Dr. Leonard Bacon, who for fifty-seven years was pastor of the
First Congregational Church of New Haven. Many years subsequent to my
school days, Delia Bacon became, as is well known, an enthusiastic
advocate of the Baconian authorship of Shakespeare's plays. I have
understood that she made a pilgrimage to Stratford-on-Avon hoping to
secure the proper authority to reopen Shakespeare's grave, a desire,
however, that remained ungratified. She was a woman of remarkable
ability, and I have in my possession the book, written by her nephew,
which tells the story of her life. I was Miss Bacon's youngest pupil,
and attended school regularly in company with my sister, whither we were
driven each morning in the family carriage. My studies were not
difficult, and my principal recollection is my playing out of doors with
a dog named Sancho, while the older children were busy inside with their
studies.

During my Long Island life, as a very young child, I was visiting my
aunts in Jay Street, New York, when I was taken to Grant Thorburn's seed
shop in Maiden Lane, which I think was called "The Arcade." There was
much there to delight the childish fancy--canaries, parrots, and other
birds of varied plumage. Thorburn's career was decidedly unusual. He
was born in Scotland, where he worked in his father's shop as a
nailmaker. He came to New York in 1794 and for a time continued at his
old trade. He then kept a seed store and, after making quite a fortune,
launched into a literary career and wrote under the _nom de plume_ of
"Laurie Todd."

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Now Rutgers College.

CHAPTER II

NEW YORK AND SOME NEW YORKERS

About 1828 my parents moved to New York, and immediately occupied the
house, No. 6 Hubert Street, purchased by my father, and pleasantly
located a short distance from St. John's Park, then the fashionable
section of the city. This park was always kept locked, but it was the
common play-ground of the children of the neighborhood, whose families
were furnished with keys, as is the case with Gramercy Park to-day. St.
John's Church overlooked this park, and the houses on the other three
sides of the square were among the finest residences in the city. Many
of them were occupied by families of prominence, among which were those
of Watts, Gibbes, Kemble, Hamilton and Smedberg. Next door to us on
Hubert Street lived Commander, subsequently Rear Admiral, Charles
Wilkes, U.S.N., and his young family. His first wif