the inns also followed English nomenclature: The Bunch of Grapes, Dog
& Pot, Turk's Head, Green Dragon, Blue Anchor, King's Head, etc. The
Good Woman bore on its painted sign the figure of a headless woman. The
Ship in Distress had these lines:

"With sorrows I am compassed round,
Pray lend a hand--my ship's aground."

Another Boston tavern had this rhyme:

"This is the bird that never flew,
This is the tree that never grew,
This is the ship that never sails,
This is the can that never fails."

The Sun Tavern bore these words:

"The Best Ale and Beer under the Sun."

This tavern was removed to Moon Street, and was kept by Mrs. Milk. Her
neighbors' names were Waters, Beer, and Legg. The Salutation Inn, with
its sign-board bearing the picture of two men shaking hands, was
commonly known as the Two Palaverers.

I know no more attractive picture of olden-time hospitality, nothing
better "under the notion of a tavern," than the old Palaverer tavern at
Medford. On either side of its front door grew a great tree, and in the
spreading branches of each tree was built a platform or balcony. The two
were connected by a hanging bridge or scaffolding, and also connected by
a similar foot-bridge with the tavern itself. In these leafy
tree-arbors, through the sunny summer months, from dawn till twilight,
whilom travellers rested and drank their drams, or, perchance, their
cups of tea, and watched the arrival and departure of coaches and
horsemen at "mine inn."

John Adams wrote frequently of the inns of the time. He said of the
Ipswich innkeeper in 1771: "Landlord and Landlady are some of the
grandest people alive. Landlady is the great granddaughter of Governor
Endicott, and has all the notions of greatest family. As to Landlord, he
is as happy, and as big, as proud, as conceited as any nobleman in
England, always calm and good-natured and lazy."

Of the Enfield landlord he wrote: "Oated and drank tea at Peases--a
smart house and landlord truly; well dressed with his ruffles &c. and
upon inquiry I found he was the great man of the town, their
representative as well as tavern-keeper." In a paper which he wrote upon
licensed houses, Adams stated that "retailers and taverners are
generally, in the country, assessors, selectmen, representatives, or
esquires."

Members of our best and most respected families throughout New England
were innkeepers. The landlord was frequently a local magistrat