15C 



NEW ENGLAND. 



from the husk A good supper, and sometimes a dance ensues. The females have also simi 

 lar meetings, called " quilting bees," when many assemble to work for one, in padding or quilt- 

 ing bed coverings or comforters. An ordination of a clergyman over a society, discloses the 

 better New England characteristics. It is a time when every house in the society is invitingly 

 open, when the master generally "provides" for more guests than he has the good fortune to 

 secure ; and when he may be seen forestalling his neighbors by asking visiters to dine, before 

 they arrive at the church. Persons of all creeds and conditions are pressed, nothing loth, to 

 the feasts that smoke upon a hundred tables. 



Ploughing matches and cattle shows are held only in autunm ; they attract many people, and 

 give a favorable impulse to the interests of agriculture. The celebration of the 4th of July, or, 

 as it is called. Independence, is not peculiar to New England ; it is the great national holiday, 

 honored by salutes of cannon, fireworks, processions, addresses, dinners, in all cities, and in 

 the most secluded corners of the Republic. 



22. Fine Jlrts. In New England, there is much talent for imitative arts, and the taste is 

 becoming more elevated, but there is too httle reward for the talent to be much developed. 

 Several painters, however, have, under all the disadvantages of laboring without adequate re- 

 ward, and of studying without models, attained to eminence, and their works are admired even 

 in Europe ; there are also sculptors who have become distinguished. There are in Boston, 

 and in many of the large towns, many casts from the best antique sculptures, and in the State 

 House is one of Chantrey's best works, the statue of Washington. There are also a considera- 

 ble number of good paintings, generally owned by private persons. Connected with the Athe- 

 nEeum, at Boston, is a gallery, to which the proprietors of good pictures send them for a few 

 weeks in summer, to be exhibited. The collection thus made, together with the original works 

 of artists ofiered for exhibition, is large and excellent, and is doing much to form the public 

 taste. The avails of the exhibition are devoted to the encouragement of the arts, and they are 

 considerable. A recent exhibition of Allston's paintings in Boston, showed a collection that 

 can hardly be excelled in any country, by the works of a living artist. 



23. Education ; its Diffusion, ^--c. It was the opinion of the early settlers, that the best 

 security for religious and civil liberty, was the diffusion of education ; and accordingly they es- 

 tablished the system of common schools, that diffused the benefits of knowledge over New 

 England. Generally speaking, there are none who cannot read and write, and positively none 

 that have not had the opportunity to learn. 



In New England, the cheapness and numbers of periodicals give almost every family access 

 to at least one newspaper, and many take several papers, besides other periodicals. The peo- 

 ple are generally pretty well informed of European events, and the wars and other occurrences 

 in Europe form a frequent subject of conversation. The counties have their separate newspa- 

 pers, and in the cities they are in number beyond all parallel in Europe. In Boston, there are 

 about 60 newspapers and other periodicals. These, as well as the country papers, and those 

 of all large towns, are distributed over New England. Besides these, there is in most towns 

 some social hbrary with a good selection of books, which are constantly circulated ; some of 

 them in small towns contain a thousand volumes. There are few houses where there are not 

 several books, and in many are to be found Scott's novels ; a number of other popular works, 

 among which are generally the Life of Washington, History of the Revolution, and of the last 

 wai On the subject of domestic history, the people are exceedingly well informed, both by 

 readmg, and tradition. The few of the survivors of the Revolution are much honored, and they 

 often recount to their own circles the history of their adventures. The institution of Lyceums 

 or associatitns for literary meetings and the hearing of lectures, in various towns, has had a very 

 favorable effect, and the benefits are increasing. 



A school in the country is a sight that would please a traveler. The scholars are generally 

 neatly dressed, and Vfhen a stranger passes, they often form a line and salute him as he goes by. 

 It is common, also, for children on the way to or from the school, to take off their hats and 

 bow to whomever they meet. The examination of the school excites the interest of the neigh- 

 borhood as Commencement does of a larger community, and the schoolhouses are generally 

 filled with the parents and friends of the pupils. 



The annual visitation of the schools in Boston, is a ceremony that is worthy of notice. The 

 care of pubhc schools is given to a few gentlemen, annually elected, who are called the school 

 committee ; they with the municipality have the charge of all that relates to instruction. There 

 is a yearly visitation of all these schools, by the school committee, accompanied by the clergy, 



