USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Westport > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Dartmouth > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 10
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 10
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On Friday, August 7, 1807, commenced the " New Bedford Mercury," now one of the oldest newspapers in New England. In the spring of
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that year, upon a certain day, a tall and well-dressed young man, erect in person, with cane in hand, stepped briskly into the office of the old Marine In- surance Company, at the corner of Elm and 'Wa- ter streets, and inquired for a person with whom he had had some correspondence in relation to the establishment of a newspaper in New Bedford; the "Columbian Courier," as it will be remem- bered, having ceased on March 1,1805. This gen- tleman was Benjamin Lindsey, Sen., of Boston ; and the interview with the gentleman he sought, who was Joseph Ricketson, Sen., appears to have been satisfactory, as the first number of the Mer- cury was issued, as before stated, in the following August.
Mr. Lindsey was a man of great energy and in- dustry, an editor of the old school. His constant devotion to his profession much impaired his health, and for many of his last years, as remembered by the writer, he bore the appearance of a valetudi- narian; but he retained his quick step and industri- ous habits to the last. His appearance was remark- ably editorial, but decidedly of the olden time, and like his predecessor, John Spooner, of the Franklin school of printers. The New Bedford Mercury during his editorship was of the Federal school of politics, and was ever one of the most consistent and able journals in the State. During the latter part of his life, he was assisted by his eldest son, the present editor, who established the Daily Mercury, not without the distrust of his father for its success, in 1831.
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At present there are three newspaper establish- ments in this city : the Mercury, daily, semi-week- ly, and weekly ; the Standard, daily and weekly ; and the Times, weekly.
Mr. Lindsey was a practical printer, having learned his trade in Boston. He was born in Mar- blehead, Mass., and died in New Bedford, November 10, 1831, in his 54th year. He was a man of sound judgment, exemplary virtue, unobtrusive in his manners, and died much respected by his fellow- citizens.
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CHAPTER XIII.
RECAPITULATION IN PART OF FORMER MATTERS -PAR- TIAL GENEALOGY OF THE RUSSELL FAMILY -OLD PRO- PRIETORS-CASES OF LONGEVITY, &C.
ALTHOUGH I have given this work the title of a History of New Bedford, I have included consid- erable which more properly belongs to the old town- ship of Dartmouth, of which New Bedford is but a part, the old township having been divided in the year 1787, as before stated; and that territory, once known only as Dartmouth, included the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, New Bedford and Fairhaven. The two latter were until the year 1812 one township, under the name of New Bed- ford, at which time Fairhaven was separately in- corporated.
The first settlement of Dartmouth, so far as I have been able to ascertain from a diligent exam- ination of the old records, was made at "Russell's Mills," by Ralph Russell, soon after the purchase of the Indian chiefs, Wasamequin and his son Wamsutta, by. William Bradford and others, as per deed dated "New Plymouth, November 29th, 1652," a copy of which will be found in my first chapter. Here, upon the west bank of the Pasca- manset river, in a beautiful and picturesque region, came the ancestor of the Russell family, the afore- said Ralph Russell, who, as before stated, had been engaged with Henry and James Leonard in the
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iron manufacture at Raynham. In an account of the early settlement of Braintree, Mass., given in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, mention is made of a company of iron man- ufacturers, who having heard of the facilities for obtaining their ore, had emigrated to that place for the purpose of establishing their business, but were disappointed in the result. Of this company, the said Russell and Leonards moved to Raynham in the year 1652, and established their business on what is known as the "Two Mile River." They
originally came from Pontipool, Monmouthshire, Eng., a place still noted for its iron manufacture. Ralph Russell was probably an elderly man at the time he emigrated from Taunton to Dartmouth, and must have died soon afterwards, as the name of John Russell, Sen., who was undoubtedly his son, appears first in the early records of the town- ship as a proprietor. The remains of the old iron- forge established by Ralph Russell are still to be seen at Russell's Mills.
There were thirty-six original purchasers of the township of old Dartmouth, among whom was Capt. Miles Standish, whose portion was purchased by John Russell, as per deed from Edward Gray, attorney to Miles Standish, dated "March ye 9th, 1664."
In the year 1665, Dartmouth was represented for the first time at the General Court at Plymouth, by John Russell.
" John Russell, Sen., died ye 13th day of Feby, 1694-5. Dorothy Russell, wife of John Russell,
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Sen., died ye 18th day of December, 1687." Dart- mouth Records.
His age is not given, but he was undoubtedly an old man, as it will be remembered he was the representative in 1665, and was probably born in England.
"Joseph Russell, son of John Russell, Sen., was born ye 6th day of May in ye year 1650, and died December 11, 1739, in the 90th year of his age.
Elizabeth Russell, ye wife of Joseph Russell, Sen., was born ye 6th day of March, 1657, and died 25th September, 1737."
Joseph Russell and John Russell, twin brothers,who were born in the garrison on the east side of Appo- neganset River, the remains of which are still to be seen, "ye sons of Joseph Russell and Elizabeth his wife, were born ye 22d of ye month called November, in ye year 1679."
"John Russell, Jun., deceased ye 20th day of March, in ye year 1695-6." ,
John Russell, twin brother of Joseph Russell, married Rebecca, daughter of William and Eliza- beth Ricketson, 2d mo. 26th, 1704.
Joseph Russell, 1st, son of the aforesaid John Russell, Sen., settled within what is now the limits of the city of New Bedford. His house stood near the site of the "Tyson house," now owned by Capt. John A. Delano. The original well which belonged to his house is now in the cellar of said Tyson house, and is still in use.
Joseph Russell, 2d, twin brother of John, lived on County street near the head of Walnut street.
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His house was standing within the memory of some of the oldest inhabitants, lately deceased, and the well of the same, still in use, is between the residences of Capt. Caleb Anthony and Barton Ricketson.
There is a confirmatory title of land, dated 25th May, 1711, conveying to Joseph Russell, Jr. (2d,) his homestead, made by Her Majesty's (Queen Anne's) Justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions for the County of Bristol : Samuel Hammond, Benjamin Hammond, and Benjamin Crane, sur- veyors.
Joseph Russell, 3d, the fourth son of the forego- ing Joseph Russell, 2d, and Mary his wife, whom I have before mentioned as the founder of New Bedford, was born, a's is supposed in the house of his father, near the head of Walnut street, 10th mo. 8th, 1719, and died at his house, near the head of William street, 10th mo. 16th, 1804, aged 85 years.
Caleb Russell, Sen., whose house is still standing upon the south part of County street, and Abraham Russell, the grandfather of the late Seth and Charles Russell, merchants, of New Bedford, were also sons of Joseph Russell, Jr. (2d,) and Mary his wife.
Judith, the wife of Joseph Russell, 3d, and daughter of Barnabas and Rebekah Howland, was born 1st mo. 14th, 1725, O. S. They were married 5th mo. 29th, 1744, O. S. She died 2d mo. 26th, 1807, in her 82d year. Their children were as follows: Barnabas, born 3d mo. 26th, 1745, O. S .;
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Rebekah, born 2d mo. 30th, 1747, O. S .; Patience, born 1st mo. 10th, 1749, O. S .; Martha, 12th mo. 14th, 1751, O. S .; Elizabeth, 8th mo. 1st, 1753, O, S .; Abraham, born 2d mo. 25th, 1756, O. S .; Humphrey, born 5th mo. 25th, 1758, O. S .; Gilbert, born 5th mo. 2d, 1760, O. S .; Mary, born 11th mo, 9th, 1763, O. S .; Judith, born 11th mo. 26th, 1765, O. S .; Joseph, born 12th mo. 13th, 1768, O. S.
Joseph Russell, 3d, was a man of medium stature, and of rather slender figure. He wore the old-fash- ioned costume of the Society of Friends, of which he was a strict member: the long-skirted coat, long waistcoat, and knee-breeches, with buckles in his shoes, or top boots, and a three-cornered hat. His hair, even in his latter years, was thick, and of dark color mixed with gray, his eyebrowsremarkably heavy, and the general expression of his counte- nance stern, though at times he could enter into the spirit of humor. He was much devoted to the principles of the Society of Friends, and in reading the Bible aloud, as was his usual custom, he adopted the peculiar tone of the preachers of his sect. He was a man of great industry, prudence, and enterprise, and of strict integrity of character, a large farmer, an extensive landholder, and, as before stated, the originator of the whale-fishery and the manufacture of spermaceti candles in New Bedford. He was very hospitable, and his house, as were those of his ancestors, was the head- quarters of travelling Friends and other strangers. He gave, as before mentioned, the Society of Friends the lot of land on Spring street upon which
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the brick meeting-house stands. His wife was a notable housekeeper, and, although very wealthy people, all her daughters were thoroughly trained in domestic duties, and in their turn became worthy representatives of their mother.
That Joseph Russell was a man of much presa ence of mind, the following incident in his life will show. He was the owner of Gooseberry Neck, a piece of land which lies in the present township of Westport, near the mouth of Buzzard's Bay, and of which I have previously spoken in my account of this bay. This rocky promontory is completely insulated at high water, and after a heavy blow from the south-west, with the huge Atlantic bil- lows dashing against it, presents one of the sublimest scenes upon our coast. Having crossed over to this place on horseback, he remained there some time, and on his return found the tide had come in so much that he was obliged to swim his horse; but the current setting in very strong, and the distance being considerable, he found when part way over that his horse would not be able to proceed much farther with him upon his back. In this critical situation, he remembered to have read in the journal of Thomas Richardson, one of the early Friends, of a similar circumstance happening ;o him while fording a stream, who, by slipping off the back of his horse and holding on to his tail, was safely carried over. He at once adopted this expedient, and with like success. A sketch of a similar character may be seen in one of the tail- pieces of Bewick's "Illustrated Natural History."
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The oil-factory of Joseph Russell, of which I have before spoken as the first in New Bedford, and which was burnt by the British in 1778, stood on the north side of "Centre street square." The art of refining spermaceti was at this time known to but few, and by these kept a profound secret. Captain Chafee, of whom I have also spoken as being employed by Mr. Russell for this purpose, while at work was shut up by himself, lest any one should discover the art.
According to Macy's History of Nantucket, the manufacture of spermaceti candles was not intro- duced there until the year 1772. From the same source I learn that "the first manufactory of sperm candles in this country was established in Rhode Island, a little previous to 1750, by Benjamin Crab, an Englishman." In 1753 Obadiah Brown erect- ed candle-works at Tockwotten, now India Point, Providence, and engaged the above Benjamin Crab to conduct the business. After this, in 1754 or '55, Moses Lopez engaged in the same business at New York, and was soon followed by Collins & Reveria, Aaron Lopez, Thomas Robinson, and others. Obadiah Brown in 1753 manufactured about three hundred barrels, which was nearly all that was in that year saved separate from body oil, and not sent to England. He was disappointed of the information which he expected to receive from Crab, and was obliged to learn the secret of refining by his own experiments. In 1761 there were eight manufactories in New England, and one in Philadelphia.
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In the year 1770, Joseph Russell and his son Bar- nabas, who were in partnership, owned, in addition to several whaling vessels, a number of other ves- sels trading to southern ports and the West India Islands. They also kept a store, and imported goods from London, by the way of Boston, and their West India goods in their own vessels. To the time of the Revolutionary War their business was in a very flourishing state. During the war their vessels were taken; and their losses by the de- preciation of the continental paper money left them at its close but little beside their real estate.
The following table of the depreciation of pa- per currency during the Revolutionary War is cop- ied from a memorandum, in remarkably neat pen- manship, by Lydia Tallman,* afterwards the wife of Gilbert Russell, made by her at the age of 17 years.
"1777, January 1, 100 Spanish milled dollars equal to 100 dollars paper currency; February 1, 100 do. equal to 107 do .; March 1, 100 do. equal to 109 do .; April 1, 100 do. equal to 112 do .; May 1, 100 do. equal to 115 do .; June 1, 100 do. equal to 120 do .; July 1, 100 do. equal to 125 do .; Au- gust 1, 100 do. equal to 150 do .; September 1, 100 do. equal to 175 do .; October 1, 100 do. equal to 275 do .; November 1, 100 do. equal to 300 do .; December 1, 100 do. equal to 310 do. 1778, Jan- uary 1, 100 do. equal to 325 do .; February 1, 100 do. equal to 350 do .; March 1, 100 do. equal to 375 do .; April 1, 100 do. equal to 400 do .; May 1, 100
* An account of a journey this lady made on horseback from Bed- ford to Nine Partners, Dutchess County, N. Y., with her brother Seth Tallman, her future husband Gilbert Russell, and his father Joseph Russell, will be found in the next chapter.
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do. cqual to 400 do .; June 1, 100 do. equal to 400 do .; July 1, 100 do. equal to 425 do. 1779, Jan- uary 1, 100 do. equal to 742 do .; February 1, 100 do. equal to 868 do .; March 1, 100 do. equal to 1000 do .; April 1, 100 do. equal to 1104 do .; May 1, 100 do. equal to 1215 do .; June 1, 100 do. equal to 1342 do .; July 1, 100 do. equal to 1477 do .; Au- gust 1, 100 do. equal to 1630 do .; September 1, 100 do. equal to 1800 do .; October 1, 100 do. equal to 2030 do .; November 1, 100 do. equal to 2308 do .; December 1, 100 do. equal to 2593 do. 1780, Jan- uary 1, 100 do. equal to 2934 do .; February 1, 100 do. equal to 3322 do .; March 1, 100 do. equal to 3736 do .; April 1, 100 do. equal to 4000 do."
The original proprietors of land on the west side of the Acushnet River, beginning at Clark's Point and following the County road to the Head of the River in order, were as follows:
1. Benjamin Allen, who owned the whole of Clark's Point and as far north as the brow of the hill leading down to Clark's Cove.
2. Joseph Russell, Sen. (1st.)
3. Joseph Russell, Jr. (2d.) They were both living in 1711, father and son.
4. Manasseh Kempton.
5. Samuel Willis.
6. Stephen Peckham, whose land extended from Willis's north line (south side of Linden street) northwardly to the " Russell farm," now owned by the heirs of the late Timothy G. Coffin; including the Coggeshall and Tallman farms, the latter now owned by Willard Nye and Charles R. Tucker. The old Peckham house stood a little to the south- west of the entrance gate to "Woodlee," the
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residence of the latter-named person. The old cellar has been filled; but the well still remains.
7. John Hathaway, whose land extended from the north line of the "Russell farm" to a little north of the farm of the late Captain William Hathaway, now the property of Benjamin B. Covell.
8. The Wrightingtons, who owned from the Hathaway line to the Head of the River, including the land of the village of Acushnet on both sides of the river. The Swifts early in the last century purchased of the Wrightingtons. Upon a stone in the old graveyard at Acushnet is the following inscription : " In memory of Dea. Jireh Swift, who departed this life March ye 16th, 1782, in the 75th year of his age." This was the grandfather of the late Jireh Swift, Sen., of Acushnet, who died recently at an advanced age.
It will be seen by the above statement that the land upon which New Bedford is built originally belonged, as described, to the Russells, the Kemp- tons, and the Willises; and a portion of the descendants of these old proprietors are land- holders in their respective localities at the present day.
I find, upon a further examination of the old surveys of Benjamin Crane, that all the land lying upon the west side of the Acushnet road, from Stephen Peckham's north line to the road leading over Tarkiln Hill, (which was called the "Rhode Island Way," being the road from Plymouth to Newport,) and west for a long distance, and to the
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Acushnet River on the east, was originally owned by John Hathaway. His house, a large old- fashioned, gambrel-roofed mansion, stood until within a few years near the corner of the "Nash road," a little to the east of the present residence of Thomas Nash.
The old Wrightington house, a part of the cellar and wall of which are still to be seen, stood upon a knoll a little to the north of the residence of Thaddeus M. Perry, on the Acushnet road.
The following is a copy of an old paper without date; but the account being in sterling currency, and the name of Joseph Rotch, Jr., who died in Bristol, England, previous to the Revolution, place it at an early date :
Estimate of the expense of 75 rods of stone wall made each side of King street, proportioned among the proprietors of Bedford by Bartholomew Taber, Thomas Hathaway and Jethro Hathaway, amounting to £29 2, L. Moy, to be collected by Joseph Rotch, Jr., and William Tallman, and paid to Joseph Russell, viz. :
Joseph Rotch & Son, accountable for
£19 7
Remains to be collected of the following proprietors by William Tallman, viz .:
John Akins,
£
7
Jeremiah Childs,
5
Jesse Crossman,
9
Isaac Fish,
7
Isaac Howland,
1
Edward Hudson,
12
John Lowden,
1
William Macomber,
3
Joseph Russell, 2
Barnabas Russell,
15
Carried forward,
£6 18
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Brought up,
£6 18
£19 7
7
10
15
18
Benjamin Baker,
6
9 14
Lawful money,
£29 1
The late William Tallman, son of the one men- tioned in the above account, remembered when a boy of riding down King street on horseback and finding it difficult to get along owing to the stones. The writer, a few years before the death of this old gentleman, met him in the hardware store of his son, William Tallman, Jr., who, in a reply to a re- mark upon the great variety of tools and cutlery to be found at the present time, told the following anecdote to show the contrast to the days of his boyhood. A son of William Ricketson was sent by his father to the blacksmith's to have a horse shod, with the money to pay for it. On the return home with the horse, the father upon inquiry found a penny missing, and that his son had spent it at the blacksmith's in the purchase of a jewsharp: " Ah," said the old man, "these blacksmith's shops are lick-penny places." "Lick-penny places" in- deed! What would the simple-hearted old man say at the extravagance of the present day ?
A grist-mill belonging to Joseph Russell former- ly stood at the head of Main street. It was here when the house of Abraham Russell was raised, 6th July, 1803, and stood a short distance in the rear of the same.
In the latter part of the last century, or the first of the present, Abraham Russell established the
Daniel Ricketson, Daniel Smith, William Tallman, Benjamin Taber,
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first line of stage-coaches between New Bedford and Boston. At this time there was no one in New Bedford who had seen four horses harnessed, except the wife of Mr. Russell, who was a Phila- delphia lady, and the harnesses were brought into her kitchen and laid upon the floor, for her to instruct the coachman the way of arranging them upon the horses. As the road had only been used by foot-passengers or by travellers on horseback, it was necessary to cut off the branches of the trees that overhung the road. The late Miss Hannah West, the daughter of Samuel West, D. D., who lived in the house still standing a little beyond the hill at Acushnet, seeing men lopping off the limbs of some fine trees near their house, was at first quite shocked at the seeming outrage, but on be- ing informed of the great object in view, that the Boston stage-coach could pass, she became quite reconciled. At this period, as we read in the old " Medley " newspaper, one mail per week only was received from Boston.
The following list of aged persons within a circuit of two miles from. New Bedford, in a population not exceeding 20,000 inhabitants, was made by the late Elisha Hathaway, of Boston, a native of New Bedford, in the month of September, 1848:
Years.
Years.
Elizabeth Kempton,
95
Cornelius Grinnell,
90
Noah Stoddard,
94
William Rotch, Jr.,
88
Widow Winslow,
94
James Shearman,
88
Elizabeth Peckham,
92
Bethiah Russell,
87
Rhoda West,
91 William Tallman,
87
Nicholas Taber,
91 Betsey Fuller,
87
Seth Tallman,
90 Benjamin Butler,
87
Elizabeth Rodman,
90 Samuel Borden,
86
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Years.
Years,
Lois Perry,
86
Rhoda Howland,
82
Humphrey Hathaway's widow, 86
Charlotte Brightman,
82
Elizabeth Taber,
86
Susan Delano,
82
Sarah Russell,
85
David Howland,
82
Samuel Tripp,
85
Barnabas Taber,
82
Edith Russell,
85
Ruth Smith,
81
Susan Taber,
84
Mary 'Taber,
81
Abigail Hathaway,
84
William Holmes,
81
Phebe Meader,
83
John Slocum,
81
Job Akin,
83
Widow Cornell,
80
Elijah Kempton,
83
Pamela Willis,
80
Isaac Negus,
83 Desire Howland,
80
Richard Johnson,
88
Judah Butler,
80
Manasseh Kempton,
83
Francis Taber,
80
Abigail Perry,
82
Abraham Allen,
80
Abraham Pierce,
82 Lydia Foster,
80
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Miss Rebecca Spooner, who was born on Scon- ticut Neck April 12th, 1762, O. S., now in her 97th year, possessing her mind but little impaired, and enjoying a good degree of health, resides at Oxford village, Fairhaven.
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CHAPTER XIV.
THE MODE OF TRAVELLING IN OLDEN TIMES-SKETCHES OF TWO JOURNEYS ON HORSEBACK, ONE OF WHICH BREAKS OFF RATHER SUDDENLY - REMINISCENCES OF OLD CITIZENS.
IN my last chapter I mentioned a journey on horse- back made by Miss Lydia Tallman. When a young woman, during the Revolutionary War, she accompanied her brother, Seth Tallman, her future husband, Gilbert Russell, and his father, Joseph Russell, from Bedford to Nine Partners, Dutchess County, New York, thence via Albany to Saratoga; passing through Rhode Island and Connecticut going, and returning through the western and middle parts of Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, making a journey of between four and five hundred miles, the last day of which they rode fifty miles. How many young ladies, think ye, of the present day, even with the advantages of riding-schools, can excel this? The roads at this time, too, were not what they now are, and a considerable part of the way was through a wild and unsettled country, covered with the primeval woods.
It is pleasant to revert to those days of healthful simplicity; and for a moment let us indulge in a picture of this old-fashioned equestrian party. The place of rendezvous for starting would probably be from the house of the elder member of the company, which, it will be remembered, stood near
167
the County road, a little to the south-east of the residence of Charles W. Morgan, and near a white mulberry tree, still to be seen there. This journey had undoubtedly been long the subject of conver- sation, particularly with the young people, and was not undertaken without due consideration. The time of their journey, though not known, was probably in the spring or early summer. The day of their departure having been duly fixed upon, bright and early the young lady, with her fresh and handsome countenance, which she always retained, accompanied by her lover and brother, mounted upon their sleek and well-fed horses, might have been seen proceeding at a brisk trot from her father's house, at the corner of Main and Third streets, to join their elder companion and guide, whom we may conclude they found already mounted at the appointed time before his own door. The usual farewells being made, the young lady already in the advance, they cheerfully com- mence their journey up the old County road. Behind each saddle are the leathern bags which contain their luggage. The gentlemen with smart top-boots and spurs, three-cornered beaver hats, and genteel Quaker costume throughout, the young lady with a neat and tasteful though simple travelling dress, with pieces of gold quilted into her skirt for security, and hood, all made by her own hands; thus equipped, we may infer they presented quite a janty appearance for the occasion. The old woods re- echoed to the hearty laughter and the good-humored
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