326 AMERICAN HOMES 
Bedroom occupied by Lafayette 
shape of the support of the leaf, delights the eye of the anti- 
quary and lover of old furniture. Among the other interest- 
ing pieces in Mr. Lemon’s collection are 
an oak settle-chair, or chair-table, owned 
originally by Colonel Jonathan Rice, of 
the Revolutionary Army, who kept the 
Rice Tavern in Sudbury; an old maple 
writing-chair in the Windsor style with 
drawer under the seat, and owned by Gen- 
eral Artemas Ward, of the Revolutionary 
Army, and given to the ‘Wayside Inn” by 
his descendant, Samuel Ward, of Shrews- 
bury, and removed from the old Ward 
House in that town by Mr. Lemon; two 
of the cabin chairs from the flagship 
“Hartford”; a mahogany claw-foot arm- 
chair, owned by John Lemon, appointed 
postmaster of Beverly, Mass., by John 
Adams; and a carved oak writing-desk, 
dated 1684. Not the least interesting 
article in his collection is the old carriage 
seen in the accompanying illustration, and 
which has conveyed many a tired traveler 
to the hospitable door of “The Red 
Horse.” 
The old carriage represented has an interesting history, 
for in it General Lafayette drove to Boston to be present at 
the laying of the corner-stone of the Bunker 
Hill Monument. On his arrival in Bos- 
ton for this great occasion he said to his 
friends: ‘In all my travels through the 
country, I have made Bunker Hill my 
polar star.’”’ On that memorable day, June 
17, 1825, when Daniel Webster delivered 
the address, Lafayette received from the 
Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand 
Lodge of Massachusetts, John Abbot, who 
laid the corner-stone, the trowel and spread 
the first layer of cement. 
It is a rare old place, dowered with 
charms both new and old. For among 
American inns it stands unique, at once so 
old and so livable, an inn really ancient as 
buildings are counted in America, and of 
more than respectable antiquity as habi- 
tated structures are counted anywhere. It 
is restful, in these days of lofty modern 
hostelries, to seek quiet in the fine old rooms 
Portrait of Ole-Bull, the celebrated 
violinist 
AND GARDENS 
August, 1909 
of the ‘‘Red Horse Tavern.” Here the 
whole world is at peace, and there is naught 
amiss. It is true the motor-car is a bit out 
of place beneath these dark old walls, but 
not more so than before many an older 
building elsewhere. Here, at least, these 
very modern contrivances help to keep the 
old inn alight and alive, for they bring it 
goodly custom, and help to make it to-day 
quite as much of a landmark as it was by 
right in the older time. 
No! if the coach used by General de 
Lafayette appears a bit out of keeping with 
modern ideas, it was surely in the very fin- 
est of style when it was first used. And the 
finest carriage of any age is none too good 
for mine host of the ‘““Wayside Inn.” So 
the latest of motor-cars may siss and splut- 
ter without the door, and, with all its 
splendor and finery, perform no other task 
than did the ancient stage-coach which, like 
its modern successor, served the humble 
purposes of conveying guests to this hospitable place. And 
that the hospitality was hearty and welcome the history of 
the old inn tells us many and many a time. 
We may be assured that the great folk of 
bygone days would not have stopped here 
had they not been certain of a hearty wel- 
come and comforting fare. ‘The quaint 
old rooms still speak aloud the homeliness 
of the place and tell us—almost—what 
sort of folk once congregated here and the 
fare they had. 
The history of the past and the present 
are both united and exemplified in this 
rare old building. Its old walls witnessed 
alike the rise of the republic and its later 
boundless expansion. If in our own day 
it is no longer the scene of great historic 
events, if our national leaders no longer 
give it distinction and fame, it is only be- 
cause the center of our national life has 
shifted since its more brilliant days. Its 
rooms are still spacious and quite as avail- 
able as they ever were; but if it is no 
longer noted for its guests, it has but 
entered upon a newer and greener old 
age, that, we may trust, will endure for many years to come. 
Long may it last, for its fame is settled and sure! 
Bedroom occupied by Longfellow 
