The Old Coast Road: From Boston to PlymouthRothery, Agnes
History
The Old Coast Road: From Boston to Plymouth
Rothery, Agnes
Norfolk County (Mass.) -- Description and travel; Plymouth County (Mass.) -- Description and travel; South Shore (Mass. : Coast)
From the picturesque union of John Hull's bouncing daughter Betsy and
Judge Sewall sprang the extraordinary family of Sewalls which has given
three chief justices to Massachusetts, and one to Canada, and has been
distinguished in every generation for the talents and virtues of its
members. In passing, we may note that it was this same John Hull who
named Point Judith for his wife, little dreaming what a _bête noir_ the
place would prove to mariners in the years to come.
There is another Quincy man whom it is pleasant to recall, and that is
Henry Flynt, a whimsical and scholarly old bachelor, who was a tutor at
Harvard for no less than fifty-three years, the one fixed element in the
flow of fourteen college generations. One of the most accomplished
scholars of his day, his influence on the young men with whom he came in
contact was stimulating to a degree, and they loved to repeat bits of
his famous repartee. A favorite which has come down to us was on an
occasion when Whitefield the revivalist declared in a theological
discussion: "It is my opinion that Dr. Tillotson is now in hell for his
heresy." To which Tutor Flynt retorted dryly: "It is my opinion that you
will not meet him there."
The procession of Quincy's great men which we have been watching winds
its way, as human processions are apt to do, to the old graveyard. Most
of the original settlers are buried here, although not a few were buried
on their own land, according to the common custom. Probably this
ancient burying ground, with its oldest headstone of 1663, has never
been particularly attractive. The Puritans did not decorate their
graveyards in any way. Fearing that prayers or sermons would encourage
the "superstitions" of the Roman Catholic Church, they shunned any
ritual over the dead or beautifying of their last resting-place.
However, neglected as the spot was, the old stone church, whose golden
belfry is such a familiar and pleasant landmark to all the neighboring
countryside, still keeps its face turned steadfastly toward it. The
congested traffic of the city square presses about its portico, but
those who knew and loved it best lie quietly within the shadow of its
gray walls. Under the portico lies President John Adams, and "at his
side sleeps until the trump shall sound, Abigail, his beloved and only
wife." In the second chamber is placed the dust of his illustrious son,
with "His partner for fifty years, Louisa Catherine"--she of whom Henry
Adams wrote, "her refined figure; her gentle voice and manner; her
vague effect of not belonging there, but to Washington or Europe, like
her furniture and writing-desk with little glass doors above and little
eighteenth-century volumes in old binding."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account