different States in which they principally purfue their courfe, or take their rife.

POPULATION, CHARACTER, AND DIVERSIONS.

New-England is the most populous part of the United States. It contained, according to the cenfus of 1790, one million nine thou fand five hundred and twenty-two fouls; its prefent number of inhabitants amounts at least to one million three hundred thoufand. The great body of thefe are landholders and cultivators of the foil, and as they poffefs, in fee fimple, the farms which they cultivate, they are na turally all attached to their country; the cultivation of the foil makes them robust and healthy, and enables them to defend it.

New-England may with propriety be called a nursery of men, whence are annually tranfplanted, into other parts of the United States, thousands of its natives. Vaft numbers of them, fince the war, have emigrated into the northern parts of New-York, into Kentucky, and the Western Territory, and into Georgia; and fome are scattered into every State, and every town of note in the Union.

The inhabitants of New-England are almoft univerfally of Englifl defcent; and it is owing to this circumftance, and to the great and general attention that has been paid to education, that the Engli language has been preferved among them fo free of corruption.

The New-Englanders are generally tall, ftout, and well built; they glory, and perhaps with justice, in poffeffing that fpirit of freedom which induced their ancestors to leave their native country, to brave the dangers of the ocean, and the hardships of settling in a wildernefs. Their education, laws, and fituation, ferve to infpire them with high notions of liberty. Their jealoufy is awakened at the first motion towards an invafion of their rights. They are, indeed, often jealous to excefs; a circumftance which is a fruitful fource of imaginary grievances, and of groundless fufpicions and complaints against government. But thefe ebullitions of jealoufy, though cenfurable, and productive of fome political evils, fhew that the effence of true liberty exifts in New-England; for jealoufy is a guardian of liberty, and a characteristic of free republicans. A chief foundation of liberty and equality in the New-England States is a law by which inteftate eftates defcend to all the children, or other heirs, in equal proportion, except to the eldest fon, who has two fhares. In 1789, Maffachusetts abolished this exception. In confequence of thefe laws, the people of New-England enjoy an equality of condition un

known

known in any other part of the world and it is in this way that the people have preferved that happy mediocrity among themselves, which, by inducing economy and industry, removes from them temptations to luxury, and forms them to habits of fobriety and temperance. At the fame time, their induftry and frugality exempt them from want, and from the neceffity of fubmitting to any encroachments on their liberties.

In New-England, learning is more generally diffused among all ranks of people than in any other part of the globe; arifing from the excellent establishment of fchools in almost every township.-In these schools, which are generally fupported by a public tax, and under the direction of a fchool committee, are taught the elements of reading, writing, arithmetic, and in the more wealthy towns, they have introduced the higher branches of grammar, geography, &c.

A very valuable fource of information to the people is the newf papers, of which not less than thirty thousand are printed every week in New-England, and circulated in almost every town and village in the country.*

A person of mature age, who cannot both read and write, is rarely to be found. By means of this general establishment of schools, the extenfive circulation of newspapers, and the confequent fpread of learning, every township throughout the country is furnished with men capable of conducting the affairs of their town with judgment and difcretion. Thefe men are the channels of political information to the lower clafs of people; if fuch a class may be said to exist in New-England, where every man thinks himself at least as good as his neighbour, and believes that all mankind are, or ought to be, equal. The people, from their childhood, form habits of canvaffing public affairs, and commence politicians. This naturally leads them to be very inquifitive. It is with knowledge as with riches, the more a man has, the more he wishes to obtain; his defire has no bounds. This defire after knowledge, in a greater or less degree, prevails throughout all claffes of people in New-England; and from their various modes of expreffing it, fome of which are blunt and familiar, bordering on impertinence, ftrangers have been

* According to an accurate cftimate lately made, it appears that no less than seventyfeven thousand newspapers are printed weekly in the American States, which, in a year, would amount to upwards of four millions, and at four cents each would make one hundred and fixty thousand dollars.

induced

induced to mention impertinent inquifitiveness as a distinguishing characteristic of the New-England people. But this is true only with regard to that clafs of people, who, confined to domeftic life, have not had an opportunity of mingling with the world; and fuch people are not peculiar to New-England; they compofe a great part of the community of every state and country.

Before the late war, which introduced into New-England a flood of corruptions, with many improvements, the Sabbath was obferved with great frictnefs; no unneceffary travelling, no fecular bufinefs, no vifiting, no diverfions were permitted on that day. They confidered it as confecrated to divine worship, and were ge nerally punctual and ferious in their attendance upon it. Their laws were ftrict in guarding the Sabbath againft every innovation. The fuppofed feverity with which thefe laws were compofed and executed, together with fome other traits in their religious character, have acquired for the New-Englanders, the name of a fuperftitious, bigoted people.. But fuperftition and bigotry are fo indefinite in their fignifications, and fo varioufly applied by perfons of different principles and educations, that it is not eafy to determine whether they ever deserved that character. Leaving every person to enjoy his own opinion in regard to this matter, we only obferve, that, fince the war, a CATHOLIC TOLERANT SPIRIT, Occafioned by a more ENLARGED INTERCOURSE with mankind, has greatly increased, and is becoming univerfal; and if they do not break the proper bound, and liberalize away all true religion, they will counteract that ftong propenfity in human nature, which leads men to vibrate from one extreme to its oppofite, and gain the approbation of Every well-wisher of the rights of mankind.

There is one diftinguishing characteristic in the religious character of this people, which we must not omit mentioning; and that is, the cuftom of annually celebrating Fafts and Thanksgivings. In the fpring, the governors of the feveral New-England States, except Rhode-Ifland, iffue their proclamations, appointing a day to be religioufly obferved in fafting, humiliation, and prayer throughout their respective States, in which the predominating vices, that particularly call for humiliation, are enumerated. In autumn, after harveft, that gladfome era in the hufbandman's life, the governors again iffue their proclamations, appointing a day of public thanksgiving, enumerating the public bleffings received in the course of the foregoing year.

This pious cuftom originated with their venerable ancestors, the firft fettlers of New-England, and has been handed down through the fucceffive generations of their pofterity. A custom fo rational, and fo happily calculated to cherish in the minds of the people a fenfe of their dependence on the GREAT BENEFACTOR of the world for all their bleflings, it is hoped will ever be preferved.

The people of New-England generally obtain their eftates by hard. and perfevering labour: they of confequence know their value, and fpend with frugality. Yet in no country do the indigent and unfortunate fare better. Their laws oblige every town to provide a competent maintenance for their poor, and the neceffitous stranger is protected, and relieved by their humane inftitutions. It may in truth be faid, that in no part of the world are the people happier, better furnished with the neceffaries and conveniencies of life, or more independent, than the farmers of New-England. As the great body of the people are hardy, independent freeholders, their manners are, as they ought to be, congenial to their employment, plain, fimple, and unpolished. Strangers are received and entertained among them with a great deal of artless fincerity, and friendly, unformal hofpitality. Their children, thofe imitative creatures, to whofe education particular attention is paid, early imbibe the manners and habits of thofe around them; and the ftranger, with pleafure, notices the honest and decent respect that is paid him by the children as he paffes through the country.

As the people, by representation, make their own laws and ap point their own officers, they cannot be oppreffed; and living under governments which have few lucrative places, they have few motives to bribery, corrupt canvaffings, or intrigue. Real abilities and a moral character unblemished are the qualifications requifite in the view of most people, for officers of public trust. The expreffion of a wifh to be promoted, is, in fome parts of New-England, the direct way to be difappointed.

The inhabitants, in fome parts of New England, are generally fond of the arts and sciences, and have cultivated them with great fuccefs. Their colleges have flourished. The illuftrious characters they have produced, who have diftinguished themselves in politics, law, divinity, the mathematics, and philofophy, natural and civil hiftory, and in the fine arts, particularly poetry, evince the truth of thefe obfervations.

The

The women in New-England generally have fair, fresh, and healthful countenances, mingled with much female foftness and delicacy. Those who have had the advantages of a good education, and they are numerous, are genteel, eafy, and agreeable in their manners, and are sprightly and sensible in their converfation. They are early taught to manage domeftic concerns with neatness and economy. Women of the first rank and fortune make it a part of their daily bu nels to fuperintend the affairs of the family. Employment at the needle, cookery, and at the spinning wheel, with them is honourable. Idlenefs, even in thofe of independent fortunes, is univerfally difreputable. The women in country towns manufacture the greatest part of the cloathing of their families. Their linen and woollen cloths are strong and decent. Their butter and cheese is not inferior to any in the world.

Dancing is the principal and favourite amufement in New-England; and of this the young people of both fexes are extremely fond. Gaming is practifed by none but those who cannot, or rather will not, find a reputable employment. The gamefter, the horse jockey, and the knave, are equally defpifed, and their company is avoided by all who would fuftain fair and irreproachable characters.

The athletic and healthy diverfions of cricket, foot ball, quoits, wrestling, jumping, hopping, foot races, and prifon bars, are univerfally practifed in the country, and some of them in the most populous places, and by people of almost all ranks.

Squirrel-hunting is a noted diversion in country places, where this kind of game is plenty: fome divert themselves with fox-hunting, and others with the more profitable sports of fishing and duck-hunting; and in the frontier fettlements where deer and fur game abound, the inha bitants make a lucrative fport of hunting them. In the winter feafon, while the ground is covered with fnow, which is commonly two or three months, fleighing is the general diverfion. A great part of the families throughout the country are furnished with horses and fleighs.

HISTORY OF ITS SETTLEMENT, &c. New-England was discovered in the beginning of the last century, and called North-Virginia; the first European fettlement was formed in 1608; this first colony, which was weak and ill-directed, did not fucceed, and for fome time after there were only a few adventurers who went over at times in the fummer, built themselves temporary huts for the purpose of trading with the favages, and, like them, disap

VOL. II.