Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Excerpt from History of the Town of Harvard Massachusetts: 1732-1893 My Dear Sir: - For many years it has been my ardent desire to see written a history of Harvard - my native town - beginning with the period when the Indians first saw the smoke ascending from the hearth-fires of the white men in the Nashaway Valley and coming down to modern times. In no part of our country were the pioneers beset by greater trials, toil and danger than in New England; and probably none suffered more than those who lived within sight of Wachusett. The little colony at Lancaster was for many years constantly menaced by savage foes, and as the larger portion of Harvard was originally included in Lancaster, she shared the same experiences. The tale of the perils and sacrifices and the many thrilling incidents in the lives of her founders should be so woven into the story that the student may readily comprehend what hardships the brave men and women of that day endured, to secure for themselves and their posterity civil and religious liberty and the many blessings which attach to home in a civilized land. The town of Harvard was made up of sundry tracts from other towns, and if these can be so mapped as to represent the manner of their combination into the present harmonious whole, it would be "a consummation devoutly to be wished." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Blake takes a detailed look, based almost exclusively on original source material, at the public health history of the town of Boston. A significant part of this study is the insight it offers into early attitudes toward disease and death as well as other basic political, social, and economic questions.