ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY OF 1LUNOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPA1GN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign library Brittle Books Project, 2014.COPYRIGHT NOTIFICATION In Public Domain. Published prior to 1923. This digital copy was made from the printed version held by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was made in compliance with copyright law. Prepared for the Brittle Books Project, Main Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Northern Micrographics Brookhaven Bindery La Crosse, Wisconsin 2014THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY \RECOLLECTIONS * OP A VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE fliARS 1847* 1848,-in® 1849. BY ROBERT PLAYFAIR, ESQ. EDINBURGH: THOMAS CONSTABLE AND CO. HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO., LONDON. MDCCCLVI.BDIKBCBGH ; V. G0N8TABIB, PBIHTBB TO HEB IfAJBSTY PREFACE. -w I scarcely recollect how early in life my desire to visit our North American colonies originated; their separation from the mother country was then a com- paratively recent event; the war which led to it had been as popular in Great Britain as its results were held at the time to be disastrous to the empire at large; many families who had emigrated from {Scotland poor, either dissatisfied with the new state of things in the colonies, or from their invincible love of home, were returning from time to time, to close the evening of a life of industry and frugality in their native land, with the competence it had procured. These causes combined to keep the colonies and their affairs more or less on the tapis in Scotland; and we were accustomed to hear the merits of Washington, Franklin, and other American statesmen of that day, ... discussed by parties who had known them personally. A long interval has elapsed since the time to which I allude; the colonies in question have advanced from comparative youth to a vigorous manhood. In the meantime, finding myself in possession of that leisure which was denied me at an earlier season, andiv PREFACE. having a sister residing in Nova Scotia, I resolved to take the opportunity to visit her, and these colonies generally. In so hackneyed a subject it is perhaps not possible to say much that is new. I set out, however, with the intention of judging unprejudicedly for myself: to this I have endeavoured to adhere. Considering also that the magnificent steam communication across the Atlantic has made what was formerly a serious undertaking now an easy affair—very much a summer pleasure ex- cursion,—it is impossible not to foresee, when we con- sider the beauty, the extent, and the variety of the countries in question, that they must eventually become the resort of our numerous tourists who have already inundated and partly exhausted Europe. With this view I have given some account of the prices of the hotels, railroads, &c.—information generally useful, but very much overlooked by our modern travellers. I have also endeavoured to view these colonies, par- ticularly the British provinces, in reference to the advan- tages they offer to the better classes of emigrants. With these few remarks, I dismiss the following pages. Edinburgh, March 1856.CONTENTS. *> CHAPTER I. PA OB Cherbourg—Havre, . . . . . .1 CHAPTER II. Voyage Out—Steerage Passengers—Passengers—Conversations— Mortality amongst the Children—Crew, .. . . 5 CHAPTER III. New York—Hotels—Public Buildings—Promenades, . 18 CHAPTER IV. American Steam-boats—Hudson River, . .29 CHAPTER V. Albany—Public Buildings—New Cemetery—Cahoes Falls—Arsenal —Presbyterian Church—American Railways, . . 35 CHAPTER VI. Saratoga Springs—Hotels—Amusements—Society—Conversation, 44 CHAPTER VII. Utica—Trenton Falls—Market Prices—Auburn—Model Prison— Geneva—Boat Race—Old Lady—Rochester—Genesee Falls— Elephant—Lewiston, ...... 49vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER VHI. PA OB Falls of Niagara—Canadian Side—Indians—Buffalo, . 56 CHAPTER IX. Lake Ontario—Toronto—Scotch Farmer—Emigrants—Canada— Gentlemen Choppers—Kingston—River St. Lawrence—Gallop Rapids, ........ 61 CHAPTER X. * Montreal—Habitans—Sir F. B. Head's book, "The Emigrant" —La Prairie—St John's, . . . . .71 CHAPTER XI. Lake Champlain—Whitehall—Troy—Springfield—Boston—Early- Settlers—Their Feud with the Quakers, . . .75 CHAPTER XII. Nova Scotia—Halifax—Harbour—Political dissensions—Irish Ro- man Catholics, . . ■ . . . .84 CHAPTER XIII. Bedford Basin—Windsor—River Avon—Wolfville—Basin of Mines —Dyke Land—Baptists—College—Farmers—Trees—Money— Temperance Movement—Climate—Farmers' Library—Sir Archi- bald Alison's " History of Europe"—Remarks, . . 90 CHAPTER XIV. Church of England—Baptists—Roman Catholics—Governor, . 104 CHAPTER XV. Basin of Mines—Parsborough—Amherst—Sackville—Bay of Fundy—Agricultural meeting—St. John, New Brunswick— River St. John—Frederickton, ..... 107 CHAPTER XVI. Portland—Boston—Education—Harvard University—Female Aris- tocracy—Plymouth—Puritan Pilgrims—Shipping—Law courts —Lowell factories—Newhaven—Long Island Sound, . .161CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER XVII. PAGK New York—Courts of Law—Croton Bridge—Aqueduct—" Dom- bey and Soil"—Black Population—Conversation—Finance— Philadelphia—Athenaeum—Fairmont Waterworks—Laurel Hill Cemetery—Theatre-—Penn's Hospital—Girard College—Eas- tern Penitentiary—Mint—Voluntary System—Delaware River —Schuylkill River—Lower Orders—Repudiation, . . 131 CHAPTER XVIII. Baltimore—Washington—Capitol—Chambers of Congress—Presi- dent's House—President's Reception—Outline of the History of the United States—Remarks, . . . .149 CHAPTER XIX. Museum—Episcopal Church—Disastrous news from France—Re- markable Conversation of Buonaparte—Richmond—Slavery— ' State House—Episcopal Church—Tobacco Stores—Route to the Virginia Springs—Warm Springs—Untoward Event—Hot Springs—White Sulphur Springs—Black Man—Departure Westward—General Remarks, . . . . .166 CHAPTER XX. Charleston—Kanawha River—Steamer'—Leaden Plate—Ohio River—Cincinnati—Louisville—Mammoth Cave, . . 186 CHAPTER XXI. Kentucky—Western River Steamers—'Electric Telegraph— Steamer to St Lewis—River Mississippi—Steamer to Chicago —Illinois River—Canal, . . . . .195 CHAPTER XXII. Chicago—Illinois—Michigan—Detroit—Canadian Side—Lake St. Clair—River Thames—Chatham—London —Books—Hamilton —Lectures—Lake Ontario—Prescott—Conversation—Montreal —Legislature—Quebec, . . . . .208 CHAPTER XXIII. Route to Boston—Mr. Wilson's Songs—Supper Party—British Steamer to Halifax—Return to Wolfville—General Remarks— Expenses, . . . . . . <228viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. PAGJB Book Club—Mr. Macaulay's History of England—Voltaire—Re- marks, ........ 240 CHAPTER XXV. Tour to Pictou—Coal Mines—New Glasgow—Tour to Prince Ed- ward's Island—Charlotte Town—Visit to the Interior—Return to Nova Scotia, ....... 243 CHAPTER XXVI. Visit to Nictau and its Neighbourhood—Digby—Temperance Meeting—General Remarks, . . . . .258 CHAPTER XXVII. Voyage Pome—Steamer—Passengers—Arrival at Liverpool— Exeter, ........ 264VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTEE I. CHERBOURG—HAVRE. Haying finally arranged matters for my long pro- posed visit to America, I embarked, on the 19th June 1847, in a steamer from Jersey, on a pleasure-trip to Cherbourg, which took Guernsey on its way, accompanied by my two daughters, the elder thirteen, the younger nine years of age. Cherbourg, as no doubt well known, is an important naval station and depot, probably the most important belonging to France in the Channel. On both sides of the Channel a want of good harbours for naval warfare is felt, but more particularly on the French side ; to remedy which in some measure, vast works have been constructed at this port, particularly an immense breakwater of great length and solidity, run- ning apparently parallel to the shore with an elliptic curve outwards ; at a due distance from the harbour, leaving a spacious and apparently safe roadstead. These works were commenced as far back as the reign of the arecollections of a visit unfortunate Louis xvl, who is said to have taken a great interest in them ; they are now in course of com- pletion, and seem to answer the purpose for which they were intended. By written permission of the authorities, we were, with others of our fellow-passengers, permitted to visit the dockyard, arsenal, &c. We saw some fine ships on the stocks, of 100 guns and upwards; these were not however progressing rapidly. On the whole, there seemed to be much going on, numerous workmen employed in constructing inner basins, dry docks, &c., with a great expenditure on the part of the Government. What struck me in the midst of this, was the contrast that prevailed in the silence of the town itself, nothing doing of a mercantile nature, few ships in the harbour or road- stead, no banker; on my expressing my surprise at which, to a merchant who accommodated me with change for an English note, he replied that the Govern- ment paid in cash, and that the trade of the town did not call for a banker. From Cherbourg we went by Diligence as far as Caen, and from thence to Havre by steamer, on board of which we met with some agreeable people; in particular, an old naval officer who had served under Napoleon, but who, while a prisoner in England on parole, had married and settled there. In the course of this little journey, I was much struck with the comfortable condition of the peasantry—they appeared to be well fed, well clad, their carts and im- plements of husbandry in good condition; and in con- tradistinction to this, with the deserted appearance and want of commercial activity in the small sea-port towns ; a few vessels might be seen in an outer harbour, in an inner, a solitary Norwegian perhaps, unloading his cargotfo THE UNITED STATES. 3 of deals. I except of course Havre, where we arrived in due time, and which is well known to be a large and flourishing commercial town, the harbour of Paris, in fact, with splendid docks, and every symptom of acti- vity, industry, and wealth. We took up our abode in the Hotel de Prance, one of the largest and best in the town, where we found our- selves very well accommodated ; our custom was to dine at the Table d'Hote, to breakfast and take tea in one of the numerous cafes, generally in the centre of the town, in the neighbourhood of the theatre. This wras to us a sort of moving panorama or tableau vivant, in which the inhabitants were passed in review before us, while, at the same time, it afforded us a very good lesson in the language, which my daughters already began to profit by. I had visited Havre on more than one occasion before, consequently I found nothing new to me in it now, save that smoking tobacco had become a general custom, prevalent in every cafe, which was certainly not the case in former times, proving, as Sir Walter Scott somewhere observes, " bad habits to be easily acquired, while good habits require a mentor/' The French, much to their credit, love and patronize the drama; every provincial town of moderate size sup- ports a theatre, which is generally built in good taste, being at once an ornament to the town as well as a source of rational amusement to its inhabitants ; this we found, as was to be expected, par excellence, the case at Havre, where its theatre ornaments the grand square or place, having arcades on each side, in front of handsome shops, cafes, &c. To the theatre of course we went, to see a Monsieur Bevel, a star from Paris; but I found I had ill chosen4 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT my night. The first piece was an opera in four acts, after doing penance through the whole of which, the heat in- sufferable, I suggested going home: my girls however put in their veto. At last the star appeared in a piece intended to shew him off, not however much to my mind; a third followed, after which I found myself free to retire at a late hour, half dead with fatigue and headache. The only other recollection I have of Havre is, that being one day present at a Table d'Hote where the Duke of Wellington was incidentally mentioned, a party took the opportunity to speak very disrespectfully of his Grace, asserting that the Prussians gained the battle of Waterloo. Recollecting the philosophical observation of Tacitus, that when a general is successful his whole army claim a share of the praise; but when the reverse, he alone is held responsible,—I ventured to ask who would have been blamed had the battle of Waterloo been lost: to which, as may be supposed, I got no satis- factory reply.to the united states. 5 CHAPTER II. VOYAGE OUT-STEERAGE PASSENGERS-PASSENGERS—CONVER- SATIONS—MORTALITY AMONGST THE CHILDREN—CREW. Ever since the assistance rendered them in their war of independence, a friendly feeling has existed between the United States and France ; and a considerable com- merce is carried on between them, mostly to the port of Havre ; the one supplying the other with cotton for the manufactories of Eouen and elsewhere, tobacco, and other commodities; receiving in exchange, wines, broad cloths, earthenware, dried fruits, &c. A line of splendid packets plies regularly between Havre and New York, generally show-ships elegantly fitted up. In one of the handsomest of these—the New York, Captain Lines, a truly elegant new vessel, of four- teen hundred tons, advertised to sail on the 2d July—we took our passage, the fare for each grown cabin pas- senger being 650 francs (£26): my daughters being under age, one other such fare sufficed for both, making in all £52, exclusive of the usual fees to the steward and stewardess—a very respectable female being on board in the latter capacity. We were summoned on board on the 2d July, merely to be dismissed again, the captain finding he could not clear the docks on that day, or from some other cause. We were all assembled, however, on board next day,6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT the 3d, when, after a troublesome and slow operation in clearing the wet dock, crowded as it was with shipping, we ran out, and anchored within a mile of the harbour. The French of the present day, at any rate, do not emigrate in numbers, although they are said to be hard pressed by population and high prices at home ; but, as Havre is the general shipping port for the emigrants from the south and centre of Germany, there is never any Lick of steerage passengers. This class of emigrants is said to be deservedly popu- lar in the United States; they are generally well-con- dueted persons of some substance. The passage-money per head is very moderate, varying from one hundred francs (£4) downwards, according to the season of the year. They provide their own provisions, being supplied with an allowance of water from the ship, and they may purchase from the steward any small matters. On the present occasion, we had. about two hundred and fifty of these steerage passengers on board, and the object of our now anchoring—which I wondered at, the wind being fair and blowing fresh—I learnt, on inquiry, to be to perform a very usual and important duty, i. e. to muster these, to see that none were allowed to remain on board who had not been registered on shore as having paid their fare ; it appearing to be a common practice for parties to hide themselves until the ship has been a few days at sea, and so get their passage free ; all that the captain can do in such case being to set them to work. These are called, very appropriately, Stow-aways; and, notwithstanding the strictest search, one or more generally make their appearance in the end. Certain authorities connected with the vessel having come off in a boat of rather large dimensions for theTO THE UNITED STATES. 7 purpose, the muster in question took place—a rather tedious affair; in the course of which we saw, from time to time, about half a dozen in all of these interlopers lowered into the boat, which then left us. This important operation over, we spread our canvas, and ran down channel, with a fair wind, and rather fresh breeze. At first we saw but few vessels ; next day, however, we got within the track of the English commerce, when a very animated scene opened upon us ; the sea was liter- ally covered with ships in every direction, as far as the eye could reach. I beheld this sight with unmingled admiration, the more so, from the contrast it offered to the other side. My fellow-passengers seemed also much interested in the moving panorama before us; while the captain, busy with his glass from side to side, did us the involuntary homage to acknowledge that England must be a great country; he had never seen so many ships in his life at one time before. To-day, after dinner, the captain ordered champagne, reminding us that it was the anniversary of their de- claration of independence (4th July), and that we must drink to the prosperity of the United States, which we responded to willingly. The morning of the third day found us off the Lizard Lights, the wipd still fair; shortly after passing the Scilly Islands, it veered round quite against us, Wowing hard, with very rough weather for about a week, after which it cleared up, when we began, one by one, fo emerge from our cabins, the children, of whom there" were a good many on board, mine among the number, being the first to recover ; we found ourselves in the wide Atlantic, out of sight of land—a solitary vessel here and there in view.3 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT I began now to wish to know something of the little society in which our lot was cast for the time being. The cabin was tolerably full of passengers, consisting mostly of respectable American citizens, their wives, and children. Besides these, a German Jew returning to his family and bookselling business at Philadelphia ; a Jew from Paris, with his family, consisting of his wife, three children, and servant; a French lady said to be going to join her husband at New Orleans; two French middle-aged gentlemen, brothers ; myself and daughters being the only English of the party. The children were the first to become acquainted with each other. One gentleman, in years, long settled in America, but originally French (forming one of a party, consisting of his wife, sons, and connexions), I found to be intelli- gent ; he was reading the history of the English con- quest, as recently written by a French author, and showed me an engraving of the celebrated Bayeux tapestry, illustrative of that event. He wished to know our opinion, in England, of the murder of Becket— whether, in the disputes that led to it, the king or the archbishop was in fault. I told him the event was too distant to be a matter of controversy at the present day; but that as Henry n. was a great, wise, and humane prince—that as he had been the patron and benefactor of Becket, raising him from obscurity to the highest civil offices of the State, and subsequently to the metropolitan see of Canterbury, with the avowed object of curbing the undue pretensions of the Bomish hierarchy of that day, there was reason to fear he had gone so far in his factious opposition to the king in his new office, as to have in some measure provoked his fate ; which was probably determined upon before theTO THE UNITED STATES. 9 apparent reconciliation which brought the archbishop into the king's power. Becket returned to England boasting that he had got everything his own way ; when he was ordered with firmness by the delegated Government (in the king's absence), to retire within his diocese of Canterbury, where the catastrophe in question soon followed. He next spoke of the French Revolution, as com- pared with our great civil war, observing that if Louis xvi. had been as active, and had made as stout a resist- ance as Charles i., he might have bken successful; to which I replied, that as far as I could judge from his- tory, the Parliaments of the first years of his reign were, harsh to Charles, refusing him a revenue ; that the tide ran strongly in favour of a republic ; and that the best excuse for the king is that when the Parliament, and afterwards Cromwell, got the upper hand, they were each in turn as arbitrary. Early in the civil war, we find the Earl of Man- chester, then in command of the army of the Parlia- ment, accusing his Lieutenant-General, Cromwell, of having said to him, that if he would listen to honest men, he would find himself at the head of an army that could give law both to king and Parliament, and that it would never be well in England until he (the Earl) was plain Mr. Montague. That this, in my mind, was a key to all that subse- quently took place. We breakfasted at eight; lunched at twelve ; dined at four; and took tea at eight. To our dinner we were allowed ordinary French wine, with a dessert of some kind or other. Our steward was a man of colour; he was also our cook, and had two coloured assistants.10 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Our cabins were commodious little apartment!, enter- ing from the eating saloon, each containing a sofa and two beds, one above the other, with a bull's-eye window towards the sea, yhich could be opened and shut at pleasure. It was so arranged that my youngest daughter slept over me, whilst my eldest shared her cabin with the French lady. My custom was to open my bull's-eye when the wea- ther permitted, which was almost every night, to enjoy, during this warm season, the refreshing breezes of the Atlantic. The German Jew, who had become my friend of the party, gave me some history of our fellow-passengers. My learned friend, whom I had set down for a judge at least, he told me was a Frenchman, long settled in New York, who had made a fortune by selling French black broad-cloths on commission, to which the Ameri- cans are said to be very partial. Having married an American lady, he had taken her and his children to Europe, partly to revisit his native country, and partly to see England. His friend, a gentleman of property, not long married, had accompanied him with his wife. £)f this gentleman, I only recollect that he asked me a great many personal questions, after the manner of his country, which I very much disliked ; in return, he told me I was in the right to embark from Havre, and not from Liverpool, by which means I avoided the runners. On asking whom he meant by runners, " Persons travelling on affairs of trade." I replied, that provided a man had proper manners, and that I could get information from him, it was a matter of indiffer- ence to me whether he travelled on business or pleasure. The next person brought on the tapis by my newTO THE UNITED STATES. 31 friend, was his brother Jew, who it seems was an artifi- cial flower-maker, wealthy, having two establishments, one in Paris, the other in New York. I had occasion to be pleased with this man, whom I found to be clever, social, liberal, yet unassuming. There was also a Quaker on board, an American gentleman, with a very pretty wife, four fine children, and one French bonne, who had been in their service many years—their only domestic, did all the wrork, and took care of all the children. I found them very amiable, a pattern of conjugal affection, and conse- quently very happy, as they deserved to be. He had a warehouse, he told me, in New York, for French earthen ware—one brother residing in France to buy, the other in New York to sell; he had been residing in France for some years, and was now about to change with his brother; their business, he said, was profitable, and so sure, that they could reckon their income from year to year, to a few dollars ; our ship being partly freighted with his ware. I had opportunity enough afterwards of observing this ware to be in general use throughout the United States. There was also a young American gentleman, who was thought to flirt too much with the French lady. Another young American, who, as he said, had been travelling in China for his health, observed that, if England made war again on the Chinese, she must pay her own expenses. On my asking why, he said, there was no more money in China. He also said that during the war, and the troubles that led to it, the English had purchased their teas through American houses, who had realized large fortunes in consequence. Besides the above-mentioned passengers, there was one young man, perfectly black ; in appearance and12 EECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT manners he was educated ; he belonged to the party of the cloth merchant, and had; as I understood, an invest- ment of jewellery. On one occasion, the weather being rough, we saw what appeared to be a ship in distress; on the captain steering for it, it proved to be a small vessel deserted by its crew, and water-logged, probably laden with lumber (i.e., timber), which accounted for its not having gone down. It appeared in miserable condition, knocking about at the mercy of the winds and waves. This we soon left behind; the English steamer from Boston in view, making its way to Liverpool: a sailing vessel running before the wind, with its hatches down, one solitary sail set, the sea flooding over her fore and aft. In due time we crossed the banks of Newfoundland, the weather fine, and, an unusual circumstance, free from fog. The captain boarded a fishing smack, which proved to be an x^merican from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and procured for us a supply of fresh fish, which proved very acceptable, as well as two newspapers, rather of an old date, however ; the object of interest being the Mexican war, then in progress. As we got into warmer latitudes, towards the close of our voyage, our ship was followed by flocks of the stormy petrel, better known as Mother Carey's chickens, a bird of the duck species, about the size of a thrush, of a yellowish white and brown colour. The elder of the French brothers amused himself in catching them alive in an ingenious way. He took a common cotton thread in two or three plies, lengthening it to reach the water, which he floated with a piece of cork, to which the flock would fly and flutter about, when he would contrive to entangle it in the wings of one ^r. other, and bring it up.TO THE UNITED STATES. 13 The first was dismissed with a ring of paper round its neck, announcing the name of the ship, &c.; others he presented with some gallantry to the ladies of the party, old and young, who, after satisfying their curiosity, dis- missed them again to their native element; some went the round of the admiring steerage passengers. On this gentleman being rallied at table on the narrow views of his countrymen in regard to trade, and their absurd attachment to beet-root sugar, he said it was cheap. I ventured to observe it might be low priced, but it did not follow that it was cheap. He said in reply, that the revolutionary war having excluded them from their colonies, they had been driven to seek this substitute; that having gone out of the right track, it was difficult to regain it without injury to individuals; but that my country, existing by commerce and manu- factures, without such an excuse, had clogged them with protective duties for class interests; that Sir Robert Peel's recent measures to break through these had raised him above all praise, and that his party would lament, when too late, having driven him from office on such grounds. Our German emigrants were remarkably quiet and well conducted; grouped together in little family parties in their national costumes, gave them a picturesque, gipsy-like look. They were not allowed to intrude on the quarter-deck; but some of their best-looking women would line the stairs leading to it, while their children, by sufferance, would occasionally form a group at its extremity; for these my daughters would sometimes save a portion of their dessert. I may here mention that, with all the caret taken to prevent it at the commencement of our voyage, at least one stow-away made his appearance.14 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Hitherto all had gone on well with the steerage pas- sengers ; but, towards the close of the voyage, a mortality broke out among the younger children, and we were summoned every day for a week to witness the funeral of one or other of these little ones. The corpse was decently wrapped up in canvas, with a weight attached, and placed on a bo&rd sloping over the ship's side; we then uncovered, the captain with solemnity reading the burial service, when, the board being more inclined, its burden was allowed to drop into the deep. Eight children in all died, which seemed to distress the captain, who was a man of feeling and humanity; he said he had often lost grown people in succession, but never so many children before. It is no doubt to be lamented that these liners, so well found in other respects, should have had no surgeon allowed thern : nevertheless, this was the case here, as well as with us, until the British Parliament recently passed a very salutary act, compelling such vessels not only to carry a surgeon, but that certain rations of good quality should be provided for weekly distribution to the steerage passengers,—regulations strictly enforced in our ports. In our case the captain had some medicines on board, and, from habit, could in slight cases give some assistance. The Americans build fine ships; they are generally good sea boats, carrying tall masts and much canvas, with the double object of getting soon to a market, and carrying a large cargo. This is, par excellence, the case with the liners, their reputation and success depending on these qualities; the service is consequently a hard one for tlie seamen, the more so as they go to sea but slenderly manned, with sailors unknown to the vessel, or to each other, such as may be picked up at the portTO THE UNITED STATES. 15 where they may happen to be, hired at most for the voyage out and home; on making which contract they are required to sign a paper, agreeing to submit to cer- tain regulations instituted by the American Government in reference to their mercantile marine. By one of these the captain has power to flog to the extent, I think, of twelve lashes, with a regulated instrument; another, I think, is, that spirits are prohibited at the captain's pleasure. The more permanent officers of the ship con- sist of the captain, his mates, the ship's carpenter, cook, and cabin servants. Independent of the officers, our crew appeared to num- ber about thirty seamen ; these consisted, besides na- tive Americans, of Germans, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians ; two were English. Each seaman carried a knife in a sheath, attached to his waist by a belt, being, it seems, considered necessary for the ship's duty, when aloft or otherwise: the danger of it is obvious, in particular, under a lax system of discipline; such, how- ever, was not ours. I have already had occasion to speak favourably of our captain for his good feeling and atten- tion to his passengers ; in nothing did he please me more than the good sense and tact he exhibited in the management of this motley crew. His plan seemed to be to allow no spirits whatever, and to keep them con- stantly at work : this the ship's duty did when the weather was rough ; at other times they were employed in cleaning the decks, the ship's sides, repairing the ropes and sails, and in drawing up the barrels of water for the general use, of which there was necessarily a great consumption. In this duty, they were mostly headed by the carpenter, and they would lighten their labour by a song in chorus, which reverberated pleasantly throughout the ship.16 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Oar voyage was now fast drawing to a close. One fine morning, with a gentle breeze, being still out of sight of land—a pilot, more venturous than his fellows, bore down upon us. After the usual greetings, and some newspapers, I had leisure to examine him ; he was a little, thin young man, with a round face and good manners. In the course of the day other pilots in suc- cession hailed us, but found themselves forestalled. Next morning we found the land in view, gradually nearing Long Island. I gazed long and intently on it, more in reference to its early discoverers than to the modern Eepublic ; it looked fresh and green, rose boldly from the shore, trees predominating,—on an eminence stood a mansion, surrounded by the forest, having here very much the appearance of a gentleman's park in England,—when I was summoned from my reverie to the cabin, to sign, in conjunction with my fellow-pas- sengers, a letter complimenting the captain on his care of us, his fine ship, gentlemanly bearing, and so on. This I did very willingly, with every sense of its being merited. A collection was afterwards made for the steward and stewardess, consisting of a sovereign to each, from the respective heads of families. We were, with other large vessels, steering for New York harbour, when a steamer was seen bearing down on one or other of us—wTe were not long left in doubt as to which—for she was soon alongside ; when two gentle- men came on board, greeting affectionately the cloth- merchant and his family: one of them I observed to be a man of colour; they dined with us. In the mean- time, our captain having entered into an arrangement for the purpose, the steamer being made a fixture to the side of our vessel by means of ropes, we were rapidlyTO THE UNITED STATES. 17 carried up by it to the usual place of anchorage, prior to the visit of the custom-house officers. The gentleman of colour dining with us, as well as the other already on board, his relative probably, ex- cited no surprise in me at the time. I have happily no prejudices on that score; but, on afterwards observing how completely coloured people are excluded from the society of the white population throughout the Union, it appeared to me somewhat strange, and I regretted I had not asked some explanation at the time. After some delay, the custom-house officers came on board, and passed our luggage with little trouble, which was then placed in the steamer, into which we followed, taking leave of our steerage friends, who gave us three cheers. By this time it was growing late. We steamed rapidly for New York, a distance of some miles—its fine basin, and surrounding country, shut out from view, lights glimmering round its shore, but all its beauties to us, for the time, a sealed book. We reached the wharf as late as ten o'clock, and had to take leave of each other in the dark. After more than an hour spent in searching for, and collecting our luggage, I at last succeeded in getting it conveyed to the City Hotel, in the Broadway, as late as twelve o'clock, much exhausted ; here, however, our troubles ceased,—we found ourselves in good quarters. This was the evening of the 3d of August, just one month having elapsed since we embarked at Havre. B18 recollections of a visit CHAPTER III. NEW YORK-HOTELS—PUBLIC BUILDINGS—PROMENADES. Without discussing here the merits of the American custom of living very much at hotels and boarding- houses, it should be borne in mind that it is also the custom, more or less, in all the civilized States of Europe, England excepted, although perhaps not carried quite so far ; be that, however, as it may, the public table and sociable manners it induces, are certainly both agreeable and advantageous to strangers. The best hotels, of which ours was one, are situated in the Broadway, each fresh arrival signs his or her name in a book, kept publicly at the bar for the purpose (the arrivals being published in the daily papers) ; he is then considered a boarder, and charged (in our case) at the rate of two dollars (8s. 4d.) per diem; if you stay a week, two dollars are in some cases dropped. This covers meals, lights, attendance, everything but wines, &c., which are of course extra; this charge is paid whether you dine at home or notr on the principle of provision being made in reference to the number on the list; removing luggage is paid for, and a trifling gratuity may be given to any particular servant who is useful; but such fees to servants, as with us, are totally unknown. My daughters, as children, were, if I re-TO THE UNITED STATES, 19 collect right, charged as one here, and generally throughout. At other meals you are expected to be punctual; but some latitude is allowed for breakfast, when each party, or individual, drops in from time to time. Fatigued as we had been over night, our appearance wras none of the earliest; we found only two people in the breakfast- room, a young newly-married couple from North Caro- lina, as we afterwards learnt; long rows of empty plates, tea-cups, &c,, indicating the numbers that had pre- ceded us. New York, it is well known, is in population, wealth, and commerce, the largest and most flourishing city of the Union ; its fine harbour, central position, and facili- ties for inland communication, no doubt contribute to this ; its population was estimated at this time to be about 500,000, but it is increasing so rapidly, that this can be no criterion of what it may be at the present day. Having soon despatched our meal, we sallied out with great curiosity to take a survey of the town, after getting my letters however at the post office, which, coming by the mail steamer, had preceded us. I was perfectly astonished at the scene of commercial activity that now opened upon me, and the English look of the town; built mostly of brick, it seemed to surpass Liverpool in appearance; in other respects to resemble it a good deal. We walked from our hotel into Broadway, the prin- cipal street, which runs nearly straight through the centre of the city for two miles and a half; it is well built, with many fine dwellings, the best hotels, and the largest retail shops, or stores, as they are called; it is wide, as its name implies, with every convenience for'20 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT foot passengers, which makes it the general promenade. From this, one or two other large streets diverge ; but with these exceptions, the streets are narrow, crooked, and mostly built of red brick. We took the opportunity to see such of the public buildings as happened to be in our vicinity; first, the City Hall, formerly considered to be one of the finest buildings in the United States; it stands in a public space, or park-like enclosure, about the centre of Broad- way, and consists of a main building, with wings orna- mented with columns and pilasters, the front and ends being of white marble; it is surmounted by a cupola, and has an imposing effect. The Governor's room and Council Hall are ornamented with some fine portraits, mostly of bygone American statesmen, and others; also the chair used by General Washington, when President of the first Congress ; it also contains the civil court, and other public offices ; all of which we were shown for a trifling fee to the keeper. We next went to the Custom-house, certainly a splen- did building, said to be modelled after the Parthenon at Athens. It is built entirely of white marble, and fire- proof ; we. were allowed to gratify our curiosity in the interior without a cicerone ; the business hall we found to be an elegant circular room in the centre of the build- ing, supported by sixteen beautiful Corinthian columns, thirty feet in height; the whole seemed to be in good taste ; the only thing to be regretted in so fine a builds ing is, that it should be cooped up where it cannot be seen to advantage. We found the Exchange at no great distance: it had been recently erected on the site of another destroyed by fire; profiting by which disaster, it is constructed fire-proof, and is said to be the largest and most costlyTO T HE UNITED STATES. 21 edifice in the city; it is built of dark-blue granite ; the front entrance is through a portico of eighteen massive and beautifully wrought Ionic columns ; the rotunda of large diameter surmounted by a dome supported by eight Corinthian columns of Italian marble, and resembling, in so far as it is roofed, more the Bourse of Paris, than our open Exchange in London. Sight-seeing is frequently found to be a fatiguing affair, aggravated in our case by the close, oveil-like heat of the town at this season, almost unsupportable after the fresh breezes of the Atlantic ; we were glad to seefc the privacy of our hotel. The respect and attention paid in the United States to the female sex, is generally acknowledged, and de- servedly praised; the arrangement at the hotels is in accordance with it. We found an eating-saloon and drawing-room set apart for the ladies, their relations and friends, the hour of dinner being three o'clock; there being another saloon of larger proportions for travellers and others, en gargon, the dinner hour being half an hour later. To the former of these I was admitted in right of my daughters ; we sat down, on the summons of a large gong, about a hundred, at two long tables, to a dinner of great profusion, well served, without confusion, from the number and proper distribution of the waiters; a dessert followed, the whole taking up some time. Much of this was thrown away upon me, who never dine so well as upon one dish; to-day, in particular, my stomach began to feel the effects of the extreme heat. The article of drink I felt not to be so good as the eating de- partment ; it consisted of large rummers of water placed before each, filled from time to time with ice, a bottle of wine here and there, generally champagne, being the22 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT exception. My stomach rebelling against this water beverage, on consulting the bill of fare I found the wines to be generally dear, champagne, port, &c., two or two and a half dollars; I picked out a wine described as a dinner port at a dollar and & half (6s. 3d.) It was brought me in a tub of ice, and proved to be of good quality. Printed bills of fare were placed within reach of each guest, so that we might select what we pleased, nor did I observe any symptom of the rapid eating some tourists have described. As this dinner is a type of what is generally found throughout the Union at the best hotels, I here insert a Bill of Fare during my stay at the City Hotel, which may not be uninteresting to my English reader : the impression probably will be that these Eepublicans live well:— CITY HOTEL, NEW YORK. TABLE D'HOTE. Sunday, August 8, 1847. First Course. soup. Potage a la Julienne. fish. Boiled Fresh Salmon, Lobster Sauce. Boiled Turkeys, Oyster Sauce. „ Rump Corned Beef and Cabbage. „ Sugar cured Ham. „ Lobster Salad. „ Beef Tongues. ^ Stewed Kidneys, with Wine. Macaroni, with Parmesan Cheese. Sweetbreads, with Sorrel. Broiled Chickens, with Bread. Stewed Ducks, with Oliyes. Stewed Pigeons, with Mushrooms. Fillets of Fresh Pork, with Tamato Sauce.TO THE UNITED STATES. ENTRIES. Poitrine de Mouton, grille, a la sauce tomate. Fricandeau, a la sauce tomate. Canard, braize, aux navets. Tete de Veau, a la sauce tomate. Huitres a la poulette. Cotelettes de Mouton, en papilotte. Pates de Poulet. Poitrine de Veau, aux champignons. Blanquette de Veau, au currie. Salmis deGibier. Bifstek auz huitres. Roast Tame Geese, apple sauce. Young Chickens. Tame Ducks. Sirloin of Beef. Lamb, mint sauce. Veal. Pig, pickle sauce. Squash. Green Corn. Tomatoes. Beans. Second Course. Third Course. GAME. Roast Yellow-leg Snipe, extra fine. | Fourth Course. Pastry. Dessert. Vanilla Ice Cream. j Almonds. Blackberries. Whortleberry Pies. * j Watermelons. Green Apple Pies. I Raisins. Dinner on Sundays, Ladies' Ordinary, at 2 ; Gentlemen's, at 2 J o'clock All Meals or Refreshments sent to rooms will be charged extra. (fitjr Wixnt 3Tbt. Each Waiter is provided with Wine Cards and Pencil. FRENCH WINES. d. c. Table Claret,.........................0 75 St. Julien, ..........................................1 00 Haut Brion, ..........................1 50 Branc Mouton......................................f 50 Leoville, .............................................150 Latour, .....................__________l so c. Chateau Longueville, ............ & 0,0 Do. Lafttte,.................. 2 0& Do. do................... 2 50 Do. Margaux (1834), Barton, Guestier, & Co.,........ 3 0024 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT WHITE WINES. p. c. Chablis, ....................... 1 00 Sauterne, ...................... 1 50 Sauterne, Chateau D'Yquem, 1834, 2 00 Pints, .......................... 0 75 BURGUNDY & COTE D'OR WINES, Volney, ................................................1 50 Pomard, ...................................1 50 Chamberton,........................................2 00 Clos De Yougeot, ................................2 00 Hermitage, Red, ................................2 00 Do. White, .................2 00 CHAMPAGNE. Ruinart,................................................2 00 Napoleon, ................................2 00 Due de Montebello, sweet, ................2 00 Cliquot, ..............................................2 00 Star, ..................................................2 00 Heidsieck..............................................2 00 Pardrix Eye,..........................2 00 Grape, ...........................2 00 RHENISH WINES. Leibfraumilch, ....................................1 50 Sparkling Hock, .....'................2 00 Marcobruner, ....................................2 00 Hockheimer,........................................2 00 Rudesheimer, ....................................2 00 Steinberger, Cabinet 1811,................2 50 Johannisberger, 1811,......................3 00 Do. 1783, ......................3 00 Rudesheimer, 1802, from the Cabinet of the late Maximilien Joseph, King of Bavaria, and sold by the Queen Dowager in 1830,................3 50 Do. 1718, ............................5 00 Castle Johannisberger, 1822,............5 00 PORT WINE. Table Port,...................... 1 50 Regina, as sent to London for the use of the Royal Family,........ 2 00 Victoria, ....................... 2 00 MADEIRA. March & Benson,................ 2 00 Newton, Gordon, & Co.,.......... 2 00 Symington's Extra Old London par- ticular, X. C., ................ 2 00 Payne & Co., very dry and old when imported in 1831,* ............ 2 00 Blackburn & Co., imported in 1835,* 2 50 MADEIRA. I); 6. Newton, Gordon, & Co.'s Occidental, voyage to India and old when im- ported in 1830,* .............. 2 50 Howard, March, & Co's Brig Colum- bia, imported 1830,*........,.... 2 50 Sercial Madeira, old when imported in 1835,*...................... 3 00 Leacock, Harris, & Co., imported in 1824 *....................... 3 00 * These Wines were all imported and bottled by the late Wm. Gaston, of Savannah. March & Benson,................ 3 00 Mary Elizabeth, ................ 3 00 Reserve,........................ 3 00 Black Cork, and East India Red Seal (in high repute, part of our old stock),........................ 3 50 Brahmin, ...................... 3 50 Carvalhal, vintage 1815, confiscated and sold under Don Miguel, in 1828; imp. 1835, and bottled 1838, 3 50 George Richard, 30 years old, from the .^tock of the late Commodore Chauncey, .................... 4 00 Sears's Very Old, imported by Mr. Sears in Boston ; put in Demi- johns in 1823 ; drawn off in other Dejohns in.1835; 30 years old; tock of Commodore Chauncey,.. 5 00 Sercial,—Howard, March, & Co.; im- ported in 1817, and bottled in 1827: stock of a private gentleman, .... 5 00 SHERRY. Pale Old, ....................... 1 50 Brown, ........................ 1 50 Do. very old, .......... 2 00 Gold. Sherry, .................... 2 00 Star, .......................... 2 00 Farrin, ........................ 2 00 Pomard's Competition, .......... 2 00 Amontillado,.................... 2 00 Duff, Gordon, & Co., ..................2 00 Brown Sherry, remarkably fine & old, 3 00 Amontillado,.................... 3 00 Cabinet, Pale, ................. 3 00 Brown Sherry, imported in 1830, the stock of the late Wm. Gaston, .. 3 00 Cabinet Gold, .......... ....... 3 00 Do. Brown, .................. 3 00 Harmony, ...................... 3 00 Pale, imported in 1830:. from the stock of the late Wm. Gaston,---- 3 00 Very Superior Old, vintage 1789, of the stock of the late Commodore Chauncey, .................... 5 0® Do., -remarkably fine, vintage 1786, of the same stock as above,...... 5 00 N.B.—Gentlemen calling for wine, without designating the kind or price, * served with Madeira at 2 dollars per bottle>TO THE UNITED STATES. 25 Before I leave the dinner-table, I may observe that the waiters at the hotels are generally either coloured, people or Irish; in our case they were Irish, whose well- fed and contented condition contrasted agreeably with their destitution at home. On retiring to the drawing-room, my friend of the morning, from North Carolina, with whom I had ex- changed a word or two, invited me to accompany him to the bar, to smoke a cigar—his custom, he said, after dinner. To this I readily assented ; descending with him to a room on the entrance-floor, paved with alter- nate slabs of white and blue marble, in which the bar- keeper and his assistants were serving cigars and brandy and water to numerous applicants, who paid for it on the spot,—a decanter of whatever spirits may be asked for being placed before the applicant, who helps him- self, filling up from a large vessel of water, cooled with ice. Gn going down again after tea to seek out the reading- room, I found it to be one of a suite on the entrance-floor, the numerous papers filed in succession on a wooden ledge extending round it; the papers of the day on a table in the middle, with much company. I sat next a gentleman with whom I entered into conversation. I found him a great enthusiast about his country, or adopted country; for I was doubtful in which to class him. The scene became diversified by two squaws coming in to sell their Indian wares: one was distinctly copper-coloured; the other wore a man's hat after the manner of the Welsh. While I am on the subject of hotels, I may as well mention that they form a little community within them- selves, being provided with hot and cold baths, a barber s shop, &c. Every separate floor, consisting of numerous26 KECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT apartments, is lighted up the whole night, and a watch set in each to guard against fire. They are generally kept by two partners, one of whom superintends the bar. A considerable capital is required, and it is understood to be a gainful business. The bar-keeper of our hotel, for instance—a very remarkable little man of a spare habit, who was said to have the extraordinary faculty of recollecting his cus-^ tomers, and of being able to address them on a future occasion by their names—realized a fortune twice, which having lost by speculations, he was now about to retire with an independence for the third time. There are hotels of an inferior description, at lower rates, and private boarding-houses in abundance, at a charge from one dollar per diem downwards; a traveller may therefore suit himself according to the state of his purse, and be at the same time comfortable; or he may dine at a chop-house, as in London. I happened to take up the Directory next morning. On turning over the leaves, to see whether there might be any one of my name, I found John Playfair, uphol- sterer. I took my girls with me, and drove to his residence. We found him to be a respectable man from the Carse of Gowrie, in the neighbourhood of the town of Perth, in Scotland. lie introduced me to his wife, telling us at the same time that the Yankee girls would not let him alone, until he took one of them in self- defence : she seemed a good-humoured, buxom woman, who did credit to his choice. He had originally come out as a journeyman; he was now in business for him- self : he could make a living, he said, and lay by some- thing at the year's end. I was much pleased with both, and repeated my visit. The next day or two we spent in making ourselvesTO THE UNITED STATES. 27 more acquainted with the town, our evening walk being the battery, a promenade-ground in the form of a semi- circle, planted with trees, and commanding a fine view of the basin and surrounding shores—a favourite resort of the town's-people. Castle Garden, connected with this promenade by a bridge, is in war-time probably a fortification ; at pre- sent it is converted into a summer theatre of great size, for musical pieces and ballets, surrounded by outer gal- leries, on which you can promenade between the acts, enjoying the prospect and sea breeze. To this I took the girls ; the regular theatres probably not being open, or, if so, the heat too great to admit of our going to them with any comfort. On Sunday the 8th August, we went to Trinity Church (the St. Paul's of New York), a fine building, in the Grothic style, with no galleries to disturb the symmetry and fine proportions of the interior: the win- dows are of painted glass of the best description; it is built externally and internally of brown sandstone. The service was» Episcopal, the President of the United States being substituted in the liturgy for our gracious Queen. The prayers were read with propriety, and a good sermon, well delivered, followed. On inspecting the town more closely, I observed many of the better houses of the merchants and others to be of an elegant exterior, and, as well as part of the Broadway, to be built of brown sandstone. The town itself stands partly on the island, or, more properly speaking, peninsula of Manhattan, and partly on Long Island, under the name of Brooklyn, a narrow strait or harbour dividing the two, over which ferries are crossing at all hours of the day, both sides being lined with wharves and shipping, giving the whole a28 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT very maritime look. Omnibuses ply at all hours of the day, the fares being moderate. The heat was now becoming so oppressive that we determined to leave the town for Albany, by the Hudson river, with, however, a favourable impression of it and of its inhabitants. It was difficult to divest ourselves of the notion that we were in an English town, except that its somewhat low and level site, its wharves and ship- ping, with the neat and trim appearance of its yachts and cutters floating on its fine basin, reminded me somewhat of its Dutch origin. An Englishman neither feels himself nor is felt to be a foreigner here. The only other recollection I have of this visit to New York is, that I noticed the beauty and symmetry of the horses, whether in gentlemen s carriages, omnibuses, or for riding; they seemed to be, as with us, a breed from the Arab, straight in the hind legs, mettlesome, and in good condition. I had provided myself with a letter of credit from my London bankers, Messrs. Coutts & Co., addressed to their several correspondents on my line of route, in which, how- ever, on reference to it, I found New York not included. Fearful, however, that I might run out sooner than I expected, I called on one of the principal banking firms, who, on inspecting it, readily gave me the sum I wanted, taking my bill on London at the current rate of ex- change. This plan I would strongly recommend to travellers in general from Europe to the United States; it precludes the necessity of having much money about you at one time, while there will be no difficulty in procuring a supply, on exhibiting it, wherever you may happen to be.TO THE UNITED STATES. 2$ CHAPTER IY. american steam-boats—hudson river. The discovery of the steam-engine, and of its loco- motive power, as applicable to navigation and to rail- roads, is the great new feature of our day; the result, as it is to affect the future state of the world in general, and of our country in particular, is as yet hid in the womb of time. As they have been imparted to us without violence or injustice to any one, let us hope that they can be only productive of unmixed good. In no case are they calculated to be more useful than in developing the vast resources of the United States, from their numerous navigable rivers, fine lakes, and great internal communication ; nor have its inhabitants been slow to avail themselves of their advantages. Any one arriving in America from Europe must be much struck by the great difference in form and con- struction between their steamers and ours. Having long routes on rivers not exposed to high waves, and sheltered, in general, by the banks from heavy gales, the Americans have not found it neces- sary to build their steamers for inland navigation, on a sea-going model. They are generally of large size, wTith the triple object of carrying numerous passengers, a cargo, and the neces- sary fuel; this last article being generally of wood, and30 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT replenished from time to time, at proper depots, as the voyage proceeds. As far as their interior is concerned, they may be said to be floating palaces : their outward appearance is, as is to be expected, heavy and cumber- some. The manner of their construction and fitting up is very much as follows :— A finely-modelled, sharp, and low hull is first con- structed ; and on this a light, two-storied, wooden edi- fice is erected, wider than the hull by some feet on each side, the sides being strengthened by very strong trussed beams the whole length of the boat, and which also serve to support the paddle-boxes. The eating-saloon is in the body of the hull. Immediately above the hull, at the stern, is placed the ladies' saloon,—it is large, ele- gantly furnished, with highly ornamented, glass folding- doors, held sacred from intrusion by strangers. Their sleeping-berths are at the sides, with a verandah be- yond ; then follow the bar, kitchens, store-rooms, &c. The forward part is allotted for steerage or deck pas- sengers ; the intermediate space between the steerage and ladies' saloon is fitted for merchandise and the machinery of the engine. The upper story forms one immense saloon, extending the whole length of the boat, with the exception of two little spaces at the bow and stern, for passengers who like the open air. On each side of this saloon are arranged small cabins, containing two berths; outside these cabins again, are verandah galleries, extending from stern to bow, interrupted only by the paddle-boxes; the sleeping-berths having two doors, one opening into the saloon, the other to the verandah. The main saloon is a magnificent apartment, orna- mented with looking-glasses, painted panels, beautiful couches, tables, arm-chairs, &c., with a handsome vase,TO THE UNITED STATES. 31 containing iced-water for the public convenience. About the middle of this room, the piston-rod and crank-shaft of the engine pass up; they are boxed in with wooden partitions, handsomely painted, and orna- mented with looking-glasses—a free passage of some width being allowed on each side. The machinery consists of one large single-beam engine, on the low-pressure condensing principle, having two boilers, placed, one on each side of the lower deck, in front of the paddle-box ; on the lower deck also the cylinder and main part of the machinery are placed. The piston-rod is of great length, and gives motion to a beam towering above the roof of the upper cabin; the paddle-wheels are very large, and act as fly-wheels to overcome the dead points of the single engine: on the western rivers, however, as will be hereafter mentioned, high-pressure engines of a totally different construction are used. A room is erected on the roof of the upper cabin, at the bow of the vessel, where the steering-wheel is placed and the pilot stationed; communication is held from this room with the engineers below, very cleverly, by means of bells. A number of these splendid steamers ply on the Hudson, between New York, Albany, and the inter- mediate places both night and day, carrying on a great traffic in goods and passengers. Strong competition had brought down the fares for the whole distance, from a reasonable sum to one dollar —a new opposition was announced to start for half a dollar, and to this steamer we were driven at an early hour, in the morning of Tuesday the 10th August. The river Hudson is said to be the lihine of America,32 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT consequently I was prepared to expect much, nor was I disappointed. At the sound of a bell our steamer started from its wharf with the speed of a race-horse. At first I did not see so much to interest me—the basin was wide and the surrounding country low ; but, as we advanced, the river gradually narrowed, the scenery improved, the villages on either side were numerous, the houses being of wood, painted white, standing separately, many of them sur- rounded by verandahs ; the effect was pleasing, and dif- ferent from anything I had been accustomed to. In due time we came to Sing Sing, a town about thirty-three miles from New York; the most prominent object in which is the State Prison, constructed of rough dressed marble, quarried and erected by the pji^aers. It consists of a main building of large dimensions; in front and rear are various workships, the keeper's house, chapel, &c., with a separate building for the female convicts. There are here vast quarries of marble, which are worked by the prisoners (a hint we might take at home), also a silver and copper mine. We were now in what are called the highlands of the Hudson, the views in a high degee varied and pic- turesque. At fifty-two miles from New York, we came to West Point, romantically situated, and well known in England as a post of importance in the revolutionary war, pro- posed to be surrendered into our hands by the American general, Arnold, which led to the apprehension and melancholy fate of Major Andre. - There is now a military school here for the instruc- tion of cadets for the artillery and engineers; these appointments are given by the general Government ofTO THE UNITED STATES. the United States, and the cadets are boarded and edu- cated at its expense. The services of these officers are said to have been found very efficient in the Mexican war; there are also some of these young men educated at this school, who are now practising as distinguished civil engineers. As we passed, we saw these young gentlemen at field- practice, at a mark. There is here a very good hotel for the accommoda- tion of visitors, much resorted to during the summer season, and where it is said to be well worth while to pass a day or two. Continuing our route through a variety of fine scenery, until the day being far advanced, we came opposite the Catskill mountain ; it is about twelve miles distant from a village of the same name, on the bank of the river, and is by far the finest object on the route, in whatever direction it is viewed. Travellers generally land here, and find accommodation at the Mountain House, a spa- cious hotel on the eastern verge of a table rock, within a few feet of a precipice; it is said to be elevated upwards of 2000 feet above the level of the river, which gives to the atmosphere a most delightful coolness. I take blame to myself for not having landed here; as it was, we ran rapidly past, the view of it in every position the winding of the river placed it in, being agreeable and refreshing to the eye. Having been duly summoned at the proper season to our three meals, each charged half a dollar (2s. Id.), at which I observed that no one sat down until the ladies and their friends were seated ; towards evening we reached Albany, having travelled all this distance (145 miles), at no greater expense than if we had re- mained at our hotel in New York, viz. two dollars each. o34 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT The company on board was numerous and well con- ducted, some of them strangers like myself and equally interested in the fine scenery, which if anything could have enhanced, it was the pleasure and comfort with which, we beheld it from the verandah of our fine steamer. It is not easy to do justice in words to the extent and variety of the scenery on this noble river. I had been led to expect much, but it fell far short of the reality. We now disembarked, and having collected our luggage, we proceeded to the Congress Hall, being in- formed that it was the best hotel in the town.to the united states. 35 CHAPTER Y. ALBANY—PUBLIC BUILDINGS—NEW CEMETERY—CAHOES FALLS- ARSENAL—PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH—AMERICAN RAILWAYS. Albany, the capital of the State of New York, is situated on the Hudson, 145 miles north of New York by the river, the population probably about 40,000,— small compared with the great commercial emporium we had left, but nevertheless of importance. Here the legislature assembles, the courts of justice sit; and it is of course the head-quarters for the transaction of all public business connected with the State in its indivi- dual capacity. The city rises somewhat abruptly from the river, to a considerable elevation, the town improving in proportion as it ascends, the public buildings being there; in which neighbourhood we found our hotel very well situated, forming part of a square, enclosing a public promenade; the ladies' drawing-room large in its proportions and well furnished ; our other accommodations to our mind. The Americans rise earlier than we do at home, com- mence business earlier, and are more primitive in the hours of their meals ; this is no doubt in part influenced by their climate,—the mornings being dry and cool, the heat of the day calling for repose. Three o'clock sum- moned us to dinner, where we found a rather large party, some of whom were merchants, and others, from36 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT the south, travelling towards the northern springs; con- versation becoming general at our end of the table: on our neighbours understanding we had so recently arrived from the old country, they were marked in their atten- tion to us. Sitting long at table is not the custom in America, and the ladies and gentlemen rise together. Before we separated, one of the party proposed, as the afternoon was fine, to give the girls and myself a drive to see the environs of the town, and, in particular, the new Cemetery in its neighbourhood, laid out in the manner now so fashionable in Europe (which the Americans have not been slow to imitate). We found the Cemetery in question embosomed in trees, on a rather steep undulating ground, extensive, and laid out with some taste ; the monuments were generally of white marble, and well designed. Being comparatively new, there were as yet but few tenants of this city of the dead. The gentleman to whom we owed this polite attention was a lawyer, practising in the courts of the town ; his family being absent g,t a watering-place, he had found it convenient to give up house-keeping in the meantime. He had visited Europe, resided both in London and in Paris, had met English brother lawyers, one of whom, lately a judge (now deceased), had presented him with a copy of his dramatic works. His residence at Paris had been at Meurice's Hotel, then in the Kue de Kivoli— the summit of its grandeur. He was curious to know how it had become so exclusively the resort of my countrymen, which he understood to be of long standing. I told him that on the close of the war, my countrymen, crowding in numbers to Paris, on their way took up their abode at a hotel in Calais, kept by Mons. Meurice, then probably the best in the town. On this man takingTO THE UNITED STATES. 37 leave of his guests, he would ask whether they patronized any particular hotel in Paris ; he would then give them the card of his cousin, the Meurice of Paris. The Paris Meurice, then residing in no very fashionable part of the town, had the good sense to adapt his hotel to the wants and comforts of his new customers, and so prospered under their patronage, that he found it neces- sary, from time to time, to seek larger accommodation and more fashionable quarters; carrying John Bull, whom he found to be no changeling, with him. In the meantime, fortunes were made, and the owners changed—the prestige of the name being kept up. This gentleman was our cicerone next morning to the public buildings, and such other objects in the town itself as merit the notice of strangers. First, the capitol, occupied by the Legislature and State Courts—a large and fine building fronting our square. Next, the Town- hall—a splendid marble edifice, with a gilded dome ; on ascending the staircase of which, I was agreeably sur- prised by a bust of my countryman, Sir Walter Scott, in a niche or bracket, on the wall. Afterwards we saw the State Hall, also of white marble, containing the public offices. In one or other of these buildings I was shown charters granted to the State by the Protector, Charles n., and James n. The Protector's charter was premised by a bust of Cromwell himself, in profile, not unlike other pictures and engravings I have seen of him in England ; but representing him as younger and more slender, a sharper outline, with the head thrown back, in a rather proud attitude. To me mere sight-seeing is a wearisome affair; but there are the Merchants' Exchange, built of granite, and several other public buildings deserving notice, which I saw either then or at another time. s38 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Next day I ordered a carriage for the Cahoes falls, on the Mohawk River, one of the great lions of the neigh- bourhood ; offering the spare seat to my new friend, but business preventing him accepting it, I offered it to a gentleman from New Orleans, with whom we had been friendly; he accepting. We set off after breakfast— the morning fine, and the road tolerably good ; in one or two places we found a toll upon it (of about quarter of a dollar), a rare circumstance in America. There is an arsenal on this road belonging to the General Government, which we stopped to see ; the serjeant at the gate, I observed, was an Irishman: on signing our names in a book, he very civilly conducted us over it. In an interior building, fire-proof, standing in a green enclosure, we saw a great supply of small arms, neatly arranged in one large room on the first floor ; in another, on the ground floor, were field-pieces and heavy guns—among which, one was pointed out to me as taken with General Burgoyne, on his surrender at Saratoga; it was a fine piece of brass ordnance, with the crown and G. R. On its carriage, the date of its capture, " 7th October 1777." Our Irish serjeant was very civil, and seemed unwilling to accept the trifling gratuity I gave him at parting. In due time we reached the Cahoes Falls ; at this place the Mohawk, partly confined between lofty bar- riers of rock, has a perpendicular fall of forty feet, and, including the descent or rapids above, of seventy feet. At this time the water was low ; it was however an in- teresting scene, reminding me somewhat of the Rhine at Schaffhausen. On our way back, we saw Waterford—a thriving little manufacturing place on the north side of the Mohawk, at its junction with the Hudson.TO THE UNITED STATES. 39 We reached our hotel too late for the general dinner ; being expected, however, one had been prepared ex- pressly for us. Our day had gone off pleasantly. Our New Orleans friend, a young man of gentlemanly exterior, but pale and thin, did his best to show his sense of our civility. He told me, among other things, that his townspeople being the factors for the enormous commerce of the western waters, which finds its outlet through this only channel, the profits of trade were necessarily large ; that it was not uncommon for the heads of the great houses to retire in succession every few years with handsome fortunes, but that matters were in some measure balanced by the expensive mode of living, and the baneful influence of the climate, which compelled all who valued their health, and could afford it, to seek a change at this season. The settlers of French descent were not, he said, generally enterprising, although very good citizens in other respects : that many of them would be found vegetating on almost nothing, as they are known sometimes to do at home, circumscribing their wants to the little modicum they may have to meet them. On Sunday, the 15th August, we attended the morn- ing service of the Presbyterian Church—a large, well- aired, handsomely painted building—in which we found a genteel, well-conducted congregation, with—"tell it not in Gath"—an organ. The service was respectably conducted by a minister of gentlemanly appearance and manners ; a good sermon followed, which seemed to command the attention of his hearers. On the evening of Monday, solicited by my daughters, we went to see the Yiennoise Children, as they were called—a company of German dancers (on a professional40 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT tour through the States) exhibiting at the theatre. They danced prettily in groups ; two songs were sung in the course of the evening—" Columbia, the land of the free !" a clap-trap, failed ; while the humorous per- formance of an Irishman was encored. On our return, I had the curiosity to call for a mint julep at the bar of our hotel; it consisted of a tumbler filled with pounded ice, to which was added a glass of brandy, with a sprig of green mint. I found it delight- fully refreshing. A sherry-cobbler is prepared in the same way, without the sprig of mint, substituting wine for the brandy. We now prepared to resume our travels, and to bid adieu to our kind friends, from whom we parted with regret—feelings that seemed to be reciprocal, for they gave us letters on, and also a memorandum of the places on our route worth notice. Accordingly, on Tuesday the 17th August, we left Albany by the railway, for Saratoga springs. The American railways have been mostly constructed at a much less cost than those in England ; they have frequently but one line of rail, and the rough construc- tion of the road does not admit of such high rates of speed ; the gradients in many cases appear to be steep. In cases where a river runs near a line of railway, the line, for the sake of the level, keeps as nearly on its banks as possible, crossing from bank to bank as occa- sion requires, the viaducts being generally of wood. The cars are long, each capable of containing fifty passengers sitting at their ease; the car being placed upon two trucks, each having four wheels ; they have rows of windows on each side their whole length. The seats traverse the car in two divisions, leaving a space in the middle ; each admits of two sitting abreast,TO THE UNITED STATES. 41 and has a support for the back, both stuffed with horse hair. The backs of each seat are made to turn over, so that whichever way the car (which is never turned on a turn-table) may be running, the seat can be made to front the engine. At the end of each car there is generally a retiring room fitted up with every con- venience, for the sole use of the ladies. Down the space in the middle, the collector walks, and from one car to another, taking the tickets, fares, &c., while the train is in motion ; he acts also as a policeman, in case of disturbance—in this latter capa- city, however, I have never seen his services required. One car is generally set apart for the lower class of emigrants, coloured people, and others; there being, properly speaking, no first or second class, the other cars being open to all comers of decent appearance, very much after the manner of our omnibuses. The fares are generally moderate. In the cold weather, stoves are placed in the cars, which the severity of the climate in winter renders necessary; while a passenger can stand erect with his hat on, and look about him. The engineer and stoker are protected from the sun, wind, and rain, by a small covered wooden house over the platform of the engine. The engine is furnished with a large bell, which is rung when approaching a station, crossing a road, &c., in addition to the steam whistle. The fuel generally used is wood. Accidents are rarer than might be expected. The great object of the railroad where we now were was to connect the maritime towns on the east coast with the western waters and the towns connected with them, which it now does, I imagine, very effectually, forking off for the purpose in different directions. At this time,42 BECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT however, it was not completed in the western direction further than Buffalo. Taking this railroad, as I have said, at Albany, we reached the town of Troy, also on the Hudson, about six miles higher up. This town, about the size of its more aristocratic neighbour, is said to be more prosperous. Here the railway branches off to Boston, and it is under- stood to be otherwise more happily situated for trade, the Erie Canal terminating here. This canal is large, and navigable for craft of consider- able burthen, with track boats for the conveyance of passengers at low fares. It was constructed for the same object that the railway has more effectually accomplished, its other terminus being at Buffalo, on Lake Erie, as its name implies. As with us, the one is not found to work injuriously to the other. The traffic of the canal, con- sisting of barrels of flour, and other goods of a bulky nature, not pressing for time, is said to be enormous. Passing through Troy (if I recollect right), on a level with the principal street, we continued our route near the Mohawk River, through a varied scenery of about twenty miles, to Shenectady, a comparatively ancient town, on the south bank of the Mohawk, at the com- mencement of the valley of that name, having been settled by the Dutch as early as the year 1620: it is regularly laid out, and contains probably about 7000 inhabitants. Here the cars stopped for about twenty minutes, which gave us time to look about us, and to get some refreshment. Resuming our journey, we crossed the Mohawk Eiver and Erie Canal by a substantial bridge, between eight and nine hundred feet long; then, skirting the banks of the Ballston Lake, we entered Ballston Spa, an old and formerly celebrated watering-place, containing aboutTO THE UNITED STATES. 43 1500 inhabitants. It had now, however, lost its prestige in favour of Saratoga; its mineral waters are said to have lost their virtues; in other words, it is no longer fashionable. Seven miles further on (being thirty-eight from Albany), we arrived at Saratoga springs. I was pleased with the style of travelling in the cars. It gave me an opportunity of observing character in a situation so new to me; there were ladies, gentlemen, children, and humbler people present, while I saw nothing at which the most fastidious could justly take offence. I really felt much at my ease, and entered into conversa- tion with my immediate neighbour, a gentleman in business, from Boston, about to spend a holiday at the springs, who responded willingly to my advances.44 BECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT CHAPTER VI. SARATOGA SPRINGS-HOTELS-AMUSEMENTS—SOCIETY- CONVERSATION. The Saratoga springs are much and justly celebrated in the United States, and the fashionable summer resort of the northern section of the Union. The village of Saratoga is pleasantly situated on a plain, partly surrounded with pine-trees, but, in other respects, of a rather barren aspect. It is mostly com- posed of hotels and boarding-houses, of which there are a great number, at all prices. The United States Hotel is the newest, most fashion- able, and largest, having accommodation for upwards of i four hundred guests. Congress Hall is also large, but more suited to quiet people. The price at both is the same, viz., two dollars per diem. For my own comfort I would have chosen the latter; but under the circum- stances, I preferred driving to the former, where, after tea, we adjourned to the ladies' drawing-room, which we found to be large, handsome, and full of company, mostly promenading up and down. We recognised no face that we knew, until our railway acquaintance made his appearance. He had gone to the other hotel, where finding nothing doing, he had come over to ours in search of a little amusement. Having visited the springs before, he promised to be our cicerone next day.TO THE UNITED STATES. 45 There are several kinds of mineral springs ; but Con- gress Spring is the water held in most repute. I had the curiosity to go out before breakfast next morning— to see the company, and taste it; although I hold, in a general way, that good health should be let alone. In a gallon of 231 cubic inches of this water, there is said to be 300 cubic inches of gaseous contents. It is not unpleasant to the taste, but rather palatable; it is bottled in great quantities, and sold in all the towns through- out the Union ; it is found beneficial where the stomach is out of order, from the heat or otherwise, as I have myself experienced. True to his promise, our friend took us next day, first, to a bowling-alley, where we saw parties of ladies and gentlemen at play ; afterwards to a shooting-gallery, where numbers wTere practising pistol-firing at a mark. We then accompanied him outside the village to an Indian encampment, presenting an humble yet grotesque appearance. On peeping into one tent we saw the old squaw busy platting a basket, smoking at the same time ; the husband outside, preparing his dyes at a fire; the daughter, a handsome girl, ornamented with beads and mocassins, seemed to resent being stared at, retiring, with a good deal of coquetry, into a neighbouring tent. These poor people presented a very different appear- ance from what their warlike ancestors must have done ; they resort to a place of this kind during the height of the season to sell their wares, which is generally liber- ally responded to. We then went to see a circular railway of consider- able circumference, on which were placed two separate cars, holding two persons each, and so nicely balanced, that the parties, by turning a wheel, could cause them- selves to run with great velocity—a small gratuity being46 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT paid for a certain number of circuits; this was both an ingenious and exhilarating amusement, and greatly- delighted my young people. On our return Ave entered a Court of Law, where the lawyers were pleading, and the judge presiding, without wig or gown ; nevertheless, the judge had a gentlemanly exterior and intelligent countenance, while the proceed- ings appeared to be conducted with decorum. To-day we had the pleasure to meet at our hotel some of our fellow-passengers from Europe, in the wife and sons of our friend, the cloth-merchant. This evening there was a dance in the ball-room of our hotel; the company being admitted by ticket, for which a small sum was charged to defray the music, &c. Next morning we took a drive to Saratoga Lake, in one of the many omnibuses plying for the purpose ; it is a fine sheet of water, about nine miles long, and two wide, abounding with fish for the angler, as its shores, covered by the primeval forest, are said to do, with game for the sportsman. A steamer plies on this lake for the amusement of visitors; but, something having gone wrong in its machinery, we had to return to Saratoga disappointed. In the evening a fancy bazaar was held in the dancing- room for the benefit of some charity. Pretty, genteel- looking girls produced their wares from behind their counters ; the attendance was full, and the sale went on briskly—a charge of quarter of a dollar being made on entrance. The name of this village, or rather district, will be familiar to my intelligent reader, as the scene of one of the greatest disasters that overtook us in our calamitous war with our colonists,—the surrender of General Bur- goyne and his army, destitute of provisions, and, underTO THE UNITED STATES. 47 other untoward circumstances, to the numerically supe- rior forces under General Gates, on the 17th October 1777. The sanguinary actions which led to it were fought in this immediate neighbourhood; the battle- field, called Bemus' heights, being a favourite trip for visitors. This disaster was the more important in its conse- quences, in as much as it restored the hopes of the colonists, and induced the French to lend their assistance. The war in question became, in the evening, the topic of conversation in my neighbourhood. I admitted that the war had been popular at its commencement in the mother country ; but, not without some show of reason on our part, we had been embroiled with France in the war which led to the capture of Quebec, and the loss of her North American possessions for colonial objects, and at the instance of the colonists, which was not brought to a conclusion without a great expenditure by the mother country, of which we under- stood them to refuse to bear their share. One gentleman observed very truly that the success of the colonists had led to all the political convulsions that had followed, both in Europe and in South America ; and here the conversation was allowed to drop. It is well known that the colonists were in great alarm at the supposed project of the French to connect their two provinces of Canada and Louisiana by a chain of fortresses along the course of the Mississippi; and un- ceasing in their representations to the mother country on the subject. It may be presumed, that if we had not been success- ful in removing their French neighbours, the colonists would not have pushed their quarrel with us d I'outrance, as we could have had no intention to oppress them.48 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT As it was, a war followed, the most disastrous in our annals; in the course of which France, and the other maritime powers of Europe, in succession, took up the quarrel, either moved by jealousy, or willing to share the spoil. Madame du Barri tells us in her memoirs, that Louis xv. would not have assisted our revolted colonies for fear of the dangerous example reacting on himself; which it was not slow to do on his unfortunate successor. We had now gratified our curiosity with the springs. Before taking leave of them, I shall notice one or two impressions made on me at the time. Our hotel, as I have said, was the largest in the place; it was a handsome building, situated in its own grounds, laid out in grass, and ornamented with flowers, forming three sides of an oblong square ; the inner sides having large broad verandahs, their whole length forming a pleasant promenade. Besides the principal building, there were separate cabins, as they are called, in the grounds, consisting of two or more rooms, for the accom- modation of families, or others, who may prefer them. Being the most fashionable hotel, and the height of the season, it was full of the best company; the dining- salooii was of course large ; the guests being placed according to their arrival. The interior of such a hotel would of course present a busy and varied scene; I must do the Americans the justice to say, that good-breeding, politeness, and sobriety prevailed throughout; there was not one instance to the contrary,—all seemed to fall into their proper places without jostling or assumption.to the united states. 49 CHAPTEK VII. UTICA-TRENTON FALLS — MARKET PRICES — AUBURN — MODEL PRISON—GENEVA — BOAT RACE—OLD LADY-ROCHESTER- GENESEE FALLS-ELEPHANT—LEWISTON. On the afternoon of Friday the 20th August, we took the railway cars for Utica, a distance of about fifty-eight miles; it appears to be a thriving town, pleasantly situated in the valley of the Mohawk, rising from the river on an inclined plain, with a population of about 13,000; it is mostly built of brick, and very well laid out. Trenton Falls, situated on West Canada Creek, a tributary of the Mohawk, about fifteen miles distant, are the great attraction of the neighbourhood: no stranger leaves, or ought to leave it, without seeing them. I therefore ordered a conveyance the next morning. In due time we reached the hotel in their immediate vici- nity, for the purpose of accommodating visitors, the landlord of which took care to acquaint me that I must either pay him a fee for permission to pass through his grounds, or dine with him on our return. I compro- mised for the dinner, upon which, pointing to a pathway, he retired, leaving us to gratify our curiosity in our own way, as it seems was the custom. We descended this pathway, leading to a long staircase down the steep bank of the creek, which has worn a frightful chasm through D *50 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT a rocky range, in some places 150 feet deep ; from thence we proceeded, as directed, up the stream to Sherman's Fall of about 35 feet; the stream then pours along with less rapidity to Conrad's Falls, of about 20 feet. The high falls have a perpendicular descent of 109 feet, and are divided by rifts in the rock into three different cascades. There are other falls, the whole forming—with the chasm, the high banks covered with foliage, and the rocky cliffs—a scene of the wildest grandeur; all that is wanted is a safe path to view it. This is very far from being the case. At particular places there is great danger, and accidents are continu- ally happening. To see the whole it is necessary to surmount these dangers, in which my daughters showed more courage than myself. The day was fine, and there were other parties of both sexes, who set us a very good example. When we got back to the hotel, we were consoled by being told that accidents were rare except in rainy weather. A few years before, two young ladies lost their lives in consequence of the unprotected state in which a nar- row ledge of rocks was left at the foot of a perpendicular cliff, and overlooking the rushing waters, after which unfortunate occurrence, an iron chain has been fixed to hold on by. All, however, passed over safely with us, as it did with the others. We assembled at the landlord's to a very good dinner, and we drove back to the town in the evening, very well pleased with our day's excursion. Sunday, 22d August, we attended divine service at the Episcopal church. Next morning we amused ourselves looking about the town. I had the curiosity to inquire the prices in the market. I found the best pieces of roasting beef to beTO THE UNITED STATES. 51 5 cents (2Jd.) per lb., mutton 3 cents (ljd.): this is probably a very good criterion of the scale of prices as they rule in this section of the Union ; they may be a trifle higher in the large towns. Tuesday, 24th August, we took the railway train for Auburn, seventy-nine miles distant. We found it to be a flourishing village, situated on the outlet of the Oswasco lake, which furnishes a fine water-power. The principal object of attraction to a stranger is the State model prison ; it is said to have cost upwards of 500,000 dollars. The buildings form three sides of a hollow square, one wing being divided into solitary cells and an hospital, the other wing into cells. There is a yard for workshops, the machinery of which is turned by the water-power I have noticed. The prisoners labour in silence, and are confined, when off work, in solitary cells. This prison we saw over, a small sum being charged on entrance. All seemed to be cleanly and properly arranged. We saw the prisoners at work (among whom I observed several coloured people), some weaving car- pets, others at cutlery, cabinet-making, &c. Before leaving, the governor paid his respects to us. These convicts are restored to society with industrious habits and the knowledge of a trade, yet some of them find their way back; and in the car in which we arrived was the sheriff, having in custody one of them. Success, in every case, cannot be commanded; nevertheless we must admire, I think, the humanity and consideration of their Government for these unhappy people. Thursday, 26th, we came on by the railway twenty- six miles to Geneva. The Americans are grandiloquent as to names. We had already passed, in name, some of the most celebrated cities of antiquity, which contrasts52 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT strangely with these trim-looking mushroom towns of yesterday. Those they have retained from the Indians appear by far the best. Geneva is pleasantly situated at the extremity of Seneca Lake, a fine sheet of water, surrounded by a dense forest as far as the eye can reach, the village or town rising until it attains a commanding elevation; it is, like the others, of recent origin, handsome in appear- ance, and may contain about 4000 inhabitants. We found the people of the town and neighbourhood taken up with a boat-race ; our hotel very crowded in consequence. "I hate the man/' says Sterne, "who travels from Dan to Beersheba and finds all barren !" We took an interest in the busy scene, which we saw from the top of one of the out-houses of our hotel, pro- vided with seats for the purpose; the day was fine, and it came off with great eclat. On dinner being announced, myself, and all the guests, with ladies, were permitted to walk to the dining-room at our leisure, through two long groups of holiday folks, who made a lane for us, and, after we were seated, and not till then, rushed in a little tumultuously. The propriety of behaviour, and respect paid to ladies in America, has often been noticed, and cannot be too much praised. It was conspicuous on the present occa- sion, and argues, in my mind, a high state of civilisation —a female, whether young or old, can travel alone with safety and respect throughout the Union, while the other sex feel themselves privileged by being of her party. This may be apt to make our fair friends a little too exigeante, and is said sometimes to do so; for in- stance, it so happened that my daughters had, on one occasion, formed a speaking acquaintance in the cars with an old lady ; while engaged in the fatiguing affairTO THE UNITED STATES. 53 of collecting our luggage, always a troublesome job, the old lady tapped me on the shoulder, pointed to an im- mense box, intimating that it belonged to her, as if I had not already enough on nay hands, and so walked my daughters off to the hotel, leaving it in my charge. But revenons & nos moutons. The dinner, as far as the holiday folks were concerned, was followed by a supper, after which I was kept awake by set speeches, gradually degenerating into noise as the punch operated. On Saturday the 28th we took the train to Rochester, a distance of seventy-two miles. This city is of recent origin but of great importance, having rapidly increased to upwards of twenty thousand inhabitants ; it owes its extraordinary rise to the great water-power on the Genesee Eiver, by which numerous flour-mills are worked, and to its connexion with the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario. On Sunday the 29th, we attended Divine service at the Presbyterian church, in which we found an organ and choir ; the service was respectably conducted. Next day we looked about the town, and went out- side to get a view of the falls of the Genesee, wrhich, in its passage through the city, has three perpendicular falls, besides rapids—in all, a descent of 268 feet. Outside the town we found an encampment of Mr. Van Amburgh and his wild beasts. On our return we met the elephant proceeding to bathe in the river, fol- lowed by a crowd of children ; this he did very scienti- fically, first feeling the bed of the river, theu advancing to the middle : when he could get no deeper he lay down —a small part of his back being still uncovered, he made a shower-bath for it of his trunk. After enjoying himself in this way for some little time, he returned at the call of his keeper. The Genesee, on leaving its falls, enters Lake Ontario,54 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT from which they are not many miles distant at a level. It becomes navigable for steamers at a place bearing the high-sounding name of Carthage, about two and a half miles from Eochester. I determined to take the falls of Niagara by the steamer which plies on Lake Ontario daily between the above-mentioned place and Lewiston, in their immediate neighbourhood; consequently, on the afternoon of Tuesday the 31st August, we proceeded to it on the cars of a little railway provided for the purpose, and em- barked accordingly in the steamer. The Genesee has here dug a deep trench for itself, the banks of which are finely wooded; daylight lasting until we had all but cleared it. We found the steamer commodious enough, and full of passengers, but noisy for the greater part of the night; the morning brought us to Lewiston, on the United States side of the river Niagara, about seven miles below the falls, and the same from the lake. We were reminded that we were on our own frontier, by being told that it was destroyed by our troops in the war of 1812 ; it has been rebuilt with taste, and is a thriving village. We now proceeded, on the tiptoe of expectation, to the falls, by a railway made for the purpose on the higher level, beginning above the town, from time to time catching a glimpse of them through the trees, their noise being very audible, the sun shining full upon them ; they appeared animating and beautiful in the extreme. Two ladies in our car, sisters, fellow-travellers in the steamer, were very conversible. They told us, among other things, that their father had emigrated because his elder brother, inheriting the landed property atTO THE UNITED STATES. 55 home, he was determined to be possessed of land also, not caring, as they said, where it was situated. They were on a pleasure trip, and, judging from their appear- ance, he must have prospered. There was also a young gentleman from Canada, who told us his brother had forfeited his property by joining in the late rebellion, contrary to the advice of his friends and relatives. In due time we reached the falls, and took up our abode in the Eagle Hotel—one of the best on the American side.56 recollections of a visit CHAPTER VIII. FALLS OF NIAGARA—CANADIAN SIDE—INDIANS—BUFFALO. The Falls of Niagara are a great object of curiosity to the Americans as well as to strangers ; they form there- fore a fashionable resort during the summer and autumn. The village itself consists of little more than a line of hotels, of different dimensions and prices, for the accom- modation of visitors. Strangers on arriving find that a certain rotation of sight-seeing is to be gone through, both on this and on the Canada side, the proper machinery being in daily attendance ; to this we resigned ourselves, and so having paid our footing as it were, we found ourselves quietly dropped, and free to go to work in our own way. The Niagara River, about thirty-five miles in length, on which the falls are situated, is the great outlet of the upper lakes, and connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. The river, as it flows from Lake Erie, is about three quarters of a mile wide, and from twenty to forty feet deep ; it has for three miles a rapid current, and then becomes smooth and placid, resembling a prolongation of the tranquil lake. Five miles from Lake Erie, the river begins to expand, till it becomes more than eight miles in width, measured across Grand Island, and embraces, before it reaches the falls, forty islands. Be-TO THE UNITED STATES. 57 low the termination of Grand and Navy Islands, the river is compressed to a breadth of two and a half miles, and proceeds with an accelerated motion. Three-fourths of a mile above the falls, the rapids commence, which have a descent of from fifty-two to fifty-seven feet; they are more than a mile in width, with white-crested breakers, and a foaming torrent tossing above the main current, until they come to the great cataracts. We viewed the falls at every point, on both sides of the river, where they could be best commanded; the great body of water making its passage over the British or Horse Shoe fall in a perpendicular descent of about 160 feet, fronting, as it does, the direction the river takes in its onward course below. A lesser portion of the river having found or forced a more circuitous course for itself on the American side, falls perpendicularly at a right angle with the other. The country around being in no way picturesque, the great features of these celebrated falls are very much confined to the cataracts themselves, and to the great commotion so great a body of water causes below in its descent. They disappear, as it were, into a deep trench, when the river takes its way onward to Lake Ontario, a distance of fourteen miles, at first with great rapidity and turbulence, as the trench narrows for some miles, until it makes an acute angle in its course, turning abruptly off to the right, forming here a violent whirl- pool ; and here in seven miles the river descends 100 feet; it then emerges into the more open country at Lewiston, so nearly on a level with the lake that there is only a fall of about four feet in the seven additional miles. The shape or outline of the British fall is said to be undergoing occasional change; in 1678, it was, it seems,58 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT straight across, and it has, in our day, lost in some measure the horse-shoe shape. The river here throws the great mass of its waters perpendicularly over a shelf of limestone rock. As the reaction of the spray of this immense volume of water in its descent, from time to time, wears away a portion of the more friable materials on which the rock in ques- tion rests, it at first partly projects, and then breaks under the pressure of the superincumbent cataract; therefore that this fall has retrograded, and is retro- gading to this extent, there is proof positive, as well from its present appearance, as in the pieces of the rock lying on the shores of the river below. The popular opinion is, that the fall had originally commenced at the extremity of the table-land, as it rises immediately above Lewiston on the one side, and Queenston on the other, and that it has cut its way to its present position—a distance of seven miles. We visited the Canadian side of the river more than once—a finer climate or more fertile soil is not to be found anywhere in America; yet it presented a languish- ing and neglected look—large tracts of land altogether unenclosed, the villages meaner, the wooden houses not so trim and nicely painted, contrasting somewhat pain- fully with the other side. On returning across the ferry on one of these occa- sions, we found ourselves in company with some Indian squaws and their children. One had an interesting and somewhat melancholy look—we asked the name of her tribe ; she said, " The Tuscarora." In return, she asked me in broken English the age of my eldest daughter, whom she seemed to regard wistfully and with interest on understanding she had lost her mother. I told her, thirteen ; and that we had come a far way from home,TO THE UNITED STATES. 59 beyond the Salt Lake. They seemed to be primitive, harmless children of the forest, deserving our strongest sympathies, reduced as they are to be almost outcasts in their native land. The Canadian Indians are not, however, altogether neglected; they are our allies in war, and are conse- quently cared for in peace. Certain districts are set apart for their use, and an annual allowance of presents from our Government distributed to them, consisting of blankets, rifles, and such other articles as are calculated to suit their wants. In the immediate neighbourhood of the falls, on both sides, numbers of these poor Indians are to be found, who resort to it in the season as a sure market for their wares, consisting of ornamented mocassins, pin-cushions, table-mats, baskets, and miniature canoes curiously dyed, and worked up with beads, porcupine's quills, &c., after their peculiar manner, with some taste, and by no means at low prices. Their claims, as I have elsewhere said, are cheerfully and liberally responded to; they were generally found in groups, sitting gipsy-fashion, with their wares spread out before them, waylaying the promenades and roads to every object that a stranger is expected to see. In our evening walks, our Canadian acquaintance would sometimes join us ; he had taken up his abode at one of the minor hotels, where he found himself, he said, very comfortable at the moderate charge of five dollars per week. We had now gratified our curiosity sufficiently with the falls; before bidding them a final adieu, however, I recollected I had not seen Buffalo. I therefore, on a fine morning, took the cars of the railway between the two places, a distance of twenty-two miles, through a60 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT flat country skirting the river in its upper course the greater part of the way, until it issues from Lake Erie as we approach Buffalo. I found Buffalo, as I expected, a flourishing and handsome town, on the banks of the eastern extremity of the lake. It dates its foundation from 1801 ; but its present importance and rapid growth, from the comple- tion of the Erie Canal in 1825, as well as from the railroads since constructed, connecting it with New York and Boston, its commerce extending far westward through the chain of great lakes. Its natural advantages are otherwise said to be great; its population was at this time about 18,000. My first object was to see the harbour, which is formed by Buffalo creek. It seemed to be spacious, well-pro- tected, and full of steam-boats and small craft, with a depth of water said to be of about twelve to fourteen feet. I then perambulated the town, which had a very new appearance, as it well might, for it was sacked and burned to the ground by our troops and their Indian allies, in the war of 1812, in revenge for some atrocities of a like nature committed on our frontier—where this war seems to have been carried on with small numbers, great virulence, and alternate success. I now returned by the same route, and rejoined my daughters at our hotel, after an absence of a few hours. The morning of next day, Wednesday, 8th Septem- ber, we left the falls for Toronto by a very good steamer, a distance of forty-five miles almost directly across Lake Ontario.to the united states. 61 CHAPTER IX. LAKE ONTARIO—TORONTO-SCOTCH FARMER-EMIGRANTS- CANADA-GENTLEMEN CHOPPERS-KINGSTON-RIVER ST. LAWRENCE-GALLOP RAPIDS. Lake Ontario, though the smallest in extent of the five great lakes, is nevertheless 190 miles in length, by fifty-five in breadth at its widest part, and about 480 miles in circumference; it is said to be very deep, is seldom frozen, and subject occasionally to violent storms —it is connected with the other lakes by the Welland Canal, constructed on the British side, round the falls of Niagara, at a great expense, and navigable for schooners and steamers of 450 tons—a work highly creditable to the provincial Government. It communicates at its eastern extremity with the Atlantic ocean by the river St. Lawrence, by which all these vast lakes may be said to have been formed, in its onward progress from its source to the sea; and it is navigable for vessels of the largest size. If we could look into futurity, we would probably see this great lake the centre of a flourishing commerce— its shores studded with populous towns. At present, as we steamed boldly through its blue waters, a look of solitary grandeur seemed to prevail—its banks covered by the primeval forest, the clearings few and far be- tween.62 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT We arrived at Toronto in good time, after a pleasant passage, and took up our abode at the North American Hotel, the best in the town. We found it full of com- pany, a large party sitting down to dinner, where we happened to be placed opposite a clergyman who had arrived the day before, with his wife and mother, from Barbadoes, with the intention of enjoying a Canadian winter. It wTas pleasing to observe the care he took of his old mother. He told us that our West Indian colonies languished after the emancipation of the slaves, and that free trade and cheap sugar had altogether ruined them. He seemed to think there would have been more wisdom in emancipating all born after, or of tender age at the date of the Act of Parliament, providing at the same time a system of education to meet it. Next morning, after breakfast, we sallied out to see the town, which had a handsome, thriving appearance, laid out regularly at right angles, very much after the fashion of our American neighbours, mostly built of brick ; the principal street large, broad, and full of good shops or stores. This town has had its vicissitudes—it was founded by Governor Simcoe in 1794, burned down by the Ameri- cans in 1813, and has been the seat of Government more than once; its population was at this time about 19,000, and it is said to double itself every ten years. There are some very pretty villas, in our English style, in its immediate neighbourhood ; also a college of some pretensions as to architecture, built in its own grounds, laid out in walks, ornamented with trees as a public promenade for the townspeople. The general character of the country hereabouts is level—it rises gradually, however, from the lake, andTO THE UNITED STATES. 63 rolls or undulates a little occasionally; its fertility is great, the soil being formed of a deep alluvium, as I had an opportunity the better to observe where a stream had worn the surface down. This description may be said to apply to the whole of Upper Canada—a finer country than which is nowhere to be found, or more adapted to settlers from the mother country. Eeligious fanaticism takes strange freaks in the United States, for a country so generally educated ; but we shall trust that it is the exception, not the rule, My children had become acquainted with a widow and her daughters, residing at our hotel, whose husband, it was said, had become the victim of a person of the name of Miller, who had persuaded his dupes that the world was to be at an end on a certain day ; her object here, in scraping to- gether the wrecks of his fortune, was to recover the price of a farm that had belonged to her husband in this neighbourhood. She proposed that we should join her in the expense of a carriage to this farm, a distance of twelve miles on the principal road leading directly from the lake. To this I readily assented; the farmer, who expected us, gave us a very good dinner, with port wine and Canadian whisky. This man, a countryman of mine, was shrewd and intelligent; he had not been long out, and found himself already, as he told me, in prosperous circum- stances, the possessor of one farm, and in treaty for the purchase of another ; he had formerly rented a hill farm in the Island of Mull, in Scotland, at £130 per annum, which enabled him barely to live and pay his rent; he brought out with him a wife and family, little capital, but untiring industry, the result being as I have de- scribed. Now, to form a proper estimate of this farmer s present advantages, it is necessary to view what must64 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT have been his condition in the old country. In Eng- land, either from the operation of the poor-law, or from some other cause, land is rarely too highly let. Far different was the case in Scotland, at least at the commencement of the present century; there was no poor-law; the farms were in many cases let at rack-rents; frequently by auction, or public roup, as it is called, to the highest bidder ; while the small tenant in particular without capital, led a cheerless life of poverty. The next class of emigrants who cannot fail to do well here, are the agricultural labourers. These people are admitted to be very poorly paid both in England and Scotland, to say nothing of Ireland, where they are still worse off; yet, strange to say, the English labourers, and probably the Scotch, are slower to avail themselves of it than one would expect; probably from ignorance of its advantages. Emigrants of this description are much wanted, and would meet with immediate employment; if young and single, so much the better; in such case they would board in the house of their master, receiving wages from £15 to £20 a year; these they would save for a few years, purchase land in the bush, as it is called (uncleared land),—their own labour would do the rest; this is the origin of many of the most thriving proprietors of the present day. The next class of emigrants who might do well if they chose, are officers on half-pay, annuitants, and small capitalists with families; but these are not thought to be the best settlers. The first and second of these, if they can command from £300 to £400, in the first in- stance, with which to purchase a farm partly cleared, with a house and out-buildings upon it, may settle down very comfortably ; their half-pay will suffice to pay theirTO THE UNITED STATES, 65 labourer, provide groceries, &e.; their farm will do the rest. The third, if he can command about £2000, and goes the right way to work, will find himself on a par with the other two. The interest of money rules from six to seven per cent, on good landed or household security in the Canadas; I shall suppose him to invest £1500 at interest on mortgage, and employ the odd £500 to pur- chase and stock his farm, and for immediate necessaries. It may be asked, What could these three classes, situated as I have supposed, do at home, where every one is vying with his neighbour in expense, and genteel poverty looked down upon ? It is ruinous, however, in the better classes of settlers, to go into the bush; it is nevertheless often done, when, after exposure to unheard-of privation, it frequently ends in misery. Under the most difficult circumstances there ought to be the log-house, and at least thirty acres cleared and in cultivation. But farms entirely cleared are very reasonable. I was offered them repeat- edly at one pound per acre. Canada is one of the finest and most fertile countries on the face of the globe, as it is also the cheapest, for there are few or no taxes ; settlers, such as I have sup- posed, find themselves at once raised from obscurity, to the rank and influence in the colony to which their educa- tion and position in society entitle them ; and this with- out the necessity for more expense than their neighbours. A gentleman would place his house at a little distance from the road; he might ornament it, at his convenience, with trees, a lawn, and garden; but these are more questions of taste than of expense in the colonies; in other respects, he would live very much as his more humble neighbour ; that is, he will keep his waggon and E66 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT horse, as they all do, from the highest to the lowest, in which he will go to church, or visit his friend, with whom he will take the family meal without invitation or ceremony, to be returned in like manner. The wag- gon will be substituted by a sleigh in winter. Having mentioned a waggon, I may as well describe it, as in appearance an oblong box put upon four wheels, with either one or two seats traversing, as the case may be; the better sort with springs; and that it is in gene- ral use throughout the whole of North America. The sleigh is merely the same vehicle, placed, at a lower level, upon two pieces of wood in the shape of skates, shod with iron. All sorts of mechanics and handicraftsmen may do well in the colonies. There is one class of settlers whom I have not yet noticed, that are in some measure out of their element,— younger sons of genteel families, for whom no employ- ment can be found at home ; these, after hanging idly on their friends, come out as a last resource on a land- speculation. They are known in the colonies under the designation of gentlemen choppers ; they go into the bush, get up their shanty, and commence clearing with great energy; they soon however grow tired, frequent the neighbouring little tavern, run in debt at the store, and weary out their friends at home, until remittances are stopped; there are exceptions however, some per- severe, others become clerks of stores in the towns. The class in question being already numerous in the mother country, and likely to increase, it is worth while to consider whether emigration be not the natural safety- valve in their case, as well as in the others; and it un- doubtedly would be, if the parents had the good sense to bring them up to the knowledge of some suitableTO THE UNITED STATES. 67 trade or occupation, in direct reference to the advantages it offers. For instance, there is an opening for lawyers, medical men, artists ; and I may add clergymen, mis- sionaries, and schoolmasters. A yonng person of this class cannot condescend to keep a chemist's shop, become a printer, or any other pursuit of the kind at home, however laudable in itself, without in a certain degree losing caste. A storekeeper in the colonies, on the contrary, is not excluded from good society on account of his trade, although he may be seen in his shop of a morning in his apron ; his daughters go to the best parties, there being no independent class above him as with us, no aristo- cracy but that of wealth, of which he is probably him- self a member. A great number of my Scotch countrymen are thriving settlers in this town and neighbourhood ; and I fancied I recognised some faces familiar to me at home. Sunday, September 12th, we heard the Bishop of Toronto preach in the Episcopal or Cathedral Church. One day this week, our clerical friend was missing at the dinner-table ; he had just received the disagreeable tidings that a distinguished banking and mercantile firm at New York had failed, with whom he had lodged 1400 dollars—the sum which he had probably set apart for this pleasure excursion. It turned out to be the same house that cashed my bill on London. Sunday, September 19th, we attended Divine ser- vice at the Presbyterian Church, more after the manner at home ; there was neither organ nor (if 1 recollect right) choir, the whole congregation joining in the Psalm in the impressive and devout manner I had been accustomed to in early youth. Fatigued with our travels, and pleased with its so-68 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT ciety, we had lingered longer in this town than we had intended. After again attending the Presbyterian Church on Sunday the 26th, on Monday, the 27th September, we took the steamer for Kingston, at the eastern ex- tremity of the lake, which we reached next morning to breakfast. Our hotel was full of military, with some stir otherwise in the town—the court sitting, probably holding the assizes. Kingston is advantageously situated on the north or British bank of the St. Lawrence, as it escapes from the lake ; it occupies the site of a fort built by the French in 1672, and, next to Quebec and Halifax, is considered to be the strongest military position in our North American possessions. There did not appear to be much in the town inviting notice, although the Navy yard and the fortifications are worth seeing. The hotels are but indifferent, and some competition sadly wanted ; ours, the British American, as it is called, is probably the best; we were chafged at the enormous rate of two dollars each j3er diem, i.e., the price of the best hotels in the United States, while much better accommodation at Toronto, with a private sitting-room and lights, cost us no more than five dollars each per week; and being more, by half a dollar per day, than is charged at the very best hotel in Montreal. The town is built of stone; it has a bare and some- what bleak look, from the barren nature of the soil, from which every kind of tree has been removed in the im- mediate vicinity. Its population at the time of our visit might be computed at 10,000. It is of course an important military post, and is garrisoned with at least one regiment, just then in course of change, which ^accounted for the number ofTO THE UNITED STATES. 69 military, their wives and children, we met at our hotel. Wednesday, the 29th, we left Kingston for Mon- treal, by one of the American line of steamers, touching here for passengers, as the English boats were allowed to do on the other side—the result of a friendly arrange- ment between the two companies. We seemed to enter almost immediately into the Lake of a Thousand Isles ; this is an expansion of the St. Lawrence, which is here twelve miles wide, and is so called from the great num- ber of islands stretching along its channel for thirty miles. The isles are of every size, form, height, and aspect; woody and verdant, presenting a succession of beautiful and picturesque groups. The river now contracts to about two miles in width ; its shores for a long distance mostly covered with the primeval forest, partially cleared, with villages scattered at various distances, presenting a scene of grand and varied beauty, until we reached Ogdensburg, a town on the American side of the river, where we stopped for the night, sleeping on board the steamer. I had lain down in my berth without undressing, and unfortunately without taking off my boots, of which I was reminded in no very civil way, by some one going his rounds de- manding my ticket; on waking up rather reluctantly, I asked him whether he had not chosen an unseasonable hour^to which he rejoined that he would not have dis- turbed me but for the boots, upon which I very civilly apologized, which had its effect; he left me with some signs of compunction, and a hint to remove the cause of offence. The American steamer from Ogdensburg, in which we should have proceeded, having met with an accident, we had to wait here for the English boat, which leaves70 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Kingston in the morning at seven o'clock, to which we were transferred without any extra charge. This gave me time to look about the town, in which I saw nothing however to interest me particularly; it stands on the immediate bank of the river, on a plain at the mouth of the river Oswegatchie; is regularly laid out, and might then contain between two and three thousand inhabit- ants. The town of Prescott, about the same size, stands immediately opposite, on the British bank of the river, which slopes upwards from the shore, there being a ferry between the two. A few miles below these towns, we entered what are called the Gallop Rapids, through which we were hurried on with fearful velocity, there being, I observed, either three or four men at the helm ; they are very interesting, while at the same time we could survey them with ease and comfort from the towering height of our magnifi- cent steamer. These rapids stop the navigation of the river for sail- ing vessels—a canal meeting the difficulty. More rapids followed from time to time, until the night gradually clbsed in upon us. Early next morning we landed at Lachine, on the British side, as is the custom, to avoid the last rapids, and were carried to the town of Montreal, a distance of about nine miles, in stages provided for the purpose, without any extra charge; a railroad for this distance being then in course of construction, and since completed.to the united states. 71 CHAPTEE X. montreal-h abit ans-sir f. b. head's book, " the emi- grant "-la prairie—st. john^. Montreal, then the residence of the Governor-gene- ral of the British provinces, and seat of government, is well situated on the south-east side of the island of the same name, formed by the river Ottawa, which, as it approaches the St. Lawrence at an angle from the north- west, here branches off on each side, and contributes to it its waters through two channels. Both island and town take their name from the hill or mountain behind the latter, from which it slopes down to the river, stretch- ing along its banks for two miles. It is the second city, and the chief seat of the commerce of Lower Canada, its population amounting at this time to above 50,000. The town is built of stone, the principal streets run- ning parallel with the river, crossed by others at right angles. Along the bank of the river is an extensive line of quays and warehouses. The harbour, though not large, is secure, and vessels drawing fifteen feet may lie close to the shore. The quay here, about a mile in length, may be said to rival, in beauty and strength of masonry, most of the cele- brated works of the same kind in England. Its position at the head of the ship navigation of the river, and at its junction with the Ottawa, as well as with72 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT respect to its position in regard to the United States, gives this city trading facilities of a high order. It is ornamented with many fine public buildings and churches, and has more the appearance of an old European town than any other in America. We took up our abode at Donegana's hotel, the best in the town, constructed on the principle of those in the large American cities, but on a scale too large for Donegana himself, whom it ruined. (It has since been burned down.) Here, however, we found ourselves very comfortable. A large party met at table, where I ob- served our English custom to prevail, of drinking wine, and sitting after dinner. We took an early opportunity to see the town, which had an air throughout of ease and comfort. Many of the better order of shop-keepers, merchants, and artisans, are from the old country; but the mass of the people appeared to be the descendants of the original French settlers, better known under the name of Habitans,—a primitive and inoffensive race, satisfied with their con- dition, and subordinate to their clergy and seigneurs. They all wear a costume very much alike, the principal feature of which is immense boots worn over, and con- siderably above, the knee. On the surrender of these fine colonies, certain condi- tions were stipulated for in favour of their religion, and of the revenues and property of their clergy. These conditions have been strictly adhered to on the part of our Government, and the consequence is that the two religions are found to co-exist in the sam§ town without clashing. The Roman Catholic clergy, in particular, are in possession of large landed revenues, a cathedral —one of the principal ornaments of the town, and many religious houses, without showing any dispo-TO THE UNITED STATES. 73 sition to interfere in any way with their Protestant neighbours. To the cathedral we went on Sunday, to high mass, and found it, large as it is, crowded: the congregation appeared to be very devout. I had the curiosity to take a peep at the nuns as they passed me in succession to cross themselves with holy water from a font near where I stood. Here, I confess, I was somewhat disappointed. Instead of the sentimental beauties depicted in my mind, I found them to be coarse-featured, middle-aged women, indicative that society had not, at least in one sense, lost much by their marriage to Mother Church. The principal English church is a handsome building in the Grecian style. There is also a Presbyterian kirk, an American Protestant church, besides Dissenting chapels. There are two colleges, and other institutions for education. One day we visited one or two of the Roman Catholic religious houses, and some other objects of curiosity in the town; on another we drove round the mountain by a road making its circuit more than half way up its ascent, and commanding a fine view of the country round. Here there is a fine building in its own grounds, the country palace of the Governor. Politics ran high ; the elements fermenting which have since exploded so seriously. For the riots which followed the sanction he gave to the obnoxious bill for indemnifying the losses sustained by the party implicated in the late rebellion, the governor, perhaps, cannot be held responsible: he had no alter- native, probably, but to act with the party in power. The colony being self-governed, the battle between the two parties should probably be fought out at the elections, as at home. Besides, the Habitans are, as I have said, an unoffending race, nor is there any reason to doubt their74 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT loyalty to the British crown, by whom they are justly and leniently governed, in common with all our colonies, since the unfortunate American war. Their priests are likewise said to be very well aware of the self-supporting principle which holds throughout the United States in regard to church-government; as are also their seigneurs as to their customs in matters connected with the tenure of land. Sir Francis Bond Head's book, entitled, " The Emi- grant/' was lent me to read by a lady. It is clever, and in some parts particularly interesting; but when he enters upon politics, in reference to the outbreak in Upper Canada under his government, Sir Francis, in my mind, makes out a clear case against himself. Instead of holding the balance even, and curbing both parties by the strong hand of power, he puts himself at the head of one, and is prepared to ride roughshod over the other, until prevented by the better sense of the Govern- ment at home. We now prepared to bid adieu to Montreal, and to our kind friends in it, from whom we had received much civility; and, on the afternoon of Saturday the 16th October, we embarked in the steamer to La Prairie—a small town on the other side of the river, eight miles distant. La Prairie gives its name to a large, level district of fertile meadow land, belonging to the Catholic church of Montreal; this we crossed in the cars of a railway we found waiting us, to the small town of St. John s, on the river Richelieu, at the head of the steam navigation of Lake Champlain, a distance of sixteen miles. Here we remained all night, and the next day, Sunday, attended Divine service at the Protestant church ; in the evening we embarked in the steamer for the lake, in company with a great many fellow-passengers.to the united states. 75 CHAPTEK XI. LAKE CHAMPLAIN—WHITEHALL-TROY—SPRINGFIELD—BOSTON —EARLY SETTLERS—THEIR FEUD WITH THE QUAKERS. Lake Champlain takes its name from the distin- guished French navigator who, in the reign of Henry iv. of France, founded Quebec ; and who, on tracing the St. Lawrence and its tributaries upwards, discovered it, gave it his name, and considered, no doubt, that he had added it, with its contiguous territories, permanently to the French crown. It is remarkably narrow, varying in breadth from half a mile to fourteen miles, while it is 140 miles in length, in an almost direct line, north and south, and is of great importance, as lying in the direct route from New York and Boston to Montreal, and from thence to Upper Canada. It is consequently navigated its whole length by a daily line of large and commodious steamers, when the season permits; the railroad on which we had reached St. John's being constructed for the express pur- pose of facilitating the transit. Our province of Lower Canada, as fixed by recent treaties, traverses the lake at a right angle, about twenty- four miles south of St John's, in the direction we were now travelling ; after which it is bounded on the right by the State of New York, and on the left by the New England State of Vermont.76 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT In ancient times, as may be supposed, its boundaries were not so well defined; on the contrary, under the French, whose pretensions extended much further, and who, to support them, had erected forts extending to its further extremity, while the English colonies were advancing on both sides. Its neighbourhood became con- sequently a debatable land, fruitful of sanguinary con- tests between them; our colonists supported, of course, by the mother country. In the revolutionary war, and more recently, it has been the scene of battles between ourselves and the United States, attended with varied success. The lake abounds with salmon, sturgeon, and other excellent fish ; it is generally frozen over in the winter, and is passable on the ice. The outlet for its surplus waters is by the river Richelieu, sixty miles long, which enters the St. Lawrence forty-five miles below Montreal. I was up at an early hour in the morning to admire the scenery—nor was I disappointed. I found the lake gradually to expand in width as we approached the town of Burlington, on the Vermont side—the white wooden houses of the town sprinkling its shore—the green moun- tain to which the State owes its name, in bold relief, in the distance—the New York side presenting a series of wild wooded hills. For twenty miles from its further extremity, at the town of Whitehall, the lake contracts, so as to have the appearance of a river about half a mile in breadth. We reached Whitehall towards the afternoon, from whence we immediately took the canal passage-boat, en route to Troy. This we found pleasant enough, as long as we could sit upon its deck and look about us; but as the evening closed in, we found the crowd great, the cabin small, and the accommodations indifferent,—someTO THE UNITED STATES. 77 slept upon their chairs, some on little beds suspended to the wall, others played at cards. I spent a miserable night, and was glad to seek the deck the moment day- light permitted. We now reached the railway to Troy, at a place called Meehanicsville, into the cars of which we got, and arrived at that town in time for breakfast. Troy lies in the valley of the Hudson, where its banks curve up on each side, somewhat in the shape of an inverted arch, the slopes of which are ornamented with villas belonging to the townspeople, and form pleasant Avalks. The town itself is situated on the level below, built of brick, and regularly laid out; although, as I have said, not of so much pretension as its more aristocratic neighbour, Albany. It is certainly far more prosperous, being situated, as it were, in the throat of the enormous commerce springing up between the eastern sea-board towns and the far west; it participates largely in its benefits, as is to be expected. Its population at this time, I should judge to be quite equal to its neighbour, which it must eventually far exceed. We passed this and the next day at Troy. On the morning of the 21st we left it by railway for Boston via Springfield, which latter town we reached towards even- ing, and took up our abode for the night in one of the most comfortable hotels in the United States. Springfield, in the State of Massachusetts, is pleasantly situated on the Connecticut Eiver, and is one of the most important inland towns of New England ; there are said to be prosperous manufactures carried on here, and in the neighbouring villages ; it is likewise the centre from whence four great lines of railroads diverge to the different points of the compass. Trains are con-78 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT tinually arriving and passing through. Near the river are rich alluvial meadows, at the back of which the ground rises to a considerable elevation ; its population might then have been about 15,000. Next morning after breakfast we resumed our seats in the cars, and reached Boston in very good time for an early dinner. Our friends at Montreal had recommended the Win- thrope Hotel to our notice ; a place of less pretension than some others, they said, but pleasantly situated, fronting the Common, and moderate in its charges. Thither we drove accordingly. We thought the bed- rooms too small, and asked to see the landlord; the colonel, they said, would be with us immediately; he soon made his appearance, was very civil, and ultimately all was arranged to our satisfaction. Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, the metropolis of the New England States, the second city in com- merce, and fifth in population of the United States, is situated on a peninsula of an uneven surface; it is nearly surrounded by the waters of its harbour on the east, and Charles River on the north and west. The peninsula was originally marked by three hills, which now afford admirable sites for building, and give the city a bold and handsome appearance. The insurrection, the immediate forerunner of our unfortunate American War, broke out here in the year 1772; a historical fact too eventful in its consequences, not to be generally known. It must have been then a very small place, because, in the year 1800, its popula- tion, we are told, was under 25,000; since then it has increased in a compound ratio, numbering at this time 120,000. Its harbour, or rather bay, is deep and well protectedTO THE UNITED STATES. 79 by a chain of islands, acting in some measure as break- waters. Eailroads have also done much for it, by con- necting it with the far west, and with the other towns, as well inland as on its own sea-board. There are said to be fifty arrivals of trains per day; and there is alto- gether a surprising energy and activity in commercial affairs, with their concomitants, wealth, comfort, and luxury, all of which are conspicuous, not confined to the few, but spread among the many. The town is built of brick; but partly from the nature of the ground, and partly, no doubt, from its earlier foundation, it is not so regularly laid out as some ; yet, in this respect, there is not much to find fault with ; the public buildings are handsome, particularly the Custom House, built of marble, with a dome, supported in the interior by massive, and at the same time, elegant marble columns. The Common, where I have described our hotel to be situated, I found to be something much superior to what its name would imply; it contains an area of about seventy-five acres, enclosed by an elegant iron fence, laid out as a park, and ornamented with trees, in shape a quadrangle, fronting three sides of which are houses of the best description ; the fourth is bounded by the Charles Eiver. It forms the public mall, or promenade, and was my favourite walk. Boston was founded as early as 1630 ; in that year Governor Winthrope arrived with a number of emi- grants, and settled at Charlestown, but afterwards removed to Boston ; no doubt attracted by the advant- ages of its harbour. These emigrants were not the poor outcasts of the present day, but composed of members of the better ranks of society, seeking an asylum in the wilds of the80 KECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT New World, from what they considered to be religious persecution at home, where they were known under the general appellation of Puritans; to such small begin- nings does the present flourishing Republic owe its origi$. It would have been well for these Puritans, if, bearing in mind the past, they had been, in their turn, more tolerant in the future. Their annals unfortunately tell a different tale ; their feud seems to have been with the Quakers in particular, whom they banished on pain of death. The Quakers came back and were executed ; the more severity used, the more did the unhappy Quakers court martyrdom, until these proceedings attracted the notice of the Home Government, and were put a stop to. The King (Charles n.), writing to the Governor on the subject, in his own hand, selecting a Quaker to be its bearer, who, on being summoned before the Gover- nor, and desired to take off his hat in his presence, coolly produced his credentials, desiring the Governor to take off his, while he read the letter of his Sovereign. It cannot be otherwise than a subject of regret that persecution should have been carried so far against a sect so unoffending and harmless as the Quakers. Yet at the same time it would not be fair to measure those times by the standard of our own, religious tolera- tion being essentially a plant of modern growth ; it has solved a problem in politics not then understood ; that a community consisting of a variety of religious sects may exist in harmony, provided its government has the good sense to hold the balance even, and to allow no undue interference with the creed of either. Perhaps the most fatal political error committed in modern times, was the revocation of the Edict of Nantes; had the Bourbons respected the act of their great an- cestor, they would probably in their adversity have hacjjTO THE UNITED STATES. Si a powerful body of loyal subjects to fall back upon^ which might have gone far to change the face of their affairs. The aspect of Boston is influenced at the present day by the causes to which it owed its origin. It professes to be the most religious and moral city of the Union, and certainly there is a great outward appearance of pro- priety and decorum ; it is also said that the nasal twang, or whine? peculiar to the New England States, is a remnant of the old Puritanism. There is an Athenaeum in the town, and several insti- tutions for the encouragement of science ; also a distin- guished University at Cambridge, in the immediate vicinity, which gives a tone of letters to its society. We met with much civility in the town, my daughters in particular being noticed, which personally gratified me. Saturday, the 23d, we spent in rambling over the town. Sunday, the 24th, we accompanied some of our friends to the Episcopal Church. Monday.—I found this morning the book in request to be Mr. Macaulay s Miscellanies ; his critique on some recent history of Greece (Grote's or Mitford's) was, in particular, much admired. One evening we had tickets given us for a concert, which was very well attended, and some fine pieces of music, no doubt well executed, but all this was a dull affair to me, as it was probably to most of the company, I therefore fell into conversation with a lady of our party from Nova Scotia ; she spoke of the bad taste of a recent publication on the United States, in terms of reproach. It must be admitted that travellers from the mother country, from whom better things might be ex- F82 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT pected, indulge in a sneering, contemptuous tone in treating of the United States, overlooking our common origin, and drawing their conclusions from some ima- ginary standard of perfection,—certainly not to be found at home. This acts injuriously in two ways; it engenders a sense of injustice, with an impression that it must be a mode of writing popular in England. It is to be lamented, because its tendency is to create enmity be- tween two communities formed for mutual friendship. We passed a pleasant evening in seeing Banvard's moving Panorama of the Mississippi, since exhibited with success in London. The drama, as I have already observed, is generally patronized in America ; as it is in Boston, in a building under the name of a museum, for a theatre has there an immoral sound. To this museum we went, and saw an old favourite— " Blue Beard"—represented, to the great delight of my girls. One day I observed a man busy at a coal wharf. I asked him at a venture how he got on. His reply was that he got on very well, being able to earn with his horse and cart a pound a day ; that he was from the old country, and that this was the country to come to ; upon which he invited me into the house, which I civilly de- clined, and so we parted. Sunday, the 31st, we attended the Presbyterian Church. On Monday morning, the 1st of November, we bade adieu to our friends, and embarked on board the Cu- nard line of Steamer Cambria, for Halifax, in company with a great number of passengers mostly going to England.TO THE UNITED STATES. 83 There were a few besides ourselves, however, for Halifax, among others some officers of its garrison, who had been absent on a tour in the United States. The* 2d found us running along the coast of Nova Scotia, which had a dreary appearance, from the lateness of the season. On Wednesday the 3d, we groped our way into Halifax harbour in the midst of a thick fog; in the course of which we came upon the steamer of the same line from England, groping its way out. After the usual greetings, inquiries about the progress of the Mexican war, &c., we went on, firing guns, until we reached our wharf in safety. By the kindness of friends, we found rooms taken for us in a respectable boarding-house.84 recollections of a yistt CHAPTER XII. NOVA SCOTIA—HALIFAX—HARBOUR-POLITICAL DISSENSIONS- IRISH ROMAN CATH6LICS. Nova Scotia was originally colonized by France, probably her earliest transatlantic settlement, although we had some prior claim in right of discovery; it changed hands more than once with us and that power, by different treaties of peace, but finally became ours about one hundred years ago, when the town of Halifax, its capital, was founded. The Indians, being trouble- some and hostile to us in the infancy of our settlement, and supposed to be countenanced by the French colon- ists, who had from the first cultivated friendly relations with them, steps were taken to get rid of these colonists in a body ; this was effectually accomplished, not how- ever without much personal hardship and suffering to them. Since which, in the lapse of time, the Indians have ceased to be formidable; they are to be seen about the country, while certain reserves have been set aside for them, in which they live peaceably. The town is seated on the declivity of a hill, about 250 feet high, rising from one of the finest harbours in the world, and crowned by a strong fort; the streets are generally broad and well laid out. Viewed from the water, or from the opposite shore, the town appearsTO THE UNITED STATES. 85 prepossessing and animated; its population may be about 25,000, exclusive of the military and navy ; and there is a general air of comfort and well-being among all classes, with some commercial activity, but not so much as one would expect, from its fine and deep harbour, protected by an island at its mouth, entered at all times of the tide, and open to navigation all the year round—no slight advantage in this part of the world. There is also an inner harbour, called the Bedford Basin, said to be capable of holding the whole British navy, very beautiful to look at, and full of fish, but frozen over so hard during a part of the winter, that it is passed in sleighs. These inner waters, or estuaries, occurring so fre- quently as they do in North America, certainly form one of the finest features in its landscape. The town is as yet built generally of wood; the Governor's house, the Admiral's, and one or two public buildings, being the exceptions. That this town will some time or other, from its greater proximity to Europe, and other advantages, be the centre of an extensive commerce, it is impossible to doubt. At present the impetus that is to bring this about is wanting; there are some capitalists, but no corre- sponding enterprise; the town, and probably the pro- vince, depending very much for a market on the com- missariat, and other expenditure of the army, navy, and Government,—the garrison generally consisting of three regiments of foot, besides the quota of artillery and engineers wanted for the fort; it is likewise the summer naval station of our West India squadron, the admiral removing to Bermuda in the winter. Although this town is situated in a latitude corre- sponding with the south of France, yet it has a northern86 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT aspect from the country in its neighbourhood being covered with stunted pine and spruce firs ; the low hills being rocky and barren, although lying pleasantly enough in regard to each other. About two miles from the town there is a break in the land, or inlet of the sea, called the north-west arm, running inland for some distance, in a line parallel with the harbour. Its breadth, which is not very great, is nearly equal throughout; its banks, being precipi- tous, and covered with the firs in question, give it a somewhat melancholy look—they are otherwise well situated for villas, as the water is for boating and fishing. The province is as yet but thinly peopled, and partly unoccupied, although it received a considerable accession of inhabitants at the close of the American war, from the American loyalists, as they were called, who re- ceived grants of the best lands, and whose descendants are now the most prosperous settlers ; there is also a colony of German settlers at Lunenburgh, retaining traces of their distinct descent, as well as others from the same country, spread about; likewise free negroes shipped from Jamaica at the close of the Maroon war, an inoffensive race, associating very much by them- selves, and cultivating the lands assigned to them in peace. Although the character of the country is in general rugged, and the soil poor, yet there is much fine land, partly alluvium deposited by the numerous streams and rivers by which the province is intersected. The province is also rich in minerals; coal and gypsum being already worked to some extent, and in which a considerable trade is carried on with the United States, as well as with our own provinces. There is alsoTO THE UNITED STATES. 87 a considerable trade in dried fish, which is shipped from Halifax in large quantities to the West Indies, and other places. In other respects it is as yet very much covered with the primeval forest, in which there is much valuable timber, besides the ever-prevailing fir. Its scenery abounds in variety of hill and dale—parts extremely picturesque, interspersed with many small lakes and trout streams, independent of those of larger dimen- sions. On my arrival in Halifax I found the whole of its society convulsed in political dissensions, carried to a height unknown at home, mixed up with feelings of animosity to the Roman Catholic portion of the com- munity on the part of some ; the causes of which I will endeavour to explain. It appears that the colony, from its infancy down to the present day, in common with its neighbouring British provinces, had been governed by the mother country, wisely and leniently in the main, through its local governor, assisted by an executive council of his nomination. A loud call had been made of late years by these provinces for responsible government—in other words, by a legislature elected by themselves. This the Government at home had lately found it prudent to con- cede, certain arrangements in regard to a civil list being stipulated for ; the dominant party had consisted of the aristocracy—that is, of the high officials, rich merchants, and others of influence. These were at first able, from their position, to carry the elections under the new regime ; but the liberal or radical party was gradually gaining strength, till, on the eve of the last election, they were tolerably balanced. In this emergency, the Irish Roman Catholic settlers (who are represented as hostile88 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT to the mother country to a man), threw their weight into the radical scale, and made it preponderate. The new Government, unused to power, is represented to grasp too greedily at the sweets of office, and, to effect it, is said to have made some removals indiscreetly, if not unjustly, coming in, as they did, on the pretence of a reform of abuses. The other party retort, that their opponents had been so long accustomed to office, that they arrogated to themselves a prescriptive right to it, and to the system of jobbing that was the consequence. In this political ferment, as a stranger, I took little interest; I had occasion, however, to call on my banker's correspondent, in reference to my letter of credit; he was a man of large property, and had been one of the executive council under the old system. I found him, as was to be expected, very discontented with the new state of affairs, also expressing great animosity to Sir Robert Peel's measures of free trade; to this latter I begged to demur, on the ground of the evil working of the opposite system at home. I believe all parties at home are now agreed on the beneficial tendency of the late Sir Robert Peel's mea- sures; that they offended his party at the time & I'ou- trance, is, I think, to be regretted, because it deprived the country of his services at a time when they were much wanted, interfering with the further measures for her benefit, which he contemplated, and which his com- prehensive mind had power to grasp. The income-tax should not, it appears to me, be objected to under the circumstances ; more particularly as it acts as an absentee tax, much wanted when we consider the number of our country people residing abroad, as well as the number of foreigners holding money in our funds.TO THE UNITED STATES. 89 The Irish Roman Catholics are numerous in the colony ; they consist for the most part, in the first in- stance, of the most destitute class of emigrants—but are industrious, soon become thriving, and consequently good subjects. In the town they drive trucks, unload vessels, or beep small retail shops. In the country they are first farm-servants, afterwards landed proprietors. They are possessed of one of the best churches in Halifax, with a bishop and a numerous staff of priests ; that they are inimical to the mother country to a man is a sweeping charge, and must be received with caution. The grievances of Ireland are of long standing ; let us hope that the measures lately carried out at home for her benefit, and those in progress, may usher in the dawn of a better day, when she may become a flourish- ing portion of the empire—her wrongs no more remem- bered, or remembered only as a matter of history. In the meantime, the exodus of her pauper popula- tion, while it seems to act at home as a safety-valve, which the peccant humours have opened for themselves, should be to the colonies an unmixed good ; where they become hewers of wood and drawers of water for the rest of the community. Highly to their praise, they are said to remit from their hard earnings upwards of a million sterling per annum, to their distressed relatives at home—there being bankers in the United States whose sole occupation it is to effect these remittances.90 recollections of a visit CHAPTER XIII. BEDFORD BASIN-WINDSOR—RIVER AVON-WOLFVILLE—BASIN OF MINES-DYKE LAND—BAPTISTS—COLLEGE—FARMERS- TREES-MONEY-TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT—CLIMATE-FAR- MERS* LIBRARY — SIR ARCHIBALD ALISONS " HISTORY OF EUROPE "—REMARKS. After passing a fortnight with our friends in Halifax, partly to recruit from our fatigues, on the morning of Thursday, the 18th November, we took the coach for Wolfville, a village situated in the district of Horton, on the confines of the Basin of Mines, sixty miles dis- tant, the residence of my sister (and her daughters), the widow of a naval officer, a Nova Scotian by birth, who had, on the close of the war, retired with his family to his native province. The road, for the first nine miles, skirted the Bedford Basin, which gave us a fine opportunity to view it in all its bearings. On its banks was pointed out to us a villa, formerly belonging to the late Duke of Kent, the father of her present Majesty, who had resided some time in the province, in which he had been condescending and popular. He had taken some pains to ornament it: it was, however, now falling into decay. On emerging from the basin, we entered upon rather a dreary and elevated tract, covered on the right hand by stunted fir-trees interspersed with blocks of granite;TO THE UNITED STATES. 91 on the left hand, on a lower level, by a succession of very pretty lakes and meadow-land, the stream from which made its escape over a fine rocky bed into the Bedford Basin; after which the country became more elevated and gloomy on either side, and full of stones, with occa- sional clearings, and here and there lakes of no great dimensions, until we reached the summit of the high land, the road gradually descending to Windsor, when a glorious prospect opened upon us,—the town of Wind- sor, the river Avon on which it stands, the Basin of Mines, with a variety of hill and dale, far and near, more or less covered by the primeval forest. In due time we reached Windsor, a distance of forty-five miles from Halifax, where we found a dinner provided for us that would have done credit to an English inn. Windsor is as yet a small town, but gives promise of a goodly future. It stands on the river Avon, forming here, at high water, a broad and deep estuary of the Basin of Mines, from w7hich it is not far distant. The country, for miles round, being formed of the alluvium which I shall describe presently, is fertile in the extreme. There are some handsome villas in the immediate neigh- bourhood, and it is sheltered by an amphitheatre of rather low hills, rising pleasantly in the distance. There is here a very well-constructed wooden covered bridge over the Avon ; and the banks of the river being at this place hemmed in on one side by gypsum cliffs, a con- siderable trade is already carried on in that article, which is in request in the United States, and other places, for manure and other purposes. There is at Windsor a college for the young people of the province, partly sup- ported by the State, and of good repute. Here the spring first makes its appearance, and many attributes conspire to make it a desirable place of residence. On92 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT leaving it a few miles behind, we found ourselves gradu- ally ascending a high and woody tract, commanding on the other side, in a long and gentle descent, a view of great variety,—the basin, its boundary, Cape Blomedon, with a fine undulating country, here and there cleared. We passed several fine streams, and then the mouth of the river G-aspereau, coming down through its fine valley to flow into the basin. We at length reached Wolfville, a distance of fifteen miles from Windsor, where I was delighted to embrace my sister, whom I had not seen for a lapse of years. I domesticated myself with her for the winter, intending, on the return of spring, to put my plan in execution of becoming better acquainted with the United States in a more extended tour, leaving my daughters under her care. The village of Wolfville I found to consist of a few farmers' houses and others, built of wood, standing sepa- rately, scattered along the road on each side for about a mile, where it skirts the Basin of Mines ; the road itself being the great highway between Halifax and St. John, New Brunswick, via Annapolis and the Bay of Fundy. Beyond the village, in a plain, the river Cornwallis runs into the basin, bounded by Cape Blomedon, rising in great grandeur; the whole very picturesque. This cape forms the extremity of a long ridge of high land skirting the Bay of Fundy to its entrance probably from the open sea, until here some violent convulsion appears to have snapped it asunder, leaving an entrance for its waters into the basin of no great width, through which the tide flows and ebbs with great velocity. The tide, as it rushes up the Bay of Fundy, not being able to find an outlet, is said to rise here to a height of sixty feet, surcharged with a detritus of red earth of the most fertilizing qualities, which it undermines from theTO THE UNITED STATES. 93 shores and cliffs of the bay in its advance; this it has deposited, in a process going on for ages, at the mouths of rivers, estuaries, or wherever it could find shelter, forming tracts, for miles and miles, of the richest land on the shores of the basin and elsewhere. On the eastern side of the village as it is entered from Halifax, there is a great extent of this land, retaining its name of Grand Pre, given it by the French settlers, with whom it was in great repute. It is dyked in from the sea (as land of this description generally is), and in spring-tides it is sometimes broken in upon. Being bare of trees, and its fields divided by the usual zigzag fence, it is not pleasing to the eye. Its value I under- stood to be about £16 sterling per acre—an enormous price for the colony. The land slopes upwards from the village until it crowns the broad and sheltered valley through which the river Gaspereau runs. The locality is indeed very fine, the scenery of great variety, as I had a better oppor- tunity of judging when I saw it clothed in the verdure of spring; at present the severe winter of Nova Scotia was about to set in. The farms in the immediate neighbourhood I found to consist of strips of land, extending from the basin to the crown of the hill, of no great breadth, but so con- trived that each might have a share of the dyke-land ; the ground up the slope being cleared to a certain extent; the remainder furnishing firewood and fence poles. At one extremity of the village there was a neat- looking small church for the Episcopal service; in the middle of the village, a large meeting-house for the Baptists, both constructed of wood. Also, in the immediate neighbourhood, a college or school, where young men of the Baptist persuasion, andu RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT others, were boarded and educated at a very moderate charge ; not exceeding in the whole, I think,£17 or £18 sterling a year ; among these were poor students, who paid nothing. I found a laudable desire for education in this province (as well as in the United States), the sons of mechanics, small farmers, and others, petitioning their fathers to be sent to school; after which, some of them become Baptist ministers, some missionaries, others teach a school,—all are considered to rise by it in the social scale. It cannot but be desirable, under such circum- stances, that an institution like this should succeed ; and the province was understood to make some allowance towards it from the public purse ; nevertheless, it lan- guished, and was all but ruined at the time I left the province: whether they had constructed their building at a cost beyond their means, or from whatever other cause, I know not. It was a handsome building of wood, standing sufficiently on the rise to command a fine view; but it wanted trees, both for ornament and shelter. I may as well mention here, that the farmers seem to look upon a tree as a natural enemy, removing every vestige of them in their clearings far and wide ; setting their houses down close to the road, surrounded in a slovenly manner by their out-houses, with an immense unsightly barn, constructed of unpainted deals, placed directly in front, on the opposite side of the road, if their farm extends so far. There are, however, exceptions to this. In the houses of the better sort, in the Baptist minister's, the doctor's, or the lawyer's, for instance, you find the house removed to a proper distance from the road, the out-houses placed behind, and neatly painted, with some attempt at a lawn, and hedge-row in front; the want of the trees, once removed, cannot be so easily supplied. *TO THE UNITED STATES. 95 And yet it would seem as if nature had given them their fine evergreen firs feathered to the bottom, for the express purpose of shelter during the intense cold of their severe winter; more particularly when the wind blows from the north-west, which their wooden houses, comfortable as they are in other respects, are not cal- culated to keep out. It appears to me also, that they might with great pro- priety leave a belt of these evergreen firs round each field; the snake or zigzag fence in general use here, as in the rest of North America, has a naked and bizarre appearance ; it is recommended by its cheapness and other conveniences ; the straight poles of the pine and spruce firs, so plentiful in this province, are admirably adapted for it. They are simply allowed to rest upon each other alternately, leaving a space between each equal to their bulk, sometimes bound at the upper ex- tremity of each with twigs, or further strengthened by a pole placed perpendicularly, and fastened in the ground. No nails are used, and they are easily replaced in their proper position in the spring, if thrown down in the course of the winter, which they are apt to be. This bad taste of the farmers, if allowed to go on, must, in the end, have a disagreeable effect on the aspect of the country; at present it is not so perceptible, the clearings bemg only partial; in whatever direction the eye is turned, it rests on a fine wooded landscape, the evergreen firs contrasting finely in winter with the snow in the clear cold atmosphere. Of their mode of farming, I am not so well able to judge ; it is probably more careless than at home; every farm-house, I observed, was accompanied by a large and well-stocked orchard. Their upland is but indifferent, nor did I observe much pains taken to manure it,96 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT although they might have the alluvium in plenty for the trouble of carting it from places where the small streams keep it open. They were at one time in the habit of raising very good wheat on the dyke land; but this has been a failure of late years, from some weavil that devours the ear; they also cultivate potatoes in great plenty, and were celebrated for one called the blue-nose (which has given a soubriquet to the provincials), but these have suffered of late from the disease now common to them in England; they also raise Indian corn, between the stalks of which large pumpkins are grown. They raise cattle and sheep in plenty, and of good breeds, housed during their long winters, when they are fed very much, in addition to hay, on turnips, carrots, parsnips, and other succulent roots, which they are of late getting more into the habit of cultivating for the purpose. Their low meadows and dyke lands produce very good hay, which they don't generally stack in the open air, as with us, but throw loose into the large barns I have described, in lofts or compartments constructed for the purpose. They are generally thriving, live comfortably, but otherwise careful of their money. The equality of condition, general well-being of the people, and almost total absence of extreme poverty, is the pleasing feature of society here, as it is in the United States, and Canada. Every family in the village lives very much alike, each possesses some land, their horse and waggon ; they have a good dinner every day, a com- fortable house, and a meal or bed to give a friend, if he should happen to stray in ; all done however with due provincial economy, the young members of a family being brought up to make themselves useful in theTO THE UNITED STATES. 97 menage, in many ways that would not be thought of at home. In speaking of the farmers, I may as well mention, that it is the rule of each, to keep one agricultural ser- vant all the year round ; but in their short summer, to employ the number of labourers they may require, when the services of all the young men of the neighbourhood, of whatever condition, are in requisition at good wages, besides their keep; this, the latter call " hiring themselves out," and so valuable is this labour understood to be, that the parents invariably claim and receive the price of it as their undoubted right, where the recipients are under age, which is very often the case. The money circulating in the province consists of English silver, with a little gold, and one-pound notes, and upwards, of the bank of British North America, reckoned in the currency of the country, that is, the shilling equal to fifteen pence, the pound to sixteen shillings, the sove- reign to one pound five ; and so scarce is it, that busi- ness is carried on very much in the primitive way of barter. The province, which is as yet for the greater part un- occupied, is said to abound in game; but this I doubt, whether it be kept down by the severity of the winter, or that the inferior animals follow the cultivation of man, being able to find a subsistence on what he can spare. It consists for the most part of moose-deer, of an animal between a hare and a rabbit, which does not burrow, and of wood partridges ; these are free to all, there being no game-laws; and are sold at moderate rates; there is likewise great store of trout, salmon, and other fish in the rivers and basin. The farmers rear geese, barn-door fowls, and other poultry in plenty, for sale, and also supply the wants of G98 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT the village, in the absence of a butcher s shop, from time to time with meat; the prices ruling, if possible, lower than either in Canada or the United States ; it may therefore be understood that I did very well in the way of eatables; in the drinking way I did not fare so well. I have throughout life been moderate in drinking, but I had been accustomed for many years to a glass or two of wine at dinner : for this I found myself compelled to substitute a little brandy and water ; spirits being generally to be had good and at moderate prices, while wine, from the retail dealers, I found to be of inferior quality. I mention my habit in this particular, because it was looked upon as a sin by my neighbours, among whom the temperance movement was at its height; taste not, touch not, handle not, in the words of the pledge, being the order of the day. This reform, it appears, had been much wanted, and the result could not foil to be beneficial, as much, hard drinking had prevailed for years, more or less among all classes ; but unfortunately they fell into the opposite extreme, until they could tolerate nothing less than total abstinence. This, as may be supposed, was found to be difficult to comply with, and was said to lead sometimes to drink- ing in private ; while in ordinary society nothing was to be had stronger than water—very difficult to recon- cile to a European stomach. The climate I look upon as very bracing and healthy ; the heat of summer, which is not of long duration, being tempered by the breezes from the Atlantic. The severe frost and snow generally sets in a little before Christmas, and continues with little intermission until about the last week in March, when it begins to break gradually up. During this period the air is dry and pleasant; theTO THE UNITED STATES. 99 sun shines in a clear blue sky; the people sleighing about in every direction, as it was with me my almost daily amusement and exercise. The cold is bearable, except when the wind blows violently, more particularly from the north-west, which seldom lasts however more than three days at a time, when it is prudent to keep within doors. After the month of March, the weather sets in not unlike our spring at the same period, but owing to the frost remaining in the ground, and the nights freezing, nothing grows until about the end of May, when the sum- mer may be considered to have commenced. The heat becomes greatest in the months of July and August; towards the middle of September it cools down sensibly. Fevers and agues, common in the United States, and in a lesser degree in Canada, are not known here; but there are occasional cases of consumption, which are to be found indeed throughout the whole sea-board of the Atlantic. Tolerably comfortable in my winter domicile in other respects, I began to be in want of books, having ex- hausted my sister's little stock. On inquiry, I learned that there was a farmer's book club in the neighbourhood, at the small quarterly subscription of three shillings sterling ; to this I was, as a stranger, readily admitted. My readers in England may be curious to know what sort of books were to be found in a farmers' library, at such a charge, in this distant, primitive, and to them probably obscure colony. On examining the catalogue, I found Mr. (now Sir Archibald) Alison's " History of Europe," for the thirty eventful years closing with the late peace; Adam Smith's " Wealth of Nations;" one or two of Sir Walter Scott's novels ; Chambers' Miscel- lanies ; with other works of minor value.100 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT I read Sir Archibald Alison's book with much in- terest. It supplied me with an agreeable course of reading for weeks, in which the midnight lamp often found me poring over his pages; the stirring events of which he treats were already familiar to me, as they must have been to every gentleman who had partly lived in those times. It is a work of great labour and research; and, as a whole, highly creditable to him. His style is easy ; and when he confines himself to his historical narrative, it seems to be faithfully given from the best authorities, without permitting it to be unduly wrarped by his own predilections. In his occasional commentary, where his own pre- judices are permitted to come more into play, I some- times fancy I find him wide of the mark. For instance, in his horror of democracy, he seems to overlook that it is the due mixture of that element in our Constitution that has made our country the greatest empire probably of modern times. He is likewise the advocate of class interests, and of indirect taxation—"Because/' as he says, " the latter, being put upon articles of consumption or luxury, are, in one sense, voluntary—to be paid or avoided at the will of the consumer/' If this were true in practice, it would be an argument against, not for, a system of tax- ation of this kind ; but the people must live, and are generally found to spend their incomes. Carried to the extent that it has been in our country, it has led to a wide system of adulteration and fraud, and of waste in its collection, creating an artificial scarcity, accompanied by comparatively moderate receipts into the Exchequer, as is proved by the buoyancy of the revenue under the recent successive reductions.TO THE UNITED STATES. 101 It should be borne in mind, at the same time, that direct taxation bears rule in the rest of Europe. Why are France, Prussia, and Austria, cheap countries to reside in, notwithstanding their comparatively small resources, large military establishments, and public debts ? According to Adam Smith, it is because the greater part of the public revenue is levied directly on the land. cc In Prussiahe says, " it amounts to thirty- three per cent., or one-third of the rental/' Lord Clarendon tells us, that when the parliament of his day granted a fixed annual sum to King Charles n., in lieu of Wardships, he intended to assess it on the land, but that the parliament threw it on the Excise. We are no doubt culpable in having allowed so long a period to elapse, since the conclusion of the war, with- out reducing our debt more materially. This might have been done in various ways: we might have kept up the sinking fund, or formed the nucleus of another, before resorting to cash payments, or put on a special slave-tax for the emancipation of the negroes (in- stead of burdening the country with twenty additional millions), to which the old ladies, its advocates, might have been invited to add their voluntary contributions. Sir Archibald tells us, that the allies levied ninety-one millions sterling from France at the close of the war, as an indemnity for its expenses, out of which six millions being allotted as our share, we handed it over to repair the frontier fortresses of the Netherlands, since pro- nounced to be useless. It is clear that a much larger share should have come to us; but even the sum in ques- tion would have been useful, as the germ of a sinking fund. However, if we look our finances in the face, their condition will be found to be by no means desperate— our debt has been lessened by the successive reductions102 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT of the five and four per cents., and will be still more so in the course of the next five years, when the long annuities fall in ; while the population and resources of the country have increased at least one-third since the close of the war. As we have the means of calculating from the former and present produce of the income-tax,— The former income-tax of ten per cent., or 2s. in the pound, produced, . . . £14,000,000 The present, at 7d. in the pound, produced, . 5,800,000 And at 2s. in the pound, would produce, in round numbers, ..... 20,000,000 There ought, therefore, to be no cause for uneasiness on the subject of our finances ; the only question seems to be, how they can be levied with least oppression to the public, and most productively for the Exchequer. I should suggest at least one-half in direct taxes, in time of peace, namely— Income-tax (if not more), . . . £10,000,000 Stamps, &c., (extended to real property), . 10,000,000 POTt-Office I . . . . 1,000,000 Woods and Forests, J House and other direct taxes, in lieu of assessed taxes, ..... 6,000,000 £27,000,000 In the revenue statement for the year ending April 1847, The Customs stood at . . £21,000,000 The Excise at . . . 14,000,000 £35,000,000 Instead of which, the Customs and Excise at well-regulated low duties, . . 27,000,000 £54,000,000 The above plan would carry out the reform in our finances at very small cost indeed. The extension of the stamp-duties would not be seriously felt, and ought not to give cause for complaint.TO THE UNITED STATES. 103 While lowering the level of the income-tax, and its extension to Ireland, would produce probably more than I have set down as from that source, the tendency of the Customs and Excise, under the system I have sup- posed, would no longer be found to act as a prohibition on consumption, and should be a boon to all classes. There is every reason to believe, that under it the revenue would be found to be very buoyant, leaving a large surplus applicable to the annual reduction of the debt. I agree with Sir Archibald in his censure of the im- provident manner in which our three per cent, loans were contracted, the inconvenience of which is now felt in the obstruction it offers to the further reduction of the interest in our funds. I cannot agree with him in his remarks in reference to the Eoman Eepublic; he tells us the Romans were successful because they extended their institutions to their conquered provinces ; whereas their policy was quite the reverse—they governed their provinces accord- ing to the religion and laws of the vanquished ; and to this historians have hitherto attributed their success. For the manner in which they were governed in the latter days of the Republic, we have only to read Cicero's orations against Yerres, to say nothing of Sail list's govern- ment of Africa. ^ The Romans were peculiarly tenacious of their Wn laws and privileges, not permitting them to extend be- yond their city until after the social war—the most critical they ever waged (the second Punic war ex- cepted), when the allied states of Italy, combined for the purpose, wrested them from their grasp by main force ; and with them, as is well known, fell the Republic. The laws wisely framed for the government of a single town would not work when extended over Italy.104 recollections of a visit CHAPTER XIV. CHURCH OF ENGLAND-BAPTISTS—ROMAN CATHOLICS- GOVERNOR. There is no want of religion in the province; the bishop of Nova Scotia presides over the Church of England, the clergy of which, in the country parts, are sent out by the Church Missionary Society, with an allowance from home, to which is added some land, and probably some other little advantages; but their num- ber is small. The different dissenting sects are numer- ous—the prevailing one throughout the province being the Baptist. The Episcopal minister did not reside in our village, and he had two other churches under his charge, so that we had only an occasional service, generally well at- tended. The Baptist ministers, residing in the village, and being also the schoolmasters, had it very much their own way; their service was, for the most part, well conducted, numerously attended, and a general zeal shown to make converts—particularly among the pupils under their care. When the boys became, to use their phrase, converted, the girls of the village would become converted also—a hole would then be broken in the ice of a neighbouring pond, and a general baptism take place in the depth of winter, amidst great excitement —one of which I had the curiosity to witness.TO THE UNITED STATES. 105 They did not go quite so far, I think, as to say that there was no salvation out of the pale of their own church; but I saw more hostility to their brother dis- senters than appeared consistent with Christian charity. The Roman Catholics, for the reason I have given in Chap. XII., were particularly in bad odour—they were prayed for as heretics. In their sermons it was an- nounced to the horrified congregation, that it was fore- told in the prophecies that there was to be a fight be- tween them and the Protestants, with a hope expressed that the Protestants would be prepared ; this, as was to be expected, became the subject of conversation. I observed, in my turn, that all that seemed to be want- ing to set the people by the ears, was for an equally indiscreet Romish priest to inculcate from his pulpit a like doctrine. In admiring an old lady's garden and menage, I happened to observe that she had an excellent servant. " Very true/' she said, " but he would murder us all if his priest ordered him/' "Would you not do the same by him if your priest ordered you ?" "0 dear, no ! I beg your pardon, sir ; that is quite out of the question." And so, I have no doubt, it was ; but a little more charity on her part, in judging others, would have pleased me better. The month of April having now arrived, I went up to Halifax for a week or two, to arrange my pecuniary affairs, prior to my more extended tour in the United States. I found politics still at a fever heat, but the change was otherwise agreeable. It is pleasing to observe the care taken by the mother country to secure for her colonies the due administra- tion of justice ; so much so, that in equity cases, where106 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT we may suppose it might be warped, she provides that her Governor ex officio shall preside at the pleadings, and as such be held responsible for the decision. I had not yet seen the Governor, the late Sir John Harvey, when, on accidentally passing through the courts of law, he was pointed out to me, presiding in his quality of Lord Chancellor, at the hearing of a case. Being in plain clothes, I at first took him for the Chief-Justice, mistaking his military secretary for him, who was sitting in an arm-chair in an undress uniform. I found him to be, as I expected, a fine-looking, in- telligent officer and gentleman. He was understood to govern his province with tact and judgment; of this, I fancy, there could be no doubt. He acted with the ruling party, as he could not pro- bably well do otherwise; he was popular with them. His wish was, I believe, to hold the balance even, and to be generally popular with all parties, were this pos- sible in the then state of politics. The other party, how- ever, kept aloof from his advances, giving him, very undeservedly, in reference to any conciliatory act or speech of his, the soubriquet of Sir John Humbug. I provided myself in Halifax with sufficient money for my journey, mostly in British gold, knowing that I could change it for American in any of the large towns of the Union, and returned to Wolfville, resolving to keep a minute account of my expenses, which I had neglected to do before.to the united states. 107 CHAPTER XY. BASIN OF MINES—PARSBOROUGH—AMHERST—SACKVILLE—BAY OF FUNDY—AGRICULTURAL MEETING—ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNS- WICK—RIVER ST. JOHN—FREDERICKTON. On the morning of Monday, the 15th May 1848, I bade adieu to my daughters, sister, and friends, and embarked for Parsborough, on the opposite side of the Basin of Mines, in a small schooner (said to be a crazy craft) plying between it and our neighbouring village of Lower Horton. With a fair wind we crossed the basin in about three hours ; the weather pleasant until we got beyond the protection of Cape Blomedon, when we ex- perienced the effect of a rough current running into the basin. My fellow-passengers consisted of the owner of the craft, and one or two others, with whom I had plea- sant conversation on one subject or another. One party, belonging to the rival school at Sackville, accounted for the all but failure of the Wolfville College to the undue pains taken to make the scholars Baptists, which, ac- cording to him, originated in excitement, and would be naturally objected to by parents of different persuasions, whose object was a general education for their sons. To this the other passengers seemed to assent. The tide happening to be out on our arrival, we had to get into a boat, and from it to jump on shore, on the open beach, dry-shod if we could. This difficulty over-108 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT come, we went to the Parsborough Hotel, a house of very modest pretensions indeed. Under the pretext of its being a temperance house, there were neither wine, brandy, nor cigars to be had; there was no alternative for me, however, but to remain, as it commenced and continued raining for the rest of the day; if the fare, however, was indifferent, the people were civil and the charges moderate. No mail going the next day, I was compelled to hire the landlord's waggon, driven by his brother, a fisherman. Tuesday, 16 th May, 1 set off accordingly at eight o'clock in the morning for Amherst, a distance of thirty- five miles, in rather a shabby turn out, the horse threatening to break down more than once, the driver, however, civil and obliging. I observed that the ridge of high land ran on in a continuous direction from Pars- borough, skirting the bay, as I have already noticed. We continued our route by a road cut through the forest, mostly of firs; the land on each side appeared to be poor, the clearings partial, and very much confined to the neighbourhood of valleys, through which there generally ran a stream, and, as a consequence, some valuable meadow-land. The settlers' houses comfortable, with no want of eggs, bacon, &c., but in other respects, strictly temperance. The country gradually improved as we approached Amherst, which we did not reach until the evening, and where I found a tolerably comfortable hotel for the size of the place. Amherst may be the germ of a town of some future importance. On looking round it next morning, I found it to be at present a small place, consisting of little more than a few straggling houses. It is situ- ated on the confines of the province, where the neck of land connects it with its sister province of New Bruns-TO THE UNITED STATES. 109 wick; on the Bay of Fundy shore of which a great tract of alluvial or dyke land has been formed, by the causes which have led to the same formation within the Basin of Mines, already more particularly described. It is very valuable, and said already to sell for a good price, considering the infant state of the colony ; it is never- theless not pleasing to look at, being perfectly level, devoid of trees, and railed off in every direction by the zig-zag fence. To this land Amherst probably owes its origin, as does the village or town of Sackville on the opposite or New Brunswick side, where I was going on a visit to a friend whom I had known in England, where he had been on a mission connected with the public affairs of his province. Wednesday 17th.—To Sackville my landlord drove me over in his waggon, a distance of about ten miles, on a road over the dyke land in question—the boundary- line of the two provinces^ crossing it at a right angle about half way. The isthmus itself may be about ten or twelve miles in breadth, from sea to sea ; four miles of which may consist of a ridge or neck, the rest, of the alluvial land in question on either side. My friend had acquired a large fortune in his province by trade ; had been Speaker of its House of Representa- tives, and, on his mission to England, had married an English lady, with whom I found him comfortably do- mesticated, and the father of three children. I met with a warm reception from both. Next day, in a long drive, I saw some commanding views of the Bay of Fundy, which narrows here very much, enlarging occasionally in a succession of basin- like bays, in one of which a large vessel was riding quarantine, full of emigrants for St. John; they had not110 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT been allowed to land, in reference to some disease among them, real or suspected. In the evening an opportunity was given me to see some of the neighbours, a party being made for the purpose. On one occasion I accompanied my friend to an agri- cultural meeting and cattle-show, at which he presided ; the meeting consisted of honest farmers, proprietors of the lands they cultivated. The cattle-show would have rather surprised those at home, accustomed to our annual exhibition at the Baker Street Bazaar—it con- sisted of one horse and one bull, both for the purposes of breeding. The horse had been purchased in Prince Edward's Island by a farmer, deputed for the purpose, at the joint expense, and seemed to give satisfaction; the bull was of the Durham breed, and had been reared in the neighbourhood—both were considered to be well adapted for the object in view. The horse, it appeared, had been bred by a Scotch farmer, who had given him the name of King Robert Bruce—he was now dubbed Eoncesvalles by common consent; his price was, I think, with some allowance for expenses, £60 currency. The bull was offered for £20, and purchased by the farmers for £17, 10s., both currency. The farmers conducted themselves respectably throughout the proceedings. My friend having given me some useful hints as to my tour, and some letters, I took leave of him by the mail for St. John, on the afternoon of Sunday the 21st— travelling on this day contrary to my wont, there being no other mail until Thursday, and time pressing. We passed through Dorchester, in the vicinity of which there is a large tract of dyke land ; we stopped on the road at a late hour for some rest and refreshment, the night cold and slightly rainy. Learning that it was intendedto the united states. Ill that we were to go on in a new conveyance—an open waggon, with the fare raised—we refused, in a body, to stir, unless in the former covered carriage, which was at last unwillingly conceded, the passengers tolerably agreeable. We arrived about three p.m. the next day at St. John^ much fatigued, where I took up my abode in the St. John's Hotel, the best in the town ; the bed-rooms, however, too small—a general defect in the British North American provinces, as compared to their neighbours in the United States. After dinner, I spent an hour or two in looking about the town, which appeared to be an active, thriving place ; many square-rigged vessels load- ing with timber in its harbour. New Brunswick is a valuable appendage of the British Empire, and will be much more so, as it fills up, from its great capabilities; besides, its climate being well adapted to settlers from the mother country. It origin- ally belonged to France ; but became ours as late as the year 1763, when some enterprising colonists resorted to it from home and the New England States—these were largely increased at the close of the American war, by American loyalists and others, as its value began to be better known. It is as yet, however, very thinly settled—its popula- tion being estimated at little more than 200,000 ; the province being, for by far the greater part, unoccupied. It is bounded on one side by the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the other by the American State of Maine, which, by the late treaty with the United States Govern- ment, settling the mutual boundary, is made to cut rather awkwardly into it. It has likewise a fine extent of sea coast, with many deep, navigable rivers and lakes. Its exports are chiefly ships, timber, and deals to112 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Europe; fish, horses, and lumber to the West Indies; gypsum and grindstones to the United States. The harbours all round the coast are favourable for loading large ships ; but the harbour of St. John is not only favourably situated in other respects, but being likewise accessible to ships of the largest class at any time in the winter, has decided advantages, and will always be the chief port of the province. The town of St. John is built mostly of wood, and has suffered at different times severely from fires—its popu- lation may be about 30,000. The lower orders are mostly Irish, who congregate here in great numbers—all the hard work being done by them. I had heard much of the beauty and variety of the scenery of the river St John, which I determined to see. I therefore, on the morning of Wednesday the 24th, took the steamer for Frederickton, the capital of the province, a distance of eighty miles up the river; the fare 4s. 2d. sterling. Nor was I disappointed; the river itself is affected by the tide to a certain extent, but as the aperture through which it empties itself into the sea is narrow, on its ebb it seems to part with its waters reluctantly. We consequently found ourselves on a tranquil, full stream, forming occasionally large, lake- like openings: at others, contracting its shores ; also islands, consisting occasionally of long strips of alluvial land. The river frontage, generally settled throughout, beyond which was a wild, gloomy forest, everywhere appearing to have no bounds. I discovered that I had got into the slowest and worst boat that plies ; the night gradually drew in upon us, when, finding we were not likely to arrive before mid- night, I turned into bed by the captain's advice.TO THE tJHIT&D STATES. 113 Next morning I breakfasted at a hotel close to the wharf, where I took up my quarters for the time being; it turned out to be a very good house, with pleasant society, with whom I could converse. Frederickton, the capital of the province, is as yet a small town; it is regularly laid out on a level bend of the river, probably an alluvial deposit from it, immediately bounded by a sloping surface of high ground behind: the opposite bank being of a like character, consequently it is well protected on both sides—its population may be about 4000. Nor are the trees in its neighbourhood too much cleared away, contrary to the usual error in that respect. I was pleased with the cottage and grounds of one gentleman, in particular, who had made a very pretty place for himself, by merely removing and thinning the original forest to suit his purpose. In going over Government House, a full-length por- trait of Lord Glenelg was pointed out to me, which I recollected to have seen in the Exhibition in London, as purporting to have been painted for the express pur- pose ; his Lordship, having become known to the pro- vince in his capacity of Colonial Secretary, seemed to be held in great respect and esteem. A church was in progress of building, of stone, partly at the expense of the bishop, to be his cathedral. It appeared to be in good taste, but the foundation is said to be bad. He had sent for the stone either to England or Normandy, and had it worked at home. It appeared to be soft, and in some places already damaged ; good hard stone being to be found on the spot, had the bishop been contented with it, which would probably have been better that he had. This church is, as may be supposed^ his hobby. H114 recollections of a visit The great outcry here, and at St. John, was that "no- thing is doing, the times are very bad/' and so forth. Yet I saw everywhere indications to the contrary—saw- mills at work, rafts of timber on the river, with much activity in shipping it. Prices are lowered, probably in consequence of the timber trade being thrown open to the northern ports of Europe, by the recent reduction of the duties, and some depression may be the consequence; nevertheless, the quantity shipped for England is said to increase vastly and progressively, while the manufac- tured goods of the mother-country are to be had in re- turn as cheap as at home. Having returned to St. John by a better boat,— On Tuesday 30th, nine a.m., I embarked on board a steam-boat (the Maid of Erin) plying to Eastport and Portland, in communication with the railroad from the latter place to Boston, taking a ticket for the whole way : fare, £1,13s. 6d. sterling. The passage proved stormy in the extreme—a head wind and heavy sea, with continued rain. We touched at Eastport, the boundary line of the British province, to part with and take up passengers. Next morning the storm increased ; we passed a schooner laden with lumber, water-logged, and deserted by her crew; part of her deck cargo, washed overboard and floating about in all directions, appearing to consist of billets of firewood ; the masts still standing; the sails fallen down and partly covering the deck—the whole a painful picture of distress. Our steamer was apparently old and badly arranged —the passengers numerous and very sea-sick, with a good many Irish emigrants, recently come out, as deck passengers. To mend matters, something went wrong in the steam boiler; at last, much jaded and fatigued, we contrived to reach Portland harbour in the dark,TO THE. UNITED STATES. 115 when we were visited by a custom-house officer, who, however, allowed my baggage (consisting of two carpet bags) to pass unopened, when I at last reached my hotel, as late as twelve o'clock, much exhausted. The landlord thinking me only a customer for the night, took me in with reluctance, contriving to give me the worst room in his house. Being in no hurry, however, and liking the appearance of the town, I determined to remain a few days. With this view (although not usual), I obtained, as a stranger, from the railroad authorities, permission to use my own convenience as regarded them. I was accommodated with a better bed-room at my hotel, which was in other respects comfortable.116 recollections of A visit CHAPTEK XVI. PORTLAND-BOSTON-EDUCATION-HARVARD UNIVERSITY —- FEMALE ARISTOCRACY-PLYMOUTH-PURITAN PILGRIMS- SHIPPING--LAW COURTS-LOWELL FACTORIES—NEWHAVEN -LONG ISLAND SOUND. Portland, the largest town in the State of Maine, in point of wealth, commerce, and population, is beautifully situated—crowning a peninsula in Casco bay. Being regularly laid out, and handsomely built on the brow of a rising ground, it presents a fine view from the sea. Its spacious harbour is safe, deep, and easy of access, at the same time land-locked by narrow islands. Its population may be about 15,300. Thursday, June 1st.—I spent this day in looking about the town and its vicinity, with both of which I was much pleased. I remarked the comfort, cleanliness, absence of poverty, and general look of quiet respecta- bility so common to the United States. The lotus-tree is planted here and there on the verge of the footpath of the principal street; its green leaves contrasting agreeably with the glare of the sun, its shade acceptable in the hot, dry atmosphere of an American summer. No wine or brandy was to be had at my hotel—the temperance movement being in full operation. June 2d.—I spent this day in visiting the observatoryTO THE UNITED STATES. 117 hill, in the immediate neighbourhood of the town, com- manding a fine view of its inland waters and numerous islands; and where I met, and renewed my acquaintance with, a Boston friend. June 3d.—I took a warm bath; a custom I never neglect when an opportunity offers, but at present a necessary refreshment after the voyage from St. John, where I had spent an uncomfortable night without un- dressing. The charge very moderate, only twenty cents, or tenpence of our money. Sunday, 4th June.—I went to the Episcopal church, accompanying a family who, on my asking the hour of Divine service, kindly offered me a seat in their pew. The service was well conducted, and a good sermon followed the prayers, which on the present occasion were shortened, but this might be because the sacrament was to be administered. The Voluntary system is prevalent, as I have already observed, throughout the whole of the United States— there being no connexion between Church and State. It is found to answer very well—each congregation selecting and paying their own pastor. His stipend, in this case, I learned to be 1000 dollars per annum, or about 200 guineas of our money—a moderate, but fair allowance, considering the low prices that rule in this part of the Union. In the evening, I walked to the cemetery outside the town, laid out in the new orna- mental style, and apparently a favourite resort of the townsfolk. Monday, June 5th.—A gentleman introduced himself to me to-day, by asking me if I was related to the late Professor Playfair. On my expressing my surprise at the question, my uncle having been long dead, he ex- plained himself by telling me that the Professor's Euclid118 recollections of a visit had been his class-book at college. He showed me much civility, proposing a walk to the railway recently com- menced between this town and Montreal, from which great advantages are proposed to it as a shipping port for that part of Canada. The wages of the labourers upon which, I learned to be a dollar and upwards per diem. We continued our walk to the observatory, which we ascended to enjoy its extensive view, returning after- wards leisurely to our hotel, conversing on such local particulars as are interesting to a stranger. At three o'clock p.m. I continued my route to Boston per railroad ; the cars full—I, however, got a comfortable seat. The weather cloudy and rainy, but the country looking green and well; we crossed the Merrimack river over a long covered bridge, and passed through Haver- hill, and other thriving manufacturing towns ; the land through which our route lay being in some places un- cleared ; the soil generally appeared, as far as I could judge from the railway cuttings, to be light and sandy. We arrived safely at Boston about a quarter past eight o'clock; the distance being about 105 miles, i.e., at the rate of twenty miles an hour; the train not ex- press, as we made various stoppages to take up and put down; it appeared to me that the speed was sufficient under the circumstances, and that the railway was pro- perly constructed, and well regulated. On my arrival at Boston, I got into a conveyance for my old quarters, at the Winthrope House, where I was at once recognised, and got a comfortable room, which in my case is a great desideratum; my state of health not admitting of the contrary; after some tea, I was very glad to go to bed, a good deal fatigued. Tuesday 6th, the day rainy and damp, with an un- pleasant wind blowing; I walked about nevertheless aTO THE UNITED STATES. 119 great part of the morning, visited Fanuel Hall, where I saw the portraits of Washington, of John Hancock (whose name figures to the declaration of independence, as chairman of the Congress assembled for the purpose), and of other worthies of bygone times. I recognised several of my old acquaintances at the hotel, who were all very civil, and who had not forgotten my daughters, in particular. I remarked to-day, as before, the general appearance of comfort and wealth, accompanied by the quiet and orderly behaviour of the townspeople (which I have often had occasion to observe in the towns of the Union) —what we call rows, or street mobs, I have nowhere as yet seen or heard ; this is no doubt, among other causes, in part owing to the education and general comfortable condition of the lower orders ; the temperance move- ment must also not be overlooked, accompanied as it is by the general religious and moral tone of society. Thirty thousand pounds per annum are supposed to be levied on the town alone for public schools, while three times that amount is levied throughout the State, dispensing education to the young population generally, of whatsoever religious sect, at the public cost; this is as it ought to be, and is found to work well. When we bear in mind the large portion of society the lower classes form in all communities, and the political privi- leges conceded to them, in particular, throughout the Union, too much importance cannot be attached to their wellbeing, of which, from what I have observed; the good fruits may be inferred to be visible. Wednesday, 7th.—After breakfast I took the omnibus for the Auburn cemetery. I found the grounds diversi- fied, and in good order ; the early foliage beautiful, the monuments, many of them of marble, in good taste. I120 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT walked, on my return, to the neighbouring village of Cambridge, to see Harvard University ; first taking the library, which was of large extent, and contained in a new building constructed for the purpose, of granite, in the Gothic style ; said to be in imitation of a building at our university of Cambridge, in England; at all events well adapted for the purpose: from thence I was conducted to the museum, in a separate building ; the ground-floor of which was a hall of convocation, on the walls of which were hung many portraits of public cha- racters, benefactors to the college, and others, painted by Copley, an artist of merit, a native of this town, of whom Boston is justly proud, and known in England (where he also practised professionally) as the father of our distinguished Tory chancellor, Lord Lyndhurst. This university is the oldest, most richly endowed^ and most important literary institution of the United States. It has a president, and a full staff of professors, and qualifies students (generally about 450 in number) for every branch of literature and science, at a moderate cost. On reaching town, I called on my friend the British consul, who promised to procure me the necessary order of admission to the Lowell factories ; I then learned at a money-changer s that I could change my English for American gold, at the rate of four dollars and eighty- four cents per sovereign. At dinner to-day I had for the first time this season a dessert of strawberries and cream. These strawberries are of the small Scotch or Swiss kinds, and grow very plentifully throughout the northern states of the Union, as well as in the British provinces, principally in a wild state, Thursday, 8th.—A determined rainy day. I went outTO THE UKITED STATES. 121 nevertheless, principally to see the collection of pictures and curiosities at the Athenaeum, but found that the pictures, &c., were not to be seen until Monday ; I was shown the library, however, which was extensive and well-selected, being proprietary, and a share worth about £60 sterling, with certain privileges as to admit- ting friends. I was permitted as a stranger to remain to read Mr. Dickens' book on America, which, in reference to the weather, I availed myself of. I passed the even- ing pleasantly with friends, one of whom was from Scotland, who gave me letters to Philadelphia. Friday, 9th.—Weather still rainy—donned my cloak and went to the Athenaeum club, and continued Mr. Dickens' book. In the evening I accompanied a friend to see the Italian opera of Ernani. An opera is to me a dull affair. The performance seemed respectably got up, the audience fashionable. The curtain rose a quarter before eight, and we were out by half-past ten, there being no ballet; price of pit and boxes one-half dollar, there being only one higher price, a dollar, for what was called the Parquiet boxes, forming a small semicircle projecting beyond the lower circle into the pit, and over- looking it. I had here an opportunity of observing the female aristocracy of Boston, celebrated throughout the Union for their beauty; they are certainly handsome, generally tall slender figures, with a gracefully turned neck and shoulders, and a finely-chiselled countenance ; but the complexion of our English ladies is wanting. They are also said to arrive early at maturity, and to fade soon ; whether it be from the extremes of their climate, or from whatever other cause, they do not appear to take sufficient exercise in the open air, for robust health. Our ladies at home have a moderate climate that admits of walking exercise in the open air, more or less all the122 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT year round,—an advantage probably not sufficiently ap- preciated ; they are also like other home-plants of slow growth, retaining their good looks for a long time. Boston, while it is a pleasant town commanding good society, is, as compared with our prices at home, a cheap place of residence, with considerable equality in condi- tion ; there are some few, no doubt, as everywhere, very rich, but many for the most part independent, or in easy circumstances, with probably fortunes of about 50,000 dollars, yielding, at the rate of interest to be had on good security, an income of about £700 per annum, which here commands a carriage with every convenience of genteel life that should accompany it. Saturday, 10th.—Finished Mr. Dickens' book at the Athenaeum ; passed the evening pleasantly with friends; slavery the topic of conversation ; disapproved of in un- qualified terms. Sunday, 11th.—Accompanied a friend to the Episcopal service. Afterwards I accompanied my friend in a walk, where he pointed out to me the new Athenaeum in course of completion, Mr. Hancock's house fronting the Common, the house in which Franklin was born, and several other objects of curiosity, with much civility on his part; passed the evening in pleasant conversation with the ladies in the drawing-room of my hotel. Monday, 9th June.—I went this morning to visit the monument erected on Bunker's Hill, to commemorate the battle fought there, between our troops and the Colonial militia, commanded by Colonel Prescott, at the commencement of the revolutionary war ; it crowns the hill (which is a suburb of the town) in the middle of a raised square grass-plot, in the form of an obelisk; it is built of granite, the corner-stone having been laid by General Lafayette in 1825, and was completed as lateTO THE UNITED STATES. 123 as the year 1842; its height is 220 feet. I ascended it by a spiral staircase, in the interior, being first furnished with a lantern. On arriving at the top, I commanded a fine panoramic view of the town and neighbourhood on every side, through four large windows, or open aper- tures ; on descending, I purchased for one-half dollar, the panoramic view in question, accompanied by a view of the monument itself, with some letter-press giving its history, and also the history of the battle it com- memorates. On my return, I changed some of my British for American gold, at the rate of four dollars eighty-six cents (£1, 3d. sterling) for Victoria sovereigns—a good price, these being in repute, because they are the newest and consequently least worn ; on the others you lose a cent or two as the case may be, the St. George and Dragon sovereign being the least valuable. Tuesday, 13th.—Passed the morning in changing some more of my gold at the above price. I then called on the British consul, for my ticket for the Lowell factories; afterwards proceeding to the Athenaeum, where I was permitted by the librarian, as a stranger, to see the pic- tures, statuary, &c., although not yet open to the public. I then sought out the depot of the Plymouth Bail way, which was not far distant from my hotel, having a natural curiosity to see the spot where the Pilgrim Fathers first landed. Wednesday, 14th.—After an early breakfast, I set off accordingly by the quarter before seven o'clock train for Plymouth, a distance of thirty-seven miles, which we accomplished in less than two hours. I observed, by the cuttings of the railway, the land to be generally poor; in appearance sandy gravel, full of stones, but otherwise undulating and covered with a rich verdure,—the result124 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT of the recent rains ; the villages clean and comfortable in appearance, as I had occasion to observe everywhere in New England. Plymouth is considered classic ground, in this part of America, as the oldest settlement in New England, being the landing-place of the celebrated Puritans from the Mayflower, in 1620 ; and as such, 1 took a peculiar interest in it. Its bay is spacious and sheltered, but too shallow for the purposes of commerce: it consequently has never risen to any magnitude; its settlement or state of Plymouth becoming subsequently merged in the state of Massachusetts ; it is at present little more than a village, or watering-place, with a population of about 5000. The first settlers suffered extreme privations here, at- tended by a great mortality. On a mound which runs parallel behind the town, stands the church and burying- ground. In a break through the middle of this mound runs a stream of fresh water into the sea ; tracing this to its source, a distance of about two miles, I came upon a fine sheet of water, surrounded by the primeval forest, very much in the state, no doubt, that the first settlers found it, the ground surrounding it appearing to consist of little else than sand. The beauty of this lake in the fine sunshine, the silence of its forest, and the absence of man, seemed to give it a melancholy interest as con- nected with the pilgrims; it is known by the name of Billington's Sea, from a person of that name—a son, I believe, of one of the pilgrims, on ascending a tree the better to look about him—having been the first to dis- cover it, intimating to the little community that he saw the sea, or a sea, in that direction. On returning, I observed that the stream, shortly after issuing from the lake, had been made to turn a mill, now gone to decay.TO THE UNITED STATES. I now visited Pilgrim Hall, a neat building of granite, with a Doric portico of six columns. I found it to con- tain a large painting of the landing from the Mayflower; the chair of Governor Carver ; the sword-blade of Cap- tain Miles Standish, with several other curious relics. There was nothing in these relics that indicated a high state of the arts ; what interested me most was the well- thumbed Bibles, dated 1620. I remarked that the print- ing had then very much reached the state in which it has come down to our day. I then adjourned to the hotel, a large commodious building, commanding a fine view, to a good dinner in company with several others, to which however we had nothing but water to drink. Little more than two centuries have elapsed since the Puritan pilgrims found this neighbourhood a howling wilderness, impeded in their early efforts by the poverty of its soil, and by the savage tribes which surrounded them ; I found it the abode of peace and security—a por- tion of the flourishing Eepublic they had contributed to colonize ; reaching it at my ease, by the greatest inven- tion of modern times, from a distance of thirty-seven miles, to return the same day by the same easy convey- ance. The fare each way was one dollar; the day's expenses comprehended in three dollars. Thursday, 15th.—I passed this morning in visiting the shipping of the port, which was numerous, and well arranged at the different wharves, in reference to the places to which they trade; a very bustling scene, the harbour alive with vessels arriving and departing. I had the curiosity to go on board an English liner, the Ocean Monarch (since destroyed by fire on her passage)—the accommodations seemed good, the cabin fare home eighty dollars. 1 afterwards read the Times newspaper, mar- velling at the state of affairs in France.126 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Friday, 16th.—This morning I visited the law-courts, but found none of them sitting; I then entered the municipal or police court, where, after several minor cases were disposed of, the next in the list was that of a man for selling spirits without a license, for which he was fined forty dollars, with costs of prosecution. I next visited the museum, containing portraits of Washington and others, including the Presidents from first to last; many natural curiosities, with busts of Washington, Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, Mr. Dickens, and others; a cast of the Yenus by Canova, with many other objects of interest, returning to my hotel much fatigued, the day being very warm. Monday, 19th.—Having procured the usual order of admission, through the British consul, I this morning took the railroad for Lowell, a distance of twenty-six miles, on a visit to its factories. Lowell is the Manchester of the United States, and every stranger, possessing any curiosity, is expected to visit it. Its machinery is moved by water-power, of which it possesses a vast amount. Unlike its prototype in England, it is a clean, healthy-looking place, of re- cent origin, regularly laid out, built of brick, surronnded by pleasant hills and valleys, and seated on the Merri- mack River, below Pawtucket Falls, at its junction with the river Concord. The population about 35,000. The water-power is furnished by a canal about one mile and a half long, commencing at the head of Pawtucket Falls, which have a descent of thirty-one feet. From the main canal the water is carried by lateral canals to the mills and manufactories. There are thirteen large manufacturing companies, having nineteen mills and 250 houses—employing a capital of 12,000,000 dollars, and 9235 operatives, of whom upwards of 6000TO THE UNITED STATES. 127 are females, making 76,000,000 yards of cloth, and 14,000,000 yards printed calico per annum ; paying for labour 1,500,000 dollars per annum, and consuming annually 12,500 tons of coal, 3270 cords of wood, 61,100 bales of cotton, 47,000 gallons of oil, 600,000 bushels of charcoal, and 800,000 fibs, of starch. Ex- tensive as these statistics are, the manufactures are said to be much on the increase. A great amount and variety of other business is done, besides that of the incorporated companies—such as extensive powder-works, a bleachery, mills for flannels, blankets, paper-card factory, and various others, employ- ing a large capital. The operatives are neat and respectable in appearance, and of good moral character. A periodical, entitled, "The Lowell Offering/' is published monthly; the articles written by the factory girls, who are the daughters of respectable farmers and others, for whom there are boarding-houses in the town at a moderate rate, and who come for a time to the fac- tories to save a little money. Wages are said to average, in addition to board and lodging, for females, one dollar seventy-five cents—i.e., 7s. 3|d. per week; for males, seventy cents—i.e., 2s. lid. a day. On presenting my ticket I was kindly received by the late American ambassador, the head of one of the largest proprietary firms. I then visited, in succession, the cotton print-works, cotton spinning-works, and the Middlesex factory of woollen cloths. I afterwards found no difficulty, as a stranger, with any of the others, until I had thoroughly satisfied my curiosity, when I took some refreshment at a pastry-cook's, and returned to Boston in the afternoon, very well pleased with my day's work. The day's expenses—i.e., the railway train there128 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT and back, including the refreshment, not exceeding one dollar forty-four cents (7s. lOd.) Manufacturing industry is but of recent origin in the United States (Lowell, now so thriving, was a barren spot in 1821, being incorporated into a town as late as 1826). Now, throughout the Northern States, wherever water-power is available, a disposition to take advantage of it is manifested; these manufactures are as yet pro- bably of the coarser kinds, being still chiefly dependent on Great Britain for a large supply of the finer fabrics; with whom they cannot yet compete in any without protective duties, for which they are clamorous, in con- tradistinction to the Southern States, who, depending on the mother-country as a ready market for their cotton, rice, tobacco, and other raw produce, are desirous that there should be no such duties. A moderate tariff, on the principle of a compromise, has been the consequence ; and it is said to be the great cause of the struggle be- tween the two sections of the Union, for a balance of power, if not a preponderance, in Congress, and for the nomination of President. It is difficult to convince a nation of its true interests, because every one wants a monopoly of his own calling ; and is content to conclude that what, it is self-evident, would be beneficial to him must be so to others. I have met with foolish people, who have contended that America—meaning the United States—could supply herself, and ought to be independent of the rest of the world. To these I have contented myself with replying, that it was so once when her inhabitants ran wild in the woods, and that this argument, followed to its source, could only tend to bring matters again to a like pass. Tuesday, 20th.—I left Boston this morning at seven o'clock for New York, via Springfield and Newhaven,TO THE UNITED STATES. 129 after a comfortable breakfast at the Winthrope, but fatigued from little sleep over night—an inconvenience I generally experience when I arrange to travel early in the morning, and partly .no doubt from the extreme heat of the weather; the day proved rainy,—an advan- tage, as it tended to cool the air. This is a favourite line of route, as it passes through the most interesting portions of the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut. With the first I was much pleased, from the variety and beauty of the scenery throughout, the country hilly and much wooded; the railway keeping the valleys, and generally in the neighbourhood of the streams. From Springfield, where the railway branches off at an angle for Newhaven, the country became more open, remind- ing me, in common with the scenery peculiar to this country, of English and Welsh views. Keeping in the neighbourhood of the Connecticut River, a fine stream, crossing it occasionally, until we reached Newhaven, a large and thriving town, pleasantly situated on the sea coast of the continental side of Long Island Sound, about midway, where it forms a bay into which two small rivers flow. This sound, or arm of the sea, which separates Long Island from the mainland, is somewhat strangely called by the New Yorkers East River; in contradistinction to the Hudson, which they designate North River. I regretted I had not given myself a day to see this town, which merits the attention of a stranger; it was settled as early as 1638. Its present population may be about 13,000. Its harbour is safe and spacious, but shallow, which is no doubt the reason why it has not risen to greater commercial importance. This town is also celebrated for its University of Yale College—one of the most extensive in the Union, and i130 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT said to have educated more eminent men than any other. It has a president and thirty-one professors, and a very valuable library of 34,500 volumes. We continued our route by a large and commodious steamer, through the Sound, commanding many fine views on both sides, until it narrowed very much as we gradually ran up between New York, with its shipping, on one side, and Brooklyn on the other, with their spires in the distance, gilded by the setting sun, pre- senting moving panoramic views, pleasing and animating in the extreme. I reached my old quarters, the City Hotel, about six o'clock, a good deal fatigued. The fare from the one town to the other cost five dollars (about one guinea). Dinner, half a dollar (2s. Id.) Conveyance from and to the hotels, &c., seventy-seven cents (3s. Id.) Making the whole ex- penses of this long journey of upwards of 200 miles, only £1, 6s. 2d.to the united states. 131 CHAPTER XVII. NEW YORK—COURTS OF LAW-CROTON BRIDGE—AQUEDUCT- "DOMBEY AND SON"-BLACK POPULATION-CONVERSATION- FINANCE—PHILADELPHIA-ATHENAEUM-FAIRMONT WATER- WORKS— LAUREL HILL CEMETERY — THEATRE—PENN'S HOS- PITAL—G1RARD COLLEGE-EASTERN PENITENTIARY-MINT — VOLUNTARY SYSTEM—DELAWARE RIVER-SCHUYLKILL RIVER —LOWER ORDERS-REPUDIATION. wednesday, 21st June.—i lost no time this morning in visiting the post-office, where I found satisfactory letters waiting me from my family in England, as well as from my daughters in Nova Scotia. I afterwards spent the morning in calling on my friends, and in look- ing about the town, after which I returned a good deal fatigued to my hotel. Thursday, 22d.—After a warm bath (price one quarter of a dollar), I called this morning upon a friend, whom not finding at home, I entered the courts of law, where I found the judges on the bench, without wig or gown, the attorney pleading in everyday clothes (the attorneys are also the barristers throughout the Union, as in the British provinces) ; the witness under examination sitting at his ease ; the examining attorney also sitting ; nevertheless the courts are spacious and well arranged, and justice is understood to be strictly and ably administered. The judges are not largely paid, according to our ideas ; from132 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT what I could learn, their salaries do not exceed £600 or £700 per annum of our money. Each State has its own courts and judges; there are, besides, certain judges appointed by the general Government, entitled United States Judges, who make circuits throughout the States. Their laws are the laws of England, ruled, as with us, by precedents ; and they are said to have adopted some beneficial improvements of late, more especially in the chancery department, which it might be well for us to follow. Law is to be had on reasonable terms in Scotland, where a man may seek redress in its courts at a moder- ate cost. Far different is the case in England, where a Chancery suit may bring ruin in its train, and where the expenses of an action at common law are such, that it becomes a question whether it be not good policy to compromise it, however unjust. Cromwell, as is well known, remarked that the law, as practised in his day, worked more for the benefit of the lawyers than the public, and attempted a reform in which he failed, observing that the "sons of Zeruiah" were too strong for him. Let us hope that our distinguished law-officers and statesmen, assisted by the Legislature, the press, and the superior civilisation of the times, may be able to effect what Cromwell could not. The success of the County Courts Bill, and of the Commission for the Sale of the Encumbered Estates in Ireland, hold out good encouragement. On descending from the law courts, I observed a bookseller's stall under one of the staircases. On looking over the books, I noticed Mr. Dickens' then new work of " Dombey and Son," at the moderate price of fiftyTO THE UNITED STATES. 133 cents. (2s. Id.) This I secured, returning to the hotel with my prize. My room, although commodious enough in other respects, happened to be rather elevated. I had scarcely ascended, and seated myself to turn over a few pages, when I was startled by an Irishman looking in at the window. He was standing at the extremity of a very long ladder, painting the outside of the window-frame at his ease, in what appeared to me a very perilous posi- tion. To my question, From what part of Ireland are you ? " Cork, your honour," he replied. He seemed much satisfied with the country, earning at his present job fourteen York shillings per diem (7s. English money), finding no difficulty in obtaining work at this rate of wages ; being a single man, he paid from two to three dollars per week for his board and lodging ; washing, he said, he found expensive, 23d and 24th, I remained very much at home these two days, reading " Dombey and Son/' being unwell from the extreme heat and close air of the town, having re- course to the Congress-water, which was to be had at my hotel. Sunday, 25th.—I went out this morning by the Harlsem Railroad, to see the Croton Bridge aqueduct, a distance of about eight or nine miles; the cars full of Sunday fares, well dressed, seeking recreation after the toils of the week. On approaching it, I was much alarmed and surprised to observe some people, among others a lady, walking on the parapet of the bridge, a great and per- pendicular height from the river below. New York had suffered great inconvenience from the want of a sufficient supply of good water. It is now supplied from the Croton river by very extensive works, commenced in 1837, and finished in 1842. The Croton134 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT is dammed six miles from its mouth, on the Hudson ; the dam is 250 feet long, seventy wide at the bottom, and forty feet high, built of stone and cement. It creates a pond five miles long, covering a surface of 400 acres. From this dam the aqueduct proceeds, sometimes tun- nelled through rocks, or by embankments through the valley of the Hudson, thirty-three miles, until it reaches Harlaem River, in the neighbourhood of the town. It is built of stone, brick, and cement, arched over and under, six feet three inches wide at bottom, seven feet eight inches at the top of the side walls, which are eight feet seven inches high ; has a descent of thirteen and a quarter inches per mile, and will discharge 60,000,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. It crosses Harlaem River, which divides the Island of Manhattan, on which New York stands, from the mainland, by the magnificent bridge I came to see—1450 feet long, with fourteen, piers, 114 feet above tide water at the top. The bridge being level and built of stone at a great cost, has an elegant light appearance. I ascended to the top, expecting to find the water flowing directly through the mason-work of the duct; this however is not the case. There seemed to be a slight descent from the mouth of the duct to reach the level of the bridge, over which the water is conveyed in two cast-iron tubes of large dia- meter ; on each side the bridge has two broad parapets extending its whole length. I returned to town to dinner by the railroad, and walked in the evening on the battery, the general pro- menade, to enjoy the cool air from the sea, and to get a peep at the citizens. Monday 26th.—I called on my clansman, Mr. Play- fair, the upholsterer ; reading at intervals Dombey and Son.TO THE UNITED STATES. 135 Wednesday 28th.—I went down this morning to the water side, where I saw the Hendrich Hudson, a fine London liner, with comfortable berths, and every con- venience for passengers; fare home, seventy-five dollars (£15, 12s. 6d.) Afterwards I went over by the steam- boat ferry to Jersey city, the capital of the state of New J.ersey (which lies on the opposite coast of this magnifi- cent inner basin), but otherwise a small town of little account, to pass the day with a friend at his villa in the neighbourhood. Thursday, 29th.—I brought my perusal of Dombey and Son to a conclusion. I found Mr. Dickens had written a book that I could take up with pleasure, re- sume without reluctance, and bring to a close without ennui, which, of itself, implies considerable merit; be- yond this I think it scarcely sustains his early reputation. Some of the minor characters are clever sketches ; but the merchant, his family, and others, are failures, as he always appears to me to fail where he attempts genteel life. Sir Walter Scott possessed that rare faculty in a writer, .—the power of portraying individual character ; in this we find him true to nature, whether he lifts the curtain over the Scottish Privy Council, conducts us to the palace of a king, to a robber's den, to the fastness of a Highland chief, or to the wallet of a blue-coat beggar. This peculiar excellence of Sir Walter has given rise to a host of imitators, who arrange their machinery, and endeavour to work in their sketches on his model; and in so far, novel-writing is raised above its former standard. Of these, Mr. Dickens may be said to be one of the most successful, above all, in his pathetic pictures of humble life ; his method of publishing in monthly num- bers is also in his favour, as a clever sketch becomes136 KECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT necessary for each—twenty pages taken up in the de- scription of a dress, a cellar, or an old castle, would not suit his mode of publishing, although made to come in very well, in a novel of three volumes. I passed a few days more in this town with my friends, very much incommoded by the extreme heat, which I endeavoured to control by abstemiousness in diet, quenching an inordinate thirst by soda-water. The black population of New York is very large, as I had an opportunity to witness on some annual festival of theirs, when the men came out from a side street, in long procession, extending far up Broadway, with ban- ners flying, and music playing, occupying the carriage- way, all well dressed; the black women also in their best clothes, lining the foot pavement, to see it pass. I beheld this scene with great interest, and stood in the midst of them ; it was evidently a grand holiday of theirs (and seemed, as such, to be respected by their white brothers), while I witnessed nothing but self-respect and cheerfulness in their countenances. The greater part of this population, no doubt, con- sists of household servants, and others in minor employ- ments ; but there are many respectable tradesmen amongst them, some said to be very rich. It is difficult to define the feeling of superiority over them evinced by the white race; it does not show itself in personal dislike, as I witnessed on this occasion, and on others, where I have seen them about their persons as barbers, and with their mistresses as nurses to their children, if we had not proof of it in their laudable desire for the abolition of slavery. It seems to be conventional, and willingly conceded by the others, who seem to understand that they must keep aloof and associate by themselves.TO THE UNITED STATES. 137 A separate place is assigned to them in the churches, in the railway trains, and in the theatres. On one occasion, England was spoken of as on the decline, while its overflowing capital, it was said, must find its way to them ; in bar of this last proposition, I put in the repudiating States; in regard to the first, I explained to them that England was advancing like a young country, not an old one ; that she had repeatedly outgrown the pressure of her debt, as she was in the way of doing now; this the intelligent part of the com- pany admitted, and spoke of the public debt of Great Britain as nothing, when compared with her resources, and the magnitude of her transactions. Mr. Hume in his day, a hundred years ago, deprecated what he considered the ruinous practice of forestalling and mortgaging our revenue; concluding that it could not be carried much further without a national bank- ruptcy. Our pational debt was a trifle then to what it has become since, and yet his fears have not been realized. Mr. Hume seems to have overlooked, that the interest of the debt is in great part paid by the productive industry of the country; and who can venture to set limits to that ? the looms of our manufacturing towns are now at work to meet the expenses of the last war. Dr. Johnson, as Mr. Boswell tells us, observed that there was no cause of uneasiness in regard to the debt on the part of the nation at large, as the interests of thousands must give way to the interests of millions; or words to that effect; nor does it require the gift of prophecy to foresee what must be the ultimate result, if we go on as we have hitherto done. A system of finance that enabled us to carry on such a war as the last, on the easy terms of drawing on138 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT futurity, if used as not abusing it, has nevertheless its advantages. The nations of antiquity met the difficulty by hoard- ing treasure in times of peace—an admitted evil, inas- much as, by withdrawing the coin from circulation, it tended to cramp industry. In India and elsewhere, where the practice of hoard- ing, on the part of the native princes, has come down to our day, the great body of the people are found to be poor and indolent. All that we have to do to meet any such emergency, is to take care that our credit be such, that we can enter the money-market on reasonable terms. It is a curious question in political economy, whether, and in how far, our present commercial prosperity is owing to our public debt, and the credit system on which it is based ; one effect certainly is, to bring all our available pecuniary resources into the market—i.e., to make money plentiful, and consequently cheap. The conduct of the repudiating States of the Union, compels the merchants of New York, whose fault it is not, to pay enormously for the use of money. Tuesday, 4th July.—The heat more bearable to-day. I packed my carpet-bags, paid my bill at the hotel, and prepared to leave for Philadelphia, for which town I found there were two lines of railway, one proceeding direct from the town of New Jersey. I happened to take the other (the Amboy line), going the first twenty- eight miles by water. At one o'clock, therefore, I em- barked in a fine large steamer, making directly for Staten Island, at the other side of the harbour, about four miles distant, where I was much struck with the beauty of the scenery, as we got midway ; the country skirting the water, rising like an amphitheatre, coveredTO THE UNITED STATES. 139 with the country-seats of the New York merchants ; Staten Island, in particular, looking green from the late rains, our route running between it and the main- land of New Jersey, both shores looking well, with great variety in the views as we receded further from New York,—the channel contracting in the first instance, and then expanding as we gradually approached the open sea. We took the cars at South Amboy, and ran through a part of the country of New Jersey, which had a barren sandy look; the grain crops mostly thin and poor, the Indian corn crops better ; passing a villa, built by Joseph Buonaparte, the ex-King of Bpain, and where he or some of his family were then residing; until we reached the Delaware (here a broad river), directly opposite the town of Philadelphia, where we took an- other steamer, which brought us to our journey's end about six in the afternoon ; making, on the wThole, a very pleasant excursion. I immediately proceeded to the Washington House Hotel, in Chestnut Street, a black porter carrying my luggage. The fare by this route was three dollars—a distance of ninety miles ; my other expenses between the two hotels not exceeding half a dollar. Philadelphia, the metropolis of Pennsylvania, is, after New York, the largest city in the Union ; it is situated between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, five miles above their junction, and is about 100 miles from the ocean by the course of the former river. It is built of brown brick, on a plain slightly ascending from each river. It is laid out with much regularity on the plan- of its founder and governor, Mr. Penn, whose memory is held, as may be supposed, in great respect; the streets, which are broad and straight, generally cross at right angles, varying in width from 50 to 120 feet. The style140 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT of architecture is plain, yet white marble (of which there must be abundance in the neighbourhood) is generally used for the door-steps, window frames, the basement story, and not unfrequently for the entire front; while the public buildings are for the most part entirely con- structed of it. It is a remarkably clean town, good use being made of the waters of the Schuylkill in that respect. It is also well drained by covered ducts. It offers a remarkable contrast to New York, in the feeling of repose that pervades it, as might be expected in a Quaker city. It has also some fine squares, planted with trees, where its citizens may repose on seats, shaded from the heat of the sun, they being generally, if not all, open to the public. The markets are good, and well supplied. There are two theatres, both very well supported. There is also a naval yard belonging to the general Government, containing every preparation for building vessels of war, with marine barracks, and quarters for the officers. This city has considerable trade and manufactures ; and has enjoyed largely the general prosperity of the Union, if we may judge by the increase of its popula- tion, from 70,287 in the year 1800, to not less than 330,000 at the present time. There is here a medical school in very good repute, to which a number of students resort from all parts of the Union, as well as from the British provinces, when they cannot afford to come to Europe, which was formerly the general practice. In my walks about, I observed a large black population, chiefly, if not entirely, amongst the lower orders. I passed the morning of the day after my arrival in looking about the town, and in delivering my letters, taking refuge from the heat in one of the principalTO THE UNITED STATES. 141 squares, under the shade of a large drooping willow, harmonizing with the repose of the scene. A stranger happened to seat himself on the same bench, a respect- able-looking man; on my addressing him, he told me he was from Germany, a bookbinder by trade, by which he earned one dollar and a half a day (6s. 3d.), nor did he regret his fatherland. After this, he made some observation on the religious sects of the town ; in my reply to which, I happened to ask whether any distinc- tion was made between the Koman Catholics and the others, when a man, who had seated himself on the other side, took me up very rudely, telling me the Catholic religion was a bridle, and that I must be a Jesuit in disguise ; this I disclaimed, to which he would not assent, demanding very rudely what book I carried in my pocket; I very civilly presented it to him, when, to his astonishment, instead of a Catholic missal, he found it to be a guide-book, in flaring red binding: after turning over some of the pages, he returned it, civilly begging my pardon. After tea I sauntered out without any fixed intention, when a gentleman followed me from the hotel, very politely introducing himself, and offering to direct or conduct me, as a stranger, to any part of the town I might wish to go. After thanking him, I said I might probably drop in at the theatre ; he begged to be per- mitted, in the first instance, to introduce me to the Athenasum, where I would see all the English news- papers, with the Edinburgh and Quarterly Eeviews, which he immediately did. I found the rooms elegantly fitted up and well lighted; he then left me to spend the evening there, for I thought no more of the theatre. I felt and valued this attention the more because it was unexpected ; while I found the Athenaeum an agreeable142 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT resource, which I availed myself of, at least once a day, daring my stay in the town: an attention of this kind cannot be valued too highly, it was the first of several which Mr. Cresson showed me. He took a great inter- est in the abolition of slavery, on which subject he had visited England more than once. He gave me some account of the African colony of Liberia, and of its black President. Next morning I took an omnibus to the Fairmont Water-works, on the Schuylkill Eiver, about two miles from the town, occupying an area of thirty acres—a large part of which consists of the " Mount," an eminence 100 feet above tide water in the river below, and about sixty feet above the most elevated ground in the city. The top is divided into four reservoirs, capable of con- taining 22,000,000 gallons, one of which is divided into three sections for. the purpose of filtration; the whole being surrounded by a gravel walk. The power neces- sary for forcing the water into the reservoirs is obtained by throwing a dam across the Schuylkill, and by means of wheels moved by the water, which work forcing- pumps, by which the water of the river is raised to the reservoirs on the top of the "Mount." The dam is 1600 feet long, and ninety wide, cut in solid rock. The mill-house is of stone, 238 feet long and fifty-six wide, capable of containing eight wheels, and each pump will raise about 1,250,000 gallons in twenty-four hours. After gratifying my curiosity for some time here, a steamer happened to stop at the landing-place for pas- sengers up the river; I embraced the opportunity to go as far as the Laurel Hill Cemetery, which is situated three miles and a half from the town, on the bank of the river, at a height above it of ninety feet. On enter- ing the gate, the first object that presented itself to meTO THE UNITED STATES. 143 was a piece of statuary, representing Sir Walter Scott conversing with Old Mortality, while the latter is chisel- ling the grave-stones of the Covenanters, executed in sandstone by the self-taught Scotch sculptor, Mr. Thorn. This was the last thing I would have looked for here. The cemetery covers about twenty acres, the surface of which is undulating, diversified by hill and dale, and adorned with trees and shrubs ; the monuments were of white marble, and in good taste. On inquiring from a grave-digger his rate of pay, he replied, a dollar per day. On asking the same question afterwards at the New Cemetery at Plymouth, Devonshire, in our own country, I learned it to be 2s. per diem. In the evening I went to the Walnut Street Theatre, and saw the opera of Masaniello, in three acts, tolerably well performed ; before the after-piece, a young figur- ante danced a pas seul gracefully enough—it was en- cored. On finally retiring backwards, much pleased with the plaudits that followed, she fell, looking ruefully at the audience, and causing a general titter, until the curtain dropped, to her relief. The after piece not proving to my mind, I was very glad to get home. The theatre appeared of a tolerable size, wrell fitted up, and the admittance moderate—i.e., to the dress- circle, including the pit, fifty cents (2s. Id.) ; to the rest of the theatre twenty-five cents. The performance, I observed, began at eight o'clock. Next day I visited Penn's Hospital, with his statue in front, in his Quaker's costume ; the Custom-house, a fine building of marble, in the form of a Grecian temple; the State House, in which I observed nothing remark- able, if it be not the room in which the declaration of independence was voted.144 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT I then took the omnibus for the Girard College, situ- ated in the outskirts of the town. It was founded, it appears, by a gentleman of that name, a native of France, of humble origin, who settled here in early life, and accumulated a very large fortune as a merchant and banker, who died in 1831, bequeath- ing 2,000,000 dollars to build and endow an orphan hospital. His executors appear to have committed an error, not uncommon in cases of this kind; they have expended the greater part of the money on the buildings, leav- ing out of view the more important object of the be- quest. It occupies a commanding position ; its site contains forty-five acres of ground, bequeathed by the founder for the purpose. The College, or centre building, is of white marble, in the form of a Grecian temple; it is surrounded by thirty-four columns of the Corinthian order, supporting an entablature : at each end is a door- way or entrance, decorated with massive architraves, sur- mounted by a sculptured cornice ; the roof and interior also of marble. No wood is used in its construction, consequently it is fire-proof. There are four other build- ings, namely, two on each side, one of these being so constructed as to form four distinct houses for the pro- fessors ; the other being intended for the pupils. On leaving the College, I went to see the Eastern Penitentiary, as it is called. Finding it to be in the immediate neighbourhood, I was readily admitted, with others, to see such parts of it as are shown to strangers. It covers about ten acres of ground, is surrounded by a wall thirty feet high, and in architecture, is said to resemble a baronial castle of the Middle Ages. It is constructed on the principle of strict solitaryTO THE UNITED STATES. 145 confinement, in separate cells; each cell having a very little garden attached, for air and recreation ; and it appears calculated for the security, the health, and so far as is consistent with its objects, the comfort of its occupants. As occasion served, I visited the United States Mint, unfortunately not then in operation ; and such other objects as a stranger is expected to see. Sunday, the 9th July, I attended Divine service at the Episcopal Church, where I heard a good sermon, and the prayers well read. The voluntary system prevails here, as it does in the rest of the Union, yet no want of religion follows as a consequence; on the contrary, in this respect Phila- delphia is exemplary ; there being at this time 159 churches of different denominations for the white popu- lation, and twelve for the coloured people,—so strictly is the line of demarcation carried out, even to spiritual matters, where, surely, as fellow-Christians, we ought to admit, in humility, our equality in the house of God. In the voluntary system, it becomes the interest as well as the duty of the clergyman to make himself acceptable to his congregation, on which he entirely depends for his stipend; he therefore becomes their friend and spiritual adviser throughout the week, and does his best to read the prayers properly, and to ad- dress to them such a discourse as they can understand and profit by on the Sunday ; it may therefore be said to work well here. The connexion between Church and State is of Ions: standing at home. In early times it was the medium of influencing the public mind on State affairs; it was also a great source of patronage to the crown and to K146 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT the landed aristocracy. The first of these has long gone by. The second remains consequently the young aspirant; for Church preferment depends more on family influ- ence than on his own qualifications for the cure of souls ; the effect of which is that, in England, the prayers, so beautiful in themselves, are frequently read in a mono- tonous tune or drawl, while the sermon often fails to command the attention of the congregation. In Edinburgh, when I was a young man, there was very little good preaching ; the minister would give his extempore prayer in a tone and manner ungraceful; the sermon would follow, in a dry disquisition on points of doctrine; and if it became necessary to announce a prayer-meeting, a collection, or a sacrament, he came down at once to another key, as if calling for special attention. There is unfortunately little improvement on this in the present day; and it would be well if some of our young ministers would take a lesson from their gifted townsman, the Eev. Dr. Guthrie. Free seats on a large scale are also loudly called for in the Edinburgh churches for the use of the poor. The clergy of the rural districts are no doubt good parish priests, and fulfil their weekly duties conscienti- ously ; but it is to be feared that there are many instances where the Sunday's sermon fails to act as a bond of union between the minister and his flock. The remedy would be, to provide professorships of elocution at all our divinity schools, on the ground that the student, until he be qualified to command the atten- tion of his congregation, and to carry it with him, cannot hope to effect any good whatever from his pulpit; the other qualifications for the sacred office should be strictlyto the united states. 147 defined, and he should be subjected to a rigid scrutiny, by a board of examiners, as in other professions, before he be permitted to take orders. In the evening I walked towards the Delaware, and admired two fine liners between Liverpool and this port; the Tuscarora, and the William Tell. The Schuylkill is a comparatively narrow river, with high banks. The Delaware, on the contrary, is a fine open broad stream, navigable up to the town by vessels of a large class. The most pleasing feature of this town is the general wellbeing of the lower orders (as I have had occasion to notice elsewhere)—provisions being plentiful and cheap, while the labour-market being regulated by the demand and supply; it is paid for in an inverse ratio. The repudiation of their State debt cannot be too much censured; their finances wrere for a time embar- rassed, but the stinging diatribes of the Rev. Mr. Sidney Smith have had their effect. They have honourably redeemed their engagements, resumed payment of their State debt, while their resources are said to be rapidly developing themselves at an increased rate. I experienced myself much personal attention and kindness here, and prepared to leave the city with regret. Tuesday, July 11th.—I left Philadelphia this morning . at half-past eight o'clock a.m., by the railway train, and reached Baltimore about half-past two—a distance of ninety-seven miles; fare, three dollars. The weather pleasant, but warm. Passing through a variety of country, undulating and well wooded, we crossed several rivers, the view on each being beautiful and variegated,148 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT reminding me of the richest parts of England ; the soil nevertheless light, inclining to sandy ; the green crops looking well; the grain crops generally thin, but mostly cut down. The train was carried directly to the station, in the centre of the town, by horses—the locomotive being removed at the outskirts—upon rails laid down in the streets, but sunk to a level with the road, so as not to interfere with the general traffic.to the united states. 149 CHAPTEE XVIII. BALTIMORE—WASHINGTON—CAPITOL-CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS —PRESIDENT'S HOUSE-PRESIDENT'S RECEPTION—OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES—REMARKS. Baltimore, the capital of Maryland,—a colony settled by Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman, who came out here accompanied by followers of his own religious per- suasion, giving his name to the town he founded,—is pleasantly situated on the river Patapsco (which flows into the Bay of Chesapeake), and carries on a prosper- ous commerce, with a population of about 125,000. On the bank of the river, the town is very much occupied by warehouses and other accommodations for traffic, but beyond them, it rises to a considerable height, laid out in handsome streets and squares ; the houses are of red brick, with marble or granite basements. There are some handsome bridges over a stream that divides the town ; and several monuments ; one of these, erected in honour of General Washington, I ascended. It consists of a Doric column, rising from a base fifty feet square and twenty high. Its height is 180 feet, including the statue of Washington at the top, sixteen feet high. It stands on an eminence in the heart of the town, and commands a fine view from the top. As I looked in the direction of the bay, in particular, I observed the forest150 recollections of a visit covering, far and wide, rather low banks. If America has not the prestige of old recollections, she certainly has the freshness of youth ; the great feature everywhere is the forest itself, no doubt old enough ; but everything else is new; even in the oldest colonies, centuries must elapse before, in this respect, they can be made to assume the aspect of modern Europe. I next visited the Roman Catholic cathedral, a large and handsome building, one of several indications of the origin of the town, which have come down to our day ; there being still a considerable Catholic population as peculiar to it. We have in this, another instance of a State, the founders of which were driven to seek a refuge in the wilderness, on account of the unhappy dissensions at home, on the subject of religion, which ought to be a bond of peace and brotherly love. I saw whatever else of the town one day would per- mit me to do, which I took some interest in, as the first slave State I had yet entered ; but I had no opportunity, in my transient passage, of observing how the system worked. I learned here that a relative of Lord Stanley, and a son of Sir Robert Peel, were respectively travelling in the United States, hitherto very much on the route I had taken, but in advance of each other—we were, in Indian phrase, on each other's trail. Next morning (13th July), at 9 a.m., I took the rail- way train for Washington—a distance of forty miles; fare, 1 dol. 80 cents. (7s. 6d.) After a drive through a pleasant country, I reached Washington about twelve o'clock, where, wishing to try this mode, I took up my quarters at a very good board- ing-house, to which I had been recommended by a friend at New York, and then sallied out to see the town and deliver my letters.TO THE UNITED STATES. 151 Washington, the metropolis of the United States, is situated on the river Potomac, in the district of Colum- bia. • The forest-clad hills by which it is encompassed, although not high, diversify the prospect. It was at the suggestion of General Washington, that this spot was selected as the site for the future capital of the Union ; the district in question being ceded to the General Government for the purpose, by the State of Maryland. The city is laid out on a regular and extensive plan, and will, if the design of the founders be carried out, no doubt form a respectable metropolis ; but at present there is no indication of this. Washington was attacked by our troops in the war of 1814, when the authorities, refusing to ransom the town, the Capitol, the President's house, the public offices, and several ships of war on the stocks and in the river, were reduced to ashes. The Capitol, in which the Houses of Congress hold their sittings, has been rebuilt on a large scale and in good taste. Elevated on a plateau seventy-two feet above tide-water, it affords a commanding view of the different parts of the city, and of the surrounding coun- try. The building, which is of freestone, occupies an area of more than an acre and a half; it is adorned with Corinthian columns, and entered by fine flights of steps to both fronts. I approached it from the town by an avenue of trees, and, mounting the steps, entered the Rotunda in the middle of the building, surmounted by a fine dome. The walls of this Rotunda are ornamented with pictures on a large scale, representing incidents in American history, viz.:—the Presentation to Congress of the De- claration of Independence ; the Surrender of Burgoyne, —of Cornwallis; Washington resigning his Commis-352 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT sion; the Baptism of Pocahontas ; and the Embarka- tion of the Pilgrims. After surveying these in succes- sion, I accidentally encountered a New York friend, who introduced me on the floor of both houses, then sitting, where I met with much notice from individual members, my name, as connected with my uncle, being generally known. One gentleman, in particular, introduced him- self as having been personally known to him, having attended his lectures in Edinburgh. Each chamber is entered at either side of an inner lobby, emerging from the Rotunda; they occupy the two wings of the building. They are square, I think, in form, and handsome; but they appeared to have the defect said to be found in our new houses of Parliament —for, although important matters were in discussion in both, I found great difficulty in catching their pur- port. The President holds his court in a building at the other end of the town, provided for his residence, of large dimensions, handsomely constructed of freestone, with a fine portico situated in its own grounds, and known under the general appellation of the White House. There are no guards on duty—no parade that would indicate the palace of the head of so great a Republic. The parks surrounding the Capitol were a favourite lounge. They are tastefully laid out, ornamented with statues, and shaded with trees; yet I observed some unmistakable signs of a new country—the stones col- lected in little quadrangular heaps on the grass, still remained. I observed the same in the President's grounds. I frequently entered the Rotunda to admire its dome and its proportions, which are ninety-five feet in dia-TO THE UNITED STATES. 153 meter, and the same in height; the pavement is of marble. There were generally a good many equipages about, mostly driven by black coachmen ; and a stir otherwise, as connected with the sittings of the Chambers. I was introduced to the President, Mr. Polk, at an evening reception, who, as is the custom, shook hands with me, saying he was very glad to have seen me. I was then presented to his lady by General Hous- ton, the ex-president of Texas; she seemed young enough to be his daughter,—very good-looking, and to become her high station. I was then noticed by members of Congress, and others present, who expressed a wish that I would visit them in their respective provinces, should my tour per- mit. I found here indeed, as I had occasion to remark elsewhere, that the mother-country is looked up to with respect; and that a gentleman visiting them from its shores, would be well and hospitably received. As our transatlantic colonies had remained from their foundation an integral portion of our empire until the revolutionary war, the following outline of their history, of their present form of government, and a few other particulars, may not be uninteresting. Our first attempt to colonize America was made by Sir Walter Ealeigh, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who gave his colony the name of Virginia, in honour of his sovereign. This was followed up successfully, from time to time, during the reigns of her immediate succes- sors, down to a comparatively recent date. This spirit of colonization took its rise, no doubt, in the first instance, in the adventurous spirit of the age, consequent on the then recent discovery of the New World—not from any pressure of population at home,154 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT because we are told in the history of our country, that, on the accession of the immediate successor of Queen Elizabeth, the population of England did not exceed two millions—i.e., less than the population of the county of Middlesex at the present day ; and that more than a century later, in the reign of Queen Anne, it did not exceed five millions. The colonists of those days seem to have consisted mostly of the better classes, led by religious or political motives. They languished in their infancy, as well from the hostility of the Indians, as from the difficulty of finding labour. The living tide that now sets in to their shores in a perennial current from our over-population at home, had not then begun to flow. It was attempted to be remedied in various ways ; our convicts for small offences were sent out. Burns, in a poem in allusion to some poaching affair, says:— " Though I should herd the Buckskin kye for't, in Virginia." It also gave rise to a system of kidnapping on the part of masters of trading-vessels, and others—very dis- reputable in itself, but probably lucrative to those en- gaged in it—of which we meet with amusing instances occasionally in old books. They were decoyed on board ship, and then articled to the colonists for a term of years, on the pretext of paying for their passage. Peter Williamson, who was very well known in Edin- burgh in our fathers days, is an amusing instance of this. Peter was kidnapped with several other boys from the port of Aberdeen ; he ultimately settled in the outskirts of Pennsylvania, when his house was sacked and himselfTO THE UNITED STATES. 15-5 carried off by the Delaware Indians, with whom he re- mained some time. Peter was, according to his own account, an unwilling captive; but there is reason to fear that he is scarcely candid here. Be that, however, as it may, he came back to civilized life, returned to his native country, published his own story, and was turned out of Aberdeen, for hinting that the authorities had winked at the system that led to his early adventures, which he resented by bringing an action against its Town-Council, in the Supreme Court in Edinburgh, recovering damages. Peter was a man of tact, and made his early adven- tures a source of profit, as well by the sale of his book as by exhibiting himself to his astonished countrymen in the dress of a Delaware Indian, with the war-whoop, war-dance, and other accompaniments. These difficulties were, however, as time elapsed, gra- dually overcome ; they flourished and became the means of greatly extending our commerce, much to the envy of our neighbours. The Dutch and other maritime powers had also planted colonies in their neighbourhood, which eventu- ally became absorbed in ours ; as also had the French on a larger scale, more to the northward, where they had taken deep root, and became in time objects of jealousy and uneasiness to our settlements. Our periodical wars with that rival power were fought out bitterly in the colonies, and with alternate success ; until Quebec fell to our armament under General Wolfe, in 1759, which ended in their cession to us. This war is memorable, as the probable cause of the loss of our colonies. It was not brought to a successful issue without great expense to the nation at large ; and as it was considered to have been undertaken for colonial156 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT interests in particular, an attempt was made to levy one or two small taxes on stamps and tea, which was re- sisted by the colonists, on the ground that they were not represented in the Parliament that imposed them. An anti-Stamp-Act Congress was held in New York as early as 1765 ; the colonists resolving not to use our manufactures, until the stamp act should be re- pealed by Parliament. In 1770, the people of Boston threw stones at the military, who fired, and killed three persons—an event which added to the growing discon- tent. In 1773, the tea-tax was resisted in Boston and all the colonies, and Lord North reduced the duty from one shilling to threepence per pound ; but the principle on which it was imposed remaining as before, a large party of men, disguised as Indians, boarded the ships lying at the Boston wharf, and threw the tea into the harbour. On this news reaching England, Parliament struck Boston from the list of ports; the breach widened. General Gage was sent from England to overawe Boston. The colonists elected a Congress, who memorialized the Home Government, but in vain, though supported by Lord Chatham, Burke, and others of the opposition side in Parliament. In April 1775, General Gage sent to seize some military stores at Concord. The militia re- fused to give them up, were fired upon, and several killed on the road, from behind walls and fences. The colonists were now thoroughly roused to resistance. On the 10th of May, General Washington was installed Commander-in-Chief. On the 4th of July 1776, the Congress at Phila- delphia issued their Declaration of Independence. On the surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga, on the 17th October 1777, France, backed by Spain and the other maritime powers, took up the quarrel on theirTO THE UNITED STATES. 157 behalf; the result of which was, that after a bitter contest, in which 100,000 of the colonists and 40,000 of our troops are computed to have fallen, we were, on th$ 30th November 1782, compelled to make peace on their own terms. Thus was this unfortunate war, originating in trifling disputes, which, if met with prudence, might have been compromised, brought to a hostile conclusion by the intervention of rival powers. The peace that followed, found the colonists bank- rupt in their finances, their commerce annihilated, with a rankling animosity to the mother-country, which only ceased with the generation that gave it birth. They recovered from the two first in an incredibly short space of time ; their commerce resuming its old channels with us, to the sore disappointment, no doubt, of our enemies. From the close of the war to the year 1788, the United States continued to be governed under the articles of confederation entered into the better to oppose us. It was found to be unequal to the wants of the people, and inefficient in power. Delegates from the States assembled at Philadelphia, when, after a debate of four months, their present constitution was adopted, with the ultimate assent of all the States. The electors met in February 1789, and chose General Washington their first President under it. The Government is in form a federal representative democracy. All the States of the Union are subject to the national or general government, consisting of three branches— the executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive power is vested by it in the President, who holds his office for the term of four years; he is158 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT chosen by the electors from the different States, who are mostly elected by the people; each State electing as many electors as they have members in Congress. A majority of the electors' votes is necessary for a choice ; if there be no choice, then the House of Representatives elects one of the three candidates having the most votes ; in this last balloting, each State has one vote. The Yice-Presideiit is chosen in the same manner, and for the same term; but if there be no choice by the electors, the Senate then chooses one of the two persons having the highest number of votes. No person can be President or vice-President, except a native-born citizen, of the age of at least thirty-five years, and who has been fourteen years a resident within the United States. The President is Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy, and of the militia when in actual service. With the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, he makes treaties, appoints ambassadors, judges of the supreme court, and, directly or indirectly, appoints to all the offices of the national Government. He possesses a qualified veto upon the bills presented to him in Congress; but if he disapproves any bill, it nevertheless becomes a law, if passed by a vote of two-thirds of each house. He receives ambassadors and other public mini- sters, takes care that the laws be faithfully executed, and commissions all the officers. The President's salary is 20,000 dollars per annum. It appears that, on the subject of his salary being agitated, General Washington declined any allowance beyond his expenses; these he gave in at the end of his first year as amounting to the above sum, at which it has continued ever since. The Vice-President is President of the Senate; and in case of the death, resignation, or removal of theTO THE UNITED STATES. 159 President, the powers and duties of that officer devolve on him. The legislative power is vested in a Congress, consist-, ing of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The senators are chosen by the legislatures of the several States for the term of six years; there are two from each State, and it is required that they shall be at least thirty-five years of age, and have been citizens of the United States for nine years. The Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments. The representatives are chosen for two years by the people of each State, and must be at least twenty-five years of age, and have been citizens of the United States for seven years. Representatives are apportioned among the States, according to their respective popula- tion. Congress must assemble at least once in every year. It has power to lay on and collect taxes, duties, &c.; to declare war ; to grant patent and copy rights; to borrow money ; to regulate commerce ; raise armies and navies ; and to make all laws necessary to carry into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the general Government. Each member of the two Houses is allowed eight dollars per diem during attendance on Congress ; each also receives eight dollars for every twenty miles he tra- vels in going to and from Washington. The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, con- sisting at present of nine judges, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate ; thirty-three district courts, and seven circuit courts. The principal executive officers are, the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, and of the Navy, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General. They160 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT are removable at the will of the President, and with the Vice-President, from the cabinet. The Secretary of State conducts the negotiations with foreign powers, and corresponds with the public ministers of the United States abroad, and with those of foreign states near the United States. The Secretary of the Treasury superintends the fiscal concerns of the Government. To the War Department belongs the direction and government of the army ; the erection of fortifications; the execution of topographical surveys ; and the direc- tion of Indian affairs. Each State has its separate local government. They are all representative democracies, based on an elective executive, and legislature chosen by the body of the people for a short term of service. The suffrage is virtually universal; blacks are, however, not permitted to vote. A small revenue is raised in each State ade- quate to its wants, by direct taxes, or excise and license duties. The revenue of the general confederacy is derived chiefly from the Customs, and the sale of public lands ; the Government having found it but seldom necessary to resort to direct taxation. The public lands have been recently a great source of revenue. The Government now possesses 100,000,000 of acres surveyed and unsold, and much more which is not surveyed. The revenue for the year 1845 amounted to 29/769,134 dollars ; and the expenditure to 29,968,206 dollars. The principal reliance of the country for defence is on the militia of the several States. The regular army consists at present of 712 commissioned officers, eight regiments of infantry, four of artillery, two of dragoons,TO THE UNITED STATES. 161 and 260 cadets ; in all, 9,012 men. The expenditure for which, in the year 1844, was 8,231,317 dollars. The navy consists of ten ships of the line, fifteen frigates, twenty-three sloops of war, eight brigs, eight schooners, nine steam-ships, and four store-ships. In the year 1845, there were 9 commodores, 68 captains, 96 commanders, 327 lieutenants, 69 surgeons, 64 pursers, 23 chaplains, 159 passed midshipmen, 314 midshipmen, 31 masters, and 22 professors of mathematics. There are navy-yards at Portsmouth, Boston, New York or Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Washington, Norfolk, and Pen- sacola. The expenditure for the navy for the year 1844, was 6,496,991 dollars. The mint of the United States was established at Philadelphia in 1793 ; and in 1838, branches were estab- lished at Charlotte, in North Carolina; at Dahlonega, in Georgia ; and at New Orleans, but subject to the con- trol of the director at Philadelphia. The gold coinage consists of ten dollar, five dollar, two and a half dollar, and o/ie and a quarter dollar- pieces. The silver coinage of dollars, half-dollars, and quarter- dollars, down to pieces of five cents (2^d.) There is a great paper circulation throughout all the States. Minerals of every kind are in great abundance through- out the several States of the Union; but not yet worked in proportion to their importance, probably on account of the high price of labour. Coal, one of the most abundant, is now becoming much more used than formerly. It is found of two kinds, —the anthracite and the bituminous. The former is found and largely mined in Pennsylvania, in three dis- tinct beds, two of which lie between the Lehigh and L162 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Susquehanna Rivers, the head waters of the Schuylkill, and the north branch of the Susquehanna ; the third, on both sides of the Lachawanna, and the north branch of the Susquehanna. The anthracite coal is much used in the large towns, and makes a pleasant fire, as I had often an opportunity to observe ; it consumes slowly, with little or no flame, nor does it give out the smoke that disfigures our towns at home. The establishment of religion by law is forbidden by the Constitution of the United States, but every person who does not interrupt the peace of society is protected in the free exercise of his religion. The Voluntary prin- ciple has been found to be efficient for the support of religious institutions ; and the Americans seem sensible that the stability of a free government must depend very much upon their moral influence upon the principles and habits of the people. Dr. Baird, in his " Religion in America/' has estimated that there is annually raised 5,500,000 dollars for the^ support of the ministry, and that there is one preacher to every 800 souls. There were in 1845, throughout the Union, about 30,000 churches of all denominations, 32,543 ministers, and 3,384,744 communicants ; of which the Methodists were the most numerous, and next the Baptists, Presbyterians, and then Episcopalians. The subject of Education has excited much attention in all the States, most of which have applied certain lands or annual sums for the maintenance of public schools, where any one can enjoy their benefits gratuit- ously. The most prominent in the cause of education are the New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, &c. ; while some of the collegiate institutions are of ancient date.TO THE UNITED STATES. 163 The population, exclusive of the aboriginal race, con- sists of three classes—whites, free coloured persons, and slaves ; the comparative number of each, in 1840, when the whole population amounted to 17,068,666, was— whites, 14,189,108; free coloured, 386,245; slaves, 2,487,213. The black population, including not only the negroes but the mulatto breeds, form rather more than one-sixth of the whole population of the country. In some States the free blacks are admitted to political privileges, but the number of each is but few. In some, their testi- mony is not admitted against a white man ; and they are subject to several other civil disabilities. Slavery has been abolished in the Eastern States, and has never been permitted in the North-western States. By a law of the United States Government, passed in 1808, the slave-trade is prohibited. In 1803, Louisiana was purchased from the French for 15,000,000 dollars. In 1821, Florida was ceded by Spain in compensa- tion for spoliations on American commerce, valued at 5,000,000 dollars. In 1806-7, Buonaparte passed the Berlin and Milan decrees, the effect of which was to prevent the United States trading with Great Britain. The British Govern- ment, in retaliation, passed orders in council having a tendency to prevent the United States trading with France and her allies. American vessels were in conse- quence searched, and confiscated by the navies of both powers. A non-intercourse act with France and Eng- land was the result. Napoleon revoked his decrees, and the non-intercourse act was repealed. On the 4th of June 1812, war was declared with Great Britain by the American Congress, which con-164 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT tinued for about two years, when a peace was concluded at Ghent, on the 24th December 1814. In 1845, Texas was annexed to the United States. In May 1846, war was declared against Mexico, and large bodies of troops sent to that country, under General Z. P. Taylor, afterwards elected President. In 1783, the public debt of the Union was 42,000,000 dollars; in 1793, it had increased to 80,352,000 ; in 1813, it was reduced to 45,000,000; in 1816, in conse- quence of the war with England, it had increased to 127,334,933 ; but in the succeeding twenty years, it was wholly extinguished ; about 212 millions having been paid for principal and interest. At the commencement of the Revolutionary War, the population of the colonies was estimated at about three millions. On the interference of France and its allies, it was fought out with great virulence, and the result was looked upon at the time in England as a great domestic calamity. We had been justly proud of them ; boys and porters at the corners of the streets would, according to old books and newspapers, be found talk- ing of our great transatlantic empire. But perhaps the most remarkable feature in this scene of social strife is, that neither the indiscreet measures of the Home Government, nor the hostility of the colonists, backed by the powers of Europe banded together for the purpose, could undo the tie that connected them with the mother-country ; their self-government was a mere question of time ; they could not very well have continued an integral portion of the British Empire, without con- tributing their share to the expenses of the State; in which case one of two things would have been liable to occur, either the colonies would have been kept back for the supposed benefit of the parent state, or, ifTO THE UNITED STATES. 165 allowed to expand and grow rich, as we now see them, the larger country would have become in time the seat of empire; neither of which, I imagine, would have been desirable. It is to be regretted, no doubt, that the separation took place violently, by force of arms ; but I believe there is now no doubt that both parties are gainers by the change it effected. They were then comparatively poor ; they are now rich; with a population of twenty millions, spreading our language, religion, laws, literature, and free institu- tions, over half a continent. They are as much open to us in our individual capa- city as they ever were, having every sympathy in common, linked to us by a vast trade, increasing in proportion as each prospers. They remain our colonies, in the sense of the Greek colonies of antiquity in Asia Minor, which were inde- pendent from the beginning; or of a case equally in point, Tyre, and her giant offspring Carthage. There is perhaps no episode of ancient history more pleasing than the affection which continued to subsist between these two States ; their annals remained unstained with the blood of each other ; while they sympathized with, assisted, and gave a home, to one another in adversity ; of which we have two memorable instances, viz., when Tyre was besieged by Alexander, and when Carthage was hard pressed by the Romans.166 recollections of a visit CHAPTER XIX. MUSEUM-EPISCOPAL CHURCH-DISASTROUS NEWS FROM FRANCE -REMARKABLE CONVERSATION OF BUONAPARTE—RICHMOND -SLAVERY—STATE HOUSE-EPISCOPAL CHURCH—TOBACCO STORES—ROUTE TO THE VIRGINIA SPRINGS-WARM SPRINGS -UNTOWARD EVENT—HOT SPRINGS—WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS -BLACK MAN—DEPARTURE WESTWARD—GENERAL REMARKS. Saturday, July 15th, I visited the Museum, accom- panied by two young ladies, who pointed out to me some memorials of General Washington ; among others, the uniform coat he wore on resigning his commission. On our way back I found letters from England at the post- office, forwarded on to me from Philadelphia. Sunday, 16th, I went to the Episcopal Church, where I heard an eloquent and sound sermon ; the text being from Ecclesiastes—" Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, all is vanity/' Afterwards a quiet walk in the cool of the evening, in the hope that I did not spend the day without improvement. On Monday, I called on the English Charge d'Affaires, in absence of the ambassador, to inquire the cause of the increased and heavy postage to and from England, and otherwise to pay my respects to him, when I learned it to be a reta- liatory measure, in reference to some misunderstanding on the subject with the Home Government. About this time the disastrous news reached us fromTO THE UNITED STATES. 167 France, of the battle fought out in the streets of Paris; it created a great sensation, with a general feeling of satisfaction that the friends of order had prevailed. It is certainly difficult to understand how a limited monarchy can exist in France, as in England, without a hereditary aristocracy ; or a Republic, in the sense of the American Union, with a large standing army. Their late king, Louis Philippe, seems to have com- mitted two capital errors—first, in accepting the crown to the prejudice of the elder branch of his family—his re- lative, the Due de Bourdeaux, a minor, could have given no just cause of offence to the nation ; secondly, having thus destroyed the prestige of hereditary descent in favour of an elective monarchy, in not allowing the nation to manage its own affairs, under his auspices, as a constitutional king,—which his son-in-law, the King of the Belgians (our Prince Leopold) has done so suc- cessfully,—instead of the wide system of expense he in- troduced, to dam up the current which ultimately swept him off his throne. He was a merciful prince, or the present Emperor of the French would not now be alive to fill his chair. There is a remarkable conversation of Buonaparte at St. Helena, recorded by Count Monthelon, I think, and published many years ago, which becomes almost pro- phetic under the circumstances. He commences by saying that revolutions are great evils, that he did not usurp the crown of France, he picked it up out of the gutter—that the present family would not be long on the throne—that if the so-called liberals got into power, the Duke of Orleans would be king ; but that the French nation would find they had been deceived, and that his son, the King of Rome, would in the end be called to the throne.168 recollections of a visit The book was lent me about this time, and I read the passage in question with a good deal of interest. I now prepared to leave Washington for Eichmond, the capital of the State of Virginia, by the usual route, which was partly by steamer and partly by railroad. I therefore bade adieu to my friends, and on the evening of Thursday the 20th July, embarked in the steamer, lying at its moorings on the Potomac. I found it com- fortably and elegantly fitted up, as the American steamers generally are; although the berths were good, I pre- ferred sleeping on a sofa in the gentlemen's saloon, which, with the assistance of a pillow, 1 did, comfort- ably wrapped up in my cloak. At three o'clock of the next morning we loosed from the wharf; I awoke early, and was up with the dawn, but found myself too late to see General Washington's patrimonial seat, Mount Yernon, justly considered here as classic ground, al- though perhaps remarkable on no other account—we had passed it in the dark. I was in time, however, to admire the beautiful and varied scenery of the river; the country looking everywhere green and fresh, with great variety of trees skirting the waters edge—their bright foliage sparkling in the morning's sun. After a very good breakfast, we disembarked about seven o'clock, and took the cars at Ac quia Creek, and reached Eich- mond a little after eleven o'clock a.m., passing through a pleasant country. The fare, breakfast included, six dollars. After taking up my quarters in a good hotel, I looked a little about the town, the general appearance of which is good ; but found myself too much fatigued to see much of it that day. The people whom I came in contact with were civil and obliging; being asked, in the course of con-TO THE UNITED STATES* 169 versation, whether I was not a foreigner, I replied, that I was from England, bat certainly not a foreigner, as no Englishman could, or perhaps ought to feel himself a foreigner in the United States. I was now in the capital of a slave State, waited on by black people everywhere. They are certainly not ill treated here; they seemed to be contented with their condition—of quick parts, with an independence of manner that surprised me. Slavery has, nevertheless, a malign influence here, be- cause it keeps out the great tide of emigration, which does not and cannot, for obvious reasons, flow into a slave State ; while the free states are prodigiously bene- fited by it: they consequently advance rapidly, while the others remain stationary, if they do not retrograde. Many of the negroes here are, however, free; and it is said they might have been all so, but for the injudicious measures of the abolitionists. Of this I could not so well judge. The climate and soil are understood to be well adapted for free labour, and not unsuitable to the English consti- tution, with exception, probably, of the months of July and August in the towns and plains, when the heat is certainly very oppressive. The custom of drinking iced-water prevails here, as in other parts of the Union, and is certainly a great luxury ; but it requires to be indulged in with caution by a stranger. I found it prudent to qualify mine with a little brandy, especially during the hot season, al- though otherwise not addicted to strong waters; it is a custom, though now general, but of recent origin. On further acquaintance with the town, I found it to be commodious, with a general good appearance; but not large, numbering about 30,000 inhabitants.170 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT I visited the State House, built on a commanding situation, in the form of a Grecian temple (a favourite style, and not unadapted to the climate), with a portico supported by six large columns ; in the interior, under a dome, there is a statue of General Washington, executed by a French artist, employed by General La Fayette for the purpose, and said to be the best axtant. The artist, I was told, lost his head in the French Kevolution—a common occurrence in those days. I afterwards visited the courts of law; and then, from the railway bridge, the falls as they are called, but rather the rapids of the James Kiver, on the banks of which the town is situated, and on which there are manufactories, a paper-mill, &c., worked by water-power, which is considerable—but it is said they do not flourish. Land at a distance from the town is said to be low- priced, and without purchasers. Sunday, 23d, I went to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, near the State House—the fashionable congregation. On intimating my desire, as a stranger, for a seat, an elderly gentleman politely invited me to accompany him to his pew, ensconcing me between himself and his better-half, where, in the body of the church, fronting the clergyman, I could both hear and see. The service, I thought, went heavily on, sermon inclusive, by one and the same party ; the congregation seemed composed of fine folks ; the young ladies handsomely dressed, with a knot of young gentlemen assembled at the door to see them come out. Next day a Scotch gentleman, an old and wealthy resident, to whom I had a letter, took me to the tobacco stores, the great staple of the State, giving me some particulars of the manner in which this trade is con- ducted ; it comes to the stores packed in barrels.TO THE UNITED STATES. 171 The growers, it appears, generally sell by auction (which, indeed, I saw going on), commanding a re- munerative price ; it is bought up by the merchants, men of capital, who, after supplying the home market, ship the remainder for Europe. Tobacco, which could be sold for 3d. per pound, pays a duty in England of 3s. ; consequently, in shipping for that market, for which the demand is great, the stems and the coarser parts are removed ; these are shipped for Holland, where the duty is moderate, and there manufactured into snuff for the German market. Tobacco is perhaps as fair a subject for taxation as any ; it is said to realize, in Great Britain and Ireland, about four millions sterling annually—a large sum towards the expenses of the State, while it is perhaps not felt to be individually oppressive. The best cigar costs threepence in England ; a cigar here of the same quality three cents—that is, three half pence, the difference of price is perhaps not too great under the circumstances ; it would be well perhaps if our other taxes were laid on equally judiciously, for no one probably, high or low, finds his expenditure in tobacco burdensome to his pocket. My friend also introduced me to the reading-room, by which I was enabled to enjoy the luxury of an English newspaper, and wonder over the affairs of Europe. Tuesday, July 25.—I left Richmond this morning by the Louisa railroad to Gordonsville, booking on to Staunton, via Charlottesville, from whence we proceeded in large four-horse coaches, carrying nine inside, en route for the Virginia springs, where I proposed to pass a month of the hot weather. As far as I went by rail, the scenery seemed com- paratively tame ; as the mountains came in sight, it172 kec0llect10ns of a visit improved wonderfully; we arrived about eight in the evening at Charlottesville, where, on learning that we were to resume our journey at two in the morning, I preferred, rather than go to bed for the few intervening hours, to sleep on a bench in the bar of the hotel. Next day we reached Staunton about one o'clock to dinner; afterwards we continued our route by a con- veyance of the same description, and reached a place, the name of which I forget, about nine, to leave again at three, i.e., in the dark ; as the day dawned, we found ourselves embosomed in the most romantic mountains, covered by the primeval forest, winding and ascending the hills, until, about nine o'clock a.m., we reached the summit and looked down upon the warm springs, situated in a valley of the mountains, sheltered by their highest ridges, when we drove rapidly down to a comfortable hotel, full of company. After breakfast, I was not long in seeking out the bath, for the roads had been so bad, and the coach so heavy, that I arrived necessarily much fatigued. I found the bath delightfully refreshing; it was about five and a half feet deep, boiling out of its stony bottom as clear as crystal, at a temperature of about ninety-eight degrees of Fahrenheit, from the smell, strongly impreg- nated with sulphur ; in this I indulged for about half an hour, swimming and floating about much to my satisfaction. The fare to Staunton was seven dollars ; from thence to the warm springs, four dollars; my expenses on the road, about three dollars—in all, fourteen dollars. The Virginia springs are situated in the Alleghany range of mountains, the mean height of which may be between two and three thousand feet above the level of the sea; they form the fashionable watering-placesTO THE UNITED STATES. 173 of the southern portion of the Union, and are much resorted to; there are several of them, all more or less celebrated, and spread over a romantic, wooded region, commanding many fine views and objects of curiosity. The warm springs, in the county of Bath, where I now was, is one of the oldest of the watering-places ; it consisted of little more than the hotel, the village, with its row or two of lodging-houses, and staff of black assistants. There were two large circular baths, pleasantly situ- ated—one for ladies, and the other for gentlemen ; each covered in by a wooden building, in which were dressing- rooms surrounding and opening upon the bath, which was of considerable diameter, and constructed to be used in common at one time by as many as there were dress- ing-rooms provided for. I found a very pleasant party of ladies and gentlemen assembled at the hotel, about eighty in number; these would be added to or decreased every morning, as the coach arrived, changed horses, and passed on, leaving the mail and any other news from the world below us. The change of temperature was delightful, from a burning heat in the towns and plains, accompanied by intense thirst, to a climate resembling moderate summer weather in England ; a fine herbage where cleared, with occasional sudden and heavy showers from the attraction of the hills, with a total absence of mosquitoes and other noxious insects. The valley where we were was partially cleared, and bearing fine crops of Indian corn; above us, at no great distance, stood a flag-staff, indicative of the highest point of the surrounding hills; to reach this, I ascended the coach road to its summit, and then turned aside through the forest by a bridle path; the view from it174 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT represented a succession of hills, covered throughout by a dense forest of oaks, as far as the eye could reach, and seeming to follow each other in succession^ like the dark billows of a tempestuous ocean ; a small patch of cleared ground here and there. Sunday, 30th.—A clergyman of the Episcopal Church preached a very good sermon in the saloon of our hotel; more company arrived by the morning coach ; fur- ther news from France, by which, it would appear, discontent still prevailed, and further disturbances were feared. As coming from the old country, I met with marked civility and attention from every one, consequently I passed my time much to my satisfaction ; after break- fast, part of the morning was passed in conversation, a bath, and then a saunter alone probably followed. I then read in my cabin until dinner, after which I would sometimes join a group in a cigar. After tea, I gene- rally spent the evening in the ladies' drawing-room, where I was invariably well received. The gentlemen would introduce me to the ladies of their party, who conversed with me about England, and on general sub- jects, lending me books to read. Sometimes a little quadrille was made up from the juniors of the party, when three negro musicians were sent for to play the banjo, as it is called, which consisted of three instruments, a violin, a tambourine, I think, and the third the skull of an ass, played upon by a collar-bone of the same animal, sounding not unlike the Spanish castanets. Those men were probably slaves, and as such I beheld them with interest; they seemed clever, good-humoured, and contented. The Virginians are aristocratic in their notions ; theyTO THE UNITED STATES. 175 took pride in telling me that they were the last to sub- mit to the Commonwealth under Cromwell. They did not attempt to defend slavery in itself, observing that it was introduced by England in the first instance; that their fortunes and institutions were bound up with it, and they did not feel called upon to ruin themselves to gratify the philanthropy of others; that England had abandoned the slave-trade reluctantly, after a long struggle in Parliament; and that her abo- lition of slavery was a recent measure. But they would not allow that the slaves were in a general way ill treated, or if left to themselves, discon- tented with their condition ; but that their young masters growing up with them from their infancy, their rule over them in after-life was disposed to be patriarchal. My observation could only be superficial; as far as it went, I saw nothing to contradict this in their treat- ment of them as household servants. I had not, how- ever, seen them at field labour, more especially in the cotton, rice, or sugar plantations. The books lent me at this time were one or two num- bers of the Edinburgh Eeview, " Count Monthelon/' whom I have already quoted, and cc Now and Then," by Mr. Warren, who has imitated Sir Waiter Scott not unsuccessfully, in making the merit of the work consist in the truth of the details. It was hinted to me here, that although slavery was made the stalking-horse, the real question at issue be- tween the two great sections of the Union is the tariff, Mr. Polk's term of office drawing to a close, the whig, or, as it would be termed at home, the conservative party, had set up General Taylor, a southern man; not because he would suit them best, but because he was the only one likely to be successful on their side, from176 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT his popularity as a general; the other, the democratic party, understood to favour a low tariff, had set up General Cass, also a southern man. A meeting was called in our neighbourhood to discuss the merits of the two candidates, which I had the curiosity to attend. The assembly was full, and the proceedings were con- ducted with decorum. ' General Taylor's agent spoke first, and the gist of his argument seemed to be, that such had been the burdens entailed on the Union by Mr. President Polk's Mexican War, that in case of the success of his candidate, it might be found necessary to do away with the comparatively free-trade tariff of 1846, and fall back on that of 1841; this was not very pala- table to a southern audience. The agent for the other party, in urging the merits of his candidate, promised, in case of his success, that there should be no increase of the tariff, but suggested that any deficiency in the revenue might be made up by a direct impost. I leant in favour of General Taylor, until I understood the alternative of his election was to be a high tariff. General Taylor was duly elected to the President's Chair, and gave promise of filling it with tact and judg- ment, when he was carried off by death. No alteration in the tariff took place under his government. Mr. Louis Filmore, the Vice-President, a northern man, who may be supposed to be more completely in the whig or conservative interest, succeeded to the Pre- sident's Chair, in virtue of the article of the constitution providing for it. He did not find it safe, however, to make any altera- tion in the tariff, and it probably will not be attempted ; the general revenue being flourishing. In which case the manufacturing interest throughout the Union, instead of being a rickety baby, supported at the expense ofTO THE UNITED STATES. 177 the rest of the community, may have the opportunity to become a vigorous self-supporting plant, of slow but sure growth. Among the books now lent me were the " Bachelor of the Albany/' one of the ephemeral works of the day, but readable, and having the merit of being compre- hended in one volume; " the Falcon Family," by the same author, but not, I think, so good ; and the " Mis- cellaneous Essays of Sir Walter Scott," consisting chiefly of his critiques from the Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews, and his letters, signed, Malachi Malagrowther, on the currency of Scotland; his object being to pre- vent the bill to do away with the one-pound notes, then pending in Parliament, being made applicable to his own country ; the case is fairly stated and ably argued ; they are understood to have drawn at the time the attention they merited from the Government, and were probably the main cause of the success of the object aimed at. I occasionally saw a game of quoits played, and there was a bowling-alley under cover. An event now broke in upon the serenity of our quiet community. On the evening of Thursday, the 10th of August, we were alarmed by loud screams proceeding from a suite of private apartments ; an invalid gentle- man had died suddenly in the arms of his wife, from disease of the heart. He, it appears, was a German by birth, partner with his brother in a mercantile firm at Baltimore, and had been seeking the benefit of the springs for his health; his wife was young, the mother of three children, her distress heart-rending. The funeral took place on the evening of the next day, as was thought to be desirable on account of the ♦ heat, followed by all the male inmates of the hotel, M178 recollections of a visit after an appropriate discourse and prayer in the draw- ing-room, by the clergyman of the village, at which the widow assisted in a state of great excitement and dis- tress ; after which she left by the stage, en route for Baltimore, in charge of a friend. The churchyard was small but romantically situated, with apparently few tenants; among the number, I ob- served a marble monument of some pretension to a Mr. Alexander Brydie, a native of Scotland, who died a.d. 1800, in his thirty-fourth year. The grave-digger, I observed, was a negro. This untoward event cast a general gloom over the party, who began to disperse in different directions. After lingering a few days, I packed up, and left after breakfast by the coach, on Thursday, 17th August, for the hot springs, a distance of five miles; but the route somewhat long from its hilliness; the road running from one valley opening into another, with a stream running generally in the bottom of each. The charge for board and lodging at the hotel was eight dollars per week ; the coach fare half a dollar. The hot springs are situated in a valley, embosomed among mountain peaks. Bathing-houses have been erected, and every accommodation provided. The baths are six in number, each being supplied from a separate spring, and so constructed as to be occupied by only one at a time. They range in temperature from 98° to 106°. The hotel seemed to be tolerably well arranged, the number of visitors much the same as in the one I had left; there, however, they appeared to consist more of fine folks, in search of amusement as well as health—to see and be seen ; here, mostly invalids, seeking and finding benefit from the use of the waters.TO THE UNITED STATES. 179 Next day I tried the hot-spout bath of 102°, which I found to be bearable as to heat, and remarkably pleasant. My general health also seemed improved by the change of air. I found the company disposed to be sociable ; but I was at a great loss for books, there being no periodicals or other works—scarcely a newspaper to be had. I became acquainted with some Virginian gentlemen of the better class, with whom I had much pleasant con- versation. Also with three gentlemen from the old country (Ire- land), all of whom had prospered. One of these came out, he told me, without a shilling ; got into a retail shop or store in one of the towns, which eventually became his own, sending home for all his brothers, in succession. It is true, this may be done at home—there are instances of it every day ; but there is not room for all. No man need fear a large family at home, provided he can give his children some education, and bring them up to industrious habits, with a view to the colonies. A sound mind in a sound body, and their own exertions will do the rest. One man was pointed out to me from my own country, who had come out with a pack on his back—z.e., a pedlar ; he had been success- ful, and was rich ; with a keen Aberdeen accent; he was unassuming in his deportment, and I respected him. Another had resided for some years at New Orleans ; the damp climate of which, he told me, enabled him to relish a glass of whisky punch, as much as in the old country. I certainly was very much struck with the moderation of the Americans in this respect here, as elsewhere in the Union ; it is, no doubt, in part owing to the dryness of their atmosphere which renders a stimulant of the180 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT kind less necessary than with us, in our humid climate. Wednesday, 23d August.—A lady lent me Miss Martineau's work on America, which much interested me for the rest of the day. I had now remained here the week I intended; I therefore, on Thursday, 24th August, bade adieu to the party at the hotel, and, after breakfast, took the coach that passed its door for the White Sulphur Springs ; the distance not quite forty miles, but the roads heavy from late rains. I got the box seat, the better to see the mountain scenery. We dined about half way, at four o'clock. Heavy rain coming on shortly after, I was compelled to take refuge inside. We reached our jour- ney's end in the dark. After a refreshing supper, I re- tired to a tolerably comfortable cabin; the wThole place being as yet a terra incognita to me. The charge for the week's board was ten dollars ; the fare by the coach three dollars. The White Sulphur Springs are situated on a branch of the Greenbrier River, in the county of Greenbrier, and valley of Howard's Creek. They are the most cele- brated and most generally visited; consequently, on looking round me next morning, I found everything arranged in a suitable style. Besides the main building of the hotel, which was on a large scale, there was a large circle of the better sort of cabins or houses for families, a ball-room, and other out buildings, with several rows of smaller cabins, like my own (consisting of a sitting and bed room), branch- ing off. The large circle, or rather oval, was ornamented with trees and gravel walks; the cold spring-well for drinking being at one extremity under a dome supported by pillars.TO THE UNITED STATES. 181 In the coarse of ray promenade I drank a glass of the water, which I did not find unpleasant; it appeared to be slightly impregnated with sulphur to the smell and taste—not unlike what I have heard the Harrogate water to be. I recognised many of my friends from the other springs, who received me again most kindly, introducing me to their friends. I next called at the post-office, which here formed a part of the establishment, as it did at the others, but was disappointed in not finding letters waiting me, either from England or Nova Scotia. We sat down to dinner, between three and four hundred; the dinner and waiting tolerable. I found here a news-room, much to my satisfaction. In the evening I looked into the ball-room, where I saw some gay young folks dancing. Among the rest, some French ladies and gentlemen from New Orleans ; they seemed nice young people, and as much French, in manners and appearance, as if they had come direct from Paris. I made the same remark at Montreal, and after- wards at Quebec. Sunday, 27th August.—We attended Divine service in the ball-room, an Episcopal clergyman, a visitor at the springs, officiating. His text, "Make unto your- selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness." In the evening I took a walk, accompanied by a brother Scot, to admire the fine scenery by which we were surrounded; in the course of which we ascended a path leading into a neighbouring valley, and command- ing a fine view of it. In clearing this valley, enough of forest trees have been left to give it a fine clothed ap- pearance, while these, having room and air, have ex- panded into magnificent dimensions, mostly oak, walnut, and elm ; the repose and verdure of the scene remind- ing me of England.182 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT One day was very much the repetition of another with me. I was much struck with the good-breeding and propriety of all around me—no undue assumption on the part of any one—not one instance of discord, rudeness, or intemperance. The state of Ireland excited much attention. About this time news arrived that matters had come to a crisis, and that the outbreak had been put down. I observed that the sympathies of the Virginians were all with England on this subject; nor did I think them over friendly to the new French Revolution. Among others whom the company had attracted to the Springs, was a daguerreotype artist, a respectable- looking young man from Scotland. It was the fashion to sit to him; I went with the others and had my likeness taken, thinking I could not do less than patronize my countryman. His charge was three dollars, and he probably reaped a good harvest. One night as I sat alone in my cabin, absorbed in my book, a black man entered, on some pretext, with a candle, sat down beside me without the least ceremony, then pointing to the book, desired me to read aloud to him. This I did. He then asked me how the Mexican war went on. In reply to which, I begged to be allowed to ask, in my turn, what had led to the honour of a visit from him at that hour of the night. To which he re- plied, that he wTas a free negro, and that the Virginians were going to turn all such out of their State. Besides, he added, that being accustomed to be waited on by slaves, they never thought of giving anything to the ser- vants on going away ; thinking that such subjects might possibly be tabooed in Virginia, more especially in re- ference to the party in question. I seized the favourable opportunity to dismiss him, with an assurance that ITO THE UNITED STATES. 183 would take care not to commit the mistake of the Vir- ginians in that respect with regard to him, provided he undertook to call me in time on the morning of my departure. September had now arrived ; the zenith of the season had passed. The company, of which there had been a daily flux and reflux, had thinned down to a hundred ; even my daguerreotype friend was packing up his traps ; all which reminded me that I must think of resuming my journey, which I fixed for the Monday morning. In the meantime, I entered the ball-room in the evening, where I found few people, and no dancing, the musicians amusing themselves in practising. After their national tune of "Yankee doodle," they played in succession, " Within a mile o' sweet Edinburgh town," " Oh where, and 0 where does my Highland laddie dwell ?" and " Rule Britannia V' At these well-known airs my heart leaped, as it did one night at Washington, on hearing in bed some one in the street trilling, as he went along, " Should auld acquaintance be forgot ?" Sunday, 3d September, a Baptist minister preached in the ball-room from Isaiah—a Calvinistic sermon on the Atonement. Monday, 4th September, being duly called by my black friend, I took the coach for Charleston in Virginia, at three o'clock in the morning, first slipping half a dollar into his hand, to his great delight. I was now travelling westward with the object of striking the Ohio by the Kanawha River. We breakfasted and dined on the road, travelling through wooded valleys, very much such a country as I had left, accompanied by very pleasant passengers, until we took in an elderly man with a slave girl, whom he told us he had just purchased for 500 dollars. He184 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT got her at that price, he said, on account of her bad temper. She seemed very unhappy for the first part of the route, but grew more cheerful afterwards. Arriving at the Blue Sulphur Springs to change horses, we had time to taste the water, and complete our number of passengers. Having supped and slept on the road, we continued our route through a country very much as before, only that the valleys widened and appeared more cleared and cultivated, with better farm-houses, until we approached an eminence, called the Hawk's Nest, commanding a front view of a narrow wooded valley, with a mountain stream threading the centre, being the Kanawha at or near its source. The better to see this, the coachman drew up for a short time, and we all got out. We approached the salt-works, about twelve miles from Charleston (which we regretted we had not time to visit), after which it appeared a busy scene all the way to the town, where we obtained accommodation for the night at a very good hotel. The fare by coach, eight dollars ; the board at the White Sulphur Hotel, ten dollars per week. Before taking leave of the Virginia springs, I may mention that there are some objects of curiosity which I had not an opportunity to see, such as the natural bridge. It consists of a stupendous natural arch of limestone rock, over a small stream called Cedar Creek. The view from the top is said to be very grand. The height from the stream to the top of the bridge being 215 feet; its average width 80 feet; and its extreme length at the top 95 feet. It is sixty-three miles from the White Sulphur Springs. Weir's Cave, seventeen miles from Staunton, extend- ing about 2500 feet in length; divided .into severalTO THE UNITED STATES. 185 apartments, the walls of which are formed of crystallized carbonate of lime, or calcareous spar. And Madison's Cave, a short distance from the preceding, and somewhat resembling it. There are deer in the forest, because venison was a standing dish at table. They are brought in by hunters who know their haunts, and never miss a shot. If this country was cleared, or the trees thinned so as to resemble an English park or chase, it would be the finest pastoral region in the world—the land being of the best quality, judging from the trees, which are mostly oak. At present, the trees are too closely packed for any- thing to grow under them, consequently there must be little food for game. Pigs are turned in to feed on the acorns and other nuts in the autumn; there are also rattlesnakes, but none of these I saw. Such as it is, it merits the curiosity of a tourist, and will amply reward him. He will find the Virginians a superior class of peo- ple, hospitable to a degree to a stranger from the old country.186 recollections of a visit CHAPTER XX. CHARLESTON-KANAWHA RIVER-STEAMER-LEADEN PLATE- OHIO RIVER—CINCINNATI—LOUISVILLE-MAMMOTH CAVE. Charleston is a small town of little note, on the bank of the river Kanawha, where it becomes navigable. Next day (Wednesday the 6th September), we em- barked in the Triumph steamer for Cincinnati. The river was shallow from the season of the year, and although our steamer was not large, we went aground several times, which permitted of our going ashore, which many did, amusing themselves in the woods which skirt its margin. Thursday, 7th.—Obliged to rough matters on board ; pleasant passengers nevertheless, with whom we pass the time agreeably. One gentleman from the north, argues strongly for a high tariff; in which I oppose him, supported by the Southerns. Reach the mouth of the Kanawha this evening, as it flows into the Ohio at a right angle. We were shown at the village, where it enters, the leaden plate buried by the French here about a hundred years ago, with a suitable inscription indicative of their intention to claim the whole valley of the Mississippi, in right of discovery ; to connect their two provinces of Canada and Louisiana, which had caused so much alarm to our English colonists.TO THE UNITED STATES. Friday, 8th.—Occupied the whole day in dropping down the Ohio—the steamer heavily laden with grain and other goods. Saturday, 9th.—Reached Cincinnati about noon: the fare no more than four dollars, including board,—it not being the custom to charge extra for meals in the Western river steamers. The Ohio is, as I expected, a magnificent river. It is formed by the junction of the Alleghany and Mon- angahela rivers at Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania. It runs westward in a uniform smooth and placid current; its banks are generally high and precipitous, rising into bluffs and cliffs, sometimes to the height of 300 feet. Little or nothing of the country, on either side, is visible beyond its banks ; but, by the rich alluvium of which they are composed, I could form some judgment of its fertility. It is navigable for its whole length, from Pittsburgh to its mouth, where it flows into the Mississippi—a dis- tance of 1001 miles, with exception of some short rapids at Louisville. To enable steamers to surmount this impediment, a canal has been dug for three or four miles in length, with great labour ; the rock has been excavated to some depth, and a series of good substantial locks built. Owing to the great expense of excavating the hard strata through which the canal passes, it has been made only sufficiently wide for one steamer to pass at a time. When two or three steamers arrive at Louisville from up and down the river, much delay arises ; to obviate which, a proposal has been made to make another canal on the opposite side of the river, to accommodate a por- tion of the traffic. This has not, however, been as yet commenced.188 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Cincinnati, the most populous city of the Western States, is a town but of yesterday. Its population in 1800, was only 750 ; in 1845, it mustered 80,000, with every promise of a large increase. It is built mostly of brown sandstone, on two hills rising from the waters edge, the one elevated from forty to sixty feet above the other ; laid out, as to be expected, with regularity—the streets, some of which are sixty feet in width, intersect- ing each other at right angles. The "Queen City of the West," as it is called, enjoys great facilities for commerce, commanding, by the Ohio and other rivers connected with it, a water communica- tion of some thousands of miles. It is also said to be the greatest pork market in the world; more than 250,000 hogs being slaughtered and prepared for exportation in the year 1844. It has also large manufactories of hardware. Grreat numbers of Scotch and Irish are settled here. I took up my abode in the Broadway Hotel, where I was tolerably comfortable during the day, but devoured by mosquitoes at night. Sunday, 10th September.—I attended the Episcopal Church, where I heard but an indifferent sermon. Monday, 11th.—I went to see the Observatory, into which I was not admitted, but had a fine view of the city from the eminence on which it is situated, which seemed to be encircled with high grounds, appearing to confine the cloud of coal smoke given out by the chim- neys of its numerous manufactories, which prevents the aspect of the town being agreeable to a stranger, while it gives proof of its prosperity. The Kentucky side of the river presents a compara- tively small but pleasant suburb. The merchants, and others, prefer to reside there, coming over to theirto the united states. 189 counting-liouses by a ferry which crosses every five minutes. Among other indications of prosperity, there is in this town a large and handsome theatre, in which I saw the play of Hamlet, tolerably got up; the part of Hamlet by an American star, a Mr. Murdoch. On pricing the markets, I found fine roasting beef to be six cents, i.e., 3d. per pound ; pork, four cents. In the neighbourhood of the town I observed exten- sive vineyards, with the view of making wine on a large scale, but with what success I did not learn. Wednesday, 13th.—I embarked on board the Gondo- lier, a large steamer, for Louisville, at four p.m. We did not however leave until after five. There was a large number of passengers on board. Pleasure had shut her play-book, and the company were flooding down from the hills to resume the serious business of life, in their western homes. We sat down to a comfortable meal, being tea and supper combined, when the tables were removed, and beds made up the whole length of the saloon. Much civility was shown me as a stranger from the old country, and a bed made up for me on the only table permitted to remain, on which I slept com- fortably, but got up early to enjoy the view on both sides of the river ; its banks very much covered, as usual, with the forest; no view generally beyond. We breakfasted at seven, and reached Louisville about nine a.m., a distance of 138 miles ; the fare being two dollars—remarkably low, when it is considered the two meals in question were included. Louisville, in the State of Kentucky, is a town of some pretension ; it is situated on the left bank of the river, on a plain ; it may contain about 30,000 inhabi- tants. It is built of red brick, and laid out in regular190 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT streets at right angles ; the immediate bank of the river is occupied by shops, warehouses, and business premises, but beyond these are many elegant houses, situated in gardens and pleasure-grounds, with apartments diverging behind from the main building for the slave servants ; Kentucky being, like its neighbour Virginia, a slave State. I took up my abode at the Louisville Hotel, a large and commodious house kept by an Englishman. A young American gentleman, one of my stage and steam-boat friends, a native here, gave me a drive to show me the environs of the town ; it appeared to stand on an alluvial plain formed by the river, consequently rich and fertile. In the evening there was a ball in the saloon of our hotel, at which I took a peep ; the belle of the town was pointed out to me, and other belles I saw, figuring away with some of my fellow-travellers from the springs ; they were well-dressed, good-looking, and happy. It is customary in the large towns to publish the arrivals, as I conclude must be the case here, for a gen- tleman from the old country called upon me, introducing himself as knowing something of my connexions at home ; he undertook to be my cicerone about the town, uncovering each roof like another Asmodeus. Among other places, he took me to some Catholic establish- ment—a nunnery, I think—introducing me, as her countryman, to a young Scotchwoman, in the dress of her order, which consisted of white flannel from top to toe, a silver crucifix in front, a curious cap on her head, her beads hanging at her side—a woman twice her age calling her mother. I could hardly help laughing at the twinkle of her eye on the mention of her native town in Forfarshire, contrasting so strangely as it did with her travesty dress.TO THE UNITED STATES. 191 On asking my new friend whether the houses I ad- mired had cellars to correspond, he said the contents of each would be one demijohn of brandy, and another of whisky. If rich, a fine house must be built; it must be large, that the slaves may appear to live apart, but that it did not necessarily entail any corresponding expense. About this time, I was waited on by a brother Scot and an Irishman. On asking them their errand—it was to decide a bet—What may it be ? The Scot, who was the spokesman, " I have betted you are an Irishman; my friend, that you are from the other side of the Tweed," I looked at them both with some surprise and displeasure, but seeing no offence was meant, I decided the bet with a smile. My Scotch friend now asked me whether I recollected the dear year in Scotland—1799, I think. I told him I did. "Well/' he said, " that was the doing up of our family altogether. We were driven to seek a home across the Atlantic; and very well we have done, for those spirit stores are mine"—pointing to a large ware- house opposite the hotel window. Next morning, I found my new friend sitting before his door, like an ancient patriarch. He took much pride in conducting me over his stores, which were extensive; the whisky I understood him to distil himself, as well as other compounds. The Mammoth Cave of Kentucky was in everybody's mouth. It was the great natural curiosity of their State, and I ought to see it. It would give me, at any rate, an opportunity to see the interior of a State, the name of which had been long familiar to me, and which it appeared legitimate that I should become better acquainted with. I therefore, on Saturday the 16 th September, took my place, after192 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT breakfast, in the stage for the caves—a hundred miles distant. My fellow-passengers, all bound on the same errand, consisted of a widow lady, her two sons and daughter— genteel people ; a young countryman, settled in trade at New Orleans, who had been already my travelling com- panion ; and another gentleman connected with that neighbourhood. My young countryman had secured the box-seat, as he thought; he however found it occupied. On remon- strating, the occupant drew a bowie knife; upon this, the coachman was appealed to, but unsuccessfully, for he shuffled. The consequence was, that our friend was compelled to mount on the top of the coach for the first stage, after which he was very glad to come inside. This young gentleman, himself pleasant and obliging, was unfortunate ; an attempt had been made to rob him at the springs, he being awoke one night in his cabin by *some one who had entered through the window. On our return from the caves, he very kindly lent his silk umbrella to an outside, during a storm of rain ; in the morning, the outside was gone, and the umbrella not forthcoming. The young lady, who had been on a visit to England, expected, as she told me, to find no tr^es there, while she was astonished by their dimensions and grandeur in our English parks. Her elder brother had resided for some time in Paris, from which his father's death had called him home. He seemed very partial to France, where he had been during the last [Revolution ; giving us some anecdotes of it, and of the state of parties. On our route we were supplied with basketfuls of peaches of the finest quality, for a mere trifle.TO THE UNITED STATES. 193 We slept on the road, and reached the hotel at the cave on the evening of the next day. It was solidly constructed of beams of oak, in its own grounds, and full of company. The landlord joined us in a game of whist, and we were all very sociable. Our route had been through a pleasant country, long settled. Coach fare, seven dollars. The cave was said to extend fifteen miles under ground ; to comprehend a subterranean river, and many natural curiosities. We, next morning after breakfast, having hired guides with lights, set off to the cave in a body,—our party being increased by one or two stray visitors. The entrance was curious: part of the vault had fallen in, leaving a circular aperture of tolerable dimen- sions, fringed by the trees and shrubs of the forest. On descending, we proceeded with lighted lamps, pre- ceded by our guides, to pass through large vaults, and at other times to thread our way through tortuous pas- sages, ascending and descending ladders—seeing much that was curious, when a council was held, the elders of the party, myself among the number, agreeing to make the shorter tour, occupying about four hours ; while the juniors branched, off to be absent the whole day in the cave. This arrangement being effected, our party, among other places, were conducted to what is called the Gothic Chamber, being a vault with pillars formed of stalactites, which, on our lamps being hung upon the walls, gave it very much the appearance of a Gothic chapel. The water had percolated for ages at either declension of a long vault, through limestone, in two rows, very much at equal distances from each other, until the calcareous spar had accumulated on the ground, drop by drop—the N194 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT drop had at last ceased to have power to fall, but had accumulated and hung from the roof like an icicle, until, in the course of time, it had met the other. These pillars being white and sparkling in the rays of our dim lights, the illusion was complete. We were afterwards conducted to what was called the Star-Chamber: being another vaulted apartment, in which it was alleged that, by fixing the eye intently on the roof, a firmament of stars could be seen—but this, to my eyes at least, required some effort of the imagina- tion. At last we threaded our way out, when the finest thing I saw, probably, was the effect of the light and shade of the sun and atmosphere, as we approached at some distance the mouth of the cave; the effect was finer than anything I could well have imagined, without presenting to the eye any definable object, as if some new creation were opening from the murky cavern in which we were buried for the moment. After an absence of eight or nine hours, the younger portion of the party joined us, full, of course, of the wonders they had seen—a river half a mile long, fish in it without eyes; a snow-ball chamber, from which they brought specimens of calcareous spar, beautifully white, some portions of it resembling strips of celery as it comes to table, and so on. With these descriptions I was satisfied, without at- tempting the cave again, my essay at which had already cost me some fatigue. We spent a very agreeable evening together, however. The next morning the party broke up, much to my re- gret—the family I have mentioned seeking the mouth of the Ohio by the Cumberland river, while my friend and myself returned to Louisville by the route we had come.to the united states. 195 CHAPTER XXL KENTUCKY—WESTERN RIVER STEAMERS—ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH —STEAMER TO ST. LOUIS-RIVER MISSISSIPPI—STEAMER TO CHICAGO—ILLINOIS RIVER—CANAL, Before leaving Kentucky I may as well mention that I was pleased with its aspect and climate—the one is agreeable, the other temperate and healthy, while its soil is of undoubted fertility, like its neighbouring State of Ohio, from which it is only separated by the river; but the tide of immigration is wanting to develop its resources. This is to be lamented, because, without going into the question of slavery in itself, this State, as well as Virginia, of which it is a continuation westward, is eminently qualified for free labour. They are conse- quently, from the want of it, falling behind their neighbouring free States in the race of progression, or rather they remain stationary while the others are making rapid progress. For instance, by the census of 1840,— The population of Kentucky (an old State—slave), was 779,828 Of Ohio, its bordering State, but of yesterday (free), 1,519,467 Of Virginia (the oldest State in the Union—slave), 1,239,797 Its neighbour, Pennsylvania (a smaller State—free), 1,724,038. The steamers on the great western rivers of America— the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Missouri—differ from196 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISTT those on the lakes and the Hudson, in using engines on the high-pressure principle; this is done probably to obtain a light draught of water, the engines take up a smaller space, while the extra weight of the condenser and its appurtenances is saved. As in the steamers on the Hudson formerly described, a light, sharp hull is first constructed, on which is placed a floor or deck, overhanging some three or four feet on each side. On this deck is placed the boiler, cylinders, &c.3 and the berths for the crew ; the greater part of the cargo being stowed below in the hull. Over the lower deck and machinery is erected a light cabin, extending almost the whole length of the vessel, having a veranda passage all round, only interrupted by the paddle-boxes. The same arrangement is, in fact, observed as before described in the Hudson steamers, except that there is no great beam or shaft, boxed up through the cabin. The engines consist of two cylinders, placed horizontally on each side of the vessel, just within the paddle-box, giving motion to a shaft working the paddle—very much the same arrangement as in a railway locomotive engine. The high-pressure system is unfortunately the cause of numerous accidents, not so much, I think, from any undue danger in the principle itself, as from the abuses to which it is subjected. Kacing is common; on leaving large places the steam will be raised to a high pitch, full power set on, when the vessel passes the town at great speed, with guns firing, &c. These proceedings of course tend to weaken the engines, and accidents are the result. Moreover, the boilers being placed on the deck, some distance above the keel, it is sometimes found that passengers crowding to one side, 011 approaching a landing-place, careen theTO THE UNITED STATES. 197 boat, causing the water in the boilers to full on one side ; the exposed parts in the interim becoming red-hot when the water returns, steam of increased pressure is sud- denly generated, and the boiler bursts. A railway locomotive boiler is seldom known to burst ; therefore, if proper care were taken, these fatal accidents ought not so continually to occur. Another cause of accident is fire, which is not easily prevented; the fuel used being wood, the sparks from which, communicating with the light superstructure of the cabin or the deck cargo, often set the boat on fire. The management of the engines is good, during a sudden flood, when immense logs of timber are drifting down the stream ; on the prow of the vessel striking a log, the pilot, from his steering-house above the cabins, touches a bell, when the engines are promptly stopped, so that the log is allowed to float quietly under the paddles without doing injury. Each cylinder works a paddle separately, so that one paddle can be reversed while the other is going ahead, enabling the vessel to be turned with facility. In some cases a single wheel is placed at the stern of the boat. The fares are moderate, and include excellent meals, no matter how long the voyage be delayed. No steward's fee is expected or given. The advantages of the electric telegraph have been duly appreciated in America. Telegraphic communica- tion now exists between all the principal towns, and as the expense of sending a message is very moderate, the whole population are in the constant habit of making use of it. The line of wire is not confined to railroads, but is198 KECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT also led along high roads, and through the streets of the different towns to the central office. On the banks of the large rivers, at every landing- place, there is a telegraph office, so that a passenger can step ashore, and during the few minutes that the steamer stops, send a message to his friends, informing them of his approach some days before he himself can arrive; this I have seen constantly done. In some cases there are opposition lines of telegraph. They appear to be cheaply constructed ; the wires sup- ported on rough posts, or on the trees by the road-side. A line of wire crosses the rapids of the St. Lawrence near Montreal, supported on posts fastened to rocks in the bed of the river, and raised so high as not to impede its navigation. Saturday, 23d September.—I now bade adieu to my friends in Louisville, and took my passage this morning in a steamer of middle size, called the Rio Grande, for St. Louis, on the Mississippi; she had some cargo, and many passengers, but did not draw much water. After passing through the canal I have described, we put out into the main stream. We found the waters of the Ohio low, as is usual at this season, consequently the navigation difficult. Our custom was to lie to for the greater part of the nights, which were generally foggy, from vapour rising from the water; working our way by day with skilful pilots. With all our caution we went aground one afternoon, and with difficulty got afloat again, after great exertion and several hours' delay. This is an occurrence they are liable to? and not un- prepared for. I took some interest in watching the proceedings;TO THE UNITED STATES. 199 they first fixed a large beam, sharp at one end, prepared for the purpose, firmly into the bed of the river, in an upright position, on one side of the prow; rigged a rope to it from the capstan, and in this way tried to ease the vessel off, letting on the full power of the steam, from time to time, to assist. The vessel still resisting, another beam was put out at the other side of the prow, and the capstan brought to bear on both, the effect of which was to raise the fore part of the vessel a little out of the water; but still she held on, when, after much delay, as a last resource an anchor was carried out to some little distance, and the force of the capstan exerted upon it, when, with the assistance of the engines, we were at last dragged off by main force. This unlucky contre-temps being overcome, we pro- ceeded on our way without any more difficulties. I observed on each side of the river large quantities of drift-wood lining its banks, left dry as the stream had receded ; the plan would be to collect this and burn it in heaps, but the wonder is that the Americans have already accomplished so much, not that more remains to be done. We had a mixed set of passengers, but all well con- ducted—a young Scot, dressed as a sailor, with a bushy head of red hair, found me out—seating himself beside me in the cabin, without ceremony, I was not, how- ever, to be put out of conceit of ipy countryman, with whom I had much pleasure in conversing; he worked at some iron mine, got good pay, and was allowing him- self a holiday. Another countryman—who are certainly here a as thick as blackberries "—made my acquaintance while leaning over the stern of the vessel, enjoying the fine prospect before me, telling me, in the course of con- versation, that he had run away from home in early life,200 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT a For what reason ?" " My father was going to thrash me." "For what offence ?" "I had gone to a ball without his knowledge." For this slight cause he had left his country and his paternal home; he had some education, good manners, and was respectably dressed. At meals we stood up until the ladies, with the gentle- men of their party, were seated ; those who could got a seat at their table; but, as there was not room for all, a second would be provided—sometimes a third, in suc- cession ; and, after all the others had finished, the black slaves, of whom there were several on board, of both sexes, sat down. I remarked that they eat their dinner with propriety. We reached the mouth of the river in the afternoon of Tuesday the 26th September, observing with great interest its junction with the Mississippi, which seemed to continue its course, not sensibly increased by its large tributary. I observed, as we neared its mouth, the quality of the trees on its banks to change more than once, to those indicative of a lower level and moister atmosphere ; the last, resembling small poplars, had their stems closely packed. We remained a short time at the small town of Cairo, situated at the junction of the two rivers, which gave me time to take farewell of my friends, bound to New Orleans, and to examine the large, elegantly fitted up steamer in which they embarked. I observed, in greater numbers than I had been ac- customed to see, storks and other birds feeding in the water. Being now in deep water, we steamed up the Missis- sippi, day and night, until we reached St. Louis, early in the morning of Thursday, 28th September. Fare, tenTO THE UNITED STATES. 201 dollars, which may be considered very moderate, when it is recollected that it included three good meals per diem, for five days. The voyage, though somewhat tedious, I had not found unpleasant; the passengers, although of different grades, were sociable with each other, and with myself as a stranger. Many odd questions were put to me which I parried as well as I could; some I declined to reply to, but, as no offence was meant, I took none. Among other amusements an election for the Presi- dent was got up, each signing his name in one of two columns, one for General Taylor, the other for his oppo- nent, General Cass. In my turn I signed for General Taylor. The ladies' cabin was next polled, and the result of the whole was reported to be in favour of old rough and ready (a soubriquet applied to General Taylor), by a, large majority. I had now beheld the Mississippi, and steamed on its waters. I found it a rapid, turbid, and magnificent river; yet its first effect was to disappoint me. I had expected to see a broader sheet of water; whereas, where I joined it, and more or less up to St. Louis, it seemed to run in a deep but comparatively narrow channel. As it is, however, the largest and by far the most im- portant river of the United States—the great western outlet of its commerce, and as no description of what I saw of it can convey any adequate idea of its extent and grandeur, I shall here insert the following detailed ac- count, extracted from a book I met with at St. Louis:— " It takes its rise in a small lake, situated in a region of swamps and wild rice lakes, fifteen hundred feet in202 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT height above the Gulf of Mexico, near the 48th degree of north latitude; it flows, in a course from north to south, into the Gulf of Mexico, in the 29th degree of north latitude. " It is formed of many small branches, but, before it traverses a great distance, it becomes a broad stream moving in a wide expanse of waters, with a current scarcely perceptible; sometimes through interminable swamps, at others, over a white sand bottom, with its waters transparent, and again it is compressed to a narrow and rapid current, between ancient limestone bluffs. "Eleven hundred miles below its source, and 771 above St. Louis, are the Falls of St. Anthony. " Here the river is about 600 yards wide, and is pre- cipated over a ledge of limestone, seventeen feet high. " The scenery round the falls is grand and imposing, and affords a fine treat to visitors. " Below this point the river is bounded by limestone bluffs, from 100 to 400 feet high; its current is broken by the rapids at the mouth of the Rock River, and of the Des Moines, which partially obstruct navigation for a portion of the summer. " Below the rapids the river assumes its medial width and character, from that point to the entrance of the Missouri. " Where it receives the Missouri it is a mile and a half wide ; the united streams have thence, to the mouth of the Ohio, a medial width of little more than half a mile. This mighty tributary seems rather to diminish than increase its width ; but it perceptibly alters its depth, its mass of waters, and, what is to be regretted, wholly changes its character. It is no longer the gentle, placid stream, with smooth shores and cleanTO THE UNITED STATES, 203 sand-bars ; but a furious and boiling current—a turbid and dangerous mass of sweeping waters, with jagged and dilapidated banks. It remains a sublime object of contemplation—but its character of calm magnificence is seen no more. The surface of the river is covered with huge swells or counter currents, which'render it difficult in some places to navigate. "In its course, accidental circumstances shift the impetus of its current, and propel it on the point of an island, bend, or sand-bar. In these instances, it tears up the island, removes the sand-bar, and sweeps away the tender alluvial soil of the bend, with all their trees, depositing the spoils in another place. At the season of high waters, nothing is more familiar to the ears of the people on the river, than the deep crash of a landslip, in which larger or smaller masses of the soil on the banks, with all the trees, are plunged into the stream. Such is its character, from the Missouri to the Balize 'at its mouth'—a wild, furious, whirling river, never navigated without danger. "No person who descends this river for the first time, receives clear and adequate ideas of its grandeur, and the amount of water it conveys. If it be in the spring, when the river below the mouth of the Ohio is generally over its banks, although the sheet of water that is mak- ing its way to the gulf be perhaps thirty miles wide, yet finding its way through deep forests and swamps, that conceal all from the eye, no expanse of water is seen, but the width that is carved out, between the out- line of woods on either bank, which seldom exceeds, and oftener falls short of a mile. But when he sees, in de- scending from the Falls of St. Anthony, that it swallows up one river after another with mouths as wide as itself, without affecting its width at all—when he sees it re-204 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT ceiving in succession the mighty Missouri, the broad Ohio, the St. Francis, White, Arkansas, and Red rivers, all of them of great depth, length, and volume of water —when he sees this mighty river absorbing them all in its course of upwards of 3000 miles, and retaining a volume of water, apparently unchanged, he begins to estimate rightly the increasing depth of current that must roll on in its deep channel to the sea. " Carried out of the Balize, and sailing with a good breeze for hours, he sees nothing on any side but the white and turbid waters of the Mississippi long after he is out of sight of land. " From the sources of the river to the mouth of the Missouri, the annual flood ordinarily commences in March, and does not subside until the last of May: its medial height is fifteen feet. At the lowest state of the river four feet of water may be found, from the rapids of Des Moines to the mouth of the Missouri. Between that point and the mouth of the Ohio, there are six feet in the channel of the shallowest places at low water, and the annual inundation may be estimated at twenty-five feet. Between the mouths of the Ohio and the St. Francis, there are various shoal-places where pilots are often perplexed to find a sufficient depth of water when the river is low. Below that point there is no difficulty for vessels of any draught, except to find the right channel. Below the mouth of the Ohio, the medial flood is fifty feet; the highest sixty. Above Natchez, the flood begins to decline. At Baton Rouge it seldom exceeds thirty feet, and at New Orleans twelve feet. Some have supposed the gradual diminution of the flood to result from the drainage of the numerous effluxes of the river, that convey away such considerable portions of its waters by numerous channels to the sea. To thisTO THE UNITED STATES. 20£ should be added, no doubt, the check which the river at this distance begins to feel from the reaction of the sea, where this mighty mass of descending waters finds its level. " It will be easily understood how much the naviga- tion of such a river as this, by steam, must benefit the country through which it flows. " In addition to the dangers from the current of the river itself, the steam-boats are exposed to great risks from the number of trees washed from its banks, many of which remain embedded in its channel; when a por- tion of the branches is seen above water, it is called a sawyer and may be more easily avoided ; when totally out of sight, it is called a snag. If a steamer comes on either of these when at full speed, she is liable to be stove in, when she immediately makes for the nearest bank; if unsuccessful, all on board are in imminent danger; for such is the impetus of the current, that if once sub- merged, a person is rarely seen more. 66 The plan would be to remove these impediments from time to time as much as possible ; and the United States Government had very laudably voted a sum of money for the purpose, but the complaint was that the Mexican War had interfered to divert it from its object." St. Louis is one of the most important and wealthy towns in the western country. It is situated on the west bank of the Mississippi, 18 miles below the mouth of the Missouri, and 174 miles above the mouth of the Ohio. Like most of the towns of the Union of any note, it is built of brick, and laid out regularly in broad streets: its population at the time of my visit being about 60,000, and it is rapidly increasing. It seems to act as a central depot for New Orleans:206 recollections of a visit I was astonished at the quantity of goods on its quay, the activity going on, and the number of steam-boats moored on its shore. The situation of the city for commerce is not surpassed by any other town on the river, if we except New Or- leans. I had taken up my abode at the principal hotel, and here I met again the family with whom I had parted at the Mammoth Cave, and had the pleasure to join their dinner-party in the ladies' saloon. Next day (Friday, 29th September) after looking about the town, I embarked, in the evening, on board the Timoleon steamer for Chicago ; although appointed to leave at 5 p.m., we did not unmoor until long after dark, which prevented my seeing the shores of the river as I passed. I found myself next morning running along the shores of the Illinois river, a respectable-looking stream, mak- ing its way through a low flat country at a sluggish pace ; the banks as usual fringed with trees, and thickly settled here and there. Our boat drew little water, and there was consequently no fear of running aground, but there was great delay in loading and unloading freight at the different landing-places. We had, as usual, a good many passengers, farmers and others belonging to the neighbourhood, with whom I passed part of the evening in a game at cards. Their behaviour was re- spectable and inoffensive, except that questions were asked me, which I parried as well as I could, Did I live in Illinois P Was I going to settle there ? and such like ; some had farms to sell worth my notice. Sunday, October 1st.—We continued our voyage, the character of the river being much the Same as before, except that the prairie in places began to be seen—a relief to the eye accustomed to the never-failing forest.TO THE UNITED STATES. 207 Monday, October 2d.—Arrived at the mouth of the Chicago Canal, the morning very rainy. We were re- moved after breakfast, with some difficulty, on account of the mud, into the canal packet-boat. It continued to rain the whole day without intermission, which pre- vented our seeing much of the country through which we passed; in other respects we were not uncomfortable, being not overcrowded, and having a good cabin to sit in until evening, when the beds were fitted up, and the windows shut, which caused me to pass an uncomfort- able night. In this canal boat were several immigrants lately arrived from Germany, mostly agricultural, but of the better class, and well conducted. Among them were one or two who had been shop- keepers in the towns, whose trade, they said, had been ruined by the uneasy state of affairs consequent on the last revolution in France; this they spoke of with tears in their eyes, representing the distress to be general in that portion of Germany in its immediate neigh- bourhood. Tuesday, October 3d.—We arrived in the morning at Chicago, to which town we were driven some distance in omnibuses, in consequence of some difficulty in the navigation of the Chicago river, at the point where the canal terminates. I went to the Sherman House, the best hotel in the town, much fatigued; with the deter- mination of resting a day or two to recruit. Fare, per steamer, 5 dollars. Do. by canal boat, 2J dollars, including board.208 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT CHAPTEK XXII. CHICAGO-ILLINOIS—MICHIGAN-DETROIT — CANADIAN SIDE— LAKE ST. CLAIR—RIVER THAMES-CHATHAM-LONDON- BOOKS—HAMILTON — LECTURES-LAKE ONTARIO—PRESCOTT —CONVERSATION-MONTREAL-LEGISLATURE-QUEBEC. Chicago, in the State of Illinois, is a rising town on the western bank of Lake Michigan, near the southern termination of the lake. It has a fine though narrow harbour, formed by the Chicago river running into the lake, on both sides of which the town is built, and has a water communication with the Mississippi, by the canal in question joining it with the Illinois river. Its origin is but of yesterday. Its population in 1847, neverthe- less, amounted to 16,000, and is increasing fast. The hotels are numerous and well conducted, and the whole town has an aspect of prosperity. Lake Michigan is second only to Lakes Superior and Huron of the five great lakes; it is 330 miles long, 60 miles broad on an average, and estimated to be 900 feet- deep; its waters are pure and clear, and are said to abound in excellent fish. Illinois differs from Kentucky, Ohio, and other wes- tern States, in being almost entirely devoid of trees; the country adjacent to Chicago is a dead level, covered with a thick grass, and has the appearance of a bound- less sea,—not a tree is to be seen, with the exception ofTO THE UNITED STATES. 209 a few in the immediate vicinity of the town. Towards the interior of the State, a few clumps of trees thinly scattered may be seen here and there ; but with the ex- ception of these, and a narrow fringe on the margin of a few small streams, there is little wood. This is felt to be a great inconvenience by the farmers, who are at a loss for timber for fences and farm-buildings, but it is no doubt amply compensated by the very fertile quality of the land, and its being, as it were, already cleared to their hand, by which a great amount of labour and delay is saved. Towards the Mississippi the country begins to undulate, or become what is technically called a rolling prairie, the valleys thus formed being generally marshy—rife promoters of fever and ague, while the flat grounds near Chicago are found to be much healthier. A railway is now in progress from Chicago to Galena on the Mississippi, and Illinois must become in time an important state of the Union. Wednesday, October 4th.—I looked about the town,, in the course of which I had the curiosity to price the markets;—-best pieces of roasting beef, four cents, i.e., 2d. per lb.; chickens, twenty cents, i.e., lOd. per pair; other meat and poultry in proportion. At dinner, a young American militaire was my next neighbour. He gave me a sad picture of the demora- lized state of all classes in the town of Mexico, where he had been with the army. He proposed the theatre for the evening, where we saw an Irish star act one of Mr. Powers best characters, "The Irishman in Naples/' tolerably well. Next day I recognised the party in question, sitting near me at dinner, a respectable-looking young man. In the evening I went into the Courthouse, where a o210 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT meeting of some of the inhabitants was held for reform objects; free-trade, abolition of slavery, a bill to pre- vent the mortgage of farms without consent of the wife, and sundry other topics were discussed, growing tired of which I returned to my hotel, and so to bed. The bill sought, to prevent the mortgage of farms without the consent of the wife, is better known as the free-soil agitation, very general throughout the Union. The farmers are apt to run in debt at the stores; fine dresses for the wife are exhibited to them, supplies for the family had, with much spirits, probably, con- , sumed by the farmer himself,—in all which it is alleged they are encouraged by the store-keepers, until a large score is run up, and the farm pounced upon in virtue of some paper signed by the farmer in an unguarded moment. The bill sought for, is to prevent the soil being held applicable to such a debt, and, if conceded, might pre- vent much misery; but I am not lawyer enough to ^venture to give an opinion upon the question. Friday, October 6th.—I received a long-expected letter from England, which had followed me from the Virginia springs; passed part of the morning in the reading-room, and the remainder in looking about the town. I then embarked on the lake for the State of Michigan, at eight o'clock on a fine moonlight night, in a good steamboat, reaching the opposite side at half- past twelve, where, after the delay of upwards of an hour, we were put into stages for Niles, an inland town, to which the railroad in course of construction from Detroit to the point of embarkation for Chicago, was only as yet in working condition. We reached Niles, a small town, next day, just a quarter of an hour too late for the train, a trick of theTO THE UNITED STATES. 211 drivers, as we suspected, in collusion with the hotel- keepers of Niles, as there could have been no difficulty in arriving in time. As for myself, the delay was of little consequence; not so, however, with the majority of the passengers, who were tied to time, and, like my- self, had paid their passage the whole way to Detroit, on the express understanding that we were to meet the train. The difficulty was increased by their being no train on Sunday, a fact of which the stage people must have been well aware; the conclusion was that we were detained for two days, with very indifferent accommoda- tion, at a charge equal to the first hotel in Chicago. We had passed the Kalamazoo river, the scene of Mr. Cooper's novel of the " Oak Openings/' and as such, I beheld it with interest. We occasionally came to the openings in question, where I observed the farmer gene- rally placed his house amidst a clump of trees, in con- tradistinction to his inveterate habit of denuding his dwelling of every one, when he settles in the forest. I learned here that in the construction of their railroad, they had at first determined to employ Germans, but had been compelled to turn them off for Irish ; none, they said, could dig like Paddy. Sunday, October 8th.—Attended the Episcopal church, where I heard but an indifferent sermon. In the evening I looked about the town, which wore an appearance of quiet comfort; some of the houses, I observed, were built of bricks, made of large blocks of clay dried in the sun, and whitewashed. The dry climate, it appears, admits of this. Outside the town were fine crops of Indian corn, cut down and stacked in small heaps resting on each other. A pig had broken through a fence, and was busily engaged in devouring the cobs. Monday, 9th.—I entered the railway train at nine212 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT A.M., taking up many passengers as we proceeded, passed through a country generally level and thinly peopled, arrived at Detroit about eight in the evening, and, after a refreshing meal, to bed—the bedroom not very good, and at the top of the house, having declined a double- bedded room below, with a companion, an alternative to which I have a great objection. Fare, including the steamer, five dollars. On consulting the map, it will be seen that the State of Michigan is in the form of a peninsula, bounded by three of the great lakes, and one of smaller dimensions, viz., by Lake Michigan on the west, Lakes Huron, St. Clair, and Erie on the east. These lakes form only one mass of waters, communicating with each other by straits, navigable for large vessels. It will be observed that in my journey from Chicago I took the chord of the arc, but there are fine large steamers that ply from one town to the other, making the circuit of the lakes, I think, in two days; this is, no doubt, the best route for a stranger during the height of the season, as it includes a great extent of lake navigation, with a variety of scenery on their shores, some portions of which are still inhabited by aboriginal tribes of Indians in their wild state. I was now on the confines of Canada, in sight of the British dominions—a welcome state of things to me, after my somewhat lengthened absence. Next morning I awoke early, and beheld from my bed the Canada shore; its village of Windsor, and the country round it, looking lovely in the morning sun. After breakfast I crossed by the steamboat ferry, when the illusion vanished; I found the village, which looked so well at a distance, poor and neglected, the fences in bad order, the houses dilapidated, the horses and waggons a shabby turn-out.TO THE UNITED STATES. As I walked on, however, things seemed to improve a little, until I came to a handsome new brick church in course of erection, the old one of wood being turned into a workshop, on entering which I found a clue pro- bably to all I saw—the village in question was peopled by Canadian French, whose new Catholic church I now entered ; it was large, and in progress of building on a substantial scale, the only symptom of improvement that appeared. The land itself is evidently very fertile ; a rich allu- vial deposit of the lake in former times, elevated above its present banks about twenty or thirty feet, and from thence a dead level as far as the eye could reach. One solitary sloop lying at anchor; wThat a contrast to the other side ! Detroit, with its numerous wharves, steam- boats, and sailing vessels in abundance, with every other symptom of industry and intelligence ; its shores lined with handsome villas; the river, or rather strait, run- ning between both shores, a distance of about half a mile, in a deep and equable current of about three miles an hour, beautiful to look at, and offering every facility for navigation. I had some conversation with the custom-house officer of the Canadian side, whom I found on board the ferry- boat on my return to Detroit, who offered to sell me a farm of four hundred acres, partly cleared, at the rate of six dollars per acre. I afterwards had a warm bath at a barber's shop, and then to dinner at my hotel. In the evening I walked about the town, which I was disposed to like, from its clean appearance and healthy situation. It is the capital of' the State of Michigan, is advan- tageously situated on the west side of the river Detroit, (as the strait connecting the lakes is called,) on ground214 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT elevated thirty feet above its surface, seven miles below the outlet of Lake St. Clair, and eighteen above the western extremity of Lake Erie. Its population at the time of my visit was about 9192. The houses are mostly of wood, though many are built of brick, in a neat and sometimes elegant manner. The town is laid out at right angles, and possesses some handsome public buildings, churches, and literary institutions. It is supplied with water raised by steam- power from the strait, and distributed in pipes. It was first settled by the French in 1683, came into our hands in 1760, and into the possession of the United States by treaty in 1784; so rapidly did the independ- ence of our colonies follow its cession by the French. It is well situated for trade, and has already become a considerable commercial emporium. The navigation of the river and lake is open about eight months in the year. Lake St. Clair, the smallest of the chain, is twenty- four miles long, thirty wide, ninety in circumference, and about twenty feet deep. It receives the waters of several rivers, one of which, the St. Clair, connects it with Lake Huron, as the Detroit does with Lake Erie. Thursday, October 12th.—Having now gratified my curiosity with Detroit and its neighbourhood, on both sides of the strait, I embarked after dinner on board a steamer for Chatham, on the river Thames in Canada, about three o'clock p.m. I enjoyed the view on both sides, as we steamed into Lake St. Clair, on a fine autumnal evening. It grew dark as we entered the Thames river, but the moon rose in full splendour, by which we could see that the entrance on both sides, and for some miles up, was low, marshy, and bare of trees, until we reached Chatham,TO THE UNITED STATES. 215 where the country improves and is covered with timber, about nine o'clock. Fare, one dollar and a half. Mem.—In Canada, an English shilling is equal to a quarter dollar, a dollar being 5s. currency ; a shilling is therefore received as 15d. currency. The hotel at Chatham proved to be but indifferent; not being able to find a bedroom in it to my mind, I resolved to con- tinue my route on to London, very appropriately situ- ated on the river Thames, seventy-five miles distant, in the royal mail stage. The stage in question, notwithstanding its grandilo- quent name, was little better than a common waggon of the country, covered in with oil-cloth, but without springs as far as I could see ; and away we went at the hazard of our necks on the most execrable road imagin- able ; we were shaken and bumped the whole way in the most cruel manner, until within six miles of our jour- ney's end, when we came to a good turnpike road made after the most approved mode in this country, i.e., deal boards placed across the middle of the road one after the other, as the flooring of a room, each securely nailed down to transverse logs, the whole sprinkled over with a little road grit, or small gravel. My fellow-passengers consisted of a young officer, be- longing to the garrison of Halifax ; a father, daughter, and son-in-law, Highland immigrants, and one or two others, from whose uproarious mirth I concluded they found no reason to regret the old country. These left us, however, from time to time as the day dawned on reaching their several locations, which seemed to be in a pleasant and fertile country skirting the road. We also passed several locations of Indians, so far civilized as to live in houses, and cultivate their farms, on whose homesteads I observed numerous turkeys roosting.216 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT We pulled up at a decent house by the roadside to change horses. Our party being reduced to three, viz., the officer in question, who had accompanied me from Detroit, and whom I found to be intelligent and well informed, my- self, and another; a very plentiful early breakfast of tea, coffee, ham and eggs, &c., was provided for us, at the moderate charge of 15d. currency, i.e. Is. each. In due time we reached London, where the stage drove us to a very good hotel, where I was glad to rest from my fatigues.—Fare, three dollars, fifty cents. (14s.) I had been presented at the springs with three books, as companions of my journey—Mr. Washington Irving's " Sketch-book/' Mr. Cooper's last novel called " Oak Openings,7' and the "Peasant and his Landlord"—a Swedish story, purporting to be written by the Baroness Knoring, and translated by Mary Howitt. Mr. Washington Irving is a favourite author, and deservedly popular in England ; I had much pleasure in renewing my acquaintance with him. Mr. Cooper's work is not inferior to his former novels, all bespeaking great abilities ; he has the merit of origin- ality ; he does justice to the rude virtues of the pro- scribed race, while he depicts their manners and habits truly. A gentleman and a man of letters ought, above all others, to be a citizen of the world; it is to be la- mented that he has expressed in his writings a degree of hatred to, and prejudice against, the mother country, which ought to be only looked for among the lowest and most ignorant of his countrymen, and which, perhaps, in the present day would not be found there. The Baroness's work bespeaks the European fame of our great countryman Sir Walter Scott; she copies him closely in the mechanical structure and details of herTO THE UNITED STATES. 217 story, while, unlike him, she exalts her peasant into a hero, and then makes him murder his landlord in cold blood, in reference to an old grudge, on accidentally meeting him in a wood. There is likewise a platonic love-story between her hero and his wife's sister, not very probable or creditable to either. He ends by surrender- ing himself to the executioner. London is a thriving little town of a pleasant aspect; it owes its origin to its having been an out-station for a detachment of our troops during the last American war. It is situated on a fertile plain, sufficiently elevated above the bed of the river ; the ground in its immediate neighbourhood a good deal cleared, with some neat- looking villas and cottages interspersed. I met with much civility here from a widow lady and her family, whose connexions I happened to know in the old country; accompanying them to their pew in the Episcopal Church on Sunday the 15th, where I heard a very good sermon. This family had experienced some vicissitudes in their new home, much of which might have been avoided if the husband, who had been accustomed to a town life in England, had known the best way to go to work, which would have been to have purchased a farm, partly cleared, for a few hundred pounds in a neighbourhood already settled, where the numerous wants of a young family would have been within reach. Instead of this he had the imprudence to enter the bush, as it is called, where he purchased a large allot- ment of wild land in the attempt to clear which he found himself without neighbours, without roads, with- out regular supplies of provisions, out of reach perhaps of medical advice, expending a large capital for labour; the sufferings and privation of a young, genteel family218 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT from England, under such circumstances, may be better imagined than described. Yet they might have been easily avoided and at less cost, as an expenditure of £7 per acre is considered to be necessary to bring such land into good working condition in the hands of a gentleman settler. It is, however, an error very generally fallen into blind- fold, and is the cause of much subsequent misery and priva- tion ; the difference of pricebeing probably the temptation. Tuesday, 17th October.—I bade adieu to my friends, and took the mail for Hamilton, (the road being boarded all the way, as I have described, and in excellent condi- tion,) which town I reached next morning at three o'clock.—Fare, four dollars and a quarter. Hamilton is an important and thriving town, the market of the surrounding country far and near. Situ- ated at the extreme western point of Lake Ontario, within a mile of which, as far as I could judge, the lake has thrown a complete bank across its whole length, leaving a deep, capacious, and secure harbour ; through the middle of this bank, a cut having been made, secured by solid mason-work, to admit the ingress and egress of its commerce. The character of the country, as of the whole western region, is level, yet here there are indications of volcanic agency; one level plateau being raised above another, the effect of which is good as they appear well cultivated; the settlers' houses being judiciously placed and embo- somed in trees. To the right as I entered it, the country seems to have been upheaved, leaving a sloping debris towards the town, at the upper extremity of which there is rather a steep ascent to the top of the plateau, which in its turn has a gentle declivity towards the other side. Of the slope to which I allude, the wealthier inhabi-TO THE UNITED STATES. 219 tants have availed themselves to erect villas, enclosed in gardens, which has a pleasing effect. To counteract this, at another extremity of the town, a small river flows at a sluggish pace into the lake, leav- ing a marshy alluvium on its banks, which is said to engender fever; this might be easily avoided by running a dam across its mouth, the banks being sufficiently steep. Wednesday, October 18.—In the evening I attended a lecture, given gratis in the Town Hall, by a citizen of the United States, on the truth of the Christian religion : he delivered it forcibly and with good effect. . Next evening I attended another by the same gentleman, on the immortality of the soul, in which he quoted the words of Socrates to his judges on his condemnation. This gentleman happened to be residing at my hotel, and I had some conversation with him on the subject of his lectures, in the course of which he expressed him- self to be apprehensive of the machinations of the Pope and the Jesuits. "Do you think they have the power to destroy the improved printing-press ?" " Certainly not/' " Then, until they can do that/' I suggested, " you may safely dismiss your fears/' Next morning I walked on the heights I have men- tioned, by which I commanded a very good view of the town, its immediate neighbourhood, and of the lake. Afterwards I found out a very good reading-room, where I spent the evening much to my satisfaction in reading the news from Europe. Next day I walked to Sir Allan M'Nab's house, in the immediate neighbourhood of the town, and was shown his grounds, and kitchen and fruit gardens by his gar- dener, a native of Perthshire in Scotland—an intelligent man, who had been out, as he said, fourteen years, and was satisfied with his new country.220 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT I spent the evening at the news-room in reading the newspapers and periodicals from Europe. I was pleased in particular with a weekly paper called the Economist, treating on monetary affairs, the currency, markets^ weekly news, and publications, as they bear on the poli- tical economy of the empire. I learned from it how vast has been the increase of the larger farms, as com- pared with the smaller in Ireland, from 1841 to 1848 ; this, in my opinion, is the legitimate result of the poor- law, and indicative of a better state of things in that distracted country. The landlords, now that they are compelled to give food to their poor tenantry, are, pro- bably from necessity, consolidating their farms ; and if it be done with humanity to existing interests, accom- panied by the emigration on a large scale now going on, much good will be effected. Sunday, October 22.—I attended the Episcopal Church morning service, remarking that the officiating clergy- man preached in his surplice ; on inquiry, it was said to be by order of the bishop. I remarked of this town, as generally throughout Upper Canada, that the principal settlers are from Scotland. Monday, October 23.—I took my departure for King- ston at the other extremity of the lake, a distance of about 190 miles, in a new iron steamer (the Magnet), calling at Toronto and other intermediate ports. As we steamed out into the blue waters of the lake on a fine morning, I had an opportunity of examining more closely the bank I have described,—it forms an excel- lent breakwater to the harbour, and cuts the lake (here of no great width) across at a right angle in so straight a line, that it might be very well taken for a work of art. The cut through it is of sufficient width, and of good workmanship. A bank of this description is ofTO THE UNITED STATES. 221 common occurrence on the lake, and appears to have been the result of an under current or reflux of its waters, after striking the shore in stormy times, until met and neutralized by the advancing surge. Their being now uncovered, would seem to indicate that the waters of the lake had found a lower level. We reached Toronto about eleven o'clock, where we remained two hours, which gave me an opportunity to walk about the town, and renew my acquaintance with it: it bore a second inspection, I thought, very well. On resuming our voyage the day continued fine, and the lake calm. We made short stops at intermediate ports, not admitting of time, however, to go on shore; when we finally reached Kingston next morning at seven o'clock, where I sought out my former hotel. Fare, five dollars, three meals inclusive. I left Kingston about one o'clock the next day, in the steamer that touched here from the American side for Ogdensburg. I slept on board the steamer, and was otherwise comfortable. Next morning we reached Og- densburg at an early hour, when I crossed by the ferry to Prescott on the British side, taking up my abode in the Exchange Hotel—an indifferent house, but the best in the place.—Fare, 8s. sterling. I here spent the day with a family from England, who had, in the first instance, experienced some of the pri- vations of the wilderness. At present the gentleman being on the half-pay list of the army, and holding some appointment connected with the garrison-works here, they were residing in a very pretty cottage, commanding a fine view of the river, and its opposite bank. I slept at the Exchange Hotel, and next morning took my departure for Montreal by the English boat—a fine vessel, where I met with some pleasant people;222 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT among others an Irish gentleman, belonging to the mili- tary, highly Conservative. The news from England was, that Mr. Smith O'Brien had been caught, and he was for making short work with him. After dinner, free-trade was the subject discussed by the English gentlemen present, wrhich did not seem popular with them ; they seemed to me to view it more according to their own political or party bias, than ac- cording to the merits of the question per se. All joined in condemning the then recent attempt of the Whig Government to increase the income-tax to 5 per cent. An American gentleman took up the argument by ob- serving, that their form of government had been found fault with by distinguished English travellers, but that it worked well, in so far as they flourished under it, and had twice paid off the public debt of the general govern- ment, contracted in times of difficulty. That the wide basis of the franchise prevented corruption in the elec- tors, while the control retained over them by their con- stituents, tended to keep the representatives honest—to make, in fact, a representative government, consistent with economy in the management of public affairs. In answer to this, the repudiating States were very pro- perly brought up, as the result of the extreme democratic element in their constitution, and the malign influence which it must have on the influx of capital into their country pointed out. I slept comfortably on board, and reached Lachine the next day (October 27); and then Montreal from Lachine by railroad, where I took up my old quarters in Done- gana's Hotel.—Fare, 16s. 6d. sterling. Montreal I have already described, and have now very little to say that is new in regard to it. I renewed my acquaintance with my friends, who received me kindly.TO THE UNITED STATES. 223 Our hotel was full of company; among whom were many members of the legislature, now about to meet; the acts of which have since caused so much dissension in the province, accompanied by riots in the town. How far the acts of the Assembly have gone to retard or advance the separation of these fine provinces from the mother country, is a question as yet hid in the womb of time. There is no doubt they have gone far to alienate the higher classes of British settlers, who were attached to the mother country in the strongest sense, of which they gave proof in the Canadian Rebellion, as they did in the frontier war with the United States in 1813-14. The French settlers keep aloof from the English, in- termarry among themselves, do not amalgamate with, and cannot be expected to have much sympathy with their rulers; they now, however, form the smaller sec- tion of the colonists, and could not have commanded the majority they did in the Assembly, but for the junc- tion of the radical portion of the British and Irish settlers. Having granted these provinces self-govern- ment, it would have been difficult for the Grovernor- general probably to act otherwise than he did, never- theless the result is to be lamented. It is certain that these dissensions have given cause of satisfaction to many in the United States, who have drawn their connexion with these provinces closer in consequence, and who now openly acknowledge that their former policy was wrong in making war upon them, as they must eventually, they say now, under any circumstances, be theirs. I observed that the English portion of the party at our hotel, were more reserved to each other than I had been accustomed to in the United States, while we sat224 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT longer at table over our wine, sitting down to dinner at six ; a cup of tea or coffee followed at eight. I was very glad to rest here some little time from my fatigues. At last the winter gave sundry indications of its approach—snow had fallen, and I had not yet seen Quebec. My intention was, if possible, i to go direct from thence to Nova Scotia, through. New Brunswick; at all events I was resolved to see it November 15.—On the afternoon of this day, 1 ac- cordingly embarked on board the steamer, which plies down the river to Quebec. The vessel was large and tolerably comfortable, but much time was lost, after the hour fixed for departure, in taking on board barrels of flour and other goods ; con- sequently it soon became too dark to see much of the river. I met, however, with pleasant society on board; in particular, a military gentleman, stationed about half- way down the river, where he left us towards nightfall. Next morning we reached Quebec—a curious-looking, old-fashioned town, built partly on the shore of the river, partly on the slope of a rather abrupt and steep hill, and partly on the level above. The ground already covered with frost and snow. I was driven in a sleigh to the best hotel in the town, which, without any pre- tensions to the grandeur of the one I had left, I never- theless found to be sufficiently comfortable for my wants. Fare, 10s. 4d. sterling. I was much struck with the French aspect of the town, of the party at dinner, and of everything round me, with exception of a company of Americans forming an Ethiopian band, i.e., for singing negro songs, as their bills announced. The master of the band and his wife seemed respectable and unobtrusive, as also the young men, four in number, mostly from New York.TO THE UNITED STATES. 225 I here also recognised a negro waiter, whom I had known in the same capacity at Donegana's Hotel, when there with my daughters ; he seemed much pleased to see me, making many inquiries after his young friends. He did not seem pleased with the American party for showing up his race ; he was a respectable, well-con- ducted man—a runaway slave probably ; he had a grateful recollection of my daughters, for the kindness they had shown him; coming forward to meet me his eyes beaming with joy. Next day I hired a sleigh, and drove through the town to the elevated plateau, forming the heights of Abraham. As I entered the open ground of the plateau, I observed the monument very appropriately erected, " To the im- mortal memory of Wolfe and Montcalm/' for both the adverse generals fell. It consists of a neat pillar, about sixty-five feet high. A little farther on I came to a more humble monument, somewhat defaced, indicating the spot where General Wolfe fell. I then entered the citadel, garrisoned by a Highland regiment—the 78th, I think. After duly examining my credentials, I was admitted ; a soldier on duty being appointed my cicerone. The citadel is built on the extremity of the elevated plateau, 350 feet above the river; it immediately over- looks the town, and river generally full of shipping, but now reduced to a few vessels, from the lateness of the season. It commands both, and is constructed on the most approved principles. I had here a fine view of the country all round—it was clad in its winter garb of frost and snow; the trees seemed to be of pine fir; and it had altogether, I thought, a very northern aspect; nevertheless there was great variety of hill and dale—the hills rising in some p226 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT places into mountains, with sheltered valleys between, enclosing comfortable-looking hamlets. The noble river spread out below the town, is here three miles broad, although 350 miles from its mouth, contracting to a mile just abreast of the citadel. The town is surrounded by walls, and strongly forti- fied in every part; its population may be about 35,000; it is built of stone, the roofs of the upper town being covered with tin; it occupies the extremity of a high peninsular ridge, formed by the junction of the Charles river with the St. Lawrence, called Cape Diamond ; it is consequently approachable only on one side, and there- fore very strong; not unaptly styled the Gibraltar of America. It has continued more a French town than Montreal. French is the general language spoken, and the Eoman Catholic religion prevails ; there being a Cathedral and four other Catholic churches ; an Ursuline Nunnery— the Nuns being chiefly occupied in educating young females, and are said to be very rigid and retired. There is also an ancient Monastery of the Jesuits, now con- verted into barracks for the troops; and several other public buildings, meriting notice, of which I made a hasty inspection. There are also several objects of curiosity in the im- mediate neighbourhood of the town, such as the Falls of Montmorenci, the Falls of the Chaudiere, &c., which I regret to say, the lateness of the season did not permit me to see. On my return to my hotel to dinner, I found the party increased by a young Halifax merchant, whom I had left behind at Donegana's, and who had now come down to expedite the departure of a vessel: the Gulf of St. Lawrence becoming dangerous as the season advances.TO THE UNITED STATES. My intention was, as I have said, to penetrate, if possible, through New Brunswick, striking the river St. John, as far above Frederickton as it becomes navi- gable, and so on from the town of St. John by the Bay of Fundy to Annapolis in Nova Scotia; which route, it occurred to me, might be practicable by the mail waggon or sleigh, which leaves Quebec, I believe, daily, with room for one passenger. On discussing this plan, however, to-day at dinner, the difficulties and dangers of this route, great at any time, were represented to be almost insuperable at this late season. I therefore allowed myself to be persuaded to abandon it, for the route generally travelled, £e., by Lake Cham- plain, Troy, Boston, and from thence by the English mail-steamer to Halifax, which I did very reluctantly, as I had travelled this route before, and " What so tedious as a twice-told tale?" A railroad has long been in agitation between Halifax and Quebec ; it would at once give this town a port on the Atlantic, of the finest description, open at all seasons of the year, while it would open up and develop the resources of the two provinces through which it passed, and give us a highway to Upper Canada through our own possessions. Its advantages would be many and obvious, as a glance at the map will suffice to illustrate ; yet such is the supineness and want of energy of the colonists that nothing is done, while the United States are far ad- vanced with their railroad from their fine harbour of Portland, in the State of Maine, to Montreal, with the very same object in view.228 recollections of a visit CHAPTER XXIIL ROUTE TO BOSTON—MR. WILSON^ SONGS—> SUPPER PARTY— BRITISH STEAMER TO HALIFAX—RETURN TO WOLFVILLE- GENERAL REMARKS—^EXPENSES. November i8th.—In pursuance of my new arrange- ment, I returned by the steamer to-day, and next day reached my old quarters, in Donegana's hotel at Mon- treal. The next day I left Donegana's after breakfast, cross- ing the river per steamer, and thence by the railroad to St. John's, on the river Richelieu, embarking in the steamer for Lake Champlain in waiting for us : we reached the lake as it began to grow dark. I was up dn time the next morning to admire the fine scenery on both sides, the ruins of Port Ticonderogah, &c., until we reached Whitehall, where there was a struggle on the part of the different hotel-keepers to secure us to breakfast. After which we travelled by stage for thirty miles, and afterwards by the railroad to the town of Troy, which there meets the grand trunk line branching off to Boston,—the line I had now travelled being in- tended, when completed, to connect the whole with the lake at Whitehall. We reached Troy towards the evening, where, havingTO THE UNITED STATES. 229 taken up my abode in a comfortable hotel, I went to the play, (or, as here designated, the museum,) in company with my Quebec mercantile friend, and another fellow- passenger. The performance commenced at eight, and was over by half-past ten. We found it a droll little morceau, apparently but recently imported from Eu- rope ; the characters sustained with ability and humour, while the charge of admittance to the pit was only a quarter of a dollar. Next day towards the afternoon, I proceeded on to Boston by the railway, supping and sleeping at the hotel at Springfield; perhaps one of the most commo- dious and well-conducted in the United States. I re- sumed my journey in the morning, and reached my old quarters, the Winthrope House in that town, in the afternoon of the 23d November. Fares from Quebec to Montreal, To St. John's, . To Whitehall, . To Troy, . To Boston, £0 12 6 sterling. 0 4 4 0 8 0 0 12 6 1 1 10 £2 19 2 I resumed my acquaintance with my old friends, and found myself otherwise comfortably lodged. Hearing that my townsman, Mr. Wilson, the well- known vocalist, was giving his concerts of Scotch music, I went next evening. He was well received, by a select but not over-crowded company. The treat was indeed great to me, to hear my native airs so exquisitely sung in a distant land. The selection was good; the performance entirely by Mr. Wilson,230 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT accompanied by his daughter on the piano. The songs that pleased me most were— " Auld Robin Gray " Tak' your auld cloak about ye " Scots wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled " Get up and bar the door, 0 ;" Burns's fine lyric, " A man's a man for a' thatand " Lord Ullin's daughter " John Anderson, my jo." He suited the action to the word in each song, while he interested his audience by some preliminary history of each, or some anecdote regarding it: the whole took up two hours. I heard afterwards, with much regret, that this gifted countryman died rather suddenly at Quebec, not long afterwards, where he had proceeded on his professional tour. The water of the St. Lawrence, and of the great lakes, is very apt to disagree with strangers, being understood to be impregnated with lime. I suffered much from it at first, and I fear it must have proved fatal to him. On my return, I learned that a party of citizens, friends of General Taylor, had assembled at a supper, given by them in the saloon of our hotel, to celebrate the success of his election to the Presidency. We could hear, as we sat in the next room, much public speaking. I can vouch that the supper was good, as some of the dSbris, with a stray bottle of cham- pagne, furnished ours—a meal I never eat in a general way, but whether it was Mr. Wilson's entertainment, or that my stomach sympathized with the banquet in the next room, I partook on the present occasion. Now as my townsmen know very well how such aTO THE UNITED STATES. 231 party would have ended at home, they may be curious to know how it broke up here. I am bound to report favourably of the Bostonians in this instance; they retired one by one perfectly sober. Their drink had been champagne, flavoured with a cigar, for I saw a plateful go in, but neither in excess. The truth is that our humid climate at home renders a stimulant both necessary and agreeable, if we could use it as not abusing it; while the dry climate of America renders a strong stimulant not only unneces- sary but hurtful; consequently, on an occasion like the present, the light wines of France are preferred, and drunk in moderation. November 29th.—I bade adieu to my friends, and embarked on board the British steamer, the name of which I forget, for Halifax. I found the passengers few, and the weather indifferent, but in other respects was comfortable enough. Early in the morning of the 1st December I reached Halifax; as daylight permitted I proceeded to my old quarters, where I found my friends very glad to see me. I remained some time at Halifax, to refresh myself after my fatigues, receive and reply to my letters from Europe, arrange money matters, and make some pur- chases. Saturday, December 30th.—The winter thoroughly set in, and the ground covered with snow. I took what was miscalled the coach, but which turned out to be an open waggon, for Wolfville, as early as six o'clock in the morning, and in a pitiless snow-storm, accompanied by a partial thaw, which lasted the whole day; break- fasting some ten miles on the road, and dining at Windsor, I arrived about seven o'clock at my journey's end, wet to the skin, and as uncomfortable as I could232 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT well be, and found myself in the arms of my daughters, who had grown and improved as much as they were glad to see me again. I then had the pleasure to em- brace my sister and nieces. A change of clothes and tea, did much in other respects to remedy the day's dis- comforts. Fares, from Boston to Halifax, £4, 2s. lOd.; to Wolfville, 12s. 4d. Having now brought myself back to Wolfville, the place from whence I set out, and the year to its close, a period of somewhat more than seven months, I hope not uselessly spent, when it has enabled me to become acquainted with an interesting portion of the United States of North America, the greatest republic of modern times, the offshoot and colony of our common mother country, owing its present power and grandeur to the free institutions, and energy grafted on its infancy from the parent stock, developing themselves under advan- tages which, have never occurred before, and may never occur again, I shall wind up my tour with such general remarks as occur to me. The whole east coast of North America, from Nova Scotia inclusive, to Virginia, indicates the action of volcanic agency. The land is not naturally rich; in Pennsylvania and Virginia it improves. The climate is temperate in summer and severe in winter throughout, as compared with the same latitudes in our hemisphere ; Halifax being in the latitude of the south of France, Boston in that of Borne, New York in that of Naples, and so on as you advance towards the tropics. This is, no doubt, partly caused by the two continents all but meeting, in great breadth, within the arctic circle; while influenced in other directions by the two great oceans which all but encompass it. On ascending the spurs of the Alleghanies in Virginia,TO THE UNITED STATES. 233 the climate is tempered by their height, while the forests of oak with which they are covered, indicate the fertility of their valleys. On descending their western slope into the valleys of tliQ Ohio and Mississippi, the country totally changes its character and aspect, its tendency in the main is to be level, while its fertility throughout is unbounded ; a rich and deep alluvium appears everywhere ; the climate is also said to improve, it being more equable and temperate. They are more liable than we are to the two extremes of heat and cold, resembling in that respect more the continent of Europe. On the other hand, the east wind, so destructive to us, comes to them softened and sur- charged with water, in its passage over the Atlantic, and disarmed of its noxious qualities. Their disagreeable wind blows from the north-west; it comes over a great tract of land. When this wind blows, the change of climate is, at all seasons of the year, immediate. The cold is then intense in winter; it seldom, however, prevails long, nor is it so unpleasant to the feelings, or unhealthy to the system, as our east wind. The pioneers of the great western wilderness are prin- cipally from the New England States; the farms being subdivided at home as the population increases, the overplus have to seek a living elsewhere. They partly clear a farm, and construct a log-house, and then sell and move farther on, not, as I had been led to think, from a restless disposition, but because it is their voca- tion in life to clear and prepare the wilderness for others —they can do it at less cost, and are prepared from habit with resources to meet the privations incidental to it.234 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT Great numbers of people from Europe and elsewhere, follow in their wake, to occupy the locations prepared for them, as a neighbourhood is formed, and their wants can be supplied. The great activity and energy that pervade every- where astonished me; more particularly in the great northern towns, where the aspect of everything is English, in habits, manners, and ideas. It appeared to me to be literally England spread out in the New World, as a recent traveller has very happily expressed himself. They look up to the mother country with respect, and are bound up with it in their mercantile connexions; a wonderful interest is taken in home affairs. Bat the most agreeable feature in American society, is the general prosperity and well-being of the lower classes ; their education is cared for by the state ; they can afford the necessaries, and some of the luxuries of life ; they preserve their self-respect, and make a re- spectable appearance out of doors ; they are not alto- gether excluded from the company of their superiors, which raises them, while the others do not fall;—no link in the chain is wanting, nor do the two extremes of riches and poverty come out in bold contrast;—a happy state of things, it must be admitted, for a com- munity, when we bear in mind how large a portion of it the lower orders must of necessity form. The tide of emigration from Europe is very great— it is found to increase, and must be very beneficial to America for centuries to come. Those from home are, of course, the most numerous and held in greatest esteem. The Germans come over in great numbers, and are considered good settlers; they associate a good dealTO THE UNITED STATES. 235 among themselves, preserve their native tongue, and sometimes edit a newspaper in their own language. A good many sailors from the northern ports of Europe are to be found in their mercantile marine, and no doubt many from ours also. The country everywhere presents a youthful look; its great feature, however, is the primeval forest, and the effect is somewhat out of keeping to observe its silence and majesty broken in upon by the saw-mill, the steam-engine, and the rail- road. The Americans have done much, but much remains to be done ; and centuries must elapse before it can in this respect be brought to resemble Modern Europe. Grapes, as I have said, are grown, and wine made in the neighbourhood of Cincinnati on the Ohio, but not to any great extent. As the wild vine is found, however, everywhere, and they possess every variety of soil and climate, there seems to be no reason why they should not succeed on a large scale. The markets are well supplied throughout the Union with all the necessaries and luxuries of life, with every variety of fruit and vegetable in succession, and at low prices ; consequently their tables are abundant. Ice is in general use—it cools their drink in summer, and is used for every domestic purpose for which it is ap- plicable ; it is imported in large quantities from the northern into the southern states. Their separation from the mother country, and the war which led to it, are now matters of history ; that it took place by violence is chiefly to be regretted, from the hostile feeling it engendered in the minds of the colo- nists ; fast wearing out, however, when injudicious writers have fanned the dying embers by extravagant caricatures of their manners and habits.236 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT The use of tobacco, for instance, was at one time con- sidered a vulgar habit in England ; now the upper and middle classes smoke, as they have long taken snuff. I am as fastidious as others, yet I observed nothing in their use of it among the Americans during the whole course of my tour, at which I could justly take of- fence. Their manners in other respects are very much the same as at home, improved rather than otherwise by the sociable way in which they live with one another, and, for the reasons I have given, extending further down the social scale. I observed with surprise the subordination and repose of their large towns, and the silence that prevailed at night in the midst of a crowded population. I met with attention and civility during the whole of my tour, while I never witnessed an instance of rude- ness or assumption as between themselves. The union of the States is understood in Europe to be held together by so loose a tie, that they must needs have a tendency to fall asunder, and there is an appearance of some truth in this, if exposed to a heavy strain; nevertheless there are reasons for coming to a contrary conclusion, which I shall give. Large as the individual States of the Union are, they have become in the practical working of the general constitution, little more than our counties are to us: one coinage, one system of laws, one system of duties, govern the whole ; there is no jealous barrier from one to the other, obtruding itself, as in the petty states of Italy and Germany; nor is there a different system of duties, or in the value of money, which individualizes our American provinces. An American citizen leaves Boston for Yirginia orTO THE UNITED STATES. 237 New Orleans, passing on as fast as the steamboat or railway can carry him, neither heeding nor knowing the boundary of one State from another. The United States is practically his country; as such, he feels, thinks, and acts, independently of the great advantages of the Union in itself, to which they cannot be supposed to be insensible. Hence the great anxiety of Texas to be admitted into the Union, and the rejoicings that took place in California on a like event. At the close of their War of Independence, the Fede- ral Union consisted of thirteen States; they now num- ber thirty-one. If a separation were to take place, it would probably be between the northern and the south- ern States. Besides the vexed questions of slavery and the tariff, there are other disturbing causes in operation, one of which is the wide basis of the election to the Presidency, which places it virtually in the hands of the working classes—a consequence of which is ithat " the right man is not always in the right place/' Statesmen of European reputation, such as the late Mr. Clay, and the late Mr. Webster, have been, and are, overlooked for a successful general, or for some other gentleman popular with the masses:; while the upper and middle classes are compelled to look on powerless, the utmost they can do in such a case being to throw their weight into the scale of the candidate least obnox- ious to them. When the new President comes into power, he is beset by a number of friends clamorous for office under him, on the ground of having assisted in his election; so much so that it has become a custom for all or the greater part of the appointments in his gift to be held only during his tenure of office. This is surely not a238 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT right state of things, and cannot be expected to work well. Perhaps the remedy would be for deputations from the different States to meet as before, and readjust the general government by placing the election of their Presi- dent more in the hands of the upper and middle classes through a property qualification. They might at the same time attach a larger salary to the office, some £20,000, or thereabouts, per annum, in reference to the increased number, power, wealth, and population of the Confederacy; on the understanding, however, that the places in the gift of the President for the time being (ex- cept where necessarily of a temporary nature) should be held for life, or during good behaviour. The fear, however, is, that they dare not now take such a step, however desirable it might be. The system of universal suffrage is understood also to work inconveniently in the individual states. On my first visit to Boston, I found the Mexican war, then in progress, to be unpopular with all classes: by some it was designated as nothing but spoliation and robbery; others expressed a wish that England had assisted the Mexicans. The impression left on my mind was, that if the feelings of the northern section of the Union had been consulted, or had its due influence been felt, it would not have taken place. As I promised to give the amount of the expenses of my tour, I was particular in keeping an account. I find, on referring to it, that they amounted to £129 sterling —a very moderate sum under the circumstances. I denied myself no legitimate want, and invariably went to the best hotels. I preferred travelling with gold, part remaining in my carpet bag, part I carried about with me. Some peopleTO THE UNITED STATES. 239 prefer buying bills from one town, payable at another. Bank paper money is never safe; you lose by the dis- count at some places, at others it is not negotiable. There is some difficulty everyway; English sovereigns are readily changed at the hotels ; the objection to my plan is, that the weight is troublesome, while there is danger of being robbed.240 recollections of a visit CHAPTER XXIV. BOOK CLUB—MR. MACAULAY's HISTORY OF ENGLAND—VOLTAIRE -REMARKS. I now domesticated myself with my sister for some months, and fell into my usual way of life when here be- fore. I enjoyed the bracing dry cold winter air, and the invigorating exercise of sleighing daily through the crisp snow and pleasant atmosphere. I had recourse to the book-club of my friends the farmers for my evening resource, which, when I had well-nigh exhausted, Mr. Macaulay's volume of his History of England came to my relief. It had been published in a cheap form, eagerly sought after in the province, and a copy lent me by a friend. I read it with great attention. The review he takes of the history of England^ or rather the summary he gives of it, up to the time his narrative commences, is able and comprehensive ; but when he treats of our civil dissensions under Charles the First, he seems to me to allow his better judgment to be warped by his poli- tical bias. He overlooks altogether the real piety to which the king had recourse for support in his afflictions, and which he found to be equal to the task, while it stands out in bold relief to the bigotry, fanaticism, and hypo- crisy of his enemies.TO THE UNITED STATES. 241 To whitewash (if I may use the expression) the Long Parliament and Cromwell, at the expense of King Charles, because our present happy Constitution has been the remote result, is, in my mind, to mistake the means for. the end. The arbitrary proceedings of each in succession, prove that a representative government, and toleration in religion, in their present sense, were not then understood,—if the intolerant proceedings of the Pilgrim Puritans, after their flight to the wilds of America from religious persecution at home, do not prove them to be plants of a later growth, and of a more civilized age. I shall now quote the view taken of the same events by a distinguished foreign writer and keen observer of mankind—Voltaire, in his " Age of Louis XIV.—he seems to grasp the whole in a few sentences. " England, being much more powerful, affected the sovereignty of the seas, and pretended to hold the balance between the powers of Europe ; but Charles the First, who ascended the throne in 1625, was so far from being able to support the weight of this balance, that he found the preservation of his own crown difficult and precarious. He shewed himself desirous to render his power in England independent of the laws, and to change the religion in Scotland. He was too obstinate .to desist from these designs, and too weak to execute them. He was a good husband, a good master, a good father, and an honest man; but he was an ill-advised king, and engaged himself in a civil war, which at last deprived him of his crown, together with his life upon a scaffold, by a revolution that was almost unparalleled. " This civil war, which was commenced in the mino- rity of Louis XIV., prevented England, for a time, from entering into the interests of its neighbours. She Q242 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT lost her weight together with her honour; her com- merce was interrupted, and she was regarded by the other nations of Europe as buried under her own ruins, till the time when she on a sudden became more formid- able than ever, under the dominion of Cromwell, who subjected her by bearing the Scriptures in one hand, the sword in the other, and the mask of religion upon his countenance; and who in his government effaced the crime of usurpation by the real qualities of a great king." The king has been censured for not closing with the army, and accused of playing fast and loose in his nego- tiations with its chiefs; and is said to have observed in an intercepted letter to his queen, that " some persons wanted blue ribbons, whom hempen collars would suit better." It is not clear that the king would have bettered himself by closing with the army. Cromwell is understood to have stipulated for its command, with the title of Earl of Essex. Considering the inflammable materials of which it was composed, it is difficult to understand how the king could have been, under the circumstances, otherwise than a puppet or prisoner in his hands ; while he would have felt himself supported in his future designs by an earldom and the countenance of his sovereign.to the united states. 243 CHAPTER XXV. tour to pictou-coal mines-new glasgow-tour to prince Edward's island—charlotte town—visit to the interior-return to nova scotia. After an interval of about four months spent quietly with my sister and daughters at Wolfville—for three of which the frost had continued without intermission, and with great intensity,—for the sake of a little variety, I paid a visit to Halifax, returning to Wolfville with the intention of making a tour to Pictou, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, towards the north-western side of the peninsula, and to see Prince Edward's Island in its neighbourhood. June 4th, 1849.—I left Wolfville about nine a.m., in my sister's open waggon of the country, drawn by one horse, accompanied by my eldest daughter and her cousin. We drove to Windsor, a distance of fourteen miles, where we dined at a friend's house, resting an hour or two to bait the horse ; the morning cool but dry; the country backward for the season. We resumed our journey by the road to Halifax, striking off at some distance into a cross road leading to Newport, where we were kindly welcomed, and slept at a friend's house ; the scenery beautiful, consisting of interval as it is called, or meadow-land, through the midst of which ran a fine stream ; the boundary of the valley on244 recollections of a visit each side, rising somewhat abruptly; the whole well wooded. Next morning, at nine a.m., we resumed our journey en route for Maitland, a distance of thirty-six miles; delayed, in the first instance, by some calls on the road. After a long drive through a somewhat diversified country of hill and dale, commanding here and there fine views, we came to an inn, where we got a very good meal, con- sisting of tea, ham, eggs, &c., and bait for our horse, but no sleeping accommodation was to be had ; although still far from our journey's end, we had no help for it but to resume our route ; the distance increased by the nature of the country, consisting for the most part of valleys, so abrupt and steep, that I was generally com- pelled to dismount and lead our horse down by the head. We found ourselves at last benighted, but with a full moon ; the road through a dense forest, but other- wise improving ; the girls beguiling the way with songs, until we at last reached Maitland between eleven and twelve o'clock at night, much fatigued. After knock- ing the people of the principal inn up, which we found to be but indifferent, and after some trouble on my part in seeing the horse properly cared for, we got into toler- able beds much wearied. June 6.—After a tolerable night's rest and breakfast, we looked about the village, which we found to be of little importance, but commanding a fine view of the sea, i.e., a farther extremity of the Basin of Mines, and of the Shubenacady river, of which our landlord was the ferryman. The wind blowing very fresh, we found him unwilling to cross direct; seeing us, however, anxious to proceed, and it being low water, he proposed to take us up the*bed of the river a little way, and land us a mile or two on the other side. To this we assented ; it provedTO THE UNITED STATES. 245 to be a matter of some difficulty, and might have been dangerous had our horse become frightened or restive. After proceeding some little way up the shore of the stream, we found the water, although a good deal shel- tered, still much agitated. A ferry-boat, capable of containing not more than one waggon and horse, was brought to bear on the shore, after taking our seats in it ; the horse was led. in with the waggon, which, al- though a little alarmed, he did more gently than I ex- pected, holding him well by the head; the boat was gotten up in the course of some little time, about two miles on the opposite shore, where we landed safely, first taking the horse out of the traces. This difficulty overcome, we went on our way rejoicing, which proved to be about two miles distant from the regular ferry road, and fourteen from Truro, where we proposed to halt and recruit for the day. This road we found like all the cross roads, indifferent and steep, but otherwise commanding a fine view, descending in a long straight vista in succession, like steps of stairs, the forest 011 both sides. On reaching the regular ferry road, we found some improvements, which increased as we neared Truro, running through the alluvial level of the George river, which runs into and forms the extremity of the Basin of Mines in this direction. Thus travelling much at our ease, enjoying the prospect as we went along, we were overtaken by a traveller in his waggon, driving a good horse, whom we had seen at the ferry ; renewing our acquaintance, we asked him the address of the best hotel at Truro; in reply to which, he said he kept a good hotel himself; liking his appearance, without more ado, we resolved to take up our quarters iftere, ahd so kept him in sight; we found his house, without being the best in the place, clean and comfortable.•246 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT We had a tea dinner, consisting of ham, eggs, and preserves, and a breakfast of the same. The charge for the horse only appearing to be too much, viz., 5s. cur- rency, i.e., 4s. sterling, but this covered a feed of four quarts of oats at night and the same in the morning. We found Truro to be a clean, small town of wooden houses painted white, in a level, fertile country, from the dyke or alluvial land in the midst of which it stands. The charge for the two meals was Is. 3d. currency or an English shilling each, viz., 6s. ; beds, 2s. ; horse, 4s.=12s. sterling This is the general criterion of our day's expenses at an inn on this tour. Next morning we set off after breakfast, intending, if we could find quarters, to sleep on the road, the distance to New Glasgow being upwards of forty miles, and hav- ing no wish to be benighted as before. We were now, however, on the direct coach road between Halifax and Pictou, which we expected to find better than those we had left ; nor were we disappointed, being generally good, gradually ascending, and then descending by a gentle slope for many miles, which we did at a smart trot all the way, stopping to bait and lunch at an indifferent house by the roadside kept by a Highland widow, being now in the region of the Scotch settlers, with which the aspect of all around so well corresponded, that I might very well have fancied myself transported to the old country by some magician's wand, while it did my heart good to hear my native accent upon every tongue. Learning that at the ten-mile house, as it is called, meaning ten miles equidistant from New Glasgow and Pictou, by roads branching off at an angle, we could get accommodation for the night. We in due time reached the inn in question, kept by a person of the name of Boss: but indifferent. WeTO THE UNITED STATES. 247 nevertheless got clean beds, and made a very tolerable shift. Next morning we set off after breakfast for our friends at New Glasgow, by an indifferent road, passing through a hilly, romantic country. We first passed the Coal Mine Village, and two miles further on we reached New Glasgow, which we found to be a thriving small town on the banks of a river, over which we approached it by a drawbridge ; the town itself lying pleasantly on the sloping bank of the other side, where we were most kindly and hospitably received by our friends. The settlers here are mostly from Inverness and its neighbourhood. Gaelic is spoken, and a sermon preached in it every Sunday; while we may be said to have met with a truly Highland welcome. It appears that, in colonizing Nova Scotia, the Crown reserved the minerals in which it is supposed to abound. A grant of these had been made to the late Duke of York, and it seems was all the property he left at his death, available to the payment of his debts. This has caused much discontent in the colony, and was often the subject of conversation. I suggested that the colonists should buy up the Duke's debts, upon the understanding with the Home Government that the minerals should revert in perpetuity to themselves—an arrangement it would not probably have been difficult to effect. In the meantime the Duke of York's creditors have proceeded to make the grant in question available to them, by working the coal mines in this neighbourhood, at a great outlay of capital, in the first instance, which cannot fail to benefit the province. This has been some years in operation, the mines are worked to advantage ; they are said now to begin to pay, and there is no doubt that they will eventually answer the purpose intended,248 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT as there is already a great demand for the coal in the province, and in the United States—the port of Pictou being the resort of many square-rigged vessels for the purpose. The town of New Glasgow is situated within about two miles of these mines, and owes its prosperity very much to them, as it is the market to which the miners resort to supply their wants. There is likewise some shipbuilding going on here; the principal merchants, being men of capital, import their goods principally from Scotland, in their own vessels. We were the guests of one of these gentlemen, through whose family we saw everything interesting in the neigh- bourhood. Sunday, Jane 10th, we attended Divine service in the Presbyterian Church, which, as was to be expected, is predominant here. We were driven next day by our friends to dinner with a relative of theirs at the village of the mines, having an opportunity to look round them after dinner; they appear to be extensively worked, giving employment to between 300 and 400 miners and others, mostly from Scotland. The ships are stationed to take in their load some miles below, near the mouth of the river, where the depth of the water suits; the coals being conveyed to them by a numerous train of waggons, drawn by steam, on a railroad constructed for the purpose, the road being made to extend so far beyond the pier as to admit of the ship lying underneath it—each waggon, in succession, dropping its load into the hold. A like contrivance is adopted at the works in filling each waggon, and the whole is conducted in a very business-like manner.TO THE UNITED STATES. 249 The price charged at the pit's mouth is said to be high. Wednesday, 13th June.—I now proceeded to put my plan into execution of seeing Prince Edward's Island, which I understood to merit a visit from a stranger. Leaving the girls in charge of their kind friends, I took the railroad in question, which was provided with one or two cars for passengers, as far as it went, accompanied by a numerous convoy of coal waggons, where I had an opportunity to see the busy scene of loading going on ; the vessels were numerous. From thence I crossed the basin to Pictou in a steamer. I found Pictou to be a small town built on the sloping side of the harbour, or, more properly speaking, in- land lake or basin, formed by the confluence of three rivers, approaching it in different directions, and com- municating with the Gulf of St. Lawrence by an outlet at one side, of no great dimensions, having the appear- ance of being cut out for the purpose. At the entrance of this outlet from the sea there is a bar, passable, how- ever, by large vessels at high tide. The country rises boldly round this basin, presenting a varied and extensive view. This town, like its neighbour New Glasgow, is settled from Scotland. I received in it the warm welcome for which my countrymen are noted—taking pot-luck, as we say, this day and the next, at the house of a friend. Friday, 15th June.—I took my passage to Prince Edward's Island in the mail boat (a little ill-conditioned schooner), for which we loosed sail about nine o'clock in the morning, with a brisk breeze, which soon cleared us of Pictou harbour; it died away, however, after a little time, leaving us becalmed in the gulf in a dense dry fog, caused, as I was given to understand, by the many250 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT fires blazing, both in Prince Edward's Island and in the province I had just left, for the purpose of clearing the ground from the trees, somewhat increased by the long drought. At one o'clock I was summoned to dinner, which consisted of one dish—i.e., ham and eggs. Next day we found ourselves still becalmed, enveloped as before, in smoke, and in ignorance of whereabouts we were. One or two of the passengers amused themselves by fishing, and caught a large cod, on which wTe fared sumptuously at dinner; after which we learned, from a fishing boat, our whereabouts, and steered our course,— a breeze springing up, we gradually approached the island by a large level bay, finely fringed with wood. This gradually drew to a narrow channel, through which we ran, when a wide round inner bay opened upon us: we gradually neared Charlotte Town, the capital of the province, and landed in the evening, where I took up my abode in the Victoria Hotel, a comfortable house, had tea, and went to bed a good deal fatigued. Prince Edward's Island lies in the Gulf of St. Law- rence, distant forty miles from the opposite coast of Nova Scotia. It is comparatively speaking a recent settlement, and only partly occupied, there being some impediment to the tenure of land, in consequence of the Home Government having, in the first instance, par- celled it out to individuals. These grants were accom- panied by certain conditions, which, not having been complied with, it is understood may be eventually an- nulled ; at present the settlers are considered to be copy- holders, or lease-holders for 999 years, at a yearly rent of one shilling per acre. In appearance, soil, and vegetation, it presents a won- derful contrast to its neighbour, Nova Scotia; remind-TO THE UNITED STATES. 251 ing me of nothing more than of descending from the brown hills of Northumberland and Durham, upon the green plains of Yorkshire: not a stone is to be seen on the surface ; the soil seems to consist of a red retentive earth mixed with sand, resembling the soil of Devon- shire in England, more particularly in the neighbour- hood of Exeter ; and I observed, where cuttings in the road permitted me to see, that it seemed to rest on a foundation of red sandstone. The island lies, in an oblong form, on a line with the coast of New Brunswick. The general character of the ground is level, although it undulates or rolls occasionally, and it is covered with a variety of hardwood trees. Charlotte Town is small, but regularly laid out, and pleasantly situated on a neck or tongue of land, project- ing into the inner basin or bay I have described, the shores of which in every direction seemed fertile and pleasant to the eye. A gentleman whom I met at the hotel, one in autho- rity I suppose, very politely shewed myself and another stranger over the Province Building, containing the Houses of Parliament, courts of justice, &c., for this little island has its miniature parliament; he afterwards introduced us to the reading-roorp. An English sovereign, which in Nova Scotia is equal to twenty-five shillings currency, is here equal to thirty shillings, and prices are understood to rule lower than in the other British provinces; there are, consequently, a good many half-pay officers and others settled about the island, more particularly in the neighbourhood of Char- lotte Town, in very pretty villas. The climate, from its position, is very severe in win- ter, the Gulf being frozen over the whole distance be-252 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT tween the island and the mainland of Nova Scotia, so that it is possible to cross from one to the other; but it is otherwise healthy and pleasant. About this time news reached us of the ferment in Canada, and riots at Montreal; one gentleman who had been in the midst of them, spoke, I thought very im- properly, with contempt of^our French fellow-subjects. An Irish gentleman, whom I met at table, very politely invited me to accompany him to his farm, a distance of forty miles, as it would give me an oppor- tunity to see something of the interior of the island ; this was exactly what I wanted, I therefore accepted his invitation with pleasure. I hired the landlord's horse and gig, the best he had probably, but not a very elegant turn-out, that I might be able to return at my ease. My new acquaintance took the spare seat; and away we went very pleasantly together, on the morning of Wednesday the 20th of June, after breakfast. Our road skirted a rather sluggish river for some time; the clearings were made leaving clumps of trees between, which gave the prospect a fine clothed aspect, reminding me a little of the country at home, between London and Windsor. My friend ac- knowledged that this must be by accident; not by the good taste of the farmers. He was well acquainted on the road, and called in here and there to chat; I found him an agreeable companion. We dined at a roadside inn, and all went oil smoothly till towards nightfall, still some distance from his house, in rather a lonely part of the road, our horse suddenly dropped down. Here was a " fix/' as the Blue Noses would say. We got him out of the traces; he rose, but to fall again. We tried him with oats, which our landlord had providently placed in a bag for his use, to no purpose. A boy or two, who hadTO THE UNITED STATES. 253 collected round us from a neighbouring cottage, brought water; he would not touch it. An hour had elapsed; it was growing dark. What was to become of us ? I thought of the Persian proverb, " This too shall pass away f but how it was to pass away, I could not see: the Persian proverb would for once be at fault. These melancholy reflections were heightened by my thoughts of the land- lord, when a countryman came past with a cart. After assisting us in vain for some time, he thought he could bring him round, he said, if time were given, proposing that we should drive on with his horse, and he would follow with ours. This arrangement was readily assented to ; the exchange was made, and we drove on. Late at night, or rather early in the morning, we came to what appeared a noble avenue of trees, but which was literally a road cut through the forest; this he told me was the commencement of his domain. In due time we reached his house, but all was hushed in sleep. With some trouble we got the domestics roused, and I was ushered into a parlour in the dark. In a little time lights were brought, and tea provided in another room. We had scarcely finished, when we were called out by the arrival of the horse, which had so far recovered as to bring on the cart. We had no alternative but to leave him in the field until the morning, when we had him bled, and turned out to pasture, under which treatment he gradually recovered. I got to bed at last, much fatigued. Next morning I found myself in a fine country, surrounded by woods and pasture-fields. My host was a widower; his daughter, a pretty little girl, came in to welcome him home with a basket of fresh strawberries she had gathered in the woods; his son, a fine young man, joined us at breakfast. This gentleman possessed property, and had purchased his farm, partly cleared, in the way I recommend; the254 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT house was of some pretension ; the out-houses, stables, barns, &c., on a large scale, and in good order ; he did not labour himself, and seemed altogether very happy and independent. He showed me over his farm, and then gave me a drive round the neighbourhood. On our return, he drew my notice to a space he had partly cleared by fire, consisting probably of five or six acres. His humbler neighbours complimented him on this, and proposed that they should be employed to remove, with their teams of oxen, the smaller stumps, and roots of brushwood. A bargain was made accordingly ; I was curious to see how this was done. Two oxen, harnessed together by the horns, having a chain attached to them of some length, which being made to clasp the root, a sudden jerk of the oxen forward pulls it out by main force; these are stacked together at intervals, and eventually consumed by fire. This forms a portion of the process of clearing in Prince Edward's Island, but much still remains to be done. The speaker of the House of Assembly, my host's neigh- bour, was invited to meet me at dinner; he came like another Cincinnatus from the plough, with a hard hand, but an intelligent head ; he was a man of property and consideration, and had gone home to the old country for his wife. On Sunday we were driven to rather a primitive church or meeting-house, some miles distant, in an open family vehicle brought from Ireland. On Tuesday the 26th of June, I bade adieu to this kind and hospitable family, with a feeling of much re- spect and esteem for its head, who accompanied me some miles on my return. I dined at an inn of rather humble pretensions by the roadside. My horse, who had thoroughly recovered on his rich pasture, brought meto the united states. 255 into Charlotte town towards the evening, at a brisk trot all the way. I have already stated that a British pound is equal to 30s. currency of the island ; the charge for board at my hotel was 5s. currency per diem, equal to 3s. 4d. sterling, this covering, as usual, all charge for servants. I men- tion it as being the lowest daily charge I had met with in my travels. The passage from Pictou to Charlotte Town was 12s. 6d. currency, i.e., 8s. 4d. sterling. A steamer was about to be substituted for the sailing vessel in question. Saturday, 30th June.—I embarked at ten a.m. on board the before-mentioned mail schooner on my return to Pictou, with a very favourable impression of Prince Edward's Island. The morning being clear we had a fine view of the inner basin, afterwards of the outer bay, and of the channel which connects them—a lovely pro- spect as brought out under the clear atmosphere of an American landscape. After the usual sorry fare at dinner, the wind lulled, the vessel making little way ; next morning, about ten, we made the entrance to Pictou harbour, but being un- able to weather the lighthouse, the wind being contrary, we were compelled to land on the beach ; the mail bags being carried to Pictou on the shoulders of the captain, assisted by one or two of his crew. After passing the remainder of the day (Sunday) pleasantly with my friends, accompanying them to the Presbyterian church, I slept at the inn and rejoined my daughter and friends at New Glasgow the next day. One of the young ladies of this family had only lately returned from a visit to the old country. I asked her what struck her most in it; she replied, " the depression of the lower orders/'256 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT About this time-the annual Synod, or meeting of tte Presbyterian clergy, being held in this neighbourhood ; I met several of the ministers to-day at dinner; they appeared to be mostly from Scotland, and were well informed, pious gentlemen. I had also met several at dinner at Piqtou, with whom I was much pleased. Tuesday, July 3.—We left our bind friends in New Glasgow this morning, en route homewards ; our horse, after his long rest, showing some spirit at the commence- ment of the journey. We reached Truro, a distance of forty miles, resting at our old hotel. Next day we took the higher road by the bridge over the Shubenacady river, on the Halifax road, where we slept at a village inn, being regaled at our evening meal with salmon caught in the river. The landlord observed to me next morning that there" had been frost over night, and he was fearful for the crops. This observation had been frequently made to me in the course of this little tour. I mention it because it shows what is here to be feared as the enemy to agri- culture, how late it continues, and how early again it is liable to set in. The days, I can vouch for, are very warm. The harvest time comes, however, and a crop with it. Next day we crossed the country, dining at a friend's on the road. This gentleman happened to be one of the aristocracy of the province—an enemy to free-trade. He talked of the want of reciprocity on the part of the United States, and wanted retaliatory duties ; although otherwise an intelligent man, he allowed his better judgment to be warped by his political views. I pointed out to him that they could not grow wheat in the province; that they had no money to buy it;TO THE UNITED STATES. 257 but that the United States took in exchange their fish, firewood, potatoes, coal, and gypsum; that any duties they put on these, could only be a question between their own Government and the consumer, provided they put no export duty on the flour, which it was not pre- tended they did ; and were we, because they taxed their consumers, to commit a like folly, and pay eightpence for a loaf we could now purchase for fourpence. We resumed our journey after dinner, and slept at a friend's. Next morning we resumed our journey, and reached Wolfville in the evening of the day after, very much pleased with our excursion. R258 recollections of a visit CHAPTEB XXVI. VISIT TO NICTAU AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD—DIGBY—TEMPER- ANCE MEETING—GENERAL REMARKS. The high road from Halifax to Annapolis and St. John (New Brunswick), by the Bay of Fundy, passes through our village of Wolfville: it is consequently much travelled. I had not seen the country in that direction ; a friend of the family having invited me to visit him at his farm in the neighbourhood of Nictau, I put my sister's waggon again in requisition, and accompanied by my youngest daughter and another of my nieces, commenced our journey on the morning of the 17th of July, after break- fast. The road we were now travelling is considered to pass through the garden of Nova Scotia ; it is certainly the most picturesque and thickly settled portion of the province; the long high-wooded ridge ending in Cape Blomedon, skirting the Bay of Fundy, and intercepting it from our view, was on our right, while between us and it was the valley at its foot, about ten miles in breadth. The river Cornwallis taking its rise near, and flowing through it, towards the Basin of Mines; while a little further on the river Nictau takes its rise, and flows through it in an opposite direction to Annapolis and the Bay of Fundy ; the valley possessing very much the same width and character throughout. The day was fine and we en-TO THE UNITED STATES. 259 joyed our drive very much, until we reached a friend s house (seventeen miles distant), where we dined ; after which we resumed our route, sleeping at a village called Sheffield. The next day we reached our friend's house, where we were kindly and hospitably received; we found the farmers in the midst of their hay-mabing, with com- plaints of its scantiness, from the great drought; prayers having been offered up in the churches for rain. My host's house stood on level ground in the midst of an orchard fronting the valley, into which his farm de- scended far. He was of German descent; had settled here in early life; purchased his land in a wild state, and by a life of industry and perseverance had become rich; he lived in a somewhat patriarchal state, having his family settled round him in separate farms. He in- troduced us to the neighbourhood, took us some fine drives, and we thus passed a few days very pleasantly. Wishing to see Annapolis as I have said, I drove the girls to it through Bridge town, situated on the river Nictau, in the bottom of the valley ; it is the germ pro- bably of a thriving town ; at present it consists of little more than a few wooden houses, with a wooden bridge over the river. We passed the night at a friend's house near Granville, and reached Annapolis next morning —a small town built of wood, situated where the river commences to be navigable, opening up into a wide stream or estuary as it flows towards Digby, and its exit into the Bay of Fundy. I intended this to have been the limit of my excur- sion, but to please the girls I drove them on to the town of Digby, at the bottom of the bay or harbour formed by the river, a distance of about twenty miles farther, to do which we had to cross the ferry at Anna- polis in the first instance.260 KECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT We found the road to be through a very hilly country, and we had to cross the Bear river by a ferry near its mouth, which delayed us so long that we did not reach Digby until the day had closed in; much fatigued. To our surprise we found the town all astir, and the inns full of company; with great difficulty we got accom- modation. On inquiring the cause, we learned that a temperance meeting was to be held in the morning, which had brought all the neighbourhood together; and that a large party was expected from St. John (New Brunswick) by the steamer. Next morning the scene was very animated; the steamer arrived with music playing, and emptied its living cargo among a great concourse of spectators. They seemed to be very fine specimens of the New Brunswickers, who bespoke in their appearance, dress, and manners, the good effects of temperance. The company now spread about in groups on the green slopes around. In my walk I entered into casual conversation with one of these strangers, apparently of French descent; in the course of which he remarked, that the colonists, in his opinion, ought to have been contented with the way England had been accustomed to govern them; they had protective laws for their timber trade, while it had been otherwise lenient, and had worked generally for their good; they had clamoured for self-government, he said, and all these advantages had disappeared. I remarked that the mouth of the river is broad at Digby, and that the break or opening in the ridge, which gives it access to the Bay of Fundy, is steep, narrow, and on one side of the estuary. Here the valley I have described terminates, and it appears to me to bear the marks throughout, of having formed one largeTO THE UNITED STATES. 261 fresh-water lake at a time when the ridge rail unbroken, both here and at Cape Blomedon. Towards the afternoon I ordered out the waggon, and proceeded some miles on our return, by the upper road, and the bridge over the Bear river. Next day we reached Annapolis, passing through which we crossed the Nictau at Bridge town, where we drank tea with a friend ; we then resumed the road and reached our kind host's rather late in a moonlight nighty the evening cool. After remaining another day or two to recruit, we bade adieu to our friends, and resumed our route home- wards, which we accomplished in one day. Having now made myself acquainted with our British provinces of North America, as far as circumstances would permit, before I take leave of them, I shall close the subject with such general remarks as occur to me. The climate of the maritime provinces, although severe, is softened by the neighbourhood of the sea, while the vicinity of the great lakes has a like beneficial ten- dency on the climate of Upper Canada. They are otherwise healthy in the extreme, and found to be, in the main, well adapted to settlers from the British Islands. With exception of the French settlements, they may be said to be as yet little advanced beyond early youth, but are filling up rapidly. Although the colonists are friendly with their neigh- bours of the United States, they do not amalgamate, but rather seem mutually to keep aloof—a sufficiently broad line of distinction is drawn. The gentlemen settlers of Upper Canada have a high sense of honour, are respectably connected at home, and, with some of the exclusiveness of England, are loyal to the Crown to their heart's core.262 RECOLLECTIONS OF A VISIT The communication with the Atlantic by the river St. Lawrence, and the long extent of lake frontage, offer great commercial advantages, which the Colonial Government has not shown itself slow to appreciate. It has already, by a judicious system of canals, overcome the impediments caused by the rapids of the St. Law- rence, by means of which large square-rigged vessels al- ready navigate Lake Ontario. It has also overcome the obstruction offered by the Falls of Niagara, to the navi- gation of the upper lakes, by the Welland Canal—a magnificent succession of locks constructed of solid masonry. The colonists have also at last commenced their railroad, to open up and connect their provinces with the harbour of Halifax ; there is, therefore, reason to conclude that as population increases, they will con- tinue to advance westward along our frontier line, until brought up, in the distance of time, by our colony of Vancouver's Island, and the shores of the Pacific. Of the wisdom of the Home Government, in granting these fine colonies self-government and free-trade, I think there can be no doubt. It is only to be regretted that the measure of the colonial legislature for indemnifying the losses of those engaged in the rebellion, was a conse- quence, in as far as it outraged the feelings of the gallant band of settlers, who assisted to put it down, and which broke out into open disturbance on the Governor- General (Lord Elgin) giving effect to the obnoxious law. Our rule now presses so lightly on these colonies, that we may safely assume it will be of long duration; for centuries to come, if it continues as long, as it will be beneficial to the colonists themselves, opening up an ever increasing market for our manufactures, and a home for our surplus population.TO THE UNITED STATES. 263 In the constitution of their elective franchise, they should, it appears to me, stop short of universal suffrage. The constitutions of the probably too much vaunted Eepublics of antiquity, are not safe guides in a matter of this importance, inasmuch as the larger part, if not the whole, of their lower orders, consisted of slaves, who, it is reasonable to conclude, were in possession of the labour market.264 recollections of a visit CHAPTEE XXVII. VOYAGE HOME—STEAMER—PASSENGERS-ARRIVAL AT LIVER- POOL—EXETER. I had now been two years absent from England ; my affairs required my presence at home. It occurred to me that as the climate of Nova Scotia agreed with them, and that they would be properly taken care of by their kind aunt, I might leave my daughters with advantage another year under her charge, proposing to return for them myself. Having made this arrangement, I took my leave ; proceeded to Halifax ; secured my passage on board the British mail-steamer Europa, Captain Lott, belonging to the Cunard line, for which the charge was £30 cur- rency or £24 sterling. In the evening of the 10th of August the report of two guns (the usual signal) announced the arrival of the steamer from Boston. I hurried on board and secured a berth ; in the course of an hour or two we were under weigh, steering our course for England with the full power of her steam. There seemed to be about 100 cabin passengers, in- cluding those taken on board at Halifax ; not crowding us too much, as there was accommodation for many more. Among these I observed Frenchmen, Spaniards, na-TO THE UNITED STATES. 265 tives of the United States, of the British provinces, and settlers originally from the mother country. No vessels can be better adapted for the purpose for which they are intended than these mail-steamers ; the power of their engines is great; their speed corresponds, while no expense is spared in the arrangements for the convenience and comfort of the passengers; they have been not unaptly styled floating palaces. The crew consists of about 100, of all grades, generally picked men. They have a proper complement of officers, besides the captain and surgeon; and the ship's duty goes on like clockwork. The captain and the mail agent (who is a Govern- ment officer, generally a lieutenant in the navy) mess with the passengers; the other officers, including the surgeon, have a table for themselves. On Sunday, all the crew off duty, assemble in the cabin in their best clothes, when the mail agent reads the morning prayers of the Church of England. If there happens to be a clergyman among the passengers, a sermon follows. The passage-money is thought to be high (£35) from England, which does not vary to whichever port in America you are bound. Government also allows a large sum for carrying the mails. It is a joint-stock concern, said to be very profitable; the shares are not allowed to come into the market, nor are its affairs, or the amount of its dividends, made public. The wines were of the best quality. Champagne, 5s. per bottle ; Port and Sherry, 4s. per bottle. The stew- ard's fee is included in the fare. A line of opposition steamers has been established in the United States ; the legitimate effect of which should be to reduce the fares. s266 VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES. Screw steamers are coming into use on this passage; they perhaps take three or four days more to accomplish it; their chargfe- is £20. Nothing etfuld be more agreeable than this voyage proved; the sea was calm, and the sun .shone during the whole passage. I was sometimes amused to observe the porpoises try to keep up with us ; they ran in pairs by the ship's side with great velocity, alternately plunging a little, and then rising to the surface. On the 19th we ran along the coast of Ireland, and on the 20th of August, just ten days after I embarked, we were safely landed at Liverpool. I found the captain to be a pleasant man, a good sea- man, and attentive to his passengers, The passengers were also well-conducted and intelligent. I put up at the Adelphi Hotel at Liverpool. The next day I proceeded on by the railroads, via Birming- ham and the vale of Gloucester to Exeter, with the in- tention of visiting my relatives at Plymouth. I remained a day at Exeter to rest, and to see its cathedral again. I was forcibly struck with the prosperous appearance of everything in England. Exeter, which I had recol- lected in early life, a dull cathedral town, I found now to be full of life and animation ; its streets crowded, and the city doubled in size. Plymouth, and every- where else, the same. I now became satisfied of the truth of my remark in America, that England is advancing like a young, not like an old country. EDINBURGH : T. CONSTABLE, PRINTER TO HER MAJESTY.This book is a preservation facsimile produced for the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. It is made in compliance with copyright law and produced on acid-free archival 60# book weight paper which meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (permanence of paper). Preservation facsimile printing and binding by Northern Micrographics Brookhaven Bindery La Crosse, Wisconsin 2014