1989

My home for the past 35 years has been at 108 Mt. Vernon Street. Beacon Hill, Boston. From the two windows of my sleeping room in my fourth floor apartment can be seen the planes flying from the Logan airport at East Boston to New York and elsewhere. On the wall is a crucifix beautifully hand carved in its ivory parts which I prize highly. It was given to me on one of my visits to Venice by Madame Michilin, an elderly and friendly woman who had a small shop on .a narrow street leading from the square where is located the Cathedral of St. Mark.

Looking out of the windows of my sleeping room are the top branches of an ailanthus, or tree of heaven. No one knows when this Chinese tree was introduced into Boston. The Arboretum is authority for the information that is was first planted in America in 1784 by William Hamilton, whose gardens, near Philadelphia, were famous. In 1804, it was first brought into New England at Portsmouth, R. I. Possibly it was not brought to Beacon Hill until later, when, in 1820, there was a widespread demand for ailanthus in many Eastern cities, its graceful foliage, rapid growth, and general hardiness making it a great favorite. From the bay windows of my living room, overlooking "Mt. Vernon Street, can be seen diagonally across the street, the entrance to Boston's historic Louisburg Square, famous for its traditional caroling on Christmas Eve.

Secretary, Treasurer and Bequest 108 Mt. Vernon St., Boston 8, Mass.