Ames Township (part 1 of 4)

Ames Township

The Earth, self-ballanced on her Center hangs, and by her obsequious Motion upon her Axis fetches the agreeable Vicissitude of Day and Night from that stupendious Globe of Ivight and Heat, the Sun. When Night erects his shadowy Cone in our Hemisphere, as the Splendor of Day diminishes, and the Tide of lyight begins to ebb from our wearied Ej^es, what an occular Demonstration of the Immensity of the Creators works presents itself to our Sight by the innumerable I^amps of Heaven that shine gloriously in the Vaux-Hall of the Universe. Night gives us a view of those associate Worlds that belong to the same System with this Earth, and bj' the help of Glasses we discover their attendant Moons that are invisible to the naked Eye : Night also calls forth that numberless Host of fixed Stars that were hid in Light all the Day long : their want of Parallax demonstrate their immense Distance and that their Light is innate and not borrowed. The Galaxy in the Evenings in February and August presents itself to full View : and that white broad Path that encompasses the whole Heavens, by Telescopes has been discovered to consist of an innumerable cluster of fixed Stars diflferent in Situation and Magnitude, whose confused Light we behold : ' Tis supposed that these Stars are Suus to other systems as far distant from each other as we are from them, that to nine Parts in ten of the Space between us and the fixed Stars, our Sun appears as a Star does to us in a clear Night: doubtless these Suns appear as large in their respective Systems as our Sun does in this, and are the noble Apparatus's of Light and Heat to each Planet that revolves about them : and that each of these Planets are impregnate with Gravit}', and stock'd with rational Inhabitants who are furnished with everything necessary for their Conser^^ation. How does such a Thought enlarge and stretch our Ideas of the Works of God ? What but infinite Wisdom could contrive and what but Omnipotency make so grand a Fabrick as the Universe ! Here's Employment for the Angels ! Here's Space sufl&cient to stretch their Wings on Errands of Kindness from an indulgent Creator to the Individuals amongst his creatures.

Kotes on 1751* - The Seasons this year are the topic for consideration in the opening chorus on first page, and the address to the reader rehearses the stellar aspects and their probable effects upon European nations and the Colonies of North America as viewed in astrological circles. The former spirit and genius of the art is related and its decay noted, together with the governing reasons therefor.

The monthly verses are announced " to have been written at the desire of Dr. Ames, and presented to him by a young gentleman then at the age of twelve years," the effort being quite creditable to the youthful Apollo, and it is to be regretted that we have not his name.

Boj-s were certainly quite precocious in the early days, and none need wonder at the Doctor compiling an Almanack in his i6th year, when a genius like the poet of this year's production was developed at an earlier age twenty-five years later. New England certainly has much to be proud of both in ancient and modern scholars and scientists.

The essay is a lecture on the beauties of the night, describing the wonders to be seen in the heavens, through the medium of the telescope which lays bare to our view the myriads of stars which compose the " milky way." After an elaboration of his ideas on this vast subject, the Doctor concludes, congratulating the Angels that there is yet space enough unoccupied for them to stretch their wings on errands of love and kindness.

The astronomer and inn-keeper is briefly humorous this year, but he has yet the inclination to give a parting salute to his assailant at law, and still warn the outlying settlements against the probable incursions of the Indians. " Hard Times " still exist. Old Tenor still the ruling spirit, and is this year noted in the price line of the Almanack to qualify the cost.

It was the first snow we had deep enough to Sled on. February 20th. Blue Bird sang. 25th. A L,ark sang. 26th. Frogs Peep'd. 27th. Robins sang. March nth. Aaron Martin was Drowned found March ye 26th in Colo Marcy's Mill Pond. 2ist. Was a Publick Fast. April 20th. Breaks came up.

Almanack For 1 752 The Almanack For 1752

With the Year 1 740 all the Ephemerides of the Planets Places then extant expired ; and however cheap and contemptible a Thing an Almanack may seem to be, it annually costs me much Time and hard stud}^ to prepare one for you ; and your chearful Acceptance of my Eabours, for these Twenty-seveji Years past, has encouraged me more to continue in this j^our Service than the Reward I receive for it.

The Aflfairs of my House are of a publick Nature, and therefore I hope maj" be mentioned here without Offence to my Reader: The Sign I advertised last Year hy Reasons of some little Disappointments, is not put up, but the Thing intended to be sign'fied by it is to be had according to said Advertisement. And I beg Leave further to add, that if any with a View of Gain to themselves, or Advantage to their Friends, have reported Things of my House in contradiction to the aforesaid Advertisement, I would only have those whom they would influence consider, that where the Narrator is not honest, is not an Ej'e or Ear Witness, can't trace his storj- to the original, has it only b}' Hear-say, a thousand such Witnesses are not sufficient to hang a Dog: & I hope no Gentleman that travels the Road will have his Mind bias'd against my House by such idle Reports. iV. Ames.

January February

At lowest Ebb of Fortune when you lay Contented, then how happy was the Da}' : But Oh ! the Curse of aiming to be great ! Dazled with Hopes we cannot see the Cheat. When wild Ambition in the Heart we find. Farewell Content and Ouiet of the Mind.

June

How happy is the harmless Country-Maid, Who rich by Nature scorns superfluous Aid ! Whose modest Cloaths no wanton Eyes invite. But like her soul Preserves the native White. - No Care but Love can discompose her Breast, Love of all Cares the sweetest and the best !

July

Content is Wealth, the Riches of the Mind, And happy he who can that Treasure find ! But the base Miser starves amidst his Store Broods on his Gold ; and griping still at more Sits sadly pining and believes he's poor.

October

' Tis equal if our Fortunes should augment, And stretch themselves to the same vast Extent With our Desires ; or those Desires abate, Shrink and contract themselves to fit our State :

December

Altho' I have gained many established Truths from repeated Observations and Experiments in the practice of Medicine, I cannot pretend to communicate zwy new Discovery to the Learned, since all I could say, if I had (instead of two Pages) a Folio to fill, is contained in the real History of Nature, as given by a Sydenham and a Cheyne in their excellent Writings. But for the sake of those who know not the Laws of Nature, and are unacquainted with the Operation of her Hands, I shall fill these two Pages with a Word : First, to those of my Readers who are athletick, healthy and strong : secondly, to those who are valetudinary, infirm, sickly, and of weak Constitutions.

To the athletick, healthy, and strong : Your Bodies, like a well regulated Clock, are a wonderful Machine consisting of an infinite Variety of branching and winding Canals, thro' whose cylindrical and conick Tubes the Blood, a Fluid whose compounding Parts are of different Densities, by the Momentum of the Heart, like the main Spring of a Watch, is perpetually propel'd forward in an unwearied Circulation : and the Glands, those excretory Ducts by which Nature drains her Superfluities from the Common Mass, are so situated and circumstanced that all the Fluids, and no more, which Nature would have secerned, are drawn off: In this your Health consists : for in any Animal where the secretations are regular, the Health is sound and good. But, alas! there are Alterations which your Senses are imperceptible of, with Regard to the Air you breathe in, the Meat and Drink you take to support you, the Sleep to refresh you, or that Watchfulness your bodily Exercise require, or those Passions or Perturbations of Mind that arise from external Things : from each of these Quarters j'our Health may be instantl}^ attacked, and that wonderful Machine that with an even Hand, according to the Laws of Nature carried on a due Circulation and Secretion of all the Juices may be so altered as to throw out those Balsams of Life that ought to be retained, or to retain those parts of the Blood that are worn out with Circulation, and ought to be flung out as Excrements, & w^hilst the Machine is clog'd and loaded wuth these Obstructions, the thinking Thing cries out with excrutiating Pains. On each of the above-mentioned Heads, called Non-naturals, Physicians have wrote largely. -

I shall just caution you against some Dangers that may arise from one of those Quarters, viz : Eatitig & Drinking : the Antediluvians had not learn'd the Art of Inteuiperance, therefore they attained to the Age of 900 Years, the poisonous Exhalations of the Air were expel'd b}' the Perspiration of their own healthful Bodies : but when they came to overload their Machine with animal Food, their 900 Years dwindled away to Three score and ten : but if with their Meat Men would be contented with such Drink as Nature requires to dilute their Food, and wash away the Crudities that arise by their Cra?nmi?ig, they might generall}' attain the extent of that abreviated Span of Life that is allotted for the present Age of Man : - Strong Waters were formerly used only by the Direction of Phj-sicians : but now Mechanicks and low-liv'd Labourers drink RUM like Fotintain- Water, and they can infinitely better endure it than the idle, unactive, and sedentary Part of Mankind : but Death is in the bottom of the Cup of every one. Does the great Doctor Cheyne lie when he says that neither Laudanum nor Arsenick will kill more certainly, altho' more quickly? You may feel High-.spirited while your Blood boils into Sulphur and Flame : So you might walk (for the present safeh-) if the Sands of the Earth were

Secondly, to the valetudinary, infirm and sickly. Your Bodies were made in the same perfect and compleat Manner with others : and whether your present Infirmities are the Effect of your own Mistakes, or Hereditary from j^our Ancestors, is worth 5'our Consideration : with Regard to the Method of Cure, - Where the Disease prevails and Nature gives out, 'tis in vain to try to raise the Dead, but exercise Abstinence, proper Evacuations, with Time and Patience will cure most Diseases, or make them tolerable: - Those Patients whose Cases are chronick, who will not be govern'd in their Diet, must not expect lasting Benefit from Physick. But to know what Exercises, and what Evacuations 5^ou must use in j'our several Cases; from what you must abstain, what 3'ou may eat and drink, how long 3'ou must continue in such Courses, consult your Physicians : and if you would have the best Physician's Advice on such an important Subject, read Dr. Cheync's Essay upon Health and Long Life, and the English Malady.

Xotes oil 1752. - This year the Almanack opens with a very peculiar poetical effort from our tavern-keeper-astronomer. The sentiment would indicate a very, very conscientious Bardolph, or else an Ordinary where the exciseman's visits were not particularly necessary. Such very injudicious remarks indulged in at this period of civilization, would ruin the prospects of the general government, if not the retailer of spirits, and materiall}' reduce the monthly surplus in the Treasury. It is hardly probable that the Doctor kept a temperance house.

On the following page, it is to be noted that the slanderer was abroad in the land, and that even the tavern at Dedham was not exempt from his baneful influence. The Doctor apologises for the non-appearance of the " Sign of the Sun " announced last 5'ear, and deprecates the custom of condemnation on hearsay testimony.

This 5'ear 1752 was noted for the adoption by the British Parliament, of the Gregorian Calendar, but Ames' Almanack did not make the change, as he " had no certain Account of the Act for reducing the Year

According to an Act of Parliament passed in the 24th year of the Reign of George II and in the year 1751, the Old Style ceases with the close of the 2d day of September 1752, and eleven succeeding days are dropped from the Calendar, and the following day, which otherwise would be Thursday the 3d, becomes Thursday the 14th of September - the month September 1752, containing therefore but nineteen (19) days.

This year some of the verses at the head of each monthlj- page are again extracted from Dryden, and Butler, whose Juvenal and Hudibras are partly laid under contribution, while the Doctor drops in a few lines to connect up his moralizing with their sentiment, making a couplet with a line from Addison, while the author of the " Essaj- on Man " has the valedictory for the year.

The essay for 1752 is a very readable lecture on Medicine and Health, fraught with wisdom concerning the proper observance of the rules of nature, by which one might attain the age of goo years, which, unhappily, is reduced by injudicious " cramming " to a paltry " three score and ten."

The humor in the usual place is not as extensive as common, yet what there is of that characteristic as well as wisdom, is of the usual attractive and amusing quality.

In the course of the past few years, allusions deprecating a currency known as " Old Tenor " have been made, and for the better understanding of the shrinkage of the value of this currency, we quote the various prices of almanacks during the period of Ames' publication.

His Almanack consisted of but one sheet of paper folded to make sixteen (16) pages, and was not increased from this size, from its inception in 1725 until the year 1759, when it was increased bj- the addition of a half sheet making the pages twenty-four (24). The prices of the earlier issues are not noted.

1748 Sixteen pence single and Ten shillings per dozen. 1749 to 1758 Eighteen pence single and Twelve shillings per dozen. Old Tenor. At this period, " Old Tenor" appears to have reached its highest point, as in this latter year " Spanish Milled Dollars pass for Six shillings Lawful Mone}- and Forty-Jive shillings Old Tenor, in Massachusetts Bay."

The restoration of specie payments probabl}' occurred shortlj' after, as in 1759 with increased size of book the price was reduced, and remained at about same figure until the commencement of the Revolutionary period. The prices are quoted.

The Almanack For 1753

Besides the Eclipses of the Suu and Moon this Year, there will be a curious Phcenomena, which, tho' observed by modern Astronomers, has not been mentioned hy our New England Almanack makers ; I mean a Transit of the Planet Mercury over the Body of the Sun. - On Sunday May 6, the Sun will rise with Mercur}^ making a black Spot in his Body, and as 'i will be 7 h. 46 m. passing over the Sun, his going off will be seen bj' us according to the following Calculation,

Now all amidst the Rigours of the Year, In the wild Depth of Winter, while without The ceaseless Winds blow Ice, be nn- Retreat A rural shelter'd solitarj^ Scene ; Where ruddy Fire, and beaming Tapers join, To chear the Gloom.

April

His Force deep-darting to the dark Retreat Of Vegetation, sets the steaming Power At large, to wander o'er the vernant Earth. From the moist Meadow to the wither'd Hill Led by the Breeze, the vivid Verdure runs And swells, and deepens, to the cherish'd Ej'e.

JUNE. Full swell the Woods, there every Music wakes, Mixt in wild Concert, with the Warbling Brooks Increas'd, the distant Bleatings of the Hills, The hollow Lows responsive from the Vale. Can Man forbear to join the general Smile Of Nature ? can fierce Passions vex his Breast, While ever}' Gale is Peace, and every Grove is melody.

Almanack For 1 753

And keen Reflection pain. - The Mower sinking heaps O'er him the humid Hay, with flowers perfum'd, And scarce a chirping Grass hopper is heard Through the dumb Mead. Distressful Nature pants.

Nitrous prepar'd ; the various blossom'd Spring, Put in white, promise forth ; the Summer Suns Concocted strong, rush boundless now to view-. Full perfect all.

September

Of Autumn unconfin'd ; and taste^ reviv'd The Breath of Orchard, big with bending Fruit, Obedient to the Breeze, and beating Way From the deep-loaded Bough, a mellow Shower Incessant melts away. The Juicy Pear, The downy Peach, the shining Plumb.

Deluded, that Imperial Rhine bestow'd The generous Ri;mmer, whilst the Owner pleas'd Laughs only at his Guests thus entertain'd With foreign Vintage from his Cyder-Cask.

The last Year's Almanack now being dead yet speaketh. Now Jack Frost enters many a Cellar by Night, Vi et arniis, and is not guilty of Burglary tho' he does much Mischief.

February

Many Accidents hurtful to Mankind happen about these Days. The burthen'd Elements declare a mighty Storm is near. An expectation of great Changes ere long.

AUGU.ST. If you would do Business to purpose, improve the Morning. The Indian Corn now grows amain : The Farmer's pleas'd with hopes of Gain.

Since the Characters in the Almanack are not understood by many of my young Readers, I shall set down the Names and Characters of them, viz;:

Since this is the Second Year corrected to Solar Time, and the general Date of all Europe ; and almost all the Almanack- Writers for the last Year in their several Performances gave some Account of this Matter: I should have only conform'd to the Act of Parliament without saying any Thing further : But for the sake of man}^ that take my Almanack, and have not seen or heard what has been said by others, I shall attempt to give them the Reasons of this Alteration briefly as I can. The main Intention in striking off the Eleven Days between the 2d and 14th of September A. D. 1752, is to produce an Uniformity in the Computation of Time throughout the Christian part of the World : The Reasons given by the Government at Home for this Alteration in the Preamble of their Act of Parliament, are as follows, viz:

1. Whereas the {Julian) Year began on the 25th Day oi March differ'd from the Legal Method of Computation in Scotland, and from the Usage of other Nation, which occasion'd frequent Mistakes in the Date of Deeds and other Writings, &c.

2. That the Spring Equinox at the Council of Nice in the Year of our Eord 325, happened on the 21st Da}^ oi March, now happens on the gth or loth of the same Month, and the error is still increasing : and if not remedied, would in Process of Time, occasion the several Equinoxes, and Solstices to fall at very different Times in the civil Year from what they formerly did, which might tend to mislead Persons Ignorant of the said Alteration.

Almanack For 1 753- 247

It is enacted. That the Year henceforward shall begin on the first Day of January : That every Fourth Hundred Year is to consist of 366 Days, as is usual in the Bissextile or Leap Year ; but all other whole Hundred Years of 365 Days only : the Years between which whole Hundreds to be common and Bissextile as formerly.

Julius Caesar with the Assistance of a famous Egyptian Mathematician was the Contriver of the Form of the Year according to Old Stile which consisted of the Astronomical Quantit}' of 365 Days and 6 Hours : so that every 4th Year one compleat Day was added. The Account of Time has each Year run a head of Time hy the Sun 11 min. 5 sec. i8th 33 fourths : or 44 viin. 21 sec. 14th 12 Joiirths, ever^' 4 Years : and consequently ^d. I h. 55 min. 3 sec. 40 thirds in 400 Years : And so from the Council of Nice when the Calender was setled in the Year 325, to the Year 1752 being 1427 Years, the Time by Account is forward of that by the Sun 10 d. 23 h. 43 ?;?. Therefore 11 Days was left out of September as before mentioned, which makes the Equinoxes and Solstices to fall on the same nominal Daj's on which they happen'd at the said Council of Nice.

We are not to forget our Birth-Daj's : - Nor does this Act of Parliament anticipate the Payment of Debts, &c. : - Therefore I have in the 4th Column of this Almanack given you the Days of the Months according to Old Stile. - And as ni}' last Year's Almanack was carried out 1 1 Da^^s too long, this Year begins the 2ist Da}' of December Old Stile which must evermore be accounted the first Day ol Jayncary .

Notes on 1753.- The " Doctor Watts " style of hymn embellishes the title page of this year, which Dr. Ames styles the " Gregorian," out of compliment to the New Style now in vogue through all the British kingdom.

but little known.) and our old friend Dryden contribute each a portion for the introduction of the first three months, while Addison is largely drawn upon for the balance of the captions. Even with no acknowledgment, the lines at the head of October month, with their humorously satirical allusion, would generally be allowed as Spcctatorial.

For the benefit of young readers, a short lesson in astronomy sets out the representative characters of the Planets, Aspects and Signs of the Zodiac.

The lecture this year is upon the Gregorian Calendar, with the reasons stated for the change from old to new " stile." The doctor enlarges upon previous calculations, and finally, having made his year 1752 too long by eleven days, he atones for the act by asking his readers to drop the last eleven days of 1752, and begin the year 1753 on the 21st December: hence his remark in the weather column under Januarj^ " The last year's almanack now being dead, yet speaketh," an adaptation of the Latin motto on Patridge's English Almanack published long after his death - Etiatn mortiius, loquitur.

The humorous drops still savor of the continued bias of the Author ; " Old Tenor " still holds foremost place, with Hard Times a close follower.

The Almanack For 1754 Boston, New-England

Who bid this Universe from Nothing spring. Did at his Word bid num'rous Worlds appear. And rising Worlds the all-powerful Word did hear. The Stars shall drop, the Sun shall lose his Flame, But Thou, O, God, forever shine the same.

I have this Year collected the Poetry for the Almanack from several Authors : what typographical Errors escape I hope you will correct with your Pen. I have flll'd the two last Pages with an Essay 07i Regimen. I don't pretend to direct the Learned - The Rich and Voluptuous will scorn my Direction, and sneer or rail at anj^ that would reclaim them, but since this Sheet enters the solitary Dwellings of the Poor & Illiterate, where the studied Ingenuity of the Learned Writer never comes, if these brief Hints do good, it will rejoice the Heart of

Pride, where Wit fails, steps in to our Defence, And fills up all the mighty Void of Sense, If once right Reason drives that Cloud away, Truth breaks upon vis with resistless Day. Trust not your self, but your defedts to know. Make use of ev'ry Friend, and ev'ry Foe.

Th' approaching Sun darts forth his cliearful Rays, And vocal Woods resound with warbling Lays. The sportive Lambs skip o'er the verdant Plain And joyful Birds their tuneful Voices strain.

All Nature laughs, the Groves are fresh and fair, The Sun's mild Lustre warms the vital Air, Whilst southern Climes his sable Absence mourn We feel with Joy the youthful Spring's Return. The blooming Trees their grateful Fragrance yield. And od'rous Flow'rs paint the smiling Field.

When the gay Sun first breaks the Shades of Night, And strikes the distant Eastern Hills with Light, Colour returns, the Plains their Liv'ry wear. And a bright Verdure cloaths the smiling Year ; The bloomy Flow'rs with op'ning Beauties glow, And grazing Flocks their milky Fleeces show.

When to the Western Main the Sun descends. To other Lands a rising Day he lends ; The spreading Dawn another Shepherd spies, The wakeful Flocks from their warm Folds arise Refresh'd the Peasant seeks his early Toil, And bids the Plough correct the fallow Soil.

August

See how the Skies with gath'ring Darkness low'r. The Branches rustle with the threaten'd shower ; With sudden Blasts the Forest murmurs loud. Indented Lightnings cleave the sable Cloud. Thunder on Thunder breaks, the Tempest roars And Heav'n discharges all its watry Stores.

The Apples now on loaded Branches shine, Whose grateful Juice vie's with the generous Wine. Leave Rum for Sots ; and with a modest Sneer, Let Farmers boast the Virtues of their Beer ; Their Barley hous'd, the Year's with Plenty crowned The falling Fruits and Berries paint the Ground ; And lavish Nature laughs & strows her stores around.

Almanack For 1 754- 25 1

The Sun grows low, the Summer Heats decay, And all her Pride and Beauty fades away : The cold Boreal chilling Rain returns, Stript of her fading Pride all Nature mourns ; The Trees no more their wonted Verdure boast. But weep in dewy Tears, their Beauty lost.

November

While we in Sleep's Embraces waste the Night, The Climes oppos'd enjoy Meridian Light : And when those Lands the busy Sun forsakes. With us again the ros}- Morning wakes. In lazy Sleep the Night rolls swift away, And neither Clime laments his absent Ray.

There is no sufficient Recompense for an unjust Slander. All things are chil'd with cold ; but Love and Zeal are Warm. It is hard for him that will not Labour, to excel in Wealth or Knowledge.

Almanack For 1 754- 253

Yet the Birds, Beasts and Fishes, if not devoured b)' one another or murdered by Man, commonl}^ go on in a State of Health to the Period of Life. Man ! the last and most noble of all GOD'S visible Works ! what innumerable Diseases (besides a strange Pestilence^ with foul Ulcuscxdosa) prey on thy infant Posterity ! How soon is thy Youth forced to struggle with inflammatory Fevers of all Kinds ! If from the Age of thirty-five to forty Years we escape melting into Death with a Consumption, or swiming to the Grave in a Dropsy ; Our Bowels are tortur'd with cholick Pangs, our Joynts rack't with Gouts and Rheumatisms, our Beauty spoil'd with Erysipelas's, the Strength of our Muscles broken down, and their springy Fibres torne asunder with Imposthumes, Gangrenes, and Mortifications? Is it not enough for mortal Man to be born, to live his appointed Time, and die at last ! Why, does the Author of our Beings delight in our Misery ! GOD forbid that we should attribute the Cruelty of a Tyrant, to Infinite Goodness : No, no, the monstrous and extream Tortures which man}' labour under, are the growth of their own Madness and Folh', who through Laziness rust for want of Exercise, or for the sake of a little sensual Pleasure cram their poor passive Machines with more Meats and Drinks, than they can easily digest : Our Bodies require onl}' a determinate Quantity of suitable Matter to supply the Expences of Living, and Nature in her secret Distribution of the circulating Fluid requires, those Compressions, Extensions and other Kinds of Motions necessary to separate the several Humours, and cast them into their proper Channels, to retain the Balsamick and throw oflf the redundant excrementitious Particles of the Blood.

A Body found b}' Inheritance with this determinate Quantity of suitable Matter and these Motions and Exercises which Nature requires, (tho' liable to Death by innumerable Accidents) will not be subject to the Insults of the common Tribe of Distempers, under the Influence of which some Persons groan all their Days, as tho' their Lives were a Purgatory to Expiate for Crimes committed ill some other State. Says an ingenious Author, "When I behold a fashionable Table set out in its Magnificence, I fancy I see Gouts and Dropsies, Fevers and Lethargies, with other innumerable Distempers lying in Ambuscade amo7ig the Dishes T

THE Divine Artificer, with infinite Skill, made the Body of Man, a Machine at first capable of endless Duration ; but the living Principle in this Machine, which actuates and governs the divinely contrived, and infinite Number of it's perfectly finished Organs, suffered the Admittance of 2i forbidden, (if not an hetrogeneous Substance) which broke the divine Harmon)^ and in a certain determinate Number of Years rendered this Machine unfit for this self-motive, self-active Principle, to act harmoniously upon. In the Anti-diluvian Days these Organs would perform their intended Uses, for the Space of Nine Hundred Years : But since that Fluid, { i. e. the Blood, ) which was created and contrived to preserve the due Plight and tonical Vertue of these Organs, is made of animal Substances, the divine ^ Warranty runs but for threescore Years and ten or fourscore. Though the foregoing Hints cannot be sufiiciently illustrated in the contracted Limits of this Page, they will afford the following Corrolaries,

I. That those Men who have their Palates solicited with Variety of delightful Tastes, as with Cordials, Drams, Bitters, high relished Sauces with their Food, &c. have false Appetites created. 2. That these false Appetites being bribed betray their Trusts and admit of Excess. 3. That these Excesses contain in Embrio the first Seeds of those rebellious Distempers which spring in a terrible manner, and cut down Millions before they have liv'd out half their Days. 4. Those Persons whose male Regimen have produc'd Diseases, ought not to expect Cure from Physicians without reforming their ill Conduct. To conclude. All distill'd fermented Spirits contain a deleterious Quality, they destroy the Appetite and Digestion, they spoil the Blood and Nerves, and bring the Persons that use them into a languid dispirited State ; and will as assuredly kill at last as any other slow Poison.

Almanack For 1 755- 255

^Otes on 1754- - Borrowed plumage ornaments the almanack this year ; the author stating that he has drawn upon several writers for this purpose - the selections being both instructive and calculated to please the great mass of his readers.

The Doctor's profession asserts itself in the Essay ; and he contributes a most practical dissertation upon Regimen, which, if " more thoroughly adopted," as the Author remarks, to the " Poor and Illiterate, " the presence of man}' syllabled words therein would argue a more advanced state of learning among the aforesaid impoverished and uncultivated, than would be supposed to exist among the classes to which the essays were generally addressed.

The Doctor in his " weather column," however, makes amends, by inserting much of a more readily understood character, in the usual merry stvle.

The Almanack For 1755

Friendship, by Name, is courted and caress'd, But banish'd far from each pretending Breast: In her due Room, a Net of Vermin lies. And selfish, sordid Furies tyrannize.

" Let there be Light," GOD said ; and lo, The nimble Beams the Fiat heard. Sprang from the Womb of ancient Night, And chearful Light it's smiling Visage rear'd, On purple Wings it upward flew, And by his Order fix'd on high ;

To meet the Sun, see ! youthful Spring appear, The laughing Fields, new Flowers and Verdure wear, The warb'ling Birds now loftly hover round, While silver Fountains mvirmur to their Sound, Joy spreads the Heart ; and with a general Song Spring issues out, and leads the jolly Months along.

Now the Carnation, and the bashful Rose, Their Virgin-blushes to the Morn disclose : Now the chaste Lilly rises to the Light, Unveils her snowy Breast, and charms the Sight : And Arbours are with twining Greens array'd, T' oblige complaining Lovers with their Shade.

Dreams are but Interludes which Fancy makes : When Monarch Reason sleeps, this Mimic wakes ; Compounds a Medley of disjointed Things, A Mob of Coblers, and a Court of Kings : Light Fumes are merr}-, grosser Fumes are sad, Both are the reasonable Soul run mad ;

And many monstrous Forms in Sleep we see. That tiever were, nor are, nor e'er can be. Sometimes forgotten Things, long cast behind. Rush forward in the Brain, and come to Mind: The Nurses Legends are for Truths receiv'd. And the Man dreams but what the Boy believ'd.

Seek not to know To-morrow's Doom ; That is not our's which is to come ! The present Moment's all our Store, The next should Heav'n allow Then this will be no more : So all our Life is but one Instant Now.

NOVEMBER. Religion's foreign, and is treated so; No sooner condescends th' ^F^therial Dame To visit some dark Town with vital Flame ; But straitway all around contrive To hoot the heav'nly Guest, and drive Her Home unto the Land from whence she came.

And leave the Clouds, with Winds and Tempests fraught, But Breath enough to shake the trembling Trees, And rock the Birds that pirch upon their Boughs.

A sudden Disappointment stops the Progress of a grand Tj-rant. Good Projedlions without Resolution and Adlion, will produce no good EfFe<fts.

The Air which fills our raptur'd Breasts with Joy, supports all Natures Sons with Life, without whose Energy the Blood of Man and Beast would soon become a drossy Tide, and all the Efforts of the active Heart, would be unable to propell the purple Currant thro' its secret mazy Channels. Sometimes the Planets dart their influence down ; or from the Earth's wide Womb strange Plagues arise and contaminate the ^therial Tracts of Air, which stains the blue Serenity of Heaven with Death in various Shapes.

Breathe not the Air of Cities, where breathless Winds imbibe Effluvia from the Sick and Dying, from the Dead, from Docks and Dunghills ; where Thousands of Lungs with Exhalations foul, sate the Air with strange Corruption, and make that vital Element a nauseous Mass, enough to spoil and corrode that weak and tender Organ thro' whose flexible Tubes the putrid Salts oi all obscene corrtipt offensive Things are carried to the Blood.

You who would breathe in pure balsamic Air, see yon Blue- Hill invites you ; where western Gales from Dedhain Plains with sweet ambrosial Breezes fan the undulating Skie and chase those Mists which cloud his lofty summit ; and see bewildered ^ ChaHes River in State slowlj^ move thro' the Town, and well deserves her notice in the Charter.

^ Bewildered, because in Dedhatn the Flood parts, and contrary to the common Course of Nature, a considerable Branch runs from Charles River and joins with Neponsit River.

Diet

The Food which from the briny Ocean is taken, and made hard with the Sun and Salt, or the vetran Ox, so smoak'd and dried that Wood is scarcely more rebellious, 3'et this the arthletic labouring Man with hungry Meal devours ; his assimilating Powers are so amazing strong that they subtilize the stubborn Mass to Chyle, which nature labours into Blood : But those whose Fibres are unstrung, the infirm and delicate, those pale and bloated up with Sloth, those new in Life, and those who bear the Weight of many Years ; to keep your Bodies free of Pain, of Woes the Mind, reject all luscious Food; the oily Aliments which the stal'd and cram'd afford, will injure your languid Stomachs, your elastic Tubes are not sufficiently brac'd and the Machinery of Nature (in you) is not strong enough to grind such viscous Fluids fit for solid Health ; but rather chuse Meat that is 3^oung and such as gain their Food with Exercise from Grass, from Grain, from flowery Herbs ; that drink the Sun and Dews from Mountain's Sides, or fertile Vales : When first the Flowers and grateful Herbs, that deck the Spring with tender Blade and sprouting Life, rise from their nitrous Beds, these give the best Repast, a sweet Refection, their balmy Quintessences restore from Languishments, which all the long, long ! Winter Nights opprest.

Exercise

The Law of Nature so ordains. Toil, and be Strong : The Husbandman who manures the Glebe, and toils in Dust and Rain ; - his Habit is steel'd with Labour ; - his Nerves grow firm and strong ; thro' midnight Fogs he walks unhurt, nor fears Rheumatic Pains or Coughs from Eastern Blasts. Oh ! happy would it be for many Sons of Luxury, if they no Bread might eat but what they earn'd by Labour. When Winter chills the Blood and binds the Veins, your Health more Labour then demands. How Sweet the balmy Dew of Sleep descends on the labouring Man : He wastes the blank of Night in deep Oblivion ; but if his Memory retains what roving Fancy coin'd, the little Cupids court his Company b}^ Night, and happy Dreams increase the Tranquility of his Mind, and he awakes as lively as the

Almanack For 1 755

Morning : But with the unadlive Sluggard it is not so ; his flacid Nerves are unstrung, his Nature sinks, his Meals oppress, his Sleep is frantic with pale Spectres, coin'd in his delirious Brains ; and monstrous Painting shocks his Soul all Night.

' Twas Toil that taught the Roma?is h.o\\ to conquer; they from the Fields went to the Senate-House ; and from the Plough they led their Legions on to War, by Toil thro' every Clime they gain'd the Victory. - Then you of firmest Clay, A^ew England's hardiest Sons, let Agriculture exercise your Limbs. - You with the Spirit of the Romans, conquer'd Loiiisboiirg : Manure this Land which your Fore-fathers planted with Herculean Labour and at a vast Expence. When Dust & Sweat besmears the Skin, thro' whose small Pores a constant Stream per^^ades - then plunge into the Flood, or in the Cistern bathe - Your Nerves thus tempered as with treble Steel, no chronick Languors can assault 3'our Breast, nor Fever's rapid Flames scorch up 3'our Blood ; besides 'twill keep you clean, and Nastiness is Poverty indeed : Youth has no Grace with Filth,

Health is fled, whose Strength is prostrate, whose feeble Limbs the Toil of Exercise can't bear, nor in the tepid Flood dare plunge : You, Friction with the Brush maj' use ; such Irritation on the porous Skin ma\' move those Bars which Perspiration feels, and make the Wheels of Life (which lag) move easier alons:.

Notes 1755. - The almanack this year tends largeh- towards poetry and hygiene. The general character of the monthly verses does not differ much in sentiment from the earlier productions of the author. He still continues his profound admiration for the wonderful processes of Nature, and his lines are a veritable melange of moralizing, devotion, description, advice, and -admiration ; concluding with a gloria to the philosopher Franklin, and his remarkable attainments.

His essay on Regimen, divided into chapters on Air, Diet, and Exercise are well intended for the consideration of his auditors, and his wit and humor combines as usual, terse sayings concerning economy and reform, which now appear to occupy prominent positions in the public mind.

The Almanack For 1756

" Presence of Mind, and Courage in Distress " Are more than Armies to procure Success. " True Courage dwells not in a troubled Flood " Of mounting Spirits and fermenting Blood ; " Ivodg'd in the Soul with Virtue over-rul'd, " Inflam'd by Reason, and by Reason cool'd; " In Hours of Peace content to be unknown, " And only in the Field of Battle shown."

Th' Alarm's beat, the Foe approacheth nigh, The Noise and Shout of Soldiers pierce the Skie, The Drum's and Trumpet's Sound awake the Da}^, Come WinsIyOW ! with your Mirmydons away ; Your Soldiers are like their great Leaders true : Success and Victory bound to follow you.

Which wou'd to Heav'n, might never more be nani'd. As 'twas thro' France ^ and Canada proclaim'd. O may that Day ! that fatal Day be ras'd, Nor in Times Calender be ever plac'd ; Jidy the ninth, let never more be nam'd, Which Britain's bleeding Glory thus has stain'd.

Almanack For 1 756

So fares the Trav'ler amongst the Brakes, Nigh some foul Den of deadlj- guileful Snakes, From his stung Heel the baneful Venum deep Into his Marrow and scorch'd Entrails creep, He turns, and lo his skulking Foe he spies When all's too late, for seeing Him he dies.

Shou'd Sols fierce Beams the stragling Streams exhale, That glide along the fam'd Monongahale'^ ; May Indian Hearts their purple Stores let go, And make that Flood its 'frightned Banks o'erflow : Times rolling Wheel a Revolution brings, And shifting Scenes attend all human Things.

Which our Cromelians with just Rage possest Aim'd sure and fatal at each bleeding Breast: How like the Leaves the dj'ing Frenchmen fall And with the rest their haughty General : Grief chills my Veins, my Joy is almost lost, To think what Blood this Vidlory has cost.

A hearty Tear each mournful Face bedews, Trees shed their Leaves, Streams murmur at the News To hear how TiTCOMB, and brave Williams dy'd, " Whilst Vidlory lay bleeding by their Side : Their Warlike Deeds, their lasting Names shall save From the Oblivion of a Tyrant Grave.

Behold our Camp ! from Fear, from Vice refin'd, Not of the Filth, but Flower of human Kind ! Mother's their Sons, Wives lend their Husbands there Brethren, ye have our Hearts, our Purse, our Prayer. The happy Bard who in Heroic Song Shall paint your tedious Marches all along;

Tell whom you slew, what wonders you have done, How you have fought, and God-like Honor won, With heav'nly Lawrels of eternal Fame, Reports the Merits of each worthy Name ; And justly tell what Praises are your due. Shall gain himself immortal Honor too.

March

Now Celsus has to do, with Ouinseys, Pleurisies and Cholicks too. The falling Snow and Rain, niix'd with the Mire, now makes the Trave'lers meagre Horses tire.

More is lost by Imprudence, than can be re-gain'd by Contrivance. Cold eastern Gales, and Sun obstru(5ling Clouds, keep back the approach of Spring.

Now Rain, or else, a Frost, or else, alas ! my Guess is lost. Excess of Drink, burns up Beauty, hastens Age, makes a man a Beast, a strong Man weak, and a wise Man a Fool.

DECEMBER. Pain's our Inheritance ; Pleasure is lent to a IMan upon hard Usury. Now Sol in Capricorn appoints Fierce Rheumatism to rack the Jovrits.

This Continent was first discovered by Christopher Cohanbus, a Genoese, A.D. 1492, in the Spanish Sersuce ; and is called America from Aniericns Vespnciiis, a Florentine Merchant, emplo3''d by the Portugese, A.D. 1499, about the same Time the Cabbots were imployed by the English, and Veruzani by the French, in Voyages to this new World : The British Empire in North- America extends it's self about 1600 Miles Sea-Coast, from Nova-Scotia, South Westward to Georgia, including 13 Provinces, Colonies, or distincl Governments, subject to the Crown of Great Britain ; each of which I shall just mention : And,

I. Of Nova Scotia : At the Conclusion of Queen A?i?i'sVJaT, 1 7 13, at the Treaty of Utrecht, Nova-Scotia was ceded to Great- Britain, there were two or three Thousand Freiich at that Time, who were suffered to continue on the Lands they had settled, and undoubtedly became the Subjects of Great-Britain: They call themselves Neutrals, but are Rebels and Traytors, assisting the French and Indians at all Opportunities, to mtirder & cut our Throats : They are increased to 7 or 8000 : The brave Monckton & Winslow, with an Army, chiefly from Neic England, in removing those perfidious Neighbours, ^ have brightned the first of our Expeditions against the Fre7ich this Year, with Success. Some say, that Nova Scotia for Healthiness of Climate, and Richness of soil, exceed the other Governments. Its produce is Hemp, Flax, Timber, Coals, Furs and Skins, and contains the most profitable Fisheries in the World ; there are 5000 Inhabitants ; it's present Governor is his Excellency Charles Laivrence, Esq;

Almanack For 1 756, 267

2. New-Hampshire is the next Government on the Continent, which with the Massachusetts, Rhode-Island and Coiinecticid, bear the general Appellation of New-England. This Government produces Masts for the Royal Navy, and Lumber of all sorts ; contains 30,000 Inhabitants ; It's present Governor is his Excellency Benning Wcntrvorth, Esq ;

3. We come now to the Massachusetts-Day ; This Province may be said to give Peace to Europe ; since for Cape Breton the Frc7ich yielded all their Conquests in Flanders. Boston is the Metropolis of North- America : The Air clear and healthy ; the soil in some Parts very good, producing Rye, Oats, Barley and Indian Corn, in great Plenty, excellent Pasture Eand, and plenty of Provisions. Our Cod-Fish we Trade off to Spain, Portzigal, Italy, &c. Our Whale-Fishery and Ship Building is great &c. &c. &c. The Number of our Inhabitants is computed at 220,000, Our Governor is his Excellency William Shirley, Esq;

4. Rhode-Island is the next in Course ; a small Colony, Newport in Rhode- Island is the Capital Town, Providence is the next considerable Town, and increases very fast in Trade, in Building, and in Inhabitants. Their Air and Soil differ not much from the Massaclmsetts, and contains about 35,000 Inhabitants ; their Governor this Year is the Hon. Stephen Hopkins, Esq ;

5. In our Course a little to the Westward, lies ConneFiicut Colony, a good Air, a rich Soil, greatly abounding in all sorts of Provisions, many fine Towns along the Sea-Coast, and on the River, which bears the Name of their Colon}-. The}' are a religious, A'irtuous People, and have greatly distinguished themselves in the present Expedition against Croicn Point ; their Number of Inhabitants 100,000, and Governor this Year, is the Hon. Thomas Fitch, Esq ;

6. -The next Government is A^ezc-Y^ork ; the City of New- York is their Capital ; and is said to contain 5000 Houses, they abound in all Sorts of Provisions, which they export, and in Return bring the best Madeira, which by the better sort is drank freely in the City ; the Number of their Inhabitants is set at 100,000, and their present Governor is His Excellency Sir Charles Hardy, Knight.

8. Pennsylvania ; the most populous of all the Governments in North America ; Philadelphia is the capital and finest Cit}' on the Continent ; their Houses are well built, their Streets regular; their Town Hoiise elegant : Their Market abounds with ever)' Thing, they tolerate all Religions, and trade to all Parts, and have 250,000 Inhabitants, their Governor is the Hon. Robert Planter Morris, Esq ;

9. The next Colony is Maryland : A fruitful Soil, they raise Wheat, Indian Corn, and Tobacco in plenty. Cattle and Hogs. The Transports from Tyburn, plague them worse than Rattlesnakes, who are Natives of the Country ; they have 85,000 Inhabitants ; their present Governor is the Hon. Horatio Sharpe, Esq;

William sbiirg is the Capital Town, Lat. 37. Deg. N. not so cold; the People live in ease and plenty : Tobacco is their chief Commodity, which brings a great Revenue to the Crown. Virginia has 180 Miles Sea Coast; & its now well known our disputed Claim with the French, extends back in the Country unbounded, and is wonderfulh' supplied with fine navigable Rivers ; contains 85,000 Inhabitants, their present Governor is the Hon. Robert Dinwiddle, Esq ;

11. North-Carolina ; Lat. 35 Deg. N. is fruitful in Rice, Indian Corn, Tobacco, Pitch, Tar, Deer skins. Fur, Wax, Tallow, &c. Hot in Summer, and not very cold in Winter ; their Cattle and Hogs are fed and fatted by indulgent Nature, without Expence to the Farmer : Their chief Places are Cape Fare and Edentown ; their Number of Inhabitants 45,000, their present Governor is the Hon. Arthur Dobbs, Esq ;

12. South- Carolina ; in 32 Deg. N. Lat. has the same Produce as Nor th- Carolina ; they have little Winter, and have all the Conveniences of Life; also fine Rivers and good Harbours; Charlestoivn is their Capital : Number of Inhabitants about 30,000, their present Governor is His Excellency William Littleton, Esq ;

Spa)iiards, lies in Lat. 29 or 30 Deg. is very hot and not so rich a Soil as the other Colonies : the)' abound in Mulberry Trees, the Silk-Worm's proper Food, and some Silk has been made there. Georgia contains 6000 Inhabitants, and the Hon. Jo/ui Reynolds, Esq ; is their present Governor.

Upon the whole, The southern Colonies live with the least Labour ; but the Northern Colonies are most Healthy ; and the Breed and Disposition of the Neiv-Englaiid People, are the most stout and warlike, and deserve the Preference in Military Affairs.

Notes on 1756. - The patriotism and military ardor of the Author no where shines forth to any better advantage than in his verses the present year. Seventeen hundred and fifty-five, it will be remembered was a bloody period for the frontier colonists. The French with their Indian allies were making desperate efi'orts to cut off the advancing strides of British colonization, by the establishment of a chain of outposts or forts, between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley.

This war embraced the fateful Braddock campaign, and heralded the advent of a Washington. The Doctor's lines are full of spirit, and each syllable is impued with not only patriotic fire and loyalty, but also with an implacable belief in the lex talionis of the old dispensation.

He embalms in his poetic strains the memories of almost forgotten heroes - Winslow, Shirlej-, Titcomb, Williams - execrates the French and Canada, and with a pen dipped in gall, bemoans the employment of mercenary savages, as allies in a combat between Christian nations.

A very interesting geographical description " of the several Provinces in North America " concludes this year's pamphlet, and will possess considerable attraction for the reader ; conveying to his mind forcibly and briefly the condition of the colonies at that period, and from which sprang this great Nation of Republics.

Note. - The compiler inserts the following, with an extract from a contemporary almanack, as being of possible interest in connection with Dr. Ames' production.

In the last paragraph of the geographical description, it will be observed that Dr. Ames takes occasion to comment upon the comparative military efficiency of the two sections of the now American Union, by which it would seem that there were opinions upon this subject even at that early period.

Mr. C. More, in his Almanack 1757, published at New York, makes use of the entire article written by Dr. Ames (and here printed,) concerning the " Provinces in North America," but forbears any allusion to the " Preference in Military Affairs." Mr. More does, however, amplify the subject in the manner following, and also touches up several matters connected with the " French and Indian War," which bear evidence that the " Army " and the " Government," had some critics equally as watchful as any who supervised the " War between the States."

" Besides these 13 Colonies, the English are in the rightful Possession of Newfoundland, but there are but few Settlements on it, and those chiefly for carrying on the Cod-Fishery ; which is great.

These 13 Colonies form an Extent on the Sea-Coast of near 1800 Miles, but no where reaching 300 Miles back ; whilst the French surround us as it were in a Bow, from Cape Breton, at the Mouth of St. Lawrence River, to the Mouth of the Mississippi, forming a Chain of about 3000 miles. The French have continuall}' been encroaching on the Lands claimed by the English on this Continent; and in the Year 1754, the Government of Virginia being too sensible of it, sent Col. Washington to treat with them about their Encroachments on the Ohio ; but the then French Commandant M. St. Pierre, told him he knew it must come to Blows, and he did not care how soon. A while after Col. IVashington was sent with an armed Force, to fortify a Place since called Fort I?u Quesne, on the Ohio River, in order to dispossess the French ; but he was set upon by the French and Indians the 3d Da}- oijuly 1754, entirely defeated, and his Cannon all lost.

This seemed to awaken the Court of Great Britain, who earh- the next Spring, sent over General Braddock, with a Body of Forces and Artillery sufficient to dislodge the French : The}' arrived at Virginia on the ist of March, 1755. The same Spring Orders were given for raising Forces for an Expedition against Croivn-point, to consist of upwards of 2000 Provincials, under the Command of O&n. Joh?ison. And the two Regiments of Shirley and Pepperrell were to be completed, in order to make an Attempt at the same Time on Niagara. The first of these Orders were given in Connecticut the first oi January, and by the beginning of 3Iay the chief of the Men were raised. Gen. Braddock sent for Gen. Shirley to meet him at Annapolis in Maryland, the beginning of April, but after waiting there 9 Days for him in vain, he set out on his Way to the Frontiers ; and G. S. not coming till some Days after, was obliged to follow him a considerable Distance : Bj' these Delays, and a continued Series of others as unaccountable. Gen. Braddock could not proceed till the Beginning oi July, when, on the 9th Day being got within 13 miles of the Fort Dii Ouesne, he was suddenly attack'd by the French in Ambush, when he was entirely defeated, his Cannon taken, upwards of 600 of his Men and Officers killed, and himself mortally wounded, so that he died two Days after : In this Battle G. S. lost a Son. Gen. S. was to have attack'd Niagara at the same Time, but he had not got so far on the way as Albany then : The Provincial Forces were also to have been against Crown-point, but these last continued loitering near Albany till Sickness, Idleness and Dissatisfaction increased much among them. On the first Day of September, the}- however got to the Banks of Lake Sacrament, now called Lake George, where after lying eight Days, they were attacked by the French General Baron Dieskaii, with a body of Regulars, Canadians and Indians, (as if to chide them for their long Delays.) However, here they happened to catch a Tartar ; for the English once more resumed their natural Disposition, and not only bravely repulsed the Enemy, but entirely routed them, taking their General Prisoner, and killing upward of 700 Men, being great Part of their Army : And M. St. Pierre, who defeated G. Braddock the 9th o{July, having travell'd above 900 miles b}' Land and Water, to assist the Baron Dieskati, lost his Life in this Engagement. But the English delaying to follow their Blow, the scattered Remains of the French escaped, and got safe back. The Noise of this Attack alarm'd the whole Country, and several Thousands poured in to their Assistance ; and it is conjectured had they followed their Stroke, while the French were under their Panic, Crozvn-point must in all Probability have fell into our Hands, if not all Canada. But a Cry of Want of Provisions was pleaded in Excuse; tho' they had had all the Summer to provide them in ; and whose Fault it was, that they were not provided, tho' worthy the Enqiiir)' of the respective Legislatures, is hard at his Time to say;

Gen. 5., arrived at Osrvego the 18th August, in order to go against Niagara ; but waiting till the 27th of Sept. it was then found out to be too late for A6tion that Season ; Whereupon a new and larger Fortification was set about at Oszvego, and all the Army ordered into Winter-Quarters.

This Winter a grand Congress was held at New York, and a Plan of Operations agreed upon : In pursuance of which a numerous Army was provided by the several Colonies concerned, to be commanded by Gen. JVinslow, who had so expeditiously taken the French Fort Bcausejour in Nova-Scotia, as mentioned under the Description of that Place ; and Gen. 6'. upon whom the chief Command in America devolved on the Death of Gen. Braddock, provided a great number of Battoes and Battoemen, to carry Provision and Stores to Osivego ; as also Carpenters and Smiths, to build a Naval Force on the Lake Ontario, in order to defend that Place and assist in the Attack of Niagara. Great Quantitj^ of Provisions and warlike Stores were accordingly carried and lodged there ; two or three stout Vessels of War built, and other Preparations made ; but no more Men sent there than about 1000 of the King's Forces, under Lieut. Col. Mercer, and 300 of the Jersey Troops, under the worthy Col. Schuyler. In the Spring we had freqiient Alarms of the French taking the Fort at Osivego, but all false.

June "J, 1756, Col. Webb arrived at New-York, -And the i6th following arrived Gen. Abercrombie, with two more Regiments of Soldiers, and Lord Loudoim, being appointed Generallissimo, daily expecfled : - As Gen. Abercrombie took Place of Gen. S. the latter thereupon left Albany: - The 2-^dJuiy the Lord Loudoun arrived at N. York : and three Days after embarked for Albany : The Beginning of Sept. continual Advices came of Oszi'ego's being attacked and taken by a large Body of French and

Indians; but so various, that notliiug certain could be depended on for some Time : At last Scouts being sent out, the Fort was found demolished, and ever}' Thing carried ofT; and the Beginning of October, several Letters were found from the English Prisoners at Montreal, dated Aug. 30, 1756, giving Intelligence that the Garrison of Oswego were made Prisoners of War to the French, the 14th of Aug. with the Loss only of Col. Mercer, and 13 others.

At this Time the English had 5 Ships of Force built at Osivego, all well rigged, with Cannon on board, which all fell into the Hands of the T^r^wr^, and a Year's Provision for more than 2000 Men, besides Arms and Ammunition, the most agreeable Things the French could have. And thus fell Oswego ; but whether b}' Cowardice or Treachery, no one can yet determine.

Every sensible Person knows the River St. Lawrence is hardly ever navigable till the beginning of May, and that the Freshes in the Spring in the River Ohio, wnll very much retard the French from coming up that River till the End of April ; and the great Length of both those Rivers must always hinder the French from relieving their Settlements from France till some time in May : And we all know, that the Baron Dieskaii, w-ho attacked G&n. Johnson the 8th of Sept. left Old France the End of April only. From whence it must appear that if Gen. S. had proceeded to attack Niagara in May, and Gen. Braddock to attack Fort Du Qiiesne at the same Time, as they might have done, had they acted with, as much as they made Use of the Word Expedition, in all Probability 1000 Men would have been more effectual than all the Force they afterwards could produce ; The same Instant if the Provincials had gone against Crown-Point, the French had there by all Accounts not more than 500 Men to oppose that Way; and as Gen. Witislow at the same Time attack'd and took Fort Bcausejour ; it is plain, the Success was scarce doubtful; But by the unhappy, if not unaccountable Delays, all those Advantages have been lost, and the French have now attack'd us four Times on our own Ground, whilst we have onl}' made a Bluster, and never attempted or even marched on to their Lands at any Place, except at Beansejour aforesaid.

One would have thought, that the English seeing the fatal Consequence of such Delays in 1755, and having all Winter before them to provide in, would be early enough the next Year : But alas ! the French have had Time to come from Old France : (for they had had their Force broke the Year before) march 3 or 400 Miles, land Cannon, attack and take Oswego, and get back to Crown-Point ready to receive us, before we have began to march : What fatal Legarthy this ! and how consistent with our Boasting, is nor for me to say : Tho' some have objedled that there is a great Difference between talking and doing : This is allowed ; but cannot we undergo the same Difficulties, and do as well as the French ? or are we only to talk, and they to do? O tell it not in Quebeck, publish it not in the Streets of Montreal, lest the Daughters of the popish Nunneries rejoice, and the free-born Sons of Britain, be had in Derision by the Slaves of haughty Louis. Oh! China! thou hast enervated old ^rW-oxn's Sons with thy pernicious Drug Tea ; and by dilutifig our Hearts, made us become like thy own Race of effeminate Asiaticks.

Were there room here something should be added of the additional great and fatal Loss of Mijiorca, by the inglorious Conduct of Admiral Byng ; but whether that, with the Loss of Oswego, is owing to Treachery or not. Time only must discover. - The following Sentiments of the Inhabitants of the City of Bristol, in an Address to our most gracious Sovereign, the 9th of September, 1756, upon this Occasion, is thought worthy the Regard of every Englishman, viz.

' There is nothing so reasonable, or so just, as the desire tmiversally expressed by the nation, that a clear and full account may be obtained, of the immense supplies given by their representatives in, and raised upon the people, since the last sessions of parliament. The motives on which, and the ends for which, those vast sums, in our present circumstances especially, were so readily voted, and so chearfully paid, were sufficiently divulged, and therefore the manner in which they have been applied, ought to be no secret. The Arcana Imperii are well suited to despotick governments, but are inconsistent with, and dangerous to, the liberties of a free people. Besides it is no way reconcileable to the nature of our constitution, which is founded on reason and equity, the liberty of the subjeAs persons, and the security of their properties. - they add, - we have attempted nothing."

Humor and wisdom this year are but sparsely distributed in the almanack ; the author being more intent upon patriotism, war, aggrandizement of the British nation, and the downfall of the sons of St. Louis.

The Almanack For 1757

MINORCA'S gone ! OSWEGO too is lost ! Review the Cause ; or BRITAIN -pays the Cost : These sad Events have silenced my Muse, The Prince of Day* eclipses at the News, And Comett soon will blaze along the Skie, Portending (sure) some dire Event is nigh ; I dare not speak! May Shame and Blushes tell, What we've not done, and what hath us befell !

*See the Eclipse in the next Page. (An Annular Eclipse of the Sun.) t The N. B. (A Comet expected the latter End of this Year or the Beginning of the Year 1758.)

Few People know it ; 3-et dear Sir, 'tis true Men should have somewhat evermore to do. Hard Labor's tedious Every one must own, But surely better such by far than none.

The perfect Drone, the quite Impertinent, Whose Life at nothing aims, but - to be spent Such Heaven visits for some mighty 111 ; 'Tis sure the hardest Labour to sit still. Hence that unhappy Tribe who Nought pursue Who sin for want of something else to do.

Sir John is bless'd, with Riches, Honour, Love ; And to be bless'd, indeed, needs only move ; For want of this, with Pain he lives away, A Lump of hardly animated Clay.

Almanack For 1757

APRIL. Dull till his double Bottle does him right ; He's easy, just at Twelve o'Clock at Night: Thus for one sparkling Hour alone he's blest ; Whilst Spleen and Head-ach seize on all the rest.

What Numbers Sloth with gloomy Humours fills, Racking their Brains with visionary Ills ? Hence what loud Outcries, and well-meaning Rage, What endless Quarrels at the present Age !

Dispatch, dear Friend ! move, labour, sweat, run, fly Do aught - but think the Daj- of Judgment nigh. There are, who've lost all Relish for Delight ; With them no earthly Thing is ever right.

Thus shall you meet their waspish Censure still ; As Hedge-Hogs prick you, go which Side you will. Oh ! pity these, whene'er you see them swell ! Folks call them cross - Poor Men ! they are not well.

How many such, in Indolence grown old. With Vigour ne'er do any Thing but scold ? Whose Spirits only from ill Humour get ; Like Wines that die, unless upon the Fret.

Pishes and Oaths, whene'er the Master's sour'd, All largely on the Scape-goat Slave are pour'd. This drains his Rage : and tho' to John so rough, Abroad you'd think him Complaisant enough.

Now look for violent Accidents, and Mischief done by the Enemy. A Man that does nothing but saunter about, to tell what he has seen or heard, is a Burden to Himself, his Neighbour and the Publick.

Orthodox Astronom}-, (if I maj- so speak) asserts that our Earth is a primar}' Planet, which with five others revolves about the Sun ; and that the fix'd stars are Suns to other Systems of Worlds. When we consider the I,aws, and CEconomy of Nature, the Analog}', and flagrant relation between these Worlds in each material System, and the intelligent Creatures that inhabit them ; these Things might afford Matter of curious Speculation to some of my Readers, but I here present them with a Section transcribed from Dr. Cheynie's practical Essay on the Regimen of DIET, w^hich ma}- be of real Use, and I hope will not be unacceptable.

" I think (says that great Man) the natural Order and Progression in Regimen for those who are ordain'd to, or for those whose Vocation and Occupation is sedentary & studious, w^ho by the Order of Providence and Situation of Life, have been signatur'd to intellectual Professions, and for all those who would cultivate and maintain clear Heads and quick Senses to the last, is from their Birth, till Fifteen, to persevere in a gradually increasing temperate Diet, without fermented Liquors : From Fifteen to Fifty, to be only temperate in animal Foods and fermented Liquors : After Fifty to give up animal Food Suppers, and fermented Liquors : After Sixt}' to give up all animal Food ; & then every Ten Years after, to lessen about the Quarter of the Quantity of their vegetable Food : And thus gradually descend out of Life as they ascended into it. And that all Persons subject to inflammator}- Distemper, Gouts, Erisipelas, hot Scur^nes, Leprosies, Asthmas, Jaundices, Cholicks, nervous Lowlinesses, violent Head-achs, Haemorrhages and Haemorrhoids, Anasarcas, Ruptures, or white Swellings, tho' otherwise strong, hearty, hale and of a seeming sound Constitution, ought to give up all Meat Suppers, and all fermented Liquors ; And the Children of all Fathers ( for

Almanack For 1 757- 279

Mothers are not here to be minded ) who have died before Thirty-Five of any natural Distemper whatever, and all Children begot of Fathers after Sixty, ought to live without Meat Suppers, or fermented lyiquors ; And that all Persons whatever, whatever Age they be of or of whatever Nature their Complaints and Disorders may be, if upon repeated small Phlebotomies, and without transient Accidents, ( as Colds, Damps, Blasts and Bruises) they constantly observe their Blood sizy, viscous and glutinous, ought directl}- to be put on a low Diet, either on Milk, Seeds and Vegetables onlj-, or at least of one, without Meat Suppers and fermented Liquors : And this Regimen, with proper attenuant, alterative and sweetning Medicines, ( which in the Nature of Things, ought to be of the mild, ponderous and mineral Tribe) to be continued 'till at least the Size & Glew be broken and dissolved, else they can never expect uniform and continued Health : For such a Regimen and such Medicines, must do this in Time; else nothing in Nature possibly can."

JJotes on I757» - The muse tolls a very sad note on the muffled bell, and in dolorous verse mourns the departing glories and possessions of Albion and for which the present eclipse is alluded to as the o'ershadowiug cause of all these varied ills, and dire disasters.

Laziness and L/abor are compared in the monthly verses, and the crabbed, quarrelsome, fault-finding disposition analysed, and scarified. In conclusion the Doctor apologizes for his cacoethes scribendi, in a characteristic manner.

The weather column contains many pointed allusions to the late military disasters, and satirical remarks on the responsibility of certain individuals indirectly put.

God grant a Hero with an even Soul, A steady Temper which no Cares controul. The Wise and A<?tive conquer Difficulties, By daring to attempt them : Sloth and Folly Shiver and shrink at sight of Toil and Hazard And make th' Impossibility they fear.

The peaceful Peasant to the War is press'd ; The Fields lie fallow in inglorious Rest ; The gloomy Throngs look terrible from far. Disclosing, show the horrid Face of War : The thick Battalions move in dreadful Form, As low'ring Clouds advance before a Storm.

Of Union irresistable, move on In Silence their bright Legions, to the Sound Of instrumental Harmony, that breathes Heroick Ardour to advent'rous Deeds.

Some Men can .smile, and murther whilst they smile, And cry Content to that which grieves their Hearts, And wet their Cheeks with artificial Tears. Who dares think one Thing, and another tell, My Soul detests him as the Gates of Hell.

Fierce Boreas with his Offspring issues forth T' invade the frozen Waggons of the North ; But when the Wings of wanton Zephyr flie. To puff away the Clouds, and purge the Sky, Serenely whilst he blows, the Vapours driv'n Discover Heav'n to Earth, and Earth to Heav'n.

The Sun from far peeps with a sickly Face, Too weak the Clouds and misty Fogs to chace ; From Locks uncomb'd, and from the frozen Beard Long Iceicles depend, and crackling Sounds are heard ; Mean Time perpetual Sleet and driving Snow Obscure the Skies, and hang on Herds below.

'Tis Virtue only makes our Bliss below ; And all our Knowledge is our selves to know. Learning makes a good Man better, but a bad Man worse. Britain ! O let us give one dire Blow ; Before you let your injur'd Hands go.

Of the present Wind's moist Air. Expectation waits to know, Whether the Mountain bears a Mouse or no. Industry and Frugality makes a poor Man rich.

America is a subject which daily becomes more and more interesting : - I shall therefore fill these Pages with a Word upon its Past, Present and Future State.

I. First of its Past State : Time has cast a Shade upon this Scene. - Since the Creation innumerable Accidents have happened here, the bare mention of which would create Wonder and Surprize ; but the}'' are all lost in Oblivion : The ignorant Natives for Want of Letters have forgot their Stock ; and know not from whence they came, or how, or when the}' arrived here, or what has happened since : - Who can tell what wonderful Changes have happen'd bj^ the mighty Operations of Nature, such as Deluges, Vulcanoes, Earthquakes, &c.! - Or whether great tracts of Land were not absorbed into those vast Lakes or Inland Seas which occup}" so much Space to the West of us. - But to leave the Natural, and come to the Political State : We know how the French have eredted a Line of Forts from the Ohio to Nova Scotia, including all the inestimable Country to the West of us, into their exorbitant Claim. - This, with infinite Justice, the English resented, & in this Cause our Blood has been spill'd : Which brings to our Consideration,

Almanack For 1758

America which may be claimed by Great Britain or France are of as much Worth as either Kingdom. - That fertile Country to the West of the Appalachian Mountains fa String of 8 or 900 Miles in Ivcngth,) between Canada and the Mississippi, is of larger Extent than all France, Germany and Poland ; and all well provided with Rivers, a very fine wholesome Air. a rich Soil, capable of producing Food and Physick, and all Things necessary for the Conveniency and Delight of Life : In fine, the Garden of the World!" - Time was we might have been possess'd of it : At this Time two mighty Kings contend for this inestimable Prize : - Their respective Claims are to be measured b)'' the Length of their Swords. - The Poet says, The Gods and Opportunity ride Post ; that you must take her by the Forelock being Bald Behind. - Have we not too fondly depended upon our Numbers ? - Sir Francis Bacon says, " The Wolf careth not how many the Sheep be :" But Numbers well spirited, with the Blessing of Heaven will do Wonders, when by military Skill and Discipline, the Commanders can adtuate (as by one Soul) the most numerous bodies of arm'd People : - Our Numbers will not avail till the Colonies are united ; for whilst divided, the strength of the Inhabitants is broken like the petty Kingdoms in Africa. - If we do not join Heart and Hand in the common Cause against our exulting Foes, but fall to disputing among ourselves, it may really happen as the Governour of Penyisylvania told his Assembly, " We shall have no Priviledge to dispute about, nor

III. Thirdly, of the Future State of North America - Here we find a vast Stock of proper Materials for the Art and Ingenuity of Man to work upon : - Treasures of immense Worth ; conceal' d from the poor ignorant aboriginal Natives ! The Curious have observ'd, that the Progress of Humane Literature ( like the Sun ) is from the East to the West ; thus has it travelled thro' Asia and Etirope, and now is arrived at the Eastern

Shore of America. As the Coelestial Light of the Gospel was directed here bj' the Finger of G O D , it will doubtless, finall)^ drive the long ! long ! Night of Heathenish Darkness from America : - So Arts and Sciences will change the Face of Nature in their Tour from Hence over the i\ppalachian Mountains to the Western Ocean ; and as they march thro' the vast Desert, the Residence of Wild Beasts will be broken up, and their obscene Howl cease for ever ; - Instead of which the Stones and Trees will dance together at the Music of Orpheus, - the Rocks will disclose their hidden Gems, - and the inestimable Treasures of Gold & Silver be broken up. Huge Mountains of Iron Ore are already discovered ; and vast Stores are reserved for future Generations : This Metal more useful than Gold and Silver, will imploy Millions of Hands, not only to form the martial Sword, and peaceful Share, alternately ; but an Infinity of Utensils improved in the Exercise of Art, and Handicraft amongst Men. Nature thro' all her Works has stamp'd Authority on this Law, namely, " That all fit Matter shall be improved to its best Purposes." - Shall not then those vast Quarries, that teem with mechanic Stone, - those for vStructure be piled into great Cities, - and those for Sculpture into Statues to perpetuate the Honor of renowned Heroes ; even those who shall now

Should this Page escape its destin'd Conflagration at the Year's End, and these Alphabetical Letters remain legible, - when your Eyes behold the Sun after he has rolled the Seasons round for two or three Centuries more, you will know that in Anno Domini 1758. we dream'd of your Times.

I^otes on 1758. - Again the year is vishered in with a poetic salute to the " Starry Parliament," always a foremost thought in the Doctor's mind. Then follow the captions of each month, with all the variety of ideas which our Author has at command.

with the usual ungallant slap at the daughters of Eve, on account of that unfortunate ancestress having in an unguarded moment stopped to converse with that confounded snake. Sloth and Activity, with an indirect allusion to the paiicity of properly constructed Heroes to add renown to the British arms and influence. Conscription, neglected fields, and " grim visag'd War," - the crash of Conflict - Thunder and Lightning, - a sidelong glance at "the Unpopular King" with his convenient forms of Deceit - Bravery and Cowardice, - Boreas and his ice-cart, with the seasonable finale of snow and slush.

But the essay in this Almanack bears the palm, and should any one doubt the power of the Doctor to forecast the future, or if they should have any misgivings as to his thorough Americanism, his patriotism, his loyalty to his king, and his faith in the future of this country ; he need but carefully read the " Thoughts upon the past, present and future state of North America," to be thoroughly and at once disabused of that idea.

The first part of his " Thought " treats of Natural changes in the past; the second the present political condition of affairs, and the struggle of Briton and Gaul for temporal power ; while the third, and to us the most interesting portion of his reflections, treats of the future. A prognostication remarkable in the annals of predictions as being almost unique, and evincing beyond dispute that Doctor Ames was far in advance of any of his compeers, in his appreciation of the possibilities of America in the developement of its resources.

For ages the "spirit of prophecy" has been reputed to dwell with certain individuals of certain nations : Persons who had had the peculiar felicity of being canted into the world with a peculiar veil over their faces ; or who by supreme circumspection and calculation on the part of their ancestors, rejoiced in the proud and mysterious distinction of being the seventh son or daughter, of a seventh son or daughter. These particularly were reputed to have foreknowledge of future events, and among the credulous were eagerly sought, for information of " lucky numbers," stolen goods, etc., as ever were the astrologers and other niystagogues of a darker age.

Among the ancient celebrities said to possess these most valuable faculties : was i. Merlin (A. D. 425-471) surnamed Ambrosius, who by his account "was conceived by the compression of a fantastical spiritual creature, without a body," and probably from this fact could see things better than the average mortal. His remarkable birth is almost unique, but his prophecies are fitted to almost every important event in British history for hundreds of years.

Another was Michael Nostradamus of St. Remy in France, who came into the world in the orthodox manner about 1503 ; the only peculiarity noted concerning his ancestrj' was that his grandparents were " skilfull in Mathematick and Ph3-sick." Michael became " Physitian in Ordinary to Henry the II. and Charles the IX. Kings of France," and combining the then very necessary adjunct of astrology, he put in his odd hours, when not engaged in "leeching" the royal body, in performing the same office for the subject's purse. He also has left behind some xQvy fitting stanzas of mysterious import.

One more familiar to modern readers, and who even the past year has been quoted qiiite prominently, is that " dear, delightful, Old Mother Shipton" a dame of the Mother Hubbard variety, who shed brilliancy on the age in which she lived, beaming first from a small village in Yorkshire, where her putative father was in business as a "Jack Pudding." When his repute became established, he was commissioned " Necromancer " by an admiring constituency. She also was said to have been begotten in the Merlin fashion, by the " Phantasm of Apollo ^ or some wanton " Airial Daemon.^' Hence she could perform remarkable forecasts in a similar manner to Dr. Merlin.

All of these artists possessed a copiousness of language which was peculiarly adapted for prophetical allusion, and from which those of future generations who were interested could pick out what suited the case, and go to bed with the comforting satisfaction that " it was foretold hundreds of years agone."

The foregoing may not be absolutely relevant to the matter in hand, but is merely adverted to as showing that the imagination of those of a latter day, had much to do with translating the mysterious language of these charlatans into information or prescience of any sort.

In America we have never had any person of any rank in societ}', who by peculiarity of birth, cast of countenance, or by reason of ancestry, was justly reputed with the " sublime art of forecasting the future." The only one who may claim any such distinction, as far as the future of this country has in a meagre way been predicted, is the author of these Almanacks - Dr. Nathaniel Ames.

One could not expect much in the way of a prognostication of this character on the single leaf of an almanack, which, in its entirety, sold for the small sum of " Five Coppers." Yet here it is, clad not in the voluminous language of a mystagogue, but in plain Old Testament English, setting forth in a general way what most of us know has already come to pass. The period of opulence has arrived sooner than he predicted, but in detail, each item alluded to has more than been fulfilled.

I only regret that his printer had not added an extra sheet that more of the Doctor's wisdom concerning our political and commercial future might have been set down.

We possibly could have learned his opinion as to how long men who were " born free and equal " would remain in that condition ; also whether their condition being changed, they would be eligible to sit on juries, or enjoy the blissful conditions entailed on our great and growing country by the generotis use of universal suffrage : and whether within one hundred and fifty years it would be considered not how the country should be governed but zvho should govern it.

The Almanack For 1759

^ The appearance of this triumvirate of printers on the almanack thisyear, was, according to The History of Printing in America, occasioned by a dispute between the printers and booksellers, in substance as follows : - "John Draper and his predecessor Bartholomew Green, had always purchased the copy of that Almanac, and printed it on their own account ; but they had supplied the booksellers, in sheets, by the hundred, the thousand, or any quantity wanted. About the year 1759, this Almanac was enlarged from sixteen pages on a foolscap sheet to three half sheets. Draper formed a connection with Green & Russell and T. & J. Fleet, in its publication. A half sheet was printed at each of their printing houses ; and they were not disposed to supply booksellers as formerly.

I here present you with my Thirty-fourth Almanack published. Although a Perhaps, with Justice, might always be added to what I say of the Weather ; yet I have colledted the best Rules that Experience has taught me in that Affair, from the Aspedls, and Configurations of the Planets : I am therefore constantly obliged to trace the rambling Moon, and wandering Planets, in all their intricate Paths, which costs me much Labour and hard study. - -The Poetry this Year I have from the Inspiration of the Muses : - I hope they will not blush to own it. - What looks like Prophecy in the outward Page, I grounded on the great Conjunction of Saturii ^m^ Jupiter , which is to happen An?w Domini, 1762, in Aries, a Cardinal Equino(ftial Sign. - Astrologers for a long Time past have fixed their Eyes on that Point of Time as big with new and remarkable Events, - if the Learned are not always free from Superstition, I hope an Almanack-Maker does not talk out of Character to mention such Things. - I have carefully put the Courts of the several Governments on the respective Days, agreeable to and compared with the Laws ; I have procured also the several Stages on the Roads from Boston to Nezv- York, &c. from those who have often travelled them, which may be depended upon to be exadt, as they have been taken down lately, and not from the Roads published these many Years past in other Almanacks.

The Tables of Interest at 5 per Cent, suitable to Rhode Island and Connecticut, and of 6 per Cent, for Massachusetts Bay, as also the Value of Coins, I hope will not be unserviceable. - Reader, I have added half a sheet to the Almanack this Year, which I hope will be to your Satisfaction.

In deepest Caves are Beds of Sulphre made. And in a secret fearful Ambush laid ; When God's avenging Hand shall touch the Train, Some warn'd devoted City quick is slain.

Almanack For 1759. 29I

The Earth convuls'd, her Jaws are open'd wide Churches and all their lofty Spires subside, To Nature's Womb they sink with dreadful Throws, And on poor screaming Souls the Chasms close.

How wond'rous, Lord, thy mighty Works appear Thro' all the Seasons of the rolling Year ! Thy glorious Name is equally exprest. In the fair Spring, with gay Confusion drest ; And the warm Summer, when the flashing Cloud And breaking Thunders speak the GOD aloud : Autumn's ripe Fruits, the lab'ring Swain's Delight, Paint out thy Goodness to the ravish'd Sight ; What daring Mortal can His Cold withstand. Or guide His Tempests with a steady Hand? When o'er the Earth the fleecy Snow He sends The fleecy Snow His sov'reign Voice attends : Thus thro' the World, thy mighty Pow'r is known, And Savage Nations a Creator own.

- Ten thousand Wonders open to my View, Shine forth at once ; Sieges and Storms appear, And Wars and Conquests fill th' important Year, Rivers of Blood I see, and Hills of Slain, An Iliad rising out of one Campaign !

In future Days, when Nations smile again. And banish'd Peace from Heav'n returns to Men As Rusticus with Innocence and Toil Brings to the new uncultivated Soil

He'll start aniaz'd ! mixing a Tear with Groans, To see his Plow-share turn up Human Bones ! Grey-headed Sires the Myst'ry will explain, Who mark'd the Place where lay the many slain.

Now chearful Mariners unfurl their Sails, To pleasant Suns, - to steady, gentle Gales, Which speed their Course along the W^at'ry Way, And richly all the Merchant's Cares repay ; The Treasures of the East and West explor'd Are now in vast Repositories stor'd.

The tuneful Choir welcome with Joy and Mirth The Anniversary of Nature's Birth ; Native Perfumes are blended with their Song, And Gentle Gales the Transport waft along: Each Sense some Pleasure to the Soul does bring ; And brilliant Plains and Valleys laugh and sing.

Meridian Suns dart down their fervid Rays : The glowing Firmament does almost blaze ; 'Till from the West the gentle Zephyr springs. To fan the fainting World with breezy Wings, And sweep the Chambers of the Atmosphere, And purge (from Dregs to Life adverse) the Air.

His ripen'd Grain with Joy the Farmer sees ! The bearded Billows rustle with the Breeze ; The loaded Blades in leaning Posture stand ; And silently invite the Reaper's Hand : For this Reward he cultivates the Soil ; This long expedled Day crowns all his Toil.

Almanack For 1 759

What Power and Skill supports their pond'rous Weight, Or keeps them hov'ring in a buoyant State ! Nor do these pendent Lakes at once descend ; But fall in gentle drops, - which all befriend.

SEPTEMBER. After the Summer-Fruit's cooling Repast, (Kind Heav'ns Indulgencies forever last.) Autumn's rich Stores in next Succession come ; - The Grape, th' Apple, the downj' Peach and Plumb : Nature's Demands these charming Dainties suit ; Refresh the Healthy, and th' Infirm recruit.

OCTOBER. The Power that weilds the Ocean's mighty Weight, The Element has bounded by the Shore ; Or its proud Waves with swelling Billows great W'ould deluge Continents and Kingdom's o'er : Since it's alternate Flowings are confin'd, To many noble Ends, they serve Mankind.

NOVEMBER. The Orchard now of all it's Fruit bereft ; Nor Leaves, nor Blossoms on the Trees are left ! They stand like Logs, fix'd in the frozen Ground, While driving Snows their lifeless Trunks surround : And yet e'er long without our Help or Aid, They'l be with Leaves, Blossoms and Fruit array'd.

DECEMBER. Tho' now the ground affords a Prospect mean. ' Tis Nature's rich Resource, - a Magazine By which all Nations yearly are supply'd. Its verdant Stores for Man and Beast provide : Dealt freely out to Generations past, Undrain'd, will still to Generations last.

Many Heads at work, and Hands employed, to accommodate Affairs. Something remarkable in the Winds, and Weather ; and many unlucky violent Accidents, in several parts of the Earth, besides this.

This Figure represents the true System of the Universe, which being understood, will exalt our Ideas and excite our highest Admiration of the magnificent Works of God.

Earth is one of the Planets in the Solar System, and Curiosity will excite us to look after the Situation of that Planet which we know is inhabited. You see then, that this Earth is the third Planet from the Sun in this System, and its Orbit is situate between the Orbit of Mars and Venus ; and the Earth revolves about the Sun in that Circle you see there described, in the Space of one Year ; in performing which it turns East on its own Axis 365 Times and almost a quarter more. As the Earth revolves about the Su?i in his Orbit, the Power of Attraction carries the Moon revolving about the Earth in her Orbit ; and this Analogy, consonant to the known Laws of Matter and Motion, runs through the Planetary System.

A Planetary Year is the Revolution of the Planet about the Siin, and is performed m Times, in Square Proportio7i to the Cubes of their Distances. Those who gain no other Ideas of the heavenly Spaces, and the glorious Bodies therein contained, but what is derived to them by the bear Sight of the Eye, would do well to consider, That wherever the vSpedlator resides he will still be in the Centre of his own View ; for in an indefinite Space, where there is nothing to bound our Prospe(5l, all Objecfls that are at a great Distance from us, though they be at immense Distances from one another, yet if they appear in the same right Eine which passes through the Eye, will be seen at the same Point of Space : And all Bodies will appear equally- remote, when their Distances from us become so great that the Ej'e cannot estimate or judge of them ; and consequently, the Spedlator will look upon them all as placed in the Surface of a Sphere which has the Eye for its Centre, and whose Surface is at an immense Distance, in which Surface all the Heavenly Bodies will seem to perform their Motions. In whatever Place, therefore, the Spe6tator resides, whether it be in the Earth, or any of the Planets, or Stin, or even in a Fixed Star, that Place will be look'd upon by its Inhabitants as the Middle Point of the Universe, aud the Center of the World, since it is the Center of that Spherical Surface in which all distant Bodies seem to be placed.

When we view this wonderful Fabric of the Universe, and the Beauty of the Stars, in a supine Manner, throw aside our Reason, aud form our Opinions of them, by the Dictates of our

Almanack For 1 759- 297

Senses, despising the Report of Men of Genius, Learning and Leisure, who by the help of Glasses, bring these distant Objects vastly nearer to the Eye : - I sa5% under these Circumstances, we are apt to conclude, that the Sii7i, M0071 and Stars, were made only to decorate and serve this Earth, that they perform their slavish Journey round it every 24 Hours ; that this Spot, or Earth, which we dwell upon, only is inhabited ; and that we ourselves are the only intelligent Creatures that possess the Universe. Pride becomes such ignorance ! But all those who by a serious Enquiry have gained a true (tho' not an adequate, comprehensive) Notion of the Universe, look upon such an Opinion with the same Contempt that we do on a poor Maniac, who sits in his Hovel on a Wisp of Straw, and fancies himself a Monarch, and that all the Persons about him are his Subjedls.

The other Planets are like this Earth in Situation and Circumstances,^ having Summer and Winter, Day and Night, Land and Sea ; We have but one Moo?i ; and how many and great are the Advantages of it to the World? But some of the other Planets have a Plurality of Moo?is, that as a bright retinue attend them wherever they go. I have proved that an Eye placed in anj^ of the Planets would have much the same Prospecft that we have. Shall then, their Heavens be stretch'd forth like a Curtain, and their North over the empty Place, and no Eye to behold it ! Is the Divine Bounty and Goodness there, only bestowed on Stocks and Stones, and other inanimate Creatures ! Do far the most Noble and Magnificent Parts of the Creation, return no Praise and Gratitude to their Creator ! Monstrous Absurdity.