5000 volumes. There is a highly respectable institution for the blind, which has a handsome edifice. The Boston athenæum has two large buildings, one containing a library of about 30,000 volumes, the other a picture gallery, and a hall for public lectures, and other rooms for scientific purposes. This city has about 100 literary, religious, and charitable societies. Among the literary societies of a high order, are the American academy of arts and sciences, which has published four volumes of transactions; the Massachusetts historical society, which has published twenty-two volumes of collections; and the Boston Natural History Society, which has a fine cabinet. Among the religious and charitable societies, are the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, which has an agency, and holds its anniversaries in the city of New York; the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions; the American Education Society; the American Unitarian Association; the American Peace Society; the Seamen's Friend Society; the Massachusetts Bible Society; the Prison Discipline Society; and various others.

"There are (1842) thirty newspapers published in Boston, eight of which are daily. Besides these, there is a number of magazines and reviews, the most important of which is the North American Review, which has long had a high reputation, not only in the United States, but in Europe.

"There are seventy five churches, of which fifteen are Unitarians; twelve Congregationalists; eight Episcopalians; eleven Baptists; nine Methodists; four Universalists; four Roman Catholics; three Freewill Baptists; two African, one of which is Baptist and the other Methodist. There are also some New Jerusalem, German Protestants, and Friends, and a few others.

"There are two theatres in Boston, the Tremont and the National Theatre.

"This city continued a town, and was governed by a body of select men, according to the common custom of the towns of New England, until 1821. Before this, the people could not be brought to consent to adopt a city government. But the vote was at length carried, and the city has since been governed by a mayor, eight aldermen, and a common council of forty-eight members. Besides these, each ward has one warden, one overseer of the poor, one clerk, five inspectors, and two school committee men.”—United States' Gazetteer for 1844.

Charleston town, as well as Cambridge, Chelsea, and some other nearly adjoining places, may be almost included as forming parts of Boston, and the population of each, according to the census of 1840, was, Boston, 93,833; Charleston 11,484; Cambridge, 8409; Chelsea, 2390, formerly one of the Boston wards; Roxbury, 9089, nearly a continuation of one of the streets of Boston; Dorchester, 4875; Brighton, 1425; Brooklyn, 1365; Medford, 2475; all within the circuit. of five miles which would make the actual population of Boston and its environs in 1840, about 135,000. The town of Lynn, with a population of 9367, is within nine miles; that of Quincy, 3486, within nine miles; that of Newtown, with 3351, within seven miles, and the total population in the city and within ten miles of Boston, in 1840, must have exceeded 160,000. Before introducing an account of the commerce and navigation of Boston, we will therefore describe briefly, on the authority chiefly of the "United States' Gazetteer," for 1844, and of the official returns of 1840, the principal towns which, from their near vicinity, are most connected with, or interested in, the general trade and navigation of the capital of Massachusetts.

CHARLESTOWN is situated on a peninsula, formed by the Charles and Mystic rivers, one mile north of Boston, with which the former town is connected by the Charles and Warren bridges. There are two other bridges across the Mystic river, one of which connects it with Chelsea, and the other with Malden. There is another which connects it with Craigie's bridge, leading to Cambridge. The streets, though not laid out with great regularity,

are wide, and ornamented with trees. The public buildings are, a state prison, on the most improved model, the Massachusetts insane hospital, called, from a distinguished benefactor, M'Lean Asylum, an almshouse, town-house, and nine churches-three Congregationalists, two Baptists, one Methodist, two Universalists, and one Roman Catholica United States' navy-yard, in the south-east part of the place, with a dry dock built of hewn granite. The navy-yard covers sixty acres of land, on which are erected a marine hospital, a spacious warehouse, an arsenal, powder magazine, and a house for the superintendent, all of brick; and two immense wooden edifices, under which the largest vessels of war are built. Bunker Hill is immediately in the rear of the place, where a bloody battle was fought at the commencement of the revolution, June 17, 1775, in which the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, 449, and the British, 1055. To commemorate this important event, a granite obelisk has been erected on the spot, which is thirty feet square at the base, 220 feet high, and fifteen feet square at the top, ascended within by a winding staircase, estimated to cost about 100,000 dollars.-United States' Gazetteer. Charlestown, in 1840, had three commercial and eight commission houses, capital, 125,000 dollars; seventy-eight stores, capital, 346,000 dollars; six lumber yards, capital, 82,000 dollars; five printing offices, one bindery, one weekly newspaper, four tanneries, three distilleries, one brewery, three potteries, three rope walks, five grist mills, four saw mills, one oil mill, twenty-four schools, 2202 scholars. Population 11,484.—Official Returns.

CAMBRIDGE, three miles north-west from Boston, is one of the early towns of New England, having been first settled in 1631, under the name of Newtown. It is the seat of Harvard University, formerly called Harvard College, the oldest college in the United States, having been founded in 1638, which was less than twenty years after the first landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Cambridge contains a court house and gaol, state arsenal, and five churches-two Unitarian, one Episcopal, one Baptist, and one Universalist. The courts are alternately held here and at Concord. The court house and gaol are at East Cambridge, at Lechmere's Point, a village at the south-east extremity of the town, which is connected with Boston and Charlestown by bridges. Here is a large glass manufactory.

Harvard University has a president and twenty-seven professors, or other instructors; has had 5546 alumni, of whom 1406 have been ministers of the gospel; has 246 classical students, and 53,000 volumes in its libraries. The commencement is on the fourth Wednesday in August. The philosophical and chemical apparatus are very complete, as well as its cabinet of minerals. It has an excellent anatomical museum, and a botanical garden of eight acres, richly stored with an extensive collection of trees, shrubs, and plants, both native and foreign. The university buildings are extensive and commodious, situated on a beautiful plain, where is a neat village. The irregularity in the position of the edifices, renders them less imposing in their appearance than they otherwise would be, but not less adapted to their purposes. They are University Hall, an elegant granite building, 140 by 50 feet, and forty-two feet high, containing the chapel, dining halls, and lecture rooms; Harvard Hall, containing the library, philosophical apparatus, museum, &c. ; four spacious brick edifices, containing rooms for students, and several other buildings for the accommodation of the president, professors, and students; Divinity Hall, for the accommodation of the theological students; and the Medical College in Boston, a Law School, a Theological Seminary, and a Medical School, are attached to the institution, the last of which is located in Boston. The Law School has 115, the Theological twenty-six, and the Medical eighty-six students. The whole number of students attached to the instituincluding resident graduates, is 478. This institution is more richly endowed than other similar institution in the United States.- United States' Gazetteer. There were, in 1840, in the town, one commercial and one commission house, capital, 40,000 dollars, twentyseven stores, capital, 93,950 dollars; eight lumber yards, capital, 85,000 dollars; three rope factories, two printing offices, one bindery, five periodicals, one university, 341 students, two academies, forty-five students, sixteen schools, 2455 scholars. Population, 8409.-Official Returns.

any

ROXBURY, two miles south of Boston, is joined to Boston by a neck of land, which constitutes a broad avenue, and may be regarded as a continuation of Washington-street, Boston. In the west part of the township is Jamaica plains, a level tract, with elegant

country seats, and well-cultivated gardens. Here is a pond by which the Boston aqueduct is supplied. It is four miles from Boston, with four trains of cast-iron pipes, the aggregate length of which is forty miles. The town or village contains five churches-one Unitarian, one Congregational, one Baptist, one Episcopal, and one Universalist,-two banks, and many beautiful residences.-United States' Gazetteer. There were, in 1840, ten churches in the township; eighty-three stores, capital, 755,000 dollars; four lumber yards, capital, 60,000 dollars; five tanneries, two printing offices, two binderies, one weekly newspaper, five grist mills, and four saw mills. Capital in manufactures, 350,000 dollars. Twelve academies, 350 students, twenty schools, 881 scholars. Population, 9089.- Official

Returns.

DORCHESTER, four miles from Boston, lies on Dorchester bay, in Boston harbour. First settled in 1630. The surface is uneven and rough; but the soil is fertile, and highly cultivated. Neponset river runs on its south border, and furnishes water power, and facilities for navigation. The vessels owned here, are employed chiefly in the whale and cod fisheries. It has also considerable manufactures. In a part of this town, now belonging to Boston, are Dorchester heights, on which Washington, in March, 1776, directed a fort to be erected, by which the British were driven from Boston harbour. The first settlers of the Connecticut colony, at Windsor and Hartford, 100 in number, came from Dorchester, through the wilderness, in 1636.-U. S. Gazetteer. It had, in 1840, ten commercial and commission houses in foreign trade, capital 326,000 dollars; fifty-seven stores, capital 609,200 dollars; three lumber yards, capital 17,000 dollars; two cotton factories, 4000 spindles, one dyeing and printing establishments, seven tanneries, one pottery, one rope factory, two grist mills, one saw mill, four paper factories, two printing offices, one weekly newspaper, one academy, 119 students; twenty-two schools, 1247 scholars. Population, 4875.— Official Returns.

CHELSEA, four miles north-east from Boston, was formerly a ward of Boston. It has considerable manufactures, and is connected with Charlestown by a bridge. It has one commission house, capital 20,000 dollars; eleven stores, capital 29,000 dollars; three lumber yards, capital 13,000 dollars; two tanneries, one pottery, one grist mill, one printing office. Capital in manufactures, 55,350 dollars. One academy, twenty students; nine schools, 574 scholars. Population, 2290.--Official Returns.

BRIGHTON, about four miles and a half from Boston, is distinguished for its cattle market, and its many handsome country houses.

BROOKLINE, about four miles west of Boston, in a highly cultivated country, decked with country seats, had, in 1840, 1365 inhabitants, fourteen commercial houses, capital 70,000 dollars; seventeen retail stores, capital 50,000 dollars; and 20,000 dollars invested in manufactures; with several academies and common schools.-Official Returns.

MEDFORD, five miles from Boston, with a population of 2478 in 1840, is on the river Myster, and has ship-building yards, lumber yards, an oil mill, pottery, distillery, &c.; and had, in 1840, 117,007 dollars invested in them and a few other manufactures.

NEWTON, seven miles west from Boston, lies on a bend of Charles river, which surrounds it on three sides, and furnishes extensive water power, having two falls, at each of which is a village. The village at the Upper Falls contains two churches-one Baptist and one Methodist-a nail factory, rolling mill, machine fabric, and about seventy dwellings. The river descends thirty-five feet in half a mile, and, in one place, falls over a ledge of rocks twenty feet high. The village at the lower falls lies partly in Needham, and contains one Episcopal church, five paper mills, and about fifty dwellings. The Boston and Worcester railroad passes through it. The Newton Theological Seminary, under the direction of the Baptists, was founded in this town in 1825, and has a brick edifice eightyfive feet long, forty-nine wide, and three stories high, which cost about 10,000 dollars; three houses for professors, and a mansion house for boarding the students. It has three professors, thirty-three students, 137 graduates, and 4000 volumes in its libraries. There were in 1840 in the township fifteen stores, capital 29,600 dollars; one cotton factory, 5712 spindles, three paper factories, two grist mills. Capital in manufactures, 318,000 dollars. Four academies, 114 students, eleven schools, 509 scholars. Population, 3351.- Official Returns, U. S. Gaz.

DEDHAM, thirteen miles south-south-west from Boston, is situated on Charles river, which affords good water power. Neponset river runs on its east border, and a small stream runs from Charles river into Neponset river. The township is well cultivated, and contains four Congregational churches, one Episcopal, and one Baptist. The village is pleasantly situated on Charles river, and contains two of the Congregational churches, and the Episcopal, a granite court house, a gaol, a bank, two printing offices, and more than 100 dwellings, many of them elegant. The Boston and Providence railroad passes through the township, and a railroad from the village, two miles long, connects with it. It had, in 1840, twelve stores, capital 17,000 dollars; three woollen factories, two cotton factories, 4200 spindles, two tanneries, four grist mills, four saw mills, one paper factory, two printing offices, one weekly newspaper. Capital in manufactures, 249,700 dollars. academies, sixty-eight students, eleven schools, 725 scholars. Population, 3290.-Official Returns, U. S. Gaz.

Three

WALTHAM, ten miles west-by-north of Boston. The surface of this township is level, or gently undulated; the soil indifferent, but, being well cultivated, is rendered productive. Charles river affords water power. It contains six churches-two Congregational, one Unitarian, one Methodist, one Universalist, and one Roman Catholic. The village is pleasantly situated on a plain, with one street a mile long, and contains 150 dwellings, many of them elegant, and beautifully ornamented with trees, shrubbery, and gardens. It has cotton and woollen manufactures. There were, in 1840, in the township eleven stores, capital 29,000 dollars; three cotton factories, 11,000 spindles, one paper factory, one printing office, one weekly newspaper, two grist mills. Capital in manufactures, 463,500 dollars. Two academies, thirty-six students, nine schools, 500 scholars. Population, 2504.-Official Returns, U. S. Gaz.

QUINCY, nine miles south-by-east from Boston. The surface of this township is diversified, soil fertile, and well cultivated. It contains tracts of salt meadow. Three miles back from the bay is an elevated range, in some parts rising over 600 feet above the sea, containing an inexhaustible supply of excellent granite, which is extensively exported. A railroad extends from the quarry three miles, to tidewater on Neponset river, constructed in 1826, and was the first work of the kind in the United States. First settled in 1625. Separated from Braintree and chartered in 1792. Some vessels are owned here, employed chiefly in the fisheries. It has fifteen stores, capital 27,600 dollars; four lumber yards, capital 19,400 dollars; two tanneries, one printing office, one weekly newspaper. Capital in manufactures, 112,150 dollars. Eight academies, 137 students, six schools, 708 scholars. Population, 3486.-Official Returns, U. S. Gaz.

BRAINTREE, fourteen miles south of Boston. The surface is diversified, and the soil a fertile gravelly loam. It has considerable manufactures, and some shipping employed in the coasting trade and the fisheries. Mantiquot river affords water power. A fine qua

lity of granite is obtained here. First settled in 1625, incorporated in 1640. It had, in 1840, one Congregational and one Unitarian church. The elder President Adams was born here. It has sixteen stores, capital 24,300 dollars; one woollen factory, one cotton factory, 1000 spindles, one tannery, one paper factory, six grist mills. Capital in manufactures, 124,145 dollars. Thirteen schools, 564 scholars. Population, 2168.— Official Returns, U. S. Gaz.

LYNN, nine miles north-east of Boston. The ocean washes its south border, and in the south-east is excellent salt marsh. Watered by Saugus river. The surface is level, with rocky hills to the north. The village contains eight churches-three Methodists, two Congregational, one Friends, one Baptist, and one Universalist; two banks, besides one for savings, and an academy. The peninsula of Nahant is a rocky promontory in the ocean, connected with a smaller peninsula, called Little Nahant, by a beach, and both are connected with the shore by a beach a mile and a half long, barely sufficiently elevated not to be overflowed. A splendid hotel, containing 100 rooms, at the east end of the peninsula, receives numerous visiters in the summer season. Carriages run, and a steamboat plies between it and Boston, and the rides on the firm sandy beach are very agreeable; whilst, on the other side, the sea often roars furiously against the rocks. Lynn has long been celebrated for the manufacture of ladies' shoes, and produces over 2,500,000 pairs annually. It had, in 1840, thirty-six stores, capital 134,000 dollars; one rope factory, three grist mills, one saw mill, two printing offices, four weekly newspapers. Capital in manufactures, 408,700 dollars. Six academies, 133 students; ten schools, 1035 scholars. Population, 9367.Official Returns, U. S. Gaz.

THE COMMERCE OF BOSTON.

Boston is the commercial emporium of New England. Although no deep, great navigable rivers flow from the interior into its port or its vicinity, the people of Massachusetts have, by the construction of railroads, connected the port with the principal marts of trade, and opened a cheap, rapid, safe, and convenient means of transportation from and to the remotest parts of the state and its depôts, and thence to the principal markets and entrepôts of the north, the south, and the west, and upon the Atlantic coast, upon the rivers, and upon the lakes. The enterprise of the seaport towns carry into its warehouses the products of the fishery, and its port is the chief entrepôt of shipping, and of export north of New York. "But the principal advantage of Boston for the security of vessels, and it is one that distinguishes this port from other principal ports of our country, are its commodious docks, which are constructed with solid strength, and run far up into the city. These are bordered by continuous blocks of warehouses, either of brick or Quincy granite, which have an appearance of remarkable uniformity, solidity, and permanence. By the arrangement of these docks, the numerous vessels, whose tracery of spars and cordage line them on either side, may unship their cargoes at the very doors of the bordering warehouses, and receive in return their supplies for foreign ports with the utmost security and despatch. Indeed, the substantial appearance of these warehouses, is quite similar to the mercantile houses in the other parts of the city, which have a like solidity and massiveness in the materials of which they are built, as well as in their construction.' Commerce of Boston; by Lanman. The wharfs, or piers, of Boston are among the best and longest in the world, and afford the greatest convenience to its shipping and trade.-See Description of Boston.

COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF BOSTON FOR TWENTY YEARS, 1820 To 1839, INCLUsive.

The number of foreign arrivals during the last twenty years was as follows:-1820, 816; 1821, 854; 1822, 763; 1823, 832; 1824, 852; 1825, 817; 1826, 870; 1827, 728; 1828, 680; 1829, 663; 1830, 642; 1831, 766; 1832, 1064; 1833, 1067; 1834, 1156; 1835, 1302; 1836, 1452; 1837, 1591; 1838, 1813; 1839, 1553; from January 1, to July 31, 1840, 839; during the corresponding time of the previous year, 814-increase, 25.