185 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
the committee's desire to have some- 
thing doing all the time that would 
add pleasure to the occasion. An 
early start was made for the steamer 
Warwick which had been chartered 
expressly to take the visitors to that 
famous home of the nabobs — New- 
port — and incidentally to enjoy a sail 
down picturesque Narragansett Bay. 
The weather could not have been 
more propitious and the roomy 
decks afforded a delightful place from 
which to view the country on either 
side of the bay. A feature not on the 
programme was the almost simul- 
taneous arrival in the harbor of the 
Swedish cruiser Fylgia with Prince 
Wilhelm and our own steamer. The 
Prince w'as kept in ignorance of the 
nearness of a boatload of cemetery 
men lest he might regard it as an 
omen of uncertain outcome. 
Island Cemetery was reached after 
a short car ride and walk through a 
street so narrow that it could afford 
but one scant sidewalk. An inspec- 
tion of the interesting old cemetery 
with its tall grave markers, iron in- 
clcsures and historic monuments was 
followed by an address by Hon. Rob- 
ert S. Franklin, President of Island 
Cemetery Corporation, who extended 
a cordial welcome to “our fair city 
by the sea.” Mr. Franklin said there 
were fifteen or more cemeteries in 
Newport, the most representative be- 
ing the old or Common Burying 
Ground adjoining Island Cemetery. 
It has been in continuous use from 
the middle of the seventeenth century 
up to the present time. “There the 
rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.” 
The oldest monument bears date 1660, 
ante-dating the oldest on Burial Hill, 
Plymouth, Mass., twenty years. Many 
distinguished men are interred in the 
smaller burying places throughout the 
cit}^ Especially noteworthy of these 
places is the Jewish Cemetery near 
the heart of the city, a little spot 
luxuriant in foliage and flowers. Here 
rest the Touros whose bequests for 
the care of this cemetery and to New- 
port and New Orleans will keep alive 
their memory to remote posterity. 
Island Cemetery Corporation was 
chartered in 1847. The grounds com- 
prise twenty-one acres, under control 
of trustees chosen annually by the lot 
owners. Andrew K. McMahon has 
been Superintendent for twenty-four 
years and W'as commended by Mr. 
Franklin as “a faithful and conscien- 
tious official to whose energy and skill 
the excellent condition of the grounds 
is due in great degree.” 
The Belmont Memorial Chapel 
with its handsome art-glass wdndows, 
and elaborately _ carved altar of for- 
eign marbles, beautiful monuments by 
Saint Gaudens and his pupil Oscar 
Lenz and other memorials by Ameri- 
can and foreign artists elicited favor- 
able comment. From the cemetery 
the visitors were escorted to the Ma- 
sonic Hall where a fine luncheon was 
served to about three hundred per- 
sons. The New'port Horticultural So- 
ciety joined wdth the local cemetery 
officials in providing the entertain- 
ment for the day and many of their 
members participated in the delight- 
ful ride through the city and over the 
famous Ocean Drive. Twenty or 
more conveyances, described locally 
as “barges” or drags, formed quite an 
imposing procession. This is one of 
the best known drives in the coun- 
try; it passes nearly all the elegant 
residences in modern Newport and 
affords at least a passing glance of 
many of the fine gardens for which 
Newport has an enviable reputation. 
On the return to the steamer the 
final business session was held. The 
officers nominated at a preceding ses- 
sion were elected and Kansas City 
was chosen as the next place of meet- 
ing with Chattanooga, Tenn., as a 
close competitor. Resolutions were 
adopted thanking the officials of North 
Burial Ground, Swan Point and Is- 
land cemeteries for their instructive 
historical addresses, the members of 
the Executive Committee for their 
courteous attention and untiring ef- 
forts to make the occasion one long 
to be remembered and to Newport 
Florticultural Society for their kind- 
ness and courtesy. President-elect 
Diering announced the following 
members of the Executive Committee 
for Kansas City, 1908: L. B. Root, 
Mt. Washington; S. M. Hyer, Elm- 
wood; H. -S. Cook, Forest Hill, and 
Sid J. Hare. A buffet lunch was 
served on the steamer on the return 
sail by moonlight up Narragansett 
Bay. The evening passed pleasantly 
interspersed with vocal and instru- 
mental music and at 10:30 p. ,m. the 
Providence dock was reached and the 
twenty-first annual gathering of the 
A. A. C. S. was at an end. 
In the Newport Gardens 
Our association had a happy day at Ne-w- 
port, but I heard some members remark. 
“Oh how I wish we could stop a little and 
have a walk through some of these mag- 
nificent gardens.” But our time that after- 
noon would not permit of this, besides, ac- 
cess to most of these Newport home 
grounds is denied absolutely to the public. 
I was most fortunate, however; my daugh- 
ter and I staid over. We were the guests- 
of the Secretary of the Newport Horticul- 
tural Society, and through our host had 
an entry into the grounds of many of the 
grandest of Newport’s palatial homes. As 
much of what we saw and learned would 
not be of general interest to our cemetery 
people, I’ll restrict myself to what I think 
you would care to know. 
Our association and the Swedish prince 
Wilhelm entered Newport the same day. 
Our boat passed close by the cruiser that 
brought him hither and we all admired the 
Scandinavian battleship. Blue and yellow 
were the Swedish colors. The Prince was 
the social lion of the season. In the even- 
ing a grand dinner was given in his honor 
by Mrs. Fish. The decorations were pur- 
ple and gold. Gorgeous orchids (Cattleya 
gigas) were the purple and a profusion of 
allamanda blooms the gold. I did not get 
back in time from our carriage ride and 
final business on the boat to see these. Af- 
ter dinner the Prince and his company were 
entertained at a ball at the Berwind man- 
sion. By prearrangement, about 9:30 that 
evening, the courtesy of viewing the recep- 
tion rooms, ball room and supper rooms 
was extended to us. What a spacious, beau- 
tiful, artistically and richly gotten up man- 
sion this is, and the floral work throughout 
was superb — rich, tasteful, elegant, grace- 
ful. Allamandas, roses and orchids pre- 
ENTRANCE TO ‘‘FAIRLAWN. ’’ NEWPORT, R. I. 
