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Show j Lights of NzwYork By L. L. STEVENSON j One of New York's best-known 1 links with the long past is Fraunces' Tavern at Broad and Pearl streets. Easy of access, it has been visited by thousands of tourists." It has a part in history, not only of the city but of the nation because of what occurred there December 4, 1783. On that day, George Washington's officers assembled in the "Long Room" on the second floor. It was a solemn occasion since theyhadmet ' to say farewell to their commander-in-chief. After the farewell, Wash- I ington surrendered his commission. The "Long Room" is now very much as it was in Washington's time I since the building has been restored re-stored by the Sons of the American Revolution and is open to the public, with many Colonial relics on display. dis-play. Not long after 1700, Fraunces' Tav-. Tav-. ern was built as a residence by a French Huguenot, Etienne de Lan-cey, Lan-cey, a descendant of Guy de Lancey. Etienne de Lancey came by a small fortune in his homeland and emi-' emi-' grated to America where he estab-: estab-: lished himself as a merchant and in : time grew wealthy. De Lancey 1 street, on the lower East Side was named after him. It is not known exactly what time the residence was , changed into a public house, but in 1739 entertainments and dinners were known to have been held there. Fraunces opened his tavern there In 1762, but it changed hands several sev-eral times before the Revolution. Then Fraunces regained possession and it has gone, down through the years bearing his name instead of that of the man who built it. -v Not far away from Fraunces' Tavern Tav-ern is another link with Colonial days in New York, St. Paul's chapel, on Broadway between Fulton Ful-ton and Vesey streets. As a matter of fact, it is the only church in New York that dates back to pre-Revolu-tionary days. Built in 1766 as a chapel of Trinity parish, after the burning of Trinity in 1776, it became the parish church. Among the worshipers wor-shipers were Lord Howe and Major Andre and the English midshipman who afterward became King George IV. President Washington and both houses of congress marched to St. Paul's after his inauguration at Broad and Wall streets for a service conducted by Bishop Prevoost, chaplain chap-lain of the senate. Afterward, so long as New York remained the capital. cap-ital. President Washington was a regular attendant. St. Paul's is unique in the fact that it turns its back on Broadway, the front with the slim spire, facing toward the Hudson. In the old days, a pleasant lawn sloped down to the water's edge which Was then where Greenwich street is now. On the Broadway portico is a monument to Maj.-Gen. Richard Montgomery, who on December 31, 1775, with Col. Benedict Arnold, led the assault on Quebec and was mortally wounded wound-ed in battle. Congress ordered the monument in 1776 and Benjamin Franklin purchased it in Paris. It was shipped to America on a privateer. pri-vateer. A British gunboat captured the privateer, but the gunboat in turn was taken by an American ship and in time, the monument reached its destination. In St. Paul's churchyard are a number of old red sand stone gravestones, grave-stones, badly treated by the passing pass-ing years, on which are chubby faced winged cherubs. I have noticed them in cemeteries in Westchester West-chester county and elsewhere, but though I've made many inquiries have not succeeded in ascertaining their origin. Once a year, the path through the churchyard is barred. Pedestrians And it a convenient cutoff cut-off between Broadway and Vesey street and the barriers are erected to keep it from becoming public property. While strolling on lower Fifth avenue just after leaving St. Paul's the other afternoon, I thought the New York of the past really had come back. Passing was an old-fashioned old-fashioned carriage with crests on the doors, riding behind were two footmen foot-men with cockades and pigskin tunics. The driver was also very correct, and in the carriage rode a lady who reminded me of pictures of Queen Victoria. Some day I hope to find out who she is. At Broadway and Forty-second street, a furtive young man sidled up to me and whispered that he had a bargain in a diamond. He didn't say that it was stolen, but his manner man-ner indicated it had been. Just as he was on the point of taking it from his pocket, a detective came along and the young man disappeared, disap-peared, so I'll never know how big a sucker I look or at least he I thought I looked. j (Bell Syndicate WNU Service.) |