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ing what awful phenomenon this strange event portended. He said that he thought that the judgment day had come. But in a few moments he noticed men hurrying along the hitherto deserted street, with weapons in their hands. One by one they entered his father's gate, and gathered on the low stoop. The flashing eye and flushed cheek told that something eventful had transpired-and there had.

When the report of those two muskets echoed along the sweet valley of the Housatonic and up the adjacent slopes, the sturdy farmers knew what it meant. The father, just preparing for the duties of the sanctuary, heard it, and, flinging aside his Sabbath garments, hastily resumed his work-day dress, and taking down his musket, strained his wife and children in one long farewell embrace to his bosom, then turned from the home he might never see again. The young man buckled on his knapsack, and amid sobs and tears shut the little farm gate behind him, the fire in his eye drying up the tears as fast as they welled to the surface. Although the heart heaved with emotion, the step was firm and the brow knit and resolute.

In a short time the little porch was crowded with men. A moment after, Dr. West, the pastor, was seen slowly descending the hill towards the same place of rendezvous. It was a cold, drizzly morning, and as, with his umbrella over his head, and the Bible under his arm, he entered the dooryard, his benevolent face revealed the emotion that was struggling within. He, too, knew the meaning of those shots; they were the signals agreed upon to inform the minute-men of Stockbridge that their brethren in the East had closed with the foe in battle. He ascended the steps, and, opening the Bible, read a few appropriate passages, and then sent up a fervent prayer to Heaven. When he ceased, the rattling of arms was heard. A short and solemn blessing closed the impressive scene, and before 12 o'clock twenty men, with knapsacks on their backs and muskets on their shoulders, had started on foot for Boston, nearly 200 miles distant.

Oh, how deep down in the consciences of men had the principles of that struggle sunk, when they made those Puritans forget the solemn duties of the sanctuary for the higher duties of the battle-field. They had been taught from the pulpit that it was the cause of God, and they took it up in the full belief they had his blessing and his promise. Such scenes as these were enacted every where, and from the consecrating hand of the man of God went forth the thousand separate bands that soon after met and stood shoulder to shoulder on the smoky heights of Bunker Hill.

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THE State of Rhode Island is the smallest in the Union. situated between 41° 18′ and 42° N. latitude, and 71° 8' and 71° 52′ W. longitude. It is bounded on the north and east by Massachusetts, on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Connecticut. Its greatest length, from north to south, is 47 miles, and its greatest breadth, from east to west, about 37 miles.

TOPOGRAPHY.

Narraganset Bay divides the State into two unequal portions. It enters the extreme eastern part, and extends inland for 30 miles in a northerly direction. It is a beautiful sheet of water, and has a depth sufficient to accommodate the largest vessels. It abounds in good harbors, of which the harbor of Newport is the finest, and is unsurpassed by any in the world.

The bay is about 12 miles wide, is thickly studded with the most picturesque islands. Different names are given its various parts. The upper part is called Providence Bay; the northeastern part, Bristol Bay; just east of which is Mount Hope Bay, separated from Providence and Bristol bays by a long, narrow peninsula which comprises Bristol county. Providence, at the extreme northern end, and Newport at the southern end of Narraganset Bay, are the capitals of the State.

Block Island, lying in the Atlantic Ocean, 10 miles south of the mainland, belongs to this State.

Rhode Island, lying near about the centre of Narraganset Bay, is the principal island belonging to the State, and has given its name

to the whole Commonwealth. It is exceedingly beautiful in formation; is delightfully situated, and covers an area of 37 square miles, being 15 miles long, and about 3 miles wide. It contains the city of Newport, and is one of the most fashionable summer resorts in the Union.

Canonicut, Prudence, and several other small islands lie in the bay.

The Rivers of Rhode Island are small. The principal are the Pawtucket and the Pawtuxet. The former flows into Narraganset Bay to the east of Providence, while the latter and its tributaries drain the southern and western parts of the State. The Pawtucket has a fall of 50 feet at the town of Pawtucket. Above this fall, it is called the Blackstone; and below it, the Seekonk. The Taunton River enters the southeastern part of the State, from Massachusetts. These streams all possess admirable water-power.

Along the Atlantic coast and the shores of Narraganset Bay, the surface of the State is level; but as it recedes westward and northward it becomes rolling, although there are no elevations in any part meriting the name of mountains. Mount Hope, in the eastern part, the Woonsocket Hills, in the northern part, and Hopkins' Hill, about the centre of the State, are the principal elevations.

MINERALS.

Rhode Island possesses very few minerals. Anthracite coal has been found, but scarcely any attention has been paid to it. Iron, limestone, marble, and serpentine also exist to a limited extent.

CLIMATE.

The climate resembles that of Massachusetts, except that the immediate proximity of the sea does much to mitigate the extremes of cold in the winter and of heat in the summer, with which the Bay State is afflicted; so that Rhode Island is, perhaps, in this respect, the most pleasant of all the New England States.

SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.

In some places the soil is passably fertile, but in others it requires the most careful and laborious cultivation. On the islands it is richer than on the mainland. Dairy farming and grazing occupy the attention of the principal portion of the agricultural class.

In 1869, there were in the State 335,128 acres of improved land, and 186,096 acres of unimproved. The agricultural wealth of the State at the present time is as follows:

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Rhode Island is actively engaged in commerce, both foreign and domestic. During the year 1861, the total value of its exports was $255,297, and of the imports $543,652. In 1862, the tonnage owned in the State was 41,671, of which 11,440 was registered tonnage, 30,231 enrolled licensed, of which 5064 was steam tonnage.

MANUFACTURES.

The State is extensively engaged in manufactures, its streams furnishing water-power unsurpassed by any in New England. The first cotton-mill ever erected in this country was built in Rhode Island. By the census of 1860, there were 1160 establishments in the State devoted to manufactures, mining, and the mechanic arts. They employed 33,200 hands, and a capital of $23,300,000, consumed raw material worth $23,400,000, and yielded an annual product of $47,500,000. There were 135 cotton factories, employing 5474 male, and 6615 female hands, and a capital of $11,500,000, consuming raw

material worth $5,281,000, and returning an annual product of $12,258,657. There were 131 woollen factories, employing 2483 male, and 1568 female hands, and a capital of $2,986,000, consuming raw material worth $3,920,155, and yielding an annual product of $6,599,280. The other manufactures were as follows:

Value of steam engines and machinery,

agricultural implements,

sawed and planed lumber,

flour,

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$1,068,825

117,845

170,000

510,000

90,000

315,959

217,472

3,006,678

jewelry, silver ware, etc.,

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

In 1870, there were 152 miles of railroad completed in the State of Rhode Island, which had been constructed and equipped at a cost of $5,011,000. Providence and Newport have railway communication with Boston and New York, and the principal cities of the Union. Railroads also connect the principal towns of the State.

EDUCATION.

There is a permanent school fund which amounts to over $420,000. The public schools are under the general supervision of the State Superintendents of Public Instruction, and are immediately in charge of the local school committees, who perform the duties already explained in connection with the committees of the other States. There was a Normal School in operation until 1865, but it was abolished in that year. Efforts are now being made to revive it, and in the meantime the State provides for the education of teachers in certain Academies.

There are about 487 public schools in the State. The attendance is as follows: in the summer, 24,953 pupils; in the winter, 30,780; average summer attendance, 19,972; average winter attendance, 23,720.

The only college in the State is Brown University, founded in 1764. It has schools of agriculture and science connected with it, and is in a flourishing condition. There are, also, a few academies in prosperous condition.

In 1870, there were in Rhode Island 759 libraries, containing 693,387 volumes-over 300 being public libraries.

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