together with various public offices connected with the city administration. Other public buildings, of great beauty to the city, are the old U. S Branch Bank, and the Masonic Temple. The latter building, fronts on the common; it is of the Gothic order.

One of the most interesting of the churches of the city is that known as the King's Chapel. Its exterior is plain, and in appearance it is unfin

ished, being built entirely of unhammered stone. It was first opened for divine service in 1754. The tower is ornamented by a colonnade of large wooden pillars, and the whole presents the appearance of massy grandeur suited to distinguish in former days the place of worship for the public functionaries. In the interior, the governor's pew was formerly distinguished above the rest, but was taken down a few years since. The style of architecture is of the Corinthian order. There are several monumental marbles, which add to the interest with which the church is visited. It is now the only house in which the old fashion of square pews is retained. Brattle street church is interesting from historical associations. Governors Hancock and Bowdoin were liberal benefactors of this society. The name of the former was inscribed on one of the rustic quoins at the south-west corner of the building. The British soldiery defaced it, and the stone remains in the condition in which they left it. A similar inscription, unmutilated, appears on one of the rustic quoins at the south-west corner of the tower; and on one in the north-west corner, the name of Dr. John Greenleaf appears, who, with Gov. Bowdoin, advanced the money for refitting the church, it having been improved as a barrack, during the siege. A shot, which was sent from the American army at Cam

bridge, struck the tower on the night preceding the evacuation of the town. It was picked up and preserved, and is now fastened in the spot where it struck. General Gage's head quarters were in the house opposite. Trinity

church in Summer street is a beautiful granite edifice, built in 1829. It is one of the chief architectural ornaments of the city; and for beauty of proportion, strength and solidity, is perhaps unsurpassed in this country. The number of worshipping assemblies in this city is between fifty and sixty.

The places of public amusement in Boston are not numerous, nor remarkably well patronized. The Tremont theatre affords the only dramatic entertainment that is much resorted to by strangers and people of fashion. It is a handsome building, with a front of Quincy and Hallowell granite. This front is in imitation of the Ionic order, with four pilasters and two antes, one on each angle, supporting an entablature and pediment, and elevated on a basement seventeen feet. The Warren theatre is a minor establishment, and is much frequented. The New England Museum attracts numerous visitors.

Of the hotels of Boston, we can only particularly mention the Tremont House, a splendid building, in the pleasantest quarter of the city, and esteem. ed the best house in the country. Most gratifying is it to a traveller in the United States,' says a recent tourist,' when, sick to death of the discomforts of the road, he finds himself fairly housed in the Tremont hotel. The establishment is on a large scale, and admirably conducted.' This stinted

approbation is one of the few tokens of satisfaction that Mr. Hamilton gives in his unsparing though witty and entertaining volumes; it is not the less Acceptable, because it is extorted.

In the year 1841, there were thirty-one banks in the city, which employed a capital of twenty millions one hundred thousand dollars. The increase, of course, has been in proportion to the increasing enterprise and prosperity of the city. The oldest is the Massachusetts' bank, which was incorporated in 1785. There are twenty-four insurance companies, with an aggregate capital of seven millions and a quarter. The charitable institutions of the city are numerous. Of these, one of the most important is the Institution for the Education of the Blind, recently established under very favorable circumstances. Besides this are the Asylum for Indigent Boys, the Female Asylum, Charitable Mechanic Association, Prison Discipline Society, and many others. The Massachusetts General Hospital is situated in the west part of the town; it has been pronounced the finest building in the state. The Quarantine Hospital is situated on Rainsford island, in the harbor, and about six miles from the city.

The number of periodicals issued in this city is above seventy, inclusive of dailies and annuals. The first paper published in the country was the Boston News Letter, commenced in 1704, and continued for nearly seventytwo years. The oldest surviving journal established since the revolution is the Columbian Centinel, which was commenced in 1784.

The

Boston is celebrated for her public schools, and the great efforts which have been made by her citizens in the cause of education. The expendi tures for these institutions, during the year ending August, 1833, amounted to over seventy thousand dollars. Social libraries are numerous. Boston Athenæum was established in 1806, and contains above twentyeight thousand volumes. Though accessible only to men of fortune, as the price of a share is three hundred dollars, it is still a useful institution.

Annual subscribers are admitted at ten dollars. This noble establishment is situated in Pearl street, in a fine building, for the half of which the proprietors were indebted to the munificence of the late James Perkins, Esq. Attached to the Athenæum is a gallery of the fine arts, in which is held an annual exhibition that has hitherto been the source of a considerable income. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Massachusetts Historical Society, are highly respectable institutions which have issued numerous volumes of great value, and possess considerable libraries. On the whole, the libraries of Boston are neither so large nor so generally accessible as might be expected from the wealth and liberality of her citizens.

Middlesex canal unites the water communication between Boston and the Merrimack river, at the bend in Chelmsford; the company for its construction was incorporated in 1793. The toll has amounted some years to about twenty-five thousand dollars. Rail-roads are now complete, connecting this city with Providence, Worcester, Lowell, Springfield and Salem. The marine rail-way, which affords facilities for the repair of large vessels, has been in successful operation since 1826. One of the greatest improvements of late years has been the building of Mercantile wharf, which ranges in front of the harbor, between City wharf and Lewis's wharf. It has made access to the northern extremity of the city very convenient from the central parts, and has led to great improvements.

Since 1822, when the city was incorporated, Boston has been governed by a mayor, eight aldermen, and a common council of forty-eight members, chosen annually. With the town of Chelsea, it constitutes the county of Suffolk, and sends one representative to Congress. As a commercial city, it holds a second rank among the seaports of the United States. There are many manufactures in the city, and much wealth of the citizens is invested in the manufactories of Waltham, Lowell, and other towns. Popu lation, ninety-three thousand three hundred and eighty-three.*

* The road, as we approached Boston, lay through a more populous country, and we passed a height, which commanded a fine view of the bay. At length, entering on a long street, I found myself surrounded by the busy hum of a great city. The first impression was decidedly favorable. There is in Boston less of that rawness of outline. and inconsistency of architecture, which had struck me in New York. The truth is, that the latter has increased so rapidly, that nine tenths of the city have been built within the last thirty years, and probably one half of it within a third of the period. In Boston, both wealth and population have advanced at a slower pace. A comparatively small portion of the city is new, and the hand of time has somewhat mellowed even its deformities, contributing to render that reverend, which was originally rude. There is an air of gravity and solidity about Boston; and nothing gay or flashy, in the appearance of her streets, or he crowd who frequent them. New York is a young giantess, weighing twenty stone, and yet frisky withal Boston, the matron of stayed and demure air, a little past her prime, perhaps, yet showing no symptom of decay. The former is brisk, bustling, and annually outgrowing her petticoats. The latter fat, fair, and forty, a great breeder, but turning her children out of doors, as fast as she produces them. But it is an old and true apophthegm, that similes seldom run on all fours, and therefore it is generally prudent not to push them too far.

Boston stands on an undulating surface, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea. The harbor is a magnificent basin, encircled by a beautiful country, rising in gentle acclivities, and studded with villas. There is nothing very handsome about the town, which is rather English in appearance, and might in truth be easily mistaken for one of our more populous seaports. A considerable number of the buildings are of granite, or, more properly speaking, of sienite; but brick is the prevailing material, and houses of framework are now rarely to be met with in the streets inhabited by the better orders

Bordentown, a town of New Jersey, in Burlington county, stand ing on a steep sand bank on the west side of the Delaware, is chiefly remarkable for the villa of Joseph Bonaparte, ex-king of Spain. This is a long white building, with two low square towers at the ends, and a shot. tower near it by the river. Pop. three thousand four hundred and thirty-four. Brattleboro' is a pleasant village, in Windham county, Vermont, on the Connecticut. It is situated on an elevated plain above the river; at the bridge over the stream are several manufactories, the chief of which are of paper and machinery, which are made here in large quantities. The situation of the village is quite romantic and picturesque. Population, two thousand and six hundred and twenty-four.

Bridgeport, in Fairfield county on Long Island sound, maintains an active intercourse with New York by means of sloops and steamboats, and furnishes that city with a great amount of produce. The harbor is shoal, but with a good channel; the town is pleasant and thriving. Population four thousand five hundred and seventy.

Brighton, a town of Middlesex county, Massachusetts, is celebrated for its annual cattle show and fair which has been held here ever since the revolution. Vast numbers of cattle for the Boston market are brought here from all quarters of the country. The soil is good, and well cultivated. Population, one thousand four hundred and five.

Bristol, a thriving town, situated on Narragansett bay, about half way between Providence and Newport, is distinguished for its pleasant situation, healthful climate, rich soil, and a commodious, safe harbor. This town suffered greatly during the revolutionary war, a great part of it having been destroyed by the British; but it is now in a very flourishing state, and has a good shipping trade: onions in great quantities, and a variety of provisions and garden roots, are raised here for exportation. Mount Hope, celebrated in the early history of New England as the residence of king Philip, is within the limits of Bristol; it is a cone-shaped hill, with a pointed summit, and exhibits a charming prospect. Population, three thousand four hundred and ninety.

Brooklyn, a large town on Long Island, separated from the city of New York by the narrow channel of East river. It is properly a suburb of that city, and is a place of great business. It is regularly built, and contains many fine houses, the residence of merchants from the city. The United

The streets are narrow, and often crooked, yet, as already stated, they exhibit more finish and cleanliness than are to be found in New York. In architecture, I could discover little to admire. The state house stands on an eminence commanding the city; it is a massive square building, presenting in front a piazza of rusticated arches, surmounted by a gratuitous range of Corinthian columns, which support nothing. The building in front has a small attic with a pediment, and from the centre rises a dome, the summit of which is crowned by a square lantern.

The comparative diffusion of literature in Boston has brought with it a taste for the fine arts. The better houses are adorned with pictures; and in the Athenæum-a public library and reading room-is a collection of casts from the antique. Establishments for the instruction of the people in the higher branches of knowledge, are yet almost unknown in the United States, but something like a Mechanics' Institute has at length been got up in Boston, and I went to hear the introductory lecture. The apart ment, a large one, was crowded by an audience whose appearance and deportment were in the highest degree orderly and respectable. The lecture was on the steam engine, the history, principle, and construction of which were explained most lucidly by the lecturer, who belonged, I was assured, to the class of operative mechanics.—Men and Manners in America.