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Title: First Impressions of the New World - On Two Travellers from the Old in the Autumn of 1858
Author: Trotter, Isabella Strange, 1816-1878
Language: English
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
OF
THE NEW WORLD.
LONDON
PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
NEW-STREET SQUARE.
[Illustration: Map]
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
OF
THE NEW WORLD
ON
TWO TRAVELLERS FROM THE OLD
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1858.
LONDON
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, & ROBERTS.
1859
TO
I. L. T.
* * * * *
MY DEAR LITTLE GIRL,
I dedicate this little book to you; the letters it contains were meant
to let you know how your father and I and your brother William fared in
a rapid journey, during the autumn of last year, through part of Canada
and the United States, and are here presented to you in another form
more likely to ensure their preservation.
You are not yet old enough fully to understand them, but the time will,
I trust, come when it will give you pleasure to read them. I can safely
say they were written without any intention of going beyond yourself and
our own family circle; but some friends have persuaded me to publish
them, for which I ought, I suppose, to ask your pardon, as the letters
have become your property.
The reason which has made your father and me consent to this is, that we
scarcely think that travellers in general have done justice to our good
brothers in America. We do not mean to say that _we_ have accomplished
this, or that others have not fairly described what they have seen; but
different impressions of a country are made on persons who see it under
different aspects, and who travel under different circumstances.
When William, for example, was separated from us he found the treatment
he received very unlike what it was while he travelled in our company;
and as many bachelors pass through the country and record their
experience, it is not surprising if some of them describe things very
differently to what we do.
The way to arrive at truth in this, as in all other cases, is to hear
what every one has to say, and to compare one account with another; and
if these letters to you help others to understand better the nature and
character of the country and the people of America, my object in making
them public will be attained.
With some few alterations, the letters are left just as you received
them, for I have been anxious not to alter in any way what I have told
you of my First Impressions. When, therefore, I have had reason to
change my opinions, I have thought it better to subjoin a foot-note; and
in this way, too, I have sometimes added a few things which I forgot at
the time to mention in the letters themselves.
There is only one thing more to tell you, which is, that though I wrote
and signed all the letters myself many parts are of your father's
dictating. I leave you and others to judge which these are. Without his
help I never could have sent you such full accounts of the engine of the
Newport steamer, or of our journey across the Alleghanies and other such
subjects; and you will, I know, like the letters all the better for his
having taken a part in them.
Believe me ever,
Your affectionate Mother.
June, 1859.
CONTENTS.
LETTER I.
Voyage.--Arrival at New York.--Burning of Quarantine Buildings.--Cable
Rejoicings.--Description of the Town Page 1
LETTER II.
West Point.--Steamer to Newport.--Newport.--Bishop Berkeley.--
Bathing.--Arrival at Boston 9
LETTER III.
Journey to Boston.--Boston.--Prison.--Hospital.--Springfield.--
Albany.--Trenton Falls.--Journey to Niagara.--Niagara 28
LETTER IV.
Niagara.--Maid of the Mist.--Arrival at Toronto.--Toronto.--Thousand
Islands.--Rapids of the St. Lawrence.--Montreal.--Victoria Bridge 58
LETTER V.
Journey from Montreal to Quebec.--Quebec.--Falls of Montmorency.--
Island Pond.--White Mountains.--Portland.--Return to Boston.--Harvard
University.--Newhaven.--Yale University.--Return to New York 76
LETTER VI.
Destruction of the Crystal Palace.--Philadelphia.--Cemetery.--Girard
College.--Baltimore.--American Liturgy.--Return to Philadelphia.--
Penitentiary.--Return to New York 97
LETTER VII.
William's Departure.--Greenwood Cemetery.--Journey to Washington.--
Arrangements for our Journey to the Far West.--Topsy 108
LETTER VIII.
Washington.--Baptist Class-Meeting.--Public Buildings.--Venus by
Daylight.--Baltimore and Ohio Railway.--Wheeling.--Arrival
at Columbus 119
LETTER IX.
Journey from Wheeling to Columbus.--Fire in the Mountains.--Mr.
Tyson's Stories.--Columbus.--Penitentiary.--Capitol--Governor
Chase.--Charitable Institutions.--Arrival at Cincinnati 168
LETTER X.
Cincinnati.--Mr. Longworth.--German Population.--"Over the
Rhine."--Environs of Cincinnati.--Gardens.--Fruits.--Common
Schools.--Journey to St. Louis 202
LETTER XI.
St. Louis.--Jefferson City.--Return to St. Louis.--Alton.--
Springfield.--Fires on the Prairies.--Chicago--Granaries.--Packing
Houses.--Lake Michigan.--Arrival at Indianapolis 224
LETTER XII.
Indianapolis.--Louisville.--Louisville and Portland Canal.--
Portland.--The Pacific Steamer.--Journey to Lexington.--Ashland.--
Slave Pens at Lexington.--Return to Cincinnati.--Pennsylvania
Central Railway.--Return to New York 239
LETTER XIII.
New York.--Astor Library.--Cooper Institute.--Bible House.--Dr.
Rae.--Dr. Tyng.--Tarrytown.--Albany.--Sleighing.--Final Return to
Boston.--Halifax.--Voyage Home.--Conclusion 279
* * * * *
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
OF
THE NEW WORLD.
* * * * *
LETTER I.
VOYAGE.--ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK.--BURNING OF QUARANTINE
BUILDINGS.--CABLE REJOICINGS.--DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN.
New York, September 3, 1858.
We landed here yesterday afternoon, at about six o'clock, after a very
prosperous voyage; and, as the Southampton mail goes to-morrow, I must
begin this letter to you to-night. I had fully intended writing to you
daily during the voyage, but I was quite laid up for the first week with
violent sea sickness, living upon water-gruel and chicken-broth. I
believe I was the greatest sufferer in this respect on board; but the
doctor was most attentive, and a change in the weather came to my
relief on Sunday,--not that we had any rough weather, but there was
rather more motion than suited me at first.
Papa and William were well throughout the voyage, eating and drinking
and walking on deck all day. Our companions were chiefly Americans, and
many of them were very agreeable and intelligent. Amongst the number I
may mention the poet Bryant, who was returning home with his wife and
daughter after a long visit to Europe; but they, too, have suffered much
from sea sickness, and, as this is a great bar to all intercourse, I had
not as much with them as I could have wished.
The north coast of Ireland delighted us much on our first Sunday. We
passed green hills and high cliffs on our left, while we could see the
distant outline of the Mull of Cantire, in Scotland, on our right. We
had no service on that Sunday, but on the one following we had two
services, which were read by the doctor; and we had two good sermons
from two dissenting ministers. The second was preached by a Wesleyan
from Nova Scotia, who was familiar with my father's name there. He was a
good and superior man, and we had some interesting conversations with
him.
We saw no icebergs, which disappointed me much; but we passed a few
whales last Tuesday, spouting up their graceful fountains in the
distance. One came very near the ship, and we had a distinct view of its
enormous body. We had a good deal of fog when off Newfoundland, which
obliged us to use the fog-whistle frequently; and a most dismal sounding
instrument it is. The fog prevented our having any communication with
Cape Race, from whence a boat would otherwise have come off to receive
the latest news from England, and our arrival would have been
telegraphed to New York.
The coast of Long Island came in sight yesterday, and our excitement was
naturally great as we approached the American shore.
Before rounding Sandy Hook, which forms the entrance on one side to the
bay of New York, we ran along the eastern coast of Long Island, which
presents nothing very remarkable in appearance, although the pretty
little bright town of Rockaway, with its white houses studded along the
beach, and glittering in the sun, gave a pleasing impression of the
country. This was greatly increased when, running up the bay, we came to
what are called the Narrows, and had Staten Island on our left and Long
Island on the right. The former, something like the Isle of Wight in
appearance, is a thickly-wooded hill covered with pretty country
villas, and the Americans were unceasing in their demands for admiration
of the scenery.[1]
Before entering the Narrows, indeed shortly after passing Sandy Hook, a
little boat with a yellow flag came from the quarantine station to see
if we were free from yellow fever and other disorders. There were many
ships from the West Indies performing quarantine, but we were happily
exempted, being all well on board. It was getting dark when we reached
the wharf; and, after taking leave of our passenger friends, we landed,
and proceeded to an adjoining custom-house, where, through the influence
of one of our fellow-passengers, our boxes were not opened, but it was a
scene of great bustle and confusion. After much delay we were at length
hoisted into a wonderful old coach, apparently of the date of Queen
Anne. We made a struggle with the driver not to take in more than our
own party. Up, however, others mounted, and on we drove into a
ferry-boat, which steamed us, carriage and all, across the harbour, for
we had landed from the ship on the New Jersey side. After reaching New
York by means of this ferry-boat, we still had to drive along a
considerable part of Broadway, and finally reached this comfortable
hotel--the Brevoort House--at about eight o'clock.
The master of the hotel shook hands with papa on entering, and again
this morning treated him with the same republican familiarity. The hotel
is very quiet, and not a specimen of the large kind, which we intend
seeing later. We had fortunately secured rooms beforehand, as the town
is very full, owing to the rejoicings at the successful laying of the
cable, and many of our fellow-passengers were obliged to get lodgings
where they could.
We found that Lord Napier was in the hotel, so we sent our letters to
him, and had a long visit from him this morning.
Two topics seem at present to occupy the minds of everybody here; one,
the successful laying of the cable, the other the burning of the
quarantine buildings on Staten Island. We were quite unconscious, when
passing the spot yesterday, that the whole of these buildings had been
destroyed on the preceding night by an incendiary mob; for such we must
style the miscreants, although they comprised a large portion, it is
said, of the influential inhabitants of the place. The alleged reason
was that the Quarantine establishment was a nuisance, and the residents
had for months been boasting of their intention to destroy the obnoxious
buildings. The miserable inmates would have perished in the flames, had
not some, more charitable than the rest, dragged them from their beds.
The Yellow Fever Hospital is destroyed, and the houses of the physicians
and health officers are burnt to the ground. At the very same moment New
York itself was the scene of the splendid festivities in honour of the
successful laying of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable, to which we have
alluded.
We came in for the _finale_ of these yesterday, when the streets were
still much decorated. In Trinity Church we saw these decorations
undisturbed: the floral ornaments in front of the altar were more
remarkable, however, for their profusion than for their good taste. On a
temporary screen, consisting of three pointed gothic arches, stood a
cross of considerable dimensions, the screen and cross being together
about fifty feet high. The columns supporting the arches, the arches
themselves, and all the lines of construction, were heavily covered
with fir, box, holly, and other evergreens, so as to completely hide all
trace of the wooden frame. The columns and arches of the church were
also decorated with wreaths and garlands of flowers.
On a panel on the temporary structure already mentioned was the
inscription, "GLORY BE TO GOD ON HIGH, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL
TOWARDS MEN," all done in letters of flowers of different colours; the
cross itself being covered with white roses and lilies. In the streets
were all sorts of devices, a very conspicuous one being the cable slung
between two rocks, and Queen Victoria and the President standing,
looking very much astonished at each other from either side. The
absurdity of all this was, that the cable had really by this time come
to grief: at least, on the morning after our landing, an unsuccessful
attempt was made to transmit the news of our arrival to our friends in
England. It was rather absurd to see the credit the Americans took to
themselves for the success, such as it was, of the undertaking.
Besides seeing all this, we have to-day driven and walked about the town
a good deal, and admire it much. It is very Parisian in the appearance
of its high houses, covered with large bright letterings; and the shops
are very large and much gayer looking on the outside than ours; but, on
examination, we were disappointed with their contents. The streets seem
badly paved, and are consequently noisy, and there are few fine
buildings or sights of any kind; but the dwelling-houses are not
unfrequently built of white marble, and are all handsome and
substantial. In our drive to-day we were much struck with the general
appearance of the streets and avenues, as the streets which run parallel
to Broadway are called. The weather has been sultry, but with a good
deal of wind; and the ladies must think it hot, as most of them appear
at breakfast in high dresses with short sleeves, and walk about in this
attire with a slight black lace mantle over their shoulders, their naked
elbows showing through. We go to-morrow to West Point, on the Hudson
River, to spend Sunday, and return here on Monday, on which day William
leaves us to make a tour in the White Mountains, and he is to join us at
Boston on Monday week.
You must consider this as the first chapter of my Journal, which I hope
now to continue regularly.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The admiration thus claimed for the scenery was sometimes so
extravagant as to make us look for a continuance of it, a reproach of
this kind being so often made against the Americans; but we are bound to
add this note, to say that we very seldom met afterwards with anything
of the kind, and the expressions used on this occasion were hardly,
after all, more than the real beauty of the scenery warranted.
LETTER II.
WEST POINT.--STEAMER TO NEWPORT.--NEWPORT.--BISHOP
BERKELEY.--BATHING.--ARRIVAL AT BOSTON.
Brevoort House, 5th Avenue, New York,
8th Sept., 1858.
My letter to you of the 3rd instant gave you an account of our voyage,
and of our first impressions of this city. In the afternoon of the 4th,
William went by steamboat to West Point, on the river Hudson, and we
went by railway. This was our first experience of an American Railway,
and it certainly bore no comparison in comfort either to our own, or to
those we have been so familiar with on the Continent. The carriages are
about forty feet long, without any distinction of first and second
classes: the benches, with low backs, carrying each two people, are
arranged along the two sides, with a passage down the middle. The
consequence is, that one may be brought into close contact with people,
who, at home, would be in a third-class carriage. There are two other
serious drawbacks in a long journey; the one being that there is no
rest for the head, and therefore no possible way of sleeping
comfortably; the other, that owing to the long range of windows on
either side, the unhappy traveller may be exposed to a thorough draught,
without any way of escape, unless by closing the window at his side, if
he is fortunate enough to have a seat which places it within his reach.
Another serious objection is the noise, which is so great as to make
conversation most laborious. They are painstaking in their care of the
luggage, for besides pasting on labels, each article has a numbered
check attached to it, a duplicate of which is given to the owner; time
is saved in giving up the tickets, which is done without stoppage, there
being a free passage from one end of the train to the other. This
enables not only ticket-takers, but sellers of newspapers and railway
guides, to pass up and down the carriages; iced water is also offered
gratis.
The road to Garrison, where we had to cross the river, runs along the
left bank of the Hudson, a distance of fifty miles, close to the water's
edge nearly the whole way, and we were much struck by the magnificence
of the scenery. The river, generally from two to three miles in breadth,
winds between ranges of rocks and hills, mostly covered with wood, and
sometimes rising to a height of 800 feet. Owing to the windings and the
islands, the river frequently takes the appearance of a lake; while the
clearness of the atmosphere, and the colouring of the sunset, added to
the beauty of the scene. We travelled at the rate of twenty miles an
hour, and arrived in darkness at Garrison. Here we crossed the river in
a ferry-boat to West Point, and found William, who had come at the same
speed in the steamer. The hotel being full, we accepted the offer of
rooms made us by Mr. Osborn, an American friend of papa's, at a little
cottage close to the hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn and their two children
had passed some weeks there, and said they frequently thus received
over-flowings from the hotel, and but for their hospitality on this
occasion, we should have been houseless for the night. This cottage
belonged to the landlord of the hotel, and there being no cooking
accommodation in it, we all took our meals in the public dining-room.
The hotel itself is a very spacious building, with a wide verandah at
each end. We found an endless variety of cakes spread for tea, which did
not exactly suit our appetites, but we made the best of it, and then
went into the public drawing-room, where we found all the guests of the
hotel assembled, and the room brilliantly lighted. Here balls, or as
they call them "hops," take place three or four times a week. The scene
is thoroughly foreign, more German than French. The ladies' hoops are
extravagant in circumference; the colouring of their dresses is violent
and heavy; and there is scarcely a man to be seen without moustachios, a
beard, a straw hat, and a cigar. West Point is the Sandhurst of the
United States, and is also the nearest summer rendezvous of the
fashionables of New York. It is beautifully situated on the heights
above the river, and the Military Academy, about ten minutes' drive from
the hotel, commands a most splendid view of the Hudson, and the hills on
either side.
We went to the chapel on Sunday the 5th, where we joined, for the first
time, in the service in America. It differs but little from our own, and
was followed by a not very striking sermon. The Holy Communion was
afterwards administered, and it was a comfort to us to join in it on
this our first Sunday in America. The cadets filled the centre of the
chapel, and are a very good-looking set of youths, wearing a pretty
uniform, the jacket being pale grey with large silver buttons. We dined
at four o'clock at the _table d'hôte_, in a room capable of holding
about four hundred. We sat next to the landlord, who carved at one of
the long tables. The dinner was remarkably well cooked in the French
style, but most deficient in quantity, and we rose from table nearly as
hungry as we sat down. Some of the ladies appeared at dinner in evening
dresses, with short sleeves (made _very_ short) and low bodies, a tulle
pelerine being stretched tight over their bare necks. In some cases the
hair was dressed with large ornamental pins and artificial flowers, as
for an evening party. We met them out walking later in the evening, with
light shawls or visites on their shoulders, no bonnets, and large fans
in their hands. This toilette was fully accounted for by the heat, the
thermometer being at 80° in the shade. Many of the younger women were
very pretty, and pleasing in their manners.
We left West Point early on Monday morning, the 6th, taking the
steamboat back to New York, leaving William to pursue his journey to the
White Mountains and Montreal alone, and we are to meet him again at
Boston next week. The steamboat was well worth seeing, being a wonderful
floating house or palace, three stories high, almost consisting of two
or three large saloons, much gilt and decorated, and hung with prints
and filled with passengers. The machinery rises in the centre of the
vessel, as high nearly as the funnel. We went at the rate of twenty
miles an hour. We again enjoyed the beauties of the river, and could
this time see both sides, which we were unable to do on the railway, by
which means too we saw many pretty towns and villas which we had missed
on Saturday. We were back at the hotel by twelve o'clock, and are to
make our next move to-morrow afternoon to Newport, a sea-bathing place,
a little way north of this. We are doing this at the strong
recommendation of Lord Napier, who says, at this time of the year
Newport is worth seeing, as giving a better idea of an American
watering-place than Saratoga, where the season is now drawing to a
close.
We have now become more familiar with this place, and I think are
beginning to feel the total want of interest of any sort beyond a
general admiration of the handsome wide streets and well-built houses.
The Brevoort House is in the fifth avenue, which, in point of fashion,
answers to Belgrave Square with us, and consists of a long line of
houses of large dimensions. A friend, who accompanied us in our drive
yesterday evening, pointed out many of the best of them as belonging to
button-makers, makers of sarsaparilla, and rich parvenus, who have risen
from the shop counter. He took us to his own house in this line, which
was moderate in size, and prettily fitted up. He is a collector of
pictures, and has one very fine oil painting of a splendid range of
mountainous scenery, in the Andes. It is by Church, a rising young
American, whose view of the Falls of Niagara was exhibited this year in
London. We have made frequent use of the omnibus here; the fares are
half the price of the London ones, and the carriages are very clean and
superior in every way to ours. Great trust is shown in the honesty of
the passengers, there being no one to receive payment at the door, but a
notice within directs the money to be paid to the driver, which is done
through a hole in the roof, and he presents his fingers to receive it,
without apparently knowing how many passengers have entered. We
frequently meet woolly-headed negroes in our walks, and they seem to
form a large proportion of the servants, both male and female, and of
porters and the like. We are disappointed in the fruit. The peaches are
cheap, and in great quantities, but they are very inferior to ours in
flavour, and the melons are also tasteless. The water-melons are cut in
long slices and sold in the streets, and the people eat them as they
walk along. The great luxury of the place is ice, which travels about
the streets in carts, the blocks being three or four feet thick, and a
glass of iced water is the first thing placed on the table at each meal.
The cookery at this hotel is French, and first rate. We have had a few
dishes that are new to us. The corn-bread and whaffles are cakes made
principally of Indian-corn; and the Okra-vegetable, which was to us new,
is cut into slices to flavour soup. Lima beans are very good; we have
also had yams, and yesterday tasted the Cincinnati champagne, which we
thought very poor stuff.
_Fillmore House, Newport, Rhode Island, September 13th._--We left New
York on Thursday afternoon, and embarked in a Brobdingnagian steamboat,
which it would not be very easy to describe. The cabin is on the upper
deck, so that at either end you can walk out on to the stern or bow of
the vessel; it is about eleven feet high, and most splendidly fitted up
and lighted at night with four ormolu lustres, each having eight large
globe lights. We paced the length of the cabin and made it 115 paces, so
that walking nine times up and down made a nice walk of a mile. The
engine of the steamboat in America rises far above the deck in the
centre of the vessel, so this formed an obstruction to our seeing the
whole length, unless on each side of the engine, where a broad and clear
passage allowed a full view from end to end; but instead of taking away
from the fine effect, the engine-room added greatly thereto, for it was
divided from the cabin, on one side, by a huge sheet of plate glass,
through which the most minute workings of the engines could be seen.
There was in front a large clock, and dials of every description, to
show the atmospheric pressure, the number of revolutions of the wheel,
&c. This latter dial was a most beautiful piece of mechanism. Its face
showed six digits, so that the number of revolutions could be shown up
to 999,999. The series of course began with 000,001, and at the end of
the first turn the _nothings_ remained, and the 1 changed first into 2,
then into 3, &c., till at the end of the tenth revolution the two last
digits changed together, and it stood at 000,010, and at the 1,012th
revolution it stood at 001,012.
To go back to the saloon itself; the walls and ceiling were very much
carved, gilt, and ornamented with engravings which, though not equal to
our Albert Durers, or Raphael Morghens at home, were respectable modern
performances, and gave a drawing-room look to the place. The carpet was
gorgeous in colour, and very pretty in design, and the arm-chairs, of
which 120 were fixtures ranged round the wall, besides quantities
dispersed about the room, were uniform in make, and very comfortable.
They were covered with French woven tapestry, very similar to the
specimens we bought at Pau. There were no sofas, which was doubtless
wise, as they might have been turned to sleeping purposes. Little
passages having windows at the end, ran out of the saloon, each opening
into little state cabins on either side, containing two berths each, as
large as those on board the Africa, and much more airy; but the
wonderful part was below stairs. Under the after-part of the saloon was
the general sleeping cabin for the ladies who could not afford to pay
for state cabins, of which, however, there were nearly a hundred. Our
maid slept in this ladies' cabin, and her berth was No. 306, but how
many more berths there may have been here we cannot tell. This must have
occupied about a quarter of the space underneath the upper saloon. The
remaining three quarters of the space constituted the gentlemen's
sleeping cabin, and this was a marvellous sight. The berths are ranged
in four tiers, forming the sides of the cabin, which was at least
fourteen feet high; and as these partook of the curve of the vessel, the
line of berths did the same, so as not to be quite one over the other.
There were muslin curtains in front of the berths, forming, when drawn,
a wall of light floating drapery along each side of the cabin, and this
curved appearance of the wall was very pretty; but the prettiest effect
was when the supper tables were laid out and the room brilliantly
lighted up. Two long tables stretched the whole length, on which were
placed alternately bouquets and trash of the sweet-cake kind, though the
peaches, water-melons, and ices were very good, and as we had luckily
dined at New York, _we_ were satisfied. The waiters were all niggers,
grinning from ear to ear, white jacketed, active, and clever, about
forty strong. The stewardesses, also of African origin, wore hoops of
extravagant dimensions, and open bodies in front, displaying dark brown
necks many of them lighted up by a necklace or diamond cross, rivalling
Venus herself if she were black. They were really fearful objects to
contemplate, for there was a look of display about them which read one a
severe lesson on female vanity, so frightful did they appear, and yet
rigged out like modern beauties. It was the most lovely afternoon
conceivable, and we stayed on deck, sometimes on the bow and sometimes
on the stern of the vessel, till long after dark. We preferred the bow,
as there was no awning there, and the air was more fresh and
invigorating.
The passage through Long Island Sound was like a river studded on both
sides with villas and green lawns, something like the Thames between
Kingston and Hampton, but much wider, and with higher background, and
altogether on a larger scale. When, owing to the darkness, we lost sight
of these, they were replaced by lighthouses constantly recurring. This
huge Leviathan, considerably longer than the Africa, proceeded at the
rate of about eighteen miles an hour, going half-speed only, on account
of the darkness of the night. The full speed was twenty-four miles an
hour, and remember this was not a high-pressure engine. After proceeding
through this narrow channel for about 120 miles, we again entered the
Atlantic, but speedily reached the narrow inlet which extends up to this
place. You may wonder at our having been able to make such minute
observations upon the saloon, &c.; but having tried our state cabin, and
not relishing it, we paced up and down the saloon, and occupied by turns
most of its 120 chairs, till three o'clock in the morning brought us to
the end of our voyage. There was no real objection to the cabin, beyond
the feeling that it was not worth while to undress and lie down for so
short a time; besides which, papa was in one of his fidgetty states,
which he could only relieve by exercise.
But how now to describe Newport? Papa is looking out of the window, and
facing it is an avenue of trees running between two lawns of grass as
green as any to be seen in England, though certainly the grass is
coarser than at home. In these lawns stand houses of every shape and
form, and we, being _au troisième_ have a distant view of the sea, which
looks like the Mediterranean studded with ships. As this place (the
Brighton of New York) stands on a small island, this sea view is
discernible from all sides of the house. We walked yesterday a long way
round the cliffs, which are covered with houses far superior to the
average villas in England, the buildings being of a brilliant white and
sometimes stone colour, and of elaborate architecture, with colonnades,
verandahs, balconies, bay windows of every shape and variety, and all
built of wood. The churches are some of them very beautiful, both Gothic
and Grecian. A Gothic one to which we went yesterday afternoon, was
high, high, high in its decorations, but not in the least in the
doctrine we heard, which was thoroughly sound on "God so loved the
world," &c. The fittings up were very simple, and the exterior of the
church remarkable for the grace and simplicity of its outline; for
being, like the houses, built entirely of wood, elaborate carving cannot
be indulged in.
The church which we went to in the morning offered a great contrast to
this, the interior being fitted up with high old-fashioned pews, like
many a village church at home; but besides this, a further interest
attached to Trinity Church, as being the one in which Dean Berkeley used
to preach, and from its remaining unaltered in its internal appearance
from what it was in his days. The pulpit is still the same, and there is
still in the church the organ which he presented to it, at least the
original case of English oak is there, and part of the works are the
same, though some pipes have lately been added. Independently of Trinity
Church, the town of Newport has many associations connected with Bishop
Berkeley's memory, the place where he lived, and where he wrote his
"Minute Philosopher" being still pointed out, as well as the spot on the
beach where he used to sit and meditate. The most striking buildings,
however, are the hotels, one of which, the "Ocean House," is the largest
building of the kind we have ever seen. It has very much the appearance
of the huge convents one sees in Italy, and, standing on the top of the
cliffs, it has a most remarkable effect. There are some very good
streets, but the greatest part of the town consists of detached houses
standing in gardens. There are very few stone buildings of any kind. The
hotel we are in is not the largest, but is considered the best, and in
the height of the season the place must be very gay.
The next, perhaps the greatest, feature here is the bathing. There are
three beaches formed round a succession of points, the whole forming a
lovely drive on dry hard sand; and such a sun as we gazed upon yesterday
setting over these distant sands passes description. On the first of
these beaches are ranged more than a hundred bathing machines at about a
hundred yards above high-water mark, looking like sentry boxes on a
large scale, with fine dry sand between them and the sea. We went down
on Saturday to see the bathing, which is here quite a public affair; and
having fixed our eyes on a machine about a dozen yards off, we saw two
damsels enter it, while a young gentleman, who accompanied them went
into an adjoining one. In a few minutes he came out attired in his
bathing dress and knocked at the ladies' door. As the damsels were
apparently not ready, he went into the water to wait their coming, and
in due time they sallied forth dressed in thick red baize trowsers and a
short dress of the same colour and material, drawn in at the waist by a
girdle. The gentleman's toilet was coloured trowsers and a tight flannel
jacket without sleeves. He wore no hat, but the ladies had on very
_piquante_ straw hats trimmed with velvet, very like the Nice ones, to
preserve them from a _coup de soleil_. They joined each other in the
water, where they amused themselves together for a long time; a
gentleman friend's presence on these occasions is essential, from the
Atlantic surf being sometimes very heavy; but the young gentleman in
question did not enact the part of Mr. Jacob, of Cromer, not being
professional. The number of bathers is generally very great, though now
the season being nearly over there are not many, but there were still
enough to let us judge of the fun that is said to go on.
There are few guests in this house now. A "hop" was attempted on Friday
evening in the entrance hall, but the unhappy musicians exerted
themselves in playing the Lancers' Quadrilles and all sorts of ugly
jerking polkas without success, although an attempt at one quadrille, we
were told, was made after we had retired for the night. The _table
d'hôte_ toilettes here now are much quieter than they were at Westpoint,
there being but two short sleevers yesterday at our two o'clock dinner.
There is a large and handsome public drawing-room, where we can rock in
rocking chairs (even the bed-rooms have them), or pass an hour in the
evening. We are waited on at dinner by twelve _darkies_, as the niggers
are called, marshalled by a head waiter as tall as papa and as black as
his hat. A black thumb on your plate, as he hands it to you, is _not_
pleasant. The housemaids are also niggeresses, and usually go about in
coloured cotton sun bonnets. I now leave off, as we start for Boston in
an hour.
_Boston, 14th September, 1858._--We reached this yesterday, and were
looking for William all the evening, but were disappointed at his
non-appearance. He arrived here, however, at three this morning by the
steamer, and is now recounting his adventures; he enjoyed himself very
much, and looks all the better for his trip.
I ought to tell you of a few Yankee expressions, but I believe the most
_racy_ of them are used by the young men whom we do not come across: "I
guess" is as common as "I think" in England. In directing you on any
road or street, they tell you always to go "right away." If you do not
feel very well, and think you are headachy, and that perhaps the weather
is the cause, you are told you are "under the weather this morning." An
excellent expression we think; so truly describing the state papa is
often in when in dear old England. Then when you ask for information on
any subject, the answer is frequently, "I can't say, sir, for I am not
_posted up_ on that subject." I asked an American gentleman, who was
walking with us last night, not to walk quite so fast, and he answered,
"Oh, I understand; you do not like that Yankee hitch." "Yankee" is no
term of offence among themselves. Our friend certainly made use of the
last expression as a quotation, but said it was a common one. They will
"fix you a little ginger in your tea, if you wish it;" and they all,
ladies and gentlemen, say, Sir, and Ma'am, at every sentence, and all
through the conversation, giving a most common style to all they say;
although papa declares it is Grandisonian, and that they have retained
good manners, from which we have fallen off.
I reserve my description of the journey here, and of this town, for my
next letter.
LETTER III.
JOURNEY TO
BOSTON.--BOSTON.--PRISON.--HOSPITAL.--SPRINGFIELD.--ALBANY.--TRENTON
FALLS.--JOURNEY TO NIAGARA.--NIAGARA.
Delavan House, Albany, Sept. 15th, 1858.
I find it at present impossible to keep up my letter to you from day to
day, but I am so afraid of arrears accumulating upon me that I shall
begin this to-night, though it is late and we are to start early
to-morrow. My last letter brought us up to our arrival at Boston, but I
have not yet described to you our delightful journey there.
We left Newport with our friends, Mr. and Miss Morgan, at two o'clock on
the 13th, and embarked in a small steamer, which took us up the
Narragansett Bay to the interesting manufacturing town of Providence. We
were about two hours on the steamer, and kept pace with the railway cars
which were running on the shores parallel to us, and also going to
Providence. The shores were very pretty, green and sloping, and dotted
with bright and clean white wooden houses and churches. We passed the
pretty-looking town of Bristol on our right. The day was lovely,
brilliant and cool, with a delightfully bracing wind caused by our own
speed through the water.
The boat brought us to Providence in time only to walk quickly to the
railway, but we had an opportunity of getting a glance at the place. It
is one of the oldest towns in America, dating as far back as 1635; but
its original importance is much gone off, Boston, which is in some
respects more conveniently situated, having carried off much of its
trade. It is most beautifully situated on the Narragansett Bay, the
upper end of which is quite encircled by the town, the city rising
beyond it on a rather abrupt hill. Among the manufactories which still
exist here, those for jewellery are very numerous.
We were now to try the railway for the second time in America, and
having been told that the noise of the Hudson River line was caused by
the reverberation of the rocks, and was peculiar to that railway, we
hoped for better things on this, our second journey. We found, however,
to our disappointment, that there was scarcely any improvement as to
quiet; and as papa _would_ eat a dinner instead of a luncheon at
Newport, this and the noise together soon worried his poor head into a
headache. We were confirmed in our dislike of the cars and railways,
which have many serious faults. The one window over which papa and I
(sitting together) were able to exercise entire control, opened like all
others by pushing it _up_. A consequence of this arrangement is that the
shoulder next to it is in danger of many a rheumatic twinge, being so
exposed to cold; whereas, if the window opened the reverse way, air
could be let in without the shoulder being thus exposed. I forgot in my
description of the cars, to tell you that the seats are all reversible,
enabling four persons to sit in pairs facing each other, and also if
their opposite neighbours are amiably disposed, enabling each pair to
rest their feet on the opposite seat, and if the opposite seat is empty,
the repose across from seat to seat can be still more complete; but it
is an odious contrivance, and neither repose nor rest can be thought of
in these most uncomfortable carriages. Our seats faced the front door,
and were close to it, which was very desirable as the air is clearer at
that end, and not so loaded with the impurities of so large a mass of
all classes as at the other end. We made various purchases as we went
along. First came the ticket man, then cheap periodicals, then apples
and pears, common bon-bons, and corn pop, of which I am trying to keep
a specimen to send you. It is a kind of corn which is roasted on the
fire, and in so doing, makes a _popping_ noise, whence its name. It is
pleasant to nibble. Then came iced water, highly necessary after the dry
corn pop, and finally about twenty good and well-chosen books. Papa
bought the Life of Stephenson.
But if we had room to grumble about discomforts within, we could only
admire unceasingly without the very lovely road along which we were
rapidly passing. The country consisted of undulating hills and slopes,
prettily wooded, while bright white wooden houses and churches rapidly
succeeded each other; the tall, sharp, white church spire contrasting
beautifully with the dark back-ground of trees. It was delightful to see
all the houses and cottages looking trim and neat, and in perfect order
and repair. There was no such thing as dilapidation or poverty apparent,
and the necessary repairs being so easily made, and the paint-brush
readily available, all looked in the most perfect order. We could do
little else than admire the scenery, and arrived at Boston at about six
o'clock; the last few minutes of the journey being over a long wooden
bridge or viaduct, which connects the mainland with the peninsula on
which Boston is built. We found rooms ready for us at Tremont House. It
is an enormous hotel, but the passages are close, and the rooms small.
They were otherwise, however, very luxurious, for I had a small
dressing-room out of my bedroom in which was a warm bath and a plentiful
supply of hot and cold water laid on, besides other conveniences.
The next morning we found Lord and Lady Radstock in the breakfast-room;
and papa accompanied Lord Radstock to see an hospital and prison.
The prison was the jail in which prisoners are detained before their
trial, as well as when the duration of their imprisonment is not to be
very long. Nothing, by papa's description, can exceed the excellency of
the arrangements as far as the airiness and cleanliness of the cells,
and even the comforts of the prisoners, are concerned, but the system is
one of strict solitary confinement. Papa and Lord R. were surprised to
find that some unhappy persons, who were kept there merely in the
character of witnesses, were subject to the same rigorous treatment.
Lord R. remarked, that he would take good care not to see any offence
committed while in this country, but the jailor replied, "Oh, it would
be quite enough if any one declared you saw it."
The hospital appears to be a model of what such an establishment ought
to be. The wards are large, and, like the prison cells, very airy and
clean, but with a great contrast in the character of the inmates for
whose benefit they are provided. The great space which can usually be
allotted, in a country like this, to institutions of this description,
may perhaps give this hospital an advantage over one situated in the
centre of a large city like London; though the semi-insular position of
Boston must render space there comparatively valuable; but even this
cannot take away from the merit of the people in showing such attention
to the comforts of the needy sick. But what papa was most pleased with,
was the provision made, on the plan which has been often tried in
London, but never with the success it deserves, of an hospital, or home
for the better classes of the sick. In the Boston hospital, patients are
received who pay various sums up to ten dollars a week, for which they
can have a comfortable room to themselves, and the best medical advice
which the town affords. Papa and Lord R. were shown over this
institution by Dr. Shaw, who was particularly attentive and obliging in
answering all their questions.
We have since been exploring the town, and are quite delighted with it.
It has none of the stiff regularity of New York, and the dwelling
houses have an air of respectable quiet comfort which is much wanted in
that city of wealth and display. The "stores" too are far more
attractive than in New York, though their way of asking you to describe
exactly what you want before they show you anything, except what is
displayed, reminded me much of France. The city is altogether very
foreign-looking in its appearance, and we are glad to think we are to
return and make a better acquaintance with it later in the month. There
is a delightful "common," as they call it, or park, which is well kept,
and much prized by the inhabitants. Some beautiful elm trees in it are
the largest we have seen in this country. Around one side are the best
dwelling houses, some of which are really magnificent. The hotel, which
is a very large one, has some beautiful public sitting rooms, greatly
larger than those at the Brevoort House at New York, which is much more
quiet in this respect; but these large rooms form an agreeable adjunct
to an hotel, as they are in general well filled by the guests in the
house, and yet sufficiently large to let each party have their own
little coterie.
The character of the inhabitants for honesty seems to be called in
question by the hotel-keepers, for all over these hotels there are
alarming notices to beware of hotel thieves (probably English
pickpockets); and in Boston we were not only told to lock our doors, but
not to leave the key on the outside _at any time_, for fear it should be
stolen.
_Trenton Falls, Sept. 16th._--We left Boston on Tuesday afternoon, and
got as far as Springfield, a town beautifully situated on the river
Connecticut, and celebrated for a government institution of great
importance, where they make and store up fire-arms. It is just 100 miles
from Boston, and the railway runs through a beautifully wooded country
the whole way, which made the journey appear a very short one. The
villages we passed had the same character as those between Providence
and Boston, and were, like them, built altogether of wood, generally
painted white, but occasionally varied by stone-colour, and sometimes by
a warm red or maroon colour picked out with white.
Springfield lay on our way to Albany, and as we had heard much of the
beauty of the place, we were not deterred from sleeping there by being
told that a great annual horse-fair was to be held there, but to secure
rooms we telegraphed for them the day before. At the telegraph station
they took upon themselves to say, there was no room at the established
hotels, but that a new one on the "European plan" had been opened the
day before, where we could be taken in; at this we greatly rejoiced, but
to our dismay on arriving, we found its existence ignored by every one,
and we were almost in despair when we bethought ourselves to go to the
telegraph office, where we were directed to a small new _cabaret_, whose
only merit was that we, being its first occupants, found everything most
perfectly fresh and clean; but having been only opened that day, and the
town being very full, everything was in disorder, and there were but two
bedrooms for papa, myself, William, and Thrower.[2] It became an anxious
question how to appropriate them, as there was but one bed in one of the
rooms, and two in the other. However, it was finally arranged, that papa
and William should sleep in the double-bedded room, and Thrower and I
together in the single bed. We called Thrower a _lady_ of the party, and
made her dine with us, for had they known she was only a "help," she
might probably have fared badly.
After getting some dinner, at which the people are never at a loss in
America, any more than in France, we sallied forth to see the town, and
were exceedingly pleased with its appearance. Nothing could be brighter
or fresher than it looked, and the flags and streamers across the
street, and general lighting up, were foreign-looking and picturesque.
Although the town is but small compared with those we had just left, the
shops were spacious and well filled, and the things in them of a good
quality. Hearing that there was a meeting at the City Hall, we went to
it, little expecting to find such a splendid room. In order to reach it,
we had to pass through a corridor, where the names of the officers of
the corporation were painted over doors on each side, and were struck
with amazement, when, at the end of this, we entered a hall, as light
and bright-looking as St. James' Hall in London, and though not perhaps
so large, still of considerable dimensions, and well proportioned. The
walls were stone-colour, and the wood-work of the roof and light
galleries were buff, picked out with the brightest scarlet. On a
platform at one end of the room were seated the Mayor of Springfield,
and many guests whom he introduced one by one to the audience in short
speeches. These worthies delivered harangues on the subject of horses
and their uses; and the speeches were really very respectable, and not
too long, but were delivered in general with a strong nasal twang.
There were persons from all parts of America; Ohio, Carolina, &c. &c.
We made out our night tolerably well, and next morning went to look at
the arsenal, and depôt of arms, and were shown over the place by a
person connected with the establishment, who was most civil and obliging
in explaining the nature of all we saw. The view from the tower was most
lovely. The panorama was encircled by high hills, clothed with wood; and
the town, and many villages and churches, all of dazzling whiteness, lay
scattered before the eye. We drove next to the Horse Fair, which was
very well arranged. There was a circus of half a mile, forming a wide
carriage road, on which horses were ridden or driven, to show off their
merits. The quickest trotted at the rate of twenty miles an hour. When
the horses were driven in pairs, the driver held a rein in each hand.
There was a platform at one end filled with well-conducted people, and a
judge's seat near it. The horses in single-harness went faster even than
those in pairs: one horse, called Ethan Allen, performing about
twenty-four miles an hour; though Edward may arrive nearer than this
"about," by calculating at the rate of two minutes and thirty-seven
seconds, in which it went twice round this circle. The owner of this
horse has refused $15,000 or 3000_l._ for it. It is said to be the
fastest horse in America, and a beautiful animal, but most of the horses
were very fine. The people seemed to enjoy themselves much, and all
appeared most quiet and decorous, but the whole population surprised us
in this respect. We have seen but one drunken man since we landed. Even
in our new cabaret, the opening of which might have given occasion for a
carousal, every thing was most orderly. Our landlord, however, seemed
very full of the importance of his position, and could think and talk of
nothing but of this said cabaret. Their phraseology, is often very odd.
In the evening, he said, "Now, will you like your dinner _right away_?"
As we walked along the streets, and tried to get a room elsewhere, a man
said, smacking his hands together, "No, they are already _threbled_ in
every room."
But I must now tell you of our journey from Springfield to Albany: the
distance between the two is exactly 100 miles; Boston being 200 from
Albany. We left Springfield by train at twelve o'clock, and reached
Pittsfield, a distance of fifty miles, at half-past two. This part of
the road presented a succession of beautiful views. Your sisters will
remember that part of the road near Chaudes Fontaines, where it runs
through the valley, and crosses the Vesdre every five minutes. If they
can imagine this part of it extended for fifty miles, and on a much
larger scale, they may form some notion of what we saw. The railway
crossed the river at least thirty times, so we had it on the right hand
and left hand alternately, as on that little bit in Belgium. The river,
called the Westfield, was very rapid in places, and the water, when
deep, almost of a rich coffee colour. At Pittsfield we got on to the
plateau which separates the Connecticut River and the Hudson. The plain
is elevated more than 1000 feet above the sea. We then began rapidly to
descend. The country was still as pretty as before, but more open, with
hills in the back-ground, for till we reached Pittsfield these were
close to us, and beautifully wooded to the top. At Pittsfield, in the
centre of the town, there is a very large elm tree, the elm being the
great tree of the country, but this surpassed all its neighbours, its
height being 120 feet, and the stem 90 feet before any branches sprang
from it.
We reached Albany at five o'clock; and a most beautiful town it is. The
great street, as well as one at right angles to it leading up to the
Capitol, is wider, I think, than any street we ever saw; and the shops
on both sides are very splendid. The hotel is very large and good; but,
alas! instead of our dear darkies at Newport, we had some twenty
pale-faced damsels to wait at table, all dressed alike in pink cottons,
their bare necks much displayed in front, with large white collars, two
little frills to form the short sleeves, large, bare, clean, white arms,
and short white aprons not reaching to the knees. They had no caps, and
such a circumference of hoops! quite Yankeeish in their style; and most
careless, flirtatious-looking and impertinent in their manners. We were
quite disgusted with them; and even papa could not defend any one of
them. We were naturally very badly waited upon; they sailing
majestically about the room instead of rushing to get what we wanted, as
the niggers at Newport did. Men-servants answered the bed-room bells,
and brought our hot water; the ladies being employed only as waiters.
This morning the fine weather we had hitherto enjoyed began to fail us,
as it rained in torrents. Notwithstanding this, we started at half-past
seven; passing through what in sunshine must be a lovely country, to
Utica on the New York Central Railway, and thence by a branch railway of
fifteen miles to Trenton Falls. The country was much more cultivated
than any we have yet seen. There were large fields of Indian corn, and
many of another kind, called broom corn, being grown only to make
brooms. We passed many fields of a brilliant orange-red pumpkin, which,
when cooked, looks something like mashed turnips, and is called squash:
it is very delicate and nice. But beautiful as the country was, even in
the rain, we soon found out that we had left New England and its
bright-looking wooden houses. The material of which the houses are built
remains the same; but instead of being painted, and looking trim and
neat as in New England, they consisted of the natural unpainted wood;
though twelve hours of pouring rain may have made them more
melancholy-looking than usual; for they were all of a dingy brown, and
had a look bordering on poverty and dilapidation in some instances, to
which we were quite unaccustomed.
On reaching this place we found the hotel was closed for the season; but
rooms had been secured in a very fair country inn, where we had a
tolerable dinner. We were glad to see the rain gradually cease; and the
promise of a fine afternoon caused us to sally out as soon after dinner
as we could to see the falls. These are very beautiful: they are formed
by a tributary of the Mohawk River, along the banks of which (of the
Mohawk itself I mean) our railway this morning passed for about forty
miles. The Erie Canal, a most celebrated work, is carried along the
other bank of the river; so that, during all this distance, the river,
the railway, and the canal were running parallel to each other, and not
a pistol shot across the three.[3] We had been warned by some Swiss
friends at Newport against carelessness and rashness in walking along
the narrow ledge cut in the face of the rock, so we took a guide and
found the pass very slippery from the heavy rain. The amiable young
guide took possession of me, and for a time I got on tolerably well,
clinging to the chain which in places was fastened against the face of
the rock; but as the path narrowed, my head began to spin, and as the
guide discouraged me, under these circumstances, from going any further,
I turned back with Thrower and regained _dry land_, while the rest of
the party were accomplishing their difficult task. They returned much
sooner than we expected, delighted with all they had seen, though papa
said I was right not to have pursued the narrow ledge. He then took me
through a delightful wood to the head of the falls, where a seat in a
little summer-house enabled me to enjoy the lovely scene. The river
takes three leaps over rocks, the highest about 40 feet; though in two
miles the descent is 312 feet. Beautifully wooded rocks rise up on
either side; and the sunshine this afternoon lighting up the wet leaves
added to the beauty of the scene. We scrambled down from the
summer-house to the bed of the river, and walked on to the foot of the
upper fall; which, though not so high as the others, was very pretty. In
returning home we had glimpses of the falls through the trees. Many of
the firs and maples are of a great height, rising an immense way without
any branches, reminding us of the oaks at Fontainebleau.
We had to change our damp clothes on our return to the inn; and after
partaking of tea-cakes, stewed pears, and honey, I am now sitting in the
public room in my white dressing-gown. This toilette, I have no doubt,
is thought quite _en régle_, for white dresses are much worn in America;
and the company here this evening is not very refined or capable of
appreciating the points in which mine may be deficient. There is dancing
at the great hotel every night in the season; but that is now over. Some
sad accidents have happened here, by falls over the precipice into the
river. The last occurred this year, when a young boy of eight, a twin
son of a family staying here, from New York, was drowned: but these
accidents, we are told, generally happen in the safest places from
carelessness. We go on, to-morrow, probably to Rochester, where there
are some pretty small falls; and on Saturday, the 17th, we hope to reach
Niagara, from whence this letter is to be posted for England.
A nigger, and our guide of this afternoon, have just seated themselves
in the corner of the drawing room where I am writing, and are playing,
one the fiddle, and the other the guitar. Perhaps they are trying to get
up a "hop," later, but there do not seem materials enough for it, and
their tune is at present squeaky--jerky--with an attempt at an adagio.
The nigger is now playing "Comin' thro' the Rye," with much expression,
both of face and fiddle! Oh, such, squeaks! I wish Louisa heard them.
Here come the variations with accompaniment of guitar.--Later.--The
nigger is now singing plaintive love ditties!
_International Hotel, Niagara Falls, September 18th._--We had gone from
the station at Trenton to Trenton Falls in a close, lumbering, heavy
coach, which is of very ordinary use in America. But yesterday morning
we went over the same ground in an omnibus, which allowed us to see the
great beauty of the country to perfection; and, although we had
occasional heavy showers, the day was, on the whole, much more
propitious for travelling, as the atmosphere was very clear, and the
sandy dust was laid. We returned to Utica, or "Utikay," as they call it,
and, having an hour to spare, went and saw the State Lunatic Asylum; but
there was not much to remark upon it, although everything, as seems
generally the case in this country, was very orderly and well kept.
The building, however, was not seen to advantage, as a very large
portion of it was burnt down last year, and the new buildings were not
entirely finished. The gentleman who showed us round was very attentive,
and gave us a report of the establishment, which shows how creditably
every one acted in the trying emergency of the fire. He gave us, also,
two numbers of a little periodical, which is written and published by
the inmates.
We left Utica soon after eleven, and came on to Syracuse, through a
well wooded and better cultivated country than we have yet passed. The
aspect of the country is varied by fields of Indian corn, and tracts of
burnt and charred stumps of trees, the remains of burnt forests. These
stumps are left for some time to rot in the ground, and a few taller
stems, without branches, are left standing, giving the whole a forlorn
appearance but for the thought that the land will soon be cultivated and
return a great produce; were it not for this, one would regret the loss
of the trees, which are turned everywhere here to good account. The
houses and cottages are all wood. The hurdles, used everywhere instead
of hedges, are wood. The floorings of both the large and small stations
are wood, worn to shreds, sometimes, by the tramp of feet. The engine
burns wood. The forests are burnt to get rid of the wood. Long and
enormous stacks of wood line the road continually, and often obstruct
the view. All this made our journey to Syracuse, though interesting,
much tamer than on the preceding days. An accident happened to the
boiler, which detained us at _Rome_, but, as we were luckily near the
station, we soon got another engine. On the whole, one travels with
quite as great a feeling of security as in England.
From Syracuse to Rochester there are two roads, one short and direct,
and another, which, by taking a southern direction, passes through
Auburn, Cayuga, Geneva, and Canandaigua. We were well repaid by taking
the longer route, as the road went round the heads of the lakes, and in
one case, indeed, crossed the head of the lake where these beautiful
little towns are situated. The views of all these lakes, but especially
of lake Cayuga, and of lake Seneca on which Geneva is situated, are very
lovely. They stretch "right away" between high banks, varying from two
to five miles apart, each forming a beautiful vista, closed up by
distant blue hills at the further end. These lakes vary from thirty to
forty miles in length, and by means of steamboats form an easy
communication, though a more tedious one than the railways, between this
and the southern part of the State of New York. We had a capital
cicerone to explain all that we saw as we went along, in a Yankee, who
told us he was "raised" in these parts, though he lived in "Virginny."
He looked like a small farmer, but had a countenance of the keenest
intelligence. He told papa, before he had spoken five minutes with him,
that it was quite right a person of his intelligence should come to this
country. When we came to Auburn, he quoted "'Sweet Auburn, loveliest
village of the plain;' a beautiful poem, sir, written by Goldsmith, one
of your own poets." We told him we thought of going to St. Paul, beyond
the Mississippi, when he said, "Oh yes! that's a new country--that's a
_cold_ country too. If you are there in the winter, it will make you
_snap_."
At Rochester we stopped for an hour to dine. We had intended to sleep
there, but none of us being tired, we changed our plan in order to come
on here last night. During this hour we went to see the Falls of the
Genessee, which in some respects surpassed Trenton, as the river is very
broad, and falls in one sheet, from a height of ninety-six feet, over a
perpendicular wall of rock. We dined, and then papa and I took a rapid
walk to the post office, to post a letter to Alfred O., at Toronto. The
streets, as usual, were very wide, with spacious "stores" running very
far back, as they all seem to do in America. I asked when the letter
would reach Toronto, and the man answered, "It ought to do so to-morrow,
but it is uncertain when it will." Papa asked our guide from the hotel
where he was "raised," (papa is getting quite a Yankee), to which he
replied, "in Ireland." I slept, wonderful to say, through part of our
journey here, in one of those most uncomfortable cars, but woke up as
we approached the station. The night was splendid (we had seen the comet
at Rochester), and the moon was so bright as to make it almost as light
as day; you may imagine our excitement when we saw, in the distance,
rising above the trees, a light cloud of mist from the Falls of
Niagara.?
_Clifton House, September 18th._--Papa got into a melancholy mood at the
International Hotel yesterday evening, on account of the hotel being an
enormous one, and like a huge barrack; half of it we suspect is shut up,
for they gave us small room _au second_, though they acknowledged they
made up four hundred beds, and had only one hundred guests in the house.
The dining room was about one hundred and fifty feet long, and the hotel
was half in darkness from the lateness of the hour, and had no view of
the Falls; so papa got more and more miserable, and I could only comfort
him by reminding him we could be off to this hotel early in the morning;
for as it is the fashion to try first one side for the view, and then
the other, there was no offence in going from the United States to our
own English possessions. On this he cheered up and we went out, and the
first sight we got of this glorious river was at about eleven o'clock,
when he insisted upon my passing over the bridge to Goat Island. It was
the most lovely moonlight night conceivable, and the beams lit up the
crests of the foaming waves as they came boiling over the rapids. It was
a glorious sight, though I was rather frightened, not knowing what
perils might be in store for us.
To-day we made out our move to the Canada side, and are most comfortably
lodged. Before coming to this hotel, we took a long drive down the
river, on the American side. We got out of the carriage to see the
Devil's Hole, a deep ravine, often full of water, but now dry. We stood
on a high precipice, and had a grand view of the river. The _river_ is
generally passed over in silence in all descriptions of Niagara, and yet
it is one of the most lovely parts of the scene. Its colour after it has
left the Falls, and proceeds on its rapid way, full of life and
animation, to Lake Ontario, is a most tender sea green. We drove on
about six miles, and then crossed a slight suspension bridge (_the_
suspension bridge being a ponderous structure for the railroad trains to
pass over); but the one by which we crossed looked like a spider's-web;
and the view midway, whether we looked up or down, was the finest
specimen of river scenery I ever beheld. We then turned up the stream,
and came by the English side to a most wonderful whirlpool, formed by
the river making a rapid bend, and proceeding in a course at right
angles to the one it had been previously pursuing; but the violence of
the stream had caused it to proceed a long way first in the original
direction; and it was evidently not till it had scooped, or hollowed
out, a large basin, that it was forced to yield to the barrier that was
opposed to it. This is the sort of bend it takes.
[Illustration: Whirlpool]
After dinner we went to deliver a letter which papa had brought for Mr.
Street, who has a house above the Falls. He was not at home; but we went
through the grounds and over a suspension bridge he has built to connect
a large island, also his property, with the mainland. There are, in
fact, not one but many islands, into which one large one has probably,
in the course of time, become divided by the raging torrent. It is just
above the Horse-Shoe Fall, in the midst of the most boisterous part of
the rapids; and it was quite sublime on looking up the river to see the
horizon formed at a considerable level above our heads by the mass of
foaming water. But now for the Falls!
* * * * *
You must fill up this blank with your imagination, for no words can
convey any idea of the scene. They far surpass anything we could have
believed of them. This, however, I write after a thorough study of them
from various points of view; for when we first caught a glimpse, in our
drive to-day, of the Fall on the American side, it disappointed us; but
from the verandah of this hotel, on which our bed-room windows open, we
had the first astounding view of the two Falls, with Goat Island
dividing them; and that sight baffles all description. The Horse-Shoe
Fall is magnificent. The curve is so graceful and beautiful; and the
mist so mysterious, rising, as it does, from the depths below, and
presenting the appearance of a moving veil as it glides past, whether
yielding to every breath of wind, or, as now, when driven quickly by a
gale; then the height of the clouds of light white mist rising above the
trees; and, above all, the delicate emerald green where the curve itself
takes place: all these elements of beauty combined, fill the mind with
wonder, when contemplating so glorious a work of God's hand; so simple,
and yet so striking and magnificent. We can gaze at the whole all day
and all night, if we please, from our own windows. The moon being nearly
full, is a _great_ addition to the beauty of the scene. I have
frequently risen from my seat while writing this, to look first at the
rapids above the American Fall, lit up and shining like the brightest
silver; then at the moon on the mist, illuminating first one part of it
and then another. I must proceed with my description of our doings (if I
can) on Monday, before leaving this for Toronto, which we are to do on
Monday afternoon; but this must be posted here, and I should like to
finish my description of Niagara in this letter. We met a real Indian
to-day. He had somewhat of a Chinese cast of countenance. Perhaps we
shall see more of them. It is said that some of the black waiters in
this hotel are escaped slaves, having come to English ground for safety.
_September 19th._--This being Sunday, we went to a chapel in a village
of native Indians of the Tuscarrara tribe. The chapel was about half
filled with these poor Indians and half with visitors like ourselves.
They have had a missionary among them for about fifty years, and it is
to be hoped that former missionaries talked more sense to them, and
taught them better truths, than the one we heard to-day. His sermon was
both long and tedious, and was interpreted into the Tuscarrara language
sentence by sentence as the preacher, who was a Presbyterian, delivered
it. The burden of it was their ingratitude, not to God, but to the
Government of the United States, which had devoted an untold number of
dollars for their conversion; and he ended by a threat that this
generosity on their part would be withdrawn if they did not alter their
wicked course of life. As we were there for half an hour before the
service began, we had an opportunity of conversing with many of these
poor people, who seemed little to deserve this severe censure, for many
of them had evidently come from a distance, having brought their food
with them, and the people seemed of a quiet and harmless disposition.
Few of them seemed to understand English, and these only the men, as the
women professed, at least, not to understand papa when he tried to talk
to them. They had all of them remarkably piercing and intelligent black
eyes, but were not otherwise good looking. There were two little babies
in their mothers' arms, one in a bright yellow dress. The women wore
handkerchiefs tied over their heads, except one or two who wore round
hats and feathers. Some in hoops and crinolines! All wore bead
necklaces. They are the makers of the well-known mohair and bark and
beadwork. In the churchyard were many tombstones with English
inscriptions. The following is the copy we made of one:--
"SEKWARIHTHICH-DEA WM. CHEW,
GRAND SACHEM OF THE TUSCARRARA NATION OF INDIANS,
WHO DIED DEC. 16, 1857,
In the 61st year of his age.
The memory of his many virtues will be embalmed in the hearts of
his people, and posterity will speak of his praise.
He was a good man, and a just.
He held the office of Grand Sachem 30 years, and was
Missionary Interpreter 29 years."
After chapel we returned to the American side of the Fall, where the
_table d'hôte_ dinner was later than at the Clifton Hotel, which we had
missed. While waiting for dinner, we went again to Goat Island, and had
some splendid views of the Falls, the day being magnificent beyond all
description. Papa and William afterwards took a long walk to get a new
view of the whirlpool. Papa has made me dreadfully anxious all day by
going too close to the edges of the precipices; and as the rock is very
brittle and easily crumbles off, and as his feet often trip in walking,
you may suppose the agonies I have been in; at last I began to wish
myself and him safe in the streets of Toronto. I was not the least
frightened for myself, but it was trying to see him always looking over,
and about to lean against old crazy wooden balustrades that William said
must have given way from sheer rottenness with any weight upon them.
This is _such_ a night, not a single cloud; the clearest possible sky
and the moon shining brightly, as it did over the two Falls the first
night we were here. Papa calls me every minute--"Oh come, do come, this
minute; I do not believe you have ever yet seen the Falls!!!" To-morrow
we have one remaining expedition,--to go in a small steamer called the
"Maid of the Mist," which pokes her nose into the two Falls about six
times a day. The passengers are put into waterproof dresses. This I hope
to describe to you to-morrow, and shall despatch my letter before
starting for Toronto.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] My English maid.
[3] The Erie Canal is one of the three great means of communication
which existed previous to the introduction of railways between the
Eastern States and those that lie to the west of the Alleghanies; the
other two being the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio Canals.
Sections of these great works are shown on the map.
LETTER IV.
NIAGARA.--MAID OF THE MIST.--ARRIVAL AT
TORONTO.--TORONTO.--THOUSAND ISLANDS.--RAPIDS OF THE ST.
LAWRENCE.--MONTREAL.--VICTORIA BRIDGE.
Clifton Hotel, Falls of Niagara,
Sept. 20th, 1858.
I intended to have wound up the description of Niagara in the letter I
despatched to you two hours ago, but we returned home from our
expedition this morning only five minutes before the post hour for
England, so that our packet had to be hastily closed.
We had rather a chapter of accidents this morning, but all has ended
well. We went out immediately after breakfast, the weather being
splendid, though there was a high wind, and finding the mist driving
very hard, we decided on going over to the opposite shore across the
suspension bridge, rather than be ferried over to the steamer in a small
open boat, which can never, I imagine, be very pleasant in such a near
neighbourhood to the two Falls. William, however, remained on this side,
preferring the ferry, and we were to meet on the opposite bank and take
to the little steamer; but though our drive took half-an-hour and his
row five minutes, he was not at the place of rendezvous when, we
arrived, nor did he appear after we had waited for him some time. Papa
then went in a sort of open car down an inclined plane, contrived to
save the fatigue of a long stair. On getting to the bottom he saw
nothing of William, and in walking on the wet planks he slipped down and
fell on his side, and cut his face and bruised his eye; he says his eye
was within a hair's breadth of being put out by the sharp corner of a
rock. He walked up the long stair, being too giddy after his fall to
attempt the car, and he felt very headachy and unwell in consequence all
the morning. At last William made his appearance. There had been no
ferryman for a long time, and when he came he knew so little how to
manage the boat, that had not William rowed they would have been down
the river and over the rapids! At last we all four (Thrower included),
started down the inclined plane to the steamer, and were warned by
papa's tumble to take care of our footing. It might easily be made a
more pleasant landing-place than it is by means of their everlasting
wood. We got on to the "Maid of the Mist," and were made to take off our
bonnets and hats, and put on a sort of waterproof capuchin cloak and
hood, and up we went on deck. In one moment we were drenched; the deck
was a running sea, and the mist drove upon us much harder than pouring
rain. I went there with a cold, and if it gets no worse, shall think
fresh water is as innocuous as salt. It was quite a question whether the
thing was worth doing: the day was probably unfavourable, as the mist
drove on us instead of the other way, but some parts were very fine. We
returned to the same landing-place, as they most stupidly have none on
this side; so up we went again in the open cars, and on landing we had
our photographs done twice with views of the Falls as a background. They
were very well and rapidly done. We then drove William towards the Cave
of the Winds, which is a passage behind what looks from these windows a
mere thread of a waterfall, but is really a very considerable one.
Ladies, however, perform this feat as well as gentlemen, but they have
entirely to change their dress--it is like walking through a great
shower-bath to a _cul de sac_ in the rock. Circular rainbows are seen
here, and William saw two; he seemed to be standing on one which made a
perfect circle round him. A certificate was given him of his having
accomplished this feat. While he was doing this we bought a few things
made by the Indians and the Shakers, and then met William, and hurried
home in time only to sign and despatch our letters to England. We then
dined, and I am now obliged suddenly to stop short in writing, as my
despatch-box must be packed, for we leave this at half-past four for
Toronto.
_Rossin House, Toronto, Sept. 21st._--Our journey here yesterday was not
through as pretty a country as usual, and this part of Canada strikes us
as much tamer than anything we have yet seen in America. We changed
trains at Hamilton and remained there nearly an hour. Sir Allan McNab
has a country house in the neighbourhood, said to be a very pretty one,
and we shall probably go in the train to-morrow to see him. The
railroad, for some time towards the end of our journey yesterday, ran
along the shore of Lake Ontario. The sky was pure and clear, with the
moon shining brightly on the waters of the quiet lake. It was difficult
to believe that the immense expanse of water was not salt. It looked so
like the sea, especially when within a few miles of Toronto we saw tiny
waves and minute pebbles and sand, which gave it an appearance of a
miniature sea beach. Had I not been on a railway when I saw these small
pebbles, I should have picked up some for you, and I think you would
have valued them as much as your cornelians at Cromer. I searched for
them later, and never came up with such a pretty pebbly beach again.
_Montreal, Sept. 25th._--Unhappily this sheet has been packed up by
mistake for some days, and I have not been able to go on with my
journal, but I resume it this evening, for it must be despatched to you
the day after to-morrow.
We passed the 22nd and 23rd at Toronto, and had much pleasure there in
seeing a great deal of the Alfred O.'s, and their very nice children,
and it was quite touching to see the pleasure our visit gave them. We
had the sorrow, however, of parting from William, who left us on the
morning of the 23rd for the Far West. He went with Mr. Latham and Mr.
Kilburn, and it was a very great comfort to us that he had such pleasant
companions, instead of travelling such a distance alone. We had an early
visit at Toronto from Mr. and Mrs. W., friends of the O.'s: they begged
us so earnestly to remain over the 23rd to dine with them, that we
consented to do so. Toronto is a most melancholy-looking place. It has
suffered in the "crisis," and the consequence is that wide streets seem
to have been begun but never finished, giving the town a very disastrous
look. There is one wide handsome street with good shops, and our hotel
was an enormous one; but when this is said, there is little more to add
about it, for it looks otherwise very forlorn, and altogether the town
is the least inviting one we have yet seen in our travels.
In the course of our drive we had an opportunity of seeing the interiors
of some of the houses, many of which display considerable wealth; the
rooms being large, and filled with ornaments of every sort. The ladies
dress magnificently; a handsome coral brooch is often worn, and is
almost an infallible sign, both here and in the United States, of a tour
to Italy having been accomplished; indeed I can feel nearly as certain
that the wearer has travelled so far, by seeing her collar fastened with
it, as if she told me the fact, and many such journeys must have been
performed, judging by the number of coral brooches we see.
We did little the first day but drive about the streets. We drank tea at
the A. O.'s, and the next day they took us to see one very beautiful
sight; the New University, which is in course of building, and is the
most beautiful structure we have seen in America. Indeed it is the only
one which makes the least attempt at Mediæval architecture, and is a
very correct specimen of the twelfth century. The funds for building
this university arise out of the misappropriation (by secularising them)
of the clergy reserves; the lands appropriated to the college giving
them possession of funds to the amount of about three hundred thousand
pounds. Of this the building, it is supposed, will absorb about one
hundred and twenty thousand pounds, and they propose to lay out a large
sum to increase an already very good library, which is rich in works on
natural history and English topography. Dr. McCaul, who is the president
of the college, is a brother of the preacher in London.
We dined at the W.'s on the evening of the 23rd. Their house is very
large, having been lately added to, and the town being very busy,
preparing for an Agricultural Meeting, the upholsterer had not time to
put down the carpets or put up the curtains, and the night being cold,
we felt a little twinge of what a Canadian winter is; but the
drawing-rooms were exceedingly pretty,--the walls being very light
stucco, with ornaments in relief, and they were brilliantly lighted. We
were eighteen at dinner, the party including the O.'s, the Mayor, Dr.
and Mrs. McCaul, and Sir Allan McNab, who had come from his
country-place to meet us. The dinner was as well appointed, in all
respects, as if it had taken place in London. In the evening Mrs. W.
sang "Where the bee sucks" most beautifully. Papa encored it, and was
quite delighted at hearing so favourite a song so well sung. The
mayoress also sang, and so did another lady. The furniture of the rooms
was of American oak and black walnut, which are favourite woods; but we
did not much admire them. When we were leaving, Mrs. W. showed us her
bed-room, which was really splendid,--so spacious, and so beautifully
furnished; there was a bath-room near it, and other bed-rooms also of
large dimensions. We drove back to our hotel in the moonlight, so bright
and clear that it was difficult not to suppose it daylight, except that
the planets were so brilliant.
We took leave that night of the O.'s, as we had to make an early start
next day, and were very sorry to part from them. On the 24th, we were
off at eight in the morning by train to Kingston, arriving there early
in the afternoon. It is the best sleeping-place between Toronto and
Montreal. The road was uninteresting, though at times we came upon the
broad waters of the lake, which varied the scenery. We had an excellent
dinner at the station, and I ought to mention, that as we were
travelling on the Grand Trunk Railway, and on English soil, we had
first class carriages; there being both first and second class on this
line, but varying only in the softness of the seats. There was no other
difference from other lines.
Kingston is a prosperous little town on the borders of the lake, and the
hotel quite a small country inn. We drove out to see the Penitentiary,
or prison, for the whole of the Two Canadas,--a most massive stone
structure. I never was within prison-walls before, so that I cannot
compare it with others; but, though papa had much admired the prison at
Boston, he preferred the principle of giving the prisoners work in
public (which is the case at Kingston), to the solitary system at
Boston. We saw the men hard at work making furniture, and in the
blacksmith's forge, and making an enormous quantity of boots; they work
ten hours a day in total silence, and all had a subdued look; but we
were glad to think they had employment, and could see each other. Their
food is excellent,--a good meat diet, and the best bread. The
sleeping-places seemed to us dreadful little solitary dens, though the
man who showed us over them said they were better than they would have
had on board ship. There were sixty female prisoners employed in making
the men's clothes, but these we were not allowed to see. One lady is
permitted to visit them, in order to give them religious instruction,
but they do not otherwise see the visitors to the prison. There are
prisoners of all religious denominations, a good many being Roman
Catholics; and there are chaplains to suit their creeds, and morning and
evening prayers.
We walked back to Kingston, and on the walls observed notices of a
meeting to be held in the town that evening, to remonstrate against the
work done by the prisoners, which is said to injure trade; but, as we
were to make a very early start in the morning, we did not go to it.
We were called at half-past four to be ready for the boat which started
at six for Montreal. It was a rainy morning, and I awoke in a rather
depressed state of mind, with the prospect before me of having to
descend the rapids of the St. Lawrence in the steamer; and as the
captain of our vessel in crossing the Atlantic had said, he was not a
little nervous at going down them, I thought I might be so too. We had
first, however, to go through the Thousand Islands, which sounds very
romantic, but turned out rather a failure. There are in reality about
1,400 of these islands, where the river St. Lawrence issues from Lake
Ontario. The morning was unpropitious, it being very rainy, and this, no
doubt, helped to give them a dismal appearance. They are of all forms
and sizes, some three miles long, and some hardly appearing above the
water. The disappointment to us was their flatness, and their all being
alike in their general aspect, being covered with light wood. When this
is lit up by the sun, they are probably very pretty, as we experienced
later in the day, which turned out to be a most brilliant one. The
islands are generally uninhabited, except by wild ducks, deer, foxes,
raccoons, squirrels, musk-rats, and minxes, and also by partridges in
abundance. We have tasted the wild duck, which is very good.
About one o'clock in the day we lost sight of the islands, except a few,
which occasionally are scattered along the river; we had no longer
however to thread our way among them, as we had done earlier in the day.
Dinner was at two, but we were not much disposed to go down, for we had
just passed one rapid, and were coming to the finest of all, the Cedars;
but they turned out to be by no means alarming to an unpractised eye.
The water is much disturbed, and full of small crests of waves. There
were four men at the wheel, besides four at the tiller, and they had no
doubt to keep a sharp look out; we stood on deck, and received a good
sea in our faces, and were much excited by the scene. The longest rapid
occupied us about twenty minutes, being nine miles long. It is called
the Long Sault. The banks on either side continued flat; we stopped
occasionally at pretty little villages to take in passengers or wood,
but these stoppages told much against our progress, and the days now
being short, we were informed that the vessel could not reach Montreal
that night. There is a rapid a few miles above Montreal, which is the
most dangerous of them all, and cannot be passed in the dark. The boat,
therefore, stopped at La Chine for the night, and we had our choice of
sleeping on board or landing and taking the train for eight miles to
Montreal; and as we had seen all the rest of the rapids, and did not
feel much disposed for the pleasure of a night in a small cabin, we
decided on landing. We had tea first, with plenty of cold meat on the
table, and the fare was excellent on board, with no extra charge for it.
Before landing we had a most magnificent sunset. The sun sank at the
stern of the vessel; and the sky remained for an hour after in the most
exquisite shades of colouring, from clear blue, shading to a pale green,
and then to a most glorious golden colour. The water was of the deepest
blue, and the great width of the noble river added to the grandeur of
the scene. The Canadian evenings and nights are surpassingly beautiful.
The atmosphere is so light, and the colouring of the sunset and the
bright light of the moon are beyond all description. We made
acquaintance with a couple of Yankees on board, who amused us much. They
were a young couple, travelling, they said, for pleasure. They looked of
the middle class, and were an amusing specimen of Yankee vulgarity. The
lady's expression for admiration was "ullegant:" the dinner was
"ullegant," the sunset was "ullegant," and so was the moonrise, and so
were the corn-cakes and corn-pops _fixed_ by herself or her mother. She
was delighted with the bead bracelet I was making, and I gave her a
pattern of the beads. She was astonished to find that the English made
the electric cable. She and her husband mean to go to England and
Scotland in two years. I was obliged to prepare her for bad hotels and
thick atmosphere, at both of which she seemed astonished. She was also
much surprised that she would not find Negro waiters in London. They
remained on board for the night; and on meeting her in the street
yesterday, she assured us the last rapid was "ullegant," and that we had
missed much in not seeing it.
We arrived at Montreal at eight o'clock on the evening of the 24th, and
walked a little about the town. The moon was so bright that colours
could be clearly distinguished. We yesterday spent many hours on the
Victoria bridge which is building here across the river in connection
with the Grand Trunk Railway. It is a most wonderful work, and I must
refer you to an interesting article in the last _Edinburgh Review_ for a
full account of it. Papa had letters to the chief officials of the
railway, which procured us the advantage of being shown the work in
every detail by Mr. Hodges (an Englishman), who has undertaken the
superintendence of it--the plans having been given him by Stephenson.
The expense will be enormous--about a million and a quarter sterling;
almost all raised in England. The great difficulties to be contended
with are:--the width of the river--it being two miles wide at this
point; its rapidity--the current running at the rate of seven miles an
hour; and the enormous masses of ice which accumulate in the river in
the winter; rising as high sometimes as the houses on either side, and
then bursting their bounds and covering the road. The stone piers are
built with a view to resist as much as possible this pressure; and a
great number of them are finished, and have never yet received a
scratch from the ice, which is satisfactory. Their profile is of this
form. And this knife-like edge cuts the ice through as it passes down
the river, enabling the blocks to divide at the piers and pass under the
bridge on each side. The piers are built of limestone, in blocks varying
from eight to ten feet high: but in sinking a foundation for them,
springs are frequently met with under some large boulders in the bed of
the river, and this causes great delay, as the water has to be pumped
out before the building can proceed. The bridge will be an iron tubular
one; the tubes come out from Birkenhead in pieces, and are riveted
together here. We first rowed across the river with Mr. Hodges in a
six-oared boat; and the day being warm and very fine, we enjoyed it
much. This gave us some idea of the breadth of the river and of the
length of the bridge, of which it is impossible to judge when seen
fore-shortened from the shore.
[Illustration: Bridge piers]
We then mounted the bridge and were astonished at the magnitude of the
work. There is an immense forest of woodwork underneath most of it at
present, but they are glad to clear this away as fast as the progress of
the upper work admits, as if left till winter the force of the ice cuts
through these enormous beams as if they were straw. We could only
proceed across two piers at the end furthest from the town, but here we
had a very fine view of Montreal, lying at the foot of the hill from
which it takes its name. It has many large churches, the largest being
the Roman Catholic cathedral, and the tin roofs of the houses and
churches glittered in the sun and gave a brilliant effect. We returned
to the boat and rowed again across the river below the bridge, and here,
owing to the strength of the current our boat had to pursue a most
zig-zag path, pulling up under the eddy of each buttress, but our
boatmen knew well what they were about, as they are in the habit of
taking Mr. Hodges daily to the bridge and it was very pretty to hear the
warning of _doucement! doucement!_ from the helmsman as we approached
any peril. Mr. H. said that without the familiarity they had with the
river, the boat would in an instant be carried down the stream and out
of all control. The French language is much more spoken than the
English, there being a large body of French Roman Catholic Canadians
here and at Quebec. I say this to account for the _doucement_; but must
now leave this wonderful bridge, and tell you that after seeing it we
drove to the Bishop of Montreal's. We found him and Mrs. Fulford at
home, and sat some time with them, and they asked us to drink tea with
them, which we did. There was no one there but ourselves, and we passed
an agreeable evening with them, and came home by moonlight with the
comet also beaming on us.
_September 27th._--We went yesterday morning to a small church in the
suburbs where the bishop preached. We found Lord and Lady Radstock in
the hotel, and papa walked with him in the afternoon, and endeavoured to
learn something of the Christian Young Men's Association here. They
found the secretary at home, and from him learnt that the revivals of
religion here have lately been of a satisfactory nature, and that there
is a great deal of religious feeling at work among the middle classes. I
forgot to mention that on Saturday we met a long procession of nuns
going to the church of Notre Dame, which gave the place a very foreign
look. We went into the church for a few minutes. It was very large, part
of it was well filled, and a French sermon going on. There are a good
many convents here, and I shall try to visit one. The Jesuits are said
to be very busy. We hear French constantly spoken in the streets. We
went to church again yesterday evening, when the bishop preached on the
text, "Demas hath forsaken me."
To-day we took Lord and Lady Radstock to Mr. Hodges, who promised to
show them over the bridge, and since that papa and I have had a pleasant
drive round the mountain. From one part we had a good view of the Ottawa
river, celebrated by Moore, who wrote his Canadian boat song in a canoe
on the rapids of that river. The town of Ottawa has been named by the
Queen as the seat of Government; but after consulting her on the
subject, the inhabitants seem disinclined to take her advice. The views
were very pretty, and the day warm and pleasant. As we drove we
frequently saw on the walls, large placards with a single text in French
or English, an evidence of the work of the revival going on here. We
wound up our visit to Montreal by buying some furs, this being the best
place to get them: they are to be shipped from here in a sailing vessel,
and therefore will not reach London for some time, but notice will be
sent of their coming; so be on the look out for them some day. We are
off this afternoon for Quebec, where we hope to find some good news from
you all. So adieu, my dear child.
LETTER V.
JOURNEY FROM MONTREAL TO QUEBEC.--QUEBEC.--FALLS OF
MONTMORENCY.--ISLAND POND.--WHITE MOUNTAINS.--PORTLAND.--RETURN TO
BOSTON.--HARVARD UNIVERSITY.--NEWHAVEN.--YALE UNIVERSITY.--RETURN
TO NEW YORK.
Portland Maine, Sept. 29th, 1858.
I closed my last letter to you at Montreal, since which we have been
travelling so much that I have had no time for writing till to-night. I
must now, therefore, endeavour to resume the thread of my narrative,
though it is a little perplexing to do so after going over so much
ground as we have done lately in a short space of time.
We left Montreal early in the afternoon of the 27th, in company with Mr.
and Mrs. Bailey. He is one of the managers of the Grand Trunk Railway,
and came with us as far as Quebec, as a sort of guard of honour or
escort, papa having been specially commended to the care of the
_employés_ on this line. Both he and his wife are English. We crossed
the St. Lawrence in a steam-ferry to join the railway, and as long as
it was light we had a most delightful journey through a highly
cultivated country, covered with small farms, which came in quick
succession on both sides of the road. These farms are all the property
of French Canadians, and on each one there is a wooden dwelling-house,
with barns and out-houses attached to it, and the land runs down from
the front of the tenement to the railroad. There is no hedge to be seen
anywhere, and these long strips of fields looked very like allotment
lands in England, though on a larger scale. These proprietors have been
possessors of the soil from the time of the first settlement of the
French in Canada, and the farms have suffered from the subdivision of
property consequent on the French law of succession. They are so close
together that, when seen at a distance, the houses look like a
continuous line of street as far as the eye can reach, but we soon lost
sight of them in the obscurity occasioned by forests and the approach of
night. We passed many log huts, which, though very rude, do not seem
uncomfortable dwellings.
We saw little of the country as we approached Quebec, and were conscious
only of crossing the Chaudière river and of going along its banks for
some way, and afterwards along those of the St. Lawrence, till we
reached Point Levi, opposite Quebec. Here we got into a steamer to cross
the river, and from the steamer we had a grand view of the citadel and
town of Quebec, the tin spires shining jointly with the moon and the
comet; for we beg to say we do not require telescopes of high power, as
we see by the papers you do in England, to detect the latter luminary,
which really does look here almost as if it added to the light of the
night. Papa and I differ greatly as to the length of its tail. I say it
looks two yards long, but papa says it is difficult to tell this, but
that it is really about a degree and a half in length, or about six
diameters of the moon. The nucleus is larger and brighter than any star
in the Great Bear, and these are all bright here to a degree of which
you can form no idea. The planets look as large as fourpenny-pieces.
Papa has made me reduce them to this estimate, as I originally said as
large as sixpences; but he questions altogether my appreciation of the
size of the heavenly bodies, which do all seem wonderfully large to my
eyes.
On reaching the north side of the river, on which Quebec stands, we got
into an omnibus and drove up streets of a most tremendous ascent; it was
really quite alarming, as the pavement was in the most dreadful state,
and the omnibus, which was very rickety, was crammed with passengers.
Next morning we got up very early, and papa went out before breakfast to
inquire for the letters which we expected to receive from England, but
which had not yet arrived.
After an early breakfast we went in an open carriage to the Falls of
Montmorency, and I think I never had a more lovely drive. We passed
through several most prosperous-looking villages, and between farm
houses so closely adjoining each other as to give the appearance of a
long suburb to the city. At Beauport, about half-way between Quebec and
Montmorency, there is a splendid Roman Catholic church, which would do
credit to any country. The inhabitants here and at Quebec generally are
entirely French Canadians, and the driver here, as at Montreal, was
quite in the Coharé[4] style for intelligence and respectable
appearance. The falls of Montmorency are a little way off the road, and
the approach to the top of the fall down a flight of wooden stairs is
very easy. The river here descends in one great fall of 250 feet, and as
the river is 60 feet wide, the proportion between the height and the
breadth of the fall seems nearly perfect. It falls almost into the St.
Lawrence, as it tumbles over the very bank of the latter river, and the
view up and down the glorious St. Lawrence is here very beautiful. We
were elevated so far above the bottom of the chasm that the spray
apparently rose up only a short way, but it really does rise upwards of
150 feet, and in winter it freezes and forms a cone of ice exceeding 100
feet in height, which is said to present a most wonderful appearance.
Returning to Quebec we had a splendid view of the town. The fortress on
Cape Diamond seemed to jut out into the river, along the banks of which,
and rising to a great height above it, the town lay in all its glory.
The tops of the houses and the spires of the churches are covered with
tin, and from the dryness of the atmosphere it looks as fresh and
polished as if just put up. The sun was shining splendidly, and the
effect was almost dazzling. This and the richness of the intervening
country produced an impression which it would be difficult to efface
from the memory. The citadel, I should think, is hardly as high as the
castles of Edinburgh or Stirling, but in this country everything (even
to the heavenly bodies!!!) is on such a scale that it is not easy to
draw comparisons. The guide book, however, says that the rock rises 350
feet perpendicularly from the river, so that by looking at some of your
books of reference, you may find out which is the highest. The approach
is from the town behind, by a zig-zag road, and the fortifications seem
very formidable and considerable, though papa says greatly inferior to
Gibraltar, or to Malta, which it more strongly resembles as a work of
art.
Mr. Baily procured us an order for admission, so that we went to the
highest point, and the view up and down the river was truly magnificent.
A little below the town it is divided by an island of considerable size,
and as the river takes a bend here, it is rather difficult to make out
its exact course. The town is situated at the junction of the St.
Lawrence and the St. Charles, and as the latter forms a large bay or
estuary at the confluence, the whole has a very lake-like appearance.
We left the citadel at the gate opposite the one at which we entered,
and getting out upon the plains of Abraham, saw the monument erected on
the spot where Wolfe fell; close to it is an old well from which water
was brought to him to relieve his thirst after he had received his
mortal wound. Another monument is erected within the citadel, in what
is called the Governor's Garden. This is raised to the joint memories of
Wolfe and the French general, Montcalm, who was also mortally wounded in
the same action. From the plains of Abraham there is a beautiful view up
the river, and here, as on the other side of the town, the country at a
distance is studded with farm houses. In a circuit we made of two or
three miles in the vicinity of the town, we passed a number of really
splendid villas belonging to English residents, but with this exception
all seemed much more French than English, excepting that in _la vieille
France_ we never saw such order, cleanliness, and comfort, nor could
these be well surpassed in any country.
The small farmers here live entirely upon the produce of their farms;
they knit their own stockings, and weave their own grey coarse cloth. We
looked into several of their houses, and the extreme cleanliness of
every little corner of their dwellings was wonderful. The children seem
very healthy and robust-looking. The whole population talk French. The
crosses by the roadside proclaim them to be Roman Catholics, and the
extensive convents in the town tend doubtless to the promotion of the
temporal comforts of the poorer inhabitants. The principal church was
richly decorated with gilding up to the roof, and the gold, from the
dryness of the climate, was as bright as if newly laid on.
The extreme clearness of the air of Canada contributed, no doubt,
greatly to the beauty of everything we saw, though we found the cold
that accompanied it rather sharper than we liked. Mrs. Baily told me
that it is a curious sight to see the market in the winter, everything
being sold in a frozen state. The vegetables are dug up in the beginning
of winter, and are kept in cellars and from thence brought to market. A
month's consumption can be bought at a time, without the provisions
spoiling, as all remains frozen till it is cooked. The sheep and pigs
are seen standing, as if alive, but in a thoroughly frozen state. The
winter lasts from November till April. Sleighing is the universal and
only mode of travelling. The sleighs, which are very gay, are covered
with bells, and the travellers in them are usually clothed in expensive
furs. Pic-nics are carried on in the winter, to arrange which committees
are formed, each member inviting his friends till the parties often
number 100. They then hire a large room for dancing, and the guests
dress themselves in their ball dresses, and then envelope themselves in
their furs, and start at six in the evening for their ball, frequently
driving in their sleighs for several miles by moonlight to the place of
rendezvous. Open sleighs are almost always used for evening parties, and
apparently without any risk, although the evening dress is put on before
starting. There is great danger without care of being frost-bitten
during a Canadian winter, but it must be a very gay and pretty sight to
see sleighs everywhere, and all seem to enjoy the winter much, though
the cold is very intense.
We left Quebec early in the afternoon of the 28th, having called at the
post-office on our way to the train, and got our English letters. We now
passed during the day what we missed seeing the night before, on our
approach to Quebec. In crossing the Chaudière we could see the place
where this large river plunges over a perpendicular rock 130 feet high,
and the river being here very broad, the falls must be very fine, but
though we passed close above them, we could only distinguish the
difference of level between the top and the bottom, and see the cloud of
spray rising above the whole. The road till night-fall passed chiefly
through forest lands. The stations were good, though sometimes very
small, and at one of the smallest the station-master was the son of an
English clergyman.
At Richmond we parted company with the Bailys and got on to Island
Pond, where we slept at a large and most comfortable hotel. From
Richmond the road passes through a very pretty country, but its beauties
were lost upon us, as the night was very dark and there was no moon.
This also caused us to miss seeing the beauties of Island Pond on our
arrival there, but we were fully repaid by the sight which greeted our
eyes in the morning, when we looked out of our window. The Americans
certainly have grand notions of things, this Island Pond being a lake of
considerable dimensions studded with beautiful islands, and surrounded
on all sides by finely wooded hills, up which the heavy mist rose half
way, presenting the appearance we have so often seen in Switzerland, of
hills apparently rising out of a frozen ocean. The mist too, covering
the surface of the water, gave it a snow-like look, and altogether the
sight was very lovely. The road from this to Gorham was most
interesting, being down the course of the Androscoggan river through a
very wide valley, with high hills on both sides.
We left the train at the Alpine House at Gorham, to take a peep at the
White Mountains. We were kept waiting some little time at Gorham, while
the wheels of the _buggy_, that was to take us to the foot of Mount
Washington, were being examined. This vehicle was a sort of
double-bodied pony chair, of a very rickety description, the front seat
being contrived to turn over, so as to make more room for those at the
back to get in and out, the consequence was that it was always disposed,
even with papa's weight upon it, to turn over, and throw him upon the
horses' tails. Thrower and I sat behind, and papa and the driver in the
front, and I held on tightly by the back, which had the double advantage
of keeping me in, and of preventing his tumbling out. We had two capital
horses, and were driven for eight miles by the side of a mountain
torrent called by the unromantic name of the Peabody River. The woods
through which we passed were extremely pretty, and the torrent was our
companion throughout the drive. The road was of the roughest possible
description, over large boulders and up and down hills. The only wonder
was, that we were not tossed out of our carriage and into the torrent.
The leaves were beginning to turn, and some of the foliage was extremely
beautiful, particularly that of the moosewood, the large leaf of which
turns to a rich mulberry colour. We picked several of them to dry.
On reaching the Glen House, we found ourselves in front of a very large
hotel, standing in an amphitheatre of mountains. These are called by
the names of the presidents, Washington, Monroe, Adams, Jefferson, and
Madison. Washington is 6500 feet high, and seven others, which form a
continuous line of peaks, are higher than Ben Nevis. Although snow has
fallen this year, they seem free from snow just now, but they all have a
white appearance from the greyish stone of which they are formed, and
hence the name of the White Mountains. We went a short way up the ascent
to Mount Washington, and judging from this beginning, the road up the
mountain must be very beautiful. For two-thirds of the height they are
covered with splendid forest trees. When, at this season, the leaves are
changing in places to a deep crimson, the effect is very fine. The upper
part of these mountains seems to consist of barren rocks. We returned
and dined at the Alpine House. Both papa and I were seriously frightened
in our walks, especially at the Glen House, by encountering three
savage-looking bears. Luckily before we had shouted for help, we
discovered they were chained, but the first being exactly in a path we
were trying to walk along, really alarmed us.
We left Gorham for Portland at about four o'clock. The road the greater
part of the way is perfectly beautiful. It continued along the course
of the Androscoggan, with the White Mountains on one side, and with a
range, which to our eyes appeared quite as high, on the other. When we
left the river, the road was diversified by passing several large lakes,
one of which, called Bryant's Pond, resembled Island Pond in beauty.
_October 1st._--We got up betimes yesterday to see Portland, which it
was too late to do to any purpose on the evening of our arrival. Papa
delivered his letter to Mr. Miller, the agent here of the Grand Trunk
Railway, and he accompanied us on the heights, from which we were able
to look down upon the town and its noble harbour--the finest in the
United States. As it is here that the Leviathan is destined to come if
she ever does cross the Atlantic, they have, at a great expense, made a
wharf to receive her. The harbour is entirely land-locked and studded
with islands. The day was very fine, but not so clear as the day before,
or we should have seen the White Mountains, which are clearly visible
from this, although sixty miles distant in a right line. The city is
very beautiful, and, like all the New England towns, most clean and well
conditioned. Each street is embellished by avenues of elm trees of a
larger size than we have yet seen in America, with the exception of
those in the park of Boston.
We had here an opportunity of witnessing a very pretty sight, which was
the exercising of the Fire Companies, of which there are nine in this
town. Each Company had an engine as clean and bright as if it had just
come out of the maker's hands, and the firemen attached to them were
dressed in uniforms, each of a different colour. Long ropes were
fastened to these engines, by which the men drew them along. To each
engine there was also attached a brigade of men, wearing helmets, and
fire-proof dresses. They seemed altogether a fine body of men. We did
not wait to see the result of the trial, as to which engine could pump
furthest, which, with a reward of $100 to be given to the successful
engine, was the object of their practising. These Fire Companies seem to
be a great "Institution" everywhere in the United States, the troop at
New York having figured greatly in the Cable rejoicings. The companies
of different towns are in the habit of paying visits to each other, when
great fêtes take place, and much good-fellowship is shown. Fires are
very frequent in the great towns, but the means of extinguishing them
must be great in proportion, judging from what we have seen here. These
companies are said to be very well organised, and as they act as a
police also, very little pilfering takes place. Mr. Miller afterwards
took us to a part of the suburbs to show us some very pretty villas,
with gardens more cared for than any we have yet seen.
We left Portland in the afternoon. There are two railways from Portland
to Boston, and we selected the lower or sea-coast road. The country was
not very pretty, the shore being flat, but as we approached the seaports
of Portsmouth, Newburyport, and Salem, the views improved, especially in
the neighbourhood of Portsmouth, which stands on a neck of land jutting
far into the sea. There was a great deal of hay standing on meadows
which were flooded by the sea water; to protect the stacks, they were
built upon platforms supported by stone pillars, which had a curious
effect. The crops seemed very abundant, for the stacks were large and
close together and spread over a wide area. The quality of this salted
hay is said to be good, and the animals like it very much.
We got to Boston late last night, and to-day papa paid a long visit to
Judge Curtis, and we went afterwards on a railway, drawn by horses, to
see the famous Harvard University, in the town of Cambridge, which lies
about four miles to the west of Boston. When Mr. Jared Sparkes, the
late president, was in England, papa, at Mr. Morgan's request, gave him
letters to Cambridge, and upon the strength of this we called on him and
were most graciously received by Mrs. Sparkes, who entertained us till
Mr. Sparkes returned from Boston. He is a very pleasing and intelligent
man; before parting they gave us letters to Professor Silliman, of the
sister University of Yale, at New Haven. We met here too Mr. and Mrs.
Stevens, who accompanied us back to Boston, and loaded us with
introductions to the same place.
The town of Cambridge occupies a good deal of ground, for the so-called
streets are avenues of beautiful trees, with villas interspersed between
them. In an open space in the centre of the town, there is a most
magnificent tree, called the Washington Elm, noted, not only for its
size, but for its being historically connected with Washington. There is
a large library belonging to the college; and the college is in every
way very flourishing; but as we mean to return here again, we did not
think it worth while now to see it in detail.[5]
_October 2nd._--Papa went last night to a meeting, which is held every
night for prayer, at the Young Men's Christian Association, and was
extremely pleased with what he saw and heard. He was there for half an
hour before the prayers began. These lasted from nine till ten. Papa was
placed in the seat of honour, in a chair beside the President, and was
asked by him to address the meeting; but he got out of it by saying that
he came to listen and not to speak, and added only a few words on the
great interest with which these revivals in America were looked upon in
England. He was very much interested with the whole of the proceedings,
which were conducted with extreme moderation and right feeling.
To-day we made an early start, and at first went over the ground which
we travelled when we left Boston for Niagara; but instead of leaving the
Connecticut river at Springfield, as we did on that occasion, we
followed its course to Hartford, and finally came on to New Haven, from
which place I am now writing.
We arrived at two o'clock, and, after getting some food, called on
Professor Silliman, who took us over the University, and showed us the
museum, where there are some wonderful foot-prints on slabs of rock,
which have been found in this country. There is also here one of the
largest meteoric stones that is known. In the library there are many
books which were given to it by Bishop Berkeley, whose memory seems as
much respected here as it is at Newport.
_October 3rd._--Professor Silliman called on us this morning at ten
o'clock, and brought with him Mr. Sheffield, an influential person in
this neighbourhood, and a great patron of the University. As Mr.
Sheffield was an Episcopalian, he took us to his church, where we heard
a most striking sermon, and afterwards received the Communion. The
number of communicants was very large. We are very much struck at seeing
how well Sunday is observed in America. There are about thirty churches
in New Haven, and they are all, we are told, well filled. These churches
are of various denominations; but there seems a total want of anything
like a parochial system.
Papa went afterwards to the College chapel, or rather church, where the
young men attached to the University were assembled in the body of the
building. Papa was in the gallery, which is appropriated to the
Professors and their families. There are no less than forty-one
Professors at Yale, including those of theology, law, and medicine,
which are all studied here.
The sciences take greatly the lead over the classics. When we remarked
to Professor Silliman how great the proportion of scientific Professors
seemed to be, he said the practical education which was given in this
country, rendered this more necessary than in England, where men have
more time and leisure for literary pursuits. This is no doubt the case,
and in this country the devotion of every one's time and talents to
money-making is much to be regretted, for it is the non-existence of a
highly educated class that tends to keep down the general tone of
society here, by not affording any standard to look up to. It is curious
what a depressing effect is caused in our minds by the equality we see
every where around us; it is very similar to what we lately felt when on
the shores of their vast lakes,--tideless, and therefore lifeless, when
compared to the sea with its ever-varying heights. If I may carry this
idea further, I might say there is another point of resemblance between
the physical and moral features of the country, inasmuch as when the
waters of these lakes of theirs are stirred up and agitated by storms,
they are both more noisy and more dangerous than those of the real
ocean.
New Haven is considered to be the most beautiful town in America, and it
is marvellously beautiful. The elm is a very fine tree on this
continent. It is of a peculiar kind, rising to a great height before
any branches shoot out, thus producing large overhanging branches like a
candelabrum. It is common in all American towns, but this is called by
pre-eminence the City of Elms. There are broad avenues in every
direction, the branches of the trees meeting across and forming shady
walks on the hottest day.
The shops, relatively to the size of the town, are as good as any we
have seen in the larger cities. Next to the booksellers' shops, or book
stores as they call them, the most striking, if they are not the most
striking of all, are the chemists' shops, which abound here as
elsewhere. They are of enormous size, and are kept in perfect order,
though the marvel is lessened when the variety of their contents is
considered, this being of a very miscellaneous description, chiefly
perfumery, at all events not restricted to drugs. Hat stores and boot
stores are very numerous, and labels of "Misses' Hats" and "Gents' Pants
fixed to patterns," are put up in the windows.
In the afternoon Professor Silliman took papa a long walk in the
country, and geologised him among basaltic rocks of great beauty; and in
passing through the woods, they made a grand collection of red leaves. I
had, during this walk, been deposited with Mrs. Silliman, and we
remained and drank tea with them. The professor's father, also
Professor Silliman, a most energetic gentleman, upwards of eighty years
old, came to meet us, as did Professor Dana and one or two others,
including the gentleman who preached to the boys. I cannot get papa to
tell me how he preached, and must draw my own conclusion from his
silence. He will only admit that the pew was very comfortable and the
cushion soft, and as he was kept awake all last night by mosquitoes, the
inference to be drawn is not difficult. I have since been employed in
arranging my leaves in a blotting-book, which I got at Boston for that
purpose, and as it is late must close this for to-night.
_New York, October 4th._--We left New Haven this morning and arrived
here this afternoon. The intermediate country along the northern shore
of Long Island Sound is very interesting. We crossed a great many rivers
which in England would be deemed large ones, at the mouths of which were
pretty villages, but we passed so rapidly that we had scarcely time to
do more than catch a glimpse of them. As the mail leaves to-morrow, I
must conclude this.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] Our driver, some years ago, at Pau.
[5] We, unfortunately, never had an opportunity of returning to
Cambridge.
LETTER VI.
DESTRUCTION OF THE CRYSTAL
PALACE.--PHILADELPHIA.--CEMETERY.--GIRARD
COLLEGE.--BALTIMORE.--AMERICAN LITURGY.--RETURN TO
PHILADELPHIA.--PENITENTIARY.--RETURN TO NEW YORK.
New York, 12th Oct. 1858.
We have seen comparatively so little since I last wrote to you, that I
have hesitated about sending by this mail any account of our travels;
but I believe, upon the whole, it may be as well to give you an account
of our movements up to this time.
My last letter would tell you of our arrival at this place. The evening
was so fine, that papa and I were induced to go to the Crystal Palace.
Although very inferior to ours at Sydenham, it was interesting as being
filled with an immense variety of farming implements, which had been
brought together for the great annual agricultural show. There were also
large collections of sewing machines, hydraulic presses, and steam
engines, besides collections of smaller articles, watches, jewellery,
&c.; and a great many statues, including the original models of
Thorwaldsen's colossal group of our Saviour and the Apostles. The place
was brilliantly lighted up, and the effect was very striking.
Next day papa was returning home and saw a dense cloud of smoke hanging
over the town; and on approaching the spot, found the poor palace and
all its contents a thing of the past; one minaret only being left of the
building. The whole had been consumed by fire in _ten minutes_; so rapid
was the progress of the flames from the time of their first bursting
out, that in that short space of time the dome had fallen in; and
wonderful to say, though there were more than 2000 people, chiefly women
and children, in the building when the alarm was given, the whole of
them escaped uninjured.
We waited on in New York till Friday the 8th, vainly hoping to hear
tidings of William; although by a letter received from him a day or two
before, he said he should probably be at Baltimore on Saturday. With
this uncertainty hanging over his plans, we determined on going there;
and on Friday night got as far as Philadelphia by the Camden and Amboy
Railway, through a country far from pretty, compared with what we have
been accustomed to.
Philadelphia is situated between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, at
about six miles above the junction of the two rivers. In order to reach
the town we had to cross the Delaware, which we did in a steamer of huge
proportions. It was getting dark when we landed at Philadelphia; and we
were much struck with the large and broad streets and well-lighted
shops. It is said of New York, that the winding lanes and streets in the
old part of the town, originated in the projectors of the city having
decided to build their first houses along paths which had been
established by the cattle when turned into the woods. The projectors of
Philadelphia have certainly avoided this error, if error it was; for
there the streets throughout the city are as regular as the squares of a
chess board, which a map of the city much resembles. The streets extend
from one river to the other.
We got up next morning betimes; and as it is our intention to see the
town more thoroughly hereafter, we took advantage of a lovely day (but
what day is not here beautiful) to see a cemetery situated upon a bend
of the Schuylkill. It is very extensive; for they have so much elbow
room in this country that they can afford to have things on a large
scale; and everything here partook of this feature. The plots of ground
allotted to each family were capacious squares, ornamented with flowers,
surrounded by white marble balustrades, and large enough to contain
separate tombstones, often inside walks, and sometimes even iron
arm-chairs and sofas. The monuments were all of white marble, of which
material there seems here to be a great abundance, and none of them were
offensive in their style, but on the contrary were in general in that
good taste, which the Americans in some way or other, how we cannot make
out, contrive to possess.
We went afterwards to see the famous Girard College, for the education
of orphan boys. Mr. Girard bequeathed two millions of dollars to found
it, and his executors have built a massive marble palace, quite
unsuited, it struck us, to the purpose for which it was intended; and
the education we are told, is unsuited likewise to the station in life
of the boys who are brought up in it. As in most public institutions for
the purposes of education in this country, no direct religious
instruction is given. This does not seem in general to proceed from any
want of appreciation of its importance, but is owing to the difficulty,
where there is no predominant creed, of giving instruction in any: but
in the case of the Girard institution, even this excuse for the
omission cannot be made, for a stipulation was imposed by Mr. Girard in
his will, that no minister of any denomination should ever enter its
walls, even as a visitor, though this, we understand is not carried out.
For the first time in America we met here with a most taciturn official,
and could learn much less than we wished of the manner in which the
institution is managed.
On Saturday the 9th, being the same afternoon, we went on to Baltimore,
and were perplexed at not finding letters from William; but to our great
relief he made his appearance in the evening, much pleased with his
travels.
The country from Philadelphia to Baltimore, like that which we passed
through on the preceding day, is much less interesting than the country
to the north of New York; but a grand feature of the road we travelled
was the Susquehanna River, which is here very broad, and which we
crossed in a large steamer, leaving the train we were in, and joining
another which was in readiness on the other side. The point at which we
crossed the river, was at the spot where it falls into the Chesapeake.
The shores of this beautiful bay are profusely indented with arms or
estuaries, the heads of which, as well as the mouths of several
tributary rivers, we repeatedly crossed on long bridges: this afforded
a great variety in the scenery, and much enlivened the last part of our
journey.
Next day being Sunday, we heard an admirable sermon from Dr. Cox. The
church in which he preached was a large and handsome one, and the
service was well performed. In describing the service at West Point, I
mentioned that it differed in some respects from our own. We have now
had frequent opportunities of becoming acquainted with the American
liturgy; and, as it will interest some of you at home, I may as well
tell you a little in what those differences consist, with which we were
most forcibly struck.
Some alterations were of course rendered necessary by the establishment
of a republic, but these seem to have been confined as far as possible
to what the occasion called for. I think, however, in spite of their
republicanism, they might have retained the Scriptural expression, "King
of Kings, and Lord of Lords," instead of changing it to the inflated,
"High and Mighty Ruler of the Universe." This reminded us of the doubt
raised by some, when Queen Victoria came to the throne, if the words
ought not then to have been changed to "King of Queens." It is pleasing,
however, to observe how small the variations in general are, if indeed
there be any, which are at variance with either the doctrine or the
discipline of the Church of England.
We are so much accustomed to the opening sentences of our own Liturgy,
"When the wicked man turneth away from the wickedness that he hath
committed," &c., that their opening words startled us at first; but
their two or three initiatory sentences are well selected to begin the
service; the first being, "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the
earth keep silence before him."
Some of the alterations are improvements rather than blemishes, for the
constant repetitions in our service are avoided. The Lord's prayer is
less frequently repeated, and the collect for the day, when it has to be
read in the Communion Service, is omitted where it first occurs with us.
A little more freedom of choice, too, is allowed to the minister in
several parts of the service. For example: the Apostle's Creed or the
Nicene Creed may be substituted for each other, as the latter is not
used in the office for the Communion; and instead of reading the Psalter
as divided into days in the daily service, some very good selections
from the Psalms are made, which may be substituted either on the week
days, or on Sundays. The daily Lessons are shortened, and yet all the
portions read by us, out of the Canonical Scriptures, are retained,
which is managed by omitting all the Lessons taken from the Apocrypha.
The second lessons on Sundays are specially appointed as well as the
first, and not made to depend, as with us, on the day of the month.
The Commination Service for Ash Wednesday is omitted, only the two
prayers at the end being retained; these are read after the Litany. The
Athanasian Creed is never used.
Some of the verbal alterations, however, grated harshly on our ears.
They are of course obliged to pray for the President, but instead of the
petition to "grant him in health and wealth long to live," they have
substituted the word "prosperity" for the good old Saxon "wealth," for
fear, apparently, of being misunderstood by it to mean dollars. They
seem too, to have a remarkable aversion to all _them thats_, always
substituting the words _those who_. But the peculiarity which pleased us
most in the American service, was that, instead of the few words of
intercession introduced into our Litany, "especially those for whom our
prayers are desired," there are distinct and very beautiful prayers for
the different circumstances under which the prayers of the congregation
may be asked; as for example in sickness, or affliction, or going to
sea, &c. There is, also, a special form of prayer for the visitation of
prisoners, and one of thanksgiving after the harvest, also offices for
the consecration of churches, and for the institution of ministers to
churches; and some excellent forms of prayers authorised by the church
to be used in families. These seem the chief alterations, excepting that
the Communion Service differs very much from ours; the oblation and
invocation, which I believe are used in the Scotch service, being
introduced into theirs. To the whole is added, in their prayer books, a
most excellent selection of psalms and hymns, in which one is glad to
recognise almost all those which we admire most in our own hymn books.
But, after this long digression, to return to my journal. After the
service, Mr. Morgan, who had accompanied us to Baltimore with his
daughter, introduced us to Dr. Cox, and we were invited by him to return
on Thursday to a great missionary meeting, which is to be held in
Baltimore; but this, I am afraid, we shall hardly accomplish. In going
and returning from church, we saw a good deal of the city. It is built
upon slopes and terraces, which gives it a most picturesque appearance.
It is indeed generally reputed to be the most beautiful city in the
United States, and from the number of monuments it contains, it has been
called the "Monumental City." The principal structure of this kind is
the Washington monument, situated on a large open area, and upwards of
two hundred feet high. It is entirely constructed of white marble, and
has a colossal statue of Washington on the top. The town is built on the
banks of the Patapsco, about fourteen miles from where its flows into
the Chesapeake. It is navigable here for large ships, and presents one
of those enormous expanses of water, which form a constant subject of
dispute between papa and William, as to whether they are rivers, lakes,
or estuaries. Large as the expanse of water is, the distance from the
sea is at least 200 miles, and the water is quite fresh.
We returned yesterday with William to Philadelphia, and went to see the
famous water-works, which supply the town with water from the
Schuylkill. The water is thrown up by forcing-pumps to large reservoirs
above; the surrounding grounds are very pretty, and the whole is made
into a fashionable promenade, which commands a fine view of the city. We
afterwards went to the penitentiary, which has a world-wide renown from
its being the model of many which have been built in England and
elsewhere. The solitary system is maintained, the prisoners never being
allowed to see each other, nor could we see them. One poor man had been
in confinement sixteen years out of twenty, to which he had been
condemned. Any one remembering Dickens's account of this prison, must
shudder at the recollection of it, and it was sad to feel oneself in the
midst of a place of such sorrow. When here a few days ago, we had left
our letters of introduction for Mr. Starr. He called to-day, and gave
Papa some interesting information about the revivals. He takes great
interest in the young _gamins_, whom I have described as "pedlering" in
the railway cars, selling newspapers and cheap periodicals; they are a
numerous class, and often sharp little fellows. Mr. Starr takes much
pains in trying to improve their moral and religious characters. But I
have no time at present for more. We returned to New York to-day, and
are passing our last evening with William, who is to sail early
to-morrow, and will be the bearer of this letter.
LETTER VII.
WILLIAM'S DEPARTURE.--GREENWOOD CEMETERY.--JOURNEY TO
WASHINGTON.--ARRANGEMENTS FOR OUR JOURNEY TO THE FAR WEST.--TOPSY.
Washington, 16th Oct. 1858.
I closed my last letter to you on the 12th, and gave it to William to
take to you. On the following day we bade him a sorrowful farewell, made
all the more melancholy by the day being very rainy, which prevented our
seeing him on board. We so very rarely see rain, that when it comes it
is most depressing to our spirits, without any additional cause for
lamentation; but it never lasts beyond a day, and is always succeeded by
a renewal of most brilliant weather.
To console ourselves next day, although papa said it was an odd source
of consolation, we went to see the Greenwood Cemetery, which is one of
the four remaining sights of New York, the fifth, the Crystal Palace,
being, as I wrote to you, burnt down. The cemetery, however, proved a
great "_sell_," as William would have called it; for it is not to be
compared to the one at Philadelphia; and instead of the beautiful white
marble, surrounding each family plot, we found grey stone, or, still
more commonly, a cast iron rail. Moreover, it had to be reached by an
endless series of steamer-ferries and tramways, which, though they did
not consume much money (under 1_s._ a head), occupied a great deal more
time than the thing was worth. The excursion, however, gave us an
opportunity of seeing the town of Brooklyn, which, though insignificant,
in point of size, as compared with New York, has nearly as many
inhabitants as either Boston or Baltimore, and numbers more than twice
those in the town from which I now write.
We left New York yesterday, end slept at Philadelphia. When we went
there last week, the first thirty miles of our route was across the Bay
of New York, in a steamer, and, on our return, we came the whole way by
rail; but there is a third line, which we took on this occasion, called
the New Jersey Line, by which we went as far as Burlington by rail, and
thence a distance of nineteen miles in a steamboat down the Delaware. It
was splendid moonlight, and the town of Philadelphia, which stretches
along the banks of the river for nearly five miles, was well lighted,
and the river being crowded with ships, the whole effect was very
pretty.
It is marvellous how well they manage these huge steam-boats. They come
noiselessly up to the pier without the least shock in touching it, and
it is almost impossible to know when one has left the boat and reached
_terra firma_, so close do they bring the vessel up to the wharf. The
whole process is directed by a man at the wheel, and regulated by sound
of bell. There is a perfect absence of all yells, and cries, and strong
expressions, so common in a French steamer, and not unfrequent in an
English one.
We arrived too late at Philadelphia to be able to do much that evening,
and this morning, we started early for Baltimore, _en route_ for this
place. We had two very pleasant and communicative fellow-travellers, one
a coal merchant, who resides at Wilmington, the capital of Delaware, the
other a Quaker, a retired merchant from Philadelphia, who gave us a good
deal of information about some of the institutions and charities of that
place. He stood up much for the Girard College, and justified the
enormous cost of the building, by saying it was meant as a monument to
the founder. He made a very good defence of the solitary system, which I
mentioned in my last as existing in the penitentiary, and we were
beginning to think him a very wise "Friend," when he broke out on the
merits of Phonography, which, by his account, seems to have made much
progress in America, and he has asked us to call on Mr. Pitman, their
great authority on that subject, at Cincinnati. The old gentleman's name
was Sharpless, and it deserves to be recorded in this journal, he being
the only American we have heard take anything like a high tone upon the
subject of slavery. He gave us the names of some books upon the subject,
which we, in the innocence of our hearts, have been asking for in
Baltimore and here, forgetting that we are now in those states where it
forms a happy (?) feature in their domestic institutions.
As we were about to part, the old gentleman addressed us both, and
turning to me, said, "I must tell thee how well it was in thee to come
out to this country with thy husband, and not to let him come alone. A
man should never allow himself to be separated from a good wife, and
thou doest well, both of thee, to keep together." To which complimentary
speech I replied, that I had made it the one stipulation in giving my
consent to papa's crossing the ocean that I should accompany him; and I
confessed that I little thought at the time that I should be taken at
my word, or that our berths would be engaged the following day; but
hoped rather, by such stipulation, to prevent his going altogether. I
added that if all went well with our family at home, as I trusted it
would, I had no reason to do otherwise than be very glad I had come. We
arrived here at last. The Americans are very proud of their country.
But, oh! it would do them all good to see this blessed Washington, which
few of them do, except their Senators and Members of Congress, and
others connected with government. Well may Dickens term it "the city of
magnificent intentions." Such ambitious aspirings to make a great city!
Such streets marked out; twice or three times the width of Portland
Place! and scarcely anything completed, with the exception of some
public buildings, which, to do them justice, are not only on a
magnificent scale, but very beautiful. I shall, however, delay my
account of Washington till we have seen more of it, as we stay here till
Monday afternoon, when we return to Baltimore so as to allow us to make
a start for the West on Tuesday.
We are to travel quite _en prince_, over the Ohio and Baltimore
railroad, one of the most wonderful of all American railways. At New
York we had introductions given us to request the officials of this
line to allow us to travel on the engine, or on the cowcatcher if we
preferred it! either of which would undoubtedly have given us a fair
opportunity of viewing the scenery; but papa saw to-day, at Baltimore,
the managing director, who has arranged for the principal engineer to go
with us, and he is to take us in the director's car, which we are to
have to ourselves, and this gentleman, Mr. Tyson, is to let us stop
whenever we have a fancy to do so. We are to go fast or slow as we may
prefer. We are to start on Tuesday morning, at the tail of the express
train, and we have only to give the signal when our car will be
detached. There are only two or three trains daily for passengers; but
there are goods' and extra trains for various purposes, which are
constantly running at different speeds on the road. It is by reattaching
ourselves to any of these, that we can, when we like, effect all this,
and have an opportunity of seeing, in the most leisurely manner, and
without any detriment to the other passengers, the various parts of the
road that may be worth exploring. The line is very beautiful, and I hope
Mr. Tyson will be prepared for my frequently stopping him when I see
trees, with their splendid red leaves that I may wish particularly to
gather. We are to take our food in this carriage, if necessary, and
have beds made up in it, so as to make us quite independent of inns, and
we may pass as many days as we like upon the road. We are to do this
because, though some of the hotels are good, we may not find them at the
exact places where we wish to stop. Papa has no connection with this
road, and it must be American appreciation of his virtues which has led
the officials to deal with us in this luxurious way.
On Tuesday the 19th inst., therefore, we make our real start for the
West, and shall probably the first night reach Harper's Ferry, a place
which President Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," which you will
find in papa's library, said, was "one of the most stupendous scenes in
nature, and well worth a voyage across the Atlantic to witness;" and
this was written when these voyages were not so easily accomplished as
they are now. But this railway has opened up scenery which was not known
to Jefferson, and is said far to surpass, in beauty, even this
celebrated Harper's Ferry; but of this we shall soon be able to judge
for ourselves.
_October 18th._--This must be posted to-day before we lionise this
place, so I shall reserve all I have to say about Washington till my
next, and shall fill up this page with a description of a real live
"Topsy" slave, with whom we have made acquaintance here. She is
fourteen, the property of an old Miss D. We noticed her yesterday
standing about in the passage, and asked her if she belonged to the
hotel, and she said no, that she belonged to Miss D. We said, quite
seriously, as we now always do to blacks and whites of the lower orders,
"Where were you raised?" The creature answered us quietly, "In
Virginny." She is a full, well grown girl, with a large bushy crop of
wool on her head; a pleasant, large, round intelligent face, that is
almost pretty. The young niggers have very little of the real negro cast
of countenance, and the little boys and girls about the streets are
really pretty, and almost loveable looking; while the elders, especially
the females, are hideous to behold, and are only to be tolerated, in
point of looks, when they wear coloured turbans. When I see one adorned
in a bonnet at the back of her head, with a profusion, inside, of the
brightest artificial flowers, a bright vulgar shawl and dress, and an
enormous hoop, with very narrow petticoats, I always wish to rush home,
light a large bonfire, and throw into the flames every article of
ornamental dress that I possess.
But to return to dear Topsy. We asked her if she were a slave, feeling
very backward to put so trying a question to her; but she answered with
the utmost simplicity, that she was, just as if we had asked her if she
were from France or Germany. In reply to our questions, she said that
her father and mother were slaves; that she has several younger brothers
and sisters; that Miss D. is very rich. "'Spect she has above a hundred
slaves;" and that she is very kind to them all. "Can you read?" "No;
Miss D. has often tried to teach me, but I never could learn. 'Spect I
am too large to learn now." We lectured her about this, and gave her Sir
Edward Parry's favourite advice, to "try again." I then asked her if she
went to church. "No, never." "Does Miss D.?" "Mighty seldom." "Do you
know who made you?" "Yes, God." "Do you ever pray?" "No, never; used to,
long ago; but," with a most sanctimonious drawl, "feel such a burden
like, when I try to kneel down, that I can't." This was such a
gratuitous imitation of what she must have heard the _goody_[6] niggers
say, that I felt sorely disposed to give her young black ears a sound
boxing, for supposing such a piece of acting could impose upon us.
However, leaving the dark ears alone, I urged the duty of prayer upon
her, as strongly and simply as I could, and made her promise to kneel
down every night and morning and pray. She had heard of Christ, and
repeated some text (again a quotation, no doubt, from the _goody_
niggers) about his death; but she did not know, on further examination,
who He is, nor what death He died. She said Miss D. read to them all,
every Sunday; but probably not in a very instructive manner. She said
her name was Almira. I gave her Miss Marsh's "Light for the Line," which
happened to be the only book I had by me which was at all suitable, and
told her to get it read to her, and that I was sorry I had nothing else
to give her; but I shall try this morning to get her an alphabet, in
order to encourage her to make another attempt to learn to read. At
parting last night, I spoke as solemnly as I could to her, and told her
we should probably never meet again in this world, but that we should be
sure to meet hereafter, at the judgment seat of God, and I entreated her
to remember the advice I had given her.
As we do not know Miss D., who is a very deaf old lady, staying here,
like ourselves, for a day or two, our conferences with young Topsy have
been necessarily very short, and constantly interrupted by Miss D.'s
coming past us, and wanting her; but we should like very much to buy
Almira, and bring her home to make a nursery maid of her, and teach her
all she ought to know, and "'spect" after all she is not "too large" to
learn, poor young slave! It was pleasant, in our first colloquy of the
kind, to talk to such an innocent specimen of a slave. I mean innocent,
as respects her ignorance of the horrors of slavery, of which she
evidently had not even the faintest idea. I asked her what she did for
Miss D.? "Dresses her, does her room, and _fixes her up_ altogether."
The real, original Topsy is no doubt a most correctly drawn character,
judging by this specimen. And now adieu; you shall have a further
chapter on Washington next time.
FOOTNOTE:
[6] I have tried, in vain, to alter this word, which is one coined at
home, and used by the family, but cannot find a substitute for it. Lest,
however, it be misunderstood, I must explain that it is applied in
reference to the truly good and pious among our friends; as the word
"saints," ought to be, had not that term been unhappily associated with
the ridiculous, and a false pretension to religion.
LETTER VIII.
WASHINGTON.--BAPTIST CLASS-MEETING.--PUBLIC BUILDINGS.--VENUS BY
DAYLIGHT.--BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILWAY.--WHEELING.--ARRIVAL AT
COLUMBUS.
Washington, 18th Oct. 1858.
I despatched my last to you the day before yesterday, and now must give
you an account of our employments yesterday (Sunday, 17th instant). The
morning was very hot, and very lovely, with a clear blue sky, and I
wished that impertinent young lady, Emily, could see what sort of
weather we have here, and how her good wishes for us are accomplished,
beyond anything she can suppose; for we can barely support the heat in
the middle of the day.
The weather being so lovely, we set off to a church in Georgetown, a
suburb of Washington, where many of the foreign ministers live, and a
very pretty suburb it is; but when we got there, papa's head began to
ache so much, that we thought it best to return to a church nearer the
hotel, so that if he became worse, he might leave the church, and walk
home. We were able, however, to sit out the service, and heard a very
dull sermon from a young missionary, who was to sail, two days
afterwards, with his wife, from Baltimore, for Africa; his sermon was
greatly taken from Livingstone's book, and he spoke more strongly
against slavery than we should have looked for in a slave state. After
the sermon, papa and I went to him, and we asked him a little about
where he was going, &c. &c. He scarcely seemed to know, acknowledged he
was but little acquainted with the work he had before him, and, finally,
when papa put a piece of gold into his hand, he looked at it, and asked
whether it was for himself or the Mission. We answered with some degree
of inward surprise, that it was for any useful object connected with it,
and we took leave of him, wishing him God-speed, but lamenting that a
more efficient man was not going out.
Papa became much more head-achy during the day. Mr. Erskine called to
see if we wanted anything, and strongly advised my going to a negro
chapel in the evening, and hearing one of the blacks preach. They are
mostly Methodists, that is Wesleyans, or Baptists. He said I should hear
them singing as I passed the doors, and could go in. Poor papa, by this
time, was fit for nothing except to remain quiet, so Thrower and I set
out in the evening, and found, not without some difficulty, an upper
room, brilliantly lighted, over a grocer's warehouse. We went up two
pairs of stairs, and I did so in fear and trembling, remembering what
the odour is when a large dining-room is filled with black waiters: a
sort of sickly, sour smell pervades the room, that makes one hate the
thought, either of dinner, or of the poor niggers themselves. It seems
it is inherent in their skin; to my surprise and satisfaction, however,
we found nothing of the kind in this room, the windows of which had been
well opened beforehand. It was a large, whitewashed apartment, half
filled with blacks.
We were the only whites present; there were benches across the room,
leaving a passage up the middle, the men and women occupying different
sides. A pulpit was at the further end of the room, and in front of it
stood a black preaching. He was in the middle of his sermon when we came
in, so we did not hear the text, and sat down quietly at some distance
from him, so as to be able to get out and go home to poor papa whenever
we wished; a nigger came forward, and invited us to go further up the
room, which we declined. The sermon went on for some time; it described
the happiness felt by God's true children: and how they would cling to
each other in persecution. The preacher encouraged them all in the path
of holiness, and explained the Gospel means of salvation with great
clearness, and really with admirably chosen words; there was a little
action but not too much; and there were no vulgarities. The discourse
was at least equal to the sermons of many of our dissenting ministers,
and appeared to come from the lips of an educated gentleman, although
with a black skin. He finished, and an old negro rose, and gave out the
text:--"And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain," &c. His
voice at first was faint, and I could not hear what were the various
jokes he cut which produced loud laughter, so we advanced a little. He
afterwards became more serious. His address was quite distinct from his
text, being an earnest and very well delivered exhortation to the
converted to grow in grace; at the end of every period he repeated his
text as a _refrain_.
At first, I observed among the dark ladies a few suppressed murmurs of
approbation, but as his discourse proceeded, these were turned into
groans; and when he quoted a text, or said anything more than usually
impressive, there was a regular rocking and swaying of the figure among
them, while one or two repeated aloud the last words of his text. While
he was preaching, a tall thin young woman, in deep mourning, came in,
and room was made for her to sit down next to a very fat negress, whom I
had observed at our own church in the morning. The latter passed her arm
round the shoulder of this young woman, as they sat together, and I
observed that at various solemn passages of the old man's address, they
began to rock their bodies, gently at first, but afterwards more and
more violently, till at last they got into a way of rocking themselves
quite forward off their seat, and then on it again, the fat woman
cuddling up the thin one more and more closely to her. There seemed a
sort of mesmeric influence between the two, occasioning in both similar
twistings and contortions of the body, shakings of the head, lookings
upward, lookings downward, and louder words of exclamation and
approbation. This was not continuous in its violence, though there was
generally _some_ movement between them; but the violence of it came on
in fits, and was the effect of the old man's words. It was very curious
that whenever he repeated the text (a far from exciting one, I thought),
the agitation became most violent. The other women continued to murmur
applause, and one woman in advance of the others (a very frightful one)
looked upwards, and frequently smiled a heavenly (?) smile. I sat rather
behind most of them, and on the side where the men were, so that unless
when the women turned round, I could scarcely see their faces. After a
time the old man commented upon the succeeding verses of the Chapter as
far as the words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," &c., and here he
ceased, almost abruptly; a hymn was immediately given out by the first
preacher, and was sung most loudly and vigorously by most of the
congregation. The men's voices were very loud, but they all sang true,
and with great spirit and energy. There were no musical instruments, and
they sat while singing. The hymns seemed very stirring, but I am sorry I
cannot give you the words of any of them, as there were no books, and
they sung at first from memory, though in some of the after hymns the
preacher gave them out by two lines at a time.
This being, as I was afterwards told, a Baptist class-meeting, the first
man invited any brother or sister to tell the others "how the Lord had
dealt with him," or "what He had done for his soul." (I quote his
words.) Whereupon a tall well-dressed young negro rose from his seat,
and standing up, told us that he had been a great sinner, and that he
had, through many difficulties, learnt to serve God. He spoke of
persecutions from within in the struggles of a sinful nature and of
great and bitter ones from without. He did not describe what these had
been: but told us that the victory had been his. His language, and
choice of expressions, were always good, though at times there was a
little of the peculiar negro pronunciation. At all descriptions of the
contest having been in his favour, the women swayed their bodies; and
when he, and others after him, asserted to those around that what he had
felt could not have been from Satan, and therefore must have been from
God, there was great agitation, especially in my two friends, and grins
and murmurs from the others. The men listened quietly, sometimes
grinning with delight, and sometimes leaning their heads forward on
their hands, as if meditating. A few of the men who sat at the upper end
of the room leant their heads against the wall, and _might_ have been
asleep.
After this young man's "experience" was ended, came another singing of
hymns, and then another invitation for more "experiences;" when a tall,
fat, important-looking man rose: his figure reminded one of a fat, burly
London butler; and his account of himself was somewhat extravagant.
"Heart was hard as stone; a great sinner; was standing in an orchard;
couldn't love God or pray; seemed as if a great light came from the sky;
got behind a tree; the light came nearer; seemed as if drawing me," &c.
&c.; ending in the happy circumstance of _his_ complete conversion; and
he sat down, his discourse producing the same agitating effects, and of
an increasing kind on all the women, specially on my fat and thin
friends. Then came another hymn, and another invitation; which was
followed by the preacher's going up to a young negress and speaking a
few words to her in a whisper; whereupon he told us, that a young
person, who had been wonderfully "dealt with by the Lord," was about to
give an account of herself. The young girl, of about twenty, black, but
pleasing-looking, advanced, and standing straight up before the
preacher, repeated to him her experience almost as if it were a lesson
she had learnt by heart. There was a cadence, or sort of chant, in her
delivery; but with the most perfect quietness of manner. She had been,
she said, a great sinner; and she then gave an account of herself at
much greater length than the others. In speaking of the difficulties
that had met her in her spiritual path, there was a very musical and
touching mournfulness in her voice that made her an object of great
interest. The men, at least, seemed to think so; for they all became
most lively, grinned gloriously, their splendid white teeth contrasting
with their dark skins; my two friends became nearly frantic, the one in
mourning especially, when shaken by the agitation of her fat friend,
writhed her body in all directions. They both began shouting, "Glory!
Glory!" with a loud voice; and finally the younger one fell forward on
her face, in a sort of trance. After a time she got back upon her seat;
but I never witnessed such a state of excitement, except once, years
ago, when I saw a young woman in an epileptic fit. All this was
evidently in a sort of small camp-meeting style. August is the month for
these meetings when out of doors; but this was a minor one. The woman in
front grinned, and even laughed outright, having great hollows or
dimples in her cheeks. The young girl was really interesting, so
perfectly calm and so modest; never looking to the right or left. She
said she felt ashamed to appear before them all, but that she should not
be ashamed to appear before God: and whenever interrupted, she resumed
the thread of her narrative with the utmost composure. She ended after a
time, but remained standing before the preacher, who was seated, and
who proceeded to examine her as to whether she thought she was _really_
converted to God. Her answers were faint, as if from fatigue and
exhaustion, her narrative having been a very long one; but still there
was a quiet, unfaltering decision in her replies, which were given with
much humility of manner. I could not help sometimes doubting whether the
whole thing was really unprepared and extemporaneous, or whether she
might not have learnt her lesson and repeated it by rote, or whether, in
short, it might not have been a piece of acting. This impression lasted
only for a moment, for there was such an artless and modest manner in
the young girl, that I could not fail on the whole to give her the
fullest credit for sincerity, and was angry only with her black male
friends for requiring from her such a display of herself and her
feelings in a public congregation; which made me feel much for the young
girl throughout. After various warnings that she would meet with
difficulties, that she was joining a "plain set of old Baptist saints,"
&c., she said she wished and desired to do so. The preacher then asked,
almost in the words of the Liturgy, "Wilt thou be baptized?" and she
answered, "I will." Whereupon he asked the congregation to show by their
hands if they approved of her being baptized; and there being a
sufficient show of hands, she was told she was duly elected as a
candidate for baptism; when another hymn being struck up in the same
vociferous style as before, we rose and left the assembly, not liking to
be longer absent from papa. We came out upon the lovely, calm, moonlight
night, so sweet, so exquisitely heavenly; and I felt how differently
nature looked without, to those distressing sights of bodily agitation
and contortion we had witnessed within. I thought of the poor young
negro girl's quiet testimony, and gentle voice and manner, and wondered
if _she_, too, would learn in time to become uproarious, and shout,
"Glory! Glory!" The probability is, that she will become like her
neighbours; for I can tell you later other stories about the necessity
these poor nigger women seem to be under to shout "Glory!" I was glad to
have seen this specimen of the camp-meeting style.
Although I have felt it scarcely possible to describe the scene without
a certain mixture of the ludicrous, no feeling of irreverence crossed my
mind at the time. On the contrary, my sympathies were greatly drawn out
towards these our poor fellow-creatures; and there was something most
instructive in the sight of them there assembled to enjoy those highest
blessings--blessings of which no man could rob them. Religion seemed to
be to them not a mere sentiment or feeling, but a real tangible
possession; and one could read, in their appreciation of it, a lesson to
one's own heart of its power to lift man above all earthly sorrow,
privation, and degradation into an upper world, as it were, even here
below, of "joy and peace in believing."
To-day, after posting our letters for England, papa went to General
Cass, Secretary of State for the United States, and delivered his letter
of introduction from Mr. Dallas, the American Minister in London. He had
a long and interesting interview with him.
We went afterwards to the Capitol, and all over it, under the guidance
of our coachman, a very intelligent and civil Irishman. We were quite
taken by surprise at what we saw; for not only is the building itself,
which is of white marble, a very fine one, but the internal fittings, or
"fixings," as they perpetually call them here, show a degree of taste
for which before leaving England we had not given the Americans credit.
Two wings are now being added to the original building, and are nearly
completed; and a new and higher dome than the original one is being
built over the centre. The wings are destined to be occupied, one by the
Senate, and the other by the House of Representatives: in fact, the
House of Representatives already make use of their wing; but the Senate
will still hold another session in the old Senate House, as the Senators
have not yet quite decided upon their "fixings." The new chamber is,
however, sufficiently advanced to enable us to form a judgment of what
it will be; and although, perhaps, inferior in beauty to that of the
House of Representatives, it is in very good taste: but the room where
the Representatives meet is really most beautiful. The seats are ranged
in semi-circles, with desks before each, in much the same manner as in
Paris; which gives a more dignified appearance than the arrangement of
the seats in our House of Commons. The floors throughout a great part of
the building are in very good tesselated work, made by Minton, in
England; as the tiles made in this country do not preserve their colour
like the English ones. The ceilings of some of the passages are
beautifully decorated; and one of the committee rooms, appropriated to
agricultural matters, is remarkably well painted in fresco; all the
subjects have allusion to agricultural pursuits. In the centre of the
building, round the circular part, under the dome, are some very
indifferent pictures, representing subjects connected with the history
of America, beginning with the landing of Columbus. Two out of the eight
represented incidents in the war of independence; one being the
surrender of Lord Cornwallis, who seemed very sorry for himself. The
view from the Capitol is fine; the gardens round it are kept in good
order, and there being a great deal of maple in the woods, the redness
of the leaf gave a brilliant effect to the scene.
From the Capitol we went to the Patent Office, in which are contained an
endless variety of models. It is immediately opposite the Post Office,
and both are splendid buildings of white marble. The Post Office is
still unfinished, but it will be of great size. The Patent-Office is an
enormous square building. The four sides, which are uniform, have large
flights of stairs on the outside, leading to porticos of Corinthian
pillars. We entered the building, and went into a large apartment, where
we were lost in contemplation of the numerous models, which we admired
exceedingly, though the shortness of the time we had to devote to them
prevented our examining them as minutely as they seemed to deserve.
Papa, indeed, was disposed to be off when we had gone through this room,
as we had still much to do, and he professed his belief that we must
have seen the whole. I, having my wits more about me, could not conceive
how this could well be the case, seeing we had only looked at one out of
four sides. There is no one in these places to show them to strangers,
so we asked a respectable-looking person if there were any more rooms,
when he replied, "Oh, yes! you have only been looking at the _rejected_
models." Whereupon we entered on the second side of the square; but, to
confess the truth, the rejected and accepted ones seemed to us much of a
piece, and we were not sorry, on arriving at the third side, to find it
shut up and apparently empty, so we beat a retreat. We were told at
Baltimore that the collection was a very fine one, and doubtless it may
be very interesting to a person competent to judge of the details; but
the models, besides being shut up in glass-cases, and consequently very
inaccessible, were generally on too small a scale to be comprehended by
ordinary observers, and in this respect, the collection was of much less
interest to us than the exhibition we had lately seen in the unfortunate
Crystal Palace at New York, where the models exhibited were of the full
size of the machines meant to be used, and consequently almost
intelligible to an unprofessional person. Besides what may be strictly
considered models, there were in the rooms some objects more suited to
an ordinary museum. Such were various autographs, and many relics of
Washington; and a case containing locks of the hair of all the
presidents, from the time of Washington downwards.
When mentioning our visit to General Cass, I omitted to state the
magnificence of the Treasury, which adjoins his official residence; an
enormous structure, also of white marble. We counted thirty pillars in
front, of the Ionic order, besides three more recently added on a wing,
these three pillars of great height being cut out of single blocks of
marble. We passed this building again in going from the Patent-Office to
Lord Napier's, where we had an appointment with Mr. Erskine.
The noble mansion of England's representative is a cube of brick-work
painted dark-brown, equal in size, and very much resembling in
appearance, our own D. P. H.; but standing in a melancholy street,
without the appendages of green-house, conservatory, and gate, as in
that choice London mansion. The Honourable Secretary's apartment was
downstairs in the area, and the convenience of its proximity to the
kitchen, with the thermometer at 85° in the shade, as it was to-day, was
doubtless duly appreciated by him, he having just arrived from Turin. We
found him waiting for us, and he accompanied us to the President's
residence, called the White House. It is a handsome but unpretending
building, not like its neighbours, of marble, but painted to look like
stone; the public reception-rooms are alone shown, but a good-natured
servant let us see the private rooms, and took us out on a sort of
terrace behind, where we had a lovely view of the Potomac. The house is
situated in a large garden, opposite to which, on the other side of the
road, is a handsome, and well-kept square. The house has no pretensions
about it, but would be considered a handsome country house in England;
and the inside is quite in keeping, and well furnished. The furniture is
always renewed when a new President takes possession; and as this is the
case every four years, it cannot well become shabby.
In a line directly opposite the back of the house, and closing up the
view at the end of the gardens, stands the monument which is being
erected to Washington. This, when finished, is to be a circular
colonnaded building, 250 feet in diameter, and 100 feet high, from which
is to spring an obelisk 70 feet wide at the base, and 500 feet high, so
that, when completed, the whole will be as high as if our monument in
London were placed on the top of St. Paul's. At present nothing but its
ugly shaft is built, which has anything but a picturesque appearance,
and it is apparently likely to remain in this condition, as it is not
allowed to be touched by any but native republican hands, here a rather
scarce commodity. It is being built of white stone, one of the many
kinds found in this country. By the by, we omitted to state, in
describing the Capitol, that the balustrades of the staircases, and a
good deal of ornamental work about the building, are of marble, from a
quarry lately discovered in Tennessee, of a beautiful darkish lilac
ground, richly grained with a shade of its own colour; it is very
valuable, costing seven dollars per cubic foot.
From the President's house we went to the Observatory, which, though
unpretending in its external appearance, is said to be the finest in the
world next to the one at St. Petersburgh; so at least says the
Washington Guide Book, for I like to give our authority for what we
ourselves should not have supposed to be the case. Mr. Erskine
introduced himself, and then us, to Lieutenant Maury, who is at the
head of it, and is well known as a writer on meteorological subjects. He
is a most agreeable man, and we talked much about the comet, meteoric
stones, &c.; we asked him what he thought of Professor Silliman's notion
about the comet's tail being an electric phenomenon, but he seemed to
think little was known on the subject. He said this comet had never been
seen before, and might never return again, as its path seemed parabolic,
and not elliptical; but he said that what was peculiarly remarkable
about it was the extreme agitation observed in the tail, and even in the
nucleus, the motion appearing to be vibratory. With regard to meteoric
stones, he said the one we saw at New Haven, though of such a prodigious
size, being 200 lbs. heavier than the one in the British Museum, was a
fragment only of a larger stone. We asked permission to go to the top of
the observatory, and at a hint from papa, I expressed the great desire I
had to see Venus by daylight, through the great telescope; whereupon, he
sent for Professor B----, and asked him to take us up to the
observatory, and to direct the great telescope to Venus. We mounted
accordingly, and I was somewhat alarmed when the whole room in which we
were placed, began to revolve upon its axis.
Setting the telescope takes some minutes, and the Professor ejected us
from the room at the top of the building on to a balcony, from which we
had a most lovely view of the neighbouring country. By means of a very
good small telescope placed on a swivel, we could see most distinctly
the Military Retreat (the Chelsea of America), beautifully situated upon
a high hill about three miles off. We saw also through this telescope
the Smithsonian Institute, which we were glad to be able to study in
this way in detail, as we found we should not have time to go to it. It
is a very large building of the architecture of the twelfth century, and
the only attempt at Mediæval architecture which we have seen in the
United States.
The view of the Potomac and of the hill and buildings of George Town was
very extensive and remarkable; but before we had feasted our eyes
sufficiently on it, we were summoned to see one of the most lovely
sights I ever witnessed. Though it was mid-day, and the sun was shining
most brilliantly, we saw the exquisitely sharp crescent of Venus in the
pale sky, and about half the apparent size of the moon. The object-glass
of the instrument was divided into squares, and she passed rapidly
across the field of the telescope, sailing, as it were, in ether; by the
slightest motion of a tangent-screw of great length, we were able to
bring her back as often as we liked, to the centre of the field. This
mechanical process might, however, have been rendered unnecessary, had
the machinery attached to the instrument been wound up; for when this is
the case, if the telescope is directed to any star or point in the
heavens, it continues to point to it for the whole twenty-four hours in
succession, the machine revolving round in the plane to which it is set.
The instrument is a very powerful one, and, like the smaller one we
looked through before, was made by Fraunhofer, a famous optician at
Munich. There are some other very wonderful instruments which we had not
time to see, as we had to make desperate haste to get some dinner, and
be off by the late train to Baltimore. But before I take leave of this
subject, I must return for a minute or two to that most perfectly lovely
creature Venus. She was a true crescent; we could imagine we saw the
jagged edge of the inner side of the crescent, but the transition from
the planet to the delicate sky was so gradual, that as far as this inner
edge was concerned, this was probably only imagination. Her colouring
on this jagged side was of the most transparent silvery hue. The outer
edge was very sharply defined against the sky, and her colour shaded off
on this side to a pale golden yellow with a red or pink tint in it; this
being the side she was presenting to the sun. No words can express her
beauty. She is the planet that I told you lately looked so very large.
On our way to the station, and in our drives about the town, we had an
opportunity of seeing the City of Washington. The town was originally
laid out by Washington himself, and divided off into streets, or rather
wide avenues, which are crossed by other streets of great breadth; but
though the streets are named, in many of them no houses are yet built,
and those that are have a mean appearance, owing to their being unsuited
in height to the great width of the streets, which are in many cases, I
should think, three times the width of Portland Place, and long in
proportion. Notwithstanding, therefore, the beauty of the public
buildings, the town greatly disappointed us.
On our arrival at Baltimore this evening, Mr. Garrett, the principal
director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, called upon us and brought
with him Mr. Henry Tyson, the chief engineer, or as he is called, the
master of machinery of the road, whom he was kind enough to appoint to
go with us as far as Wheeling, the western terminus of the line.
This is the most remarkable railway in America for the greatness of the
undertaking and the difficulties encountered in passing the Alleghanies,
which the projectors of the road could only do by crossing the range at
a height of 2700 feet, a project that most people looked upon as
visionary. We are to start to-morrow morning at eight o'clock.
_Wheeling, Oct. 21st._--We have accomplished the great feat of passing
the Alleghanies, and Mr. Tyson has proved a Cicerone of unequalled
excellence, from his great attention to us, added to his knowledge of
the country, and his talents, which are of no ordinary kind. He is the
engineer who has invented, or at least constructed on a new plan, the
locomotives which are used upon this road: but besides being a very
clever engineer, he is remarkably well read in general literature, and
has a wonderful memory for poetry and a great knowledge of botany.
[Illustration: Plan of Directors' car]
Though Mr. Garrett talked of the directors' car, we presumed it was only
a common carriage such as we had been accustomed to, but appropriated to
their use; instead of this we found a beautiful car, forty feet long by
eight wide, of which the accompanying diagram shows a plan drawn to
scale. Outside: painted maroon, highly varnished with Canada balsam: the
panels picked out with dark blue. Inside: painted pure white, also
varnished. Ceiling the same, divided into small narrow panels, with
excellent ventilators at each end. Round the car there were twenty-two
windows, not shown in the plan, and three brilliant lamps in the
sitting-room and hall, and one in the bed-room; these were lighted when
passing through the tunnels. There were three hooks in the wall serving
for hat pegs, and at the same time to support two flags for signals. A
large map of the mountain pass from Cumberland to Wheeling hung over the
sofa opposite the table. The table was covered with green baize
stretched tightly over it. On the table were placed a large
blotting-book, ink, and pens, three or four daily newspapers which were
changed each day, the yearly report of the railway, a peculiar
time-table book, containing rules for the guidance of the station men,
times of freight and passenger trains meeting and passing each other,
&c. Papa has these. The sofas are covered with a pretty green Brussels
carpet (small pattern) quilted like a mattress with green buttons,
chairs covered with corded wollen stuff, not a speck or spot of ink or
smut on anything. A neat carpet, not a speck or spot on it, a sheet of
tin under and all round the stove. Pantry cupboard containing knives and
forks, spoons, and mugs. Bed-room berths much higher and wider than in a
ship. Red coloured cotton quilts, with a shawl pattern, two pillows to
each bed, pillowcases of brilliant whiteness, sofa bed larger and longer
than a German bed. White Venetian blinds occupied the places usually
filled by the door panels and window shutters. Green Brussels carpet
like the cover of the sofa; three chairs to match. The windows in the
sitting-room had grey holland curtains running on wires with very neat
little narrow strips of leather, and a black button to fasten them, and
a button and well made button-hole below to keep them from blowing about
when the window is open. Looking-glass in neat gilt frame, hung over a
semicircular console in the bed-room, another near the washhandstand,
where a towel also hangs. Two drawers for clothes, &c. under berths.
Table-cloth for meals, light drab varnished cloth, imitating leather,
very clean and pretty, china plates, and two metal plates in case of
breakages. Luncheon consisted of excellent cold corned beef, tongue,
bread and butter, Bass's ale, beer, whiskey, champagne, all Mr. Tyson's.
We supplied cold fowls, bread, and claret. The door at the end opens on
a sort of platform or balcony, surrounded by a strong high iron railing,
with the rails wide enough apart to admit a man to climb up between them
into the car, which the workmen always do to speak to Mr. Tyson. Usual
step entrance at the other end. The platform can hold three arm chairs
easily, and we three sat there yesterday evening, talking and admiring
the view. The door was always open and we were in and out constantly.
Thrower and Gaspar, a capital German man-servant, sat in the hall.
Carpet swept by Gaspar after dinner to remove crumbs. I wear neither
bonnet nor shawl, but sit at the table and work, make mems., dry red
leaves, and learn their names from Mr. Tyson. Papa is always moving
about, and calling me out constantly to admire the view from the
balcony. Yesterday on the lower ground it was much too hot in the
middle of the day to be there, and we were glad to be within the car,
and to shade the glare of the sun by means of our pretty grey curtains,
though it was cooler on the mountain.
But I must begin to describe our road more methodically. As we wished to
get over the early part of it as expeditiously as possible, we started
by the mail train at 8.30. It will be impossible to describe at length
all the pretty places we passed, respecting each of which Mr. Tyson had
always something to say. Soon after leaving the Washington junction, we
came to a sweet spot called Ellicott's Mills, where he had spent his
boyhood, and where every rock was familiar to him. The family of
Ellicotts, who had resided there from the settlement of the country,
were his mother's relations, and by his father's side he was descended
from Lord Brooke, who was likewise one of the original settlers, the
Warwick branch of the family having remained in England.
We first came in sight of the Blue Ridge at about forty miles from
Baltimore. During the greater part of this distance we had been
following up the Patapaco river; but soon after this, at the Point of
Rocks, we came upon the Potomac. Here the Baltimore and Ohio canal, a
work of prodigious magnitude, and the railway run side by side between
the river and very high cliffs, though the space apparently could afford
room only for one of them. We reached Harper's Ferry a little after
twelve, and the view is certainly splendid. Mr. Tyson had made
arrangements to give the passengers a little extra time for dinner, that
he might take us to see the view from the heights above without
materially detaining the train; but the sun was so powerful that we were
glad to limit our walk in order to see a little in detail the bridge
over which we had just passed in the railway cars. It is a very
wonderful work, but not so remarkable for its length as for its peculiar
structure, the two ends of it being curved in opposite directions,
assuming the form of the letter S. It passes not only over the river but
over the canal, and before it reaches the western bank of the river it
makes a fork, one road going straight on, and the other, which we went
upon, forming the second bend of the S.
The curves in the railway are very sharp, and a speed of thirty-five
miles an hour is kept up in going round those which have a radius of 600
feet. This, and repeatedly recurring ascents of a very steep grade,
require engines which unite great power with precision in the
movements, and these are admirably combined in Mr. Tyson's engines;
which, moreover, have the advantage of entirely consuming their own
smoke, and we had neither sparks nor cinders to contend with. The common
rate of travelling, where the road is level, is forty miles an hour, and
at this rate each engine will take eighteen cars with 2600 passengers.
The difficulties they have to contend with on this road are greatly
increased by the snow drifts in winter. Mr. Tyson told us that on one
occasion the snow had accumulated in one night, by drifts, to fourteen
feet in the cuts, and it required ten freight engines of 200-horse power
each, or 2000-horse power altogether, to clear it away. Three hundred
men were employed, and the wind being bitterly cold, hardly any escaped
being frost-bitten. One of the tenders was completely crushed up by the
force applied; and in the middle of the night, with the snow still
driving, and in a piercing wind, they had to clear away the wreck:
nineteen engines, called snow ploughs, are kept solely to clear away the
snow.
At five o'clock we reached Cumberland, where we slept. After dinner we
walked out in the most lovely night possible to see the town, and the
moon being nearly full, we saw the valley as distinctly almost as by
daylight. There is a great gap here in the mountain, which forms a
prominent feature in the landscape, and a church on the summit of a high
hill rendered the picture almost perfect. We here saw the comet for the
last time.
Next morning, the 20th October, we started early, in order to be able to
take the mountain pass more leisurely, attached ourselves at 6.15 to the
express train, and reached Piedmont at 7.30. During this part of our
journey we continued to follow up the Potomac, but here we left it to
follow up the Savage river, and for seventeen miles continued to ascend
to Altamont, where we attained the summit level of 2700 feet above the
sea. We cast ourselves off from the express at Piedmont, and afterwards
tacked ourselves on to a train which left Piedmont at eight o'clock, and
got to Altamont at 9.45; these seventeen miles occupied an hour and
three quarters, the grade for eleven miles out of the seventeen being
116 feet per mile.
It is almost impossible to describe the beauty of the scenery here. The
road goes in a zig-zag the whole way. We passed several substantial
viaducts across the Savage river, often at a great height above the
valley, and on many occasions, when the road made one of its rapid
turns, a vista of many miles up the gorges was obtained.
Of course the greatest skill is required in driving the engine up what
is called the "Mountain Division." We mounted on the locomotive, to have
a more perfect view of the ascent. This locomotive is very different to
an English one, as the place where the driver sits is enclosed on three
sides with glass, so as to shelter him and those with him from the
weather. Mr. Tyson thought it necessary to drive a small part of the way
himself; but after that, he resigned his position, as will be seen by
the following certificate, to one equally qualified for an emergency,
though hitherto his peculiar talent in that line had not been developed.
"Baltimore and Ohio Railway, Machinery Department.
"Baltimore, Oct. 21st, 1858.
"This is to certify that Mr. A. T. has occupied the position of
'Locomotive Engineer,' on the _Mountain Division_ (3rd) of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
"The term of his occupation has been characterised by a close
attention to his duties, and consequent freedom from accidents.
(Signed) "HENRY TYSON,
"Master of Machinery,
"Baltimore and Ohio R. R. Co."
Papa, in fact, drove the engine a considerable way up the steepest part
of the ascent, and as the driver must command an uninterrupted view of
the road before him, he had a capital opportunity of seeing the country.
Thrower and I sat on a seat behind him; but he alone had the full view,
as the chimney of the engine rather obstructed ours in front, though on
each side we saw perfectly. The whistle of the engine, when so close to
our ears, was splendid, or perhaps you would have said, terrific.
From Altamont to Cranberry Summit, where the descent begins, there is a
comparatively level country, called the Glades, which are beautiful
natural meadows undulating and well cultivated, with high ranges of
mountains, generally at no great distance from the road, but varying a
good deal in this respect, so as sometimes to leave a considerable plain
between it and the range. From these glades numerous valleys diverge,
and, in looking down these, splendid vistas are obtained. The verdure
even now is very bright, and the streams, which are everywhere to be
seen, are remarkably clear and pure; so that although the interest of
the road was less absorbing than when we were ascending the mountains,
it was still very great. From Cranberry Summit the distant views to the
westward were quite magnificent.
We now entered on what is called the "Cheat River Region," and the
descent to Grafton (a distance of thirty miles) is even more beautiful
than the ascent to Altamont. To give you some slight idea of the nature
of the road and of the scenery, I enclose a photograph of one of the
bridges over the Cheat River. This is called the Tray Run Viaduct, and
it is 640 feet long; the masonry is seventy-eight feet high, and the
iron-work above that is eighty feet. The road here is about seven
hundred feet above the river, which runs in the valley below. This
river, the Cheat, is a dark, rapid, mountain stream, the waters of which
are almost of a coffee-colour, owing, it is said, to its rising in
forests of laurel and black spruce, with which the high lands here
abound.
We passed hereabouts many curious-looking log houses, a photograph of
one of which we enclose.[7] You will observe the man with a cradle by
his side, and his whip, gun, bottle, jar, &c., also the chimney, which
is a remarkable structure, consisting of a barrel above a heap of
stones, showing the resources of the West.
Before reaching Grafton, we passed the Great Kingwood tunnel, which is
much thought of in America, being 4100 feet in length, though it is
greatly beat by many of our tunnels in England; but tunnels are rare in
America, as the roads generally run through the valleys.
We reached Grafton at four o'clock, and had a lovely afternoon to
explore the beauties of the neighbourhood. We went into a number of
cottages and log-huts, and were delighted with the people; but the
details of our Grafton visit must be given to you _vivâ voce_ on our
return. The night was brilliant, and it was one o'clock in the morning
before we took our last look of the moonlit valley, and of the rivers
which here joined their streams almost under the windows of our rooms.
We may mention that in this day's journey, we passed the source of the
Monongahela, the chief branch of what afterwards becomes the Ohio. It is
here a tiny little clear stream, winding through the glades we have
spoken of.
On Thursday morning, though it was past one before we went to bed, I was
up at six, as soon as it was light, to make a sketch from our bed-room
window, which will give you hereafter some notion of the scene, though
neither description nor drawing can convey any real idea of it. After
breakfast, papa and I and Thrower went up a tolerably steep hill to the
cottage of three old ladies, whose characters I had an opportunity of
studying while papa went on with the guide to the Great National or
State Turnpike Road, or "Pike Road" as they called it, which used to be
the connecting link between Washington and Southern Virginia. Though
much disused it is still well kept up. After going along it for some
distance, papa struck up to the top of a high hill, from whence he had a
magnificent view of the valleys on both sides of the ridge he was on,
and he was surprised to find what large tracts of cultivated ground were
visible, while to those below there seemed nothing but forest-covered
mountains, but between these he could see extensive glades, where every
patch was turned to account. This we afterwards saw from other parts of
the road.
While papa was taking his hasty walk, Thrower and I sat down in the
log-hut where these three old spinster sisters had lived all their
lives. They were quite characters, and cultivated their land entirely
with their own hands; though, when we asked their ages, two of them said
they were "in fifty," and one "in sixty;" they were most intelligent and
agreeable, and two looked very healthy; but the third had just had a
severe illness, and looked very ill. One was scraping the Indian corn
grains off the cob, using another cob to assist her in the work; we
watched the beautifully-productive plant, and admired its growth. Their
cottage or hut looked quite comfortable, and there were substantial log
stables and farm-buildings adjoining. When the weather permitted, they
got down the hill to Grafton to the Methodist meeting. There is no
Episcopal church there yet, excepting a Roman Catholic one, to which
they will not go, though they speak with thankfulness of the kindness
they have received from the priest.
They said their father used to tell them to read their Bible, do their
duty, and learn their way to heaven, and this they wished to do. They
were honest, straightforward good women, and _ladies_ in their minds,
though great curiosities to look at.
This walk, and our subsequent explorings in Grafton, occupied the whole
forenoon, the temptation to pick the red leaves and shake the trees for
hickory nuts being very great, and having greatly prolonged the time
which our walk occupied. But the village itself, for it is no more,
though, having a mayor, it calls itself a city, had great objects of
interest, and is a curious instance of what a railway will do in
America to _make_ a town; for it scarcely had any existence three years
ago, and is now full of artificers and others employed in the railway
works, all fully occupied, and earning excellent wages.
The people marry so early that the place was almost overflowing with
children, who certainly bore evidence in their looks to the healthiness
of the climate.
This being a slave state, there was a sprinkling of a black population;
and among the slaves we were shocked by observing a little girl, with
long red ringlets and a skin exquisitely fair, and yet of the proscribed
race, which made the institution appear more revolting in our eyes than
anything we have yet seen. The cook at the hotel was a noble-looking
black, tall and well-made, and so famous for his skill at omelettes,
that we begged him to give us a lesson on the subject, which he
willingly did. I asked him if he were a slave, and he replied, making me
a low bow, "No, ma'am, I belong to myself." The little red-haired girl
was a slave of the mistress of the hotel.
We again linked ourselves on to a train which came up at about one
o'clock, and at Benton's Ferry, about twenty miles from Grafton, we
crossed the Monongahela, over a viaduct 650 feet long; the iron bridge,
which consists of three arches of 200 feet span each, being the longest
iron bridge in America. Though the water was not very deep, owing to a
recent drought, it was curious to see the little stream of yesterday
changed into an already considerable river, almost beating any we can
boast of in England.
We now began to wind our way down the ravine called Buffalo Creek, which
we passed at Fairmont, over a suspension bridge 1000 feet long. The road
still continued very beautiful, and was so all the way to this place,
Wheeling, which we reached at about six o'clock. The last eleven miles
was up the banks of the _real_ Ohio, for the Monongahela, after we last
left it, takes a long course northward, and after being joined at
Pittsburg by the Alleghany, a river as large as itself, the two together
there, form the Ohio. From Pittsburg to where we first saw it, it had
come south more than 100 miles, and at Wheeling it is so broad and deep
as to be covered with magnificent steamers; there were five in front of
our hotel window, and most singular-looking they were, with their one
huge wheel behind, scarcely touching the water, and their two tall
funnels in front. They tower up to a great height, and are certainly
the most splendid-looking steamers we ever saw.
We here left our valued friend Mr. Tyson, who after calling on us at the
hotel in the evening, was to return at ten o'clock to Baltimore. We
certainly never enjoyed a journey more. He is the most entertaining man
you can imagine, full of anecdotes and good stories; and, as we have
said before, with such a marvellous memory, that he could repeat whole
passages of poetry by heart. His knowledge too of botany was delightful,
for there was not a plant or weed we passed of which he could not only
tell the botanical and common name, but its history and use. He has
travelled much, having been employed in mining business in the Brazils.
He has also been in the West Indies, in England, Scotland, and Ireland,
and on the Continent of Europe.
We had a pleasing variety in occasional visitors to the car; for not
only the work-people on the road, as I have said, got up behind to speak
to Mr. Tyson, and were always received by him in the most friendly
manner, being men of high calibre in point of intelligence, but we had
at different times a Dr. Orr, a physician and director of the railway,
who was on the engine with us to set our bones, if papa had capsized us
and the doctor had escaped; also a Dr. Gerbard, a German surgeon, with
a scar on his cheek from a duel at college in his youth. Dr. Orr was
accompanied by a lady, with whom I conversed a good deal, and found she
was the owner of many slaves; but I must write you a chapter on slavery
another time. All the last day of our journey from Grafton to Wheeling,
was through Virginia, and the rural population were chiefly slaves. The
two doctors I have mentioned were our visitors yesterday. To-day, we had
throughout with us Mr. Rennie (Mr. Tyson's assistant), and also Major
Barry, an agent of the Company, and an officer in the United States
service, who in the last Indian war captured with his own hand, Black
Hawk, the great Indian Chief, in Illinois. He is an Irishman by birth,
and had been in our service at the battle of Waterloo, but he left the
British army, and entered the United States service in 1818. He was very
intelligent and agreeable. Our last visitor was Colonel Moore, also an
agent of the company; a most gentleman-like man. This will show you what
a superior set of men are employed on American railways.
Among the men who spoke to us as we stood on our balcony, was a
delightful character, a nigger. I heard Mr. Tyson look over and say,
"Jerry, why did you not tell me you were going to get married?" Up came
Jerry, looking the very picture of a happy bridegroom, having been
married the evening before to a dark widow considerably older than
himself. He was quite a "get up" in his dress, with boots of a
glistening blackness. He answered, "I sent you an invitation, Mr. Tyson,
and left it at your office." He was nothing daunted by his interesting
position in life, and had a week's holiday in honour of the event. He
was, to use his own expression, a "'sponsible nigger," though he was
actually only cleaner up, and carpet sweeper in the office, negroes
never being allowed to have any charge in the working of the line, or a
more "'sponsible" station than that connected with the office work,
though in that they are often confidentially employed in carrying money
to the bank, &c.
_Columbus, Friday 22nd._--It began to rain last night, and continued to
pour to-day till ten o'clock, so that we had no opportunity of seeing
much of the town of Wheeling, but our rooms looked on to the Ohio, and
were within a stone's throw of it. Another great steamer had come up in
the night, so there were _six_ now lying in front of the windows,
looking like so many line-of-battle ships.
We found that Jerry and his lady slept at our hotel, and I sent for them
next morning to speak to us. She was smartly dressed in a dark silk,
with a richly embroidered collar and pocket handkerchief, which she
carefully displayed, and a large brooch. He wore a turn-down collar to
his shirt, of the most fashionable cut; the shirt itself had a pale blue
pattern on it, and a diamond (?) shirt pin, the shirt having a frill _en
jabot_. His face was shining and glistening with cleanliness and
happiness, and she looked up to him as if she were very proud of her
young husband. He said he was very happy, and I complimented her on her
dress, and asked her if she had bought much for the occasion, and she
admitted that she had. I asked her where they went to church (all
niggers are great worshippers somewhere, and generally are Methodists);
and he said he went to the "Methodist Church," that his wife was a
member, and I encouraged him to continue going regularly. He said he had
married her for the purpose of doing so, and evidently looked up to her
as a teacher in these matters. They said they could both read printed
characters, but not writing, and that they read their Bibles. I asked
him if there were any other cars on the line like Mr. Tyson's, and he
said, "Yes, several, miss." "Are they handsomer than his?" "Some are,
they are all different in their fancy principle." He told us, of his own
accord, that they had both been slaves. He bought his freedom for five
hundred dollars. They both had been kindly treated as slaves, but he
said, not only the hickory stick, but the "raw hide," was frequently
used by unkind masters and mistresses; and, on my asking him whether
slaves had any redress in such cases, he said their free friends may try
to get some redress for them, but it does no good. This was _his_
testimony on the subject, and I shall give you the testimony of every
one as I gather it for you to put together, that you may be able to form
your own deductions. Mr. Tyson had told us they _had_ redress, though he
is an enemy to the "institution" of slavery, as it is here called, but
still maintains, what is no doubt the case, that they are oftener much
happier in America than the free negro. Indeed he told us a well-treated
slave will look down on a freeman, and say, "_Ah! yes, he's only some
poor free trash. He's a poor white free trash._" It was curious to
notice Jerry's sayings, only some of which I can remember. Mr. Tyson
looked down the line from the balcony yesterday, and said, to Jerry, who
had got out of a passenger car for a minute, "Jerry, do you see the
train coming?" "Yes, sir; it blowed right up there;" meaning it had
whistled. I will write to you more at large ere long about slavery, when
I have not topics pressing on time and pen.
We left our hotel this morning at eight o'clock, and even in the omnibus
noticed the improved and very intelligent appearance of the men. They
answered us quickly, cheerfully, and to the purpose; many wore large
picturesque felt hats of various forms. It is true that, on starting, we
were still in Virginia, of which Wheeling is one of the largest towns;
but the bulk of our fellow-passengers were evidently from the West; they
are chiefly descendants of the New Englanders, and partake of their
character, with the exception of the nasal twang, which is worse in New
England than anywhere else in America, and we are now losing the sound
of it. The omnibus made a grand circuit of the town to pick up
passengers, and thus gave us the only opportunity we had of seeing
something of it. It rained in torrents, and this probably made it look
more dismal than usual, but it certainly is much less picturesque and
more English-looking than any town we have yet seen. The coal and iron,
which constitute its chief trade, give it a very dirty appearance; but
its natural situation, stretching along the banks of the Ohio, which are
here very high on both sides, is very beautiful. The omnibus at last
crossed the river by a very fine suspension bridge, and, having left the
slave states behind us, we found ourselves in the free State of Ohio.
On the opposite side of the river we entered the cars of the Ohio
Central Railroad, but alas! we had no Mr. Tyson, and no sofas or tables
or balconies, and were again simple members of the public, destined to
enjoy all the tortures of the common cars. These however were in
first-rate style, with velvet seats, and prettily painted, with
brilliant white panelled ceilings; and we here fell in again, to my no
small comfort, with the venders of fruit and literature, or "pedlaring,"
as it is called, which forms a pleasant break in the tedium of a long
journey. I have been often told the reverse, but the literature sold in
this way is, as far as we have seen, rather creditable than otherwise to
the country, being generally of an instructive and useful character.
Many works published quite recently in England, could be bought either
in the cars or at the stores; and some of the better class of English
novels are reprinted in America, and sold at the rate of two or three
shillings a volume. The daily newspapers, sold on the railways, are
numerous; but these, with very few exceptions, are quite unworthy of the
country. In general there are no articles worth reading, for they are
filled with foolish and trashy anecdotes, written, apparently, by
penny-a-liners of the lowest order of ability. The magazines, and some
of the weekly illustrated papers, are a degree better, but a great deal
of the wit in these is reproduced from "Punch."
The first eighty-two miles to Zanesville were through a pretty and hilly
country. The hills were as usual covered with woods of every hue, so
that though the scenery was inferior to what we had been passing through
for the last few days, it was still very beautiful. Zanesville, which is
a considerable town, is situated on the Muskingham river. This fine
broad stream must add considerably to the waters of the Ohio, into which
it falls soon after leaving Zanesville.
At Zanesville, after partaking of an excellent dinner, we were joined by
an intelligent woman, returning home, with her little baby of ten weeks
old, from a visit she had just been making to her mother. Her own home
is in Missouri, and her husband being the owner of a farm of 500 acres,
she was able to give us a good deal of information about the state of
agriculture in the Far West. I learnt much from her on various subjects,
and was much surprised at the quick sharp answers she gave to all my
questions. She was well dressed, something in the style of the English
lady's maid, was evidently well to do, and was travelling night and day
with her merry little baby. She possesses one slave of fourteen, for
whom she gave four hundred dollars, whom she has had from infancy; she
brings her up as her own, and this black girl is now taking care of her
other children in her absence. I asked, "What do the slaves eat?"
"Everything: corn-bread, that's the most." Papa said, "It is a great
shame making Missouri a slave state."
_Woman._ "Ah yes; keeps it back."
_Self._ "Have you good health?"--many parts being said to be unhealthy.
_Woman._ A quick nod. "First-rate."
_Self._ "Did your mother give you the hickory stick?"
_Woman._ "No: the switch:--raised me on the rod of correction."
_Self._ "Had your husband the farm before you married?"
_Woman._ "His father had 'entered it,' and he gave my husband money, and
my mother gave me money, and then we married and 'entered it'
ourselves."
All these answers came out with the utmost quickness and intelligence.
She is an Irish Roman Catholic, her mother having brought her as a baby
from Ireland, her husband is also Irish; but they are now Americans of
the Far West in their manner and singular intelligence, beating even the
clever Irish in this respect.
I said: "Do you pray much to the Virgin Mary in your part of America?"
_Woman._ "No: don't notice her much."
_Self._ "I am glad of that."
_Woman._ "We respect her as the mother of God."
She said the corn on the road-side we were then passing was far inferior
to western produce, that it ought to be much taller, and that if it were
so, the ear would be much larger and fuller. Our English wheat is never
called corn, but simply wheat; and the other varieties oats, rye, &c.,
are called by their different names, but the generic term _corn_, in
America, always means Indian corn. It is necessary to know this in order
to prevent confusion in conversation. This woman's name was Margaret
M.; she was twenty-seven years of age, but looked younger; her husband,
James M., was thirty-six.
I asked her whether he was tall or short. "Oh tall, of course. I
wouldn't have had a poor short man." So we looked at papa, and laughed,
and said our tastes were the same. She was a most agreeable companion.
She noticed that I was reading a novel by the author of "John Halifax,"
which I had bought, the whole three volumes, for 1_s._ 6_d._, and said,
"Ah! that's the sort of reading I like. That's a novel; but my priest
tells me not to read that kind, that it fills me with silly thoughts;
but to read something to make me more intelligent." I thought there
seemed no deficiency in this respect, but agreed that the advice was
good, and said that I had bought this for cheapness, and for being
portable, it being in the pamphlet form; and that I was so interrupted
with looking at the lovely scenery when travelling, that I could not
take in anything deeper.
We wished each other good bye, and she wished me a happy meeting again
with our children. And now papa says this must be closed, and it
certainly has attained to no mean length, so I will not begin another
sheet, and hope you will not be wearied with this long chapter.
FOOTNOTE:
[7] These photographs cannot be reproduced here, which I regret, as they
were very well done.
LETTER IX.
JOURNEY FROM WHEELING TO COLUMBUS.--FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS.--MR.
TYSON'S STORIES.--COLUMBUS.--PENITENTIARY.--CAPITOL.--GOVERNOR
CHASE.--CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.--ARRIVAL AT CINCINNATI.
Columbus, Oct. 23rd, 1858.
The letter which I sent you from this place this morning will have told
you of our arrival here, but it was closed in such haste that I omitted
many things which I ought to have mentioned. It, moreover, carried us
only to Zanesville, and I ought to have told you that the view continued
very pretty all the way to this place, and the day having cleared up at
noon, we had a brilliant evening to explore this town.
Before describing Columbus, however, I shall go back to some omissions
of a still older date; for I ought to have told you of a grand sight we
saw the day we passed the Alleghany Ridge. On the preceding evening Mr.
Tyson received a telegraphic message to say that an extensive fire was
raging in the forest; it is supposed to have been caused by some people
shooting in the woods. It must have been a grand sight to the
passengers by the train from which we had separated, and which went on
during the night through the scene of the conflagration, for the fire
was much more extensive than those which are constantly taking place,
and which are passed by unheeded,--unhonoured with a telegraphic notice.
When we passed by the place next morning it was still burning
vigorously, but the daylight rendered the flames almost imperceptible.
It was curious, however, to see the volumes of smoke, which we first
perceived in a hollow. The fire was then travelling down the side of the
mountain; and long after we passed the immediate spot we saw the fire
winding about the mountains, spreading greatly, in the direction of the
wind and making its way even against it, though it was blowing with
considerable violence. The people in the neighbourhood were busily
employed in trying to save their hayricks from destruction. Mr. Tyson
said they would probably succeed in this, though the whole of the forest
was likely to be burnt, as the fire would wind about among the mountains
and pass from one to another for perhaps two months, unless a heavy rain
put it out. This we hope has been the case, as it poured in torrents all
the following night when we were at Wheeling.
Another circumstance we ought to have mentioned was our passing through
a very long tunnel, called the Board Tree Tunnel, about 340 miles from
Baltimore. This tunnel, after having fallen in, has only been repaired
within the last two months. The history of this catastrophe, and of the
mode of remedying it, forms quite an incident in the history of the
railway, and shows with what resolution difficulties in this country are
overcome. To reopen the tunnel it was clear would be a work of time, so
Mr. Tyson resolved to run a new temporary railway for three miles over
the mountain which had been tunnelled, and this was accomplished by 3000
men in ten days. We saw the place where this road had passed, and the
zig-zag line by which the mountain was crossed. The road seems
positively to overhang the precipice, and reminded me of a mountain pass
in Switzerland--as, indeed, the whole of the road here does. Mr. Tyson
himself drove the first train over, and he said his heart was in his
mouth when, having got to the top, he saw the descent before him, and
the engine and train on a precipice where the least _contretemps_ would
have plunged the whole into the abyss below; but happily all went right,
and till within the last two months this temporary road has been used.
It was really quite frightful to look up and think a train could pass
over such a place, the grade being 420 feet in a mile, or 1 in 121/2; but
you will one day be able to form some idea of it, as a photograph was
taken, and Mr. Tyson will give us a copy of it. This is certainly a
wonderful country for great enterprises, and the Pennsylvania Central
Railway, by which we contemplate recrossing the Alleghanies, is in some
respects a still more remarkable undertaking, though the height at which
the mountains are crossed on that line is not so great as that on the
Baltimore and Ohio line, which, as I told you in my last, is at an
elevation of 2700 feet. It was long supposed that such a feat could not
be surpassed, but Mr. Tyson says that, encouraged by this, a railway now
crosses the Tyrolean Alps at a somewhat higher level.
To return, however, to the Board Tree Tunnel: Mr. Tyson told us that the
difficulty of restoring it to a safe condition was so great as almost to
dishearten him till he had arched it completely over from one end to the
other with solid stone masonry, which has rendered the recurrence of the
accident impossible; but the disheartening circumstance, while the work
was in progress, was the danger to which the men employed in the work
were exposed, from the constant falling in of the roof. During its
progress no less than forty-five men were killed, and about 400 severely
wounded. They were chiefly Roman Catholics, and were it not for the
encouragement given by an energetic Roman Catholic priest, he hardly
thinks the men would have continued the work. The doctor, too, who
attended the wounded, and whom we saw at breakfast at Grafton, was also
most devoted to them. It was quite touching to hear the tender-hearted
way in which Mr. Tyson spoke of the poor sufferers, for he was
constantly there, and often saw them go in to almost certain death. He
mentioned one poor widow to whom he had just sent three hundred dollars
as a gift from the railway.
Before leaving the subject of Mr. Tyson, I must tell you one or two of
his good stories. I had been telling him of the negro meeting, which I
described to you in my last. In it I told you how the negroes had cried
out "glory! glory!" from which it appears it is almost impossible that
they can refrain. In corroboration of this he told us of a nigger woman
who was sold from a Baptist to a Presbyterian family. In general slaves
adopt, at once, the habits and doctrines of their new owners; but this
poor woman could not restrain herself, and greatly disturbed the
Presbyterian congregation, by shouting out "glory! glory!" in the
middle of the service. Next morning the minister sent for her and
rebuked her for this unseemly interruption of his sermon; but she said
doggedly, "Can't help it, sir; I'm all full of glory; must shout it
out." Many of his amusing stories were about Irish labourers employed on
the road. One of these, whose duty it was to show a light at the station
as the train passed, failed one night to do so, and was seen asleep. The
man who drove the engine threw a cinder at him as he passed, to awake
him; but, instead of hitting him, the cinder broke his lamp glass. All
this was told to Mr. Tyson, and also that the man was very angry at his
lamp being broken. When Mr. T. went down the line next day, he stopped
to lecture him, and the following colloquy ensued:--
_Mr. Tyson._ "Well, your lamp was broke, I hear, yesterday."
_Irishman._ "O, yes sir;" (terrified out of his life at the scolding he
feared was coming, for he saw that Mr. Tyson knew all about it;) "but I
forgive the blackguards intirely, sir, I _quite_ forgive them."
Mr. T. kept his counsel, said nothing more, and the lamp has never
failed since; but half the merit of this story depended on Mr. Tyson's
way of telling it. He was deliciously graphic also, and full of witty
sayings of his own. When, for example, I showed him my photograph of
your little brother, he exclaimed, "Well, he _is_ a fine fellow; HE
don't mind if corn is five dollars a bushel." I think you will all
appreciate this as a perfect description of the unconcern of a healthy
intelligent-looking child, unconscious of the anxieties of those about
him; but I must reserve his other good sayings and stories till we meet.
To-day we have been most busily employed, for Mr. Garrett, our railway
friend at Baltimore, not only did us the good service of sending us by
the car under Mr. Tyson's auspices, but gave us letters of introduction
both to this place and to Cincinnati; and his letters here to Mr. Neil
and Mr. Dennison have been of great use to us, as one or the other of
them has been in attendance upon us since 11 o'clock this morning,
together with a very pleasing person, a widow, niece of Mr. Neil, and
they have shown us the town in first-rate style.
Columbus is built on the banks of the Sciota, about 90 miles from the
point where it falls into the Ohio. It is the capital of the State, and
its streets, like those of Washington, have been laid out with a view to
its becoming one day a town of importance; but as the preparations for
this, though on a considerable scale, are not so great as at
Washington, the non-completion of the plan in its full extent produces
no disagreeable effect. In fact, the streets where finished are
completely so, and the unfinished parts consist of an extension of
these, in the shape of long avenues of trees. In the principal streets
the houses are not continuous, but in detached villas, and, judging by
the one in which Mr. Neil lives, appear to be very comfortable
residences. He and his niece called upon us yesterday evening, and,
although he is an elderly gentleman, he was here by appointment this
morning at half-past 8, and took papa to call on Mr. Dennison, when they
arranged together the programme for the day.
At 11 o'clock Mr. Dennison called, and took us to the Penitentiary,
where nearly 700 prisoners are confined. I think he said 695, although
it will hold the full number of 700 if need be. For the credit of the
sex, I must say that only ten out of the whole are females. These ten
are lodged each in a small room, for it can scarcely be called a cell,
very well furnished, and opening into a large sitting-room, of which
they all have the unrestrained use, although the presence of a matron
puts a restraint on their tongues. They were employed in needlework. The
cells of the men are arranged in tiers, and are certainly very
different looking habitations to those of the women, and greatly
inferior in size and airiness to the cells at Philadelphia, where, in
addition to the grating in front of the cell, there was a door behind
leading into a small enclosure or court. Here the only opening in the
cell is by a door into a long gallery, and the cells were much smaller
than either at Philadelphia or at Kingston; but the prisoners only
inhabit these cells at night, the solitary system not being adopted or
approved of here.
The silent system, however, is practised here as at Kingston, and the
prisoners are employed in large workshops, chiefly in making
agricultural instruments, hoops for casks, saddles, carpenters' tools,
and even rocking horses and toys, which must be rather heart-breaking
work for those who have children. The men have certain tasks allotted
them, and when the day's work is done, may devote the rest of their time
to working on their own account, which most of them do; the chief warden
told us that he had lately paid a man, on his leaving the prison, a
hundred and twenty-five dollars for extra work done in this way. The
warden told us that the men, when discharged, were always strongly urged
to return to their own homes instead of seeking to retrieve their
characters elsewhere, and that their doing so was generally attended
with a better result than when they went to a new place and had no check
on their proceedings. This does away with the chief argument of our
quaker friend at Philadelphia, in favour of the solitary system, which
was, that the prisoner's return to his friends became more easy, when
none of them knew that he had been in prison, of which they could not
well be ignorant if he had mixed with other prisoners in a public jail.
It must be borne in mind, however, that the great demand in this country
for work renders it much more easy for a person so circumstanced to
obtain employment, even with a damaged character, than in England, where
our ticket-of-leave men find this almost impossible. There is also, we
are told, a kinder feeling towards prisoners here on their leaving the
jail than in England, and this saves them from the want and consequent
temptation to which our English ticket-of-leave men are exposed; the
result is that a much less proportion of those released in America are
re-committed for new offences.
We visited the workshops, and afterwards went into a large court to see
the men defile in gangs, and march into their dining hall, in which we
afterwards saw them assembled at dinner, and a capital savoury dinner
it seemed to be. They have as much bread as they choose to eat, and meat
twice a day; their drink is water, except when the doctor orders it
otherwise. There are chaplains, called here Moral Instructors, who visit
them and perform the service in the chapel, and evening schools are
provided, at which the chaplains attend to teach reading, writing, and
arithmetic. A library of books of general information is provided for
the prisoner's use, and to each a Bible is given, and they are allowed
to buy sound and useful books. They have each a gas lamp in their cell,
which enables them to read there when their work is done, and they are
allowed to see their friends in the presence of an officer. Sixty of the
prisoners were Negroes, which is a large proportion when compared with
the total numbers of the white and black population, especially as the
blacks are often let off, owing to the leniency of the committing
magistrates who have compassion on their inferior intelligence; and it
is owing, it is said, to a like leniency that there are so few females,
though certainly not for the same reason. There are a large number of
Irish in the prison.
Our next visit, still under Mr. Dennison's escort, was to the Capitol or
State House, a very fine building of white limestone. The façade is more
than 300 feet long, and the height nearly 160 feet to the top of the
dome. This however has not yet been completed. The architecture is
Grecian. Here, as at Washington, are Halls for the Senate and House of
Representatives, in equally good taste and somewhat similarly arranged.
Mr. Dennison, who had once been a member of the Senate, was repudiating
the accounts so commonly given of the behaviour of the senators, when
Mr. Niel came in, and over-hearing what he was saying, begged to remark
that when they "went to work" they usually divested themselves of their
coats without substituting any senatorial garment in its place; and
putting his legs on the desk before the chair, he declared that such was
the usual posture in which they listened to the oratory of the place.[8]
We afterwards went through the apartments appropriated to the Treasurer
and Auditor of the State, the two chief officers of the Government,
which are very capacious and well fitted up--and we were specially
introduced to both these functionaries; Mr. Neil, who is somewhat of a
wag, was rather jocose with them, and high as their position here is,
they very cordially retaliated on him. We next went to those
appropriated to the Governor of the State, General Chase, in order that
we might be introduced to him, but he was out, which we regretted. He is
a candidate to succeed Mr. Buchanan as President. The remainder of the
building was occupied by numerous committee-rooms, by the courts of law,
the judges' apartments, a law library, and a beautiful room intended for
a general library, but in which the collection of books at present is
very small. On the whole the building and its contents are very
creditable to this, the largest and wealthiest of the States in the
West, considering that forty years ago the country here was a wild
forest region where no tree had been cut down.
_25th October._--We have seen Columbus well, and it has much to attract
attention. On Saturday we went from the Capitol to the Lunatic Asylum,
but excepting in its being more pleasingly arranged than the one at
Utica, there was nothing very striking in its appearance. The galleries
in which the patients were walking were prettily decorated with flowers
cut out in paper, giving it a very gay appearance; and when the
patients become desponding, they have a dance in the great hall, to
revive them. The matron who went round with us said that the men and
women conduct themselves on these occasions with perfect propriety. The
men and women are otherwise so entirely separated in this Asylum that
papa went round to the men's wards with the doctor, while I was taken
round by the matron to those appropriated to the women. We thought it a
pleasant, cheerful-looking place, considering the melancholy object to
which it is devoted.
The next sight we saw was, the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb: being
Saturday, we could not see the mode of tuition, but we have gone through
it this morning, and yesterday we attended the afternoon service there,
so that in our three visits we have been able to form a pretty good idea
of the system carried out. They have an alphabet by which they can spell
words, which they do by using one hand only. They speak thus with
considerable rapidity, but this method is confined almost entirely to
express proper names and words of uncommon use, as the whole
conversation is carried on in general by signs, and it was most
beautiful to see the graceful manner in which the matron spoke to them.
As this system of signs does not represent words, but _things_ and
_ideas_, it has the great advantage of being universally understood when
taught, and as the same system is adopted in several countries of
Europe, in Norway and Sweden for example, a Norwegian and American child
can converse easily together without either knowing a syllable of the
other's language. It seems quite as rapid as talking.
We were present at the afternoon sermon, which lasted about half an
hour, the subject being that of Simeon in the Temple, and except to
express Simeon's name, there was no use at all made of the fingers. Dr.
Stone, the principal, had preached in the morning on the subject of
Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and when we went, the
children were being examined on the subject of this lecture. We _saw_ a
number of questions asked, but in this case the words were spelled in
order that Dr. Stone, who was teaching them, might be satisfied that
they understood the full meaning of the question in its grammatical
sense, as well as its general signification, and the answers were all
written down on large black boards. They wrote with prodigious rapidity
in large distinct writing--and the answers, which were all different and
showed they were not got up by rote, were in most cases very good. This
was being done by the eldest class, and some of the elder boys and girls
seemed full of intelligence. We saw minutely only what was going on in
this and in the youngest class, which was no less remarkable,
considering that some of the children had not been more than two or
three months in the Asylum, and when they came there had no idea of
either reading or writing.
When I say the youngest class, it is not with reference to the age of
the pupils, but to the recent period of their admission, for some of
them were as old in years as in the first class, while others were very
young; one of them, a very pretty little Jewish girl with sparkling
intelligent eyes, was indeed a mere child. We had on Sunday seen this
little girl being taught her lesson, which consisted of the simple
words, "I must be kind," and it was very pretty to see the way in which
the notion of kindness was conveyed by signs. This morning she was
writing this on the slate, and she afterwards wrote in a very neat
handwriting a number of short words--cat, dog, horse, &c.--which were
dictated to her by signs which were of so simple a nature that we could
understand many of them; a goat, for example, was represented by the
fingers being stuck on each side of the head as horns, and then by the
man drawing his hand down from his chin to indicate the beard. They thus
became acquainted by signs with almost every object in the first
instance, and are led on by degrees to complex ideas of every kind. Dr.
Stone says that the use of signs is known in England, but he believes is
never practised to any extent, and certainly not in giving religious
instruction. No attempt is made here, as in England, to teach them to
articulate, as he considered the attempt to do this to be a great
mistake, it being a painful effort to the child, which never leads to
any good practical result. In some cases where deafness has been
accidentally brought on after children have learned to speak, it is then
as far as possible kept up; but even then the effort, as we saw, was
very painful.
Our next visit was to the Blind Institution, but here there was nothing
very remarkable, though owing to the children not being in school we saw
the Institution very imperfectly. Raised characters are used here, as I
believe everywhere else; one little girl who was called up read and
pronounced very well; we also heard some of them sing and play for a
considerable time. The bulk of the children, or rather young people, for
they keep them here till they are one or two and twenty, were walking
about the gardens invariably in pairs, which seems an excellent
preservative against accidents: this they do of their own accord.
We next went to the Idiot Asylum, but the children being, as usual on
Saturday, out of doors, we merely took a general look at the place, and
returned there this morning to see the system pursued for them more in
detail. Dr. Patterson, the superintendent, is a man of wonderful energy;
and two young women and a matron, the two young teachers especially,
must be exemplary characters, for they appear to devote themselves to
their work with an energy and kindness which is perfectly marvellous,
considering the apparently hopeless task they are engaged in. However,
when taken young, from six to seven years of age, the capabilities of
these poor children for improvement seem in general great, unless the
infirmity is occasioned by epileptic fits, when the cure is considered
almost hopeless. We were entertained by a story told by Dr. Patterson of
a boy brought to him by the Mayor of C., who told him it was a bad case,
but that he would be satisfied if he could fit him to be a missionary.
Dr. P. replied that he could not answer for that, but that he could at
all events fit him to be Mayor of C.
The great means resorted to for improvement is constant occupation,
changed every quarter of an hour through out the day. By this means
their physical power at night is nearly exhausted, and they invariably
sleep well; where no greater improvement is arrived at, they can in all
cases gain cleanly habits, and get entirely rid of that repulsive
appearance which an idiot left to himself is almost sure at last to
acquire. Active exercises are what they resort to in the first instance;
they have a large school-room fitted up with ladders and gymnastic
apparatus of all kinds. We saw little boys, who shortly before were
scarcely able to stand alone, climbing places which made me tremble for
their safety, but it was curious to observe with what caution they did
it.
When we entered the room the youngest class were all standing round a
piano, at which one of the teachers was playing, whilst she and the
other teacher were leading them on in singing a cheerful song, and it
was really quite touching to hear and see them; they sang very fairly,
not worse than children usually do at that age. After a quarter of an
hour of this they went through their Calisthenic exercises, marching in
perfect time, clapping their hands, and going through different
gestures with great accuracy, and these poor children a very few months
ago had hardly any control over their actions.
Another thing taught is, to distinguish colour and form--for which
purpose they have cards cut out into circles, squares, and octagons--and
other marked shapes, of every variety and shade of colour. Five or six
of these of different sorts were spread on the table, and a large
unsorted pack was placed before a little boy five or six years old, and
it was quite interesting to see him proceed to sort them by placing each
one on the top of the counterpart which had been placed at first on the
table. As there were many more kinds in the pack than those spread out
on the table, when he came to a new one he first placed it in contact
with the others to see if it suited, and after going round them all and
seeing that none were the same, he appeared puzzled, and at last set it
down in a place by itself. Although there was a certain degree of
vacancy in the expression of the child, it seemed quite to brighten up
at each successive step, and the occupation was evidently a source of
considerable enjoyment to him. This little fellow had been a very short
time in the Asylum, and when admitted had not the slightest idea of
form, colour, or size.
Another mode adopted is, to take little blocks of wood of different
sizes and forms, which the child is required to fit into corresponding
holes cut out in a board. All this is for the least advanced pupils.
They learn afterwards to read and write, and some of the very little
ones traced lines upon a board as well as most children could do with
all their senses about them. The elder ones could write short words and
read easy books; they are taught to read by having short words like cow,
dog, ox, printed on cards, and are then shown by a picture what the
words represent, and they are not taught their letters or to spell words
till they begin to learn to write; the elementary books therefore
consist chiefly of words representing ideas quite independently of the
letters of which the words are formed. Many, however, can never fully
obtain the power of speech, and that without any physical defect in
their organs, and without the accompaniment of deafness, for they hear
perfectly. In these instances to teach them to speak is very difficult,
and sometimes hopeless. The poor little boy whom we saw sorting his
cards, was one of those cases in which no articulate sound had ever been
uttered, or could be produced by any teaching. At the same time the
development of his head, and that of many others, was almost perfect
and quite a beau ideal of what a head should be.
I forgot in speaking of the deaf and dumb to mention that their crying
and laughter were quite like those of other children, and it appears to
be the same with the idiots, even though they cannot speak. There was
among the idiots one boy in irons to support his legs, which were
otherwise quite without power, and he seemed under this treatment to be
rapidly improving. They all have meat twice a day, and great care is
taken to feed them generously. The only other sight in Columbus is the
Medical College, which, however, we had no time to go over. We must,
however, except the Governor's house, not forgetting its inmates,
Governor Chase himself, and his interesting daughter. We had been
introduced to the Governor by Mr. Dennison, after missing him on
Saturday at the Capitol, and he most kindly asked us to drink tea and
spend the evening with him, apologising for time not permitting his
daughter to call upon us. He is Governor of the State of Ohio, an office
that is held for two years. He is a first-rate man in talent and
character,--a strong abolitionist, and a thorough gentleman in his
appearance--showing that the active and adventurous habits of his
nation are quite consistent with the highest polish and refinement. He
is deeply involved in the politics of his country, and, as I said
before, is a candidate for the next presidentship. His strong views on
the question of slavery will probably be a bar to his success, but
unfortunately another hindrance may be that very high social character
for which he is so remarkable. To judge at least by the treatment of
such men as Henry Clay, and others of his stamp, it would appear as if
real merit were a hindrance rather than a help to the attainment of the
highest offices in America.[9]
The Governor's house looked externally something like an English rectory
standing in a little garden, and we were at first shown into a small
sitting-room. It seems the fashion all over America, as it is abroad, to
leave the space open in the middle of the room, and the chairs and sofas
arranged round the walls, but there is always a good carpet of lively
colours or a matting in summer, and not the bare floor so constantly
seen in France and Germany. The little gathering consisted of the
Governor, his two daughters (his only children), his niece, and his
sister, Mr. Dennison, and Mr. Barnay, a clever New York lawyer, with
whom we had crossed the Atlantic. But if the Governor recommended
himself to us as a gentleman, what am I to say of his daughter? Papa has
gone out and has left her description to me, whereas he could give a
much more lively one, as he at once lost his heart to her. Her figure is
tall and slight, but at the same time beautifully rounded; her neck long
and graceful, with a sweet pretty brunette face. I seldom have seen such
lovely eyes and dark eyelashes; she has rich dark hair in great
profusion, but her style and dress were of the utmost simplicity and
grace, and I almost forgave papa for at once falling in love with her.
Her father has been three times a widower, though not older-looking than
papa, and with good reason he worships his daughter. She has been at the
head of her father's house for the last six months, and the _naïve_
importance she attached to her office gave an additional attraction to
her manners. While we sat talking in the little room the Governor handed
me a white and red rose as being the last of the season. He had placed
them ready for me in a glass, and I have dried them as a memorial of
that pleasant evening. We soon went into the dining-room, where tea and
coffee were laid out on a light oak table, with an excellent _compôte_
of apples, a silver basket full of sweet cakes, of which the Americans
are very fond: bread--alas! always cut in slices whether at the hotels
or in private, fresh butter,--an improvement on the usual salt butter of
the country, and served, as it generally is, in silver perforated dishes
to allow of the water from the ice to drain through, and a large tureen
of cream toast. This is also a common dish, being simply slices of toast
soaked in milk or cream and served hot. It often appears at the hotels,
but there it is milk toast, and is not so good. I thought the cream
toast excellent, and a great improvement on our bread and milk in
England, but papa did not like it. The Governor and his fair daughter
presided at the table, the Governor first saying grace very reverently,
and we had a very pleasant repast.
After this we were conducted to the drawing-room. Such a _bijou_ of a
room! The size was about twenty feet by eighteen, and the walls and
ceiling, including doors, window-frames, and shutters--there were no
curtains, might have been all made of the purest white china. It is a
most peculiar and desirable varnish which is used on their wood-work
that gives this effect. Mr. Tyson told us that it is made of Canada
balsam, and that it comes therefore from our own territory, so that it
is very stupid of Cubitt and others not to make use of it. The effect is
like what the white wood-work of our drawing-room was when it was first
finished, and you may imagine the appearance of the whole room being
done with this fine white polish everywhere. We see it in all the hotels
and railway carriages, so that it cannot be expensive. The windows were
pointed, and the shutters were made to slide into the walls. They were
shut on that evening, and were made, as they often are, with a small
piece of Venetian blind-work let into them, also painted white. If we
had called in the morning we should probably have found the room in
nearly total darkness, as we found to be the case at Mr. Neil's, for the
dear Americans seem too much afraid of their sun. There was a white
marble table in the centre of this drawing-room, and the room was well
lighted with gas. The only ornament was a most lovely ideal head in
marble by Power, the sculptor of the Greek slave. The simplicity and
beauty of the room could not be surpassed, and we spent a most
interesting evening.
The father and daughter we found to be full of intelligence and
knowledge of our best authors, though neither of them has ever been in
England. Miss Chase is much interested in a new conservatory, took me
over it, and gave me several very pretty things to dry. I shall
endeavour to get cuttings or seeds of them. I was generous enough to
allow papa afterwards to go over the conservatory alone with her. She is
longing to come and see England, but her father is too busy at present
to leave the country. She expressed such sorrow not to know more of us,
that we promised to call this morning after our "asylum" work was done,
when she showed us over the house, which is very pretty, and nicely
arranged throughout.
I think I have nothing more to say of Columbus, except that we heard two
sermons and _saw_ one on Sunday; for, besides the morning sermon at the
Episcopal Church, and the _sign_ one to the deaf and dumb, we looked in
at another where a negro was preaching to his fellow niggers with great
energy and life; but the ladies were quiet, and restrained their agonies
and their "glory."
_Cincinnati, Oct. 27th._--We left Columbus at forty minutes past twelve
yesterday. Mr. Dennison and Mr. Neil's son met us at the station, and
Mr. Neil gave me some dried red leaves he had promised me, which have
kept their colour tolerably well. Mr. D. is president of the railroad
on which we were about to travel, and wished to give us free tickets to
this place, but papa declined with many thanks. Papa has no sort of
claim or connection with this railway, and I only mention the
circumstance to show the extreme kindness and liberality of these
gentlemen, who knew nothing of us, and probably had never heard our
names until they had received letters of introduction about us from
others, who were themselves equally strangers to us a few days ago. They
introduced us to the freight agent of the Ohio and Mississippi Railway,
who travelled with us, as did also a clever handsome widow. She seemed
to be well connected, being related to General Cass and other people of
note. She reminds me a little of Mrs. B. in style and manner, and it is
pleasant to have some one to talk to, for we do not find people in
general communicative in travelling, though papa says the fault may be
ours.
There was nothing particularly pretty on the road, as the trees are, I
grieve to say, losing their leaves in this neighbourhood; but on
approaching this great city, "the Queen of the West," we came again on
the Ohio. The water is now very low, but the bed of the river shows how
great its width is when full; and even now there is a perfect navy of
splendid steamers floating on its waters, many of which we saw as our
train drove through the suburban streets of the city. Unhappily the rain
poured down upon us as we got into the omnibus, but we were soon
consoled by finding ourselves in this most magnificent hotel, the finest
I have yet seen. The drawing room, is I should think, unsurpassed in
beauty by any hotel anywhere, and I shall endeavour to make a drawing of
it before I leave. The hotel at Columbus was tolerably large, as you may
suppose, when I tell you that our dining room there was about ninety
feet by thirty. This one, however, has two dining rooms of at least
equal dimensions, which together can dine 1000 persons, and it makes up
600 beds. We sat in the drawing room yesterday evening, for we could not
reconcile ourselves to leave it, even to write this journal. There were
various ladies and gentlemen laughing and talking together, but no
evening dresses, and nothing of any importance to remark about them. One
young lady only was rather grandly dressed in a drab silk; she
afterwards sat down to the piano, and began the usual American jingle,
for I cannot call it music; and I have since been told she was the
daughter of the master of the house. "Egalité" is certainly the order of
the day here, and this young lady was treated quite on an equality with
the other ladies in the room. The food is excellent, and we are very
thankful to have so luxurious a resting place if we are at all detained
here. We have several friends in the hotel, who are here to meet papa on
business.
This morning we have had a visit from Mr. Mitchell, the astronomer, and
author of the work on Astronomy, which I remember reading with pleasure
just before I left England. His daughter is to call on me and drive us
out, and we are to pay a visit to his observatory. We went this
afternoon to leave some letters, which Mr. Dennison had given us for Mr.
Rufus King and Mr. Lars Anderson. We found Mrs. King at home; her
husband is much devoted to educational subjects and to the fine arts.
There were some very good pictures and engravings in the drawing room,
and amongst the latter two of Sir Robert Strange's performances. We
found both Mr. and Mrs. Anderson at home; they live in a splendid house,
but as it was getting dark we could not see the details. We sent in our
cards with our letter, and the room being full of people, Mr. Anderson
introduced papa to each one separately, and me as Mrs. S----. As these
guests went out others came in, and fresh introductions took place, but
still always Mr. T---- and Mrs. S----, and he so addressed me during the
visit. As we were going away papa said that he was making some strange
mistake about my name, but he insisted upon it that we had so announced
it; and on looking at our cards I found the card of a very vulgar lady
at New York, which I had given by mistake as my own.
As we were leaving the room, a very amiable and pleasing person asked me
if I would not call upon Mr. Longworth, the most celebrated character in
this country, who she said was her father and the father of Mrs.
Anderson. I said that we had letters to him from Mr. Jared Sparks, and
that we had meant to call on him the next day, but she said we had
better return with her then. We accordingly accompanied her through Mr.
Anderson's garden, and through an adjoining one which led to her
father's house, likewise a very large one, though not presenting such an
architectural appearance as Mr. Anderson's. The old gentleman soon made
his appearance, and afterwards Mrs. Longworth. They were a most
venerable couple, who had a twelve-month ago celebrated their golden
marriage, or fiftieth anniversary of their wedding day. We were invited
to stay and drink tea, which we did, and met a large assemblage of
children and grand-children; a great-grand-child who had been present
at the golden wedding, was in its nursery.
Mr. Longworth, among other things remarkable about him, is the
proprietor of the vineyards from which the sparkling champagne is
produced, known, from the name of the grape, as the sparkling Catawba;
but he seems no less remarkable from the immense extent of his
strawberry beds, which cover, I think he said, 60 acres of ground. He
told us the number of bushels of fruit they daily produce in the season;
but the number is legion, and I dare not set it down from memory. He
showed papa a book he had written about his grapes and strawberries, and
is very incredulous as to any in the world being better than his. This
led to a discussion upon the relative size of trees and plants on the
two sides of the Atlantic; and in speaking of the Indian corn, he tells
us he has seen it standing, in Ohio, eighteen feet high, and he says it
has been known, in Kentucky, to reach as high as twenty-five feet, and
the ear eighteen inches long.
The old gentleman is a diminutive-looking person, with a coat so shabby
that one would be tempted to offer him a sixpence if we met him in the
streets; indeed a story is told of a stranger, who, going into his
garden, and being shown round it by Mr. Longworth, gave him a dollar,
which the latter good-humouredly put into his pocket, and it was not
till he was asked to go into the house that the stranger discovered him
to be the owner.[10] He is, however, delightfully vivacious, and full of
agricultural hobbies. His wife is a very pleasing, primitive-looking
person. We tasted at their house some of the ham for which this city,
called by the wits Porkopolis, is so remarkable. The maple sugar is used
in curing it, and improves the flavour very much.
_October 28th._--I must bring this letter to a rapid close, for it must
be posted a day earlier than we expected. We intend to start in two days
for St. Louis, and there I will finish my account of Cincinnati. To-day
we have seen a great many schools, which have given us considerable
insight into the state of education in America. My next letter will
probably bring us to our most western point, though we have not yet
quite settled whether we shall go to the Falls of St. Anthony, or to
Chicago. Papa says I must close, and I must obey.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] Though this description of the Senate was meant as a good-humoured
satire on the absence of etiquette in their assemblies, it is probably
no very exaggerated account of what is sometimes seen there; but it
would be most unfair to draw any conclusion from this as to the
behaviour in general society of well-educated gentlemen in America,
there being as much real courtesy among these as is found in any other
country, though certainly not always accompanied by the refinements of
polished society in Europe.
[9] It is not meant here to obtrude special views of politics, or to
maintain that democratic principles have naturally this tendency; but it
may help to explain why so little is heard or known in England of the
better class of Americans. Their unobtrusive mode of life entirely
accounts for this, and it is to be regretted that it is the noisy
demagogue who forms the type of the American as known to the generality
of the European public.
[10] I should not have taken the liberty of printing this account of Mr.
Longworth were he not, in a manner, a public character, well known
throughout the length and breadth of the land, and his eccentricities
are as familiar to every one at Cincinnati as his goodness of heart. In
speaking, too, of his family, it is most gratifying to be able to record
the patriarchal way in which we found him and Mrs. Longworth, surrounded
by their descendants to the third generation.
If any apology is required, the same excuse--of his being a well-known
public character--may be made for saying so much of Governor Chase and
of his family.
LETTER X.
CINCINNATI.--MR. LONGWORTH.--GERMAN POPULATION---"OVER THE
RHINE."--ENVIRONS OF CINCINNATI.--GARDENS.--FRUITS.--COMMON
SCHOOLS.--JOURNEY TO ST. LOUIS.
Vincennes, Indiana, Nov. 1st, 1858.
My last letter brought us up to our arrival at Cincinnati, and our
passing the evening at Mr. Longworth's on the following day. Next day,
Wednesday the 27th, Mrs. Anderson, Mr. Longworth's daughter, called and
asked us to spend that evening also at her mother's house. She took me
out in her carriage in the morning to see some of the best shops, which
were equal to some of our best London ones in extent and in the value of
the goods; and in the course of the day we called at Monsieur Raschig's;
he not being at home, we made an appointment to call there late in the
evening.
The party at the Longworths was confined to the members of their large
family, all of whom are very agreeable. There were two married
daughters, Mrs. Flagg and Mrs. Anderson, and the grandson and his
wife, Mr. and Mrs. Stettinius; and we also saw the little
great-grand-daughter, who is a pretty child of eighteen months. The
dining-room not being long enough to accommodate us all at tea, the
table was placed diagonally across the room, and it was surprising to
see Mrs. Longworth pouring out tea and coffee for the whole party as
vigorously as if she were eighteen years old, her age being seventy-two.
She is remarkably pretty, with a fair complexion, and a very attractive
and gentle manner and face.
We had quails and Cincinnati hams, also oysters served in three
different ways--stewed, fried in butter, and in their natural state, but
taken out of their shells and served _en masse_ in a large dish. Our
friends were astonished that we did not like these famous oysters of
theirs in any form, which we did not, they being very huge in size and
strong in flavour. We said, too, we did not like making two bites of an
oyster; they pitied our want of taste, and lamented over our miserably
small ones in England. After tea we saw some sea-weed and autumnal
leaves beautifully dried and preserved by Mrs. Flagg, and we also
looked over an illustrated poem on the subject of Mr. and Mrs.
Longworth's golden wedding, the poem being the composition of Mr. Flagg.
Towards ten o'clock a table was laid out in the drawing-room with their
Catawba champagne, which was handed round in tumblers, followed by piles
of Vanilla ice a foot and a half high. There were two of these towers of
Babel on the table, and each person was given a supply that would have
served for half a dozen in England; the cream however is so light in
this country that a great deal more can be taken of it than in England;
ices are extremely good and cheap all over America; even in very small
towns they are to be had as good as in the large ones. Water ices or
fruit ices are rare; they are almost always of Vanilla cream. In summer
a stewed peach is sometimes added.
We left the Longworths that evening in a down pour of rain, so that papa
only got out for a minute at the door of Miss Raschig's uncle, and asked
him to breakfast with us next morning. He accordingly came; we found him
a most quick, lively, and excellent man, full of intelligence, and he
received us with the warmth and ardour of an old friend, having during
the twenty-five years he has been in America scarcely ever seen any one
who knew any of his relatives. He is a Lutheran minister, and has a
large congregation of Germans. He said a good deal had been going on
during the revivals at Cincinnati, and he thought the feeling shown was
of a satisfactory kind; there had been preaching in tents opposite his
church.
The part of the town where he resides beyond the Miami Canal, which
divides it into two portions, is known by the name of "Over the Rhine,"
and is inhabited almost entirely by Germans, of whom there are no less
than 60,000 in the town. Mr. Raschig's own family consists of nine sons
and one daughter, the youngest child being a fortnight old. We went to
see them before we left the place, and found the mother as excellent and
agreeable as himself, with her fine little baby in her arms. She said
that boys were much easier disposed of than girls in this country, and
their three eldest sons are already getting their livelihood, the eldest
of all being married. We saw the third son, a very intelligent youth,
who is a teacher in one of the schools in the town, and the daughter, a
pleasing girl of fourteen, sung to us. She promises to have a good
voice, though it will never equal her cousin's.
On the evening of the 28th we went by invitation to Mr. and Mrs.
King's. He is a lawyer, and they are connected by marriage with the
Neils of Columbus and with the Longworths. The Andersons were there, and
we again had a liberal supply of ices. The following evening, the 29th,
we went to the Andersons, where there was a large party consisting of
the Directors of the Ohio and Mississippi Railway, with whom, by the
bye, I had dined that day at the hotel, there being ten gentlemen and
myself, the only lady, at table. The party at the Andersons was also an
assemblage of some of the beau monde of Cincinnati. The ladies were all
dressed in high silk dresses remarkably well made, and looking as if
they all had come straight from Paris. I never saw a large party of
prettier or better chosen toilettes. The dresses were generally of rich
brocaded silk, but there was nothing to criticise, and all were in
perfect taste. We assembled in a long drawing-room carpeted, and
sufficiently supplied with chairs, but there being neither tables nor
curtains, the room had rather a bare appearance, though it was well
lighted and looked brilliant. Towards ten o'clock we were handed into
the dining-room, where there was a standing supper of oysters,--the
"institution" of oysters as they justly call it,--hot quails, ham, ices,
and most copious supplies of their beloved Catawba champagne, which we
do not love, for it tastes, to our uninitiated palates, little better
than cider. It was served in a large red punch-bowl of Bohemian glass in
the form of Catawba cobbler, which I thought improved it; but between
the wine and the quails, which, from over hospitable kindness, were
forced on poor papa, he awoke the next morning with a bad headache, and
did not get rid of it all day.
The weather during our stay at Cincinnati was so wet that, with the
exception of a drive which Mr. Anderson took us to some little distance
on the heights above, and a long visit which we paid to the school under
Mr. King's auspices, we had little out-door work to occupy us. I once,
however, and papa twice, crossed the Ohio in a steamboat, and took a
walk in the opposite slave state of Kentucky. The view thence of the
town and its fleet of steamboats is very striking. The opposite hills,
with the observatory perched on the highest summit, were very fine.
Mr. Anderson one day took us a long drive to the top of these hills; the
whole country, especially near a village called Clifton, about six miles
from the town, is studded with villas. We drove through the grounds of
two which overlooked splendid views of the neighbouring country; each of
them being situated at the end of a sort of natural terrace projecting
into the valley, and thus commanding a panoramic view all round.
The grounds attached to these villas are of considerable extent, but
nothing has surprised us more than the poverty of the gardens in
America. It may, however, be accounted for by the difficulty and expense
of obtaining labour in this country, and by the consequent facility with
which men who show any talent, and are really industrious, can advance
themselves. A scientific gardener, therefore, if any such there be,
would not long remain in that capacity. One of the houses had a really
fine-looking conservatory attached to it, but, like others we have seen
in the course of our travels, it was almost entirely given up to rockery
and ferns. This is a degree better than when the owners indulge in
statuary. We were made by the driver on another occasion to stop at a
garden ornamented in this way, but certainly Hiram Power's talents had
not been called into request, and the statues were of the most
common-place order.
It is not only in their gardens, however, but in the general ornamental
cultivation of their grounds, that the Americans are deficient, for
even at Newport, where we greatly admired, as I think I mentioned, the
greenness of the grass, it was coarse in quality, and bore no sort of
resemblance to a well-trimmed English lawn. Nor have we ever seen any
fruit, with the exception of their apples, to compare to ours in
England. These are certainly very fine. I hardly know the weight of an
English apple, but at Columbus we got some which were brought from the
borders of Lake Erie which are called the twenty-ounce apple. The one we
ate weighed about sixteen ounces, and measured thirteen inches round.
They are said to weigh sometimes as much as twenty-seven ounces. It is
what they call a "fall," meaning an autumnal, apple.[11]
Next to their apples their pears deserve notice; but, though better than
ours, they are not superior to those produced in France. The quantity of
fruit, however, is certainly great, for the peaches are standard and
grown in orchards; but they are quite uncultivated, and the greater part
that we met with were hardly fit to eat. They are, notwithstanding,
very proud of their fruit, especially of these said peaches and of their
grapes, which, to our minds, were just as objectionable productions.
There is one kind called the Isabella, which we thought most
disagreeable to eat, for the moment the skin is broken by the teeth and
the grape squeezed the whole inner part pops out in a solid mass into
the mouth. We are past the season of wild flowers; but these must make
the country very beautiful in the early spring, to judge from the
profusion of rhododendron and other shrubs, which were most luxuriant,
especially where we crossed the Alleghanies and along the banks of the
Connecticut. To return, however, to our drive.
After visiting these villas we passed a great number of charitable
institutions for the relief of the poor, who are remarkably well looked
after in this country. One of these institutions was the Reformatory, a
large building, where young boys are sent at whatever age they may prove
delinquents, and are kept and well educated till they are twenty-one.
But the grand mode in which the state provides against crime of all
kinds is the system of education for all classes.
I have said we went under Mr. King's guidance to see the common schools
of Cincinnati. These are divided into three classes, called the
district schools, the intermediate schools, and the high schools; we
went through each grade, and were much pleased with the proficiency of
the pupils. The examinations they went through in mental arithmetic were
very remarkable, and the questions put to the boys of the intermediate
class, who were generally from eleven to thirteen years old, were
answered in a very creditable manner.
In the high school, the teaching is carried on till the pupils reach the
age of sixteen or seventeen, and even eighteen, after which they either
leave school altogether or go to college. They are generally the
children of artisans or mechanics, but boys of all ranks are admitted,
and are moved on from one grade to another. The schools are entirely
free, and girls are admitted as well as boys, and in about equal
numbers. The girls and boys are taught, for the most part, in separate
rooms, but repeat their lessons and are examined together, so that there
is a constant passing in and out from one class-room to another, but
still great order is preserved. This assembling together, however, of
large numbers of boys and girls, for so considerable a portion of the
day, did not strike us as so desirable as it is there said to be. The
advocates of the system say it refines the rough manners of the boys;
but it is more than questionable if the characters of the girls are
improved by it, and if the practice, in its general results, can be
beneficial.
The subjects taught to both boys and girls are invariably the same; and
it was curious to hear girls translating Cicero into excellent English,
and parsing most complicated sentences, just like the boys, and very
often in better style, for they often answered when the boys could not.
They seemed chiefly girls from sixteen to eighteen. They answered, also,
most difficult questions in logic, and they learn a good deal of
astronomy, chemistry, &c., and have beautiful laboratories and
instruments. Music is also taught in a very scientific way, so as to
afford a knowledge of the transpositions of the keys, but in spite of
this, their music and singing are very American. German and French are
also taught in the schools when required.
The teachers, both men and women, have very good salaries; the youngest
women beginning with 60_l._ and rising to 120_l._ a year, while the
men's salaries rise up to 260_l._ a year, and that in the intermediate
or second class schools. This style of education may appear too advanced
for girls in their rank of life, but in this country, where they get
dispersed, and may attain a good position in a distant district, the
tone thus given by education to the people, is of great importance. The
educating of the females in this way must give them great powers, and
open to them a field of great usefulness in becoming teachers themselves
hereafter. The education given is altogether secular, and they profess
to try and govern "by appeals to the nobler principles of their nature,"
as we gather from a report which was put into our hands at leaving.
This is but a weak basis for a sound education, and I cannot but think
its insufficiency is even here practically, and perhaps unconsciously,
acknowledged; for, though no direct religious instruction is professedly
given, a religious tone is nevertheless attempted to be conveyed in the
lessons. At the opening of the school, a portion of the Bible is read
daily in each class; and the pupils are allowed to read such versions of
the Scriptures as their parents may prefer, but no marginal readings are
allowed, nor may any comments be made by the teachers.[12]
We left Cincinnati this morning in the car appropriated to the use of
the Directors of the Ohio and Mississippi Railway, on which line we are
travelling. It is neatly fitted up with little "state" rooms, with sofas
all round. There were four of these, besides a general saloon in the
middle; but the whole was greatly inferior to the elegance of Mr.
Tyson's car on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. Our party consisted of
about thirty persons, of whom four were judges, and about a third of the
number were ladies, accompanying their liege lords, and chiefly asked in
honour of me, to prevent my being "an unprotected female" among such a
host of gentlemen. An ordinary car was attached to that of the
Directors, for the use of any smokers of the party. We left Cincinnati
at half-past eight, and reached this place, Vincennes, where we are to
sleep, at about six o'clock. The road was very pretty, though the leaves
were nearly all off the trees; the forms of the trees were, however,
lovely, and it was quite a new description of country to us, the
clearings being recent and still very rough in appearance, and the
log-houses, in most places, of a most primitive kind. Vincennes, where
we are to sleep, is an old town of French origin, prettily situated on
the river Wabash, which we can see from our windows.
_St. Louis, November 4th._--We came on here on the 2nd instant, and soon
after leaving Vincennes found ourselves in a prairie, but it was not
till after sixty miles that we got to the Grand Prairie, which we
traversed for about sixty more. The vastness, however, of this prairie,
consists in its length from north to south, in which it stretches
through nearly the whole length of the State. These prairies are
enormous plains of country, covered, at this time, by a long brown
grass, in which are the seed-vessels and remains of innumerable flowers,
which are said to be most lovely in their form and colour in the spring.
It was disappointing only to see the dark remains of what must have been
such a rich parterre of flowers. One of our party, Colonel Reilly, of
Texas, who had seen our Crystal Palace gardens at Sydenham, in full
flower, said that they reminded him of the prairies in the spring. The
ground is so level, that the woods on the horizon had the effect that
the first sight of the dark line of land has at sea. In many places near
the road on each side, small farms were established, and good-sized
fields of Indian corn were growing; and wherever there was a railway
station, a town, or even a "city" with one or two churches, and an
hotel, besides grocery stores and wooden buildings of various kinds,
were in progress in this immense wilderness.
The rain poured down incessantly, giving the country a melancholy and
forlorn appearance. Towards the latter part of our journey, we descended
into and traversed the great valley of the Mississippi. We passed
several coal-mines, and here, where the vein of coal is eight feet
thick, the land, including the coal, may be bought for one pound an
acre. The country soon assumed the appearance of a great swamp, and is
most unhealthy, being full of fever and ague.
At length our train stopped, and we were ushered into omnibuses of
enormous length, drawn by four horses, and two of these caterpillar-like
looking vehicles were driven on to the steam-ferry, and in this
unromantic way we steamed across the great Father of Waters, and a most
unpoetic and unromantic river it appeared to be. There is nothing in
its width here to strike the eye or the imagination, though its depth is
very great, and it has risen ten feet within the last week. But it
appeared to us ugly and inconsiderable after the wide, rapid, clear, and
magnificent St. Lawrence. We were driven through a sea of mud and mire
to this large and comfortable hotel, and were shortly afterwards seated
at table with the rest of our party.
I forgot to mention that, at Vincennes, seven sportsmen had been out all
day, before we arrived, to procure game for us, and were much
disappointed at not being able to get us any prairie hens, which are a
humble imitation of grouse, though Americans are pleased to consider
them better than that best of birds; but "comparisons are odious," and
the prairie-hens are very praiseworthy and good in their way. We had,
however, abundance of venison and quails, and the same fare met us here,
with large libations of champagne. The owner of our hotel at Cincinnati
travelled with us, and looked as much like a gentleman as the rest of
the party; and we have been joined here in our private drawing-room by
the landlord and landlady of this hotel. Not knowing at first who they
were, papa turned round to the former, and asked him if he knew St.
Louis, and had been long here, to which our friend replied, "Yes, sir;
I have lived here eighteen years, and am the master of this hotel."
Yesterday our dinner was even better than on the day of our arrival,
closing with four or five omelettes soufflées, worthy of Paris, and the
same number of pyramids of Vanilla ice. So much for the progress of
civilisation across the Mississippi.
We paddled about in the muddy streets yesterday, and looked in at the
shop-windows. We found even here plenty of hoop petticoats, and of
tempting-looking bookseller's shops. Our hotel is close to the
Court-house, a handsome building of limestone, with a portico and a
cupola in process of building, being a humble imitation of the one at
Washington. Yesterday evening, one or two of the gentlemen amused us
after dinner with some nigger songs, ending, I suppose out of compliment
to us, with "God save the Queen." I studied the toilette of one of our
party this morning--the only young unmarried lady among us. I had often
seen the same sort of dress at the hotels, but never such a good
specimen as this. It is called here the French morning robe or wrapper,
and this one was made of crimson merino, with a wide shawl bordering
half-way up the depth of the skirt. The skirt is quite open in front,
displaying a white petticoat with an embroidered bordering. The body of
the wrapper was formed in the old-fashioned way, with a neck-piece, with
trimmings of narrow shawl borderings; there was no collar at all, the
crimson merino coming against the neck without any break of even a frill
of white. The sleeves were very large, of the latest fashion, with white
under sleeves, and the waist was very short, confined with a red band of
merino. These dresses are very common in the morning, and are, I
believe, thought to be very elegant. They are frequently made like this,
of some violent coloured merino, and often of silk, with trimmings of
another coloured ribbon.
Having digressed so far from my account of St. Louis, I will go back for
a few minutes to Cincinnati, to describe the grand fire-engines we saw
there, with horses all ready harnessed. One particular engine, in which
the water was forced up by steam, could have its steam up and be ready
for action in three minutes from its time of starting, and long,
therefore, in all probability before it reached the place where its
services were required. These engines all had stags' horns placed in a
prominent position in front, as a sign of swiftness, and on this
particular one there was printed under the horns, "Sure Thing, 287
feet," meaning that it could throw the water that height. Another had
on it, "243 feet. Beat that!" the Americans being very laconic in all
their public communications. The regular plan on which most of the
American towns are built and the division into wards, give great
facilities for showing where a fire takes place; balls are shown from
the top of a high tower to direct the engines where to go, the number of
balls pointing out the ward where the fire exists.
Another grand invention, which we found here as well as everywhere else,
is their sewing machine. These sewing machines wearied us very much when
we landed at New York, for they seemed to be the one idea of the whole
country; and I am afraid we formed some secret intentions to have
nothing to do with them. I had seen them in a shop window in the City,
in London, but knowing nothing of their merits, almost settled in my own
mind they had none. At last I found how blind I had been, and what
wonderful machines they are. There are numbers of them of various
degrees of excellence. They are so rapid in their work, that if a dress
without flounces is tacked together, it can be made easily by the
machine in a morning: a lady here showed me how the machine is used; she
told me it is so fascinating that she should like to sit at it all day.
She works for her family, consisting of a husband and nine sons, and
takes the greatest pleasure in making all their under clothing; and
working as she does, not very constantly, she can easily do as much as
six sempstresses, while the machine, constantly worked, could do as much
as twelve. The work is most true and beautiful and rapid, and the
machine must be an invaluable aid where there is a large family. It is
much used also by tailors and shoemakers, for it can be used with all
qualities of materials, whether fine or thick. The price of one is from
15_l._ to 25_l._ It requires a little practice to work at it, but most
American ladies who have large families possess one, and dressmakers use
them a great deal.
_November 4th._--To return to this town of mud and mire, we have been
nearly up to our knees in both to-day, and went on board one of the
large steamers, but found it was not nearly so grandly fitted up as the
one in which we went from New York to Newport. There is an enormous
fleet of steamers here, but the Mississippi still looked most dingy,
muddy, and melancholy. We were given tickets this evening, to hear a
recitation by a poet named Saxe, of a poem of his own, on the Press, and
we soon found ourselves in an enormous hall about 100 feet by 80,
nearly filled by a very intelligent-looking audience. A man near us told
us that Mr. Saxe had a European reputation, which made us feel much
ashamed of our ignorance, in never having heard of him before, and,
unhappily, we came away no wiser than we went as regards the merits of
his poetry; for though our seats were near him, there was something
either in the form of the hall, or in the nature of his voice and
pronunciation, which made us unable to hear what he said. There were
bursts of laughter and applause at times from the audience, but we took
the first opportunity of leaving.
As we walked home, we passed a brilliantly-lighted confectioner's shop,
where we each had an ice, but they were too sweet, and after eating and
criticising them, we came to another confectioner's, when papa insisted
upon going in, and ordered two more ices, which were very good. We were
presented here with filtered water, the usual drinking water in this
town being something of the colour of dingy lemonade, though its taste
is good.
We purpose going to-morrow.... I turn to ask papa where--and he shakes
his head, and says he does not know. On my pressing for a more distinct
answer, he says, "Up the Missouri at all events." This sounds vague,
but I believe before night we shall be on our way to Chicago, and shall
thus have taken leave of the "far west." And now I must take my leave of
you for the present, though I fear this is but a dull chapter of the
journal.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] As an instance of the ingenious devices used to save labour in this
country, we may mention a machine for paring apples, which we bought in
the streets at Boston for twenty cents, or about 10_d._ English. By
turning a handle it can perform, simultaneously, the operations of
peeling the apple, cutting out the core, and slicing it.
[12] For fear that we may have misinterpreted what is said above, we
think it advisable, as the matter is a most important one, and one that
may interest others, to extract from the report the passage on which
these observations were founded; for it is not a clear specimen of
American composition, and might, therefore, easily become a subject of
misrepresentation:--
"The Opening Exercises in every Department shall commence by the reading
of a portion of the Bible, by or under the direction of the teacher, and
appropriate singing by the pupils.
"The pupils of the Common Schools may read such version of the Sacred
Scriptures as their parents or guardians may prefer, provided that such
preference of any version except the one now in use be communicated by
the parents or guardians to the Principal Teachers, and that no notes or
marginal readings be read in the school, or comments made by the
Teachers on the text of any version that is or may be introduced."
LETTER XI.
ST. LOUIS.--JEFFERSON CITY.--RETURN TO ST.
LOUIS.--ALTON.--SPRINGFIELD.--FIRES ON THE
PRAIRIES.--CHICAGO.--GRANARIES.--PACKING HOUSES.--LAKE
MICHIGAN.--ARRIVAL AT INDIANAPOLIS.
Jefferson City, on the Missouri,
Nov. 6th, 1858.
Here we are really in the Far West, more than 150 miles from the
junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi, though still 2950 from
the source of this great-grandfather of waters--for I can give it a no
less venerable name. We first caught sight of it, or struck the river,
as the phrase is here, about 98 miles below this city, and for a long
time we followed its banks so closely, that we could at any point have
thrown a stone from the car into the river. At Hermann, a little German
settlement on its banks, we stopped and had an excellent dinner, but it
was so late before we left St. Louis, that we passed the greater part of
what seemed very pretty scenery in the dark, so that I shall defer any
further description of it till we return over the ground on Monday.
We were most unfortunate in our weather during our stay at St. Louis,
and I had no opportunity of seeing the beauties of the neighbourhood,
which we hear much extolled, but respecting which we are rather
sceptical. The only drive we took, was to a new park being made outside
the town, called Lafayette Park, which gave us anything but a pleasant
impression of the _entourage_ of St. Louis; we must admit, however, that
a very short distance by railway brought us into a very pretty country,
and no doubt the dismal weather and bad roads made our drive very
different to what it might have been on a fine day. Still, with the
impression fresh in our memory of our drive in the neighbourhood of
Cincinnati in much the same sort of weather, we are compelled to think
that the country about the Queen of the West and the banks of the Ohio
greatly surpasses in beauty St. Louis and the muddy river which has so
great a reputation in the world.
_Springfield, Illinois, November 9th._--Although our damp disagreeable
weather has not left us, we have contrived to see a good deal of
Jefferson City. We made a dash a short way up the Missouri in a
steamboat, and landed and took a walk on the northern side of the
river, and as we exchanged a mud for a sandy soil, it was less
disagreeable than on the south side. The northern shore, which from the
opposite side seemed hilly and well wooded, is very pretty, but on
landing the hills had receded to a distance, and we found a considerable
plain between them and the river. Up to the water's edge, however, the
country is well wooded. On the spot where we landed we saw a large tree,
at least ten feet in diameter, burnt almost to its centre, and its fine
head destroyed by fire; and on asking some bystanders if any one had
intended to burn it down, they said, "Oh, no, some one has merely made a
fire there to warm himself;" a strong proof of the little value put here
on fine timber.
The view of Jefferson City from the opposite bank, looking down the
river, is very striking. Being the capital of the state of Missouri,
there was the usual Capitol or state-house, and, unlike most others that
we have seen, the building with its large dome was completed. It is a
fine edifice of white stone, standing at a great height above the river,
on what is here called a bluff, namely, a rock rising perpendicularly
from the water's edge. The principal part of the town is built along the
heights, but the ground slopes in places, and the houses are then
carried down to the river side. The railway runs under the cliff, and
can be seen winding along up and down the river, for some distance each
way; it has not yet been carried much further, as this is the last large
town to which railways in the west reach; but, as its name, the Pacific
Railway, implies, it is intended ultimately to be carried "right away"
west till it joins the ocean. We went on Sunday to the Episcopal church.
There was the Communion service, and a very good sermon on the subject
of that ordinance.
We yesterday returned to St. Louis, and after a brief halt came on here.
As our journey back to St. Louis was in the daytime, we had an
opportunity of seeing the very interesting country which we passed on
Saturday in the dark. The most remarkable feature of the road was
crossing the Osage within 200 or 300 yards of its confluence with the
Missouri. It is about 1,200 feet broad, and we saw in it one of those
beautiful steamboats which give so much character here to the rivers.
The Osage is navigable for these large boats for 200 miles above this
place. We passed various other rivers, among others the Gasconade, at a
spot memorable for a terrible catastrophe which happened on the day of
the opening of the railway, when the first bridge which crossed it gave
way as the train was passing, and nine out of thirteen cars were
precipitated into the bed of the river; thirty people, chiefly leading
characters of St. Louis, were killed, and many hundreds desperately
hurt.
We have little more to say of St. Louis, as the museum was the only
public building we visited. The great curiosity there is the largest
known specimen of the mastodon. It is almost entire from the tip of its
nose to the tip of its tail, and measures ninety-six feet in length. We
left St. Louis, and were glad to escape for a time at least out of a
slave state. The "institution" was brought more prominently before us
there than it has yet been, as St. Louis is the first town where we have
seen it proclaimed in gold letters on a large board in the street,
"Negroes bought and sold here." In the papers, also, yesterday, we saw
an advertisement of a "fine young man" to be sold, to pay a debt.
We took our departure in the Alton steamboat, in order to see the first
twenty-four miles of the Upper Mississippi, and the junction of that
river and the Missouri, which takes place about six miles below Alton;
both rivers, however, are very tame and monotonous, and it was only as
we were reaching Alton, that the banks of the Mississippi assumed
anything like height. Alton itself stands very high, and as it was
getting dark when we arrived, the lights along the hills had a fine
effect. We are told it is a pretty town, but it was dark when we landed,
and we had to hurry into the train that brought us to this place. The
steamboat in which we went up the river was a very fine one, but not at
all fitted up in the sumptuous manner of our Newport boat. Papa paced
the cabin, and made it 276 feet long, beyond which there was an outside
smoking cabin, and then the forecastle.
Springfield is in the midst of the Grand Prairie, and, as we are not to
leave it till the afternoon, we have been exploring the town, and, as
far as we could, the prairie which comes close up to it; but the moment
the plank pavement ceased, it was hopeless to get further, owing to the
dreadfully muddy state of the road. This mud must be a great drawback to
residing in a prairie town, as the streets are rendered impassable for
pedestrians, unless at the plank crossings. On our way back to the
hotel, we accosted a man standing at his door, whose strong Scotch
accent, in reply to a question, told us at once where he came from. He
asked us into his house, and gave us a good deal of information about
the state of the country. He was originally a blacksmith at Inverary,
and had after that pursued his calling in a very humble way in Fife and
in Edinburgh, and came out here penniless twenty-six years ago, when
there were only a few huts in the place; but he has turned his trade to
better account here, for he lives in a comfortable house, and has
_$_50,000, or 10,000_l._ invested in the country. He seemed very pleased
to see us, and talked of the Duke of Argyle's family, as well as of the
Durhams, Bethunes, Anstruthers, &c. Having lived when in Fife, at Largo,
he seemed quite familiar with the Durhams, with the General's little
wife, and with Sir Philip's adventures, from the time of the loss of the
Royal George downwards.
This is the capital of Illinois, and the state-house here, too, is
finished, and is a fine building. The governor has a state residence,
which is really a large and handsome building, but is altogether
surpassed by the private residence of an ex-governor, who lives in a
sumptuous house, to judge from its external accompaniments of
conservatory, &c.; it is nearly opposite our Scotch friend's abode, but
the ex-governor dealt in "lumber" instead of iron, and from being a
chopper of wood, has raised himself to his present position.
_Chicago, Nov. 10th._--We did not reach Chicago last night till 12
o'clock, our train, for the first time since we have been in America,
having failed to reach its destination at the proper time; but the delay
of two hours on this occasion was fairly accounted for by the bad state
of the rails, owing to the late rains. Before it became dark we saw one
or two wonderful specimens of towns growing up in this wilderness of
prairie. The houses, always of wood and painted white, are neat, clean,
and well-built. There is, generally, a good-looking hotel, and
invariably a church, and often several of these, for although one would
probably contain all the inhabitants, yet they are usually of many
denominations, and then each one has its own church. About twenty or
thirty miles from Chicago, we saw a very extensive tract of prairie on
fire, which quite illuminated the sky, and, as the night was very dark,
showed distinctly the distant trees and houses, clearly defining their
outline against the horizon. On the other side of us, there was a
smaller fire, but so close as to allow us to see the flames travelling
along the surface of the ground. These fires are very common; we saw no
less than five that night in the course of our journey.
We have been busily employed to-day in going over Chicago. The streets
are wide and fine, but partake too abundantly of prairie mud to make
walking agreeable: some of the shops are very large; a bookseller's
shop, to which papa and I made our way, professes to be the largest in
the world, and it is certainly one of the best supplied I ever saw with
all kinds of children's books. From the bookseller's we went to papa's
bankers, Messrs. Swift and Co.; Mr. Swift took us to the top of the
Court-house, a wonderful achievement for me, but well worth the trouble,
as the view of the town was very surprising. We went afterwards to call
on William's friend, Mr. Wilkins, the consul, where we met Lord
Radstock. Mr. Wilkins kindly took us to see Mr. Sturge's great granary;
there are several of these in the town, but this, and a neighbouring
one, capable of holding between them four or five million bushels of
corn, are the two largest. The grain is brought into the warehouse,
without leaving the railway, the rails running into the building. It is
then carried to the top of the warehouse "in bulk," by means of hollow
cylinders arranged on an endless chain. The warehouse is built by the
side of the river, so that the vessels which are to carry the corn to
England or elsewhere, come close under the walls, and the grain is
discharged into the vessels by means of large wooden pipes or troughs,
through which it is shot at once into the hold. Mr. Wilkins has seen
80,000 bushels discharged in this manner, in one day.
We afterwards drove about six miles into the country, through oceans of
mud, to see one of the great slaughter and packing-houses. I did not
venture out of the carriage, but the proprietor took Mr. Wilkins, Lord
Radstock, and papa through every part of the building. In a yard below
were a prodigious number of immense oxen, and the first process was to
see one of these brought into the inside of the building by means of a
windlass; which drew it along by a rope attached to its horns and
passing through a ring on the floor.
The beast, by means of men belabouring it from behind, and this rope
dragging it in front, was brought in and its head drawn down towards the
ring, when a man with a sledge-hammer felled it instantaneously to the
ground; and without a struggle it was turned over on its back by the
side of eight or ten of its predecessors who had just shared the same
fate, and were already undergoing the various processes to which they
had afterwards to be subjected. The first of these was to rip up and
remove the intestines of the poor beast, and it was then skinned and
cut lengthways into two parts, when the still reeking body was hung up
to cool. The immense room was hung with some hundreds of carcases of
these huge animals thus skinned and cleft in two. The process, from the
time the animal leaves the yard alive till the time it is split and hung
up in two pieces, occupied less than a quarter of an hour. At the end of
two days they are dismembered, salted, packed in casks, the best parts
to be shipped to England, and the inferior parts to be eaten by the free
and enlightened citizens of this great continent. The greater number of
these beasts come from Texas, and have splendid horns, sometimes three
feet long.
The next thing they saw was the somewhat similar treatment of the poor
pigs; but these are animals, of which for size there is nothing similar
to be seen in England, excepting, perhaps, at the cattle show. At least,
one which papa saw hanging up weighed 400 lbs., and looked like a young
elephant. In the yard below there was a vast herd of these, 1500 having
arrived by railway the night before; the number killed and cut up daily
averages about 500. It takes a very few minutes only from the time the
pig leaves the pen to its being hung up, preparatory to its being cut up
and salted. They first get a knock on the head like the more noble
beasts already mentioned; they are then stuck, in order to be thoroughly
bled; after this they are plunged headlong into a long trough of boiling
water, in which they lie side by side in a quiescent state, very
different to the one they were in a few minutes before, when they were
quarrelling in a most unmannerly manner in the yard below. From this
trough the one first put in is, by a most ingenious machine, taken up
from underneath, and tossed over into an empty trough, where in less
than a minute he is entirely denuded of his bristles, and passed over to
be cleft and hung up. The trough holds about eight or ten thus lying
side by side, and the moment one is taken out at one end, another is put
in at the other, and they thus all float through the length of the
trough, and are taken out in order; but so rapid is the process, that no
one pig is long in; in fact, the whole business occupies only a very few
minutes per pig. Every part is turned to account, the mass of bristles
being converted into tooth brushes, &c. In the huge larder, in the story
next above the oxen, there were about 1500 unhappy pigs hung up to cool,
before being cut up, salted, packed, and sent off. There are several
establishments of this nature in Chicago, but only one of equal extent
to the one papa saw. About 400,000 pigs are shipped every year from
Chicago. I do not know the total number of cattle, but this house alone
slaughters and sends away 10,000. There were places on an enormous scale
for preparing tallow and lard, and there were many other details equally
surprising, which I have not now time to describe; but papa says that
the smells were most offensive, and that it was altogether a very
horrible sight, and it was one I was well pleased to escape.
Among the other wonders of Chicago, I must do honour to its hotel, which
I should say was as good as any we have yet seen in America. These
American hotels are certainly marvellous "institutions," though we were
getting beyond the limits of the good ones when we reached Jefferson
City. That, however, at St. Louis is a very fair sample of a good one.
_Indianapolis, Nov. 11th._--We arrived here late this afternoon, and
have not been able as yet to see anything of the town, I shall therefore
defer a description of it to my next. The road from Chicago was not
without its interest, though we are becoming very tired of the prairies.
At first starting we went for many miles along the borders of Lake
Michigan, which we again came upon at a very remarkable spot, Michigan
city, about sixty miles from Chicago. Along the first part of the lake,
in the neighbourhood of Chicago, the shore consists of fine sand, in
strips of considerable width, and flat like an ordinary sea beach; but
at Michigan city the deep sand reached to a considerable distance
inland, and then rose into high dunes, precisely like those on the
French coast. As we had to wait an hour there, papa and I scrambled up
one of these, and although below there was deep loose sand, yet above it
was hard and solid, and bound together with little shrubs like the
French dunes. The view of the lake from the top was very pretty, and
boundless towards the north, we being at the southern extremity. I
picked up a few stones on the beach as a memorial of this splendid lake.
We were very much tempted, when at Chicago, to see more of it, and to go
to Milwaukee and Madison, but we were strongly advised by Mr. Wilkins
not to go further north at this season. The wreaths of snow which during
the night have fallen in patches along the road, and greeted our eyes
this morning, confirmed us in the wisdom of this advice, and we are now
bending our steps once more towards the south. We are still here in the
midst of prairie, but more wooded than in our journey of Tuesday. We
crossed to-day, at Lafayette, the Wabash, which we had crossed
previously at Vincennes, and here, as there, it is a very noble river.
This must end my journal for the present.
LETTER XII.
INDIANAPOLIS.--LOUISVILLE.--LOUISVILLE AND PORTLAND
CANAL.--PORTLAND.--THE PACIFIC STEAMER.--JOURNEY TO
LEXINGTON.--ASHLAND.--SLAVE PENS AT LEXINGTON.--RETURN TO
CINCINNATI.--PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL RAILWAY.--RETURN TO NEW YORK.
Lexington, Kentucky, Nov. 13th, 1858.
My last letter was closed at Indianapolis, but despatched from
Louisville. On the morning after I wrote we had time, before starting
for Louisville, to take a walk through the principal streets of
Indianapolis. The Capitol or state-house is the only remarkable
building; and here, as in most other towns in America, we were struck by
the breadth of the streets. In the centre of Indianapolis there is a
large square, from which the four principal streets diverge, and from
the centre of this, down these streets, there are views of the distant
country which on all sides bounds the prospect. This has a fine effect,
but all these capital cities of states have an unfinished appearance:
great cities have been planned, but the plans have never been
adequately carried out. The fact is, they have all a political, and not
a commercial origin, and they want the stimulus of commercial enterprise
to render them flourishing towns, or to give them the finished
appearance of cities of much more recent date, such as Chicago and
others.
We left Indianapolis at about half-past ten, and reached Jeffersonville,
on the north side of the Ohio at four. The country at first was entirely
prairie, but became a good deal wooded as we journeyed south. It is much
more peopled than the wide tracts which we have been lately traversing,
for neat towns with white wooden houses and white wooden churches here
succeeded each other at very short distances; we crossed several large
rivers, tributaries of the Wabash; one, the White river, was of
considerable size, and the banks were very prettily wooded. At
Jeffersonville we got into a grand omnibus with four splendid white
horses, and drove rapidly down a steepish hill, straight on board the
steamboat which was to carry us across the Ohio. The horses went as
quietly as on dry land, and had to make a circuit on the deck, as we
were immediately followed by another similar equipage, four in hand, for
which ours had to make room. This was followed by two large baggage
waggons and a private vehicle; and all these carriages were on one side
of the engine-room. At the other end there was space for as many more,
had there been any need for it; and all this on a tiny little steamboat
compared with the Leviathans that were lying in the river.
On reaching Louisville we were comfortably established in a large
handsome hotel. As there was still daylight, we took a walk through the
principal streets, and found ourselves, as usual, in a bookseller's
shop; for not only are these favourite lounges of papa's, but we
generally find the booksellers intelligent and civil people, from whom
we can learn what is best worth seeing in the town. The one at
Louisville lauded very much the pork packing establishments in this
town, and said those at Chicago, and even those of Cincinnati, are not
to be compared with them; but without better statistics we must leave
this question undecided, for papa saw quite enough at Chicago to deter
him from wishing to go through the same sight at Louisville; we,
however, availed ourselves of the address he gave us of the largest
slave-dealer, and went to-day to see a slave-pen.
We have lately been reading a most harrowing work, called the
"Autobiography of a Female Slave," whose experience was entirely
confined to Kentucky--indeed, to Louisville and the adjoining country
within a few miles of the Ohio. She describes Kentucky as offering the
worst specimen of a slave's life, and gives a horrid account of the
barbarity of the masters, and of the almost diabolical character of the
slave-dealers, and of those who hold subordinate situations under them.
We were hardly prepared, therefore, on reaching this pen to be received,
in the absence of the master, by a good-looking coloured housekeeper,
with a face as full of kindness and benevolence as one could wish to
see, but "the pen" had yesterday been cleared out, with the exception of
one woman with her six little children, the youngest only a year old,
and two young brothers, neither of whom the dealer had sold, as he had
been unable to find a purchaser who would take them without separating
them, and he was determined not to sell them till he could. In the case
both of the woman and of the two boys, their sale to the dealer had been
caused by the bankruptcy of the owner. The woman had a husband, but
having a different master, he retained his place, and his master
promised that when his wife got a new home he would send him to join
her.
No doubt this separation of families is a crying evil, and perhaps the
greatest practical one, as respects hardship, to which the system is
necessarily subject; but certainly, from what we have seen and heard
to-day, it does not seem to be harshly done, and pains are taken to
avoid it: the woman said she had been always kindly treated, and there
was not the slightest difficulty made by the dark duenna to our
conversing with the slaves as freely as we liked, and she left us with
the whole group. The woman took us to see her baby, and we found it in a
large and well ventilated room, and she said they had always as much and
as good food as they could wish. She said she was forty-five years old,
and had ten children living, but the four eldest were grown up. The
eldest of those she had with her was a little girl of about thirteen;
she said, in answer to a question from papa, that the children had made
a great piece of work at parting with their father, but the woman
herself seemed quite cheerful and satisfied with her prospects.
On our journey here there were a great many slaves in the car with us,
coming to pass their Sunday at Lexington. They seemed exceedingly merry,
and one, whom papa sat next, said he had accumulated $950, and that when
he got $1900, he would be able to purchase his freedom. He said his
master was a rich man, having $300,000, and that he was very well
treated; but that some masters did behave very badly to their slaves,
and often beat them whether they deserved it or not. From the specimen
we had of those in the cars, they seemed well-conditioned men, and all
paid the same fare that we did, and were treated with quite as much
attention. They seem to get some sort of extra wages from their masters
besides their food and raiment, out of which they can lay by if they are
provident, so as to be able to purchase their freedom in time; but they
do not seem always to care about this, as one man here has $4000, which
would much more than suffice to buy his freedom; but he prefers
remaining a slave. We shall probably see a good deal more of the
condition of the slaves within the next few days, so I shall say no more
upon the subject at present, excepting that all this does not alter the
view which we cannot help taking of the vileness of the institution,
though it certainly does not appear so very cruel in practice as it is
often represented to be by the anti-slavery party.
There are only two great sights to be seen at Louisville. One, the
famous artesian well, 2086 feet deep, bored to reach a horrid sulphur
spring, which is, however, a very strong one as there are upwards of 200
grains of sulphates of soda and magnesia in each gallon of water, and
upwards of 700 grains of chlorides of sulphur and magnesia. There is a
fountain over the well, in which the water rises 200 feet, but whether
by external pressure or by the natural force of the water, the deponent
sayeth not. It comes out in all sorts of forms, sometimes imitating
flowers, and sometimes a shower of snow, on which the negro who showed
it to us expatiated with great delight. When I said there were only two
sights to see, I alluded to this well, and to the magnificent steam
vessel, the "Pacific," which was lying at Portland, about three miles
down the Ohio, below the Falls; but I forgot altogether the Falls
themselves, and the splendid canal described in papa's book, through
which vessels are obliged to pass to get round them, which I ought not
to pass without some notice. The river here is upwards of a mile wide,
but the falls are most insignificant; and though the Guide Book
describes them as "picturesque in appearance," and that the islands give
the Ohio here "the appearance of a great many broken rivers of foam,
making their way over the falls, while the fine islands add greatly to
the beauty of the scene;" neither papa with his spectacles, nor I with
my keen optics, could see more than a ripple on the surface of the
water. These falls, however, are sufficient to prevent vessels of any
great burden ascending or descending beyond this point of the river, and
hence the necessity of the canal: but this splendid work, about which
papa's interest was very great, in consequence of what he had written
about it, proved as great a disappointment as the falls themselves. It
must, however, have been a work of great difficulty, as it is cut
through a solid bed of rock.[13] The locks are sufficiently capacious
to allow of the passage of steamers 180 feet long by 40 feet in breadth,
one of which we saw in the lock, and there were three others waiting to
pass through.
These, to our eyes, seemed large and beautiful vessels; but they were
altogether eclipsed and their beauty forgotten, when we found ourselves
on board the "Pacific." This vessel was to sail in the evening, and is
one of the most splendid steamers on the river; certainly nothing could
exceed her comfort, infinitely beyond that of the Newport boat, as the
saloon was one long room, unbroken by steam-engine or anything else, to
obstruct the view from one end to the other. Brilliant fires were
burning in two large open stoves, at equal distances from either end,
and little tables were set all down the middle of the room, at which
parties of six each could sit and dine comfortably. The vessel was
upwards of 300 feet long, the cabin alone being about that length. On
each side of the cabin were large, comfortable sleeping berths, and on
the deck below, adjoining the servants' room, was a sweet little
nursery, containing, besides the beds and usual washing apparatus, four
or five pretty little rocking-chairs, for the children. We were shown
over the kitchen, and everything looked so complete and comfortable that
we longed to go down in her to New Orleans, whither she is bound, and
which she will reach in six days. Everything was exquisitely clean, the
roof and sides of the cabin being of that beautiful white varnish paint
which I have before described, which always looks so pure and lovely.
There was not much ornament, but all was in good taste.
On leaving the "Pacific," we drove to the inn at Portland. The
Kentuckians are a fine tall race of men; but, tall as they are in
general, the landlord, Mr. Jim Porter, surpassed them all in height,
standing 7 feet 9 inches without his shoes. This is the same individual
of whom Dickens gave an amusing account in his American notes fifteen
years ago.
We left Louisville at two o'clock, and came on to Lexington this
afternoon. The country is much more like England than anything we have
yet seen, being chiefly pasture land. The grass is that known here, and
very celebrated as the "blue grass" of Kentucky; though why or wherefore
it is so called we cannot discover. It is of prodigiously strong growth,
sometimes attaining two feet in height; but it is generally kept low,
either by cropping or cutting, and is cut sometimes five times a year.
The stock raised upon it is said to be very fine, and the animals are
very large and fine looking; but either from the meat not being kept
long enough, or from some cause which we cannot assign, the beef, when
brought to table, is very inferior to the good roast beef of Old
England.
The road from Louisville to this place is pretty throughout, and seemed
quite lovely as we approached Frankfort, though it was getting too dark
as we passed that town to appreciate its beauties thoroughly. For some
miles before reaching it, the road passes through a hilly country, with
beautiful rounded knolls at a very short distance. The town is situated
on the Kentucky river, the most beautiful, perhaps, in America. In
crossing the long bridge, we had a fine view down its steep banks, with
the lights of the town close on its margin. The state Capitol which we
passed, is close to the railway, and is a marble building, with a
handsome portico. We were very sorry not to have stopped to pass
to-morrow, Sunday, at this place, but we were anxious to reach
Lexington, in order to get our letters. We have no great prospects here,
as the hotel, excepting the one at Jefferson City, is the worst we have
found in America. We had hardly set foot in it, when General Leslie
Combe called upon us, having been on the look-out for our arrival. He
claimed cousin-ship, having married a Miss T----, but we must leave it
to Uncle Harry to determine to which branch of the T---- family she can
claim kindred.
_November 15th._--The weather has been unpropitious, and instead of
starting to explore the Upper Kentucky, which we had meant to do, we are
returning this afternoon to Cincinnati. We have, however, been able to
see all the sights here that are worth seeing, besides having been
edified yesterday by a nigger sermon, remarkable, even among nigger
sermons, for the wonderful stentorian powers of the preacher. The great
object of interest here is Ashland, so called from the ash timber with
which the place abounds. This was the residence of Henry Clay, the great
American statesman. General Combe gave us a letter of introduction to
Mr. James B. Clay, his eldest son, who is the present proprietor of the
"location." The house is very prettily "fixed up," to use another
American phrase; but we were disappointed with the 200 acres of park,
which Lord Morpeth, who passed a week at Ashland, is said to extol as
being like an English one. We saw nothing, either of the "locust
cypress, cedar, and other rare trees, with the rose, the jasmine, and
the ivy, clambering about them," which the handbook beautifully
describes. The fact is, the Americans, as I have before observed, have
not the slightest idea of a garden; and on papa's venturing to insinuate
this to Mr. Clay, he admitted it, and ascribed it to its undoubted
cause, the expense of labour in this country.
From Ashland we went to what is really a Kentucky sight, the Fair
Ground. On an eminence at about a mile from the town, surrounded by
beautiful green pastures, there stands a large amphitheatre, capable of
holding conveniently 12,000 spectators. In the centre is a large grass
area, where the annual cattle show is held, and when filled it must be a
remarkable sight. From this we went to the Cemetery, which, like all
others in this country, is neatly laid out, and kept in very good order.
The grave-stones and monuments are invariably of beautiful white marble,
with the single exception of a very lofty monument which is being raised
to the memory of Mr. Clay. It is not yet finished, but to judge either
from what has been accomplished, or from a drawing papa saw of it on a
large scale, in a shop window, it is not likely to prove pretty, and
the yellowish stone of which it is being built, contrasts badly with the
white marble about it.
We went next to see a very large pen, in which there were about forty
negroes for sale; they had within the last few days, sold about 100, who
had travelled by railway chained together. Those we saw, were divided
into groups, and we went through a variety of rooms in which they were
domiciled, and were allowed to converse freely with them all. This is
one of the largest slave markets in the United States, and is the great
place from which the South is supplied. There are, in this place, five
of these pens where slaves are kept on sale, and, judging from this one,
they are very clean and comfortable. But these pens give one a much more
revolting idea of the institution than seeing the slaves in regular
service. There was one family of a man and his wife and four little
children, the price of "the lot" being _$_3500, or 700_l._ sterling, but
neither the man nor the woman seemed to care much whether they were sold
together or not. There was one poor girl of eighteen, with a little
child of nine weeks old, who was sold, and she was to set off to-night
with her baby, for a place in the State. The slave-dealer himself was a
civil, well-spoken man, at least to us, and spoke quite freely of his
calling, but we thought he spoke harshly to the poor negroes, especially
to the man with the wife and four children. It appears he had bought the
man separately from the woman and children, in order to bring them
together, but the man had attempted to run away, and told us in excuse
he did not like leaving his clothes behind him; whereupon papa asked him
if he cared more for his clothes than his wife, and gave him a lecture
on his domestic duties. The dealer said they sometimes are much
distressed when separated from their wives, or husband and children, but
that it was an exception when this was so. One can hardly credit this,
but so far as it is true it is one of the worst features of slavery that
it can thus deaden all natural feelings of affection. We have spoken a
good deal to the slaves here, and they seem anxious to obtain their
freedom. The brother of one of the waiters at our hotel had twice been
swindled by his master of the money he had saved to purchase his
freedom. I spoke to the housemaid at our hotel, also a slave, who
shuddered with horror when she described the miseries occasioned by the
separation of relations. She had been sold several times, and was
separated from her husband by being sold away from him. She said the
poor negroes are generally taken out of their beds in the middle of the
night, when sold to the slave-dealers, as there is a sense of shame
about transacting this trade in the day-time. From what the slaves told
us, they are, no doubt, frequently treated with great severity by the
masters, though not always, as they sometimes fall into the hands of
kind people; but though they may have been many years in one family,
they never know from hour to hour what may be their fate, as the usual
cause for parting with slaves is, the master falling into difficulties,
when he sells them to raise money, or to pay his debts. The waiter told
us, he would rather starve as a freeman than remain a slave, and said
this with much feeling and energy.
_Cincinnati, Nov. 15th_, 9 P.M.--We arrived here again this evening at
about seven o'clock. The road, the whole way from Lexington, 100 miles,
is very pretty, following the course of the Licking for a long way, with
high steep banks on both sides, sometimes rising into high hills, but
opening occasionally into wide valleys, with distant views of great
beauty. In many places the trees here have still their red, or rather
brown leaves, which formed a strange contrast with the thick snow
covering their branches and the ground beneath. The snow storm last
night, of which we had but the tail at Lexington, was very heavy
further north, and the snow on the ground lighted up by the moon,
enabled us to see and enjoy the beauty of the scenery as we approached
Covington, at which place we embarked on board the steamboat to cross
the Ohio. I omitted, when we were here before, to mention that in our
Sunday walk at Covington, when we first crossed over to Kentucky, we
witnessed on the banks of the river a baptism by immersion, though the
attending crowd was so large that we could not distinctly see what was
going on. We are told, that on these occasions, the minister takes the
candidate for baptism so far into the river, that they are frequently
drowned. I forget if I mentioned before that Covington is built
immediately opposite Cincinnati, at the junction of the Ohio and the
Licking, which is here a considerable river, about 100 yards wide, and
navigable for steamboats sixty miles further up. The streets of
Covington are all laid out in a direct line with the corresponding
streets in Cincinnati, and as the streets on both sides mount up the
hills on which the towns are built, the effect is very pretty,
especially at night, when the line of lamps, interrupted only by the
river, appears of immense length. When the river is frozen over, the
streets of the two cities may be said to form but one, as carts and
carriages can then pass uninterruptedly from the streets of Cincinnati,
to those on the opposite side, and _vice versâ_. This snow storm, which
has made us beat a rapid retreat from the cold and draughty hotels in
Kentucky, makes us feel very glad to be back in this comfortable hotel.
_Pittsburgh, Nov. 17th._--Lord Radstock made his appearance at
Cincinnati yesterday, having come from Louisville in a steamer. The day
was very bright and beautiful, though intensely cold; and as papa was
very anxious to show Lord Radstock the view of Clifton from the heights
above, we hired a carriage and went there. We were, however, somewhat
disappointed, for the trees were entirely stripped of the beautiful
foliage which clothed them when we saw them three weeks ago, and were
laden with snow, with which the ground also was deeply covered; and
although the effect was still pretty, this gave a harshness to the
scene, the details being brought out too much in relief. The same cause
detracted, no doubt, from the beauty of the scenery we passed through to
day on our way here, and greatly spoilt the appearance of the hills
which surround Pittsburgh.
But I must not anticipate a description of our journey here, but first
tell you of our further proceedings at Cincinnati. Lord Radstock is much
interested in reformatories and houses of refuge, and we were glad to
visit with him the one situated at about three miles from the town, the
exterior only of which we had seen in our drive with Mr. Anderson. The
building is very large and capacious, having cost 2700_l._ It is capable
of holding 200 boys and 80 girls, and the complement of boys is
generally filled up; but there are seldom above 60 girls. The whole
establishment seems admirably conducted. The boys and girls are kept
apart, and each one has a very nice, clean bed-room, arranged in prison
fashion, and opening on to long galleries; but with nothing to give the
idea of a cell, so perfectly light and airy is each room. There is an
hospital for the boys and one for the girls, large and well ventilated
rooms; that of the girls is beautifully cheerful, with six or eight nice
clean beds; but it says a good deal for the attention paid to their
health, that out of the whole number of boys and girls, there was only
one boy on the sick list, and he did not appear to have much amiss with
him. This is somewhat surprising, as the rooms in which they work are
heated by warm water, to a temperature which we should have thought must
be very prejudicial to their health, but with this exception, they have
every advantage. A large playground, a very large chapel, where they
meet for prayers and reading the Bible, the boys below, and the girls in
a gallery, and large airy schoolrooms. The children are admitted from
the age of 7 up to 16, and the boys are usually kept till 21, and the
girls till they are 18. The girls are taught needlework and household
work, or rather are employed in this way, independently of two hours and
a half daily instruction in the school, and the boys are brought up to a
variety of trades, either as tailors, shoemakers, workers of various
articles in wire, or the like. The proceeds of their work go in part to
pay the expenses of the establishment, but the cost is, with this small
exception, defrayed by the town, and amounts to about 20_l._ annually
for each boy. These poor children are generally sent there by the
magistrates on conviction of some crime or misdemeanour, but are often
sent by parents when they have troublesome or refractory children, and
the result is, in most cases, very satisfactory. They all seemed very
happy, and the whole had much more the appearance of a large school,
than of anything partaking of the character of a prison. Having called
in the afternoon and taken leave of the Longworths, Andersons, and
others, who had shown us so much kindness when we were last here, we
started at half-past ten at night for this place.
As we were already acquainted with the first part of the road to
Columbus, we thought we should not lose much by this plan, and we wished
besides to try the sleeping cars, which has not proved altogether a
successful experiment as far as papa is concerned, for he had very
little sleep, and is very headachy to-day in consequence. Thrower, too,
was quite knocked up by it; my powers of sleeping at all times and
places prevented my suffering in the same way, and I found these
sleeping cars very comfortable. They are ingeniously contrived to be
like an ordinary car by day; but by means of cushions spread between the
seats and a flat board let down half way from the ceiling, two tiers of
very comfortable beds are made on each side of the car, with a passage
between. The whole looks so like a cabin of a ship, that it is difficult
not to imagine oneself on board a steamboat. Twenty-four beds, each
large enough to hold two persons, can be made up in the cars, and the
strange jumble of ladies and gentlemen all huddled together was rather
ludicrous, and caused peals of laughter from some of the laughter-loving
American damsels. The cots are provided with pillows and warm quilted
counter-panes and curtains, which are all neatly packed away under the
seats in the daytime. The resemblance to the steamboat in papa's
half-waking moments seemed too much for his brain to be quite clear on
the subject of where he was. Thrower, who had shared my couch, got up
_sea sick_ at about four in the morning, the motion of the carriage not
suiting her while in a recumbent position, and retired to a seat at one
end of the carriage. As we neared Columbus, papa became very restless,
and made a descent from over my head, declaring the heat was
intolerable. "Where," said I, "is your cloth cap?" "Oh!" he answered, "I
have thrown that away long ago; that's gone to the fishes." He said he
had so tossed himself about, that he did not think he had a button left
on his coat; things were not, however, quite so bad as this, and on
finding my couch too cold for him, I at last succeeded in making your
dear restless fidgetty papa mount up again to his own place, where, to
my comfort, and no doubt to his own also, he soon fell asleep. I got up
at five and sat by poor Thrower, and watched the lights of the rising
sun on hills, valleys, and rivers for an hour; when in came the
conductor, and thrusting his lamp into the face of the sleepers, and
giving them a shake, told them to get up, a quarter of an hour being
allowed them for breakfast. In one second the whole place was alive;
down came gentlemen without their boots, and ladies with their night
caps, and in a few minutes all were busily employed in the inn,
breakfasting. I had said we did not care about missing the first part of
the road which we had seen before; but the joint light of a brilliant
full moon and the snow on the hills, made us see the dear old Ohio and
the bold Kentucky banks as clearly, almost, as if it had been daylight,
till we retired to our beds; and, even then, I could not help lying
awake to view the glorious scene out of my cabin window.
When we got up this morning we were entering a new country, and for many
miles went along a beautiful valley of one of the tributaries of the
Ohio. We again fell in with the Ohio at Steubenville, having traced the
tributary down to its mouth. Our road then lay along the bank of the
Ohio for about seventy miles, and anything more perfect in river scenery
it would be difficult to imagine. Many large tributaries fell into it,
the mouths of which we crossed over long bridges, and from these bridges
had long vistas up their valleys. For about thirty miles we had the bold
banks of Virginia opposite to us; but, after that, we quitted the state
of Ohio, and for forty miles the course of the river was through the
state of Pennsylvania. A number of steamboats enlivened the scene, with
their huge stern wheels making a great commotion in the water. The river
too was studded with islands, and the continuous bend, the river taking
one prolonged curve from Steubenville to Pittsburg, added greatly to the
beauty of the scene. On approaching Pittsburg we crossed the Alleghany,
which is a fine broad stream. The Monongahela, which here meets it, is a
still finer one, and the two together, after their junction, constitute
the noble river which then, for the first time, takes the name of the
Ohio, or, as it is most appropriately called by the French, "La belle
rivière"--for anything more beautiful than the seventy miles of it which
we saw to-day it would be difficult to imagine.
We are lodged here at a very comfortable hotel, facing the Alleghany
river. The town forms a triangle, situated between this river and the
Monongahela, and after dinner, having arrived here early, we took a walk
from the hotel, across the town, until we arrived at the latter river.
The opposite bank here is of great height, and we crossed a bridge, 1500
feet long, with the magnanimous intention of going to the top of the
hill to see the magnificent prospect which the summit is said to
afford. But our strength, and breath, and courage failed us before we
had ascended a third of the height, although there is a good carriage
road up and in good condition, from the hard frost which still prevails.
The view, however, even at that height, was very fine, although it was
greatly marred by the smoky atmosphere which hangs over the city. After
recrossing the bridge we went to the point forming the apex of the
triangle, to see the confluence of the two rivers, and, as we could from
there look up both rivers and down the Ohio, the view is very
remarkable. The town itself disappointed us; but, perhaps, we expected
more than we ought reasonably to have done from a great and dirty
manufacturing town.
_Harrisburgh, Nov. 18th._--We started this morning by the six o'clock
train in order to see the wonderful Pennsylvania railroad by daylight.
It is the great rival of the Baltimore and Ohio railway, on which we
travelled with Mr. Tyson, and we were rather anxious to have an
opportunity of comparing the two, which, having now seen them both, we
feel competent to do. The great change which nature presents now, to
what it did when the leaves were in full foliage, may make us underrate
the beauties of the road we passed over to-day, but, notwithstanding
this, we think there can be no doubt that the Baltimore and Ohio, taken
as a whole, is by far the most picturesque and beautiful. The length of
the two roads is very nearly the same; but, while the whole of the
Baltimore and Ohio was beautiful, one side of the mountain being as much
so as the other, the first part of the road to-day, till we reached the
summit level, was very much of the same character as many other mountain
regions we have passed. For many miles the road followed the course of
the Conemaugh, crossing and recrossing the river, but without any very
striking feature. But the moment we had passed through a tunnel, 3612
feet long, and began the descent of 2200 feet, on the eastern side of
the Alleghany chain, the scene quite baffled description. The summit
level of the Baltimore and Ohio is 500 feet higher; but the descent
occupies a distance of seventeen miles, while the descent to-day was
effected in eleven, so that, with all our partiality for the Baltimore
and Ohio, it must be confessed there is nothing on it so wonderful and
sublime as this. One curve was quite appalling, and it was rendered more
so by the slow rate at which the train moved--not more, I should think,
than at the rate of two miles an hour--certainly not nearly so fast as
we could have walked, so that we had full leisure to contemplate the
chasm into which we should have been plunged headlong had the slightest
slip of the wheels occurred. How they can ever venture to pass it at
night is quite surprising. The curve is like a horse shoe, and goes
round the face of a rock which has been cut away to make room for the
road. Another superiority in the road we travelled to-day is the much
greater height of the surrounding mountains, and the extent of the
distant views;--but the greater height of the mountains had the
attendant disadvantage of the trees being chiefly pines, instead of the
lovely forest trees, of every description, which adorned the hills
amongst which we travelled in Maryland and Virginia, by the Baltimore
and Ohio railway.
I must, however, do justice here to the eastern side of the mountains.
For more than 100 miles we closely followed the course of the Juniata,
from its source to where it ends its career by falling, quite a
magnificent river, into the Susquehanna, about twenty-two miles above
this place. After the junction, the noble Susquehanna was our companion
for that distance, this town being situated upon it. The source of the
Juniata is seen very soon after passing Altamont, and perhaps we were
more disposed to do justice to the beauty of the river, from the happy
frame of body and mind we were in, owing to the excellent dinner we had
just partaken of at that place, consisting of roast beef, roast turkey,
apple tart, cranberry preserve, and a most superlative Charlotte
Russe--pretty good fare for an hotel in a mountain pass! No wine or
stimulants of any kind were allowed, or what the consequence might have
been on papa's restless state of mind it would be difficult to say; as
it was, I counted that he rose from his seat to look at the view from
the other side of the car, thirty times in the space of an hour and a
half, making a move, therefore, upon an average, of once in every three
minutes; and this he afterwards continued to do as often as the road
crossed the river. I foolishly, at first, partook of his locomotive
propensities, but my exhausted frame soon gave way, so that he declares
I only saw one half of its beauties, namely, the half on the side where
I was seated; but this half was ample to satisfy any reasonable mortal.
I am at a loss to imagine what our fellow-travellers could have thought
of him, as they lounged on their seats, and scarcely ever condescended
to look out of window.
We arrived here, not the least tired with our long journey, though it
occupied twelve hours, and were so fresh afterwards, that we started
after tea, this being the great annual Thanksgiving-day, to the nearest
place of worship we could find, which turned out to be a Baptist
"Church," as it is called here, where we heard a most admirable sermon,
and felt we had reason to offer up our thanks with as much earnestness
as any one of the congregation, for having been spared to make this
journey to the Far West, and to have returned to civilised life, without
encountering a single difficulty or drawback of any kind. I may as well
state, that this Thanksgiving-day was established by the Puritans, and
is still kept up throughout the whole of the United States, its object
being to return thanks for the blessings of the year, and more
especially for the harvest. There are services in all the churches, and
we much regretted not finding out till late yesterday, that this was the
day set apart for it, for had we known this, we should not have
travelled to-day; but once on our journey, with the fear of snow
accumulating in the mountains, we were afraid of stopping on the road,
and we were very glad to be able to attend the service this evening.
There is something very beautiful, I think, in thus setting apart one
day in the year for such a purpose, and it is interesting too, as being
a relic left by the Puritans.
_November 19th._--We are quite charmed with this place, which is a rare
exception to all the other capitals we have seen, inasmuch as more has
not been undertaken than has been carried out; in fact, it has much more
the appearance of a village than of a large city. The beauty of the
river surpasses all description. It is a mile wide, and bends gracefully
towards the direction of the mountains through the gorge from which it
issues forth in its course towards Chesapeake Bay, and here, where the
hills recede to a distance, it expands into a great width, and its face
is covered with islands. The only drawback to its being a grand river is
its shallowness, and want of adaptation, therefore, to the purpose of
navigation. There are no splendid steamboats to be seen here as on the
Ohio, which make one feel that river, at the distance of more than 2000
miles from the sea, to be a noble highway of commerce, linking together
with a common interest distant portions of this vast continent. In the
Susquehanna, one feels that there is nothing but its beauty to admire,
but this _is_ perfect.
Two bridges connect the town with the opposite shore, each of them being
about a mile long. The weather is so piercingly cold, that we did not
venture across, but we took a long walk up the banks, of the river. The
town of Harrisburgh is very small, consisting of only three or four
streets parallel to the river, intersected by about a dozen others at
right angles to it. The centre one of these is a fine broad street,
closed in at the further end by the Capitol. This is a handsome, but
unpretending building of red brick, adorned by a portico, and, as usual,
surmounted by a dome. On entering at the top of a flight of stairs,
there is a circular area, covered in by the dome. Out of this, on one
side, is a very neat Senate House, and on the opposite side is the House
of Representatives. The State library, a very good one, is upstairs. The
flight of stairs up to this, which is continued up to the dome, is wide
and handsome, and of such easy ascent, that I ventured up to the top, in
order to take a bird's-eye view of the scenery we so much enjoyed below.
We were very well repaid for the trouble, especially as the gallery was
glazed, so that we could see the view without being exposed to the
cutting wind which was blowing outside.
The houses here are generally of brick, painted a deep red colour,
which, not being in too great masses, and picked out with a good deal of
white, has a very good effect. Some few houses, however, especially
towards the outskirts of the town, were of wood, painted white. We
yesterday passed many villages and towns of these pretty houses, but
with the snow lying around them, scarcely whiter than the houses
themselves, they had a very chilly appearance, and looked far less
tempting than the houses of this description in New England when we
first saw them, each in its pretty clean lawn, and surrounded by a
lovely foliage. To return to this town--and, as a climax to its
perfection, it has, out and out, the most comfortable hotel we have seen
in America. It is quite a bijou, with a very pretty façade, and, being
new last year, everything is in the best style. The ground floor, as is
generally the case in this country, consists, like the Hôtel du Louvre
in Paris, of good shops, which gives a gayer appearance to the whole
than if it were one mass of dwelling rooms. We find it so comfortable
that, instead of going on this afternoon to Philadelphia, we mean to
remain here to-night, and to go on to-morrow to New York.
_New York, Nov. 22nd._--We took one more walk at Harrisburgh, before
starting on Saturday. The morning was lovely, and from the hill above
the town, which we had time to reach, the view was very beautiful. But,
of all the picturesque things that I have lately seen, I think the scene
which presented itself this morning, when I opened our bedroom shutters
at six o'clock, was the most striking. The night, on which I had looked
out before going to bed, was clear and most beautiful; but a few stars
now only remained as the day had begun to dawn, and the east was
reddened by the approaching sunrise. Below the window was a very large
market-place, lighted up and crowded with buyers and sellers. The women
all had on the usual bonnet worn by the lower classes in this
country,--a sun-bonnet, made of coloured cotton, with a very deep
curtain hanging down the back. They wore besides warm cloaks and
coloured shawls, and the men large wide-awakes. I have already described
the brilliantly red houses, and the day being sufficiently advanced to
bring out the colour very conspicuously, I think I never saw a prettier
or busier scene, nor one which I could have wished more to have drawn,
but there was no time even to attempt it.
After leaving Harrisburgh our road lay for some miles along the course
of the Susquehanna, and papa, who had bought a copy of Gertrude of
Wyoming, made me read it aloud to him, to the great astonishment of our
fellow-travellers and at the expense of my lungs, the noise of a railway
carriage in America not being much suited for such an occupation. The
river presented a succession of rich scenery, being most picturesquely
studded with islands. We were quite sorry to take leave of it; but after
these few miles of great beauty, the road made a dash across the country
to Philadelphia. Papa, during the whole of the morning, had been most
wonderfully obtuse in his geography, and was altogether perplexed when,
before reaching Philadelphia, we came to the margin of the river we had
to cross to reach that town. He had been quite mystified all the morning
at Harrisburg, and at fault as to the direction in which the river was
running, and as to whether the streets we were in were at right angles
or parallel to it. This state of confusion became still worse when we
got into the carriage, as he had miscalculated on which side, after
leaving the town, we should first see the river, and had placed me on
the left side of the car, when it suddenly appeared, in all its glory,
on the right. He almost lost his temper, we all know how irritable he
_can_ become, and exclaimed impatiently,--"Well, are we now on this side
of the river or the other?" but his puzzle at Philadelphia was from the
river which we then came upon, being the Schuylkill, while he thought
we had got, in some mysterious way, to the Delaware, on the _west_ bank
of which the town is situated, as well as on the _east_ of the
Schuylkill. The discovery of the river it really was of course solved
the puzzle; but for a long time he insisted that the steamboat we were
to embark upon, later in the day, on the Delaware, must be the one we
now saw, and it was all the passengers could do to persuade him to sit
still. He exclaimed, "But why not stay on this side, instead of crossing
the river to cross back again to take the cars?" It was altogether a
ludicrous state of confusion that poor Papa was in; but it ended, not
only in our crossing the river, but in our traversing the whole town of
Philadelphia, at its very centre, in the railway cars, going through
beautiful streets and squares; and, as we went at a slow pace, we had a
capital view of the shops and of the town, which was looking very clean
and brilliant, the day being fine and frosty.
We made no stay at Philadelphia, but at length taking the cars on the
east side of the Delaware, we proceeded in them to South Amboy; where,
embarking again, we had a fine run of twenty-four miles between Staten
Island and the coast of New Jersey, and reached this place in time for
dinner. We regretted thus turning our backs on Philadelphia, and
Baltimore, and Washington, without seeing more of them; but the time we
have spent in the west has exceeded what we had counted on this part of
our journey occupying, and we are anxious to get home to you all.
On our railway and on the steamer, we had with us a body of the firemen
of Philadelphia, who were on their way to pay to their brother-firemen
here one of those complimentary visits we have spoken of. There was loud
cheering from their cars as we left Philadelphia, and as we passed
through the different towns on the road, which was well responded to by
the bystanders who had collected to witness the sight. The men were
dressed in a most picturesque uniform, and had a good brass band, which
played during the whole time that we were on board the steamer. On
landing, there were bonfires on the quay, and rockets let off in honour
of their arrival; but, though the crowd was great, we had not the
slightest difficulty in landing, for all these matters are carried on
with the greatest order in this country, which is the more remarkable,
as the people have very excitable natures. Late at night, when we were
going to bed, a company of firemen crossed this street with lights and
torches, with a band playing, and dragging a fire-engine covered with
lamps; forming quite a moving blaze of light.
We yesterday spent our first Sunday in New York, having hitherto been
always away on that day; and we heard a wonderfully impressive and
admirable sermon from Dr. Tyng. The church in which he preached was of
very large dimensions, but his voice penetrated it throughout; he stood
on a small platform instead of a pulpit, with a low desk in front, so
that his whole figure could be seen. He had a good deal of action, but
it was in very good taste, and the matter of his sermon was beyond all
praise. The text was from the latter part of Col. i. 17, "And by Him all
things consist." In the afternoon we heard a good, but not so striking a
sermon, from Dr. Bedell; and it was suggested to us to go in the evening
to the Opera-house to hear a great Presbyterian preacher, Mr. Alexander;
but this we did not feel disposed to do. The Opera-house is being made
use of, as our Exeter Hall is, for Special Services.
I think I may as well fill up the rest of this sheet by describing the
arrangements of American hotels. There are frequently two entrances, one
for ladies and the other for gentlemen. That for the ladies leads by a
private staircase to the ladies' drawing-room; and the gentlemen's
entrance opens upon what is called the office. Whether there are
separate entrances or not, the gentleman is at once conducted to the
office, which is usually crowded with spitters and smokers; and there he
enters his name in the travellers' book. This done, the waiter shows him
to the drawing-room, where the lady has been requested, in the meantime,
to wait, and they are then taken, often through long and wide passages,
to their bedrooms. A private drawing-room may be had by paying extra for
it; but the custom is to do without one, and to make use of the ladies'
drawing-room, which is always a pretty room, and often a very handsome
one. In it are invariably to be found a piano, at which the ladies
frequently perpetrate most dreadful music; a marble table, in the centre
of which always stand a silver tray and silver tankard and goblets
containing iced water, a rocking chair, besides other easy-chairs and
sofas, and a Bible. It is a rare thing not to find a Bible, the gift of
a Society, in every bedroom and drawing-room in the hotel. The bedrooms
never have bed-curtains, and sometimes no window-curtains; but the
windows usually have Venetian or solid shutters.
The dining-hall is a spacious apartment, often 80 or sometimes 100 feet
long, and in some large hotels there are two of these, one used for
railway travellers, and the other for the regular guests. The meals are
always at a _table-d'hôte_, with printed bills of fare; the dishes are
not handed round, as in Germany, but the guests are required to look at
the bill of fare and name their dishes, which does not seem a good plan,
as one's inclination is always to see how the dish looks before ordering
it. Everything comes as soon as asked for, and there is a great choice
of dishes. There is very little wine drunk at table, but to every hotel
there is appended a bar, where, we are told, the gentlemen make amends
for their moderation at table by discussing gin sling, sherry cobbler,
&c.; but of course I know nothing of this, excepting from hearsay. The
utmost extent of Papa's excesses on the rare occasions when he went into
these bars, was to get a glass of Saratoga water; but he has failed to
give me any description of what he saw. The breakfasts are going on
usually from seven till nine. The general dinner-hour is one; but there
is sometimes a choice of two hours, one and three. Tea, consisting of
tea, coffee, and sweet cakes and preserves, takes place at six; and
there is a cold meat supper at nine. Meals are charged extra if taken in
private. It is a good plan in travelling never to reserve oneself at
the end of the day's journey for the hotel dinner, as there is a chance
of arriving after it is over, when the alternative is to go without; the
railway dinners are quite as good, find often better, than those at the
hotel. The use of the ladies' drawing-room is restricted to ladies and
gentlemen accompanying them; no single gentleman, is allowed to sit in
it unless invited by a lady; but there is a separate reading-room for
gentlemen, supplied with newspapers, and there is generally another room
reserved for smoking, but the accommodation in these rooms is, in
general, very inferior to those set apart for the ladies. In the hall of
the hotel there is frequently a counter for the sale of newspapers,
books, and periodicals, and all hotels have a barber's shop, which is a
marvellous part of the establishment. The fixed charge at the hotels is
generally from 8s. to 10s. per day for each person.
We have just settled to sail for England on the 1st December, so I shall
have only one more journal letter to write to you, and shall be myself
the bearer of it.
FOOTNOTE:
[13] The account referred to was written as far back as 1839, and is so
much more accurate a description of the Falls, and of the canal, than
that given in the Railway Guide, that I must here extract it.
"The falls of the Ohio are occasioned by an irregular ledge of rock
stretching across the river. They are only perceptible at low water, the
whole descent being but twenty-two feet, while the difference of level
between the highest and lowest stages of the water is about sixty feet.
When the river is full, they present, therefore, no serious obstruction
to the navigation. To obviate the inconvenience, however, at low water,
a canal, called the Louisville and Portland Canal, has been constructed
round the falls, which is deserving of notice, as being, perhaps, the
most important work of the kind ever undertaken. The cross section of
the canal is 200 feet at the top of the bank, 50 feet at the bottom, and
42 feet deep, making its capacity about fifteen times greater than that
contemplated for the Erie Canal after its enlargement is completed: its
sides are sloping and paved with stone. The guard lock contains 21,775
perches of masonry, being equal to that of fifteen locks on the New York
Canals; and three others contain 12,300 perches. This canal is capable
of admitting steamboats of the largest class. It is scarcely two miles
in length; but, considering the quantity of mason work, and the
difficulty of excavating earth and rock from so great a depth, together
with the contingencies attending its construction, from the fluctuations
in the depth of the river, it is probably no over-statement when it is
said, that the work in it is equal to that of seventy or seventy-five
miles of an ordinary canal."
LETTER XIII.
NEW YORK--ASTOR LIBRARY.--COOPER INSTITUTE.--BIBLE HOUSE.--DR.
RAE--DR. TYNG.--TARRYTOWN.--ALBANY.--SLEIGHING--FINAL RETURN TO
BOSTON.--HALIFAX.--VOYAGE HOME.--CONCLUSION.
Albany, Nov. 27th, 1858.
My last letter was despatched to you on the 23rd inst.;--that evening we
dined at Mr. Aspinwall's. He has a handsome house in New York, and a
large picture gallery, and as we wished to see this by daylight, we
called on him after breakfast on the following morning, and had an
opportunity of examining the pictures, many of which are very good,
especially some by early Dutch masters.
Mr. Aspinwall afterwards took us to the Astor Library. This library was
founded by the munificence of the late Mr. Astor, a very rich merchant,
who bequeathed a large sum of money for the purpose. It is remarkably
well arranged and pretty, and capable of containing about 300,000
volumes. Mr. Cogswell, the librarian, showed us some of the most
valuable books. He was acquainted with Papa's name, as he had bought
his book in London for the library, and appeared familiar with its
contents. He said he valued it as filling up a gap in the financial
history of America that was not supplied by any work in this country.
Mr. Aspinwall took us afterwards to the Cooper Institute, founded by Mr.
Peter Cooper, another very eminent citizen of New York, who has done
this good deed in his lifetime. He happened to be there, and as Mr.
Aspinwall introduced us to him, he showed us round the building himself.
He is a rich ironmonger, and an eccentric man. The building has cost
100,000_l._; it is intended for public lectures and for a school of
design. At the time we were there, some specimens of drawings,
penmanship, &c., by the scholars of the Free Schools in New York were
being exhibited, and were, in general, very creditable performances. We
went to the top of the building, and, the weather being remarkably clear
and fine, we had a good view of the town and of the surrounding country.
Anything like country, however, can only be seen on one side across the
Hudson, although, on the opposite side of New York Bay, Staten Island
can be seen stretching "right away" to the south; but the wonderful
sight is the immense city itself, extending for miles in a northern
direction.
We rather crowded into this last day all the sights that we had hitherto
omitted to see at New York; for we went also to the Bible House, a very
large building near the Cooper Institute. In this Bible House not only
are copies of the Bible sold, as in our corresponding institution in
London, but the whole process of printing, making up, and binding the
Bible is carried on. The number of Bibles and Testaments issued by the
establishment is very great, amounting, during the last year, to
712,045. During that period there were 250,000 Bibles printed and
381,000 Testaments, besides 500 books for the blind printed in raised
types, making a total of 631,500 volumes; and this, owing to a scarcity
of funds, arising out of the late pecuniary pressure, is a decrease from
the year before of 110,000 volumes, so that it was from the store in
hand that the excess of the volumes issued above the number printed was
taken. These Bibles and Testaments are in every language, and in every
form and size. The machinery is worked by steam, and the immense
building is warmed from the same source. Some idea of its extent may be
conceived by the fact that there are twelve miles of pipes used in this
warming process.[14]
After this hard day's work we dined at Mr. Russell's, to meet Dr. Rae,
the Arctic traveller, and in the evening we went to the Geographical
Society to hear a lecture on his last northern expedition, when he
gained all the information known respecting poor Sir John Franklin, in
search of whom he had been sent by the British Government. He showed us
many relics of that unfortunate party, consisting of spoons,
watch-cases, &c.; the lecture was very interesting, especially with
regard to the origin and transportation of boulders. He produced an
enormous head of a deer, which had a curious horn in front between the
two side ones; this is a common appendage to the antlers of the deer of
that region. He told us an amusing anecdote of his having been present
when Professor Owen was lecturing on this strange appearance, and
described the wisdom of this provision, to enable the animal to clear
its way in the snow in search of its food below it; but Dr. Rae was able
entirely to overset this theory, by stating that the whole horny
appendages of this deer are always shed before any snow makes its
appearance on the ground.
At dinner we met Mr. Rutherford, who begged us to go after the lecture
to see his observatory, in which, he said, he had the best and largest
telescope in America, not excepting the one at Washington; we went
therefore to see it, though the lecture was not over till half-past ten,
and were repaid by a sight of Jupiter, and his belts and satellites: but
though the telescope was larger than the one at Washington, being of the
same focal length, and having an object glass nearly two inches wider,
it did not strike us as being so clear and good an instrument. It is
undoubtedly, however, a very fine one, and entirely of American make.
Much as we have had to record this day, there was more jumbled into it;
but instead of going to see the last sight I have to record, it obtruded
itself upon us at every turn. This was a military procession, flags
flying, &c., to commemorate the evacuation of the town of New York by
the British, after the first war of Independence. A great dinner is
always given on this day by the members of the Order of Cincinnati, and
Papa was asked to go to it, but our engagement to Mr. Russell prevented
his accepting the invitation.
I think the only further thing of interest which I have to record about
our visit this time to New York, was our calling on Dr. Tyng; he is a
most interesting person, and talked much about revivals and slavery. He
said there was undoubtedly a greater degree of serious feeling gradually
spreading in New York, especially among the artisans and labouring
classes; but he could see nothing of that work of the Spirit on the
large scale which others speak of, and he thinks the nature and extent
of the revivals have been over-estimated.
With regard to slavery, Dr. Tyng is a very good judge, as, for the first
six years of his ministry, he had a considerable parish in the slave
state of Maryland, extending over a large tract of plantation lands,
cultivated entirely by slaves. The slave population in this parish was
about 8000, and he says the treatment of the slaves was almost all that
could be desired for their temporal comfort, as far as good clothing,
good food, and kind treatment went, and he had known but very few cases
of slaves being ill-treated or even flogged during his six years'
residence there: still no one can condemn more strongly than he does the
whole system, as lowering and degrading the moral tone, both of the
white and the black population.
As I shall probably have no occasion to allude again to slavery, as the
rest of our short stay on this continent will now be among the free
states, I may say I have seen nothing to lessen, and everything to
confirm, the strong impression I have always entertained respecting it.
Besides what we have seen, we have read as much as we could on the
subject, and must record a little book called "Aunt Sally, or the Cross
the Way to Freedom," as being the most faithful account of the evils of
slavery we have met with. It is the story of a female slave's life, and
is said to be strictly true and devoid of all exaggeration, and it is a
most touching account of the power of religion in her case, in upholding
her through a long life of trials and degradation.[15]
On Friday, the 26th instant, we took our final leave of New York. We
left it by the Hudson River Railway, the same by which we went to West
Point two days after our arrival in America, and it was curious to
contrast our feelings on getting into the cars now with those which we
experienced when we first set our foot into them; we thought at first
that we never could encounter a long journey in them, and dreaded all
sorts of disasters. Yet now, independently of steamboat travelling, we
have travelled altogether in railways over more than 5500 miles, and it
is somewhat singular that in the great number of separate journeys we
have taken, we have only on one occasion been late on arriving at our
destination, which was on reaching Chicago. The train was then two hours
late in a journey of 281 miles, and that not owing to any accident, but
solely to the slippery state of the rails, after a heavy rain, which
rendered caution necessary. The only hitch from accident (if it was
one), was for five minutes at Rome, on the New York Central Railway,
when we were delayed for that time, on account of what William told us
was "something wrong with the engine." We have only 200 miles left to
travel between this and Boston, and we have great reason to be thankful
for having performed so long a journey not only in perfect safety, but
without any anxiety, and scarcely any fatigue.[16]
One marked improvement in the eastern over the western railways, is in
the gentlemen's special accomplishment of spitting being much less
active in the east, owing to their chewing tobacco less vigorously. In
the west it is dreadful to see and hear how this habit goes on during
the whole day, not out of window, but on the floors of the cars and
omnibuses, and all over the hall and passages of the hotels.
But to return to our journey from New York on the Hudson. It was a
beautiful day, and the scenery quite lovely. We had only twenty-seven
miles to go to Mr. Bartlett's, to whom we had brought letters from
England, and who asked us to pass the first night of our journey at his
country place near Tarrytown. On arriving at the station there, he drove
us to his house, which stands on an eminence three miles higher up the
river. The river here is rather more than three miles in width, but the
atmosphere was so clear that every house on the opposite bank could be
distinctly seen, and the opposite shore is so high, that we could hardly
imagine the river to be as wide as it is. The view from the house is
perfectly magnificent. The eye takes in a distance of thirty miles up
and down the river, there being here a long reach, having almost the
appearance of a lake, the river above and below not being more than from
a mile to a mile and a half in width. Immediately opposite Tarrytown is
the town of Nyach, which is connected with Tarrytown by a steam ferry.
In passing from Tarrytown to Mr. Bartlett's house, we drove through the
Sleepy Hollow, the scene of one of Washington Irving's tales, and passed
the old Dutch church, which is mentioned by him in the legend, as the
place of sanctuary where Ichabod took refuge. In fact, the whole scenery
is classic ground here; and Mr. Irving himself, who has rendered it so,
lives only two miles off, at Sunnyside.
After giving us some luncheon, Mr. Bartlett took Papa a walk up a high
hill behind the house, the view from which he describes as perfectly
enchanting; but it would be difficult for anything to surpass the one
seen from the house, combining every possible feature of wood, hill,
dale, and water; but if I cannot describe this, it would be equally
impossible to describe the perfect taste and beauty of the house itself.
The chief features are the carving of the wooden staircase, the
chimney-pieces in the library and dining-room, and of the book-cases in
the library. The carpet of the drawing-room was Aubusson tapestry, and
the furniture was entirely from French patterns or imported from Paris,
where it was made on purpose for the different rooms; every part of the
house, including the bed-rooms, was filled with choice engravings. One
bed-room specially struck us, the paper and chintz furniture of which
were exactly of the same pattern of roses on a white ground, and the
effect was beautiful; but there were many others in equally good taste,
all with French papers. Hot and cold water were laid on in the rooms,
and hot air likewise, though not so as to be in the least oppressive.
Mrs. Bartlett's bed-room and dressing-room were the climax of all. The
woodwork throughout the house was varied in every story: there was black
oak, red pine, and white pine, all of very fine grain; the hall was
covered with encaustic tiles from Minton's; the offices were in keeping,
dairy, laundry, &c. Papa went over the farm and gardens, which were in
the same exquisite order; and there were greenhouses and hothouses,
which looked at a distance like a little Crystal Palace. Mrs. Bartlett
is a very amiable person, but a great invalid, and seldom leaves her
room.
This morning we proceeded on our way to this place; before getting into
the train at twelve o'clock, we drove over to Sunnyside; but, alas! Mr.
Irving was out, and we could only walk about his grounds, and peep in at
his study window. As this brought us to Tarrytown sooner than we counted
upon, I had time to climb up one of the hills, and much enjoyed the
view, although it was not so extensive as the one Papa saw yesterday. As
we got northward, on our way to Albany, the snow, which had almost
disappeared at Tarrytown, became very deep, the land was covered with a
white garment, and the river partially with a coating of ice. At Hudson,
opposite the Catskill mountains, we, for the first time, saw sledging,
sledges having there taken the place of the usual carriages which come
to meet the train. There were many carts, also, and an omnibus, all on
sledges, and the whole had a singularly wintry appearance.
We are housed again at the Delavan House, and find the twenty-four
damsels have donned long sleeves to their gowns, which are now of dark
cotton instead of pink; but their hoops are as large, and their faces as
impudent as ever, forcing Papa to restrain his grin, particularly when
they stand in double file on each side of the table, all in the same
pose, with their arms crossed before them, when we enter the
dining-room.
We are glad to find ourselves again here, for this hotel bears away the
palm from all others we have seen in America, with the exception of that
at Harrisburgh, which can alone compare with it in the general beauty of
the rooms. To describe, for instance, the bedroom in which we are now
sitting. The room is about twenty-four feet square, having two large
windows looking to the street, and a mirror and handsome marble
consol-table between them. The windows have very handsome gilt cornices,
with tamboured muslin curtains, and others of a blue and gold coloured
damask; there are two large sofas, and four small chairs of dark walnut
wood, carved and covered with the same material as the curtains, and a
smaller chair with a tapestry seat--also a large rocking-chair covered
with Utrecht velvet. The bed is of prettily carved black walnut, the
wash-hand-stand the same, with marble slab; there is a very handsome
Brussels carpet, a large round table, at which I am now writing, a very
handsome bronze and ormolu lustre, with six gaslights, and two ormolu
candelabra on the chimney-piece. The chimney-piece is of white marble,
and over it is a most gorgeously carved mirror. The room is about
fourteen feet high; the ceiling slightly alcoved and painted in
medallions of flowers on a blue ground, with a great deal of very well
painted and gilt moulding, which Papa at first thought was really in
relief. The paper is a white ground, with a gold pattern, and a coloured
border above, and below, and at the angles of the room; the door leads
into a very fine wide passage, and there are two others, each leading
into an adjoining room, all painted pure white; so is the
skirting-board; and the door handles are white porcelain. Thrower's
room, next ours, is much the same, but of about half the size. There are
Venetian blinds to the windows, not made to draw up, but folding like
shutters, and divided into several small panels. Our two windows look
into a broad cheerful street, in which the snow is lying deep, and the
whole scene is enlivened, every now and then, by the sleighs and their
merry bells as they pass along.
_Nov. 29th._--Yesterday the morning was very brilliant. Being desirous
of seeing a Shaker village, and the nature of their service, we had
ordered a vehicle over night to be ready at nine o'clock, when a sleigh
made its appearance at the door, with skins of fur and every appliance
to keep us warm. These sleighs are most elegant machines, and this one
had a hood, though this is not a common appendage. It was drawn by a
pair of horses, the driver standing in front. The road was, at first, up
a steep hill, but the horses seemed as if they had no weight behind
them. On reaching the high land the view, looking back upon the river,
was very pretty. The whole country was deeply covered with snow, and in
many places, where it had drifted, it had the appearance of large waves,
of which the crests curled gracefully over, and looked as if they had
been frozen in the act of curling: some of these crests or waves were
four or five feet above the level of the road. We were about an hour
reaching the village, and were much disappointed to find the gate at the
entrance closed, and a painted board hung on it, to announce there would
be no meeting that day. Nothing could exceed the apparent order and
decorum of the place; but we could not effect a closer approach, though
our driver tried hard to gain admittance for us. We therefore returned
to Albany, but took a different road home, and enjoyed our sleighing
much; and the cheerful sound of the bells round our horses' necks was
quite enlivening; still, in spite of our wraps, we must confess that we
were not sorry when it was over. On our return to the town we entered a
church and heard the end of a sermon. It was a large Baptist church; but
we were rather late, for we were told, by a boy at the door, that "the
text had been on about forty minutes;" but, to judge from the sample we
had of the discourse, we were probably no great losers. The church was a
handsome building, but we were chiefly attracted by the following
notice, in large letters, at the entrance.
UNION PRAYER MEETING DAILY IN THIS CHURCH,
FROM TWELVE TO ONE O'CLOCK.
"Come in, if only for a few moments; all are welcome."
After leaving the church we walked towards the Capitol, which is
situated at the end of a very wide street, State Street, and, as this
street rises by a tolerably steep ascent from the river, there is an
extensive view over the river and the adjacent country from the plateau
on which the Capitol stands. There are two very handsome buildings
adjoining, of fine white stone, with Greek porticoes; but the Capitol
itself, which is a considerably older building than the others, is of
red brick. We had not time to explore further, for a heavy snow storm
came on, which lasted for the rest of the day.
_Boston, Nov. 30th._--Yesterday morning we started early for this
place, and the journey occupied the whole day. We had travelled this
road before when the country was rich in its summer clothing, and the
contrast was very strange as we saw it to-day. The heavy fall of snow
the night before had covered not only the ground but the trees of the
forests and the ponds and lakes, which were all frozen over. The
Connecticut, however, glided calmly along, though it too was frozen over
above the places where falls in the river obstructed the current. We
passed several of these, which had a curious appearance, long and
massive icicles hanging along the whole crest of the fall, and curiously
intermingling with the water which was pouring over the rocks. The
beautiful New England villages were as white as ever, the white snow
scarcely detracting from the purity of the whiteness of the buildings.
It was a splendid day, without a cloud in the sky, and the sun shining
on the snow gave it a most brilliant and sparkling appearance.
To-day we have been chiefly engaged in shopping; but we contrived,
besides, to see the public Library and Athenæum, as well as the Hospital
and Prison, which Papa went over with Lord Radstock when we were first
here, both of which fully bear out the account he gave me of them. We
feel quite sad to think that this is our last day in America, for we
have enjoyed ourselves much; Papa has, indeed, up till late this
evening, been engaged in business; but you are not to suppose from this
that he has never had any relaxation; I am most thankful to say, on the
contrary, that much of our time has been a holiday, and I trust his
health has much benefited by our travels. But, whatever our regrets may
be at leaving this interesting country, I need scarcely say with what
delight we look forward to a return home to our dear children, where, I
trust, a fortnight hence, to find you all well and prospering. We
embark, at nine to-morrow morning, in the "Canada" for Liverpool, where
I shall hope to add a few lines to this on landing.
_December 11th, off Cape Clear._--As it may be late to-morrow before we
land, and we may not have time to write from Liverpool, I shall close
this now, or at all events only add a line from that place. Barring a
severe gale of wind, our voyage has been tolerably prosperous since we
left Halifax; but I must not anticipate, as I wish to say a little more
about Boston, for I omitted in my last day's Journal to mention the
admirable arrangement on the Western Railway, by which we came from
Albany, as regards checking the luggage. This practice, as I have
already told you, is universal, but, generally speaking, one of the
_employés_ of the Packet Express Company takes charge of the checks
before the passengers leave the cars, and for a trifling charge the
luggage is delivered at any hotel the passenger may direct; where this
is not done, the checks are usually given to the conductor of the
omnibus, of which almost every hotel sends its own to the station. But
this latter practice leads to much noise, each conductor shouting out
the name of his hotel, as is done at Boulogne and elsewhere on the
arrival of the packets. On gliding into the spacious station at Boston
we were prepared to encounter this struggle, our checks not having been
given up in the car; but, to our surprise, there was a total absence of
this noisy scene, and on looking out we saw along the platform a range
of beautiful gothic recesses, over each of which was written the name of
an hotel, and we had only to walk along till we came to "Tremont House,"
when, without a word passing, we slipped into the hand of a man
stationed within, the checks for our baggage, he simply indicating "No.
2" as the omnibus we were to get into. Walking to the end of the
platform, we found a complete row of omnibuses, all consecutively
numbered, and marched in silence to No. 2, which in a minute or two
drove off with us and the other passengers destined for the Tremont
House; we found this, as before, a very comfortable hotel, and our
luggage was there within a few minutes after our arrival.
Before quitting the subject of the American hotels, we ought to state
that, from what we hear, unhappy single gentlemen meet with a very
different fate to that of persons travelling in company with ladies. One
poor friend greatly bewailed his lot after he had left his wife at
Toronto; on presenting himself at the "office" of the hotel he used to
be eyed most suspiciously, especially when they saw his rough drab
coloured travelling dress, for the criterion of a genteel American is a
black coat and velvet collar. He was accordingly sent in general to a
garret, and other travellers have told us the same; one on board the
steamers quite confirmed this account, and told us he considered it a
piece of great luxury when he had a gaslight in his room. He made this
remark on our reading to him the account I have given of our room in
Albany and its splendid six-light candelabra.
But to go on with our adventures: we embarked on board the steamer at 9
A.M. on Wednesday, the 1st December. The view of the harbour of Boston,
formed by a variety of islands, was most beautiful, in spite of the deep
snow which covered them. The day was brilliantly sunny, but intensely
cold, and it continued bitterly cold till we reached Halifax on Thursday
night. The Boston steamers always touch at that place, and the liability
to detention by fogs in making the harbour, renders this passage often a
disagreeable one in the foggy season; but when the weather is as cold as
now, it is invariably clear, and we steered up the beautiful harbour of
Halifax with no interruption but that caused by the closing in of the
day, rendering it necessary to slacken our speed as we neared the town.
It was dark when we arrived, but having two hours to spare, we took a
walk, and after passing through the town-gate, saw what we could of the
place, respecting which I felt great interest, from my father having
been Chief-justice there many years; his picture by West, of which we
have a copy in D. P. H. by West himself, is at the Court House; but of
course we could not see it so late at night; and, in fact, could only go
to one or two shops to make some purchases as memorials of the place. It
began to snow hard before we returned on board, and the cold was so
intense, though less so since the snow began, that the upper part of
the harbour above where we stopped was frozen over.
We took Sir Fenwick Williams, of Kars, and a great many other officers,
on board at Halifax, and sailed again at midnight. Next day the intense
cold returned, and a severe north-wester made it almost impossible to
keep on deck. Every wave that dashed over us, left its traces behind in
a sheet of ice spread over the deck, and in the icicles which were
hanging along the bulwarks, and formed a fringe to the boats which were
hanging inside the ship; one poor passenger, with a splendid beard, told
us he found it quite hard and stiff, and we could have told him how much
we admired the icicles which were hanging to it. The thermometer,
however, was only at 15°, it being the wind that made it so intensely
cold. I did not get on deck, for, owing to the coating of ice, walking
on it became a service of some danger; and I did my best to keep Papa
from going up, though he often insisted on doing so, to enjoy the beauty
of the scene. The captain says that it is sometimes most trying to be on
this coast in winter, as the thermometer, instead of being 15° above
zero as it was then, is often 15° below, when the ropes and everything
become frozen. This cold lasted till Monday, when we were clear of "the
banks," and fairly launched into the wide Atlantic. The wind continued
to blow strongly from the north-west, with a considerable amount of sea,
which put an end to my even thinking of going on deck, but Papa
persevered, and every day passed many hours there, walking up and down
and enjoying it much, especially as it was daily getting warmer. I
wished much I could have accompanied him, but by this time I was
completely prostrated by sea-sickness.
The weather, though blowy, continued very fine till Tuesday at four
o'clock, when Papa came down and told me to prepare for a gale; an
ominous black cloud had shown itself in the north-west horizon; this
would not of itself have created much sensation, had it not been
accompanied by an extraordinary fall in the barometer; it had, in fact,
been falling for twenty-four hours, for at noon on Monday it stood
rather above 30, and at midnight was as low as 29·55, which, in these
latitudes, is a great fall. But on Tuesday, at nine A.M., it had fallen
to 28·80, when it began rapidly to sink, till at half-past three it
stood at 28·40, showing a fall of more than an inch and a half since the
preceding day at noon. It seems that this is almost unprecedented, so
that when the little black cloud appeared, every sail was taken in, and
the main topmast and fore top-gallantmast lowered down on deck, and this
was not done a bit too soon, for by half-past four, it blew a hurricane.
The captain told a naval officer on board, that he had thought of
putting the ship's head towards the gale, to let it blow past, but on
further consideration, he put her right before it, though at the expense
of losing a good deal of ground, as it made us go four points out of our
course. Papa, who was on deck, said it was most magnificent to hear the
fierce wind tearing past the vessel, and to see the ship not swaying in
the least one way or another, but driving forwards with the masts
perpendicular, as if irresistibly impelled through the water, without
appearing to feel the waves. But alas, alas, this absence of motion,
which was a paradise to me, lasted but some twenty minutes, while the
fury of the blast continued. We ran before the gale for the next four
hours, when it sufficiently moderated to enable us to resume our proper
course.
The gale continued, however, till four next morning, and such a night I
never passed. The doctor said, neither he nor any officer in the ship
could sleep, and next morning the poor stewardess and our peculiar cabin
boy mournfully deplored their fate, the former being forced to confess
that, though for years accustomed to the sea, she had been desperately
sick. In fact no one had ever known the vessel to roll before as she did
this night, and the sounds were horrible. The effect of one sea, in
particular, striking the ship was appalling, from the perfect stillness
which followed it. The vessel seemed quite to stagger under the blow and
to be paralysed by it, so that several seconds must have elapsed before
the heavy rolling recommenced. This, and the creaking and groaning of
the vessel, had something solemn about it; but some minor sounds were
neither so grand nor so philosophically borne by either Papa or myself.
One of the most persevering of these arose from my carelessness in
having forgotten to bolt the door of a cupboard which I made use of, in
our cabin, the consequence of which was that, with every lurch of the
vessel, the door gave a violent slam, and our lamp having been put out
at midnight, as it invariably was, we were in total darkness, and
without the means of ascertaining whether the irritating noise
proceeded, as we suspected, from the cupboard door, or from one of the
doors having been left open in the passage adjoining our cabin. It would
have been dangerous to have got up in the dark, and with a violent
lurching of the vessel, to discover the real cause of this wearisome
noise. I had a strong feeling of self-reproach in my own mind at having
brought such a calamity on poor Papa, when it could have been avoided if
I had been a little more careful before going to bed. On, therefore,
the noise went, for the rest of that night, with great
regularity--slam--slam--slam--defying every attempt to obtain even five
minutes of sleep. With the first gleam of dawn I plainly saw that our
own peccant door was the cause, and I was able by that time, with some
caution, to rise and secure the bolt, and thus relieve ourselves, and
probably our neighbours, from the weary sound.
Sleep, however, on my part was, under any circumstances, out of the
question, for I was under great anxiety lest Papa should be pitched out
of his berth, as he slept in the one above mine. Before retiring for the
night I had consulted the surgeon on the subject, having heard that a
steward had been once thrown out of his berth in this vessel under
similar circumstances. The surgeon assured me that he had never heard of
such an accident, and Papa reminded me that his height would save him
from such a calamity, for the berths being only six feet long he could,
by stretching himself out to his full length, wedge himself in and hold
on by his head and heels, and so, in fact, he did; but many passed the
night on the floors in their cabin, particularly the children, who had
not the advantage of being six feet three. Next morning the surgeon said
he would not himself have slept where Papa did, and I suspect few of the
upper berths were occupied. So much for the value of a medical opinion!
I was very sorry I could not go on deck on either of the following days,
for though the gale had abated, the wind continued sufficiently strong
to keep up a splendid sea. Papa, however, says that it was more the
force of the wind when the gale first began, than the height of the sea
that was remarkable, as the gale did not last long enough to get up a
_proper_ sea, though what that would have been I cannot imagine, as the
effects, such as they were, were sufficiently serious for me. Since
then, things have gone on prosperously, but we have only to-night come
in sight of the lights on Cape Clear. The sea mercifully is somewhat
smoother, and has allowed me to write this long story; and I am going to
bed with a fairer prospect of sleep than I have had for the last few
nights.
_Sunday night, Sept. 12th._--The wind got up again in the night, and has
delayed us much, so that we are still outside the bar of the Mersey:
for some hours it has been doubtful whether we should land to-night in
Old England, or pass another night on board. The uncertainty of our fate
has caused an evening of singular excitement, owing to several of the
passengers going perpetually on deck and bringing down news, either that
we were in the act of crossing the bar, or that we had crossed it, or
that all this was wrong and that we were still outside. As often as it
was announced, and that with the most positive assertion, that we should
land to-night, there was great joy and glee among all the passengers,
excepting ourselves and a few others who had visions of a late Custom
House examination in a dark and dismal night with pouring rain, and a
conviction that landing before morning would not bring us to London any
sooner than doing so early to-morrow, and so we secretly hoped all the
time that we were neither on nor over the bar. Betting, as usual, began
on the subject, and the excitement was still at its height when official
information was brought to us that we neither had attempted nor meant to
attempt to cross the bar till five o'clock to-morrow morning. We have
therefore easily made up our minds to what I fear is a disappointment to
many. We trust now to have a quiet night, for we are lying-to, and are
as still as at anchor, and hope on awaking to-morrow morning, to find
ourselves in the dock at Liverpool; in which case we shall rush up by an
early train to London.
Here, therefore, ends our Journal; but before closing it, I must add a
few lines to say what cause we have had to feel deeply thankful for all
the mercies that have followed us by land and by sea. We have travelled
a distance of nearly 6000 miles, in a country where accidents frequently
occur, both on the railways and in steam-boats, and have never for one
moment been exposed to peril, or experienced one feeling of anxiety. We
have met everywhere with great attention, kindness, and hospitality, and
have been preserved in perfect health. Besides our land and river
journeys, we have made two long voyages across the wide Atlantic, and in
the midst of a tempest, which was a very severe one, the Hand of God
protected us and preserved us from danger, and, better still, kept our
minds in peace and confidence, and in remembrance that He who ruleth the
waves, could guide and succour us in every time of need, so that even I
felt no fear; Papa has had more experience of storms at sea, and was
less likely to feel any, but his confidence, too, was in knowing that we
were under Divine protection, and that our part was to TRUST; and in
this we had our reward.
In thus enumerating the many subjects of thankfulness during our absence
from home, I must reckon as one of the chief of our blessings, the
comfort we have experienced in so constantly receiving the very best
accounts of you all; and when we think of the many thousands of miles
that have separated us, we may indeed feel full of gratitude that,
neither on one side of the ocean nor the other, have we had any reason
for anxiety concerning each other. In a few hours more, we shall, I
trust, have the joy and gladness of seeing all your dear faces again,
and be rejoicing together over our safe return from our interesting and
delightful expedition to the NEW WORLD.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] The issues of the British and Foreign Bible Society during the same
period were 1,517,858; but the circulation of the American Bible Society
is almost entirely limited to the American continent, and for their
foreign Missions, while a large portion of ours goes to supply the
Colonies.
[15] Aunt Sally is a real person still living at Detroit on Lake
Michigan, with her son, the Rev. Isaac Williams, who is the minister
there of the Methodist church.
[16] We must admit that our experience differs greatly from that of
many; and, looking at the statistics of railway travelling, accidents do
occur with frightful frequency. In a report recently published by the
Philadelphia and Reading Railway, the accidents which occurred on that
line alone in 1855, amounted to no less than 179 in a year, and this on
a line where there is no great press of traffic. In these accidents, 619
cars were broken, 29 people killed, and 7 wounded. Things are since a
little improved; as, last year, 1858, there were only 26 cases of killed
and wounded, and, the Report adds, as if consolatory to the feelings of
the natives, "of these 18 were strangers."
THE END.
LONDON
PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
NEW-STREET SQUARE.
* * * * *
A CATALOGUE
OF
NEW WORKS IN GENERAL LITERATURE
PUBLISHED BY
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
* * * * *
CLASSIFIED INDEX
+Agriculture and Rural Affairs.+
Bayldon on Valuing Rents, &c. 5
Cecil's Stud Farm 8
Hoskyns's Talpa 11
Loudon's Agriculture 14
Low's Elements of Agriculture 14
Morton on Landed Estates 17
+Arts, Manufactures, and Architecture.+
Bourne on the Screw Propeller 6
Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. 6
" Organic Chemistry 6
Chevreul on Colour 8
Cresy's Civil Engineering 8
Fairbairn's Information for Engineers 9
Gwilt's Encyclopædia of Architecture 10
Harford's Plates from M. Angelo 10
Humphreys's _Parables_ Illuminated 12
Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art 12, 13
" Commonplace-Book 13
Konig's Pictorial Life of Luther 10
Loudon's Rural Architecture 14
Mac Dougall's Campaigns of Hannibal 15
" Theory of War 15
Moseley's Engineering 17
Piesse's Art of Perfumery 18
Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 19
Scoffern on Projectiles, &c. 20
Scrivenor on the Iron Trade 20
Steam Engine, by the Artisan Club 6
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. 23
+Biography.+
Arago's Lives of Scientific Men 5
Brialmont's Wellington 6
Bunsen's Hippolytus 7
Crosse's (Andrew) Memorials 9
Gleig's Essays 10
Green's Princesses of England 10
Harford's Life of Michael Angelo 10
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia 13
Maunder's Biographical Treasury 15
Mountain's (Col.) Memoirs 17
Parry's (Admiral) Memoirs 18
Russell's Memoirs of Moore 16
" (Dr.) Life of Mezzofanti 20
SchimmelPenninck's (Mrs.) Life 20
Southey's Life of Wesley 21
" Life and Correspondence 21
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 22
Strickland's Queens of England 22
Sydney Smith's Memoirs 21
Symonds's (Admiral) Memoirs 22
Taylor's Loyola 22
" Wesley 22
Uwins's Memoirs and Letters 23
Waterton's Autobiography and Essays 34
+Books of General Utility.+
Acton's Bread-Book 5
" Cookery-Book 5
Black's Treatise on Brewing 6
Cabinet Gazetteer 7
" Lawyer 7
Cust's Invalid's Own Book 9
Gilbart's Logic for the Million 10
Hints on Etiquette 11
How to Nurse Sick Children 12
Hudson's Executor's Guide 12
" on Making Wills 12
Kesteven's Domestic Medicine 13
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia 13
Loudon's Lady's Country Companion 14
Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge 15
" Biographical Treasury 15
" Geographical Treasury 16
" Scientific Treasury 15
" Treasury of History 16
" Natural History 16
Piesse's Art of Perfumery 18
Pocket and the Stud 10
Pycroft's English Reading 19
Reece's Medical Guide 19
Rich's Companion to Latin Dictionary 19
Richardson's Art of Horsemanship 19
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries 19
Roget's English Thesaurus 20
Rowton's Debater 20
Short Whist 21
Thomson's Interest Tables 22
Webster's Domestic Economy 24
West on Children's Diseases 24
Willich's Popular Tables 24
Wilmot's Blackstone 24
+Botany and Gardening.+
Hassall's British Freshwater Algæ 11
Hooker's British Flora 11
" Guide to Kew Gardens 11
" " " Kew Museum 11
Lindley's Introduction to Botany 14
" Theory of Horticulture 14
Loudon's Hortus Britannicus 14
" Amateur Gardener 14
" Trees and Shrubs 14
" Gardening 14
" Plants 14
Pereira's Materia Medica 18
Rivers's Rose Amateur's Guide 19
Wilson's British Mosses 24
+Chronology.+
Blair's Chronological Tables 6
Brewer's Historical Atlas 6
Bunsen's Ancient Egypt 7
Calendars of English State Papers 7
Haydn's Beatson's Index 11
Jaquemet's Chronology 13
" Abridged Chronology 13
+Commerce and Mercantile Affairs.+
Gilbart's Treatise on Banking 10
Lorimer's Young Master Mariner 14
Macleod's Banking 15
M'Culloch's Commerce and Navigation 15
Murray on French Finance 18
Scrivenor on the Iron Trade 20
Thomson's Interest Tables 22
Tooke's History of Prices 22
+Criticism, History, and Memoirs.+
Blair's Chron. and Historical Tables 6
Brewer's Historical Atlas 6
Bunsen's Ancient Egypt 7
" Hippolytus 7
Calendars of English State Papers 7
Capgrave's Illustrious Henries 8
Chapman's Gustavus Adolphus 8
Chronicles and Memorials of England 8
Connolly's Sappers and Miners 8
Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 8
Crowe's History of France 9
Fischer's Francis Bacon 9
Gleig's Essays 10
Gurney's Historical Sketches 10
Hayward's Essays 11
Herschel's Essays and Addresses 11
Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions 13
Kemble's Anglo-Saxons 13
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia 13
Macaulay's Critical and Hist. Essays 14
" History of England 14
" Speeches 14
Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 15
" History of England 15
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 15
Maunder's Treasury of History 16
Merivale's History of Rome 16
" Roman Republic 16
Milner's Church History 16
Moore's (Thomas) Memoirs, &c. 16
Mure's Greek Literature 17
Normanby's Year of Revolution 18
Perry's Franks 18
Raikes's Journal 19
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries 19
Rogers's Essays from Edinb. Review 20
Roget's English Thesaurus 20
Schmitz's History of Greece 20
Southey's Doctor 21
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 22
" Lectures on French History 22
Sydney Smith's Works 21
" Lectures 21
" Memoirs 21
Taylor's Loyola 22
" Wesley 22
Thirlwall's History of Greece 22
Thomas's Historical Notes 27
Townsend's State Trials 22
Turner's Anglo-Saxons 23
" Middle Ages 23
" Sacred History of the World 23
Uwins's Memoirs and Letters 23
Vehse's Austrian Court 23
Wade's England's Greatness 24
Young's Christ of History 24
+Geography and Atlases.+
Brewer's Historical Atlas 6
Butler's Geography and Atlases 7
Cabinet Gazetteer 7
Johnston's General Gazetteer 13
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 16
Maunder's Treasury of Geography 16
Murray's Encyclopædia of Geography 17
Sharp's British Gazetteer 21
+Juvenile Books.+
Amy Herbert 20
Cleve Hall 20
Earl's Daughter (The) 20
Experience of Life 20
Gertrude 20
Howitt's Boy's Country Book 12
" (Mary) Children's Year 12
Ivors 20
Katharine Ashton 20
Laneton Parsonage 20
Margaret Percival 20
Pycroft's Collegian's Guide 19
+Medicine, Surgery, &c.+
Brodie's Psychological Inquiries 7
Bull's Hints to Mothers 6
" Management of Children 6
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine 8
Cust's Invalid's Own Book 9
Holland's Mental Physiology 11
" Medical Notes and Reflections 11
How to Nurse Sick Children 12
Kesteven's Domestic Medicine 13
Pereira's Materia Medica 18
Reece's Medical Guide 19
Richardson's Cold-water Cure 19
Spencer's Principles of Psychology 21
West on Diseases of Infancy 24
+Miscellaneous Literature.+
Bacon's (Lord) Works 5
Defence of _Eclipse of Faith_ 9
Eclipse of Faith 9
Greathed's Letters from Delhi 10
Greyson's Select Correspondence 10
Gurney's Evening Recreations 10
Hassall's Adulterations Detected, &c. 11
Haydn's Book of Dignities 11
Holland's Mental Physiology 11
Hooker's Kew Guides 11
Howitt's Rural Life of England 12
" Visits to Remarkable Places 12
Jameson's Commonplace-Book 13
Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions 13
Last of the Old Squires 18
Letters of a Betrothed 13
Macaulay's Critical and Hist. Essays 14
" Speeches 14
Mackintosh's Miscellaneous Works 15
Martineau's Miscellanies 15
Pycroft's English Reading 19
Raikes on the Indian Revolt 19
Rees's Siege of Lucknow 19
Rich's Companion to Latin Dictionary 19
Riddle's Latin Dictionaries 19
Rowton's Debater 20
Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreck 20
Sir Roger De Coverley 21
Smith's (Rev. Sydney) Works 21
Southey's Doctor, &c. 21
Spencer's Essays 21
Stephen's Essays 22
Stow's Training System 22
Thomson's Laws of Thought 22
Tighe and Davis's Windsor 22
Townsend's State Trials 22
Yonge's English-Greek Lexicon 24
" Latin Gradus 24
Zumpt's Latin Grammar 24
+Natural History in general.+
Catlow's Popular Conchology 8
Ephemera's Book of the Salmon 9
Garratt's Marvels of Instinct 10
Gosse's Natural History of Jamaica 10
Kirby and Spence's Entomology 13
Lee's Elements of Natural History 13
Maunder's Natural History 16
Quatrefages' Rambles of a Naturalist 19
Turton's Shells of the British Islands 23
Van der Hoeven's Handbook of Zoology 23
Waterton's Essays on Natural History 24
Youatt's The Dog 24
" The Horse 24
+One-Volume Encyclopædias and Dictionaries.+
Blaine's Rural Sports 6
Brande's Science, Literature, and Art 6
Copland's Dictionary of Medicine 8
Cresy's Civil Engineering 8
Gwilt's Architecture 10
Johnston's Geographical Dictionary 13
Loudon's Agriculture 14
" Rural Architecture 14
" Gardening 14
" Plants 14
" Trees and Shrubs 14
M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary 15
" Dictionary of Commerce 15
Murray's Encyclopædia of Geography 17
Sharp's British Gazetteer 21
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c. 23
Webster's Domestic Economy 24
+Religious and Moral Works.+
Amy Herbert 20
Bloomfield's Greek Testament 6
Calvert's Wife's Manual 8
Cleve Hall 20
Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul 8
Cotton's Instructions in Christianity 8
Dale's Domestic Liturgy 9
Defence of _Eclipse of Faith_ 9
Earl's Daughter (The) 20
Eclipse of Faith 9
Englishman's Greek Concordance 9
" Heb. & Chald. Concord. 9
Experience (The) of Life 20
Gertrude 20
Harrison's Light of the Forge 10
Horne's Introduction to Scriptures 11
" Abridgment of ditto 11
Huc's Christianity in China 12
Humphrey's _Parables_ Illuminated 12
Ivors, by the Author of _Amy Herbert_ 20
Jameson's Saints and Martyrs 12
" Monastic Legends 13
" Legends of the Madonna 13
" on Female Employment 13
Jeremy Taylor's Works 13
Katharine Ashton 21
Konig's Pictorial Life of Luther 10
Laneton Parsonage 20
Letters to my Unknown Friends 13
" on Happiness 13
Lyra Germanica 7
Maguire's Rome 15
Margaret Percival 20
Martineau's Christian Life 15
" Hymns 15
" Studies of Christianity 15
Merivale's Christian Records 16
Milner's Church of Christ 26
Moore on the Use of the Body 26
" " Soul and Body 26
" 's Man and his Motives 26
Morning Clouds 17
Neale's Closing Scene 18
Pattison's Earth and Word 18
Powell's Christianity without Judaism 19
Readings for Lent 20
" Confirmation 20
Riddle's Household Prayers 19
Robinson's Lexicon to the Greek Testament 20
Saints our Example 20
Sermon in the Mount 20
Sinclair's Journey of Life 21
Smith's (Sydney) Moral Philosophy 21
" (G.V.) Assyrian Prophecies 21
" (G.) Wesleyan Methodism 21
" (J.) Shipwreck of St. Paul 21
Southey's Life of Wesley 21
Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography 22
Taylor's Loyola 22
" Wesley 22
Theologia Germanica 7
Thumb Bible (The) 22
Turner's Sacred History 23
Young's Christ of History 24
" Mystery 24
+Poetry and the Drama.+
Aikin's (Dr.) British Poets 5
Arnold's Merope 5
" Poems 5
Baillie's (Joanna) Poetical Works 5
Calvert's Wife's Manual 8
Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated 10
Horace, edited by Yonge 24
L. E. L.'s Poetical Works 13
Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis 14
Lyra Germanica 7
Macaulay's Laws of Ancient Rome 14
MacDonald's Within and Without 15
" Poems 14
Montgomery's Poetical Works 26
Moore's Poetical Works 26
" Selections (illustrated) 26
" Lalla Rookh 17
" Irish Melodies 17
" National Melodies 17
" Sacred Songs (with Music) 17
" Songs and Ballads 16
Reade's Poetical Works 19
Shakspeare, by Bowdler 20
Southey's Poetical Works 21
Thomson's Seasons, illustrated 22
+Political Economy & Statistics.+
Macleod's Political Economy 15
M'Culloch's Geog. Statist. &c. Dict. 15
" Dictionary of Commerce 15
Willich's Popular Tables 21
+The Sciences in general and Mathematics.+
Arago's Meteorological Essays 5
" Popular Astronomy 5
Bourne on the Screw Propeller 6
" 's Catechism of Steam-Engine 6
Boyd's Naval Cadet's Manual 6
Brande's Dictionary of Science, &c. 6
" Lectures on Organic Chemistry 6
Cresy's Civil Engineering 8
Delabeche's Geology of Cornwall, &c. 9
De la Rive's Electricity 9
Grove's Correlation of Physical Forces 10
Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy 11
Holland's Mental Physiology 11
Humboldt's Aspects of Nature 12
" Cosmos 12
Hunt on Light 12
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia 13
Marcet's (Mrs.) Conversations 15
Morell's Elements of Psychology 17
Moseley's Engineering and Architecture 17
Ogilvie's Master-Builder's Plan 18
Owen's Lectures on Comp. Anatomy 18
Pereira on Polarised Light 18
Peschel's Elements of Physics 18
Phillips Fossils of Cornwall 18
" Mineralogy 18
" Guide to Geology 18
Portlock's Geology of Londonderry 18
Powell's Unity of Worlds 19
" Christianity without Judaism 19
Smee's Electro-Metallurgy 21
Steam-Engine (The) 6
+Rural Sports.+
Baker's Rifle and Hound in Ceylon 5
Blaine's Dictionary of Sports 6
Cecil's Stable Practice 8
" Stud Farm 8
Davy's Fishing Excursions, 2 Series 9
Ephemera on Angling 9
" Book of the Salmon 9
Hawker's Young Sportsman 11
The Hunting-Field 10
Idle's Hints on Shooting 12
Pocket and the Stud 10
Practical Horsemanship 10
Pycroft's Cricket-Field 9
Rarey's Horse-Taming 19
Richardson's Horsemanship 19
Ronalds's Fly-Fisher's Entomology 20
Stable Talk and Table Talk 10
Stonehenge on the Dog 22
" " Greyhound 22
Thacker's Courser's Guide 22
The Stud, for Practical Purposes 10
+Veterinary Medicine, &c.+
Cecil's Stable Practice 8
" Stud Farm 8
Hunting-Field (The) 10
Miles's Horse-Shoeing 26
" on the Horse's Foot 26
Pocket and the Stud 10
Practical Horsemanship 10
Rarey's Horse-Taming 19
Richardson's Horsemanship 19
Stable Talk and Table Talk 10
Stonehenge on the Dog 22
Stud (The) 10
Youatt's The Dog 24
" The Horse 24
+Voyages and Travels.+
Baker's Wanderings in Ceylon 5
Barth's African Travels 5
Burton's East Africa 7
" Medina and Mecca 7
Davies's Visit to Algiers 9
Domenech's Texas and Mexico 9
Forester's Sardinia and Corsica 10
Hinchliff's Travels in the Alps 11
Howitt's Art-Student in Munich 12
" (W.) Victoria 12
Huc's Chinese Empire 12
Hudson and Kennedy's Mont Blanc 12
Humboldt's Aspects of Nature 12
Hutchinson's Western Africa 12
M'Clure's North-West Passage 18
Mac Dougall's Voyage of the Resolute 15
Osborn's Quedah 18
Scherzer's Central America 20
Seaward's Narrative 20
Snow's Tierra del Fuego 21
Von Tempsky's Mexico and Guatemala 23
Wanderings in the Land of Ham 24
Weld's Vacations in Ireland 24
" United States and Canada 24
+Works of Fiction.+
Cruikshank's Falstaff 9
Heirs of Cheveleigh 11
Howitt's Tallangetta 12
Moore's Epicurean 17
Sir Roger De Coverley 21
Sketches (The), Three Tales 21
Southey's Doctor, &c. 21
Trollope's Barchester Towers 22
" Warden 22
Ursula 20
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* * * * *
DOMENECH'S MISSIONARY TRAVELS IN CENTRAL AMERICA.
Just published, in One Volume, 8vo. with Map, price 10s. 6d. cloth,
MISSIONARY ADVENTURES
IN
TEXAS AND MEXICO:
A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF SIX YEARS' SOJOURN IN THOSE REGIONS.
By the Abbé DOMENECH.
Translated from the French under the author's superintendence.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
"The chequered and perilous existence of a Catholic missionary
consecrating himself to the cure of souls in the wilds of Texas and
Western America, his physical and moral struggles, are here portrayed
with a vivid truthfulness well calculated to arrest the sympathy of our
readers.... This book requires no further recommendation from as than
the analysis here given. Since the perusal of Livingstone's Africa, we
have read no traveller's journal with more instruction and pleasure. It
is eminently suggestive, too."
LEADER.
"Domenech's tone throughout is one of profound conviction; and the
hardships which he encountered, and which he relates with so much
simplicity and modesty as to enforce belief, are proof that he took his
mission to heart. In the two journeys he performed to America--journeys
that would have supplied a diffuse book-maker with matter for many
volumes, the Abbé was almost every day exposed to dangers of his
life--sometimes from the climate, sometimes from the privations to which
he was subjected, now from the rough character of the country he
constantly compelled to traverse in his spiritual journeys, anon from
the violence of colonists or Indians.... It will be seen that readers
who expect an infinity of enjoyment from these missionary adventures
will not be disappointed."
DAILY TELEGRAPH.
"The good and brave young Abbé Domenech, whose personal narrative we may
at once say we have found more readable and more informing than a dozen
volumes of ordinary adventure, is not unworthy to be named with Huc in
the annals of missionary enterprise; and we know not how to give him
higher praise. We speak of personal characteristics, and in these--in
the qualifications for a life of self-denying severity, not exercised
under the protecting shadow of a cloister, but in hourly conflict with
danger and necessity--the one looks to us like a younger brother in
likeness to the other. His account of Texas, its physical geography, its
earlier and later history, its populations, settled and nomad, and of
the history and customs of the Indian tribes and their forms of
religious worship, is concisely full and clear; and now that the new
destiny of these regions is beginning to unfold itself, we recommend to
particular attention the few pages in which all that is worth knowing
about their past and present condition is summed up.... To us, the pages
in which the Abbé Domenech confesses the trials and sorrows of his own
heart are the most interesting of his book. They bear the stamp of a
perfect and most touching sincerity; and, as we read them, we are more
and more impressed with the truth which they convey to all churches and
all sects. It has been well said, that Heaven is a character before it
is a place. The lesson which this personal narrative of a poor
missionary teaches, stems to us to be that religion is a life before it
is a dogma."
SATURDAY REVIEW.
* * * * *
London: LONGMAN, BROWN, and CO., Paternoster Row.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "First Impressions of the New World - On Two Travellers from the Old in the Autumn of 1858" ***
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