Chapter 4

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

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

_Salem Register,_ May 18, 1822.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Music breathing o'er the face;"

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

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

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

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

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

"While in, above the world;"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FROM A LONDON PAPER.

_EXCISE._

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

_CASE._

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

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

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

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

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

_EXCISE._

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

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

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

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

_OPINION._

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

"(Signed) W. MURRAY.

"29th Nov, 1755."

* * * * *

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

SAMUEL SEWALL.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Salem Observer_ [1829].

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

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

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

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

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

_Salem Observer,_ 1826.

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

_Salem Observer,_ 1843.

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

"REFUGEE IN AMERICA."

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

_Salem Observer,_ Oct. 13, 1832.

* * * * *

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

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

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

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

_Salem Register,_ 1826.

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Beer and cider "Federal liquors."

PHILADELPHIA, July 23 [1788].

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

IN HONOUR OF AMERICAN BEER AND CYDER.

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

Learn likewise to despise SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS, as _antifederal_;

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

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

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

_From the Lady's Miscellany._

YANKEE PHRASES.

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