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come. The manner of life and simplicity of behavi our of this happy family, resemble the stories of the patriarchs that we read in the Bible. He draws his whole support from the farm; he is surrounded by a number of children, who assist by their labour to increase the common stock. The sons catch codfish and salmon, besides ploughing and sowing, and tending the cattle. The mother and daughters not only spin all the linen they use, but also make the shoes for the family, out of the hides of the cattle they kill for sale. The good old man and his wife were determined to make a feast for the strangers; so a lamb was presently condemned, and a joint of it served for supper. The sideboard was supplied with beer, brewed from the twigs of the spruce fir-tree; and grog, which is a mixture of rum and water, a very common beverage wherever we go. After supper they amused us with an account of their employments, in reply to Mr. Franklin's questions concerning the dairy, the farm, the fishery, and the orchard. Every season brings with it something new, and they seem so affectionate to one another, and so happy,. I was ready to envy them. I went to bed full of this pleasing scene, and dreamt of you and my sisters cultivating a little farm with me. I awoke, and the vast Atlantic rolled between us. I felt our separation, and rose out of spirits. The cheerful conversation of the farmer and his family

chaced

chaced away dull thoughts; and the hour of depar ture obliging us to take leave. we mounted our horses and renewed our journey. Adieu.

ARTHUR MIDDLETON.

LETTER XXVIII.

Mr. Franklin to Edwin Middleton.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIEND,

Penobscot.

THE variety of scenes that succeed each other in our rambles through different parts of this extensive continent, will, I hope, in the repetition, amuse some of your leisure hours at home.

The latter part of our journey hither, through a portion of the district of Maine, has been amidst a wild country, where the poverty of the inhabitants. is apparent, from the wretched log-houses they live in, and the few accommodations they possess. We have frequently taken shelter from the night, where our host could neither procure us rum, sugar, meat, or any bread, but a soft kind of paste, made of rye and Indian corn, that an English sportsman would scarcely think good enough for his dogs. A succession of small fishing towns border the coast. The views round Penobscot Bay are agreeable, and

enlivened

enlivened by the different aspects of numerous islets, most of them inhabited by fishermen, whose boats, scattered on the bosom of the water, complete the animation of the scene.

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The treasures of the sea are so easily procured, that they neglect to cultivate the land, and are contented to live in miserable huts, ill provided with clothes or food. People thus indifferent to private comfort, are not likely to attend to public accommodation; the roads, accordingly, are very indifferent, and are often obstructed by rocks and roots of trees. The silver fir grows plentifully in this district, especially near North Yarmouth; as do the red oak, the white oak, and another species that seldom exceeds fifteen feet in height. The black fir, the Weymouth pine, the red cedar, the common fir, the red maple, the Pennsylvanian ash, the black birch, and the dwarf birch, are also common. Wood pigeons, and squirrels of different kinds, abound in the woods; the former emigrate in prodigious swarms to the southward, on the ap proach of winter. Bears and wolves are rather numerous. We lately met a large bear within a mile of a village; he crossed the road fearlessly. Arthur imprudently pursued him. The bear not being pressed with hunger, ran away with great speed.

Either religion is at a low ebb, or civilization is but little advanced, as I could hear of no building erected for public worship throughout the pro

vince. These people enjoy a healthy climate, and frequently attain a great age, though medical men are very scarce amongst them.

We are now stationed in the only place that de serves the name of a town. It is called Penobscot, and contains about a thousand houses.

We were rather surprised yesterday to reconnoitre our old acquaintance, the sea captain, who travelled with us in the stage waggon between New York and Boston. The pleasure of meeting seemed mutual; and as he was just arrived from Nantucket, we were the more earnest to engage him to dine with us, that we might hear news of our faithful Sancho.

He told us that our friend, (for his fidelity and gratitude entitle him to that appellation,) was likely to do very well, having already found continual employment in his trade of a cooper; and as he exceeded in neatness of workmanship, punctuality, and industry, there was no fear but he would gain a competency, which was all that could be desired. in Nantucket, where the inhabitants are remarkable for the simplicity of their behaviour and the moderation of their desires. The wealthiest amongst them make no display of their riches, luxury being unknown in the island: no coaches, no finery, or grand houses, but every one enjoys his gains in the comforts of life, and sharing them with his neighbours.

He described the island as a barren, sandy spot,

that

that appears to be the summit of a huge mountain, which extends under the water. It is covered here and there with sorrel, grass, a few cedarbushes, and scrubby oaks. The swamps yield peat, which is valuable for firing; and the ponds and lakes are covered with wild fowl and black ducks. The shores abound with the soft-shelled, the hard shelled, and the great sea-clams, a most nutritious shell-fifh. Fishing is the principal diversion of these islanders, and contributes materially to their support. The most common fish are the streaked bass, the blue fish, the tom-cod, the mackarel, the tewtag, the herring, the flounder, and the eel. The sea supplies their riches and employments. Few of the inhabitants devote themselves to the cultivation of the ground, though many of them possess pastures for sheep, and a cow or two, which their wives take charge of, whilst they are gone on fishing expeditions in distant latitudes. This general description of Nantucket did not fully satisfy Arthur, who was impatient to hear the particulars of Sancho's situation. The captain replied to his enquiries on this subject in the following words: "The little money with which your bounty favoured Sancho, has enabled him to procure a house conveniently situated near the seashore. It is a neat, comfortable habitation, painted on the outside with ochre, brought from a neighbouring island, called Martha's Vineyard, where a promontory, known by the name of Gay-Head, yields

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