^P-^^. o' '^ , It .-V t ' « ■o* , '^'^. ^^-^^^ ^ ^^^f;^' ^^ v-, .H X •^<^^ % 0^ . ' ♦ o.- "^ ^' • ^ - ^^ /sisted, the Frenchman resisted, and sec- onded his declaration by twice raising his knife and striking the handle of it with great violence against the table. It would have been fortunate if his resentment had ended here, for lifting up his knife a third time, while he looked angrily at the master of the inn, he brought the end of it down, not upon the table, but on his plate and broke it to pieces. The landlord was far from disposed to soothe the increased vexation of his of- fended guest, but said with an air of triumph, " Monsieur will now pay for the dinner and the plate too " ; and in fact, instead of reduc- ing his bill or the Frenchman's portion, he charged as liberally for his porcelain as for his pork; leaving the Frenchman no other satisfaction than that of complaining during the rest of the journey that he had paid dear for a dinner he had not eaten, and for more plates than he had broken. For myself I not only made a good dinner, the pork being ex- cellent, but learned a circumstance which it- self was worth my share of the reckoning. I was informed that great numbers of pigs were turned loose into the woods of the Sus- quehannah, where they run wild, living and growing fat upon the acorns and nuts of va- rious sorts which abound there. Before win- ter the poor animals are hunted, and such as are caught — for many probably escape — are killed for home consumption and exporta- tion. I was told that a similar plan was adopt- ed in other parts of Maryland, and it most likely extended to other states. I had heard on board the Iiidia, and in- deed Sir Robert Abercromby had before mentioned the circumstance to me, that in some parts of America the pigs were fed on I2S peaches. I now found that this was the fact, and not so extraordinary a one as it had at first seemed to be. I had observed to-day, as I had in other parts of Mar3dand, that al- most every farm-house and cottage had a peach orchard attached to it, as an apple or- chard would be in England. The peaches were distilled into brandy, but the pigs fed upon the refuse, as well as upon such fruit as fell from the trees. As we crossed the Susquehannah, I cast a farewell look upon the wild beauties of that river. It was dark before we reached the " Head of Elk." Here things were much changed since I passed before. There was indeed the same number of beds in the room, but the landlord was no longer surly, but ex- tremely civil, and gave us a supper that made the best possible amends to the Frenchman for the loss of his dinner. nth May. — Leave the " Head of Elk" at five o'clock. Breakfast at Newark, and at three in the afternoon reach Philadelphia. Finding dinner prepared at the inn, I dined there and afterwards proceeded to Fourth Street, where Mr. and Mrs. Francis, and the good-tempered negress, and all my friends, were glad to see me. My notes say, " Glad 126 to get to a good mattress again." In the even- ing I went to tile play, the " Moghol Tale." The excursion which I had made had quite succeeded. The country, towns, villages, state of society, were full of interest in their present condition, while their futurity pre- sented a picture the most pleasing — the for- ests I had passed through converted into fertile plains, and the solitary banks of the Potomac, the Susquehannah, the Elk, and the Patapsco, covered with a free and intel- ligent population. One of the many improve- ments already spoken of is the junction of the Chesapeak and Delaware by cutting through the isthmus which now separates them. There will then be an inland water communication between Philadelphia, An- napolis, Alexandria, and Washington. i2th May. — Hearing that the American ship Atlantic would sail in a few days for England, I walked down to the Delaware, and liking the appearance of the vessel, I took my passage in her, engaging one of the state-rooms, a name rather absurdly be- stowed upon a very small berth by the side of the great cabin or public-room, and feebly lighted from it by a glass in the door. The ship appeared to be about 300 tons, or nearly the size of the India. Called afterwards at Mr. Bingham's, where I found my Cabul sheep grazing in good health on the gar- den lawn. Visited Dr. Ross and other friends. ijth May. — At one o'clock to-day I called at General Washington's with the picture and letter I had for him. He lived in a small red brick house on the left side of High Street, not much higher up than Fourth Street. There was nothing in the exterior of the house that denoted the rank of its possessor. Next door was a hair- dresser. Having stated my object to a servant who came to the door, I was conducted up a neat but rather narrow staircase, carpeted in the middle, and was shown into a middling-sized, well -furnished drawing-room on the left of the passage. Nearly opposite the door was the fireplace, with a wood -fire in it. The floor was carpeted. On the left of the fire- place was a sofa, which sloped across the room. There were no pictures on the walls, no ornaments on the chimney-piece. Two windows on the right of the entrance looked into the street. There was nobod}^ in the room, but in a minute Mrs. Washington came in, when I repeated the object of my calling, and put into her hands the letter for General Washington, and his miniature. She said she would deliver them to the President, and, inviting me to sit down, retired for that purpose. She soon returned, and said the President would come presently. Mrs. Wash- ington was a middle-sized lady, rather stout ; her manner extremely kind and unaffected. She sat down on the sofa, and invited me to sit by her. I spoke of the pleasant days I had passed at Washington, and of the atten- tions I had Mrs. Law. While engaged in this conversation, but with my thoughts turned to the expected ar- rival of the General, the door opened, and Mrs. Washington and myself rising, she said, " The President," and introduced me to him. Never did I feel more interest than at this moment, when I saw the tall, upright, vener- able figure of this great man advancing tow- ards me to take me by the hand. There was a seriousness in his manner which seemed to contribute to the impressive dignity of his person, without diminishing the confidence and ease which the benevolence of his coun- tenance and the kindness of his address in- spired. There are persons in whose appear- I 129 4 ance one looks in vain for the qualities they are knowrf to possess, but the appearance of General Washington harmonized in a singu- lar manner with the dignity and modesty of his public life. So completely did he look the great and good man he really was, that I felt rather respect than awe in his presence, and experienced neither the surprise nor disap- pointment with which a personal introduc- tion to distinguished individuals is often ac- companied. The General having thanked me for the picture, requested me to sit down next the fire, Mrs. Washington being on the sofa on the other side, and himself taking a chair in the middle. He now inquired about my ar- rival in America, my voyage, my late journey, and his granddaughters, Mrs. Law and her sister, who had accompanied me to Alexan- dria. He asked me my opinion of that town, and seemed pleased with the account I gave of the extraordinary activity I had observed there. In the course of the conversation I. mentioned the particular regard and respect with which Lord Cornwall is always spoke of him. He received this communication in the most courteous manner, inquired about his lordship, and expressed for him much esteem. Speaking about the intercourse between In- dia and America, I said that I thought the United States had gained a great point by the right of trading conceded by the thir- teenth article of Mr. Jay's treaty, and I men- tioned .at the same time the facihties of which this commerce was susceptible, to the equal advantage of America and India, now that it rested upon a legal basis. I stated these opinions because the treaty in question, which had been approved by the existing Government, had caused some un- reasonable animadversion amongst the op- posers of the administration at this period. I observed that the measure was one to which the East India Company might object, as in- terfering with their chartered privileges, al- though in a manner favorable to the com- mercial population of India ; but that it was in every respect advantageous to the United States, enlarging a communication that be- fore was confined, and legalizing what was arbitrary and subject to prohibition. The General asked me some questions about Calcutta, the natives of India, the Ganges, and the interior of the country. Upon my in- quiring if coal had yet been found in the States of the Union, he said that it had been 131 discovered in various parts, and that mines would doubtless be opened and worked when the diminished abundance of wood should di- rect the public attention to this subject. After sitting about three quarters of an hour, I rose to take leave, when the General invited me to drink tea with him that even- ing. I regret to say that I declined this honor on account of some other engagement — a wrong and injudicious decision, for which I have since reproached myself. No engage- ment should have prevented my accepting such an invitation. If forwardness on such occasions be displeasing, an excess of delicacy and reserve is scarcely less to be avoided. However, this private intercourse with one of the most unblemished characters that any country has produced had entirely satisfied me, and greatly exceeded my previous ex- pectations, which had been limited to the usual transient introduction at a public levee. This, then, forms one of my most memorable days. The moment when the great Washing- ton entered the room, and Mrs. Washington said, " The President," made an impression on my mind which no subsequent years can efTace. The General's age was rather more than 132 sixty -four. In person he was tall, well- proportioned, and upright. His hair was powdered and tied behind. Although his deportment was that of a general, the ex- pression of his features had rather the calm dignity of a legislator than the severity of a soldier. He was born in Virginia, and was now contemplating his final retirement to Mount Vernon, his favorite residence, situ- ated in that State, a few miles only below Alexandria. Shortly after the period of my introduction he expressed his intentions in a feeling address, of which the following are a few extracts : ' ' Friends and Fellow-Citizens, — The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the Execu- tive Government of the United States being not far distant, and the time being actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designat- ing the person who is to be clothed with that im- portant trust, it appears to me proper to conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those of whom a choice is to be made. I confidently hoped it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with mo- tives which I am not at liberty to disregard, to re- 133 turn to that retirement from which I had been re- luctantly drawn. Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary as it is welcome. Satisfied that, if any circumstances have given pe- culiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe that while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid me. *' In looking forward to the moment which is in- tended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country, for the many honors it has conferred upon me. The constancy of your support was the essential prop of my efforts, and the guarantee of my plans. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to the grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows, that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly love may be perpetual; that the free Constitution which is the work of your hands may be sacredly main- tained; that its administration in every part may be stamped with wisdom and virtue ; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is a stranger to it. "Observe good faith and justice towards all na- tions ; cultivate peace and harmony with all. How far, in the discharge of my official duties, I have been governed by the principles which I have de- lineated, the public records, and other evidences of my conduct, must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have, at least, believed myself to be guided by them. Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of Intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable I have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that after forty -five years of my life dedicated to its service, with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. Relying on its kindness in this and other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it which is natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and family for several gener- ations, I anticipate, with pleasing expectation, that retreat in which I promise myself to realize, with- out alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, of the benign influence 135 of good laws under a free Government, the ever- favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our cares, labors, and dangers." General Washington had retired to Mount Vernon at the close of the war, and remained there till 1789, when the general voice of his country called him from his pastoral pursuits to the Presidency of the Government. He was re-elected to this office in 1793. His healthy and robust appearance, when I saw him, seemed to promise a longer enjoyment of repose in his retirement near the banks of the Potomac ; but a cold caught at Mount Vernon on the 13th December, 1799, termi- nated his life on the following day. 14th. — ■ Visited the National Museum. Amongst a collection of curiosities, yet in its commencement, I saw my great shell. i^th. — Being unwell, I spent the greater part of this day at home. Packed and pre- pared for my voyage. Simday, i6th. — In a sermon Dr. Priestley preached to-day, he referred to what I had said to him about the Hindoos. Dined with Mr. Bingham, Mr. Baring, Count de Noailles, and several members of the two Houses of Congress — in all a large party. After the 136 company had retired, remained with the family* and Mr. Baring. lyth. — Saw Captain Langford, and found that his ship, the Atlajittc, would not sail for some days. In consequence of this delay, I determined to set out for New York, to en- deavor to find out a friend there, about whom I could obtain no information. We had been intimate at school before I sailed for India ; and though our wide separation — he in the New World, I in the Old — had put an end to all communication, it had not diminished my regard for him. I took my place in the New York stage-wagon for the next day. i8th.— At 5 P.M. start for New York with other passengers. The carriage was exactly similar to those already described. The first stage was through Frankfort, Holmsburgh, and Harlington, inconsiderable villages nearly at equal distances from each other, to Bristol, twelve miles from Philadelphia. The Dela- ware was only a short distance from us, on our right, but was not visible. Its course here was about southwest, and our direction was nearly parallel to it, or northeast. Hav- *The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Bingham and two daughters, the eldest of whom was afterwards married to the Mr. Baring here mentioned, afterwards Lord Ashburton. 137 ing changed horses at Bristol, we passed through the hamlets of Tullytown and Ty- burn to Morrisville, or Morristown, as it is also called, and soon after arrived on the banks of the Delaware, here considerably less wide than at Philadelphia. A large flat-bot- tomed boat took us over to Trenton, a small town, but the metropolis of the State of New Jersey, which we entered here. This is the highest point to which the Delaware is navi- gable, there being falls above the ferry, simi- lar to those on the Potomac above George- town, and both apparently proceeding from the same cause, the depression or lower level of the country east of the Blue Ridge. Trenton was the scene of a brilliant exploit of General Washington during the late war. A regiment of Hessians, in the pay of Great Britain, being stationed there, Washington formed a plan for surprising it. Having thrown some troops across the river, just be- low the falls, to get into the rear of the ene- my and cut ofT their retreat, he fixed upon the night of Christmas Day for passing the river himself at the ferry, and notwithstanding the greatest obstacles, arising from the dark- ness and from the difficulty of the passage, obstructed by ice, succeeded in surprising the 138 detachment so completely that he took nine hundred men and several pieces of artillery. iQtk.~At Trenton we left the Delaware and proceeded in a northeasterly direction across New Jersey. Early in the morning we reached Princeton, another place, like Tren- ton and Brandywine, grateful to the recol- lection of the Americans; General Washing- ton having in the 5^ear 1777, not long after his success against the Hessians, surprised and dislodged a considerable British force stationed here. Princeton possesses one of the largest colleges in the United States. Its situation between two of the principal cities of the Union appears favorable to such an in- stitution, particularly as the position is pleas- ant and salubrious. It is a large stone build- ing, not far from the road-side. I walked towards it while the wagon stopped, but had not time to see the interior. Its library was said to exceed three thousand volumes. At the distance of eight miles from Prince- ton we reached Brunswick, situated on the banks of the Raritan River, about twelve miles from its entrance into Raritan Bay at Perth Amboy. Here also is a college called Queen's College. Small sea craft passing through Raritan Bay can come nearly as high 139 as the handsome bridge which has lately been built at this town. We next passed through Elizabethtown, pleasantly situated upon a small stream of which I did not learn the name. It doubtless flowed from the line of hills in the interior, and ran into Raritan Bay. Seven miles farther we came to Newark, which I thought one of the neatest and pret- tiest towns I had seen. I was told that many families of Dutch extraction resided here, and it appeared that they kept up their na- tional habits of order and cleanliness. I was struck with the pleasant situation of some white detached houses which I observed on some high ground a few hundred yards to the left of the road. I told my companions that if I settled in America I should be induced to prefer that spot to any I had yet seen. Soon after leaving Newark we came to the edge of a steep hill leading down to a long wooden bridge over the Passaic. The wagon being full, the driver stopped, and begged a negro, who was sitting by his side, to walk down the hill ; and but for the inconvenience of getting out of the wagon, he would prob- ably have desired the other passengers to do the same. The inability of the horses to keep back the carriage was soon apparent, and be- came more manifest every moment. They twice, however, succeeded in checking it for an instant, but were overpowered by the weight, and forced forward with greater vio- lence than before, and were so little under command that it seemed not improbable, even if we got to the bottom of the descent, that we should either run against the bridge or go into the river, to which there was a wide opening on each side. Again, how- ever, the wheelers, throwing themselves back, stopped the wagon, but the leaders, for some reason or other, got round with their heads towards the hill. In this state of disorder it was difficult to foresee what would be the effect of the next plunge. It was evident, at all events, that this was the moment for es- caping from the carriage. This idea seemed to strike all the passengers at once, for all were in motion scrambling to get out. To such as were upon the front and hindmost benches there was no great difficulty, but they who, like myself, were upon the middle seat could not stir till the others made way ; and there was no time to lose. Finding, there- fore, that I could not get out either behind or before, I mounted upon the side rail and 141 jumped, or rather dropped down, for I was so doubled by the roof and so kept back by the great leather curtain that it was quite impossi- ble to make a proper spring; and I consequent- ly fell perpendicularly down before the off hind wheel, and reaching the ground in a bent position I rolled under the wagon, or, rather, partly under it, so that the wheel must have passed over me if one of the passengers, who had escaped from behind, had not run and drawn me clear. The leaders having been pulled straight, the wheelers again threw themselves forward, and before I was upon my legs all four went off at full gallop, my companions in the middle seat still in their places, not having had time to escape. It was painful to see the danger to which these persons and the coachman were exposed, for it seemed very doubtful whether the latter would be able to hit the bridge, which was much narrower than the opening on either side leading to the water. But we soon had the satisfaction of seeing the stage safe upon the planks, along which it went at a great rate, the driver not being able to stop the horses. The negro, who had now reached the middle of the bridge, hearing the carriage come clattering behind him, got out of the way, not however to insure his own safety, but to risk his life in a daring attempt to save the persons still in the wagon. He held him- self close to the side of the bridge ready to make a dash, and when the leaders came op- posite to him, sprang forward and seized the bridle of the near horse. All, however, still continued to gallop, dragging the negro with them ; but this bold African kept his hold, and the driver pulling at the same time, they were stopped a short distance beyond the bridge. My attention had been so engaged with this singular spectacle that I had scarcely thought of a cut I had received on my right leg. I could not very well tell how this hap- pened, whether by a stone in the road or by my having grazed against the hind wheel as I fell. One of the passengers kindly lending me his arm, I crossed the bridge and resumed my place in the wagon. My leg becoming very painful, the passengers seated before me obligingly made room for me to rest it on their bench, and were in every respect most polite and civil. Four miles farther we came to a bridge over the Hackinsack, a small river that runs into Newark Bay. Two miles far- ther the country became low and wet, having the appearance of a great swamp formed by the inundations of the Hudson, which we were now approaching, or by the encroach- ment of the waters of Raritan Bay, which may be considered the Chesapeak of the Jer- sey States. The road across this marsh was formed by trees laid across it and covered with earth. Though we went slowly here, the jolting as the wheels passed from tree to tree was very great, and caused much uneasiness to my leg, which had swelled considerably. After a mile and a half of this most rough road we arrived at Pawles Hook, situated on the edge of New York Bay, and immediately opposite that city. Though yet but a small village, it reminded my companions of an event honorable to the arms of their country, a British post having been surprised here during the war by Major Lee, one of the most distinguished officers of the American army. Here we embarked in a large boat, and the wind being favorable, had a fine sail across the bay, whose width exceeded two miles. The view of New York in front, of the more expanded bay and three small islands to the right, and the Hudson on our left, was magnificent. I could neither conceal nor ex- press the surprise and delight it afforded me. 144 Having landed at a quay in the eastern part of the city, we proceeded through sev- eral narrow streets to the inn. The state of my leg would have induced me to remain here, but the situation was not desirable, and a noted boarding-house at the end of Broad- way had been particularly recommended to me. The same friendly Samaritan from whom I had already received so much attention be- came my guide to it, but on our way he pre- vailed on me to accompany him first to a surgeon, a friend of his. In a country where a gentleman's coachman is obliged to be his own smith, it was not surprising that a sur- geon should be an apothecary, as no beggarly account of empty bottles showed this practi- tioner to be. I had much difficulty in per- suading my kind companion to leave me in the hands in which he had placed me, nor would he consent to this till his friend had ascertained that my leg was not materially injured, though the necessity, he announced whilst dressing it, of a few days' rest was par- ticularly unwelcome, on account of the sailing of the Atlantic, in which I had taken my passage, as well as of the mortification of be- ing confined to my room during my stay in New York. K X45 I easily found my way to the great board- ing-house, but the first thing I learned here was that every room was engaged. This was a great disappointment to me, both on ac- count of my lameness and the singular ad- vantage of the situation, the house being close to the Battery, which had formed so fine an object in our passage across the river, and from which there is a view which has not, perhaps, many rivals in the world, com- manding the bay of New York, four miles wide, and its three islands, the Hudson, the Jersey shore, the opening into Newark Bay, and the whole length of the river to Fort La Fayette on the northern, and Sandy Hook on the southern shore of the entrance into the Atlantic. All this, enlivened by the great passage to Pawles Hook, on the Jersey shore, and the numberless sails employed in the great maritime and inland commerce of New York, presented a splendid scene, and made me regret that I could not be admitted into Mrs. Hodge's boarding-house, the " Star and Garter " of this fine prospect. I accordingly hobbled back up Broadwa3^ and then turned to the right, nearly in the direction of the quay at which I had landed, inquiring as I went for a good tavern, but could not hear 145 of one. Everybody recommended me to Mrs. Hodge's, the house I had just left. It being now almost dark, and my leg be- coming more inflamed and painful, I allowed a civil man, to whom I applied in the street, to conduct me to a small boarding-house not far from the City Hall, which we passed. The kind behavior of the ladies who received me, the real concern they expressed at the state in which I presented myself, satisfied me that the dull little room which they showed me was, as they declared, the best they had, and induced me to accept it tfiankfully. These good women soon had tea ready for me in their parlor, and their attentions at once banished all regret that the window of my chamber did not look upon the fine view from the Battery. They expressed some surprise when they found that I came from India. I hoped to obtain some information from them about Mr. Shaw, but they were not acquainted with him. 2oth. — After breakfasting with the ladies of the house, I walked to my surgeon, who still urged rest, the most inconvenient remedy in my present position. Neither could he give me any information about my schoolfellow. But I recollected hearing the latter speak of his uncle, Mr. John Shaw, and having ob- tained his address, I went to his house. He received me in the American way, with his hat on, at the top of his steps, and without any invitation to walk in. He evinced but little interest in my inquiries, and seemed to know but little about his nephew; but he told me where I might hear of him, and with this information I set off. I judged from this interview that the uncle and nephew were not upon the best terms — a notion, in- deed, with which I had been somewhat im- pressed before. I found out the small street and small house to which I had been directed, but was told by the maid who opened the door that Mr. Gabriel Shaw was not in New York. Two ladies of the house to whom I desired the maid to introduce me, confirmed this unexpected intelligence, with the kindest ex- pression of sympathy in my disappointment. They said he was absent with some friends on a foot excursion, and that the time of his return was uncertain. I left my address, and promised to return the next morning. I spent the rest of the day at my lodg- ing, principally in the agreeable society of the ladies of the house. I was the only lodger, but two or three gentlemen came to dinner. 2ist. — Called at Mr. Shaw's lodging, but the ladies could only repeat what they had told me the preceding day. Mr. Shaw's return being thus uncertain, I should have set out for Philadelphia immediately if my lameness had permitted me to travel, for I was much afraid of losing my passage in the Atlantic. I remained at home till the afternoon, and then walked with my stick to the quays situated upon the entrance into East River, a narrow channel which separates Long Isl- and from the continent. I saw many vessels, principally American, alongside the wharfs, to which there is a direct and safe access from the sea, through the fine bay, called the Bay of New York, formed by the Hudson in the lower part of its course, a spacious navi- gation of only twenty miles from the Nar- rows, or entrance from the Atlantic Ocean. With these advantages, New York, for mari- time communication, possesses an evident superiority over Philadelphia, Baltimore, Al- exandria, and Washington, and may conse- quently be considered the first port of the United States. It possesses other advantages not less evident, in an extraordinary facility of intercourse with an extensive and already populous interior, by means of the Hudson River, navigable for small sloops for nearly 200 miles from the sea, thus affording a com- munication with Albany, 150 miles above New York, and thence with the whole coun- try bordering upon Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Michigan, the first 230 miles in length, the second 180, and the last, which is entirely American, 300. Albany, situated on the west bank of the Hudson, half-way between these lakes and New York, can hardly fail of acquiring great commercial importance, as the vast countries which encircle these inland seas shall ad- vance in population and prosperity. I heard an intelligent American — and few are the Americans who are not intelligent upon every subject requiring judgment and fore- sight — declare that if he were to buy land anywhere, he would prefer Albany to any spot in the Union. The only circumstance unfavorable to this position that I heard of was the impetuosity of the Hudson, which rendered its navigation slow and expensive, and somewhat dangerous. It was observed, however, that this same rapidity of the cur- rent prevented the accumulation of ice, by 150 which most of the American rivers are ob- structed for a considerable time during the winter. From the quays in Water Street, along the shores of the East River, I rounded the point till I came to the Battery at the end of Broadway, and from the handsome prome- nade which has been made here I contem- plated with more leisure than the first even- ing the admirable view this spot commands. I recalled to my recollection the principal cities I had seen, and could find no one in this review whose situation was at once so advantageous and beautiful as that of New York. The only defect I could perceive was its apparent exposure in time of war. An enemy's squadron could in the present state of defence sail through the Narrows, and anchor before the city in three or four hours. I do not know how far the small batteries which I saw on Governor's and Ellis's islands could be rendered available against such an aggression ; but these isles seemed placed as the outworks of this position. I was too lame to walk up the whole length of Broadway. I was told that it extended two miles, but as it was usual in America to reckon as streets such as were only contem- 151 plated and not yet begun, it was not easy to know how much of this great length was im- aginary. Although the beauty of New York is, for the present, confined to its position, it possessing no very good street but Broad- ^ way, and no pre-eminent building except the / Federal Hall, it is, upon the whole, the most / agreeable as well as the most flourishing city I in the United States, combining the cheerful- l ness and commercial activity of Baltimore \ with the extent and population of Philadel- phia. It was founded early in the seventeenth century by the Dutch, conducted by Hudson, an Englishman, who gave his name to the river; but the settlement comprehending the States of New York and Jersey was called the New Netherlands. New York is about 200 miles southwest of Boston, and 100 miles northeast of Philadel- phia. During the greater part of the war the city was occupied by the British forces. These having landed on Long Island in 1776. and gained the battle of Flatbush, General Wash- ington evacuated the city, and the English taking possession of it, kept it, I believe, without interruption till the definitive ratifi- cation of peace in 1783. The melancholy afifair of Major Andre, aide-de-camp of General Clinton, the British Commander-in-chief, occurred during the oc- cupation of New York by the British head- quarters. In September, 1778, the American army being at West Point, a fort upon the Hudson, forty miles above New York, the British General was very desirous of getting possession of that important post, and his views in this respect were favored by the treachery of General Arnold, of the Ameri- can army. Under the pretext, it is said, of negotiating some point between the two par- ties, General Clinton sent Major Andre to West Point ; but the real object of the mis- sion was to communicate secretly with Ar- nold, and receive from him such information as would facilitate the acquisition of the place. These interviews having, however, excited suspicion, the Major was arrested one day as he was leaving the American lines, and being searched, the plan of the fort of . West Point and of its approaches was found on him. Although the general who adopts this ig- noble mode of warfare is more reprehensible than the selected subaltern who, from a prin- ciple of subordination and obedience, sacri- 153 fices his life and honor in an action he dis- approves, still this unfortunate discovery- placed Major Andre in a situation of extreme peril. Neither the desire of the two generals to take upon themselves exclusively the crim- inality of this transaction, nor the humanity of General Washington, nor the youth nor accomplishments of Major Andre could res- cue this officer from his fate. Tried and con- demned as a spy, he was executed not far from West Point in the year 1780, to the grief of his enemies and friends. While I reflected on this deplorable event near the scene on which it occurred, it was consolatory to think that this tragical history, so far from exciting resentment at the pres- ent day, produced, on the contrary, an hon- orable sentiment of pity and respect. This generous feeling often called the citizens of New York to West Point, there to contem- plate this catastrophe, and pluck a blade of grass from the unfortunate Andre's grave. Mr. Shaw was now absent from New York, with a few friends, on one of these excur- sions. Arnold, whose memory every American de- spises, and no Englishman respects, escaped to the British army. He afterwards went to 154 England, and, I believe, survived his disgrace many years, 22d. — The inflammation and swelling in my leg much reduced. After breakfast I walked to the Museum, the only kind of exhibition yet to be seen in America. It was an older and more extensive collection than the simi- lar one at Philadelphia. It consisted prin- cipally of shells and fossils, and arms and dresses of the Indian tribes. There was also a machine, said to exhibit perpetual motion. It consisted of a number of small glass tubes, filled with a red fluid, which ran down some of the tubes, and ascended others, with an activity that seemed likely to hold out for the time a spectator would stop to observe it. I was sorry I had no Eastern curiosity for this collection also. I had intended to view the interior of the Federal Hall, but was obliged to satisfy my- self with looking at the outside. The Amer- ican eagle and thirteen stars were the princi- pal ornaments. The most interesting part was the spacious gallery in front, it being here that General Washington, when drawn from his retreat at Mount Vernon, was inau- gurated President, taking the oath of fidelity to his country before Chancellor Livingstone, 155 the Senate and representatives, and thou- sands of spectators. I next walked to the Fish-market, consid- ered by the people of the United States the first in America, and by the inhabitants of New York the first in the world. I was in- clined to think there might be some ground for this pretension. It is said to exhibit eighty sorts of sea- fish. The Americans, who are newer and plainer in nothing than in their choice of names, whatever the object may be, have given the appellation of shecpshead to the most esteemed fish of their coast. I had no opportunity of judging of its much-boast- ed excellence, nor of the superiority of their oysters, so strongly contended for by all Americans who have had an occasion of com- paring them with the oysters of Europe. I did not call upon Gabriel Shaw, because I knew he would call upon me in case of his return ; but went to the play to see a cele- brated actress, the Siddons of America, and sister indeed of the Mrs. Siddons of the Lon- don stage. Mrs. Whitelock (the name of this lady) bore a considerable resemblance to her sister, both in person and in acting. 2jd. — The ladies with whom my young friend lodged could give me no information 156 about him. They were extremely polite and kind, and seemed to feel a regret equal al- most to my own. I now, therefore, proceed- ed at once to the stage - wagon office, and took my place for that afternoon. Though disappointed as to the chief object of my visit to New York, the sight of the city and of its admirable position had afforded me much pleasure. My lameness, however, had sub- jected me to some privations. I had called upon Mr. Bayard, who had a brother in Ben- gal, and found him much disposed to show me every attention ; but lame as I was, I was obliged to decline invitations. The amiable- ness of the family with whom I lodged ren- dered very agreeable the many hours I passed in their company. I wished, some years after- wards, to send them some token of my re- membrance of their attentions from Bengal, but had not preserved their name or address — a blamable negligence which I much re- gretted. At a little after twelve o'clock I tool^ my seat in the stage-wagon, with only two pas- sengers, and these were not going far. At the pretty Dutch town of Newark one of them got out, and at Elizabethtown the other, when the jolting of the uncharged machine 157 became almost insupportable. I moved from bench to bench, as a landsman does about a ship, to discover the part which has the least motion. I at length stretched myself across the seats, but the bounds of the carriage ren- dered sleep, or rest even, impossible on this uneven couch. The driver, accustomed as he was to these trials, was quite disposed to min- gle his complaints with mine. I could not .but pity his hard service, which seemed to be as injurious to health as the roughness of a camel's pace. The night was dark and rainy, and yet he had no light to enable him to se- lect the best part of the road. At length, after having passed the Rahway, a small stream I had not before noticed, we reached New Brunswick. Here, while changing horses, I procured some straw, and, making myself a bed upon the floor of the wagon under the benches, stretched myself upon it during the rest of the night. Having again passed through Princeton and Trenton, we recrossed the Delaware, and early in the morning reached Bristol. Here, after the roughest night's journey I had ever had in a stage-coach, I determined to take a few hours' sleep, and to hire a horse after breakfast to take me to Philadelphia, distant only one stage. I accordingly ordered a bed at the inn, at which we stopped to change horses ; but after a long halt, during which T remained about the dark staircase and pas- sage, no room of any kind was shown me. Concluding, therefore, that there was no de- sire to receive me, I decided upon coming on with the wagon, and reached Philadelphia in time for Mrs. Francis's breakfast cakes. 24th May. — After breakfast I walked down to the Delaware, where I found the Atlantic ready for sea, and the captain told me she would sail immediately. I accordingly or- dered my trunks on board, and purchased hay for my cow and sheep. The latter I still found on Mr. Bingham's lawn. Dined with Mr. Adams and the Members of Congress, who welcomed my return with great civility. 2jth. — Called upon Dr. Priestley and Dr. Ross and Mr. and Mrs. Bingham. At the house of the latter I was highly gratified to find Mr. Gilmore and his daughter, who had just arrived from Baltimore. I walked with Miss Gilmore to show her my Bengal cow, and afterwards stopped some time at Mr. Bingham's. As I was walking up Chesnut Street this afternoon a tall gentleman in a blue coat, on the opposite side, was pointed 159 out to me as Monsieur Talleyrand. I con- cluded he had not yet been to Washington, With a little more of that presumption which is useful on some occasions, though often offensive and never pleasing, I had perhaps sufficient ground for speaking to him. I understood that the Bishop, for so he was called notwithstanding his blue coat, was not upon good terms with Mr. Bingham's family, or I should probably have met him amongst the other emigrants from France at Mrs. Bingham's parties. 26tJi. — I this morning went to Bryce and Micklewaite's wharf on the Delaware to see a machine which, from the account I had heard of it, I thought might be useful in weighing goods in my father's warehouse in London, the mode in use there having often struck me as inconvenient, requiring all the ponderous weights to be removed from the scale after each weighing, in order that the empty scale might descend to the floor to receive a fresh charge, when the weights, some almost as heavy as a porter could lift, were replaced one by one — a tedious and la- borious operation. The object of the con- trivance I now saw was to obviate all this in- convenience by keeping the scale containing 1 60 the weights suspended after the removal of the goods from the opposite scale, which thus remained flat upon the floor for a new suppl5^ and all the trouble about the weights was merely to add or subtract a few pounds, the difference between the goods last and now weighed. This advantage was com- pletely attained by means of a rope which passed from the extremity of the elevated beam round a movable cylinder of unequal diameter attached to the wall, with a w^eight fixed to the other end of the rope, and which descended as the beam rose and kept its place. I should have been glad to take a model or drawing of this simple, ingenious apparatus, the utility of which was manifest, while it was applicable at very little expense and in a very small space (being fixed high upon the wall out of the way) in every whole- sale warehouse of weighable goods. Soon after my return to Fourth Street, as I was sitting not far from the window of the public room, I saw a young man pass and turn up our steps who looked very like my old school-fellow. I was not mistaken. Young Shaw, not much changed in appearance, en- tered the room. Finding on his return from his excursion that I had been to New York L l6l to see him, he set off for Philadelphia, and had just arrived. Nothing more was want- ing to complete the success of my visit to America. 2'/th. — Dr. Priestley having published a vol- ume of discourses, and alluded in the pref- ace to a communication I had made him, was so good as to send me a copy of his book. In return I begged him to accept a copy of my uncle's Aristotle. 28th. — The Atlantic being about to drop down the river to Newcastle, I sent my cow, sheep, etc., on board. joth. — I dined to-day with Mr. Hamilton, a gentleman of large fortune, and formerly provincial President of the State, at his very handsome residence on the opposite bank of the Schuylkyl, not far from the floating bridge I had passed in going to Baltimore, and which I now passed again, on a horse I had hired, the planks submerging two or three inches with our weight. There was a large party at dinner, principally Members of Congress. Mr. Fisher Ames, called the Burke of America, was to have been present, but was kept away by a sudden illness that alarmed his friends. It was observed that if this illness should take a fatal turn the party to which the gentleman belonged would miss their aims. Mr. Hamilton's seat was quite in the Eng- lish st)de. The house was surrounded by ex- tensive grounds tastefully laid out along the right bank of the Schuylkyl. After dinner the company walked upon this bank, whose slope to the water was planted with a variety of wild and cultivated shrubs. On the other side of a gravel walk which bordered these shrubberies was an extensive lawn which fronted the principal windows of the house. As the company, broken into small parties a few yards from each other, were walking slowly along this walk, a snake, supposed to be of a venomous kind, crossed from the bushes, and disappeared in the grass on our left. Some of the company endeavoring to find it with their sticks, Mr. Hamilton said he had a gardener remarkable in respect to snakes, and the man being called soon dis- covered it. He said it was of a dangerous species, but that no snake ever bit him, and stooping down he seized it and held it up be- fore us, grasped about six inches from the head, far enough to admit of the snake's turning and biting him if it had been so dis- posed. It darted forth its tongue, and seemed 163 angry, but the gardener, nothing intimidated by these appearances, coolly put it into his bosom, where he covered it with his shirt, and kept it two or three minutes. I had seen nothing so extraordinary and repulsive in the way of snakes since the exhibition of the snake-catchers near Benares. After a very pleasant day at Woodlands (the name of Mr. Hamilton's elegant villa), I rode home by another floating bridge higher up the Schuylkyl. For the attentions I re- ceived from Mr. Hamilton I was indebted to the friendly civilities of his two nephews, who had been sent to England for their edu- cation, and were under the care of John Franks, Esquire, of Isleworth, my father's next-door neighbor ; and thus during the hol- idays the young Americans were our play- fellows. I have not noted regularly the dates of my subsequent proceedings, but the Atlantic having dropped down the river, 1 took leave of my Philadelphia friends, deeply impressed with a sense of their worth as well as of their kindness and hospitality. My friend Shaw having procured a horse and gig from a Frenchman, we set out together, on the ist or 2d of June, for Newcastle, taking the road 164 by which I had already travelled when on my way to Baltimore. The first night we slept at a very indifferent inn at Chester. The next morning early I, the coachman on this occasion, for the sake of driving through America, resumed the reins, and drove to Wilmington, where we breakfasted. Here we turned off from the Baltimore road to Newcastle, and found the Alaiitic at anchor before the town. Walking about the streets in the afternoon I was surprised to see a pillory in the market-place. I thought the Americans in making their new laws might have omitted this degrading exhibition. The following day I took leave of my friend when he set out on his return to Philadel- phia, and I went on board the Atlantic, which soon after dropped down to Reedy Island, passing the spot where the British fleet an- chored in 1777, after the occupation of Phila- delphia by the British army. Our ships on that occasion had considerable difficulty in ascending the river, the Americans having sunk several old vessels and chevaux-de-frise. Old Captain Ashmead during the voyage from India used to speak of these operations, in some of which he took an active part. The next day the pilot moved the ship lower 165 down, and the same afternoon we passed Capes May and Henlopen, and entered the Atlantic, our pilot going on board one of the boats of his establishment when we were well off the coast. So ended my successful and agreeable visit to the United States of America, a great and fine country, destined henceforth to hold a conspicuous rank amongst nations, and to take an important part in the transactions of the world. I have ever considered my deci- sion to return this way to England as a fortu- nate circumstance, producing much satisfac- tion at the time, and a store of matter for retrospective meditation. If India was inter- esting as an old country, America was scarce- ly less so as a new one. The two afforded those extremes of life — Age and Infancy — which a painter chooses for his pencil. Be- sides, the infancy of America was full of freshness and vigor, and already discovered the gigantic proportions of her future stature. The stars of her constellation had but recent- ly appeared above the horizon ; but increas- ing in number, elevation, and splendor, they will hereafter shine to the most distant king- doms of the earth. It appeared to me that Monsieur Volney 166 and others who had visited this country were disappointed because they had unreasonably expected too much ; and that they were un- just in blaming a state of society that could hardly be otherwise than it was. I thought it not extraordinary, much less a ground of reprehension, that the roads of America should be bad ; that the stages should be called wagons, and be nearly such ; that a re- publican shopkeeper should receive his cus- tomer without taking off his hat or saying more than yes or no ; that the English lan- guage should be spoken more fluently than correctly.* In a country abounding with genius, energy, and enterprise ; whose infant years have produced a Washington, a Frank- lin, and a Jefferson ; whose improvement in the most important arts of life is advancing with an impulse unexampled in the history of any people; the imperfections inseparable * Though such words as illy, vended, to loan, to enterprise, and a few others are to be met with in the least cultivated ranks of society, there are others which are allowable in America for their usefulness, as '■'portage,'''' applied to the distances goods must be carried at the locks, falls, and rapids (as the Potomac has so many portages), and some which are admissi- ble both for their usefulness and greater precision, as " boat- ahle,''"' as applied to shallow rivers, instead of navigable, and " immigration.'''' 167 from all human beginnings will gradually disappear, and often, it is not improbable, be replaced by models commanding imitation instead of sarcasm and reproach. In the meantime it is not for an inhabitant of the long-established countries of Europe, for an Englishman especially, to reprobate a state of things which was so lately the bequest of the British nation. Before mentioning the few trifling occur- rences of my voyage to England, I will sub- join some miscellaneous particulars relating to the United States which I find amongst my papers. I shall transpose them just as they stand in my original notes. The population of the United States amounted by a census taken in 1790 to nearly 4,000,000, including slaves, of which Virginia and Pennsylvania, the countries of Washington and Penn, had the largest num- ber. Massachusetts was the first to abolish slavery, and acts of emancipation have since been passed by other States. Massachusetts sends twelve representatives to Congress ; New York, ten ; Pennsylvania, thirteen ; Vir- ginia, nineteen ; North Carolina, ten ; South Carolina, six ; Maryland, eight. The rest have, upon an average, two, three, and four, 168 making, altogether, 105. General Washing- ton, as President and Commander-in-chief, has a salary of $25,000 per annum ; the Vice- President only one fifth of this sum. I have had the honor of being introduced to Gen- eral Washington; and with Mr. John Adams, the Vice-President, Mr. John Rutherford, of New Jersey, Mr. John Brown, of Ken- tucky — a State lately added to the Union — Mr. James Gunn, of Georgia, and Colonel Tatnell, Senators, I have the pleasure of being personally acquainted, meeting them every day at table ; as also with Mr. William Murray, the eloquent Member for Maryland, and Mr. Gilman, of New Hampshire, Mem- bers of the House of Representatives. All these respectable men, amongst the most able and distinguished of their country, are of our society in Fourth Street, and show me a thousand attentions which I regret to think it can never be in my power to repay. These gentlemen, both Senators and Repre- sentatives, receive, I understand, six dollars a day for every day's attendance, and the same for every day's travelling to and from the seat of Government, a reasonable rate in the present stage of the country. Mr. Adams, as President of the Senate, receives 169 twelve dollars. The Supreme Court of Judi- cature consists of six members; John Jay, Esq., is the President, with a salary of about ;^6oo per annum. There are three courts in the United States — a Supreme Court, a Dis- trict Court, and a Court of Circuit. Each State has three circuits, and a judge who holds the State Court. He must hold four sessions annually. The Circuit Court is composed of one of the judges of the Su- preme Court, or of more in particular cases, and the district judge. Philosophical apparatus, if imported for any seminary of learning, books, and imple- ments of trade, etc., belonging to persons in- tending to reside in the country, are exempt from duty. The pay of a major-general is about £\'2.o a year ; of a private, ;^io. The gold coins consist of eagles, worth ten dollars each ; half and quarter, ditto. The silver coins of dollars, half and quarter ditto, dimes or tenths, and half-dimes. The copper coins of cents, or one-hundredth parts of a dollar, and half-cents. There are many societies in the principal towns for the encouragement of immigration, the great want of America in its present stage 170 being population. A poor man is considered rich if he has a large family. Irish linens are considered inferior to the American home- spun, which the climate admits of being bleached without the use of drugs or of ma- chines. Horses and horned cattle used to form a great part of the New England car- goes for the British West India Islands. New England is not favorable to the cultivation of grain. Although cotton thrives so well in the Southern States, I am informed that this article is imported from the Mauritius and Bombay. Silk is produced in Georgia and other parts of the Union. There is also abundance of iron, lead, and copper, but the high price of labor prevents the working of the mines to any great extent, particularly those of copper and lead. The beer-brewers of Philadelphia use about 40,000 bushels of barley annually. A seventy-gun ship may lie at many of the wharfs of Philadelphia. The export of flour in the spring quarter of 1793 exceeded 200,000 barrels. Maple -sugar is manufactured in Pennsylvania from the mid- dle of January to the end of March. About fifty maple- trees grow on an acre of land. Each tree produces annually about five pounds of sugar. It is asserted that the maple-trees 171 of the Union are capable of producing sugar for the whole population. It appears to me that the cajoor-tree of Bengal might be suc- cessfully introduced into the Southern States, as also possibly the mango, and some other Asiatic trees. I omitted to mention this to General Washington. At present 20,000,000 lbs. of sugar are consumed annually. This quantity must increase considerably and rap- idly, such increase being promoted by two causes, which reciprocally strengthen each other — the progressive advancement of the population and of the comforts of the people. The comparative value of Georgian and Mediterranean rice is 25^ in favor of the former in the English markets ; that of Car- olina rice a trifle higher. I have mentioned that tobacco is the staple article of culture in Maryland, but it is produced in nearly equal quantities in the States to the south of the Potomac. Maryland and Virginia are now turning their attention to wheat, Indian corn, flax, and hemp. Cotton also is now culti- vated in these States. Indigo is produced in South Carolina and Georgia ; in what quan- tities, or what its quality is, I do not know. Tar, pitch, and turpentine are produced in immense quantities in North Carolina. Live- oak and red-cedar abound in the Carolinas and Georgia, and Virginia is supposed to be pregnant with minerals and fossils. I have already mentioned that peach brandy is made from the peach orchards I saw on the bor- ders of the Chesapeak, and also in North Carolina and Georgia and some parts of Penn- sylvania. The State of Massachusetts has been set- tled twice as long as most of the other States. A principal dependence of the Eastern and Northern States is the fisheries. The public debt after such a war is only about ^10,000,000. The moderation of the public expenditure is equally remarkable. There is no land tax and no excise, with the exception of a duty on domestic distilled spirits. The exports are five times the amount of the national taxes and duties. In the year ending the 30th September, 1793, the ex- ports amounted to $26,000,000. All ships sail fully laden, except those destined for the ports of India. Almost all goods imported have a total drawback on re-exportation. No man can be convicted without the unanimous verdict of twelve jurymen. Emigrants be- come free citizens after a residence of two years. The intrinsic value of the silver coin 173 is required to be equal to that of Spain. The banks divide a profit of eight per cent. A ship of live-oak of two hundred tons can be fitted out for £14. currency per ton, which is said to be £6 less than the outfit of an oak ship in any part of Europe. The Delaware is generally frozen from four to nine weeks in the winter, but with occasional opportunities for ships to get out. The population of Penn- sylvania in 1791 was 434,000. The museum which has my oyster-shell is called Peale's Museum, after its founder,* The party with which I was now crossing the Atlantic was very small, consisting only of the captain, a man inferior in every respect to my two preceding commanders; of the supercargo, who, under the appearance, or rather perhaps with a mixture of excessive silliness, was said to disguise the usual acute- ness of his countrymen ; of a silent, inoffen- sive Scotchman, who had gamed nothing in * Soon after my return to England I made a communication to Mr. Charles Grant, a leading East India Director, on the commerce between India and America. I called upon him for this purpose at his residence on Clapham Common, and was so much struck with the beauty and convenience of the situation that, looking forward at that time and for some years after to a sciat on the India Direction, I always associated with this view a house on Clapham Common. 174 America, and had not lost there his native dialect; and a Mr. Cooke, a pleasing young man, of a respectable family in Philadelphia or Baltimore, who was going to Europe on his travels. A thick fog, in which we found ourselves enveloped a few days after passing through the Gulf Stream, announced our arrival on the great bank of Newfoundland, about one hundred miles from the southeast extremity of the island of that name. This great bank, so celebrated for the prodigious quantities of codfish caught upon it, is three hundred miles in length and seventy to eighty broad. As we advanced upon it the density of the at- mosphere so much increased that it was im- possible to discover anything more than a few yards from the bowsprit, and it was nec- essary to keep the ship's bell ringing to warn any vessel that might be before us or any fishing-boat at anchor. When we supposed that we were upon good fishing-ground we heaved-to, and having ascertained the depth, a line charged with lead and baited with a few hooks was thrown overboard. A few fresh cod would have been very acceptable, but, whether from not being at a proper part of the bank, or at the proper season, or being 175 ignorant of the right way of fishing, we caught nothing. The depth of water varies from fif- teen to sixty fathoms. More than 2000 ves- sels are engaged in this extraordinary fishery, the greater number belonging to Great Brit- ain and the United States. When we had left the Great Bank a few days it was discovered that the ship had sprung a leak. The pumps were immediately worked, and kept going day and night with- out interruption, to the great fatigue of our small crew. The water, however, was still deep in the hold, and was increasing upon us. I could not but observe what was going on, but said nothing till it was evident that it would be impossible for us, in the present state of the vessel, to reach more than the middle of the Atlantic, and that the only prudent course was to put about before we were beyond reach of St. John's, the principal harbor in Newfoundland. I found that this too was the captain's opinion, but he was, unfortunately, under the control of the super- cargo, upon whom reason seemed to have lit- tle influence. After continuing two days and nights in this miserable manner, with the chance that by hard pumping and a fair wind we might keep the ship afloat to England, 176 the water disturbed the position of the bar- rels of tar of which the cargo was partly composed, and this substance, escaping and mixing with the water in the well, choked and stopped the pumps. Although no one on board was more alarmed at the situation in which the ship now was than the supercargo, she was still kept on her course. Search was made for a small cask of turpentine supposed to be on board, which, it was said, would free the pumps ; but it could not be found. Still the ship was kept on. Supported by the captain and other passengers, I now protested against the extravagance of the supercargo, in conse- quence of which it was agreed that if the tur- pentine should not be found before twelve o'clock that day the ship's head should be put about. A more active search was made, and shortly before the expiration of the lim- ited time the important discovery was made, and the cask brought upon deck. A small portion of its valuable contents being poured down the pumps, these were immediately cleared, and the tar at the bottom of the hold so liquefied that it came up with the water. The leak, however, still continued, and obliged the poor seamen to work at the M 177 pumps day and night during the rest of the voyage. One evening, when our journey was draw- ing towards its close, we discovered a strange sail. Her size, as she bore down upon us, showed that she was a man-of-war, British or French. In either case the tar we had on board would be likely to cause our detention. We soon perceived that she was a three- decker, and having hoisted British colors she fired a gun for us to bring -to. The super- cargo, justly fearing the detention of the ship, absurdly conceived the idea of escaping, and, although he dared not order more sail to be set, he desired the captain to disregard the signal and to keep before the wind. Scarcely was this wise manoeuvre adopted before we perceived the flash of another of the bow guns of the great ship and a shot, that had passed just ahead of us, fall into the sea on the other side. This, in sea etiquette, was a civil way of letting us know that the next shot would be fired at us, and we had indeed reason to be thankful that we had not re- ceived the last. All hands were now employed in shorten- ing sail and heaving the ship to. The three- decker, though under easy sail, approached 178 us fast, and offered a magnificent spectacle as she stretched across the waves with apparent- ly very little motion. Her bows and port- holes were crowded with men, who looked down upon us. Perfect silence prevailed till broken by the usual salutation through the speaking-trumpet, to which the following questions and answers succeeded: "What ship is that.^" ''Tho. Atlantic, oi Philadel- phia." "Where bound?" "To London." " What have you on board ?" This question would have caused much embarrassment, on account of the tar we had on board, which we might be suspected of carrying to a French port, if such a demand had not been antici- pated, and an answer to it prepared. Instead, therefore, of naming the " tar J' the captain replied, " Colonial produce." " Send a boat on board with your papers." " We have not a boat that will live in this sea." " Come un- der our stern for the night." I deeply participated in the vexation which this order produced in our ship. But remon- strance would have been imprudent and use- less, and we accordingly took our station astern of the three-decker, which we now dis- covered to be the Queen Charlotte, the flag- ship of Lord Keith, commander of the Chan- 179 nel Fleet, which was, probably, not far off to leeward, though not in sight from our deck. After following the Queen Char-lotte half an hour, expecting to be overhauled in the morn- ing, we again heard the trumpet over the stern of that ship, and caught these unex- pected and most welcome words, " You may- make sail on your course." We immediately turned the ship's head towards England. The next day we fell in with a pilot-boat, not far from the Isle of Wight, and a pilot taking charge of the ship proceeded with her up Channel; while the supercargo and the other two passengers and myself went in the pilot -boat to Cowes, passing through the Needles. We soon after crossed over to Portsmouth. Here we hired a coach and four horses, and arrived late at night at Esher, two stages from London. We continued our journey the next morning, and entered Lon- don by Blackfriars' Bridge. Having set down my companions at the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill, I drove to Essex Street, where my grandmother still lived. This good lady wklked with me to Devereux Court, where I found my father and broth- ers, Richard and George, and received from them the kindest welcome. In the evening 180 my father drove me in his curricle to Isle- worth, where I had the happiness of again seeing my mother and Sister Ann, and soon after my Uncle and Aunt John drove over from Twickenham. THE END By GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. FROM THE EASY CHAIR. With Portrait. i6mo. Cloth, Ornamental, $i oo. OTHER ESSAYS FROM THE EASY CHAIR, With Portrait. i6mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $i oo. PRUE AND I. Illustrated Edition. 8va, Illuminated Silk, ^3 50. Also i2mo, Cloth, Gilt Tops, ^i 50. LOTUS-EATING. A Summer Book. 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