1

than 500 houses, should poffefs above 200 fail of veffels, conftantly employ upwards of 2000 feamen, feed more than 15,000 fheep, 500 cows, 200 horfes; and has feveral citizens worth 20,000l. fterling? Yet all these facts are uncontroverted. Who would have imagined that any people fhould have abandoned a fruitful and extenfive continent, filled with the riches which the most ample vegetation affords; replete with good foil, enamelled meadows, rich paftures, every kind of timber, and with all other materials neceffary to render life happy and comfortable; to come and inhabit a little fand-bank, to which nature had refufed thofe advantages; to dwell on a fpot where there fcarcely grew a fhrub to announce, by the budding of its leaves, the arrival of the fpring, and to warn by their fall the proximity of winter?

Had this ifland been contiguous to the fhores of fome antient monarchy, it would only have been occupied by a few wretched fishermen, who, oppreffed by poverty, would hardly have been able to purchase or build little fifhing barks; always dreading the weight of taxes, or the fervitude of men of war. Instead of that boldness of fpeculation for which the inhabitants of this fland are fo remarkable, they would fearfully have confined themselves within the narrow limits of the most trifling attempts timid in their excurfions, they never could have extricated themselves from their firit difficulties. This ifland, on the contrary, contains 5000 hardy people, who boldly derive their riches from the element that furrounds them, and have been compelled, by the fterility of the foil, to feek abroad for the means of fubfiftence.

From this first sketch, I hope my partiality to this ifland will be juftified. Perhaps you hardly know that fuch a one exifts in the neighbourhood of Cape Cod. What has happened here, has and will happen every where elfe. Give mankind the full rewards of their induftry, allow them to enjoy the fruit of their labour under the peaceable fhade of their vines and fig-trees, leave their native activity unfhackled and free, like a fair ftream without dams or other obftacles; the firft will fertilize the very fand on which they tread, the other exhibit a navigable river, fpreading plenty and chearfulness wherever the declivity of the ground leads it. If these people are not famous for tracing the fragrant furrow on the plain, they plow the rougher ocean; they gather from its furface, at an immenfe diftance, and with Herculean labours, the riches it affords; they go to hunt and catch that huge fish, which, by its ftrength and velocity, one would imagine ought to be beyond the reach of man.

The island of Nantucket lies in lat. 41 degrees 10 minutes, 100 miles N. E. from Cape Cod; 27 N. from Barnstable,

town

town on the moft contiguous part of the great peninfula; 21 miles W. by N. from Cape Pog, on the vineyard; 50 W. by N. from Wood's Hole, on Elizabeth Island; 80 miles N. from Bofton; 120 from Rhode Island; 800 S. from Bermudas.

Sherborn is the only town on the ifland, which confifts of about 530 houfes, that have been framed on the main; they are lathed and plaistered within, handsomely painted and boarded without; each has a cellar underneath, built with ftones fetched alfo from the main: they are all of a fimilar construction and appearance; plain, and entirely devoid of exterior or interior ornament. I obferved but one which was built of bricks; but, like the reft, it is unadorned.

The town ftands on a rifing fand-bank, on the weft fide of the harbour, which is very fafe from all winds. There are two places of worship, one for the fociety of friends, the other for that of prefbyterians; and in the middle of the town, near the market-place, ftands a fimple building, which is the county court-house. The town regularly afcends towards the country, and in its vicinage they have several small fields and gardens, yearly manured with the dung of their cows, and the foil of their streets. There are a good many cherry and peach-trees planted in their streets, and in many other places. The appletree does not thrive well, they have therefore planted but few.

The inland contains no mountains, yet is very uneven; and the many rifing grounds and eminences with which it is filled, have formed in the feveral vallies a great variety of fwamps, where the Indian grafs and the blue bent, peculiar to fuch foil, thrive with tolerable luxuriancy. Some of the fwamps abound with peat, which ferves the poor inftead of fire-wood.

There are fourteen ponds on this island, all extremely useful, fome lying tranfverfely, almost across it, which greatly helps to divide it into partitions for the ufe of their cattle; others abound with peculiar fifh and fea-fowls.

Their ftreets are not paved; but this is attended with little inconvenience, as they are never crouded with country carriages ; and those they have in the town, are feldom made use of but inthe time of the coming in, and before the failing of their fleets. At my firft landing, I was much forprifed at the dilagrecable fmell which ftruck me in many parts of the town; it is caufed by the whale oil, and is unavoidable; the neatnefs peculiar to thefe people, can neither remove or prevent it. There are near the wharfs a great many flore-houfes, where their staple commodity is depofited, as well as the innumerable materials which are always wanted to repair and fit out fo many whalemen. They have three docks, each three hundred feet long, and ex

tremely

tremely convenient; at the head of which there are ten feet of water. Thefe docks are built like thofe in Bolton, of logs fetched from the Continent, filled with ftones, and covered with fand. Between these docks and the town, there is room sufficient for the landing of goods, and for the paffage of their numerous carts; for almost every man here has one. The wharfs

to the north and fouth of the docks are built of the fame materials, and give a stranger, at his firft landing, an high idea of the profperity of these people; and there is room around these three docks for 300 fail of veffels. When their fleets have been fuccefsful, the bustle and hurry of business on this spot, for fome days after their arrival, would make you imagine that Sherborn is the capital of a very opulent and large province.

On that point of land which forms the weft-fide of the harbour, ftands a very neat light-houfe; the oppofite peninsula, called Coitou, fecures it from the most dangerous winds.

There are but few gardens and arable fields in the neighbourhood of the town, for nothing can be more sterile and fandy than this part of the island: they have, however, with unwearied perfeverance, by bringing a variety of manure, and by cow-penning, enriched fevera! fpots, where they raife India corn, potatoes, pumpkins, turnips, &c.

On the highest part of this fandy eminence, four wind-mills. grind the grain they raife or import; and contiguous to them their rope-walk is to be seen, where full half of their cordage is manufactured. Between the fhores of the harbour, the docks, and the town, there is a moft excellent piece of meadow, enclosed and manured with fuch cost and pains, as fhew, how neceffary and precious grafs is at Nantucket. Towards the point of Shemah the island is more level, and the foil better; and there they have confiderable lots, well fenced and richly manured, where they diligently raife their yearly crops.

There are but very few farms on this island, because there are but very few spots that will admit of cultivation without the affiftance of dung and other manure, which is very expensive to fetch from the main.

This ifland was patenteed in the year 1671, by twenty-feven proprietors, under the province of New-York; which then claimed all the islands from the Neway Sink to Cape Cod. They found it fo univerfally barren, and fo unfit for cultivation, that they mutually agreed not to divide it, as each could neither live on, nor improve that lot which might fall to his fhare. They then caft their eyes on the fea; and finding themselves obliged 10 become fishermen, they looked for a harbour, and having found one, they determined to build a town in its neighbourhood,

hood, and to dwell together. For this purpose they furveyed as much ground as would afford to each what is generally called here a home-lot. Forty acres were thought fufficient to answer this double purpofe; for to what end fhould they covet more land than they could improve, or even enclose, not being poffeffed of a single tree in the whole extent of their new dominion. This was all the territorial property they allotted; the reft they agreed to hold in common; and feeing that the scanty grafs of the ifland might feed fheep, they agreed that each proprietor fhould be entitled to feed on it, if he pleafed, 560 sheep. By this agreement, the rational flock was to confift of 15,120; that is, the undivided part of the island was by fuch means ideally divifible into as many parts or shares; to which, never. thelefs, no certain determinate quantity of land was affixed; for they knew not how much the island contained, nor could the moft judicious furveyor fix this fmall quota, as to quality and quantity. Further they agreed, in cafe the grafs fhould grow better by feeding, that then four fheep fhould reprefent a cow, and two cows a horse.

Such was the method this wife people took to enjoy in common their new fettlement; fuch was the mode of their first establishment, which may be truly and literally called a paftoral one. Several hundred of fheep-pafture titles have fince been divided on thofe different tracks, which are now cultivated; the rest, by inheritance and intermarriages, have been fo fubdivided, that it is very common for a girl to have no other portion but her outfet and four fheep paftures, or the privilege of feeding a cow. But as this privilege is founded on an ideal, though real title to fome unknown piece of land, which one day or another may be afcertained; these sheep pafture titles fhould convey to your imagination fomething more valuable, and of greater credit, than the mere advantage arifing from the benefit of a cow, which in that cafe would be no more than a right of commonage. Whereas here, as labour grows cheaper, as misfortunes from their fea adventures may happen, each perfon possessed of a fufficient number of these sheep pafture titles, may one day realize them on fome peculiar fpot, fuch as fhall be adjudged by the council of the proprietors to be adequate to their value; and this is the reafon that these people very unwillingly fell thofe fmall rights, and efteem them more than you would ima gine. They are the reprefentation of a future freehold; they cherish in the mind of the poffeffor a latent, though distant hope, that by his fuccefs in his next whale feafon, he may be able to pitch on fome predilected fpot, and there build himself a home, to which he may retire, and fpend the latter end of his

days

days in peace. A council of proprietors always exists in this ifland, who decide their territorial differences; their titles are recorded in the books of the country, which this town reprefents, as well as every conveyance of lands and other sales.

A

AN

AFFECTING

STORY.

Gentleman, walking one evening in Edinburgh, observed a girl, meanly dreffed, coming along the pavement at a flow pace. When he had paffed her, the turned a little towards him, and made a fort of halt, but faid nothing. "I am fo aukward (fays the gentleman who relates this story) at looking any body in the face, that I went on a few steps before I turned my eyes to obferve her. She had by this time refumed her former pace. I remarked a certain elegance in her form, which the poorness of her drefs could not entirely overcome. Her perfon was thin and genteel, and there was fomething not ungraceful in the ftoop of her head, and the feeming feebleness with which the walked. I could not refift the defire which her appearance excited of knowing fomewhat of her fituation and circumftances. I therefore walked back, and re-passed her with fuch a look (for I could bring myself to nothing more) as might induce her to fpeak what the feemed defirous to fay at art. This had the effect I wished. Pity a poor orphan !' faid he, in a voice tremulous and weak. I ftopped, and put my hand in my pocket. I had now a better opportunity of obferving her, Her face was thin and pale; part of it was fhaded by her hair, of a light brown colour, which was parted, in a disordered manner, at her forehead, and hung loose upon her shoulders; round them was caft a piece of tattered cloak, which, with one hand, the held acrofs her bofom, while the other was half outstretched to receive the bounty I intended for her. Her large blue eyes were caft on the ground: fhe was drawing back her hand as I put a trifle into it; on receiving which, the turned her eyes up to me, muttered fomething which I could not hear, and then letting go her cloak, and preffing her hands together, burst into tears.

"This was not the action of an ordinary beggar, and my curiofity was strongly excited by it. I defired her to follow me to the house of a friend hard by, whofe beneficence I have often had occafion to know. When the arrived there, she was so fatigued and worn out, that it was not, 'till after fome means used to restore her, that he was able to give an account of her mis fortunes."

My