^ o>^^>,%^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) / O V 5? fe O V \\ % V ^V" '^-\ o s^ n. % 1? <> % n7 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographicaily unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D D n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag6e Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en co Jleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppi^mentaires; L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exempiaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exempiaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. D D D D D D D D D D Coloured pages Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag^es Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul6es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Quality indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du matdriel suppldmentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de fagon A obtanir la meilleure image possible. This Item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y lax 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X I ails du idifier une lage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Unive sity of British Columbia Library The images appearing here are the best quality possible cc-isidering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaira filmi fut reproduit grAce d la gAn6ro3it6 de: University of British Columbia Library Les images suivantes ont 6x6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettet6 de I'exemplaire filmd. et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. Ail other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on ttie last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —^- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimis sont filmds en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la derniAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fiim^s en commenpant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole —^ signifie "A SUIVRE ', le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiim^s A des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est film6 6 partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche 6 droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. rata elure, 6 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 THE LIBRARY THH UNIVERSITY OF BRIIISH COLUMBIA //fe> iyO^ /"'^ /^^ <^-<-'> f-X.^-yx,.^'^ \> f MY DIAllY MY DIARY; WRITTEN DCRING A TOUR THROUGH CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, I if 'I IN THE AUTUMN 01 1882, ^\'' !'l BY JOHN CAMM HOLMES, ./ <■ Vv*tutc^ fi>f Vvlwrtic Civntirtiiott mtltj, BY UNWIN BROTHERS, CHILWORTH AND LONDON. MDCCCLXXXIII. i-'ij I UNWIN BROTHEUS, THE OnESHAU PRESS, CUILWORTH AND LONDON. DIAEY. ! Aurjust 16, 1882. Wednesday, At one o'clock this afternoon I started from Bingwood for the station, with my mother, Maggie, and Bertha. They went to Victoria, coming on later to Euston, while I went to Holhorn direct. Previous to leaving home a small scene occurred with "Gyp," who, thinking he was going for a drive, hopped into the cab, and was only ejected after an application of the stick. About 3.30, after I had lunched at the refreshment -room, my father and mother and sisters, and afterwards Mr. and Mrs Abbott, with Ethel and Charley, arrived. Imme- diately notes were handed to me, and I received my commission as paymaster-general; Charley was made baggage-master. Our luggage consisted of six large Saratoga and four state-room trunks, besides several rug-rolls and dressing-bags. Altogether the excess came to £2, and this only among five people. Our train was timed to start at four, so, at five minutes before that hour, we got into our carriage, 2 ! H 2 DIARY. a comfortable and well-arranged saloon, with two divisions and a lavatory. And now commenced the final farewells from the Holmes family, which were only terminated by the guard's whistle and the train moving off. My mother and father and sisters and myself waved our handkerchiefs as if life dejDended on them, and until we could sec each other no more. After a very pleasant journey we reached Liveii^ool at nine, and immediately proceeded to Eberle's Royal Hotel. Here an oyster and grouse supper awaited us, and I believe wo did it justice. Mr. Eberle came in while we were discussing it, and gave Mr. Abbott the news of the place. Previous to roosting, Charley and I played a game of billiards. We had a room together. August 17. Thursday. After breakfast Charley and I took a stroll down the town and docks, and made several final purchases of fruit, Sec. At the end of the landing-stage we saw a cattle vessel unloading. The poor brutes had to walk up a slippery gangway from the lower to the upper deck, and then round several right-angle corners to a still more slippery gangway for the shore. At about at least a dozen points between the hold and the top of the landing-stage were stationed men with sticks, ever ready to give the poor helpless brutes a good LIVEIirOOL. 8 I! blow. On the lliiuks of the aniniftls were a cross and crown, about which, however, I could learn nothing. They might have belonged to the government, and on their way to become beef for the troops in Egypt. Wo went as far as the large flour and wheat ware- houses, and then walked along the street facing the docks, where every other house is a '* pub," and thence by Water Street, to the hotel. At one o'clock we all had lunch, and half an hour afterwards took cabs, with the luggage behind in a cart, for the landing- stage. Hero we found the tender with a crowd of people round her — emigrants and their friends, and various people seeing each other off. At two we cast off from the stage, and wore fairly cut off from the shore. The Sarniatiaii of the Allan Line for Quebec, the boat we intended to cross in, was anchored fully a couple of miles off, opposite New Brighton. The docks and the shipping were a splendid sight as we steamed down to her. On approaching she looked an enormous vessel, and strong enough to face any storm. She has three masts and one funnel painted red with a black top. Her length is about 400 feet, and her breadth about 40 feet ; she draws twenty -six feet of water. Numerous emigrants watched our arrival from the decks. On stepping aboard we saw them pass the doctor's examination. He looked at each in the face, and some of the babies' clothes were taken off to show him their I i M'li '■ M I '.'1 ' DIARY. chests. Tbcy tit mbor in all six hundred. There appear to bo whole families goinf]j out as well as siiif^lo men find women. They are from all nations. We observed a good number of Germans and Scandi- navians. Some English and Irish whom wo noticed on the tender were very downcast on leaving the old country, the women utterly breaking down. Among our first day's experiences was an inspection of this huge vessel's machinery. The first engineer took us over. Wo descended among innumerable eTumboish cranks and shafts, and then lower still, underneath these, to the bottom of the vessel into the shaft tunnel. This is one hundred and fifty feet long, and where daylight never comes ; it leads from the engine-room to the screw, and contains the shaft, three feet in circumference. At four o'clock the last tender arrived, and in it my brother-in-law, George Rooth, and Mr. Edmunds with his boy. Half an hour later the last bell was rung, and all strangers departed. My state-room, where I have to sleep for the next ten days, is near the saloon. There are two berths in it. My companion, whom I found out about five o'clock, is a one-armed gentleman from Montreal. As he was unable to climb into the upper one, he exchanged with me for my ^ ./er berth, and so I obtained the one I wished f(,r. After dinner at six everybody went on deck, and "it 7.30 we com- menced to steam ahead. Gradually the land became T S.fl. SARMATIAN. 5 fainter and fainter, till wo lost it in the darkncsa which had heen slowly coniiii<^ on. As wo could not get over the har till ten, wo wont i»iit slowly, and at times almost stopped. After crossing, a liirpo four-masted and three - fnnnellod steamer inward honnd passed us. She looked very fine, all her port- holes alight. !Mrs. Al)l)ott and Ethel have the cap- tain's cahin, a fine large, airy deck-house, while Mr. Ahhott and Charley have the chief officer's, which is similar only smaller. m August 18. Friday. This morning Charley and I managed to slope into the hath-room while a large crowd were waiting out- side, and to have a good sea-water ducking. We breakfasted at 8.30, and had plenty of eatables to choose from. Altogether the feeding is very good. The vessel was passing between the Irish coast, somewhere north of Belfast and Wigtownshire, Scot- land. As both shores were some ten to fifteen miles distant, one could only see that they were pretty high and hilly. On looking at the Irish side through my glasses I could see numerous little white houses dotted about on the sides of the hills. There were very few on the Scotch. At eleven we lost sight of the Scottish coast until we came to the Mull of Cantvre and Torr Point : we then rounded the north- ■ i ■-; 6 DIARY. east corner of Ireland with its lighthouse and steered along the northern coast, gradually losing sight of Scotland altogether. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, the sun shone brilliantly, and the sea breeze tempered the heat. Before entering Lough Foyle, we passed the Giant's Causeway about three miles off, and could just see the enormous pillar-looking things through our glasses. They appeared about two hundred feet high. After lunch we entered the Lough and steamed on past hilly shores numer- ously studded with whitewashed cottages. Oppo- site 'die small town of Moville we laid to at about 3.30 and waited for the mails from Londonderry. A tender with some more passengers, and a shore boat with the pilot, came alongside. Into the latter Mr. Abbott, Charley, and myself, and a dozen others descended down a long rope ladder, and were rowed ashore. Here we hired an Irish jaunting car, with a real Jarvey to drive us. Directly we got on he started off at a gallop through the desolate- looldng main street of dirty white houses. We had to sit tight and hold on like grim death. He went on at this pace for five miles, as if racing the cars behind, to an old dilapidated ivy-grown castle by the shore, which we had previously passed in the steamer. It was shown to us by the custodian, a dirty old woman, whom Ave christened Mrs. Donovan. She gave us a long account of its history, which *Ji MOVILLE. 1 resulted in our going away with the Iniowledge "that there was a king, and his name was O'Neil, and he had Hved there." Previous to our departure I looked into this lady's cabin, and saw the " Rint Payer" in undisputed possession of the best place before the smouldering kitchen fire, while several fowls were strutting about the apartment. It was curious to see the mounds of peat beside each cottage and the barefooted women about them. "We took a piece of peat and some shamrock on board to Mrs. Abbott. When the time came for paying our Jarvey I gave him 3s., but he was most indignant and threw it on the ground, and made a deuce of a row. As I had no intention of being murdered by a band of Land Leaguers or wild Irish, I gave him 2s. more, and presently had the satisfaction of hearing that he had got at least twice as much as his proper fare. They say these fellows are never satisfied. Our friend the priest told us a good story about an Irish cabdriver at Brighton where the fare is 2s. Gd. an hour. After his riverence had got out and asked the fare, the cabby said, " Wheell, Father, if it was for yesilf I'd axe ye nothing, but as it's me master's cab I'll axe yer honour for 3s. 6cZ." When we got on board, the mail tender had ar- rived, and George Rooth and friends to whom I had previously bid farewell were alongside in the other tender. At five o'clock we again started, and by * ii jf fi- H ! I ii i m 8 DIARY. dinner-time were well out to sea. At this meal our ranks gradually commenced to thin, and hurried ascents were made to the deck. The saloon is a very fine apartment. It is the full hreadth of the ship, and has two long tahles. It would probably be better if it were amidships and not astern, as there one feels the full force of the screw and the pitching or rolling of the vessel. We now began to observe that there are some people on board who do nothing else but walk up and down, up and down the decks all day. Chief among them are two very ladylike ladies' men, so nice. One is eminently a Pretty Man, so we have christened him accordingly ; but the other is not so fair to look upon ; he walks, or rather slides, with one shoulder above the other, and is called Ally Sloper. They have cut all we other young men out; and they almost absolutely monopolize the eligible ladies who are not ill. After eight we lost the land, and were finally cut off from the shore and were pitching oix the long Atlantic rollers. Avgiist 19. Saturday. This morning I had a bath, but felt more or less queer after my first night on the ocean. At breakfast there were but a very few people. I myself had to depart early. Mrs. Abbott and Ethel did not appear MAL DE MER. 9 -3 I all day, while we gentlemen sat about and slept, and were little fitted for aught else. As it was simply im- possible without an utter disregard to one's feelings to proceed below, we got that " awfully jolly fellow " — which, it may be explained, is Charley's name for one of the stewards — to bring us our meals to Mr. Abbott's deck-house. Towards evening the wind freshened up, and to a landsman the sea was rolling moun- tains high, and even the wheel-man observed that it was a ** bit fresh." Going below from the fresh air on deck to my stuffy state-room, where all the ports were closed, most quickly sealed my fate. With the greatest difficulty I rolled into bed. r i August 20. Sunday, When I got out of my berth I felt very queer, and with the greatest difficulty crawled up on deck to the smoke-room. I breakfasted on biscuits and brandy and water with one or two other unfortunates, and lay down for the whole morning on the cushions. The weather was very rough ; we pitched tremen- dously, and shipped a good many seas. Once when I was sitting upon a stool at the door, and feeling a little better, a huge wave came on board, and completely drenched me. Before we knew where we were we were all sitting in three feet of water, and more ' »i i pj^nw 10 DIARY. ;.fi miserable than ever. We couldn't laugh. Mr. Abbott, when crossini^ the deck, was ducked twice, and did not appear the whole day afterwards. As for the rest of the Abbott family they wisely kept to their beds and were not seen at all. In the afternoon I felt better, and had a bottle of stout. It considerably revived me ; so much so that I was able with some others to take soup, beef, and potatoes for dinner at six o'clock in the smoke- room. We were a most miserable dinner-party ; only three of us could sit up ; but we had great fun in fielding glasses and plates as they floated gracefully across the table at every pitch of the vessel. Among the party were two Sandhurst men who had been spun at their exams and were going out to learn farm- ing in Ontario ; an old Rugby and Oxford man, about to see what he could do in the estate agency liii«^ in Canada ; and a young lieutenant going out to join his battery at Halifax, The accounts we received from below were appalling ; nearly everybody we asked for was ill in bed, and only seven people dined in the saloon out of 145. This was too much of a good thing; so with my land agency friend, whom we had christened John Bull, I determined to spend the night in the smoke-room. We wrapped ourselves up well in ulsters and rugs, and soon after 11.30, when Sam, the deck steward, put the lights out, fell fast asleep. Ill LIFE ON BOARD. 11 i August 21. Momlai/. This morning was comparatively calm, so, after stuffing my handkerchief well over my nasal organ, I ventured into the saloon. The odours between this compartment and the companion way are not too pleasant, and this was why I took care of my nose. I believe the strange and mysterious smells which come from a ship's pantry, and the close atmosphere of a state-room, have quite as much to do with sea- sickness as the pitching and rolling of the vessel. After breakfast we had numerous reappearances among the ladies, and the Pretty Man and Ally Sloper trudged them all up and down the deck. One lady is a most persistent walker. She goes it at all hours of the day as if her life depended on it. We have the military element on board, a colonel in the Engineers, with his wife and two little girls. He has an appointment at the Military Academy at Kingston, Canada. I i; hi: ;!!■ August 22. Tuesday, After breakfast some lively ones started a pool in the smoking-room. So many numbers are taken and drawn for, and then sold at public auction. The pool is given to the owner of the number, which corresponds with the number of the miles i • i I V ! «■ :i!f 12 DIARY. !ii III! IM l! done by the ship at midday. Of course likely numbers fetch a good price, sometimes forty shil- lings, and there is generally six or seven pounds left in the pool, when the half for the Liverpool Seaman's Orphanage has been deducted. On board we have the adjutant and one or two members of the Canadian Wimbledon team. They are very jolly fellows, and some remember my tent at Wimbledon from the lilies. In the evening some of my Sunday smoking-room acquaintances and myself had a supper of sardines on toast and bottled beer in the saloon. Wo played cards, and had rather an uproarious time of it. Pretty Man was heard to say, *'Ugh ! what low fellows ! they eat supper and drink bottled beer — the brutes." I am afraid we shall never get on with the ladies now. August 23. Wednesday. Before breakfast I had the hose played on me by the boatswain. It was rather cold at firsu, but it has sent all feelings of sea-sickness away. The lady-killers have been hard at it to-day, but their efforts are not now so deadly. In fact, they are beginning to be discarded by some of the fair ones. This is owing to the reappearance of my sea-sick smoking-room friends. In the evening we again played cards and had supper, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. ICEBERGS AND WHALES. 18 it. August 24. Thursday, To-day we are in the ice-track, and have been fortunate enough to see several icebergs and schools of whales. Two of the bergs were very fine, and we passed within half a mile of them. They were huge snow- topped masses, and their enormous pinnacles looked very much like some tremendous human teeth. At the base the waves broke in spray against them. Their colour at the top was pure white, a little lower down blue, and beneath that bottle green. I remember there was one which had a peculiarly shaped piece of ice on the summit ; every one looked at this through glasses for a while, and some said it was the Polar Bear. The whales only betrayed their presence by blow- ing off; that is, spouting into the air columns of water which look like steam. Occasionally one would show half its huge black carcase out of the water and quickly disappear again. At about three o'clock this afternoon we sighted land, and everybody ran to the ship's side to look at it. At first via all said it was a long black cloud, but gradually it became clearer, and we were told we were nearing Belleisle. Some little time after this land was sighted on the port bow ; this was Cape Bauld, on the northern coast of Newfoundland. On passing 1 !'•■■( 14 DIARY. thron<,'li the Straits of Belleisle, where there is a lighthouse on the island, hoth shores looked rugged and bare, the Newfoundland coast appearing flat. In the evening we lost sight of them, and entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence. August 25. Friday. ! I 1 u J ! After lunch to-day we sighted the island of Anti- costi. Wg did not approach close enough to see any- thing but bare cliffs. It is ninety miles long, and was not lost till the evening. After dinner some of us got up an impromptu concert. Mrs. Abbott sang and Ethel played, and others favoured the company. I sung John Peel and the Massacre of the MacPhersons, but only on condition that the rest of my compa- triots should join in the chorus. And so they did, so much so, that the audience applauded and com- pelled us to deliver w'ith perfect artistic taste, Chafoosezlum and a glee of the Three Blind Mice. We were only twelve, but I think we convinced the audience that our lungs were quite healthy. Some of us understood what house singing meant, which, by the way, I have heard disparagingly compared to a chorus by drunken navvies on a Saturday night. THE ST. LAWRENCE. a Au[iust 20. Sdturddy. This morning we found ourselves in the lliver St. Lawrence. The vessel was close in to the southern shore, but we could not see much of the northern, the river being from twenty to thirty miles wide. All day we have been steering up this magnificent river. The pretty little villages along the shore, all with their miniature church, are chiefly French. Behind them are high ranges of forest-clad hills. At eleven we were met off llimouski by an odd- looking steam tender, with half of its machinery on deck. The mails were speedily put on board, and some of our friends went by her also. We were rather sorry to lose them. One feels after a week on the ocean that you have known people all your life. Near us were H.M.S. Northiimherland and Phoenix. In the afternoon we passed Rivere de Loup, a Canadian watering-place, and the entrance to the river Saguenay. After dinner we had another concert, but this time a strictly proper one. Its object v as a collection for the Liverpool Seamen's Orphanar e. Pretty Man and the military section said they were not musical, and attempted to cut the collection. They were caught, however, by Mr. Abbott and the doctor. They were tittering and jeering among the few who were ill- 16 DIARY. mannered enough to stay on deck and stare through the skylight at our good-natured attempts to amuse. We finished the evening with a supper, and I don't know how many bottles of champagne. Anyhow, it was the last night and we meant to enjoy ourselves. m II I August 27. Sunday. I awoke at six and found that the steamer was going along slowly close in shore. By the time I was on deck, we were alongside the wharf at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, and close to the Grand Trunk terminus. The view of Quebec and the scenery around was most surpassingly beautiful ; the citadel looked very much like Ehrenbreitstein on the Rhine, and the surrounding hills almost the counterpart of those which are seen on approaching the Tyrol from Munich. Everything, however, was on a larger scale, and quite dwarfed European scenery. After breakfast we went ashore. Previously to this, the conductor of .^he superintendent's official car, which had been awaiting our arrival, came on board with all sorts of^etters for Mr. Abbott. It was soon arranged that we should go on to Montreal by the 10.30 train. On going ashore we were most assiduously attended to by *' Gideon," our car conductor, and the baggage master. Our numerous pieces of luggage were not the Hi!! ! QUEBEC. 17 on the least trouble to us, and the custom-house officials were most polite. The waggons which took our lug- gage from the quay to the car were curious-looking affairs, like wine merchants' barrel carts in our country, only larger. They had a shoot arrange- ment like a contractor's cart, and when they had brought the " pieces " to the required place, the whole lot were shot out in the most unceremonious way. At nine o'clock we took two carriages, which were also rather odd — very high off the wheels, and very light and springy, and with plenty of silver ornaments ; they had seats for four. We were attended by the local Grand Trunk passengers' agent, and were immediately driven to the ferry for Quebec, which conveyed carriages and all across the river. We first inspected a huge river steamer, two stories high. There were 113 berths, a general saloon thirty feet high, splendidly appointed, and the usual domestic offices. It was a floating palace. Proceeding up a very steep hill, through the old town, with its wooden houses, we reached the ram- parts. The view from here is only surpassed by that from the promenade in front of Duflferin Terrace, and from immediately below the citadel. The river, some two to four miles wide, extends for about fifteen miles towards the Falls of Montmorency, and forms a most beautiful lake. Ships of the largest tonnage were anchored here and there, and many 8 I ; 1' I ll I !| ( r ; i I m 18 DURY. i' sailing boats flitted over its placid bosom. Immo- diately opposite, on the other side, was Point Levi, where we landed, while on our left some miles distant, with the hills immediately behind, were tho suburbs of Beaufort and St. Roch. Tho rock on which we were standing is some 200 feet or more high. It is a veritable Gibraltar, and appears almost impregnable. Driving out to the Plains of Abraham, we passed several handsome villas, and noticed the footwalks along the road all made of timber, which is the cheapest material hero for paving. Near the handsome stone-built prison we came to the column erected to Wolfe and the British troops w'^o fell on taking the city in 1759. It is a handsome monument, and is on the very spot where Wolfe fell. The view of the field from here gives one r very fair idea of the difficulties our troops had to over- come. There is also an obelisk on the terrace to the French general, Montcalm, and Wolfe. Re- turning to the landing stage through the town, we were again ferried across, and reached our car attached to the train about eleven o'clock. On tho whole, Quebec gives one the idea that the inhabi- tants are wilfully letting the place go to ruin, so little care is taken of the streets, public buildings, .and ramparts, and other interesting antiquities which connect it with the Old World. The train which had been awaiting our return OUR CAR. 19 consisted of four baggftgo cars, two Pullmans, two ordinary cars, and our most luxuriant " olficial car." When all were " aboard," as the conductor bawled out, the odd-looking engine, with its great smoke stack, lantern, cow-catcher, and bell, com- menced to haul us along. Our car had two large saloons, one at each end, with couches, chairs, and writing tables. In the centre, leading off a suiall passage which connected them, were two luxuriantly appointed bedrooms, with four-post bedsteads, wash- ing stands, and toilet tables ; a lavatory, and a small kitchen, with all the fittings to cook for a dozen people. One of the saloons was used as a smoking-room, and the other as a sitting-room. There were windows all round, and we were able to see the country well. At either end was a platform. Gideon was most attentive, and told us all about everything, the line, towns, and scenery. He has been twelve years on the car. There is water on board for eight days. We walked through the whole train, and found several of our friends from the Sarmatlan. The Pullmans are the same as in England, but larger ; the ordinary cars are diflerent from anything we have at home. They are sixty feet long, with a gangway down the centre, and have rows of seats for two each, ranged down the sides. They are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class of the country, and everybody has to ride in them, unless they pay 811 1 .1' ■:'i 20 DIARY. I]' 51 i ! ■ I extra to go into the Pullmans. All the cars had attendants on them ; the two Pullmans had one white conductor, and two black porters, one to eacL car. They were good-humoured fellows, continually grinning and showing their teeth and the whites of their eyes. They had a neat blue unifoi-m with white peaked forage caps. The train went along the river for some distance, and when '^. e left it there was nothing but wood on each side. One noticed more than anything the straightness of the line, which is only single. The rails are nailed on to the sleepers or ties, as they are called, and n chairs of any description are used. Also the signals, and points or switches, which instead of being sharp, as in England, are quite blunt. At Eichmond, surrounded by park- like scenery, the train halted for twenty minutes to enable us to lunch. There was any amount of pushing about and scrambling for the eatables, especially on the part of a Scotch gentleman ; but as we had telegraphed ahead, we were tolerably comfortable. Starting off again, the scenery on pass- ing the Richelieu River was very beautiful. Here, fifteen years ago, a train went into the river, the bridge was therefore approached and crossed with care. At 6.15 we reached the junction in front of the Victoria Tubular Bridge, and were in sight of Mon- treal. Here a pig train with thirty two-storied cars MONTREAL. 21 passed us from the west for Boston. The griinters were mostly black, and there were many hundreds of them. They had been three days travelling, and are disembarked once a day for food and water. The Victoria Tubular Bridge is considered one of the most marvellous engineering wonders of the world. It is perfectly straight, and two miles long. When the train is in the middle it is impossible to see either end. We were eight minutes going through. It has twenty-three piers, and is 22 feet high, and 16 feet wide. It cost $6,300,000, and was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1860. At the station Mr. Fowler, of New York, met Mr, Abbott. We were soon driven off to the Windsor Hotel, where, after a good bath and dinner, we were only too glad to get to bed. t ■ Windsor Hotel, Montreal, Atigiist 28. Monday. This hotel is on a most extensive scale. They can put up five hundred guests. On entering there is a large hall with white and black marble paving. At the farther end are tobacco and cigar stalls, flanked by railway ticket, telephone, and the general hotel offices. Leading off are the lavatories, hairdresser's shop, and bar. The dining-hall, a magnificent apart- ■HHiai 22 DIARY. i'il m h I illi ment, is on the first floor, and the drawing-rooms are round about it. At breakfast this morning we noticed Mr. Oonway, the London actor, and our old friend Ally Sloper. There is a Scientific Congress now in session here, containing some of the ugliest- looking male and female "missing links" one would wish to see. They all wear red ribbons, and discuss the origin of the humble bee. This morning Mr. Abbott, Charley, Mr. Fowler, and myself were driven down to the Grand Trunk general offices, a handsome red-brick building near the river. After an interview with Mr. Wainwright, the assistant general manager, who is a very polite and efficient cicerone to Mr. Abbott, and is generally "putting him through " all Granc? Trunk matters, we started for the works, at- tended by the locomotive superintendent. We were taken through the engine-shops, where they turn out an engine a week ; the lamp, model- ling, and motion shops, as w^ell as the car-shop, where we noticed several cars in a slightly knocked-about condition. One huge driving-wheel had rope bands instead of leather ; they are supposed to be more economicu-l. The workmen— and they number over 1000 — are well looked after. We visited their dining-hall, which contains a small stage and a library. Here all the dully papers are kept, and the monthly journals taken in. The librarian showed us his album, with photographs of distinguished I f i| !i ! THE GRAND TRUNK RAILROAD WORKS. 23 visitors. Mr. Abbott is going to send his. On the whole the works give one the appearance of a small arsenal. Everybody is busy, and the place is clean and well kept. They cover an immense space of ground, but perhaps this is no criterion where ground is not particularly dear. In the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Abbott were invited to a garden party at Mr. Sargent's, the traflBc manager. Mr. Abbott, Ethel, Charley, and myself went about four, in top hats, &c., Mrs. Abbott not feeling well. The house was a stone one, approached by a drive through two or three acres of ground. There were a number of people there, and a band on the terrace overlooking the town. There were only two pretty-looking girls present, and one only was striking. Some of them dressed well, but nothing like one would have seen at a similar occa- sion in England. Most of the men wore top hats and black coats. One ** scientist" appeared in evening dress, and looked accordingly. I am only writing here what I saw, and do not for one moment find fault with our Canadian kindred for not, as some do on our side of the water, making dress and parade the chief object of life. However, I think our party took the shine out of the lot. " We had *em all on," and our togs were not so old-fashioned as some of our neighbours. At dinner, which was better served than last night, we had a look at the people. Pretty faces are ( i!: ill' \i \ . !■ ) !' i1 24 DIARY. remarkable only by their absence, and figures there are none. We had some Indian corn, which is very sweet, potatoes stewed in cream, and some mush , but no other novelties, except, in fact, the way in which the whole dinner was served. So far, we have sat down to a perfectly bare table at every meal. Slowly the waiter, who is a citizen and a voter, brings some knives, forks, and napkins, and doesn't particularly hurry himself. The dishes are brought as ordered, the plan of the dinner being a table cVJiote, with a menu. Iced water is taken at every meal , and is found everywhere. It was in our car yesterday, the Grand Trunk offices this morning, in all the rooms at the hotel, and it is hard to find a place without it. Ice is very cheap, seven dollars only being paid for twenty pounds to be delivered each morning from April to November. After dinner Charley and I strolled down to the St. Lawrence Hall — another large hotel, further in the city. Here we found some of our supper party from the Sarmatian just off to Toronto. After a final libation with them we returned to the hotel and bed. August 29. Tuesday. We did nothing particular this morning save pack our trunks and stroll about. This city is named from the hill or small wood-covered mountain which lies LACHINE RAriDS. ^-f* ^l) behind it. This was called Mont Royal by the French, and the city is situated on some undulating ground between it and the river. It is laid out in blocks, the peculiarity of the streets being that they are nearly all planted with shade-trees, and give tbe place a very pleasing appearance. The houses are mostly substan- tially built of stone ; and there are some fine public buildings and places, notably the English Cathedral, the Court House, the City Hall, and Victoria Square, with a statue of the Queen. Some of the streets are fine and handsome, and the whole city gives one the idea that it was built on a well-con- sidered and carefully carried out plan. It has not, however, tbe smartness and neatness of an European city, especially as to roads. At 4.30 we started for Lachine, where we boarded a steamer for the rapids. Opposite was the Indian village of Ottawawa, where, however, there are very few, if any, pure redskins. After steaming a mile or so we came in sight of the rapids, which, in the distance, look like long blue lines between the two islands in the centre of the river. As we ap- proached the water became more turbulent, and swirled and eddied in great circles round the boat. Great care is taken on board the steamers, men being stationed with an extra tiller in case the steam gear fails. The channel directly between tbe two islands is the most dangerous part of the rapids. Here the W] \ ■ \] ' !: i : ■ 1 ! i ■ 1 ili 1 '1 K II " ( ^1 * * 1 ■ 26 DIARY. river is lashed into foam, and we seemed to literally shave past rocks, around which, on looking back from the steamer, the river appears to descend in steps. We were all supposed to be wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement, and though fully aware of the danger of shooting these rapids, thoroughly enjoyed the sensation. On our way down the river we passed under the Victoria Bridge, and a few minutes later were hurrying to the Windsor for dinner. After this meal Charley and I had to perform a little business, he looking after the baggage while I paid the bill. At the station an American gentleman, a doctor of New York, and his wife, who was very good-looking, saw us off; Dr. Morrell M'Kenzio, of London, accompanied us some distance in the car. We walked through the Pullmans and saw all the arrangements for sleeping, and people going to bed in them in the most ordinary way in the world. A little after ten the train started, and for an hour or so we sat up talking. Our sleeping arrangements were as follows : Mr. and Mrs. Abbott in one bedroom, and Ethel in the other; Mr. Fowler, Charley, and myself being distributed on the couches in the saloons. Just before going to roost I lost my straw hat— or rather had it lost for me — with the artistic- ally fashioned black bow attached. nm THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 27 Augv^t 30. Wednesday. At 2 a.m. I was just conscious of the fact that wo were being shunted on to a siding at Proscott junction, after being detached from the train which was going on to Toronto and Chicago. At seven o'clock, when I finally rolled off my couch, it was a beautiful morn- ing, and the party were soon astir. Our siding was close to the station platform alongside a goods wharf. It was a novel experience to walk out of one's bedroom in the morning on to a railway track, among cars and all sorts of freight. Our breakfast in the car was another novelty. We had corn ed beef, ca nned chicken , bread, butter, tea, and apples ; all prepared and laid out by Gideon, who certainly provides us with every comfort, and appears to think further ahead than most people. It would have been a sight for any one at home to have seen, and remembered. We left the car to be forwarded on to Kingston, while we walked down to the river to go on by water. Prescott is a fairish-size town, with nothing par- ticular except its grass- grown roads. At the wharf we had to wait for the steamer, and in the interval Charlev and I had a swim in the river. The water was splendidly clear and cool, and we thoroughly enjoyed our bath. The boat was called the Algerian, and after the usual fashion of river boats here, was two-storied, painted white, very clean inside, and ;, 1 28 DIARY. Ilu bad a liuge saloon running her whole length. The river St. Lawrence between Prescott and Ogdensberg — the first town in the States we have seen — is two miles wide, and we are 1200 miles from its mouth. One can hardly appreciate the immensity of dis- tances here ; for instance, the province of Quebec only, is as large as the whole of the British islands put together, and Canada proper as large as the whole continent of Europe. It is thought nothing to travel two or three days to a place, and towns a day's run from each other are considered quite near. After passing Brockville, we entered the Lake of the Thousand Islands. The latter are of all shapes and sizes ; some are high, some low, others a mile or more in length, others a mere rock jutting out of the water. It is perhaps this diversity that gives the charm to this most beautiful lake. While some are dreary, barren rocks, there are others clothed with the most luxuriant foliage, with the trees and grasses growing down to the water's edge. Groups of them were clustered together with miniature coves and bays, and little white cottages, with here and there a cow cooling herself in the stream. Numbers had tents on them, and it is the custom to camp out in the summer, and go in for boating and fishing. There are in all 1900, and they extend for more than ten miles. At Alexandria Bay, the fashionable head- quarters on the lake, there are some large hotels, and FARM LANDS. 29 near are islands with villas built on a more costly scale, among them being Mr. Pullman's, of Palace Car fame. Our boat reached Kingston at 4.30. It is a fortified place with a military college. After a two- mile drive, we again reached the car. Ou starting there was a steep curve, up which an extra engine had to push behind ; this once surmounted, we went along at a fair rate. A dining-car was attached to our train, with little tables to seat four on each side. On board there was a kitchen, with three cooks, five waiters, one scullery man, and a superintendent. We took dinner, or *' supper," as the menu called it, at seven o'clock, and were well served and very well pleased. From Kingston to Toronto we passed through farm lands. Land can be bought there from £5 to d£40 per acre, all cleared and with farm buildings erected on them. "When the old colonists or pioneers have completed the period of settlement necessary to obtain absolute possession of their lands, they take the first opportunity of making a good price for them, and move westward to lands recently opened up, which they obtain at almost nominal sums. The country was undulating, with numerous streams, woods, and small lakes. We were told it was most fertile, and the soil, unexhausted, produces enormous crops without manure. For a sum of money often exceeded in England by the mere annual rent, a tenant i M 1 '< f p 80 DIARY. farmer could become the absolute owner of a farm in Ontario, and for ever free himself from the vagaries of tenure and its attendant evils. This too is in the more thickly settled portions of the Dominion, where most of the necessaries of life and education are cheap, where the climate is healthy, and where the people are all of English extrac- tion. As rooms had been telegraphed for at the Queen's Hotel, we had no difficulty, and got to bed very tired at one o'clock in the morning. Queen's Hotels Toronto, August 31. Thursday. This is a very comfortable hotel ; more so than the Windsor, Montreal, but not so large. The service is excellent, and quite a treat after the latter house. The waiters are all blacks, and very goodnatured- looking fellows. They are dressed in black coats and white waistcoats, and are very smart. On entering the dining-room one of them always meets you, and, with a most polite bow and smile, immediately re- lieves you of your hat and stick. Mr. Fowler left us after breakfast to meet his wife at Niagara. He has been our guide, comforter, and friend since we landed, and if we were not going to meet him again to-morrow his loss would be irreparable. TORONTO. 81 Toronto is situated on tlic north- west corner of Luke Ontario ; we came along its shores last night in the moonlight. This lake, it may be mentioned, is one of the great chain of fresh-water lakes which drain this enormous continent. It is 140 miles long by 60 wide, so there is no seeing across it. The city stretches along the shore for three or four miles, and two miles inland. It is laid out in blocks, with well- built houses, but has the same fault that we ob- served in Montreal — a want of smartness, and a general appearance of neglect. King Street and Yonge Street, both with trams down the centre, are the best. Some of the shops are good, but, except in the way of Lacrosse bats and fur caps, I did not see any novelty. In the afternoon we took the ferry over to Hanlan's Island. At this place there is a large restaurant, with bowling alleys and shooting galleries, the whole place having a Margate-and-Ramsgate-Hall- by-the-sea flavour about it. There were numbers of children paddling with their nurses, and others sit- ting about on the dirty grey-coloured sand ; but the interest attached to the place is that it is Edward Hanlan's home, the famous oarsman, who is now champion sculler of the world. His name is hero spelt with an a, and not as in England with an o in the final syllable. Just before we were leaving he came to the front of the hotel — of which, by the way, he is the proprietor — and we were introduced to him »i ;i I » T 32 DIARY. by the gentleman who was with us. This looked like a case of "a celebrity at home," but our interview of some five minutes' duration took place outside in the verandah. He said he liked our "little Kiver Thames," as there were so many walks about Putney, such as Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park, useful for training, and the river was generally smooth for rowing. Our " little river," however, contrasts favourably with his native lake, which is frequently too rough to row on, and is frozen over for m nths together in the year. The walks on his island, too, are not very extensive. He took us to his prize stand, where there are some dozens of trophies dis- played from all quarters of the globe ; among them the champion cup, won on the Tyne in 1880. He is a strong, thickset man, rather good-looking, and very much like his photograph. Before dinner Charley and J. took a tram to the Queen's Park. It is pretty, but, like everything else, wants some neatness and more care to make it perfect. The best building there is the University of Toronto, a large Gothic building of grey stone. The statue of Britannia, to the memory of thj Canadians who fell in repelling the Fenian invasion of 1866, is also very effective : around it is a peculiar railing, with piled arms and swords at intervals. Near to the hotel was a travelling: Zoo, which Charley and I visited after dinner. It was a poor show, but the fun of the fair was o tribe of 'Ui. NIAGARA. 83 pseudo-Indians. These gentlemen probably belonged to any other nation than the noble redskin from the prairie, painted and bedecked with feathers as they were. They contrived, however, to send some fifty people into fits of laughter by a series of howls and jumps, which were supposed to represent a war-dance and a pow-wow. As we had to pack again we went to bed early, having previously applied an internal lotion of sherry cobbler. September 1. Friday » We arrived at Niagara this morning at 1.15 from Toronto, via Hamilton. The scenery around the latter place is very homelike and picturesque. At the station we visited an ice-house, where some 20,000 tons of ice are annually stored. It was then about half full, so we were able to go inside the empty portion. The interior was like a barn, and divided into four parts. The ice is simply stowed away there in the winter, the top of it being covered with straw. At the station to meet us were Mr. and Mra. Fowler ; the whole party immediately drove off to the Clifton house, on the Canadian side. On our way, the River Niagara was 150 feet below us, in a huge channel hewn by itself in the solid rock, on our left : we could just see the dark green water over the pre- cipice. After passing a toll-house, we saw, some 4 Wfj^ 84 DIARY. V -I distance ahead, the spray clouds, which rise from the foot of each Fall. They looked like steam. When we vrere opposite the Clifton we had a full view of both of these stupendous wonders of the world, and were anything but disappointed, as some said we should be, with our first view of the Falls. The Falls of Niagara, on the river of the same name, are twenty-two miles from Lake Erie, and fourteen from Ontario. Over them the drainage of half this enormous continent, from Lakes Erie, Michigan, and Superior, has to pass on its way to the sea, through Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence. Just before the river takes its leap over the Falls it is divided by Goat Island, and makes almost a right-angled bend. On either side of this island the river rushes and tumbles, descending fifty-tv/o feet in one mile through the Rapids, which continue until the final plunge is made. From the hotel the A.merican Fall is directly opposite, being 1,100 feet wide and 158 feet deep. Further up on the other side of Goat Island, and to the right, is Ihe large Ca'iadian, or Horse- shoe Fall ; this is over 2,000 feet wide, and descends 156 feet. Of course your impression is thai the whole thing is most magnificently grand, and that it defies descrip- tion. A few facts, however, may be interesting. Sir ! il. NIAGARA. 35 Charles Lyell estimates that the ravine through which the river flows after leaping the Falls took 30,000 years to be excavated. It has been calculatGcl that 100,000,000 tons of water pass over the Falls every hour. Some years ago a condemned vessel was sent over the Horse- shoe Fall, and though she drew twenty feet of water she did not even touch the rocks as she went over the edge. Before dinner, which is ready here at 2.30, we strolled along to the Prospect House, and Tom there viewed the Falls. It is impossible, of course, to see where the Falls strike the water below, the spray rising in thick clouds half-way up the precipice, with a thinne:.' veil many feet above. Before leaving the Prospect we were shown the Princess Louise's rooms ; they were very comfortable and neat ; she was expected on the morrow. We passed the Museum and numerous photo and knick-knack shops, and were pestered at every step to purchase *' this cheap view," or " those pretty moccasins," till we again set foot in the hotel. In the afternoon we drove to the Whirlpool Rapids, and descended to the river's edge in the elevator. The Niagara, after leaping the Falls, plunges down a narrow gorge, which some two miles below reaches its narrowest point ; here the under-current makes itself felt, and coming to the surface forms these famous Kapids. The river bounds along at a furious rate, roaring and throwing up waves and billows, like J - 'i ii t ■■ 1 i ( ( 1 i. }' ' ' ■ ■ W7 36 DIARY. some mighty ocean lashed into fury by a storm. The noise is terrific. Passing over the Railway Suspension Bridge, with the railroad track above, we drove alor-^ the American side to Prospect Park. H- . .-, ..ter descending the elevator, Charley and I changed everything we had on for a pair of rough flannel pants, vest, mackintosh cap, and felt shoes ; and escorted, or rather led, by a guide, started to pass behind the wave of the American Fall. Immediately we left the dressing-room we found ourselves on the rocks beside the Fall, almost blinded by the spray, and hardly able to look up at it : we were drenched through and through in no time, but the water beinp warm we felt no inconvenience from this. Wg ascended a ladder on to a huge rock, and beheld the wonderful rainbow reflected on the spray. It was a beautiful little miniature, and a perfect circle. Led by our guide along some planks at the side of the rock, with a frail wooden rail to hold on by, and blinded with a whirlwind of spray, and almost boj; :> down with the weight of water driven against u,\ we at length found ourselves beneath a ledge of rock with the Fall thundering down immediately in front. The noise was awful, and the eddies below boiled and washed up at our feet. It is only here that one could appreciate the magnitude of the volume of water rolling over the precipice above, NIAGARA. ay and it is a sight well worth travelliDg across the world to see. The tnrilling sensation experienced on this trip is one never to he effaced from the memory. On returning to our dressing-room we were photo- graphed, there and then as we stood. While we were viewing the leap of the water over the ledge from the Park, an acrobat was performing on some trapezes and a tight rope suspended from the New Suspension Bridge ; we watched him for some time until he dived down a rope head first, 200 feet long, into the river below, where he swam about until picked up by a boat. It was a plucky feat, and he was well applauded by numbers of people who were watching him. We now continued our drive across the river to Goat Island, where we walked over the bridge to the Terrapin Rocks, on the edge of the Canadian Fall, and there stood immediately over the brink of the abyss into which the river falls. The river rushes past you, and your eye is only able to follow it to where it meets the great spray cloud, which rises from below. The roar of the water, and the situ- ation, makes this one of the most impressive places from which to view the Falls. Proceeding round the island, we saw 'the river where it stretches across some two miles wide, before it reaches the rapids. It looks quite peaceful, and gives one no suspicion of the fury into which it is ■ 1 « i ' v: ■p 38 DIARY. lashed a little way below. Returning over the New Siispension Bridge we at length reached the hotel a." ^' most wonderful drive. For a party of five the cust was $27, or £5 8s. At every point one is tolled, besides having to suffer the importunities of the fancy shopkeepers and the irrepressible photo- graphers. As I write, the steady roar, not a harsh grating one, but a mellow continuous sound of the marching onward of many waters, strikes the ear. It can be heard for many — they say twenty — miles, and so soft that an ordinary conversation can be carried on without raising the pitch of one's voice when quite close to the Falls. Scptemher 2. Saturday. After breakfast we took a last view at the Falls and drove to the station. In an hour we arrived at Buffalo, crossing on our way the magnificent sus- pension bridge over the Niagara river. The view from this, extending on the one side over the Whirlpool Rapids, and on the other to the Falls, was most sublime ; but one shuddered to think what would have happened had the frail-looking bridge snapped, and one had been precipitated 245 feet into the river below. Buffalo is a large American city at the end of Lake Erie, and is the entrepot of all the grain traffic from the west. From what we saw, it did not look very inviting, but some of its suburbs are very LUNCH ON THE CAR. 89 fine I hear. We had to cross the Niagara again, and this time over the International hridge — a huge structure, on the open girder tubular sort of system. It is about 2,000 feet long, and cost $1,500,000. It belongs to the Grand Trunk Railway. Our lunch to-day, which Gideon prepared, was a most sump- tuous affair — chicken, tongue, pressed ham, and bottled Bass. We all enjoy these feeds in the car ; and as we are now seven, or rather more, in our eating capacity, it must be no slight task for Gideon to keep his stores up to what is practically an unlimited call. The scenery we passed through was chiefly agricultural and woody, with very few hills, and here and there a river. We passed Paris, a pretty Norwegian-looking town, and Stratford, which had a more substantial English appearance. At 7.30 our train drew up at Point Edward. We were immediately shown to our rooms above the depot. They are very comfortable, and belong to the Grand Trunk Railway, being usually occupied by the olhcials when round on an inspection. Mr. Hickson, who is very pleasant indeed, received us in the dining-room, where we all had a " real nice" dinner, with several I officials of the line. Point Edward is on the St. Clair River at the point where it leaves Lake Huron for Lake Erie ; Fort Gratiot on the American side is opposite. There is nothing but the depot, the town of Sarnia being ^f<^''7 40 DIARY. two miles lower down the river. Some of the accessories to the meals here, and everywhere we have been, strike us as very homelike. They are the large quantities of European drinks and condi- ments consumed with them. Bass's ale, Guiuness'a stout, ApoUinaris water, and Crosse and Black well's pickles are articles of every day consumption, and seem to be well appreciated. This certainly speaks well for the enterprising agents of these firms, and it is a wonder that Allsopps' ale and Huntley and Palme^^'s biscuits are not seen too. Although the heat to-day has been about 90° in the shade, and in the sun somewhere near 100°, we did not find it too oppressive, the thermometer since landing never having been much below 80°, except at night, when it registers about 60°. ii! September 3. Sunday. This morning after breakfast Mr. Abbott, Charley, and myself, with Mr. Hickson and Mr. Spicer to show us the way, strolled along the railway wharves to the grain elevator and the steam ferry. The elevator is a huge wooden building of great capacity. Outside, fronting the river, is a huge beam called the leg. This contains inside it small buckets on an endless chain, and is dipped into the car or vessel required to be unloaded. The buckets bring the grain np to the proper elevation, where there are POINT EDWARD. 41 funnels to shoot it into other cars, or to distribute it over the floors of the elevator. Further on we found the steam ferry. This is a huge flat-bottomed screw propeller. She has four lines of rails on board, and carries across the river twenty-one cars at a time loaded with passengers or freight. On our return to the depot we went on board the steam tug Beatrice for a run down the river. We passed between Sarnia on the Canadian side and Port Huron on the American. They are both thriving ports, but have no other particular attraction. Below Sarnia is an Indian reservation, stretching for some miles along the bank of the river. ^Ye steamed close inshore, and saw several real live redskins. They were all dressed in European costume. The only novelty we saw was a woman who carried a papoose on her back. The suite of apartments we occupy belong to the officials of the line. They consist of half a dozen bedrooms and a very fair-sized dining-room. Along the river front there is a verandah, where the whole party adjourn after meals. Our number is one dozen all told, consisting of Mr. Hickson, general manager of the line ; Mr. Spicer, superintendent ; Mr. Yates, chief engineer ; Mr. Wallace, locomotive superinten- dent ; Mr. Taylor, and another official ; and our party of seven. We are a very merry family, though a great deal of "shop" is talked about the line, all the oflicials 'I w ^' ] ■ im 42 DIARY. being thoroughly Grand Trunk. After dinner we walked over to the church to escort the ladies, who had loft us iramediatelv the meal was over, home again. The church is very small, and is presided over by a coloured clergyman. He is, however, a good preacher, well educated, and speaks like an ordinary Englishman. September 4. Monday. This morning some of us had a swim ofTthe wharf ; it was rather dirty, and we had to be careful of the currents. After breakfast, Gideon obtained a row boat, with a man who knew the deadly currents, at least almost deadly to any proposals we made for going on the river, and at eleven o'clock we launched on what everybody considered a most perilous voyage. The stream was very strong, and it took us at least forty minutes to row half a mile ; at one point it runs over ten miles an hour. "We went as far as the lake, which we reached by beaching the boat and walking across a spit of land. Here there is a cattle quarantine for animals sent into Canada from the States. They are kept in very comfortable quarters for ninety days, and are generally very valuable animals. The man who was in charge came from Newcastle, and turned on his iall conversational powers when he knew that we came from the old POINT EDWARD. 43 couutrv. In the afternoon we indulj^etl in some lishing, with a primitive rod and line, off the wharf. We were at first unhicky, but at length we succeeded in catching eight fish, four apiece. They were pickerel and perch, and very fair size. The rest of the party visited Port Huron and Sarnia, which they said were totally uninteresting, though they are considered quite large cities here. After dinner everybody retired, all trunks having to be ready by 10 p.m., as we start for Chicago early to-morrow morning. Our rest is rather broken here by mosquitos and the incessant clang of locomotive bells. The latter are as large as small English Church bells, but more melodious. They are placed just behind the smoke stack, and whenever an engine enters or leaves a station they are set going. As our room overlooks the depot, and most of the freight traffic is worked through here at night, we are rung up more often than we would wish. The mosquitos add to the trouble by their continually whirring round our heads all night, and an occasional bite here and there. To-night I am going to try some Keating's powder, and hope it will have a salutary effect. i; li' i ' • i-,i t September 5. Tuesdaij. At 8 a.m. we left Point Edward for Chicago, where we arrived at 8 p.m., and put up at the Grand Pacific 44 DIARY. Hotel. On our way the country in some parts was quite English. Near here we came into the prairie, and conld see for miles around us. The superinten- dent of this portion of the line accompanied us from Point Edward, and after dinner at Battlecreek his wife joined the party. The supper this evening has been the best square meal we have taken so far. ill! Septemher G. Wednesday. This morning Charley and I had to breakfast alone, the rest of the party were rather early and had already breakfasted when we came down. At 11.30 we all moved out to the Board of Trade building, and went over the Corn Exchange. We ascended in a huge elevator to the first floor, and were imme- diately launched into a large hall, containing some hundreds of men who were all bawling at the top of their voices, and creating a perfect Babel. Our ad- vent with two ladies and our further progress through the hall caused some sensation, and we were well stared at. In the centre was the wheat ring, a large circle of three or four stairs, around and on which more noise than ever arose, while at either end were two smaller rings for other grain. The telegraph office stood in a corner at the further end of the hall, and was besieged ; and around the room were posted PULLMAN CITY. 45 telegrams from other m.irkets, and also the state of the weather in different corn-growing countries. I re- member that Liverpool was ** very heavy," and tnat England was " fine after rain." From the Boaixl of Trade wo walked to the Grand Trunk office, still stared t by a large crowd ; who, as the Princess Louise was stay'ng at the Palmer House, must have thought that we were in some way connected with that august lady. At two o'clock we started off to the depot, escorted by Mr. Pullman's agent, d,na there we met Mr. Pullman himself. He is a tall gentleman with grey hair and an American Vandyke beard. According to the usual hospitality of the country, Mr. Pull- man's private car was awaiting our arrival, and Mr. Pullman was to take us to his city, some ten miles distant. This car is a most splendid affair, combining elegance with comfort and ease. En- tering it at one end, we found ourselves in a small smoking-room, with leather couches and armchairs. From this we proceeded along a passage, off which were a ladies' boudoir and bedroom, in satin wood and red velvet ; beyond these we came to the main saloon. The chairs had their dust-proof holland covers on, so we did not see what was the pervading colour ; but the wood-work was magnificent, not only of the furni- ture, but of the sides and roof of the car, all kinds of rare woods being inlaid in different shapes and pat- ym II 46 DIARY. terns. Besides a iliiiing-taUe there was a writing table and a harmonium. The wonders of the car did not cease here, for behind the saloon were a kitchen, scullery, and lavatory, the whole of the domestic economy being attended to by a. coloured man. Mr. Pullman enumerated to us a list of distinguished guests who had used the car, ' ong them being the Princess Louise, the D of Manchester, Mr. Walter of the Times, and a host of others. On arriving at Pullman we first visited the brickyard, where the bricks are made out of the clay dredged from Lake Calumet, hard by, and which is thus to be made a large port for grain and cattle via Lake Michigan. After this we went through the shops where the world-famed Pullman cars are now constructed, and saw how everything about them is made, from the cushion-springs to the lamps and the painting and varnishing without. All the machinery in this small arsenal is driven by one large engine, the largest I have seen, and perhaps of its kind in the world. Its horse power is 2,500, and the circum- ference of the wheel ninety feet. On leaving the shops we walked through the city, which is neatlv laid out in boulevards, with shade trees. The houses are substantially built of red brick. There is an arcade with retail shops on each side, and a theatre all under the same roof. The latter is not quite finished, but it promises to be a most charming CHICAC.O. 47 little house; one of Mr. Pullman's nmxims being that workpeople must be amused. There is also a market, a church, and an hotel ; they are built on the same substantial plan, and form the headquarters of this model city. There are various societies — choral, shooting, and others — among the inhabitants, and no alcoholic drink of any sort is allowed to be sold. Mr. Pullman himself originated the idea of building this city for the workmen, and the Pullman Company under his management still continue to carry it out. Two years ago not a shovel had been turned on the marshy ground it then was ; now there is a well-built city with seven thousand inhabitants, and the company still have some hundreds of acres to deal with. Returning to Chicago in time for dinner, Charley and I afterwards strolled to a theatre, and saw some very poor acting. September 7. Thursday. Among the many strange sights that strike the eye of a stranger in this city are the num berless telegraph poles along the streets; the myriads 'of wires overhead; and the tramcars moving stealthily along without the aid of horses. They are worked on an endless wire rope beneath the street. In some of the streets we passed through on our way to the depot, every other shop was a Chinese laundry, with pig-tailed Celestials ironing and starching in the ■a ! 5 i, ■k i 1 ^ „ „ii^ 48 THE UNION STOCK YARDS. ■windows. Curious advertisements were conspicuous everywhere, and along the curb were ranged huge piles of melons, generally presided over by a stout old negress. When we arrived at the depot to take our car and special engine for the cattle-yards, Charley and I jumped up on the engine and rode the two miles on it. The Union stock yards, which we soon reached, are simply colossal. Speaking broadly, they are one mile square, with miles and miles of streets and alleys, underground drainage and pens, and their capacity is 147,000 head of cattle. Everything has a bustling and business-like air: drovers on horses, with huge Mexican saddles, shouting and yelling at herds of cattle, and innumerable railroad cars loading and un- loading everywhere. By the side of the yards are the huge packing -houses, whose capacity for killing, curing, and tinning cattle is enormous, their united capacity being some 80,000 a day. The one we went through belonged to the Armour Packing Company. It consisted of three or four large blocks connected by flying bridges and passages. At the time we entered some 2,000 oxen and 3,500 porkers were being handled. The oxen are shot by a revolver or Winchester repeating rifle. A chain is passed round their horns as they fall, and they are immediately hauled into the main building. Here they are met by the butchers. One immediately THE UNION STOCK YARDS. 49 T cuts the throat, another pins the animal up to the ceiling, and within ten minutes from be'ng shot, the process of skinning, disembowelling, and quartering has been performed, and the beef is passing along on a frame overhead to the drying-room. On the lloor above the hogs were being handled. Mr. Porker is first driven into a large pen at the end of the room, after which he soon finds himself in a small one, all alone. Here a chain is attached to his leg, and to this chain a hook is fastened, let down on another chain from a wheel in a sliding frame overhead. With a sudden pull Mr. Porker is jerked into the air, where, while squealing and kicking, the ** sticker" steps forward, cuts his throat, and sends him on to the cleaning vat. Passing through this — a tank of boiling water twenty feet long — with some dozens of his luckless kind with Lim, he is put on to a shelf where a hook on an endless chain is stuck through his nose. By this means he is hauled through a scraper of endless steel blades in twenty seconds, and, having gone in black with a bristling hide, arrives at the other end white and perfectly shaved. After this, in hardly no time at all, he is beheaded, dis- embowelled, and quartered, and passed on to the packers. All the blood, bone, and offal is either converted into manure or melted for glue. The "sticker," whom I have previously mentioned, is m 1^ ;.: 60 DIARY. a curiosity in his way ; he is the son of a Presbyterian minister in New York, and earns $5 per day, which, as he sometimes sticks 3000 pigs at a sitting, is not much. His clothinj^ consisted of a sleeveless vest, with knickerbockei-s and boots, without any stockings. He presented a most hideous sight, covered with blood, and standing ankle deep in it, within the well below. Yet they say that when he washes and dresses for the evening he looks a perfect gentleman. On the whole, a tour through a packing-house is an interesting though not an engaging sight, and we were thankful when we again reached the open air that the ladies had not accompanied us. The proprietors of the yards, in order to show the numer- ous drovers and graziers who frequent their premises what can be done with a little care, buy promising steers and other cattle when young and fatten them up on the premises. They are kept in a large com- fortable stable. There were Shorthorns, Hereford White Faces, Kansas Broadhorns, and other breeds, all looking in the best health. In the afternoon we took a drive in two carriages to the Grand Boulevard and Park and round the city. The houses in the residential parts are elegant stone- built mansions, notably the residences of Mr. Pull- man and Mr. Armour. The park is well laid out but flat, some of the flower devices being very pretty and ingenious. A noticeable feature on returning I f THE FIRE STATIONS. n to the city was the great number of ladies sitting in front of the houses in the cool of the evening. As Captain Shaw of the London Fire Brigade is staying here, the firemen and their superintendents are trying to see what they can show him. Mrs. Abbott and Ethel had been promised a visit to some of the fire stations. Accordingly at about nine we all set out, Captain Shaw and Mr. Tennant having obtained the Fire Marshal of the city as guide. We first visited a station of the Salvage Corps, which is supported by the insui.aice offices. Everything was fitted up on the most elaborate scale, the bed, in the sleeping-room on the first floor IooIn ng like an hotel ; but the arrangements for turning men, horses, and salvage carts out were mo^' complete. In the first place, ropes are attached to oach man's bed-clothes, which on an alarm of fire being given, pull them all off. At the same time a trap-posite the -ity, on the Virginian side, arc Arlington Heights, where is situated Arling- ton li (Use. Here lived the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee, and around the house are buried thousands of the men who fell in the Piebellion. About fifteen miles down is Mount Vernon, the home and tomb of Washington. In the hall is Lhe key of the Bastilo given to him by Laf ' vette . j/Vc?M/i$ The house is now being put as far as possible . ^^^fh/hJL^ original condition, as it was at the time of the llevolu- tion, each State being called' upon to furnish one rooi u As it rained hard ali this morning, we had t > take a carriage — rather a formidable undertaking here — at $2J per hour. We cannot however complaiii, as this is the first time since landing that the weather has at all inconvenienced us. A^ ^%. ^ n'V* IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ I.) I \ 1.0 I.I !f lltt IIIM '» iiiM im jjy 11111== :?: ^^^ 12,0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► Wa e /} o <5. 'e:. c O /A 7 M Photographic Sciences Corporation V # ^ \ \ 6^ o ^^> 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 14580 (716) 872-4503 > T ^' ^^^"'^^l<'. 'C?. w 88 DIARY. m The United States Treasury, the first 1 ildiiig we visited this morning, is 583 feet long, by 300 feet wide. It is an enormous building of freestone and granite, and contains 195 rooms. In the " Secret Division " we saw photographs of hundreds of criminals, including Jesse James and Guiteau, forged bonds and cheques, and other articles connected with the criminal world. In the basement were numberless j'ouug women, counting old notes ;:nd new paper for circulation, and checking them. These are all checked again by officials on the first floor, and if there is any difierence the young ladies have to make it good. Some of them are the best detectors of forged notes in the world. In a huge safe in the cashier's department we saw all the bonds which are the securities of the national banks in the different States. The cash-room is the most beautiful room in the Treasury, the display of foreign marbles being very fine. From here we drove to the Department of the Interior, which is nearly all occupied by the Patent Office. It is built of white marble, and the architec- ture is Doric. Four halls on the second floor stretch over the whole building. Here are placed many of the relics of Washington, and thousands of models of patents. They are ranged in glass cases, and among them we observed Edison's method of making incan- descent lamps, and Hotchkiss's magazine gun. NEWPORT. 89 • In the afternoon we started from the Central Depot for New York. It was in the waiting-room here that Guiteau shot President Garfield. A metal star inlaid in the floor, and a memorial tablet on the wall, commemorate this most dastardly act. Septemhcr 23. Satunhiy. In the morning we started for Newport, Rhode Island, where we arrived at eight o'clock. We passed through the State of Connecticut, the only towns of importance being Newhaven and New Lon- don. At the latter place the whole train was ferried across the Thames. Some of the scenery was very pretty, though its beauty was not increased by the rain. There were little bays and inlets of the sea along the coast the whole way. Aqiiidaeck Hotel, Xcwport, Septemher 24. Sunday. This is one of the most fashionable watering-places in America, and it is also one of the oldest towns, having been settled as early as 1G57. In 17C9 its commerce exceeded that of New York, but since the Revolution it has not recovered its commercial im- portance. The town is situated on Marragansett 90 DIARY. Bay, some five miles from the ocean; and the beach, where the bathing establishments are situated, is across a spit of land some distance off. The cottage system largely prevails ; there is only one large hotel. As this and the Casino are closed for the season, the place has not proved so inviting as we expected ; and our impressions will not be so lively as if we had seen it in full swing. The cottages, as they are called, in many cases expanding into stately villas, are generally placed in the centre of extensive grounds, and well shaded by trees. The grand drive is Bellevue and Ocean Avenue, both well-laid Boulevards, and about the best we have seen in America. On each side are the usual shade trees, and in the season, we were told, it is filled with fashionable people and carriages. Bninswiclc Hotel, Boston, Septcmhcr 25. Monday, We arrived in this city at one o'clock. From what we have seen it appears to be the most Euro- pean city we have been in. In the central parts of the city the streets are mostly narrow. They turn about and, as Americans say, they follow the old sheep-walks. Boston is the capital of Massachusetts, the chief BOSTON. 91 city of New England, and is situated on the extremity of Massachusetts Bay. The old city, or Boston proper, occupies a peninsula, and around it on the mainland and the other side of the Charles River are the suburbs of Boxburg, Dorchester, Charlestown, and Brighton. On our way this afternoon to the State House we passed through the Public Gardens and the Common; they are both laid out as one large park, and contain the Frog Pond, and statues of Washington and other American celebrities. There is also the Soldiers' Monument, 90 feet high, to those who fell in the late war. The State House is a fine old building surmounted by a gilded dome. In front are statues of Webster and Mann. In the Doric Hall are a collection of battle flags, a statue of Washington, and a facsimile of the burying-place of the ancestors of the Washington family at Althorp, Northampton- shire, England. From here we went through some irregular and crowded streets to Fanuil Hall, the cradle of Liberty. The ground floor is occupied by shops ; the old wooden hall being on the first floor. Here it was that the famous tea-party of December IG, 1773, was organized, when the tea was thrown overboard into the harbour from the English ships. Around are portraits of Adams, Everett, Lincoln, and Washington. i If ll^ 92 DIARY. if:. :: Jl- m On the floor above are the headquarters of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company of Mas- sachusetts. This Company is a worthy branch of the famous parent stem, the Honourable Artillery Company of London, England, of which I am a member. The quartermaster, to whom I intro- duced myself, received us with the greatest enthusiasm, and shov/ed us over the hall and armoury. There were numberless portraits of past commanders, and numerous mementos of the London Corps. Photo- gi'aphs of the Prince of Wales, and our headquarters, together with various uniforms, adorned the walls. In different glass cases were old ball programmes, invitation cards, and Captain Raikes' book from the headquarters in London. On leaving I signed my name in the book. The quartermaster was profuse in his invitations for us to visit the place again, but as time presses that will hardly be possible. I took away as mementos of my visit four copies of their last year's report. On leaving the old hall we went through the retail market to the placo where the frozen meat from •Chicago is received. There were a dozen refrigerator cars being unloaded. The meat, which was being examined, takes ten days coming from Chicago, but will keep a month in the cars. It is either got rid of in Boston or shipped to England. The beef and mutton looked splendid. Ml BOSTON. oa In the evening we saw ** The Parvenu " at the Boston Museum, a fine house and the play well acted. September ^(\. Tuei^daif. One of the peculiarities of this city is the thousands of trjimcars which hourly peramhulate the streets. There are rails laid in nearly every street of impor- tance, and, as a conductor expressed it this morning, they are simply loaded with iron. After breakfast we took one of these numerous cars, and passing thi'ough the city across the Charles River to Charlcstown, dis- embarked at tliG base of the celebrated Bunker's Hill. It is now crowned by an obelisk, 200 feet high, on the site of the old redoubt at Breed's Hill, and com- memorates the battlo of June 17, 1775. This battle was won by the British at an immense cost of life,^ though we were finally driven out of Boston. It is a strange fact that the monument bears no record of the event which it commemorates. It is surrounded by statues of the American commanders who fell on that day, and no stone is raised to the memory of those British officers who, if misunderstanding what was then considered the sacred cause of Liberty, at least fought with unequalled bravery for their King and their Country. The eflect produced on one of these fallen officers" ifi 94 DIARY. countrymen, even at this date, might have been dif- ferent if the victors had only received equal honour with the vanquished. Perhaps, however, as this was the first event in the struggle which ultimately re- sulted in the independence of the United States of America, the monument is not put up to commemo- rate the mere fortunes of war, but to celebrate the birth of Liberty. In the afternoon we took a drive through some of the most interesting streets in the city. Commonwealth Avenue is some 200 feet wide, and lined with substantial residences, with trees and grass down the centre. Beacon Street contains the houses of some of the oldest New England families, the State House, and the handsome Somerset Club. Devonshire Street, in the heart of the city, is the typical business street, with the otfices of numerous bankers and brokers. On our way we passed the old State House, a quaint l)uilding, with the lion and unicorn still over the large doorway. It was once the executive depart- ment of the British Governors. Boston is well supplied with public schools, fine- art museums, a music conservatory, and numerous hospitals. These are all handsome and costly build- ings, and a great many are the gifts of beneficent Bostouians to their city. HARVARD. 95 Septemhcr 27. Wednesday, Carabrklge, a small town "within a few miles of Boston, is celebrated as the seat of the oldest Uni- Tersity in America. Here is Harvard College, and after lunch this afternoon we set out to see it. The college buildings are situated in about ten acres of well-wooded grounds, and number some twenty in all. The college library is contained in a building in the form of a Latin cross, and called the Oore Hall. There are science, law, and other schools, and lecture-rooms in abundance ; but the most interest- ing buildings to visitors are the Memorial Hall and the Gymnasium. The former is the most imposing building in the college precincts; its tower, nearly 100 feet high, can be seen for miles. The architecture is supposed to be media3val, and the materials used are red brick and carved stone. Its length is 305 feet and width 113. The hall was erected to commemorate the members of Harvard who fell in the late civil war. Within the entrance-hall their names are engraved on marble tablets placed around the walls. The Hall proper is beyond, and is surrounded by portraits and busts ; it is used as a dining-hall, and as the theatre for college recitals and entertainments. The Hemen- "way Gymnasium, so called from the donor, Augustus -^ i lii If Tff 96 DIARY. 4l Hemenway, cost $100,000. It contains every imagin- able gymnastic requisite, and is the most complete in America; any of the students can use it, and it is well appreciated. The dressing and bath rooms are elaborately constructed, and beneath the main floor are well-appointed bowling alleys and fencing and boxing rooms. Near here is Mr. Longfellow's residence, built in the last century. It is a large house, painted yellow^ with white ornamental columns. The poet's study find library are on the ground floor to the right* During the siege of Boston both these rooms were occupied by General Washington, and Longfellow has written some lines on that event. A mile or so from Cambridge is Mount Auburn, the beautiful cemetery of Boston. The place is so called from its principal eminence. Around are numerous smaller ones, with paths winding up their sides from the miniature valleys. In these are generally fountains or small lakes, which greatly relieve the monotony of the tombs. The latter are seen everywhere, and in many cases are very fine. They thickly cover the sides of the hilla and the more level portions of the cemetery. Some of them are huge vaults, which stretch far back be- hind their magnificent marble entrances. Occasionally one would come across a piece of ground some twenty or thirty feet square. This would only have a slight MOUNT AUDURN. 07 marl)le border, and within several headstones, with just a date and the simple words "Father," "Mother," " Brother," ** Little Sister," and the like, engraved upon them. Among the many handsome graves that we saw were those of Binney, Adams, Webster, Bige- low, and Miss Charlotte Cushman, the actress. The cemetery is laid out in winding avenues and paths, which bear such names as Oak, Fir, Elm, or Cypress Avenue, and Mistletoe, Violet, Heath, Lily, or Linden Path. The last famous man who was buried here, and whose name will always be handed down to posterity, ■was Longfellow. His tomb is on the Indian Ridge Path, as yet only marked by the official number, 680, and the flowers daily placed there. It is almost in the centre of this city of the dead, and in the shade of the trees on Mount Auburn. A monument is to be placed over the grave worthy of the memory of the great poet who lies there. Over the tombs of the soldiers who fell in the late civil war fluttered small American flags. They are placed there by the children or relatives of the deceased on some anniversary of that unfortunate strife. No tomb is forgotten, and the flag is placed alike above the general and the private. Returning to Boston by horse-car, Charley and I after dinner went to an industrial exhibition. There were the same sort of things there as at most other ^i^ ^ !i 14(1 'Vi ill: 98 DIARY. industrial exhibitions; but the articles which in- terested us most, and which, after our afternoon's journey, so curiously came in our way, were the hermetically sealed coffins. They are most daintily got up, lined with silks and satins, and cozy-looking quilts and pillows. All of them have a plate-glass top, upon which the heavy wooden lid is placed and screwed down ; this again has a trap-door, through which one may look at the face of the departed. They are made air-tight by a cement placed between the coffin and the glass before the latter is fixed. Their price runs from $100 to any price you like to give. The firm who were exhibiting these wares supplied General Garfield's casket, and I believe are the largest manufacturers of this sort of thing in America. fi p i 1 j , 1 ' k Sejitember 20. Thursday. This morning we left Boston for New York. The country we passed through seemed too much wooded an . too stony for good farming. We telegraphed ahead for our lunch, which was sent on board in baskets at Hartford. Mr. Fowler dined with us at the Windsor ; but as our baggage did not arrive liii past ten we could not dress, and had to go in as wc were. The day has been cold, wet, and miserable. T"!' DALTIMORE. 99 September 29. FiiiUni, Early this moniinfif Mr. Abbott, ChiirJcy, ftiid I left the Windsor for tho terminus of the P^innsylvunia Railroad. Here we took tickets for Baltimore and arrived there at three o'clock. The train consisted of four Pullman cars, and did the distance (188 miles) in five hours ; this is considered very fast. Baltimore, in the business quarters and near the docks, is as dirty as Liverpool or Wapping. Along the streets run streams of dirty water from the neigh- bouring houses. 'J'he smells in the lower quarter of the town are simply horrible. In our drive this afternoon, wo first went to the terminus of the Ohio and Baltimore Railroad, and called on the President. Afterwards we went to their railway dock on the river, and then to an oyster- packing house. Here, in a long wooden shed, were some hundred men, mostly coloured, standing up to their knees in oyster shells. On a table in front of them were huge heaps of unopened oysters, which each tried to diminish as quickly as possible. The oyster, when extracted from the shell, is im- mediately dropped into a gallon pot, which, when full, is taken away by a boy. Each man's gallon is numbered, and as it comes to the cleaning vats a man scores it down. As the labour is piece-work, this is the only way to keep the , f 100 DIARY. ill!: amount of each man's pay. There are two cleanin;:^ vats ; they are simply filled with iced water and the oysters passed through them. After this they are put into tins, or slightly steamed and then tinned. In the former case the tins must be packed in ice to keep the oysters ; hut in the latter they will keep longer and without the aid of ice. They are also packed for home use in buckets ■with ice, and a piece of wood wired over the top. They will keep like this for some days. The same firm also pack peaches in the season, and around us huge heaps of peach-stones and cases upon cases of the tinned fruit gave us a very good idea of the quantity that could be handled in one day. Nothing is wasted. The oyster-shells are burnt in kilns hard by and sold as manure, and the peach-skins are used for peach brandy. From the summit of Federal Hill, so named because its guns first announced the Independence of the Union, we had a splendid view over the city and harbour. Baltimore is situated on the river Patepsco, which, a few miles below the City, runs into the Bay of Chesapeake, and then into the ocean. One or two creeks run right into the city; the chief of them is called the Basin. On all sides were smoking factories, whose heavy, bituminous smoke ladened I ■ ■ f.. OYSTER PACKING. 101 and darkened the air as it does iu the heart of the Black Country. In several places the ground slopes up from the river, and the city is huilt on the sides of these hills. "VVe could see, towering above the rest, the huge column erected by the State of Mary- land to Washington ; the elegant proportions of the city hall; and down near the harbour the huge unsightly elevators. On our way back to the hotel we drove through Charles Street, Vernon Place, and other fashionable streets. They contain the residences of the chief citizens, and were tastefully laid out, and the houses well built. The hotel we are staying at is not by any means the most successful we have tried. It is on the European system (save the mark) ; the food — what little there is — is of an inferior quality and disgracefully cooked. One can now fully understand an American's abhorrence of an European hotel. In the bar there is a great curiosity — an Irish American, a red-hot republican. He loathes a monarchy, and on our mentioning any member of the Royal Family, or comparing American to English politics, his passion approached white heat. Verily we are iu the land of the Philistines. ; w ii»!! \t: "V4 i 102 DIARY. September 80. Saturday. This morning we drove out six miles to call on Mr. Garrett, the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. His place is called Monte Bella, and certainly deserves the name. The park around the house is quite English, the timber old, and the numerous dogs, so scarce in America, give the place a homelike appearance. We were soon in Mr. Garrett's presence, a hale, hearty old gentleman, who welcomed us most cordially. Under his presidency the Baltimore and Ohio has prospered, and now stands in the front rank of American railroads. Mr. Garrett's hobby takes the shape of a stud farm for horses ; and when released from his numerous railway duties, nothing pleases him so much as to be going round and looking after his favourites. They are a si^l-^^idid lot, some hundred and fifty in all. Among them are the descendants of the two famous Arab mares, Esneh and Saida. Mr. Garrett kindly took us round the farm, where we saw stallions and brood mares and shapely yearlings, at the sight of which a racing man's mouth would have watered. They are well housed and cared for, and around the paddocks are generally clumps of trees under which they may seek shelter from the fierce rays of the sun. w f4 A PRESIDENTIAL RECEPTION. 103 After a very pleasant lunch, at which we had the pleasure of Mrs. and Miss Garrett's society, some more colts and dogs were brought up in front of the verandah. The latter surrounds the whole house, and in this country is more generally called the piazza. The view from it, over rising hill and dale towards the Patepsco, is considered one of the finest landscapes in America. Returning to Baltimore we had just time to pay for our lodging at the wretched Mount Vernon and catch the train for Washington. On arriving we again visited the Capitol, which we were now well able to show Mr. Abbott. On our way to the Arlington we walked up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. By great luck we were able to get in. All the rooms were covered up, but our guide, who was one of the President's four ushers, compensated us for their cold appearance by his glowing account of a presidental reception there. From his narrative it appears that any one may attend. For two hours the President standp at the top of the oval Blue room facing the windows, and shakes hands with a long line of people who keep passing him. The only introduction required is done by yourself. You mention your name on enter- ing to the official in attendance, who then presents you to the President. There are no guards, no soldiers, or emblems of State whatever. Two police- m ii I:- 14 iii i[> i i f iH ■ ; 1 Si H- 1 1 1;;, Hi I 104 DIARY. men at the door alone keep the people from entering more than one at a time, and four ushers within in plain dress clothes direct them to the exit, and keep them from mixing with the President's family and the Cabinet circle. Altogether it must be a mourn- ful sight — republican simplicity aping monarchical state. On leaving, our opinion — as I believe a great many Englishmen's — is that, spacious and well- appointed as the house is, it is not imposing enough for the residence of the chief magistrate in this great Republic. The head man in the States should have a residence more in keeping with the vast interests at stake here. And this opinion, emanating as it does from Englishmen who respect American institutions, odd though some of them are to us, should not be lightly thought of by our American cousins. October 1. Sunday. This is one of the best days we have had. The sky as clear as possible, and the sun's rays tempered by a slight breeze. It is a strong contrast from what we picture the 1st of October in England. At twelve o'clock we drove out. We passed the British and other embassies and legations. The building devoted to our diplomatic representative is a large red-brick mansion relieved by white marble dressings. NEW YORK AGAIN. 105 The more one sees Washington the more, I think, one likes the place. The asphalte streets are a great luxury, and the width of the avenues, and the vast distances between the different public buildings, make the place worthy of its position as the Capital. At 4.20 we started by the Congressional express for New York, and arrived at the Windsor Hotel at 11.30. iflf^ From the 2nd to the 12th of October, the last portion of this memorable tour, we stayed at the Windsor Hotel, New York. Here we relinquished our nomadic habits for a while, and were able to take things easy, and to see much of the manners and customs of our American cousins. One afternoon we took the Third Avenue Elevated, and went down to the City Hall and the New Court House. The latter is a large square building, three stories high, and 250 feet long by 150 feet wide. Proceeding to the first floor by the universal ele- vator — which certainly should be adopted in our own new Royal Courts of Justice at home — we went into the Court of Common Pleas and the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Of course one used to the ceremonious forms and I j.p|!l5 i' : t ^^1- i 106 DIARY. quiet dignity of an English court is rather staggered at the apparently utter disregard of both here. On a raised platform and behind a huge box — you could not call it a desk — sat the judge, without either a wig or gown. lie lolled comfortably in his armchair, and was listening to the arguments of the counsel. Immediately in front of the box-thing sat the registrar, or whatever he is called, and a shorthand reporter. The counsel sat at two small tables, one for the plaintiff and another for the defendant, both being placed behind a bar or rail, which ran across the room in front of the registrar's table. A small throng was gathered round each table ; and about the rest of the Court there were numerous cane chairs arranged in no particular order, but left to take care of themselves. The jury were placed to the left of the judge at right angles to him. They were arranged in three rows, and were provided with armchairs — a decided improvement on the English system. Between them and the judge was the witness-box. This proximity of the judge, jury, and witness to one another must be very convenient for counsel, as he is able to see them all in one glance, and not, as in some English courts, be bound to keep continually turning his head from one side of the court to the other to see what effect his examina- tion is producing. There was no division, as far w THE STREETS. 107 as I could see, to separate the leading from the junior counsel ; and it was impossible from the absence of wigs or gowns to know who were counsel, until they stood up to speak. Near the Court House is the old City Hall, built in 1812. On the second floor is the governor's room, which contains the writing-desk on which Wash- ington wrote his first message to Congress, the chair in which he was inaugurated President, and some others belonging to the first Congress. Around the walls are several pictures of American worthies. The front and sides of this building are built of marble, but the back is only brown stone. When the hall was being built, nothing but open fields were behind it, and no one then thought that New York was going to attain its present magnitude. The streets of New York have several character- istics of their own. In the first place, they are very roughly paved, and, except in the finest weather, are always muddy, not to saj" greasy. Telegraph poles are everywhere, and innumerable wires thread across from street to street high above one's head. Then advertisements of all sorts arc thrust before your eye at every point. Banners are hung out on poles or suspended in the middle of the street, and there is never a blank wall that is not occupied by letters six feet long. The New York busses, or stages as they are called, I li 108 DIARY. 'S^?' i'-4i »:■! M have no seats outside. A long leather strap tied to the driver's foot is suspended along the roof and attached to the door. Nobody can enter or leave without puUing his foot, and so attracting his attention. On entering, it is as well to pay at once, as the fares have to be dropped into a box. If the driver does not see yours he stops, and does not go on till you pay. On no account is he allowed to touch the money, but change up to two dollars is given in little paper bags if required. One day, as Charley and I were walking up Broad- way, we saw a salvage cart tearing towards us as fast as the horses could go. We looked down the street, and about three hundred yards off saw smoke thickly issuing from a large warehouse. Of course we made for it, and soon were in the centre of a seething mob, with engines and policemen knocking us out of their way at every moment. By good chance, however, we eluded one of the gigantic bobbies, and took up our position in a tailor's shop-front, next door to the fire. Up to this point smoke was only issuing from the ground floor, and after a hurried consultation among the Fire chiefs they determined to break in the iron and glass cellar-flap, where the seat of the mischief was supposed to be. Four firemen advanced, and with huge axes began mf k FIRE. 109 to batter away at what a few moments ago had been part of the ordinary footway of Broadway. Mean- while more engines, a fire-escape, hose-carts, and a water-tower had arrived on the scene of action. The latter is a large iron pipe carried in joints, which, when put together, is some sixty feet high. At the top are several nozzles, and it is used to play into the upper stories. On this occasion I do not think it was necessary, but everything was made ready for an emergency. The salvage men had not been idle; large cases of shirts and fancy goods lined the pavement, and the men were continually hurrying in and out of the building. At last the cellar-flap was broken in, and half a dozen hoses immediately inserted. As far as I could learn, the place was what is called a "notion," or in England a fancy store. The goods in the cellar smouldered and smoked for hours, and several fire- men were disabled in their attempts to get below. We did not stay more than twenty minutes, but the excitement, I remember, sharpened our appetites for the fried oysters at lunch. There is no city in the world where oyste^i may be had in such quantities and in such varieties as in New York. One evening Mr. Fowler took us out to an oyster dinner at Burn's, in Sixth Avenue. This establish- 1 if 110 DIARY. 1155 ■If y ment is one of the best of its kind, and devoted to oysters and shell-fish only. There were a good many people there, and it is believed that the Burns have made several fortunes over it. We commenced with raw Rockaways on the half- shell, and were gradually " put through," as the Americans say, with fried, roast, and boiled oysters in their shells, and soft crabs. I think the fried oysters were the best ; they are not fried in bread- crumbs, but in crumbled crackers or biscuit powder. The theatres when we were in New York were generally producing English plays. The " Romany Rye," " The Parvenu," "The Rivals," "The Squire," " Mankind," and " Manteaux Noir," were all in full swing. Of the strictly American plays we only saw two, "Young Mrs. Winthorp," at the Madison Square; and " Fresh," with Raymond in it, at the Park. This actor is very clever and funny, and we fully appreciated him, both in Colonel Mulberry Sellers, which we saw at Boston, and in Fresh, the American. If we had not been some time in the countrv we should probably not hav3 understood half what he said. I believe the English audience before whom Raymond acted in London were in this plight, and were unable to understand the allusions. Bl 'h plays have been written to allow the actor full scope for his powers, and their plots are highly improbable. On Sunday, October 8, we went over to Brooklyn T HENRY WARD BEECnER. Ill by way of the Elevated and Fulton Ferry, and made for Mr. Beecher's church. It is a largo building very much like Mr. Spurgeon's tabernacle, but smaller. When we entered it was crowded, and during the service there were some two or three thousand people present. Mr. Beecher is a stoutish, elderly-looking gentleman, with a bald head and a few grey hairs ; he was dressed in black. He sat on a raised plat- form beneath the organ gallery, all alone, and conducted the service by himself. His full name is Henry Ward Beecher. He read the lessons in a low, clear voice, which could be heard in all parts of the building. In the extemporary prayers and sermon he pitches his voice higher, and at times, when excited, shouts at the congregation. During his sermon he stood by his chair, occasion- ally walking to the edge of the platform, or leaning over the rail. The service consisted of hymns, solo and choral, by members of the choir, extemporary prayers by Mr. Beecher, with lessons from the Bible, and the sermon. This lasted forty-five minutes, and was more like a lecture than a sermon. At times the congregation — or rather audience, ibr the whole affair had a theatrical aspect — openly applauded their minister, or noisily murmured their assent. I must confess I rather enjoyed it ; the time seemed II i Mi' 112 DIARY. |Pi :.^ I if. n^, i> moro like fifteen tlmn forty-five minutes, and his opinions of the world were so outspoken and bold. His sermon was based on the theory that there is pleasure in everything — in doing good or evil ; that the greatest sinner after doing some most diabolical act feels his own particular delight in it. This, however, he went on to say, is not the right sort of pleasure, it is not lasting enough, and it is only by doing good in a right spirit that this lasting pleasure or happiness can be obtained. Brooklyn is in reality a suburb of New York, and stands in the same position as Birkenhead does to Liverpool. It is a fine city and has a very large trade. In the afternoon we went to Prospect Park, the prettiest and most English-like park we have seen. The Central Park, New York, is also very pretty and handsomely supplied with monuments and fountains, and well laid out with walks and drives ; but it is not so undulating, nor has it such picturesque little nooks as the Prospect Park, Brooklyn. One afternoon Charley and I chartered two horses and rode to the Central Park. There is a ride for equestrians, but we were disappointed that it did not keep near the carriage-drive as the Row does. We did not meet a single lady riding and only a few gentlemen. The ladies in America, as far as I have CABS. 113 seen, take but very little exorcise, so they are generally sallow and delicate. We have not yet heard of an " all-round" American lady, one who like numerous English ladies, could play lawn tennis, ride, row, swim, or occasionally go in for a little cricket with her brothers. The American gentlemen, however, are but little better ; they do not take any more exercise than possible. All their time is occupied, when not speeding their splendid trotters, in hasting to uollecu the almighty dollar, in order to build a big house on Fifth Avenue, or to satisfy their wife's cravings for a diamond to beat her neighbours. Of course we were slightly " had " for our after- noon's ride, as everybody else is over horse or cab hiring in America. The charges are simply outrageous ; two dollars or more being the smallest sum that you ran ride any distance at all for. One day we saw an empty cab going up Fifth Avenue, and although the driver had to pass the Windsor, he asked a dollar and a half (six. shillings) for two for less than a mile. The cab and jobbing business is a monopoly, and, I am told, chiefly in Irish hands; the prices are kept up in order to retain the Irish vote. Politics are in every- thing, even in the dusty roads, which the lazy work- man will not trouble himself over. He knows too well the party in power are unwilling to lose his 9 '\ i ^ wmmmmA SOI II 114 DURY. %' 1 vote by discliarging him. Tliis is the result of universal suffrage. One great convenience in American hotels is the harber's shop. It is fitted up handsomely with nurrors and shampooing basins, large comfortable chairs and foot- rests, and other necessary articles. The chair resembles a dentist's in its numerous conveniences. In most shops it is the custom for each person to have h;^5 own shaving pot and brush, and one is assigned you if staying any ♦ime at the hotel. In the Windsor shop there were a lot of little pigeon-holes with pots, o)i . 'licli, among others, were Mr. Vanderbilt's and Mr. Jay Gould's names. I will do the American barbers Ihe justice of sayiug that I never once had a rough shave there. The drinking bars in this thirsty country are a great institution. They are generally elaborately got up, in white marble, with a ni'^.kel-plated rail in front to prevent you putting your elbows on the wet counter. Behind, the bar-man — there are no bar- girls — has everything arranged ready at hand. Every sort of drink from a sherry cobbler to jwussr. cafe is manufactured here. The sherry cobblers and claret j)unches were our favourites. Some of the expressions wo hear are very funny. When an American enjoys himself he says, " I guess its real nice," or " Warl, I'm having a big time." If ni^ THE HUDSON. 115 If hungry, your appetite is called a " sawmill," and •should you be in a hurry, the waiter politely informs you that he will *' put you through right quick." You do not go to the train in this country, they call it *' striking the cars," and if punctual, the latter are said to be " on time." On Monday, October 9, we took the steamboat at Twenty-second Street, up the Hudson for West Point. It was a foggy morning, and we were unable for the first ten minutes to see the other side. When it cleared we were passing some French and American war vessels. They were mostly old-fashioned broad- side ships, except one of the Americans, which was •somewhat after the style of H.M.S. (ilatton. On the New York side, beyond the mouth of the Harlem River, are numerous villas. They are placed about on the river-bank, some, Mr. Jay ■Gould's among them, being very fine. On the other side are the Palisades, huge cliffs from 150 feet to 200 feet high, and which extend along the river for twenty miles. Just as the boat enters the Tappan Zee, a part of the river which widens into a lake, it passes Sunny- side, the residence of Washington Irving, and further •on Sleepy Hollow, about which he has written the •story. Beyond Haverstraw Bay we came into the Highlands. Here the river is surrounded on all .sides by high hills, and the scenery is most Bhinelike. n % 116 DIARY. After going clown another beautiful reach of the river, and round St. Anthony's Nose, opposite to Forts CHnton and Montgomory, we approached West Point. Just near here Henry Hudson anchored in 1609, and on the left bank is the house where Arnold's headquarters were, when he heard of Andre's arrest. West Point is a Government Military Academy. It is some 200 feet above the river, and is a very picturesque spot. The view down the river from below the stables recalled the view over Lake Como to Bellagio, from the hills above Menagio. It was not, however, so extensive, or quite so beautiful. There are some three hundred cadets in the Aca- demy, and thej are instructed in the three branches of the service. They are there eight years, and are paid for their duties during that period. We went over the chapel, gymnasium, library, and stables, but were not much impressed. In neither the cadets nor the horses did we see such smart- ness as one would have seen at Woolwich or Sandhurst. In New York the best shops are chiefly on Broad- way, Fourteenth, and Twenty-third Streets, or in Union and Madison Squares. All the articles in the stores in these localities are about double the price one would r \y in Sixth or Third Avenues. At one large jewel and plate store, in Union square, the p-ices are T*- THE HUDSON. 117 exorbitant in the extreme. A razor at $25 and a plain cut scent-bottle at §7 are rare curiosities on our side. New York possesses several good clubs. Mr. Fowler was kind enough to put our names on the visitors' list of the Union League and the Down Town Association, and Mr. Dunning was so good as to put my name down at the Bar Association. This is the legal club of New York, and, like the others, very cosy and comfortable. Indeed, on wet days, when there was nothing to see but waterproofed people and horses with absurdly large mackintoshes, we could not have done without them. There is a Trotting Club, called the Gentlemen's Driving Association. Their track is at the north of New York, across the Harlem river, and near the Croton Aqueduct, or High Bridge. The horses are driven in small light gigs once round the track, which is a mile long. Some of them get round in 2 mins. tSO sees., and a pair did it in 2 mins. 20^ sees. They are sturdy-looking animals, and their action is splendid. There were not many people present, nor did they show much enthusiasm ; but perhaps they have too much of it. There are races every day. During our stay in New York, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler paid us all the attention possible. We dined at their very pretty house in East Sixty-eighth '1 I 118 DIARY. it 1 i i IL Street, and Mr. Fowler frequently drove Mr. Abbott and Ethel in the park in his dogcart. One day, while down town in Wall Street, we went up into the gallery of the Stock Exchange. It is a large building, and includes telephone,, waiting, and reading rooms, besides the large hall, where the business is transacted. This is a large oblong chamber, but is not, I believe, so large as the London one. The shouts and yells were very much the same as one hears at similar institutions. On Wednesda3% the 11th, the night before sailing, we gave a dinner at Delmonicos'. We had a recep- tion-room and dining-room, and there were present Mr. and Mrs. Fowler, Mr. Allen, Mr. Jordan, Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, Ethel, Charley, and myself. The dinner was well cooked and served, and done in good style. Delmonicos do this sort of thing very well. From the time we landed to the time we sailed we experienced nothing but the greatest kindness from our American kindred. It is impossible for an Englishman to feel himself a stranger when among them. They know as well as we do that, though separated by one of the unfortunate accidents of history, we are all descended from the same race, and in that way are drawn together by a mutual and undefinable sympathy. I believe the Americans generally have a great reverence for England and the rest of Europe. Of n THE FUTURE. 119 course there are a few who say our institutions are becoming obsolete, and that some of our customs are too well worn. But the majority respect them, and see that, i^reat as their country undoubtedly is, it has not yet had time to reach that development which has taken us centuries to attain. As somebody has said, there are palaces in the New World, but shrines in the Old. With their vast country and its bound- less resources, with free and liberal ideas, and untrammelled as many an European country was in its birth, by a despotic monarchy or a crafty priest- hood, the New World should sooner attain that point of excellence which more unfortunate circumstances have prevented the Old World from reaching before. The almost unparalleled mixture of races in such vast proportions may produce a race of people unsur- passed for those better qualities which they inherit from their European ancestors, and which alone should be handed down to posterity. At last, Thursday, October 12, came, the day we were to leave our kind friends in New York, and once more face the mighty Atlantic before reaching Old England. We lunched at the Windsor, and then left in one of those huge coaches for the s.s. llciyiihlic, of the White Star Line, in which we bad determined to sail homewards. I may mention here, that the way baggage is treated f 120 DIARY. ; in America is neither clistinguished for carefulness or tenderness. Our trunks on this occasion were allowed to drop oflf the roof of the conveyance and shake themselves down on the pavement as best they could. On deck Mrs. Abbott and Ethel held quite a recep- tion, and huge baskets and bouquets of flowers decorated their cabin. There were Mr. and Mrs. Fowler, Mr. Dunning, junior, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Allan, and others, to see us ofl". About three, after many adieus, good-byes, and write- oftens, the visitors went ashore ; the last mail bag was thrown on board, and the tugs began to haul us out into the river, stern foremost. Our friends, in a crowd of other passengers' friends at the end of the quay, waved their pockethandker- chiefs, but we were only able to see them for a few moments. When these steamers sail everybody's attention is centred on these white squares of linen. "When the Scrvia started, some eight or nine days previous to this, and we were in the handkerchief- waving crowd on shore, two old ladies dressed in deep mourning stood behind me and waved their would-be flags for "Emma." But " Emma" didn't see the signals of her friends, and was looking somewhere else. Great was the agitation of these old ladies. "What shall we do? she doesn't see m s.s. "republic." 121 us. Oh dear!" they ejaculated; until one rather hastily tapped me on the shoulder and said in the most plaintive tones, " Oh, sir, please call Emma." And call, or rather yell, ** Emma " I did, until my efforts were rewarded by that young lady discover- ing her friends' whereabouts, and waving at them vigorously. It was lucky "Emma" found her friends when she did, for after the crowd's and my friends' first look of astonishment at me, they all discovered the joke, and bawled " Emma " to their hearts' content. "Emma" must have been highly surprised at my strange voice, and then the crowd calling on her in this fashion. We soon passed Battery Point and Governors' Island on our way to the Narrows, and left New York behind us. New York and Brooklyn began to look like two islands, with the Brooklyn Bridge joining them, over Governors' Island. "We could just distinguish the spire of Trinity Church and the tower on the Tribune building. When we entered the Narrows, the weather being dull, and a little rain falling, the two cities behind us seemed like huge mounds on the horizon. The Narrows are the straits through which one has to pass on either quitting or entering New York on the mail steamers. They are well fortified, and around are forts Wadsworth, Tompkins, Hamilton, i 122 DIARY. Ht and Lafayette. The straits, as their name implies are narrow, being only 200 or 300 yards wide. Beyond, and eighteen miles from New York, a tongue of land, very flat and sandy, stretches into the sea from the south. This is Sandy Hook, and near it are two bars, passable by vessels of the largest tonnage at all times of the tide. There are light- houses on it, and it is the last land passed before getting into the Atlantic. Towards six o'clock the darkness came on, and Sandy Hook light was all we saw of land. About this time a stowaway was found in hiding on one of the lower decks. He was a thin, miser- able-looking wretch, and it was most unfortunate for him that he was not discovered an hour later. As it vas, a pilot cutter was just nearing us to take our pilot off, so this dirty-looking bundle of rags was handed over the side, -. and sent back to New York about his business. We were told that if he had been found later he would have been sent down to stoke> the furnaces, and thus work his way to Liverpool. The Repuhlic is a very fine vessel and a good sea boat. Her saloon is amidships, and she has an upper or promenade deck for first-class passengers. Her commander, Captain Irving, is an exceedingly pleasant man. The crew are 135 all told. There were some forty saloon passengers, and the same number steerage. ; A GALE. 123 For the first thirty- six hours we had a strong head wind, which greatlj' impeded our progress. But on Saturda}', the 14th, the wind fell, and we had a most beautiful warm day. During that day and Sunday we were in the Gulf Stream, the water sometimes being up to sixty-eight degrees. We passed countless pieces of the gulf weed, and saw several shoals of porpoises. Service was read in the saloon by the purser. On Monday we passed through the ice track, and the water fell twenty to twenty-five degrees. In the evening a stiff breeze with hard squalls set in, and we had to discontinue playing chess. As on our outward voyage, Mrs. Abbott and Ethel now have the captain's cabin on deck, Mr. Abbott and Charley the purser's, and I a whole state-room to myself on the saloon deck. Our eating powers — that is, the gentlemen's — on board is something prodigious. This is the result of the sea air. On Tuesday and Wednesday it blew a gale with hard squalls ; the sea rolled tremendously and the vessel too, and it was impossible to go on deck with- out holding on tight, and being drenched with spray. Sometimes a sea, or ''a little lee water," as the stewards say, would rush over the decks ; tons of it would shoot down the main companion way ; the 124 DIARY. ladies would scream, and everything in the saloon, including the soup you were taking, would land in your lap. We had three sails blown away, and a yard-arm smashed : and one poor sailor was washed overboard. But we were not told of these dangers till we arrived at Liverpool. Mrs. Abbott and Ethel were much alarmed on the Wednesday night at the noise of the storm and the rigging and water tumbling about the decks. W^ith great difficulty they were brought down to the ladies' saloon. I don't think from their own accounts that they will ever try a sea voyage again. The stewardess would not go near them, so frightened was she of being washed overboard. During Thursday and Friday the wind abated, and the sea calmed, but the ship still rolled very much. We were often the victims of misplaced confidence. Sometimes the vessel for a few moments would almost cease from rolling. Everybody thought that the rough weather was over, and glasses and plates were left again to take care of themselves. Suddenly another series of these huge rolls came, everything was upset, and those who neither found themselves sitting in a lake of bottled beer, or Apollinaris and brandy, or with their clothes covered with what- ever they were eating, were lucky people indeed. When we came on deck on Saturday morning we LAND. 125 wore all glad to sec land again. This was the south- west coast of Ireland, and ten to fifteen miles distant on our port side. It looked very rugged and bare in ■ the distance, but nevertheless had a certain soft beauty in the morning air. The sea was quite calm, and the sun out, so, as is. usual at the end of a sea voyage, there were numer- ous reappearances. There were some among them who had stayed in bed the whole time. We were amused to hear some Americans, who were making their first voyage to Europe, talk of what they were going to see, as doubtless Americans are when they hear Europeans. We constantly heard of Holborn Road and Piccadilly Street, and one of them informed the others that the Life Guards, when preceding a royal carriage, cut and thrust with their swords at all who do not get out of the way. At twelve o'clock we were opposite the entrance to Cork harbour and off Queenstown. All we could see of the latter place were the whitewashed houses and the spires of the cathedral across Spike Island. A steam tender met us and took the mails and several passengers ofl:'. She brought us the latest London and Irish newspapers, and a huge batch of letters and telegrams. We continued steaming along the coast for the rest of the dav, and did not strike across for the. m 126 DIARY. Enj,'lish side until we passed the Tasker Rock light ■early in the evening. On Sunday morning I got up at five and had my last sea hath. The vessel had stopped, and it was pitch dark and foggy. I thought perhaps that we were waiting to get over the bar, hut soon found from the men's shouts that w6 were once more in English waters, and, in fact, on the point of being docked. : ' • . It was just light as I went on deck to find Mr, Abbott and Charley already there. The tender had come alongside, and the Urst person to come on board was Mr. Birks. We were all glad to see him, and at such a time in the morning too. All the passengers were now astir, and everybody was rushing about after their baggage or hot coffee. Before leaving the vessel we said good-bye to Captain Irving ; he was on the bridge, and had been there all night. ,' ' The tender soon took us to the landing-stage, where, after getting our baggage through the Custom House, we set off for Eberle's Hotel, and arrived there at eight o'clock. It seemed nearer a month than three months since we breakfasted here prior to our departure for the American continent. We were all glad to have a good solid breakfast — not to say that we had not breakfasted in our absence HOME AGAIN. 127 — and after all our inconveineiiccs and troubles to bo once more in the Old Country. At 11.30 we started for Euston, and arrived there at 4.30. Here my mother and father met us, and right glad we all were to see them, and to be heartily welcomed home. I'MWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, CHILWORTH AND LONDON.