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^■^ 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 \ 
 
 OF A 
 
 TOUR IN NORTH AMERICA; 
 
 » 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 THE MINES OF REAL DEL MONTE, THE UNITED STATES, AND 
 THE BRITISH COLONIES : 
 
 WITH AN EXCURSION 
 
 TO 
 
 THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 
 
 ^»»#^i»#»*»#»*»^» 
 
 IN A SERIES OF LETTERS, 
 
 Written in the Years 1831-2. 
 
 By henry TUDOR, Esq. 
 
 BARRISTER AT LAW. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JAMES DUNCAN, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 MDCCCXXXIV. 
 
upo^.ij 
 
 1 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 .T. MOVES, CASTLB STREET, LEICKSTBR SQUARE. 
 
TO 
 
 
 ROWLAND HODGSON, Esq. 
 
 OF HIGHFIELD, NEAR SHEFFIELD, 
 
 A3 
 
 A HUMBLE BUT MOST SINCERE TRIBUTE TO EXALTED WORTH, 
 
 UNSULLIED INTEGRITY OF HEART, 
 
 AND THE MOST EXPANSIVE BENEVOLENCE : 
 
 AND IN TESTIMONY 
 
 OF DEEP GRATITUDE FOR MOST 
 
 VALUABLE BENEFITS BESTOWED, 
 
 KINDNESSES UNREMITTINGLY EVINCED, 
 
 AND OBLIGATIONS ZEALOUSLY CONFERRED, 
 
 THIS WORK 
 
 IS DEDICATED, 
 BY HIS AFFECTIONATE AND GRATEFUL FRIEND, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 \ "■ 
 
f 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 In venturing to submit the following Work 
 to public notice, the Author is by no means 
 influenced by the vain ambition of seeing 
 himself in print, but is induced by the 
 higher motive of endeavouring to do justice 
 to a much -abused and slandered people, 
 whose fate it has hitherto been to be mis- 
 represented by those who ought to have 
 cherished the very opposite feeling. 
 
 The voyage across the Atlantic was 
 undertaken for the purpose of re-establish- 
 ing a state of health somewhat impaired, 
 as also of visiting the only quarter of the 
 globe which the writer had not seen ; and 
 in order to behold, among the wonders of 
 the New World, the magnificent Cataract 
 of Niagara. 
 
 Nothing was farther from the Author's 
 intention than the publication of the re- 
 marks that might be suggested in the 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 course of his excursion ; and had he not 
 perceived an unhappy and unwarrantable 
 tendency in American tourists, particularly 
 in the authoress of a work entitled " Do- 
 mestic Manners of the Americans," to sully 
 the fair reputation, and to depreciate what- 
 ever is excellent in the rising greatness of 
 our Transatlantic brethren, his observations 
 would have been confined to the narrow 
 sphere of his own family circle. 
 
 The Author feels it his bounden duty, 
 at the same time, to make one honourable 
 exception to the generality of American 
 travellers in the person of Mr. Stuart, who 
 has recently published a work entitled 
 " Three Years in North America." In the 
 liberal and enlightened views of this gentle- 
 man, he acknowledges, with equal pleasure 
 and candour, that he fully coincides ; and 
 he is happy to bear his humble testimony 
 to the general tone of good feeling, good 
 taste, and fidelity, by which his observa- 
 tions on the manners, principles, and in- 
 stitutions, of the citizens of the United 
 States, are characterised throughout. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 VII 
 
 V 
 
 With respect to the observations of 
 Mrs. Trollope, at once uncharitable as 
 they are, and illogical in their deductions, 
 the Writer has felt it his duty to make 
 some remarks, which will be found towards 
 the latter part of the second volume. 
 
 It was not till some time after the Au- 
 thor's return to England that his reluctance 
 to give publicity to the following Letters 
 was overcome. They had been written (with 
 some few alterations in reference to the 
 press,) to various friends in England, during 
 the hurried intervals of travelling — but 
 little favourable to study and the refine- 
 ments of elegant composition — and without 
 the smallest intention of having them sub- 
 mitted to the public eye. He might, per- 
 haps, be permitted to mention, as an ad- 
 ditional motive to his final determination, 
 the pressing requests of private friends ; 
 but as this apology has become rather 
 common-place from repeated use, and as 
 the motive was in truth quite of secondary 
 importance, he prefers resting on the more 
 solid ground of attempting to rescue from 
 
vili 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 unmerited obloquy the character and in- 
 stitutions of a nation to which, as Enghsh- 
 men, we ought to be attached as well by 
 the ties of policy as by the rights of con- 
 sanguinity. 
 
 The Author frankly acknowledges that 
 he feels proud of the descendants of the 
 mother-country, who, inheriting as they do 
 an equal spirit and enterprise with their 
 British ancestors, have done, and are still 
 doing, more to extend the British name 
 and language throughout the boundless 
 regions of the western world than even 
 their aristocratic progenitors. Instead of 
 entertaining an ignoble jealousy respecting 
 their rising greatness and importance, he 
 willingly confesses that the pride of his 
 honest feeling, at least on this point, is 
 fully identified with theirs. He feels con- 
 vinced that if, in the revolution of ages, 
 the British Isles, like the empires of ancient 
 times, should be destined to fall from the 
 grandeur of their present position in Eu- 
 rope, their inhabitants will find, on the 
 shores of America, a second and more ex- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 tended Britain, characterised by true En- 
 glish feelings and associations, amid which, 
 hke the fabled phoenix, they may rise again 
 with renovated vigour from the ashes of 
 the parent state. Long may the unex- 
 ampled prosperity of the Anglo-American 
 nation continue, and the progressive de- 
 velopement of her resources be as auspicious 
 as the happy result that has hitherto marked 
 the commencement ! 
 
 The Writer of the following Work lays 
 not the smallest claim to literary merit. 
 His statement is simple and unvarnished, 
 and rests its principal credit on the faith- 
 fulness of its details, and the sentiments 
 of honest feeling which have suggested its 
 publication. This sentiment, entertained 
 towards a community from many indi- 
 viduals of which he has received marked 
 hospitalities and kindness, in his endeavours 
 to rectify the gross misrepresentations so 
 wantonly indulged against them, has alone 
 induced him to take up his pen, and has 
 invariably guided its course through the 
 following pages. It has been his ruling 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 motive in preparing for the press, and will 
 best sanction the publication which he now 
 offers to the world. 
 
 Should this motive be fairly appreciated, 
 as he trusts it will be, the Author has no 
 doubt that he will receive from the liberality 
 of the public that credit for his work to 
 which it will, in that case, be entitled. He 
 is induced more particularly to hope for 
 this result from the consideration of its 
 being the first attempt on which he has 
 ever ventured. 
 
 Though the tenour of the following 
 Narrative is, from a sense of impartial 
 justice, generally eulogistic of the people 
 and institutions of the United States, yet 
 the Author is not so blinded by his ad- 
 miration of their rapid and unequalled 
 advancement to a high degree of civilisa- 
 tion, as to be unconscious of their defects 
 — since perfection belongs no more to com- 
 munities than to individuals — and on which, 
 where they have occurred to his observa- 
 tion, as in several instances of wanton 
 misconduct in persons belonging to the 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XI 
 
 I 
 
 state of Kentucky and others, he has in- 
 dulged the freedom of remark. 
 
 If, in conclusion, the Author shall be 
 so happy as to create in the minds of the 
 citizens of the Union a better understand- 
 ing of Enghsh feeling towards them, and 
 shall have satisfied them that they are not 
 to regard the thoughtless and malicious 
 severity which some evil-minded persons 
 have so unwarrantably exercised to their 
 prejudice, as any criterion of British senti- 
 ment, he will have fully and most gratefully 
 gained his object ; and in the producing of 
 so desirable a result will feel perfectly con- 
 soled for the perhaps inefficient accomplish- 
 ment of his design. 
 
 London, January 1834, 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Voyage across the Atlantic — Emigrants — Hail-storms — Two 
 Atheists on board — Banks of Newfoundland — Fogs — 
 Icebergs — Fishing for Mackerel — Whales — News-boats 
 — Sandy Hook — New York Bay — Dinner at the City 
 Hotel Page 1 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Description of New York— Tables of Comparative Population 
 — NumberofNewspaperspublished— City Hall— Exchange 
 — Churches — Distribution of Religious Sects — ^The Battery 
 — New York Ladies — American Curiosity — The Navy- 
 Yard— The Table d'Hdte- Rapidity of Eating— Letter of 
 Credit — Quick - sightedness of a Banker — Journey to 
 Philadelphia — New Brunswick — Princeton — Picture of 
 George III. — Delaware — Bordentown — Approach to 
 
 Philadelphia Page 20 
 
 VOL. I. b 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Cheapness of Travelling — Chesapeake and Delaware Canal — 
 Chesapeake Bay — Baltimore — Equivocal Accommodation 
 of American Coaches — Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road — 
 Ingenious Principle of Locomotion — Discussion on Slavery 
 — Washington — ^The Capitol — Houses of Congress — The 
 Potomac — Alexandria — Mount Vernon, Country Seat of 
 Washington — His Tomb in the Grounds — Museum at 
 Alexandria — Relics of the Patriot Puge 46 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Fire-flies — Description of Baltimore — The Washington Monu- 
 ment — Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road — Cathedral — Battle 
 Monument — Charles Carroll — Vanity of the Americans — 
 The American Novelist — Description of Philadelphia — 
 United States' Bank — Pennsylvania Bank — Comparative 
 Tables of Population of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia — 
 Girard's Bank — State House — Fairmount Waterworks — 
 Pennsylvania Hospital — The Navy-yard — The large Ship 
 Pennsylvania — New Penitentiary — Systems of Prison 
 Discipline — Churches, &o. &c. — Canals Page 71 
 
 4 
 
 i 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Bordentown — Joseph Buonaparte — Sudden Change of Tem- 
 perature — Climate of the States — Anniversary of American 
 Independence — Universal Rejoicings on the occasion — 
 Dinners — Processions, Fireworks, &c. — Beauty of the 
 American Ladies — Calashes to conceal their Charms — 
 Museum at New York — Passage up the Hudson to West 
 Point — Military Academy at West Point Page 109 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Pope — Invention of Letters — Cadmus — Catskill Mountain — 
 Pine Orchard — Splendid View thence — Fine Temperature 
 on the Mountain — Singular Appearance of the Fog — 
 Kaaterskill Falls — Corduroy Road — Town of Hudson — 
 Lebanon Page 138 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 Society of Shakers — Their extraordinary Doctrines — Ann Lee, 
 their Founder — Forbid Matrimony — Believe that Christ 
 has appeared a second Time — That the " Bride" alluded to 
 in Revelations was Ann Lee — That the Millennium has 
 commenced — Their Tenets respecting Baptism — The Holy 
 Sacrament — The Resurrection and Day of Judgment — 
 Believe that the latter have already commenced — Their 
 Faith as to the Perfectibility of Man — Extravagance 
 in their Religious Ceremonies — Dancing the principal 
 Worship in their Churches — Quotations from Scripture 
 in support of it Page 152 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Leave New Lebanon — Albany — Erie Canal — Patroon of Al- 
 bany — Prejudice against Entails — Anecdote on the Subject 
 — Cross the Hudson — Horse Tow-boat — City of Troy — 
 Fondness of the Americans for classical Names — Examples 
 of it — Arrive at the Springs — Ballston — Saratoga — Sche- 
 nectady — Proceed on the Erie Canal — Valley of the Mo- 
 hawk — Indians fast disappearing — Little Falls — German 
 Flats — Danger from the Canal-bridges — Utica — Trenton 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Falls — Melancholy Occurrence there — Journey to Auburn 
 — Dreadful Roads — Carriage breaks down — Tears and 
 Lamentations — Tribe of Oneida Indians — Syracuse — Au- 
 burn — Bumps and Bruises Page 1 77 
 
 m 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 State Prison of Auburn — Admirable System of Discipline — 
 Different Principle to the Penitentiary at Philadelphia — 
 Thirty Women a match for Seven Hundred Men! — Cayuga 
 Lake — Specimen of Democratical Equality — Seneca Lake 
 — Geneva — Jemima Wilkinson, the Enthusiast — Canan- 
 daigua — New Settlements just emerging from the Forest — 
 Singular Appearance of them — Mode of destroying the 
 Trees — Their melancholy Aspect — Rochester — Sam Patch 
 — Meet some agreeable Travellers — Temperance Societies 
 — Interesting Details of them — Lockport — The most 
 splendid Works there on the Canal Poge 204 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Falls of Niagara — Description of them — British, or Horse- 
 Shoe Fall — American Fall — Impossibility of doing them 
 justice — their Height — Comparison with the Pyramids of 
 Egypt — General Whitney's Hotel — Military Titles in Ame- 
 rica — Ferry Staircase — Goat Isiand — Biddle Staircase — 
 Sam Patch's leap into the Gulf — View from the centre of the 
 River — Whirlpool and Devil's Hole — Lewiston — Queens- 
 town — Comments on Captain Hall's Work on the States — 
 Forsyth's — Visit behind the Falls — Scene by Moonlight. 
 
 Page 235 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XVU 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Buffalo— Lake Erie — Source of the Niagara— Western Lakes 
 — Welland Canal— Noble and useful Work- Launch of 
 Vessel over the Falls— Return to Niagara— Final Adieu 
 —Cross Lake Ontario —York, Capital of Upper Canada- 
 Canada Land Company— New Settlements— Guelph— 
 Goderich — Price of Land, &c.— Country most eligible to 
 Emigrants— Imposts and Duties— Expense of Passage to 
 Emigrants— Constitution of Upper Canada — Kingston — 
 The Rideau Canal— The St. Lawrence— The Thousand 
 Islands— Rapids of the St. Lawrence— Arrival at Montreal. 
 
 Page 269 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Description of Montreal — the dominant Religion— School 
 Societies — Island of St. Helena — Passage to Quebec — 
 Description of Quebec — Cape Diamond — Heights and 
 Plains of Abraham — Falls of Montmorency — Indian 
 Village ofLorette — Ceremonies of Indian Marriage— The 
 War- Whoop and Dance— French Canadians— Falls of the 
 Chaudi^re — Catholic Cathed ral — Museums — Monument 
 to Wolfe and Montcalm— Constitution of Lower Canada- 
 Climate- Fruits Page 300 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Arrival at Quebec of the Royal William Steam-Boat— Embark 
 in her for Nova Scotia— Passage down the St. Lawrence— 
 Miramichi— Dreadful Conflagration— Arrive at Halifax- 
 Windsor, Nova Scotia — the College there — Annapolis — 
 Condition of the Soil— Bay of Fundy — St. John's, New 
 VOL. I. C 
 
ii! 
 
 XVlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Brunswick — Passage to Eastport — Frontier Town of the 
 United States — Bay of Passamaquoddy — Curious Mode of 
 Fishing — Passage to Boston — Lady deranged from Sea- 
 sickness — Description of Boston — Origin of the Settlement 
 
 — Navy -Yard — Bunker's Hill — Curious Rencontre — 
 Manufactories of Lowell — American Skill in driving. 
 
 Page 333 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Cambridge — Harvard University — Public Schools — Sweet 
 Auburn — Consecration of a Cemetery — Fresh Ponds — 
 Ice — Extensive Traffic in it — The Fine Arts at Boston — 
 Nahant — Quincy Granite Quarries — Churches — State of 
 Religion — Depart for the White Mountains — Salem — 
 Notorious for Witchcraft — Oriental Museum — Portland 
 
 — Quality of the Land — the Tariff — Floating Bridge — 
 Climate — Disputed Territory — Gardiner — Banks of the 
 Kennebec — Interesting Family — Traits of Character. 
 
 Page 370 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 1 1 
 
 Augusta — Cause of greater Beauty in American Towns — 
 Paris, State of Maine — Lose my Baggage — Cultivation of 
 Pumpkins — Travel in a Wagon — Reach the White Moun- 
 tains — The Notch — Appalling Destruction of a whole 
 Family — Fearful Avalanches — The Carriage breaks down 
 
 — Haverhill — Banks of the Connecticut — Conversation in 
 Coach — Revivals — Religious Opinions — Church Discipline 
 — Hanover — Royalton — Gulf Road — Election of Judges 
 
 — Freemasonry — Burlington — Lake Champlain — Lake 
 George Page 405 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XIX 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 American Court of Chancery— Wigs and Gowns— Chancellor's 
 Salary— -Forensic Eloquence — Formation of a Literary 
 Society— Ex-President Adams— New York Deaf and Dumb 
 Asylum— Depart for New Orleans— Canvass-back Ducks- 
 Curious Invention— Potomac — Arrive in Virginia— Frede- 
 ricksburg— Horrible Roads— Republican Equality— Singu- 
 lar Mode of Farming in Virginia — First Settlement of the 
 State— Charlottesville— The Blue Mountains— Staunton— 
 Separate from my Party— Business and Pleasure incompa- 
 tible — Magnificence of the Weyer's Cave — Extraordinary 
 Impudence of a Democrat Landlord Page 434 
 
V 
 
 I 
 
 01 
 
 ol 
 P 
 
 01 
 
 T 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 TOUR 
 
 IN 
 
 NORTH AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Voyage across the Atlantic — Emigrants — Hail-storms— Two 
 Atlieists on board — Banks of Newfoundland — Fogs — Ice- 
 bergs — Fishing for Mackerel — Whales — News-boats — 
 Sandy Hook — New York Bay — Dinner at the City Hotel. 
 
 New York, United States of America, 
 
 5th June, 1831. 
 MY BEAR FRIEND, 
 
 In fulfilment of the promise which 
 I made to you, on quitting England for the shores 
 of the New World, to give you a faithful narrative 
 of my adventures, I now draw forth my best- 
 pointed Bramah, on the continent of America, in 
 order to redeem my pledge. And as I know 
 your curiosity ranges over the sea as over the 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
h'' 
 
 EMIORANTS. 
 
 
 land, and thiit a voyage across the great deep will 
 have more of novelty for you than an excursion 
 hy land, I shall commence my letter by giving 
 you a slight sketch of my passage across the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 I sailed from Portsmouth, on the 2d of May, 
 on board of the Hannibal, one of the New York 
 packet-ships, which, for accommodation, elegance, 
 excellent fare, kind treatment, and good seaman- 
 ship, are quite equal to any ships that navigate 
 the ocean. Our vessel was something short of 
 500 tons, and was commanded by Captain He- 
 bard, a very attentive and obliging American ; and 
 our society on board consisted of about twenty- 
 four cabin passengers, making up the full com- 
 plement for which berths could be supplied. In 
 addition, however, to the company here enumer- 
 ated, there were about a hundred unhappy emi- 
 grants crowded together in the steerage, who were 
 hastening to seek that better lot in a strange and 
 distant land which they had failed to realise in 
 their own. They presented an interesting, but 
 mournful, picture of a population redundant be- 
 yond the means of support; driven away from 
 country and friends, through the resistless influ- 
 ence of moral and physical causes, to seek sub- 
 sistence and a home perchance in the wilderness. 
 
 Our voyage commenced under rather inau- 
 spicious circumstances ; since, in addition to the 
 adverse wind with which we left the harbour of 
 
 i 
 
IIAIL-STORMS. 
 
 3 
 
 'i* 
 
 Port -mouth, wc encountered, in the Channel, a 
 succession of the most violent and tempestuous 
 hail-storms that 1 ever rememher to have seen. 
 The deck of the ship was so completely and pro- 
 fusely covered with hall and snow, drifted in some 
 places into large heaps, that the gentlemen acted 
 over aguin the days of their schoolboy feats, and 
 pelted each other with snow-balls. Such weather 
 as this on the 2d of May, and off the mild and 
 temperate coast of Devon, excited in no small 
 degree our surprise, and compelled us to wrap 
 our cloaks around us, when in truth we might 
 have expected to throw them aside altogether. 
 
 The sea, as you are aware, agrees with me 
 extremely well, having traversed every ocean on 
 the globe without having once experienced the 
 dreadful sensation of sea-sickness ; dreadful, ac- 
 cording to the report of others, and which I 
 am, as with respect also to the toothache, much 
 happier to learn at second than at first hand. 
 The boundless mass of waters, too, on which I 
 was just entering, awfully magnificent and pas- 
 singly wonderful as it is, always rivets my attention, 
 whether sailing on its blue expanse or sauntering 
 along its shores, and ever presents to my mind an 
 unfailing source of grateful and sublime contem- 
 plation. I never behold this glorious object with- 
 out having the beautiful passage of the Psalmist 
 most forcibly recalled to my memory: — " They 
 that go down to the sea in ships, that do business 
 

 H'l 
 
 ATHEISTS ON BOARD. 
 
 H\ 
 
 in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, 
 and his wonders in the deep. For he comniand- 
 eth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which hfteth 
 lip the waves thereof. Tiiey mount up to the 
 heaven, they go down again to the depths ; their 
 soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to 
 and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and 
 are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the 
 Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out 
 of their distresses. He maketli the storm a calm, 
 so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they 
 glad because they be quiet ; so he bringeth them 
 unto their desired haven. Oh that men would 
 praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his won- 
 derful works to the children of men !" 
 
 In consequence, therefore, of my entire free- 
 dom from all indisposition at sea, joined to the 
 fine weather which is in general ^^revalent at this 
 season of the year, you might suppose my passage 
 to New York to have been an agreeable one. Ab- 
 stracting from consideration some painful solicit- 
 udes, unconnected with the voyage, such, indeed, 
 I found it to be, in comparison with what I had 
 anticipated. I should have enjoyed, however, in 
 a still higher degree, the bustle and excitement 
 around me — absorbing attention, otherwise de- 
 voted to less pleasing contemplations — had there 
 not been present in our little society two of the 
 most confirmed and daring Atheists that it was 
 ever my misfortune to meet. Other infidels, 
 
ATHEISTS ON BOARD. 
 
 whom T have met in my various travels through 
 the world, were, in comparison with these, cha- 
 racterised by decency and moderation of expres- 
 sion, and even tenderness of allusion with respect 
 to sacred things and the existence of a Supreme 
 Being. Their principal pleasure appeared to con- 
 sist in denying, with fearful tokens of defiance 
 and ribald mockery, the very being of the mighty 
 God who had created them, and who had endowed 
 the mind of the elder of the two with a strength 
 of intellect, and with a germ of natural talent, 
 which, if exercised aright, would have elevated 
 their owner to eminence and respectability. But 
 God's bounty to him has been most awfully per- 
 verted ! For what is the worth of the brightest 
 intellect that ever was matured in the mind of 
 man, if it lead its besotted possessor to abjure the 
 very God who formed him ? His zeal, too, in 
 particular, for making proselytes, equally exceeded 
 all that I had previously witnessed in the conduct 
 of similar persons ; since, in addition to his ha- 
 ranguing the steerage passengers on the falsity of 
 the Scriptures, and the non-existence of a superin- 
 tending Providence, his attempts on the youthful 
 minds of two unprotected schoolboys, just fresh 
 from the pious instruction of their tutor, and 
 blooming, as it were, into early virtue, aroused 
 my just and deep indignation. 
 
 I had several times a discussion with him, in 
 
}T 
 
 AN ATHEIST S GOD. 
 
 . 
 
 !■ ■'■ 
 
 the earlier part of the voyage, on various religious 
 subjects ; but I soon found it absolutely necessary 
 to cease all reference to these interesting topics, 
 inasmuch as my objections to his desolating creed 
 and doctrines, however mildly enforced, only served 
 to exasperate his hostility to the proposition of an 
 over-ruling Providence, and of the authenticity 
 of the Bible, in a tenfold degree. This hostility 
 was, at the same time, conveyed in such terms of 
 bitter scorn and blasphemous expression, as to 
 drive every one immediately from his presence. 
 He seems to have been wofully neglected when a 
 boy, having been educated apparently without the 
 slightest consciousness that he possessed a soul. 
 
 He stated, in the course of conversation one 
 day, that the only god he was ever taught to 
 worship, was the god Neptune ; and that, during 
 a voyage which he was making on a certain oc- 
 casion, when about seven years of age, he was 
 accustomed to go down on his knees, every day, 
 before the captain of the vessel, in order to say 
 his prayers to Neptune, and beseech the deity of 
 the waters not to drown him. He declared that 
 he was never taught to believe in any other object 
 of adoration, and that whenever afterwards he was 
 in any kind of trouble or affliction, he used to 
 kneel down and supplicate the god of the sea ! 
 
 About the 20th of May we found ourselves on 
 the banks of Newfoundland, the very region of 
 
BANKS OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 
 
 fog and vapour, and in comparison with which, 
 the generahty of London fogs are a simple mist. 
 The cold here was excessive, and even a great-coat 
 closely buttoned, but ill kept out the penetrating 
 damp : indeed, the temperature of the air was 
 absolutely freezing. This extreme cold, in ad- 
 dition to the fog that more or less constantly 
 prevails on the banks, is chiefly caused by the 
 numerous icebergs which, for several months after 
 the breaking up of the northern winter, pass over 
 them on their way to the southward, affecting 
 the atmosphere to a very considerable distance, 
 according to the quarter from which the wind 
 may happen to blow. Though we were rather too 
 early in the season for these dreaded visitants, 
 since they are not frequently seen before the month 
 of June; yet as the earliness of seasons varies, 
 and as exceptions to general rules are quite arbi- 
 trary in their occurrence, we found it necessary 
 to keep a good look out a-head, and occasionally 
 felt somewhat anxious when the mist was so dense 
 that we could not even see the ship's length in 
 any direction. Had there been an iceberg in our 
 course, going as we were at the rate of eight and 
 nine knots an hour, it would have been physically 
 impossible to have been aware of the danger till 
 the crash of the vessel against the artificial rock 
 had brought us into destructive contact. 
 
 A few years ago, the Liverpool, one of the 
 

 8 
 
 WRECK ON AN ICEBERG. 
 
 I 
 
 ^M 
 
 New York packet-ships, having a number of pas- 
 sengers on board, was lost on the banks of New- 
 foundland, under the melancholy circumstances 
 to which I have alluded. The cabin-bell had a 
 few moments before rung for dinner, when the 
 ill-fated ship struck against an iceberg, closely 
 concealed from view by an impenetrable fog, and 
 in less than half an hour she filled with water 
 and went down. The passengers and crew, most 
 fortunately, had just time to save themselves in 
 the ship's boats ; and, after encountering fearful 
 perils, and suffering severe hardships, they at 
 length reached Newfoundland, upwards of 200 
 miles from the place where they were wrecked ; 
 a poor little child, the daughter of the only lady 
 passenger on board, having died of fright and 
 exposure. 
 
 The exhalations around these shoals frequently 
 assume very singular appearances. I witnessed 
 in particular, one day, the n.ost extraordinary and 
 perfect illusion of land that could possibly be 
 formed, in the shape of what is called a fog-bank. 
 The mist had condensed into deep and broad lines 
 and masses on the edge of the horizon, as closely 
 resembling terra jirma as any thing short of the 
 reality, and which so completely deceived the 
 second-mate, that he declared if it were not land, 
 he had never beheld it in his life. The captain, 
 however, on being appealed to, assured us we 
 
TREAT OF FRESH MACKEREL. 
 
 9 
 
 were at least 150 miles distant from it, as the 
 result fully proved to be the case. 
 
 We had flattered ourselves with the hope, on 
 approaching the banks, of having a delicate treat 
 of fresh fish, as they abound with the finest cod 
 in the world, and are resorted to during the sum- 
 mer by innumerable fishing-boats, of which the 
 owners make a very good livelihood by exercising 
 their craft of catching and curing them, as well 
 for the American as for European markets. Our 
 hopes, however, were in this respect (like too 
 many others, and more fondly cherished) doomed 
 to disappointment ; for, though we cast out our 
 lines, on the falling away of the wind, to the depth 
 of eighty fathoms, we found, in consequence of 
 the drifting of the ship, and our having been 
 driven too far towards the southern edge of the 
 bank, that we could not reach the bottom. We 
 were, nevertheless, amply compensated when we 
 arrived on the St. George's Bank, as we caught 
 here a number of very fine mackerel, which, being 
 dressed immediately, proved as delicious a honne 
 bouche as ever captivated the palate of a London 
 alderman. The shoals of these fish were here 
 truly immense ; covering large portions of the 
 sea, and strongly rippling the otherwise tranquil 
 waters by their sportive movements on its surface, 
 as if they had been agitated by a powerful breeze. 
 The greediness with which they swallowed the 
 
 b2 
 
a$m 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 WHALES. 
 
 m 
 
 lii 
 
 J! 
 
 bait was surprising ; for the instant the line was 
 dropped in the water, was it again drawn up with 
 a fine mackerel writhing at the end of it. Our 
 fishing operations continued for some time; for 
 our "beauteous breeze," as an Irish acquaintance 
 of mine used to express it, had bidden us adieu, 
 to go in quest of other adventures; and, with the 
 exception of the partial ripplings caused by the 
 fish, the sea was as delightfully placid as was the 
 lovely lake of Killarney when I cast the part- 
 ing glance over it last year, on quitting its interest- 
 ing shores for the romantic rocks of Glengariff. 
 And such is life! — calm and tempest — sunshine 
 and shade ; and too often when there is repose 
 without, there ib a storm within ! 
 
 I need hardly tell you, that of the larger in- 
 habitants of the great deep, such as the whale, 
 grampus, shark, and others similar, we saw 
 numerous specimens ; some of them basking in 
 the sunshine, others heaving their huge forms 
 above the billows, and spouting forth water like 
 so many fountains. These are interesting objects 
 at all times, but more especially when launched 
 forth into the distant ocean, since they serve as 
 so many reliefs to the unvarying monotony of 
 endless sea and sky. The circumstance, however, 
 that surprised me the i^ku't in my passage across 
 the Atlantic, was the extreme coldness of the at- 
 mosphere during so generally fine a month as that 
 
 , ft 
 
 J 
 
 i 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
LAND IN SIGHT. 
 
 11 
 
 of May, and which continued until we were almost 
 in sight of the shores of America. Coats and 
 cloaks were in universal requisition ; and, besides 
 our exterior clothing, we found it necessary to 
 make good use of our legs in pacing up and down 
 the decks, in order to obtain a comfortable degree 
 of warmth. 
 
 The contrast which my voyage to Madeira 
 exhibited, on going out to India some years ago, 
 was extraordinary. I left the Downs in January, 
 shivering under the double covering of a great-coat 
 and a cloak : the Thames was frozen solidly over, 
 and a well-heated stove blazing in the cuddy, round 
 which every one was crowding and shaking; when, 
 in ten short days, off the island of Madeira, coats 
 and cloaks were thrown aside; the under coat 
 even was exchanged for a calico jacket, such as 
 is worn in the East ; the stove was unshipped, and 
 stowed away for another English winter ; and we 
 marched forth on the deck without hat and gloves, 
 luxuriating in all the delicious warmth and sun- 
 shine of that unequalled climate. 
 
 At length, on the 3d of June, to the universal 
 joy of all on board, and especially so to that of 
 the poor emigrants, who, in consequence of their 
 numbers, had been obliged to be packed like 
 herrings in a barrel, "land" was called out by 
 the sailor at the mast-head, and which, in the 
 course of a couple of hours more, became visible 
 
r 
 
 |i 
 
 
 12 
 
 NEWS-BOATS. 
 
 from the deck. Never having seen America, I 
 hailed the apparition of the new world — for still 
 the distant hills were overspread hy a mysterious 
 shadowiness — with a degree of delightful interest 
 that amply compensated for the regret with which 
 I saw the last sunny spot of old Albion's chalky 
 cliffs vanish from my view. 
 
 I had not yet touched American ground, being 
 at this time a number of miles from the coast, 
 and before the pilot had come on board to take 
 us across the bar, and steer us to New York; 
 when I received the first forcible impression of 
 that ardent thirst for European intelligence, and 
 of that ceaseless and universal enterprise by which 
 the people of the United States are so justly dis- 
 tinguished, and whence they derive at once a 
 large fund of honourable credit to their spirit, 
 and of commercial emolument to their exertions. 
 The circumstance that excited this, was our being 
 boarded, while still out at sea, by a couple of 
 news-boats, to obtain the very latest information 
 from Europe, especially from England, and to 
 receive papers and letters which might be brought 
 by us. These little schooners are kept, at very 
 considerable expense, by some of the principal 
 proprietors of journals in New York, in order to 
 furnish the earliest possible knowledge of the 
 state of European markets, commerce, and poli- 
 tics, to the American public. They are constantly 
 
SANDY IIOO'C. 
 
 13 
 
 plying outside the bar, till they shall have gained, 
 by a fresh arrival, the required information, when, 
 with every press of sail, they hasten their return 
 to the city, where, frequently, the news brought 
 is published, and circulated, before the ship has 
 passed the bar, twenty-six miles below it. 
 
 There not being sufficient depth of water, in 
 consequence of ebb-tide, to carry us across the 
 shoal, we came to anchor for the night; and on 
 the following morning, the 4th of June, we got 
 under weigh for New York, the commercial queen 
 of Transatlantic cities. The shore about Sandy 
 Hook, where is stationed the first light-house pre- 
 viously to entering the bay, and the heights and 
 line of hills about Neversing, in the neighbour- 
 hood of it, are very picturesque ; but by no means 
 rising to that lofty altitude of mountain grandeur 
 which I had fully expected to see on approaching 
 the shores of the new world. Why I had so imagin- 
 ed, I can hardly say, except being aware that nature, 
 in this quarter of the globe, presented features of 
 a bolder aspect, generally speaking, than are to be 
 seen in any other portion of it. So indeed she does ; 
 but, as I now ascertained, not precisely on the 
 identical coast on which I had just arrived. These 
 heights are decorated by a diversified vegetation ; 
 and here is seen a prolific growth of handsome 
 trees, flourishing in great luxuriance, and seldom 
 observed on the coasts of Europe, — a circumstance 
 

 i!i,: 
 
 Ik 
 
 14 
 
 QUARANTINE GROUND. 
 
 which we are nccustomed to attribute to the 
 noxious influence of a salt atmosphere. 
 
 Having passed Sandy Hook, we steered for 
 the *' Narrows," through which lies the passage 
 to New York bay, formed by the close approxi- 
 mation of Staten and Long Islands; the shores 
 of the former exhibiting every variety of beau- 
 tiful scenery and elegant undulations of hills, 
 studded with pretty villas, and embellished with 
 richly verdant and numerous groves. At the 
 point of Staten island, the hospital, and telegraph 
 station, present picturesque and interesting objects 
 to the eye. On the opposite shore of Long Island 
 we passed two or three strong batteries, well con- 
 structed, and judiciously placed to defend the 
 entrance to the bay; and after having cleared 
 the Narrows, \ e were *' brought to " opposite the 
 Quarantine ground, for the purpose of having our 
 pulses felt by the doctor, and medical permission 
 to proceed to our destination. This place offers 
 to the view of all those on whom the doctor does 
 not lay violent hands, and compel to remain in 
 " durance vile" till his infection, real or supposed, 
 be removed, a truly delightful landscape ; rising 
 from the sea, with a beautiful slope, to a consi- 
 derable elevation; and crowned by a handsome 
 edifice, overlooking various other neat structures 
 beneath it. 
 
 From hence is beheld, in the distance, the 
 
BAY OF NEW VORK. 
 
 15 
 
 I 
 
 spires and steeples of New York, with i' forest 
 of masts towering aloft, and decorated witli a 
 thousand flags and streamers; while an infinite 
 number of vessels, schooners, and boats of all 
 sizes and forms, many of them very elegantly 
 built, and steamers crowded with passengers, 
 rushing along at the rate of twelve and four- 
 teen miles an hour, fill up the animating scene. 
 Here the bay lies open to your view in all its 
 lovely expansion : and though I certainly do not 
 think it equal to the Bay of Naples, to which 
 I have heard it assimilated with all the claims 
 of a proud competitor, yet, with the exception of 
 two or three that admit of no rivalry, I regard it 
 as one of the most beautiful in the world.* But, 
 as Mrs. Malaprop says, " comparisons are odo- 
 riferous," and it is generally the safer way to view 
 what is the subject of observation on its own 
 abstract merits : in this light the American bay 
 will rise to a high degree on the scale of natural 
 scenery. 
 
 We now steered parallel to the shore of Long 
 Island, whose banks gradually develop a more 
 prominent beauty as you approach the city ; and 
 
 * The noble altitude of one or two of the mountains and 
 mountain ridges which characterise the Italian bay, throw into 
 comparative tameness the less elevation of the American one ; 
 fine and delightful, nevertheless, as are many of its truly inter- 
 esting features. 
 
1(5 
 
 PASSAGE MONEY. 
 
 ! i 
 
 ''\M 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 
 if: 
 
 
 passinf^ close by Governor's Island, whicli lies 
 like an emerald on the sunny surface of the hay, 
 we at last saw the termination of our voyage of 
 thirty-three days, accomplished in health and 
 safety, by coming to an anchor close to the town. 
 And here, I confess, I could not help exclaiming 
 to myself, thus early in my acquaintance with the 
 people of the United States, and stranger as I was 
 in their country : ** This is, beyond doubt, a great, 
 a powerful, and a prosperous nation ! " and I must 
 acknowledge that I felt a sentiment of honest 
 pride and exultation, that from so inauspicious a 
 commencement as that which marked the settle- 
 ment of the first colonists in this country, there had 
 sprung up, in such a short space of time, a race 
 of men that so obviously reflected credit on their 
 origin, and that so clearly identified themselves in 
 all the elements of moral activity, enterprise, and 
 spirit, with that country which I hold dearest 
 upon earth. 
 
 We had now traversed the watery element 
 for a distance of about 3500 miles, being the 
 space that lies between the two cities of London 
 and New York. The passage-money to America 
 is thirty-five guineas, including wine and every 
 requisite comfort procurable on ship-board, not 
 omitting even luxuries ; since, among the latter 
 items, is to be enumerated the unexpected deli- 
 cacy of champagne, which is given twice a week. 
 
DINNER ON LANDING. 
 
 17 
 
 On returninp^ to Eiif^land the chnrjje is reduced 
 to thirty guineas, in consequence of the p^reater 
 expedition with wliich the passage is accom- 
 plished, from the prevalence of westerly winds ; 
 the outward-l)oiind voyage being usually effected 
 in about five weeks, and the return voyage in 
 twenty-three days : it has, however, been some- 
 times completed in fifteen. 
 
 Before I close my letter, as you may be in- 
 clined to know with what appetite I eat iny first 
 dinner on shore, after being cooped up for five 
 weeks on ship-board, I shall give you a bill of 
 fare, to satisfy you that there is no danger of my 
 starving in the States, and as offering the best 
 possible pledge for the future. The public dinner 
 being over at the City hotel, — whore I took up my 
 quarters, and which I found of a superior order, 
 though swarming with countless numbers, like 
 bees in a hive, — I accepted the invitation of a 
 gentleman and his lady, who came over in the 
 same ship with me, to dine in their private room. 
 In the course of an hour we had placed before us, 
 at the voluntary discretion of our worthy host of 
 the hotel, the following savoury and delicate 
 viands, several of which had but just come into 
 season : A tureen of real turtle, a very inviting 
 loin of lamb, a dish of fine trout, another of 
 young chickens, half-a-dozen snipes, a piece of 
 roast beef, new potatoes, delicious peas, still more 
 
18 
 
 ICED WINE. 
 
 delicious asparagus ; and the whole delicately gar- 
 nished by two or three kinds of fruit-pies, together 
 with preserves, and strawberries and cream. This 
 array of coaxing dishes for three seafaring per- 
 sons, was of course served up with the most ortho- 
 dox arrangement of the culinary art, the order of 
 which I leave to your own imagination ; and for 
 this dainty fare, half a dollar only (or 25. 3d.) 
 was the sum total demanded for each individual. 
 
 I leave you to suppose with what gout we 
 relished our repast, with appetites sharpened by 
 the pure sea-breezes, and craving for fresh pro- 
 visions. Superior, however, if possible, to all the 
 rest, was the iced wine and iced water, which our 
 American friends possess in greater perfection than 
 any other nation I have ever visited ; and which, 
 with the thermometer at 90°, I found most grate- 
 ful to the palate. The ice is pellucid, and beau- 
 tiful as the clearest crystal; the winters in the 
 northern states being so severe, that they collect 
 it ad libitum in huge and solid masses, without 
 being obliged, like the inhabitants of the " mother 
 country," as is sometimes the case, to send for it 
 to the North Pole. After dinner (not without 
 reason, you will think), I strolled down Broad- 
 way, the finest street in New York, to the Battery, 
 where I enjoyed the delightful air from the bay, 
 as the evening was very sultry, among the verdant 
 trees that adorn the margin of its waters, rendered 
 
 I 
 
 
THE SUPPER-BELL. 
 
 19 
 
 more than usually refreshing to one who has only 
 had sea and sky to look on for a long month. I 
 then returned, and went to bed, heedless of the 
 supper-bell, that was sounding its gastronomic 
 warning in the erect ears of the greedy gour- 
 mands. And now, for fear I should interrupt 
 either of these essential operations with regard 
 to yourself, I will have mercy on your perhaps 
 wearied patience, and bid you, for the present, 
 adieu ! 
 
20 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Description of New York — Tables of Comparative Popula- 
 tion — Number of Newspapers published — City liall — 
 Exchange — Churches — Distribution of Religious Sects — 
 The Battery — New York Ladies — American Curiosity — 
 The Navy-Yard— The Table d'llote — Rapidity of Eating 
 — Letter of Credit — Quick-sigh tedness of a Banker — 
 Journey to Philadelphia — New Brunswick — Princeton — 
 Picture of George IIL — Delaware — Bordentown — Ap- 
 proach to Philadelphia. 
 
 Philadelphia, 12th June, 1831. 
 
 M'.lf 
 
 H : V 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 I NOW resume the thread of my 
 narrative where it broke off in my letter addressed 
 to you from New York, and which had conducted 
 you across the Atlantic to that place. I proceed 
 to give you a few notices respecting this, the 
 metropolitan city of the Union ; for such, in a 
 commercial point of view, it must essentially be 
 considered ; possessing, as it does, greater natural 
 and artifi-r advantages than any other town in 
 the States. 
 
 New York is situated on the Island of Man- 
 hattan, at the confluence of the Hudson and East 
 
SITUATION OF NEW YORK. 
 
 21 
 
 Rivers; tlie island extending about fifteen miles 
 in length, with an average breadth of a mile and 
 a half, or two miles. It lies in 40 deg. 40 min. 
 of north latitude, and was originally settled by 
 the Dutch in 1615, being called by them New 
 Amsterdam ; the historical details of which are 
 huiiiorously and admirably given, by Washington 
 r.'ving, in " Knickerbocker's History of New 
 York." In process of time, however, and as 
 the result of various causes, it changed masters, 
 and fell under the dominion of the English ; and 
 you do not require to be informed by what course 
 of events it was afterwards forcibly transferred 
 to its present possessors. The city lies on the 
 southern point of the island, running along the 
 western shore of the Hudson to the extent of 
 nearly two miles, and along that of the East 
 River, between three and four. The natural 
 advantages by which it is surrounded are not 
 excelled, if equalled, by any city on the face of the 
 globe. Flanked, on each side, by the two splendid 
 rivers I have mentioned ; one of them being navi- 
 gable to the sea, and the other, through the auxi- 
 liary medium of the Erie Canal, bearing the rich 
 freights of the capital into the very heart of the state ; 
 lying, too, on the margin of an extensive and noble 
 bay, across whose waters you sweep onward to the 
 ocean in the short distance of twenty- two miles, — it 
 makes good the claim which it asserts, at once with 
 
 ¥■■- 
 
 >~4 ll 
 
 m 
 
 
 * i 
 
22 
 
 POPULATION OF NEW YORK. 
 
 i! ill 
 
 justice and with pride, of being the commercial 
 queen of the western world. 
 
 To afford you some insight into the com- 
 parative population at different periods of this 
 city, as well as of the state to which it belongs, 
 both of which you will perceive have advanced 
 most rapidly within the last fifty years, I give you 
 the two following authenticated statements. 
 
 Population of the City of New York. 
 In 1696 4,302 In 1800 60,489 
 
 1731 
 
 8,628 
 
 1756 
 
 .... 10,381 
 
 1773 
 
 21,876 
 
 1786 
 
 23,614 
 
 1790 
 
 33,131 
 
 1810 
 1820 
 1825 
 1830 
 
 96,373 
 123,706 
 167,059 
 203,007 
 
 Population at different Periods of the State of 
 
 New York. 
 
 In 
 
 In 
 
 Increase. 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 1701 .. 30,000 
 
 1790 .. 340,120 
 
 
 21,324 
 
 1731 .. 50,395 
 
 1800 .. 586,050 
 
 1790-1800 . . 245,930 
 
 20,613 
 
 1749 . . 100,000 
 
 1810 . . 959,049 
 
 1800-1810 .. 372,999 
 
 15,017 
 
 1771 .. 163,338 
 
 1820.. 1,372,812 
 
 1810-1820 .. 413,763 
 
 10,088 
 
 1825.. 1,61 6,458 
 
 1830.. 1,91 3,508 
 
 1820-1830 . . 540,696 
 
 46 
 
 By this latter table you will observe, with 
 much gratification, that, to the honour of New 
 York, slavery has been abolished within the limits 
 of its jurisdiction. 
 
 As the Americans, from the nature of their 
 government, are all politicians, from the president 
 
NUMBER OF NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED. 
 
 23 
 
 cial 
 
 ei'i 
 
 com- 
 f this 
 longs, 
 anced 
 e you 
 
 89 
 73 
 06 
 59 
 07 
 
 teof 
 
 Slaves. 
 21,324 
 20,613 
 15,017 
 10,088 
 46 
 
 with 
 New 
 imits 
 
 their 
 sident 
 
 down to the ostler of an inn, you will feel inter- 
 ested, perhaps, in knowing the amount of political 
 information communicated to the sovereign peo- 
 ple throughout this city and state, and which I 
 here subjoin. 
 
 The number of newspapers published in the 
 state, according to Williams's New York Annual 
 Register, amounted in 1831 to 239; 54 in the 
 city of New York, and 185 in other parts of the 
 state. 
 
 Number of Sheets issued from the fifty four Presses 
 in the City of New York annually. 
 
 11 daily papers (average 1,455 each in one day) , . 4,944,000 
 
 10 semi-weekly do .... 1,880 1,955,200 
 
 26 weekly do 2,600,000 
 
 6 semi-monthly and 1 monthly 36,800 
 
 Total number of sheets printed annually . . 9,536,000 
 Estimated number (185 papers) in other 
 parts of the state 5,000,000 
 
 Total 14,536,000 
 
 With respect to the city of New York, ^ 
 struck me, I confess, as much superior to what 
 I had anticipated, as well in the dimensions of 
 the streets, the neatness and elegance of the 
 houses, as in the beauty and nobleness of many 
 of its public edifices. Broadway, which is the 
 finest street in the town, possesses an appearance 
 highly imposing, and extends three miles in 
 
24 
 
 CITY HALL. 
 
 leno'th, with 
 
 •al breadth of eighty feet. It 
 
 generi 
 
 is lined with handsome buildings, and decorated 
 with shady trees and attractive shops through a 
 considerable portion of that distance ; some of 
 which might serve to adorn the metropolitan 
 cities of other countries. 
 
 Of the public buildings, one that comes into 
 the most prominent notice, is the City Hall, lying 
 on Broadway, and of which the front is formed of 
 white marble. I have several times heard ob- 
 jections made to this structure, but have esteemed 
 the taste of such critics more fastidious than ju- 
 dicious. The circumstance most to be criticised 
 and to be regretted ii, that the reverse face of the 
 building should have been constructed of a dif- 
 ferent material, being fronted with a dark-coloured 
 stone, which, by being equally presented to the 
 eye in passing down the street, as the other in 
 passing up, looks bad from the violent con- 
 trast. However, in my humble judgment, it is 
 an elegant edifice ; and, taking the ensemble inside 
 and out, reflects very considerable credit on the 
 architectural skill and public spirit of the citizens 
 of New York. The interior of it is principally 
 appropriated to the various courts of law, richly 
 and tastefully fitted up ; and around the chamber 
 in which is held the mayor's court, are ranged 
 numerous portraits, of Washington, of different 
 governors who have presided over the state, and 
 
 ■■!» 
 
THE EXCHANGE. 
 
 25 
 
 of many of the commanding officers, both naval 
 and military, who have signalised themselves in 
 the service of their country. 
 
 Another building that attracted my attention, 
 as displaying at once taste and splendour, is the 
 Exchange, in Wall-street, leading from Broadway, 
 and which also is constructed of white marble. 
 The front is adorned by a handsome portico, sup- 
 ported by Ionic columns of elegant proportions, 
 through which you pass to a noble and spacious 
 room where the body of merchants assemble, and 
 is surmounted by a dome, casting an agreeable 
 light below. Here the commerce of the world is 
 conned over ; and, to an idle man, a half hour 
 or two can be pleasantly disposed of, in very 
 sultry or rainy weather, by promenading through 
 its ample dimensions. 
 
 Among the public structures I must not forget 
 to enumerate the churches, with respect to which 
 I am aware you will be more interested than as 
 regards the others ; and you will, therefore, be 
 happy to hear that there are about one hundred 
 of them, comprehending places of worship of all 
 denominations, within the precincts of the city. 
 Of thest, St. Paul's church, also in Broadway, 
 is considered one of the best specimens of archi- 
 tecture in the town ; the front, likewise, being 
 ornamented by a portico of the Ionic order, sup- 
 ported by four fluted pillars of a dark-coloured 
 
 VOL. I. c 
 
26 
 
 TRINITY CHUnCII. 
 
 'Sli 
 
 IhB 1 
 
 !B 1 1 
 
 li 
 
 111 ki 
 
 i.illiiL' 
 
 ; a 
 
 m 
 
 
 Stone, and surmounted by a statue of St. Paul. 
 Lower down, on the same side of the street, is 
 Trinity church, constructed of stone, in the Gothic 
 style, and arresting the attention of the stranger 
 from a certain singularity in its appearance. I 
 allude principally, however, to this church, where 
 I attended divine worship on the first Sunday 
 after my arrival, in order to bring to your notice 
 the inscription on a tomb, erected in the burial- 
 ground surrounding the church, by which my 
 sympathy with its unknown yet interesting writer 
 was in no small degree excited. It is at once 
 simple and brief, but touchingly pathetic. The 
 tomb is of an oblong form, covered by a plain 
 stone, on which the following words are deeply 
 indented : 
 
 MY MOTHER. 
 THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND, AND THE DEAD SHALL RISE ! 
 
 These are the only characters engraved upon it, 
 but it breathes a language that must speak to 
 every heart. " If there is one inscription," says 
 an elegant author, alluding to this simple and 
 affecting record, and whose expressions I quote, 
 as being much superior to any that I could furnish 
 myself: *' If there is one inscription in the thou- 
 sand languages that are or have been of earth, 
 fitted to retain its sublime meaning through every 
 period of time up to the resurrection morning, it 
 
EPISCOPACY. 
 
 27 
 
 i 
 
 is this. The writer seems aware that names would 
 be forgotten, and titles fade from the memory of 
 the world. He therefore engraved the name by 
 which he first knew her who gave him birth, on 
 the stone — and the dearest of all names, that of 
 mother^ shall send a thrill through the heart of 
 every one who may ever lean over this monu- 
 mental pile. If any shall wish to know further 
 of her who had a child to engrave her most 
 endearing name upon a rock, he is sublimely 
 referred to the sounding of the trumpet and the 
 rising of the dead, when he may know all." 
 
 Trinity church is attached to the Episcopalian 
 doctrines and forms of worship, and where the 
 Bishop of New York generally preaches when in 
 the city. Of this ecclesiastical dignity you will, 
 no doubt, equally with myself, be surprised to hear 
 as existing in this land of purely republican insti- 
 tutions. It struck me forcibly as arguing well for 
 the people of the United States ; since it evinces a 
 national respect for sacred things, as distinguished 
 from temporal affairs, highly creditable to them. 
 It demonstrates a proper veneration for the insti- 
 tutions and ceremonies of a church, of whatever 
 denomination it may be, even though clothed in 
 the garb of aristocratic distinction ; and which lat- 
 ter, in reference to every thing else, is a principle 
 forbidden and denounced by the univereal spirit of 
 their democratic form of government. 
 
28 
 
 RELIGIOUS SECTS. 
 
 ii?i 
 
 iji 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
 I'll 
 
 111: I': 
 
 (iff 
 
 i% 
 
 1,1 '.: I 
 
 m 
 
 I /.I 
 
 m 
 
 The interior of this church, as also the external 
 of it, is handsome : it contains a number of ele- 
 gant and tasteful monuments, of which one at the 
 altar commemorates the death, by shipwreck, some 
 years ago, at Sandy Hook^ " of a son of the Earl 
 of Morton, peer of Scotland, and his unfortunate 
 companions." 
 
 In order to give you some idea of the divisions 
 into which the religious world is divided, in this 
 state, I present you with the following statement 
 from the " Quarterly Register of the American 
 Education Society, for February 1831 :" — The 
 Presbyterians have 5 synods, 29 presbyteries, 687 
 churches, 486 ministers, 124 licentiates, and 
 54,093 communicants. The Dutch Reformed, 
 148 churches. 111 ministers, 7 licentiates, and 
 8,672 communicants. The Associate Synod of 
 North America, 15 congregations, 13 ministers, 
 and 1,668 communicants. The Methodists, 73,174 
 members. The Baptists, 549 churches, 387 mi- 
 nisters, and 43,565 communicants. The Episco- 
 palians, 129 ministers. The Lutherans, 27 minis- 
 ters, and 2,973 communicants. The Roman 
 Catholics, Friends, and Universalists, are con- 
 siderably numerous. The Unitarians have 5 
 societies and 2 ministers ; and there are some 
 Shakers and some United Brethren. 
 
 To economise, however, as well your time as 
 my own paper, by not dilating too much on any 
 
 I 
 
PUBLIC PROMENADE. 
 
 29 
 
 one subject, to the exclusion of so many others 
 which are continually passing in review before 
 me, I shall now conduct you from an inspection 
 of public edifices to that of a public promenade ; 
 for were I to barely enumerate, with the slightest 
 notice whatever, the whole of the former — consist- 
 ing of churches and chapels, halls, exchanges, 
 banks, of which latter the Branch Bank of the 
 United States is another beautiful white marble 
 building — colleges, of which that called Colombia, 
 formerly styled King's college, is an excellent lite- 
 rary establishment — of theatres, exhibiting consi- 
 derable architectural beauty — academies, lyceums, 
 libraries, asylums, museums, hospitals, hotels, &c. 
 &c., — I should weary your patience beyond all en- 
 durance. Having spoken about churches, let me, 
 however, observe, that with respect to the subject 
 of religion in the United States, I will give you 
 my opinion, when I shall* be competent to form 
 one, after a sufficient residence in the country, 
 and after taking the various excursions through 
 it which I propose to make. 
 
 The promenade, whither I now intend leading 
 you, gratified my taste, I must acknowledge, for 
 the picturesque and beautiful, and excited my ad- 
 miration of the local advantages possessed by the 
 worthy citizens of New York, more than almost 
 any other object that I beheld. This is the Battery, 
 
 H 
 
30 
 
 THE BATTERY. 
 
 lying at the extremity of Br >adway, most delight- 
 fully situated on the very edge of the bay, and 
 presenting a coup d'ceil across its sunny surface, 
 studded with various beautiful islands, and around 
 its lovely and diversified shores, which is very 
 rarely enjoyed from the immediate suburbs of so 
 large and populous a city. It is, in fact, a spa- 
 cious pleasure-ground, enclosed by a handsome and 
 substantial fence, tastefully disposed into gravel- 
 walks, and adorned with a well-assorted selection 
 of trees, shrubs, and flowers, which, during the fine 
 season, exhibit an appearance of the most fresh and 
 vigorous growth, and of a soft and delicious ver- 
 dure that I have never seen exceeded any where. 
 The prospect hence, but more especially from the 
 Battery itself, which gives its name to the prome- 
 nade below, comprises a perfect panorama, and is 
 as varied and enchanting a scene as even the eye or 
 heart of Dr. Syntax himself, travelling in search of 
 the picturesque, could desire to look on. Here the 
 view ranges over the commodious harbour, offer- 
 ing to the eye a crowded assemblage of shipping 
 from every quarter of the world — over the noble 
 shores of Long Island, and New Jersey, with its 
 lovely-looking city in prominent display on a 
 jutting point of land — the prosperous town of 
 Brooklyn, finely elevated on an eminence rising 
 above East river — over a variety of neat villas 
 
 'i 
 
THE EFFECT OF FASHION. 
 
 31 
 
 
 and country-seats, scattered throughout the ex- 
 tensive landscape, with an interep^in;^ foreground 
 formed by three islands, called Governor's Island, 
 Bedlovy^'s Island, and Ellis's Island, on each of 
 which is planted a military station. 
 
 The Battery, properly so called, or Castle 
 Garden, whence the finest panoramic view is ob- 
 tained, is fitted up as an amphitheatre, where are 
 occasionally displayed exhibitions of fire-works, 
 and where a band of music, during the summer 
 months, regale the lovers of harmony while en- 
 joying their evening promenade. And yet you 
 will scarcely credit me, after this description, when 
 I tell you that this captivating scene is compa- 
 ratively neglected : such, however, I regret to 
 say, is the fact. Nursery-maids and children, 
 with a few scattered individuals of the ruder sex, 
 are the sole tenants of these fairy walks ; while 
 the fascinating Belles of New York are blushing 
 in all their charms along the much less romantic 
 avenues of Broadway. The dereliction of this 
 favoured retreat appeared so remarkable to me, 
 that I took occasion to inquire the cause of a 
 highly respectable inhabitant of the city, when 
 the previously inexplicable secret was at once 
 explained, by my being informed it was — un- 
 fashionable ! 
 
 In reference to the fair sex of this Transat- 
 lantic capital, I may as well take the opportunity 
 
32 
 
 PLEASURE-GROUNDS OF HOBOKEN. 
 
 'o 
 
 of mentioning, that, as far as respected them, I 
 could have fancied myself walking in Rue Rivoli, 
 or Rue de la Paix, or sauntering in the gardens 
 of the Tuileries ; as they were attired, to the very 
 complexion and arrangement of their shoe-strings, 
 completely a la Franfaise ; and no Parisian beauty 
 ever glides along more showily arrayed, in the 
 very extreme of the fashion, than the Belles of this 
 city. 
 
 Another place of delightful resort, and certainly 
 fashionable, as far as I could judge, — at all events 
 much more numerously frequented, — is presented 
 in the pleasure-grounds, and lovely, rural prome- 
 nades of Hoboken, stretching along the margin 
 of the river; of which, and of the city, they com- 
 mand most interesting views, and constitute the 
 Kensington Gardens of New York. I do not know, 
 precisely, why they should be more generally 
 patronised, except that they are of somewhat more 
 difficult access, having to cross the Hudson river 
 in a steam-boat in order to reach them. The 
 secret, perhaps, lies in this, that what costs nothing 
 is disregarded, while that which is only to be 
 attained by a little trouble or expense is con- 
 sidered valuable. And this is human nature all 
 over the world. 
 
 Having heard, as I have no doubt you have, 
 frequent allusion made to the curiosity of the 
 Americans, of which most probably, like many 
 
AMERICAN CURIOSITY. 
 
 33 
 
 other maiwaises plaisanteries, the relations are 
 grossly exaggerated, and these, perhaps, to be 
 restricted to the lower orders, I shall now present 
 you with an amusing scene that took place two 
 or three days after my arrival at "New York, 
 between a worthy citizen (not exactly in the rank 
 of an aristocrat) and myself, in front of the City 
 Hall. Having strolled into the park where that 
 building is situated, I addressed some questions 
 respecting it to a well-dressed, decent-looking man 
 who was passing at the moment, and which having 
 answered, he immediately turned interrogator him- 
 self, and commenced by saying : — "I guess you 
 are a stranger?" *' Yes, I am/' I replied. " Well, 
 I guess, now, you come from the mother-country," 
 continued my good-humoured catechiser. I as- 
 sured him I did. " Well, now, I thought so," 
 said he ; and, half hesitating whether or not to 
 proceed, he added, " What part do you come 
 from, stranger?" I could scarcely refi'ain from 
 laughing at my friend's easy assurance ; however, 
 I told him, ** From London." ** And how long 
 have you been in America?" he next inquired. 
 I answered that question also ; when, emboldened 
 by my ready replies to his interrogatories, and 
 his curiosity to know still further, increasing in 
 the exact ratio of my acquiescence with his pre- 
 vious demands, he now planted himself in an 
 attitude of repose, which fully convinced me that 
 
 c2 
 
S«j5j^ 
 
 34 
 
 UNITED STATES NAVY-YARD. 
 
 
 i 
 
 he was going to demand the history of my life, 
 birth, parentage, and education j to conclude, per- 
 haps, with a request that I would allow him to 
 examine the marks on my teeth, in order to as- 
 certain my age ; upon which historical detail, and 
 dental examination, as I was not then prepared to 
 enter, I very unceremoniously wished him a very 
 good day, and walked off. I turned round shortly 
 afterwards, and perceived him staring after me 
 in the fixed attitude in which I had left him, and 
 looking " unutterable things ;" thinking, doubt- 
 lessly, that it was impossible I could ever have 
 come from so refined a place as Londor, nd 
 flattering himself that he had much the advat ; ':^ j 
 of me in manners and good breeding. 
 
 During my short residence in New York I 
 was reminded, in no inconsiderable degree, of our 
 good city of Liverpool, in consequence of that 
 ceaseless activity, commercial bustle, and assem- 
 blage of vessels, forming the leading feature of 
 both towns, and which assimilates one to the 
 other. Of course, as an Englishman, I did not 
 omit to visit the United States' navy-yard, over 
 which I was kindly shewn by an officer in the 
 service. The country being in a state of perfect re- 
 pose from warlike operations, I did not witness there 
 that busy and animated scene which, without pro- 
 perly reflecting on it, I had previously expected, 
 from observing the fine and numberless vessels 
 
 J 
 
 I 
 I 
 
STEAM-FRIGATE FULTON. 
 
 35 
 
 passing to and fro along their bays and rivers, and 
 which, beyond any doubt, declare them a great 
 and maritime nation. I saw here the shattered 
 hulk of the steam-frigate Fulton, the only man- 
 of-war to which steam was ever applied. It was 
 accidentally blown up in 1829, alongside the navy- 
 yard, and lies half sunk in the water. Two sixty- 
 four gun frigates were the only ships I saw on 
 the stocks, and on which, in these " piping times of 
 peace," no ship-wrights were at work. The finest 
 ship of war that I saw at New York was the 
 Kensington frigate, thirty-two guns, a short time 
 previously sold to the Russians. She was truly 
 a splendid vessel, and her state-cabin fit for the 
 reception of a monarch. To say that I witnessed 
 a wonderful difference between the navy-yard of 
 New York and those of Plymouth and Devonport 
 in my own country, is but what all mankind 
 would naturally suppose ; and it would be an in- 
 vidious remark to make, unless qualified by ac- 
 companying reflections. It would amount to no- 
 thing more than to simply declare, that youth is 
 not manhood, and that the accumulations of a 
 long series of centuries must inevitably, through 
 the force of geometrical progression, be vastly 
 greater than those of a few short years. America 
 is but the infant giant, while the other has grown 
 up to maturity. But I think it by no means re- 
 quires a prophetic vision to foresee, through the 
 
36 
 
 AMERICAN DESPATCH. 
 
 
 long vista of coming years, a matured strength, 
 and a mighty and prosperous power, to be wielded 
 hereafter by the people of the United States, 
 equal to any thing that either modern or ancient 
 times have yet witnessed. This belief is neces- 
 sarily founded on the supposition, that the various 
 States of the Union will continue to hold together 
 in that powerful combination existing at the pre- 
 sent moment, and which, therefore, may be said 
 to involve the whole question. Some think that 
 they perceive, already, the strong symptoms of a 
 disruption of the general compact. Of this I can, 
 at present, say nothing ; but I shall be able to form 
 a more decided opinion after I shall have traversed 
 the country throughout its length and breadth. 
 
 Having incidentally touched on American en- 
 terprise, I may as well give you a specimen of the 
 indefatigable industry, and economy of time with 
 which it is united, among these active and bustling 
 people — a union by which commerce must assur- 
 edly flourish, if it possess at all the element of 
 success within it. I must acknowledge myself, 
 however, to have been, for some days after my 
 arrival, wofuUy inconvenienced by the circum- 
 stance; though I afterwards found a tolerable 
 remedy in seizing time by the forelock. I allude 
 to the public dinners. The custom in the States 
 is not, as in England — and, generally speaking, 
 in Europe — for each person or party, staying at 
 
RAPIDITY OF EATING. 
 
 37 
 
 an hotel, to take the different meals of the clay 
 alone, and at the hour most agreeable for that 
 purpose — an arrangement so admirably suited to 
 travelling — but to place down, at a table d'hote, 
 all the guests in the house, and at fixed hours, on 
 the ringing of a bell. Should you be absent but 
 for ten minutes (I speak principally of dinner) 
 after this grave warning has announced the critical 
 moment, you stand rather an unpleasant chance 
 of having to postpone your dinner to the following 
 day ; since it is only as an exception to the rule, 
 that "mine host" will furnish you with a private 
 repast after the public one shall be over; and, 
 even then, by no means so good, and at an in- 
 creased charge for the accommodation. The 
 cause of my distress arose from the extraordinary 
 rapidity with which this most essential meal 
 throughout the twenty-four hours was performed. 
 On the first occasion of my dining at the public 
 table, I had but just received a plate offish, after 
 partaking of soup, and was leisurely commencing 
 to despatch it, and was comfortably settling my- 
 self in my chair for a couple of hours to come, 
 when, casting my eye along the line of the table, 
 I was immediately startled to find that half the 
 chairs in various portions of its length, and which 
 but a few moments before were fully occupied, 
 had been deserted ; and in five minutes afterwards 
 I was left in a state of solitary abandonment, with 
 
38 
 
 RAPIDITY OF EATING. 
 
 u 
 
 
 1:1 
 
 the exception of three others, out of a large 
 company of perhaps 150 persons. But, although 
 amused, as well as disturbed, (as the result well 
 justified) at the unequalled despatch and hasty 
 retirement of these worthy citizens, yet being very 
 hungry at the moment — having eaten only a 
 quarter of my way through the dinner — I was 
 in no slight degree alarmed at seeing the dishes 
 all leaving the table along with the guests. How- 
 ever, just as one of the waiters was rapidly re- 
 moving the viands placed immediately before me, 
 which I thought rather un peu trop, since I was 
 giving the most unequivocal demonstration that 
 I was far from concluding, I laid an embargo on 
 two of the best of them ; till at length, perceiving 
 that I was a lonely unit out of 1.50 well-dined 
 (I suppose) and departed persons, shame got the 
 better of my appetite, and I sprung up and de- 
 parted too, fully resolved the next day to imitate 
 my neighbours, by devouring my repast in double- 
 quick time and in solemn silence. 
 
 I have merely mentioned this circumstance as 
 an instance of the stirring activity and economising 
 diligence of the American people ; for the haste 
 with which the gastronomic operation is per- 
 formed is solely to enable them to hurry back 
 to their various avocations — many of the citizens 
 lodging privately elsewhere, but taking their 
 meals, for greater convenience, and after the 
 
APPETITE VERSUS INTELLECT. 
 
 39 
 
 general fashion of the States, in public hotels. 
 Of course, these observations do not refer to 
 private life, in regular domestic establishments; 
 though, even there, it is by no means customary 
 to remain long at table. I need scarcely tell yau, 
 t^at, under such an inauspicious aspect as regards 
 c T^ersation, the ;> .t^ communication with your 
 neighbour is entirely out of the question. You 
 must be content to swallow your food in silence, 
 as well as in thankfulness, and make better use of 
 your knife and fork than I was able to do with 
 my chop-sticks, when feasting on sharks' fins, 
 and bird's-nest soup, at the mandarin's dinner in 
 China. 
 
 I must not omit to inform you of the amusing 
 puzzle in which I found myself, one day, when 
 dining at the above hotel. It was literally appe- 
 tite versus intellect — the body versus the mind. 
 I had met at breakfast, during the previous part 
 of the morning, a very sensible, intelligent man, 
 in the person of one of the United States' judges ; 
 next whom, at dinner, I found myself accidentally 
 seated. I instantly felt the full force of the posi- 
 tion in which I was placed. I was aware that, 
 if I opened my mouth for any other purpose than 
 to receive the contents of my plate, I must put 
 my appetite in my pocket till the following day. 
 I was very hungry, and the judge was particu- 
 larly agreeable; and as he was on the point of 
 
40 
 
 DINING WITHOUT EATING. 
 
 leaving the city, the moment was a critical one, 
 and the question required instant decision. The 
 tempting viands were sending forth a delicious 
 odour, whi' ^^ my greedy eyes were already de- 
 vouring, and I instinctively took up my knife 
 and fork, while ruminating all the time on several 
 topics of very interesting information that I knew 
 my learned friend could better explain to me than 
 any other person present. Just at this point of 
 carnal and mental agony, as ill-fortune would 
 have it, one of the servants brought me a plate 
 of real turtle, or something equally delicious, of 
 which, under the irresistible temptation, 1 imme- 
 diately took a couple of mouthsful ; when, feeling 
 perfect' ashamed to think that the grosser part 
 of my ii..ture should have such a base triumph, 
 I laid down my knife and fork, entered into con- 
 versation with the judge, gained a^^ the know- 
 ledge I wanted, and rose from table " as hungry 
 as a hunter." 
 
 After remaining in New York for a few days 
 (intending to return to it again), I began to 
 prepare for an excursion to Philadelphia ; and 
 as money is the sine qua non of a traveller, I 
 proceeded to my bankers, in Wall Street, for a 
 supply of that essential article, on a letter of 
 credit which I had upon the house. I discovered, 
 however, to my disappointment, that the duplicate 
 letter of advice that was promised, before my 
 
TACT OF A NEW YORK BANKER. 
 
 41 
 
 departure from England, to be put into the 
 London post-office, had not yet reached them; 
 and as, for the sake of very proper precaution, 
 advances are not usually made on your own letter, 
 till a second, advising the bankers of the fact, has 
 been received, one of the partners very politely 
 informed me, that, on my proving my identity, 
 they would wave the ceremony of previous 
 notice. The circumstance that followed on this, 
 inspired me with a higher notion of the acuteness, 
 tact, sharp-sightedness, and decision, of the com- 
 mercial gentlemen of New York, than any thing 
 else that could have occurred. I replied, I should 
 endeavour to do so to their satisfaction ; and 
 having a letter of introduction in my pocket for 
 a gentleman in the city, which I had brought 
 with me from England, but had not presented 
 in consequence of not finding him at home, I 
 mechanically drew it forth as I uttered the words, 
 rather to satisfy myself that I had it than to 
 exh.' it it. The motion, however, was sufficient; 
 for my lynx-eyed friend the banker, with a single 
 glance at the writing, not sufficient to decipher 
 the entire superscription, exclaimed, " Why, that 
 is Mr. W.'s handwriting! I am perfectly satisfied, 
 sir ; — you may immediately have what money 
 you want, or the whole if you please." I confess 
 I was never more struck with quickness of sight 
 and sharp-wittedness than on this occasion. On 
 
42 
 
 JOURNEY TO PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 further conversation, I understood that, though 
 he had repeatedly seen the writing of that gen- 
 tleman, he had not received letters from him for 
 four years. 
 
 I now i^uitted, for a short period, the inte- 
 resting island of Manhattan j and, embarking on 
 board one of those fine steam-boats that ply in 
 such numbers on the American waters, I pro- 
 ceeded to Philadelphia, distant from New York 
 ninety-four miles. Having crossed the bay, we 
 entered Staten Island sound, lying between that 
 island and the state of New Jersey, and where 
 the scenery is highly varied and picturesque; 
 and, passing down the Rariton — on the banks 
 of which, as on those of the sound, are seen 
 several pretty villages and country-seats — we 
 arrived at New Brunswick, a small town, con- 
 taining a theological seminary — having steamed 
 through a distance of thirty-six miles in about 
 
 a 
 
 three hours. Here we left our comfortable boat 
 for less agreeable coaches, in which we were 
 packed (nine inside) as close as barrelled her- 
 rings ; and in this unenviable condition, under 
 an oppressive sun, half- smothered with dust, 
 cruelly jolted on a most uneven road, and so 
 straitened in our movements as to cause a sen- 
 sation similar to what one might expect to feel 
 in being handcuffed, we proceeded twenty-six 
 miles, to Trenton, the capital of the state of New 
 
OEOROE THE THIRD. 
 
 43 
 
 Jersey. It is situated on the river Delaware, a 
 fine expansive stream dividing that state from 
 Pennsylvania. The route thus passed over affords 
 a variety of fine views of the most fertile portions 
 of the former state — the soil being good, excellently 
 cultivated, and presenting splendid specimens of 
 Indian corn. The scenery is by no means un- 
 interesting, as long as one can divest himself of 
 fears of dislocation from the roads, and cramp 
 iujide the coach. The American steam -boats 
 are admirable, and the mode of conveyance by 
 them most commodious and delightful ; but the 
 land-carriage is a wincing and grimacing opera- 
 tion throughout, and makes you almost appre- 
 hensive that your features will never return again 
 to their natural expression on your countenance. 
 
 On our way we passed through Princeton, a 
 pleasant little town, possessing a college of high 
 reputation, called Nassau Hall, as likewise a 
 theological academy. It is said that, during the 
 battle of Princeton, in the war of the revolution, 
 a cannon-ball entered a chapel in the town, and 
 dashed off the head from a picture of George III. 
 After such a direful omen, the consequence was 
 inevitable. 
 
 Trenton possesses a population of about 4000 
 inhabitants, and has a bridge of five arches, of 
 handsome though very singular construction, 
 thrown across the Delaware ; the bridge being 
 
44 
 
 PASSAGE DOWN THE DELAWARE. 
 
 suspended from the arches, which are here rever- 
 sed in point of architectural order, being placed 
 above, instead of below, the road which they sup- 
 port. The character of the country thus far is 
 generally level, with but few varieties of outline. 
 
 At Trenton we stepped on board another 
 steam-boat, where we found a plentiful dinner 
 prepared for us, and smoked our course down 
 the Delaware for Philadelphia, distant thirty- 
 three miles ; passing close to the village of 
 Bardentown, where resides, in unostentatious 
 seclusion, Joseph Bonaparte, ex-king of Spain. 
 Several beautiful villages and gentlemen's seats, 
 decorated with flower-gardens and shaded by 
 handsome trees, adorn the banks of this spacious 
 stream, of which Bristol and Burlington are the 
 most interesting. The shores of this river are too 
 flat to be picturesque, but their margin is neatly 
 skirted by a continued row of willows and other 
 trees of various descriptions. 
 
 The approach to Philadelphia presents, even 
 in its exterior, something very handsome and 
 inviting, though lying on a dead level close to 
 the Delaware. Scarcely a single curl of smoke 
 was to be seen hovering over it ; while the spires 
 and steeples of the state-house and of the nume- 
 rous churches and chapels which it contains, 
 elevated, in a clear and brilliant sky, their glit- 
 tering points. 
 
PASSAGE DOWN THE DELAWARE, 
 
 46 
 
 Having now brought you to what is generally 
 esteemed the most beautiful city of the Union — 
 through, I fear, a wearisome epistle — I shall 
 cease any longer to strain your eyes or cramp my 
 own fingers ; and wish you farewell, till we meet 
 on paper again. 
 
 l: 
 
46 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Cheapness of Travelling — Chesapeake and Delaware Canal — 
 Chesapeake Bay — Baltimore — Equivocal Accommodation 
 of American Coaches — Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road — 
 Ingenious Principle of Locomotion — Discussion on Slavery 
 — Washington — the Capital — Houses of Congress — the 
 Potomac — Alexandria — Mount Vernon, Country Seat of 
 Washington — his Tomb in the Grounds — Museum at 
 Alexandria — Relics of the Patriot. 
 
 Washington, 20th June, 1 831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 Having limited the extent of the 
 southern part of my excursion in the states, in 
 consequence of the fast approaching hot season, 
 to the seeing of Washington and its environs; 
 and being anxious, for the same reason, to visit 
 that capital while the cooler weather still pre- 
 vailed ; I determined, after remaining one day 
 in Philadelphia, to proceed thither forthwith, and 
 to defer my acquaintance with the principal city 
 of Pennsylvania, so worthy of being admired for 
 its great beauty and interesting institutions, till 
 my return. While, therefore, I put under sus- 
 
JOURNEY TO BALTIMORE. 
 
 47 
 
 pense for a short period the curiosity you will 
 feel to know something of a town founded by the 
 great and virtuous Penn, I will endeavour to fill 
 up the interval as agreeably as I can, by supply- 
 ing you with information, if not entirely as inte- 
 resting, at least that shall have equally the charm 
 of novelty. 
 
 In pursuance, therefore, of my design, I left 
 Philadelphia for Baltimore, distant by water 
 ninety-six miles, in that pleasantest of all con- 
 veyances in America, a steam-boat. It was truly 
 most splendid and commodious, being much supe- 
 rior to the one in which I came from New York ; 
 the copper of her boilers amounting in weight to 
 the enormous quantity of 65,000 lbs. We glided 
 over the surface of the noble Delaware with some- 
 what of the rapidity of a swallow ; and having, 
 as in nearly all these boats, a spacious and elegant 
 deck to walk on, well shaded by an awning from 
 the heat — a brilliant sun above us, casting a 
 mellow light on the surrounding landscape — a 
 well-furnished table, as the most squeamish appe- 
 tite could desire — and without a single jar or 
 jolt in our motion, from bad roads and unelastic 
 springs — I required nothing on earth to lend an 
 additional charm to this fairy scene, but the 
 presence of One, far distant across the boundless 
 ocean. But supreme good was never meant to 
 dwell in this state of chequered existence ; for 
 
48 
 
 CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE CANAL. 
 
 in vain should we seek for the " amaranthine 
 bowers" of a better paradise above, could we find 
 one here below ! 
 
 To give you an idea of the greater cheapness 
 of travelling in America, I need only mention that 
 three dollars, or about 135.6c?., formed the entire 
 charge of our conveyance through the space of 
 ninety-six miles. For the distance of about fifteen 
 miles from Philadelphia, the character of the river 
 resembles, in flatness, the previous portion of it 
 which I have before described ; but in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Wilmington it rises into considerable 
 elevation, and presents much of picturesque beauty. 
 On arriving at Delaware city — a simple hamlet 
 magnified into a corporate town, in anticipation of 
 its future greatness — we left our steamer for a 
 small packet-boat, drawn by horses, and conti- 
 nued our progress on the Chesapeake and Dela- 
 ware canal, which connects the waters of the 
 Chesapeake bay with those of the Delaware river. 
 It is a work of great magnitude and importance, 
 not on account of its length, which is but fourteen 
 miles, but in consequence of the great commercial 
 advantages gained by the union of these two 
 mighty streams, and of the vast difiiculty en- 
 countered, from the nature of the soil, in its con- 
 struction ; a portion of it, four miles in length, 
 called the Deep Cut, having been excavated in 
 some places to the depth of seventy feet. From its 
 
BAY OP THE CHESAPEAKE. 
 
 49 
 
 breadth and depth it is calculated for the passage 
 of vessels of considerable burden ; and across the 
 canal, at the greatest elevation of the embank- 
 ment, is thrown a bridge of singular appearance 
 and ingenious construction, rising to the height of 
 nearly ninety feet above the surface of the water. 
 
 On reaching the village of Chesapeake — why 
 not equally a city with the other, I could not learn 
 — we again moved our quarters to a second steam- 
 boat, and pursued our course down Back Creek 
 and Elk River, the meandering banks of which 
 are diversified by the richest and most luxuriant 
 foliage ; recalling forcibly to my remembrance the 
 unexcelled beauty of the vegetation on the shores 
 and islands of the Straits of Malacca. The charm 
 of the whole is greatly heightened by seeing, here 
 and there, a lonely fisherman's hut, most roman- 
 tically situated amid the deepest seclusion. Some 
 miles lower down, we reached the magnificent Bay 
 of the Chesapeake, one of the finest and deepest 
 in the world; being 170 miles in length to the 
 ocean. There, the waters expand to a breadth of 
 many miles, and exhibit on their bosom several 
 verdant islands, and on their shores, notwithstand 
 ing their flatness, much of interesting variety, and 
 many picturesque objects. Fourteen miles from 
 Baltimore, we left the Bay and entered the Patap- 
 sco river, conducting immediately to that city, and 
 which is now considered, from its population, the 
 
 m 
 
 A-^OL. I. 
 
 D 
 
 ;eI 
 
 a] 
 
 ■ ■i 
 
50 
 
 EXTERIOR VIEW OF BALTIMORE. 
 
 third in tlie Union. Passing Fort M*Henry, a 
 military outwork pushed forward on the river for 
 the protection of the town and harbour, and which, 
 in 1814, gallantly repulsed an attack made on 
 it by the British bomb-vessels, we soon afterwards 
 reached our destination. 
 
 The appearance of Baltimore, though in reality 
 a fine city, is not near so pretty or interesting as 
 ihat of Philadelphia ; the dingy hue of the atmo- 
 sphere, arising from steam and other manufactur- 
 ing chimneys, being much greater than at the 
 latter place — the suburbs lining the shore not 
 appearing so good — the houses and stores along 
 the quay presenting a less handsome front — and 
 the Patapsco not being, by any means, equal to 
 the Delaware. So much for mere comparison's 
 sake between the two cities ; for, speaking of its 
 absolute merits, it is a highly flourishing and 
 rapidly increasing town, and bids fair to excel its 
 rival, in the course of time, perhaps in population 
 as in commerce. The Washington monument — 
 of which, and of the city, I intend giving you a 
 few notices in a subsequent letter — offers a strik- 
 ing object to the eye on approaching it from the 
 river. 
 
 On landing, I proceeded to take up my quar- 
 ters at the City Hotel, kept by Mr. Barnum, and 
 considered the best and largest in the States. It 
 is certainly a noble edifice, containing upwards 
 
INGENIOUS MODE OF POSTING LETTERS. 51 
 
 of 170 well-furnished apartments, and is main- 
 tained in a style of excellent order and cleanliness. 
 One of the apartments consists of a reading- 
 room, where I was amused by witnessing an inge- 
 nious contrivance, adopted for the convenience of 
 the worthy citizens, and others attending it, with 
 regard to depositing their letters in the post-office. 
 It seems that this latter building is situated on the 
 basement story of the hotel, and with which, by 
 means of a wooden canal, the news-room above 
 communicates ; so that, without leaving the house, 
 a gentleman's letters may, by this conveyance, be 
 as safely dropped into the office as by walking to 
 it, and without the trouble of going. 
 
 In furtherance of my plan, already mentioned, 
 I left Baltimore, on the morning following my 
 arrival, for Washington ; proposing to see the 
 former on my return, when I should be gradually 
 creeping along to the cooler atmosphere of the 
 north as the southern sky grew warmer. The 
 distance, thirty-eight miles, was to be performed 
 in one of the public coaches ; there being no post- 
 ing, however much some travellers might wish it, 
 in any part of the United States. The one by 
 which I proceeded, belonging to a particular com- 
 pany, was recommended to me by seeing it an- 
 nounced to be hung on steel springs ; a luxury 
 which many of them, I believe, do not possess, in 
 consequence of the state of the roads, to the inffic- 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 Mi 
 
 ii 
 
62 PRIVILEGES OF AMERICAN TRAVELLERS. 
 
 tion of divers contusions and tossings to and fro, 
 of the uninitiated traveller. 
 
 We left the hotel at eight in the morning, and 
 had harely cleared the suhurbs of the city by nine 
 o'clock, arising from the various detentions inci- 
 dent to a custom which, as far as my memory bears 
 me out, prevails only in America. The arrange- 
 ment alluded to, is to take up the different passen- 
 gers, who have '* booked their places" at the office, 
 at their respective dwellings, in whatever part of 
 the town they may be situated. On this occasion, 
 as they lived in perfectly opposite directions to 
 each other, and especially as we were "at fault," 
 as sportsmen say, in discovering the residence of a 
 lady who was to accompany us, we were cantering 
 up one street and trotting down another, and then 
 coming to a full stop, in order to make inquiries, 
 till at length nearly every street and lane in the 
 town had been passed through. The patience, as 
 you may imagine, of the poor passengers, of 
 whom four had taken their seats at the com- 
 mencement of this tour of discovery, was pretty 
 nearly exhausted. 
 
 I candidly acknowledge that, whenever self 
 is concerned in the matter, as one of the persons 
 to be taken up, this arrangement is mighty agree- 
 able ; but when you happen to have stepped into 
 your coach from the hotel whence it drives, you 
 would most thankfully be relieved from those 
 
SINGULAR PRINCIPLE OF LOCOMOTION. 
 
 53 
 
 violent evolutions which you are involuntarily 
 made to describe, while jolting over half-a-dozen 
 miles of paved streets in taking up three or four 
 passengers, or hunting for a lost one. Honest 
 John Bull, I must declare, is not near so com- 
 plaisant in this respect as Brother Jonathan ; and 
 would almost, I am inclined to believe, rather 
 drive his coach empty, than have to play at " hare 
 and hounds " with his passengers in the manner 
 related. I have no doubt, however, that this 
 mode of collecting their complement will be 
 changed ere long, in accordance with the fashion 
 of the rest of the world ; not because it is the 
 fashion, but because public convenience would, in 
 the main, be much better consulted by it; and 
 I cannot but say, from the little experience I have 
 already had in America, that this consideration 
 is acted upon, towards the community at large, to 
 as great an extent as is to be seen in any part 
 of the world. 
 
 At length we fairly emerged from the town, 
 and, after proceeding some distance, we entered on 
 a portion of the magnificent rail-road construct- 
 ing between this place and Pittsburg on the Ohio ; 
 and, changing our conveyance, were propelled, for 
 a number of miles, by the most novel and singular 
 mode that I ever witnessed. Our ingenious princi- 
 ple of locomotion was the following ; — two horses 
 were placed in a kind of heavy wagon in the 
 
 I:' 
 
54 
 
 SINGULAR PRINCIPLE OF LOCOMOTION. 
 
 rear of our carriage, and, by the motion of their 
 feet in walking over a revolving platform, put 
 into action a variety of springs that were fixed 
 underneath it ; and these again operating on the 
 wheels of this curious piece of mechanism, pushed 
 forward our vehicle, which was attached to it, at 
 the rate of ten miles an hour. Thus, the horses 
 were continually walking, and yet were carried 
 forward ; and by walking only four miles an hour, 
 though without advancing a single inch on the 
 platform, caused us and themselves to be conveyed 
 ten. The sharp-witted engineer who had invented 
 this extraordinary piece of machinery was present 
 on the occasion, and informed me that it was an 
 experiment of his own, of which he had been 
 trying the effect ; and certainly thus far it seemed 
 to answer its purpose to admiration. The mode, 
 however, of travelling, when the road shall be 
 completed, is intended to be by steam. 
 
 This rail-road is one of the many superb works 
 at present in a state of progression in various parts 
 of the United States, and which prove irresistibly, in 
 spite of all prejudice and unjust and illiberal depre- 
 ciation to the contrary, that the Anglo-American 
 nation, if not the most enterprising in the world, 
 (but which, with one exception, I allow it to be), 
 is at least, in this respect, second to none ; and it 
 is an Englishman who declares it. Leaving the 
 rail-road, we stepped into a similar carriage to 
 
DISCUSSION ON SLAVERY. 
 
 65 
 
 the first, and prosecuted our journey to the capital. 
 Though the soil in this part of the state of Mary- 
 land, in which we now were, is by no means of a 
 rich and productive quality, and where, in con- 
 sequence, but few cottages are seen, or signs of 
 extensive cultivation exhibited, yet tiie eye is oc- 
 casionally regaled by the charms of elegant land- 
 scape, Maryland is the first state, to the south- 
 ward of New York, in which slavery is permitted 
 and practised ; and on this unhappy subject I had 
 a lengthened discussion in the coach with the lady 
 in search of whose habitation in Baltimore we had 
 been previously cutting so many wearisome capers 
 and evolutions in the different streets. I found 
 her bitterly prejudiced against the whole order 
 of the black population. She insisted that the 
 slaves were a distinct and undefinable race of 
 beings, as well in soul as in body. She acknow- 
 ledged, though with evident reluctance, and with 
 apparently no wish to see them there herself, that 
 they might go to heaven as well as the whites ; 
 but urged with great vehemence, " That the 
 broadest possible distinction, and line of separation, 
 should be drawn between the two colours, at least 
 in this world ; and that though God made no 
 difference between them, except on the score of 
 virtue, yet that the white man should." This 
 sounded in my ears as very strange doctrine, 
 particularly as coming from the lips of a woman, 
 
56 
 
 WOMAN, THE ANGEL OF LIFE. 
 
 in whose softer and purer nature we expect to 
 find, and I rejoice to say do findf more of that 
 " charity which suffereth long and is kind, seek- 
 eth not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh 
 no evil ;" in short, of that ** charity which never 
 faileth." For, it is with the sincerest sense of 
 justice to womankind, as well as with the entire 
 willingness of my mind, that I concede to them 
 the great superiority which they possess over my 
 own sex, in all the qualities of moral and religious 
 worth ; and I feel convinced that they have done 
 more, since the promulgation of the divine precepts 
 of Christianity, and in dependence on its inspired 
 teaching, than any other moral principle whatever, 
 to refine the heart and to elevnte the standard of 
 human nature. 
 
 The exception is said to prove the rule, and 
 in this sadly prejudiced lady I discovered what 
 the sex are not. And perhaps for her some 
 charitable allowances are to be made, in considera- 
 tion of all the years of her life having been passed 
 in a slave-holding state, where the opinions she 
 professed are considered perfectly orthodox, and 
 as political dogmas not to be departed from either 
 in theory or practice. I left this white advocate 
 for black slavery in a state of utter amazement 
 at the entire debasement of my taste and intellect, 
 when I assured her that I would rather associate 
 with a virtuous black than a vicious white. She 
 
CITY OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 57 
 
 looked at me " unutterable things," and seemed 
 as if she would have "spoken daggers" — though 
 I hope would have used none — when we came in 
 sight of that splendid edifice the Capitol, finely 
 elevated above the city, and in which the houses 
 of Congress assemble. This instantly arrested our 
 attention, broke ft' the discussion, and saved me, 
 probably, from a most indignant rebuke for my 
 gross violation of reason, and the degradation of 
 my superior and privileged nature. In a few 
 minutes afterwards we alighted at Gadsby's hotel, 
 where we separated, to meet no more. 
 
 The city of Washington, whence I address 
 you, is the seat of the supreme government of 
 the United States. Each of the twenty-four states 
 composing the Union, possesses a separate govern- 
 ment, that presides over its own internal affairs; 
 but the former controls the whole confederation 
 in all those multifarious concerns which respect 
 the welfare of the entire community. These are, 
 the imposition of taxes, the regulation of com- 
 merce with foreign nations, the declaration of 
 war and making of peace, the raising of armies, 
 providing a navy, and a thousand other matters 
 of public policy and legislation which each state 
 could not do for the rest. Such and similar 
 powers have been, therefore, by universal consent, 
 delegated to the general Congress, in conjunction 
 with the president for the time being. 
 
 d2 
 
68 
 
 descript:o> 
 
 TUP C'TY. 
 
 Washington is situated on the beautiful banks 
 of the Potomac, in the centre of what is called 
 the District of Colombia, which acknowledges the 
 authority of Congress alone, having been ceded, 
 for state purposes, by Virginia and Maryland. 
 The plan of the city, as originally laid down, 
 comprised features of great magnificence as well 
 as of extent. Its design was, that all the main 
 streets, to be constructed on a scale of elegant pro- 
 portion and considerable magnitude, as to length 
 and breadth, should radiate in straight lines from 
 the Capitol, the noblest building in the city, to 
 all the points of the circle, of which that edifice 
 was to be the centre. It was, undoubtedly, a 
 highly tasteful and imposing outline for a future 
 great city ; but which is so far, however, I am 
 sorry to say, from having been filled up, that but 
 one street of all the proposed number has been 
 opened ; and, as Washington principally depends 
 for its support on the government, and the tem- 
 porary residence of the members of Congress, it is 
 perhaps not very probable that the scheme will 
 ever be fully accomplished. This solitary street 
 is the Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs to the 
 extent of about a mile and a half, being of pro- 
 portionate breadth, and pleasantly shaded by rows 
 of trees. On its eastern extremity stands the Capi- 
 tol, finely elevated on a commanding eminence, 
 while its western termination is closed in by a 
 
THE CAPITOL. 
 
 59 
 
 I 
 
 view of the president's house. Tlie other streets 
 of the town, to some of which, from their detached 
 portions and broken lines, one can scarcely assign 
 the name, display but little appearance of regu- 
 larity. 
 
 The great '* lion," however, of this place, is 
 the Capitol, which, beyond any doubt, reflects 
 equal credit on the skill and execution of the 
 architect, and on the spirit and taste of the 
 American people, and stands a monument and 
 illustration of their rising power and importance. 
 It is built of white free-stone, resting on a noble 
 terrace surrounded by pleasure-grounds ; and pre- 
 sents in each of two fronts, looking eastward and 
 westward, a magnificent portico and colonnade. 
 The centre portion of the structure is surmounted 
 by a large dome, which some think spoils the 
 effect, (though I confess I am not of the same 
 opinion), and from which wings extend on either 
 side. The approach to it, on each of its faces, 
 is by a handsome and extensive flight of stone 
 steps, by which you attain to the principal en- 
 trance ; and, after passing a short distance into 
 the interior of the building, and ascending a simi- 
 lar staircase of stone, you are immediately ushered 
 into the rotunda. This is a spacious circular area, 
 formed entirely of marble, being ninety-six feet 
 in diameter, and ninety-six to the top of the dome ; 
 and which for beauty, majesty, and proportion, 
 equals any thing of the kind I ever remember to 
 
60 
 
 THE ROTUNDA. 
 
 have seen. The effect is grand and imposing; 
 and the reverberation is such, that the ordinary 
 tone of the voice echoes aloiig the circumference 
 like the murmuring of distant thunder. 
 
 Four compartments of the walls of this splen- 
 did hall are occupied by pictures painted for the 
 government by Colonel Trumbull, representing 
 the Declaration of Independence, the Surrender 
 at Saratoga, that at Yorktown, and Washington 
 resigning his commission. They are highly in- 
 teresting paintings ; and, according to my hum- 
 ble judgment, very well executed. At the same 
 time, I confess that an Englishman must regard 
 at least two of them with a somewhat equi- 
 vocal interest, in comparison with an American ; 
 so unaccustomed is the former to see an exhibi- 
 tion of a British officer surrendering his sword to 
 the enemy, as is here portrayed. Exclusively, 
 however, of all private feelings, the two others, 
 I think, speak more forcibly to the interest of the 
 spectator; — the Declaration of Independence be- 
 ing the solemn and momentous act of a united 
 and enthusiastic people, in the assertion of what 
 they considered their unalienable rights; a stern 
 justice due to themselves and to their posterity; 
 and the Resignation of his Commission by Wash- 
 ington, bringing into prominent view the majes- 
 tic figure, and nobly disinterested act, of a man 
 who had emphatically earned to himself the title 
 of " Father of his Country." Four remaining 
 
CHAMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 61 
 
 '111 
 
 compartments are still left to be filled up by other 
 classical reminiscences of the earlier days of the 
 republic, when the whole will be uniform, and 
 nothing be omitted that can detract from un- 
 qualified admiration. 
 
 On a higher elevation on the walls of the 
 rotunda than that on which these paintings are 
 placed, are seen four rolievos in marble, com- 
 memorating some of the principal events con- 
 nected with the first possession of the States. 
 One of them represents the landing of the pil- 
 grims at Plymouth, in 1610; another, a severe 
 contest between an Indian chief and one of the 
 ear*ly settlers ; a third, the celebrated William 
 Penn's treaty with the Indians near Philadelphia 
 in 1682; and the fourth, the rescuing from death, 
 by Pocahontas, of Captain Smith, one of the 
 first settlers in Virginia, The sweetly expressive 
 countenance of the female savage, and her de- 
 lightfully supplicating attitude to her father, who, 
 with uplifted war-club, is on the point of sacri- 
 ficing his prostrate foe, are most feelingly and 
 beautifully delineated. 
 
 From the rotunda I proceeded to the Chamber 
 of Representatives, a most splendid semicircular 
 apartment adorned by a profusion of superb co- 
 lumns of a dark-bluish stone, commonly called 
 pudding stone, brought from the shores of the 
 Potomac. These columns, which bear a high 
 polish, have the appearance, when closely ex- 
 
 m 
 
62 
 
 NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 amined, of the most beautiful mosaic work that 
 can be imagined. I must candidly admit, that 
 there is no comparison whatever, in point of mag- 
 nificence, between the English and American 
 Houses of Commons, as the latter bears the pre- 
 eminence without any rivalry. At the same time 
 it may be considered, that there is, perhaps, as 
 great a difference on the other side, — if the dis- 
 tinction be worth the consideration — in point of 
 antiquity; and, at all events, with respect to 
 hearing — no unessential quality in a deliberative 
 assembly — the advantage, I understand, is much 
 in favour of St. Stephens. The semicircularity of 
 the Chamber of Representatives produces a species 
 of reverberation, I am informed, which frequently 
 renders indistinct, even to the members themselves, 
 much of what is said. It is highly desirable that 
 this defect should be remedied, in order to render 
 the chamber, so worthy of the legislative councils 
 of a spirited and rising people, as effective in point 
 of utility as it is of grandeur. 
 
 The number of members composing the house 
 is, I believe, 216, though liable to fluctuatio®s, 
 inasmuch as the amount is graduated according 
 to the ascending scale of population ; every ad- 
 ditional 40,000 inhabitants being entitled to re- 
 turn an additional member. The seats on which 
 the worthy members recline, and before each of 
 whom is placed a desk containing private drawers, 
 are ranged in successive semicircles in front of the 
 

 THE SENATE CHAMBER. 
 
 speaker; a mode of adjusting their relative po- 
 sitions at once advantageous for hearing, and for 
 its elegant eiFect on the eye. I regret much that 
 the session is not at present holding, the period 
 of its commencement being in December in each 
 year ; but should I be tempted to extend my re- 
 sidence in the States to the ensuing spring, 
 which I do not at present contemplate, I shall 
 certainly, in that case, pay a second visit to 
 Washington, in order to witness the various 
 modes of proceeding in Congress ; to ascertain 
 their style of oratory, and become acquainted with 
 some of the leading politicians of the country. 
 
 The Senate-chamber, which I next visited, is 
 much smaller, and considerably less imposing than 
 the other; but it possesses an air of comfort, 
 highly composing to the spirits ; an effect that is 
 studied by the members of both houses more than 
 in other assembiif . with which I im better ac- 
 quainted. This f<x';r.. Is, I thmk, less elegant tha« 
 our House of Lor< s, hough I prefer the semicir- 
 cular form that f,revail« -♦Iso here as in the Re- 
 presentativf ' amber, to Uie strn*0jt-line benches 
 which characters^ both the Brit<«l* ///>uses. The 
 number of senators is forty-eight; each state of the 
 twenty-four having the privilege </f i*'nding two, 
 and no utorf\ however extennive or po|>iilous its 
 |ir/kory may fjfc, 
 
 JVo* hy distant from tl » Senate-chamber is the 
 
 ••Zf.:'' 
 .1 
 
 'I -fRi - 
 
 i'RI I' 
 
 
64 
 
 VIEW FROM THE CAPITOL. 
 
 Library of Congress — a handsome room, contain- 
 ing a well-assorted collection of valuable and 
 standard works. It affords a very pleasant lounge 
 to the members when wearied with the prosings 
 of an interminable speaker, and an easy access to 
 information of all kinds, where, if they please, 
 they may furnish themselves with all imaginable 
 arguments that favour their political bias, to be 
 brought into quick action in the closely adjoining 
 arena of party disputation. 
 
 The rest of this majestic structure is divided 
 into different committee-rooms, where the various 
 questions of state policy are examined by select 
 members, prior to reports being made to the 
 houses of Congress ; and into other apartments and 
 . .ices appropriated to national affairs. 
 
 The last, though by no means the least inter- 
 esting sight to be enjoyed at the Capitol, is the 
 superb view from its summit. The eye ranges 
 southerly, along the Pennsylvania Avenue, to the 
 president's house, beyond which is seen George 
 Town and a fine sweep of the Potomac. In a 
 south-easterly direction is beheld the navy-yard, 
 an establishment kept in considerable order and 
 neatness, and to the south-west, the picturesque 
 bridge across the Potomac, upwards of a mile in 
 length, in wiiich several extensive chasms have 
 been made by the ice and floods of the late spring, 
 with the road leading from it to Alexandria and 
 
THE PRESIDENT S HOUSE. 
 
 65 
 
 Mount Vernon. To the southward, is observed 
 Greenleaf s Point ; and immediately on the right, 
 the General Post-office and the other buildings 
 of the city ; while the opposite banks of the 
 river rise to a fine elevation, studded here and 
 there with country villas. The prospect alto- 
 gether is truly magnificent; nothing was want- 
 ing but a national monument to the memory of 
 the great Washington, to have been erected on 
 the site to which the government have lately 
 removed the monumental tribute in honour of the 
 officers who fell in the war of Tripoli, and which 
 had previously stood, with more appropriate effect, 
 in the navy-yard. 
 
 Not content with viewing the president's house 
 at a distance, I proceeded to it, on leaving the Capi- 
 tol, and found it a large handsome building of white 
 free-stone, with a Grecian portico in front. It is 
 unostentatious in its style and appearance, and 
 such as is possessed by private gentlemen of for- 
 tune in England; with this considerable diflference, 
 I must observe, that the ground surrounding a 
 similar residence in the latter country is kept with 
 remarkable taste and neatness, while that of the 
 former is neglected, and suffered to detract, by no 
 means inconsiderably, from the consistent air 
 which the whole would otherwise possess. This 
 requisite adornment, I have no doubt, however, 
 is intended to be given to it ; for though I ac- 
 
 i Mli 
 
66 
 
 MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 knowledge that the utilities of life, particularly in 
 young states, should properly take the precedence 
 of refinement and elegance, yet I have seen, in so 
 many instances in America, the union of the 
 utile dulci, that I do not know why it should be 
 omitted here. 
 
 One of the delightful excursions that I have 
 made from this place, has been to Mount Ver- 
 non, the once favourite residence of that great pa- 
 triot of his country. Tjleneral Washington. This I 
 enjoyed in the society of a most agreeable and 
 amiable family from Quebec, with whom I had 
 the good fortune to become acquainted ; having, 
 indeed, come in the same coach together from 
 Baltimore. Our first object was to reach Alex- 
 andria, situated about six miles on the opposite 
 banks of the river, and which we effected in one 
 of the stenm-boats constantly plying between that 
 town and the capital. 
 
 We found the shores of the Potomac beauti- 
 fully undulating, and offering many eligible sites 
 for villas, with which there is no doubt a future 
 generation will adorn their banks. At Alexan- 
 dria we stepped into a carriage, and were jolted 
 ove>' eight or nine miles of extremely bad road to 
 Movmt Venion. For this, however, we were, in 
 a great measure, compensated by the highly pic- 
 turesque country through which we passed. The 
 trees, groves, and woods, were of the most luxu- 
 
MOUNT VERNON. 
 
 67 
 
 riant foliage ; and the numerous verdant glades, 
 peeping forth like so many sunny spots amid the 
 forest, presented the very heau ideal for a wood- 
 land cottage. The house at Mount Vernon is 
 very simple and unpretending, but is enchantingly 
 situated on the banks of the Potomac, with a very 
 pretty lawn, shaded by trees, extending in front 
 of it to the precipitous edges of the river, on 
 which a summer-house is tastefuiiy erected. Hi- 
 ther the modern Cincinnatus retired from the 
 toils of war, after having achieved his country's 
 independence, crowned with triumphant success, 
 and enjoying the benedictions of his country's 
 gratitude. 
 
 This is the consecrated spot of ground, of all 
 the United States, on which every American 
 treads with reverential awe and filial affection; 
 and who never recurs either to the place or 
 to the name, but with feelings of enthusi- 
 asm. And with justice; for, independent of the 
 never-fading benefits which his self-devotion con- 
 ferred upon tluun, as tlie national liberator, there 
 are traits of moral and disinterested worth, both 
 in his private and public character, that desig- 
 nate him a great and good man. And yet — to the 
 s^urprise of every foreigner, and to the regret, 1 be- 
 lieve, of many of the Americans themselves — there 
 is not a swingle trace to be seen, any where, of 
 national gratitude and respect to his memory ; 
 
 '■'i*i 
 
 
 
68 
 
 THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 with the exception, it might appear, of the splen- 
 did monument at Baltimore, which is to he con- 
 sidered provincial rather than national — the 
 devotional token of the few, rather than of the 
 many. If I am not misinformed, an act of Con- 
 gress passed the houses about a couple of years 
 ago, for raising a public monument in honour of the 
 hero ; but, if true, nothing whatever has yet been 
 done ; and, if incorrect, they cannot take credit for 
 even the negative merit of thinking of it. 
 
 We visited the private tomb in the grounds, 
 distant but a short way from the house, and 
 shaded by a few cedars, within which repose his 
 mortal remains ; and I must own my disappoint- 
 ment in beholding the grave of such a man at 
 once so mean and so neglected. It had, in truth, 
 the appearance of an old brick-kiln that had been 
 closed up, and for which, had I not known what 
 it was, I should doubtlessly have taken it. Not 
 even the patriot's name, as such, was inscribed 
 thereon. There were simply the words, if I mis- 
 take not, " The Washington Tomb," or to that 
 effect. If, however, any thing in the world could 
 atone for the apparent want of personal senti- 
 ment, of affection, or of gratitude, in the seeming 
 neglect of this last asylum of the illustrious dead, 
 it is the following beautiful and sublime passage 
 of St. John, engraved upon it: — "I am the re- 
 surrection and the life : he that believeth in me, 
 
THE GARDEN. 
 
 69 
 
 though he were dead, yet shall he live : and who- 
 soever liveth and believeth in me, shall never 
 die !" This deeply interesting and affecting pas- 
 sage of Scripture spoke directly to the heart, and 
 exalted, at once, to a more elevated character, 
 the humble tomb before me. I forgot, in a mo- 
 ment, in grateful admiration of so glorious a pro- 
 mise made by the Divine Personage who uttered 
 it, the oblivion to which it seemed consigned, and 
 from which, in my estimation, it was more than 
 half redeemed. 
 
 We afterwards passed through the garden; 
 but all was forlorn and in a state of dilapidation. 
 For this we could have accounted, had the house 
 been untenanted and deserted. However, that 
 was not the case, as we were kindly permitted to 
 walk over it ; and were shewn, among other 
 things, a portrait of Washington on part of an 
 earthen pitcher, which, having been broken, had 
 been preserved by the family, who esteemed it the 
 best likeness of him that had ever been made. 
 We had shewn to us, also, the key of the Bastile 
 of Paris, hung up in the hall; but by what means 
 it came there, we were not informed. 
 
 In returning through Alexandria, on our way 
 back to the city, we visited the museum of that 
 place, where the various relics of the departed 
 hero were preserved with, apparently, as much 
 religious veneration as those of a patron saint 
 
 ■ 
 
 l|! I I 
 
70 
 
 RELICS OF THE PATItlOT. 
 
 by the most enthusiastic devotee. To give you a 
 specimen of some of the articles : one was an 
 elegant satin robe, in ^vliich Washington was 
 baptised, and which struck me as being rather 
 aristocratic for a simple republican. At all 
 events, the distinction Mas not his, as not being 
 exactly of an age, when he wore it, to make it a 
 dress of his own adoption. Another was a pen- 
 knife, given to him by his mother when he was 
 twelve years old, and which he had preserved 
 for fifty-six years. A third article was a pearl 
 button, taken from the coat that he wore when 
 first installed into office as President of the United 
 States. A fourth was the last stick of sealing- 
 wax that he used, and the last letter ever written 
 by him, declining an invitation of himself and 
 Mrs. Washington to a ball at Alexandria, and 
 containing the expression, "Alas! our dancing 
 days are over." I merely mention what you may 
 consider to be rather trifling, to evince to you 
 how ardently his memory is cherished, when such 
 trivial mementos as these are thought important 
 enough to be placed and exhibited in a public 
 museum. 
 
 But I must now conclude, to enable me to 
 despatch my letter by the next packet, which sails 
 from New York on the 24th instant. Adieu ! 
 
71 
 
 i! 
 
 »1| 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Fire-flies — Description of Baltimore — the Wasliington JNlouu- 
 merit — lialt: nore and Ohio Rail-road — Catlicdral — litulc 
 Monument— 'carles Carroll — Vanity of the Americans — 
 the Americ>.. iN'ovelist — Description of Philadelphia — 
 United States' Bank — Pennsylvania Bank — Comparative 
 Tables of Population of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia — 
 Gerard's Bank — State House — Fairmount Waterworks — 
 Pennsylvania Hospital — the Navy-yard — the large Ship 
 Pennsylvania — New Penitentiary — Systems of Prison 
 Discipline — Churches, &c. &c. — Canals. 
 
 Baltimore f 25th June, 1831 , 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 Immediately after closin*^ the let- 
 ter addressed to you from Washington, I again 
 put myself en route for this jDlaee, accompanied 
 by my Quebec friends, if they will permit me 
 so to call them, than whom I never met any 
 persons more amiable in all my travels. Indeed, 
 I have never seen the bond c family union and 
 kindness uniting its members more closely, or 
 with more affectionate sympathy, than in the 
 instance of these worthy people ; of whom I regret 
 much to say, that the younger of the two ladies 
 
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72 
 
 BALTIMORE. 
 
 who, with a gentleman, formed the party, was in 
 very delicate health. 
 
 My return to Baltimore was unattended by 
 any thing worthy of remark, except, as the shades 
 of evening came on, the peculiar interest that I 
 felt in seeing thousands of those beautiful little 
 insects the fire-flies, exhibiting, in endless variety 
 of evolutions, their phosphoric sparkles, and which 
 I had so often watched with admiring pleasure on 
 the plains of Hindostan. 
 
 This city, of which I promised you a few 
 details, is considered the third of the Union, 
 estimating its importance by the extent of its 
 population, which, according to the last census, 
 taken in 1830, amounted to upwards of 80,000. 
 Its growth has been most rapid within the last 
 eighty years; since, in 1752, the town contained 
 but twenty-five houses ; and, at that period, 
 two small vessels comprised the whole of the 
 shipping belonging to its port. Even in 1775, 
 the entire population did not amount to 6000 ; so 
 that, within the last fifty-seven years, it appears 
 that it has had the enormous increase of about 
 74,000 — a ratio of progression which one in vain 
 looks for in any other country than America. 
 At the present moment, its harbour is crowded 
 with ships and vessels of all degrees of tonnage ; 
 and it is considered, for flour and tobacco, the 
 first market in the States, and for the former 
 
POPULATION OF BALTIMORE. 
 
 73 
 
 ii- 
 
 article perhaps the first in the world. Its manu- 
 factories, also, are numerous ; comprehending 
 those, principally, of cotton, cloth, iron, powder, 
 glass, paper, steam-engines, &c. 
 
 To enahle you the better to judge of the rising 
 importance of the capital of Maryland, in a 
 mercantile sense, I have inserted the following 
 tabular view of its population since 1775r; from 
 which it appears, that its augmentation, within 
 the last thirty years, amounts to upwards of 54,000 
 inhabitants; having more than trebled itself within 
 that period. This numerical advance exceeds, on 
 comparison, that of all the other cities of the 
 Union, with the exception of New York and 
 Philadelphia ; the former having swelled its num- 
 bers, in the same series of years, by the unparal- 
 leled increase of 142,518, or somewhere about 340 
 per cent on its population in 1800. 
 
 Population of Baltimore at different Periods. 
 
 In 1775.. 5,934 In 1800.. 26,614 In 1820.. 62,738 
 1790.. 13,503 1810.. 46,555 1830.. 80,625 
 
 The entire population of the state, according 
 to the census of last year, rose to 446,913; of 
 which 291,093 were whites, 102,878 slaves, and 
 52,942 were free coloured. 
 
 Baltimore is a handsome city, and contains a 
 number of elegant private houses ; the windows 
 and doorways of many of them being beautifully 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 B 
 
 t 1 
 
 'hi 
 
74 
 
 BALTIMORE. 
 
 formed of, and decorated with, white marble. It 
 comprises, also, several superb public edifices; and, 
 among these, the Washington monument is super- 
 eminent; but which should have been national, and 
 not provincial, and erected in the capital instead 
 of at Baltimore. This truly magnificent structure 
 reflects as much honour and credit on the taste, 
 munificence, and patriotic feeling of its worthy 
 citizens, as the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road (to 
 which I shall more particularly allude) does on 
 that spirit of enlightened and persevering enter- 
 prise by which they are so much distinguished. 
 For I must ingenuously declare to you that, coming 
 to America, as I did, with somewhat of a negative 
 feeling, and with a predisposed view as to the 
 arts of an extended civilisation existing amongst 
 them, and where I was led to expect that the 
 utilities of life were in a course of long precedence 
 of its elegancies and refinements, I have been not 
 more astonished than highly gratified to witness, 
 among the Americans, many of the traits of even 
 highly polished society. I do not mean in the 
 back-woods, in the wilderness, or in the new 
 settlements ; but in their flourishing towns and 
 cities. This, I know, will startle some people ; or, 
 perhaps I should say, they will pretend to be 
 startled, against their better knowledge and better 
 judgment; for it has been sadly too much the 
 fashion, and I lament much to say it, among 
 
PUBLIC WRITERS ON AMERICA. 
 
 75 
 
 some of my countrymen, to underrate and to 
 depreciate the progress which, for a number of 
 years, has been and still is making, with rapid 
 strides, by the enterprising inhabitants of the 
 United States, in the refined and elegant arts of 
 civilised society. Why this apparently envious 
 feeling should exist — though I am quite satisfied 
 that it is by no means generally diffused among 
 us, but the reverse — I am perfectly at a loss to 
 imagine. Is it supposed that a tribute of applause, 
 of admiration, of friendship, or of esteem — not to 
 say of bare justice — given to the American people, 
 is calculated to detract from the honours and 
 merits of the mother-country, from whose very side 
 these people have sprung ? Does our hard-earned, 
 but honest and exalted, reputation as Englishmen 
 — a distinction in which, I confess, I myself glory 
 — rest on so fragile a foundation, that every addi- 
 tional stone placed on the rising basis of another 
 man's edifice is to be considered as dragging down 
 one from the superstructure of our own ? If this 
 be so, the *'sic transit gloria mundV* maybe as 
 appropriately applied to England, as far as great- 
 ness and magnanimity of sentiment go, as to 
 ancient Greece and Rome in respect to their 
 departed power, physical as well as moral. It 
 appears most obvious and natural, to my humble 
 judgment, that in the precise ratio of the success 
 manifested by the Americans — whether in arts 
 
76 
 
 AMERICA THE BOAST OF ENGLAND. 
 
 or arms, in commerce or other spirited enterprise, 
 in national or moral power, or in religious attain- 
 ments — should be the honest pride and exultation 
 which Englishmen ought to feel in favour of their 
 Transatlantic brethren. For it will scarcely be 
 denied that English blood flows in their veins; 
 since, if it be needful to establish their maternity, 
 the triumphant career they are pursuing, in all 
 those things of a truly English nature which have 
 conspired to make of us the great nation that we 
 are, would be quite sufficient to prove the identity. 
 Unless, therefore, a mother should be jealous of 
 the dawning charms and maturing beauty of her 
 daughter (in which case the world would justly 
 say she began to feel conscious that her own had 
 fled), we ought not to cast that obloquy, those 
 bitter taunts, that cruel mockery and depreciation 
 of their rising greatness and prosperity, in the 
 very faces of the American people, in the mode 
 too often adopted, and which disgraces, I am 
 sorry to say, some of our public writers. It is 
 true, America has been a rebellious child, and 
 has incurred the more unpardonable fault of 
 having been successful in her rebellion; but it 
 is to be hoped that the mother and daughter have 
 ** kissed and become friends" — have " forgiven 
 and forgotten" long ago. If they have not, it is 
 high time that they should ; therefore, any attempt 
 to stir up the dregs of ancient animosity, conse- 
 
MONARCHY AND REPUBLICANISM. 
 
 77 
 
 quent on former political contentions, should be 
 cried down by the general voice of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 I do not make these observations as the eulo- 
 gist of our friends on this side of the Atlantic, 
 but in a sense of strict retributive justice ; neither 
 is my understanding blinded, so as to prevent 
 my perceiving the peculiarities attaching to their 
 manners, and the defects and vices inherent in 
 some of their practices — as what country and 
 what individuals have them not? While, there- 
 fore, I acknowledge that the republican govern- 
 ment of the United States, as far as my experience 
 goes, appears to work well, and for the general 
 happiness of the people, and to be more suitable 
 to the genius of their inhabitants than any other 
 form ; yet I do most devoutly pray that it may 
 never cross the ocean which separates us, to take 
 root in British soil, to the tearing up by the 
 foundations of the monarchy of England. Let 
 the resemblance, in other respects, be as close as 
 it may, save in this one ; for I am equally con- 
 vinced, as regards our side of the question, that 
 republican institutions would be the very worst 
 that could be inflicted upon us — entirely repulsive 
 to our feelings and manners, contrary to the bias 
 of almost universal opinion, and subversive of 
 that happiness which for so many centuries we 
 have enjoyed, and which the contemplated reform 
 
 h'- 
 
78 
 
 THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. 
 
 in parliament is about to consolidate, I sincerely 
 trust, in scBcula scBculorum. 
 
 But I have been all this time wandering from 
 my subject, which was a description of the Wash- 
 ington monument. I may as well, then, plead 
 guilty at once, by confessing the fact, that we have 
 no column, whether monumental or otherwise, in 
 England, at all comparable to the one at Balti- 
 more, either in costliness of material or splendid 
 beauty of appearance : indeed, I will fairly allow 
 that I have seen none equal to it out of Italy.* It 
 is built entirely of white marble, rising to an eleva- 
 tion of 163 feet from the ground, and is surmounted 
 by a colossal statue of the great patriot, 15 feet 
 high, presenting of him an admirable likeness. 
 The entire height, therefore, with the addition of 
 the statue, is 178 feet. This noble column rests 
 on a base of the same fine material, about 25 f<2et 
 square and 12 feet high, and which is again sup- 
 ported by a second and much more extended 
 base of white marble, containing about double 
 the square feet, as also double the amount in 
 height of the superior one. The position of it is 
 highly commanding; the eminence on which it 
 
 * Since the late improvements in the City of London, the 
 " Monument" has been judiciously displayed to much more 
 conspicuous advantage than formerly; but, imposing as it is, 
 neither in its material nor position, nor yet, perhaps, as a model, 
 does it equal that of Baltimore. 
 
BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAIL-ROAD. 
 
 79 
 
 is elevated being such, joined to the advantageous 
 circumstance of its being placed at the intersectioa 
 of four streets, as to render it a conspicuous object 
 from all the cardinal points of the compass. It 
 is intended, also, that the area around it shall be 
 planted with shrubbery, while the four sides of 
 the base are to be adorned with sculptured devices 
 emblematical of the states of the Union, and to 
 which inscriptions are to be added recording the 
 exploits of the hero. I will not inflict upon you a 
 description of the beautiful prospect beheld from 
 the summit of the monument, but leave it to your 
 own fertile imagination to fancy ; merely sug- 
 gesting, for the due exercise of your speculative 
 powers, that the environs of this city are rich in 
 natural scenery, and varied by all the requisites 
 of hill and dale, wood and water, verdant mea- 
 dows and well-cultivated lands, with heights em- 
 bellished by country-houses, and the port crowded 
 with innumerable vessels. 
 
 In nothing, however, tlrr the Baltimoreans excel 
 so much, in their works of labour and spirited enter- 
 prise, as in the rail-roads they are constructing, of 
 which that called the Baltimore and Ohio rail- 
 road is the most prodigious work at present car- 
 rying on in the United States. It is truly a vast 
 undertaking, worthy of the spirit and talent of any 
 country in the world, and confers an honourable 
 distinction on the company from which it ema- 
 
 :!f! 
 
 !■ 
 
80 
 
 BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAIL-ROAD. 
 
 nates. This road is to extend as far as Pitts- 
 burgh, on the river Ohio, a distance of between 
 300 and 400 miles, and will be travelled with 
 the greatest possible ease, by steam, in twenty hours. 
 Of this distance about thirty miles are already com- 
 pleted ; and in the effecting of which numerous 
 laborious obstacles have had to be surmounted — 
 such as cutting through solid masses of granite, 
 68 feet above the surface of the road; forming deep 
 cuts and embankments, in some places nearly a 
 mile in length, and 70 feet in depth; besides erect- 
 ing a number of bridges, viaducts, &c. of dressed 
 blocks of granite, from one to seven tons in weight. 
 In addition to this rail-road, as if one, though 
 more than 300 miles in length, was insufficient to 
 occupy the attention of the worthy citizens, is an- 
 other, in a course of formation, from Baltimore to 
 York Haven, on the river Susquehannah, a dis- 
 tance of about sixty miles ; and it is confidently 
 expected that it will, when completed, engross the 
 whole business of the river, down which, it is stated, 
 nearly five and a half millions worth of property 
 (in dollars) passed in the year 1826. The old pro- 
 verb of "nothing venture, nothing have," was, I 
 think, never more exemplified in any country, 
 than at the present day in America. 
 
 Among other handsome specimens of taste and 
 skill in architecture to be seen in this town, are 
 the cathedral, the exchange, several public foun- 
 
THE CATHEDRAL. 
 
 81 
 
 tains, and the battle monument. The latter wus 
 erected in 1815, and is an elegant pillar of beautiful 
 marble, raised to commemorate the gallantry and 
 patriotism of those citizens who fell in defence of 
 the city, when attacked the previous year by a 
 British force. The cathedral is worthy of notice for 
 the numerous ornaments and tasteful decorations* 
 contained within it; though little can be said in 
 praise of its exterior, from its want of symmetry and 
 the jumbling together of different styles and orders. 
 But I was more gratified than with any thing 
 else, by seeing two specimens of the fine arts in 
 the form of paintings, which struck me as posses- 
 sing considerable merit. One of them represented 
 St. Louis before Tunis, attended by his chaplain 
 and armour-bearer, interring one of his officers 
 who had been slain. This picture had been pre- 
 sented to the cathedral by Charles X. The other 
 was by Guerin, exhibiting the descent from the 
 cross, splendidly executed, and was a gift from 
 the unhappy Louis XVL 
 
 Passing now from the streets, and the exterior 
 of the buildings which form them, into the society 
 of those by whom they are inhabited, you will find 
 the comforts and conveniences, and many of the 
 refinements, that are to be met with in Europe. I 
 cannot but mention, that in private houses here, as 
 in other towns and cities of the States, are to be 
 seen highly ornamented Italian chimney-pieces of 
 
 e2 
 
 
 m 
 
 
82 
 
 REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 the finest marble, and rare and elegant specimens 
 of Italian sculpture, as well in statues and busts as 
 in various groups of marble figures, brought from 
 the studio of a Florentine or Neapolitan sculptor. 
 This speaks with tolerable plainness of an approxi- 
 mation to the arts of polished life, and requires no 
 comment from me. 
 
 That republican institutions give a levelling 
 tone to the manners and sentiments of those who 
 live under their influence, I need hardly inform 
 you; the effects of which I have, indeed, sometimes 
 personally experienced, and with additional force 
 from being entirely unaccustomed to them. But I 
 have invariably found, thus far at least, that the 
 higher classes, and the best educated of the Ame- 
 rican community, are free from that coarseness 
 and that presumption of demeanour which marks 
 the inferior orders. Nor can this be an enigma to 
 any one, except to those who are prejudiced against 
 the belief of it ; since nothing is more certain than 
 that education has a direct and natural tendency 
 to polish the mind, and soften and refine the man- 
 ners, so as even to make the educated republican 
 a much more gentlemanly character than the un- 
 educated aristocrat. 
 
 With respect to female beauty, Baltimore is 
 said to present a greater display of it than any 
 other city of the Union, and of which I have seen, 
 during my short stay, many fair specimens. The 
 
CHARLEB CARROLL. 
 
 H3 
 
 8tyle too of dress, at this place, is more agreeable 
 to my taste than that of the ladies of New York ; 
 being of a less flaunting and less ultra-fashionabh* 
 description. At the head of society in Baltimon;, 
 which, as I have inferred, is very respectable and 
 pleasant, is the venerable Ciiarles Carroll, of Car- 
 rollton, now, I believe, in his 93d year, and who is 
 the last survivor of the band of patriots who signed 
 and sent forth to the world the charter of American 
 independence. His living presence seems almost 
 to be as much respected as the memory of the de- 
 parted Washington ; and though a stern republican, 
 as may be supposed, from being one of the enthu- 
 siastic signers of the declaration of freedom abovc^ 
 alluded to, yet he has become closely allied to two 
 of our most aristocratic families — his two grand- 
 daughters being married to English noblemen ; 
 one to the Marquess Wellesley, and the other to 
 the Marquess of Carmarthen. 
 
 During my stay of a few days in Baltimore, 1 
 found the weather rather warmer than accorded 
 pleasantly with my English temperament, though 
 considerably less so than the degree of heat that 
 prevails more to the southward. In order to afford 
 you an idea of the range of the thermometer, dur- 
 ing a portion of the month of June in this town, I 
 have given you below a recorded observation of the 
 rise and fall of the mercury during the first nine- 
 teen days : 
 
 m 
 
 I ? 
 
 Ji ■ 
 1 »'■ 
 
84 
 
 CLIMATE OF THE UNITED STATES!. 
 
 State of the Thermometer in the PassageofBarnum's 
 City Hotels from the 1st to the I9th of June in- 
 clusive. 
 
 G a. m. 9 a. m. 12 m. 3 p. m. 6 p. m. 9 p. m. 
 
 1 78.... 82.... 86 90 86 84 
 
 2 80.... 83.... 88.... 90 89 84 
 
 3 79 ....82.... 87 .... 89 .... 87 .... 85 
 
 4 75.... 79.... 82.... 84.... 82.... 80 
 
 5 72 73.... 72 76.... 74 72 
 
 6 71 .... 70 74 75 76 .... 73 
 
 7 71 ... . 74 .... 77 .... 78 .... 78 .... 77 
 
 8 71. ...76. ...78. ...80. ...80. ...75 
 
 9 70 72 74 76 75 74 
 
 10 72. . . .76 78. . . .80. . . .79 78 
 
 11 74 76 80. ...82 80. ...80 
 
 12 76 78. ...84 85. ...84 82 
 
 13 77 80 81 82 82 81 
 
 14 76. ...77. ...81. ...82. ...77 76 
 
 15 74.... 74.... 77.... 78 80 77 
 
 16 70 74 78.... 80.... 78.... 76 
 
 17 73. . . .77. . . .80 82. . . .82. . . .81 
 
 18 77.... 80 82.... 85.... 82 80 
 
 19 78 .. 79.... 83.... 86.... 86.... 84 
 
 Having arranged to take my departure in the 
 morning to Philadelphia, I shall carry my pot- 
 hooks and hangers along with me, and scratch 
 a few more hieroglyphics on my letter, at that 
 place, ere I despatch it to you. 
 
 Philadelphia, \st July, 1831. 
 
 You have heard frequent allusion made, no 
 doubt, to the supposed vanity of the American 
 
AMERICAN VANITY. 
 
 85 
 
 people; and, I must say, I was highly amused with 
 the first conversation that I had with a citizen of 
 the republic, on first coming out to this country. 
 His patriotic egotism, if I may be allowed so to 
 call it, exceeded any effusion of praise I had 
 ever heard before j nor could I refer to any art or 
 science — laws or institutions — beauty of country 
 or beauty of women — ships, colonies, or com- 
 merce — by which we were characterised in Eng- 
 land, without drawing forth from my rival ac- 
 quaintance a glowing description of something 
 similar in his own country, surpassing each and 
 all these excellencies in a hundred-fold degi'ee — I 
 beg his pardon, I believe he excepted colonies ; 
 but only then to declare that, sooner or later, the 
 Americans would be possessed of these even more 
 extensively and more abundantly than ourselves. 
 If ever pedestal were erected in the world, on which 
 to elevate the man who should laud his country 
 to the skies with a more devoted and vehement 
 enthusiasm than another, my honest triend was 
 the person to whom the honour of a living conse- 
 cration should have been assigned. Recollecting, 
 as I then did, the affirmative opinions and declara- 
 tions of Captain Basil Hall on this subject, and 
 uniting his theory with the practical illustration 
 alluded to, I confess I was quite inclined to agree 
 with him, and to think our kinsfolk, across the 
 Atlantic, the most marvellous blowers of the 
 
 Hi 
 
 m 
 
86 
 
 AMERICAN VANITY. 
 
 trampet of their own fame that either modern 
 or ancient times had ever sounded. But possess- 
 ing, now, the light of better experience, I must 
 here make a similar distinction to the one which 
 I have previously made, in reference to the level- 
 ling principles of republican institutions — that I 
 have rarely found this passion to overpraise them- 
 selves prevalent in the higher and best-educated 
 classes of American society. Among the less 
 enlightened orders of their community — half- 
 schooled in knowledge, and therefore speaking 
 with the inflated confidence and the less degree 
 of modesty which ever accompany comparative 
 ignorance — I have, not unfrequently, heard this 
 excess of eulogium poured forth on the ** Father- 
 land " in disparagement of all the world beside. 
 But of the sensible and clever men whom it has 
 been my good fortune to meet in the States, and 
 some of whom I am happy to consider among the 
 number of my friends, I can scarcely remember 
 any who have, in this respect, " overstepped the 
 modesty of nature." One exception, however, in 
 the case of a well-informed and talented man, I 
 must make — not as being among the persons 
 whom I have met, but whose works I have read. 
 The publication referred to is entitled Notions of 
 the Americans^ picked up hy a Travelling Bache- 
 lor : in which the author throws out an insinu- 
 ation that he is a Frenchman — a foreigner at all 
 
THE AMERICAN NOVELIST. 
 
 87 
 
 events — when it is perfectly understood that the 
 anonymous writer is the American novelist — not 
 Mr. Washington Irving. The fictitious character 
 under which this gentleman writes, is evidently 
 assumed for a double purpose ; first, of praising 
 America, and every thing attaching to it, beyond 
 all the bounds of reasonable eulogy, as a supposed 
 disinterested strancjer in the country, and whose 
 views and opinions, therefore, were entitled to uni- 
 versal credit, from their entire impartiality and ho- 
 nesty of feeling; and, in the next place, under 
 the garb of the same impartial and unprejudiced 
 sentiments, reflecting with considerable asperity 
 on England, and on most subjects of English 
 association. This was, certainly, a ruse de guerre 
 scarcely worthy of the candour and talent of an 
 enlightened man, and the straight-forwardness of 
 a republican. With respect to the first point, I 
 should have passed it over with a smile : indeed, 
 ardent love of country is highly laudable, and will 
 excuse much of over-zeal in praising it ; and, 
 bating somewhat of overflowing excess in his en- 
 comiums, I would have heartily joined him in the 
 homage of general and sincere admiration of his 
 natale solum. But I cannot regard with equal 
 complacency his evident hostility towards Eng- 
 land,* inasmuch as it appears tp be entertained 
 beyond the limits of fair and honourable rivalry. 
 Much as has been objected to Captain Hall, and 
 
 Hi . 
 
 mi 
 
 I 
 
 
 ' *i5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 (I 
 
 'I 
 ( 
 
88 
 
 THE AMERICAN NOVELIST. 
 
 Other writers, for supposed severity and injustice 
 of remark on the citizens of the United States, 
 still, I must confess, that whatever truth may be 
 in the objections made against any or all of these 
 writers, (by no means, I think, unfounded), there 
 can be no doubt — "no mistake" — as to the Ame- 
 rican author having vindicated his country's ho- 
 nour — if recrimination be such — by the expres- 
 sion of a jealous feeling towards the " old coun- 
 try," equal to what the others have evinced towards 
 the new one. I trust I shall not follow his ex- 
 ample. Indeed I find, candidly, much more to 
 admire than to condemn among our American 
 friends j and were it otherwise, I should still 
 consider myself bound, as well as inclined from 
 friendly feeling, to abstain from those invidious, 
 scornful, and contumelious observations, which 
 could only serve the very bad and uncharitable 
 purpose of provoking hatred between two nations 
 whose mutual interest it is to be more closely 
 united than any other two on earth, and which, I 
 truly hope, will one day come to pass ! 
 
 Recurring to the point whence I have digress- 
 ed, with respect to the vanity and pretensions 
 of the Americans — and which I only in one 
 or two instances found overweening or offen- 
 sive among the well-educated ranks of society — 
 I must honestly, and with sincere gratification, 
 acknowledge, that they have great reason to he 
 
THE UNITED STATES BANK. 
 
 89 
 
 vain, and to be filled with national exultation, 
 when it is considered how much they have done, 
 and what they have become, in so short a series 
 of years as that which has elapsed since their re- 
 volution. Take, for example, among a hundred 
 other objects of practical illustration, the capital 
 of Pennsylvania, whence I now address you ; and 
 after walking through its beautiful and regular 
 streets, lined with remarkably well-built and 
 handsome houses ; viewing its public edifices and 
 charitable institutions ; after strolling through its 
 verdant squares and public promenades, adorned 
 with trees and shrubbery of the richest and most 
 lovely verdure, and on a summer's evening lighted 
 up by the fairy lamps of the flitting fire-flies, — I 
 could easily conceive your sentiments. I think 
 you would agree with me that, with the exception 
 of the capitals of England and of Europe, you 
 will see in no country cities and towns that reflect 
 more credit and honour on the taste, on the arts, 
 on the sciences, and, still better, on the charitable, 
 moral, and religious feelings of its inhabitants, 
 than the city of Philadelphia. 
 
 The United States Bank, for instance, in this 
 place, is a truly splendid structure, of the Grecian 
 order ; and would, from the chasteness of its style, 
 and the beauty of its execution, vie in successful 
 rivalry with many of the classic edifices on the 
 European shores of the Atlantic. The plan of it 
 
 
 I ; 
 
 
 
 
 
90 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA AND GERARD S BANKS. 
 
 is taken from the Parthenon at Athens; and its 
 material, of which excellent quarries have been dis- 
 covered in the neighbourhood, is of white marble. 
 It has two beautiful fronts, ornamented with por- 
 ticoes and fluted Doric columns ; the ascent from 
 the street to the principal entrance being by a 
 handsome flight of marble steps. Besides this, 
 in another part of the city, and of the Ionic order, 
 is the Bank of Pennsylvania, composed also of the 
 same costly material, and formed on the model of 
 the ancient Temple of the Muses on the Ilissus ; 
 while, in another direction, you observe a third 
 marble structure appropriated to the same pur- 
 pose, belonging to Mr. Gerard, considered the 
 richest man in the Union. This latter, by a tasteful 
 variety of style, is constructed after the Corinthian 
 order, and is decorated by a splendid row of six 
 Corinthian columns. 
 
 And now, limiting my observation, for the 
 present, to buildings of this kind, and of which 
 I have just given you three most elegant speci- 
 mens, I am compelled, in justice to the Americans, 
 to say, that I have never seen in any one city, 
 great or small, of the four quarters of the globe, 
 three banks that could be compared in taste, ma- 
 terial, design, or execution, with those of Phila- 
 delphia. One such, in a town, I have seen, but 
 three never! I state this fact thus broadly, and 
 fearless of contradiction, as I shall continue to do, 
 
ENGLISH FEELING MISREPRESENTED. 
 
 91 
 
 with equal impartiality, respecting the various ob- 
 jects that may come under my observation; because 
 it strongly appears to me to be the unhappy fashion 
 and bad taste of the day, to depreciate whatever 
 is American. Instead of sympathising with the 
 honest and laudable feelings of pride entertained 
 by our American kinsfolk, on account of the pro- 
 sperity of their country, which we ought to do, a 
 spirit of jealousy is diffused among us, unworthy 
 of a thousand associations of interest and good 
 fellowship that ought to cement between us an 
 indissoluble union. I allude to our public wri- 
 ters alone ; for I am very happy in believing 
 that these sentiments are not entertained by the 
 community at large, among which a much better 
 and more kindly feeling is spreading towards our 
 brethren in the States, that will, I sincerely hope, 
 rapidly grow up into a strong international com- 
 pact of unbroken friendship. 
 
 Though I feel rather delicate in giving you de- 
 scription after description of various cities, build- 
 ings, institutions, &c. for fear of wearying your 
 patience with the frequent monotony that must 
 necessarily accompany it ; yet, as it is impossible 
 to form even the rudest idea of a place unless 
 some little outline be given, how straggling soever 
 it may be, and as this is considered the most 
 regularly beautiful city in the Union, I shall not 
 close my letter without giving you a few more 
 notices about it. I must state, however, for your 
 
 M 
 
 
 
92 
 
 SITUATION OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 encouragement, that I will spare you as often and 
 as much as I can, consistently with my design to 
 give you a fair, unvarnished, unprejudiced de- 
 lineation of America such as she is, and as I 
 found her in 1831. I will faithfully promise you 
 one thing for the future, as I pledge you my can- 
 dour with respect to the past, that I will 
 
 " Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." 
 
 I shall commence, then, by informing you that 
 the position of Philadelphia is on the right bank 
 of the Delaware, which is here about a mile 
 broad, and 126 miles from the sea, and was 
 founded by the benevolent William Penn, in 
 1682. The city possesses, according to the census 
 of last year, a population of upwards of 167,000 
 inhabitants; and received, in 1829, into its port, 
 374 vessels from foreign countries, and 2210 
 coastwise ; and in 1830, 415 from abroad, and 
 3287 belonging to the States. After New York, 
 therefore, it ranks the first, according to its num- 
 bers; and is, in consequence of its rectangular 
 form, the most regularly constructed of all the 
 cities of the States. The streets, which are kept 
 remarkably clean, intersect each other at right 
 angles, and present, in all directions, handsome 
 public buildings and private residences, and are 
 adorned, on both sides, by rows of flourishing trees, 
 giving the whole a highly interesting character, 
 and the semblance of a rus in urhe. Indeed, 
 
DESIGNATION OF STREETS. 
 
 93 
 
 the family of trees have given their names to 
 many of the principal streets ; such as Cliestnut 
 Street, Walnut, Spruce, Pine, &:c., while the rest 
 are, singularly enough, and with bad taste I 
 think, considering how copiously the vegetable 
 world would have supplied much better names to 
 the remainder, called after the numerals ; begin- 
 ning with what is called *' First Street," and con- 
 tinuing as far as " Fifteenth," or " Sixteenth Street." 
 The houses are particularly neat ; more uniform 
 in size and quality, as are also those of New York 
 and Baltimore, than are usually found in Euro- 
 pean towns, and of which the brickwork is much 
 to be admired, having a tinge given to it of a 
 fresher and brighter colour than what is generally 
 used in England, and being cemented together 
 with the greatest nicety. 
 
 As colonized immediately from England, un- 
 der a variety of interesting circumstances, I have 
 given you below a comparative view of its popu- 
 lation, as well as that of the State in which it is 
 situated, at different periods from its origin ; evin- 
 cing the great rapidity with which both have 
 advanced. Indeed, so great was the increase in 
 the city, that in less than a century, and in the 
 lifetime of the first person born in it of European 
 parents, it was calculated to contain 6,000 houses, 
 and 40,000 inhabitants, including the suburbs. 
 
 I ,.r 
 
 :0i 
 
 m 
 
 Vt ii 
 
94 
 
 TABLES OF POPULATION. 
 
 Population of Pennsylvania at different Periods. 
 
 In 
 
 Population. 
 
 1701 
 
 20,000 
 
 17G3 
 
 280,000 
 
 1790 
 
 434,373 
 
 1800 
 
 602,545 
 
 1810 
 
 810,001 
 
 1820 
 
 .. 1,049,313 
 
 1830 
 
 .. 1,347,072 
 
 Increase. 
 
 1701-17G3 260,000 
 
 1763-1790 154,373 
 
 1790-1800 168,172 
 
 1800-1810 207,546 
 
 1810-1820 239,222 
 
 1820-1830 298,659 
 
 Slaves. 
 
 3,737 
 
 1,706 
 
 795 
 
 211 
 
 386 
 
 Population of Philadelphia at different Periods. 
 
 In Population. 
 
 1731 12,000 
 
 1753 18,000 
 
 1790 42,520 
 
 1800 70,287 
 
 1810 96,664 
 
 1820 119,325 
 
 1830 167,811 
 
 In Dwellings. 
 
 1700 700 
 
 1749 2,076 
 
 1763 2,969 
 
 1776 5,460 
 
 1790 6,651 
 
 1801 11,200 
 
 1810 15,814 
 
 Perhaps the most interesting (to an American) 
 of all the buildings in the city is the State-house, 
 where the Declaration of Independence was signed 
 on the 4th of July, 1776, and whence it was pro- 
 claimed to the then rebellious colonies. It is one 
 of the oldest in the city, and is to be venerated 
 more on account of its moral associations than of 
 its architectural design. Independence Square, 
 at the head of which it is situated, as also Wash- 
 
STATE HOUSE. 
 
 95 
 
 the 
 
 irigton Square, a short distance from it, n 
 two beautiful promenatles of the city, full of the 
 most luxuriantly-growing trees and shrubs of the 
 freshest verdure. Having ascended to the tower 
 of the State-house, where a highly interesting view 
 of the town and its environs is enjoyed, I had the 
 great bell pointed out to me, that solenmly tolled 
 the event of their declared independence to the 
 enthusiastic inhabitants of that stirring period ; 
 and which I was informed was rung, for the last 
 time, on the passing of the Catholic Emancipation 
 Bill. So that it would seem, whatever may be 
 the reverse of the picture on the European side of 
 the Atlantic — and of which, I feel rejoiced to 
 say, I am not one who believes in the general 
 existence of it — that American sympathy is not 
 withheld from Great Britain on the occurrence 
 of circumstances calculated to consolidate her in- 
 terest or happiness. May the feeling be cherished 
 on both sides, and the competition between us, 
 henceforward, be a Christian rivalship in the 
 arts of peace and mutual good-will! 
 
 I have alluded to the extreme cleanliness of 
 the streets of Philadelphia — an observation that 
 may, with justice, be extended to the whole city. 
 This is owing, in a great measure, to the un- 
 bounded supply of pure and excellent water pos- 
 sessed by its inhabitants, independent of their 
 national love of this essential quality of civilised 
 
 ;■'. 
 
 mi 
 
 m 
 
 ■.;|l 
 
 U 
 
 
 M 
 
96 
 
 FAIR MOUNT WATER-WORKS. 
 
 life. The supply is sufficiently abundant to 
 admit of washing both streets and houses, as occa- 
 sion may require ; and, in case of fire, offers an 
 inexhaustible source for instantaneous application. 
 The fine and extensive water-works at Fair 
 Mount, whence the stream flows into the town, 
 situated on the romantic banks of the Schuylkill, 
 a couple of miles distant, are among the public 
 works of which the Philadelphians are justly 
 proud. The water is raised from the river into 
 reservoirs elevated upwards of 100 feet above its 
 surface, by means of machinery capable of forcing 
 up seven millions of gallons in the course of 
 twenty -four hours. These works have been 
 effected, at the same time, at an enormous ex- 
 pense, having cost (including the outlay of works 
 afterwards abandoned) 1,443,585 dollars ; though 
 the charge for raising the water j)er diem does 
 not amount to more than the trivial sum of four 
 dollars and a half. Nearly adjoining, lies Mr. 
 Pratt's garden, delightfully situated on the river, 
 and laid out in the English style, which, to an 
 American who has not crossed the Atlantic, is one 
 of the choses a voir. The banks of this romantic 
 stream are well worthy of a morning's drive, from 
 the varied beauty by which their continual mean- 
 derings are characterised, and the elegant country- 
 seats and hanging woods that embellish the margin 
 of the river. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA ITOSPITAL. 
 
 d; 
 
 One of the most inh»re8tingf objects tlmt I 
 have visited, j^iiice I have been here, is the Peiin- 
 fiylvaiiiu IJospital; an adniimUe institution found' 
 ed by the excellent William Penn, and under the 
 government of the Society of Friends, of whom 
 there are many thoujiiands of resident inha))itants, 
 and whose superintendence over it is conducted 
 with great zeal, order, and judgment. It is a 
 handsome and spacious building, and contains 
 within its area a considerable extent of garden- 
 ground, adorned by orange and various other 
 trees, and particularly by a full-grown scion of 
 the tree under which Penn made his treaty with 
 the Indians. It is appropriated equally to insane 
 patients and to surgical and other cases. In one 
 of the rooms of the establishment, expressly built 
 to contain it, I was delighted to behold, in Ame- 
 rica, that splendid picture by West, of " Christ 
 healing the Sick in the Temple," and which I 
 had first seen in England. It was presented to 
 the institution by the late President of the Royal 
 Academy, and is, as you know, affect ingly beau- 
 tiful, as well in its execution as design. I re- 
 mained gazing on it for nearly two hours, having 
 long sat out all the company who were present 
 when I entered the room, or who came after- 
 wards ; till, at last, I became so absorbed and 
 abstracted in its contemplation, that I fell fast 
 asleep, and might have continued in that state 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
 i 
 
 II 
 
 M 
 
 1 
 
98 
 
 ACADEMY OF ARTS. 
 
 ni > 
 
 for a couple of hours longer, had not the attend- 
 ant disturbed me by coming into the apartment 
 to see what I was about — suspecting, possibly, 
 that I might be packing up the picture and 
 walking off with it. 
 
 I was as much delighted by seeing, in another 
 part of the city, the equally fine and interesting 
 painting, by the same celebrated artist, of " Christ 
 Rejected," and which has been lately brought 
 across the Atlantic, for exhibition, by the late 
 President's son, to whom it belongs. From the 
 statement he made to me respecting the large 
 sums of money that he has realised, in con- 
 sequence of the numbers of persons who have 
 crowded to see it in all the towns whither he 
 has taken it, I should augur very favourably 
 with regard to an increasing taste for the fine 
 arts among the citizens of the republic. In this 
 belief I feel confirmed, by having lately attended 
 an exhibition of native talent, diversified by the 
 works of foreign painters, in the Academy of Arts 
 — a neat building devoted to this laudable pur- 
 pose, and which presents a very creditable display 
 of rising genius, and several specimens of good 
 painting, particularly by Alston, who stands at 
 the head of his profession. This institution, I 
 understand, offers an annual exhibition to the 
 public, and is the true and, indeed, only mode of 
 
 forming national taste. 
 
 Several of the foreign 
 
LITERARY ESTABLISHMENTS. 
 
 99 
 
 paintings are the property of Joseph Buonaparte, 
 who resides in unostentatious retirement in the 
 neighbouring village of Bordentown ; — one of 
 them being by David, the French artist, and 
 represents Napoleon crossing the Alps ; and ano- 
 ther, a portrait of Josepli himself, as King of 
 Spain. In addition to these, the Academy con- 
 tains a collection of statues, among which aie 
 Canova's Graces ; and various busts, some in 
 marble and others in plaster. 
 
 The literary and philosophical establishments 
 in this fine city are at once numerous and hij^hly 
 respectable, reflecting much credit on the moral 
 and intellectual character of its inhabitants. Of 
 the former, constituting the city library and the 
 most considerable, is the Franklin Institute, con- 
 taining 24,000 volumes, and which owes its origin 
 to the great man from whom it borrows its name. 
 The others are the Loganian collection, forming 
 about 11,000 volumes ; the Atheuseum, consisting 
 of 5,300 ; and the Academy of Natural Sciences, 
 comprising about 5000. Of the latter, is the 
 Philosophical Society, whose library contains 
 about COOO, and their rooms a valuable appa- 
 ratus of scientific and philosophical instruments. 
 With respect to sf'holastic instruction, the oldest 
 seminary of learning in Pennsylvania is the one 
 that was incorporated by William Penn, the 
 
 jW 
 
 . -ty', 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 w ■ 
 
 .fei ;■ 
 
100 
 
 SHIP PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 worthy founder of the city, under the title of 
 " Free Public Schools." 
 
 Of course, as an Englishman, I paid a visit 
 to the navy-yard of Philadelphia, which struck 
 me as much superior to that of New York, in 
 neatness, arrangement, and in the greater quan- 
 tity of stores that it appeared to possess ; hav- 
 ing neither seen shot nor guns on visiting the 
 latter. It lies on the Delaware, about a mile 
 from the city, and contains — for which I went 
 especially to see it — the greatest naval curiosity 
 in the United States, or perhaps in the world : 
 being the largest line-of-battle ship that has ever 
 been built in any country. S?ie is called the 
 Pennsylvania. I am not quite sure, at the same 
 time, that there is not one still larger, by some 
 few inches, belonging to the Turks; but as the 
 latter do not know quite so well as the Americans 
 how to command their navv, it does not much 
 signify should it be true. However, be this as 
 it may, the Pennsylvania is certainly a superb 
 ship, and her timbers are magnificent. She has 
 four decks, and is intended to carry from 140 
 to 150 guns, and 1400 men — having counted, 
 myself, 160 port-holes, but which I afterwards 
 understood from a professional gentleman were 
 not all of them pierced for guns. To give you 
 some idea of her enormous size, I must state her 
 
PRISOX DISCIPLIXE. 
 
 101 
 
 dimensions, which are the following: her entire 
 length is 220 feet ; her breadth of beam, 57 feet ; 
 and from the upper deck to the keel, in depth, 
 45 feet. 
 
 That this splendid specimen of naval archi- 
 tecture may remain on the stocks, a mere gazing 
 wonder, till her timbers drop from her in absolute 
 decay, is my most sincere wish — founded on the ' 
 best, because the most charitable, of all reasons ; 
 namely, that no future time may ever behold the 
 two nations again engaged in hostile collision 
 with each other. In this case, the proud Penn- 
 sylvania will never, most probably, ** gallantly ride 
 the waves," to hurl the thunderbolts of war, and 
 thus break a peace which I trust will be eternal. 
 
 And, now, in order to preserve my uncon- 
 scionably long letter from the flames before you 
 shall have come to the conclusion of it, I promise 
 to give you, for the present, but a single descrip- 
 tion more, and one or two observations respecting 
 the new penitentiary which has been lately erected 
 at this place, with the view of trying an experi- 
 ment on prison discipline. As the Americans have 
 bestowed deep and close attention on this subject, 
 you will wish to hear something about it, though 
 I cannot now give you a comparative opinion till 
 I shall have seen the rest. The principle consists 
 in the prisoners being kept in the closest solitary 
 confinement; the excellence or disadvantage of 
 
 Si 
 
 
 J 
 
102 
 
 PENITENTIARY AT PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 which is intended to be tested by a trial of the 
 effects flowing from the practice here as compared 
 with the system adopted at Sing Sing and at 
 Auburn, the two principal prisons in the State 
 of New York. In these latter the prisoners are 
 allowed the consolatory indulgence of working 
 together, under the supervision of inspectors, yet 
 still without being permitted, for a single moment, 
 to hold oral communication. The prison itself 
 is an extensive square, of handsome granite con- 
 struction; and its appearance, particularly that 
 of the gates, has, at a distance, a considerable re- 
 semblance to a fortress. The interior is formed 
 in radiated lines from a common centre, like the 
 originally projected streets of Washington from 
 the Capitol. Th:s centre is a small octagonal 
 room, placed in the middle of the square, and 
 occupied by one of the keepers, from which the 
 galleries immediately branch off; so that with 
 a glance of his eye, turning round on his heel, 
 he can look down every one of them, and ascertain 
 in an instant if all is right ; the reverberation of 
 sound, in consequence of the arched roofs, being 
 such, that the slightest disturbance, or attempt 
 to escape, is immediately heard. The cells are 
 formed on each side of these galleries, and through 
 the smallest imaginable hole in the doors of them 
 each prisoner's occupation is at once and thorough- 
 ly discovered. Of this unseen supervision, as the 
 
PENITENTIARY AT PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 103 
 
 unhappy felon is perfectly conscious, without the 
 possibility of his knowing when the eye of the 
 keeper may be upon him, he is kept in a state of 
 constant fear and of constrained good behaviour, 
 beyond what lie would feel if his gaoler were 
 present before him. 
 
 The wretched beings who are here immured, — 
 some of them for a long series of years, propor- 
 tioned to their crimes, — are never permitted to 
 see the countenance of a human creature, except oc- 
 casionally their keeper, and sometimes the clergy- 
 man who attends to their spiritual reformation, 
 to assist whose admonitions Bibles are placed in 
 each cell. For the general and profitable occu- 
 pation of their time, work is now given to them, 
 contrary to the former practice, according to the 
 business they may have exercised ; and if ignorant 
 of any, they are taught some kind of trade, which 
 may support them in honesty after the term of 
 their incarceration shall have been completed. It 
 was, in the first instance, gravely determined, no 
 doubt with good motives, but with a most mis- 
 taken judgment, to condemn to solitary confine- 
 ment without labour ; the eftect of which, leaving 
 out of consideration the negative consequence of 
 the loss of profit arising from their work, would 
 have operated, I fear, more on the brain than on 
 the heart. If the former, however, should have 
 remained untouched, it would have left a vicious 
 
 ^>'- 
 
 '^f!! 
 
 
 
 li 
 
 i yifs 
 
 ;-t;;-i 
 
 ii 
 
104 
 
 PENITENTIARY AT PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 mind more than ever a prey to the dissolute work- 
 ings of its own unoccupied thoughts ; and, in the 
 end, it would have been indisputably discovered, 
 that the ** last state of that man would have been 
 worse than the first." With respect to the success 
 of this experiment, besides being half-a-dozen 
 times more costly than other prison establish- 
 ments, it appears, to my humble judgment, likely 
 to end in failure ; for I am strongly inclined to 
 believe, that the supposed superior reformation of 
 morals, expected to be derived from the system, 
 would, in the majority of instances of persons 
 confined for a series of years, terminate in self- 
 murder or insanity. The former would be dis- 
 posing effectually, and forever, of these unfortunate 
 wretches ; but which neither humanity could 
 justify, nor the wished-for operation of the prin- 
 ciple, by the benevolent persons who have proposed 
 it, is intended to produce. But, even on the argu- 
 ment that the moral reformation contemplated in 
 this penitentiary would equal that which is at- 
 tained, as I understand, at Auburn and at Sing 
 Sing, still its enormously greater expense would 
 proportionably decrease its value. So that to raise 
 this system, with all its additional cost, into a 
 preference, it must be clearly proved that the 
 moral consequences are xr.oic extensive and per- 
 manent than either of the other two ; for, if only 
 equal, it would be bad from the excess of expense. 
 
PENITENTIARY AT PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 105 
 
 I am credibly informed, that the work performed 
 by the criminals in the two prisons referred to, in 
 the State of New York, exceeds in value the cost 
 incurred in maintaining the establishment. This 
 is a considerable advantage; and which, when 
 coupled with the steady habits of industry taught 
 their guilty inmates, and the comparative cheer- 
 fulness in which their minds are kept, by seeing 
 around them the signs of humanity in the persons 
 of their fellows in misfortune, though not allowed 
 to communicate with them either by word or sign, 
 will, I think, beyond a doubt, establish the claim 
 of the latter to a priority in excellence over the 
 penitentiary at Philadelphia. I shall now leave 
 the subject, and refer to it again in a future letter, 
 after having paid a visit to these prisons, or one 
 of them, as they are both on the same principle, 
 in the course of my tour. 
 
 I cannot conclude this, I fear, wearisome letter, 
 without informing you of what I know you will 
 be gn tified to learn ; and to which, I am aware, 
 you will assign the first place, both as to import- 
 ance and interest, among the various public edifices 
 and institutions already brought to your notice. 
 It is this — a good sign, you will allow, that religion 
 is by no means neglected in the capital of Penn- 
 sylvania — there are in the city eighty-eight 
 churches, chapels, and other places of public wor- 
 ship ; accompanied too, which is the best praise 
 
 f2 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 
 lv4 
 
 1v m 
 
 
106 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 of the community that either I or any one else 
 can bestow on them, by every appearance that 
 religion is not a nominal, but a vital feeling, 
 among the inhabitants. To this all-essential topic 
 I shall recur on a future occasion, when I shall 
 have more leisure, and you will have recovered 
 from the effects of the large epistolary dose which 
 I have just administered to you. I feel inclined, 
 nevertheless, to relate to you an anecdote respect- 
 ing what occurred to a very gentlemanly Swede 
 at Philadelphia, whose acquaintance I had the 
 pleasure of forming, as illustrative of the tone of 
 morality pervading as v.ell the lower as the higher 
 classes of society. His name, which is somewhat 
 singular, is " Damme ;" and it appears that, after 
 remaining a few days at the hotel, he was stepping 
 into the coach in order to leave the town, when, 
 in consequence of the servant having omitted to 
 receive the amount of his bill from some one of 
 the passengers, and not being aware which of the 
 gentlemen it was, he inquired his name. My ac- 
 quaintance immediately replied, " Damme !" The 
 servant looked rather astonished, but fancying he 
 must have misunderstood the answer, repeated 
 the question ; when the other, supposing the man 
 was deaf, answered in a louder voice, '* Damme." 
 The domestic immediately on hearing the expres- 
 sion for the second time, and believing that the 
 gentleman was swearing at him for his interrup- 
 
PUBLIC EriFICES. 
 
 107 
 
 tion, instead of simply giving his name, regarded 
 him with a very stern countenance, and said, 
 ** Sir, we are not accustomed to hear such lan- 
 guage as this in Philadelphia," and instantly 
 turned from him in the greatest indignation ! 
 
 Of the remaining public buildings unnoticed, 
 I shall content myself by merely naming them ; 
 and which, as a faithful journalist, I could not 
 avoid doing. These are, the United States mint, 
 just constructed, and highly beautiful both in 
 design and execution ; the university, accounted 
 the most richly endowed in the States, and of 
 imposing appearance ; an elegant model of an 
 asylum for the deaf and dumb ; a handsome 
 masonic hall and theatre ; a museum, in which, 
 among a vast variety of curiosities, is seen the 
 most perfect skeleton of the mammoth that was 
 ever exhibited, &c. &c. And were I, in addition, 
 to describe to you the various, and some of them 
 prodigious canals, forming in different parts of 
 the State of Pennsylvania, and which the year 
 before last were under contract, and amounted in 
 extent to 428 miles, of which the Pennsylvania 
 canal alone is to run through a course of 314 
 miles, I should add as much more to my over- 
 charged letter as what I have already given you. 
 But I am quite satisfied; though I am rather 
 afraid that, with respect to yourself, I have greatly 
 overstepped the boundary as to length, within 
 
 'i 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 ^'1 
 
 m 
 
 
 V5 !' I 
 
 •I >i 
 
 ! Ir, 
 
108 
 
 PROSPERITY OP THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 which your satisfaction would have been more 
 unqualified, and your patience less disturbed. 
 However, a review of what I have now given you 
 respecting Philadelphia, as well as my previous 
 accounts of New York, Baltimore, and Washing- 
 ton, will, I am sure, quite convince you of the 
 great and growing prosperity, enterprise, industry, 
 power, and resources of the people of the United 
 States. And, now, adieu! 
 
109 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Bordentown — Joseph Buonaparte — Sudden Cliange of Tem- 
 perature — Climate of the States — Anniversary of American 
 Independence — Universal Rejoicings on the occasion — 
 Dinners — Processions, Fireworks, &c. — Beauty of the 
 American Ladies — Calashes to conceal their Charms — 
 Museum at New York — Passage up the Hudson to West 
 Point — Military Academy at West Point. 
 
 vr 
 
 :1 
 
 West Point, 6th Juli/, 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 After passing upwards of a week 
 in the beautiful city of Philadelphia, much de- 
 lighted and interested with the varied and gratify- 
 ing objects which it contains, so worthy of the 
 notice of a traveller; and not the less pleased that 
 I could eat my dinners at leisure, and in Christian 
 comfort, at that excellent hotel the Mansion-house, 
 without the necessity of bolting my meals, as at 
 New York, at the risk of sundry indigestions, I 
 arrived once more at the capital of Manhattan 
 island. I reached New York just in time to wit- 
 ness the overflowing effusions of patriotism con- 
 sequent on the anniversary of the national inde- 
 
 . i 
 
 fit 
 
 I 
 1 
 
Ill 
 
 no 
 
 BORDENTOWN. 
 
 pcndence. Anxious, however, to see the gallery 
 of paintings, sculpture, and other curiosities, of the 
 ex-King of Spain, Joseph Buonaparte, I stopped 
 on my way at Bordentown, a small village on 
 the Delaware, twenty-eight miles from Philadel- 
 phia, In the immediate vicinity of which he resides, 
 in all the seclusion of the most retired private 
 gentleman. Unfortunately, the Comte de Sur- 
 villiers, the title he assumes, was absent ; having 
 left Bordentown only the day before ; and his 
 mansion was closed to all the world, except to the 
 servants who had charge of it, and who had orders 
 never to shew it during his absence ; in conse- 
 quence, as I understood, of some injury having 
 been done to one or two of the statues, on a pre- 
 vious occasion, when their owner was from home. 
 I was obliged, therefore, to content myself by 
 rambling about his extensive pleasure-grounds, 
 and enjoying, from the pavilion erected on the 
 banks of the river, the splendid scenery of the 
 Delaware. Though apparently identified with the 
 republic, having now resided within it for many 
 years, yet the count stands aloof altogether from 
 politics, having never exercised the rights and 
 functions of a citizen of the States. This does not, 
 of course, prevent him from being highly respected 
 by his neighbours, among whom he bears the 
 character of an amiable and charitable man. 
 On proceeding afterwards to New York, I ex- 
 
VICISSITUDES OP WEATHER. 
 
 Ill 
 
 perlenced, while in the steam-boat, one of those 
 sudden vicissitudes of weather so frequent in the 
 climate of North America, and which, on the 
 present occasion, contrasted rather too violently 
 with the previous operation of jolting in a coach 
 from Bordentown to New Brunswick. This I 
 had just undergone, with nine inside, on a sultry 
 morning, and your humble servant s(|neozcd 
 almost to the consistency of calfs-foot jelly 
 between two corpulent Americans, while, ever 
 and anon, our coach was tossing and pitching 
 about like a little schooner in the Bay of Biscay. 
 The day had been remarkably warm, and, as an 
 agreeable relief, I had been cooling myself under 
 the slender covering of a white linen jacket, or, 
 as it is termed here, " roundabout;" when, almost 
 instantaneously, without any previous symptoms 
 of change, just as we entered the river Uuriton, 
 a raw, chilly, damp wind commenced blowing, 
 and was shortly afterwards succeeded by as com- 
 plete a drizzly Scotch mist as I ever felt on the 
 highland moors of Old Caledonia. I was very 
 " fain," as the rustics say, to pull off my lawn 
 sleeves, or what was nearly as thin, and quite as 
 comfortless, and put on good honest broad-cloth, 
 and felt quite disposed to throw a well-lined cloak 
 over that, but which I had left behind me at New 
 York. To supply the deficiency, however, I 
 walked below deck into the cabin, where I re- 
 
 '.■iiii 
 
 
112 
 
 CLIMATE OF AMERICA. 
 
 mained till we reached our destination. I had 
 not my thermometer within reach, and therefore 
 could not consult it ; hut I should imagine that the 
 mercury must have fallen at least fifteen degrees 
 in the course of half an hour, which, in the 
 month of July, was an atmospheric occurrence 
 that I had not expected to meet with. 
 
 I may as well take the present occasion to 
 observe, with respect to the climate of the States, 
 that though the weather is much hotter in sum- 
 mer, and colder in winter, than in England, yet 
 it appears to me, from several previous instances, 
 though not so remarkable as that which I have 
 just mentioned, that the changes of American 
 temperature are more rapid and violent than they 
 are found to be on our side of the Atlantic ; pro- 
 verbially variable, notwithstanding, as our climate 
 is. With regard to the extremes of summer's 
 heat and winter's cold, in the northern and middle 
 states of the Union, I believe it is not unusual, in 
 the former season, to see the mercury rise to 90 
 and 100, nor, in the latter, to see it fall in some 
 seasons to 20 degrees below zero. 
 
 The greater intensity of heat and cold which 
 is found to prevail in the United States beyond 
 what is perceptible in Europe, under the same 
 parallels, is a subject of interesting inquiry. The 
 thermometer, in the New England States, is ascer- 
 tained to fall as low as zero more frequently than 
 
in 
 
 CLIMATE OF AMERICA. 
 
 113 
 
 it is seen to be depressed to the freezing point, in 
 a similar latitude, on the eastern shores of the At- 
 lantic. The contrary extreme of heat in summer 
 is, likewise, more considerable by between ten and 
 twenty degrees. The problem, with respect to this 
 remarkable difference of climate, is attempted to 
 be solved, and with much appearance of reason, by 
 the consideration of the respective countries being 
 situated on different sides of the ocean, and by the 
 prevalence of westerly winds. In America, these 
 latter constitute a land-wind, and produce, as a 
 necessary consequence, confirmed by observation, 
 greater cold in winter, and heat in summer; 
 while the very reverse takes place on the opposite 
 shores of the Atlantic, where the same westerly 
 current of air, proceeding from the water, gives 
 mildness to the winter, and refreshes the summer 
 months with cooling breezes. 
 
 I observed, that I just arrived in time to wit- 
 ness the ceremonies of the '* glorious 4th of July," 
 being the 55th anniversary of American Inde- 
 pendence ; and I must say, that the night which 
 preceded the ushering in of the " never-to-be-for- 
 gotten morning," was, if not the most restless, 
 certainly one of the most so, that I ever expe- 
 rienced in my life. From the hour of nine in the 
 evening, throughout the live-long night, were the 
 worthy and patriotic republicans signalising their 
 obstreperous joy for the forthcoming day, with 
 
 I 
 
 
"§ 
 
 114 
 
 THE AMERICAN FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 the most noisy, discordant, stunning, and ceaseless 
 demonstrations of zeal, that ever mortal man, in a 
 state of unhappy drowsiness — for such, unfor- 
 tunately, was my case at the moment — was 
 doomed to suffer. Crackers, rockets, serpents, 
 guns and pistols, drums and trumpets, rattles, 
 frying-pans, marrow-bones and cleavers, and all 
 sorts of similar music, were in full operation at 
 the self-same moment ; — hissing, cracking, whiz- 
 zing, exploding, rumbling, clanging, rattling, 
 dinging, and braying, all the night long, and in 
 one combined and ceaseless chorus. I began, at 
 length, to believe that pandemonium had broken 
 loose, and got up to barricado the door. Ima- 
 gine to yourself, if you can, a more entirely 
 helpless state than the one in which I was placed : 
 in bed, naturally very sensitive of sound, the 
 candle put out, so drowsy that I could scarcely 
 open my eyes, and yet without the power of 
 closing; mv ears, which rendered the somniferous 
 operation of the other sense perfectly nugatory ; 
 for I should have had a chance of getting to sleep 
 if I could have shut my ears and opened my eyes. 
 Notwithstandinj^ all this — quite bad enough for 
 mortal man 1 ndure — I had not yet come to 
 the worst; for, in an instant, " at the witching 
 hour of night," all the church-bells in the town 
 began tolling and ringing with extraordinary and 
 mysterious violence ; on which, unable any longer 
 
\ 
 
 THE AMERICAN FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 116 
 
 to maintain my recumbent position, I started out 
 of bed, and looking towards the window, beheld 
 a terrific mass of flame and smoke rising up be- 
 fore it, like an eruption from a volcano. I had 
 scarcely time to contemplate the awful confla- 
 gration before me, and which seemed raging at 
 no inconsiderable distance, when half-a-dozen 
 fire-engines came rattling along the street at a 
 most rapid pace, accompanied by a multitude of 
 people screaming out " fire !" with stentorian 
 voices, alarming the whole town from its propri- 
 ety — not awakening them, for I should imagine 
 that there was not one ** wink of sleep" enjoyed 
 on that memorable occasion by a single individual 
 in New York. In a state of forlorn hope as to 
 rest for that night, I now dressed myself, and 
 hearing persons moving about the passages of the 
 hotel, whom the alarm had called from their beds 
 equally with myself, I managed to obtain a light. 
 At first I entertained the idea of going to the fire ; 
 but, on second considerations, knowing but too 
 well what was the boisterous state of the town, 
 and that, from the multitudes of people in the 
 streets, there could be no lack of assistance in 
 putting it out, I determined to remain where I 
 was ; and took up a book, more in mockery, one 
 would imagine, than in real earnest, in order to 
 while away the wearisome hours. I looked fix- 
 edly on the book, to be sure, but without reading, 
 
 
116 
 
 THE AMERICAN FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 or at least understanding, a single word ; till at 
 length the joyful morning broke upon me, I will 
 venture to say with as much real joy, from grate- 
 ful contrast to the horrors of the night, as it did 
 on the most merry-minded and stout-hearted vin- 
 dicator of American Independence. 
 
 On walking through the town after breakfast, 
 I found that a whole " block" of houses had been 
 burnt down ; and was sorry to perceive (and not 
 for the first time), in one or two of the journals, 
 that it was strongly suspected to have been fired 
 by some diabolical incendiary. Have some of 
 our horrible stack-burners crossed the Atlantic, 
 to escape from the justice of their own country? 
 Whatever may be the cause of the frequent fires 
 that occur, and which I have no doubt, with pos- 
 sibly an occasional exception from incendiarism, 
 proceed from the circumstance of many of the 
 inferior houses being constructed of wood ; yet 
 I never was in a town where such constantly 
 occurring fires take place as in New York. I 
 have passed ten nights there; and I believe that 
 in nine out of the ten I have had my rest dis- 
 turbed in the "dead of night" by a conflagra- 
 tion somewhere or other — the ringing of church- 
 bells, an'alarm, and shouts of " fire!" and the rat- 
 tling of fire-engines, &c. With the dawning light, 
 however, all alarm, and every other consideration, 
 was absorbed in one great and universal senti- 
 
THE AMERICAN FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 117 
 
 
 ment. This, in short, was *' the day," '' the day 
 of all the year ;" and every thing was in com- 
 motion, and overflowing with as joyous an ex- 
 hibition of private and public feeling as can well 
 be conceived. The genius of republican triumph, 
 represented by that potent personage the " ma- 
 jesty of the people," typified by the moving 
 masses of exulting thousands that filled the streets, 
 stepped with every foot, and lighted up every 
 eye ; and, in addition to the delicate jocularities 
 and interesting serenade of the previous never- 
 to-be-forgotten night — still increasing and swell- 
 ing louder and louder as the day advanced — were 
 now superadded the congratulatory roarings of a 
 hundred discharges of cannon. Next came on a 
 grand military parade, — the various regiments 
 and detachments, in full muster, with bands 
 playing and flags waving, passing in a kind of 
 review through the principal streets of the city ; 
 while the corporations and other processions of 
 the different trades, their banners displaying all 
 the colours of the " many-tinted iris," staiked 
 along in all the enthusiasm of feelings big with 
 the bright remembrance of the day of their liber- 
 ation. 
 
 The Aii^iericans, like the English, in good honest 
 John Bull fashion, nourish the sentiment that 
 interests them with a luxurious dinner and gene- 
 rous wines. These, served up with a dessert of 
 
 . "if 
 
 
118 
 
 DINNERS AND SPEECHES. 
 
 highly -flavoured speeches on independence and 
 love of country, and garnished by a spice or two 
 of side-long jealousy of the " old country," which, 
 on such an event, could scarcely be expected to 
 be otherwise, but is, I hope, fast wearing away, 
 serve to cherish and keep warm the passion till 
 the revolving anniversary shall again come round. 
 This ** feast of reason and flow of soul," there- 
 fore, took place at the City Hall, where, I must 
 say, the highly tasteful arrangement of the dinner- 
 tables, of which there were five, and the decora- 
 tions of the room, would have done no discredit 
 to a corporation-dinner in London. 
 
 The 4th of July, in short, is the American 5tli 
 of November, kept up with not merely a national, 
 but univi^rsal enthusiasm, spread through all the 
 ranks of society, infinitely beyond the mere boy's 
 play of our anti-popery festival. At their anni- 
 versary dinners, in celebration of this jubilee, 
 public oralors are expressly appointed to com- 
 memorate, in speeches brimful of the amor 
 patrict, their emancipation from a despotism 
 which they consider themselves as happy to have 
 escaped as we from the tyranny of Catholic as- 
 cendency. 
 
 As the better and fairer half of creation are, 
 by the unchanging laws of corporation- dinners 
 and aldermanic feasts, entirely excluded from all 
 participation in the revels — with what taste and 
 
111 
 ye 
 |s- 
 
 11 
 
 id 
 
 THE LADIES OF AMERICA. 
 
 119 
 
 justice to the fair, though unpolitical sex, I shall 
 not stop to inquire — a lighter repast oi unintoxi^ 
 eating fire-works was, in the present instance, 
 prepared for them in the Battery Gardens. As 
 the shades of night thickened around, a crowd of 
 belles, distinguished alike for beauty and Parisian 
 costume, flocked to the giy and illuminated am- 
 phitheatre, equally eager, with the ruder sex, to 
 testify their exuberant patriotism on this joyous 
 day. I may here take the opportunity of saying, 
 before I explode the fire-works and terminate the 
 gala, that, with respect to the personal attractions 
 of the ladies of the United States — having now 
 seen four of the principal towns of the Union — I 
 must frankly acknowledge that I do not think 
 they have, by any means, degenerated by being 
 transplanted from the British to the American 
 soil ; and on the supposition of their possessing as 
 much real wo"th as personal beauty, which I am 
 most willing to concede to them, they need ask 
 from nature no other boon in order to render 
 them at once both pleasing and estimable. The 
 ladies of Philadelphia appeared to me, as far as 
 my limited opportunities of seeing them extended, 
 to possess as many claims to this distinction as any 
 that I have seen elsewhere ; but they struck me as 
 being too recluse in their habits, in comparison with 
 the New York ladies — too covetous of their charms, 
 by secluding themselves at home, as if they had all 
 
 :n 
 
 
 vm 
 
 I. '4 
 ■■I m 
 
 'i' 
 
 m 
 
 tlHtHt'H 
 
 whm 
 
 
 tf.Jn 
 
!i 
 
 120 
 
 THE LADIES OF AMERICA. 
 
 taken the ** veil," and converted their houses into 
 so many nunneries, — that, like certain roses, or like 
 the wild flowers of the desert, tliey seem "born to 
 blush unseen." Their fair neighbours of Manhat- 
 tan island pursue a less exclusive course, and, 
 instead of wasting all their fragrance at home, 
 display beneath the glowing canopy of heaven the 
 beauty they have borrowed thence ; and if I could 
 only persuade them to exhibit their accomplish- 
 ments on the lovely terrace of the Battery, instead 
 of constantly perambulating the dusty avenues of 
 Broadway, I should flatter myself with having 
 done much to rescue that delightful promenade 
 from its present undeserved state of neglect, as 
 well as their taste from just criticism. 
 
 As I have commenced, in these reforming 
 times, to be somewhat of a reformer myself, I feel 
 inclined to try the experiment in a foreign land, 
 before I venture too deeply in my own ; and, 
 though apparently a very ungallant thing, the 
 first attack I should make would be directed 
 against the odious calashes worn so frequently by 
 the ladies of New York, and occasionally by those 
 of other cities. Being totally unaccustomed, in 
 England, to see this outlandish head-gear worn 
 by any of the sex, except by ancient matrons of 
 ninety or a hundred, I almost wondered on what 
 antediluvian generation I could have fallen, when, 
 on stepping on shore at New York, I beheld 
 
 III l!l!i 
 
 'III 
 
PIRE-WORKS. 
 
 121 
 
 young ladies, possessing youth, beauty, and ele- 
 gance, eclipsing all their charms beneath so un- 
 becoming a costume. What the convenience may 
 be that is attached to it, or what the secret of the 
 toilette connected with its use, I cannot even 
 guess ; but as I have candidly confessed that 
 nature has been lavish in her gifts to them, it 
 would appear rather ungrateful to her, as well as 
 unjust to themselves, to conceal and disfigure the 
 work which she has taken so much care to adorn. 
 
 But the lights are now all extinguished, and 
 the fire-works exploding. The principal part of 
 the display, which was really excellent, consisted 
 of a representation of the French fleet attacking 
 Algiers, and was managed with great skill and in- 
 genuity. I noticed, however, that the fire-workers 
 supplied the barbarian batteries with three times 
 as much ammunition, and their cannon with 
 three times as many charges, as they did the 
 fleet ; which latter, as being victorious, may be 
 supposed to have had the advantage in rapidity of 
 firing, as in every other respect. The evening's 
 amusement went off admirably ; and, by eleven 
 o'clock, I was rejoiced to find every thing as much 
 hushed and as tranquil as the previous evening 
 had been deafening and distracting. 
 
 I omitted to mention one circumstance, con- 
 nected with the day, and which, as exhibiting a 
 very remarkable coincidence, may be worth re- 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
 ^; 
 
ill . ^ 
 
 
 122 
 
 AMERICAN MUSEUM. 
 
 lating. It is tlie death of Mr. Monroe, one of the 
 ex-Presidents, on the very morning of this anni- 
 versary ; he being the third ex-President of the 
 United States, out of seven who have fiUed the 
 presidental chair, who has died on the 4th of 
 July. 
 
 Before leaving New York, for the second time, 
 I visited the American museum, accounted the 
 aiost extensive of any in the States. It contains a 
 spice of every thing — birds, beasts, and fishes — 
 creatures crawling on the earth and under the 
 earth — from the pondvirous elephant down to the 
 slim English greyhound, of which there was a 
 stuffed specimen — and from a huge boa constric- 
 tor down to a mole. One of the rooms contained 
 a number of Indian warriors and their squaws, in 
 wax, dressed in their picturesque native costume ; 
 besides a thousand Indian implements and curi- 
 osities. But the most singular exhibition was 
 that of working the machinery of a cotton and 
 woollen mill, by means of four powerful mastift 
 dogs walking on a rotatory floor, and thus giving 
 motion to the wheels which put the whole into 
 action : the principle being similar to our jaunt 
 on the rail-road, to which I have previously al- 
 luded. The poor dumb animals were highly 
 sagacious, and appeared to know their business to 
 admiration, and only to want the gift of speech to 
 have enabled them to turn manufacturers them- 
 
PASSAGE UP THE HUDSON. 
 
 123 
 
 selves. In the corner of another room I was 
 much interested hy seeing preserved a piece of the 
 coffin of the unhappy Major Andre, whose miser- 
 able fate, the Americans, to the credit of their 
 good and humane feelings, seem much to lament, 
 and his memory to respect. 
 
 On the 5th of July I took my departure, once 
 more, from New York, in order to proceed to 
 West Point, distant from it fifty miles, and situ- 
 ated on the lovely banks of the Hudson. This is 
 the site of the military academy of the United 
 States ; an excellent and interesting institution, of 
 which and of the enchanting scenery around it, I 
 shall give you some few details, that I hope will 
 please you. The day was clear and most inviting ; 
 though, to my more northern temperament, rather 
 too hot — the thermometer being between 80 and 
 90. A gentle breeze, however, came floating 
 along the placid waters of the Hudson, that 
 seemed to glow beneath the fervid rays of the sun, 
 throwing a charm of light and life over the ever- 
 varying landscape which met our eyes in every 
 direction. Under the awning of our noble steam- 
 boat, the North America — a mode of conveyance, 
 as I have said before, which constitutes the very 
 beau-ideal of luxurious travelling — I was at lei- 
 sure to enjoy the diversified prospect spread out, 
 like a map before me, on each bank of the river. 
 To the right lay the city, gleaming over the 
 
 (t 
 
 V'J 
 
 t'^f )-■■:■. 
 
' li 
 
 124 
 
 PASSAGE UP THE IIUDflOK. 
 
 I 
 
 limpid and expansive stream, extending between 
 two and three miles along our course, present- 
 ing a proud array of churches and steeples, ma- 
 gaisines and storehouses, and the profiles of a 
 dozen handsome streets; while, on the opposite 
 sliore, distant from the town about a mile and 
 a quarter, is seen New Jersey city, delightfully 
 shaded with trees, and planted on a point of land 
 jutting out into the water. Farther on, appear 
 the beautiful pleasure-grounds of lloboken ; and 
 still onwards the fine semicircular sweep of the 
 woody heights of Wehawk, with the hills stretch- 
 ing away to the north, and the luxuriant meadows 
 that crown their sides. As we advanced we came 
 to the Palisadoes, a highly picturesque range of 
 rocks rising abruptly from the river, to the height, 
 in some places, of between 600 and 600 feet, and 
 extending for a distance of twenty miles along its 
 banks. With Tarrytown, which was pointed out 
 to me, some disagreeable associations were con- 
 nected ; for here it was that the unfortunate Major 
 Andre was made prisoner, during the war of the 
 Revolution, when on his return from a clandestine 
 meeting with General Arnold, with whom he had 
 been secretly treating for the surrendering of West 
 Point to the English, and who was afterwards 
 executed at Tappan, some distance higher up the 
 river. 
 
 Tappan Bay, where the town is situated, as 
 
THE mOIILANDS. 
 
 12.1 
 
 well as tliiit of Haverstraw, liij^lier up tlin 8treain, 
 presents the greatest expansion of tlie river 
 throughont its course, and liears a perfect resem- 
 blance to a considerable lake — tlie breadtb from 
 sliore to sliore being about four miles. It is oppo- 
 site tlie northern extremity of the former bay, on 
 the left bank of the river, that the state-prison of 
 Sing Sing is situated ; the examination of which I 
 defern^d to a future opportunity, as 1 was anxious 
 to reach West Point. 
 
 And now we had what are called the High- 
 lands, or Fishkill Mountains, in full perspective 
 before us ; and, in a short time afterwards, found 
 ourselves passing under the deep shadows of their 
 beautiful and romantic sides. The mingling here 
 of the "sublime and beautiful" is no picture of 
 the imagination, but exhibits the magnificent crea- 
 tions of nature in her most engaging forms. These 
 mountains rise immediately and abruptly from 
 both banks of the river, along which they extend 
 through a distance of twenty miles, and present 
 as beautiful and varied a scenery, according to 
 my recollections, as the very finest portions of the 
 banks of the Rhine. To an American especially, 
 the interesting union of the moral association with 
 the natural charms of the ever-diversified land- 
 scape must be most grateful, as well for its effect 
 on the eye as on the heart ; for here, amid scenes 
 of the utmost wildness and grandeur, calculated 
 
 ., .i 
 
 )■ 
 
 s^" -m 
 
126 
 
 THE HIGHLANDS. 
 
 to excite the coldest patriotism to deeds of chi- 
 valrous daring, were executed some of the im- 
 portant achievements of the revolutionary war. 
 You do not behold, it is true, the proud battle- 
 ments and picturesque fortresses, the fine old 
 baronial castles, " famed for deeds of arms," 
 that crown, in stately pride, the rocky heights 
 and summits of the European river ; but an 
 American sees, and points out with exultation, the 
 sites of many a warlike exploit that occurred 
 during that eventful period, and which form for 
 him the classic ground of his native land. To 
 the most indifferent lover, however, of the pic- 
 turesque, the highland scenery of the Hudson 
 must come recommended by an all - awakening 
 interest ; nor, in the estimation of the far-travelled 
 eye, if I may so speak, will the recollections of 
 the favoured spots of the earth cast into shade 
 these secluded haunts of unexceeded loveliness. 
 Here, as on the Rhine, you behold the most de- 
 lightful and abrupt meanderings of the stream, 
 which, ever and anon, occasioned by the acute 
 angles of its shores, forms itself into the appear- 
 ance of broad and expansive lakes, to which there 
 seems no outlet at either end; while swelling 
 from the margin of the water, in graceful sweeps 
 and undulations, is beheld the verdant and lux- 
 uriant forest, clothed with stately and majestic 
 trees. 
 
WEST POINT. 
 
 127 
 
 The view of West Point, where I left the 
 steamer, presents from the river an object of the 
 most romantic beauty, rising to a considerable 
 altitude above its waters, and spreading out into 
 a fine extensive terrace, overlooking the course 
 of the stream, and exhibiting, among other inter- 
 esting varieties, the simple but elegant marble 
 monument of the Polish patriot Kosciusko. 
 
 West Point was one of the strongest posts of 
 the Americans during the war, and offers a posi- 
 tion the most judicious that could possibly have 
 been selected for the establishment of a military 
 "oUege, which has been here erected. Several 
 unsuccessful attempts were made by the English, 
 at that period, to gain possession of the place ; 
 and, among these, was the fatal negotiation to 
 carry it by stratagem, entered into with Arnold, 
 the commanding officer of the American troops, 
 in consequence of which Major Andre lost his life. 
 
 The military academy was first established by 
 the government in 1802, for the admission of a 
 limited number of cadets, to the amount, I believe, 
 of 250. Here are taught all the various sciences 
 that constitute the practical knowledge and edu- 
 cation of a military officer, together with the 
 duties and minute details of a private soldier. 
 During a couple of months, in the fine season, 
 they are encamped on the noble plain outside 
 the college, where they are instructed in the 
 
 !(*■■ 
 
 i; H 
 
 11 
 
 'ill:; 
 
128 
 
 WEST POINT, 
 
 various evolutions of pitching and striking tents, 
 and in all the diversified operations of camp 
 discipline. 
 
 I was much surprised, on looking over the 
 tables exhibiting the number of cadets who had 
 been admitted into and had left this establishment, 
 to perceive the large proportion of those who, 
 after attaining various degrees of military science, 
 had retired altogether from the service, if so I 
 may term it. It would appear that in two or 
 three instances, taking the numbers according 
 to their classification in states, one half of the 
 students admitted had resigned and quitted the 
 academy; and taking the whole period, and the 
 aggregate number admitted, from the foundation 
 of the institution to the year 1828, more than 
 one-third had retired from it before the expiration 
 of the probationary four years, till which they 
 cannot be commissioned, in order to pursue other 
 avocations more congenial to their dispositions. 
 This seems to confirm the intention which I un- 
 derstood had been contemplated by the govern- 
 ment in the formation of the military school, — 
 that of affording, in the course of study pursued 
 there, an opportunity to numbers of young men 
 of acquiring a knowledge of the art of war, and 
 of the practical tactics connected with it, although 
 they might never, at the same time, intend mak- 
 ing it their profession ; but who would be qualified 
 
WEST POINT. 
 
 129 
 
 to extend, in some measure, an acquaintance with 
 this necessary science through the different states 
 of the Union where they reside. 
 
 This plan accounts, at once, for the whole- 
 sale resignations which the tables announce ; and 
 evinces, in my humble opinion, considerable fore- 
 sight in the government, as to the extensive effects 
 likely to be derived from the academy. I find, 
 however, that Captain Basil Hall, in speaking 
 of the institution, in his work on the United 
 States, entertains a different opinion ; since he 
 says, in vol. i. p. 84 : "I suspect it neither will 
 nor can produce much good in the way proposed, 
 and fear, indeed, that it will not have the effect 
 of diffusing, so generally as its friends suppose, 
 any useful knowledge of those severer studies 
 which are followed at West Point." I confess it 
 appears to me to be impossible that so many 
 students, drawn from every state of the republic, 
 and many of whom have advanced themselves to a 
 respectable knowledge in the science, should not, 
 on returning home, though engaging in other em- 
 ployments, spread more or less, through the circles 
 in which they move, the elements of that art which 
 they have learnt at the military school — either 
 in training the militia, or organising more regular 
 troops on a sudden emergency. Such a practical 
 application of their knowledge must have, doubt- 
 less, a beneficial influence, to a greater or less 
 
 g2 
 
 i ,. I ■ 
 
 ! fv 
 
 
 
 !i: 
 
 
 I'y ' 
 
 
 
130 
 
 WEST POINT. 
 
 degree, on the operations of a future war. To 
 say the very least of it, these cadets would be 
 able to bring into effective exercise, in such an 
 event, the experience which they themselves had 
 acquired; and if nothing further should accrue 
 from the system, this of itself would be a sufficient 
 advantage to the general community. I cannot 
 help looking on them as a little band of military 
 schoolmasters, who, scattered through every corner 
 of the States, may be supposed to disseminate the 
 learning they have acquired. 
 
 As the table to which I have referred may 
 not be uninteresting to you — containing a list of 
 all those who have been admitted into the aca- 
 demy, and have left it, from its first institution 
 down to 1828 — I have copied it out for you, as 
 follows : — 
 
ADMISSIONS AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY. 131 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 S 
 
 1 
 
 S 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 • 
 
 1 
 
 Maine 
 
 < 
 
 u 
 
 a 
 
 Q 
 
 5 
 
 a: 
 9 
 
 2C 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 30 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 
 9 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 91 
 
 53 
 
 32 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 39 
 14 
 48 
 
 27 
 
 5 
 
 38 
 
 9 
 4 
 8 
 
 1 
 2 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 4 
 4 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Vermont 
 
 New York 
 
 218 
 30 
 
 107 
 14 
 
 69 
 10 
 
 29 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 32 
 7 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 110 
 
 42 
 
 43 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 Delaware 
 
 18 
 75 
 
 6 
 31 
 
 7 
 29 
 
 2 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 12 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Virginia 
 
 140 
 62 
 50 
 31 
 
 49 
 18 
 21 
 18 
 
 63 
 30 
 27 
 13 
 
 24 
 7 
 3 
 2 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 13 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 South Carolina 
 
 Georgia 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 59 
 
 16 
 
 22 
 
 11 
 
 
 17 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 39 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 Ohio 
 
 44 
 14 
 
 15 
 5 
 
 13 
 6 
 
 7 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 4 
 
 Indiana 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 Alabama 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Illinois 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 Missouri 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 3 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Arkansaw 
 
 2 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 England 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 Florida. ..., 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 District of Columbia 
 
 61 
 
 24 
 
 27 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 Not designated 
 
 Total 
 
 35 
 1289 
 
 1 
 540 
 
 18 
 477 
 
 9 
 162 
 
 
 
 202 
 
 39 
 
 With the buildings constituting the establish- 
 ment at West Point, and through which I passed, 
 I must acknowledge that I was disappointed, 
 
 &,. '' 
 
 ■' ' 'ml *p\i 
 
 
132 
 
 ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 having been accustomed to see, in the public 
 edifices of this country, solidity united with pure 
 taste, great elegance, and superior execution. The 
 former alone of these essentials of fine architec- 
 ture, distinguished the military school. But I 
 understand it has not been in very good odour 
 among the people of the United States, on account 
 of the expense incurred in keeping it up, amount- 
 ing annually, I believe, to 115,000 dollars; and 
 to which, probably, may be added a kind of 
 constitutional dislike, inherent in the principles 
 of republican governments, to any thing that 
 savours of a standing army, or that may be 
 considered as laying the foundation of one. 
 
 It will seem almost incredible to you, on 
 casting your eye over a map of the Union, and 
 considering the enormous extent of frontier re- 
 quired to be protected — if reference be alone 
 made to the occasional incursions of the Indians 
 — to learn that the entire army of the United 
 States does not exceed 6000 men. This is setting 
 no bad example to the States of Europe, the 
 general if not undisturbed tranquillity of which 
 would be, in no slight degree, secured if the small 
 amount of only two or three hundred thousand 
 men were struck off" the military roll of some of 
 them, in order to bring it down to the unaspiring 
 standard of a country which is, notwithstanding 
 this mighty contrast with respect to military 
 
FORT PUTNAM. 
 
 133 
 
 power, half-a-dozen times larger, in extent of 
 territory, than that of some of the others. 
 
 The point whence the most delightful treat 
 is offered to the eye, among the numberless fine 
 positions of this place, is Fort Putnam ; a post of 
 ejreat natural strength, and of considerable im- 
 •ortance during . -x. revolution, erected on a con- 
 siderable elevation above the plain on which the 
 college is placed. From this eminence, as also 
 from the terrace below, though in a minor degree, 
 I beheld a scene of grandeur and variety that is 
 almost indescribable. Casting your view down- 
 ward, you perceive the academy, situated on a 
 spacious and verdant table-land, adorned by a 
 number of lovely little cottages, in which the 
 officers of the institution reside, contrasting their 
 white sides with the bright green foliage around 
 them. Farther on, you see the hotel ; a hand- 
 some building peering aloft over the tides of the 
 Hudson, which sweep around the base of this 
 table-land in a smooth and serpentine course. 
 Along the banks of the river the eye traces a 
 variety of picturesque villas, shaded and backed 
 by a splendid array of finely wooded mountain&t, 
 towering aloft in every varied form of outline ; 
 while the plains beneath present occasional em- 
 bellishments of richly cultivated fields waving 
 with corn, and orchards loaded with fruit. Look- 
 ing towards the north, you observe the noble river 
 
 H' 
 
 fj 
 
 
 n^ 
 
 .iji 
 
 
 S'V:)] 
 
 ¥■'■,■ 'if i 
 
 'A 
 
134 
 
 FORT PUTNAM. 
 
 winding h*. silent and majestic course to the sea, 
 in a southerly direction, amid precipitous rocks 
 of great loftiness, till lost to sight around some 
 projecting headland ; and to the east and west 
 your admiruvion is powerfully excited by a sylvan 
 scene of extraordinary beauty and magnificence, 
 swelling and undulating, like immense billows, 
 in all the richness of unexcelled verdure. 
 
 The ensemble is perfect — casting, not into 
 shade merely, but absolutely into oblivion, the 
 comparatively puny charms of the Delaware, and 
 of every other place that I have yet seen in 
 America. Indeed, as far as this beau morceau 
 of exquisite scenery extends — in reference more 
 to beauty than to grandeur, though comprising 
 both — id of which I have attempted so ex- 
 tremely imperfect a sketch, I must say that I 
 do not recollect, at this moment, any thing supe- 
 rior to it in either Italy or Switzeiland; which 
 is bestowing every praise that can possibly be 
 conferred upon it. 
 
 I descended to the plain just in time to be 
 present at the evening parade of the cadets, 
 among whom I saw a number of very fine young 
 men ; and with respect to their kindness of man- 
 ner, and their amiable and gentlemanly attentions 
 to a stranger, I can speak in the most unqualified 
 terms ; for, had it not been for the studied polite- 
 ness of some of these young gentlemen, whom I 
 
AMIABLE ATTENTIONS OF THE CADETS. 135 
 
 accosted on various occasions, I truly believe I 
 should have seen nothing at all of the interior 
 economy of tlie establishment. Unfortunately for 
 me, the superintendent of it, whom I understood 
 to be a very polite and estimable man, was absent 
 from West Point ; and a letter of introduction 
 which I had brought for him was consequently of 
 no use to me. I had imagined, nevertheless, that 
 tlie shewing of it to one of the officers whom I 
 casually met might have equally effected my 
 object. However, I was disappointed; nor was 
 I a solitary instance among the various parties 
 then visiting West Point for the same purpose. 
 Notwithstanding, I found afterwards, in the gene- 
 rous zeal of the cadets, many of whom most 
 kindly walked with me in a variety of directions 
 to point out the different curiosities, nothing of 
 amiable civility to be further wished for — nothing 
 further that was wanted or to be desired, except 
 — that their example should be imitated. 
 
 The evening previous to my leaving West 
 Point I paid a visit to the cadets' monunient, 
 which displays so interesting and beautiful an 
 object from the hotel. It is a marble structure, 
 small, though elegant ; but the scenery beheld 
 from it is absolutely enchanting — taking in a 
 fine sweep of the river, on the margin of which 
 it is conspicuously placed, hills and dales, moun- 
 tains and valleys, the academy, the hotel, a 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 iSi 
 
 ! !^1''' 
 
 •ml 
 
11 
 
 136 
 
 EPITAPH ON A TOMB. 
 
 J?, 
 
 lovely little village of white houses, corn-fields, 
 villas, orchards, romantic rocks, and waving 
 forests. 
 
 In wandering through a neat churchyard, 
 closely adjoining the monument, and musing 
 over the various epitaphs inscribed on its simple 
 tombs, I wasi much struck with the following 
 memorial engraved on one of them, to the 
 memory of an " only daughter," who died at the 
 early age of ten years. It speaks fresh and warm 
 from the heart, in language highly poetic and 
 elegant, and in a tone of the most touching ten- 
 derness — evincing the deep sensibility of the 
 writer, and forcing its way, by an irresistible 
 impulse, to the best sympathies of the passing 
 stranger. I need make no apology for copying 
 it. Thus it is: — 
 
 " Her presence to us was a fountain of sweetness, 
 Her mortal existence a bright dream of fleetness — 
 The chain ihat had bound her sweet spirit is broken, 
 The final farewell has been mournfully spoken ; 
 But long for her absence her friends will be weeping, 
 Who now in this silent green valley is sleeping !" 
 
 To-morrow I intend proceeding to the Catskill 
 Mountains, distant hence about sixty-two miles, 
 though extremely reluctant to leave this captivating 
 spot, to which, were I a resident of New York 
 or Albany, I should certainly pay a visit, for at 
 least a month, every year. The circumstances 
 
CONCERTS AT WEST POINT. 
 
 137 
 
 under which I have paid my first visit to West 
 Point have heen douhly gratifying; for during 
 the day I was rambling about its rocks and 
 mountains, and every evening regaled by a little 
 concert of excellent music at the hotel, in which 
 some ladies from Boston and a gentleman from 
 New York were the obliging performers, and 
 who exhibited a taste and execution not often 
 met with in an amateur party thus indiscrimi- 
 nately assembled. The former sung, among other 
 interesting airs, the beautiful and affecting songs 
 of "Alice Gray" and "The Soldier's Tear," which 
 — lover of good music as I am, and having so 
 recently heard expressively executed in my own 
 dear country, three or four thousand miles off — 
 touched, I confess, a chord that vibrated through 
 every nerve. 
 
 I shall now lay down my pen, less from 
 weariness in holding it any longer, than from 
 compassion to yourself. Adieu ! 
 
 .,„ I, 
 
 >f''I 
 
138 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Pope — Invention of Letters — Cadmus — Catskill Mountains — 
 Pine Orchard — Splendid View thence — Fine Temperature 
 on the Mountain — Singular Appearance of the Fog — 
 Kaaterskill Falls — Corduroy Road — Town of Hudson — 
 Lebanon. 
 
 Nao Lebanon Springs, iOth July, 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 Amid all the regrets consequent on 
 the reflection, that such a weary distance intervenes 
 as that which now separates us, and puts such an 
 impassahle barrier to all other communication, 
 except to the one of which I am now so agreeably 
 availing myself, it is no small gratification, — since 
 we cannot diminish its length, roll away the 
 ocean, or " annihilate space and time," — that we 
 can, nevertheless, hold a communion of thought, 
 and reciprocate exchanges of sentiment and mu- 
 tual good wishes. Surely Pope himself must have 
 been in America, or in some land equally distant, 
 and must, therefore, have experienced those con- 
 solations which he paints with so much poetic 
 truth, when he says: 
 
 " Heaven first taught letters for some wretch's aid, 
 Some banished lover, or some captive maid ; 
 
 I 
 
INVENTION OF LETTERS. 
 
 139 
 
 They live, they speak, they breathe what love inspires, 
 
 \\ arm from the heart, and faithful to its fires ; 
 
 « « « « • 
 
 Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, 
 And waft a sigh from Indus to the Pole.'' 
 
 Be this as it may, however, the invention of 
 letters — I mean those of the alphabet — consti- 
 tuted a sublime era in the hi-.tory of civilised 
 man ; and to the riatchless art of the immortal 
 Cadmus is the human race more indebted for 
 the superlative benefits that have emaiinted from 
 it, than to all the combined goo.' of every age 
 and nation that has flowed in lipon mankind, 
 since the creation of the iv<i'ld, with ojcj single 
 exception — the glorious revelation of the Christian 
 religion. For, whether we regard the pangs of 
 separation, which their soothing effects are so cal- 
 culated to assuage, or contemplate the still more 
 consolatory and elevating effects on the mind, of 
 laying open to it the varied and endless treasures 
 of divine truth, as of human knowledge, it must 
 be considered, i»^ this light, the supreme good of 
 earthly attainm«.i t that has ever been accom- 
 plished — the real philosopher's stone, that turns 
 every thing into gold. The twenty-six simple 
 letters of the alphabet display a triumph of the 
 mind ten thousand times more illustrious than 
 the proudest triumphs over the body, whether of 
 " Grecian or of Roman name," than the aggre- 
 
 B'i 
 
 I , il 
 
 '-. 
 
 i: 
 
 
 y M 
 
140 
 
 INVENTION OF LETTERS. 
 
 gate triumphs of all the conquerors that ever 
 lived, and who have " waded through slaughter 
 to a throne." 
 
 With respect to the delightful and dignifying 
 enjoyments to he derived from human learning, 
 which this peerless discovery has afforded to man- 
 kind, I cannot resist quoting that most heautiful 
 and expressive passage of the Roman orator, which 
 has dwelt in my memory ever since I was a hoy 
 at school, where he observes : " Hsec studia ado- 
 lescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas 
 res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solatium prse- 
 bent; delectant domi, non impediunt foris; per- 
 noctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur." 
 
 From the book of knowledge, however, I must 
 now hurry you away to contemplate the book of 
 nature, from the summit of the Catskill moun- 
 tains, whither our noble steamer gallantly coursed 
 her way, at the rate of twelve miles an hour, on 
 the morning when I left West Point. This is one 
 of the choses a voir, in passing along the Hudson, 
 which the tourist, whether of American or Euro- 
 pean paterrity, neglects not to see. Latterly, in- 
 deed, it has become, during three of the summer 
 months, quite a place of fashionable resort, in 
 consequence of the superior accommodations fur- 
 nished by a handsome and spacious hotel, lately 
 erected there by a joint-stock company, and where 
 the double advantage is enjoyed of a fresh and 
 
SCENERY ON THE HUDSON. 
 
 141 
 
 pure air during the sultry weather, and of a mag- 
 nificent prospect. 
 
 On leaving West Point, we passed between 
 the two splendid ranges of mountains that tower 
 aloft from each bank of the river, forming a most 
 romantic vista along the surface of the stream, 
 and terminated by the pretty town of Newburgh, 
 at the distance of about ten miles. The view from 
 the hotel, through this deep and extensive rent in 
 the mountains, which the force of the water in 
 former ages is supposed to have effected, is rather 
 to be seen than described ; but the eye that has 
 once gazed upon it will often turn again, in un- 
 fading imagination, to retrace the lovely scene. 
 
 On the opposite side of the river, to Newburgh, 
 though removed to some distance from it, is seen 
 the fine range of the Fishkill mountains, on the 
 summits of which were erected beacons during the 
 revolutionary war ; while now, emerging from the 
 highlands, the banks of the Hudson assume a less 
 elevated character; compensating, at the same 
 time, for their comparative tameness, by the num- 
 ber of pretty villages which adorn them. Here 
 and there is perceived, amid the foliage, a gen- 
 tleman's country seat, delightfully situated, and 
 occasionally a well-wooded crag or a romantic 
 precipice diversifying the picture. 
 
 One of the numerous villages and towns by 
 which the margin of the stream is ornamented, 
 
 in 
 
 irj 
 
 ] : III 
 
 
 .ill 
 
 t:-M 
 
 m 
 
 tm 
 
 
 1 2 
 
 M 
 
142 VARIED POPULATION OF THE STATES. 
 
 is called Hyde Park, a name associated with 
 many pleasing recollections ; another, Rhinebeck ; 
 being so termed from the circumstance of its in- 
 habitants having all come from the European 
 river by which it is designated. Still higher is 
 placed German town, which also equally betokens 
 the origin of its residents. In fact, the population 
 of the United States (though the great mass is 
 doubtless of English descent,) is as varied as the 
 States of Europe, of which are to be seen natives 
 scattered in various directions, and petty bands 
 of emigrants here collected into little societies of 
 their own. The daughter thus largely partici- 
 pates in the chai'acteristics of the population of 
 the mother country; for the motley combination 
 of Romans, Picts, and Scots, Saxons, Danes, and 
 Normans, and possibly of half-a-dozen other gruff 
 warrior nations, which have formed the people of 
 England of the present day, is just as party-co- 
 loured in its nature as that by which our friends 
 are distinguished across the Atlantic. And if 
 causes are to be judged of by their effects, they 
 would appear to have produced among us a re- 
 sult of no mean amount, as well in the greater 
 strength and richness of our language as in the 
 hardihood, robustness, and manliness of one sex, 
 and in the beauty, modesty, and worth of the 
 other and better half. I should say, therefore, 
 that if any or either of these latter distinctions 
 
CATSKILL MOUNTAINS. 
 
 143 
 
 were originally wanting among our kinsfolk in 
 the States, which is by no means the case — for 
 I think they will prove their identity with old 
 England by the full possession of all these desir- 
 able qualities — in such a case, the same principle 
 now in operation among them, would, it might be 
 supposed, be attended by a similar happy conse- 
 quence. 
 
 At length the magnificent outline of the Cats- 
 kill mountains burst upon us from the west bank 
 of the Hudson ; so exquisitely defined, in conse- 
 quence of the extreme clearness of the atmosphere, 
 as to deceive considerably the eye with respect 
 to their distance; since the least remote part of 
 them does not approach nearer to the river than 
 within eight miles, and the farthest portion retires 
 from it as far off as fifteen, and even beyond. 
 They are, I believe, what are here called " spurs" 
 of the Alleghany mountains, which run through 
 a considerable section of the country, and abound 
 in grand natural scenery. Planted on the summit 
 of one of them, was distinguished, in the long dis- 
 tance, the hotel at Pine Orchard, glittering amid 
 the forests in which it was embosomed, and look- 
 ing down over the widely extended landscape, 
 though completely isolated in the depths of its 
 retirement from the bustling world it was sur- 
 veying. 
 
 We arrived at the village of Catskill about 
 
 rf 
 
 
 
 
 !*:i '.a5i!.| 
 
 • m 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 m 
 
144 
 
 ASCENT TO PINE ORCHARD. 
 
 four in the afternoon ; and I immediately set off 
 in a coach, awaiting the arrival of passengers, with 
 five others, to the summit of the mountain, distant 
 twelve miles. Our excursion was more agreeable 
 than I had yet experienced in any of these vehicles ; 
 as, instead of being elbowed by nine inside, and 
 half suffocated if happening, unhappily, to get 
 squeezed into one of the middle seats, which had 
 on two previous occasions been my fate, we formed 
 a comfortable party of six. We were four hours 
 and a half in reaching our alpine hotel, enjoying 
 occasional glimpses of highly romantic scenery 
 through breaks and vistas in the forest, after 
 having gained a certain altitude on the mountain. 
 Our journey was not, however, unaccompanied 
 in several places by considerable risk, arising from 
 the dangerous and unguarded precipices which 
 shelved downwards in an almost perpendicular 
 descent on the left side of our road, and extend- 
 ing for several miles. We very narrowly escaped, 
 two or three times, being tossed rather awkwardly 
 over them ; and, in one instance, the peril appeared 
 so imminent, that a young gentleman, one of our 
 passengers, thinking it was all over with us, and 
 that there was no time to open the door, actually 
 darted through the window, with the agility of the 
 nimblest harlequin I ever beheld, and walked the 
 remaining three miles of the way. 
 
 It was dusk when we reached our quarters, 
 
TEMPERATURE OF PINE ORCHARD. 
 
 145 
 
 and we could see, through the darkening medium, 
 but indistinctly the various objects that lay before 
 us. This occasioned a singular deceptio visus ; for 
 the river, which, amid the " clear obscure," ap- 
 peared below us, just near enough, as we thought, 
 to enable us to cast a stone into it, we were in- 
 formed was seven miles distant in a straight line ; 
 and a white cottage that we imagined to be only 
 a quarter of a mile off, turned out to be three. 
 However, if the sense of sight was cheated, that 
 of feeling received a full compensation, as I found 
 a delightfully cool breeze careering along the brow 
 of the mountain, from which I reaped a whole 
 harvest of sleep during the night, for my repose 
 was much sounder than I had enjoyed since cross- 
 ing the Atlantic. The cause was a very sufficient 
 one, as the thermometer in my bed-room clearly 
 indicated ; the mercury having fallen at Pine 
 Orchard to about 70, while the previous evening, 
 at West Point, it had risen to between 80 and 90 ; 
 and I was not unwilling, for the first time since 
 arriving in the States, to avail myself of a blanket 
 which I found duly arranged. These, and similar 
 lofty elevations, must be of essential service in 
 hot climates to invalids on removing to them, 
 especially in the case of fevers ; for in the course 
 of a few hours they can obtain 10 and sometimes 
 15 degrees of greater coolness than in the plains 
 below. In the East Indies this is not unusual, 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
 i 
 
 :' V 
 
 :ir 
 
 1' ta 
 
 h :'ti' 
 
 
 t :« 
 
 
 
 im 
 
146 
 
 VISIONS OF A MOUNTAIN MIST. 
 
 where the nature of the country will permit ; and 
 I was particularly struck, some years ago, when 
 in the beautiful island of Penang, or Prince of 
 Wales' Island, in the Straits of Malacca, with the 
 admirable advantages offered to persons thus at- 
 tacked ; who, by ascending a neighbouring moun- 
 tain, on which the residents of the adjacent town 
 had erected a number of villas and country-seats, 
 threw off all their ailments in a few days, and 
 came down perfectly recovered. 
 
 Having intended on the following morning to 
 rise at four, in order to witness the effect of sun- 
 rise from an elevation of between 2 and 3000 feet 
 above the river, I was reluctantly constrained to 
 remain quietly in bed, in consequence of an im- 
 penetrable veil of mist that enveloped the moun- 
 tain, casting hill and dale, valley and plain, river 
 and forest, into the thickest possible shade, so as 
 to prevent our seeing a single object farther than 
 the length of the verandah in which we were 
 walking. We continued to be thus tantalised till 
 about twelve o'clock, when a succession of the 
 most beautiful and fairy-like visions that can be 
 conceived presented themselves to our admiring 
 eyes. This was occasioned by the clouds of fog 
 which now gradually and majestically rose into 
 the air, and commenced curling and wreathing 
 themselves into the most fantastic forms and ap- 
 pearances that were ever beheld by mortal eye ; 
 
 m 
 
' ■ r il 
 
 VISIONS OF A MOUNTAIN MIST. 
 
 147 
 
 while, through the intervals of their opening and 
 irregular masses, the most lovely glimpses of the 
 valley beneath us, of mountain and river, waving 
 corn-fields, verdant meadows, churches, villages, 
 and country-seats, in all the varieties of light and 
 shade, and all the endless diversities of shapes and 
 angles, passed, ever and anon, in review before us. 
 At one moment we caught sight of the river, and 
 lost the mountain ; then the river vanished, and, 
 in an instant, half-a-dozen little vistas were opened 
 through this magical skreen of mist, along which 
 our wondering eyes were conducted, like peeping 
 through the different glasses of a cosmorama, to 
 as many little patches of scenery in another direc- 
 tion. And thus it continued, rising and falling, 
 opening and closing, condensing into folds, and 
 again expanding into a fleecy, veil-like thinness, 
 in which fancy might imagine she beheld mysteri- 
 ous forms and visions, for two or three hours, till 
 at length this giant apparition of the mountains 
 slowly ascended into the upper regions of the air, 
 and vanished from our sight, leaving the bound- 
 less prospect displayed in all its unclouded beauty. 
 This most singular and interesting exhibition re- 
 minded me of the effect caused by looking through 
 a kaleidoscope, where the varieties are infinite and 
 ever varying, and where, in a dozen minutes, 
 you behold a hundred changing forms. It was 
 certainly an enchanting sight; and one might 
 
 ' -Is:; 
 
 m 
 
 : 4" (1 
 
 
 
 
148 
 
 DELIGHTS OF A CORDUROY ROAD. 
 
 M': 
 
 almost have fancied it to have been called up by 
 the wand of some potent magician. 
 
 The view, thus unmasked, presents four states 
 of the Union — New York, where we stood, Ver- 
 mont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut — displaying 
 every diversity of landscape, and a noble sweep 
 of the river, studded with islands, and enlivened 
 by steam-boats and other vessels, and which I 
 was informed you can see through an extent of 
 seventy- five miles. Indeed, the scenery from 
 Pine Orchard is accounted more varied and beau- 
 tiful than from any other position in the United 
 States. 
 
 On the following morning, prior to descending 
 from our aerial habitation, I paid a visit to the 
 Kaaterskill falls, distant about three miles, ac- 
 companied by a gentleman from Philadelphia; 
 and here I first tasted the sweets of a corduroy 
 road. This is composed of whole trees, of which 
 the leaves and branches have been divested, placed 
 side by side, in a transverse direction, without the 
 interstices being filled up so as to form something 
 approaching to an even surface. The effect of 
 such a turnpike you may easily fancy, without 
 much effort of imagination. We were jerked, and 
 bounced, and tumbled about, in a most unphiloso- 
 phical manner ; receiving, withal, sundry contu- 
 sions, and undergoing the risk of various disloca- 
 tions ; and I believe, on balancing the account of 
 
DROWNING VERSUS SUFFOCATION. 
 
 149 
 
 profit and loss, after our return to the hotel to 
 breakfast, beautiful and romantic as were, I 
 confess, the falls and scenery around them — 
 setting off our bruises against the landscape, and 
 our exhausted patience against the picturesque 
 rocks and cascade — we found we had gained 
 but little interest, in this instance, on our capital 
 stock. 
 
 My travelling companions and myself now 
 returned, once more, to the humble plain ; reach- 
 ing the village of Catskill in half the time it had 
 cost us to ascend from it. Taking the first steam- 
 boat that approached, we crossed over to the 
 opposite shore, a few miles higher up the river, to 
 the city of Hudson, a handsome and well-situated 
 town, and commanding an imposing prospect of 
 the superb range of mountains which we had just 
 descended. Here, nine devoted individuals of us 
 were squeezed into a stage-coach in order to be 
 conveyed to New Lebanon, distant twenty-eight 
 miles ; and as the rain poured in torrents for 
 upwards of an hour, we had the very unhappy 
 alternative offered to us of running the risk of 
 drowning, or of suffocation by having all the 
 leathers fastened down. The ladies who were of 
 the party declared, as a matter of preference — if 
 one must be adopted — for suffocation ; and we 
 were, of course, immediately enclosed, and felt, in 
 a short time, as if we had been in an oven. I 
 
 1 1 
 
 ''.'A 
 
 m 
 

 It 
 
 150 
 
 AMERICAN CARRIAGES. 
 
 think even Monsieur Chabert himself, the cele- 
 brated fire-king, at the termination of the period 
 during which we were thus broiling, would have 
 found himself in a pretty comfortable glow : fortu- 
 nately the storm passed off, after about an hour's 
 probation, and we arrived in safety at our destina- 
 tion, through a pretty and well-cultivated country, 
 after experiencing some other adventures not 
 worth relating. 
 
 American carriages are, certainly, neat and 
 vevy airy, from the circumstance of the sides being 
 entirely open, and are, therefore, in summer very 
 agreeable vehicles; making some abatement on 
 the score of springs, which, possibly, are obliged to 
 be made less elastic than ou^ own on account of 
 the roughness of the roads. In winter, however, 
 and in rainy and tempestuous weather, the self- 
 same cause that conduces to comfort in the warm 
 and dry season operates to the extreme annoyance 
 and disadvantage of travellers; since, in order to 
 exclude the storm, by letting down and fastening 
 the leathers, you are compelled also to exclude the 
 very air you breathe. No doubt, carriages appro- 
 priated to each extreme will be constructed ere 
 long, to the general benefit of the community; 
 when the serious question of life and death which 
 we were urgently called upon to canvass, in 
 our wholesale party in the coach, will cease to be 
 agitated. 
 
REASON FOR CONTENTMENT. 
 
 151 
 
 Though my letter is short, in comparison with 
 the last, yet having a good opportunity of sending 
 it to New York, whence it will be despatched, 1 
 shall close it here : balance, therefore, the quicker 
 receipt of it against its greater brevity, and be 
 content. Adieu ! 
 
 w 
 
 
 i 
 
 '■ii 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 *1 
 
ir.o 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 I 
 
 111 
 
 Society of Shakers — their extraordinary Doctrines — Ann Lee, 
 tiieir Founder — forbid Matrimony — believe that Christ 
 has appeared a second Time — that the " Bride" alluded to 
 in Revelations was Ann Lee — that the Millennium has 
 commenced — their Tenets respecting Baptism — the Holy 
 Sacrament — the Resurrection and Day of Judgment — 
 believe that the latter have already commenced — their 
 Faith as to the Perfectibility of Man — Extravagance 
 in their Religious Ceremonies — Dancing the principal 
 Worship in their Churches — Quotations from Scripture 
 in support of it. 
 
 New Lebanon SpringSf 
 UthJuly, 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 I AM now going to introduce you 
 to one of the most extraordinary scenes, and to 
 one of the most marvellous exhibitions, that I 
 have ever veitnessed in any of the four quarters of 
 the globe in which I have travelled. Had I not 
 received ocular demonstration of the fact, to the 
 absolute astounding of my senses, I could not 
 l^ave conceived it possible that the infatuation of 
 the human mind, in so enlightened an age as 
 the one in which we live, could have proceeded to 
 
fiOCIETV OP SHAKERS. 
 
 153 
 
 SO extravagant a length. T allude to the Society 
 of the Shakers ; to the principal H(»ttleinent of 
 whom, established about three miles from New 
 Lebanon, I paid" a visit on Sunday last, in order 
 to be present at the performance of their religious 
 ceremonies ; the characteristic worship compi'ised 
 in which consists of danciiuj to the praise and 
 (J lory of God. 
 
 As religion is a subject of such vital and solemn 
 importance, as, under no aspect, however singular, 
 and in no instance whatever, to be treated with 
 levity or turned into unthinking ridicule, I shall 
 carefully divest the observations which I am about 
 to communicate to you, on the tenets, rites, and 
 religious belief of this sect of fanatics, of all 
 irreverent feeling and indecent mockery. And, — 
 especially as I am inclined to believe that, though 
 grossly deluded as these people must be con- 
 sidered, they are sincere, at least the majority of 
 them, in their profession, — what I shall write to 
 you will be dictated by a sentiment much more 
 '* in sorrow than in anger ;" far removed from 
 all indecorous derision, and still farther from mis- 
 representation ; for, as I have the declaration of 
 their faith before me, it will speak for itself. 
 
 Before, however, I lead you into their solemn 
 assembly, as a witness of their devotional and 
 fanatical exercises, I will state to you a few of 
 their more prominent doctrines, as well as the 
 
 h2 
 
 1 
 
 ^m 
 
 
 i'^ • . 'i 
 
 ■ 'M 
 
154 
 
 ANN LEE, FOUNDER OF THE SECT. 
 
 
 name of the high priestess of their order, from 
 whom the institution originated. 
 
 This latter was Ann Lee, the daughter of John 
 Lee, a blacksmith of Manchester, who, as well on 
 account of the persecutions she suffered in Eng- 
 land, in consequence of her peculiar opinions and 
 practices, as, more particularly, from a divine 
 revelation which she is declared to have received, 
 directing her to repair to America, embarked for 
 this country with eight of her disciples in the year 
 1774. Here they continued for a length of time 
 unnoticed, and without increasing their numbers, 
 till, in 1787, having gained over a number of 
 converts to their persuasion, they established 
 themselves at New Lebanon, and from which, as 
 the '* Mother Church" — for such they style it — 
 have been derived the various branch societies, to 
 the amount of about a dozen, that are now found 
 scattered in various parts of the Union, but prin- 
 cipally in the states belonging to New England. 
 Their aggregate numbers, as comprised in these 
 different societies, amount to about six thou- 
 sand. 
 
 One of their leading tenets denounces matri- 
 mony, as utterly opposed to the doctrines and 
 spirit of vital Christianity which they profess ; the 
 substance of which, as declared in one of the 
 articles of their faith, being " abstinence from all 
 carnal and sensual passions, and a strict life of 
 
MATRIMONY DENOUNCED. 
 
 155 
 
 'if ? 
 '■■f. I'd 
 
 virgin purity, agreeable to the example of the 
 Lord Jesus, and the recommendation and exam- 
 ple of the apostle Paul." They say that " for the 
 followers of Christ the marriage institution is 
 neither necessary nor useful, but the contrary ; it 
 therefore forms no part of their duty, and can have 
 no place among them ;" and they quote in favour 
 of their argument that passage of St. Luke which 
 says, " But they which shall be accounted worthy 
 to obtain that world, and the resurrection from 
 the dead, neither many nor are given in mar- 
 riage." Husbands and wives, therefore, and their 
 children, who join this singular society, after 
 having undergone a certain probation, and having 
 had sufficient time and opportunity " practically 
 to prove the faith and principles of the institu- 
 tion," unite with it as well in temporal as in spiri- 
 tual concerns, and live thenceforth apart from 
 each other, dedicating themselves, with all they 
 possess, to the service of God, and the support of 
 the society for ever. Thus, a community of pro- 
 perty, of goods and chattels, is established among 
 them ; there being no locus pcenitentice left to a 
 repentant member, after the dedication shall have 
 been once made, to withdraw the earthly mam- 
 mon thus consecrated; though the person (of either 
 sex) is at liberty to withdraw himself; the elders, 
 if they think proper, in the latter case, presenting 
 him with a charitable donation from the property 
 
 s! i* 
 
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 I! 
 
 ii • 
 
 ■ i.S 
 
 . i 
 
 ^'''!l 
 
vff 
 
 156 
 
 SECOND APPEARANCE OF CHRIST 
 
 he may have given up, to preserve him from 
 starving;. 
 
 The Shakers entertain the extraordinai'y doc- 
 trine that the Saviour has made his second ap- 
 pearance on earth in the person of Ann Lee, their 
 great spiritual mother; and that the "Bride, the 
 Lamb's wife," alluded to in Revelations, was, in 
 truth, no other than this very person ; and that the 
 term is not to be understood figuratively, as mean- 
 ing the church of Christ, such as it is declared to 
 be by the generality of the Christian world. The 
 Shakers assert, that this same Ann Lee '' was the 
 distinguished female who was chosen for that pur- 
 pose ; — that she was a chosen vessel occupied as 
 an instrument by the spiiit of Christ, the Lord 
 from heaven, in which the second appearance of 
 that divine spirit was ushered into the trorld ; — 
 that she was called forth from the world in order 
 to manifest the spirit of Christ in the female 
 line; — that the image and likeness of the eter- 
 nal mother was formed in her, as the first-born 
 daughter, as really as the image and likeness of 
 the Eternal Father was formed in the Lord Jesus, 
 the first-born Son; — that she was constituted tlie 
 second heii in the covenant of promise, and was 
 placed in a correspondent connexion with Jesus 
 Christ as the second pillar of the church of G'^^J 
 in the new creation." In short, they believe that 
 not only has Christ appeared the second time on 
 
ESSENTIAL TO THE SALVATION OF WOMAN. 157 
 
 the earth, under the form of Ann Lee, but that it 
 was absohitely essential to the salvation of woman- 
 kind that such second appearance should be exhi- 
 bited in one of her sex ; since the first coming- of 
 the Saviour, in the formi of a man, was on/t/ effec- 
 tual for the redemption of the latter. 
 
 To give you a specimen of their style of 
 reasoning om this subject, I will make a few 
 extracts from an authenticated work written by 
 some member of their society, published by their 
 authority, and which I received from one of 
 the Elders at the Shakers' Village, near New 
 Lebanon. Alluding to the parable, they say, 
 "There can be no marriage without a Bridegroom 
 and a Bride. In this parable it is generally ad- 
 mitted, that Jesus Christ alluded to himself as the 
 Bridegroom, but who is the Bride ? It has gene- 
 rally been supposed that the church was alluded to 
 as the Bride: i:ia< ed this seems tr ])e the general 
 opinion of exposiio' , But if the church is to be 
 considered as die >i i le, then, who are the gue»ts f 
 They must cert.finly be an assembly of people, 
 male and fen.^e, who ar( invited to the marriage, 
 and have the honour of sitting down to the 
 marriage supper witii the B'iiiegroom and Bride. 
 These evidently constiti le the dwnrch, which is 
 made up of the faithful, who are called to attend 
 the marriage of t4i« Lamb aud Brwi** It would 
 be » viery sing:ul'ar sort of inarriaafe it)r the Bride- 
 
 '■!! 
 
158 
 
 MILLENNIAL CHURCH. 
 
 groom, instead of taking a chosen female for his 
 bride, to take all his guests, both male and female, 
 and call them the Bride. If this be the true 
 meaning of the parable, then the figure by which 
 Jesus Christ chose to represent his marriage, does 
 not agree with the substance, and was therefore 
 very improperly chosen." After a variety of 
 similar observations, they conclude by saying, 
 '* But the time is now arrived, and the female is 
 made manifest ; therefore it is no longer necessary 
 to use figurative language in speaking of those 
 things, for we can now plainly declare the Spirit 
 and the Bride." 
 
 In conformity with their doctrines, the Shakers 
 ^"nnounce. as an undeniable fact, that the millen- 
 ' um has already commenced, and that their church 
 alone is the millennial church. Indeed, that it is 
 the only true church of God ; and that the whole 
 mass of mankind, not included within its pale, are 
 in a state of heathenish darkness and spiritual 
 condemnation. Their doctrine of original sin is 
 altogether novel in its conception, and has an im- 
 mediate reference to the infraction (as they con- 
 sider it) of that law of purity by our first parents, 
 which they have so rigidly enforced upon them- 
 selves, which was so strongly inculcated upon 
 them by their Maker, and the breaking of which 
 has brought such a train of sin and sorrow into 
 the world. Still, they deny that the guilt of our 
 
BAPTISM AND THE SACRAMENT. 
 
 159 
 
 first parents is entailed on their offspring, and 
 will only allow that the latter are born under the 
 influence of a fallen nature, and therefore liable, 
 unless restrained by a superior principle, to follow 
 the same wicked example, and bring guilt upon 
 themselves by a similar act. 
 
 With respect to Baptism, and the Supper of the 
 Lord, they appear to entertain opinions, according 
 to our understanding of those sacred rites, equally 
 as unscriptural as those which I have already men 
 tioned. They assert, that the exterior ceremonies of 
 Baptism, and the receiving of the elements of bread 
 and wine in the Holy Sacrament, are wholly un- 
 necessary, and were never intended to be ob- 
 served ; that they are of an exclusively spiritual 
 nature, and that the only true Baptism which can 
 profit the soul, is that of *" the Holy Ghost and 
 fire." And with regard to the Lord's Supper, 
 they say, that though it might be done to com- 
 memorate the Lord's death, yet, after the second 
 coming of Christ in the person of Ann Lee, it 
 could no longer be necessary, because the reality 
 must then be made manifest. They maintain, that 
 if the bread and wine in this ceremony are to be 
 considered as symbols of the body and blood of 
 a dying Saviour, they must be symbols of an 
 absent Saviour, for there can be no kind of use 
 in representing the Saviour by signs and symbols 
 when He is really present, as the Shakers declare 
 
 t'l 'f 
 
 t 5 
 
 (.ii 
 
 ' \^ m 
 
160 
 
 RESPECTING THE RESURRECTION. 
 
 their firm belief that He now is with their church, 
 and with theirs alone. They affirm that " the 
 true sacrament of the Lord's supper is found in 
 the spiritual union of the saints, who have fellow- 
 ship one with another by walking in the true 
 light which is in Christ ; and thus they partake 
 of his spirit and life, according to his own testi- 
 
 mony 
 
 I am the bread of life. 
 
 ) >> 
 
 Concerning the resurrection and the day of 
 judgment, they sei'm, with equal blindness and 
 perversity of mind, to depart from the simplicity 
 of the Gospel; for, in addition to denying the re- 
 surrection of the body, which Scripture appears so 
 fully vO warrant, and asserting that the rising 
 from the dead will have relation alone to the spi- 
 ritual part of our nature, they boldly insist that 
 hoth the resurrection and the day of judgment have 
 already commenced. They say that " the true 
 resurrection consists in the rising of the spiritual 
 part of man from the terrestrial elements, into 
 which it has been sown by generation, to the ce- 
 lestial ; that, by the operation of the spirit of 
 Christ in the work of the regeneration, it is 
 formed into a celestial and heavenly body, en- 
 dowed with immortality and eternal life, and thus 
 it becomes an everlasting inhabitant of the celes- 
 tial world ;" and thus it is that " this corruptible 
 puts on incorruption, and this mortal puts on 
 immortality." And then they add, " This glo- 
 
Itl 
 
 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 161 
 
 rious work of the resurrection has commenced, 
 and will continue, with increasing power and pro- 
 gress, until all souls shall have experienced its 
 effects, either by coming forth to the rusurrection 
 of life, or to the resurrection of damnation." 
 
 In reference to the last day, the Shakers set 
 aside altogether the awful declarations of the sa- 
 cred writings as to the tremendous solemnities with 
 which it is to be accompanied, and announce in 
 their publication before me, " That this dcy of 
 judgment has now commenced, and God has be- 
 gun to judge the nations of the earth, who have 
 long been erring in judgment, and straying from 
 the paths of justice and truth; and this righteous 
 judgment will never cease until the work of God 
 shall be fully accomplished. We view it (they 
 say) as a work which has already commenced ; a 
 work which we have ourselves seen and felt, and 
 can therefore testify, from our own experience, 
 that it is a work which, though unseen by the 
 natural man, is real and substantial ; and though 
 gradual and progressive in its operations, it is cer- 
 tain and etfectual, and will continue to increase in 
 power till a full and final separation shall be 
 made between good and evil ; till all souls s*h«ll 
 have seen and felt its purifying efiects, or thi\)ugh 
 wilful disobedience shall have rejected their day 
 of trial because of the cross, and numbered thom- 
 
 1 iR 
 
 II 
 
 Vi * 
 
 i' 
 
 al-"' ' !<^K 
 
162 
 
 THE PERFECTIBILITY OF MAN. 
 
 selves with the impenitent and rehellious, as 
 vessels of wrath fitted for destruction." 
 
 Contrai'y, also, to what Christian professors 
 maintain, in all humility and meekness — founded, 
 as they believe, on scriptural grounds — the Shakers 
 insist on the perfectibility of man, and declare 
 that, as perfection has been attained to in former 
 days, so has it been manifested in the present. 
 To prove this point, they select various passages 
 of the sacred writings. They say, God declared 
 Job to be *' a perfect and upright man ;" that 
 Noah was also declared to be " a just man, and 
 perfect in his generations;" that the apostle Paul 
 saith, '* We speak wisdom to them that are 
 perfect;" and again, " Let as many as be perfect 
 be thus minded." Hence it is evident, they ob- 
 serve, that there were those in his day who were 
 perfect, according to the work of that day ; and 
 that, therefore, perfection has been attained iu 
 this life. ** The real nature of perfection," they 
 argue, "when ajDplied to a Christian life, con- 
 sists in nothing more nor less than in doing what 
 God requires of us ; which is to improve all our 
 faculties in doing good, according to the best of 
 our understanding and capacity ; and, in so doing, 
 every person who sincerely desires, and rightly 
 pursues it, may attain to perfection." The in- 
 ference, no doubt, deducible from this declaration 
 
OPINIONS ON RELIGIOUS DANCING. 
 
 163 
 
 
 — knowing that the Shakers assume to themselves 
 the exclusive pretension of being the only true 
 church on earth — is, that they have attained to 
 this perfection, and they only. 
 
 Of their exterior and ceremonial worship, that 
 of dancing in adoration, and to the praise and 
 glory, of God, in their churches and meeting- 
 houses, strikes the eye of the beholder with an 
 infinitely more astounding effect than their reli- 
 gious dogmas, and abstract notions of faith and 
 doctrine, can possibly produce — startling though 
 they may be to the understanding. As it will be 
 more satisfactory to give you their opinions re- 
 specting these religious exercises and their prac- 
 tical worship — which are, in deed and in truth, 
 "passing strange" — in their own words, I shall 
 quote a few passages from their Exposition of 
 Faith. It will, at the same time, prevent the 
 possibility of misrepresentation, of which they 
 complain. They state, in reference to this sub- 
 ject, *' that they performed no acts of worship, 
 except such as they were voluntarily moved to 
 perform by the influence of the Spirit of life 
 from God ; that a number of faithful souls, hav- 
 ing united themselves together, and being thus 
 separated from the lifeless formulas and fruitless 
 ceremonies of human invention, and feeling wholly 
 dependent on the gift of God, devoted themselves 
 to his will, determined to follow no guide short 
 
 i 
 
 '■f 
 
 
164 
 
 SCRIPTURAL TEXTS ON DANCING. 
 
 of a dear manifestation of Divine light." Hence, 
 they say, " the light of Divine truth and the 
 operations of Divine pow ei increased among them, 
 until they were involuntarily led hy the mighty 
 power of God to go forth and worship in the 
 (lance. Tlie apostolic ;?ift8," they add, ** were 
 also renewed in their full power, so that * they 
 spake wit! I new tongues, and prophesied;' that, 
 in these operations, they were filled with melo- 
 dious and heavenly songs, er^pecially while under 
 the operation of dancing ; that these involuntary 
 operations of singing and dancing were repeated, 
 from time to time, in their assemblies, though 
 often intermixed with other spiritual gifts, till, by 
 Divine revelation, they became an established 
 exercise in the worship of God." 
 
 The scriptural texts upon which they ground 
 the obligation, and spirituality, of this mode of 
 religious service, in honour of their Maker, are 
 drawn from the Old Testament ; some of which 
 are the following: — "And Miriam the prophetess, 
 the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand ; 
 and all the women went out after her with tim- 
 brels and with dances ;" also, that when Jephthah 
 returned from his victory over the children of 
 Ammon, "his daughter came out to meet him 
 with timbrels and with dances ;" so likewise, after 
 the victory of David and the Israelites over Goliath 
 and the Philistine armies, " the women came out 
 
NO DEVOTION WITHOUT DANCING. 
 
 165 
 
 ip:; 
 
 of all the cities of Israel, singiiij^ and dancing 
 and again, tliat at the yearly feast of the Lord 
 in Sliiloh, the daughters of Shiloh came out *'to 
 dance in dances ;" and that when the ark of God 
 was removed, and established in the city of David, 
 the occasion was celebrated by the same exercise 
 — *' David and all Israel danced before the Lord'* 
 The Shak<'r^ maintain that this dancing of David 
 and all Isrj before the ark, in that day, was 
 typical of li^^ irue worship of God under the 
 Gospel dispensation. God has created, they 
 say, nothing in vain. " The faculty of dancing, 
 as well as that of singing, was undoubtedly created 
 for the honour and glory of the Creator; and 
 therefore it must be devoted to his service, in 
 order to answer that purpose." In allusion to the 
 spiritual devotion and worship of the heart, they 
 remark, "that the heart must be but feebly en- 
 gaged in the worship of God, when all the active 
 powers of the body are idle ; and that, when the 
 heart is sincerely and fervently engaged in the 
 service of God, it has a tendency to produce an 
 active influence on the body." " United in spirit, 
 and inspired with Divine love," they add, " a 
 whole assembly can move i»* harmonious order, 
 and devote the active powers of soul and bod^' 
 to the Giver of all good, while they chant their 
 songs of adoration to theiv RedeeiTiCr, and ' praise 
 his name in the dance.' " 
 
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166 
 
 VIRTUES OF A SHAKER. 
 
 I shall conclude my quotations, with which I 
 am afraid you are becoming weary, with a single 
 passage more ; for I confess that, though marvel- 
 lously strange as are the doctrines and practices 
 of these wild enthusiasts, and more especially to 
 a startled eye-witness of their extraordinary antics 
 and gesticulations — for, in truth, such they are, 
 disguise their proceedings under what form of 
 language you may — yet is there something in- 
 teresting attaching to these people. Their con- 
 duct is unquestionable, and is equally remarkable 
 for the scrupulous morality, honesty, industry, 
 sobriety, and the admirable economy, which per- 
 vade their whole domestic establishment, as well 
 in their farms and workshops as in their houses. 
 This last quotation is presented in the form of a 
 question, and respects the act of dancing. They 
 ask, " What, among all the variety of religious 
 devotions by which mankind attempt to worship 
 the eternal God, is more calculated to inspire the 
 soul with heavenly sensations, and give us an idea 
 of the worship of angels? How far from this 
 harmonious worship are the dull attempts of a 
 congregation wherein but a small portion of the 
 people are engaged, while the far greater part 
 are entirely silent, inactive, and unconcerned !" 
 
 Having now given you a copious insight into 
 the leading tenets of this extraordinary and infa- 
 tuated people, you will naturally be anxious to 
 
PROCESSION TO THE CHURCH. 
 
 167 
 
 have the doctrine illustrated by the practice. I 
 shall, therefore, proceed to give you an account of 
 my visit to their church, on the Sunday on which 
 I happened to be at New Lebanon. Accompanied 
 by a gentleman and his wife from Philadelphia, 
 with whom I had been previously travelling, I 
 proceeded in a carriage to the Shakers' village, 
 distant about three miles, followed by several 
 other carriages crowded with company equally 
 curious to witness this almost incredible ceremony 
 as myself. We arrived just in time to see the 
 procession of these fanatics pass along, in solemn 
 line, to their place of worship. The men, dressed 
 in drab, after the fashion of the Quakers, whom 
 they much resemble in appearance, walking two 
 abreast, led the way, followed by a long train of 
 females attired principally in white, and the rest 
 in gray, with close Avhite caps on their heads, 
 gowns without shape, high-heeled shoes, necker- 
 chiefs, and white pocket-handkerchiefs hung very 
 formally over one of their arms. On reaching 
 the church, the men filed off through one door 
 and the women through another, and immediately 
 arranged themselves on parallel benches on each 
 side of the room, in separate and opposite divi- 
 sions — a considerable space, in the centre of it, 
 dividing the two foremost benches of each sex. 
 The church was spacious, simple, and unadorned, 
 except by that which may with propriety be 
 
 
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 ■■■r^li 
 
 
 
168 
 
 BEAUTIFUL ORDER OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 called its best adornment — extreme neatness and 
 cleanliness ; for the floors were certainly whiter, 
 and more cleanly, than those of any gentleman's 
 house 1 ever saw, and from which a person might 
 have eaten his dinner with as little of nausea, 
 arising from dust or other extraneous matter, as 
 if he had taken it from off the finest Dresden. 
 
 The men and women, thus dressed and thus 
 seated, and with a solemnity of aspect and de- 
 portment, heightened by perfect silence, and with 
 an absolutely motionless attitude of body, pre- 
 sented an appearance, and excited a feeling, of 
 something mysterious and supernatural. The 
 women in particular, many of whom were elderly, 
 very meagre in figure, and of a sickly and cada- 
 verous hue, and withal, dressed in ghostly white, 
 looked like beings of another world — unearthly 
 shapes, that exhibited, as if in mockery, a rude 
 outline of the human form without its life. There 
 was something about them that inspired a sensa- 
 tion of awe. The spectacle was altogether startling. 
 One might almost have imagined it, as indeed the 
 thought so struck me at the moment, to have been 
 a scene of the day of judgment, and that these 
 were departed spirits just risen from their graves, 
 shrouded in their sepulchral garments, and await- 
 ing their final doom. 
 
 After a death-like pause of some duration, one 
 of the elders slowly arose from his seat for the 
 
PRELIMINARIES TO DANCING. 
 
 169 
 
 =' Pi ^ 
 
 ise 
 
 purpose of addressing the meeting, on which the 
 whole assembly immediately stood up. His obser- 
 vations, inculcating a few moral precepts, were 
 sufficiently short, extending perhaps to five mi- 
 nutes ; and on the termination of which they sung 
 something, I understood, answering to a hymn, 
 though very remote from a tone of psalmody. 
 During the continuance of this vocal part of the 
 service they were incessantly moving their feet; 
 alternately raising each foot in a kind of dancing 
 step, but without changing their position. This 
 was accompanied by a grotesque inclination of 
 their bodies from side to side, in a manner so 
 tinily ludicrous, though carried on with the utmost 
 gravity, as to require, on the part even of those 
 who were more inclined to weep than to laugh, 
 the strong jst exertions of self-command in repres- 
 sing their risible faculties. Another short admoni- 
 tion succeeded, very indifferently given, I must con- 
 fess ; and then another monotonous air was sung, 
 attended by a similar stepping and see-sawing of 
 the body as before. On the conclusion of this 
 second display, they all sat down; and after a 
 pause of two or three minutes, one of the elders 
 exclaimed, ''Let us labour!" when they all sud- 
 denly started up, and now commenced an exhi- 
 bition that beggars all description. Each sex 
 began immediately to remove their own benches 
 from the centre of the apartment, where they 
 
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170 
 
 PRELIMINARIES TO DANCING. 
 
 had been seated, to the sides of it ; placing them 
 together as closely and compactly as they could, 
 so as not to impede the extraordinary evolutions 
 that were on the point of beginning. This being 
 accomplished, the men walked up to a range of 
 pegs, lining the wall on their side of the room, 
 and, to my utter astonishment, nay, I may almost 
 say consternation, as being done in a church, 
 though belonging to the Shakers, every man of 
 them pulled off his coat, with the greatest coolness 
 imaginable, and appeared in his shirt-sleeves ! 
 This utterly unlooked-for circumstance so startled 
 me at the moment, that I literally thought they 
 were going to burlesque their own religion; and 
 I instantly turned my eyes towards the female 
 portion of these strange worshippers, naturally 
 expecting no less than to see them, in imitation 
 of the men, divest themselves of some part of 
 their habiliments, and that their gowns, at least, 
 would be dispensed with. However, I am happy 
 to say, for the sake of decency, that the example 
 was not followed. I now perceived the motive of 
 this unparalleled exhibition, which was neither 
 more nor less than a preparation and signal for 
 dancing, and to enable the male devotees, as the 
 thermometer was rather too high, at this season of 
 the year, for such violent exercise, the better to 
 support the fatigues of their various evolutions. 
 The men having now returned to the side of the 
 
to 
 
 he 
 
 RELIGIOUS DANCING IN SHIRT-SLEEVES. 171 
 
 room which they had previously occupied, formed 
 themselves into parallel lines, as if in military 
 column, the women observing the same order on 
 their side ; and, with their faces turned towards 
 the wall, and their backs towards the spectators, 
 commenced a sort of shuflfling with their feet, and 
 a motion with their hands in front of the breast, 
 like the action of a dog in swimming. In this al- 
 most incredible manner they alternately advanced 
 to the wall, and retreated from it ; then turned 
 round, and advanced and retreated again in the 
 opposite direction, stepping and gesticulating in 
 the most insane manner that can be conceived ; 
 accompanying the whole with an unmusical, nasal 
 tone, for the purpose, as I was informed by one of 
 the Shakers, of enabling them to mark time 
 and preserve the unity of the step. Having con- 
 tinued this movement for some time, they then 
 suddenly changed the figure, and began capering 
 round the room in a double circle — the females 
 whirling round the inner ring, and the males de- 
 scribing the outward one. They afterwards re- 
 versed the order of dance ; the former changing 
 places with the latter. Next, they converted the 
 two smaller circles into a single one, each sex fol- 
 lowing the other by alternate evolutions ; and by 
 a skilful manoeuvre, which I never saw executed 
 but in the army, the men suddenly faced to the 
 right about^ slipped on one side, so as to let the 
 
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 m 
 
 •1 ':*«: 
 
 . ■ till: 
 
 Hm 
 
172 
 
 SOME OF THE COMPANY REBUKED. 
 
 women pass, and met them at the opposite end of 
 the room ; and so continued whirling and meeting, 
 and shaking their hands, heads, hodies, and legs, 
 in indescribable attitudes, and humming in a 
 twanging, sing-song tone, louder and louder as 
 the excitement of dancing increased. At certain 
 intervals they came to a full stop, when they 
 made salutations to each other — sung a verse or 
 two, and immediately afterwards re-commenced 
 the same deplorable ceremonies. 
 
 The benches were now again replaced, and 
 they sat down as before ; when, in consequence 
 of some of the company present either being un- 
 willing or unable to suppress their laughter — and 
 indeed it was almost an impossibility to restrain 
 your risibility, however serious you might wish 
 to be — one of the elders advanced towards the 
 offending parties, and gave them a very stern 
 reproof. He admonished them on the indecency 
 of coming there, uninvited as they were, to insult 
 them by laughing and talking, whatever might 
 be the opinions they entertained respecting their 
 forms of worship. He then made an unconnected 
 and rambling allusion to the peculiar tenets of 
 their sect ; spoke of Christ as the head of their 
 church ; asserted that their religion was the only 
 true one, and all others false ; that our Christian 
 pastors did not practise what they taught, and 
 which they themselves truly and conscientiously 
 
u 
 
 CONCLUDING SALUTATIONS. 
 
 173 
 
 did ; and that they had heen grossly libelled and 
 misrepresented, &c. &c. They now sung again, 
 and concluded by dancing in column opposite to 
 each other, not changing position as before, but 
 shuffling with their feet and wringing their hands, 
 on the respective places where they stood. They 
 terminated, at length, these unparalleled cere- 
 monies and solemn buifooneries, by bowing and 
 scraping to each other ; when the gentlemen 
 walked up to the pegs on which they had hung 
 their outer garments, put on their coats again, 
 and passing out through the door by which they 
 had entered, as the ladies through theirs, returned 
 in procession to their houses, as we had seen them 
 approach. 
 
 I wish not to be uncharitable, or harsh, in my 
 reflections )n these deluded people ; but truth is 
 not want of charity, and I must therefore confess, 
 that never, in the course of my existence, did I see 
 before such a humiliating spectacl"? of human 
 nature, and such a degradation of the mderstand- 
 ing of rational man. I have scrupulously forborne 
 indulging in a tone of ridicule, in speaking of 
 their extravagant modes of worship, for which, 
 under other circumstances, their proceedings would 
 have furnished most ample opportunity ; being 
 quite convinced, that the enthusiastic reveries and 
 practices of even fanatics and dreamers, in their 
 profession of religion, if sincerely entertained. 
 
 I 
 
 i ! 
 
 11 
 
 H^'' 
 
 I 
 
 
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 MP 
 
 
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 f 
 
 " 1' i 
 
 •■ i^i I 
 
 i i 
 
174 
 
 EXPRESSION OF COUNTENANCE. 
 
 are, in n certain sense, to be respected, as proceed- 
 ing from feelings, however deluded, engaged in 
 the solemn duty of offering up praise and thanks- 
 giving to God. 
 
 Tlie time occupied in the performance of these 
 marvellous rites was, as nearly as I can recollect, 
 about a couple of hours ; and I was no little sur- 
 prised at the capability of the elderly part of the 
 congregation, particularly of the women, whose 
 figures presented an appearance of great emacia- 
 tion, to sustain such a fatiguing performance under 
 so glowing an atmosphere. With respect to the 
 expression of countenance of these most singular 
 worshippers, I was forcibly struck with the extreme 
 weakness and imbecility which the features of the 
 great majority of them, especially those of the 
 females, betrayed ; while those of some half-dozen 
 of the male portion exhibited a degree of deep- 
 seated cunning that could not escape notice. In 
 making this remark, I presume not to draw an 
 inference, with regard to the latter, adverse to 
 their sincerity; I merely state what I could not 
 avoid observing, and leave judgment to be pro- 
 nounced where alone it can be infallibly exercised. 
 I am bound, at the same time, in common honesty 
 to declare, that the moral character of the Shakers 
 stands uncommonly high ; that in all commercial 
 dealings with these people the utmost confidence 
 is reposed in their integrity, and that the various 
 
SCRUPULOUS HONESTY OF THE SHAKERS. 175 
 
 articles manufactured, and sold by them, are pur- 
 chased in the market in preference to those of 
 others, in consequence of their superior quality 
 and excellence. Their garden- seeds, especially, 
 are sought for with avidity throughout the States. 
 As to the management of their farms, the neatness 
 of their fences, the admirable cleanliness of their 
 houses, their order, sobriety, and industry, they 
 are excelled by none, and equalled by very few. 
 In short, a Shaker's word, and the honesty of his 
 transactions, if not proverbial, approach nearer to 
 it than those of most other men. 
 
 I shall now conclude my letter, which I shall 
 be happy if you do not find tediously long, with a 
 single observation on New Lebanon. It is a most 
 agreeable resort for visitors, from its great and 
 varied beauty, and the graceful sweep of its valley, 
 rich in the most luxuriant forest-scenery and fine 
 cultivation ; and though the springs do not possess 
 any considerable mineral virtues, they are much 
 esteemed for bathing, and are said to resemble 
 the Buxton water. I do not know a more de- 
 lightful situation for a watering-place than is here 
 exhibited, nor a country abounding with more 
 lovely and picturesque drives and walks. It re- 
 minded me strongly of some parts of North Wales ; 
 and from the summit of a mountain on which a 
 tower has been built, at the distance of two miles 
 from the village, is enjoyed a view almost as 
 
 ^ m 
 
 ■ m 
 
176 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF NEW LEBANON. 
 
 splendid as from Catskill mountain ; the principal 
 deficiency, in comparison with the latter, being 
 the absence from the landscape of the noble Hud- 
 son ; though occasionally, when the atmosphere is 
 particularly brilliant, it can just be discerned, in 
 the far perspective, like a silver thread winding 
 through the valley. 
 
 I have now done ; and if you read the last 
 line of my voluminous epistle with as much com- 
 placency as you do the first, I shall be quite satis- 
 fied, and shall be encouraged to run the risk of 
 tiring you again. Adieu. 
 
 I 
 
 II. 
 
 ■ill. 
 
177 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Leave New Lebanon — Albany — Erie Canal — Patroon of Al- 
 bany — Prejudice against Entails — Anecdote on the Subject 
 — Cross the Hudson — Horse Tow-boat — City of Troy — 
 Fondness of the Americans for classical Names — Examples 
 of it — Arrive at the Springs — Ballston — Saratoga — Sche- 
 nectady — Proceed on the Erie Canal — Valley of the Mo- 
 hawk — Indians fast disappearing — Little Falls — Gciman 
 Flats — Danger from the Canal-bridges — Utica — Trenton 
 Falls — Melancholy Occurrence there — Journey to Auburn 
 — Dreadful Roads — Carriage breaks down — Tears and 
 Lamentations — Tribe of Oneida Indians — Syracuse — Au- 
 burn — Bumps and Bruises. 
 
 Auburn, 20th July, 1831, 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 I HAD scarcely despatched my last 
 letter to you when I left New Lebanon, in the 
 society of my Philadelphia friends, for Albany, 
 the nominal capital of the State of New York, 
 and distant from the former twenty-six miles. 
 Being anxious to see something of the domestic 
 economy of the Shakers, and to make a few pur- 
 chases at the village, we made an angle of about 
 two miles from our direct route for that purpose. 
 While buying some of their manufactured articles 
 
 i2 
 
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 ^' 
 
 
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 M I ■'■ ■ ■ 
 
 kM 
 
 m 
 
178 
 
 QUESTIONS TO A FEMALE SHAKER. 
 
 ii 
 
 I 
 
 I! I 
 
 at one of the stores, or shops, which was attended 
 to by a female of the establishment — the very 
 picture of neatness and cleanliness — I took the 
 opportunity of addressing a few questions to her. 
 Among the rest, I asked her the reason of their 
 dancing as a principle of religious worship, and 
 of their denouncing the rite of marriage. She 
 replied, that " the prophet had declared that there 
 should be dancing and rejoicing in the last days ; 
 and that, with respect to marriage, when Christ 
 came, the second Adam, the command given to 
 the first Adam was done away with, and that 
 Christ himself never married." To a question 
 respecting their motive for not taking the sacra- 
 ment, a rite so imperatively enjoined by the 
 Saviour, she answered, "that our Lord only or- 
 dained the observance of it till he came a second 
 time, and that they believed he had thus come, and 
 that, therefore, it was no longer necessary to be 
 observed." As I have previously mentioned to 
 you, Ann Lee, their spiritual mother and founder, 
 and who styled herself the " Word," is believed 
 and declared by them to have been the second 
 incarnation of that divine Being. 
 
 After greatly admiring the order, regularity, 
 and extreme neatness of their houses, through the 
 various apartments of which we were taken, with 
 much civility, we bade adieu to these singular 
 people, and pursued our journey; heartily and 
 
CITY OF ALBANY. 
 
 179 
 
 sincerely wishing that they might, ere long, super- 
 add to their superior moral and domestic virtues, 
 that more orthodox faith, and spiritual enlighten- 
 ment, in which they appear, at present, to be so 
 lamentably deficient; and that it might please God 
 to make the religious portion of his creation, at 
 this place, accord in harmony with the beauty of 
 his natural works so amply spread around them. 
 
 We arrived at Albany about six in the even- 
 ing ; having passed through several pretty villages 
 and a picturesque country, though certainly along 
 as bad roads as any unhappy person, troubled 
 with indigestion, need wish to be jolted over. 
 This town is finely situated, in a commercial point 
 of view, on the right bank of the Hudson, at a 
 distance of about 145 miles from the city of New 
 York, and contains, according to the census of 
 1830, a population of upwards of 24,000 inhabit- 
 ants. It is one of the oldest settlements in the 
 United States, having been founded by the Dutch 
 in 1612; and though irregularly built, and infe- 
 rior to several of the more southern cities, it pos- 
 sesses many objects of attraction and interest. 
 Here, as in all the principal towns which I have 
 visited in this country, is displayed considerable 
 taste in the construction of the public edifices, as 
 well as neatness in that of the private buildings. 
 Among the former, the Capitol, containing the 
 halls of the legislative assembly — the great 
 
 !'■ . 1 
 
 ^^■'. 
 
180 
 
 ERIE CANAL. 
 
 ' 
 
 symbols of the independence of the respective 
 States — the academy, museum, churches, and 
 the city hall, merit the traveller's attention. 
 The latter building, now advancing to its comple- 
 tion, is highly creditable to the worthy citizens of 
 Albany, and evinces a public spirit and liberality of 
 mind, as well as excellency of architectural design 
 and execution, that redounds to the praise of its 
 enterprising inhabitants. From the summit of it 
 is enjoyed a fine view of the river, the rising 
 ground beyond it, and the beautiful valley in 
 which, among other pleasing objects, is seen in 
 the distance the flourishing town of Troy. But 
 that which constitutes the glory of Albany is the 
 commencement, at this place, of the Erie canal ; 
 a stupendous work that reflects immortal honour 
 on the state of New York and the country to 
 which it belongs, and exhibits the most admirable 
 and important undertaking that has been accom- 
 plished within the Union. 
 
 This magnificent canal, which extends through 
 the enormous and unbroken distance of 363 miles, 
 uniting the waters of Lake Erie with those of the 
 Hudson, was commenced and finished at the sole 
 expense, and under the sole patronage of a single 
 State — that of New York — and was completed 
 within the short period of eight years. Consider- 
 ing the magnitude of this splendid work — its un- 
 equalled length in any part of the world— and 
 
 I iir 
 
ERIE CANAL. 
 
 181 
 
 the numerous difficulties and obstacles to be sur- 
 mounted in the progress of it, you will be sur- 
 prised when I inform you that it only cost about a 
 million and a half sterling. What a similar un- 
 dertaking, executed either in England or in any 
 other part of Europe, would have cost, I leave you 
 to imagine. 
 
 The breadth of the canal, at the surface, is forty 
 feet, and at the bottom twenty-eight, while the 
 depth is about four feet. It comprises, in its entire 
 length, eighty-three locks and eighteen aqueducts, 
 of which the rise and fall of the former, between 
 the two extremes of the canal, are estimated at 
 688 feet. If nothing, beyond this, existed within 
 the bounds of the confederation, by which to cha- 
 racterise its people, this alone would designate 
 them a highly spirited and enterprising nation ; 
 and if they are capable of effecting such noble 
 works in the infancy of their strength and institu- 
 tions, it may fairly be concluded that their maturer 
 age will develope augmented resources commen- 
 surate with so auspicious a beginning. 
 
 In addition to the superior commercial advan- 
 tages enjoyed by the mercantile community of 
 Albany, since the formation of the Erie canal — in- 
 dependent of those which it naturally derives from 
 its fine position on the Hudson — are others, of a 
 similar nature, flowing down upon them along 
 the waters of the Northern canal. The latter is 
 
 U; l?f ■■''« a 
 
 J! 
 
 (i 
 
 
 
182 
 
 NORTHERN CANAL. 
 
 i ! 
 
 
 sixty-three miles in length, extending to Lake 
 Champlain, and connecting the Hudson with the 
 waters of the St. Lawrence, and joining the Erie 
 canal within a few miles of the city. Nothing 
 more beneficial to the prosperity of Albany could 
 have been, by possibility, effected than the opening 
 to it of these two grand sources of continually in- 
 creasing trade and wealth; but, more especially, 
 that of the Western or Erie canal, which offers 
 the quickest passage to the Atlantic for the im- 
 mense agricultural produce of the west, and 
 which must necessarily pass through this place. 
 
 It was my first intention to have commenced 
 my route to the Falls of Niagara — the great ob- 
 ject of my ardent anticipations and daily longings 
 — by the route of this artificial navigation ; but 
 wishing, previously, to visit the Springs of Ball- 
 ston and Saratoga, the fashionable watering-places 
 of the Americans, and also the town of Troy, I set 
 off, with my travelling companions, for the former 
 village, lying about thirty miles to the north. 
 
 On leaving the city, we passed the mansion 
 of the Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, who bears 
 the old Dutch title — perhaps the only one 
 borne in the States — of Patroon of Albany, and 
 answering, in some degree, to our lord of the 
 manor. His estate, in this neighbourhood, is very 
 extensive and highly valuable, stretching along 
 the river for a distance of ten miles, and to double 
 
DOCTRINE OF ENTAILS. 
 
 183 
 
 that distance, I understand., in the opposite direc- 
 tion. It was originally entailed on the eldest son 
 of the family, but the limitation expires with the 
 present possessor ; as, on his death, the property 
 is to be equally divided among all his children. 
 The doctrine of entails, and the law of primogeni- 
 ture, do not at all consist with republican preju- 
 dices, as savotiring too strongly of monarchical 
 institutions ; and they are, therefore, in most cor- 
 dial disapproval among the citizens of the United 
 States. I am not aware, at the same time, that 
 there are any positive enactments denouncing the 
 principle ; or if so, their operation is only partial ; 
 but, certain it is, that the tide of public feeling 
 runs so strongly against this anti-republican prac- 
 tice, that the bare imagination of '^ making an 
 eldest son" is rarely entertained, and the reality 
 still less frequently seen. In illustration of the 
 sentiment, a circumstance was related to me, 
 respecting the son of an American gentleman, to 
 whom his father had bequeathed a considerable 
 amount of property beyond the portions which he 
 had left to the rest of his children. This violation 
 of right and justice, at least of public feeling, was 
 immediately resented by his relations and neigh- 
 bours, and the sin of the guilty parent was visited 
 on his unoffending child. He was remonstrated 
 with, upbraided, vilified, and tormented to such a 
 degree, on account of his dishonesty, as well as 
 
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 W'i^f. »i 
 
 
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 m 
 
 
184 
 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
 cruelty, in retaining* what had been so unjustly 
 given to him, that at length the poor baited 
 youth, in utter hopelessness of enjoying what was 
 considered his ill-gotten gains, was fain to share 
 his preferment with his brothers and sisters for 
 the sake of a quiet life ! The entail, however, in 
 the case of General Van Rensselaer, could not well 
 have fallen on a better person, as I am informed 
 he is a very worthy and liberal man, a munifi- 
 cent patron of the arts and sciences, and of the 
 charitable institutions of his country, with which 
 his name is extensively and honourably asso- 
 ciated. 
 
 After having cleared the skirts of the city, 
 we rolled pleasantly along for five or six miles 
 on a macadamised road, running parallel with 
 the Erie canal. This is the only really good 
 specimen of a road I have yet seen ; for the 
 Americans have such admirable facilities of tra- 
 velling by water, of which they avail themselves 
 in so highly creditable a manner, that I must 
 confess they too much neglect their travelling by 
 land. Having passed the United States Arsenal, 
 we reached the village of Watervliet, where is 
 another Shaker settlement; and here we crossed 
 the Hudson in a horse-tow-boat. Having never 
 witnessed, except in America, this ingenious con- 
 trivance for crossing a river, I shall explain to 
 you what it is; the principle being the same as 
 
THE PLAINS OP TROY. 
 
 186 
 
 that which gave movement to our carriage on the 
 Baltimore and Ohio rail-road, mentioned in a 
 former letter. On each side of the boat, and 
 standing on a revolving platform constructed a 
 foot below the surface of the deck, is placed a 
 horse, harnessed and attached to a splinter-bar 
 which is fastened to the boat, so as to keep him 
 in his proper position. When every thing is ready 
 for departure, the animal is made to walk, and by 
 the action of his feet puts the platform in motion, 
 which, communicating with the paddle-wheels, 
 gives them their rotatory evolution ; and by this 
 means the boat is propelled in any direction in 
 which the helmsman wishes to go. 
 
 On stepping out of our boat we found our- 
 selves suddenly transferred to the plains of Troy, 
 and beheld Mount Ida rearing his romantic head 
 to the eastward of the city. Tlie name is rather 
 startling (as well as a diversity of others) to a 
 traveller in America, on first hearing it and be- 
 holding its application — associated, as it is, with 
 bygone times of a remote antiquity, and the con- 
 sideration of its present nonentity. But the Ame- 
 ricans, I find, have quite a passion for classical 
 names as the designations of their cities, towns, 
 and villages ; for, on looking over a list of them, 
 contained in the nomenclature of the state of New 
 York alone, I perceive the following illustrious 
 titles, giving to them "a local habitation and 
 
 «ii 
 
186 CLASSICAL DESIGNATIONS OF CITIES, &C. 
 
 a name" in the New World — drawn from the 
 pages, principally, of ancient history — viz. Jeru- 
 salem, Bethlehem, Sharon, Hebron, Salem, Beth- 
 any, Carmel, Ephratah, Macedon, Palmyra, 
 Tripoli, Utica, Ithaca, Troy, Rome, Sparta, 
 Corinth, Attica, Arcadia, Pharsalia, Greece, 
 Marathon, Athens, Cairo, China, Venice, Alex- 
 andria, Florence, Genoa, Homer, Virgil, Cicero, 
 TuUy, Pompey, Ovid, Aurelius, Brutus, Cincin- 
 natus, Minerva, Camillus, Fabius, Marcellus, 
 Seneca, Hannibal, Hector, Ulysses, Manlius, 
 Cato, Sempronius, Diana, Ossian, Romulus — 
 besides a great variety of other names, drawn with 
 good honest feeling from the mother country, 
 as Yorkshire, Windsor, Brighton ; as, also, from 
 almost every country in each of the four quarters 
 of the globe. These names, it must be acknow- 
 ledged, sound rather oddly to ears unpractised in 
 the American vocabulary, as the appellations of 
 towns and villages just rising into existence, and 
 would induce a blind man to suppose — were he 
 jounieying, like the indefatigable blind traveller, 
 Mr. Holman, to hear the world instead of seeing 
 it — that he was coursing, by some magical opera- 
 tion, over all the countries of the earth, without 
 moving (like the poor horse in the tow-boat) from 
 the spot. I have merely given you the classical 
 vocabulary of a single state, from which you may 
 judge of the " multitudinous" array, were the 
 
THE MODERN TROY. 
 
 187 
 
 remaining twenty -three added to the list. If the 
 assumption of these splendid names, according to 
 the belief entertained by some savage tribes of 
 their inheriting the virtues of their slaughtered 
 enemy whose body they possess, could confer on 
 the Americans the antiquity and learning of the 
 illustrious cities and men whom they represent, 
 they would be, indubitably, the most venerable and 
 learned nation on the face of the globe. However, 
 leaving them, as far as future ages and increasing 
 knowledge are concerned, to make their own 
 way, which I have no doubt whatever they will 
 do, with every possible advantage to themselves 
 and reflected benefit on others, this I may safely 
 declare, that they are, at the present moment, the 
 great beacon-lights of virtue and intelligence of 
 the New World ; and that, if they would only 
 attend to the moral conveyed in the fable of the 
 " bundle of sticks," their influence would extend 
 just in proportion as their union should be con- 
 solidated. 
 
 The modem Troy, through which we vere 
 now passing, risen like a phoenix from her Asiatic 
 ashes, is certainly a beautiful little town, delight- 
 fully situated on the Hudson, which lends a charm 
 to every thing it embraces. Its spacious streets, 
 lined with good houses and shaded by rows of 
 trees, present a very inviting and picturesque 
 appearance. The two principal objects worthy of 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 m 
 
 
188 
 
 BALLSTON SPA. 
 
 observation at this place are, the episcopal church 
 — the best specimen of Gothic architecture in the 
 States — and the Van Rensselaer school. At the 
 latter establishment, an excellent plan prevails of 
 requiring the students to deliver lectures, by rota- 
 tion, on the different branches of science or study 
 to which they have applied themselves. This 
 judicious method, by giving a powerful stimulus 
 to the laudable ambition of excelling, or, at least, 
 to avoid the shame of an ignorant exposure, carries 
 along with it the desired effect of a more rapid 
 and solid advancement in knowledge. 
 
 Towards dusk we alighted at the Sans Souci 
 Hotel, at Ballston Spa, after passing through the 
 villages of Lansingburgh and " Waterford ; at the 
 former of which is seen the celebrated diamond 
 rock, so named from the lustrous appearance that 
 it makes in brilliantly reflecting the rays of the 
 sun — and after visiting, also, the picturesque 
 Falls of the Mohawk, called Cohoes Falls. 
 
 1 must acknowledge myself disappointed with 
 Ballston, as likewise with the approaches to it; 
 since, for some miles previously to arriving there, 
 the country, in every direction, wears an aspect 
 of great barrenness ; and the roads were so ex- 
 tremely bad, that we were several times, though 
 in the month of July, in danger of being upset. 
 Though I am not so unreasonable as to expect 
 that the roads in America should be smooth and 
 
THE BOARDING HOUSE. 
 
 189 
 
 almost polished, as arc most of those in England, 
 which have been gradually improving during a 
 series of ages, till they have reached their present 
 state of perfection, yet I certainly looked for 
 something better than I found in travelling to so 
 fashionable and crowded a resort as the Springs. 
 The land, too, in the vicinity, is sandy and un- 
 productive ; and though there are several small 
 eminences near the village, whence may be ob- 
 tained interesting views, particularly towards the 
 mountains of Vermont, yet I must confess, for a 
 watering-place, it did not quite come up to the 
 heau ideal of my imagination, and lost very con- 
 siderably by comparison with the lovely site and 
 localities of its more fortunate rival, the New 
 Lebanon Springs, where I had so lately been. 
 The principal hotel or boarding-house, which is 
 formed entirely of wood, is spacious and commo- 
 dious, but very indifferently furnished ; being des- 
 titute of carpets, and the chairs and chandeliers 
 Ijeing of rather ordinary appearance. I make 
 this observation because, in other parts of the 
 States, I have remarked that the public as well 
 as private rooms have more of finish and elegance 
 about them, and without seeming so much to 
 require this attention to niceties, as does a resort 
 of the gay and the fashionable, where pleasure 
 and amusement are the order of the day. 
 
 One circumstance that struck me more forcibly 
 
 
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 nil 
 
 tr-K^:^^' 
 
 ■^^m 
 
 = ^;fl 
 
 m 
 
 ■'ly. 
 
 i--^. 
 
190 
 
 ATTEMPT TO BECOME A REFORMER. 
 
 than any thing else, was tlie very slovenly con- 
 dition in which the approach to the well or spring, 
 as well as the circumference of it, was kept; 
 around which I saw fair ladies standing in the 
 wet and dirt sipping the water. I frankly allow 
 that it was no particular business of mine ; yet I 
 could not forbear — from any thing but a meddling 
 or unkind feeling — noticing the fact to the Gany- 
 medes who bore the sparkling cup from this foun- 
 tain of nectar to the thirsty applicants. I gently 
 hinted to him, that if the quantity drank brought 
 him any benefit, he would increase his trade, at 
 least a hundred per cent, by just whirling a mop 
 round the margin of his little spring ; so that his 
 fair customers, when they moistened their lips with 
 his delicious stream, should not moisten their feet 
 also. The " good, easy man" did not suspect, at 
 the moment, that I was an Englishman, or he 
 might, perchance, have demanded my license from 
 General Jackson thus to criticise his independent 
 operations. 
 
 Two days afterwards I visited the springs of 
 Saratoga, seven miles from Ballston, and was as 
 agreeably surprised there as I had been previously 
 disappointed. As it is a much more grateful sen- 
 timent to admire and praise, than to dislike and 
 object, I began immediately to feel that quiet com- 
 placency of feeling which the subsiding of a dis- 
 appointed expectation naturally creates. The con- 
 
 a 
 
 i!; 
 
SARATOGA. 
 
 191 
 
 trast between the tu o places is, beyond any doubt, 
 very considerabK The fine, spacious street or 
 avenue, ornamented Iij shady trees, on the sides 
 of which are erected tlie various hotels and board- 
 ing-houses, exhibiting- a very handsome and im- 
 posing appearance, gives an air of importance, of 
 gracefulness, and animation, that I found alto- 
 gether wanting at Ballston. Here, I felt that 
 a stranger might pass two or three weeks very 
 agreeably ; for though the country about Saratoga 
 is flat, and alone relieved by some distant views of 
 the Vermont mountains, which give, at tlie same 
 time, a tone of interest to the scenery; yet the very 
 superior accommodations and ornamental furni- 
 ture, the external beauty and internal elegance 
 of the hotels, offer the greatest inducements to a 
 prolonged stay at this really tasteful watering- 
 place. Among these, Congress Hall, and the 
 United States Hotel, are the two principal and 
 most imposing of the whole, and can accommo- 
 date, in each establishment, about two hundred 
 persons. The former edifice is about 200 feet 
 in length, with a spacious piazza or verandah ex- 
 tending throughout its entire front, and projecting 
 to a breadth of about 20 feet. The canopy over- 
 arching the trellis-work is supported by seventeen 
 columns, tastefully decorated with luxuriant wood- 
 bine and other creepers carried in graceful fes- 
 toons from pillar to pillar. Behind the house, 
 
 HI 
 
 "1 
 
 :it 
 
 m 
 
 
192 
 
 SOURCES OF AMUSEMENT. 
 
 H !■ 
 
 I 
 
 and connected with it, is a beautiful garden ; and 
 adjoining to it a pleasant promenade in a grove of 
 pine-trees — yielding at once a refreshing shade 
 and an agreeable fragrance. The gardens at- 
 tached to the United States Hotel are still finer, 
 much more extensive, and arranged in a style 
 of neatness and elegance, and adorned with a 
 choice variety of shrubs and flowers, that reflect 
 great credit on its spirited proprietor. Annexed 
 to each of these establishments is a billiard-room ; 
 in the village we found reading-rooms, supplied 
 with maps and charts, and furnished with nearly 
 one hundred newspapers from the various states of 
 the Union, as well as from the Canadas, in addi- 
 tion to a variety of periodical publications, and 
 also a good library and a mineralogical museum : 
 thus providing, during the day, a selection of ob- 
 jects of interest and information ; while balls and 
 promenades fill up the intervals of the evening. 
 To those who are fond of fishing, or of the recrea- 
 tion of sailing, is presented a delightful excursion on 
 the waters of Saratoga lake, nine miles in length, 
 and distant about four from the village. In short, 
 Saratoga is what I expected to find at Ballston ; 
 but having found it at one of the places, I re- 
 mained quite satisfied, and left it with entire good 
 wishes that the medicinal advantages of its waters 
 might be most fully reaped by all the invalids, 
 and increased alacrity, from the salubrious effect 
 
ict 
 
 CAUSE OF DYSPEPSIA. 
 
 193 
 
 of the air, be given to those who were already 
 well. 
 
 I should not omit to mention to you, that the 
 qualities of these waters are principally saline 
 and chalybeate, and well calculated, at least the 
 former, to remove, among other ailments, that 
 fashionable complaint of dyspepsia, with which 
 the worthy citizens of the United States are more 
 troubled than those of any other country that I 
 have ever visited. Without any pretension to 
 medical knowledge, I can very easily, to my own 
 mind, account for the universal prevalence in this 
 country of a disorder so distressing. The simple 
 cause of it appears clearly to exist in the nature of 
 a certain kind of food, which is devoured in vast 
 quantities by these unsuspecting patients, as well 
 as by those who are so fortunate as to escape its 
 effects. I mean the enormous quantities of hot 
 bread, hot rolls, smoking-hot cakes, half-baked, 
 and little removed from dough, and withal satu- 
 rated with melted butter, which are consumed at 
 nearly every meal, morning, noon, and night, by 
 all ages, and each sex — by little children, as well 
 as by their grown-up fathers and mothers. I con- 
 fess, it seemed to me to be the best possible pre- 
 parative for a journey to the springs that could be 
 imagined ; not with smiling faces, for the purpose 
 of enjoying their agreeable recreations, but with 
 emaciated forms and countenances, seeking, in 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
 ■f il 
 
 ■i < '■' 
 ■ i pil 
 
 !! 
 
 It: I 
 
 'i 
 
 <■' '.' 
 
194 PROPOSED AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION. 
 
 I / 
 
 copious mineral potations, a relief from the con- 
 sequences of this most unwholesome diet. The 
 great rapidity with which the various meals are 
 despatched — I speak principally of public tables — 
 has, I think, a very favourable tendency to a 
 similar result, and yields only to the former in 
 the speed iness and extent in which that result is 
 obtained. I must acknowledge I should feel very 
 happy, as a philanthropist wishing well to the 
 interests of mankind, as well in a physical as a 
 moral sense, and particularly to our American 
 brethren across the Atlantic, if, for the benefit of 
 their own health, they would denounce hot bread, 
 hot rolls, and doughy cakes, as " enemies of the 
 constitution," and have it enrolled as a law among 
 the archives of their different States, never to be 
 departed from, like the laws of the Medes and 
 Persians. 
 
 I now left the springs, with my travelling 
 friends, and proceeded to Schenectady, finely situ- 
 ated on the beautiful and interesting Mohawk, 
 sixteen miles from Ballston; passing through a 
 better and more cultivated country than that 
 through which we approached the latter. After 
 admiring its college, and the pleasing scenery 
 spread around it, we stepped into a boat on the 
 Erie canal, the line of which runs through the 
 town. The vessel was just commencing its fresh- 
 water voyage to Utica, distant seventy-nine miles, 
 
VALLEY OF THE MOHAWK. 
 
 195 
 
 
 and we were drawn along by three horses, at the 
 rate of five or six miles an hour. The lovely val- 
 ley through which we were thus smoothly gliding, 
 was formerly possessed and inhabited by the war- 
 like nation of the Mohawks, from whom it de- 
 rives its name — one of a powerful confederacy, 
 known by the name of the " Five Nations," 
 inhabiting the interior of New York, and with 
 whom the first settlers were often engaged in 
 mortal conflict. It presents to the eye, in an 
 extended course of nearly 100 miles from its 
 commencement, rich, diversified, and enchanting 
 landscapes. The canal runs parallel to the river 
 nearly the whole way, which meanders gracefully 
 beneath its wooded banks, gleaming and spark- 
 ling to the sun in silvery softness, and casting a 
 charm over the verdant scenery, heightened by 
 its association with the wild and warrior tribe of 
 native Indians that once trod its soil, ere the foot 
 of the white man rushed in to dispute their em- 
 pire. But the aboriginal inhabitants of the fertile 
 vale have long since disappeared from this quarter 
 of the States, as they are silently doing, though, 
 I am sorry to say, attended in some instances by 
 moral violence, from all the others. The de- 
 structive arts of civilisation — such has been the 
 operation, at least, in their case — have gone hand- 
 in-hand with the extermination of the sword : 
 
 ite 
 
 "tf'> 
 
 i.ii 
 
 Mi iJ 
 
 i^M 
 
 ■~,'w 
 
 ''t'f 
 
 ::11 
 
196 
 
 LITTLE FALLS. 
 
 and what the latter spared, the plague of intem- 
 perance has swept away. 
 
 The land in the valley of the Mohawk is 
 much richer than any that I have yet seen in 
 America. It is entirely alluvial ; and is supposed 
 by geologists to have formed, at one time, the 
 site of an immense lake which has burst its 
 barrier. Hence are derived the depth and rich- 
 ness of the soil, and the highly luxuriant produce 
 of various kinds that is seen waving on its sur- 
 face. The most romantic scenery, throughout the 
 whole of the canal route, is that surrounding what 
 is called the Little Falls, whose lofty, perpen- 
 dicular, and wooded banks, reminded me strongly 
 of the beautiful vale of Matlock, in Derbyshire, 
 with which some of my earliest and most pleasing 
 recollections are associated. The view from the 
 boat, on approaching them, is highly interesting, 
 and indeed grand; the valley being here con- 
 tracted within the narrowest possible bends, 
 hemmed in by towering rocks and hills, and 
 barely admitting a passage to the dashing waters 
 of the Mohawk, which rush along in a broken 
 and foaming stream, over the rocky fragments 
 that impede its course. On a portion of these 
 rocks, more elevated than the rest, the little 
 village is seen most picturesquely seated ; lying 
 between the turbulent waters of the river on one 
 
CURIOSITY ALLIED WITH DEATH. 
 
 197 
 
 ,■■'1 ^1 
 
 'I d 
 f ■ ill 
 
 side, and the abrupt and rugged cliffs on the 
 other. There is a fine aqueduct thrown over 
 the current at this place, which is considered one 
 of the best specimens of masonry on the line of 
 the canal. 
 
 A few miles farther lie the German Flats, 
 celebrated for their fertility, and so called from 
 belonging to a colony of Germans, who still pre- 
 serve the customs of their forefathers along with 
 their language. My eager curiosity to see every 
 thing I could, had, in several instances, nearly 
 proved fatal to me; for, at short intervals, in 
 many places of not more than a quarter of a mile, 
 bridges are thrown across the canal for the pur- 
 pose of communication, and, in order to econo- 
 mise the material and the labour, they are made 
 so low as barely to allow the roof of the boat to 
 clear the top of the arch. Now it so happened, 
 that the roof of the boat was a favourite place of 
 resort, as giving more of elevation and less of 
 interruption to the view, though requiring, at the 
 same time, great caution in looking out for the 
 bridges. On two or three occasions, while there, I 
 was within an ace of meeting the fate of a most 
 unhappy person, who, a short time previously, on 
 passing one of them, had his head literally wrung 
 from his shoulders. While intent on admiring 
 a beautiful landscape, or some interesting object, 
 the spectator loses for the moment the con- 
 
 
 I'll 
 
198 
 
 UTICA. 
 
 sciousness of danger ; and proceeding at the rate of 
 six miles an hour, we were brought more rapidly 
 than we expected to another of these erections. 
 Had there been no one to warn us of our situation, 
 which, luckily, the conductor of the boat was 
 generally on the alert to do, by calling aloud, 
 " Bridge!" we should have been often placed, 
 from our own imprudence, in a fearful pre- 
 dicament. Twice, however, the word was given 
 so late, while looking in an opposite direction, 
 that I had only just time to throw myself flat 
 on my face on the top of the boat, instead of 
 jumping off as was usually done, when the sur- 
 face of my head and person was grazed along the 
 upper portion of the arch which we were passing — 
 to my no small horror, as you may well imagine. 
 
 On reaching Utica, thankful to find my head 
 safe on my shoulders, I left the boat, intending to 
 proceed some stages en diligence; as well, I suppose, 
 in order to keep it there, as to vary the scene, and 
 to enable me to see some interesting portions of 
 the country through which the canal did not pass; 
 having now had a fair specimen of what reflects 
 so much honour on American enterprise. After 
 remaining a short time in Utica, a handsome and 
 flourishing town, containing a population, accord- 
 ing to the census of 1830, of 8230 inhabitants, 
 I accompanied a party of gentlemen on an ex- 
 cursion to the Falls of Trenton, fourteen miles 
 
TRENTON FALLS. 
 
 199 
 
 9f ij 
 
 Tf i 
 
 farther. What constitutes the principal charm of 
 these Falls, is the deep solitude, the lonely gran- 
 deur, and romantic beauty of the glen in which 
 they are situated, rather than the cataracts them- 
 selves. When, however, the river is swollen, 
 which winds its rapid and impetuous course 
 through it, the various cascades formed by the 
 rocky and precipitous declivities found in the bed 
 of the stream, assume an appearance highly inter- 
 esting and picturesque. This deep ravine, where 
 considerable organic remains are discovered, me- 
 anders in the most abrupt curves, and extends for 
 upwards of two miles, hemmed in by lofty and 
 almost perpendicular cliffs, rising to the height, 
 in some places, of 150 feet, and covered by a pro- 
 fusion of overshadowing trees, many of which, 
 rooted in the fissures of the rocks and over- 
 hanging the abyss, present forms of the wildest 
 and most enchanting aspect. 
 
 Imagine the towering cliffs and rocks on each 
 side of the river forming the lovely vale of Matlock, 
 contracted to within half their distance from each 
 other, and winding with a tenfold greater abrupt- 
 ness of meanders, with half-a-dozen beautiful cas- 
 cades foaming over precipices from fourteen to 
 nearly forty feet in height, and you have at once 
 presented to your mind's eye the romantic glen 
 of Trenton. 
 
 The ascent of the ravine requires great caution 
 
 
 , 
 
 ■ 1 ! 
 1 
 
 ■ 'I'll 
 
 mMm 
 
 m]^ 
 
 m 
 
 'Mi 
 
200 
 
 DEATH OF A YOUNG LADY. 
 
 and steadiness of head in making an excursion 
 along its perilous paths, as the precipitous heights 
 by which it is enclosed cast their projecting masses, 
 in several places, to the very brink of the rapid 
 flood. In passing these angles, considerable risk 
 is incurred of losing your fragile hold, or falling 
 from your insecure footing, and being swept away 
 in the eddying stream. About three years ago, a 
 melancholy occurrence of this nature took place 
 in the person of a young lady of New York ; who, 
 without the distressing accident being perceived 
 by the friends who accompanied her, among whom 
 was a gentleman to whom she was on the point 
 of being married, slipped off the bank and was 
 drowned ; the only intimation of the disaster being 
 her disappearance, and the floating of her bonnet 
 on the surface of the water, her body not having 
 been found for two or three days afterwards. 
 
 On returning to Utica I took my departure en 
 diligence, with my two travelling friends, whom 
 I left there, for Auburn, a distance of seventy-four 
 miles; and I must confess that I never suffered 
 so severely during a single day's travelling in my 
 life, and I believe the feeling of dissatisfaction was 
 fully shared by those with whom I was journey- 
 ing, and who were natives of the country. The 
 springs of our vehicle were so bad — if springs they 
 were — and such the terrific joltings of the road, 
 arising from deeply indented ruts, holes, and in- 
 

 ^ !i 
 
 THE COACH BREAKS DOWN. 
 
 201 
 
 equalities of surface, that the husband o^ \e lady 
 was literally compelled to hold his wife down on 
 her seat by main force, to prevent her head from 
 violently beating against the roof and sides of the 
 coach. This necessary operation was obliged to 
 be continued, and I speak within compass, for at 
 least thirty miles of the distance ; yet, notwith- 
 standing all this manual assistance, which was 
 most dexterously as well as kindly attbrded, as the 
 gentleman had to take care of himself at the same 
 time, the poor lady received so many violent blows 
 and contusions, that she at length burst into tears ; 
 and, in order to mend the matter, the axletree 
 snapped in two, and the coach fairly broke down. 
 Unfortunate as this was, it was still a suspense, 
 during the interval of reparation, from our des- 
 perate tossings " to and fro," and enabled us to 
 gather strength by the delay, and from the re- 
 freshments that we so much required, to support 
 the forthcoming trial which we had yet to en- 
 counter. For myself, I had, pour passer le terns, 
 an immediate resource at hand, for our disaster 
 occurred close to a settlement of native Indians of 
 the Oneida tribe, one of the five nations that make 
 such a figure in the early history of New York. 
 I entered into conversation with them, and found 
 the squaws and children shy and timorous, and 
 the men fierce and only half tamed ; though they 
 have now, I understand, been settled here for 
 
 k2 
 
 
 m 
 
 
202 
 
 OlfEIDA TRIBE OF INDIANS. 
 
 some years. They wore a motley kind of dress, 
 half savage and half civilised ; Indian and Euro- 
 pean garments being most fantastically interwoven. 
 Though they have a certain tract of land assigned 
 to them by the government for their support, yet 
 their innate love for a roving life is such, that it 
 is with the greatest possible difficulty they can be 
 induced to cultivate it ; a visit to their hunting 
 grounds, as relishing of their original habits of 
 wild independence, giving them more real enjoy- 
 ment than any other occupation, unless it be the 
 draining of the contents of a brandy bottle. Great 
 numbers of them, in illustration of this wandering 
 propensity, are lately gone to settle on the shores 
 of Lakes Huron and Michigan, where they feel 
 less incommoded by the (to them) unprofitable ad- 
 vances of civilisation. 
 
 Oifr carriage being now repaired, we again 
 put ourselves en route, and passed through the 
 handsome village of Syracuse, where I in vain, 
 however, looked for V Orecchio di Dionysio, which 
 I had so much admired when in the European 
 city of that name. This modern Transatlantic 
 Syracuse is indebted for its present thriving 
 condition to the enormous quantities of salt pro- 
 duced in its vicinity, with which the whole country 
 around it is impregnated ; the great spring, whence 
 the supply of water is brought to the vats, being 
 about a mile distant from the village. Here 
 
A STUDY FOR CRANI0L0GI8TH 
 
 20* 
 
 commences the Oswego canal, which, leaving that 
 of the Erie at this place, and running through a 
 space of thirty-eight miles, communicates with 
 Lake Ontario, forming a highly beneficial branch 
 to the latter canal. 
 
 At last, with wearied hearts and contused 
 bodies, we reached, late in the evening, our 
 asylum at Auburn ; aching and writhing, like 
 wounded snakes, with the bruises we had received. 
 Had a phrenologist at this moment examined our 
 craniums, he would have found, or imagined he 
 had found, half-a-dozen more organs than even 
 Spurzheim himself ever yet discovered on the heads 
 of mortal man, and which would have puzzled 
 his powers of invention to have described ; at least, 
 I can speak with certainty of my own, as it 
 was covered all over with bumps, some of them as 
 large as a pigeon's egg. I was glad, however, to 
 have escaped with these, as I was within a hair's 
 breadth of suffering a compound fracture into the 
 bargain. I shall now take my leave of you for 
 the present, trusting that the bumps on your own 
 head do not exceed, as in my case, those with 
 which nature has favoured you, and for which 
 the philosophy of craniology can well account. 
 Adieu ! 
 
 I 
 
 
 WW' 
 
 
 i.^'l 
 
 m 
 
204 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 State Prison of Auburn — Admirable System of Discipline — 
 Different Principle to the Penitentiary at Philadelpliia — 
 Thirty Women a match for Seven Hundred Men! — Cayuga 
 Lake — Specimen of Democraticul Equality — Seneca Lake 
 
 — Geneva — Jemima Wilkinson, the Enthusiast — Canan- 
 daigua — New Settlements just emerging from the Forest — 
 Singular Appearance of ihem — Mode of destroying the 
 Trees — Their melancholy Aspect — Rochester — Sam Patch 
 
 — Meet some agreeable Travellers — Temperance Societies 
 
 — Interesting Details of them — Lockport — The most 
 splendid Works there on the Canal. 
 
 Lockportf25th Juli/, 183\. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 We parted at Auburn, and I now 
 take up thence the thread of my narrative. It is 
 a very pretty village, as, indeed, it ought to be, 
 considering the beautiful poetry whence its name 
 is borrowed, and merits, in no inconsiderable de- 
 gree, the description given of its prototype as 
 being " the loveliest village of the plain." It is 
 of recent origin, and, like most of the western 
 towns and villages, highly flourishing and rising 
 into rapid importance. In truth, so quick is the 
 growth of population in this section of the country, 
 
:;• ^! 
 
 STATE PRISON OF AUBURN. 
 
 205 
 
 in consequence of emigrations, if so they may be 
 called, from the more thickly peopled northern 
 and other States of the Union, that what is but a 
 village or hamlet one year, becomes the next a 
 bustling town animated by all the throng of com- 
 mercial life. The number of its inhabitants, at 
 present, is between 4000 and 5000. But the 
 great object of interest to be seen here, as well by 
 the philosophic inquirer as by the simply in- 
 quisitive traveller, is the State Prison, which 
 presents, beyond any doubt, the best and most 
 approved system of prison discipline in the world. 
 It is the precise model of the one that has been 
 since established at Sing Sing, and the successful 
 rival of the Penitentiary at Philadelphia. The 
 latter, as I mentioned to you in a former letter, is 
 founded on a principle of total seclusion from 
 society, where the victim of crime is immured, in 
 a fearful and unbroken solitude, unmitigated by 
 the sight of a human countenance or the tone of a 
 human voice, except the very occasional presence 
 of the gaoler, or that of the clergyman attached 
 to the establishment. 
 
 The State Prison at Auburn, on the contrary, 
 admits of the prisoners working together, under 
 the vigilant inspection of superintendents ; but 
 prohibits, under the strictest penalties, the slightest 
 communication either by sign or word. This ju- 
 dicious arrangement, while it alleviates the horrors 
 
 Ml 
 
 vl 
 
206 
 
 STATE PRISON OP AUBURN. 
 
 of solitary confinement, is calculated to prevent 
 that additional contamination of mind pervading 
 the prisons and penitentiaries of European coun- 
 tries, and which, by corrupting still farther the 
 morals of their wretched inmates, leaves them, at 
 the termination of their period of confinement, 
 more depraved, and less prepared to be again cast 
 on society, than they were on the very first day of 
 their incarceration. Such has been, and is, the 
 admirable discipline of this prison, that a great 
 proportion of the convicts, when discharged from 
 their " durance vile," have become honest and in- 
 dustrious members of the community of which 
 they had, previously, been the greatest scourges. 
 One of the highly beneficial effects of this excel- 
 lent system, and a proof of its superiv r and econo- 
 mical organisation, is, that the earnings of the 
 prisoners, in their daily avocations, exceed very 
 considerably the expenses attendant on their con- 
 finement; and which surplus is, I understand, 
 very wisely and humanely given to the felons, on 
 their discharge, in order to set them up in some 
 honest calling. This temporary resource, united 
 with the habits of industry contracted during their 
 term of punishment, has the best possible tendency 
 to withdraw them from the vicious course of life 
 they had formerly pursued. 
 
 This building was commenced in the year 
 1816, and is constructed in the shape of a hollow 
 
STATE PRISON OF AUBURN. 
 
 207 
 
 
 square, enclosed by a wall extending 2000 feet, 
 and in height about thirty-five ; having 500 feet on 
 each of its sides, and is capable of containing 1100 
 convicts. Of the two wings forming portions of 
 the building, the one to the north is appropriated 
 to the solitary cells, consisting of about 400. Of 
 these there are five tiers or stories, each contain- 
 ing eighty in two parallel lines, and separated, in 
 \he centre, by a wall two feet thick. These are 
 divided from each other by a wall of the thickness 
 of a foot, and are seven feet in length, seven in 
 height, and three and a half in breadth, and are 
 separately occupied by a single person. In each 
 cell is fitted a ventilator extending to the roof, and 
 formed in such a way as to exclude the possibility 
 of the prisoners either conversing or making signs 
 to each other, and around them is an area ten 
 feet in breadth, open to the roof by which the 
 galleries of the dificrent stories are covered over. 
 The economical construction as well as the secu- 
 rity of the building is so excellently arranged, that 
 five small stoves and eighteen lamps afibrd suffi- 
 cient heat and light to the whole; while one 
 sentinel is found sufficient to keep watch over 400 
 prisoners. 
 
 After having gone round one of the tiers of 
 cells, in each of which I was happy to perceive 
 a Bible, I visited the workshops, ranged round 
 the walls of an inner yard, where the various 
 
 t:S:t 
 
 11 
 
 ■^t 
 
 m 
 
 
208 
 
 STATE PRISON OF AUBURN. 
 
 1 
 
 trades are carried on in which the culprits are 
 employed ; those being taught some manual occu- 
 pation who had never learnt one before. I must 
 acknowledge that my surprise and admiration 
 were excited in a high degree, when I beheld the 
 unequalled precision, regularity, order, and in- 
 dustry, that characterised an assemblage of be- 
 tween six and seven hundred prisoners. Con- 
 sidering the jarring and discordant elements of 
 which this mass is composed, it is perfectly asto- 
 nishing to see the quiet demeanour and close 
 assiduity with which the convicts apply themselves 
 to their work. A death-like silence pervades the 
 whole range of shops where this busy multitude 
 is labouring: not a syllable is spoken — not a 
 single sign given — not an eye averted from the 
 work placed immediately before it. All are ab- 
 stracted by the various objects on which they are 
 employed, and by thoughts that are incommuni- 
 cable even to their fellow-labourers standing close 
 by them ; for the Argus eyes and erect ears of the 
 overseer are ever on the alert to detect any infrac- 
 tion of the peremptory rules of the prison, which 
 would be punished at once, and with severity. 
 Notwithstanding this penalty of dumbness unre- 
 mittingly imposed upon ther i8 part punishment for 
 their crimes, there appeareu an air of complacent, 
 and even cheerful tranquillity about them, that 
 surprised me much, occasioned, no doubt, by the 
 
STATE PRISON OF AUBURN. 
 
 209 
 
 symptoms of humanity surrounding them — how- 
 ever silent that humanity may be. Tliis feeling, 
 I should imagine, is never felt by the forlorn 
 beings confined in the Penitentiary at Philadel- 
 phia; at least, not until insanity has rendered 
 them unconscious of their utterly outcast con- 
 dition. 
 
 Having remained there till the hour of dinner, 
 I was witne&s of the order of procession in which 
 these miserable wretches marched to their respec- 
 tive meals. On a signal being given, by the 
 ringing of a bell, they formed themselves into 
 companies outside of their respective shops, and, 
 moving in single file, with a kind of military 
 lock-step, and their faces turned towards their 
 keepers, proceeded in slow time to their melan- 
 choly repast. It was a mournful sight to behold 
 so many human beings thus degraded from all 
 but the mere externals of human nature, and 
 presenting an appearance of the entire body 
 marching to the gallows. After entering an im- 
 mense hall, in which they were to dine, they 
 remained standing till grace was pronounced, 
 when they sat down, and, with the same unbroken 
 silence as before, took the fare that was provided 
 for them, and, after the pronouncing of a second 
 grace, returned with the same regularity to the 
 occupations they had left. Had a stranger, un- 
 acquainted with the establishment he was visiting, 
 
 ft- . 
 i' 
 
 i [I: 
 
 n 
 
210 
 
 STATE PRISON OF AUBURN, 
 
 entered this singular dinner-apartment, and per- 
 ceived the mysterious silence and unregarding 
 looks pervading this assemblage of six or seven 
 hundred persons, he would have been struck with 
 a species of awe at so startling and supernatural 
 an appearance. 
 
 In a chapel attached to the prison, divine 
 service is regularly performed every Sunday ; 
 and, in addition to this, a Sunday-school has 
 been established, under the superintendence of 
 the students of the Theological Academy, from 
 which have resulted highly beneficial consequences. 
 In short, the system adopted and put in practice, 
 at the Auburn State Prison, is the very beau ideal 
 of what prison-discipline should be; and to acquire 
 an intimate knowledge of its effect, there are three 
 French gentlemen present in the town at this 
 moment, expressly sent out by the government of 
 France. It is certainly a model for universal 
 imitation, as it exceeds in precision, judicious de- 
 sign and arrangement, regularity and successful 
 result, the practical operation, on an equally 
 extended scale, of every other system that has 
 ever been devised. Nor does it in the least 
 detract from the praise due to the Americans, that 
 they were under the necessity of discovering some 
 such efl&cacious mode of treating, and reforming 
 the morals of, their ** rogues and vagabonds," 
 inasmuch as they have no Botany Bay whither to 
 
EXTRAORDINARY FEMALE LOQUACITY. 211 
 
 im 
 
 transport them. It rather reflects credit on their 
 ingenuity, and proves that, as in most, if not on 
 all other occasions, they are quite equal to any 
 emergency that may arise. 
 
 I was happy to learn, to the honour of the 
 better as well as fairer sex, that the disproportion 
 between the relative numbers of male and female 
 prisoners was so greatly in their favour; since, 
 while there were nearly 700 of the former, there 
 were only 30 of the latter ! I must own that I 
 was, at the same time, highly amused on being 
 assured by the gaoler that he had " infinitely more 
 trouble and vexation in keeping the thirty females 
 in order and obedience, than with all the over- 
 whelming majority of the more peaceable men 
 whom he had in charge!'* 
 
 1 now again put myself in motion towards 
 the west, and, at the distance of nine miles from 
 Auburn, arrived on the banks of Cayuga Lake, 
 extending thirty-eight miles in length and be- 
 tween one and two in breadth. Traversing the 
 northern end of it is thrown the largest bridge I 
 ever saw; being upwards of a mile long, and 
 of a greater extent, I believe, than the one across 
 the Potomac at Washington. Here I met with 
 a downright specimen of republican, or rather 
 democratical, equality, in the person of one of 
 the coach-passengers ; indeed, something beyond 
 equality, with which I should not have been in- 
 
 i 
 
 
 I 
 
 hH 
 
212 SPECIMEN OF REPUBLICAN EQUALITY. 
 
 
 duced to quarrel, but actual injustice and roguery. 
 I must inform you that there are no places or 
 arrangements made, in American coaches, for 
 outside passengers, except that on the box, along- 
 side the driver. This seat the person in question 
 had occupied from the time of our departure, in 
 consequence of all the inside places having been 
 previously filled ; one of which I had myself taken 
 and retained from the commencement. On reach- 
 ing the village of Cayuga, prior to crossing the 
 lake, I stepped out of our nine-inside vehicle, 
 understanding that it was going to wait ten or 
 fifteen minutes at the post-office for the mail -bags, 
 in order to walk across the bridge, the better to 
 examine its singular structure, and to have an 
 uninterrupted view of the lake. On gaining the 
 opposite extremity, the coach overtook me, which 
 I did not regret, as a brisk shower of rain had 
 commenced falling; when, to my astonishment, I 
 found that the cunning democrat on the box had 
 taken possession of my inside seat. I had not, 
 however, the remotest suspicion that he intended 
 to retain it ; and I, therefore, politely observed to 
 him that he had taken my place, which I should 
 be obliged to him to restore me. He replied, 
 " there was a seat by the driver, and I could 
 occupy that." On my remonstrating with him 
 on his conduct, as being inconsistent with gentle- 
 manly propriety, he answered, "that it was in 
 
SPECIMEN OF REPUBLICAN EQUALITY. 213 
 
 vain my urging him to leave the inside, for that 
 he was determined not to do it; that I should 
 not have left my seat; and that one man was just 
 as good as another." I then appealed to the 
 coachman, as the arbiter eleyantiarum on such 
 occasions, who flatly refused all interference to 
 reinstate me in my rights and privileges; and 
 gave me, in addition, to understand, tlat unless 
 I mounted the box without further delay, he 
 should drive off and leave me on the road. I 
 then appealed to the passengers ; and though one 
 of them at last mumbled out, in a hesitating tone 
 of voice, that the place was certainly mine, the 
 rest of them, either afraid to declare their sen- 
 timents, or perceiving that I was an Englishman, 
 and therefore being unwilling to do so, observed 
 a strict silence. Disinclined to proceed to violent 
 measures, being fully aware that ! should have no 
 assistance, and as there was no effectually resist- 
 ing this mob-law, I was obliged, in order to avoid 
 the alternative presented to me by the master of 
 the ceremonies, to bow to his supreme decision, as 
 the representative of the sovereign people — mount 
 the box, nolens volens, and ride in the rain for 
 some miles without a great coat, till we reached 
 Seneca Falls, where I put matters in such a train 
 as compelled the impudent intruder to resign the 
 seat which he had so dishonestly obtained. 
 
 After drying the wet jacket I had thus unex- 
 
 
 1^8 
 
 2; 
 
 y'la 
 
 Ml 
 
 
214 
 
 GENEVA — SENECA LAKE. 
 
 .: 
 
 pectedly gained, and despatching a hasty break- 
 fast, I proceeded onwards, for twelve miles, 
 through an interesting country, to Geneva, de- 
 lightfully situated on Seneca Lake ; a part of the 
 route winding round the northern edge of it, 
 being here about two miles wide. This little 
 town, remarkable for its beautiful position, and of 
 which the best portion lies on a finely elevated 
 terrace, overlooking, with its hanging gardens, 
 the noble expanse of water below, is so called 
 from its supposed resemblance to the Swiss town 
 of that name. Nor is the comparison by any 
 means fanciful, as many of its features are similar 
 to those which characterise the latter, and its 
 relative situation on one of the extremities of 
 Seneca Lake perfectly accords with the position of 
 the other on the Lake of Geneva ; while its 
 length of thirty-five miles, and average breadth of 
 three and a half, assist, in no indifferent degree, to 
 eke out the similitude. How Captain Hall could 
 possibly believe " North America to be the most 
 unpicturesque country to be found any where," is, 
 I confess, to my mind a perfect marvel. Such a 
 sentiment emanating from so acute an observer, 
 who had witnessed the splendid visions from West 
 Point, Catskill Mountains, New Lebanon, and the 
 valley of the Mohawk, among a hundred other 
 beauties, is, indeed, quite incomprehensible. But 
 there is no disputing, at the same time, about taste. 
 
a 
 
 JEMIMA WILKINSON. 
 
 215 
 
 There is an extraordinary peculiarity connected 
 with the waters of this lake, of which the cause has 
 never yet been explained — that of their having a 
 regular periodical rise and fall every seven years, 
 and at no other time. 
 
 As well on this, as on Cayuga Lake, a steam- 
 boat is constantly plying ; affording a most inter- 
 esting excursion to the various pretty villages that 
 adorn its banks. Of these, the classical village of 
 Ovid and that of Dresden are the most conspicuous. 
 Immediately south of Dresden is the farm of the 
 late celebrated Jemima Wilkinson, an enthusiast 
 who pretended she was the Saviour of mankind, 
 and to whom a number of persons had attached 
 themselves as her disciples until her death, which 
 took place some few years ago. The following 
 singular account is given of this infatuated woman, 
 or, I should rather say, hypocrite, as the sequel 
 will, I think, sufficiently prove. Ten miles south 
 of Dresden is Rapelyea's Ferry, where is still re- 
 maining the frame constructed by Jemima for 
 the purpose of trying the faith of her followers. 
 Having approached within a few hundred yards 
 of the lake-shore, she alighted from an elegant 
 carriage, in which she had been drawn to the 
 place, and the road being strewed by her disciples 
 with white handkerchiefs, she walked to the plat- 
 form. Having announced her intention of walk- 
 
 m 
 
 'i 1 
 
 r 
 
 
 i?i 
 
 mMk 
 
 11 
 
 ;ii 
 
216 
 
 CANANDAIQUA. 
 
 ing across the lake on the water, she stepped, 
 ankle deep, into the clear element; when, suddenly 
 pausing, she addressed the multitude, inquiring 
 whether or not they had faith that she could pass 
 over, for, if otherwise, she could not effect the 
 miracle. On receiving an affirmative answer, she 
 returned to her carriage, declaring, that as they 
 believed in her power, it was unnecessary to diS' 
 play it ! 
 
 On leaving Geneva, three hours' ride brought 
 me to Canandaigua, another of the beautiful villages 
 with which this western region is studded, and, 
 equally with the former, crowning the margin of 
 a fine lake whence it derives its name. The 
 loveliness and diversity of its natural scenery are 
 very striking, and have rendered it a favourite 
 residence. To this, ample testimony is borne by 
 the number of elegant edifices and tasteful villas 
 presented to the eye in every direction. The 
 principal street, in which the episcopal church 
 stands forth a prominent object of graceful con- 
 struction, runs through an extent of two miles, 
 ornamented with trees, and of noble breadth. 
 The fine dimensions of the streets, I may observe, 
 form the characteristic of almost all the American 
 towns that I have seen ; reflecting great credit on 
 the taste and judgment of their inhabitants ; for, 
 though land is less valuable here than in older 
 
^1 
 
 APPEARANCE OF THE NEW SETTLEMENTS. 217 
 
 countries, and therefore can be better spared, yet 
 a less cultivated taste would, with even superior 
 advantage, fail to produce the desired effect. 
 
 The farther I advanced, the nearer I approach- 
 ed to those new western settlements which, within 
 a few short years, have effected such an astonish- 
 ing change in the aspect of the country, and have 
 sprung up with a rapid growth and vigour, like 
 so many mushrooms during an autumnal night. 
 I was now on my way to Rochester, twenty-eight 
 miles fi'oni Canandaigua, and saw in every direc- 
 tion large tracts of land, presenting all the varieties 
 of shape and appearance, just emerging into luxu- 
 riant cultivation from the boundless, and till now 
 untrodden, forest, of which so lately it formed a 
 dreary and unprofitable portion. It was literally 
 a new creation, and to which the pre-occupied 
 countries of Europe present no similitude. The 
 novelty of the scene, only to be witnessed in 
 America, was without parallel, and brought with 
 it a high and correspondent interest. Amid enclo- 
 sures of grass and fruitful fields of corn, the stumps 
 of a thousand giant trees, cut down to within two 
 and three feet of the ground, contested possession 
 of the soil with the produce of the husbandman ; 
 while, in other parts of this freshly cleared wilder- 
 ness, was seen stalking through the blackening 
 forest the destructive element of fire, accomplish- 
 ing, with a more furious rapidity, what the tardy 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
 
 ilr 
 
 I 
 
218 MODES OF DESTROYING THE FORESTS. 
 
 axe lind left unachieved. The latter mode of 
 operation, in clearing the land, offered to the eye 
 an aspect of gloorny desolation, that excited rather 
 a painful and melancholy feeling. The lofty forms 
 of the still towering oaks, and of the other majestic 
 trees of an American forest, denuded of their 
 leaves, their branches burnt off, the blackened 
 trunks deeply seamed and half consumed with the 
 devouring llames, presented the terrific appearance 
 of having been blasted by the lightnings and 
 thunderbolts of heaven. 
 
 Another exterminating process, almost equally 
 disagreeable to the eye, and inspiring somewhat 
 of a moral sensation of pity, is what is called 
 '* girdling" the trees. This consists of chopping 
 off a circular breadth of bark from the stem, at the 
 height of two or three feet from the earth, and 
 leaving it to wither away ; since the communicating 
 channel of the bark, by which the sap rises, and 
 nourishment is conveyed through the trunk to the 
 various branches, being thus cut off, the tree dies 
 as a necessary consequence. It was, really, and 
 without affectation, pitiable to behold these mag- 
 nificent stems oftwo or three hundred years' growth, 
 proudly spreading to the skies their noble and 
 umbrageous arms, and covered with a profusion 
 of rich foliage, exhibiting all the stages of pre- 
 mature decay, according to their more or less 
 recent excision, amid the very bloom and verdure 
 
Horace's 13th ode, lib, ii. illustrated. 219 
 
 of summer. The sensation produced was almost 
 undefinable. It appeared to me, in the excite- 
 ment of my fancy, to be a wanton mode of de- 
 stroying- tlic tree by cutting its throat, — if I may 
 be allowed the bold figure of illustrating its mode 
 of existence by the application to it of human pro- 
 perties and attributes. 
 
 These beautiful and splendid trees, thus felled, 
 burnt, and girdled, are left to the destroying in- 
 fluences of time and weather to perform the rest, 
 and to root out from the soil which they now dis- 
 figure find oppress, but once adorned. With re- 
 spect to those that have been partially burnt, they 
 are delivered over to the mercies of the wintry 
 winds and howling tempests, which, ever and 
 anon, with a tremendous crash, lay prostrate these 
 huge and ghostly apparitions of the wilderness. 
 And most fortunate is it for the, sometimes, luck- 
 less proprietor of the land, if a kind of posthumous 
 vengeance does not overtake him by one of these 
 towering wrecks, ** majestic though in ruins," 
 rushing on his devoted head. The " Ille et nefasto 
 te posuit die,'' feelingly pronounced by the Roman 
 poet, nearly two thousand years ago, is no poetical 
 vision in these western wilds, but is sometimes 
 accompanied by a too practical illustration, re- 
 moving, at one fell swoop, both the unhappy 
 husbandman and the blighted tree. 
 
 Rochester is situated on the banks of the Ge- 
 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 fi 
 
 
220 
 
 ROCHESTER. 
 
 ne8see river, about seven miles from Lake Ontario, 
 and is the most flourishing town in this part of 
 the noble state of New York; possessing the 
 extraordinary commercial advantage of having 
 three distinct channels to the ocean. The amazing 
 rapidity that has characterised its growth, and 
 raised it to its present importance, is without 
 parallel, as respects time and population, in the 
 historv of the United States. In 1812, when the 
 first settlement was made, the surface whereon it 
 now stands was covered by an impenetrable forest, 
 and v/here a couple of miserable bog-houses were 
 alone to be seen ; while, at the moment that I ad- 
 dress you, it is thronged by an enterprising and 
 active population of upwards of fourteen thousand 
 inhabitants, swarming like bees in a hive, and 
 bustling amid all the eager pursuits of a thousand 
 occupations. Here commerce and husbandry, the 
 arts and sciences, go hand in hand, in all the 
 freshness of a new existence; displaying their 
 humanising powers, at once to enrich and civilise 
 mankind, and exempted from the withering effects 
 of an over-wrought competition, which ever pre- 
 vail, to a greater or less exs^ent, where the amount 
 of labour and of occupation exceeds the wants of 
 society. 
 
 The town, formed into streets of excellent 
 dimensions, and surrounded by the lordly forest, 
 which advances its rugged and frowning outline 
 
ROCHESTER. 
 
 221 
 
 to the very skirts of civilisation, is adorned by a 
 number of handsome buildings, as well private as 
 public. On one of the former, I was not a little 
 surprised to see the following announcement made 
 on a board placed against the side of the house : — 
 
 *' Mr. , Attorney, Solicitor, and Counsellor."* 
 
 Among the public buildings, are eleven churches, a 
 court-house, a gaol, two banks, two markets, saw- 
 mills, cotton and woollen factories, the Franklin 
 Institute, and the Athenaeum, besides a crowd of 
 well-furnished shops or stores, and about a dozen 
 flour-mills. Flour is one of the staple articles of 
 trade at this place, and is said to be bought up in 
 the market of New York in preference to that of 
 any other ; the wheat of this district being con- 
 sidered of very superior quality. Some of these 
 mills are on a scale of extraordinary magnitude ; 
 and I find it stated, that " one of them contains 
 more than four acres of flooring," which is, as a 
 Yankee would say, " pretty considerable well, I 
 guess ! " 
 
 TheGenessee river, of which the " water privi- 
 lege," as the Americans term it, is very great, hav- 
 ing proved the main source of the prosperity of 
 the town, is here crossed by a very fine aqueduct 
 
 * The fact is, there is no distinction in the legal profession 
 here between attorney and counsellor, tiie one including the 
 other. The attorney pleads in court in America as barristers do 
 in England. 
 
 
222 
 
 PUBLIC SUICIDE OF SAM PATCH. 
 
 often arches, supporting the Erie canal, on which 
 boats are beheld smoothly gliding above, while the 
 river is fretting and rushing along beneath. Pur- 
 suing the course of the stream for a short distance, 
 you come to the Falls of the Genessee, of about 
 ninety feet in depth, with their numerous and pic- 
 turesque cascades ; and a couple of miles lower 
 down, to those of Carthage ; the scenery being 
 here highly romantic, and well worth the trouble 
 of a walk to see. It was from the summit of a rock, 
 about the middle of the first-named Falls, that a 
 half-madman, of the name of Sam Patch, met 
 his death about two years ago, by repeating an in- 
 sane exhibition of his courage previously made at 
 the Falls of Niagara, where he had a marvellous 
 escape. A platform was erected for him to a 
 height of twenty-five feet above the rock in 
 question, making, with the elevation of the latter 
 above the water, a total height of 125 feet ; and 
 from this stage, in the presence of a multitude of 
 humane spectators, he magnanimously plunged 
 headlong into the abyss below. As might well 
 be expected, he never rose again; nor was his 
 body found until six months afterwards; having 
 been carried by the current to the distance of a 
 number of miles from the scene of his folly. 
 
 I had the good fortune, while at Rochester, to 
 make the acquaintance of a most amiable and in- 
 telligent family from Albany, who were on their 
 
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 
 
 223 
 
 way to visit the magnificent cataract of Niagara, 
 to which my own anticipations were turned with 
 such wistful longings. The party consisted of a 
 highly respectable and talented barrister of that 
 city, his wife, equally amiable as himself, his little 
 daughter, and also his brother and his lady, two 
 agreeable persons resident at Geneva. In the de- 
 lightful society of these interesting people, I passed 
 some of the most pleasing hours I had experienced 
 since my arrival in America ; and found in their 
 conversation ample sources both of information 
 and pleasure. With respect to my intellectual 
 friend from Albany, as I hope he will allow me 
 to call him, I had an early opportunity of wit- 
 nessing the display of his superior endowments of 
 mind, in a cause that reflected equal credit on the 
 goodness and integrity of his heart, as on the 
 soundness of his head. This presented itself on 
 the occasion of a temperance meeting that was 
 held at Rochester, for the purpose of advancing 
 the success of that most benevolent and admirable 
 association. And here I cannot refrain from di- 
 lating somewhat on a subject of such universal, 
 absorbing, and intense interest to the people of 
 the United States ; — a subject, I am happy to say, 
 that has now attracted, and most deservedly, a 
 large portion of attention in England, and in 
 other parts of Europe. The cause of temperance 
 in America, as carried on by the numberless so- 
 
 u m 
 
224 
 
 TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 
 
 cieties now existing there, has put in motion one of 
 the mightiest moral engines that were ever con- 
 structed for the benefit and regeneration of man- 
 kind, and has cast a brighter histre on American 
 character for patriotism, philanthropy, zeal, per- 
 severance, and principle, than all its prodigious 
 works of physical labour and ingenuity are able 
 to confer. 
 
 It appears, by documents and reports which I 
 have now before me, that the vice of intemperance 
 had, for a long series of years, been acquiring, 
 and had at length established, such a fearful and 
 destructive ascendancy over the citizens of the 
 Union, that the very foundations of society were 
 loosened, and its principles of virtue and order 
 were undergoing a rapid disorganisation. The 
 following computation has been made, with re- 
 spect to the frightful and almost incredible excess 
 to which this odious vice had extended, and which 
 I give in the very words of one of the reports of 
 the New York State Society. They say, " When 
 the temperance reformation began, there were in 
 this nation not less than from three to four mil- 
 lions of drinkers of spirit ; and as not less than 
 one in ten of all chose among us who take up the 
 fearful practice of drinking spirit become intem- 
 perate, so there were in this nation at that time 
 from three to four hundred thousand drunkards. 
 The plague of intemperance was in all the land : 
 
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 
 
 225 
 
 it was fast coming up into all our dwellings : we 
 were emphatically a nation of drunkards. No- 
 thing could stay its progress, until the hitherto 
 undiscovered power of total abstinence was brought 
 out against it. And now that power is to be seen 
 in the fact, that not less than one fourth of the 
 families in the nation, and probably one half of 
 them in our state, have secured themselves, on 
 this principal of total abstinence, against the woes 
 of intemperance." 
 
 In consequence of this appalling state of 
 things, some few estimable individuals, in the 
 state of Massachusetts, entered into an association 
 in 1826, pledging themselves to a total abstinence 
 from the use of ardent spirits, and to strenuous 
 exertions for the purpose of extending the prac- 
 tice of a similar observance throughout the sphere 
 of their influence. From this single society, like 
 the forest from a solitary stem of the bannian tree, 
 have sprung ten shousand branches that have 
 taken root in nearly all the states of the Union, 
 and have produced that mighty reformation which 
 has achieved already such glorious triumphs, aild 
 is still urging onward its bright course, till it 
 effect the entire extirpation of intemperance from 
 the land. You may imagine what must have 
 been the zeal, perseverance, and labour of the 
 worthy promoters of this admirable reformation, 
 and of those who have subsequently become 
 
 l2 
 
 m 
 
 t ; ii 
 
226 
 
 TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES, 
 
 associated with them in their philanthropic enter- 
 prise, when I inform you, that in one single state 
 alone, that of New York, upwards of six hundred 
 societies are already reported to the executive 
 committee. It is believed also, that of those un- 
 reported there are two hundred more, constituting 
 an aggregate of eight hundred temperance so- 
 cieties ; a number which will give one for each of 
 the 800 towns comprised within its boundaries, 
 and 150,000 members for the whole. Of these 
 societies, some of which are female, a few carry 
 their principle of abstinence so far as to exclude 
 wine as well as spirit ; and seriously contemplate 
 the propriety and advantage of extending it even 
 to malt liquor. This latter design will not, I hope, 
 be carried into execution, as it would in the end, 
 I have no doubt, create a re-action that would en- 
 danger the whole system. So opposite an extreme 
 to the original evil would mar the intended 
 good. Labouring men, at least, require something 
 stronger than water, and it would be bad policy to 
 withhold it from them. 
 
 The result of these most laudable endeavours 
 has been, that in the employment of their various 
 workmen, contractors of rail-roads, captains of 
 canal-boats, proprietors of farms, and many re- 
 spectable manufacturers, have now abstained alto- 
 gether from allowing them spirits of any descrip- 
 tion ; and have borne testimony to the important 
 
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 
 
 227 
 
 fact, that their men have just as faithfully per- 
 formed their duty as when the reverse was the 
 case, and have enjoyed at the same time better 
 health, and a more cheerful alacrity of temper. 
 In addition to the above, considerable numbers of 
 distilleries have discontinued their manufacture, 
 and grocery F+ores the sale, of this deleterious ar- 
 ticle, a^ le lo. -^fgreatpecunia , (Oil t; but which 
 the owners of them have conscientiously sacrificed 
 on the altars of their country to the sacred cause 
 of its welfare — of virtue, humanity, and religion. 
 
 The most surprising circumstance, however, 
 is, that the reformation has been carried into suc- 
 cessful operation even among sailors; a body of 
 men, it was supposed, that would never have been 
 induced to perform their arduous duty without the 
 usual allowance of rum. This, nevertheless, has 
 been effected, and to such an astonishing extent, 
 that about 400 ships now sail from diflferent 
 parts of the United States without having intoxi- 
 cating liquors, of any description, on board — the 
 sailors finding a basin of hot coffee a more invigo- 
 rating beverage. One of the immediate effects has 
 been the decrease of insurance ; several of the most 
 respectable offices having reduced the rate five per 
 cent on the premium, in consequence of vessels sail- 
 ing without spirits. With respect to another class 
 of society, to whom the application of this doctrine 
 was formerly deemed equally impracticable, I 
 
 ilf' J 
 
 IV 
 
 t^ ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 1' 
 
 ■*i? 
 
 
 !M 
 
 %' 
 
 bl^ 
 
 i ' 
 
 ill' 
 
 
 U 
 
 h 
 
228 REFORMATION EFFECTED BY TEMPERANCE. 
 
 mean soldiers, a revolution, as gratifying as it was 
 unexpected, has taken place. The reports, now 
 before me, contain some interesting notices on the 
 subject by Chancellor Walworth, the enlightened 
 and philanthropic President of the New York 
 State Society. That learned gentleman relates 
 the circumstance of his having brought the con- 
 sideration of this question, ten years ago, as a 
 member of Congress, before the House of Repre- 
 sentatives; when his proposition, if not rejected 
 with scorn, was, at all events, thrown out by an 
 almost unanimous vote. Such, notwithstanding, 
 has been the change of sentiment since that 
 period, that the whisky ration is, already, par- 
 tially discontinued to the troops, by order of the 
 President of the T^jiited States ; and the total 
 abolition of it is . ongly recommended by the 
 head of the War Department, backed by all the 
 influence of his official station. 
 
 It is almost superfluous to exhibit to you the 
 dark catalogue of crime, perpetrated by the people 
 under the excitement of their intemperate habits, 
 in order to satisfy you of the vast importance of 
 these associations. As I have, however, been lead- 
 ing you, so lately, through the State Prison at Au- 
 burn, I will just present you with the report, made 
 to the executive committee, respecting the habits 
 of the convicts confined there, previous to the 
 commission of the offences for which they are now 
 
TEMPERANCE REPORT OF AUBURN PRISON. 229 
 
 suffering the penalties of the law. The report 
 says : " The male convicts may be classed, with 
 reference to their former habits of drinking, in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 Grossly intemperate 209 
 
 Moderately intemperate 257 
 
 Temperate drinkers 132 
 
 Total abstinence, or nearly so 19 
 
 617 
 
 Of this number, 346 were under the influence of 
 ardent spirits at the time of the commission of 
 their crimes. The number discharged, by pardon 
 and expiration of sentence, during the past year, 
 was 133. Of these, 95 had been drunkards." 
 
 I shall now conclude my notice on the sub- 
 ject by stating to you, from the Report of 1831, 
 what was the amount of decreased consumption of 
 spirits of the previous year. ** It appears," says 
 this document, " that, in the last year, the diminu- 
 tion in the quantity of foreign liquors, passing 
 through the New York market for domestic con- 
 sumption, \*as been one million four hundred and 
 seventy-one thousand seven hundred and eighteen 
 gallons, costing about as many dollars, and being 
 a falling off of more than fifty-three per centj of 
 domestic spirit, it has been about two millions of 
 gallons, worth, at first cost, about 500,000 dollars ; 
 the whole making a saving to the community of 
 nearly two millions of dollars." From other 
 
 1] 
 
 
 t:h| 
 
 
 
 I ii 
 
 ;i' 
 
 
230 ENORMOUS SAVINGS FROM TEMPERANCE. 
 
 
 sources I also collect, that, from the yoar 1828 to 
 the present year (1831), the aggregate decrease 
 in the consumption of spirits in America wasj^w 
 millions and three quarters of gallons; saving to 
 the country, perhaps, almost as many dollars. 
 Thus, together with half a million of pledged 
 members, throughout the different states of the 
 Union, you must acknowledge with me, that the 
 cause of temperance advances with irresistible im- 
 pulse. I will only add an apostrophe to my own 
 beloved country, and say, " Go thou and do 
 likewise !" 
 
 I left Rochester, in the company of the inter- 
 esting family whom I have introduced to you, 
 for Lockport, distant sixty-five miles; and was 
 delighted, on leaving the town, to enter on what 
 is called the *' Ridge Road," which, for its extent 
 of nearly eighty miles to Lewiston, is, ])eyond all 
 comparison, the finest road in the country. With- 
 out intending to cast a gibe or jeer in the faces of 
 my American friends, I must say, that the road is 
 thus excellent because nature has made it and not 
 
 man. 
 
 As this inartificial turnpike is evidently of 
 natural formation, and runs parallel with Lake 
 Ontario, at an average distance of, perhaps, seven 
 miles, towards which the slope of the ridge constantly 
 inclines, it is regarded by geologists as the ancient 
 shores of the lake. It is slightly elevated above 
 
APPEARANCE OF NEW SETTLEMENtS. 
 
 231 
 
 the surrounding country, which presents a level 
 surface nearly the whole way, and is skirted by 
 the boundless forest on each side, whence an 
 undulating tract of land has been won, extending 
 from a quarter to three-quarters of a mile in 
 breadth, and in length through the whole line of 
 our route. These patches of newly cultivated 
 ground are formed into all the imaginable varieties 
 of curves, squares, semicircles, and other shapes 
 that the fancy of the new settler had suggested. 
 The scene was highly interesting. Nature here 
 offered to the imagination what might easily be 
 conceived to be a picture of man, just emerging 
 from a state of savage life into the arts of civilisa- 
 tion. All was wiidness, rudeness, and disorder : 
 rough outlines of plans, half begun and none 
 finished, and the effect increased by myriads of 
 burnt, chopped, and girdled trees, similar to 
 what I have before mentioned. Here and there, 
 the half-formed enclosure was surrounded by a 
 zig-zag, or, as it is called, a snake fence, con- 
 structed of split trees, and exhibiting a singular 
 appearance. This is seen in all parts of the 
 States ; being the universal boundary of property 
 in all their sections. I need scarcely observe, that 
 the beautiful, verdant, and ever diversified orna- 
 ment of hedges, so refreshing an object to the eye 
 in English landscape, was not to be found here ; 
 since, in the most cultivated district of the Union, 
 
 !li; : '.1 
 li 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
232 LIDEL ON HIS COUNTRY BY AN AMERICAN. 
 
 they are never to be seen ; a deficiency in pic- 
 turesque effect that is greatly felt by the English 
 traveller. Perhaps a greater libel than any that 
 has been attributed, by the Americans, to Captain 
 Basil Hall, I heard pronounced by an American 
 gentleman himself, ^.vhen alluding to this great 
 desideratum in American scenery, and seeming as 
 if he wished to apologise for their absence — 
 namely, that the soil of his country would not pro- 
 duce them ! 
 
 Of Lockport, a tolerably correct idea may be 
 formed, by considering it the counterpart of the 
 country through which I have just been leading 
 you. Indeed, its foundations are but just laid ; 
 and it looks, at present, like the element of order 
 struggling with, and rising out of, chaos. Its 
 history is concise enough. Five years ago, or 
 thereabouts, it existed not ; a wide waste of wil- 
 derness occupying its site — and now there are 
 between 300 and 400 houses, of which it owes, 
 entirely, the existence to the presence of the 
 Erie Canal that runs through it. One thing, 
 however, may be safely predicted, that in ten 
 or twenty years from this time it will have 
 become a handsome, wealthy, and important 
 town. Though in its infancy, it possesses, not- 
 withstanding, the finest work on the whole 
 line of the Erie canal, in the splendid locks 
 whence it derives its designation. This gigantic 
 
LOCKrORT. 
 
 233 
 
 work consists of ten locks, of fine hewn stone, 
 formed in a double range of five in each, jdaced 
 in juxtaposition, and which have been constructed 
 for the purpose of surmounting the rocky ridge 
 dividing the two levels on eacli side of it. 
 
 These locks, formed of the very best workman- 
 ship, graduate a fall of about sixty-live feet, and are 
 built in two tiers, in order to prevent the serious 
 delay that would ensue, in consequence of the im- 
 mense traffic on the canal, if the ascending or 
 descending boats — whichever it might be — hud to 
 wait the passing of those coming hi the ;)positc 
 direction before they could proceed. It is m 
 interesting sight to behold one boat gmduaily 
 rising to an elevation of sixty-five fe ft, while 
 another is seen, at the same moment, sinking to 
 an equal depth towards the spacious basin ])elow. 
 
 In continuation of this stupendous work, and 
 running immediately from it, is the grand excava- 
 tion that has been cut through the mountain ridge 
 to an extent of three miles, and of which the 
 labour of hewing a passage through a solid rock 
 of twenty feet in thickness, miu for so great a 
 distance, was, as you may suppose, enormous. It 
 was here that the greatest obstacles of the whole 
 363 miles had to be encountered ; and it certainly 
 strikes the beholder with astonishment, to perceive 
 what vast difficulties can be overcome by the 
 pigmy arms of little mortal man, aided by 
 
 : ,(• 
 
 .1 '■' 
 
 ^-; -'8 
 
234 
 
 LOCKPORT. 
 
 science and directed by superior skill. In many 
 places, the explosive power of gunpowder alone 
 could have torn asunder the massive and deep- 
 rooted rocks, which seemed to defy the power of 
 all except the great Being who created them. 
 
 To-morrow I leave Lockport for that long- 
 looked-for desire of my eyes — the Falls of Ni- 
 agara; and shall despatch my letter, from this 
 village, to find its way to New York for embark- 
 ation, either by land or water, as shall please that 
 puissant personage the postmaster. 
 
 And, now, I have only to beg of you, as a 
 remuneration for my long epistle, and for the 
 labour of writing you so lengthened a detail on 
 the virtues and proceedings of Temperance Asso- 
 ciations, that you will forthwith enrol yourself as 
 one of the unflinching champions of the glorious 
 cause ; and, as you may possibly require a good 
 example to lead you the right way, I authorise 
 you to put my name down as a pledged member 
 in the records of your society. Adieu ! 
 
235 
 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 
 Falls of Niagara — Description of them — British, or Ilorse- 
 Shoe Fall — American Fall — Impossibility of doing them 
 justice — their Height — Comparison with the Pyramids of 
 Egypt — General Whitney's Hotel — Military Titles in Ame- 
 rica — Ferry Staircase — Goat Island — Biddle Staircase — 
 Sarr Patch's leap into the Gulf — View from the centre of the 
 River — Whirlpool and Devil's Hole — Lewiston — Queens- 
 town — Comments on Captain Hall's Work on the States — 
 Forsyth's — Visit behind the Falls — Scene by Moonlight. 
 
 Falls of Niagara, 3lst JuUi, 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 At length I stand in the presence of 
 the stupendous and magnificent cataract of Ni- 
 agara ! Amid the thunder of its rushing and 
 mighty waters — transfixed in mute astonishment at 
 the unequalled sublimity of this matchless vision 
 — do I now address you ! But how shall 1 describe 
 its unique and solitary grandeur? Where shall I 
 commence — how arrange my thoughts — how 
 adjust my language — where first seize, amid a 
 thousand features of majesty and wondrous beauty, 
 the most striking objects to portray this enchant- 
 ing and absorbing scene ? I confess myself lost 
 
 , i> 
 
 
 w 
 
 i 
 
236 
 
 FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 and bewildered in the contemplation of it, and 
 filled with despair at the idea of presenting you 
 with even the faintest outline of what I feel to be in- 
 describable ; as far, at least, as respects the ren- 
 dering justice to the great original. To attempt 
 the perilous task of description at all, argues no 
 little of bold and presumptuous daring; and yet, I 
 am fully aware, that to pass it over in silence, or in 
 the mere expression of general terms — shielding 
 myself from the certain hazard of failure under 
 the apology of its overwhelming magnitude — 
 would occasion a bitter disappointment to you, 
 which I am quite willing and anxious to avoid. 
 
 If Captain Basil Hall, who was understood to 
 have gone to America with the intention of writing 
 a book of travels, was unable, as he himself can- 
 didly confesses, to give any description whatever 
 of these splendid Falls — and whose excited and 
 enthusiastic imagination was, nevertheless, unable 
 to embody the glorious landscape and transfer it 
 to paper — I, who do not intend to write any book, 
 may well be excused from essaying so overpower- 
 ing a delineation, which would have set at defiance 
 the vigorous and masterly powers of even Sir 
 Walter Scott himself. Yet, notwithstanding the 
 unanswerable reason that I have to express 
 myself in general terms only, and keep myself 
 clear of the danger of going into presumptuous 
 detail, I am, at the same time, so convinced of 
 
FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 237 
 
 the vexation you would feel unless I consented to 
 expose myself a little, particularly as it is ad- 
 dressed to a private and not to a public ear, that 
 I am induced to offer to your mind's eye a very 
 rough sketch of that which, after all, your own 
 vivid fancy must fill up; since from that, prin- 
 cipally, and not from the point of my poor, puny 
 pen, must be derived the beau-ideal of this the 
 mightiest cataract in the world. 
 
 Imagine, then, a beautiful and majestic rWer, 
 about a mile in breadth, lovely in its smoothness 
 and expansion till it reaches the Rapids, com- 
 mencing about half a mile above the Falls, and 
 reflecting on its soft and mirror-like bosom, pre- 
 viously to gaining this point, a thousand umbra- 
 geous trees and other interesting objects with 
 which its banks are adorned. Imagine next, 
 that, on this silvery stream touching the verge of 
 these ruffled waters, you see it beginning to be 
 fearfully disturbed, as if by an instinctive dread 
 of the tremendous abyss into which it is, in a few 
 moments, to be hurled ; and, tracing onwards its 
 course, that you perceive it continually increasing 
 in agitation ; till at length, lashed into superna- 
 tural fury, though every wind is hushed — gushing 
 and boiling upwards — revolving in eddies and 
 whirlpools — dashed into rageful billows, and rush- 
 ing impetuously forwards — broken and obstructed 
 in its descent by a thousand hidden rocks — you 
 
 
 il'l'f 
 
 'i f, 
 
 ■i n 
 
 !.'>. I| 
 
238 
 
 FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 behold the stream, covered with foam and breakers, 
 urging its course, with irresistible violence and a 
 deluge-like current, to the perpendicular edges of 
 these thundering cataracts, and then bounding 
 with gigantic volume of waters into the yawning 
 gulf below. Fancy, also, that on the very ex- 
 treme brink of the curved precipice, down which 
 the main body of the stream rushes, there lies a 
 very lovely island, crowned with noble trees and 
 the most verdant herbage, dividing the river into 
 two unequal currents ; the larger portion forming a 
 magnificent crescent, and the lesser what is called 
 the American Fall, that presents an enchanting 
 contrast to the hollow shape of the former by 
 the strictly straight line in which its splendid 
 array of waters descends. Imagine, still further, 
 that you look down into the boiling abyss from 
 a fearfully constructed bridge, thrown from this 
 island to the very verge of the Grand Fall, and 
 that the extreme point, whence you cast your 
 affrighted view below, han^s over the perpen- 
 dicular descent itself of the roaring torrent. 
 Imagine the entire length of this most fragile- 
 looking erection to extend three or four hundred 
 feet from the shore, and to rest alone on the slip- 
 pery surface of huge rocks and stones projecting 
 from the bed of the river, and which, though 
 forming here a kind of back-current, and greatly 
 subdued in force, yet flows with rapid strength 
 
FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 239 
 
 between the supporting stones, threatening, to 
 the startled eye of the adventurer, instantaneous 
 destruction. Fancy yourself, I repeat, beholding 
 from this bridge the tremendous gulf beneath — 
 raging with the most frightful agitation — whirling 
 in horrible eddies — foaming, boiling, and steam- 
 ing, as if the whole whirlpool were an unearthly 
 cauldron heated by a hidden volcano. Imagine, 
 if you can, that from this mass of furious waters, 
 in a state of elemental discord, you hear an 
 astounding roar that almost deafens you, and feel 
 the very ground vibrating under your feet; and 
 that you perceive enormous exhalations of mist 
 and spray rising to the skies, and forming a thou- 
 sand fantastic and ever-varying clouds. Imagine, 
 as the last stretch of your excited fancy, that, 
 amid the whole of this "jar of elements," you 
 perceive a beautiful and luminous rainbow, vivid 
 as the bow of heaven, gracefully hung in these 
 clouds of spray — like the angel of Hope, amid 
 the distractions of the moral world, holding forth 
 the bright symbol of peace and forgiveness to the 
 sinful sons and daughters of earth, agitated, as 
 they are, by as ceaseless a strife of rebellious 
 passions and feelings towards their all-gracious 
 Maker, as are the untameable waters of Niagara 
 by the unceasing rushings of its torrent. Fancy 
 all this, and you will have the best sketch that 
 
 m. 
 
 m 
 
 III 
 
 ill 
 
 I lit] 
 
 111 
 
240 NIAGARA, OR *' WONDER OF THE WATERS.' 
 
 
 my poor genius is capable of affording you of these 
 matchless Falls. 
 
 I will now pause, in order that you may collect 
 and fix your scattered thoughts on this " wonder 
 of the waters ;" for such is the fine and emphatic 
 signification, in the Indian language, of the word 
 " Niagara." I need not, I presume, assure you 
 that the representation 1 have thus faintly at- 
 tempted to give you is no poetical exaggeration, 
 or highly-wrought delineation of a scene to which 
 neither poet's pen, nor painter's brush, can ever do 
 complete justice. Not Milton himself, were he 
 alive — the greatest master I know of sublime 
 description — could render poetical justice to so 
 transcendent a landscape. If, however, you doubt 
 the soberness of my mind on this occasion, I shall 
 refer you to Captain Basil Hall, who, in page 351 
 of his first volume on the United States, alluding 
 to this subject, says, ** To speak without exagge- 
 ration or affectation, I must own that upon this 
 visit — the last, in all human probability, I shall 
 ever pay to these Falls, I was almost overwhelmed 
 (if that be the proper word to use) with the gran- 
 deur of this extraordinary spectacle. I felt, as it 
 were, staggered and confused, and at times expe- 
 rienced a sensation bordering on alarm — I did 
 not well know at what — a strong, mysterious 
 sort of impression that something dreadful might 
 happen." 
 
HEIGHT OF THE FALLS. 
 
 241 
 
 Is 
 
 t 
 
 After reading, however, the above, represent- 
 ing a state of feeling into which I could very 
 readily enter, I was not a little surprised to iind, 
 in another part of the same volume, a comparison 
 made between the sound of the Falls and that of 
 a "grist mill of large dimensions." This is a 
 falling from the sublime indeed, and a comparison 
 the very antipodes of what, I frankly acknowledge, 
 I should have been inclined to institute. Such, 
 I must declare, was the effect on myself of the 
 awful depth and volume of tone unceasingly as- 
 cending from these deluge-like waters, as to have 
 produced, to the sense of hearing, as strong a 
 sensation of the sublime as the sight of its splen- 
 did cataract did to the delighted eye. 
 
 The height of these Falls, which I have not 
 yet mentioned, is computed to be as follows : 
 that of the Grand Crescent, or Horse-Shoe Fall, 
 is calculated by some persons at 1 74, and by others 
 at 158 feet, of perpendicular descent, though 
 never accurately ascertained ; and the breadth, 
 pursuing the waving line of its semicircular form, 
 at 2100 feet. The height of the American Fall is 
 stated to be 160, with a breadth of 900 feet. But 
 though these dimensions are great, it is the enor- 
 mous bulk and mass of waters that constitute the 
 surprising and absorbing spectacle ; and when the 
 sun shines upon them, especially the morning and 
 evening sun, the snowy and brilliant whiteness of 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
 
 p 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 I 
 m 
 
 
 '19 
 
 1.;; i! 
 
242 NIAGARA COMPARED WITH THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
 the falling sheet transcends all that can be either 
 said or conceived of magical effect. 
 
 The quantity of water which is computed to 
 pass over the Falls every hour, on the supposition 
 of the current running six miles in that space of 
 time, amounts to upwards of 102 millions of tons 
 avoirdupois, and, in the course of a day, to 2400 
 milHons of tons. 
 
 And now I shall carry you back to the first 
 day of my arrival, occurring about a week ago, 
 and lead you to the various positions whence the 
 finest views are obtained, in regular succession ; 
 for as the Falls of Niagara are the sight to be 
 seen of the whole world — and by an European 
 traveller never, probably, to be seen but once — 
 they merit a reiterated contemplation, to which 
 the mind clings with an instinctive ardour infi- 
 nitely beyond the feeling attaching to any other 
 object that I have seen in the other three quarters 
 of the globe. I have beheld, as you know,, and 
 ascended, the gigantic Pyramids of Egypt — the 
 mighty Cheops himself, the largest of them all — 
 but they inspired not, by their colossal and tow- 
 ering masses, that deep and soothing, and yet 
 stirring emotion, which Niagara's sublime image 
 alone is capable of exciting. One presents the 
 majesty and omnipotence of the great Creator ; 
 the other, a vainglorious and useless display of 
 the empty grandeur of poor, puny, mortal man — 
 

 GENERAL WHITNEY. 
 
 243 
 
 whose very name is forgotten — essaying, like the 
 infidels of ancient Babel, to outvie God ! 
 
 The Italian motto, " Vedi Napoli e mori^" may 
 do " indifferent well," as Hamlet says, for Euro- 
 pean tourists who have resolved to limit their 
 excursions to the eastern shores of the Atlantic ; 
 but those who have crossed its blue waters, and 
 visited this enchanting spot, will feel no " com- 
 punctious visitings of conscience" whatever in 
 erasing the city in order to substitute the ca- 
 taract. 
 
 On reaching the Falls from Lockport, I took 
 up my quarters at the village on the American 
 side, called Manchester — rather an unpoetical 
 name for such a place — where is a very comfort- 
 able hotel, kept by General Whitney ; who, after 
 having gallantly defended his country during the 
 war, is not ashamed thus to repose on his laurels 
 in time of peace. '* General Whitney, landlord 
 of the Eagle Tavern," sounds rather oddly, it 
 must be confessed, to an English ear, accustomed 
 as we are, at home, to see these gallant veterans 
 glittering in the train of courts, and shining with 
 spangled orders and decorations. But, as Shake- 
 speare says, "What's in a name? — a rose by 
 any other name would smell as sweet :" and I 
 doubt not that my worthy host and entertainer of 
 the Eagle Tavern is just as valuable and merito- 
 rious a member of society, as landlord thereof, as 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 •iv. 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 ' ;. \\ 
 
244 THE ARMY, AND MILITARY HONOURS. 
 
 if he were senator or President of the United 
 States — perhaps better; for he runs hisa risk of 
 being corrupted, to which higli station and pro- 
 sperous circumstances expose our frail nature in 
 every part of the workl. At all events, however, 
 I must declare myself indebted to him for excel- 
 lent "bed and board," and very civil entertain- 
 ment. These seeming anomalies, rather startling 
 at first to our aristocratic prejudices, are not 
 unfrequently met with in journeying through this 
 country, where you will occasionally, to your 
 great surprise, hear the ostler addressed as cap- 
 tain ; while another, in an equally equivocal situ- 
 ation, bears the military honours of a field-officer. 
 The simple explanation of the mystery, I ima- 
 gine to be this : — At the commencement of the 
 last war, it was found requisite suddenly to 
 increase the army ; the complement of which, 
 during peace, being never more than the almost 
 inconceivably small amount, for such an amazing 
 territory, of 6000 men ; and, in consequence of the 
 urgency of the occasion, a number of persons who 
 otherwise would not have been employed crept 
 into the service, either as local militia officers or 
 otherwise, but whose conduct nevertheless, as 
 brave men, as well as that of the whole American 
 army, reflected highly on their courage and skill, 
 as intrepid defenders of their country. In my 
 enumeration, however, of the American army, I 
 
THE FERRY STAIRCASE. 
 
 245 
 
 ^1 
 
 should not omit to mention that the militia of the 
 United States comprises a very considerable body, 
 amounting in the aggregate to 1,200,000 men. This 
 force, too, is composed of materials that would 
 be speedily available in case of emergency ; and 
 would furnish, I have not the least doubt, to its 
 full numerical estimate, stout hearts and firm 
 hands to vindicate their count ^v's honour. 
 
 The first thrilling view that I obtained of the 
 Falls was from what h called the Ferry Staircase, 
 some little distance from the gallant General's 
 hotel. This flight of steps, winding in a spiral 
 form from the lofty bank above, is constructed 
 close to the American Fall, and is considered by 
 many to present the finest coup d'ceil. From 
 windows that are opened in the wooden structure 
 covering in the descent, as well as from the bottom 
 of it, the headlong deluge is seen, and can be 
 approached within a few feet ; the spectator being 
 sheltered from danger by a rocky barrier that in- 
 terposes its protection, and which lies close to the 
 side of the mighty flood. The peculiarity of the 
 scene, as beheld from this position, is the apparent 
 union of the two great cataracts ; for, standing 
 immediately in a line with the torrent of the 
 American Fall, Goat Island, to which 1 have 
 alluded as forming the separation between them, 
 is entirely lost sight of, in consequence of the 
 great projection of the descending column. Thus, 
 
 
 
 ■11 
 
246 
 
 THUNDER-STORM AT THE FALLS. 
 
 by a deceptio visus, they appear to be unito< -i Ci.a 
 superb descent ; the eye passing rapidly from the 
 brilliant stream of the one, bounding downwards, 
 with snowy whiteness, in a strictly straight line, 
 to the grand crescent of the other. The view is, 
 indeed, truly wonderful and surpassingly beauti- 
 ful; and, as if to heighten the effect of this im- 
 posing landscape, a violent thunder-storm that 
 had been, fcr some time, gathering in the sky, 
 suddenly burst over our heads just as we arrived ; 
 and, as you may well suppose, superadded an 
 additional awe, a " supernumerary horror," to 
 the stupendous scene. 
 
 I felt, at the moment, that nothing could exceed 
 this view, till, having seen a variety of others from 
 different points, I was fairly puzzled to determine 
 which was the finest ; yet still feeling, on every 
 additional change of the scene, that the last was 
 always the best. The truth is, each possesses a 
 magic and peculiar charm of its own, which must 
 be felt and admired for itself, since it defies all 
 comparison with its scenic rivals; for, as Pope, 
 I think, says, — 
 
 " Nought but itself can be its parallel." 
 
 I must acknowledge, nevertheless, that the first 
 overpowering touch of the sublime that I expe- 
 rienced, was from the extreme point of the Ter- 
 rapin bridge, which I have already described. 
 
BKIDQE ACROSS THE RAPIDS. 
 
 247 
 
 I next made the tour of Goat Island, in com- 
 pany with my interesting friends of Alhany, 
 comprising about a coui)le of miles in circuit. It 
 is a beautiful island- wilderness, just left as na- 
 ture formed it, reposing in all its native wildness 
 and loveliness amid a world of thundering waters 
 spread around. The approach to it lies over a 
 bridge of about G5() feet in length, thrown across 
 the rapids, about a quarter of a mile above the 
 American Fall ; and it strongly excites the ad- 
 miration to witness the almost insuperable ob- 
 stacles that have been overcome by the enterprise 
 and genius of man. The stream at this place, 
 which in picturesque beauty, occasioned by the 
 violent agitation of its broken waters, surpasses 
 every thing that I ever witnessed before in the form 
 of rapids, rushes with such extraordinary impetu- 
 osity, that you would have imagined, did not the 
 bridge stare you in the face, that no effort of the 
 most accomplished engineer could have effected 
 its construction. It is done, however, and is sup- 
 ported on wooden piers, sunk with stones, in such 
 a manner as, despite all appearances, to render 
 it perfectly secure. A person passing over it, for 
 the first three or four times, involuntarily shrinks 
 back and shudders, when half way across, with 
 a horrible apprehension that the trembling plat- 
 form will be swept from under him, in one over- 
 whelming crash, ere he can gain the opposite 
 
 ■ Is 
 
248 
 
 GOAT ISLAND. 
 
 extremity ; and not unfre4uently, when some 
 distance over, does he retrace his steps in double 
 Cjuicktime, and only feels confidence in its security 
 when the repetition of his visits has rendered him 
 familiar with the scene. 
 
 From Goat Island you behold, in all directions, 
 the very romance of nature ; a glorious vision that 
 absorbs all yo'ir faculties, and which presents to 
 your mind, in the ceaseless and voluminous rolling 
 of the mighty ilood of the great Horse-Shoe Fall, 
 a better type of eternity than any other object that 
 I ever beheld. In consequence of the island being 
 level with, or slightly elevated above the river, 
 prior to its shooting the precipice, the eye ranges 
 along the entire length and breadth of its pic- 
 turesque rapids to its discharge into the terrific 
 abyss, and thence along its turbulent course be- 
 tween two rocky ridges of towering heights that 
 fcound its channel. On the opposite bank of the 
 stream you ^njoy a delightful prospect of the 
 Canada shore, crowned with luxuriant woods; 
 with two handsome hotels belonging to Mr. For- 
 syth, peering aloft above the Falls, and command- 
 ing an unrivalled view of this " wonder of the 
 waters." 
 
 On this side is erected the " Biddle Staircase," 
 by which you desctnd to the bed of the fallen 
 river, and where you obtain, from a new position, 
 other features of this deeply interesting picture, 
 
i. 
 
 CROSS THE RIVER. 
 
 249 
 
 unseen before. It was here that the daring Sam 
 Patch, wishing, I suppose, to rival in his im- 
 mortality Eratostratus of Ephesus, of temple-burn- 
 ing memory, leaped into the boiling gulf, from a 
 platform 125 feet high, amid a crowd of specta- 
 tors, and was miraculously preserved, to terminate 
 his life on a similar occasion, as I have related, 
 at the Fails of the Genessee. ' 
 
 After enjoying a most delightful stroll, in 
 skirting the entire shores of this fairy island — 
 viewing the cataracts under every diversified as- 
 pect — the rapids — the river — its verdant islets 
 lying in beautiful clusters at various short distances 
 from the margin we were treading, and forming, 
 as if in mirthful mimicry of their great <>riginal, 
 a number of miniature cascades, which would have 
 been thought highly of in any other situation, I 
 crossed the river, with my pleasant party, from 
 the Ferry Staircase to the Canada shore. The 
 breadth of the current at this place, hemmed in 
 on each side by lofty perpendicular cliffs, is be- 
 tween a quarter and half a mile ; and the depth, 
 as I understood from the boatman, very profound. 
 In consequence of the great contraction of its chan- 
 nel to little more than one-fourth of its expansion 
 above the Falls, the stream rushes with fearful 
 violence, and whirls the boat along with it in a 
 manner that would be truly alarming were you 
 not previously assured of your safety. After 
 
 M 2 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 
 ■ 1 1' 
 - m\ 
 
 ii. ; 
 
 1 
 
 It' -nil" 
 
 '?1 Hli 
 
250 
 
 VIEW FROM THE HIVER, 
 
 making a sweeping semicircle, borne down by 
 the violence of the torrent, you are landed in 
 security on the opposite banks, drenched to the 
 skin, most certainly, by clouds of spray in which 
 you become involved, unless protected by a cloak ; 
 though, beyond doubt, infinitely more than repaid 
 for your unexpected shower-bath. 
 
 The novel and enchanting perspective pre- 
 sented to the sight from the centre of the river 
 is by most, I believe, esteemed the ne plus ultra 
 of pictorial effect ; combining, in one wide sweep, 
 the full and uncurtailed dimensions of the two 
 cataracts, with the intervening line of Goat Island, 
 which contrasts its dark embowering shades with 
 the silvery brightness of the waters. In various 
 places throughout this splendid landscape, the 
 " many -coloured iris" displayed her gorgeous 
 hues ; superadding the beauties and sublimities of 
 the moral and religious world to those of magni- 
 ficent nature. For my own part, I confess, I give 
 the preference to the view exhibited from the rocky 
 eminence rising immediately and abruptly from 
 the Canadian side of the ferry; whence, in ad- 
 dition to what I have described, the spectator is 
 enabled, from its lofty elevation, to trace the 
 glittering course of the rapids of the American 
 Fall, studded with its gi'een islets, and hurrying 
 furiously onward to the verge of the precipice. 
 This view appears to me, of all the numberless 
 
AND FROM THE CANADA SHORE. 
 
 251 
 
 positions I have taken, the absolute perfection of 
 the whole ; and when a brilliant evening sun 
 darts his more chastened beams on the glowing 
 picture, the waters of this Fall, in particuhir, re- 
 flecting, from the shape of it, every ray that rests 
 upon them, display such a rolling mass of inde- 
 scribable, snowy whiteness, as to transfix the en- 
 raptured beholder in mute iistonishnient — I may 
 truly say, in adoration — not of tl*e scene, but of 
 that stupendous and Almi^iy Being who called 
 it forth. The rushing stream seems as if it were 
 instinct with supernatural movement, and strongly 
 recalled to my mind that sublime passage of 
 Genesis, in which the first operation of the 
 Creating Deity upon the earth, then " without 
 form and void," is represented with such simple 
 majesty — '' And the Spirit of God moved on the 
 face of the waters." 
 
 One absorbing feeling alone filled my heart at 
 the moment I first saw it. My friends were gone, 
 and I was musing alone, in ad that luxury of 
 solemn contemplation that well iits a theme of 
 such unparalleled magnificence- oiid which will, 
 sometimes, even in this state of our frail and 
 sorrowing nature, elevate «jac 8@u1 to thou^^hts of 
 fl*at *' high and lofty One that inhabiteth eterTiity" 
 (A that brighter and happier destmy in the skie« 
 whifiiAf, notwithstanding its degraded conditioia 
 <# IM^/ tbe soul will ever aiui m;.tiuctivelj 
 
 I 
 
252 
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL. 
 
 aspire. My heart was full, and I could not help 
 ejaculating to myself, in the most fervent spirit 
 of devotion, — 
 
 " These are thy glorious works, Parent of good ! 
 Almighty ! thine this universal frame, 
 Thus wondrous fair : thyself hoxo wonurous then! 
 Unspeakable ! who sitt'st above these heavens. 
 To us invisible, or dimly seen 
 In these thy lowest works ; yet these declare 
 Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine !" 
 
 On the morning following our water excursion, 
 we took leave of our gallant host, and proceeded, 
 en voiture, to take up our quarters, for a few days, 
 at Forsyth's hotel, on the British side. Our route 
 lay to Lewiston, distant about seven miles, where 
 a fe'* -I oat ''" attendance to convey passengers 
 ac* the Niagara, which is here about half a 
 ' lie broad, to Queenstown. We stopped, how- 
 ever, on our way thither, for the purpose of seeing 
 what is called the ** Devil's Hole," and also the 
 whirlpool. The former is a dismal-looking gulf, 
 about 200 feet in depth, on the right bank of the 
 river ; and the latter, a most romantic and spa- 
 cious basin, formed by an abrupt angle of the 
 river, embosomed in woods, and girt in by tower- 
 ing rocks, where the water is violently agitated 
 and whirled in never-ceasing eddies. A most 
 frightful accident was very near happening to a 
 
PERILOUS SITUATION OF A LADY. 
 
 253 
 
 lady of our party, which would have been truly 
 awful had it taken place. She was standing, with 
 the rest, on the brink of the precipice, about 260 
 feet in perpendicular descent, when, on a sudden, 
 a snake darted towards her from beneath the 
 grass. The aJBTrighted lady instantly starting aside, 
 by a convulsive effort to escape the reptile, was 
 within a hair's breadth of throwing herself into 
 the yawning chasm below. The speckled monster, 
 however, writhed harmlessly past her, and gliding 
 over the edge of the rock, disappeared from our 
 view. 
 
 The Niagara, at Lewiston, wears little the ap- 
 pearance of having been so lately dashed head- 
 long down such tremendous precipices ; for, 
 though flowing rapidly, it looks as smooth and 
 placid as a polished mirror. The strongest signs 
 exist, at the same time, in the present appear- 
 ances of its banks, and of its other localities, that 
 the great cataract, which now thunders seven miles 
 higher up the stream, once reverberated, in deafen- 
 ing roar, at this very spot. By the constant abra- 
 sion, however, of the rocky masses by its ceaseless 
 torrent, it has, in the course of ages, receded to its 
 present position. And that it is still undergoing 
 the same destructive process, slowly though surely, 
 there is ample testimony now living to prove ; 
 since, within the memory of persons existing at 
 the present moment, the great Horse-Shoe Fall 
 
 &, 
 
 
 
 4i: 
 
 
 
 -i !■■■ ■ 
 
 .i. w- ■ 
 
 ! "I 
 
 ;.! 
 
254 COMMENTS ON CAPTAIN HALL's WORK. 
 
 has retired as far as fifty yards from the line 
 which formed the base of its descent. The mighty 
 cause is ever in operation ; and, in the gradual 
 wear of future ages, this, the grandest of the 
 Falls, may disappear altogether, and its turbulent 
 waters, once so violently agitated, merge in the 
 placid flow that issues from Lake Erie. 
 
 I may as well mention here, as I have not yet 
 done it, that the Niagara river unites the waters 
 of Lake Erie, and of the other inland seas lying 
 beyond it, with Lake Ontario and the River St. 
 Lawrence. The Falls are situated about twenty 
 miles from the former, and nearly fifteen from 
 the latter lake ; making its entire length about 
 thirty-five miles, while the breadth of the river 
 varies from one mile to Sve or six. 
 
 The Niagara, as well as Lake Erie, lies on the 
 boundary line dividing the territories of the Re- 
 public from the dominions of his British majesty ; 
 into the latter of which, constituting the province 
 of Upper Canada, we now entered, after passing 
 this liquid line of demarcation of nearly a third of 
 a mile in breadth. And, here, I cannot avoid 
 making a comment or two on the observations 
 made by Captain Basil Hall, who crossed the 
 stream at this precise spot, in reference to the 
 essential diss's ilaiioy presenting itself between the 
 opposite shores of the two countries. For much 
 as I had heard, in America, of the violent pre- 
 
COMMENTS ON CAPTAIN HALL's WORK. 256 
 
 judices entertained by that gentleman against the 
 people of the States and their country, and with 
 respect to every thing connected with both, I con- 
 fess I was unwilling to give my assent to it ; and, 
 more especially, as I felt myself bound, in com- 
 mon candour, to give the most implicit credit to 
 the statement he so frankly makes, at the com- 
 mencement of his work, that "there seldom was 
 a traveller who visited a foreign land in a more 
 kindly spirit." That the judgment may be, and 
 often is, erroneous, in the opinions it forms, ca i- 
 not be doubted, was the reply that I generally 
 made to the remarks which I heard reflecting on 
 the character of his work ; and a misconception of 
 mind is, by no means, identified or to be con- 
 founded with prejudice. 
 
 I must acknowledge, nevertheless, that I was 
 somewhat staggered in my apprehension as to the 
 entire absence of prepossession from the mind of 
 the gallant captain, when, on being referred to 
 the opinions recorded by him, on crossing the ferry 
 atLewiston, I read, in page 193 of his first volume 
 of Travels in North America, the following reflec- 
 tions: — ''It was curious, indeed," he remarks, 
 '* to observe how great a change in many of the 
 most essential particulars of national character, 
 and customs, and appearance, a short half mile — 
 a mere imagiiijary geographical division — could 
 make. The air we breathtd seemed different, the 
 
 i 
 
 
 
266 COMMENTS ON CAPTAIN HALL*S WORK. 
 
 skyy the land, the whole scenery^ appeared to be 
 altered ; and I must say, that of all the changes I 
 have ever made in a life of ceaseless locomotion, 
 I have seldom been conscious of any transition 
 from one country to another more striking than 
 this." 
 
 Such a sentiment fairly startled my imagina- 
 tion, and, if not prejudice, looked certainly some- 
 thing like it. For, to my own powers of vision, 
 though the " national character, and customs," 
 might appear in some degree changed — but cer- 
 tainly, in so short a distance, changed in a very 
 slight degree — yet, beyond any doubt, the " air 
 breathed," and the appearances of " the sky, the 
 land, the scenery," remained, as the result of 
 my own perceptions, perfectly the same on the 
 Canadian banks as on those of the States. It ap- 
 pears to me that it must have required something 
 out of the order of nature altogether, to have al- 
 tered the sameness, at least of several of them, as 
 is but too evident. I am quite satisfied that, had I 
 not known I was stepping across the boundary line 
 of two nations, nothing that I beheld would have 
 suggested the idea, as arising from a supposed 
 difference in the aspect of nature, whatever might 
 have been the case with regard to manners ; and 
 which latter, according to my own experience, 
 was barely perceptible. These observations are, 
 of course, limited to the visible differences sup- 
 
COMMENTS ON CAPTAIN HALL's WORK. 257 
 
 
 posed to exist on the Canada shores of the 
 boundary line in question, as, no doubt, in tra- 
 velling through the provinces, the marks of dis- 
 tinction will become sufficiently apparent. 
 
 In traversing the various cantons of Switzer- 
 land, the eye is able, I think, most clearly, to 
 trace the difference, and draw imaginary lines of 
 demarcation, between the Protestant and Catholic 
 cantons ; as well from the existence of moral as of 
 physical causes, and which forcibly strike the 
 senses in passing from one to another. But 
 even there, the ** air and the sky," as also the 
 *' scenery," except where the characteristic hand 
 of diligence has better cultivated the land, re- 
 main, as from the beginning of time, totally inde- 
 pendent of all human operations. At the place 
 referred to, I cannot but repeat, that if I had 
 not been (j^uite aware that I had arrived within 
 the jurisdiction of my own liege sovereign, I 
 should have considered myself still amenable to 
 the presidential fiat of General Jackson, and 
 bowed, in consequence, to this my temporary alle- 
 giance. 
 
 Queenstown, with the heights adjoining — 
 rising to the elevation of 270 feet above the level 
 of the Niagara — is the site on which was fought a 
 battle, between the king's and the republican 
 forces, on the 13th of October, 1812. In this 
 contest, General Brock, the commanding offi^cer 
 
 « 
 
 
258 QUillENSTOWN — BROCK's MONUMRN'i. 
 
 of the former, lost his life in successfully repelling 
 an ntlack, made by the Americans, to gain pos- 
 session of tlie heiglits. To commemorate his 
 death, a handsome monument of free? tone has 
 been erected on them, 126 feet high ; from the 
 summit of which, ascended by a spiral staircase, 
 is beheld a remarkably fine and interesting pro- 
 spect, extending through a space of filly miles. 
 From this position, an almost interminable sweep 
 of rich, undulating, forest scenery is displayed, 
 and a noble view of Lake Ontario, and where can 
 be seen, I believe, in very clear weather, the town 
 of York, the capital of Upper Canada. Hence to 
 Forsyth's is seven miles, where we now took up 
 our abode. It is planted on a beautiful eminence, 
 looking down immediately on ihe grand Fall, and 
 exhibits, from its different verandas, the most 
 romantic and imposing scene that can be viewed 
 from any house that was ever erected by mortal 
 man. 
 
 Having regaled my optical as well as moral 
 senses, by the sublime spectacle presented from 
 Table Rock, and which is supereminently situated 
 for that purpose on the very verge of the Fall, 
 my intelligent friend from Albany and myself 
 made an arrangement with one of the guides to 
 proceed on the following morning — understanding 
 that to be the most favourable period of the day — 
 to explore the tremendous cavern behind the cata- 
 
VISIT BEHIND THE FALLS. 
 
 259 
 
 pelling 
 n po9- 
 Lte his 
 le has 
 >m the 
 lircase, 
 ig pro- 
 miles, 
 sweep 
 played, 
 ere can 
 le town 
 ence to 
 ook up 
 lineuce, 
 ill, and 
 e most 
 viewed 
 mortal 
 
 ^ moral 
 d from 
 situated 
 le Fall, 
 myself 
 lides to 
 tanding 
 e day — 
 le cata- 
 
 ract. This terrific abode of what may be called, 
 in poetical language, the subaqueous throne of the 
 presiding spirit of the waters, lies immediately 
 behind the falling river, whose ovenvhelming 
 masses, hurled downwards from above, and within 
 a few yards of where the startled beholder stands, 
 presents the most appalling type of the universal 
 deluge that could possibly be conceived. Directly 
 behind rises the perpendicular and stupendous 
 rock to a lofty elevation, ^ -ojecting at the top 
 in a massive arch of about feet. Over this 
 
 the thundering inundation is unceasingly rushing ; 
 and from the dismal gulf, that yawns beneath 
 your very feet, are whirled up such tempestuous 
 and furious blasts of spray, wind, and vapour, as, 
 if raging in the opposite direction, would instantly 
 drive the astonished spectator, without the possi- 
 bility of being saved, into the boiling abyss. The 
 very cave of^Eolus himself, as described by the 
 ancient poets, contained not more terrific gusts ; 
 while the astounding roar of the waters, the dark 
 and impenetrable torrent before you, the gulf 
 beneath you, the apparently helpless situation on 
 which you are placed — cut off, to all appearance, 
 from retreat, and beset with seeming horrors on 
 every side — occasionally blinded with these wa*?ry 
 gusts, and drenched to the skin — present such a 
 reality of the terribly sublime as no imagination 
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260 
 
 VISIT BEHIND THE FALLS. 
 
 scene has been impressed, never to be forgotten. 
 Could a person, by possibility, be carried in a 
 state of sleep behind the Falls, and there awoke, 
 unconscious where he was, the inevitable effect 
 would be instant destruction of his reason, and, 
 very probably; an appalling death. 
 
 But I have been all this time anticipating my 
 narrative. Our first preparation was to accoutre 
 ourselves in oil-case trousers, coat, and hat, dis- 
 playing the most grotesque and anti-mundane 
 appearance that can be well imagined. Being 
 thus equipped for the overwhelming shower-bath 
 we were going to encounter, we sallied forth, and 
 descended, by a long and steep spiral staircase — 
 closed in from the lofty rocks above — to the level 
 of the river after its precipitation. Winding hence 
 along the base of the cliffs, particularly Table 
 Rock, which projected over us with rather a 
 threatening aspect, we approached the entrance 
 of the cavern. Here the guide grasped firmly 
 hold of my hand, and led the way, while I as 
 firmly grasped hold of that of my companion, 
 who immediately followed. We now reached the 
 outer edge of the torrent, and were pelted nearly 
 off our legs by the whirling blasts of wind and 
 spray that I have described, and which prevail 
 more violently for the first twenty yards after 
 entering, than farther on. The copious drippings 
 from above soaked us to the skin almost imme- 
 
VISIT BEHIND THE FALLS. 
 
 261 
 
 diately, in utter defiance of our oil-skin dresses. 
 For some time I was perfectly blinded, and de- 
 pended solely on the guide to conduct me safely. 
 At intervals, as we advanced, these furious gusts 
 were carried off in another direction, and left us, 
 for a brief space, an opportunity of looking around 
 us and observing the slippery and narrow path on 
 which we were walking, closely skirting the edge 
 of the " dread profound," and the indescribable 
 appearances displayed on every side. This path, 
 conducting to what is called " Termination Rock," 
 where its perpendicular descent forbids to the 
 daring foot all further advance, being constantly 
 wet, requires great caution in passing along it, as 
 well, also, from the number of eels which, I was 
 informed, were frequently gliding about. 
 
 At length we arrived at the extreme point of 
 our supernatural route, 153 feet from Table Rock. 
 Here we sat down on a narrow ledge of the cliff, 
 within a yard of the dismal chasm, that sloped 
 precipitously beneath our feet, to contemplate this 
 hideous yet sublime spectacle — these 
 
 " Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace 
 And rest can never dwell : hope never comes, 
 That coroes to all." 
 
 It required no stretch of imagination to con- 
 ceive this mysterious gulf the " bottomless per- 
 dition" of the fallen angels of Milton, — 
 
 I 
 
 r, 
 
 !, M 
 
 <if 'I 
 
 H 
 
 I I 
 
 I!' 
 
 r ::: U 
 
 f,:j 
 
 ' n 
 
 [ i 
 
262 SINGULAR APPEARANCE OF THE SUN. 
 
 " Each on his rock transfix'd, the sport and prey 
 Of racking whirlwinds — or for ever sunk 
 Under yon boiling ocean, wrapt in chains ; 
 There to converse with everlasting groans, 
 Unrespited, unpitied, unreprieved. 
 Ages of hopeless end.'' 
 
 On looking upwards, as I have mentioned, 
 you perceive an immense line of precipice over- 
 arching the cavern, and apparently but little 
 capable of supporting the enormous weight of 
 water pouring over its surface ; in fact, huge 
 fragments are occasionally torn asunder, and 
 dashed with hideous confusion into the abyss. 
 
 Among the other singular exhibitions within 
 this gloomy prison-house of the waters, was the 
 extraordinary appearance of the sun. It seemed 
 as if the actual orb itself had approached to, and 
 was resting upon, the exterior sheet of the Fall; 
 and, instead of a dazzling brightness, it presented 
 a deep, blood-red tinge. As to communication, it 
 was almost out of the question ; for the noise was 
 so prodigious, that, in speaking to each other, it 
 was necessary to shout immediately into the ear, 
 at the utmost stretch of the voice. 
 
 After remaining about ten minutes, drenched 
 to our very hearts' content, and full of the sublime 
 to overflowing, we again committed ourselves to 
 the guidance of our firm-handed and sure-footed 
 cicerone, who brought us in safety, once more, to 
 
CERTIFICATE OF OUR VISIT. 
 
 263 
 
 his attiring room on the summit of the rocks. 
 Here we disencumbered ourselves of our dripping 
 oil-skins, and proceeded to breakfast with hearty 
 good-will, and with appetites sharpened by the 
 splendid shower-bath from which we had just 
 emerged. I must not omit to tell' you, that we 
 received each a certificate, according to custom, 
 under the official signature of our diploma-grant- 
 ing guide, of our having accomplished the adven- 
 ture of penetrating to Termination Rock, written 
 with as much important formality as if he had 
 been conferring upon us the degree of doctor of 
 laws. 
 
 It requires, beyond doubt, tolerably strong 
 nerves and stout lungs to go through the scene, 
 and which a person with any pulmonary weakness 
 should not dare to adventure. Our conductor 
 told us, that at least one-half of the persons who 
 made the attempt turned hastily back, after going 
 but a third of the way. 
 
 It was at the distance of about a mile from the 
 Falls where was fought a sanguinary battle, in 
 1814, between the British and tht Americans, 
 called the battle of Bridgewater, or Lundy's Lane, 
 and where the roar of hostile cannon commingled 
 with the still louder thunders of the cataract. 
 The locality was such, I should imagine, as to 
 have inspired both parties with additional impe- 
 tuosity and heroism; and reminds one of the 
 
 ■! 
 
 1 i 
 i \l 
 
 if 
 
 m 4 
 
264 
 
 MIDNIGHT VISIT TO THE FALLS. 
 
 famous battle of the Pyramids, when Buonaparte, 
 skilfully availing himself of the imposing circum- 
 stance, called on his soldiers to recollect that 
 thirty centuries were looking down upon their 
 actions from the summits of those colossal struc- 
 tures. 
 
 I have now remained at the Falls about a 
 week, and know not how or when to quit them. 
 I have contemplated this glorious scene of nature 
 from every varied and accessible point whence it 
 can be viewed ; and, like every thing that is 
 perfect, the more and the longer it is gazed upon, 
 the more it grows upon your admiration, and 
 transports you with wonder and delight. I was 
 certainly very fortunate in the auspices under 
 which I came here, and which have continued 
 during the whole of my stay — a brilliant sun by 
 day, and the chaste full moon by night. 
 
 Of this interesting coincidence I was anxious 
 to avail myself; and determined, before my de- 
 parture, to witness the effect of a moonlight scene 
 at midnight, on the waters of the cataract. The 
 bell had tolled the " witching hour of night," 
 when, wrapping myself in my cloak, I hastened 
 alone down the steep bank to the Table Rock. 
 Every thing was hushed, except the deep and 
 solemn reverberations of the torrent. The moon 
 had long risen, and, riding in "cloudless ma- 
 jesty," was fast winning her way to the " noon 
 
 as 
 
MOONLIGHT SCENE AT THE FALLS. 
 
 265 
 
 of night," casting over the blue expanse of heaven, 
 and over the dark shades of earth, her *' silver 
 mantle." The Rapids above, and the falling waters 
 below, reflected a thousand flashing lights, gleam- 
 ing with the most beautiful radiations that can be 
 conceived, sparkling and glowing as 'if they were 
 a liquid mass of flowing diamonds; while here and 
 there broad lines of the deepest shade, formed in 
 the retiring angles and curves of the precipice, and 
 the sombre hues of the embowering groves of Goat 
 Island, opposed a powerful contrast to this silvery 
 brightness. Huge volumes of mist and spray as- 
 cended in ceaseless clouds ; curling and wreathing 
 their gigantic forms to the skies, and presenting 
 to the excited imagination fearful shapes of spirits 
 emerging from the terrific abyss that lay whirling 
 beneath with supernatural agitation. 
 
 Dense as were these columns of spray, they 
 were lighted up by a pure and transparent white- 
 ness from the reflected moonbeams ; and yet, where 
 the vapour was the thickest, they were marked by 
 a mysterious shadowiness, which gave to the spiral 
 wreaths, as they slowly and majestically rose, the 
 appearance of disembodied forms of an unearthly 
 character. The last and lovely finish of the whole 
 was a most superb lunar rainbow, brilliantly over- 
 arching the illuminated vapour, and presenting,with 
 as distinct and vivid a colouring, all the difterent 
 prismatic hues, as I ever saw displayed on the solar 
 bows when spanning the mighty arch of heaven 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 N 
 
266 
 
 MOONLIGHT SCENE AT THE FALLS. 
 
 The scene altogether was superlatively grand 
 and imposing. I was inspired with a feeling of 
 indescribable awe and solemnity, superior even to 
 what I had experienced in the cavern behind the 
 Falls. The contrast was surpassingly striking be- 
 tween the sublime and the beautiful, the horrible and 
 the soothing, the rugged and the graceful ; between 
 the delicious calmness of the skies and the thun- 
 dering vibrations of the earth — and to which the 
 depth of night, the entire loneliness, and the 
 absence of every living creature from the scene, 
 served to give a character of transcendent subli- 
 mity. It was perfectly impossible to contemplate 
 this unparalleled midnight vision, undivested of 
 religious feeling and sentiment ; and when I turned 
 my eyes to the curling masses of ever-rising vapour 
 issuing from the turbulently-boiling surface, that 
 seemed pendent over a hidden volcano, that awful 
 passage of Revelations was immediately and most 
 forcibly brought to my mind : **And the smoke of 
 their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and 
 they have no rest day nor night." 
 
 I was literally overwhelmed by the unequalled 
 grandeur of this stupendous landscape, by the 
 solemn and absorbing train of thoughts which it 
 had called forth, and by the pitch of over-excite- 
 ment to which my imagination was wrought; and I 
 felt a chill of secret horror creep through my veins, 
 and curdle, for the moment, my very heart's-blood. 
 
 I now retraced my steps up the ascent, almost 
 
 h 
 
 fr 
 
MIDNIGHT APPARITIONS. 
 
 267 
 
 frightened at my own shadow, and reached my 
 chamber about half-past one ; and, in a state of 
 feverish sleep, had the cataracts rushing through 
 my ears, and the misty apparitions rising before 
 my eyes, throughout the long dreaming night. 
 
 I have omitted to mention, wha't is stated to 
 be the fact, that the thunder of the Falls is some- 
 times heard at York, the capital of Upper Canada, 
 fifty miles distant ! Such an almost inconceivable 
 extension of sound, if it be the fact, contrasts in a 
 marvellous degree with the comparison instituted 
 by Captain Basil Hall, between the sound of the 
 Falls and " that of a grist-mill of large dimen- 
 sions." Without vouching, however, for the truth 
 of it, yet the statement will assume an air of pro- 
 bability when placed in juxtaposition with a fact 
 narrated by Dr. Clarke, that he heard the roar 
 of the British cannon, during our attack on the 
 fortress of Rachmanie, in Egypt, although he was 
 at the moment 130 miles from the besieged place. 
 At this time he was sailing on t'le ocean at the 
 distance of 100 miles from the Egyptian coast, 
 over which, and over thirty miles of intervening 
 land, the sound had travelled!* 
 
 And here I pause, fearful as I am, lest through 
 my great anxiety to render you a copious and 
 faithful delineation of this astonishing picture, 
 from all the varied positions in which they were 
 
 * Vide Clarke's Travels in Greece, Egypt, and the Holy 
 Land, part ii. vol. iii. p. 3ai ; edition 1807. 
 
 J 1 
 
 t II 
 
 Iii 
 
 i\il 
 
268 
 
 THE PAN08 OP PARTING. 
 
 presented to myself, and on each of which I have 
 dwelt with such unmingled delight, I may have 
 tired you hy the minuteness of my details, and 
 wearied your attention by superfluous repetition. I 
 ought, perhaps, to have remembered that, as it 
 was utterly out of the power of my poor, puny 
 pen to convey to your mind the scenes that were 
 portrayed to my sight, what transported me to 
 behold might fatigue you to read. The fault is in 
 the writer, while Nature is all perfect. Such as 
 it is, however, accept for the sake of the motive 
 that prompted the hazardous attempt. " The 
 spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!" 
 
 To-morrow I set off*, with my agreeable com- 
 panions, on an excursion to Buflalo, and from 
 whom I fear I must soon part. It is a little word, 
 but it involves in it a universe of feeling ; and he 
 who is a stranger to its thrilling import may well 
 rejoice in heart, though he has not beheld the 
 sublimest creation of Deity upon the earth, in the 
 magnificent Falls of Niagara. In the meantime, 
 I commit my ill-executed sketch, the fragile mes- 
 senger of the best wishes of its frail author, to the 
 winds and the waves of the Atlantic ocean ; trust- 
 ing that the time may arrive when the things that 
 have been shall seem as though they had never 
 existed ; and that the time to come hereafter may 
 bring with it the glorious reality of that " peace 
 which passeth all understanding, and which the 
 world can neither give nor take away." — Adieu! 
 
269 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 I 
 
 Buffalo — Lake Erie — Source of the Niagara — Western Lakes 
 — Welland Canal — Noble and useful Work — Launch of 
 Vessel over the Falls — Return to Niagara — Final Adieu 
 — Cross Lake Ontario— York, Capital of Upper Canada — 
 Canada Land Company — New Settlements — Guelph — 
 Goderich — Price of Land, &c. — Country most eligible to 
 Emigrants — Imposts and Duties — Expense of Passage to 
 Emigrants — Constitution of Upper Canada — Kingston — 
 the Rideau Canal — the St. Lawrence — the Thousand 
 Islands — Rapids of the St. Lawrence — Arrival at Montreal. 
 
 Montreal, 10th Atigustf 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 My route to Buffalo, whither I was 
 proceeding at the date of my last letter, in the 
 society of my esteemed Albany friends, and which 
 lies at the distance of twenty-eight miles from the 
 Falls, meandered along the banks of the Niagara 
 nearly the whole way. The river became more and 
 more placid as we ascended the stream towards 
 Lake Erie, and left behind us the scene of the com- 
 motion of its waters. Passing through the villages 
 of Chippewa and Waterloo, the battle-ground of 
 
270 
 
 BUFFALO — ITS POPULATION. 
 
 well-contested actions during the last war, — for 
 this section of the state is (|uite classic ground 
 to the Americans, — we crossed the river at Black 
 Rock, and three miles farther on reached our 
 destination. 
 
 This town is situated at the extremity of Lake 
 Erie, a few miles above its outlet into the Niagara, 
 whose stream it forms, and commands, from the 
 gentle eminence whereon it stands, a fine view of 
 this inland sea. It was burnt down by the British 
 army during the last war (in 1814) ; and has risen, 
 like the fabled Phoenix, more vigorous from its 
 ashes. 
 
 At that unhappy period every house in the 
 town was destroyed except one, which is pointed 
 out as a mournful monument of the deadly strife 
 that then prevailed ; never, I most sincerely trust, 
 to be again renewed between two great and kin- 
 dred people, between whom, through all future 
 times, respect, esteem, and a fraternal harmony, 
 will, I hope, be consolidated on an irreversible 
 basis. 
 
 The population of Buffalo, by the last census, 
 is 8G53, an amount that the noble work of the 
 Erie canal has mainly contributed to form — the 
 fruitful parent of a numerous progeny of towns 
 and villages along its bustling and commercial 
 banks. Its locality is one of the finest in the 
 whole state, being the great depot to which is 
 
SOURCE OF THE NIAGARA. 
 
 271 
 
 brought the inexhaustible wealth, and merchan- 
 dise, of the vast chain of lakes that stretch away 
 to the westward in almost illimitable extent, and 
 which find an immediate outlet on the canal to 
 the populous city of New York, and to the waters 
 of the Atlantic ocean. 
 
 To give you an idea of the boundless region 
 of waters forming the source of the superlative 
 Niagara, and from whose shores, in the lapse of 
 future years, will be exported an amount of agri- 
 cultural and commercial produce of incalculable 
 value, I will just give you its dimensions. The 
 most distant is Lake Superior, the head fountain 
 of the mighty volume, and which is 459 miles 
 long, 109 broad, and 900 feet in depth. The 
 outlet of this lake is the River St. Marie, 90 
 miles in length, and flowing into Lake Huron ; 
 the latter being 250 miles long, with an average 
 breadth of 100 miles, and a depth of 900 feet. 
 Lake Huron receives, also, the waters of Lake 
 Michigan, and is stated (with some variation, 
 as respects likewise one or two of the others, by 
 different writers,) to extend through a length of 
 400 miles, and a breadth of 50, and to possess 
 an unknown depth. These congregated waters 
 pass off by the river St. Clair, 40 miles long, to 
 the lake of the same name, comprising about 90 
 miles in circumference ; and these, again, enter the 
 Detroit river, 28 miles in length, and communi- 
 
 . n 
 
 
 ^! \i 
 
 :i 
 
272 
 
 SOURCE or THE NIAGARA. 
 
 cate with Lake Erie, which presents an expanse 
 of 270 miles in length, 60 in breadth, and is 200 
 feet deep. Into each of these lakes disembogue 
 numerous large and smaller streams, the former 
 being characterised by a phenomenon that has 
 never yet been explained, most probably because 
 it cannot be, namely, a periodical rise of their 
 waters nearly every ten years, and which occurred 
 in the years 1816 and 1827. Such are the sources 
 of the Niagara, that constitute it one of the most 
 splendid rivers in the world. 
 
 Pursuing onwards the course of these mighty 
 lakes and rivers through a continuous channel to 
 the ocean, you trace the stream of the Niagara for 
 a distance of 35 miles, to its junction with Lake 
 Ontario, which is 180 miles in length, 40 in 
 breadth, and 500 feet deep. From this lake, at 
 its eastern extremity, issues the noble St. Law- 
 rence, winding its crystal stream, for such indeed 
 it resembles, through a bright unbroken flow of 
 700 miles to the great Atlantic. Some geo- 
 graphers take also into the account the lakes 
 Superior, Michigan, and Huron; and the rivers 
 St. Marie, St. Clair, and Detroit, by which they 
 are connected with Lake Erie, the Niagara, 
 and Lake Ontario, as a continuation of the St. 
 Lawrence, and extend its course, by this estimate, 
 to upwards of 2000 miles. 
 
 These few notices will enable you to form an 
 
FINE POSITION OF BUFFALO. 
 
 273 
 
 accurate judgment of what must be the natural 
 resources of a country where the inland naviga- 
 tion, superior to that of any other portion of the 
 globe, is so amazingly extensive; and of the 
 height to which its commercial prosperity and 
 importance will one day be carried; when all the 
 fertile lands, bordering these inland seas, shall have 
 been brought into successful cultivation, and all 
 their advantages made available by a hardy and 
 industrious population. It will exhibit to you, 
 also, in a more striking point of view, the com- 
 manding position of the rapidly increasing town 
 of Buffalo, seated on the shores of one of these 
 lakes, and whence a direct channel is opened to 
 the Atlantic ocean, along its fine canal, by a 
 shorter cut, than by any other route, of several 
 hundred miles. 
 
 These advantages, however, will not be exclu- 
 sively possessed by the Americans ; as British 
 enterprise, so creditably displayed in the late 
 formation of the Welland canal, to which I 
 shall shortly allude, may honestly and fairly 
 claim a participation in the benefits thus offered 
 to an honourable commercial rival. 
 
 I here bade adieu to my worthy and inter- 
 esting friends, who were returning to their re- 
 spective domiciles, after having passed two weeks 
 in their agreeable and intellectual society, more 
 pleasantly than any that had preceded them dur- 
 
 n2 
 
 m 
 
 , I : 
 
 • ' i. 1 
 
 1' -' 11 
 
 
274 EXCURSION TO THE WELLAND CANAL. 
 
 ing my wanderings in the states, and of which I 
 shall ever retain the most pleasing recollection. 
 I must be allowed here to say, that did not a 
 more extended and generous feeling, grounded on 
 our common origin, attach my best wishes for 
 national prosperity to the American nation, the 
 worthy individuals among my Transatlantic coun- 
 trymen, if I may so call them, with whom it has 
 been my good fortune to become acquainted, 
 would be alone sufficient to call forth, and induce 
 me to cherish, the sentiment. 
 
 It is one of the painful circumstances which 
 attends travelling in so distant a country as this, 
 that you form friendships but to be broken as soon 
 as a congenial acquaintance is made, and meet 
 with estimable persons whom you will never be- 
 hold on earth again. Telle est la vie! — such are 
 the fugitive and visionary enjoyments of sublunary 
 things. It serves, nevertheless, as the best con- 
 solation to the soul, to point its aspirations to that 
 ** better country," where the chequered scenes of 
 life once passed, we shall meet to part no more ! 
 
 I now bent my course towards the Welland 
 canal, commencing at Port Maitland, which lies 
 at the mouth of Grand River, on Lake Erie, 
 and distant 40 miles from Buffalo. It is a noble 
 work, and reflects highly on British skill and spirit, 
 particularly on the Canada Land Company, the 
 great patrons of the enterprise. It was under- 
 
 
LENGTH OF THE WELLAND CANAL. 
 
 275 
 
 taken, and accomplished, for the purpose of unit- 
 ing the waters of Lake Erie with those of Lake 
 Ontario, so as to overcome the natural and insu- 
 perable barrier to an available channel to the 
 latter, presented in the Falls of Niagara. The 
 dimensions and depth of the Welland canal are 
 such as to be navigable by sloops of 125 tons 
 burden ; as large a sized vessel as is generally 
 seen on the lakes, and much larger than any 
 other, navigating canals in America, with the 
 single exception of those of the Chesapeake and 
 Delaware in Pennsylvania. 
 
 The entire length of the Welland canal to 
 Port Dalhousie, on Lake Ontario, is about forty- 
 two miles; and as the level of Lake Erie above 
 the latter is upwards of 330 feet, it has, of course, 
 required the descent to be graduated by a series of 
 locks, of which there are thirty-seven. Of this 
 number, seventeen lie within the short distance of 
 a mile, in descending what is called the Mountain 
 Ridge ; and which reduce nearly the entire eleva- 
 tion of the one lake to the level of the other. The 
 scene at this place is, certainly, a very singular 
 and interesting one, and well merits the attention 
 — as indeed the whole line — of the passing tra- 
 veller ; since but little time or trouble is required 
 in tracing its whole extent ; or, if otherwise, it 
 will amply repay both. 
 
 In addition to the extraordinary series of 
 
 \ 
 
 il 
 
 i I 
 
276 LAUNCH OF A VESSEL OVER THE FALLS. 
 
 locks, as objects to be justly admired, in the con- 
 struction of this sloop navigation, is the Deep Cut, 
 which is considered one of the greatest artificial 
 works in North America. This immense trench 
 was required to be made, in order to preserve the 
 level of the canal, by excavating through an inter- 
 vening ridge, the continuation of which forms the 
 Falls of Niagara, and the rocky heights of Lock- 
 port. Besides the advantage of admitting a much 
 larger-sized vessel than its neighbouring rival, the 
 Erie canal, it enjoys the superiority over it in its 
 greater exemption from ice, and in its being open 
 for the transit of merchandise several weeks earlier, 
 as well as later, in the season ; a circumstance by 
 no means inconsiderable in commercial operations. 
 Thus, the impassable barrier that nature had op- 
 posed, in the cataract of Niagara, to all navigable 
 communication with Lake Ontario, has been sur- 
 mounted by the enterprise and industry of man. 
 
 An attempt, however, was made, in the sum- 
 mer of 1 827, though not, as you will readily be- 
 lieve, for mercantile purposes, to see the effect of 
 a vessel being launched over the Falls, and of 
 which the following account is given as to the 
 result. A schooner, called the Michigan, — that 
 was found to be unfit for the navigation of Lake 
 Erie, being of too great a depth of water, — was 
 towed by a steam-boat to the end of Grand Island, 
 and thence, by a row-boat, to the margin of the 
 
A REASONING BEAR. 
 
 277 
 
 Rapids, where she was abandoned to her fate. 
 Thousands of persons had assembled to witness 
 the descent ; and a number of wild animals had 
 been inhumanly placed on her deck, in order to 
 pass the cataract with her. She cleared the first 
 fall of the Rapids in safety ; but str^ick a rock at 
 the second, and lost her masts. There she re- 
 mained for an instant, until the current turned 
 her round and bore her away. A sensible bear, 
 that formed one of the devoted party on deck, not 
 admiring his situation, or approving of his own 
 sacrifice for the mirth of the wondering people on 
 shore, very wisely leaped overboard at this place, 
 and swam to the shore. The vessel soon after- 
 wards filled and sunk, so that only her upper 
 works remained visible. She went over the cata- 
 ract almost without being seen, and in a few 
 moments the basin was perceived covered with 
 her fragments. Of the live animals confined on 
 board, a cat — secured by her "nine lives" — and 
 a goose, were the only survivors of the desperate 
 plunge ; having alone been found alive in the 
 dismal abyss below. 
 
 I now returned, once more, to the Falls — 
 crossed and re-crossed the river — visited again all 
 the favourite points — repeated the well-trodden 
 circuit of my former contemplations — gathered a 
 few wild flowers from the margin of Table Rock, 
 and elsewhere, with which to adorn my book — 
 
278 
 
 FINAL ADIEU TO NIAGARA. 
 
 collected some interesting specimens of minerals — 
 and, after gazing, and dreaming, and wondering, 
 for a couple of days longer, I bade, at length, a 
 long, lingering farewell to this bright spot of 
 earth — transporting to the eye as the oasis in the 
 desert to the perishing traveller — and where my 
 imagination had been held as completely spell- 
 bound as any bewitched knight-errant by a Spanish 
 necromancer. 
 
 After repeatedly running up stairs to the ve- 
 randah, to take more ** last looks," which I began 
 seriously to think would never terminate, while 
 the carriage was waiting, most unwillingly, at the 
 door — the passengers all packed — the coachman 
 grumbling — and the horses kicking for very im- 
 patience — I summoned, eventually, resolution to 
 depart; and squeezing into our suffocating ve- 
 hicle, a most reluctant ninth unit, I was fairly 
 whirled off, and the spell was broken. 
 
 The excursion, on which I was now proceed- 
 ing, was directed towards the recent settlements 
 that have been formed in various parts of this 
 highly fertile and rapidly improving province ; 
 and for this purpose, I was speeding my course to 
 the shores of Lake Ontario, in order to embark 
 for York, its present rising capital. Our road 
 skirted the beautifully wooded banks that adorn 
 the river as far as Queenstown, and through the 
 vistas of which we obtained interesting glimpses 
 
 
CAPITAL OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 279 
 
 
 of its meandering stream. Beyond the village, 
 its hurrying waters lay open and unveiled to our 
 view, till we reached Fort George or Newark, 
 about fifteen miles from Niagara, situated at the 
 point where the river disembogues into the lake. 
 The entrance is well guarded by both nations — 
 by Fort Niagara on one side, belonging to the 
 Americans, and by Fort George on the other, 
 belonging to the British ; and which, during the 
 war, were proudly vindicating the honour of the 
 respective flags waving over them, by cannonad- 
 ing their opposite neighbours with all the zeal of 
 hostile rivalry. 
 
 I embarked at this place on board a steam- 
 boat for York ; and, in four hours, we arrived at 
 our destination. There is nothing particular that 
 strikes the eye, in passing over this distance of 
 thirty-seven miles, except the deep blue of the 
 water — arising from its great profundity — which 
 would make one easily imagine that he was float- 
 ing on the wide expanse of the Atlantic ocean, 
 rather than on a fresh-water element. The capi- 
 tal of Upper Canada lies on a dead level, stretch- 
 ing away in unbroken sameness, and presents 
 little of variety in its outline. It is a place of 
 considerable size, though rather straggling in its 
 appearance, and possesses a good harbour, de- 
 fended by military works constructed on what is 
 called Gibraltar Point. One or two of the streets 
 
 ^ 
 
280 SETTLEMENTS OF GUELPH AND QODERICH. 
 
 extend to the length of between two and three 
 miles, though somewhat irregularly built, as 
 vacancies are left, here and there, in the line, 
 which an increase of inhabitants will hereafter 
 fill up. The town is by no means, however, so 
 extensive or populous as I had previously expected ; 
 having calculated on seeing a larger proportion 
 of the immense numbers that have lately emi- 
 grated to this province. The tide of emigration, 
 I understood, had set more towards the interior ; 
 the emigrants believing it better to scatter them- 
 selves over the face of the country, than to crowd 
 themselves into large towns ; and which, very 
 probably, in the present state of society, may be 
 more for their advantage. There are, at the same 
 time, some very rising settlements in the interior ; 
 the principal and more flourishing being, as I 
 afterwards found, farther to the westward, of 
 which Guelph and Goderich are the most promis- 
 ing. The former is distant from York about 
 forty-seven miles, and the latter — situated on the 
 shores of Lake Huron — about 140. Between these, 
 and the capital, good roads have been cut, as also 
 between the various townships, by the Canada 
 Company, who are the great proprietors of land in 
 this province, to the extent of about two millions 
 five hundred thousand acres, and on whose pro- 
 perty the towns just mentioned have been erected. 
 This company appears to be actuated by a highly 
 
LIBERALITY OF THE CANADA COMPANY. 281 
 
 liberal, enterprising, and judicious spirit ; reflect- 
 ing equal credit on themselves, and advantage on 
 the country in which their operations are carried 
 on. As an instance of their liberality, and as the 
 best inducement to emigrate to this quarter, they 
 have pledged themselves to expend, on the Huron 
 tract alone, the large sum of 45,000/., for the 
 construction of roads — the erection of churches 
 and schools — the extending and improving of 
 water communications — the building of bridges, 
 wharfs, and a variety of other works of public 
 utility. 
 
 The tract of land of which the company are 
 owners, in the Huron territory, amounts to the 
 enormous quantity of one million one hundred 
 thousand acres, and in this district lies the town 
 of Goderich, where they have laid the foundation 
 of a flourishing settlement under the most favour- 
 able auspices, and with every promise of success. 
 As an advantageous position, nothing in Upper 
 Canada can well exceed it ; since, lying immedi- 
 ately, as it does, on the shores of Lake Huron, it 
 possesses a direct communication with the Atlantic 
 through Lakes Erie and Ontario. 
 
 The price at which the company sell their 
 lands varies from 7s. 6d. to lOs. per acre, and of 
 which the quality is most excellent. Indeed, the 
 entire soil of the province is generally acknow- 
 ledged to be equal, in point of richness, to any 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 I '] 
 
 in 
 
 > ii 
 
 
282 
 
 COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES 
 
 land of similar extent that can be found through- 
 out the whole of North America, and with a less 
 intermixture of waste, or marsh land, than such 
 an extent will present in any other quarter of the 
 world. 
 
 No country, perhaps, on the globe, offers such 
 advantages to emigrants, especially to those of 
 the British isles, as this. Though our colonies 
 in the southern hemisphere. New South Wales 
 and Van Diemen's Land, offer sufficiently flatter- 
 ing prospects to those who find a competent sub- 
 sistence for themselves and families a matter of 
 difficult acquisition in England, yet the serious 
 obstacles presented to the settler, in the greater 
 distance of the voyage, cannot be overlooked, 
 being four times greater than that to Canada, 
 and consequently a four-fold greater expense 
 being incurred on proceeding there. This cir- 
 cumstance alone must necessarily give a very 
 preponderating weight to the consideration of the 
 superior benefits to be enjoyed in selecting the 
 latter. And with respect to climate, the upper 
 province — preferable in point of mildness to the 
 lower one — varies but slightly from that which 
 the British emigrant will have left behind him. 
 Though, in the American portion of his majesty's 
 dominions, the summers are hotter and the winters 
 colder than those in England, yet the heat of the 
 one season is so tempered by cooling breezes, and 
 
OF EMIGRATION. 
 
 283 
 
 the severity of the other accompanied by so much 
 greater dryness of atmosphere, as to make the 
 contrast almost insensible, and the weather per- 
 fectly congenial to an European constitution. 
 
 If the attention of the settler be previously 
 turned towards the territory of the United States, 
 before he fixes his future habitation, for the pur- 
 pose of enlightening his judgment by the informa- 
 tion which a comparison between the two countries 
 will suggest, it appears to me, speaking from some 
 experience, as well as from sources of knowledge 
 to which I have had access, that the result of 
 weighing the evidence, on each side, will terminate 
 in favour of Canada. In addition to the climate 
 of the upper province, which is, I believe, beyond 
 doubt, superior in healthiness to many of the 
 western, and to all the southern states of the 
 Union, the similarity of domestic manners and 
 feelings, as also of the laws, prevailing in the 
 British provinces, will prove more consonant to 
 the previously formed habits of the English emi- 
 grant, and the course of English education that 
 he may have received. To this may be subjoined, 
 what is obviously still more required by a person 
 leaving his long-cherished home and friends, in 
 order to better his circumstances in a foreign 
 clime, the consideration that the soil of Canada 
 is equally good, and sold as cheaply as that in 
 the States, while the taxes, and other public bur- 
 
 .1 a 
 
 ''Ml 
 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 
264 ADVANTAQEOUS COMPARISON OF TAXES 
 
 dens, are much fewer and lighter in the British 
 provinces than are those in the neighbouring 
 republic. Perhaps the influence of the latter ad- 
 vantage may be more practically illustrated, by 
 the fact of a considerable portion of the citizens 
 of the confederation, as I am credibly informed, 
 having turned their backs on their own fertile 
 grounds, and " settled down," as they term it, 
 upon "locations" in the upper province; thus 
 becoming de facto — whether de jure is another 
 consideration — subjects of his British majesty. 
 
 That the imposts and duties, levied on the 
 Canadians, are considerably less than those levied 
 in the States, is fully admitted in a published 
 document of the republic, entitled a "Report of 
 the Committee of Commerce and Navigation, 
 read and referred to the committee of the whole, 
 on the state of the Union, in the House of Re- 
 presentatives of the United States, made on the 
 8th of February, 1830," and without which, I should 
 have hesitated in making the assertion. This re- 
 port throughout presents a most gratifying account 
 of the general prosperity of the colonies ; and, as 
 coming from parties naturally disinclined to ex- 
 aggerate such advantages, is to be depended on 
 with undoubting reliance. It states, that " by the 
 acts of 1825, the British parliament granted to 
 the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, 
 substantially all the commercial privileges of an 
 
BETWEEN THE CANADA8 AND THE STATES. 285 
 
 independent nation ; and they not only imposed 
 more moderate duties than are charged upon the 
 consumption of any country, hut they placed the 
 revenue at flie discretion of their local legislatures 
 for the use of the colonies. These colonies," it is 
 added, '* consume the produce and manufactures 
 of Great Britain, and her dominions, almost free 
 of duty ; they enjoy the conmierce of the East 
 India Company, of Europe, and of North and 
 South America, charged with duties averaging 
 not more than ten per cent, while the voluntary 
 taxes of the United States, on the primary neces- 
 saries of life, average 100 per cent ad valorem." 
 In another part, also, of the same report, it is 
 admitted, that " while the whole foreign trade 
 of the United States, with every part of the world, 
 has remained stationary for fifteen years, the 
 navigation of those colonies with the mother 
 country alone has increased from 88,247 tons to 
 400,841 tons. Their navigation," it continues, 
 '* is advancing with astonishing rapidity. While 
 our exports and imports, in 1828, are in amount 
 little, if any thing, above the value in 1806 or 
 1807, the exports of the colonies have been almost 
 quadrupled in amount, and the imports augmented 
 from four to ten millions of dollars. The popula- 
 tion of New England," it proceeds to say, "in- 
 creased, in nineteen years, about twenty-seven per 
 
 i! ! 
 
 S iJ 
 
 ill 
 
 i 
 
286 
 
 DOCUMENTAL EVIDENCE. 
 
 cent. The British colonies, in the same period, 
 about 113 per cent." 
 
 I was scarcely aware, I must confess, before 
 this state -document fell under my notice, and 
 which proceeds from a body of men representing 
 the knowledge and the aggregate interests of the 
 whole Union, and who, if influenced by any other 
 feeling than that of truth, would rather have sup- 
 pressed the fact than thus broadly have expressed 
 it, that the result of the comparison would have 
 shewn so great a superiority of the British colonies 
 over the states of the republic. It may also be 
 mentioned, that the general expenditure of the 
 government at Washington exceeds, very consider- 
 ably, that of the Canadas ; since a provision for 
 the navy and army, the maintenance of ministers 
 at the various foreign courts, with other et ca;tera, 
 are articles of expense unknown to the latter, in 
 consequence of their connexion with England, 
 and which the former are obliged to keep up. 
 The imposition of two and a half per cent on 
 English imports, together with a very moderate 
 duty on wines and spirits, and the receipts from 
 the sales of waste lands, are quite sufficient, I 
 believe, to support the government of the two 
 provinces, without any tiling additional. 
 
 Thus, without in the least straining the point, 
 and in a spirit of perfect impartiality, it fairly and 
 
ADVANTAGES TO INDUSTRIOUS MEN. 
 
 287 
 
 lionestly appears to me, that the Canadas offer a 
 more promising field for the improvement of 
 British capital and the exertion of British enter- 
 prise, in reference to emigration, than the United 
 States. I freely acknowledge, at the same time, 
 that nothing can exceed the fertile quality of the 
 land in the western sections of the latter country, 
 or the cheap rate at which it is to be purchased. 
 
 With respect to fruits and vegetables, the 
 provinces possess all the varieties known in the 
 mother country; and to a man with a family, 
 particularly if his children are able to assist him 
 in agricultural or other pursuits — to industrious 
 and sober mechanics, farmers, and labourers — 
 nothing can be presented in any part of the world 
 more eligible — I believe I may say, with truth, 
 so eligible — as the establishment of themselves 
 within their limits. That the refinements, and 
 polish, of European society, are not to be met with 
 in these elementary formations of a young state, 
 and that a settler must be prepared to encounter 
 hardships ; and also, according to the extent of his 
 education and his previous habits, must lay his 
 account with having his feelings tried for the first 
 year or two, is most certain. It is equally certain, 
 however, that he will, with diligence and steadiness, 
 obtain a sure independence for himself and his 
 family, and " build up a name" for his posterity, 
 
 I ^ il 
 
 i i' 
 
 
288 
 
 PASSAGE-MONEY FOR EMIGRANTS. 
 
 which he might vainly strive to procure amid the 
 over-wrought competition of his native land. 
 
 As I observed before, the taxes amount to a 
 mere trifle, and the soil is entirely exempted from 
 tithes. The expense of clearing the land, and 
 preparing it for a crop, averages about 31. lOs. 
 per acre, should labourers be employed for that 
 purpose ; if effected by the settler himself, with 
 the assistance of his sons, that amount will be 
 necessarily saved by his own exertions. 
 
 In reference to the passage of emigrants to 
 America, the terms are most reasonable ; and this 
 may be most easily obtained at any of the prin- 
 cipal seaports in Great Britain and Ireland. The 
 whole expense of conveying a family from England 
 to York, in Upper Canada, is about 51. for a 
 grown-up person, and about 31. for children ; to 
 which, of course, the cost for provisions is to be 
 added, amounting to as much more. The expense, 
 at the same time, in proceeding from a port in 
 Scotland or Ireland, will be reduced considerably 
 below the sums previously mentioned. Thus, every 
 possible advantage that can be fairly contemplated, 
 under the view of emigration, appears to centre 
 in the Upper Province of this highly interesting 
 country. When also, in addition, the only desi- 
 deratum that seems to exist, with regard to the 
 full development of her resources, shall be sup- 
 
FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN UPPER CAN iDA. 289 
 
 plied — I mean a legislative act constituting Mon- 
 treal " part and parcel" of this division of the 
 Canadas — thus giving to her a seaport worthy of 
 her importance, and claimed by her necessities, of 
 which, at present, she possesses nothing beyond 
 what is purely nominal — she may then maintain 
 a successful rivalry, in the peaceable arts of com- 
 merce, with the whole world. This subject natu- 
 rally occupies much of the exertion, and all the 
 hopes, of her inhabitants ; and though they have 
 no slight indisposition and jealousy to contend 
 with, on the side of the Lower Canadians, as to 
 parting with it, yet I trust that, ere long, both the 
 one and the other will be overcome, and the 
 desirable union be eflfected. It is to be considered, 
 likewise, that this concession, while it will better 
 so greatly the commercial condition of Upper 
 Canada, will still leave to the lower province 
 the finest port in this section of his majesty's 
 dominions — that of Quebec. 
 
 Before I quit the province, I will just men- 
 tion what is the form of its government. It is 
 founded in imitation of that which prevails in 
 England, and consists of a governor, appointed 
 by the sovereign, a legislative council, and a 
 house of assembly ; the members of the latter 
 being elected for four years by the various coun- 
 ties and towns throughout the colony, and those 
 of the former receiving their appointments from 
 
 VOL. I. o 
 
 
 
290 
 
 QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS. 
 
 the governor, which continue for life. The quali- 
 fication for counties is, I believe, the holding of a 
 freehold to the amount of 405., and that for the 
 towns, the occupation of a house of the value of 
 10/. As in the House of Commons, the House of 
 Assembly holds the strings of the public purse, 
 and provides for the public expenditure; the 
 budget, in reference to colonial taxation, being 
 opened in this branch of the legislature, without 
 whose consent no burdens can be imposed ; neither 
 can the money voted be applied otherwise than for 
 the benefit of the province. 
 
 Having remained in this section of the country 
 as long as my convenience would allow, I stepped 
 into another steam-boat, and, passing along nearly 
 the whole length of Lake Ontario, arrived at 
 Kingston, situated on its eastern extremity. On 
 our passage we encountered a violent thunder- 
 storm, which considerably alarmed the ladies on 
 board; more particularly as a vessel had been 
 lost, with her crew, the week previously, at the 
 very place where it occurred. We stopped, on 
 our passage, at Oswego, a village seated on the 
 shores of the States, and belonging to the republic, 
 and which a branch of the Erie canal — that turns, 
 like the philosopher's stone, whatever it touches 
 into gold — is raising into a flourishing settlement. 
 
 Kingston is a naval and military station be- 
 longing to his majesty, possessing a spacious and 
 
KINGSTON — ITS NAVY YARD. 
 
 291 
 
 t. 
 
 excellent harbour, and was a place of considerable 
 importance during the war, of which its navy-yard 
 affords ample demonstration. Here are seen seve- 
 ral large ships, one or two of them having been 
 destined to carry 100 guns each, for the purpose 
 of contesting, during that period, the supremacy 
 of the lake. They are now falling, unsheltered 
 from the weather, into inglorious decay, and are 
 doomed, at no distant day, to be broken up for 
 firewood. The first sight of these noble vessels, 
 rotting on their stocks, as fast as time and the 
 elements could effect it, was rather melancholy ; 
 but this was soon effaced by the moral considera- 
 tion which the scene suggested — that of the good 
 understanding now subsisting between the former 
 belligerents ; for, to a well-disposed mind, there 
 can be no hesitation as to choosing between peace 
 and plenty with rottenness of ships, and the hor- 
 rors of war though with a gallant navy. 
 
 A much more interesting employment than 
 that of warfare is now occupying the attention of 
 government, at this place, in the completion of the 
 Rideau canal ; of which you have no doubt heard, 
 both in and out of parliament. It must, however, 
 be allowed, that though the present operation of 
 constructing it is sufficiently peaceable in itself, 
 yet the very motive of its being formed involves 
 the anticipation of future conflicts. The accom- 
 plishment of it has been undertaken with the view 
 
 I ' .1 
 
292 
 
 THE RIDEAU CANAL. 
 
 of facilitating, and rendering safe, the transit of 
 naval and military stores, and of those who are to 
 make use of them, between the lower and upper 
 provinces, during any war that may hereafter be 
 waged with the United States. The only channel 
 hitherto available for that purpose, and adopted 
 from imperious necessity alone, is the river St. 
 Lawrence, which forms the great boundary line, 
 through a considerable distance of its course, 
 between the British and republican possessions. 
 This circumstance, in time of war, necessarily 
 exposes the boats, passing along it, to the danger 
 of a destructive cannonade, and of capture, by an 
 enemy in possession of the right bank. In addi- 
 tion, also, to this principal circumstance, the ex- 
 treme delay and labour occasioned by surmounting 
 the Rapids, leaving out of sight the peril attending 
 the operation, are such as to endanger the success 
 of our arms on any sudden emergency, and enor- 
 mously to increase the public expenditure. 
 
 It is true that, as far as the Rapids are con- 
 cerned, canals offering a much shorter route than 
 that of the Rideau canal might easily be cut along 
 the banks of the river where they occur, for the 
 benefit as well of the merchant as of govern- 
 ment. Such, indeed, I entertain not the slightest 
 doubt, will one day be accomplished ; economising 
 both time and money to a considerable extent. 
 This very beneficial improvement, -levcrtheless, 
 
 I 
 
 
■ 
 
 THE RIDEAU CANAL. 
 
 293 
 
 would only answer during a time of tranquillity ; 
 as the British shore of the stream, and the canals 
 cut on its margin, would still in many places, 
 during a period of hostilities, be commanded by 
 the enemy's guns, and the barges be liable to 
 surprise by an active and enterprising foe. To 
 avoid, therefore, the treble danger of delay, of 
 expense, and of yet more serious detriment to the 
 interests of the service, the British government 
 have most wisely ordered the construction of the 
 Rideau canal, for the purpose of effecting a navi- 
 gable communication between Lake Ontario and 
 the Ottawa River. Commencing at Kingston, 
 and running away altogether from the line of the 
 river, it gains, at length, the Ottawa or Grand 
 River, which flows onward to the point of its 
 discharge into the St. Lawrence, in the immediate 
 vicinity of Montreal. The grand desideratum is 
 now supplied, of which the want was so seriously 
 felt during the last war, and the communication 
 between the two provinces is now secured beyond 
 the power of hostile interference ; the channel of 
 intercourse beii g thus thrown directly back from 
 the boundary line of the respective countries. 
 This great military object will henceforth eftect 
 the transportation of stores, troops, &c. in lake- 
 vessels of 125 tons each, by an interior route, 
 preserved by its direction from all exposure to 
 attack by the United States. 
 
 11 
 
 w 
 
294 
 
 SACKETT S HARBOUR. 
 
 The entire length of this most advantageous 
 work is stated to be upwards of 130 miles; though 
 of the whole of this distance the small proportion 
 alone of about nineteen or twenty miles has been 
 actually cut ; the remaining links of the watery 
 chain being formed by connecting lakes lying on 
 its course, and by artificial accumulations of water, 
 obtained by throwing up massive banks in the 
 valleys running in the required direction. The 
 whole line displays a highly interesting combina- 
 tion of natural and artificial navigation, and of 
 numerous locks of excellent construction, evincing 
 the moral as well as physical power of man, in 
 rendering even Nature herself tributary to his 
 wants and enterprises. 
 
 About thirty miles from Kingston lies Sackett s 
 Harbour, a rival station belonging to the Ame- 
 ricans; and which, equally with the former, the 
 last war brought into prominent notice. Here 
 also, as in the navy-yard at Kingston, are seen 
 large vessels dry-rotting on the stocks, and forts 
 in ruins ; and which I should hope no change from 
 these happy " piping times of peace" to bloody war 
 will ever see restored to their original state. 
 
 But I come, now, to scenery that will perhaps 
 delight you more than either canals, or ships, or 
 sailors. I have brought you to the very shores of 
 the splendid St. Lawrence, which, as I mentioned 
 before, receives its crystal flood at Kingston, from 
 
THE THOUSAND ISLANDS, 
 
 295 
 
 
 the waters of Lake Ontario terminating at that 
 place. From this its noble source, ^ rolls along 
 its majestic and expansive stream, ferdlising the 
 lands and domains of a thousand cities, towns, 
 and villages, lying on its banks, through a distance 
 of 700 miles, to the ocean. The Eicene now pre- 
 sented to me, and extending, throughout the day's 
 excursion of seventy miles, to Prescott, displayed 
 all the attraction of novelty, united with the most 
 exquisite beauty. Shortly after entering the river, 
 which is several miles in breadth, you approach 
 the broken and undulating outline of a region of 
 islands. They are called, par eminence, " the 
 Thousand Islands;" nor does the figure, as if 
 lending a poetical charm by the multiplication of 
 numbers, outstrip the fact ; since, I believe, the 
 whole group amounts to fourteen or fifteen hun- 
 dred, scattered in all directions on the surface of 
 this " shining river." 
 
 Nothing can be imagined more lovely and 
 picturesque than winding your constantly mean- 
 dering course through this verdant labyrinth. All 
 the endless varieties of shape, colour, height, size, 
 and contour, are exhibited in their ever-changing 
 appearances. Their forms, indeed, are as diver- 
 sified as their numbers. Some of them, covered 
 with a rich greensward, repose on the stream so 
 nearly level with it, as if floating down upon its 
 bosom ; others elevate their summits in bold per- 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 1 1 
 
 •5' 
 
296 
 
 THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 
 
 pendicular ascents, crowned with the most luxu- 
 riant foliage ; and here and there is seen an islet, 
 formed of fantastic rocks piled on each other, and 
 contrasting their rugged and barren surface with 
 the smiling fertility of the rest. On some few of 
 these fairy islands you perceive a cottage, or a 
 log-house, rearing its simple structure amid this 
 landscape of loneliness and silent beauty, and 
 affording a pleasing relief, in the symptom of 
 human existence which it offers, to the otherwise 
 unbroken solitude that reigns around. On another 
 side you see a natural terrace, or a glade, peeping 
 forth from its half-concealed position in a wood ; 
 while the transparent water casts back from its 
 placid current the rocks and trees by which it is 
 overshadowed. The endless succession of objects 
 that regale the eye, as you thread the maze of 
 isolated rocks and woods, baskmg, in countless 
 numbers, on the sunny element, brings home to 
 your imagination all the enchanting visions of 
 Arabian and Oriental descriptions. 
 
 I was forcibly reminded of the interesting 
 Straits of Malacca, through which I sailed a few 
 years ago, on my passage to China, and presenting 
 a similar aspect ; and where several of the islands, 
 though larger and much less numerous, exhibit, 
 in their grotesque shapes, the forms of crocodiles, 
 rabbits, alligators, and other singular animals. 
 Nothing, however, can exceed, if equal, the 
 
RAPIDS OF THE ST. LAWIU E. 
 
 m 
 
 . 
 
 " Thousand Islands" of the St. Lawrence. Here 
 Nature has wrapped herself in all the witchery 
 of her silent charms, and here her lonely and 
 soothing heauty speaks a language to the heart 
 unfelt by the proudest works of man. 
 
 On arriving at Prescott, I prepared, in company 
 with an agreeable Irish gentleman whom I had 
 met on my route, to descend the Rapids ; and 
 having made a bargain with the conductor of one 
 of the bateaux J expressly made for this turbulent 
 navigation, we stepped on board . The first of the 
 series of Rapids, down which we were hurled, is 
 called " Les Galops" Here the St. Lawrence, 
 suddenly contracting its previous breadth of two 
 miles to about half a mile or less, rushes along in 
 a very strong and agitated current, resembling 
 those of the Niagara, and offering to the view, in 
 its broken and foaming waters, an appearance sin- 
 gularly picturesque. From these Rapids the river 
 has a descent of 231 feet in 280 miles, and carries 
 you along, in succession, to those of the Long 
 Saut, the Cedars, and the Cascades of St. Louis, 
 which are much more impetuous and turbulent in 
 their course than those oiLes Galops. 
 
 The first of these, extending through a mean- 
 dering length of nine miles, are said to be passed 
 in the short space of twenty minutes, being at the 
 flying rate of twenty-seven miles an hour. This 
 will give you some idea of the great skill and 
 
 o2 
 
 J 
 
 
 it 
 
298 
 
 BAPID8 OP THE ST. LAWRENCE. 
 
 caution required in the boatmen, in avoiding the 
 numerous shoals by which the navigation is ob- 
 structed, and where an inexperienced pilot would 
 inevitably be lost. Though I did not observe the 
 time, I think the statement somewhat exaggerated ; 
 since, fast as we were certainly hurried along, we 
 were not made to skim over the surface quite 
 as fast as I have seen flying-fish do within the 
 Tropics, and which would have been the case had 
 our shooting the channel been as rapid as it is posi- 
 tively declared to be. The most picturesque and 
 dangerous of the whole are those of the Long 
 Saut and the Cedars, where the stream, dashed 
 Into foam and furious breakers, whirls and boils 
 in numberless pools and eddies, and which, in 
 case of accident, would render it a hopeless attempt 
 to save one's life by swimming. On one occasion, 
 our situation appeared so alarming, that my com- 
 panion, by an instinctive movement of self-preser- 
 vation, in an instant flung off his coat, in order 
 to be better prepared for stemming the whirling 
 current; and whose example I was on the point 
 of following, when our boatmen, who were them- 
 selves in a state of confusion and apprehension, 
 managed to clear the danger that threatened, at 
 the moment, to swamp our bateau. 
 
 Our excursion on these "troubled waters" to 
 Montreal — diversified by an occasional drive on 
 the land — was equally interesting for its novelty 
 
 
 ^ 
 
I 
 
 CANADIAN BOAT-SONO. 
 
 299 
 
 as well as beauty ; the windings of the St. Law- 
 rence being frequent and abrupt, and the shores 
 delightfully wooded, with sloping terraces and 
 patches of newly-cleared land, enlivening, at in- 
 tervals, its margin, on which the cottager had 
 reared his humble log-house. To' give an addi- 
 tional romance to the scene, and to gratify an 
 anticipation previously formed, I requested our 
 bateau-men to sing the Canadian boat -song, 
 with which they complied; but I must acknow- 
 ledge that their execution rather disappointed me, 
 as they had either forgotten the scientific lessons 
 taught them by the composer of this sweet and 
 simple song, Mr. Moore, when he was traversing 
 these waters ; or, rather, they required the harmo- 
 nious aid of that gentleman's well-known vocal 
 powers to modulate and direct their voices. 
 
 After passing several villages and lakes, of 
 which latter St. Francis expands to a length of 
 twenty-five miles and to a breadth of fifteen, we 
 reached the city of Montreal, where, for your sake 
 as well as for my own, I shall now leave you ; 
 with this honourable and friendly understanding, 
 that if you will not complain of aching eyes, I will 
 not utter a single word about cramped fingers. 
 Adieu! 
 
 m I 
 
 10 -v I 
 
 1' 
 
 \ 
 
300 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Description of Montreal — the dominant Religion — School 
 Societies — Island of St. Helena — Passage to Quebec — 
 Description of Quebec — Cape Diamond — Heights and 
 Plains of Abraham — Falls of Montmorency — Indian 
 Village of Lorette — Ceremonies of Indian Marriage — the 
 War-Whoop and Dance — French Canadians — Falls of the 
 Chaudi^re — Catholic Cathedral — Museums — Monument 
 to Wolfe and Montcalm — Constitution of Lower Canada — 
 Climate — Fruits. 
 
 QueheCf 24th August, 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 The city of Montreal, where I last 
 took my leave of you, is situated on an island of 
 the same name, thirty miles long, formed by the 
 embracing arms of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa 
 river*. It lies to the southward of Quebec about 
 170 miles, being the second principal city in Lower 
 Canada, and contains a population of 30,000 in- 
 habitants. The aspect of the town, as seen from 
 a distance on the river, forcibly strikes the eye, 
 in consequence of the peculiarity of roof which 
 covers-in many of the houses, and particularly the 
 one surmounting the cathedral, that towers in lofty 
 
CITY OP MONTREAL. 
 
 301 
 
 dimensions above them all. This is formed of tin, 
 which, reflecting the bright rays of a summer's 
 sun, exhibits the appearance of so many sheets of 
 silver. The effect is rather too dazzling in the 
 pure atmosphere of Canada ; but, at the same 
 time, it conveys the impression, when approaching 
 the place, of something splendid ; and excites an 
 anticipation of beholding in the town itself what 
 a subsequent examination fails to realise. The 
 general view of the interior is, certainly, by no 
 means so imposing ; as the streets are narrow, and 
 the houses display a gloomy heaviness, strongly 
 resembling some of the ancient towns of France. 
 There is, nevertheless, a number of handsome 
 buildings, of which the Catholic cathedral stands 
 out in prominent relief, and is, beyond doubt, a 
 fine structure of the Gothic order, though perfectly 
 simple and unadorned in its character, and far 
 removed from any thing like a florid style. It is 
 very capacious, and can accommodate ten thou- 
 sand persons ; being esteemed, with the exception 
 of those in Mexico, the largest church in North 
 America. 
 
 The dominant religion at Montreal, as also at 
 Quebec, is the catholic ; the priests of that com- 
 munion being the grands seigneurs of the whole 
 island, the principal revenue of whom arises from 
 grants of land made to them in former times, and 
 from fines payable on the alienation of property. 
 
 i 
 
302 
 
 EDUCATION IN LOWER CANADA. 
 
 Thus, on each successive sale of an estate, these 
 ecclesiastical lords of the soil receive from the 
 purchaser a per centage of 8Z. on the amount paid, 
 and which extends to sales of all real property 
 within the seignory. 
 
 Among the public edifices are several episcopal 
 churches, the museum, a court-house, masonic 
 hall, theatre, a monument to the memory of the 
 late Lord Nelson, and, as may be supposed, nu- 
 merous convents, nunneries, and other religious 
 houses; besides a college, containing about 300 
 students, the terms of whose education do not 
 exceed the moderate sum of 20/. per annum. In- 
 deed, I am happy to say, that knowledge appears 
 to be advancing here, and in other parts of Lower 
 Canada, in a rapid and highly satisfactory man- 
 ner. The British and Canadian School Society 
 have given a spur to the progress of education 
 very greatly to their credit ; having established 
 schools in Montreal on the system adopted in 
 England, where several thousands of boys and 
 girls of the poorer classes have been admitted, 
 and who are supported by voluntary subscrip- 
 tions. There is, also, a Lancasterian and an epis- 
 copal school, founded on the system introduced 
 by Bell ; and it is gratifyir to learn, that some 
 of the leading persons of the Oatholic persuasion 
 have given the influence of their names and 
 exertions in support of the former, and preside 
 
 'W 
 
 \ 
 
w 
 
 EDUCATION IN lOWER CANADA. 
 
 303 
 
 over its usefulness as members of the committee. 
 In fact, the value of education has begun to be 
 felt by all the orders of society ; and the priests, 
 to the honour of their more enlightened humanity, 
 casting aside their prejudices, are urging onward 
 the march of intellect in the only way that can 
 dispel the vice, and degradation, which ignorance 
 and superstition are calculated to produce. 
 
 The schools, for which the government have 
 provided, are restricted to masters of the Church 
 of England ; and of these seminaries a consider- 
 able number has been built in the various town- 
 ships of the province. On this subject a report 
 was made, in the year 1829, to the House of As- 
 sembly in Lower Canada, shewing the amount 
 and distribution of them. By this it appears that, 
 in Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, — the latter 
 being a considerable town on the St. Lawrence, — 
 there were two colleges, three schools of royal 
 institution, eleven gratuitous schools, containing 
 1214 pupils, and fifty other seminaries ; while 
 scattered throughout the country there were four 
 colleges, seventy schools of royal institution, and 
 fourteen mission-schools. 
 
 The country around Montreal is highly beauti- 
 ful, particularly as beheld from what is called the 
 ** Mountain of Montreal," an elevated ridge ex- 
 tending about two miles, and rising nearly 700 
 feet above the level of the river. It lies between 
 
 41 
 
304 
 
 ISLAND OF ST. HTILENA. 
 
 two and three miles from the city to which it 
 gives its name, and presents to the eye a delightful 
 panorama, embracing an admirable view of the 
 town, a fine sweep of the St. Lawrence, and a 
 variety of other interesting objects. It is, in itself, 
 a noble feature in the landscape, and has been 
 tastefully selected by the worthy citizens as the 
 site of their country-houses ; the white colouring 
 of the villas contrasting most pleasingly with the 
 green of the surrounding foliage. 
 
 Immediately opposite to the city, a little more 
 than half-way across the river, is the island of 
 St. Helen or St. Helena, purchased some time 
 ago by the British government, for a military 
 depot. Here have been erected barracks, store- 
 houses, an arsenal, a magazine, and a range of 
 batteries fronting the river and town. It is most 
 agreeably situated, and whence is enjoyed one of 
 the best views of the city, backed by the towering 
 heights in its vicinity. 
 
 From Montreal I moved my quarters to Que- 
 bec, making another advance, of 170 miles, in 
 my itinerant labours. In the Canadas, as in the 
 States, the favourite and most delightful mode of 
 travelling is by steam-power, the happiest dis- 
 covery, beyond any doubt, considering it in all 
 its mechanical operations, that has been made 
 since that of the noble art of printing. The ad- 
 vantage gained, by the present expeditious mode 
 
PASSAGE TO QUEBEC. 
 
 306 
 
 *9 W 
 
 of travelling, is of still greater consequence to the 
 Canadians than its pleasantness. Twelve or four- 
 teen years ago, an excursion to Quebec and back 
 again, occupied several weeks ; and which can 
 now be accomplished, by steam conveyance, in less 
 than three days. The passage between the two 
 cities is peculiarly interesting and animated, in 
 consequence of the crowded population that line 
 the banks of the river j the entire distance, great 
 as it is, presenting, on both shores, an almost 
 unbroken continuity of houses, towns, and vil- 
 lages, so as to give the semblance, on each side, 
 of an uninterrupted length of street. At the inter- 
 vals of seven or eight miles are erected churches, 
 crowning, in general, the most elevated ground, 
 and tastefully planted there as if with a view to 
 pictorial effect ; and which, beheld from the centre 
 of the stream, attract the admiration of the grati- 
 fied traveller. 
 
 Having passed, amid almost endless scenes of 
 successive habitations, the town of William Henry, 
 where lies the ancient summer-residence of the go- 
 vernor-general of Canada, — Lake St. Peter, which 
 is a splendid expansion of the St. Lawrence, vary- 
 ing from fifteen to twenty miles in breadth, and 
 twenty-one in length — the town of Three Rivers, 
 being the third in point of magnitude in the 
 province, and formerly the seat of the colonial 
 
 
306 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF QUEBEC. 
 
 government — the Richelieu Rapids, where the 
 river is contracted within the narrow compass of 
 less than half a mile, exhibiting an extraordinary 
 contrast to its previous breadth on Lake St. Peter 
 of twenty miles, &c. &c. you approach the capital, 
 and now you behold Wolfe's Cove, where the gal- 
 lant hero landed his army on storming the heights 
 of Abraham. Sweeping at this place round an 
 angle of the river, the lofty citadel, and the as- 
 piring towers of Quebec, burst on your view, 
 elevated 345 feet above the water, on a promontory 
 called Cape Diamond. The scene here is truly 
 grand and imposing. 
 
 The city is divided into what is called the up- 
 per and lower town ; the former being contained 
 within the walls, and the latter resting at the base 
 of the heights, and on. the steep acclivity which 
 communicates with the higher division. It is situ- 
 ated at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St, 
 Charles, which form a beautiful harbour of splen- 
 did expansion, and aflford an excellent anchorage- 
 ground for the largest fleet of merchantmen. The 
 city itself, comprising a population of upwards of 
 26,000 inhabitants, is not remarkable for much 
 elegance ; and the lower half of it, from the ex- 
 treme narrowness and neglected state of its streets, 
 and the laborious tug up its steep ascent, is cer- 
 tainly by no means prepossessing ; but the unex- 
 
CAPE DIAMOND, 
 
 307 
 
 celled beauty, grandeur, and variety of the land- 
 scape by which it is surrounded, render its posi- 
 tion one of the most attractive in the world . 
 
 The great " Lion" to be seen at Quebec — as 
 if art would vie with nature in its magnificent 
 creations — is the stupendous fortress' surmounting 
 Cape Diamond. It is still unfinished ; but when 
 completed, will display the very finest specimen 
 of fortification on the western continent ; and will 
 be as impregnable as such a structure can well 
 be made. Its guns command the town, and the 
 river flowing at its base ; and a tour of the citadel 
 presents a diversity, and magnificence of scenery, 
 over which the eye ranges with untiring delight. 
 This advantage is particularly enjoyed from the 
 summit of the signal-house, around which is spread 
 a panorama that may proudly enter the list of 
 comparison with the Bay of Naples itself. Here, 
 as in other parts of this most interesting circuit, 
 you behold all the objects of a perfect landscape ; 
 a river unsurpassed in beauty and crystal clear- 
 ness — the lovely island of Orleans in the centre 
 of its channel — extensive plains and chains of 
 mountains stretching away, in various directions, 
 to the northward ; the distant wilderness of forests, 
 untouched by the hand of man, and untrodden by 
 human foot, except by that of the Indian hunter 
 roaming in pursuit of game through its almost 
 
 m; 
 
 i4 
 
308 
 
 BATTLE-GROUND OP WOLFE. 
 
 impervious wilds, and which sweep along, in 
 boundless extent, to the shores of Hudson's 
 Bay. 
 
 One of the first places that rivetted my eager 
 attention was the celebrated plains of Abraham, 
 the famous battle-field on which the gallant Wolfe 
 achieved his glorious exploit over the French 
 army commanded by Montcalm, and where, in 
 the very arms of victory, the veteran hero ex- 
 pired. A remnant of the rock was pointed out 
 to me against which he reclined, and where 
 he died, after receiving his fatal wound. The 
 greatest portion of it has been broken off and 
 carried away by the zeal of numberless visitors, 
 anxious to preserve a memorial of the " illustrious 
 dead." The position of these plains is remarkably 
 fine, and afforded, to the contending generals, a 
 noble arena for military conflict. It is now con- 
 verted into the more favourite site of a race- 
 course, where the officers of the garrison, and the 
 Canadian residents, annually divert themselves 
 with this truly English amusement. It would 
 almost seem — connecting the circumstance of this 
 exhibition with the events of by-gone times — as 
 if, in imitation of the funeral games of ancient 
 Greece, they were paying posthumous honours to 
 the memory of tha departed chief. The sentiment 
 you will say is rather romantic ; but I confess it 
 
WOLFE S COVE. 
 
 309 
 
 lent an additional interest to the scene, at which I 
 was present. If you should deem me very fanci- 
 ful in the conception, you will recollect that I am 
 supported in my conceit hy high and classic ex- 
 amples. 
 
 Proceeding to the further extremity of this 
 table-land, which is also used, with excellent ad- 
 vantage, as a review-ground for the troops, I de- 
 scended the heights, along whose rugged acclivity 
 Wolfe conducted his brave little band to the con- 
 quest of Quebec. On the line of ascent, a very 
 good though steep road has been since constructed, 
 leading from the cove called after his name> and 
 where he brought his fleet, on that occasion, from 
 their station oiF the isle of Orleans. I shall not 
 weary you by the delineation of the exquisite beau- 
 tieb^ of scenery that arrested my view at every 
 turn, for they are truly inexhaustible. Indeed, I 
 remember not, at the present moment, in which of 
 the other three quarters of the globe I have seen 
 so great a diversity, or a combined effect of more 
 powerful interest. 
 
 On the second day after my arrival, I paid a 
 visit, in company with my Irish friend, to the 
 Falls of Montmorency, about eight miles distant ; 
 our route thither leading us across the river St. 
 Charles, (where the eye is regaled, as every where 
 else), and through the village of Beaufort, remark- 
 able for a church with three steeples. We saw 
 
 m 
 
310 
 
 FALLS OF MONTMORENCY. 
 
 the Falls to great advantage, from the favourable 
 circumstance of the Montmorency river, which 
 rushes over them, being swollen from previous 
 They are nearly 250 feet deep, exceeding 
 
 la'Qs. 
 
 n I 
 
 by almost 100 feet the depth of those of Niagara. 
 They are certainly very beautiful ; and but for the 
 vivid recollection of the latter would have appeared 
 to us without any parallel. Fine, however, and 
 interesting as they are, streaming down a romantic 
 ravine of lefty perpendicular cliffs, they will ad- 
 mit of no comparison with the " Wonder of the 
 Waters ;" for, though so much deeper, the volume 
 of water is but a spoonful in the scale of measure- 
 ment with the Niagara. It displays, however, 
 during the winter season, I am informed, a feature 
 of singular formation and beauty that is never 
 seen at the latter. In consequence of the extreme 
 severity of the winters, the river, below the Falls, 
 becomes frozen over; and the spray, congealing 
 as it descends, settles on the ice, and gradually 
 assumes the shape of a cone, which, by constant 
 accretion, assumes, towards the end of winter, a 
 form of stupendous height and size. In the winter 
 of 1829 it rose to the prodigious^ height of 126 
 feet ; presenting, in the clear and pure atmosphere 
 of Canada, and glittering under a bright, though 
 cold sun, an extraordinary and most interesting 
 appearance. 
 
 From this position, the city of Quebec appears 
 
INDIAN VILLAGE OF LORETTE. 
 
 311 
 
 in the distance, like a " cloud-capt tower," as seen 
 through a long vista of the intervening St. Law- 
 rence ; with its scattered fleet of merchantmen, 
 proudly riding on the waters that wash the base 
 of the lofty promontory on which it stands. 
 
 I shall now transport you to the Jndian village 
 of Lorette, situated about nine miles from the 
 capital, and inhabited by aboriginal natives of the 
 Huron tribe, who have here formed themselves 
 into a settlement ; a restraint very rarely sub- 
 mitted to by these wild and independent rovere. 
 They have adopted the Catholic religion ; having 
 a small church adjoining, in which the rites of 
 that communion are regularly administered to 
 them. They were celebrating, at the time, a 
 marriage-feast ; and to witness these novel cere- 
 monies was the occasion of our visit. The scene 
 was droll and amusing in the extreme. After the 
 nuptial knot had been tied by the priest, the 
 happy and swarthy couple, accompanied by a 
 numerous party of savage friends and relations, 
 repaired to the chief's house, in order to be regaled 
 with a wedding dinner. Though, as might be 
 expected, litfle of the polish of civilised society 
 was manifested amongst them, yet they plentifully 
 made up for the deficiency, in that respect, by 
 boisterous noise and rude merriment. My com- 
 panion and myself, who had introduced ourselves 
 as amateur guests, were received by the head war- 
 
 a! 
 
312 
 
 INDIAN MARRIAGE. 
 
 rior, Nicholas, with all the barharian courtesy of 
 the woods and forests, and were invited to take 
 the seats of distinction, at the crowded table, to 
 the right of our dingy host. The chief, to do liim 
 justice, was a fine-looking man ; and, to honour 
 the occasion, a?., probably still more, to honour his 
 own person, hud adorned himself with an English 
 uniform of faded scarlet cloth, to which he had 
 attached a variety of medals, that glittered, no 
 doubt, in the astonished eyes of his gaping fol- 
 lowers, with as much effect as orders in a more 
 courtly circle. These, with a picture of George 
 the Fourth ostentatiously suspended from his 
 neck, he assured me he had received from the 
 hands of his majesty, in 1825; with whom he 
 was graciously permitted to have an interview, on 
 his going to England for the purpose of reclaim- 
 ing certain lands which, he said, had been unlaw- 
 fully withheld from him. He spoke with great 
 animation of the condescension and kindness of 
 the king, who had referred his claims to the 
 governor of Quebec; but from whom, he com- 
 plained, be had not received the justice he had 
 expected. * 
 
 The bride was a very good-looking, modest 
 squaw, of about seventeen ; and sat blushing, 
 through the delicate stain of her natural com- 
 plexion, with as much decorum and grace as 
 might have become the fairer tints of an European 
 
 
INDIAN MARRIAGE-FEAST. 
 
 313 
 
 belle. Indeed, anion<? both women and men 
 there were traits of countenance that would have 
 done no discredit to the beaux and belles of a 
 more fashionable coterie. After drinkin*^ to the 
 health of the bride and bridegroom — which latter, 
 I was happy to observe, was already so influenced 
 by the stricter duties, and more virtuous relations, 
 attaching to his new condition, as to approve him- 
 self the most abstemious of the whole party — and 
 after pledging each other half a tlozen times 
 round, they commenced singing, with a degree of 
 vociferous excitement, as if they had been seated 
 in one of the rugged caverns of their native Huron 
 forests. The ladies, too, threw in a few of their 
 wild, woodland notes; and, at last, the bride, 
 after repeated solicitation, particularly from her 
 European guests, and with much more of attrac- 
 tive diffidence than we could possibly have antici- 
 pated, chanted one of her native airs. This she 
 sung with a simple and pleasing melody, which 
 evinced that nature requires not the embellish- 
 ments of science in order to speak the language of 
 music with eloquent effect. 
 
 Having completed their joyous sacrifices to 
 the rosy-faced patron of grapes and vintages, and 
 when each looked as if asking himself the ques- 
 tion, in the language of the convivial Roman 
 
 poet, '' Q 
 rose up, 
 
 uo me rapis tui Bacche 
 and repaired to a still 
 
 pie 
 lai 
 
 num. { 
 
 ?" 
 
 arer room, 
 
 they 
 for 
 
 li 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
314 
 
 WAR-WHOOP AND DANCE. 
 
 I i 
 1 
 I 
 
 the purpose of concluding the festal rites by dan- 
 cing. The apartment, if not adorned with " bar- 
 baric pearl and gold/' was, nevertheless, orna- 
 mented with sufficient insignia of savage finery to 
 gratify their untutored taste. They h|re cut a 
 variety of the most extraordinary capers, and dis- 
 played as many droll antics and gesticulations, as 
 would have done barbarous honour to the famed 
 Grimaldi himself, of grimacing reputation. At 
 my particular request, backed by a liquid dona- 
 tion, procured from a neighbouring tavern, which 
 the chief assured me was an essential preliminary 
 to the performance, and appeared inclined to keep 
 all to himself, they exhibited their famous war- 
 dance. This they performed to admiration ; and, 
 suiting the " word to the action," according to the 
 orthodox direction of Shakespeare, which they 
 had no doubt read, accompanied their strange and 
 fantastic attitudes by shouting their " war-whoop," 
 with an intonation of voice that would have com- 
 pelled even Stentor himself to stop his ears, and 
 cry, *' Hold, enough !" 
 
 I was now quite satisfied; and, shaking my 
 friend Nicholas by the hand, on taking leave, was 
 requested by him to present his respectful duty to 
 the royal family of England, among whom, he 
 said, the Duke of Sussex had shewn him parti- 
 cular kindness. Bowing afterwards to all the 
 squaws, from whom I had previously purchased a 
 
FRENCH CANADIANS. 
 
 315 
 
 number of mocassins, and other curiosities, and 
 who had now got the dancing mania in full ope- 
 ration upon them, I made my exit from this demi- 
 civilised assembly, and took my departure for 
 Quebec, highly amused with the day's adventure. 
 In returning to the capital, I visited the very 
 picturesque Fall of the river St. Charles, situated 
 close to the Indian village ; and in various places, 
 along the road, I saw some of the neatest and 
 prettiest cottages imaginable, belonging to the 
 French Canadians, presenting a rural simplicity, 
 and an inviting aspect of happy retirement, [that 
 strongly contrasted with the commercial bustle 
 of the neighbouring city, and still more with 
 the rude Indian tenements of wood which I had 
 just left behind me. The lands, too, of these 
 worthy and honest people appeared of excellent 
 quality, and cultivated with all the care and dili- 
 gence of well-practised husbandry ; while neatly 
 arranged fences surrounding their little farms be- 
 tokened, together with their comfortable domiciles, 
 an ease of circumstances peculiarly grateful to the 
 mind. Although, as Mrs. Malaprop says, com- 
 parisons are "odoriferous," I could not help com- 
 paring these interesting homesteads, and well- 
 ordered farms, with the generality of those which 
 I had previously witnessed in the States. Yet, in 
 justice to the Americans, I must not forget, that 
 a much longer period of occupancy has given, 
 
316 
 
 rrtENCH CANADIANS. 
 
 from the force of necessity, a superiority to the 
 former that every succeeding year will lessen, 
 by that rapid advance to equal excellence — not to 
 say greater — in which the latter are hourly pro- 
 gressing. 
 
 , With the character of these simple-minded 
 and amiable French colonists it would be impos- 
 sible not to be delighted. They remind me power- 
 fully of what the inhabitants of the Swiss cantons 
 were, in all their native and winning simplicity, 
 before the " auri sacra fames,'* imbibed from the 
 lavish expenditure among them of English money, 
 had infused into their minds that selfishness, which 
 now, I fear, has taken too deep a root in their 
 affections. Uncorrupted, as the French Canadians 
 are, by the vices of a highly artificial state of so- 
 ciety, as that which exists in Europe ; blessed with 
 a happy competency that supplies their few and 
 unexaggerated wants, and removed by their com- 
 parative seclusion from the seductive and fatal in- 
 fluence of fashion and extravagance, they live in 
 a state of pastoral and patriarchal purity of man- 
 ners, sedulously attending to all the ordinances 
 of their religion, that strongly engage in their 
 favour the feelings and regard of all those who 
 come in contact with them. With respect to 
 manners, they possess all the grace and courtesy 
 of their European progenitors; and I must frankly 
 acknowledge, that, on this point, I could not avoid 
 
FRENCH CANADIANS. 
 
 317 
 
 being affected by the striking difference existing 
 between them and the more unbending republi- 
 cans of the adjoining country. A Canadian pea- 
 sant pauses in his work, in order to pull off his 
 hat as you pass ; and frequently, wUile journeying 
 along the road, I have baen thus saluted, by the 
 master as well as the servant, though twenty or 
 thirty yards distant from me in the field in which 
 they were employed. A labouring man in the 
 States would think himself degraded, his man- 
 hood lowered, and his equality compromised, were 
 he to notice, with similar complaist nee, any person 
 whatever, let his station in life la as superior to 
 his own as it might. I merely mention this, to 
 shew one of the effects, though on a very minor 
 point, I allow, of the different forms of govern- 
 ment ; and though of slight importance, consi- 
 dered with reference to many others, yet the trait 
 of voluntary and honest-hearted civility reflects a 
 grace on society, and produces that mutual good 
 feeling which I should be extremely sorry to see 
 absent from our institutions. 
 
 Since my arrival at Quebec I have enjoyed 
 a very sincere pleasure in renewing my acquaint- 
 ance with the amiable Canadian family, resident in 
 the capital of Lower Canada, to whom I alluded 
 in a former letter, as having made in their society 
 several interesting excursions, during the earlier 
 part of the season, in some of the middle states of 
 
318 
 
 BANKS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. 
 
 the Union. I was happy to find that the kind 
 expression of their wishes to see me, and render 
 me any service, on visiting Quebec, was not, as it 
 too often is, a mere passing compliment, forgotten 
 as soon as uttered ; as I have experienced from 
 them all those hospitable and valuable attentions 
 which are so truly grateful to a stranger in a 
 foreign land. Their kindness, indeed, has been 
 unremitting, as well in their friendly entertain- 
 ment of me at their residence, as in driving me 
 about in their carriage to the various objects of 
 interest in the surrounding country. The most 
 gratifying excursion on which they took me was 
 to see the Falls of the Chaudiere, about twelve 
 miles from the city. Having crossed the river 
 in a horse tow-boat to Point Levi, a lovely spot, 
 crowned with a picturesque little church, and 
 studded with white cottages interspersed among 
 shady groves, we stepped into an elegant open 
 carriage belonging to my worthy friends, and 
 drawn by a couple of spirited animals, drove off 
 along the banks of the St. Lawrence, of which we 
 continued in sight nearly the whole way. The drive 
 thither is, without exception, I think, the most 
 beautiful I ever enjoyed in any part of the world. 
 The clear and unobstructed view spread out before 
 you, of the town, the citadel. Cape Diamond, the 
 Government House — the bright expanse of the 
 meandering stream, crowded with merchantmen, 
 
FALLS OF THE CHAUDltRE. 
 
 319 
 
 
 groups of villages, hill and dale, wood and moun- 
 tain, displays an endless diversity of picturesque 
 and magnificent objects. At the distance of four 
 miles from Point Levi we passed Lauzon, the 
 delightful residence of the Hon. Sir John Cald- 
 well, a member of the legislative council. Farther 
 on we crossed the bridges thrown over the Etche- 
 min and Chaudiere rivers, presenting pictures of 
 the most romantic seclusion; and winding for a 
 considerable distance along the base of lofty and 
 finely wooded cliffs, we at length left our car- 
 riage, and proceeded on foot for about a mile and 
 a half through the forest, on emerging from which 
 we found ourselves on the margin of the Falls. 
 The appearance of this cataract is totally different 
 from that of Montmorency, extending as it does 
 to a much greater breadth, that of 400 feet, in 
 proportion to the larger size of the river that dashes 
 over it, and which flows through an almost im- 
 pervious forest, closing it in with the deepest and 
 wildest solitude. The height is about 130 feet, 
 from which the stream is precipitated over enor- 
 mous ledges of dark -coloured rocks, dividing 
 the flood into three or four distinct cascades, to a 
 capacious basin below, whence it hurries furiously 
 along, over a succession of foaming rapids, to its 
 junction with the St. Lawrence. In point of romantic 
 beauty, they exceed, I think, the cascade of Mont- 
 morency ; the volume of water being much more 
 
i! 
 
 320 
 
 PIC-NIC AT THE CHAUDIERE. 
 
 copious — the falling sheet more extensive — the 
 rocky masses lying on the descent of the stream 
 being thrown into such singular and grotesque 
 forms, — and the lonely grandeur of the forest 
 inspiring a more impressive feeling of the sub- 
 lime. Having gratified the curiosity of our optical 
 senses, my amiable friends prepared to regale 
 another sense, which at the moment was particu- 
 larly pressing, as the others were now satisfied, for 
 its share in the day's amusement. Our portable 
 larder was therefore opened, and exhibited a plenti- 
 ful store of cold fowls and other inviting provisions, 
 on which we feasted with quite as much gout as a 
 London alderman over his turtle, or a Chinese 
 over his bird's-nest soup. The latter, nevertheless, 
 is a rarity by no means to be despised, especially 
 when taken, as a matter of curiosity, with a man- 
 darin of three horse-tails, — a gratification that 
 occurred to me, as you know, a few years ago; 
 and which, being a liquid, is not required, for the 
 best reason in the world, like the rest of the 
 viands at a table in the " celestial empire," to 
 be collected with chop-sticks. 
 
 After quaffing a few glasses of generous Faler- 
 nian, in order to harmonise properly with the 
 more substantial operation which had preceded 
 it, we remounted our vehicle, and wended our 
 way back to the city, enjoying the scenery on our 
 return quite as much as on our approach. Indeed, 
 
AMATEUR SKETCHES OF NIAGARA. 
 
 321 
 
 I have frequently remarked, in my various wan- 
 derings through the world, how much more ade- 
 quate an estimate a person is able to form of a 
 country, who has retraced the road along which 
 he had previously passed. , 
 
 Wliile on the subject of these Falls, the last that 
 I shb^\ matter of policv. represent to you, 
 
 since ^our lin agination must Lj itself overflowing, 
 by this time, with cascades and cataracts, I will take 
 the opportunity of saying, that I have been favoured 
 with the sight of the finest amateur sketches of the 
 Falls of Niagara that were ever taken. They rea- 
 lise, infinitely better than any of the engravings yet 
 published, the *' beau ideal" which the imagina- 
 tion may have previously formed of their wond- 
 rous beauty. They are the masterly delineations 
 of Colonel Cockburn, of the Artillery, whose ac- 
 quaintance I was so fortunate as to have made 
 during my stay in Quebec, and by whom they 
 were kindly shewn to me. Though they were 
 solely taken for his own private amusement, and 
 to gratify a taste of a very superior order, I do 
 sincerely trust that he will consent, on his return 
 to England, to have them engraved. The grati- 
 fication of the public, as well as justice to his own 
 talents, will, I hope, induce him to open his port- 
 folio to Heath, or to some other of our first-rate 
 artists, to multiply ad infinitum, for the benefit 
 of all true lovers of nature. If uninfluenced by 
 
 p2 
 
 i! 
 
 ¥• 
 
 l/i 
 
322 
 
 CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL OF QUEBEC. 
 
 the latter of these considerations, his unbounded 
 admiration, equalling my own of Ijiliis glorious 
 cataract, and a consequent desire that the best 
 illustration of it should be gi. «jn to those who 
 are unable to see the original, cannot fail to over- 
 come any latent scruples he may entertain. The 
 drawings of this gentleman are very numerous, 
 and taken from every accessible point around the 
 Niagara. In addition to these, the drawing-book 
 of the amateur artist is filled with elegant and 
 striking designs taken from the Falls of Mont- 
 morency, those of the Chaudicre, the Citadel, 
 the Town, the St. Lawrence, and the thousand 
 objects which start up on every side before the 
 enchanted beholder. 
 
 As I have r v taken you a short tour through 
 the country surrounding the capital, you will 
 naturally expect some little glimpse into the in- 
 terior of it. One of the principal objects *o be 
 seen there is the Catholic cathedral. Although 
 greatly inferior in its external appearance to the 
 one at Montreal, it is more splendid in its internal 
 decorations, and presents in the grand altar a 
 highly imposing and sumptuous appearance. Like 
 all the churches belonging to this communion, the 
 paintings displayed here, drawn from Scripture 
 history, are numerous; and the various services, 
 especially on Sundays, were attended by overflowing 
 congregations, greatly exceeding the number thai I 
 
 11 
 
FRENCH SERMON. 
 
 323 
 
 witnessed in the Protestant cathedral, and in the 
 other sacred edifices of that persuasion. The wor- 
 ship in the former, which may be considered the 
 dominant religion, is conducted in Latin, while 
 the sermon is delivered in French. I was some- 
 what strrck, on hearing a good moral discourse 
 pronounced in the latter language, to see the 
 priest, after pronouncing the previous prayer un- 
 covered, put his clerical cap on his head imme- 
 diately before the commencement of his sermon. 
 It had something in its appearance savouring of 
 irreverence ; since, whether in prayer or in the act 
 of preaching, the Deity is to be supposed equally 
 present ; and the outward demonstration of respect 
 that would be evinced towards a frail and sinful 
 mortal, is surely not to be omitted before the all- 
 perfect God! I wish not, neither do I mean, to 
 charge Catholic clergymen with intentional dis- 
 regard of devout observances, but I cannot in the 
 least comprehend on what pious principle such a 
 distinction can possibly be made. 
 
 Attached to the cathedral is the seminary, a 
 capacious building, in the form of a parallelo- 
 gram, enclosed by an extensive garden contain- 
 ing about seven acres. This institution was ori- 
 ginally designed for the education of ecclesiastics, 
 but has for many years past been thrown open to 
 all who are disposed to avail themselves of the 
 instruction there administered. The vestibule of 
 
324 
 
 URSULINE NUNNERY. 
 
 the chapel, adjoining to it, is embellished with 
 some of the best executed paintings on religious 
 subjects to be seen in Quebec. In the church also 
 of the Ursuline nunnery, a short distance from 
 it, are some of perhaps equal merit. The latter 
 establishment was founded in 1639, and consists 
 of a superior, forty-two assistants, and seven 
 novices, the principal occupation of whom is 
 the education of girls, and where are forty-six 
 nuns who have taken the veil. These are pre- 
 sided over by a lady abbess, a personage whose 
 affability in exhibiting the various articles of work- 
 manship made by the fair recluses within, induces 
 a more extensive purchase than would otherwise 
 be made ; and whose portly appearance and dig- 
 nified manners gave her all the stateliness of a 
 duchess dowager. 
 
 Among the museums, is that of Monsieur la 
 Chasseur ; whose arrangement of birds is superior 
 in beauty and neatness to any I have seen else- 
 where. I was here shewn an eagle that had 
 attacked a little child of only four years old, while 
 playing in a field, and who had strength and 
 courage enough to resist the fearful onset, and 
 with complete success ; having actually slain his 
 carnivorous assailant by a stroke of a sickle, with 
 which the valiant little urchin was, at the mo- 
 ment, amusing himself. This baby-hero must 
 have been, literally, an infant Hercules ; and 
 
IRISH TUWF PRESERVED IN A MUSEUM. 325 
 
 destined, no doubt, at some future period, should 
 a second Lernaean Hydra make its appearance 
 in the world, or other Augean stables require 
 to be cleansed, to destroy the one and purify 
 the other. I forgot to inquire whether he had 
 ever been seen, while in his cradle, squeezing to 
 death a couple of boa constrictors — one in each 
 hand — as, in that case, the similitude would have 
 been perfect ; and one would have had no hesita- 
 tion in fixing his genealogy, and anticipating a 
 renevred series of twelve labours to stamp his 
 future renown. 
 
 In the scientific and literary museum, situate 
 in the Place d'Armes, I was highly gratified, 
 among a variety of other interesting objects, by 
 witnessing a remarkably fine collection of mine- 
 rals ; nor was my amusement lessened by seeing, 
 among the exhibited articles of curiosity, a spe- 
 cimen of — Irish turf! Ireland may now, in- 
 deed, be proud ; when even the vegetable soil 
 that she tramples under foot, or casts on the fire, 
 is transported across the Atlantic as an object 
 of scientific admiration, and the wonder of a 
 new world! 
 
 Branching off from the area in which the lat- 
 ter museum is placed, rises the castle of St. Louis, 
 where resides the governor of Lower Canada, in 
 the person of Lord Aylmer. Though unimposing, 
 as respects the mere structure itself, yet from its 
 
326 
 
 WOLFE AND MONTCALM. 
 
 peculiar situation, resting on the ridge of the per- 
 pendicular clifF facing the river, of 200 feet in 
 depth, it stands forth a conspicuous feature in the 
 rocky outline of Cape Diamond. Extending 
 throuhout the entire front of the edifice is con- 
 structed a spacious balcony, supported by strong 
 buttresses, whence an array of scenery is dis- 
 played, along the course of the St. Lawrence, 
 terminating in the northern mountains, and over 
 its shining stream to the eastward, which fills the 
 eye without ever tiring it. 
 
 On leaving the Place d'Armes, at its southern 
 angle, you approach the monument erected in me- 
 mory of the gallant Wolfe, and his equally brave 
 rival Montcalm. It consists of a pillar resting on 
 a base, and rising to the height of sixty-five feet, 
 and for which a Latin inscription was written by 
 the talented editor of the Quebec Gazette, who 
 won the prize of a gold medal oflfered on the oc- 
 casion. It comprises only eight brief words, but, 
 at the same time, unites much strength and beauty 
 with its simple and affecting brevity : — 
 
 WOLFE.— MONTCALM. 
 
 MORTEM. VIRTUS. COMMVNEM. 
 
 FAMAM. HISTORIA. 
 
 MONUMENTUM. POSTERITAS . 
 
 DEDIT . 
 
 A.D. 1827. 
 
 Subsequently to the above being written, a more 
 
INSCRIPTIONS FOR THE MONUMENT. 
 
 327 
 
 enlarged inscription, tliough of less vigour and clas- 
 sical elegance, has been composed, and engraved 
 on a marble tablet, which, as well as the other, 
 is intended to occupy one of the sides of the 
 monument ; if, indeed, after a grave delibera- 
 tion of four years, the tardy intention is to be 
 executed at all. The following is the import of 
 it: — 
 
 llUJiC LAPIDEM 
 
 MONUMENT! It: MEMORIAM 
 
 VIRORUM ILLUSTRIUM 
 
 WOLFE ET MONTCALM, 
 
 FINUAMENIUM 
 P. C. 
 
 GEORGIUS COMES DE DALHOU;'lK, 
 
 IN SEPTENTRIONALIS AMERICT . ilTIBUS 
 
 AD DRITANNOS PERTINEN^IBL.J 
 
 Sl'MMAM RERUM ADMINISTRANS; 
 
 OPUS PER MULTOS ANNOS PR^TERMISSUM, 
 
 (quid DUCI EGREGIO CONVENIENTIUS?) 
 
 AUCTORITATE PROMOVENS, EXEMPT.O STIMULANS, 
 
 MUNIFICENTIA FOVENS, 
 
 DIE NOVEMBRIS XVA. 
 
 A.D. M.DCCC. XXVII. 
 
 GEORGIO IV. BRITANNIARUM REGE. 
 
 I 
 
 For the informat'. ii of the female part of 
 your family circle, I subjoin a translation of the 
 two inscriptions. The first may be thus ren- 
 dered : — 
 
 mi 
 
 MIITTARY HEROISM GAVE Til EM A COMMON DEATH, 
 
 HISTORY A COMMON FAME, 
 
 POSTERITY A COMMON MONUMENT. 
 
■• I 
 
 m 
 
 Ji I 
 
 I' 111 
 
 ■i'l 
 I'' 
 
 i : 
 
 
 328 
 
 THE ARSENAL. 
 
 And the second in the following words : — ■ 
 
 THIS rOUNDATION STONE 
 
 OF A MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 THE ILLUSTRIOUS MEN 
 
 WOLFE AND MONTCALM, 
 
 WAS LAID BY 
 
 GEORGE EARL OF DALIIOUSTE, 
 
 GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE BRITISH PROVINCES 
 
 IN NORTH AMERICA; 
 
 A WORK NEGLECTED FOR MANY YEARS, 
 
 (what CiiN BE MORE WORTHY OF A BRAVE GENERAL?) 
 
 WHICH HE PROMOTED BY HIS INFLUENCE, 
 
 ENCOURAGED BY HIS EXAMPLE, 
 
 AND SUPPORTED BY HIS MUNIFICENCE, 
 
 15th NOVEMBER, 1827, 
 
 IN THE REIGN OF 
 
 GEORGE IV. KING OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 It forcibly struck me as something noble and 
 high-minded in thus associating the memory of 
 the conquered general with that of his victorious 
 opponent ; as one to whom the tribute of bravery 
 was equally due, though the fortune of war had 
 snatched the laurel from his brow. 
 
 Proceeding from effect to cause, I next in- 
 spected the Arsenal, which presents a splendid 
 array of the " materiel de guerre,'^ and contains 
 the imposing exhibition of a hundred thousand 
 stand of arms, arranged in a variety of beautiful 
 forms, and kept in excellent order. The military 
 force at Quebec consists, at the present moment, 
 of the 24th, 32d, and 71st regiments, and some 
 companies of artillery j from the officers of which. 
 
 
FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN LOWER CANADA. 329 
 
 particularly those of the 24th, and their worthy 
 paymaster, I have received those kind and hos- 
 pitable attentions so characteristic of the frank 
 generosity of the British army. 
 
 Having now remained about a fortnight, dur- 
 ing which I was present at the races that take 
 place annually on the plains of Abraham ; having 
 witnessed, also, an interesting display of nautical 
 skill, in a contested match of sailing and rowing 
 on the St. Lawrence, by the officers of the gar- 
 rison and the gentlemen of the capital ; as, like- 
 wise, a review of the troops on the battle-ground 
 of the immortal Wolfe, I am now preparing for 
 my departure. Before, however, I close my letter, 
 you may wish to know something of the form of 
 government of Lower Canada : of this, I will give 
 you in a very few words a rough outline. 
 
 The sovereign authority of the Lower Province, 
 like that of the Upper one, is represented by a 
 Governor appointed by the King; who, in con- 
 junction with a House of Representatives and a 
 Legislative Council, constituting the two houses of 
 Parliament, presides over the affairs of the colony. 
 The members of the former are elected every four 
 years by the forty-shilling freeholders, as respects 
 the counties, and by the proprietors of freeholds to 
 the amount of five pounds, and by householders to 
 the amount often pounds, as regards the cities and 
 towns. Their sittings occupy a portion of every 
 
 M 
 
 iff;: 
 
330 
 
 FRENCH AND ENGLISH LAWS. 
 
 '1-t 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 n 
 
 year, according to the practice in England ; and 
 all the inhabitants are eligible as candidates, with- 
 out reference to their religious tenets. In conse- 
 quence of the prevalence of French law, as ori- 
 ginally introduced on the first occupation of the 
 country by France in 1605, there is a curious 
 intermixture of British and Gallic principles and 
 rules in the administration of justice. As far as 
 criminal proceedings extend, the courts are regu- 
 lated by the code of England ; and the various 
 enactments are expounded, and put into practical 
 and efficient operation, through the constitutional 
 medium of judges, justices of the peace, juries, &c. 
 
 Frequent differences have, for some time past, 
 arisen between the Government and the House 
 of Representatives, respecting the constitution of 
 the Legislative Council, which is composed, as an 
 intelligent Canadian informed me, of placemen 
 who vote always as the executive may direct 
 them. Some improvements, however, are in agi- 
 tation for the reformation of the existing abuses, 
 especially with regard to the appropriations of 
 money; the administration of which is to be 
 taken out of the grasp of the executive, and 
 placed in the hands of the popular branch. 
 
 In reference to commerce, the timber trade, 
 or traffic in timber, is the great staple of the 
 country. Of this, the merchants are grievously 
 complaining at the present moment, in conse- 
 
OPPRESSIVE DUTIES ON TIMBER. 
 
 331 
 
 quence of the comparative duties imposed on 
 Canadian timber, and that exported from the 
 northern states of Europe, not being so favourable 
 to the colony as they have a right to expect. It 
 does appear, I confess, to be a matter of good 
 policy, as well as of justice, that the imposts levied 
 on the importation into Great Britain of our colo- 
 nial produce should be lighter, and more advan- 
 tageous to the interests of our possessions abroad, 
 than those exacted from the subjects of foreign 
 nations. I understand that some beneficial alter- 
 ation is, indeed, contemplated by the government 
 at home with respect to this subject, as also to the 
 legislative and administrative powers of the colo- 
 nial parliament, which has been for some time, as 
 I have hinted, in a state of unpleasant collision 
 with the former regarding an extension of its pri- 
 vileges. This is due, I think, to the Canadians, who 
 have ever proved themselves well affected towards 
 the mother-country, to which they are attached 
 by principles of affection and steady loyalty, and 
 from the prosperous advancement of whom great 
 national benefits are to be derived, both in a naval 
 and commercial point of view, serving, as the 
 colonies do, as a fine nursery for British seamen. 
 The duties levied on colonial imports from England 
 are very moderate, amounting to not more than 
 two and a half per cent, and on wines and spirits 
 the charges are but trifling. 
 
 ii 
 
 m-.-i 
 
II 
 
 1 
 
 ill -5 
 
 =91 
 
 332 
 
 CLIMATE AND FRUITS. 
 
 Respecting the climate of Lower Canada, the 
 winters are more severe than those of the Upper 
 Province; but though the cold is extreme, the 
 atmosphere is so dry and pure, that this season is 
 marked by a series of gaieties and amusements be- 
 yond those prevailing during the summer, and 
 when a greater facility of travelling is enjoyed, in 
 consequence of the smooth and hardened state of 
 the roads effected by the intense frost. Sledging is, 
 at this time, carried on with great vivacity and 
 equal rapidity. In reference to fruits and vege- 
 tables, as great a variety is produced here as in 
 Europe, during the summer months ; at which pe- 
 riod melons, among other luxuries, ripen in great 
 perfection in the open air. 
 
 I shall now pause in my scribbling mania ; for 
 should I speculate on your sympathy too far, it 
 may, perchance, fail me altogether ; and, in that 
 case, my laborious pot-hooks and hangers will 
 find a melancholy refuge on the back of the fire. 
 Therefore, as a ship is just starting for the white 
 cliffs of Old Albion, I shall commit, at once, my 
 well-blotted paper to the winds and waves, trusting 
 to your usual indulgence to pardon all the de- 
 ficiencies of my poor epistle, hastily penned as it 
 has been, like all the former ones, and for which 
 the best excuse is, — that it is dictated by affection. 
 Adieu ! 
 
333 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 
 Arrival at Quebec of the Royal William Steam-Boat— Embark 
 in her for Nova Scotia — Passage down the St. Lawrence — 
 Miramichi — Dreadful Conflagration — Arrive at Halifax — 
 Windsor, Nova Scotia — the College there — Annapolis — 
 Condition of the Soil — Bay of Fundy — St. John's, New 
 Brunswick — Passage to Eastport — Frontier Town of the 
 United States — Bay of Passamaquoddy — Curious Mode of 
 Fishing — Passage to Boston — Lady deranged from Sea- 
 sickness — Description of Boston — Origin of the Settlement 
 — Navy -Yard — Bunker's Iliil — Curious llencontre — 
 Manufactories of Lowell — American Skill in driving. 
 
 f-. 
 
 Boston, N. America, 20th September , 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 I had laid down Quebec, previously 
 to my reaching it, as the most northerly point oi 
 my tour ; and had fully decided, according to a 
 route that I had marked out, to return imme- 
 diately thence to the United States, in order to 
 revisit, once more, the springs of Ballston and 
 Saratoga, during the height and throng of the 
 fashionable season, and afterwards to proceed to 
 New England, the most interesting section of the 
 Union. This plan would have conducted me 
 through some pleasing scenery from Montreal to 
 
 *ii. • 
 
 "'<;; 
 ',i.\- 
 
 % 
 
 I 
 
334 
 
 EXCURSION DOWN THE ST. LAWRENCE 
 
 li! Ii^i 
 
 St. John's, on the river Richelieu, which runs, 
 for some distance, nearly parallel with the St. 
 Lawrence, and would have led me through the 
 entire length of the picturesque Lake Cliamplain, 
 with whose waters the latter river immediately 
 communicates. But my original intention was 
 altogether changed by a strong temptation that 
 offered, and which I could not possibly resist, to 
 extend my excursion as far as Nova Scotia and 
 New Brunswick. This inducement presented it- 
 self in the arrival of the Royal William steam- 
 boat at Quebec, from Montreal, on her first voyage 
 to Halifax, the capital of the former province. I 
 had thus afforded me the excellent opportunity of 
 seeing the entire length of the St. Lawrence to 
 the ocean, and also of becoming acquainted with 
 another fine portion of his Britannic Majesty's 
 dominions. It was the first experiment of the 
 kind that had ever been made. The vessel des- 
 tined to communicate with the two capitals was 
 perfectly new and commodious, and the occasion 
 was therefore by no means to be lost. Having, 
 consequently, made the necessary arrangements, 
 and taken leave of my kind friends in Quebec, I 
 embarked on board the Royal William on the 
 24th of August ; and, amid the loud acclamations 
 of a thronging multitude that crowded the shores 
 of the river, on this her first voyage, and the 
 complimentary discharge of cannon, we left the 
 
 I m 
 
TO NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 335 
 
 quay, and, putting on all our power of steam, 
 in order to make a grand display, glided rapidly 
 down the smooth expanse of the St. Lawrence. 
 The noble scenery around Quebec shone forth 
 more resplendently than I had ever seen it before, 
 as if to leave the strongest possible impression on 
 our minds at this our parting for ever. The set- 
 ting sun, descending through a glowing sky, and 
 the pure and bright clearness of the atmosphere, 
 which gave such a defined outline to the distant 
 mountains of the north, excited our intense admi- 
 ration. We saw again the beautiful Falls of Mont- 
 morency to great advantage, skirted the lovely 
 island of Orleans, and farther on, by the mellow 
 light of the full moon, Isle aux Grues, backed by 
 a fine ridge of mountains, the two pretty islands 
 called Isle aux Oies and Isle aux Coudres, and 
 the noble bay of St. Paul, on the right bank. I 
 remained on deck till after midnight, gazing on 
 the moonlight landscape, though the dews were 
 now falling heavily around me, and had some 
 diflSculty in tearing myself away, in order to creep 
 into my little cabin below. 
 
 In proceeding from Quebec, as in approaching 
 the city from Montreal, is beheld, especially on 
 the right bank, an almost continued line of houses, 
 towns, and villages, through a distance of 120 
 miles ; displaying a variety and animation that 
 harmonised well with the quiet grandeur of the 
 
 I n 
 
 m 
 
 I- 
 
 M 
 
 i f 
 
336 
 
 MIRAMICHI. 
 
 woods, rocks, and mountains, spread out on every 
 side. I need scarcely assure you that the whole 
 course of the river, extending, as it does, through 
 so many hundred miles to the Atlantic, is very 
 interesting. The novelty is boundless ; as the 
 effect is varied with every sweep of the stream, 
 and the changing forms and attitudes of the ob- 
 jects which appear on the shore. The finest part 
 of the whole includes the long stretch of water 
 lying between Great Fox River and Cape Gaspe, 
 including Gaffin's Cove and Cape Rosier. Here 
 the high and romantic undulations of the moun- 
 tains, and the magnificent and perpendicular rocks 
 of Gaspe, far secluded from human habitations, 
 and marked by a character of the wildest desola- 
 tion, strike the eye with a mingled emotion of 
 delight and awe. 
 
 On the third day after our departure from 
 Quebec, having passed the mouths of innumerable 
 rivers flowing into the St. Lawrence, we arrived 
 at Miramichi, in New Brunswick; and, changing 
 the course of our navigation, ascended the spacious 
 stream to which it gives its name. It was intend- 
 ed to be included in the regular route to be taken 
 by the Royal William, between Lower Canada and 
 Nova Scotia ; but we found the delay and danger 
 in passing up and down its waters, from the dif- 
 ficulty of their navigation and the enormous size 
 of our vessel, so great, having nearly grounded two 
 
CONFLAGRATION AT MIRAMICHI. 
 
 337 
 
 or three times, that it was supposed her first visit 
 would be at the same time her last. 
 
 This country was visited, five years ago, by a 
 most fearful calamity, of which the eye marks, in 
 every direction, the desolating traces. By some 
 means or other, never explained, the almost 
 boundless forests of Miramichi took fire; the 
 conflagration raging with unparalleled violence 
 through an extent of fifty or sixty miles of thickly 
 wooded territory. The floating ashes, I was assured 
 by a respectable clergyman whom I met at New- 
 castle (where we remained, by a curious coin- 
 cidence, to take in coals), fell in the streets of 
 St. John, 200 miles distant. The smoke of the 
 burning forests was such as to reach even to 
 Quebec, considerably more distant than the former, 
 and where the reverend gentleman happened to 
 be at that period. Such, indeed, was the impe- 
 netrable denseness of these smoky clouds, as to 
 entirely stop, for some time, the navigation of the 
 St. Lawrence. You may imagine, then, what 
 must have been the horrors of the unhappy people 
 situated in the immediate vicinity of this frightful 
 visitation. The awful truth is, that the village of 
 Newcastle, along with several others, was utterly 
 consumed ; upwards of 200 persons having miser- 
 ably perished by fire and suffocation. Numbers 
 of the wretched inhabitants were drowned in the 
 river, as the whole atmosphere was so darkened, 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
 
 :l 111 
 
 
 
 ■1^' 
 
 ili' 
 
 i 
 
I I 
 
 338 PERILOUS SITUATION OP THE AUTHOR 
 
 and their terror so powerfully excited, that in 
 endeavouring to escape from their flaming village, 
 they walked over the pier and high banks into the 
 stream without perceiving it, and were swept away 
 with the flood. Many were burnt to death or 
 suffocated in their houses ; and the only mode, I 
 understood, by which any escaped, was by follow- 
 ing tlie direction of a drum that was beaten for 
 the purpose of guiding the surviving inhabitants 
 to a less dense atmosphere, where the stifling effect 
 of the smoke was less destructive of life. The 
 landscape, as far as the eye could reach, exhibited 
 one dismal spectacle of the ravages of fire ; the 
 desolate-looking forests, for ever shorn of their ver- 
 dant beauty, and burnt as black as charcoal, looked 
 like gigantic mutes waiting the funeral of the 
 entire province. I never witnessed in nature any 
 thing so truly hideous before. It is supposed by 
 some that the conflagration was occasioned by the 
 Indians ; while others attribute it to the excessive 
 heat of the weather, as the summer of 1825 was 
 intensely hot throughout the whole of this region. 
 I could most feelingly sympathise with these 
 truly miserable beings, as I am but too well ac- 
 quainted with the horrors of approaching suffoca- 
 tion ; having been, a few years ago, when at 
 Naples, within about two minutes of suffering the 
 same awful fate. I had ascended with a party, 
 accompanied by experienced guides. Mount Vesu- 
 
ON MOUNT VESUVIUS. 
 
 339 
 
 viu8, then in a state of eruption, in order to wit- 
 ness, as closely as it was prudent to venture, the 
 suhlime spectacle of a burning mountain, whose 
 crater was gushing forth in terrific masses of 
 flame and smoke, and emitting myriads of ignited 
 stones, and a stream of lava a mile and a half or 
 two miles in length. Hpving attained to an eleva- 
 tion of perhaps nearly two-thirds of the ascent — a 
 considerable distance from the circular space with- 
 in which the volcanic stones were falling from the 
 air — we took our station to admire the magnificent 
 effect. The dense and lurid volumes, or rather 
 clouds, of smoke ascending from the crater had 
 been carried off*, during the whole of the previous 
 morning, in a contrary direction to the city, and 
 to that of our ascent ; for, as a matter of absolute 
 safety to our lives, we should not have made the 
 attempt had it been otherwise. In an instant, 
 however, the wind veered about, without giving 
 us the slightest symptom of an approaching 
 change, and brought down upon us the entire 
 mass of sulphureous vapour, charged with the 
 deadly exhalations arising from all kinds of fused 
 mineral substances, that were pouring over the 
 crater in a wide stream of liquid lava. Our situa- 
 tion was now most awful. The guides imme- 
 diately advised us to throw ourselves flat on our 
 faces, which was done without a moment's hesita- 
 tion; and, applying our handkerchiefs to our 
 
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 sIl. 
 
340 PERILOUS SITUATION ON MOU>i Vii3UMUS. 
 
 mouths and noses, we awaited in trembling silence 
 the terrific doom that seemed to await us. I gave 
 myself up, as did the rest of the party, as a dying 
 man, with feelings such as you may readily con- 
 ceive. I felt all the indescribable sensations of 
 approaching suffocation, and was fearfully con- 
 vinced that two or three minutes more would ter- 
 minate my existence. At this most critical junc- 
 ture, the wind, by the mercy of God, as instanta- 
 neously as in the first instance, again veered round 
 and resumed its former course in the opposite 
 direction, and brought us as thankful a reprieve 
 from impending destruction as ever condemned 
 culprit, with a halter round his neck, received on 
 the just sinking platform of the gallows. We now 
 quickly rose from our prostrate position on the 
 earth, and speeded our return to the foot of the 
 mountain, with as much expedition as possible, 
 and without once, like Lot's wife, looking behind 
 us. The danger lasted about four minutes — quite 
 long enough, however, to make our situation a 
 matter of life and death. 
 
 We now returned again to the St. Lawrence, 
 and steering past Prince Edward's Island — a pic- 
 turesque and well wooded tract of land — after- 
 wards the fine bold headland of Cape St. George, 
 strewed over with cottages and divided into culti- 
 vated fields — the island of Breton and the Gut 
 of Canso, where we spoke his majesty's ship 
 
CAPITAL OP NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 341 
 
 
 Sapphire proceeding to Quebec ; and having shot 
 through the handsome and spacious Bay of Che- 
 dabucto, we came once more in sight of the bhie 
 waters of the Atlantic. On the following morning 
 we ran down some miles of the shore, and, enter- 
 ing the liarbour of Halifax, were safely landed, 
 after a week's passage from Quebec. On steaming 
 up the harbour, we might readily have fancied 
 ourselves returning from a naval triumph ; for we 
 were met and cheered by numberless boats belong- 
 ing to the gentlemen of the town and the officers 
 of the garrison, decorated with various flags; 
 while every wharf and jetty, and the balconies of 
 the houses, were crowded with spectators, by 
 whom We were received with acclamations, and 
 saluted with cannon along the whole line. The 
 Royal William was the first steam-boat that ever 
 made its appearance at Halifax, and the people 
 seemed determined to give her a hearty reception ; 
 as well, I suppose, on account of the illustrious 
 name she bore, as for the advantages she offered 
 to the worthy inhabitants of an easy communica- 
 tion with Canada. 
 
 The capital of Nova Scotia, containing a popu- 
 lation of about 14,500 inhabitants, is beautifully 
 situated on an eminence overlooking the harbour, 
 which is esteemed one of the finest, if not the most 
 so, in North America. From the citadel sur- 
 mounting the heights, on the declivity of which 
 
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 342 SINGULARITIES 01? A COURT OF JUSTICE. 
 
 lies the town, it is seen, with its two pretty islands 
 of M*=Nabb and George, to the greatest advan- 
 tage. The view hence is truly beautiful and diver- 
 sified, comprising the distant bay and light-houses 
 planted on the extremity of an almost imper- 
 ceptible ridge of land, the lofty and undulating 
 shores of the harbour, fringed with wood, and ter- 
 minating in a splendid basin in the opposite direc- 
 tion ; the town on one side of the heights, and 
 the race-course, with a fine sweep of country, 
 stretching away on the other. The citadel, though 
 small, will, when completed, be a powerful forti- 
 fication, and stands on a commanding position. 
 The regimen ta at present in the garrison are the 
 8th, 34th, 52d, and 96th, along with some com- 
 panies of artillery. 
 
 I here renewed an acquaintance that I had 
 made at West Point, in the United States, with a 
 very ploasant family resident in Halifax, of which 
 some of the members are in the profession of the 
 law ; and among whom the singular anomaly was 
 presented, a few years ago, of the father pleading 
 as counsel in a court over which his son presided 
 tiS judge. The fact was simply this: the former 
 was realising a much larger income, as an advo- 
 cate, than the salary of the judicial office amounted 
 to; and as the reverse of this was the case with the 
 latter, he accepted the situation which his father 
 refused, and gravely expounded the law to his 
 
WINDSOR — ITS COLLEGE. 
 
 343 
 
 
 worthj'^ parent, who was a lawyer, I believe, before 
 his son was born. 
 
 After making one or two excursions in the 
 neighbourhood, and enjoying as much hospitality 
 as my short stay would permit, I set off, en dili- 
 gence, with my agreeable Irish companion, who 
 had accompanied me all the way from the Falls of 
 Niagara to St. John's, the capital of New Bruns- 
 wick. Our route, shortly after quitting the town, 
 lay along the margin of the basin, which presents . 
 the appearance of a beautiful lake, and is sur- 
 rounded by a lovely range of hills, covered with 
 wood. The arm of the sea, for such in truth it is, 
 that flows into and forms the harbour, terminates 
 in this splendid expanse, which I should imagine 
 would give anchorage ground to the whole of the 
 British navy. Our first day's excursion, through 
 a wild and romantic country, diversified by a suc- 
 cession of lakes and forests, extended as far as 
 Windsor, where we arrived about three in the 
 afternoon. On our road we encountered a party 
 proceeding on a bear-shooting adventure in the 
 adjoining woods, where a number of these ragged 
 marauders had made their appearance. 
 
 At Windsor is erected the college of Nova 
 Scotia, called King's College, founded by royal 
 charter in 1802, and of which the scholastic dis- 
 cipline is arranged on the model of that so named 
 at the university of Oxford. In this institution, the 
 
 
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 iil" 
 
 344 
 
 COLLEGE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 annual expense of education, board, and lodging, 
 does not exceed the moderate amount of lOOZ. 
 per annum. There is also an excellent seminary 
 called the College School, where the freshmen 
 undergo a kind of probation during the first year, 
 prior to their admission into the former. This 
 collegiate residence affords a most eligible position 
 for academical pursuits, offering, in its peaceful 
 seclusion and retirement from all the bustle 
 and distracting pleasures of life, superior advan- 
 tages for learned leisure. The village is small 
 and neat, and the scenery varied and romantic, 
 amid which the muse of poetry, should she con- 
 descend to visit the province, might luxuriate in 
 all her wild and beautiful imaginings. The noble 
 elevation on which the college is erected, com- 
 mands, among other objects, a fine sweep of wood- 
 land landscape, reminding me strongly of the forest 
 of Fontainebleau. The edifice, though constructed 
 of wood, of which this country possesses such cheap 
 and ample materials, exhibits a handsome appear- 
 ance; and, notwithstanding its present accommo- 
 dations are limited to the admission of thirty 
 students, it appears sufficiently capacious for the 
 literary wants of the community. 
 
 Proceeding onwards, in the only vehicle with 
 which the village could furnish us, being an un- 
 pretending wagon of light construction, we took 
 up our quarters on the following evening at Kent- 
 
CULTIVATION OF THE LAND. 
 
 345 
 
 
 ville, Laving coursed along through most delight- 
 ful scenery of forests, mountains, and winding 
 valleys. On the third day we reached Annapolis, 
 the extremity of the province in the direction of 
 our journey ; having stopped at Wilmot, a small 
 village in our route, for the purpose of tasting the 
 waters of a medicinal sprimg which has lately 
 been discovered there. With respect to the culti- 
 vation of the soil, as far as it came under my 
 notice during this excursion through Nova Scotia, 
 I must acknowledge that the quantity brought 
 into tillage bears but a small proportion to the 
 surface of the country unreclaimed from die woods 
 and wastes. It may, however, be very reason- 
 ably accounted for in the comparative scantiness 
 of population ; and I have no doubt, that were the 
 tide of emigration, now flowing with such fulness 
 into the Canadas, to be directed to this province, 
 the face of nature would, -re long, be converted 
 into a much more decided '^Tricaltural character 
 than that which it ik w d s,slav^;. At the same 
 time it must be confessed, that the soil of Nova 
 Scotia is by no means "'-mparable io that of Upper 
 Canada. As to one circumstance, that should 
 always be enumerated among the inducements to 
 emigration, I mean the public roads, I was happy 
 to remark that, throughout the whole dii**ance 
 between Halifax and Annapolis, i found them, 
 to my very agreeable surprise, to be most excel- 
 
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 4 
 4' 
 
346 
 
 ANNAPOLIS. 
 
 ! .S 
 
 
 lent — infinitely superior to those of the United 
 States, and equal, I think, to the great North 
 road of England. 
 
 Annapolis is situated on the eastern side of the 
 Bay of Fundy, and possesses almost as fine a har- 
 bour as that of the capital, from which it is distant 
 about eighty-six miles, though the entrance to 
 it from the bay lies through a narrow and some- 
 what dangerous channel. It is a place of very 
 inconsiderable size and trade. After remaining 
 one night, my companion and myself departed 
 for St. John's ; and, as we afterwards discovered 
 to our sorrow, in one of the most wretched crafts 
 that ever floated. She was an amphibious kind 
 of ' '-i> fitted Vvith apparatus for steaming and 
 sailhi^ * but, in plain truth, she was such a crazy 
 tub of a vessel, that she would neither steam, sail, 
 nor steer; and once or twice, in the Bay of Fundy, 
 we were fearful that she was going to take leave 
 of the surface altogether, and find the speediest 
 way to the bottom. 
 
 In passing down the river to Digby Bay, pre- 
 viously to entering the strait, and which the tide 
 luckily served to accomplish for us in the absence 
 of our own capability, we skirted on our right the 
 Granville Hills. These rise precipitously from the 
 shore, and display a waving outline of woods and 
 rocks of great beauty and magnificence, quite equal 
 to any part of the Hudson, except the Highlands. 
 
 ^i| 
 
 i 
 
ST. JOHN S, NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 347 
 
 We had a most severe tug to get across the Bay of 
 Fundy, only thirty-six miles in breadth, to our des- 
 tination ; proceeding at the flying rate of about three 
 miles in four hours. Sometimes our miserable 
 engine stopped, when up went the eail ; then the 
 wind died away, and we lay like a log on the 
 water. As if to complete the climax, the tide 
 at last fairly set in against us, and placed us in 
 the awkward predicament of going stern foremost. 
 We managed, however, by a rare chance, which 
 seemed almost to surprise the captain himself, 
 knowing what he had to contend with, to reach 
 St. John's by midnight, instead of arriving at four 
 in the afternoon; but quite thankful to have ar- 
 rived there at all. 
 
 The capital of New Brunswick is a prettier 
 town than I had expected to find, and contains a 
 number of well-built and handsome houses formed 
 into spacious streets. Among the public buildings, 
 the court-house in particular exhibits a specimen 
 of much architectural beauty. On the skirts of 
 the town are also to be seen the barracks, ele- 
 vated on a verdant terrace, and which, from 
 their remarkably neat appearance, the excellent 
 quarters they offer to the troops, (now occupied 
 by the 95th Rifles), and the highly interesting 
 view beheld from them, of the bay, shipping, &c. 
 should not be forgotten. St. John's is a very 
 commercial and bustling place; the great staple 
 
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 348 
 
 ST. JOHN S, NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 article of trade being timber, of which an enor- 
 mous quantity is annually shipped off to England ; 
 though the traffic in this species of merchandise 
 is not near so thriving as during the war. Not- 
 withstanding, the number of merchant-vessels in 
 the harbour, which is both good and picturesque, 
 displayed the aspect of a flourishing commerce ; 
 the size of several of them amounting to between 
 600 and 700 tons burden. We found some little 
 sensation created among the v/orthy inhabitants, 
 by the arrival the day before of a new governor, 
 in the person of Sir Archibald Cornpbell, the hero 
 of Rangoon. He immediately, however, set off 
 to Frederickton, situated about sixteen miles from 
 the coast, which, though smaller than St. John's, 
 has been selected as the seat of government, and 
 of the colonial parliament, in consequence of its 
 better adaptation to business, from its more cen- 
 tral situation. 
 
 As the choses a voir at St. John's are by no 
 means numerous, since the " lions" may be all 
 seen without much loss of time, by simply walking 
 through the town and its suburbs, we sounded 
 our reireal on the third day after our arrival. 
 In bidding adieu to this town, we took our leave 
 of his majesty's American dominions, as a day's 
 excursion on the waters of the Bay of Fundy 
 brought us at nightfall to Eastport, in the state 
 of Maine, the most easterly point, in this direction, 
 
BAY OF PASSAMAQUODDY. 
 
 349 
 
 r I 
 
 of the republican territory. During the greater 
 part of the way thither, we kept close in to the 
 bold and rocky shore of New Brunswick, whose 
 numerous indentations into bays, creeks, promon- 
 tories, and peninsulas, are strongly marked. It is 
 an extremely dangerous coast in stormy weather, 
 and where every headland, as pointed out by 
 the captain, is commemorative of some dismal 
 wreck that has been engulfed beneath its rugged 
 brow. Among other objects, we passed an ex- 
 tended line of woods, running parallel with the 
 shore, called the Mahoganies, where a most 
 destructive conflagration took place in 1819, de- 
 priving them, as at Miramichi, of every shade 
 of verdure, and reducing their melancholy-look- 
 ing, blackened stems, to the quality of charcoal. 
 We sailed past various clusters of pretty islands, 
 especially those called the Wolves, (rather an 
 unpoetical designation of what is interesting), 
 forming, with the Grand Menan, Campo-Bello, 
 and some others, a complete amphitheatre of ver- 
 dant islands, and presenting a most beautiful and 
 splendid ensemble. 
 
 For some miles before arriving at Eastport we 
 had entered the Bay of Passamaquoddy, which 
 is truly one of the most enchanting that can be 
 imagined. It is studded with islets, exhibiting, 
 with those already mentioned, a little archipelago, 
 and continually delighting the eye with their end- 
 
 
 

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 4 
 
 i 
 
 1, 
 
 350 
 
 SINGULAR MODE OF CATCHING FISH. 
 
 less varieties of shape. Just as we were reaching 
 our destination, the night having now closed in, 
 I was surprised to perceive, in various directions 
 through the gloom, a brightly blazing light, moving 
 on the surface of the water, that had something 
 supernatural in its appearance. On reference to 
 the captain, we were informed that it was a noc- 
 turnal mode, and a very successful one, of catch- 
 ing fish; which, attracted to the fire placed in 
 the fisherman's boat, like the simple moth to the 
 candle, fall an easy prey to the spearsman, who 
 stands ready prepared for his unsuspecting game, 
 transfixing them, with a skilful and well-practised 
 hand, that seldom fails in its aim. 
 
 OfEastport, there is nothing particular worthy 
 of notice, except that it is the frontier post of the 
 United States, and constitutes one of those in- 
 teresting island -groups in Passamaquoddy Bay 
 previously mentioned. The line of demarcation, 
 in this vicinity, between the British territory and 
 that of the republic, is formed by the river St. 
 Croix, which divides the province of New Bruns- 
 wick from the state of Maine, and empties its 
 waters into the bay. 
 
 It was our first intention to have proceeded 
 to Boston by land, but having understood that 
 the roads were very bad, and an eligible convey- 
 ance not easy to be procured, we determined to 
 go round by sea. Our passage was, nevertheless, 
 
 
FEARFUL EFFECTS OF SEA-8ICKNES8. 
 
 351 
 
 most uncomfortable, as the vessel, though an 
 excellent sea-boat, was crowded to overflowing, 
 compelling us to sleep, three and four together, 
 in a tiny cabin not larger than a closet. To 
 heighten our distress, one of the Canadian ladies, 
 who, with her husband, had accompanied us from 
 Quebec, became actually deranged in her mind, 
 through the violence and effect of sea-sickness. 
 Her shrieks, both night and day, were really ter- 
 rific ; and it required two or three powerful per- 
 sons to hold her down. Notwithstanding, how- 
 ever, the general belief that she could not possibly 
 survive, unless put on shore at the nearest village, 
 and the supplications of the alarmed husband and 
 of all the passengers, our stony-hearted skipper 
 turned a deaf ear to all our remonstrances, al- 
 though in sight of the coast. Fortunately, our 
 worst fears respecting the poor lady were not 
 realised ; and, after being tossed about by adverse 
 winds for six days instead of two, in which the 
 distance is frequently accomplidhed, we entered 
 the noble bay of Massachusetts, passed up the 
 harbour, and landed the almost unconscious in- 
 valid apparently in a dying state. It was the first 
 voyage the unhappy Canadian had ever made j an 
 experiment, her husband declared, that should 
 never be repeated, though it might cost him a 
 thousand miles of extra distance by land. Indeed, 
 
 ill 
 
 M 
 
 
 
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352 
 
 CITY OF BOSTON. 
 
 I must confess, it was the most extraordinary and 
 fearful effect of sea-sickness that I ever witnessed. 
 I am now to introduce you lo one of the 
 finest towns in the United States ; and, beyond 
 any doubt whatever, according to my own judg- 
 ment, the most interesting. Though not so re- 
 gularly built as Philadelphia, yet its position is 
 greatly superior; and the number of handsome 
 buildings, particularly those belonging to private 
 individuals, exceeds that of the capital of Penn- 
 sylvania, and of all the other cities and towns in 
 the Union. If, also, is included, with the esti- 
 mate of its exterior advantages, the moral worth 
 and intellectual vigour and superiority of its in- 
 habitants, it will rise still higher in the scale of 
 comparison. I frankly acknowledge that I do 
 not know a city, of equal size and population, 
 in any part of the world, more highly gifted than 
 that of Boston ; and with respect to hospitality, 
 it bears away the palm triumphantly from all 
 the other towns of the republic. In an historical 
 point of view, Boston, as also the state of which 
 it is the principal city, attracts peculiar interest 
 from the circumstances attending its first settle- 
 ment. It was here that, in 1620, the devoted 
 band of pilgrims, as they were called, having 
 abandoned their country for the sake of that reli- 
 gious liberty which was denied them at home, first 
 
ITS ORIGIN. 
 
 353 
 
 established their little and unpromising colony ; 
 and where they suffered incredible hardships from 
 the severity of the climate, the hostility of the 
 natives, and the absence of those comforts they 
 had left behind them. From thi§ period, for 
 many successive years, various bodies of dis- 
 senters, known by the denomination of Puritans, 
 flying from the bitt »' persecutions they had ex- 
 perienced under the ty nnical reign of the Stuarts, 
 sought here an asyL. .1, amid the howling wil- 
 derness, for that freedom of conscience which was 
 dearer to them than their lives. Surrounded by 
 impenetrable forests and a sterile soil — beset by 
 tribes of savage Indians, and wasted away by the 
 still more destructive effects of famine — they en- 
 dured a complication of evils that excite the 
 deepest sympathy of every one who reads the 
 melancholy details of that period ; while they 
 produce the highest admiration of the fortitude 
 that characterised their endurance of them, and 
 of the conscientious motives by which they were 
 inspired. 
 
 Such is the origin, in few words, of the pre- 
 sent worthy community of Boston. The city lies 
 on a peninsula at the extremity of Massachusetts 
 Bay, possessing one of the best harbours in the 
 Union, capable of containing 500 vessels ; al- 
 though the entrance to it is so contracted, and 
 consequently so easily guarded, as not to allow 
 
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 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SM 
 
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354 
 
 COMPARATIVE POPULATION. 
 
 more than two ships to pass at the same time. 
 Its population, according to the census of last 
 year, amounts to 61,392, being an increase of 
 nearly 40,000 inhabitants within the last thirty 
 years; and of which, as well as that of the state, 
 I present you below with the comparative advance 
 since the year 1700. 
 
 Population of Massachusetts and of Boston at 
 different Periods, 
 
 Massachusetts. Increase. 
 
 1701.. 70,000 
 1742.. 164,000 
 1763.. 241,024 
 1765.. 227,926 
 1776.. 348,094 
 1784.. 357,510 
 1790.. 378,787 
 
 1800. .422,845 From 1790 to 1800. .44,058 
 1810. .472,040 1800 - 1810. .49,195 
 
 1820. .523,287 1810 - 1820. .51,247 
 
 1830. .610,014 1820 - 1830. .86,727 
 
 Boston. 
 1700.. 7000 
 1722.. 10,567 
 1742.. 16,382 
 1752.. 17,574 
 1765.. 15,520 
 1790.. 18,038 
 1800.. 24,937 
 1810.. 33,250 
 1820.. 43,298 
 1825.. 58,281 
 1830.. 61, 392 
 
 If the very populous suburbs, consisting of large 
 villages, or indeed small towns, are included in 
 the estimate, and which to the eye seem to form 
 part and parcel of the capital, the number would, 
 in that case, be augmented to 80,000 or upwards, 
 and bear a proportion more according with the 
 extended space that it appears to cover. It is a 
 
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF THE STATES. 355 
 
 
 highly mercantile place, though yielding in this 
 respect to its rival neighbour New York, which, 
 from its superior locality, wields the commercial 
 sceptre by general consent. The stores, however, 
 of the latter, or, as we should call them, ware- 
 houses, as likewise the wharfs, are much inferior 
 to those of Boston, where immense piles of hand- 
 some building, evidence at once the prosperity of 
 the town and the attention of the worthy citizens 
 to architectural appearance. One of these noble 
 piles runs through a length of 1240 feet, and 
 contains, with a central hall, surmounted by a 
 neat observatory, fifty-four stores. Comparing its 
 pecuniary resources with those of the other states, 
 it is, I understand, considerably the most wealthy. 
 This country has in truth risen, like its great 
 grandsire, to its present prosperous condition by 
 the successful cultivation of commerce. The fol- 
 lowing document, in reference to its aggregate 
 amount during one year, will more fully attest 
 the fact than any other information that I can 
 communicate : — 
 
 Exports and Imports during the Year ending 
 September 30th, 1829. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Imports 70,876,920 
 
 Exports of Domestic Produce 59,462,029 
 
 Do. of Foreign Produce 14,387,479 
 
 Total Exports. . . .73,849,508 
 
 «. 
 
&:« 
 
 356 
 
 AN AMERICAN TABLE D HOTE. 
 
 Dollars. 
 Domestic Produce exported in American Vessels. ,51,106,189 
 
 Do. in Foreign Vessels 8,355,740 
 
 Foreign Produce exported in American Vessels... .12,376,529 
 
 Do. in Foreign Vessels 1,610,950 
 
 Of the public buildings in Boston there are 
 two, I think, that can scarcely be exceeded, in 
 point of beauty, convenience, and excellent ar- 
 rangement, in any part of Europe. I allude to 
 the hotel where I have taken up my quarters, 
 called the Tremont House, and the new Market- 
 House. The former — not to use exaggerated 
 terms — is really a splendid establishment, whether 
 we regard the pure Grecian of its exterior design, 
 the spacious dimensions of its ornamented public 
 rooms, the comfort and accommodation of its 
 private apartments, or the sumptuous fare so 
 bountifully provided. According to the custom 
 in this country, as I have mentioned before, all 
 persons at an hotel dine at the table dChote ; 
 and where, as is often the case, 100 and some- 
 times 150 people are to be supplied, you may 
 easily imagine that the variety of tempting viands 
 must be great, and the earliest luxury in season 
 procured. In fact, the best of every thing, in- 
 cluding, in summer, ice-creams, is served up on an 
 American table dliote ; while an excellent dessert 
 of pines, melons, grapes, nectarines, peaches, 
 apples, and a variety of other fruits, close the hos- 
 
TREMONT HOUSE. 
 
 357 
 
 pitable entertainment. The charge, per diem, for 
 the whole of this, comprehending breakfast, din- 
 ner, tea, and supper, and for the bed-room, in- 
 deed for every thing except wine, is a dollar and 
 a half, or somewhere about 7*. With the excep- 
 tion, however, of the first-rate taverns, a traveller 
 may be excellently accommodated for a dollar, 
 and even three-quarters of a dollar per diem, in 
 highly respectable boarding-houses in the cities 
 and large towns ; and in a distant country village, 
 or in a farmer's house, a person of limited means 
 may be boarded, lodged, and his washing bills 
 included, for the extremely trifling demand of two 
 dollars, or, at the very most, three dollars a-week. 
 I was informed that clergymen, whose incomes 
 are sometimes very limited, are frequently pro- 
 vided with all the necessaries of life at this easy 
 rate. This will afford you some idea of the cheap- 
 ness of living among our Transatlantic friends. 
 
 The Tremont House, which cost, 1 understand, 
 including furniture, the sum of 200,000 dollars, 
 is three stories high, contains 180 rooms, and is 
 built of most beautiful dark-colo- red granite, with 
 a portico of pure Grecian architecture, 37 feet in 
 length, 25 in height, and 7 in width, supported 
 by four fluted columns; the design having been 
 taken, as to its proportions, from one of the Doric 
 porticoes at Athens. ,This establishment was built 
 under the auspices of a company — a circumstance 
 
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358 
 
 THE NEW MARKET. 
 
 that may account for its superior construction and 
 the better style of its furniture. Immediately 
 opposite is the Tremont Theatre, the facade of 
 which exhibits much taste and neatness. With 
 respect to the New Market, I know none that can 
 compare with it, in any part of the world, except 
 the one at Liverpool, which it quite equals in 
 the convenience of its arrangement, and surpasses, 
 I think, in its execution and architectural design. 
 It is also constructed of granite, and extends 536 
 feet in length, and is ornamented at each end 
 with a portico of granite columns of massive size. 
 At a short distance from Tremont House lies a 
 remarkably pretty and spacious area, comprising 
 about seventy-five acres of verdant pleasure-ground, 
 called the Common. It commands a highly 
 pleasing landscape of the neighbouring country 
 and villages, particularly of the village of Rox- 
 burgh with its elegant church, about two miles 
 distant, and that of Cambridge, the site of Har- 
 vard College. On one side of this ample space is 
 planted a noble avenue of trees, forming a very 
 grateful promenade during the heat of summer. 
 On the north angle is seen the State House, the 
 most imposing edifice in the city, and presenting, 
 from the eminence on which it is placed, a promi- 
 nent object of great beauty and interest, from 
 whatever quarter the town may be approached. 
 The principal front of the building is adorned by 
 
 
STATE HOUSE OF BOSTON. 
 
 359 
 
 by 
 
 a double range of columns, and is surmounted by 
 a large dome, that confers a solemn dignity on 
 the structure, and whence is displayed a pano- 
 rama of the surrounding country that cannot fail 
 to delight the spectator. The view comprises the 
 harbour, with its shipping, and numerous islands, 
 the villages of Roxburgh, Charlestown, Brighton, 
 Dorchester, and Cambridge — lighthouses, wharfs, 
 undulating hills, country-seats and pleasure- 
 grounds, besides the full dimensions of the city 
 itself, spread out like a map before you. The 
 entire city is a pile of beautiful buildings, and 
 almost as free from smoke as a lady's drawing- 
 room, owing, no doubt, to the use of wood-fires. 
 
 Spacious and handsome apartments, within 
 the walls of this splendid fabric, are appropriated 
 to the meetings of the state legislature; and, at the 
 extremity of the hall of entrance, I was much 
 gratified by observing a beautiful specimen of 
 Chantrey's skill in a marble statue of Washing- 
 ton, sent from England and placed here in 1827. 
 From this edifice, a line of elegant houses, form- 
 ing Beacon Street, slopes down to the level of the 
 water ; while skirting the common on the opposite 
 side, is a similar array of very neat private resi- 
 dences, among which is observed the masonic 
 hall, lately erected in rather a picturesque and 
 fanciful style. 
 
 Several months prior to my arrival in Boston, 
 
 w 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 i i 
 
I' I 
 
 ! 11 
 
 360 
 
 CHANGE IN THE REPRESENTATION. 
 
 the legislature of Massachusetts had been occu- 
 pied in making some important alterations in the 
 constitution of the state. One of the amendments 
 respected the commencement of the political year, 
 which had previously begun on the last Wednes- 
 day in May, and was now changed to the first 
 Wednesday of January. On this latter day it 
 was agreed that the general court should annually 
 assemble for the future, and proceed at that ses- 
 sion to make all the elections, and execute the 
 various acts required by the constitution. 
 
 The most considerable change, however, was 
 effected in the popular representation ; the House 
 of Representatives, like our House of Commons, 
 on certain occasions, being found to be crowded to 
 an inconvenient degree, and to the consequent 
 impeding of business. In the present year, the 
 number of members amounted to 481, and bad 
 been in some instances much larger. Indeed, if 
 all the towns in the state had returned the full 
 number to which they were entitled, it would 
 have swelled the list to 800. An amendment was, 
 therefore, proposed and adopted by the General 
 Court, to reduce the amount ; and it was provided 
 that "The House of Representatives shall never 
 consist of more than 350 members." This ar- 
 rangement will still leave the number much 
 greater than that of any other legislative chamber 
 in the different states of the Union ; and will 
 
THE NAVY-YARD. 
 
 361 
 
 confer, beyond any doubt, where the speakers are 
 so numerous and so interminable as they are in 
 America, an increased alacrity and expedition in 
 the management of public affairs. 
 
 My national tendencies led me, oYi an early 
 occasion, to visit the Navy-yard, which I saw 
 under the kind auspices of a lieutenant of the 
 American navy. It is far superior to those I have 
 hitherto seen either at New York, Philadelphia, 
 or Washington ; and presents, in the dry dock, a 
 splendid specimen of granite masonry. Its capa- 
 city is very considerable, being able to contain a 
 line-of-battle ship of the first class. The maga- 
 zines of stores, the arsenals, and ship-houses, are 
 well-built and excellently arranged, and reflect 
 no inconsiderable credit on the state government 
 of Massachusetts. In two of the latter, suffi- 
 ciently large for ships of 100 guns, were a 74, and 
 a 60-gun frigate on the stocks, nearly finished. 
 
 A few minutes' walk from the Navy-yard 
 brought me to Bunker's Hi^L where the battle 
 was fought on the 17th June, .775, between the 
 British and American forces during the revolution. 
 It is, however, generally understood to be a mis- 
 nomer, and should be called the battle of Breed's 
 Hill, which lies closely adjoining, and where was 
 thrown up the earthen redoubt that was so gal- 
 lantly defended by the then inexperienced but 
 brave soldiers of the revolted colonies. In com- 
 
 i;i 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 R 
 
< V 
 
 362 
 
 MONUMENT OP BUNKER S HILL. 
 
 memoratlon of the event, the foundation-stone of 
 a monument was laid on Breed's Hill, — yet, singu- 
 larly enough, still denominated the Bunker's Hill 
 Monument, — on the 15th of June, 1825, being the 
 fiftieth anniversary of the battle, and at the inter- 
 esting ceremonies of which the Marquess La Fay- 
 ette, one of the auxiliary champions of that day, 
 was present, and who was at the time making a 
 triumphal procession through the country as the 
 honoured guest of the Republic. The form of the 
 monument, which remains still unfinished, arising 
 from some deficiency of funds, is to be that of a 
 pyramidal obelisk 30 feet square at the base, and 
 to rise tapering to a height of 213 feet. 
 
 This monument I most truly hope is the very 
 last that will ever be erected in the United States, 
 for the purpose of commemorating the gallantry 
 and self-devotion of her citizens, in hostile collision 
 with the descendants of their British ancestors. 
 Indeed, I know not any cause that is likely to 
 occur, at any future period, to disturb the har- 
 mony of increasing good feeling happily existing 
 between the two countries, with the solitary ex- 
 ception of the " right of search" claimed by us in 
 reference to boarding their ships to discover and 
 seize British seamen. That this maritime pre- 
 rogative assumed by the nation is one of a violent 
 and degrading nature to the Americans, few, I 
 suspect, will be inclined to doubt. That the pre- 
 
BRITISH RIGHT OF SEARCH. 
 
 363 
 
 sent moment of universal peace is also the period, 
 of all others, when an amicable adjustment and 
 mutual good understanding on this important 
 subject of dispute should take place, still fewer, 
 I think, will hesitate to believe. To ihy own un- 
 prejudiced view, I cannot possibly conceive that 
 the waving altogether of this obnoxious right can, 
 in any degree worth the naming, interfere with 
 that ascendancy on the ocean which we have so 
 long possessed. To suppose this power to be 
 essential to our superiority, would be to depress 
 the naval glory of England to an extent of hu- 
 miliation that would at once tarnish all its bright- 
 ness. It would then appear, that our unrivalled 
 dominion on the sea had been solely obtained by 
 the mere acquiescence of foreign states in the 
 exclusive privilege so long insisted on and en- 
 joyed, and not by the exercise of our own prowess. 
 That such, however, has not been the case, it re- 
 quires no argument to prove ; and since the prin- 
 ciple contains within it the fruitful germs of 
 hostile collision hereafter, the sooner it is given up 
 the better. In proof that the Americans have ex- 
 perienced the most grinding effects from this arbi- 
 trary policy, I need only refer to the numberless 
 detentions of the United States' vessels by our 
 blockading squadron off the then neutral port of 
 New York, in the year 1804, to the great hin- 
 derance of commerce and the excitement of the 
 
 till 
 
 4 
 
 
364 
 
 BRITISH RIGHT OF SEARCH. 
 
 I' ft- 
 
 hi 
 
 most irritated feelings on the part of the merchant- 
 men and the people in general, and occurring, at 
 the same time, while the two countries were at 
 peace with each other. The present period of 
 tranquillity, tlierefore, deserves well the most 
 serious deliberations of the two governments with 
 respect to the final settlement of this grave and 
 important question. With regard to my own 
 country, it appears to my humble judgment that 
 we should not lose sight of one consideration, to 
 which every succeeding year adds additional 
 weight, namely, that the American navy is con- 
 tinually increasing in strength. We may now 
 cede the point with grace, with national honour, 
 and with somewhat of chivalrous generosity, and 
 which now would be possibly accepted in the light 
 of a boon ; but should this opportunity be lost, it 
 may hereafter be extorted from us vi et armis ! 
 
 After having remained at Boston three or four 
 days, a circumstance of the purest accident brought 
 me acquainted with a highly respectable and plea- 
 sant family of my own name ; and with a brief 
 relation of the meeting, you will, I know, be 
 interested. It was somewhat remarkable that I 
 should have travelled extensively through the 
 three other quarters of the globe, without having 
 once encountered a single individual bearing the 
 same appellation. The gratification, it appears, 
 was reserved for the fourth quarter j and though 
 
UNEXPECTED COINCIDENCE OF NAMES. 
 
 3G5 
 
 the novelty alone would have heen pleasing, yet 
 when united, as it was in the present instance, with 
 great kindness and hospitality, and an amiable 
 anxiety to render my visit agreeable, it came 
 recommended to me by the most grateful asso- 
 ciations, by favours of the most friendly and social 
 nature, and those conferred in a manner that 
 greatly enhanced their value. The fact was 
 simply as follows : — On arriving at Boston I 
 wrote to the postmaster at New York, requesting 
 he would oblige me, as he had very politely done 
 before, by forwarding my European letters, ad- 
 dressed to that place, to the capital of Massachu- 
 setts. Not receiving my letters with the punctu- 
 ality which had previously characterised the ready 
 acquiescence of that gentleman under similar cir- 
 cumstances, I began to be apprehensive, — very 
 unjustly as the result proved, — that, fatigued by 
 former requests, he had been induced to forget 
 me altogether. One morning, however, when 
 almost despairing of an answer from the worthy 
 postmaster, a gentleman called at the hotel and 
 presented to me my long-expected packet, with 
 a most satisfactory explanation of the cause of its 
 detention. He stated that his brother, whose 
 Christian as well as surname precisely coincided 
 with my own, had found the letters in his private 
 box at the Boston post-office ; having been placed 
 there by the superintendent of the establishment 
 
 
366 
 
 AMERICAN SKILL IN DRIVING. 
 
 on the receipt of them from New York, not 
 doubting for an instant that they were intended 
 for him ; and that the mistake was only discovered 
 on my namesake breaking the seal of one of them, 
 and perceiving, by the contents, that he was not 
 the person addressed. On a subsequent inquiry 
 at the Tremont House for the unknown stranger to 
 whom they belonged, the real owner was at length 
 discovered in my person; and I had the double 
 gratification of receiving safely my budget of 
 English news, and of acquiring two friends, who 
 were unremitting afterwards in their kind en- 
 deavours to serve me. 
 
 On the 19th of September, I accompanied a 
 very pleasant party of diplomatic gentlemen from 
 Washington, consisting of his Swedish majesty's 
 envoy. Baron Stackelburg, the attaches of the 
 British and Russian legations, and my Irish 
 compagnon de voyage, on an interesting excursion to 
 Lowell, twenty-five miles from Boston, the Man- 
 chester of the United States. In proceeding thither, 
 as also on returning, I had an opportunity of wit- 
 nessing American skill in driving, not having seen 
 a similar exhibition since I was at Naples ; where, 
 on one of their gala days, some of these modern 
 Phaetons, in order to astonish the natives, drove 
 eight horses in hand, though, according to my re- 
 membrance, at very little more than a walking 
 pace. On this occasion, our Jehu drove six in 
 
COTTON FACTORIES AT LOWELL. 
 
 367 
 
 hand, but in a style of dexterity that perfectly 
 astonished us, going at a round trot, or a hand- 
 gallop, nearly the whole way. On recollection, it 
 occurs to me that I have seen all these charioteers 
 outdone at the Cape of Good Hope, where some 
 of the Dutch boors drive their light wagons ten 
 and twelve in hand, pacing along at a rate that 
 would make an English coachman marvel with 
 unutterable conjectures how they could have 
 learnt the illustrious art. 
 
 The manufacturing town of Lowell has ad- 
 vanced to its present prosperous state with a 
 rapidity as admirable as that of Rochester in the 
 western wilds; since, twelve short years ago, as 
 I am informed, there were only four houses in the 
 place, and now it contains a population of 8000 
 inhabitants. It is situated on the liver Merri- 
 mack, the " water privilege," as it is denominated, 
 being very extensive, sufficient for fifty factories, 
 with 3500 spindles each. At present it contains 
 about twenty of these establishments, which, for 
 handsome appearance, extreme cleanliness, and 
 orderly arrangement, I must frankly confess I have 
 never seen surpassed, if equalled, even in manu- 
 facturing England herself. Indeed, they appeared 
 as beautifully neat as any private dwelling-houses, 
 and the machinery of the very best description. 
 
 Lowell is the great cotton factory of the north- 
 ern states, and has been fostered by the imposition 
 
 \'i I 
 
 i 
 
368 
 
 COTTON FACTORIES AT LOWELL. 
 
 of that protecting tariff which has roused up all 
 the indignant opposition and outcry of the southern 
 sections of the Union. In 1827, there were manu- 
 factured at this place ahout two million yards of 
 cloth ; and, in the year following, an amount of 
 two millions and a half of dollars had been in- 
 vested in the various works in operation. The 
 establishment of the Merrimack Company is the 
 first in point of size and importance, and where 
 1500 females and 500 men are employed ; the 
 former presenting an appearance of neatness in 
 their dress, and modesty in their demeanour, 
 superior to any thing I have ever seen elsewhere. 
 The women receive, as the price of their labour, 
 two dollars a-week and their provisions, and the 
 men about a dollar and a half a-day, with which 
 they provide for themselves. I cannot but ac- 
 knowledge that I have not witnessed any thing, 
 in the commercial economy of the United States, 
 that has surprised and gratified me so much as 
 the manufactories at Lowell. 
 
 I find I am now relapsing into the inveterate 
 habit which I promised, in a former letter, as a 
 reward for your patience, I would amend — that 
 of writing you a tediously / long, and, I fear, as 
 usual, somewhat uninteresting epistle. I will, 
 therefore, cut short the thread of my narrative ; 
 but as I have not yet concluded my few notices 
 of this the principal and most delightful capital 
 
CHOICE OF RESIDENCE. 
 
 369 
 
 of the northern states, I shall resume them in my 
 next communication ; for, were I to take up my 
 abode in any of the towns of the Union, Boston, I 
 think, would be the place of my choice and resid- 
 ence. Adieu! 
 
 rr 
 
 m 
 
 M 
 
 IB ! 
 
 r2 
 
370 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Cambridge — Harvard University — Public Schools — Sweet 
 Auburn — Consecration of a Cemetery — Fresh Ponds — 
 Ice — Extensive Traffic in it— the Fine Arts at Boston — 
 Nahant — Quincy Granite Quarries — Churches — State of 
 Religion — Depart for the White Mountains — Salem — 
 Oriental Museum — Notorious for Witchcraft — Portland 
 — Quality of the Land — the Tariff— Floating Bridge — - 
 Climate — Disputed Territory — Gardiner — Banks of the 
 Kennebec — Interesting Family — Traits of Character. 
 
 Gardiner J Banks of the Kennebec, U. S. 
 15th OcM831. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 Among the agreeable excursions 
 which a residence of three weeks enabled me to 
 make in the vicinity of Boston, was a visit that I 
 paid to the lovely and rural little village of Cam- 
 bridge, three miles distant from the former, and 
 where is situated Harvard University, one of the 
 oldest literary institutions in the country, and, I 
 believe, the most celebrated. The establishment 
 consists of various colleges, or halls, erected in a 
 spacious square, decorated and shaded by a luxu- 
 riant growth of trees, where about 300 young men 
 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 
 
 371 
 
 are annually educated. Having been favoured 
 with a letter tr the Honourable Josiah Quincy, 
 President of the University, a gentleman not 
 more distinguished for his learning than for the 
 kindness and urbanity of his manners, I was very 
 politely taken by him through the different build- 
 ings, while, at the same time, he explained to me 
 the system of education pursued there, which 
 agrees, in its essential features, with the principles 
 and discipline adopted in our colleges in England. 
 The branches of knowledge taught at Harvard 
 include Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, 
 German — mathematics — moral, natural, and poli- 
 tical philosophy — theology, law, rhetoric, logic, 
 oratory, chemistry, medicine, anatomy, history, 
 Greek and Roman antiquities, mineralogy, &c. 
 The public library contains about 35,000 volumes, 
 and is esteemed the best and most extensive in the 
 States ; and the philosophical apparatus is on 
 a scale of excellence highly respectable. There 
 is, also, in the mineralogical department, as 
 splendid an array of specimens as I remember to 
 have seen any where, and arranged in admirable 
 order. 
 
 The endowment of the institution is considered 
 one of the richest, if not the most so, in the Repub- 
 lic, amounting to nearly 600,000 dollars; and 
 under the auspices of this alma mater ^ some of the 
 most distinguished characters of the Union have 
 
 
 Mil 
 ■'■« T 
 
 % 
 
 ; I 
 
372 LITERATURE OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 
 
 
 received that education which has qualified them 
 to hold the highest stations in the councils of their 
 country. Among the number of these great men, 
 if I am not mistaken, is to be enrolled the name 
 of the celebrated Dr. Franklin, who was a native 
 of Boston, and to whom a cenotaph has been 
 erected over the grave of his parents in the church- 
 yard closely adjoining the Tremont House. 
 
 The New England states, indeed, take a con- 
 spicuous lead in the ranks of literature, and, like 
 their *' northern lights," cast the flashes of their 
 superior intelligence far and wide around them. 
 Science and learning are here cultivated with a 
 con amove spirit and vigour that reflect a peculiar 
 credit on their inhabitants : and though the 
 southern states possess the greater advantages of 
 a happier soil and more genial climate ; the moral, 
 intellectual, and religious virtues flourish here 
 with a native force and luxuriancy that more than 
 compensates for this inferiority. The balance be- 
 tween them appears to be very equally struck: 
 Nature has done every thing for the former — while 
 Mind has poured forth the treasures and blessings 
 of a brighter excellency on the people of the 
 latter. 
 
 Massachusetts was the first state that recom- 
 mended and put in execution a system of general 
 education ; and to this benevolent as well as 
 politic design, the Lyceum at Boston, and the 
 
LITERATURE OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES. 373 
 
 innumerable schools established there and scat- 
 tered through the province, bear ample and 
 honourable testimony. At the present moment 
 there are, I believe, in a course of instruction, in 
 the public schools of that city alone, -about 10,000 
 children, and for the maintenance of which 80,000 
 dollars are annually expended. These schools are 
 all free, and open to every order of society ; and to 
 these are sent, in considerable numbers, along 
 with the poorer classes, the sons of the most 
 wealthy, and, if I may so say, aristocratic mem- 
 bers of the community, as offering more solid and 
 extensive advantages, with respect to learning, 
 than the private seminaries. As may be expected, 
 Boston, as well as the other towns of that state, 
 has reaped, and will continue to do, a rich harvest 
 of moral benefits, in the good order and virtuous 
 conduct of its society, and which are the well- 
 earned fruits of its early and laudable exertions. 
 
 That knowledge, under every view in which 
 it can be considered, is a blessing, and not, as 
 some suppose, a curse to mankind, I cannot for 
 a moment hesitate to believe ; but, were I at all 
 in doubt, I should have all my scruples at once 
 resolved into " thin air," on casting my eyes over 
 a Newgate Calendar ^ or that of any other prison, 
 and ascertaining therefrom what an overwhelming 
 majority is annually exhibited of convicts who 
 can neither read nor write. The comparative 
 
 % 
 
 £!■ 
 
374 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF EDUCATION. 
 
 
 absence, in these gaols, of persons who have re- 
 ceived even the rudiments of education, is, to my 
 mind, the best possible proof of the happy conse- 
 quence of instruction, and tests the soundness and 
 excellency of the principle by a result as satisfac- 
 tory as that of a mathematical demonstration. To 
 argue against this conclusion, on the ground of 
 there being a certain proportion of educated per- 
 sons who are, nevertheless, found guilty of crime, 
 seems to me rather a sophistical mode of reason- 
 ing ; since some natures are so entirely depraved 
 as to rush recklessly, and in defiance of all re- 
 straints, example, and advice, *' per vetitum et 
 7iefas;" and though fenced in by innumerable 
 checks, still violating every law, both human and 
 divine. Besides, it is, after all, but the exception, 
 which proves more strongly the existence of the 
 rule. 
 
 In the case of America, however, the political 
 and greater necessity that exists for a general, if 
 not universal instruction of her population, than 
 under monarchical institutions, is apparent, when 
 it is considered that the people here are the sove- 
 reigns. It is the majesty of the people, and not 
 of the monarch, that holds in this country the 
 sceptre of power ; in whom reside all the functions 
 of government, and the administration of every 
 thing connected with the existence and well-being 
 of society — legislative, executive, and judicial. 
 
CEMETERY OF SWEET AUBURN. 
 
 375 
 
 To have, therefore, an ignorant population, would 
 be to throw into confusion and disorganisation tiie 
 very elements of civil life. General education is a 
 sine qua non of a vigorous, and, if I may so speak, 
 of a healthy republican governmen^t — the great 
 primwn mobile of the state machine — and without 
 the application of which, the political engine would 
 either cease altogether its operations, or be im- 
 pelled in fatal counteraction of all the principles 
 of social order. That the latter is not the fact in 
 the institutions of the United States, their present 
 prosperous condition will amply prove, to the great 
 credit and happiness of the American people. 
 
 After sauntering about the lovely village of 
 Cambridge, I strolled onward a couple of miles, 
 as the morning was delightfully fine, to witness 
 the interesting ceremony of consecrating a new 
 burial-ground at Sweet Auburn. It is one of the 
 most secluded and enchanting spots that I have 
 yet seen in America ; and if one clod of the valley 
 be softer than another — if there be a mound of 
 green turf sweeter than another, beneath which 
 the once aching heart may repose, when the 
 " silver cord is loosed, and the golden bowl is 
 broken," and when the " spirit has returned unto 
 God who gave it " — the friendly clod, and the 
 verdant turf, are to be found in this place. 
 
 The site of the intended cemetery is very ex- 
 tensive, and which it is proposed to adorn and lay 
 
 ull 
 
 
 l»!i 
 
 m 
 
376 
 
 CONSECRATION OP SWEET AUBURN. 
 
 out after the model of Pt^re la Chaise, in the vici- 
 nity of Paris ; nor will the copy, if well arranged, 
 as I have no doubt it will be, though on a smaller 
 scale, fall far short of its original. It is embo- 
 somed in the most luxuriant groves, resting on 
 a soft greensward, and whence ascends a finely 
 swelling hill, crowned with trees, through the 
 vistas of which is seen as captivating scenery 
 as the eye would wish to gaze on. A variety of 
 elegant country-seats ornament the landscape in 
 every direction ; — villages and lakes, woods, hills, 
 and valleys, present successive objects of attrac- 
 tion, and fill up the beautiful and rural pano- 
 rama ; while in the distance is seen the noble city 
 of Boston, with its superb State House proudly 
 towering above the surrounding buildings on its 
 lofty eminence. 
 
 The place selected for the ceremony was a 
 glen of the most romantic features, closely girt 
 in by a thick screen of shady trees, and where 
 semicircular benches, in the form of an amphi- 
 theatre, had been arranged, and which were now 
 occupied by a brilliant assemblage of the beauty 
 and fashion of Boston and its neighbourhood. A 
 hushed and solemn silence pervaded the crowded 
 meeting, while the various prayers of consecra- 
 tion were put up by different clergymen present. 
 These were concluded by singing a hymn, in 
 which the united voices of the audience joined, 
 
FRESH PONDS. 
 
 377 
 
 in a simple and devotional strain that was at 
 once affecting and sublime. The scene was most 
 imposing. It reminded me of the ancient days 
 of John the Baptist, when preaching in the wil- 
 derness; and of those patriarchal tihies when the 
 canopy of heaven was the only temple in which 
 the adoring worshippers knelt, and when the 
 woods and rocks, resounding with thanksgivings 
 to their Maker, were ** made vocal with His 
 name, and taught His praise." May the song 
 of thanksgiving, which thus ascended to heaven 
 over a spot that is to contain the ashes of un- 
 numbered generations to come, be triumphantly 
 echoed back by the reanimated dust, on the 
 morning of the resurrection ! 
 
 Leaving Sweet Auburn, with feelings quite in 
 unison with the interesting occasion which had 
 called them forth, I sauntered along about a mile 
 farther to Fresh Ponds; and found, on a nearer 
 inspection than when viewing them from the 
 mount ascending from the cemetery, that they 
 realised the glowing description which had been 
 given of them. On the beautifully wooded shores 
 of what I should call a lake, but which the 
 Americans call a pond — inasmuch as it does 
 not expand, like Lake Ontario, to a length of 
 180 miles, and a breadth of 40, are erected ex- 
 tensive ice-houses, belonging to a highly respect- 
 able gentleman of Boston, who has made a large 
 
 ?;^ 
 
 
 
378 
 
 A TRIAL OF FAITH. 
 
 fortune by shipping whole cargoes of this fragile 
 and fugitive commodity to the southern states 
 of the Union and to the West Indies. As an 
 article of first-rate luxury, under the scorching 
 sun of those climates, it sells there at the rate 
 of iLreepence and fourpence per pound. The ex- 
 quisite transparency of American ice exceeds every 
 thing of the kind I have seen elsewhere ; as does 
 also the magnitude of the blocks and wedges to 
 which it attains beneath the almost polar sky of a 
 North American winter. I certainly never beheld 
 even crystal possessing any thing equal to the 
 clearness of the ice in the United States ; and 
 with this opinion you will readily coincide, if you 
 have faith to believe what was confidently stated 
 to me by the proprietor himself of this profitable 
 and novel merchandise — that a person can read 
 a large-sized print through a piece of ice forty- 
 two inches thick ! Transparent as it is, I confess I 
 should scarcely have given credit to the statement, 
 had I not been assured of its truth by a person 
 whose authority I cannot for an instant doubt. 
 
 Besides a love of literature, on which the Bos- 
 tonians justly pride themselves, and which is cul- 
 tivated to a greater extent in the New England 
 states than in any other portion of the Republic, 
 a regard for the fine arts has manifested itself 
 amongst them in a manner that at once gives 
 promise of future excellence, and distinguishes 
 
THE PINE ARTS AT DOSTON, 
 
 379 
 
 their good taste in an equal degree with the 
 former. At the annual exhibition of paintings 
 in the city, principally by native artists, I was 
 much gratified by a variety of specimens that 
 displayed considerable merit. Many of the land- 
 scapes were highly deserving of notice ; and, 
 among others, I observed several pieces by All- 
 ston, who ranks as the first painter in the coun- 
 try, very cleverly executed — particularly "The 
 Young Artist," the " Independent Beggar," and 
 " Miriam." There were also, among foreign 
 artists, several admirable landscapes by Vernet, 
 and an interesting picture of "Rebecca and Abra- 
 ham's Servant," by Murillo. There is, likewise, 
 an excellent portrait of ** Patrick Lyon," who 
 made his fortune by the homely though honest 
 calling of a blacksmith, and of whom the follow- 
 ing singular fact is related. Being remarkably 
 clever in his trade, he was employed by the Phi- 
 ladelphia Bank to construct a lock, which he 
 accomplished on a principle that, like Bramah's 
 patent mechanism, was supposed to set at defiance 
 all the burglars in the world. However, as ill 
 fortune would have it, one night the lock was 
 picked, and the bank robbed ; and as it was 
 imagined to be impossible for any person except 
 Patrick himself to have had the extraordinary 
 dexterity to effect the larceny, the poor black- 
 smith, in consequence solely of his known and 
 
 I 
 
 
 
380 
 
 ANECDOTE OF PATRICK LYON. 
 
 superior talent in business, was, by some legal 
 process or other, imprisoned for a week or two, at 
 the instigation of the directors, though entirely 
 innocent of the charge. The persecuted anvil- 
 driver was determined, nevertheless, to redress 
 his grievance, and vindicate his reputation; 
 and bringing an action for false imprisonment 
 against his accusers, obtained a verdict of eight 
 thousand dollars, which I believe he thought a 
 very satisfactory remuneration for loss of liberty 
 during ten or twelve days. But the hijou of the 
 whole was a Madonna, by Carlo Dolce, the ex- 
 pression and execution of which were, beyond 
 comparison, beautiful. 
 
 A taste for the fine arts is not, at the same 
 time, limited to the public exhibition-room ; as 
 I had the opportunity of witnessing, in the pri- 
 vate collections of many of the resident gentle- 
 men, numerous specimens in painting, sculpture, 
 and statuary, that would have done credit to 
 galleries of higher pretension in the cities of Eu- 
 rope. At one gentleman's house especially, in 
 Beacon Street, from whom and his amiable lady 
 I received much kind hospitality, I saw several 
 marble statues and sculptures of remarkable 
 beauty. Of the former, were a finely executed 
 copy of Canova's Hebe, a Sleeping Nymph, a 
 Genius of Silence, and a Dancing Nymph : and 
 of the latter, a superb mantel-piece of the same 
 
THE ATHEN^UM. 
 
 381 
 
 material, brought from Italy, adorned by female 
 figures of surpassing elegance, and perfected in a 
 style of superior workmanship that could scarcely 
 be exceeded. 
 
 Adjoining the Exhibition is the' Athenaeum, 
 where is a valuable collection of coins, medals, 
 and books, the latter comprising an amount of 
 upwards of 23,000 volumes. Here, likewise, is 
 the Academy of Arts and Sciences, a picture gal- 
 lery, and a reading-room, where the principal 
 magazines of Europe and of the United States, 
 as well as newspapers from all parts of the Union, 
 are constantly to be found. 
 
 From these few notices you may, I think, infer 
 that the society of Boston is refined and intellec- 
 tual ; to which I may add something still better, 
 that of being also moral and religious. With a 
 superior and more extended information, is united 
 also a higher polish of manner ; and certainly, in 
 point of hospitality, it "bears away the bell." In 
 this respect I may observe, that I have been pre- 
 sent at parties where the splendour, as well as 
 elegance of the entertainment, equally surprised 
 and gratified me ; and I have remarked here, as 
 generally through the States, that where the 
 circumstances of fortune permit it, there is a 
 natural and irresistible tendency to aristocratical 
 feelings and indulgences. This is, indeed, the 
 inevitable result of that inequality arising from 
 
 ■•i'l 
 .■II 
 
 .« 
 
 i 
 
 Si 
 
 *r, ■ ■ 
 
 I 
 
382 FASHIONABLE WATERING PLACE AT NAHANT. 
 
 wealth, education, intellect, and station, which, 
 in despite of republican forms and principles, 
 must and will exist; and which, although un- 
 sanctioned by public opinion, will invariably pro- 
 duce its effects. 
 
 Before leaving Boston, one of my worthy and 
 hospitable namesakes drove me in his carriage 
 to the fashionable watering-place of Nahant, 
 about fourteen miles from the city — a delightful 
 resort for its inhabitants during the oppressive 
 heat of the summer months. Its locality for such 
 a purpose is as desirable as nature could make 
 it, being all but an island — a narrow isthmus 
 connecting the peninsula, which runs three or 
 four miles into the sea, with the main land. It 
 is cooled and refreshed by every breeze that blows, 
 adorned by numbers of elegant villas and public 
 hotels, and exhibits throughout gentle swells and 
 undulations of surface, with a bold and romantic 
 rocky shore. It presents, indeed, both towards 
 the sea and the land, a happy combination of 
 the magnificence of the mighty ocean with the 
 gentler beauties of the reposing shore. Verdant 
 islands, and gliding vessels spreading their white 
 canvass to the favouring breeze, occupy one por- 
 tion of the interesting landscape ; while the other 
 is most pleasingly filled up with a long line of 
 waving coast, flourishing villages, and the distant 
 spires and towering State House of the busy and 
 
QUINCY GRANITE QUAR^ilES. 
 
 383 
 
 commercial city. Having an extremely neat villa 
 at Naliant, my friend finds, in the peaceful seclu- 
 sion of the place, a most agreeable retirement 
 from the bustle of the capital ; enjoying at once, 
 during the season, the amusement 'of wild duck 
 and snipe-shooting, the salubrious atmosphere 
 of the surrounding sea, and his own quiet medi- 
 tations en vrai philosophe — and where no one 
 knows better than himself how to recommend 
 the native charms of this all but ocean-island, 
 by the unpretending hospitalities of a private 
 gentleman. 
 
 Having so much admired the beautiful mate- 
 rial of which the houses in Boston are composed, 
 as well as their elegant structure — and of the 
 latter, I must acknowledge, that I know not any 
 where, except in the New Town of Edinburgh, 
 so great a number in any city of equal size, — I 
 felt inclined to visit the Quincy Quarries, whence 
 the granite is brought. They lie about ten miles 
 from Boston, and abound in beds of inexhaust- 
 ible extent, capable of supplying material for the 
 erection of a city a hundred times larger than 
 the capital of Massachusetts. The colour is gene- 
 rally of a light grey, and the stone is as durable 
 as it is handsome. The magnitude of these works 
 recalled to memory the boundless quarries in the 
 neighbourhood of Scotland's " Modern Athens," 
 
 f 
 
 n 
 
 ^ I 
 
384 
 
 MANIA FOR RAIL-ROADS. 
 
 which have laid the foundations and adorned the 
 superstructure of its classic buildings. 
 
 Whether, therefore, for houses or rail-roads, 
 or for a thousand other objects of private and 
 public utility, there is no lack of this essential 
 article, either in quantity or quality. Having 
 mentioned rail-roads, I may here observe, that 
 there are numerous proposed plans at present in 
 agitation as to the formation of them in this vici- 
 nity, which the active enterprise of the worthy 
 citizens has in contemplation to effect. Such is 
 the mania for them at the present moment, that 
 no fewer than eight different companies have been 
 recently incorporated by the legislature of the 
 state, for the purpose of constructing as many 
 different roads. One is projected to run from 
 Boston to Albany, a distance of 193 miles ; ano- 
 ther to communicate with Whitehall, on Lake 
 Champlain, and to extend through a space of 
 upwards of 160 miles ; a third has been pro- 
 posed to be established between Boston and Lake 
 Ontario; while four others are to run from the 
 same city to the towns of Worcester, Providence, 
 Taunton, and Lowell ; and the eighth from West 
 Stockbridge to the boundary line of the state 
 of New York. It is a subject, however, of serious 
 consideration, how far, though highly advan- 
 tageous to the public, these speculations will 
 
 c 
 i 
 i 
 i: 
 
PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND BUILDINGS. 
 
 385 
 
 r'lW 
 
 answer to the various companies, on a calcula- 
 tion of profit and loss. 
 
 Among the public institutions not yet men- 
 tioned, and which the limits of my^ paper will 
 barely permit me to notice, are the Massachusetts 
 Historical Society, possessing an extensive library 
 — the Boston Library Society, and the Columbian 
 Library, containing, both together, about 11,000 
 or 12,000 volumes — the House of Industry — the 
 Massachusetts General Hospital, and another for 
 the Insane. Of churches, I am happy to say, 
 there are about fifty ; many of which are very 
 handsome structures, and exhibit a highly respect- 
 able proportion, in reference to the population of 
 the city. 
 
 I may now take the opportunity of remarking 
 — having seen the most flourishing portions of the 
 States — that I have been invariably gratified by 
 witnessing, throughout the tour which I have thus 
 far completed, the great attention that seems to 
 be paid to the performance of religious duties, as 
 well in the erection of a sufficient number of 
 places of worship, proportioned to the numerical 
 amount and wants of the people, as in the devo- 
 tional respect paid to the Sabbath. The first 
 objects that strike the eye of a stranger, on enter- 
 ing an American town — within the range, at least, 
 in which I have travelled — are the churches. Even 
 in the far western wilds, where, within a few short 
 
 VOL. I. s 
 
 ) 
 
Q86 
 
 ESTIMATE OF RELIGIOUS FEELING 
 
 years, towns and villages have sprung up in the 
 very heart of the wilderness, as if called forth by 
 the wand of an enchanter, you perceive, at once, 
 the moral character of the people evincing itself, 
 by raising temples in honour of God, with an 
 assiduity as diligent as that which marks the con- 
 struction of buildings for the habitation of man. 
 I scarcely remember a single town where this 
 interesting circumstance has not presented itself to 
 my eye in prominent display j exciting a respect 
 and admiration of feeling most willingly enter- 
 tained towards its inhabitants. Nor has the sen- 
 timent, of course, been at all weakened, by per- 
 ceiving the practical illustration of these exterior 
 pretensions in the devout observance of Sunday; 
 on which a religious decorum and propriety is 
 observable, that alone stamps a value on the 
 theory, and gives a substantial reality to those 
 outward appearances by which the attention was 
 first engaged. Both in ministers, and in congre- 
 gations, I have witnessed the sound and scriptural 
 doctrine, and the pious demeanour, which equally 
 become the pastor and his flock — proving that the 
 form of godliness is not unaccompanied by its 
 power ; and I am happy to bear my humble testi- 
 mony, that a religion, as vital in its practice as 
 that which characterises the religious communities 
 of my own favoured country, : ervades those sec- 
 tions of the Union that I have hitherto seen. 
 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 387 
 
 In the New England states, where society and 
 manners more resemble our own than farther to 
 the southward, Christian principles are generally 
 admitted to be more deeply felt, and more exten- 
 sively spread, than among the other portions of 
 the Confederation. Of this I shall be better able 
 to judge when I shall have seen more of them. 
 As far as my knowledge extends to Boston, I think 
 this may be the truth ; though I own, that equally 
 in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, I have 
 seen, in the observance of the Sabbath, what must 
 have been grateful to every reflecting mind. 
 
 There is one religious feature, certainly, which 
 characterises the state of Massachusetts, that does 
 not exist in the others. It appears that no legis- 
 lative provision is made for the support of religion 
 in any other portion of the Republic, except in that 
 of which Boston is the capital, where the constitu- 
 tion obliges all the citizens to belong to some 
 religious society, or to contribute to the support of 
 a clergyman. At the same time, it permits them 
 to support nny denomination towards which their 
 feelings may be directed. This fact, however, 
 speaks very strongly in favour of the moral tone 
 of the local government, and displays it in an 
 aspect peculiarly interesting. 
 
 The only circumstance, in reference to this 
 subject, that gave me pain while in Boston, was 
 a knowledge of the extensive dissemination of 
 
 
 ii 
 
 f'. .r 
 
 •1 
 
 %\ 
 
388 
 
 UNITARIANISM — DR. CHANNING. 
 
 Unitarian principles that has taken place in it, 
 and which Captain Basil Hall not unaptly calls 
 the " democracy of religion." At the head of this 
 system is Dr. Channing, to whose religious judg- 
 ment I wish I could pay an equal tribute of 
 respect as to the talents by which he is distin- 
 guished. 
 
 As I am aware you feel deeply interested in 
 this subject, I have copied for your inspection a 
 document that I have lately met with, presenting, 
 in a concentrated view, the aggregate numbers of 
 the ministers, churches, communicants, and popu- 
 lation of each religious sect existing in the United 
 States, 
 
RELIGIOUS SECTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 389 
 
 Denominations. 
 
 S 
 
 Calvinistic Baptists 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church . . . 
 Presbyterians, General Assembly 
 Congregationalists, Orthodox . . . 
 Protestant Episcopal Church . . . 
 
 Universalists 
 
 Roman Catholics 
 
 Lutherans 
 
 Christ-ians 
 
 German Reformed 
 
 Friends, or Quakers 
 
 Unitarians, Congregationalists , . 
 Associate and other Methodists . . 
 
 Free-will Baptists 
 
 Dutch Reformed 
 
 Mennonites 
 
 Associate Presbyterians 
 
 Cumberland Presbyterians 
 
 Tunkers 
 
 Free Communion Baptists 
 
 Seventh-day Baptists 
 
 Six-Principle Baptists 
 
 United Brethren, or Moravians . . 
 Millennial Church, or Shakers . . 
 
 New Jerusalem Church 
 
 Emancipators, Baptists 
 
 Jews and others . . 
 
 2,914 
 1,777 
 1,801 
 1,000 
 558 
 150 
 
 205 
 
 200 
 
 84 
 
 160 
 
 350 
 
 300 
 
 159 
 
 200 
 
 74 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 30 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 23 
 
 45 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 ■B a 
 
 ^3 
 
 4,384 
 
 • • 
 
 2,253 
 
 1,270 
 
 700 
 
 300 
 
 • • 
 
 1,200 
 800 
 400 
 400 
 193 
 
 400 
 194 
 
 144 
 75 
 40 
 
 • • 
 
 40 
 30 
 23 
 15 
 28 
 
 150 
 
 jd 
 
 o 
 
 304,827 
 470,000 
 182,017 
 140,000 
 
 44,000 
 25,000 
 17,400 
 
 35,000 
 
 ie,ooo 
 
 17,888 
 30,000 
 15,000 
 8,000 
 3,000 
 3,500 
 2,000 
 1,800 
 2,000 
 
 600 
 
 
 2,743,453 
 
 2,600,000 
 
 1,800,000 
 
 1,260,000 
 
 600,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 275,000 
 
 200,000 
 
 200,000 
 
 176,000 
 
 175,000 
 
 150,000 
 
 1 25,000 
 
 120,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 30,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 20,000 
 
 7,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 4,500 
 
 50,000 
 
 '■■ 'H 
 
 : M 
 
 I 
 
 >, 'I 
 
 If 
 I J 
 
 I 
 
 On the 7th of October I bade adieu to this in- 
 teresting city, and to those kind friends who had 
 mainly contributed to render my residence there, 
 of three weeks, so extremely agreeable. Having 
 left my companion behind me, who was proceed- 
 
390 
 
 SALEM — ITS MUSEUM. 
 
 ing to Baltimore, I now bent my course, alone, 
 towards the White Mountains in New Hampshire 
 — the little Switzerland of the north — where, I 
 was informed, the scenery was particularly grand 
 and romantic, and by no means to be excluded 
 from the list of '* lions" whose acquaintance I was 
 called upon to make. Passing through Lynn, a 
 large shoe-manufacturing village, I remained, for 
 a few hours, at the pretty town of Salem, fourteen 
 miles on my road, where is to be seen the best and 
 most extensive " Oriental and l^acific Museum" I 
 ever saw ,' containing an infinity of specimens and 
 curiosities, remarkably well arranged, in a splen- 
 did apartment appropriated for that purpose. 
 Natives of the different castes of India, moulded 
 and dressed after life, and sitting in their peculiar 
 attitudes on the flcir, immediately opposite the 
 door of entrance, are represented to admiration. 
 Indeed, the semblance of reality was so startling 
 at first, as almost to make me imagine that some 
 of the unhappy worshippers of tlie hideous Jug- 
 gernaut actually sat before me, in all the substance 
 of flesh and bone. 
 
 I here saw a branch of the celebrated life- 
 killing Upas-tree — to come within the shade of 
 whose branches was once supposed to be death — 
 and of which the leaf bears some similitude to 
 that of the willow, though broader and longer. A 
 real Indian chief's head, tattooed in a most fan- 
 
1 
 
 NOTED FOR WITCHCRAFT. 
 
 at 
 
 
 tastic manner, and a slip of the willow-tree ^^ iv- 
 ing over Buonaparte's grave at St. Helena, were 
 among the exhaustless store of interesting articles 
 exhibited. These have been brougljt and depo- 
 sited in the Museum by the different members, 
 consisting of about 200, and composed principally 
 of mercantile and naval men ; each of whom, as a 
 qualification, must have doubled either Cape Horn 
 or the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Salem is chiefly concerned in the East India 
 trade, which was once much more flourishing 
 than it is at the present moment, and contains 
 a population of 14,000 inhabitants. It was one 
 of the earliest settlements in Massachusetts, hav- 
 ing been established in 1626. The history of its 
 earlier days is stained with deeds of superstition 
 and blood, for which, I am sorry to say, the 
 conduct of the mother-country at that period 
 furnished the pernicious example. I allude to the 
 wholesale destruction of witches; for, in 1692, 
 the prisons of the town overflowed with persons 
 accused of the sin of witchcraft ; numbers of 
 whom were hanged, and otherwise sacrificed, to 
 the prevailing bigotry of the times, as an expi- 
 ation of their supposed offences. The annals of 
 that day mention, that, in one term alone, the 
 grand jury found fifty indictments against various 
 individuals, in different ranks of life, in this place 
 and its vicinity, accused of the crime. At length, 
 
 I 
 
 n 
 
 ii 
 
 i 
 
302 
 
 NEWBERRY PORT — PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 the frantic alarm of the superstitions, and the 
 daring hardihood of impostors who denounced 
 these pretended sorceries to the state, rose to 
 such a height, that, from persecuting to the death 
 decrepit old women, they charged even ministers 
 of the gospel, and, at last, the very wife of the 
 governor. The consternation produced hy this 
 latter circumstance served to open the eyes of the 
 people to the gross infatuation undor which they 
 had laboured, and produced the desired effect of 
 causing these fiery persecutions to cease. 
 
 From Salem I proceeded through Newberry 
 Port, situated on the Merrimack, which is here 
 crossed by a handsome and substantial suspension- 
 bridge, of 1000 feet in length, to Portsmouth^ in 
 the state of New Hampshire, seated on the Pis- 
 cataqua, three miles from the sea. Both towns 
 are handsome, and well *' located" for commercial 
 purposes; the former containing a population of 
 7000, and the latter of about 9000 inhabitants. 
 With the country throughout this distance, as 
 also to Portland, in the state of Maine, sixty 
 miles farther, I must confess myself disappointed, 
 as I did not see the rich farms that I had been led 
 to expect ; the soil being, for the principal part, 
 very poor, presenting but little that was highly 
 cultivated, and, for a considerable extent, in va- 
 rious places, exhibiting a sterile and unproductive 
 surface. Indeed, the country lying between Ports- 
 
MANUFACTURES ESSENTIAL TO NEW ENGLAND. 393 
 
 mouth and Portland is one of the most uninter- 
 esting, in this respect, that I ever travelled over. 
 Hence has arisen that manufacturing spirit which 
 has sprung up in the New England states, and 
 has characterised more particularly that of Massa- 
 chusetts, to operate as a kind of set-off against the 
 barrenness of the land, which falls far short of the 
 rich and luxuriant districts of the south. It 
 would appear to be a matter of good policy in the 
 government, and to which a stern necessity, that 
 forbids the New England statf^s from ever at- 
 tempting to become an agricultural people, has 
 pioneered the way, to foster the rising trade of 
 this portion of the country by a judiciously gradu- 
 ated tariff, within the limits of moderation and 
 justice due to the southern sections of the Union. 
 This protection has, in fact, been granted to the 
 manufacturing interests, but to an extent that has 
 already brought the north and south into direct 
 collision with each other; and what will be the 
 consequence of the mutual opposition, which every 
 day seems to exasperate still more towards a state 
 of hostility, time alone will shew. The latter states 
 object to the greatly increased expense imposed 
 upon them in clothing their numerous gangs of 
 slaves, as well as themselves, in consequence of 
 the high tariff levied on the importation of Eng- 
 lish cloth, and other similar commodities, in order 
 to encourage the home-trade, and without which 
 
 s2 
 
 i 
 
394 
 
 FLOATING BRIDGE. 
 
 i 
 
 they would be enabled to effect that necessary 
 object at a much reduced rate. They loudly con- 
 tend that they are sacrificed to their more favoured 
 brethren of the north, and denounce the principle 
 as an infringement of their equal rights guaran- 
 teed to them by the constitution. It seems as if 
 the seeds of disunion were already sown in the 
 clashing views of the manufacturer and the 
 planter, and which, unless checked in their 
 growth by timely legislation, will ripen into 
 hostile separation, or, at least, into a secession 
 from the Union, accomplished in a more tranquil 
 manner, but equally subversive of the integrity 
 and strength of the social compact. 
 
 One of the novelties that struck my attention, 
 in the route from Boston to Portland, was passing 
 over a floating bridge of about 170 feet in length. 
 Owing to the depth of water, or some other cir- 
 cumstance, this apparently insecure contrivance, 
 dangerous, however, only in appearance, has been 
 resorted to ; and as the timbers forming this sin- 
 gular construction are very massive, bulky, and 
 sufficiently buoyant, our well-loaded and heavy 
 coach passed over it with no other effect than a 
 considerably tremulous motion, and so far depres- 
 sing it as to cause the water to flow over its sides. 
 
 At Portland, lying in the state of Maine, I 
 was completely weather-bound for four days, and, 
 instead of the delightful " Indian summer," which 
 
TOWN OP PORTLAND. 
 
 395 
 
 my worthy friends at Boston assured me was on 
 the point of commencing, we were deluged by such 
 a continued torrent of rain as to remind me of the 
 monsoons in the East Indies. On the score of 
 climate, I must say, that, as far as my opportunity 
 of judging has extended, limited to the northern 
 and middle states, the vicissitudes of weather are 
 almost, if not altogether, as great in the " new" as 
 they are in the " old country," and the extremes 
 much more severe, as the range of the thermo- 
 meter but too clearly indicates. At Boston, New 
 York, and Philadelphia, I have frequently ex- 
 perienced, during the present summer, a very hot 
 day succeeded by one equally cold ; and though 
 the atmosphere is, perhaps, clearer and brighter 
 than in England, and the winter more steadily 
 cold and fixed in its character, yet the daughter, in 
 this, as in other respects, is impressed so strongly 
 with the features of the mother, as to discover her 
 maternity without '* casting nativities." 
 
 The former name of Portland was Falmouth ; 
 the old town having been burnt down in the 
 war of the revolution. The present town is very 
 handsome, and beautifully situated on a peninsula 
 running out into Casco Bay, which lies on one 
 side of it, while a fine harbour, perfectly land- 
 locked, occupies the other. The number of its 
 inhabitants amounts to about 9000, and many of 
 its houses are really elegant buildings. Among 
 
 i 
 
 i6 
 
 ■ 'M 
 
 i 
 
 
396 ITS TRADE— VIEW FROM THE OBSERVATORY. 
 
 its public edifices are a court-house, of very 
 neat construction, two banks, a custom-house, an 
 athenceuni, an academy, and ten churches, of 
 which one, hitely built, and ornamented with 
 granite columns, exhibits a beautiful appearance. 
 From an observatory, raised eighty-two feet 
 in height on a promontory extending from the 
 skirts of the town, and whence a noble panorama 
 is presented of the bay, the harbour, the town, and 
 other varied objects, I first caught a view of the 
 lofty ridges of the White Mountains to the north- 
 west ; while to the eastward are seen, reposing 
 in verdant loveliness on the bosom of the ocean, 
 countless clusters of islands, said to be as numerous 
 as the days of the year. The trade of the place, 
 now recovering after a considerable depression, 
 consists chiefly in the conveyance of lumber to 
 the West Indies, and the importation thence of 
 molasses, which are afterwards distilled into rum. 
 Against the use of this, and other deleterious 
 spirits, the philanthropic temperance-societies are 
 now waging an uncompromising war, that bids 
 fair, I am happy to say, to put down the de- 
 structive traflfic altogether. A couple of cents, I 
 understand — the small sum of one penny — ena- 
 bles a man who is ii^ "lined, which is the case with 
 too many, to intoxlv ^.^ himself to as unconscious 
 a state of inebriation as the most insensate lover 
 of this poisonous beverage could possibly desire. 
 
THE DISPUTED TERRITORY OF MAINE. 397 
 
 
 T 
 
 It is on the frontier of the state of Maine that 
 the disputed territory lies which was made, some- 
 time ago, the subject of regal arbitration between 
 England and America. In a conversation that 
 I had with an official gentleman of the town in 
 reference to this topic, he mentioned, what I had 
 previously understood, that the people of the 
 United States in general, and of Maine in par- 
 ticular, were altogether dissatisfied with the de- 
 cision on the question lately made by the King 
 of Holland. If I mistake not, this feeling is in 
 some degree mutual between the parties at issue, as 
 the British government, I believe, did not feel the 
 most entire satisfaction at the result. Under these 
 circumstances, an impartial observer would very 
 probably draw the inference that the adjustment 
 was an equitable one, since, in pleasing neither 
 party, the arbitrator may be supposed to have 
 consulted alone the ends of justice. With such 
 a disposition it requires nothing more than a 
 knowledge of facts, and a sound judgment, to 
 determine according to the rightful claim. If I 
 understood him correctly, the whole extent ob- 
 jected to, as decided in our favour, amounts only 
 to fifty square miles, which, if rooted up from 
 the very centre of gravity, and converted into 
 dust, would barely suffice to powder over the 
 superficies of the twenty-four states of the Union, 
 and the several territories annexed. 
 
 J 
 
398 
 
 PUBLIC LANDS OF THE UNION. 
 
 
 The superficial extent of all the states and 
 territories belonging to the Union is prodigious, 
 as appertaining to the possessions of a single 
 power. The little plot of disputed ground, about 
 which so much anxiety is manifested, dwindles to 
 an almost insensible atom in the scale of compa- 
 rison. By a document which I have before me, 
 it appears that eight states alone of the twenty- 
 four constituting the Confederation, or one-third 
 of the whole, together with the lands of three 
 territories, contain the enormous quantity of up- 
 wards of three hundred and thirty-four millions of 
 acres. Of this amount, upwards of two hundred 
 and fifty-five millions belong to the government, 
 forming the public lands of the United States, 
 unappropriated at the present moment, and here- 
 after to be disposed of by sale as the population 
 increases. 
 
 To afford you some idea of the almost unli- 
 mited extent to which the augmenting popula- 
 tion of the country may attain, commensurate 
 with the quantity of unoccupied territory, it is 
 only necessary to inform you that the whole of 
 this public property comprises the vast aggregate 
 of upwards of one thousand and sixty-two millions 
 of acres. The Indian title, however, of the great- 
 est proportion of this domain has not yet been 
 extinguished, but which, I presume, is to be 
 effected at a future period. Of these boundless 
 
PUBLIC LANDS OF THE UNION. 
 
 399 
 
 tracts, one hundred and fifty millions of acres 
 have been already surveyed, twenty millions sold, 
 and an equal amount granted by Congress for 
 education, external improvement, ajid for other 
 purposes. Of the remaining 1 1 millions, eighty 
 millions are now in the market for sale, and thirty 
 millions, in addition, ready to be offered for pur- 
 chase whenever tnere shall be a demand for them. 
 The minimum price per acre is one dollar and 
 twenty-five cents, or about five shillings per acre. 
 These lands are divided into squares of one mile, 
 and into townships of six miles each. The great- 
 est division of land is that of a township, contain- 
 ing 23,040 acres, being six English or American 
 square miles. These townships are subdivided 
 into thirty-six equal portions or square miles, 
 called sections, which contain each 640 acres, and 
 are again portioned off into four quarter-sections, 
 each comprising 160 acres. The latter are finally 
 distributed into two parts, called half-quarter- 
 sections, of 80 acres, being the smallest subdivision 
 known to the system. I am happy to inform you, 
 that one thirty-sixth part of all the lands surveyed 
 is reserved from sale for the support of religion, 
 of public schools, colleges, and universities. I 
 have given you, below, an interesting document, 
 shewing the relative position of these immense 
 tracts, and containing other valuable information. 
 
 I 
 
400 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC LANDS. 
 
 I 
 
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SOIL AND CULTIVATION. 
 
 401 
 
 o 
 
 On the 13th of October, the first fine day of 
 five previous ones during which the weather had 
 detained me at Portland, I took my departure for 
 Gardiner, on the picturesque bank^ of the Ken- 
 nebec, passing through the village of Brunswick, 
 where is erected the state college, containing be- 
 tween 150 and 200 students. The same remark, 
 with respect to soil and cultivation, may be made 
 on the country bordering this route of upwards 
 of fifty miles, as on the intervening distance be- 
 tween Boston and Portland. A plentiful harvest 
 of rocks and stones usurped the place of verdant 
 meadows and waving corn-fields. Every step I 
 have taken, in my progress to this place, has served 
 to confirm the policy of gaining from the arts, and 
 manufactures, those profitable returns of industry 
 and enterprise which the coldness and compara- 
 tive sterility of the land denies to the cultivator; 
 at least to the extent demanded by its exuberant 
 population. Thtre are, nevertheless, some rich 
 tracts of land lying farther to the northward, and 
 occupying the space between the two fine rivers 
 Kennebec and Penobscot. The only scenery of 
 any particular note after quitting the interesting 
 views in the vicinity of Portland, I observed in 
 the neighbourhood of what is called Merry-meet- 
 ing Bay. Throughout the whole of America, 
 however, the want of hedges, as substitutes for 
 stone walls and wooden fences, is strongly felt 
 
402 
 
 AN INTERESTING FAMILY. 
 
 by an eye accustomed to the delightful verdure 
 of an English landscape. 
 
 I esteemed myself very fortunate, while at the 
 village of Gardiner, to have made the acquaintance 
 of a most respectable and worthy family residing 
 at Oaklands ; the lady of the house being a near 
 relative of my valued namesake at Boston ; and 
 who unites, with all the winning graces of un- 
 affected elegance of manners, those intellectual 
 endowments, and that still better Christian prin- 
 ciple of heart, which, as Milton beautifully ex- 
 presses it, 
 
 " Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise !" 
 
 I confess I do not know a more interesting sight 
 on earth, than that of a virtuous and amiable 
 family strongly and warmly attached to each 
 other, as well from the sympathy and endearing 
 ties of relationship, as from all those tender 
 charities of feeling, and reciprocation of kind 
 oiEces, which bind the soul in indissoluble bonds 
 of affection. Such I found in the united and 
 happy circle at Oaklands, where the accomplish- 
 ments of mind, and the devotion of the heart, 
 mutually reflected upon and illustrated each other ; 
 and I only regretted that I had not enjoyed their 
 society earlier, or had been destined to enjoy it 
 longer. 
 
 To give you an idea of the worth of these ex- 
 
AN EXEMPLARY CHRISTIAN. 
 
 403 
 
 cellent people, I need only relate a single trait in 
 coniirmation of it, and with which I know you 
 will be much gratified. The head of the family 
 is a gentleman of very extensive » property, to 
 whom belongs the church, as well as the village, 
 I believe, where it is situated. Be this, however, 
 as it may, whenever the officiating minister, in 
 consequence of sickness, or other unavoidable 
 necessity, is prevented from performing his clerical 
 duties, this exemplary Christian fulfils himself the 
 functions of a pastor, in order that the congrega- 
 tion may not be deprived of that religious instruc- 
 tion, and those spiritual consolations, which they 
 require. As the forms in America do not, as with 
 us, prevent a layman from assuming, pro tempore^ 
 the character of a clergyman, he ascends the 
 reading-desk and the pulpit, on the occurrence 
 of such temporary vacancies, twice during the 
 Sabbath ; and after going through the devotional 
 part of the service, concludes by preaching a ser- 
 mon. The whole of this duty he performed, on 
 a certain occasion, for the space of three months; 
 while one of his amiable daughters constantly 
 assists in the solemn act of thanksgiving, by play- 
 ing on the organ. This, indeed, is acceptable both 
 to God and man, and seems truly, in obedience to 
 the exhortation of the Apostle, to be " adorning 
 the gospel of God our Saviour." 
 
 The banks of the Kennebec, and the general 
 
404 PICTURESQUE POSITION OF OAKLANDS. 
 
 aspect of the country around Gardiner, are highly 
 picturesque. The river, flowing in a broad ex- 
 pansive stream, winds its course at the bottom of 
 the lawn on which is erected this gentleman's 
 mansion ; and displays, as well from the windows 
 of his house, as from various parts of his grounds, 
 a noble object of perspective. His domain pos- 
 sesses more the appearance of an English gentle- 
 man's seat than any thing I have yet seen in 
 America. With great variety of surface it admits, 
 under a tasteful hand, such as evidently presides 
 over it, of much ornamental improvement, while 
 a diversified landscape of woods, cascades, rocks, 
 and hills, of cultivated fields, and farm-houses, 
 adds an additional charm to the whole. 
 
 After passing three very delightful days at 
 Gardiner, I took leave of this hospitable and in- 
 teresting family with unaffected regret, heightened 
 by the painful consideration that I should see 
 them no more for ever! Such is the fate of a 
 traveller, and such is life — whether travelling or 
 stationary — ** a sunbeam in a winter's day !" 
 
 I only know one kind of leave-taking that is 
 tolerable or agreeable, and which is, taking leave 
 of a book when you are heartily tired of it, or of 
 a long letter, especially when it is very dull. I 
 will, therefore, take my own hint, conscious that 
 there is but too much reason for it, and bid you 
 an affectionate farewell ! 
 
405 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Augusta — Cause of greater Beauty in American Towns — 
 Paris, State of Maine — Lose my Baggage — Cultivation of 
 Pumpkins — Travel in a Wagon — Reach the White Moun- 
 tains — The Notch — Appalling Destruction of a whole 
 Family — Fearful Avalanches — The Carriage breaks down 
 
 — Haverhill — Banks of the Connecticut — Conversation in 
 Coach — Revivals — Religious Opinions — Church Discipline 
 — Hanover — Royalton — Gulf Road — Election of Judges 
 
 — Freemasonry — Burlington — Lake Champlain — Lake 
 George. 
 
 New York, 30th October, 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 The poet Gpldsmith, alluding to the 
 far-distant traveller in other climes, speaks of him 
 as dragging, " at each remove, a lengthening 
 chain." The reflection is founded on truth, and is 
 powerfully illustrated by my own feelings, which, 
 ever and anon, amid the fatigues of almost in- 
 cessant locomotion, and the restlessness of con- 
 tinual excitement, turn to my country and my 
 home with a wistful longing and anxiety, which 
 you may, perchance, imagine with less difficulty 
 than I describe. " The mind is its own place,*' 
 as is truly observed by the unexcelled author of 
 the magnificent Paradise Lost; and if, while 
 
 
 
 '■ ■'' 
 
 ■ M 
 
406 
 
 THE SYMPATHY OP THE HEART. 
 
 wandering in one hemisphere, year thoughts and 
 affections are ranging through the other, the 
 beauties of nature will in vain fill the eye, till 
 the truant imaginations are called back. Too 
 often, however, like calling •' spirits from the 
 vasty deep," you may call, but they will neither 
 hear nor come. If that little universe of feeling 
 contained within us move not in harmony with 
 the associations by which it is surrounded, in vain 
 shall every delight be yielded to the half uncon- 
 scious and unsatisfied senses — the loveliest land- 
 scape to the eye, delicious perfume to the smell, 
 or the most soothing melody to the ear; while, 
 if the wheels of this mysterious moral machinery 
 revolve with a smooth and unjarring action, though 
 wrapt in the mantle of a polar winter, or panting 
 on the burning desert, the light-hearted traveller, 
 alternately scorched and frozen, can call up from 
 his own breast a sunshine to illumine the one and 
 an oasis to cheer the other. That happiness does 
 not, as a general principle, depend on exterior 
 circumstances of wealth, station, or power, or 
 other extrinsic qualities, is whimsically, but not 
 the less forcibly, exemplified in the case of Dio- 
 genes the cynic philosopher, who was more in- 
 dependent and contented in his mere tub than 
 the monarch of Macedon in the possession of a 
 throne ; and who, when his illustrious visitor was 
 sighing for more worlds to conquer, only required 
 
A SCHOOLBOY S DEVICE. 
 
 407 
 
 of him, as the best boon he could confer, to " stand 
 out of his sunshine." 
 
 As every remove, however, lengthens the 
 chain, it may equally be said that every mile of 
 return strikes off a link from the dragging fetters, 
 and serves to lighten the oppressive load by which 
 the progress of the way-worn traveller is encum- 
 bered. As I believe I have now passed the " half- 
 way-house" of my intended excursion, I am in- 
 clined to follow the plan, in order to beguile time, 
 adopted by school- boys, who, three or four weeks 
 before the commencement of the vacation, make 
 what they call a *' holiday-paper," marking the 
 advance to the happy period of meeting their 
 friends, by scoring out each day as it passes. 
 Thus, as my miles decrease in number, shall I 
 unlock link by link the chain of my shackles and 
 cast it from me, till, joyfully dropping the last in 
 the Atlantic wave that washes Old Albion's coast, 
 I shall step once again on the shores of my own 
 favoured country, enfranchised from my bonds, 
 and shall hope to see you in a better state of 
 health than that under which I was suffering 
 when we parted. 
 
 On the 16th of October I left Gardiner in the 
 carriage of my obliging and hospitable friends for 
 Hallowell, and thence proceeded to Augusta, eight 
 miles from the former, and the seat of govern- 
 ment of the state. The town is neat though 
 
 :| 
 
408 
 
 AUGUSTA — CAPITAL OF MAINE. 
 
 m 
 
 small, and the country around romantic. A new 
 State-house, nearly finished, though fronted the 
 wrong way, and built of beautiful granite — a 
 material abounding in this neighbourhood — dis- 
 plays, with numbers of private edifices, a very 
 handsome and ornamental appearance. 
 
 I am not aware that I have noticed, in former 
 letters, the circumstance of each state having an. 
 entirely separate government of its own, modelled 
 on the principle of the Houses of Congress, and 
 presided over by a governor, by which its internal 
 affairs are regulated and administered. Such is 
 the case, however, and the political frame-work 
 of each is erected with a perfect independence 
 of the others, and of all control by the supreme 
 legislature ; except in the imposition and collection 
 of taxes, and in such other respects as are abso- 
 lutely required to be done for the general good. 
 Thus they form so many imperia in imperio ; all 
 the rights of sovereignty being reserved at the 
 Union to the different members of the Confede- 
 ration, save only those necessary powers which 
 it was essential to lodge somewhere, in order to be 
 exercised for the general advantage. In addition 
 to those named, is the right of declaring war and 
 making peace, the command and management of 
 the army and navy, and similar privileges that 
 have been conceded to Congress, and to the Pre- 
 sident for the time being. With regard to the 
 
INDEPENDENCE OP THE SEVERAL STATES. 409 
 
 internal policy of these petty sovereignties, the 
 great national chambers of legislation at Wash- 
 ington have no authority whatever ; not even to 
 the ordering of a road to be made, or the con- 
 struction of a canal, within their limits. This 
 political system exhibits, I must allow, an inter- 
 esting and plausible theory, and which experience 
 hitherto has proved to be sound in practice; for 
 at the same time that all the strength resulting 
 from a combination of power is obtained, the 
 liberty of self-government is possessed by every 
 individual member. With as solid a security, 
 therefore, for the whole community as under a 
 different form, is united the exclusive enjoyment, 
 by each separate portion of it, of that power so 
 grateful to the proud heart of man ; and by the 
 very compact by which they obtain mutual pro- 
 tection, are they guaranteed in their political 
 supremacy at the price of little more than a 
 nominal surrender. 
 
 This circumstance will account for the hand- 
 somer appearance of the capital cities of the United 
 States, than is seen, in reference to equal size and 
 population, in the towns of other countries. For, 
 as the different offices of the local government, 
 the legislative chambers, and the various public 
 buildings, are erected in each of them to a similar 
 extent, though on a smaller scale, to those which 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
410 
 
 PARIS IN AMERICA. 
 
 are constructed in the one capital alone of coun- 
 tries where a different mode of administration is 
 established, it naturally follows, that a greater 
 number of ornamental edifices are raised there 
 than in towns of equal, or even of larger size, 
 that have not the burden or the pleasure of self- 
 government at all. I mention this, as having 
 been surprised, on the first excursion that I made 
 in America, with the superior architectural dis- 
 play exhibited by the several cities which I visited, 
 comparing the proportion of extent and population 
 with that of other countries. 
 
 Quitting Augusta, I proceeded onward forty- 
 three miles to Paris; a place as little resembling its 
 European original as a cottage does a palace. At 
 the same time it may be said, that to the extent in 
 which it falls short of its great prototype as to archi- 
 tectural beauty, does it exceed it in the beauties 
 of nature ; being surrounded by a circle of moun- 
 tains of the most imposing and romantic features, 
 of which the White Mountains formed the con- 
 spicuous outline. The greater part of the distance 
 I performed in an open caUche a deux chevaux, 
 and from the rear of the vehicle, in consequence 
 of the jolting nature of the roads, my conductor 
 managed, with admirable dexterity, to lose the 
 whole of my baggage. The loss obliged us to 
 retrace our steps about a couple of miles, when we 
 
STERILITY OF SOIL. 
 
 411 
 
 luckily arrived just at the moment that some of 
 the peasantry were very pleasantly walking off 
 vrith the booty. 
 
 The population throughout th^ distance was 
 very thinly scattered ; though it seemed, never- 
 theless, to bear a very fair relation to the quantity 
 of cultivated land, of which the tracts were " few 
 and far between." Some of the fields, however, 
 presented rather a novel and inviting appearance, 
 being entirely covered over with pumpkins; an 
 article of husbandry esteemed highly nutritious 
 for cattle, and which, at first sight, I took for 
 something intended to nourish man instead of 
 beast, in the shape of a luxuriant growth of 
 melons. A similar remark, as to barrenness of 
 soil, may be made of nearly the whole distance 
 of forty miles lying between Paris and Conway. 
 There were certainly many demonstrations of pro- 
 spective culture in the cutting, or rather burning 
 down of immense quantities of trees ; bringing to 
 my recollection, in the gloominess of their aspect, 
 the woods of Miramichi. The ground, however, 
 when cleared, was in numberless places so rocky 
 and sterile, as to seem absolutely incapable of 
 making any adequate return of produce for the la- 
 bour bestowed. Here and there, amid the black- 
 ened forest, was a neat-looking farm, like an oasis 
 in the desert ; while the rest w as a desolate heap of 
 burnt tree-stumps, with their trunks and branches, 
 
 if 
 
 'UJ 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 1 
 
 If 
 
412 
 
 SPLENDOUR OF AUTUMNAL DIES. 
 
 scattered about in the wildest chaos in every 
 direction, intermingled with enormous masses of 
 rock and stone. Those who are in search of 
 the picturesque, like Dr. Syntax, may, notwith- 
 standing, find ample food for the eye, however 
 scantily supplied may be that for the mouth, es- 
 pecially from Fryeburg and Conway, through the 
 noble range of the White Mountains. One object 
 that I must not forget to mention, and which 
 abounds, perhaps, the most where the poverty of 
 the land is the greatest — thus oflPering a species 
 of compensation to the traveller at this season — 
 is the splendid dies of the trees. These certainly 
 exceed, in loveliness and variety of hue, every 
 thing of the kind I have ever seen in Europe, 
 especially the maples, of which the rock and 
 sugar-maples are the most beautiful. 
 
 From the latter village I could procure no- 
 thing better than a sort of light wagon, with 
 which homely style of travelling I was obliged 
 to be content, journeying along in simple pastoral 
 style. Fortunately I now closely approached the 
 alpine region of New Hampshire, where every turn 
 of the road exhibited an interesting diversity of 
 bold and romantic mountain scenery, and was 
 pleasingly diverted from the jolting of the un- 
 elastic machine that conveyed me, and con- 
 trived, very philosophically, to balance in my 
 favour the optical enjoyment against the corporeal 
 
WHITE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 413 
 
 
 bruises. A little hamlet where we stopped to 
 breakfast, called Bartlett, lies immediately at the 
 foot of the mountains, whence a narrow valley, 
 hemmed in by their towering and precipitous 
 heights, that present a rugged and insurmountable 
 barrier on both sides, winds along through a dis- 
 tance of about six miles, gradually contracting as 
 the traveller advances. At length the diminished 
 breadth becomes barely sufficient for the road, 
 and for a mountain stream called the Saco, which, 
 after a heavy fall of rain, rushes along with a 
 furious wildness, threatening to sweep into its 
 flood both road and traveller. The craggy sides 
 of these giant-hills are seamed and furrowed by 
 innumerable avalanches, which, during the last 
 few years, have hurled headlong down their de- 
 structive masses of earth, stones, rocks, and trees, 
 into the terrific-looking glen below. With these 
 the river was literally choked up ; exhibiting 
 altogether such a picture of universal devastation 
 as I never beheld even among the very wildest 
 mountains of Switzerland. Had I wished to be- 
 hold the most striking emblem of the general 
 deluge that once swept over the earth, I could not 
 have witnessed any where such fearful traces of 
 ravage and appalling chaos as the scene dis- 
 played. The narrowest part of this extraordinary 
 defile is called the " Notch," and is contracted to a 
 breadth of only twenty-two feet. 
 
 ii 
 
 'i^iii 
 
 >f' 11 
 
 
 iV 1 
 
 l: 
 
! I 
 
 414 MYSTERIOUS DESTRUCTION OF A FAMILY 
 
 It was about the middle of this dismal, but 
 highly romantic valley, where, on the 28th of 
 August, 1826, a catastrophe happened of a most 
 awful description, involving the instantaneous and 
 mysterious destruction of an entire family of nine 
 persons. The solitary habitation where the me- 
 lancholy event took place, and which a few short 
 moments served to unpeople, and to render utterly 
 tenantless, was called the Willey House. It was 
 occupied by a Mr. Martin Willey, his wife, five 
 children, and two servants, and was situated at 
 the base of the mountain ridge forming the bound- 
 ary of the valley on that side. It appears that, 
 two months previously to the fatal night, an ava- 
 lanche had fallen within a short distance of the 
 residence of this devoted family, and had so 
 alarmed them, that they had pitched a kind of 
 tent, one or two hundred yards from it, beneath 
 the brow of a projecting rock, as a place of refuge 
 whither they might fly, in case of any threatening 
 repetition of the fearful danger. On the evening 
 in question, a frightful tempest arose, accompa- 
 nied by a deluge of rain, that poured down into 
 the defile in a tremendous torrent. The wretched 
 inmates had retired to rest in their lonely abode, 
 six miles from any human habitation, when a 
 series of avalanches, loosened by the furious 
 waters, began to descend. They were precipi- 
 tated, like the shock of an earthquake, on both 
 
BY AN AVALANCHE. 
 
 415 
 
 
 sides of the valley, for a space of two miles ; and 
 one of the most tremendous of them was hurled 
 down like a thunderbolt from the mountain-top 
 immediately above their heads. A confused mass 
 of rocks, earth, and trees, torn up from heir 
 r*'^ts, and borne impetuously forward by the rush- 
 li flood, bent its Irr jstible course towards the 
 house, and when within about six or seven feet of 
 it suddenly divided, as if with miraculous instinct, 
 or rather, as if directed by the providential mercy 
 of God, and, passing on each side of it, swept 
 away the stable and horses, leaving the fragile 
 tenement untouched. And yet the wretched fa- 
 mily were utterly destroyed ! It is supposed, that 
 the terrified inhabitants, aware of the impending 
 ruin, rushed, most unhappily, at this moment 
 from their dwelling, with a view of gaining the 
 shelter of their little encampment beneath the 
 rock, and were overwhelmed, in an instant, in 
 one common and universal destruction. 
 
 Some days elapsed, after this mournful cala- 
 mity, in fruitless search for their bodies, of which 
 several were never discovered. The rest were, at 
 last, found covered by enormous heaps of drift- 
 wood and earth, and in nothing but their night- 
 clothes ; the remaining apparel having been found 
 by the side of their beds whence the miserable in- 
 mates had hurried, in a state of nudity, to avoid 
 that death from which, had thev remained in the 
 
 I 
 
 ;* 
 n 
 
416 
 
 MYSTERIOUS PROVIDENCE. 
 
 house, thej would have been preserved. Even the 
 green plot, in front of their habitation, was un- 
 touched by the desolation that surrounded it ; and 
 a flock of sheep belonging to the unhappy Martin 
 Willey, that were grazing upon it, were found, on 
 the following morning, in perfect safety. Was not 
 this a most mysterious Providence? — marvellous 
 in its act of preservation, with respect to the 
 house, and dark and inscrutable in its judgment 
 on the beings that possessed it ? The opening of 
 the avalanche within a step of its seemingly de- 
 voted walls — its sweeping round them in a closely 
 contracted curve — its uniting again after imme- 
 diately passing the dwelling, and pouring disorder 
 and ruin on the orchard and meadows lying be- 
 low it its sparing the tenement while the stable 
 was crushed beneath it — would appear to be the 
 working of a miracle for the salvation of the hap- 
 less inhabitants. Yet, notwithstanding this de- 
 monstration of mercy, the preserving of a flock of 
 sheep while a whole family of human creatures 
 was suffered to be destroyed, in the very face of 
 this seemingly providential interference, is among 
 the secret and unfathomable councils of God ! 
 Truly may it be said, in the laaguage of Scripture, 
 " How unsearchable are His judgments, and His 
 ways past finding out !" 
 
 On approaching the Willey House, in passing 
 along the desolate valley, I alighted and walked 
 
MOURNFUL APPEARANCE OF WILLEY HOUSE. 417 
 
 ture, 
 His 
 
 over it. The furniture was still there, but where 
 were the inmates ? The day of resurrection alone 
 will solve the momentous question ! The walls of 
 the various apartments of it were profusely written 
 over with the names of numerous visitors ; many 
 of whom had recorded their sympathetic sorrows 
 for the melancholy fate of its former possessors, 
 and among which were breathed forth, in a strain 
 of deep devotion, by a variety of pious Christians, 
 their prayers and religious aspirations for peace to 
 the souls of the departed. 
 
 You may form some idea of the magnitude 
 and extent of this frightful devastation, when I 
 inform you, that the turnpike-road leading through 
 this mountain region was almost entirely broken 
 up through a space of twenty miles, and that 
 twenty-one bridges, crossing the various parts of 
 it, were entirely destroyed. 
 
 Leaving the interesting, but now mournful Wil- 
 ley House, which has attracted numberless visitors 
 to see it since the fatal occurrence, I reached the 
 termination of the defile, where is situated an 
 hotel, kept by Thomas Crawfurd, beautifully em- 
 bosomed in romantic woods. I had felt an incli- 
 nation to ascend the mountains from this place, 
 whence is beheld, I understand, a magnificent 
 prospect; but was prevented by a fall of snow 
 that had covered their sides and summits a few 
 days previously. The greatest altitude of the 
 
 t2 
 
 m 
 
 V 
 
■ I 
 
 418 
 
 THE CARRIAGE BREAKS DOWN. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 highest of them, called Washington Mountain, is 
 6350 feet ; being the loftiest in the United States, 
 with the exception of the Rocky Mountains, lying 
 some 2000 miles distant on the far western bound- 
 ary. In ever^ direction along these almost per- 
 pendicular declivities, are observed the tremen- 
 dous ravages of innumerable avalanches with 
 which they are deeply indented ; some of them 
 extending to a breadth of half a mile, and from 
 one to five miles in length. 
 
 Proceeding onward, a few miles beyond the 
 Notch, to Ethan Crawfurd's, a brother of the 
 former, and where an array of lofty peaks and 
 ridges, of every diversified form, is presented to 
 the eye, we came to a line of new road, which, in 
 defiance of all the principles of Mac Adam, had 
 been constructed of loose earth and sand to the 
 depth of several feet. This was too much for 
 even an American carriage, formed as many of 
 them are of tough, though unelastic springs ; and 
 our vehicle fairly broke down, leaving us, with 
 the pole snapped in two, in as complete a quag- 
 mire as ever was flitted over by a will o' the 
 wisp. As there was no remedy for it, except 
 patience and a stout pair of legs, we had to wade, 
 ankle-deep in the mud, for four miles, to the next 
 village, where we procured a conveyance that 
 brought us, at length, to the town of Littleton 
 about ten at night. 
 
RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 
 
 419 
 
 IS 
 
 
 I was now approaching a section of the state of 
 New Hampshire that was to repay nie for the dis- 
 appointed expectations, with which I set out from 
 Boston, of seeing a well cultivated country ; as, on 
 arriving at Haverhill, after a drive of thirty miles, 
 through the fertile valley of the beautiful Ammo- 
 noosuck, I found a happy contrast to the long 
 previous route, in the richness and luxuriancy of 
 the soil. In proceeding thither, I had a long and 
 interesting conversation in the coach with a gen- 
 tleman and a lady, on the subject of religion, and 
 which originated in an allusion being made to the 
 numerous " revivals" that had lately taken place, 
 and were then holding, in different parts of the 
 country. As we have nothing in England cor- 
 respondent to this in practice, I should tell you 
 that a revival means an extraordinary and sudden 
 excitement, experienced by the people of the 
 village or town where it is manifested, with 
 respect to the interests of religion and the salva- 
 tion of the soul. It is a powerful, and, in many 
 cases, an enthusiastic impulse towards the con- 
 templation and study of Divine things, and the 
 reformation of the heart and life, arising from a 
 variety of causes; as, occasionally, from the oc- 
 currence of some afflictive dispensation of Provi- 
 dence in their little society, or from the coming 
 among them of a particularly pious clergyman. 
 On these occasions, the inhabitants assemble in 
 
 I'N 
 
 y 
 
420 
 
 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 
 
 their churches in anxious crowds, when prayers 
 are put up and sermons preached, and afterwards 
 confessions, and declarations of personal experi- 
 ence, made to the ministers, and, not unfrequently, 
 I believe, to the congregation also, by those among 
 them whose feelings are the most deeply im- 
 pressed. These meetings often continue for three, 
 four, and five consecutive days, attended by all 
 the clergymen in the neighbourhood, who assist at 
 the solemnity, and of which, according to the 
 statement of my worthy companions in the coach, 
 the good effects are visible for ever afterwards. 
 For though some, as I was informed, " witness a 
 good confession" in words, who afterwards decline 
 in their actions from the vows they have made, yet 
 the majority of the congregation thus professing 
 for the first time, remain firm to their resolutions, 
 and. become consistent Christians. The lady, who 
 was a member of the society of Congregationalists, 
 in speaking of their administration of the Holy 
 Sacrament, informed me, that the ministers of her 
 church never permitted any person to receive the 
 sacred elements without previously presenting a 
 written test of faith, and producing evidence of 
 conversion of heart. This, I understood, was the 
 practice, also, of the Presbyterians and Methodists. 
 She appeared to think that our not guarding this 
 solemn rite from profanation, by a similar ob-- 
 servance in England, accorded but ill with the 
 
TENET8 RESPECTING BAPTISM. 
 
 421 
 
 acknowledged purity and religious pretensions of 
 our church establishment. The custom alluded 
 to eraanateS; no doubt, from the most pious and 
 laudable zeal for the honour of God and of reli- 
 gion, and suggests a hint by no means unworthy 
 of regard. 
 
 I was somewhat surprised, however, to learn 
 from my fair informant, that parents do not, in 
 general, baptise t^eir children ^ and that those 
 onl?/ who are professed members of some reli- 
 gious sect, and are pious people, esteem this 
 essential ceremony needfui to bo performed. I 
 have already observed, that in tbt state of Massa- 
 chusetts alone does the constitution obi' :e all the 
 citizens to belong to son^e inligious society, or to 
 contribute to the support of a pastor, althougii it 
 permits them to support whatever denomination 
 they may prefer. In all the other states of the 
 Union no legislative provision is made for the 
 maintenance of religion, but it is left entirely 
 to the voluntary choice, and unbiassed will of 
 the people, to give or to withhold. This is a dif- 
 ference on tbo jr.ost vital of all subjects, which, 
 I think you will agree with me, redounds highly 
 to the Christian credit and honour of the former 
 state. ■ ' 
 
 • The Congregationalists, as likewise the other 
 two societies I have named, are remarkably strict 
 
 ;l 
 
 ■I 
 
 i! 
 
 -it!, 
 
'{ 
 
 8 
 
 i I 
 
 
 422 PROGRESS OF RELIGION — HAVERHILL. 
 
 in their requirements as to the decorous and 
 orderly lives of their members, and proceed to 
 the extremity of excommunication against all 
 those who refuse, after due exhortation and re- 
 monstrance respecting their vicious and incon- 
 sistent conduct, to reform their manners. This 
 worthy lady, who is an inhabitant of New Hamp- 
 shire, assured me that she had much sincere 
 pleasure in stating that the interests of religion 
 V, ere advancing and extending throughout the 
 country, and in the New England states especially, 
 in a most satisfactory manner. With regard to 
 my own personal observations, though I cannot, 
 of course, form a comparative estimate between 
 present and past times, yet I rejoice to bear my 
 humble testimony to the existence, in every part 
 of the country that I have visited, of a vital 
 Christianity, which exceeded greatly my previous 
 expectations, and produced a cordial and corre- 
 spondent gratification. 
 
 The village of Haverhill is small but remark- 
 ably pretty, and is delightfully situated amid a 
 luxuriant scenery of rich land and towering moun- 
 tains. It lies on the banks of the beautiful river 
 Connecticut, which flows in an expansive and 
 meandering stream, fertilising, while it adorns, 
 the shores of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 
 chusetts, and the state whence it derives its name. 
 
HANOVER DARTMOUTH COLLEGE. 
 
 423 
 
 in which latter it pours its exuberant waters into 
 Long Island Sound; and thence rolls onward to 
 the ocean. 
 
 The farther I traced the course of this " shining 
 river," the more prolific and more highly culti- 
 vated became the soil ; and in passing over twenty- 
 six miles of road between Haverhill and Hanover, 
 I saw numerous tracts of excellent land and well- 
 fenced and productive farms, which, like the seed 
 that fell into good ground, brought forth fruit an 
 hundred fold. In short, the country bordering this 
 interesting stream, throughout its entire length, 
 is considered by much the finest portion of the 
 northern states ; and, united with the picturesque 
 beauties that meet the view in every direction, 
 yields a grateful recreation both to the eye and 
 the heart. 
 
 Taking my departure from Hanover, — another 
 neat and pretty village, where is a literary esta- 
 blishment called Dartmouth College, founded in 
 1769, and named after the English nobleman 
 bearing that title, who was one of its principal 
 benefactors, — I now crossed the Connecticut into 
 the state of Vermont. Leaving the latter stream 
 at right angles, I coursed along the lofty banks of 
 the White River, the well -wooded and graceful 
 undulations of which almost equal in interest 
 those of the former. We drove the last seven 
 miles of the twenty-four by the chaste radiance 
 
424 
 
 ELECTION OF JUDGES. 
 
 !■ I 
 
 of a full moon, that shone with resplendent loveli- 
 ness over the little town of Royalton as we ap- 
 proached it, reflecting a thousand mellow lights 
 on the rugged and shadowy sides of a most 
 romantic circle of mountains with which it is 
 surrounded, and on the placid water flowing 
 majestically between them. Hence to Burlington, 
 on Lake Champlain, is seventy-five miles ; an 
 interval presenting nothing very remarkable, ex- 
 cept for what is termed the Gulf Road, an 
 extremely narrow and very picturesque defile be- 
 tween stupendous cliffs, somewhat resembling, in 
 its depth and contracted breadth, the Notch in the 
 White Mountains, and extending about six miles. 
 The most beautiful scenery of the whole route, 
 on an enlarged scale, and well deserving of notice, 
 was the green mountains of Vermont. These oc- 
 cupied a prominent and extensive portion of the 
 landscape, stretching away in alpine ridges of bold 
 and varied outline. 
 
 During the journey I had some interesting 
 conversation with a gentleman whom I discovered 
 to be one of the judges of the state, and who had 
 just been, as he mentioned to me, re-elected to 
 his office for the ensuing year. This sounds 
 strange to an English ear, accustomed as we are 
 to consider the independence of the bench as a 
 sine qua non of judicial integrity, and of the im- 
 unflinchins: administration of the laws. 
 
 partial 
 
 img 
 
\ 
 
 ELECTION OF JUDGES. 
 
 425 
 
 In Vermont, as I understood, the choice of these 
 learned functionaries has been latterly converted 
 into a party affair, in which it would almost seem, 
 that to be a mason, or anti-mason, whichever party 
 may be at the time predominant, is a question 
 of nearly as much importance as the amount of 
 ability or the extent of legal knowledge. With 
 respect also to remuneration, in the shape of a 
 pension, after the judges retire, or are turned out 
 of office, I was surprised to hear that these " grave 
 and reverend seigniors" receive nothing whatever. 
 Thus, during the course of one year, these most 
 useful and valuable personages may find them- 
 selves in the enjoyment of luxuries, and in the 
 year following reduced to comparative destitution, 
 deprived not only of the comforts, but in some 
 possible cases of the necessaries of life. The in- 
 gratitude of republics is proverbial ; and this, 
 among a variety of other instances of inadequate 
 returns to public men for services performed, which 
 have fallen under my notice, would appear but 
 too justly to countenance the charge. The system 
 altogether of the annual election of judges, of what- 
 ever description they may be, appears, to my hum- 
 ble apprehension, as impolitic as it is degrading. 
 
 As regards the United States judges, contra- 
 distinguished from those of each separate state, 
 they hold their appointments during good beha- 
 viour, and which may possibly be the case with 
 
1;: 
 
 i 
 
 426 
 
 MASONS AND ANTI-MASONS. 
 
 some of the latter, as the system of laws in these 
 little sovereignties varies occasionally very widely 
 the one from the other ; but in Vermont, and in 
 some other members of the Union, the local judges 
 appear to be elected. This arrangement, I should 
 imagine, must involve much of inconvenience in 
 numerous ways; particularly in frequently sub- 
 stituting theory for experience, and offering temp- 
 tations to corrupt practices, founded on the pos- 
 sible shortness of the official tenure, that otherwise 
 would not exist, and on which my learned in- 
 formant expressed a very decided opinion in the 
 affirmative. ■ 
 
 From this gentleman I received much infor- 
 mation on the subject of freemasonry, and the 
 anti-masonic societies arrayed in opposition to it, 
 and which occupies very considerably the public 
 attention at this moment. The parties espousing 
 the opposite opinions form, if I may so call them, 
 two of the principal factions in the country ; the 
 anti-masons having lately set themselves in de- 
 termined hostility against the former, in order to 
 counteract principles that are considered subver- 
 sive of religion, good government, and order. 
 Till within a short time past freemasonry was 
 highly popular in the states ; some of the leading 
 persons throughout the Union having enrolled 
 themselves in its ranks. In consequence, how- 
 ever, of some highly criminal proceedings secretly 
 
BURLINGTON — LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 
 
 427 
 
 carried on by the members themselves of that 
 order, and terminating in a most extraordinary 
 and mysterious murder of an associate of one of 
 their own lodges, who, it was reported, was about 
 publishing their signs and secrets, the community 
 at large seems to have risen against them en 
 masse. But as the limits of my paper will not 
 permit my entering into a relation of the volu- 
 minous matter concerning this question, I shall 
 spare you any further infliction of the subject. 
 
 Arrived now on the shores of Lake Champlain, 
 I touch on American classic ground, where some 
 of their most brilliant exploits, both naval and 
 military, were achieved during the last war. It 
 is a splendid expanse of water, running north and 
 south, and extending 140 miles in length, and in 
 the greatest breadth about fourteen. 
 
 Burlington is seated on its eastern margin, 
 rising from the lake in a gentle ascent, adorned 
 with handsome houses, and presenting, from the 
 state college which crowns the highest part of the 
 eminence, one of the most varied and beautiful 
 views imaginable. To the westward the eye 
 ranges over the lake studded with islets, and 
 expanding to a width of ten miles ; the opposite 
 banks being indented by promontories and penin- 
 sulas, bounded by two or three superb tiers of 
 mountains, each rising higher than the other, 
 and marked by a bold and diversified outline. 
 
428 
 
 SUNDAY AT BURLINGTON. 
 
 To the eastward, you behold a lofty and extensive 
 ridge of the Green Mountains, while, in the fore- 
 ground of the lake scenery, the view rests on a 
 variety of pretty and neatly cultivated gardens, 
 sloping down to the streets and buildings of the 
 town. At a distance of about twenty-four miles, 
 on the shores of this little inland-sea, lies Platts- 
 burg, where, in 1814, was fought a naval and 
 military action between the British and American 
 forces; the former being under the command of 
 Sir George Prevost and Commodore Downie, and 
 in which the " stars and stripes" seem to have 
 gained the day, and the gallant commodore lost 
 his life. 
 
 I passed a Sunday at Burlington, and was 
 gratified, as I have been elsewhere in the northern 
 and middle states, by witnessing the religious 
 decorum and devotional regard with which that 
 day is observed. It contains about 3500 inha- 
 bitants, and there are three or four churches. The 
 proportion of these sacred edifices to the popula- 
 tion in American towns and villages, I have had 
 frequent, I may say constant, reason to dwell on 
 with sincere pleasure. It becomes an interesting 
 question, whether the descendants of the mother- 
 count, y have not a larger portion of practical piety 
 spread amongst them than is possessed by even 
 the venerable parent herself? I must record my 
 candid belief, from what has fallen under my ob- 
 
WHITEHALL. 
 
 429 
 
 my 
 
 ob- 
 
 servation, and limiting my remark to the northern 
 and middle states, that they are not, at all events, 
 behind us in that most essential respect ; and also, 
 that unless England improves in the holy example 
 which she ought to exhibit to her* Transatlantic 
 children, the latter will, one day, cause the blush 
 of shame to their proud and aristocratic proge- 
 nitor, which all her superiority of station, military 
 and naval prowess, arts, sciences, and wealth, will 
 in vain seek to cover. The balance of religious 
 zeal, in the sections alluded to, I almost fear, is 
 even now against her ; and should it increase, the 
 United States of America will then triumph over 
 us in illustrious pre-eminence, and on the noblest 
 principles. She will then have conquered us with 
 the weapons of that Divine philosophy which 
 teaches piety to God, peace on earth, and good- 
 will towards men ! 
 
 Stepping on board a steam-boat that daily 
 touches at this place, I proceeded down the lake 
 to Whitehall, lying at its southern extremity. 
 About mid-way we skirted the banks where are 
 seen the remains of the fortress of Ticonderoga, 
 calling up, as elsewhere, on these classic waters, 
 a host of reminiscences, connected with the sacred 
 cause of liberty, to the mind of an American. On 
 leaving this place, the lake begins to contract its 
 breadth within much narrower limits, and, at the 
 distance of twelve miles from Whitehall, assumes 
 
I 
 
 !! 
 
 430 
 
 LAKE GEORGE. 
 
 the appearance of a river closely shut in by ranges 
 of perpendicular mountains, along which it winds 
 in most beautiful meanders. Here and there 
 patches of bright green meadow fill up the shal- 
 lower parts of the channel, offering to the eye a 
 contrast of the loveliest verdure with the rugged- 
 ness of the overhanging precipices. 
 
 Both Lake Champlain and Lake George, to 
 which latter I bent my course from Whitehall — 
 visiting the picturesque cascade of Glen's Falls in 
 my way — exceed much, in pictorial effect, the 
 more extended Lakes of Ontario and Erie. Lake 
 George is esteemed the most romantic of the 
 whole, and is one of the choses a voir for the 
 fashionable visitants of Saratoga and Ballston 
 Springs. It is encircled by a panorama of finely 
 undulating mountains, covered with the most 
 luxuriant woods, and thrown into all the forms of 
 lovely variety on which a landscape-painter would 
 delight to dwell. Its length is thirty-six miles, 
 and greatest breadth four ; and on its smooth and 
 limpid surface repose a number of verdant islands, 
 said to be equal to the days of the year — of which 
 Diamond Island, where the fashionable loiterer 
 amuses himself in hunting for crystals, and Tea 
 Island, where is erected a summer-house for the 
 accommodation of parties of pleasure, are among 
 the most interesting. To a lover of the sport of 
 angling these sweetly secluded waters afford ample 
 
LAKE GEORGE. 
 
 431 
 
 amusement, as they abound in the finest salmon- 
 trout of considerable size, many of them exceeding 
 twelve pounds in weight. United, also, with the 
 romance of nature are the historical recollections 
 with which the lake is associated, Raving been the 
 scene of various warlike exploits in 1755 and 1757, 
 between the French — at that period in possession 
 of Quebec, under the command of Baron Dieskau 
 and the Marquess de Montcalm, assisted by a body 
 of Indians — and the English army, commanded 
 successively by Sir William Johnson and Colonel 
 Munroe. Vestiges of forts are still visible at the 
 head of the lake. In one of these — Fort William 
 Henry — the English garrison, after having con- 
 cluded an honourable capitulation with Montcalm 
 (who was destined, two years afterwards, to ex- 
 perience such a signal defeat on the plains of 
 Abraham in Lower Canada), were cruelly massa- 
 cred by the Indians attached to his army. At 
 Fort Edward, another of the military posts of that 
 day. General Abercrombie embarked his troops, 
 amounting to 15,000 men, for the purpose of 
 attacking Ticonderoga, and where is the point of 
 outlet whence the waters of Lake George issue 
 and mingle with those of Lake Champlain. 
 
 After remaining for two or three days amid 
 the lovely seclusion of this fairy scene, I took my 
 departure from the pretty village of Caldwell, 
 crowning the margin of the crystal fountain, and 
 
f 
 
 • I 
 
 11. 
 
 432 
 
 THE POLAR BTAR. 
 
 on the very brink of which is situated an excellent 
 hotel, looking down on its reflected image in the 
 water, and arrived once more at Albany — having 
 driven sixty-two miles, and seen on the road the 
 picturesque cataracts of the Hudson near Sandy 
 Hill. On the following morning I descended 
 this noble stream to the city of New York, which 
 I again visited after an absence of nearly five 
 months. 
 
 Ever mindful of home — "sweet, sweet home" 
 — with which all my fondest recollections — bright 
 and gloomy, sad and soothing — are associated, 
 though thus widely separated from it, I have 
 employed, as you will perceive, the first hours of 
 my present leisure since my arrival at this place 
 in order to attest the truth of !lie sentiment. To 
 convince you that, on whatever distant soil my 
 errant steps may wander — however exciting may 
 be the object of the moment — however absorbing 
 the enchantment of a scene, and the charm of a 
 novelty uncontemplated before ; — yet, that there 
 exists a sunny spot of earth — an oasis of the mind 
 — to which the magnetic needle of my affections 
 still and ever points; and to which, however 
 agitated, it is still and ever constant. To that 
 home, across the Atlantic deep, I now despatch 
 this fragile messenger of hopes and prayers, 
 breathed forth for your health and happiness; 
 assuring you how delighted I shall be when my 
 
; 
 
 THE ** HEART UNTRAVELLED." 433 
 
 lips shall reassume the office of my fingers, and 
 when I-can prove to you by actions, as well as 
 words, that I bring back 
 
 "A mind not to be changed by place or time." 
 Till then, adieu ! 
 
 VOL. 1, 
 
 u 
 
434 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 I; I 
 
 i! 
 
 American Court of Chancery—Wigs and Gowns — Chancellor's 
 Salary — Forensic Eloquence — Formation of a Literary 
 Society — Ex-President Adams — New York Deaf and Dumb 
 Asylum — Depart for New Orleans — Canvass-back Ducks — 
 Curious Invention — Potomac — Arrive in Virginia— Frede- 
 ricksburg — Horrible Roads — Republican Equality —Singu- 
 lar Mode of Farming in Virginia — Firat Settlement of the 
 State — Charlottesville — the Blue Mountains — Staunton — 
 Separate from my Party — Business and Pleasure incompa- 
 tible — Magnificence of the Weyer's Cave — Extraordinary 
 Impudence of a Democrat Landlord. 
 
 ! I 
 
 The Weifcrh Cave, Virginia, 
 14/A JVbu. 1831. 
 MY DEAR FRIEND, 
 
 During the few days that I re- 
 mained in New York, after closing my last letter, 
 and while making arrangements for a journey to 
 the southern states, I took advantage of the sitting 
 of the Court of Chancery in the City Hall, and 
 attended there two or three times, in order to 
 witness its proceedings. I had an additional in- 
 ducement, beyond mere curiosity and a desire of 
 information — that of being present at the arguing 
 of a very important cause, in which my learned 
 
COURT OF CIIANCEnV. 
 
 435 
 
 friend of Albany, of whom I have made honour- 
 able mention as my intelligent companion at the 
 Falls of Niagara, was one of the counsel. The 
 court was presided over by ChanceUor Walworth; 
 a gentleman equally celebrated for his high legal 
 attainments, and for his amiable deportment in 
 private life, and who is president, also, of the 
 State Temperance Society. The appearance of nn 
 American court of judicature varies considerably 
 from that of the courts in England ; principally, 
 however, in being divested of that grave and 
 solemn character which robes, wigs, and gowns, 
 give to the latter. Though I think the cumber- 
 some attire of wigs might, without disparagement 
 to the " weightier matters of the law," be well 
 dispensed with, yet the rest of the learned para- 
 phernalia lend, beyond doubt, an imposing aspect 
 to the administration of justice, and have a bene- 
 ficial influence in the eyes of the profanum \mlgus. 
 Perhaps though, when I inform you what is the 
 amount per annum of the chancellor's salary, you 
 may be of opinion that, as far as respects himself, 
 the less expense that is incurred, for the sake of 
 personal distinction, the better ; for costly ermine 
 robes, and the daily adornment of a full, flowing, 
 well-powdered wig, would cause rather a fearful 
 deduction from two thousand dollars, or between 
 four and Jive hundred pounds a-year — which 
 form, I understand, the entire amount of remu- 
 
436 
 
 ENGLISH LAW ADOPTED IN AMERICA. 
 
 I 
 
 iieration for the w^orthy judge's services. Some 
 other noble chancellors, nearer home, would look 
 utterly aghast at a requital so derogatory from 
 the dignity of the illustrious mace, and be inclined 
 to deposit the official insignia on the shelf in 
 hopeless despair. 
 
 The suit in question involved all the profund- 
 ities of legal lore, and the labour of extensive 
 research ; and I was in no small degree gratified 
 to Lear cited a whole body of English reports, 
 and learned authorities familiar to my ears as 
 ''household words." The weighty dicta of Coke, 
 Camden, Hardwicke, EUenborough, Eldon, and 
 Redesdale, resounded through the court like the 
 oracles of so many sibyls, and startled, for the 
 moment, my apprehension, in hearing pronounced 
 their well-known names, as to the locality in 
 which they were uttered. Identity of time and 
 place was, for the instant, quite confounded ; and 
 I instinctively looked around me to ascertain if 
 I were not actually seated in Westminster Hall. 
 I afterwards learnt, however, from my professional 
 friend, that the common law of England especially, 
 and reported cases, are of equal authority in the 
 United States, or nearly so, as in the British 
 forum, with obvious exceptions founded on dis- 
 tinction of government. 
 
 My intelligent Niagara companion addressed 
 the court for three hours and a half, and displayed 
 
 
SALARIES OF JUDGES. 
 
 437 
 
 a talent and a strength of legal reasoning, enforced 
 in a truly logical, argumentative, and fluent style, 
 that reflected highly on his forensic attainments. 
 The point under discussion was a dry question of 
 law, and therefore did not admit of any thing like 
 impassioned eloquence ; yet I must confess, after 
 having heard a variety of professional speakers in 
 America, that there appeared — making all allow- 
 ances for the nature of the subject — much less of 
 that animation and energy of tone and manner 
 which characterise the more emphatic delivery 
 of an English barrister. I am at the same time 
 informed, that the comparative coldness of address 
 which I had then witnessed — much less, I must 
 acknowledge, in my friend than in the other 
 speakers, and in which, where it prevails, is lost 
 the greater strength and power that, in argument, 
 so often command success — is not the general 
 characteristic of American advocates; and that, 
 with regard to another class of orators — members 
 of Congress — I shall find in them suflicient both 
 of energy and excitement, should I remain till the 
 meeting of tlrs body in December. 
 
 Having mentioned the small, and, I cannot 
 but think, very unremunerating amount of the 
 worthy chancellor's salary of the state of New 
 York, it is but fair and honest towards the country 
 to observe, that those of the judges of the supreme 
 court of the United States are considerably higher; 
 
438 
 
 FORMATION OF A LITERARY SOCIETY. 
 
 and were the distinction less apparent between the 
 two classes, it would better answer the ends of 
 impartial justice. The salary of the chief justice 
 is five thousand dollars, and that of each of the 
 associate judges (of whom I believe there are 
 five), four thousand five hundred ; while three 
 thousand five hundred dollars form the allow- 
 ances of the attorney-general. These sums may 
 be considered sufiicient in a cheap country like 
 America, where no particular style is required 
 to be maintained ; at the same time those of the 
 judges, as also of some other officers, in the sepa- 
 rate states, appear, to my humble judgment, some- 
 what below par. 
 
 On one of the several occasions of my attend- 
 ance in the chancellor's court, I had the oppor- 
 tunity of being present at a convention of delegates, 
 assembled in an adjoining room for the purpose of 
 forming a literary and scientific society. The ex- 
 president, Mr. Adams, was in the chair ; and in a 
 speech pronounced by him on the subject-matter 
 of the meeting, he eulogised the various learned in- 
 stitutions existing in England, with that liberality 
 of feeling which loses sight of national politics and 
 jealousies while discussing the merits of those arts 
 and sciences that humanise and exalt the mind. 
 The allusion, as you may suppose, accompanied 
 as it was by an expression of warm and unqua- 
 lified panegyric, fell on my ears in silvery accents j 
 
ROYAL SOCIETY OP LONDON. 
 
 439 
 
 especially as I had understood that the political 
 sentiments of this gentleman were not charac- 
 terised by that favourable bias towards the country 
 of my birth which marks the more moderate feel- 
 ings of some of the otiier statesmen of America. 
 He amused his auditory by a relation of the ludi- 
 crous circumstance that occurred on the original 
 formation of thf» Royal Society of London, which 
 he nevertheless praised most highly. He stated 
 to them, that at one of the first meetings of that 
 institution, when employed in examining, through 
 a telescope, the moon's disc, a member who had 
 been studiously engaged in surveying the luminary, 
 suddenly declared, with marvellous astonishment, 
 that he saw an elephant in the moon ! The won- 
 dering group of literati surrounding him were 
 perfectly startled at this unexpected intelligence ; 
 and first one and then the other applied his inqui- 
 sitive eye to the portentous tube, in order to satisfy 
 his very natural s'\ ptici?m. The result, however, 
 was the same: eve. man asserted the fact, with 
 an emotion of in comprehensible surprise — gazing 
 now on the unconscious or^, silently floating through 
 her sphere, uiid low on each other ; and looking, 
 as might well be imagined, " unutterable things." 
 It M'as " passing strange," they observed, and was 
 a most undoubted and inconceivable phenomenon. 
 At length one of the most incredulous, not to say 
 " long-headed,' of the astronomical party, pro- 
 
440 
 
 ELEPHANT IN THE MOON. 
 
 P 
 
 posed an examination of the magical instrument 
 through which they had been moon-gazing — when 
 the miracle was at once accounted for by pei'ceiv- 
 ing, to their utter confusion, that a mouse had 
 insinuated itself between the glasses, and had 
 been metamorphosed into a huge quadruped, at 
 the distance of two hundred and forty thousand, 
 miles ! 
 
 Previously to setting out, once more, in quest 
 of southern adventures, I paid a most interesting 
 visit to that excellent establishment, the Deaf and 
 Dumb Asylum, situated four miles from New 
 York, and over which I was conducted, with 
 much polite attention, by the Principal, Mr. Peet. 
 
 The institution contained, at the close of last 
 -'- :ir, eighty-five pupils, and is almost entirely 
 isupported by the state in which it is " located ;" 
 the I'eceipts derived thence, including a small sum 
 from the treasurer of New Jersey for the pupils 
 sent from that state — the sale of garden produce, 
 and of that of the workshop, &c. — amounted to 
 near seventeen thousand dollars. From this sum 
 a balance was carried over to the following year, 
 after disbursing all current expenses, of 671 dol- 
 lars. The objects of this beneficent charity are 
 retained within the asylum during a period of 
 five years, and are taught various trades, so as to 
 enable them afterwards to support themselves. 
 
 Having been kindly invited to dine with Mr. 
 
NEW YORK DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM. 441 
 
 Peet, in a large room where the scholars were 
 seated at table, I was particularly struck with the 
 solemnity of the mute grace, which he performed 
 by manual signs; while, all rising from their 
 places, every eye was turned towards the silent 
 and emphatic motion of his hands, expressing in 
 hieroglyphic language, felt though unheard, the 
 eloquent thanksgivings of the heart for the bounty 
 provided. The meal being concluded, we re- 
 paired to the school-room, when the principal 
 exhibited to me the various attainments in know- 
 ledge of his interesting pupils. He first mo- 
 tioned with his fingers as to the place I came 
 from, which they immediately wrote down with 
 perfect correctness. He then intimated to them, 
 in a similar manner, his wish that they should 
 " think something of me " One boy wrote down, 
 that he thought I was " an Irish gentleman ;" 
 another pencilled down on his slate — '' I think 
 that gentleman is going to see the Deaf and 
 Dumb Asylum at Hartford," &c. &c. I after- 
 wards, at the master's request, gave them a word 
 on which to compose a sentence. I named '' the 
 Saviour." On this subject, after a little reflection, 
 several of them expressed, in writing, sentiments 
 at once orthodox and scriptural, respecting the 
 great atonement accomplished for mankind by the 
 ever -blessed Redeemer of the world — indicative 
 of their love for, and their belief in him — and in 
 
 u2 
 
It 
 
 'SM 
 
 n^' 
 
 m 
 
 II r 
 
 442 
 
 UNEXPECTED LIBERALITY 
 
 language which evinced, in connexion with their 
 ideas, that their diligent and conscientious in- 
 structor had not neglected his duty towards them. 
 It still farther evinced, that God, in his overruling 
 providence, can touch the heart, though he has 
 stopped the ear from listening to his praises, and 
 though he has tied down the tongue from uttering 
 thanksgivings to his name ! 
 
 Before leaving the city, once more, for the 
 south, I had an opportunity of witnessing the con- 
 fiding liberality of the booksellers of New York, 
 in a manner that equally gratified and surprised 
 me. Wishing to purcliase some books, I stepped 
 into the shop of Pendleton and Hill, situated in 
 Bropdway ; raid among several works which I 
 selected were two that related to the same subject. 
 Being doubtful which of them contained the better 
 information, I stated to one of the partners — Mr. 
 Hill, I believe — the uncertainty I felt as to the 
 choice ; when he very civilly observed, that I was 
 quite at liberty to take them home, and make my 
 election at leisure. I informed him, however, that 
 I was immediately departing for the south, and 
 should be absent for a considerable period. The 
 circumstance, he replied, made no difference what- 
 ever; since;, if I were inclined to trouble myself 
 with them, I <30uld return the least eligible of the 
 two works on my next visit to the city, and that 
 there was not the least necessity, in the interim, 
 
OF THE NEW YORK BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 443 
 
 either to pay for them, or leave any deposit. I 
 confess, that my admiration at this most disin- 
 terested and confiding proposal to a perfect 
 stranger, whom he had never seen before in his 
 shop or elsewhere, or ever heard of, was raised to 
 the highest degree. Aware that so many rogues 
 and vagabonds fly to America for refuge from the 
 offended laws of Europe, and that some of these 
 must occasionally play off the: ingenious con- 
 trivances on the public, I asked him how he 
 would venture to trust a person who was entirely 
 unknown to him, and how he was assured that he 
 would ever behold me again ? The result, how- 
 ever, is, that there was so much of honest and 
 generous candour about this worthy bookseller, 
 and the gratification arising from a feeling of con- 
 fidence is so great, that I determined to avail 
 myself of it, and fairly carried off the books, 
 without paying a single farthing for them, to 
 accompany me to New Orleans, I left Mr. Hill, 
 at the same time, with the impression that, how- 
 ever numerous might be either the foreign or native 
 rogues in New York, he himself had never been 
 deluded by them ; and, at all events, whether such 
 had been the case or not, that he was a most 
 liberal and deserving member of the fraternity of 
 booksellers. 
 
 On the 8th of November I left the capital of 
 Manhattan Island, in order to proceed to New 
 
444 
 
 EXCURSION TO NEW ORLEANS. 
 
 Orleans, situated on the southern boundary of the 
 United States, and lying, from New York, at the 
 distance of upwards of two thousand miles. This 
 excursion was leading me several degrees farther 
 to the south than I had yet been to the north; 
 since the capital of Louisiana lies in 29*^ 58' N. 
 latitude, while the former is in 40*^ 40' N., and 
 Quebec in 46^ 55' N. 
 
 It had been my original intention, as you are 
 aware, to have revisited my natale solum in the 
 latter part of the present month ; but finding my 
 health benefited, during the progress of my late 
 tour, and discovering very much more to admire, 
 in the various institutions of this country — in the 
 social, moral, and religious fabric — than I had 
 previously expected, I have deferred my return to 
 the spring of the ensuing year. I felt desirous, 
 also, before I quitted the Republic, to be present 
 at some of the debates in Congress, which assemble 
 every year at Washington, in the first week of 
 December ; and as the approaching session will 
 continue sitting to a late period, it will enable me 
 to gratify my curiosity, after having explored the 
 banks of the magnificent Mississippi. I under- 
 stand that our Transatlantic brethren leave us at 
 an interminable distance behind them in the race 
 of oratory ; as, instead of mere hours, I am told 
 that a single member will sometimes run on, in a 
 fluent course of declamation, within the walls of 
 
CANVASS-BACK DICKS. 
 
 445 
 
 the Capitol, for three consecutive days ! To avoid, 
 therefore, the tediousness of repetition, I shall 
 transfer you, at once, to the interesting shores of 
 the Potomac ; along whose meandering stream 
 you have, already, strolled with me as far as 
 Mount Vernon, and which I had imagined I 
 should never behold again. 
 
 Though I am happy to say you are by no 
 means an epicure, equally with myself, yet I 
 ought, nevertheless, to notice, en jxissant^ out of 
 respect for American gastronomy, a very delicious 
 " honne bouche" that I enjoyed at Baltimore, on my 
 way to the southward, in the shape of some can- 
 vass-back ducks. They are esteemed a great deli- 
 cacy, being superior to all other species of wild 
 ducks, to which class they belong, and are only in 
 season during three or four of the winter months. 
 They are found in considerable flocks, at this 
 period, on the river Susquehannah, where they 
 feed on the wild celery growing in the shallow 
 portions of the stream, which imparts a pecu- 
 liarly fine flavour to their flesh. I certainly en- 
 joyed the wild fowl much before the fish called 
 chpd, so highly praised by Captain Hall, whose 
 description alone would almost have induced a 
 gourmand to cross the Atlantic in order to partake 
 of it. But " de yustibus non disputandum est." 
 
 During the two days I passed at Baltimore, I 
 had the pleasure of accompanying the directors of 
 
11, i 
 
 .f f 
 
 446 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF A FRICTION-WHEEL. 
 
 the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road, along with a 
 numerous party, to " open the road" as far as it 
 had been constructed, winch was somewhere about 
 forty miles. It is, as I have mentioned in a 
 former letter, a splendid work; and is intended 
 to run through the enormous distance of 360 
 miles, to join the Ohio river at Pittsburg, at the 
 moderate cost, considering the extent, of about 
 two millions sterling. This noble work strongly 
 evinces, I must acknowledge, and most willingly, 
 a spirit, enterprise, ingenuity, intelligence, and in- 
 dustry, redounding greatly, along with their other 
 gigantic works, to the honour and credit of the 
 inhabitants of the United States, and which none 
 but the Anglo-American people, and the English, 
 from whom they spring, of all the nations in the 
 world, could have accomplished. 
 
 I saw here an ingenious invention, called a 
 friction-wheel, made by an American about four 
 years ago, which, in consequence of the dimi- 
 nished resistance that it offers, when in motion, 
 enables the same power to draw nearly four times 
 the weight of an ordinary wheel. With this con- 
 struction, the application of a power equal to one 
 pound, as I understood the engineer, who is a 
 brother of the president director, will draw 440 ; 
 while applied to the common machine it will only 
 draw 120. A single horse is thus able to drag 
 along a thousand barrels of flour, or the extra- 
 
FREDERICKSBURG VIRGINIA. 
 
 447 
 
 ordinary weight oi forty tons, — an advantage of 
 incalculable importance in mechanical operations. 
 
 Embarking at Washington in a small and 
 inauspicious -looking steam-boat,, substituted, pro 
 tempore, for the regular boat, which, for the satis- 
 faction of the passengers, we were informed had 
 blown up the week previously, and scalded lo 
 death aii unfortunate fireman, I once more cO'trRed 
 my way pti Mount Vernon, in the society of a 
 gentleman .d two ladies whom I had accom- 
 panied from New York, and who, like myself, 
 were en route for New Orleans. As I have for- 
 merly observed, tlie Potomac is a noble and 
 expansive stream, presenting much of picturesque 
 beauty on various portions of its banks ; the 
 ** heau morceai" of the whole being the late resi- 
 dence of the illustrious " father of his country." 
 
 After a passage of sixty miles on this once 
 Indian river, which now only retains the shadowy 
 name of a hapless race, long since swept away — 
 the " Stat nominis umhrcC^ of the warrior tribes 
 who died, after bravely fighting, but in vain, to 
 secure their cherished independence — we landed 
 on the shores of Virginia. Stepping from the 
 boat into a coach, we rolled r iward, for the night, 
 to Fredericksburg, a distance of nineteen miles ; 
 the greater part of which we performed by the 
 chaste light of a full moon. There being nothing 
 remarkable to detain us here, we prosecuted our 
 

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 HEPUBLICAN EQUALITY. 
 
 1 
 
 journey, on the following day, through an exe- 
 crably bad road of seventy miles, to Charlottesville. 
 Rugged, however, and broken up as it was, there 
 was not a single labourer at work, nor a barrow- 
 ful of materials with which to repair it. This 
 very essential duty, whenever it is performed, if 
 ever, devolves on the proprietors of the adjoining 
 lands ; but, to confess the truth, the soil, gene- 
 rally, throughout the distance, was so barren, and 
 the very scanty population so widely scattered — 
 so "few and far between" — that, like the ancient 
 Indian river just named, the road remained, but 
 the landlords were all gone. So on we jolted, 
 breaking and snapping to pieces our harness, 
 rotten and woe-begone, like the deep ruts that we 
 were ever and anon tumbling over, and which we 
 tied and tagged together with pieces of rope, as 
 well as we could, till, as a gentle relief to our 
 aching bones and sorrowing hearts, we reached a 
 solitary cabaret by the road-side, where we were to 
 dine. And here we were amused by a specimen 
 of republican equality, in the easy and uncere- 
 monious freedom of our amiable and facetious 
 driver, who, on dinner being served up, stalked 
 into the " salon a manger^' with the careless non- 
 chalance of a bidden guest — seated himself at the 
 table with the ladies, whose elegant dresses pre- 
 sented rather a violent contrast to the grotesque 
 habiliments of honest Jehu, and entered into con- 
 
REASON FOR BEING DISCONTENTED. 
 
 449 
 
 versation, and cracked his jokes, with all the 
 agreeable and winning familiarity imaginable. 
 
 On resuming our journey, as we were now 
 within sight of the beautiful and romantic ridge of 
 the Blue Mountains, I took a seat on the box 
 alongside my travelling companion (as, I suppose, 
 I should call him) of the whip, in order the 
 better to enjoy the fine and varied scenery before 
 me. Conversing with him, as a little additional 
 ^^ passatempoy* he informed me that his home lay 
 on the opposite side of the mountains, then in full 
 view in the distance, and that he had driven but 
 for a short time on the road between Fredericks- 
 burg and Charlottesville, and which he was by 
 no means inclined to continue. In short his tone 
 was that of dissatisfaction with his present situ- 
 ation. Feeling, of course, somewhat interested in 
 his history, having just had him as a "boon com- 
 panion" at the dinner-table, I inquired the cause 
 of his apparently strong antipathy ; when, to my 
 utter astonishment, but secret amusement, recol- 
 lecting so vividly what had taken place within a 
 short half-hour previously, he said the reason was, 
 because there was more of " equality" in his own 
 part of the country, "where people were treated 
 all alike, without making any distinction ; and 
 to which he should, therefore, return with as 
 little delay as possible." It struck me that, at all 
 events, he could not reproach any of the party 
 
 M 
 
 1 
 
450 
 
 A POSSIBLE HINT NOT TAKEN. 
 
 whom he was driving with anti-social practices, or 
 with infractions of his ultra-democracy ; and that 
 if he enjoyed the same unrestrained intercourse 
 with all mankind as he had done with us, and for 
 the effecting of this object had only to consult his 
 own free will, which, it appeared to me, would 
 never be wanting, he ought to be a most con- 
 tented and happy being. I was not quite sure 
 that his observation was not directed towards 
 myself ; and that it did not contain a gentle hint 
 to take the reins of his horses into my own hands, 
 while he retired to the inside of the vehicle, in 
 order to recreate himself with the conversation of 
 the ladies. 
 
 We were far from sorry, on reaching Char- 
 lottesville, to have gained our quarters for the 
 night ; as a drive of seventy miles, even on excel- 
 lent roads, is, as a matter of mere pleasure, suffi- 
 ciently long. Where, however, as in the present 
 instance, these are found in a state of utter aban- 
 donment, and running through a country almost 
 destitute of habitations, it becomes then rather an 
 endurance than a gratification. I am bound, at 
 the same time, in justice to observe, that this por- 
 tion of Virginia is accounted one of the worst in 
 the state, in which there are, beyond doubt, many 
 very rich and fertile districts; and as to extent 
 of boundary, this little sovereignty exceeds, if I 
 mistake not, that of any other member of the 
 
MODE OF CULTIVATION IN OLD VIRGINIA. 461 
 
 confederation. It will afford you some idea of 
 the immense surface of territory possessed by the 
 United States, when I inform you, that this state 
 alone, of the twenty-four composing the Union, 
 covers more ground than the whole of England ; 
 the greatest length, running along its southern 
 boundary, being 440 miles. The state of New 
 York, nearly as large, comprises 46,000 square 
 miles; and the entire territory of the United States 
 the enormous amount of two millions. 
 
 With respect to the cultivation of the land on 
 the eastern side of the Blue Mountains, or in what 
 is called Old Virginia, I received a singular piece 
 of information, as well from my "equality" friend 
 the driver, as from much more intelligent persons, 
 and which some of the patches of soil that I had 
 just seen appeared well to confirm. I allude to 
 the system, adopted in the section referred to, of 
 raising a continual succession of crops without 
 ever putting a single load of compost on the land. 
 In the course of time, therefore, its strength is 
 entirely exhausted ; and when the planters have 
 taus "worked it out," they retrench their ex- 
 penses and live on the productiveness of their 
 slaves. This means, as I was informed — and it 
 infers something peculiarly abhorrent to the mind 
 — that they keep their unhappy slaves as a kind 
 of " live stock," from the sale of the produce of 
 whom, in the shape of their children, they raise 
 
 i -.1 
 
452 PROBLEM FOR THE " SCHOOLMASTER." 
 
 money to supply their expenses, and thus maintain 
 their station in life; just planting, or sowing, so 
 much of the spent land as will provide subsist- 
 ence for these human cattle ; for into such the 
 slaves are, in fact, converted. 
 
 Such a system of non-tillage, and consequent 
 destruction of the prolific virtues of the soil, and 
 of the profitable returns which a due cultivation 
 would insure — ^leaving out of sight the barbarities 
 with which slavery must be more or less ever 
 connected — casts a very negative reflection on 
 these soi'disant farmers with regard to husbandry. 
 I had some difficulty in believing the fact, but was 
 assured by several persons of its truth. To ima- 
 gine that this territorial waste arises from ignor- 
 ance, in the present day of the "schoolmaster," is 
 impossible; neither can it arise from indifference 
 to pecuniary emolument, since that appears to be 
 repelled by the periodical sale of slaves ; nor yet 
 from any rule of computation as to the compara- 
 tive price of tillage, in reference to the emolu- 
 ments of the succeeding harvest, and terminating 
 against the value of the latter, as I understand 
 the farmers in " New Virginia," on the other side 
 of the ** blue ridge," carefully manure their lands, 
 at no superior advantage as to cost, and derive, 
 as they merit, luxuriant and remunerating crops. 
 There seems nothing, therefore, with which to 
 charge them but bad judgment, and this, in the 
 
FIRST COLONISATIONS IN THE STATES. 453 
 
 present case, is so nearly associated with ignorance, 
 that I own myself fairly puzzled ; and must rest 
 satisfied with giving you a bare knowledge of 
 the fact, and leaving you to draw your own 
 comments. 
 
 Virginia was the first of the states now form- 
 ing the confederation, with the exception of 
 North Carolina, where an English colony was 
 established, and which took place in 1607, under 
 the auspices of the London Company, constituted 
 by letters patent granted by James I. The settle- 
 ment, in honour of the royal patron, was called 
 Jamestown, and lies on the south-eastern part of 
 its territory. The earliest of these plantations, 
 however, was on the island of Roanoke, at the 
 mouth of Albemarle Sound, in North Carolina^ 
 and was effected under the influence of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, who had obtained a patent from Queen 
 Elizabeth, granting to him such "remote, heathen, 
 and barbarous lands as he might discover and 
 occupy." This occurred in 1585 ; and so mar- 
 vellous were the reports of the beauty of the 
 country, made by the captains of the discovery- 
 ships on their return, that her majesty, delighted 
 with the description, and anxious to perpetuate 
 the remembrance that it had been discovered 
 during the reign of a virgin queen, called it Vir- 
 ginia. At the first period of English colonisation 
 in America, and for a considerable time subse- 
 
454 
 
 THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 quently, the name of Virginia, thus royally be- 
 stowed, gave denomination to the whole eastern 
 coast of North America. 
 
 There being nothing interesting in the locale 
 of Charlottesville, except the State College, erected 
 in the town, and the residence of the late states- 
 man, Mr. Jefferson, in the vicinity of it, we 
 renewed, on the following day, our wayfaring 
 labours, by proceeding forty miles, to Staunton. 
 The day's excursion was highly interesting, as our 
 road lay directly over the lofty ridge of the Blue 
 Mountains, which had afforded us the principal, 
 if not the only, object of attraction during our 
 route of the previous day. The reason of their 
 being distinguished by a term denoting colour, is 
 the circumstance of the bluish tinge with which, 
 at a considerable distance, they appear to be im- 
 pressed. The views from them, as from most 
 mountain elevations, exhibit a mixture of romantic 
 boldness, grandeur, beauty, and variety ; and the 
 labour of mounting the ascent, up which I walked 
 for the purpose of better enjoying the scene, was 
 infinitely more than repaid by the fineness and 
 diversity of the unobstructed prospect. 
 
 I was now to take leave of the party whom 
 I had accompanied thus far from New York, and 
 whose society I had, at the commencement of our 
 tour, proposed to enjoy as far as New Orleans. 
 But I perceived, and not for the first time, that 
 
PLEASURE AND BUSINESS INCOMPATIBLE. 455 
 
 )m 
 
 pleasure and business are but ill-assorted elements 
 for accomplishing two opposite purposes. They 
 are a species of Whig and Tory — a Clay's man 
 and Jackson's man — tariff and anti-tariff — 
 attempting an impossible coalition, yet ever pull- 
 ing in a contrary direction, and which tlie first 
 short cut in the road on the one hand, or a 
 beauty or phenomenon of nature on the other, 
 will on the instant dissolve. The gentleman and 
 his family with whom I had been travelling, and 
 who were persons of amiable dispositions, were 
 proceeding to the capital of Louisiana, on affairs 
 of the latter description ; while la belle Nature 
 was the object of my search, and the pursuit of 
 which had alone called into action, on the present 
 occasion, my powers of locomotion. 
 
 The two splendid curiosities of the " Natural 
 Bridge" and the " Weyer's Cave," unseen by any 
 of us — the former diverging but little from the 
 direct route of our journey — offered attractions 
 to myself not to be resisted ; and as my fellow- 
 travellers were content to sacrifice these Virginian 
 "lions," for the sake of gaining a couple of days, 
 we parted at Staunton. And here I must remark 
 — and I am sure I do it without the smallest feel- 
 ing ofunkindness — that, judging from the present, 
 as from other instances which had occurred to me 
 elsewhere, it forcibly struck me that the Americans 
 are, generally speaking, by no means such lovers 
 
466 
 
 ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TASTE. 
 
 of nature as are the English. In this respect I 
 must certainly coincide with Captain Hall, who, 
 in some part of his work on North America, 
 expresses an opinion in affirmation of the fact. 
 At the same time, while I state what appears to 
 me to be the truth, I think I can also parceive 
 the cause which lies at the foundation of much 
 of that diversity existing between us, with regard 
 to taste and other moral endowments of the mind. 
 The reason, I have no doubt, arises from the 
 constant and universal occupation of the citizens 
 in business, and from the possession of little of 
 that aristocratic leisure so amply enjoyed in Eng- 
 land, and which, to a greater or less extent, is 
 essential to the cultivation of a refined taste, either 
 for the "sublime and beautiful" in nature, or for 
 the line arts. This is a cause, too, which every 
 successive year will gradually tend to remove; 
 and I am quite convinced, — to prove that I have 
 no bias except that of justice, not to say partiality, 
 towards them — any thing, in short, but a feeling 
 of prejudice or antipathy, — that if the Anglo- 
 American people can only hold firmly together, 
 in the continued union of their confederated states, 
 in the course of a hundred or two hundred yeari^ 
 they will become as powerful a nation, and, what 
 is still better, as intelligent and moral, as any 
 that either ancient or modern times has exhibited 
 to the world. 
 
EXCURSION TO THE WEYEB 8 CAVE. 
 
 457 
 
 I was now to enact a pas seulf instead of assist- 
 ing in a pas de quatre. Mounting, therefore, a 
 stout little Virginian pony, I cantered oif to the 
 Weyer's Cave, distant ahout twenty miles from 
 Staunton, leaving the town in one direction just 
 as my late companions were hastening oif in the 
 opposite one. The morning was fine and warm, 
 though now the middle of Novemher. My 
 road lay for seven miles through the depths of 
 an extensive forest, where the majesty of the 
 trees, the ever-changing objects of the continually 
 meandering path, and, in addition, the deep soli- 
 tude, unbroken by the song of a single bird, or 
 the appearance of a single human being or human 
 habitation, conspired to raise an interesting ex- 
 citement of mind. Every thing was silent as the 
 grave — a desert wilderness reigned around, with 
 a hushed and mysterious solemnity. And yet 
 the same Spirit, I could not help ejaculating to 
 myself, that "moved on the face of the waters," 
 breathes o'er the pines of this forest, and rustles 
 through its falling leaves — 
 
 " Since God is ever present, ever felt — 
 In the void waste as in the city full — 
 And where He vital breathes there must be joy/' 
 
 Emerging thence, I came in sight of a long 
 and waving line of the mountain-ridge which I 
 had so lately passed, and that forms such a pro- 
 
 VOL. I. X 
 
458 
 
 THE WBYER S CAVE. 
 
 minent and untiring object in the landscape. The 
 features of the country were altogether changed 
 from what I had hitherto observed. I was now 
 in what is called the Valley of Virginia, and found 
 the land to be as fertile and well cultivated as 
 it had previously been the reverse. Rich and 
 smiling farms were scattered about on all sides, 
 displaying at once the bounty of nature and the 
 diligent care of the provident husbandman. This 
 luxuriant tract continues, with but few intervals 
 of inferior soil, throughout the entire length of 
 the valley, extending a considerable number of 
 miles, as far as the romantic junction of the 
 Shenandoah and Potomac, at Harper's Ferry. 
 
 The Weyer's Cave presents the most extraor- 
 dinary, splendid, and beautiful subterranean ex- 
 hibition that is perhaps to be seen in any part of 
 the world. The countless myriads of stalactites 
 and petrifactions, of every size, form, and colour, 
 from the purest white to the darkest green and 
 brightest vermilion, and from the dimensions of 
 an organ to those of an icicle, exceed all that can 
 be imagined. Many of the numberless chambers 
 contained in it, of which one or two appear nearly 
 as spacious as Westminster Hall, are literally hung 
 round with these glittering spars, presenting, in 
 various places, the most picturesque and fanciful 
 drapery of petrified and transparent substances, 
 and reminding me, from their gorgeous appear- 
 
THB WEYER S CAVE. 
 
 459 
 
 ance, and the situation in which they were beheld, 
 of the magical halls of an Arabian enchanter. 
 
 Having procured a guide, and a number of 
 boys to carry torches, I entered this fairy palace 
 just as the moon was softly brightening over the 
 blue mountains, which might now have well 
 changed their denomination from blue to silver, 
 as the former was absorbed altogether in the flood 
 of radiant light that was poured down upon them. 
 The entrance to this laboratory of Nature, where 
 she works in silence and secrecy, producing the 
 most enchanting forms and devices, lies on the 
 precipitous side of a hill. It is excavated by an 
 unknown and inartificial process into a thousand 
 chambers and galleries, extending to a length of 
 upwards of half a mile, and of very considerable 
 breadth. Indeed, many of its caverns and recesses 
 have never yet been explored; and those which 
 are known require a conducting thread to guide 
 the adventurer, as much as did the celebrated 
 Cretan labyrinth of ancient story. 
 
 The chamber which is first entered is called 
 the " vestibule," — being bound, as a faithful nar- 
 rator, to attend to the classical nomenclature of 
 the place, — and whence you proceed, through a 
 rock of petrifaction, to the " Dragon's Room." 
 Here are perceived numberless and varied fonn- 
 ations of stalactites, and a huge, outlandish 
 
460 
 
 THE WEYER 8 CAVE. 
 
 figure of the same material, emblematical of the 
 poetical personage that gives to the apartment 
 its designation. Winding along a narrow gal- 
 lery, the exploring visitor descends, by a steep 
 ladder at its extremity, into what is denominated 
 *' Solomon's Temple," where is beheld a sublime 
 and extraordinary sight, worthy of the illustrious 
 title by which it is named. On one side is ex- 
 hibited an immense, wave-like incrustation of the 
 most beautifully white and transparent petrifac- 
 tion, extending from the ceiling to the floor, re- 
 presenting a cascade falling over a precipice, and 
 appearing to have conglaciated in the very act 
 of descent. This is fancifully termed the " Falls 
 of Niagara;" and, associated as it is with the 
 hidden depths of the subterranean world, and 
 lighted up alone by the flickering and lurid 
 glare of torches, impresses the imagination with 
 a sentiment of wonder and superstitious awe. 
 The effect was truly magical and full of interest. 
 Turning to another side of this marvellous ca- 
 vern, is seen " Solomon's Throne," elevated to a 
 height, and thrown into a shape, well becoming 
 the imaginary chair of state of a sovereign prince, 
 and forming one entire mass of glittering crystals. 
 Near to it stands "Solomon's Pillar;" while in 
 an apartment adjoining are beheld ten thousand 
 stalactites suspended from the roof, of various 
 
THE WEYER S CAVE. 
 
 461 
 
 spiral forms, and of a perfectly white colour, 
 called by the anti-poetical name of the " Radish 
 Room." 
 
 Proceeding onward, through a long and wind- 
 ing passage, you ascend, by another ladder, to 
 what has received the name of the "Tambourine, 
 or Drum Room ;" decorated with a splendid drapery 
 of crystal workmanship, and semipellucid curtains 
 of different hues, spread over the walls like the 
 embellishments of a lady's drawing-room. These 
 were truly admirable ; some of them forming, in 
 the loveliest white spar, the appearance of cano- 
 pies, and others falling in ample sweep from the 
 ceiling to the floor, and exhibiting as graceful and 
 softly flowing shapes as so many folds of silk. 
 Here are displayed immense sheets of congela- 
 tions, called the " drums, " which, on being 
 struck, emit a sound resembling that of a gong. 
 On leaving these instruments of unearthly me- 
 lody, threading other galleries, and surmounting 
 ** Jacob's Ladder," you pass through the " Senate 
 Chamber," and the " Music Gallery" — each pre- 
 senting a diversified array of gorgeous gems of 
 superhuman fabric — into " Washington's Hall," 
 the most splendid and extensive chamber of the 
 cave. The dimensions of it are very considerable, 
 being ninety yards in length, twenty wide, and fifty 
 in height. The spars and crystal formations of this 
 room, if so it may be called, are particularly brilliant, 
 
 x2 
 
462 
 
 THE WEYER 8 CAVE. 
 
 the roof being apparently supported by musical co- 
 lumns ranged along its sides, and which, by passing 
 a stick rapidly over their surface, produce a pro- 
 fusion of singular intonations like a ring of bells. 
 "The Father of his Country" is here mounted 
 on a superb pedestal of the same transparent 
 mineral, exceeding in brightness the lustre of 
 Parian marble, and might be supposed a second 
 Rhadamanthus, descended to the shades below, to 
 administer the impartial justice which he taught 
 and executed in the world above. It struck me 
 that these hints of popular feeling, addressed to 
 the memory of the great hero of the Revolution, 
 might act as a gentle reminiscence to the senators 
 of a country that he formed, and over which he 
 presided with such devoted patriotism, that the 
 vote which was passed in congress two years ago, 
 to raise a monument at Washington in honour of 
 its first and most illustrious president, remains to 
 this day a dead letter on the journals of their 
 proceedings. 
 
 I should be told, perhaps, in answer, that the 
 patriot is embalmed in the grateful recollections 
 of his countrymen, and that he li\res ia the bright 
 records of his nation's history. All this I grant ; 
 and yet I cannot but think that these recollections 
 must be rather cold, and to a stranger appear 
 somewhat doubtful, when they do not evidence 
 the internal workings of the heart by something 
 
THE WEYER S CAVE. 
 
 463 
 
 the 
 
 lions 
 
 light 
 
 Lilt; 
 
 lions 
 
 ►ear 
 
 ince 
 
 ling 
 
 of an external and visible form ; which, while it 
 might ornament the capital of a rising empire, 
 would arrest the eye and fix the attention of the 
 young aspirant for future fame. Whatever may 
 be said of the generation coeval with the exploits 
 of a chief who has deserved so well of his country, 
 still posterity demands, and the foreigner travel- 
 ling through the land looks for, some durable and 
 recording memorial of a hero who has at once 
 ennobled and adorned human nature. 
 
 If the conqueror in the Olympic games was 
 crowned with laurel, and had temples and statues 
 erected to his honour, the veteran chief who has 
 laid the foundations of his country's independence 
 and glory, merits at least an equal distinction 
 with the contenders in a chariot race, with boxers, 
 wrestlers, poets, and orators. 
 
 Out of respect to the late President's wife, 
 I must not omit to mention what is called '* Lady 
 Washington's Drawing-room," in which is dis- 
 played a variety of the most fantastical and beau- 
 tiful drapery, of a bright green colour, edged 
 with white, end hanging in the form of curtains. 
 At a short distance from this, with very approp* iate 
 coincidence, lies the " Diamond Room," well de- 
 serving its title from the extreme brilliancy of its 
 spars, and their close resemblance to those costly 
 ornaments. Continuing my researches, I now 
 passed successively the " Pyramids," " Pompey's 
 
464 
 
 THE WEYER S CAVE. 
 
 Pillar," and the "Falls of the Ganges;" and 
 came, at length, to one of the most gorgeous 
 specimens of petrifaction in the whole cave, 
 standing in " Jefferson's Hall." It is formed of 
 a massive body of spar that would probably weigh 
 many hundred tons, and is decorated with the 
 most graceful and regular ilutings, covering its 
 entire surface. This is denominated the " Tower 
 of Babel," and is, without the slightest exaggera- 
 tion, a truly magnificent piece of natural crystal 
 workmanship. 
 
 Passing a very fine incrustation of a silvery 
 brightness, resembling the new moon, — being 
 elevated towards the ceiling, and producing an 
 optical delusion highly interesting, — I now scaled 
 the rugged and slippery rocks of the " Giant's 
 Causeway." The object that I proposed to my- 
 self, as the reward of my toil, was to see the 
 " Statue of Buonaparte," beheld by very few in 
 consequence of its difficult access. This circum- 
 stance has operated greatly in its favour, since, 
 by being seldom touched, or tarnished by the 
 smoke of torches, it preserves all its original 
 splendour of colour, and presents a snowy white- 
 ness and brilliancy of spar exceeding all the rest. 
 In this respect, it was a matchless specimen of the 
 purest and most beautiful crystallisation. 
 
 But it is high time to pause in my description, 
 though I have not given you more than a tithe 
 
THE WEYER S CAVE. 
 
 465 
 
 of the wonders of this gorgeous cave, and which 
 infinitely surpasses every thing of a similar nature 
 that I have ever seen elsewhere. In point of 
 interest, though not similarity, it forcibly recalls 
 to my remembrance the superb caves of Ellora, 
 on the plains of Hindostan, in which India's ten 
 thousand gods are enshrined in colossal stature. 
 You may imagine the absorbing delight that I 
 took in this subterranean research when I inform 
 you, that I remained gazing and exploring for 
 five hours, to the no small surprise of my guide, 
 who told me that few remained so long or pene- 
 trated so far. I entered the cave about seven in 
 the evening, after riding twenty miles, just as the 
 lovely moon was throwing her " silver mantle" 
 over the sombre screen of the blue mountains ; 
 and when I came out, her glittering orb had 
 passed the zenith and was fast declining to the 
 western hills. The only apprehension I enter- 
 tained, during my visit to these darksome regions, 
 was the fear of our lights going out ; a circum- 
 stance that was nearly occurring two or three 
 times, when it would have been, I think, physi- 
 cally impossible to have extricated ourselves from 
 the endless galleries, traversing each other, in 
 which we were involved — more intricate, I should 
 imagine, than even the celebrated labyrinth of 
 Daedalus. If capable, however, of being effected, 
 my excellent guide, James Raynes, would have 
 
i 
 
 466 
 
 A SUPERLATIVE DEMOCRAT. 
 
 accomplished it ; for I never met a more attentive 
 or intelligent conductor, or a person possessing a 
 more con amore spirit of adventure than himself, 
 and which would have led him to remain till 
 midnight of the following day had I heen so in- 
 clined. Therefore, should you ever visit this 
 country, I strongly recommend him to you as an 
 indefatigable cicerone. 
 
 On rising the following morning, in the little 
 miserable cabaret where I slept, I had a down- 
 right specimen of ultra-democratic manners, and 
 indeed insolence, in the person of my despotic 
 host Benjamin Bryans. Discovering that I had 
 no water in my room, though perceiving the re- 
 quisite apparatus for washing, I requested the 
 servant of the house to bring me some, when I 
 was given to understand, that the hospitable land- 
 lord refused permission to have it brought up. 
 Fancying there must be some mistake, I descended 
 the stairs, and civilly renewed my request, on 
 which I was informed by the mob-monarch him- 
 self, (representing no doubt, as he thought, in his 
 own person, the majesty of the people of all the 
 twenty-four states of the Union), that it was the 
 custom of his house that all the guests should wash 
 in the yard. On remonstrating against this out- 
 landish regulation, and begging, at all events, as 
 I had never been accustomed to perform my ab- 
 lutions in public, that, for courtesy's sake to a 
 
THE RUSSIAN ADTOCRAT OUTDONE. 
 
 467 
 
 jntive 
 ling a 
 mselfy 
 n till 
 so in- 
 Lt this 
 as an 
 
 e little 
 down- 
 's, and 
 [espotic 
 I had 
 the re- 
 ;ed the 
 when I 
 le land- 
 ;ht up. 
 icended 
 ^est, on 
 ih him- 
 ,, in his 
 all the 
 as the 
 [id wash 
 lis out- 
 ents, as 
 my ab- 
 e to a 
 
 stranger, he would relax the singularity of his 
 rule in my favour, he sternly replied, " that I was 
 no better than any body else, and that if I did 
 not choose, like the rest of mankind, to perform 
 the operation down stairs, I might defer it till the 
 following morning, when I might be gratified in 
 my taste elsewhere." I was, as you may suppose, 
 absolutely astounded at the publican's impudence, 
 and want of even Hottentot politeness. Finding, 
 however, that resistance was vain, and further 
 remonstrance useless, there being no other house 
 of accommodation in the place, I was fain to sub- 
 mit to the sovereign fiat of this autocrat of Vir- 
 ginia. After ruminating in my chamber for a 
 few minutes on my singular position, and whether 
 it might not be as well to adjourn my toilet al- 
 together to the banks of the river which I was 
 about to pass, in returning to Staunton, I at last 
 walked down stairs into the yard like a whipped 
 schoolboy, and, in front of the inn and the houses 
 of the village J went through the manual operations 
 with as much patience and decorum as I could. 
 
 After this evolution I was not long in hasten- 
 ing my departure ; and, re-mounting my excellent 
 Virginian pony, I wended my way back to Staun- 
 ton, as much astonished with Mr. Benjamin 
 Bryans' barbarism as I had been surprised and 
 delighted with the Weyer's Cave. In justice, 
 however, to the Republic, I must say, that the con- 
 
i( 
 
 f. 
 
 Ai 
 
 468 AN HONOURABLE ;tALVO FOR THE REPUBLIC. 
 
 duct above alluded to is quite an exception to the 
 general rule — a piece of savage life isolated from 
 the rest of mankind, and standing apart by itself 
 — since I have never hitherto experienced any 
 thing but attention and kindness. At the same 
 time it may be observed, that Virginia is a slave- 
 holding state ; and I can easily imagine the evil 
 influence of this circumstance both on mind and 
 manners. I am also informed, that I shall per- 
 ceive a general and radical change for the worse 
 in the character of the people, as contrasted with 
 those of the north, the farther I proceed to the 
 southward. 
 
 My paper is now exhausted, though not, I 
 fear, before your patience. I shall therefore con- 
 clude, according to that law of necessity, (fortu- 
 nately for yourself) which, as in the case of the 
 despotic publican of Virginia, admits of no alter- 
 native. For the present, then, je vous fais mes 
 adieux ! 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 J. HOYES, CjkSTLE STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE.