The Olden Time Series, Vol. 6: Literary Curiosities: Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, MassachusettsBrooks, Henry M. (Henry Mason)
History
The Olden Time Series, Vol. 6: Literary Curiosities: Gleanings Chiefly from Old Newspapers of Boston and Salem, Massachusetts
Brooks, Henry M. (Henry Mason)
Literary curiosa; New England -- Social life and customs
Many years ago there was published in Boston a small volume entitled
"Eliza Wharton, the Coquette. By a Lady of Massachusetts." It consisted
of a series of letters said to be founded on fact. A young woman died at
the Bell Tavern in Danvers in 1788, whose gravestone a few years ago
might be seen in the old Danvers (now Peabody) burial-ground. We copy
from the "Salem Mercury" of July 29, 1788, the following account:--
Last Friday, a female stranger died at the Bell Tavern, in
Danvers; and on Sunday her remains were decently interred.
The circumstances relative to this woman are such as excite
curiosity and interest our feelings. She was brought to the
Bell in a chaise, from Watertown, as she said, by a young
man whom she had engaged for that purpose. After she had
alighted, and taken a trunk with her into the house, the
chaise immediately drove off. She remained at this inn till
her death, in expectation of the arrival of her husband,
whom she expected to come for her, and appeared anxious at
his delay. She was averse to being interrogated concerning
herself or connexions; and kept much retired to her chamber,
employed in needle-work, writing, &c. She said, however,
that she came from Westfield, in Connecticut; that her
parents lived in that State; that she had been married only
a few months; and, that her husband's name was Thomas
Walker;--but always carefully concealed her family name. Her
linen was all marked E.W. About a fortnight before her
death, she was brought to bed of a lifeless child. When
those who attended her apprehended her fate, they asked her,
whether she did not wish to see her friends: She answered,
that she was very desirous of seeing them. It was proposed
that she should send for them; to which she objected,
hoping in a short time to be able to go to them. From what
she said, and from other circumstances, it appeared probable
to those who attended her, that she belonged to some country
town in Connecticut: Her conversation, her writings and her
manners, bespoke the advantage of a respectable family &
good education. Her person was agreeable; her deportment,
amiable & engaging; and, though in a state of anxiety and
suspense, she preserved a cheerfulness, which seemed to be
not the effect of insensibility, but of a firm and patient
temper. She was supposed to be about 35 years old. Copies of
letters, of her writing, dated at Hartford, Springfield, and
other places, were left among her things.--This account is
given by the family in which she resided; and it is hoped
the publication of it will be a means of her friends'
ascertaining her fate.
Elizabeth Whitman was the real name of the stranger, and the following
was the inscription on the stone:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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