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NAHANT, 
 
 AND OTHER PLACES ON THE 
 
 NORrH-SHORE; 
 
 BEING A CONTINUATION OF NOTES ON THE SEA-SHORE, BY THE SHADE 
 
 OF ALDEN. 
 
 /• ^^' 
 
 ^'cyit-^ t 
 
 This work relates to Nahant and its history, from its early settlement to the 
 present time, and to its inhabitants, past and present — the parties which were in the 
 habit of visiting it in olden time — the sea-serpent, the late Marshal Prince, and Capt. 
 Rich — ^the first steamboat which ran to Nahant — names of the owners of cottages there 
 — history of the hotel, and some account of its proprietors — sea stories, yatching, the 
 Northern Light, the Raven, &c. ; to Apple Island, and the late Mr. Marsh ; to Deer 
 Island and its history — dancing parties there, thirty years ago — Capt. Tewksbury and 
 his successful exertions in saving the lives of his fellow men — remarkable case of mo- 
 ney digging, near Money Head Bluff, in 1824 ; to Point Shirley — remarkable acci- 
 dent there ; Chelsea, East Boston, Lynn, PhUlips's Beach, and the Swamscott fisher- 
 men ; Salem, and the East-India museum ; Newbury port — the late Lord Timothy 
 Dexter — remarkable case of the rescue of a mother from drowning by her own child ; 
 Cape Ann, and a funny editorial dinner at the Gloucester House ; to Boston, and a 
 ride in its vicinity, through Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham, Brighton, 
 Roxbury, &c. ; to Lowell, Dedham, Worcester, Springfield, Taunton, New-Bedford, 
 Nantucket, Newport, Fall River, Stonington, Providence, West Cambridge, Lexing- 
 ton, Concord, and other pleasant places. 
 
 Appendix. — The progress of steam during the last fifty years, and its beneficial 
 consequences ; a few brief passages in relation to the eventful life of Capt. Sturgis, of 
 the cutter Hamilton ; a ride to Plymouth, and some account of that town ; Castle 
 Island, and the duels which have been fought in Boston harbor ; some account of the 
 yachts in Boston and its vicinity, and many other interesting s\xbject,«!. 
 
 ^^ ^.ry of Cor,^^^^ 
 18^ 
 
 /ofv/ac 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CHADWICK, 
 
 No. IR, Fjxrukvnr, Strkkt. 
 
 1848. 
 
PUBLISHED AT THK REQUEST OF SOME OF THE AUTHOR'S FRIENDS, 
 
 AND 
 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BENJAMIN C. CLARK, ESQ. 
 
 A native citizen of Boston, one of the earliest friends of yachting on the New England coast, 
 an enterprising and successful merchant, and the best amateur pilot on the North shore : 
 
 By his humble servant, the author. 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congrefa, in the year 1S4S, by 
 
 WILLIAM CBADWICK, 
 
 la the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 r^"- 
 
 
 ^A'^■ 
 
CONTENTS OF BOOK H. 
 
 Title Page. 
 
 Dedication. 
 
 Phefatokt Remarks. 
 
 letters from nahant. 
 I. Nahant, its history, and its public and 
 private buildings — its progress in population 
 and refinement during the last fifty years — the 
 first steamboat which ran to that peninsular, 
 and to Hingham — some account of the pleasure 
 parties which were in the habit of visiting Na- 
 hant previous to 1800 — the sea-serpent, the ex- 
 citement caused by its first appearance on our 
 coast, Marshal Prince and his mast-head spy- 
 glass, the first expedition fitted out to capture 
 the monster, and Capt. Rich, who stuck a har- 
 poon " about two feet" into it — the early friends 
 of Nahant — .names of the owners of cottages — 
 history of the rise, progress, and present condi- 
 tion of the Nahant hotel — the Johnson family 
 — health of Nahant — fatal accident to fishing 
 parties — yachts, and the danger of yachting — an 
 interesting account of a regatta — together with 
 some extracts from letters from an intelligent 
 gentleman at Nahant. 
 
 II. Apple Island — the late Mr. Marsh — his 
 romantic history, and his sufferings — destruction 
 of his house by fire, &e. 
 
 III. Deer Island — dancing parties — Captain 
 Tewksbury, and his successful exertions in sav- 
 ing the lives of some twenty-five persons — lib- 
 eral rewards given by the Humane Society, for 
 his philanthropic and efficient efforts — remarka- 
 ble case of money -digging, at Money-Head Bluff, 
 
 in 1824 — some account of the i-sland, and the 
 public institutions there— the sea-wall — a brief 
 historical account of the island. 
 
 IV. Point Shirley and its vicinity — fatal at- 
 tempt to cross the Gut, by an insane man with 
 a horse and gig — the east point of the land — 
 Chelsea, Lynn, Phillips's Beach, the Swamscott 
 fishermen, the manner in which they dispose of 
 their fish, &c.— the hotels— Salem, and the East 
 India museum. 
 
 LETTER FROM NEWBCRTPORT. 
 
 Newburyport and its resources — Lord Timo- 
 thy Dexter and his peculiarities — remarkable 
 case of the rescue from drowning of a mother, 
 by her own child, a girl of only twelve 3xars of 
 age — poetry — Cape Ann. 
 
 BOSTON AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 Hasty Sketches, in relation to some of the 
 pleasant places in the surrounding country, and 
 all alongshore. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A. The progress of steam during the last 
 fifty years, and its beneficial consequences. 
 
 B. A few brief passages in relation to the 
 eventful life of Capt. Sturgis, of the cutter Ham- 
 ilton. 
 
 C. A ride to Plymouth — the new hotel — • 
 Pilgrim Hall, and an account of the curiosities 
 there— the Old Colony railroad, &c. 
 
 Castle Island, and some of the duels 
 which have been fought in Boston harbor. 
 Yachts belonging to Boston. 
 
PREFATOKY REMARKS 
 
 In submitting the second book of " Notes on the Sea-Shore" to his friends 
 and the piibUc, the author considers it his duty to thank the gentlemen of 
 the city press for the flattering notices they have bestowed upon the first 
 part of his work, pubhshed several weeks since. He also returns his sin- 
 cere thanks to such of his friends as have interested themselves in the sale 
 of the work, by kind words and generous deeds. ' 
 
 The publication of " Nahant, and other places on the North-Shore," 
 has been delayed two or three weeks beyond the time we promised it ; but 
 this is owing to the fact, that the author of the work has had to set nearly 
 all the types, make up the pages, impose the forms, correct the proof- 
 sheets, &.C. It is not always the case that the writer of a book can exe- 
 cute the mechanical part of it : that labor, however — like almost every 
 other — seems as nothing, "after one gets used to it." Type-setting is 
 one of the most delightful and instructive pastimes a young fellow can 
 enjoy ; and to an old one, it is decidedly more agreeable than the souud 
 of bad music, vocal or instrumental, or the importunate duns of clamorous 
 creditors. And then there is the thought that Franklin was a printer ! 
 
 The matter in this work, with the exception of a few pages, is now for 
 the first time published. Much of it was prepared two or three years ago ; 
 but as the fashionable travelling season was pretty well over when we 
 penned our letters to an old, and esteemed, and faithful friend in the city 
 — we mean the editor of the Boston Post — we concluded to keep them 
 from the public eye until another time ; and, finally, we decided upon 
 publishing the whole series, with copious additions. And here we must 
 be permitted to acknowledge our indebtedness to two kind friends at Na- 
 hant for valuable contributions to the work. 
 
 The object the writer of this work had in view, when he first decided 
 upon publishing it, was two-fold. In the first place, he wanted employ- 
 
I'RKFATOllY KEMAKKS. 
 
 ment, and hoped to make something by the enterprise : in the second, he 
 was desirous of fnrni.sliing travellers and others with something Uke a 
 comprehensive guide, to instruct and amuse them in their hours of leisure 
 and relaxation from the cares and toils of business. The field was a new 
 one — it had never been explored. We believe the letters and notes em- 
 braced in the two works we have published — the one relating to the 
 South-Shore, and the other to the North-Shore and Boston and its vicinity 
 — will do this more effectually than has been done by any other work of 
 the kind that has been previously given to the public. But, of the truth 
 -of this remark readers themselves must be the judges. We are duly sen- 
 sible that our sketches arc not so full and so perfect as they ought to be — 
 or as we intend they shall be the next season ; but if they should prove 
 acceptable at the present time, our object will have been attained, our 
 wishes gratified, and our ambition to do better, on some future occasion, 
 encouraged quite equal to our expectation. 
 
 The sale our first pamphlet met with was quite encouraging ; and that 
 now oflercd to the reading community, we think, will have a better run 
 than the first, inasmuch as it is decidedly more interesting. The soil of 
 the South-Shore, as a general thing, and in a literary point of view, is a 
 hard one to work in, while that on the North, and in our own vicinity, is 
 more prolific in rich incidents. 
 
 With the subjects referred to in these pages we are somewhat familiar, 
 but not so much so as we wish we were. Our acquaintance with most 
 of the fashionable watering places in this country, from personal observa- 
 tion, and of the popular routes travelled during the summer months, as- 
 sisted by a pretty retentive memory of things seen and heard, will enable 
 us, the next year, as we humbly trust, to extend our plan, so as to em- 
 brace a description of many places beyond the limited sphere we have oc- 
 cupied in the books here referred to. And to do this well, and success- 
 fully, we shall gladly avail ourselves of such hints and suggestions as our 
 friends may have the kindness to offer. In a multitude of counsel there 
 is safety — at least the lawyers say so. 
 
 The fashionable travelling season of the present year, as compared with 
 the last — so fiir as regards Boston and its vicinity, especially — has been 
 an unfavorable one. There has been a falling ofT of visiters at every hotel 
 in the city, as we are informed, while the public houses on the sea-shore, 
 with but few exceptions, have not done one half the business they did last 
 year. Some of them indeed, we are assured, have been doing a losing 
 business. This fact may be attributed to two causes — to the cold and 
 rainy weather which prevailed in this quarter until about the middle of 
 July, and to the pressine in the money market, which has made almost 
 every prudent man feel as "poor as a church mouse," and to husband his 
 resources with the utmost caution. 
 
 In our account of Nahant — which, taken as a whole, (although Ave 
 say it, who should not say it!) is probably the best sketch of that rock- 
 bound peninsular extant. We have given several stories, from the recol- 
 lection of friends, and have some others, which we shall make use of 
 hereafter. There is one we shall mention now. When Holman first went 
 
PKEFATORY RIOMARKS. Vll 
 
 to Nahant he was, like all other dashing young fellows, fond of a boat. 
 One morning, when the wind was blowing a gale from the NE., he ven- 
 tured out alone in a dory, with two oars, to catch a few fish. He had 
 proceeded but a short distance from the steamboat-landing and the rocks, 
 when he began to feel the full violence of the wind and the sea. Holman 
 found it difficult to account for the sudden and startling change in the 
 elements of wind and water, and attempted to put back, but it was too 
 late. His little boat was tossed up and down, without mercy. First one 
 oar went, and then the other, and the poor fellow was helpless. He held 
 on to the sides of the boat with the strength of a christian. Up, up, up ! 
 down, down, down ! went the dory — and the stomach of our friend be- 
 gan to reach toward the land. But on he drifted, fast nearing the shore 
 in Chelsea, in which direction the wind was driving him at a furious rate. 
 A dangerous ledge of rocks was ahead. His critical situation was dis- 
 covered by Mr. Caleb Johnson and some other Nahant fishermen, who, 
 after consultation, concluded to risk their own lives to save that of as 
 worthy a young man as had ever lived among them. Off they started, 
 and after a severe struggle with the waves, they succeeded in rescuing 
 Holman from almost inevitable destruction, within twenty rods of the 
 most dangerous ledge of rocks in that vicinity. 
 
 The public's humble servant, J. L. HOMER. 
 
 Boston, September Aih, 1848. 
 
THE NORTH SHORE. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Nahant, its history, and its public and private 
 buildings — its progress in population and rejine- 
 nient during the last fifty years — the first steam- 
 boat which ran to that peninsula, and to Iling- 
 ham— some account of the pleasure parties which 
 were in the habit of visiting Nahant previous to 
 1 800— <Ae sea-serpent, the excitement caused by 
 its first appearance on our coast. Marshal Prince 
 and his mast-head spy-glass, the first expedition 
 
 fitted out in our waters to capture the monster, 
 and Capt. Rich, who stuck a harpoon " about two 
 
 feet" into it — the early friends of Nahant, Hon. T. 
 II. Perkins, Dr. E. II. Bobbins, Frederick Tudor, 
 Esq. and the late Cornelius C'oolidge — names of 
 tJie owners of cottages — history of the rise, pro- 
 gress, and present condition of the Nahant hotel 
 — the Johnson family— health of Nahant— fat^d 
 accident to fishing parties — yachting. 
 
 Nahant, September, 1845. 
 
 I HAVE been paying a " fljing visit" to 
 this popular watering place, and have 
 been highly delighted with every thing 
 that has passed under my observation. I 
 have had an opportunity to examine all the 
 prominent points of attraction here — the 
 Swallow's Cave, Irene's Grotto, the Pulpit 
 Rock, Castle Rock, &c. ; and have been 
 much pleased and instructed by my inves- 
 tigations. The hotel is yet well patronised, 
 notwithstanding the evenings have been 
 somewhat cool for a week past. The ta- 
 bles are full at dinner every day, and the 
 gay and fashionable company reminds me 
 2 
 
 of the great hotels at Saratoga, where the 
 clatter of knives and forks, and plates, is 
 always sure to drown the human voice. 
 The season will last only two or three 
 weeks longer. Thus far, I am happy to 
 learn, our friend Drew has done an excel- 
 lent business, his house having been 
 crowded with visiters the whole summer, 
 A large portion of his company came from 
 New- York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 
 places farther south. I am particularly 
 pleased with " mine host," on account of 
 his easy, modest, gentlemanly deportment: 
 he conducts the affairs of his immense es- 
 tablishment so quietly that you would 
 hardly think that any thing was going on, 
 until you saw the tables spread for dinner, 
 and then your senses are regaled with the 
 smell of every delicacy the season affords. 
 
 Such a man is a treasure in a public es- 
 tablishment. Holman,of the United States 
 Hotel, is of the same stamp ; and I cannot 
 take a dish of chowder at Nahant without 
 thinking of that excellent fellow. And 
 here permit me to say a word complimen- 
 tary to Mrs. Drew, a lady as well calcula- 
 ted to give general satisfaction to her visi- 
 ters as any one with whom I am ac- 
 quainted. While she endeavors to make 
 every one feel happy and at home, she is 
 careful that her boarders do not crowd 
 upon each other, or infringe upon her own 
 rights as lady of the house. 
 
 Mr. Drew's success has been flattering 
 i beyond his expectations, but not beyond 
 
10 
 
 NOTES ON THi: SEA-SHORB ; 
 
 his deserts, for his sole ambition appears 
 to be to please every one — man, woman 
 and child — who honors him with a call. 
 To an old man, like myself, it is a most 
 agreeable sight to look upon the groups of 
 gay and happy children that are always 
 found at the Nahant Hotel. But I need 
 not talk to you, who are (or ought to be) a 
 grandfather, about children ! Let that pass. 
 
 I now come to a point which will inter- 
 est you. While entering my name in the 
 book of the hotel, who should I discover 
 seated at the desk, as second in command, 
 but our young friend Morgan,* formerly 
 of the Bay State Democrat, a gentleman 
 of intelligence, agreeable manners, and 
 every way fitted to assist in the manage- 
 ment of a first rate hotel. For the honor 
 of the craft, I was pleased to take a tum- 
 bler of cold water with him. We drank 
 your health in that innocent beverage, and 
 that of the editorial profession generally. 
 How is it that editors are so much attach- 
 ed to good hotels, and to the proprietors of 
 them ? I have sometimes thought that 
 they cherished for each other a warm, an 
 inseparable friendship. It is well that it 
 is so, for a respectable press car\ do much 
 to assist hotel keepers, if it is so disposed. 
 I should like to be an editor myself, if it 
 were not for a certain dread I have of the 
 smell of gunpowder and printers' ink, and 
 of bad debts in particular. 
 
 Mr. Alonzo Lewis, the poet, of Lynn, 
 has published a neat little pamphlet in re- 
 lation to Nahant, which I consider enti- 
 tled to a respectful and complimentary 
 notice. It contains a minute and accurate 
 description of all the prominent points at 
 this watering place, and seven well execu- 
 ted wood engravings representing those 
 points. These pictorial illustrations are 
 often exceedingly entertaining and instruc- 
 tive. 
 
 (* Note— July, 1848.) This gentleman 
 has recently taken the Gloucester House, 
 at Cape Ann, and we hear golden reports 
 of his popularity and success. Mr. Drew 
 has found an excellent substitute for him 
 in Mr. Murdock. 
 
 From the historical data furnished by 
 Mr. Lewis, it appears that, at the first set- 
 tlement of Lynn, in 1629, the Indians had 
 possession of Nahant, and in 1630 their 
 chief, Poquannum, sold it to Thomas Dex- 
 ter, a Lynn farmer, for a suit of clothes. 
 In 1631, it was used as a corn and sheep 
 pasture by the people of Lynn and Salem. 
 About this time wolves were plenty there. 
 In 1635, encouragement was given to fish- 
 ermen. In 1652, Wenepoyken, the Lynn 
 sagamore, mortgaged Nahant to Nicholas 
 Davidson, of Charlestown, for 20 pounds 
 sterling ; and, in a lawsuit which grew 
 out of this transaction, Mr. Dexter prose- 
 cuted the town of Lynn, but the court de- 
 cided against his claim. In 1688, Robert 
 Page, of Boston, was prosecuted for sailing 
 from Nahant on the Lord's day with a load 
 of wood. About the year 1700 foxes be- 
 came numerous and troublesome in Na- 
 hant, as well as in Lynn. In 1706 a new 
 division of lands was made at Nahant, 
 under which the present proprietors claim. 
 As late as 1803 there were but three houses 
 in Nahant, which were occupied by Qua- 
 kers, " who kept no hotels, but accommo- 
 dated a few boarders, and occasionally 
 made a fish chowder, for parties who visi- 
 ted Nahant from Boston and other places." 
 As Nahant projects several miles into the 
 sea, many vessels have been wrecked 
 there in stormy weather : Mr. Lewis gives 
 the names and dates. But you must read 
 his book, to which I am indebted for the 
 above facts. 
 
 The Nahant Hotel, with the location and 
 appointments of which almost every fash- 
 ionable traveller is acquainted, was built 
 in 1820. The original cost of the land, 
 hotel, and out-buildings, was about $60,000 
 — which was divided into shares of $100 
 each. It was carried on several years after 
 its completion, with very little advantage 
 to its proprietors, however, by the late 
 James Magee, Esq., a gentleman of fine 
 epicurean taste, and by Messrs. Johnson 
 & Durand. In 1825, — the original stock- 
 holders being a little " sick of their bar- 
 gain," having never received a dividend 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 11 
 
 upon their investment, — the hotel was sold 
 at public auction, at the depreciated price 
 of 14,000. The purchasers were Col. Tho- 
 mas H. Perkins and Dr. Edward H. Rob- 
 bins, who enlarged its dimensions consid- 
 erably, by adding to it the easterly wing, 
 which is now used as the principal dining 
 room and for lodgers. This improvement 
 cost several thousand dollars. Messrs. 
 Perkins and Robbins sold the hotel again, 
 in 1842, to its present proprietor, Mr. Drew, 
 for 25,000. This gentleman made a great 
 bargain. Owing to a combination of cir- 
 cumstances, it is now valued at more than 
 double that sum. 
 
 After Messrs. Perkins and Robbins be- 
 came the purchasers of the hotel it was 
 carried on several years for their account, 
 by ditTerent individuals, — one year by Mr. 
 F. Hutchins, — neither ol whom succeeded 
 so well as the proprietors expected they 
 would, with perhaps one exception. In 
 1833, Mr. R. W. Holman, now of the Uni- 
 ted States Hotel, became the agent of the 
 proprietors, for whom he acted until about 
 1840, driving a moderately prosperous bus- 
 iness at all limes. During one season, un- 
 der his management, I am informed, the 
 hotel cleared about six thousand dollars in 
 three months — a pretty fair business this ! 
 
 Mr. Holman was succeeded in the agen- 
 cy of the proprietors by Mr. Drew, who, 
 in 1842, as I have before stated, became 
 sole proprietor of the establishment, and, 
 since that time, has been blessed with a 
 run of prosperity which must have been 
 highly flattering to his feelings and grate- 
 ful to his purse. The present season has 
 been successful beyond any previous one. 
 The hotel, its amusements and convenien- 
 ces, have often been described. I know 
 of no place that ofl"ers better views of the 
 sea, and of the adjacent towns, than this 
 delightful spot, or one where an invalid 
 would be likely to find a purer or more 
 bracing atmosphere. On two occasions; 
 ten or twelve years ago, I was effectually 
 cured of severe attacks of cholera morbus, 
 by sojourning at Nahant a day or two each 
 time. I may add, that the company which 
 
 usually assembles here embraces as much 
 of intellect, good manners, kind feelings, 
 and amiable social bearing, as you will 
 find at any other watering place in the 
 country. The sturdiest democrat in the 
 land need not be afraid to venture here 
 with his wife and daughters, while the 
 proudest aristocrat must be satisfied with 
 the facilities and comforts which are acces 
 sible to all. 
 
 I believe my first visit to Nahant dates 
 back twenty-five years or more. I remem- 
 ber it as well as though it were but yester- 
 day. With some thirty others, in the year 
 1819, I was a passenger in the steamboat 
 Eagle, Capt. Wood — the first boat, I be- 
 lieve, that ever ran to Nahant regularly. 
 She made three trips a week, that year, to 
 Nahant, and three to Hingham. Capt. W. 
 was a gentleman of the old school — a man 
 of polished manners, good conversational 
 powers, and hospitable feeling : there are 
 but few of that stamp now in existence — 
 the race is fast disappearing, and, I am 
 apprehensive, will soon be extinct ! 
 
 Capt. Wood had commanded a Liverpool 
 packet for many years out of Boston, but 
 now had "fallen into the sear and yellow 
 leaf," as regarded both his property and 
 health. The Eagle was usually three 
 hours in making her trip to Nahant, and the 
 same time back ; and she was considered 
 a wonderfully swift boat. Six hours only 
 upon the water out of nine 1 * What do 
 you think of that, my friend? What will 
 Capt. Beal say to it? 
 
 About the time I speak of, Mr. Frederick 
 Rouillard kept a hotel at Nahant— near 
 where Mr. Rice now keeps. He was a 
 very competent man, and " while he had 
 money he had friends ;" but unfortunately 
 Rouillard had a fsst trotting horse, called 
 Buckskin, and a few unprincipled social 
 companions made sad work with his funds, 
 on the turf and elsewhere. The few 
 
 (* Note— July, 1848.) The same dis- 
 tance is now performed in an hour. See 
 Appendix, for an article in relation to the 
 progress of steam within the last fifty 
 years — A. 
 
12 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SHORE 
 
 last years of his life were passed in penu- 
 ry. He was a generous hearted French- 
 man ; and he will be remembered by ma- 
 ny of our aged citizens, as the keeper of 
 the Julien House, at the corner of Congress 
 and Milk-streets — by men who, when the 
 young blood ran frolic through their veins, 
 acted pretty much in the same way that 
 many of the young men of the present day 
 do. It was the favored resort of our fash- 
 ionable merchants, and sustained a high 
 character as a restorateur, where every 
 delicacy of the season could be had, served 
 up in the best style, at short notice. As a 
 soup and steak establishment there have 
 been but few like it in Boston since : it 
 was popular, also, as a club-house, and 
 was patronised by the aristocracy as well 
 as the middling classes of society. I have 
 often heard Rouillard amuse his patrons 
 with anecdotes relating to the habits and 
 peculiarities of men in high life, and of a 
 few who had more money than brains. I 
 remember one particularly, and could give 
 many others, if the game were worth the 
 candle.* 
 
 * One forenoon, (as the story went) a 
 gentleman, who owned a princely estate, 
 called upon him, and desired to take a 
 a peep into his larder, as he intended to 
 give a dinner party the next day to half a 
 dozen friends, for whom he had a high re- 
 gard. He soon cast his eyes upon two 
 pairs of canvass-back ducks. Smacking 
 his lips, with the relish of a genuine disci- 
 ple of Epicurus, he exclaimed — " Those 
 are the very things I want ! — what shall 
 I pay you for them V " Why, my good 
 friend, (replied Rouillard) they cost me 
 three dollars a pair ; if it will be any ac- 
 commodation to' you, I will let you have 
 them at the cost ; liut I could not well af- 
 ford to cook them for you, and find the 
 trimmings, short of foar dollars a pair." 
 The old gentleman, then supposed to be 
 worth two or three millions of dollars, spent 
 more than half an hour in attempting to 
 beat Rouillard down ; and the best offer 
 he would make for these delicious birds, 
 the very things he wanted for his select 
 dinner party, was one dollar and a half a 
 pair, or three dollars for the lot, without 
 trimmings — just one half of the original 
 cost. So far as regarded wealth, this gen- 
 tleman was a bad specimen of human na- 
 
 While smoking my cigar, in the cool of 
 the evening, on one of the rocks that over- 
 look the Ocean, near the eastern point of 
 this peninsula, my mind is often carried 
 back to the days of our good mothers and 
 grandmothers, who had no steamboats to 
 convey them to Nahant, but who came 
 here, with their husbands and friends, 
 plainly attired, in a humble sail-boat, 
 bringing with them all the necessary im- 
 plements for cooking, to have a clever, 
 out-and-out, rational jollification. I have 
 often heard my mother describe these 
 scenes — and she was certainly one who 
 moved in the "respectable circles of so- 
 ciety." After landing the females on the 
 rocks, the men would proceed to the fish- 
 ing ground, distant only one or two miles, 
 where a supply of cod and haddock was 
 always at hand. On their return to the 
 rocks, with their fish well cleaned, they 
 would find the women prepared to receive 
 them — with their tables neatly spread, for 
 luncheon or for dinner — their fires brightly 
 burning, and their pots and pans ready to 
 make the fish sweat. The men would 
 throw themselves carelessly on the grass, 
 or lounge about the rocks, while the wo- 
 men made the chowders and fried the fish, 
 
 ture, for his gold benefitted no one. He 
 loved money so passionately, as this fact 
 shows, that he was hardly decent in his 
 expenditures, even on occasions when 
 some extra eff'ort seemed to be necessary 
 to keep up appearances. He was not so 
 bad, however, as a creature we once saw 
 at a subscription dinner party, at one of 
 our fashionable hotels — a man of fortune, 
 now (August, 1848) in active life, who, at 
 the close of the festivities, filled his hat 
 with almonds, raisins and oranges. The 
 colored gentlemen in attendance rebuked 
 him gently, and one of the committee of 
 arrangements made him disgorge his ill- 
 gotten spoils, but not without pugilistic re- 
 sistance on his part. It appeared that his 
 daughter had issued invitations for a party 
 the next evening. As the gentlemen dro- 
 vers at Brighton say, " some pork will boil 
 so !" Indeed, as has often been said, this 
 is a great, an extensive country — made up 
 of all sorts of people, some of whom are 
 too mean to inhabit it without serious dis- 
 advantage to the rest. 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 13 
 
 Dinner being ready, a horn was sounded 
 and the wanderers came in. What fol- 
 lowed, it were quite as easy to imagine 
 as describe, for, in those days, the ladies 
 would drink and enjoy a generous glass of 
 punch, or a modest dash of gin and water, 
 as heartily as their lords. Mr. Gough, the 
 invincible, had not then been abroad : li- 
 quors were not drugged in those days — 
 that invention, or discovery, is of modern 
 date, and much practised in the city of 
 Boston as well as in New- York. The dis- 
 tillers will have to sweat for it ! 
 
 Three or four hours having been spent 
 in innocenthilarity, in dancing and singing, 
 and talking about tender infants, the party, 
 after partaking of an early cup of tea. would 
 get under way for home. If the wind was 
 fair, they would have a pleasant sail and 
 a speedy return ; if it was calm, they 
 would be compelled to do — what you and 
 I have often done, colonel : — 
 
 " Dance all night, 
 
 " And go home with the girls in the morning." 
 In 1817, his majesty the sea-serpent ap- 
 peared for the first time in the waters of 
 Massachusetts bay. I remember this fact 
 well. His advent at Nahant produced an 
 intense, a fearful excitement among all 
 classes in Boston. The late Marshal 
 Prince seized his "mast-head spy-glass," 
 and took " several observations," the result 
 of which he published in the Columbian 
 Centinel, then edited by his friend, the late 
 Major Russell. Mr. Prince was a most 
 worthy and estimable old gentleman — a 
 little near-sighted, and at times somewhat 
 passionate and enthusiastic ; in a word, he 
 ■was just the man to see the sea-serpent ! 
 He discerned the teeth and tongue of the 
 monster most distinctly — almost with the 
 " naked eye" ; but when he brought his 
 telescope to bear, oh, ye gods, what dis- 
 coveries he made ! The eyes of the ser- 
 pent were distinctly seen ; and, when his 
 majesty condescended to extend his tongue 
 for the purpose of lapping his huge and 
 illustrious jaws, after eating a barrel of 
 mackerel, there were no bounds to the ec- 
 stacy of Marshal Prince's delight. The 
 
 bumps on his back exceeded those on the 
 back of the cruel Richard, of English his- 
 tory, some dozen or twenty. 
 
 I shall never forget the excitement pro- 
 duced by the first accounts received in 
 Boston of the arrival of the sea-serpent in 
 our lower harbor, nor the consequences 
 which grew out of that excitement. The 
 whole story, at this distant day, — now al- 
 most thirty years, — would be deemed in- 
 credible. Salem witchcraft was no touch 
 to it, in one respect. There was not an 
 old lady at the North-End who did not 
 " shake in her shoes," and some of the 
 clergy and many respectable citizens, par- 
 took of this unamiable and childish feeling. 
 It was even feared, by some of the most 
 timid, that, if he once condescended to 
 leave his " native element," — as the ship- 
 builders and their accommodating scribes 
 call simple salt water — he would overtop 
 all the houses in the city, occasionally 
 peeping into the scuttle of some gentle- 
 man in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, for 
 the purpose of getting a titbit, or spiriting 
 away some Irish maiden lady, of fair pro- 
 portions and good face. He was not a for- 
 tune hunter. Heaven bless him for that ; 
 for the home of the sea-serpent is paradise 
 itself when compared with that of an ava- 
 ricious muckworm, who will neither lend 
 to the Lord nor help his own suffering fel- 
 low creatures. 
 
 Depend upon it, my dear friend, there 
 was a terrible excitement in Boston and 
 its vicinity when the sea-serpent first visi- 
 ted these shores. The affidavits published 
 at the time on the subject, from fishermen 
 and the crews of Eastern coasters, would 
 fill a volume of five hundred octavo pages. 
 Expeditions to capture the monster were 
 fitted out, without number, from Boston, 
 Salem, Marblehead, Gloucester, and other 
 places on both the North and South shores. 
 The prices of whaleboals and harpoons 
 fluctuated, like those of railroad and other 
 fancy stocks at the present day. 
 
 Capt. Rich, an enterprising and experi- 
 enced seaman, commanded the first boat 
 
14 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SHOIIK 
 
 that was fitted out.* Much was expected 
 of this expedition ; but it turned out to be a 
 
 * Note. The sea-serpent first made his 
 appearance on our coast in 1817, which 
 was the " '^\v\\\ year lor seeing him." Me 
 moved about Hoslon bay, in almost every 
 direction, sticking chieliy to the North 
 sliore, the waters near Cape Ann, Hall-way 
 rock, Nahant, &c. Sharks and horse- 
 mackerel were constantly in attendance on 
 his majesty. Bulletins in relation to his 
 movements were issued from (Gloucester 
 during the travelling season, and published 
 in the Boston Ga/ette, Centinel, and Palla- 
 dium, then the leading journals of the city, 
 hut now all defunct, and their editors all 
 dead. The Centinel of that year, lOh Sep- 
 tember, said — " This notorious animal still 
 remains in our waters, and all attempts to 
 take him have been abandoned." 
 
 In 1818, his snukeship made his appear- 
 ance again, and was »i\an by huiulreds of 
 respectable individuals, who described 
 him, very minutely — as he looked lo them 
 — mostly under oath. On the inth of Au- 
 gust, of that year, Capt. ]{ich's expedition 
 was fitted out from Gloucester, and con- 
 sisted of a large boat and two whale-boats, 
 all fully maimed, it was this expedition 
 which was said to have encountered him 
 ofl Squam. Capt. Rich throw a harpoon 
 into him "about (wo feet,'' but his majesty 
 broke loose and escaped ! Capt. R. and 
 the crews of his boats all conscientiously 
 believed that the creature struck was the 
 veritable serpent. The captain, in his ac- 
 count of the all'air, used this language : — 
 
 " We struck him fairly, but the harpoon 
 " got loose, and ho has not been seen 
 " since ; and I fear the wound he received 
 " will make him more cautious how he 
 " approaches these shores." 
 
 But this severe stroke did not finish his 
 majesty. In 1819 he appeared again, and 
 continued on the coast throughout the sum- 
 mer. About this lime the infidels of the 
 south began to laugh at the yankees, and 
 to insinuate that ihey were too credulous 
 on this subject. The Centinel resented 
 the insult, and threw back in their teeth 
 the burning words " southern scoflers !" 
 That Major Russell was quite imlignant, 
 will be seen by the annexed extract, from 
 the Centinel of September of that year: — 
 
 " It is, perhaps, owing lo his established 
 " harmlessuess that he has not long since 
 " been taken. Ihul he exhibited the fero- 
 " city at first attributed to liira, or occasion - 
 '• ed the death of a single seaman or fish- 
 
 dead failure, notwithstanding a temporary 
 shed, of extensive dimensions, was pui up 
 in the vicinity of Faneuil Hall for the re- 
 ception of his majesty and the accommo- 
 dation of the universal public. Since that 
 time he has been seen on our coast and 
 "elsewhere," periodically; but, although 
 frequently pursued, he has never been ta- 
 ken. Every summer you will hear of the 
 capture of one of his half-grown children, 
 in the shape of a mackerel shark, or some 
 other large fish; but, as yet, nothing has 
 been heard of the destruction of his majesty 
 or his queen. The latter was last seen in 
 one of the inlets on the coast of North Ca- 
 rolina, feeding upon a dead colored man — 
 supposed to have been an unfortunate slave. 
 
 Before concluding this prolific and highly 
 interesting topic, I would remark that it 
 has been insinuated — with what truth I 
 am unable to say — that the people of Na- 
 hant themselves, the hotel keepers, or some 
 wag of an editor for them, often raised the 
 cry of sea-serpent I when, in fact, his ma- 
 jesty was more than a thousand miles ofl". 
 I plead guilty to a part of the indictment. 
 And all this was done to induce unsus- 
 pecting people to flock to Nahant, to see 
 the monster wag his tail and eat mackerel, 
 while they themselves ate chowder and 
 drank old wine. 
 
 But I have said quite as much about the 
 sea-serpent as will be acceptable. It is 
 not important that I should give you my 
 opinion about his probable existence. 
 
 It is well known that there are excellent 
 fishing grounds near Nahant, and that, con- 
 sequently, there are many boats off there 
 daily through the summer months. There 
 is excellent fishing from the rocks, for tau- 
 taug and perch ; and other kinds of fish 
 have been known to be taken there. A 
 quarter of a mile from the shore cod and 
 
 " erman, the whole coast would have been 
 " alive with his ailversaries, andoursouth- 
 " ern scotiers, if they pleased, have long 
 " since seen his skeleton decorating the 
 " hall of our Linnean society." (?) — In 
 the expressive language of Santa Anna, 
 God and liberty ! 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 15 
 
 haddock are always plenty, Tautaug are 
 found on rocky shores, on both sides of 
 Boston hay ; sometimes they are plenty 
 at diiferent points of Phillips's Beach. I 
 have never found them plenty any where. 
 I remember to have caught ten or twelve, 
 one morning, from Black Rock, off Co- 
 hasset. 
 
 It is not to l)e wondered at that acci- 
 dents sometimes occur to fishing boats in 
 this vicinity. 1 remember one with unaf- 
 fected grief, for the sufferers, eight in num- 
 ber, were my personal friends. In Augast 
 1831, I believe, during one of those sudden 
 squalls from the west which are so com- 
 mon in our bay in mid-summer, the boat 
 Bunker Hill, having on board a fishing 
 party of gentlemen, chiefly young mer- 
 chants, was suddenly sunk, and only one 
 person left to tell the melancholy tale. 
 Most of them left families. A sad warn- 
 ing this to young men who venture upon 
 the water, to look out for squalls ! 
 
 (Note— July, 1848.) We are indebted 
 to a friend, who was born at Nahant, and 
 always lived there, for some interesting 
 memoranda, which he penned at our re- 
 quest, and for which he has our thanks. 
 
 As late as 1803, there were only five 
 houses at Nahant, — one owned by Mr. 
 Breed, then the wealthiest man in the 
 place, and one by Mr. Hood ; both of these 
 families were Quakers. There were two 
 owned by the Johnsons, and another which 
 stood where the building known as " the 
 castle" now stands, which was the first 
 public house in the place, and which was 
 first kept by a man named Leonard, and 
 then by a Mr. Johnson, but no connexion 
 of the present family of that name, which 
 has spread over the peninsula so rapidly. 
 Mr. J. Rice kept the first public house of 
 any account at Nahant, first in the old 
 Breed mansion, which was soon torn down, 
 and afterwards in the building erected in 
 its place, where he has done a successful 
 business for twenty years ; and about the 
 time here referred to the Breed estate was 
 sold to the present occupant, and is known 
 
 as Whitney's hotel — the Breeds having 
 left the peninsula, and removed to Lynn, 
 where the remnant of that family still re- 
 side. The Hood and Breed families were 
 farmers, but they were always ready to 
 wait upon visiters, and to furnish them with 
 the comforts of life when required to do so. 
 The Johnson family were all fishermen. 
 Joseph and Caleb, the heads of the present 
 numerous tribe that now dwell at Nahant, 
 were both married young, and carried on 
 the fishing business with a degree of vigor 
 and enterprise that is rarely equalled : they 
 have both raised up large and respectable 
 families, as might be supposed from this 
 fact. The late Samuel Hammond, Esq., 
 when at Nahant, one day called at the 
 house of Caleb, and inquired for Mrs. 
 Johnson, who has always been known by 
 the agreeable sobriquet of Aunt Olive, and 
 said he wanted to see the woman who had 
 brought up seven sons, and not one bad 
 fellow among the lot. But what is very 
 remarkable, Caleb and his wife are still 
 living ; and their seven sons and three 
 daughters have all been well brought up, 
 and are also living, not a death having 
 ever occurred in the family. And what is 
 more — last thanksgiving day, 1847, they 
 were all seated at one table, fifty-six in 
 number, including children and grand 
 children. A good story this, for Nahant: 
 it speaks well for the health of its resident 
 population.* 
 
 Colonel Thomas H. Perkins early turned 
 his attention to Nahant, as a place highly 
 favorable for a summer residence. The 
 late Cornelius Coolidge, Esq., also did 
 much towards building it up, by buying 
 land and erecting cottages, and then sell- 
 ing them ; he followed this business sev- 
 
 * But here is something equally start- 
 ling, which was cut from one of the news- 
 papers of the city a few days since by a 
 comely widow lady of our acquaintance — 
 " Died, at Wexford, Canada West, Mr. 
 Daniel Aiken, aged 120, having been mar- 
 ried seven times : he left .570 grandchil- 
 dren and great-grandchildren — 300 boys 
 and 270 girls." 
 
IG 
 
 NOTKS ON THE SEA-SHORE ; 
 
 eral years, until he had built and sold as 
 many as twelve or fifteen. Frederick Tu- 
 dor, Esq., was the next to take hold, his 
 object being to beautify the peninsula ; he 
 caused several thousand trees to be plant- 
 ed, all over the place, which now make a 
 very beautiful appearance. In fact, this 
 gentleman has done more towards improv- 
 ing the looks of Nahant, than all the rest 
 of the summer residents combined. 
 
 The names of the persons who own cot- 
 tages at Nahant, as far as the writer recol- 
 lects, are as follows, viz. : — T. II. Perkins, 
 T. G. Gary, F. Tudor, the heirs of Mrs. S. 
 G. Perkins, Mrs. Phillips, E. D. Phillips, 
 F. H. Gray, Charles Amory, Mrs. Gardner 
 Green, the heirs of John Hubbard, tiie heirs 
 of S. Hammond, David Sears, E. H. Rob- 
 bins, Wm. Amory, Mrs. Prescott, Crown- 
 inshield, T. B. Curtis, Misses Inches, T. 
 Whelmore, B. C. Clark, Mr. Lodge, the 
 heirs of N. V. Russell, and Mrs. Rice. The 
 house owned by the heirs of the late Jo- 
 seph Peabody, of Salem, was formerly a 
 hotel : it was built by C. Coolidge, and 
 was christened in handsome style, by that 
 gentleman and the keeper of it, at its 
 opening. We remember that several gen- 
 tlemen connected with the city press were 
 present at the table. It was altogether an 
 agreeable occasion. 
 
 With regard to the sea-serpent, one word. 
 The old fisliermen of Nahant and Phillips's 
 Beach, (very few of them certainly) do not 
 believe in the existence of sucli a creature ; 
 but the prevailing opinion of experienced 
 men is, that the sea-serpent, said to have 
 been so often seen in that vicinity, was 
 nothing more than a horse-mackerel, fro- 
 licing in the water. These fish have a 
 peculiar mode of swimming — by standing 
 almost perpendicular in the water, and 
 moving alongvery majestically — making a 
 wake as large as a steamer for a mile or 
 so, and then again ;issuming their natural 
 position, and moving along without scarcely 
 making a ripple. 
 
 In relation to the health of Nahant we 
 have something to say. We will go back 
 for forty years, and take an average of the 
 
 people, including visiters, which would not 
 fall short of three hundred yearly : in the 
 whole of that time the deaths have not 
 been over twelve adults, and perhaps as 
 many children, which is equal to one every 
 year in a population of 12,000. There 
 have been three accidents there : one was 
 to a man who was driving a team — he fell, 
 struck his head against a rock, and died 
 immediately; he had two small children 
 with him, who ran to tell the story of their 
 father's death. The second was to an 
 Irishman, who was killed by lightning in 
 Mr. Stephen Codraan's barn. The third 
 occurred to a party of young gentlemen 
 fram Boston, who were surveying the rocks 
 round Little Nahant : one of them loosen- 
 ed some rocks, when one rolled upon his 
 breast, and crushed him so badly that he 
 died soon after he had been conveyed in 
 a boat to the Nahant hotel. On the whole, 
 we think the like of this cannot be found 
 on the habitable globe. 
 
 There is one church at Nahant, which 
 is supplied by preachers, of all denomina- 
 tions, who may happen to be on a visit 
 there and invited to preach. The sum of 
 S15 is allowed for each sermon ; and this 
 is more tlian enough to pay for a week's 
 board at the hotel. 
 
 Among the boat accidents off Nahant 
 that which occurred to the Tiger, seven or 
 eight years ago, is deserving of special 
 mention. She went over in a squall and 
 sunk, with six young gentlemen, all of 
 whom were, under Providence, miracu- 
 lously saved by B. C. Clark, Esq. in the 
 Raven. Well may that gentleman feel 
 proud of his little craft and her exploits. 
 
 l;^^ Since our article about Nahant was 
 put in type, an old friend at that peninsula, 
 to whom we had loaned the manuscript of 
 it — with a request that he would do us the 
 favor to read it — has made some valuable 
 suggestions,and, also at our request, has sent 
 us a communication, with permission to 
 make such use of it as we pleased. We 
 
on RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 17 
 
 have availed ourselves of some of his con- 
 tributions, in a condensed form. 
 
 The first private decked boat ever moor- 
 ed at Nahant for the summer was the Mer- 
 maid, of 12 tons— this was in 1832 or '33. 
 She remained two summers, and was then 
 sold to William P. Winchester, Esq, who 
 kept her until the Northern Light was 
 launcheci, when he parted with her. She 
 is still running, and is as pretty as ever — 
 as "good as new." 
 
 The next yacht was the Raven, a swift 
 and beautiful sprite of the wave, of 12 tons, 
 and is owned by Benjamin C. Clark, Esq., 
 under whose direction she was built. She 
 took the place of the Mermaid in 1835 or 
 '36, and is still at Nahant. Like the splen- 
 did Northern Liglit of Col. Winchester — 
 than which a more finished and powerful 
 yacht, of her size, never graced the Ocean 
 — the Raven has done good service for her 
 owner, and won numerous laurels, which 
 she bears as gracefully in her beak at the 
 present time as she did when they were 
 first acquired. We refer the reader to a 
 well-written account of one of the suc- 
 cessful efforts of the Raven, from the pen 
 of a friend, in another page. 
 
 The third was the Susan, of 18 tons, 
 owned by Mr. Lowell. She came soon 
 after the Raven, and was parted with at 
 the end of the season : she now belongs to 
 Mr. Drew. The fourth yacht that had 
 moorings for the whole season was the Av- 
 on, of 1 1 tons, a pretty boat and a fast one. 
 Afterwards came the Brenda, of 30 tons, 
 owned by Mr. David Sears, jr. Next and 
 last was the Cloud, of 22 tons, owned by 
 J. H. Gray, Esq., vi^hich took her moorings 
 at the close of the last summer, and proves 
 to be not only a very handsome and com- 
 fortable boat, but a good sailer. 
 
 The Foam, which is moored nearest the 
 steam-boat wharf, is about four years old, 
 24 tons, and is owned by Mr. Jonathan 
 Johnson, who allows her to take out par- 
 ties during the summer. She is one of the 
 swiftest, and at the same time one of the 
 most weatherly vessels of her class in the 
 bay, and a seat in her cabin, with Mr. Jon- 
 
 athan at the helm, is about the safest place 
 that can be found on the ocean. 
 
 And while on the subject of yachts be- 
 longing to Nahant, we may be permitted 
 to extend our remarks to Phillips's Beach- 
 
 At Swamscott, there is no private yacht 
 — save the Breeze, which is owned by 
 William IL Boardman, Esq., as clever a 
 specimen of human nature as ever sailed 
 a boat in a stiff bree/e ; and she is there 
 only occasionally. She is a good craft, of 
 about 45 tons. 
 
 The fishing schooners of Swamscott 
 are superior vessels. The Woodside, the 
 Stars and Stripes, and the Jane, are parti- 
 cularly swift, and the others are " not 
 slow." 
 
 The coast, from the Ocean House to the 
 eastward, for three or four miles, (coast of 
 Sumatra, some call it) is quite pretty, and 
 in a stiff norther afl'ords a good lee for fish- 
 ing and boat-sailing. It is a good neigh- 
 borhood for codfish. 
 
 Tinker's Island, off Marblehead Neck, 
 is a very romantic spot, but is rarely visi- 
 ted except by fishermen ; two or three 
 times each summer, perhaps, will be seen 
 there a party from Nahant. It is divided 
 from the Neck by a channel of half a mile, 
 but at low tide a bar of sand and rocks is 
 visible nearly across. There is a house 
 for wrecked seamen on the island. 
 
 Nahant, August, 1848. 
 
 Dear Shade : I have yours of the 11th, 
 and have read the manuscript with plea- 
 sure. Tiie touch at the sea-serpent is par- 
 ticularly happy ; but 1 should have han- 
 dled that " ancient and fishliko" humbug 
 with more severity. You have talked with 
 a good many fishermen; but did you ever 
 find an intelligent one that ever saw the 
 creature? I never did — nor one that be- 
 lieved in its existence. 
 
 During the past sixteen summers, I have 
 crossed from Boston to Nahant, and from 
 Nahant to Boston, about twelve hundred 
 times. Each year, when August came — 
 the witching time for the sea-serpent — the 
 places where the mackerel "most do con- 
 congregate" were visited by horse mack- 
 erel. Some of these fish are very large — 
 and when the sea has been without a rip- 
 ple, I have seen its leaden surface show 
 
18 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SIIORE ; 
 
 the track of a bis; one to the extent of sev- 1 
 enty feet, in a manner that would deceive { 
 the keenest eye. But you liave seen all ' 
 this — and have therefore just as surely 
 seen the sea-serpent as I have ! ! 
 
 I believe you will tind that Capt. Rich j 
 captured a horse-mackerel of 17 or 18 feet, 
 and that a place near Fort-hill, (and not 
 Faneuil Hall) was prepared for what the 
 captain truly said was the only sea-snake 
 he couhl lind for the people. It was un- 
 derstood, at one time, tliat some gentlemen 
 owned a lari^e property, prospectively, in 
 the sea-serpent ! 
 
 Touching the inhabitants of Nahant, the 
 man, above all others— as you have inti- 
 mated — lieserving unqualiiied praise, is 
 Mr. Tudor, who has not only clone won- 
 ders, on his own place, but has, in the 
 kindest manner, and with most excellent 
 judii'ment, pointed out to his neighbors the 
 fruits of his own experience, and freely and 
 gratuitously profiered them the means of 
 encompassing the same advantages. Mr. 
 Coolidge, also, did a great deal towards 
 building up Nahant, as you have men- 
 tioned. 
 
 In your notice of yachting, do not forget 
 to introduce the Northern Light, and her 
 kind, generous, and gentlemanly owner: — 
 just ask those who know the colonel well, 
 and they will tell you more good of him 
 than I have time to record. 
 
 There was a Doctor Eastman who prac- 
 ticed at Nahant and Lynn for two or three 
 years, and who was much respected. A 
 few months ago, (as 1 heard the story) he 
 made a post-mortem examination of a body 
 in a bail condition, ami having a scratch 
 upon one of his hantis he became poisoned. 
 He w'as pretty well satisllod that his life 
 was lost, and called in several professional 
 friends, who agreed with him in opinion, 
 when, with the utmost iirmness, he called 
 on those around him and bade them an af- 
 fectionate farewell ; but he soon afterwards 
 lett for Ahiine, where his connexions and 
 early friends resided. He was an excel- 
 lent man, anil therefore entitled to the tri- 
 bute of a kind remembrance. 
 
 I am glad to see you speak well of Mr. 
 Drew, for both he and his wife deserve the 
 very handsome notice you have given 
 them ; and it will be the more grateful be- 
 cause, in certain quarters, there exists an 
 ungenerous, if not contemptible disposition, 
 towards the Nahant Hotel. I do not allude 
 to persons who follow the same business, 
 for, so far as Nahant is concerned, they 
 ' mind their own affairs , but there is a 
 class of people who, having no business 
 of their own to attend to, busy themselves 
 
 in instructing persons far more competent 
 than themselves ; and any departure from 
 their gratuitous counsel subjects the daring 
 offender to the grave charge of " democ- 
 racy !"' With us, the true relation between 
 the hotel keeper and his visiters seems not 
 generally to be understood. The former 
 is no more a servant than the lawyer or 
 the physician ; and if he offends, the rem- 
 edy is plain — and escape from him is far 
 easier than it sometimes is from the hands 
 of the professional gentlemen. Nothing 
 is more common than complaints against 
 the best public houses in the country — 
 even the Tremont has not always escaped ; 
 and yet the discontented ones are satisfied 
 there is nothing better, and never, or very 
 rarely, desert it. It is not to be supposed, 
 however, that the accomplished keepers of 
 that establishment entertain any particular 
 affection for persons so clearly inconsis- 
 tent, or that they would step aside very 
 far, to perform any extra professional ser- 
 vices for them. If they even tolerated 
 them, it would be by the exercise of a 
 strained courtesy, and not from the con- 
 viction of any obligation to do so. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST RE- 
 GATTA AT NAHANT. 
 
 On the lOth of July, 1845, a regatta, which 
 had been long talked of, came oft" at Nahant. 
 It v»as free for all vessels of not more than 50 
 tons nor less tlian 10. The prizes olforcd were 
 a silver euj) valued at $50, and a siut of colors. 
 Au allowanie of one half a minute per ton was 
 made by the larger boats to the smaller ones on 
 the dirt'erencc of tonnage. The course run Avas 
 from Nahant, round the Graves, outside of a 
 station-boat on the northwest side ; thence round 
 Egg- roek, on the north, back to the judges' boat 
 off Joseph's eove, Nahant. A very large num- 
 ber of ])ersons from Boston and the neighbor- 
 ing towns, were collected to witness the trial — 
 all the eligible points for observation were 
 thronged, and the bay in the neighborhood of 
 the peninsula was studded with boats of every 
 description tilled with speetators. 
 
 At half past three o'clock the contending 
 yachts, eleven in number, all schooner rigged, 
 were ranged from east to west otf the south 
 west bluli", in the following order : — The Nauti- 
 lus 11 tons, Avon 11 tons, Neptune 11 tons, 
 Raven 12 tons, Pathfinder 12 tons, Naid Queen 
 15 tons, Gipsey 21 tons, Alert 22 tons. Vision 
 24 tons, Odd Fellow 30 tons, and Cygnet 31 
 tons. Their foresails and mainsails were hoist- 
 ed, and each boat was held by a single line 
 made fast to a separate mooring. 
 
 A single glance at the boats would have sat- 
 isfied any one, that the intrinsic value of the 
 prizes was deemed of small moment in compar- 
 ison with the claims for superiority; it was evi- 
 dently to be a trial for elianipion^hi]). The 
 Cygnet, the Odd Fellow and the Vision, were 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 19 
 
 each celebrated for some particular quality 
 deemed vital in a boat-race. That the ])rizc 
 would fail amou'^st the largest l)oats there ex- 
 isted not a doubt, and the clumccs for the cup 
 were considered to be decidedly in favor of the 
 Cygnet, but by far the most iiitereslitig point 
 to be determined was the lonj; mooted (jiiestion 
 of .superiority among the yachts of 11 to IT) 
 tons; these were not business boats, but the 
 j)roduclioii3 of scientihc amateurs, aiming at 
 speed, and on the .score of beauty and condition 
 these little vessels would not have .sullered in 
 comparison witli the finest boats of any coun- 
 try. They were indeed the jiicked and chosen 
 ones of the whole bay; each one; had her 
 "troops of friends," and each claimed an owner 
 wlio felt 710 embarrassment in entering the list 
 for a public trial. Although these yachts were 
 by no means strangers to each, other, yet there 
 was a wide diirerence in opinion in regard to 
 their rcs])ective merits; an occasional chance 
 brush in the bay, (with " stores on board," "foul 
 copper," "a skiff in tow," &c.) .so far from af- 
 fording any criterion by w.hich they could be 
 judged, seemed only to mystify their preten- 
 sions. 
 
 The Nautilu.s was known to be a very fast 
 boat in smootli water, and on tliis occasion ev- 
 erything seemed favorable for tlic development 
 of the good points claimed for her. The Avon 
 maintained a high rank; she was considered a 
 fair match for the Nautilus, in common wind.s, 
 and her superior in strong breezes : before com- 
 ing into line she made two or three hitches, and 
 her (juick movements greatly encouraged the 
 strong hopes entertained for her by lier friends; 
 she was lighter tlian usual, her ballast having 
 been arranged to suit the breeze. 
 
 The Neptune was not so well known as most 
 of the others ; .she had however a good name, 
 and being but partly decked possessed in that 
 particular an important advantage over all her 
 companions. 
 
 Ti)c Haven, (long, deep, and sharp,) was 
 widely and favorably known. The Pathfinder 
 was known to be a very weatherly boat and her 
 friends would readily have backed her against 
 any of her companions in size. The Naid 
 Queen, although a boat of excessive beam, was 
 notoriously fast in all kinds of weather. 
 
 The Gipscy had established a good name 
 from her performances in strong breezes rather 
 than from her su])crior excellence in light 
 winds. The Alert was a new boat of great 
 beam, fair lines and small draft. It was not 
 su|)posed sli(! could do much by the wind, but 
 in rumdng large it was believed she would hur- 
 ry the best of the fleet. 
 
 At a quarter before four, the signal gun was 
 fired — the moorings were dropped, and the jibs 
 run up at the same instant. The start to look- 
 ers on seemed a perfect one : and the, beautiful 
 appearance of the little vessels, as they llitted 
 away together, elicited much admiration. The 
 wind was fro-n the south cast, consequently it 
 was nearly a dead beat to the (Graves. The 
 boats started with their larboard tacks aboard 
 and headed for Broad Sound, running four and 
 a half to five knots. Immediately after filling 
 
 away it was ])erceived that the Vision, from 
 having a slight advance at the start, had lap- 
 ped the Odd Fellow, and taken the wind out of 
 lier sails, the latter however soon kept off, took 
 the wind out ahead of tiie former, and j)asscd 
 on ahead. 
 
 The Raven from a smilar cause suffered in 
 a much greater degree. The Nc])tune filled 
 away u|)on her beam, and bei'almed her for 
 about twenty miiuites. Unlike the (Jdd Fellow 
 (which was the leeward boat but one in the 
 licet) the Haven had several boats under her lee 
 bow and could not keep away, to shake the 
 Ne|)tune off", without interfering injuriously 
 with her neighbors. Thus heminc<l in she was 
 coinijelled cither to remain in company with 
 the Neptune during the whole tack, or to heave 
 to and let her jiass to windward. The latter al- 
 ternative was submitted to, and her sheets were 
 slacked up until the Neptune had passed ahead 
 several lengths, when the Haven trimmed aft 
 again, crossed her wake, and passed to wind- 
 ward of her. If her rate of sailing iiftcr she 
 had cleared the Nc])tunc may be considered a 
 thing to judge by, she must have lost more than 
 a mile from the interference at the start. 
 
 At about a (|uarter past four, the Cygnet, 
 Odd Fellow and Vision, tacked to the e/tstward. 
 Strom: indications of a wind more southerly 
 probably induced this movement. The manceu- 
 vrc, however, although well designed, was not 
 completely successful, for, notwithstanding tlie 
 wind did haul slightly to the southward, the 
 three large boats weathered the Graves with 
 difficulty at a limping gait. The next boat was 
 the liaven ; after passing half a mile beyond 
 the wake of the others she tacked to the east- 
 ward, and passed the Graves, going a wrap full. 
 The Alert followed the Raven ; the other boats 
 were now a long way in the rear, and it was 
 quite apparent that the matter was settled so 
 far as they were concerned, still it was a subject 
 of regret that they did not conqilcte the distance 
 named in the conditions of the race, inasmuch 
 as the prize was offered only with a view of 
 ascertaining how far the pretensions of the 
 different yachts would be justified by their 
 performances. 
 
 The Cygnet and the Odd Fellow passed the 
 Graves nearly together, next came the Vision 
 with the Haven close upon her — up to this 
 period the Haven was in good time, for the first 
 prize, but it was considered that in working to 
 windward her best ])lay had been seen, and 
 that on tlie return, in running at large, her ra- 
 king m.asts and heavy draft would cause her to 
 drop far astern of tlu; larger boats, whose ar- 
 rangements and ability for going free were sup- 
 posed to be vastly superior. 
 
 Upon squaring away, however, this opinion 
 proved to be ill founded, for when half of the 
 distance between the (Graves and Egg Itock had 
 been made, it was obvious that the Haven liad 
 not only nearcd the head boats considerably, 
 hut had also dropped the Alert still farther 
 astern. When abreast of Egg ilock one of the 
 crew of the Odd Fellow fell overboard ; in 
 rounding to pick him up she lost .some minutes. 
 The Haven also lost some time by jibing her 
 
20 
 
 NOTKS ON TUK SKA-SIIORK 
 
 foresnil nnd standinp for the exposed individual. 
 
 From llie coiintu'iicciiK'nt of tlie race the 
 Avnid lia<l hccn <;ra(hiidly incrcasin;^, and when 
 tlie boats hauled on a wind under the k^e of 
 y^iiff Jvock the breeze was quite fresh. They 
 ])asscd the station l)oat oil' Ivist I'oint, Naliant, 
 runnini!; at least nine knots, and eanieto abreast 
 of tile Judf^es' boat in i)eantiful style in tlie fol- 
 lowing order. Cygnet at 0, 12; Vision at C, 
 14 ; and the Raven at 6, 16 — the latter boat 
 taking the first ])rizc, with some minutes to 
 spare — the secoiul prize was awarded to the 
 Vision. 
 
 The detention of the Odd Fellow, although 
 it may have ])revcnted her eoming in as early 
 as the Cygnet, did not aflert the ehanco for a 
 prize. 1'hc result, so far as the Kavcn was con- 
 cerned, was deemed most extraordinary, and 
 lier jierformanee elicited consideraiile specula- 
 tion. 15y some it was thought tliat the allow- 
 ance of time was too great, but others, more 
 skilled in nautical imitters, considered that if it 
 were so, the ])rizes woidd both have fallen to 
 boats of the Raven's class, whereas it ajipears 
 that neither the Avon, Neptune, Nautilus, Naid 
 Queen or the rathlindt'i', were or coultl have 
 been within four or five miles of even the sec- 
 ond ])rize, which was taken by a boat of 24 
 tons, in a close contest witli the two yachts of 
 30 and 31 tons. The distance sailed ("about 20 
 miles) was peiformed by the leading boats, in 
 about 2^ hours, which, considering the wind at 
 the start, was excellent time. 
 
 Thus closed one of the most beautiful and 
 exciting regattas ever witnessed in this country. 
 
 The skill and propriety evinced in getting up 
 the exhibition were equalled only by the perfect 
 liarmony and good feeling which marked its 
 close. 
 
 While upon matters connected with the 
 sea, we have thought that the following- 
 capital slfuy, ilhistrating the dangers of 
 yacht sailing in Boston bay, would be ac- 
 ceptable to readers. It originally appear- 
 ed in the Boston Atlas : — 
 
 NARllOW ESCAPE IN MASSACHU- 
 SETTS BAY. 
 
 Towards llie close of n beantilul afternoon in 
 .luly, just as the seltinir sun luul slicd liis last rays 
 upon llie lofty canvass of a ship in the ollinj;-, and 
 the small lishiiii;- schooners were retiiniiiig-, like 
 sea-^ulls, to their wave-yirdled nests, three ama- 
 teur yachtcrs started from Gli)iicester, in a pret- 
 ty yacht of about ten Ions, IiduikI lor Naiiant. 
 The wind was liyht from the westward ; ol 
 course, there was no pros|)ect of a quick run, but 
 the evenin^j- was delijihtful ; indeed, it was one 
 of those niirhts when '' fear may lay liiin down to 
 sleep." The day, however, had l)eeii intensely 
 warm, and a scorchim;- sun had aiven denote- 
 ment of one ot' those sadden and violent changes 
 \vhich arc not unl'reqnont in midiinimer. 
 
 At about U o'clock, the sky in the north looked 
 portentous ; a pilch black cloud had risen a few 
 degrees above the liorizon, and spread along from 
 the northwest to the northeast. The appearance 
 was wild and llircatening, and an occasional 
 gleam of lightning indicated that it eonlained 
 the elements of strife ; the atmosphere, too, had 
 becotne close. These indications where unheed- 
 ed by the yachtcrs ; they eared no more for the 
 thunder-cloud than they did for the smoke of the 
 "regalias" which curled over their heads; the 
 boat was a good one — '' .she had braved it before, 
 and could brave it again." and come what might, 
 they were in shape lor it. 
 
 in a light wind the tiller does not minister 
 much to the poetry of sailing, and companion- 
 ship with it at such a time is not desirable; con- 
 sequently, on this occasion the helm was relieved 
 halt a do/.en times before muinight. and but little 
 regard paid to the course of the yacht. At about 
 half-past twelve the moon went down, the breeze 
 freshened, and a haze set in which obscured the 
 horizon. The Boston and Long Island lights, 
 however, were dimly visible in the distance. 
 Nothing material occurred until half-past one, 
 when the (lapping of the sails (the boat had been 
 brought suddenly to the wind,) and the shout 
 from the helm " below there !" aroused the two 
 sleepers. " It is a squall ?" cried one of them, as 
 ho coi>lly .stepped up the companionway. '' No," 
 replied the hehiisniaii, ''the smut ui the north 
 has settled away, but look yonder." '' A rock I" 
 shouted the other, rubbing his eyes. " There 
 must have heen wild steering, somewhere, for 
 we are on the Cohassel side — fill away to the 
 northward." The yacht was then kept away 
 north by east. Ivach professed to believe he had 
 seen one of the Cohasset rocks, but at the same 
 time lelt that owing to the variety of steering, 
 the current, and the haze, they were quite aa 
 likely to be somewhere else. This feeling, how- 
 ever, induced only an indiflercnt lookout, and 
 with an increasing lireeze they sped along' 
 merrily. Not more tlian twenty minutes had 
 elapsed before the watch forward cried, " break- 
 ers ahead I hard down your helm I" 
 
 The boat shot clear, but near enough to show 
 a small grevish rock, around which the water 
 must have been bold, as the break was very 
 slight. The yacht was brought to the wind again, 
 and a council held The first rock could not 
 have been on the Cohasset shore, as north by 
 east would have cleared every thing. What was 
 it, then ? It must have been the Ilardings, and 
 the one just passed nmst have been the Norlh- 
 east Breaker, od' the Craves, — but the Graves 
 Were not visible; that wns no doubt owing to 
 the mist which had now settled close all around. 
 The bearings of the outer lighl, however, con- 
 flicted with this calculation, but the'compass rest- 
 ed on the lloor of the cabin, and might have 
 been inllueuced by the pig iron directly below it; 
 at any rate, the rock last seen might have been 
 the Northeast Breaker, and away they went, 
 heading north, the helmsman humminsr a boat 
 song to the tune of a cracking breeze. They soon 
 recollected thai the luutheast breaker was a dark 
 kelp-covered rock, altogether unlike the one they 
 had just jtassed — on the other hand, the mist 
 migiit have caused this unusual appearance. For 
 a moment there was a slight manifestalion of 
 distrnsi, but the song, the witty remark, and the 
 joyous laugh which followed, showed that it was 
 l)ut a nu>iuentary feeling — " a raj) full." was the 
 word and on she went,w!»ile "a wake like the 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 21 
 
 maelstrom was boiling behind." So true is it 
 
 that 
 
 " Wc (Innce on a loom that may weave us a eliroud." 
 
 la less liian ten minutes there was a simultane- 
 ous exclamation, " Iloeks !" and under tlie lee 
 bow was seen a cluster of a dozen, so near that 
 as the sea laved tlieui a fitful gleam of phosphor- 
 ic light was disiinctly visible. In an mstniil the 
 yacht was on the other tack — a sound like the 
 surf ol' some beach was now heard :— this added 
 to the endjarrassnuMil of the niornetit, and as no 
 one ventured any farther opinion as to the where- 
 abouts of the little vessel, it was deemed best to 
 anchor. Safely was now the only thing to be 
 consulted. 
 
 The yacht was .sharp, deep, heavily ballasted, 
 and of delicate construction ; a blow, therefore, 
 on a craggy rock, would li.ive sent her down in 
 two minutes. Moreover, the danger was magni- 
 fied by the singular fact that the water was quite 
 bold, no foundings having tjeen lound in less 
 than seven fathoms. 
 
 While the boat was moving ahead slowly, 
 her sails shaking, and before the cable could be 
 overhauled and the anchor keyed, the man at the 
 helm sho\ited •' more rocks, by the gho.st of Ca;- 
 sar!" There they were — five of them, just on 
 the lee beam — small, grey, and nearly ii|ion a 
 level with the soa I The boat was brought to the 
 wind immediately, her foresail dropped, and the 
 jib lelt to windward — the ebb tide had nearly 
 done, and by the lead it was found that the boat 
 was nearly stationary, or at worst, drifting slowly 
 over the track she had passed. The compass 
 was now placed in the standing room, liiit it told 
 the same story. If it was coirect., every thing 
 was right, as Long Island Light bore southwest 
 by it. They had no chart, but they remembered 
 that south west, with a moderate draft, was a 
 good course for Long Island Head. 
 
 They remained in this i)osition (awaiting the 
 day-liglit) for an hour, descanting upon the singu- 
 larity of their adventure, and upon the unaccount- 
 able things they had seen, when to their mortal 
 horror they made a heap of rocks directlv ahead, 
 in the very range of the Light, which still bore 
 southwest! This appearance was the more as- 
 tounding, inasmuch as the yaclit had scarcely 
 steerage- way upon her, and yet the rocks were 
 close aboard, and ap[)arently nearing them fast 
 — so rapidly indeed that there was not time to 
 keep the boat away — one was already under her 
 bowsprit. All hands now sprang forward, and 
 applying their unit(!d strength to a strong boat 
 hook, they succeeded in breasting olf— not the 
 boat — but a larae strait' hrd — one of a hundred 
 and fifty, which, having been dischart'ed from 
 the immigrant ships in rpiarantine the afl<-riioon 
 before, had been rpiietly drifting down the Sound, 
 to the great annoyance of the " yachters," with 
 whose company and respectful attention they 
 liad been honored for about four hours ! 
 
 Nakant, August, 1848. 
 
 Tfi the way of romantic and oxriting 
 fact.s, mtich mii^ht bo foniid if you had time 
 to look it up. Some Peventpen winters 
 aso, Mr. Caleb .Johnson started in the La- 
 iayette (I think) from Cape Cod. With 
 liim were two schooners boi;nd for Swams- 
 
 cott. At about 4, P. M. it came on to blow 
 from the eastward, and a thick snow storm 
 set in. 
 
 Capt. Caleb put her away for Boston 
 and ran with an increasing jrale for some 
 time, when the boat struck heavily, but 
 passed on. Whether the rock tliey had 
 rubbed upon so hard was tlie IJardini,'s, or 
 whether it was one of the scalteriny break- 
 ers which lie nearer the south shore, was 
 unknown to them ; but in either case their 
 situation was most alarminij. With that 
 promptness and nerve which characterise 
 the fishermen of Massachusetts bay, the 
 Capt. resolved that they had passed over 
 the Har(lin;urs and he steered accordingly. 
 If he was right, the chance was still a 
 desperate one ; if wron^f, destruction was 
 sure. The pumps were now sounded, but. 
 notwithstanding' the blow she had receiv- 
 ed was a severe one, the little craft contin- 
 ued tijrht ; the blasts grew longer and loud- 
 er, and to escape the heavy sea astern the 
 boat was crowded to the last inch of can- 
 vass she could bear, and her masts bent 
 like whi[) sticks. 
 
 Suddenly the sea seemed all in heaps, 
 and the combers broke over the vessel in 
 every direction. It was evidently the 
 wind contending with a strong adverse 
 current, and the captain, hoping it might 
 be the ebb tide in the channel, passed the 
 helm to his son, remarking as he went for- 
 ward, " we shall be somewhere, soon." In 
 two minutes after he shouted from the fore 
 riizging — "hard down your helm— its all 
 right !" And for an instant was seen just 
 over the foremast head, the " Light dimly 
 hurnin^r." They soon shot into darkness 
 airain, but the skipper had said "it was all 
 right," and it was so, for ihcm.^ for they run 
 for the Spit, made it, — threaded their way 
 through the Narrows and the shij)ping in 
 the upper harbor, and soon made fast near 
 the end of Long wharf. But their com- 
 panions of the afternoon were less fortu- 
 nate; one of them, in a shattered condition, 
 got into Swamscott; the other went to 
 pieces on the Pii^s rocks (about three miles 
 northeast of Nahant,) and all hands were 
 lost. 
 
 Towards midniirht Capt. Johnson, not 
 liking the sound of the weather, stepped 
 from his berth to ero on deck, when he 
 found two feet of water in the cabin of the 
 boat. Upon examination afterwards, it 
 appeared miraculous that the schooner 
 ever reached even Light House channel — 
 so peculiarly dnni;(;rous was the damage 
 she had sustained near her garboard. 
 
 I am somewhat weary, but will mention 
 one more incident, which happened some 
 
22 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SUOUE ; 
 
 Iwenty-three years ago, in midwinter. 
 Two Nahant iisiiermen, (I do not reniem- 
 ber tlieir names, but they were distin<fuish- 
 ed) started from Boston in a dory for Na- 
 hant. They had money and articles for 
 their families, the proceeds of the week's 
 business. It was on a Saturday. At Point 
 Shirley they stopped for a cup of tea ; after 
 which, and against the advice of their host, 
 they resumed then- voyaije in the face of a 
 hard NE. wind After puUinjj; about an 
 hour, they were completely shrouded in 
 darkness — the wind had freshened, and it 
 ■was obvious that they were making but 
 small headway ; the sea had also risen — 
 so much so indeed that to return was out 
 of the question. There was no shore to 
 leeward near which a boat could have lived 
 for one moment ; their only chance, then, 
 was to go ahead ; and they tugged man- 
 fully. In proportion as the case grew des- 
 perate, they parted with their freiitht, and, 
 package by package, one half of it had 
 been thrown overboard, but with some de- 
 gree of reluctance, for these men were 
 formed to grapple willi the shark, and not 
 inclined to yield to common difficulties. 
 The wind continued to increase until it 
 blew a perfect gale. Finding it impossi- 
 ble to keep her from swamping, with any 
 extra weight on board, the boat was clear- 
 ed of every thing but the money, and they 
 buckled to the oars again. They had 
 scarcely began to realise any advantage 
 from their altered trim before the snow be- 
 gan to liy thickly — and in less than twenty 
 minutes the poor little craft was carrying 
 weigh! again. 
 
 At this moment, they thought the water 
 seemed to be a little smoother, and that 
 consequently they must be nearing some 
 part of Nahant — liastily they scooped out 
 the snow which had collected in the boat, 
 and again bent to their oars ; encouraged 
 by the certainty that they were slowly 
 making a lee they steadily applied their 
 remaining strength, uncertain yet, if it 
 would be of any avail ; one of them, less 
 hardy than his companion, was about to 
 yield when the welcome sound of the sea 
 dashing heavily upon the rocks burst up- 
 on them. The first words spoken for an 
 half hour was in their simultaneous and 
 joyous exclamation, " breakers" — in a few 
 minutes they made the outline of bold 
 lantl close aboard; this they judged (and 
 rightly) to be Bass Point; they followed 
 the shore along to the northward, till they 
 came to a spot whore ''grates the keel up- 
 on the yellow sand," when they beached 
 the dory, and loaded with ice and snow 
 waded a mile to their collate with scarce- 
 
 ly stren<>;th enough remaining to raise its 
 door latch. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Apple Tahiml — the late Mr. Marsh — his romantic 
 histonj — ieslrudhxt of las house by fire, Sfc. 
 
 Nahant, September, 1845. 
 On my passau'e to Nahant, in the steam, 
 er General Lincoln, Capt. Betts, I passed 
 •' Apple Island," a place somewhat cele- 
 brateil on account of a mysterious gentle- 
 man, by the name of Marsh, having lived 
 there a great number of years. He brought 
 up a large family on the island, was final- 
 ly taken sick, and dlevl about the year 
 1834: I believe he was buried on the is- 
 land. His house was burned two or three 
 years afterwards. 
 
 I do not remember that I ever passed 
 Apple Island, in the Nahant steamer, but 
 some one of the passengers had a curious 
 story to tell about Mr. Marsh, and the 
 manner in which he obtained a permanent 
 foothold on that inviting spot of earth. 
 The most rational and authentic account 
 of him I have ever listened to was related 
 to me by an old friend, who is as familiar 
 with every thing connected with the histo- 
 ry of the islands in Boston harbor as you 
 are with your own paste-pot ami scissors. 
 The story runs thus : — 
 
 Somewhere about the year 1813 — in the 
 midst of our war with Great Britain — Mr. 
 Marsh, the gentleman referred to, who 
 was a native of England, mysteriously 
 landed on the beach at an out-of-the-way 
 place called Germantown, between Quin- 
 cy and Weymouth. It is an excellent 
 place to bathe, at high water : I have of- 
 ten buffetted the " saucy waves" there, 
 and it is said to be a favorite resort of J. Q. 
 Adams, for the purpose of bathing in the 
 summer months. I wouKl here remark 
 that Germantown is a part of the town of 
 Quincy. . Mr. Marsh had with him two 
 females, one of whom passed as his wife, 
 and the other as her assi-tanf. He ob- 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 23 
 
 tained possession of. a small house on this 
 shore where he lived for many months, 
 without having the least intercourse with 
 any family in the vicinity, or holding con- 
 versation with any one whose curiosity 
 might attract him to the spot. His life was 
 spent in entire seclusion, and his compan- 
 ions mixed as little with the world as 
 he himself. It is true, he would some- 
 times wander up to the village, to pur- 
 chase a few groceries and other comforts 
 of life; but he rarely made unnecessary 
 conversation with any one — merely paying 
 for such articles as he had occasion to pur- 
 chase, in gold or silver, of which, it was 
 said, he had a considerable quantity with 
 him. 
 
 Several months having passed away, 
 including those of a severe winter season, 
 the residents of the houses in the neigh- 
 borhood began to talk very openly against 
 him, and to throw out frightful inuendoes. 
 This was in true yankee character. If he 
 was not the devil, he was certainly one of 
 his imps I Finally, it was decided that Mr, 
 Marsh and his companions must be driven 
 away, by some means or another, from 
 their quiet resting place. They were not 
 considered precisely as ghosts, or hob- 
 goblins ; but then there was a certain 
 something about them which induced the 
 timid people of Germantown and its vicin- 
 ity to denounce them as unearthly beings, 
 strongly imbued with the scent of brim- 
 stone. They made known their desires 
 and intentions to Mr. Marsh, and he, for 
 self-preservation, consented to remove from 
 Germantown, with his family, as soon as 
 the necessary arrangements could be made. 
 In a few days Mr. Marsh succeeded in 
 purchasing a sail-boat, of about ten tons, 
 with which he removed his family, and 
 what little furniture and provisions they 
 had, and, after paying his rent honorably, 
 took leave of his persecutors with becom- 
 ing meekness and dignity. It was high 
 spring-ti-ne — about the first of May. There 
 was a genial warmth in the sun, and a 
 quietness on the bosom of the sea, which 
 were cheering and comforting to a man 
 
 who had seen better days, and who had 
 been thus rudely treated, by his fellow 
 creatures, in a land of boasted freedom, 
 intelligence and hospitality. 
 
 He put off from the beach with his 
 stanch boat, under a clear sky and with a 
 free breeze, and shaped his course for the 
 land on the opposite shore, in the direction 
 of Chelsea, where he made a temporary 
 landing, on what is called Hog Island. 
 He spent a part of his time there, but most 
 of it, the whole of the succeeding sum- 
 mer and fall, in cruising about the islands 
 in Boston harbor — occasionally landing to 
 procure fresh provisions and water, but 
 never making a long visit. He and his 
 associates literally lived on the water for 
 more than six months, almost always find- 
 ing safe anchorage as the night approached, 
 and never meeting with the least accident. 
 They were known as the " floating family." 
 Hog Island, however, appeared to be the 
 favorite resting place of Mr. Marsh at this 
 time, whenever he landed any where with 
 his family. His movements were noticed 
 by the owner of that island, as well as by 
 others, and he was finally ordered off, lest 
 he might become a permanent squatter. 
 He quietly submitted to the mandate of 
 Mr. Breed, and sought a resting place 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Winter was now fast approaching. The 
 cold north wind whistled cheerlessly 
 through the rigging of his faithful little 
 craft, and the waves of old Ocean showed 
 their white and threatening foam, at all 
 hours of the day and night. It was at a 
 season like this, when every thing con- 
 spired to dishearten Mr. Marsh and hia 
 family, that he formed a plan of making a 
 lodgment on Apple island for the winter. 
 
 In the month of November, 1814, he 
 safely removed his " little all" from his 
 boat to that island, and took possession of 
 a small uninhabited house, which, as I 
 have been informed, had been built many 
 years before by a family of catholics, 
 who left it suddenly, during the revolu- 
 tionary war, for " parts unknown." In 
 this little, habitation, Mr. Marsh and his 
 
24 
 
 NOTES ON TUB SEA-SHORE 
 
 companions found comfortable quarters for 
 the winter. He had nearly provisions 
 enough to last him until the opening of the 
 spring, but such articles as he stood in 
 need of he would procure from vessels 
 passing up and down the harbor, always 
 paying a generous price for every thing he 
 purchased. Being an excellent sho^, ^nd 
 having a trusty fowling piece, with plenty 
 of ammunition, he rarely felt the want of 
 game, — an abundance of which is always 
 to be found in the vicinity of Apple island, 
 from November to April, — while the sand 
 and the sea yielded up their rich treasures 
 to him, in any quantity his wants required. 
 In this way he spent the winter very com- 
 fortably. As the season of spring ap- 
 proached, he began to feel confidence in 
 the stability of his new position, and to 
 cast about for some new employment — to 
 see, as Robinson Crusoe's " Man Friday" 
 often did, what he should do next. Hav- 
 ing a taste for agricultural pursuits, he 
 contrived to purchase several farming im- 
 plements and some garden seeds ; and with 
 these, and the kelp and rock-weed which 
 he gathered in abundance upon the shore, 
 he began his labors as a farmer and a phi- 
 lanthropist. His exertions were crowned 
 with success. la the language of St. 
 Pierre, he " made two blades of grass to 
 grow where but one grew before ;" sum- 
 mer smiled upon his laudable efforts, and 
 autumn crowned them with an abundance 
 of the fruits of the earth. All this time 
 he continued unmolested in his new a- 
 bode — he was sole monarch of the little 
 epot of earth on which he worked so 
 cheerfully, and so gratefully. Apple is- 
 land was frequently visited by fishing par- 
 ties during the summer, but no one treated 
 him or his associates with rudeness or in- 
 civility, while they, on the other hand, did 
 every thing in their power, to make their 
 visiters comfortable. Mr. Marsh himself 
 is said to have been a perfect gentleman 
 in his manners and in his feelings. 
 
 As early as the period of which we are 
 now speaking, there was a singular mys- 
 tery hanging over Mr, Marsh and his fam- 
 
 ily, in the minds of all, who visited Apple 
 island ; and the stories which were circu- 
 lated in relation to them were numerous, 
 and some of them of a character to amuse, 
 if they did not astonish every one who 
 liste ned to them. 
 
 It was not long before Mr, Marsh had his 
 island in a comfortable condition for the 
 wants of his family. He built a small 
 barn, and one or two other out-houses ; and 
 among the new tenants which he intro- 
 duced to his family circle were several of 
 the swinish multitude, a cow, a number of 
 hens, ducks, dogs, and cats : and, like a 
 true philosopher, as he was, he made up 
 his mind to spend the remainder of his 
 days there, unless he was driven from the 
 island, as he had been previously from 
 Gerraantown, by the suspicious and un- 
 cooth residents of that obscure place, and 
 from Hog island, by Mr, Breed, its then 
 new proprietor. 
 
 No one molesting Mr. Marsh, his good 
 lady soon began to make demonstrations 
 that were highly gratifying to him, and to 
 vie with the soil in producing something 
 besides pumpkins — something that should 
 comfort her faithful lord in his old age. 
 The first of the little Marshes began to 
 show his head about the time that pota- 
 toes, corn, turnips, and cabbages were 
 ripe ; and there was, naturally, much re- 
 joicing " all about the lot." 
 
 Time rolled on and Mr. Marsh continued 
 to enjoy quiet possession of Apple island. 
 He would visit Boston, occasionally, in the 
 summer season, and make his appearance 
 in State-street, interchanging the compli- 
 ments of the season wuth some of our most 
 respectable citizens. His dress and address 
 always bespoke the gentleman ; and, to 
 the day of his death, the mystery in rela- 
 tion to him, which commenced with his 
 first appearence among us, was continued. 
 He was too much of a riddle for yankee 
 cursioity to penetrate or solve. He 
 brought up a large family of children — 
 four sons, and as many daughters, if I 
 mistake not, some of whom are married and 
 reside in the city of Boston or its vicinity. 
 
OK RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 25 
 
 Some time after Mr. Marsh's death, his 
 family removed to the city. The island is 
 now the property of his heirs, who, I be- 
 lieve, have made several unsuccessful at- 
 tempts to sell it. To conclude, I will add 
 that there is some romance in this story, 
 as well as much interest. I obtained my 
 facts from an intimate friend of the late 
 Mr. Marsh, and they are as nearly accurate 
 as it is possible to have them, for he was a 
 man who had but few "secrets," even for 
 the members of his own family. He 
 kept every thing to himself. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Deer Island — Dancing parties — Caplain Tewks- 
 hury and his successful exertions in saving the 
 lives of some twenty-five persons — liberal re- j 
 wards given by the Humane Society for his 
 philanthropic and efficient effoiis — remarkable \ 
 case of money digging, near Money Head Bluff, 
 in 1824 — some account of the island and the I 
 public institutions there. 
 
 N.\HANT, Septembeh, 1845. 
 
 Deer Island, opposite Point Shirley, 
 which I passed on my way to this penin- 
 sula, is a place that I never look upon 
 without thinking; of my " boyhood days." 
 How many hours of innocent pleasure 1 
 have enjoyed on that green spot of earth, 
 in my early youth, when it was customary, 
 in the summer months, for the " lads and 
 lasses" of the different religions societies 
 in the city, accompanied by their parents 
 and clergymen, to visit Mr. Tewksbury, 
 and make his halls ring with their jocund 
 mirth, their music, and their dance. But 
 those days are gone, and with them some 
 of the mo.it elegant women, and some of 
 the worthiest fellows, that ever trod the 
 earth, or figured on the floor of a ball-room. 
 We are all going the same road, my dear 
 colonel, as fast as time can carry us. 
 
 Capl. Tewksbury, the " hero of Deer 
 Island," has recently removed to East Bos- 
 ton, where, I understand, he has purchased 
 a house, but lias been living at Point Shir- 
 4 
 
 ley for some years past. IJe has brought 
 up a large family in that vicinity, having 
 lived on Deer Island twenty-five or thirty 
 years, during which time his exertions in 
 saving men from drowning were charac- 
 terized by boldness and energy — and in 
 almost every instance they were crowned 
 with success. In his philanthropic efforts, 
 he has at different times received valua- 
 ble assistance from the members of his 
 family. When I tell you that he and his 
 sons have been the means, under di- 
 vine favor, of saving between twenty-five 
 and thirty human beings from a watery 
 grave, you will have some idea of the e.v- 
 tent of their labors. In one instance, if 
 my memory does not fail me, as many as 
 sixteen persons, in a fishing party, from 
 Dorchester and Roxbury, were saved by 
 them under the most remarkable and dar- 
 ing circumstances. The whole party, ex- 
 cept a poor colored v.'aiter, who imploring- 
 ly turned up the whites of his eyes and 
 " gave up the ghost," even when there was 
 hope, were rescued from the waves, al- 
 though they were upset a mile from the 
 shore, and the wind at the time was blow- 
 ing a gale from the west. In another in- 
 stance, a party of five men were saved. 
 The records of the Humane Society show 
 that they have often been called upon to 
 reward Mr. Tewksbury and his family 
 with medals and money, for their bold and 
 successful exertions in saving human life. 
 When the worthy old gentleman dies, a 
 monument should be erected to his mem- 
 ory, near the scene of his philanthropic 
 and fearless exploits, to remind genera- 
 tions to come that so noble and bold a 
 spirit once lived and breathed in the land. 
 
 There is an amusing story, all about 
 money digging, which is related with con- 
 siderable gravity by some of the good 
 people who reside at Deer Island and at 
 Point Shirley. Shall I tell it to you as it 
 was told to me 1 Very well, here goes! 
 
 There is a place on Deer Island, at the 
 extreme South East point of it, calleil 
 Money Head Bluff. In 1824 a party of 
 individuals from Boston, headed hy 
 
1^6 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SHORE ; 
 
 Capt. Crooker, proceeded to this spot to 
 dig for monejr, a large quantity of which 
 was supposed to have been buried there 
 during the revolutionary war. Capt. Kidd 
 had nothing to do with that lot.* Crock- 
 er's party consisted of Capt. William 
 Tewksbury and Mr. Brown, of the island, 
 and Messrs. Tutlle, Green, Boynton, and 
 Henry, of Boston, besides two boys who 
 belonged on the island. It will thus be seen 
 that this party was composed of six men 
 and two boys, all of whom were " armed 
 and equipped, according to law." They 
 were headed by Crooker, who carried in 
 his hands two sounding-rods : and, at his 
 request, the party — v.ho were urgently 
 admonished by him not to say a word — 
 marched in single file from the house of 
 Capt. Tewskbury to the bluff: how they 
 must have looked, ha ! Having proceeded 
 about half the distance, it was discovered 
 that the party had no Bible, to " keep the 
 evil spirit off." Mr. Brown, who now 
 keeps the telegrapic station on Central- 
 wharf, was sent back to obtain one, and 
 the party awaited his return in solemn si- 
 lence. Not being able to find a Bible, 
 Mrs. Tewksbury thoughtlessly sent a spell- 
 ing-book; and as soon as Mr. Brown (who 
 had a waggish disposition at the time — as 
 he probably has now,) returned with his 
 precious charge, the party moved on, to 
 the old willow tree, under which — as Sol- 
 omon Swap would say — they were to 
 make their " eternal fortunes." Capt. 
 Crooker, before commencing operations, 
 addressed the party, enjoining upon them 
 the most profound silence. He stated that, 
 if any one spoke, while the digging was 
 going on, the expedition would inevitably 
 
 * Although Capt. Kidd was never in our wa- 
 ters, jet there arc hundreds of ignorant people in 
 this vicinity wlio seriously helieve that that fa. 
 mous bncanicr planted thousands of dollars, in 
 gold and silver, the spoils of his plunder, in dif- 
 ferent parts of New-England Within our ic- 
 membrauce, a party of colored gentlemen, from 
 the Hill, so called, were driven from the Com- 
 mon, at midnight, for turning up the soil to the 
 depth of several feet in search of Kidd's money. 
 It was about a week before what was known at 
 the time as ''nigger 'lection." 
 
 be disastrous, and the consequences fatal 
 to some of them, as the evil spirit would 
 rise up and blast them with his vaporous 
 breath, if he did not unceremoniously car- 
 ry them away. He proceeded to draw a 
 circle of about twenty feet, over which he 
 passed his sounding rods several times. 
 Opening the spelling-book — which he 
 thought was the sacred volume — with 
 great solemnity, placing it on the ground, 
 and taking off his hat, he said, in an em- 
 phatic tone of voice, " THIS IS THE PLACE." 
 He then commenced digging — the party 
 all the time standing mute. " Either stand 
 in the circle, or sit on the grass, gentlemen 
 — ^just as you please ; but by all means 
 be silent" — saiil the captain, as he stuck 
 the first pick-axe into the ground. Green 
 and Tultle commenced digging, as soon 
 as the captain made a sign for them to do 
 so. They dug three feet into the "bovi'els 
 of the earth," when they struck a spring 
 of water, which gushed out so fast that 
 they became terrified. The captain prompt- 
 ly explained the cause of this, and they 
 resumed their labors, the party all the rest 
 of the time continuing within the circle, 
 and as silent as death. Having dug to the 
 depth of six feet, Crooker took one of the 
 party aside, and had a serious conversa- 
 tion with him, which lasted several min- 
 utes. He than exclaimed, with a gravity 
 irresistibly ludicrous, that the spirit had 
 been disturbed, and was near them, but 
 he was visible to no one but himself, as he 
 alone had disturbed him. " He has light 
 complexion and sandy hair," said the cap- 
 tain. At this speech, the boys laughed 
 heartily, when the captain flew into a tre- 
 mendous passion, and. with uplifted hands, 
 fell upon his knees, exclaiming — " the 
 charm is broken ! the spirit is still follow- 
 ing me ! don't be surprised, my friends, 
 if you see a phantom ship go up the chan- 
 nel within an hour!" 
 
 The laugh now became general, and the 
 party retired — some of them heartily 
 ashamed of the scrape into which they 
 had been dragged by the captain, and 
 others, who had no faith in the enterprise 
 
OR RAyDOM SKETCHE?. 
 
 27 
 
 from its commencement, shaking their 
 " unfed sides" at the folly of which they 
 had been eye witnesses. 
 
 There is another story, about money 
 digging on Snake Island, in the vicinity of 
 Deer Island, but it is destitute of interest. 
 
 (Note — August, 1848.) We are indebted 
 to a friend for the following interesting memo- 
 i-anda : — 
 
 Deer Island is the property of the city of Bos- 
 ton, and received its name from the circumstance 
 that the wolves, according to the Indians, hunt- 
 ing in packs, were in the habit of gathering 
 deer in a drove towards Shirley Point, forcing 
 them to swim over the Gut, to the island, where 
 they commenced their slaughter. 
 
 At an early period in the history of Boston, 
 the proprietors of town lots became apprehen- 
 sive that the descendents of the original owners 
 — the Indians — might institute claims ; and to 
 forever put the matter to rest, the grandsons of 
 Chickataubut, the sagamore of the peninsida, 
 nearly fifty years after the settlement of the 
 town, not only gave a quitclaim to the whole 
 territory, for a trifling consideration, but includ- 
 ed in the same instrument Deer Island. It was 
 in this way that it became the property of the 
 city. Curious as it may appear, the quantity of 
 arable land on the island is about as large as it 
 appears to have been one hundred and fifty 
 years ago. There has been a prodigious waste 
 by the encroachment of the sea at some points, 
 and accessions of barriers, by die upheval force 
 of the waves, at others. Between two and three 
 acres, near the Centurion, originally formed by 
 the peculiar action of currents, during the pro- 
 gress of ages, was swept away in a single night, 
 by the raging of an easterly storm, some 
 thirty years since, carrying upon its unstable 
 surface a flock of sheep. 
 
 Much alarm having been excited in 1825, in 
 regard to the destructive effects of the wear and 
 tear of the islands, endangering the channels of 
 the harbor, the government erected an expen- 
 sive sea-wall, embracing the whole north and 
 northeastern margin, which was built of huge 
 granite blocks, locked together in the most ex- 
 posed places, with copper dowels. Some years 
 were required to complete the imdertaking, 
 which is exceedingly massive, and far exceeded 
 in cost the original appropriation made by con- 
 gress. 
 
 From generation to generation Deer Island 
 was used for agricultural purposes, till May 
 1847, when, in consequence of the development 
 of disease in emigrant vessels from Europe, the 
 old quarantine station at Rainsford Island was 
 abandoned, temporarily, on account of the small 
 dimensions of the territory, and all sickly ves- 
 sels were ordered to be anchored on the south- 
 erly side of Deer Island. Extensive ranges of 
 hospital edifices were speedily raised, and a spi- 
 rited determination of the municipal authorities 
 was manifested, to make the poor, wretched im- 
 migrant, as comfortable in his forlorn condition 
 
 of sickness and utter destitution, as the circum- 
 stances under which he was placed would al- 
 low. A detailed statistical account of the con- 
 veniences and general organisation of the estab- 
 lishment, in its character of an Irish immigrant 
 ho.spital, _ for the temporary relief of the sick, 
 arriving in the port of Boston, is unnecessary. 
 The expense, however, fiir exceeded the expec- 
 tations of the public, and although every fraction 
 should have been re-cmburscd by the legislature, 
 the city, thus far, from all appearances, will have 
 to sutler a heavy pecuniary loss. 
 
 The island being leased as a fiinn, at the pe- 
 riod when needed for its present use, $400 was 
 given to cancel the lease — and then there fol- 
 lowed an expense of 71,988 48. There werere- 
 ccived into the city treasury, in the form of a cap- 
 itation tax of $2 on each passenger, 54,948 87. 
 The state now take the whole revenue from that 
 source ; and the city is hereafter to carry in an 
 account against the commonwealth, and take 
 such compensation as may be allowed by the 
 committee on accounts, out of the immigrant 
 fund. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Point Shirley, and an account of a remarhablp 
 occurrence there — Chelsea — East Boston — Lijnn 
 — Swampscott Fishermen — Salem. 
 
 Nahant, September, 1845. 
 
 As you well know, Point Shirley is sep- 
 arated from Deer Island by a strait, which 
 is called Pulling- Point Gut. At times, the 
 tide runs through this passage with a fear- 
 ful rapidity, and the shore is uncommonly 
 bold. A few years ago a master baker, 
 who had drawn a high prize in one of the 
 Southern lotteries, while laboring under a 
 fit of delirium tremens^ attempted to drive 
 across the Gut, notwithstanding the admo- 
 nitions and earnest entreaties of several 
 persons who were eye-witnesses to his fol- 
 ly. He had a spirited horse, and an ele- 
 gant gig. As he reached the edge of the 
 shore he gave his horse a severe cut with 
 the whip, and away dashed the infuriated 
 animal — the crazy man exclaiming, as he 
 went, that he would show the spectators 
 a feat that Bonaparte had not courage to 
 perform ! 
 
 The horse and gig struck the water al- 
 most at the same moment : such was the 
 velocity of the stream, that the gig turned 
 
28 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SIIORE 
 
 immediately over, spilling its valuable 
 contents, which floated along with the 
 current. Horse, gig. cushions and driver, 
 were soon separated, as if by a " great ef- 
 fort of nature," instead of the rashness 
 and folly of a drunken individual. The 
 horse and man were drowned : the body of 
 the latter, the least valuable article of the 
 lot, was found in a few hours, and the gig 
 was also recovered. This was a decided- 
 ly fatal spree ; and it was a little mysteri- 
 ous, that the horse was enabled to disen- 
 gage himself from his harness so soon after 
 touching the water. 
 
 From appearances, I tliink that many 
 acres of Point Sliirley have been washed 
 away by the sea within the last fifty years j 
 and this opinion is strengthened by the 
 representations of the oldest female resi- 
 dent of the place, who is now rising eighty 
 years of age. The point runs off a con- 
 siderable distance from the main land, and 
 that the bluff is rapidly washing away, — 
 as is the case with some of the islands in 
 the harbour, — will not be disputed by any 
 one at all acquainted with the subject. A 
 sea-wall is much wanted there : that at 
 Deer Island has been of great service in 
 protecting the bluff from the wasting in- 
 fluence of the sea. 
 
 In riding from Point Shirley to Boston, 
 you can pass through Chelsea, which is a 
 pleasant route. Chelsea, you know, is one 
 of the most quiet towns in the country, 
 and an excellent summer residence. It 
 has been built up, like East Boston, almost 
 in a day : twenty-five years ago, in the latter 
 place, there was but one small house, and 
 that belonged to Mr. Williams — now, it 
 has several hundred houses, and a popula- 
 tion of about seven thousand.* It would 
 be an Herculean task, for any man to 
 pourtray with an accurate pencil the in- 
 crease of population, and the vast improve- 
 
 (*NoTE — June, 1848.) — Since this was 
 written the growth of East Boston has 
 been rapid beyond any thing that wms ev- 
 dreamgd of by any of the "oldest inhabi- 
 tants." The population cannot be less 
 than ten thousand, at this time ; it will 
 soon be large enough to be a city by itself. 
 
 ments, which have taken place, in the 
 towns surrounding Boston within the pe- 
 riod I have named. 
 
 There are several ship yards at East 
 Boston, at which about two hundred work- 
 men are constantly employed ; the carpen- 
 ters receive from S2 to $2,50 per day — 
 the laborers, of course, receive much less. 
 A number of elegant ships have been re- 
 cently launched there — two of them of 
 seven hundred tons each. There is also an 
 extensive sugar refining establishment, 
 which gives employment to about one 
 hundred men, Germans and Americans. 
 It is eight stories high, and is owned by a 
 few capitalists of Boston, who are said to 
 divide twenty per cent, profits annually. 
 There are over one hundred houses, prin- 
 cipally brick, novv going up. Real estate 
 pays well; houses which cost only S1600, 
 including the land, readily let for Si 75 to 
 200 per annum — half a mile from the 
 steam-boat landing. About half the peo- 
 ple who reside at East Boston do their 
 business in the city. It stands in about 
 the same relation to Boston, that Brooklyn 
 does to New-York ; and, although large 
 fortunes have been sunk there, by injudi- 
 cious land speculators, small fortunes have 
 been made by industrious, deserving me- 
 chanics: it is now going ahead with rail- 
 road speed, and nothing can stop its on- 
 ward march to prosperity, greatness, and 
 wealth. The foundries and shops at this 
 thriving place give constant employment 
 to hundreds of laborers and artisans. 
 
 Lynn is another town which has exper- 
 ienced much improvement in its business 
 and growth within a few years ; and it is 
 still destined to enjoy a larger share of 
 prosperity, for its inhabitants are enterpris- 
 ing, industrious, intelligent, and determined 
 to keep pace with the wants and improve- 
 ments of the age. There are two or three 
 hotels in Lynn, and in the summer season 
 many people in Boston are in the habit of 
 boarding there. The shoe manufacturing 
 business is carried on more extensively in 
 Lynn, than in any other town in New-Eng- 
 land. In the money pressure of 1836 and 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 29 
 
 '37, it suffered severely — almost every 
 
 large manufacturer failed — and the labors 
 of all classes were suspended. It is now, 
 however, again in a very promising condi- 
 tion. 
 
 The railroad has done something to 
 build up the town of Lynn, as it is now 
 only twenty minutes ride from Boston to 
 that flourishing hive of industry. j 
 
 This facility in travelling between the 
 
 two places has also been of advantage to 
 
 the keepers of public houses at Phillips's 
 
 beach, which, I understand, have been 
 
 overrun the whole summer. The new 
 
 " Rockaway House," which has an elegant I 
 
 location, and faces the broad Ocean, has 
 
 been crowded with agreeable company, 
 
 who have showered the most flattering 
 
 compliments upon their worthy host. This ; 
 
 place has crept along wonderfully within 
 
 a few years; and Mr. William Fenno is 
 
 entitled to the credit of having built the i 
 
 . i 
 
 first public house there. His lady is com- j 
 
 petent, intelligent, and efficient — perhaps | 
 as much so as any one that ever had the 
 management of a large house of enter- j 
 tainment. There are some excellent and 
 highly productive farms in that vicinity 
 belonging to the Phillips family, who are 
 wealthy, and raise large quantities of pro- 
 duce lor the Salem and Boston markets. 
 The foreign winter marrow-squash has a 
 vigorous growth there. When I was in the 
 habit of visiting Phillips's beach, many 
 years ago, there was but one house of en- 
 tertainment — and that was a modest, un- 
 fashionable little building, in which there 
 was as much solid comfort as is usually 
 found at the large hotels on the sea shore. 
 The old lady who made the chowders, and 
 fried the fish, will ever live in my memory, 
 for I remember that she wore spectacles, 
 that she was an excellent cook, that her 
 tumblers and wine-glasses were always 
 wiped with a clean napkin, and that it 
 delighted her to see a visiter enjoy a good 
 cigar. Such a woman was a treasure once ; 
 and the thought of it 
 
 " makes some men grieve, 
 
 For the good old days of Adam and Eve." 
 
 In taking leave of Phillips's Beach, per- 
 mit me to say a word about the fishermen 
 at Svvamscott — a hardy and industrious 
 race of men, who spend much of their 
 time on the "Ocean wave," in both winter 
 and summer. The habits of these men 
 are remarkable. Each one has a dory of 
 his own, and in this he rows off cross-hand- 
 ed, two or three miles, to the fishing ground 
 below Egg Rock and Nahant — generally 
 taking advantage of a flood-tide to com- 
 mence operations. Having all things 
 ready, he begins to fish, and continues 
 that healthful exercise for several hours. 
 As he makes a business of it, he never be- 
 comes tired, like an effeminate landsman, 
 and rarely " throws up his line"' until the 
 state of the tide admonishes him to return 
 home. Reaching the shore again, he finds 
 men in waiting, with their wagons, to pur- 
 chase the spoils of their labors for the 
 Salem and other neighboring markets. 
 He weighs out the fish, and delivers and re- 
 ceives the money for them. It is entirely 
 a cash business; and the earnings of a 
 fisherman vary from two to five dollars a 
 day — according to the luck he has upon 
 the water. I have seen one — a few years 
 since — receive ten dollars for his fare; that 
 was on a forenoon, however, of uncommon 
 success. In this way, with his own hands, 
 with no capital invested, save that which 
 God and Nature have furnished him, and 
 with only a few hours toil daily in fair 
 weather, he supports his family well. 
 With good health, iron nerves, habits of 
 sobriety and economy, he stands in need 
 of no assistance from others ; but, in every 
 sense of the word, he is independent, be- 
 yond the reach of want and the flattery of 
 false friends, and feels " as happy as a 
 clam at high water." This is a true pic- 
 ture of a Swamscott fisherman. 
 
 I have seen some fifty or sixty of these 
 men return to the beach at the same time, 
 all of whom found a ready sale for their 
 fares — some of which were good and 
 others indifferent. They generally wear' 
 long boots, tarpaulin hats, short jackets, 
 and oilcloth trowsers : after arriving at the 
 
30 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SHORE ; 
 
 beach, they have to do much of their 
 " cleaning up" while standing in the water. 
 I cannot close this letter without saying 
 a word about Salem, a city in which there 
 are many "merchant princes," much com- 
 mercial enterprise, and an industrious, 
 intelligent population. That place is vi- 
 sited daily by strangers from the city, who 
 spend a few hours very agreeably, in ex- 
 amining the curiosities in the East India 
 museum — looking at the house in which 
 old Capt. White was murdered by Richard 
 Crowninshieltl, and other objects of inter- 
 est — and in eating a good dinner ; they 
 then return to Boston, with an improved 
 and contented mind, and a full stomach. 
 But Salem has been so long, and so justly 
 celebrated, for its enterprise and wealth, 
 its merchants and navigators have been so 
 well and so favorably known, in every part 
 of the habitable globe, that it is unnecessa- 
 ry for me to speak particularly of it, or of 
 them, at this time. It is but a few years 
 since, as I well remember, that over one 
 hundred sail of square-rigged vessels, be- 
 longing to that port, were trading, at the 
 same time, with different places in the 
 East Indies, China, on the North West 
 Coast, &c. ; and her celebrated museum, 
 built up and adorned by her hardy and 
 intelligent navigators, will, for centuries, 
 be an object of the greatest curiosity to all 
 classes of inquisitive travellers, whose 
 good fortune it shall be to wend their way 
 to the spot which was, some time after the 
 flood, much celebrated for the exciting 
 scenes of witchcraft that prevailed there I 
 I suppose that this remark will remind 
 you of the good hearted cow, which yield- 
 ed a generous bucket of milk to the dairy- 
 maid, and then kicked both maid and 
 bucket over. 
 
 CkS" In our article about Nahant, we 
 ought to have mentioned, when speaking 
 of Mr. Caleb Johnson's seven sons, that 
 one of the likeliest of them keeps an es- 
 tablishment, on Bromfield-street, for the 
 sale of fish, and that, in the summer, he 
 receives every forenoon a fresh supply of 
 cod and haddock, a few hours only from 
 the depths of the Ocean. He supplies the 
 hotels at Springfield, Albany, Syracuse, 
 and other places, daily, with/?-es/i fish. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Newhuryport — Lord Timothy Dexter — remarkable 
 case of the rescue from drowning of a mother, by 
 her own child, a giii of only twelve years of age 
 —poetry — Cape Ann. 
 
 NewburyporTj September, 1845. 
 
 This is one of the most delightful sum- 
 mer residences in New-England, and I find 
 many people here from Boston, who have 
 been spending several weeks with their '^ 
 friends. There are two or three excellent 
 hotels here, and visiters can find comfort- 
 able accommodations in them, and in pri- 
 vate families, at moderate prices. 
 
 Ncwburyport was formerly celebrated 
 for its commercial enterprise, but the most 
 flourishing part of the town having been 
 destroyed by fire, some thirty years ago, 
 its growth and prosperity received a check 
 from which it did not entirely recover for 
 a long time : it is now in a very thriving 
 condition. Ship-building is carried on ex- 
 tensively here, and the introduction of 
 several manufacturing establishments has 
 given new life to the business of the place, 
 and new hopes to all classes of its citi- 
 zens. It was once distinguished, also, on 
 account of its being the chosen residence 
 of Lord Timothy Dexter, a very eccentric 
 character, a man of singular habits and 
 passions, uncommon luck as a merchant, 
 and an author of no mean pretensions. His 
 mercantile operations are still talked about 
 in this place, with much feeling and some 
 fun — and there are a few particles of scan- 
 dal afloat on the Merrimac in relation to 
 his character. 
 
 His shipment of several hundred warm- 
 ing-pans to the West Indies, and the 
 profitable result of that shipment, will not 
 soon be forgotten by those who are famil- 
 iar with the story. These pans, which 
 his lordship sent out to warm the planters' 
 beds with, were used for a very different 
 purpose — to dip up molasses I For this 
 they were found highly useful. Lord 
 Dexter was the author of a valuable work 
 on '■ trade and commerce," called " a Pic- 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 81 
 
 kle for the Knowing Ones/' which was 
 printed, under his special direction, with- 
 out punctuation of any kind — commas, 
 semi-colons, colons or periods : it speedily 
 run through several editions — or, if did 
 not, it ought to have done so, for in his 
 time people did not •' mind their stops'' 
 with that attention which is given to them 
 at the present day.* 
 
 It is now over thirty years since I tried 
 to commit to memory some of the shrewd 
 ma.\ims of his lordship. At that time, he 
 had the best estate in Newburyport: and, 
 as he trudged along, with his cocked-hat 
 and cane and little dog, there were many 
 men who would gladly raise their hats to 
 hira, and many wome,i who would conde- 
 scend to favour him with a smile — because 
 he was reputed to be wealthy. How much 
 like human nature that ! It was not the 
 man, but his riches, that elicited the admi- 
 ration and flattery of those poor creatures : 
 although he had the form of a man, w-ore 
 electric pantaloons and was said to be very 
 fond of ladies, yet there was little of the 
 grandeur and greatness of that noble ani- 
 male, man, in his composition. At this 
 
 *(NoTE — June, 1848 ) — Our remarks in 
 relation to Dexter were penned three years 
 ago. It appears, by two or three editorial 
 articles which wo have recently read in 
 the Boston Herald, relating to that famous 
 individual, that some of the stories related 
 about him are untrue. The Herald makes 
 no mention of his sending warming-pans 
 to the West Indies ; and its statements, 
 which were gathered from a work just 
 published by Mr. G. N. Thompson, enti- 
 tled the " Life of Timothy De.xter," by S. 
 L. Knapp, differ in other respects from 
 those we have made. All who feel inter- 
 ested in the subject can buy this little 
 work, as it is probably more aulli(Mitic than 
 the stories which were floating about when 
 we gathered the fragments we have here 
 worked up. Uexter was born in Maiden, 
 in 174.3, and died in Newburyport, in 1806. 
 He had two children — one son and a 
 daughter ; the former, after leading a very 
 dissolute life, dietl young, and the latter 
 " turned out badly and died a lunatic." 
 We suppose the old ma.vim, "what is got 
 over the devil's back generally goes under 
 his belly," had an application in this case. 
 
 day, no one honors the memory of Lord 
 Timothy Dexter. Where are your warm- 
 ing-pans and riches now, my old friend ? — 
 w-here, your statues, your dogs, your cats, 
 and your sycophantic worshippers ? 
 
 De.xter's mansion is, as I was informed, 
 occupied by a lady named Marshall, who 
 keeps a respectable boarding-house in the 
 very halls in which his lordship planned 
 his financial operations and his famous 
 West India voyages — in the very building 
 where, with "honest old stingo," he was 
 wont to " moisten his clay," and prepare 
 it for the hands of the potter. 
 
 I have said that Dexter was an eccentric 
 individual. He was emphatically so. 
 Among other things, it is related of him 
 that he had a tomb built in the back part 
 of his house, long before his death ; he 
 had also, an elegant mahogany coffin made 
 — and covered with black velvet — into 
 which the old gentleman would often get, 
 and remain for hours together. In addi- 
 tion to this, it is said that, on one occasion, 
 he had a mock-funeral at his house, to 
 which he invited all his friends and neigh- 
 bors. Religious services were performed, 
 while his lordship was lying, wide-awake, 
 in his coffin — after which, the coffin, and 
 its precious contents, were removed, and 
 formally deposited in a vault constructed 
 on purpose to receive it. It was certainly a 
 queer conceit of the old sinner; but the 
 story is said to be a veritable one. Indeed, 
 there was no end to his vagaries. If one 
 half of the anecdotes related about him 
 are true, — and I know of no reason to 
 doubt their truth, — he was the most re- 
 markable man of his-tirne. At his death 
 he was a widower : he left a large fortune, 
 and, I believe, only one child—a daughter. 
 
 This peaceable town has been suddenly 
 thrown into a state of commotion, caused 
 by intelligence received from Plum Island, 
 a place of fashionable resort, of the re- 
 markable feats of a little daughter of Mr. 
 James Oakes of Boston. While bathing, 
 she saved her mother and her aunt, Mrs. 
 Moseley, from a watery grave, under 
 very peculiar circumstances. The paitic- 
 
32 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SHORE 
 
 ulars of this interesting affair are given 
 in the annexed extract, from the pen of a 
 gentleman who is well acquainted with 
 all that transpired : — 
 
 WONDERFUL EESCUE— A DAUGH- 
 TER'S DEVOTION. 
 On Monday afternoon last a party of larlies, 
 consisting of Mrs. D. C. Moseley, Mrs. James 
 Oakcs, Mrs. R. N. Berry, Mrs." Whiting, and 
 Miss Garafclia Oakes, (daiisliter of James O.) 
 aged abotit 12 years, all of Boston, accompa- 
 nied by Mrs. J."^J. Knapp, her daughter Laura 
 Knapp, 14 years old. with Miss Caroline Pierce, 
 of Newburyport, started from the latter place, 
 for Plum Island, (three miles from Newbury- 
 port,) for the purpose of bathing — Mrs. Mose- 
 ley, Mrs. Oakes, Mrs. Knapp, and Miss Pierce 
 are sisters. Mrs. Knapp and daughter, Mrs. 
 Moseley, and Mrs. Oakes and daughter Gara- 
 fclia, had been in to bathe : they all came out 
 of the water except Mrs. Moseley, and went a 
 short distance upon the beach to dress. While 
 they were dressing, Mrs. Berry, who was upon 
 
 already sank ; as she rose, the heroic child, al- 
 thougli much exhausted, swam to her aunt, 
 calliu;;: out, at the top of her voice, " keep up 
 aunty! a minute longer ! I'm coming, I have 
 mother safe, and will get you too !" She reached 
 her, and seizing her by one of her hands, that 
 being all that could be seen aliove water, drew 
 her also on shore, by which time Mrs. Whiting 
 had arrived with assistance, which she ran for, 
 on hearing the first scream. 
 
 Doctor Atkinson, and M'ife of Newburyport, 
 who happened to be upon the island, were" soon 
 at hand ; both he and his lady rendered great 
 assistance in restoring to animation the two la- 
 dies who had been in so perilous a situation. 
 Mr. Thompson and fiimily, keeper of the hotel 
 on the island, as well as Mr. and Mrs. J. M. 
 Titcomb of Newburyport, rendered great assis- 
 tance to the distressed party. Doctor Atkin- 
 son arrived at the moment Mrs. Berry and 
 Garafelia had got Mrs. Moseley on sliore ; be- 
 fore the child could reach Mrs. M. she had drift- 
 ed some distance from the place where Mrs. 
 Oakes was taken, but towards a point of land, 
 
 the' beach near bvr heard Mrs.' Moselev scream ' '^^'^'^'^ ^^'^'^ ''^° distance less to the shore, than 
 save me ! save me ! I'm drownincr i Mrs Ber- ' '* ^^°"''^ '^^''^ ^'^^^^ ^^ '^'^^^ '^'^^'^'^^ *^''S- ^I- »* 
 rv called to Mrs. Knapp, and said, " vour sister ' ^^% ^'^^^ ^^^^^ she had her mother,— and so 
 is drowning ;" althou<-li unable to swim Mrs self-possessed was the child, that she made for 
 K. rushed into the water to save her sister but ^^^ nearest point of land ! Doctor Atkinson 
 immediately found herself beyond her depth, and states that the child appeared entirely uneon- 
 called upon Mrs. Berry to save her for " her ^^'°"* °^ ^"^ '^^^'"''^ ^^^ wonderful feat she had 
 
 dear children's sake!" Notwithstanding Mrs. 
 Berry was in full dress, she waded into the wa- 
 ter as far as she possibly could, without loosing 
 her balance, seized a part of Mis. Knapp's 
 clothing, and succeeded in drawing her onshore. 
 
 performed, nor did she appear but little frustra- 
 ted, until he seized her in his arms, and called 
 the ladies to take her to Mr. Thompson's house, 
 put her immediately in bed, and administer 
 warm drinks ; when she heard this, she scream- 
 
 Bv this time. Miss Laura Knapp arrived at the ^'^ °"*' "'^°"'' ^^^^ ^^ ^'"'"^ mother, is mother 
 spot, and being an expert swimmer, darted into ^^^'^ '" instantly running and throwing herself 
 tlie water, without anv life preserver, swam to "P^" ^^^"^ "pother, who was being raised from 
 her aunt, Mrs. Moseley, who grappled the ^"^ '^'^^^'^ '^^ ^^^ ''^^"'^- '^''^ ^'^^^ '^'"''^ ^'^"^ 
 child, the instant she was in reach pushin'^ her t'l'ied perfectly frantic for some minutes, call- 
 under water, but on coming to the surface ac-ain lin.'^/or her mother to speak! Both Doctor 
 she was some distance from Mrs. M and very Atkinson and Mr. Titcomb say it was, beyond 
 naturally, being frio-htened, made for the shore I "description, the most affecting scene they ever 
 
 witnessed ; and none but an eye witness can 
 have any conception of it, nor can they give a 
 true description of the distressing picture. 
 
 Doctor Atkinson, thinks Mrs. Oakes could 
 not have lived in the water two minutes longer, 
 notwithstanding she was not in near so long as 
 Mrs. Moseley, but evidently had swallowed 
 much more water. 
 
 The self-possession of Mrs. BeiTv, and the 
 astonishing courage, quickness, and persever- 
 ance of that little heroine Garafelia Oakes, pre- 
 vented a catastrophe that would have been heart- 
 rending. 
 
 The above very remarkable incident 
 has set the poets at work, as might have 
 been e.xpected ; and some touching effu- 
 
 and^vMtl, the assistance of MissPierce(sisterto I j^ions have been penned in honor of the 
 Mrs. O.) drew her upon the beach, and laid her ! , -ri i-u > r , , •, , i 
 
 down with every appearance of a drowned per- ; beautilui child who fearlessly risked her 
 son. Amidst all the confusion and distress, | own life to save that of her mother. One 
 
 J!'%?f/7'' f ^-P^ef^^^'?" ^'^\ '^ot deserted | of the prettiest compliments that I have 
 
 her, as she implored Garafelia to leave her mo- 1 ^ ' 
 
 ther and save her aunt, Mrs. Moselev, who had ^^'^^ ^^^'^ copied from a Saint Louis 
 
 where Mrs. Oakes had arrived. Mrs. 0. in- 
 stantly plunged in to save her sister, but she too, 
 soon found herself drowning, (not being able 
 to swim,) and cried out to Mrs. Berry — "save 
 me! save me! Garafelia save your mother ! save 
 me !" Mrs. Berry seeing that both Mrs. 0. 
 and Mrs. M. must drown without instant succor, 
 with uncommon presence of mind called to 
 Garafelia, " to put on her life preserver and 
 save her mother;" the litde heroine, in an in- 
 stant, had on her preserver, Mhich is a very 
 large one, and fortunately was inflated at th"e 
 time, swam to the spot where her mother was 
 sinkinjr, (nothing then to be seen of Mrs. O. 
 from the shore, except her hand.) seized her 
 by the hair of the head, and dragged her to 
 Mrs. Berry, who had waded in to receive her, 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 17 
 
 have availed ourselves of some of his con- 
 tributions, in a condensed form. 
 
 The first private decked boat ever moor- 
 ed at Nahant for the summer was the Mer- 
 maid, of 12 tons— this was in 1832 or '33. 
 She remained two summers, and was therr 
 sold to William P. Winchester, Esq, who 
 kept her until the Northern Light was 
 launched, when he parted with her. She 
 is still running, and is as pretty as ever — 
 as "good as new." 
 
 The next yacht was the Raven, a swift 
 and beautiful sprite of the wave, of 12 tons, 
 and is owned by Benjamin C. Clark, Esq., 
 under whose direction she was built. She 
 took the place of the Mermaid in 1835 or 
 '36, and is still at Nahant. Like the splen- 
 did Northern Light of Col. Winchester — 
 than which a more finished and powerful 
 yacht, of her size, never graced the Ocean 
 — the Raven has done good service for her 
 owner, and won numerous laurels, which 
 she bears as gracefully in her beak at the 
 present time as she did when they were 
 first acquired. We refer the reader to a 
 well-written account of one of the suc- 
 cessful efforts of the Raven, from the pen 
 of a friend, in another page. 
 
 The third was the Susan, of 18 tons, 
 owned by Mr. Lowell. She came soon 
 after the Raven, and was parted with at 
 the end of the season : she now belongs to 
 Mr. Drew. The fourth yacht that had 
 moorings for the whole season was the Av- 
 on, of 11 tons, a pretty boat and a fast one. 
 Afterwards came the Brenda, of 30 tons, 
 ovi'ned by Mr. David Sears, jr. Next and 
 last was the Cloud, of 22 tons, owned by 
 J. H. Gray, Esq., which took her moorings 
 at the close of the last summer, and proves 
 to be not only a very handsome and com- 
 fortable boat, but a good sailer. 
 
 The Foam, which is moored nearest the 
 steam-boat wharf, is about four years old, 
 24 tons, and is owned by Mr. Jonathan 
 Johnson, who allows her to take out par- 
 ties during the summer. She is one of the 
 swiftest, and at the same time one of the 
 most weatherly vessels of her class in the 
 bay, and a seat in her cabin, with Mr. Jon- 
 
 athan at the helm, is about the safest place 
 that can be found on the ocean. 
 
 And while on the subject of yachts be- 
 longing to Nahant, we may be permitted 
 to extend our remarks to Phillips's Beach- 
 
 At Swamscott, there is no private yacht 
 — save the Breeze, which is owned by 
 William H. Boardman, Esq., as clever a 
 specimen of human nature as ever sailed 
 a boat in a stiff breeze ; and she is there 
 only occasionally. She is a good craft, of 
 about 45 tons. 
 
 The fishing schooners of Swamscott 
 are superior vessels. The Woodside, the 
 Stars and Stripes, and the Jane, are parti- 
 cularly swift, and the others are " not 
 slow." 
 
 The coast, from the Ocean House to the 
 eastward, for three or four miles, (coast of 
 Sumatra, some call it) is quite pretty, and 
 in a stiff norther afTords a good lee for fish- 
 ing and boat-sailing. It is a good neigh- 
 borhood for codfish. 
 
 Tinker's Island, off Marblehead Neck, 
 is a very romantic spot, but is rarely visi- 
 ted except by fishermen • two or three 
 times each summer, perhaps, will be seen 
 there a party from Nahant. It is divided 
 from the Neck by a channel of half a mile, 
 but at low tide a bar of sand and rocks is 
 visible nearly across. There is a house 
 for wrecked seamen on the island. 
 
 Nahant, August, 1848. 
 
 Dear Shade: I have yours of the 11th, 
 and have read the manuscript with plea- 
 sure. The touch at the sea-serpent is par- 
 ticularly happy ; but 1 should have han- 
 dled that " ancient and fishlike" humbug 
 with more severity. You have talked with 
 a good many fishermen; but did you ever 
 find an intelligent one that ever saw the 
 creature? I never did — nor one that be- 
 lieved in its existence. 
 
 During the past sixteen summers, I have 
 crossed from Boston to Nahant, and from 
 Nahant to Boston, about twelve hundred 
 limes. Each year, when August came — 
 the witching time for the sea-serpent — the 
 places where the mackerel "most do con- 
 congregate" were visited by horse mack- 
 erel. Some of these fish are very large — 
 and when the sea has been without a rip- 
 ple, I have seen its leaden surface shov? 
 
18 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SHORE ; 
 
 the track of a bis; one to the extent of sev- ' 
 enty feet, ia a manner tlial woiil 1 deceive 
 the keenest eye. But you have seen all 
 this — and have therefore just as surely ■ 
 seen the sea-serpent as I have ! 
 
 I believe you will find that Capt. Rich 
 captured a horse-mackerel of 17 or 18 feet, 
 and that a place near Fort-hill, (and not 
 Faneuil Hall) was prepared for what the 
 captain truly said was the only sea-snake 
 he could find for the people. It was un- 
 derstood, at one time, that some gentlemen 
 owned a large property, prospectively, in j 
 the sea-serpent ! | 
 
 Touching the inhabitants of Nahant, the 
 man, above all othens — as you have inti- | 
 mated — deserving unqualified praise, is 
 Mr. Tudor, who has not only done won- 
 ders, on his own place, but has, in the 
 kindest manner, and with most excellent 
 judgment, pointed out to his neighbors the 
 fruits of his own experience, and freely and 
 gratuitously proffered them the means of 
 encompassing the same advantages. Mr. 
 Coolidge, also, did a great deal towards 
 building up Nahant, as you have men- 
 tioned. 
 
 In your notice of yachting, do not forget 
 to introduce the Northern Light, and her 
 kind, generous, and gentlemanly owner: — 
 just ask those who know the colonel well, 
 and they will tell you more good of him 
 than 1 have time to record. 
 
 There was a Doctor Eastman who prac- 
 ticed at Nahant and Lynn for two or three 
 years, and who was much respected. A 
 few months ago, (as I heard the story) he 
 made a post-mortem examination of a body 
 in a bad condition, and having a scratch 
 upon one of his hands he became poisoned. 
 He was pretty well satisfietl that his life 
 was lost, and called in several professional 
 friends, who agreed with him in opinion, 
 when, with the utmost firmness, he called 
 on those around him and bade them an af- 
 fectionate farewell ; but he soon afterwards 
 left for Maine, where his connexions and 
 early friends resided. He was an excel- 
 lent man, and therefore entitled to the tri- 
 bute of a kind remembrance. 
 
 I am glad to see you speak well of Mr. 
 Drew, for both he and his wife deserve the 
 very handsome notice you have given 
 them ; and it will be the more grateful be- 
 cause, in certain quarters, there exists an 
 ungenerous, if not contemptible disposition, 
 towards the Nahant Hotel. I do not allude 
 to persons who follow the same business, 
 for, so far as Nahant is concerned, they 
 mind their own affairs ; but there is a 
 class of people who, having no business 
 of their own to attend to, busy themselves 
 
 in instructing persons far more competent 
 than themselves ; and any departure from 
 their gratuitous counsel subjects the daring 
 offender to the grave charge of " democ- 
 racy !"' With us, the true relation between 
 the hotel keeper and his visiters seems not 
 generally to be understood. The former 
 is no more a servant than the lawyer or 
 the physician ; and if he ofTends, the rem- 
 edy IS plain — and escape from him is far 
 easier than it sometimes is from the hands 
 of the professional gentlemen. Nothing 
 is more common than complaints against 
 the best public houses in the country — 
 even the Tremont has not always escaped : 
 and yet the discontented ones are satisfied 
 there is nothing better, and never, or very 
 rarely, desert it. It is not to be supposed; 
 however, that the accomplished keepers of 
 that establishment entertain any particular 
 affection for persons so clearly inconsis- 
 tent, or that they would step aside very 
 far, to perform any extra professional ser- 
 vices for them. If they even tolerated 
 ihem, it would be by the exercise of a 
 strained courtesy, and not from the con- 
 viction of any obligation to do so. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST RE- 
 GATTA AT NAHANT. 
 
 On the 1 9th of July, 1845, a regatta, M'hich 
 had been long talked of, came oft" at Nahant. 
 It was free for all vessels of not more than 50 
 tons nor less than 10. The prizes offered were 
 a silver cup valued at S50, and a suit of colors. 
 An allowance of one half a minute per ton Avas 
 made by the larger boats to the smaller ones on 
 the difterence of tonnage. The course run was 
 from Kahant, round the Graves, outside of a 
 station-boat on the northwest side ; thence round 
 Egg rock, on the north, back to the judges' boat 
 off Joseph's cove, Nahant. A very large num- 
 ber of persons from Boston and tlie neighbor- 
 ing towns, were collected to witness the trial — 
 all the el!gil)le points for observation were 
 thronged, and the bay in the neighborhood of 
 the peninsula was studded with boats of every 
 description filled with spectators. 
 
 At half past three o'clock the contending 
 yachts, eleven in number, all schooner rigged, 
 were ranged from east to west off the south 
 west bluff, in the fohowing order : — The Nauti- 
 lus 11 tons, Avon 11 tons, Neptimc 11 tons, 
 Raven 12 tons, Pathfinder 12 tons, Naid Queen 
 15 tons, Gipsey 21 tons. Alert 22 tons, Vision 
 24 tons, Odd Fellow 30 tons, and Cygnet 31 
 tons. Their foresails and mainsails were hoist- 
 ed, and each boat was held by a single hne 
 made fast to a separate mooring. 
 
 A single glance at the boats would have sat- 
 isfied any one, that the intrinsic value of the 
 prizes was deemed of small moment in compar- 
 ison with the claims for superiority ; it was evi- 
 dently to be a trial for championship. The 
 Cyguet, the Odd Fellow and the Vision, were 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 19 
 
 each celebrated for some particuLar quality 
 deemed vital in a boat-race. That the prize 
 would fall amon<jst tlie largest boats there ex- 
 isted not a doubt, and tlie chances for the cup 
 were considered to be decidedly in fovor of tiie 
 Cygnet, but by far the most interesting point 
 to be determined was the long mooted question 
 of superiority among the yachts of 11 to 15- 
 tons ; these were not business boats, Init the 
 productions of scientific amateurs, aiming at 
 speed, and on the score of beauty and condition 
 these little vessels would not have suft'ered in 
 comparison with the finest boats of any coun- 
 try. They were indeed the picked and chosen 
 ones of tiie w!iole bay; each one bad her 
 " troops of friends," and each claimed an owner 
 who felt no emtjarrassnxent in entering the list 
 for a jjublic trial. Although these yachts were 
 by no means strangers to each other, yet there 
 was a wide difference in opinion in regard to 
 their respective merits ; an occasional chance 
 brush in the bay, (with " stores on board," '-foul 
 copper," "a skiff in tow," &c.) so far from af- 
 fording any criterion by wliicli they could be 
 judged, seemed only to mystify their preten- 
 sions. 
 
 The Nautilus was known to be a very fast 
 boat in smootli water, and on this occasion ev- 
 erything seemed favorable for the development 
 of the good points claimed for her. The Avon 
 maintained a high rank; she was considered a 
 fair match for the Nautilus, in common winds, 
 and her superior in strong breezes ; before com- 
 ing into line she made two or three hitclies, and 
 her quick movements greatly encouraged the 
 strong hopes entertained for her by her friends ; 
 she was lighter than usual, lier ballast liaving 
 been arranged to suit the breeze. 
 
 The Neptune was not so well known as most 
 of the others ; she had however a good name, 
 and being but partly decked possessed in that 
 particular an important advantage over all her 
 companions. 
 
 The Raven, (long, deep, and sharp.) was 
 widely and favorably known. The Pathfinder 
 was known to be a very weathcrly boat and her 
 friends would readily have backed her against 
 any of her companions in size. Tlie" Naid 
 Queen, although a boat of excessive beam, was 
 notoriously fast in all kinds of weather. 
 
 The Gipsey iiad established a good name 
 from her performances in strong breezes rather 
 than from her superior excellence in light 
 winds. The Alert was a new boat of great 
 beam, fair lines and small draft. It was not 
 supposed she could do much by the wind, but 
 in running large it was believed she would hur- 
 ry the best of tlie fleet. 
 
 At a quarter before four, the signal gun was 
 fired — the moorings were dropped, and the jibs 
 run up at tlie same instant. The start to look- 
 ers on seemed a ])erfect one : and the l)cautifnl 
 appearance of the little vessels, as tliey flitted 
 away together, elicited much admiration. The 
 wind was from the south east, consequently it 
 was nearly a dead beat to the Graves. The 
 boats started with their larboard tacks aboard 
 and headed for Broad Sound, running four and 
 a half to five knots. Immcdiatelv after fiilinc: 
 
 away it was perceived that the Vision, from 
 having a sliglit advance at the start, had lap- 
 ped the Odd Fellow, and taken the wind out of 
 her sails, the latter however soon kept oft", took 
 the wind cmt ahead of the former, and passed 
 on ahead. 
 
 The Raven from a smilar cause suffered in 
 a much greater degree. The Neptune filled 
 away upon her beam, and becalmed her for 
 about twenty mhiutes. Unlike the Odd Fellow 
 (wliich was the leeward boat but one in the 
 fleet) the Raven had several boats under her lee 
 bow and could not keep away, to shake the 
 Neptune off, witliout interfering injuriously 
 with her neighbors. Thus hemmed in she was 
 compelled either to remain in company witli 
 the Nei)tune during the whole tack, or to heave 
 to and let her pass to windward. The latter al- 
 ternative was submitted to, and her sheets were 
 slacked up until the Neptune had passed ahead 
 several lengths, when the Raven trimmed aft 
 again, crossed her wake, and passed to wind- 
 ward of her. If her rate of sailing after she 
 had cleared the Neptune may be considered a 
 thing to judge by, she must have lost more than 
 a mile from tlie interference at the start. 
 
 At aliout a quarter past four, the Cygnet, 
 Odd Fellow and Vision, tacked to the eastward. 
 Strontr indications of a wind more southerly 
 probably induced this movement. The manoeu- 
 vre, liowever, altliough well designed, was not 
 completely successful, for, notwithstanding the 
 wind did haul slightly to the southward, the 
 three large boats weathered the Graves with 
 difficulty at a limping gait. The next boat was 
 the Raven ; after passing half a mile beyond 
 the wake of the others she tacked to the east- 
 ward, and passed the Graves, going a wrap full. 
 The Alert followed the Raven ; the other boats 
 were now a long way in the rear, and it was 
 quite apparent that the matter was settled so 
 far as tliey were concerned, still it was a subject 
 of regret that they did not complete the distance 
 named in the conditions of the race, inasmuch 
 as the prize was offered only with a view of 
 ascertaining how far the pretensions of the 
 different yachts would be justified by their 
 performances. 
 
 The Cygnet and the Odd Fellow passed the 
 Graves nearly together, next came the Vision 
 with the Raven close upon her — np to this 
 period the Raven was in good time, for the first 
 prize, but it was consiflered that in working to 
 windward her best play had been seen, and 
 that on the return, in running at large, her ra- 
 king masts and heavy draft would cause her to 
 drop far astern of the larger boats, whose ar- 
 rangements and ability for going free were sup- 
 posed to be vastly superior. 
 
 Upon squaring away, however, this opinion 
 proved to be ill founded, for when half of the 
 distance between the (Jraves and Egg Rock h:id 
 been made, it was obvious tliat the Raven had 
 not only neared the head boats considerably, 
 but had also dropped tlic Alert still farther 
 astern. When abreast of Egg Rock one of the 
 crew of the Odd Fellow fell overboard ; in 
 rounding to pick him u]) she lost some minutes. 
 The Raven also lost some time by jibing her 
 
20 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SIIORE 
 
 foresail and standing for the exposed individnal. 
 
 From tlie conimcncenient of the race tlie 
 Avind had been gradually increasing, and when 
 the boats hauled on a wind under the lee of 
 Egg Rock the breeze was quite fresh. They 
 passed the station lioat olf East Point, Nahant, 
 running at least nine knots, and came to abreast 
 of the judges' boat in beautiful style in the fol- 
 lowing order. Cygnet at 6, 12;" Vision at 6, 
 14; and the Raven at 6, IG — the latter boat 
 taking the first prize, with some minutes to 
 spare — the second i:)rize was awarded to the 
 Vision. 
 
 The detention of the Odd Eellow, although 
 it may have prevented her coming in as early 
 as the Cygnet, did not affect the chance for a 
 prize. The result, so far as tlie Raven was con- 
 cerned, was deemed most extraordinary, and 
 her performance elicited consideraV)le specula- 
 tion. By some it was thought that the allow- 
 ance of time was too great, but others, more 
 skilled in nautical matters, considered that if it 
 were so, the prizes would both have fallen to 
 boats of the Raven's class, whereas it appears 
 that neither the Avon, Neptune, Nautilus, Naid 
 Queen or the Pathfinder, were or could have 
 been within four or five miles of even the sec- 
 ond prize, which was taken by a bout of 24 
 tons, in a close contest with the two yachts of 
 30 and 31 tons. The distance sailed (about 20 
 miles) was performed by the leading boats, in 
 about 2^ hours, wliich, considering the wind at 
 the start, was excellent time. 
 
 Thus closed one of the most beautiful and 
 exciting regattas ever witnessed in this country. 
 
 The skill and propriety evinced in getting up 
 the exhibition were ec(ualled only by the perfect 
 liarmony and good feeling whidi 'marked its 
 close. 
 
 While upon matters connected with the 
 sea, we have thought that the following 
 capital story, illustrating the dangers of 
 yacht sailing in Boston bay, would be ac- 
 ceptable to readers. It originally appear- 
 ed in the Boston Atlas : — 
 
 NARROW ESCAPE IN MASSACHU- 
 SETTS BAY. 
 
 Towards tlie close of a beautiful afternoon in 
 July, just as the setting- sun had shed hi.s last rays 
 upon the lofty canvass of a ship in the offing-, and 
 the small fishing schooners were returning, like 
 sea-gulls, to their wave-girdled nests, three ama- 
 teur yachters started from Gloucester, in a pret- 
 ty yacht of about ten tons, bound for Nahant. 
 The wind was light from the westward ; of 
 course, there was no prospect of a quick run, but 
 the evening was delightful; indeed, it was one 
 of those nights when '■ fear may lay him down to 
 sleep." The day, ho-^vever, had been intensely 
 warm, and a scorching sun had given denote- 
 ment of one of those sudden and violent changes 
 which are not utifrequent in midummer. 
 
 At about 11 o'clock, the sky in the north looked 
 portentous ; a pitch Ijlack cloud had risen a lew 
 degrees above the horizon, and spread along from 
 the northwest to the northeast. The appearance 
 was wild and threatening, and an occasional 
 gleam of lightning indicated that it contained 
 the elements of strife ; the atmosphere, too, had 
 become close. These indications where unheed- 
 ed by the yachters ; they cared no more for the 
 thunder-cloud than they did for the smoke of the 
 " regalias" which curled over their heads ; the 
 boat was a good one — '" she had braved it before, 
 and could brave it again." and come what might, 
 they were in shape for it. 
 
 In a light wind the tiller does not minister 
 much to the poetry of sailing, and companion- 
 ship with it at such a time is not desirable; con- 
 sequently, on this occasion the helm was relieved 
 half a dozen times before midnight, and but little 
 regard paid to the course of the yacht. At about 
 half past twelve the moon went down, the breeze 
 freshened, and a haze set in which obscured the 
 horizon. The Boston and Long Island lights, 
 however, were dimly visible in the distance. 
 Nothing material occurred until half-past one, 
 when the flapping of the sails (the boat had been 
 brought suddenly to the wind,) and the shout 
 from the helm " below there !" aroused the two 
 sleepers. " It is a squall ?" cried one of them, as 
 he coolly stepped up the companionway- "' No," 
 replied the helmsman, '' the smut in the north 
 has settled away, but look yonder." '• A rock 1" 
 shouted the other, rubbing his eyes. " There 
 must have been wild steering, somewhere, for 
 we are on the Cohasset side— fill away to the 
 northward." The yacht -w-as then kept away 
 north by east. Each professed to believe he had 
 seen one of the Cohasset rocks, but at the same 
 time felt that owing to the variety of steering, 
 the current, and the haze, they were quite as 
 likely to be somewhere else. This feeling, how- 
 ever, induced only an indiflerent lookout, and 
 with an increasing breeze they sped along- 
 merrily. Not more than twenty minutes had 
 elapsed before the -watch forward cried, " break- 
 ers ahead I hard down your helm !" 
 
 The boat shot clear, but near enough to show 
 a small greyish rock, around which the water 
 must have been bold, as the break was very 
 slight. The yacht was brought to the wind again, 
 and a council held The first rock could not 
 have been on the Cohasset shore, as north by 
 east would have cleared every thing. What was 
 it, then? It must have been the Hardings, and 
 the one just passed must have been the North- 
 east Breaker, off' the Graves,— but the Graves 
 were not visible; that w>^.s no doubt owing to 
 the mist which had now settled close all around. 
 The bearings of the outer light, however, con- 
 flicted with this calculation, but the'compass rest- 
 ed on the floor of the cabin, and might have 
 been influenced by the pig iron directly below it; 
 at any rate, the rock last seen might have been 
 the Northeast Breaker, and away they went, 
 heading north, the helmsman humming a boat 
 song to the tune of a cracking breeze. They soon 
 recollected that the northeast breaker was a dark 
 kelp-Covered rock, altogether unlike the one they 
 had just passed— on the other hand, the mist 
 might have caused this unusual appearance. For 
 a moment there -was a slight manifestation of 
 distrust, but the song, the wn'tty remark, and the 
 joyous laugh which tbilowed, .showed that it was 
 but a momentary feeling—'' a rap full." was the 
 word and on she went, while "a wake like the 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 21 
 
 maelstrom was boiling behind." So true is it 
 that 
 
 •' \Xe dance on a loom that may -weave ns a shroud." 
 
 In less than ten minutes there was a simultane- 
 ous exclamation, " Rocks I" and under the lee 
 bow was seen a cluster of a dozen, so near that , 
 as the sea laved them a titCul gleam of phosphor- [ 
 ic light was distinctly visible, hi an instant the 
 yacht was on the other tack — a sound like the 
 surf of some beach was now heard : — this added 
 to ihe embarrassment of the moment, and as no 
 one ventured any farther opinion as to the where- 
 abouts of the little vessel, it was deemed best to 
 anchor. Safety was now the only thing to be 
 consulted. 
 
 The yacht was sharp, deep, heavily ballasted, 
 and of delicate construction ; a blow, therefore, 
 on a craggy rock, would have sent her down in 
 two minutes. Moreover, the danger was magni- 
 lled by the singular (iici that the water was quite 
 bold, no smuulii gs having been found in less 
 than seven fatlidms. 
 
 While the bout was moving ahead slowly, 
 lier sails shaking, and before the cable could be 
 overhauled and the anchor keyed, the man at the 
 helm shouted •' more rocks, by the ghost of Cee- 
 sarl" There they were — five of them, just on 
 the lee beam — small, grey, and nearly upon a 
 level with the sea I The boat was brought to the 
 wind immediately, her foresail dropped, and the 
 jib left to windward — the ebb tide had nearly 
 done, and by the lead it was found that the boat 
 was nearly stationary, or at worst, drifting slowly 
 over the track she had passed. The compass 
 was now placed in the standing room, but it told 
 the same story. If it was correct, every thing 
 was right, as Long Island Light bore southwest 
 by it. They had no chart, but they remembered 
 that south west, with a moderate draft, was a 
 good course for Long Island Head. 
 
 They remained in this position (awaiting the 
 day- light) for an hour, descanting upon the sinfru- 
 larity of their adventure, and upon the unaccount- 
 able things they had seen, when to their mortal 
 horror they made a heap of rocks directlv ahead, 
 in tlie very ransre of the Lijrht, which still bore 
 southwest! This appearance was the more as- 
 tounding, inasmuch as the yacht had scarcely 
 steerage-way upon her. and yet the rocks were 
 close aboard, and apparently nearing them fast 
 — so rapidly indeed that there was not time to 
 I:eep the boat away — one was already under her 
 bowsprit. All hands now sprang forward, and 
 applying their united strength to a strong boat 
 hook, they succeeded in breasting off— not the 
 boat — but a larce straw bed — one of a hundred 
 and fifty, which, having been dischari-'ed from 
 the iiiunigrant shi[,'S in quarantine the afternoon 
 befnre, hat! been quietly drifting down the Soimd, 
 to the great annoyance of the " yachters," with 
 whose company ami respectful attention they 
 had been lioiu)red for about four hours I 
 
 NAn.\NT, Aur.usT, lR-18. 
 
 In the way of romantic and exciting 
 facts, much might be found if you had time 
 to look it up. Some seventeen winters 
 a2;o, Mr. Caleb Johnson started in the La- 
 iayette (I think) from Cape Cod. With 
 hiin were Iwo schooners bound for Swams- 
 
 cott. At about 4, P. M. it came on to lilovv 
 from the eastward, and a thick snow storm 
 set in. 
 
 Capt. Caleb put her away for Boston 
 and ran with an increasing gale for some 
 tiiTie, when the boat stiuck heavily, but 
 passed on. Whether the rock they had 
 rubbed upon so hard was the Hardini-s or 
 whether it was one of the scattering break- 
 ers which lie nearer the south shore, was 
 unknown to them ; but in either case their 
 situation was most alarming. With that 
 promptness and nerve which characterise 
 the iisliermen of Massachusetts bay, the 
 Capt. resolved that they had passed over 
 the Hardings and he steered accordingly. 
 If he was right, the chance was still 'a 
 desperate one ; if wrong, destruction was 
 sure. The pumps were now soimded, but. 
 notwithstanding the blow she had receiv- 
 ed was a severe one, the little ciaft contin- 
 ued tight ; the blasts grew longer and loud- 
 er, and to escape the heavy sea astern the 
 boat was crowded to the last inch of can- 
 vass she could bear, and her masts bent 
 like whip sticks. 
 
 Suddenly the sea seemed all in heaps, 
 and the cotTibers broke over the vessel in 
 every direction. It was evidently the 
 wind contending with a strong adverse 
 current, and the captain, hoping it ml^ht 
 be the ebb tide in the channel, passed the 
 helm to his son, remarking as he went for- 
 ward, "we shall be somewhere soon."' In 
 two minutes after he shouted from the fore 
 ringing— " hard down your helm— its all 
 right !" And for an instant was seen just 
 over the foremast head, the "Light dimly 
 buinina:." They soon shot into darkness 
 again, but the skipper had said "it was all 
 right," and it was so, for them, for they run 
 for the Spit, made it,— threaded their way 
 through the Narrows and the shipping in 
 the upper harbor, and soon made fast near 
 the end of Long wharf. Btit their com- 
 panions of the afternoon were less fortu- 
 nate; one of them, in a shattered condition, 
 got into Swamscott; the other went to 
 pieces on ihe Pi^^s rocks (about three miles 
 northeast of Nahant,) and all hands were 
 lost. 
 
 Towards midnight Capt. Johnson, not 
 liking the sound of the weather, stepped 
 from his berth to iro on deck, when he 
 found two feet of water in the cabin of the 
 boat. Upon examination afterwards, it 
 appeared miraculous that the schooner 
 ever reached even Liizlit House channel — 
 so peculiarly dangerous was the damage 
 she had sustained near her garboard. 
 
 I am somewhat weary, but will mention 
 one more incident, which happened some 
 
22 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SIIORE ; 
 
 Iwenty-three years ago, in midwinter. 
 Two Nahant fi:-hermen, (I do not remem- 
 ber their names, but they were distinjituish- 
 ed) started from Boston in a dory for Na- 
 hant. They had money and articles for 
 their families, the proceeds of the week's 
 business. It was on a Saturday. At Point 
 Shirley they stopped for a cnp of tea ; after 
 which, and against the advice of iheirhost, 
 they resumed their voyage in the face of a 
 hard NE. wind After pulling about an 
 hour, they were completely shroutled in 
 darkness — the wind had freshened, and it 
 was obvious that they were making but 
 small headway ; the sea had also risen — 
 so much 60 indeed that to return was out 
 of the question. There was no shore to 
 leeward near which a boat could have lived 
 for one moment ; their oidy chance, then, 
 was to go ahead ; and they tugged man- 
 fully. In proportion as the case irrew des- 
 perate, they parted with their freiirht, ami, 
 package by package, one half of it had 
 been thrown overboard, but with some de- 
 gree of reluctance, for these men were 
 formed to grapple with the shark, and not 
 inclined to yield to common difficulties. 
 The wind continued to increase until it 
 blew a perfect gale. Finding it impossi- 
 ble to keep her from svvamping, witli any 
 extra weight on board, the boat was clear- 
 ed'of every thing but the money, and they 
 buckled to the oars again. They had 
 scarcely began to realise any advantage 
 from their altered trim before the snow be- 
 gan to fly thickly — and in less than twenty 
 minutes the poor little craft was carrying 
 weight again. 
 
 At this moment, they thought the water 
 seemed to be a little smoother, and that 
 consequently they must be nearing some 
 part of Nahant — hastily they scooped out 
 the snow which had collected in tlie boat, 
 and again bent to their oars ; encouraged 
 by the certainty that they were slowly 
 making a lee they steadily applied their 
 remaining strength, uuceitain yet, if it 
 would be of any avail ; one of them, less 
 hardy than his companion, was about to 
 yield when the welcome sound of the sea 
 dashing heavily upon the rocks burst up- 
 on them. The first words s]T«ken for an 
 half hour was in their simultaneous and 
 joyous e.vclamation, " breakers" — in a few 
 minutes they made the outline of bold 
 land close aboard ; this they judged (and 
 rightly) to be Bass Point; they followed 
 the shore along to the northward, till they 
 came to a spot where ''grates the keel up- 
 on the yellow sand," when they beached 
 the dory, and loaded with ice and snow 
 waded a mile to their cottage with scarce- 
 
 ly strength enough remaining to raise its 
 door latch. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Apple Island — the late Mr. Marsh — his romantic 
 history — testriicti'm of his house by fire, S^'C. 
 
 Nahant, September, 1845. 
 On my passage to Nahant, in the steam, 
 er General Lincoln, Capt. Betts, I passed 
 •' Apple Island," a place somewhat cele- 
 brated on account of a mysterious gentle- 
 man, by the name of Marsh, havin^r lived 
 there a great number of years. He brought 
 up a large family on the island, was final- 
 ly taken sick, and died aboat the year 
 1834: I believe he was buried on the is- 
 land. His hou-'e was burned two or three 
 years afterwards. 
 
 I do not remember that I ever passed 
 Apple Island, in the Nahant steamer, but 
 some one of the pa-^sengors had a curious 
 story to tell about Mr. Marsh, and ih'i 
 manner in which he obtained a permanent 
 foothold on that inviting spot of earth. 
 The rno-;t rational and authentic account 
 of him I have ever listened to was related 
 to me by an old friend, who is as familiar 
 with every thing connected with the histo- 
 ry of the islands in Boston harbor as yon 
 are with your own paste-pot and scissors. 
 The story runs thus : — 
 
 Somewhere about the year 1813 — in the 
 midst of our war with Great Britain — Mr. 
 Marsh, the gentleman referred to, who 
 was a native of England, mysteriously 
 landed on the beach at an out-of-the-way 
 place called G.^rmanto.vn, between Quin- 
 cy and Weymouth. It is an excellent 
 place to bathe, at high water : I have of- 
 ten buffetted the •' saucy waves" there, 
 anil it is said to be a favorite resort of J. Q. 
 AdamS; for the purpose of bathing in the 
 summer mouths. I would here remark 
 that Germanlown is a part of the town of 
 Quiucy. Mr. Marsh had with him two 
 females, one of whom passed as his wife, 
 and the other as her assi-tant. He ob- 
 
OR RANDOM SKETCHES. 
 
 23 
 
 tained possession of a small house on this 
 shore where he lived for many months, 
 without having the least intercourse with 
 any family in the vicinity, or holding con- 
 versation with any one whose curiosity 
 might attract him to the spot. His life was 
 spent in entire seclusion, and his compan- 
 ions mixed as little with the world as 
 he himself. It is true, he would some- 
 times wander up to the village, to pur- 
 chase a few groceries and other comforts 
 of life; but he rarely made unnecessary 
 conversation with any one — merely paying 
 for such articles as he hail occasion to pur- 
 chase, in gold or silver, of which, it was 
 said, he had a considerable quantity with 
 him. 
 
 Several months having passed away, 
 including those of a severe winter season, 
 the residents of the houses in the neigh- 
 borhood began to talk very openly against 
 him, and to throw out frightful inuendoes. 
 This was in true yankee character. If he 
 was not the devil, he was certainly one of 
 his imps I Finally, it was decided that Mr, 
 Marsh and his companions must be driven 
 away, by some means or another, from 
 their quiet resting place. They were not 
 considered precisely as ghosts, or hob- 
 goblins ; but then there was a certain 
 something about them which induced the 
 timid people of Germantown and its vicin- 
 ity to denounce them as unearthly beings, 
 strongly imbued with the scent of brim- 
 stone. They made known their desires 
 and intentions to Mr. Marsh, and he, for 
 self-preservation, consented to remove from 
 Germantown, with his family, as soon as 
 the necessary arrangements could be made. 
 In a few days Mr. Marsh succeeded in 
 purchasing a sail-boat, of about ten tons, 
 with which he removed his family, and 
 what little furniture and provisions they 
 had, and, after paying his rent honorably, 
 took leave of his persecutors with becom- 
 ing meekness and dignity. It was high 
 spring-time — 'about the first of May. There 
 was a genial warmth in the sun, and a 
 quietness oa the bosom of the sea, which 
 were cheering and comforting to a man 
 
 who had seen better days, and who had 
 been thus rudely treated, by his fellow 
 creatures, in a land of boasted freedom, 
 intelligence and hospitality. 
 
 He put off from the beach with his 
 stanch boat, under a clear sky and with a 
 free breeze, and shaped his course for the 
 land on the opposite shore, in the direction 
 of Chelsea, where he made a temporary 
 landing, on what is called Hog Island. 
 He spent a part of his time there, but most 
 of it, the whole of the succeeding sum- 
 mer and fall, in cruising about the islands 
 in Boston harbor — occasionally landing to 
 procure fresh provisions and water, but 
 never making a long visit. He and his 
 associates literally lived on the water for 
 more than six months, almost always find- 
 ingsafe anchorage as the night approached, 
 and never meeting with the least accident. 
 They were known as the " floating family." 
 Hog Island, however, appeared to be the 
 favorite resting place of Mr. Marsh at this 
 time, whenever he landed any where with 
 his family. His movements were noticed 
 by the owner of that island, as well as by 
 others, and he was finally ordered off, lest 
 he might become a permanent squatter. 
 He quietly submitted to the mandate of 
 Mr. Breed, and sought a resting place 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Winter was now fast approaching. The 
 cold north wind whistled cheerlessly 
 through the rigging of his faithful little 
 craft, and the waves of old Ocean showed 
 their white and threatening foam, at all 
 hours of the day and night. It w^s at a 
 season like this, when every thing con- 
 spired to dishearten Mr. Marsh and hia 
 family, that he formed a plan of makiivga 
 lodgment on Apple island for the winter. 
 In the month of November, 1814, he 
 safely removed his " little all" from his 
 boat to that island, and took possession of 
 a small uninhabited house, which, as I 
 have been informed, had been built many 
 years before by a family of catholics, 
 who left it suddenly, during the revolu- 
 tionary war, for " parts unknown." In 
 this little habitation, Mr. Marsh and his 
 
24 
 
 NOTES ON THE SEA-SIIORE 
 
 companions found conafortable quarters for 
 the winter. He had nearly provisions 
 enough to last him until the opening of the 
 spring, but such articles as he stood in 
 need of he would procure from vessels 
 passing up and down the harbor, always 
 paying a generous price for every thing he 
 purchased. Being an excellent shoi;, and 
 having a trusty fowling piece, with plenty 
 of ammunition, he rarely felt the want of 
 game, — an abundance of which is always 
 to be found in the vicinity of Apple island, 
 from November to April, — while the sand 
 and the sea yielded up their rich treasures 
 to him, in any quantity his wants required. 
 In this way he spent the winter very com- 
 fortably. As the season of spring ap- 
 proached, he began to feel confidence in 
 the stability of his new position, and to 
 cast about for some new employment — to 
 see, as Robinson Crusoe's " Man Friday" 
 often did, what he should do next. Hav- 
 ing a taste for agricultural pursuits, he 
 contrived to purchase several farming im- 
 plements and some garden seeds ; and with 
 these, and the kelp and rock-weed which 
 he gathered in abundance upon the shore, 
 he began his labors as a farmer and a phi- 
 lanthropist. His exertions were crowned 
 with success. In the language of St. 
 Pierre, he ''made two blades of grass to 
 grow where but one grew before ;" sum- 
 mer smiled upon his laudable efforts, and 
 autumn crowned them with an abundance 
 of the fruits of the earth. All this time 
 he continued unmolested in his new a- 
 bode — he was sole monarch of the little 
 spot of earth on which he worked so 
 cheerfully, and so gratefully. Apple is- 
 land was frequently visited by fishing par- 
 ties during the summer, but no one treated 
 him or his associates with rudeness or in- 
 civility, while they, on the other hand, did 
 every thing in their power, to make their 
 visiters comfortable. Mr. Marsh himself 
 is said to have been a perfect gentleman 
 in his manners and in his feelings. 
 
 As early as the period of which we are 
 now speaking, there was a singular mys- 
 tery hanging over Mr. Marsh and his fam- 
 
 ily, in the minds of all who visited Apple 
 island ; and the stories which were circu- 
 lated in relation to them were numerous, 
 and some of them of a character to amuse, 
 if they did not astonish every one who 
 liste ned to them. 
 
 It was not long before Mr. Marsh had his 
 island in a comfortable condition for the 
 wants of his family. He built a small 
 barn, and one or two other out-houses ; and 
 among the new tenants which he intro- 
 duced to his family circle were several of 
 the swinish multitude, a cow, a number of 
 hens, ducks, dogs, and cats : and, like a 
 true philosopher, as he was, he made up 
 his mind to spend the remainder of his 
 days there, unless he was driven from the 
 island, as he had been previously from 
 Germantown, by the suspicious and un- 
 cooth residents of that obscure place, and 
 from Hog island, by Mr. Breed, its then 
 new proprietor. 
 
 No one molesting Mr. Marsh, his good 
 lady soon began to make demonstrations 
 that were highly gratifying to him, and to 
 vie with the soil in producing something 
 besides pumpkins — something that should 
 comfort her faithful lord in his old age. 
 The first of the little Marshes began to 
 show his head about the time that pota- 
 toes, corn, turnips, and cabbages were 
 ripe ; and there was, naturally, much re- 
 joicing " all about the lot." 
 
 Time rolled on and Mr. Marsh continued 
 to enjoy quiet possession of Apple island. 
 He would visit Boston, occasionally, in the 
 summer season, and make his appearance 
 in State-street, interchanging the compli- 
 ments of the season with some of our most 
 respectable citizens. His dress and address 
 always bespoke the gentleman ; and, to 
 the day of his death, the mystery in rela- 
 tion to him, which commenced with his 
 first appearence among us, was continued. 
 He was too much of a riddle for yankee 
 cursioity to penetrate or solve. He 
 brought up a large family of children — 
 four sons, and as many daughters, if I 
 mistake not, some of whom are married and 
 reside in the city of Boston or its vicinity. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 41 
 
 ti.mate the value of your national union, to 
 your collective and indivldnal happiness ; thatynn, 
 should clierish n. cordial, hahitiud, and immovable 
 attachment to it : accn^tomi mr yourselves to think 
 and speak of it as of the palladium of your politi- 
 cal safety and prosperity — wutclii n.g for its preser- 
 at on with jealous anxiety , and discountenancing 
 ivhatever may suggest even a suspicion that itcati 
 in, any event be aban,do7ied ; and indignantly 
 frowning upon the first datvning p/" every at- 
 tempt TO ALIENATE ONE PORTION OF OUR COUN- 
 TRY FROM THE REST, OR TO ENFEEBLE THE SA- 
 CRED TIES WHICH NOW LOCK TOGETHER THE 
 VARIOUS PARTS." 
 
 In iwenly live-years from this time, my friends, 
 our country will contain a population of tiiirty 
 millions of souls, inhabiting, probably, a number 
 of States one third greater than that now exist- 
 ing. But how few of this large assemblage will 
 be here at that time to witness their country's 
 greatness I" 
 
 B 
 
 CAPTAIN JOSIAH STURGIS. 
 We shall close our labors for the pres- 
 ent, by making a few extracts from a little 
 work published a few years since, entitled 
 ''Abrief sketch of the character and services 
 of Capt. Josiah Sturgis, of the U. S. Rev- 
 enue Service — by and an old friend and 
 schoolmate.''^ As that work was written to 
 amuse the author of it, in his hours of lei- 
 sure, and has been two or three years out 
 of print, these extracts, it is hoped, may 
 be the more acceptable at this lime to 
 readers generally. Capt. Sturgis and the 
 writer were school-mates for several years, 
 and were often called up together, — hand- 
 in-hand they went; — to receive ?l gentle re- 
 buke from their tutors, on mere suspicion 
 of neglect of duty, or some trifling viola- 
 tion of the wholesome rules adopted fby 
 them : — j. l. h. 
 
 And I have lored thee, Ocean I and my joy 
 'Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be 
 
 Borne, like thy bubbles, onward ;— from a boy 
 I wantoned with thy breakers — they to me 
 Were a delight; and if the freshening sea 
 
 Made them a terror — 't was a pleasing fear ; 
 For I was, as it were, a child of thee, 
 
 And trusted to thy billows far and near, 
 And laid my hand upon thy mane — as I do here. 
 
 BYROIf. 
 
 Captain Josiah Sturgis was born in the 
 city of Boston. His father was a respectable 
 mechanic, of the old school, and for many years 
 kept a hat store in Ann-street, in the immediate 
 vicinity of what is now known as Oak Hall. On 
 this spot the subject of our notice first drew the 
 breath of life ; and we mention this fact, because it 
 is often pleasant to allude to the birth-place of men 
 
 who ' have done the state some service.' Thi.s 
 laudable feeling has prevailed in all ages and 
 among all nations. 
 
 In liii childhood, there was nothing remarkable 
 to distinguish young Sturgis from other boys — 
 at least, we remember nothing. But as lie pro- 
 gressed in years his character developed some 
 traits which those who watched over ami associ- 
 ated with him considered sulRciently striking to 
 speak of and to remember. Like many others 
 who have been distinguished in the various 
 walks of life he received the early part of his 
 education in the public schools of Boston, than 
 which none are better — if so good — in any other 
 part of the United States. Having remained at 
 school until he was fourteen years of age, he ex- 
 pressed a desire to ship as a cabin boy in a mer- 
 chant vessel, and to follow the seas — a desire 
 which was soon gratified by his father, who had 
 early discovered in his son an ambition for a ' life 
 on the ocean wave.' 
 
 In 1S09 young Sturgis sailed from Boston, in, 
 the capacity of a cabin boy, in the schooner Mary, 
 Capt. Percival, for the Gape de Verd Islands, 
 with a cargo valued at 1-5,000 or 20,000 dollars— 
 the vessel and cargo, part specie, belonging whol- 
 ly to the captain ; and his first voyage was at- 
 tended with difficulties and disasters well calcu- 
 lated to dishearten almost any youngster, and 
 give him a strong and unalterable dislike for the 
 seas. The Mary on her passage from the Cape 
 de Verds to Fayal, when off the Western Isl- 
 ands, was chased by the British frigate Cleopatra 
 and the Atalanta sloop of war, and at midnight wil- 
 fully run into by the latter vessel. She sunk al- 
 most immediately, leaving her crew only time to 
 escape a watery grave, without hardly a rag to 
 cover their nakedness. Young Slurgis was ta- 
 ken on board the Atalanta, and some weeks af- 
 terwards landed at Bermuda; thence, after much 
 suffering, he found his way home in a destitute 
 condition. Thus ended his first lesson at sea. 
 Although a mere boy at the time, he published 
 an account of the outrage, and of his sufferings, 
 in the ' Independent Chronicle,' on his return to 
 Boston. It reads very well, as a composition, 
 while, at the same time, it is replete with what, 
 in good old revolutionary times, was called 
 ' Yankee spunk.'' 
 
 Nothing daunted, however, by the disaster he 
 had encontered, young Sturgis soon shipped for 
 a second voage, to China, in the ship Levant, be- 
 longing to the highly respectable and opulent 
 house of James fc Thomas H. Perkins. In this 
 ship he made many long voyages, to the Nortii 
 West Coast and Canton : and after ' sticking' to 
 the Levant for a period of ten or twelve years, 
 he found himself in command of her in the port 
 of Canton. Thus did he progress, from one 
 stage to another — from the youthful drudge of 
 the cabin — until he was promoted to the com- 
 mand of one of the finest ships then sailing out 
 of Boston — a ship that made more money for her 
 owners, in her time, it is believed, than any other 
 merchant vessel that ever floated. This fact may 
 furnish a useful lesson to all young men who are 
 about entering upon the sea-faring profession. 
 Frequent changes in a sea faring life, from one 
 vessel to another, and from the employment of one 
 merchant to that of another, are almost always 
 detrimental to the prospects of those who make 
 them. 
 
 Having served a long and honorable career in 
 the merchant service, and finding his health 
 
42 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 somewhat impaired, Capt. Sturgis retired for a 
 wliile from active dtity, wi'h ilie respect and eoii- 
 lidence ot' liis old employers, w liich, we are haiipy 
 to say. lie retains to this day. In l>2"i-3, Capi. 
 Siurgis was an olficer on board tUe U. 3 sUip of 
 the line Franklin, Com. Stewart, in the Pacific 
 Ocoan. Wuh the veteran Stewart be was al- 
 ways on the most friendly terms. 
 
 Subsequently, when Lieut. Pinkham, of Xan- 
 tnckei, relinquished the command of Admiral 
 Coliin's beautiful brig Clio — a vessel fined out 
 by that liberal, jinblic spirited British naval com- 
 mander — Capt. Slurgis was ajipointed as his suc- 
 cessor, and remained in that station so long as 
 the old Admiral continued to own that vessel, 
 when lie again became a sojourner on the 
 land. It wilfbe remembered that Admiral ColKn 
 was a native of Manlucket, and always evinced 
 the warmest attachment to the soil of his nativity 
 — the most ardent interest in the welfare of the 
 good people of that beautiful • gem of the Ocean,' j 
 who have enjoyed many substantial tokens of his 
 liberality and friendship. 
 
 Not entirely losing his taste for the deck of a 
 vessel, Capt Sturgis, in lsi'2, through the exer- 
 tions and ilattering testimonials of a number of 
 his friends, was appointed a lirst Lieutenant in 
 the revenue service. When Xulliiication was at 
 its hiarhest point in South Carolina, he was or- 
 dered to Charleston, that being his tirsl duty as a 
 revenue oilicer. The diificulties in that quarter 
 ha vi'.ig been happily settled, without bloodsiied. 
 he was ordered to New- Bedford, on which sta- 
 tion he remained about live year*, most of the 
 time in command of the cutter M'Lane. From 
 New- Bedford he was transferred to the cutter 
 Hamilton, and in a short time al'terward he \\-;is 
 appointed a full captain in the revenue service. 
 The valuable duties he pretoniied on the New- 
 Bedford station gained lor him a very extensive 
 popularity among all classes in that vicinity, es- 
 pecially those concerned in commerce and navi- 
 g-ation; and, perhaps, it would not be going too 
 far to say, that every m.m, woman and child, in 
 and about NewBedlbrd — and every other living 
 creature — is concerned, directly or indirectly, in 
 navigation On leaving that enterprising place 
 for Boston, in May I's'Jn, Capt. Sturgis received 
 many flattering compliments : and among other 
 testimonials of respect, a large number of the 
 most wealthy and estimable residents addressed 
 him a highly complimentary letter. 
 
 On leaving the New-Bedtord station, every 
 paper in that vicinity took especial paias to com- 
 pliment Capt. Sturgis, for the untiring zeal and 
 the successful exertions he had evinced while in 
 command of the cutter M'Lane, which was, 
 in his hands, the first armed United States ves- 
 sel that ever passed over Nantucket Bar. 
 
 But it is due to the subject ol our remarks, to 
 introduce the reader to the cutter Hamilton in 
 and about Boston Bay, where, lor several years 
 past, Capt. Sturgis has had an extensive field I'or 
 the exercise of his talents, in relieving the dis- 
 tresses of his fellow men. and rescuing the prop- 
 erty of our merchants and ship owners from im- 
 pendins: danger and destruction. 
 
 One of the most gratifying events in the ca- 
 reer of Capt. Sturgis, must have been that which 
 occurred in Boston hirbor a few vears since, 
 when, it will be i-ecoUected, he saved the lives of 
 seven boys, the youngest of whom was less 
 than thirteen years' of age. They were in a sail- 
 boat, and Capt. 3. picked then up in his life-boat 
 during a v-iolent squall. For this noble act the 
 
 American Life-boat Company of Xevv-York 
 presented the captain with a yawl or gig of ex- 
 quisite workmanship, built by Mr. Joseph Krau- 
 cis, formerly ot Boston. Tuis yawl was exliibiteJ 
 in State-street at the time, and much admired 
 for its beauty. But who can estimate the amount 
 of human life that has been saved by the walch- 
 fuhiess, enterprise and fearlessness of the noble- 
 hearted captain 1 Let the newspapers of Boston 
 for the last rive years tell the story. 
 
 In the summer of 1^4■2, Captain Sturgis paid a 
 visit to the city of Washington, where he stop- 
 ped ten days or a fortnight, lie there found Lord 
 Ashbuiton. the partner of Mr. Bates, hisbrouur- 
 in-law, who gave him a warm reception. We 
 remember to have seen him there at the time ; 
 and know that he received the most tiatiering 
 attentions from men in high places, including the 
 President of the United States. 
 
 We remember Captain Sturgis as a pupil at 
 one of the free schools of Boston — in School- 
 street — when we -stood shoulder to shoulder' 
 with him — not as Massacluisetts and Virjinia 
 stood in the days of the revolution, for the attain- 
 ment of patriotic and glorious and justifiable ends 
 — but for the purpose of innocently plotting mis- 
 chief with some two or three hundred other wild 
 urchins, and catching such limited ideas in the 
 su!ilime mysteries of grammar, reading, writing 
 and arithmetic, as our public schools then enabled 
 the boys of the city to receive. Sturgis was al- 
 ways a ' shining mark' among his lellows. While 
 he held a respectable rank as a scholar, he was 
 ever quite as full of liin and frolic as any of his 
 associates. His teachers — the late Mr. Haskell, 
 and the venerable iNIr. Snelling, who now en- 
 joys a • green old age," respected and beloved by 
 thousands of his fellow citizens, who. in the days 
 of their youth, received instruction in writing and 
 cyphering, at his hands — very rarely permitted a 
 day to pass, from one end of the year to the 
 other, without ' calling him up,' for the purpose 
 of tickling his feet, his hands, or some other deli- 
 cate part of his extremities, with the ingenious 
 but simple and useful instruments which are so 
 skilluUy used by that valuable class of the com- 
 munity whose duty it is to improve the tops while 
 they regulate the tottoms of the rising genera- 
 lion. How many times we have seen him re- 
 ceive his deserts without flinching! Yes, we 
 have seen him even smile, while difierent ,parts 
 of his body were smarting under the mrtueace 
 of a birch rod or a walnut clapper. And yet he 
 was not vicious — he was merely carrying out 
 what, some thirty-five years ago, in the public 
 schools of Boston, was considered popular con- 
 duct among a large portion of the pupils. Al- 
 though a few years vounger than Sturgis onr- 
 self we have ' tmi)it;} in the same company with 
 him,' many a day and many a year: and we nev- 
 er lacked recruits, in anv reasonable number. 
 We merely allude to the school-boy days oi' our 
 old friend, to show that he was grit then, as he 
 ever has been since — tivm the first hour that he 
 trod the dock of a merchant ship to the present 
 day. We should add, perhaps, that young Stur- 
 gis \\'as for some time a pupil in the private es- 
 tablishment of Master Payne, in Federal-street, 
 to whom he ^^•as indebted for a few ' finishing 
 touches' before he took to the sea. The knowl- 
 edge of the Greek and Latin languages which 
 he acquired in that ai-ndemy was just enough to 
 be of no use to him in his subsequent inter- 
 course witJi foreign nations. 
 
 One word more in this connection. We think 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 43 
 
 ii would be ditficuU to find, in the whole scope of 
 the uaviiraliou of tliis or any oilier country, a 
 comniiinderot" any vi-ssel. pnMio or private, \v!io 
 has lukea so doep an. I Iriendly an inierest in the 
 welfare and prosperity of liis crew as Ikh Capt. 
 Siurt,Ms We say so deep an interest. He has 
 not only been instrumental, throiig-h the liberality 
 of a number ot mereluinls, in funiisliiui: the cut- 
 ter Hamilton with a well selected library, which 
 is used in common by the • wliole ship's compa- 
 ny," but it is well known to many persons in this 
 community that he instructs iiis crew in readina; 
 and writing:, personally, and that he pays out of 
 his own private purse for all the books, papers, 
 pens, ink, >.\:c used in carrying- out the system of 
 instruction which he has adopted as a part of the 
 discipline on board hi.<« rakish little craft He 
 himself learns his crew to read and write, when 
 any of Ihem are delicient in these brauche-s of an 
 English education ; ho sees, also, that they im- 
 prove themselves in writing letters, and turnishes 
 them with every little convenience to carry out 
 his plans. And all this, of course, is done at lei- 
 sure intervals, when the crew might be looking 
 over the talfiiiil, or quietly sucking their thumbs. 
 in the firecasile. On Sundays, he either has re- 
 ligious services on board the cutter, or permits 
 the greater portion of his crew to attend the 
 Bethel churches, to the establishment of which 
 he has himself contrilmied according to his 
 means. Capt. Sturgis being a man of temperate 
 habits, seldom using ardent spirits, exacts Irom 
 the diderent members of his crew the most rigid 
 discipline in this res]iecl ; and, it is believed, that 
 nowhere can be found, a more cheerful, hardy, 
 and exemplary set of young sailors, than those 
 connected with the cutter Hamilton. As the 
 captain uses tobacco moderately him>elf, both as 
 a sm >ker and a chcwer, he permits his crew to 
 sport with tlie • liltliy v.-eed' also. So I'ar as con- 
 sistency is concerned, this is all well enough ; but 
 for own part, we should like to see a Waterhonse 
 rise up from the ocean and harpoon ev'ery son ot 
 Adam that chews tobacco I 
 
 We hardly think it necessary to speak of Capt. 
 Siurgis's oritorical powers, as he pretends to no- 
 thing in that way. It is true, he is ' nii orator as 
 Brutus is. but speaks right on ' We have seen 
 him, however, in situations where we thought he 
 appeared to favorable advantage as a speaker. 
 
 Capt. Slurgis"s relatives, as is well known, are 
 all highly respectable. His father, we remember. 
 ■was universally esteemed by his fellow citizens. 
 One of his sisters was married to Joshua Bates, 
 E.sq. of the house of Baring A: Brothers, of Lon- 
 don, a gentleman who was (ormerly connected in 
 business wit!) the late William Gray, Esq. of 
 Boston Mr. Bates's eldest daughter is the wife 
 of the Belgian Minister at the Court of St 
 James. The Capt. himself is a bachelor — a very 
 gallant gentleman, and. of course, a great favor- 
 ite among the ladies. Is it not a pity that such a 
 noble hearted, considerate, enterprising young 
 fellow, should be sulfered to live on from year to 
 year 'in single blessedness,' when there are so 
 many of the other se.x who admire the appear- 
 ance of a good lookimg oflicer ^vilh two epau- 
 lettes ? Or is the captain always to he wedded to 
 the cutter Hamilton ? No, no — we hope for bet- 
 ter things (t is said that he has had several ad 
 vantagcous olfers, but, cherishincr the idea .so 
 common anions: bachelors that it is not prudent 
 for a man to marry until after he has attained his 
 fortieth year, he refused to give them that serious 
 consideration they so richly merited. 
 
 When the Hamilton visited Yarmouth, Cape 
 Cod. a t'liw years since— and she was said to be 
 the llrst American war vessel that ever visited 
 that port — Captain Stiiruis invited all the ladies 
 of the place to take a loak at his vessel, and fur- 
 nished them with boats ("or the occasion If we 
 mistake not, he has done the same gentlemanly 
 thing in other places — and he always honors his 
 guests with a federal sabite. If there is one thing 
 which the captain likes, more than another, it 
 is, we believe, to have the honor of tiring a sa- 
 lute in his official capacity, and in the presence of 
 ladies — his band, all the while, playing Hail, Col- 
 umbia, hajipv land I 
 
 The captain has his eccentricities, his peculi- 
 arities, — and so has almost every other man of note 
 in this country; but let hi* character be examined 
 as a whole, dispassionately and candidly, and 
 weighed in a true scale — take him from his cra- 
 dle to the present time ; and every intelligent 
 reader will say, that .(osi..vu Srt'RGis is a much 
 greater man than he had before considered him. 
 
 And thus ends our story about the life and 
 character of our worthy and esteemed friend ; 
 our old playniite and school-f'ellow — Josjah 
 Stukgis. 
 
 A RIDE TO PLYMOUTEI. 
 
 Pltpnottth — thi'. on Colony Rail Road — Ihe 
 Neto Hotel — Curiosities in Pilgrim Hall. 
 
 "When this letter was written, (see book 1, 
 pa^e 42,) the hotel at Plyinouth, and the Old 
 Colony llail-road, were in an unfinished state. 
 Since that time both have been completed, and 
 arc now in successful operation. Some time 
 since, by invitation of one of the directors, we 
 took a ride over the road, as fur as Plymouth. 
 After spendin-y several hours very ai^reeahly, 
 and, as wc trust, profitably, we returned to Bos- 
 ton the same day. The excursion is one which 
 we can most cheerfully recommend to every 
 stranger who visits Boston, and every Bostoni- 
 an who lias a day of leisure on his Ixands which 
 he would pass to a good account. 
 
 The distance from Boston to Plymouth is 
 thirty-seven miles. The rail-road runs through, 
 and passengers are left and taken in at Dorches- 
 ter, Neponset, Quincy, N. Braintree, S. Brain- 
 tree, S. Weymouth, North Abington, Abing- 
 ton. South Abington. Hanson, Halifax, Plymp- 
 ton, Kingston, and Plyinouth — a most thrifty 
 and delightful region of country. It nsually 
 takes about two hours and a half to pass from 
 Boston to Plymotith. The ilepot of this road, 
 at the Boston terminus, is directly opposite the 
 United States Hotel, kept by llolman & 
 Clark, who, it is acknowledsred on all liands, 
 hold a high rank in the highlv rcs])cctable and 
 powerful corps of hotel keepers in New Eng- 
 land; the same may be said of Jlr. Tucker, of 
 the Tremon't Hojise. The cars pass within 
 two or three miles of the country seat of the 
 Hon. T>. Webster. The day we visited Ply- 
 mouth there were about fifty ladies and gentle- 
 men there, principally from Cambridge, Dor- 
 
44 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Chester, Braintree, Weymouth, and Boston. At i 
 the hotel, we noticed many venerable men, such | 
 as Hon. T. H. Perkins, Hon. H. G. Otis, I. P.J 
 Davis, Es<|. and others, who spoke in terms of, 
 unciualilied praise of every thins; they had seen, 
 and expressed a hope that others might be in- 
 duced to visit a place so replete with interesting 
 recollections. To see such octogenarians as 
 Perkins and Otis, the last connecting-links of 
 two generations, enjoying themselves near Ply- 
 mouth rock, on the same day, was a rich treat of 
 itself. We shall not soon forget it. 
 
 The new hotel, (the •' Samoset HorsE") is 
 an elegant and commodious building, pleasant- 
 ly situated near the Sea shore. It affords a 
 commanding view of the Ocean, and is, in ev- 
 ery respect, a well appointed establishment. It 
 is" four stories high, is built of wood, and has 
 ample accommodations for about one hundred 
 boarders — with good stables, bowling-alleys, 
 and other out-buildings, carriages, boats, a bath- 
 ing-house, and every otlier convenience that 
 can conduce to the comfort and health of visit- 
 ors. It is kept in excellent style, by 'Sir. Joseph 
 Stetsox, wlio furnishes a table '' tit for the 
 gods." He is sure to have every luxury that 
 the season, and the Boston market, afford ; and 
 his dishes, especially his chowders and fried 
 fish, are served up in remarkably fine taste. 
 The furniture and carpets of the house are all 
 new, and the beds and bedding have a most in- 
 viting appearance. It is altogether a first rate 
 hotel, and is kept in a style to correspond with 
 the elegance of its interior arrangements. That 
 its success will be perfect we have no doubt, es- 
 pecially as Mr. Stetson is quite moderate in his 
 charges. We learn that the hotel and furniture 
 cost $50,000. It was opened with ranch cere- 
 mony, on the 22d December, 1845 — the anni- 
 versary of the landing of the Pilgrims. The 
 cars leave Boston at eight o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and return at six, giving visiters five hours' 
 time to examine the interesting relics of anti- 
 quity, and other objects, at Plymouth. Some 
 of tiiese we shall specify particularly for the in- 
 formation of our readers. AVithin a short dis- 
 tance of the hotel there is excellent fishing, for 
 cod, haddock, perch, tautaug, mackerel, &c. 
 
 PiLGRiJi Hall, which engages the first at- 
 tention of all who visit Plymouth, is situated 
 a few rods only from the hotel. It was built in 
 1820, and is a simple structure, with nothing in 
 its appearance to recommend it to the attention 
 of any one. In front of this building is a part 
 of the rock on which the Pilgrims landeil, with 
 their names recorded on a circular enclosure. 
 As you enter the hall, the most prominent thing 
 which strikes the eye, is the large painting of 
 the Landing of the Pihp-ims, the principal figures 
 in which are Gov. Carver, wife and child ; Gov. 
 Bradford ; Gov. Winslow and wife ; Elder Wil- 
 liam Brewster; Capt. Miles Standish and wife; 
 William White, and his child Peregrine ; Ste- 
 phen Hopkins, wife and children ; Isaac Allerton 
 and wife : Jolm Aldcn, John Turner, Richard 
 Warren, Edward Tilly, Samuel Fuller, and 
 Samoset, an Indian sagamore. The figures 
 ftre good, the faces admirably drawn, and prop- 
 
 er attention appears to have been paid to the 
 
 costumes, the hair, and especially the grouping 
 of the different characters in tbis very clever 
 production of the pencil of the late Col. Sar- 
 gent. The hall having been often used as a 
 ball-room, there is a chandelier hanging from 
 the centre of it — and, at the west end of it, there 
 is a suitable apartment for an orchestra. 
 
 In looking round the hall we find many por- 
 traits — of Carver, Winslow, Eoblnson, Brews- 
 ter, Bradford, and Standish ; of Hon. John 
 Trumbull; Dea. E])hraim Sjwoncr; Dr. James 
 Thacher ; John A'den ; Gov. Edward Winslow ; 
 Gov. Josiah Winslow's wife, Penelope Pelham; 
 Gov. Josiah Winslow, born at Marshfield, 1629 ; 
 Gen. John Winslow, born at the same place in 
 1701. The four latter are copies, by modern 
 artists. We saw nothing of the late Alden 
 Bradford's jjortrait on the walls, and felt sorry 
 that he had been neglected, for, if any man ev- 
 er possessed a pure antiquarian taste, a devo- 
 ted love for, and a remembrance of, the com- 
 manding virtues of the early settlers of New 
 England, it was this gentleman. 
 
 Among the curiosities in Pilgrim Hall may 
 be mentioned the following : — The original 
 Charter of the Plymouth Colony, 1629, in the 
 box in which it came over to this country. 
 Specimens of shells, minerals, Indian war im- 
 plements, and other relics of antiquity. The 
 commission of Oliver Cromwell to Gov. Edward 
 Winslow, dated April 19, 1654. Two chairs, 
 belonging to Gov. Bradford and Gov. Carver. 
 Two pewter dishes and an iron pot belonging to 
 Miles Standish. A pocket-book brought over 
 in the Mayflower. A parcel of continental 
 money. Iron relics, from the ruins of Miles 
 Standish's house at Duxbury. King Philip's 
 cap. A piece of the house in which Columbus 
 was born, and a piece of the coffin of George 
 Washington, in a small iron snuff"-box, presen- 
 ted by Aldcn Bradford. The sword of Capt. 
 Miles Standish. A piece of Gov. Bradford's 
 coffin. A vase, brought over in the Mayflower. 
 A pair of brass steelyards, brought over in the 
 Ann, in 1023. The cabinet belonging to Pere- 
 grine White, and an ivoiy headed cane, which 
 originally belonged to his father. A large junk 
 bottle, made by direction of the Old Colony 
 Club, in 1769, presented by Isaac P. Davis — 
 supposed to have been filled with " good stuff'" 
 some time during the last century. In the li- 
 brary room, there is a small but choice collec- 
 tion of books ; and two well-executed busts, of 
 John Adams and Daniel Webster, occupy con- 
 spicuous places. 
 
 The original records of the Colony, in a 
 state of excellent preservation, are to be found 
 in a room at the Court House, a short distance 
 from Pilgrim Hall. They are well worth look- 
 ing at, as is the ancient burial ground, back of 
 the Court House. The new cemetery is, also, 
 an object deserving of attention : something of 
 the kind was much wanted at Plymouth. 
 
 In one of the rooms in Pilgrim Hall, is a 
 beautiful specimen of embroidery, preserved in 
 the branch of the Standish family which settled 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 45 
 
 in Bridgewater. Also, an extract from the will 
 of Miles Stamlish, wJiieh runs thus; : 
 
 " My will is tliat out of my whole estate my 
 funeral charges to he taken out, and my body 
 to he buried in a decent manner, and if 1 die in 
 Duxborrow (Duxlmry) my body to be layd as 
 near as conveniently may he to my two danglr- 
 ters, Lora Standish, my danglUer, and Mary 
 Standish, my daughter in law. 
 
 March 7, 1G35. By me, 
 
 Mylks Staxdisii." 
 
 Thus much for Plymouth, and its delightful, 
 interestingassociations. vVtlialf past six o'clock 
 in the evening, we found our party comforta- 
 bly seated at the tea table, in Boston, having 
 enjoyed one of the most agreeable excursions 
 within our recollection. It atibrded a combina- 
 tion of enjoyment, in wliich tiie intellect, as 
 well as the appetite and the body, participated 
 lariiely. 
 
 AVe commend a trip to Ply mouth, over the 
 rail-road, as one deserving the attention of 
 strangers who may visit Boston, as well as to 
 all others, in the city and its neighborhood, 
 who can leave their business for a single day, to 
 visit the consecrated spot of which we s])eak, and 
 whiih will ever live in the memory and affections 
 not only of all who arc now in active life, but 
 in those of their latest posterity. 
 
 (Note — August, 1848.) Our account of 
 Plymouth was written two years ago; but 
 since that time nothing remarkable has oc- 
 curred to induce us to change its character. 
 That ancient town will always be an ob- 
 ject of primary interest to intelligent trav- 
 ellers, and the facilities for visiting it are 
 within the reach of every one. The hotel 
 has changed hands since we were last there 
 — Mr. Stetson has left it, and it is now kept 
 in e.\cellent style by Messrs. J. S. Parker 
 and H. S. Tribou, gentlemen who richly 
 merit, as a friend informs us, the compli- 
 ment we have bestowed upon their prede- 
 cessor. 
 
 AN EDITORIAL DINNER AT CAPE 
 ANN, TEN YEARS AGO. 
 E.'clract from a letter written by an old friend. 
 I cannot close this letter without telling 
 you a capital story, all about a "swell din- 
 ner," which came off at the Gloucester 
 House several years ago. A new landlord 
 had jnst commenced operations there, and 
 being anxious to get his establishment into 
 
 notice, he procureil a friend in Boston to 
 invite a dozen gentlemen connected with 
 the press, and others, to name a day when 
 his house should be open to receive them. 
 I The day was named, and invitations were 
 I given out accordingly. Two distinguished 
 j singers were also invited, by the gentleman 
 j who was appointed master of ceremonies 
 j on this celebrated, never-to-be-forgotlen 
 occasion. A stage-coach was engaged, 
 the guests were notified to meet at Doo- 
 little's at a certain time, and — whisk ! — 
 the party were off; all except three or four, 
 [ who preferred to ritle in their own gigs. 
 j Arriving at Gloucester about 12 o'clock, 
 they found the landlord iu waiting, and an 
 excellent collation prepared for his hungry 
 I guests. The merits of this were soon dis- 
 cussed, secundem aitem. The next thing 
 was to take a sail, to see the harbor, and 
 to catch some fish for dinner. A boat was 
 soon in readiness, with the customary 
 small stores, cigars, bait, &c. and the parly 
 embarked for the fishing ground. Three 
 hours were spent agreeably, in this way — 
 at the expense, as was generally supposed, 
 of the generous host. Four o'clock found 
 them in full blast at the diimer table : the 
 conversation w^as animated — no public es- 
 tablishment was ever thrown open under 
 such favorable auspices I The chowder, 
 fried fish and clams, stewed tautaug, and 
 the roasted meats and birds, were of the 
 first order, and went off well. The cham- 
 pagne, and the old sherry and Madeira, 
 were also thrown into a state of quick 
 evaporation. Mr. Dempster and the late 
 Mr. Richardson never sang better. In fact 
 it was a perfect jubilee — an occasion of 
 high and singular ecstasy. Things went 
 on thus swimmingly for two or three hours, 
 when some of the party began to think of 
 leaving for home : but, as no one seemed 
 disposed to call for the bill, and the master 
 of ceremonies was the first to go, (he 
 had already gone !) all considered it a treat 
 of the landlorti, to a portion of the editorial 
 corps, to have his house favorably noticed. 
 Not so he, however, nor his excellent lady, 
 I who could not bear to see the property of 
 
46 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 others wasted in this way. The latter 
 called her husband out, and uave him a 
 gentle scolding. " Who pays for the last 
 champagne sent in "?" she inquired, wivh a 
 voice so masculine that she was overheard 
 by the guests, who now, for the first time, 
 began to smell brimstone. The landlord, 
 who had resumed his seat at the head of 
 the table, looked sad — his countenance, 
 naturally a round one, had been lengthen- 
 ed several inches by the kitchen-lecture 
 he had so suddenly received from his wife. 
 Every one could see that there was some- 
 thing wrong, some misunderstanding about 
 the business, and time began to pass hea- 
 vily. The guests became quite taciturn 
 and restless, and the landlord equally so, 
 Every time a bottle of wine was called in, 
 it appeared as if a bullet had passed sud- 
 denly through his kidnies. Finally, to make 
 a long story short, when it was understood 
 that his wife had taken the keys of the 
 wine-closet, there was a tremendous rat- 
 tling among the empty glasses, the com- 
 pany rose simultaneously, a parley ensued, 
 explanations took place on both sides, the 
 leak was discovered, and a laugh (the 
 wrong side of the mouth) was the conse- 
 quence. Every difficulty having been set- 
 tled, the guests returned home by the same 
 conveyance which took them to Cape Ann, 
 fully satisfied that they had enjoyed a most 
 generous opening on the sea-shore. It cost 
 the party about eight dollars each, to say 
 nothing of lost time, wear and tear of con- 
 science and of health, and the compliments 
 they showered upon the keeper of the ho- 
 tel for the liberal provision he had made 
 for them. It was a Yorkshire bite from its 
 incipiency to the end ; and even the vic- 
 tims themselves considered it "one of the 
 best jokes of the season." At any rate, 
 some of them made it answer for a year. 
 
 There is one little moral attached to this 
 simple story, which it would be well to 
 hint at for the benefit of others. The 
 hotel did not flourish that year ! The 
 cause may be more easily imagined than 
 described. A bad beginning generally 
 terminates unfavorably. 
 
 CASTLE ISLAND— DUELS IN BOS- 
 TON HARBOR, &c. 
 
 In one of the preceding letters we have 
 spoken of Castle Island. We have a br ef 
 story to tell about that place, in connection 
 with some others. 
 
 We remember that, on our first visit to 
 Washington, in 1830, we felt much curios- 
 ity, as we passed through Bladensburg, on 
 the old mail route, to see the famous duel- 
 ing ground, as did all our travelling com- 
 panions. Having arrived opposite to it, 
 the stage was stopped — there was no rail- 
 road then — and the passengers alighted. 
 We saw nothing, however, but a piece of 
 common ground, possessing no remarkable 
 features. But a thousand recollections and 
 associations, of a very painful character, 
 were awakened, for there had been many 
 murders committed there, and many un- 
 successful attempts at murder made, since 
 the commencement of the present century, 
 by " honorable men," a majority of whom 
 were members of conuress. So, again, as 
 we well remember^ that when we first made 
 a trip up the Hudson river, we expressed an 
 anxious desire to have the captain of the 
 steamboat point out to us the spot where 
 the illustrious Hamilton fell, by the hands 
 of Aaron Burr. This is a very natural cu- 
 riosity, and must be indulged. Boston 
 harbor has her duelling grounds, as well 
 as Bladensburg and Hoboken. We will 
 briefly explain. 
 
 It is now over forty years since a duel 
 took place on the beach in South Boston, 
 nearly opposite Castle Island, between Mr. 
 Miller and Mr. Rand, of Boston, gentlemen 
 intimately acquainted with each other. The 
 latter fell at the first fire. Mr. Miller died 
 in New- York, a few years since, of apo- 
 plexy, leaving a large property to his bro- 
 ther, in this city. 
 
 There was another duel, at the same 
 place, some time afterwards, between Mr. 
 Blake and Mr. Dix, merchants, of Boston, 
 in which the latter was killed. 
 
 Some twenty-five years ago, on Castle 
 
APPENDIX. 47 
 
 Island, two lieutenants, while playing cards of beef-steak and coffee. The correspon- 
 and drinking wine, in their mess room, had dence, which we believe was never pub- 
 a vulf^ar brawl. The lie passed fr im one lished, would show that he did all an "offi- 
 to the other, and a challenge was the con- cer and a gentleman" could do to avert a 
 sequence. The next day, a duel was duel. 
 
 fought between the parties outside the- We believe that no other duels of con- 
 walls of the fort, on the ground which sequence have taken place in Boston har- 
 faces the city. One of them fell, and his bor than those we have mentioned. A 
 body was quietly interred, without pomp few years since, however, two were fought 
 or ceremony, near the spot where he fell, in Rhode-Island, in which Bostonians had 
 A small white marble monument was sub- some concern. 
 
 sequently erected by some of his brother Duels are becoming less frequent in the 
 officers, to show to posterity that such a man North every year ; and in the South, they 
 once lived, and that he died a very foolish are yielding to assassinations in high life — 
 death. All who pass that way in the to the bowie-knife, the dirk, and other fas- 
 steamer Mayflower, to Hingham, can see cinating instruments of death. 
 this monument — Capt. Beal will point it 
 out to them ; and, if their curiosity should 
 prompt them still farther, let them land 
 
 and read the inscription on it-if there is SOxME OF THE YACHTS BELONG- 
 one to be found. As Falstaff says, "//tere'.y ING TO BOSTON, 
 
 honor for you !"' — the effects of gambling There is probably noplace in the United 
 and drinking. States where there are so many beautiful 
 
 It is possible that other duels have taken and swift-sailing yachts owned as there 
 place in Boston harbor, which have es- are in Boston. Col. Winchester's brilliant 
 caped our recollection. One certainly, we Northern Light takes the lead of all of 
 remember very distinctly. This occurred them. Then comes the dashing Coquette, 
 in September, 1819, on the beach at Wil- Capt. Perkins, which beat the famous boat 
 liams's island, (now East Boston) between Maria, at New- York, $500 a side. It is 
 Lieut. Finch, of the U. S. ship Indepen- said the Boston pilots have recently bought 
 dence, and Lieut. White, of the Marine this fine boat. Of the countless fleet at 
 Corps — at the time attached to the Charles- Long-wharf may be mentioned the Grace 
 town station — both excellent shots. The Darling, Capt. Berry, of 56 tons — she won 
 latter was the challenger. the first prize, a silver pitcher, at Spectacle 
 
 This duel grew out of a difficulty, of island, week before last ; the Cygnet, John 
 long standing, which had its origin in the E. Thayer, of 31 tons — she took the first 
 Mediterranean. The parties proceeded to prize, at Phillips's Beach, three weeks 
 the beach, accompanied by their respec- ago; the Flirt, Manning, commodore of the 
 tive friends and surgeons, a little before fleet — he and Thayer are two of the oldest 
 sunrise; and, at the first fire, Lieut. White boatmen in our harbor ; the Brenda, Col- 
 fell, mortally wounded. He lived but a lamore, of 33 tons — took the second prize 
 few minutes. His body was taken to the at Phillips's Beach; the Gazelle, at South 
 Charlestown navy yard, and thence to his Boston, and many others. There are five 
 parents in Newburyport. Lieut. Finch, splendid pilot-boats, viz. : the Hornet, An- 
 (afterwards Capt. Bolton) returned to the onyma, Friend, Sylph, and Phantom, all 
 Independence, and ate a hearty breakfast of which sail like the wind. 
 
48 
 
 APPENPIX. 
 
 THE GREAT FANCY BALL, AT 
 NEWPORT, R. L 
 
 The great Fancy Ball at Newport, about 
 which there has been so much talk in our 
 fashionable circles, carae off on Wednes- 
 day evening of last week, August 30. The 
 industrious young fellows who conduct the 
 Boston Bee have given a full account of it, 
 from which we have extracted the names 
 of such individuals as belong to this city 
 and its vicinity. The affair appears to have 
 been one of great interest and brilliancy. 
 
 Ladies. — Mrs. James Parker, Marchioness 
 of the time of Louis XVI., splendid dress. Mrs. 
 G. M. Tlialcher, Night, very becommg dress. 
 Countess d'Hauteville, rich ball-room dress. Miss 
 Sears, costume of a bride — very elegant dress. 
 Miss Prescott, ball-room dress — pink trimmed 
 with lace. Miss Elizabeth Fearing, in the char- 
 acter of Madonna — very pretty, and worn with 
 much grace. Miss Jennie Colburn, as Gulnare, 
 a beautiful Greek costume, and most caplivating- 
 ly sustained. Miss Susan Foster, Maid of Ath- 
 ens. Miss Anne Coolidge, Court Dress of the 
 XlVlh century; a very superb costume. Miss 
 Ellen Coolidge, in a rich Greek costume, which 
 made the wearer look more lovely than ever. Mrs 
 B. S. Roach, Spanish costume, very complete. 
 Miss K. B. Lawrence, Fancy Ball-room Dress. 
 Miss Sarah Parker, Gipsey. Mrs. Samuel Hoop- 
 er, Chinese costume. Mrs. F. G. Shaw, Greek 
 costume. Mrs. Moses Kimball, French Flower 
 Girl, very pretty dress Mrs. J. L. Edmands, 
 Bride, very beautiful dress. Mrs. S. S. Lewis, 
 ball room dress. Miss Ann Lewis, ball room 
 dress. Miss Josephine Lewis, Flower girl, 
 di ess neatly arranged. Mrs. Shaw, (late Miss 
 Com Lyman) in a peasant's costume. Miss 
 Kuth B. Foster, ball room dress. Miss Phebe 
 Wildes, ball room dress. Miss Kate Wildes, as 
 a bride. Miss Catharine A Robinson, Sister of 
 Chanty, character admirably sustained. Mrs. 
 Charles F. Hendee, Sister of Charity, ditto. 
 Miss Shaw, ball room dress, very elegant. Mrs. 
 Edward Perkins, ditto Miss Ellen Parker, Gip- 
 sey, a very becoming costume. Mrs. Slade. rich 
 ball dress ; blue satin with silver trimmings. 
 Miss Eliza Winchester, as a Bohemian Girl. 
 Miss Emily Winchester, as Cinderella, a very 
 splendid costume ; white satin with silver trhn- 
 mings. Mrs. Gage, ball room dress ; pink satin 
 lace trimmings. Mrs. Dorr, Belgian costume 
 Miss Derby, ball room dress ; pink satin. Miss. 
 Roach, New Bedford, as a Gipsey ; a bewitching 
 character. Miss Hannah Durfee, Fall River, 
 plain black dress, verv becoming. 
 
 Gentlemen. — Mr. Bowdoin, Oliver Cromwell, 
 in full dress, a very fine character. Edmund 
 Otis. Barber of Seville, character well sustained. 
 Mr. Dixon, Egyptian costume, very complete. 
 Mr. Gray, court dress of Louis Phillippe. Mr. 
 F. G Shaw, Greek costume, very handsome 
 dress. James G. Farwell, Jr., as a gentleman of 
 the Old School, a very becoming costume. Col. 
 Roach, in the full uniform of Governor's Aid. 
 S. W. Dana, in the character of a Chevalier in 
 the reign of Charles IL R. J. Stevens, as a red 
 
 cross knight templar of Jerusalem. T. Sargent, 
 French boatman. Moses Kimball in a Friar's 
 costume, well sustained. E. P. Deacon, in an 
 Italian Historical costume of the XHIih century; 
 considered the richest dress in the hall Charles 
 W. Clapp, two characters; first as Paul Pry, and 
 afterwards as a French boatman. R. T. Todd, 
 cadet uniform. Charles M. Eustis, as a dele- 
 gate of llie Provisional Government of France ; 
 very well sustained. Mr. Snelling, Monk's 
 dress. Mr. Kidder, in a Prussian costume. Geo. 
 Hubbard, Greek dress. Col Wm. P. Winches- 
 ter, citizen's co.stume. T. C. Amory, old Eng- 
 lish costume. F. G. Shaw, fancy costume. Au- 
 gustus Perkins, court dress. J' S. Thorndike, 
 court dress — very well sustained. William Par- 
 ker, in the uniform of the Medical Stafl'. G. I. 
 Cimningham, Neapolitan costume. J. Greely, 
 citizen's dress. J. Lincoln Edmands, citizen's 
 dress. T. L. Robinson, Polish olTicer. S. S. 
 Lewis, agent for the Cunard steamers, citizen's 
 dress. Theodore A. Simmons, Earl of Roches- 
 ter. Mr. Maynor, costume of a Highlander. B . 
 Perley Poore, Greek dress— a very beauti- 
 ful costume. Geo. P. Burnham, Sportsman's 
 dress. G. R. Russell, Chinese costume, a fine 
 affair. Arthur Gilman, as Julian Peverill — dress 
 of pale blue velvet, trnnmed with s-old, of the 
 time of Charles the 2d. Nathan Matthews, as 
 Don Cfesar de Bazan. 
 
 Miss Ilenshaw, Cambridge, ballroom dress, a 
 very rich affair. Miss Maria A. Gould, Cam- 
 bridge, in the character of Aurora, an elegant 
 dress. Miss G. was acknowledged to be the 
 most lovely girl present. 
 
 MiscELL.'i.NEOUs. — Miss Vanzant, Newport, 
 Scotch costume, very pretty. Miss L. B Tor- 
 rev, grand daughter of the late Gov. Charles 
 Collins, of Rhode Island, as a Greek lady of 
 modern date ; a beautiful girl and costume. 
 
 Mr. Anthonv. New Bedford, Fancy costume. 
 N. B. Gould, Cambridge, Charles the'Sd. T. E. 
 Slater, of Webster, Caspar. 
 
 G Bailey, Newport, French cavalier. Mr. 
 Sherwin, Newport, sailor's dress. Mr. Sharp, 
 of the Bellevue House, Don Caesar de Bazan, 
 very elegant costume. Mr. Roberts, Newport, 
 as Pizarro. Col. Simmons, Major Balch, and 
 Capt. Manton, of the Marine Artillery, Provi- 
 dence, in uniform of the corps. Dr. Rivers, 
 Providence, as a Yankee. P. B. Maurin, Provi- 
 dence, as a Pacha. Mr. Jackson, (Daily News) 
 as a .Jewish High Priest. Mr. Dejough New- 
 port, in a naval costume. C. C. Vanzant, New- 
 port, as a Yankee. Gen. Greene, U. S. Senator, 
 in a citizen's dress. Charles W. Turner, New- 
 port, a gentleman of '76. 
 
 Mrs. James Gordon Bennett, New- York, a 
 rich Spanish costume Mrs. Le Vert, Mobile, as 
 the Light of the Harem, a superb dress. Mrs. 
 Le Vert is the celebrated belle of Saratoga. 
 
 Dr Houston, reporter of the New- York Her- 
 ald, as Douglass. H. Fuller, editor of the New 
 York Mirror, as Oakley, the celebrated character 
 of Charles Kean in the play of the "Jealous 
 Wife." J. F. Otis, (N. Y. Express) Pirate- 
 dress, white and blue. Mr. Boyiiton, (N. Y. Ex- • 
 press.) Henry VIL, very fine costume. Hon. 
 George Folsom, court dress, very handsome cos- 
 tume. L. Sargent, New Orleans, as Don Felix, 
 in a very fine suit. Edward Matthews, New 
 Orleans, Castilian nobleman, purple silk velvet, 
 trimmed with silver. Major Lewis Cass, Jr., U. 
 S. dragoons, citizen's dress. 
 
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