The same letters may be used again and again in the same trick in the composition of words. For example, suppose the letters of a trick in a game of seven players, should be P, S, E, T, R, C, E-they will form set, pet, specter, and sceptre, and would draw twelve stakes-one for each syllable and twenty-four, if all of red letters." The fewer players the more cards should be dealt. A trick of fewer than seven or eight cars would be scant orthographical material. In printing the cards the letter ought to be on the upper left, or northwest corner; as they can be more conveniently arranged for speiling purposes. THE DOTY TAVERN. By D. T. V. HUNTOON. THE territory now known as Norfolk County, | through the subordinate grades, and was appointe in Massachusetts, was until 1793 embraced in the county of Suffolk, and a small township in this county, now called Canton, was until 1797 known as Stoughton. This town of Canton claims the enviable distinction of having within its limits an ancient mansion in which was held the first meeting in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to oppose the tyranny of Great Britain. This old house is situated at the foot of Blue Hill, the highest elevation in Eastern Massachusetts. The attention of the traveller is at once directed to the house by its quaint and old-fashioned appearance. It stands modestly back from the "Taunton old road," in former days the king's highway between Boston and Taunton. It strikes one as a house that has a history of its own. Above its old-fashioned gambrel roof rise two chimneys of huge proportions, and its narrow windows serve to remind us of pre-revolutionary times, of its better days, and we would fain listen to the stories it might tell, could it speak. It was originally owned by a man who was prominent in the affairs of Town, County, and State. Captain John Shepard built it about the year 1737- He was a resident of Stoughton before it was incorporated as a town, and he received from his fellow towns people every office it was in their power to bestow. For seven years he was a member of the Board of Selectmen, and their chairman for four years. For nine years he was called to preside over the annual town-meeting; he was guardian of the Ponkipog Indians, and his Majesty's justice of the peace, and until he entered military life was known as “ Squire," a title much honored in provincial days. He rose by his own ability Major in the militia. In 1745, during the administration of Governor Shirley, when the Fre fleet "computed to consist of half the naval force of France," under the elegant and accomplished Duke d'Anville was hovering on our coast, Majer Shepard took command of his regiment, and marched toward Boston, in the vicinity of which he encamped. In 1753 he was chosen to represent his town in the "Great and General Court," and again the following year, but was expelled from the House at the June session, notwithstand ng which he was again reëlected by his constituents as a rebuke to the House for their action the previous year, and as a testimonial of the confi dence and respect of his fellow-citizens. In his later years he became poor; the old house, un doubtedly a model in its time, was allowed to go to decay. In the ninety-second year of his age its builder passed away, unknown by the generation among whom he moved, a stranger in his own land. The old house passed into other hands. One hundred years ago it was a famous hostelry, celebrated for its good cheer. Here could be found entertainment for man and beast. The proprietor was jovial Tom Doty, known among more quiet and sedate persons as Colonel Thomas Doty. He it was who kept the best viands, and could mix the best glass of grog of any landlord in all the country around. No stage driver so ignorant as not to know where Doty's Tavern was. His inn was the centre of all gossip; around his capacious hearth were wont to congregate on winter evenings, the village wiseacres, and disc is8 over pipe and bowl questions pertaining to Town and Province. John Adams tells us that there assembly, strenuously desired that some inland town should be selected, where, free from interference, the congress might meet, with none to molest or make them afraid. This desire was communicated to Doctor (afterwards Major-General) Joseph Warren, and it was agreed that a congress should be held as soon as practicable; and the town of Stoughton being by its geographical position central and Doty's Tavern of good repute, it was decided that the meeting should take place at the town and tavern aforesaid. were many such taverns in his day, and that the landlords exercised a potent political influence in their immediate vicinity. Without doubt "mine host" Doty was a man of some pretensions to political knowledge; certain it is that he was known at the time of which we write to be highly indignant at the treatment the provinces had lately received from the mother country, and he favored the embryotic movement soon to burst into open rebellion. The time had come when the people of the Province of Massachusetts Bay had become enraged at the blind policy of George III. and his Parliament; bold patriots resolved that throughout the thirteen Provinces, "Congresses," so called in order to obviate the provisions of the Regulating Act, which forbade town meetings except by permission of the Governor, should be held in the several counties, and in this matter Suffolk County took the lead. After it was decided to hold such a congress, the grave question which presented itself to the patriots in Suffolk County was, "Where shall we hold it?" "At what town shall it convene?" In the first place, the spot should be central, yet retired. Neither Boston nor Salem possessed these requisites, and Samuel Adams, who expected the gravest results from this On the morning of Tuesday, the 16th of August, 1774, all was hurry and bustle at the wayside inn. The delegates from the several towns in the county were to assemble here, and landlord Doty must put on his best "bib and tucker;" from the farm-house over the way, which, built in the time of the Indian wars, had for protection its second story projecting over the first, Squire Royall sent his slaves to assist the slaves of Colonel Doty in making preparation for the distinguished guests. Little did those poor Africans imagine, as they cheerfully fulfilled their masters' orders on that summer morning, that this meeting, which would result in bringing emancipation from the tyranny of Great Britain to their masters would necessi tate, ere the adoption of the new Constitution in 1780, their being driven by whips into wagons at midnight, chained one to another, and carried from their old home in Massachusetts to be sold into perpetual bondage at Barbadoes. Early in the forenoon the delegates began to arrive. The members from the inland towns came on horseback, while young Dr. Warren with his Boston friends drove up in a stylish berlin, drawn by four horses, with a coachman in livery on the box and a footman on the rumble. From old Stoughton came Parson Dunbar in gown and bands; a stout old soldier he, for things temporal as well as spiritual. He had fought for king and crown in other days, when his Majesty needed help against the French; but the oppressive acts of the British Parliament had forfeited all claims upon his loyalty, and he came, against the advice of many of his friends and his own son, who held a civil office under the crown, to meet with the county congress at Doty's Tavern, and when he arrived and the meeting was organized he was asked to pray, and judging from some specimens that tradition has handed down to us, his prayers were to the point; for example, during the Revolutionary war, Mr. Dunbar was informed that the British fleet, under Lord Howe, was off the coast meditating a descent on Boston. He then prayed "That the Lord would put a bit in their mouth and jirk them about, and dash them to pieces on Cohasset Rock;" and again, in a season of great anxiety, that "God would let them speedily return from whence they came, for Thou knowest, O God, that their room is better than their company." The prayer that the Parson gave at the county congress has unfortunately not been preserved, but one who was present said of it, that "It was the most extraordinary liberty-prayer that I ever heard; he appeared to have a most divine if not prophetical enthusiasm in favor of our rights." Before this congress adjourned, the following resolutions were passed: "Whereas, It appears to us that the Parliament of Great Britain, to the dishonor of the king, in violation of the honor of the nation, have, in direct infraction of the charter of this Province, contrary to Magna Charta, the Bill of Rights, the national and constitutional rights of British subjects, by an act called the Boston Port Bill, a bill for amending the charter of this Province, and an other bill for the impartial administration of jus tice, with all the parade and administration of justice, attempted to reduce this colony to an u paralleled state of slavery. And, Whereas, Several Colonies being 'justly and properly alarmed at this lawless and tyrann exertion of power, have entered into a combin tion for our relief, and have published sun resolutions which they are determined to able by, in support of common interest, we earnestly recommend to our brethren in the several tow and districts in this county, to appoint members to attend a county convention to be held at Dedham on the sixth day of September next, to deliberate and determine upon all such matters a the distressing circumstances of this Province mas require." It would appear that, although all present : Doty's Tavern were unanimous and firm a determined to resist the encroachments of Gre Britain, the delegates did not deem themselves especially authorized to negotiate the affairs of a county Congress. They therefore adjourned, and at a subsequent meeting passed the celebrat: 1 "Suffolk Resolves," which, drafted by Gezer Warren, were approved by the Continental Cogress at Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, on te seventeenth of September, 1774, and which, in the words of Galloway, "contained a complee declaration of war against Great Britain."' During the siege of Boston the old tavern was occupied by refugees, and some of the exiled townofficers sought its secure retreat. Beneath the roof of the Doty Tavern the Mar quis de Lafayette rested while journeying from Newport to Boston; it was during the war, and the news spread quickly that the gallant Frenchman was a guest at the old inn. In the morning, when he had paid his reckoning, and was ready to depart, he found the townspeople gathered in the road before him, who with cheers and good wishes bade him God speed. The great man of the town, the first General to fall in defence of his country, the leader of France, the old parson, and the old landlord, have passed away; but the old house still stands under the shadow of Blue Hill, from whose summit the sentry with tinder-box in hand has long since been removed, and the Doty Tavern with its assoc tions and remembrances, must, while it stands, bear an honorable place among the historic mansions of our country. HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES OF THE PHILADELPHIA NAVY YARD. BY HENRY M. VALLETTE, Chief Clerk in the Department of Steam Engineering in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. THE SEVENTH PAPER. IN the June MONTHLY we alluded to an occasion | several days had increased to a severity that was when the gallant old frigate was in extreme peril, not to be made light of. The breakers where Sir and promised to add in this issue an account of the Cloudesley Shovel and his fleet were destroyed in circumstances by a distinguished naval officer, the days of Queen Anne sang their song of death now living, who was an eye-witness ;" and we before, and the Dead Man's Ledge' replied in fulfil our promise: hoarser notes behind us. To go ahead seemed certain death, and to attempt to go about was sure destruction. OLD IRONSIDES ON A LEE SHORE. "It was at the close of a stormy day in the year 1835, when the gallant frigate Constitution, under command of Commodore Elliott-having on board the late Edward Livingston, Minister at the Court of France, his family, and a crew of nearly five hundred souls-drew near to the chops' of the English channel. For four days she had been beating down from Plymouth, and on the evening of the fifth day she made her last tack toward the French coast. The watch was set at 8 P.M.-the Captain came on deck soon after, and having ascertained the bearing of Scilly,' gave orders to keep the ship full and by, remarking at the same time to the officer of the deck, that he might make the light on the lee beam, but thought it more than probable the ship would pass without the officer observing the light.' He then turned in,' as did most of the idlers and the starboard watch. The first thing that caught the eye of the Captain was the furled mainsail which he had ordered to be carried throughout the evening-the 'hauling up' of which, contrary to the last order which he had given on leaving the deck, had caused the ship to fall off to leeward two points, and had thus led her into a position on a 'lee shore' upon which a strong gale was blowing her, where the chances of safety appeared to the stoutest nerves almost hopeless. The sole and only chances consisted in standing on' to carry us through the terrible breakers of Scilly, or by a close graze pass along their outer ledge. The surging waves now lashed to fury, seemed to shriek aloud to either hope- Impossible!' Impossible!' Alas! was this destiny to be the end of the brave old ship, consecrated as she was by many an earnest prayer and pious blessing from the very heart of the nation? 'Why is the mainsail up when I ordered it set?' cried the Captain, in a tremendous voice. Finding that she pitched her bows under, I took it in under your general orders, Sir, that the At a quarter past 9 P.M., the ship heading west by compass, when the call of 'Light-O!' was heard from the foretopsail yard. Where away?' asked the officer of the deck. Three points on the lee bow,' replied the look-out. At this mo ment the Captain appeared and took the trumpet-officer of the deck should carry sail according to his 'Call all hands!' was his immediate order. All hands!' whistled the boatswain with that long, shrill summons so familiar to the ears of all who have ever been on board a man-of-war. 'All hands!" screamed the boatswain's mate, and ere the last echo died away all but the helpless sick. of the crew were standing on the deck. The ship was staggering through a heavy swell from the Bay of Biscay; the gale which had been blowing The unprofessional reader is informed that the expression Captain. Keep her "full and by," quarter means "nearly straight ahead." discretion,' replied the lieutenant in command. 'She will not bear it,' said the officer of the deck. 'Board the main tack!' now thundered the master.' 'Aye, aye, Sir!' The tack was boarded. pended the masts, and upon them the safety of the 'Haul aft the main sheet!' shouted the Cap-ship-for with one foot of canvas less she cod tain, and aft it went like the spreading of a sea- not live for fifteen minutes. bird's wing, giving the huge sail to the breath of the storm king. The next order from the Captain Onward plunged the strained and overlader el frigate; at every surge she seemed intent on mak g the mighty deep beneath her keel the sailure's 'Give her the lee helm when she goes into the grave, and her live-oak sides his coffin of glory. The ship had been fitted out at Boston when the was sea!' 'Aye, aye, Sir, she has it,' growled out the old thermometer stood below zero, consequently ber sea-dog at the binnacle. 'Right your helm, keep her full and by.' 'Aye, aye, Sir, full and by she is,' was the prompt reply from the helm. 'How fast does she go?' 'Nine knots and a half, Sir.' 'How bears the light?' 'Nearly a-beam, Sir.' shrouds slackened at every strain and her unwie dy masts (she had been designed for the Cumberland, a much larger ship) seemed ready to jump out of her. And now when all was apprehension, another bolt drew-and then another-until at last our whole stay was placed upon a single bolt, les than a man's wrist in circumference. Still the good iron clung to the solid wood and bore us 'Keep her away half a point! How fast does alongside the breakers, though in a most fear. she go?' 'Nine knots, Sir.' Steady so!' returned the Captain. 'Steady!' answered the helmsman. Upon that crowded deck now reigned the silence of the grave; not a word was uttered, and each man like a statue stood, while the storm howled fiercely but unnoticed by them. To my excited imagination then, the space of time though comparatively short, seemed an age. It was, indeed, a trying hour with us all-unless the ship could carry sail to speed us at the rate of nine knots an hour, we must without doubt dash upon Scilly, and who during a storm ever touched those treacherous rocks and lived? proximity to their seething vortex. I make DO attempt to embellish-these are literal facts. As we galloped on-for I can compare os vessel's leaping to nothing else—the rocks seemed very near us. Dark as was the night, the whe foam scowled around their black heads while the spray fell in fitful showers over us, and the thusders of the dashing surge sounded like an aw knell sung by old ocean for the victims he wa eager to engulph. At length the light bore upon our quarter ard the broad Atlantic rolled its white caps before us During this time all was silence among us, each officer and man was at his post, and the bearing and countenance of the Captain seemed to give encouragement to every person on board. With but a bare possibility of saving the ship and ber precious freight, he relied upon his nautical sk.Il and indomitable courage-carrying the mainsal when in any other situation it might be considered a suicidal act-he, by so doing in this case, The sea ran very high, the rain fell in sheets, and the sky was one black curtain, illuminated only by the faint light which was to mark our deliverance or stand a monument of our destruction. The wind had got above whistling; it came in puffs that flattened the waves and made our poor old frigate settle to her bearings, while every-weathered the lee shore and saved the Constitution. thing on board seemed to be cracking into pieces. At this juncture the carpenter reported that the left bolt of the weather fore-shroud had drawn.' 'Get on the luffs, and set them on all the weather shrouds. Keep her at small helm, quartermaster, and ease her in the sea,' were the orders of the Captain. The luffs were soon put upon the weather shrouds, which of course relieved the chains and channels, but many an anxious eye was turned towards the remaining bolts, for upon them de The mainsail was now hauled up by light hearts and strong hands, the jib and spanker taken in, and from that dreaded light of Scilly' our almost devoted ship, under close reefed topsails and maintrysail, took her glad departure and danced merrily over the now jocund waves toward the United States. 'Pipe down,' said the Captain to the first lieutenant, and splice the main brace.' 'Pipe down,' echoed the first lieutenant to the boatswain. |