others somewhat less. That which has been longest cultivated, and which is near to the Gilmantown shore, is in the possession of a Mr. Davis. Having been once in danger from the ice, as he was attempting to pass in a boat from the shore to the island, he determined to build a bridge across the strait which separated them; and executed his design the following season. The soil of this island is said to be excellent. Thirteen others, as I was informed, are sufficiently large to become good farms; and two or three of these have already begun to be cultivated.

The prospect of this lake, and its environs, is enchanting ; aud is seen with great advantage from the house of Mr. Little, but with more from the hill in the rear of his house, on the road toward Plymouth. The day was remarkably fine. Not a breath disturbed the leaves, or ruffled the surface of the waters. The sky was serene and beautiful. The sun shone with a soft and elegant lustre; such as seems peculiar to that delightful weather, which, from the 20th of September to the 20th of October, so often elicits from the mouths of mankind the epithet of charming. Mildness tempered the heat, and serenity hushed the world into universal quiet. The Winipiseogee was an immense field of glass, silvered by the lustre which floated on its surface. Its borders, now in full view, now dimly retiring from the eye, were formed by those flowing lines, those masterly sweeps of nature, from which art has derived all its apprehensions of ease and grace; alternated at the same time by the intrusion of points, by turns rough and bold, or marked with the highest elegance of figure. In the centre a noble channel spread twenty-three miles before the eye, uninterrupted even by a bush or a rock. On both sides of this avenue a train of islands arranged themselves, as if to adorn it with the finish, which could be given only by their glowing verdure and graceful forms.

Nor is this lake less distinguished by its suite of hills and mountains. On the north-west ascends a remarkably beautiful eminence, called the Red Mountain; limited everywhere by circular lines, and in the proper sense elegant in its figure beyond any other mountain, among the multitude which I have examined. On the south ascends Mount Major, a ridge of a bolder aspect and loftier height. At a still greater dis

tance in the south-east rises another mountain, whose name I could not learn, more obscure and misty; presenting its loftiest summit, of an exactly semicircular form, directly at the foot of the channel above mentioned, and terminating the watery vista between the islands, by which it is bordered, in a magnificent manner. On the north-east the Great Ossapee raises its long chain of summits with a bold sublimity, and proudly looks down on all the surrounding region.

As we did not cross the Winipiseogee, I am unable to determine in what manner an excursion on its waters might be compared with that which I made on Lake George. That the internal and successive beauties of the Winipiseogee strongly resemble and nearly approach those of Lake George, I cannot entertain a doubt. That they exceed them seems scarcely credible. But the prospect from the hill at the head of Center Harbour is much superior to that from Fort George; a fact of which hardly any thing could have convinced me, except the testimony of my own eyes. The Winipiseogee presents a field of at least twice the extent. The islands in view are more numerous; and, except one, of finer forms and more happily arranged. The shores are not inferior. The expansion is far more magnificent, and the grandeur of the mountains, particularly of the Great Ossapee, can scarcely be rivalled. It cannot be remarked without some surprise, that Lake George is annually visited by people from the coast of New-England; and that the Winipiseogee, notwithstanding all its accumulation of splendour and elegance, is almost as much unknown to the inhabitants of this country, as if it lay on the eastern side of the Caspian. I am, Sir, &c.

LETTER II.

Holderness. Squam Lake. Plymouth. Baker's River. Romney. Wentworth. Warren. Ryegate. Barnet. St. Johnsbury. Lyndon. Sheffield. Premature Frosts. Lebanon Falls. Boating on Connecticut River. Governor Griswold.

DEAR SIR;

AFTER dinner we left the house of Mr. Little, and rode to Plymouth, through a part of the townships of Meredith and Holderness: thirteen miles. The whole of this tract is a succession of hills and vallies. The hills in several instances are high and stony. The soil throughout a considerable part of the extent is good grazing ground; and the road, like that last described.

In this part of our journey we passed Squam Lake, of which we had several beautiful views; and one peculiarly so, from a high ground in Holderness. This lake, notwithstanding its uncouth name, is a splendid sheet of water, finely indented by points, arched with beautiful coves, and studded with a succession of romantic islands. At its head rose the Red Mountain in its grandest attitude, and formed an appropriate back ground of the picture.

This lake is ten miles in length, and, where widest, not less than six in breadth. Its water, like that of the Winipiseogee, is pure and cheerful. I counted ten islands, of elegant figures, in its bosom. We passed, also, several smaller lakes, each very handsome, and adding not a little to the gaiety of our journey. On the eminence just mentioned we had a spacious prospect of the surrounding region, composed of vallies, hills, and mountains. Some of the mountains were

lofty. One particularly, ascending in the north-east, was distinguished by the form and sublimity of its summit.

We crossed the Pemigewasset in a boat, and reached Plymouth a little after sunset. The next morning, Saturday, October 3d, we rode to the north-east corner of Piermont, to dinner; twenty-six miles; through Romney, Wentworth, and Warren. Our road was good.

Plymouth is a half-shire town of the county of Grafton. It is indifferently built, and many of the houses wear the appearance of negligence and decay. A few of them are, however, decent. The court-house is an ordinary, and the church a good, building.

After we left Plymouth we quitted the Pemigewasset, and ascended Baker's river; a large and beautiful mill-stream, which is one of its tributaries. The scenery in this part of our journey was formed by the valley, frequently ornamented by intervals at the bottom, and a succession of hills, by which it was bordered, rising at times to a mountainous height. The houses, with a few exceptions, indicated nothing more than that the inhabitants were in comfortable circumstances. Everywhere, at little distances, we saw school-houses neatly built. We also passed by several churches, which from their situation and appearance I concluded belonged to Baptists. This tract will hardly change its aspect for the better until the inhabitants shall have adopted a superior husbandry, or employed themselves in manufacturing.

After we left Baker's river we began gradually to ascend the Lyme range. The acclivities were very easy, but the country was less populous; and, as we approached the highest ground, the settlements became rare. The soil was evidently better than most of that which we had left.

We had continued our journey through a stage unusually long, from the appearance of an approaching rain. The rain began to fall just as we reached the door of our intended inn; and continued from two o'clock in the afternoon until Monday morning.

The number of inhabitants in Romney, was, in 1790, 411; in 1800, 624; and, in 1810, 765: in Wentworth, in 1790, 241; in 1800, 448; and, in 1810, 645: in Warren, in 1790, 206; in 1800, 336; and, in 1810, 506.

We were well entertained at this house, kept by a Mr. Tarleton; and, having several religious books in our possession, were able to pass through the Sabbath with decency and comfort. The next morning we proceeded to Newbury, eight miles, through Haverhill.

Tarleton's house is situated on a beautiful plain, at the highest elevation attained by this road. The hills on the north-east and south-west ascend perhaps two hundred feet above this ground, forming handsome limits in both directions. To the north-west and the south-east a passage is opened into the country below. The house stands on the north side of the road, and this part of the farm declines gradually into a valley, at the bottom of which is a lake, about a mile and a half in length, and three quarters of a mile in breadth. The whole scene is an elegant solitude, not a house being in sight, beside the neat building of Mr. Tarleton.

Here we saw the mountain ash, which grows abundantly in this neighbourhood. Here also the clouds, which had so copiously shed their waters during the two preceding days, descending from the elevations on the north and west, and passing slowly along the surface of the plain, gave us experimental evidence, that they differed in nothing from a dense mist.

Soon after we started, the weather became clear, and the country, as we descended into the Connecticut valley, delightful. Finer scenery can scarcely be imagined than that, which is spread throughout this region.

Haverhill has become a beautiful village. A number of good houses have been erected here since the year 1803, particularly around what is called the square, a neat ground, about forty rods in length and thirty in breadth.

We crossed the Connecticut on a toll bridge, about two miles below the church in Newbury. Another at the north end of this town was lately carried away by the river.

We left our vehicles at Newbury; and, having obtained a convenient waggon, and a discreet young man to drive it, made an excursion into the interior of Vermont, through the townships of Ryegate, Barnet, St. Johnsbury, and Lyndon, into Sheffield. The first day, we rode twenty-three miles after dinner. The second, we laboured hard to finish twenty