aged local affairs much after the same way that is now done in most New England towns. The town meetings begin to be of importance at this date. There were agrarian laws adopted, according to the true meaning of the words, the division of lands receiving much attention. Speculation in land was early commenced in Boston. The first grand jury of the country met at Boston, Sept. 1, 1635, and presented 100 offences. The church of Boston was much troubled about Roger Williams and his heresy, and finding him resolute, handed him over to the general court, which satisfactorily demonstrated the evil nature of his opinions by banishing him. The Antinomian controversy broke out in 1636, the occasion of it being the action of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of superior understanding, whose conduct greatly vexed the church. Boston took the liberal side, and the controversy, by causing her to lose some of her best citizens, retarded her growth. Free schools were established, the town paying liberally for their support, and Indians being taught gratis. Negro slaves were first brought to the town in 1645, much to the people's anger. A malignant disease raged in 1646, and the colonists were much plagued by the Episcopalians, who were so unreasonable as to demand equality of privileges with their neighbors. In 1651, the place is described by an eye-witness as very flourishing, and the streets as filled with children. The first great fire occurred in 1654, but no light is thrown on its ravages. Mrs. Anne Hibbins, a widow, and said to have been a sister of Governor Bellingham, was hanged in 1656 for witchcraft. When, two years later, the general court made a law for the punishment of Quakers, 2 of the Boston members dissented; but 3 Quakers were executed on the common, for which the colony generally, and not Boston specially, is to be held responsible. When Goffe and Whalley, the two regicides best known in America, came to Boston, in 1660, they were openly entertained by the principal inhabitants. Boston sullenly acquiesced in the restoration, but Charles II. was not proclaimed there until 14 months after his arrival at London. The town became the head-quarters of that opposition to the home government which was to last until the separation of the two countries. Down to the date of the English revolution there was a constant antagonism, sometimes fierce in its manifestation, between the colony and the royal government, and which was most intensely felt in Boston. A description of Boston in 1671 shows that the town had much increased in numbers and wealth, inasmuch as 3 meeting-houses hardly sufficed for its spiritual wants, and church-going was then all but universal. The streets were large, and many of them paved with pebble stones. The buildings were fair and handsome, some being of stone, and one is mentioned that cost £3,000. The town is said to be rich and populous. The next year a report was made to the English government

in which the number of families is stated at 1,500, and it is added that not 20 houses contained 10 rooms each. When the general court voted £1,890 for the rebuilding of Harvard college, Boston paid £800. In anticipation of attacks from the Dutch, in 1672, extensive fortifications were commenced. "Philip's war" began in 1675, when Indian scalps were for the first time brought to Boston, as also were the heads of some of the unfortunate natives. Some Indians having been tried at Boston, and acquitted, the people were with difficulty prevented from lynching them; and one Indian was put to death by torture, to appease the mob. Quakers, and others of the townsmen who refused to serve against the natives, were compelled to run the gauntlet. They were Boston men who led the van in the famous attack on the Narraganset fort, and the town is said to have suffered nearly 5 times as much as any other place from the war. Liberty to establish a printing press in the town had been granted in 1674, with 2 ministers for censors; and a printing house was opened in 1676 by John Foster, a graduate of Harvard college. He printed the histories of the Indian wars written by Hubbard and Mather. In Nov. 1676, happened a fire, which destroyed 46 dwellings, a church, and other buildings. There being no fire department, the inhabitants were favored with a rain, or the conflagration would have been more extensive. A fire department was then organized, but not with much immediate effect; for, in 1679, another conflagration swept away 80 dwellings and 70 warehouses. The loss was estimated at £200,000. The cry of "incendiaries" then commenced, and ever since has been kept up. These evils were regarded as direct visitations for the sins of the town. The war waged by the house of Stuart against the English constitution, was severely felt in Boston, and during the reign of James II., and under the rule of his proconsuls, Dudley and Andros, the town lived under a tyranny. Yet James's "declaration of indulgence was well received there, and the churches held a thanksgiving on its account. On April 18, 1689, the people of Boston rose against the government, and overthrew it. In no part of the British empire was the revolution of 1688 more warmly supported than in Boston. An accession to the population was made during the rule of Andros, by the arrival of some of the Huguenot exiles, among them being Pierre Baudoin, ancestor of the Bowdoins, one of the nation's historical families. Piratical depredations having caused much loss to the place, an armed vessel was despatched, which succeeded in bringing in the depredators, ten of whom were hanged. The witchcraft delusion raged in 1692 in Boston, as in other parts of New England. In 1695, the town's churches were much agitated by the discussion of the question, whether it is lawful for a man to marry the sister of his deceased wife, and they decided it

in the negative, which decision was followed by the enactment of severe laws against marriages of affinity, by the general court. The winter of 1697-'98 was long remembered for its severity, snow falling more than 20 times, and the harbor being frozen up quite out to the sea, for 2 months. Trade suffered, and the people were reduced to the verge of famine. A bitter account of the place, written by an Englishman who visited it at the close of the century, speaks of the buildings being like the women, neat and handsome, and of the streets being of pebble, like the hearts of the men. Lord Bellamont, who came over as royal governor in 1699, was very popular with the Bostonians. A list of all the streets, lanes, and alleys was made in 1708, and they were found to be 110 in number. Long wharf was commenced in 1710, running 800 feet into the harbor. A severe fire happened in 1711, burning 100 edifices, including the first church that had been erected in Boston, after the rude hut which had witnessed the primitive devotions of the earliest settlers. Several persons were killed, and others wounded, by the blowing up of houses, and a number of sailors perished while piously endeavoring to save the church bell. Mail routes were at this date established at Boston, running both east and west. John Campbell was appointed first postmaster, under an act of parliament establishing a general post office in North America. He had previously been colonial postmaster. What is known as "the great snow storm" occurred Feb. 1717, and for the time suspended intercourse of neighbor with neighbor. Some of the ScotchIrish settled in Boston in 1720, and introduced the linen manufacture, which excited much interest, and was greatly encouraged, spinning schools being established. Boston had often been ravaged by the small-pox, one of the severest scourges of our ancestors, and when, in 1721, it again broke out virulently, the celebrated Dr. Zabdiel Boylston determined to introduce inoculation. He encountered an opposition as savage and malignant as ever waited on any benevolent reform, and which will even disadvantageously compare with that which was experienced by Lady M. W. Montagu in England. The medical men were especially venomous. It was owing to the influence of Cotton Mather that Dr. Boylston was allowed to proceed, a fact that should be remembered when that eccentric divine's hallucinations about witchcraft are dwelt upon. Of 286, on whom the doctor operated, 6 only died, while 844 died of the 5,759 who took the disease naturally. As the population of Boston, at the extent, could not have been above 12,000, half the people were attacked. The first insurance office was established in 1724. The traffic in slaves prevailed to some extent in 1727, but the action of the town was strongly against it on many occasions. The town was divided into 12 wards in 1736. The year 1740 saw Whitefield in Boston, where he preached to immense crowds; his farewell discourse, delivered on the common, being at

tended by 20,000 persons. The town was the scene of great riots in 1747, in consequence of some of the citizens having been impressed by Com. Knowles, and then was displayed that fierce spirit which, 30 years later, and under proper guidance, was destined to accomplish such great things. The first Bibles that were published in Boston are supposed to have appeared in 1749, clandestinely, owing to English restrictions. The first theatrical performance was in 1750, Otway's "Orphan" being the piece selected. This led to the passage of a law which prevented any more dramatic exhibitions for 25 years. The list of letters remaining in the Boston post office, containing 351 nanes, was published for the first time, Jan. 30, 1755. Nov. 18, 1755, the town was "dreadfully shaken" by the occurrence of an earthquake, perhaps the severest ever known in New England, and by which great damage was done, and much fright caused. It seems to have belonged to the series of shocks which at that time were shaking a large part of our globe, from Lake Ontario to Fez, and the most terrible of which took place at Lisbon. Boston experienced her full share of the effects of the "old French war," and at one time a large force was assembled there. March 20, 1760, "the great fire" broke out, consuming 349 buildings, the entire property destroyed being valued at £100,000. Relief was sent to the sufferers from the other colonies and from England. The case of writs of assistance, which began what we specifically call the American revolution, was tried at Boston in 1761. James Otis so distinguished himself therein, that he became the most influential man of the town, and was said to have governed it for the next 10 years. At the first news of the intention of the British government to apply its revenue system comprehensively to the colonies, Boston assumed that determined stand in behalf of liberty and law which gave her so imposing a part in the birth of the nation, and brought upon her the weight of England's power. The town meetings of the ten years that preceded the battle of Lexington were among the most important public assemblies mentioned in history, tried by the consequences of their language and deeds, while the action of the principal men of Boston, including the clergy, was such as would have done honor to the leaders of the country party in the long parliament. "The Boston massacre happened March 5, 1770, when 3 persons were killed by the fire of the soldiery, and 8 wounded. The destruction of the tea, in 1773, was pronounced by the tory governor of the province the boldest stroke which had been struck in America. was an act of defiance to the home government, and was accepted in that sense. The prominence which George III. and his ministers gave to Boston, and the special proscription of her two most eminent citizens, were tributes to her power and position that could not be withheld. American and Bostonian were then convertible terms. The passage of the Boston port bill

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was the practical retort of the imperial government to the proceedings of the Bostonians. But though the commerce of the town was for the time destroyed, and the independence of the local government suspended for nearly 2 years, other places refused to profit from Boston's sufferings; and her people received from all parts of the country warm sympathy and solid assistance. In the early months of 1775, there were about 4,000 British troops in Boston, and several armed vessels in the harbor. The battle of Lexington roused the country, and in a short time Boston was beleaguered by a large American force, full of spirit, but destitute of all the other essentials of war. Gen. Washington arrived in the besieging camp July 2, and assumed command the next day. The siege was prosecuted with all the vigor that could be displayed, but it lasted nearly a year. On the night of March 4, 1776, the besiegers seized and occupied Dorchester heights, which commanded both town and harbor. The English made preparations to recover the heights, but were prevented from assailing them by the severity of the weather, which was extreme until the 7th, by which time the American fortifications had been rendered impregnable to any force the enemy were in a condition to bring against them. The British commander was compelled to abandon the place March 17, taking 1,000 tories and upward with him, of whom nearly were Bostonians. He sailed for Halifax, leaving a few vessels at Nantasket. These were driven off June 14, the anniversary of the last day on which, 2 years before, trading vessels were allowed to enter or leave Boston, under the port bill. Since that time Bostonians have never seen the smoke of an enemy's camp. Civil government was immediately resumed in full force. Washington entered Boston (which he had visited 20 years before) immediately after the enemy's retreat. During the war, Boston supported the reputation she had acquired in the earlier stages of the contest. In the troublous years that immediately followed the peace, the town was the scene of important events, accounts of which belong to the history of Massachusetts. Her people energetically supported the policy that ended in the adoption of the federal constitution. In the material prosperity that followed the inauguration of the new government Boston largely shared. Her business increased. Her commerce was extended to almost every part of the world. Her history since 1789 is not fruitful of salient events. Conservative sentiments soon began to display themselves, and obtained an ascendency that has sometimes been shaken, but never overthrown. In 1822, Boston was made a city, 170 years after the change had been first talked of, and 113 after the failure to have the place incorporated in 1709.-Boston's growth for 2 centuries was not rapid. We have no exact figures for her population during the first 4 generations of her existence. It is supposed to

have been 7,000 at the close of the 17th century, and the supposition is not unreasonable. In 1742 it was placed at 18,000, probably an exaggeration, as she is known to have had only about that number 50 years later. In the year 1764-5, during the administration of Gov. Barnard, the first colonial census was taken, and under it the population of Boston was returned at 15,520. Mr. Bancroft says the population was "about 16,000 of European origin" at the close of 1768; and Mr. Frothingham puts it at about 17,000 in 1774. The first national census, 1790, showed it to be 18,038; that of 1800, 24,937; of 1810, 33,250; of 1820, 43,298; of 1830, 61,392; of 1840, 93,383; and of 1850, 136,884. If the returns under the census of 1764-5 were correctly made, Boston was 40 years in doubling her population after that date. The revolution, and the troubles which followed it, retarded her growth. Down to 1790, Boston did not increase so fast in numbers as the colony, province, or state of which she was or is the capital; but since that time the increase has been in her favor, and largely so. Had all Massachusetts increased at the saine rate with Boston, between 1765 and 1850, the state's population at the latter date would have been considerably above 2,000,000, instead of being less than 1,000,000. The local census of 1855 made the population 160,508. It is now (May, 1858) about 170,000. The character of the population has much changed during the last 30 years. Formerly it contained but few foreigners, and was singularly homogeneous, but now nearly of it is composed of foreigners, or of persons whose parents were foreigners. The number of births in 1857 was 5,881, the parents being foreign-born in 3,801 cases, while in 546 others 1 of the parents was of foreign birth. The deaths were 3,958, or one for every 42.95 of the population, estimating the latter at 170,000. Boston has several places in her immediate vicinity, so closely connected with her as almost to belong to her. These are the cities of Charlestown, Chelsea, Roxbury, and Cambridge, and the towns of Dorchester, Somerville, North Chelsea, and Winthrop. Their united populations nearly equal the population of Boston, and they may be considered as forming one community. Chelsea has sought to be annexed to Boston, and the project of uniting Roxbury to her larger neighbor is now under discussion.The original territory of Boston embraced only some 600 acres, but it has been quadrupled by acts of annexation and reclamation, a large part of the city standing on "made land." The legal division of the city is into 12 wards, but usage has divided it into certain districts. North Boston, or "the North End," is the oldest part of the place, and still retains much of the irregular appearance that characterized it in colonial times. Some of the streets are crooked, and very narrow, a few being little better than lanes. Many old buildings yet stand there. But change is there steadily at work, and every

year sees the work of alteration going on; yet it is by no means probable that that quarter will ever again become so important as it was in the earlier days of Boston. It comprised the larger portion of the Boston which makes so grand a figure in our revolutionary history. West Boston is mostly new, and contains the "fashionable quarter" of the town. It lies between Canal street and the common, and west of Tremont and Hanover streets. It contains many public edifices, among them being the state house, and the building of the Boston Athenæum. Most of the houses are of brick or stone, and many of them are costly and elegant. It contains many historical sites. The population is numerous and dense. "The South End" includes all that part of Boston which lies to the south of Winter and Summer streets, and running to Roxbury. South Boston was originally the north-eastern part of the town of Dorchester, and was annexed to Boston in 1804, except Washington Village, which was annexed in 1855. It is separated from old Boston by an arm of the harbor that runs to Roxbury. With the exception of East Boston, it is the newest quarter of the city, but it has increased rapidly, and its appearance is strikingly different from old Boston, being open, airy, and cheerful. Two bridges connect it with Boston proper. It forms ward 12, in connection with Washington Village. East Boston is an island, formerly known as Noddle's Island, but more commonly bearing the name of Maverick, from Samuel Maverick, who lived there 230 years ago, in an armed fort. It dates from 1830, when its "improvement" was commenced. It now contains some 17,000 inhabitants. It is a place of much enterprise, and is united by the Grand Junction railroad with all the railroads that proceed from the city. The depot of the Grand Junction is connected with the wharves, which have great depth of water. The water frontage is almost 20,000 feet, and the wharves are the best in the city. The Cunard steamships have their berth there. Ship-building is one of the most important branches of the business of the place. "The Great Republic," the largest sailing ship in the world, was there built. Ferries connect this quarter with old Boston.-The position of Boston is highly favorable to commercial pursuits. The harbor is spacious, containing about 75 sq. m., and extending from the city to Medford, and to Nantasket roads. Beside smaller streams, there fall into it the Manatticut, the Neponset, the Mystic, and the Charles rivers. There are more than 50 islands, or islets, in the harbor, most of which, however, are of little consequence, except as affording protection to it. Boston light stands on Light-house island, where it has stood for almost a century and a half, and marks the line of the harbor in that direction. Northerly from the light-house run a chain of islands, rocks, and ledges, 3 miles long, to the Graves. George's island commands the open sea, and Fort Warren, a very strong fortification, is built on it, the island being

national property. It is expected to render the harbor impregnable at that point; and it is susceptible of defence there from other spots, on some of which are yet to be found the remains of fortifications erected in the last century. Castle island-so called from a fortress which was erected there in 1633, and which subsequently was rebuilt, and called Castle William in honor of William III.-lies further up the harbor, and is the site of Fort Independence, belonging to the United States. Governor's island is a mile to the north of Castle island, and Fort Winthrop, a strong fortification, stands there. This island passed into the possession of John Winthrop in 1632, and for a long time was known as "the Governor's garden." It is still in the possession of the Winthrop family, except that portion of it which has been ceded to the national government. Long island is large, and attempts have been made to render it a place of residence, but with little success, though a fine hotel stands on it. Deer island is now occupied by city institu tions, and Rainsford island by state hospitals. On Thompson island is the Boston asylum and farm school for indigent boys. Many of the islands, if not all of them, are gradually disappearing under the action of the sea; and water now covers places where cattle were pastured within the memory of persons now living. The harbor affords ample anchorage for 500 ships of the largest class. Boston early became distinguished for her commerce. In less than half a century after the foundation of the place, its merchants traded, not only with other parts of America, and the leading nations of Europe, but with the Canaries, the coast of Africa, and Madagascar. Their wealth was the subject of remark to all visitors. The first vessel belonging to Boston, of American build, was the bark "Blessing of the Bay," built at Mystic, for Gov. Winthrop, and launched July 4, 1631. She was of 30 tons, and her first voyage was to Long island and New York. The first ship built at Boston was the Trial, in 1644, which immediately made a voyage to Spain. The same year a fur company, composed of Boston merchants, was formed. During the year ending Dec. 25, 1748, 430 vessels entered the port, and 540 were cleared. A century earlier the arrivals of ships were only about 1 a month, but even then large quantities of country produce were exported, 20,000 bushels of corn being mentioned among the exports of 1645. The coining of money in Boston, in 1652, by order of the colonial government, is regarded as evidence of the town's success in commerce, bullion having accumulated there from the profits on foreign trade. commercial character had much to do with shaping the history of Boston, and had also important effect on the current of American events. The efforts of the later sovereigns of the house of Stuart to shackle the commerce of the colonies were met by a spirit of resistance in Boston that rendered them of little avail; and when, late in the next century, "the tea" was thrown into the harbor, the act was in no respect

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different from what had been done at a much earlier period, so far as the spirit of resistance was concerned. After the English revolution, the course of the home government was mild, though its theories were illiberal. It was not until 1761 that was commenced that policy, the end of which would have been the destruction of the commerce of the colonies, had it not encountered a stubborn opposition. It so happened that Boston became the scene of the earliest attempts that were made to coerce the colonial merchants; and her mercantile classes were, therefore, forced to make themselves conspicuous as revolutionists. The revolution was entered upon as much for the vindication of the freedom of commerce as for that of personal rights. After the revolution, and when order had been restored, Boston rapidly attained to eminence in commerce, and her merchants to fame. The number of foreign arrivals for the years 1789 and 1790 is not to be had, but they were 399 in 1791, and 2,985 in 1857. In 1806 they were 1,083, and but 83 in 1814, the last year of the second war with England. For the year ending March 31, 1858, the number of coastwise clearances was 2,281, exclusive of those coasters which sailed under license. The custom-house at Boston is a large and costly edifice, and was 12 years in building, 1837-49, at an expense of $1,076,000, including every thing. It is of the Doric order, and is 140 feet long from north to south, 95 feet through the centre, and 75 feet at the ends. The porticoes are 67 feet long, and project 10 feet on each side. The height is 95 feet. It stands at the head of a dock between Central and Long wharves, fronting east on the dock, west on India st. The form is that of the Greek cross. Arthur W. Austin, Esq., is now collector of Boston, and Col. Charles G. Greene is naval officer. The whole number of persons employed in the collection district is 198, at an annual cost of $273,861. The revenue collected in the district for the month ending April 30, 1858, was $321,388 61, which is a decrease of $300,272 14, as compared with the corresponding month of 1857. The shipping of Boston amounts to 525,000 tons. The trade of Boston with British India is very great, and has principally grown up since 1830. The number of ships that arrived in Boston from Calcutta, in 1856, was 78, bringing goods of the value of more than $7,000,000. The exports to Calcutta, including foreign goods, were of the value of $686,891, among which were 12,179 tons of ice. The ice trade is a Boston invention, and is principally carried on thence. Frederic Tudor, Esq., member of a family which has contributed several eminent men to the service of the country, originated the trade, in 1806, when he shipped 130 tons to Martinique. For 20 years, the losses were great, but success was finally won by talent and perseverance. Mr. Tudor had a monopoly of the trade for 30 years, when, its brilliant success having become known to all, he found competitors. It is believed that, but for the ice trade, the Calcutta trade of Boston

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never could have become important. freight paid by Mr. Tudor on ice to India amounts to from 10 to 15 per cent. of the earnings for the whole run of the ship out and home, and it is all clear profit. The value of the ice sent to Calcutta in 1856 was $117,265. The whole cost of the ice shipped at Boston is $300,000, and the amount is about 150,000 tons. The average freight is $2 50 per ton. This business, indeed, has added immensely to New England industry and profits, in various ways. With southern Europe Boston carries on a large trade, and there is not a port of any note in commerce, in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and the Egaan, which her ships do not visit. The Turkish trade is almost entirely in the hands of her merchants, mainly through the ancient port of Smyrna. The imports from Great Britain, in 1856, were of the value of more than $17,000,000; from Cuba, $5,046,968; from Chili, $2,047,750; from the Philippines, $2,047,199; from British North American possessions, $1,969,126; from France, $930,809; from Russia, $931,930; from Hayti, $780,077; from the Dutch East Indies, $710,237; from Turkey, $631,030; from Holland, $533,591; from the Two Sicilies, $499,107; from Buenos Ayres and Argentine republic, $554,509; from Brazil, $539,564; from Sweden and Norway, $461,430; from China, $329,781. The total value of imports that year was $43,014,900. The value of the fishing trade was about $6,000,000, Boston being at the head of the business, which she commenced in 1633. The exports for 1856, including $12,053,532 in coin and bullion, were $24,580,576.-The industry of Boston is great and various. According to the returns of the industry of Massachusetts, made June 1, 1855, the value of the articles manufactured was $48,188,956 32, under 94 heads, for the county of Suffolk, of which must be credited to Boston, being more than of the whole industrial production of Massachusetts. The number of vessels launched, in 1856, was 26, of 28,844 tons; and 7 were on the stocks at the close of that year, of 6,950 tons. Of these, 30 vessels, of 31,434 tons, were of East Boston build. Much of the city's prosperity is due to the 8 great lines of railoads that run from it, all of which are fed by a large number of lesser lines, and connected by the Grand Junction railroad. There are four horse railroads which connect it with Roxbury, Dorchester, Cambridge, Charlestown, and other places. Other horse railroads are soon to be constructed, and those existing are to be extended. The number of passengers carried over all these roads, in 1857, was 12,687,111. Communication with Chelsea is by the Winnisimmet ferry, established in 1631, and believed to be the oldest ferry in the union. The Western avenue, from the foot of Beacon street to Sewall's Point in Brookline, was completed in 1821, at a cost of over $600,000, and is 1 mile long. Charles river bridge, made in 1786, and Warren bridge, in 1828, connect Boston with Charlestown, and