The Bay State Monthly — Volume 1, No. 4, April, 1884Various
History
The Bay State Monthly — Volume 1, No. 4, April, 1884
Various
Massachusetts -- Periodicals; New England -- Periodicals
Visit the building with us. There it stands, at the corner of two broad
streets, and in the midst of the finest public and private buildings in
the city. Unique in architecture, simple in design, warm in color, and
beautiful in its proportions, it is a building of which Boston may well
be proud, while every Christian man must rejoice in the thought that it
is built for His glory whose blessed emblem crowns its top-most gable.
By its broad stone staircase, under the motto of Associations, "Teneo et
teneor," and through its vestibule, we enter the great reception-room.
Immediately on the left, a white marble fountain supplies ice-cold water
to all who wish it; beyond, richly carpeted and well furnished, the
walls hung with good paintings, are the two parlors. Here the members
have withdrawing-rooms equal to those even in this favored neighborhood.
The few whom we find here certainly appreciate their comfort. The
pleasant room adjoining is that of the general secretary, where he is
usually to be found, and where each member is cordially welcomed for
converse or advice. Beyond, again, is the office, where three men find
it no sinecure to attend to the continuous stream of comers for
welcome, membership, or information. The library is a large, handsome,
sunnyroom, well furnished with shelves, _but not these so well with
books_; and yet, from twenty to fifty men are here quietly reading. The
next room is for general reading. Around the walls on every side are
papers from almost everywhere, and on the tables all the periodicals of
this country, and many from abroad. All about the room sit or stand the
readers, many, for the time, at home again as they gather the local news
of their own town or village. The room beyond is called the "game-room."
At each little table sit the chess or draught-players, while many
interested are looking on.
Here is the lavatory, complete in all its appointments, except, perhaps,
that the long towel on the roller has been already this evening used by
too many hands. The smell of blacking, too, indicates the wearer's
pleasure in his cleaned and polished boots. In that little hall, which
seats about three hundred, a lecture is being given to young men, on the
care of the body, by Dr.----. This is one of six which are given
gratuitously by Boston physicians.
We mount the stairs to the next story. These two rooms are rented to a
commercial college. This door opposite admits you to the hall, which has
seats for nine hundred persons. It is extremely simple, but the tints of
the walls and ceiling are delightful, and you have only to listen to
those members of the ---- Club, who have leased it for their concerts,
to realize that its acoustic properties are perfect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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