“Resolved, That the Street Commissioner be directed to ascertain if any proper object can be seen from the Cupola of the City Hall which may be fixed upon as a mark to ascertain the direction of the compass from the said cupola; and that a stone slab be fixed somewhere on the top of the Hall with marks thereon by which the true direction of the magnetic needle of surveyors’ compasses may at all times be regulated and adjusted. “Respectfully submitted. SAMUEL ACKERLY, J. WARREN BRACKET, THOMAS R. SMITH, JOHN REMMEY, ARTHUR BURTIS.” The inscription originally drafted by the New York Historical Society for the Fort George monument was as follows: _To perpetuate The site of the S. W. Bastion of Fort George The Latitude of Which, 40° 42′ 8″ was taken at the order of the N. Y. Chamber of Commerce[31] by Capt. John Montresor and David Rittenhouse Esq. In October, 1769 The Corporation of the City of New York (at the request of the N. York Historical Society) have erected This Monument A D 1817_ The monument was not erected until 1818, and the inscription actually carved on it reads as follows: _To perpetuate The Site of the S. W. Bastion of Fort George In 40° 42′ 8″ N. Latitude As observed by_ CAPT. JOHN MONTRESOR, AND DAVID RITTENHOUSE _in October 1769. The Corporation of the City of New York, have erected This monument A. D. MDCCCXVIII._ NEW YORK CITY EDWARD HAGAMAN HALL ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS A WAR LETTER OF WALT WHITMAN (_His opinion of President Lincoln_) [The original letter dated Washington, March 19, 1863, is owned in New York and is of exceptional interest, as written to two intimate friends and revealing Whitman at his very best. He says it is the longest he has ever written, and that he is “writing at night, while taking care of the child of a friend who had gone to see Matilda Heron in _Medea_.”] * * * After describing his life in Washington, among the soldiers, he refers thus to President Lincoln: