Page:1898 NB Magazine.djvu/273
living on the old homestead, and the Price homestead was occupied by a grandson of Edmund Price.
Among the glimpses we get of Portland Point during the closing years of the American Revolution there is a rather interesting one in the diary of Benjamin Marston, a Massachusetts Loyalist, who visited the place in his vessel the "Britannia" in the autumn of 1781. An extract from his journal here follows:—
Friday, Sep. 7. About to a. m., arrived safely into St. John's river, went ashore and dined with Mr. Hazen whom I find to be every way the man I have ever heard him characterized.
Saturday Sep. 8. Dined with Mr. Hazen. Sold him and Mr. White some tobacco, wine and chocolate. Mending sails to-day. Wind blowing very hard at N. W.
Sunday, Sep. 9. Am in hopes of having a convoy to Annapolis; shall know more of it tomorrow: if one, shall wait for it. Dined ashore at Mr. Hazen's.
Monday, Sep. 10. Still waiting in hopes of a convoy and have some prospect of carrying some garrison stores to Annapolis, in that case shall have a party sufficient to keep off pirate boats. Spent the day rambling about the country which hereabouts is very broken, barren and but little cultivated, but abounding in vast quantities of excellent limestone. Fort Howe is built on a single limestone—'tis a pretty large one. Delivered Mr. Hazen his two hogsheads of tobacco which I couldn't do before we have had such blowing weather the two days past.
Tuesday, Sep, 11. Dirty, rainy, wind at noon S. and S. S. W.
Wednesday, Sep. 12. Waited till 12 o'clock at noon to sail, with the men of war and the mast ships.
Benjamin Marston sold part of his cargo to Hazen and White. He was detained at St. John a fortnight by contrary winds. He varied the monotony of the situation by making a rough pencil sketch of Fort Howe on one of the pages of his journal—reproduced in the February number of this magazine—and further amused himself in the composition of the following verses, for which under the circumstances, we may possibly excuse him:
With staying in this lonesome place,
Where every day presents itself
With just the same dull-looking face.