life found his field and its centre in the Library of his Alma Mater; and his "Library was dukedom large enough." It was not strange that in his later years his vision was impaired; neither was it strange that he should renew it through surgical help, for further poring over ancient and crabbed manuscripts. His labors upon those most engaging of periodicals to the lovers of ancient Harvard, the "Latin Catalogues," — and his revivification in three noble volumes of the far-off Graduates of the College in its years of penury, frugality, and stern fidelity, have crowned for perpetual memory his useful and blameless life.

Judge HOAR paid an eloquent tribute to Mr. Sibley, and spoke with high appreciation of his generous gift to Phillips Exeter Academy for the benefit of poor boys, and of his persistent effort through life to advance what was associated with the tender memories of childhood and youth.

Dr. PAIGE expressed his sense of personal loss in the death of one with whom he had been most intimately associated, and who had assisted him to the utmost in preparing his History of Cambridge.

The customary resolutions were adopted; and Dr. Peabody was appointed to prepare a memoir of Mr. Sibley.

Mr. JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL presented to the Society an autograph letter of Burns to Miss Benson, afterwards the mother of Mrs. Bryan Waller Procter, who gave it to him. Mrs. Procter's own maiden name was Shepper; and, through her father, she was descended from that Scheffer who disputes with Faust and Gutenberg the invention of printing. Her mother married, as her second husband, Mr. Basil Montagu, and her own husband was known in literature as Barry Cornwall. Since the death of Miss Mary Berry, there has been no personage more marked in London society than she. Born with the century, there is hardly any celebrated person of the last sixty years, except Byron, whom she has not known. With most of them she has been on terms of friendship, and with many of intimacy. Her conversation is delightful, not only for its wealth of anecdote and reminiscence, but for its unfailing wit and its sprightly shrewdness in the delineation of character. The letter should be considered as a gift from her to the Society. Mr. Lowell added that he had not been

It was at his per

unmindful of the Society while abroad. sonal suggestion that the Conde de Toreno sent to the Library the superb volume of "Cartas de Indias."

The letter of the Scottish poet, which is framed and carefully preserved between plates of glass, was examined with much interest by the members; and it was voted that the grateful acknowledgments of the Society be given to Mr. Lowell, and communicated by the Secretary to Mrs. Procter for this choice gift.

It

Mr. APPLETON spoke of a portrait of Washington now on exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in this city, and similar to the picture of which a copy belongs to the Society. is one of the group of repetitions painted by Charles Wilson Peale, and adds one to the list recorded in our Proceedings for November, 1874. It was owned by Elias Boudinot, well known in our history, is now the property of his descendant, Miss Boudinot, and is offered for sale at the price of $6,000. It is somewhat smaller than all the others, so far as known, and is perhaps more likely than they to have been painted from life.

The PRESIDENT then spoke of a picture in water-color representing the landing of the British troops here in 1768, and dedicated by "C. R." to John Hancock, which was owned in Maine and had been offered for sale.

Mr. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, Jr., communicated the following letter to Governor John Winthrop, of Massachusetts, from Henry Boade, one of the leading settlers of Maine. The Society has already printed a letter of his in Part III. of the Winthrop Papers; but this one, though belonging to the same collection, had been wrongly indexed, and has only recently been identified. Like its predecessor, it is indorsed by Governor Winthrop "Cosin Boade;" and the precise degree of this cousinship has hitherto been a puzzle. Dr. C. E. Banks, U. S. N., the author of several valuable contributions to the early history of Maine, has now pointed out that Thomasine Hilles, wife of John Forth, of Great Stambridge, in Essex (the father of Governor Winthrop's first wife), had previously been the widow of one Thomas Boade, of Rochford, in Essex. There is good reason to suppose Henry Boade to have been a

15 Mass. Hist. Coll. vol. i. p. 358.

nephew of this Thomas Boade, and thus a sort of step-cousin by marriage to the Governor. The "Mr. Adam" mentioned in the letter is obviously the Governor's son of that name.

Henry Boade to Gov" John Winthrop. 1648.

To the right wo'shipfull & my assured friend Mr John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts, this present.

RIGHT WORSHIPFULL: My best respects remembred etc. These are to give you thanks for your counsell in those things I desyered. I desyere to know whether a letter of attorney from the whole towne exepting 2 or 3 yt are ingaged to the ptie sued be not sufficient to prosecut for the towne.

I am very sory yt I could not doe yt in Mr Adam's busynes as I destyned. I went presently before I came to mine owne house to demand the cattle for his debt, and they were then under an arest at the sute of Thomas Mercer for a debt due to him from John Lee. I spake with Mr Cleaves himselfe about the busynes and his answere was in regard the cattle were not delivered for the use of M' Adam, notwithstanding his ingagement yet they were loyable to any debt of John Lee's. We doe still rely upon your worshipe to helpe us in the Maine, in yt one thinge necessary the meanes of grace, it would much rejoyce ou' harts to receive a comfortable letter from your wo'shipp to this end.

Mr Cleaves hath measured his 40 miles and hath beene wth me at Wells & saith his line reacheth us to be wthin his pattent of Legaonia, for the wch we are very sory, for we intended to joyne ou'selves to the government of Massacheusetts bay. If it might be we hope yet upon a second survey to find ourselves without his line. It is the vote of the most that he cannot come neere us if he begin to take his measure according to his pattent wch is at Sakado-hec river the South west syd of yt; but he began at Mr Purchas's house at the river called Mengipscott river, and sett one to measure that hath neither art nor skill for to doe such a busynes. He measured and came short of our towne 3 miles; there was one told him he would give him a quart of sakk to measure in such a man John Wadloe who dwelleth in y° middell part of ou towne; he goeth back againe & then he reacheth all ou* towne only 2 houses. When he was wth us he shewed his power under Mr Riggby over all that are wthin his regiment, as also warants yt he had received from your worshipe and other of ye assistants for the ayding of him in his proceedings, and wthall demanded our submission. This was but 18 dayes before his village court; our answere was this, that we were sett into our possessions first by Mr Craddock's agent who bought y° pattent of Stratten, secondly by Mr Thomas Gorges. We desyred of him he would give us some time to consyder of yt, the matter being of waight,

that we may have good grounds for what we doe, but he would not grant it unto us. We told him we would be at the charge of a second survey done by a sufficient artist and then yf we be found within his line willingly to submitt. But nothing will please him but our present submission upon his survey by his owne man Booth, and what he will doe with us we knowe not, but we heare he doth purpose to complaine to you' wo'shipe y' we are rebellious. But indeed there is noe such thinge, we are ready to submitt upon good grounds and sent a man to his village-court wth our answere and to see his pattent [torn] we are to begin to take our measure. [torn] answere is we could not see it, yt was gn for old England. Thus I thought good to lett you' wo'shipe understand how things goe wth us here in yo east. And rest you's to be commanded,

WELLS, this 29th of
Septber, 1648.

HEN: BOAD.

Mr. WINSOR presented some extracts from a family letter handed to him by Mr. C. W. Sever, of Cambridge, which relate to the burning of the Castle in Boston Harbor, in March, 1776, when the British evacuated the town, and which describe the consternation prevailing in Plymouth when Captain Manly was driven into that harbor by a British frigate in the same month. In the extracts some little carelessness in the spelling has been corrected.

[KINGSTON,] Saturday March 23.

MY DEAR, We were greatly surprised Wednesday evening by the appearance of a great light in the north, which many people thought could be occasioned by nothing less than the burning of the town of Boston. . . . I assure [you] it made a terrible appearance, but after a little reflection I was convinced it could not be the town, as the light, if that had been the case, would have been more extensive; but was at a loss to conceive what it could be. Could not think it possible it could be the Castle, but we since hear it is.

Thursday evening we had a new alarm, that the light-house and dwellings upon the Gurnet were in flames, upon which I looked out and discovered two large fires, which appeared exactly in the range of those buildings; supposed the enemy had landed and fired them, but comforted myself that if they had designed any further mischief they would not have begun by burning those buildings, as they must have been sensible it would give a universal alarm. Went to bed at my usual time tolerably well composed, but it was not so with our friends in Plymouth. Mrs. Otis drank coffee with me yesterday. She tells me they were in the utmost confusion there. It seems there were a

number of guns fired about the same time the fires were kindled (the guns we did not hear), which were both designed to give an alarm, but they supposed, as we did, that the buildings were on fire. They also supposed that the enemy fired the cannon, upon which they sent down a boat to see if they could discover the enemy. They soon returned with terrible accounts, that there were three or four large ships within the Gurnet, and that they were landing their men very fast, which threw the town into the utmost consternation. They kindled a fire on the burying hill, and despatched messengers to all the towns around, even as far as Wareham and Middleborough, to call in the militia; sent off many of their women and children, and as much furniture as they could get away. Mrs. Otis tells me they had their chairs at the door and cloaks on from half past ten till half after four, ready to fly in a moment. . . In the morning to their great joy [they] found that the fleet which had thrown them into such a panic was Captain Manly with four other privateers, who were driven into the harbor by a large man-of-war, - and so ended this mighty affair.

...

Mrs. Thomas requests the favor that you would just call at a goldsmith near Mr. Hull (?), she has forgot the name, and take a pair

of silver buckles, which the General left there to be mended, and that you would pay him for the mending them, and also for a pair of spectacle-bows [which] the General had of him. She also begs you to inclose her newspaper with your own. I have been to visit her [and] find her very dull. My compliments to our friends at Watertown. I hope to see you next week; till then adieu.

...

Yours affectionately,

SARAH SEVER.

General John Thomas, it will be remembered, had led the force which, by the occupation of Dorchester Heights, had caused the evacuation of Boston, March 17; and he had probably started on his way to join the army in Canada, without attending to the little business his wife was now anxious to complete. Dr. Thacher, in his "History of Plymouth " (p. 214) makes brief mention of the fright on Manly's coming.

Dr. GEORGE H. MOORE, of New York, being called upon by the President, presented and read the following communication:

The approach of the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus revives universal interest in the history of the man and the event. Already the keynote of preparation has been sounded more or less