and now it must be raised again with much trouble. Lombardy poplars, and plane trees are frequent. The inhabitants generally appear to be in good circumstances, at least the farmers seem to prosper, and the houses appear to great advantage, for instance, we remarked a common village blacksmith shop, which was built of massive granite. At the very neat village of Miltonbridge we passed over the river Neponset, which is navigable for small vessels.
Quincy contains about four thousand inhabitants, and has assumed this name in honour of the mayor’s family, which is here much beloved and esteemed. Mr. Quincy’s country seat, to which we repaired from the house of the ex-president, is about two miles distant from the latter, and lies in the neighbourhood of the sea on a small eminence, from which there is a very handsome prospect towards the bay. Mr. Quincy introduced us to his family, to his wife, two sons, and four daughters. The eldest daughter is very accomplished, and excels in painting landscapes in sepia. Some years ago she visited the Falls of Niagara with her family, and sketched several views. The other daughters are also very well educated, and have a talent for music. We met here several gentlemen from Boston, among others, Mr. Shepherd, Mr. Everett, and President Kirkland, from Cambridge, who was accompanied by an aged English teacher, Mr. Cooper, who fled from England with Priestley, thirty-five years ago, and now directs Columbia College in South Carolina. He appeared to be a gloomy, austere man, and very different in his address from the humane and friendly manner of Dr. Kirkland. Towards evening we returned to Boston by a shorter road, and passed the Neponset by means of a long wooden bridge, which Mr. Quincy built not far from the place where it empties into the sea. We then passed through Dorchester, and saw on an eminence to the right the remains of two redoubts, built by the English, which the great Washington took from them, strengthened, and thus principally contributed to the evacuation of Boston.
I accompanied, August 4th, a party to a Mr. Nathaniel Amory; we passed over the long mill-dam, which cuts off a part of the water surrounding Boston, and is to be filled up in time, and houses built on it. Six miles from the city is a wooden bridge over Charles river, which we crossed to see the arsenal on the opposite side. This establishment was built in 1816. A long yard, surrounded with a wall of granite, is attached to the chief arsenal, which is three stories high, with two wings, containing the offices and dwellings of the two directors, Major Craige and Lieutenant Van Nessen. The workshops of the different mechanics, belonging to the arsenal, are arranged behind this building, on each side of the yard; at a short distance from the arsenal stands the powder magazine, built of granite, and containing about fifty thousand pounds; thirty thousand stands of arms are contained in the arsenal in chests, each holding twenty pieces. I saw there a newly-invented machine for casting a hundred and sixty-two balls at once, giving them at the same time a perfectly round form. The arsenal is very pleasantly situated in Watertown.
We passed farther along the shore, through a romantic part of the country, towards Waltham. At this place a branch of a large cotton manufactory is situated, belonging to a company of twenty-five persons. It is under the direction of Mr. Jackson, who possesses a very handsome dwelling, where he appears to pass a happy life with his amiable family. About four hundred and fifty workmen are employed, who live in different buildings belonging to the factory, and form a particular colony; they have two schools, a church, and a clergyman. They appear to be in very good circumstances, as the dress, cleanly exterior, and healthy appearance of the workmen testify. In these buildings the cotton is spun and woven; but the colouring and printing are performed in another establishment. The machines are worked by water, which is said not to freeze in winter, but sometimes fails in dry summers. More simple machines than jennys are used for spinning, and the dressing machines are different from those in the Netherlands, though not better, I believe, as they have but one cylinder. The weaving machines are mostly of wood, which is very cheap, though I believe that our iron ones are better. The workmen of this factory are, as I have since learned, esteemed on account of their good manners, and their morality is universally praised. But one case of seduction occurred in ten years. After leaving this factory we passed by several very neat houses and parks; the latter are smaller than those in England, because in this country there are no rights of primogeniture, and the estate of parents at their death is divided into as many parts as there are children. On this account we do not find such great and powerful landholders here as in England. It is a subject of dispute, whether primogeniture or equal division be preferable; but it is certain that real prosperity is much more diffused through the nation in America, and the land is better cultivated.
Mr. Nathaniel Amory’s country seat lies on a small eminence in a tolerably large park, and affords an extensive prospect of the vicinity of Boston. Mr. Amory collected several good paintings of the Flemish school in his travels, and some handsome mosaic work in Rome, with which his house is decorated. In the afternoon we took a walk through the park to a cottage, which belongs to the English sea captain, Wormley, brother-in-law of Mr. Amory, and, though small, is very neatly arranged, and handsomely situated. A small lake, called the Fresh Pond, with its shady trees, affords a very picturesque view. After spending some time very agreeably with his friendly family, we returned at nine o’clock in the evening, by way of Cambridge to Boston.
I visited the navy-yard on the 5th August, in company with Major Wainwright, of the marines, and Lieutenant Gwynn. In the small barracks of the marines where we commenced, the rooms are not large; the beds stand on a platform, so that the rooms are very narrow and close. The appearance of the soldiers was not remarkable. The navy-yard was founded only twelve years ago, and not yet completed, but is very extensive. A dry dock has not yet been made, but will be advantageously placed. The two line of battle ships, Columbus and Independence, and the frigate Java, were in ordinary. Two line of battle-ships and a corvette were on the stocks, and not yet named. The two former, which were under sheds, were finished, so that they could leave the stocks as soon as government should order. But as no loss was incurred, the vessels were allowed to lie on the stocks, and under shelter as long as possible, that the wood may become still better seasoned. The sheds are larger than the English, and are actual houses. The two vessels are very modestly called seventy-fours, but have each three decks; the one pierced for one hundred and thirty thirty-two pounders, and the other for an hundred and thirty-six, of the same caliber. They are built of live oak, and to prevent the dry rot, salt is scattered among the timbers, which, as I was told, was of great advantage. The vessels are so high and roomy, that I could stand erect in the two lower batteries under the beams. Some methods which tend to strengthen and relieve vessels, used in other places, have not yet been adopted here; for instance, I did not observe the cruciform strengthening of the sides, and the diagonal deck, according to the plan of Sir Robert Seppings, from which two improvements the navies of England and the Netherlands derive the greatest advantage. The same system which prevails in England is observed here, namely, not to employ shipwrights for builders, as in the Netherlands and in France, but carpenters. Mr. Baker, the master shipwright of this place, with whom I became acquainted, is considered to be a very skilful man.
After we had seen the navy-yard, been much gratified with its good condition, and wishing it might soon be finished, we visited the lady of the commissioner, Captain Craine, who was absent. The commissioner’s house belongs to the government, and is placed on a height overlooking the navy-yard; the architect who planned it, worried the commissioner with continual questions relative to the form of the house, until finally he replied in great vexation, build it like my —. The architect took him at his word, and built it with two round projections standing close together, which have a very curious appearance from the navy-yard. We saw in the navy-yard sails of cotton canvass, which are preferred to hempen sails, both because they are more easily worked, and are peculiarly durable. They are not, however, liked in the navy, because they are too combustible, and on that account might be extremely dangerous to a vessel during an action; they are therefore used only for the higher sails.
On the next day Mr. Quincy very politely invited me to visit some of the public schools, which are under his direction. I accepted this invitation with much pleasure, for in a country like this, where the people govern themselves, without doubt the prevailing spirit may be best learnt from the institutions for public education. There are also at Boston, besides various private and two public schools, a Latin and a mathematical school, called high schools, which are both maintained
