Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, v, 249, 250.] as
follows:--

At early dusk on some October or November evening, in the year
1794, a fresh, vigorous, bright-eyed lad, just turned of
fifteen, might have been seen alighting from a stage-coach near
Quaker Lane,[Footnote: Now Congress Street.] as it was then
called, in the old town of Boston. He had been two days on the
road from his home in the town of New Ipswich, in the State of
New Hampshire. On the last of the two days, the stage-coach had
brought him all the way from Groton in Massachusetts; starting
for that purpose early in the morning, stopping at Concord for
the passengers to dine, trundling them through Charlestown
about the time the evening lamps were lighted, and finishing
the whole distance of rather more than thirty miles in season
for supper. For his first day's journey, there had been no such
eligible and expeditious conveyance. The Boston stage-coach, in
those days, went no farther than Groton in that direction. His
father's farm-horse, or perhaps that of one of the neighbors,
had served his turn for the first six or seven miles; his
little brother of ten years old having followed him as far as
Townsend, to ride the horse home again. But from there he had
trudged along to Groton on foot, with a bundle-handkerchief in
his hand, which contained all the wearing apparel he had,
except what was on his back.

It has been said that the first public conveyance between Boston and
Groton was a covered wagon, hung on chains for thoroughbraces: perhaps
it was the "Charlestown Carriage," mentioned in the advertisement. It
was owned and driven by Lemuel Lakin, but after a few years the owner