UNCLE SAM'S FARM. 105 



House, is a fine pond of about six acres, which is 

 embellished with a mall and terraced promenade, a 

 delightful place of resort in the summer. About half 

 a mile from this, on the same street, are the remains 

 of the residence of the celebrated Lord Timothy 

 Dexter, so called. He was a rich, but most eccentric 

 man. I have heard a great deal of his eccentricities 

 from the good people of Newburyport ; one or two 

 incidents, however, will suffice. The whole front of 

 his dwelling, which was a very large house, was orna- 

 mented with about a hundred figures of men, beasts, 

 and birds, a couple of which were still standing when 

 I visited it. He at one time bought a cargo of warm- 

 ing pans, and shipped them to the West Indies, where, 

 quite unexpectedly, they were bought for either 

 straining or dipping molasses. This strange specula- 

 tion turned out a most profitable one. A few years 

 previous to his death, he had a tomb erected in his 

 garden, had a coffin made, and then had his funeral 

 ceremonies performed on a certain day, while he him- 

 self stood at a distance as an observer. 



Newbury and Newburyport have been the birth- 

 places of some of the most celebrated men America 

 has produced. Among other distinguished men born 

 here were Theophilus Parsons, LL. D., an eminent 



