wetted their tea. On this occasion, however, the meeting was not for an insurrectionary, but a peaceful purpose, and the olive-branch had taken the place of the rifle; "and no more of war's alarms;" for agriculture was now the noble object of a pacific rivalry, —a rivalry, which, if properly carried out, cannot fail of promoting and exalting the condition of this great country and its almost boundless tracts of land;—and Heaven grant that such pursuits, which spread plenty and happiness wherever they are cultivated, may never be interrupted by any outburst of unnatural war, as some restless spirits delight to prophecy.

The cattle were in excellent condition, and in vast numbers, comprising Durham short-horns, Devons, Alderneys, Ayrshires, &c., &c.; bulls, oxen, cows and calves; besides which there were some excellent breeds of sheep and swine of all sizes; also several varieties of horses. The animals had been brought from all parts of America,--some even from Europe; and the English won several prizes and gained general admiration. The American horses were far superior to the English in respect to speed, especially in fast-trotting, a pace much prized by the sporting Yankees.

A course was made for the occasion, which being of circular shape, enabled the visitors to have a good sight of the races. These fast-trotting horses were mostly harnessed to exceedingly light chaises, made only for one person, the wheels of which seemed scarcely strong enough to bear the weight of the driver; and I was

told that it is very fatiguing work to prevent the horses from breaking out of the trot,- -a circumstance which would at once lose the race. This racing is very exciting work; and some of the best horses trotted a mile in two minutes and forty seconds.

Bands of music played at intervals in different parts of the ground, and stands were erected for the ladies. In short, I never saw Boston so gay, thronged as it was by visitors from all parts of the Union.

The streets of the city were scarcely passable :— omnibuses, hacks, and carriages of every description were brought into requisition; and into any of these conveyances, as chance might be, the travellers rushed from the railroad station, without the slightest compunction, as to the breakage either of springs, horses' backs, or their own bones. The weather, it must be owned, was rather unfavourable to the exhibition; for it was beyond a joke to stand still and watch the proceedings with a cold, cutting, easterly wind in one's face. The visitors, nevertheless, nothing daunted, came by thousands, and the animation of the scene was no little enhanced by the brilliant display of the ladies, who graced the fair with their presence.

In conclusion, I may notice in particular some magnificent oxen, of colossal dimensions, that were yoked to waggons with heavy weights inside, for the purpose of testing their powers of traction one against another, by seeing which would first reach a point at a few yards' distance. The "hi-hi," of the drivers, shouted with great

vehemence, seemed to bewilder the poor beasts, who would look right and left, and then dart off at a sharp pace, quite surprising in such clumsy-looking, though useful animals.

XVI. FANEUIL HALL AND BUNKER'S HILL.

THIS building, whose history is dear to all Bostonians, -nay, all Americans,-was the scene of the earliest agitation of American Independence; and the great men, who first conceived the thought, never relaxed in their addresses, till the people were ripe for the struggle, which had so glorious a termination. Its situation is central, in Dock Square, near the City-hall, Exchange, and New Custom-house, almost on the edge of the bay, where the first act of revolt was committed that led to the long internecine war with Great Britain. When I visited the Hall it was adorned with flags and banners, preparatory to a grand public dinner. Its walls were hung with good portraits of, Washington and other generals; Jefferson, Adams, and many eminent statesmen of the United States ;-and I was particularly struck with a gigantic painting, thirty feet long by nine in height, composed of groups of perhaps eighty figures, Webster being in the foreground, addressing the Senate in his famous reply to Haynes on some popular measure. The likeness, I was told, is very faithful. Faneuil Hall stills continues to be a centre of agitation; for, to this day, whenever the Bostonians, or any portion of them,

conceive, rightly or otherwise, that they have any grievance requiring redress, they immediately convene a meeting here, in order that the matter may be discussed, and the wrong, if possible, remedied. As in the case of the prohibition of selling liquor, measures were taken here to resist compliance; and though the Government did their best to enforce the Maine Liquor Law by the seizure of spirits, the infliction of fines, and imprisonment, it was found to be useless;-it being "unconstitutional," and consequently unrecognized.

One day, during my stay at Boston, I walked a mile or two to Bunker's Hill, a steep acclivity, 110 feet above Charlestown, to which city it belongs. This celebrated height commands a panoramic view of the Bay, and the whole country round for many miles; and the day I visited it, the calm, serene beauty of the scenery spoke of a peace and prosperity which had no existence eighty years ago;-for it was here, that on June 17, 1775, was fought one of the earliest and most celebrated battles in the American revolutionary war. The provincial troops having established themselves during the night on a portion of this height, a British force was sent to dislodge them; but though the latter ultimately effected their purpose, so sturdy was the resistance offered, that they lost 1,054 men killed and wounded, while the American loss was considerable less than half that number. So obstinate, indeed, was the fight, that the hill was captured and recaptured several times during the day;- and to this time a

cannon ball is shown, lodged in the brick wall of a church in Boston, said to have been fired during this memorable battle.

A granite obelisk, about 250 feet high, has been erected to the memory of the brave patriots that fell here:-I ascended it, and from the summit enjoyed even a still more extensive range of view, which as the day was bright and clear, extended far over land and ocean, like which seemed to form one gigantic panorama. On my way home, I visited CHARLESTOWN DOCKYARD and arsenal,- -a very efficient naval establishment, provided with covered slips, dry and wet docks-and, in short, every accommodation for the construction of the largest ships and war-steamers. The whole yard is kept in admirable order, and great cleanliness; nor is there a single invention of machinery that is not here applied on a large scale. The rope-walks, and sailmakers' sheds also were well worthy of notice; and I was much surprised to see the great quantity of cannon, bombs, shells, and cannon-balls, as well as small arms, kept in the yard, ready for immediate service. Lastly, let me observe, that here, as everywhere in the United States, I found the officials uniformly courteous and attentive to my inquiries.

During my stay in the neighbourhood of Boston, April, 1856, the inhabitants sustained a great calamity in the destruction by fire of the well-known Gerish Market; and the loss was estimated at half a million of dollars (£125,000), owing to the number of warehouses