ship to the people below. All the ancient buildings of the town still display these convenient look-out places.

Simultaneously with the building of her magnificent town-house, Miriam had determined to erect a country-seat,- —a luxury never before thought of on the island. It was a piece of extravagance that no one could comprehend. But her mystery was her own, and she permitted no one to penetrate it. Miriam had ulterior designs: and the signs of a political storm, which her foresight predicted would shortly break forth, were, in fact, her chief inducements for selecting the distant and lonely spot whereon to place her country mansion.

A long and narrow bay, navigable only for small vessels, but connected with the main harbour of Nantucket, runs up towards the eastern part of the island. Near the extremity of this bay were the remains of an ancient Indian settlement, close upon the margin of the estuary; and the place still bears the Indian name of "Quaise." The Indians had once planted their wigwams upon the little knoll of land that overlooked the water; and upon this same hill did Miriam determine to build the foundation of her house. The land declined gently to the borders of a small pellucid lake, in which fishes of many varieties sported, as yet unharmed and unvexed by the angler. Altogether the location was inviting, and preferable to any other within the same distance of the town; and it was, besides, approachable by water without exposure to the sea. From the hill a broad blue expanse of ocean was visible, shut out by a long low bar of sand that embraced the bay. To the eastward, at the extremity of the harbour, on another gentle declivity, stood, at the time, the little Indian settlement of "Eat-fire Spring," with its circular wigwams. These were the only habitations of human beings within sight of Quaise. The background was a vast heath, broken only here and there by a slight undulation in the plain. The romance of the island is in

its water prospects; there is none in its heathy plains and stunted bushes.

The progress of building the country-seat,-its details of stone and mortar, and timber and shingles, we will not inflict upon our readers; for to them, as to us, they would be uninteresting. Suffice it, that the country-seat, -a splendid thing of its kind,— -was built at great expense, and was long afterward familiarly known as "Miriam's Folly." When last we saw it, time and exposure to storms had covered it with a mossy coating, and it was occupied by an industrious farmer and his family, who seemed to take pride in speaking of its origin and its peculiarities.

A peaceable lodgment being effected in the townhouse, which had been garnished anew with furniture, conforming in splendour to its outward finish,-a party was projected, under Miriam's auspices, who were to go in calêches to take formal possession of, and to regale themselves at, the country mansion,-which had also previously been comfortably and even elegantly fitted up with all that was necessary for its occupancy.

A train of one-horse, two-wheeled, springless carriages was got ready to the number of half a dozen, which were seen emerging from the outskirts of the town on a pleasant morning towards the close of September, 1774. The van, as was fitting, was led by Miriam and her daughter, under the escort of Grimshaw, who took upon himself to be charioteer for the occasion. Three high-backed, rush-bottomed chairs were lashed with cords to the sides or gunwale of the cart; and, being spread over with some soft covering (a checkered coverlet, or a figured counterpane), the riders were as well accommodated as the outward indulgence in the luxury of the times would warrant. There were then no carriages with springs,—no gigs,— nor stanhopes, nor coaches with luxurious seats. was many years after this before even a chaise was tolerated on the island; and when two of these, with

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wooden elbow springs, were introduced by some of the wealthier families, the hue-and-cry of persecution was set up against them; and their owners were fain to abandon the monstrosities, and betake themselves again to their calêches. One chaise, however, was allowed to be retained by an invalid: but it is related that even he was not permitted to keep and to use it, unless upon all proper occasions he would consent to lend it for the use of the sick.

Next in order came the vehicle of our somewhat neglected friend Peleg Folger (the kinsman of Miriam), and his daughter Mary; and these were attended, merry and mercurial as ever, by the fashionable Imbert, in his. red coat and powdered wig. But Imbert and Mary, who by this time had arrived at much familiarity of speech and intercourse, had all the talk to themselves; interrupted, to be sure, once in a while, by "minnows and mack'rel!"—the peculiar phrase of Peleg, as he chided and urged on his fat horse, from a lazy walk to a still slower jog-trot, over the smooth and almost trackless heath.

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Cars holding some of the wealthy townspeople came next. These guests had been invited by Miriam to take a share in the social jaunt; but although this was held forth as her ostensible design in asking the company her neighbours, she secretly wished to observe the effect of her splendour, and what she believed to be her first approaches to greatness, upon her companions.

On arriving at her mansion, Miriam descended quickly from her calêche and entered the new dwelling. When her visiters had disengaged themselves from their travelling paraphernalia, she was found ready at the door of her country-seat to welcome them. She gave them a reception which was thought, at the moment, to be rather formal and grandiloquous, for one who had been accustomed to the plain mode of speech and manner peculiar to those professing the unsophisticated ways of the Quakers: but this was soon forgotten

by her visiters, or remembered but slightly, amid the earnestness with which she pressed her hospitality upon the wondering islanders.

The guests were received in a carpeted drawingroom, furnished and adorned with luxuries which strangely contrasted with the plain and scanty articles of household garniture that they had left at home in their own houses. Allowing a proper time for refreshment, as well as for indulgence in curiosity, Miriam led her guests to other parts of the building, whose appointments excited equal wonder with those of the reception-chamber.

The grandeur of the hostess showed itself somewhat after the manner of the sailor who had seen and admired the vest of his admiral-the facings of which had been manufactured of costly figured silk-velvet. The jack-tar, being paid off on his coming into port, forthwith sought out a fashionable tailor, and contracted for a similar waistcoat, whose linings as well as facings should alike be made of the rich material. Meeting the admiral in his wanderings, he stripped off his roundabout and displayed his vest fore-and-aft, exclaiming, in the pride of his heart, as he made a complete revolution on his heel—“ No sham here, you see, admiral! and stern alike, my old boy !" It was even so with Miriam. From the garret to the kitchen every thing was complete. Her upper chambers were arranged with a neat display of all that was convenient as well as ornamental. The parlour was by no means furnished at the expense of the sleeping chambers or the kitchen; and Miriam felt a matronly pleasure in giving ocular demonstration of the fact. There was no sham there; stem and stern-fore-and-aft, were alike admirable.

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Her half-brother Peleg surveyed the whole in mute astonishment. When he had, as he thought, seen all within, he proceeded to the kitchen and lit his pipe; and thereupon he sallied forth to take an outward view. of the premises. Here, as his mind became completely

filled and running over with wonder, and after making a due estimate of the prodigal expense, he was observed to take his pipe from his mouth, and to puff out a long whiff of smoke.

"Minnows and mack'rel!" said he, slowly, as he footed up, and comprehended, the vast outlays which his sister had incurred, for nothing in the world but to indulge in the unheard-of vanity of a country mansion.

Peleg had never heard of Anaxagoras; but he meant precisely the same thing, at this time, by the above peculiar exclamation, as did the philosopher, whose opinion had been asked in relation to a costly imperial monument,-"What a deal of good money," said Anaxagoras, as he gazed at the pile, "has here been changed into useless stone!"

"Why, Miriam! Miriam, I say!" shouted Peleg, at the top of his "tin-pipe voice," as he finished his survey of the wonders of Quaise.

"I hear thee, Peleg;-thou speakest to everybody as if they were thick of hearing;—what wouldst thou, Peleg ?"

"I am sorely amazed and troubled at thy extravagance; and I have called to thee aloud to tell thee so. I will uplift my voice in reproof, in season and out of season, against such shameless waste of thy husband's property; and I take these good people to witness, that I cry aloud, and spare not!"

"Go to, Peleg," said Miriam; "we have enough of the world's goods, and to spare, and shall not miss the trifle that thou wouldst cry so loud over. I have built this pleasant dwelling, out of town here, as much to set such close-handed misers as thou an example of spending money worthily, as to furnish a retreat from the close air, and the dust, and the turmoil of the town, in seasons when enjoyment may be had abroad."

"Dust and turmoil, indeed!" said Peleg; " and talkest thou of close air in the town!-minnows and mack'rel! who ever heard of such downright nonsense!