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 thousand five hundred and twenty-two fouls; its prefent number of inhabitants amounts at least to one million three hundred thousand. The great body of these are landholders and cultivators of the foil, and as they poffefs, in fee fimple, the farms which they cultivate, they are naturally 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, thoufands of its natives. Vaft numbers of them, fince the war, have emigrated into the northern parts of NewYork, into Kentucky, and the Western Territory, and into Georgia; and fome are fcattered into every State, and every town of note in the Union.

The inhabitants of New-England are almoft univerfally of English defcent; and it is owing to this circumstance, and to the great and general attention that has been paid to education, that the English 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 juftice, in poffeffing that fpirit of freedom which induced their ancestors to leave their native country, to brave the dangers of the occan, and the hardships of fettling 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 circumstance which is a fruitful fource of imaginary grievances, and of groundlefs fufpicions and complaints against government, But thefe ebullitions of jealouly, though cenfurable, and preductive 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 unknown in any other part of the

world: and it is in this way that the people have preferved that happy mediocrity among themfelves, 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 exemt them from want, and from the neceffity of fubmitting to any encroachments on their liberties.

In New-England, learning is as generally diffused among all ranks of people as in any other mat of the globe; arifing from the excellent eftablifhment of schools in almoft every township. In thefe fchools, which are generally fupported by a publ ́s tax, and under the direction of a school 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 newfpapers, of which not lefs than thirty thoufand 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 fchools, the extenfive circulation of newspapers, and the confequent spread of learning, every township throughout the country is furnished with men capable of conducting the affairs of their town with judgment and difcretion. These men are the channels of political information to the lower clafs of people; if fuch a clafs may be faid to exift 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 canvailing 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 lefs degree, prevails throughout all claffes of 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 induced to mention impertinent inquifitiveness as a diftinguishing characteristic of the New-England people. But this is true only

According to an accurate eftimate lately made, it appears that no less than feventy-leven 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

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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 ftate and country.

Before the late war, which introduced into New-England a flood of corruptions, with many improvements, the Sabbath was observed with great ftri&tnefs; no unneceffary travelling, to fecular bufinefs, no vifiting, no diverfions were permitted on that day. They confidered it as confecrated to divine worship, and were generally punctual and serious in their attendance upon it. Their laws were ftrict in guarding the Sabbath against every innovation. The fuppofed feverity with which these 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 variously applied by perfons of different principles and educations, that it is not eafy to determine whether they ever deferved 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 strong propenfity in human nature, which leads men to vibrate from one extreme to its oppofite, and gain the approbation of every well-wifher of the rights of mankind.

There is one diftinguifhing characteristic in the religious character of this people, which we must not omit mentioning; and that is, the cuftom of annually celebrating Fafts and Thankf givings. In the fpring, the governors of the feveral New-England States, except Rhode-Ifland, iffue their proclamations, appointing a day to be religiously 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 harvest, that gladfome cra in the husbandman's life, the governors again iffue their proclamations, appointing a day of public thanksgiving enumerating the public bleflings received in the courfe of the foregoing

year.

This pious cuftom originated with their venerable ancestors, the first fettlers of New-England, and has been handed down through the fucceffive generations of their pofterity. A cuftom

fo rational, and fo happily calculated to cherish in the minds of the people a sense of their dependence on the GREAT BENEFACTOR of the world for all their bleffings, 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 spend 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 neceflitous 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 conveniences 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, simple, and unpolished. Strangers are received and entertained among them. with a great deal of artlefs fincerity, and friendly unformal hofpitality. Their children, those 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 honeft and decent refpect that is paid him by the children as he paffes through the country.

As the people, by reprefentation, make their own laws and appoint 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 quali fications requifite in the view of most people, for officers of public truft. The expreffion of a wish to be promoted, is, in fome parts of New-England, the direct way to be disappointed.

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 diftinguifhed themfelves in politics, law, divinity, the mathematics, and philofophy, natural and civil hiftory, and in the fine arts, particularly poetry, evince the truth of these obfer

vations.

The women in New-England generally have fair, fresh, and healthful countenances, mingled with much female foftnefs and delicacy. Thofe who have had the advantages of a good education, and they are numerous, are genteel, cafy, and agreeable in their manners, and are fprightly and fenfible

their con

verfation. They are early taught to manage domeftic concerns with neatnefs and economy. Women of the first rank and fortune make it a part of their daily business to fuperintend the affairs of the family. Employment at the needle, cookery, and at the fpinning wheel, with them is honorable. 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 ftrong and decent. Their butter and cheese is nearly equal to any in the world.

Dancing is the principal and favourite amufement in NewEngland; 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 horfe jockey, and the knave, are equally defpifed, and their company is avoided by all who would sustain 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 fome of them in the most populous places, and by people of almost all ranks.

Squirrel-hunting is a noted diverfion 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 inhabitants make a lucrative sport 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 horfes and fleighs.

HISTORY OF ITS SETTLEMENT, &c.

New-England was difcovered in the beginning of the laft century, and called North-Virginia; the firft European settle-, ment was formed in 1608; this firft 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 themfelves temporary huts for the purpose of trading with the favages, and, like them, difappeared again for the reft of the year; but fanaticifm, which had depopulated America in the South, was destined to re-people it in the North. NewEngland owes its regular fettlement to religious perfecution.Vol. II.

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