Letusnowtakeageneralglanceatsomeoftheconditionsoftheearlysettlers；andfirst，astothehealthfulnessoftheclimate。
ThemortalityoftheseasonthatfollowedthelandingofthePilgrimsatPlymouthhasbeensufficientlyaccountedfor。Afterthis，thecolonistsseemtohavefoundthenewcountryagreeingverywellwiththeirEnglishconstitutions。Itsclearairisthesubjectofeulogy。
ItsdaintyspringsofsweetwaterarepraisednotonlybyHigginsonandWood，buteventhemischievousMortonsays，thatforitsdelicatewatersCanaancamenotnearthiscountry。“Thereisatendencytodilateonthesesimpleblessings，whichremindsonealittleoftheMarchionessinDickens’sstory，withherorange-peel-and-waterbeverage。Stillmoredoesonefeelthewarmthofcoloring，——suchasweexpectfromconvertstoanewfaith，andsettlerswhowanttoenticeothersovertotheirclearings，whenWinslowspeaks，in1621，of“abundanceofroses，white，red，anddamask；single，butverysweetindeed；“amostofall，however，when，inthesameconnection，hesays，“Herearegrapeswhiteandred，andverysweetandstrongalso。“Thisofourwildgrape，alittlevegetableIndian，whichscalpsacivilizedman’smouth，ashisanimalrepresentativescalpshiscranium。ButthereissomethingquitecharminginWinslow’spictureoftheluxuryinwhichtheyareliving。Lobsters，oysters，eels，mussels，fishandfowl，deliciousfruit，includingthegrapesaforesaid，——iftheyonlyhad“kine，horses，andsheep，“hemakesnoquestionbutmenwouldliveascontentedhereasinanypartoftheworld。Wecannothelpadmiringthewayinwhichtheytooktheirtrials，andmadethemostoftheirblessings。
“AndhowContenttheywere，“saysCottonMather，“whenanHonestMan，asIhaveheard，invitinghisFriendstoaDishofClams，attheTablegaveThankstoHeaven，whohadgiventhemtosucktheabundanceoftheSeas，andoftheTreasuresAidintheSands！“
Strangelyenough，asitwouldseem，exceptforthisbuoyantdeterminationtomakethebestofeverything，theyhardlyappeartorecognizethedifferenceoftheclimatefromthatwhichtheyhadleft。Afteralmostthreeyears’experience，Winslowsays，hecanscarcedistinguishNewEnglandfromOldEngland，inrespectofheatandcold，frost，snow，rain，winds，etc。Thewinter，hethinksifthereisadifference，issharperandlonger；butyethemaybedeceivedbythewantofthecomfortsheenjoyedathome。HecannotconceiveanyclimatetoagreebetterwiththeconstitutionoftheEnglish，notbeingoppressedwithextremityofheats，nornippedbybitingcold：