USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. IV > Part 25
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Union over a tariff issue - the outlawing of Slavery by the British Parliament - the proclamation of independence by Texas, and the tragic episode at the Alamo plaza - the depression of 1835 - the rapid development of railroads in America - the building of the first metal ships on this side of the Atlantic, and so on.
The club prospered and gained rapidly in membership when it was nothing more than a discussion and debating group, but it rose to fame a little over a hundred years ago when it originated its first series of lectures. The Franklin Lyceum made a wise choice in its first guest speaker, none other than Ralph Waldo Emerson, who presented a course of six lectures on the subject of "Human Life." One record states that Franklin Lyceum was the first literary society in America to inaugurate and establish the still popular system of providing outstanding talent at compar- atively small cost for the individual members.
Emerson's initial lecture opened up new avenues of intellectual pursuit for the serious-minded Providence folks of a cen- tury ago. Then, there was no radio to bring the voices of the nation's leaders, thinkers, orators, and entertainers into the homes of the people. There was no substitute for a public appearance, and the audiences in those days demanded a strong voice and clear enunciation because the rostrums and lecterns had no little microphones to carry softly spoken words to the back rows of the second galleries. Emerson gave his first lecture in Provi- dence under the auspices of the Lyceum in 1840, and a brilliant array of the nation's leading speakers and writers immediately followed in his distinguished footsteps.
The club grew in membership, and the audiences for the lectures expanded be- yond all expectation. In 1850, a hall was hired in the Hoppin Block on Westminster Street, and that space was occupied until 1858 when the so-called Lyceum Building was erected at lower Westminster Street, on the site of the present Providence National Bank. This specially designed and built structure for the occupancy and use of the Franklin Lyceum, which Ionic- façaded building, many of the present
generation will remember very distinctly, was erected principally through the efforts and enthusiasm of George W. Danielson, at the time, editor of the Providence Jour- nal, and an active and highly esteemed member of the organization. The columns of the Journal during the first half of No- vember, 1858, contain several references to the new building, and for a few days previous to the day of dedication, Novem- ber 19, 1858, notices were printed in the press inviting the public to take part in the exercises which included a street pro- cession, addresses, the reading of an orig- inal poem, music, and other features. A high spot of the dedication, which proved to be completely successful, was the un- veiling of a statue of Benjamin Franklin, patron saint of the Lyceum, a long fa- miliar downtown landmark that remained in a niche over the front door of the build- ing for seventy years.
Through the kindness of a well-known local resident, Miss Edith Danielson, niece of Mr. George W. Danielson who sponsored the erection of the Lyceum Building, and sister of the late prominent advertising executive, George Danielson, the Providence Institution for Savings is now in possession of valuable papers per- taining to the Franklin statue. From these original papers, preserved and cher- ished by Miss Danielson's uncle during his lifetime, it can be determined that the Franklin effigy was purchased from a James Bogardus in New York City at a price of $300, and that it was shipped to Providence on board the propeller, or steamship Westchester, leaving New York City on September 2, 1858. The total freight charges for the shipment amounted to $5.00, and the carting charge from the wharf in Providence to the building on Westminster Street was exactly $1.50. The old freight bill shows that the West- chester was operated by The Commercial Steamboat Company. According to other records, the Franklin statue was designed by Richard Greenough, younger brother of Horatio Greenough, the famous sculp- tor, whose images of clay brought him out- standing renown nearly a century ago.
Mr. Francis E. Hoppin, orator of the day during the dedicatory exercises, said in part, "You have just placed upon its
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pedestal an enduring effigy of Franklin, and have renewed your vows of allegiance to his memory. Every passerby who lifts his eye towards the building where you will assemble must be reminded by that eloquent but motionless figure in the midst of the realities of life that great men have been among us, and gather new strength and be filled with more vigorous resolution. This is the first public statue in Rhode Island! Let it be but the begin- ning of a phalanx of statues."
After the demolition of the Lyceum Building, during the winter of 1928-1929, the statue was acquired by the Providence Institution for Savings and later placed over the south entrance on the inside of this savings bank's Empire-Aborn branch. It is cast in zinc, and finished in bronze, and there are but two known replicas, one in New York, and the other in Boston. The mute symbol of the once famous Franklin Lyceum continues to inspire de- positors who patronize these banking rooms, but the organization itself is no more, having reached the end of its color- ful career at.about the turn of the century. But, for many, many years, it remained the feature of the literary life of Provi- dence, providing entertainment and in- struction for great numbers of people. On
the list of orators who were presented in a continuous series of lectures, appear the names of the most distinguished men of their times, such as, Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Edward Everett, Horace Mann, Rufus Choate, General Sam Houston, Wendell Phillips, Richard Henry Dana, Benjamin Franklin Butler, Jared Sparks, Horace Greeley, Louis Agassiz, Henry Ward Beecher, and many others too numerous to mention.
Not only was this institution universally acknowledged to exert a widespread, ele- vating, and enduring educational and moral influence upon both sexes of the rising generations, but it was also con- sidered to be the literary nursery for many of the most prominent men of the City and State during the last half of the last century. As active members of the Frank- lin Lyceum, a vast company of embryo statesmen, senators, judges, governors, mayors, and others learned their first lessons in parliamentary law and proce- dure, and acquired practical training in the ancient art of oral argument. Besides, the Lyceum acquired a large and choice collection of books, many of which have since found their way into the stacks of our public and private libraries.
ON PARADE
P ARADING is as old as organized warfare, and that goes back at least as far as the Middle Egyptian period, 2000 B.C. The first parades were undoubtedly motley processions of returning warriors who sought public acclaim for their successes in the field, and who desired to give the stay-at-homes a public display of their hard earned spoils of war, including pris- oners destined for death or enslavement. Parades provided impressive pageants for kings, and they serve to perform the same political services for dictators whenever the national spirit appears to be cooling off a bit, and there seems to be a need for an artificial stimulant to stir enthusiasm, or to quiet fears. Few have failed to observe, in their own experiences, what
martial airs, glistening bayonets, the cadence of marching feet, and high step- ping steeds will accomplish among ordi- narily peace-loving people.
But, all parades are not war spirit stim- ulants. Peace, politics, fraternity, solidar- ity, loyalty, the circus, religion, and hero worship have all prompted impressive scenes of marching people and watching people, everywhere in America, for a long, long time; and Providence is no exception. Without a doubt, some of the present younger generation may have the mis- taken idea that fancy stepping military units are something new; that baton- twirling is a major accomplishment of the Junior High School system; and that gold braid and shiny silk capes, or even top
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hats and floats, are modern parade de- velopments. Drum major dames, and drum major damsels, are something new, but since the day, in 1776, when George Washington came to Providence, and the citizens of the town organized a procession in his honor, most everything in the way of color, fanfare, noise, and pageantry has been witnessed over and over again on its streets by all generations.
A valuable scrapbook filled with clip- pings and other mementos pertaining to the famed First Light Infantry Regiment reveals how important and impressive parades were in the lives of our grand and great-grandparents. Inspections, recep- tions, encampments, excursions, shoots, not to mention holidays, were the excuses for parades and processions of all types and lengths throughout the last century. Time and time again, Providence has been draped with bunting, and festooned with flowers in preparation for an hour or two of street pageantry, and this and other Rhode Island towns and cities have often disrupted the flow of street traffic to acclaim visiting Presidents, departing warriors, returning heroes, and sometimes even the Grand Supreme Nabob of the Loyal Order of Swordfish with his official suit.
Visitations by military units, drum corps, bands, and fraternal delegations to other cities for parades and conventions is not an exclusive twentieth century prac- tice by any means. Following the close of the Civil War, many delegations composed of local G.A.R. veterans traveled else-
where to meet and celebrate with their comrades in arms, and engage in gigantic parades. For the most part, the trips to other cities for patriotic meetings were taken by military units and bands, but the idea soon spread among fraternities and other organized groups, and we find Rhode Island well represented throughout the history of national observances and national group meetings.
But this account has to do principally with parades, and such demonstrations require a lot of time and effort to arrange, as most committees will testify. Not always do the divisions, sub-marshals, staff assistants and the like, perform as they should when the order to "March" is given, and the No. 1 Band starts to play the Second Connecticut Regiment March, as it usually does in Rhode Island. This is what happened to a parade in Provi- dence on the 4th of July, 1856.
On the 7th of June, 1856, an invitation was received from the committee ap- pointed by the City Council of Providence to make arrangements for celebrating the coming anniversary of American Inde- pendence and for the First Light Infantry Company to participate and form part of the procession. At a meeting of the Com- pany on June 11, the invitation was ac- cepted. An invitation was also extended by the same committee to every military company in the State, by His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, Governor Hop- pin, to Major General Ambrose E. Burn- side and to Brigadier General Joseph S. Pitman of the Second Brigade, Rhode
Courtesy, Town Criers of Rhode Island
WELCOME HOME PARADE IN HONOR OF WORLD WAR I VETERANS, MAY 5, 1919.
"THE OLD STONE BANK"
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LOR, SYMONDS G
GOODS>WHOLESALE
THE COUNTER-MARCH ON WEYBOSSET STREET NEAR DORRANCE STREET SOMETIME IN THE 70'S.
Island Militia, with their aides, and was accepted by all the companies of the Second Brigade, by the Warren Artillery, and the foregoing field officers.
Two days before the observance, Gen- eral Pitman issued his marching orders, including instructions to the Militia com- panies, to meet at 8 : 45 A.M. in front of the old City Hotel. General Pitman mailed a notice of a change in the time for assembling, but this communication was not received. Providence was all ready for a grand and glorious 4th of July cele- bration; but it was raining steadily that morning and comparatively few persons braved the elements to find vantage points along the downtown streets from which to view the procession.
The First Light Infantry Company, probably more than a little concerned about its dress parade attire, braid, but- tons, brass, and bearskin, decided not to parade, unless it stopped raining. Time passed - the rain fell. At 9:30, word was sent to the Armory by the Chief Mar- shal that he was waiting for the Infantry. He was promptly informed that the Com- pany did not intend to join the procession
unless there should be a favorable change of weather. The rain had given the dis- tracted Chief Marshal enough trouble - mutiny in the ranks must have caused a rending of the air, as they say, somewhere downtown where the head of the drenched and delayed procession was, figuratively speaking, champing at the bit.
Came 10 o'clock - came the rains - came no First Light Infantry - came the following verbal order from General Pit- man to Colonel William W. Brown, de- livered by Captain Joseph P. Balch, aide- de-camp to the Brigadier General of the Brigade: "Colonel Brown, I am the bearer of orders to you from General Pit- man for you to take your post in line; if the procession has moved, you will join it wherever you can find it." No reply being necessary, none was sent. At about 10:30, the weather having changed, the Company left the Armory, marched to Benefit Street, and came into line opposite the Court House. In a few moments, the column approached, and after the right, composed of Artillery companies, had passed, the weather-shy Infantry wheeled into column and occupied the line-of-
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march place assigned in the published program.
Four days later, Colonel Brown of the First Light Infantry was placed under arrest by order of General Pitman and advised that charges had been preferred against him and forwarded to Major Gen- eral Ambrose E. Burnside, then in com- mand of the Rhode Island Division of Militia. Colonel Brown was relieved of his command, and his duties were assigned to Lieutenant Nathaniel W. Brown.
Then followed formal notice of a general Court Martial of the Division, and the list of those selected to hear and act upon the charges included such old familiar Provi- dence names as, Mauran, Blanding, Tour- tellot, Potter, and Ballou. The charges against Colonel Brown cited "un-officer- like conduct," "disobedience of the lawful command of his superior officer," and "conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline." When the Court assembled on August 4, however, to hear the testimony, the defense counsel chal- lenged the authority of the body to take any action, contending that General Burnside had ordered a Court Martial illegally. Apparently, this proved to be a fact, for the Court was dissolved and
did not meet again, although new charges were brought against the defendant, and notice given that the trial would be re- opened on October 21. The counsel for the defense must have sought other mercy than that which might have been granted, or refused, by an array of mili- tary-minded Generals and Colonels, be- cause, on October 14, one week before the scheduled reopening of the Court, Gover- nor Hoppin released an order dissolving the Court and stating the reasons why he believed the charges against Colonel Brown to be ill-founded. Briefly, General Pitman had no right to order a Militia Company to parade on the 4th of July - rain or shine. Since the order to parade had not been given by lawful authority, namely, the Governor, or Commander-in- Chief of the State's military forces, Colonel Brown could not be put upon his trial for any disobedience thereto. The accused was released and given back the command of his Company.
It had been said that this tempest-in-a- teapot caused more discussion in these parts at the time than have many other controversies of national and international importance. At any rate, a parade will bring Rhode Islanders out in force.
"LITERARY LIONS "
C NERTAINLY, it could not be said with truth that there was anything lacking in the literary levee enjoyed by many in Providence in September, 1943, either in the platform offerings of several distin- guished contemporary authors, or in the cordial reception accorded the visitors by those who crowded the Rhode Island School of Design Auditorium to see, hear and to bid for mementoes of belles lettres. On the contrary, the so-called Books and Authors War Bond Rally held in the interest of the Third War Loan Cam- paign, will undoubtedly be recalled by all who attended as a highlight, a thor- oughly enjoyable, enlightening, entertain- ing, definitely worthwhile, and amusing program. Some will mean all that and
more when they say "delightful," or "splendid." The best compliment that could be paid to Mr. Clifton Fadiman might be that his public appearance was no disillusionment; Mr. Christopher La- Farge revealed talents, heretofore unknown to admirers of his powers of poetic descrip- tion and of his not-too-heavily under- lined documentary portrayals of average humans; Miss Fannie Hurst looked and acted the part of a famous authoress of passionate, soul-stirring novels; and Mr. Train would certainly have been accepted in the flesh as the beloved character which he has created, had he not stepped out and far away from that character, and joined the now overcrowded ranks of the prophets. All this, with the added con-
RNITURE&FI ROCKERY,I ARPETS&OI
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CITY HOTEL
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CITY HOTEL, BUILT IN 1832, ON WEYBOSSET STREET AT A SPOT NEAR CENTER OF PRESENT OUTLET COMPANY BLOCK. FOR NEARLY THREE-QUARTERS OF A CENTURY PROVIDENCE SOCIETY FOUND ITS DINING HALLS AND PARLORS THE SCENE OF ELABORATE FUNCTIONS.
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tributions by a few local intellectuals, and others, made the occasion something long to be remembered.
However, it could be observed with truth that something was left out of the proceedings. For all that the jam-packed evening audience heard from those who said things, it might well be concluded that Miss Hurst and Messrs. LaFarge, Train and Fadiman were the first dis- tinguished literary personages ever to shuffle notes behind a Providence, Rhode Island lectern. Perhaps, only historically- minded individuals miss the mixing of retrospection in the face of the teeming, breathtaking present, but, it might have been interesting, as well as subtly compli- mentary, if the lions of the hour had been reminded that they were following in a noble train, that Providence had seen, heard and cheered great authors before. To name and treat all of them would require a volume the size of the same sub- ject matter as Mr. Brooks' "The Flower- ing of New England," for not few of the great and near great in American letters were born and raised here, while others received their education upon Rhode Island soil, or chose this place for all it had to offer.
If Mr. LaFarge had heard his name featured in the same breath with Dickens and Thackeray, or if Mr. Train had stepped forward with his specs and rus- tling papers with shades of Hay and Berke- ley, shadow dancing about his snow-white crown, or if Miss Hurst had been re- minded that Sarah Helen Whitman had been once courted by the immortal Poe just a few yards from where she dwelt upon that glittering sunburst of a word, "democracy," it might have been "laying it on a bit thick for the guests" but it certainly would have been enlightening to the Providence first-nighters, seeing and hearing important literary contempo- raries for the first time in their lives.
Well, then, what about authors who had been in Providence previously? Were they received with enthusiasm equal to that exhibited by the assembled audiences of 1943 Providence readers who regularly rushed through the "Reader's Digest," always from cover to cover; who at that time eagerly awaited the weekly photo-
finish of the race between "The Robe" and "The Valley of Decision "; who either detested "Benefit Street" or thoroughly enjoyed the book because they "abso- lutely recognized " one of the characters as someone they knew?
Looking over the list, one immediately discovers that one of the greatest English authors and novelists, William Make- peace Thackeray, came to Providence, in 1852. His appearance here was sponsored by the Providence Association of Me- chanics and Manufacturers, an organized group of civic leaders that early in the century had initiated the idea of offering a series of lectures for the benefit of its members and the public. Not too many details of Thackeray's Providence ap- pearance are available, but from the reminiscences of the author's secretary and tour manager one learns that Boston was selected as a tour headquarters for the party, and that, as Mr. Crowe, the manager recalled, "raids were made from Boston on neighboring capitals." One of the capitals raided by Mr. Thackeray happened to be Providence, forty-four miles off by rail. The journey was easy, the audience large and appreciative. This was on December 22, 1852, when, as Mr. Crowe observed: "the nights were getting chilly. It was, therefore, a little rough upon those fond of their cheerful cigar to be compelled, as most of them were, to content themselves with a discus- sion on the benefits conferred upon this State by liquor laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic drinks. Everybody, I noticed, went to bed early. I only sketched a pair of bluchers whose shadow was cast upon the sleeper's room door outside the hotel." Mr. Crowe, the manager, who wrote that, styled himself Mr. Thackeray's pen holder and the sketch he made of the boots, and referred to, probably in a punning way, as his "sole memory of Providence," has been preserved and reproduced at least once. The lecture by Thackeray took place in Old Howard Hall, at the northeast corner of West- minster and Dorrance Streets (the How- ard Building) and the auditorium was crowded to its utmost capacity. Accord- ing to the scanty news report of the event, "the seats were all occupied and the aisles
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were filled with people " eager to hear the lecture by the greatest satirist of those days upon Swift, one of the greatest satirists who ever wrote in the English language. Thackeray, like Roger Wil- liams, had attended Charter House School in London, and making good use of the lecturer's sure-fire trick of including a fact of local interest to the audience, in his preliminary remarks, casually re- called having seen the initials "R. W." carved on a beam in the venerable public school,
Charles Dickens also came to Provi- dence in 1868, and then he was certainly not unknown in America for he had visited this country in 1842, sweeping through one cordial reception after an- other, from January to June, and return- ing home to write his unnecessarily sar- castic "American Notes." Upon his arrival in Providence on February 20, 1868, was Providence aloof? Did Dickens receive what we now call a cool reception for what he had observed of his "Ameri- can cousins"? There were no mobs at the station when Clifton Fadiman stepped from a Pullman and handed the porter his tip, and no crowds of hysterical, fainting women on hand to ogle the clam- sized emerald and the tricky head-things worn by the writer of "Anitra's Dance," when Providence welcomed the writing royalty in September, 1943, but, long ago on a cold February afternoon, even Dickens himself was startled at the sight of the thousands who crowded the old Railroad Station craning necks and elbow- ing about to get a glimpse of him. Actu- ally, thousands were on hand for the arrival of the immortal English novelist, and the population of Providence at that period was only 55,000.
After alighting from the train, Dickens and his secretary, Mr. Dolby, set out for their hotel on foot, which seems rather strange when we think that those were the days of coaches, and snappy turn- outs. Imagine a Hollywood hero trying to make his way across Exchange Place without cordons of police and all that goes with celebrities walking upon the common earth with common folks. But Dickens and his companion did walk, with the whole crowd, young and old, marching
on behind as though the distinguished visitor were the Pied Piper. The admirers were orderly, and Dickens was greatly amused. Occasionally, some bolder one, perhaps the reader's great-grandfather, would dart ahead suddenly for a brief stare at the Englishman, or for a hurried hand-shake. Apparently, autograph hounds, and camera fiends were yet to be bred among hero-chasers. But, as usual, the police came to the rescue - two burly constables standing on the side-lines, observing the strange plight of Mr. Dickens and his secretary, came to their aid and went the rest of the way as escorts. When the hotel came in sight, the crowd dispersed momentarily in order to run ahead and form two lines on either side of the steps leading up to the main en- trance. Through these lines the two pro- ceeded, obviously enjoying the gauntlet of curiosity. Dickens remarked at the time that it was much like being led into a police van in Bow Street.
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