[68 3 
tion of human life, in various fituations of town 
and country. The flighted: furvey, of the follow- 
ing Tables, will manifefty fhew, how erroneous 
and unjuft every calculation, relating to this fub- 
je£t, muft be, drawn from the London bills, or 
perhaps thofe of moft other coniiderable towns, 
and applied to the inhabitants of this city. 
Chefter is healthy to an uncommon degree, , 
when compared with towns of the fame ftze.. 
Various circumftances, which contribute to ren- 
der this place fo remarkably falubrious, might, 
be pointed qut but. it can here be only ob-> 
ferved,. in general, that this falutary effedt may, 
with great probability, be chiefly attributed 
to the dry fltuation, clear air, pure water, and 
general temperance of the people.. 
In Auguft 1772, the inhabitants of St. Mi- 
chael's, one of the nine parifhes into which Chef- 
ter is divided, and fttuated in the very center of 
the city, were numbered with great accuracy: 
in this parifh were 151 families, 127 houfes, 618. 
inhabitants, 246 males, 372 females, 166 mar- 
ried, 41 widows, 21 widowers,, and 137 children 
under 15 years old. Hence the number of perfons,. 
never married above. 15, is 253.. From this 
account alfo it appears, that near 4! per-, 
fons dwell in each houfe ; that the proportion, off 
females to males, is as 62 to 41, or nearly as a )s 
to 2 ; that the widows are to the widowers nearly' 
as 2 to 1 ; that the number married is little more, 
than one quarter of the inhabitants : the common 
proportion of married people is about one third of 
