ALDER 172 



the sturdy Captain was not brave enough to 

 face a possible "No" from the mouth of a 

 woman, and so he commissioned his friend 

 Alden to plead his cause. How John faith- 

 fully carried out the Captain's request, though 

 he had dreamed of winning Priscilla for him- 

 self, and how the maiden interrupted his suit 

 with the unexpected question "Why don't you 

 speak for yourself, John?" may be read in 

 Longfellow's well-loved epic of Plymouth 

 colony, The Courtship of Miles Standish, an 

 account of which appears in its place in these 

 volumes, with an illustration. 



Of the personal appearance, character and 

 abilities of the first American Alden, colonial 

 records have considerable to say. He was tall 

 and handsome, and though only twenty-one 

 when he embarked on that perilous journey 

 to the New World, he eventually became one 

 of the leading men in the colony. Of the 

 company that signed the famous Compact in 

 the cabin of the Afay flower, he was the 

 youngest, and he outlived all of the other 

 signers. Thrift and enterprise marked his en- 

 tire career. A few years after his marriage 

 to Priscilla, which probably took place early in 

 1622, he purchased a farmstead in Duxbury, 

 consisting of about 169 acres of well-watered 

 fertile land. This became his permanent home, 

 and the site of the first house in which he 

 lived is marked by a marble slab. Eleven 

 sons and daughters were born to John and 

 Priscilla, and in the list of their descendants 

 we find the names of Henry W. Longfellow, 

 William Cullen Bryant, John Adams and 

 Charles Francis Adams. 



The public career of John Alden was honor- 

 able. He was one of the financial backers of 

 the colony until its debt was wiped out in 1646 ; 

 he acted as its business agent, and was several 

 times surveyor of highways. In 1632 he was 

 appointed a member of the board of assistants 

 to the governor, holding that office again in 

 1634-1639, and from 1650 until his death in 

 1687. Nearly all of the original farmstead at 

 Duxbury has passed from the Aldens, but a 

 house built by the founder of the family in 

 1653 is still preserved, and is owned by one of 

 his descendants. B.M.W. 



ALDER, awl' dur. These plants, of which 

 some are shrubs and some large trees, are re- 

 lated to the birches, and like them are useful 

 to man in many ways. The common alder, 

 which thrives in wet places in the temperate 

 and colder regions of the United States, Canada 

 and Europe, is often of great importance while 



ALDERNEY 



growing, for its spreading roots hold in place 

 soil along the river banks which might other- 

 wise be washed away by floods. The wood, 

 light and soft and of a reddish color, is used 

 for a variety of purposes, and is especially 

 good for making such things as are kept con- 

 stantly in water, since it does not rot. The 

 roots and knots furnish a beautifully-grained 

 wood, well suited for cabinet work, while the 

 charcoal made from the burned wood is used 

 in the making of gunpowder. The bark is usrd 

 for tanning and leather-dressing, and it also 

 furnishes a good dye of various shades of red 

 and yellow. This common alder, though some- 

 what stiff, is a handsome tree, with large, 

 roundish, deeply-notched leaves and long red- 

 dish-yellow catkins. 



ALDERMAN, awl' dur man, a member of a 

 city council, or board of aldermen, and conse- 

 quently a legislator for his city. In most cities 

 aldermen are elected by wards, each ward being 

 entitled to one or two members, according to 

 the provisions of the city charter, or plan of 

 government. Aldermen are usually chosen for 

 two years, and in cities having two aldermen 

 for each ward it is customary to elect one 

 every year. The city council has power to 

 make such rules and regulations for the gov- 

 ernment of the city as the laws of the state 

 permit. In discharging his duties as legislator, 

 each alderman is expected to look after the 

 special interests of his own ward. He is nearly 

 always a member of one or more standing com- 

 mittees of the board of aldermen, and thus his 

 influence reaches over the entire city. Only in 

 large cities are aldermen paid salaries; in 

 smaller towns they usually serve without com- 

 pensation. 



ALDERMAN, EDWIN ANDERSON (1861- ), 

 an American educator, who has been president 

 of several important institutions. He was born 

 at Wilmington, N. C., was graduated at the 

 state university and entered the teaching pro- 

 fession, becoming successively superintendent 

 of city schools at Goldsboro, assistant state 

 superintendent of instruction in North Carolina 

 and professor in the state normal college. From 

 1892 to 1896 he was professor of pedagogy in 

 the University ,of North Carolina, and from 

 the latter year to 1900 was president of that 

 institution. After serving for four years as 

 president of Tulane University he was, in 1904, 

 elected president of the University of Virginia. 



ALDERNEY, awl' durny, one of the Chan- 

 nel Islands belonging to Great Britain, sixty 

 miles from the English coast and separated 



