Chapter II: Part 2

A FEW years since, a young gentleman at the University in
_Cambridge_ asked of a Collegian the loan of his _W_irgil.
The inelegant pronunciation of the word _Virgil_ was
burlesqued by the young Collegian in the following story,
with which his invention readily supplied him:--_Lately_
(says he) _I set out on a woyage to Wersailles, with one
Captain Winal, in a British wessel called the Wiper; but we
soon met with a wiolent storm, which drove us into a port in
Wirginia; where one Capt. Waughn, a wery wicious man,
inwited us aboard his wessel, and gave us some weal and
wenison, with some winegar, which made me wery sick; so I
did womit like wengeance;_ (and added, reaching out the
book) _You may have my Wirgil, and welcome_. This humor had
the desired effect; the young gentleman saw the absurdity of
doing such w_iolence_ to the letter V, and has ever since
spoke like other people.

_Salem Gazette,_ April 26, 1791.

* * * * *

What Mr. Welby, an English gentleman, saw when he was in the United States in 1821. A very flattering picture of the West.

More Travellers' Stories.

_From the National Gazette._

A new book of Travels in America has been recently issued in
London which rivals the volumes of our old friends Weld,
Ashe, Fearon, &c. It is entitled "A Visit to North America
and the English Settlements in Illinois, with a winter
residence in Philadelphia; solely to ascertain the actual
prosperity of the Emigrating Agriculturist, Mechanic, and
Commercial Speculator"--by Adlard Welby, _Esquire_, of South
Rauceby, Lincolnshire. This esquire has said enough, should
he be believed, to settle ultimately the point of the truth
or falsehood of Godwin's notable doctrine, that we owe the
increase of our numbers chiefly to emigration. No sane
European would venture among us after having read Mr.
Welby's book. He discovered that, in Philadelphia, living
was _very dear_, comfort _very uncommon_, and good manners
still more rare. Throughout his journey he found in the
taverns "a system of impertinence, rudeness, rascality, and
filth, rendered more intolerable by an antipathy to the
English, in the brutal manifestation of which most of the
Colonel, Doctor, and Squire, keepers of the taverns, were
pleased to indulge." When he asked an hostler to call him
early in the morning, he was answered that--he might call
himself and be d----d. In the Western country he found no
symptoms of hospitality--witnessed only idleness and
licentiousness, and experienced every where brutal rudeness
and unbounded extortion. The western people usually combine
in cheating all travellers, and sometimes "_rifle_," that is
_shoot_ residents among them who do not choose to descend to
their own level. In Illinois "a party proposed to each other
_coolly_ to go and shoot neighbour *****, who had behaved
ill to them sundry times; it was agreed upon; they went to
his field, found the old man at plough, and, with unerring
aim, laid him dead." And Mr. Welby adds that the country
would be desirable to live in, did not the folks _shoot_
each other thus, and were they not half savages. The
_shooting_ case reminds us of a traveller's story which we
heard at a dinner table abroad. A gentleman and esquire of
strict veracity, like Mr. Welby, related, in order to shew
how common was the calamity of the _coup de soleil_, or
stroke of the sun, in the Island of JAVA, that sitting once
in the house of an opulent merchant of Batavia, drinking a
_cool_ glass of Madeira after dinner, with the merchant's
wife in the room, the lady was, in the twinkling of an eye,
_reduced to a heap of ashes_ by a _coup de soleil_; when the
husband observed to his guest, "don't be alarmed--we are
accustomed to this;" then rang the bell with great
composure, and on the appearance of the servant, _coolly_
said--"Boy--sweep your mistress out, and _bring us clean
glasses._"

In the neighborhood of Mr. Birbeck's settlement in Illinois,
Mr. Welby could obtain neither eggs, milk, sugar, salt, nor
water; and when he and his party sent a request to Mr.
Birbeck for some water, the answer returned was, he made it
a general rule to refuse every one. Mr. Birbeck is
represented as having deceived and disappointed most of the
English who were lured to his settlement by his "Journal."
Mr. W. could discover none of "the snug cottages, with
adjoining piggeries, cowsteads, gardens and orchards," which
Mr. B. had introduced into his canvass. He found nothing but
the primitive log building, that served the whole
family--"for parlour, for kitchen, and hall." "The strange
heterogeneous mixture of characters," says Mr. W. "which are
collected here by the magic pen of Morris Birbeck, is truly
ludicrous. Among many others, a couple now attend to the
store at Albion who lately lived in a dashing style in
London, not far from Bond-street; the lady brought over her
white satin shoes and gay dresses, rich carpets, and
everything but what in such a place she would require--yet
I have understood that they have accommodated themselves to
their new situations, hand out the plums, sugar, whiskey,
&c., with tolerable grace, and at least 'do not seem to mind
it.'"

In one of the principal literary journals of London, Mr.
Welby's book is recommended as "carrying on its front the
stamp of plain dealing, _truth_ and candor, and entitled,
from internal evidence, to the highest authority amid the
conflicting statements and opinions respecting emigration to
America." The reviewer adds:--"From a country so destitute
of moral beauty as the author depicts it, so disgusting in
its human externals, and so low in the scale, not merely of
refinement, but of good principles, we are happy to
withdraw." As Mr. Welby spent a winter in Philadelphia, and
had acquaintance here, it is probable that such of the
latter as have not seen his book will be pleased to know the
complexion of its contents.

_Salem Register,_ May 18, 1822.

* * * * *

In the "Essex Register" of July 18, 1833, may be found the following notice of two well-known American authors:--

DISCOURSE ON GENIUS. The Richmond Compiler speaks in terms
of great praise of a discourse delivered recently in
Richmond, before a Young Men's Society, by Joseph Hulbert
Nicholas. A number of extracts are also given in the
Compiler, as specimens of the performance, from which we
take the following notices of two of our
fellow-townsmen.--_Boston Courier._

Of Charles Sprague, of Massachusetts, no language can be
spoken but that of unqualified praise. Forsaking the modern
school of writing, he is contented with being simple and
natural. Sublimity, tenderness, wit, elegance, and
beneficial satire characterise his muse.--The only complaint
I have ever heard made of him is that _he does not write
more_.

Of Nathaniel Parker Willis, a native of Massachusetts, and a
fellow-student with myself at Yale College, I come now to
speak. Of him I shall speak familiarly, as of an intimate
friend; and impartially and justly, as one who wishes him
well. Willis, I venture to pronounce the most remarkable
genius our country has yet produced. I do not call him
remarkable merely for his unusual precocity of song, but
remarkable for the possession of that rare genius, which by
any man, young or old, in our land, I do not think has ever
been displayed. Nature has done wonderful things for him;
but alas! he has thus far done but little for himself. The
great pieces he has sometimes given us have cost him but
little effort, and he has thrown out his productions, in
prose as well as poetry, with a profusion and a variety that
seem miraculous; and yet, of all our bards, he has met with
the most severe and merciless censures. In some measure he
has deserved the treatment. In College he would not
condescend to study, and charity only for his high genius
enabled him to gain a degree. Besides, he gained his first
and best reputation by pieces founded upon scriptural
subjects, and he stood committed to the world as a
_religious_ man. Many who had never seen aught of him but
his productions, and had formed the loftiest estimate of his
personal character from the pure tendency of his effusions,
were astonished and grieved when introduced to the
author.--His head made giddy by the praises of young and
old, he forgot himself, and possessing most shrewd good
sense, he would talk the reverse. He became fantastic in
apparel, as he did likewise in his style of writing; made
himself too common, and almost broke a pious father's heart
by deserting the altar of that divine Jesus upon whose Bible
he had founded the fairest fabric of his fame. My friend, of
whom I so sternly speak, is now in Italy; and should these
remarks, per chance, ever meet his eye, I beseech him by our
past friendship, by our walks "by moon or glittering
star-light," through the Eden groves and avenues of
New-Haven, by the love he bears to his parents, and above
all, by the love he bears that Saviour, upon whose image and
the scenes of whose mortal pilgrimage he is rapturously
gazing, in the matchless pictures of the Italian masters, I
beseech him, when he returns to his native land, to wear no
longer a ridiculous mask, but to appear in his own native
strength, dignity, and surpassing loveliness.

In the "Salem Observer," March 8, 1834, are to be found the following references to well-known young ladies of the day. Miss Silsbee is supposed to be the daughter of the Hon. Nathaniel Silsbee, of Salem, Massachusetts senator in Congress. She afterwards married Jared Sparks, the well-known historian, president of Harvard College, etc.

HIGH LIFE AT WASHINGTON. The Washington Correspondent of the
Boston Morning Post, in describing Gov. Cass's soiree, thus
notices some of the young ladies who were present:--

Miss Keyser of Baltimore, uniting youth and beauty,
possesses an eye as dark as the absence of all light,
beaming with a lustre that eclipses all. I never saw a
countenance betoken such perfect happiness; it was like a
star-lit lake, curling its lips into ripples in some dream
of delight, as the west wind salutes them with its balmy
breath and disturbs their placid slumber. I never before
realised Byron's idea of

"Music breathing o'er the face;"

till Miss Keyser's brought it home to the business and
bosom.

Miss Silsbee, of Salem, with a form of great symmetry,
possesses a countenance not only beautiful, but entirely
intellectual--the most so of any you have met with either
here or elsewhere; it is of the Italian model; and should
have basked beneath an Italian sky. She is very easy,
graceful and modest in her deportment, and dresses 'rich not
gaudy;' the cameo necklace that graced her person was only
the foil that set off the diamond.

Miss Harper of Baltimore, with a fine face and form, is
particularly unrivalled for a bust of unrivalled symmetry;
it would furnish a model for a Canova; and reminds me of
Greenough's Medora.

Miss M'Lane of this city, with many separate charms that
could not fail of attraction, unites with them the finest of
fine forms.

And last, not least, the younger Miss Cass possesses the
most perfect _Madonna_ countenance I have ever seen clothed
in living lustre. It was one of the first that attracted my
attention when I entered the saloon, and the last that
received my parting glance when I retired; it seemed to be--

"While in, above the world;"

I am told it is entirely characteristic; that she is in
heart and thought, what you behold in her
countenance--happy, but not gay; serious but not sad;
devout, yet not a devotee.

* * * * *

In the "Salem Gazette" of 1815 is the following curious information about Scott's novels, which shows how easy it is for people to be mistaken.

William Erskine, Esq. is said to be the author of the new
and interesting Novel, "_Guy Mannering_."--Walter Scott had
been pronounced the author.

WAVERLY.--It is not yet decided to whom this very
interesting novel belongs. It came into the world with all
the advantage that the name of Walter Scott could give it;
but Guy Mannering's appearance seems to have dissolved that
connection. An article in our first page attributes the work
to Wm. Erskine; but in the last North-American Review we
read the following:--"An English Magazine says, the author
of Waverly and Guy Mannering is a young gentleman of the
name of FORBES, the son of a Scotch baronet." The Review
remarks, that the extract in the title page of the latter,
from the _Lay of the Last Minstrel_, was a delicate way of
informing the public that they were under a mistake in
attributing the former to Walter Scott.

* * * * *

On the 16th June, 1806, there was a total eclipse of the sun. The following is all the "Salem Gazette" of the 17th has to say of such a remarkable event.

Yesterday the great Solar Eclipse took place, agreeably to
the calculations which had been made. The day was very
favourable to viewing it. The air was remarkably clear, and
there was not a cloud in the hemisphere. As the sun shut
in, the stars appeared, and many were visible at the time of
total darkness. A considerable alteration in the temperature
of the atmosphere was felt during the continuance of the
Eclipse.

* * * * *

In the "Boston Palladium" of 1819, copied from a London paper, is Lord Mansfield's opinion about a word in Johnson's Dictionary. In the original editions of this work are to be found many very curious definitions, some of which bore so hard upon the government as to be construed into libel.

FROM A LONDON PAPER.

_EXCISE._

The following curious little document is the opinion of Lord
Mansfield, when Attorney-General, upon Dr. Johnson's
explanation of the word Excise:--

_CASE._

Mr. Samuel Johnson has lately published a book, entitled "A
Dictionary of the English Language, in which the words are
deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their
different significations by examples from the best writers.
To which are prefixed a History of the Language and an
English Grammar."

Under the title "Excise" are the following words:--

EXCISE, n.s. (_accijs_, Dutch; _excisum_, Latin,) a hateful
tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common
judges of property, but _wretches_ hired by those to whom
"_Excise_" is paid.

The people should pay a rateable tax for their
sheep, and an _Excise_ for every thing which they
should eat.--HAYWARD.

"Ambitious now to take _excise_
Of a more fragrant paradise."--CLEVELAND.

_EXCISE._

"With hundred rows of teeth the shark exceeds,
And on all trades, like Cassawar, she feeds."
MARVEL.

"Can hire large houses and oppress the poor
By farm'd Excise."--DRYDEN'S Juvenal, Sat. 3.

The Author's definition being observed by the Commissioners
of Excise, they desire the favour of your opinion:

_Qu._--Whether it will not be considered as a libel; and if
so, whether it is not proper to proceed against the author,
printers and publishers thereof, or any and which of them,
by information or how otherwise?

_OPINION._

"I am of opinion that it is a libel; but under all the
circumstances, I should think it better to give him an
opportunity of altering his definition; and in case he
don't, threaten him with an information.

"(Signed) W. MURRAY.

"29th Nov, 1755."

* * * * *

Samuel Sewall, whose remarkable "Diary" has within a few years been printed by the Massachusetts Historical Society, appears to have been the successor of John Foster, who printed the first book ever issued from the press in Boston,--namely, "Hubbard's Election Sermon,"--in 1676. All previous printing in the colony had been executed at Cambridge. Mr. Hubbard was the minister of Ipswich.

SAMUEL SEWALL.

When John Foster (the first who carried on printing in
Boston) died in 1681, the town was without the benefit of
the press; but a continuance of it being thought necessary,
_Samuel Sewall_, not a printer but a magistrate, and a man
much respected, was selected as a proper person to manage
the concerns of it, and as such was recommended to the
general court. In consequence of this recommendation, the
court, in Oct. 1681, gave him liberty to carry on the
business of printing in Boston. The _license_ is thus
recorded: "Samuel Sewall, at the instance of some Friends,
with respect to the accommodation of the public, being
prevailed with to undertake the Management of the Printing
Press in Boston, late under the command of Mr. John Foster,
deceased, liberty is accordingly granted to him for the same
by this court, and none may presume to set up any other
Press without the like Liberty first granted."

Sewall became a bookseller.--Books for himself and others
were printed at the press under his management; as were
several acts and laws, with other works for government.
Samuel Green, jun., was his printer. In 1682 an order passed
the general court for the treasurer to pay Sewall ten pounds
seventeen shillings, for printing the election sermon,
delivered that year by the Rev. Mr. Torrey.

In 1684, Sewall, by some means, was unable to conduct the
press, and requested permission of the general court to be
released from his engagement. This was granted; the record
of his release is in the words following.

"Samuel Sewall by the providence of God being unable to
attend the press, &c., requested leave to be freed from his
obligations concerning it, which was granted, with thanks
for the liberty then granted."

In 1684, and for several subsequent years, the loss of the
charter occasioned great confusion and disorder in the
political concerns of the colony. Soon after Sewall resigned
his office as conductor of the press in Boston, he went to
England, and he returned in 1692. He was undoubtedly the
same Samuel Sewall who, when a new charter was granted by
king William, was for many years one of the council for the
province, and who, in 1692, was appointed one of the Judges
of the Superior Court; in 1715 Judge of Probate; and in
1718, Chief Justice of Massachusetts. He died Jan. 1, 1729,
aged 78 years.--_Boston News Letter._

* * * * *

Knowledge of natural history at the Isles of Shoals in the early part of the last century.

A CENTURY AGO. The N. York Gazette relates that when Rev.
Mr. Tuck, in the early part of the last century, was
ordained minister of Star Island, one of a cluster called
the Isles of Shoals, his parish offered him, beside the
usual parsonage house, a quintal of fish each family, but no
money, as a salary. It is well known that the fish cured at
these islands are called dun fish, and have the highest
reputation for excellence wherever known. They are caught in
the depth of winter, and are fit for market before the hot
weather. They derive the name of _dun_ from the color which
they assume. There were at the period of which we speak,
about fifty families in the cluster, giving him fifty
quintals per year. The average price of a dun fish is about
ten dollars, and the worthy pastor always procured a ready
sale for them, thereby realizing his five hundred dollars
per annum. With this stipend he flourished, and brought up
a family, whom he educated himself, and fitted one of his
sons for entrance into Harvard College. The lad had never
been away from the Shoals till he reached Long wharf on his
way to Cambridge. He had never seen a horse, nor heard a
church bell. On landing, he saw many horses attached to
various vehicles; and speaking to his father, said, "Only
see what queer cows they have in Boston! they are not shaped
like ours, and are all without horns." In passing by the Old
South, in Cornhill, the big bell of that church struck up a
peal, the effect of which nearly drove the young man mad.

_Salem Observer_ [1829].

What Captain Hall, R.N., thought of a Salem gentleman.

_From Capt. Basil Hall's Travels in America--just
published._

We reached the town of Salem in good time for dinner; and
here I feel half tempted to break through my rule, in order
to give some account of our dinner-party, chiefly, indeed,
that I might have an opportunity of expatiating--which I
could do with perfect truth and great pleasure--on the
conversation of our excellent host. For I have rarely, in
any country, met a man so devoid of prejudice, or so willing
to take all matters on their favorable side, and withal, who
was so well informed about every thing in his own and in
other countries, or who was more ready to impart his
knowledge to others.

To these agreeable attributes and conversational powers he
adds such a mirthfulness of fancy, and genuine heartiness of
good-humour, to all men, women, and children who have the
good fortune to make his acquaintance, that I should have no
scruple--if it were not too great a liberty--in naming him
as the person I have been most pleased with in all my recent
travels.

After dinner, we repaired to the Museum, the rich treasures
of which have been collected exclusively by captains or
supercargoes of vessels out of Salem, who had doubled one or
other of the great southern promontories,--the Cape, and the
Horn, as they are technically called by seamen. As my eye
fell on numberless carefully cherished objects, which I had
often seen in familiar use on the other side of the globe,
my imagination revelled far and wide into regions I may
never live to see again.

_Salem Observer,_ 1826.

* * * * *

_Compliment to New England._ In a speech made by Mr. Lyell,
the eminent geologist, at a late meeting of the British
Geological Association, he said--"Were I ever so unfortunate
as to quit my native land to reside permanently elsewhere, I
should without hesitation choose the United States for my
second country, especially New England, where a population
of more than two millions enjoys a higher average standard
of prosperity and intellectual advancement than any other
population of equal amount on the globe."

_Salem Observer,_ 1843.

* * * * *

Mrs. Trollope avers that pigs are caressed by the ladies and gentlemen of New York.

"REFUGEE IN AMERICA."

NEW-YORK AND BOSTON. Mrs. Trollope, in her new work, called
the Refugee in America, introduces some queer comparisons
between the manners of the two cities. We quote for
example:--"In Boston, there are no persons allowed to vote
at the elections of President or Governor of that province
but native born yankees; while at New-York, emigrants are
forced from the ships in which they arrive directly to the
hustings, which are kept open the first two weeks of every
month at Mason's lodge, Broadway, where they are allowed to
jostle off the sidewalks the most respectable inhabitants.
If they are reproved for such conduct, the answer invariably
is,--'Isn't this a land of liberty?' I was one forenoon
myself stopped at the lodge and offered a vote, with the
preliminary question,--'Are you a Clay or a Jackson man?' In
Boston, a person seen with a segar in his mouth in the
street, is counted a blackguard; but in New-York no
gentleman makes his promenade without one. In Boston, a
housekeeper would be placed at the Sessions dock for
suffering the refuse of his mansion to be thrown into the
street; while in N. York he would be fined $1 if he allowed
it to be thrown elsewhere near his premises. Swine is a
Bostonian's bane, and a N. Yorker's antidote,--indeed this
animal is as much caressed by the ladies and gentlemen of
the latter city, as a lap-dog in London or Paris. The
Governor and his twenty chosen ministers have made it a
capital offence to molest one of these interesting
quadrupeds while roaming the streets!"--[Oh! what a lying
jade!]

_Salem Observer,_ Oct. 13, 1832.

* * * * *

EARLY ACCOUNTS OF NEW-ENGLAND. The first settlers of
New-England must have been blessed with singular powers of
vision. One of them speaks of lions in Cape Ann: another
(Josselyn), who arrived at Boston in 1663, and resided in
this Colony about eight years, says of our frogs, "some,
when they sit upon their breech, are a foot high, and some
as long as a child one year old." He likewise says "old
barley frequently degenerates into oats" in New-England.

* * * * *

"Enthusiasm" is described as a nervous disorder by Dr. Douglass, author of the Historical Summary.

DR. DOUGLASS'S NOTICE OF SALEM. In looking over Dr.
Douglass' historical summary, we found the following note on
Salem. The author formerly lived in Boston, and after his
removal to England, published his work in 1749. As he was a
physician, he probably considered himself authorized to
broach new theories. He certainly showed his ingenuity in
imputing to our soil a tendency to produce the diseases of
which he makes mention. It is perhaps fortunate for us that
the Doctor did not live in our day, as he would have found
in the excitement which has recently prevailed here in
relation to the Mill Dam, Theatre, &c., new proofs of the
correctness of his hypothesis.

"In Salem and its neighborhood _Enthusiasm_ and other
_nervous disorders_ seem to be _endemial_. _Hypochondriack_,
_hysterick_, and other _maniack_ disorders prevail there,
and Ipswich adjoining, to this day."

_Salem Register,_ 1826.

* * * * *

Beer and cider "Federal liquors."

PHILADELPHIA, July 23 [1788].

A correspondent wishes that a monument could be erected in
UNION GREEN, with the following inscription:--

IN HONOUR OF
AMERICAN BEER AND CYDER.

It is hereby recorded, for the information of strangers and
posterity, that 17000 people assembled on this Green, on
the 4th of July, 1788, to celebrate the establishment of the
Constitution of the United States, and that they separated
at an early hour, without intoxication or a single quarrel.
They drank nothing but Beer and Cyder. Learn, reader, to
prize those invaluable _federal_ liquors, and to consider
them as the companions of those virtues which can alone
render our country free and respectable.

Learn likewise to despise
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS, as _antifederal_;

and to consider them as the companions of all those vices
which are calculated to dishonour and enslave our country.

* * * * *

In these "awfully fine" times, the following lines ought to be interesting:--

......POETRY......

_From the Lady's Miscellany._

YANKEE PHRASES.

AS sound as a nut o'er the plain,
I of late whistled chuck full of glee,
A stranger to sorrow and pain,
As happy as happy could be.

As plump as a partridge I grew,
My heart being lighter than cork;
My slumbers were calmer than dew,
My body was fatter than pork.

Thus happy, I hop'd I should pass
Slick as grease down the current of time;
But pleasures are brittle as glass,
Although as a fiddle they're fine.

Jemima, the pride of the vale,
Like a top nimbly danc'd o'er the plains;
With envy the lasses were pale,
With wonder stood gazing the swains.

She smil'd like a basket of chips,
As tall as a may-pole her size--
As sweet as molasses her lips--
As bright as a button her eyes.

Admiring, I gaz'd on her charm,
My peace that would trouble so soon,
And thought not of danger nor harm,
Any more than the man in the moon.

But now to my sorrow I find
Her heart is as hard as a brick,
To my passion forever unkind,
Though of love I am full as a tick.

I sought her affection to win,
In hope of obtaining relief;
Till I like a hatchet grew thin,
And she, like a haddock, grew deaf.

I late was as fat as a doe,
And playful and spry as a cat;
But now I am as dull as a hoe,
And as lean and as weak as a rat.

Unless the unpitying fates
With passion as ardent will cram her,
As certain as death or as rates,
I soon shall be dead as a hammer.

_Salem Gazette,_ April 5, 1811.

* * * * *

Gentlemen and children have sometimes been considered bugbears.

Boarders Wanted.

TWO or Three Ladies can be accommodated with Board, on
reasonable terms, in a small family, 18 miles from town,
where there are neither Gentlemen or Children; a Stage
passes the house twice a week, and the Middlesex Canal Boat
near it every other day. Inquire at the Centinel Counting
Room.

_Columbian Centinel,_ July 25, 1812.

* * * * *

_LIBERAL DONATIONS_

Of the Legislature of _New-York_ to the University of that
State: 1,500l. for the Library; 200l. for chemical
apparatus; 1,200l. for a wall round the College; 5,000l. for
erecting a Hall, and additional wing to the College; 750l.
for five years annually, for the salaries of additional
Professors.--_Blush! Citizens of Massachusetts, for your
Legislators--who have so frequently denied relief to your
University!!!_

_Columbian Centinel,_ May 5, 1792.

The books children read in 1789.

A great Variety of

=Children's Books=

Neatly printed, and adorned with elegant Cuts, are sold by
_T.C. CUSHING_, at the Printing-Office in Salem--viz.

LITTLE ROBIN RED-BREAST.
Memoirs of a PEGTOP.
The SUGAR-PLUMB; or, sweet Amusement for leisure hours.
The JUVENILE BIOGRAPHER, containing the Lives of little Masters and
Misses.
Be MERRY and WISE; or, the Cream of the Jests, and the Marrow of
Maxims, for the Conduct of Life.
The HOLY BIBLE abridged.
History of little KING PIPPIN.
History of GILES GINGERBREAD.
History of TOM JONES.
History of Master JACKEY and Miss HARRIOT.
History of CHARLES CAREFUL and HARRY HEEDLESS.
Mother GOOSE's Melody.
The Exhibition of TOM THUMB.
Tom Thumb's SONG BOOK.
The FATHER's Gift.
The MOTHER's Gift.
The BROTHER's Gift.
The SISTER's Gift.
Nurse Truelove's NEW-YEAR's GIFT.
Death and Burial of COCK-ROBIN.
The ROYAL ALPHABET.
The HERMIT of the Forest, and the Wandering Infants.

_Salem Mercury._

* * * * *

A new way to cure insanity.

_A CURIOUS IDEA._

KNOWLEDGE is attained with the greatest difficulty; we have
it not by intuition, but acquire it by many unsuccessful
trials and long experience. One gives a hint, and the other
improves it; but prejudice and ignorance too often stand in
the way: "_That cannot be,_" or "_I cannot believe that,_"
has crushed many an useful project. How incredible did the
recovery of drowned persons appear at first! When the report
reached England, that many abroad had been brought again to
life, after laying under water some time, who gave it
credit? But experience has since convinced us of its
possibility.

Now, from the great success attending the recovery of
drowned persons, I would offer a hint to the public, and
leave it to be improved by them, respecting the recovery of
those who are mad, and given up as incurable.

When madness breaks forth, the first care of the physician
is to reduce and keep his patient low, in order to check the
velocity and whirl of his thoughts; and if possible to
procure sleep, by quieting the internal turbulency. If all
his skill and efforts fail, such a person is as much lost to
society as if he were dead. Now if such an one were plunged
into water, and there kept until he was apparently dead, and
was then recovered by the usual methods (and of which
recovery we have now a moral certainty) I am apt to believe
we should behold a perfect cure. There is, I own, something
shocking to nature in the experiment; but if the patient be
already lost, and dead to society, why should we hesitate a
moment to make the trial, when the probability of succeeding
is so flattering?

_Salem Gazette,_ July 12, 1791.

It would be interesting to see the punch-bowl out of which the members of Congress drank in 1811, on the day succeeding the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Pearson.

At Washington, Hon. JOSEPH PEARSON, Esq. (Federal
Representative from N. Carolina), to Miss ELEANOR BRENT,
daughter of Robt. Brent, Esq., Mayor of the city.-- --> _The
greater part of the members, the next day, left the business
of the nation to attend the punch drinking, so that the
House adj'd at an early hour_. Dec. 13, 1811.

* * * * *

As the following lines have the indorsement of a Hartford paper, we venture to reproduce them:--

From the New-York Daily Advertiser, May 10.

DESCRIPTION OF CONNECTICUT.

HERE fond remembrance stampt her much lov'd names,
Here boasts the soil its _London_ and its _Thames_;
Throughout her shores commodious ports abound,
Clear flow the waters of the varying ground;
Cold nipping winds a lengthen'd winter bring,
Late rise the products of the tardy spring.
The broken soil a labouring race requires;
Each barren hill its generous crops admires,
Where nature meanly did her gifts impart,
Yet, smiling, owns how much she owes to art.

But keen as winds that guide the wintry reign,
All bow to lucre, all are bent on gain;
As chance decreed, their various lots are thrown;
Its house each acre, every mile its town;
With gilded spire the frequent church is seen,
Sacred to him that taught them to be keen;
Eternal squabblings grease the lawyer's paw,
All have their suits, and all have studied law;
With tongue that art and nature taught to speak,
Some rave in Latin, some dispute in Greek;
Proud of their books, in ancient lore they shine,
And one month's study makes a learn'd divine;
Fond to converse, with deep designing views,
They pump the travelling stranger of his news;
Fond of his wit, but fonder to be paid,
Each house a tavern, claims a tavern's trade;
While he that comes, as surely hears them praise
The hospitality of modern days.

Yet brave in arms, of enterprising soul,
They tempt old Neptune to the farthest pole;
In learning's walks explore the mazy way
(For genius here has shed his golden ray);
In war's bold arts thro' various contests try'd,
True to themselves, they took their country's side,
And, party feuds dismiss'd, join to agree
That scepter only just that left them free.

_Connecticut Courant,_ July 14, 1790.

* * * * *

Errors of the press.

The following paragraphs will shew how completely the sense
is altered by the omission of a single letter of the word in
Italics.

"The conflict was dreadful, and the enemy was repulsed with
considerable _laughter_."

"Robert Jones was yesterday brought before the sitting
Magistrate, on a charge of having spoken _reason_ at the
Barleymow public-house."

"In consequence of the numerous accidents occasioned by
skaiting on the Serpentine River, measures are taking to put
a _top_ to it."

"When Miss Leserve, late of Covent Garden Theatre, visited
the 'Hecla,' she was politely drawn up the ship's side by
means of a _hair_."

"At the Guildhall dinner, none of the poultry was eatable
except the _owls_."

"A gentleman was yesterday brought up to answer a charge of
having _eaten_ a hackney-coachman for having demanded more
than his fare; and another was accused of having stolen a
small _ox_ out of the Bath mail; the stolen property was
found in his waistcoat pocket."

_Salem Register,_ 1827.

* * * * *

_A CURIOSITY._

"We have often heard of the Lord's Prayer being written in
the compass of a shilling, but have lately seen a piece of
paper of that dimension, which contains, in manuscript, the
Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Commandments, Psalms 117,
120, 127, 131, 132, 134, and 150; 9th chapter of Proverbs,
Prayer of St. Chrysostom, two Collects, Prayer for the
Royal Family, Nobility, Clergy, &c., &c., the Blessing, and
Junior, 1702, the name of the writer. This curiosity is in
the possession of Mr. John Reeder, of Brighton, who being an
auctioneer at a sale where it was lately sold, purchased it
on very easy terms. It is not legible without a good glass."

_Columbian Centinel,_ June 5, 1790. _Eng. pap._

* * * * *

In an old Salem paper we find the following:

--> We understand the number of deaths in this town the past
year was 234, of which 15 died abroad.

This reminds us of the curious jumble made in the first edition of Morse's "American Gazetteer," published in Boston in 1797. In the description of Albany, N.Y., it says: "This city and suburbs, by enumeration in 1797, contained 1,263 buildings, of which 863 were dwelling-houses and 6,021 inhabitants. Many of them are in the Gothic style with the gable end to the street, which custom the first settlers brought from Holland."

* * * * *

The earliest American writer of whom we have any information
was Peter Bulkley, who was born in England in 1583 and died
in 1659 in Massachusetts, and wrote Latin Poetry and
Sermons. The earliest poetic volume written in this country
was by Anne Bradstreet, of Boston, born 1612, died 1672.

_Salem Observer,_ 1834.

* * * * *

The author of these lines must have been one of the old school.

[_The following was paid for as an Advertisement._]

The folloing lines were Presented to A lat skull mistres in
this town by 4 of her skolers the morning after her mareg

MAY all Joiy and happiness Vait
To attend your nuptal stat
you our instructer and the Guid
of our early youth beside
as you Quit the plas
wich you fild with euery Gras.
Our Grateful Thanks are sure your due.
Except them thearfor from us fue.
Whos shur to you that pras is due.
Must euery sorro euery Cear be yourn
Forbid it Heauin and let it turn
to peas and Joiys next to diuin
Rise Glorious euery futer Sun
and Bless your days with Joiys as this has dun
let sorrows sese and Joiys tak plas
to briten euery futer day with equil Gras
and wen your cald from hence above
may you inioy your souors Loue
wee ever shall regrat our los
and yet with you wee all reioyss

_Essex Gazette,_ May 14, 1771.

* * * * *

Boston school-books in 1790.

The School Committee in Boston have ordered that the
following Books be used in the Reading Schools of that town,
viz.

The HOLY BIBLE;
WEBSTER's SPELLING-BOOK;
The Young Ladies' ACCIDENCE;
Webster's American SELECTION of Lessons in Reading and Speaking;
The CHILDREN'S FRIEND;
MORSE's GEOGRAPHY abridged; and
The NEWSPAPERS, occasionally.

_Salem Gazette._

* * * * *

ANECDOTE.

WHEN Oliver Cromwell first coined his money, an old cavalier
looking upon one of the new pieces, read this inscription on
one side, _God with us_; on the other side, _The
Commonwealth of England_. I see, said he, _God and the
Commonwealth are on different sides._

_Salem Mercury,_ June 26, 1787.

Two different ways of telling a story.

_Anecdote_. A CLERGYMAN, who in the Matrimonial Lottery had
drawn much worse than a _blank_, and, without the patience
of Socrates, had to encounter the turbulent spirit of
Xantippe, was interrupted in the middle of a _Curtain
Lecture_, by the arrival of a pair, requesting his
assistance to introduce them to the _blessed_ state of
Wedlock. The poor Priest, actuated at the moment by his own
feelings and particular _experience_, rather than a sense of
canonical duty, opened the book, and began: "_Man, that is
born of a Woman, hath but a short time to live, and is full
of trouble, &c., &c.,_" repeating the _burial_ service. The
astonished Bridegroom exclaimed, "Sir! Sir! you mistake, I
came here to be _married_, not _buried_!" "Well (replied the
Clergyman), if you insist on it, I am _obliged_ to marry
you--but believe me, my friend, you had _better_ be
_buried_."

_Columbian Centinel,_ March 12, 1791.

* * * * *

ANECDOTE. It is doubtless recollected that Dean Swift,
though a great favorite among the ladies, was (no doubt for
good and substantial reasons) nevertheless a bachelor. His
opinion of the married state seemed to be not very much
exalted. On one occasion, he had been called upon to marry a
couple, and after getting them properly arranged, commenced
as follows: "Man, that is born of a woman, hath but a short
time to live, and is full of misery," &c. "My dear sir,"
interrupted the bridegroom, "you are reading the burial
service, instead of the matrimonial." "Never mind, friend,"
whispered the Dean, "_you had better be buried than
married_."

_Salem Observer,_ 1834.

* * * * *

AN OPPOSITION.

Dryden and Otway lived opposite to each other in
Queen-street. Otway coming one night from the tavern,
chalked upon Dryden's door, _Here lives John Dryden, he is a
wit_. Dryden knew his hand writing, and next day chalked on
Otway's door, _Here lives Tom Otway, he is oppo-site._

_Essex Register,_ 1802.

* * * * *

Specimens of old time newspaper poetry.

To a LADY who admired dancing.

_MAY I presume in humble lays,
My dancing fair, thy steps to praise?
While this grand maxim I advance,
That all the world is but a dance,
That human-kind, both man and woman,
Do_ dance _is evident and common.
David himself, that God-like king,
We know could_ dance, _as well as_ sing.
_Folks who at court would keep their ground,
Must dance the year attendance round.
All nature is one_ ball, _we find:
The water dances to the wind;
The sea itself at night and noon
Rises and capers to the moon;
The moon around the earth does tread
A Cheshire round in buxom red;
The earth and planets round the sun_
Dance, _nor will their_ dance _be done
'Till nature in one mass is blended;
Then we may say the_ ball _is ended._

_Salem Mercury,_ July 29, 1788.

* * * * *

THE FOUNT.

--> THE following--from the pen of a fair
correspondent--cannot be read without PLEASURE and
IMPROVEMENT.

* * * * *

_LINES FOR A SCREEN._

TO BE WRITTEN BENEATH THE FIGURE OF "MINERVA HOLDING A CROWN
OF OLIVE."

Ah! lovely Ladies--while with care
Ye guard from harm your FACES fair;
While spreads the airy PARASOL
To shield you from the beams of SOL;
And many a FAN and VEIL and BLIND
Protect from each intrusive wind:--
And whilst ye deign to intervene
Twixt you and fire, the humble SCREEN!--
Oh! strive alike to guard your _hearts_
From VICE, and all her wily arts.
Your parasol let VIRTUE prove,
To ward th' attacks of _lawless_ love--
Prudence will prove a _screen_ to thee,
And let thy VEIL be MODESTY.
Attend my words, ye Fair, for know,
This _Crown_ shall grace the worthiest brow.

ORA.
_Columbian Centinel,_ July 27, 1814.

* * * * *

_From the_ GAZETTE _of the_ U. STATES.

IMPROMPTU.

_On seeing a young Lady darning Stockings._

ALONG the stocking's foot, with ease and grace
Your fingers, lovely Mira, when you move,
On them with eye admiring I will gaze,
And drink deep draughts of all resistless love.

Assume thy gloves, my most enchanting fair,
When next your stockings you begin to mend,
For though full white the hose, they yet appear
As saffron yellow, near thy lily hand.

As constant as your all obedient thread
Does thy bright needle's devious path pursue,
So does each thought of my poor brainless head
For ever dwell, divinest nymph, on you.

Oft as thy needles pierce the yielding hose,
So oft thy beauties pierce my yielding breast:
Oh then compassionate my deep felt woes,
And bid awhile the polish'd needle rest.

Or if one idle minute you disdain,
On me be exercis'd your mending art,
Yes, lovely maid, to ease of my pain,
Come, darn the hole that rankles in my heart.

_Salem Gazette,_ August 26, 1800.

* * * * *

THE WHITE CLOVER.

BY A LADY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

THERE is a little perfum'd flower,
It well might grace the lovliest bower,
Yet poet never deign'd to sing
Of such a humble, rustic thing.
Nor is it strange, for it can show
Scarcely one tint of Iris' bow:
Nature, perchance, in careless hour,
With pencil dry, might paint the flower;
Yet instant blush'd, her fault to see,
So gave a double fragrancy;
Rich recompence for aught denied!
Who would not homely garb abide,
If gentlest soul were breathing there,
Blessings through all its little sphere?
Sweet flower! the lesson thou hast taught,
Shall check each proud, ambitious thought,
Teach me internal worth to prize,
Though found in lowliest, rudest guise.

_Salem Gazette,_ June 27, 1815.

* * * * *

_CASTALIAN FOUNT._

AMERICAN POETRY.

A FRAGMENT.

_The following beautiful lines were written on the death of
a young lady in Pennsylvania, whose dissolution was
occasioned by her mistaking a poisonous mineral for the
flower of sulphur, and swallowing a spoonfull:_

THUS, o'er the tomb of what she held most dear,
The weeping muse no common sorrow pours;
No common anguish prompts the falling tear--
No common virtues those she now deplores.

Dear hapless girl, was there no saving power?
Where was your guardian angel--where your friend?
Could nought prevent the fatal destin'd hour?
Nor pitying Heaven would hear or succour lend.

Then, if nor Heaven _would_ hear--nor friends _could_ save,
Be still, my heart, nor breathe another sigh;
Drop the last tear upon her early grave,
And let it teach you--that _the best must die_.

--> _A few original favours from our poetick friends would
be very acceptable._

_Massachusetts Centinel,_ March 28, 1789.

* * * * *

_From the New York Daily Advertiser._

_The Sailor Boy._

Dark flew the scud along the wave,
And echoing thunders rend the sky;
All hands aloft! to meet the storm,
At midnight was the boatswain's cry.

On deck flew every gallant tar,
But one--bereft of ev'ry joy;
Within a hammock's narrow bound,
Lay stretch'd this hapless SAILOR BOY.

Once, when the Boatswain pip'd all hands,
The first was he, of all the crew,
On deck to spring--to trim the sail--
To steer--to reef--to furl or clue.

Now fell disease had seiz'd a form
Which nature cast in finest mould;
The midwatch bell now smote his heart,
His last, his dying knell it toll'd.

"O God!" he cried, and gasp'd for breath,
"Ere yet my soul shall cleave the skies,
"Are there no parents--brethren--near,
"To close, in death, my weary eyes?

"All hands aloft to brave the storm,
"I hear the wintry tempest roar;"
He rais'd his head to view the scene,
And backward fell, to rise no more.

The morning sun in splendour rose.
The gale was hush'd and still'd the wave;
The Sea-boy, far from all his friends,
Was plung'd into a wat'ry grave.

But He, who guards the Sea-boy's head,
He, who can save or can destroy,
Snatch'd up to Heav'n the purest soul
That e'er adorn'd a SAILOR BOY.

_Salem Gazette,_ Oct. 29, 1805.

* * * * *

EARLY RISING.

WIVES, _awake! unveil your eyes;
Sluggards, no more yawning;
See the Delphick god arise,
Bright Apollo dawning._

_Husbands, rouse at love's alarms,
Drowsy slumbers scorning;
Rovers, quit your favourite charms,
Up! behold, 'tis morning._

_Virgins fair, have at your hearts;
Hymen's torch is flaming;
Cupid whets his pointed darts,
And look! the rogue is aiming._

_Fair the bud of beauty blows,
Mellow sweets are palling;
Crown us with the virgin rose,
And so prevent its falling._

_See the charms that nature yields;_
Why _sleep away your duty?
Arise! the fragrance of the fields
Is friendly to your beauty._

_Lads, for shame! abed till now!
Forsake them, and be wiser;
There's health and pleasure, you'll allow,
In being an early riser._

_Bound with ivy, bound with vines,
Youth serenely passes;
Bacchus round our temples twines,
And sparkles in our glasses._

_No longer drown the mind in sleep;
But breathe the vernal air!
Our hours may thus improvement reap,
And who has any t' spare_?

_Salem Mercury,_ May 17, 1788.

* * * * *

_From the New Monthly Magazine._

=On seeing a Tomb adorned with Angels weeping.=

Though sculptors, with mistaken art,
Place weeping Angels round the tomb;
Yet, when the good and great depart,
These shout to bear their conquerors home.

Glad they survey their labours o'er,
And hail them to their native skies;
Attend their passage to the shore,
And with their mounting spirits rise.

Britain may mourn her Patriot dead,
And pour her sorrows o'er his dust:
But streaming eyes, and drooping head,
Ill suit those guardians of the just.

Parents may shed a tender tear,
And friends indulge a parting groan;
If these in mimic form appear,
Such pious grief becomes the stone.

But if the wounded marble bear
Celestial forms to grace the urn,
Let triumph in their eyes appear,
Nor dare to make an angel mourn.

_Salem Register,_ 1819.

* * * * *

Varieties.

_Origin of the word_ DUN.--Dunny, in the provincial dialect
of several countries, signifies deaf: to dun, then, perhaps
may mean, to deafen with importunate demands. Some derive it
from the word _donnez_, which signifies _give_; but the true
original meaning of the word owes its birth to one Joe Dun,
a famous bailiff of the town of Lincoln, so extremely active
and so dexterous in his business, that it became a proverb,
when a man refused to pay, "Why do you not _dun_ him?" that
is, Why do not you set _Dun_ to arrest him?--Hence it became
a cant-word, and is now as old as since the days of Henry
VII. Dun was also the general name of hangman, before that
of Jack-ketch.

And presently a halter got,
Made of the best strong hempen tear,
And e'er a cat could lick her ear,
Had tied it up with as much art,
As Dun himself could do for 's heart.

COTTON'S VIRGIL TRA. BOOK iv.

It is curious to observe that _Dun_, who, as we said before,
was _finisher of the law_ in the reign of Henry VII., had a
son, who became a bailiff--This bailiff having scraped some
money together, made his son an attorney, who changed the
name of _Dun_ to _Dunning_--the rest of the genealogy are
well known.

_Massachusetts Gazette,_ Aug. 29, 1786.

* * * * *

_Biographical Correctness_.--As a specimen of the accurate
way in which Biographical Dictionaries are made up, the
Enquirer refers to Dr. Watkins' volume, in which he writes
down that John Adams "died in 1803."--And yet for 23 years
after this date, the old patriarch was living in health and
happiness. A still more ludicrous blunder appeared a few
years since in a French Biographical Dictionary, in which it
was stated that the now venerable John Jay, who yet lives
full of years and full of honors, was a Frenchman, who,
after having framed the Constitution of the State of
New-York, and witnessed the close of the American
revolution, returned to France--became a member of the
French Convention, and was finally brought to the
guillotine!--_N.Y. Com. Adv._

_Essex Register,_ Sept. 18, 1826.

The works of John Paul Richter are almost unintelligible to
any but Germans, and even to some of them. A worthy German,
just before Richter's death, edited a complete edition of
his works, in which one particular passage fairly puzzled
him. Determined to have it explained at the source, he went
to John Paul himself and asked him what was the meaning of
the mysterious passage.--John Paul's reply was very German
and characteristic: "My good friend," said he, "when I wrote
that passage, God and I knew what it meant; it is possible
that God knows it still; but as for me, I have totally
forgotten."

_Essex Register,_ Oct. 9, 1826.

* * * * *

ORIGIN OF "FOOLSCAP" PAPER. It is known that Charles I. of
England, granted numerous monopolies for the support of his
government. Among others was the privilege of manufacturing
paper. The water mark of the finest sort was the royal arms
of England. The consumption of this article was great at
this time, and large fortunes were made by those who had
purchased the exclusive right to vend it. This, among other
monopolies, was set aside by the parliament that brought
Charles to the scaffold, and by way of showing their
contempt for the king, they ordered the royal arms to be
taken from the paper, and a fool, with his cap and bells, to
be substituted. It is now more than an hundred and
seventy-five years since the fool's cap and bells were taken
from the paper, but still, paper of the size which the Rump
Parliament ordered for the journals bears the name of the
water mark then ordered as an indignity to Charles.

* * * * *

A new version of "Yankee Doodle," from the "Salem Gazette,"
July, 1811.

YANKEY SONG.

[_The following song was composed a few years since by a
gentleman then one of the officers of the Salem regiment, to
be sung at the military celebration of the 4th of July. Its
wit and pleasantry continues it a favorite with the Yankies,
and it was again sung by the Military at Lynn Hotel, and by
the Federalists at Washington Hall, on the late
anniversary._]

I.

Yankey Doodle is the tune
Americans delight in;
'Twill do to whistle, sing, or play,
And just the thing for fighting.

CHORUS.

_Yankey Doodle, Boys; Huzza!
Down outside--up the middle--
Yankey Doodle_, fa, sol, la,
_Trumpet, Drum, and Fiddle._

II.

Should Great Britain, Spain, or France
Wage war upon our shore, sir,
We'll lead them such a _woundy_ dance,
They'll find their toes are sore, sir.
CHORUS.--_Yankey Doodle_, &c.

III.

Should a haughty foe expect
To give our boys a caning,
We _guess_ they'll find our boys have _larnt_
A _little bit_ of training.
CHORUS.--_Yankey Doodle_, &c.

IV.