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uniat amicitia. Maerore afficior quod opinio vulgaris quâ coarctor, et meorum antegenitorum nomen sint meae libertatis impedimentum. Quam dulce et jucundum mihi esset vestras regiones habitare? ibi potest cogitare vir probus, a funibus procul, praesertim principia e fonte sacro Cordis et Judicii exarata enucleare. In gremio ecclesiae romanae ossa mea requiescent. Sed usque ad ultimam vitae meae finem, in veneratione Americanorum delectata erit anima mea.

"Hic gelidi fontes, hic mollia prata—

Hic nemus, hic ipso tecum consumerer aevo.'

"O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint Americolas!'

"Tuam orationem inauguralem legi et perlegi. Sed mens mea isto dono expleri nequit. Per singulas paginas oculos avidos volvi, cunctas miratusque fui. Cum exquisitissima animi voluptate illam arripui. De variis scientiis tam diserte quam recte disseruisti, sicut apis expertissima inter flores innumeros ex melioribus mel excerpsisti.

"Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci

Lectorem delectando pariterque monendo.'

"Sermone benigno artium alumnos ad magna evehis. Vadant quo tua sapientia caelestis ducere conatur. Quam sublimis! quam clara! quam mira tua elocutio! quam ornata, quam alta sermocinatio! quot lepores!

"Forsan ad Europae littora mox occurram. Quando ad oras meae patriae accessero si per te mihi liceat, saepe ad te scribam tecum alloquar de artibus liberalibus, de Sorboniae decisionibus; quia Lutetiae manebo, ut nunc mihi videtur. Sum semperque ero

Clarissime doctor

tuus obedientissimus et subditissimus

"In exercitu faederato

Servus

COLIN DE SEPVIGNY.

die 2do februarii anno 1781.

"Ad eruditissimum doctorem, Stiles, Praesidem Collegii Yalensis."

The Abbé Sepvigny also wrote to Henry Channing, an alumnus of Yale, as follows:

"Tuam gratam epistolam accepi, dulcis amice, et alacriter devoraverunt eam mei oculi, in meo corde integra remanet, tua amoenitas ibi signata est, quidquid virtus, quidquid sapientia possint in ea es exemplar.

"In sperato colloquio magnam meam foelicitatem reposueram, diu hac dulcissima spe perfructus sum, sed e contra alia est sortis voluntas. Mox proficiscar, relinquam haec dulcia arva et tuae patriae fines, incertis in alis ventorum aequora percurram. Forsan Galliam quaeret gubernator navis, forsan colonias nostras, paucis horis ante progressum regionis accedendae praecepto imbuendi sumus.

"Quinetiam nihil incolume habeat coelum sub quo natus es, attamen aer nimis fusus et attenuatus pro meis insuetis oculis. In sinu meorum parentum rediturus sum, et nunquam e mea memoria discedent tui urbanissimi. Ne tibi excedam aliquoties per meas epistolas amicitiam nostram ad te revocabo.

"De oratione inaugurali celeberrimi doctoris et praesidis Stiles gratiam tibi refero. Hoc donum dono repensare vellem. Est supra laudis vocem. Sic in nostris concionabantur [Suo] tempore augusti oratores Romani. Vale charissime amice. Vivas in faelicitate vivas

Vale

COLIN DE SEPVIGNY.

"Novi portus die 2do Anni 1781. "Mr. H. Channing, New Haven."

October 5, 1780. "Introduced to the Commander in Chief of the French allied Army the Count de Rochambeau."

7. "Dined at the Generals, de Rochambeau, in a splendid manner. There were perhaps 30 at the Table. I conversed with the General in Latin. He speaks it tolerably."

9. "Dined at Gen. Chatelux in a splendid manner on 35 Dishes. He is a capital Literary Character, a Member of the French Academy. He is the Glory of the Army."

Under date of October 29, 1780, is the following:
"Principal Officers in the Allied Army at Rh. Isld.
as I received them from M. Gen. de Chattelux.

Commander in Chief Newport Rh. Isld. Oct. 10, 1780.
Count of Rochambeau, Lieut. General.

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M. Montesquieu, Grandson of Author of Spt of Laws
De Sibbille, Secy to the General

The Admiral De Tournay

4 Regiments 5 or 6000; probably 3500 Troops

1 Bourbonnois

2 Soissonnois

3 Saintonge

4 Deux Ponts, German

5 Legion of Horse, Duke de Lauzon a fine officer."

On January 9, 1781, Stiles informs us that Deux Ponts' was "the only protestant Regt in the French army there (Newport). I am psonally acquainted with the Prince who is a Protestant."

EXTRACTS FROM EARLY RECORDS OF ST. PETER'S

CHURCH, NEW YORK CITY.

THE BUILDING OF THE FIRST CATHEDRAL OF NEW YORK.

BY REV. JAMES H. MCGEAN.

It is a matter for regret that most of the original minutes of St. Peter's, New York's oldest church, have been either lost or mislaid. In a search for these treasures we were fortunate in discovering, buried among old papers in the Chancery Office, three books, the first containing the Board's transactions for part of the years 1809 and 1810; the second, for part of 1820 and 1821; the third book has the minutes of the Joint Board of St. Patrick's and St. Peter's for 1820-21-22 and 23. The first one is interesting in a special manner, as it gives items regarding the erection of the second Catholic church of the city, now St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.

The trustees elected on Easter Monday, 1809, were Dominick Lynch, Andrew Morris, Thomas Houghton, Michael Roth, Patrick McKay, John Hinton, James Walsh, Myles J. Clossey, and Bernard Dornin, all of them prominent Catholics of their day, and most of them identified with the incorporation of St. Peter's in 1785.

As the church had been found inadequate to the growing population of the city, the zealous Father Anthony Kohlman easily persuaded the trustees to take steps to relieve St. Peter's, and to give church accommodation to those Catholics who had settled outside of the city, by the erection of a church on the site of the burying-ground which had already been purchased near the Bowery. We find, therefore, at a meeting held in the vestry of St. Peter's Church, New York, May 24, 1809, "it was resolved that, in consequence of public notices from

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the altar, they would carry into effect the building of the new church; . . that the new church, which is to be denominated Saint Patrick's, shall consist of the following dimensions: 120 feet in length, 80 feet in width."*

As the site had already been used as a burying-ground, instructions were given "to have such graves as would be incommoded by the new building removed with all possible care, decency, and expedition; and to have their contents deposited in fresh graves, the relatives of the deceased to be invited to attend the removal."

At the meeting of June 1st it was resolved that the trustees provide a corner-stone for St. Patrick's with the following inscription:

Anno Domini, 1809,
Dedicated to St. Patrick,

Apostle of Ireland.

The ground-plan of the new church was presented by Denis Doyle on June 12th, and it was then ordered that it be "put in execution"; he was moreover enjoined "not to receive any material but of the best quality."

The work of the new church was then begun, but its magnitude called for more money than was in the hands of the trustees, who therefore, at the next meeting, July 3d, resolved to make an appeal for special subscriptions to the parishioners. The motion of Don Thomas Stoughton to this effect is worthy of reproduction:

"Whereas, the expenses of building and completing fit for Divine Service, the New Church dedicated to St. Patrick, must wholly depend on, and proceed from, the voluntary donations and contributions of the generous benevolent, who are desirous, as well for the promotion of Religion, as for the better accom

* In the minutes before us there is no mention of the height of the church, nor any words that would indicate that the plan of the superstructure was adopted. The church as it now stands is much longer than was the first building, having been extended to Mott Street by an addition giving the large sanctuary and the vestries, which even to-day are among the most commodious and imposing church facilities in the city. This addition was begun by Bishop Dubois in 1838, and finished in 1842, making St. Patrick's Cathedral in those years the largest church structure in New York City.

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