Occasion, and by that means, lost one of the first estates perhaps
ever offered to an individual.
I was in this bay, on a fishing party, a few days ago, with one of his
descendants, who was lamenting the infatuation of his ancestor. This
gentleman was so kind as to point out and explain the foregoing
particulars.
You will naturally inquire how the town came to be built in it's present
situation? The governor of the province was proprietor of most of the
land. Is not _that_ a sufficient reason.
About forty years ago the two towns of Baltimore, and the Point, contained
only _two_ brick houses, and a few wooden ones: in a late edition of
Salmon's Geography, I find Baltimore described as consisting of a few
straggling houses, scarcely deserving the _name_ of a _town_. Within these
fifteen years it has increased in size and population beyond all
precedent. It now contains nearly twenty thousand inhabitants; and, in
point of trade, Baltimore is the fourth town in America.
The following anecdote will give you some idea of the growth of the town,
and amazing increase in the value of land: -
An english gentleman, who emigrated to this country some years ago, built
a small _country seat_ on the side of the race ground; this house is
now in the possession of a colonel Rogers, and in the _centre street of
Baltimore_. The colonel has sold the wings for two thousand guineas to
build upon, and still retains the house.
