a parliamentary and municipal borough and seaport town of England, in the county of Lincoln and wapentake of Skirbeck. It is situated in a rich agricultural district on the Witham, six miles from the sea, and 28 miles S.E. of Lincoln. Lat. 52° 59', N. Long. 0° 2', E.

Boston is by some supposed to have been a Roman station in the province of Saxon Cassariensis, of which Lincolnshire formed a part; but of this sufficient evidence does not seem to exist. According to the Saxon Chronicle, St Botolph, the patron of sailors, founded a monastery at Icanhoe in 654, which was destroyed by the Danes in 870. From this Boston is said to have taken its name (Botolph's town). It became a place of considerable commercial importance after the Norman conquest, and, in 1204, when the quinzième tax was imposed on the ports of England, that of Boston amounted to £780, and was exceeded only by that of London, which was £836. A great annual fair was held at Boston about this time. By 27th Edward III. it was made a staple for wool, woollens, leather, and lead. Its prosperity about this time induced merchants from the Hanseatic and other Continental commercial cities to settle here, who, however, about a century later, were obliged to leave, in consequence of a quarrel with the townsmen. From this time it rapidly declined. The dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. injured the town, though compensation was in some degree made by granting the town a charter of incorporation, and Philip and Mary endowed it with upwards of 500 acres of land. It afterwards suffered from the plague and from inundations, to which its low situation rendered it particularly liable. During the civil wars it was for some time the headquarters of Cromwell's army.

Boston is well built, paved, and lighted, and contains many good dwelling-houses, shops, and warehouses. It is divided into two nearly equal parts by the Witham, here crossed by an elegant iron bridge of one arch 86 feet in span. Until recently the supply of water was very deficient, but in virtue of an act passed in 1847 it has now a plentiful supply conveyed by pipes from a distance of twelve miles. The principal building is the parish church of St Botolph, founded in 1309. It is one of the largest churches without aisles in the kingdom, being 290 by 98 feet within the walls. The tower, 290 feet in height, resembles that of Antwerp cathedral, and is crowned by a beautiful octagonal lantern, forming a landmark seen forty miles off. There is a chapel of ease, erected in 1822, and chapels of Independents, Methodists, Baptists, &c.; a free grammar-school, founded in 1554, Laughton's charity school for the sons of poor freemen, a bluecoat, national, infant, Sunday, and other schools. There is also a dispensary, a town-hall, market-house, assembly rooms, theatre, borough gaol, house of correction, union poor-house, Vauxhall, mechanics' institution, public baths, two subscription libraries, custom-house, four banks, and a savings-bank. The manufactures consist chiefly of sail-cloth, canvass, sucking ropes, beer, leather, hats, and bricks. There are also two iron and brass foundries, and three ship-yards, with patent slips, where vessels of 200 tons are built.

From neglect to clear the river, it became so obstructed that in 1750 a sloop of forty or fifty tons could with difficulty come up to the town at spring tides. Since that period great improvements have been made, and vessels of 300 tons are enabled to unload in the town. The foreign imports are chiefly timber, pitch, tar, and hemp from the Baltic, and coal and manufactures coastwise; the exports, wool, wood, corn, and other agricultural produce. In 1849 there belonged to the port 177 sailing vessels of 8377 tons, and two small steamers; 1253 vessels of 60,298 tons entered, and 570 vessels of 24,622 tons cleared; custom-duty received, £31,355. By means of the river and the canals connected therewith, Boston has a navigable communication with Lincoln, Gainsborough, Nottingham, and Derby. The East Lincolnshire railway connects it with Louth, Grimsby, and other towns in the north, and the Great Northern with Peterborough and the south; another line extends to Lincoln. Market-day, Wednesday. Boston is divided into two wards, and is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors. It has returned two members to parliament since the reign of Edward IV. Registered electors (1851-52), 987. Population (1851) within the parliamentary boundaries, 17,518; within the municipality, 14,733.

second commercial city in the United States of North America, and capital of the state of Massachusetts, is situated at the head of Massachusetts bay, near the confluence of the Charles and Mystic rivers, 207 miles N.E. by E. from New York. Lat. 42° 21' 23", N. Long. 71° 4' 9", W. It takes its name from the cognominal town in England, whence many of its original settlers had emigrated. They established themselves, in 1630, on the small peninsula, of about 600 acres in extent, connected with the continent by a narrow isthmus, and now known as Old Boston. As early as 1740, it was a place of some importance, and distinguished for its commercial enterprise, particularly in ship-building and the fisheries. Its population was then 17,000. For more than half a century, its progress was checked by the Indian, French, and English wars, and the restrictive policy of England; so that in 1790 its population amounted to only 18,038. Boston took the lead in opposing those obnoxious duties that resulted in the independence of the States, and suffered severely during the revolution, from the effects of which its recovery was slow: its stores and public buildings had been injured or burned down, and its commerce entirely ruined. Since 1790, however, it has made rapid advances in trade and commerce. The original limits were soon found inadequate for the growing town; and the state in 1804 annexed to it Dorchester Point, another peninsula of about the same extent, and which now constitutes South Boston. At a later period Noddles Island, having an area of 660 acres, was included within the bounds of the city, forming what is now called East Boston. Some hundred acres have also been reclaimed from the sea. Though the chartered extent of the city is thus small, being only about three square miles, its real limits are much more considerable; and, indeed, the population outside its chartered boundaries is at least equal to that within. If we include the numerous towns and villages in the suburbs, where many of the merchants and others of the city reside, and which the numerous omnibuses and railways render easy of access, the population will be much more considerable. The following are the decennial populations since 1790:—in 1800, 24,937; 1810, 33,787; 1820, 43,298; 1830, 61,892; 1840, 93,383; and 1850, 138,788. The population of the district within a circuit of nine miles from the exchange, and of which about one-fourth is occupied by water, marsh, or rocky hills too steep for building, amounted in 1850 to 269,874. The Peninsula of Old Boston was originally called Shawmut, or Trimountain, from its springs and three lofty hills. These last have been to a great extent preserved, and being covered with buildings, give a picturesque appearance to the city. The streets, however, having been originally laid out upon no systematic plan, and accommodated only to the nature of the ground, are in general crooked and narrow, though modern improvements have greatly remedied these inconveniences. The houses are generally of brick, but large and well built. The numerous eminences, rising from 50 to 110 feet above the level of the sea, furnish many admirable sites for building, and many of the private residences are unsurpassed in elegance and taste by those of any other city in the Union. Numerous bridges open communication in various directions for Old Boston. The principal of these are—the Charles river bridge, 1503 feet long, connecting Boston with Charlestown; West Boston bridge, 2758 feet, with a causeway of 3432 feet, leading to Cambridge; South Boston bridge, 1550 feet, from the "neck" or isthmus to South Boston; Canal bridge, 2796 feet, to East Cambridge, from the middle of which an arm extends to States Prison Island in Charlestown; Boston free bridge, 1828 feet, to South Boston; Warren bridge, 1390 feet, to Charlestown. The Western avenue leading to Brookline is a solid structure 7000 feet long, faced with granite on each side, and filled up with earth; and constitutes a tide-dam inclosing a pond of 600 acres.

South Boston is united to Old Boston by four bridges, and is regularly laid out into streets and squares. In the centre are the "Dorchester Heights," 130 feet high, famous in the revolutionary war as the site of a fortification which compelled the British to abandon the harbour.

East Boston is connected with the old town by a ferry, and with Chelsea on the mainland by a bridge. This portion of the city has taken its rise since 1833. A wharf 1000 feet long is devoted to the use of the Liverpool steamers.

Boston, with the town of Chelsea, constitutes he country of Suffolk. It is divided into twelve wards; and is governed by a mayor 8 aldermen, and 48 councillors, all chosen annually by the citizens. Besides these, each ward has a warden, an overseer of the poor, a clerk, 5 inspectors, and 2 school committee men. There is a police court of three justices, for the trial of minor offences and the examination of criminal charges; as well as a municipal court, held by a single judge, with jurisdiction in all criminal cases not capital.

Among the public buildings of Boston the principal is the State house, a large and commodious edifice on Beacon Hill, 110 feet above the level of the sea, and fronting the "common." It was erected in 1798, and is 173 feet long, by 61 wide, built of brick, but painted so as to imitate stone. It is ornamented by two iron fountains, and has a fine dome 52 feet in diameter, with a cupola 230 feet above the level of the harbour, from which a magnificent view is obtained. Faneuil Hall, an ancient brick edifice, 100 feet long, by 50 wide, and three stories high, is celebrated as the spot where the revolutionary orators roused the people to resistance. Faneuil Hall market is an elegant granite building 595 feet long, 50 feet wide, and two stories in height. The city hall or old state house is another venerable edifice of revolutionary memory, and now used for public offices.

The Massachusetts general hospital is a beautiful granite structure 168 feet long, by 54 wide, surrounded by four acres of ground on the bank of the Charles river. The custom-house is a splendid granite building of Grecian architecture. Among the other public buildings are the Massachusetts eye and ear infirmary; the institute for the blind at South Boston; the orphan asylum; the merchants' exchange; the atheneum; a club-house in the Italian style; three theatres; a museum; two large buildings for concerts and lectures; and a quarantine hospital at Rainsford Island. An extensive jail, and a spacious almshouse have recently been erected. In the vicinity are two large and elegant town houses of Denham and Cambridge; the Quincy market, a granite structure 500 feet by 38; the Quincy town house; a collegiate building at Newton; the Harvard university buildings, an observatory, and a lunatic asylum at Cambridge.

The "common" is a beautiful park in Old Boston, encircled by an iron fence; the public garden is well laid out, and contains 11 acres. Several of the squares and areas are embellished by public fountains. Although originally well supplied with water by natural springs, these soon proved insufficient for the wants of the town, and in 1795 pipes were laid by a private company for bringing water from Jamaica pond, 5 miles from the exchange. This source also proving inadequate, a new aqueduct was constructed for supplying the city with water from Cochituate lake, 30 miles distant. This was commenced in 1846, and opened for use in October 1848. The water is brought by a brick conduit of an elliptical form, measuring 6 feet 4 inches by 5 feet, to a large reservoir in Brookline, covering an extent of 22 acres and capable of containing 100,000,000 gallons. From Brookline the water is carried in large iron pipes for 5 miles to two large reservoirs, one on Beacon Hill holding 2,500,000 gallons, and the other on Dorchester Heights, South Boston, holding 6,000,000 of gallons, and each about 120 feet above the level of the sea. From these it is sent through the city by 70 miles of pipes, and is also conducted in pipes to East Boston. In 1831 Mount Auburn, in Cambridge, a spot remarkable for its natural beauty, was selected for a rural cemetery. It extends over 115 acres, and is tastefully laid out, containing a chapel, and many elegant tombs and monuments. There is another handsome cemetery at Forest Hill, Roxbury, and one or two others are in the course of formation. Few interments are now made within the city. The wharfs of Boston are extensive, and all lined with continuous rows of warehouses. Long Wharf is 1800 feet long and 200 wide; Central Wharf, 1375 feet long and 150 wide; India Wharf, 950 feet long; Granite, Commercial, and Lewis's Wharfs are of similar size. The warehouses are numerous and large, many of them four or five stories high, and extending backwards from 60 to 100 feet.

The religious and charitable institutions of the city are numerous and well supported. It has nearly 200 churches and places of worship, some of which, as Trinity and St Paul's churches, are elegant edifices. There are also a general hospital, 2 lunatic asylums, a blind asylum, an eye and ear infirmary, a maternity hospital, an orphan asylum for girls, and a farm school for boys.

Boston has long been celebrated for the number and excellence of its schools and literary institutions. The medical branch of Harvard University has its seat here. The seminary occupies two large buildings, the one containing a library of about 30,000 volumes; the other a picture gallery, a hall for public lectures, and other rooms for scientific purposes.

In 1850 there were 175 primary schools, with 11,378 scholars, and 22 large grammar schools, with 9154 scholars, besides other schools with 471 scholars. The teachers of the primary schools receive a salary of $300, and the masters of the grammar-schools $1500 per annum. Boston has also a Latin and a high school, in which the higher branches are taught. These schools are open to all classes free of charge. Without the chartered limits are Harvard University, with its law and theological schools, a Baptist college, and many excellent schools and academies. See Massachusetts.

Among the literary societies are the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Boston Natural History Society. Deserving of particular notice among the literary institutions of Boston is the Mercantile Library Association. There are now several of these in the United States, but Boston has the honour of having taken the initiative in their establishment. As the name indicates, it is chiefly intended for the mercantile classes of the community; but the public generally are admitted as members, although on somewhat different terms. Its object is to prepare those of the rising generation who are to be the future magistrates of the city, to assume that position with credit to themselves and honour to their country. It has a library, reading-room, classes, and lectures, with a gymnasium and riding school. The library contains about 16,000 volumes, and the annual addition is upwards of 2000. The annual subscription is only two dollars. In 1832 it had 2215 members; the income was $7559, and the expenditure $5806. The present premises have been found inadequate, and a new edifice is about to be erected, at the cost of from $50,000 to $60,000. Boston, atheneum library, the Boston and mercantile library, the law library, the state library, and the several libraries of Harvard University, contain together more than 150,000 volumes. There are 80 periodicals and newspapers published in Boston, in almost all departments of literature and science. Among these is the North American Review, which has long had a high reputation.

The harbour of Boston is one of the best in the United States, being spacious, safe, and easily defended. It is landlocked, accessible to ships of the line, and rarely if ever obstructed by ice. At the N.W. entrance, Lat. 42° 20', N. Long. 70° 54' W., is a lighthouse with a revolving light 90 feet above the level of the sea. The passage so obstructed by ice as to be barely sufficient for two large vessels to sail abreast. It is effectually commanded by two large fortresses on Georges and Castle Islands, constructed with all the improvements of modern science; a third, the Citadel, on Governors Island, is in the course of construction. From Point Alderton to Medford, the harbour is 14 miles in length, and from Chelsea to Hingham, 8 miles in width, covering an area of 75 square miles, and capable of containing all the ships of the Union. The bay contains numerous small islands, many of which afford excellent pasture. The United States have expended large sums on their fortresses and arsenal, extensive navy-yard, dry dock, rope-walks, stores of cannon, arms, and other materials, custom-house, and hospitals for sick and invalid seamen. All these are situated on Boston harbour, and are valued at eight millions of dollars.

In 1852, 381,088 tons of shipping belonged to the port of Boston. The arrivals from foreign ports in 1850 were 2577 vessels, of the aggregate burden of 478,859 tons, and the clearances for foreign ports, 2839, or 437,760 tons. In 1849-50, 23,480 tons of shipping were built. The foreign arrivals in 1852 amounted to 2864, and the clearances to 2863 vessels. In that year the coastwise arrivals and clearances, so far as known—those laden with wood, stone, and sand not reporting at the custom-house—were, arrivals 6286, clearances 3291. The value of foreign imports for 1849 was $24,117,175; exports, $8,843,974; duties, $5,031,995; for the first half of 1850, imports, $16,329,501; exports, $4,426,216; duties, $3,126,472.

The reports of the trade of Boston for 1852 indicate a considerable and healthy increase. The following list shows the state of trade in some of the principal articles during the years 1851 and 1852. The receipts include goods brought into the town, either by sea or by railway; besides the exports, large quantities of many of the articles are sent out by railway.

| Articles | Receipts | Exports | |----------------|----------|---------| | Coffees | 162,308 | 177,305 | | Cotton | 204,232 | 281,168 | | Dry goods | 369,559 | 440,613 | | Coal | 32,576 | 41,684 | | Flour | 773,512 | 896,454 | | Corn | 2,175,267| 2,118,338| | Oats | 496,911 | 849,173 | | Rye and Shorts | 189,766 | 168,225 | | Wheat | 405,044 | 762,939 | | Boots and Shoes, cases | 8,890 | 25,187 | | Ice | 99,578 | 95,482 |

It has also an extensive trade in iron, tobacco, sugar, molasses, oils, leather, dye-woods, &c. Immense quantities of ice are sent to South America, the East and West Indies, China, and other parts. Although the number of tons exported in 1852 was somewhat less than that of 1851, it much exceeded that of any preceding year; being in 1848, 57,507; 1849, 66,308; 1850, 69,623. The ice is chiefly brought by railway from Western, and the other lakes near Boston. Large cattle markets are held weekly at Brighton and Cambridge, in the vicinity. The rapid growth of Boston and its environs during the last ten years, is undoubtedly to be attributed, in a great measure, to the establishment of the magnificent lines of railway, affording it facilities of commerce with the interior. In 1839 there were only 167 miles of railway radiating from Boston, while in 1850 it was connected with 1000 miles of railway in Massachusetts, and about 2000 in other states. Within five miles of the exchange, seven railways branch into sixteen; and two hundred and forty trains enter or leave Boston daily.

In Boston there are thirty-two banks, three savings-banks, numerous mutual assurance companies, and several foreign agencies. The assessed valuation of property in 1853 was, real, $816,090,900, personal, $890,423,300; and the amount of tax, $1,560,507. The amount of city debt at 1st January 1863 was $1,746,510, to meet which there were specially appropriated to that object, bonds, notes, and mortgages, amounting to $1,007,639, besides the public lands and other disposable property of the city.

Boston was the birthplace of Dr Benjamin Franklin. (Hunt's Merchants' Magazine; De Bow's Industrial Resources of the South and West; Gazetteer of the United States, &c.)

Boswell, Thomas, a popular and learned Scottish divine, born at Dunse, May 17, 1676. He was educated at Edinburgh, and in 1699 became minister of the parish of Simprin, from which he was translated in 1707 to Ettrick. He died May 20, 1732. His writings were numerous; but he is best known by his Fourfold State, the Crook in the Lot, and his Body of Divinity, a work much esteemed by Presbyterians. His treatise on Hebrew accents is a learned production; and, besides many other works, he also left Memoirs of his own Life and Times, published in 1776.