George from this moment put off childish things; his fair complexion and rosy cheeks became a source of serious mortification to him; and he endeavored by exposure to all kinds of weather, to bring them to a more manly hue. He began now to mingle with other boys of his age; and the noble and generous spirit which appeared in him, on every occasion that could call it forth, rendered him a great favorite with his companions. The smaller boys looked up to him as their champion; the weak and defenseless—as he considered the whole tribe of the lower animals to be—he took under his especial protection; and wo to the merciless boy who infringed on their rights, by depriving them of their liberty, or by any other act of cruelty toward them in his sight. His prodigious bodily powers, his fearlessness and spirit of adventure, made him a leader in every bold enterprise. There is apt to exist, in every town, a rivalry and jealousy between the inhabitants of different parts; this spirit was maintained to an unusual degree between the population of the eastern and western sections of Salem—the “Down-in-towners” and the “Up-in-towners,” as they were respectively called. This feeling displayed itself among the boys particularly, and on every occasion of their meeting. It was even said that the flock of geese which led their goslings to feed in the vicinity of “Broadfield,” and often breasted the waters of “Mill Pond,” and those which, more adventurous, dared the waves washing the “Neck,” often took the field against each other in hostile array, when dire would be the hissing and great the loss of feathers. This, however, is not vouched for; but it is certain that the biped youth without feathers, had regularly a grand pitched battle of snow-balls every winter near the first of January; and the victorious party usually maintained their superiority for the remainder of the year, and held possession of the play-ground, then the common, constituting a kind of border territory, being situated at nearly an equal distance between the eastern and western extremities of the town. This common has since become a fine promenade, shaded with trees, forming Washington Square.