May, and other Lyrics, published by the Republican Press Association, Concord, in 1893, reveals a deep love of nature, a characteristic that again appears in Pasquaney Echoes, a volume of mingled prose and poetry published in 1893 by the Enterprise Printing House, Bristol. Most of this volume was written at his summer cottage, "Ledgeside," on the shore of Pasquaney, or Newfound, lake, and its pages contain exquisite pen-pictures of this lake and its romantic surroundings.
In 1896, Silver, Burdett, & Co., of Boston, published Prof. Pattee's A History of American Literature, with a View to the Fundamental Principles Underlying Its Development, an exhaustive text-book of 500 pages, designed for schools and colleges. This book was received with great favor by critics and educators, and reached its third edition within six months. About this time, Prof. Pattee was chosen to write an addition to John Nichol's article on American literature in The Encyclopedia Brittanica, and to contribute an article on the history of Cana- dian literature. In 1897, he published Reading Courses in American Literature. Other works are: A Study of Shakespeare's Macbeth (1897); The Foundations of English Literature (1899); and Mary Garvin (1902). An edition of the Poems of Philip Freneau is now being published by the Princeton Historical association in three volumes.
Prof. Pattee's latest book, Mary Garvin, published by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York, has met with very favor- able criticism. It is a pleasing rural story in a picturesque setting. The story is not a reflection of other rural stories, but a new and vigorous use of material which has long lain dormant. Unusual interest in the book is shown in this vicinity, since the author localizes the story, and many of the places and several of
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PROF. FRED LEWIS PATTEE, A. M.
349
LITERATURĘ
the characters are easily recognized. Prof. Pattee dedicates the book to his parents, "with memories of a happy boyhood."
Noble character and the inspirations of nature are Prof. Pattee's priceless inheritance. He comes of good old Puritan stock, and his youth and young manhood were spent among the uplifting scenes and healthful surroundings of the hills and mountains. Small wonder, then, that he is a writer of promin- ence and a poet of noble achievement and of still further possi- bility. He has received a local preacher's license from the Methodist church at Bristol.
Of the following poems from Prof. Pattee's pen, the first and third are from Pasquaney Echoes; the second and fourth, from The Wine of May, and other Lyrics.
BURNS HILL
There is a legend old, By aged grandsires told On winter nights when fire and lamp are dim,
That years and years ago,
Ere had been struck a blow Within the woods about Pasquaney's brim,
A hardy little band
Sought out this forest land From Londonderry, in the month of June,
And slowly day by day
Toiled o'er the tangled way,
By babbling streams and meadows blossom strewn ;
And just as evening fell,-
I've heard my grandsire tell, - They came one day upon this little hill ;
The purple western skies
Had tints of Paradise
That filled with mellow light the valleys still.
The towering mountains grand
Arose on every hand,
Beneath their feet, asleep, Pasquaney lay ;
And to the little band
The place seemed fairyland,
And one, a maiden weary of the way,
Desired, if she should die,
In this sweet spot to lie In blissful rest, above the sleepy wave ;
And ere fell winter's snows,
Ere faded summer's rose,
With loving hands they made her here her grave.
The years have flown since then,
The busy hands of men Have torn the woods and fettered all the streams ;
Yet still in the sunset's glow
The lake smiles from below,
And in the west the mountain monarch gleams.
The churchyard now is old ;
Its sacred bounds now hold
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL
The dust of all that little band of yore ; Its stones are black with moss,
The tangled bushes cross Above the maiden's grave and block the door.
Yet in this northern land Amid these mountains grand, I know no spot more beautiful, more bright ;
No spot more fit to keep The dead in their long sleep 'Till Resurrection morn shall banish night.
JULY
The quivering air is filled with heat ; All is silent as a dream, Save the murmur of a stream, Save the locust's far-off scream,
And drowsy crickets at my feet.
Oh, lead me to some leafy glen Where the morning dew yet clings, Where the matin bird yet sings, And each cooling zephyr brings The odors of the mossy fen !
What fitter task, then, could there be, On this drowsy summer day, From all trouble far away, Than to list the wood-bird's lay, And dream, my love, and dream of thee?
THE VOICE ON THE MOUNTAIN
O'er the waters of Pasquaney, On the mountain ragged, thorny, Wild and rising from the waters, rising sheer, Dwells an imp or nymph or woman With a mellow voice quite human, Never failing, never ceasing, sweet to hear, Joining in my songs of gladness, Sighing in my hours of sadness, Sighing, laughing, never far and never near. "Ah me ! Ha, ha ! Ah woe !" Comes the voice or high or low, "Ah me! Ha, ha! Ah woe."
For her story I beseech her, "Art thou, then, some wayward creature, Half a maiden, half a fairy, sad and lone, Longing for the love of mortal, Yet debarred from that blest portal, Longing, pining till thou hast but voice alone ? Or the ghost of dusky maiden Lingering there with sorrow laden, Grieving, sighing for the happy days long flown ? Alas ! Alas ! To know ! " Came an answer sad and low, "A lass ? A lass ? O, no."
Wilt thou drive me quite to madness? Thou art then the imp of sadness. Oft the world seems black and lonely, and forlorn,
35I
LITERATURE
And I cry, "Life is a shadow Like the fog upon the meadow, Life the flashing, flimsy dew-web of the morn ; Youth is but a time for sighing, Age is but a time for dying, All between a paltry bubble quickly torn ;- Our life is pain ! Ah woe ! " Came the far voice, soft and low, "Your life is pain ? Ah, no."
Ah, I hail the nymph of gladness, In thy voice no trace of sadness ;- Sometimes of a summer morning all is bright, And I cry, "Oh, life is sweetness ; Earth has given in completeness Heavenly sounds and fragrant perfumes, and our sight Has regaled with floods of beauty, Till it seems our only duty Just to praise God for the sweetness and the light, My life's all joy, I know !" Came the voice no longer low, "Thy life's all joy ? Ah, no!"
"What, then, art thou, wayward creature, Thou who hast not sense or feature,
Save a voice that sympathizes with my soul? If not imp or nymph or maiden, If not shade with sadness laden, Why dost enter every mood, oh why condole When my heart with grief is breaking, Laugh when joy has stopped its aching ! I would know thee, love thee, seek thee and console ;- A voice ? Oh more, I know !" Came the whisper sighing low, "A voice,-no more, Ah no ! "
THE PICKET'S SONG
Softly, comrades, they are sleeping,- Since the morning, oh how long has been the way ! Gone the days when war was calling, Gone the crash of arms appalling,
And the bivouac and the marching and the fray, And the army now is sleeping : We are but the pickets, keeping Ward and watch before the camp till break of day.
Softly, comrades, they are sleeping,- They the muscle of the North, the Nation's stay. Some when shell and death were flying In the Southland we left lying,-
They were sleeping when their comrades marched away. Now the Northern ranks are sleeping : We, the few, are pickets, keeping Watch and ward until the breaking of the day.
Softly, comrades, they are sleeping, And we watch them while the slow years steal away, One by one to rest we're going, For our eyes are heavy growing ;- There is silence o'er the campground erst so gay; For the Northern ranks are sleeping : We are but the pickets, keeping Watch and ward until the breaking of the day.
CHAPTER XXIX
LIBRARIES
Let knowledge grow from more to more, . But more of reverence in us dwell ; That mind and soul, according well, May make one music as before, But vaster.
-Tennyson.
Dec. 10, 1800, the Social Library of New Chester was incorporated by the legislature, with Carr Huse, Esq., Ephraim Webster, Sethus Forbes, Jacob Rowell, Edward Blodgett, and Reuben Wells, Jr., incorporators. It was located in what is now Hill village. It was authorized to hold books and other personal property to the value of $1,oco. A library was incor- porated in that part of Bridgewater now Bristol village June 16, 1802, with Moses Lewis, Peter Sleeper, Moses Sleeper, Ahimaas Blanchard incorporators, under the name of the Bridgewater Social Library. This association was authorized to make pur- chases or receive subscriptions, grants and donations, not exceeding $1,000. The library at New Chester was evidently established and had an existence of many years, but there is no evidence to show that a library at Bridgewater village was ever opened under the charter named. The supposition would be that it was not from the fact that another charter of the same name was granted to men living in another part of the town June 15, 1811, the incorporators being Thomas Crawford, Benj. Boardman, and Enoch Melvin. These men all lived on Bridge- water hill, and the library was located in that part of the town.
July 2, 1823, the Bristol Library was incorporated with James Minot, Moses W. Sleeper, and their associates as incor- porators. By its charter this library had "all the powers and privileges necessary and incident to corporations of a similar nature." This association had a prosperous existence of twenty- five or thirty years. It was supported by a small fee for the use of the books and by money earned by the young people at sociables, braiding straw hats, and in other ways. Solomon Cavis was librarian at one time and the library was located in his store. At a later date, Col. Oscar F. Fowler filled this office and the books were kept in the small lobby of the post-office. This library had on its shelves one hundred volumes or more of the standard works of the day, mainly histories and biographies.
353
LIBRARIES
with a few works of fiction. In the late forties, or early fifties, interest in it declined, and the book-case stood for years unopened.
At the annual town meeting in 1868, through the efforts of Dr. Daniel S. Chase, the town appropriated seventy-five dollars for books to form the nucleus of a public library, and the next year one hundred dollars was appropriated for additional books. These books were kept in a private residence or on the counters of E. S. Foster's drug store, and necessarily in such a way that patrons helped themselves, and some volumes were lost. The result was that, in 1872, the town voted to sell the books at auction, and this was done, the sale amounting to $35.60.
MINOT-SLEEPER LIBRARY
On the 22nd of November, 1883, Judge Josiah Minot, of Concord, and Col. Solomon Sias Sleeper, of Cambridge, Mass., both natives of Bristol, addressed the following letter to the selectmen of Bristol :
Concord, N. H., Nov. 22, 1883.
Selectmen of Bristol.
Dear Sirs : - We wish to make some appropriate gift to the town of Bristol, in token of our regard for it as our native town, and of the many pleasant memories and associations that still attach us to it, on account of its having been the place of our homes in the earlier years of our lives. For that purpose we have purchased of F. Bartlett, Esq., the lot of land on the southerly side of Pleasant street, opposite his dwelling house. And we propose to erect on it a suitable building for a public library, and when completed to convey the property to the town for that use. We intend that the building, with the grounds connected, shall be of such design and in such condition, that they will be a credit to the place ; and we hope that the library, when established, will be useful and beneficial to the community.
Please advise us if, in your opinion, such a gift would be acceptable to the town, and if it will assume to make suitable provisions for the establishment of a public library as contemplated and for the future maintenance and management of it accordingly.
Respectfully,
Josiah Minot, S. S. Sleeper.
This letter was enclosed in one to Hon. Cyrus Taylor which read as follows :
Concord, N. H., Nov. 22, 1883.
Hon. Cyrus Taylor.
Dear Sir : - We enclose a letter from us to the selectmen of Bristol in relation to a public library there, which please hand to them. Our proposal in that letter, if acceptable to the town, will ensure the early completion of the building for the library ready for use accordingly.
But the important part of providing suitable books for the library itself still remains. And although the town may not hesitate to assume the obli- gation of such provision, yet there might be more delay than is desirable. It seems to us that the acceptability and success of the enterprise will be
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354
HISTORY OF BRISTOL
greatly encouraged and promoted if provision can be made for the supply for a suitable number of volumes for the commencement of the use of the library by the public on the completion of the building ready for it. And for that purpose, as well as of creating a more effective public interestin the matter, a voluntary contribution by the citizens will be very useful and advantageous. Not a very large sum, say $2,500, will make a good com- mencement, and, to encourage it, if $1,500 of that amount is contributed by the ctizens, we will be responsible for the remaining $1,000, and thus an early and favorable establishment of the library will be made.
Please confer with the citizens and ascertain what can be done in the direction suggested, and advise us. .
Yours truly, Josiah Minot, S. S. Sleeper.
A meeting of the citizens of Bristol was held at the town hall, Friday, Dec. 14, to consider these propositions. Hon. L. W. Fling presided. A committee was elected consisting of Rev. H. G. Pillsbury, Capt. R. W. Musgrove, Dr. J. M. Bishop, Dr. Geo. H. Calley, and Ira A. Chase, Esq., to appoint a canvassing committee to raise the $1,500 needed from the people of Bristol in order to secure the $1,000 offered by Messrs. Minot and Sleeper.
At a special town meeting held Jan. 16, 1884, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :
WHEREAS, Hon. Josiah Minot, of Concord, N. H., and Hon. S. S. Sleeper, of Cambridge, Mass., former residents of Bristol, have generously offered to donate to the town a library building and grounds, provided the town will accept the same and provide for the maintenance thereof, therefore, be it
Resolved, by the inhabitants of Bristol, qualified to vote in town affairs, in town meeting assembled, on the 16th day of January, 1884, that the town thanks the donors for their interest in the welfare of Bristol, and for their munificence and public spiritedness, that it will accept said gift of said library buildings and grounds, and hereby agrees to provide for the maintenance and management thereof. Be it further
Resolved, That the clerk of said town forward, as soon as may be, a copy of this resolution to said donors respectively.
The committee to appoint solicitors named Hon. Cyrus Taylor, Hon. B. F. Perkins, W. A. Berry, Esq., Selectman S. S. Brown, and H. T. Alexander. This committee made an appeal to the people of Bristol through the columns of the local paper in its issue of Feb. 14, 1884, for a generous contribu- tion. Mrs. Laura A. Buttrick was afterward added to this committee, and this lady and Hon. Cyrus Taylor secured contri- butions amounting to $800. As this amount was all that could be raised by subscription, Messrs. Minot and Sleeper paid over the full amount of their subscription - $1,000.
The library building was completed the middle of December, 1884, and about the same time the selectmen appointed the fol- lowing as a board of trustees : Hon. Cyrus Taylor, William A. Berry, Esq., Rev. H. G. Pillsbury, Dr. G. H. Calley, I. A. Chase, Esq., Capt. R. W. Musgrove, J. H. Brown, Esq., M.
355
LIBRARIES
W. White, Dr. J. M. Bishop, Capt. F. A. Gordon, and R. A. Horner, Esq. The trustees organized Dec. 20, by the election of Capt. Musgrove as chairman, Dr. Bishop as secretary, and Dr. Calley as treasurer.
The trustees elected the following as a committee to select the first installment of books to be purchased : Rev. H. G. Pills- bury, Ira A. Chase, Esq., Rev. J. A. Bowler, Dr. G. H. Calley, Rev. G. O. Wiggin, Mrs. Laura A. Berry, Mrs. Laura A. But- trick, and Misses M. Abbie Bishop, Nancy A. Durgin, Mary E. Bartlett, E. Belle Calley, and Mattie B. Calley. This committee selected the first 600 volumes placed in the library, and Rev. Mr. Pillsbury went to Boston and made the purchase.
The library was opened to the public Feb. 28, 1885. There were then on the shelves for circulation 400 volumes, and 500 more awaited covering and labeling. These books consisted of a good proportion of fiction, histories, biographies, travels, and miscellaneous works. In September, following, Miss Abigail Minot presented the library with $227 for the purchase of encyclopedias, atlases, etc.
At the first annual meeting of the trustees, held Mar. 10, 1886, the treasurer reported the total receipts of the year to have been $2,053.16; total expenditures, $1,940.10; leaving a balance on hand of $113.06. The librarian reported 1,300 books on the shelves; number of patrons of the library, 482; number of books issued, 8,021. The cost to the town this year for the services of librarian, janitor, and incidental expenses was $214.70.
In 1886 and 1887, the town made no appropriation for the purchase of new books, but paid the running expenses of the library as they occurred. In March, 1888, the town appro- priated fifty dollars for books.
In October, 1888, Messrs. Minot and Sleeper proposed, if the town would annually raise $225 for the purchase of books, to pay into the town treasury each year one-half of this amount, or deposit with the treasurer $2,500, the interest from which was expected to provide one-half of the $225. This offer was accepted by the town at the November election in 1888, and a vote of thanks was extended these gentlemen for their gener- osity. These gentlemen paid their half of the $225 each year till 1891, when they sent their check for $2,500, as promised.
When this proposition was made, it was supposed that $2,500 would yield at least $112.50 interest annually, but about the time the money. was paid, the rate of interest declined, and the savings banks paid only three per cent. It was decided, however, by the selectmen, that the town was holden to pay $225 to the library for books each year, notwithstanding one- half of this amount was not derived as interest from the funds deposited, and the town has paid this amount each year without a murmur.
3.56
HISTORY OF BRISTOL
Nov. 6, 1891, Col. S. S. Sleeper, at an informal meeting at the library building, presented to the trustees portraits of him- self and Judge Minot, which now occupy prominent places in the building. The gift was accepted by the chairman of the trus- tees, R. W. Musgrove. Remarks were also made by ex-Gov. N. S. Berry, William A. Berry, Esq., and Ira A Chase, Esq.
In 1899, two valuable gifts were made to the library. The late Mr. and Mrs. David L. Davis, of Enfield, left a legacy of $200 for the nucleus of a library at the Dodge-Davis Manu- facturing company's mill. The officers of this company thought the intentions of the donors could be best carried out by pre- senting this sum to the Minot-Sleeper library. This was done and the trustees expended the money in the purchase of histori- cal and scientific books in accordance with the known desires of the donors.
The other gift was from Charles L. Jackman, Esq., of Con- cord, who presented the library with fifteen shares of the stock of the Capital Fire Insurance Company of Concord, of the par value of $1,500. This was to constitute a fund to be known as the Minnie Maria Day-Jackman fund and was given to perpetu- ate the memory of his deceased wife, a daughter of Charles H. Day, Esq., and a native of Bristol. The condition of this gift was that the income should be used in the purchase of maga- zines, papers, and other periodicals, for a reading room, the pub- lic to have access to them at least two evenings each week be- tween the hours of 6 and 9 o'clock. By reason of this gift the directors set apart a portion of the floor space of the library for a reading room, and the age limit at which children were admitted to the privileges of the library was changed from thirteen to eleven years. The first dividend on this stock was received by the treasurer in November, 1899, and the reading room was opened Jan. I, following. This room has been from the first liberally patronized, especially by the young, who are thus brought into contact with the best literature of the day, and its beneficial effects are beyond compute.
In 1902, Mrs. Ruth F. Pray presented the town with a valuable collection of stuffed birds, both native and foreign, about two hundred in number. At the election in November, 1902, the town voted to accept the gift and appropriated $100 for suitable cases in which to preserve the specimens, and they now adorn the walls of the library.
The library was opened from 3 to 5 and from 6 to 8 o'clock on the afternoons of Wednesday and Saturday of each week till Dec. 20, 1887. From this date it was opened on Saturdays only from 1:30 to 5 p. m., and from 6 to 8 p. m. till the opening of the reading room. Since then the hours have been from 1 till 5 p. m. and from 6 till 9 p. m. Saturdays and from 6 till 9 p. m. Wednesdays.
MINOT-SLEEPER LIBRARY
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LIBRARIES
The average annual cost to the town for books and current expenses has been $465, in addition to the income from the Minot-Sleeper and the Minnie Maria Day-Jackman funds.
The annual report of the directors, made to the town in March, 1902, gave the following statistics :
Number of books in circulation Feb. 3, 1902 Reference books
4,186
1,364
Total 5,550
Number of patrons of the library 732
Average number of books issued each day library was open 175 During the seventeen years the library has been open, not a book has been lost.
The first board of trustees consisted of eleven persons. In 1886, three were appointed for one year, three for two years, and three for three years. Since then, three have been appointed each year for three years. The following have served as trus- tees, the date at the left of the name indicating the year first appointed ; that at the right showing termination of service :
1884 Hon. Cyrus Taylor 1898 1884 Gen. John H. Brown 1895
Wm. A. Berry, Esq. 1891 Capt. F. A. Gordon 1887
Rev. H. G. Pillsbury 1887 1887 Hon. B. F. Perkins '
Dr. G. H. Calley ' 1891 Green L. Tilton 190I
Hon. Ira A. Chase Dr. Channing Bishop 1
Capt. R. W. Musgrove ' 1895 Orlando B. French 1902
Dr. J. M. Bishop I891 1898 Charles W. Fling 1
M. W. White I
1901 Henry C. Whipple '
R. A. Horner, Esq. 1889
R. W. Musgrove has served as chairman and Dr. Geo. H. Calley as treasurer of the board of trustees from its organization in 1884. Dr. J. M. Bishop served as secretary till his death in 1891, when he was succeeded by his son, Dr. Channing Bishop, who still holds the office.
Hon. Ira A. Chase and Dr. Calley have served on the exec- utive committee from 1886 till now, and Hon. B. F. Perkins served from 1888 till 1901, when he was succeeded by M. W. White. Mr. Chase, as chairman, has had the immediate charge of the library and has purchased most of the books added to its shelves during his term of office.
Miss Maude Gordon served as librarian from the opening of the library till Dec. 19, 1887, when she resigned. She was suc- ceeded by Miss Maud Heath, who resigned Sept. 21, 1891. Mrs. Ella Evans then filled the office for four months, when she resigned. Miss Emma P. Berry was then elected and still re- tains the office.
' Still serving.
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CHAPTER XXX
NEWFOUND LAKE AND RIVER AND THE PEMI- GEWASSET
Till death the tide of thought may stem, There's little chance of our forgetting The highland lake, the water gem, With all its rugged mountain-setting. -Milnes.
NEWFOUND LAKE
That all the chief lakes and streams in this state were known to the aborigines by distinct names does not admit of a doubt. This was not only true, but these names were musical and full of meaning. It is a matter of much regret that the Indian nomenclature is not more generally known, and that the Indian name of our beautiful lake is wrapped in uncertainty. The most that can be stated concerning it is that an uncer- tain tradition says the Indians called it "Pasquaney," "the place where birch-bark for canoes is found." After having searched for years to substantiate this tradition without avail, the author of this history ventured to use this name in the columns of the Bristol Enterprise. Soon after, Prof. Fred Lewis Pattee wrote of the lake in verse as Pasquaney, and the name at once became popular with many, while others mourned this departure with keen regrets. The early maps of New Hampshire give no light on this subject. On the "New and Accurate Map of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England," published by Emanuel Bowen in London in 1752, this lake is shown but no nanie is given. A map engraved by Thomas Jefferys in London, in November, 1755, entitled "Map of the Most Inhabited Parts of New England," gives the lake but no name. In 1761, a map was published at Portsmouth by Blanchard & Langdon, called the "Accurate Map of his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire." In this map New Chester appears, but Newfound lake and river are unnamed; Smith's river has the same name as now.
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