USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > Newport > A hand-book of Newport, and Rhode Island > Part 7
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The library-room is adorned by several paintings and busts. The beautiful bust of John Marshall, was presented in 1839, by Augustus E. Silliman, Esq., of New York. There are also portraits of Columbus, and of Abraham Redwood, the founder of the library, by Charles B. King, Esq., of Wash- ington.
Around the room are portraits also of Wm. Wirt,
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J. C. Calhoun, Major-Gen. Brown, Daniel Webster, Gen. Lee, Com. J. Rogers, Wm. Redwood, Geo. W. Coddington, Patrick Henry, Gov. Josh. Wauton, Mrs. Wauton, Rev. J. Callender, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and John and Mrs. Bannister. And on the south side is a fine painting of the Old Mill, by Geo. C. Mason, Esq., of Newport.
The library hours are from May 1 to November 1, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 5 P. M .; and from November 1 to May 1, Tues- days and Saturdays, from 2 to 4 o'clock, P. M.
A stroll among books always sets us a thinking. Here is
A DAY-DREAM IN THE REDWOOD LIBRARY.
Saidst thou, friend and poet perished ;* Said, ere toil dimm'd reason's ray, Of thy volumes lov'd and cherished- "Never-failing friends are they."
Ah! we never need be dreary When such golden stores we find ; Banquets left for spirit weary, By regenerated mind !
Wealth may fly, and friends deceive us, Love may lose its sunny looks; But those pleasures seldom leave us Which we garner in from books.
Harvests, finer far than golden Heaps of ever-fleeting store, Are the grains we glean from olden Fields of consecrated lore.
* Southey.
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See these folios, brown and stately, Iron-clasped and timber bound, Where they, side by side, sedately Keep their places near the ground ;
As if well they knew their station, And for minor ranks o'erhead, They afforded sure foundation, Sterling metal furnished.
In this chamber, still and solemn, Bacon builds again for me A sublime, heaven-soaring column Of clear-eyed philosophy.
Graceful Sidney bids me listen 'Till in ecstasy I cry, Whilst my eyes with rapture glisten, Am I, too, in Arcady !
Spenser, in majestic measure, And with grave, yet courtly mien, Takes me to the bowers of pleasure, Shows to me the Faery Queen !
Bunyan telleth me the story, How he penned from day to day, Prison-bound, his allegory Of the Pilgrim's heavenward way.
Pope, sharp-visaged, and sour-featured, Once more in the Dunciad sneers ; Churchill, coarse, and savage-natured, Blends solemnity with jeers.
One, with face reflecting glory, With serene but sightless eyes, Sings to me his deathless story Of the loss of Paradise !
Byron, in unearthly brightness, Stands before me, face to face ; Like the marble in his whiteness ; Like th' Apollo in his grace.
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Now, no more by anguish riven, Now, no more by madness bound, Cowper whispers me of heaven ; Of the mother lost and found !
Thou, too, from thy grave arisen ? Gentle, much-loved Elia, thou ? From thy scarcely-denized prison, With the old smile on thy brow.
Ha ! I hear of silks a rustling ; Hooped and furbelowed-in view Comes the piquant, witty, bustling, Sprightly, Wortley Montague ;
And trick'd out, soft nothings muttering, Horace Walpole's standing by, O'er each tasteful topic fluttering Like a learned butterfly.
Walpole starts-and shrinks to nothing ! For a spectre lean and wan Looks upon the fop with loathing, 'Tis the ghost of Chatterton !
Hemans, with her linked sweetness; Landon, with her mournful song, Pass me by with airy fleetness, Borne on viewless wings along !
Thus with these, and countless others, Draughts of pure delight I sip : Dearer far than that of brothers, Is our mute companionship.
Sunbeams, tinged with evening splendor, Slant through Redwood's lore-fraught fane ; And as dies the twilight tender, I am in the world again.
MECHANICS' LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.
This institution is situated in Main street. It pos- sesses a library of from two to three thousand volumes
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of books. It supports a course of lectures in the winter.
MASONIC HALL,
A neat and appropriate building, belonging to the Free Masons, is situated in Church street. Not having been initiated into the mysteries of the craft, we must content ourselves with a mere outside view of it.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
There are seventeen public schools, viz. :
Two senior departments, (corresponding with what are usually called " high schools ;") one for each sex.
Four grammar schools; two for boys, and two for girls.
Two intermediate schools ; seven primary ; one " district school " for boys, and one for colored chil- dren, taught by twenty-one teachers, and containing about a thousand pupils, but furnishing accommoda- tion for 1160. The expenses of the schools are paid by moneys received from the State fund and taxes on the property of the town. Books and stationery are furnished by the committee, for the use of which the pupils are assessed from ten to fifty cents per quarter each ; and this is remitted, where there is reason to entertain the plea of inability.
All the branches necessary to a finished English education are thoroughly taught, and also the Latin language.
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NEWPORT ASYLUM.
In the year 1819, the town of Newport commenced the erection of the Newport Asylum, on Coasters' Harbor Island.
To reach the interesting place, the visitor should take a course north-westward from the town, where there are some very airy and pleasant streets, though it is not deemed a fashionable neighborhood. Pre- vious to the Revolutionary war, this was a very busy part of Newport ; for here were docks, wharves and warehouses, all of which were destroyed by the Bri-
tish. This part of Newport is known as "The Point." On a beach near, formerly called " Bull's Point," twenty-six pirates were hanged together, on the 19th of July, 1723. These men were found on board the ship Fortune, commanded by Low, and the Ranger, commanded by one Harris ; both which piratical cruisers were captured fourteen leagues from the east end of Long Island by Captain Peter Sol- yard, of the English ship Greyhound, on the 10th of June previous. Leaving this place, Fort Greene, commonly called the Battery, is reached. It is now in ruins. From the shore, by means of a boat, Coast- ers' Harbor Island is swiftly and safely reached.
The asylum is a handsome stone edifice, occupy- ing an airy and pleasant position, and appearing to great advantage from the harbor. As soon as the building was completed, it was put under the imme- diate charge of nine commissioners ; three of whom
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go out of office every year, and others are chosen to fill their places. The commissioners have entire control of the asylum and island, with the manage- ment of its affairs. Previous to building the asylum, the cost to the town of Newport for the support of the poor was about $7,000 per year. Since its establishment, that expense has been reduced con- siderably below $3,000. The keeper of the estab- lishment manages the farm for the commissioners, and takes care of the poor, for a stipulated salary. The produce of the farm and the manufactures meet in part the expense of the establishment, which ex- pense varies from about $3,000 to $4,000 per annum, as more or less inmates are therein, and as the price of provisions rises and falls.
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CHAPTER XIV.
EMINENT MEN, NATIVES OF, OR CONNECTED WITH NEW- PORT - GREENE - PERRY - CALLENDER - STILES - A. BROWN - HOPKINS - RODMAN - GAMMEL - DUNN - WATERHOUSE - SENTER - MOFFATT - BRETT - G. STUART - MALBONE -ALLSTON-CLAGGETT-C. B. KING - WALL - STEWART-DUTEE PEARCE-ROBERT ROGERS - COL. TOTTEN - B. HAZARD - ROBBINS, &c., &c.
DR. BENJAMIN WATERHOUSE, himself a native of Newport, in an article published in the Boston In- telligencer in 1824, entitled “Medical Literature of Rhode Island, with a sketch of some of her most eminent men," says :-
"The Island of Rhode Island, from its salubrity and surpassing beauty before the Revolutionary War so sadly defaced it, was the chosen resort of the rich and philosophie from nearly all parts of the civilized world. In no spot of the thirteen, or rather twelve colonies, was there concentrated more individual opulence, learning, and liberal leisure."
We have seen how the beautiful scenery, the de- lightful atmosphere, and the charms of literature and refinement induced the celebrated Dean Berke-
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ley, afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, to make this his residence for several years. Doubtless the charms of the literary society he found here had much to do with his unpremeditated stay.
Newport may be considered remarkable either as the birth-place or the residence of some of the most eminent men of whom America can boast. In fact, according to Dr. Waterhouse, it was a very nursery of learning. He says :- " Newport was never want- ing in good classical schools. The Episcopal church and the Quakers, who were very numerous, took particular care of education, especially the first. Newport was the only place in New England where the Hebrew language was publicly read, and chaunt- ed by more than three hundred of the descendants of Abraham."
Heroes, judges, statesmen, divines, physicians, lawyers, artists, merchants, and literary men, each eminent in their respective vocations, here found in Newport a natural or an adopted home. Wilkins Updike, Esq., in his excellent Biographical “ Me- moirs of the Rhode Island Bar," a work which he ought by all means to continue, says :- "The people of Newport talk of their city as it was before the Revolution, in the palmy and classical days of Light- foot, and mourn over those departed times, when their island was the intellectual constellation of this western hemisphere. She was ornamented with her Hunter, her Haliburton and Moffatt, in medicine and surgery. Brown, Clapp, Callender, Honyman, Stiles,
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Hopkins and Thurston, in the ministry, and for a while, illumined by the residence of Berkeley ;- and Lightfoot, Updike, Scott, Robinson, Ellery, Johnson, Honyman, Marchant, Channing, Simpson and others within her bar. And her general society, learned, polished and urbane. To which was added erudite and accomplished strangers, military and naval, in- duced from the love of science and the charm of cli- mate to reside there."
We shall briefly refer to some of these celebrities, for though the luminaries may be extinguished, their fame is imperishable.
Among American heroes, whose names are con- nected with Newport, may be named Gen. Nathaniel Greene, and Com. Oliver H. Perry. Gen. Greene ranked high as a military commander; he was a native of Warwick, in this state, and resided many years with his family in the town. Commo- dore Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, was born in South Kingston, and educated in Newport ; and here his remains, having been brought from Trinidad, were buried in December, 1826.
Of eminent divines, Newport can boast of a good- ly number. Among the most celebrated, are John Callender, M. A., the author of the well-known " Historical Discourse." He was Pastor of the first Baptist church in Newport.
Dr. Ezra Stiles, well known as a man of great literary attainments, was for a number of years Pas-
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tor of the First Congregational Church in Newport. He was afterwards President of Yale College.
Dr. Arthur Brown was born and received his edu- cation in Newport. He was a man of great celebrity as a scholar. He was afterwards President of Trin- ity College in Dublin.
Dr. Samuel Hopkins was a Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Newport. He was a fine metaphysician, and distinguished as the originator of a system that bears his name.
To come down to later times, Newport may well boast of that distinguished Pastor and scholar Wil- liam Ellery Channing. This great man was born here, in a house now occupied as a school by the Misses Coe, in Thames street. Mr. Channing's father was also a Newporter.
Then we have had also the Rev. T. Rodman, an excellent and estimable clergyman, and a forcible writer on theology.
Two learned natives of Newport now occupy pro- fessorial chairs in Brown University - Professor Wm. Gammel the Chair of History, and Professor Dunn that of English Literature.
Physicians, able and good, have also adorned Newport. Dr. Waterhouse, to whom we have be- fore referred-Dr. William Hunter, who in 1756 gave, at Newport, in the Court-house, the first Ana- tomical and Surgical Lecture, ever delivered in the twelve Colonies. He was a man of great skill-had been well educated at Edinburgh, and possessed
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much taste in the fine arts. "It may be doubted whether Boston, New York or Philadelphia," says Waterhouse, speaking of Drs. Hunter and Halibur- ton, " ever had, at one and the same time, two prac- titioners of physic and surgery better educated and more skilful than these two gentlemen."
Dr. Isaac Senter was a resident of Newport-per- haps a native. He was an eminent chemist.
The names, too, of Moffatt and Brett are intimately connected with Newport. They were both eminent in their profession.
Among lawyers, Judge Lightfoot was conspicuous. He was a native of London, and had been a Judge in the Southern District of the United States, but the climate enfeebling his health, he came to New- port to renovate his impaired constitution. Charmed with the society here he was disinclined to return, and resigned his office.
Lightfoot was the oracle of the literary men of Newport. Waterhouse says, " He was a perfect encyclopedia, and constantly dined from home. He was not a buffoon nor a mimic, but a fine relator of apt anecdotes. I am not certain that he ever read law as a profession, yet he was master of it as well as of the science of learning."
Mention, too, must here be made of the late Dutee J. Pearce, Esq. He was born on Prudence Island, in this State, but resided nearly all his life in New- port. For many years he represented the State in Congress, and was formerly Attorney General.
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Newport has been prolific of artists. The beau- tiful and enchanting scenery of the island is a reason, perhaps, why so many of her sons in their youthful days indulge in poetry and painting. Whatever the cause, it is certain that Newport has furnished, or fostered more great painters than any other city of the Union.
Among portrait painters, it would be difficult to find in any country one who possessed higher gifts than the late Gilbert Stuart. There is nothing meretri- cious in his works-no flashy accessories deformed his pictures, for he despised the clap-traps of art as heartily as Sir Joshua Reynolds himself. It may be said of Stuart, as it has been said of that great artist, that he never painted a portrait without paint- ing a picture also. Not only was Stuart happy in sketching the features of a face, but he caught the character also - that difficult art, without which a limner degenerates into a mere copyist of eyes, noses and mouths. Let any one gaze on the glorious picture of Washington which adorns the Senate Chamber, and he will feel assured that it gives the character and the expression of its illustrious original. And yet the effect is so quietly produced ! No glaring colors-no studied attitude-no gaudy curtains to " throw out " the figure-all is subdued, harmonious and effective. Had not Stuart painted Washington, we question whether the true features of the Father of his Country would have so satisfac- torily been preserved. We might mention other
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heads by Stuart-Martha Washington, for instance -but what has been said of one may be affirmed of all. Newport may well be proud of possessing the portrait of America's greatest man, from the pencil of her greatest painter ! Gilbert Stuart died in Bos- ton in 1848, aged 73 years.
Edward Malbone, another native of Newport, was, perhaps, one of the finest of miniature painters. His works will not lose by comparison with those of the celebrated Cosway, or the paintings of the present Sir William C. Ross. To perfect himself in his art, Malbone went to England, and was introduced to West, his great countryman, then President of the Royal Academy. Sir Benjamin West having ex- amined some of his works, asked him why he had come to England. Mr. Malbone answered-to per- fect himself in the art of painting. West replied- " Sir, you can go home again, for a man who can paint such a picture as this, need not come to Eng- land for instruction."
Malbone was not a mere copyist. His exquisite painting, "The Hours," now in the possession of his sister, Mrs. John Whitehouse, is a rare gem of art, as original in conception as it is beautiful in execu- cution. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the "House with Seven Gables," places in the hands of Hepzebah Pyncheon a miniature by Malbone-a graceful com- pliment to the genius of the artist.
Mr. Malbone's devotion to his profession so in- jured his health, that in 1806 he was compelled to re-
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linquish his pencil. He died in Savannah in May, 1807, of consumption.
Washington Allston, an artist of undoubted genius, though not born in Newport, received his first in- structions in painting from Mr. Samuel King, who resided in the town ; and his propensity for painting was probably cultivated by his residence amidst the scenery of Newport, whence he had come from South Carolina to attend the classical school kept by the late Robert Rogers, who was also the instructor of Dr. Channing, whose sister Allston married. Allston was a man of vivid and remarkable genius-a great artist, and an otherwise gifted individual. It is suf- ficient praise to say that he was the intimate friend and beloved companion of Coleridge. Of that re- markable being he painted the best portrait ever taken. Coleridge and all his friends, Southey in- cluded, agreed in this opinion. It is strange that of the many portraits taken of the author of " Christa- bel," only one should have truly delineated the poet. This portrait was painted for Mr. Wade, of Bristol, England. It has been only once engraved ; a beautiful fac-simile of it is attached as a frontispiece to the English edition, published by Bogue, of the " PEN- AND-INK SKETCHES " which first appeared in the Bos- ton Atlas some six or seven years ago.
William Claggett, a celebrated artist, not a na- tive, but an adopted son of Newport, where he spent more than twenty years of his life, deserves a place in this volume. He came to this country from
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Wales, when about twelve years of age. He served his time as an apprentice at the clock-making bu. siness in Boston, where he remained until 1727, when he removed to Newport, and commenced bu- siness. Many of his clocks are still to be seen in some of the ancient dwellings of Newport.
Claggett was also a great electrician, and had an immense machine in his house. He was acquainted with Benjamin Franklin, who, when he visited New- port, saw such apparatus as Claggett's for the first time. After the death of Mr. Claggett, and while Dr. Franklin was in Philadelphia, his son, Thomas Claggett, desirous of setting up a machine on the plan improved by Dr. Franklin, and as a cylinder was not to be obtained in this part of the country, sent to the Doctor to procure one for him. His request was readily complied with by Franklin, who, when learning that it was for the son of his old friend, refused to accept the money sent for its pur- chase.
Mr. Charles B. King, an artist of great ability, now resident in Washington City, is also a native of Newport. His portraits of Abraham Redwood and Columbus, with others, are to be seen in the Redwood Library.
Another artist resident in Newport was an Irish gentleman, Mr. W. H. Wall, a landscape painter of great ability, and without a rival in water colors. Many of his finest productions are in the hands of
7
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Newport connoisseurs. He is now flourishing in Dublin.
The celebrated "Walking Stewart" for some time resided in Newport, of which, in one of his amusing works, he has recorded some pleasant notices.
Among the notabilities of Newport was Abraham Touro, a Hebrew gentleman, and a native of the town. He founded the Jews' Cemetery, and was buried there. A street bears his name.
Of Abraham Redwood, Esq., a notice will be found in our notice of the Redwood Library.
Baron Kinsale, an Irish nobleman, was a native of Newport.
Mr. Benjamin Hazard, a man of remarkable ge- nius, and of vast logical acumen, was a native of Newport.
The town can also boast of a gifted son, Asher Robbins, Esq. Mr. Robbins was a profound lawyer, and an United States Senator. He was, perhaps, the best Greek scholar in the United States. Mrs. Sophia Little, his daughter, is a poetess of great merit.
Another eminent Newporter, but recently de- ceased, was William Hunter, LL.D., son of the Dr. William Hunter who was the first lecturer on anatomy in the colonies. Dr. William Hunter was a ripe scholar, and a most estimable citizen. He was at one time an United States Senator, and also M nister to Rio Janeiro. He was highly distin-
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guished for his extensive learning and his great eloquence.
Newport was in 1780 visited by a French fleet, and an army of brave men. The fleet was com- manded by the Chevalier De Ternay, and the army by the Count De Rochambeau. De Ternay died soon after his arrival in the town, and was buried with military honors in Trinity church-yard.
It may be mentioned in this place that General Washington visited Newport in March 1781. He passed over from the main by Canonicut Ferry, and landed from his barge at the foot of Long Wharf. As he passed the French fleet, lying back of the Fort, they fired a salute, and the army was drawn up in order for his reception at the Long Wharf. They formed in two lines, extending from the house of William Vernon, Esq., at the south end of Clark street, to the Parade, thence to the west end of Long Wharf. Washington marched up between the two lines, receiving the warm congratulations of his fel- low citizens, and the same honors from his generous allies which they said they paid their king. The town was illuminated the evening after his arrival at Newport. This was the first interview he enjoyed with the French officers ; and it is said here Wash- ington and Count De Rochambeau laid their plans for an attack on New York, which was disconcerted by the arrival of a large fleet and army to the assist- ance of Sir Henry Clinton, under the command of Admiral Rodney.
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We cannot conclude this notice of Newport cele- brities without mentioning that the always pleasant society of Newport was for many years greatly in- debted for a vast addition to its sources of enjoy- ment to the genial society of Colonel, now General Totten. This gentleman was the engineer employed by Government at Fort Adams. Colonel Totten possessed in a very remarkable degree the happy faculty of adding to the delight of every circle he entered. A more generally accomplished man we have never known. A naturalist, a chemist, and a man of general knowledge on most subjects, his con- versation was delightful. It will be remembered that in his own profession he was greatly distin- guished, he having conducted the bombardment at Vera Cruz.
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CHAPTER XV.
ISLANDS AND FORTS IN NARRAGANSETT BAY-ISLANDS- CANONICUT, PRUDENCE, PATIENCE, HOPE, DESPAIR, HOG, GOULD, DYER'S, COASTER'S HARBOR, ROSE, GOAT, AND DUTCH-FORTS-ADAMS, GREENE, WOOLCOTT, AND LEWIS.
WE said in a former chapter that in Narragansett Bay was a group of islands, constituting a small archipelago. Of these, Rhode Island, as the largest and most important, we have more particularly described. We will now take a tour among the other ocean-circled islands, with the design rather of sailing round them than of minutely chronicling their positions and peculiarities.
Second in size to Rhode is the island of Canoni- cut. As seen on the map, it presents a long, strag- gling appearance. It is almost divided into two islands, for the southern portion is connected with the northern by a "leading string " of land, so that the big part of Canonicut looks as though the little part was a parasite, a sort of Remora, which tena- ciously adhered to it by a single sucker.
Canonicut is a beautiful island, with occasional eminences, from whence splendid views are obtain-
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ed. Its shores slope gently to the sea, and all the lines of surface are in conformity with the usual na. tural lines of beauty and grace. Its soil is rich. From north to south its length is about seven miles. It includes a single township, incorporated, in 1678, by the name of Jamestown. Its population is about six to seven hundred.
The Beaver-tail Light stands on its southernmost point.
Prudence Island is the next in point of size. Then we have Patience Island, Hope Island, Despair Is- land, Hog Island, Gould Island, Dyer's Island, Coaster's Harbor Island, Rose Island, Goat Island, Dutch Island, and we were going to say Block Island, but the latter lies away to the southwest, and all who wish to learn its story must read Rich- ard H. Dana's "Buccaneer." We only quote one of his introductory stanzas-
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