above which it dashes the spray and foam in its impetuous descent. The
climate is lovely, the atmosphere pearly; and when, from the height
above, you look down upon the panorama spread beneath your feet, it
recalls to the mind the beautiful view so many of us must have
frequently been entranced with, while inhaling the meditative weed and
strolling along Richmond-terrace on a summer afternoon, gazing on old
Father Thames glowing in the rays of a setting sun, and looking doubly
bright from the sombre shade of the venerable timber which fringes the
margin of this sluggish stream. Pardon this digression; those only who
have wandered so far away can feel the indefinite, indescribable
pleasure with which one grasps at anything that recals the home of one's
affections, the scenes of early days, and the dear friends who are still
enjoying them.

The best place for reviewing the Rapids is from the drive leading to the
Cemetery, which here, as in most large American towns, is one of the
prettiest spots in the neighbourhood; but the Rapids are not only
ornamental, they are eminently useful. They afford a water-power to
several mills, one of which, the Gallego Flour-Mill, is a splendid
establishment, six stories high, nearly one hundred feet square, and
capable of sending out daily 1200 barrels of flour. The flour is of very
superior quality, the brand fetching a higher price than that of most
others in the country. There are also rolling-mills, cotton and tobacco
factories; the latter of course in great quantities, as tobacco is one
of the chief products of the state, and rapidly increasing. The produce
entered in Richmond, which in 1851 was under 16,000 hogsheads, in 1852
amounted to more than 24,000, and is now very probably above 30,000.
Virginia has the honour of being the first State that raised cotton, the
cultivation whereof was commenced in the year 1662.

Let us pass on to the hill at the eastern extremity of the city,
commanding a panoramic view of the river below the town, and all the
surrounding country. One spot arrests the attention, a spot closed with
the deepest and most romantic interest. A solitary tree, to which no
sacrilegious hand has yet dared to apply the axe, stands a few miles
down the river, on the same side as the town, and marks the site of the
lodge of the venerable old chieftain, Powhattan, when as yet the colony
was in its infancy, and when the Indian and the white man--the spoiler
and the spoiled--were looking at each other with mutual distrust, deep
fear on one side and dark foreboding on the other. The Indian is no
more; and nought remains as a memorial of this chief who once ruled this
fertile land with absolute sway, except this solitary tree;--and what an
episode in the history of colonization does that tree recal! Who can
forget that, when despair was the Colonists' daily bread, when nought
but the energy and genius of Smith--a man of very ordinary name, but of
no ordinary character--kept hope flickering in its socket, an attack of
Indians made him a prisoner, and left them hopeless. Then, how romantic
the tale of his captivity! He betrayed no fear, but retained perfect
self-possession; and remembering how easy their superstitious minds
could be worked upon, he drew forth, and with great solemnity commenced
looking steadily at his pocket-compass, and thence to heaven,
alternating between the two, until he impressed them with a feeling of
awe, as though he were a superior being communing with the Great Spirit.
This feeling gradually wearing off, the captors insisted upon his death,
as an expiation for the many injuries they had experienced at the hands
of the whites. The tribe meet, the block is prepared, the captive's neck
is laid ready, the upraised tomahawk, held by a brawny Indian arm, whose
every muscle quivers with revenge, glitters in the sunbeams; swarthy
figures around, thirsting for blood, anxiously await the sacrifice of
the victim, already too long delayed. Hope has fled from the captive's
breast, and he is communing in earnest with the Great Spirit into whose
presence he is about to be so sadly and speedily ushered. Suddenly a
shriek is heard! At that well-known voice the savage arm falls helpless
at its side, as, stretched upon the neck of the despairing captive, lies
the lovely daughter of Powhattan, with tearful eye, and all the wild
energy of her race, vowing she will not survive the butchery of her
kindest friend. Ruthless hands would tear her away, and complete the
bloody tragedy. Who dares lay even a finger upon the noble daughter of
their adored chief? They stand abashed, revenge and doubt striving in
their hearts; the eloquence of love and mercy pleading irresistibly from
the eyes of Pocahontas. The tomahawk, upraised by man's revenge for the
work of a captive's death, descends, when moved by woman's tears, to cut
a captive's bonds.

Callous indeed must that man's heart be, who can gaze upon the spot
where the noble Pocahontas--reared among savages, 'mid the solemn
grandeur of the forest, and beneath, the broad canopy of heaven, with no
Gospel light to guide and soften--received the holy impulses of love and
mercy fresh from her Maker's hand; and how gratifying to remember, that
she who had thus early imbibed these sacred feelings, became soon after
a convert to Christianity. Alas! how short her Christian career.
Marrying Mr. J. Rolfe, she died in childbirth ere she had reached her
twenty-fifth year, and from her many of the oldest families in Virginia
at this day have their origin. Virginia, as is well known, has always
been considered an aristocratic State; and it is a kind of joke--in
allusion to this Indian origin--for other States to speak disparagingly
of the F.F.Vs.--_alias_ first families of Virginia. Let those who sneer,
seek carefully amid their musty ancestral rolls for a nobler heart than
that of Pocahontas, the joy of Powhattan's house and the pride of all
his tribe. How strange, that a scene so well known as the foregoing, and
a life so adventurous as that of Smith, has never yet engaged the pen of
a Cooper or a Bulwer!

One of my friends in New York had given me a letter to a gentleman in
Richmond, at whose house I called soon after my arrival, as my stay was
necessarily short. He was out in the country, at his plantation. This
disappointment I endeavoured to rectify by enclosing the letter; but
when I had done so, Sambo could not tell me how to address it, as he was
in ignorance both of the place and its distance. In this dilemma, and
while ransacking my brain-box how to remedy the difficulty, a lady came
in, and having passed me, Sambo--grinning through a _chevaux-de-frise_
of snow-white ivories--informed me that was "his Missus." I instantly
sent the letter in to her to receive its direction, and in lieu of my
letter received an immediate summons to walk in. Nothing could be more
lady-like and cordial than the reception she gave me. Shy as I am, she
immediately put me quite at my ease; in less than a quarter of an hour I
felt I was in the society of an old friend; and during my stay in
Richmond, each day found me in the same snug corner of the sofa, near
the fire, enjoying the society of one of the most amiable and agreeable
ladies it has ever been my good fortune to meet. The husband soon
returned from the plantation, and then all the hospitalities of the
house were as much at my disposal as if it had been my own, and one or
the other of these kind friends, if not both, daily lionized me over
Richmond or its neighbourhood. I feel sure, that any of my countrymen
who have visited this city when Mr. and Mrs. Stanard were staying in
town, will readily hear testimony to their kind hospitality and
agreeable society.

There are various public buildings here, among the most conspicuous of
which is the Capitol, built in the great public square, and from its
summit commanding a splendid panoramic view. There are also about thirty
churches, one of which, the Monumental Church--which is
Episcopalian--stands upon ground of melancholy recollections; for here,
in 1811, stood the theatre, which during that year was utterly consumed
by a fire, in which the governor and scores of other human beings
perished. One great cause of the destruction of life was, having the
doors of the building fitted to open inwards--a custom, the folly of
which is only equalled by its universality. At the cry of fire, the rush
to the doors was so great that it was impossible to open them, owing to
the pressure. The only avenues of escape were the windows, in retreating
through which, the greater number of those few who succeeded in escaping
suffered the most serious injuries. How is this absurd practice of doors
opening inwards to be stopped? What think you if Insurance Companies
would combine, and make people forfeit their insurance if they entered
any public building whose doors were so fitted; or perhaps the
Chancellor of the Exchequer might bring in a bill to levy a very heavy
tax on all public buildings the doors of which opened in this dangerous
manner, and containing a stringent clause compelling managers and all
parties concerned to support the widows and orphans, and pay the
doctors' fees, arising from accidents caused therefrom. Alas! I fear
until--as Sydney Smith would say--we reduce a few cabinet ministers and
a leading member or two of the House of Peers to cinders, we shall go on
in our folly, because our ancestors did so before us.

Among other places I went to was the public billiard-room, and on
entering, my sympathies were immediately aroused by seeing a lad about
thirteen or fourteen, with a very extensive flaming choker on, above
which was a frightful large swelling. Not being a medical man, I was
very much puzzled when I saw the said swelling move about like a penny
roll in a monkey's cheek; presently the sympathy fled, and the puzzle
was solved, as a shower of 'bacco juice deluged the floor. Poor boy! it
must have taken him an hour's hard work to have got the abominable mass
in, and it could only have been done by instalments: the size it had
reached would have broken any jaw to remove in the lump; but he seemed
to have no idea of parting with his treasure, which, to do him justice,
he rolled about with as much ease as if he had had a monkey-teacher
before him from his cradle; nor did it prevent his betting away in a
style that quite astonished a steady old gentleman like myself.

The State of Virginia, like all the other States of the Union, is
undergoing the increasing pressure of democracy:[AJ] one of its
features--which is peculiarly obnoxious to the more sober-minded of the
community--is the new arrangement for the division of the electoral
districts, and which goes by the name of "Gerymander." In the early days
of the Republic, all divisions were made by straight lines, or as near
straight as possible; but that fair and natural mode of division is not
considered by the autocratic democracy as sufficiently favourable to
their views; and the consequence is, that other divisions have been
substituted, most irregular in shape, so as if possible to annihilate
entirely the already weakened opposition. This operation, my informant
told me, acquired a kind of celebrity in Massachusetts some years ago;
and, in the discussions upon the subject in their State legislature, one
of the speakers is said to have compared some of these arbitrary
divisions to a salamander which, in their outline they somewhat
resembled. The governor of the State was of the democratic party, and
therefore supporting and encouraging these changes, and his name was
"Gery;" so a wag interrupted the speaker, exclaiming, "Don't say
salamander; call it Gerymander,"--by which name it has been known since
that day.

I may here as well mention a little occurrence I witnessed, which,
however pleasant it may have been to the democratic rowdies enacting it,
must have been anything but agreeable to those operated upon. A fire
company was out trying its engine and hoses, and followed of course by a
squad of the idle and unwashed. Arrived at the market-place, they tried
its range; that appeared satisfactory enough; but the idea seems to
have struck the man who held the hose-end, that range without good aim
was useless: he accordingly looked round for a target, and a glass coach
passing by at the time, it struck him as peculiarly suited for his
experiment. Two elderly females were inside, and a white Jehu on the
box. In the most deliberate manner he pointed his weapon, amidst
encouraging shouts from bystanders, and increasing zeal on the part of
the pumpers; lucidly the windows were closed, or the ladies would have
been drenched; as it was, the gushing stream rattled against the
carriage, then fixed itself steadily upon poor Jehu, frightening the
horses and nearly knocking him off the box. Naturally enough Jehu was
highly incensed, and pulled up; then getting off the box, he walked up
to his assailants, who received him with shouts of laughter; the horses,
left without a ruler, started off at a gallop, Jehu ran after them, but
luckily another person and myself rushed up, and stopped them before any
accident occurred.

All this took place at noonday, and not a voice was raised against it.
If I had presumed to interfere with this liberty of the subject, the
chances are I should have been tied to one of the posts of the
market-place and made to stand target for an hour. It must be a charming
thing when the masses rule supreme. Fancy St. James's-street, upon a
drawing-room day, full of a pleasant little water-dispensing community
such as this;--what cheers they would raise as a good shot took off some
Jarvy's cocked-hat and bob-wig, or sent his eighteen-inch-diameter
bouquet flying into the street!--then what fun to play upon the padded
calves and silk stockings of Patagonian John, as he stood behind!--and
only imagine the immense excitement, if by good luck they could smash
some window and deluge a live aristocrat! What a nice thing a pure
democracy must be! how the majority must enjoy themselves! how the
minority must rejoice at the mild rule of bone over brain! What a
glorious idea, equality! only excelled by that gigantic conception of
Messrs. Cobden and Co., yclept the Peace Society, upon which such a
bloody comment was enacted before Sevastopol.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AD: General Cadwallader, whose hospitality is well known to
all strangers visiting Philadelphia.]

[Footnote AE: Alas! she has since met a melancholy death, being
accidentally poisoned in Mexico, on the 18th of June, 1854; but her fame
is as imperishable as her life was stainless.]

[Footnote AF: The origin of ten-pins is amusing enough, and is as
follows:--The State having passed an act, during a time when religious
fervour was at high pressure, prohibiting nine-pin alleys, a tenth pin
was added, and the law evaded. In the meantime, high pressure went below
the boiling point, and the ten-pin alley remains to this day, an
amusement for the people, and a warning to indiscreet legislators.]

[Footnote AG: The commercial prosperity of South Carolina appears to be
increasing steadily, if not rapidly. The cotton produce was--

                       In 1847.     In 1852.
  Bales, main land     336,562       472,338
  Ditto, sea islands    13,529        20,500
                       -------       -------
  Total                350,091       492,838
                       -------       -------

Rice in 1847     146,260 tierces.
Do. in 1852      137,497 ditto.

The average value of the bale (450lbs.) of main land cotton is from
6l. to 8l. sterling; of the sea-island cotton, from 30_l_ to 36l.
sterling. The average price of a tierce of rice (600lbs.) is from 3l.
5s. to 4l.]

[Footnote AH: Independent of the enormous charge of fifty per cent. on
the taxes you pay, there is also a small fine for each parade missed.]

[Footnote AI: _Vide_ chapter on "Military Education."]

[Footnote AJ: _Vide_ chapter on "The Constitution."]

CHAPTER XV.

_From a River to a Racecourse_.

Having enjoyed as much of the hospitalities of my kind friends as time
permitted, I obtained a letter of introduction, and, embarking in a
steamer, started for Williamsburg, so called after King William III. On
our way down, we picked up as healthy and jolly a set of little ducks in
their 'teens as one could wish to see. On inquiring what this aggregate
of rosy cheeks and sunny smiles represented, I was informed they were
the sum total of a ladies' school at Williamsburg--and a very charming
sum total they were. Having a day's holiday, they had come up by the
early steamer to pic-nic on the banks, and were now returning to
chronology and crotchet-work, or whatever else their studies might be.
Landing at King's Mills, a "'bus" took us all up to Williamsburg, a
distance of three or four miles, one half of which was over as dreary a
road as need be, and the other through a shady forest grove.

This old city is composed of a straight street, at one end of which is
the establishment occupied by the rosy cheeks of whom we have been
speaking, and which is very neat and clean-looking; at the other
end--only with half a mile of country intervening--is the college. On
each side of the said street is a crescent of detached houses, with a
common before them. The population is 1500, and has not varied--as far
as I could learn--in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. I naturally
felt very much interest in visiting this place, as it was originally the
seat of the royal government, and my grandfather had been the last
governor of the state. The body of the old palace was burnt down by
accident, while occupied by French troops, in 1782. The foundations,
which were six feet thick, are still traceable, although most of the
bricks have been used for the buildings in the neighbourhood. The
outlines of the old garden and its terraces may also be traced, and a
very charming spot it must have been. There are two beautiful
lime-trees in a thriving state, which, I was told, he had planted
himself from seeds he had brought from home. His thoughts were evidently
on that far-off home when he planted them; for, as to position
relatively to each other and distance from the old palace, they
precisely coincide with two beneath which many of my early days were
passed, at the old family mansion of Glenfinarl, on Loch Fine, which has
since become the property of Mr. Douglas.

There is an old ditch in the neighbourhood, which goes by the name of
Lord Dunmore's Ditch. The history which my informant gave me thereof is
absurd enough, and there is a negro of the name of Isaac still living
who remembers all the circumstances. It appears that Lord Dunmore,
having found fault with an Irish labourer for not doing sufficient work,
Paddy replied, "'Faith, if 'twas yer 'onnur that had the shpade in yer
hand, maybe one-half would satisfy yer 'onnur." The Governor, who
happened to be a man of iron frame, and not at all averse to a joke,
immediately took up Paddy's challenge, and replied, "Paddy, I'll work
four hours against you in a ditch for a month's wages." The combatants
set to work the following morning, and at the end of four hours Paddy
was obliged to confess himself beaten, and the result of my
grandfather's labours goes by the name of Lord Dunmore's Ditch to this
day.

The only parts of the old palace still standing are the two wings, one
of which is now the parsonage, and the other a school, which is kept by
an Englishman, educated at one of our universities, and living here for
his health. This place is both a well-chosen and a favourite locality
for schools, being situated upon a high plateau of land, with James
River on one side and York River on the other; consequently, the air is
peculiarly healthy and pure.

The most imposing, if not the most useful, of the scholastic
establishments is the college, which was founded by William and Mary in
the year 1692. It contains a very fair library of old books, but
comparatively few additions appear to have been made in latter years.
The building bears every internal mark of neglect and dilapidation,
defaced walls, broken plaster, &c. Upon entering the lecture-room, a
quantity of eighteen-inch square boxes full of moisture suggest the idea
of a rainy day and a roofless chamber. Be not deceived: these are
merely receptacles for the discharge of the students' 'bacco juice; and
the surrounding floor gives painful demonstration that their free
spirits scorn the trammels of eighteen-inch boundaries, however
profusely supplied. From what causes I cannot say, but the college has
been all but deserted until lately. The present authorities are striving
to infuse into it a little vitality of usefulness. With these simple
facts before me, it was amusing to read, in an American gazetteer of the
day, that the college "is at present in a flourishing condition."

In front of the college there is an enclosed green, and in the centre a
statue, erected in honour of one of the old royal governors, Berkeley,
Lord Bowtetort. Whether from a desire to exhibit their anti-aristocratic
sentiments, or from innate Vandalism, or from a childish wish to exhibit
independence by doing mischief, the said statue is the pistol-mark for
the students, who have exhibited their skill as marksmen by its total
mutilation, in spite of all remonstrances from the authorities. The
college was formerly surrounded by magnificent elms, but a few years
since a blight came which destroyed every one of them, leaving the
building in a desert-like nakedness. The inn at Williamsburg is a
miserable building, but it is kept by as kind-hearted, jolly old
John-Bull-looking landlord as ever was seen, and who rejoices in the
name of Uncle Ben. Meat is difficult to get at, as there are no
butchers; the cream and butter are, however, both plentiful and
excellent. The house is almost entirely overshadowed by one magnificent
elm, which has fortunately escaped the blight that annihilated nearly
all its fellows.

After the hustle of most American cities, there was to me an unspeakable
charm in the quiet of this place. Sitting at the inn-door, before you
lies the open green, with its daisies and buttercups; horses and cattle
are peaceably grazing; in the background are the remaining wings of the
old palace; to your left stands the old village church, built with
bricks brought from England, and long since mellowed by the hand of
time, around which the clinging ivy throws the venerable mantle of its
dark and massive foliage. Now, the summoning church-bell tolls its
solemn note; school children, with merry laugh and light step, cross the
common; the village is astir, and a human tide is setting towards its
sacred portals: all, all speaks to the heart and to the imagination of
happy days and happy scenes in a far-off land. You close your eyes, the
better to realize the dream which fancy is painting. When they open upon
the reality again, the illusion is dispelled by the sight of a brawny
negro, with a grin on his face which threatens to split his ears,
jogging merrily along the street with a huge piece of sturgeon for his
Sunday feast. My friends, however, left me little time to indulge in a
contemplative mood, for good old Madeira, a hearty welcome, and a stroll
about and around the place, filled up the day; while the fragrant weed
and the social circle occupied no small portion of the evening. Having
spent a few but very pleasant days here, I took leave of my hospitable
friends--not forgetting that jovial soul, Uncle Ben; then embarking in a
steamer, and armed with a solitary letter of introduction, I started off
to visit a plantation on the banks of James River.

A planter's home, like the good Highland laird's, seems made of India
rubber. Without writing to inquire whether the house is full, or your
company agreeable, you consider the former improbable and the latter
certain. When you approach your victim, a signal is thrown out; the
answer is a boat; in you get, bag and baggage; you land at the foot of
his lawn or of some little adjoining pier, and thus apparently force
yourself upon his hospitality. Reader, if it is ever your good fortune
to be dropped with a letter of introduction at Shirley, one glance from
the eye of the amiable host and hostess, accompanied by a real shake of
the hand, satisfy you beyond doubt you are truly and heartily welcome. A
planter's house on James River reminds one in many ways of the old
country. The building is old, the bricks are of the brownest red, and in
many places concealed by ivy of colonial birth; a few venerable monarchs
of the forest throw their ample shade over the greensward, which slopes
gently down to the water. The garden, the stables, the farm-yard, the
old gates, the time-honoured hues of everything,--all is so different
from the new facing and new painting which prevails throughout the
North, that you feel you are among other elements; and if you go inside
the house, the thoughts also turn homeward irresistibly as the eye
wanders from object to object. The mahogany table and the old
dining-room chairs, bright with that dark ebony polish of time which
human ingenuity vainly endeavours to imitate; the solid bookcases, with
their quaint gothic-windowly-arranged glass-doors, behind which, in calm
and dusty repose, lie heavy patriarchal-looking tomes on the lower
shelves, forming a sold basis above which to place lighter and less
scholastic literature; an arm-chair, that might have held the invading
Caesar, and must have been second-hand in the days of the conquering
William; a carpet, over whose chequered face the great Raleigh might
have strolled in deep contemplation; a rug, on whose surface generations
of spinsters might have watched the purrings of their pet Toms or gazed
on the glutinous eyes and inhaled the loaded breeze that came from the
fat and fragrant Pug: whichever way the eye turned, whatever direction
the imagination took, the conviction forced upon the mind was, that you
were in an inheritance, and that what the wisdom and energy of one
generation had gathered together, succeeding generations had not yet
scattered to the winds by the withering blast of infinitesimal division.
With the imagination thus forcibly filled with home and its
associations, you involuntarily feel disposed to take a stroll on the
lawn; but on reaching the door, your ears are assailed by wild shouts of
infantine laughter, and, raising your eyes, you behold a dozen little
black imps skylarking about in every direction, their fat faces, bright
eyes, and sunny smiles beaming forth joyousness and health. Home and its
varying visions fly at the sight, giving place to the reality that you
are on a slave plantation. Of the slaves I shall say nothing here beyond
the general fact that they appeared healthy, well fed, and well clothed
on all the plantations I visited. Having enjoyed the hospitalities of
Shirley for a few days, it was agreed that I should make a descent upon
another property lower down the river. So, bidding adieu to my good
friends at Shirley, I embarked once more on the steamer, and was landed
at the pier of Brandon, in the most deluging rain imaginable. A walk of
a quarter of a mile brought me to the door like a drowned rat, a note
from my Shirley friends secured me an immediate and cordial welcome.

Brandon is perhaps the plantation which is more thoroughly kept up than
any other on the James River, and which consequently has altered less.
I am alluding now to the house and grounds about, not to the plantation
at large; for I believe the proprietor at Shirley is reckoned A1 as a
farmer. I have before alluded to the blight which destroyed so many fine
elms on both shores of the James River. The withering insect appeared at
Brandon; but the lady of the house soon proved that she knew the use of
tobacco as well as the men, by turning a few hogsheads of the said weed
into water, making thereby a murderous decoction, with which, by the
intervention of a fire-engine, she utterly annihilated the countless
hosts of the all-but invisible enemy, and thus saved some of the finest
elms I ever saw in my life, under the shade of which the old family
mansion had enjoyed shelter from many a summer's sun. Brandon is the
only place I visited where the destroyer had not left marks of his
ravages. The lawn is beautifully laid out, and in the style of one of
our country villas of the olden time, giving every assurance of comfort
and every feeling of repose. The tropical richness and brightness of
leaf and flower added an inexpressible charm to them, as they stood out
in bold relief against the pure and cloudless air around, so different
from that indistinct outline which is but too common in our moist
atmosphere. Then there was the graceful and weeping willow, the
trembling aspen, the wild ivy, its white bloom tinged as with maiden's
blush; the broad-leafed catalpa; the magnolia, rich in foliage and in
flower; while scattered around were beds of bright and lovely colours.
The extremes of this charming view were bounded, either by the venerable
mansion over whose roof the patriarchal elms of which we have been
speaking threw their cool and welcome shade, or by the broad stream
whose bosom was ever and anon enlivened with some trim barque or
rapid-gliding steamer, and whose farther shore was wooded to the water's
edge. There is one of the finest China rose-trees here I ever beheld; it
covers a space of forty feet square, being led over on trellis-work, and
it might extend much beyond that distance: it is one mass of flowers
every year. Unfortunately, I was a week too late to see it in its glory;
but the withered flowers gave ample evidence how splendid it must have
been.

In one of my drives, I went to see an election which took place in the
neighbourhood. The road for some distance lay through a forest full of
magnificent timber; but, like most forest timber, that which gives it a
marketable value destroys its picturesque effect. A few noble
stems--however poor their heads--have a fine effect when surrounded by
others which have had elbow-room; but a forest of stems, with
Lilliputian heads--great though the girth of the stem may be--conveys
rather the idea of Brobdingnagian piles driven in by giants, and
exhibiting the last flickerings of vitality in a few puny sprouts at
their summit. The underwood was enlivened by shrubs of every shade and
hue, the wild flowering ivy predominating. The carriage-springs were
tested by an occasional drop of the wheels into a pit-hole, on merging
from which you came sometimes to a hundred yards of rut of dimensions
similar to those of military approaches to a citadel; nevertheless, I
enjoyed my drive excessively. The place of election was a romantic spot
near a saw-mill, at the edge of what, in a gentleman's park in England,
would be called a pretty little lake, styled in America a small pond. As
each party arrived, the horse was hitched to the bough of some tree, and
the company divided itself into various knots; a good deal of tobacco
was expended in smoke and juice; there was little excitement; all were
jolly and friendly; and, in short, the general scene conveyed the idea
of a gathering together for field-preaching; but that was speedily
replaced by the idea of a pleasant pic-nic of country farmers, as a
dashing charge was made by the whole _posse comitatus_ upon a long table
which was placed under a fine old elm, and lay groaning beneath the
weight of substantial meat and drink. As for drunkenness, they were all
as sober as washerwomen. So much for a rural election-scene in Virginia.

By way of making time pass agreeably, it was proposed to take a sail in
a very nice yacht, called "The Breeze," which belonged to a neighbouring
planter. We all embarked, in the cool of the evening, and the merry
laugh would soon have told you the fair sex was fairly represented.
Unfortunately, the night was so still that not a breath rippled the
surface of the river, except as some inquisitive zephyr came curling
along the stream, filling us with hope, and then, having satisfied its
curiosity, suddenly disappeared, as though in mockery of our distress.
The name of the yacht afforded ample field for punning, which was
cruelly taken advantage of by all of us; and if our cruise was not a
long one, at all events it was very pleasant, and full of fun and
frolic. Pale Cinthia was throwing her soft and silvery light over the
eastern horizon before we landed.

Walking up the lawn, the scene was altogether lovely; the fine trees
around were absolutely alive with myriads of fire-flies. These bright
and living lights, darting to and fro 'mid the dark foliage, formed the
most beautiful illumination imaginable--at one time clustering into a
ball of glowing fire, at another streaking away in a line of lightning
flame; then, bursting into countless sparks, they would for a moment
disappear in the depths of their sombre bower, to come forth again in
some more varied and more lovely form.

Pleasant indeed were the hours I passed here; lovely was the climate,
beautiful was the landscape, hearty was the welcome: every day found
some little plan prepared to make their hospitality more pleasant to the
stranger; nature herself seemed to delight in aiding their efforts, for
though I arrived in a deluge, I scarce ever saw a cloud afterwards. As
the morning light stole through my open window in undimmed transparency,
the robin, the blue-bird, the mocking-bird, the hosts of choral
warblers, held their early oratorio in the patriarchal elms. If
unskilled in music's science, they were unfettered by its laws, and
hymned forth their wild and varied notes as though calling upon man to
admire and adore the greatness and the goodness of his Maker, and to

  "Shake off dull sloth, and early rise,
  To pay his morning sacrifice."

If such were their appeal, it was not made in vain; for both morning and
evening--both here and at Shirley--every member and visitor gathered
round the family altar, the services of which were performed with equal
cheerfulness and reverence. I felt as if I could have lingered on and on
in this charming spot, and amid such warm hospitality, an indefinite
period; it was indeed with sincere regret I was obliged to bid adieu to
my agreeable hosts, and once more embark on board the steamer.

The river James lacks entirely those features that give grandeur to
scenery; the river, it is true, by its tortuous windings, every now and
then presents a broad sheet of water; the banks are also prettily
wooded; but there is a great sameness, and a total absence of that
mountain scenery so indispensable to grandeur. The only thing that
relieves the eye is a glimpse, from time to time, of some lovely spot
like the one I have just been describing; but such charming villas, like
angel's visits, are "few and far between." Here we are, at Norfolk. How
different is this same Norfolk from the other eastern ports I have
visited!--there all is bustle, activity, and increase,--here all is
dreariness, desolation, and stagnation. It is, without exception, the
most uninteresting town I ever set foot in; the only thing that gives it
a semblance of vitality is its proximity to the dockyard, and the
consequent appearance of officers in uniform; but in spite of this
impression, which a two-days' residence confirmed me in, I was told, on
good authority, that it is thriving and improving. By the statistics
which our consul, Mr. James, was kind enough to furnish me, it appears
that 1847 was the great year of its commercial activity, its imports in
that year valuing 94,000l., and its exports 364,000l. In 1852, the
imports were under 25,000l. and the exports a little more than
81,000l., which is certainly, by a comparison with the average of the
ten years preceding, an evidence of decreasing, rather than increasing,
commercial prosperity. Its population is 16,000; and that small
number--when it is remembered that it is the port of entry for the great
state of Virginia--is a strong argument against its asserted prosperity.
Not long before my arrival they had been visited with a perfect deluge
of rain, accompanied with a waterspout, which evidently had whirled up
some of the ponds in the neighbourhood; for quantities of cat-fish fell
during the storm, one of which, measuring ten inches, a friend told me
he had himself picked up at a considerable distance from any water.

The only real object of interest at Norfolk is the dockyard, which of
course I visited. Mr. James was kind enough to accompany me, and it is
needless to say we were treated with the utmost courtesy, and every
facility afforded us for seeing everything of interest, after which we
enjoyed an excellent lunch at the superintendent's. They were building a
splendid frigate, intended to carry 58-inch guns; her length was 250
feet, and her breadth of beam 48. Whether the manifest advantages of
steam will induce them to change her into a screw frigate, I cannot say.
The dockyard was very clean and the buildings airy. Steam, saw-mills,
&c., were in full play, and anchors forging under Nasmyth's hammer, I
found them making large masts of four pieces--one length and no
scarfings--the root part of the tree forming the mast-head, and a very
large air-hole running up and down the centre. The object of this
air-hole is to allow the mast to season itself; the reader may remember
that the mast of the "Black Maria" is made the same way. As far as I
know, this is a plan we have not yet tried in our dockyards. I find that
they use metallic boats far more than we do. I saw some that had
returned after being four years in commission, which were perfectly
sound. To say that I saw fine boats and spars here, would be like a
traveller remarking he saw a great many coals at Newcastle. All waste
wood not used in the yard is given away every Saturday to any old woman
who will come and take it; and no searching of people employed in the
dockyard is ever thought of. The cattle employed in and for the dockyard
have a most splendid airy stable, and are kept as neat and clean as if
in a drawing-room. Materials are abundant; but naturally there is little
bustle and activity when compared to that which exists in a British
yard. Their small navy can hardly find them enough work to keep their
"hands in;" but doubtless the first knell of the accursed tocsin of war,
while it gave them enough to do, would soon fill their dockyards with
able and willing hands to do it. Commodore Ringold's surveying
expedition, consisting of a corvette, schooner, steamer, &c., was
fitting out for service, and most liberally and admirably were they
supplied with all requisites and comforts for their important duties.

During my stay I enjoyed the kind hospitalities of our consul, Mr.
G.P.E. James, who is so well known to the literary world. He was
indulging the good people of Norfolk with lectures, which seem to be all
the fashion with the Anglo-Saxon race wherever they are gathered
together. The subject which I heard him treat of was "The Novelists,"
handling some favourites with severity and others with a gentler touch,
and winding up with a glowing and just eulogy upon the author of _My
Novel_. Altogether I spent a very pleasant hour and a half.

I may here mention a regulation of the Foreign-office, which, however
necessary it may be considered, every one must admit presses very hardly
on British _employés_ in the Slave States. I allude to the regulation by
which officials are prevented from employing other people's slaves as
their servants. White men soon earn enough money to be enabled to set
up in some trade, business, or farm, and, as service is looked down
upon, they seize the first opportunity of quitting it, even although
their comforts may be diminished by the change. Free negroes won't
serve, and the official must not employ a slave; thus, a gentleman sent
out to look after the interest of his country, and in his own person to
uphold its dignity, must either submit to the dictation and extortion of
his white servant--if even then he can keep him--or he may be called
upon suddenly, some fine morning, to do all the work of housemaid, John,
cook, and knife and button boy, to the neglect of those duties he was
appointed by his country to perform, unless he be a married man with a
large family, in which case he may perhaps delegate to them the
honourable occupations, above named. Surely there is something a little
puritanical in the prohibition. To hold a slave is one thing, but to
employ the labour of one who is a slave, and over whose hopes of freedom
you have no control, is quite another thing; and I hold that, under the
actual circumstances, the employment of another's slave could never he
so distorted in argument as to bring home a charge of connivance in a
system we so thoroughly repudiate.

Go to the East, follow in imagination your ambassadors, ministers, and
consular authorities. Behold them on the most friendly terms--or
striving to be so--with people in high places, who are but too often
revelling in crimes, with the very name of which they would scorn even
to pollute their lips; and I would ask, did such a monstrous absurdity
ever enter into any one's head as to doubt from these amicable relations
whether the Government of this country or its agents repudiated such
abomination of abominations? If for political purposes you submit to
this latter, while for commercial purposes you refuse to tolerate the
former, surely you are straining at a black gnat while swallowing a
beastly camel. Such, good people of the Foreign-office, is my decided
view of the case; and if you profit by the hint, you will do what I
believe no public body ever did yet. Perhaps, therefore, the idea of
setting the fashion may possibly induce you to reconsider and rectify an
absurdity, which, while no inconvenience to you, is often a very great
one to those you employ. It is wonderful, the difference in the view
taken of affairs by actors on the spot and spectators at a distance. A
man who sees a fellow-creature half crushed to death and crippled for
life by some horrible accident, is too often satisfied with little more
than a passing "Good gracious!" but if, on his returning homeward, some
gigantic waggon-wheel scrunch the mere tip of his toes, or annihilate a
bare inch of his nose, his ideas of the reality of an accident become
immensely enlarged.

Let the Foreign Secretary try for a couple of days some such _régime_ as
the following:--

  5    A.M. Light fires, fetch water, and put kettle on.
  6     "   Dust room and make beds.
  7     "   Clean shoes, polish knives, and sand kitchen.
  7:30  "   Market for dinner.
  8:30  "   Breakfast.
  9     "   To Downing-street, light fires, and dust office.
  10    "   Sit down comfortably(?) to work.
  1:30 P.M. Off to coal-hole for more coals.
  4     "   Sweep up, and go home.
  5     "   Off coat, up sleeves, and cook.
  6:30  "   Eat dinner.
  7     "   Wash up.
  8     "   Light your pipe, walk to window, and see your
            colleague over the way, with a couple of Patagonian
            footmen flying about amid a dozen guests, while, to
            give additional zest to your feelings of enjoyment,
            a couple of buxom lassies are peeping out of the
            attics, and singing like crickets.
  9     "   Make your own reflections upon the Government
            that dooms you to personal servitude, while your
            colleague is allowed purchaseable service. Sleep
            over the same, and repeat the foregoing _régime_ on
            the second day; and, filled with the happy influences
            so much cause for gratitude must inspire, give
            reflection her full tether, and sleep over her again.
            On the third morning, let your heart and brain
            dictate a despatch upon the subject of your reflections
            to all public servants in slave-holding communities,
            and, while repudiating slavery, you will
            find no difficulty in employing the services of the
            slave, under peculiar circumstances, and with proper
            restrictions.

I embarked from Norfolk per steamer for Baltimore, and thence by rail
through Philadelphia to New York. I took a day's hospitality among my
kind friends at Baltimore. At Philadelphia I was in such a hurry to pass
on, that I exhibited what I fear many will consider a symptom of
inveterate bachelorship; but truth bids me not attempt to cloak my
delinquency. Hear my confession:--

My friend Mr. Fisher, whose hospitality I had drawn most largely upon
during my previous stay, invited me to come and pay him and his charming
lady a visit, at a delightful country house of his a few miles out of
town. Oh, no! that was impossible; my time was so limited; I had so much
to see in the north and Canada. In vain he urged, with hearty warmth,
that I should spend only one night: it was quite impossible--quite. That
point being thoroughly settled, he said, "It is a great pity you are so
pressed for time, because the trotting champion, 'Mac,' runs against a
formidable antagonist, 'Tacony,' to-morrow." In half an hour I was in
his waggon, and in an hour and a half I was enjoying the warm greeting
of his amiable wife in their country-house, the blush of shame and a
guilty conscience tinging my cheeks as each word of welcome passed from
her lips or flashed from her speaking eyes. Why did I thus act? Could I
say, in truth, "'Twas not that I love thee less, but that I love Tacony
more?" Far from it. Was it that I was steeped in ingratitude? I trust
not. Ladies, oh, ladies!--lovely creatures that you are--think not so
harshly of a penitent bachelor. You have all read of one of your sex
through whom Evil--which takes its name from, her--first came upon
earth, and you know the motive power of that act was--curiosity. I plead
guilty to that motive power on the present occasion; and, while throwing
myself unreservedly on your clemency, I freely offer myself as a target
for the censure of each one among you who, in the purity of truth can
say, "I never felt such an influence in all my life." Reader, remember
you cannot be one of these, for the simple fact of casting your eyes
over this page affords sufficient presumptive evidence for any court of
law to bring you in guilty of a curiosity to know what the writer has to
say.--To resume.

The race-course at Philadelphia is a road on a perfect level, and a
circle of one mile; every stone is carefully removed, and it looks as
smooth and clean as a swept floor. The stand commands a perfect view of
the course; but its neglected appearance shows clearly that
trotting-matches here are not as fashionable as they used to be, though
far better attended than at New York. Upon the present occasion the
excitement was intense; you could detect it even in the increased vigour
with which the smoking and spitting was carried on. An antagonist had
been found bold enough to measure speed with "Mac"--the great Mac who,
while "Whipping creation," was also said never to have let out his full
speed. He was thorough-bred, about fifteen and a half hands, and lighter
built than my raw-boned friend Tacony, and he had lately been sold for
1600l. So sure did people apparently feel of Mac's easy victory, that
even betting was out of the question. Unlike the Long Island affair, the
riders appeared in jockey attire, and the whole thing was far better got
up. Ladies, however, had long ceased to grace such scenes.

Various false starts were made, all on the part of Mac, who, trusting to
the bottom of blood, apparently endeavoured to ruffle Tacony's temper
and weary him out a little. How futile were the efforts the sequel
plainly showed. At length a start was effected, and away they went,
Tacony with his hind legs as far apart as the centre arch of Westminster
Bridge, and with strides that would almost clear the Bridgewater Canal.
Mac's rider soon found that, in trying to ginger Tacony's temper, he had
peppered his own horse's, for he broke-up into a gallop twice. Old
Tacony and his rider had evidently got intimate since I had seen them at
New York, and they now thoroughly understood each other. On he went,
with giant strides; Mac fought bravely for the van, but could not get
his nose beyond Tacony's saddle-girth at the winning-post--time, 2m.
25-1/2s.

Then, followed the usual race-course accompaniments of cheers,
squabbles, growling, laughing, betting, drinking, &c. The public were
not convinced. Mac was still the favourite; the champion chaplet was not
thus hastily to be plucked from his hitherto victorious brows. Half an
hour's rest brought them again to the starting-post, where Mac repeated
his old tactics, and with similar bad success. Nothing could ruffle
Tacony, or produce one false step: he flew round the course, every
stride like the ricochet of a 32lb. shot; his adversary broke-up again
and again, losing both his temper and his place, and barely saved his
distance, as the gallant Tacony--his rider with a slack rein, and
patting him on the neck--reached the winning-post--time, 2m. 25s. The
shouts were long and loud; such time had never been made before by fair
trotting, and Tacony evidently could have done it in two, if not three
seconds less. The fastest pacing ever accomplished before was 2m. 13s.,
and the fastest trotting 2m. 26s. The triumph was complete; Tacony nobly
won the victorious garland; and as long as he and his rider go together,
it will take, if not a rum 'un to look at, at all events a d----l to
go, ere he be forced to resign his championship.

The race over, waggons on two wheels and waggons on four wheels, with
trotters in them capable of going the mile in from 2m. 40s. to 3m. 20s.,
began to shoot about in every direction, and your ears were assailed on
all sides with "G'lang, g'lang!" and occasionally a frantic yell, to
which some Jehu would give utterance by way of making some horse that
was passing him "break-up." Thus ended the famous race between Mac and
Tac, which, by the way, gave me an opportunity of having a little fun
with some of my American friends, as I condoled with them on their
champion being beaten by a British subject; for, strange to say, Tac is
a Canadian horse. I therefore of course expressed the charitable wish
that an American horse might be found some day equal to the task of
wearing the champion trotting crown(!)--I beg pardon, not crown, but,
I suppose, cap of liberty. I need scarce say that it is not so much the
horse as the perfect teaming that produces the result; and all Tac's
training is exclusively American, and received in a place not very far
from Philadelphia, from which he gets his name. A friend gave me a lift
into Philadelphia, whence the iron horse speedily bore me to the great
republican Babylon, New York.

CHAPTER XVI.

_Home of the Pilgrim Fathers_.

Having made the necessary preparations, I again put myself behind the
boiling kettle, _en route_ to the republican Athens. The day was
intensely hot; even the natives required the windows open, and the dust
being very lively, we soon became as powdered as a party going down to
the Derby in the ante-railway days. My curiosity was excited on the way,
by seeing a body of men looking like a regiment of fox-hunters--all well
got up, fine stout fellows--who entered, and filled two of the
carriages. On inquiring who kept the hounds, and if they had good runs,
a sly smile stole across my friend's cheek as he told me they were
merely the firemen of the city going to fraternize with the ditto ditto
of Boston. It stupidly never occurred to me to ask him whether any
provision was made in case of a quiet little fire developing itself
during their absence, for their number was legion, and as active,
daring, orderly-looking fellows as ever I set eyes upon. Jolly apopletic
aldermen of our capital may forsake the green fat of their soup-making
deity, to be feasted by their Parisian fraternity, without inconvenience
to anybody, except it be to their fellow-passengers in the steamer upon
their return, if they have been over-fed and have not tempest-tried
organs of digestion. But a useful body like firemen migrating should, I
confess, have suggested to me the propriety of asking what substitutes
were left to perform, if need be, their useful duties; not having done
so, I am constrained to leave this important point in its present
painful obscurity.

A thundering whistle and a cloud of steam announce the top is off the
kettle, and that we have reached Boston. Wishing to take my own luggage
in a hackney, I found that, however valuable for security the ticketing
system may be, it was, under circumstances like mine at present,
painfully trying to patience. In three-quarters of an hour, however, I
managed to get hold of it, and then, by way of improving my temper, I
ascertained that one of my boxes was in a state of "pretty considerable
all mighty smash." At last I got off with my goods and chattels, and
having seen quite enough of the American palace-hotels and their
bountifully-spread tables, and of the unrivalled energy with which the
meals are despatched; remembering, also, how frequently the drum of my
ears had been distracted by the eternal rattling and crackling of plates
and dishes for a couple of hundred people, and how my olfactories had
suffered from the mixed odours of the kitchen produce, I declined going
to the palatial Revere House, which is one of the best hotels in the
Union, and put up at a house of less pretensions, where I found both
quiet and comfort.

To write a description of Boston, when so many others have done so far
better than I can pretend to do, and when voluminous gazetteers record
almost every particular, would be drawing most unreasonably upon the
patience of a reader, and might further be considered as inferring a
doubt of his acquaintance with, I might almost say, a hackneyed subject.
I shall, therefore, only inflict a few short observations to refresh his
memory. The most striking feature in Boston, to my mind, is the common
or park, inasmuch as it is the only piece of ground in or attached to
any city which I saw deserving the name of a park. It was originally a
town cow-pasture, and called the Tower Fields. The size is about fifty
acres; it is surrounded with an iron fencing, and, although not large,
the lay of the ground is very pretty. It contains some very fine old
trees, which every traveller in America must know are a great rarity in
the neighbourhood of any populous town. It is overlooked by the
State-house, which is built upon Beacon Hill, just outside the highest
extremity of the park, and from the top of which a splendid panoramic
view of the whole town and neighbourhood is obtained. The State-house is
a fine building in itself, and contains one of Chantrey's best
works--the statue of Washington. The most interesting building in
Boston, to the Americans, is, undoubtedly, Faneuil Hall, called also the
"Cradle of Liberty." Within those walls the stern oratory of noble
hearts striving to be free, and daring to strike for it, was listened to
by thousands, in whose breasts a ready response was found, and who,
catching the glowing enthusiasm of the orators, determined rather to be
rebels and free than subjects and slaves: the sequel is matter of
history.

I shall not tax the temper of my reader by going through any further
list of the public buildings, which are sufficiently known to those who
take an interest in this flourishing community; but I must hasten to
apologize for my ingratitude in not sooner acknowledging that most
pleasing feature in every traveller's experience in America, which, I
need hardly say, is hospitality.

Scarce was my half-smashed box landed at the hotel, when my young
American friend, who came from England with our party, appeared to
welcome me--perhaps to atone for the lion's share of champagne he had
enjoyed at our table on board the steamer. Then he introduced me to
another, and another introduced me to another another, and another
another introduced me to another another another, and so on, till I
began to feel I must know the _élite_ of Boston. Club-doors flew open,
champagne-corks flew out, cicerones, pedal and vehicular, were ever
ready to guide me by day and feed me by night; and though there are no
drones in a Yankee hive, so thoroughly did they dedicate themselves to
my comfort and amusement, that a person ignorant of the true state of
things might have fancied they were as idle and occupationless as the
cigar-puffers who adorn some of our metropolitan-club steps, the envy of
passing butcher-boys and the liberal distributors of cigar-ends to
unwashed youths who hang about ready to pounce upon the delicious and
rejected morsels. Among other gentlemen whose acquaintance I had the
pleasure of making, and whose hospitalities, of course, I enjoyed, I may
mention Mr. Prescott and Mr. Ticknor, the former highly appreciated in
the old country, and both so widely known and so justly esteemed in the
world of literature. As I consider such men public property, I make no
apology for using their names, while in so doing I feel I am best
conveying to the reader some idea of the society which a traveller meets
with in Yankee Athens.

The town has one charm to me, which it shares in common with Baltimore.
Not only is it built on undulating ground, but there are old parts
remaining, whereby the eye is relieved from the tiring monotony of broad
and straight streets, while the newer parts form a pleasing variety, and
bear gratifying evidence of the increasing wealth of its intelligent
and industrious population. Then, again, the neighbourhood of the town
has a charm for a wanderer from the old country; the roads are
excellent, the fields and gardens are tidied up, creepers are led up the
cottage walls, suburban villas abound, everything looks more clean, more
_soigné_, more snug, more filled and settled than the neighbourhood of
any other city I visited in America, and thus forces back upon the mind
associations and reflections of dear old home.

Having enjoyed a visit to a friend in one of the suburban villas inland,
to which he drove me in his light waggon, another vehicular cicerone
insisted that I should drive out to his uncle's, and spend a day at his
marine villa, about twelve miles distant. I joyfully assented to so
pleasant a proposition, and, "hitching a three-forty before a light
waggon"--as the term is in America--we were soon bowling away merrily
along a capital road. A pleasant drive of nine miles brought us to a
little town called Lynn, after Lynn Regis in England, from which place
some of the early settlers came. How often has the traveller to regret
the annihilation of the wild old Indian names, and the substitution of
appellatives from every creek and corner of the older continents; with
Poquanum, Sagamore, Wenepoykin, with Susquehanna, Wyoming, Miami, and a
thousand other such of every length and sound, all cut-and-dried to
hand, it is more than a pity to see so great a country plagiarizing in
such a wholesale manner Pekins, Cantons, Turing, Troys, Carmels,
Emmauses, Cairos, and a myriad other such borrowed plumes, plucked from
Europe, Asia, and Africa, and hustled higgledy-piggledy side by side,
without a single element or association to justify the uncalled-for
robbery.

Forgive me, reader,--all this digression comes from my wishing Lynn had
kept its old Indian name of Saugus; from such little acorns will such
great oak-trees spring.--To resume. The said town of Lynn supplies
understandings to a very respectable number of human beings, and may be
called a gigantic shoemaker's shop, everything being on the gigantic
scale in America. It employs 11,000, out of its total population of
14,000, in that trade, and produces annually nearly 5,000,000 of women's
and children's boots, shoes, and gaiters, investing in the business a
capital amounting to 250,000l. Moses and Son, Hyam and Co., Nicoll
and Co., and the whole of the three-halfpence-a-shirt-paying
capitalists, can show nothing like my shoemakers' shop, "fix it how you
will,"--as they say in the Great Republic.

The three-forty trotter soon left boots, shoes, and all behind, and
deposited us at the door of the uncle's villa, where a friendly hand
welcomed us to its hospitalities. It was very prettily situated upon a
cliff overlooking Massachusetts Bay, in which said cliff a zigzag
stepway was cut down to the water, for the convenience of bathing. The
grounds were nicely laid out and planted, and promised in time to be
well wooded, if the ocean breeze driving upon them did not lay an
embargo upon their growth, in the same heartless manner as it does upon
the west coast of Scotland, where, the moment a tree gets higher than a
mop handle, its top becomes curved over by the gales, with the same
graceful sweep as that which a successful stable-boy gives a birch broom
after a day's soaking. I hope, for my hospitable friend's sake, it may
not prove true in his case; but I saw an ostrich-feathery curve upon the
tops of some of his trees, which looked ominous. Having spent a very
pleasant day, and enjoyed good cheer and good company, Three-forty was
again "hitched to;" joined hands announced the parting moment had
arrived; wreaths of smoke from fragrant Havanas ascended like incense
from the shrine of Adieu; "G'lang"--the note of advance--was sounded;
Three-forty sprang to the word of command; friends, shoes, and
shoemakers were soon tailed of; and ere long your humble servant was
nestling his nose in his pillow at Boston.

Hearing that the drama was investing its talent in Abolitionism, I went
one evening to the theatre, to see if I could extract as much fun from
the metropolis of a free state as I had previously obtained from the
capital of slave-holding Maryland; for I knew the Americans, both North
and South, were as ticklish as young ladies. I found very much the same
style of thing as at Baltimore, except that her abolitionist highness,
the Duchess of Southernblack, did not appear on the stage by deputy; but
as an atonement for the omission, you had a genuine Yankee abolitionist;
poor Uncle Tom and his fraternity were duly licked and bullied by a
couple of heartless Southern nigger-drivers; and while their victims
were writhing in agony, a genuine abolitionist comes on the stage and
whops the two nigger-drivers, amid shouts of applause. The suppliant
Southerners, midst sobs and tears, plead for mercy, and in vain, until
the happy thought occurs to one of them, to break forth into a wondrous
tale of the atrocities inflicted upon the starving and naked slaves of
English mines and factories, proving by contrast the superior happiness
of the nigger and the greater mercifulness of his treatment. The
indignant abolitionist drops the upraised cowhide, the sobs and tears of
the Southerners cease, the whole house thunders forth the ecstasy of its
delight, the curtain drops, and the enchanted audience adjourn to the
oyster saloons, vividly impressed with British brutality, the charms of
slavery, and the superiority of Abolitionism.

How strange, that in a country like this, boasting of its education, and
certainly with every facility for its prosecution--how strange, that in
the very Athens of the Republic, the deluded masses should exhibit as
complete ignorance as you could find in the gallery of any
twopenny-halfpenny metropolitan theatre of the old country!

Another of the lions of Boston which I determined to witness, if
possible, was "spirit-rapping." A friend undertook the arrangement for
me; but so fully were the hours of the exhibitor taken up, that it was
five days before we could obtain a spare hour. At length the time
arrived, and, fortified with a good dinner and a skinful of "Mumm
Cabinet," we proceeded to the witch's den. The witch was a clean and
decent-looking girl about twenty, rather thin, and apparently very
exhausted; gradually a party of ten assembled, and we gathered round the
witch's table. The majority were ladies--those adorers of the
marvellous! The names of friends were called for; the ladies took the
alphabet, and running over it with the point of a pencil, the spirit
rapped as the wished-for letter was reached. John Davis was soon spelt,
each letter probably having been indicated by the tremulous touch of
affectionate hope. Harriet Mercer was then rapped out by the obliging
spirit. The pencil and the alphabet were then handed to me, and the
spirit being asked if it would answer my inquiries, and a most
satisfactory "Yes" being rapped out, I proceeded to put its powers to
the test. I concentrated my thoughts upon a Mr. L---- and his shop in
Fleet-street, with both of which being thoroughly familiar I had no
difficulty in fixing my attention upon them. The pencil was put in
motion, powerful rappings were heard as it touched the D. I kept my
gravity, and went on again and again, till the name of the illustrious
duke, whose death the civilized world was then deploring with every
token of respect, was fully spelt out. The witch was in despair; she
tried again and again to summon the rebellious spirit, but it would not
come. At last, a gentleman present, and who evidently was an _habitué_
of the witch's den, proposed that the refractory spirit should be asked
if any of the company were objectionable to it. This being done, a
rattling "Yes" came forth, upon which each person asked in succession,
"Am I objectionable to you?" There was a dead silence until it came to
my friend and myself, to each of whom it gave a most rappingly emphatic
"Yes." Accordingly, we rose and left the field to those whose greater
gullibility rendered them more plastic objects for working upon. Never
in my life did I witness greater humbug; and yet so intense was the
anxiety of the Boston public to witness the miracle, that during all the
day and half the night the spirit was being invoked by the witch, into
whose pockets were pouring the dollars of thousands of greater gabies
than myself, for many went away believers, receiving the first germs of
impressions which led them to a Lunatic Asylum, or an early grave, as
various statistics in America prove most painfully.

To show the extent to which belief in these absurdities goes, I subjoin
an extract from a paper, by which it appears that even the solemnities
of a funeral cannot sober the minds of their deluded followers. Mr.
Calvin R. Brown--better known as the husband of Mrs. Anne L. Fish, a
famous "spirit medium" in New York--having died, we read the following
notice of the funeral:--"After prayer, the Rev. S. Brittan delivered an
address, in which he dwelt with much earnestness upon the superiority of
the life of the spirit, as compared with that of the body. At various
points in his address there were rappings, sometimes apparently on the
bottom of the coffin, and at others upon the floor, as if in response to
the sentiments uttered. After concluding his address, Professor Brittan
read a communication purporting to have come from the deceased after his
entrance into the spirit world. While it was being read, the reporter
states that the rappings were distinctly heard. Several friends then
sang, "Come, ye disconsolate," after which the Rev. Mr. Denning made a
few remarks, during which the rappings were more audible than before.
Other ceremonies closed the funeral. The whole party, preachers,
physicians, and all, were spiritualists," &c.

But I have before me a letter written by Judge Edmonds, which is a more
painful exemplification of the insanity superinduced by giving way to
these absurdities; in that document you will find him deliberately
stating, that he saw heavy tables flying about without touch, like the
leaves in autumn; bells walking off shelves and ringing themselves, &c.
Also, you will find him classing among his co-believers "Doctors,
lawyers, clergymen, a Protestant bishop, a learned and reverend
president of a college, judges of higher courts, members of congress,
foreign ambassadors (I hope not Mr. Crampton), and ex-members of the
United States Senate."

The ladies of the old country will, no doubt, be astonished to hear that
their sisters of the younger country have medical colleges in various
States; but, I believe, mostly in the northern ones. To what extent
their studies in the healing art are carried, I cannot precisely inform
them; it most probably will not stop at combinations of salts and senna,
or spreading plasters--for which previous nursery practice with bread
and butter might eminently qualify them. How deeply they will dive into
the mysteries of anatomy, unravelling the tangled web of veins and
arteries, and mastering the intricacies of the ganglionic centre; or how
far they will practise the subjugation of their feelings, whether only
enough to whip off some pet finger and darling little toe, or whether
sufficiently to perform more important operations, even such as Sydney
Smith declared a courageous little prime minister was ready to undertake
at a minute's notice; these are questions which I cannot answer: but one
thing is clear, the wedge is entered. How far it will be driven in, time
must show.[AK]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AK: The Massachusetts Legislature, in a recent session,
appropriated funds to the New England Female Medical College, located in
Boston, to pay forty students for five years; and I have since observed
in a Boston paper that there are twenty lady physicians, who, confining
themselves to midwifery and diseases of their own sex, have a fair
practice, and enjoy the confidence of the families they visit.]

CHAPTER XVII.

_Teaching of Youth, and a Model Jail_.

I must now turn to a more important and interesting feature of Boston,
viz., education. We all remember how the religious persecution in the
reign of Elizabeth, fettering men's consciences, drove a devoted band of
deep-thinking Christians into caves of concealment, and how, after much
peril, they escaped in 1609, in the reign of James the First, to
Amsterdam, under the leadership of the noble-hearted J. Robinson, where,
after sighing long for a return beneath the flag of the country of their
birth, they obtained a charter from the Virginia Company. The first
division of them embarked on board "The Mayflower," a small vessel of
180 tons, and sailed from Plymouth, 6th September, 1620, landing in
their new and barren home upon the 11th of December. These were the
sturdy champions of liberty of conscience, from whom the New Englanders
may be said to have sprung, and who have leavened the whole community
with their energy and indomitable spirit: such men knew how to
appreciate education, as the leveller of oppression and the bulwark of
freedom; and it is, therefore, no wonder that the American Republic
recognises them as the worthy pioneers of that noble feature in their
institutions--free education, supplied to all by the State.

Let us, then, see how far their descendants are treading in their
footsteps upon this point. I speak of Boston and its 150,000
inhabitants, not of the State. And first, it is important to observe,
that the strict provisions of the State requirements would be met by
three schools, and three teachers with assistants, whose salaries would
amount to 900l. The actual provision made by this energetic community,
is,--Schools: 1 Latin, 1 English, 22 grammar, 194 primary,--total for
salaries, 37,000l. And that it may not be supposed the salaries are
great prizes, it is important to remark, that there are 65 male
teachers, and about 300 female teachers. The highest paid are
head-masters of Latin and English schools, 490l.; sub-masters of same,
and head-masters of grammar, 300l.; ushers, assistants, &c., from
50l. to 160l.; and female teachers, from 45l. to 60l., with
5l. additional for care of the rooms.

All the primary schools have female teachers; and the feeling is
strongly in favour of females for instructing the very young, their
patience and kindness being less likely to foster feelings of dread and
dislike.

The total amount of taxes raised in the city is, in round numbers,
250,000l.; of which 65,000l., or more than one-fourth, is devoted to
schools. The total value of all public school estates of Boston, up to
May, 1851, was 260,000l.; and the salary of the head-master is, within
a few pounds, equal to that of the governor of the State.

Say, then, reader, has some portion of the spirit of the Pilgrim Fathers
descended to the present generation, or not?--a population of 150,000
devoting 260,000l. to education.

Wherever parents are unable to provide books, &c., the children are
supplied with the use of them _gratis_. All corporal punishment is
strongly discouraged, but not prohibited; and all inflictions thereof
are recorded for the information of the Visiting Board. Having omitted
to make personal inquiries on the spot, I obtained, through the kindness
of Mr. Ticknor, answers to the following questions on the point of
religious instruction:--

1. "Are the pupils at your normal schools obliged to receive religious
instruction from some minister, and to attend some place of worship; or
may they, if they prefer, receive no such instruction, and attend no
church?"

"The State has put the normal schools under the charge of the Board of
Education, with no special law or instructions. The Board of Education
endeavours to act on exactly the same principles as those which the law
has laid down with respect to the common schools. The Board requires
that the pupils of the normal schools attend some place of worship, the
pupil making his own choice. These schools are opened every morning with
reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer. The moral conduct of the
pupils is carefully watched over, and instruction is given in respect to
the best methods of training the young in religion and morals. The
religious teaching is ethical, not doctrinal."

2. "Are the children at your common schools obliged to receive some
religious instruction, or if their parents express a wish they should
not receive any at school, is the wish complied with?"

"The law requires all teachers to instruct their pupils 'in the
principles of piety,' and forbids any sectarian books to be introduced
into the public schools. The school committees of each town prescribe
the class-books to be used, and commonly make the Bible one of those
books. The teacher is expected to follow the law in respect to teaching
the principles of piety, without any instruction from the school
committee, and is almost always allowed to do this in his own way,
unless he is guilty of some impropriety, in which case the school
committee interferes. He usually has devotional exercises at the opening
of the school, and reads the Scriptures, or causes them to be read, as
an act of worship, whether they are prescribed by the committee or not.
Many teachers take that occasion to remark upon topics of morality, and
thereby aim to prevent misconduct. Indeed, the Bible is much relied on
as a means of discipline rather for preventing wrong-doing, than for
correcting it.

"No minister, as such, gives religious instruction in any of our public
schools. Ministers are commonly on the school committees, and when
visiting the schools, as committees, exhort the children to good
behaviour, and to a religious life.

"No cases are known of parents wishing their children to be excused from
such religious instruction, except with the Catholics, who desire that
their children be excused from the devotional exercises, especially from
reading the Protestant version of the Bible. Even this is very rare
where the teacher himself reads the Scriptures in connexion with other
devotional exercises. It occurs most frequently where the children are
required to use the Bible themselves, either in devotional exercises or
in a reading lesson. But those wishes are not often regarded, because
the committee has a legal right to prescribe the Bible as a school-book,
and to require all the pupils to comply with all the regulations of the
school. In some few instances, committees have thought it expedient to
allow the Douay version to be used by Catholic children; but it amounts
to nothing, as it is an abstract point started by the priests, for which
parents care but little; besides, it is objected that the Douay version
with its glosses is 'a sectarian book,' whereas the common English
version without note or comment is not."

Scholars desirous of entering the higher schools are generally required
to pass through the lower, and bring therefrom certificates of capacity
and conduct. In the statute of the State, with reference to education,
all professors, tutors, instructors, &c., are enjoined to impress upon
the minds of those committed to their charge "the principles of piety,
justice, a sacred regard to truth, and love of their country." Among the
various subjects in connexion with education, in which instruction is
given in these schools, it may be as well to mention one, which, I
believe, is all but totally neglected in England. By legislative
enactment, section 2, "All school-teachers shall hereafter be examined
in their knowledge of the elementary principles of physiology and
hygiène, and their ability to give instructions in the same."

The School Committee consists of two members from each of the twelve
wards of the city, chosen annually, and assisted by the Mayor and
President of the Common Council. The average expense of each scholar at
the primary schools is 25s. per annum, at the higher schools three
guineas. Under the foregoing system, 12,000 children are instructed
annually at the primary schools, and 10,000 at the higher schools, which
aggregate of 22,000 will give an attendance of nearly 70 per cent. upon
all children between the ages of five and fifteen, to whom the avenues
of knowledge, from the lisping letters of infancy to the highest
branches of philosophy, are freely opened.

Through the kindness of Mr. B. Seaver, the Mayor of Boston, I was
enabled to visit several of these schools, the cleanliness of which, as
well as their good ventilation, was most satisfactory. The plan adopted
here, of having the stools made of iron and screwed on to the floor,
with a wooden seat fixed on the top for each pupil, and a separate desk
for every two, struck me as admirably calculated to improve ventilation
and check sky-larking and noise. The number of public schools in the
whole State is 4056, which are open for seven months and a half in the
year, and the average attendance of scholars is 145,000; besides which,
there are 749 private schools, with 16,000 scholars. It is a curious
fact, and bears strong testimony to the efficiency of the public
schools, that while they have increased by 69 during the year, the
private schools have decreased by 36. The foregoing sketch is from the
official Reports, printed at Boston in 1853.

In addition to these schools, there are four colleges, three theological
seminaries, and two medical schools. Of these I shall only notice one of
the colleges, which I visited, and which enjoys a high reputation--viz.,
Harvard College, or Cambridge, as it is sometimes called, from the
village where it is situated. The history of this college is a wholesome
proof how a small institution, if duly fostered by a nation, may
eventually repay future generations with liberal interest. Established
in 1636, by a vote of 400l., it obtained the name of Harvard, from the
bequeathment by a reverend gentleman of that name, A.D. 1638, of the sum
of 780l. and 300 volumes. Its property now amounts to upwards of
100,000l., and it is divided into five departments--collegiate, law,
medical, theological, and scientific--affording education to 652
students, of whom one half are undergraduates. There are forty-five
instructors, all men of unquestionable attainments, and capable of
leading the students up to the highest steps of every branch of
knowledge; the necessary expenses of a student are about 45l. a year;
the fee for a master of arts, including the diploma, is 1l. sterling.

Meritorious students, whose circumstances require it, are allowed, at
the discretion of the Faculty, to be absent for thirteen weeks,
including the winter vacation, for the purpose of teaching schools.
Parents who think their sons unable to take care of their own money, may
send it to a patron duly appointed by the college, who will then pay all
bills and keep the accounts, receiving, as compensation two and a half
per cent. I think the expenses of this establishment will astonish those
who have had to "pay the piper" for a smart young man at Oxford, as much
as the said young man would have been astonished, had his allowance,
while there, been paid into the hands of some prudent and trusty
patron. Tandems and tin horns would have been rather at a discount--_cum
pluribus aliis_.

The college has a look of antiquity, which is particularly pleasant in a
land where almost everything is spick-and-span new; but the rooms I
thought low and stuffy, and the walls and passages had a neglected
plaster-broken appearance. There are some very fine old trees in the
green, which, throwing their shade over the time-worn building, help to
give it a venerable appearance. A new school of science has just been
built by the liberality of Mr. Lawrence,[AL] late Minister of the United
States in this country; and I may add that the wealth and prosperity of
the college are almost entirely due to private liberality.

As the phonetic system of education has been made a subject of so much
discussion in the United States, I make no apology for inserting the
following lengthy observations thereon. A joint committee on education,
appointed to inquire into its merits by the Senate, in 1851, reported
that there was evidence tending to show--"That it will enable the pupil
to learn to read phonetically in one-tenth of the time ordinarily
employed. That it will enable the learner to read the common type in
one-fourth of the time necessary according to the usual mode of
instruction. That its acquisition leads the pupil to the correct
pronunciation of every word. That it will present to the missionary a
superior alphabet for the representation of hitherto unwritten
languages," &c. A similar committee, to whom the question was referred
by the House of Representatives in 1852, state that during the past year
the system had been tried in twelve public schools, and that, according
to the testimony of the teachers, children evinced greater attachment to
their books, and learnt to read with comparative ease; and they conclude
their report in these words:--"Impressed with the importance of the
phonetic system, which, if primarily learnt, according to the testimony
presented, would save two years of time to each of the two hundred
thousand children in the State, the committee would recommend to school
committees and teachers, the introduction of the phonetic system of
instruction into all the primary schools of the State, for the purpose
of teaching the reading and spelling of the common orthography, with an
enunciation which can rarely be secured by the usual method, and with a
saving of time and labour to both teachers and pupils, which will enable
the latter to advance in physical and moral education alone until they
are six years of age, without any permanent loss in the information they
will ultimately obtain."

One gentleman of the minority of the committee sent in a very strong
report condemning the system. He declares "the system is nothing but an
absurd attempt to mystify and perplex a subject, which ought to be left
plain and clear to the common apprehensions of common men." Further on
he states, "No human ingenuity can show a reason for believing that the
way to learn the true alphabet, is first to study a false alphabet; that
the way to speak words rightly, is to begin by spelling them wrong; that
the way to teach the right use of a letter, is to begin by giving a
false account of a letter. Yet the phonetic system, so far as it is
anything, is precisely this." Then, again, with reference to the eight
specimen scholars, taken from a school of fifty, and who were exhibited,
he observes, "they were the same as those who were examined a year ago;
nothing is said of the other forty-two. It is not necessary to say
anything more of the character of such evidence as this;" and he winds
up by observing: "Such a mode of instruction would, in his opinion,
waste both the time and the labour employed upon it, and complicate and
embarrass a study, which in its true shape is perfectly simple and
clear." The following old anecdote would rather tend to prove that
spelling and reading were not either "simple or clear" to a Lancashire
judge, who, having asked the name of a witness, and not catching the
word exactly, desired him to spell it, which he proceeded to do
thus:--"O double T, I double U, E double L, double U, double O, D." The
learned judge laid down his pen in astonishment, and after two or three
unsuccessful efforts, at last declared he was unable to record it--so
puzzled was he with the "simple" spelling of that clear name--Ottiwell
Wood.

In the _Massachusetts Teacher_ of January, 1853, there is the report of
a committee, in which they state "that children taught solely by the
phonetic system, and only twenty minutes each day, outstripped all their
compeers." They further add, that "the phonetic system, thus beneficial
in its effects, has been introduced into one hundred and nineteen public
and five private schools, and that they have reason to believe, that no
committee ever appointed to examine its merits have ever reported
adverse to it;" and they conclude by strongly "recommending teachers to
test the merits of the System by actual trial in their schools." Then
again, in the following number of their journal, they strongly condemn
the system as both useless and impracticable.

Having carefully weighed the arguments on both sides, I am led to the
conclusion, that the objections of those who condemn the system are
partly owing to the fact, that while reaching their present advanced
state of knowledge, they have entirely forgotten their own struggles,
and are thus insensibly led to overlook the confusion and difficulty
which must ever arise in the infant mind, where similar combinations
produce similar sounds. An infant mind is incapable of grasping
differences, but understands readily simple facts; if what meets the eye
represent a certain fixed sound, the infant readily acquires that sound;
but if the eye rest on _o, u, g, h,_ as a combination, and the endeavour
is made to teach him the endless varieties of sound produced thereby,
his little mind becomes puzzled, his ideas of truth become confused, his
memory becomes distrusted, and his powers of reading become retarded by
the time occupied in the--to him--most uninteresting task of learning a
host of unmeaning sounds. The inevitable consequence is that the poor
little victim becomes disheartened, rendering a considerable amount of
additional trouble and--which is far more difficult to find--patience
necessary upon the part of the teacher.

Common sense points out, that the reading of phonetic words must be more
easily learnt than the reading of the aphonetic words, of which our
language is essentially composed. The real question is simply
this,--Does the infant mind advance with such rapidity under phonetic
teaching, as to enable it at a certain age to transfer its powers to
orthodox orthography, and reach a given point of knowledge therein,
with less trouble, and in a shorter space of time, than those infants
do who are educated upon the old system? If phonetic teaching has this
effect, it is an inestimable boon, and if not, it is a complete
humbug.[AM] It should also be borne in mind, that the same arguments
which hold good in the case of infants will apply also, in a great
degree, to adults who wish to learn to read, and to foreigners
commencing the study of our language. Whether any further use of
phonetics is either desirable or practicable, would be a discussion out
of place in these pages.

When any startling novelty is proposed, enthusiasts carry their advocacy
of it so far as often to injure the cause they wish to serve: on the
other hand, too many of the educated portion of the community are so
strenuously opposed to innovation, as to raise difficulties rather than
remove them. Has not the common sense of the age been long calling for
changes in the law of partnership, divorce, &c., and is not some
difficulty always arising? Has not the commercial world been crying
aloud for decimal coinage and decimal weights and measures, and are not
educated men constantly finding some objections, and will they not
continue to do so, until some giant mind springs up able to grasp the
herculean task, and force the boon upon the community? Were not
steamboats and railways long opposed as being little better than insane
visions? Did not Doctor Lardner prove to demonstration that railway
carriages could never go more than twenty miles an hour, owing to the
laws of resistance, friction, &c., and did not Brunel take the breath
out of him, and the pith out of his arguments, by carrying the learned
demonstrator with him on a locomotive, and whisking him ten miles out of
London in as many minutes? When I see that among so intelligent and
practical a people as the New Englanders--a people whose thoughts and
energies are so largely devoted to education--one hundred and nineteen
schools have adopted the phonetic system, I cannot but look back to the
infancy of steam, and conclude, that there must be more advantages in
that system than its opponents seem disposed to allow it to possess.

The Committee of Council on Education in England, to whom the funds
set apart for educational purposes are, intrusted, authorized the
printing of phonetic books for schools some years since; but authorizing
books without training masters to teach them, is about as useful as
putting engines into a ship, without supplying engineers to work them.
Besides which, their phonetic system was in itself confusing and
objectionable; they have also informed the public, that the system, in
various forms, is almost universally adopted in the elementary schools
of Holland, Prussia, and Germany.[AN]

I should also mention that other systems have been tried both in England
and Scotland, and that those teachers who employ them speak highly of
their advantages, especially in the latter country. I have now a paper
before me, called _The Reading Reformer_, in which I find the following
sentence, which tends to show that the system is approved of in France
in the highest quarters:--"The phonetic method of primary instruction is
used in the 5th regiment of the line, the 12th Light, the Penitentiary
of St. Germain, and the House of Correction for young prisoners. The
Minister of War has ordered that French should be taught by this method
to the young Arabs, in the three schools of Algiers, Oran, and
Philipville."

One great mistake has been made by the champions of this mode of
teaching, which is more fatal to its success, in my opinion, than any
difficulty raised by its opponents, and that is the adoption by each
champion of his own phonetic alphabet; and for which he claims a
superiority over the alphabets of others. The absurdity of this
perpetual strife must be palpable. If a Fireworshipper were to be
converted, what hopes of success would there be if a Mormonite and a
Mussulman were placed on one side of him, and a Free Kirk man and a
Jesuit on the other? The public, as regards phonetic teaching, are
precisely in that Fireworshipper's position. Reader, you must form your
own opinion: I offer none. And now, with your permission, we will quit
the region of speculation and return to sober fact.

One of the most striking buildings I visited during my stay at Boston
was the jail; the airiness and cleanliness were both perfect, and the
arrangement was to me totally novel. Independent of the ground outside,
which is walled all round, the jail itself is built under a large outer
case, affording abundance of light and ventilation. This outer building
forms a corridor all round the jail, affording protection to the keepers
from all weathers, and thus enables them to keep an efficient watch over
the inmates. Supposing any prisoner to escape from his cell, he is still
hemmed in by this outer case, which has only one door, so situated that
no one can approach it without being seen from a considerable distance;
and, even if these difficulties be overcome, the outer wall common to
all prisons still remains. As far as I could learn, no prisoner has ever
been able to force his way out. At night a blaze of gas in the outer
hall lights all the dormitories and the corridor which runs round
outside the jail, thus rendering escape as difficult at night as in
broad daylight. Water is freely supplied to every room on every storey,
and means of bathing are arranged in various parts of the building.
School-rooms, private rooms, and a chapel are all contained within this
leviathan outer case. In short, to those who take an interest in
improving the airiness of jails and the security of prisoners, this
building is well worth the most careful examination; and I trust we may
some day profit by the improvements which the ingenuity of the New
Englanders has here exhibited, for the frequent escapes from our jails
prove that some change is requisite.

The Bostonians have applied the telegraph to a most important use,
which, I believe, we have totally overlooked in England. The town is
divided into sections, in each of which are a certain number of
stations; all of these latter have a telegraph-office, communicating
with one grand central office, by which means they explain where the
fire is. The central office immediately indicates to every section the
information thus obtained by the ringing of alarm-bells; and, by this
method, every fire-station in the city is informed of the locality of
the danger within a few minutes after its occurrence.

The naval arsenal at Boston is moderate in size, kept very clean; but
when I visited it there were little signs of activity or life. They have
only three building sheds, in one of which a vessel has been in progress
for twenty years; the other two are vacant. The principal feature is the
rope-walk, which is 1640 feet long, and worked by steam-power.

The United States, being on friendly terms with England, and so far
removed from Europe and its politics and its disturbances, pays
comparatively little attention to the navy, which is small, when
considered in reference to the size and wealth of the country and the
extent of its seaboard.

The convention for the amendment of the constitution being in session, I
was enabled, through the kindness of Mr. Sumner, the senator for the
State, to witness their proceedings, which were conducted with becoming
dignity. The speakers, if not eloquent, at least adhered to the subject
under discussion, in a manner some of the wordy and wandering gentlemen
in our House of Commons might imitate with advantage.

The supply of water for the town is brought from Lake Cochitnate, a
distance of twenty miles; and the length of piping in connexion with it
is upwards of 100 miles. The State authorized a city debt of 900,000l.
for the necessary expenses of the undertaking and purchase of the
ground, &c. The annual receipts amount to 36,000l., which will, of
course, increase with the population. Dwelling-houses pay from 1l. as
high as 15l. tax, according to their consumption. The average daily
expenditure in 1853 was about 7,000,000 gallons, or nearly 50 gallons
per head.

Before leaving Boston, I may as well give some evidence of the
prosperity of the State. In the year 1830, the population was 600,000;
at the present date it is 1,000,000. The exports of domestic produce,
which in 1844 amounted to 1,275,000l., now amount to upwards of
2,830,000l.; and the imports, which at the former period amounted to
4,000,000l., now amount to nearly 7,000,000l. The population of
Boston has increased 600 per cent. during the present century. Lowell,
which is the great Manchester of Massachusetts, has increased its
population from 6500 in 1830 to nearly 40,000 at the present date; and
the capital invested, which in 1823 was only 500,000l., is now nearly
2,700,000l. I do not wish to weary my readers with statistics, and
therefore trust I have said enough to convey a tolerable impression of
the go-aheadism of these hardy and energetic descendants of the Pilgrim
Fathers; and, for the same reasons, I have not made any observations
upon their valuable libraries, hospitals, houses of industry,
reformation, &c., the former of which are so largely indebted to private
munificence. But before taking my leave of Boston, I must notice the
great pleasure I derived from hearing in all quarters the favourable
impression which Lord Elgin's visit, on the occasion of opening the
railway in 1851, had produced. His eloquence and urbanity was a constant
theme of conversation with many of my friends, who generally wound up by
saying, "A few such visits as that of the Railway Jubilee would do more
to cement the good feeling between the two countries than the diplomacy
of centuries could effect." I must here add, that upon my visiting
Quebec, I found that the same cordial feeling of fellowship had been
produced on the Canadian mind, by the brotherly reception they had met
with upon that memorable occasion. Farewell to Boston! but not farewell
to the pleasing recollection of the many happy hours I spent, nor of the
many kind friends whose acquaintance I enjoyed there, and which I hope
on same future occasion to renew and improve.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AL: Such gifts during the lifetime of the donor, are in my
estimation, better evidences of liberality and zeal in a cause, than the
most munificent bequests even of a Stephen Gerard, who only gave what he
could no longer enjoy.]

[Footnote AM: A _Vide_ observation by Mr. H. Mann, chap. 20.]

[Footnote AN: The expense of printing proper books is sometimes
mentioned as an objection, on account of requiring new types for the new
sounds taught. No expense can outweigh the value of a change by which
education can be facilitated; but even this difficulty has been obviated
by Major Beniowski's plan. He obtains the new symbols requisite by
simply inverting a certain number of letters for that purpose.]

CHAPTER XVIII.

_Canada_.

Early morning found me seated in the cars on my way to Quebec. Not being
a good hand at description of scenery, this railway travelling is a
great boon to my unfortunate reader--if he have got thus far. A Nubian
clothed in castor-oil, and descending from the heavens by a slippery
seat upon a rainbow, might as well attempt to describe the beauties of
our sphere as the caged traveller at the tail of the boiling kettle
attempt to convey much idea of the scenery he passes through. Not merely
do the scrunching squeaks of the break, the blasty trumpet whistle, the
slamming of doors, and the squalling of children bewilder his brain and
bedeafen his ears, but the iron tyrant enchains and confuses his eyes. A
beautiful village rivets his attention,--bang he goes into the tunneled
bowels of the earth; a magnificent panorama enchants his sight as he
emerges from the realms of darkness; he calls to a neighbour to share
the enjoyment of the lovely scene with him; the last sounds of the call
have not died away, ere he finds himself wedged in between two
embankments, with nought else but the sky for the eye to rest on. Is it
any wonder, then--nay, rather, is it not an evidence of
truthfulness--that I find the record of my journey thus described in my
note-book:--"7-1/2 A.M., Fizz, fizz; hiss, hiss--waving
fields--undulating ground--sky--varied tints of green--cottages, cattle,
humanities--bridges, bays, rivers, dust, and heat--Rouse's Point, 7-1/2
P.M." At this point we got out of the cage and embarked in a steamer.
The shroud of night hung heavily around us, and the lights of Montreal
and its suburbs, reflected in the unruffled stream, shone all the
brighter from the density of the surrounding darkness, and formed a
brilliant illumination. In half an hour I was comfortably housed in the
hotel, where, to my agreeable surprise, I met one of my countrywomen,
whose many charms had made her a theme of much admiration at Washington,
where I first had the pleasure of making her acquaintance.

Any one who, wandering far from home, finds himself surrounded with
utter strangers, will partially understand the pleasure I enjoyed at
finding one face I had looked upon before; but to understand it fully,
they must know the face I was then gazing upon. Don't be curious,
reader, as to whom it belonged, for I have no intention of enlightening
you, further than to say it belonged to her and her husband. Twelve
hours of railway makes me sleepy; it's my nature, and I can't help it,
so I trust I may be excused, when I confess that I very soon exchanged
the smile of beauty for the snore of Morpheus. What my dreams were, it
concerns nobody to know.

The magnificent brow of hill which overhangs Montreal was named in 1535
Mont Royal, by the famous Jacques Cartier, in honour of his royal
master; the French settlement which arose a century after, in the
neighbourhood of the Indian village of Hochelaga, assumed the name of
the hill, and has at last shaken down into its present combination. What
Goths, not to preserve the Indian name which savours of the land and of
antiquity, instead of substituting a French concoction! With regard to
the site of the town, there is no doubt it is on the island now called
Montreal; but where that island is situated may be considered an open
question; the river Ottawa runs into the St. Lawrence at the western
extremity of the island, and the question is, whether the water on the
northern shore is the Ottawa or the St. Lawrence; upon which depends
whether the island is in the St. Lawrence, or between the St. Lawrence
and the Ottawa. Not wishing to deprive either of their finger in the
pie, I should give my verdict in favour of the latter opinion; but I
leave it an open question to the reader. The population of the town is
increasing rapidly, no doubt owing in great measure to emigration. In
1849 it was 48,000, in 1851, 58,000. The great majority are of the
Church of Rome, 41,000; of the Church of England there are 4000; the
other denominations are in small numbers.

At the time I arrived, the town was full of gloom and excitement, for
it was but a few days previous that the Roman Catholics endeavoured to
murder Gavazzi, while delivering one of his anti-Romanistic lectures,
which, whatever their merits or demerits, were most certainly very
injudicious, considering the elements of which the population of
Montreal is composed; and it cannot be denied, that Signor Gavazzi's
lectures upon sacred subjects are delivered in a style partaking so much
of the theatrical, that a person ignorant of the language of his
address, might readily suppose that he was taking off John Kemble and
Liston alternately, and therefore the uneducated Irish emigrants might
very well conclude his sole object was to turn their creed into
ridicule. I certainly never heard or saw a person, lecturing on sacred
subjects, whose tone and manner were so ridiculously yet painfully at
variance with the solemnity due to such a theme. The excitement
produced, the constant calling out of the military, and the melancholy
sequel, are too recent and well known to require recapitulation here. It
is but just to the French Romanists to state, that as a body they
repudiated and took no part in the villanous attempt upon Gavazzi's
life; the assailants were almost exclusively Irish Romanists, who form
nearly one-fifth of the population. Would that they could leaven their
faith with those Christian virtues of peacefulness and moderation which
shine so creditably in their co-religionists of French origin.

While touching upon the subject of the military being called out in aid
of the civil power, I am reminded of a passage extracted from some
journal which a friend showed me, and which I consider so well
expressed, that I make no apology for giving it at length.

  "THE MOB.--The mob is a demon fierce and ungovernable. It will not
  listen to reason: it will not be influenced by fear, or pity, or
  self-preservation. It has no sense of justice. Its energy is exerted
  in frenzied fits; its forbearance is apathy or ignorance. It is a
  grievous error to suppose that this cruel, this worthless hydra has
  any political feeling. In its triumph, it breaks windows; in its
  anger, it breaks heads. Gratify it, and it creates a disturbance;
  disappoint it, and it grows furious; attempt to appease it, and it
  becomes outrageous; meet it boldly, and it turns away. It is
  accessible to no feeling but one of personal suffering; it submits to
  no argument but that of the strong hand. The point of the bayonet
  convinces; the edge of the sabre speaks keenly; the noise of musketry
  is listened to with respect; the roar of artillery is unanswerable.
  How deep, how grievous, how burdensome is the responsibility that lies
  on him who would rouse this fury from its den! It is astonishing, it
  is too little known, how much individual character is lost in the
  aggregate character of a multitude. Men may be rational, moderate,
  peaceful, loyal, and sober, as individuals; yet heap them by the
  thousand, and in the very progress of congregation, loyalty,
  quietness, moderation, and reason evaporate, and a multitude of
  rational beings is an unreasonable and intemperate being--a wild,
  infuriated monster, which may be driven, but not led, except to
  mischief--which has an appetite for blood, and a savage joy in
  destruction, for the mere gratification of destroying."

The various fires with which the city has been visited, however
distressing to the sufferers, have not been without their good effect,
of which the eye has most satisfactory evidence in the numerous public
and other buildings now built of stone. The only monument in the city is
one which was raised to Nelson. Whether the memory of the hero has
passed away, or the ravages of the weather call too heavily on the
public purse, I cannot say; but it would be more creditable to the town
to remove it entirely, than to allow it to remain in its present
disgraceful state. It is reported that its restoration is to be effected
by private subscription; if so, more shame to the authorities.

As nay first object was to reach Quebec, I only stayed one day at
Montreal, which I employed in driving about to see what changes had
taken place in the town and neighbourhood since my former visit in 1826.
I started by steamer in the evening, and arrived early the next morning.

Is there any scene more glorious to look upon than that which greets the
eye from the citadel at Quebec? The only scene I know more glorious is
Rio Janeiro, which I believe to be by far the grandest in the world; but
the Rio lacks the associations of Quebec. Who can ever forget that
beneath its walls two chieftains, the bravest of the brave, fell on the
same battle-field--the one in the arms of victory, the other in defence
of his country and her honour? The spot where our hero fell is marked by
a pillar thus simply inscribed:--

  HERE DIED
    WOLFE,
  VICTORIOUS.

Nor has the noble foe been forgotten, though for a long time unnoticed.
In the year 1827, the Earl of Dalhousie being Governor-General, a
monument was raised in Quebec to Wolfe and Montcalm; and the death they
both met at the post of honour is commemorated on the same column,--a
column on which an Englishman may gaze with pride and a Frenchman
without a blush. The following words, forming part of the inscription, I
think well worthy of insertion: "Military prowess gave them a common
death, History a common fame, Posterity a common monument."

It is a curious fact, that when the foundation-stone was laid, an old
soldier from Ross-shire, the last living veteran of the gallant band who
fought under Wolfe, was present at the ceremony, being then in his
ninety-fifth year. Everybody who has seen or read of Quebec must
remember the magnificent towering rock overhanging the river, on the
summit of which the citadel is placed, forming at once the chief
stronghold of its defence, and the grandest feature of its scenery. But
perhaps everybody does not know that to this same glorious feature the
city owes its name. The puny exclamation of Jacques Cartier's Norman
pilot upon beholding it was, "_Que bec_!" and this expression of
admiration has buried, in all but total oblivion, the old Algonquin name
of Stadacona. What a pity that old pilot was not born dumb.

The increase of population here does not seem, to be very rapid. In
1844, it was about 36,000; now, it is little more than 42,000. There can
be no doubt that the severity of the climate is one great cause of so
small an increase. When it is remembered that the average arrival of the
first vessel after the breaking up of the ice is between the last week
of April and the first week in May, this need not he much wondered at.

The Governor-General's residence, is removed from the town, and a
beautiful little country villa, called Spencer Wood, has been assigned
him in lieu. It is situated on the banks of the river, about half a mile
inland; the only objection to it is, that the size thereof is not
sufficient for vice-regal entertainments; but a very slight addition
would remedy that defect. In all other respects it is a charming place,
as I can gratefully testify. The drives and sights around the city are
too well known to need much notice from me.

Montmorenci, with its frozen cone in winter, is one of the chief
resorts for pic-nickers in their sleighs. The trackless path over the
frozen snow during the season is as full of life as Windsor park was in
the old Ascot days. Bright eyes beaming from rosy cheeks, and half
buried in furs, anxiously watch for the excitement of a capsize, and
laugh merrily as the mixed tenants of some sleigh are seen rolling over
one another in most ludicrous confusion; the sun shines brightly, the
bells ring cheerily, all is jollity and fun, and a misanthrope would be
as much out of his element in one of these pic-nics as a bear in a
ballet.

The falls of Lorette afford another pleasant excursion, not forgetting
old Paul and his wife--a venerable Indian chief and his squaw--whom I
visited, and the cleanliness of whose cottage I had great pleasure in
complimenting him upon, as also upon his various medals, which extended
from Château Gai down to the Exhibition of 1851. He appeared as much
struck with my venerable appearance as I was with his; for, upon being
asked my age, he bestowed a searching glance from head to foot, and then
gravely replied, "Seventy-five." I rebelled against his decision, and
appealed to his wife, who kindly took my part, and after a steady gaze,
said, "Oh, Paul! that gentleman is not more than seventy-two." It was in
vain I tried to satisfy them, that thirty summers would have to pass
over my head before I reached that honourable time of life. However, it
is not only Indians who miscalculate age, for a young lady, fresh from
Ireland, having the same question put to her, said "Sixty;" and upon
being told she was seventeen years out in her calculation, she replied,
with painful coolness, "Which way?" I never felt a confirmed old
bachelor till I heard that awful "Which way?"

The roads round about in all directions are admirable; not so if you
cross the river to the Falls of the Chaudière; but the abomination of
abominations is the ferry-boat, and the facilities, or rather obstacles,
for entering and exiting. To any one who has seen the New York
ferry-boats, and all the conveniences connected with them, the contrast
is painfully humiliating. In the one case you drive on board as readily
as into a court-yard, and find plenty of room when you get there; in the
other, you have half a dozen men holding horses and carriages, screaming
in all directions, and more time is wasted in embarking than a Yankee
boat would employ to deposit you safely on the other side; and it would
puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer to decide which is the more abominable, the
exit or the entry. Nevertheless, the traveller will find himself
compensated for all his troubles--especially if the horse and carriage
be a friend's--by the lovely drive which takes him to the Chaudière
Falls, a trip I had the pleasure of making in company with a jolly party
of good fellows belonging to the 72nd Highlanders, then in garrison at
Quebec, and whose hospitalities during my stay I gratefully remember.

If, however, an Englishman feels humiliated in crossing the Quebec
ferry, he feels a compensating satisfaction upon entering the Quebec
Legislative Council Chamber, which in its aspect of cleanliness,
furniture, &c., has an appearance of refinement far superior to that at
Washington. As they were not sitting during my stay in Canada, I had no
opportunity of drawing any comparison on their different modes of
carrying on public business. I had heard so much during my absence from
England of the famous Rebellion Losses Bill, and all the obloquy which
had been heaped upon the Governor-General in consequence, that I was
very anxious to get some insight into the true state of the case,
although perhaps the justification of the Earl of Elgin's conduct by Sir
Robert Peel ought to have satisfied me.

I soon became convinced that in this, as in most similar cases, the
violence of party spirit had clouded truth; and the bitterness of
defeat, in minds thus prejudiced, had sought relief in the too-common
channels of violence and abuse. However much to be deplored, I fear that
the foregoing opinions will be found, on most occasions of political
excitement, to be true. The old party, who may be said to have enjoyed
the undisguised support of the Queen's representatives from time
immemorial, were not likely to feel very well disposed to Lord Elgin,
when they found that he was determined to identify himself with no
particular party, but that, being sent to govern Canada
constitutionally, he was resolved to follow the example of his
sovereign, and give his confidence and assistance to whichever party
proved, by its majority, to be the legitimate representative of the
opinions of the governed, at the same time ever upholding the right and
dignity of the Crown. This was, of course, a first step in unpopularity
with the party who, long triumphant, now found themselves in a minority;
then, again, it must be remembered that a majority which had for so many
years been out of power was not likely, in the excitement of victory, to
exercise such moderation as would be calculated to soothe the irritated
feelings of their opponents, who, they considered, had enjoyed too long
the colonial loaves and fishes.

With all these elements at work, it is not to be wondered at that a
question which admitted of misinterpretation should be greedily laid
hold of, and that, thus misinterpreted, the passions of the mob should
be successfully roused. I believe there is little question that the
Government brought forward the Rebellion Losses Bill in the Senate in a
manner, if not arrogant, at all events most offensive, and thus added
fuel to the flames; but, viewed dispassionately, what is the truth of
this far-famed bill? It was framed upon the precedent of that for the
payment of similar losses in Upper Canada on a previous occasion, and I
believe the very same commissioners were appointed to carry out its
provisions. It received the sanction of the Governor-General in the same
way as all other bills, and was never smuggled through, as the irritated
opposition and infuriated mobs would have us believe. The
Governor-General clearly states that it never was intended in any way
"to compensate the losses of persons guilty of the heinous crime of
treason," and the names of the commissioners appointed to decide upon
the claims of the sufferers might alone have been a sufficient guarantee
that such an abominable idea was never entertained. Without mentioning
others, take Colonel W.C. Hanson: schooled in the field of honour and
patriotism, whose courage has been tried in many a bloody struggle
during the Peninsular war, and is attested by the honourable badges that
adorn his breast. Is a recreant rebel likely to find sympathy in that
breast which for half a century stood unchallenged for loyalty and
truth? What do his letters, as one of the commissioners, prove beyond
the shadow of a doubt? I have them now before me; and, so far from
claims being hastily admitted, I find the gallant old soldier constantly
advocating the cause of some claimant whom the commissioners declined to
indemnify, but never yet have I seen his name as opposed to any
compensation granted; possessing that still more noble quality which is
ever the lovely handmaid of true courage, his voice is raised again and
again for mercy.

I could quote from numerous letters of this veteran, extracts similar to
the following:--The claimants were inhabitants of St. Benoit, some
portion of which population had been in arms as rebels, but upon the
approach of the Queen's troops they had all laid down their arms. As to
the facts of the case, Colonel Hanson writes to Lord Seaton, who
replies:--"The soldiers were regularly put up in the village by the
Quartermaster-General's department, and strict orders were issued to
each officer to protect the inhabitants and their property; Lieut.-Col.
Townsend to remain in the village of St. Benoit for its protection, the
remainder of the troops to return to Montreal. The utmost compassion and
consideration should be felt for the families of the sufferers plunged
into affliction by the reckless conduct of their relatives; every house
injured or destroyed at St. Benoit was a wanton destruction, perpetrated
in defiance of guards placed to protect property." Thus writes Lord
Seaton. Colonel Hanson, after quoting the above, proceeds to state that
the evidence before the commissioners proves that "immediately after
Lieut.-Col. Townsend assembled his regiment for the purpose of marching
back to Montreal, the volunteers from the northern townships commenced
plundering the village, carrying off the whole of the effects belonging
to the inhabitants, burning the church, and nearly every house in the
village ... wilfully and wantonly destroying houses, and in many
instances burning valuable barns and granaries.... Therefore I humbly
pretend that every such individual who thus suffered should be
indemnified, as his loss was a wanton destruction of the dwellings,
buildings, property, and effects of the said inhabitants." Yet such was
the jealous way in which the commissioners excluded all doubtful
claimants, that Colonel Hanson found himself in a minority upon the
consideration of the foregoing claims, and, as a man of honour and
anxious for justice, felt it his duty to address a letter to the
Governor-General upon the subject, from which letter, bearing date
January, 1852, the foregoing extracts have been taken.

I have very many of such complaints of justice being withheld from
claimants, in the opinion of the gallant colonel, now lying before me,
but "_ex uno disce omnes_." I have read a great portion of the Report,
and the conclusion is irresistibly forced upon my mind, that everything
which could possibly be brought to assume the slightest shade of
rebellion was made fatal to an applicant's claim; but if anything were
wanting to satisfy my mind that the vilifiers of the "Losses Bill" had
not any ground of complaint against the measure, it would be found in
the fact, that among its various opponents to whom I spoke, they one and
all exclaimed, "Look at the case of Nelson, absolutely a rebel in arms,
and his claims listened to!" This was their invariable reply; and, until
I made inquiry, it looked very bad. But what was the real state of the
case? Simply that Nelson, having been ruined by his rebellion, many
loyal and faithful subjects to whom he owed debts suffered for his
faults; and the money awarded for the losses sustained by the rebel went
to pay the loyal debtors, except a small portion which was granted to
his wife, who was well known to be strongly opposed to the course he had
pursued, and who had lost considerable property which she held in her
own right. I say that the fact of Nelson's case being always brought up
as the great enormity carried more conviction to my mind of the utter
weakness of the opponents' cause than anything else; and it also proved
to me how ignorant many of them were of the truth, for several of them
who vilified the Bill, the Government, and the Governor-General, had not
the slightest idea, till I informed them, how the Nelson award was
applied.

There is no doubt that the atrocities of which Montreal was the scene
constitute the most discreditable features in modern Canadian history,
and which, it is to be hoped, the instigators to and actors in are long
since fully ashamed of; nor can the temper and judgment of the
Governor-General on this trying occasion be too highly extolled. When it
was imperative to dissolve the Parliament, he foresaw that his not doing
so in person would be misconstrued by his enemies, and that he would be
branded by them with that most galling of all accusations to a noble
heart--cowardice. With a high-minded sense of duty, he put all such
personal considerations aside. There were two courses open to him: one,
to call out the military, and in their safe keeping dissolve the
Assembly; the other, to depute the Commander of the Forces to perform
that duty. The former must have produced a collision with the populace,
and the blood of many whom he believed to be as loyal as he knew they
were misguided and excited would have flowed freely; the latter, he
foresaw, would be misconstrued into an act of personal cowardice, but he
knew it would prevent a flow of blood, the remembrance of which would
keep alive the bitterest elements of political animosity for years to
come. With true patriotism, he sacrificed himself at the shrine of the
country he was sent to govern, preferring to be the subject of the most
galling accusations rather than shed unnecessarily one drop of the blood
of those committed to his rule.

During the whole of Lord Elgin's able and prosperous administration, I
can scarcely conceive any one act of his to which he can look back with
more satisfaction, than this triumph of his judgment over his feelings,
when he offered up just pride and dignity on the altar of mercy, and
retired to Quebec. A shallow-pated fellow, who had probably figured
personally in the outrages of that period, in talking to me on the
subject, thus described it,--"he bolted off in a funk to Quebec;" and
doubtless hundreds of others, as shallow-pated as himself, had been made
to believe such was the case, and vituperation being the easiest of all
ignoble occupations, they had probably done their best to circulate the
paltry slander. Lord Elgin, however, needs no goose-quill defender; the
unprecedented increasing prosperity of the colony under his
administration is the most valuable testimony he could desire. It is not
every governor who, on his arrival, finding a colony in confusion and
rebellion, has the satisfaction, on his resignation of office, of
leaving harmony and loyalty in their place, and the revenue during the
same period increased from 400,000l. to 1,500,000l.: and if any
doubt ever rested upon his mind as to whether his services were approved
of and appreciated at home, it must have been removed in the most
gratifying manner, when, upon a public dinner being given him at the
London Tavern, 1854, all shades of politicals gathered readily to do him
honour; and while the chairman, Lord John Russell, was eulogizing his
talents and his administration, five other colonial and ex-colonial
ministers were present at the same board to endorse the compliment; the
American Minister also bearing his testimony to the happy growth of
good feeling between the two countries, which Lord Elgin had so
successfully fostered and developed. I cannot recal to my memory any
other instance of so great an honour having been paid to a colonial
governor.

I was astonished to find so little had been done in Canada for the
organization of a militia force, especially when their republican
neighbours afford them an example of so much activity and efficiency in
that department. It may not be desirable as yet for the colony to
establish any military school, such as West Point; but it might be
agreeable and advantageous to the colonists, if we allowed a given
number of young men to be educated at each of our military colleges in
England; those only being eligible, who, by a severe examination, had
proved their capabilities, and whose conduct at the places of their
education had been noted as exemplary. By such simple means, a certain
amount of military knowledge would gradually be diffused amongst the
colonists, which would render them more efficient to repress internal
troubles or repel foreign aggression.

As it may be interesting to some of my readers, I shall here give a
slight sketch of the Canadian parliaments. The Legislative Assembly, or
House of Commons, is composed of eighty-four members, being forty-two
for each province. The qualification for membership is 500l., and the
franchise 40s. freehold, or 7l. 10s. the householder; it is also
granted to wealthy leaseholders and to farmers renting largely; the term
is for four years, and members are paid 1l. per day while sitting, and
6d. per mile travelling expenses. The Legislative Council consists of
forty members, and is named by the Crown for life. The Cabinet, or
Executive Council, are ten in number, and selected from both Houses by
the Governor-General. Their Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Prime
Minister. The Canadians wish to do away with the qualification for
members of the Assembly, retaining the qualification for the franchise,
and to increase the number of members to sixty-five for each province.
They also desire to supersede the nomination of the Crown, and to make
the Legislative Council elective,[AO] with a property qualification of
1000l., thirty members for each province; these latter to be elected
for six years.

With regard to the proposed change in the Legislative Council, I confess
I look upon its supposed advantages--if carried out--with considerable
doubt, inasmuch as the electors being the same as those for the other
Chamber, it will become merely a lower house, elected for a longer
period, and will lose that prestige which might have been obtained by
exacting a higher qualification from the electors. Then, again, I think
the period for which they are elected decidedly too short, being fully
convinced that an increase in duration will usually produce an increase
in the respectability of the candidates offering themselves for
election; an opinion in which I am fully borne out by many of the wisest
heads who assisted in framing the government of the United States, and
who deplored excessively the shortness of the period for which the
senators were elected.[AP] I cannot believe, either, that the removing
the power of nomination entirely from the Crown will prove beneficial to
the colony. Had the experiment been commenced with the Crown resigning
the nomination of one-half of the members, I think it would have been
more prudent, and would have helped to keep alive those feelings of
association with, and loyalty to, the Crown which I am fully certain the
majority of the Canadians deeply feel; a phalanx of senators, removed