race. See Prichard's Nat. Hist. of Man, (London, 1843,) pp. 183, 193, 196. Note 4. Page 225. The name first given by the English to Boston was TRIMOUNTAIN. The three hills upon and around which the city is built are Beacon Hill, Fort Hill, and Copp's Hill. In the early records of the Colony, it is mentioned, under date of May 6th, 1635, that "A BEACON is to be set on the Sentry hill, at Boston, to give notice to the country of any danger; to be guarded by one man stationed near, and fired as occasion may be." The last Beacon was blown down in 1789. 66 The eastern side of Fort Hill was formerly a ragged cliff, that seemed placed by nature in front of the entrance to the harbor for the purposes of defence, to which it was very soon applied, and from which it obtained its present name. Its summit is now a beautiful green enclosure. Copp's Hill was used as a burial-ground from a very early period. The part of it employed for this purpose slopes towards the water upon the northern side. From its many interesting records of the dead I select the following, which may serve to show what kind of dust it holds. "Here lies buried in a Stone Grave 10 feet deep, who departed this Life October 23d, 1769, Aged 44 years, a true son of Liberty, an Enemy to oppression, and one of the foremost The gravestone from which I copied this inscription is bruised and splintered by the bullets of the British soldiers. THE PILGRIM'S VISION. In the hour of twilight shadows He thought of the "bloudy Salvages" Of Wituwamet's pictured knife And Pecksuot's whooping shout; For the baby's limbs were feeble, Though his father's arms were stout. His home was a freezing cabin Too bare for the hungry rat, Its roof was thatched with ragged grass The hole that served for casement Was glazed with an ancient hat; And the ice was gently thawing From the log whereon he sat. Along the dreary landscape His eyes went to and fro, The trees all clad in icicles, The streams that did not flow; A sudden thought flashed o'er him,A dream of long ago,— He smote his leathern jerkin And murmured "Even so!" "Come hither, God-be-Glorified, And sit upon my knee, Behold the dream unfolding, Whereof I spake to thee By the winter's hearth in Leyden True is the dream's beginning,— "I saw in the naked forest Our scattered remnant cast, A screen of shivering branches Between them and the blast; The snow was falling round them, The dying fell as fast; I looked to see them perish, When lo, the vision passed. 66 Again mine eyes were opened; The feeble had waxed strong, The babes had grown to sturdy men, The remnant was a throng; By shadowed lake and winding stream The howling demons quaked to hear "They slept, the village fathers,— By river, lake and shore, When far adown the steep of Time The vision rose once more; I saw along the winter snow A spectral column pour, And high above their broken ranks "Their Leader rode before them, Of bearing calm and high, These were a Nation's champions Her dread appeal to try; God for the right! I faltered, And lo, the train passed by. "Once more;-the strife is ended, The solemn issue tried, The Lord of Hosts, his mighty arm Has helped our Israel's side; Gray stone and grassy hillock Tell where our martyrs died, But peaceful smiles the harvest. And stainless flows the tide. "A crash,-as when some swollen cloud Cracks o'er the tangled trees! With side to side, and spar to spar, Whose smoking decks are these? But what is she, whose streaming bars "Ah, well her iron ribs are knit, Whose thunders strive to quell The bellowing throats, the blazing lips, That pealed the Armada's knell!* The mist was cleared,- a wreath of stars Rose o'er the crimsoned swell, And, wavering from its haughty peak, The cross of England fell! |