present town and county lines and associations undisturbed.

In these days of cheap postage and of voluminous correspondence, of newspapers and magazines, of anxiety to know, through public documents, what is passing in legislative assemblies; in these days when the inaugural address of the chief magistrate of the Union has hardly escaped his lips in Washington before it is ready for distribution from the press in Boston; in these days when everybody is looking for daily news, through the daily public journal, it must seem strange to learn that, for fifty-eight years from the incorporation of the town, Shirley was possessed of no post-office; nor yet of any regular mail conveyance! It follows, therefore, that all letters and newspapers must have found their way to and from town by the uncertain mode of private transportation; or were left in the post-offices of neighboring towns, where they were liable to be detained for weeks before they could reach their place of destination.

This was not so great an evil as it might appear at first view; as correspondence by letter was very limited— magazines and reviews were almost unknown-and newspaper patronage was confined to a small number of families. The ease and cheapness by which mailed matter is now conveyed has supplied a want of its own creation; a want which was previously unfelt because unknown.

In 1811,-just eleven years after a post-office had been established in Groton, there was one obtained for Shirley; and Thomas Whitney, Esq., was appointed postmaster. He remained in office during his life, a term of thirty-three years; and the vacancy caused by his death was filled by his son, Hon. James P. Whitney. In 1847 Mr. Whitney died, and his place was supplied by the appointment of George Barrett, Esq. In 1852 Mr. Barrett died, and the office was filled by the appointment of Col. Thomas Whitney, who was a son of the first postmaster, and a brother of the second. Mr. Whitney held

the place until his death, which occurred in 1865. The office was then secured for Jonas Longley, Esq., who is the present incumbent. (1882.)

In the course of fifteen or twenty years from the establishment of the first post-office, it was found that the population of the town could be better accommodated by having a second place of mail delivery constituted. Through the manufacturing interests, the South Village had begun to assume such proportions as to give countenance to this claim. Successful measures were therefore adopted to establish a post-office in that village, and Augustus G. Parker, M. D., was appointed postmaster. In 1837 Dr. Parker resigned the place, and Israel Longley was appointed his successor. Mr. Longley held the office until 1857, when he was superseded by Mr. Alfred Page. It was currently reported at the time that political defection was the cause of this change, rather than any want of fidelity on the part of the incumbent. Mr. Page was superseded by Mr. William B. Edgarton, who held the position until his death, in 1880, when the present incumbent, Samuel Longley, Esq., was appointed.

The trade in almost all of our New-England rural towns has been generally confined to their own citizens; and traders have not been encouraged to keep articles on sale, except such as the conveniences and necessities of their patrons have demanded. For, when merchandise of a higher grade has been allowed to tax the resources of traffic, but small profits (if not actual losses) have been realized. Such, however, was the extent of the palm-leaf trade, which was continued for a quarter of a century, (beginning with the year 1826,) that the patronage of the Shirley traders was greatly increased by custom from abroad. Hence, they were encouraged to sustain stores of higher-priced and less common goods than had usually been kept for sale. But the recent facilities of conveyance to larger marts of traffic have, in these latter days, warned the humble trader of our rural villages not to enlarge his sphere of operations to such an extent as to have

dull sales, and allow articles of cost to lie on the shelves so long as to become shop-worn and out of use.

The trade of Shirley began with two stores-of almost simultaneous origin-set up in the two most feasible localities of the town. As the population increased, more places of trade were demanded, especially in the South Village, where there are now three stores, all of which are in the execution of a fair business. The oldest trading establishment is in the centre of the town. It was set up by Thomas Whitney, Esq., and remained under his charge and that of his family for more than fifty years.

Shirley is so situated that, for sixty years, it had no direct mail communication with the shire-towns of the county or the capital of the State. Mailed packages were transported by indirect and intersecting lines of stages; and hence the business of those who had frequent intercourse with the county courts and the State metropolis was seriously embarrassed. Great, therefore, was the change produced by the opening of the Fitchburg Railroad, whose line at first extended from Charlestown to Fitchburg. This occurred in 1845. The railroad crosses the line between Ayer and Shirley at the Nashua River, and having passed up the valley of that river, enters the valley of the Catacunemaug, goes through the village situated on that stream, and passes into Lunenburg at what is called Mount Henry, where there is a cut in the hill forty-seven feet deep.

Both the freight and passenger cars leave and return to town several times each day. The station is in the South Village, two miles from the centre of the town, and is large and commodious.

The first expense of the road and its appurtenances was rising a million of dollars. But, since its original completion, it has received a second track for the entire length of way. It has also been connected with the capital by a bridge across the Charles River, and is terminated by a station, built of Fitchburg granite, which combines beauty with architectural strength, and is a