in the proceedings which I had witnessed elsewhere; and very few, besides official persons, attended the convention. Nor did there appear among the clergy that hearty fraternal spirit which characterizes our ministry in the west, and which in Ohio renders a convention an occasion of real and high enjoyment. I afterwards learned that unhappy differences of opinion had crippled the energies of the diocese of Massachusetts, and had materially checked the increase and proper influence of the Church. At the period to which I refer, namely, the year 1833, there were thirty-five episcopal parishes in the diocese, of which nine were vacant. The entire number of communicants little exceeded 1900, the worshippers being probably about 10,000. This is not a sixtieth part of the population, which, in 1830, amounted to 610,408.

The convention having closed, we proceeded, by stage, twenty-three miles to Andover. The country along the road is generally highly cultivated, although the soil is greatly inferior to that of Ohio. We passed many agreeable villages, all of which gave indubitable signs of the comfort and refinement of the people, although numerous small places of worship, standing in the immediate vicinity of each other, were a melancholy index of the prevalence of religious dissension. Our ride was per

formed in about four hours, and early in the afternoon we were comfortably established in the "Mansion House," having completed a journey from Portsmouth of 1290 miles.

CHAPTER VIII.

NEW ENGLAND.

General description.-Religious divisions.-Unitarianism.— Harvard University.—Andover Seminary.-Episcopacy in New England.-Clerical Associations.-Visit to Bishop Griswold. His residence.-Description of Salem.-Marblehead.—Episcopal Parish near Andover.-Visit to Vermont.-Sleighriding.—Snow in New Hampshire.-Shakers at Lebanon.— Bethel in Vermont.-Episcopal Church. Its Rector.Return to Massachusetts.

NEW ENGLAND is the general name applied to the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It contains a population of little more than two millions, who are justly distinguished above all other Americans, for industry, intelligence, morality, and enterprise. The face of the country is greatly diversified; and the inland portions contain mountains exceeding 6000 feet in elevation. The soil is

very

inferior to that of the western states, and is best adapted to the production of grass. The raising of cattle, sheep, and hogs, is accordingly a leading pursuit of the New England farmer. Manufactures of various kinds have recently become an abundant source of wealth; while the commerce of the maritime districts extends to every coast. The climate in winter is excessively severe; and the summers are by no means so warm as in Ohio. It is stated, on good authority, that in the inland districts of New England travelling is performed entirely in sleighs during an average of ten weeks in every year. With the exception of frequent cases of consumption, the health of the people is excellent, and many live to a good old age. The fair complexions and ruddy cheeks of the inhabitants appear very striking to a person coming from the west. The neatness and convenience of their dwellings, and their comparative fondness for gardening, are circumstances which strongly prepossess an Englishman in their favour.

In politics, the New Englanders generally act in concert; but in regard to religion the case is far otherwise. The ancient Puritan establishment has been broken into a number of fragments, and although the old Congregational meeting-houses retain their place in almost every village, they have often passed into Unitarian hands, and are fre

quently rivalled by Episcopal Churches, or by the conventicles of Methodists, Baptists, Universalists, and other sects too numerous to mention. Still with all this division, the New Englanders as a body are a decidedly religious people. It is disreputable for a man to have no religious creed, and there are few who do not give their support to some mode of worship. Sunday is observed as a Sabbath with great strictness and decorum; and among the aged people many complete specimens of the genuine Puritan are yet to be found. From the first settlement of New England, which took place more than two hundred years since, a universal provision has been made for the instruction of all classes. The country is filled with schools, academies, and colleges, and all parents are obliged by law to give their children an education.

The extension of the Unitarian doctrines among the descendants of the Puritans has been accounted

for in various ways. The Unitarian himself ascribes it to the superior acuteness and intelligence of the age. The orthodox Congregationalist attributes it to certain local causes which he asserts have now ceased to exist. The Episcopalian discovers its origin in the same causes which he thinks have produced the apostasies in the Protestant churches of Geneva, France, and Germany, namely, a defective form of church government, and