59 



in a few days ; the seizing of these would greatly discon- 

 cert their schemes." 



This proved erroneous. Gen. Gage expected to find 

 some cannon, which he believed had been imported from 

 Holland. Sir Joseph Yorke, the British minister in Hol- 

 land, had written a letter to his government indicating his 

 suspicions that arms were shipped from that country to 

 America. A copy of this letter had been forw^arded to 

 Gen. Gage, who from other causes entertained similar 

 suspicions. Indeed, after receiving the copy of Sir 

 Joseph York's letter, cruisers were sent out to watch for 

 a Rhode Island vessel returning from Holland, which it 

 was supposed had arms on board. 



NOTICE OF A SINGULAR ERRATIC IN LYNN, MASS., 

 KNOWN BY THE NAME OF " PHAETON ROCK." 



BY C. M. TRACY. 



A prominent object among the operations of the Ex- 

 ploring Circle of Lynn has always been the investigation 

 of the phenomena of the local drift, particularly as 

 exemplified in the numerous erratic rocks and boulders 

 with which this region so abounds. In an exploration 

 of this kind, Mr. Jos. M. Eowell, Geological Member 

 of the Circle, w^as so fortunate as to discover, in the 

 northeasterly part of the township, the very remarkable 

 block which makes the subject of this article. It lies on 

 the southerly slope of a ridge which forms a kind of out- 

 lier on the southwest side of the fine emmence known as 

 "Orne's" or "Prospect" Hill, in the adjoining town of 

 Peabody. The neighborhood is singularly full of loose 

 rocks ; blocks of many tons in weight are to be seen in 



