Captain Warren, Oliver
de Lancey, James Jauncey, William Bayard and Abraham Mortier all
acquired estates there. The road to Greenwich was by far the most
fashionable of all the Colonial drives.
Greenwich Road ran along the line of our present Greenwich Street, and
gave one a lovely view of the water. At Lispenard's Salt Meadows
(Canal Street) it ran upon a causeway, but the marshes overflowed in
the spring, and soon they opened another road known as the Inland Road
to Greenwich. This second lane ran from the Post Road or Bowery,
westward over the fields and passing close to the site of the Potter's
Field. This, I understand, was the favourite drive of the fashionable
world a century and a half ago.
If anyone wants to really taste the savour of old New York, let him
read the journals of those bygone days. Better than any history
books will they make the past live again, make it real to you with its
odd perfumes, and its stilted mannerisms, and its high-hearted courage
and gallantry.
I know of no quainter literature than is to be found in these very old
New York papers.
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