After Dr. Gordon, the house under consideration was successively occupied by Rev. A. H. Sweetser, pastor of the Universalist Society, and by Dr. Parker, and the last occupant before Mr. Lord, its present occupant, was Dr. Warren Pierce. Perhaps I ought to offer an excuse, for the continuance of these personal reminiscences which may have become wearisome to some of my readers. There is a legend that myriads of sombre birds have periodically flown from the Black Sea to the beautiful sea of Marmora, and after hovering over the cypress shades of the cemetery at Scutari have retraced their flight without food or drink, never touching the earth. The Turks are said to believe that they are condemned souls denied the peaceful quiet of the grave, visiting the tombs of others. I trust that my wanderings among the scenes of the past will not be attributed to the restlessness of a condemned soul, but rather to a love of my native town, and of those in whose footsteps I am daily walking, and in whose vacant homes I recall blessed memories. The house on North street, now owned by John Russell, the occupants of which have been only incidentally alluded to, was built by Samuel Jackson soon after the revolution and passed from him to John Russell, who married his daughter Mary. From John Russell it passed to his son, John, who owned and occupied it through my boyhood until his death in 1857, from whom after his widow’s death it passed to his son, John Jackson Russell, the father of the present owner. John Russell, whom I remember as the occupant of the house, was the son of John and Mary (Jackson) Russell, and was born in 1786. In early life he followed the sea, and soon became master. He sailed some years in the employ of my grandfather, Wm. Davis, and I have seen many letters from him in various ports in the North of Europe, which show him to have been a skilful navigator, and an intelligent, shrewd business man. He gave up the sea before my day, and jointly with Thomas Davis of Plymouth, and Wm. Perkins and Sydney Bartlett of Boston, owned the ships Massasoit, Sydney, Granada and Hampden, of which he was manager. As far as I know his masters were Robert Cowen, Nathaniel Spooner, Wm. Sylvester, and Henry Whiting, the latter making a single voyage to California in the Hampden in 1849. Not long after giving up the sea he became interested in town affairs, and could always be relied on to oppose extravagant measures. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen from 1841 to 1844 inclusive, and in the years 1846, 1851, 1853 and 1854. He was also one of the corporators of the Plymouth Cordage Company in 1824, and a director I think until his death. It was during his service as shipmaster that the political lines began to be drawn between the advocates and opponents of a protective tariff, the manufacturers asking for protection, and the ship owners opposing any measures tending to check importations. His attitude on this question carried him into the ranks of the