118 THE RETKOSPECT OF THE YEAR. 



The barges then proceeded to the house of Dudley A. 

 Massey, a most delightful place, where the company were 

 entertained by the proprietor and members of the Dan- 

 vers Improvement Society and upon his lawn the lunch 

 was partaken of and the afternoon session was held. 



About 2. 30 P. M. the meeting was called to order by 

 the President who stated that it was forty years, this 

 month, since the first field meeting of this society was held ; 

 of those who attended, about fourteen in number, only 

 three or four survive ; they came in private carriages and 

 visited portions of Wenham and Danvers, the meeting 

 was held in one of the parlors of Berry's Tavern in Danvers 

 Plains and was entirely of a botanical character. Dr. 

 Andrew Nichols, Rev. John Lewis Russell, Messrs. G. 

 D. Phippen, S. P. Fowler and others were among the 

 speakers. Three other meetings were held that season : 

 one at the house of A. T. Newhall in Lynnfield, one at 

 Knowlton's near the ponds in Hamilton, and the third at 

 Smith's point, in Manchester. 



MR. GEO. D. PHIPPEN, being called upon, gave a further 

 account of the first meeting in 1849, with personal remi- 

 niscences of those who took part. 



REV. C. B. RICE, of the First church in Danvers, was 

 then introduced. He spoke at some length on the subject 

 of witchcraft. He exhibited the old church records kept 

 by Rev. Samuel Parris, also a piece of a board from the 

 Parris House. 



WILLIAM P. UPHAM, Esq., followed Mr. Rice on the 

 same subject. Mr. Upham thought the lack of a good 

 education was the main cause of the witchcraft delusion. 

 That the first settlers in this region were men of culture 

 for the most part, but after one or two generations had 

 passed, there was a decline in knowledge and common 

 sense. This, he said, had been confirmed in variousways : 



