COLLECTION OF ANCIENT BIBLES.-ROCHESTER.

453

history, the belles-lettres, and theology; and among the last no less than 300 ponderous folios, many of them printed between 1450 and 1500. The richest part of his library is, however, his collection of ancient Bibles, among which is a copy of Cranmer's, another of the Geneva Bible, and several of King James's, one of 1613, and one of 1630, in black letter; a copy of Coverdale's Bible; and a very fine copy of St. Jerome's Bible, printed at Venice in 1478. He has also a copy of Elliott's Bible, including the whole of the Old Testament and the New, translated by the missionary Elliott into the language of the Narraganset Indians, who formerly occupied these parts; this was printed at Cambridge, near Boston, so long ago as the year 1683, being the first Bible ever printed in America, about sixty-three years after the first settlement of Massachusetts. At the end of this Bible is a translation into the same tongue of the whole of Sternhold and Hopkins's version of David's Psalms, the versification of which is very curious in its appearance, orthography, and pronunciation, of which the following may serve as specimens:

Having passed some hours, when in England, with the late Dr. Adam Clarke, in examining the Duke of Sussex's collection of Bibles at Kensington, I advised Dr. Robbins to open a communication with his royal highness on the subject of Biblical literature, which might be productive of mutual gratification.*

The township of Rochester, of which Matapoisset forms a part, is about six miles square, the usual area assigned to such townships; and each section, so cut off and divided, is governed by town's officers-the selectmen, as they are called, being elected

The Rev. Dr. Robbins adopted my advice, and addressed a letter to his royal highness the Duke of Sussex, offering him a duplicate copy which he possessed of Elliott's Indian Bible, and expressing a great desire to obtain from Europe a copy of the old edition usually called "The Bishop's Bible." To this the illustrious duke returned a very prompt and gracious reply, sending out to Dr. Robbins a copy of the Bible he wished to procure, but, at the same time, declining to deprive him of the duplicate copy of the Indian translation, as he already possessed one of these in his collection at Kensington. This act of princely liberality to a distant and unknown republican minister of the Gospel, of a dissenting body of Christians, soon became known in the United States, and was spoken of with great and deserved praise in most of the papers of the Union.

annually by a town's meeting-and these regulate everything connected with the business of the township; while the sheriff of the county and the justice of the peace, who are appointed by the governor and council of the state, discharge the functions of the judiciary. It is the universal custom here to call these townships by the name of "town," and thus an inhabitant would say, "The town of Rochester is six miles square," or "the village of Matapoisset is situated within the town of Rochester." As English persons usually understand by the word town a concentrated collection of dwellings, this different sense in which the word is used here gives rise sometimes to ludicrous mistakes. An English lady, who was married to an American gentleman, heard him describe his residence as within the town of Rochester, which the lady naturally supposed, from his stating it to contain 10,000 inhabitants, to be a pretty large-sized town. On their way thither, the husband having passed the limits of the adjoining township, exclaimed, "Now, my love, we are very near home." To which the wife rejoined, "But where is the town? I do not see it yet." "Oh!" replied the husband, "why, we have been in the town for several miles past." The astonishment of the lady was increased rather than diminished. "Town!" she exclaimed; "why, I see nothing but fields, and cattle, and trees; for not a single house is visible in any direction. Surely this is a strange kind of town without houses." Yet such was the "town" of Rochester, or township, which would be the more accurate name. The dwelling of the husband, which was within the "town," was a country mansion, surrounded by half a dozen neighbours within a mile; and the area of six miles square was spread over in the same way with scattered dwellings, hamlets, and villages, several miles apart from each other, but all, in the New-England sense of the term, belonging to the same town!

As connected with the different use and acceptation of certain words, and the peculiarity of some particular expressions, I may mention, that in this quarter, to "hire money" is used for to borrow, and to "hire a farm" or a house is used for to rent it. The word "smart" appeared to be in general use to indicate good health, as, for instance, when persons were asked in the usual manner, "How d'ye do this morning?" the answer would often be, "Smart, thank you," or "Pretty smart," which is a degree below, and "Quite smart," which is a degree above the ordinary condition. In England, the word "smart" is usually applied to gayety of appearance and finery of apparel or decoration among landsmen; but at sea it is used to imply activity, readiness, and intelligence. Thus" a smart officer" is one who thoroughly understands his duty, and is active and efficient in maintaining discipline; and the injunction "be smart" is often given to seamen. In this sense it is used by all classes in America, a "smart man" meaning al

ANNIVERSARY OF THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS.

455

ways an active, intelligent, and capable person. The word "chores" is here used to signify errands, messages, and small commissions or jobs; and ladies of the best society say, "I have a great many chores to do this morning" when they have shopping or purchases to make for themselves or others. This, however, is old English; as the phrase "chore woman" is still used in London for an assistant servant, called in to help the domestics on cleaning days.

Indeed, most of the phrases which we are accustomed to call "Americanisms" are in reality old English, and were probably brought to this country by the original settlers, the only difference being that they have become obsolete in England, but are still continued to be used here. As an instance of this, it may be mentioned that the act of cutting anything out of wood with a knife, as children make boats and other playthings, is called “to whittle it out." Now, so far back as the time of Chaucer, the weapon used by yeomen, which was half knife and half dagger, was called a whittle; and "Sheffield whittles" are spoken of as among the best then known. So the phrase "as liev," implying "as soon," is old English. In the reign of Henry the Eighth the phrase was common in English writings; and in Tyndal the martyr's Preface to his new translation of the Scriptures from the original Hebrew and Greek into the vernacular tongue, he uses the word "liever" to convey the meaning which we should now express by the terms "much sooner" or "rather," in the following passage, in which, speaking of the great hostility of the Romish clergy to any translation of the Scriptures into the vulgar tongue, he says, "A thousand books had they liever to be put forth against their abominable doings and doctrine, than that the Scriptures should come to light."

CHAPTER XLIX.

Anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims.-Ball at the Pilgrim Hall.-Beauty of the Ladies. Presentation of Colours to the Standish Guards.-Oration of Dr. Robbins. -Air of God Save the King.-Ode to the Pilgrims.-Temperance Address at the Or. thodox Church.-Examination of the Town and its Records.

HAVING been invited to attend the annual celebration of the Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth, we left New-Bedford on the morning of Friday, the 21st of December, with some agreeable friends, who engaged an extra-stage for the purpose. Our party consisted of Mr. Francis Alden and his lady, both descended from the pilgrim fathers, John Alden and Governor Bradford, whose silver cup, brought over in the Mayflower, we were the bearers of for the celebration; Captain Atkins Adams, with whom I had

come to this country 29 years ago, when we sailed together from London to Norfolk in Virginia, and his lady; Mr. Jenny, another descendant of the pilgrim fathers; the Rev. Dr. Thomas Robbins, of Matapoisset, who had been invited to deliver the annual oration; Mrs. Buckingham, my son, and myself.

We left New-Bedford at half past eight, passed through Fairhaven at nine, and after an hour's pleasant ride through a stony and barren tract, in which we drove ten miles, we reached the centre of the township of Rochester soon after ten. Here we alighted at the hospitable mansion of Captain and Mrs. Lumbard, the lady whom we had known as a warm and intimate friend more than thirty years ago in England; and, early as the hour was, we found prepared for us a sumptuous entertainment, in a luncheon or second breakfast, of which we all heartily partook. Starting from hence again at twelve, we passed over a more sandy, but still infertile territory, except for pine-wood, which lined the road on either side, and after a drive of three hours more, performing a distance of about twenty miles, we reached the ancient town of Plymouth, and found apartments provided for us at the "Old Colony House" hotel.

The anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims falling this year on a Saturday, and Saturday evening being revered in many parts of New-England as the commencement of the Sabbath, it was thought proper that the public ball, which usually closes the proceedings of the anniversary day, should on this occasion be given. on the night preceding. The ball was to be given in the building called "Pilgrim Hall;" the tickets of admission were three dollars each, including refreshments; and the hours of dancing were limited from seven in the evening till three in the morning. Having been joined by a large party of other New-Bedford friends, who came down in their own carriages, we made a "goodly company" for the ball, and attended it early in the evening. The number assembled was about 400, more than half of whom, we were told, were residents of Plymouth, and the other half were strangers from Boston, Providence, New-Bedford, and the surrounding towns. The number of ladies and gentlemen were nearly equal, though I was informed that among the resident population of Plymouth the females are nearly three times as numerous as the males, the young men leaving the town between 15 and 20 to study or pursue the calling to which they intend to devote themselves for life. But as the greater number of the strangers who come to visit them at the anniversary are gentlemen, the severe cold of the season making it inconvenient for ladies to travel much at this time of the year, the inequality of the sexes is agreeably adjusted and balanced; and thus, at the Pilgrim Ball, as it is called, there is never any want of partners.

The dances, which were all previously fixed on, and announced

in a printed code of regulations for the evening, distributed with every ticket, consisted of country dances, called here, more accurately than with us in England, "contra-dances," cotillons, Spanish dances, and quadrilles. The visiters were as miscellaneous as those at the president's levée in Washington, or the military levée in Salem already described; for, as this is almost the only public entertainment in Plymouth chroughout the year, every person that can save up the requisite sum of three dollars, and who feels no scruples of a religious nature as to joining in such entertainments, makes a point of attending the annual ball. There was a great mixture, therefore, classes, and, consequently, a great variety of tastes in dress, and of general carriage and manners. Many of the gentlemen danced in frock-coats; some had drab, and others black and white plaid trousers, such as were fashionable for morning-wear in England a few years ago. One gentleman danced in yellow morocco slippers, and scarcely a dozen were in what would be considered a proper ball-dress at home. The ladies, however, exhibited no such marks of carelessness or neglect in their costume, but ran generally into the opposite extreme. The most fanciful mixture of colours, great profusion of ribands, and, in some instances, an almost Indian fondness for beads and feathers, made the ladies among the gayest in their apparel that we had for a long time seen. One of these, indeed, so far outstripped even the florid taste of the night, that she was designated by the other ladies generally, and as if by common consent," the peacock;" and certainly, if a variety of gaudy colours, and the display of varied feathers could justify a claim to this distinction, it was abundantly merited.

Notwithstanding all this, there was the same commendable and beautiful order and decorum in the behaviour of all that we witnessed with so much pleasure at Washington and Salem. No one gave themselves any airs of arrogance or superciliousness. Every one made way cheerfully and readily for others; nothing was done, said, or looked that could give the slightest offence; none appeared to feel any other sentiment than respect and good-will towards each other; and, throughout the whole of the long evening, I do not remember to have seen a single countenance which did not express satisfaction, cheerfulness, and good-nature. Some of the younger ladies were among the most beautiful that we had yet seen in America; three or four were exquisitely lovely, and, as specimens of feminine beauty, could hardly be surpassed, I think, in any country in the globe. If accurate miniatures could be taken of them by first-rate artists for any collection of female beauties, in annuals or other similar publications, they would be worth a great deal to any painter or publisher in England. Such lovely faces, under the graceful pencil of Sir Thomas Lawrence, would have been numbered among the richest of his gems.

We remained at the ball till near midnight, when the spirit of