BOSTON, a market-town and borough of the hundred of Skirbeck, in the county of Lincoln, 140 miles from London, on the river Whitham, which divides it into two parts. The river is navigable, and is joined by a canal which connects it with the city of Lincoln. It is in a marshy situation and has a dense atmosphere, but the land surrounding it is highly fertile. The chief object of attention is the church with its lofty tower, 290 feet in height, which having a lanthorn at the top, is a valuable object to ships approaching that flat coast. There is much trade carried on in corn with the metropolis and other parts of the kingdom. The markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The inhabitants amounted in 1801 to 5926, in 1811 to 8113, and in 1821 to 10,373.

Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, is the largest city of New England, and the second in commercial importance in the United States. It is situated at the bottom of Massachusetts Bay, at the mouth of Charles River. It stands principally on a small peninsula of elevated ground, two miles and three quarters in length by one in breadth, and is connected with the continent by an isthmus and by seven bridges. South Boston stands without the peninsula; and including it, the city covers a surface of nearly three square miles. The harbour is capacious, and has a depth of water sufficient to admit the largest ships of war. The anchorage is excellent, the ship- .ping being protected from storms by numerous islands, on several of which are fortifications. With one exception, all the bridges are of wood. That which connects Boston with Cambridge, a minor town, is 3483 feet in length, and is supported by 180 piers. The western avenue, as it is called, leading across the bay from the western part of the city to Roxburgh, is 8000 feet in length, and is formed of solid earth supported on each side by stone walls. It serves the double purpose of a bridge and a dam, by means of which, and a cross dam, two large basins are formed, one of which fills at flood-tide, the other is emptied at ebb-tide; and thus a perpetual water power is created for driving machinery. The wharfs of Boston are spacious, and afford ample accommodation to shipping and storehouses for merchandise. The streets are mostly narrow and irregular, but well paved. The number of dwelling-houses is about 10,000, besides the store-houses and shops, which are numerous. The greater part of the buildings are of brick, but some are of granite and sienite. Many of the dwelling-houses are large and well built. The principal public edifices are the state-house, which stands on the highest part of the city; the county court-house; Faneuil hall; the Massachusetts general hospital; the Faneuil hall market; about forty churches; ten public school houses; two theatres; a house of industry; a house of correction; and a county jail. The city is divided into twelve wards. The municipal government is vested in a mayor, eight aldermen, and a common council of forty-eight members, who are annually chosen by the citizens. There are a great number of well-conducted schools, and a variety of charitable institutions, in Boston. Havard University, which is the principal literary institution in the vicinity, is situated at Cambridge, three miles distant from the city. The Boston Athenaeum has two large buildings, one containing a library of about 24,000 volumes, and the other a picture gallery, with a hall for public lectures, and other rooms for scientific purposes. Among the literary and scientific societies of Boston are the American academy of arts and sciences, the historical society, the Massachusetts medical society, and a mechanics’ institution. There are six newspapers published daily, three twice a week, several weekly, and a number of other periodicals, amongst which are the North American Review and the Christian Examiner. The pursuits of the inhabitants are in a great measure mercantile. They carry on an extensive foreign trade. The shipping owned in 1828 amounted to 161,583 tons. The annual imports amount to about 13,000,000, and the exports to about 9,000,000 dollars. Many varieties of manufactures are carried on here.

Boston was founded in the year 1630, and received its name from a borough so called in England, from which a portion of the inhabitants had emigrated. It was the birthplace of Benjamin Franklin, and here the war of American independence began. Since the year 1783 the population has gone on doubling in about twenty-three years. In 1810 the number of inhabitants amounted to 33,250, and in 1829 to about 60,000. Boston is situated 210 miles north-east of New York. Long. 71. 4. W. Lat. 42. 22. N.