a practical joke, and manifested his relish for them by long and loud fits of laughter. The Society for the propagation of the gospel is supposed to have made him a small compensation for his services among the Indians: he received also a small salary from his parishioners: but not satisfied with the emoluments which he derived from these sources, in the latter part of his life, he engaged in trade; and by this means, with the addition of an inheritance which descended from his father, he was able to transmit a good estate to his family.

Rev. Samuel Osborn, who was born in Ireland, and educated in the university of Dublin, was the second minister of Eastham: He was ordained September 18th. 1718.* The next year, the church being divided into two, Mr. Osborn removed into the south part of the township.

Rev. Benjamin Webb was ordained pastor of the church that remained. The most remarkable event, which took place after his settlement in Eastham, was the declaration of the ministers in the county of Barnstable against itinerant preaching. This was particularly aimed at Mr. Whitfield. The character of this celebrated preacher, who was viewed in various lights by his contemporaries, is not yet determined. Those who now read his sermons, and who are disgusted with the enthusiasm and egotism, which are displayed in his journals, written in his youth, will be disposed to judge unfavorably of his talents: whilst those, who have witnessed his astonishing oratorical powers,-and there are still alive many persons who have heard him preach, -will class him with the great men of the age. That he possessed acuteness of mind is proved by his controversial writings, in which it must be allowed, even by those who do not approve his opinions, that he was an ingenious disputant. The qualities of his heart have been as much the subject of dispute as those of his head. That he was vain, rash, and censorious, particularly in his youth, cannot be denied but at the same time it cannot be denied, that he was devout, ardent, zealous, and active; a loyal subject of the government, under which he lived; charitable to the poor; and candid in acknowledging his faults, a rare vir

tue,

* Orleans Church Records.

tue, and therefore the more to be prized.* His sincerity has been questioned; but such open, unguarded, and fervent men are not often insincere. Whether his preaching was productive of good or evil, is not agreed: it probably effected both. The declaration of the ministers in the county of Barnstable states only the mischiefs, which, they say, flow from it; and they are these: That it tends to destroy the usefulness of ministers among their people, in places where the gospel is settled, and faithfully preached in its purity: And that it promotes strife and contention, a censorious and uncharitable spirit, and those numerous schisms and separations, which have already destroyed the peace and unity, and at this time threaten the subversion of many churches. To this declaration Mr. Webb subscribed his name, with nine other ministers of the county: and it was one of the last acts of his life; for he died August 21st. 1746, in the fifty-first year of his age, and the twenty-seventh of his ministry.‡

Though Mr. Whitfield's admirers may censure him for his conduct, yet it is the only fault which they can allege against Mr. Webb. That he was a pious, learned, laborious and faithful minister, and that he was holy and unblameable in all the walks of life, is the universal voice of tradition, confirmed by the report of the surviving friends, who were acquainted with his worth. Mr. Crocker, the

pastor of the south church of Eastham, a man of virtue himself, and a good judge of moral merit, pronounced him the best man, and the best minister, whom he ever knew. As he spent his days in the uniform discharge of his duty, and there were no shades to give relief to his character, not much can be said of him. His heart was as pure as the new fallen snow, which completely covers every dark spot in a field; his mind was as serene as the sky in a mild evening of June, when the full moon shines without a cloud. Name any virtue, and that virtue he practised; name any vice, and that vice he shunned. But if

* See Whitfield's Remarks on the Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared. Boston. 1749. p. 13, 23, 24.

+ Declaration, &c. Feb. 20th. 1745. Boston: Printed 1745.

Inscription on the grave stone of Mr. Webb.

if peculiar qualities marked his charater, they were his humility, his gentleness, and his love of God. The people had long been taught by a son of thunder in him they were instructed by a son of consolation, who sweetly allured them to virtue by soft persuasion and by exhibiting the mercy of the Supreme Being: for his thoughts were so much in heaven, that they seldom descended to the dismal regions below and though of the same religious sentiments as Mr. Treat, yet his attention was turned to those glad tidings of great joy, which a Saviour came to publish. His visits were as beneficial to his flock as his sermons; for he had the happy talent of giving conversation. a practical turn, and of enforcing the precepts which he had taught in the pulpit.

In 1751, Rev. Edward Cheever was installed pastor of the church. Twelve years after his settlement, Eastham, in number of inhabitants, was the first township in the county; but Wellfleet being separated from it at that period, four townships immediately rose above it. When the census was taken in 1764, there were found in Eastham thirteen hundred and thirty-one souls, and nine hundred and twenty-eight in Wellfleet. These townships continued to flourish, till the revolutionary war stopped their further progress. In 1776, Eastham contained eighteen hundred and ninety-nine inhabitants, and Wellfleet twelve hundred and thirty-five. After this period both townships, and particularly Wellfleet, suffered greatly.* With the peace, prosperity returned. But, in 1790, the ancient township of Eastham had not attained its former population; for it had then only two thousand nine hundred and fifty-one inhabitants, of whom eleven hundred and seventeen were in Wellfleet. Mr. Cheever, after serving the church of Eastham near forty-three years, died August 17th. 1794, in the seventy-eighth year of his age.

The church did not long remain vacant; for September 23d. 1795, Rev. Philander Shaw was ordained. Eighteen months after this event, the south precinct was separated

The

separated from Eastham, and incorporated into a township. Before this division took place, the two religious societies constituted one parish; the ministers being paid an equal sum out of the treasury of the town. portion of land, which retains the ancient name, is now a place of small importance. It contains fewer inhabitants than any other township in the county; and as nature has not bestowed on it a good harbour, and it is impossible to form one by art, the fishing towns in the vicinity will probably long maintain above it that superiority, which they have acquired. Since, however, the census of 1800, when its inhabitants were enumerated at six hundred and fifty nine, it has increased in population. The people are industrious and enterprising, and still retain the other good habits, which did honour to their fathers; and they are happily united in the same mode of religious worship; there being, in Eastham, not an individual, who does not belong to the Congregational society.

r. s.

A DESCRIPTION OF ORLEANS, IN THE COUNTY OF BARNSTABLE. SEPTEMBER, 1802.

THE

HE south part of Eastham was incorporated into a township, by the name of Orleans, March 3d. 1797. Its distance from Boston is ninety-one miles and it is bounded, on the east, by the ocean; on the south, by Pleasant bay; on the west, by Harwich; and on the north-west, by Barnstable bay. The county, which stretches east from Buzzard's bay to this place, here turns to the north, and extends that course to Truro. The length of the township is five miles; and the breadth, from one to four miles.

The face of the land is uneven; but the hills are not very high. The county road runs through a corner of the township, and is here tedious and heavy. The road from Cape Cod to Chatham passes on its western side, and is of the same quality. On the necks, where the best land lies, the roads are tolerable; but these are out of the way of the traveller.

Orleans

Orleans is of a very irregular form, the lines which separate it from the adjoining townships being crooked, and its shores being indented by coves and creeks.

Town Cove has already been described. The neck on the south-east side of it is called Toneset: the land is pretty good.

A river, without a name, runs into Pleasant bay. The head of it is called Zeb's cove, where it is narrow; but it is a half of a mile wide at its mouth. Vessels, which draw seven feet of water, can come a half of a mile below this cove; the distance of the northern part of which from the mouth of the river is two miles and a half. The land east of this river is named Barley neck. The soil is somewhat better than that of Toneset. On the east side of Barley neck are coves, which communicate with Pleasant bay, and which separate it from Chatham beach.

The land, which is situated between Barley and Toneset necks, and which terminates in Wood's neck, is named Pochet, pronounced at present Pochee. There is also here a little good soil, but a larger proportion which is light and sandy.

North-east of Pochet, near the ocean, is a small neck, named Weeset. It is separated from Toneset by a cove.

These several necks constitute a peninsula, the whole of which is denominated Pochet. The isthmus is not more than a half of a mile wide; and is situated between Town cove on the north, and Zeb's cove on the south.

Chatham beach forms the barrier of the waters, which wash the eastern and southern shores of Orleans. A mile south of the mouth of Stage or Nauset harbour, it joins the main land, with the exception mentioned in another part of this volume.* Below the junction, the water is at first shallow; but it deepens by degrees, and at length communicates with Pleasant bay and Chatham harbour. South of this place was, many years ago, the mouth of Nauset harbour; which being filled up gradually, a new opening, above a mile north of it, was suddenly made in the beach. Salt marsh, with a few interruptions, lines the inside of this beach, and extends almost to the mouth of Chatham harbour.

* See p. 116.

There