to said vestry or successors, for any suitable part of this land to build a Church of England, or schoolhouse there," etc.

In 1740, a number of persons, tired with the "much dissension which prevailed in the town," and moved perhaps by other reasons, formed themselves into a parish which they called St. Thomas, and built a church. They also bought a glebe on which was a small house. Twenty-six names only appear in this enterprise. There lacked fourteen of the number prescribed by Coram to obtain the territory devoted to the erection of the

Boston, and the proceeds devoted to the erection of the stone church now occupied by that parish.

Thomas Coram's name is associated with the State of Georgia. In 1732, twenty-one persons obtained from the king a charter for a province in which to settle some of his poor subjects. Among these trustees with Coram was General James Ogelthorpe, who received the eulogies of Thompson, Pope and Johnson. Thomas Coram also projected a school for the education of Indian girls in North America.

church, and this was probably a reason why his bounty did not become available. But he did not forget the infant church. He sent over from England several volumes to form a parish library. Among them were some very costly books, and several were in dead or foreign languages. "The path of his humble biography," says another, "is here crossed by a name which belongs to history, for it appears that Speaker Onslow, whose friendship the worth of Coram had conciliated, presented to the church in Taunton its Book of Common Prayer." The land given for the church in Taunton was sold in 1754 by King's Chapel,

But the great enterprise of his life entitles him to the praise of being the precursor of the great philanthropist, John Howard. To quote the words of another, whom we have already cited, "While Coram lived in that part of London which is the common residence of seafaring folks, as he passed by in the morning to his business in the city, and returned at night, the sight of numerous infants exposed in the streets, many of them in a dying state, called forth all the kindness of a heart peculiarly susceptible to human suffering. After seventeen years of steady advocacy of his object, a royal charter for the

foundation of the Foundling Hospital passed the Great Seal. Coram watched over the institution to his death, with more than parental care. . . . Having bestowed all his goods to feed the poor,' he fell into poverty himself, and not being too proud to become a pensioner on the bounty of others, he was supported by a charitable subscription for the last two years of his life." He was buried in the chapel of the hospital which he founded. No more appropriate monument to his memory could be desired. Horace Walpole speaks of him as "one Coram, the honestest, the most disinterested and the most knowing person about the plantations I ever met with."

The first rector of St. Thomas's Church, Taunton, was the Rev. John Graves, in 1754. He received a stipend from the venerable Society for Propagating the Gospel, founded in England in 1704, the first Protestant missionary society ever established. Mr. Graves was sent as missionary to Providence, R. I., but he was also to officiate in Taunton. The ministrations of this gentleman and that of the Rev. John Lyon cover the time up to the American Revolution. During ten years the church was closed. It was reopened in 1785, under the ministry of the Rev. W. W. Wheeler, who had been a missionary before the Revolution, in the present State of Maine. After Mr. Wheeler's resignation, in 1798, the church lay unoccupied. The great gale of 1815, still remembered by some, levelled the building to the ground. The main population of Taunton being in another part of its territory, it was resolved to rebuild in a more appropriate place than the old site. It was not, how

ever, till 1829 that a beautiful church edifice was built, which was consecrated in June of that year. Its cost was about $9000. The enlargement of the edifice, in 1840, cost about $2000 more, and other expenses on the building made the amount in all about $12,000. The cut on page 412 is a view of the church at the last-named date.

In 1856, it was found that the church was out of repair, and not large enough for the congregation. Contracts were made for auother building of stone. In 1859, the new church, represented on page 413, was completed, at a cost of $33,000. The following is a description: "The church is built of black granite, trimmed throughout with cut white granite. It is a true clere-story gothic building, in the early English style. The glass is stained throughout. The chancel is raised and deeply recessed, and terminated by an apse. The organ-room is by the side of the chancel, opposite the robing-room, and the singers are in the church, next to the organ, on the same floor with the congregation. The acoustic effects are admirable, both for the voices of the singers, and for the voice of the officiating minister. The building was designed by Richard Upjohn, architect of Trinity Church, New York."

The present church occupies the site of the one which preceded it, which has been removed to an adjoining lot, and is still used for parochial purposes. Among the rectors of St. Thomas's Church, was the Rt. Rev. Thomas Vail, D.D., now Bishop of Kansas.

A second Episcopal church, by the name of St. John's, has recently been organized in Taunton, with a good promise of success.

CALIFORNIA

The splendid illustration on page 415, is familiar to many of our readers. It recalls to mind the scenes that were often witnessed in California in the early days of gold-hunting, when thousands of young and middle-aged men were prospecting the northern part of the State, in the hope of discovering rich placers and most wonderful" pockets.”

In the beginning of the gold-hunting excitement, men used "cradles" for the purpose of separating the precious metal from the dirt. They were simple machines, such as most any one could construct, with the proper materials at hand. A few boards, nails,

GOLD MINING.

and a piece of zinc or sheet-iron, put together in the form of a cradle, on rockers, and the thing was done. They were light, cheap, and could be packed from one river to another without trouble. A cradle would wash out more dirt in a day than a dozen men could "pan out," and yet a cradle required but three men to tend it and keep it running in shape. One man dug the dirt, another put it in the cradle, and a third threw on water and rocked the machine. If the dirt was rich, many ounces of dust would repay the miners when they "cleaned up," but if it was poor, hardly a sight of gold could

be obtained, and then the heart of the stout
miner would fail him, and he would think of
the wife and little ones at home, and the poor
prospect that was before him of joining them
with a competency as a reward
for all of his privations and
hardships.

The cradle had its day, but
while it lasted it performed
good service. Yankee ingenu-
ity soon saw that a different
kind of machine would do
much more work, and save
more gold than the cradle, so
the "Long Tom" was invent-
ed, larger, longer and heavier
than the cradle; but even this
did not suit the ideas of those
who were eager to get rich, so
sluices were started, and then,
under immense heads of water
washed down hills, in hope of
finding the precious metal, but
to the everlasting destruction
of the navigable rivers, like the
Sacramento; for the debris is
carried down and deposited in
the channels, and even the
spring freshets are unable to
remove it. Unless the State is
prompt in its action, the Sacra-
mento will be useless, except
for flat-bottomed steamers or
barges, and a noble river de-
stroyed. It is too valuable for
commerce, to be ruined, even
by those who lust for gold, and
remove mountains to obtain it.

The picture will show our
readers how gold is obtained
by the aid of "Long Toms"
and sluices, and will recall to
many the hard work experi-
enced in the mountains of Cal-
ifornia-alas, with too little
luck, we fear. In regard to
the gold discoveries of Califor-
nia, some new light has just
One Don Abel
appeared.
Stearns presents to the San
Francisco Association of Cali-
fornia Pioneers, documentary

CALIFORNIA GOLD MINING.

evidence that he, in November, 1842, sent from Los Angeles to the Philadelphia Mint for assay twenty ounces of gold taken from placers first discovered in March, 1842, by Francisco Lopez, a native Californian, at San

sheath-knife, and in the dirt discovered a piece of gold. Searching further, he found more pieces, and on returning to town announced his discovery, but no notice was taken of it.