YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bequest of
Mrs. Thomas Wella
1899

THE

PRACTICAL TOURIg^,
OR
SKETCHES OF
THE STATE OF THE USEFUL ARTS, AND OF SOCIETY,
SCENERY, &c. &c.
IN
GREAT-BRITAIN, FRANCE AND HOLLAND.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

By Zachariah Allen.
 Ill

PROVIDENCE :
PUBLISHED BY A. S. BECKWITH,
No. 5, Market-Street.
BOSTON : RICHARDSON, LORD AND HOLBROOK,
AND CARTER AND HBNDEE.
1833.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1832, in the Clerk's
Office of the District Court of Rhode-Island.

CRANSTON AND HAMMOND, PRINTERS,
Providence, R. I.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

Excursion to France. Archbishop of Canterbury. Dover. Shakspeare's
Cliff. Dover Castle. Bathing Carts. Wall Flowers. Paper Mill.
Whitsuntide. Calais. Straits of Dover. Page 12.
French Costume. Anecdote. Custom House Examination. Situation of
Calais. Passports. Precautions on entering a fortified City in the
night. Amiens. Deserted Manufactory. Cathedral. Ancient
Buildings. Fortifications. 24.
Mendicity. Journey to Paris. Unfenced Fields. Shepherds and Shep
herdesses. Shepherds' Dogs. French Cottages and Peasants. Paris.
City Gates. Streets. French Hotels. Houses and Streets of Paris. 36.
System of Police. Roman Catholic Ceremonies. Holy- Water. Relics,
Images and Rosaries. Church Festivals. Religious Procession of King
and Ladies of Court. Altars in the Streets. The Host. 48.
Gallery of the Louvre. Talma. Palace ofthe Tuileries. Gardens and
Pleasure Grounds. A Sunday in Paris. Amusements on Sunday. 60.
Garden of Tivoli. Russian Mountain. Sunday evening Theatres. A
Gaming House. Rouge et Noir. Palace of Justice. Chamber of
Deputies and of Peers. Palace of the Luxembourg. Street Musicians.
Foundling Hospital. 72.
Catacombs of Paris. Medical Halls. Skeletons and Wax Preparations.
Pantheon. Shops and Coffee Houses of Paris. Taste for Mirrors and
Mirror Manufactory. 84.
Royal Library. Conservatoi-y of Arts. Patent Office. Public Slaugh
ter Houses. Theatres of Paris. Opera Dancers. 96.
Useful Arts. Print Works. Hours of Labor. Steam Power. St.
Dennis. Manufact(iry of Tapestry. Comparative cost of Fuel in Paris.
Cotton Mills. Cemetery of Pere La Chaise. 108.
Public Escort of tlie French King. Dress of French Soldiers. Paris
Fashions. Nurseries for trees. Versailles. Boats on tlie Seine.
French Porcelain. Water Works of Versailles. 120.
Palace of St. Cloud. Public Shows of Paris. Fire Works. Maison de
Ville. Guillotine. Palais Royal. 133.
Garden of Plants. Wine Market. Diorama. Castle of Vincennes.
French Diligences and Boots of a Postillion. Water Works of Marli.
Agriculture. 145.
Painted Horse Collars. French Broadcloth Manufactory. Cotton Man
ufactories of Rouen. Octroi. French Cotton Mills. Wages. Elboeuf
Cloth Mills. 156
Rouen. Public Festival. Wedding. Vesper Service. Cultivation ofthe
Poppy. Poppy Oil. Female Laborers. National Antipathies. Fortifi
cations of Lille. Battering fortified Walls. 169
Convent converted into a Cotton Mill. Theological Students. Great Can
non. Mechanics of Belgium. Ghent. Journey to Brussels. Farming
Operations. Public Squares and Fountains. Carved Pulpit. High Mass.
Court of Justice. Field of Waterloo. 181
Forest of Soigny. Battle of Waterloo. Mechlin. Antwerp. 193
Antwerp Cathedral and Docks. Steam Navigation in Holland. Flemish
Artist. American Inventions. The Palace at the Hague. Passage in a
Canal Boat. Dutch Summer Houses. 206

4 CONTENTS.
Meadows of Holland. Costume of Women. Leyden. Boerhaave. Explo
sion of Gunpowder. Haarlem. Museum. Amsterdam. Modes ot Con
veyance, Staadt-house. Overflow of a part of Holland. Page .iia
Draining of Marshes, and Water of Lakes pumped out. Machinery lor
raising Water. Brock. Saardam. Dutch Cottages. Machinery and
Manufactories operated by the power of llie Wind. Canal to the Hel
der. Dutch Names. ¦^*"
Family of a Dutch Professor living among Skeletons. Tea House. Cere
mony of announcing Death. Costume of Widows. Visits to Ladies.
Foundling Hospital. Navy Yard and Naval Academy. Trade of Am
sterdam. Children's Carriages. Jewish Synagogue. French Conscrip
tion. Cultivation of Madder. 241
National Exhibition of Manufactures. Great Organ of Haarlem. Invention
of Printing. Flower Gardens. Rotterdam. English Steamboat and
Passage to London. Law of Deodand. Custom-House, Shops and
Streets of London. Dwelling Houses and Dress. Public Walks and
Squares. Exercise in tlie open air. Temple Bar. 254
West End of London. Expenses of Living. Incomes of Noblemen. Sub
division of Property in the United States. Dinner Party. Westminster
Abbey. Funeral Processions. Theatres. 265
Inns and Courts of Law.~ Expenses of Lawsuits in England. Delays of
Court of Chancery. Emoluments and duties of Chancellor. Costume of
Judges and Lawyers. Guildhall and Mechanics' Halls. Fleet Prison.
Lithogi'aphy. Steam'Printing Presses. Advertisements of Church Liv
ings and Seats in Parliament. Curates. Tythes of Friends. 278
English Boxing Matches. Scene in a London-Hospital. 289
Public Charitable Institutions of London. Vauxhall Garden. Mr. Per
kins' Steam Gun and Engine. Thames Tunnel. Duke of Wellington.
Joint Stock Companies. Greenwich Hospital. Richmond Hill. Blue
Coat School. Smitlifield Market. Prices of Provisions in London.
Bridges over the Thames. Population. 301
Hyde Park. Steam Engine Manufactory of Boulton and Watt. Salt
Mines of Cheshire. Stockton Rail Road. 314.
Newcastle Coal Mines. Edinburgh University. Numerous Professors.
Medical School. Holy-Rood. Queen Mary. High School. 325.
Ilerriot's Hospital. Sportsmen. Maiiufacturers to his Majesty. Sports
men in Scotland. Excursion to the Highlands of Scotland. Sterling
Castle. Youthful Tourist. Furniture and dress of Highlanders. Kilts.
Emigration. Wild Scenery of Scottish Laltes. 348.
Monument of Smollet. Clyde. Glasgow. Lanark. Mr. Owen's Manufac
tories. Paisley Manufactures. Habits of Workmen. 360.
Weaving Mill in Glasgow. Price of Coal. Hunterian Museum. Univer
sity. Tambouring Muslin. Mail Coaches. Greenock. 368.
' Ireland. Belfast. Weaving Damask Table Clotiis. Wa|es and Manu
factures in Ireland. Accident. Newry. Dublin. FuneriJ of a Beggar.
Hospital. Poverty of Dress. Restriction on Manufactures. Irish
Fair. Hoath. Diving Bell. Bay of Dublin. Embarkation for Wales.
Holy-Head. Anglesea Copper Mines. Menai Bridge. Bangor. Slats
Quarries. Ascent of Snowdon Mountain. Caernarvon. 397.
Welsh Cottages. Conway Castle. Inns and Servants. Expenses of trav
elling in England. Stage Coaches. Guard and Driver. Holy Well.
Embarkation from Liverpool. 406.
Voyage to the United States. 424.

PRACTICAL TOURIST.

EXCURSION TO FRANCE, THE NETHERLANDS,
AND HOLLAND-.
On a fine morning in May, in company with two gen
tlemen from the United States, I left London in the coach
for Dover. Our road lay over ranges of hills composed of
chalk, covered by a thin, but well cultivaed soil. From the
borders of the Thames, great quantities of this material
have been removed, to serve as ballast for the vessels re
turning from the port of London to various quarters of the
world, where this material is employed in scoring petty
accounts, or for the rude diagrams ofthe youthful scholar.
Applied to the cord in the hand of the carpenter, it
serves to form the unerring straight line which guides his
cutting implements. When diffused in water, the finest
part subsides and forms the whiting used for putty and
paint. Thus even these sterile chalk-cliffs are turned to
account in favor of the manufactures, and commerce of
England. One of the most favorable circumstances for the agri
culture of Kent is stated to be the system adopted in this
county for the distribution of the estates or farms, by equal
partition among the children, or by Gavel-kind descent, as
it is termed. In the other counties of England, the law
2

6 ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.
of primogeniture prevails ; but here the estates are equally
subdivided among the children, as in the United States,
on the death of intestate parents. For the cultivation of
hops, the county of Kent is particularly celebrated. The
valleys among some of the chalk-hills briistle with forests
of naked hop-poles, around which the plants cling in fes
toons. Three poles are set to each cluster of vines, which
are arranged in rows about five feet asunder.
The cottages by the road-side are numerous, and the
passing traveller cannot fail to admire some of them as
models of rural neatness and economy. In the small gar
dens in front of them, the bright colors, of the tulip and
wall-flower predominate among the gay blossoms ; whilst
clusters of roses hang from the walls, upon which the plants
are trained and intertwined with the honeysuckle, forming
natural screens for the windows, and filling- the air with
fragrance. Canterbdry, fifty-six miles from London, derives its
celebrity from its fine Cathedral, and from the well known
incident of history, the murder of Thomas A. Becket, and
the subsequent royal pilgrimage of King Henry to his
shrine in the cathedral. On this occasion he exposed his
bare back to be lashed by some of the religionists, who,
it is related, availed themselves, with hearty good will, of
this rare opportunity to inflict a royal flagellation.
The archbishop of Canterbury receives from his ofiice
the princely income of about 150,000 dollars per annum—
truly a most ample remuneration for the scanty spiritual
cares bestowed by the archbishop upon his flock, few of
whom are probably known to him personally. This is a
great sum for a follower of Him who was born in a man
ger to receive, for inculcating the precepts and example of
his divine master.
There is apparently very little humility in the stately
equipages and palaces ofthe high Church Dignitaries in

DOVER.— SHAKSPEARE'S CLIFF. 7
England. Even the most pious and devout might find
themselves somewhat engrossed by the receipt and expen
diture of so large an income, and tempted to enjoy the
gratifications of this present life, rather than to anticipate
the bliss of a life to come.

DOVER.
Before arriving at Dover we crossed numerous hills with
bald rounded summits. The furze in some places abounds
on the road-side, shading the ground with its prickly leaves,
resembling those of the Canadian thistle, and displaying
their gaudy yellow blossoms, "unprofitably gay." The
cliffs of Dover have derived so much celebrity from the
glowing descriptions of Shakspeare, that every traveller
hurries forward to the brink of the lofty precipices to com
pare the actual prospects with the description ,which has
all the life with a little of the high coloring of a painting.
His glowing sketch is celebrated, both as an illus-
tralion ofthe power of language, and ofthe genius ofthe
writer. To one of the precipices the name of " Shaks
peare's cliff," has been given. From the brink of this cliff
you look down upon the humble beach beneath, lashed by
the waves, and involuntarily recur to the description which
he has given of its fearful prospects. It must be acknowl
edged that the magnificence of the actual scenery hardly
corresponds to the poet's representation.
'* There is a cliff, whose high and bending head
Looks fearfiilly on the the confined deep.
Bring me to tlie very brim of it ; —
Come on sir; here's the place; — stand still; — ^liow fearful
And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low !
The crows and choughs, that wing the rnidway air,
Show scarce so gross as beetles; halfway down
Hangs one that gathers samphire ; dreadful trade !
Methinks, he seems no bigger than his head:
The fishermen, that walk upon the beach,

e DOVER CASTLE— BATHING CARTS.
Appear like mice, and yon tall anchoring bark
Diminished to her cock; her cock a buoy
Almost too small for sight, the murmuring surge
Tliat on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes,
Cannot be heard so high:-I'll look no more;
Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong.
 Ten masts at each make not the altitude.
Which thou hast perpendicukrly fell.
From the dread summit of this chalky bourn;
Look up,— a height,— the shrill gorg'd lark so far
Cannot be seen or heard : do but look up."
Dover Castle is situated on the very brink of this prec
ipice, with its parapets in some places nearly leaning over
it. Below the foundations of the castle, are subterraneous
chambers, galleries, and even barracks for soldiers, hewed
out ofthe solid mass of chalk, of which the cliffs are com
posed. On the top of the cliff the chimneys rise up from
the green surface of the turf, forming vents to the viewless
habitations beneath the ground. The wells for the supply
of the garrison are four hundred feet deep, which is about
the perpendicular height of the Dover-cliffs above the level
of the sea. In one of these cliffs a remarkably large cir
cular hole is dug perpendicularly from the top to a depth
corresponding with the level ofthe beach, and a flight of
winding steps is formed within it. A horizontal passage
or gallery is excavated from the bottom of the perpendic
ular shaft, to the open beach of the sea shore.
Dover is an inconsiderable town, situated near the base
of impending cliffs, where a rivulet has apparently broken
through, and worn them away, forming a narrow vale for
the site of a few straggling houses.
Along the shore, bathing carts are arranged, convenient
ly fitted up for sea-bathing. Each cart is covered with
painted canvass, and the snug little apartment within is
furnished with a dressing table, mirror, and other conven
iences oi the toilet. The bathers descend from the rear

HUGE CANNON.— THE WALL FLOWER. 9
end ofthe cart, by a short flight of steps, to enter the curl
ing surges, and to sport amid the white foam of the waves,
which here terminate their career and tumble on the beach.
On the inclined plane, formed by the pebbly slope of the
beach, the bathing carts, by their own gravity, descend
amid the billows as far as the bather may desire ; and at
his signal, the vehicle is drawn back again by attendants,
by means of a cable connected with a capstan fixed for
this purpose on the sand. Sea bathing is considered in
England both as a most healthful and luxurious enjoy
ment, and bathing-carts form an appendage to almost eve
ry beach which has a sandy shore.
Among the cannon mounted on the outworks of the cas
tle is the noted piece of brass ordnance, always pointed
out to strangers, and always regarded by them with won
der for the vaunting falsehood which it holds out like a
sleeping bully, with its lying motto engraven on its back in
truly brazen characters. The surface of the metal is so
corroded, from long exposure, that it has become rough
with cavities like a honey comb, and the piece of ordnance
is unfit to bear the mere explosion of gunpowder, as it was
stated to us, much less to " throw a ball to Calais green,"
twenty-one miles distant across the straits of Dover. It
was presented by the Dutch to the English nation as a
token of their grateful remembrance of the assistance af
forded to them in their long revolutionary contest against
the tyranny of the Spanish government. As a monument
of a nation's gratitude, although an humble one, and as a
memento of a successful step in the march of religious and
political liberty, it excites the interest ofthe spectator whilst
he measures its huge dimensions.
The wall flower imparts a lively and refreshing appear
ance to the walls of Dover Castle, seamed as they are with
rents. It insinuates its fibrous roots into small crevices,
and even between the joints of the bare stones, where.

10 PAPER-MILL.
tenacious of vegetable life, it clings to the face of the ma
sonry, and exhibits its green leaves and yellow tufts of
blossoms, as if rejoicing in the breeze that moves it. This
plant is with great propriety designated " the wall flower,"
from its apparently delighting to vegetate where no other
plant but the humble closely clinging moss can thrive. —
Without soil and withoutrnoisture,other than what the dews
and showers transiently yield in trickling over the stones
and crevices of the walls, it shoots forth its green leaves
and yellow flowers, and flourishes as if content with its
scanty sustenance. Upon the mouldering walls of ruins
the wall flower displays its graceful beauties with peculiar
charms, which have not escaped the observation of the
poet. " Flower of tlic solitary place;
Gray ruin's golden crown;
Thou loveliest melancholy grace
To haunts of old renown :
Thou mantlest o'er the battlement.
By strife or storm decay'd,
And fillest up each envious rent
Time's canker-tooth hath made,"

PAPER-JIILL.
On the rivulet which runs through Dover, is a paper-
mill, and a corn or flour-mill. The latter, as usual in
England, is deficient in the labor-saving machinery in
which consists the superiority of the modern American
flour-mills. The former appeared also to be managed on
the old system of paper-making. The rags, after being
torn to pieces by machinery, are macerated in water, un
til reduced to a pulpy mass ofthe consistence of a broth
or porridge. In this semi-fluid state, it is dipped up in
sieves of the form or dimensions ofthe sheet of paper to
be made. The pulp, after being drained, becomes suffi.

WHITSUNTIDE. 11
ciently consistent and cohesive to form thin spongy flakes,
which are laid between blankets and subjected to a press
ure, by which means they become sufficiently consolidated
to bear handling.
The modern improvement of making a continuous un
broken sheet, a mile or more in length, if desired, by
means of a revolving cylinder covered with the same sort of
wire as previously used for the bottom of the sieve, is not
as yet universally adopted in England. A continuous
sheet is obtained from this cylinder by adjusting it to one
end of the cistern filled with the pulpy mass, and causing
it to revolve slowly. The current of water passing off
through the meshes of the wires, leaves the fibrous parti
cles ofthe pulp lodged against the surface ofthe cylinder,
from which, whilst revolving, it is detached and drawn off
to form a perpetual sheet. The water which escapes from
the cistern would soon exhaust it, were not pumps em
ployed to restore it, by which means the operation may
be continued without intermission.
It was a church holiday on the morning of our visit,
and the workmen were all absent, " merry Whitsuntide
being come," — a festival so called by the primitive church,
from the appearance in public on that day of all those who
had been made converts during the past year. They were
dressed in white garments on this festival occasion. From
this circumstance, the term Whitsuntide was derived, be
ing compounded of white, Sunday, and tide or time. Like
most religious festivals, however, it has degenerated into
a mere holiday, and an occasion for drinking and carous
als. The workmen, the proprietor observed, were proba
bly about the alehouse. He also observed, that the man
ufacture of paper in England passed the zenith of its pros
perity when the American colonies, now the United States,
became separated from England, in consequence of the
injudicious measures ofthe English ministry.

12 CALAIS.- STRAITS OF DOVER.
CALAIS.
Within three houfs after stepping on board ofthe steam
boat at Dover, we were landed at the pier in the harbor
of Calais. When in the middle of the narrow strait or
channel, on looking at the coasts of England, all the dis-
tant shores appear skirted with white cliffs of chalk, like
those of Dover. Similar cliffs also lift their snowy sides
above the surface of the French coast, indicating the con^
tinuation ofthe same geological formation.
Since the introduction of steam packets, a trip across
the narrow sheet of water between Dover and Calais is
performed with bo much despatch, that it has become lit
tle more of an undertaking than an excursion from New-
York to Staten Island. The artificial impediments, how
ever, arising from the scrutinous examination of the cus
tom-house oflicers, are suflSciently vexatious. When the
weather is mild, the water of the straits of Dover is as tran
quil as that of an inland bay. On approaching the pier,
which forms a portion of the harbor of Calais, it was ap
parent even from a distance, that the inhabitants were
enjoying the holiday of merry Whitsuntide on the French,
as well as on the English shores. A bright red is the pre
dominant fashionable color which characterizes the cos
tume of the light-hearted French, as contrasted with the
less ostentatious, sober dress of their graver English
neighbors. A crowd was collected on the pier at the arrival of the
steamboat, all speaking French, as an Englishman re
ported in his journal — even to the little girls and boys.*—
* The view of the pier of Calais reminds one of tlie amusing anecdote
related by Frederick Reynolds, illustrating the ludicrous mistakes which
may be made by novices in their first attempts to speak French. "Want"
ing to walk on their pier," he observes, " I asked thegarcon (who spoke
linglish very tolerably) the name of it in French. He, thinking as
Milord Anglois I could mean nothing but pier, a lord, replied, paire.

FRENCH COSTUME.— ANECDOTE.

13

Their costume, when viewed near at hand, presents an
appearance quite as remarkable as that ofthe varied bright
colors of which it is composed. Almost every individ
ual of the lower classes displays something novel or pecu
liar in his personal equipments, from the grotesque cap of
the men, and the bonnetless heads of the women, to heels
shod with wooden shoes — which all remind the American
that he is in a foreign land.
Immediately after landing on the platform of the pier,
cards of address to the various inns and diligences are
thrust forward from all quarters. Seizing and pocketing
all the cards within reach, as the readiest plan of forcing a

Seated afterwards at the public dinner table, I condescendingly entei-ed
into conversation with tlie commandant of the troops of the town. — ¦
" Monsieur, J'ai vu votre paire," meaning, I have seen your pier, but
which he naturally understood, from my pronunciation, I have seen your
fether. " Eh bien. Monsieur," replied the commandant, " et que disoit
il." I was astounded, and looking round the room for the keeper of the
supposed madman, I discovered that the eyes of the whole company were
on me. " Monsieur," I cried, somewhat boisterously, *' il faut que vous
connoissez votre paire ! Le paire de votre ville, qui est fait de pien-e, et
a la tete de bois, — et a ce moment on travaille a lui racommoder sa fin, a.
laquelle le vent a f,.it du mal !" This was the coup de grace to all de
corum ; every Frenchman abandoned himself to his laughter, till the room
lairly shook i\'ith their shouts; and even the astonished commandant him
self could not help joining them. ' Allow me, sir,' said a gentleman sit-
ting by the side of the Irish lady, and whom I had not previously ob-
seiTed — 'My dear sir,' interrupted I, 'you are an Englishman, pray,
pray explain.' ' Sir,' he replied, ' you have just told this gentleman,'
pointing to tlie commandant, ' that his lather is tlie father of the whole
town; tliat he is made of stone, but has a wooden head; and at this mo
ment the workmen are engaged in mending his end, that the wind has
damaged.' I was paralyzed. ' TeU me,' I cried, as if my life had de
pended on his answer, ' what is the French for pier 7' — • Jetee, or, ac
cording to the common people, pont,' he replied. I had scarcely sense
enough left to assist the Englishman in his good-natured attempts to un
ravel the error. He succeeded, however, and I rushed from the scene of
my disgrace, justas the termination ofthe Englishman's recital exploded
an additional eclat de rire at my expense."
3

14 RIGID EXAMIN.4TION AT CUSTOM-HOUSE.
way through the sort of chevaux de frize of fingers, which
beset our course, we proceeded to the Custom-house, under
the escort of an officer. Here we all were successively
subjected to a personal examination ofthe most inquisitorial
nature. The officer first lifts up the hat, as if to com
mence with the crown of the head ; and then follows reg
ularly down with his investigations, essaying every pro
jecting contour of the person, and each loose fold of a gar
ment, with the pressure of his fingers. The extraordinary
prominence of one gentleman's large stomach — a real John
Bull, particularly became the subject of digital operations.
One of the officers seemed to take peculiar delight in
sounding into the mysterious depths of fat, until his fingers
disappeared to the knuckles, and a short grunt, ejaculated
with the expired breath, indicated that those vital parts
were sensibly affected by his thrusts, unprotected by a
breastplate of smuggled goods. The whole ceremony was
completed on the portly Englishman, somewhat in the
manner that a farmer addresses himself to the ribs of his
well fed ox, to gauge the thickness of fat which his stores of
corn may have produced. My spare lean sides pleaded
BO powerfully in my behalf, that I escaped the ceremony
of the manipulation of the gastric region, which might
have proved as salutary as that of Dr. Halstead. A cou
ple of oranges, the remaining stores of the voyage, were,
however, brought to light from a distended pocket. This
strict search may perhaps be necessary in such a thorough
fare for passengers as Calais, in order to detect smuggled
lace and other articles easily concealed about the person.
Indeed, there are frequent accounts of such detections. —
But this rigorous personal examination is altogether so
completely adapted to the detection of the vilest rogues,
that a gentleman feels curtailed of his fair proportions on
being subjected to the undiscriminating scrutiny applied
to suspected smugglers. This system operates like the

SITUATION OF CALAIS.— PASSPORTS. 15
iron bed of Procrustes, which reduces all men to one stan
dard. A lady informed me that she escaped with scarce
ly less scrutiny in another apartment, where she fell into
the hands of female Custom-house officers, who seemed
familiarly acquainted with every possible lurking place for
illicit goods about the drapery or person of a female trav
eller. After sunset, the streets werfe filled with groups of wo
men with no other covering to their heads than muslin or
lace caps, which they wear also when exposed to the rays
of the mid-day sun, a bonnet being deemed a superfluous
incumbrance of fashion. Nut-brown complexions, as may
well be supposed, abound here ; contrasted with which
are red cheeks of the most brilliant tints ; whether of
an artificial, or natural color, it would be ungallant to in
quire. Calais is fortified by brick walls, and embankments of
earth, upon which cannon are mounted, and sentinels are
constantly walking their rounds. The site of the town is
low, and the adjacent country appears like one continued
marsh, extending to the verge ofthe horizon. Navigable
canals stretch away over these fl.ats in straight lines to the
interior of the country. By the aid of these canals, and
of a considerable foreign commerce, a population of about
8000 persons is supported.
The necessity of carrying a certificate of the place of
birth, called a passport, similar to that furnished to a ship, to
be shown aa a sort of answer to those who have a right to
hail " where are you from, and where are you bound," be
comes indispensable from the first moment you step on the
shores of the Continent. To this document is appended
also the statement of the age, color of the hair and eyes,
and height ofthe bearer. The original certificate for an
American leaving England is to be procured from the
American Minister in London, and must be countersigned

16 MILITARY PRECAUTIONS ON ENTERING
by the French Minister resident there. This passport was
taken from us at Calais to be forwarded to Paris to the
general Police office, and in place of it we were furnished
with temporary papers to serve as a pass to that capital.
We were directed to report ourselves to the Police office
in Paris,, immediately on our arrival, to regain the original
passports. Taking our seats in one ofthe strange sort of vehicles,
called here a " Diligence," probably from the plodding,
persevering, night and day mode of its progression, we
proceeded on tJie road to St. Omer. The country between
these two places is very level, and has the appearance nei
ther of fertility nor of careful cultivation.
Our arrival at St. Omer was delayed till a late hour
of the night, after the gates of this fortified city were shut.
The conductor of the diligence, who acts as captain of the
vehicle, the driver being under his direction merely a sort
of helmsman, alighted from his commanding seat on the
top of the coach, and made every salient angle of the bas
tions re-echo with the strokes of a ponderous knocker upon
the city gate. Even the silent streets of the walled city
seemed to send back from within the sound of the clatter
ing metal. A voice was soon heard, and on the peaceful
salutation ofthe well known conductor, the keys, applied
to several locks, revolved in the wards, throwing back the
bolts with a clang of resounding iron. The portcullis
was raised, and the drawbridge was cast loose to descend
with its rattling chains. The sound of all these precau
tionary movements of bars and bolts,, at the dead hour of
night, is almost sufficient to chill the heart of a stranger,
accustomed to travel unquestioned at any hour, and to any
place. Still more chilling is the appearance of polished
bayonets gleaming and sparkling, as the light of lanterns
fall upon them, and discloses the files of soldiers drawn out
for security whenever the gates are opened. After all this

A FORTIFIED CITY IN THE NIGHT. I7
ceremony, and the due examination of our passports by the
captain of the guard, the passengers of the diligence were
permitted to proceed to  eat their supper !
On leaving the city before sunrise, the same formalities
of lowering the drawbridge, raising the portcullis, and un
locking the gates were again performed. At Aires, the
next city through which we passed, a few miles distant
from St. Omer, we crossed three or four drawbridges,
and passed through as many gateways, under the same
military honors. All this vigilance in observing forms and
ceremonies every night, during the state of profound peace
which prevails in Europe, must prove a great annoyance
to the worthy citizens who are snugly locked up within
the fortified walls.
The immense labor bestowed in the construction ofthe
fortifications of these inland towns constantly excites the
surprise of an American, who rarely in his own country
sees an embattled wall or a mound of earth thrown up
for warlike purposes, except near the mouth of some sea
port, to protect it from the attacks of hostile fleets.
At Amiens, about 100 miles from Calais, we passed a
day. This city contains about 40,000 inhabitants. The
various manufactures of wool once formed the principal
business of this place, above 8000 workmen, as it is stated,
having in former days been employed in this branch of
manufacture. Amiens has experienced one of those vicis
situdes which in the history of nations is found to be the
lot of manufacturing, as well as of commercial cities. A
small river, which runs through the town, serves to turn
several mill wheels ; but the few woollen and cotton mills
now in operation are moved by horses, in some^ instances
eight or ten in number, all toiling together'in a circular
path. One of the woollen mills which we visited, exhibited a
most singular and melancholy instance of the mutability
3*

18 AMIENS.— MANUFACTURES IN AN ABBEY.
of human plans and pursuits. On entering it, we passed
beneath an arched gateway, and found ourselves within
the walls of a once beautiful abbey, with its cathedral
or chapel,, gardens, and cloisters, still apparent, although
disguised by fixtures pertaining to a woollen manufac
tory. On the spot at one end of the chapel, where the
horses were turning the clattering cog wheels,, once stood
the consecrated altar. The remainder of the chapel is
occupied for machinery, several successive stages of floors,
being framed within the body ofthe building to intersect
by their horizontal parallel ranges the lofty Gothic win
dows, thus forming several stories where once was an open
area, extending from the topmost arches of the ceiling to
the flagged pavement. There were seventy looms for
woollen cloths, arranged on the several stages or floors, all
covered with mildew and dust, fi-om having remained long
unused. Much other machinery necessary for preparing
the wool for the looms, is also mantled with dust. The
primeval spinner and weaver, the spider, had spun his
matchless thread, and woven his gossamer web from beam
to beam of the deserted looms, and appropriated to his un
disturbed use the apartments which once resounded with
the anthem chant of the monk and the priest, and after
wards with the din of worldly labor. The silence which
prevails allows you to muse on these changes, until you
find yourself lost in reflections that address the mind more
powerfully than a sermon upon the uncertainty of earthly
pursuits. A few workmen are still employed here at their
Solitary labors, on the antiquated machines.
The machinery of this woollen manufactory, on a first
inspection, appears evidently so imperfect and inferior to
that used in English mills, that however carefully and per
fectly the processes may be conducted, an<i with the differ
ence in the actual price of labor in favor of the French
manufacturer, he cannot maintain a successful competitioUt

STATE OF MANUFACTURES. 19
(under the disadvantages last mentioned) with the propri
etors of Yorkshire looms.
Leaving this manufactory, at which we were received
and treated with civility, we next entered a cotton manu
factory, operated by three horses. Here not only the ma
chinery but the products of it are of a very ordinary kind,
and the operations are conducted in a slovenly manner.
Few cotton mills are to be found in the United States in
ferior in all respects to this French mill, and probably few
that do not produce cotton fabrics at a cheaper c^t.

AMIENS CATHEDRAL.
The Cathedral of Amiens is celebrated as being one of
the most perfect specimens of Gothic architecture. It was
buUt four hundred years ago, when this portion of France
was in possession of the English, under the regency of the
duke of Bedford. The dimensions ofthe cathedral are
about four hundred feet by one hundred and eighty feet,
measuring the extreme parts or arms of the cross, in the
form of which the ground-plot of this, as well as of
most other cathedrals, is laid out. Each wing has its pecu
liar name, one portion, as designated in the diagram, be
ing called the Nave, another the Choir, and the cross sec
tion, the Transept.

Nave

20 BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC CATHEDRAL.
Like other cathedrals, too, it has a floor paved with
smooth flat stones, and unincumbered by pews, common
in every American church in which creature comfort seems
to be preferred to a full display of architectural beauty.
As a substitute for pews, piles of rush bottomed chairs are
heaped up in stacks in the corners, where they are out of
the way. A tariff or price current of rates, at which the
chairs are rented, is affixed to the walls, and old women
are the lessors, who arrange them on public days for the
use of the congregation, and collect the toll on the spot
from those who take seats in them. The prices vary from
one to six sous, (equal to as many cents,) according to the
importance of the church festival.
Under the guidance of a venerable clerk, we made a
tour over the various parts of the edifice. On raising
the eyes to the ceiling or roof, whilst you are traversing
the flagged pavement ofthe transept, you behold the point
ed arches sweeping above your head at the great height of
nearly one hundred and twenty feet. Beneath these
arches are ranges of stone pillars formed of four clustered
columns united in one, the proportions of which are so ex
ceeding lofty and slender, that the spectator may imagine
them to be sustained by the roof above, rather than to sus
tain it. They seem, indeed, almost to be dependent from
it, like stalactites from the arches of natural caverns.
These magnificent cathedrals a stranger can never
cease to admire, however feebly he may succeed in convey
ing to others, in terms descriptive of architectural orna
ments and proportions, the glow of feeling excited by the
actual contemplation of their beautiful symmetry and lofty
designs. — It might almost be worth a voyage across the
Atlantic to view Yorkminster, and many other cathedral
churches of Europe.
Ascending to the roof, we had an opportunity of exam
ining the arrangement of the stones ofthe vast arch, which

ROOF OF ARCHED STONE-WORK.

21

we had contemplated from the pavement beneath. The
side walls are inclined over to meet at the centre, and to'
form one great span from side to side of the church, like
that of an oven, covering the whole interior with a canopy
or arch of stone of many hundred tons weight. Over the
top of this arch, and beneath the framed timbers which up
hold the roof, the exploring visiter may walk ; and if a
stone should slip through on which he steps, he might de
scend a hundred feet or more in the twinkling of an eye.
To sustain the immense lateral pressure of this great
arch, which of course must have a tendency to thrust
asunder the side walls upon which it rests, numerous
buttresses surmounted by half arches, called flying but
tresses, are constructed against the outer face ofthe walls,
as in the following figure.

22 DURABILITY OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS.
So perfectly balanced is the counter-pressure of the fly
ing buttresses at A, to resist the lateral pressure of the
stone arch B, that on critically surveying the successive
exterior edges, they appeared all perfectly true to a straight
line in their original position, and as free from cracks and
fissures as on the day they were completed by the masons.
These arches have thus remained balanced in air, high
above the surface ofthe ground, during a period exceed
ing 400 years. To accomplish this result in so perfect
and permanent a manner, great skill must have been ex
ercised by the architects who erected this cathedral. It
seems, in fact, that in the art of stone cutting and of ma
sonry, modern science can boast no improvements, except
perhaps in the invention of the superior cast-steel chisels
and other implements employed to v/ork the stubborn ma
terials. The remains of the stupendous stone structures
of Palmyra, Balbec, Egypt, and of ancient Greece and
Rome, in respect to magnitude and symmetry, are still
considered chefs d'oeuvres of art ; and every ingenious
architect feels restless and dissatisfied, unless he can ob
tain the advantage of an opportunity of inspecting the mag
nificent ancient structures, which modern art can only es
say to rival. The greatest deficiency in modern engineer
ing appears to be in laying substantial foundations, with
out which the labor of the workman is in vain. A Cus
tom-house, one ofthe most costly structures lately erected
in London, has become so much settled, that considerable
portions of the walls have been rebuilt. Even in West
minster Abbey some ofthe shafts ofthe pillars are braced
or secured by unsightly iron rods.
In the United States, so hurried are many job-con
tracts for the erection of public works, that the architects
too frequently see the buildings they have constructed
seamed with opening cracks when the stagings are remov
ed. There are not many public structures in the United

FORTIFIED WALLS AND CITY GATES. 23
States, built like these cathedrals, for posterity ; and those
few are in the Grecian style of architecture. It might be
a pleasing, but perhaps, a too costly gratification, if a sin
gle cathedral like that of Amiens, were erected in the
United States, as a sublime specimen of the Gothic archi
tecture of Europe.

FORTIFICATIONS AND CITY-GATES.
The fortifications of Amiens, as well as the town itself,
appear in a state of decline and decay. The narrow old
gate-ways ofthe city still remain, to the manifest inconven
ience of the inhabitants, being too low for the admittance
of a large load of hay. I saw even the public stage coach
or diligence stuck fast beneath the low arch of one of the
gate-ways, and entangled by the trunks and boxes piled
upon its top. The driver could get the diligence neither
backward nor forward. If the sound of passionate invec
tives could have produced an effect like that of the horn
under the walls of Jericho, there would not have been left
one stone upon another around the circuit ofthe adjacent
fortifications. The passengers issued from the numerous doors of the
vehicle in ill humor, like wasps from a disturbed nest, and
joined in the hue and cry against the obstructing arch ofthe
gate-way. The conductor, by their assistance, finally suc
ceeded in fishing out the crushed boxes and baggage, disen
gaging them one by one, where they had become wedged
firmly between the massy frame of the diligence and the
key-stone of the arch. An American, with his establish
ed opinions ofthe paramount importance of promoting pub
lic convenience at the expense of abating public nuisances,
can hardly fail of wondering that the people of Amiens
should quietly submit to the inconvenience of such con
tracted dimensions in one ofthe entrances to their city. —

24 s'l'A'ffi (JP'idkNUiUl'l'^.
Accustomed, however, from infancy to this inconvenience,
they probably bestow all their wonder upon the stupidity
of those of their neighbors who pile up their loads too high,
to pass beneath the arch ; sagely arguing like mine host,
who parried complaints about the inadequacy of his ac
commodations for his numerous guests, by replying, that
the fault was in having not too small rooms, but too much
company.

FRENCH MENDICANTS.
Public begging is well systemized here. Whilst the
diligence stops at the coach office for a relay of horses, it
is beseiged by a troop of beggars, who traverse around it
with their hats extended in their hands, as a substitute for
contribution boxes, and with their eyes upraised to catch
the compassionate regards of every passenger who may
chance to look out of an open door or window. They so
licit a few sous with a perseverance unchecked by a first
repulse ; which seems, on the contrary, to stimulate them
to resume imploring attitudes, and to renew more ear
nestly their supplications for a trifle for "un pauvre misera
ble." In giving utterance to this phrase, they perform the
part of true orators,and suit the action to the word ; for they
cast their eyes with assumed contempt on their own shriv
elled, pitiful persons, and invoke commiseration in the
name of God and the Virgin. They really look and act
so much like poor miserable beings, that one cannot re
frain from involuntarily thrusting the hand into the pocket
for the purpose of drawing forth a few sous for distribution
among them ; particularly when, by way of offering a val
uable consideration for a small trifle of money, they prom
ise to pray for a prosperous journey for the traveller. One
beggar was destitute of legs. He lost no courage by his
misfortune, but persevered, as observed in the ballad of
Chevy Chace,

Journey to paris. 2g
Like one in doleful dumps,"
" For when his legs were sniilten off.
He fought upon his stumps."
His lower extremity was snugly stowed away in a great
wooden bowl. He spun around, like a top, on this wood
en pivot, and sailed over the ground by lifting himself with
his hands, which he applied somewhat like oars.
At the foot of one of the steep hills, where the passen
gers are requested to alight to relieve the horses by walk
ing to the summit, groups of beggars are stationed in
readiness to issue forth like a swarm of mosquitos. They
continue to buzz around the traveller, first on one side and
then on the other, until it seems a cheap bargain to get
rid of their importunities at the expense of a few sous.
In the conduct of our guide, we had an unfavorable
specimen of the sobriety of Frenchmen, which has been
so often noted by travellers as exemplary. After the ram
bles of the morning, he anticipated a portion of his stipend,
in expending which he nearly incapacitated himself for
performing any useful services in the afternoon ; as he
could with difficulty walk erect or talk coherently.

JO0RNEY TO PARIS, AND AGRICULTURAL VIEWS.
From Amiens to Paris, a distance of about 80 miles, we
passed many villages, and through a country cultivated
principally under grain and grass. Sanfoin and trefoil,
among the grasses, give the bright tinge of their blossoms
to extensive fields. There are neither fences nor hedges
to secure the growing crops from the cattle. They are
not, therefore, permitted to range the roads at large, as is
common in the United States. No fences, indeed, are ev
en used to divide the meadow lands, pastures, and fields
of grain, of neighboring farmers ; but the crops of all sorts
are growing as it were sociably together, without a ditch
4

20 UNFENCED FIELDS.
or embankment to divide them. It must be obvious, that
under such circumstances it would not answer to turn out
cows, sheep, or horses into a pasture, to range uncontrol
led, as is done by New-England farmers on their well-
fenced lands. A string tied to a peg at one end, and to
the leg of a horse or the horn of a cow at the other, usu
ally limits the range of their grazing excursions. The
extent of the rope serves as the radius of the circle, about
which tbey vibrate from side to side, to crop the grass. —
To prevent the horses from being cast, or entangled by
the rope, long poles are tied one to the end of another next
to his heels. By this means no coils or embarrassing
loops are formed by the cord to entrap his feet, as it were
in a slip-noose. On a narrow strip of pasture between
two wheat fields, I saw a single cow grazing under the
special care of an old lady, who was seated on the grass
near the animal, and was patiently abiding a hot sunshine
whilst busily employed with her needle. Along another
similar narrow strip of pasture, a cow was feeding under
the superintendance of a boy, who had tied a rope to her
horns. Without rising from the ground upon which he
lay stretched at his ease, by jerking the rope he restrained
every movement of the animal toward the tempting stalks
of a luxurant field of wheat. To obviate the inconven
ience of constant attendance on the cattle in the pastures,
the grass is sometimes cut in a green state, and is given to
them in a barnyard, upon a plan similar to that of stall-
feeding in England.
The American farmer would realize what a labor-saving
contrivance his fences are, were he to witness, all the ex
pedients resorted to in a country where the necessary ma
terials for fences are not obtainable. Hedges do not thrive
so well in the dry climate of France, nor ijideed in that of
the United States, a^ under the more humid skies of Eng
land; where the abundant moisture is favorable to the

SHEPHERDS AND SHEPHERDESSES. 27
growth ofthe thorn. In this district of France, the soil
is of a chalky nature, in which few stones, except nodules
of flint, are found to abound. Trees, suitable for making
rails or wooden fences, are too scarce and valuable to be
used as a material for inclosing fields. Even the fruit trees
are exposed to the free access of pilferers from the public
roads. For want of suitable fencing materials, shepherds and
shepherdesses are still to be found in the fields of France,
as a substitute for rail fences and stone walls. Their ser
vices are not necessary to protect their flocks from the de
predations of wolves, but for a very different purpose ; — to
protect the growing crops, which border the pastures, from
the depredations of the sheep. To relieve themselves of
the laborious duty of running back and forth constantly be
tween the verge of the fields of grain and the sheep pasture,
the shepherds have resorted to the sagacity of dogs. They
appear to be an indolent race, lying down upon the grass
at their ease, whilst their ever active dogs take upon them
selves the whole management of the flock. These dogs,
as if conscious of their elevated station, and of the impor
tance ofthe command entrusted to them over the herd of
subordinate animals, stride gravely along the edges ofthe
pastures, like trusty sentinels, displaying, in their very
step and mien, what might almost be deemed an air of
magisterial dignity. Where the range of the pasture is
extensive, tv/o or more dogs are necessary. They pace
back and forth, meeting each other with the regularity o/
sentinels, half way on their allotted round, and wheeling
about like them to retrace their line of march. A French
gentleman stated to me, that so great are the docility and
sagacity of well trained shepherd's dogs, that their masters
have only to take them around the limits of the grounds
allotted for the range ofthe flock, and to designate properly
the bounds or lines for them to traverse, when they seem to

28 SHEPHERDS' DOGS'.
comprehend the extent of their task, and will suffer no eir-
rant sheep to transgress them. When a nose is seen pro
jected over this line, to crop the herbage beyond it, the
dog hastens silently to the spot. I noticed one of them,
attending a flock near Lille, to give a sudden and loud
bark at the very ear of the trespassing sheep, who in his
agitation at the unexpected rebuke, wheeled completely
around, as if stunned. Thus it appears to be the business
of the dogs, as well as of the shepherds, to watch, not so
much for the safety ofthe flocks, as for that of the adja
cent unfenced fields of grain.
The Shepherd-dogs sell for one or two hundred francs
each, according to the excellence of their education, as
the postillion expressed himself, in reply to my inquiries.
The shepherds themselves frequently take up their abode
in the fields during the summer, sleeping at night in the
little portable houses or sheds mounted on wheels, which
they move about at pleasure on changing their pastures.
I have seen them travelling along the roads between the
sheep pastures and the houses from whence they get their
supply of food, with their wallets or scrips, probably some
what after the fashion practised by the primeval shepherd,
David. The shepherdesses, as well as the shepherds,
from their constant residence in the fields and exposure to
the sun, have complexions quite as brown as those of the
native Indians oj squaws of America ; and, judging from
appearances, one would suppose them to be about as sus
ceptible of sentimental loves. Pastoral life, as depicted in
poetry, like many other conceits of the poet's imagination,
loses a portion of its charms when viewed in the sober
light of truth. The idle life led by shepherds of ancient
days allowed them such ample leisure to make love, that
the very terms, " swain," and lover, have become synony
mous. When the most worthy lovers were shepherds, and
the prettiest belles attended sheep out of doors, thought,-

FRENCH COTTAGES. 39
less of the modern contrivances of veils and parasols, all
might have passed for fair — a term which is, after all, only
comparative. A real modern shepherdess, it is certain,
possesses few of the charms which would attract or capti
vate even the most susceptible beau or romantic youth of
modern times ; and few indeed of the newly fledged young
ladies from a fashionable boarding school would listen to
a true shepherd, in the garb of a hardy laborer, with a
face indicative of exposure to the weather, and hair red
dened or bleached by the rays ofthe sun.
The English cottage, with its trim little garden in front
of the door, and flowering vines trained over the windows,
is wanting to cheer and decorate the French landscape
views. The view of these rarely fails of exciting pleasing
associations, as indicating some refinement of taste, and
bespeaking the prosperous condition of the inmates, who
have the disposition and the leisure to enjoy some of these
little luxuries, after providing a supply of the necessaries
of life. The cottages are not scattered along the roadside,
or distributed over the distant hills, with the appendages
of a great barn, out-buildings, and apple orchards, as is
commonly observable in travelling over New-England. —
On the contrary, a gregarious disposition prevails, all the
farm houses, or rather mud hovels, being built in clusters,
or small villages. The cottages of the French peasantry
appear very humble, the sides being formed commonly of
clay or mud, rendered more tenacious and less liable to
crumble by an admixture of chopped straw. Those which
I saw had usually two little rooms on the ground floor, and
lodging rooms in the garret. Into the garret the light is
admitted by means of holes in the thatch, closed by apiece
of board or shingle, as a substitute for windows of glass.
The villages are, however, pleasantly located in the vales,
surrounded by trees, which at a distance nearly embosom
them amid verdant tufts of foliage. The peasants reside
4*

30 FRENCH PEASANTS.
in these villages, which are in some instances two miles,
or more, distant from the fields cultivated by their hands.
On some of the roads, the traveller passes so many fields
in succession without seeing a single habitation, that he
looks about with excited curiosity for the dwellings of the
laborers who till the land. Very little attention is bestow
ed in preserving the door yards of the mud cottages in neat
order. The manure heaps,— the wealth of th^ farmer,, are
rather too ostentatiously exhibited in front of the doors,
and under the very windows, sending forth unsavory
steams. The French peasantry, it is stated-, derive their princi
pal enjoyments from social intercourse, frequently ming
ling togsther in small parties to amuse themselves by con
versation, and to join in the gaiety of a dance. At the sul
try hour of noon day,, we passed a house, the inmates of
which we saw moving, before the open door and windows,
in the mazes of the dance, to the music of a violin. An
English or American farmer would probably consider any
of his neighbors demented, who might set to with his fam
ily to dance a regular reel to the music of a fiddle, during
the broad glare of a mid day sun, as an interlude or rec
reation after the fatigues of the morning. The enjoyments
of the English and American farmers are of a more solid
kind, derived from the view of their well fed cattle, corn
ricks, and spacious well stored barns ; and from partici
pating with their families in the numerous comforts and
luxuries, which they succeed in collecting around them.
Less thought is here bestowed in providing those numer
ous small articles of household furniture, (except perhaps
stores of linen, which every industrious female maiden
deems a sort of dowry,) that contribute so essentially to
the enjoyment of the poor man's fireside. The laborer
here is content to take his hasty meal any how and any
where, provided he can make up by the gaiety of social

PARIS. gjt
intercourse, what may be wanting in substantial good
cheer. An industrious New-England mechanic commonly ap
pears to take pleasure in his business : but the French
mechanic is rather inclined to make a business of plea
sure. The former is disposed to provide not only for
the present, but also for the future welfare of his family ;
the latter, with stoical philosophy, seems to be content when
he has secured sufficient to supply his present wants, and
is afterwards ready to devote his leisure moments to rec
reation, leaving his children after his death to depend on
their own exertions for success.

VIEWS OF PARIS.
Few travellers can appj-oach this celebrated city without
feeling an intensely excited interest, on obtaining a first
glimpse of its domes and spires. Few, however, enter it
without experiencing sensations of disappointment on view
ing the dusky walls of tall houses, crowded upon narrow,
dark, and irregular streets, without side walks, in which
every description of clumsy equipage is in motion, rattling
along in close proximity with the walls of the houses.
At the gate of the city we were detained nearly an
hour by the revenue officers, who examined the portman
teaux and boxes, to prevent the smuggling of various arti
cles, which are subjected to duty on being transported from
the surrounding country into the city. The high stone
wall which entirely encompasses Paris, serves rather for
purposes of revenue than for a military defence ; and the
gates, with their ornamental arches and columns, are com
modious lurking places for revenue officers, as well as. for

32 REVENUE OFFICERS AT THE CITY GATES.
military guards. The wagons loaded with merchandise,
destined for sale in the city, are stopped and sometimes
unloaded outside of the gates, in order to subject their
contents to a vigilant inspection. Piles of boxes and bags,
containing merchandise, are collected in the area in front
of the gateway, as on the quay of a seaport. I saw sacks
of flour and grain examined by being perforated by long
steel probes, resembling rapiers, for which I mistook them,
as their points, polished by continual use, gleamed and flash
ed like those more deadly weapons. It reminded me of Fal-
staff's attack on the dead body of gunpowder Percy, when
the revenue officer thus armed with a steel probe pro
ceeded gravely to a prostrate bag of meal extended at his
feet on the ground, motionless as a dead enemy. He first
pointed his glittering weapon at it in a hostile attitude, and
then made two or three thrusts into the heart of it, with
all the deliberation Falstaff exhibits in the play. Even
the hackney-coaches or fiacres, on entering Paris from
thencountry, are regularly stopped by the officers, who step
up to the carriage door, and intrude their heads, whilst
they feel with their hands beneath the seats to uscertain
whether bottles of wine, or any other articles subject to
duty, are secreted there. After this detention, the con
ducteur replaced the baggage, and the diligence resumed
its lumbering pace through the atched passage of the
overshadowing wall.
The French government derives a very great revenue
firom imposts on wine, cattle, and on numerous other kinds
of articles consumed in the city of Paris. It appears from
one of the late returns, that the amount- collected at the
gates of Paris bears a considerable ratio to the duties col
lected at all the ports of France. An anecdote is related
of a wine merchant, who many years ago contrived to
defraud the government of the duty, by entering his wines
through a leaden pipe beneath the vvall, instead of through

.STREETS OF PARIS. 33
the gate. To effect this object, he hired two houses, one
in the city adjacent to the walls, and one without their
pale. He laid his pipes of communication between them,
and conveyed his wines through this concealed channel
into his wine vaults.
The diligence, like the English stage coach, stops at
the general stage office of the proprietors, where the pas
sengers are dropped, and are all left to find their way to
their lodgings. The porter, who took our baggage, used a
frame composed of a few light bars of wood shaped like a
common chair, and fitted to be suspended on his back. —
Bowing his body, he dexterously slipped the straps over
his shoulders, and erected himself under his load, like
another Atlas, with all the portmanteaux towering high
above his head. These he continued to sustain balanced
in their position, until he discharged them at the porter's
lodge at the hotel. Upon suggesting to him the conven
ience of a hand cart or wheel barrow for facilitating his
labors, he alledged, as a reason for not using porter's bar
rows, the inconvenient narrowness of the crowded streets,
and the want of the protection afforded by posts and edge
stones, there being no flagging for foot passengers. He said
that the wheel barrow would soon be crushed under cart
wheels. The whole street is devoted to those who ride, and
the humble foot passenger is liable to be crowded against
the walls by every horse that dashes impetuously along
under the direction of careless drivers, or perhaps to be
thrust aside hy the hub of the wheel, with its black pro
jecting greasy axle, the very approach to which causes the
Parisian to shudder and start back, as if he were about to
come in contact with an electrified Leyden jar. To es
cape out ofthe way, it is often necessary to dart into the
nearest open door or passage that offers a shelter.
Sallying forth in the evening with a guide or valet, whom
we engaged to attend us> whilst in Paris, we could not

34 STREET LAMPS.
fail of contrasting the gas-lighted streets of the English
cities, with the streets of the French metropolis, dimly
lighted by lamps. The lanterns are here suspended over
the middle of the streets by cords, awkwardly stretched
across from the wall of the second story of the house up
on one side of the way, to that of the house upon the op
posite side, where the cord passes over a pulley, and ter
minates within the reach of the lamplighter, who stands
on the pavement, and hoists up the lamp to its elevated sit
uation, after he has lighted it. It may be understood from
the description of the arrangement of this tackle, that
these lantern cords offered great facilities to the mobs dur
ing the Revolution, to enable them to hang speedily obnox
ious individuals who fell into their hands.

A FRENCH HOTEL.
Before going out in the morning, we took a survey of
our lodgings in the Hotel de Montmorenci, which was the
residence of one of the branches ofthe noble family of
that name, before the Revolution. During that distracted
period, it was confiscated, and sold at a trifling price, the
uncertainty of maintaining the title to it with the warranty
of republican France deterring purchasers from coming
forward. As the result proved, the title has remained un
disturbed, and for a small sum the purchasers, one of
whom was an American, became proprietors of a palace.
This building is similar to most of the best houses of the
city, and from a view of it one may comprehend, not only
the general plan on which French houses are constructed,
but also the manner in which they are occupied by the in
habitants. There are no flights of steps, ornamented v>'ith iron
rails, pillars, and porticos, leading from the street to the
front doors of the houses, as is commonly seen in the

HOTELS AND HOUSES OF PARIS. 35
United States and in England. The dark walls oflonw
ranges of buildings present tiers of windows, sometimes to
the height of five or six stories, with scarcely a door way,
except that of the shops, in sight. At short distances are
arched passage-ways, closed by gates, studded with the
broad iron heads of nails. They are turned heavily and
sullenly on their grating hinges to admit carriages. A
smaller door, cut in the great gate, and forming a section
of it, admits the occupants when on foot. The lower win
dows next the street are usually secured by strong iron
bars or grates. Every precaution is taken in the construc
tion of the houses to render them secure against sudden
attacks, like castles capable of withstanding any . unex
pected assault of mobs in the disorderly times of a revolu
tion. Instead ofthe ornamented architectural front, open
ly and honestly displayed toward the street, as usually
observable in the construction of private houses in Eng
land aud in the United States, the tall crowded buildings
of Paris are masked in front by this heavy wall of uninviting
appearance. The visitant enters beneath the arch formed
in the front wall of the building, and secured by massy
gates, as before described. Continuing his course on
wards, he emerges to the glare of sunshine in an open
court yard, flanked by the wings of the edifice. The
arched passage serves for the common way of entrance to
the numerous inhabitants, who occupy the wings of the
interior courts ; and also for the exit of the filthy waste
water of the drains, which here unite their turbid streams.
The gates are kept securely bolted during the evening,
and sometimes during the day, when they are opened by
the porter on the application ofthe sonorous knocker.
The office of a porter becomes, under this system of
management, a distinct branch of household duty, and is
commonly performed by a female,* who occupies her time
* The men who attend these gates as porters are often termed in French

36 HOTELS AND HOUSES
usefully with her needle, whilst seated in the little lodge in
a recess of the arched passageway. By means of con
nected wires, arranged like those for house bells, she
draws the bolt without rising from her seat. Around her
are suspended on pins the keys of the various lodgers or
occupants, who deposite them here for safe keeping when
they go out.
After entering the gate, and passing through the dark'
passageway, you find yourself in the midst of shrubs
and flowers, arranged around a yard, and the tall branches
of shady trees rise aloft, partly concealing with leaves
the wings of the buildings, which iiiclose a sort of hol
low square. All the expense in the usual architectural
ornaments of hewn stone walls, are bestowed in embel
lishing these interior fronts, which are not visible from
the street, except perhaps in glimpses through the open
gateway. It is a delightful transition from the narrow,
dirty, public thoroughfares, to these retired little courts,
thus ornamented and rendered refreshing by pots of flow
ers and verdant foliage. So little attention appears to be
bestowed upon the architecture ofthe fronts ofthe houses
facing the public streets, that some of the most elegant
houses in Par-is, or hotels, as they are called, occupied by
foreign ambassadors, have the rooms adjoining the street
actually used in some cases as stables ; and the hay I have
noticed protruding through the broken window panes.
The extent of the back wings affords accommodations
to numerous tenants who occupy one house. To accom
modate the several families, a flight of great stone steps
" Suisses;" probably from the circumstance tliat the natives of Switzer
land once were very generally employed in this trusty capacity in thecity
of Paris. Frenchmen who occupy this station are still called Swiss, and
owing to mistakes, which originated from this cause, many French por
ters were actually killed by the mobs during the stormy period of the Rev
olution, when tlie regiments of Swiss guards were massacred, and every
individual of that nation was hunted out and devoted to destruction.

OF PARIS. 37
serves as a common highway from one story to another of
these lofty and extensive buildings. The occupants of the
different wings and floors are frequently strangers to each
other, scarcely recognizing each other more familiarly from
occasionally meeting in these common passage-ways, than
in the adjacent streets.* It was not until after a resi
dence of a week, that we discovered that two of the inmates
ofthe hotel were our countrymen. There is no common
table or room, where strangers may meet and have an
opportunity of becoming acquainted with each other.
Americans who visit Paris usually take a bedroom
and parlor, or simply a lodging room. The breakfast is
the only meal taken at the lodgings. The other meals
are obtained at one of the eight or nine hundred coffee
houses which are licensed in this city.
The surface ofthe white stones, and also ofthe plaster
or stucco of the walls of the houses, becomes softened and
crumbled from long exposure to the weather. A coat of
dark mould and dust adheres to it. The lofty houses of
Paris have on this account a dirty or dusky exterior, which
renders them far less neat and clean than the freshly
painted walls of the dwelling-houses in the large cities of
the United States.

STREETS OF PARIS.
A shower of rain having fallen during the morning, the
gutters became immediately filled with torrents of water,
* Like the streets, this stair-way, as was observed to me by a person
long domesticated in the city, requires often the labors of a scavenger to
clear away the accumulated dirt, which not one good housewife thinks
it her particular duty to remove, and the responsibility, being divided
among so many occupants, ceases to call fortli the exercise of the broom
from any one of them. 5 VOL. II.

38 MUDDY STREETS.
which after the return of sunshine continued to flow in
creeping muddy currents, too wide to be stepped over. —
No crossing places or side-walks being laid for the con
venience of the pedestrian, he must fearlessly dash through
the turbid waters, or wait until they run by. The ladies,
at least those who condescend to appear on foot at such
times, very naturally take great care to prevent soiling
their dresses, by raising the skirts of their drapery — a cus
tom not unfrequent even on the dry smooth walks of the
Boulevards, particularly when a pretty little foot or a well
turned ankle is to be thus unveiled to full view. Even
the bright colored zone, that clasps and sustains by its
elastic embrace the glossy hosiery, is in this way unparsi-
moniously displayed. An American in Paris has speedily
an opportunity of discovering the clue to the otherwise
mysterious decorations bestowed upon the silken embroid
ery of a Parisian garter, by ascertaining that it is made to
be seen, as a showy part of the female attire.
POLICE OFFICE.
It becomes the duty of housekeepers in Paris to give
immediate notice at the police office of the arrival of
strangers beneath their roof At the general Police Office,
accordingly, we reported ourselves, and received the pass
ports which had been taken from us on landing at Calais-
At this office we entered an extensive hall, in which a
considerable number of persons were arranged on benches,
awaiting their turns to have their passports examined and
endorsed by the proper officer. Some of the persons pres
ent, who in the transaction of business necessarily travel
led frequently, presented little books annexed to their orig
inal passports, the endorsements in which had become
swelled to a small volume, giving a history ofthe dates of
their peregrinations, with seals of office, signatures and

SYSTEM OF POLICE. 39
stamps, in letters of blue, black, and red ink. A great
number of clerks are employed at the desks ; and on the
shelves around the walls are arranged countless pasteboard
boxes or cartoons, bearing labels relating to correspond
ence with the bureaux of Police in various parts of France,
which all maintain a constant intelligence with this grand
centre of Police of the kingdom. This system of requir
ing passports is maintained not so much for the benefit of
the people, to detect rogues and robbers, as for the benefit
of crowned heads, to detect insurrectionary movements of
the people. During the reign of Bonaparte, the system of
espionage was carried to a wonderful extent, and no in
considerable sums were expended to sustain a host of in
formers, under the name of " officers of the Police."
There are small books entitled " Guides,'' or " Pictures"
of most of the principal cities of Europe, which contain
directions to all the public buildings, and to other objects
of curiosity, with a concise account of each. The bare
description ofthe architecture of most of the magnificent
Structures, which these books elucidate, can at best excite
only a feeble interest compared with what is produced by
the actual view of them in their bold prominent outlines.
The very name of many an ancient building, associated
with important events of history, excites an ideal charm,
enabling the beholder to people the scene before him with
the heroes, kings and queens, the brave, the virtuous, or
the unfortunate, who once occupied them, but who now
live only in history and tradition. The squares, palaces,
and public buildings of Paris are thus often sought out as
objects of interest, merely from the associations connected
with them in history. The very pavement once occupied
by the scaffold of the guillotine, and bathed by the blood
of distinguished men, and the open public square where
once stood the Bastile, and where republican vengeance
has not left one stone upon another, are not contemplated
vvjtbout emotion,

40 RELIGIOUS ZEAL.
The open area ofthe square ofthe Bastile is encumber
ed by a shed of rough boards which covers the model of
a colossal elephant, fifty feet high, that seems in magnitude
like a mountain of white plaster. This figure was erected
by Bonaparte for a model, with the intention of placing
the finished figure as an ornament on this spot, to serve
as an elevated reservoir for conveying a supply of water for
the use of the inhabitants. All of the works connected with
this magnificent undertaking remain in an unfinished
state, like most other works commenced by Bonaparte and
not completed before the allied armies entered Paris.

CEREMONIES, AND PRIESTHOOD OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH.
The cathedral churches of Paris are not opened, like
the American and English churches, on one solitary day of
each week ; but their great doors are every day kept widely
expanded. The devout Catholics, it must be confessed,
excel Protestants in the frequency of their public devo
tional exercises ; however they may fall short of them
in attention to the serious observance of the Sabbath.
They do not wait to be summoned to the churches by the
peals of bells on each returning Sunday, as is common in
Protestant countries, where all the thronging population
meet at the church door at stated hours, dressed in their
best attire. Many individuals among the Catholics fre
quently anticipate the usual period of rising ; the first early
rays of the sun fall upon them kneeling before the altar,
engaged in repeating the matin service ; and the last rays
of the setting sun beam upon them, humbled on their
knees before the same altar, at the vesper service. In one
ofthe French villages I noticed that even the market wo
men, early in the morning, left their baskets at the church
door, whilst they performed their devotions within ; and

OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS.

41

their empty baskets were deposited at the same door on
their return from market at sunset. In the performance
of all public external religious rites, the Roman Catholics
generally spend more of their time, than any class of Prot
estants in the United States, or in England.
In the small country chapels, the service is repeated
commonly once or twice in the morning ; whilst in the
large richly endowed cathedrals of the cities, the super
numerary priests relieve each other ; and the busy me
chanic and idle gentleman may find a priest officiating at
the altar at different periods of the day. Persons are con
stantly seen entering the doors of the cathedrals. Each
one, successively, stops a moment at the font, to dip the
end of his finger in the holy water, or to apply it to a
sponge wetted with it and held conveniently to the touch
by some cripple or invalid, who takes this silent mode of
collecting a few sous in charity. The dripping finger is
raised to draw the watery lines of a cross upon the fore
head and breast ; and a few minutes are passed at the al
tar, either in silent devotions, or in listening to the ser
vices as performed by the priest. Every Catholic kneels
at his devotions — a custom which most Protestants neg
lect, as if ashamed to be seen in this attitude of penitence.
There is apparently a remarkable disposition for social
worship prevalent among the Roman Catholics, who prefer
to offer up their addresses to the Supreme Being from a
consecrated spot of holy ground, or at an altar, to retiring
to the privacy of the closet for this purpose.*
After the services are terminated, the Catholic with-
*It is stated, that when the royal family of Charles X. made their hasty
retreat from the borders of France, the Archbishop consecrated with tlie
proper ceremony a slab of stone, to serve as a portable altar, to be taken
along with them in their carriage, in order to save the time spent in con
secrating temporary altars whenever they stopped, that the royal family
might be able to repeat their prayers in private, in due form, at an altar,
and avoid exposing themselves at the public altars ofthe churches.
5* VOL. II.

42 HOLY-WATER RELICS.— CARVED IMAGES.
draws to his worldly business and amusements, regarding
the Sabbath as a holy-day for recreations, rather than as
consecrated to rest and to meditation. Before leaving the
church, he again dips his finger in the holy water to cross
himself. The font, for convenience of access, is placed near the
door. The " holy water," with which it is filled, is usu
ally procured from distant sources, not liable to be pollut
ed by common domestic uses. A large supply was once
obtained from the crystal waves of Lake George, whilst
the French were in possession of Canada.
I have several times lingered a fev/ moments near the
altars, to observe with what deep interest some of the low
er classes contemplate the relics of Saints, the beautiful
paintings of the agony on the cross, and even the carved
images arranged about the churches in situations most fa
vorable to arrest the partially closed eye of the devotee
whilst upraised in the attitude of prayer. There is a group
of figures in one of the churches in Paris intended to rep
resent the entombing of Christ. This sepulchre, in imita
tion of the original one, is hewn out of a rock, and the
figures sculptured of dimensions as large as life, are appa
rently all engaged at their task. I saw a female deeply af
fected by the contemplation of this group, the sight ofthe
spectacle having caused her to sob audibly, and her eyes
to be suffused with tears, which coursed down her cheeks
in sparkling drops. This remarkable effect may not
probably be often produced on the gay and thoughtless
population of Paris. One would suppose, that persons
might here in frequent instances become so familiarised
with these spectacles, and so habituated to addressing
prayers and vows to the Virgin, and to numerous Saints,
before whose pictures and images they kneel, as to think
less ofthe Great Original, than of the host of intercessors
between God and man,

ROSARY. 43
With some classes of persons it was once a common
practice to wear rosaries, or strings of beads, with a cross
appendant, as an artificial help to the memory, on the
principle prescribed in the modern science of mnemonics.
By telling over their string of beads, they were success
ively reminded of a prayer to be addressed to each of their
favorite Saints in the calendar. By this means the devotee
did not incur the risk of negligently forgetting any one of
them, when thus scored by a bead on the string ; and the
crucifix, of larger size than the beads, served as the em
blem to recall to mind the Saviour.
On the topic of religion, concerning which so much
difference of opinion has ever existed, observations are not
lightly to be made, Religion being an affair ofthe heart,
to be judged of by Him "who knoweth the secrets of the
heart," and not by an ephemeral traveller, whose observa
tions cannot penetrate below the surface of human char
acter. The few observations here hazarded are merely
intended as explanatory of some ofthe forms and ceremo
nies of this branch of the christian faith. Owing to the
long continued persecutions, which the early Protestants,
before and after the revocation of the edict of Nantz,
suffered from the intolerant professors ofthe Roman Cath
olic religion, a spirit of hostility has been transmitted from
father to son, among the descendants of the Huguenots
and other Protestants, which has doubtless produced many
harsh decisions, at the present day, upon the subject of
the Catholic faith and ceremonies.
To a superficial observer, the Roman Catholic religion
appears to be practically founded upon intercessions of
saints and priests, as interpreters of the Divine Will. To
render themselves of official importance, and necessary in
the ministration of religious rites and ceremonies, the
Catholic priests have discountenanced the study of the
Bible, whereby the people might have free access to the

44 CHURCH FASTS AND FESTIV.4.LS.
fountain of revealed religion, and might read and judge for
themselves. In order to envelop the ritual of worship in
still deeper mystery, one ofthe shrewdest Popes who ever
occupied the papal chair, ordained, that the church ser
vice should be performed in the Latin tongue, as the com
mon language of prayer for all nations. The common
people, like the Athenians, alluded to by St. Paul, thence
forth " ignorantly worshipped" the God of their fathers.
The priests further studied to occupy the attention of the
people by church festivals and fasts, processions and
shows, thus attracting the gay, as well as tl>e grave ; — now
enjoining fasting during the season of Lent, and then the
childish sports of the Carnival. In the barbarous ages,
this showy and imposing form of worship could not but
have produced a powerful influence on the imagination of
ignorant men, who must have been impressed with awe
and astonishment in contemplating stately cathedrals and
the gorgeous attire of priests, ministering M altars, which
shone with the effulgence of gold and precious gems. To
illustrate the devices of the priesthood to attract the atten
tion of the common people, Du Cange, in his historical
sketches, remarks that " In several churches of France, a
festival was celebrated in commemoration of the Virgin
Mary's flight into Egypt. It was called the Feast ofthe
Ass. A young girl richly dressed, with a child in her
arms, was mounted upon an ass superbly caparisoned.
The ass was led to the altar in solemn procession. High
Mass was said with great pomp. The ass was taught to
kneel at proper shrines ; a hymn no less childish than
impious was sung in his praise ; and, when the ceremony
was ended, the priest, instead of the usual words with
which he dismissed the people, brayed three times like
an ass ; and the people, instead of the usual response,
brayed three times in return."
Many of the notorious and most corrupt abuses of the

SALE OF PARDONS AND INDULGENCES. 45
Roman Catholic religion originated from the profligacy of
its ministers. The belief, prevalent in all christian coun
tries, that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much, gave rise to the public sale of Indulgen
ces and Pardons for sins ofthe most aggravated nature. —
In the first instance, superstitious individuals offered pecu
niary gifts to the priests, to induce them to intercede for
their pardon at the throne of grace. The priests thus not
only found their venal prayers a source of vast wealth, but
also of vast power ; as they became, by this means, at once
exalted in popular estimation to the important station of in
tercessors between the offended majesty of Heaven, and
sinful creatures upon earth. The various Popes, taking
advantage of the popular ignorance and superstition, of
fered publicly for sale through their agents, in the various
countries of Europe, special Indulgences to culprits for va
rious crimes. Emboldend by their successful career of cor
ruptions, the priests became at last shameless, and sought
not to hide their dissoluteness of manners from the public
eye. A class of people then arose, who protested against
the monstrous doctrines and corruptions of the Catholic
Religion, and who were hence called Protestants. They
were alternately persecuted and favored by those in politi
cal power, and finally succeeded in revolutionizing the
religious opinions of whole nations. In consequence of
this mighty revolution, the convents of debauched monks
and nuns were rooted out ofthe land, and monarchs ceas
ed to tremble at the interdict of a Pope in a distant country.
The people moreover ceased to believe that God deputes
any mortal to act, as many ofthe Popes claiming to be his
vicegerents upon the earth, had presumed to act.
The French priests are not supported by tythes, like the
established clergy of England, nor entirely by voluntary
gifts ; but they are principally maintained from the treasury
ofthe kingdom. It appears from a published document, that

46 RELIGIOUS PROCESSION OF THE
there were a few years ago in France, 26,66.5 priests, for
whose support government paid above five millions of dol
lars in one year.
The laboring classes have not as much reason to com
plain ofthe frequency of the church festivals as they for
merly had, when during nearly one fourth ofthe time they
were prevented from working, by penalties ordained by the
priests. A considerable manufacturer observed to me,
however, that Charles X. seemed at one time more desir
ous of restoring the reign ofthe ancient priesthood, and of
multiplying church ceremonies, than of improving the
condition of the agriculture and manufactures of his king
dom. One of these public religious shows or processions, still
annually exhibited, called the " Fete Dieu," I had an op
portunity of witnessing, whilst in Paris. A brief sketch
of it may serve to indicate how much attention is .bestow
ed, even in this age of liberal opinions, upon the observ
ance of the festivals of the Mother Church.
At the head of this processiori, amid priests and guards,
marched on foot through the streets of Paris the king of
France, the duchess de Berri, and several ladies of the
royal court. . The king bore in his hand a gilded staff or
truncheon, and proceeded with a measured tread, and eyes
humbly directed toward the pavement upon which he
stepped. The procession passed between long lines of
guards arranged upon each side of the street, who stood
with arms presented, and served as a fence to keep back
the multitude. No breath of air seemed to reach this
confined lane, walled in on either hand by human bodies,
whilst the fervid, sun annoyed the ladies ofthe court, and
scorched the hairless scalps of the bareheaded priests,
The ladies of the Court manifested, by their flushed
cheeks and necks, that they were truly in " sunny
France." Had they been compelled to carry the long

• -KING, LADIES OP THE COURT AND PRIESTS. 47
sweeping trails of their gowns, they must have sunk under
the effort ; but of this labor they were relieved by stout
athletic men, one of whom followed at the distance of two
or three yards behind each ofthe ladies, with his arms ex
tended to inclose in his ample embrace the multiplied
folds of superfluous drapery, thus lifted above the pavement.
The crowd seemed amused by the pageantry, rather than
impressed with any feeling of reverence.
The very streets, through which the procession moved,
are decorated by expanded sheets of tapestry, opposite the
royal palaces, from the store rooms of which they are
drawn forth in honor of this church festival. The tapes
try is exhibited extended on frames set erect on each side
of the street, and resembles in appearance great pictures,
wrought in worsted. Some of the pieces are ten or twelve
feet high, and fifteen or twenty feet long, representing his
torical and scriptural scenes, with the figures of men nearly
at full length. Where no rich magazines of old tapestry
could be brought to light by the proprietors of private
houses, pieces of hearth rags, chintz, and even common
counterpanes, were displayed from the windows of the
houses on each side of the way, covering the walls of the
lower stories with a continued mottled veil of cloths of va
rious hues. In several instances, I noticed that even
sheets, robbed from the couch, were broadly displayed. —
Some of the hues, of the bed-clothes, thus exposed to pub
lic gaze, were caused by stains and tinges of dirt, and
produced no very classical effect in the way of ornament.
After taking a station behind a screen, formed by one
of the sheets of tapestry, the sounds of approaching mu
sic soDU became audible, rising in the prolonged swelling
notes of an anthem above the voices ofthe multitude. A
large number of pretty girls, arrayed in snow-white robes,
and covered with flowing white veils, first appeared in
sight, advancing between the files of soldiers, and enliven-

48 TEMPORARY ALTARS IN THE STREETS
ing the march by the silver tones of their voices. Next
followed several little boys, also dressed in white gowns,
who swung in their hands censers filled with rose leaves,
which at every pendulous vibration allowed showers of the
rose leaves to descend fluttering through the air upon the
pavement, thus literally strewing the pathway with flowers.
The procession formed of the girls, boys, priests, court la
dies and king, stop, before the little temporary altars erect
ed at regular distances on the sides of the streets. These
altars are covered with images, candlesticks, pictures, and
a profusion of flowers, and are surmounted by a sort of
arch of intertwined leaves, and branches of trees. Instead
of a bass drum, and other musical instruments to regulate
the movements of the procession, a couple of pieces of
boards covered with morocco, and'resembling in appear
ance a folio volume, were employed as a sort of clapper
by one of the head priests, who, as he stepped along,
produced a clattering sound, in a cadence measured to the
step. The bowing before the images, and the genuflex
ions, are also regulated by the noise of this strange instru
ment, which the priest opens and closes with a loud clap,
as a signal.
The gorgeous dresses of the priests, and of the little im
ages, and the canopies that overspread them, are decora
ted with a profusion of gold lace and gilding. Indeed, the
whole pageant glitters with gold.
The procession had not advanced far, before a dark
cloud, which had been portentously gathering unseen, be
hind the lofty house tops, suddenly poured forth a drench
ing torrent, which soon arrested the progress of the fe
males, staining their white dresses with spots of mud, and
causing their wet veils and gowns to adhere to every out
line of their forms, as if glued to them. Dripping at each
fold of their garments, they retreated at last in a confus
ed rout, resembling in their discomfiture the witches in

CEREMONIES OF THE FETE DIEU. 49
Macbeth, rather than the singers of a religious procession.
The rain coursed down the bare crowns of the priests
until it reached their oily hair, when it trickled off as over
the feathers of a hen. In consequence of this storm, the^
ceremonies were postponed to another day.
At the day appointed, I resumed my station near the
palace of the Tuileries, to witness the termination of the
ceremonies of the Fete Dieu. The houses bordering the
streets through which the procession was to move were
again hung with tapestry and other drapery as before ; and
the appearance of the singing girls and of other pagean
try was nearly the same. The files of soldiers, drawn up
in long extended ranks on each side of the street, dropped
on their knees in the mud with their muskets in their
hands, as if shot down, when the Host was advanced and
borne along in front of them. None of the spectators,
however kneeled when the Host was elevated and borne
past them, as was formerly the case ; and as is still the
case in many |parts of Spain and Portugal.
This most mysterious, worshipful Host, to which rigid
Catholics are zealous in causing every knee to bow, is con
tained in a littie gilded box, that rests upon the convex sur^
face of a cushion, which the priest bears in his arras. With
this important burthen he walks in-state beneath a porta
ble silken canopy, elevated aloft aTsove his head upon four
gilded pillars sustained by strong men, who appear to tot
ter and bend beneath their load. The Host is actually
nothing more than the consecrated wafers, used instead
of the bread substituted by other denominations of Chris
tians for the communion table. With the ideas enter
tained by some devout Catholics, of the transubstantiation
ofthe consecrated wafers into the body and blood of Christ,
it became necessary to show the most perfect reverence
for this mystical personification of the great Redeemer of
the world, when embodied in the wafers. In the polemic
VOL. II. 6

50 GALLERY OF THE LOUVRE.
contests relative to this transubstantiation, the sword has
at times been called to aid the pens of controvertists and
to enforce the bulls of the papal hierarchy. Days of pop
ular superstition are now happily past by, and the pure in
heart deem that they may acceptably address their Creator
from the closet as well as from the temple.

GALLEKY of the LOUVRE.
To this gallery, containing a collection of beautiful stat
ues and pictures, the stranger hurries forward with highly
excited curiosity, to view productions of the pencil and
chisel, on which, during a succession of ages, the world
has delighted to gaze, and by which the artists have ob
tained a fame that has been spread throughout the world.
The gallery of the Louvre is adorned in front with along
range of beautiful stone columns,' which give to the struc
ture a magnificent appearance and produce an instanta
neous impression on the mind of the spectator that the
building is a fit repository for the finest specimen's of the
arts. This gallery is 1400 feet in length, and under the
reign of Bonaparte it contained a collection of paintings
and statues unrivalled in the world.
At the door two soldierS are stationed, who direct all
umbrellas and canes td be deposited in a room provided
for the purpose, where an attendant receives them, and
gives the bearer a ticket as a safeguard in the reclaiming
of his property. Without fee you are permitted to ascend
the grand staircase of hewn stone, decorated with sculp
tured marbles, and to pass forward to gaze at leisure upon
the masterpieces of art.
At a first glance, the extreme length of the picture gal
lery itself excites surprise. The single apartment, extend
ing above a quarter of a mile in length, is nearly filled with
spectators. Those at tlie remote end appear diminished

GALLERY OF THE LOUVRE. 51
by distance to the stature of cliildren. The walls on both
sides of this far extended gallery, are thickly studded with
paintings, in front of which spectators are loitering and
stopping in groups to examine them. Nearly two thou
sand pictures in gilded frames, many of large dimensions,
are affixed to the walls.
A whole morning will be occupied by the first stroll
through the gallery ofthe Louvje, merely to catch a glimpse
of each picture. At the termination of his rapid survey,
the visitant will be sensible of no distinct impressions ; but
he will feel overpowered by a confused sensation of dizzi
ness, produced by the rapid transition before the aching
vision of so many different sorts of bright colors and
shades, which seem flitting before him for hours afterwards.
Large historical pieces, landscapes, sea-views, sketches of
fruits and of flowers, wild beasts, beautiful nymphs and
frightful satyrs with hairy bodies and goats' feet ; the placid
lake reflecting as from a mirror a mimic landscape of the
adjacent shores, and the troubled occean in the agitation
of a storm, — all depicted by the exact skill of the limner,
are arranged here for exhibition. Here may be seen eve
ry variety of expression of the human face, from the com
posure of christian hope and resignation, to the fury of fell
despair and revenge, — a contrast far more impressive than
that between the elements of nature when reposing in a
calm and agitated by the tempest. When it is known that
a judge of paintings passes hours in investigating the beau
ties of a single picture from the pencil of a master, it may
well be supposed that repeated visits must be made to this
gallery to view properly every piece which it contains.
Numerous artists are here employed in studying and
copying the different styles of paintings. Among the
number are several females, some of whom are mounted
on flights of steps above the heads ofthe idle throngs who
frequently stop to intrude their unwelcome gaze upon the

52 STATUES, VASES, &<r.
works of the artists more humbly seated. One ofthe la
dies was engaged at hei easel in copying the picture of a
naked Apollo.
Notwithstanding the reclamatioms xaade by the Allies,
of the many fine pictures which Bonaparte transported
from their respective capitals to decorate the gallery, there
are still remaining some of the best paintings of Salvator
Rosa, Caracci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Raphael, Vandyke,
and Paul Veronese,^ — several of which, you will regard
rather on account of the names of the celebrated artists,
than for their striking beauties.
On the basement beneath the pictuie gallery, are the
halls containing the statues, vases and other marbles of
ancient and modern workmanship. There are many pe
destals without statues ; and the catalogue of celebrated
pieces of sculpture which " are not," is about as extensive
as that of those which remain. All the nations have here
selected their treasures of art, and have borne them away
triumphantly. Whilst the stranger sighs on beholding the
vacant pedestal once occupied by the Venus de Medicis,
a perfect model of the female form, and whilst he looks
around for the exquisitely wrought Cupid and Psyche, and
the struggling Laocoon, the imitations of which in plaster
are so common in almost every museum in the United
States, he cannot but acknowledge the justice of the retri
bution, although it has deprived him ofthe gratification of
seeing collected under one roof, the choicest productions
of painting and sculpture.
No small degree of interest is excited by the survey of
the ancient statues, upon which the namesof Roman Em
peror? are inscribed. Several of them from age have
become as tawny as American Indians. The Grecian
vases have- every mark of great antiquity from their
lustreless exterior. Whilst regarding all these ancient
specimens of sculpture, one cannot but go back in imagi-

PALACE OF THE TUILERIES. 53
nation to the best days of Greece, when flourishing in arts
and arms, before the scimitar of the Turk triumphed ;
and to the ancient " mistress ofthe world" befbrethe bar
barous nations, as they were termed, poured their conquer
ing multitudes over the plains of Italy. The spectator
cannot help musing on the vicissitudes of every thing hu
man, as he beholds in these works of the chisel the effigies
of Emperors, which have survived the wreck of the nations
they governed, and admires the same objects which for
merly attracted the admiring gaze of the inhabitants of
ancient Greece and Rome. The effect produced by be
holding the best marble sculpture of a well turned foot or
limb or of the contoui- of a bosom, is destroyed by the dis-
colorations and rusty stains sunk deep into the Parian
stone by time.
In the evening we attended the " Theatre Francois,"
and enjoyed a pleasure, often anticipated, of hearing the
celebrated Talma. In the slowness and distinctness of
his delivery he resembles the English actor, Cooke, caus
ing every tone of his modulated voice to be heard in all
parts of the theatre. It is somewhat difficult ' at first to
understand the stage accent or formal pronunciation,
which differs from the style commonly adopted in conver
sation.

PALACE OF THE TUILERIES.
The palace ofthe Tuileries, so called from the potteries
or kilns for burning the Tiles by which the site ofthe pal
ace was once occupied, next engaged our attention. —
When the king is absent from the palace, it is usually open
for the admission of the public. We found a crowd col
lected about the palace door, which is open only at short
stated intervals, when only about a dozen or twenty per
sons are admitted, in order to prevent the confusion that
VOL. II. 6*

54 PALACE OF THE TUILERIES.
would result from the indiscriminate entrance of the mul
titude. Notwithstanding the exertions of the gens d'armes
to keep at bay the crowd, about the threshold, so impetu
ous was the rush when the portal was unclosed, that the
pressure of -closely wedged bodies in the narrow defile be
came almost suffocating. An English lady, who stood
with her party patiently awaiting near the door, an oppor
tunity for gaining admittance, became entangled among
those who were rushing past her, in their eager haste to
gain an entrance. She was drawn into the vortex-by one
end of her shawl, which was speedily rent from her, and
her fine Leghorn bonnet shared nearly the same fate.. She
effected her deliverance, more by the energy of her lungs
than of her personal strength. Her shrieks, reiterated
with all her powers of vociferation, caused the very walls of
the palace to resound, and the throng opened; as if instinct
ively, at the cries of distress from a female voice, which
are recognised amid all the diversities of language, and
go to the heart wherever they are heard. The surging
crowd began to pause, to heave in . disorderly waves, and
to recoil from around the' spot, leaving the half disrobed
lady to rejoin her agitated friendsv
After entering the palace, we were conducted from one
apartment to another; stopping a few moments in each to
survey the rich furniture, consisting of mirrors of plate
glass, of the extraordinary dimensions of nine or ten feet
by seven feet ; of pictured tapestry hangings of worsted,
that resemble in finely blended colors the best oil paint
ings-; and of various other "baubles of royalty," which
the wealth of individuals is inadequate to procure. Even
the state bed is exhibited, and the throne on which the
king is accustomed to sit in state amid his assembled court
on levee days. These real thrones, which from the mere
novelty ofthe spectacle, are always objects of curiosity to
the inhabitants of a republican country, are simply seats

G-4;RDENS AND PLEASURE-GROUNDS. 55
raised on a slight platform, accessible by two or three steps
above the level of the floor. The throne in the palace of
the Tuileries is covered with crimson velvet, dotted with
gold fleur de lis, the escutcheon of the Bourbon family, em
broidered where the emblematic devices, of the figures of
golden bees, adopted by Bonaparte, were once sprinkled.
The drapery is trimmed at the edges with gold fringe, and
thq whole is overhung by a canopy of crimson velvet glit
tering with gilded ornaments.
The gardens and pleasure grounds adjacent to the pal
ace of the Tuileries occupy sixty-seven acres, nearly in the
centre of Paris, and afford a pleasant retreat to the inhab
itants of the crowded city. Great numbers of persons are
commonly to be seen seated on the benches near the spout
ing fountains, watching the ascent of the column of wa
ter, sparkling in the air, and gracefully curving as it turns
to descend, and listening to the soothing murmur of the
drops on striking the sheet of water in the basin, from the
midst of which it spouts upwards. Beneath the falling
spray several swans appear sailing around the surface of
the basin, as if rejoicing in the artificial shower that occa
sionally descends upon their backs. The gardens of the
Tuileries are laid out with regularity bordering on math
ematical exactness, which is less pleasing in a garden than
in almost any other work of art ; for here it is a depart
ure from the unstudied and beautiful arrangements of na
ture. Although the organization of the human fi-ame pre
sents exact counterparts, where the beauty of utility re
quires order, yet in the rural scenery the reverse is the
case; for no where on the face of the earth "grove nods
at grove," and " every alley has its brother."
These gardens and grounds, it is evident, afford one of
the principal sources of enjoyment to the citizens of all
classes. The laborer with his wife and even children may
be seen at the approach of a summer evening, after his toil

56 A SUNDAY IN PARIS. "
is ovet, entering the gates of these spacious pleasure
grounds, emerging from the confined views and stifled air
of narrow streets and small apartments to enjoy the reno
vating breezes which here prevail ; and whilst his chil
dren are sporting on the grass near his feet he appears to
be contented and happy. The Elysian fields, which are
a "part of these pleasure grounds, resemble a park shaded
by trees. Here, beneath the overshading foliage, the
Parisians saunter, or collect together in groups, to dance
or to converse.

A SUNDAY IN PARIS.
For the purpose of observing in what manner thousands
of the Catholic citizens of Paris pass the Sabbath, we
availed ourselves of a pleasant Sunday morning to join
the moving throngs, and to mingle with them during the
day. To enjoy the- promenades of the gardens of the Tuil
eries and the adjacent park, called the Elysian Fields,
appeared to be the first recreation resorted to for the moto-
ing. Here we found great numbers of the citizens amus
ing themselves with games, of various kinds. Some were
engaged in playing at ball, and others at the game of
ninepinsi* Near these persons, thus occupied by their
noisy sports, were busily employed the carpenters engaged
in erecting a temporary wooden theatre, with the stage
and scenery, constructed at the national expense, for the
purpose of exhibiting gratuitously shows for the gratifica-
* This game is not played in the manner common in the United States.
Instead of a long smooth wooden platform, a smooth level spot on the
bare earth is selected. The player tosses firom a distance of only three or
four yards a huge wooden ball, larger than his head, into the midst ofthe
phalanx of erect pins, which are thus overthrown by ranks, without re
quiring the exertion of much skill.

A SUNDAY IN PARIS. 57
tion of the populace of Paris, at the coronation of Charles
X. When the building of theatres on the Sabbath is thus
publicly authorized by the government, it may well be
supposed that individuals do not hesitate to pursue theix
ordinary labors on the same day. We accordingly noticed
masons and carpenters occupied in constructing houses,
as if they knew no reviving Sabbath to refresh them after
six days of toil ;- and where the workmen are not seen,
the click of the trowel and the sound of the hammer be-
tray their unguspended tasks.
Bonaparte, it is stated, was at one time an advocate for
this unchristian-like economy of time, averring that too
heavy a tax was^ exacted of poor laborers by causing them
to lose one day in seven in unproductive idleness, which,
if industriously appropriated, might enable them to earn a
more comfortable snbsistence. The advantages resulting
to the laborer himself from a suspension of his labors dur
ing one day of the week could not eventually have escap
ed that accurate observer. He must, on mature consid
eration, have perceived that with a given amount of work
to be accomplished in a year of 300 days, appropriated ^to
labor by a certain number of hands, if 1-7 more working
days were allowed to them, the result would prove the
same as if 1-7 more workmen were added to perform the
task. In this case, by the increased competition, the la
borers themselves would probably be actual losers, as they
would earn less by seven days labor than by six.* Without
*The same argument might perhaps be applied to reducing the time of
daily labor for mechanics from twelve to ten hours. Unless restrained by
a sense of religious obligation, enforced by statute laws for tlie observance
of rest from la:bor, enterprising and active individuals would cootinue to
work for the usual time each day, when stimulated by the prospect 06 ad
vancing their fortunes. For this reason, if for no other, the period of dai
ly labor, will probably continue nearly as it was two thousand years
ago, before die parable was uttered relative to the laborer who entered the
vineyard at the eleventh hour. In order to counteract tlie cupidity of the

53 MONT MATRE.
taking into the account the important moral advantages of
the observance of the Sabbath, it is certain that the phys
ical enjoyments of the laborers themselves are materially
augmented by it.
The opportunity for calm reflection thus allowed to the
employers as well as to the employed, enables them to
pause in their hurried career ; and their judgments thus
become more cool and discriminating, after the fervent
pursuits of the week are past. Even the pursuits of busi
ness, recommenced after a season devoted to sober reflec
tion, are more likely to terminate in a successful result.
Continuing our stroll, we ascended the hill of Mont
Matre, situated in the suburbs of Paris. This hill, rising
manufacturers, a Bill has been brought before the British Parliament, for
bidding, under severe peoalties, the employment of children in mills for
more than ten hours a day.
It might be considered by the philanthropist, as one of the benefit& re
sulting from modern inventions in machinery, if they could be made- the
means of actually diminishing in-ti degree the appointed tasks of human
labor, and of enabling laborers to devote a greater portion of their time to
the improvement of their liiindfi. Were this to be tlie result, no benevolent
individual could hesitate to promote so desirable a change. But, alas for
human nature ! an increase of leisure hours seems rather adapted to a
state of society farther advanced in the general practice of moral virtues.
Rarely indeed are mechanics foimd to profit by increased leism*e, which
is usually dissipated in the company of idle companions. It is in the pow
er of most mechanics who feel ambitious to exert themselves, to save from
unnecessary hours of slumber sufficient time for reading and study to ren
der themselves most intelligent and respectable members of society ; for it
is well known that in some instances the most remarkable proficiency in
scientific acquirements has been thus Acquired.
The question seems yet unsettled, how far a relaxation fi-om the ordina
ry habits of persevering labor contributes to promote human happiness.
The primeval doom of man, that " by the sweat of his face he shalt eat
his bread, till he return unto the ground," seems by the wise decrees of
Providence to render his lot more happy ; as the industrious are found to
be more cheerful and contented tlian the idle, The market price for hu
man labor, ae well as for the products of it, in despite of all combinations
to reduce or to raise its value, must be inevltabjy regulated by the compaV'
ative supply and demand.

GUINGUETTES. 59
with steep sides high above the house-tops of the city,
commands an extensive view of a sort of sea of wavy roofs.
interrupted by projecting chimneys, spread about over an
area of many thousand acres. On this commanding emi
nence was planted on the approach of the Allied Army to
Paris, a battery of cannon under the charge of the gallant
scholars of the Polytecnic school, who were among the
last to desert Bonaparte in his-desperate fortunes.
Here we also found the citizens assembled to enjoy the
refreshing air of this elevated spot, and to participate in
the cheap amusements and refreshments which the public
houses and gardens afford. In these places of resort, call
ed Guinguettes, are to be seen popular diversions of the
most puerile kind,- in which men take an active part,
shooting with little cross-bows at a mark, riding wooden
horses fixed upon the ends of pieces of crossed timbers
revolving horizontally in a circle as if seated on a wheel
revolving on its axle. At every returning revolution, the
riders on each wooden Pegasus aims to catch upon the
point of an iron skewer or dagger small iron rings sus
pended for this purpose. Those riders who succeeded in
threading their little daggers through the greatest number
of these iron rings, and exhibit them at the termination of
the ride, dangling triumphantly to be scored by the keep
er, get clear of paying for their rides, wine, and cakes,
which are the usual stakes upon the game. Girls, as well
as young men, are actors in these feats. They all ap
peared as much delighted as children, and partook of their
respective shares of the cakes and wine with equal glee.
Dancing is constantly going on, as if performed with a
long-winded zeal "to tire each other down.'' These
amusements, as one of the keepers informed me, always
take place on pleasant Sundays ; and also on the days of
the church festivals.
After partaking of a late dinner at one ofthe coffee-

60 GARDEN OF TIVOLI.
houses, with an unusual crowd of the gay and fashionable,
we took a fiacre, or hackney-coach, and rode to the

GARDEN OF TIVOLI.
These grounds are decorated with pavilions, and walks
beneath the shade of trees, upon which myriads of little
colored glass lamps are arranged, suspended amid the
over spreading canopy of green leaves. These lamps were
all prepared for being lighted, at the approach of darkness,
We found the garden full of visiters.
Our attention after entering the gate was first attracted
by rumbling sounds, resembling peals of thunder, at inter'
vals, rolling at a distance. Emerging from amid the trees,
we soon discovered that the strange noise we had heard
proceeded from the " Russian mountain." These Russian
mountains are artificial mounds or hills, ^ constructed to
give children of latger growth the pleasures enjoyed by
Russian or New-England school boys, when they can
mount their sleds and slide down the inclined plane of the
side of some ice-covered hill, with a velocity that renders
them almost breathless. -As a substitute for the sleds and
slippery ice, a railway is laid from the summit to the bot'
tom of the hill, a distance of about three hundred yards,
vvith a descent of^about sixty feet, most of which takes place
at the onset or first plunge from the summit. Upon this
railway cars are fitted to roll with the utmost velocity which
the steep artificial declivity will produce by the effect of
gravitation. After toiling up the ascent to the little tem
ple which crowns the summit of the mound, we found it
occupied by well dressed ladies and gentlemen waiting to
take their seats in rotation in the little cars, to ride down
the steep slope of the Russian mountain, each one paying
a few sous for the ride. From beneath this little temple,

RUSSIAN MOUNTAINS. Gj
jjYoceed the sounds of the machinery for drawing up the
empty cars, to perform which labor a horse is constantly
employed. So abrupt is the descent at first, that the \e-
hide abruptly seems to fall a few yards, and to slip out or
sink from beneath tJie passenger, at the onset of its furious
career. Whilst we stood patiently awaiting an opportu
nity of embarking in our turn, several ladies took their
seats, and were shoved off the verge, apparently shudder
ing as they approached the fearful launch, and, at the in
stant of being precipitated fi-om it, catching a long-drawn
breath, and uttering a scream, half in terror and half in
delight, at their novel situation and sensations. Bounding
forward in their rapid course, their Leghorn bonnets were
blown backj.andtheir shawls fluttered and streamed like
pennons from their shoulders. Such was the situation of
some of the women, who committed themselves to -this
strange and perilous vehicle, that a common share of per
sonal prudence ought to have restrained them from the
hazard of encountering the agitation produced by the
precipitate career of railway cars. They, however, like
the other passengers, became highly diverted by the amuse
ment, laughing as they swept by us almost too swiftly to
be distinctly seen. In turn, one of my friends and myself
took a seat, and were shoved off the brink, at the same mo-
mentalmost involuntarily shiitting our eyes and holding our
breath.' Upon opening my eyes, I found myself approach
ing with great velocity the low arch of a stone bridge, the
key stone of which over the railway appeared to have been
disjointed and to have settled so low as nearly to close the
passage and to intercept our course. Our fate seemed
inevitable. We were instantly dashed — not against the
stone Work but against a piece of canvas^ deceptively
painted to represent a stone arch, which was brushed
lightly aside by our hats, producing no other damage than
lufHing the nap and disturbing the current of sensations ia
VOL. II. 7

02 AMUSEMENTS OF A SUNDAY EVENING?.
the head beneath it. A gentleman stated to me that these
cars have several times run off the rails, or thrown out the
passengers and broken their legs and arms. The wound
ed have been taken out of the way, to the surgeons, and all
is soon forgotten by the thoughtless crowds bent on pleasure.
Strolling about among the various groups collected in
different parts of the garden, we first encountered some par
ties dancing on the turf to themusic of a band of perform
ers. We next came to a small theatre with a proper
stage and drop curtain facing the open garden, the spec
tators being seated in chairs in the area usually called the
pit, with the blue vault of heaven for the canopy. Fan
dangos and wooden horses served to entertain other par
ties, and a few adventurous individuals were mounted on
velocipedes, and riding, over the toes" of gazing idlers, or
running a tilt with their awkwardly guided steeds against
trees, and upsetting little boys. Others were occupied in
trying the force of blows from their fists on a cushion rest
ing on a spring with an index attached to it. An Ameri
can, it was stated to me, beat down both the spring and
index with a single blow of his ffst, which astounded the
attendant as much as if the blow had alighted on his own
head. Many were strolling around, like ourselves, to view the
spectators as well' as the spectacles. Soon after the lamps
were lighted, and the fire- works had begun to scatter their
sparks in the air, we left the garden, and joined the throngs
which were moving towards the theatres.
On Sunday evenings, the theatres are resorted to even
by the laboring classes, as if to close a holy-day with this
recreation. Although no celebrated performer or remark
able piece was announced, yet the street in front of the
theatre we visited was filled, for an hour or two before the
doors were opened, by persons anxious to obtain the best
seats. The arrangements of the police for preventing the

THEATRES. 63
tumultuous rush in procuring tickets of admission to the
theatres, such as have sometimes occurred in the Ameri
can theatres, are perfectly effective. Gens d'armes* are
stationed not only about the theatres, but in the adjacent
streets or avenues leading to them. They caused the
applicants for tickets to arrange themselves upon the side
of the pavement in a sort of procession, two by two, ex
tending several hundred yards from the door of entrance.
Not comprehending at first the utility of this tedious snail
like progress, we proceeded at once to the place of our
destination in advance ; but a tap from the flat side ofthe
sabre of one of the soldiers, served as a hint for us to
make a retrograde movement. We observed as we reced
ed, the smiles which the example of our disgrace lit up on
the countenances of those who were quietly awaiting their
proper turn.
The soldiers keep the crowd under a rigid surveillance,
which resembles that of a niilitary drill. They pre
serve the ranks duly arranged, and check every disorderly
movement. Supposing this concourse to be unusual, I inquired of
one of the gens d'armes if it were a common circumstance
for so many persons to press for admittance to the theatre
on Sunday evenings. He replied, when the weather is
pleasant, it is almost always the same. So prevalent is
this fondness for theatrical exhibitions, that even the
scenes of the Revolution did not check them. After wit
nessing the tragical executions ofthe guillotine during the
morning, it is related that no less than thirty theatres, in
dependent of other places of amusement, were fully attend
ed each evening, as if no occurrence had taken place suf
ficiently serious to throw a gloom over public diversions.
*These Gens d'armes may be considered as a sort of armed copstables
Stationed to preserve the peace and enforce tlie laws in all the towns and
villages of France. They are admirably well calculated to give efficiency

64 A GAMING-HOtrSE.

A GAMING HOUSE.
After the theatrical performances were terminated, we
concluded to witness one mOre of the scenes ofdissipation
which a Sunday evening exhibits in Paris. We therefore
visited the Hotel Frescati, the most, fashionable and cele
brated gaming house licensed in thecity by the government.
Servants in livery were in attendance in an anticham-
ber. They took our hats, giving us tickets which -entitled
us to reclaim them on our exit. They then threw open the
door of a saloon, and disclosed to ou^ view a l^ge number
of gentlemen and a few ladies^ or females whose dress
and manners indicated them to be such, collected around
a long table. This was literally the " gaining table". —
It vvas covered with a green cloth, checkered - into mysti
cal squares of divers colors, upon which were lying piles
and rouleaux of gold coin. The principal g;'m« played
here is called " Rouge et Noir," oT " Red and Black,'-'
from the colors of the cards which are shuffled by the per-
to the police of a city like I'aris, as tbey have tlie power of enforcing
tlieir precepts or orders with their swords, should resistance render a re
course to'this, weapon necessary. They \\;ear regular- uniforms, and old
fashioned cocked hats, andare armed with muskets-as well as swords.—
They serve both on" horse back and on fpot. In walking through the
streets of Paris in the e^'ening, their weapons may often be seen gleaming,
as the rays of light from the lartips fall upon them. They also serve civil
processes, in the administration ofthe law. During the tlieatrical repre
sentations, a tipstaff makes his appearance on the stage in the character
of one of these gens d'armes, to take off the unfortunate . heroes of the
piece to prison, where a deputy-sheritr or constable would officiate on
the London or American stage. The representation of an. arrest on the
French stage has therefore the appearance of a military rather tlian of a
civil process. Judgiifg from expressions which I have several times heard,
their rigid control is not very agreeable to the .populace. It is stated tliat
no applicant is admitted lo this favored corps without satisfactory recom
mendations; and that it is considered a desirable station by the common
people.

ROUGE ET NOIR. 65
son who presides at the table. He turns up in succession
a certain number of cards, and as the red and black spots
happen to run, he declares in a loud voice, which alone
breaks the deep silence, that " the red wins," or " the
black wins." They are winners, who may have placed
their money upon the fortunate square of the cloth, while
the deposites on the losing color are speedily transferred,
by means of a rake with a long handle, to the great pile of
gold, composing the bank, as it is termed, or the capital
of the person who keeps the table, and stakes against the
company. The chances of the game of Rouge et Noir
are nearly the same in favor ofthe table as in the com
mon lotteries.
The persons who were seated at the table were so in
tently engaged at the game, that they scarcely raised their
eyes to regard our entrance, but continued to study the
chances, if such a subject admits of study, with an ab
sorbing devotedness, pricking with their little steel points
small holes through their pasteboard tablets on the hlack
and red leger-lines, alternately, as these color.% were call
ed out. They are thus enabled to keep an exact score or
account of the preponderance in favor of either color, and
whenever one color has had a run an unusual number of
times, they deem the next hazard to be in favor of the
unsuccessful color, and lay down boldly their rouleaux of
gold upon it, calculating that the cards having a further
sequence of the same color will not be continually turned
up in succession. In this way, on the turning up of the
color of a card, several thousand francs are in a few mo
ments won or lost.
I took a stand near the table and watched the fluctua
ting tides of fortune, which alternately swelled and dimin
ished the little heaps of yellow coin piled around the table
under the hands of the players. The ladies, as well as
the gentlemen, deposited their gold upon the checkered
VOL. II. 7*

66 GAMBLING.
squares of tlje green cloth, with apparent indifference as
to the result. Under this assumed air of indifference, a
hurried manner of movement always betrayed the harrow
ed feelings of the gamester. The countenance of one of
the players, who was staking very .largely when I entered,
attracted my earnest gaze, as the unnatural fireof a-wild
eye, and the deep flush of a glowing cheek, succeeded the
paleness, that at first rendered the expression Cold and
passionless. As a sort of payrnent for the show, I laid down what I
deemed the exhibition was worth — a five franc piece, which
proved an unwelcome guest in company with the gold, the
man with the long rake pushing it dexterously back to rae,
and pointing to another room. Hastily following the
course pointed out by him, in order to escape the obser
vation which the appearance of the white silver amid the
yellow gold had excited, I passed through a door into an
other saloon, where a similar silent company were assem
bled, and where humble silver was condescendingly ad-
mitte.d upon the cloth. , Having taken a glance at several
other adjacent saloons, exhibiting a similar scene of gamb
ling, I retreated without waiting for the refreshments which
are gratuitously given to the "¦ friends" of the establish
ment. Thus unprofitably was passed a Sunday in the metropolis
of " his most Christian Majesty," and in one of the most
refined cities of the world.
Among the most unpopular decrees of the late king was
that which aimed at a more strict observance of the Sab
bath, by ordering that the shops should not be opened on
Sunday. These gaming houses, however, were less objec
tionable to Royalty, as a very considerable revenue is de
rived from the licenses granted to them. From licenses for
this prolific sourca-of wretchedness, Bonaparte raised more
than two millions and a half of dollars per annum.

PALACE OF JUSTICE. g?
After hearing mass in the morning, a rigid Catholic, it
was stated to me, feels no scruples about opening his shop
or counting-house for purposes of business. The gay and
thoughtless hesitate not to enjoy their amusements ; and
the music for dancing may often be heard by the passengers
in the streets. The jnultitudes of Paris thus endeavor to
dissipate their serious thoughts, and maintain a levity of
mind by a round of exciting amusenients, apparently seek
ing that happiness abroad in the streets, public gardens,
and theatres, and in social intercourse, which the inhabi
tants of some countries look for at home in the domestic
circle.

P.4.LACE OF JUSTICE.
The Palace of Justice is visited by the stranger on ac
count of its having been the scene of the sufferings of
many eminent men during the sanguinary events of the
French Revolution. The building serves at present for
the accommodation of the Courts of Justice above ground,
and for the dungeons for criminals in the stone vaults be
low the ground. Here may be seen the apartment in
which Marie Antoinette was confined previously to her ex
ecution. This room is now converted into a chapel with a
tablet to her memory. In this building the most learned
and the best of men, as well as the worst, have been in turn
immured. Here were passed the last days of the cele
brated chemist Lavoisier, and of Condorcet the metaphy
sician, and ofthe poet Malesherbes. The escape of La-
valette, it is well known, was effected from these dun
geons by the aid of his attached wife, who exchanged her
apparel for that of her husband, and thus enabled him to
elude the vigilance of the guard. After viewing these
dungeons, and musing upon the anguish that has wrung
here many a heart which has ceased to beat, we continued

68 CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES.
our walk to the " Morgue," a small building on the banks
of the Seine, in which the bodies of drowned persons, or
of such as may suddenly expire in the streets of the city.,
are exposed to public view. When any person is missing,
the anxious friends immediately direct their steps to the
Morgue, or receptacle for the unfortunate dead, when the
body, if recognised, is reclaimed. It is of course frequent
ly difficult for the friends -to recognise a corpse after it has
become partially putrified. To, afford the most perfect op
portunity for the scrutiny, the bodies, sometimes two or
three in number, are at once extended on a sloping plat
form facing a grating, and the articles found with the de
ceased are hung up near the body. By the inspection of
the clothes they are able to identify the person in cases
where the body may have become decayed. The platform
was vacant when we visited the building. Many very
deeply interesting scenes, it, is stated, occur here every
j'ear, when relatives connected_by the most tender ties of
affection here discover their dead friends, stretched out
upon the inclined platform, standing in, nearly an erect
position, exposed to the public gaze.

CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES.
The front of the edifice in which the Chamber of Dep
uties hold their sessions, is constructed with a fine portico,
upon the plan of a Grecian temple, somev/hat similar to
the front of the Bank of the United States in Philadelphia.
On applying to the keeper of the Hall, or garcon de salle,
as he is called, although he proved to be an old man, he
promptly offered his best services in showing us the inte
rior apartments. The Hall for the accommodation ofthe
members is semicircular, with rows of seats rising one be
hind another, like those of an amphitheatre. The rooms

CHAMBER OF PEERS. qq
are very plainly and neatly finished, and like the chaste,
severe style of the Grecian orders of the exterior front,
they stand-almost alone among the public rooms of Paris,
as an instance wherein utility appears to have been studied
in preference to show. On the elevated platform in front
of the Speaker's chair is the tribune, or sort of pulpit or
desk, to which the members ascend in succession to de
liver their oratorical addresses to the assembly. To make
his speech, the orator must leave his seat, cross the area of
the floor, and mount the steps — a formidable task for a
brief address, and one that might have some good effect in
the Legislative Assembly of the United States, to check
a desultory, long-protracted debate, by rendering the
trouble of climbing in turn into the crow's nest of the tri
bune too great for the indolence of some of the members.
Desks and implements for writing are provided for each
member, arranged in a manner similar to those of the
House of Representatives of the United States.
The session of the ^Chamber of Peers is held in one
ofthe halls of the old palace ofthe Luxembourg, situated
at a considerable distance from the hall of the Chamber of
Deputies, and in a different part of the city. At the Cham
ber of Peers, we also obtained a guide to accompany us.
The old palace ofthe Luxembourg is a vast pile, construc
ted of hewn stone, having four fronts richly sculptured ;
each of which extends about three hundred feet. In the
centre ofthe edifice is an open court, which admits light
to the windows of the interior fronts.
Ascending a long flight of stone steps, we entered the hall
ofthe Chamber of Peers. There is presented to your view,
on entering, a semicircular room about eighty feet in di
ameter, adorned with pillars, and statues of men ofthe clas
sic ages of Greece and Rome. The form of this room, as
well as of that ofthe Chamber of Deputies, has some re
semblance in plan to that of the senate chamber of -the

70 STREET MUSICIANS.
United States ; but its architectural decorations are far
less magnificent. Every American who visits the halls of
the Royal National Legislatures of Europe,, cannot fail to
observe, that the Republican Congress of America meets
in comparatively more spacious and splendid rooms, and
hold their debates beneath more stately domes ; whilst the
chairs of the presiding officers of the Senate and House of
Representative surpass the thrones of royalty in elevation,
and nearly eclipse them in ornaments.
We were conducted to view the picture gallery and va
rious other apartments of the palace of the Luxembourg.
One ofthe rooms, was most fancifully fitted up by Mary
de Medicis, wife of Louis XIV. It presents the appear
ance of a golden apartment, as the walls, and even the very
pannels of the doors are gilded. The appearance of gold
thus profusely used, is rather gaudy than beautiful. The
gardens of the palace pf the Luxembourg, like those of
the other public palaces, seem.to be the property of the cit
izens, so freely are they admitted tp them at all times.
The marble statues which are elevated upon pedestals in
various parts of the garden have most sorry aspects, with
broken noses and fractured heads, that may be considered
as the scars they have sustained on their posts -during the
tumultuous scenes of the Revolution. The borders of the
walk's are adorned with pots of flowers and. full grown or
ange trees, arranged in large heavy boxes. It was near
the gate of this garden that Marshal Ney was shot. ¦
Street-Musicians. Whilst seated at the breakfast table,
a few performers on musical instruments sometimes strike
up.lively airs under the windows in the court yard. These
performers get their living by going from house to house,
and regaling the inmates with music, for which they re
ceive a few sous in return. In some of these strolling
bands are females whose voices are not devoid of melody,

FOUNDLING HOSPITAL. i^-j
and whose fingers are thrown over the strings of their harps
with exciting effect.

FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.
On entering the gateway of the great Foundling Hospi
tal of Paris, we were directed by the porter to address our
selves to some females in the attire of nurses, who occcu-
pied a sort of lodge. One of these nurses preceded us as
a guide to show us the establishment, and to explain its
rules and regulations.
Some of the departments of this hospital are superin
tended by a sisterhood of nuns, as our guide stated to us ;
who bestow their personal attention on the babes, deposi
ted here by wretched or unfeeling mothers, whose place
and duties they engage to fulfil, being devoted by their
vows to celibacy. They must be endowed with a truly
Christian spirit to perform these ungrateful labors where
the strongest ties of natural affection — those of the mother
for her offspring, have failed^ One of the nuns kindly
gave us all the information we desired respecting the re
ception of the new-born infants, and the treatment of them
within the walls of the institution. She stated that the
infants of very poor parents, or more commonly of those
unfortunate females, whose situation in life without this
place of refuge for the fruit of their unlawful love, might
tempt them to commit the crime of infanticide, are receiv
ed at the gate ofthe hospital without question or inquity.
The date of the reception of each babe is recorded in a
book kept for this purpose. After being properly washed
and attired, the infant is placed in a cradle in one of the
large halls or wards, where several hundred are arranged
in regular rows. It is an interesting and indeed a very
singular spectacle, to behold so many cradles, each contain
ing a little helpless being nestling and crying, all of them

6

72 FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.
apparently of the same size and age. Near the head of
each cradle is affixed upon the walls of the halls a small
printed paper, in the form of a certificate, with the blank
filled with the written name of the infant, if any were com«
municatedwhen it was first deposited ; otherwise, a name
is assigned to' it. The age and such other trifling partic
ulars as may have been ascertained relative to the birth or
parentage ofthe child, and the- day it was received at the
gate, are also registered. -This little record is numbered,
and to some part ofthe dress of each infant is attached a
corresponding label or number. It is often from this brief
sketch of their history that the foundlings derive the only
knowledge they ever procure of their birth and early life.
Offcasts, as it were, of society, the foundlings pass through
the period of infancy and youth with no kindling recollec
tions of a mother's smile, or a mother's love. The stran
ger, as his eye- rests on these numerous lowly cradles, feels
a shade of .melancholy steal over him ; and perhaps he
may feel his eye to be moistened with a tear, at the sight
of so many fellow-beings entering on the threshold of life,
in all the helplessnees and innocence of infancy, abandon
ed by those who in some of the cases seem to be without
the instinctive tenderness which brutes manifest for their
young.* I could not ascertain whether those who are reared by
this charitable institution become in after life valuable
members of society ; or whether, imbued with feelings of
misanthropy at the recollection of having been cast off
and abandoned in their youth, and ' left to struggle,
friendless and forsaken, they may not enter the field of
human labor and competition, with bitter sentiments to
ward their fellow-men. Whilst within the walls of the
*It has been stated in a printed document, that of the children born in
Paris in 1829, nearly 10,000 were illegitimate; and of tjiis number 7850
were abandoned to public charity by their parents.

SUBTERRANEAN REPOSITORY OF BONES. 73
hospital, however, the infants appear to be well taken care
cf, the nurses being numerous, and the stores of clean linen
abundant. Our conductress showed us quite a magazine
of clothes, all ready made and packed up, which seemed
sufficient for the supply of a little army. She stated that
there are at present about 80 women who attend the chil
dren within the walls of the hospital ; but that the infants
are sent out and distributed among three or four thousand
nurses in the country, as soon as possible after being re
ceived at the gate. The price of their board in the coun
try varies from 6 to 10 francs for a month. She said there
were above 4000 infants received every year, and that the
whole number supported at one time by the institution
has exceded 14,000. Thus a population equal in number
to that of a considerable town, is sustained by a single
public charitable establishment of Paris,

C.\TACOMBS OP PARIS.
From this hospital, the first scene of the youthful exist-
•ence of so many human beings, we proceeded to the cata
combs, the last scene of the mouldering remains of mill
ions of the hurnart race. We were disappointed in gain
ing admittance, although we had passed in our route the
" Rue d'enfer" and " barriere d'enfer," the "street and gate
of Hell." After effecting a piassage through these diffi
cult straits, we deemed ourselves secure of beholding all
the lower regions. By order of the government, the cata
combs have been closed for the present against the admis
sion of visiters, on account of the loss of several lives by
the falling of fragments of rocks from the roof of the pas
sages. We had therefore to content ourselves, after a fa
tiguing excursion, with reading the description ofthe won
ders contained in these celebrated excavations formed be-
VOL. II, 8

74 CATACOMBS OF PARIS.
neath the hills adjacent to the city of Paris, and beneath
some ofthe houses of the suburbs..
These catacombs resemble the chambers of mines, judg
ing from what I saw of similar excavations in the neigh
borhood of them. The excavations were originally made
beneath extensive hills for procuring building stone, this
material here being distributed in layers or strata,like seams
of coal, and not in solid quarries like granite rocks. In a
soft crumbling stone these veins of harder compact stone
extend horizontally, and are pursued in the same manner
as the drifts for following veins of coal. After the building
materials were extracted, the spacious galleries were left
empty. When the limits of the city became gradually
enlarged, above these subterraneous galleries were erect
ed houses, on the surface ofthe hill sides. The excavations
being all made beneath hills, above the level of the river
Seine, there are no springs of water to impede the opera
tion of working the quarries, or to fill them after they are
exhausted and abandoned by the workmen. These sub
terraneous quarries having been resorted to for so many
ages to furnish the principal building materials to con
struct a great city, it may readily be supposed that the
empty galleries must branch off and extend in various di
rections to great distances — several miles, as it is stated,
in dark winding courses and broad drifts.
When the French government passed a decree prohib
iting burials within the city, the bones of those already
interred in the various cemeteries of the city were dug up
and removed to these empty galleries, which furnished a
spacious receptacle for them. "For ten centuries the
Parisians were compelled to adopt a mode of burial which
in England would be thought to outrage decency and hu
manity. Pits were opened twenty feet deep, as many in
length, and six or eight feet wide. Into these, corpse after
corpse was flung in layers, until the putrid heap nearly

CiVTACOMBS OF PARIS. 75
reached the surface of the ground. The earth was then
thrown over theiri, and a similar trench was dug close -by
their side. Long before the loathsome mass could be
perfectly decomposed, the ground was again opened, and
the air was loaded with offensive and poisonous exhala
tions. Government at last interposed, and prohibited all
burials within the city, except in a few ofthe churches.
This enormous mass of corruption, composed of the re
mains of all who had been buried in Paris during more
than ten centuries, was conveyed from the place vvhere it
still continued to infect the air. The bones were separa
ted and carefully cleaned and packed away in the empty
galleries of these stone quarries.
" There were formerly several ways of entrance into
these subterranean galleries, which have been closed per
manently by order of government after they were discover
ed to be. the resort of banditti. The large bones of the
thighs, legs and arms of more than 3,000,000 of hu
man beings are piled together in neat order, the uniform
ity of their appearance being relieved by three parallel
rows of skulls arranged at equal distances on the front
face ofthe perpendicular wall of bones. Behind this wall
are thrown the smaller bones."
To this mass is every year added the bones of all those
who do not purchase the fee simple in the soil on which
their bodies are laid in the graves of the various cemete
ries. Five years are considered a term sufjficiently long
for the decomposition of the body in this clayey soil, after
which the burial ground is dug over, and the undecompos-
ed bones are added to the great ossory in the Catacombs.

MEDICAL HALLS.
Pursuing the train of oui; associations, excited by the
view ofthe cradles and graves of so many human beings.

76 SCHOOL OF MEDICINE.
we directed our steps to the H alls of those who help mnl;-
titudes into the world and out of it, called the Museum of
the College of Medicine and Surgery.
Ascending a flight of steps in front of a magnifiicent
edifice, we found ourselves in a large hall furnished with
skeletons and preparations of various parts of the human
systein. Every vein is distinctly exhibited, distended to
its full size by being injected, whilst the subject is im
mersed in boiling water, with blue wax ; and every arte
ry is filled in the same manner with red wax. Some of
the human figures are prepared to exhibit the vascular
system by injections of quicksilver, which renders visible
each minute ramification ofthe capillary vessels, some of
them as small as the spider's thread, and distributed with
wonderful elaborateness. The quicksilver sends forth its
metallic lustre distinctly through the semitransparent ves
sels. So numerous, indeed, are these small vessels to
convey the blood and secretions, and to act as absorbing
conduits, that they are spread over the-human frame like
a thick net work or gauze, in myriads of ramifications ;
showing truly that " man is fearfully and wonderfully
made." Here are exposed to view models in wax of every
part of the human body in sound and diseased states,
modelled in form with so much fidelity, and so perfectly
colored, that an inexperienced visiter might almost expect
to encounter the cadaverous atmosphere of a dissecting
room on approaching to inspect more nearly the waxwork
representing the flesh and sinews, as if just disclosed by
the scalpel. To render the effect more strikingly natural
and deceptive, some of the figures are extended on couches,
as if recfined to submit to the surgical operations.
In regard to wet preparations, or portions of the human
flesh preserved in spirits in huge glass jars, the variety
and number are so great as to be almost distracting to the
attention. Every part of the human body without excep*

SKELETONS AND WAX PREPAR.4.TIONS. 77
tion, pickled as it were, in transparent glass jars filled
with spirits, is fully exposed to inspection ; and of strange
unnatural foetus every deformity is visible on the ranges
of shelves. Among the visiters who like ourselves were
strolling -over the rooms, were several well dressed women,
who to our astonishment were inspecting objects from
which common delicacy might have caused them to
avert their eyes with a blush; but they continued to
gaze successively with undisguised curiosity at monstrous
abortions, and numerous similar objects, reading the labels
on the jars, which gave a. short history of the contents of
each. One of the rooms containing a classified arrangement of
medicinal herbs, almost induced us to imagine ourselves,
from the strong odors of Mint, Motherwort, and Tansy, to
be amid the medicinal stores of a New-England farm house.
The amphitheatre, in which operations are performed
publicly,is of great magnitude. A medical student from
the United States observed to me that upwards of 1000
pupils had at one time been present at an operation. It
is an honorable trait in the character of the French peo
ple, that they afford practically every facility for the diffu
sion of useful knowledge. These lectures are open with
out the charge of fees to students, who pay only about 100
francs for the Diplomas or certificates given by the Profes
sors. To obtain equal advantages in London large sums
would, be exacted.
The medical students have also an opportunity of vis
iting the wards of the hospitals, when the surgeons and
physicians walk their rounds. A hospital is specially
attached to this School of Medicine for the gratuitous re
ception of persons who labor under rare or uncommon
diseases, for the express purpose of having such diseases
explained by lectures to the students. There are proba
bly no schools of medicine and surgery in Europe, which
VOL. II. 8*

7g PANTHEON AND TOMBS
offer so many advantages of experimental instruction at
tended with so much economy to favor scholars of mode
rate means, as those of this city.

THE PANTHEON, OR CHURCH OF ST. GENEVIEVE,
Where we passed an hour on returning, is celebrated
as having been a sort of national Mausoleum for the great
men of the country. It is stated that the portico is built
on the model ofthe Pantheon at Rome, with. twenty-two
superb Corinthian columns, nearly six feet in diameter and
sixty feet high, to form the portal. The interior circular
area of the church is surrounded' by numerous lofty stone
pillars, supporting an entablature, behind which the galle
ries are screened from view. A great dome surmounts
the church, the topmost pinnacle of which is very nearly
300 feet above the pavement. The excessive weight
which rests on the centre pillars has caused them to yield,
and more pillars than was originally designed have been
crowded , in to relieve them of a part of their load. Al
though the architecture is beautiful, the vaults beneath
the church form the principal attraction to the stranger,
having once been the repository of the remains of La
grange, -Rousseau, Voltaire, and .of many other illustrious
men, to whom it was dedicated by the inscription original
ly lettered upon the front of the temple. — " The nation
grateful to its illustrious citizens." The inscription was
effaced during the tumults of the Revolution by the rabble,
who carried their ideas of equality, and of the levelling '
system, into the physical, and mental, as well as into the
political world. Whilst they scattered the ashes of philos
ophers who had transcended their limited standard of hu
man excellence, they hewed down in the Garden of Plants
the towering cedar of Libanus, which set too aristocrati-
cal an example of eminence to the vegetable republic
around it.

OF ILLUSTRIOUS MEN. 79
The view of a vast national receptacle for the remains
ofthe illustrious dead is well calculated to excite among
the living who may contemplate it a spirit for performing
worthy actions. A person who has walked among the
monuments of Westminster Abbey, and gazed at the let
tered marbles, covering the congregrated ashes of heroes,
poets, statesmen and philosophers, must have a heart as cold
and spiritless as the marble which he contemplates, not to
feel for a time a rising, glow of emulation prompting to
generous and noble deeds ; and a desire to be finally " gath
ered to sleep among the gopd and the great of the land."
It falls to the lot of few to become eminent ; but almost
every one may feel the incitement of new motives, which
may contribute to- render him a better if not a more dis
tinguished man. To establish, in a TElepublic like the
United States, a national repository /or the ashes of the il
lustrious dead might induce men of talents to use increas
ed exertion to merit the honor ; but an insuperable diffi
culty would occur in creating a tribunal to decide on the
merits of .the dead, for whom partial friends might claim
the enviable distinction.

SHOPS ANB BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS OP PARIS.
Most of the trading concerns of the shops of Paris are
managed by women, who set the prices and receive the
pay for goods. Even where several young men are em
ployed as clerks, I have noticed a female presiding over
aU, seated at an elevated desk ; and the purchaser, after
selecting his articles, takes them to the desk of this super
visor. Who enters the amount and receives the pay. This
peculiar arrangement may be resorted to for the purpose
of entrusting the money affairs of an extensive shop to a
single confidential person, in a city where there are so

80 COFFEE-HOUSES AND SHOPS OF PARIS
many temptations to allure young men to petty peculationa.
Females preside also over the assembled multitudes of
several hundred men who dine every day in the large
halls of the coffee houses, where they sit at the receipt
of custom, mounted on thrones resplendant with gilding
and mirrors. The veritable throne of the Viceroy of Ita
ly was purchased, and actually removed to a coffee-house
in Paris, to be occupied by one of these French women,
who, elevated in royal state, makes out the bills for the
guests, receives the money from the hands ofthe W-ait-
ers and returns the change. It is often exceedingly diffi
cult for a foreigner to decipher, at first, some of the ac
counts or bills of parcels made out by, the shopkeeper,
owing to the peculiar style of writing and of forming fig
ures, almost universal throughout France. It geems as if
every Frenchman had been taught the art of penmanship
by the same writing-master, so peculiar are the little su
pernumerary flourishes and appendages to the letters ; .by
general consent a sort of crooked S passes for the repre
sentative ofthe digital number 5.
The streets of the city are always thronged with female
traders, who walfc out and encounter the fervid rays of
the sun, with no other covering for their heads than
lace or white cotton caps. The men, in the meanwhile,
are fulfilling the domestic duties, and are at work within
doors, perhaps engaged in making beds or making soups,
and performing other culinary operations in the kitchen.
Our bed is pade and our room is dusted by a njan, and
the public bath is attended by a female ; and even at the
door of the " cabinet d'aisance" a girl meets me with a
smile, and receives the two or three sous, as the humble,
recompense on departing.* As it has often been remark-
?These " Cabinets d'aisance" are constructed in almost every part of
the city of Paris, and are of great convenience to the stranger during his
rambles to distant parts of the city. Even iu tlie very vicinity of the

MANAGED BY WOMEN. gj
ed, indeed, the women and the men seem to have changed
stations and labors.
In the affrays which commenced the Revolution, themar-
ket women were among the leaders and prime instigators of
the mobs. In public amusements, the women also partic
ipate apparently with more zeal than the men, strolling
in multitudes through the walks of the Boulevards and
gardens, or seated beneath the trees in the Elysian Fields,
or sipping sugared water, red wine, or coffee, at the restau
rateurs. Where the female sex aTC so much occupied and
amused abroad, domestic enjoyments are not generally
much prized. In one instance, I observed a whole fami
ly enter a restaurateur's hall, to dine. Even the striplings
followed in the rear and formed a part of the family groupe,
lagging behind with their hoops and playthings in their
hands. The ostensible object of this custom is stated to
be economy. The heavy expenses of a kitchen fire and
of keeping a cook is saved to a small family, when the
necessary provisions are received- fi-om the restaurateur
ready prepared for the table ; or when the whole family
resorts together to the public table of a Cafe. To supply
all these public as well as private tables, there are cafes
and restaurateurs in nearly every street of the city.
Almost every cafe and fashionable shop are decorated
with mirrors, which are not only suspended in the ordina
ry way, but are also inserted like the pannels of a wainscot-
ted room, to form the whole sides of the apartments. There
is probably no country in which a more prevalent taste ex
ists for ornamental mirrors, than in France. So artfully
are they arranged to produce deceptive reflections, not on
ly of the geods, but also of the purchasers themselves, that
the reflected images seem to become infinitely multiplied.
palace of the Tuileries one of these sign boards offers to the eye of the
passenger in the street, in large letters, a tempting invitation to a " Cabi»
net inodore,"

82 COFFEE-HOUSES AND SHOPS
In one instance, on entering a very small shop, I supposed
myself amid an extensive store-room filled with beautiful
goods, arranged in uniform cases, which.seemed to extend
in regularly diminished sizes to a remote distance, with a
customer in front of every case, handling the same identi
cal article which I had taken up. One -is thus almost in
stinctively induced in haste to secure the purchase of the
article he may have selected, when he finds himself sur
rounded by so many imitative competitors.
The taste for mirrors extends even to the decorations of
a Frenchman's steam engine, one of which, exhibited at a
window of a chocolate shop, I saw thus singularly beauti-
tified. This small steam engine, of less than one horse
power, was employed to crush and prepare the coooa, im
mediately under the inspection of each fastidious customer,
who may thus by ocular demonstration convince himself
of the freshness ofthe manufacture of this component ar
ticle of his favprite beverage. When on passing a shop
window one first obtains a glimpse ofthe various parts of
a steam engine thus reflecting the rays of light, glittering
and flashing in the sunbeams whilst in full movement be
neath a canopy of mirrors, sustained by polished steel pil
lars with capitals^of the same resplendent metal, the effect
for a moment seems truly magical. These costly little min-
iature machines are exhibited to arrest the attention ofthe
hurrying passenger on the sidewalk, and to cause him to
pause for a few moments, to gaze, — and perhaps to become
a purchaser. Here, even in the construction of ,a Paris
ian steam engine for manufacturing purposes, elaborate or
naments are appended which might fit it for becoming an"
ornament to a drawing room. The Englishman, on the
contrary , seems to delight in surveying this_machine in all
its ponderous, dark and massy proportions, exerting a pow
er which gives sublimity to its grand movements, In

ORNAMENTED BY MIRRORS §3
works of ornament and taste, the French artists thus
commonly eclipse aH competitors.

MIRROR MANIJFACTORY.
France has long been celebrated for the manufacture of
beautiful mirrors, which have been made sufficiently large
to be- considered as magnificent royal presents from the
rulers of this country to thbse of foreign nations. We
stopped at the gate of one of the most extensive manufac
tories of this kind, and were admitted readily by the porter
to survey the different processes.
The first apartment, two hundred feet in length, con
tained about one hundred and seventy men employed in
grinding down the surfaces of large slabs or plates of cast
glass, which process they accomplish by placing one plate
on another with sharp sand between them, and by drawing
the upper plate back and forth whilst thus resting on the
under one ; in the same manner as stone cutters smooth
their slabs of marble, two surfaces being ground by mutu
al attrition at each operation. The attrition is continued
by a fresh supply of wet sand introduced from time to time
between the plates.
Large mirror plates are cast originally, at the glass fur
naces, in moulds about half an inch in thickness, and in
superficial dimensions of the desired size. The largest
mirrors when completed have been sold for the sum of
twelve and thirteen hundred dollars each.
After the surfaoes^of the plates of glass are ground down
perfectly smooth and plain, which is a long and arduous
operation performed by men and women, they are taken
tp anpther equally large apartment te be polished. It ap
peared to me that by the aid of water or steam power, and
some little machinery, a dozen hands might accomplish as
much work in this process as the host of labprers perform.

84 MANUFACTORY OF MIRRORS.
whose heads are all moving to and fro at their tasks like
swinging Jacks, which the New-England boys, for amuse
ment during a winter evening, set in motion on the edge
of a table, balanced with a potato vibrating at the end of a
sort of pendulum. In the room occupied fcr the purpose
of polishing the mirrors, I counted above one hundred
women, at work rubbing with all their force the opaque
and lustreless surface of the -plates of glass. They em
ploy various polishing powders, until the rough white, sur
faces gradually disappear, and disclose the transparent
crystal as clear and limpid as spring water. This also is
a most laborious process, accomplished by dint of muscu
lar exertion. The rugged and rude appearance of some of
the females employed here would hardly attract fromiheir
vanity a second look at the image of their own persons,
faithfully reflected from the work of their own hands.
The thick plates of rough glass are cast at a glass-house
many miles distant from Paris, where the materials and
fuel are cheaper than in this city. In this manufactory, it
was stated to me that more than five hundred persons are
employed in the various processes.

ROYAL LIBRARY.
On entering this vast library, we found many well dress
ed persons seated at small tables engaged in reading. Sev
eral librarians are constantly busy in supplying such books
from the shelves as may be ordered by the readers. The
most valuable books and manuscripts, and the rarest prints
are produced, without delay or hesitation, tp every visiter
of decent appearance, who has the liberty of making ex
tracts or notes from any of the books he may select from
a collection of 350,000 printed volumes, and nearly an
equal number of manuscripts. The visitant takes a seat
at any of the vacant little tables he may choose, where he

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RE-\DERS. 85
finds a pen and ink ready for his use. No one is aflowed
to converse aloud, A first glance at the interior of one of
these large halls, in which the silence is broken only by
the echoing footsteps of the librarians as they traverse the
oaken floors to procure occasionally a volume, almost in
duces one to fancy himself in a school, where all are ap
parently so intent on their researches, that they do not no
tice the arrival of departure of a stranger by raising their
eyes from their books or writing tables.
The books are arranged in cases around the sides ofthe
halls, and are protected by a wire screen. A single visit
to this magnificent institution serves but to confuse the
mind by the multitude of books, prints, and coins, and re
lics of antiquity collected together here. The planks ofthe
floors, like those of the padaces and best houses of Paris,
are laid in small pieces, about two feet long and six inches
wide,fancifuKy arranged together to form figures of squares,
parallelograms, and of herring bones. These planks of
the floors are so smoothly polished with wax, applied in
the same manner as a notable housewife rubs her mahog
any tables, that a sensation is produced in walking over
the slippery surfaces, similar to that produced by walking
upon ice ; and to skat* across the floors, to an unexperi
enced person is a matter of some consideration and fore
thought. The flooTs of the ordinary dwelling-houses arc
laid or paved with small eight square or pctagcnal tiles.
The large terrestrial globe, thirteen feet in diameter,
attracted our attention. It is so placed, that the floor of
one of the rooms serves as a sort of artificial horizon,
one half of the sphere projecting above the floor, and the
other, sunk beneath it, is visible in the inferior story. —
This globe, made about one hundred and fifty years ago,
presents a strange and not uninteresting delineation of most
parts of the United States of North America, the interior
regions of which were, at that early period, imperfectly
VOL. II. 9

86 TERRESTRIAL GLOBE.— FACILITIES FOR STUDY,
known.to geographers. The situations of several ofthe great
rivers and lakes ofthe West appear to have been sketched
by the fancy of the artist who made the globe. Indeed,
the whole western territory of the United States is left
iindelineated, being marked only by a few tortuous lines
representing the supposed courses of great rivers. From
an inspection of this colossal globe, an idea of the imper
fect state of the science of geography at that early date
may be obtained, it having been absolutely necessary for
the maker to cover the entire circumference of his great
orb with the best outlines he could procure at that tinjeof
every country of the earth. After taking a superficial view
ofthe various articles of curiosity collected together here,
and of the multitude of volumes that surrounded us on ev
ery side, we left the Royal Library, not without the hope
of paying to it another and a longer visit.
This Royal Library, or King's Library, as it is more
strictly termed from its origin,' is said to be the second
in magnitude in the world, that of the Vatican at Rome
being the first. There are numerous other libraries in
Paris, to which the public and subscribers have access.
The advantages which the scholar here possesses for read
ing and for extending his researches are probably une
qualled in any other part of the world. The student,
whose means or resources are commonly humble, has in
Paris every facility of access to all the most rare and cost
ly publications of this and of former ages, and the stores
of science are unfolded to his view without the expense
of a single sous. It is in the United States, as well as in
England, too much the custom to preserve great libraries
carefully locked up like the treasure of a miser, and to re
gard them as objects of splendor and pride to a country,
ratlier than as a source of useful information to the people
at large.

MODELS OF MACHINES. S7

CONSERVATORY OF ARTS.
The Conservatory of Arts and Trades is similar, in its
design and institution, tP the Patent office at Washington.
The models of machines are contained in a large edifice,
forinerly a church, and are classified in the various apart
ments, into which the interior is divided. Here are to be
found models of every description of machine, invented and
in use in France. Amid- so many contrivances of mechan
ism, we readily imagined ourselves at the national con
servatory of arts at Washington, which under the careful
arrangement of Mr. Thornton and Dr. Jones, is quite as
much an object of curiosity as the Conservatory of Arts in
Paris. In the Patent Oflice at Washington, within the
comparatively short period of its existence, have been
collected nearly as many newly invented machines, as
are to be found here. They are adapted to all the inter
mediate grades of saving labor, from the simple machinery
for paring an apple to that for propelling a ship of war.
There are in both France and the United States a sufficient
number of visionary theorists, whose inventions exist only
in the shape of models upon the shelves, powdered with
undisturbed dust.
To the practical mechanic these collections of models
are of great utility, not only in furnishing hints for combin
ing new improvements in mechanism, but also for illus
trating to him the progress and present state of inventions
in every branch of manufacture in the country. It af
fords also an excellent school for those who are building
castles in the air, or scheming the profits from new inven
tions and patent rights, when they behold so many useless
contrivances. Some years ago, at Washington, a person
presented himself at the Patent Office with a box contain
ing a model of the machine for raising water, called Ar-

Sg COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE
chimides' Screw, for which he wished to obtain Letters
Patent, as for an original invention, stating to the superiu-
tendant of the office, that th^ invention of this machine
had cost him considerable study and labor. He was con
ducted by the superiatendant to the models of ancient ma
chines, among^ which he found one exactly like his own.
The resemblance of the ancient plan to his own immedi
ately arrested his attention, and on being informed that it
was invented by Archimides, the great mechanic, above
two thousand years ago, he regretted that he had not first
made his visit to the Patent Office to view the models of
the machines, before he had undertaken to invent one ;
and calmly ordered the box containing his mCdel to be
nailed up again. Circumstances of a similar character
are of frequent occurrence. A few hours spent here in
observing the various contrivances of art, may save the
mechanic the toil of years in re-inventing or re-discovering
what has aheady been accomplished by his predecessors.*

*It appears from a Report from the Pat-ent Office ofthe United States,.
made in 1830, that the inventive genius of the citizens of that republic,
has been productive in one year of 544 applications for Patent Rights.
The most untiring perseverance has for a long time existed among the
Americans, prompted eitlier by a spirit of gallantry, or of gain, to relieve
their fair country-women from the task of washing clothes by manual la
bor, twenty-one new washing machines having during that -year been ad
ded to the list of the hundred of similarly designed machines already
mantled vvith dust on the sheNes. About the same number or chui'ns,
moveable by dogs rn some instances, and truly termed ^'- dog-t*ring con
trivances," have been added dm'ing die same pqriod as. companions to the
washing machines.
Ancient as the plough has been deemed iu its original invention, arut as,
highly improved as it is considered to be at the present day, yet for diis
one article alone twelve new patent rights for improvements Were claimed
during the course of the year 1830. Patent rights for about three dozen
threshing machines upon new and supposed improved plans have also been
secured. .4mong this great number of inventions and contrivances for
effecting one object, it seems almost certain that some one of them must
prove effective and serviceable. When a single bullet sped with a. marlss.-v

PATENT OFFICE OF FRANCE AND U. STATES. §9
The first apartment we entered contains the rude ma
chines employed in early times for carding and spinning
man's aim bears wide ofthe object, an unskilful competitor may perchance
hit it with a charge of scattering shot.
Among the number of these applications for letters patent for new and
useful inventions, some possess rather the character of novelty than of util
ity; ar^d some, from their simplicity and even absurdity, may provoke the
smile of the reader, who may take tlie trouble to peruse the long catalogues
. of them. One person, it has been observed, obtained a patent right for a
machine which he had invented for paring apples, and another for gath
ering them. Where contrivance has been wanting in tlie invention of the
machine itself, tiliis deficiency has in some instances been atoned for by
the invention of a novel name for it. Thus we are soothed, under the idea
of tlie protection of guardian spirits to watch over our slumbers, by the
seraphic name of" Night Angels" applied to a contrivance for keeping
off bedbugs; which the Patentee gravely proposes to effect by placing the
foot of each leg of the bedstead in a cup of oil, through which the inva
ders, however pressed by the extremity of hunger, and tempted by the
view of a fair exposed cheek, to suck a drop of blood from it, are exceed-
in^^ly ioth to ford. To still another contrivance for a bedstead the claim
to novelty if not to utility can scarcely be denied, when the reader finds
it introduced to him by the name of " Metamorphosic Alleviator.*'
With all the genius of American artists for inventing new machines and
processes, there is a degree of haste and imperfection iu the execution of
many of the old arts and processes of manufactures, which an increased
competition is beginning to remedy. This imperfection of workmanship
is promoted by purchasers and consumers of manufactures in the United
States who have so great a passion for nominally cheap goods, that ar
tists are encouraged to fabricate articles superficial and showy rather than
intrinsically valuable. Even the shoemaker can hardly be prevailed on to
consider it^vorlli his time to plug the brad holes left in tlie soles ofthe
shoes which he sells, or to cut off the points ofthe pegs or nails that in
trude through them; the former of which allow of the ingress of water
when the wearer happens to sink into the mud, and the latter causes hira
to wince with agony at every step, and to long for the comfort of the pil
grim who boiled the peas with which, in performing his pilgrimage, he
filled his shoes. Even the good housewife seated quietly by the domestic
fireside, and patiently darning np the holes fretted by these pegs, some
times wonders how the men can wear out stockings so fast. These petty
evils of hasty workmanship will probably erelong disappear, as they have
done iji the older countries of Europe, where competition promotes careful
attention. VOL. II, 9*

90 MINIATURE WORKSHOPS AND LABORATORY.
cotton, which were all in their day probably considered
wonderful improvements in this manufacture ; but which,
compared with the present state of perfection ofthe cotton
manufacture, are rude and imperfect indeed. Another
apartment contains models of buildings, beautifully exe
cuted in ivory and wood, and a third contains fire-engines,
and fire-escapes, or ladders. Some of the latter, if made
of the full proportion or size, would be so unwieldy as to
require more time to move them to the rescue of individ
uals in a house on fire, than would be occupied by the
conflagration of two or three houses. A lamp, supplied
with oil by a small pump in its base, moved by clock work,
displays the ingenuity of the artist, if indeed it be not a
useful inventibn.
Not only the processes practised in various arts and
trades are exhibited by the aid of machines, but even the
very workshops, and the artists themselves are represent
ed in the models, dressed in their aprons, with their
sleeves turned up, and busily employed with the tools and
implements of their trades ; thus most perfectly illustrat
ing every operation on the rough material, until it be
comes transformed into useful or elegant articles of man
ufacture. A complete miniature laboratory forms a part
ofthe collection, with a goodly display of microscopic re
torts and tubes. In all these models, it is stated that not
a tool is omitted, nor a process forgotten.
A most unfavorable impression of French ingenuity i»
left on the mind of the visiter by- viewing the specimens
of wagons, carts, and various agriculttial implements, in
the construction of which less improvement is evident, than
in every branch of the mechanic arts. After having exam
ined the agricultural tools and machines of England, the
stranger might easily imagine that he beholds- here the anti
quated implements of husbandry of a former age. Even
the knife with which he cuts his food at the table of the

PUBLIC SrAUGHTER-HOUSES. 9J
restaurateur, and the locks on the doors betray an awkward
ness of workmanship, although substantially fabricated.

PUBLIC SLAUGHTER-HOUSES.
The very slaughter-houses of Paris, constructed by the
orders of Bonaparte, are upon a great scale, like most of
the public works which he undertook. On passing one
of these public slaughter-houses, or abbattoirs, as they are
termed, my attention was attracted ty the great ranges of
lofty stone walls which surround it. Passing into the
spacious area of the inclosure, I had a view of twenty-four
long stone buildings divided into compartments, each of
which was provided with all the proper implements requir
ed in the business of the butcher. These several apart
ments are let out to the various butchers, who pay, as one
of them stated to me, five francs for every bullock killed
within it. -Several acres are inclosed within these high
walls ; and throughout all the yard and buildings, a surpris
ing degree of cleanliness is preserved by meansof an abund
ant supply of water from the fountains. There is here no
disagreeable view, nor odors, which elsewhere readily serve
to designate even at a distance the purposes for which
buildings of this description are employed. It was stated
to us by a tenant of one of the apartments, that eight-hun
dred bullocks had been killed at this single establishment,
in one week. Ofthe number of sheep and calves, he said,
he could hardly form a conjecture.
In walking through several of these apartments, we no
ticed in each a large bellows, almost as big as one of those
employed for the forge of a blacksmith, which is openly
used for the purpose of inflating the meat, to give it a more
plump appearance — a process which, although practised in
most of the markets in the United States, is nevertheless
rather a species of deception to attract purchasers.

9-2 THEATRES.— BURLESaUED
There are in Paris five of these public Slaughter-houses
which may truly be regarded as models for similar estab
lishments in other countries, where this indispensible busi
ness is commonly conducted in a manner so revolting, that
they become nuisances to whole neighborhoods.

THEATEES OF PARIS.
There are many theatres in the city of Paris, in each of
which a peculiar character or style of representations is
exhibited. The Italian Opera, or Academy of Music as
it is termed, is distinguished for exhibitions of dances, and
for music. In the French Theatre the best comedies arid
tragedies of Moliere, Racine, and of other classic French
writers, are performed ; and the most distinguished come
dians are always engaged. Several smaller tlieatres are
resorted to for an amusing variety of light pieces. Others,
atrain, are appropriated to exhibitions of pantomimes, &c.
Thus, by a subdivision of theatrical labors, the perfection
is attained which is so obviously the result of a similar
system in other professions or callings.
At one of these small theatres, called the Theatre of
Varieties, we had an opportunity of witnessing an after
piece, in which an English lady on her travels afforded a
subject of as much merriment to the French audience, as
the caricature of a French petit maitre with his ruffles
and monkey airs bas often afforded to an English audience.
It may be also added, that the Yankees have not escaped ;
for English audiences have enjoyed, night after night, the
caricatures and absurdities of Mathews' sketches of Amer
ican manners.
To personify the English lady and her daughter on the
Paris stage, men with smooth faces, but ofthe most mas
culine lusty proportions, are selected to set off the parts to

REPRESENTATIONS OF FOREIGN MANNERS. 93
the best advantage. Miladi, immediately on her arrival
in Paris, summons to her toilet a number of milliners, who
undertake to dress her agreeably to the latest Parisian
fashions; The swelling rotundity of her refractory form
refuses, in despite of all the compressions of nipping and
lacing, to yield and assume the genteel outlines of a fash
ionable Paris belle. The English lady becomes at last
impatient of the reforming hands of the milliners, whom
she deems tormentors and persecutors. The critical. mo
ment, which drew forth from the audience the most rap
turous plaudits, and produced convulsions of laughter,
was when Miladi, in the boisterous expression of her in
dignation, strided with masculine steps across the stage,
and, as it were accidentally, dropped her petticoat. The
delicacy of every sensitive spectator would be shocked
by the fall of such a screen ; but in this case there was ex
posed to view a most comfortable provision of buckskin
drawers ahd warm stockings, which produced the appear
ance of an instantaneous metamorphosis of the lady into
a Yorkshire fox-hunting squire in small clothes. The bevy
of milliners, struck aghast by the spectacle, shrieked, pro
testing that they had been dressing a man instead of a
lady. It thus seems that nations laugh at each other in their
scenic representations, like, chuckling individuals. A pe
culiar national vanity is flattered by ludicrous contrasts of
the manners and habits of other nations. This mode of
relaxation and amusement may prove diverting ; but it is
not the way to make nations love and respect one another.
Hatred follows hard upon the footsteps of ridicule.
At' the French Opera, we one evening witnessed the ex
hibition ofthe universally popular piece called Cinderella.
In the ball-scene of this fairy tale, the splendidly painted
scenery, music and dresses, produced a brilliant effect. — ¦
Nearly i hundred dancing girls appeared moving over the

94 OPERA MUSIC.
stage to the thrilling notes of more than a hundred and
fifty musical instruments. The dancers are fancifully at
tired ; and they all seein beautiful, where art supplies
the bloom and complexion which nature may have denied.
The vocal music is executed in the true opera style,
with long protracted notes, seemingly lengthened out
by means of expiring from the' lungs the last particle pi-
breath, which the performer can. yield to sustain the pro
longed tones ; at the closing cadence of v.'hich a sudden
crash of sounds from all the musical instruments some
times startles and almost deafens and confounds the unsci
entific with its reverberations.
As there is allowed to be no dispute about taste at the
banquet, so probably none will be allowed in regard to the
charms of Opera music — of " Trilling notes and tripping
feet.'' At all events, the taste or appetite for opera singing
is in many persons acquired from habit, as few, listen id first
with pleasure to these artificial tones and high tremulous
notes. The same is said to be also the case in acquiring
a taste for the narcotic flavors of tobacco, or the harsh
burning lava-like current of ardent spirits, when like
molten lead it first trickles in its fiery current down the
throat ofthe incipient toper.
Every eye is fixed in attentive gaze, and every tongue
is silent, when the graceful actresses, loosely attired in
transparent dresses, begin to move gently pver the stage,
which they scarcely touch with the points of their toes.
Upborne like gossamer, they seem almost to float in the
thin air, as if aided by invisible wings. A hundred
dancers at one time join with tlieir voices in the songs
and duets, and at another mingle together in circling
orbits. There are none of the old fashioned set figures
of cotillons, or contra-dances, observable here ; but ev
ery one dances as it were, independently, on individual

OPERA DANCERS. 95
account, performing various eccentric movements back
and forth, and from one side ofthe stage to the other, in
clining their heads languishingly as they throw aloft their
arms in various alluring attitudes. Then again suddenly re
animated, they commence pirouettes, spinning around like
tops, upon one toe, (or finger of the foot, according to the
more refined French phraseology,) whilst the other foot is
raised nearly as high as the chin, and the knee is extend
ed as straight and stiff as a pump-handle pointing upwards
in the arc of its vibration. , In this wonder exciting atti
tude, the female opera dancers commence twirling around
on a single " light fantastic toe" with such surprising ve
locity, that the optical delusion is soon produced of a sort
of misty leg projecting horizontally on either side. These
flourishing movements of the feet beneath the light flutter
ing drapery, that like a highland kilt reaches barely be
low the knee of the female opera dancer, for a moment
shock the inexperienced spectator with strange emotions
of surprise, until the tight flesh-colored pantaloons be
come revealed beneath the deranged curtain of their nether
garment. Their gyrations are viewed with such vast sat
isfaction, that the spectators by reiterated plaudits fre
quently set the favorite actress to spinning around again.
At the termination of the dance, the performer leans
forward with one foot extended behind, and arms grace
fully uplifted ; as if her buoyant spirits spurned the dull
earth, and she were about to mount in the air, and to soar
aloft in ecstacy. Matters, however, terminate less mag
nificently, for the dancer retreats sidelong, curtseying most
lowly, and apparently overwhelmed with modesty and
meekness. This great agility is not the result of magic, but of con
tinued exercise, until the strained sinews acquire a ten
sion and size equal to the task required of them. On be
holding the swoln muscles of the lower limbs of the dan-

96 VIEW OF THE STATE OF THE USEFUL ARTS.
cer, the mystery is solved, and no one would imagine,
however light her apparent movements, that the hare-bell
would " Rise elastic fronrhcr tread."

VIEW OF SOME OF THE USEFUL ARTS,
We called at a manufactory of copper cylinders for cal
ico printing. It is difficult in this branch of business to
cast the copper cylinder or roller free from, air bubbles
or small flaws, which receive the dyes into the crevices,
and blemish by unsightly stains the cloth printed from their
engraved surfaces. To obviate this difficulty, the copper
rollers are cast solid, and are bored out afterwards, like
a cannon, to receive the spindle or shaft that serves for an
axis. The whole exterior surface of the copper roller, or'
shell, as it is in this state calledj is subjected to a long pro
cess of hammering by machinery moved by steam power,
to close up every pore or flaw, and to render the surface
when turned off and polished perfectly regular, and pre
pared for the chisel ofthe engraver. These copper shells
weigh from 120 to 150 pounds each, and are sold at about
half a crown per pound. The engravers charge from three
hundred to five hundred francs, according to the work of
the patterns or designs, for -each cylinder which they cut
for printing cotton cloth.
Near this manufactory we visited some gas works, by
which a few shopsand houses of the city are supplied with

ST. bENNlS.— FRENCH PRINT WORKS. 97
gas lights. None of the public streets in Paris are yet
lighted by gas.

FRENCH PRINT-WORKS.
At St. Denis, about six miles from Paris, there is one
«f the mo§t extensive cotton-printing establishments in
France. Having a letter to one of the proprietors, we
were admitted by him with much politeness, and conducted
over the works. A capital of about 1,200,000 francs is
employed here in printing cotton, and about 150 laborers
and mechanics. To our surprise, we were informed that
the bleaching of the cotton cloth is mostly performed in
France in the ancient method upon {he grass of extensive
meadows, and not by the speedy chemical process, with
chlorine, as practised in England and in the United States.
The acknowledged superiority of the colors of the com
mon French prints over those of English manufacture is
not the result of mere skill, according to the statement of
the superintendant, but arises from the employment of
better, and more costly dyeing materials. He stated that
the English, with their great knowledge of chemical col
ors, are enabled to produce the fugitive dyes which rival,
when freshly imprinted, the best colors of the French
dyes ; but which soon lose their lustre and fade, when
exposed to the sun and air. It seemed to be here rather
a subject of complaint, that foreigners with this advantage
in their favor were able to undersell the French printers
of cottons. The indiscriminating mass of purchasers of
this article are generally found to pay more attention to the
style and appearance of the fabrics, than to their intrinsic
value. The processes of dyeing and printing cotton cloths ap
pear to be conducted with great care, and no expense
in the application of the best dye-stuffs is spared for pro-
VOL. II. 10

98 HOURS OF LABOR.— STEAM POWER.
ducing desirable tints on the beautiful fabrics produced
here. The cotton cloth passes, like a continuous sheet of
pure white paper, beneath this printing roller, and comes
out covered with the impression of the colors, which be
ing in a liquid state and liable to be blotted by contact
with any foreign body, the cloth is immediately drawn by
the machinery into the lofts, where it is soon dried by
stoves. There appear to be about sixty tables for block
printing at this place.
The hours of labor in summer in the print-works are
from 5 o'clock, A. M. to 9 o'clock, from 10 o'clock to 2
o'clock, and from 3 to 7, P. M. in all about twelve hours.
Common workmen earn, by printing calico, about four
francs per day, (as stated to us,) and the most skilful five
or six francs.
The moving power is derived from two steam engines^
each of eight horse power, on the Watt and Boulton plan.
One of these engines complete, made in Paris, costs about
20,000 francs, (3700 dollars.) The coal used for fuel is
obtained from the mines of Mons, near Brussels. It ap
pears by the estimates made here, that the cost of fuel for
an eight horse power engine is about five dollars and a
half per day, the price of mineral coal being nearly forty-
two cents for one hundred pounds, or eight dollars and
forty cents per ton of two thousand pounds. The differ
ence between the price of coal Jiere and in Manchester,
is about six dollars and forty cents per ton ; and judg
ing from the best estimate in my power to make, it costs
here merely for the fuel of an eight horse power engine
about twelve hundred doUars per annum more than it does
for an engine of the same power in Manchester ; or the ex
pense of steam power is about three fold more than it is in
that great manufacturing metropolis of England. This is
truly a heavy charge in favor of the manufacturers of that
island in their competition with their French rteighbors.

CATHEDRAL OF ST. DENIS. 99
The celebrated old Gothic Cathedral of St. Denis, which
we afterwards surveyed, contains the tombs of a long line
of French Monarchs. Their mouldering bones were scat
tered over the fields during the revolutionary crusade. —
" The royal dead;" it is stated in a history of those times,
" were- torn from the repositories of departed greatness,
the bones of heroes were made the playthings of children,
and the dust of Monarchs was scattered to the winds." —
The massy stone coffins, too unwieldy to be the sport of
children or of the mob, Were left empty, and still remain
entire. The inscriptions on some of them bear dates as
early as the tenth century. The sceptre and sword of
Charlemagne were also carried off, together with other
relics of former ages. It was in this repository, that Bo
naparte once supposed that his ashes would rest in peace
among the tombs ofthe kings of France, and he fitted up
here a vaulted tomb with doors of solid brass. Virgil's
motto might be applied as an inscription over the portal,
" sic vos non vobis aedificate sedes ;" for that warrior's
ashes occupy a remote spot on a solitary rock of the ocean ;
whilst the remains of Louis XVIII. are carefully deposit
ed in the tomb which his rival erected. It is always a
mortifying, but salutary lesson to human pride, to enter
the tombs of kings, who once received the homage of pow
erful nations ; and to view their last abode deserted by
courtiers,' and mantled with dust On, passing near the
remains of the good as well as great, every visiter becomes
for a moment a sort of pilgrim at the shrine, and pauses
to render the tribute of homage due to excellence, although
it survive only in the tales of history or tradition.

MANUFACTORY OF TAPESTRY.
Among the curiosities of Paris is a manufactory of tapes
try, which is sustained as a sort of plaything by the

100 M.4NUFACT0RY OF TAPESTRY.
nation. It is called the manufactory ofthe GobeKns,
from the name of the dyers who commenced the works in
ancient times, and established here their dye-house for
coloring their worsted yarns,' with which the pieces of
tapestry are wrought. We were compelled to wait in an
office nearly half an hour until a number of strangers had
assembled together, when the door was opened and the
servant was thus enabled to avoid repeated explanations
of the pictured designs of the tapestry, and of the various
processes of the manufacture. The apartments, as if con
structed in the style of a royal workshop, are spacious ;
but there appears to be nothing intricate in the detail of
the simple machinery employed by the workmen. The
most beautiful paintings are placed as patterns to be copied
by the tapestry weavers, who rival the Chinese in fidelity
and exactness of imitation. An artist of spirit, who may
have the genius to design and finish a piece of painting
upon canvass, could hardly be brought to spend one; and
often two years in patiently copying the same picture by
inserting small shreds of colored worsted, particle by par
ticle, by means of the tedious and tardy labors of the
loom. Tapestry weaving must remain an imitative art,
instead of one that can confer honor on an artist for any
originality or bold touches of genius in the art of design
ing. Even at the moderate wages paid the workmen here,
the cost of a single sheet of tapestry, it is stated, freqaently
exceeds $1400, and several years are required to com
plete it.
So bright and vivid, and so well blended are the colors
of the worsted thread, that few persons at the distance of
three or four yards would suppose them to be the product
of the loom. The frame that contains the extended
threads ofthe warp is placed in a perpendicular position,
and the workman is seated behind the frame. CarefuUy
arranged by his side are hundreds of little bobbins of wor-

PROCESS OF WEAVING TAPESTRY. IQl
sted, of every imaginable color, the shades of which are so
well blended and approximated to each other, that one
can hardly decide where one color terminates or another
begins, as ia the prismatic melting hues of the rainbow.
These bobbins he skilfully selects, and holds near the
picture which he is copying, to compare the tints, thread
by thread as he proceeds ; and after satisfying himself in
the selection of the color, he inserts a piece of worsted
yarn, perhaps in some spots not longer than J of an inch,
using the bobbin itself instead of a shuttle, to pass the
worsted filling in and out between the threads of the warp
by means of his fingers. After effecting this operation, he
breaks off the yarn and crowds it in between the threads
of the warp, by the teeth of a comb. He then seeks again
among the piles of colored worsteds for another tint to
correspond with that of the original picture before him.
The warp or chain is composed of white woollen threads,
and the weft, of both worsted and silk of all shades of col
ors that are prepared on the easel of a painter. The
threads of the warp are not opened by means of heddles
or harness to allow the filling to be shot between them, as
in common weaving ; nor is a slaie or reed employed to
press down or close the threads of the weft after it is
drawn in among the threads of the warp ; but the artist
uses for this purpose only a sort of comb, the teeth of which,
after every operation of inserting a little piece of yarn, are
employed to press it down and close it together in the
work. The figure of an extended arm, or of a head, ia
wrought by the artist before he completes the filling com
posing the back ground around it. The form of a beau
tiful female may thus appear to be starting up in glowing
colors amid the threads, spread like a cobweb over a
square frame. A hand, when thus woven in advance of
the texture around it, seems as if formed of flesh and
VOL. II. 10*

102 COMPARATIVE COST OF FUEL IN
blood, and thrust among the cords of a harp to Sweep the
sounding strings.
This costly tapestry resembles the fine worsted work
executed in single stitch by the fair hands of the ladies in
their hours of domestic relaxation. It is so delicately
composed, that the outlines of the figures show no angular
uneven edges, the surfatie of the tapestry being nearjy as
smooth and close as that of the oil painting from which it
is copied.
This establishment is supported at the national charge,
and the sheets of tapestry are used as ornaments of the
royal palaces, and sometimes as royal gifts.

COST OF FUEL IN PARIS.
The fuel commonly consumed in Paris is wood, the
piles of which in some ofthe wood yards reminded me of
similar piles which may be noticed in the city of Boston,
on the approach of winter. Cord wood for fuel, it is sta
ted to me by a friend who has resided in Paris for some
time, is one ofthe most expensive charges to a house
keeper. When consumed in the ill constructed parlour
fire-places, it costs almost as much to warm the inmates of
a family in winter, as to purchase the food that serves to
nourish them. Charcoal is sold at ahout 25 cents a bushel,
and is consumed in vast quantities for culinary operations
in summer. The sooty porters may be seen at all times
in the streets distributing it in ebony colored sacks of
great dimensions, which are transported on their shoul
ders. Instead of using the large fire places common in
the kitchens of the United States, where fuel is so pro
fusely consumed by the servants, the French cookery, so
far as I have had opportunities of observing it, is com
monly performed very economically - over little earthen

PARIS, ENGLAiND AND UNITED STATES. 103
pots or chafing dishes, by a -charcoal fire. A plate of
iron, or a stone slab, perforated with numerous round
holes to admit each a pot of charcoal, serves as a sort of
table or platform, on which the labors ofthe cook are per
formed. Over these chafing dishes every sort of viand is
stewed up to make pottage; soups, ragouts, fricassees, &c.
by the aid of pots and frying paris of all sorts and sizes.
A fire for roasting requires a profuse consumption of costly
charcoal ; and a radiant tin roasting, apparatus is rarely
seen before a glowing mass of this sort of fuel heaped up
on the hearth. John Bull may attribute in some degree
to the abundant coal mines of his island the fact, that the
"roast beef of Old England" has become a famous na
tional dish. It is not because a Frenchman has any na
tional antipathy to the juicy flavor of a sirloin, that he
does not more frequently feast upon it ; but because, taken
in connexion with the fuel for preparing it for the table, it
is too costly for the finances of the common people
throughout the country.
This dearness of fuel not only affects the economy of
private families, but falls with still heavier weight on the
manufacturing operations requiring the use of steam pow
er, or of fuel for any other purposes in the arts. Although
there are several coal fields in France, yet so few are the
canals and other improvements to render them available,
that the city of Paris is partially supplied with mineral
coal from England, or from the mines^ in the vicinity of
Brussels ; and the price is commonly about four francs the
hecatolitre, or about thirty-four cents a bushel. The pro
prietor of a manufactory in Paris stated to me that he found
the actual cost of fuel for a ten, horse engine, to be thirty-
five francs per day, for operating twelve hours, equal to
about six dollars and fifty six cents-perday.

104 COMPARISON OF COTTON MANUFACTURES IN

COTTON MILLS IN PARIS.
In one of the cotton mills situated within the city of
Paris, a steam engine of fourteen horse power, operating
about seven thousand mule spindles, was made in Eng
land and delivered here for jflOOO. This cotton mill, un
der the control of an Englishman, appeared in excellent
order, and contained all the latest improvements in ma
chinery adopted in England. The quality of the yarns
spun here varies from forty to one hundred and twenty
hanks to the pound, averaging about No. 80. The mules
contained each three hundred and thirty-six spjndles, two
of which, containing six hundred and seventy-two spindles,
are operated by one man and two girls. New-Orleans and
Cuba cottons are consumed in this manufactory, with the
Sea Island cotton.
Power-looms are now just becoming generally intro
duced into France; The superintendant stated that the
wages are only about ten per cent lower here than in Man
chester, and the cost of coal for fuel about three times
as dear. The mule spinners commonly earn from three
and a half to five francs a day, and the women about
twenty-six sous, or one dollar and fifty cents a week. The
wages of a carpenter and, mason are about four and a half
francs a day, or eighty-four cents.
It appears that the Frencii workmen are not altogether
so free from dissipated habits as has commonly been
represented. I have heard, from manufacturers here, com
plaints of their irregularities. Although they are rarely
seen to be intoxicated, or publicly addicted to brutal hab
its of intemperate drinking, like the Englishman over his
beer, and like too many Americans over their rum, yet
they often become excessively merry with their potations
, of wine, and sometimes indulge in stronger potations and

PARIS AND IN ENGLAND.

105

in carousing, until their wages are expended, when they
return to their labors.
At a newly erected cotton mill which we visited, the
machinery appeared of very ordinary construction, the
frames of the machines being composed of wood instead
of cast iron, and being deficient in that workmanlike, fin
ished appearance, observable in the modern cotton mills
of the United States, anS of England.
Judging from the best information I could obtain, the
comparative advantages of the proprietor of a steam cotton
manufactory in or near Paris over his English competitors
are, in the aggreg<ite, inconsiderable. The French man
ufacturer hires the laborers at prices from ten to fifteen
per cent lower than is paid as wages to similar laborers in
Manchester ; whilst the price of coal for fuel for his steam
engine and for other necessary operations, is thrice as
dear ; coal being sold here at about the same price, or per
haps rather higher than on the sea board of the United
States. Water-power is more economically resorted to
in many of the towns distant from Paris. Machinery is
also more expensive, and less perfect than in England.
Water is abundantly supplied to all the manufactories
of Paris, by means of aqueducts.

CEMETERY OF PERE LA CHAISE.
The burial ground of Pere la Chaise derives its name
from a Jesuit, to whom the tract of about seventy acres of
land once beloriged. The entrance is ornamented by a
lofty arch, and the whole cemetery is inclosed by a wall.
Immediately on entering the gate, the visitant finds
himself amid shrubbery and flowers. The monuments of
the dead seem to be erected ir^ gardens or pleasure grounds,
where the dark green leaves and blossoms of many gay
colors are intermingled with the snow-white marble, thus

106 A FRENCH BURIAL GROUND.
affording an agreeable contrast to relieve the eye. Here
and there a stately column or pyramid shoots up its summit
above the foliage, exposed unshaded to the dazzling rays
of a bright sun. Numerous more lowly mpnumental struc
tures are half hid in the beds of roses pi a;n ted around their
base. The cemetery of Pere la Chaise- is the fashionably bu
rial place of a city, where every thing is governed by fash
ion. In the construction of the monuments, various styles
are adopted, according to the wealth of the relatives of
the deceased ; — from the spacious marble mausoleum-, built
in the form of a Grecian temple, with the interior fitted up
as a chapel, in which I saw altars erected, and images,
and candle-sticks ; — -to the humble perishable wooden
cross, and piece of board painted black and dotted with a
few pear-shaped daubs of white paint. These little pict
ured devices I actually mistook for a sort of hieroglyphic
emblem having some mystical reference to the pear. Up
on enquiry, however, I learned that the design of these
rude sketches, is intended to represent falling tears, thus
emblematically shed in sorrow over the grave.
In several parts ofthe cemetery, small tracts are taken
up and ornamented by those, who whilst alive seem to an
ticipate, with a romantic sentiment, a final repose beneath
the bowers and beds of violets planted by their own hands.
Even the watering pot forms not an unfreqiient appendage
to the little square of ground inclosed by iron rails or lat
tice-work of wood, and cultivated like flower gardens. At
the foot of many ofthe mounds of sods, which heave their
half rounded outlines above the greensward, are con
structed seats screened fi-om observation, and shaded by
shrubbery, where they who have buried here a friend,
may approach his remains, and sit unobserved beside them,
to indulge in that deep meditation, which such a spot is so

TOMBSTONES DECORATED WITH GARLANDS. 107
well calculated to inspire. Here, in the words of Mont
gomery, as in an appropriate place,
*' Pensive memory retraces
Scenes of bliss forever fled ;
Lives informer times and places,
Holds communion w ith the dead."
It is common for surviving friends to decorate with chap-
lets of flowers the tombstones erected over the ashes of
those they held dear, for many successive years on the
anniversary of their death. When such an anniversary
recurs during the winter, only such natural flowers can
be used for this purpose as have been preserved by being
dried. The rtever-fading amaranth and chresanthemum
are then the offerings of flowers which are woven into
garlands and suspended on the monuments, where they
long continue to remain, waving in the breeze. These
tributes of affection are not confined to the lately inhumed
remains of the dead. A fresh garland of flowers I saw
suspended upon one old monument, the inscription on
which showed that it was in commemoration of the 34th
anniversary ofthe death of him, who slept beneath it, that
this new wreath was intertwined by the hands of an un-
forgetful friend. Many ofthe cold monumental stones re
main nak^d and neglected, thus seemingly denoting that
no friendly hand remains to deck them.
To supply the demand for the chaplets of artificial flow
ers, shops are opened for the sale of them near the gate
of the cemetery, at the price of a few sous each. Upon
the sod over several of the graves, I noticed beautiful
French porcelain vases, filled with bouquets of bright col
ored artificial flowers, which are protected for a long time
from tl>e injurious effects of the rain by oval glasses, of the
same kind as those used for covering the similar vases of
flowers and clocks, arranged to embellish the mantlepiece
of a drawing room. Over the fresh earth of a new grave

108 PORCELAIN VASES, &c. PLACED ON GRAVES.
I saw an oil cloth canopy stretched upon hoops, forming a
little sTieltered arch, like the head of a cradle. Beneath
this canopy was a diminutive wax figure of the Virgin,
and small pictures, and flowers, that resembled, from the
minute arrangement of these articles, thp petty details of
a child's baby-house.
Over another grave, upon one of the black crosses of
wood, which Catholics are so fond of setting up where more
imperishable materials cannot be afforded, was nailed a
piece of white paper that attracted my attention from a
distance. It proved to be a manuscript eulogy upon the
loveliness of an only daughter, whose many virtues a dot
ing father had inscribed upon this frail memorial. Thus
exposed, the first shower would obliterate all traces of this
effiision of parental love. Jt ?eemed to be all he had to
bestow, and though an humbly written eulogy, it spoke the
genuine language of the heart.
Our guide conducted us over the grounds to the tombs
of many distinguished men, whose names are familiarly
known beyond the shores of the Atlantic. Here, he ob
served, rest La Fontaine and Moliere,* near each other ;
and here, Hauy, the mineralogist, and Fourcr'oy, the chem
ist. Pointing to a little grassy inclosure, where no stone
was perceptible above the smooth surface of the green
sward to receive an inscription, he said, here lies Marshal
Ney, " the ' brave among the brave." Upon one of the
stones which serves to support the iron fence of the small
inclosure, some fi-iendly hind has rudely chiselled " Ney."
His name, however, requires not the chisel of the sculptor
to preserve it from oblivion on tablets of brass or marble.
A portion of the burial ground is appropriated to the
*It is stated jhat a profligate bishop of Paris denied to the remains of
Moliere tlie^isual rites of sepulture, on account of his profession as aft ac
tor, even after having been-'requested by Louis XIV. to allovi' to the great
est genius of the age a Christian burial.

VISITS TO GR.4.VES OF IFRIENDS. 109
poor, who are buried without charge for their graves. —
The bodies are suffered, however, to remain only five
years before they are dug up, and their bones are removed
to the catacombs. In another portion of the ground, the
bones of those whose friends are willing to pay 50 francs,
as a ground rent for the privilege, are suffered to remain
inhumed for a longer term often years, without being dis
turbed. The absolute fee of " six feet of earth," for a
grave, can be purchased for 250 francs, when the ashes
are privileged to remain forever undisturbed. The first
mentioned graves are called the "fosses communes,'' and
the latter axe termed " a perpetuite."
On leaving the remarkable cemetery of Pere la Chaise,
one cannot but acknowledge that the Parisian character
appears amiable, from the reverence here manifested for
the memory of the dead. Every stranger who is impressed
with the frivolity exhibited by the crowds, which throng
the shady walks of the Boulevards, where all seem eager
to enjoy the present hour, will leave this cemetery with a
more favorable, opinion of their refined sensibilites and
warm affections. Many and interesting are the tributes of
regard, which thej here manifest for the memory of their
departed friends.
In the United States, and perhaps in many other coun
tries, the visits of children of Protestants to the graves of
their parents are rare. They hesitate to be seen there, as if
ashamed of betraying, by filial tears, vvhat they falsely deem
the weakness of human nature. Let those who condemn
the Catholic inhabitants of Paris for their amusements on
the Sabbath, reflect that they possess, many redeeming qual
ities. It might be added, th^t many a Protestant, whose
hands remain at rest on the Sabbath, continues neverthe
less silently to devote his mind to schemes of business or
©f pleasure.
VOL, II. 11

110 ROYAL GILDED CARRIAGES.

PUBLIC ENTRANCE OF THE KING INTO PARIS.
Having an opportunity of witnessing the State ceremo
ny of a grand procession of the king of France, and of the
Royal Family, together with all the highest dignitaries of
State, a sketch of it may perhaps afford an idea ofthe
pomp with which so important a personage as a king moves
abroad on great occasions.
The principal streets through which the procession
passed was strewed with sand, and lined on each side for
nearly a mile and a half with soldiers, and was also crow
ded with spectators: they were kept in order by the soldiers,
who bestowed many hearty blows with the flat side of their
swords. The horses ofthe Gens d'armes are well trained
to the service of keeping back the dense ranks Of a crowd.
They wheel and present their tails toward the spectators,
and then make a brisk retrograde movement against a
closely wedged mass of people. The impetus is irre
sistible, operating like a battering ram, and overthrowing
at once numbers of men, who are glad to escape from be
neath the heels of the horse, and from being trampled up
on when thus overthrown.
A numerous guard of soldiers took the lead in the pro
cession, followed by half a dozen coaches, almost covered
with gilding. The royal coach is resplendant with gold,
glittering with a complete coat of this precious metal — ev
en to the very spokes of the wheels. The six horses are
invested with red morrocco harnesses, braided with other
kinds of leather. Upon the top of the royal coach, are
mounted four large gilded figures in the attitude of blow
ing gilded trumpets. This is the State Coach of France,
like that of the Lord Mayor of London ^ and is the same
that served to convey Napoleon through the streets of Par
is after his coronation. It was subsequently used, as was

ESCORT OF A KING. m
staled to me, at the funeral of king Louis. Large sheets
of plate glass forming the sides of the carriage, display to
CjU view the royal personages. Both the duchess d'Orleans
and the duchess de Berri were seated in the carriage with
the king, and exposed to the gaze of the multitude. The
ladies were not in the least disconcerted by being thus ex
hibited ; on the contrary, they appeared to amuse themselves
by reconnoitering the crowds by means of their opera glasses.
Their dresses were literally sprinkled with diamonds, which
sparkled at every jolt ofthe coach. The king himself was
industriously employed in bowing condescendingly to his
subjects on each side of the street. The movements of
his head thus acquired a vibratory motion, not unlike that
of the figures of Chinese mandarins, which may some
times be seen to impart animation to the window of a
tea-shop. The spectators gazed quietly at the glittering
pageant, and with evident apjithy at a king^ imposed upon
them by foreign bayonets.
On common occasions, the king makes his appearance
in the streets of Paris in a less ostentatious style. When
he attended the theatres, his carriage was preceded by a
troop qf mounted lancers with their little pennons flutter
ing at the end of the lances. The coach of the king was
encompassed by armed men, and the escort was closed by
a troop of about a hundred mounted cuirassiers, clad in
polished steel armor. At the moment the king alighted,
there was a flourish of drums and trumpets, and about half
a dozen individuals, in some instances, cried out " vive
Charles dix," in feeble voices, as Richard III. was hailed
in Guildhall. Between files of soldiers, extending from the
door of the theatre to the box he is to occupy, he passes,
protected on either hand by palisades of polished bayonets.
After the precious charge is safely seated to view the play,
the greater part of the troops wheel about and return tp
the guard-house,

112 DRESS OF FRENCH SOLDIERS.
This is the common style, as one of our Parisian ac
quaintance stated, in which tiie king makes his public ap
pearance. The contrast between the plain equipage and
unostentatious personal appearance ofthe Chief Magistrate
of the United States, and this parade of royalty, is too ob
vious to pass unnoticed. The American president travels
when and where he pleases, with no other attendants than
those of a gentleman in a private station. A traveller in the
United States may sometimes find himself conversingwith
the ruler of twelve millions of people, without being re
minded of his presence by any pe,culiarity of personal re
tinue or appearance. The surprise of foreign ambassa
dors, it is said, is often excited on finding at the seat of
government only clerks officiating in the offices of the de
partments', whilst all the wheels of the political machinery
are moving with regularity aad harmony, although every
member of the Cabinet may be absent from the capital,
mingling as citizens among the " sovereign people."

DRESS AND ACCOUTREMENTS OF FRENCH SOLDIERS.
The soldiers of the body guard ofthe king wear uni
forms of various colors, and carry arms of different kinds.
Some of them are armed with broad axes, which on their
march are thrown over their shoulders, in the style of a
true wood-chopper of the American forests. Others ex
hibit an appearance nearly as savage as that of Robinson
Crusoe dressed in skins ; for they seem to have thrust their
heads into the fur of an entire " rugged Russian bear," —
so bulky are their huge conical fur caps ; whilst their hor>-
rid grisly mustachios, resembling patches ofthe fur ofthe
same animal stuck beneath their noses, with a hole cut
through it for a spiracle and apertui-e for thfe reception of
food, give td the human face divine the resemblance to
the mouth of Bruin. Where these mustachio? have beeu

DRESS OF THE INHABIT.A.NTS 113
perseveringly fostered, they become long enough to antici
pate the lips in approaching the brim of every vessel con
taining the usual potations of the table. It may afford,
for a few moments, atausement to regard the officers whilst
performing their tasks at the tables of the coffee-houses.
The spongy tufts of hair plunge in advance amid the cof
fee and floating cream, and are withdrawn again at every
sip, dripping with the fluid, and requiring the application
of a white cambric handkerchief or napkin to squeeze out
or to absorb the distilling drops. The cuirassiers are en
cased about the body with plates of polished steel, strength
ened by an internal lining of sheet brass. The front of
the breast-plate is made sharp, like the bows of a ship ;
by which means a bullet is caused to glance aside and is
turned off harmlessly from the breast, unless it strike di
rectly and fairly at right angles upon the surface of the
steel armor. When the bullet strikes a flat plane surface,
it perforates the double sheets of steel and brass as if they
were composed of paper. Some of the holes, thus fatally
made, I have examined.
Clothed in fur and armor, the poor soldier in sultry
weather pants, and appears scarcely able to endure the
load with which he is encumbered.

PARIS fashions;
The principal promenade and drive of the fashionable
portion of the population of the city is through the shady
streets ofthe Boulevards. Here, and in some ofthe royal
grounds, gay throngs are to be seen on a fine day enjoy
ing exercise in the open air," aud displaying their dresses
and equipages. Paris is the grand source of fashions for
dress. The ladies of Russia as well as of Italy, and even
of distant America, turn their expecting regards toward
the mystical operations and devices ofthe milliners of this
VOL. n. 11*

114 PARIS FASHIONS.— NURSERIES OF TREES.
emporium of taste. Their dictates for cuttilig a garment
or the shape of a bonnet are more generally and implicitly
obeyed, than ever were the imperial edicts of the emperor
of France. This subservient submission to the dictation
of Parisian dress-makers seems to have been cheerfully
submitted to for ages by the fair sex throughout the world,
seemingly as a sort of fealty due to the more proper and
chaste taste for dress, which generally prevails in this city.
To the eye of the stranger there seems to be a propriety
in the ornaments, as well as in the style of female attire,
and few of those gaudy extravagancies are to be seen, so
frequently observable in New- York, where the Paris fash
ions often seem not merely copied, but caricatured.'

NURSERIES FOR TREES AND SHRUBS.
In the vicinity of Paris are several large nurseries for
propagating trees and flowers. Horticulture, even in the
immediate vicinity of the city, is pursued to a considera
ble extent, and great quantities of the finest strawberries
are exposed JFor sale in the markets. Grapes are also cul
tivated on an extensive scale in the vineyards adjacent to
the city.
Having caEed upon a nursery-man near Paris to pur
chase a few trees and shrubs, I enquired of him Respect
ing the usual manner in which the vine is cultivated in
this vicinity. He stated that the vines are planted in the
-fields, in rows from 4 to 6 feet apart, according to the fer
tility of the soil, and about 3 feet asunder in the rows.
They are -commonly trimmed in the spring in the north
ern and colder part of France, sufficiently early to pre
vent the flow of the sap from the fresh incisions of the
stalks.- The rambling branches are trimmed down close
to the stump, leaving only three or four buds to form the
new shoots. A vineyard when thus trimmed is not so

CULTIVATION OF THE VINE. I15,
picturesque an object as described by poets. The short
stubs resemble a field of cabbage stumps. When the vines
are injured by frosts, it commonly happens in the spring
ofthe year, after the buds are pushed out. The stubs of
the vines are sometimes covered with earth in the north
of France and in Germany, to protect them from the
frosts. He stated that the sort of grape most esteemed
for the table is the Chasselas de Fontainbleau. The Ma
deleine black grape, the Meslier, and the Meunier Noir,
are also generally cultivated, and much admired for the
fine qualities of the fruit.

EXCURSION TO VERSAILLES.
The palace and gardens of Versailles are situated about
-ten or twelve miles from Paris. To convey our party to
view them one of the strange sort of French vehicles,
mounted on two wheels and capable of containing eight
persons, was engaged. It commonly falls to the lot of a
lean horse to draw this rude carriage. Indeed it soon
must make a fat horse lean to draw this heavy vehicle load
ed with eight passengers, whose weight is sometimes so
awkwardly balanced on the axle of the two wheels, that
the poor animal seems to labor to keep from being lifted
up into the mid air by the belly band attached to the fills.
The girth indents his stomach and rounds his back like
the impress of the Dutchman's waistband, as described in
Knickerbocker's account of the stlspension of the burgh
ers of New Amsterdam. It is in these vehicles that the
lower classes of Paris enjoy the fresh air of the country,
with their families, on festival occasions.
The road from Paris to Versailles follows the level bank
of the Seine for a considerable distance, affording views
of several villages, one of which, Passy, is rendered inter
esting to an American for having been the residence of

116 BOATS ON THE SEINE.
Franklin for a considerable period. One ofthe gates or
ways of entrance from this village to the city of Paris, has
been named after the philosopher, " Barriere Franklin. "

BOATS AND RIVER-CRAFT ON THE SEINE.
During our ride on the banks of the Seine, we had an
opportunity of viewing the various sorts of boats used for
navigating this river. In the science of boat-building lit
tle improvement has been made for the last hundred years,
if one may be allowed to judge by the appearance of the
rudely constructed boats that are moving lazily over the
tranquil surface of the Seine. To some of the freight-bar
ges employed for ascending and descending the river, are
appended unwieldy rudders of most extraordinary dimen
sions, which project from the sterns and swing from one •
side to the other with three fourths of their broad sides
above the water. From this circumstance, the rudder
seems almost as much affected by the wind as by the wa
ter, in which the lower part of it is immersed. These rud
ders actually appear as if they had been unhinged from
the broad opening of some New-England barn door, and
had been converted by a little alteration into rudders.
The boats are about eighty feet long, from fourteen to
eighteen feet broad, and about six feet in depth. The
rudder post also makes a strange appearance, rising above
the stern like a mast, in some instances above fourteen
feet high. The rudder boards trailing behind the stern
present a surface of about fifteen or twenty feet in lengthy
and three or four feet in depth.
There is ingenuity displayed even in the construction
of these boats, to adapt them to the navigation of the
shallows of the river. The rudders are not hung upon
metallic hooks or pintals, in the manner usually practised
in England and in the United States, but they are sus-

NAVIGATION ON THE SEINE. in
tained by cords passing over tackles or blocks, one at each
side of the rudder post. _ By this means, the rudder may
be raised or lowered, and adapted to the shallows ofthe
river. The rudder posts are made long and towering,
that the tiller or helm may be manageable above the top
of the cargo of firewood or charcoal, which is piled up to
the height of 12 or 15 feet above the level of the water.
Thus these apparently rude boats, which are so often the
subjects of the jests of travellers, possess qualities that
have recommended them, for practical utility, during
many ages.
There are other kinds of boats as carelessly built with
rough boards as the square a^rks, which descend the Ohio ;
or to borrow again an idea oiF naval architecture from a
New-England farm yard, they resemble large pig pens,
for which one of these boats might be mistaken, were it
seen after some extraordinary freshet, floating off upon
the waters.
On looking over the stone parapets, which serve as
walls on each side of the riVer for the security of the pas
sengers in the streets of Paris, these arks are seen loaded
with wood and charcoal, amid rafts of timber, that en
cumber the surface ofthe Seine with such unsightly float
ing rubbish, as absolutely to destroy whatever natural
beauty the winding stream may possess. A' view from the
bridges of Paris cannot but give to a stranger a most un
favorable opinion ofthe skdl ofthe French in inland nav
igation. An American cannot fail to contrast this scene
with the splendid exhibition of steamboats* and barges on

* Only one steamboat plies oti -the Seine between Havre and Paris,
and this is managed unskilfully, and performs the trip -with great irregu
larity. It should, however, be observed, that the Seine, as well as tlie
other rivers of France, is so much impeded by sand bars, that there da
not exist facilities for navigation like those afibrded by the great rivers,
inland bays and lakes of tlie United States,

118 FRENCH PORCELAIN.
the Hudson. Along the edge of the quays are moored
floating baths and scoWs. The latter on every fair day
are occupied by vociferous washerwomen, who make the
high walls, which border the river, re-echo the blows of
the mallets, with which they pound their wet linen to
cleanse it, instead of washing it with their hands.

MANUFACTURE OF FRENCH PORCELAIN.
On the road to Versailles, we stopped to view the cele
brated Porcelain manufactory at Sevre. Here some ofthe
most splendid vases have been made, without regard to
the cost, which is defrayed from the national funds ; like
the similar national establishment of the tapestry manufac
ture of tbe Gobelins. Dinner-sets of this beautiful porce
lain are offered for sale at exorbitant prices, and some of
the vases are marked at ten or twelve thousand francs. —
There is a limited demand for these costly manufactures.
The paintings executed upon the porcelain vases rival in
brilliancy of tints and delicacy of shades, the finest paint
ings in oil or water colors, notwithstanding the tints are
of totally different shades when laid on with the brush, and
when withdrawn from the furnace.
¦The little figures and images of porcelain are made hol
low. Without the mark of a seam it may have excited in
some persons as much curiosity to learn the mode in which
they are thus made, as it did in the king, according to Pe
ter Pindar's account, to discover how the apples could
have been inclosed in the dumpling without leaving a
seam. Moulds are prepared of plaster of Parisj into which
the preparation of. porcelain clay in a semifluid state is
poured. The dryness of the mould, and its quality of ab
sorbing moisture, consolidates the fluid clay in actual con
tact with it, whilst the centre continues fluid, which is then
immediately poured out, leaving an interior crust or coat

ORANGE GROVE. 119
adapted to the internal form of the mould. The hollow
handles of pewter mugs are made on the same principle.
The cold metallic moulds chill instantly the melted metal
in actual' contact with the interior surfaces of them, when
the moulds are dexterously inverted, and the fluid portions
of the melted metal in the centre of the handle run out,
leaving the handle holloyv.

GARDENS AND PALACE OF VERSAILLES.
We alighted in front of a very ordinary brick structure,
forming one extreme of the Palace of Versailles. From
a first glimpse of its walls, we were doubtful of the
veracity of our guide, whom we had engaged at the
gate. But this humble entrance proved a mask to the
splendid front facing the gardens.
The guide first directed our course to the Orangery, or
Grove of two or three hundred Orange trees. These are
arranged in great tubs in a sort of vast cellar excavated
on the sunny declivity of a hill. One of the trees, accord
ing to the statement of the guide,, is above one hundred
years old. It is rather small and dwarfish for its age, its
roots having been limited in range to the narrow circle of
a portable tub. These trees are protected from the frosts
of winter by being moved under the arched subterranean
vaults, which are formed beneath the hill on a level with
the area or platform where the trees display their golden
fruits in summer.
On turning to view the front of the palace facing the
gardens, its magnificent dimensions seemed to strike us
dumb with wonder, the extent of this front being 800 feet
in length.
Strolling leisurely after our guide, and listening as we
went to his explanations, in which every phrase contained

120 WATER-WORKS OF VERSAILLES.
the term magnifique, we gazed at the numerous remarkable
objects which the uncontrolled wealth and pleasure of a
powerful monarch once made it his study, aided by the
most able architects of the nation, to collect on this favor
ed spot. The works of ornament are all presented to view
with the most studied effect. The general plan of the
pleasure grounds of Versailles appears to be designed to
produce shady walks beneath lofty elms, limes and horse-
chesnuts, planted in close rows, with the lower branches
carefully trimmed to form arches of leaves, each alley, or
arch of foliage, having some temple, group of statues or jets
of water works, to terminate the view or vista. The grav
el walks are bordered by hedges trimmed as smooth
as a fence of boards, and with their dark green foliage
almost as impenetrable by the eye.
In one spot you observe the walks to open upon smooth
lawns, and suddenly winding to disclose the figures of
water-nymphs and tritons, or perhaps of frogs and turtles,
forming portiohs of the celebrated water-works. At and-
ther turn of the walk, a secluded bower invites you to re
pose ; and whilst seated here, if you look up, you behold
before you an artificial lake half a mile in length, whh its
ruffied waters glittering through the leaves, and flashing
the reflected sunbeams from every wave. At each step
as you advance, some new object is seen to give variety
to the studied scenery.
The spouting fountains and vvater-works of Versailles are
celebrated as being the most costly and extensive in the
world. There are no abundant springs on elevated
hills, from whence to conduct descending streams to these
grounds; but most of the water is pumped up fi-om
the river Seine into a basin on the summit of a hill 300
feet above the level ofthe river, and at a distance of three
or four' miles from Versailles. The forcing-pumps are
operated by several water wJieels, moved by the current

'WA:tER WORKS 0& VERSAILLES, 121
tof ibe river, which is there obstructed by a small dam.
The water wheels not having proved adequate, a steam
engine has been added as an assistant laborer in this
costly work oi folly. About 1000 tons of water per hour
have been raised by the machinery, according to the
published statement ; but so much water is required to sup>-
ply the jets d'eau, and so great is the expense of raising
it from the river, that all the water-works are allowed to
play only on two or three grand occasions during the
year. On one Sunday in each month, a partial exhibition
takes place, when they are suffered to flow only a certain
period of time, regulated almost to the nicety of a stop
watch calculation. During nearly all the rest of the year,
the water gods and goddesses, and even old Neptune with
his trident, are exposed to a blistering sunshine, with the
white paint scaling from the surface of the moulded metal,
of which they are composed, as if their skins were disor
dered by the scurvy in their forlorn estate. The marble
frogs have their bare backs also dry and exposed to the
sun, and are here reduced to the same extremities, for want
of water, as their living prototypes were, in the famous
Windham pond in Connecticut, during the French war
Of 1756.*
*lBipatient of their thirsty condition, the Windham frogs remained not
stationaiy, on the bare sands of a dried up pond; but with one voice they
took up tlieir line of march in the night ibr tlie nearest brook. The nti-
intcHigiblcj guttural, unnatural sounds they croaked during their progress
"along the road awakened the vitlagers, and threw them into consternation
and dismay. They seized their arnfis under a mistaken apprehension of
an irruption of an array of Frenchmen from Canuda, all crying out in an
\inkaown dialect. They fancied .they heard their invaders calling to them
by their names to surrender, and it was only after a bold reconnoisance
by candlelight that the cause of alarm was discovered.
These gardens were planned by an artist celebrated in his day, named
Le Notre. An anecdote has been related ofthe effect produced on Louis
XIV. on presenting the plans to him. He was surprized by the taste
¦displayed by the artist, and the genius he evinced in overcoming the dilB-
VOL, II. 12

122 PALACE AND GARDENS OF"
Within the range of the gardens or pleasure grounds of
Versailles, are two small palaces erected by the former
kings of France. Elsewhere, these, would be considered
worthy of the notice of a stranger ; but here, in compar
ison with the great palace of Versailles, they are viewed
with diminished interest. Indeed, the stranger after pass
ing a few hours among these marble temples, grottos,
groups of statues, vases, bowers, flowers, pavilions, and
palaces, may almost imagine himself transported to fairy
land. After walking oyer the extensive grounds for sev
eral hours, the excited mind exacts too severe a task of
the muscular system. Stimulated by the successive views
of all these grand artificial works, the visitant feels surprised
at being so soon tired in roving over such a paradise. Our
party at last seemed to derive more delight from reclining
upon the green herbage, and indulging in the luxury
of rest, than in admiring the hollow splendors of royalty.
Recovering from the fatigue of admiring the external
decorations around the palace, we addressed ourselves to
the porter at the palace door, who sent to us a servant to act
as a guide. We now commenced viewing one splendid
apartment after another, some walled with richly sculptured
marble of variegated colors, and others adorned with great
mirrors, paintings &c. The servant acts at times as an
orator in describing the curiosities in each hall, and the
events of history connected with them. These long ran
ges of halls, however, appear cold and cheerless, divested
culties of introducing such great quantities of water as were required for
the fountains, and in overcoming the many natural obstacles arising from
the nature of the ground. " In the progi-ess of the explanations, the
monarch three times interrupted his discourse, each time exclaiming,
"Le Notre, I give you for that twenty thousand francs." — When this
munificent grant was repeated for tire fourtli time, Le Notre stoppedthc
king, saying, Sire, you shall hear no more ; I should ruin you were I to go
on."

VERSAILLES. 123
of furniture to the bare walls and empannelled mirrors.
Our guide stated that during the Revolution all the movea
bles were sold by public auction, and the halls of the pal
ace were occupied as wards of an hospital for troops.
In one wing of the palace is a chapel, also decorated
with a profusion of costly sculptured marble. Under the
same roof there is a theatre, which was once very splendid,
judging from the quantity of gilding and highly decorated
scenery that remains in a neglected condition. It was for
exhibition on this now deserted stage, that Moliere wrote
some of his most amusing plays ; and here the most splen
did Royal pourt of Europe once assembled to witness
them. The Royal Banquetting Room, another most splen
did hall, used for the dress-balls of the court, is nearly an
hundred feet in length, seventy feet in width and about
fifty feet high ! On, these useless structures, Water works,
and gardens, more than 30,000,000 dollars, it has been
stated, were lavishly squandered. The wasteful expendi
tures of the national treasures upon these follies, and the
Jjrodigality and debaucheries exhibited here, - have been
considered among the first exciting causes of the Revolu
tion, that for a time levelled all orders of society, and swept
away the learned ahd the good, as well as the vicious fol.
lowers of a corrupt court.

PAL.iCE OF ST. CLOUD,
Dismissing our guide with his fees, we took the road
to the palace of St. Cloud, in the examination of which we
passed the remainder of the day. This beautiful palace
is situated on the brow of a lofty hill, commanding an ex
tensive view ofthe domes and cathedrals of Paris, and ofthe
wide adjacent country. Although less magnificent than
the palace of Versailles, it has an appearance of conven
ience and comfort, combined with all the splendor which a

12i PALACE: OF ST. CLOUD.,
monarch might desire. , After waiting a few moments at
the guard-house near the gate, where a dozen soldiers
were engaged in playing cards, servants dressed in live
ries came forward to conduct us to view the curiosities of
the palace.
In the French as well as English palaces, these servants,
who derive considerable emolument for acting as guides,,
are ready to offei every civility ¦ in showing tih'e pictures,
halls of state, as well as the beds of state, if this term may
be applied to a cumbersome piece of furniture intended
for the repose of royal couples on great occasions. Even
the books and writing tables in some of the apartments
appear as if lately used by the inmates ofthe palace. St.
Cloud was the favorite abode of Napoleon during the
years of his prosperity, and the servant related many
particulars of his domestic habits. From the windows of
the apartments, the gold fish appear swimming in the
transparent waters of the artificial fish ponds in the gar«
dens. The water works of St. Cloud are also celebrated for
magnitude ; but like those of Versailles they play only
during two or three Sundays of the year, when it is stated
these gardens are filled with booths, and the population
of Paris cirowd to the scene. The bed of the great cas-.
cade, when dry, resembles a fiight of steps about one hun
dred feet in width, and'nearly one hundred feet in height.
To celebrate the coronation of the king, a grand fete,
as it is called, was given to the inhabitahts of Parife. By
order of the king, the theatres were opened for several
nights, free of expense to spectators ; fire works and illu
minations were exhibited ; and the royal munificence was
still further displayed by a proclamation offering a public
distribution of provisions. In the pompous words of the
proclariiation " the fountains sxe to run with wine."
We passed a day in witnessing these various, gratnitous

PUBLIC SHOWS — DISTRIBUTION OF WINE, &c. 125
exhibitions, and mingled with the crowd wherever the most
merriment appeared. The common people of Paris have
a happy faculty of acquiescing readily in the measures of
their existing government, and seem to forget, while they
view these exhibitions, and mingle in. the squabble for the
cold meat and wine, whether they derive their gratifica
tions from the bounty of royalty, or the voteof their fellow-
republicans. To facilitate the scattering of these provi
sions among the crowd, scafiblds of boards are erected ten
or twelve feet above the ground, from whence the cold
roasted chickens, sausages, and bread are tossed amid the
densely wedged heads of the closing competitors, who
snatch, and fight, and growl over the cold victuals, and
appear to enjoy about as much comfort in their uncertain
repasts, as a dog derives from the contested possession of
a bone. '- Fountains running with wine," convey a won
derful idea of royal magnificence^hardly justified by the
reality. The boasted fountains proved to be precisely such
as every farmer has at command, who taps a barrel of ci
der and allows the contents of the reservoir to supply a
puny issuing current. Three or four barrels of wine were
placed on each platform -or scaffold, together with the pro
visions ; and from a short pipe inserted in the head of each
cask, a tiny stream of wine jetted out through a hole in the
boards, which one of the spectators laughingly observed,
might have been mistaken for the agency of some little
boy behind the screen. The mirth of the spectators is ex
cited on viewing the contests for the wine. Mugs, pails,
pitchers, and various other utensils, are all held above the
heads by eager outstretched hands; whilst the descending
stream enters the sleeves and courses down the cheeks into
the necks of the competitors, who amid the jostle are rare
ly able to keep their upheld mugs in the proper place to
catch the wine, longer than for an interval of a few mo
ments. One sturdy fellow, who had triumphantly repelled
VOL. II. 13*

126 AMUSEMENTS OF THE POPI/LACE.
the surrounding mugs, and had collected nearly half a gal
lon of wine in his earthen pot, raised high above his head,
was vanquished, like the powerful Goliah, by a small peb
ble thrown by a boy, who launched it with such precision
as to leave elevated in the air, after the fatal crash, only a
brawny arm grasping a fragment of the handle. The
pieces of the pitcher, together with- its liquid contents, de
scended in a shower, bathing with red wine the person who
had held it aloft, and nearly blinding him, as he walked
off with the huzzas of the crowd ringing in his ears.
Among the countless thousands assembled on this occa
sion, I saw only three or four persons intoxicated. The
amusements of the populace consist principally in danc
ing, more than half of the multitude being composed of
females. Others were deeply engaged in drawing lotteries,
in which the prizes consisted of huge stacks of ginger
bread; or in riding wooden horses, revolving in a circle, and
in sipping wine and water whilst sitting in the shade of the
trees. The climbing of smooth tall masts, besmeared with
grease and thus rendered slippery as an eel, is another fa
vorite diversion. Upon the top ofthe mast are hung watches
and other prizes, furnished at the king's expense to encour
age this exalting art. These, became the property of any
candidates who can succeed in winning them by climbing
up to the top of the slippery pole. When within reach of
the prizes, and actually extending a hand to seize one of
them, the unfortunate climber sometimes descended, in
despite of his closest embrace, and slipped with velocity
to the bottom amid the shouts and laughter of thousands
of spectators. The only person whom I heard shout
"vive Charles X." with unaffected zeal, was one of the
successful competitors, who had secured the last prize left
oh the pole — a roasted goose, which he swung around his
head in triumph, as he uttered this exclamation.
The practice of distributing provisions originated prob-

EXHIBITION OF FIRE-WORKS. 127
ably from the munificence of ancient kings, who bestowed
the charitable donation of bread upon the poor and feeble,
who were unable to earlx it. In this crowd, however, a
man who has not strength to earn his bread, would have
a hopeless chance of winning it in the scuffle.
The fire-works exhibited in the evening at the national
expense, to gratify the citizens of Paris, were of the most
splendid kind that the pyrotechnic art is capable of pro
ducing. During some parts of the exhibition, the simul
taneous explosions of numerous bombs throw fire balls to
a great height into the air. Flights of hundreds of rockets
crossing the paths of each other, and the sinuous move
ments of fiery serpents, all terminating their aerial courses
by exploding in showers of falling sparks of various bril
liant colors, — illuminated the adjacent city, and filled the
very heavens with fire ; whilst on the ground beneath,
temples and columns, wreathed in flame, revolving wheels
displaying a broad disk of dazzling light almost as bril
liant as that of the sun, surrounded by fountains or jets
that gush forth living torrents of fire, like volcanos —
all comprehended in one glance ofthe eye, seem for a mo
ment to cause the spectator to imagine he beholds the
scene of a general conflagration.*
* Whilst seated in the Place Louis XV. in the intervals ofthe show of
the fire-works, one cannot forbear reflecting upon the scenes of sorrow as
well as of mirth which have been exhibited on this spot. Here the blood
of Lavoisier, Malesherbes, and of many other illustrious men, was poured
out on the pavement under the axe of the guillotine. . Lavoisier, it is
narrated, devoted to science with ardor to the last moment of his life,
requested a respite of his sentence for a few days to' finish some chemical
experimehts. He was churlishly answered by his executioners, that
" the Republic lid no need of chemists." For several months, twenty-
five or thirty persons were beheaded every day, and it became a common
spectacle to the people, as a show. So numerous^ were those executions,
that the daily procession of the condemned persons through some of the
principal streets excited complaints and tlie horror of the inhabitants, and
the machine was removed to a distant part, of the city, where the number

128 PRESSURE OF A CROWD.
The fronts of the palace and buildings around the pub
lic square were also illuminated by myriads of small
earthen cups, filled with tallow, ^nd furnished with broad
wicks. The lamps, expdsed flickering to the breeze in
the open air on the external surface of the walls, shed a
glare of red light on the multitude of upturned counten
ances in the streets below.
When the fire-works had ceased' to flash and sparkle,
and surrounding objects were involved in darkness, the
dense mass of spectators began to move at once toward
the narrow avenues that opened from the square. Borne
along by the irresistible current toward one of the na;rrov/
defiles of a gateway of the garden of the TuOeries, the
pressure of the crowd became every moment more intense;
The frame-work of the chest seemed to be yielding, respi
ration became diflicult, and for some paces I felt myself
moved along without touching my feet, or having the
power to move my arms, closely compressed to my sides.
The shrieks of women, mingled in the crowd, be
came frequent and piercing, until the defile was passed.
The free action ofthe lungs and the relief from the suffo
cating' sensations produced by the pressure was more de
lightful than the exhibition itself which I had just been
witnessing. At a similar exhibition of fire-works on the occasion of
the marriage of Marie Antoinette, many hundred persons
lost their lives by the pressure ofthe crowd.
We were informed, the ensuing morning, that several
persons had actually been killed and wounded by the pre
mature explosion of a part of the gunpowder and fire-
of persons murdered seldom fell short of forty each day, and sometimes
exceeded seventy. After being tried in the morning, they were generally
guillotined in the afternoon, " the former operation occupying hardly
more time than the latter." Robespiore himself finally lost his head in
the Place Louis XV.

DECORATIONS OF A DINNER TABLE. 129
works. Little excitement, however, appears to be pro
duced by a few accidental deaths in a city where there
are estimated to be so many thousand accidental births
every year.
Among the hollow testimonials of rejoicing at the coro
nation, a dinner was given by the authorities of the city
of Paris, at which the king was present. All the art and
taste of the Parisians, it is stated, were called forth to or
nament the tables and the halls. On the ensuing day, the
good citizens of Paris were permitted, on special applica
tion and license from the Mayors of the departments of
_the city, to enter the Maison de Ville, to view the sumpt
uous decorations that were left undisturbed for exhibition.
Having been favored with an order from one of the dozen
Mayors of the arrondissement^ of Paris, with a signature
setting forth nearly as many titles as there were words in
the passport, we proceeded to view those decorations of
the table, for which French confectioners are so celebrate
ed. Delivering our passport at the door to a soldier who
guarded it, we entered a dark passage, through which we
groped our way until we entered the door of the great
hall, where the sudden transition to a dazzling glare of
light produced an unexpected and magical effect. The
pillars, and even the walls of one of the halls are entirely
covered with a cloth or tissue of gold, and from the numer
ous lights, they reflect a iustre, as if each column were
composed of massy gold. Every object, except perhaps
the roasted ducks and other edibles, must have appeared
at the feast radiant with beams of light, reflected many
fold by numerous mirrors with which even the tables are
loaded with studied care, to magnify the profusion which
they exhibit, and to produce a momentary illusion in the
spectator, as if he were beholding one of the golden pal
aces described in the tales of Eastern romance.
Having been informed that the guillotine is deposited

130 GUILLOTINE.— PALAIS ROYAL.
in onepart of this public edifice, called the Maison de Ville,
or city Hall, I addressed myself to a gens d'armes, to make
inquiries respecting it. He began vociferously to express
his astonishment that any gentleman could wish to see
that dreadful machine, and vented his abuse against un
feeling Englishmen who delight in cock fights and box
ing, and bloody executions. Observing a crowd of audi
tors to be collecting to hear his tirade against John Bull,
or Jacques Roast beef, as this appellation is often comically
translated and used by Frenchmen, I retreated and left him
to terminate his harangue upon the characteristic want of
feeling in Englishmen. I afterwards learned that the keep
er ofthe guillotine, for a stated fee, is glad to set it up
ready for operation, for the gratification of such' as are
willing to pay for the sight ofthe " dreadful machine."

PALAIS ROYAL.
Having obtained a ticket for admittance to view the
palace of the Due D'Orleans (the presfent king of France,)
we jjassed an hour in strolling through the various apart
ments, and in viewing the paintings which they contain. -
One end of this celebrated palace, called the Palais Roy
al, is occupied by, the Due D'Orleans, and the other
end is occupied by shopkeepers of all kinds,, confection
ers, coffee-rooms, gaming-houses, and indeed for almost
every sort of trade; whilst in the piazzas the courtesans
of the city promenade at the approach of evening. It is
a sort of Noah's ark for. trades, every branch being rep
resented in some part of it. Before the Revolution, the
former Duke of Orleans, having squandered immense
sums in the indulgence of his profligate habits, resorted
to the plan of opening the court-yard of his palace to
tradesmen, to gamesters and all other persons, who would
pay liberal rents to recruit his exhausted finances. For-

SHOPS OF THE PALAIS ROYAL. I3I
tunately for the present Duke, when other estates of noble
men in Paris were confiscated and sold in fee by the rul
ing party during the Revolution, this Royal Palace was
leased for a term of years. The leases having mostly ex
pired, the proprietor has regained possession of the great
revenue froni the rents ofthe shops and chambers of this
extensive structure. The edifice is built around the four
sides of an open area of five or -six acres of ground, which
is laid out into flower gardens and shaded walks, and is
refi-eshed by the spouting waters of a fountain. Standing
in the middle of this interior area or court yard, and look
ing around upon the walls of the palace which incloses it
on every side, you behold a sheltered walk or arcade,
composed of about two hundred arches, and nearly half
a mile in circuit. Protected from the inclemency of the
weather at -all seasons, you may here walk, and derive
amusement at every step from showy exhibitions of jew
elry and fancy goods of all descriptions, arranged at the
shop windows which open upon the arcade. In the even
ing, this arcade is lighted by two hundred lamps, or more,
whilst a mid day brilliancy seems to stream from every
shop windowi* It is stated that some of these shops
are rented by the Duke at the rate of 25,000 francs per
annum. To this pretty square, crowds of the citizens
and^strangers resort at the commencement of the evening,
in fine weather, to promenade, and £0 sit in the chairs
kept for this purpose by women, who lease them at two
sous each.

» The display of rare and beautiful articles in the shop windows in
Paris are tempting sources of expense to strangers, who may here find
many of those little articles understood by the term " souvenirs," to grat
ify those at home, who may place more value on being thus remembered,
than on the object itself which may be the proof and lasting pledge of it.
This occupation, as far as one's limited means may allow, certainly af-
fordi one ofthe most pleasipg gratiflcatione to the traveller.

13^ GARDEN OP PLANTS.
A humorous caricature of John Bull is exhibited at the
windows Of the print shops, where a fat unwieldy English
man is represented as seated in one of these chairs, with
his feet placed on a second, and his arms resting on the
back of^ third, whilst he is resisting the claim of the old
lady for six sous for the occupancy of as many chairs as
would serve three Frenchmen. At' the hour of twilight,
the courtesans of the city may be here seen without bom
nets and with their hair and drapery arranged with all the
studied allurements of art, some of them as if arrayed
in ball dresses.
After gaining access to the portion of the palace occu
pied by the family of the proprietor, we imagined that we
were in the presence of the Duke himself, or of some of
the high oflicers of rank, so profusely are the Servants
covered with liveries of gold lace, and. scarlet, and showy
epaulettes. Their obsequious attention and bows soon
relieved us from every embarrassment.

GARDEN OF PLANTS.

On one of the finest mornings of June, we went to
the Garden of Plants. This truly magnificent collection
of plants is supported at a great expense by the govern
ment, for the instruction as well as for the amusement of
the inhabitants of ParJs. Strangers are also freely admit
ted. The first tracts of ground we approached are occu
pied by culinary vegetables, and by various kinds of fruit
trees, distinctly marked with legible labels,, that indicate
both the botanical and common names of each class. — It
is thus that a visitant, without the aid of a Professor, may
fi-om mere inspection learn the names of six or seven
thousand varieties of plants, all tastefully arranged in little
beds divided by the low ever-green box. They are so
distributed as to present an agreeable diversity of appear-

CEDAR OF LEBANOX.— MENAGERIE. 133
ance whilst the scientific classification is still preserved.
The humblest floweret is here cherished with fostering
¦care, and the great cedar of Lebanon pushes its massy
trunk aloft from the greensward. Its top has here literal
ly verified, in' relation to civil society, what Horace says
of the dangers of pre-eminence in. the physical world,
" The lofty pines feel most the power
Of .wintry blasts."
During the mania for levelling, in the days of Robespierre,
it is sajd that certain wary republican politicians conceiv
ed that this cedar of Lebanon with its^ lofty top was set
ting a very aristocratical example to the humbler plants hi
its neighborhood. Unwilling to tolerate even the idea of
inequality, they, lopped off, it was stated to me, the top of
this cedar tree._ This act is equalled only by the licen
tious political absurdities of the same stamip, which were
exhibited in the time of Croniwell. One ofthe members
of Parliament was then anxious to alter the form of th<:^
Lord's Prayer, by inserting the words " thy republic
come," instead of " thy kingdom come," hypocritically
observing, that he did not like the idea of living in a king
dom, even in heaven.
-- In the m.enagerie are numerous wild animals, some
confined in cages or inclosures, and others in deep walled
pits or cellars. The most singular spectacle which I no
ticed was an eiephant bathing in a pool of water in the
open grounds. The animal, with great appiirent delight,
immersed himself completely in the water, which closed hi
ripples over his huge body. He continued submerged,
excepting his trunk, which he extended above the surface
of the water. '
In the department of compiarative anatomy, the labors of
Cuvier, and of his predecessors, have collected a surpris
ingly extensive ; variety of skeletons, from the ponderous
bones ofthe whale, 60 or 70 feet in length, and ofthe el-
VOL. II. 13

134 COMPAR-iTIVE ANATOMY.
ephant, to those of the most diminutive animals, hardly vis
ible by the naked eye. The skeletons of the inhabitants
of distant quarters of the globe are arranged to show the
difference in the forms of the human skulls, and of some
other principal bones. The collection of preserved birds
and butterflies, with the colors of their plumage as bright
and showy as when the^ are sporting in the sunshine ;
the various specimens of mineralogy, equally brilliant in
prismatic hues, and countless objects of curiosity, cannot
fail of long arresting on this spot the wandering traveller,
and of causing him to admire the enlightened liberality of
the government, which has made such exertions in the
cause of science.
An estimate may be formed- of the extent and diversity
of these collections in all the departments of natural his
tory, from the. fact, that more than one hundred and thirty
persons are employed constantly in the charge of them ;
and the annual expense of this extraordinary institution is
stated to exceed fifty thousand dollars. Several Professors
are employed to give public lectures upon the various
branches of the science which has relation to the institu
tion. These Professors are paid by the government, and
their lectures are open to the public, who are freely ad
mitted without charge.*
To Daubenton is ascribed tire inerit of having been the author of the
improvements that have taken place in the Garden of Plants, where, as it
has been observed, ' ' one knows not whether to admite most the astonish
ing fecundity of nature, which has produced so many different beihgs, or
tlic' unconquerable patience of man, who has collected all tliese beings,
named them, classed tliem, assigned them tlieir relations, described their
parts and explained their properties." It is stated of Daubenton, thatat
the age of 84, with his head bent upon his breast, his feet and hands de-
foimed by the gout, unable to walk without tire support of two persons,
he was led every morning to the Cabinet to preside, even to the last mo
ment of his long life, (Jver the arrangement of the articles committed to
his charge.

FRENCH WINES. 135

WINE MARKET OF PARIS.
In the course of our walk, we passed through the great
Wine Market of Paris, constructed by order of Bonaparte
on a magnificent scale. There are seven or eight ranges
of building?^ divided by streets named after various sorts
of wine, as Champaigne, Burgundy, &c, These build-
ing,!, it is stated, .are sufficiently spacious to contain
400,000 casks of wine. The ordinary wines of France
are consumed in vast quantities, as the common beverage
of the people, as cider is consumed in New-England.
Most of the light wines, as they are called, are soilr and
vyatery, and were they divested of the name of "wines, or
were they composed of the juice of any other fruit than the
classic grape, they would hardly be deemed potable, being
inferior in flavor as well as strength to cider. There are
also spacious storehouses for Brandy, which: forms a favo
rite beverage to close a Frenchman's evening repast at
the coffee houses, a small glass of brandy being very
commonly called for after the last^cup ofcoffee,-

DIOR.VMA.
During a morning stroll, we stopped to view the Diora
ma, a species of painting executed upon a large scale with
mechanical contrivances to produce a variation in the
lights and shades of a picture. At one time the landscape
view of some interesting expanse of country is darkened
by gathering clouds ; a rainbow with its vivid prismatic
colors imperceptibly spans its arch over the brightening
mists, and soon the gleams of a bright sunshine break
through the clouds, throwing clearly defined shadows
over the. scenery of the apparently immoveable sheet of
canvass, In the depicted representation ofthe interior of

136 DIORA-MA.
an old abbey or church, by artful management, the light
is made to fall upon the pillars and arches in a manner
so completely deceptive, that the real light of the sun seems
to be actually gleaming brightly through the windows and
half open doors, upon the stpne pavement of tbe church,
and the surface of the canvass resembles no longer a smooth
sheet spread before the eyes, but hollow retreating aisles
and recesses seem exposed to view: The whole effect is
so perfectly natural that the judgment, perplexed and
doubting, finally yields to what seems the evidence ofthe
senses, and the triumph ofthe optical delusion is complete ;
so complete, indeed, that I looked around for some small
object to serve as a secret missile to be projected against
the painted surface of the picture, for the purpose pf as
certaining by the test' of its elastic rebound, if the surface
were indeed plane like that of a common painting, and not
broken into distinct pieces cornposing the fore and back
grounds, like some of the shifting scenes of a theatre. To
find one^s judgment thus imposed upon by the evidence of
the senses produces not a little inquietude, for it causes
one to feel as if they were become spell-bound and treach
erous in the discharge of their functions.
When the views are to be changed, the spectators them
selves are moved around upon a great circular platform,
whilst the picture remains stationary.

CASTLE OF VINCENNES.
The Castle of Vincennes, two' or three miles distant
from Paris, is one of the most interesting buildings or
fortresses in France, connected with events of history.
Several Kings breathed their last there. Every stranger,
when he surveys the frowning v.alls, recalls to mind the
darkest deed of Napoleon's life, — the trial and execution,
or the murder, as the English term it, of the Duke D'Eng-

DUKE D'ENGHEIN. 137
hein. This event furnishes a signal illustration of the
truth that men are more deeply affected by the wanton
destruction of the life of a single, individual by a reckless
conqueror, than by the sacrifice of whole hecatombs of hu
man beings on the altar of ambition. The peculiar man
ner in which the duke was shot, adds not a little to the
exciting interest felt by those who hear of his fate. He
was brought out of the castle in the night and placed in
a corner of the ditch, his figure, erect amid the darkness,
having been rendered -visible to the platoon of soldiers,
who were to effect his execution, by means of a lantern
suspended from his neck. When requested to walk for
ward to his station, and to kneel down on one knee, in tbe
usual manner of criminals at these military executions, it
is reported that he made this magnanimous reply ; — that
he had never bent his knee to an enemy, and would not
do it to an executioner. DEPARTURE FROM PARIS,
With feelings of regret we left the French capital,
after having passed our time busily and pleasantly in view
ing various objects affording gratification and instruction.
It is indeed a fatiguing labor to follow up closely a sys
tematized plan of improving every moment in sight-seeing
and sketching a train of fleeting thoughts. The recollec
tions of home, and of a country blessed with free institu
tions, and -all the productions of nature and art which can
contribute to substantial enjoyments, easily reconcile the
American to abandoning for ever the pleasant Tvalks and
gardens, the theatres, and gay society of this " city of
pleasure," J
FRENCH DILIGENCES AND POSTILLIONS.
The Stage coaches^ or diligences, for the conveyance of
passengers, do not stop at the inns or hotels of the city, as
VOL, II. 13*

13S FRENCH STAGE-COACHES
is common in England and in the United States ; but they
congregate in large court yards, in which the passengers
assemble previous to the departure of the diligences. On
their arrival in the city, tbe passengers with t.heir baggage
are left upon the pavement of the court yard, with no offi
cious servants to relieve them of their charge, or to invite
them to enter beneath the hospitable shelter of the roof of
an inn ; but however cold and benumbed, dr however late
the hour ofthe night, each passenger gathers up his bag
gage, and by the side of the porter who .carries it, directs
his weary steps to find lodgings." Some of these coach
offices are called " Messageries Royales," corresponding
in part to the offices of receipt and delivery of goods and
parcels of the common carriers, so generally established in
regular lines of transportation throughout every part of
England, and in part with the transportation of pas
sengers. The tops of the strongly framed diligences are
loaded with bales and boxes of merchandise, as well as
with the passengers and their portmanteaux. These pub
lic diligences are constructed to carry conveniently from
twelve to eighteen passengers, including the conductor or
Captain, whose duty is in some respects similar to that of
the English mail coach guard ; but he more particularly
manages the financial affairs, as a sort of supercargo. The
French diligence, as is familiarly known from the -numer
ous prints of it every where dispersed, is usually divided
into three apartments, which are completely separated
by partitions, as if each were formed by attaching three
distinct coaches together. The very names, indeed, of
these several compaitments are derived from those ofthe
beyeral sorts of carriages which form a sort of trio. There
are here united the one horse chaise, or cabriolet, with an
open front, prefixed to the b.ody of the stage coach — to
which is joined in the rear, the body of another sort of ve
hicle common in Paris and described on our ride to Ver-

AND POSTILLIONS. ]39
sallies, into which the passengers ascend between the
wheels in the rear, and ride, with their backs to the wheels,
facing each other. The rear end of the diligence is some
what rounded, as if a part of its symmetry were borrowed
from the model of the stern of a Dutchman's ship, and
from this semi-lunar'form it is called the " rotunde." This
rear apartment contains six persons, — the middle one, call
ed the " interior,'' ensconced as it is between the two other
vehicles, will accommodate, comfortably, six persons. The
front division, or cabriolet, which is the pleasantestportion
of the diligence to obtain views of the country, has one
seat for three persons. Seats for passengers are made at
pleasure on the top or roof of the coach, where the heads
of those mounted upon it nod at every surge of the vehi
cle amid piles of rocking trunks and boxes of merchan
dise. Thus expanded in broad dimensions, and towering
with lofty piles of baggage and passengers, the French dil
igence, at a distance, apparently swells to the magnitude
of a load of hay, when viewed slowly moving forward over
the summit of some remote hill, or winding around its base,
and still urged slowly forward through the humble valley.
Our diligence to Louviers is by far the strongest, heaviest
and largest vehicle which I ever saw mounted on v/heels.
It might almost sustain a comparison with Noah's Ark,
such was the number of living beings it contained within
its hollow recesses. ,1 took pains to count the multitude
of persons that issued from it atone of the stopping places.
Including children, there were thirty-two persons, with an
ample allowance of baggage, besides a quantity of mer-
(ihandise on freight in bales and boxes. Under this great
load, every loose pebble on the hard road is crushed to pow
der, and every larger stone which the wheels pass over in
their coarse appairently smokes under the violent abrasion.
Eight horses are attached to the diligence, those in advance
of the two wheel horses being harnessed together three

140 FRENCH HARNESSES.
abreast, — or rather, it may be termed, tied together by
ropes of various lengths, which allow them a latitude in se
lecting their path, as they trot along the road. The irreg
ular movements ofthe eight horses, half trotting and half
walking, impart to the group the appearance of a drove of
Vermont horses. Their harnesses, as well as the dress of
the postillions, have probably remained unchanged for ages.
Raw hides and hempen ropes, of primitively rude manufac
ture, compose the harnesses of most of the diligences.-^
This sort of harness, as may well be supposed, is frequent
ly broken ; but it is rare that much delay is the conscr
quence, as a loose piece of cord or twine, .ahvays stored
away in one of the pockets of the postillion, is applied
to splice the ruptured fragments, and the knots are tied,
and the unravelled ends amputated by the jacknife in a
few moments. The postillion then climbs upon his horse,
boots and all, and after gaining his balance, gives a few
cracks of his whip and puts his drove of horses in motion.
In this manner, the rope traces were mended three or four
times in the course of as many days ride, and exhibited
wens of knotted protuberances on every yard of their length.
These knots serve also admirably to shorten or lengthen
the traces, instead of the complex machinery of a buckle,
by adding or shaking out one,' like a reef in a mainsail,
as necessity requires. Although somewhat slow in their
movements, yet, as their name implies, by diligence in
travelling early and late, they make odt to reach their des
tined bourne. ' In regard to the convenience and comfort
of the passengers, the French diligence is superior to the
lighter and more elegant but contracted stage coaches of
England and of the United States. The interior is spa
cious, and well stuffed with~sofl linings and cushions, and
provided with straps and net work to suspend small par
cels. The coachman, or postillion, as he is called in France,

AND BOOTS OF POSTILLIO.XS. 141
is not mounted on a high seat or box in front of the coach,
as is commonly the case elsewhere, but on the back of
one of his horses; His grotesque appearance, with- his
big boots, cue, and other equipments, and his mode of dri
ving, afford a never-fading fiind of diversion to an Amer
ican traveller, as it did to the English traveller in the days
of Sterne. One of them I saw mounted on the wheel
horse, with two Avhips in'his hand. He used one, of them
with a short leasli for exciting the rosinante whicli he be
strode, and the other with, a much larger leash for touch
ing the leaders.
The boots of the postillion are of themselves objects of
curiosity, rarely .failing to excite a smile from the foreign
er v,-henever he happens to see the tenant of a pair of
them scuffling about the horses,, or attempting to mount
one of them with all this ballast at his heels. Whilst
waiting one day for the diligence to start, I took advan
tage ofthe unoccupied scales in the yard to weigh a pair
of these wonderful boots, which actually preponderated
with a counterpoise of French weights equal to 22f lbs.
avoirdupois. The boots are constt-ucted somewhat like
.Eneas' shield, of seven falds of bull hide, oi- leather, be
sides an internal lining stuffed with padding. All this
fortification of leather is intended to shield the postillions'
right leg, whilst hanging pendant between the pole of
the coach and the side ofthe horse on which he is mount
ed, from being bruised by the jerks .of the pole, when a
wheel strikes a stone or other obstacle in the road. One
leg being thus loaded with, such a ponderous weight, the
postillion could never sit comfortably balanced on his sad
dle, unless the other leg were provided with a boot or
weight equally heavy to restore the equilibrium. Thus,
for the sake of saving one leg from bruises, the French
postillion is nearly deprived of the use of both. After
having alighted from his saddle, he hobbles about with

142 WATER-WORKS OF MARH.
his steps impeded by the weight of his heels, which ap
pear to be anchored to the, ground.* Mounted on his
horse, however, he is in all his glory, cracking his whip
with a noise nearly as loud as the reports of "3- pistol, on
approaching the post house, or entering in style a vil
lage, to rouse the inhabitants, as an English or an Amer
ican coachman gives a blast from a bugle, when bright
eyes are observable peeping from many a door and win
dow .with looks of admiring applause.
Our day's journey carried us through Marli, St. Ger
main, Poissy and Vernon. At Marli, the celebrated wa
ter wheels are situated on the bank of the river, which
vv-eie used for elevating the water from the "^or to supply
the" fountains of Versailles. Nearly all the fixtures" are of
wood, and from the perishable nature of this material, are
now in a state of decay, A steam engine has lately been
erected to furnish -additional power to operate the forcing^
pumps By the old water wheels, seven or eight pumps
vyere used, the alternate strokes of which kept the cui''
rent of water ascending steaddy', without an air vessel to
react by the elasticity of the. air, in the two ranges of
*Some ofthe wooden shoos, called in France Sabots, and -worn by the
coinitry people, are nearly as cumber-some as the boots ofthe postillions.—
Those who wear them progress w-itli a half limpings scuffling gait. -To
prevent tl>e unyielding wood from chafing the feet, soft cloth is vised for a
lining of the cavity of the wooden shoe, whidi resembles in appearance a
shoe-last hollowed out by gouges. _ No labor requiring active movement
can be advantageously performed, whilst the operative wears these wood
en clogs upon his fset. Indeed it appears ^:hat the use of wooden shoes
must be attended with more loss of tiihe from ineflicient labor than woukl
jiay tlie difference between the wear of wooden and leather shoes ; or at
all events, it must indicate an exceedingly depreciated demand for human
labor in a country where vigorous laborers cannot afford to weai- leather
shoes.- During the civil wars in the province of La, "Vendee, whenever
the soldiers were defeated and hard pressed by pursuit, they ahvaj^s left
their shoes behind them, as they could not run away with them on, and
the regular soldiers by gathering them up could ascertain pretty- correctly
how manyof their enemies had^been put to flight.'

FRENCH AGRICULTURE. 143
pipes conducting to the reservoir at the top of the hill,
300 feet above the level of the river, and nearly a mile
distant from it. These ill constructed water wheels pre
sent a remarkable contrast to the substantial works of a
similar kind, constructed on the Schuylkill to supply the
city of Philadelphia with water.

AGRICULTtJRAL LABORS.
The agricultural labor of haymaking now occupies the
attention of t-he portion of the country through which we
travelled. The mowers use sythes with straight wooden
sh"afts or poles for handlesj without being nicely balanced
by projecting pins, and bent to the convenient form
commonly used in the United States. The laborers in
mowing the grass are consequently compelled to bend for
ward in a k)w, stooping, and uncomfortable attitude.
The rakes and other farming implements are even more
rudely made than- the sythe-handles, and exhibit none of
that attention to lightness and finish observable in the
manufacture of simUar instruments in New-England. The
modes of husbandry, as well as many of the mechanical
arts of working in wood and iron, seem to be above half a
century behind the same branches of business, as mana
ged in England at the present time. The French, howev
er, always contrive to arrive at the same i-esult at last, al
though by more tedious and laborious processes, often
manifesting nearly as much ingenuity in accomplishing
their objects with their insufficient 'implements, as the
English themselves have displayed in the invention of their
more perfect tools and machinery. Like the journeys per
formed in a French diligence and in an English stage
coach, the same end is attained, although at the expense
of a great waste of time and labor.
One of the most singular features of French agriculture.

144 FRENCH TILLAGE.
is the subdivision of the land into small lots, cultivated
under dissimilar crops, without intervening fences or
hedges. As far as the eye can extend over hill and dale,
the particolored hues of light and deep green herbage, the
brown soil of the furrowed land, and the russet fallows,
appear all intermingled like the squares of a checkered-
board, without apparent land marks to designate the boun
daries of each proprietary parcel. Near the road, the
fields are laid out in long narrow parallel strips, bordering
on the highway, often only one or two hundred feet in
front, and extending back many hundred feet. Each of
those narrow ranges is planted by the several proprietors
with the sort of grain, or subjected to the culture they sev
erally may consider most profitable. Consequently, every
different strip of land has commonly a different crop wav
ing over it. In a distance of one hundred rods of the road,
I counted nineteen different kinds of crops growing side
by side. First, was a parcel of ground covered with rye ;
then succeeded bristling asparagus, and adjoining it was
a range of pasture, with nb fence to restrain the grazing
herd from depredating on the grain. A field of luxuriant
clover was next passed where the mowers were at work,
and then a vineyard, a field of wheat. Lucerne and a straw
berry bed. A cluster of fruit trees, and culinary vegeta
bles, &c. continued to diversify the strangely jumbled sys
tem of culture. The French peasants appeared busily em
ployed in the agricultural labor of tying to the stakes the
rambling branches of the vines. Cherries and strawber
ries of delicious flavor and fine size are produced in full
perfection and great abundance.
French Carts and Harnesses. — For farming purposes, as
well as for the transportation of heavy articles of merchan
dise over the principal road^, carts are every where used.
I have not seen a four-wheeled wagon in France ; but
enormous loads are poised upon two wheels, and drawn

PAINTED COLLARS OF HORSES, 145
by six, and even eight horses, arranged in a long proces
sion, one before another.
The very cartmaa displays his passion for ornaments,
by decorating his horses with fiery scarlet and blue tufts
of woollen yarns, affixed to various parts of the harness ;
and a sheepskin, with the wool dyed of some bright color,
surmounts the colI,ar. Instead of the narrow, strongly
ironed and rivetted wooden hames, made so small as to be
scarcely discernible when imbedded in the padding of the
collar OH an English or American cart-horse, the hames of
the French cart-horses are made of broad boards extended
out over the shoulders of the quadruped like the expanded
wings of a butterfly ; and like them also they are decorated
with gaudy colors and painted pictures of, blue roses and
red lillies. The form of these collars appear.s to have been
borrowed from that of the wings of Cupid, as usually de
picted by painters ; or perhaps from a more humble mod
el — ^the flat sides of a pair of smith's bellows. Thus trussed
up about the neck with superfluous appendages, a horse's
garniture resembles the triple rows of puffs on a belle of
the sixteenth century, In truth, so widely are these boards
spread abroad, that they are sometimes really annoying
to the foot passengers in the streets of Paris, when the an
imal brushes by and gives the elbow not a gentle shock,
by way of rousing the inattentive pedestrian from his rev-
ery. The vineyards appear bristled with stakes four or five
feet in length, which are driven into the ground near each
plant, to support the branches. When viewed at a dis
tance, the vines resemble raspberry, or currant bushes. —
Although vineyards have been extolled by the poets, yet
they certainly do not rival the beautiful luxuriant vegeta
tion of the deep green, broad leaves, and tall ¦ stalks of a
field of Indian corn. The rambling branches of the vine,
spreading from one stake to another, form at the time of
VOL. ir. 14

146 LOUVIER&.
the vintage an unbroken mantle of foliage over the whole
field. Upon each side of tbe road, apple trees, and the' ash
and the elm are commonly planted, in double rows. The
middle of the road is paved with square blocks of stone,
like the streets of a town, wherever the soil is so clayey as
to render this expedient necessary, in order to make a solid
pathway.

FRENCH BROADCLOTH MANUFACTORIES.
Louviers, about seventy miles from Paris, is a very an
cient manufacturing town, containing about fifteen thou
sand inhabitants. The reputation of the blue broadcloth
of Louviers, and ofthe black cloths of Sedan, stands high
throughout France. Several of the woollemnills are, sit
uated on the banks of the pretty little river Euro, the wa
ters of which glide through a vale of great beauty, with a
mill dam or fall at short distances to interrupt its progress,
and to diffuse its surface into broader sheets of water.
The chalky ranges of hills upon each side ofthe river form
a contrast, by tbeir barren naked tops, with the cultivated
vale below. The power afforded by these waterfalls is
inconsiderable ; some of the mill-vvheels being turned by
a descent of the water of only three feet ; and the more
powerful water wheels, by falls of about seven feet. _ Steam
engines are of course employed in the principal works ;
and in several ofthe smaller milts, horse-power is applied
to turning the machinery.
Having an introductory letter to one of the principal
woollen manufacturers, we were received by him with
much polite attention, and were conducted over his works
to view the various processes and operations.
In one ofthe mills, an eight horse steam engine issuf-
ficient to furnish the power for manufacturing about one

MACHINERY OF FRENCH MILLS. 147
hundred and eighty yards of broadcloth per day. In an
other larger cloth mill, considered as one of the best of
the liind in France, the machinery and the various opera
tions-, with few exceptions, appeared to be the same as in
use in England and, in the United States. There are,
however, no power-looms for weaving broadcloth. The
weft is still spun here in the, ancient manner, being wound
by .hand upon the bobbins to be used in the shuttle.
The arms of the hammers of one of the fuUing-stocks
for milling cloth were in one mill attached to the beam in
the celling, frora-which they sloped like the long rafters
of a roof Without noticing the vibrating arms over my
head, they nearly demolished my hat, as I walked over
the floor beneath them, never dreaming of so rude and
dangerous an arrangement of mechanism. The shaft^or
handles of these fulling-mill hammers were thirteen or
fourteen feet in length, and to get- access to the cloth un
dergoing the process of, being milled by their repeated
blows, the' workmen stoop down and creep. timidly for
ward beneath them, as if fearful of having their skulls frac
tured. This must have been one of the original models
of a pair of milling-stocks.
A newly constructed brick mill, of a showy and some
what expensive exterior, displays upon the exterior of
its walls in broad letters the title of " Manufacturers to
the Duke of Bordeaux." The machinery is here ope
rated by an eight horse engine. The jenneys, of sixty
spindles each, are-turned by hand. Nearly all these mills
are provided with substantial hydrostatic presses made in
France. In a conversation with one of the proprietors relative to
the state of the woollen manufacture in the United States,
he repeatedly .expressed his suprise at the improvements in
machinery adopted in America and unknown in France,
particularly when the plan was explained to him of mak-

148 FRENCH WOOLLEW MANUFACTURES.
ing twenty-five or thirty slender fillets of roving at once
from the carding machines with two doffers, whereby the
labor of three children and one man is saved to each
carding machine. The application of the power loom to
the weaving of broadcloth, and the Use of the woollen
dressing machines for preparing and sizing the warps,
also excited his interested attention. He finally observed,
that he believed the inhabitants of the new world might
become useful instructors to the inhabitants ofthe old.
in the art of making broadcloth.
The process of scouring or cleansing the oil from the
woollen cloths was pursued in the ancient way, by repeat
edly placing the cloths in the rapid stream ofthe river, and
then beneath the heavy beetles of the stocks, with the ad
dition of alkaline liquors. This process, laboriously per
formed, sometimes requires a week, of even a fortnight of
patient soaking and washing to render them clean of the oil
and glue used upon tfie wool in the processes of the man
ufacture. At one French mill, the proprietor was just
erecting scouring apparatus under the direction of an Eng
lishman, and expatiated to me upon the saving of time and
labor in completing the process in two hours instead of two
weeks, by using the fermented, alkaline preparation, as
practised in England.
Small carding engines are used, instead of the large
double engines, the combs cf which, at every stroke, re-,
sound through the apartments with nearly as much noise
as the mill-clack.s of the French corn-mills, some of which
on a still morning, may be heard at the distance of nearly
half a mile.

RODEN.
We arrived in Rouenin the evening, and found the cus
tom-house officers in the court yard of the inn, ready to

ROUEN.— OCTROI. 149
examine the baggage of the passengers. To facilitate their
inspection, a row of tallow candles were arrayed on a
board^ flickering and smoking in the gentle night breeze
in the open air ; and the trunks were drawn out in a file,
in front of them. All the passengers were kept in attend
ance, and each one was called upon for the key of his
trunk, the lid of which was thrown open. From one of the
trunks, article by article was drawn forth, and exhibited
to the admiring gaze of the surrounding spectators ; whilst
the irascible owner of the portmanteau, an Englishman,
continued to vent expressions of rage against the officers,
who seemed purposely to prolong tiieir search, to enjoy
the amusement occasioned by his angry vociferations.
It seems that mostof the large cities of France derive
a considerable revenue from duties, termed Octroi, impos
ed on the wine, spirituous liquors and other articles, trans
ported from the adjacent country to be consumed by the
citizens. , These duties are diligently exacted by the nu
merous revenue officers, who throng the gates of these
inland towns nearly in the same manner as the revenue
officers usually do the quays of sea!port towns. They watch
a diligence as they would a vessel. I awaited in a state
of trepidation the development of my stores of cologne and
lavender water, and of other trifles, which most travellers,
on leaving Paris, take in their portmanteaux. The examina
tion, in this instance, proved actually more tedious and
scrutinizing, than on the occasion of our entering the king
dom from a foreign country, and the hour of midnight had
nearly passed before the vexatious examination was termi
nated. It cannot be possible that passengers can often be
subjected to such an inconvenient search, at a late hour of
the night ; for such an intolerable mode of collecting a pet
ty revenue, levied upon the intercourse of the inhabitants
ofthe town and country of the ^ame nation, would never
VOL, II. 14*

150 MANUFACTORIES
be patiendy submitted to at the present day by a free peo
ple. Rouen has been called the Manchester of France, the
most extensive cotton manufactories of the kingdom being
situated on the rivers in the vicinity of this city. Having
been furnished with letters of introduction to the proprie
tors of some of these cotton manufactories, accompanied
by a gentleman of Rouen, we rode out a few leagues to
view them. The bills which we passed are bleak and
barren, covered with a low growth of wood or bushes.
So far, indeed, as my observation has extended, I have
always found that manufactures have first sprung up arid
flourished where a rugged, barren soil has refused to yield
its tribute of abundant harvests to reward the labors of
the husbandman. In such districts, as. population in
creases, the active and enterprising, must emigrate to
more fertile districts ; or by contrivances of machinery
and manufacturing skill, maintain their existence on' the
spot where they first saw the light. This spot of earth,
however ungrateful the soil, after having been the scene of
the early sports of childhood or of youthful affection, every
one hesitates to abandon for ever. Necessity thus drives
men to resort to their powers of invention to earn a sub
sistence. The showers, which cause the fields of fertile
regions to Inxuriate under rich waving harvests, when
they fall on poorer soils, penetrate the earth without fer
tilizing it ; but issiiing from the base of barren hills, the
waters nevertheless contribute to enrich the country 1^
turning mill-wheels, and giving life to industry along
the borders ofthe channel by which they descend to the
ocean. Thus, in England, some ofthe first woollen mills
Were located in the wild and hilly borders of Yorkshire ;
whilst the fairest fields of that fertile island, which were
earliest cultivated by agriculturists, are still appropriated
and devoted almost exclusively to the plough. In New-

OF ROUEN. 151
England, as soon as the earliest settlers obtained a foot
hold, and had subdued a sufficient range of lands to obtain
their nourishment, they turned thert' attention successfully
to the various branches of manufacturing industry, and
were hardly known as colonists before they were acknowl
edged as rivals by the jealous manufacturers ofthe mother
country. Since the fertile valleys, more recently settled
toward the West, have poured their harvests into New-Eng
land, many ofthe former staple agricultural products glean
ed from the stony hills, have yielded in the competition,
and the same necessity that converted some of the first
settlers into useful artists, continues to urge the increasing
population to unremitted enterprise in the useful arts.
The cultivation of the sod is undoubtedly the most agree
able, as it was the earliest business of man ; and those are
commonly found to be among the first to abandon the
pursuit, whose lots are not " cast in pleasant places."
The low lands along the borders of the river, on which
the mills are situated; are here well cultivated, and are
adorned with trees. The grounds immediately around
some of the cotton mills .appear to be laid out with much
taste into little gardens and shrubberies, the bright green
of which affords a pleasing contrast with the whitewashed
walls, constructed of rough stone.

FRENCH COTTON MILLS.
The first cotton mdl which we entered contains about
8000 spindles, all of them in mules of about 192 spindles
each. These mules are operated by women. A few ofthe
latest English improved machines .appear to have been
here introduced. In this mill there are no power looms
to weave the yarn, wliich is ofthe fineness of about forty
hanks to the pound ; but after being reeled, it is packed

15-2 WAGES OF LABORERS.
into small bundles, and sent away to be woven on hand
looms. The next mill which I visited on the same stream, con
tained 14,000 spindles. The greater part of the machine
ry has been in operation about fifteen years, as the propri
etor observed, and consequently is much worn. Some of
the mules of modern construction contain 336 spindles
each. Two of them, containing 672 spindles, are managed
by one man and two girls.
During the longest days of summer, the hours of labor
are from six o'clock, A. M. to nine ; when an hour is al
lowed for breakfast ; and another hour fordinner, between
two and three, P. M. and the twelve hours of daily labor
are finished about sunset.
The workmen do not dwell in little vdlages clustered
around the manufactories, as is usual in the United States ;
but travel on foot, in many cases considerable distances, to
their work, carrying their provisions.for the day with them.
At the hour of dinner,' I observed -several of the workmen
to leave the mill, and seat themselves in little circles upon
the grass beneath the shade of the trees, where they en
joyed their humble fare. As it lay spread out on their
white, napkins, bread and.sallads appeared to be the prin
cipal articles of food.
The women in the manufactories spin upon the mules,
and perform other hard labor, which females are rarely
seen to do in the United States. They sometimes appear
as brown as the sunburnt peasant, and nearly as muscular.
They are even in some places to be seen loading the carts
from the manure heaps^ and holding the ploughs, vvhich are
drawn by cows as well as by horses and oxen. The or
dinary wages earned by the women in the manufactories
are nearly one dollar^ and fifty cents per vyeek. A com
mon day laborer earns here about forty sous, or as many
cents, of the currency of the United States, for his day's

FRENCH COTTON MANUFACTURES 153
work. On the farms, a laborer earns nearly five dollars a
month, his board being feund hiifa ; but no expensive
drinks, it- is stated, are allowed, as is too common on the
farms in the United States.
Power looms have not as yet been extensively introduced
into France, as these looms require considerable force to
operate them. Where water falls are rare in the manu
facturing districts, and coals bear a high price, this branch
of the m anufacture of cloth will not probably be increased so
rapidly as it has been in the United States, where the abun
dance and cheapness of water power enable the manufac
turers to compete successfully with their rivals in England,
and even with the Hindoo, in the fabrication of those coarse
heavy cotton cloths which are spun by the throstle spin
dle and woven by power looms. Cotton goods of this descrip
tion have for several years been sold in the South- Ameri
can markets al lower rates; considering their intrinsic value
for serviceable wear, than similar fabrics transported from
England. They have been successfully introduced even
into the market of Calcutta, in competition with those pro
duced from the Hindoo looms.
It appears that an inconsiderable quantity of cotton was
manufactiired in France, except in the domestic or
household way, and spun like flax on the single spindle
of the common spinning wheel, untd 1802 and 1803,
The superior cheapness of the yarns imported from Eng
land, where they were spun upon mules, newly invented
and introduced there, so completely prostrated this house
hold manufacture, that an ordinance of the French gov
ernment was passed in the year 1806, prohibiting tiie
importation of foreign webs of cotton yarn. Since that
period, increased attention has been bestowed on the
manufactures of cotton.*
'In 1826, it appears fi-om a printed document, that 180,000 bales of
cotton were manufuctured in France. In 1831, there were manufactured
jnthe United States more -than 225,000 bales of cotton.

154 ELBOEUF CLOTH MILLS
Elboeuf, about 10 mdes from Rouen, has the reputa
tion of being one ofthe most considerable manufacturing
towns in France, for broadcloths. It is stated that the
town contains a population of twelve or thirteen thousand
permanently settled inhabitants, and many temporary res
idents, who are employed during the week in the manu
factories, and are in the habit of returning on Saturday
evening to their families in the adjacent villages.
In the absence of the manufacturer tO/whom we had a
letter of introduction, we were with.much civility conduct
ed over the establishment by a superintendent. The ma
chinery, operated by two steam engines, of fourteen horse-,
power each, is similar to that already described at Lou
viers. - There are no looms for weaving broadcloth opera
ted by water or steam power in France, according to the
best information we could obtain. The webs are distrib
uted among the weavers, who work in cottages at a dis
tance from the mills. At nearly all the mills I have vis
ited, the washing ofthe wool is performed by transferring
it in a basket to the river, in the current of which it is
immersed. The improved plan of using jets of water, to
gush into a box placed conveniently tq the boiler to wasli
the wool, does not appear to be adopted, this laborious
mode being pursued from long habit. Most of the spin
ning machines, or jenneys, contain only 60 or 70 spindles.
In one mill, the mule for woollen yarn has just been in
troduced. The weft yarn is reeled and wound by hand
upon the bobbins, and of course the yarns are subjected
to a more heavy expense in this process than in the United
States, where the little shuttle-bobbin is slipped directly
upon the spindle, and the process of subsequent hand
winding is saved, _ Nearly 200 yards of cloth of a mid
dling quality are manufactured per day at these works.
It was stated to us that there are only about ten steam
engines in operation at present in Elboeuf, vvhich are all

AND LABORERS. I55
of small size. Several ofthe mills are operated by horses,
in some cases, traversing circuitous paths, and in others
mounted on inclined revolving platforms or wheels. The
expense of fiiel for the steam engines is a constant sub
ject of complaint with all the manufacturers, who speak of
the comparative advantages for manufacturing possessed
by England in the cheap supply of coals, and of the United
States in the abundant vvater power so generally avaUable,
and in the extent of navigable rivers for the conveyance of
the necessary raw materials, and products. The price of
coal appears to be about three or four times as dear as in
Leeds and Manchester, the expense of fuel for a 20 horse
power engine being there about $1100 per year, and here
about $4000 per year. Cast iron is comparatively dear
in France, and the frames of machinery are commonly
made of wood instead of this metal, which is almost al
ways used for this purpose in England and in the United
States. The prices paid for weaving broadcloth of middling
quafities by hand are from 9 to 13 cents per English yard,
and the weavers earn from 37 to 50 cents per day. A
small boy to piece rolls for Woollen roving earns from 86
to 95 cents per week, and women earn on an average
$1,50 per week. Some of them, who spin," earn $2 per
week. Men earn by spinning 40 or 50 cents a day, A
common day laborer earns about 2 francs a day, or 38 cts.
The prices of provisions are nearly the same here as on
the seaboard ofthe United States, Beef, mutton and lamb
are selling in the market at from 8 to 11 sous (equal to
about as many cents) for the English pound.

A SUNDAY IN ROUEN,
This day having been fixed upon by the proclamation
of the Mayor of Rouen for a public fete, at an early hour

156 A FESTIV.4.L.
of the morning the streets of the town were thronged by
the people from the adjacent villages. The women here,
as at Paris, constitute the greater proportion-.of the spec
tators, and walk in their peculiar costumes, without bon
nets to protect their heads from the heat ofthe sun. The
white cotton caps, which they wear as a substitute, afford
no shade to their foreheads and faces ; and judging from
the prevalence of brown complexions, brightened to a
ruddy glow of vermilion, they have little aversion to be
ing considered brunettes. The old as well as the young
women mingle together in the crowds, and the former
seem to retain their elasticity of step and erect well-turn
ed outlines of form, as well as their taste for show, pro
longed to the evening of their days. Often, after the
stranger has quickened his pace, in expectation of viewing
a pretty face'to complete the charms of some female, who
may be tripping with a light step before him, he wdl be
disappointed by beholding a sallow countenance furrowed
' by the ungallant fingers of time.
The first ceremony of the festival commenced with a
wedding, in one of the cathedrals, of six pretty country
girls, who are selected by the Mayor on the occasion to
be publicly married; and to receive their marriage por
tions from the city treasury. In most countries, it is com
mon to commemorate great events by massy monuments,
and inscriptions in durable characters on lasting tablets of
brass and marble, which future generations may in their
daily walks gaze at, and read as they pass by. To com
memorate the coronation of Charles the Tenth, and to
transmit the fame- thereof to unborn ages, the good Mayor
of Rouen has hit upon a better and more economical
expedient than the vulgar plan. He states in his pro
clamation, that each of these six married couple is to be
furnished with silver medals, labelled with superscriptions
giving an account of the event to be commemorated, which

PUBLIC WEDDINGS. 137
imedals the blushing bride and simpering bridegroom are
to promise to deliver to their children (if they should in
due season be blessed with any,) under an injunction to
tliem, to hand these medals down to their posterity forever.
Instead of statues of stone, and cold monuments of mar
ble, one cannot forbear gazing at these warm living mon
uments of flesh and blood, presenting a pleasing spectacle
of human happiness, upon whom the hopes ofthe phdan-
.thropic mayor rest to fulfil the high destiny which he has
allotted to them.
Wine and provisions are distributed in the public square,
attended with scfehes similar to those already described at
Paris. ' The greased mast was here surmounted by dang
ling prizes of roasted chickens, geese and strings of sau
sages. Here again was a repetition of gingerbread lotte
ries, spojts with bows and arrow?, riding- on wooden
horses, and the various other amusements of this nature,
which " children of larger growth" forming a portion of
the populace of all countries are found to indulge in on
liolyday occasions. A band of music, employed at the
public expense, struck up some lively airs, when the turf
ofthe great square was soon covered by cotillon parties,
composed of old women as well as young ones. Their
partners, the men, displayed the graces of the jig of a sai
lor, or of the doub.e sTiiifjle. of a Virginia negro. After
dark, the majestic tower of the great cathedral was illu
minated, and a Maze of fireworks burst forth from every
battlement, as if brilliant with the light of an internal con
flagration. The sparks, which began to fall in showers
upon the cotton caps of the countless throngs of women,
produced surges, as if white waves were separating and
closing in agitation, as the danger became local and immi
nent, over various parts of the square, affording to the dis
tant spectators no small share of the amusement ofthe eve
ning, VOL, II. 15

158 SCENE IN A CHURCH.

VESPER SERVICE IN A CATHEDR.iL.
On Sunday, we attended the vesper services in one of
the magnificent old Gothic Cathedrals of Rouen. Here,
on the broad area of the stone pavenient forming the floor
of this venerable cathedral, a great assemblage of persons
Were kneeling in the humble attitude of prayer. It is an
interesting, and in trutb a sublime spectacle, to witness
the imposing ceremonies of the Roman Catholic religion,
as performed in otie of these Cathedrals, the lofty and spa
cious dimensions of which are alone sufficient to produce
sensations of awe. The setting sun poured a flood of
raysnearly horizontally through the stained glass windows;
and myriads of small 'window panes, variously colored,
and illuminated with the ruddy light partially transmitted
through them, seemed actually, studded with particolored
fragments of a broken rainbow having its prismatic tints
blended in the leaded compartments. The rays, which
pass through stained glass, partake of the color ofthe me
dium through which they are transmitted, and settle,
like shades of a thousand mottled tints sprinkled upon the
clustered pillars, and on the countless faces of the multi
tude, upturned in devotion, as if in contemplation of the
gorgeous scene. One cannot but feel a glow of religious
devotion kindled by such a scene in such a place.
There is, as Bonaparte once observed, but one step from
the sublime to the ridiculous. In the midst of our feelings
of awe and reverence excited by the scene before us, we
could hardly refrain from smiling, on hearing one of the
women, a lessor of the chairs, which are substituted for
pews in all the cathedrals, disputing with a boy who had
occupied one of her chairs, about an uncurrent piece of
coin, tendered in payment for his seat. These women
bustled about with a business-like air, whilst the priest was

CHURCHES USED FOR MECHANICAL TRADES. 159
Still officiating. In making the change, they were as re
gardless of the sounds of the coins as if in a market-place.
These cathedrals are entirely constructed of stone, ex
cepting only the rafters of the roof, and the timber work
and deck to support the bells. The winding, narrow, dark
staircases, for ascending to the summit of the towers, and
the massy frames and mullions ofthe windows are of hewn
stone. They are thus rendered truly fire-proof buddings.
The tower of a cathedral was here struck by lightning,
and the wood-work was set on fire. After burning a short
time, all the combustible materials within reach of the
flame were consumed, leaving the main body of the struc
ture uninjured. So^soHdly are their foundations laid deep
in the earth, and so massy do the walls rise above its sur
face, that they are calculated to survive not only the rava
ges of time, but even to abide the destructive abuses of
man. One of these costly old stone churches, which I saw
during one of my "rambles over the city, is actually occu
pied as an iron foundery, the flickering, fitful blaze from
which ascended at every blast from the bellows, gliding in
a lambent flame beneath the groined arches ofthe vaulted
ceiling, whilst the workmen were stooping at their tasks
in moulding their patterns, and pouring off the glowing
metal, flashing in angry sparks amid clustered Gothic pil
lars. In another abandoned cathedral, were ranges of
stalls for horses, and all- the necessary equipments of a
livery stable. Judging from the -appropriation of nume
rous old churches in France to mechanical trades, it
would seem that there has been a falling off either in the
piety ofthe people, or, what is most probable, in the funds
of the religious orders.
Rouen, contains more than 80,000 inhabitants, and is
a commercial as well as a manufacturing city. It serves
as the port of Paris, there being sufficient depth of water
for ships of 200 tons burthen. Between Rouen and Paris

160 FRENCH BAKERS.
the Seine is navigable only for barges and small steain>-
boats. Rouen has often sustained sieges, and its name is- as
sociated with some ofthe most important events connected
with the history of France. It was here that theinterestr
ing "Maid of Orleans," or Joan of Arc, was burnt by the
English, who thus cruelly avenged themselves for the in
juries they had sustained from ber valor and genius, which
they falsely termed " her powers of sorcery."
DEP.\RTURE FROM RO,UEN. :
Taking the road to Brussels, we travelled- through a
well cultivated country to Neufchatel; famous foi the pro
ducts of the dairy. Its fertile green fields seem to justify
its celebrity. Our journey from Neufchatel to Arras wais
performed in the-Slowly moving diligence at a less speed
than five miles an hour. We passed several small villages
or hamlets of very ordinary appearance. In front of a
door in one of these villages, I saw a baker stripped naked
to his waist,' with only a pair of trowsers to cover his nak
edness, busdy at work over a trough of dough ; his whole
appearance being exceedingly uninviting to one having a
nice appetite for the staff of life. Some of th'e French
loaves placed on tlie tables of the inns are of extraordina
ry dimensions, being three or four feet in length and but
little thicher than the ai-m. Persons seated at each end of
the table may conveniently take a slice from the same
loaf It has been observed that the superficies ofthe loaf
is thus extended to indulge the taste of those who are fond
of the crust. A number of these brown rough loaves, when
piled together, resemble a heap of cord wood.
CULTIVATION OF THE POPPY.
Arras. The soil in the vicinity of Arras is very fertile,
and the country appears to be cultivated like a garden.

CULTIVATION OF THE POPPY. 161
The principal agricultural product of some of the districts
is the poppy, the gay blossoms of which, moving in the
breeze as if rejoicing in the gorgeous array of colors, tinge
the surface of the fields and distant hills, in some direc
tions as far as the eye can extend. The poppy is not thus
extensively cultivated for the purpose of extracting opium
from its bitter juices, but for the. sole object of procuring
the fine seed, which the heads or capsules contain in
abundance, to be crushed for the purpose of expressing
the oil. During my stay in Lille, I called at the oil works
of a gentleman who is- very largely engaged in the busi
ness of crushing the poppy seed, and expressing the od
therefroni. The process is performed in nearly the same
manner as that for the manufacture of iinseed oil from the
flaxseed. The poppy oil is limpid, and at the same time
destitute of any flavor, being insipid and tasteless.' It is
sometimes used as a, substitute for the olive oil, but more
generally is mixed with it, to adulterate the more costly
oU with a cheaper one. The poppy oil bears nearly the
same relat,ion to the pure oil of the olive, as the rectifi
ed neutral spirits do to the highly flavored liquors with
which they are inixed.* The proprietor of these oil works
observed to me that considerable quantities of poppy oil
are shipped to the south of France,, and even to Italy, to
be inixed there with olive oil, and that parcels of it are
sent to Havre, from whence it is shipped to the United
States, where a pipe of " poppy oil" is rarely entered at
the custom-house. So pure and tasteless is this oil, that
few persons would detect the admixture of a portion of it
* This plan of mixing spirits is so generally pursued in the United
States, that the governor of the West-India Island of Santa Cruz was
induced to complain, alledging that although every village had its sign
board inviting customers to purchase Santa Cruz rum, yet there' was ex
ported firom that Island to the United States hardly a-hogshead of that
liquor for a whole county.
VOL. II. 15*

162 OLIVE OIL ADULTERATED BY POPPY OIL.
with the olive oil, and it might be consumed, as freshly
expressed castor oil is stated to have been, with sallads,
without suspicion of its origin,. It is principally by the
rapid coagulation by cold, that the purity of the olive oil
is ascertained. The poorer classes here actually use poppy
oU upon their sall'ads, A steam engine of considerable
power is in operation in these oil works, to put the ma
chinery in motion to crush the seed and to drive the
wedges to press the mealy product.

FEMALE LABORJERS,
Women appear to be the principal cultivators to per
form the hard labors of agriculture. At the rising' of the
sun they were beating the diisty clods with their hoes,
which they , wield with dexterity, and without diminution
of vigor during the sultry heat of noonday. Their sun
burnt, bony arms, are, tawny and weather beaten, from
constant exposure. In one single field, I counted 65 per
sons at work in a long range or line extending nearly from..
side to side of the tract, all engaged with their , hoes. —
Sixty-two of these persons were vvomen, and, only three.
were men. The view of so many females, toding on the
ploughed ground with the dust rising about them, remind
ed m.e of the appearance of the extensive fields of Virginia,
and of the female slaves who contribute their labor to
till them.. Where are all the peasants, that the women
are here left to perform their" duties? Is it not possible
that this spectacle sdently. exhibits the effects of war, that
are felt with a withering blight to human hopes and hu
man happiness, after the storm has passed.? And may it
not be the result of Napoleon's ' wars, that many of these
women were in youth bereft of their lovers and friends,
some buried beneath the distant vine-clad hills of Spain
and Italy,, and some beneath the snow-wreaths of Russia?

WOMEN AT WORK IN THE FIELDS. 163
These women are now left to till the land, and in several
instances they were actually holding the ploughs and
turning the furrpws, and loading the carts. Several of
the farms are so large as to require, according to a state
ment of a fellow-passenger, from 12 to 16 ploughs each.
Particular attention is bestowed here in destroying the
weeds that spring up in the wheat fields which are now
ready to form seeds for another year, A little labor thus
seasonably bestowed in pulling up and burning these
weeds, probably proves, in the result, a saving of much
subsequent labor. Even the crops of oats and of other
grain are diligently examined by the .women, who hunt
among the stalks that are as high as their heads, and
gather th,e tares for the burning.
It constantly excites the surprise of a traveller to find
so few habitations on passing over the principal roads,^ —
He looks in vain for the smiling cottage or farm house
adjacent to the fields, which are kept under such careful
cultivation. He may almost imagine the fair scene of
cultivation to be tbe work of magic, untd he may happen
to catch a glimpse of some village half hid amid a cluster
of trees. These peasants or farmers appear as fond of liv
ing together in villages, as of working together in the
fields. The culture of the beet root for the manufacture of su
gar has been diminishing in this quarter, as one of our in
telligent fellow-passengers stated, since the termination of
the continental wars. This gentleman, who became our
companion in the ddigence at Amiens, commenced his
journey- with apparently no disposition to render his soci
ety agreeable, having instantly begun scolding my friend
for placing one of his feet upon the seat of the diligence
allotted to his number, and for leaving upon it a deposit of
dust. I observed to him, that as my companion did not
understand the French language, he was wasting his breath

164 NATIONAL ANTIPATHIES EXISTING
in vain. The petulant Frenchman exclaimed that he sup
posed him to be an Englishman from the first moment he
addressed him, as no person from any other country would
have shown somuch ignorance of the politeness due to a
gentleman. On learning that he was an American, in
stead of an Englishm-an, as he had supposed, his counten
ance exhibited, an amusing transition ; the wrinkles, into
which it had become puckered, were smoothed into a sort
of complacent smde, as he exclaimed, ".pardon Monsieur,"
for the very great mistake he had committed.. Merely
from the circumstance of making ourselves known as
Americans, we converted a most untoward companion, into
a very civd and pleasant one, without at all altering the
nature of the offence which first excited his displeasure.
To avoid all these national antipathies, it is well for
American travellers,) should occasion require, to make
known the country of their birth, at once, even in Eng
land as well as in France. The inhabitants. of almoSt ev
ery nation of Europe regard the American Republic as a
sort of offspring; for they have all contributed to furnish
a portion ofthe emigrants, vvho have in that favored quar
ter of the world found a refuge and a home. Each indi
vidual of those European countries, therefore, regards the
North-American Republic with an interest resembling
parental kindness, and it may be added, with parental
pride in having an offspring, which must hereafter exert
an important influence on the political institutions of Eu
rope. By means of the newspapers, the principal events
which occur in the United States become known to al
most every intelligent man with whom I have had op
portunities of conversing. The reception of La Fayette,
on his late visit to the United States, has several times
formed the subject of exulting enquiry in the diligence
and at the table d'hote, when it has been accidentally
known that I was an American.

BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH. Igg
The fundamental principles of our republican form of
government, that the source of power is in the people, and
that all men possess certain rights of liberty, &c. are prob
ably as well fixfed in the minds of intelligent men under
the European monarchical forms of government, as the
laws of gravitation in the science of Physics. The com
mon people of England and France submit with patience
to their rulers, not because they are blind to the defects
of their governments, but because they found such gov
ernments entailed upon them, and so firmly established as
to require much bloodshed and suffering to overthrow
them. It makes one shudder tO think of the horrors of
the, Revolution, said an intelligent French manufacturer,
by way of conclusion, after an argument of this sort.
An Englishman is taught so early even in his Sunday
-prayers to connect with the due fear of his God, reverence
for his king, that probably very many of the inhabitants of
Engknd are sincere royalists from habits of early educa
tion. An Englishman wdl, however, freely allow himself ,-
to praise the republic of North-America, and will extol her
free institutions, and. the genius and enterprise of her in
habitants, with self-complacency ascribing it all to their En
glish ancestors.' Whatever achievements in arts and arms
have been accomplished by the States of North- America, he
considers as originating from English blood. With America
on our side, it has been observed by the British journals
and repeated by the British population, England might de
fy the world in arms. Whdst they talk with animation of
the batdes won in their European wars, I have uniformly
heard Englishmen lameiit their American wars, as a waste
of blood among brothers. Whether this may not be in
some degree attributable to their civdity to a stranger, or
perhaps to the absence of all cause for ex-ultation, I will
not pretend to decide. Certain it. is, as appears from the
Httle incident just related of our having been mistaken in

166 FRIENDLY FEELING TOWARDS AMERICANS.
the diligence for Englishmen, that there exists no nation
al friendship or predilections between the inhabitants of
each shore of the Straits of Dover.* The London duar-
terly Review in treating ofthe subject of English Indus
try, allows to the United States what the writer will con
cede to no rival country of Europe. >' Youthful nations/'
he observes, "will, be quicker than Europe ; and in our
*Tliis national antipathy originated from the long wars carried on be
tween the t\vo countries ; but inor* particularly frqm tlie remarkable cir"
cumstance, that the influence of t\ie aristocratical branch 'of the Epglish
government has long prevailed in directing the armies and fleets of Eng
land against the populai^ struggles of the French people. However mis
guided were the leaders of the French Revolution in, 1793, and however
revolting were the scenes of bloodshed, that distracted the happiness of the
people of that country, yet it remains a question how far surrounding na
tions had a justifiable right to interfere in regulating the internaLaffalrs of
that distracted country. From the period of the French Revolution to
tlie restoration of the-Bourbons, it is evident that the wealth and power- of
tlie English nation have been mainly devoted to oppose and -humble the
Frencli people. The formation ofthe Holy Alliance was' intended as a
coalition of sovereigns an,d noblemen tO repress the rising sjiirit for ob
taining free institutions, prevalent among the common people, of Europe.
On the death of George IV; and the accession of his successor on the
throne of England, one of the most important events of modern timfes has
occurred; for the "unholy alliance of sovereigns and aristocrats has been*
in a great measure dissolved, and the English people have found a 'friend
to die enlargement of their political rights, where they were accustomed
to find ahostils opponent. The common people of-England and Franco
may thus fi-aternize together, and be made to feel that they have a common
cause; and so long as popular kings shall preside over the destinies of the
two nations, the principal cause of bitterness of feeling and hostile na
tional antipathies, which have for ages existed between the individuals of
the two countries, will cease. - It is to be hoped they may hereafter be.found
closely connected by the ties of a common interest in advancing the cause
of freedom.
The apparent frivolity of the manners of the French people^ and their un-
repressed fondness for Miows, dancing,- and other similar public amuse
ments, have been systematically created and fostered by the royal sover
eigns of France, in order to divert the public attention from the considera
tion ofthe corruptions and profligate debaucheries'of royal courts, as well
as from intermeddling in aff'ajrs of state; probably on the same principle

FORTIFICATIONS OF LILLE. 167
own vigorous children in the United States of America,
we already see the generations that in reason and indus
try are destined to stand beside Englishmen."

A REGULAR FORTIFICATION AND CITADEL.
The citadel of Lille is said to be one of the strongest
in Europe, having withstood various sieges, the relation
of which occupies many pages of history. In the construc
tion of these powerful fortresses, with triple ranges of
walls behind walls, and with dteep trenches filled with
vf ater intervening, the elaborate art of men has done so
much to secure them from hostile attacks, that it seems as
if the power of man could not prevail against them.
Standing on an elevated point overlooking these powerful
defences, I could readily imagine the operations of be
siegers, as once detailed to me by a military officer. He
stated it to be a settled principle of modern military tac
tics, that all, of these walls of massy stone must yield and
crumble under the unceasing pelting of iron balb weigh
ing twenty-four or thirty-two pounds each ; and that it
must become the only study pf those who defend these for
tresses to impede as much as possible attacks of the be
siegers, in order to procrastinate the final capitulations.
Thus the formidable shells of certain sea fish, which na
ture has apparently fortified, and rendered secure against
the attack of every foe that moves in the waters, are pregr
nable to peculiar enemies armed with the implements for
which influences many persons to furnish playthings to children, — to divert
their thoughts for the moment from importunately claiming more conside-
tfible gratifications. In proportion as die French people acquire a greater
interest and stiare iu the management of the affairs of their government,
they may be found happily to practise at the same time a more attentive
observance of the grave duties and obligations of citizens of a free gov-
ernmeiit.

1^8 FORTRESS OF LILLE>
winning a victory. Some sorts of their assailants have
powerful jaws and mouths to crush their shells at once j
and to a feebler enemy, a keen auger is fufnished to bore
a small hole through them, like a shot hole, leaving their ex
panded empty shells to strew the breach — after the garrison
has been plundered and- destroyed. There is a- prodigal
waste of human Hfe, with little chance of retaliation when the
besiegers advance in the open ground to dig the trenches,
under cover of which they are to make their zig zag ap
proaches towards the works which protect the besieged,
until batteries of heavy cannon are rnounted, and by their
incessant discharges. the cannon of the- assailed portion of
the fortress become dismounted : After this, the ^adverse
batteries are pushed forward to the very brink of the nar
row trench or ditch which divides the hostile parties, and
face to face the conflict is then maintained. The murder
ous aim ofthe sharp-shooters thins the ranks on one side,
whilst the rising breast or forehead appearing above the
parapet, or at a port-hole, becomes the mark for vollies of
musketry from the besiegers. Upon the smooth slope of
ground called the glacis, extending from the edge ofthe
trench tovi^ard the open fields, breastworks are hastily
thrown up by the besiegers, behind which the heavy bat
tering cannon are mounted. Beneath this glacis, or
ground in front ofthe walls of fortifications, are formed nu
merous covered ways, excavated like the devious passa
ges in an ant-hill. By means of these concealed subter'
ranean passages, the besieged are enabled to place kegs of
gunpowder beneath the batteries of their assailants, and to
blow them up into the air. Countermines must therefore
be sunk by the besiegers, and battles take place even un
der ground, as well as on the surface. After all these ob
stacles are finally overcome, and the cannon of the besieg
ers are advanced to the outer edge of the trench, called the
Counterscarp, and the artillerists have a fair view of the

PROCESS OF BATTERING A FORTRESS. 169
fortress,, they commence the operation of battering, to form
a breach. The cannon balls are first directed to strike with
precision on the face of the stone work to break through
it in a line ofthe form of the letter U. After the continual
blows of the projected masses of iron have splintered and
crumbled away the stones,like the operation of great sledge
hammers, and have battered a deep furrov/ in a horizontal
line at the bottom of the wall, and have cut two perpen
dicular channels through the stone work to unite at the
bottom with the horizontal one, a section of the wall be
comes thus insulated from the rest, and cut off from
support. The battery is now discharged in salvos, or at
once, and the whole rnass, shaken by the shock, tumbles
forward into the ditch. . The largest fragments of masonry
adhering together still require to be broken up by the
cannon balls into smaller pieces, for allowing soldiers to
walk over them.. After this operation is completed, the
breach is said to-be practicable. The commander of a
walled city containing women and children, it is held, is
now justified in surrendering.
Whilst their wall is thus battered, the besieged do not
remain idle ; but they sometimes build up a new wall be
hind the battered one, on the fall of which the besiegers
have a view of the fr«sh obstacle to be overcome. After
all these outer defences ara beaten down, the garrison re
treat to a small intern il fort, called the citadel, v/hich is
in turn to be attacked and overcome.
It was in these protracted attacks and defences, tliat
powerful armies wasted whole campaigns. Such were the
wars of Marlborough, in this quarter of the country. In
modern tactics, invading armies, with a bold innovation on
the old rule of never leaving a fortified post in the rear,
dispose a force in front of each fortress more powerful than
the garrison it contains, to mask it ; and they then with
out loss of time push forward to strike at the capital, cal-
VOL. II. 16

170 CONVENT CONVERTED INTO A
culating, that when the capital city of an European nation
falls, the dependant extremities yield with it.
From the top of the ramparts of the citadel of Lille, the
fields of the adjacent cpuntry appear enlivened by the
white moving canvass of several hundred windmills, which
are employed to grind the wheat harvests of this most fer
tile region, as well as for various purposes connected with
manufactures.

CONVENT CO.VVERTED INTO A COTTON MILL.
At Lille we visited an extensive cotton manufactory op
erated by steam power. An ancient convent has been
here appropriated to the purposes of cotton-spinning, and
the hum of machinery now resounds through the vaulted
chambers and, cloisters, instead of the measured notes of
the matin and vesper anthems of the nuns, who once oc
cupied these walls. It produces a most singular effect
upon the mind to ascend the stone steps of a sculptured
spacious stairway, and to view the anciently chiselled pil
lars and arches rising above the ranges of the machinery,
freshly painted with bright colors, and rendered animated
with rapidly revolving wheels. The spectator naturally
falls into a revery upon the strange contrast between tbe
original design for which these halls were constructed,
and their present use.
We here saw mules of 160 spindles each operated en
tirely by manual labor. This sort of spinning machine
we had supposed to be, at the present day, every where
turned by belts and puUies connected with some cheap
moving power ; but at this cotton mill the spindles were
turned by the two men, who seized the crank,, and by a
vigorous exertion of their united strength, the threads were
twisted in the same manner as was practised on the in
vention of this machine in England, nearly half a century

COTTON MILL. |-j
ago. Notwithstanding the prices paid for the same de
scriptions of labor in France are less than those paid in
England, it would app,ear in this instance that the superior
skill of the' English operatives, as well as the improved
machinery generally employed by them, yield comparative
ly so much greater products as nearly to equalize the dif
ference in the cost. of labor. I have seen, for instance, in
England, within the period of a few months, one man, with
tiie: aid of two girls and a boy, operating with the greatest
apparent facility two mules containing about 700 spindles ;
whilst here I have found two Frenchmen exerting their
utmost force to turn by their manual labor the crank of a
single miile of less than 200 spindles, with a boy to assist
in piecing the threads, notwithstanding a steam engine
was in operation here to perform the cardingof the cotton.
This, it should be observed, is the only instance of hand
spinning that I have witnessed in France, horses, and wa
ter and steam power being generally resorted to for the
purpose. The yarn manufactured in this cotton mill is
fine, and of even texture.
In another manufactory, operated by horses, notwith
standing the irregularity ofthe moving power, a very fine
and regular thread is produced, manifesting that careful
labor and attention wilj, in some mfeasure, make amends
for the inferim-ity'of mechanical contrivances, as is evinced
m the spider-like webs fabricated in India by the single
distaff twirled by the finger, and woven beneath a tree in
the open air.
Lille is a border town, situated on the confines of
Prance. A portion of the low countries, including Brus
sels, was once considered as forming an integral part of
the French empire. Immediately on passing the frontier."?
of Belgium, we were reminded of a change of country by
the appearance ofthe sign boards, partly in Dutch char-
icters, and by the hoarse guttural accents of the Dutch

172 THEOLOGICAL STUDENTS.— GREAT CANNON.
language^ The custom-house officers are here civil, mere
ly opening the portmanteaux and closing them again,
without examination.

GHENT.
The name ofGhent, where we passed a day, is familiar
to every American, the treaty of peace between the Uni
ted States and England having been negotiated and sign
ed in this city.
To a stranger the jnost interesting object is the. Univer
sity, a new and spacious building of substantial hewn
stone, containing many large apartments and halls for the
lectures of professors. It was stated to us that the num
ber of students is about 300. The theological students
must be numerous indeed, judging from the multitudes
who appear in their peculiar costume in the streets, with
their long black silken scarfs streaming in ihe wind or
trailing upon the ground. The expenses of education are
in this city very low, and many English children are sent
here to be educated, with a view-to economy, as well as
to the excellence of the Eterary institutions.
Ancient Piece of Ordnance. A remarkable ancient
cannon, formed of bars of wrought iron, is mounted near
a public square. Judging from its appearance, it must
have been one of the earliest specimens of the manufac
ture of this powerful implement of war. The bars of
wrought iron are welded together side by side, like the
staves of a cask, to form the huge tube,, the cavity of which
is sufficiently large to admit a man to crawl into it with
out inconvenience ; and thick iron hoops encircle the tube
to add to its strength. It is fifteen feet in length, and is
truly a most massy, ponderous, engine of destruction —
sufficiently so, indeed, to entitle it to the appellation of
"murthexing machine," anciently given to these great

CHIMES OF BELLS. 173
guns by mailed warriors, who preferred to die by the hand
of fellow-warriors in a fair fight, hand to hand, in the open
field, rather than to be knocked down by unseen missiles
projected by ignoble artillerists.
A public garden is here also open for the instruction as
well as the gratification of the citizens, the botanical
names of the .plants being painted upon small labels at
tached to-«ach, to designate its class. Such tasteful and
cheap amusement's indicate a refinement of manners or
habits which might be safely adopted in a republican
country. The chimes, of bells in this city are almost incessant,
a short tune being struck up at the expiration of each
quarter of an hour, by means of machinery moved by clock
work. To strangers, unaccustomed to the sounds of bells
through the quiet hours of the night, the chimes are
sources rather of annoyance than of pleasure.
Ghent is situated upon the Scheldt, and, it is stated,
once surpassed in extent the city of Paris. The streets
are intersected by canals, which form numerous islands
connected together by two or three hundred bridges.
This city is said to be the centre of the principal manu
facturing district of the Netherlands.. It was stated to
me by a machinist who has been for some time resident
here, that there are few power looms in operation in the
Netherlands, as we had found to be the case in France.
At one of the cotton-mills, the proprietor denied us ad
mission, disclosing his apprehensions, in sentences com
posed of half Dutch and French, that we wished to see
his mill to gain knowledge ; and like a bargain-driving
Dutchman, he seemed unwilling to allow any body to be a
gainer through his means, unless he could be a gainer also
and share the profits. As he held the keys of knowledge
with such a griping hand, we offered no arguments; but
from a partial view of a portion of ancient machinery dis-
VOL. II. 16*

174 MECHANICS OF BELGIUM.
closed by the half open door, we might have conscientions-
ly affirmed that we expected to gain no acquisitions of
knowledge from a survey. Indeed, wherever English ar
tists have not been engaged to introduce the improved
machinery of their native country into the French, as well
as the Flemish mills, vve have uniformly found inferior
machinery. The superior skill of the modern English
mechanics, who have emigrated to the continent, seems to
have repaid,- at the present day, some of the valuable les
sons in manufacturing, which England gained from those
who in early timesj and at the revocation of the edict of
Nantz, transferred their useful practical knowledge ofthe
fabrication of silk and wool to the country which hospita
bly afforded them protection. The cotton mills on the
continent, judging from the numerous mills I have viewed,
are generally not only inferior in improved machinery,
and arrangement, but also in magnitude to those of Eng
land — and it may be added, to those ofthe United States.
An American from Rhode-Island has lately excited
some curiosity here by putting in operation bis newly in
vented machine for setting weaver'^s reeds or slaies.

JOURNEY TO BRUSSELS.
The passenger in the diligence is constantly reminded,
even whilst travelling in the night, that he is passing
through a country enriched by , the application of the
strongest manure, so penetrating are the odors that per
vade the air. Small reservoirs are formed in barn yards
to collect the fluid portions and salts of the manure. This
liquor I observed the farmers bailing out into tight boxes
or carts, and distributing over the land. The grain is
stacked, as in England, in t;he open fields ; and is here
also threshed in thfropen air. An American looks in vain
for the great barns, which are considered as ' forming so

FARMING OPERATIONS. 175
necessary an appendage to a farm house in the United
States. In the construction of several of the agricultural
tools, there seems to be an evident inferiority to those in
use in England and America. The sythes have here
also straight roughly-made handles, instead of those with
a curved form, in the due proportion and nice balance of
which a Yankee is often seen to show such curious
exactness, to facilitate his labors in handling and swing
ing it. The hoe, instead of the light and thin cast steel
blade with its trenchant edge; is a heavy implement with
a clumsy handle ; and the rake is quite as rudely made,
bearing some relationship to the harrow which precedes it
in the fields. By dint of industry, however, the country
appears extremely well tilled. The hay makers render
the appearance of the meadows gay and lively by their
bustle in cutting and gathering the luxuriant crops of
grass. The hay is not pitched loosely upon the carts, to
bei transported in .bulk to form hay stacks, but is tied up
into small sheafs or bundles of a dozen or twenty pounds
weight each, which are more conveniently used for being'
distributed to cattle.
The Netherlands, from the fertility of the soil, and the
commercial and manufacturing resources available, con
tain, it is stated, the most dense population in Europe. —
There are more than 200 inhaiitants to the square mile,
whilst Great-Britain contains a population of only about
150 persons to the square mile, distributed over the 90,000
square miles of its surface. The United States, with a ter
ritory of above 2,000,000 square miles, contain only six
or seven persons on the average area of each square mile.

BRUSSELS. ¦
Immediately after our arrival at Brussels, our first busi
ness, as usual, was to send our passports to the police office

176 PUBLIC SQUARES .AND FOUNTAINS.
to be examined, countersigned, and sealed anew. The
traveller has barely, time to deposit his baggage at his
lodgings, before there is presented, broadly displayed be
fore him, a paper ruled in columns for his name, age,
place of nativity and destination ; all of which must be
duly registered, as the first important business, before he
can quietly stroll out to breathe the fresh air, or view the
town.

PUBLIC SQUARES AND FOUNTAINS.
The walks, palaces, boulevards and spacious squares
planted with trees, cause Brussels to resemble Paris on a
diminished scale. It always -excites my regret, whilst
enjoying the refreshing walks beneath the shade of these
trees flourishing in the large public squares, which offer
such agreeable retreats to the inhabitants of most of the
cities of Europe, that so little attention was bestowed
by the early settlers and founders ofthe American cities
in making reservations of grounds for public walks and
squares in the locations for towns, whicfr they originally
laid out in the wilderness of the West. The early Pil
grims probably thought but little ,of the inponveniences
of crowded cities, whilst they were cutting down trees
and clearing away the dark forests, dreading perhaps at
e^ery stroke of the axe that some lurking Indian might
raise his painted face above each remaining tuft of bushes.
The city of Brussels is well supplied with public foun
tains, as well as with public pleasure grounds. Streams
of bright waters are seen in various quarters gushing into
stone basins.* The city is supplied with coals from the
*The fountains are usually made to discharge the jet of water from the
mouths of animals, trittrns, and other sculptured figures. A naked statue of
a little boy is placed upon a high pedestal in a conspicuous part of a street
ia Brussels, where he jets forth a tiny stream of water in a most indecor-

CiRVED PULPIT. 177
mines of Charleroi, only a few leagu.es distant. The shafts
of the coal mines are sunk, as it was stated to me, to the
depth of four or five hundred feet to reach the veins, which
are thick and of good quality.
The galleries of paintings and statues are open to stran
gers, where, on paying a small fee to the door keeper, we
amused ourselves for a- short time. We soon, however,
found our way to the cathedrals, which are^ always open,
and always afford something or other curious, to amuse a
stranger. The first we entered contained remarkable
carvings in wood ; the pulpit, for instance, being so chis
elled out of blocks of this material as to resemble a great
hollow tree, with the branches spreading abroad and the
leaves overhanging the head of the preacher, whose plump
face, in his shaded recess, bears no small resemblance to
that of an owl gravely looking out from the depths of his
favorite retreat, the bushes. Among the branches you
behold the images of squirrels, monkeys, and parrots, all
cut in solid oak. At the foot of this singular tree or pul
pit, wooden figures, representing Adam and Eve, and the
angel with a flaming sword, are standing, as if the latter
were engaged in expelling the first coupl^ from the gar
den after having tasted of one of the apples of the tree of
knowledge. The effect produced on viewing this singu
lar piece of carving reminded me of a Methodist camp
meeting in the United States, where the exhorters hold

ous manner, to fill the pails of the servant rriaids of the neighborhood,
whom I saw gathered around it. As a rebuke to tlie magistrates of
Brussels, it is stated that Louis XV, after seeing the naked statue, caused
a suit of clotlies to be made for it. The clotlies were at first used on great
public occasions, when multitudes Were assembled about tlie statue, to \eil
its indecent nudity ; but it was found, however, that the supply of water
was more wanted on public occasions than on ordinary days, and the gal.
lant intention of the French monarch was baffled by the pressing necessity
of the inhabitants of the vicinity, who rendered the exhibition infinitely
more ridiculous by displacing the vestments to regain their wonted supply .

178 DRAPERY OF IMAGES.
forth from amid the tree tops. Numerous other figures ofthe
Virgin, and of saints, as large as life, are arranged around
the walls, some of them dressed most oddly in satin gowns
and petticoats, covered with gold and silver embroidery.
King Ferdinand, it is said, once passed a portion of his
time in the pious labors of embroidering a similar petti
coat for the Virgin. All of the drapery with which the
Virgin and saints are bedecked, is of the fashion of for
mer ages, and might serve as a model ofthe dresses ofthe
belles of the sixteenth century. A view of the interior of
this cathedral might induce one to imagine himself in- a
museum, where showy, curious objects are arranged to
please the eye, rather than in a temple designed to im
prove the heart.
It appears that there are Saints, or the images of them
here, at whose shrines prayers are to be offered for relief
or deliverance from tlie several principal evils of human
life ; and also other Saints to whom intercession is to be
made for the blessings that crown with tempor-al happiness
the lot of man. Little sign boards with directions ser*pe
to indicate these shrines of the several images ; at one of
which you read that prayers are to be offered up for de
liverance from pestilence, whilst at another, prayers are
to be offered for deliverance from some other evil. Per
sons may be seen at all times of the day kneeling before
these -shrines. The great altars of the cathedrals are
fenced in by a lofty balustrade of carved brass and mar
ble, wrought with most costly labor.. Some ofthe altar
pieces are forty feet high, composed of beautifully sculp
tured marble.

HIGH MASS.
We witnessed the ceremony of High Mass for the repose
of the souLof some good Catholic, who has probably left

SERVICE OF HIGH-MASS.

179

to the priests the fee'of one hundred crowns for perform
ing this great rite in due style. For this price, the incense
is burned in the censers, borne by children dressed in
white robes, the candles are lighted upon the altar, and
the little bells are rung by the priests. The officiating
priests, arrayed in mantles trimmed with lace and gold,
and brilliant in georgeous dyes, perform various evolutions,
advancing toward the altar aiid retreating, bowing, and
dropping the knee in the usual mode of genuflections ;
whilst the small hand bells are at intervals jingled, and
the curling smoke of incense, burning in silver censers,
arises in blue fleecy clouds, like steam, and spreads in vol
umes aloft among the arches of the roof and around the
capitals of the .pillars, finally involving the atmosphere of
the whole interior in hazy vapors of perfume. This cer
emony is all regulated with system, and is managed in a
business like way. Whilst I remained patiently gazing
at the performances, I saw one of the priests, in going
through with a part of his wearisome exercise, completely
overcome by languor at the moment his hands were clasp
ed and his eyes raised- to heaven in the attitude of silent
prayer. Expanding his mouth to the widest limits his
jaws would allow, he expired slowly a long drawn breath,
that bore too strong a resemblance to a yawn to be mistak
en for aught beside. It was at all events attended with
the usual contagious effect of this relaxing operation ofthe
muscles, as one ofthe little boys who stood near hiin with
a censer in his hand, also expanded his little mouth, and
stretched out his writhing arms into a regular yawn.
FLEMISH COURT.
At the court house, or temple of Justice, as the hall is
more classically called, we passed an hour as spectators
ofthe pleas and proceedings of one of the law tribunals.

180 COURT OF JUSTICE IN BELGIUM.
The arrangement of the benches for the judges is nearly
similar in plan to that. commonly adopted for most of the
court rooms in the large towns of the United States.
There were five judges upon the bench, but no. long array
of jurors, this latter appendage of a court for the dispensa
tion of justice not being considered so inestimable a priv
ilege here, as in England, and in the United States ; but
rather a tax upon the time of the Jurors. The lawyers
appear in court dressed in black robes trimmed with , fur,
which on a sultry summer day has a most uncomfortable
appearance. The broad dimensions of the projecting
ends of their cravats, cut exactly square like the "bands
worn by clergymen, contrasting their snowy flaps with the
black gowns upon which they rest, impart to these plead
ers a most formal aspect. The adverse parties are sta
tioned opposite to each other on elevated platforms, with
their counsellors by their sides. The speakers made use
of much gesticulation, and frequently recurred to their
notes. There were no spectators to witness the proceed
ings, as is always the case in the United States ; but the
judges, and lawyers with their clients occupied the hall ;
and the gentlest JaU of our footsteps, echoing through the
nearly empty room, attracted the attention of the - court
as we made our entrance. The advocate who was dif
fusely expatiating upon the cause of his client did not evi
dently believe with the good Jeremy Taylor, that "we
form our words with the breath of our nostrils, and have
the less to live upon for every word we speak."

FIELD OP WATERLOO.
At an early hour of the morning we took a carriage to
convey us to the field of Waterloo, situated about ten miles
from Brussels. Soon after leaving the city we entered the
great and beautiful forest of Soigny, which it is stated,

EXTENSIVE FOREST. Igl
covers more than nine thousand acres of land. The road
between Brussels and Waterloo passes six or seven miles
nearly in a direct line through this forest, which, for ex
tent and a continued dense succession of trees, rivals many
ofthe native forests ofthe United States. In the distance
of six miles there is scarcely a farm house or cottage,
or a cultivated patch, called in the United States a
clearing, to be seen to interrupt the monotony of the
"greenwood trees." The inn at which we stopped ap
peared to be the only spot enlivened by the residence of
man. I had formed no anticipation of seeing in this densely
settled portion of Europe so great a range of woodland,
and such a broad expanse of country overshadowed by the
thick leaves of one unbroken forest, as I have here found
within half a dozen miles ofthe capital city of Belgium.
There is, however, here no aspect of wildness, as in the
original forests of the New World ; but the trees, which
are entirely -of beech wood, of stately dimensions, are all
planted in regular rows about one rod asunder, with the
formal precision of an orchard. The branches, spreading
abroad, become intermingled^ and their, thick foliage
throws a deep gloomy shade upon the smooth greensward
beneath, which is divested of all underwood or bushes.
The trunks of the trees are seen to rise from the turf like
lofty columns, distinct and well defined in outlines, and
relieved by the dark shadows of the depths of the forest.
The forest of Soigny forms a part of the national domains,
and, as such, has been preserved entire fi-om the axe of the
cultivator. The far extended perspective views through
the straight avenues of trees, which overarch the road for
miles in a direct line, surpass in effect any prospect of this
kind I have ever seen. The roads are smoothly paved
with blocks of square stones.
With such a forest in their rear, it may well be suppos
ed that the English army could retreat no farther toward
VOL. II. 17

1S2 VILLAGE OF W.iTERLOO.
Brussels, impeded on their retrograde movement by all
their baggage and artillery, whilst pressed by Bonaparte
before the decisive moment of the arrival of Blucher
upon the field of battle. In one of the conversations of
Napoleon at St. Helena, he is reported to have said, that
this very forest of Soigny was one of the causes of the ad
verse result of the battle of Waterloo. The English army,
pressed by the general attack of the French, retreated to
the edge of this forest, and they could retire no farther,
without becoming entangled in its narrow roads and de
files. When a further retreat in good order became im
practicable, they v/ere under the necessity of maintaining
their ground with desperation.
At an humble little inn in the village of Waterloo, we
partook of a cup of coffee, and- procured the guide, who
vvas present during the battle, to explain to us the relative
positions and movements of the contending armies. Pass
ing a few straggling cottages which form the small village
of Waterloo, we seated ourselves on the grass under the
garden wall of the farm of La Haie Sainte. With the plats
ofthe relative positions of the contending armies at dif
ferent periods of the action spread out before us on the
turf, the guide commenced his explanations.
Upon this long ridge, he observed, where we now are,
the allied army was posted, extending about a mile, and
fronting yonder opposite similar ridge of land, from which
we are divided by the gentle declivities of the little vale at
our feet. Facing the Allied army, the French army was
arranged along that ridge of ground. ^Four hundred
pieces of cannon, stationed along these opposite ridges,
scarcely four hundred yards apart, vvere for hours pour-
ino- their iron hail upon the- exposed masses of men,
who fell like grass before the sythe. The adjacent gar
den and orchard were several times won or lost. At each
reverse, nearly every occupant was destroyed, and the

B.ATTLE OF WATERLOO. 183
door yard of this farm house was piled with dead bodies,
and became slippery with human blood. There, in yon
der fields, at the close of the action, were the English
troops huddled in squares, presenting a front on every
side to the cuirassiers, who continued riding around their
closed ranks and ^attempting to break into their squares
through the openings made by grape shot, which, at every
discharge ofthe batteries, struck the metallic portions of
the muskets and other equipments ofthe soldiers with a
horrid crash, followed by shrieks of dying men. But the
ranks closing together constantly over the bodies of fallen
soldiers, always presented an unbroken martial array, and
baffled the eflforts ofthe assailants.
At the last critical hour of the conflict, whilst the allied
army was thus reduced to the necessity of resorting to
the formation of solid squares of troops to withstand the
attacks of the French cavalry that surrounded them, and
even penetrated to their rear, we all supposed, continued
the guide, that the battle was lost.* The wounded and
fugitives were flying towards Brussels, where confusion
for a time prevailed, in anticipation ofthe appearance of
the French troops in the pursuit. Behind the squares of
troops, upon the borders of the forest of Soigny, was sta
tioned a battery of English- artillery to cover a retreat at
the last moment towards Brussels.
Across those distant fields, regiments of soldiers were
at this critical period of the battle seen marching, as if to
join the French army, which now appeared to pause in
their general advance to attack the squares of English
troops. It was then supposed that this was the great de
tachment of the French army under Grouchet, about to
join their, fellow-countrymen, and to decide at once the
*So confident -was Napoleon of success, at' this time, that he wrote a
few lines, to his wife iu Paris, stating that the French arms had been
croiyned with success,

184 A BATTLE FIELD.
fate ofthe conflict by their timely arrival on the field. In
stead, however, of a friendly junction with the French,
the angry flashes of cannon soon demonstrated that foes
instead of friends had met. The flank ef the French ar
my recoiled upon the main body, and during the hostile
shock, the fatal cry was uttered, "sauve qui peut." In a
few moments, the moving masses of French soldiery, ad
vancing in formidable array to the attack, were thown
into confusion, retreating from before their foes. In
stantly the scene was changed, and the solid English
squares expanding their ranks into sweeping lines, took
advantage of the panic, and rushed forward from their
stations, clearing the vale before them, until arrested by
a few French battalions, who in turn had adopted the last
desperate manoeuvre of their enemies, and had formed
squares to preserve themselves from instant destruction.
These few squares, disheartened, were soon broken, and
joined in the general flight.
On the next morning, as the sun arose and rendered
objects distinguishable, the fields before us had the appear
ance of being strewed with various bright colors like the
patches of a flower garden, the scarlet uniforms of the
dead English soldiers, and the green, blue, and buff, of
the Russians, French and Belgians, all commingled, blen
ded their various dyes, side by side, with here and there
the parti-colored bodies of prostrate horses.
Whilst the guide was thus giving a particular account
of the scenes of the battle, illustrating each part of his
narrative by pointing at the spots on which the combat-
tants stood, the visitant on the field of Waterloo may read
ily picture to himself the whole living array of armed men
and steeds, and even the bursting vollies of fire flashing
from the batteries ; but the delusion soon vanishes, when
the eye dwells on the now quiet landscape, and on the
luxuriant crops of grain, covering the ridges^ rustling and

BURIAL OF DEAD SOLDIERS. 185
waving in the wind, instead of the dancing plumes and
pennons. The peasants appear slowly moving, engaged
in the, labors of agriculture, where occurred the shocks of
rushing warriors ; whilst the whole ¦country around, sleep
ing in silence beneath abright sunshine, seems to be the
v«ry abode' of the peaceful. It is now, indeed, the place
of rest for thousands of human beings, every sod being
here truly a soldier's sepulchre. In the little valley be
tween the ridges on which the two armies were drawn up,
more than 20,000 soldiers, friends and foes,^ the horse and
his rider, are thrown promiscuously into large holes or
pits, many of them without being stripped of their clothes
by those who buried the slain, who are in the battle field
the heirs of the dead soldiers, so great was their haste to
accomplish their task. Some ofthe spots appear elevated
by slight mounds of earth, perceptibly swelling above the
general level ofthe unbroken earth around them, from the
accumulation of bones beneath the surface,
" Where sleep the relics ofthe dead.
For whom tiie frequent t€ar is shed."
_Many human skulls even remain deprived ofthe rites of
sepulture, bleaching in the rainsand winds. The roman
tic imagination, excited by the glory of a battle-field, be
comes sobered, when one thus actually sees a soldier's skull
rolled about like a pebble on the field, until finally crum
bled into the mold that forms the clod of the valley. Po
ets, in their flowing numbers, too often depict the field of
battle as a bed of glory to all who may rest upon it, with
out making any distinction in the causes in which the
combatants may be engaged. Even the good Vicar of
Wakefield, in the more sober prose of Goldsmith, after
giving a paternal blessing to his son, a youthful soldier,
exclaims, "Go, my boy, and if you fall, though distant,
exposed, and unwept by those that love you, the most pre
cious tears are those with which heaven bedews the un-
VOL. II, 17*

186 WARS FOR BALANCE OF POWER
buried head of the soldier." Byron, in his masculine
verse,, does not class mere animal bravery, unaccompanied
with the moral attributes of patriotic principles, among
the most laudable qualities ofthe human race.- The hire
ling Hessian and mercenary British soldier, who fell on
the fields of America whilst aiding to crush the efforts of
A free people, may have theif ashes mingled with those of
men who from principle poured out their blood in the cause
of freedom ; ibut to the former, the words of Byron truly
apply. " There shall they rot, — Ambition's honored fools I
Yes, honor decks the turf that wraps tlieir clay !
Vain sophistry ! in these behold the tools.
The broken tools, that tyrants cast away
By myriads."
So profusely was human blood here shed, that it actual
ly fertilized the soil. The guide stated, that for two or
three years, the stalks of grain were more lofty and luxu
riant, nourished by the hidden aliment derived from the
bodies of the slain ; and the grass in such places exhibited
a ranker growth and deeper green.
England has been prodigal of her blood and treasure to
sustain visionary politicians in their schemes for keeping
the " balance of power" in Europe poised with equal scales.
As expressed by Addison,
" 'Tis Britain's care to watch on Euroj^e's fiite.
And hold in balance each contending state."
To preserve this much talked of balance of power, Eng
land has been involved in the debts contracted on account
of foreign wars, which even no-w continue to embarrass
that powerful country. As humorously depicted by the
writer of an article in the Edinburgh Review, English
men have dearly paid for the glory of hplding the scales.*
*'^ We can inform the Americans what are the inevitable consequences
of being too fond of glory ; — Taxes upon every article tliat enters into the

IN EUROPE. 187
The yard and garden of the farm house, called Hou-
goumont, present the most evident traces ofthe effects of
war. The stone walls of the buildings stand desolate and
' in ruins, and the garden vi^alls stiU exhibit the loop holes
made during the heat of action by the troops who occupied
mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot; taxes upon, every
thing vvhich is pleasant to see, hear, smell, or taste; taxes upon warmtli,
light, locomotion; taxes on every tiling on tlie earth, on every thing that
comes from abroad, or is gtown at home; taxes on the raw materials;
taxes on every fresh value that is added to it by the industry of man ;
taxes on the food which pampers man's appetite, and the drug which re-
fitor-es him to health; on the.ei-mine which decorates the judge, and the
rope that hangs the' criminal; on the poor man's salt, and the rich man'a
spice; on tlie brass nails of the coffin, and the ribbons of the bride; at
bed or board, couchant or levant, we must pay. The school boy whipa
his taxed top; tlie beardless youth manages his taxed horse with a taxed
bridle on a taxed road; aud the dying Englishman, pouring his medicine
which has paid seven per cent, into a spoon that has paid fifteen per cent,
flings himself back in his chintz bed which has paid twenty-two percent,
, makes his will on an eight pound stamp, and expires in the arms of an
apothecary, whohas paid a license of a hundred pounds for the privilege
of putting him to death. His whole property is then immediately taxed
from two to nineteen per cent. Besides the probate, large fees are de
manded for burying him in the chancel; his virtue is handed down to pos
terity on taxed marble, and he is then gathered to his fathers — to be taxed
no more."
In foreign wars for national glory and aggrandizement, the blood of
British soldiers profasely poured out, has thus fertilized the soil of every
region of the world. A touching interest is imparted to this subject by
Mrs. Hemans, in the poem ofthe '^ Graves of a household,'' descriptive
ofthe early affection of the youthful members of an English family, and of
the subsequent dispei'sion of tlie band of brothers ip the pursuit of arms in
foreign climes. This picture ofthe desolation and private grief, thus car
ried home to many an English fireside, is rarely thought of by those who
aie 5idmirei-a ofthe feats of English valor.
" They grew inl>eauty, side by side,
They filled one home with glee ;
Their graves are severed far and wide,
By mount, and stream, and sea."
Even the great victor at Waterloo lost a brother-in-law on the field of
liattle on the banks of the Blississippi, and thousands of British soldier*

188 NATIONAL MONUMENT AT WATERLOO.
it. The gate of the farm-yard is full of bullet-holes, and
the bark of the trees is spotted with the scars of the balls.
Near this farm house the Belgian government are now
employing four or five hundred men, and nearly two hun
dred horses to heap together the earth to form a vast
mound, which like the everlasting hills, may endure to com
memorate the victory. Judging from the broad area of tlie
sleep in death in the fields and beneath the dark forests and the blue waves
of the lakes of the United States, as described in the poem above alluded
10 — " One, midst the forests ofthe West
By a dark stream is laid,
The Indian, knows his place of rest.
Far in the cedar shade."
The thankless return England has received from the continental states
men for subsidizing halfof Europe, for fighting the battks-of the continent,
and for the boon ofthe restoration of tlie Bourbons, after dethroning one
of the very few monarchs legitimately elected by ' his subjects, must con
vince the English people for tlie fiiture, that it will be better policy for
them to improve their own condition than to attempt the fruitless task of
endeavoring to improve that of their neighbors. '"At Waterloo," observes
the Quarterly Review, " all the nations were^delivered,' and the smallest
among them was more benefitted than England was." This assertion will
most certainly prove true in respect to pecuniary advantages derivable
from a more extensive sale of manufactures ; for although England, when
she crashed the power of Napoleon, had one enemy less to contend with
in the field, she gained thereby few real fi-iends in the cabinets of her al-
116.=;. The very measures of the Continental System, which Bonaparte, by
the aid of his military coercion, could carry into only partial effect for
the purpose of excluding the manufactures of England, have been adopted
by all the Allies of England, and rigidly enforced on tbe principle of in
ternal tariffs for the promotion of domestic industry. I have several
times heard Englishmen speak of these restrictive tariffs, enforced by
France and the other Allied Powers, as manifesting a want of gratitude
to a country that has lavished so much treasure in uphblding them. Il
has become the private interest of individual manufacturers and otliers,
that the same restrictions, which Bonaparte by his military "despotism en
forced, should not be evaded at present. In tlie words of an English
writer it may be asked, " what have the people of England gained by the
battle of Waterloo V

MECHLIN. 189
base, and the slope of the sides, this mound when comple
ted will be of the size of a considerable hill. Whilst I
was standing near the laborers, who were engaged in ex
cavating the earth to be conveyed in carts to the top of
the mound, one ofthe workmen turned up a human skel
eton with his shoVel. He began diligently to extract the
teeth, and immediately brought me a handful of them for
sale. The guide observed to me that whilst the teeth
were fresh and in good order, they formed a considerable
article of trade to supply the English and French dentists.
Several boys followed us with importunities to purchase can
kered military brass buttons, and escutcheons of the same
metal, once used as ornaments for helmets or caps. One
of the lads, supposing we were Englishmen, pressed us to
purchase a six-pound cannon shot ; and by way of enhan-
'cing the value of his merchandize, observed, as he held it
out to us, that it had killed a Frenchman.
Mechlin. From Brussels to Antwerp, a distance of about
thirty miles, the road is level, following the banks of a
broad canal, that here seems to indicate from its course
over flat lands that we have advanced to the border ofthe
"Low Country." A drive on the banks of this canal is
delightful in sultry vveather, from the abundant shade fur
nished by fine rows of trees planted along its border. At
Malines, or Mechlin, as at is known by its English name,*
famous for its lace, every preparation appeared to be in
readiness to celebrate a church festival, which, according
to the account given of it by one of my fellow-passengers,
resembles the sports of the carnival. The archbishop,
*The letters as well as the pronunciation of the names of many of the
towns in this country are so different from those familiar to the eye and
ear of an American or Englishman, that one is sometimes at a loss to know
towns by" their right names. An American of my acquaintance was sev
eral hours in Antwerp before he discovered that it was the same city ai
Anvers, by which appellation alone it is here recognised.

190 POPULAR SPORTS.— ANTWERP.
who resides in this town, has caused to be set up at regu
lar intervals of one or two rods asunder, upon each side of
the principal street, tall pieces of boards with pictures of
men and vases painted upon them. The windows and
doors of the houses also have a gay aspect with fluttering
festoons of leaves and flowers. Such an army of painted
figures, posted about the streets in stiff perpendicular atti
tudes, like sentinels on post, must have drawn largely on
the funds of the projectors of this strange exhibition. The
people who are here assembled to celebrate the festival,
amuse themselves by shooting arrows at pigeons tied to
the top of a tall mast, or at small blocks of wood, of the
form and size'of this bird, suspended dangling from a cross
piece elevated high in the air. This sport must have been
of very ancient origin, as it is described in the ^neid
among the games with which the anniversary of Anchises'
death was celebrated.

ANTWERP.
Antwerp is strongly fortified with ramparts and deep
ditches filled with water ; and the usual machinery of a
drawbridge and portcullis and massy gates is to be put
in motion before the traveller finds himself in the streets
of the city. On passing all these fortified cities on the
frontiers of France and of the Netherlands, one is con
stantly reminded of the vast amount of human labor which
has been lavished on their construction in former ages.
Had the same amount been expended in supporting free
schools, instead of standing armies, and constructing roads
and canals, instead of these immense lines of towering,
long extended stone walls, the condition of the common
people in this country, would have been verj^ difierent
from what it now is. England, owing to her insular po
sition, has no cities to be guarded against the sudden

PAINTINGS. 191
inroads of neighboring nations ; but her resources are
devoted to creating and sustaining her more perishable
floating bulwarks. — On the continent, almost every fron
tier city of magnitude is fortified. Many of them have
been the scenes of battles and sieges. The situation
of the United States, in respect to ambitious and power
ful neighboring nations, is peculiarly happy. Remote from
the dangerous vicinity of European nations, no large
standing army is required to protect her frontiers from
suddenjinvasion ; and no fortifications are raised, other
than those intended to secure a few principal sea ports
from naval attacks. The enterprise of the inhabitants of
this youthful country, burthened by no load of taxation, is
devoted to improvements in the useful arts, and to the
augmentation of the comforts and enjoyments that tend to
promote individual happiness.
Having procured one ofthe guides^ or commissionaires,
as they call themselves, who are always to be found ready
in every city to conduct strangers without loss of time to
view the principal objects of curiosity, and to point out
whatever may serve to amuse or instruct the traveller of
leisure, we proceeded to view some of the picture galle
ries and other curiosities ofthe city. Several ofthe most
celebrated painters were born in Antwerp, and their works
still continue to be the pride and ornament of the city.
They are exhibited in the cathedral-churches, suspended
upon the walls and exposed to the view of every person,
however humble, without the exaction of fee or reward to
doorkeepers — a liberality in the exhibition of works of
art that forms an agreeable contrast with customs ob-
.servable in England, where the stranger can scarcely visit
any of the admirable productions of art, or even a beauti
ful solitary ruin of an old castle or abbey, without meet
ing a guard mounted in advance on the nearest crum
bling fragments. The Academy of Fine Arts is open

192 ANCIENT PtCTUfeES.
gratuitously to the public, and there are also several pri
vate collections of paintings, to which the public have
access. The subjects portrayed by most of the celebrated pic
tures are taken from scriptural scenes, particularly from
those which attended the death of Christ on the cross,
Some of the finest paintings do not attract the eye by the
brilliancy of their coloring ; but their peculiar beauty ap
pears to consist in a certain mellowness of the blended
shades, as if the objects were discerned distinctly, but with
softened outlines, at the moment of approaching twilight.
So numerous are the pictures which are hung around the
walls of the Antwerp cathedrals, that they almost resemble
show rooms ; particularly when the costly sculptured mar
ble altar-pieces and ornaments are taken into view. It
must indeed require strong powers of mental abstraction,
to confine the thoughts to the exercises of devotion in a
temple where so many beautiful objects of art, so many
curious m-aster-pieces of human genius, meet the upturned
eye, and divert the attention from the deeply engaging
and holy occupation of prayer. On beholding the very
picture ofthe crucifixion, indeed, the mind is absorbed in
the contemplation of the elaborate skill of man displayed
on the canvass, rather than affected by devotional sympathy
at the sight of the depicted sufferings of Him who died on
the cross.
Ancient Pictures. The sale of ancient and modern
Flemish paintings is one of the staple articles of com
merce in Antwerp. From the pencils of modern artists
many pictures are annually produced, all bearing the stamp
of antiquity, with vi^ell counterfeited smoky tints, as if they
had survived as genuine perfected productions of the an
cient masters. The cabinets of foreign connoisseurs, and
the pockets of the artists, are thus simultaneously replen
ished. Some of these pictures may probably be found

TOWER OP ANTWERP CATHEDRAL. 193
suspended in the same apartments with the cabinets of
Roman coins, from the modern mint of an ingenious Ital
ian, who was discovered a few years since carrying on his
operations in an old ruin near Rome, with bags of coin
bearing "the image and superscription of Caesar," and still
glittering in all the newness of fresh metallic lustre. He
was in the habit of dipping them in acids, by which he
rapidly, but unclassically, produced the same effects, as
are ascribed by poets to the corroding tooth of time, leav
ing the nearly illegible characters cankered, and covered
by the " heavenly verdigris" ofthe antiquarian, and ready
for market.*
Following the footsteps of all preceding travellers, im
printed in deeply worn furrows by frequent tread on the
stone steps of the winding stairways, we ascended to the
top of the spire of the great cathedral of Antwerp, which
towers aloft above the humble roofs of the surrounding
city, to the elevation of four hundred and sixty-six feet.
This spire, although constructed entirely of hewn stone,
is of admirably light workmanship, arches being piled
above arches with so many open spaces, that it almost re
sembles lace work, and appears as if it might yield and be
swept away by the first blast of wind that passes over it.
It is, however, so strongly bound together by iron clamps,
that it has withstood, unshattered, the storms of above three
hundred years.
*The science of preparing articles to gratify the taste of the virtuosi
begins to be already underwood in the United States. A-party of gentle
men, on a visit to a battle ground, there purchased of a lad some bullets,
which he pflfered for sale as relics. One of the party expressing his regret
that the lad's stock of relics was exhausted, was immediately consoled by
<he lad, who innocently and without forethought told him to wait only a
few minutes, and he would make as many as lie wanted.
VOL. II. 18

194 MODEL OF CALVARY AND PURGATORV,

MODEL OP MOUNT CALVARY.
In a yard adjoining one of the Antwerp cathedrals, there
is a model of the hill and rocks of Calvary, representing
this mount on a diminished scale, and also the scene of
the crucifixion, exhibiting, in full proportions, the great
cross and the image ofthe Saviour nailed upon it. The
rocks of Mount Calvary are here represented by huge
masses of mortar, in which blacksmiths' cinders and flint-
stones are commingled, showing their irregular protuber
ances above the smooth cement. The summit is plenti
fully garnished with broken black glass bottles, to prevent
mischievous boys from climbing the sacred heights. Near
the foot of the tall cross is a female figure representing the
virgin Mary, in proportions as large as life, holding a gob
let in her hand. A round iron rod, nearly as large as the
wrist, painted red, and extending from the side of the fig
ure on the cross to the goblet, with a proper curvature to
represent the descent of a spouting fluid, designates the
crimson stream of blood that flowed from the body of Him
whom they had pierced.
Under the composite mass of mortar and flint stones
and broken glass bottles, is an excavation intended to
represent the holy sepulchre, which is secured by a gra
ted entrance, so arranged, as to allow spectators to view
the interior without being able to enter it, or to reach any
ofthe singular articles with which it is profusely furnished.
Taking a peep into the sepulchre through this grate, I
saw recumbent on a state bed a figure with red cheeks
and attired in a white robe trimmed with lace and span
gled with silver sprigs, which the guide stated represented
Christ in the sepulchre. — Upon each side of this sepulchre
are other grated doors opening into vaulted chambers, be
neath the artificial mound, in one of which we were re^

IMAGES OF SAINTS, I95
galed with a "perspective view of purgatory, the flames of
which, carved in wood and colored red, were curling in
fiery volumes around the pale agonized and distorted fea
tures of the wooden images of such as are supposed to be
suffering the ordeal of that dreadful place. A woman
took our place at the grate, after we had left it, and kneel
ing down, she evinced her strongly excited feelings, whilst
regarding the scene before her, by the tears that silently
tiickled down her cheeks.
A city supporting an exhibition, so rudely and absurdly
executed by priestly cunning that it hardly bears a com*
parison in appearance with some of the waxwork repre
sentations of a common museum, must have a population
degraded indeed by superstitious fears and sentiments,
Bonaparte, it is stated, caused multitudes of these images
of the figure of Christ on the cross, with which the houses
and gateways of each side of the streets of the city were
decorated, at short distances asunder, to be taken down
and removed. Since the downfall of Bonaparte, the ima
ges have been reared again in many places on their for
mer pedestals, where they still stand as large as the natu
ral stature of man, displaying breasts gory with blood, or
rather bedaubed with red paint to represent it. Even in
the country, this passion for images extends to the peasant
ry. Wooden figures appear stationed like lurking Indians
on the road-side, discolored by exposure to the rains and
winds. Over the statue of the virgin, a slight shed is
commonly raised, to form a little chapel, to protect her silk
dress, ribbons, and beads from the rain. Because all these
things are tolerated here, it should not be inferred that the
intelligent portion of the people venerate these rude images
as emblems or representatives of divine personages. The
dissolute, on the other hand, view the images with manifest
levity. I heard some of our fellow-passengers in the dili
gence indulging in jokes as they passed by the little sheds

196 ANTWERP DOCKS.
on the road-side covering these images. Religious fanaf-
icism on the one extreme may often thus create scoffers
on the other.
The Docks for the reception of the shipping of Antwerp
are spacious ; but far inferior in magnitude and extent to
those of Liverpool. Bonaparte caused magnificent works
to be executed to improve the harbor of this city, which
survive as monuments to his memory. His name still con
tinues, it is stated, to be mentioned here as well as in
France with occasional expressions of attachment and ad
miration, notwithstanding the sufferings and misery pro
duced by the mad career of his ambition. One may often
hear in the course of conversation, an eulogy on his ener
getic administration and brilliant achievements concluded
with a recapitulation of the useful public works which he
constructed, not only in France, but in the countries which
he subjected to his control. — The most permanent and
grateful remembrances appear always to be attached fo
those great men and statesmen who have promoted inter
nal improvements and national industry. In this way,
comfort and happiness are carried home to every individu
al, who may personally partake in after generations of the
benefits that result from them. Even the stranger, in his
transient course through the land, muses, whilst riding
over mountains and above ravines of the valley, upon the
memory of him who has smoothed the roads that facilitate
his passage, or who has, by promoting industry, scattered
plenty over a smiling land.
Several American vessels are lying in the docks, with
their red and white stripes and stars fluttering gaily in
the breeze. Not having viewed this national emblem for
several months, the first glimpse of it caused a rush of
blood to the heart, as it awakened a thousand recollec
tions. Antwerp, it is stated, once contained 200,000 inhabit-

STEAM NAVIGATION IN HOLLAND. 197
ants ; but at present it contains less than 60,000 inhabit-
tants. It has suffered much in its commerce by the long
blockades of the Scheldt ; and still more by the long rev-
olution^fy war with Spain, when the Low Countries be
came independent of that kingdom. Antwerp was then
captured and treated as a revolted city, and was sacked
by the captors. The furniture, plate, and merchandise,
which the Spaniards shipped to Spain as their booty,
amounted to above twelve millions of dollars in value, as
stated in the account of that war of devastation.
We left Antwerp in a fine stage-coach, constructed on
the English plan, with proper harness, forming quite an
agreeable contrast with the rude vehicles we have met
with in France. The country between Antwerp and Rot
terdam is, for long distances, a waste of sandy low plains,
entirely destitute of cultivation. We crossed one of the
ferries in a steam ferry boat.
A fine swift steam boat was last year introduced as
a packet to ply between Rotterdam and Antwerp. —
This vessel performs the passage in ten or twelve hours,
and the price for a passage in the cabin is about three
dollars and a half. Embarking in a ferry boat at Dord
recht, once a place of great commerce, we were in a few
minutes transported across one of the mouths of the Rhine,
and were landed on a beautiful quay or street in Rotter
dam, bordering the edge of the river and shaded by trees.
These trees, arranged in rows, impart to the harbor a sin
gular appearance, the masts of the vessels and the tall
trees, intermingled, rise aloft, as if emulous to outstrip
each other in height, The prospects of the adjacent
country present one continued low level surface of marshes,
intersected by canals, extended in long straight lines un
til they terminate like slender threads at the verge of the
distant horizon. Indeed, Holland, with its seagirt dykes
VOL. II. 18*

193 A FLEMISH MECHANIC DISTRUSTFUL OP AN
and low meadows, and other characteristic features of «
Dutch landscape, are here fully displayed to view.

FLEMISH AETIST.
One ofthe passengers in the diligence to the Hague,
proved to be a Flemish artist, who informed me that he
was on his way to Haarlem to exhibit some new machines
at the great national exhibition ofthe manufactures ofthe
Netherlands. This exhibition is truly national, as all the
halls for the reception of the articles to be exhibited ate
provided by the government, and even the necessary ex
penses of transporting them are defrayed from the national
funds. He stated that specimens of all the most beautiful
as well as curious works of art would be brought together
at this show, by viewing which a stranger would be able
to judge of the state of manufactures in Belgium and Hol
land. The king himself, our informant observed, pre
sides in person to honor the occasion of the distribution of
the premiums or prizes awarded to the best specimens in
every branch of manufactures. This condescension of a
royal personags in taking an interest in the humble con
cerns of the workshop of the laborer quite fascinated our
fellow-passsnger, who extolled the government that mani
fested so much zeal for the promotion of industry and the
useful arts.
Our artist was also eloquent in his eulogium upon the
advantages of steam navigation, having for the first time
in his life made the passage from Antwerp to Rotterdam
in the steam packet. In a few years, he observed, steam
boats would be used in all parts of the country, and even
in the United States of America, we might not long be
without them. His surprise was great, when it was sta
ted to him that steamboats were already in general use on
most of the large rivers of the United States, where they

ACCOUNT OF AMERICAN INVENTIONS. 199
were first successfully put into operation, nearly twenty
years ago. The subject of mechanical inventions having
been thus introduced, I described to him^several of the
curiously constructed machines invented by Americans.
He continued to listen to an account of the nail machine,
which cuts and heads nails from a flat bar of iron as fast
as one can count them, and of the machine for making
weaver's reeds or slaies, which have been described. He
had never before heard of these machines. Although he
possessed a good share of intelligence, yet the complicated
operations of the mechanism for accomplishing processes
\*hich he supposed could only be brought about by manu
al dexterity, appeared to him almost incredible. But when
I described to- him Blanchard's lathe, in which gun stocks
and shoe lasts, with all their irregularity of outlines, are
turned exactly to a pattern, his confidence in my veracity,
seemed evidently wavering ; and on giving him a descrip
tion of Whittemore's celebrated card machine, which draws
off the card wire from the reel ; cuts it into pieces of the
proper length for the teeth ; bends it into the form of a
staple, punctures the holes in the leather with a needle ;
inserts the staples of wire into these punctured holes in
the leather ; and finally crooks the teeth to the -desired
form ; — completing of itself all these operations with regu
larity, without the assistance of the human hand to direct
it, the credulity of my travelling companion would extend
no farther. He manifested doubts of all I had been de
scribing to him, accompanied by some feeling of irritation
at what he appeared to consider an attempt to impose up
on him marvellous travellers' stories. Giving vent to an
emphatic, humph, he petulantly threw himself back into a
corner of the diligence, and would hold no further conver
sation, during the remainder of our ride, on the subject of
the mechanical improvements made in Flemish manufac*
tures.

200 THE HAGUE.
Forming our opinion from the inspection of the nume
rous mills I have visited both in France and in the Neth
erlands and Holland, the manufacturers appear generally
contented with the old machinery to which they are ac
customed from long use, and are tardy in adopting the
modern English improvements. An Englishman connect
ed with a manufacturing concern in the Netherlands, sta
ted to me, that the older manufacturers were afraid to
venture upon the trial of new machines, and prevented
their sons, and younger and more enterprising men, from
making experiments with them. Near Rouen, in France,
some cotton mills are about to be erected, with machinery
upon the latest and best plans in use in Lancashire.

MAISON DE nOIS.
We took advantage of a fine morning for an excursion
to the Maison de Bois, a sort of country seat in a thick
sequestered grove about two miles from the Hague. This
grove, or rather forest, extends, according to the statement
made to us, two miles in length. Beneath the deep
shade of the lofty venerable oaks, growing here in all
the luxuriance of the old forests of America, are nume
rous roads, laid out with studied care to produce a variety
of pleasing views. At one moment the visitant becomes
lost amid the twilight shade of thick foliage, and at ano
ther he crosses a sunny glade, or traverses a lawn ; here
a rustic bridge constructed with poles, with studied rude
ness of primitive architectural skill, is to be crbssed in
pursuing the path ; and beyond, the glassy surface of a
little lake, adorned with islets and promontories, appears
in sight. The shores are in some places verdant with the
short herbage of a sloping greensward, and in others with
shrubbery skirting the water's edge. The deep green of

LIBRARY AND MUSEUM. 201
the banks is here contrasted beautifully with the pure white
plumage of the swans, which are always to be found sail
ing gracefully over these sheets of water, as the appropriate
ornaments to give life and effect to the scenery. The
palace of the woods is of itself a very ordinary edifice, and
we found that we had exhausted the beauties of the place,
before we came in sight of the spot that gives a name to
these pleasure grounds.

LinnARY AND MUSEIIM, AT THE HAGUE.
In the great Library at the Hague, we were gratified
on beholding a bust of Franklin, placed in a conspicuous
situation on one of the tables. In this library, according
to a statement of the librarian, are nearly 100,000 vol
umes. There is a Museum connected with the library,
upon the shelves of which are stored away many very re
markable articles collected by the Dutch navigators in
the East Indies, during the ages of their naval greatness.
Some heavy pieces of ancient iron armor perforated with
balls denote that the age of Chivalrous knights in panoply
of steel has passed away, in consequence of the invention
which renders the farmer's boy with his rifle able to cope
with the strongest man, who may have passed his days in
acquiring skill to wield the sword and lance.
The svford ofthe old Dutch Admiral, de Ruyter, is ex
hibited here, and also the model of a Dutch house com
pletely furnished in the style of the sixteenth century. It
was made many years ago by an artist of this city, for
Peter the Great, according to the account ofthe librarian.
The labor of fifteen years ofthe artist's life was consumed
in completing this singular work, which resembles a great
baby-house laid open and exposed to inspection, with all
its furniture of miniature tables, chairs, mirrors, beds and
dishes, arranged with the skill of careful housewifery.—.

302 ROYAL PALACE AT THE HAGUE;
This singular spectacle suggests to the mind of a parent
the wonder and delight with which his children would be
hold all its tiny but perfectly made utensils. The archi
tect even imported whole sets of China ware from the East
Indies, for the interior o'f his petty mansion ; and from the
West Indies the tortois shell with which the exterior is
incased, inlaid with silver. After it was finished, as the
librarian stated, Peter the Great refused to take the labor
ed production of the poor artist, who was utterly ruined by
the expenses of this small structure, as so many are bythe
erection of more enlarged edifices, where vanity triumphs
Over prudence.

ROYAL PALACE AT THE HAGUE.
We passed an hour or more in viewing the long ranges
of apartments in the King's Palace, at the Hague. It is a
plain structure as to its exterior, and is furnished in a
very plain manner. The dwellings of some private indi
viduals in the United States are provided with furniture
as elegant as that which is found in most of the apart
ments of this abode of royalty, and the Republican Presi
dent is quite as sumptuously lodged as the King of Bel
gium and Holland. The two halls or chambers of the
national legislative assembly of the " States General" and
of the " States of the Province" are also surpassed, in
magnificence and beauty of costly sculpture, by the splen
did halls of the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States. The king does not generally reside
at this palace of the Hague, except during the sessions of
the " States General," which are holden alternately here
and at Brussels.
The form of the constitutional government of the Uni
ted Kingdom of Belgium and Holland is peculiar in Tela'"
tion to details of elections, and in some other particulars,

CANALS AND STREETS 203
The political machinery of the modes of electing repre
sentatives in government would not serve as a model to
improve the popular elections on the other side of the
Atlantic. Although restrained by a charter or constitutional form
of government, the king of Belgium and Holland has no
very definite limits to his power. In manners, however,
the king is said to be quite a republican, holding hisleveea
nearly in the same way as the American President, to
which citizens of all grades, when decently attired, are
freely admitted to shake hands with their royal master.
The young prince of Orange, who was wounded whilst
gallantly fighting at the head of his troops at the battle of
Waterloo, when only twenty-two years of age, is quite a
popular favorite. He participates in the enjoyment of so
cial intercourse among his subjects with apparent unre-
servedness and cordiality. These amiable and republican
traits of character generally awaken more warmth of re
gard, and a more kindly return of good feelings, than the
pomp that chills one on entering the icy circle of royal
dignity. Even the books used by the members of the roy
al family, the instruments of music, and the paintings on
the walls, executed by their hands, are shown to strangers,
and excite more interest than costly marbles and rich gild
ings. The streets of the Hague are peculiarly neat and clean.
There is a street on each side of the canals, the border of
which in most parts of the city is adorned with trees.
Their verdant leaves, and the cool sheets of water that are
extended in various directions in the canals beneath the
overhanging branches, are very agreeable at this sultry
season ; but the waters being stagnant and fresh, admitted
from the channels of the Rhine, effluvia of no very agree
able nature arise from them. Large spots of the surface
of the canals are covered with a floating mantle of green,

504 STAGNANT WATERS OF CANALS.
vegetating little aquatic plants, of a very unsightly appear
ance. Dipping my hand into the water, I raised from it
a handful of these minute vegetables, and found on exam
ination every little plant, like all other productions of na
ture, to be perfectly formed, having leaflets that floated
with the upper surfaces exposed to the sunshine, and a
stem, terminated by small diverging fibrous roots.

PASSAGE IN A CANAL-BOAT.
After visiting a few other public buildings, and passing
a short time in rambling over this quiet city, we embarked
in a canal-boat for Leyden. The canal-boats for passen
gers, used in Holland, resemble those employed for the
same purpose in the United States in external construc
tion ; but there are here no apartments with berths nicely
fitted up for sleeping, and nono of the properly arranged
cooking apparatus to furnish viands for the table. Having
had occasion to travel whilst in Holland during the night,
the luxury of a good bed was not to be procured on board
of any one of the canal-boats. You can engage the little
apartment or cabin at one end ofthe boat, and Tiave room
to exercise your ingenuity in making a couch of benches,
cushions, portmanteaux, cloaks, and other compounds of
hard and soft materials. There are inns at short inter
vals along the canal side, at the doors of which the pas
sengers usually land, to procure a cup of coffee or other
refreshments. Several of the female passengers regaled
themselves, when they stopped, with small glasses of gin.
The expense of a passage in the cabin, which is a very
small apartment, is between two and three cents per mile,
without board. Most of the canal-boats which we passed
have one horse attached to them, and proceed at the rate
of about three miles an hour. The passage-boats are

PREVALENT HABIT OF SMOKING TOBACCO. 205
drawn by two horses at the rate of four or five miles an
hour. A chafing dish or pot is constantly supplied with peat>
which is always kept burning, like the Vestal fire, for the
purpose of lighting the tobacco pipes of the indefatigable
Dutch smokers. The fumes, ascending from their nn-
merous pipes, produce a perpetual haze in the confined
atmosphere of the cabins of the canal boats. The weed
used by the laboring classes of Dutchmen for the supply
of their pipes, has so little ofthe aroma of tobacco, that I
have often fancied they were pufling out from their dis
tended cheeks the imprisoned fumes of burning straw. 
The traveller, who may have an antipathy to tobacco
smoke, is excessively annoyed by the prevailing propen
sity of the Hollanders for smoking.

DUTCH SUMMER-HOUSES,
Along the borders of the canals are numerous coun
try seats, each with its trim garden and summer-house.
These little octagon brick summer-houses seemingly wade
off into the waters of the canal, as if imbued with the
aquatic propensities of their masters. The inmates are
thus enabled to enjoy the pleasures of the land and water
so necessary to a Dutchman's happiness, for they here get
overa canal when in the humor to participate in the
joys of rural felicity ; and seated above their favorite ele
ment they can composedly relish the prospect of trees and
level meadows. The industrious beavers thus instinctively
feel restless in their moments of relaxation and enjoyment,
unless they can recline as voluptuaries with their tails in
the water, in which they have paddled all their lifetime.
The erection of these summer-houses in the water may
perhaps have originated in economy, here characteristic^
for by this means the same roof which affords a shelter for
VOL. II. 19

206 DUTCH COUNTRY RESIDENCES.
landing from the barges, used instead of coaches, may
also cover the upper apartment used for the banqueting
table. When the canal boat passes within a few feet of
the large open windows of these summer-houses, the pas
sengers can distinctly view the occupants sociably seated
at the table, and even scan the fare spread upon it. The
guests themselves do not shrink from the close inspection,
but look out at the passengejs, and nod in token of recogni
tion to those whom they perchance may know. The views
ofthe shady walks and beautiful flower gardens, inclosed by
smoothly trimmed greep hedges arranged with studied art
in plain sight from the canal boat, serve to amuse the pas
senger whilst pursuing slowly his monotonous course. —
The gay colors ofthe flowers, the smoothly mown lawns,
resembling a carpet of green velvet, and the cool shade
formed by fine avenues of trees, sometimes almost induce
a wish to land.
A similar taste for country seats prevailed in the vicin
ity of some ofthe large American cities, during the period
when the general engagements of the merchants in foreign
commerce left them leisure to retreat into the country
during the absence of their vessels, and to expend in costly
improvements the anticipated profits of their voyages. —
The return of peace and of general competition at present
leaves the merchant no respite from an almost uninter
rupted attention to business, and country houses have
fallen into disrepute.
Over the doors and windows of the summer houses', or
pavilions, as they may more properly be"" termed^ are va
rious short mottos, painted in large letters resembhng
those upon tavern sign boards. Each proprietor, of course,
is at liberty to select such a motto as may happen to hit
his fancy. It afforded me much amusement in passing
them to hear a translation of them from the Dutch into
the French by one of our fellow-passengers, who under-

AND MOTTOS 0.\ SUMMER HOUSES. 207
stood both languages. The proprietor of one estate signi
fies by his mottOj inscribed in letters so broad that those
who run or sail at a distance may read, that he is a " lover
of the summer." Another professes himself to be an ad
mirer of the pleasures of retirement, and a third admires
rural life. On the walls of one summer house it was bla-
zoned that the proprietor loved the church. Feeling sus
picious that this profession of attachment could not be al
together disinterested, I inquired of the boatman the busi
ness or profession of the owner ofthe estate, and was told
that he was a priest, after which I ceased to wonder at
his public professions of love for the loaves and fishes.
These gardens and country seats ornament one side of
the canal. If you turn your eyes to the opposite side,
your view is in some places nearly as unbounded as that
afforded by the level expanse of the broad ocean. The
vast surface of green meadows extends unbroken by hills
' or undulations, like immense marshes, which they in truth
originally were. This unbroken level of endless flat coun
try wearies the eye, accustomed to view the variety of hill
and vale, of cliff and mountain. In place of this varied
scenery there is here visible only a sea of green herbage,
dotted with a few farm houses, and with black cattle,
which are discernible sometimes at the distance of several
miles, like specks on the verge of the landscape, where the
smooth lines of earth and sky seem to meet. For a con-
•siderable distance on some ofthe canals, no farmhouse or
orchard is passed, and notwithstanding the greenness of
the earth's surface, the general aspect of the country is
bleak and cheerless.
The fields of the different farmers are divided by ditches
filled with water, instead of by hedges or fences. These
ditclies are rendered passable by little drawbridges placed
at convenient distances. When the farmer wishes to re
tire to his own possessions, and to shut out the world, he

208 LANDSCAPE VIEWS IN HOLLAND.
raises his little drawbridge, and fastens it in a vertical po
sition by the embrace of an iron chain, secured by a lock
to a post. Each farm may thus be made an island, and
the adjacent neighbors pay and receive visits by means
of their boats. Some of the operations connected with
farming are also carried on by the aid of boats, as I hive
observed milk maids rowing away lustily in their skiffs
containing their white milk pails, on their way to the pas
tures where the cows were feeding. The milking is per
formed either much earlier or oftener than is practised in
the United States, as we saw the women returning with
their frothing pails of milk early in the afternoon. The
favorite color ofthe cows is black, mottled with vvhite spots.
Even the very swains take to their boats on the approach
of twilight to visit their mistresses, and the strokes of
their oars dashing aside the waters are thus probably the
harbingers for which the pensive Dutch lasses watch. —
The most delightful associations of early life thus seem
to strengthen the attachment to aquatic excursions, and to
rowing boats.* Boats serve, also in the place of wagons.
Instead of making a road to his door, the farmer often sets
to work to dig out a broad ditch or canal to communicate
with one of the principal canals of the neighborhood.
The few wagons which are employed are provided with no
harness to prevent them from pressing forward upon the
horses, as there are no hills to be descended. If any little
mound by its declivity happen to accelerate the motion of
the wagon, the driver, seated on the front part of the vehi
cle, puts one foot on the rump of each horse, and thus
grotesquely is seen bracing back with all his strength, and
*In early days, when the first settlers on the marshes were nearly all
skippers or boatmen, it is stated that the familiar salutation of, how do you
do, to-day ,^was literally in Dutch expressed by " I-Io\v dp you row
lo-day."

CANALS.— COSTUME OF WOMEN. 209
making wry faces, should his efforts to effect his purpose
be violent.
The canal tietween Rotterdam and Amsterdam, it is
stated, was originally excavated about sixty feet in width
and seven feet iu depth. At present, the water is only four
or five feet deep. The water is muddy, and is constantly
depositing slimy sediment, which is occasionally cleared
ont from the bed of the .canal. The pure white petals of
the American pond-lily, and of the yellow water-lily that
we passed, appeared floating just above the surface of the
water in a few places in the canals. The banks are cov
ered by a bristly growth of flags and rushes, over which
the tow line, drawn by the horses, sweeps with a rustling,
whistling, cheerless noise, "resembling that produced by a
bleak wintry wind. The roots serve by their radiating
fibres to bind the soft mud, and to prevent it from being
washed from the banks by the surge, that always follows a
canal-boat like its shadow.
The slovenly appearance of the French villages, and
the neatness and cleanliness of those of HoUand, present a
remarkable contrast. The females whom we saw walking
in the streets of Leyden weal- no bonnets to intercept the
rays ofthe sun. In place of bonnets, their heads are clasp
ed around by glittering zones or hoops of gold and silver.
These ornaments bear no small resemblance to brass
hoops on a beer barrel, or to metallic bands contrived by
some surgical device to sustain the opening crevices of a
fractured skull. Their muslin or lace capsof every varie
ty of pattern are drawn closely around the disk of their
plump placid, faces leaving only a few carefully arran
ged curls clustering upon their foreheads, as if escap
ed from their imprisonment beneath the metallic hoops
and the meshes of the lace. The appearance of the la
dies, whom the traveller may casually meet on a fine sum-
mer morning, is singularly neat, and often deserving of thg
VOL, n. 19*

310 LEYDEN.— UNIVERSITY.
warmer appellation of lovely. On passing them, you may
encounter the gaze of the " light blue eye beaming with
expressive sweetness from beneath glossy ringlets of flax
en hair," which is said to be characteristic of the inhabi
tants of Germany. One traveller has been so devoid of
gallantry toward the Dutch fair ones, as to remark, that
the mild expression of their countenances borders upon a
certain want of animation and vivacity, which he hastermed
insipidity ; and has called their lily-white complexion "a
fishy look ;" attributing it to the unhealthy practice of sit
ting constantly "with a footstove beneath their petticoats."
The University ofLeyden attained to great celebrity ia
consequence of the lectures of the celebrated Boerhaave,
who was a Professor here. The anatomical preparations
of the Museum are very numerous, forming, as a medical
student from the United States observed to me, one ofthe
most interesting collections in Europe. He stated to us
that there are about 350 medical students,, and nearly as
many scholars, pursuing their studies in other branches of
science. Some of the earliest discoveries in electricity were made
in the city of Leyden. The glass jar or phial, covered
internally as well as externally with metallic linings, and
so well known as the repository for this remarkable fluid,
was first used in this city, from whence the name ofLey
den jar has been applied to designate it. The gardener
who has charge of the botanic garden, judging from his
animation when engaged in conversing about the fami
lies of plants that thrive under his charge, is enthusiast
ically devoted to his profession, apparently regarding every
shrub and flower with the interest of a parent, extolling
the beauties of his children.
In a plain old gothic church, the tomb of Boerhaave
was pointed out to us, to which we almost involuntarily
turned our footsteps to proffer as it were at the shrine of

BOERHAAVE.— POPULATION. 211
genius a mental offering of homage and respect. The
renown of Boerhaave was so universal during the age in
which he -lived, as the well known anecdote has been re
lated, that a letter reached him directed from the East In
dies with no other superscription than " To the illustrious
Boerhaave, Physician in Europe." His industry must
have been great to have vv;ritten so much and so well.
With his Dutch perseverance, he combined occasionally
in his lectures a rare seasoning of sallies of wit, not al
ways ofthe most delicate kind. Indeed he left the world
with a joke, that has often been repeated on account of
the strange humor manifested by it. In the words of a
volume giving, an account ofLeyden, " After Boerhaave's
death, there was found the large book beautifully bound,
vvhich according to what Boerhaave had himself declared,
contained the most valuable secrets of the medical art. It
was opened with no little formality as a valuable legacy of
a father of medicine, when it was found to consist merely
of white paper from the first to the last page, except the
frontispiece, which to the exceeding surprise of those who
first opened the book, contained only these words" —
*' Keep your head cool,
Yoiu'-feet dry and warm.
And — ^bid tlie faculty .  ¦"

There are no images and other implements of the Ca
tholic worship within the Dutch Churches. Schools and
the general diffusion of knowledge have banished from this
part of Holland the grossest forms of this mode of worship.
In former years, Leyden was, what Manchester now is,
the principal manufacturing city of Europe, furnishing
great quantities of cloth for supplying even England and
the remote countries of Asia. The town at that period
contained above 100,000 inhabitants. It remains at pres
ent a monument of the fluctuating destiny that attends
the affairs of a manufacturing as well as of a commercial

212 EXPLOSION OF GUNPOWDER.— HAARLEM.
people. Great cities spring up in one nation and flourish,
while rival cities in other nations become desolate and
forsaken. The looms of Yorkshire have long since sup
planted those of the Low Countries. There still remain
several manufactories of common wool in Leyden. In
one of them an engine of 14 horse power is employed to
operate the machinery, which is of inferior workmanship.
The imperfect management of the various proces.ses of
the maniifacture of cloths evinced but too plainly the ob
vious superiority of English artists.
During a stroll over the town, we visited the spot where
the explosion of 30,000 pounds of powder took place in
1807. The powder was contained in a canal-boat, which
was lying in the very heart ofthe city. The houses upon
nearly three acres of ground adjacent to the boat were
overthrown by the force of the explosion, and 230 persons
perished beneath the ruins. Great numbers of persons, it
appears from the account of this catastrophe, were extri
cated^ alive and unhurt, having been 'preserved" in their
perilous situation by the fortuitous arrangement of tlie
timbers and beams which fell above their heads. The
houses were not rebuilt ; but the ruins were cleared away
and their site levelled to form a public square, which,
studded with trees, now serves as an ornament to the city,
and a monument to-mar'k the limits of that melancholy
catastrophe. At Haarlem, we had some difficulty in finding a guide
who understood French. Our landlord shortly relieved
us of our embarrassment by producing one who readily
convinced us of his qualifications by addressing us with a
bow, and a brace of words pronounced in that language.
After walking a great distance, we enquired whither he
was conducting us, when he produced his two French
words again by way of Explanation, which proved to be
the scanty exhibition of his whole stock, as he continued

TEYLERIAN MUSEUM. 213
repeating the same words in reply to every question that
was put to him, until our patience was exhausted. As
soon as he perceived us to be angry at the imposition that
he had practised on us, with a grin of dismay he recover
ed his voice in good earnest, and began to expostulate
with volubility in Low Dutch. Convinced that there was
no chance of oral communication with our hopeful guide,
we accosted various passengers in the streets, until we
found a person who volunteered good naturedly to offici
ate as interpreter between iis and our guide. We then
found our way to the Tylerian museum. The Professor
who has charge of it — a very civil old gentleman — display
ed a splended collection of minerals, and the great electrical
machine and battery, which was once the most powerful
in the world, having served for many interesting experi
ments in this branch of science. The great magnet,
which holds constantly suspended a weight of 200 lbs. of
iron, was also shown to us.
The marshy meadows between Haarlem and Amster
dam present to the view of the passenger, who sails along
through them in a canal-boat, a vast flat and uninteresting
expanse. On approaching Amsterdam, the windmills which
are conspicuous objects in every Dutch landscape, appear
like sentinels stationed at regular distances around the
walls ; whilst on the left, just emerging to view above the
edge ofthe horizon, you behold the sails of a multitude of
the windmills of Saardam revolving in the bright sun
shine. If Don Quixote mistook a single windmill for a
giant flourishing his arms aloft as if in defiance, he might
have imagined here that he had encountered a whole ar
my of them.

214 HOUSES OF AMSTERDAM.
AMSTERDAM.
When you enter the streets of Amsterdam and view the
tall brick houses on either hand, some of them leaning
over a^ if tottering to their fall, you feel disposed almost
instinctively to hurry past them. The walls were origi
nally perpendicular, but from the muddy, unstable nature
of th'e soil on which they stand, they have become settled,
leaning over, and cracked. It not unfrequently becomes
necessary to rebuild them more securely upon piles, which
are indispensably necessary to give stability to every well
built house. About one hundreff long piles are driven
deep into the mud for a common dwelling-house. No
cellars, of course, can be made where the springs of wa
ter remain within one or two feet of the surface of the
ground. It has been stated, in relation to the houses of
Amsterdam, that the foundations have cost as much as
the walls ofthe buildings erected on them,
Every third or fourth street that you pass has a canal
in the middle of it ; or rather on each side of the canal is
a passage way for carriages, the borders being shaded by
fine rows of trees. The stranger, during his, ramble over
the city, may sometimes stop to gaze at very pretty views
produced by a combination of foliage overhanging with
pendant branches the bridges and the water. The banks
or sides ofthe canals are sustained by brick walls, instead
of stone — the common material employed elsewhere for
this purpose. A rock or stone in Holland is rarely to be
seen, and bricks are substituted for them. This perisha
ble material, exposed to the action ofthe water, and to in
tense fi'osts, gradually crumbles away,

SLEDGES FOR PASSENGERS.
From the quagmire nature of the trembling and yield
ing soil, the passage of heavily laden carts or wagons over

Modes of conveyance, 215
the pavements imparts a perceptible tremor or vibr'ation to
the walls of the adjacent buildings, and formerly, it is
stated, heavy loads of merchandise were always transported
through the streets upon sleds with wooden runners, pro
vided with a keg of water trickling in front of them to
diminish the friction ; which the driver further contrives
to lessen by throwing on the pavement before them a greas
ed mop, which he carries with him as regularly as other
drivers do their whips. The wooden runners sliding over
this mop, become lubricated, and slip along more freely.
The projecting tops ofthe stones of the pavement are thus
from long use rendered quito smooth and slippery by the
polish they have acquired, and by the tallow that over
spreads them. This mode of conveyance is even applied
to some ofthe hackney coaches, as a cheap mode of rid
ing fi-om one part of the city to another. The carriages
are mounted upon these wooden runners, as they some
times are in the United States for the purpose of beincr
used for sleigh-rides. I tried one of them to gratify my
curiosity ; but soon abandoned my seat to regain my
feet and outstrip the tardy movement of this dull travel
ling vehicle. A person must make less account of his
time than his money.who would choose this mode of trans
portation. The driver never moves at a faster pace than
a slow walk. He saunters along on foot by the side of
his horse, holding his reins in one hand, and his greased
mop in the other, and sends up whiffs of tobacco smoke that
curl above his head and disappear in the air. He moves
with such a measured pace, that in foggy weather the cir
cling eddies of the tobacco smoke appear to lag lazily after
him. You may see a lady and gentleman seated in one of
these vehicles, fortified with a plentiful store of patience,
and conversing at their leisure, as, if performing a jour
ney, although merely passing from one street of the city to
another. Modern ideas of celerity of movement have out-

216 STA.ADT HOUSE.
stripped those of the patriarch Dutch , Burghers, and
coaches and carts are now rattling together side by side
with these softly slipping sleds.
We sallied out from the Hotel, called by the soft name
of Wappen Van Amsterdam, to deliver some letters,
and to take a stroll over the city. Under the direction of
a valet de place, we made our way to the picture galleries
ofthe Museum. Most of the. pictures here are ofthe old
Dutch school, and the canvass -is covered with Dutchmen,
Dutch ships, and Dutch houses. A stranger therefore
feels no other interest in contemplating them, than what is
derived from the coloring of the artist, or oftener from the
magic of some celebrated name affixed to them.

STAADT-HOUSE.
The palace or Staadt-House is always shown to strangers
as one ofthe principal curiosities ofthe city. The build
ing is of great dimensions, but may be regarded as a curi
osity rather from the difficulties and expenses which at
tended the construction of it, than for any peculiar style
of beauty or magnificence. Before the foundations were
laid, above 13,000 long piles, as large as the masts of a ship,
were driven into the mud ; and some of the timbers of the
roof, which were pointed out to us, are composed of teak
wood, transported from the remote Indie?. It has been
used for divers purposes since its erection. The Bank of
Amsterdam, in the days of its prosperity, when all the
commercial exchanges of the world were managed through
its agency, once deposited here the greatest heaps of the
precious metals that ever were accumulated in one edi
fice, exceeding, it is stated, 40,000,000 of dollars. It
was fitted up for the residence of Louis Bonaparte,
whilst he was king x)f Holland, and continues to be used
as a royal palace by the king of the Netherlands, when-

INUNDATION OF A PART OF HOLLAND. 217
ever he visits Amsterdam. All the furniture is exhibited,
even to the very cradle which remains stationed by the
side of one of the beds.
From the elevated cupola ofthe Staadt-House., you have
a commanding view of a vast expanse of flat country,
stretching away to the verge of the horizon, without a
hill or undulation of the earth's surface to interrupt the
continued level. Long lines of straight roads, and of
equally straight canals, with their rufiled waters brightened
and glittering like silver in the sunbeams, appear di
verging from the city of Amsterdam in various directions,
whilst the Zuyder Sea presents to view a continuation
of nearly the same level.

OVERFLOW OF VILLAGES IN HOLLAND.
At a distance, I saw long black lines of the tops of
dikes projecting just above the surface of the sea ; and
trees, houses,' and even villages appeared as it were ris
ing above the waves of a wide-spread ocean. At the
view of so strange a spectacle, I involuntarily rubbed
my eyes, as if laboring under the impression that they
were deceived by some optical delusion. The scene
of wide desolation before me originated from the over
flowing of the dikes of -North Holland, .during a violent
storm. The waters of the Zuyder Sea were heaped up
by the force of a powerful tempest against the embank
ments, which the waves finally surmounted, when a great
district of country, estimated at ninety thousand acres of
land, covered with cattle, and peopled by numerous villages,
was so suddenly submerged, that many of the inhabitants
as well as the greater part of the cattle were drowned. It
was stated to us by a person who was a spectator of the
inundation, that the cattle were seen swimming in various
directions around the house tops, upon which the inhabi-
VOL. II. 20

218 M.ARSHY SITUATION OF AMSTERDAM
tants had taken refuge from the overwhelming waters,
looking up to them as if piteously supplicating human aid
in their extreme distress. During all the period of the
storm, the greatest apprehensions were entertained even
for the safety of Amsterdam, as an eminent merchant of
this city observed to me ; for the tide had risen to a great
er height than was ever before known, and within a very
few inches of the top of the dikes which protected the city
from the threatened inundation. Before the regular peri
od of high water, and whilst all were expecting a further
rise, the tide was observed suddenly to subside about a
foot. It was immediately conjectured by the inhabitants
of Amsterdam, that they owed their escape from their im
minent peril, to the destruction of a large portion of their
country. The accumulated waters, after the dikes failed,
were diffused over nearly 100,000 acres improved as fields,
and occupied by happy farmers, and even by populous vil
lages. From the top ofthe Staadt-House, in Amsterdam,
the stranger may look abroad over the level range of ad
jacent country, and muse for hours in contemplating the
wonderful effects of the persevering labors of man in re
claiming morasses from the waters of the sea,, and con
verting them into fruitful fields, the abodes of an industri
ous people.
The site of the city of Amsterdam is . elevated a little
above the level of the adjacent country, and a portion of
the ground is actually above the reach of ordinary tides.
These spots of ground^ it appears from the history of the
early settlement of the country, were selected by fishermen,
who built their huts upon them. As the population grad
ually increased, the limits of the city were enlarged by con
structing streets and houses upon the lower adjacent
marshes, which were protected from being overflowed by
the tides, by means of embankments. Windmills were
erected to pump out the water which might filter through

AND EMBANKxMENTS. 219
the dikes; and sluice gates were also constructed to let off
the water at the lowest stage of the ebb-tide, when the
level of the water in the harbor subsides below that of the
water in the canals inclosed within the embankments
around the city. Through these sluice gates, the fresh
water of the river Amstel passes into the canals of the city
on one side, and is discharged into the salt water of the
harbor. These sluice gates all open outwardly, and are
consequently closed by the external pressure of the sea-\va-
ter, whenever it is above the level of the canals in the city ;
and when the fresh water poured into the canals~ by the
Amstel becomes accumulated above the level of the sea-
water of the harbor, the pressure forces open the gates,
and the surplus water rushes out.
The peculiar fertility of the marshes of Holland may
perhaps be attributed to the vast deposit of alluvial soil by
the waters of the Rhine and other rivers, at the embou
chure of which these marshes are located ; and to the cir
cumstance, that these rivers furnish so vast a supply of
fresh water, that the canals are filled, and the whole
ground saturated with crystal springs of pure water.
Were it otherwise, as is frequently observable in marshes
elsewhere, the percolating springs of salt water oozing
from the ground would so saturate the soil with salt, as to
render the surface comparatively, sterile, and ungrateful
for the labors of the husbandman.
Feeling desirous of viewing the effects of an inundation
in Holland, I embarked in a boat in company with a small
party of gentlemen, and sailed several miles to a village
upon the border of the flooded country. We had before
us a melancholy spectacle. of wrecks of houses, drifting
about, and whole villages with the house tops rising above
the level expanse of water, as if they were floating on
its surface. The tops of the half submerged and leaf
less irees, appeared with their naked branches, above the

220 DRAINING OF MARSHES' AND
waves, and added to the desolation of the scene. The
greater portion of the long ranges of dikes still remains en
tire, showing their dark summits just above the flood on
both sides of them, resembling at remote distances black
threads extended over the surface of a lake. The suffer
ings endured by the inhabitants of this inundated district
were truly deplorable. Driven suddenly from their fields
and houses, they had not sufficient time in most instances
to take with them their provisions and furniture, or even
their clothing. The sympathy of their countrymeii was
excited by their deplorable condition, and an appeal to
their humane feelings was successfully made to relieve
them in their utterly destitute condition. Greatly to the
credit of the humane inhabitants of Amsterdam, the sum
of nearly seventy thousand dollars was raised in this
city alone for the benefit of the sufferers. Even the sym
pathies of the English people were excited in their behalf,
and considerable sums were remitted to the inhabitants
of North Holland. Many of the inhabitants perished by
the inundation, and an immense number of cattle were
drowned. In the district called Friesland, there are great lakes
situated in the marshes near the sea. The low and level
beds of these lakes have been laid bare and rendered sus
ceptible of cultivation, by means of incredible labors be
stowed in actually pumping out the water from them, and
discharging it into the sea. During a short excursion to
the northward of Amsterdam, in company with a Dutch
gentleman, I descended into the bed of one of these emp
tied lakes, where there were houses and gardens ten feet
below the average level of the rolling waves ofthe ocean.
The soil is here very rich, composed of a deep black slimy
loam, which nearly excludes the springs from filtering
through the compact substratum of the bottom of these
sunken gulphs. On this account, the labor of pumping.

THE WATERS OF LAKES PUMPED OUT. 221
to keep them free of water, is greatly diminished. The
beds of some of these lakes have been kept dry nearly
two hundred years, during which period they have been
carefully improved by cultivation. Trees have here at
tained a large size, and farm-houses have been construct
ed for the inhabitants ofthe seagirt land. By the late dis
astrous inundation, the trees as well as human habitations
have been destroyed, and th^ ground has again become
saturated with briny water. Years must elapse before the
tracts can again be made to resume their former happy
appearance, even after the vast labor of pumping out the
water has been accomplished. The labor of reclaiming
these lands from the ocean may be deemed among the
most remarkable efforts of the persevering industry of man,
and the stranger in Holland can never cease regarding
them with deep interest,.
A profile view of the comparative levels of the external
tides, and ofthe tracts of low land protected by dikes, may
be represented in the following diagram :

A. An embankment or Dike. B. The level of the tide at high water.
C. The level of the tide at low water. D. Bottom ofthe lake from which
the water has been pumped out.

MACHINERY FOR RAISING WATER.
To free from water the inundated districts, some Eng-
glish steam engines have been employed, in addition to the
power of numerous wind-mills. We stopped for half an
hour at one of the wind-mills, to examine the machinery
used for raising water. A wooden wheel eight or nine
feet in diameter, with float boards formed precisely lite
those of a common water wheel, is partially immersed in flie
VOL. II. 20*

222 WIND-MILLS FOR RAISING WATER.
water to be raised and discharged into the sea. The floats
of this water wheel are fitted to revolve closely against
a circular wall or breast. The wind mill operates upon
this wheel by means of a cog-wheel, and causes it to turn
in a direction the reverse of what a common water-mill
wheel turns, when fitted to a similar breast and operated
by the descending stream. The water is pushed upwards
before the float-boards, and being confined by the breast
or semicircular apron to which the edges of the floats are
nicely adapted, it continues to be driven before the floats,
until it runs out into a trough or flume, from whence it
flows off into the sea or canals communicating with it.
Were the wind to become calm, and the water valve or
gate to remain open, the water-wheel might reverse its
destined duty, and receiving the descending stream upon
the float-boards might give motion to tlie arms ofthe wind
mill with its drooping sails. There was a brisk breeze
whilst we visited the wind-mill, and a great quantity of
water was raised by this simple contrivance, forming
quite a rivulet, as it flowed, covered with froth and bub
bles, along the channel made to conduct it over the dike.
One of these wind-mills will raise 35 or 40 tons of water
four feet high in a minute, being upwards of ten horse
power,* *The aggregate power of all these wind-mills is very considerable. An
English writer states, that a wind-mill witli four sails, measuring seventy
feet from the extremity of brie sail to tliat of the opposite one, each being
six feet and one half in width, is capable of raising 926 lbs. two hundred
and thirty-two. feet in a minute, and of working on an averag&«ight hours
per day. This is equivalent to the work of 34 men, twenty-five square
feet of canvass performing the average work of a day laborer. A mill of
this magnitude seldom requires the attention of more than two men, and
it will thus be seen that after making allowance for irregularity, wind pos
sesses a decided superiority over, every species, of animal labor." *' In
practice it has been ascertained that an engine of six horse power will
drijin more than 8000 acres (of marshy land) raising the water six feet in
height ; while the cost of erection for an engine for this species of work,

VILLAGE OF BROCK. 223
The person who attends each of the wind-mills occu
pies the lower rooms of the building, together with his
family. The attendants generally manifested much po-
litenessin showing us the machinery under their charge.
Unwearied pains are taken to jireserve the dikes in
good order, and to repair them after every gale, which
dashes the waves against them, and wears away the mud
dy soil of which they are composed. Every broken brick
and small stone are carefully collected to be strewed'over
the outer surface of these embankments, to resist the ac
tion of the waves.

VILLAGE OF BROCK.
Among the mimber of villages covered by the turbid
waters ofthe inundation, is Brock, long celebrated for the
. scrupulous neatness of its inhabitants. It has always been
visited by strangers, merely for the purpose of beholding to
what extreme folly the zeal of careful housewifery has
been carried by the villagers. It is now sadly altered, as
the landlord' of a little country inn, within a few miles of
that unfortunate -rtllage, informed us, mud and water
abounding in the streets which were kept swept like
floors ; and the very floors, which were hardly allowed to be
soiled by a footstep, being lifted out of place and covered
with slime. In an account given of Brock, it is stated
that " The front parlors of the houses are made a perfect
including the pumps, will not exceed £700. This is more than ten
wind-mills can perform at an annual expenditure of several hundred
pounds per annum." Great works in draining marshy lands have also
been accomplished on the opposite shores of Lincolnshire, in England.
jVbout 150,000 acres of fens and low lands tliat were once of little or no
ralue in an agricultural point of , view , have been effectually diked and
drained, and now command, it is stated, rents of eight or ten dollars per
acre, yielding, in tlie aggregate, rents equal to above a million of dollars
annually.

224 DUTCH COTTAGES.
sanctum sanctorum, and the front door is rarely opened
except upon occasions of some importance,, such as the
marriage or death of an inmate of the house. Strangers
are made to pull off their shoes on entering their doors,
for fear that the tread of a dirty shoe may sully the purity
of their milk-white boards." SAARDAM.
Having been informed that Saardam, which escaped
the inundation by the fortunate intervention of a cross dike,
bears some resemblance to Brock in neatness of appear
ance, we determined to visit it. Having procured a car
riage, which would elsewhere have been termed a wagon,
we rode several miles along the top of dikes, with the salt
water upon one side, and low drained meadows upon the
other. Many of the best roads are thus constructed upon
the tops of the ridges of dikes. Saardam, was once famous
for ship building. Here 'Peter the Great wrought as a com
mon laborer, to learn the science of naval architecture. —
He lived in a hovel, which has been carefully incased with
in a larger brick building, as one pill box is inclosed with
in another. This has been done to pireserve it from the
weather, as a precious relic. The interior v.'alls of the
wooden hovel are covered with inscriptions of the names
of visiters, and with doggrel rhymes, scribbled in various
languages. Two or three large volumes are also filled
with the names of travellers, the fees paid by whom have
proved a source of profit to the proprietor ; who probably
enclosed the hut in its brick case, that his profits might
not terminate with the mouldering wood of which it is
composed. DUTCH COTTAGES.
The houses of Saardam are small, and neat in their ex
ternal appearance ; but they are so gaudily painted with

AND WIND-MILLS. 225
green, yellow, red and various other bright colors, and are
inclosed with such Lilliputian lattice-work fences, and
wire screens, that they betray rather too much childish at
tention to minute ornaments. Each little cottage has a
flower patch in front of it ; and in som6 instances, gilded
statues reflect the rays ofthe sun from amid leafy bowers.
The trim gardens, as well as the houses, have that air of
labored neatness, which probably is as uncomfortable a
burthen to the possessor, as a stiff new suit of fine clothes
to one unaccustomed to wear them, who shows by ev
ery movement, that he deems them too nice for common
use. In an English cottage, ornamented by similar flowers
and vines, every arrangement seems calculated for con
venience and comfort. " Near a Dutch cottage, every ra
tional enjoyment and comfort, which they might afford,
seems to be abandoned or made subservient to preserving
an external show of prudish neatness, where a dead leaf
would not be suffered to moulder in quiet repose beneath
the plant from which it falls.

DUTCH WIND-MILLS.
The multitude of wind-mills in Saardam cannot fail of
proving a source of wonder to every stranger. One may
readily imagine himself, in some parts ofthe place, to have
entered a town of wind-mills, as the tall structures rise in
clusters from amid the houses, and frequent sails revolve
above the roof-tops. These numerous wind-mills are em
ployed for sawing lumber, as well as for grinding grain ; and
serve also instead of steam-engine and water wheels for op
erating the machinery of oil and paper mills, and for vari
ous other manufacturing purposes. We selected one of the
greatest windmills as an object for examination, and on
entering found the interior a perfect model of neatness. —
The miller occupied the lower part of the mill with his

226 MACHINERY OF SAW-MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES
family, whilst the machinery was working in the superior
lofts, at the height of forty or fifty feet from the ground.
The grain to be ground is elevated to the upper lofts by
the power of the machinery. In the oil mills are used the
wedges and pounders usually employed in works of this
kind. The saw mills opetated by the wind near Amsterdam,
are truly objects of curiosity. I counted forty saws in
motion in several which we visited. Three large frames,
or gangs, as they are termed, in each saw-mill, contain
ten or a dozen saws each ; and are connected by shafts
from above with the huge cranks of the wind-mill. A
whole log is thus sav.'ed into boards at one operation.
The machinery of the mills is constructed in the most
substantial manner ; for it sometimes occurs, that sudden
squalls agitate them with fearfully impetuous vibrations,
before the sails can be furled. During an ordinary fresh
breeze, they perform the operation of sawing with as much
rapidity, and nearly as much regularity, as common saw
mills moved by water-power.
A vast quantity of lumber is saWed by the wind-mills of
Holland, the timber to supply them being brought down
the Rhine, in rafts covering several acres of water with
the connected floating logs. Temporary houses are erect
ed upon some ofthe largest rafts, and sixty or eighty per
sons are required to navigate one of them. A single raft,
it was stated to us, had been sold for a sum equal to 75,000
dollars. The logs are v.'ith facility conveyed by the ca
nals to the various wind-mills, by the machinery of which
they are drawn from the water upon the platform', where
they are placed beneath the saws.
Saardam is quite a manufacturing town,, all the various
kinds of machinery being operated by the wind mills.
The work people have however more holidays than due
regard to economy in manufacturing would warrant. Ev-.

OPERATED BY THE POWER OF THE WIND. 037
ery calm day proves an idle one to a portion ofthe manu
facturing population.* When the loss of time consequent
upon a dependance on wind power is taken into account,
it must be allowed that for any regular branch of produc
tive industry it is a most expensive moving power. f
*It seemed to me that the phlegmatic temper of the Dutch may be at
tributed to natm-al causes palpably existing around them, rather than to
any peculiar difference of constitution that distinguishes them. In the
windmill manufactories, the Dutch workmen have to wait patiently, some-
limes for whole days, for the wind to blow; and they spend their lives m
watching their arch enemy — the ebbing and flowing sea, always ready to
bi'eak in upon them. Although the tides wait fur no man, yet it is pecu
liarly the fate of all men here in their necessities to wait for the tides. A
Dutchman sees stagnant waters creeping lazily through his drains and
ditches, and around him stagnant canals, flat meadows, and becalmed ves-
^sels ; and he almost instinctively learns to curb his impatient desires and am
bitious pursuits of wealth,, thus subjected to so many contingencies. Instead
of ai'dently pressing forward to subdue nature to his wishes, he is content to
subdue his wishes, and to glide quietly through life, smoking his pipe as he
goes, like the passenger whom he every day sees floating in the canal-boats
past his door with a snail-like movement. The inhabitant of a hilly or moun
tainous country', like Scotland or New-England, sees no object aroundhim
at rest. The trees wave before the rushing blasts, and the streams glide
sparkling and swiftly down the precipitous declivities.. The mountaineer,
inspired bythe sight of etery thing in motion, becomes himself as restless
as tlie ever moving cascades which leap from amid his native rocks. —
An Englishman becomes so habituated to action by seeing from his early
youth the active haunts of men and busy hui'rying crowds, and the rat
tling machinery and never-ending movements of the untiring steam en
gines with their whirling fly wheels, and passes his life in such hurried
pursuits, that he feels unquiet, unless under the excitement of rapid me
chanical action. Even id travelling for pleasure, ie makes his pleasure
to consist in the speed of motion, and is hardly satisfied with the velocity
of the rail-way car, in which he keeps pace with the shadow ofthe bird.
which flits through the liquid air above him.
t After going over one of the saw-mills, we found the great gate closed
to debar our retreat. A glance at half a dozen Dutchmen with their
round faces furrowed by smiles soon gave us to understand, that the talis
man of a silver key may even be used with success to open the gate of a
f^awmill yard in Holland.

228 SHIP-CANAL.

GRE.IT CANAL TO THE HELDER.
The celebrated great Dutch canal lately completed, ex
tending from the Helder to Amsterdam, a distance of 50
miles, was partially examined during our excursion. The
ancient ship channel through the Zuyder Sea, it is well
known, is so much obstructed by shoals, that all large
ships discharge a part of their cargo before reaching. Am
sterdam. Vessels, called camels, are employed also to lift
heavily laden vessels over the shallows of the Zuyder Sea.
This is efliected by nearly filling the lighters with water,
and attaching them to the ship to be lifted over the shoals.
By afterwards pumping out the water, they are rendered
more buoyant, and partially raise the ship to which they
are lashed. To obviate the dangers and delays of this
expensive navigation, this canal has been made from Am
sterdam to the Helder. In the original plan ofthe canal,
it was intended to excavate it sufiiciently deep for the
passage of ships of the line. The water was upwards of
twenty feet deep throughout the whole extent, when the
work was first completed ^ but by the accumulation of
soft mud, vessels drawing over eighteen feet cannot pass
through it at present. The captain of an American ves
sel stated to me, that a vessel drawing more than fifteen
feet- could not be passed through it at present, during the
ordinary tides. It requires about eighteen hours for a
ship to pass through the canal.
The canal to the Helder was excavated in deep water
and marshy soil, by means of scoops fixed upon long poles,
with pouches or bags attached to them to receive the soft
mud or peat to be raised to the surface.
The embankments near the locks appear to be con
structed in a slight manner and of perishable materials.
Instead of stone walls the sides of the canal are in some

DERIVATION OP DUTCH NAMES. 229
places lined with bundles of hurdles or bushes, piled up
with the ends of the branches cut square to form the surface
next the water with a perpendicular front. The only locks
necessary are those at each end to exclude the tide water,
the whole distance being nearly a dead level. This part
of the work appears to be constructed with solidity. It
was commenced in 1819, and was finished in 1825, at an
expense, of about five millions of dollars.
There is about double the quantity of water in this
comparatively short canal, that there is in the New- York
canal. It often excites the smile of a traveller in Holland, to
hear so many names of places terminated by the word
" dam." Upon inquiring of a Dutch gentleman the origin
of this common termination of the proper names of so
many places in Holland, he observed that " dams'' signify
dikes ; and that when dikes were formed on the borders
of the various rivers, the name of the river was prefixed to
designate the particular dike. Roterdam thus having
been originally built within the dikes on the marsh border
ing on. the river Roter, the place was called Roter — dam ;
and Amsterdam also derived its name in the same manner,
by being located amid the dikes upon the borders of the
river Amstel.
From the marshy situation of all these towns, the exha
lation of moisture is excessive,' and the air is loaded with
vapors. Every piece of cold metal is coated with dew-
-drops during the changes ofthe temperatureof the weath
er ; and iron, it is stated, will rust here as much in eight
days as in some other countries in a year. This tendency
to rust and mildew keeps the good Dutch housewives
constantly scrubbing, and probably promotes their 'habit.s
of neatness.
VOL. II. 21

330 FAMILY OF A DUTCH PROFESSOR

ANATOMICAL HALL.
Ourxuriosity having been excited by the tower-shaped
form of the wings of a brick building near our hotel, we
inquired for what purpose it was used. On learning
that it was a Cabinet of Anatomy, we forthwith entered it
to view the collections. It proved to be neither so exten
sive nor interesting as some others we had previously seen ;
but the keeper was himself an object of curiosity, to make
amends for our disappointment ; and attracted our-atten-
tion more than , the specimens of osteology which he
exhibited. The old gentleman wore an ancient brown
wig, and stepped about the apartments with a precise
measured pace, occasionally putting himselfinto the pos
ture of an orator, as Mr. Jeflferson observed of the Indian
who gave the account of the last of the mamnroths, and of
their huge bones.
He has made himself literally quite at home in these
anatomical chambers ; for he has removed not only his
bed and board to them, but also his wife and maid. They
all live together in the very anatomical halls, and cook
and eat in the midst of human bones and pickled flesh, —
the living surrounded by the remains of the dead. The
maid was busily- employed in cooking the dinner at one of
the great fire places of a dissecting room, whilst in an ad
joining apartment, the wife, with a skeleton at her elbow,
was calmly engaged in ^helling peas into her dinner-pot.
The appearance ofthe skeletons, it must be confessed,
was softened and rendered somewhat less shocking, by
-being invested with the cast-off gowns and bonnets ofthe
old lady ; but their white bony toes projected from beneath
the faded calico drapery, and the jaws studded, with broad
rows of enamelled teeth, like a zone of huge pearls, grinned
a ghastly smile above the knots of the tarnished bonnet

LIVING AMONG SKELETONS. 231
strings. Peeping beneath one of the bonnets, I was af-
tonished at finding, as in the Ghost in Hamlet, that there
was no " speculation in those eyes." Strong indeed must
be the effect of habit, when it can render these object^,
generally so revolting to females, so familiar as to be re
garded as mere articles of household furniture.
The old gentleman pointed out to us, preserved in a
transparent glass jar filled with spirits, a slice ofthe arm
of a sailor, on which was imprinted in Indian ink, in the
manner still frequently practised by mariners in their hours
of idle relaxation on ship board, the figure of an anchor
and of some other devices, together with the date, which
was as early as Van Tromp's time. One may readily
imagine^ on viewing it, that he beholds an arm once ac
tive in winning laurels for that gallant old Dutch admiral.
Some ofthe specimens of skulls and other bones, wasted
away by venereal taints, until nought but a honey comb
remained, convey the most impressive warning against
the guilt and the consequences of s,ensual indulgence.
On a fine summer afternoon, we rode out to'the country
seat of an eminent Dutch merchant, about a dozen miles
from Amsterdam, on the shore of the Zuyder Sea. The
soil here rises in ridges just above the reach ofthe highest
tides, a circumstance that seems to stamp a value on this
favored spot. The gardens are laid out tastefully, and
there are fine walks beneath the shade of rows of ancient
trees. By the aid of the artificial heat of green houses,
peaches are produced here of the rich flavor which they
possess in less humid climates anfl beneath brighter skies.
The soil, although originally sandy, is enriched by culti-
V ation. It is common in Holland for the wealthy merchants
to have country seats, to -which they retire for relaxation
in the intervals of their business cares, as it was once cus-
. tomary in the New-England States, in the day's of their most
lucrative commerce. But mercantile affairs in modern

232 TEA-HOUSES.— ANNOUNCERS OF DEATH,
times require more attention and management, owing to
the increased competition and diminished profits in every
branch ; and the unintermitted application to the careful
pursuits hardly leaves leisure any where for bestowing
much time and expense on country seats. The inter
val between the sailing of a ship and her expected re
turn like that of the absence of lovers, was passed in
golden dreams and restless anxiety. An humbler mode
of enjoying the country air seems to be prevalent among
the tradesmen of this city. Great numbers resort to the
pleasure gardens in the vicinity on a Sunday afternoon,
and drink tea — the favorite beverage of Holland. Multi
tudes of tea kettles send up their hissing steam at the el
bows of citizens, who sip cups of hot tea at the plesaure
gardens, instead of glasses of wine or spirituous liquors.
Ceremony of tlie announcement of death. Among the
peculiar customs which strike a stranger on passing
through the streets of Amsterdam, is that of announcing to
relatives and acquaintances in a formal way, by a special
messenger dressed in a peculiar costume, the demise of a
citizen of Amsterdam. On- seeing a couple of these mes
sengers, I inquired of a friend, who are those two men
dressed in suits of black, like clergymen, with cocked hats
and long bands or collars of white linen, eaT^h carrying in
his hand a roll of paper, which they unwind and read, af
ter stopping and rappmg here and there at a door as they
pass along? These, he replied, are the Announcers of
Death, and they act as a sort of official undertakers. They
are furnished with lists ofthe acquaintances ofthe deceas
ed, and are employed to notify them of his death.
At a small party assembled at the Iwuse of a friend, I
saw a venerable lady dressed in sable vestments, with two
long strips of white muslin hanging down her bapk, instead
of in frbnt, like the bands appended to the necks of the
Announcers of Death. I inquired for what purpose, either

COSTUME OF WIDOVi^S —VISITS TO LADIES. 233
of custom or fashion, does she wear those long white pen
nons ? It appears from the answer given me, that this is
the usual costume of a widow in Amsterdam, in her weeds
of mourning.
Peat, as is tvell known, is the fuel generally used by the
inhabitants of Holland. It is procured in abundance fro.m
the marshes of Holland ; and immense excavations, filled
with water, resembling small lakes, are observable in some
parts of the country, from whence the fuel consumed dur
ing a long succession of ages has fieen excavated.
I had almost began to suppose that cakes of peat were
used for the food of horses as well as for fuel, when I saw
the drivers deposit square pieces of a substance, that I
mistook for peat, before the liorses, who ate the blocks of
the apparently fibrous and unsavory food, vvith keen appe
tites. Upon closer examination, however, I discovered
my error ; for the square blocks proved to be the brown
loaves of bread made of coarse grain, such as oats and rye
mingled with chopped hay or chaff, and baked expressly
as a portable sort of horse-bread. These loaves of bread'
may be seen lying in the bottom of the wagojis and other
vehicles, ready for use at a stopping place, as a substitute
for corn or oats.
In conversation with a gentleman of Amsterdam, who
has travelled over most parts of the United States, he ob
served that it is never customary in Holland for young
gentlemen to visit ladies in the evening, on the terms of
intimacy common in the United States, unless matrimonial
engagements authorize them to join the family circle
around the domestic fire-side. The calls of acquaintances
are made formally, in tbe morning.
Much time and ceremony are required in going through
the formalities of a Dutch dinner, the courses of each kind
of viand being distinct, and a second not being introduced
VOL. II. 31*

234 FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.
upon the table, until the preceding one has run the gaunt
let around the table. Not knowing what may come next,
it behooves the guest to be diligent in his calling, and to
make an unhesitating election of a portion of each dish in
its turn, as it is brought forward on the table, instead of
dining from one or two dishes, as is common in the United
States. FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.
The foundling hospital of Amsterdam is a very irregu
lar old building. In one of the halls we saw many girls
seated in rows on benches, as in a school, clad in the par
ticolored clothes or uniform dress commonly adopted in
the state prisons of the United States. As you view them
on one side, you suppose the whole school to be in sable
mourning garments ; but on walking across the hall, you
viev/ them on the opposite side in flaming red. The in
fants are received often soon after birth, and until the
age of eight ot ten years they are entrusted -to the cdre
of nurses out of the house. At the latter age, according
to the information here given us, they are taken into this
hospital again, where they remain until they attain the
ctge of twenty-one years. At 'this age, and sometimes
sooner, they leave the walls of the institution with recom-
meridations for service in private families, and for other
callings. The boys are provided with tools to learn va
rious trades, that they may be prepared to earn their bread
when it is no longer provided for them by the funds of this
charitable institution.
French is very generally spoken in Amsterdam. A
stranger acquainted with the language may make his pur
chases in the shops without difficulty, where he will com
monly find a clerk to interpret and attend to his requests.
Even the performances at some of the theatres are recited
in the French language.

FRENCH SPOKEN IN AMSTERDAM.— ROYAL YACHT. 235
At one of the Dutch theatres which I attended, the most
natural performance I saw was the representation of a
feast. Such theatrical feasts are generally designed for
stage eflfect ; the tables being covered with painted fruits
and cloth chickens, and the actors hardly having the fare
ofthe monk in Ivanhoe, who made his ostentatious repast
of dry peas, " a pitiful grist for an able mill." In this
instance, a real honest Dutch supper was fairly served up,
and the performers acted their parts in masticating most
naturally, and quaffed their wine with unassumed relish
and gaiety. NAVY YARD IN AJISTERD.WI.
The ship yards, which we viewed in the course of a
morning's stroll, contain several new frigates and ships of
the line upon the stocks. They are preserved from the
rain under great buildings with slated roofs. This plan of
preserving for a long period of time a powerful navy,
ready to be water-borne at a short notice, obviates thfe
exposure to deterioration, consequent upon remaining
partially immersed in water, or to the decomposition from
dry rot by confined air, ahd the decay produced by alter
nations of rain and sunshine upon all the materials em
ployed in naval architecture. We went on board of the
royal yacht, a clumsy little vessel with a huge Dutch
stern covered with gilding, and a cabin much inferior in
elegant decorations and furniture to that of most of the
New- York, and Liverpool packet ships. The yacht may
answer well for the accommodation ofthe royal personage,
for whose use it is built, to float him about the waters of
the lazy canals and bays of his dominions. The kitchen
appears to be- the most important part of the vessel", so spa
cious and complete are all the culinary arrangements for
the accommodation of the royal guest, and for bountifully
supplying his table.

236 NAVY YARD.— DUTCH FLEETS.
The model chamber, connected with the navy-yard,
contains an extensive collection of models of ships of war.
Among them may be observed models, which carry hack
the beholder to those times, when the Dutch fleet sailed
through the English channel with a broom at the mast
head, in token of its power to sweep the channel of all
hostile intruders ; and when, it may be added, that time
was spent by hostile fleets in manceuvering to, gain the
weathergage, which, is now occupied in deciding the bat
tle. At the close of a day spent by hostile fleets in can
nonading at respectful distances, it is stated, a few masta
and spars carried away by random cannon shots, or a dull
sailing vessel separated from the fleet and captured, formed
the achievements ofthe admirals. Since naval warfare has
been changed by the bold and successful innovation of
Nelson at Trafalgar, these conflicts have become more
Hke the single-hand encounters of ancient viarfare, whejg,
in the extended ranks, man met man, foot to foot. Each
ship now commonly singles out an adversary, and ehgages
individually, ship to ship. Modern naval battles appear
thus to be decided in less time than was formerly consum-
-ed by the long-winded old Dutch admirals in getting ready
for action.
Whilst the English blockaded the ports of Holland, and
of most ofthe other ports of the continent of Europe, the
Dutch, shut up in their bays and canals, were unable to
give their youth the proper practical lessons in naval tac
tics. The scholars of the Naval Academy were during
this period taught the science of trimming sails, and man
aging the ropes of a ship, by putting them on board of a
sort of vessel with masts and yards constructed for this
special purpose, in the back yard ofthe Academy, where
we saw the land-vessel still in use, several lads being en
gaged on the yard-arms in furling the sails. . The schol
ars also have their berths and state-rooms in the bold or

NAVAL ACADEMY.— TRADE OF AMSTERDAM. 237
cellar of this vessel, and live as snugly on board of her dur
ing the most tempestuous weather, as if in the summer-
house of a garden, without in the least alarming the fears
of their mammas for their safety.
Trade of Amsterdam. — Much of the trade of the United
States is diverted from Amsterdam to the adjacent ports of
Roterdam and Antwerp, and to the free towns of Ham
burgh -and Bremen. The duties upon goods entered at
tliese two last named towns, to be transmitted into the in-
terior^of Germany, are only about one and a half per cent.
The transit duties imposed by the Hollanders on goods
landed in the Dutch towns for the German markets are
much higher, and thus operate to favor the trade of these
free towns. On only two or three ship^s in the harbor of
Amsterdam appeared the stars and stripes, in search of.
which the eye of an American in a foreign seaport always
anxiously roves from mast head to mast head, to scan suc
cessively the bright colors of every strip of bunting that
waves gaily and gracefully in the breeze. There seems
to be a stagnation in the trade of Amsterdam, or at least
a decline of that commercial activity, which once gave to
Amsterdam a rank among the first commercial cities. It
is evident, that the city is not in a very flourishing state,
for in my rambles I have not seen the building materials
collected together for the erection of a single new store
or dwelling house.

CHILDREN S CARRIAGES.
During the fervent heats of a summer-day, Amsterdam
is a very cool and pleasant place for a residence. The
population enjoy the fine walks beneath the trees planted
along the streets bordering the sides of the canals ; and
even the children, in the gaiety of their hearts, frolic be
neath their hospitable shade. I have frequently noticed

238 CHILDREN'S CARRIAGES.— JEWISH SYNAGOGUE.
little Carriages drawn by goats regularly harnessed, and
filled with happy little beings. The apparent felicity of
each little Jehu, as he dashes along, cracking his whip
over the back of a trotting goat, can hardly fail to inter
est those who derive pleasure from the spectacle of human
happiness. Soon after passing one of these little vehicles,
well filled with chubby urchins, a sudden alarming outcry
caused me to turn, to ascertain the cause of it. The
whole freight of children appeared scrambling out of a
slimy ditch, with their clean white frocks stained with mud,
and from each little mouth issued a torrent of lamentations
in Low Dutch, forming a most dolorous gamut of dis
cordant tones. The harnessed goat, with the reversed ve
hicle still annex-ed to him, was composedly browsing upon
a tuft of green herbage that had allured him to bound
across the petty gulf, which had received in its soft bed the
inmates ofthe overturned carriage.

JEWISH CEREMONIES.
On Saturday, the Sabbath of the Jews, we attended one
of the Synagogues. to witness their religious ceremonies,
After entering the door, we found ourselves in the midst
of a crowd of ill dressed persons, standing together with
their hats upon their heads, and with as little apparent re
gard to order, as may commonly be observed -at a town
meeting in the United States. A Rabbi Vi'as standing
near the altar, holding aloft in his hand a glassof pure wa-
ti^r, and singing vociferously ; whilst the' discordant voices
of the congregation united with his in producing sounds
grating to the ear. Their hymns are sung in the peculiar
guttural tones of the Hebrew accents, and are also printed
in the Hebrew, the characters of which, revealed in the
pages of their expanded books, convey rather an imposing

JEWS IN AMSTERDAM.— FRENCH CONSCRIPTION. 239
impression as to their knowledge of the original writings
ofthe Old Testament.
The females of the congregation are seated in the gal
leries behind tall screens, which shield them from the pro
fane gaze of the multitude of men below.
On leaving the Synagogue, the <;rowded passages are
slowly deserted, every Jew stopping successively in turn to
apply his lips against the door of his temple, in some
instance impressing an audible kiss upon the soiled pan
nels. There are about 20,000 Jews in Amsterdam, as it is
stated. Nearly one half of the inhabitants of this city are
of the reformed Dutch church, and the Protestant from
foreign lands derives sincere pleasure on visiting their
churches, where rest the ashes of celebrated men, to see
non? of the gilded decorations, tawdry images and orna
ments, commonly displayed in the Roman Catholic
churches. To the credit of the city of Amsterdam, free
schools are instituted here for the instruction of the chil
dren of the poor.
Although Napoleon's exactions were heavy upon the
purses of the burghers of Amsterdam, to support the ex
pensive wars in which he was engaged, yet according to
the observations of a merchant of this city, of high stand
ing, who had been a candidate for some of these pecuniary
favors, his name continues to be mentioned with respect
rather than with reprobation. Some of the old Dutch
merchants laid aside their coaches and divested themselves
of those external appearances of wealth, which had the ef
fect to attract the keen eyes of the French Prefects, and
of their coadjutant tax-assessors. Under the severe opera
tion of the French Conscriptions, he observed, the sum of
about one thousand dollars was frequently paid for a sub
stitute ; and nearly as much was required to furnish horses
and equipments to each of the sons of the most respect-

240 CULTIVATION OF MADDER.
able merchants of the city, who were honored by being
selected as hostages by Napoleon to form a part of his
Garde d'honneur.
M.\DDER forms one of the principal agricultural products
of Holland. Large tracts of land are appropriated to the
culture of this plant, and several millions of dollars in value,
are annually exported. Being aware of the extensive use
of madder for dyeing a fast red color, as well as of its val
ue as an agricultural staple, I visited the establishment of
a nurseryman near Amsterdam, for the purpose of obtain
ing a hamper of the roots to make the experiment of cul
tivating the plant in the United States. There it will prob
ably be consumed annually to the value of one or two mil
lions of dollars or more, after works for printing cottons
are generally and successfully established. The climate
of the northern and middle States is well adapted to the
growth of madder, which, it may be hoped, will one day
be classed among the staple exports ofthe United States.*

NATIONAL EXHIBITION OP MANUFACTURES.
The exhibition of National Manufactures at Haarlem
being arranged and open for the public, we rode out to
view the show. The town was thronged with strangers,
collected, as at a fair, to see the extensive collection ofthe
best specimens of every branch of manufactures carried
on in the country, from a mounted telescope with a bar
rel or tube eighteen feet long and two feet in diameter, to
the finest Brussels lace, with fabricated meshes almost too
minute to be discerned by the naked eye. The actual
number of articles presented for exhibition or premium
appears by the catalogue to be upwards of 5300. This
*After an experiment of four yeais, the Madder Plants procured in
Holland have continued to thrive and multiply, and have fiirnished roots
for transplanting in several parts of the country.

Rewards to promote manufactures. 241
grand national exhibition is held only once in five years,
when the king honors the occasion by his presence, and
presides in person, to promote the manufacturing enter
prise ofthe kingdom.
The exhibition is upheld- by the government, and the
expense ofthe premiums awarded, as well as the charges
of transportation as before observed, are defrayed from the
treasury of the State. The specimens of cutlery, and of
the manufactures of cotton and prints, are of ordinary work
manship. Those of porcelain, glass, carpets and carriages
made in Brussels, are each elegant of its kind. Fire places
and stoves with ornamental columns of polished steel,
and various other articles fabricated from this metal, glit
ter in one apartment ; and in another, equally splendid
articles of plated and gilded wares. In a third, you view
fabrics ofthe loom, and in another, sculptured marbles of
labored workmanship, and in still another spacious area,
you behold carriages, harnesses, and fire engines. In
deed, as the visitant continues to rove from one hall to
another, and to view successively so many various articles,
all of superior workmanship, he feels almost lost as it were
in a labyrinth of curiosities, and gazes with distracted
attention on every side on the most brilliant, beautiful,
and useful productions of human labor. All the proprie
tors, who feel disposed to sell their fabrics, allow of their
being put into the scheme of a grand lottery, in which
patriotic feelings combined with the hope of winning some
of the beautiful prizes, induce the inhabitants of the
country very generally to purchase tickets at a liberal
price, thus endouraging their native artists by pecuniary
rewards as well as by national marks of distinction and
honor. In passing the door of a private dwelling-house in Haar
lem, I observed attached to one of the pannels a square
piece of pink silk, with the edges trimmed with white lace.
VOL. II. 22

342 notices on doors.— great organ.
1 inquired of a friend the reason for which this little
badge was affixed in so signal a manner to the door of a
private house. He observed, that it is customary in Haar
lem to put upon the outer door of a house this silk badge,
lo indicate that the proprietor is blessed with a new-born
child ; and that the badge is allowed to remain until the
mother is recovered. He also observed, that a practice
somewhat similar is observed in relation to the sickness
of members of the family. A small bulletin or notice in
writing is posted upon the door to inform inquiring friends
of the state of the patient's health. By this device, the
noiby raps of the knocker, so annoying to the sick, are
rendered unnecessary.

GREAT ORGAN OF HAARLEM-
After leaving the halls for the exhibition of manufac
tures, we went to the church to hear the great organ of
Haarlem, celebrated as being the largest instrument of the
kind in the world. On our entering the church, the organist
was touching the softest keys, which yielded notes as sweet
as the tones of the smaller instruments, and wholly dispro
portionate to what I had been led to expect from its mag
nitude. A powerful effect is produced when the organist
artfully swells and increases the sounds from the soft treble
ofthe dulcet flute, to the deep rolling peals of the clarion,
trumpet, and the thundering bass. After listening for an
hour to this organ, you feel rather pleased with its full
rich tones than surprised by their stunning loudness.
STATUE OP THE INVENTOR OP THE ART OP PRINTING.
The statue of Costar, who invented the art of printing
in 1430, is erected nearly in front of the house in which
lie was born in Haarlem. The statue is represented as

INVENTOR OF PRINTING. 2-13
holding up in one, hand a little block of wood with a letter
cut upon it, this being the form in which types were first
used. You might pass by this dusky figure, holding up to
your view an equally dusky little block of wood, without
pausing to survey it. But when the thought crosses the
mind,- that from this humble attempt at printing here rep
resented, the spark was kindled which diffused the light of
science, almost as copiously on every civilized region of
the globe as the light of the sun, you' continue to fix your
strained eyes on the mystical type until it appears in im
agination to expand in its outlines, and to- be surrounded
by- a halo, with which an invention so important to the
interest of mankind seems to invest it.
Flower Gardens, a few yards square, containing the
choicest flowers, are laid out in front of many of the
houses of Haarlem and of other Dutch towns. In some
of ihe gardens of Haarlem, it is stated, the most beautiful
tulips that are to be found in the world expand their richly
mottled, particolored blossoms to the sun. Some of tliese
tulips are undoubtedly descended from parent stock?,
which in former times gave rise to the famous tulip mania,
by which several of the first families of Haarlem were ruin
ed. Even the merchants of Amsterdam for a time forgot
their accustomed business, the sale of stocks, and of car
goes of East India ships, and became fascinated by ab
sorbing discussions upon the relative merits and values of
the particolored blossom of a tulip. They hastily made
their profits by negociations for the sale of a single bul
bous root, in some instances for a price equal to 1800 and
2000 dollars, whilst its gorgeous hues were unfolding,
and before the expanded blossom had time to lose its
bright tints and fragrance.*
*" ,4t the commencement of the seventeenth century, the taste of tlie
Dutch for tulips became an actual passion, and accordingly these flowers
ceached an extravagant price. The tulip called Vive le Roi, -was estl-

244 FLOWER SPECULATIONS.

DEPARTURE FROM HOLLAND.
Casting a last look upon the distant houses of the city
of Amsterdam, as they receded from our view, we contin
ued to watch from the windows of the little cabin of the
canal boat the landscape views of the marshy scenery of
this level country, which we were beholding for the last
time. Finding but little to amuse us in Rotterdam, we
engaged a passage'in the steamboat direct for London. A
woman acted as porter to carry our baggage. Many fe
males here appeared in the streets with their wheel-bar
rows, and performed the severe labor, which elsewhere
usually falls to the lot of porters. Some of these women
stoop to carry on their backs burthens so heavy as to ex
cite the compassion of a spectator unaccustomed to such
sights. In answer to my inquiries on the subject, it was
stated that the wages of a common day laborer in Holland
are equal to about thirty-five cents a day. Carpenters and
masons earn about sixty cents a day, and ship carpenters
about two florins, or eighty cents per day.

AN ENGLISH STEAMBOAT.
We embarked on board an English steamboat having
two engines of thirty horse power each, lying in the bar-
mated at 250 louis ; that styled L'Amival Lieskens was worth 440 louis ;
and the Semper Augustus was valued at 550 louis. In 1637 a collec
tion of tulips sold tor 90,000 louis. Tbe tulip most in e'steem was the
Semper Augustus. One was sold for 1300 louis, and three bulbous roots
of that pavficular flower were disposed of for 1000 louis each. This traf
fic io tulips acquired such activity, became, so extravagant .and general,
that the Government was .obliged to interfere for the purpose of arresting
the folly ; and it gave a terrible blow to tlie speculations in tulips, by an
ordinance whidi declared invalid all contracts relative to these flowers. — >
The price fell instantly."

PASSAGE TO LONDON. 245
bor of Rotterdam, and ready to sail for London. The
passage usually occupies only about thirty hours, and the
price for a berth in the cabin is about twenty dollars. —
Thus, with the facilities of steam navigation, a voyage
from London to Holland may be performed in nearly the
same time as that fi-om New^York to Providence. Al
though the distance between the countries of Europe may
appear on the map considerable, yet with the present im
proved means of travelling, a few days may suffice to-travel
over the principal part of that continent.
On descending the river, we passed Schiedam, famous
for the gin that is distilled here. The grain is ground by
numerous windmills, from amidst the revolving white can
vass of which the dark smoke ofthe furnaces of the distil
leries rises in murky volumes. One may readily imagine
these vapors to ascend as if pregnant with disease and
death from the concocted fermentation of the grain, in
tended to nourish man, but here perverted to his destruc
tion. After issuing from the mouth ofthe river, our little boat
was rudely tossed about by the waves ; and sea sickness,
that hateful visitant to landsmen when they venture upon
the ocean, made me feel dejected, and indeed dismayed at
the thought, that by no possible chance could I avoid it, on
my return across the Atlantic. In the morning, we en
tered smooth water at the mouth of the Thames, and con
tinued our course up this " noble river," amid fleets of mer
chant vessels.
The river Thames is extolled by Englishmen for its
spacious broad waters. An American, accustomed to the
great bays and rivers of the United States, regards with
admiration rather the fleets which enliven by their move
ments the surface of the river. Many of the ships are
moored in clusters in the middle of the channel, and the
passages in each side of them are narrow and intricate.—
VOL. II. 22*

346 NAVIGATION OF THE THAMES.
It therefore frequently happens that ships encounter each
other with a force which crushes planks and spars.* Steam
boats move about among these defiles, resembling streets
or pathways on the water, with so much rapidity, that they
frequently dash against smaller vessels, and run down the
barges of the Thames watermen, as they shoot out un
seen into the open stream from among the close array of
ships. Accidents originating in carelessness both on the water
and land are effectually checked by the wise provisions of
the ancient English law of Deodand. By that law, the
instruments causing the death of a man are adjudged to
be deodand, or forfeited to God ; which once meant to
the use of ecclesiastics, but at present to that of the king
or government. Thus, if a carriage run over a person,
and deprive him of life, the jury award the value of it, or
such a portion ofthe value of it, as they may deem an ad
equate punishment for the carelessness by which the acci
dent may have been caused. On the Thames, a steam
boat lately dashed to pieces with one of the revolving pad
dle wheels the small boat of a waterman, by which acci
dent a passenger in the wherry lost his life. It appears
from a report of this case in the newspapers, that the de
odand was assessed at rflSO sterling, or about seven hun
dred dollars.
Upon the banks of the Thames, near the point of a
headland, the bodies of four pirates appeared dangling
from gibbets, as a warning to seamen.
The succession of great docks or basins of water cov
ered with ships, like sheep inclosed within the walls of a
pasture, must ever strike the stranger with wonder, whilst
*An American captain observed to me that the navigators of the great
coal ships, or colliers, as tliey ai-e called, with strong sides, seem to take
pleasure in allowing their black vessels to rub against the carved work and
neatly painted sides of the handsome American packet-ships.

LONDON CUSTOM-HOUSE. 247
he gazes upon the countless masts, and ponders on the
extent of the commerce that centres in this metropolis of
the world.
At the London custom-house, nearly half a day was
consumed, before the oificers completed the examination of
the baggage of the passengers. The time passed some
what less tediously, owing to the amusing incidents per
petually occurring in the detection of petty attempts at
smuggling. The officers, when not gratified by the ac
customed fees, pounced upon every book and bottle of
Cologne water with remorseless avidity, causing to the
proprietors more irritation and perplexity than the loss
of many of the articles would have occasioned. Every
burst of impatient exclamations only served to amuse the
.spectators, who stood calmly gazing upon the treasures
brought successively to light from the recesses of the port
manteaux. An old lady of sedate aspect and plain attire
appeared to be mute with amazement at the sight of a
cartoon of rich laces, fished out from beneath her nicely
packed wardrobe, and displayed, as unexpectedly to us as
to herself, to the light of day. The oificers stated that the
ladies are the most incorrigible smugglers they have to
deal with, and that they sometimes come over from the
continent with gloves and other similar articles sufficient
to supply them for the remainder of their lives. This pro
pensity to elude the revenue laws has even extended to
some of the higher ranks, who should set better ex
amples of obedience to the laws of a country in which
they enjoy the privileges of rank without the labor of ac
quiring them. A certain noble lady, it has been stated in
one of the public papers, was a short time ago divested of
several costly articles, as supernumerary appendages to her
toilette.

248 STREETS AND

LONDON.*

Among the principal objects which attract the notice of
a stranger, on strolling for the first time through the streets
of London, are the exhibitions of beautiful costly goods,
tastefully displayed at the shop windows. The large
sheets of crystal plate glass are so perfectly transparent,
that no other medium than that of thin air seems to inter
vene between the rich array of splendid goods within, and
the fingers of pilferers without. Gathered around the
windows of shops where prints, glittering jewelry, and
equally glittering philosophical apparatus, are exhibited,
so many ofthe street-idlers loiter, to view the amusing
caricatures, glittering gems, or beautifully polished instru
ments of science, that the pathway of the flagged walks
frequently becomes obstructed by the gazing crowds.
Several thousand dollars are in some of the shops ex
pended to encase the side walls with mirrors, by which
the images of the goods heaped upon the counters, as well
as the faces and figures of the purchasers are reflected
many fold. Each customer, when he obtains a glimpse of
his own image, is generally sure of seeing at least one
reflected object which pleases him. Some of the ladies,
*At this stage in the publication of tlie present work, on counting tHo
sheets of manuscript (or copy, as it is denominated by the active little
messenger of the printing oflice, barbarously styled the " Printers' Devil")
there appears to be a surplus of some scores of pages more than are re
quired to form a second volume comporting in size with the first. In or
der to render the exterior of each conformable, like that of twin brothers,
to repose in the dust of the same slielf, a careful forethought remains to
be exercised in discarding many subsequent pages — for which good fortune,
the reader should here pause, to take breath, and to congratulate himself.
In consequence of tlie many chasms thus formed in the original copy,
the remaining pages may, perhaps, present desultory sketches, rather than
a regularly connected narrative.

SHOPS OF LONDON. 249
whilst adjusting before these mirrors a disarranged curl, and
the gentlemen whilst prinking their cravats, appear to be
thinking more of themselves than of the prices of the
goods they may be cheapening.
The right of succession, or "good will," as it is termed,
to the best London shops, sells often for a considerable
sum. The shopkeeper, after having reaped his harvest of
wealth from a neighborhood, disposes of tlie advantage of
trading with the customers whom he may be about to
abandon, as he would sell the fee of a real estate ; and
gives possession by personally introducing his successor.
It has even been attempted by physicians, on retiring from
practice, to consign over their patients for valuable con
siderations to those who will bid the most for the profits
of blistering and bleeding them.
The number of coaches, carts and other vehicles, which
are constantly moving in long unbroken trains through
some of tire principal streets of London, is surprisingly
great, creating a noise or din like that of the never-ceas
ing surges on a beach. In the crowded thoroughfares of
the city, it often requires the exercise of much patience to
await an opening in the procession of carriages of various
sorts, in order to cross the streets. The coal-wagons are
massy vehicles ; and when loaded with their full freight
of coal, the very pavement beneath the v/heels seems to
smoke and emit sparks from the violence ofthe abrasion.
The cart horses are animals of gigantic size, and of great
strength for draught ; but are clumsy and unwieldy. —
They would probably make an indifferent figure on the
ice-covered streets ofthe New-England States. The huge
shoe fitted to the foot of one of these mammoth cart-horses
might almost be deemed an object of curiosity, where this
peculiarly large breed of horses is not introduced.
The coachmen and drivers of the carts all keep upon
the left side ofthe street, instead ofthe right, as usual in

250 DWELLING HOUSES AND
the United States ; and thus they progress without inter
ruption, their speed being measured by that of the slowest
in the train. The foot passengers, however, do not keep
upon a particular side of the street ; but each one, as a
matter of convenience, takes the right of those he meets.
Thus the ever busy crowds of population may be seen
urging their way with the hurried step of business in op
posite directions on both sides of the streets. At the west
end ofthe city 5 and in the streets remote from the centre
of business, a degree of quietness and silence prevails, as
in the streets of smaller cities.
The dwelling-houses are generally constructed of bricks,
originally of a yellow or brown color, when first laid ; but
they are all soon stained by the coal smoke to an uniform
sooty hue. The public buildings are constructed of free
stone, which is also originally of a light cream color, when
freshly extracted froni the quarry ; but when substituted
to form the walls of buildings, the same sooty exterior
mantles all the external surfaces ofthe stone.
The, dress ofthe English noblemen, when they appear
in the streets, is neat and plain, being generally very dif
ferent in style from the dress of a class- of persons known
in the United States as well as in England by the name
of dandies. That attention only is bestowed upon the
arrangement of their attire, which seems to be proper and
becoming to gentlemen.*
In the dress of their servants, however, clothed in va
rious sorts of uniform or livery, they take infinite pains to
array all the gaudy colors of the rainbow, as if in con-
*Amongst the great number of noblemen it is to be supposed that
there a^e men of varioi's characters. The gay and tlie grave, ^he dissipa
ted an 1 the diligent are fjund'-alike in the ranks of the nobility as well as
in those of tlie common people. Habituated as they are to tl.eir titles
an'l honors, they certainly betray very" little aristocratic arrogance ; but
exhibit whilst abroad an unassuming deportment.

FASHIONS OP DRESS. 25
trast with the substantial plainness of their own atti
So numerous are the families ofthe nobility, all requir'
some distinctive peculiarity of livery to designate the
vants of each, that no small share of ingenuity has been
exercised to apply the various distinctive patches of differ
ent colors to form their liveries. Motley hues are affixed
to the collars and cuffsiof their coats — to their waistcoats,
small-clothes and stockings, in order to render the livery
of every servant at a glance indicative of the family in
vvhich he may be employed. I have noticed coachmen,
mounted on the lofty coach boxes, glittering in gaudy col
ors like butterflies, some clad in red plush small-clothes,
sky blue stockings, red vests, and yellow or purple coats
trimmed with scarlet, green or canary-colored collars and
cuffs, and with worsted epaulettes of every bright dye,
dangling half a yard in length from each shoulder. Cocked
hats commonly surmount the heads of the footmen, pow
dered as white as flour can make them, as if placed on the
apex of a snow ball.
The footman is usually in attendance, mounted behind
the coach, bearing a gold headed cane as a badge of his
office. The cane was intended to facilitate the speed of
the footman, whose official name originally was derived
from his running by the side of the carriage. The im
provements of modern luxury have mounted him upon
the frame behind the coach. In addition to these distinc
tive colors ofthe liveries, buttons are superadded, stamp
ed with an appropriate family coronet or coat of arms,
like military buttons. The English govjernment seems
to have neglected no source of revenue, as it has levied a
tax by granting licenses for the privilege of sprinkling the
head of each servant with white powder, and for the priv
ilege of sewing buttons upon his coat, stamped with armo
rial bearings or devices, thus drawing money from the
pride as well as the luxury of Englishmen. A revenue

252 PUBLIC WALKS AND SQUARES.
of a quarter of a million of dollars a year has been deriv
ed from the tax on armorial bearings, and above a hundred
thousand dollars from that on hair powder.

PUBLIC SQUARES OP LONDON.
It often excites in an American the sigh of regret,
when he visits the fine shaded walks in the public squares
of some ofthe capital cities of Europe, that so little atten
tion was bestowed in the early settlement of the towns on
the seaboard of the United States, to reservations of land
for public purposes. There is probably not a city, nor
even a country village in the United States, where two
hundred years ago the native forests covered the whole
surface of the land, that possesses so many fine squares,
adorned by trees, and decorated with shrubbery, flowers,
green^ lawns, artificial sheets of water and jets deau, to
which the inhabitants have access, as are to be found in
the densely populated city of I^ondon. Indeed, portions of
these pleasure grounds are so extensive as to bear a re
semblance to parks ; and the citizen when tired of being
immured in the smoke, and of being deafened by the din
of the narrow' streets of London, has only to take a few
minutes walk to one of these pleasure grounds, when he
finds himself inhaling the pure air of the country. The
houses adjacent are in some places so completely hidden
from view by the trees, that it requires but little effort of
the imagination for the citizen to suppose himself re
moved from the centre of a great metropolis to the quiet
country. The Regent's Park contains 450 acres, and presents
to view scenery beautifully improved by sheets of arti
ficial water. Hyde Park and adjacent pleasure grounds
open to the public nearly 400 acres more, embellished by
the labors of art, and laid open to the citizens within the

EXERCISE IN TH'E /OPEN AlR. .353
the citizens within the very heart of the city, ot within
the range of a short distailce from it.
In the first location of the American cities, it probably
never entered into the consideration ofthe early settlers,
in the wildest flights of their imagination, to anticipate
the rapid increase of population and of wealth, which
there so immediatdy ensued, upon the clearing up of the
forests. Whilst they were sedulously occupied in cutting-
down every tr«e and bush around their dwellings, they
never supposed that their descendants, after a few genera
tions were passed away, would sigh for the shade of the
very forests which offered to them only a gloomy and un
friendly solitude.
E.xtensive as are these pleasure grounds in London,
they are thronged with people on every pleasant Sunday
afternoon, some seated in dashing vehicles, others on horse
back, and thousands traversing the walks on football
dressed in their best attire. The ladies form the greater
portion of this moving population, Thepeculiarly healthy
appearance of the English women has been attributed to
habits of exercise in the open air, commenced systemati
cally in infancy."**
*It has been a common observation of travellers, that English women
have a more healthy, rosy appearance than is usually observable in
most other countries. In tlie warm relaxing southern climates of the. Unit^
ed States, the whiteness of the lily seems to have supplanted the blush of
the rose upon the cheekis of the fair. ' This delicacy of complexion is how
ever by some deemed more int€res1;ing, than the flush of health. But the
puliu of beauty (if it be lawful to hazard an opinion on the subject of taste,
concerning which by pi-o\'erbial assent there Js so much room for dispute)
might bo considered rather as cjuQ to the healthy contour of form, and
blooming tincture of the skin, which are the perfection of nature's work. —
The labors of art are elaborately expended to produce imitations of the
natural appearance of a healthy human form. There are suspended at
the shop windows in Paris supplementary contrivances of paddings
and paint, which tliere vie with each other in giving bloom to the cheek,
or rotundity of outline to every part ofthe hiunan figure*
VOL. II, 23

:li-l TEMPLE-BAR.— WEST END OE LONDON.
One ofthe ancient gateways ofthe city, called Temple
Bar, which once served to sustain the heads of executed
traitors, and now in the vaults beneath contains their
bodies, still remains with its arched portal spanning' from
side to side ofthe street.* In the vicinity of this spot the
dividing line between the genteel and commercial por
tions of London seems to he definitively drawn.
The streets and public squares ofthe west-end of Lon
don are regular and spacious. In this part of the city,
the houses of the nobility are situated. In the eastern
part of London, the commercial men reside ; and gentility
and commerce have here no very close affinity in the cir
cles of fashion, except perhaps when nobility descends to
the ranks of trade to select some plebeian heirjess, whose
wealth may serve to recruit exhausted finances, when an
cestral rank and hereditary titles are deemed an -equiv
alent in exchange for the freshly gathered wealth ofthe
citizen, who may have been the author of his own for
tunes. By this timely aliment, the ranks of the nobility
* In the streets in the vicinity of Temple B^t, and in several of tlie
otlier principal thoroughfares of London, nearly as^many persons are to
tie Seen at" midnight, by means of the bright gas lights, as at noon day.
The space occupied by the busy shopkeeper and his customers, and by
the laborious porters stooping under their loads, whilst "the sun shines
through the -misty atmosphere, is occupied after his decline until past the
liour of midnight, by those who are falsely called the votaries of pleasure.
Tlie carriages are constantly rattling oVer the pavement, and tlie pathwav
of the loiterer at this late hour'is beset by tlie unhappy females, who iu
their degraded, forlorn estate, terminate by supplications for charity their
Hosuccessful importunities, commenced with the design of exciting baser
feelings or passions. Let the scholar or polemic writer, who entertains
in the seclusion of his closet exalted opinions of the dignity of human na
ture, pause on passing these purlieui of the English metropolis to witness
the degraded condition of so many fellow-beings. Poor fallen humanity
leems here, in" the uncontrolled license of promiscuous sensual indulgence,
to be reduced to the condition of the brute creation.

EXPENSES OF LIVING.— -INCOME OF NOBLEMEN. 255
are cherished, and sustained even with increasing opulence.
There seems, in truth, to be little danger of a general
irruption of hordes of citizens into the quarters of fashion
at the west end, so heavy are the expenses of living there
after the migration. An annual clear income of at least
fourteen thousand dollars would be required to maintain a
family fashionably ; and an income of thirty thousand dol
lars, without much effort, might be readily expended
where the very charges of house rent in some instance.^!
exceed three or four thousand dollars per annum.
In order to defray these great expenses, the income of
iioblemen living in London, in the style becoming their
rank, must necessarily be correspondingly large ; to secure
which and to sustain the aristocratical form of the English
government, the established laws of primogeniture and
entailments seem absolutely, essential.
The revenues of some- of the English noblemen, derived
from the graduaf compounding of funds at interest, from
the rise in value of landed estates, and from other sources,
and in a great degree secured against the chances of ma
terial diminution by entailments and reversions, are so
great, as to appear almost incredible to an American,
The Marquis of Stafford, it Js stated, has a yeaily income of al>out
£350,000 equal to abqut $1,700,000.
Earl Grosvenor 270,000 " " 1,300,000.
Duke of Northumberland 220,000 " " 1,074,000.
Duke of Buccleugh 220,000 " " 1,074,000.
Earl Derby 120,000 " " 586,000.
" Bridgewater 100,000 " _" 4S8,000.
There are at, least 100 noblemen, whose incomes vary "from £30,000 stg.
"tu £80,000 equal' to 146,000 to 390,000 dollars.
Were not the laws favorable to the entailment of estates,
the wealth required to sustain a style of living proper for
men of exalted rank would be rapidly diminished by sub-

256 SUBDIVISION OF PROPERTY IN U. STATES-
divisions, and a title of nobility would soon become a
spleadid ittcumbvance.*
An American, after contemplating the display of bound-
*In the United States, no aristocracy can lon^ exist, whifet the sys^
tern of perpetual entailments of estates is not allowed, and whilst an equaf
distribution among children soon subdivides the largest estates, until each
portion becomes a mere competen<^y. From the system, of education
practised iu the United States, tlie young men of wealtliy families are rn
general liberally educated at the colleges. When tiiey engage in theii- pro-
fessiooal career, they lack the most powerihl incitement^: — a state of pov-,
erty, to urge them forward in their exertions to attain eminence. Those who
devote themselves to mercantile pursuits, want the same stimulus ; and
in addition, labor under ihe still further disadvantage of competing \yith
rivals in trade, who have acquiie^ rej^dy skill by serving an apprentice
ship to their calling. The' yeara^ thus spent- at colleges, in the study of
the liberal sciences, and the usual indulgences granted by wealthy parents
to their offspring, often cause the capital in the hands of such inexperi
enced young men to melt away. At the bourne of their trading career,
as at that of the man whp, when well, endeavored to improve his health jthe
same concluding epitaph may frequently with eriifh be found applicable —
'¦' I was welt, took physic, and here J am."
In the United States, the subdivision of estates in equal shares among
children, and the uncertainty ofthe pursuits of business keep property al
ways changing into different hands. Those who inherit wealth are geii-
ei'ally prone to enjoy the pleasures and luxuries which wealth commands;
and the distinctive difference between those who are destined to be the au
thors of their own fortvmes, and those who , are to be. heirs of the foi tunes
of others, is early discernible, even on a holiday, when the latter are sup-
plied with pence to be dissipated, in purchasing trifling toys; whilst the
lormer are engaged in ministering to the appetite for luxuries in odiers,
instead of attending to the importunate cravings pf their own. On such
occasions, they niay perhaps first be seen with tlieir intelligent eyes spark
ling at the result of their earliest adventure in their petty traffic of sugar
candy and ginger cakes. Early lessons are thus taken in the science of
acquiring and dissipating, and the wise designs of Providence are thus
probably brought to pass, allowing to all in turn an opportunity of suc
cessful competition and enjoyment. The wlieel is kept constantly turning,
now presenting to view a fan^ily of humble origin, mounting to the top,
and now a distinguished and wealthy family sweeping' in a cons|)icHou9
orbit to the bottom, scattering wealth in splendid show as they descendj
like sparks of a falling rocket, until los-t to the sight in obscurity.

DINNER PARTY. 057
less wealth and luxury apparent in the British metropolis,
and the remarkable distinctions of rank in society, feels
that he is indeed a stranger in the land. His letters, af
ter being duly delivered, are in most cases coldly answer
ed by a formal call, accompanied by an invitation to dine ;
letters of introdutition having almost proverbially become
a sort of draft at sight for a dinner.
The forms and ceremonies observable at an English
dinner party, are almost precisely the same as those com
mon on similar occasions in the principal cities of the Uni
ted States. The most remarkable difference that strikes
the eye ofthe stranger, is the custom of investing servants
in a coat of many colors, or livery, as before described.
Luxuries, collected from all quarters of the globe, are
placed in profusion on the festive board, an;! every possi
ble facility is afforded for enjoying them. One of my
cards of invitation to dine specifies "at half past six o'clock,
very precisely," — an hour at which most American far
mers are taking their suppers ; but which here is the pe
riod for the commencement of the movements of the fash
ionable. The merchants postpone taking their dinners,
until after the usual period for the transaction of business
is passed. The dinner hours are a sort of holy^day occa
sions to an Englishman, and no commercial affairs are
suffered to interfere with his enjoyments at the convivial
board, where he spends the closing hours of the day, in
sipping his glass of favorite Port wine. When old Hock
wine is introduced upon the table, it is accompanied by
an array of green glasses. ^ To obviate the usual effects
of bountiful potations of wine, in causing a temporary re
treat of the guests from the dining hall during a protracted
sitting, a little mahogany cabinet, surmounted by a slab
of polished marble, and excelling in beauty of workman
ship the dinner tables near which in the same apart
ment it is stationed, serves as a receptacle for a vessel in
VOL. II. 23*

258 CUSTOMS AT A DINNER PARTT.
other countries deemed befitting only the furniture of a
bed chamber. — At a first glance bestowed on one of these
little cabinets, one might suppose it to be a lady's work
table, or a repository for perfumed waters ; but, head of
Confucius ! my surprise was at first great on observing,
after the ladies had retired from the table, a gentleman of
the party unceremoniously apply to the hidden cavity of
the little cabinet, in plain hearing as well as in plain sight
of the circle of guests. This appears to be a common cus
tom, in a country where so much delicacy and refinement
in other respects are observable among people oif pol
ished manners. It is even common, it has been stated,
where a lady is hostess, and after withdrawing from her ta
ble, leaves the gentlemen seated to continue their protract
ed enjoyment of the wine. An American clergyman in
conversing with me concerning this singular custom, ob
served, that he had -felt somewhat -embarrassed, whilst a
quiet spectator, in witnessing high church dignitaries of
ficiating at one of these little heathen altars.
Notwithstanding all the luxuries so carefully gleaned
from various, regions to load' the bountiful tables of the
rich in England, yet the healthy laborer and middling
classes of society are probably more nearly on a par with
the wealthiest, in respect to the physical enjoyments of
eating and drinking, than may be by many supposed ; for
even a draught of cold v/ater, drank after fatiguing exer
cise in the hale momeiits of youthful vigor, is often more
delicious than the most costly beverage which wealth can
procure.* ?So strong- and vivid were the impresKions of tlie sweet flavor of tlie
waters of a spring near a school-house door in New-England, where a.
poor New-England boy had passed his earliest days, that I knew the
same individual, an emigrant in after Hfe from the place of his nativi,ty,
arid possessed of a command of all the luxuries 'which wealth can com
mand, to sigh for a draught of cool water from the same limpid fount;
and after a pilgrimage to revisit the scene of his youthful days, he could

MONUMENTS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 259

WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
Westminster Abbey is the most interesting object of
curiosity which attracts the stranger in London.* The
sudden transition from the bustling scenes of the streets,
to the solemn silence and dim twilight which prevail
within this venerable cathedral, remind the spectator that
he has passed the gloomy frontiers which separate the liv
ing from the dead. Standing on the stone pavement of
the floor, and looking around at the numerous marble
monuments, arranged against the sides ofthe walls, and
lettered with the hames of scholars, statesmen, and war
riors, he muses, in melancholy mood, upon the scene of
grandeur and awe which surrounds him. The names
of Newton, Goldsmith, Johnson, and of numerous other
writers, with whom the traveller has enjoyed frequent com
munion through the medium of their works, arrest the eye
successively, and induce him to regard their sepulchres
with the kindly emotions of a friend. -
hardly convince himself, after applyi;ig his lips to tlie dripping vessel from
the spring, that the waters were not changed. The change had taken
place in his own enervated and feverish temperament.
*St. -Paul's and the Tower are rarely neglected, in performing the round
of sight-seeing in London. Successive travellers have so repeatedly taken
inventories of all the curiosities tliese places contain, that a recapitulation
is here dispensed wilh. To get rid of country cousins, on their visits to
the metropolis, it is stated that it was formerly customary for the Lon
doners to dispatch them to pass away their time in gaping and wondering
at the sight ofthe lions in tlieir cages in the Tower. Thence the term,
" To show the Lions," in any city or place, has become a phrase incor
porated into the'English language and recognised whenever it is spoken.
The Tower is a regular fortress, on the shore of the river Thames,
encircled by a wall and a ditch, and furnished v»ith a few cannon, which
are the celebrated " Tower Guns," that liave for ages notified the sober
citi-ieiis of the glory and honors won by victories in foreign wars.

260 VISIT TO
From this contemplative mood he is soon aroused by
the guides^ who come forward to lead him with bewil'
dering speed from one interesting monument to another,
profaning the classic solemnities , of the place by the jing
ling of money in making change for the fees, which are
exacted from each visitant.
Westminster Abbey being the great national mausole
um, in which every Englishman distinguished for talents,
titles, or influence, deems it a supreme honor to be inter
red, those who have not n name eminent on the annals of
fame to be emblazoned on a plain monument, compensate
for. this Tieficiency by the display of costly sculptured mar
bles, executed by the most celebrated artists. In one in
stance, upon the tomb^f a noble lady, is her form exqui
sitely cut in the marble, and a group is. also added, era-
bracing the. figure of her husband, who appears to be
vainly endeavoring to turn aside the arrow aimed by the
bony skeleton, representing Death. The skull and other
osseous parts ofthe frame, carved from the white marble,
are so perfectly sculptured and so exactly represented by
the color ofthe stone, as to lead an inexperienced specta
tor to suppose the artist may have borrowed a natural skel
eton from the hall of an anatomist. In one of the recesses,
the figure of an Earl is sculptured^ in full length in marble,
and represented as lying on his back On the top of the
slab stone! of a tomb. Upon his right side are the tomb and
proper inscriptions to his first wife, whilst the slab on his
left remains without an inscription. Upon inquiring the
reason for this singular omission,, the guide stated that the
second wife strangely refused, as a matter of etiquette and
precedency, to allow even the marble representative of her
form to be extended on the left side of her husband, whilst
that of a rival predecessor occupied the more favorite po
sition on his right.
Adjoining the ancient Abbey, a wing for a chapel was

WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 261
constrticted about 300 years ago by Henry VII. This
chapel, called after the name of the founder, is appropria
ted for the reception of the stalls and banners of the
knights of the order ofthe Bath. Each knight has here
an appropriate seat or stall, over which his red flag is sus
pended, blazoning his title in gilt letters. The ancient
standing of the oliiest knights may' be readily recognised
by the faded and tarnished hues of these little banners.
The knights of kte creation display banners which are
peculiarly bright in appearance. Among them that of
the Duke of Wellington is conspicuously fresh, and un
tarnished. When any knight is degraded from his rank
or expelled from the order, his banner is publicly pulled
down, and is kicked out of the chapel. In another chapel,
attached to Westminster Abbey, several of the former
monarchs of England are represented in wax work,
in the dresses which they were accustomed to wear
Among others, Charles II. appears in dusty tattered appa^
rel, to which are appended shreds and remnants of lace,
exhibiting a most humiliating image of royalty in rags.
Even Q,ueen Elizlabeth is arrayed in all her glory,, with a
string of white- beads nearly as large as pigeon's eggs
<langling around her neck, and \vith much other finery
And tinsel, all well powdered with the dust of ages. In
this tawdry disguise she resembles a quean, rather than a
queen. The charm of a visit to Westminster Abbey arises from
associations connected with the names of so many great
men, whose fame has fiUpd the world whilst their ashes
" scarcely fills an urn." Here the youthful genius may feel
fresh incitements, to imitate the examples of the illustrious
men whose monuments he surveys ; and here the humble
Christian may realize "what shadows we are, and what
shadows we pursue." Here the poor man may regard
all that is' left of wealth and greatness, — -a nanie ; and

262 POMP OF FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.
retire with greater contentment, as being under the care
of Heaven, '* Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish of a sparrow fall."
No one can visit Westminster Abbey without feeling
for a time new incitement to virtue, and without forming
jenewed resolutions to become a better if not a wiser man.
Funeral Processions. On returning to our lodgings, Ave
passed one of those pompous funerdl processions which
frequently take place in London. The hearse is decora
ted with clusters of black plumes, and the numerous
coaches for mourners are painted black, and are covered
with black cloth, surmounted also by bunches of nodding
black plumes, and drawn by jet black horses. At a Lon
don funeral, there certainly is no lack in the observance
of all the external emblems and forms of mourning, what
ever may be the manifestation of real grief for the loss
of relatives and friends. The expenses of hiring all
the train of mourning coaches to attend funerals, often, it
is stated, with blinds closed and no one to occupy them,
area heavy tax upon pride. It is even said to be a mark
of polite attention to the friends of a departed acquaint
ance, for an individual to send his private carriage with
closed blinds to take a place in the procession, and to
swell the pageantry ofthe exhibition.
Public Tlieatres. The numerous theatrical exhibitions
and public shows, which are daily open, afford a, perpetual
variety of amuse.ments to the stranger. Public taste has
become much altered, of late years. The grave scenes of
tragedy, and even the sprightly sallies of comic wit do not
attract crowded houses, unless aided by the art of skilful
painters of scenery, of musicians, and dancers. The old
fashioned sentimental pieces, in particular, are out of
vogue, whilst Der Freischutz, or Dr. Faustus, Aladdin, Cin-
cierella, and Other similar pieces, in which the magical seen-

PUBLIC THEAf RES. ^63
fery, flashes of fire, and supernatural beings, continue to
attract full houses for many successive nights. This
change of taste seems to be an evidence of the increasing
luxury ofthe age, which requires to be pampered by ex
hibitions adapted to the indolent, passive enjoyments of
the eye, rathert ban to the vigorous pleasures ofthe under
standing, or the generous feelings of the heart. During
my visits to London, I haye attended the various theatres
of high and low degree. At the King's theatre of Eng
lish opera, the performances are entirely in Italian, even
to the -exhibitions of Italian singers. This theatl-e ha? six
tiersof boxes, including the galleries. The boxes may
be closed by curtains whenever the occupants wish to
screen themselves from the obgervation of the audience.
The prices of admittance to this theatre are higher than
to any other theatre ofthe city, being about 2^ dollars for
a seat even in the pit, where ladies as well as gentlemen
are very commonly to be seen. Indeed, in the pit of all
the theatres ladies are seated, this part of the house not
being exclusively occupied by men, as is usually the
€ase in the United States. The prices of tickets for
admission to the London theatres are nearly one third
higher than on the other side ofthe Atlantic. The lobbies
are comfortably warmed, and are also provided with wa
ter closets.* ^
Great expense has been incurred to represent at two of
the theatres the pomp and ceremonies of the coronation of
Charles X'. Even the,very manufacturers, who supplied
the. French king with the cloth of gold and other trappings
 ;  i-  _.  ,  :  .
*Watcr closets are very generally constructed in private houses in Eng
land. They are usually fitted in a recess of a passageway, and derive the
supply of wpiter from a cistern replenished by the rains falling on the roof
of the house, or from aqueducts. The Lilliputian structures strewed so
conspicuously about tlie gardens and grounds adjacent to mansions in the
United States are rarely to be seen by the traveller in England.

264 INNS AND
of royalty, have been called upon to furnish precisely sim
ilar articles for the mock coronation, to gratify an English
audience. - In the grand procession the actors, clothed in
the glittering dresses of royal personages, archbishops and
noblemen, strut with all the dignity which the occasion de
mands. The mock heroic king, however, simpered whilst
the ceremony of disrobing took place, and the oil was drip
ping upon his head to make him " the Lord's anointed."
The sword of Charlemagne unluckily was dropped in the
midst of the ceremony with such awkward essays to clutch
it in its precipitate course, that the performances were for
a few minutes interrupted by the laughter ofthe uncourt-
eous audience.

INNS OP COURT, ANt) COURTS OF LAW.
Having business to transact with a gentleman engaged
in the profession of the law, I tooi a survey of the vari
ous Inns, of Court, as well as of the several Court§ in ses
sion. The Inns of Court, of which there are above half a
dozen in London, are plain quadrangular brick buildings,
inclosing small interior yards. They are divided into nu
merous chambers for the offices of lawyers, whose little
signs appear in clusters upon the walls of the stairways
and passages. " Each lawyer commonly has two rooms,
one for private consultation with clients, and a second for
students and clerks.
The costume of a lawyer, whilst attending the Courts,
consists of .a black gown, and of a large wig fabricated
from grey wool. The latter occasionally seems to afford
hospitable shade and shelter as a substitute for, a hat, as I
have observed lawyers in the streets amid the bustling pop
ulation walking from their offices to- the adjacent courts,
with no other screen to protect their heads from the sun
than these grotesque, grisly, curled wigs.

EXPENSES OF ENGLISH LAW-SUITS.— FEES. 265
The fees of the lawyers, except for drawing up pleas
and writings, &.c. are paid by clients in advance, being
considered, as Blackstone terms them, "quiddam hono
rarium" — a sort of honorary present for their services ; as
was formerly the case, when men of talents and of high
standing undertook to speak in behalf Of their friends and
clients, before the profession of a lawyer was established
as a regular branch of business. The lawyers cannot even
maintain a suit for their fees, or recover charges for their
services as counsel; and with prudent foresight and regard
1 0 security, they remain as motionless as icy statues until
their clients warm and thaw them by the gipsy-like pro
cess of crossing their palms with silver, or more commonly
with gold — in broad round pieces too. The fees of phy
sicians were also once considered nearly on the same foot
ing; and so much of this ancient custom still exists in Lon
don, that during the rounds of their professional visits, the
guinea is usually handed them at the door, at the termina
tion of every visit ; and no long scores are kept, as is cus
tomary in the United States.*
The expenses of a lawsuit in London are exorbitant. A
seven years' suit might be carried on in New-England
for a sum which would be just sufficient to introduce the
client well into the courts of Old England, in order to make
a systematic commencement. It is stated that a poor fel
low who had his horse stolen, caused the thief to be pro
secuted. The prosecutor, as usual, was required to give
bonds to appear in court to give evidence in the action
against the criminal ; and was subsequently compelled to
sell the very horse to defray his ordinary expenses of at
tendance during a protracted trial, although the expenses
of the court were defrayed by the government.
*It has been previously stated that tracts of land containing iron mines
were contracted for in Staffordshire in 1825| at very high prices. It
appears fi-om a paragraph in a late English paper, that a suit was iu-
VOL, II, 24

2G6 DELAYS OF CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS.
The delays attendant upon Chancery proceedings,it is
well known, have procrastinated suits for one or two gen
erations. Virgil's description ofthe judge ofthe lower re
gions has been humorously applied to Chancellor Eldon ;
— " sedet et semper sedebit," " he sits and will forever sit."
The delays of the' Court of Chancery should rather be at
tributed to the system of its establishment, by which too
many services are exacted from one individual. The du
ties of the Lord Chancellor are not only multiplied upon
him, but they are also of a kind requiring the deepest at
tention, and intense and uninterrupted research. He is hur
ried from one sort of service to another With so much
rapidity, that it may rather be deemed surprising if he
should be able to perform the duties of his office with
promptitude and efficiency. At one hour he is called to
attend the king in council, as a cabinet minister ; at an
other he is mounted on the wool-sack as presiding officer
of the" House of Peers ; and at other times he is occupied
in listening to long discussions, or reading the ponderous
folios of perplexing law papers in the Court of Chancery,
and in attending to the various subordinate branches of
pecuniary trusts incident to that court, and to the appoint
ment of Justices of the Peace throughout the Kingdom.
At the same time^ as one of the most distinguished subjects
stituted to set aside a contract for some of those overrrated tracts, for
which £550,000 were to have been paid; butvvliich, in the allegations
produced in court, w-ere stated to be worth only £160,000, making a dif
ference of about 1| millions of doUai-s to the purchasers in this bargain.
In the suit which ensued, the mere statement ofthe Bill, Answers, and
Pleadings, it is stated in a late English paper, " occupied 1300 folio pages ;
and eighty-eight large skins of parchment "were filled with the plaintiff's
interrogatories. The examination ofthe witnesses cost £1,500 on each
side, and £2000 were expended in procuring ofiice copies of tlie evidence.
The cause in this stage came before the court with the view of procuring
further evidence, and without the prospect of the su it being brought tp a
speedy conclusion." The very retaining fee to a lawyer engaged in this
case, it appears, was 3000 guineas, or about 14,0Q0 dollars.

EMOLUMENTS AND DUTIES OF A CHANCELLOR. 267
in the kingdom, his rank requires that he should do credit
to his station by the display of the usual courtesies of life
in his social intercourse.
Nearly two hundred millions of dollars, it appears from
published statements, are placed to the credit of the ac
countant of the Court of Chancery. Of this great amount
more than forty millions of dollars are supposed to belong
to the heirs of unclaimed estates, and to other persons who
are either ignorant of their claims, or unable to produce
proper proof to substantiate them. On a final failure on the
part of the claimants to make out satisfactory titles, much
of this property must revert to the government.
This accumulation of various offices on the shoulders of
one individual seems to be an anomaly in Great-Britian,
where,- to insure profitable skill and despatch even in the
manufacture of a pin, as has been before observed, labo
rious duties are sufficiently subdivided. The emoluments
attached to all these several offices, amounting to about
320,000 dollars per annum, induce the prime minister of
England to undertake these many duties. The tenure by
which he holds his office depends so much on popular fa
vor on the one hand, and on kingly favor on the other,
that it becomes necessary for him to reap his harvest with
all practicable despatch.
The Lord Chancellor, seated on the bench ofthe Court
of Chancery, is attired in the fashion of past ages, muffled
in fur-trimmed robes, and capped with a huge white wig.
The wig appears to be deemed in England as indispensa
ble an appendage to a judge, as a crown, in the old pic
tured representations, to a king. On a, sultry summer day,
the uncomfortable fur and smothering wig might almost
cause a trans-atlantic spectator to pity the man who suflTers
under the burthen, although remunerated by a compensa
tion of three hundred thousand (dollars per annum. The
' rigid mass of crisped hair is curled into volutes, saturated

268 COSTUME OF JUDGES AND LAWYERS'.
with hair powder, and really forms an exotic crop,, trans
planted to the head ofthe first man ofthe kingdom, which
duly distributed would serve for covering nearly as many
men as his equally disproportionate salary- would liber
ally support.*
The lawyers, also arrayed in their peculiar costume and
wigs, in front of the Chancellor, confirm the fancied im
pression that you are viewing the law-proceedings of a
former century ; but the clients, dressed in modern fashion,
have too much of the care-worn aspect of present, palpable
trouble, to be mistaken for ideal figures of men of other
times. The hall of the Court of Chancery, as well as that of the
court ofthe King's Bench, is not spacious ; but the former
has windows of stained glass, which impart no small de
gree of interest to the contemplation of its ancient Gothic
architecture. — Upon the walls of these halls of justice- &re
suspended the portraits of a long line of judges, in the
proper order of their succession.
No regular course of legal study is exacted from each
law student, previously to adm,ittance to practice in the
courts ; but the student must make his appearance at the
public dinner tablp of the great hall of one of the Inns of
Court for a certain number of times each year, during their
terms of three or five years. The necessary initiatory ex
penses, amount to about five hundred and fifty dollars. The
Hall of the Middle Temple, in which the stated dinners
take place, is well worth a visit, having many decorations
of oak curiously carved from the solid blocks, and also
pictures of some of the English Kings, executed by emi
nent painters.
*The Lord <;hancellor in 1831, took his seat without the usual wig,
and the extraordinary innovation on ancient customs, judging from the
comments on this important subject in public papers, ekcited tlie wonder
of tiie British peopte.

GUILD-HALL AND MECHANICS' HALLS. 269
Connected with the Inner Temple are fine walks in a
spacious garden laid out on the banks of the Thames, on
the edge of which it borders, and across which you may
view the scenery ofthe adjacent shores.
Guild-hall, near the court room of the King's Bench, is a
spacious room, about one hundred and fifty feet in length,
and fifty feet in breadth, capable, it is stated, of containing
seven thousand persons. This hall is used for the munic
ipal purposes of the city, for the elections of officers, pub
lic meetings of the freemen of the city, and also for city
feasts. A public diijner was given here to the emperor
Alexander and king of Prussia, when they visited Eng
land in 1814, which cost the city upwards of 90,000 dol
lars. Here also the sheriffs are sworn or inducted into of
fice previously to proceeding to Westminster to be present
ed to the. king, and to perform the strange ceremony of
" counting out six horse shoes with the requisite number
of hob nails for them-," — a singular tenure by which the
corporation of London hold, it is said, a valuable tract of
land. It was in this hall that Richard III. collected the
citizens of Loqdon to obtain their assent to his assumption
of the re^al power, when Buckingham declared that they
stood here " like dumb statues, or breathless. stones, stared
on each other, and looked deadly pale," and that a few
hurl'd up their caps and some ten voices cried God save
king Richard.
There are numerous Halls erected by the mechanics of
the various trades of London, who have distinct societies
for almost every mechanical trade. The goldsmiths, cut
lers, and others, on stated days, march in procession. The
glass cutters I saw parading with most beautiful speci
mens of crystal glass cut to various fanciful forms, and dis
played, like banners or emblems of their calling, on poles.
The avowed purpose of these associations is mutual im-
provement in their, several handicraft arts.
VOL. 11. 24*

270 FLEET PRISON.
Fleet Prison. On passing the door of this celebrated
prison for debtors, we stepped in to take a survey of the
interior arrangements, having previously settled with the
turnkey the terms for a safe retreat, under the apprehen
sion that it might prove like the fabled lower regions, a
place easy of access, but difficult of egress. The yard was
occupied by numerous persons, dressed like gentlemen,
engaged in playing at ball, pitching quoits, and in similar
amusements. Others were walking for exercise and pas
time, and all seemed to be filling up the measure of the
happiness of the present hour, unmindful of the narrow
limits within which they were confined. The interior
of the building is divided into small rooms, like those of
the colleges of the United St^ates, and occupied by persons
who here live as well as they may be able, whilst they are
studying new ways to pay old debts. It is common for
the sheriff's officers to take into a more genteel sort of cus
tody those debtors, who have funds to pay for private ac
commodations, and who may prefer paying for the luxury
of a separate confinement, to exposure to the mixed socie-
ety of a common prison. The policy of imprisonment for
debt has excited much discussion, as having, been origin
ally derived from the customs of barbarous ages. It re
mains for more refined ages to abolish the deplorable
practice of punishing, as a felon, an honest debtor whose
only fault may have been the misfortune of losing, by the
chances of trade, the means of supporting himself and his
family.

LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING.
I Stopped a few moments to observe the surprising facil
ity with which the soft shades of a picture, painted on the
flat surface of a stone, may be transferred to a sheet of pa
per. The pictures or writings are first sketched with a

LITHOGRAPHIC PRESS. 271
sort of black paint, or printer's ink, upon a piece of smooth
limestone of a yellow color, imported from Germany. In
this state, the picture or- writing to be multiplied has the
same appearance of-shades and lines as a, regularly fin
ished picture, and the exact copy, to the finest touch, will
be exhibited on the paper after the impression is taken.
When thus painted or prepared, the surface of the stone
is rubbed over lightly with a wet sponge. The pores of
the calcareous stone not covered with the oily ink become
by this operation saturated with water, whilst the oiled
portions of it repel the water of the sponge. The roller
covered with printing ink is now passed over the surface
ofthe stone, and the same repellent qualities existing be
tween the oil and water, the ink is found adhering only to
the oiled or painted portions of the stone, whilst the pores
filled with water by the previous application of the wetted
sponge, repel the ink applied by the printer's roller. Upon
the stone thus inked is laid a sheet of paper, when they
are both passed between rollers to produce a close con
tact, in the same manner as impressions are taken from
an engraved copperplate. After a sufficient number of
impressions are taken, the stones may be laid away for
future use, without detriment. Thus, fine drawings are
printed with great facility and cheapness from a stone.
When once prepared, the stone will yield as many litho
graphic impressions as a well engraved copperplate.
Cards and circular letters are now very commonly printed
in this way, in preference to the usual mode, and the very
form of the letters, or the fac simile of the handwriting of
the author is preserved with the most perfect accuracy.
Lithography is an art of late invention, and it is within
only a few years that it has attained its present import
ance, and become one of the most useful improvements of
modern times.
We afterwards visited the extensive printing establish-

272 STEREOTYPE AND
ment of Mr. Perkins, where many of the notes of the
country banks in England are struck off. The copper
plates, instead of being engraved with little chiselfe in the
common method, are impressed or stamped with steel dies,
which are used for forming the lines and cavities in the
surface of the copper, for receiving the printing ink, at one
blow. Several copperplates may be thus engraved in a
few minutes. To accomplish this with the common chisel,.
an engraver would require several days.
The labor and skill necessary for cutting the steel dies,
in the first instance, is very considerable, forming the
greatest difficulty to be surmounted by those who may at
tempt to counterfeit them. The steel plates are engraved
after being softened by heat, when the metal becomes
sufficiently yielding to admit of being engraved with
nearly the same facility as a common copperplate. The
piece of steel thus engraved is tempered or- hardened, and
is then impressed with force on another piece of steel in a
hot, softened state, as a seal is impressed on softened wax.
By this operation the softened plate of steel, "thus stamped,
is found to have the engraved copy raised. upon it in re
lief, or with the lines projecting from the surface like the
letters on a coin. This last steel die is then hardened or
tempered, and is ready in turn to be used for stamping
or engraving the copperplates. Every projecting por
tion of the steel forms a corresponding cavity or channel in
the copper to receive the printing ink, which is afterwards
imbibed from the cavities by the paper to which the plate
is applied by pressure. The curved or wavy lines com
monly observable on these plates are made by a machine
resembling a lathe. STEAM PRINTING.
There are several printing presses in London operated
by steam power. I visited a printing establishment con-

STEAM PRINTING. 273
taining several of these presses, each of whichj with the
attendance of a man and two boys, is capable of throwing
off above 1000 impressions on both sides of a newspaper
in one hour.
Tho types are arranged on a flat bed in the usual way,
and are covered with the ink by rollers, which are caused
by the machinery to traverse over the tops of the types at
each impression. The sheets of paper are placed smoothly
upon an apron, as fast as a boy can handle them, from
whence they are conveyed by the machinery to a large
revolving cylinder. By means of cords passing around
this cylinder, the paper is drawn on and is held fast against
the circumference of it. The cylinder, whilst enveloped
by the sheet of paper smoothly spread out, is caused to
traverse or roll over the inked types, whereby it becomes
printed on one side. The same cords which pass around
the first cylinder are e.xtended in length to pass around a
second cylinder, precisely similar to the first. By the
proper action of these cords, the half printed sheet is con»
veyed, with great precision, to the surface of the second
cylinder, around which it is also extended smoothly, to be
passed over a second bed of inked types. In its passage
from the first to the second cylinder, the surface ofthe pa
per is reversed in such a manner that the printed side is
laid next to the cylinder upon which it is extended, and
the unprinted side is brought into contact with the types.
The continuation ofthe same set of cords, which serve to
perform the work of fingers, extended off horizontally to
a short distance from the last cylinder, serve to convey
away the printed sheet to a box or receiver, into which
they are regularly dropped. The saving of labor by this
improved process is very considerable, and the work ap
pears to be executed in a perfect manner. Some- of the
presses have been made- upon a lighter and still further
improved plan, to be operated by one or two men ,at a

274 ADVEliTISEMENTS OF SALE OF
cralnk. By extraordinary exertion, it is stated, that above
1700 copies may be struck off in an hour from one of these
machines. The expense of setting up duplicate forms and
employing additional presses is thus saved.
The printing presses which I examined are situated in
Bolt Court, formerly the residence of Dr. Johnson. The
spot on which he was once engaged in his silent studies
now resounds with the noise of the steam engine, and the
rattling of the machinery for printing. Where he wielded
his vigorous pen, the steam engine is employed to dissem
inate over the world with magical celerity the, produc
tions from it. — Almost every sort of labor at the present
day is accomplished by steam. There is in London ma
chinery even for making casks by steam power, by which
the labors ofthe cooper are nearly superseded.
The manufacture of newspapers has not escaped the
notice of the tax gatherers of England. Government has
imposed a duty upon every newspaper of about G cents
each, and to insure the payment of it, the printers must
purchase paper already stamped with a small device in red
letters on one of the margins or corners of the sheet. —
Neither are customers of the printers neglected by gov
ernment, as a heavy tax is paid on each separate adver
tisement. Advertising may be effected for a year in the
papers ofthe United States, and the paper itself furnished
for the same period, for an expense not much greater than
it costs in London barely for the insertion of the adver
tisement. Advertisements of Church Preferments and Seats
ini Parliament.
It often forms a part ofthe daily amusement of a stranger
to read the various a-(|vertisements of a London newspaper,
in which negotiations are opened for all sorts of projects
offering flattering inducements of pleasure or profit.
Among the most singular and exceptionable advertlseroentB
to an American eye are those relating to the purchase and

CHURCH LIVINGS AND SEATS IN PARLIAMENT. 275
sale of seats in Parliament, and ofthe right of nomination
to church preferments. The state of religious as well as
of political liberty must be susceptible of improvement,
where the right of presenting a clergyman to preach to a
congregation and to collect the tithes, -is openly offered for
sale by auction to the individual, be he respectable or
otherwise, who will bid the most for it. In many parishes
of England, it is well known, the lord of the- manor, or
some individual,has the proprietary right of nominating the
clergyman to officiate in the church ; who is usually one
of his friends or dependants. If he please, he has the
power to sell the privilege to any person who will offer the
most money, as a matter of bargain and sale, for the right
of selecting the clergyman who shall become the settled
parish minister. After his instalment in his clerical of
fice, the clergyman , has a right to make all the profit he
can out of the gift or bargain made for his benefit by his
patron, by collecting a tenth part ofthe crops or other in
come from land located within his parish. This right is
valued at many thousand pounds sterling, in some of the
rich parishes. Wealthy men who have younger sons or
destitute relations to provide for, after passing them through
the regular forms ofthe study of divinity, purchase one of
these rights of presentation to a rich church-living, as it
is termed in familiar conversation, and nominate them to
become the incumbents, and to enjoy the regular income
from the tithes. This privilege is called an advowson. —
An advertisement which I have lately read offers for sale
an advowson by public auction, even in anticipation of the
decease ofthe clergymah in actual possession of it. /^
An American may well imagine, by applying the case
to himself, what are the sentiments of many individuals who
attend the established church of England. He must sup
pose himself to take up a public newspaper, and to. read
the advertisement of the sale of the right of succession to

276 SALE OF ADVOWSONS.
the pulpit of his family church, by public auction, to the
highest bidder, with all the particulars of the age of the
present incumbent and the cheering prospect of a speedy
succession ; and also a statement of the amount of tithes,
collected in previous years, to whet the avarice of the pur
chaser. Should the purchaser be some worthless rake or
sot, desirous of providing a living for a fox-hunting clergy
man who may have been the companion of his sports, or
should he be some speculating merchant, desirous of mak
ing money by the traffic of the sale" of the right of nomina
tion, a large and respectable congregation must notwith
standing submit to take their seats every Sunday in front
of a pulpit occupied by a person in the selection of whom
they had no vote or control. Irritated, perhaps, by the
exaction of tithes to be paid to a preacher whom he can
not respect, the Englishman may absent himself from
the church, and become irreligious rather from temper
than from inclination.*

*It is truly surprising that a foreigner, on visiting the United States,
can find fault with the fi-ee institutions of that Republic, in regard -to the
support of religion by national laws. Noblemen might with reason
complain that there is wanting in the United States this convenient na
tional provision for furnishing easy livings to the younger sons of a family,
of which the bulk of the wealth is apportioned to the eldest son to main
tain family grandeur unimpaired. The men -who by their devotion to the
service of their God, and by unw^earied kindness in imparting religious
instruction to their fellow-men, have given tlie brightest examples of a christ
ians duty, were in most instances of humble origin — curates with perhaps
scanty incomes, whose zeal in their profession was not choked by the
cares of this world. The supposition, of the decline of religion from tlie
want of national laws to preserve it, has not been realised in the United
States; other principles of human action are there called forth. If no
worthier motives prove incentives to tlve liberal support of religious insti
tutions, tlie pride of gaining the good opinion of fellow-citizens finally
overpowers individual avarice ; and surely if religion- is to be measured by
the standard of pecuniary contributions, those which are given as the fi-ee
will offerings of the heart must rank at least as high as those which are
extracted by force of law firom the clenched hand of reluctant tithe-payers.

CURATt-ES AND CHURCH-LIVINGS-. 277
''' Surely," as bishop Burnet observes, "patrons, who,
without due care and enquiry, put souls into bad hands,
have much to answer fOr."
When it happens that a clergyman has powerful and
rich friends, he may not only come into possession of one
rich living, but of several in succession, as fast as they can
be obtained 5 and although he may receive five or ten
thousand pounds in tithes every year, y«t he may appear
in the pulpit only five or ten times, dr less, in the course of
the same period. He may hire some poor curate for fifty
or sixty pounds a year to preach for him, and to execute
the duties of his station, whilst he puts into his pocket the
five <ir six thousand pounds sterling of income from tithes.
Notwithstanding the formal oath is required of the clergy,
OU receiving their benefices, that they do it for the love of
God and not for filthy lucre's sake,, yet they do rarely hesi
tate accepting as many as they can obtain.* Judging
from the statements made' to me by an English gentleman,
it -appears that many of the English clergymen render
themselves' popular by a social, not to say convivial dispo
sition, thus becoming united to parishoners by other ties
than those of religion.
The tithes are usually collected in the country from the
crops on- the ground, or by an agreement of commutation
iu money. The lands belonging to the Friends and other
religious sects are equally subject to tithes, although they
do not attend the chnrch. The Friends being conscien-
'^It is stated that in 1815 die number of non-resident parochial clergy
was 5037, and the number of actual residents but 5397. Of 10,656
5030 are in the gift ofthe nobility,

3567 "

Do.

" ofthe Chm-ch Bisliop? and Archbishops:

1015 "

Dp.

" of the Government,

784 "

Do.

" of the Universities,

197 "

Do.

" of the Public Bodies, — and only

63 "

Do.

" of the inhabitants or congregations.

VOL. U.

25

378 COLLECTION OF TYTHES FROM dUAHERS.
tiously scrupulous about paying a commutation in money
for their tithe-assessments, the church taxes are collected
by a constable, attended by a church warden.. They pro
ceed to the houses of the Friends and take such articles
as they see fit to satisfy their demands, with costs, which
are sometimes nearly as much as the original sum assess
ed. In London, silver plate is usnally selected as the
most readily convertible article; and in the coiintry, as a
most worthy and distinguished member ofthe society of
Friends smilingly informed me, some of the best cheeses
and tubs of butter are left in full view, at the lime of the
expected visit of the warden. All the articles thus col
lected are sold by public auctions, known as the " Qua
ker's sales."* .
Dissenters from the established church of Englaiid have
liberty to build as many meeting-houses or churches as
they please, but- they must afterwards continue to pay
tithes to the established churches, although they may not
attend them. But to build a new church of the national
establishment, and to divert a portion of the tithes to sup
port a clergyman to preach within it, is a task of no in
considerable difficulty ; as the consent of the patrons of
the other church in the same parish must be obtained,
and a special act of Parliament procured, at a cost equal
to that of building a meeting-house in New-England. t
The number of Dignitaries ofthe Church of England
is as follows :
"*- Although every foreigner is admitted to give his testimony in tlie
English Courts of law in criminal cases, Tipon tlie oaths administered by
their prescribed forms of religion or belief; whether Hindoo, or Mahom
etan, yet the most wOTthy and respectable sect pf Friends are denied their
affirmatioii to qualify them as wiMiesses in capital trials.
t These special acts of Parliament are usually procured with mucTi iliC-
ficulty and cost. The expenses of the mere Parliamentary proceedmgs
relating to the charter for the Manchester and Liverpool rail road exceeded
300,000 doUars !

PURCHASE OF SEATS IN PARLIAMENT. 279
2 Archbishops-^-of York and Canterbury — the latter of
whom takes precedence in rank of all persons, except
the royal family ; .
25 Bishops,
27 Deans,-
60 Archdeacons,
544 Canons- and Prebendaries.
The following_ advertisement, copied, verbatim from a
London paper, will give an idea ofthe open corruption in
the sale of political as well as clerical preferments. Not
even a flimsy veil of delicacy is employed to screen this
corruption. from public observation. Were this notice not
seriously published like others relative to the sale of ad-
vowsons, it might almost be deemed a jeu d'esprit, rather
than an affair of business :
" Mr. Orpwood, Mincing Lane, London, has the honor
of announcing that he is fully authorized to enter into
immediate treaty for the purchase of property posses^ing
the right of returning one or more members to Parlia
ment ; but iajimited in price to one hundred thousand
pounds. Communications from principals, or their legal
advisers can only be attended to." 1 The right to make
human laws to govern the people, as well as that of ex
pounding to them the Divine laws, appears thus to be a
subject of bargain and sale, in tbe open market, without
producing shama or reproach to those who make a traffic
of the most important rights of man relating to the enjoy
ment of civil and religious liberty.

ENOLISH BOXERS.
The Fives Court has figured long in the annals of the
sporting, calendars of London. We went- to see some
matches exhibited for the benefit of an unfortunate pro
fessed boxer, who was lately so severely bruised in a

280 ENGLISH BOXERS.— FIVE'S COURT.
boxing mateb, that his professional brethren came forward
to relieve him in his hour of adversity, by exhibiting their
pugilistic powers for his benefit. It was with some diffi
culty that I found my way to the Fives Court, after passing
through obscure streets. On entering the large building,
resembling, in th&spacious construction of :the interior-, the
naked area of a great pit of a theatre, we found the pugilists
very busily pummelling each other with their'fists, covered
with enormous gloves stuffed with soft materials until
filled out nearly to, the size of ladies' muffs. Whilst
they flourish rapidly their fists, muffled in- these huge
gloves, each of the combatants appears as if armed with
a goodly flour pudding stuck on , each hand. , Sparring
differs from the real encounter of a boxing match only, by the
mitigated oircunistance of clothing the fists with these
cushioned gloves. The combatants were conspicuously
exhibited upon a lofty platform, from which in their sallies
they were prevented falling by a railing fixed aronnd its
edge. Several celebrated boxers were present. Their names
were familiar to me from having previously read -accounts of
their exploits even in the newspapers in the United States,
copied with all the details of the battles, from English jour
nals. In the columns of the sporting registers, the details of
boxihg matches are described in a -peculiar style, to dis
guise their brutality under a sportive manner of treating the
whole subject. Thus is blunted the public sensibility to
the. sufferings of the unfortunate men, who not unfrequent
ly die from the wounds and blows which they receive in
these encounters, to persist in which to the last effort of
their exhausted strength they are urged' and goaded on by
their seconds, and by the plaudits of the surrounding
spectators. The blood that streams fromthe niouth and
nose, and other parts of the wounded body of the boxer,

APPEARANCE OF A VANaUISHED BOXER. 281
is called, jocularly, " a plentiful flow of claret ;" and a blow
on the stomach, which causes the wretched man to gasp
and reel in his agony, is familiarly termed " a hit on the
bread basket ;'¦' when a boxer succeeds in getting the
head of his antagonist under his arm, and thus has him
at his mercy, and beats his face to a jelly, it is merely
termed, " getting into chancery, and being punished." —
All the horrid parts of these fights are thus described in
a style of most unbecoming levity. Should, a boxing
match be honestly and truly described, the description of
the scene in which the convulsive sobs of exhausted na
ture are exhibited before crowds of spectators, like the
last agony of a dying gladiator, or of a transfixed bull at a
Spanish bull bait, would prove revolting to the feelings of
every one not hardened by familiarity with such brutal
spectacles. The discomfitted boxer, for whose benefit the exhibi
tion which I witnessed took place, was a remarkable specta
cle.. Just sufficient time had elapsed to allow every bruise
on his face to become dark and mottled with livid spots,
and half cicatrized wounds. Broad purple rings, shaded
with yellow and red, caused by the extravasated blood,
pucompassed the orb of each eye, imparting to his visage
a truly grim appearance, as viewed in the dim light of the
den of the Fives Court. His eyes were from the effect of
the dark shaded, belt around them, apparently sunk in
deep hollow sockets, like the eyes of an owl. A stout
negro was also present, who has been eminent in the list of
boxers. He seems to be now reposing on his laurels. Col
lected around him, and conversing with him on familiar
terms, were a number of gentlemen-amateurs, and others
whose ambition probably leads them to emulate his ex
ploits by following in his footsteps and attempting to as
cend by this truly painful path
" The steep, where Fame's proud temple shines afar,"
VOL. U. 25*

282 SPARRING.— BOXERS HALF NAKED
A boxer, rather below the ordinary height, bnt with a
frame square and muscular as that of a Hercules, was also
pointed out to me as being eminent for his exploits, having
killed one of his antagonists by a blow vcith his sledge
hammer fist. I could not avoid looking at his hand, as
Macbeth did on the'dagger in the air, and mentally ex
claim there are " gouts of blood on it." One or two no
blemen were present, some of whom are patrons of this
sport, and appeared to associate with the boxers on famil
iar terms.
In the exercise of sparring, as well as in boxing, the
athletic forms of the combatants are displayed to view.
They are stripped naked from the waist upwards. Around
their waist is a belt or girdle, below which it is contrary
to rule to inflict a blow. Notwithstanding the fists are
enveloped in stuffed gloves to prevent painful effects, yet
.1 well directed blow, driven with the whole momentum of
the forearm and wrist, which are thrust forward in a straight,
undeviating line, like the beam of a battering ram, fre
quently caused one of the parties to gasp for breath ;. whilst
a dash upon tbe cheek produced from the cavity withiiL
it a resounding clatter like that of a dice box.
Even sparring is sometimes attended with accidents of
a serious nature. An English gentleman informed me
that having once'l^een desirous of learning the " noble art
of self-defence," as boxing is termed when practised by
gentlemen as a sort of accomplishment, he took lessons
of a celebrated boxer. Either from the remissness ofthe
master, or the scientific-progress ofthe pnpil, he- succeed
ed in planting a heavy blow upon ,-the face of the worthy
preceptor, which, in consequence of this disgrace in-the
presence of his other pupils, reddened rather from passion,
than from the force ofthe blow,' Rallying himself to re
trieve his reputation, he thrust his cushioned fist with such
impetuosity against the ill defended, nose of his scholar,

SCIENCE OF PUGILISM.— BOY KILLED AT ETON. 283
that it never' afterwards perfectly regained its altitude and
of erect position. As I regarded this protuberance, by way
of calling in the aid of the testimony of his nose t6 corrobo
rate his story, it. evidently had a leaning toward one cheek.
This gentleman observed that he had encountered more
hard knocks in learning how to defend himself against
blackguards, than would fall to the lot of ten men who take
their chance of being unscientifically beaten by them. An
American gentleman in one of the principal cities of the
United States, after acquiring a knowledge of the art of
boxing, displayed his skill upon a cartman, whom he had
the satisfaction of punishing on the spot for his want of
civility. In the result, however, he lost one of his own
grinders, and the family of the poor cartman were depriv
ed of their bread during the time he was confined to his
bed from the effects of his severe chastisement.
A scholar at Eton School, the first literary institution of
the kind in this country, was actually killed by one of his
fellow-students, in a boxing match, whils this own brother
stood by his side " to see fair play." Even boys thus ape
the manners and habits of men. During one of my ram
bles over London, I saw in a retired street two lads encom
passed by spectators, who formed a complete ring around
them. In the centre of this ring, the lads were fighting
systematically, each having a man regularly appointed
as a second to preserve the rules and to ensure fair play,
a term which is always in the mouths of the mob. When
ever the little fellows became exhaOsted, panting and froth
ing at the mouth with blood and saliva, the men who aid
ed as seconds, stood by to offer their projected knee to
serve as a seat for them, until they regain sufficient strength
to commence like furious game cocks, another onset. —
The spectators, whenever impatient at the long discon
tinuance of hostilities, cried out, " time, time." The
seconds then aroused the lads and' pushed them toward

284 DISPUTES SETTLED BY BOXING.— FONDNESS
each other, to recommence the affray, in which I left them
engaged. 'The cheering of the Crowd, as one lad finally
knocked down the other, reached me whilst retreating at
a distance from this barbarous scene.
Disputes among the lower classes are thus summarily
settled by hard blows, by the ordeal of might and not of
right. When a couple fall, to disputing in the street, they
soon find themselves surrounded by auditors, who choose
to becomefalso spectators ; for the cry of " a ring, a ring,"
resounds from all sides, and the antagonists become thus
so situated, as to feel a mortification in a quiet retreat.
In no part ofthe world are there probably so many idle
persons as in London. Collected in thig city, they throng
to witness exhibitions of every sort, whether cockfights, or
the prowess of the dog Billy, who has numerous patrons
to applaud him after he has completed his murderous task
of killing one hundred rats in ten minutes. A boxing
match not only interests those in the city who have the
means of gratifying themselves with a view of the specta
cle, but serves as a subject for conversation and bets in all
paris of the country. It has been stated that fifteen thou
sand persons have been present as spectators at some of
the rings formed at boxing matches. This proves an im
mense loss of time to individuals, as well as debasing to the
moral feelings. So import-ant was deemed a boxing match
which took place at Warwick, that the ordinary speed of
the mail was not .considered sufficiently rapid to transmit
the intelligence, and carrier pigeons \vere employed, who
winged their way through the air with a velocity that bore
them with their billets on their necks from Warwick to Lon
don, a distance of about eighty-nine miles, in three hours.
I saw the door of one of the printing offices besieged by a
throng of people to procure the bulletin containing the
account of the event, which was there about to be printed.*
*The intelligence of the result of tlie fight between Spring and Langan

FOR SPORTS.— GUY'S HOSPITAL. 285
Leaving the city the next morning, our coachman was fre
quently hailed by persons on the' road-side for intelligence
of the result of the fight. An interest as intense seems
to be excited by such a fight among certain classes, as if
the fate of an army, instead of a single boxer,- were decided
by it.
In the softened refinements of Asiatic manners, the dis
position for such spectacles is -displayed in the desire to
witness conflicts of less noble animals than man. An
American, long resident in Canton, stated to me that he
had seen the Chinese amateurs of fights amuse them
selves, for hours together, with battles between crickets,
whose encounters with each other are of the most furious
and deadly kind. They bite and lacerate each other, and
.sometimes take off a limb at a furious onset.

GUY S'HOSPIT.iL.
From Bedlam Hospital, our next excursion was made to
Guy's Hospital, which is said to be one of the most richly
endowed institutions of the kind in the world. It was
originally founded by Mr. (Juy, the son of a coal heaver,
who having acquired great wealth as a bookseller, expen
ded above 80,000 dollars in the erection of buildings dur
ing his life, and at his death endowed the institution with
a sum equal to about a million of dollars.
at Chichester was brought to London at tlie rate of moi-e than twpnty "miles
an hour, by relays of horses.
Wagers have even been made on the velocity of the flight of thefe
carrier-pigeons themselves. Several birds of this description, brought
from Liege to London,, were set at liberty in tlie latter city. One of the
pigeons re'ached its h'ome ajld place of destination in less than six liour^^,
in which period, without a knowledge of the locality of tlie intervening
rounti-y, or chart to direct its course, other than thatimplanted as an'in-
nf its nature, it traversed a distanc^e of about 300 miles in less than six
liour?, or with a speed of above fifty miles an hour, ,

286 A LONDON HOSPITAL.
On entering, we were first conducted into a large hall,
the very walls of which ¦ were glittering with the gilded
names of numerous benefactors, whose contributions of
various sums, from five to five thousand pounds, are tlius
conspicuously recorded. The parsimony, by which one
ofthe contributors accumulated most of his wealth, has
been illustrated by a well -known anecdote. One of his
acquaintance? having called to see him in the evening,
observed, that he should like to take a lesson of him in
economy. If that be the case, he replied, we may as well
converse on that subject in the dark, and accordingly ex
tinguished his farthing candle.*
The utmost attention to cleanliness appeared through
out the several long apartments, called wards, used for the
reception ofthe sick, and furnished with above four hun
dred bedsi The infirm patients were carefully attended
by numerous nurses. More than 2000 sick or infirm poor
persons, it is stated, are annually admitted within the
walls ; and several thousands without the walls receive
more or less relief from the charitable dispensation of the
funds. It is deeply interesting, nay, almost painful, to a com
passionate spectator to .break upon the awful silence
v.'hich reigns thTou^hout these halls. As yon advance
between the rows of iron bedsteads, arranged on either
hand, side by side, in long rows, the sound of your foot-
* It has frequejitly happened that the most splendid .gifts to humane
institutions have been bequeathed by tliose who in their life time were re
markable for penurious habits. Thus, by tlie wise arrangements of Prov
idence, there Is good in every thing. . The'miser becomes a liberal found
er of public institutions, because he is reluctant to leave his cherished
wealth for impatient heirs' to dissipate on equipage and hounds, on wine
and rosewood chairs. Rather than to sufi^er the fruits of his life of in
dustry aud carefulness to be liberally enjoyed, he prefers that it should' lie
transferred to public institutions, by, which the gift may be preserved as
a. lasting memorial of tlie munificence of tlie donor.

SCENES OP SICKNESS AND DEATH. 287
steps excites each languid patient to raise his head, to
dart upon yon an inquiring, and, as it were, a reproach-
fiil glance, for what may seem a heartless intrusion. In
one ward, you behold stretched upon their narrow beds
numerous human beings, with cheeks flushed with burn
ing fever ; — in another, the emaciated, wasted form, and
pallid, countenance, produced by some lingering, disease ;
whilst, in a thirds you behold the bloody bandages envel-
loping splintered limbs and amputated stumps. At times,
the labored respiration and heavy groan interrupt the si
lence, and sound to the startled ear like the last sigh of
some departing soul. And such is frequently the fact. —
The survivors behold every day some of their fellow-suf
ferers borne away lifeless, from near their bed-sides.
" Here too the sick their final doom receive,
Here brought amid the scenes of grief to grieve :
Where die-loud groans from some sad chamber flow
Mix'd -with the clamors ofthe crowd below."
Tq a man in health, these scenes may appear gloomy :
but they impart to him a knowledge of the actual condi
tion and sufferings of many of his fellow-men ; and whilst
he learns to feel for misfortunes not his own, he cannot
but experience a glow of gratitude for comparative bles
sings and comforts of which he individually finds himself
possessed. The poor man, driven by necessity to seek
the shelter offered by its hospitable roof, may well accept
of it with feelings of thankfulness, whilst he reflects on the
condition of houseless wanderers.
In addition to the. usual appendages to an hospital, the
laboratory, theatre for surgical operations, anatomical pre
parations, &c., there is a considerable brewery attached to
this hospital.
Within a small, obscure apartment, near the halfof an
atomical preparations, I found, during my stroll, a man
busily at work stripping the flesh from human bones, arid

288 A SKELETON-MANUFACTURER.
cleaning them for the purpose, as he stated, of being sold
and used as skeletons. Whilsf; I stood by his side, and
watched Jiis progress in separating from a human arm, the
itmscle^s and sinews, which: after the progress of being boil
ed, cleave off in flakes fromthe fingers and wrists, attend
ed with a cadaverous odor, I found that nature revolted
at the spectacle. Notwithstanding I had become some-
\*hat accustomed to such sights, by having attended a reg
ular Course of surgical dissections, the peculiar operations
I here witnessed overpowered me with feelings of sickness.
Of all occupations which ever came under my observa
tion, that of this man, engaged solitarily in a business-like
way in stripping off boiled human flesh, is the most shock
ing. One would prefer to win his bread by encountering
the dangers of " gathering samphire'' on the beetling cliffs
of Dover, which Shakspeare emphatically called a dread
ful trade.
One of the attendants, with little regard to delicacy,
introduced us into the department of -the hospital called
the Magdalen, where, before we were aware of it, we
found ourselves in the midst of a number of girls seated at
their needle-work, and by numerous others, sick and
stretched out upon their beds. On inquiry, our guide
stated that all these patients were laboring under the de
plorable effects of the venereal disorder. Here, probably,
is often the sad closing scene of the life of those whose
days are passed miserably amid the licentious pleasures of
a vast city. Rejected as outcasts of society, with no
friendly voice to counsel or to cheer them, many a fe
male, fallen from the high station of virtue, like the
Archangel of Milton, here feels the scorching billows of a
fire that consumes her. Their minds are tortured by re
morse and their, bodies by disease. Until the institution of
hospitals for the reception of thjsmiser.able class, as Smollet
has observed, they were rejected from society, and left

PUBLIC CHARITIES OF LONDON. 289
to perish on a duiighill. After viewing these -scenes of
human suffering ami. wretchedness, We felt no further
disposition to visit other hospitals, and to scrutinize a sub
ject which seems to throw a shade over the rjecollections of
the splendoi; ofthe British metropolis.
There are numerous hospitals in various parts of Lon
don, most of which were founded by munificent individ
uals. It appears from a printed statement, that there are
22 hospitals for the sick, 107 almshouses for the mainte
nance of aged and infirm persons, and about 48 dispensa
ries for ^affording a gratuitous supply of medicine and med
ical aid to the poor. The sums OTcpended here in these
and other charities have been estimated as high as about
3,000,000 of dollars per annum.
Whilst the stranger contemplates the magnitude of some
of these public buildings, and the liberal provisions which
liave been made for the sick and the destitute, he cannot
but feel a sentiment of respect bordering on admiration for
the conntry which contains such noble institutions. This
sentiment is heightened by the consideration, that to the
scholars, artists, and statesmen of this country, as well
as to lier eminent philanthropists, may be attributed most
of the improvements in science and the arts, and in the
tone of moral feeling, which distinguish the present from
past ages. '

VAUXH.iLL GAUDEN.
This garden is without flower beds or rare plants, and
contains nothing except thickly atraiiged shrubbery,' be
neath the foliage of which are shaded walks, small tem
ples, seats of arbors and other small constructions for the
shelter and refi:eshment of the ' visitants, and saloons for
representing pieces on the stage. The amusements of the
evening, when I visited Vauxhall, were prepared expressly
VOL. II. 26

290 EXHIBITIONS FOR CHILDREN
for children, — ^not those of larger growth, of whichi mighl
have considered myself one, but for those who have not es
caped the restraints of the nursery. One of the youthful
members ofthe royal family, who may probably be destin
ed to be the ruling queen ofthe broad realms of England,
was the presiding goddess of the exhibition. On this oc
casion, it appeared as if all the beautiful children of the
city were brought out to participate in the recreations.
Several thousands of these children, all neatly dressed,
with their curling hair hanging clustering over their
white foreheads, and healthy red cheeks, and eyes beam
ing with delight, presented one of thei most interestmg
spectacles of human felicity that I have ever had the op-
jiortunity of witnessing. Fathers, mothers and nurses,
were all busily employed in showing the juvenile specta-
tators the exhibitions, frequently. lifting them aloft in their
arms to afford amore distinct view ofthe various dancing
figures, of the feats of Punch, and of the rope dancers,
and fire works, whilst the delighted little beings were ut
tering exclamations -of pleasure as eacb one beheld some
fresh object of wonder.
Children of the royal family and of the nobility were pre-
!-ent. Among these, the little daughter of the Duke of
Cambridge was held up to the window ofthe box, to be gaz
ed upon by the crowd-, when the plaudits ofthe spectators
were deafening. One gentleman, standing near''me, di
rected his little boy, whom he was leading by the hand,
"to look at yonder little girl, who might be hereafter the sov
ereign ruler of the country, and his future queen.'' Whilst
one thus witnesses the marks of applause bestowed by the*
b!]outing multitude, the question naturally occurs, what
merit has drawn forth suQh manifestations of enthusiastic
approbation 1 The answer as readily Occurs, — ^^the pas-
-ive, negative sort of merit of having bgeji begotten by a

AT VAUXHALL. 29l
King, which circumstance, though it might attract curiosi
ty, can hardly be deemed a title fo rapturous plaudits.
Myriads of lamps, hung upon the branches of the trees
and upon the little ornamental buildings of the garden,
throw a glare of light upon the faces of the assembled mul
titudes, like the radiance of mid-day, rendering every ob
ject distinctly visible, and imparting to the very leaves a
semi-transparent appearance, like that of an overspreading
deep green veil. The lamps are formed merely by placing
wicks in Kttle glass cups half filled with oil. Many ot
these cups are of -blue, purple and red glass, and transmit
twinkling, particolored rays.
Our party, consisting of the family of one of our London
friends, took a box or small apartment for the evening,
where we were served with refreshments. We ascertain
ed experimentally, that a " Vauxhall Slice" has not lost,
by modern degeneracy, its prover'oial character for wafer
like thinness ; and that a Vauxhall roasted chicken is so
minute an object, that it may be supposed to have made
but a step from the nest to the spit,^ — from the cradle to the
grave, like quails precociously commencing the journey of
life with the egg shells on their backs. They serve to amuse
the sportive imaginations of a -party,- rather than to satisfy
the serious demands'of hunger.
More than an hour elapsed before the long array of car
riages w^re sufficiently cleared away to permit us to reach
the one in attendance for us. In the papers published the
nest morning, it was stated that 9000 persons had been
present in the garden during the previous evening.

MB. perkins' steam gun axd engine.
We rode with Mr. Perkins to his works at the Regent's
Parkj-to vi^w his steam engine and steam gun. The lat
ter contrivance consists of a long gun-barrel, attached by

292 MR. PERKINS' STEAM GUN AND ENGINE.
a pipe yvith a flexible joint, to the Jwiler of bis steam gen
erator. The gun-barrel is thus rendered movable, like
the pipe of a fire engine when connected with the barrel
of the machine. The bullets are placed in a little hopper
above the gun-barrel, within wrbich is a rotary yalve, allow
ing a bullet to descend into the passage before th^ rushing
steam at every vibration of this supplying hopper. When
the ball has entered the cavity of the gun-barrel, it is driven
before the steam with a velocity sufficient to flatten them.
Some of the bullets, which I picked., up, were as thin as wa
fers, after being discharged against a plate of cast iron.—
The pressure of the steam, according to Mr. Perkins' state
ment, was, in one of his experiments equal to that of sixty-
five atmospheres, or nearly 1000 lbs. on the square inch.
The explosion is, loud., resembling a continued roar of mus-
quetry. Mr. Perkins observed, that a ball had been
driven through seven deals or boards, each one inch thick,
placed at the distance of one inch asunder. The bullets
also perforated an iron plate a quarter of an inch thick.
-It has been Calculated, that if the boiler could be made
sufficiently strong to resist the steam when heated red hot,
the expansive force of . it would be equal to nearly four
thousand atmosph,eres, or about 56,000 lbs. o"h the square
inch, or about 3500 tons on the square foot, — a sufficient
force, it has been supposed, to create some of the earth
quakes that frequently occur in the vicinity of volcanoes,
froirr whence masses of rocks are projected even to the
clouds — forming natural steam-guns o» a great scale.
The celebrated steam engine of Mr, Perkins, in opera--
tion at his machine shop in the same place, is rated at
the power -of ten horses. The boiler is not much larger
than a ten gallon keg ; but it is a,ided by a number of
tubes of the size of gun barrels connected with the gene
rator, and exposed to the fire of the furna.ce. At the
time I saw it, the moving power exerted, by the fengine was

THAMES TUNNEL. 293
equal to that' of only about four hoises, judging frbm the
statement of the engineer ; who observed, that the steam,
after being used, is condensed into water, as in other en
gines, and is in this state injected into the boiler or gen
erator. Mr. Perkins informed me that he had made the experi
ment of heating a given volume of steam inclosed in a tight
iron vessel, until the metal became red hot ; and that no
important increase of expansive force was the result. In
sulated steam is probably caused to expand no more- than
common air by the application of heat ; but its great ex
pansive force arises from the crowding of more aqueous
particles in the form of steam into the same space. A
cylinder filled with steam, subjected to- a presure of twenty
pounds on the inch, contains about double the quantity or
weight of vapor that it contains when subjected to apress-
ureof only ten ponnds on the square inch.
It seems but too evident, notwithstanding all the inge
nuity which Mr. Perkins has displayed in his various con
trivances, that his steam engine and steam gun have both
failed of answering the sanguine expectations, which the
published statements in relation to them had created.
Thames Tunnel. Within the space of three months, I
made two visits to the excavations in progress for making
a tunnel or passage under the bed of the river Thames. —
The greatest depth of the <vater in the channel at this
place at flood tide is thirty-four feet, and the breadth, of
tbe channel is ahout one fourth of a mile. The obstacle.s
to be overcome seem sufficient to deter any but stock job
bers and speculators, who rarely fail of persevering until
stock becomes below par. A mass of stiff clay, through
which the tunnel is to pass, is well fitted to resist filtra
tion. The passage-ways for carriages are to be formed
water tight by bricks, laid in water-lime. Two steam en
gines are employed to raise the water from the perpendic-
voL. II. 26*

294 THAMES TUNNEL.— -WELLINGTON.
ular shaft or descent to the tunnel, which, as you view
the piles of earth by its side, resembles a great well
fifty feet deep, walled with brick. So numerous are the
springs of water which guSh into the shaft, that the en
gines are kept constantly in motion, and throw out quite
a brook, which fbws off toward the Thames. Should the
tunnel ever be completed, a steam engine would be re
quired to keep the cavity free of watei-, which must con
stantly filter through the masonry. At all events, it would
prove a damp cavernous passage; the unhealthy atmosphere
of which, on a sudden transition from the heat of a sum
mer sun, might afford the passenger a plausible pretext
for an extra glass of aqua-vitsB. Whilst inscribing the
names of our party on the book of record/ for visiters'
names, the duke of Wellington, who has a large pecuniary
interest in this undertaking, entered the 'porters' lodge
with a party of ladies", and took up the pen to record their
names and titles.*
The Thames Tunnel companyt was formed during the
*The personal appearance qf the duke of Wellington ifidicates an infirm
state of health. - His attitude isiiot of that erect niartiaj bearing, common-
Iv characteristic of the veteran soldier ; he stoops as if bent down by'pre-
mature bjd age. His health was very much impaired, as a medical gen
tleman, once connected with his stafl", informed me, by tile injndieious use
of some powerfiil applications for curing a slight degree of deafiiess with
which he was afflicted. Previously to the meeting of -the congress of
Vienna, he applied to an aurist in London, who prescribed a wash.conf-
posed of the nitrate of silver or of some otlier poiverfiil mgredients, to le
injected into the ear. T-he resiuh of this fetimulati.ig upplication was an
inflammation, which soon extended to the brain, .and threw him into a
fever from which, and fiom tlie-effects of a life of dissipation, he hai never
fully 'recovered.
, tThis is not the fir^t attempt, as it is stated, to make a tunnel under
the Thames. " In the case of the drift way, made under tlie Thames in
1809, the water presented no, obstacle for nine'hundi-ed fe?t, when a great
body of quicksand gave wiy.^and filled the shaft. The mmers soon^pver
come this difiiculty, and were able to proceed untiltliey were stopped by
a second irruption, by which the shaft was in a few minutes fiUed witb

JOINT STOCK C0MP.4NIES. 295
rage for joint ^tock companies, A great number of these
joint stock companies were formed in 1825, for various
strange projects, many of them apparently for no earthly
purpose, except as a sort of safety -valve to4et off the re
dundancy of British capital.r A London Milk Company
was created with the chivalrous design of restoring to its
pristine purity, the degenerate limpid blue liquor called,
in London, milk ; whilst another set of persons became
united to furnish the good citizens of London with fresh
fish"; and still another company combined to provide t^heir
tables with good bread. To complete the list of domestic
comforts to be provided for by the patriotic capitalists, the
province ofthe washerwoman has been assumed by them.
The whole sisterhood who dabble in soap-suds were thrown
into consternation at the sight of a splendid equipage dash
ing through the streets of Londoii, with the varnished pan
nels bearing the inscription ofthe " London Steam Wash
ing-Company." The driver of this vehicle, as he flourish
es and cracks his whip over four superb horses, might be
supposed to be transporting some duke or marquis, instead
of k freight of dirty clothes. .
When this steam washing company was first organised,
they inserted an advertisement in one ofthe public news
papers for an agent to manage the practical details of
their business, stating among other qualifications required
in a candidate for the office, that " he must be able to
manage a number of womeh." As might have been pre
viously supposed,' no applicant appeared upon these hard
conditions. The' company was at a stand for an agent,
until the notice was altered, no man having been found
in London possessed of snfficient hardihood to contract to
manage a[number of women, iff a city, where the difiiculty
of managing even one~is so well known.
wtiter." A similar disaster attended tlie last undertaking, which was
finally abandoned in 183i;~ ,, - '

296 GREENWICH HOSPITAL.— RICHMOND HILL.
Greenwich Hospital. After viewing the Thames tun
nel, we extended our excursion to the Hospital and Ob
servatory at Greenwich.
The magnificent buildings of this Hospital make an im
posing appearance of lofty porticos and pillars, resembling
those of palaces, rather than of a charitable institution". —
Here the disabled sailors find shelter and repose, after
the storms of war have passed away and left them as
helpless wrecks, mutilated, and dependent on the cold
charity ofthe world. Although one cannot fail of admir
ing these splendid national structures appropriated to be
neficent purposes, yet when such costly edifices and great
halls are surveyed, filled with poor decrepit men, it seems
that national pride and individual poverty are here con
trasted, and that the same vain glory, which has led so
many Britons to slaughter in foreign wars, is continued to
thoJast extremity, in affording the survivers a splendid
hospital, in which they may pass tlie remnant of their
days. The Observatory of Greenwich we found closed, and
could only have the poor satisfaction of imagining that we
stood on^ the very spot from which degrees of Longitude
are reckoned by geographers and mariners, in making
their calculations.
Richmond Hill has been extolled, both in prose and
verse, for the beauty of its green slopes and for the-lovely"
Encrlish landscape views which it commands. -So numer
ous are the parks and pleasure grounds which extend over
the broad vales exposed to view from the summit of Rich
mond Hill, that the woodland.s Seem to occupy more of
the area of the country than the cultivated -fields, as is
usually observable in most of tbe American landscapes.
The distant horizon is bounded apparently by widely
spread forests, Owing to the effects of the'drought which
prevailed at the period of our visit, the face ofthe country

BLUE COAT-SCHOOL.— LONDON MARKETS. 297
was rendered sombre by the dusky, reddish . brown color
ofthe herbage, which had supplanted the usual bright
green hue of English fields.
Blue Coat School. Having frequently met in the streets
scholars clothed in the singular livery of the ^' Blue Coat
School," I called at this celebrated institution for the pur
pose of seeing the childj-en assembled togetljer.i An uniform
dress is prescribed to these scholars, that they may be
readily known whenever seen amid the moving population
of the streets of London. The yeUow stockings and small
clothes, worn by these children, form a most singular con
trast with their blue coats. A black leather belt, buckled
around their waists, renders this dress still more remarka
ble. About 1000 boys and girls of respectable families
are educated and clothed by the funds of this school. Its
location in the midst of the. most bustling parts of London
seems rather injudicious, when it is considered for what
purpose it was established. There are interior courts or
squares, inclosed by the-walls of the institution, like those
of some of the, colleges of Oxford,
Smithfield Cattle-Market. Among , the curiosities of
London, Smithfield market, when crowded with cattle on
a market-day, is worthy a short walk. Here you behold
collected in a little square of about two acres in extent,
the beef which is required for the supply of a^numerous
population. So closely are the droves wedged together,
side by side, that their red backs and white horns appear
like the surface of an agitated pond, ever undiilating and
in motion ; and a person apparently mighl walk over their
backs ,as over a pavement. You may suppose with truth
that you have before you an area of an "acre of solid beef.*
*The following appear to be the current, prices fgj: provisions in the
London niarfcets :
Beef 8d. to lid. veal 8d. to ildj^ mutton fid. to lOd. common fowls
7s. to 8s. per pair, turkeys 10s. to 15s. each, geese about -Is, butter Is, to
]s. 3d. eggs 13d, to 26d, '

298 PRICES OF PROVISIONS.— LONDON BRIDGES.
The average number of oxen annually sold here is one
hundred and fifty-six thousand. ;
Bridges over the Thames. The cast iron bridge over
the Thames is truly a monument of' English enterprise.
It is formed of three arches, the widest of which is of the
span of 240 feet. Each arch is composed of eight ribs of
cast iron, which sweep over from abutment to abutment.
They are cast in pieces from six to eight feet deep, and
only 2f inches thick, with' the thin edges perpendicular to
the wafer. They thus resemble great planks set upon
their edges, which sustain the pressure of the weight of
the pathway ofthe bridge. By this arrangement the great
est strength is obtained, with the least expense of metal.
Each ofthe plates of cast iron, forming the ribs, weighs
several tons. They are secured to their places by grooves,
and dovetail joints, and screw bolts.
In the construction of the three arches of the bridge, it
i? stated that nearly 6000 tons of castiron were used, the
cost of which; including the transportation and putting up,
was equal to about four cents per lb. The whole weight
resting upon the piers of tbis bridge is more than 22,000
tons. - ' 1
This structure, heavy as it actually is, has an iiicredi-
Billing.^gate, so famous fjr exhibiting the zero degree of the scale of
female charms, as well as of the vocabulary of the English language, ia
not often passed by without the notice of the stranger in London.
The crabs sold in London are truly of smprising magnitude, often ex
ceeding in weight half a dozen .'Vmerican crabs/ and at the feame time arc
of ,an excellent flavor. It has been' the practice among agriculturists to
introduce 'large and improved breeds of cattle into the United Sta^s from
Europe, and it appeared to me so desirable to cross the American breed
of crabs with tliat from the German sea, that I made some inquiries if it
could be accomplished hy taking tlieir spawn preserved in sea water.
Incredible quantities of lobsters are consumed in London. In one year
there were sent from Norway to. England more than 1,100,000 lobsters !
It is stated ort tlje] pages of a recent traveller, that " all the way from
Stadtland to Lindernoes, an Englishman and a devourer of lobsters arc
wlraost synonymous terms,"

IRON BRIDGE.— NEW LONDON BRIDGE. 299
bly light appearance, yvhen viewed at a distance, with ifs
graceful arches spanning the quiet waters of the Thames.
The waterman, who rowed me beneath the arches,
vented bitter complaints against them as a nuisance, stat
ing that on every damp or foggy day, a shower of drops
tinged with red iron rust drips upon those who sail beneath
them. A rapid and excessive condensation takes place
upon the vast mass of cold cast iron, on every change in
the temperature ofthe weather from a cold to a damp
state. The Waterloo Bridge is built of granite, and from the
beauty of the material of which it is constructed, as well
as from the symmetry of its proportions, is deemed one of
the most beautiful bridges of London. But the new Lon
don bridge, it is calculated, will eclipse it in all respects.*
Supply of water to London. Beneath the arches of the
old London bridge were once placed a number of water
wheels, turned by the swiftly moving current of the tide,
* The estimated cost of the new London bridge, .according to the first
report of Mr. Rennie, was £450,000, and £456,000 more, it was esti
mated, would open the new approaches to each end of the bridge ; but
the actual expenditiu-e for the completion of thi& work has exceeded
£1,700,000, or about eigbt millions of dollars,' being nearly equal to the
coat of die canal fi-om Buffalo to Albany, a distance of 300 miles. Much
of this expense arose frdm building the new bridge above 150 feet fi-om
ihe site of th& old one. When tlie bridge, was nearly completed, it
was judged expedient to make the necessary new approaches to get to il ;
and great was the consternation, when it was found that it would cost
three times as much to get at the bridge, as it cost to build it. It has
befen stated that " almost countless were the projects volunteered by in
genious individuals-, who compassionated the dilemma into which the cor
poration had'got."
The time occupied in the erection of the new London bridge was 7^
years, during most df'whjch. period, about 800 men were employed. The
total quantity^ of stone used was about 120,000 tons', of the finest gi-anite
from Scotland add Cornwall. The length of t(ie bridge is a little short
of 1000 feet, and tlie width ,6f the roadway is 53 feet. The centre arch
is 152 feet, w ith a rise above high Vvater mark of only SO feet.

300 SUPPLY OF WATER TO LONDON.— POPULATION.
for the purpose of pumping water for the supply ofthe
city. "The inhabitants ofthe city of London are supplied
with water principally by an open aqueduct, constructed
on the plan of similar works erected by the ancient Ro
mans. Nearly two centuries have elapsed, since the pro
ject of bringing a stream of pure water from a distance of
thirty-eight miles across the country, and out of its natural
course, to supply the city of London, has been successfully
completed. This open stream, which is called the New
River, furnishes 13,000,000 of gallons of water everyday.
It was one of those projects which men of powerful minds
sometimes undertake in advance of the times ^n which
they live. The aid of the king was required to carry into
effect the work, after it had been for a long time com
menced. Althongh the original projector of this enter
prise failed of realizing his sanguine hopes of pecuniary
success, and languished, dispirited and disheartened, like
many enterprising projectors ; yet so desirable has the
stock of the New River Company become in later times,
that a share which was at first sold at ilOO, has since
been sold at ,£1500.

POPULATION.
The following Table will show the rapid increase and
.prosperity of the City of London. Av'ge. increase
1811. 1821. 1831. in last 10 yrs.
London, 1,009,546, li,225,694 1,474,069 20i per cent.
England Proper, 9,538,827 11,261,437 13,089,338 16 per cent.
Wales, 611,788 717,438 805,236 ¦ ''
Scotland, . 1,805,688 2,093,456 2,365,807
Great Britain, 12,609,864 14,391,631 16,537,321 15 per cent.
1820.
United" States, 9,579,873 12,716,597 32i per pent.
By the preceding _ table it appears that the rate of in
crease of the population of Great Britain, (exclusive of

HYDE PARK. 301
Ireland) is only 16 per cent, whilst that of the population
of the United States is at the rate of 32 per cent. Taking
the same rate of increase as a ratio for calculation for the
ensuing ten years, the population of
England Proper will be in 1840 - 15,183,632
Do. of the United States - - 16,881,282
The population of the United States will ex 
ceed that of England Proper, - 1,697,650

The most splendid equipages and dresses of the rich
and the fashionable, in London, are displayed on a Sunday
afternoon in the pleasant drives and shaded walks of Hyde
Park. Here also every class of citizens is represented in
the animated procession, the mechanic following close on
the heels of the dandy, and the humble vehicle of the
plodding citizen succeeding in close proximity to the splen
did equipage of some duke or earl, with varnished pannels
glittering with a gilded coronet. All are pressing on in
pursuit of fresh air, — to see and to be seen.
When a. stranger, composedly seated on one of the
benches beneath the cool shade of a tree, contemplates this
moving current of population, apparently as ceaseless as
the flow of a river, and accompanied by similar broken
murmurs, he cannot but exclaim, " happy is the land
where so much human comfort prevails." It can scarcely
be a matter of surprise that an Englishman feels proud of
his country, whilst he is concious that it includes within
its limits such fair scenes of populous cities, and highly
improved regions of country.
VOL. II. 27

302 STEAM-ENGINE MANUFACTORY.
We left London, after remaining there long enough to
ascertain that a year's residence would scarcely afford time
and opportunity to become acquainted with all the various
objects which merit attention. On leaving such a city, — a
world in itself, the transient traveller feels how feeble must
be his attempt to offer more than a sketch of a few promi
nent objects which fall under his notice.* He feels elated
with pleasurable emotions at last, on emerging from the
smoky atmosphere ofthe city, to breathe the pure air of
the country, and to enjoy again the green fields, and the
more simple manners of rural life.

STEAM ENGINE IVLINUFACTOKY.
Having been requested by a friend, when I was about
embarking for Europe, to ascertain the price at which a
steam engine might be obtained from the celebrated work
shops of Messrs. Boulton & Watt, at Soho, near Bir
mingham, I called for this purpose on the superintendent
at the manufactory. The ranges of buildings forming
the workshops are beautifully situated on the border of a
small pond, within a fine shady park. The mansion of
one of the former proprietors, Mr. Boulton, stands on an
eminence in the immediate vicinity, commanding a pleas
ing prospect of the sheet of quiet waters, and of the sur
rounding trees and shrubbery, which serve to ornament
both the mansion and the adjacent manufactories. Both
of the original patentees, Messrs, Boulton and Watt, are
dead ; but the business is continued by their sons under
the same name or firm as that of their distinguished pre
decessors. Mr. Boulton was extensively engaged in the manufac
tures of steel, and silver plated ware, at the time he pur-
* Even of the few observations here made, above half are necessarily dis
carded.

OF MESSRS. BOULTON & WATT. 303
chased the right to one halfof the newly improved steam
engine of the inventor, Mr. Watt, with whom he entered
into copartnership.
The old, imperfect steam engine on Newcomen's plan,
which Mr. Boulton had previously used to operate liis
works, is here still carefully kept in order as a relic of an
cient times, and as a model of the mechanism employed
at the period when Watt commenced improving it. The
superintendent showed me this antiquated engine, which
like a superannuated old servant is kindly preserved for
the good which it has done. There it now stands, on
the verge of the pond, with its great cylinder designed to
make an effective stroke only downwards, and to drag
with it one end of the vibrating beam, causing the oppo
site end to rise with a load of several hogsheads of water
contained in the huge water-pump attached to it. The
piston of this old engine being operated upon only by be
ing drawn down by the formation of a vacuum by means
of steam, it was found difficult to obtain a regular rotary
motion for turning machinery, which is at the present day
so readily obtained by means of the crank of the double
acting engine ; and it became necessary to station these
old steam engines on the borders of a pond, or cistern, from
which they at each prolonged laboring stroke of the pump,
would heave up several hogsheads of water into an up
per reservoir or mill pond, ten or a dozen feet above the
level of the lower pond. From this upper reservoir, the
water was caused to flow upon the floats of a common water
mill-wheel. Thus, the water pumped up by the old steam
engine was made to produce the desired rotary motion to
turn the machinery of the manufactory, by operating a
water wheel by its descent ; and the water wheel conse
quently became neccessary as a sort of companion and
fellow-laborer of the steam engine. Like a modern Sysi-
phus, the steam engine stood on the shore of the pond,

304 STEAM ENGINE MANUFACTORY
and continued to exert its immense strength to upheave
the ever returning flood ; or rather, like Tantulus, it bail
ed up the water into the mill pond, destined never to be
filled. After deducting all the expensive waste of heat and
steam, in the imperfectly contrived old engines, and, su
peradding to this, the evaporation and leakage of the jva-
ter from the artificial mill pond, a miserable remnant of
the original power remained to be used for practical pur
poses. Indeed, horses were at that time commonly em
ployed for operating machinery.
The genius of Watt has accomplished as great a tri
umph of mind over tbe inertness of matter as it will proba
bly ever be the good fortune of any succeeding inventor
to achieve. In connexion wth the useful improvements
of the most powerful machine produced by human skill
and science, the names of Boulton and Watt will be asso
ciated and perpetuated in every region of the globe. Watt
had the rare good fortune to acquire both wealth and fame
by his inventions, and whilst enjoying the rich reward of
his genius and industry, he experienced the still higher
satisfaction of being classed among the benefactors of
mankind. The steam engine is now used almost precisely in the
state to which his improvements had perfected it Not
withstanding the great temptation to the use of high-pres
sure steam engines, from the comparatively small cost of
them, and the greater simplicity of the working parts,
whereby little skill and care are required to keep them in
motion, yet the Boulton & Watt, low pressure, or atmos
pheric engine, as it is synonymously termed, is almost
exclusively employed throughout England, for all manu
facturing purposes. This preference has been given to
the low-pressure engines, not only on account of safety,,
but also of their superior economy, as at present man-

OF MESSRS. BOULTON & WATT. 305
aged, in the saving of the fuel employed to procure an
equal available moving power. The boilers of high pres
sure engines, when employed, are not placed within the
walls ofthe main buildings, but in adjacent sheds or out
buildings, so situated as not to render theapartments un
pleasantly hot, or to endanger the lives of the workmen,
should an explosion take place.

SALT MINES OF CHESHIRE.
At Northwich we procured a guide to conduct us to the
principal salt mine in this vicinity, which is. more exten-
."iively worked than any other similar mine in England.
From the village we walked about a mile and a half, pass
ing, in our way, the shafts of several salt mines in the
fields adjacent to the road. This whole district of coun
try abounds in these mines, and springs gush out in valleys,
forming brooks of salt water. In some places, our guide
observed, that the surface of the ground sinks into the
cavities formed in the veins of rock salt, by the washing
ofthe waters ofthe subterraneous springs.
Around the mouth ofthe great mine we found clustered
a few buildings, and near them a large artificial basin of
water, formed for the purpose of dissolving the earthy im
pure portions of the mineral salt. The brine thus formed
is subsequently evaporated by furnace-fires, to obtain pure
crystals. Within twenty feet of the circular aperture of
the dark, deefi, perpendicular shaft, resembling with its
walled sides a huge well, the rippled waters of a naviga
ble canal appeared in motion, as if ready to pour its
floods into the yawning abyss, at the very verge of which
they are stayed by embankments and planked sides. From
the mouth ofthe shaft, a steam engine — the inseparable
attendant of every mine — lifts at short intervals buckets
filled with large fragments or blocks of mineral salt, which,
VOL. II. 27*

306 VISIT TO A
on rising to the light of day, appear like masses of white
marble, browned by stains of iron rust.
Before descending into the dark mine, we took a survey
above ground ofthe various fixtures and processes employ
ed for refining the crude mineral or muriate of soda, as
it is called by chemists. The mineral salt in its native state,
when extracted from the subterranean veins, is combined
with the oxide of iron, and earthy particles. Distributed
throughout the masses are thin veins of bright, sparkling,
transparent crystals of salt, sufficiently pure for immediate
use on the table. These pure lumps are broken off from
the crude masses, and selected by women ; and are sold
as the "rock salt." Some of the native crystals, which we
selected as specimens, are as transparent as glass, in
lumps of the form of cubes, the sides of which are regu
larly square, as if nicely formed by some skillful lapidary.
The fragments of less pure mineral salt, after being
pulverized, are thrown into the basin of water to be dis
solved, to form a strong brine. The earthy impure
portions settle to the bottom of the basin, and the clear
brine, containing as much salt in solution as water is cap
able of dissolving, is raised by pumps into great shallow
iron pans, about sixty feet long, thirty feet broad, and only
one foot deep. In the furnaces tinder these iron pans,
coal fires are kept constantly glowing to evaporate the
brine. When coarse salt is to be made, it is necessary to carry
on the process of evaporation by a very gentle heat, in or
der to allow sufficient time for the crystals to form in
large lumps, as takes place when sah is manufactured on
the sea shore by solar evaporation. On the contrary, to
make fine or blown salt, as it is called, the heat is urged to
an extreme degree, and the brine is thrown into violent ag
itation by the intense fire beneath the pan. A thin pelli
cle or crust of salt is no sooner formed on the surface,

SALT MIKE IN CHESHIRE. 307
than it becomes broken by the undulation of the boiling
liquor, and subsides in fine granulated particles to the bot
tom of the salt pan, from whence it is frequently raked
out, and placed in proper situations to be drained. When
withdrawn from the boiling pans, the freshly crystalized
salt is dripping with moisture, and requires to be dried.
For this purpose it is removed to large apartments heat
ed by stoves, where it is suffered to remain several days
before it becomes sufficiently dry for market.
A great quantity of this rusty mineral salt is transported
in its crude state by the canal to Liverpool, to be there
dissolved in sea water and evaporated in the vicinity of
that city, where the necessary fuel is cheaper. Every
possible facility for transportation is afforded by the canal,
which in order to save labor in removing the mineral salt,
is constructed so very near the verge ofthe perpendicular
shaft of the mine, thai; the buckets containing the salt
may be discharged by means of a crane directly into the
canal boat as fast as they are raised by the steam engine.
The close proximity of such a bo^y of water, seems
dangerous to those who are about to venture a descent
into the abyss near it. I could scarcely forbear casting a
suspicious glance at the waters ofthe canal, upon which
a large canal boat was floating, half loaded, as I stepped
off the brink into an empty bucket to descend, nor refrain
from imagining what a gurgling and roaring of waters
would ensue, were the embankments to yield.
Standing with one foot upon the edge of the bucket,
and holding fast by the rope, we were swung off from the
platform, and had not time to consider the novelty of our
situation, before we found ourselves rapidly descending,
lowered by the rope attatJhed to the machinery of the steam
engkie. The irregular movements, resulting from this
peculiar mode of descent, always produce alarming sen-
Bations in those who are unaccustomed to being suspended

308 DESCENT INTO
over a shaft of a mine, from which no ray of light re
turns to disclose the apparently fathomless depth. The
bucket suddenly hastens its descent during the accelerat
ed portion of every stroke, when the steam engine acts
with the greatest effect, and one may without effort of the
imagination suppose that the rope may have failed to sus
tain in mid-air the frail machme upon which the feet rest.
My friend became alarmed by these novel sensations,
whilst standing by my side upon the descending tub, to
gether with one of the superintendents of the works, who
accompanied us to show the mines, and began to breathe
louder and louder, in long gasps, with a labored, audible
respiration. Seizing convulsively the strands ofthe rope,
he began to squeeze them with an iron grasp, which af
forded no little amusement to our more experienced com
panion. As we descended, our guide pointed out to us the vari
ous strata which we passed. Here, he observed, you per
ceive the sides of the perpendicular shaft are lined with
bricks, which are used to sustain the indurated clay that
forms a covering to the beds of rock salt, nearly as imper
vious to water as a roof Now you may observe the spark
ling crystals of a thin vein of salt, and now we come again
to a bed of clay. Here, at the depth of 191 feet from the
surface, we come to a vast unbroken bed or rock of solid
salt, into which we shall continue to descend one hundred
and forty-five feet further, until we alight upon the bottom
of the mine, which is worked horizontally along the mid
dle of this vast vein where the salt is found the purest. —
This vein or bed of solid rock salt is two hundred and
ninety feet thick, forming an almost inexhaustible mass,
extending far and wide, and sufficient to supply the world
for ages.
Alighting from our tub with alacrity upon the firm dry
floor of rock salt, the guide observed, that we had descend-

A SALT MINE. 309
ed 336 feet from the surface of the ground. When our
eyes had become sufficiently accustomed to the twilight
gloom of the vast cavern, we stood motionless with surprise
at the sight before us, gazing with wonder at the magnifi
cent aisles extended horizontally to great distances be
tween huge pillars of salt,''and lighted by rows of lamps ar
ranged at regular distances asunder, like those in the
streets of a city, some appearing brilliant near at hand,
and others faintly twinkling from remote extremities of
the mine. The resemblance to a night scene in the street
of a city was rendered more striking from the sounds of the
rattling wheels traversing the rail roads, and the tramp
of the horses' feet.
Our conductor now began to point out the various ob
jects visible, and to describe the subterraneous works. —
The excavations, he stated, are made horizontally, as lev
el as a plain, to the extent of about twenty-six acres, the
height ofthe roof being eighteen feet. Observe, he said,
how perfectly smooth the roof and floor are formed, resem-
blmg those of an immense room. Those pillars of salt
are left at the regular distance of seventy-five feet asun
der to sustain the great weight of superincumbent earth,
more than three hundred feet thick. The workmen have
wrought with the steel points of their picks the surface of
these massy pillars of salt into regular courses, resembling
tiers of artificial mason work, or blocks of marble.
So perfectly solid and firm is the rock salt, that no
flakes separate from seams in the roof The flat expanse
of the level ceiling is extended over a span of seventy-five
feet from pillar to pillar, without requiring the formation
of arches, or even a prop necessary to support the root
There being no seams or fissures throughout the solid
mass, no water can penetrate into the salt mine. To con
vince us ofthe tightness ofthe roof of salt, the guide con
ducted us to the part of the mine directly beneath the ca-

310 VIEW OF A SALT MINE, AND OF A
nal, upon which we had previously seen loaded canal-boats
floating, more than three hundred feet above our heads,
supported with all the load of waters by the pillars of salt
around us, a fact which rendered us mute with astonish
ment. We inquired of him if it were not necessary some
times to use pumps to keep the mines free from water, so
much of which flows over it 1 He replied, that the prin
cipal part of the water which finds its way into the deep
recesses, trickles down the perpendicular shaft by which
we had descended. He then pointed out long pendent pie
ces of salt adhering to the edge of the circular opening in
the roof, through which we had been lowered, in the same
manner as icicles adhere to the eaves of a house. The water
which oozes down the .shaft dissolves the salt in its course,
and on being partially evaporated in the current of air,
leaves the salt formed in pendent crystals on the roof In
proof of the absence of water, we actually found the floor
of the mine dry or dusty, if this term may be applied to
finely pulverised salt. Should the water enter freely into
a salt mine, the pillars would soon be dissolved, and of
course the working of it would be speedily terminated.
See, the guide observed, how the pillars and roof glit
ter with crystals of salt, as if sprinkled with diamonds,
when the light of the candles flashes upon them. He then
held his light close to the corner of one of the pillars to il
luminate the veins of pure salt, which are in many places
so transparent as to allow the rays -of light from the can
dle to shed a dull lustre through a portion of them.
In distant parts ofthe mine, numerous workmen ap
peared by candle-light engaged in drilling holes in the salt,
which is ilearly as hard as marble, for the purpose of de
taching fragments by explosions of gunpowder. They
commence working next the roof, and carry forward the
excavations in the form of broad steps, breaking up suc
cessively the several tiers or layers. The stunning rever-

SUBTERRANEAN STABLE FOR HORSES. 311
berations of the explosions, following one after anoth
er in quick succession, cause the startled visitant to shrink
back with a momentary feeling of alarm, whilst the very
roof seems to be upheaved, and the pillars to tremble under
their load.
In order to show us the extent of the mine, our conductor
fired a preparation of gunpowder, termed " blue-lights,"
which he had provided for the purpose of affording a bril
liant illumination. On firing the combustible preparation,
instantly, countless remote square pillars seem ed to start
up from a large plain, distinctly visible, as if the resplen
dent meridian sun had burst in upon the gloomy cavern.
After the flashes have thus suddenly illuminated with a
dazzling, fearful light, the vast aisles, and pillars of salt,
they as suddenly e.xpire, and all the scene, as if conjured
up into momentary existence by some magic spell, again
becomes shrouded in darkness.
We completed our survey ofthe wonders beneath ground
by viewing the stable for horses. They live in the mine,
and are furnished with racks for hay, and comfortable beds
formed of bundles of straw. From beneath the wisps of
straw, I saw, to my surprise, numerous mice starting
forth and scampering away at our approach; most of them
probably have passed their lives in the mine without ever
having enjoyed a glimpse of day-light. The horses are kept
below ground during a considerable period, as our conduc
tor informed us, without being hoisted up to enjoy the fresh
air, and herbage of the fields. They submit, he observed,
quietly enough to the operation of being hoisted up, as if
aware of the change about to take place in their fa
vor. On the contrary, when lashed in the slings and lifted
by the steam engine fi-om the surface of the ground, pre
paratory to being lowered into their former dark abodes,
they manifest, by their vain struggles, a reluctance to the
change. Owing to moisture and absence of light, their
hair is very glossy, resembling the sleek skins of moles.

312 MILL-POND AND WATER WHEEL
Many cargoes of salt raised from this mine have been
shipped from Liverpool to the United States, where it ia
known under the name of " Liverpool Salt," and is exten
sively used by the inhabitants of that country;
After bestowing some fees in return for the civilities we
had received, we pursued our course back to the inn. On
our way, we crossed a small rivej, with a corn-mill upon
its banks. According to the statement of our guide, the
excavations of a neighbouring salt mine are extended even
beneath this mill, and beneath the water-wheel and mill
pond, which are all thus actually supported upon pillars of
salt. After having, ourselves, passed beneath canal-boats,
floating upon the waters of a navigable canal, more than
three hundred feet above our heads, and after having per
sonally examined the pillars of salt, which supported them
there, we had no reason to doubt this statement of our
guide. Near the village of Northwich, I picked up in the road
gome lumps of the crude salt, which had probably been
dropped from one of the loaded carts. Our guide observ
ed, that had the custom-house officers seen us pick up
and carry off such pieces of salt, a few years ago, before
the repeal ofthe salt tax, they would have caused us trou
ble. The rough salt, now worth at the mines three pence,
or six cents, a bushel, was formerly subjected to a duty of
nearly two dollars a bushel. This district of country,
abounding in a material offering great temptations to de
fraud the revenue, was then thronged by custom-house
officers. The price of the refined salt, delivered in Liv
erpool, is now only about twenty cents per bushel:
Extensive works, erected by a joint stock company for
evaporating brine bythe heat of steam, were shown to us.
By this plan, the crystals are formed larger, and the C[ual-
ity of the salt appears superior to that made on the ordi
nary plan.

SALT SPRINGS.— SALT WATERS OF THE OCEAN. 313
The salt mines of Cheshire are more extensively work
ed than those of any other country, not even excepting
the famous salt mines of Poland. From the latter, it ap
pears that only twenty or thirty thousand tons are annu
ally raised, whilst, in England, above one hundred and sev
enty thousand tons are annually produced from the mines
and springs.
The natural salt springs are here deemed valuable, al
though they do not yield a brine so strongly concentrated
as that obtained artificially by mining and dissolving the
mineral salt. One of the springs yielding the strong-
gest brine, it was stated to me, contains nearly a fourth
of its weight of salt in solution. Although in conse
quence ofthe superabundance of water, more fuel may be
required to evaporate the brine ofthe springs, yet as an oft-
set to this charge, the expense of mining and dissolving
the salt is thereby saved. For this reason, the salt springs
at " Salina," in the State of New- York, may perhaps be
deemed nearly as valuable as salt mines, where the masses
of crude salt are to be laid open by deep excavations and
the labors of the miner.
It may be asked by some, why do not' the rains, falling
upon the ground above this soluble salt, penetrate the earth
and dissolve the masses? It might be answered, that the
beds of salt are covered by a coat of stiff clay, which serves
as a sort of roof to preserve them from the wasting action of
the rains, causing the springs which filtei- from the base of
the hills to be very scanty.
These vast beds of native salt doubtless extend in vari
ous parts of the world beneath the sea, the waves of whicli
lave and dissolve them, and the broadly difi"used waters of
the gi-eat oceans become thus converted into brine. It is
well known that this valuable substance is abundantly dif
fused over the various regions of the globe. Crude salt is
found even in the deserts of Africa, and on the mountains
VOL. II, 28

311 STOCKTON RAIL ROAD
of South America, at an elevation of about ten thousand
feet above the level of the sea. In the western regions of
the United States, salt water is very commonly found, when
the earth is bored to the depth of several hundred feet.
Although there may be few ofthe mountains of salt allu
ded to by Mr. Jefferson, yet there are doubtless- hills, west
ofthe Mississippi, principally composed of a substratum of
salt, and covered with a thin barren soil.

STOCKTON nAIL-ROAD,
On our way to Scotland, we slopped to examine the
Stockton and Darlington Rail-Road, which is the^first suc
cessful work constructed expressly for conveying passen
gers as well as goods, between commercial cities. One
cannot refrain from viewing this enterprise with emotions
of deep interest, as tending, more than any invention of
modern times, to bind together the inhabitants of distant
regions. Instead of limiting his views and his travels
to a narrow district of country, the humblest individual
may hereafter mount a railway car, and, moving in his
course as if borne forward by the swift wings of an eagle,
visit the remotest portions of the land in which he lives,
and have within his reach far greater advantages of travel
ling, at a trifling expense, than were possessed by the no
ble and the wealthy of former ages; when a journey from
Liverpool to London was deemed an affair of greater mo
ment than a voyage across the Atlantic is now considered.
While you gaze at the level parallel lines of iron bars,
which extend from the town in a long continuous line,
diminishing as they retreat until lost to view in distant
winding courses, you may imagine you here bqhold the
first great link of the iron chain, that is hereafter des
tined to bind man to man in all quarters of the earth. —
What stranger can refuse his tribute of gratitude to the

COAL MINES OF NEWCASTLE. 315
country that has done so much to enlarge the scope of hu
man happiness by improvements in the useful arts ? And
what American can view these works of Englishmen, with
out experiencing a pride and pleasure, at the reflection,
that he is descended from ancestors of the same common
country 1

NEWCASTLE.
Newcastle, celebrated for its coal mines, next appear
ed in full view from the summit of a lofty hill. The houses
and stores of the town skirt the borders ofthe river Tyne.
The fair fields and green herbage ofthe adjacent country
are sullied by huge dark spots formed by the mounds of
refuse coal and rubbish, raised from the numerous shafts
of coal mines. The heaps of the fine refuse coal, unfit
for market, are of truly surprising magnitude, being in
some instances the accumulated products of the labors of
the miners for nearly an hundred years. Rejected as they
here are, some of theseheaps on the sea board of New^-Eng-
land, might be worth several hundred thousand dollars.
Spontaneous combustion takes place in these vast masses
of bituminous coal, from the decomposition of the pyrites
they contain, when operated upon by the rains and air.
It is found impracticable to apply sufficient water to ex
tinguish the burning heaps, and they are left smouldering
and consuming for years. In the shade of evening, the
light of the fires burning the waste coal is visible ; during
the bright sunshine of mid-day, no fire is discernible, but
a half smothered smoke appears drifting away from the
combustible mounds.
It is necessary to proceed only a short distance from
the town of Newcastle in any direction to find a coal
mine, and to gratify an excited curiosity by a view of the
operations of mining.. Steam engines with smoking chim;

316 DEEP COAL MINES OF NEWCASTLE.
neys mark the spots where the shafts are open, and the
miners are at work, for whose aid they lend their friendly
assistance, to pull up the jet black, glittering masses of
coal, and to pump out the water, which the comparatively
feeble strength of animal muscles would be unable to ef
fect. A large mass of coals is whirled up from the bot
tom of one mine, four hundred and fifty feet deep, in less
than a minute.
The deepest coal mines in England are in the neigh
borhood of Newcastle. One of them is sunk to the ex
traordinary depth of about 800 feet. So compact is the
texture of the superadjacent clayey soil, -that it turns off
the water, which falls on the surface of the ground, into the
rivers ; and so close are the seams of sandstone rocks,
forming the substrata beneath the surface, that at the
depth even of six or eight hundred feet, it was stated to
me, the water oozes very slowly into the mines, to inter
rupt the labors ofthe workmen. The superior quality of
the coal at this great depth tempts the proprietors to urge
the working of the veins, notwithstanding the increased
danger of explosions of car^uretted hydrogen gas, or fire
damp, as it is termed. In the deepest mines, this unseen
danger attends the miner in every branch of the dark
drifts of the mines, where he pursues his labors, swinging
Jiis pick whilst reclining on his side to penetrate and un
dermine the masses of coal, to detach them in pursuing the
course of the veins. Here, by the dim light of the safety
lamp, gleaming through the wire meshes upon the min
eral walls, the miner is destined to spend his daysin break
ing up the coal seams, which appear renewed before him,
as if in exhaustless succession. Two sets of miners are
often employed, who relieve each other in operating, night
and day. After performing their stated tasks, they as
cend to partake of' the comforts above ground which they
liave earned by their persevering labors in the caves be
neath.

COAL TRADE OF NEWCASTLE. 317
The men appear neither enfeebled nor wretched by thi.^
peculiar employment. Human happiness depends rather
upon limited wants and moderate views, than on the
unbounded indulgence of the passions and inclinations.
These miners probably enjoy as much felicity a? ordina
rily falls to the lot of humanity.
Affecting accounts are, however, sometimes recorded of
the distress of widows and orphans, who gather around
the mouth of exploded mines, from which fumes, va
por and smoke slowly ascend after the shock is over. The
dependant families remain ignorant of the fate of their
connexions, until the ventilation of the shaft is effected,
and the senseless bodies are restored to the air. Ninety-
two persons were once killed by the accidental explosion
of the fire-damp in a coal mine near Newcastle. The
violence of the explosive gas jetted forth the implements
and fixtures high into the air from the mouth of the shaft,
like shot from the tube of a gun, and the earth for a con
siderable distance around the mine was sensibly shaken
hy the expansive force ofthe ignited vapors.
During my excursion, I passed some ofthe quarries
from whence the noted English grindstones are obtained,
and exported to all parts ofthe world.
The coal trade of Newcastle is of itself a source of na
tional wealth. London and various other parts of England,
and even of the adjacent continent, derive their supply of
coals from this district,* A multitude of ships of a large
*It has been estimated that more than 50,000 individnals derive em
ployment from the ^vorking ofthe Newcastle coaUmines; and that near
ly 900,000 chaldrons are now' exported yearly to various parts of Eng
land, and to foreign countries. In 1306, the use of coal was forbidden,
by statute laws, in London, fi-om its supposed tendency to corrupt the air.
Some curious calculations ht^ve been made of the extent of the coal
fields of England, and of the probable period when "they will become ex
hausted by the vast consumption for steam engines, as well as for domes»
tic use, and for exportation. In some five or six thousand years, with the
VOL, U 28*

318 EDINBURGH.
size are employed to transport the coals, which are
brought to the verge of the bluffs on the edge of the river
in railway wagons, from which the loads are at once dis
charged into the holds of the vessels, by means of proper
machinery called .shutes, or coal staiths. This business
is considered as furnishing a nursery for seamen, like the
fisheries of tlie United States. Every British seaman who
is the liege subject of his Majesty, is liable to be promoted,
by the aid of press-gangs, from the humble task of serving
customers with coal, to tbe supreme honor of serving on
board ships of war^ whenever it may please the Ministry
to need his death.

EDINBURGH.
On approaching Edinburgh, the traveller is surprised to
find so large a city, apparently so inconveniently situated
at a distance from its harbor, amid glens and towering,
craggy rocks. The cliffs of overhanging precipices rise
high above the roofs of the surrounding houses, some of
which are obscured from sight in the deep valleys between
u=ual increase of population and corresponding demand for this fuel, it has
been supposed tliat the last solitary bucket of coal will be extracted fi-om
its lurking place, and brought to light; and the last dinner pot and tea
kettle will then simmer over it, "like summer evening's latest sigh."
From the data given, and the known deptlis of successive x-eins of coal,
^Uiich have been found underlying one another, it is probable that only a
lit'ilc increase of labor will attend the raising of coal when the upper veins
lici-ome actually exhausted; and that the present generation in Engl.and^
have no cause for the melancholy anticipation that their posterity in tlie
long succession of futiu-e ages, after their coal mines are exhausted, will
o;er be compelled to- gather a few sticks, _as tbe poor widow did fijr Eli
jah, to cook their last meal ; or that flie lively steam-engines will ever
cca.-o to give foith their puffs cfvapoi-y brc.ath, for want of fuel to pro^
ilucc them.

CITY OF EDINBURGH. 319
the various ridges, and some of them, situated on the
slopes of these precipitous hills, are ten or twelve stories
high on the lower side, and only two or three on the up
per side. The abruptness of the declivities maybe inferred
from the cif cumstance of a dwelling-house having ten
tiers of windows more on one side than on the other. —
Each- story, or flat, as it is here termed, is commonly oc
cupied by distinct families of the poorer classes, whose
poverty compels them to live in these airy abodes, where
tliey enjoy few more conveniences of door yards, than if
they lived upon ladders. It is probably for this reason,
that the occupants of the upper floors throw from their
windows into the streets refuse articles so peculiarly an
noying to passengers below. In order to pass from a part
of the city situated upon the top of one of the ridges to
another portion, situated on an adjoining ridge, it was for
merly necessary to descend a steep declivity to the in
terjacent vale, and'to climb up the opposite acclivity. To
obviate this inconvenience, and to facilitate the communi
cation between different parts of the city, stone bridges are
built to span over the dry valleys with great arches, as
over a river. The piers of these bridges descend like- long
legs, stepping carefully between the roofs of the houses,
which are overtopped by the arches. Some few ofthe lof
ty houses in the glens, however, with story piled upon sto
ry, lift their aspiring fronts above the balustrades of the
bridges. The modern part of the city of Edinburgh, called the
Ne>v Town, is built upon a more level tract of ground. —
Here the wealthy citizens have erected splendid edifices.
In order to obtain a distinct view of the general outlines
of a city, the most obvious plan adopted by strangers is to
climb to the summit of some adjacent hill, or into some
church tower. The elevated pinnacle of rocks, called
Arthur's Seat, here offers a' most commanding prospect to

320 EDINBURGH.--PROSPECTS OF SCENERY.
recompense the traveller for climbing the steep ascent.
After gaining the summit of Arthur's Seat, in company
with a Scotch gentleman, and reclining on the splintered
pinnacle.of rocks, we enjoyed, leisurely, a survey, not only
ofthe city, but of a broad region of the adjacent-country.
From the verge of a precipice of several hundred feet' in
perpendicular height, we were enalaled to look down up
on the countless humble roofs of the city, spread over
three ridges of hills, resembling in their undulated peaks
the smaller waves whiclt furrow the huge surges of the
ocean. A long continued street of twO miles in length
appears to connect the inland city of Edinburgh with Leith,
which forms its harbor.
On gazing at the distant landscape, the broad waters,
called the Frith of Forth, dotted with islands and vessels,
and with remote shores populated by villages, are display
ed, like a chart, before the spectator. Extensive districts
of the most fertile fields of Scotland compose the front
ground of this beautiful landscape, whilst the back ground
is closed, on the distant verge of the horizon, by the dusky
forms of the barren Grampian Hills, mingling their misty
outlines with the clouds, with which they become blended.
Whilst we continued here, gazing at these fair scenes,
they seemed to become still more beautiful from the glow
of purple light diffused over the landscape by the setting
sun, at the moment when, as Longinus observes, " he re
mits his splendor but retains his majesty, and pleases more,
though he dazzles less."
Here, for the first time on this side of the Atlantic, I
noticed that the clouds which floated in the deep blue
firmament were tinged with the gorgeous colors so fre
quently observed in the pure atmosphere ofthe American
climate, w^here the broad expanse of the western sky some
times resembles a liquid ocean, having islands of vapor
fringed by borders radiant with the richest hues of erim.
son, scarlet and gold.

UNIVERSITY.— NUMEROUS PROFESSORS. 321
An American in England often finds himself contem
plating, with interest the setting sun, which naturally
turns his thoughts towards his native shores, behind the
western waves. Affected probably by associations some
what similar. Dr. Johnson, on tracing from the top of one
of these hills the far extended road sweeping its wind
ing course towards his home, uncourteously exclaimed,
that " the most pleasing prospect in Scotland, was that
ofthe road to London."
University of Edinburgh We proceeded to the Uni
versity, a modern building, inclosing a spacious interior
open court yard. The four extensive sides measure about
1200 feet in circuit. 'The interior fronts are decorated by
pillars - of hewn stone. The cabinet of natural history
and the library appear to be extensive.
Numerous" workmen were employed on the scaffolds in
completing the fronts of the edifice. The expenses of
construction are defrayed by a grant from Parliament of
^10,000 per annum for seven years, equal in the aggre
gate to about $300,000.
Edinburgh is considered as ranking next to Oxford and
Cambridge, in the number of its literary institutions. In
the University at Edinburgh there are twenty-four Pro
fessors, who teach the various classes, comprising, as a
Scotch clergyman informed me, upwards of nineteen
liundred students, several of whom are from the United
States. The number of the latter will probably be grad
ually diminished, owing to the improving state of the
colleges of the United States. The surgical schools
of Paris possess a great advantage over those of Edin
burgh arid of the United States, in the facility of obtaining
subjects for the dissecting, knife. The inferiority in the
branch of medical instruction in the trans-atlantic schools,
may bg attributed, not to a deficiency of talents in the
American Professors, but to the fact that e^ch Professor

322 MEDICAL SCHOOL.
is compelled, in order to meet the wants ofthe scholars,
to embrace too many branches of the sciences in his lec
tures. By the division of labor, the same superiority is at-
tained here in science, as in manufactures. A medical
student must -pass through the hands of at least six or
eight Professors, before he obtains his degree of Doctor of
Medicine ; but, in the United States, it sometimes happens
that at a college commencement forty or fifty diplomas of
M. D. are granted under the auspices of a single Proffessor.
It is commonly found, that when an individual, even of or
dinary talents, limits the range of his researches, alid ap
plies himself with untiring energy and perseverance to the
investigation of only one branch of science, he may be
come master of what he attempts to, learn, and may even
make brilliant discoveries in science. The high reputa
tion, which the University at Edinburgh has attained, has
also been attributed, in some degree, to the circumstance
that the salaries ofthe Professors and officers, unlike those
paid at Oxford and Cambridge, are too small to support
the incumbents, independently of the private fees which
they receive from the individual scholars who attend the
lectures. The several Professors have thus the greatest
stimulus that can animate men to pursue with zeal and
diligence the callings to which they are devoted ; — the
necessity of providing for themselves and for their families
the means of a comfortable subsistence. By laboring to
render their lectures more attractive, they obtain an in
creased number of students, who pay stated fees for ad
mission. ' The exertions of the Edinburgh Professors, it
is well known, have been attended with eminent success
in producing lectures on various subjects in the depart
ments of scien-ce.' These lectures have been published,
and from their peculiar merits, have been adopted as text
books for the schools and colleges of the United States.
Jn Scotland, due respect is paid to the observance of

HOLY-ROOD HOUSE. 323
the Sabbath, in the regulation of travelling. The hours of
the arrival and departure of the public coaches, are usu
ally stated, in the advertisements and on the sign boards,
to be on " every lawfid day."
Holy-Rood House. This building, celebrated as hav
ing been the scene where some of the most interesting
events recorded in Scottish history took place, early at
tracts the attention of ..the stranger in Edinburgh. It is a
large square stone edifice, resembling a castle, with round
towers at each corner, and crowned with battlements. It
is situated in the suburbs of the city, and the dwelling
houses ofthe inhabitants appear clustered at a respectful
distance from its ancient walls, as if to avoid associating
too closely the works of modern times with those erected
in former ages. On entering the open gateway, a female
inquired, in Uie broad and almost unintelligible Scotch
dialect, if we wished to view the interior of Holy-Rood
House ? The mere mention of this name rouses recollec
tions ofthe history of "Scotland, and of the eventful life of
Queen Mary, who acted so conspicuous a part in these
interesting annals. Following the female, who acted as
guide, I crossed the open court yard in the centre of the
edifice, and commenced the regular course of examina
tion, which so many thousands have done before with nev
er failing interest and excitement.
The guide first conducts the visitant to the sunny atea
ofthe roofless walls of an old chapel, or cathedral church,
which forms a wing of the massy structure of Holy-Rood
House. This church was built, like some other Gothic
churches in England, with arches of stones sweeping in
pointed curves over the interior, and forming a heavy stone
canopy. The lapse of time gradually dilapidated the ma
sonry of the arched roof, and the ponderous materials sunk
down and crushed the altars and monum.ents which they
were intended to protect. After the removal of the rub-

324 HOLY-ROOD CHAPEL.
bisli, the lettered monumental stones, with which the floor
is flagged, exhibited mutilated surfaces, and -from the frer
quent tread of feet, the chiseled inscriptions are nearly ob
literated. In a vault in the corner of this chapel, the guide di
rected her finger toward a common pine or deal box lying
amid the dust, and pierced with numerous auger-holes.
So humble an object being exhibited as a curiosity ahd
presentijig nothing more remarkable in appearance tlian
an ordinary case of merchandise, I lifted one end for the
purpose of examining the contents. >As the dry bones if
contained rattled down in their descent from the elevated
end of the box, the voice of the guide reached my ears,
declaring, that the mysterious contents were the remains
of King James H. of Scotland, and of some other re-
markable'personages. These bones have, been for a long
time exhibited, together with those of Lord Darnley, the
husband of Ctneen Mary, and this spectacle forms a part
of the show for which each visitant pays his, sixpence.
This huihiliating lesson upon the transitory splendor of
kinglj rank, might lead the moralist to reflect how perish
able are the honors paid to man, when the very frame of
a kiflg after death is thus exhibited to the idle multitude
for I paltry fee. Even the most loyal subject, on contem-
plaiing these mouldering remains, might hesitate in his
political creed, and doubt the special favoritism of heaven
il/ bestowing ", divine rights" upon his royal master.
To the picture gallery you are next introduced, where
a formalarray ofthe portraits of the whole line of Scottish
/kings. is displayed upon the walls with their hard features
empanneled in the frames, like those of the head of a Sar
acen on tavern signs. The only inducement one can
here have for pausing to examine the pictures is, to learn
the cause of the direful slashes in the canvass, which ren
der the visages of some of the old kings hideously grin-

PICTURE OF aUEEN MARY. 825
ning, with their mouths enlarged from ear to ear. During
the tumultuouis scenes of the revolution, which once dis
tracted this country, one of the parties, temporarily trium
phant, manifested its hatred to royalty by attacking the
very effigies of crowned heads with trenchant broadswords.
Zeal got the better of gallantry, and even extraordina
ry beauty could riot rescue the picture of^Q,ueeri Mary
from ruthless assault. The pictures have since been
patched up and repainted, and probably have as much re
semblance to the originals, as painted rainbows to the
prismatic hues of nature. Q.ueen Mary's portrait, howev
er, appears to have suffered more from the arts of peace
than from those of war. Our ^uide stated in apologizing
for the absence _of the ruby color of the lips, and the car
nation glow of her lovely cheeks, now supplanted by livid
Spots where the paint has deserted the canvass, that a few
years ago one ofthe domestics, whose duty it was to clean
^ the hall, after having purified by soap suds the floors and
wainscoating, extended the zeal for purification to the very
pictures. Probably mistaking what the connoisseurs clas
sically term the mellow tints of time, for the more obvious
effects of tarnishing smoke and dust, she applied the de
tergent scrubbing brush, to brighten the complexion ofthe
unfortunate queen. This ungentle operation, as might
have been expected, was attended with the most direful
effects, having nearly obliterated all the prominent fea
tures of the human face divine, which had escaped the
hostile blades. Her portrait, having thus suffered more
from the hands of her friends than from those of her ene
mies, now exhibits to the spectator the frightful counte
nance of a scalded beauty, with the loosened gkin parted
and flaking off.
From the picture gallery you follow the guide to the
often described bed chamber of dueen Mary. Here is
carefully preserved the very pillow upon which she press-
voL. II. 29

326 aoLY-ftOOD HOUSE.
ed her cheek whilst warm with the flush of life. The
chairs, and even the small articles of the dressing table
used by the belles of ancient times, remain in their places
as they were left by her. iTime has been busy in making
rents and stripping shreds from every part of the drapery
of the bed curtains, which having been suspended more
than two hundred years, droop in tattered festoons; Some
ofthe other drapery, originally of crimson damask with
silken fringes and tassels, is faded to nearly one uniform
tawny shade. As the soliloquist exclaimed over the heap
of skulls, whatever they once represented, they are all the
same now. The blankets and sheets also exhibit shreds
and rags, which would be in keeping for a state bed for
the " king ofthe London beggars." The guide observes,
that this ragged appearance is in some measure owing to
the depredations of pilfering gentlemen Visiters, not to al
lege any charges against inquisitive female visitants, who
unless closely watched by her, contrive to rend off a few
threads as a relic probably for fair sisters and, cousins, or
lovers, to store away in their fashionable little cabinets of
tfhells, minerals, and herbariums.
Three small rooms formed- the suite of apartments once
occupied by Clueen Mary. Close to the door of one of
them are a narrow passage and stairway communicating
with apartments below'. Through this passage, according
to the narration of the conductress, Darnley and his ac
complices rushed in to murder the Italian, Rizzio, the fa
vorite companion of Mary, whose polished manners and
accomplishments pleased her, when contrasted with the
rude habits of the people amongst vvhom she lived. In
the very presence of Mary he was seized, and was drawn
struggling from the roorii, until a dagger was plunged to
his heart, and his -resistance as well as his agony were
terminated by death. Here the guide, an ol^ lady, by
way of illustrating her narrative, pointed out the verj

APARTMENTS OF QUEEN MARY. 327
stains- of the blood, which gushed from his wounds, and
has remained to this day, upon the lloor. The old lady
stated, that they were the stains of murder, which no
washing could blanch away. Feeling as firm a belief in
the indelible nature of these stains, as in the perpetual liq
uefaction of the blood exhibited by the priests of Rome,
as a portion of the actual current that once flowed in the
veins of St. J^nuarius, and which, it is recorded, becomes
red and vital once a year, I took the pains to examine
these famous spots more critically. To any practised eye
they are readily recognised as being the discolorations of
resinous dark' portions of the wood. The old lady and
her predecessors for two centuries have rehearsed the same
story to thousands of visiters, some of whom probably con
tinue to believe, in truth, with Macbeth, that the crimson
stains of murder cannot be here washed away^ but that
they would rather all the
*' Multitudinous sea incarnadine.
Making tlie green one red." ' <
In reply to questions addressed to the old lady, scruti
nising her belief in the story she was relating about these
spots of blood, she seemed readily to admit the potent vir
tues ofthe vigorous application of soap, but apparently for
the sake of the classic effect ofthe often repeated tale, she
said these " twa bluidy spots" are always shewn to stran
gers, courtesying at the conclusion of her story, and at
the same time extending with a smile her palm for her
usual fee.
Against the 'walls of the apartment are suspended the
helmet and other pieces of armor of lord Darnley, the hus
band of Mary. Specimens of her needle work and em
broidery in small frames are also suspended against the
walls, like the samples ofthe boarding school misses ofthe
last generation in the United States. The very pin cush-

328 HIGH SCHOOL
ion and work-box are lying upon the toilet, where they
have been deposited for ages.
The life of the unfortunate Mary throws a charm over
many a castle that once served as her prison during her
long confinement by a jealous rival queen. The impris
onment .and other wrongs which she so patiently endured
and her death by the axe of a public executioner, soften
the feelings toward her levities, and cause her vices to be
forgotten in pity for her misfortunes. Her interesting
history will long continue " to point a moral, or adojn a
tale."

HIGH SCHOOL.
In company with a gcotch Clergyman, I attended the
examination of the scholars of the High School. We ar
rived at the gate at the moment the magistrates ofthe city
made their appearance, to preside during the, exercises.
The city officers form quite a contrast, by their slender
forms, with the rotund stapes of their turtle fed brethren
of London. They moved with some show and parade, be
ing escorted by subordinate officers dressed in red laced
uniforms, who bore in their hands a sort of fasces or bun
dle of sticks, with the axes in the centre of them, in the
style of the Roman lictors. The School-House, a very
plain building, is divided into five apartments, besides a
great hall, where the boys assemble at prayers. We found
the scholars, in number about five hundred, distributed in
to four classes, in four separate rooms. Each of the four
masters has charge of a class for one year. By this ar
rangement, one of the masters annually opens a new plass,
and the scholars are conducted through the elementary
studies in four years, progressively, A rector or .president
has the general superintendence of the school. The rec
tor and masters receive- the moderate pay of about foUf-

OF EDINBURGH. 329
teen dollars per year for each pupil. They have, however,
in addition, a small stated salary from the city treasury.
The Lancasterian plan of mutual instruction, as one of
the instructers informed us, is only partially adopted for
teaching some of the lower branches.
Most of the time of the scholars of the High School is
devoted to the study of Latin and Greek. The Latin, as
here pronounced, sounds like a different language from
that taught in some parts of the United States ; the A be
ing sounded broad, like R, and the E, like A, following
as nearly as possible the supposed ancient pronunciation
of these vowels. There has been a long dispute carried
on between the English and Scotch universities on the
subject of the Latin pronunciation, the former applying
the common English pronunciation to these vowels, al
ledging the inexpediency of attempting partially to assume
the accent of a dead langusge, which from this very cir
cumstance, must be vague and uncertain. In favor of
the Scotch plan it may be added, that the pronunciation
of the Latin words so nearly approaches that adopted in
France, that the scholars ofthe two countries can with fa-
cilitjr understand each other, and converse in Latin, which
Gould not be the case when the common English pronun
ciation of the vowels is used.
The scholars commit to memory, and repeat considera
ble portions of the works of the standard Latin authors,
and spend also much time in composing Latin verses. Af
ter the close ofthe examination, prizes of elegantly bound
books were distributed with due form by the presiding
officer, accompariied by a short complimentary address to
the happy candidates. The prizes being all distributed,
the scholars were dismissed for their annual vacation of
six weeks. This expected intelligence was received by
the little fellows with eyes sparkling with pleasure at the
idea of returning to their homes. Their joy, indeed, seem=
VOL. II, 29*

330 HERIOT'S HOSPITAL.
ed to overcome all their sense of subordination and school
discipline, for they arose from their seats, clapping their
hands, and huzzaing with deafening shouts. Thfe little
scholars then gathered up their books, buckled their leath
er straps around them, and threw them over their should
ers as they proceeded from school.

HERIOT S HOSPITAL.
The examination being terminated, we took a short walk
to Heriot's Hospital. This building being flanked with
towers, and surmounted with battlements, we could hardly
avoid supposing that we were entering some powerful old
castle. The cost of this castellated structure, was about
f 125,000. It measures about 160 feet on each of the four
fronts, and encloses an open square in the centre. In a
niche or recess in the wall is an effigy ofthe founder; George
Heriot, a goldsmith, which, as our guide states, is annual
ly crowned with flowers by the boys of the institution, on
the birth-day of their benefactor. It is a charitable insti
tution for the reception of poor children, rather than a hos
pital, as the name implies, there being 180 boys entirely
supported and instructed from the funds ofthe establish^
roent. They are received between the ages of seven and
ten, and dismissed at fourteen. The charity extends be
yond the walls of the institution, as the boys, who are put
out as apprentices, are allowed annually about £6 ; and
others, whose talents render them candidates for one of
the learned professioris, are allowed £S0 per year for four
years, "" _
This is indeed a magnificent institution, which has^grown
out of the' passion for firiery of the old fashioned beauties of
the Court of James VI. to wbom Heriot was jeweller— a
sort of appointment even at the present day, that is regard-
ed in England as making the fortune of the happy trades-

MANUFACTURER TO HIS MAJESTY. 331
men, who may have an order from his Majesty for a coat,
a coach, or a razor. The order is in the pride of their
hearts suspended from their walls in gilt frames, and their
signs are. soon decorated with the crown and the lion ram
pant, vvith the addition of "manufacturer to his majesty."
Even a sign is still to be read on a conspicuous building,
which we have frequently passed in the Strand, London,
that claims the proud and enviable distinction of " Bug
Killer to his majesty."
We were conducted to a neat little chapel for prayers,
and through the clean and airy apartments for sleeping,
and the kitchens.
There are many other public charitable institutions and
hospitals in Edinburgh, whichrare both an honor and orna
ment fo the city. The jail at the foot of Calton Hill, is also
built with towers resembling those of an old castle — a style
of building which seemsto find favor in this land of castles
and feudal lords.
Sportsmen. Our hotel is enlivened by the presence of
numerous sportsmen, with their servants, guns and fishing-
tackle, and the yard is occupied by dogs of all sizes, who
live together in a belligerent state. These sportsmen are
proceeding on their migratory excursion to the north of
Scotland, where grouse and other game abound. By
statute la.ws enacted for the preservation of game, the
hunting season commences on the i2th of August, after
which the sportsmen are in motion. They take their
seats within public coaches, and their servants are mount
ed over their heads on the roof, with their dogs, who sit
erect, with ears pricked up, apparently enjoying the pros
pects elevated upon their giddy stations. The' coaches,
on returning from the north, are freighted with the spoils
ofthe sportsmen, packed up in little boxes, which are des
patched as presents to distant friends. The work of de-

332 SPORTING EXCURSION TO SCOTLAND.
struction of the game is not discontinued even when the
weather is too warm to allow of transportation ofthe bird^
to the tables of the consumers ; for the sportsmen, as a
gentleman, who has been long in the habit of visiting the
North of Scotland in pursuit of game, stated to me, destroy
as many grouse as they can with the vain-glorious ambi-
tion of excelling their competitors in the number produced
from the bags on each returning evening. This gentle
man observed, that he, had seen at one time two hundred
brace of grouse thrown to the dogs.
The heathy mountains' and highlands of Scotland af
ford a favorite shelter to game, whilst the rivers afford also
a favorite retreat to the salmon. The duke of Gordon,
as our informant stated, leases his salmon-fishery on the
river Spey at the annual rental of about .£7000, or nearly
35,000 dollars. The distant markets of England are
abundantly supplied from the rivers of Scotland with this
fish, packed. in ice for transportation. The salmon, indeed,
seems to be more common than any other sort of fish upon
the tables of the hotels, apparently giving some appear
ance of truth to the often repeated story that it was in an-
cient times usual to insert a clause "in the indentures of
apprentices, that they should not be compelled to eat sal«
mon more than five or six times in the week,
Excursion to the Highlands of Scotland.
On arriving at New-Haven, a snfall port on the south
shore of the Frith of Forth, about three miles from Ed
inburgh, we found the steam boat in readiness to depart
for Stirling. The rising sun was just tinging with its
ruddy hues of light the tops of Salisbury Craigs and Ar
thur's seat, as we looked back upon the fair scenes we
were about leaving for ever. As we sailed up the bay
toward Stirling, we occasionally passed beautiful country

MANUFACTURE OF ALKALI. 333
seats, or rather palaces, embosomed among tufts of foliage,
upon the slopes ofthe hUls. An old castle, towering above
the tops ofthe trees, or standing in solitary grandeur upon
the naked promontories, often excites a momentary inter
est, particularly when its name happens to be familiar to
the ear as connected with some event in history — Clack
mannan tovfer,- once the residence of Robert Bruce, and
Alloa house or castle, and numerous villages in turn
attract the eye of the passenger, and serve to contribute
to the pleasure of a water excursion upon the beautiful bay.
We saw many persons engaged in collecting the sea
weed, or kali, that drifts upon the beach, which they burn
to make kelp, an article much used in the manufacture
of soap, instead of potash. The salts termed alkali derive
their name from this plant. The steam and smoke min
gled together ascend in sluggish volumes, from numerous
piles arranged along the sandy shore, mounting high in
the air before the vapor becomes dissipated, and forming
gracefill wreaths as the light breeze wafts it away over the
waters. Upon the left we passed Falkirk, and the Carron
iron works about two miles beyond it. Near this place are
the remains of the Old Rorhan Wall, constructed to pro
tect the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of the
island from the attack of the more warlike people of the
bleak highlands. The immense labor of the work may
be estimated from the magnitude of the dimensions of the
ditch, which is stated to have been twenty feet deep, forty*
seven feet wide, and thirty-four miles long.
Several of the passengers landed from the steamboat
about a mile and a half from Stirling to walk across the
fields to the town, as the navigation ofthe winding chan
nel become very tedious, a circuitous voyage of several
piiles being necessary to gain only one mile in a direct
Course by land.
Upon approaching tbe town of Stirling, the castle is one

334 EXCURSION TO THE
ofthe most conspicuous objects, standing high on the hill,
and making a gallant show of walls and battlements. The
town is situated upon the hill side below the castle, and
affords but Tittle interest or amusement to a stranger, ex
cept what he may derive from the anecdote that is usually
related of the old town treasurer, who kept his accounts
pretty much in the way John Gilpin managed with his bot
tles of wine to preserve the " balance true." He hung an
old boot upon each side of the chimney piece ; into one of
them he put all the money he received, and into the other
all the vouchers of his payment. At the end ofthe year,
he struck his balance by emptying the boots and counting
the money left in the one, and the amount of vouchers con
tained in the other.
Ascending the hill to the gate of Stirling Castle, a soldier
in a highland dress, made his appearance, and offered his
services as a guide. His kilt of checked plaid, and naked
knees, and bonnet oreap covered with a profusion of black
plumes, that nodded at every step, seemed to carry me back
in imagination to the " old.en time," when this dress was
the common costume, and when Scottish Kings held their
royal courts within the walls of this, old fortress. It con
tributes very much to the effect produced by viewing an
ancient castle, the gray and mossy walls of which are
crumbled by the storms that have beat upon them for ages,
to see the very sentinel on his post in the same costume
worn by his predecessor who walked his weary round in
former times. The existence of this costume among the
highlanders, of itself naturally leads the moralizing visiter
into reflections upon the strange mutability of time, which
has spared, what in most nations is considered as of mere
ephemeral existence— the fashion of dress, to survive in
this country as the only monument of its proud invaders,
even after that nation, once styled the mistress of the
world, has ceased to exist. The cold hills of Scotland, it

HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND. 335
is said, contain the only remnant of the Roman costume,
while the only vestige of the Latin tongue is found amortg
the remote wilds of Poland. The appearance of the bare
knee and of the dress, generally, is not unbecoming. The
soldiers wash their knees, which are exposed to view, as
regularly as they do their faces, every morning.
I mounted one ofthe highest towers of the Castle, and
while leaning over the weather-beaten battlement, the high-
lander pointed out the most interesting objects in the land
scape below, that lay spread around us like a panorama.
Upon one side the river Forth appears winding through a
vast broad plain, diversified by chequered squares of green
meadows, and fields of yellow grain, clumps of trees and
small villages. Looking back, at a remote distance, upon
the course I had pursued, the towns along the shores of
the bay as far as Edinburgh are distinctly visible ; and
upon the other hand the huge misty outlines of the distant
highlands rise in irregular groups upon the edge of the
horizon. The highlander pointed out in succession the
bald summits of Ben Lodi, Ben Lomond, Ben Vorlick,
and half a dozen other Bens. Near that hill beyond the
trees, he observed, is the field of Bannockburn, upon which
was fought the celebrated battle between an English army
of one hundred thousand men, and a Scottish army of on
ly thirty thousand men, under the command of Robert
Bruce : In that valley the followers ofthe camp were sta
tioned with the baggage. During a critical part of the
action, when the English line was wavering, they made
their way to the top of yon hill, actuated by an anxious
curiosity to see the battle. The English conceiving them
to be a fresh body of troops advancing to the attack, were
seized with a sudden panick and fled. In the history of
those times, it is stated that this was the most disastrous
defeat ever sustained by the English nation, their loss being
rated at thirty thousand men, and seven hundred knights

336 STIRLING CASTLE.
and noblemen, while the Scottish army was enriched by
the wealth found in the English camp, and by the ransom
ofthe prisoners.
In a small meadow just below the castle are semicircu
lar banks of turf, arranged in the form of the seats of an
amphitheatre, with an elevated mound in the centre. Here
were once held, as the guide informed me, the tournaments,
in which armed knights encountered'each other with all
the zeal of chivalry, in presence of Kings and their courfly
trains, while the fairest ladies of the land witnessed their
valor and rewarded them with their smiles. I could al
most in my " minds eye" see their steel clad forms upon
the greensward, and the motley assembly of old fashioned
beauties arranged in circles upon the half rounded banks
of turf. I remained with my eyes fixed upon this fairy
spot, almost expecting to see the bright lance and helmet
rise from the long grass that was waving and rustling in
the wind, until I was aroused by a jog of the elbow from"
the highlander. Following with my eye the direction of
his finger, as he poihted to the side of a large stone build
ing forming apart of the castle, I beheld instead of knights
and ladies, an immense stone statue of the Devil, carved
with a faithful representation of all his attributes of ugli
ness, standing on a pedestal connected with the outer wall
of the building. I had often heard of the devil as an act
ual character, and had frequently even seen his picture,
but never before beheld his full length statue. Several
figures also carved in stone are arranged against the wall
upon each side of his Statanic Majesty.
A chamber of the castle is still called "Douglas'
room" in which James II. murdured the Earl of Douglas.
The King having endeavored in vain to withdraw this no
bleman from a rebellious association in which he was en
gaged with other noblemen, in a moment of anger stabbed

CASTLE OF DOUNE. 39t
him with his sword. In allusion to this historical fact, is
made the apostrophe in the Lady of the. Lake :
*' Ye .towers within whose'circuit'dread '^ ,. -(
A Douglas by his sovereign bled*"
Having completed the survey of the various buildings
enclosed within the embattled walls of the castle, I de-
sOended to the inn, and took a post chaise for Callander,
distant sixteen miles. The road follows the banks of the
river Teith, that issues from. Loch Catrine. We passed
several elegant country peats, which formed a striking
contrast with the more niane'rous humble thatched cottages.
As we, approached the village of Doune, the castle of
the, same name appeared to rear its roofless walls and tow
ers above the tufts of trees which surround its b'ase. This
castle is said to be one ofthe most stately ruins of old ba
ronial magnificenoe in Scotland. The, yvails are very
massy and strong, being at least ten feet thiek, arrd foj:ty
feet high. As an evidenbe of the style of splendor, and of
the good cheer, which pnce prevailed in this old castle, it
may be,stated that the hall, in which the feasts were served,
measures about feixty feet by tbirty. The whole side of
the kitchen formed one immense fire plaee,--'the front of
which is supported by a stone arch: A narro\v flight of
steps descends from one of the rooms by a subterraneous
passage to a dungeon dimly ligbted by the few rays that
enter through a hole in the stone arch of the roof The
ideal picture of Sterne's dungeon is here surpassed by re
ality. The miserable captive would never feel here the
"western breeze fan his blood."
After leaving Doune, the prospects of the country be
come more bleak .and desolate, and the broom and heather,
characteristic of highland scenery, begin to appear com
mon on the barren hill sides. As we continued to advance,
the cultivated patches along the road side becariie more
rare, and the poverty of the soil seems^to produce a cor-
voL. II.' 30

338 CALLANDER.— YOtTTHFUL ^OURlST.
responding poverty in the appearance of the lonely hovels,
On arriving at the. village of Callander, the Grampians ap
pear in broken ranges, near at hand, with bold towering,
summits partially covered with moss, and a thin green
turf, in spots where ihere is sufficient soil to maintain
verdure. The village of Callander is composed of one street, with
low stone cottages. I am informed by a gentleman whom
I met here that the principal proprietress of .the place, a
lady of large fortune, is in the habit of conferring premi
ums fOr cleanliness andjieatness upon the cottagers, fbr
the purpose of stimulating them to improvement. From
the external appearance of the door yards, there is evi
dently much reason for her kind eX;ertions.
At the inn at wbich I stopped, a small lad was seated
alone at his dinner, whose appearance at once prepossess
ed me in his favor. His knapsack lay upon the table
near him, He "informed me, upon entering into conversa
tion with him, taat he. was taking a tour on foot among
the highlands, and that he had already been from home
above a week on his excursion. Findirig that he intended
to proceed to the Trosacks, about ten miles, on foot, al
though he had already walked twenty miles since morning,
I could not refuse his invitation "to accompany him. . Af
ter dinner, he was in a few moments equipped for his jour
ney, with, his little green oiled silk kriapsack upon his
back, and his umbrella in his hand.
We proceeded in the first instance to view the pass of
Leney, one of the grand entrances among the highlands,
between two lofty mouritains. The river rushes through
-this mountain pass, whitened into foam by numerous cas
cades, forriiing a striking contrast -with the black and
gloomy sides of the impending mountains. ' This spot pro
bably derives its celebrity from the wild and solitary grand
eur of the scenery, no habitation or vestige of cultivation

SCENERY DESCRIBED IN THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 339
being visible among the woods upon.the abrupt cliffs. —
Many S torrent dashes through the defiles of the solitary
mountains of the United States, ' without being particular
ly noticed by the tourist, probably possessing more roman
tic beauty than this place. In England, however, where
the improvements of ages have scarcely left a spot uncul
tivated, and where wild scenery is considered of itself in-
\ teresting from the rarity of it, this spot possesses many
chfli'ms. Returning from the pass of Leney, we crossed the river,
and soon came to the southern branch ofthe Teith, that
flows from Loch Catrine. A bridge has been built here ;
but it still bears the name of Coilantogle Ford, where Fitz
James encountered Roderick Dhu. We passed around
the base of Ben Lodi, which shoots up its pinnacle to an
elevation of 3000 feeit, and pursued an unfrequented road
along the north shore of Loch Vennachar. This small
lake is about four miles long and half aniile broa^, resem
bling a broad river between two ranges "of mountains, that
rise abruptly from the water's edge. The surface, unrippled
by a breeze, reflected the impending scenery of inverted
rocks and trees. After leaving lock Vennachar, we next
skirted along the shore of Lock Achray, a pretty little
lake or pond as it would be called in the United States,
containing several islets. Near this place was the gath
ering of Clan Alpine. The vivid descriptions in the Lady
of the Lake, almost lead one still to ' look behind the
tufts of broom and bushes for the armed men who lay in
ambuscade behind them, and started up at once at the
whistle of Roderick Dhu to surprise Fitz .James,
" Instant-thro' copse and heath arose
Bonnets and spears, and bended bows.;
On right, on left, above, below,
Sprimg up at once, the lurking fbe j
Prom, shingles grey their lancea start,
The bracken bush sends forth the dart,

340 MOUNTAIN PASSES OF THE HIGHLANDS.
The rushes and the willow wand
Are bristling into axe and brand,
And every tuft of broom gives life
To plaided warrior arm'd for strife."
Upon one shore of the lake, the mountain sides are
thinly covered with stunted trees and bushes, and the
rocks have only a little moss and heather scattered in
green patches upon them. The soil is too poor, and the
precipices are too abrupt to allow of cultivation, or even of
pasturage for cattle, except in the bottom of some ravine,
or on the narrow strips of ground upon the immediate
shore of theJake. Turning a small promontory that juts
into the lake, we at once obtained a full view of Ben An,
and Ben Venue, separated by the mountain pass of the Tro
sacks. The shades of twilight rendered the outlines of
their huge blag^ forms indistinctly visible, swelling against
the heavens. It was just at the moment described in the
Lady of the Lake, when
'*The western waves of ebbing day
'Wav'd o'er the .glen their level ray:
Each purple peak, each flinty spire
'Was bathed in floods of living fire.
But not a setting beam could glow,
'Within the dark ravine below,
'Where twined the path, in shadow hid,
'Round many a rocky pyramid.
Shooting abruptly fromJhe dell
Its thunder-splintered pinnacle."
The pass between these two mountains seems almost
bloeked up by fragments of rocks and knolls tumbled to
gether in wild disorder, and various fantastic shapes, " the
fragments of a nether world." The meaning of the word
Trosack, is said to be a rough region of country, a term
that is appropriately applied to so wild a spot; This pass
of the Grampians, it is stated, is une^iualled by any other
part of the highland scenery for sublimity and grandeur.
Ben Venue is 2800 feet high, and Jen An is still higher ;

EXCURSION ON LOCH CATRINE. 341
presenting on either hand a, wall of rocks, resembling pre
cipices piled on precipices, to an elevation equal to that of
the summit Of the Alleghany mountains. There appears
to be Some resemblance between this pass and one of the
passes ofthe Alleghany mountains in the vicinity of Bed
ford, where the Warrior mountain abruptly terminates, al
most overhanging the waters of the river, arid the chain of
mountains rises again in broken ridges. The American
tourist, who has vievved the wild scenery ofthe pass ofthe
White mountains in -his native land, has contemplated
more magnificent cliffs of towering rocks than those ofthe
celebrated pass of the. highlands of Scotland. But poets
are "yet wanting to impart to American scenery the charm
and interest which are here felt in. beholding rocks and
glen's. The American mountain- scenery is riot destitute
of trees, as here, but the forests are so dense, that in sum
mer they resemble mountains of foliage.
At the Trosacks, we lodged at a comfortable inn on the
lake shore. In company with a small party of gentlemen,
who had arrived at the inn the preceding day, we engaged
two boatmen to row .us to Ellen's Island, and across Loch
Catrine. Walking nearly a mile among the defiles of in
sulated crags and knolls, we found several boats hauled
up on the shore. The boatmen soon launched one of
them, and we glided rapidly along the headlands and bays
of Loch Catrine " with its waters blue." This lake is
narrow, bordered by steep rocky banks, covered with
bushes and trees. We seemed to advance into a perfect
solitude, or wilderness,' as not a single house or vestige of
cultivation was in sight upon the shores. After being
rowed in the boat two or tbree miles, we approached a
small island of about half an acre in extent, with steep
rocky sides, entirely covered with low trees, brakes and
bushes, whose tangled branches formed a dense mass of
foliage, overarching the island. Passing around a small
VOL. 11. 30*

342 ISLAND AND COTTAGE
angle of the rock, under the branches of an old oak, leaning
almost horizontally over the water, the boatmen forced
the bow ofthe boat upon the sand, in a small landing place
between the rocks. One of the party inquired at what
place we vyere about to land. The boatman, as he raised
his arm to his face to brush away with his shirt sleeve
the perspiration that stood in drt^s upon his forehead,
replied, " this is Ellen's Island," in a tone of voice some
what rufl[ied by fatigue. I immediately re'cogflised this to
be the landing place of Ellen and Fitz. James, described
in the Lady of the Lake.
I must confess that I was not prepared, by the descrip
tion of the light movements of the skiff, I'owed by the Lady
of the Lake with so mnch sportive ease, to imagine that
it could be hard work tarow a boat upon.Looh Catrine.
The appearance of these hardy highlanders, with the drops
of perspiration trickling down their cheeks from the labor
at the oars, was a most unwelcome check upon the roman
tic feelings with which I had just began to be excited, on
reaching this wild spot. Indeed, if the Lady of the Lake
was accustomed to make frequent trips upon the water in
her skiff, light as it might have been, and'diverted herself
with this exercise, it cannot but be - supposed that .Fitz
James, her lover, when he ventured affectionately to press
her hand, must have found it marvellously hard from row
ing. Notwithstanding this chilling commencement, we
landed with much interest upon the island, to make the
tour of it, scrambling . among the tangled bushes, some-
tiaies passing over dry ground and rocks, and sometimes
through mud and mire, with tufts of brake .around us as
high as our heads.
Coming to a point of the island, we all stopped involun
tarily to admire the towering summit of Ben Venue, that
rises abruptly, from the shore, ¦ opposite the island, to- the
height of nearly three thousand feet. Its rocky sides, are

OF THE LADY OF THE LAKE. 343
iodented with ravines, with trees and bushes adhering to
the crevices, into which their twisted roots are insinuated.
The gray bald rocks upon the summit are partially cover
ed, like the other mountains, by the green heather and
moss. Across the water, upon the opposite side of the
lake, the " thunder splintered-pinnacles"' of Ben An arise
in tiers of precipices to an equal altitude.
After we had completed the circuit of the island, we
visited -a small rustic hut upon the middle of it, entirely
overshaded by trees, which screened it from view until we
came near it. The building is constructed in the log-
house style of architecture, with the exception of the size
of the material employed, Vvhich resembles white birch
bean poles"; the poles being laid upon each -other horizon
tally to form the sides, Instead W glass, the windows are
furnished with semi-transparent parchment, stretched up
on twigs to secure it. Finding the door half open, as if
inviting us- to enter, we proceeded to view the interior of
this singular edifice.
,The middle of the large single room of the interior is
occupied by a Jong table, upon which various pieces of ar
mor, such as helinets and targes, are lying confusedly to
gether, and near them the common weapons once used in
highland warfare, such as Lochabar axes, lances and broad
swords. Benches, constructed of the branches of trees,
in rustic, style, are arranged around the sides ofthe room,
covered with the skins of deei:, with soft cushions of moss.
The vvalls are covered with . deer skins, with the fur or
hair outwards, like rude tapestry hangings. Skins of wild
cats,, and of several other animals, large antlers;, and other
trophies of the chase decorated parts of the walls. The
trunk of a small tree, placed in the centre ofthe building,
served to sustain the roof with its wide spread branches
radiating in every direction. The branches from some of
the acljacent, trees,- having been introduced through the

344 "WILDNESS OF HIGHLAND SCENERY.
roof, formed a verdant ceiling of foliage. The fireplace
and chimney were constructed also of poles, protected how
ever from the action of the fire by a coat of clay. I could
have easily imagined myself in one- of tlie log houses of a
pioneer of our forests, bad not the fantastic decorations re
minded me that tlris whole structure was merely intended
to realize a poet's dream. It was erected by a neighbor
ing nobleman, who has thus generously contributed to the
amusement ofthe visiters ofthe scenery of the lake.
The water of Loch Catrine is not so bright and clear
as that of several, of the American lakes. Lake George is
much celebrated for its crystal waters, which are almost as
transparent as air itself It seems a.s if the -voyager upon
this lake were suspended in' his boat over the rocks and
abysses that appear so'distinct to the eye. Every move
ment ofthe fish may also be plainly discerned bythe fish
erman, at a great depth, as they play about the hook, or
seize the fatai bait. After completing the survey of the
island, we gathei-ed a few leaves from " the oak that jutted
from the islef rock," before leaving the island, to take with
us as relics, as is usually done by all visitants to this spot.
The lower branches ofthe oak have been thus nearly strip
ped of leaves to supply the port folios of strangers.
From Ellen's Island we sailed several miles to the-west
end of the lake. On our passage, which was rendered
tiresojne arid laborious to the boatmen by a head wind, we
had an opportunity of viewing the picturesque scenery
upori the shores. There is but little uniformity in this
lake scenery. An ever varying succession of rude forms
seems justly to have given to the pass ofthe Trosacks the
celebrity it has acquired, as being "one of the boldest
passes ofthe Grampians, and wildest spots in Scotland."
Loch Catrine is about twelve miles long, and on an av
erage about a mile and a half broad, embosomed betwfeen
rancres of mountains, whose jutting rocks form many bold

POVERTY OF THE HOVELS OF HIGLANDERS. 345
promontories, and irregular bays. The water is four hun
dred and ninety feet deep in the deepest place, as the oars
men informed us, and never freezes in vvinter. The char
acteristic scenery of these Scottish lakes appears to be a
rugged wildness of huge mountains, among which a cot
tage, with a few acres of ground cultivated around- it,
is occasionally seen. The principal beauty to the eye of
an Eriglish tourist, consists in the native wildness of flood
and mountain, where
*' O'er rocks -piled on rocks, the eagle
Flaps his resounding wings ath\ytirt the sky."'
The boatmen lashed the portmanteaux, belonging to
our party, upon their baclis, to transport them about five
miles to Inversriaid Mill, upon the shore of Loch Lomond.
We passed several streams rushing from the glens of the
mountains, and leaping down from rockto rock, until they
seemed to rest under a sheet of foam in the tranquil bo
som ofthe lake, that exhibits only a few circling ripples
around the spots in which the waters plunge.
Feeling a curiosity to see ' the interior of some of the
poor hovels, built of loose stones and covered with thatch,
I entered one of them for this purpose., and asked for a
draughtof water. The thin, blue, peat smoke was issuing
from the front door as I approached it, and from every
crevice of the roof Immediately on entering, I found my
self at the heels of a cow, the front door of the hovel open
ing into her apartment, which served at the same time for
the principal way of entrance to the only furnished room
ofthe house. This room seemed to be at once the parlor,
kitchen, and bed room. A"n old lady -was busily employed
over a peat fire in preparing some vVool for combing, for
making worsted for plaids. - The smoke- ascended in ed
dies to the roof, and partially escaped through a hole in the
thatch; for in order to prevent, the drops of rain falling
perpendicularly, and , extinguishing the fire, the hole in

346 FURNITURE OF A HIGHLAND COTTAGE.
the thatch is not made directly above the. hearth. The
old lady suspended her employment as I entered, and rais
ing herself, viewed me attentively to ascertain my wishes.
The color of her countenance was sallow, or rather'of a
saffron shade, from the effect of the con'Stant smoke, or
peetreek, as it is here called. Her small, grey eyes appear
ed sunk in their sockets, as if they had retreated there from
the smoke that must perpetually offend them. She was
truly hospitable, offering me some buttermilk instead of
water. The sharp acid of the liquid, together, with the
smoke ofthe room, caused tearS to start from my eyes while
the mug v/as at my lips.
Having bestowed a small gratuity- and thanked her for
heriospitality, I took a hasty glarree at the furniture of
her apartment A sort of bunk, built of boards, served for
a, bedstead in one corner, and a few earthen di.shes, tubs,
and pots, with a ru&ely made case of drawers, seemed to
coristitute all the worldly gear'belonging to the hovel.
The floor was of earth or mud,.hardened by frequent tread.
The inmate, however, appeared cheerful and, quite con
tented with her humble lot. The opposite door of th§
room Ifed into the sheep fold, where the flock is kept in
winter. Most of the bovels we passed are built upon the
same plan, having a stable at one end, and the dwelling
room opening . info it. Healthy little children appeared
seated at the doors, eating their bannocks or parrich, made
of oatmeal. The former somewhat resembles what is call
ed in New-England, an, Indian journey cake, or Johnny
cake, and the latter., hasty pudding or mush. Oats, in
truth, seem to form the principal constituent of the bread.
Having stopped at a cottage to inquire the way to In
versnaid Mill, where the steamboat upon Loch Lomon4
touches, in her daily passage up the lake, we were answer*
ed by a shake ofthe head, and some Gaelic words, which
gave us to comprehend tha^ the English language was not

COSTUME.— KILT AND BUSKINS. 34'7
understood. Most of the highlanders whom I have met
speak the Gaelic, 'when conversing with each other, and
make use of the English ¦ only, when they address those
who de riot understand their native tongue.
We- passed on the road several highlanders, clad in their
plaids, kilts, and buskins. Where the kilt is not worn,
there still seems to be a prevailing attachment to the plaid,
as an article of dress, the coats, vests, or pantaloons being
made of it.
Observing a group of boys, in the dress of the country,
seated on a bank beneath some trees, by a bribe of a few
-pence, we prevailed upon one of them to allow us to ex
amine the mode of arranging the kilt. With some diffi
dence, and after a little shytiess, the lad fairly exhibited
his garment, remaining " sans cullottes" during this novel
sort 6f investigation. The kilt appears to be only a nar
row strip of plaid tied around the waist like a petticoat,
and entirely open at the , bottom. We all agreed that it
must be a marvellously, cold dress for winter, affording but
little protection by its scanty drapery from the eddying
winds.* .
We met a party on foot-crossing from Loch Lomond to
Loch Catrine. Among the number, my little travelling
companion recognised a fellow-student of about the same
age as himself, who had also a small knapsack upon his
- * During the latfe war between England and the United States, tlie" of
ficers of a highland- regiment, stationed in Canada, attempted to persist in
Wearing then- kilts — tlte peculiar dress pf the regiment, m that inclement
climate, and to bi-ave the severe frosts of a Canadian winter with their
legs exposed bare, as usual, to tlie keen winds. Notwithstaniling they had
firm hearts, they betrayed -at times, when tlie field was near zsro, invol
untary un-soldier like shivering fits, as they attended the ladies on the pub
lic promenades, or walked , about with legs stiS' and pui-ple like those of
turkey cocks', .ifter a council of war-, it was deemed expedient to aban
don winter campaigns in their national costume, and to retreat each tp
snug winter quarters witliin a comfq;-table pair of breeches.

34S EMIGRATION FROM SCOTLAND.
back, and a portfolio under his arm, filled with specimens
of various mountain flowers. They Seemed mutually de
lighted, at their unexpected meeting, being classmates in
the same school. This little fellow bad-combined a bot-
anising research with a stroll on foot among t]ie highlands.
It is truly surprising to meet two lads of fourteen years of
age, travelling- on foot two hundred miles, without a friend
to accompany and protect them. This early inclination
to explore the hills and mountains of their native country,
will lead them in riper years to roam abroad, beyond the
borders of Scotland, to explore other countries, or perhaps
to seek their fortunes in foreign lands. It becomes, indeed,
.a matter, of less surprise,. that the Scots are a roving peo
ple, when one observes at how early an age this propensi
ty for roaming is acquired.
There is a remarkable change of manners and habits
observable in travelling, only thirty or forty miles north
wardly of Edinburgh and Glasgow, .where the highlands
commence. The wealth . and refinements, of the capital
cities, of Scotland do not extend their influence among
the cold mountains, whose ungrateful soil barely yields a
scanty supply of milk, oatmeal and potatoes, to sustain the
hardy people who dwell among them. It is from these
barren districts that the principal part of the emigration to
America takes place. Few are tempted to desert the fer
tile vales ofthe Clyde and Forth, or the districts south of
them. The emigrants from this quarter are generally
poor, and are encumbered with- but little '^gear" on their
arrival in tbe United States. For this reason, an erro
neous opinion prevails in t^e United States of the poverty
of the whole country. — This opinion is riot warranted
by fact Thevvalleys of the Forth and Clyde rival in fer
tility most parts of England ; and for the amount of popu
lation, Scotland must be considered as a Conntry rich in

SOIL AND CLIMATE. 349
resources^ containing a people as enterprising and indus
trious, as exists in any part ofthe world. The population
of Scotland, in 1821, was rated at 2,100,000 persons, about
one third part of that of Ireland ; yet the productive land
of Scotland, is estimated by Sir John Sinclair at only five
millions of acresj out of the nineteen millions of acres, which
it contains ; while Ireland contains seventeen millions of
acres of fertile productive land, out of twenty-one millions.
The tonnage of Scotland in September, 1824, amounted
to 266,975 tons, and that of Ireland to only 73,293 tons.
Scotland doubled its population in fifty-one years, but
Ireland has doubled in forty years. The United States far
surpasses both in the rapid increase of their population,
the number of inhabitants being on an average doubled in
the short term of twenty-nine years.
The poverty of the soil and the coldness of the climate
render it necessary for the inhabitants of the north of
Scotland to use their utmost exertions to obtain the means
of a scanty subsistence. In Ireland, a more fertile soil
and milder .climate favor the subsistence of the laboring
classes of the peasantry, A few days' exertion will pro
vide a shelter from the storms of winter, and in general a
supply of potatoes and salt may be readily obtained to.-
support life. The Irish peasant seems frequently to look
forward no further than to procure a supply for his daily
wants. The rigors of a Scottish winter, and the stinted
harvests of a Scottish summer, require the unremitted ex
ertions of the poor highlander throughout the year, to pro
vide food and shelter for his family. When at last from
necessity he is compelled to change his country for bright-'
er skies, and amore favored soil, upon some foreign shore,
he carries with him to his adopted country his well fixed
habits of industry, and rigid economy ; which rarely fail
of rendering him successful. The Irish emigrant, on the
VOL. II. 31

350 EMlGRAT'lON To UNlffiD STaTES.
contrary, accustomed to look forward only from day toda^
when in a land of plenty, too often squanders the surplus of
his gains, which may remain after his immediate wants
are supplied.
The Scotch emigrants, after arriving in the United
States, exhibit a remarkable contrast of sober habits and
well directed industry with the dissolute habits of most of
the Irish emigrants, who become, wherever tbey go, hewers
of wood and drawers of water. Scarcely a turnpike road
or canal is constructed in the United States, where an
Irish emigrant does not appear with a shovel in his hand,
or a hod on his shoulder.'
Extensive landed estates. The old system of clanships
and feudal lords is nearly broken down, being resolved in
to the relation of tenants and lords of the soil. Some of
the estates in the north of Scotland are of great extent,
The duke of Breadaibane's territory has 13,500 persons
resident upon it, and extends from Tay bridge, in the
county of Perth, to Easdale in Argyleshire, ninety-eight
miles and a half, and is of a varied width of from one
to twelve miles. He can travel nearly one hundred miles
in a direct line on his own land. It wa? observed to him
that it would be a fine thing if his estate were located in
one ofthe counties near London. He is said to have re
plied, that he should lose by such a change more than half
his possessions, if they were to be circumscribed within the
limits of one of the English counties. Some of these
great landholders have improved the barren hills of their
broad possessions by plantations of forest trees, particular
ly ofthe fir and larch, which are suited to this region.
Nearly a iSillion of trees have on some of the estates been
planted in orie year.
Loch Lomond, The northern part of the shores of
Loch Lomond is inclosed by lofty mountains, withprecipi-
tous sides, From the humble level ofthe lake, the eye of

WILD SCENERY OF SCOTTISH LAKES. 351
the traveller is frequently raised in mute admiration to the
elevated summits of the awful cliffs, which " midway leave
the storm." Upon the steep mountain sides, at various
heights above the waters of the lake, flocks of sheep ap
pear like white specks almost too minute to be distinctly
visible, scattered over the dark green surface of the patches
of herbage ; whilst the view ofthe conspicuous white-wash
ed cottage of the shepherd, nestled amid the cliffs, or appa
rently almost adhering to the perpendicular face of the
mountain at a giddy elevation, excites delight in the ad
mirer of picturesque scenery. Above these habitable por
tions of the mountains, the eye traces still higher the
chasms, furrowed by the torrents, to the bald summits of
Ben Lomond, w;ith its precipice of 2000 feet, and of other
adjacent mountain ridges ; and the mind becomes uncon
sciously lifted in silent admiration still higher toward the
heavens, to the footstool of Him " who spake the word
and the mountains were created,"
On approaching the end of Loch Lomond, the scenery
gradually assumes a level and cultivated appearance. At
the outlet, which forms the celebrated river Leven,
the placid expanse of the waters of the lake is orna
mented by low verdant islands, that seem to float just
above the surface, and the adjacent shores, fertile and
well cultivated, exhibit beautiful parks containing herds
of grazing deer, lawns, and well tilled fields. The strik
ing and iinexpected contrast between these fair land
scapes, and the rugged scenery of barren mountains from
which you emerge, here terminates with indescribable
gratification a short tour among the Highlands of Scot
land. The limpid waters and pebbly bed of the river Leven
are celebrated hy the verse of Smollet, and as a debt of
gratitude, they seem to send forth never ceasing murmurs
near his tomb upon its border. No one, who has felt sad-

352 MONUMENT TO SMOLLET.— CLYDE.
ness vanish before the pages of this humorous and inteHi-
gent writer, can pass his tomb without stopping before it
for a moment to offer up a tribute to his genius. A ped
estal, surmounted by a tall column, is placed above his
ashes, the tablet of which has been broken to pieces, and
the inscription rendered scarcely legible. This violence
if intentionally committed, stands as an outrage against
humanity. Brutal indeed must be the disposition that
can carry enmity to the borders of the'grave, and wreak
vengeance on the monuments of the dead.
The exemplary deportment of my little fellow-traveller,
whom I met among the highlands, and from whom I was
here separated, has created a feeling of interest for his
welfare. Habituated to early devotion, as usual with
children trained by pious parents, each night he kneeled
by his bed side to offer up, in silent adoration, thanksgiv
ing and praise to the Maker of all things.
After ascending the craggy precipice of rocks crowned
by Dumbarton Castle, we embarked in a steam boat for
Glasgow. On approaching this great city by water, the
Clyde, which forms its principal channel for commerce,
becomes almost as narrow as an artificial canal. The
banks of the river, hke those of a canal, were so much
washed by the undulations caused by the rapid move
ments of the steam boats through the confined waters, that
for ten or a dozen miles they have been lined with stone
to secure them from being undermined.
Instead of a spacious harbor, filled with stately vessels,
the traveller is cominonly disappointed on finding at the
quays of Glasgo*j only a few small steam boats, which
serve to transport the merchandise between this city and
its seaports, called Port-Glasgow and Greenock. In this
respect Glasgow resembles Edinburgh, being inaccessible
to heavily laden ships.
The splendid ranges of hewn stone dwelling-houses,

GLASGOW.— POPULATION, CLYDE CANAL. 353
and the spacious streets and squares of the city of Glas
gow, cannot fail to excite the admiration of the stranger.
This city, in respect to population, and the elegance of its
buildings, is second in rank in the kingdom. Edinburgh
excels it in beautiful edifices, and London in number of in
habitants.* 'By the census of 1821, it appears that Glas
gow has even rivalled New- York in rapidity of increase.
In 1811, it contained 100,789 inhabitants ; but in 1821
its population had increased to 154,000, exhibiting a gain
of about 54,000 inhabitants in ten years. This remark
able prosperity has been chiefly caused by successful skill
and enterprise in manufactures.
After dining with a friend, he accompanied us to view
the canal connecting the Clyde and Forth, and forming
a great water communication between the Irish and Ger
man sea, and between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Where
the canal enters the city of Glasgow, the level of the wa
ter is highly elevated on a hill side above the housetops
of the city. It produces a singular effect on beholding
numerous masts of vessels and pennants gaily streaming
from them in the breeze, where one would hardly expect
to find a pool of water. ,
"The length ofthe Clyde and Forth canal, it is stated in
the account ofthe work, is 35 miles. In this distance
there are 39 locks, each of eight feet lift. The breadth
of the canal at the surface of the water is 56 feet, and the
depth of the water 8^ feet. A large sloop was pointed
out to me by my friend, floating upon the canal, which has
made several voyages to St. Petersburgh ; and another
•By the census of 1831, the city of Glasgow and continuous suburbs,
contained a population of— males 93,725; females 108,702 ; total 202,426.
In commenting on this disproportionate superabundance of females, a
Scotch paper humorously remarks, that Glasgow, like Edinburgh, is
blessed with nearly 15,000 extra females iii store, to prevent any thing
like a dearth in the supply of ribs. The increase in the last ten years
since 1821, exceeds 55,000, or nearly 38 per cent.
VOL. II, 31*

354 HIGH KIRK.— IRON CAGES FOR GRAVES.
vessel not long ago sailed through this canal, on a voyage
from Edinburgh to St. Domingo. More than forty vessels
have been loaded here in one year, destined for voyages
to the Baltic Sea.
A large canal-boat crowded with passengers, drawn
by three horses, left the wharf whilst we were standing
near it. The boats are not fitted up in so efegant a man
ner for the accommodation of passengers, as the New-
York canal-boats. The fare, exclusive of board, is about
four cents per mile in the cabin, and half of this price in
the steerage. The capital stock'of this canal has proved
very profitable, having yielded about 25 per cent, per an
num on the cost.
We next viewed the celebrated old cathedral called the
High Kirk, which is one of the largest Gothic structures
ofthe kind in Scotland. It is almost 300 feet in length
and 70 feet in breadth. It is inferior, however, in appear
ance to many others which we hate seen. It was devoted
to destruction by some ofthe fanatical covenanters in an
cient times ; but was saved by the " craftsmen of the city,
who took arms, swearing many oaths, that whoever east
down the first stone, should be buried under it.''
The graveyard around the building is covered with
tombstones, the lettered slabs serving as a flagged walk,
and tbe foot, at every step, falls upon an epitaph or a name
cut in deep furrowed lines upon the stone.
In this land of surgical students, the utmost precautions
appear to be taken to prevent the bodies from being disin
terred by the " resurrection men." In some instances,
when the grave is dug, a strong cage formed of massy iron
bars, rivetted together, and further secured by locks and
chains, is lowered info the grave to receive the coffin, and
the iron frame is left in the ground with the upper portion
apparetit above the surface, until the wonderful organiza
tion, which forms the study of the scholar iu the dissecting
room, is destroyed.

LANARK.— MR. OWEN'S MANUFACTORIES. 355
Lanark. We made an excursion to view the Falls of
the Clyde, and Mr. Owen's celebrated manufactories, at
Lanark. To one who has beheld the mighty waterfall of
the great river Niagara, there is not much inducement to
pause long to contemplate any waterfall in Great Britain.
In an adjacent pavilion, commanding a view of the cas
cade, by means of an arrangement of mirrors, the whole
scenery is reflected, and apparently inverted, and the sin
gular spectacle is presented of a cataract pouring from
the earth upwards amid the clouds.
The cotton manufactory is operated by water power,
derived from the falls of the Clyde. Like most of the
manufactories of a similar kind in the United States, a
village for the accommodation of the workmen is built
up around the mill. This plan of building up a village,
as well as the manufactory, is termed, in England, the
" colonizing system," and is not much relished by the
manufacturers, who dislike such heavy investments in
real estate, amounting to nearly as much as the fixtures
and machinery of an equal manufactory in Manchester.
There, the houses for the workmen are built by capitalists
as a regular mode of making a permanent investment in
real estate.
Very considerable structures are also erected at Mr.
Owen's establishment, for the amusement and instruction
of the workmen, as well as for their dwellings. With
in sound of the spindles, I heard the music of a violin,
and found some ofthe little urchins taking lessons in dan
cing ; and at one of the benches of the machine shop a
workman was engaged in polishing some philosophical
apparatus belonging to the extensive collection of instru
ments in the great Philosophical Hall. Profit and pleas
ure, labor and relaxation from toil, instruction for the
head and heels, are here all at hand, and are simultane
ously attended to during the usual intermissions of the
operation of the cotton mills.

356 MR. OWEN'S NEW COMMUNITY IN U. STATES.
Whilst seated at the dinner table, Mr. Owen explained
his views at large in relation to the establishment of a
community in the New World. An experiment will be
made by him to prove whether a great community can be
kept together in proper subordination and -harmony, with
out the aid of religion ; for Mn Owen's views apparently
tend to this point. He seems in religion to stand alone, as
Pope observes, " Friend to no sect, he takes no private road."
He does not, like the Mahometan, seem to consider that
there exists an over-ruling destiny, nor does he believe in
the agency of the Divine Providence ofthe Christian, or
of the Great Spirit of the Indian ; but rather that man is
acted upon, in'his moral relations, as matter is acted up
on by natural bodies — with ibis difference, that man, be
ing a free-agent, and capable of foreseeing or judging the
effect which certain circumstances will produce upon hu
man nature, he may thus, by a proper training in early
life, be prepared to govern all circumstances, within his
control, for his own benefit, and for that of his fellow-men.
The motives for this remarkable innovation certainly ap
pear to be pure, and the sacrifices which he must make
to carry into effect the principles he has espoused will not
be small ; for he will abandon all the luxuries of an ele
gant residence in Scotland, and the society of friends, for
a newly settled country and a larid of strangers. In his
conversation, he manifests a kindness of feeling for his
fellow-men, which may be termed philanthropy ; and by
his conduct in stopping to bestow small marks of regard
by patting the heads ofthe children whoni we passed dur
ing a short stroll, he exhibited a benevolence ready to ex
pand itself in acts of kindness. One cannot but esteem
the man, whatever ma;y be thought of his plahs or bis prin
ciples.

PAISLEY, CRUIKSTONE CASTLE, COAL. 337
The Valley ofthe Clyde. The valley ofthe Clyde ex
tends between gentle slopes of fertile land. The reapers
were performing their labors with the sickle, instead of
the sythe with a light wooden frame attached to it, called
in the United States, a cradle. The daily wages of a rea
per, or shearer, as they are here termed, is from 55 to 70
cents, including an allowance of beer. It has been ob
served, that the Valley of the Clyde resembles that ofthe
Mohawk in the State of New-Yo.rk.
After visiting the cave,' celebrated by the story of Old
Mortality, and another cavern in the vicinity, where Wal
lace once remained concealed, we returned to Glasgow.
Paisley. After having viewed a very extensive cotton
manufactory in Glasgow, which resembles that already
described in Manchester, we took seats in one of the
coaches which leave Glasgow every hour for Paisley.
The crumbling ruins of Cruikstone are passed, where
Lord Darnley and Clueen Mary resided after their mar
riage, and where, as the account states, " they were of
ten seen harmoniously seated together under the large
yew tree." From the top ofthe castle, she witnessed the
battle which decided her fortunes and placed her in the
power of Elizabeth.
The gentleman to whom we had a letter of introduc
tion, conducted us to view- several of the manufactories of
of the place, which are the principal objects that «erve to
amuse or gratify a stranger in this busy town. Paisley is a
populous place, and a very flourishing one, j^idgin'g from
the numerous brick buildings, upon which the masons are
at work in every street. This prosperity is owing to the
flourishing state ofthe manufactures, carried on here.
Coal is found in great abundance in the immediate vi
cinity. Some of the veins of this mineral, within three
miles of the town are, as I am informed, more than thirty
feet thick, and are worked by two or three gaUeries or ex-

358 EMIGRANTS FROM IRELAND TO SCOTLAND,
cavations, one above another in the same vein. Great
quantities of sulphur and copperas are manufactured with
in a few miles of the place.
Emigration to Scotland. To aid in the manufactures
of Paisley and Glasgow, a, constant emigration of work
men takes place from Ireland.* Every steamboat from
Belfast brings over some of these laborers, who Commonly
possess no more property than is justsuflScientto discharge
the expenses of their passage across the channel. Desti
tute men,^ women and children are often to be seen in clus
ters seeking employment and the means of subsistence.
So many poor Irish emigrants are here reduced by ne
cessity to accept of the lowest wages which will sustain
them, that the demand for the laborers from the Highlands
is diminished, and the tide of emigration from the north
of Scotland continues to be diverted to the British posses
sions in Canada. The English government has aided the
Scotch emigrants by paying a portion of the charges for
their passages across the Atlantic, besides furnishing them
with lands after their arrival. It was during the preva
lence of Radicalism, that the English ministers were most
actively engaged in transporting a turbulent population^ to
foreign shores, impressed, probably with the recollection
of the fatal revolutionary result of the detention of similarly
restless men, when Oliver Cromwell was, prevented emi
grating, after he had embarked for New-England, where
he would have remained " guiltless of his country's blood."'
Shawl Marvufactory. Our friend first showed us at the
warehouses various specimens of the beautiful shawls
with figured borders, made in imitation of the Cashmere
shawls of India. Some of these productions of the looins
of Paisley have been sold for eighty or ninety dollars each,
* The population of Glasgow, was in 1831—202,426. Of these there
were natives of Ireland, 35,954,

PAISLEY;— MANUFACTURE OF.CASHMIRE SHAWLS. 359
at the manufactories. Almost every shade or tint of vivid
color is blended in these tasteful fabrics. The process of
weaving shawls, covered, with embroidery of flowers and
fanciful designs, is apparently very complicated, although
sufficiently simple to the eye of an artist. Where the
weft is to be brought out On the face ofthe texture, strings
are tied to the several threads Of the warp, and a boy
stands by the side of the loom to pull the strings in succes
sion at the proper moment. Whenever the threads of
warp are elevated by the strings pulled by the boy, the
weft is passed through by the shuttle beneath them, leav
ing all the threads of the warp parallel and visible on one
side of the shawls, and of the weft on the opposite side.
It requires much patient labor to tie all these strings, arid
to prepare the web to be woven in the loom.
Silk was first used for the manufacture of the imitation
Cashmire shawls, and was carded like cotton, after being
chopped into short pieces. Of late years, as we were in
formed, wool has been used, which is called Thibet wool,
although in reality only the choice fleeces of the best Sax
ony wool.
Some of the India shawls have been sold in England
for above 2000 dollars. These extreme prices are attribu
table to the extraordinary softness and delicacy ofthe ma
terial employed, rather than to any peculiar skill of the
Hindoo workmen. The wool, of which the fine shawls
are made in India, is selected from the down growing be
neath the long hairs forming the outer coat or covering
of the Thibet goat. This raw material has been very
lately imported from India for manufacturing in this placej
shawls, which rival those of the East, not only in colors
and tasteful designs, but also in that peculiar softness and

360 WEAVING OF GAUZE;— WHISKEY,
pliableness, which, by gracefully flowing folds, exhibit
the form of a lady to the best advantage,*
In weaving a piece of fine gauze, where it was appar
ently the design of the artist to blend all the primitive col
ors in imitation ofthe varied hues of the rainbow, 1 saw
twenty-three shuttles employed for one loom. Each shut
tle contained silken threads of a hue different from that
in the others, and when put in motion, they seemed to
flash through the slight web, and to blend their prismatic
tints, as if by magic. Some of these gauzes are of a tex
ture like that of gossamer. The labors of the loom are
probably carried to greater perfection in Paisley, than in
any other part of the world.
Dissipated habits of workmen. Many of the workmen
were absent from their looms, having been incapacitated
for labor, as our friend informed us, by their debaucheries
at a late fair holden here. Instead of beer, the workmen
are, in this part of Scotland, habituated to drink whiskey.
I have several times observed them in the tippling houses,
seated about the tables, each with a small pewter piot be
fore him containing about a gill of whiskey. Some sugar
and water are also placed on the table, which, together with
the whiskey, form the constituent elements of toddy-. This
beverage they sip with much apparent relish.
Manufacture of Alum. Alum is manufactured on an
extensive scale in this vicinity. "The material employed
is a sort of clay-slate, obtained from some of the shafts of
the coal mines. The clay is heaped up into large piles,
*The real Cashmere Shawls 'often appear much more delicate and soft,
from being half worn out when purchased by the merchants in India, of
the actual wearers, who divest tliemselves, it is said, of a turban or girdle,
in which manner these shawls are usually worn there, and, tempted by ex
travagant offers, dispose of them on the spot. These half worn out
shawls may be readily known by their thin attenuated appearance in par-"
ticular spots, and by the yellowness of their color.

WEAVING MILL. 3gl
mixed with strata of coal. The whole is pulverized by fire,
and the remains are steeped in cisterns of water. The li
quor is raised by means of pumps, into vessels to be evapo
rated, to obtain the crystals. The crude crystals are
again dissolved to render them more pellucid and pure,
and the liquor, after being evaporated in boilers to a syrup
like consistence, is poured into large cisterns, in which
it remains until the beautiful crystals are formed, which
after being taken out and dried, are in a state ready for
market. Weaving-Mill. We visited an extensive weaving es-'
tablishment near the city, where fine yarns are woven by
power looms. The machines are all arranged on the ground
fioor of a building only one story in height, the roof of
which contains numerous sky lights to admit the rays of
light to descend nearly perpendicularly upon the webs in
the looms. In weaving fine yarn, accidental imperfections
may by this means be readily discovered. The shortness
of the days in winter renders it necessary to take every
precaution to obtain light. The sun, in the month of De
cember, sets in these nothern latitudes at about half past
three o'clock, P. M.
The walls of this building are of stone, ten or twelve
feet high. The cloth woven here is intended for cal
ico, of the fineness of about 66 hanks to the pound. The
proprietor stated that yarn of the fineness of 90 to 100
hanks to the pound has been woven by power looms. He
observed that he used the best American flour for sizing
the threads of warp.
Numerous branches of Manufactures are carried on in
Glasgow,* some'of which we visited. Although the city
*It is estimated by a well informed writer, that there are in Glasgow
fifty-four large spinning factories, which operate 600,000 spiudlesj the
value of which is equal to about $5,000,000. There are eighteen mills,
in which 2800 looiiis are operated by £team power for weanng yarn of
VOL. II 32

362 FUEL AND STEAM ENGINES IN GLASGOW.
has been rendered so prosperous by all these various man
ufacturing operations, yet instances of individual misfor
tune and bankruptcy are of frequent occurrence. Here,
as well as in the United States, the success of persons en
gaged in business so much depends upon individual skill
and judgment, that great capitals have been lost by those
who conduct ex'tensive concerns without the competent
practical knowledge. So great is usually the reduction
in price on the sale of extensive cotton mills, that the ideal
wealth of tbe manufacturers frequently vanishes, when
tested by this standard of actual net gains. I have fre
quently noticed advertisements ofthe sale of mills and ma
chinery belonging to bankrupt manufacturers, posted up
in the streets of Manchester.

At the dinner-parties, cold punch seems to be the gen
eral favorite beverage of the gentlemen, the wine being
abandoned soon after it is introduced upon the table in
various degrees of fineness, up to seventy hanks to the pound, ,besides
S2,000 hand looms.
In August, 1831, four manufacturing companies employed 2405 looms,
each loom weaving on an average fourteen yards per day, making about
(en millions of yards a year, worth at 4id, £189,000.
The first steam engi.ne was put up in Scotland for manufacturing cotton
in 1792. In 1831 there were 356 steam engines of the aggregate of about
7300 horses' power. These are mostly constructed on the Boulton and
Watt principle, working with steam of tlie pressure, in several instan
ces, of 20 or 30 lbs. on the inch. ,
In 1800, London contained only a few steam engines of an aggre
gate power of about 650 horses.
" Blanchester 450 horse power.
" Leeds ' 380 " "
" United States 4 engines, one of them in New-York and two of
them in Philadelphia, all used in pumping water.
The supply of coals per year for Glasgow, in 1831j was 561,049 tons.
Average price of coals per ton was in 1826 fi-om $2,35 to $2,60 — in
1827 fi-om f 1,53 to $1,72— in 1828, 1829, and 1830 $1,44 to $1,68.

PUNCH.— POETICAL VERSION OF THE BIBLE. 363
favor of this compound beverage. Much nice attention is
bestowed in adjusting the proper proportion of the ingre
dients, that the various flavors may be perceptible to the
palate, without either being in excess. The strong smoky
whisky illicitly distilled in the highlands, is sipped with
apparent pleasure by those who seem to partake of it as
boys do of a stolen melon,, with increased relish, on account
of the difficulty of obtaining the prize.
Hunterian Museum. We past part of a day in viewing
the celebrated Hunterian museum, the college, and botan
ical garden.
The college edifice is constructed of stone, and, like
most of the colleges both at Cambridge and Oxford, the
buildings inclose several courts or interior square yards,
which are to be entered in order to view the architectural
embellishments. The general appearance of the struct
ure is rather venerable than magnificent.
One of the persons, who contributed liberally to endow
the college of Glasgow, left as a monument of his literary
labors a complete version of the Bible " done into rhyme,"
which, for its singularity of design and execution,' is often
quoted. In describing the expulsion of the children of
Israel from Egypt, he makes the following pathetic ap
peal to the feelings ofthe kind hearted reader, in a stanza
which must immortalize the author as having attained the
acme of limping lays.
" And Pharoah, was not he a rascal,
" To drive out th& children of Israel, their wives and little ones into the
wilderness to eat the Pascal V
About sixteen hundred students are connected with the
University of Glasgow, one fourth of whom are engaged
Hi the study of medicine.
The museum, connected with the University, contains a
very extensive collection, of medals and coins, and beauti
ful shells of all the most gorgeous colors and varied forms.

364 HUNTERIAN MUSEUM.
The preparations of parts ofthe human body, preserved in
spirits in large glass jars, occupy several sides of one of
the largest halls, arranged upon shelves, for the inspection
of every visitant. Specimens of stuffed birds also occupy
a portion of the extensive suit of rooms. Tbe hand wri
ting of Washington, as displayed conspicuously in a letter
to a tailor here, always excites the attention of all Ameri
can visitors, who rarely fail to lament that he was on this
occasion so particular in the orders for tbe trimmings of
his regimentals — a nicety about trifles, that in common
life may be well enough, but which in so great a man as
Washihg-ton, has rather an unclassic effect, when thus ex
hibited in a foreign country.
A remarkable instance of ingenuity is manifested.jn
the fabrication of a shirt, suspended in one of the rooms.
It has sleeves and ruffles complete, and yet a needle was
not once used in making it, being woven entirely in a
loom. The coins and medals, it is stated, are valued at
upwards of $100,000, and the whole coUection is estima
ted at half a million of dollars — at this rate, however, an
ideal value must be set upon some of the rare articles of
the collection, which only those who are rapturous admir
ers ofthe ' heavenly verdigris' contained on an old coin,
would be willing to pay. In the department of mineralo
gy, the sparkling masses of crystals and gems, the rich
veins of polished stones, and the bright colors of various
ores, all arranged in glass cases, afford a most interesting
exhibition in illustration of the science that embraces
within its extensive range all substances but those under
the influence of animal and vegetable life, teaching us that
even the dust under our feet, and the flake of descending
snow, are governed by determinate laws of crystallization.
Glasgow, it is stated, raised a regiment of one thousand
men, in 1778, as a manifestation of loyalty to ' assist his
Majesty in tlie American, war, against hb rebellious suh»
jects.'

TAMBOURING MUSLIN.— MAIL COACHES. 365
Tambouring Muslin. After some delay, on account of
the numerous interruptions from visitors, we were admit
ted to see the celebrated tambouring machine for workino-
sprigs and flowers upon muslins. A row of needles, with
threads attached to them, are made to perforate the muslin,
stretched upon a small frame ; and after making a sort of
stitch, they are again withdrawn, to repeat the operation
in another spot. Each movement is so regulated as to
bring the points of the row of needles against the proper
place upon the muslin, where the sprig is to be wrought.
In consequence of the superiority of the work executed by
hand, we were informed that this branch of business is not
carried on to the extent it once was.
Mail Coaches. We stopped to see an establishment,
called a Horse Bazaar, consisting of stables, arched with
brick, and fire proof, capable of containing an hundred
horses, with the necessary harness and carriages : the sta
bles are disposed in two stories or floors, one above the
other ,_ for the reception of the horses.
The proprietor of this place informed us, that through
out England most of the mail coaches are furnished by
London contractors, who receive about three cents per
mile for every mile of travel, in full compensation for the
wear of the coaches, and for keeping them in repair. A
considerable proportion of the public coaches for passen
gers, as well as the mail coaches, are provided also by
contractors, at nearly the same rates. The persons who
establish lines of public coaches thus merely keep the re
quisite number of horses, with their harnesses; and when
one coach is out of order, the coach maker furnishes an
other in its place until it is repaired. It thus becomes of
course very much for the interest ofthe coach maker to fin
ish his work in the most faithful manner, that he may sus
tain no damage to his property from the failure of the ma
terials or workmanship. Whilst the coach is out of repair,
VOL, II, ' 33*

366 . GREENOCK.
the profit from it also ceases. The coach builder in this
case seems to be situated somewhat like the Chinese phy
sician, whose salary continued only during the health of
his patient, and terminated when he was sick.
The mails from London to Glasgow are transported with
great rapidity in the mail coaches. They have been car
ried through the whole route in 45 J hours, -being a little
short of nine miles per hour, inclusive of stops. The dis
tance travelled is 419 miles, by roads somewhat circuitous.
The speed through the whole line, exclusive of stops, has
averaged nine and one quarter miles per hour- — a rate of
travelling probably unequalled in the -world for so great a
distance. Greenock. After viewing some other manufactories^ we
took leave of several agreeable friends, with whom we had
become acquainted in Glasgow, and embarked in . the
steamboat for Greenock, situated about twenty-five miles
below Glasgow, upon the river Clyde. The harbor of
Greenock has been formed at great expense by stone piers,
which enclose a small sheet of water, and preserve the
vessels, floating up it, from the effects of the heavy swell
that at times prevails in the broad open bay in front ofthe
harbor. The bay is here seven miles wide. The cost of
the piers at tbis place is stated to be upwards of a million
of dollars. The introduction of steam navigation appears
to have been injurious to the town of Greenock, as the steam
shallops take the cargoes directly from the ships lying at the
quays, to transport them to Glasgow without delay; and on
returning, unlade the goods into the ships outward-bound.
The large steamboats which ply between Liverpool and
Greenock transport great quantities of goods. A consid
erable proportion of the cotton manufactured in Glasgow,
is imported by the way of Liverpool, and no small share
ofthe manufactured fabrics is shipped to foreign countries
from that port. Liverpool, like New York, seems to floiw-

EMBARKATION FOR IRELAND. 367
ish at the expense of all its neighboringports, as it has en
grossed the greater part of the foreign commerce of all the
seaports on the Irish channel.
At the wharves of Greenock, the steamboats from vari-
rious places are arriving and departing every half hour,
with their decks crowded with passengers. The Custom
House is a beautiful building of hewn stone, the front of
which is supported by large columns of the same materials.
Embarkation for Ireland. The steamboat in which we
hitve embarked for Belfast, has two engines, each of forty
horse-power. It does not contain so spacious and airy
accommodations for passengers as the steamboats upon the
principal rivers in the United States, being constructed
more compactly for resisting the stormy seas which it nav
igates: The tables, also, of the English steamboats are not
generally served in the same style of elegance and abun
dance (with the exception ofthe London and Leith steam
packets) as may be found on board of the best boats in
the United States.
The price of a passage from Glasgow to Belfast is about
$5, besides the charges for board, and fees for servants,
&c. The deck passengers, pay only about $1, for their
passages. They were, however, transported like a sort of
live stock, being compelled to sleep on deck, where they
have no shelter from the rain or winds. Steamboats are
-constructing in great numbers in the various ports of this
country. Three steam packets were lately launched at
Liverpool in one week, with engines of the power of 140
horses. Notwithstanding the excellence of the workman
ship of these engines, they all produce more or less tremor
of the vessel when in operation, which is often so pecu
liarly disagreeable in some of the old steamboats in the
United States.
The steam engines are upon the Boulton and Watt, or
low pressure principle, although the steam is sometimes

368 IRELAND  WAGES AND MANUFACTORIES.
used of the expansive force of '«en pounds or more to
the square inch.*
Belfast. After procuring lodgings, we took a stroll
around the town. The appearance of Belfast, upon ap
proaching it by water, is not very prepossessing, the brick
stores and houses having an eld and somewhat dirty as
pect. Several of the streets are spacious, and are adorn
ed with fine buildings. Among them the Linen Hall and
Exchange are the principal public Structures which attract
the notice of the stranger. The area of the Exchange,
at the hours of business, presents quite a bustling scene,
Cotton Manufactories and Wages. Manufactures of
cotton have made rapid progress in Belfast, within a few
years past. In company with some Belfast friends, we vis
ited most ofthe largest cotton manufactories of the place.
The cost of one of the large steam engines of sixty horse
power, with the fixtures, is nearly $12,000, and the cost
of operating one of them is about $6500 each year. Con
nected with the building are gas works for lighting the in
terior. The coals are brought from England, and are con
sequently much dearer than at Manchester.
The principal local advantage gained in the manufac
ture of cotton in Belfast, is from the low price of labor ;
which is from ten to fifteen per cent, less than in England.
Mule spinners, and women who weave upon looms, earn
about as much as is paid for the same description of labor
in Manchester. A carpenter and a mason earn a guinea
per week, or about 84 cents per day. The wages' of a
common day laborer, for instance, of a person to carry the
hod for masons, is 10s. per week, or about 40 cents per
day at the highest, and often about 35 cents per day. The
*In 1827, it is stated that there were eighty steamhoats in England,
one half of these steamboats being provided with two engines each. The
average power of each of the engines is thirty horses. The smallest boat
is die Comet, of Glasgow, cf twenty-five tons and four horse engine.

WEAVING DAMASK TABLE CLOTHS. 369
same laborer would earn 3s. per day in England (equal at
the present value of the Spanish dollar here, to about 74
cents,) and in the United States about $1 per day.
There are several print works for calico, iron founde-
ries, &c. that give employment to the poorer classes.
Belfast resembles most of the English towns, in the
general appearance of the streets and houses. There is
however, a greater proportion of persons miserably clad,
and in rags, than I have ever observed elsewhere. The
streets are kept in tolerably neat order, and a general air
of comfort is every where observable. The inhabitants
are celebrated for their hospitality to strangers. Judging
from the kind attentions I have experienced here from
those with whom I have for a short time had the pleasure
of acquaintance, the stranger must acknowledge that
their hospitality remains unimpaired. The population of
Belfast is estimated at 44,000 persons.
Weaving Damask Table Cloths. We rode out to Lis-
burn, six mUes from Belfast, for the purpose of seeing the
processes for weaving damask table cloths, which is car
ried on here to a considerable extent. Having procured
from a friend in Belfast an introduction to the proprietors
ofthe most extensive damask table cloth manufactory in
Ireland, I called at their establishment. After examining
some of the splendid specimens of goods in a finished state
the proprietor conducted me over his large weaving room.
There are no wooden floors, but the looms are placed on
the damp ground. Upwards of 180 persons are employed
in the various processes of the weaving. Each loom is
managed by a man and a boy. The former operates the
loom to beat up the cloth, and the latter stands by the
side of it to draw the strings, to raise the threads that
must be skipped by the shuttle, to form the embossed fig
ures, In this, as in the shawl weaving in Paisley, the
art of the process consists in arranging the web pre'

370 MANUFACTURES OF IRISH LINEN.
viously to commencing the operation of weaving. The
designs to be wrought are sketched in red and white
colors upon a paper, and the artist, by referring to it,
is enabled to calculate where to leave the delicate em
bossed figures of the same white color with the ground
work of the cloth. Some of the table cloths are woven
3 1-2 yards in width, and of any desired length. The
loom upon which the cloths for the royal tables were
woven, was pointed out. The coats of arms of several
noblemen are introduced into the centre of a few ofthe
fabrics in the looms, for which an extra price is paid.
Upon the napkins prepared for military officers, the
names of the battles by which the regiments have been
distinguished, are embossed in raised work in large
characters, and the half spread wings of the American
eagle appeared in some instances to be forming bythe
swift shuttle of the weaver.
Most of the linen is bleached upon the grass, and large
fields of several acres are clothed with white linens, ap
pearing at a distance to be covered with snow drifts. In
winter, chemical bleaching is sometimes practised.
The poor families scattered over the adjacent country
spin the thread, and weave it into cloth at their hovels. —
It is purchased of them in the brown state by the capital
ists, who carry on the bleacheries and the processes for
finishing the cloth for market.
The glazing is performed in some instances by rubbing
polished flint stones upon the surface of the linen. The
violent friction of the stamping and polishing process'upon
the cloth must be very injurious to the texture, although
only a false and useless gloss is produced by the operation.
Much pains and e^fpense are bestowed upon the external
appearance ofthe goods, in pressing, folding and preparing
them with covers of blue and gilded papers fox ihe English
market, and for exportation.

IRISH COTTAGES. 371
During a short walk in Lisburn, I observed a cluster of
persons seated in front of the door of an ale house, enga
ged in conversation relative to emigrating to the United
States. This is, as I am informed, a favorite theme of con
versation among the lower classes of laborers ; many of
whom are stimulated to industry by the hope of accumulat
ing the necessary outfit for the voyage. From the state
ments that are made of their crude notions of the sponta
neous fertility, and the freedom and plenty, that prevail
in the United States, it would appear that the poor labor
ers imagine they have only to cross the ocean to arrive at
a terrestrial paradise.
Road to Dublin. From Lisburn we proceeded to Dub
lin, about one hundred miles distant. The cottages, or
rather hovels, on the road side, have the appearance of
great poverty, the walls being built of clay, or mud, mixed
with chopped straw, to give them tenacity. A few holes
serve as windows to admit light and air. Others of these
hovels are buUt of loose stones, like the stone fences of
New-England, the chinks being in some cases filled with
mud, and the whole exterior white-washed. The latter
description of cottages have, when freshly white-washed,
a neat appearance ; but the door yard, and grounds around
them, are left in the most dirty and slovenly condition. —
There are no little flower gardens planted in front of them,
nor creeping vines to cluster over the windows, as is com
mon in front of the cottages in England. The ragged
clothes of the children before the doors, some of whom
have their nakedness only partially veiled from sight by
the scanty skirts of their shirts, like the little slaves of the
southern regions of the United States, whilst mingled with
pigs and goats as playmates, indicate too plainly to the
passing traveller that the inhabitants of an Irish hovel
have no disposition to bestow labor upon profitless orna
ment.

372 DROGHEDA.—ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD,
At Drogheda we crossed the river Boyne. The ford
was pointed out to us near which the battle of the Boyne
was fought.
The town of Drogheda contains many substantial brick
buildings. The coach was surrounded by a swarm of beg
gars whilst in front of the door of the inn, at which it
stopped, although a sign board was erected near the door,
cautioning strangers not to encourage mendicity by be
stowing alms.
Accident. We left Newry in company with a coach
full of passengers, which proceeded a few yards in advance
of us. The iron hoop of one of the wheels of the forward
coach, whilst in rapit^ motion, suddenly broke, and in an
instant the whole wheel failed urider its heavy load, and
the spokes and fragments were strewed along the road. —
The coach immediately inclined to one~side, whilst mov
ing at full speed, and was upset, and dashed to pieces.
The passengers were precipitated from the roof upon the
stones on the road side. On coming to the spot, a most
shocking scene was presented to our view. An elderly
gentleman appeared lying upon the bank in great agony,
with his leg broken and the shattered fragments of the
bone protruded to view. Near him a lady was lying
senseless, with a deep wound on her forehead, and her
bosom filled with blood, which was streaming from the
wound. Others, slightly wounded, were limping around,
endeavouring to render all the assistance they were able
to those more injured than themselves. After remaining
on the spot about half an hoUr, and contributing all the
assistance in our power to the sufferers, we again resumed
our journey, leaving the lady still lifeless. The remainder of
the day's ride was rendered dull indeed by the recollec-«
tion of the scene we had just witnessed and the silence
that prevailed was only broken by an occasional ejacula
tion of some passenger, who seemed to shudder at the

PEAt.— IRISH HOvELs. 373
thougbt, that a. similar misfortune might have fallen to his
lot. A portion of the country between Belfast and Dublin is
of a very uneven surface, abounding in rocks, which fur
nish materials for the fences that inclose the fields. Peat
is the common fuel. This article is so scarce in some dis
tricts through which we passed, that the inhabitants collect
weeds, and dry flakes of manure, in small piles near the
doors, for fuel. The wealth ofthe laboring classes seems to
be manifested in some instances, where peat is more easily
procured, by the size of thepeat stacks, which are larger in
bulk than the houses ofthe proprietors.
As we approached Dubliii,-the clusters of hovels remind
one of some of the French villages, with their mud walls,
thatched roofs, and dirty door yards. The hogs I observed
walking into the doors ofthe houses with a bold, unhesitat
ing step, and an air of assurance, which seemed to indicate
that they were not accustomed to meet a repulse within.
The floors inside of some of the hovels look as muddy as
the roads in front of them. Affixed to the walls of seve
ral of them, I saw sign boards with rudely formed letters
offering " Dry lodgings" to the traveller. The broken
thatch of the roofs seemed to belie the staring letters of
the sign boards. Upon inquiring the meaning Of this sin
gular advertisement, I was informed by an Irish gentle
man, that it meant lodgings without bread or any thing to
eat or drink : with the latter interpretation of the term
" dry" they could offer but little temptation to most Irish
travellers — at all events, he observed, ybu will rarely find
a dry bed within them on a rainy day.
These poor hovels can afford but little rent to the pro
prietors of the land. On passing the beautiful grounds of
Lord Claremont, the ruins of thirty or forty of theSe build
ings were pointed out to me, which, occupied by poor inhab
itants, having been deemed rather an incumbrance than a
VOL. II. 33

374 HEAtH.— bUBLIN.
benefit to the estate, were partially destroyed, in order to
compel the wretched tenants to desert the roofless walls.-
Near Dublin, the fields appear well cultivated. Sheaves
of luxuriant wheat, bound up by the reapers, are arranged
thickly upon the ground.
The roads are all constructed of layers of broken stones
of about the size of an eggj on the plan recommended by
Mc Adam. At one place near the road I counted thirty-
one men, all employed in breaking with hammers the
large fragments of stones, to reduce them to an uniform
suitable size. There are small piles of these broken stones
collected at regular distances, to be ready at hand for re
pairing the roads.
Clusters of heath appear growing upon the tops of some
of the hills in Irelandi It is a remarkable fact that not
a single variety of this most numerous class of plants is
found in any part of America, when it grows wild in such
profusion upon most ofthe cold barren hills of England.

Early in the morning I engaged an Irish lad to conduct
me to the various public buildings and squares in Dub
lin, possessing sufficient beauty to be worth the trouble
of visiting. The morning being fine, we had an oppor
tunity of seeing to the best advantage some of the noble
structures of granite^ the pride of Dublin, which, although
I had frequently heard them extolled for beauty, surpassed
in magnificence my most sanguine expectations. The
Custom-House, Bank of Ireland, and the Postofiice,
present lofty and extensive fronts of hewn stone, adorned
with pillars of the same materials, in the Grecian . style
of architecture, the massy shafts of which are finely
wrought. The scale upon which these buildings are plan
ned, and the style in which the work is executed, are in*
deed splendidi

PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF DUBLIN. 375
The English government appears to be disposed to
make some remuneration to Ireland for the sums drained
from her by heavy taxation, by embellishing her capital
with these costly structures. The custom house is a vast
pile, displaying the beautiful proportions of its front to
great advantage from its favorable situation, fronting the
river Liffey. Its length is 375 feet, surmounted by a ma
jestic dome nearly 159 feet high. It was ten years in
building, and cost a million and a halfof dollars. The
Royal College is also a fine structure of stone, in the form
of a hollow square, 300 feet in front and 609 deep, inclo
sing several courts, with extensive gardens and pleasure
grounds in the rear for the recreation of the students.
The great room containing the Library is 200 feet in
length, 40 wide and 40 high. The whole number of stu
dents instructed here is nearly eleven hundred.
A day or two may be pleasantly passed in going from
one magnificent public building to another, and passing
a short time in front of each, to admire the stately gran
deur of their exterior, or the numerous details of their in
terior arrangements. They serve to give to the stranger
an impression of the wealth and prosperity of the city of
Dublin, which is every moment at variance with facts pre
sented by the beggarly and ragged appearance of the poor
beings, who may be constantly seen loitering near them.
It often happens, that whilst viewing the vast roof, or
massy architrave and carved capitals, the eye of the
spectator, on following down the fair proportions of the tall
pillars to the base, there rests upon some ragged human
being, seated in the dust and leaning against it; — or some
mother there nursing an infant, and shielding its roofless
head from inclement skies beneath the stately portico.
Here, as in many other countries, poverty and spkndor
are found closely allied, impressing on the mind a lesson
of humility even whilst gazing at the proudest works of
mm,

376 THE LIFFEY.— PHENIX PARK.— MONUMENT.
The river Liffey divides the city nearly in the centre.
There are eight or ten pretty bridges of hewn stone, and
one of cast iron, the arches of which spanning the narrow
channel, have a very ornamental effect. The river re
sembles an artificial canal, the banks upon each side being
faced with stone walls, surmounted by parapets of the
same material. There are flagged walks upon each side
ofthe river, which form pleasant promenades in summer.
The most pleasant walk, however, to which the citizens of
Dublin resort in warm weather, is the Phenix Park-^a
beautiful tract of land of tlie extent of about 160 acres.
This park, from its great extent, has the. appearance of
the open country, upon suddenly entering it from the pop
ulous parts ofthe city. Within this park is the palace of
the Lord Lieutenant or Viceroy of Ireland, who must con
trive to live here very comfortably on a salary of 150,000
dollars per annum — -six fold ofthe salary of the President
of the United States.
Upon- an eminence in this park is erected a lofty spire,
or obelisk, of massive granite, to Lord Wellington, whose
numerous victories, from the earliest gained by him in In
dia, to the last, on the field of Waterloo, are inscribed in
large letters upon its sides. This granite shaft rises with
its four plain sides to the height of 200 feet, without any
ornament except the embossed letters of the inscriptions,
seemingly calculated to perpetuate forever upon the im
perishable material, the memory of the victories gained by
the warrior to whose honor it was erected.

Burial Ground in Dublin, and Funeral of a Beggar.
Observing an old crumbling tower upon the bank of the
Liffey, opposite the Phenix Park, I crossed the river for
the purpose of viewing it more closely. It proved to be an
old monument situated in the middle of an extensive bu»

BURIAL GROUND. 377
rial ground, in which a large number of persons, men,
women and children, were assembled in various groups
around several freshly made graves. The boys, miserably
appareled, were amusing themselves by running, shouting
and jumping, with very little regard to the place, or to the
last sad offices that were performing near them over the
dead, about to be interred. Upon approaching the near
est cluster of persons, I found them gathered near the
borders of a grave in which a man was at work, who was
holding a debate with some of the bystanders, at the inter
vals of throwing out the earth with his shovel, relative to
the proper length ofthe grave, some of them asserting that
it was not long enough. Intermixed with the loose earth
thrown out from the grave were decayed fragments of
bones, coffins and skulls, almost every shovel full of earth
containing the mouldering remains of those who had been
previously buried in the same spot. The dispute about
the length of the grave was soon put to rest by the appear
ance of the coffin containing the corpse to be interred,
borne upon the shoulders of several men. The bearers
did not appear dejected, having probably recruited their
spirits on their route, as it is said to be not uncommon
for the lower classes to stop with a corpse on the way
to the grave, and deposit it at the door of a public tavern
or alehouse, while they partake of a refreshing glass
of whiskey within.* After much clamor produced by
The following anecdote is related of an Irish undertaker. ThrougKout
Ireland, the ceremonial of wakes and fiinerals is most punctually attended
to, and it requires some management to carry the arrangement through in
a masterly manner. A great adept in the business, who had been the
prime manager at all the wakes in the neighborhood for many years, was
at last called away fi-om the death-beds of his fi-iends to his own. '' Short
ly before he died, he gave minute directions to his people, as to the mode
of waking him in proper style. " Recollect," says he, " to put three
candles at the head of the bed, after you lay me out, and two at the foot,
and one at each side. Mind now, and put a plate with the salt in it just
VOL. II. 33*

87S SCENE IN A
numerous voices ordering and countermanding at the
same moment, the coffin was finally lowered by dropping
obliquely one end first ; but being too long, or rather the
grave being too short, it was lifted out. Whilst the per
son who had officiated as grave digger was in the grave,
stooping down and attempting to adjust the position of the
coffin, a boy, who was pursued by another in sport, crossed
the heap of loose earth, excavated from the grave and
heaped by the side of it, from which he detached and
set in motion a quantity of stones and gravel, that fell in
a shower upon the inclined head of the person below.
The wounded man reared himself up with a shout that
betrayed his pain, and springing from the grave, ran a few
yards in pursuit of the urchin, who, sensible of having
done the mischief, bounded away like a deer to escape the
resentment of his pursuer. Returning, however, and re
suming his former situation, he completed his task, and
then called out to the bystanders for the scattered frag
ments of boards, that had once formed coffins ; these were
picked up by the boys and handed to him, and were first
deposited — he then issued a second order for the skulls
and bones lying scattered around upon the ground. The
boys were again useful, one taking a skull on a shovel,
and another bringing one suspended between the points
of his fingers, eyeing it as he advanced with an expression
of fearful curiosity. The undertaker again called out to
the boys for another skull, observing that he had dug up
four, and that only one was now missing. This last was
shortly found among the clods, and returned to the grave,
together with the remaining earth, which was hastily lev
eled off without further pause, or any funeral ceremony.
a-top of my breast j and, do you hear, have plenty of tobacco^ and pipes
enough ; and remember to make the punch strong : and  but what is
the use of talkiug to you; I know you'll be sure to botch it, as I won't
he there myself."

PUBLIC BURIAL GROUND. 379
I proceeded from thence to a spot where another man
was at work, digging a grave and talking with the spec
tators around him whilst he was engaged at his task,
pretty much after the fashion of his fellow-laborer, the
grave digger in Hamlet. He had not the advantage of
the manifold jackets of his prototype, as his white skin
appeared in sundry places through his single ragged coat ;
and no one of the bystanders seemed sufficiently serious
or moralising to exclaim like Hamlet, "Alas! poor Yo-
rick," over the great quantity of human bones mingled with
the earth thrown out. Upon one side of the grave, in
which the grave digger was at work, lay three small
coffins, partially decayed, apparently those of infant
children, which he had struck upon in the progress of
the excavation, and had disinterred to make room for
tlie coffin inclosing the corpse to be buried. Covered
with a black cloth, the coffin was here ready at hand, to
prevent any mistake in the length ofthe grave. So care
lessly had he proceeded, that in excavating the earth, he
had already prematurely half buried it under the loose
dirt, only a portion of the black cloth remaining exposed
to view.
Among the group, assembled by idle curiosity around
this spot, were half a dozen soldiers, who stood gazing
with mute wonder upon the scene passing before them —
One of the soldiers observed to me, on approaching him,
that " this is burying a human being like a dog ; they are
more decent on the field of battle. I have already counted
eleven skulls that this fellow has thrown out with his shovel
like rubbish.'' With a sigh, he added, " I hope I shall not
be buried here." This burial ground, he informed me, is
free to all the poor of the city, without charge of any sort.
When the family of the deceased is very poor, the friends
often dig the grave in any part of the grounds they may
select, paying only for the use of the pick-axe, and shovel,

380 FUNERAL OF
which are commonly hired for this special purpose ; and
this, he observed is the usual style in which they perform
their offices over one of the poor beggars of the streets of
Dublin. At this mom.ent, the ringing shovel ejected from
its bed still another skull, which, as it rolled along, re
bounding from the ground, a rude, sunburnt female stop
ped with her extended foot, exclaiming aloud as she looked
down upon it and rolled it over beneath her shoeless bare
toes, "ye can't tell the difference between the skull of a
king and a beggar here, for they are all alike ; only one
looks blacker and older than another."
The grave-digger was now about terminating his la
bors by levelling the bottom of the grave, when the same
female stepped forward and begged him to " dig just one
spit deeper, for they would surely dig her up, if only for her
old dry bones." " What," exclaimed another voice, in
broad accents, " and is it a woman they are putting into
the ground in this sort of way ? — it is too bad even for a
man, but can't ye do better by a christian woman than to
keep her here waiting, half covered with dirt, whilst y6u
are talking about digging her grave V This appeal to
the gallantry of an Irishman had the desired effect, even
on a grave-digger. Pausing for a moment, he placed a
hand upon each edge ofthe grave, and vaulting out atone
spring, brushed off the earth, shook the pall, and spread it
again decently over the coffin, and then resumed his work
as before.
A child now happening for the first time to spy the three
small coffins, screamed out to her mother, requesting to
know what was in the little boxes.
Whilst they were filling up the grave with earth, my at
tention was attracted to a conversation between an Eng
lish soldier and a circle of five or six Irishmen, gathered
around him. They were listening to his account of the
expenses attending funerals in London. He observed,

AN IRISH BEGGAR. 38J
that he had known it to cost several hundred pounds to
bury- one of the Quality, and that no poor man could get
buried there decently short of two or three pounds expense,
besides buying mourning for his family; — a heavier expense
still. One of his auditors ejaculating two or three times,
" deary me, deary me," replied, that " money must be
more plentier in London than here, or else the poor could
never get buried at all, at all, for it an't every poor man that
can be laying up so much money as two or three pounds,
just for the sake of seeing himself decently buried at last."
The soldier pacified poor Pat by informing him that every
man in England is sure of being buried by the parish offi
cers, even if he should not happen to have three pounds,
when he dies.
The ground was now levelled over the grave, the pick
axe, shovels and black cloth were gathered up by two of
the men, and thrown carelessly over their shoulders, and
as they directed their footsteps toward the gate of entrance,
the spectators, who had been idly gazing at the scene
that had just closed, separated various ways, and left the
spot. Not a sigh was uttered, nor a tear shed, over the Beg
gar's grave.
There is a reverence paid by generous and cultivated
minds to the remains of a departed friend, which gives
the feelings an elevated character — as if that friend, in his
invisible existence, might hover around the little mound
of sods to be a present witness to the tributary tear, or the
sigh of affliction that may be offered to his memory. The
graves of departed friends seem indeed like the gloomy
frontiers of the dead, to which the living may resort to
hold communion with their " sainted souls." When a
class of people like the lower orders in this city, bury their
dead as if they were mere beasts that perish, it seems to
jnanifest a more depraved or degraded state of feeling,
than is found even among the native Indians of our for-

382 INDIAN CEREMONIES.
ests. The poverty of the lower classgs of the Irish may
debar them from bestowing much expense upon the fune
rals of their deceased friends, but it cannot be an apology
for the carousals that so frequently take place upon these
occasions — nor for the total want of decency of deport
ment in solemnizing the last sad offices of friendship.
The Indian, with pious feelings even gives up his interest
as heir to his parent, and consigns much of his humble
property — his hatchet, his kettle, and hunting implements,
to be buried with him for his use in a future state. They
have even been known, as Mr. Jefferson has stated, to
leave the distant forests, to which the presence of white
men has driven them, to visit the abodes of their ances
tors, and to pass a day at their graves ; and even in some
instances to remove their bones. They have honored their
chiefs when dead, like some ofthe most civilized ancient
nations, by raising the mounds that still exist, in many
parts of the United States, as monuments of their piety.*
In London, on the contrary extreme, the long line of
empty mourning carriages, and all the pomp and circum-

*Mr. Fitch, in his Letters from the West, gives the following account
of an Indian funeral : — " The whole group consisted of nine persons. —
We walked up to the mourners, but tlie ceremony went on as if the par
ties were unobservant of our presence, Four large men sat opposite,
with their heads so inclined to each other as almost to touch. A blanket
was thrown over their heads. Each held a corner of it in his hand. In
this posture, one who appeared to,lead va the business would begin the
dolorous note, which the rest immediately followed in a prolonged and
dismal strain for more than half a niinute. It then sunk away. It was
followed by a few convulsive sobs or snuffles, only giving way to the same
dismal howl again. This was said to be a common cereinony in like
cases, and this was a preconcerted duty which they had met at this time
to discharge. The performance lasted something more than an hour.
To be able to judge of tlie sincerity with which these mourners enacted
their business, and to satisfy myself whether they were in earnest, I sat
down close by them, so that I could look under tlieir blanket, and I saw
the tears actually streaming down their cheeks in good ct^t-r^est."

H0SPIT.4.L. 383
stance of wo, may be condemned as a tax which pride
{lays to refinement.
The higher classes of the Irish, are undoubtedly among
the most polished and hospitable people of any country in
the world ; and a true Irish gentleman may be classed
among the Charles Grandisons of the present day.
The monument, which first attracted my attention, was
erected to an ancient warrior. Near its base is a small
monumental stone, erected by the city of Dublin, in honor
of Danally, the famous boxer. His humble victories are
also detailed upon the four sides of the stones of his lowly
monument, like those of Wellington upon his more stately
column upon the opposite hiU, with which it seemed to
form quite a contrast. "Danally overcame Oliver" is in
scribed upon one, and " Waterloo" is blazoned upon the
other. Hospital. Near the Phenix park is a fine Hospital for
infirm half-pay soldiers, very pleasantly situated near the
banks ofthe Liffey. The old soldiers were quietly seated
beneath the shade of the trees, or strolling leisurely over
the gravelled walks, as we entered the grounds of the hos
pital. Their dress is a red uniform with large old fashion
ed cocked hats. They all seemed to be enjoying here the
calm of peace, after the storms of war have passed. Few of
them, however, have escaped without some wound, or muti
lated limb. They will here find that death, from the gradual
decay of old age, which they have so often braved under
every climate of the earth.
Appearance of Poverty. As a contrast to the splendor
ofthe public buildings of Dublin, the appearance of ex
treme poverty in some of the obscure streets is very sur*
prising. In passing through several of these streets on
Sunday, the clusters of persons collected in them resem
bled, in dress, crowds of beggars, instead of being clothed
in the clean linen and decent attire, so commonly observ

384 DESTITUTE APPEARANCE.
ed on this day in every town and hamlet in England,
Most of the groups of persons, however, appeared merry
and free from care, indulging occasionally in peals of vo
ciferous laughter and mirth, that seemed to make amends
for their want of most of those external objects of enjoy
ment, in the full possession of which an Englishman or
American will usually appear grave. Although the day
was excessively warm, I noticed a tall, robust man with a
florid face, wrapped up carefully in a great coat. Whilst
I stood observing the singularity of his appearance, cloth
ed in so heavy a garment on a warm day, a slight breeze
blew aside the skirt, unveiling his brawny limbs invested
only in a shirt, the color of which seemed to indicate that
it had never been parted from the wearer during a tempo
rary immersion in a wash tub. A lad also passed me,
whose pantaloons were so much rent as to hang loosely
suspended from his waist in front, like a sort of apron, or
curtain, his bare knees protruding at every step from be^
neath the floating screen. One might here almost credit
the assertion of an Irish traveller, who states that " there
are very many ragged people that sleep in their clothes,
because, if they pulled off their loosely stitched rags, they
would never succeed in getting them on again. They
have a sufficient supply of potatoes, and vegetate in rags
and wretchedness."
It is stated by Mr. Young, that " in England half the
life, and all the vigor of youth of a man and woman, are
passed before they can accumulate a small sum for pur
chasing furniture and building a cottage ; and when they
have got them, so burthensome are the poor to a parish,
that it is twenty to one if they get permission to erect their
cottage. But in Ireland the cabin is not an object of a
moment's consideration, being a hovel erected with two
days' labor ; and the young couple pass not their youth in
celibacy for want of a nest to produce their young in."

OF PERSONS IN THE STREETS OF DUBLIN. 385
"The inhabitants of some ef the provinces live through
out the year almost entirely on potatoes ; oatmeal being
considered as a luxury rather than a regular article of
diet. The food of the inhabitants, even in times of plenty,
is the poorest kind which human beings can subsist
upon." TAe Barracks in Dublin are very extensive, and are
securely fortified, by double walls, against the sudden at
tacks of rioters, or rather rebellious mobs, as they are
here termed.
A large proportion of the standing army of the United
Kingdom is stationed in Ireland, to keep in check the
disorderly or factious, who are ready to take advantage of
every opportunity to create disturbances. The regiments
coinposed of Irish soldiers are commonly sent abroad on
foreign service, or to various parts of England and Scot
land, while the Scotch and English troops are distributed
over all the southern districts of Ireland. The pay of the
common English soldier is very small, being in reality not
more than ten or eleven cents per day, after deducting
the necessary daily expenses, which he must disburse
from his pay of one shilling per day.
Strike for increase of wages. There is at present a strike
for an increase of wages, among the mechanics of various
branches of business. It is stated that they have been
urged to adopt this measure by their fellow-craftsmen upon
the other side of the channel. The combinations of the
workmen in England have thus extended even to Ireland ;
considerable funds being raised, and-remitted for the sup
port of those who may be thrown out of employment here
in consequence of refusing to work for low wages.
In walking around some fine squares or parks adorned
with trees, and verdant with grass, affording a delightful
transition from the contemplation of long rows of red brick
houses, the residence of several absentee noblemen were
VOL. II. 34

386 RESTRICTION OF MANUFACTlTEES IN IRELAND.
pointed out to us, which are rarely visited by their propri
etors. A couple of porters are commonly supported to
watch the premises and attend the gates. This absentee
ism is generally considered the lamentable cause of all
the misery and poverty ofthe people of Ireland.
It is most evident, to any one who may have an oppor
tunity of seeing in various parts of Ireland, so many robust
laborers, and so many women and children clothed in rags
and without any regular employment for their support,
that idleness is the cause of their poverty. Idleness af'
fords them leisure and temptation for the commission of
crimes, whilst poverty, which is the natural consequence of
idleness, urges them on to improve every opportunity,
The restrictive systems of English statesmen, which have
for so many ages repressed the industry and skill of the
inhabitants of Ireland, to favor those of England, have
produced the result that might have been anticipated. —
Their unjust measures have spread poverty over one of the
fairest countries of the globe. Ireland has indeed been
" hardly dealt by." It is now too late for her to become
a successful competitor with England in manufactures, af
ter the accumulation of so much capital and skill in the
latter kingdom. The duties of ten per cent, upon the
imports of English goods into Ireland are too light to be of
much avail at present in establishing manufactures in this
island, while the reciprocal duty upon Irish goods, when
imported into England, will have the effect still further to
depress the few manufactures already established here. —
If the capital and machinery of forty or fifty extensive
manufacturers were transported from England to Ireland,
it would probably be of more utility in providing employ
ment and support for the poor, than the actual presence
of all the absentees, who are spending their incomes
abroad, as well as all the numerous societies that exist
here for the suppression of mendicity. The progress which

IRISH F.4,IR.— HARBOR OF HOATH. 387
manufactures have made in Belfast, has given to that
place the thriving appearance of an English, rather than
of an Irish town.
The same sort of jealousy which has for ages existed in
England towards the manufactures of Ireland, was once
also extended to her American colonies. Had the union
between the mother country and her former colonies, the
United States, existed to this day, the spirit of the laws
that restricted the use of slitting and other mills and man
ufactures, would now probably have been in existence,
and the United States might have at.this day exhibited a
counterpart of Ireland in poverty, instead of that unrivaled
state of prosperity and happiness which has been brought
about by their free institutions.
Irish Fair. Having heard frequently of the tumultu
ous scenes usually exhibited at an Irish Fair, we rode out
to Donnybrook, where a fair is at present held, for the
purpose of witnessing it. These fairs were originally
, instituted for the meeting of traders and farmers for the
transaction of business, but at present they seem to be re
garded merely as occasions for holiday recreations. Nu
merous large booths of boards are erected in various parts
of the open field, where the multitudes are assembled. —
Theatrical performances, shows, and all sorts of amuse
ments are exhibited at the cheapest rates, and coarse toys
and articles of little value are offered for sale upon benches.
In the afternoon, the prevailing amusement amongst the
rabble appeared to be of a pugilistic kind, half a dozen,
or more participating at once in this sort of diversion, deal
ing out blows with their big fists, as if they were " trifles
as light as air."
Harbor of Hoath — Diving Bell. We left Dublin
early in the morning to embark at the harbor of Hoath
for England. This port is accessible at all times of tide,
and is, on this a,ccount, resorted to by the government

388 DIVING BELL.— BAY OF DUBLIN.
packets. The entrance of the bay of Dublin is obstructed
by shoals, and is difficult of access, except at high water.
This fine bay, and the green shores sprinkled with houses,
afford beautiful prospects from the road that skirts along
the beach. The quay or pier, which forms a part of the
harbor, is said to be the longest in the world, extending
several miles out into the bay, with alight-house upon the
end of it. The harbor of Hoath, eight miles from Dub
lin, has also been formed artificially. It was formerly an
exposed anchorage ground, but is now rendered capable
of affording perfect security to vessels, from the storms
that often prove so fatal to mariners upon this coast. This
harbor has been constructed by the British Government,
at an expense of nearly $2,000,000, for the purpose of
receiving heavy ships, drawing too much water to enter
the shallow port of Dublin. Hewn stone piers stretch off
into the open sea, with their outer sides sloping like a
beach, to serve as a break-water. The immense blocks
of stone of which the piers are constructed, firmly secured
together by clasps of iron, are, to appearance, nearly equal
in solidity and strength to the iron-bound shore from
whence they have been quarried, and like them bid defi
ance to the waves. There is a small village at this place
consisting of a few scattered houses of Fishermen. Two
vessels, each with a diving bell suspended over its sides
by means of great cranes, are employed to deepen the
rocky bottom of the harbor, which proves a slow and ex
pensive undertaking. On board of each vessel several
men were at work at a forcing pump, to furnish a supply
of air to the persons under water beneath the bell. This
surplus air, escaping from beneath the bottom ofthe bell,
at the same time arises in bubbles with boiling agitation
to the surface of the water. The diving bells are con
structed of iron, of sufficient height to allow a person to
stand erect within them, and large enough to contain sev-

P.4SSAGE ACROSS IRISH CHANNEL.— HOLYHEAD 389
eral persons. They are sunk by means of heavy weights
attached to them, and are easily raised again by the pul-
lies and other machinery on board of the vessels. Con
vex glasses, like those commonly used in the decks of
ships, inserted tightly at the top of the bell, transmit suf
ficient light for a person to see to read or write on a
bright day, at the depth of sixteen or eighteen feet below
the surface of the water. The workmen as we were
informed are able to perform regularly their work during
the usual stated hours, with very little inconvenience or
interruption from being immersed several feet below the
surface of the sea.

EMBARKATION FOR ENGLAND.
After leaving the port in the Steam Packet, which is
employed by Government to transport the mail across the
Irish channel, the surface of the Irish Sea was perfectly
tranquil, and as smooth as a mirror, disturbed only by the
ripple produced by the rapid progress of the boat, which
left behind it an undulating track of foam, visible for sev
eral leagues. The distance across the channel to Holy
head is about 55 miles, which we passed over in six hours.
Another artificial harbor has been formed by Government
at Holyhead, by means of extensive piers of hewn stone,
with alight-house erected upon the end of one of them.
Holyhead is a small village or fishing town, apparently
containing but little to amuse the passing stranger. Some
of the passengers diverted themselves by witnessing the
feats of diving performed by boys, who descended to a
great depth below the surface of the sea for a few half
pence thrown into it.
During our dinner at the inn, a blind Welsh harper took
his station near the door, and played several soft airs,
VOL. II. 34*

390 ISLE OF ANGLESEA.— COPPER MINES.
touching the cords of his instrument with much feeling
and melody. ,
Anglesea — Copper Mines. After leaving Holyhead, our
road to Bangor lay through the middle ofthe Island of An
glesea, leaving on the left the productive copper mines for
which this island is celebrated. A newly opened mine on
one ofthe hills has proved the source of great wealth to a
clergyman, with a living of only about ,£40 per annum.
As we Avere informed, he married a young lady, whose
dowry consisted of a barren hill ; while he was negotiating
for the sale of it for seven hundred pounds, he was apprised
that some rich mines of copper had been ditscovered upon
one side of the hill. The contemplated sale was immedi
ately abandoned, and the fortunate possessor now derives an
annual income from his barren hill of more than i£20,000.
The face of the country is hUIy, abounding with naked
rocks that show their grey sides above the surface of the
soil, reminding us of New-England scenery. The cotta
ges we passed are low, built of stone, with the barn and
stable in one continuous range joining with the dwelling
of the proprietor — the same hospitable roof affording shel
ter to the flocks and the family of the farmer. The roads
in this rocky country are considered the best in England,
being very solid and smooth from the abundance and
hardness ofthe .stones of which they are constructed.
The monument erected in compHment to the Marquis
of Anglesea^ or as stated by some of the passengers, to the
" memory of his leg," which he lost whilst fighting gal
lantly at the head of his troops at the battle of Waterloo,
is situated upon the summit of a hill near the road. It is
a tall column of white stone, that at a distance resembles
the spire of a church.
Menai Bridge. The Island of Anglesea is separated
from the main land by a narrow arm of the sea over which
there is a ferry. To obviate the delay and danger of cross-

GREAT SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 39i
ing this ferry, a superb bridge has lately been erected by
government, forming another grand work in the line of
communication between England and Ireland, for the com
pletion of which no pains or expense seem to be spared.
We passed an hour in examining this stupendous struc
ture, which extends across the river in one span of 579
feet, elevated at so great a height in the air, as to allow
large vessels to pass unobstructed beneath it, with their
tall masts, and their sails all set. It is suspended from for
ty-eight massy chains, each above seventeen hundred feet
long, every separate link of which is ten feet long, compos
ed of bars of iron, three inches broad and one inch in
thickness. The weight of the wrought iron used in the
construction of this bridge, it is calculated, will exceed
one thousand three hundred tons. The bridge is in an
unfinished state, having only a footway of planks about
two feet in width, laid upon the chains, upon which we
passed, following the descending sweep to the centre, and
ascending again" upon the other side to the tops of the
pillars, over which are stretched the chains that support
the bridge. These stone pillars seem to spring from the
water's edge with the slender proportions of high shot
towers, rising to the height of 165 feet. They sustain
aloft at this elevation the inverted arch formed by the
sweep or curvature of the chains that pass over them.
The end of the chains is bolted to the rocks upon eacb
side of the river. From the frail platform, upon which we
crossed, it produced a dizzy sensation, and sort of shudder
to look down Upon the rocks and eddying current far be
neath. The tide rushes with a foaming surfaice over the
ledges of rocks, reminding us of Hell-gate near New-York.
When viewed from the water's edge, this bridge has an
inconceivably light appearance, as if maintained by some
spell of magic at this great height in the air.

392 BANGOR.— ASCENT OF SNOWDON MOUNTAIN.
Bangor — Welsh Harper. At the inn in Bangor, twen
ty-six miles from Holyhead, we were again saluted by the
music of another harper, who was seated near the door,
and continued playing during the greater part of the even
ing. Some of the Welsh airs which he performed upon the
harp accompanied by his voice, possessed much plaintive
melody. Each one of the guests at the inn deposited a
trifling sum in the cap that lay open by his side in a man
ner that seemed to beg mutely in its master's behalf
Ascent of Snowdon in Wales. — Slate Quarry. At an
early hour in the morning, we left Bangor for the purpose
of visiting the top of Snowdon, the highest mountain in
Wales, and the slate quarries, which furnish the material
for covering nearly half of the roofs of some of the towns
on the sea board ofthe United States. Our road, for ten
or twelve miles, lay through a hilly and thinly inhabited
country, until we approached one ofthe slate quarries, in
which 450 men are employed. We passed the iron rail
way for transporting the slate from the quarry to the port
of Caernarvon. One horse upon this rail-road draws ten
small wagons, each containing about a ton of slate.
We ascended some abrupt hills to the principal quarry,
near the entrance of which, upon the side of a lofty preci
pice, a water wheel is in motion, turned by a brook that
descends from the mountain above. This wheel, by means
of long shafts, serves to pump up the water from the abyss
from which the blocks of slate are raised. The strata of
the slate are all perpendicular, instead of horizontal, as is
commonly observable in the layers or strata of, most other
sorts of stones, and the seams are followed down by the
workmen to a great depth. Upon approaching the edge
of the quarry, and looking down into the deep yawning
chasm, with sides as steep and rude as the imagination
can conceive, a degree of suprise is felt, that excavations
of such vast depth and extent could have been formed by

EXTENSIVE SLATE QUARRIES. 393
the patient industry of man. The worlcmen at the bottom
appear moving about among the blocks of slate, in the
deep excavations, like a pigmy race of men. Others ap
pear suspended by Topes midway upon the sides ofthe
cliffs, detaching masses, which occasionally fall with a
thundering crash, rebounding from ledge to ledge in their
descent to the bottom. The explosion of the blasts is fol
lowed by the noise of the shivered fragments, which seem
to patter like hail in their fall upon the rocky floor of the
quarry. It is said that a fragment of slate, descending
with its thin sharp edge, once cut off the head of a
workman as smoothly as if done by a broadsword. The
cliffs also resound with the echoes of the steel implements
employed to cleave and trim the slates. The wildness of
the mountain scenery, combined with the astonishing en
terprise and labors of man here exhibited, forms a scene
sublime and pleasing. A new quarry is opening directly
upon the verge of a perpendicular precipice of the moun
tain, the chipstone and waste from which, when discharg
ed from the wagons running to the very brink upon rail
ways, fall seven or eight hundred feet before they reach
the bottom.
The slates are split into large slabs with surprising facil
ity by a chisel applied to the edge of the block, some ofthe
pieces being three or four feet broad and several feet in
length, and but little more than one fourth of an inch in
thickness ; they are cut or trimmed by placing the slate
upon the edge of a bar of iron, and by striking them dex
terously with a sort of long steel knife.
Mr. Pennant employs, it is stated, in his slate quarry
1400 men. The railways, inclined planes, and other fix
tures belonging to him, it is estimated, cost, more than a
million of dollars.
Soon after leaving the slate quarries we commenced on
foot the toilsome ascent of the shaggy sides of Snow-

394 ASCENT OF SNOWDON MOUNTAIN
don, the pinnacles of which towered majestically above
us. It requires about three hours to ascend from the base of
Snowdon to its summit. The mountain is formed of bald
rocks, and is destitute of trees, and even shrubs. A scanty
vegetation of grass furnishes support to scattered flocks of
sheep, which are attended by shepherdesses, whose sun
burnt faces, and matted locks,, like those ofthe persons of
the same profession we have seen in Normandy, strangely
belie all that the poets have said and sung in praise of
their charms. One of the shepherdesses brought us some
specimens of crystals, offering them for sale in her extend
ed hand, without being able to speak a word of English.
It is indeed so difficult to find among the country people
and workmen in this vicinity those who readily under
stand English, that we were frequently compelled to have
recourse to our guide to act as interpreter. After we had
purchased a few of the crystals, she bounded away, spring
ing from rock to rock with great agility, and with bare
feet exposed to the sharp stones, until she regained her
flock upon a distant part of the mountain. Before reach
ing the summit, we passed some copper mines, now aban
doned. The water, collected in small hollows of the
mountain, is so much impregnated with this mineral,
which abounds. here, that it has a tinge of green, or rather
of blue.
The top of Snowdon is of a form very favorable for en
joying views of mountain scenery, being composed of pin
nacles with some of their sides formed by nearly perpen
dicular precipices. A stone thrown from a precipice
will in its descent fall nearly a thousand feet before it
strikes the earth. Upon the northwesterly side of the
mountain, the sensations produced in looking over the
precipice must nearly resemble those experienced by an
aeronaut from his balloon, as the cattle grazing in the

IN WALES. 395
deeply sunken valley appear like mere specks ; and the
lowly roofs of the cottages like the habitations of a dwarf
ish race of beings at a depth of nearly one fourth of a mile
almost directly beneath the spectator. From different
parts of the ledges, small streams gush out which descend
in white foam, resembling chains of bright silver dangling
against the dark faces of the rocks.
It is the view of the objects that are distinctly within the
scope of vision fromthe summit of a mountain, rather than
the remote objects, which usually seem blended and indis
tinct from distance, with misty blue outlines, that affords
the most gratification to those who encounter the toil of
ascending mountains for the sake of the prospect from
the tops.
Ireland, a portion of England, the Island of Anglesea,
and the irregular pinnacles of the mountains of Wales,
rising behind one another like the successive waves ofthe
troubled sea, are the most conspicuous objects at a dis
tance to attract the eye. The clouds move along like de
tached masses of dense fog, across the brow ofthe moun
tain, below the spectator, and the wind produces that pe
culiarly cheerless sound, as it sweeps over the splintered
rocks, which may often be heard in a winter's night, as it
rushes through the leafless branches of a forest. The al
titude of Snowdon is 3570 feet, producing, as it is stated,
near the summit, many of the plants found upon the Alps.
It must be acknowledged by the weary traveller, that the
labor of climbing mountains is rarely recompensed by the
pleasures derived from the view ofthe prospects from their
summits. Either heat or cold, fbgs or rain, commonly in
terpose and detract from the anticipated enjoyments ; and
extreme fatigue usually completes the dissatisfaction. In
truth, one is ready to subscribe to the sentiment contained
in the rhyme ofthe bard, who must have experienced a
similar disappointment when he exclaimed,- 

396 CAERNARVON,— HISTORICAL ANECDOTE.
" To speak of Snowdon's head sublime,
" Is far more easy than to climb."
On our descent from the mountain, we passed near the
lake of Llanberrys. Our guide informed us that a heroine
once resided near this lake, whose charms were of a very
different character from those depicted of the Scottish
" Lady ofthe Lake." Her name was Catharine Evans ;
her personal strength was so: great, that " she once held a
manager of a copper mine, with whom she had some cause
of quarrel, at arm's length over a precipice. This extra
ordinary woman lived in a lonely cottage, and had a mas
culine appearance, which was rendered somewhat rnore
striking from a pretty long hlack beardJ- 
Caernarvon. The inn at which we dined, is situated
near the town of Caernarvon, containing the ruins of a
fine old castle.
Some remarkable privileges, it is recorded, were grant
ed in ancient times to the inhabitants of this district by
Rhun, prince of North Wales, who having made an expe
dition to Scotland, and having been detained there for a
considerable length of time, the wives of his soldiers, con
sidering their husbands to have been slain, married the
neighboring farmers. It is stated in a Welsh manuscript,
that Rhun honored them with fourteen privileges above
their fellow-countrymen, to recompense the soldiers for
their services, and to palliate their disgrace in thus losing
their wives. The first privilege was, that the husband
should have priority over his wife in the choice of horses,
swine, geese and oxen, and also to two cartloads Of house
hold Utensils. Another very important privilege, which
might, even in our enlightened times, be considered as
bringing back the halcyon days of the golden age, consist
ed in an " exemption from having a sheriff, beadle, or bailiff
in all their land."

WELSH COTTAGE.— CONWAY. 397
Welsh Courtship. It appears from a small book giving
a descriptive account of Wales, that the English and their
neighbors the Welsh have fallen out with each other
upon the subject of" bundling."
This mooted question must be left to be settled, like that
about the charms of Helen, between the inhabitants of
the same country.
Welsh Cottages. On our return tq Bangor, we stopped
at one of the stone cottages upon the road side, — the eaves
of which were so low as to require one to stoop, upon en
tering the door. The furniture of the Cottage was plain,
and the floor, composed of bare earth, was smooth and
clean. The bed occupied a part of the kitchen, and,
a roughly made chest of drawers, a table, and a few chairs,
formed the furniture of the apartment. Some ofthe shelves
contained rows of broad shining pewter platters, arranged
in the ancient style once common in New-England, and a
cupboard was plentifully garnished, in the fashion describ
ed by Goldsmith, with specimens of broken china, wisely
kept for show.
Conway. From Bangor we took a post chaise to Con
way, distant about fifteen miles, pursuing a romantic road
along the shore of the Irish sea. Vast jutting rocks and
cliffs nearly overhang the road, in some places seemingly
threatening to fall upon the passenger below them. They
reverberate the roar of the dashing surges, which nearly
reach the road where it winds around the base ofthe cliffs.
We passed Penrhynn Castle, with its battlements and
towers overtopping the thick foliage of the trees by which
it is surrounded. The pleasure grounds about the castle
are inclosed by costly walls of stone, laid with cement,
about eight feet high, and extending more than two miles
in circuit.
Inns — Servants. We arrived at Conway late in the
evening ; when the post-chaise rattled over the pavement
VOL. II 35

399 ENGLISH INNS, ATTENTIVE SERVANTS.
of the yard of the inn, the sound of the wheels brought out
the landlady and two or three servants, each with a light —
a mark of attention to guests, at a late hour of the evening,
which may sometimes produce a feeling in the traveller,
almost like arriving at his home, when he thus experiences
the best and warmest welcome of an inn.
This welcome, of course, is paid for at parting, the ser
vants, chambermaid, and porter, making their appearance
at the moment of departure, some of whom you frequently
see for the first time as you make your exit between the
files drawn up on each side ofthe door. They all bustle
officiously around a singleportmanteau, and if not reward
ed with a gratuity, rarely fail to appeal at once for what
from custom they deem their right, by saying, "please to
remember the waiter."
A plentiful stock of small change is requisite for these
occasions. Even Boots musters from the small dark out-
of-the-way apartment, in which he is commonly found in
close communion with Day & Martin.
There is a material difference in the degrees of atten
tion paid by the servants of the inns, to the various guests
who arrive ; which is regulated by the manner in which
the passengers happen to travel. When a chaise and four
dash up to the door, the inn seems presently deserted ; and
the whole crowd of servants, landlord and landlady, and
chambermaids, appear bowing near the chaise, and two or
three arms are extended at once to assist my lord to alight.
But when the coach arrives at the door, the passengers of
which are not expected to pay so liberally as those who
travel in greater style, the waiter usually sallies out with
his white towel across his arm, or half protruded from his
pocket, with only Boots or the Porter as his aids ; while
the landlord keeps himself aloof in the back ground as a
spectator. Sometimes the waiters offer their arms to assist
passengers inside to alight; but those who are mounted

BAR MAID AND CHAMBER MAID. POST-CHAISE. 399
upon the top of the coach, to whom a little assistance might
be really serviceable, are usually left to scramble down as
they can, from their elevated station. Even the ladder,
lying hard by, is not often raised to facilitate their descent.
The porter takes charge of the baggage, the waiter, of
the orders for the bill of fare, and the chambermaid makes
her appearance arrayed in a white apron, cap and short
sleeves, to lead to the chamber, always in damp weather
inquiring, if you will have a pan of coals for warming your
bed. This is a common precaution to obviate the unhealth-
iness of damp linen.
In the large English inns, the landlady, or bar-maid,
usually occupies the spacious bar-room, which is placed
near the door, inclosed by glazed sashes, and commanding
a full view of the principal entrance or passage way of the
inn. The landlord is not that communicative, social charac
ter, known by this appellation in the inns of the United
States; but is reserved and distantly respectful to his
guests. He seldom officiates even to make off his bills,
which duty is commonly performed by the bar-maid. This
is a character rarely known in the United States. A well
dressed pretty girl is usually the presiding divinity, by
whose rosy fingers, the wine, the nut-brown ale, or the un
classic brandy and gin slings are prepared for the guests.
The necessary expenses of a traveller are greater in
England than in the United States. Much however must
depend upon the style in which a person travels in the
former country, where there are various modes of convey
ance adapted to the purses of the poor and the wealthy.
There are outside seats on the top ofthe stage coach, and
inside seats at more than double the price ; and then again
one may take post chaises — a sort of hackney coaches,
with two or four horses, always kept in readiness at the
inns on the road, at regular stage offices, to forward the

400 EXPENSES OF TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND.
traveller on his way. The post chaises, as they are term
ed, cost half a crown or more per mile, besides a fee of
nearly the same sum to the driver, at the termination of
his stage of twelve or fifteen miles. Dinner may be or
dered according to the inclination for expense, and appe
tite. Specific directions or orders are given for each sep
arate article, except bread and potatoes, and the dinner
may thus cost from forty cents to five dollars or more. In
some of the country inns, the traveller may take a seat at
a public table, as is common in the United States. The
usual price for a breakfast consisting of dry toast or
muffins, an egg, and tea or coffee, is from 35 to 50 cents ;
and the same sum is paid for a bed for each night, and in
addition, from II to 22 cents is to be paid to the officious
chambermaid, for performing the ordinary household du
ties incident to her situation.
The expenses of travelling in England in a plain style,
including stage-fare and all ordinary charges, will not fall
short of about one pound sterling per day, or about four
dollars and seventy-five cents, which may be calculated
upon as the average by Americans who may visit Eng
land. So common is the fashion of taking wine at dinner, that
a stranger usually calls for it to avoid singularity, what
ever may be his inclinations to partake of it. The phi-
lanthropio Howard, it is stated, in his journeys for pro
moting reform in prison discipline, submitted to this cus
tom, although he was opposed to the prevalent practice of
drinking wine. This custom is no doubt often adopted
here, as in the United States, with suppressed reluctance.
The traveller, in looking over his old bills, may sometimes
smile on being reminded by them of the items of similar
accounts of " mine host" against Falstaff, wherein 2s.,
6d, are charged for sack, and a halfpenny for bread. All
these numerous petty exactions of landlords ai\d of their

ENGLISH PUBLIC COACHES. 401
retinue of servants prove a heavy tax, not only on the purse
of the traveller, but also on his patience,
Stage-Coaches. The portions of a journey from one
stopping place to another, are commonly termed stages,
and not the vehicle itself that serves for the conveyance of
passengers. Each coach has its particular name to dis
tinguish it, in the same way as ships are designated. The
name is painted conspicuously in large letters upon the
side-pannels, as well as the number of passengers which
they are by law allowed to transport. They are licensed
" to carry four inside and twelve outside." This is the
usual number of passengers to which the public coaches
are limited, on account of the frequent accidents that for
merly occurred from overloading the tops of them, causing
them to upset when even slightly inclined. In addition,
upon the outside pannels of the front and sides of the
coaeh are usually inscribed the names ofthe towns through
which it passes in its route.
The coaches are mounted upon horizontal flat steel
springs, placed directly beneath the body, and not upon
unelastic iron braces, as is common in the United States.
A few moments before the time appointed for starting,
the horses with their nicely blacked harness, studded with
glittering brass ornaments, are drawn up in front of the
door ofthe coach office, at which the passengers all meet,
to prevent loss of time in driving about to collect them.
The guard arranges the trunks upon the roof, which has
an iron rail around it to prevent them from sliding off. So
wonderfully is the system of petty exactions upon travellers
pursued in the cities, that at many of the principal coach
offices, there are men who make it their sole business,
merely to hand the baggage to the top of the coach, for
which they expect a few half-pence, and rarely fail to urge
their claims with one hand raised respectfiilly to their hats.
Each passenger secures his seat by placing upon it an
VOL, II, 35*

402 GUARD AND DRIVER.
umbrella, or one ofthe drab over-coats, which are univer
sally worn by every traveller. At the moment of depart
ure each one takes his place ; when the guard, who oc
cupies the back seat outside, cries out, " all right," and
frequently blows a few notes on the bugle, which he carries
to give notice of the approach of the coach at the bars or
turnpike gates, or to warn the slowly moving wagons to
give a passway.
The traveller frequently listens with pleasure to the
notes of the bugle, when played, as it often is, by a guard
skilled in the use of this fine instrument of music. The
rapid motion of the coach, with its freight of passengers
covering the top ; the tramp of the horses' feet ; the rat
tling of the wheels upon the pavement ; and the sprightly
notes of the bugle, seemingly in accordance with the whole
scene, produce an animating effect^
As the coach travels along the road, it frequently stops
for way-passengers, and for the delivery of small packages,
letters and bundles. It is probably owing to the impor
tant charges of the latter sort, freighted with new bonnets,
ribbons and dresses, that the coachman is such an univer
sal favorite among the fair, who dwell by the road side ; as
the face of almost every pretty country girl on the road,
is dimpled with a smile of recognition, in return to the nod
of the driver.
An English coachman is also a character entirely differ
ent from the drivers of the stage coaches in the United
States. They are always neatly dressed, and are so uni
formly corpulent, that I almost began to imagine their
plump faces and sturdy shapes formed a part .of their qual
ifications for office. They wear a similar dress in most
parts of England, consisting of a low brimmed hat, white
top boots, woollen cord breeches, and, in cold weather,
they are enveloped in a closely fitted drab over coat, with
huge outside pockets. In warm weather, the latter gar-

PRICES OF TR.A.VELLING IN 403
ment may always be seen thrown over the back of their
seat on the coach box.
The driver is usually one ofthe most self-important per
sons to be met with in the kingdom. He gathers up the
reins, when the time arrives for the coach to start ; and
throws them carelessly down, as if his task were done,
when he draws up in front ofthe inn door, where he is to be
relieved. I have often noticed them maintaining their
seat with composure whilst the maid watered their horses
from the bucket. At the door of the inns, the bar-maid
frequently makes her appearance with some mugs of foam
ing ale, or the small earthen flasks of ginger beer, or pop,
as it is called, to offer them to the passengers.
The guard has charge-of the baggage department, which
requires much vigilant attention to prevent mistakes, or
confusion, from the frequent changes of passengers. There
are two very spacious boxes for the reception of baggage,
one beneath the platform on which the outside passengers
are mounted, in front of the coach, and a similar one in
the rear of the coach. These boxes he commonly locks
up for security, keeping the key in his pocket, while he
watches the portmanteaus and other articles piled upon
the top of the coach.
The common price per mile for an inside seat is about
eleven cents, and for a seat outside six cents, the outside
seats being at nearly the same price as is paid for the inside
seats in the stage-coaches of the United States. In addi
tion, the guard and coachman each expecta fee of a shilling,
as often as they are relieved upon the road, which is com
monly once in twenty-five or thirty miles. The expense
of travelling in post-chaises is about sixty cents per mile
for three seats, including tolls and fees to the post boys ;
who are always civil, rarely failing to touch their hats on
answering when spoken to. The post-chaises are capa
ble of containing three persons, having only three seats, with

404 PUBLIC COACHES IN ENGLAND.
glass front and sides. The country through which the
traveller passes may be thus seen to as much advantage as
in an open gig, without the inconvenience of exposure to
the weather.
The coach-horses on the principal roads in England
are relayed at the end of eight or ten miles, and travel at
the rate of eight or nine miles per hour. On the cross
roads the stages are longer, the horses being changed only
at the end of twelve or fifteen miles, or more.
The mail coaches in almost e-very-part of England are
furnished by contractors in London at three half-pence
per mile. Government pays three half-pence per mile for
the transportation ofthe mails, and the mail coaches are
exempt from the payment of tolls at the turnpike gates.
The guards are in some instances retained in service
until, from the imbecility of age, it seems difficult for
them to mount readily upon their seats. Some of those
whom I saw had a very respectable appearance, with
their hair gray from age. When superannuated, they are
sometimes allowed a sort of half pay, after having spent
their best days in the faithful performance of their duty.
The number of miles travelled by them during a long
life, as summed up occasionally at their deaths, and pub
lished in the newspapers, is surprisingly great.
In stormy weather, the outside passengers are very
much exposed to the rains. The attempts they make to
screen themselves from the falling drops of water by means
of umbrellas are commonly abortive ; for the projecting
edges ofthe silk, overhanging reciprocally the shoulders of
those who are closely arranged side by side upon the seats,
discharge the trickling currents into the neck or bosom of
an unfortunate neighbor on each side. Instead of bearing
the pelting of the rain, uniformly distributed over the va
rious parts ofthe body exposed to it, each passenger on the
roof receives an equivalent share, concentrated in one con-

CONWAY CASTLE.— HOLY -WELL 405
tinual stream, pouring into his neck and bosom, from the
edge of an umbrella as if seated beneath the fast dropping
eaves of a house.
Conway is a small ancient town, inclosed by fortified
walls about twenty feet high and twelve feet thick. The
river, which chafes the shore at the base of the castle, has
undermined one of the towers, a large part of which has
fallen in an unbroken mass and still remains on the beach,
nearly entire in one vast semicircular fragment. The
strength of the ancient cement must have been great to
have resisted the shock of a fall of nearly thirty feet. The
Watch-towers, projecting from the embattled parapets sev
eral feet, so far overhang the front surfaces of the walls,
that they seem to be ready to fall, should the additional
weight of a sentinel be added to these little airy structures.
At Holy^well is the celebrated fountain, which gives; a
name to the village. According to legendary accounts,
this spring is not one of the every day sort, which merely
bubbles and sends forth sparkling waters in compliance
with the ordinary laws of nature \ but it owes its origin, to
a miracle, A damsel of noble birth, named Winnefrede
after having first attracted the attention of a neighboring
Prince and then repelled his advances, was decapitated
by her affectionate lover on this spot, by way of testifying
his keen regards ; and her head, rolling down the hill,
this spring of water, called from hence the *' holy well,"
immediately gushed eut, and has continued to flow ever
since, St, Bennet, " with a skill which would baffle the
most eminent surgeons of these degenerate days, immedi
ately replaced the head, so that the parts spontaneously
united, and the resuscitated maid exhibited no other mark
of violence than a white line or seam around tbe neck to
attest the miracle,"
A little Gothic temple now covers the spring, in the
bright waters of which several women, in bathing dresses

406 RETURN TO LIVERPOOL.
of flannel, were delightedly splashing the fluid in which
they were immersed to their chins. The quantity of wa
ter discharged in a minute, it is calculated, is equal to
nearly eighty hogsheads. Within a few hundred feet of
its source, the stream turns the wheel of a cotton mill.
Near the spring we entered a venerable church. A
wheezing old sexton presented himself as a guide, and
with an air of official importance he threw open the door
of an obscure closet, where he gravely stated was a statue
ofthe damsel Winnefrede without a head. Under spades
and hoes, the implements of his profession, a headless,
mutilated statue of a female in truth appeared, shrouded
in dust and cobwebs.
Leaving Holywell, and Winnifrede's statue in its for
lorn estate, we embarked in a steamboat on the river Dee,
and were soon on our way to Liverpool.

LIVERPOOL.
Embarkation for the United States. The passengers
were summoned on board of the ship whilst the vessel
was floating impounded within the walls ofthe dock. Af
ter taking possession of his state room and arranging his
baggage, the passenger feels at leisure to go upon deck
and look abroad at the busy scene. Here he must patiently
await until the rise of the tide elevates the water of the ex
ternal river to the level of that contained within the docks,
when the broad gates are caused slowly to recoil on their
huge hinges, and the passage-way is open for the vessels
to sally forth into the river Mersey. Every vessePin rea
diness to depart is now put in motion by the dripping
ropes, alternately extended by the application ofthe forces
plied to them, and then sinking with a splash beneath the
surface. The various tall masts of ships appear slowly

EMBARKATION FOR UNITED STATES. 407
moving toward the dock-gate, and to be clustering around
it in a state of preparation to take advantage of the brief
interval of an hour or two at high water, during which
the gates remain open. In this short period, all the out
ward-bound vessels must be extricated from the confined
waters of the dock, and all the inward-bound vessels must
be entered to take their places. No small degree of anx
iety is manifested by the several ship-masters to get their
respective vessels safely into the open channel ofthe river,
without becoming entangled with the vessels which often
enter between the pier-heads with a fearful impetuosity,
imparted by the swift tide of the Mersey.
Whilst contemplating the extent of these costly docks,and
the obstacles and delays to be encountered in entering and
departing from them, an American cannot fail of compar
ing them with the more favorable harbor of New- York,
where the very moderate rise of the tide of only eight or
ten feet, renders all these vast expenditures needless. Un
fortunate is it for the gallant ship, deeply laden with its
costly cargo, should she be delayed too late in entering the
dock. The inexorable gates close against her under the
pressure of the retreating tide, and she may perhaps re
cline, a wreck on the bare sands in front of them, where
a frigate might have floated a few hours before.
To witness the bustle of these two busy hours, the pier
heads are commonly crowded with spectators, collected to
gaze at the scene. Some, perhaps, resort hither to meet
expected friends, and some to bid farewell to those depart
ing for distant shores. On regarding the dense ranks of
spectators standing upon the border of the quays, I beheld
some among them whose moistened eyes betrayed the pangs
of separation. At intervals in the crowd, females appear
ed, waving white handkerchiefs as a token of a last adieu
to friends embarked,
When at last it came to our turn to issue from the dock

408 PARTING SCENE ON LEAVING THE DOCK.
through the narrow channel of hewn stone, and at the
moment when the last rope that bound us to the shores of
old England was cast loose and fell with a splash into the
water, moving through it like the coils of a water-snake
as it was drawn Up the vessel's side, numerous voices uni
ted in expressing wishes for our happy voyage. Some of
the sailors, leaning from the side of the vessel, stretched
forth their tar-besmeared hands to unite them in a part
ing grasp with those of their former messmates, respond
ing mutually to each other, " God bless you," as the re
ceding vessel caused them to be separated.
The wind being unfavorable, many of the ships paired
off, on entering the stream of the river, with steamboats,
which were hovering around the outlets of the docks, wait
ing like trusty gallants to offer as it were an arm to assist
their partners in buffetting the adverse winds, and to es
cort them to the " blue lone-sea." Our ship, deeply la
den, and of the burthen of above five hundred tons, was
towed by a steamboat against a head wind, at the rate of
about four miles per hour. Some of the smallest steam
boats, lashed to the sides of great ships, bore them off
through the water with apparent ease. It is, indeed, an
interesting sight to behold a ship with its towering masts
and furled sails, moved majestically along against the wind,
by the aid of a little steam shallop, that appears compara
tively no bigger than a cock-boat. Such a spectacle can
not but lead one to compare the modern improvements of
art with the rude state of navigation in uncivilized life ;
and to contrast the foaming wave, parting in snowy wreaths
before the paddle moved by steam, with the quiet waters
of the lake scarcely rippled by the impulse of the muscu
lar arm of the Indian whilst plying his solitary paddle in
his light canoe.
After gaining the open channel of the Irish sea, the ca
bles were drawn in from the steamboat, the sails were un-

LUXURIES OF THE TABLE — PRICES OF PASSAGE. 409
furled, and the ship, feeling the action of another moving
power, became inclined upon her side, and commenced
her solitary course over the trackless ocean.
During a favorable breeze, whilst the sea is smooth, and
the vessel is rapidly approaching the desired port without
producing the delays and sickness, that usually fall to the
lot of those whose "path is on the mountain wave," there
may be a degree of pleasure in sailing in one of these
packet ships, derived from the agreeable society of fellow-
passengers, and from the novel scenes of the ocean.
So spacious and highly decorated are the cabihs, and
so well supplied .with luxuries is the table, that were it
not for storms, and the common malady of sea-sickness, a
voyage across the Atlantic might almost be deemed an
excursion of pleasure. Most of the provisions usually
found in a good inn are furnished in these packet ships. —
If the American steamboats are termed floating palaces,
these American ships may be termed floating hotels. The
stock of poultry and other fresh meats is commonly suffi
cient to last during the voyage, and even new milk is to be
had in as great quantities as sea-sick cows can yield it.
The best wines and fruits in season are provided. It thus
requires but little more preparation to embark on this voy
age, than to enter a mail coach for a journey.
The captains of the packets conduct themselves, in re
gard to their passengers, with the urbanity of gentlemen,
discovering in their manners but little ofthe roughness of
the sailor.
The price of a passage in the cabin from Liverpool to
New- York is about $164 (thirty-five guineas) and from
New- York to Liverpool $154, (thirty guineas,) theprem>'
ium of exchange being included. This difference of price
is caused by the remarkable prevalence of westerly winds,
the passages of all the line of packet ships for the last six
years having been made on an average in thirty-nine days
VOL. ij. 36

410 ORNAMENTED C.4BINS.— STATE-ROOMS.
from Liverpool to New- York ; whilst the passages in the
opposite direction have been made on an average in twen
ty-three days.
The cabins of the packet ships are more beautifully and
even splendidly decorated than some of the Royal pleasure
yachts of Europe. A degree of surprise is experienced
on descending from the deck into the cabin, and viewing
a room sixty or seventy feet in length, lined with panels
and mouldings of varnished mahogany and curled maple,
contrasting the dark clouded veins of the wood of the In
dies with the light wavy curls of that from the North
American forests. Pillars of white marble, or of richly
carved mahogany with gilded capitals, are arranged along
each of the sides of the cabin, the intermediate spaces be
tween which are occupied by the latticed doors and win
dows of the state rooms.
Each state room is furnished with two beds, or berths,
for the accommodation of a couple of passengers. The lat
ticed doors admit a free circulation of fresh air, and the
convex glasses or lenses, inserted in the deck planks above,
allow sufficient light to enter to enable the occupants of
the state rooms either to read or write. Mirrors are so ad
justed at each extremity ofthe cabin as to multiply there-
flections of the pillars and ornaments, presenting appar
ently at a first glance an interminable vista, stretching to
a remote distance between rows of these pillars. These
decorations, and the glittering brass ornaments, which are
kept nicely polished whilst the vessel lies in port, present
a pleasing spectacle of the modern luxuries in naval ar
chitecture.. The cabin appropriated to the use of the ladies is also
elegantly furnished, and is provided with a piano-forte and
other musical instruments to serve as a pastime during
the many tedious hours spent on ship board. Much ofthe
show and glitter are, however, calculated for exhibition

LADIES' CABIN.— SILK CURTAINS. 411
whilst the vessel rests motionless in the quiet waters of a
harbor, and for exciting the admiration of the numerous
visitors who throng to view them even in the port of Liv
erpool, as objects of curiosity. It would seem to the ob
server, who leisurely gazes at the damask curtains, form
ing the drapery of the berths or beds in the little state
rooms, that sea-sickness could never intrude beneath the
glossy folds ofthe silken canopy, to interrupt the soft slum
bers of those who may repose beneath them. These cur
tains as well as the Brussels carpets which overspread the
floors, are wisely kept for show, to tempt passengers to
venture upon the deep. Before the vessel is out of sight
of land, the passenger hears for a few minutes the rustling
of silk in the cabin, accompanied by an unusual bustle of
the servants. On retreating from the deck he may be as
much surprised at the sudden change of the drapery of
his bed, from damask silks to cotton ginghams, as at the
magical transition from the ball dress to the kitchen scene
in Cinderella.
Quite as surprising a change would take place in his
estimation ofthe enjoyments of sea voyages, could the
same spectator, who in a quiet harbor admires all these
luxuries, have a single peep into the same cabin during a
storm, to witness the confusion that prevails amongst the
inhabitants of these pretty apartments, after the vessel has
been for a sjiort time rolled and tossed by the billows of the
ocean, when the floors are almost as much inclined as the
roof of a house.
Whilst our ship was sailing slowly near the southern
coast of Ireland, at the distance of five or six miles from
the shore, two boats approached the ship, each rowed by
half a dozen ragged Irishmen. The first boat was freight
ed with only one small fish, which proved so stale that it
was no sooner received on board than the captain hastened
to relieve the ship of the pestiferous at.mosphere that sur-

412 IRISH BOATMEN.— LAST VIEW OF EUROPE,
rounded it ; and agreeably to his orders it was forthwith
tossed overboard. In the second boat was a small pile
of potatoes, which would scarcely have filled a peck mea
sure; around which seven eggs were rolling to and fro in the
bilge water of the boat. This formed truly a pitiful stock
of merchandise to be bartered for as much rum and tobac
co as twelve sturdy fellows would desire, to compensate
them for rowing their boat six or eight miles out into the
open sea. They however made up for the deficiency of
their merchandise in point of value, by their shrewd and
irresistible mode of begging. The captain having be
stowed a bottle of rum and a hank of tobacco upon the
crew of each boat, one of the men, without loss of time,
thrust an end of the black hank into his mouth and clench
ed his teeth upon it. The propriety of returning a proper
acknowledgment seemed suddenly to occur to him, and
without relaxing the hold with his teeth, he growled be
tween them an indistinct expression of thanks ; raising
his eyes in rapturous delight as the bitter juices began to
pervade and affect his palate, he exclaimed " Tobacco is
surely the swatest herb that grows."
The green hills of Ireland soon began to assume a hazy
hue as the breeze freshened, and the last lingering out
lines of Europe finally seemed to be dissolved in the mis
ty verge of the ocean: The stranger who has there enjoy
ed the fair scenes of green vales and mountains, and the
hospitality of her cities, cannot but experience, as he com
mences his weary voyage across the ocean, those feelings
which are so warmly expressed by the quaint verses of
Bowles. *' Fair scenes 1 ye lend a pleasure long-unknown
To him who passes weary on his way ;
The farewell tear which now he turns to pay
Shall thank you ; and when e'er of pleasure flowt^
His heart some long lost image would renew,.
Pelightftd Itauuts, he will rememli,e4' yous'*'

BROAD SAILS OF THE SHIP.— A CALM. 413
With all the canvass spread to a favorable wind, our
gallant ship moved over the face of the water, as if she
spurned the waves, as the poets express it, dashing them
aside before her bow in heaps of foam, and rushing through
them as through banks of snow with her sides half buried
in the white wreaths. The immense force exerted by the
wind in propelling a ship of 500 tons may be imagined
when it is stated that the sheets of canvass composing the
sails of our packet ship, whilst braced sharp, extend above
200 feet in length and neai-ly 90 feet high. On this great
surface of canvass the wind presses with a force ne arly
equal to a pound on each square foot.
The winds are not always favorable, and what is even
still more tedious, there is often no wind at all. During
a calm, the gently undulating water assumes a glassy
polished surface, and the sails left unfurled hang like the
drapery of curtains, in wrinkled folds and festoons from
the spars, the broad sheets swinging with heavy flaps
against the masts and ropes, as the vessel rises lazily over
the sluggish undulations. The surface ofthe ocean, dur
ing a calm, does not settle down into a level expanse, like
that of a lake, but seems to remember the storms that
have lashed it into fury, even after " Heaven's mild lus
tre is reflected from the wave." If you look abroad over
the water during a calm, you soon weary with the uniform
ity of the prospect ; whilst on the deck all seems spiritless
and dull. Even the sailors partake of the general listless
ness during a calm, although it brings with it a respite
from their severest toils.
During a protracted calm, a great variety of amusements
is resorted to for pastime. In one part of the ship, the
passengers divert themselves by sinking empty bottles to
the depth of five or six hundred feet. Although carefully
corked and sealed, the pressure of the water being at this
depth nearly two hundred pounds upon the cork, it is al-
voL, II, 36*

414 AMUSEMENTS DURING A
ways forced into the bottle ; which, when raised to the sur
face, is found full of water. In another part of the ship,
a cluster of passengers may be observed engaged in fishing
with large hooks, secured by chains, for the sharks that
are plainly discernible in the transparent fluid, swimming
as they usually do with their back fins projecting like the
edge of a knife above the surface.
Although reading may be supposed to afford a never
failing source of amusement at sea, yet few can actual
ly derive much enjoyment from books. A recurrence of
dizziness and sea sickness is commonly produced by close
attention to the pages, which, partaking of the motion of
the ship, always appear vibrating and moving before the-
eyes. When the wind is fair, one prefers remaining on
deck to witness the rapidity of the ship's progress ; and,
when it is unfavorable, a feeling of restlessness and impa
tience prevails. When there is a calm, the bustle, con
versation, and plans for present amusement, absorb the
attention. The dice are almost constantly rattling on the
backgammon boards, and the servants are frequently hur
ried to remove the cloth from the breakfast table for the
accommodation ofthe card parties, impatient to commence
their games.
Even the game of leap frog received a share of attention,
and grave elderly gentlemen began to vault astride over
the heads of equally grave personages, who awaited with
some manifestations of anxiety the movements of their
unwieldy play fellows. This game however soon fell into
disrepute, after one ofthe gentlemen, during an unlucky
roll ofthe ship, alighted upon the hard planks ofthe deck
on his head, instead of his feet, and was carried below to
his berth, in a sort of torpid state.
For want of other excitement, betting becomes very
frequent. Bets are made upon almost every event attend
ed with the least uncertainty. The Log is rarely thrown.

CALM AT SEA.

41^

to ascertain the rate ofthe ship's motion, without an ac
companying bet upon the result of the experiment. The
number of sail which may happen daily to appear in sight,
is another prolific subject for wagers, and even the shoot
ing on the wing of a certain number of Mother Carey's
Chickens in a given time engrosses the attention of those
who are sportsmen. At last, when the calm had continued
nearly three days, it seemed to be hazardous to make any
observation on any subject of a doubtful nature, in an au
dible voice, without incuring the risk of drawing forth a re
sponse like an echo, " I'll bet you five or ten dollars upon
it."-7During the continuance ofthe long protracted calm,
life itself seems a mere blank. Some restless passenger may
be seen watching the tiny thread of sand as it silently runs
in the hour glass near the helmsman's hand, oftimes even
shaking the glass, apparently to quicken the sluggish cur
rent, unmindful of the moral which its ebbing tide usually
conveys. It is now that one may indeed feel the full force
of Shakspeare's lines in Timon of Athens,
*'  I've wasted time,
" But now does time waste me."
Every distant cloud is watched and regarded as the har
binger of a breeze.
At length a ripple appeared on the surface of the sea
at a great distance, approaching the ship like the dark
shadow of a cloud moving over the face of the waters. —
In a few minutes, the flagging, and wrinkled sheets of
canvass, ceasing to beat with their monotonous flaps against
the mast, began gently to swell, acted upon by the breeze.
The sailors are now called to their posts to cause the sails
to present a proper angle to the wind. The packet ships
are provided with a numerous complement of men, who
manage with promptitude, trimming all the yards and
sails on the mainmast, from the highest to the lowest, as
if they formed but one sheet of canvass turning on a pivot

416 COMMENCEMENT OF A BREEZE.— A GALE,
like a barn door. After the sails are trimmed, and the
breeze freshens, the masts feel the increasing pressure,
and incline from their erect position.
Every thread of canvass being strained by the impulse
of the wind, the vessel bows down before it on her side,
and hurries madly through the waves. The joints of the
partitions and bulkheads now commence creaking, whilst'
they are alternately wrenched and twisted by the contor
tions of the yielding frame of the ship.
To relieve the ship, the captain ordered the lighter sails
on the summits of the masts to be furled, and then the
heavier lower sails, as the gale continued to increase. The
orders for furling the sails are promptly obeyed by nume
rous mariners, who spring into the shrouds and ascend
the reeling masts. They arrange themselves upon the
spars and ropes ofthe yards, and then the man at the helm
is ordered to turn the bow of the vessel toward the wind,
or to luff, in the sea phrase, in order to cause the wind to
act upon the edge of the sails, and to make them flutter
loosely on the spars. In this state, the sail is seized by nu
merous hands, and-in despite of its resisting flaps, each of
which seems sufficient to knock off a sailor from his haz
ardous lofty station, the several sheets of canvass are suc
cessively lashed to the spars.
It is indeed a fearful spectacle, to one unaccustomed to
maritime life, to behold the adventurous sailors in a tem
pestuous night balanced upon the yards, or swinging on
the ropes, as their outlines and every mast and cord appear
at times gilded by flashes of lightning, exhibiting them
suspended against the heavens amid a sky of fire. At
such times, the rude flapping of the great sheets of can
vass, the roaring of the winds among the mass of ropes,
and the dashing of the waves, render the commands of
the captain scarcely audible, although uttered from the
brazen throat of his trumpet. That there is actually

A STORM AT SEA. 4^7
much risk incurred by the sailors is manifest from the nu
merous instances in which they are beaten from their hold,
and precipitated into the deep, or dashed lifeless upon the
deck. Whilst the gale still continues to increase, the vessel
is pressed still more on her side, rising again at every
lull between the blasts, and plunging forward more im
petuously through the agitated water. At intervals, a
wave dashes against the bow with violence, shooting the
spray aloft above the yards, and causing the ship appar
ently to recoil for a moment from the rude shock, and to
pause in her course, and every timber of her frame to
writhe and tremble at the tremendous resistance of the
encounter. Again the straining canvass causes the vessel
to bow down on her side, and to resume her speed, until
the momentum thus acquired is again expended in dash
ing through another wave.
The first serious notice that the passengers usually have
of the impending storm is the order, thundered from the
trumpet of the captain, to put in the dead lights — a most
portentous, horrible name, to greet the ear of a landsman
at this time of tumult, almost inducing one unpractised in
sea-terms to open wide his eyes to catch a last parting
glimpse of the light of heaven before the ominous dead
lights intercept it. Things are known by strange names
on shipboard, for these dead-lights, which seem, from
their appellation, only adapted for the sockets of the dead-
eyes of the ship, are nothing more than pine shutters to
the cabin windows. The larger sails are finally taken in,
and the ship lies to under a few scanty sails made of the
strongest canvass ; or, in extreme cases, all the canvass is
furled, leaving exposed to the action of the wind only the
naked masts or bare poles, as the sailors term them. As
an earnest that the storm is fairly begun, a wave, more
wild than usual, gives the vessel a sudden hCave which

418 COMMOTION ON SHIP-BOARD
causes every movable article that may havebeen left care
lessly loose in the cabin, during the calm weather, or that
may not have been secured to some fixed part of it, to roll
or slide to the lower side ofthe vessel. The crash of fall
ing plates, glasses, and bottles, uniting their sharp jingling
sounds with the crying of children alarmed by the sudden
shock; the tumbling of trunks and boxes, and of such of
the proprietors of them who have not time to secure
themselves, the exclamations of the luckless passengers
whilst extricating a foot or an ankle from beneath the rub
bish, the groans of the sea-sick ; and the never-ceasing
creaking of the panels and partitions, — all serve as a sort
of tenor and treble to the deep hollow roar of the storm as
it rushes in gusts through the rigging. This latter uproar
above deck is the grand bass, to which all other noises on
ship-board are subordinate, like the piping notes of the
bagpipe, contrasted with the continued sullen howling of
the overpowering drone. Some of these noises continue
without intermission during the night, as well as during
the day. Even the solitary spoon, accidentally left in an
empty tumbler the preceding evening, after having fulfilled
its duty in uniting the discordant elements of whiskey
punch, drops as regularly as the clicking of a clock, all
the livelong night, from side to side of the ringing glass,
giving a sort of tinkling challenge to every wave, like a
watchful sentinel on post
This violent motion produces, as may be well supposed,
a corresponding tendency ofthe bodies of the passengers
to roll from side to side when they attempt to sleep, some
times awakening the sleeper just as he is balancing upon
the edge of the berth, undecided whether to fall back
again into his nest, or to make a launch at full length
upon the hard floor ; and sometimes, indeed, not until af
ter the decision is made, leaving him doubtful, whilst
drowsy and half stunned by his fall, whether the ship

DURING A STORM AT SEA. 419
may have broken her ribs on a rock, or whether only his
own ribs may be broken. Every part of the body, offer
ing projecting angles for contact with the boards of the
side of the narrow bed, becomes at last fairly chafed to
soreness from the continued rolling and rubbing, and no
position in which the body can be placed affords ease. In
this chafed, sore condition, one can now comprehend the
full meaning and import of the term, " tempest-tost,"
which he may have hitherto supposed rather a poetical
expression than as indicating a most wearisome condition.
The few passengers who inav have escaped sea-sickness
during the fine weather now suffer in common with
those whose previous suffering excited their merriment.
Exhausted nature at last seems unable to sustain the
weakening and dispiriting malady, which almost renders
the idea of death tolerable as a present refuge ; and a cold,
bare rock, which the waves cannot stir, a most desirable
bed for the luxury of rest.
The bachelor, who may have been talking all his life
whilst on shore about losing his heart, may in good earn
est begin to think he may lose it when suddenly lifted by
a heaving wave, and as suddenly left by it to descend,
whilst falling into the succeeding hollow. His heart then
seems to rise into his throat with a determined effort, as
if it meant to make its escape, or to choke him in the at
tempt ; and at the next moment, as if it had changed the
plan of escape, it causes novel and alarming sensations of
an internal struggle in an opposite direction, apparently
sinking in his bosom and thus quietly retreating. Whilst
all this unaccountable agitation is taking place in the
region of the poetic centre of the affections, one may
readily comprehend from whence the ancients derived the
idea, that the froth of the sea was the birth place of Venus,
the fabled goddess who excites the emotions of the heart ;
and that in disgust at the place of her nativity, she should

420 SCENES OF SEA-SICKNESS.
immediately have made her way to the shore to exercise
sway ; for however potent her powers on land, she certainly
never could extend them over a sea-sick swain and lass on
the ocean, who may in such case be deemed beyond her con
trol. Indeed, a lady once observed to me that it was vastly
ungenteel to be sea-sick, and that the most romantic lover
would cease to think his mistress an angel, were he to be
hold her vexed by this mortal frailty.
All kinds of remedies are resorted to by sea-sick inva
lids, with a hope of obtaining relief From one state
room, a feeble, doleful voice may be heard, as if pro
ceeding from a tomb, calling in languid accents upon the
steward for a bowl of warm water-gruel, made thin and
weak ; and at the same instant another voice may be heard
impatiently demanding a more potent specific for sea sick
ness, in the form of a glass of brandy and water, enjoin
ing upon the steward to be careful to make it stiff, — at
least half and half The steward and servants attached
to the pantry or rather bar room, are thus called upon in
cessantly to minister to the capricious appetites of the sick,
whose sense of taste becomes so much vitiated by their
malady, that they do not in truth know what they want. By
tasting of every thing in the well-stored bar room, of which
the price paid for the passage gives free command, they
seem to hope that they may at last, by perseverance, suc
ceed in hitting upon something in the wide range that will
suit their disordered palates. The corks of flasks of soda
vvater, of bottles of cider and wine, are on some emergen
cies so frequently drawn, that the constant popping may
be supposed to resemble the noise of a skirmish.
I passed above nine days, during the continuance of a
protracted gale, recumbent in a berth, at times treating
myself, by way of luxury, with the anticipation of the
comfort of a motionless bedstead. At the first blush of
morning, the voices of some of the passengers may be

SPECl'ACLE OF A STORM. 421
heard, caUing out to the steward to learn what progress
may have been made by the vessel during the night, and
the state of the wind. The response of " lying to all night,
sir, and wind dead ahead," is usually followed by an ejac
ulation of impatience or regret, and an audible flounce of
the bed clothes, indicating that the dissatisfied enquirer
has retreated beneath them in dudgeon, in pursuit of an
oblivious nap.
Upon gaining the deck, the sublime spectacle of a storm
causes one almost involuntarily to raise his thoughts in
mute adoration to Him " who rules the raging of the
sea." The sublimity of the scene does not consist so much
in the magnitude of the waves, although each huge surge
rolls a vast mass of accumulated waters, as in the violent
agitation ofthe whole surface of the ocean. The tops of
all the waves, as far as the eye can reach, are crested with
foam, resembling curled wreaths of snow drifts ; contrasting
their dazzling whiteness with the deep green ofthe mounds
of water which they surmount. At times, these curling tops
of the waves are swept off by the impetiious gusts of the
tempest, filling the air with spray, which flies along like
drifting snow. Most of the passengers, v.'ho are not too
much exhausted by sea-sickness, prefer remaining upon
deck in the fresh air ; for the tossing of the ship stirs up the
effluvia of the bilge water and other odors, peculiar to a
cabin, which are of themselves almost sufficient to cre
ate nausea. It becomes necessary for the passengers to
hold fast by the pins and ropes, whilst they all stand
ranged under the shelter of the quarter rails, over the top
of which they now and then raise their heads to take a
peep at the great waves, that are never tired of chasing
each other, or of tossing the ship in their gambols. Some
times a wave, breaking just before it reaches the ship,
dashes against its side and glides upward, as if pos
sessed of the very spirit of mischief Rising above the
VOL. II 37

422 EFFECTS OF THE WAVES AND SPRAY.
tafferel rails, the bounding wave pours a deluge of water
upon the deck, curving like the waterfall of a mill-dam,
and descending from the top of these bulwarks, upon the
cringing backs and averted heads of a whole row of pas
sengers. Wet to the skin, without stopping to reply to
the jokes of those who may have escaped the deluge, they
retreat dripping and crest-fallen to their state rooms. The
sailors abide this dashing of the waves patiently, whilst oc
cupied in trimming the sails, receiving the water on their
covered hats and drab jackets.
Even the ladies sometimes partake of a portion of the
ungallant briny waves of old Neptune, whilst they are seat
ed near the stair-case, or companion way, as it is termed,
with features pale as marble from sea sickness. Dejected
by hapless feelings, they often seem in appearance fair
statues " smiling at grief" Statues they truly resemble
on these occasions, when the rampant waves have drench
ed their dresses, causing their garments to cling closely to
their persons, displaying the full contour of their shape,
and leaving the form of beauty scarcely half concealed by
folds of transparent drapery.
During a storm, the decks and cabin floors become so
much inclined, that it is necessary in moving about to
adopt the precaution of always grasping some fixed object
firmly with one band, before venturing to relax the hold
with the other. After thus making nearly as much use of
the hands as ofthe feet for several days, the palms become
hardened, and some times even blistered. Being compel
led to remain on deck for the sake of breathing fresh air,
it is in fact more like living on the roof Of a prison than like
living in one, to which Ben Johnson compared a sea life.
The inclined decks have not even the advantage of the
prison roof, — that of remaining at an unifoi-m angle
with the horizon ; for during the sudden lurches of the
ship, even the viands upon the tables, as if inspirec(

SATURDAY NIGHT AT SEA. 403
with fresh life, fairly leave the dishes deserted, and the
rich soups and gravies run down upon the garments ofthe
passengers, or fall unluckily into their laps. To prevent as
far as practicable the dishes from sliding from the table,
ridges of mahogany are formed upon the surface of the
tables, in which the plates are arranged, as in grooves
or troughs.
Saturday night is celebrated at sea by the sailors with
an extra glass of grog, allowed by the captain as a bumper
for toasting their absent " wives and sweethearts," and as
an injudicious reward after the toils of the week are end
ed. The passengers, from the contagious example before
them, also assemble around the table on a Saturday eve
ning, and with steaming glasses of whiskey punch and
mulled wine, do not suffer their wives and sweethearts to
remain ungallantly neglected.
Whilst looking abroad over the wide ocean, a stream of
water may sometimes be seen to be projected upward, like
a jet of a spouting fountain in a garden. These jets are
spirted up by the whales, a glimpse of whose huge bodies
may also be had when they roll, and plunge to descend
from the surface to the depths of the ocean.
On coming upon deck one morning, on the passage out
ward, with the venerable old sea captain who has made
more than one hundred and fifty passages across the At
lantic, he pointed out to me numerous small objects floating
on the surface ofthe water around the vessel, resembling
in appearance butterflies with their closed wings erected
like small sails. He observed to me, that these were all
little marine fishes or insects, and that their small erect
sails were managed by them, like those of the shell fish
called the Nautilus, for the purpose of moving through the
water by the agency of the wind. The sides of this re
markable little creature are mottled with a row of spots,
resembling the tier of port-holes in the old Portuguese armed

424 PORTUGUESE MEN-OF-W.iR.
ships, from which imaginary resemblance the sailors gave
it the name of " Portuguese man-of-war."
According to the account of the experienced captain,
this adventurous, mariner with its little sail is possessed of
many singular faculties. When there is a gentle breeze,
the Portuguese man-of-war comes to the surface, erects its
tiny sail, and'keeps it always trimmed to present a proper
angle to the wind. Whilst it is thus apparently exercis
ing due forecast above the water to steer its .bark and to
adjust its sail to the breeze, it is at the same moment ex
tending its thoughts beneath the surface to fish for its prey.
From the lov/er part of its body extend long hairy fila
ments, ten or fifteen feet in length, curled spirally like a
cork-screw. By means of these filaments it entangles
small marine fish or animalculae, and draws them to its
mouth for food.
These hair-like filaments, which appear so slight as to
be liable to be broken by every wave, are formidable of
fensive weapons, even to man. The captain observed,
that he had seen the arms of sailors blistered by coming
in contact with them, as if the skin had been touched by
red hot wires, and pustules became formed. The stinging
matter is a viscous substance, resembling, as it floats in a
water pail, the jelly of the sunfish or polypus. So irrita
ting is the substance, that the vessel which has contained
one of these Portuguese men-of-war must be carefully
rinsed, lest the skin of those who may subsequently use it
should be blistered.
After we had approached within three hundred miles
of the American coast, the atmosphere became obscured
by smoke, and the odor of burning pines became distinctly
perceptible.* * We were informed, after landhig, that vast tracts of forests, near the east
ern boundaries ofthe United States, had been on fire. The smoke from these
liurning forests probably had been wafted by the wind to this great diist^nce
fi-om the land in sufBcient quantity to render hazy the whole atmosphere.

LAND BIRDS LOST AT SEA. 4-25
Several birds alighted upon the spars ofthe vessel, after
having wandered in fruitless search of a resting place
over the wide waste of waters. They had become so com
pletely exhausted by the fatigue of sustaining themselves
upon the wing for hours, and perhaps whole days, that their
instinctive dread of man was gone. They remained
passive on the approach of the hand extended to grasp
them : and they resigned themselves as captives without a
struggle or effort to escape. The first sight of a land bird,
fluttering towards the ship with feeble flight, like the dove
returning to the ark after finding no resting place for its feet,
usually excites compassionate feelings. One ofthe birds,
after having alighted a few moments, lost all power of
motion. It soon relaxed its hold upon the rope, fell upon
the deck, and without a struggle expired.
** For long the tempest's chilly breath
Hath borne thee on mid ocean's angry roar ;
Famine hath closed thine eyes in deatli.
Thy form is cold, thy minstrelsy is o'er."*
*After the prevalence of a strong wind from the shore, land birds, it is
said, are fi-equently to be seen lost above the ti-ackless plain of tlie ocean,
fluttering in a circular flight when the land-marks are no longer visible.
If they could bold their course in a direct line toward the land, in three
hours they might gain a shore two hundred miles distant ; and, if aided by
a favorable gale, tliey might traverse tlirough the air a space of four
hundred miles in the same period of time. The eider duck has been known
to move on the wing between two stations or points, at the rate of ninety
miles 3n hour. With this velocity of flight, and a favorable wind mov
ing at the rate of sixty miles an hour, the wild geese of North-America,
in their annual migrations, might pass from the frozen coasts of Labrador
to the summer climes of Mexico, in sixteen or eighteen hours.
The land breeze is snuffed by the animals on board ship with their ac
customed instinctive sagacity. The continued lowing of the w-earied, ex
hausted cow, the restless movements of the dogs on ship-board, and their
attempts to look over tlie bulwarks, seem to indicate that they are aware of
their approach to land, and to disclose to man that their instinctive saga
city serves them in place of the scientific knowledge and instruments, by
which he laboriously ascertains the same facts.

426 SEA BIRDS.— SOUNDING-LEAD.
Whilst the land bird thus perishes, the solitary sea gull
sports amid the foam of the waves in mid ocean ; and
even the little sea swallows, called by the sailors "Mother
Carey's chickens,'' may be seen skimming gaily along in
the furrows between the waves, or dipping the tips of their
wings in the summits of them, apparently delighting in
the uproar ofthe water, reminding the observer that their
home is literally on the deep.
On approaching soundings, the lead is frequently lower
ed into the sea. The bottom of the sounding lead is be
smeared with tallow secured by a piece of cloth. To this
tallow the loose sand or shells and mud at the bottom of
the sea adhere. The vast shoals extending into the ocean
are commonly formed of homogeneous particles of sand of
particular colors, or of peculiar kinds of shells, or mud,
for considerable distances together ; the location of which
is marked upon the charts. The sounding lead thus not
only serves to indicate the depth of water, but also, in
some cases, the situation ofthe ship, by bringing up spec
imens of the substances of which the bottom of the sea
may be composed.
The mariner has the advantage of several remarkable
circumstances to warn him of bis approach to land. The
color of the water in the fathomless ocean is of a deep
sky blue ; whilst on shoals, or soundings as commonly
termed, it has an olive green color. The water of the
gulf stream has still a different hue, the color being
of a beautiful deep indigo green. On entering this per
petually flowing current of the ocean, proceeding from
the bay of Mexico, the peculiarly warm temperature
of the water, isssuing from that tropical latitude, is the
most remarkable circumstance to denote it. In winter,
when the rigging of vessels approaching the American
coast become loaded with frozen spray, and thus rendered
almost unmanageable, it is only necessary for the com-

COLORS OF SEA W.4,TER — AlMERICAN COAST. 427
raander to sail into this current of water to obtain the ad
vantage of a mild climate.
By the tenor of their questions, Europeans disclose how
inadeqiiate and imperfect are their conceptions of the im
provements which have been effected in the compara
tively short period in the history of nations since the first
white man set his foot upon the shores of the New World,
and commenced the vast work of converting a wilderness
into fruitful fields.*
^Accustomed to behold cities become populous during the long lapse of
many centuries, and to see even hamlets containing only a scanty popu
lation of a few hundred people, although inhabited in the days of the Ro
man Empire, a native of Europe is induced to suppose tliat he will find
in die vicinity ofthe principal cities ofthe newly discovered continent of
America, roads almost impassable, and the stumps scarcely eradicated
from the cultivated fields.
Even an American, with all his previous personal knowledge of his na
tive land, can hardly bring himself to credit the facts ofthe rapid increase ^
of population, and of tlie equally rapid improvement in all the arts of
life, effected in the short period since the first settlement of'** the wilder
ness of .America." No one, in truth, whilst advancing from the dreary
ocean and sailing up the beautifiil bay of New- York, can realize, that
on die spot now covered by a fair city containing more than two hun
dred thousand inhabitants, having its borders at the water's edge bristled
with countless masts, as if encompassed by lofty palisades, that the ad
venturous Hudson, on first visiting this region, less than 220 years ago,
found die whole tract shaded by dark woods and occupied by a few soli
tary Indians; fi-om whose scattered wigwams, at remote distances,
circhng wreaths of smoke ascended in the blue sky above tlie tree-tops of
one unbroken forest, which then overspread all the land to the far West,
even to the shore ofthe Pacific. The spectator may now regard the ex
panse of diis bay frothing beneath the swiftly revolving wheels of nume
rous steamboats, and before the prows of fleets of vessels, where the ex
ploring navigator so recently beheld only a few frail canoes made of thin
bark and propelled by the bare red arms of Indians, half clothed in vest
ments of skins, who cautiously ventured forth on the stream from the cov
ert of the woods to gaze at the newly arrived strangers. Cargoes of mer
chandize, transported a thousand miles from tlie interior, are now landed
oil the wharves of that city, from- whence the first pioneer ofthe forests,
subsequent to the year 1609, took his departure with his axe in his hand
to commence opening roads into the wilderness, and to prepare a new
world for becoming the abode of civilized men.

428 BAY OF NEW-YORK.
So accurate are nautical calculations now made by the
aid of chronometers and instruments for taking observa
tions of the altitude of the sun and of the relative angles
ofthe moon, and some ofthe principal stars, that the skil
ful commander of a ship, after having been driven for
weeks in various directions over the wide ocean, can al
most point his finger to the portion ofthe watery horizon,
from above the verge of which the first headland will ap
pear to view ; and almost the very minute may be desig
nated by calculations, when, with a steady wind, the weary
mariners may turn their eyes to greet the desired shore,
One might suppose that Cowper had for a time aban
doned his native shores, to have learned what he so warmly
expresses in his verse :
*' As one who long detained on foreign shores,
Pants to return ; and when he sees again
His country's weather-bleached and battered rocks
From the green wave emerging, darts an eye
Radiant with joy toward the happy land."
The courteous reader, too, may imagine the satisfaction
afforded to the weary passenger by the view of the last
wave of the ocean rolling and dashing upon the shore,
strewing, as with its own wreck, a snow-white streak of
foam upon the distant and far-extended beaches, by com
paring it with the pleasure he may himself experience
when he happily arrives at the last page of a traveller's
tale, and beholds the closing line, and the welcome —

FINIS.