In the town of Wrentham, about two miles S. E. of the meeting houfe, is a curious cavern called Wampom's Rock, from an Indian family of that name who refided in it for a number of years. It is fituated on the fouth fide of a hill, and is furrounded by a number of broken rocks. It is nearly fquare, each fide measuring about nine feet. The height is about eight feet in front, but from the center it leffens to about four feet. At prefent it ferves only as a fhelter for cattle and fleep, as do one or two other rocks or caves in the town, formerly inhabited by Indians.

Under this article we mention the falls of Powow river, which rife in New-Hampfhire, and fall into the Merrimack between Salifbury and Amefbury, in the county of Effex. At thefe falls, the defcent of the water, in the diftance of fifty rods, is one hundred feet, and in its paffage carries one bloomery, five faw mills, feven grift mills, two linfeed oil mills, one fulling mill, and one fnuff mill, befides several wheels, auxiliary to different labours. The rapid fall of the water the dams at very short distances croffing the river-the various wheels and mills arifing almoft immediately one over another-and the very irregular and grotefque fituation of the houfes and other buildings on the adjoining grounds, give this place a romantic appearance, and afford in the whole, one of the moft fingular views to be found in this country.

Lynn beach may be reckoned a curiofity. It is one mile in length, and connects the peninfula, called Nabant, with the main land, This is a place of much refort for parties of pleasure from Bofton, Charleston, Salem, and Marblehead, in the fummer feafon. The beach is used as a race ground, for which it is well calculated, being level, smooth, and hard.

PUBLIC SOCIETIES.

The focieties formed in Maffachusetts with a view to promote the benefit of mankind, exhibit a fair trait in the character of its inhabitants. Among the first literary inftitutions in this State, is the

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.

This fociety was incorporated May the 4th, 1780. It is declared in the act, that the end and defign of the inftitution is to promote and encourage the knowledge of the antiquities of America, and of the natural history of the country, and to determine the uses to which the various natural productions of the country may be applied; alfo

to promote and encourage medical difcoveries, mathematical difquifitions, philofophical inquiries and experiments; aftronomical, meteorological, and geographical obfervations; improvements in agriculture, arts, manufacture, commerce, and the cultivation of every fcience that may tend to advance a free, independent, and virtuous people. There are never to be more than two hundred members, nor lefs than forty. This fociety has four stated annual meetings.

MASSACHUSETTS CHARITABLE SOCIETY.

This fociety, incorporated December 16th, 1779, is intended for the mutual aid of themselves and families, who may be diftrcffed by any of the adverfe accidents of life, and for the comforting and relieving of widows and orphans of their deceafed members. The members of this fociety meet annually, and are not to exceed an hundred in number.

BOSTON EPISCOPAL CHARITABLE SOCIETY,

First instituted in 1724, and incorporated February 12, 1784, has for its object, charity to fuch as are of the epifcopal church, and to fuch others as the fociety fhall think fit; but more especially the relief of thofe who are members of, and benefactors to, the fociety, and afterwards become fuitable objects of its charity. The members of this fociety meet annually, and are not to exceed one hundred in number.

MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY.

This fociety was incorporated November 1ft, 1781. The defign of it is, to promote medical and furgical knowledge, inquiries into the animal economy, and the properties and effects of medicine, by encouraging a free intercourfe with the gentlemen of the faculty throughout the United States of America, and a friendly correfpondence with the eminent in those profeffions throughout the world. The number of fellows who are inhabitants of the State, cannot exceed feventy. The prefent number is fixty-one, and thirteen have died fince its eftablishment. The powers vefted in the fociety areTo choose their officers, and enact any laws for their own government which is not repugnant to the laws of the Commonwealth— To ufe a common feal-To fue and be fued-To hold real estate of the annual income of two hundred pounds, and perfonal estate of the annual income of fix hundred pounds-To elect, fufpend, expel or

disfran

disfranchise any fellows of the fociety-To defcribe and point out, from time to time, fuch a mode of medical inftruction or education as they fhall judge requifite for candidates for the practice of phyfic and furgery-To examine all candidates who fhall offer themselves for examination, respecting their skill in the profeffion-And to give letters teftimonial of their approbation to all such as may be duly qualified to practise.*

Committees are appointed in each county to receive communications from, and to correfpond with, their medical brethren who are not fellows of this fociety; and this has led to the formation of fe veral medical affociations, whofe views are to aid the laudable designs of this important inftitution.

HUMANE SOCIETY.

To evidence their humanity and benevolence, a number of the medical and other gentlemen, in the town of Boston, in 1785, formed a fociety, by the name of the HUMANE SOCIETY, for the purpose of recovering persons apparently dead, from drowning, fuffocation, ftrangling, and other accidents. This fociety, which was incorporated in 1791, have erected seven huts, furnished with wood, ftraw, cabbins, tinder boxes, blankets, &c. two on Lovel's ifland, ne on Calf ifland in Boston harbour, two on Nantasket beach, and another on Scituate beach near Marflifield, for the comfort of hipwrecked feamen. Huts of the fame kind are erected on PlumIfland, near Newbury, by the marine fociety of that place, already mentioned; and there are alfo fome contiguous to Hampton and Salisbury Beach.

At their femi-annual meetings, a public difcourfe is delivered by fome perfon appointed by the trustees for that purpose, on some medical subject connected with the principal object of the society; and as a ftimulus to investigation, and a reward of merit, a medal is adjudged annually by the prefident and truftees to the perfon who exhibits the most approved differtation.

SOCIETY FOR PROPAGATING THE GOSPEL.

This fociety, formed for the exprefs purpose of propagating the Gospel among the Indians, and others in North-America, was incor

* The qualifications required of candidates for examination, and the books reBommended by the fociety, are published in Fleet's Maffachufett's Register, A. D. 1791.

porated

porated November 19, 1787. They are enabled to receive fubfcrip tions of charitably difpofed perfons, and may take any personal estate in fucceffion. All donations to the fociety, either by fubfcriptions, legacy, or otherwise, excepting fuch as may be differently appropriated by the donors, to make a part of, or be put into the capital stock of the fociety, which is to be put out on intereft on good fecurity, or otherwife improved to the beft advantage, and the income and profits are to be applied to the purposes aforefaid, in fuch manner as the society shall judge most conducive to answer the defign of their inftitution. For feveral years past miffionaries have been appointed and supported by the fociety to vifit the eastern parts of the district of Maine, where the people are generally destitute of the means of religious inftruction, and to spend the fummer months with them. The success of these miffions have been highly fatisfactory to the fociety. Several thousand books of different kinds, fuited to the state of the people, have been purchased by the fociety's funds, and diftributed. among them and the Oneida Indians.

A part of this fociety are a board of commiffioners from the Scot's fociety for promoting Christian knowledge among the Indians in America.

MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING AGRICULTURE.

This fociety was incorporated in 1792, in confequence of which the agricultural committee of the academy is diffolved. At a late meeting of this fociety, in Bofton, a very confiderable fum of money was fubfcribed for establishing a fund to defray the expense of premiums and bounties, which may be voted by the fociety.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

A fociety was established in this State in 1791, called the HISTORICAL SOCIETY, the profeffed defign of which is to collect, preferve, and communicate materials for a complete hiftory of this country from the beginning of its fettlement.

Next to Pennsylvania, this State has the greatest number of focieties for the promotion of useful knowledge and human happiness; and as they are founded on the broad basis of BENEVOLENCE, PATRIOTISM, and CHARITY, they cannot fail to profper. These inftitutions, which are faft increafing in almost every State in the Union, are fo many evidences of the advanced and advancing state of civilization and improvement in this country, and of the excellence

of our national government. They prove likewife that a free republican government, like that of America, is the most happily calculated to promote a general diffufion of useful knowledge, and the most favourable to the benevolent and humane feelings of the human heart.

LITERATURE, COLLEGES, ACADEMIES, &c.

According to the laws of this Commonwealth, every town having fifty houfeholders or upwards, is to be provided with one or more fchool-mafters, to teach children and youth to read and write, and inftruct them in the English language, arithmetic, orthography, and decent behaviour; and where any town has two hundred families, there is alfo to be a grammar fchool fet up therein, and some difcreet perfon, well inftructed in the Latin, Greek and English languages, procured to keep the fame, and be fuitably paid by the inhabitants. The penalty for neglect of fchools in towns of fifty families is ten pounds,-thofe of one hundred families twenty pounds,of one hundred and fifty, thirty pounds.

Thefe laws refpecting schools are not fo well regarded in many parts of the State, as the wife purposes which they were intended to anfwer, and the happiness of the people require.

In Bofton there are feven public fchools, fupported wholly at the expenfe of the town, and in which the children of every clafs of citizens freely affociate. In the Latin grammar fchool the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages are taught, and boys qualified for the universities; into this fchool none are admitted till ten years of age, having been previously well instructed in English grammar. In the three English grammar fchools, the children of both fexes, from feven to fourteen years of age, are inftructed in fpelling, accenting and reading the English language, both prose and verse, with propriety, alfo in English grammar and compofition, together with the rudiments of geography; in the other three the fame children are taught writing and arithmetic. Thefe fchools are attended alternately, and each of them is furnished with an ufher or affiftant. The mafters of these schools have each a falary of fix hundred and fixtyfix and two-thirds dollars per annum, payable quarterly.

They are all under the immediate care of a committee of twenty-one gentlemen, for the time being, chofen annually, whose duty it is "to vifit the fchools at least once in three months, to examine the scholars in the various branches in which they are taught, to devise

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