a great degree of interest in the plans for the new building, the architect being almost entirely guided by his suggestions, and the result of his labors is the magnificent building to which reference was made at the opening of this chapter.  He did not live to see it completed, however.  He died at the house of a friend from the rupture of a blood-vessel, produced, it is believed, by severe mental labor, on the 8th of December, 1853.  His fortune at the time of his death was estimated at a quarter of a million of dollars.  His sons assumed the charge of the business, which they still conduct.

The loss of Mr. Chickering was felt by all classes of his fellow-citizens—­especially by the poor.  To them he had been a kind and generous friend.  Distress never appealed to him in vain, and he proved a faithful steward of the riches committed to his care.  Yet he performed his charities with such a modesty and reticence that few beside the grateful recipients were aware of them.  Indeed, it was his custom to enjoin secrecy upon those whom he assisted; but they would not remain quiet.  His liberality is in striking contrast with the closeness of many who were worth more than twenty times his wealth, but who lacked his warm and sympathizing nature.

CHAPTER VII.

NICHOLAS LONGWORTH.

The grape culture of the United States is yet in its infancy.  Although the annual wine product is estimated at nearly three millions of gallons, there can be no doubt that ere many years shall have elapsed America will rank as one of the most important wine countries of the world.  California is already extending her vineyards for miles along her smiling valleys, where the clear sky and the balmy air, which are unchangeable at the season of the grape harvest, permit a degree of perfection in the fruit unattainable in any European country.  Already her wines are commanding an enviable place in the markets of the world, with no apparent limits to the growing demand for them.  The hillsides of the lower Ohio Valley are lined with thriving vineyards, whose rich clusters of Catawba and Isabella grapes delight the eye on every hand, and thousands of acres are now given to successful grape culture, where formerly only a few straggling vines were seen.  More than five hundred thousand gallons of wine are now annually produced in the neighborhood of Cincinnati alone, and find a market in that city, and what was but a few years ago a mere experiment is now one of the chief sources of the wonderful prosperity of the Ohio Valley, and one of the most important features in the commerce of the Queen City of the West.  The success which has attended this branch of our industry must be a matter of congratulation to the whole country, and the man to whose courage, energy, and liberality it is mainly due must be regarded as a public benefactor.