Yale University Library

39002003868354

M^/

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

The
EDWIN J. BEINECKE, '07
FREDERICK W. BEINECKE, '09S
WALTER BEINENCKE, '10
FUND

A TEIP TO AMERICA:

J^ LEGTXJKE,

DELIVERED BY

ARCHIBALD W. FINLAYSON,
JOHN.STONE, NEAR GLASGOW,

PUBLIC HALL OF THE JOHNSTONE WORKING MEN'S
INSTITUTE,
•18th Maech, 1879.

DR. MACLAREN, CHAIRMAN.

6^4^

GLASGO"
PRINTED BY DAVID WILSON, 136 GEORGE STREET.
1879.

F5(o

coNTE:]srTS.

Page
iNTRODtrCTION,  5
The Voyage Out,  6
New York,  12
Philadelphia,  20
Washington,  23
Railways,  30
Boston,  34
Factories  38
Montreal,  41
TOROMTO,  42
Niagara,  44
Albany,  49
Characteristics op the People,  , . 60
The Voyage Home, &c  51

A TEIP TO AMERICA.
1878.

BY the development of railway and steamboat com
munication the World is, in a sense, becoming
smaller, or rather being brought nearer home, or knit
by closer ties, and by the aid of the telegraph the press
every morning lays before us the incidents that have
happened in the uttermost parts of the earth on the
previous day. As time rolls on, it therefore becomes
more difiicult for one to find a country about which to
relate things which we have not already heard.
It is not a "Dark Continent" I am about to
describe, but a great commercial one with which we
have daily intercourse. I have no startling discoveries
to unfold, nor daring adventures among red Indians
and buffaloes to relate ; I am not going to bore you
with history and statistics which you can easily read
for yourselves, nor am I going to attempt to discuss
the questions that are racking the heads of statesmen,
but I am merely going to tell you the plain and simple
story of what I personally observed in the leading cities
of the United States.
My tour was short, and being almost constantly

occupied with business, my sketch is necessarily
rough ; but as you hear so many cock-and-bull stories
about the States, I thought it might interest you to
hear a few facts from one of yourselves.
It is somewhat exciting to think of crossing the
Atlantic for the first time, one of the stormiest and
most treacherous of oceans — an ocean on which so
many fair ships have set sail and never more been
heard of; and as our friends gave the farewell cheer
when the " Scythia " steamed slowly and majestically
down the Mersey, and as our native hills gradually
receded from view, we men became pensive, and
women gave vent to tears, but by a wise foresight, the
steward soon rung the bell, received us with a beaming
smile, put a dinner before us that would do credit to a
Lord Mayor, and the cares of the world and the
dangers of the sea soon vanished.
We lay in the lovely harbour of Queenstown for
several hours waiting on the mails, which at last
arrived about four o'clock. I should think about a
hundred large bales of letters were put on board. It
would be a subject for a novel itself the " Secrets of
the Mail Bag." Even in our own little town are there
not many tender little hearts always on the look-out
for the postman's knock ?
As we sailed out of Queenstown harbour we sat down
to our second dinner. The sea was a chopping one ;
the boat began to roll, many began to look blue, and
I felt not altogether perfectly comfortable. A German
gentleman next me said — "Allow me, Mr. Finlaisong,
to draw your attention to the poor attendance at table
to day." This was too much for me, so I made a most

unceremonious dash from my seat, rushed to my cabin,
and circumstances over which I had no control
detained me there for nearly two days, during which
my only amusement was watching my hat box dancing
a waltz with my portmanteau to a rattling accompani
ment played by the ewer on the basin. On appearing
again on the scene I found that many of my companions
had been similarly imprisoned, and some were not yet
relieved from bondage.
We were now in mid-ocean beyond the reach of care
and worry, no telegrams to annoy you here, no daily
papers to read, no bank failures to disturb your repose;
but here you are, in the world yet out of it, scudding
before the wind under a clear sky, nothing to do but
roll about the deck, eat and sleep.
It is always pleasant to travel, you form many new
friendships and gain much information, and as I said
to one of the passengers, " really although we never
met before, I have seen more of you than I have seen
of my most intimate friends on land, many of whom
I meet only for a few hours once or twice a year, but
here we are together for ten days."
One of the first whom I spoke to was Mr. Elder,
the first officer, a fine-looking man of most genial dis
position, and a great favourite with the passengers. In
course of conversation, on finding that I came from
Johnstone, he told me that he was related to a certain
gentleman there. We were at once great friends, and
had many a pleasant talk together. Mr. Watson, the
first engineer, told me he came from Paisley, and knew
all this neighbourhood well. These incidents made
me feel at home at once.

8
It would be idle for me to describe all that went on
at table — how the German on my right took especial
delight in making salads of hard potatoes, one of which
succeeded in nearly choking the old gentleman opposite
— how the Englishman on my left insisted on laying
ofif stories without point, and then gave vent to sup
pressed chuckles at his own jokes — how the Frenchman
in front gesticulated, or how the laudy-daudy Londoner
who had just got married to a rich and spirited young
widow was completely under her thumb. Suffice it to
say, that we had altogether a very varied, pleasant,
and jovial party at the Captain's table, and we bade
" adieu " to each other with great regret.
Life on board ship is very monotonous. The main
time-killers are the five meals a-day — breakfast 8 to 9,
luncheon 12, dinner 4, tea 7, supper 9-30. It is a
mystery to me how the three cooks produced such a
variety, and such a number of dishes out of the small
galley on deck. Every kind of soup, fish, and beef
that an Alderman could desire, as good puddings and
as plump pies as ever a "fat boy " smiled on seem to
be here. It may give you some idea of the extent of
the cuhnary and cabin arrangements when I tell you
that there are fifty-six stewards on board.
For several days the weather was tolerably settled,
and I was glad when the wind got up, as I was anxious
to see the waves of the Atlantic. No sooner were they
up, however, than I wished them down again.
Writers, painters, and poets in all ages have
attempted to describe the sea. All give but a faint
idea of the vastness and Almighty power of the ocean.
Their pictures want the life, and ceaseless indescrib-

able throbbing and battling of the untamed billows.
" There is sorrow on the sea, it cannot be quiet."
Nothing has ever impressed me so much as the
power and size of the waves. When I went on board
this great ship, 420 feet long, it seemed as if no power
on earth could move it; but here it is being tossed
about like a mere cockle-shell, lying at one time on
the side of a wave, then heeling over and down into
the trough, spray dashing over in all directions, seas
flowing over the bows, sailors rushing about, pulling
ropes, and changing sails at every whifi" of wind, all
directed by the boatswain's whistle, for the voice of
man cannot be heard above the storm.
One day on going on deck after dinner, I found an
old lady and a small boy its sole occupants; both were
sitting on the lee side of the deck-house with ropes
tied round them, to prevent them slipping when the
boat rolled. Plates of dinner had just been handed to
them. Suddenly the boat gave a terrific lurch, heeled
over completely on its side struck by two waves in
succession. The dinner plates flew from them, the
rope slipped round the old lady's neck, she gave a few
spasmodic twitches as if her end had come, I caught
hold of a rope and held her up, a sailor relieved me of
my charge ; I dashed into the deck-house, where I
found two gentlemen who had been dining rolling
about the floor among cushions, broken plates,
potatoes, beef, and tumblers. When the ship righted
we had a hearty laugh.
The waves in mid-ocean are a bright green color,
and the effects of sunshine and shade are most
beautiful, sometimes the sea assumes a leaden ^hue,

10
and again it seems like molten silver. You never tire
of looking at the sea, and as you sit on deck and listen
to "what the wild waves are saying," you think of
little Paul Dombey " gazing into the distant horizon,
watching the waves and clouds at twilight with his
earnest eyes, and breasting the window of his solitary
cage when birds flew by, as if he would have emulated
them and soared away."
When off the Banks of Newfoundland the cold was
intense for two days, from winds from distant icebergs
or the frozen regions. It is always cold here, but the
temperature inside of the Banks is milder, when we
got into the Gulf Stream. Mr. Elder told me that he
has sometimes seen the Gulf Stream bubbling as if
boihng, and that it is darker than the sea, and that in
the summer he has found the temperature at this part
82*^ Fahrenheit, or 6 or 7 degrees above the sea around.
I however noticed no change in appearance, but the
change in weather was very marked — it became quite
genial. The log or speed of the vessel, and the tem
perature of the sea are taken every two hours. The
captain and officers take time from the sun with the
quadrant every day, and at 12 o'clock bells are rung
all over the ship, the clocks are altered, and the lati
tude, longitude, and miles run are posted up.
On the ninth day all eyes were on the look-out for
a pilot boat; at last one was descried, and a number
of young men indulged in bets— such as the number
of the pilot boat, the colour of the pilot's shirt, what
foot he would place first on deck, whether he would
have a beard or not, and if so what was its colour. It
was somewhat amusing to see the people crowding

11

round the pilot to note these particulars. We were
400 miles from land when the pilot came on board.
This shows that great competition exists when men
risk their lives in such small craft so far from land.
Before land was visible, about 40 miles from shore,
one or two sparrows lit on the rigging; they seemed
like little messengers of peace come out to welcome us
to their home.
About two o'clock on Tuesday the 23rd April (the
tenth day out), we at last descried land, and at 3-80
we passed the forts guarding the entrance to New York
harbour. There we lay to, till boarded by the Doctor
and Custom-House officials who came out in a small
steamer with a golden eagle in a screaming attitude
on the top.
Every passenger is obliged to fill up a paper stating
his name and profession, the number and contents of
his packages, and sign and swear to its accuracy before
the officials. They are especially particular about
ladies' luggage, as they expect to make a haul off the
purchases which have been made on this side. The
following will give you some idea of the questioning
that goes on. An American lady was asked —
" How many boxes have you ?" " Six."
" Any new dresses ? " "Ah! yes, seven."
"How much are they worth?" "Well, one is
worth 200 dollars, another 300, and so on."
Now the little creature, proud of her bonnets, seemed
for the moment to forget tariff duties altogether; no
doubt she pictured to herself the flutter her new head
ornaments would create in Trinity Church, Broadway,
or Beecher's Chapel, so with evident pride she frankly

12
volunteered the statement that " she had five new
bonnets. Two cost 30 dollars, two cost 45 dollars,
and one cost 50 dollars."
"Have you any gloves?" "Oh! yes, six dozen."
" Any piece goods ?" " Oh ! yes, I have four pieces,
but recollect they are all for myself."
An old English gentleman was asked, among other
questions, "Have you got more than one watch?"
With unfaltering firmness he answered "No," He
then blushed like a beetroot. He had just shown me
a valuable new watch he was taking out to a friend,
besides his own."
New York Bay is one of the most extensive harbours
in the world. As you steam into it, you pass between
Staten and Long Islands, with pretty villas dotted along
their shores and hillsides ; then on passing several forts,
the great city is before you. It seems as if floating on
the water. It reminded me much of the descriptions of
Constantinople, only its great dome is not the mosque
of St. Sophia, but the Post Office ; its " cloud-capped
towers" are the spires of newspaper offices, and its
"gorgeous palaces" are hotels and dry goods stores.
" Forests of masts," yachts and sail boats, innumerable
steamers, and ferry-boats flitting about in all direc
tions at once show what a busy hive it is.
NEW YORK is built on Manhattan Island, which
is thirteen and a half miles long, with an average
breadth of one and a half miles, forming an area of 22
square miles. It is bounded on the east by East
River, and on the west by the river Hudson. The
city proper is compactly built for about six miles from
Battery Point. Two hundred years ago it had a thou-

13

sand, now it has one million inhabitants. To the east
is Brooklyn with 300,000 inhabitants, and to the west
is Jersey City with 85,000. These three virtually con
stitute one great city. The distance across the Hudson
between New York and Jersey City is about one mile
and a quarter. At the narrowest part of East River,
between New York and Brooklyn, a great suspension
bridge, 633 yards span, with towers 268 feet high,
has been in course of construction since 1870 ; some
think it will never be completed. This is the greatest
suspension bridge ever attempted. The original esti
mate was j£l, 400,000, but competent authorities state
that it will cost ^£4,000,000.
The only means of communication with New York
is by ferries, twenty-five in number. Boats ply from
each every three to five minutes, and go all night at
the principal ones every quarter of an hour. These
ferry-boats are very large, just shaped like Noah's
Ark, painted white, and the cross-beam of the engine
works outside. There are rooms for the passengers
on either side, and the centre is for carriages, twenty
to thirty of which could, I suppose, cross in one boat.
The old portion of New York is very irregularly
built, just like any of our own old cities ; but the new
part is built in uniform square blocks, twenty to the
mile. This is the plan adopted in all American cities.
In New York, the streets running north and south are
called Avenues — First, Second, Third, to Eleventh
Avenue — and the cross streets cutting the Avenues at
right angles are named First Street, Second Street,
Third Street, up to One Hundred and Twentieth
Street. The advantages of this system cannot be

14
overestimated ; a stranger at once knows where to go,
and how far he has to go.
For instance, if a stranger arrived at Johnstone
Station and asked to be directed to the best hottomed
street in the town, you would without hesitation tell
him to go to George Street.* He would require to ask
where that was, and you would require to explain to
him that George Street was the fifth street on his
right hand. Now in America it would be called Fifth
Street, so a stranger would at once know where to go ,
without any directions whatever.
The great thoroughfare or artery of New York is
Broadway, (80 feet wide) ; it runs from Battery Point
in a straight line through the centre of the city, then
branches off in a westerly direction. It is one of the
finest thoroughfares in the world. It is the great
buisness street, and is lined with fine shops, offices,
and large dry goods warehouses, or rather stores, as
they are called. The late Mr. A. T. Stewart's retail
warehouse, the largest in the world, occupies an entire
block ; it is six stories high, built of iron, and painted
whit6 ; his wholesale store is marble.
The insurance and newspaper offices are got up
regardless of expense. Some of the latter have high
towers, to which, I presume, the editors retreat when
threatened with a horse-whipping.
The houses generally have outside Venetian blinds.
The signboards are a perfect study, surpassing in
number and variety any attempt at advertising I had
previously seen. The side streets are roughly paved ;
* This street was in good order, but the Police Commissioners in
sisted on re-bottoming it, iu doing so the levels were bungled.

15

telegraph posts are stuck rudely into the streets at the
edge of the pavement ; trees line several streets ;
gaudily-painted figures of Indians and Africans taking
snuff stand opposite tobacconists' shops; barbers'
poles are innumerable ; tramway cars run up the
principal streets (except Broadway), and in two or
three streets, railway trains run over your head as
high as the second storey, in short, commerce is every
thing, and everything gives way to it. There is a
total disregard for appearance or architectural effect ;
but withal, there is a charm in the bustle around, as
you at once feel conscious that you are among an
energetic, hard working, great people.
The elevated railway is the most remarkable thing
I have ever seen attempted in a city. Iron or wooden
posts are stuck in at the edge of the pavements, and
the street is arched over with cross beams as high as
the second storey of the houses. On the top of these
the train runs, and the traffic of the street goes on
below. In narrow streets which admit only single
lines, single posts are used shaped like the letter T.
This mode of construction is cheaper than the under
ground railway in London, and is pleasanter to ride in,
but it is most destructive to property. A gentleman
who owns several streets told me that some of his
warehouses were empty and would never let again,
except at greatly reduced rents, and he got no com
pensation. The bill for such a railway passes, I
believe, through the State Parliament.
The most imposing building in the city is the Post
Office, built of granite, it cost ^1,400,000. The
Court House is a massive marble building. It cost

16

six millions of pounds sterling, three to four millions
of which were stolen by contractors and others.
The modern part of the city is well built and paved.
The dwellings in the fashionable quarters are equal to
the finest residences in Belgravia. The late Mr. A. T.
Stewart's house in Fifth Avenue is palatial, built of
white marble, and cost ^6400,000. Central Park, at
the end of Fifth Avenue, contains 850 acres, tastefully
laid out. It is 2J miles long and half-a-mile wide.
Hotels are more numerous than in this country, and
are a leading feature in American life, as many families
make them their home on account of the inconvenience
of carrying on private houses through the scarcity of
" lielps" or domestic servants. Many of the hotels are
perfect palaces ; white marble is largely used in their
construction. The Fifth Avenue Hotel, at which I stayed, is six
stories high, built of white marble, and has accommo
dation for 1100 guests. The bottom floor in all hotels
is entirely open to the public. The spacious hall is
lined with chairs, where gentlemen sit and smoke, and
it is sometimes as crowded and as busy as an Ex
change. Several shops open off the hall, such as a
tailor's, hatter's, and apothecary's. Then there are
reading and writing rooms, post and telegraph offices,
railway ticket office, book stall, billiard rooms, lava
tories, bar, and hair-dressing establishment. All these
are entirely open to the pubhc. Any one can step
into any of these large hotels, write a letter, read the
papers, take every use of the establishment without
hindrance or payment. If you wish to stay in the
hotel, engagfe a room at the hotel office in the hall,

17

and walk up stairs, where there are large dining and
drawing-rooms, and the bed-rooms are above.
One or two hotels are carried on on our practice of
charging each meal separately; but the universal plan
adopted in America is the boarding system — that is, a
fixed sum per day is charged including all meals, and
bed-room. Liquors of course are extra. The charge
in some hotels is three and a half to four dollars per
day, but I believe the fare and accommodation are
indifferent. The lowest charge in the leading New
York hotels is five dollars, or twenty- one shillings
per day. This is very expensive, and although I fre
quently only took breakfast and dined elsewhere, no
deduction from the bill was made. I may mention
here that I found charges for food in restaurants, &c.,
very dear all over the States. Clothes are also very
dear. A gentleman told me that he paid iii 6 for a
dress coat, but of course that was at the most fashion
able tailor's in New York.
The first hotel I stayed in was the Sturtevant House,
the dining-room of which is a spacious apartment, with
polished floor, and little tables scattered all over the
room. On entering, I had difficulty in retaining my
gravity at seeing the nigger waiters, about thirty or
forty of them, all dressed in white calico from top to
toe. The meals are served in a novel manner, and I was
much amused at the style of eating. A lady at a table
next to mine ordered her dinner as follows. After
having finished soup, and salmon with anchovy sauce,
a sambo handed her the bill of fare : Well, she said,
I'll have some —

18

Chicken fixings and apple sauce,
Sheep's head and brain sauce,.
Calf's tongue,
Com'd beef and turnips.
Oyster pattie and lobster salad.
Then for vegetables I'll have some
Sweet potatoes,
Peas,
Indian corn,
Macaroni, Squash,
Tomatoes, Sliced cucumbers, and olives.
These dishes were then brought on little saucers,
placed all on the table at once, and she took a pick
from one dish then another, reminding me much of
the manner in which boys feed young sparrows. After
these dishes were removed, she said, "Then for desert
I'll have gooseberry pie and cocoanut kisses, filberts,
crackers and cheese, celery, and ice cream." During
the eating of these victuals this interesting young
woman drunk three or four tumblers full of iced water,
then topped the whole with a cup of hot coffee.
The national drink is iced ivater. It is quite excep
tional to see wine drunk at table. If an American
wishes a drink he goes to the bar on the ground floor
and takes one of the following drinks : —
Cocktail, Brandy smash.
Gin sling, Egg nogg.
Sherry cobbler, Gin fizz.
Tangle legs, Dolly Varden, or
Half dash, John Collins.

19

On retiring, when about to place my boots outside
the bed-room door, I observed an intimation stuck up,
announcing " That the proprietor would not be re
sponsible for boots left in the passage." In the
morning, I was directed to a room down stairs to have
them brushed. Reclining in a very free and easy
manner in a rocking chair was a nigger in a blue coat,
profusely braided. As he wore a gold ring, read the
New York Herald, aud smoked a giant regalia, I had
doubts about asking such a swell if he were the boot
black, so deemed it prudent to sit down without
remark. In an instant, he threw the paper aside,
dashed off his coat, put his whole soul into the
brushes, and soon made my boots shine again. This
is gone through every morning, and costs 10 cents, or
fivepence. I asked a New York lady if she had to undergo the
same operation. She glanced at her husband and
said, "Well no, my boots never seem to get soiled."
I found that the knowing little creature wore India
rubbers, and her husband gave the boots a touch-up
on the sly.
In describing the boot-blacking, &c., I do so in order
to give you my first impressions; but I got quite
accustomed to such things, and soon paid no attention
to them.
I visited a large prison in which there is a factory
where 700 prisoners are employed making boots. All
were dressed in stripped flannel suits, zebra pattern,
and had their hair cut short. It was certainly a busy
hive, leather-cutting, blocking, screwing, sewing and
rivetting machines grinding away in all directions.

20

The prisoners seemed to be thoroughly acquainted
with the trade, and worked with great spirit. At the
end of each room an official was seated in a pulpit
with his feet stuck up on the desk, puffing volumes of
smoke into the air, and complacently reviewing the
scene below. The prisoners get wages placed to their
credit and good conduct marks.
I conversed with a number who were firing away
with Finlayson's thread, they seemed fully alive to its
merits, and I left wondering why such sensible men
ever got into their present situation.
I then visited PHILADELPHIA. The great quaker
city, founded by William Penn, covers the largest area
of any city in the United States, and it is next to New
York in population ; the population is 800,000. The
city which lies between the Delaware and Schuylkill
Rivers is twenty miles long x eight wide, and contains
three hundred miles of paved streets, and more houses
than any city in the States. Broad Street, the longest
in the city, measures twenty three miles. You must not
suppose that this street is compactly built for twenty
three miles ; the meaning is that the municipal bound
aries extend that distance. It is customary to carry
the names of streets right out into the open country.
Broadway runs through New York City, up the Hudson
River for 150 miles, and through the city of Albany ;
and Yonge Street in Toronto runs more than 100
miles in a straight line. For instance, Argyle Street
in Glasgow would in all probability be called Argyle
Street through Dumbarton as far as Helensburgh, and
the High Street of Paisley would be called High Street
from Glasgow through Paisley and Howood to Beith.

21

The site of Philadelphia is very flat. The city is
substantially built, principally of brick, and white
marble is extensively used for window-sills and door
steps. The majority of the streets are only about
fifty feet wide, and are lined with trees. It is a great
business place, and although there is considerable
bustle, the tone is quieter than in New York. The
first person I called on was George H. Stuart; he
occupies a high place among American philanthropists.
He raised enormous sums during the war, and organised
the Christian Commission which did so much to
alleviate the distress and smooth the pillows of
thousands of poor fellows on the field of battle. Mr.
Stuart dehghts in relating stirring incidents of the
war, and shows with pride one of the little testaments
he had distributed which saved a man's life. The
soldier had carried it over his heart, and a bullet had
.pierced the book and stopped at the last board. Mr.
Stuart showed me about Philadelphia. We visited
the old State House, where are preserved a collection
of portraits, revolutionary relics, the table on which
the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776,
and the old liberty bell, which bears the following
inscription: — "Proclaim liberty throughout the land
to all the people thereof."
We then went to Girard College, the leading chari
table institution of the city. Stephen Girard, a banker
and merchant, who died in 1831, left his large fortune
for the improvement of the city and charitable purposes.
The College which bears his name was built and
endowed by his funds ; it is a truly noble and lasting
monument to his memory. In it 850 fatherless boys,

22

between the ages of 6 and 18 years, are boarded and
educated entirely free of expense, and afterwards in
dentured to learn a trade.
The main building, which is 169 feet long x 111 feet
wide, is most chaste, and for its size is one of the most
costly in the States. It is built entirely of pure white
marble in the form of a Grecian temple, and is sur
rounded by a portico supported by 34 marble columns
55 feet high x 6 feet in diameter. Each column
weighs 103 tons, and cost J02,6OO. The roof is laid
with marble slabs 4 feet square. Every block of
marble in the building is set in pieces of milled lead
in order to prevent fracture at the joints, and all the
stones are fastened together by heavy cramp irons.
This gorgeous temple with two smaller adjoining
buildings took 14^ years to erect, and cost a6400,000.
There are also dormitories, junior school, and
hospital built separately. The whole stands in 42
acres tastefully laid out. The management of this
institution is vested in the Directors of City Trusts,
composed of twelve citizens appointed by the Court of
Common Pleas, who along with the Mayor constitute
the Board.
I was shown through the principal departments,
kitchens, &c. ; all are most trimly kept. I saw the
junior department at tea ; it was a great sight to see
so many fine chubby httle boys so well cared for.
Mr. Girard in his will left most minute instructions
about the building and management of the institution.
He evidently did not approve of having ministers on a
school board, as he emphatically stated in his will
that no clergyman was to be allowed inside the gates

23

for any purpose whatever, so those who wish to get a
peep inside require to remove their white ties. Services
are conducted by laymen in a beautiful chapel recently
erected at a cost of £20,000.
I then went to WASHINGTON, the political capital
of the United States.
On arriving at the hotel, I was greeted by a voice
in a well known brogue — "Arrah, sor! how did ye
lave all at home." I turned round, and a "bould" son
of Erin, the boots of the establishment, stood grinning
before me.
" How did you know me ? "
" Deed, sor, I knew ye by your luggage. Tell us
how all's going on in the ould country."
" Well," I said, " they are in rather a bad way just
at present ; how are you getting on yourself ? "
" Augh, sor, I came out here to make my fortune,
but there's less gould lying about than I expected, I
was brought up in Galway at a noice farm ; foine pigs,
and as game a little mare as ever you put your leg
across. I wish I saw the ould place again."
" Are there no races about here to cheer you up ? "
"Augh! no, nothing like the Galway ones, only
trotting round a ring in a common gig. Deed, sor,
the people in this country don't know what sport is,
and what's more they are very hard, the truth is sor,
I niver see a bit of money till gintlemen like yourself
come across."
Pensylvania Avenue, the main thoroughfare, is a
beautiful street lined with trees; it is one and a quarter
miles long, and 160 feet wide. The houses are very
indifferent ; but the great white dome of the Capitol

24

towering several hundred feet above at the one end,
and the massive granite Treasury Buildings at the
other, are very impressive and picturesque.
Every second man is a nigger, and every third white
man is colonel ; you almost fancy yourself in Calcutta
with the broiling sun above, and so many niggers and
military men below.
Washington at present is a most ridiculous looking
city. It has been called "the city of magnificent
distances and intentions." The plan is to have the
Capitol in the centre, and to have avenues radiating
from it all around. The avenues and streets have
been laid out for a city suitable for, I should think, a
million, but there are only, I believe, about 80,000
inhabitants, and only a small portion of the city has
been built; the consequence is that instead of being
in the centre, the Capitol is at the edge of the city
facing towards open fields and unbuilt streets lined
with trees. I think the city will never be built, as
it has no commerce; it is merely the seat of Govern
ment. The Capitol is (many say) the largest building in the
world. It is a magnificent pile 750 feet long, covers 3J
acres, and stands on rising ground tastefully laid out
with shrubs and trees. A great portico of Corinthian
columns adorns the entrance, and a magnificent dome
similar in shape to St. Paul's in London rises 240 feet
above the roof, and on the top is a figure of Liberty.
The view of the Potomac and the luxuriant country
around is extensive and beautiful. The main part is
built of freestone, and painted pure white to the very
top ; the wings are marble. The spacious halls, marble

25

staircases, statuary, and pictures are worthy of a great
nation. The House of Representatives is in one end, and the
Senate or Upper House occupies the other. There
are galleries in each for the accommodation of 1200
to 1500 strangers. The members' seats are placed in
a circular form round the rostrum, from which they
address the house. Each member is provided with a
spitoon and a desk on which he may write or rest
his head or his heels if he chooses. The Supreme
Court also sits in the Capitol.
Before leaving the Capitol allow me briefly to refer
to the Government.
There are 38 states in the country, besides several
territories. Texas, the largest state, is about 2^
times larger than the United Kingdom, or one-fourth
larger than France. Rhode Island, the smallest state,
is about the size of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire put
together. Each state is entirely independent of the others, and
each has a legislature of its own for regulating its
internal affairs.
The power of legislation for the states in their united
character is vested in Congress and the President.
The President and Vice-President are elected for
four years. The President must be at least 35 years
of age, and by birth an American. These officers are
chosen by the people, not by direct vote, but through
the Electoral College; that is, each state elects a
number of electors equal to its members of Congress,
and these electors choose the President and Vice-
President. It is known whom they will elect in case

26
this party or that succeeds, for the parties nominate
their candidates, and the electors simply register the
people's will as expressed in the ballot-box.
The President has a cabinet of seven— the Secretary
of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of War,
Secretary of Navy, Secretary of Interior, Post-Master
General, and Attorney General. These men are ap
pointed by the President, with the approval of the
Senate. Neither the President nor any of his Cabinet
has a seat in Congress. The Vice-President is Chair
man of the Senate, but never votes except when both
sides are equal, then he gives his casting vote.
The President's salary is 50,000 dollars, or ^610,000.
Each of his Cabinet is paid 8000 dollars, or £1600
per annum.
Congress, which meets in the Capitol, consists of
two houses. The Senate, or Upper House, is composed
of two Senators from each state elected by the legisla
ture thereof for a term of six years. The House of
Representatives, or Lower House, is elected by the people
for two years ; each state returns a member for about
every 120,000 inhabitants.
These two houses constitute Congress ; each member
is paid 5000 dollars or £1000 per annum, and an
allowance for travelling expenses.
Congress, with the approval of the President, makes
the laws which affect the country as a whole nation,
such as treaties with foreign powers, raising loans,
regulating the post office and custom house, army
navy, coinage, &c.
The President has great power; he is the Executive;
he declares war or makes peace; he can refuse to

27
sanction an act, but if passed again by two-thirds of
Congress it becomes law. He has as much power as
an emperor ; his Cabinet are his servants, and he can
remove them at his pleasure.
Each state has a Governor elected by the people ;
in some states his term of office is one year, in others
four, and Governors' salaries vary from £400 to £1600
per annum. The Governor stands in the same rela
tion to his state as the President does to the country.
The State Parliaments meet in fine Houses of
Parliament in the capital city of each state.
The State Parliament, with the approval of the
Governor, makes all domestic laws, such as liquor
laws, municipal laws, factory laws, passes railway
bills, &c. Although the code of laws is very similar
all over the country, still one state may vary from its
neighbour in its liquor laws, one may fix 60 hours per
week for factory work, the next 70, and another may
have no limit at all, in short, each state is a complete
republic in itself.
Every state is divided into Counties, and there are
County Courts similar to our own. County Judges
and State Judges in most of the states are appointed
by the Governor. The other officials, such as Sheriff,
Sohcitor, and Treasurer, &c., are elected by the people.
Then in cities and towns, they have Mayor, Alder
men, and Town Council same as our own, the only
difference being that our Commissioners merely get
glory and honour, whereas in America they get glory,
honour, and pay.
Fancy if we had had to pay salaries to our Commis
sioners for orderinc] the " big drain ! "

28

I was accompanied to Washington by Governor
Harriman of New Hampshire, a fine-looking man, and
one of the best orators in America.
He took me to the Treasury Buildings and intro
duced me to Chief Secretary Sherman, and the Under
Secretary of the Treasury, Judge French. I had a long
conversation and urged the adoption of specific instead
of ad valorem rates in collecting tariff duties on all
classes of goods when practicable, in order to simpHfy
customs questions with British traders. I was intro
duced to several other officials, then walked over to
the White House to call on the President.
The White House is a plain square building 170
feet long, and 86 feet deep, two stories high, built of
freestone, and painted white. The door was standing
open, and a footman in plain clothes who was walking
about the hall seemed the only person " on guard."
The East room, which is 80 feet long, 40 feet wide,
and 20 feet high, is the only apartment of any import
ance in the mansion.
We walked up stairs and found about fifty people
(principally ladies) sitting in the upper landing waiting
to see the President. They would have to wait several
hours. When we appeared, an over-fed nigger in a
stripped nankeen jacket asked our names and business.
We gave our cards, and as Governor Harriman was an
intimate friend, the President invited us in at once
and received us most pleasantly. President Hayes is
a nice looking man, with beard and moustache, not at
all yankee-looking, and speaks without the slightest
American accent. He was sitting at his desk in a
small room looking over papers and giving instructions

29

to two officials, just like any merchant in his office,
yet what a great position this man is in, governing
and directing the affairs of fifty millions, one of the
greatest nations on earth.
I expressed how pleased I was with what I had
already seen of his country, and assured him of the
great desire of England to maintain the close and
intimate friendship of the United States.
We only remained a few minutes as the President
was much engaged, but he asked us to call in an hour
and take a drive with him ; we had, however, to decline
his kind invitation as business engagements compelled
us to leave the city that day.
On going out, my friend was a few yards in advance ;
the stout nigger touched me and asked if that was
Governor Harriman, I said "yes." He at once
grinned, revolved his eyes, rushed down stairs after
the Governor, seized him with both hands and danced
with delight. Whether this demonstration was a mode
of showing his gratitude to the Governor for his efforts
in the cause of freedom, or a mere ebullition of nigger
fervour, or an attempt to extract half a dollar, I could
not make out. The Governor, however, seemed a
great favourite of the niggers, and several manifested
symptoms of delight at seeing him on the street, and
the antics of a nigger driver when we got into his
chaise, baffle description.
Niggers are everywhere — nigger cabmen, nigger
barbers, nigger labourers, nigger waiters, nigger shoe
blacks, and nigger loafers ; in fact one feels almost
unfashionable by not being a nigger.
The swell niggers get themselves up very loudly.

30

show a deal of linen and glaring red or green ties, like
" dandy Jim of Carolina."
There is a great deal of natural humour about the
niggers; their grin and powers of rolling their eyes
cannot be surpassed. I never saw a black population
before, and was particularly amused at the youngsters ;
they looked like young gorillas ; some stood on their
heads, others rolled in the gutters, while their
comrades danced the clog dance, the step for which
seems to be the same all the world over.
Some of the niggers have a bouncing self-confident
look as much as to say "you pinned us down once
but our time has now come." I saw a militia regiment
of niggers marching through Philadelphia, all dressed
in grey coats with huge gilt epaulettes and white
nankeen trousers. It was a comical sight. Whether
it was their keenness for, or fear of, battle, or the heat
of the day combined with the tightness of their collars,
I know not, but their eyes seemed starting from their
sockets. The railway and luggage arrangements have been
reduced to the most perfect system, and for comfort
and convenience are far ahead of ours. As already
stated, in every hotel there is a ticket office where you
can procure tickets at your leisure, and obtain every
information, and the Railway Companies leave bundles
of time tables with maps showing the various routes.
This prevents crushing for tickets at stations, and it
would be a great boon to the travelling public were
this system adopted in our large cities.
On going to the station your luggage is taken to a
baggage room, and you request it to be booked or

31

rather "checked" to the place you intend going to,
say Washington to Boston. The porter straps a brass
label with a number to each package, and gives you a
duplicate label or "check." You pay nothing; from
that moment you don't trouble yourself about your
luggage, the Railway Company is responsible. You
don't need, as in this country, to get a porter, see your
luggage labelled, see it put into the proper van and be
always on the look-out in case some one bolt with it,
or a stupid porter leave it behind ; the arrangements
are so perfect that you could travel from here as
far as India without giving your luggage a thought,
knowing that it is perfectly safe. On arriving at your
journey's end, if you take a cab, give the cabman
your checks, and the luggage is removed in an orderly
manner. There are innumerable luggage and parcel delivery
companies called Express Companies, similar to our
Globe Parcel Express, only carried out to a most
extraordinary extent. These Express Companies have
offices in every town, men calling at every hotel and
at every station. You can hand over your luggage,
get a receipt, and they will deliver it at any hotel or
house in the country. Before arriving at any large
town, express men walk through the railway carriages,
and if you do not wish to take a cab, or if you wish to
save yourself trouble, hand the express man your
checks, and he will deliver your luggage at any hotel
in the city for a small charge. These Express Com
panies also remove all merchandise from warehouses.
Merchants hang out a card at their doors with the
name of the company they wish to employ, the carters

32
see this on passing down the street and call and
remove the goods.
The railway carriages or "cars" hold 50 or 60
persons, and are similar in shape to tramway cars,
only the seats are placed across, with a passage up the
centre, and you can walk from one end of the train to
the other. The great principle being equality, class
distinctions are not recognised. The railway com
panies take advantage of this, and make all pay the
same fare, all travel together, there is not such a thing
as a 2nd or 3rd class. There is, however, on journeys
of any length, a Pullman Car, for which of course an
extra charge is made. In trains going long journeys
there are sleeping cars, and dining-room cars in which
are served as good dinners as in any restaurant, cook
ing and everything being done on board. These
arrangements are necessary as railway journeys are
long, sometimes a week. Boys walk up and down the
cars selling papers, books, fruit, ices, &c. Tickets
are collected en route, and you can break your journey
at any station. The conductors are a very superior
and intelligent class of men, and are most civil and
obliging. The permanent way and stations are cheaply got up,
and there are few fences. Trains dash right up the main
streets of large towns, and across country roads without
the shghtest protection. In some large towns there are
fences, but I have seen in many towns, children playing
on the streets and trains dashing past at full speed
without any fence whatever.
There is a large brass bell on the engine which the
driver rings at every crossing, and when entering a

33

town. There are no gates at cross roads, but a sign
board requests people " to look out for the engine
when the bell rings." The engine is also provided
with a wedge in front called a cow-catcher, to throw
aside any stout old gentleman or other impediment.
There are few officials at the stations, no huUy-
ballooing, no doors clashing, no frantic yells on the
passengers to take seats. The great principle in
America is " look out and take care of yourself."
Por instance, in this country, if you ran after a train
and attempted to jump on, you would at once be seized
by a score of officials, be tripped up, nearly choked,
then fined forty shillings and costs, whereas in America
they cheer you on.
We left Washington by direct mail for Boston.
On arriving at Jersey City about midnight, the engine
was detached, and the train, consisting of seven large
Pullman sleeping cars and a van, was run on to a
steamboat, and we sailed one hour right across the
river Hudson, round New York, and ran on to another
line where an engine was waiting to take us on to
Boston. The ferry-boat was very large, like a regular
American river steamer. There was a refreshment
room up stairs, and when sailing round New York I
went up, had supper, then walked about outside.
It was a lovely night, the moon threw its soft and
dreamy light on the great city as it lay asleep, not a
light was to be seen in it, save in the newspaper offices,
where no doubt clever editors were hard at work pro
viding new sensations and scandals for the great
leviathan when it woke up next morning. Numerous
ferry-boats, which were sailing about as noiselessly as

34

Venetian gondolas, seemed with their variegated lamps
like Wills-o-the-wisp. I frequently travelled between
New York and Boston, and the train was ferried across
the river Thames at New London in the same way,
America is rich in rivers ; between Washington and
Boston we crossed five great rivers — the Potomac, the
Susquehanna, the Delaware, the Hudson, and the
Connecticut. With the exception of the Hudson none
of them are navigable for any great distance in pro
portion to their length.
Between Washington and Boston the country is in
differently cultivated; there are vast tracts left in
forest, the foliage and shrubs of which are very rich.
The great farm lands of America are west of the
Alleghany mountains.
Every villa, without exception, and almost all the
houses and factories in the smaller towns or cities are
built of wood, prettily painted. These wooden houses
have an exceedingly trim and cheerful effect, and look
like children's toys, scattered along hill and dale.
The smaller country towns are not drained, the streets
are not made, and planks of wood are laid down for
pavements. On arriving at BOSTON, you at once feel yourself
among a people quite different from the New Yorkers,
similar to a difference between any of our large and
strictly commercial centres and Edinburgh. In New
York the question is — hoiv much have you ? In Boston
it is — hotu much do you know ?
Boston, the capital of the State of Massachusetts,
and I might say the capital of the New England States,
is built like a crescent round the undulating shores of

35

Massachusetts Bay. It is a beautiful city, and the most
English-Hke of any in the States. The old part is
most irregularly built, simply a maze, and although I
lived there for several weeks I frequently was puzzled
to find my way. A story is told of a stranger who
after wandering about for some time, at last asked a
policeman the way to such and such a street. " Well,"
he rephed, " I guess it is about time you were asking,
as you have passed me seventeen times."
In the centre of the city there is a park called " the
Common," of about 100 acres, with avenues of grand
old elms, and tastefully laid out flower gardens, orna-
mented with a few flne statues. It is surrounded by
streets of splendid private residences and clubs, and at
the northern end the gilded dome of the State House
towers above the trees.
A high granite column is erected on Bunker Hill in
commemoration of the defeat of the English, on 17th
June, 1775. The 17th of June is an annual holiday,
all places of business were closed, and numerous militia
regiments paraded the streets, and the Governor of
the state reviewed them on the Common.
In the great fire which broke out on Saturday even
ing, 9th November, 1872, and which raged with great
fury till Sunday night, 60 acres of the principal business
part of the city were reduced to ruins. The losses
amounted to the enormous sum of £15,000,000. This
portion of the city has been entirely rebuilt, and streets
of magnificent warehouses have risen from the ruins.
It is worth noting, that in the fire granite buildings
crumbled to dust, while those of common brick stood
it out.

36
Boston is called " the Hub " (or centre of the wheel)
of the Universe ; it is celebrated for its literary and
benevolent institutions, and the people are highly cul
tivated and very musical.
I made Boston my headquarters; and was introduced
to several gentlemen, who, although quite unconnected
in business, treated me with great kindness and hospi
tality, made me an honorary member of the leading
clubs, and almost daily sent invitations to entertain
ments or excursions. I mention these details in order
to contradict certain writers who have stated that the
Americans are inhospitable.
I regret that I had not an opportunity of hearing
Ward Beecher or Talmage, the two great popular
preachers of New York. I met one of my fellow
passengers in Boston ; he had just heard Talmage the
previous day. It was a most extraordinary performance.
Half-a-dozen reporters were present; the huge audience
laughed and applauded, and the preacher finished up
with the following remarkable peroration : —
"May the time soon come when England will be
for manufactures, France for manners, Italy for art,
Germany for literature, and our great and glorious
Commonwealth for God."
With a theatrical wave of the hand, he vanished
from the platform, amid loud applause. I would not
have you suppose that all the clergymen in America
have similar eccentricities. No, there are as many
great, good, and earnest preachers as here, and all
the services that I attended were conducted with the
same decorum as our own.
Episcopalians, Unitarians, and Baptists, muster

37
strong in Boston. I was invited to a dinner of the
Baptist Union; 300 were present. They meet and
dine together once a month. Among them were some
of the leading business men of Boston and vicinity.
An allusion to our Queen in a speech made by a
Professor was received with loud cheers. This was
the only opportunity I had of ascertaining the public
feeling towards us. The settlement of the Alabama
claims has done much to cement old differences.
One day a party of us drove to Harvard, the leading
University of the States. The buildings are old and
unostentatious. A very handsome memorial hall has
been recently erected as a monument to the students
killed in the war ; 850 students dine in it daily.
We then called at a pretty little estate ; large grey
squirrels were running about the lawns like rabbits.
It was curious to think, in walking through these fine
gardens and farms, that the property will probably be
sold at the death of the present proprietor, and not
handed down to his son or family.
There is no law of entail. The Americans have
totally different views from us on these points ; they
admire the old EngHsh style, but don't and wo'nt
adopt it. Men make money, spend it, and leave their
sons to fight for themselves. Sons, on the other hand,
seem to take a pride in steering clear of their fathers.
When a man once introduced a young American to an
audience as the grandson of the celebrated Mr. So-
and-so, he felt quite insulted, and remarked, " That
no doubt his grandfather was a tolerably respectable
old party, and did well enough in his day, but he
begged to say that he stood in his own shoes."

38

From the tower on the house top we had a most
extensive and panoramic view — at our feet lay Harvard
University, the town of Cambridge where Washington
first took command of the army, and Auburn Cemetery
celebrated for its beauty, while in the distance stood
Boston, the gilded dome of the State House glittering
in the sun, and hill and dale for miles around dotted
over with pretty villas.
Amid this lovely and luxuriant country, the placid
Charles river wends its way to the sea ; I might call it
the classic river, for it, indeed all the country around,
has been rendered classic by America's greatest poet —
Longfellow. Here he resides, and it is to the Charles
river he alludes in his lovely song of " The Bridge,"
and it was on its banks he wrote " The Village Black
smith," a song which thrills audiences in every part of
the civilized world.
There are now upwards of ten millions of cotton
spinning spindles in America, three-fourths of which
are in the New England States. At Lawrence, a town
on the Merrimac river (70 miles from Boston), I was
shown over the Pacific Mills, the largest in the world;
in them 5,300 hands are employed in the manufacture
of cotton cloth and fancy dress goods of wool and cotton.
This great concern consists of 12 buildings with 42
acres of flooring, and contains 135,000 cotton spindles,
25,000 worsted spindles, 4,500 looms, and 24 machines
which print from one to sixteen colours. More than
1,260,000 yards of cloth are printed or dyed every
week. Fifty boilers in a row supply the print-works
with steam.
The Merrimac river, which I think will be rather

39
more than the width of the Clyde at Glasgow Bridge,
is dammed back by a weir 30 feet high, and the water
is diverted into a great lade 80 feet wide, and the mills
of the Pacific and other companies are supplied with
water-power from it. The water-power used by the
Pacific is 2300 horse, besides the engines. The mills
work 60 hours a week. In going through the print
works, several of the workmen told me that they came
from Leven and Thornliebank.
There are six other concerns in Lawrence, manufac
turing cotton and woollen goods, and all, including the
Pacific Company, employ a capital of £1,600,000, over
10,000 hands, 338,000 spindles, and produce over
2,300,000 yards of cloth weekly. Thirty years ago
com grew on the site of these vast mills, but now the
thriving town contains 40,000 inhabitants.
The Cotton Thread Works of Messrs. J. & P. Coats,
at Pawtucket (in the State of Rhode Island), 40 miles
from Boston, are very extensive, and consist of three
large mills standing parallel to each other. The
newest mill (four stories) has the finest rooms I have
ever seen — about 400 feet long by 105 feet wide ; two
of these flats contain 25,000 spinning spindles each.
The cotton is spun from the foundation and sent out
on spools; 1600 hands are employed, and the mills
work 65 hours a week.
Messrs. Clark, of Paisley, have extensive mills at
Newark, New Jersey.
I visited several of the leading manufacturing towns,
and saw through factories of all kinds which I have
not time to describe.
The waiters at my hotel in Boston were my old

40
friends — Irishmen — and right glad was I to see them.
As I had obtained an opinion of the country from a
Washington Irishman's point of view, I thought I
would ascertain what views his Boston brethren held
on the subject, so I said to one "How do you like
the country?"
" Well, sor, when I came out here twenty year ago
the country was good enough thin, but now wages are
coming down, and rints are tarrible high; a working
man can't get a house under twenty-four or thirty
pound, and clothes are beyond all buying; the truth
is, the country's going to the dogs entirely; there's no
getting on at all, at all."
Brighter prospects seemed to dawn when I gave him
half-a-doUar. I left Boston one evening for Montreal, and next
morning when I got up I found myself across the
border and in British territory. Words cannot express
the glow of delight that I had when I came in sight of
the mighty St. Lawrence stretching out like a great
sea. The train crosses the St. Lawrence by the Great
Victoria Bridge, one of the wonders of the world,
nearly 2 miles long, consisting of a series of wrought-
iron tubes resting on 24 piers of masonry, the central
tube being 330 feet long X 22 feet high, and 16 feet
wide, it contains only a single line of rails, and the
total cost was £1,300,000, It is a very inelegant
structure, but a most useful one, were it not for it the
direct communication between Montreal and the States
would be entirely cut off.
On leaving the bridge, Montreal bursts on your
view. The situation of the city could not be surpassed;

41
it rises gradually from the great river, and a richly
wooded hill similar in shape to Arthur's Seat in
Edinburgh rises abruptly behind the city. This hill
has been converted into a public park, and from it is
obtained one of the grandest views imaginable.
My joy was great at landing in Canada; I rejoiced
to be once again among the loyal subjects of the
Queen, among whom I knew were many from the land
of the heather and blue bell.
MONTREAL is a well-built city; the banks and
pubhc buildings are imposing, and on the outskirts
are innumerable mansions and villas, all substantially
built of stone, and many of the streets are lined with
trees. There are an immense number of churches, all
particularly fine buildings. The Roman Catholic
Cathedral of Notre Dame is very grand ; it accommo
dates 10,000 persons. There is a great French
population, who by treaty are subject to French law.
The streets generally have the names stuck up in
French and English.
The Windsor is the finest hotel I stayed at in America ;
it had just been opened. It is quite palatial. All the
hall floors and staircases are white marble. The
dinning-room, 120 feet long X 56 wide, is a beautifully
painted hall with white marble floor. It is in this
room that all public balls take place, and it was here
that the Marquis and Marchioness of Lome were
entertained. The drawing-room, 100 feet long, is
furnished in ebony and blue satin. The central hall
is open to the public, and is like a great club with
billiard-rooms, bar, shops, &c., similar to the New
York hotels.

42

A friend, to whom I will afterwards allude, took me
to the last meet of the Montreal fox hounds, on 4th
May; we had a long ride through the most richly
cultivated country teeming with orchards, and galloped
home for about eight miles along the banks of the St.
Lawrence. Canada is a flat country, and the scenery along the
Grand Trunk Line to Toronto would be very tame were
it not for the rich foliage of the forests.
The country around Toronto is perfectly flat and
very uninteresting. Part of the city stands on land
reclaimed from Lake Ontario.
TORONTO is splendidly built ; its warehouses,
banks, churches, and other public buildings compare
favourably with those of Glasgow. The population
at present is 80,000. It is a very thriving place;
it and the town of London further west are destined
to become the great emporiums of trade when Canada
is thoroughly opened up.
I visited all the leading warehouses, and was much
surprised at the enormous quantities of American-
made goods in them. One merchant said to me —
"Now, you see this large room filled with cotton
prints. There is not a single piece of English goods
in it; at one time I bought £40,000 worth a year from
Enghsh manufacturers, now I don't buy one shilling's
worth. The ordinary prints are from the States, and
the finer qualities are from France. The tweeds and
coarse cotton cloth are Canadian make."
All the leading merchants told me a similar story.
I had a long conversation with Mr. John Macdonald
the member for Toronto, and he gave me a copy of

43
one of his speeches containing the following interesting
statistics : — In the year 1873 the imports from Britain
were 68 miUion dollars ; and from the United States
47 millions, a gain in favour of Britain of 21 million
dollars. In 1877 the imports from Britain were 39
millions, and from the States 61 millions, or 12
miUions in favour of the States.
Speaking in the Canadian House of Commons on
the 1st March, 1878, Mr. Macdonald said, "taking
the present year our trade with Britain has declined
1,162,000 dollars ; and our trade with the States has
increased 5,242,000."
Mr. Macdonald predicted that, " while the imports
from Britain will steadily decrease ; those from the
United States will steadily increase, and that before
1884 the trade with the States, now amounting to 60
miUions, will reach the volume of 100 millions of
dollars." The total exports of cotton cloth from the United
States have risen from 13,430,000 yards in 1870, to
126,294,000 yards in 1878.
This is not a lecture on political economy, so I will
not enlarge on these startling statements, but commend
them to the consideration of certain stump orators and
writers, who, filled with what might be termed an
overweening conceit of our manufacturing power, pooh-
pooh foreign competition, and imagine that England
is for ever to remain the workshop of the world.
I spent a few hours at Hamilton, a prosperous city
of 25,000, prettily situated on Lake Ontario, then pro
ceeded to the Falls of Niagara.
The level of Lake Ontario is 334 feet lower than

44

Lake Erie. The Niagara River, which connects these
lakes, is 33 J miles long ; the Falls are situated on it
twenty miles below Lake Erie. The river immediately
above the Falls is about one mile wide. This mighty
sea, as it approaches the Falls, is lashed into waves or
rapids of seething foam by a sudden fall of 30 feet in
the rocky bed of the river.
At the rapids, the river is divided by Goat Island,
then pours over perpendicular cliffs (just like the face
of a quarry) 164 feet high, into a chasm 450 yards
wide, with perpendicular rocks about 200 feet high on
either side.
There are two distinct Falls ; the part of the river
on the east side of Goat Island forms the American
Fall, and the Horse-Shoe Fall is on the west side.
The American Fall, which is 300 yards wide, is
rather an ugly colour, white and brown stripes alter
nately, and there is so much debris at the foot, that
although the Fall measures 164 feet from the river to
the crest, still it does not look so high.
The Horse-Shoe Fall is 700 yards wide, and is by far
the most imposing. It is the same ugly colour at the
sides, but in the centre where the water is supposed to
be 20 or 25 feet thick, it is a rich deep green ; this
exquisite colour is, I consider, one of the main beauties
of the scene. From the centre, a column of spray is
ever ascending.
Over these Falls 100 millions of tons pour every
hour; the surplus water from lakes covering about
86,000 square miles.
After the Falls, the river, which is supposed to be
250 feet deep, is an ugly muddled green colour, covered

45

with bubbles of white foam. For some distance it flows
so slowly that it seems almost stagnant, but at rapids,
at a bend in the river about three miles down, a great
whirlpool is formed, in which anything going over the
Falls is generally found. I did not visit the whirlpool ;
but believe the water rises to a height of 10 feet.
Two gentlemen (brothers) who attempted to cross
the river in a small boat, two miles above the Fall,
were carried over, and their bodies were found in the
whirlpool. This occurred about three weeks before I
was there.
Having heard so much of the Falls I expected to be
awe-strack, but I was at first greatly disappointed.
Their great breadth detracts from their height, and
the road by which you approach, on the Canadian side,
is level with the top of the Falls, you therefore look
down on them, and so do not comprehend their vastness
until you go down to the river's edge and look up.
The surroundings are not altogether so picturesque
as I anticipated ; on the American side, the town of
Niagara is built close to the river. A paper mill is
driven by the rapids immediately above the American
Fall — then on the Canadian side, the amenity of the
place is rather spoiled by several hotels and museums.
A most beautiful suspension bridge, 450 yards long
(the longest in the world), crosses the river in one
span, immediately below the American Fall; it is
about 200 feet above the water.
Goat Island, which is connected by a bridge, contains
about 26 acres ; it and the Canadian side of the river
are prettily wooded.
I was accompanied to the Falls by one of the most
G

46

popular and best known young men in Montreal — Mr.
Hugh Paton, of Johnstone.
We arrived about dusk, and as the larger hotels
were not opened for the season, we stayed in a small
wooden one close to the Falls, so close that the spray
wet any one standing at the door, and the windows
rattled with the vibration.
Next day we viewed the Falls from all points, then
called at a house, put on a suit of waterproofs, and
went under the Horse- Shoe Fall; we could not go in
more than 50 feet as the ledge of rock stops. The
water forms a complete arch, and falls about 60 feet
from the rock. We then scrambled down to the edge
of the river and looked up. It was most impressive to
see such a vast wall of water nearly half a mile broad
pouring down 160 feet. The noise was deafening.
On coming up, after putting off the waterproofs (for
the use of which one dollar is charged), we were
obliged to walk into the museum to sign the visitors'
book. The museum proprietor then urged us into his
shop, when we were at once seized by some preposses
sing young women, with very frizzy hair, who insisted
on our buying photographs at exorbitant prices.
Resistance is useless.
Niagara is greatly resorted to by match-making
mammas, and on Goat Island there are many romantic
little nooks and corners exactly suited for carrying out
their little schemes, and as the infatuated youth gazes
on the great river as it tears along, and dashes over
with thundering power, he shudders at the thought of
dashing through life like that river, alone! so he readily
falls helpless by Cupid's darts,

47
Fortunately, or unfortunately, just as one likes to
look at it, my visit was paid before the campaigning
season was opened.
Dickens speaks in glowing terms of Niagara, and
how he loved to dwell and gaze on the scene. On the
other hand I felt inclined to run away. At every
point of interest when you stand and wish to gaze in
solemn silence at the great work of the Creator, you
feel something tickhng your elbow, and on turning
round an enterprising museum-keeper presses you to
buy a stuffed owl, a cured weasel's skin, or a pair of
mocassins; you shake him off, and move along. You
stand again, a photographer rushes at you and insists
on taking your photograph with the FaUs in the
background for 3^ dollars, or 14s. for one copy. "You
can't take the Falls to-day," I said to one; "you
cannot see them for the spray."
" Oh ! I assure you, sir, there never was a finer day
for it, only 3 J dollars; was 4^ last year."
" Well, I said, I know enough about photography
to know that you cannot take a thing you can't see,
and as you cannot see the Falls you cannot take
them." At last he admitted " that he stuck the Falls in
afterwards from another negative."
" Well, Paton, I said, I can't stand this any longer."
So off we went to Toronto.
We left Toronto in a steamer at two o'clock, sailed
down Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, and arrived
at Montreal at 7 o'clock on the following evening. The
banks of the St. Lawrence are very flat, and the
scenery is very uninteresting, except when passing

48

through the Thousand Islands at the end of the lake.
There are really 1692; the largest island is 10 miles
long, the smallest ones are mere specks of bare rock.
They are prettily wooded, and resemble the islands
in Loch Lomond. Villas are built on some of them.
The steamer shoots several rapids on the river,
the most dangerous of which is at Lachine, seven
miles from Montreal. An Indian pilot is taken on
board to steer, the steam is shut off, and the boat
shoots down a descent of 20 feet between two sunken
rocks; the slightest hitch would be a serious matter.
The steamer when returning to Toronto sails up a
canal and avoids the rapids.
The time I spent in Canada was most enjoyable,
mainly owing to the hospitality of Mr. Hugh Paton,
and I left with great regret, and returned to Boston.
I then left Boston for the Hoosac Valley where I
stayed all night in a lovely glen surrounded by richly
wooded hills. The stillness reignmg here was that
night only broken by the whistling of a frog. The
American frogs whistle, and in Canada they are called
the Canadian nightingales.
The railway tunnel through the Hoosac Moun
tains, cost £2,400,0Q0; it is six miles long, and
next to the Mont Cenis Tunnel is the longest in the
world. I did not go through the tunnel, but in order
to see the country drove over the hills. It is a
charming view looking down on the valley of North
Adams, with the pretty little city nestling at the foot,
and the green mountains of Vermont rising all around
4000 feet. I passed on to Albany, the country around
which is well cultivated.

49
ALBANY, the Capital of the State of New York, is
a very thriving city, and there are numerous factories
in and around it. It seems a great place for lady
doctors. Had I been a medical man, I would have
thought my occupation gone ; certainly my spirit would
have been severely troubled at seeing so many large
brass door-plates in the principal street, announcing
that Dr. Mary, Dr. Jemima, or Dr. Ann So-and-so
pursued the "saw-bones" art, or I might on second
thoughts brought home one as an assistant, and esta-
bhshed the greatest medical firm in the county.
A great Parhament House, covering three acres, for
New York State is being built of white marble; when
finished, it will be one of the greatest buildings in the
country, and will cost £3,000,000.
One of the leading features of America is the
barber's pole; everywhere you turn you see it; and the
barber occupies an important position in every hotel
in the country. Whenever "young America" is loaf
ing about on a hot day, with nothing particular to do,
he steps into the barber's and has a shave to kill time.
The Americans seldom allow their whiskers to grow,
and as they seldom shave themselves, barbers are in
great demand, and do a flourishing trade.
On stepping into the barber's saloon of the Albany
hotel, I found all the men engaged except a small boy
in a suit of striped nankeens who was stropping razors.
I told him I would wait till a man was disengaged.
" Oh !" he said, "I'll fix ye." I thought it not at all
unlikely that he would fix me if I gave him the chance,
so meant to refuse ; but a glance at the calm deter
mined face of the young Jonathan restored confidence,

60
and I handed myself over to his tender mercies. He
danced about, talked through his nose a great deal,
and handled the blade hke "the barber of Seville."
" Well," I said, " now that you have finished my chin,
wiU you fix my hair ? "
I was charged 76 cents, or three shillings, for the
hair-cutting and shampooing, and 25 cents, or one
shilUng, for the chin fixing. 1 paid the dollar, and on
leaving thought that that man would make his fortune
in no time, and that his boy would some day be
President of America.
The river Hudson has been compared to the Rhine ;
from Albany to New York, a distance of 150 miles,
the scenery is of the grandest description, like a
panorama passing before you. The hillsides are
covered with orchards and shrubs which attain great
perfection. The Catskill mountains, where Rip Van
Winkle slept, are imposing ; but the most picturesque
part is at the town of West Point, where the river is
four miles wide, and completely surrounded by high
hills rising abraptly from the water. The Military
College of West Point (the Sandhurst of America),
rests on the shoulder of a hill amid this beautiful
scenery. Near New York, the left bank is studded
with fine residences, and on the right bank for some
20 miles basaltic cliffs, 300 feet high, tower above the
river. The newspapers are sensational, and give us
erroneous ideas of the people. I formed high opinions
of the Americans; as a nation they are better educated
than we are, and exceedingly polite ; the better classes
at least do not boast, but never express surprise ; they

61
are very sharp, industrious, exceedingly open and
straightforward in business.
The Americans are also a very temperate people ;
during the two months I was in the States I only saw
one drunken man. I was in New York and Boston
on two great holidays when these cities were filled
with excursionists, and I did not notice any person
the worse of drink.
I mentioned this to Mr. Stuart of Philadelphia, and
he said, that " although strangers might not notice it,
he was sorry to say a good deal of drinking went on";
and he said, " that in the State of New York there is
a law by which a wile can prosecute a publican if he
gives her husband too much drink." A certain cauti
ous publican has printed a card, which he gets wives
to sign in order to protect himself against the working
of this law, Mr. Stuart showed me one of the cards.
The following is an exact copy : —
"To John Smith,  Spirit Merchant,  Street,
New York.
"I, the undersigned, the legally wedded wife of Mr.
Henry Luckin, do hereby declare that my husband has
the right and liberty to drink as often as he chooses, and
what he chooses, and I hereby relinquish all claims for
damages arising therefrom. (Signed) "Eliza Luckin."
Then in the bitterness of her spirit she added "He's
of very little use anyhow."
At 9 o'clock on the 19th June, one of the most
lovely summer mornings, we steamed out of New York
Bay in the "Bothnia." The 300 cabin passengers

52

were sitting all over the deck under an awning ; the
sea was like a mirror ; porpoises rolled about and
literally sprung out of the water, as if rejoicing in the
brilliancy of the day. On the morrow the sea rose ;
the dinner-table was poorly attended ; and at night we
lost two top sails.
One day when a number of us were discussing a
point in maritime affairs in the smoking room on
deck, an Englishman called out —
" What do you say about this, Commodore ? "
"What do you fellows mean by calling me Com
modore ? " said a voice from the corner. " I'm not a
Commodore, I'm nothing at sea, but on land I'm a
Lieut .-Colonel of the regular American army."
" Oh! you're not a general, are you not ? "
" No, I'm not a general, but I guess I'd make a
better general than a lot of the shoddy ones that are
going about. I'm a West Point cadet, and my name
is Lieut.-Colonel Wm. Kingsley, Cut-em-down of the
Regular United States Army."
The Colonel was a portly man with a blazing eye ;
his tweed suit was well worn, and his white Melton
overcoat had seen better days ; he smoked continually,
and always wore a pair of unblemished kid gloves, and
a traveUing cap of Rob Roy tartan.
He was a most amusing man ; had an answer ready
for everything, and kept a large circle in fits of laughter
the whole voyage home.
" Well, Colonel," I said, "what is the most modern
way to receive cavalry, would you receive them in
squares or in open column ? "
" Well, with modern weapons I'd give cavalry 300

53
yards, and I'd guess there would be very few of them
left to come up."
"Are you going over to inspect the armaments of
England, or going to take a run through Europe ? "
" No," rephed the Colonel, " I've seen all the arma
ments f Europe, and talked with all the leading gene
rals in it. I'm going over to Florence for a tomb for
my parents."
" What sort of tomb ? "
"Well, it's to be a sarcophagus of variegated
marbles, with an angel in white hovering over the top."
One evening a concert was given for the benefit of
the Liverpool Sailors' Orphanage, and a young lady
gave a most amusing recitation. Next morning when
sitting on deck, the lady walked past. I said to the
Colonel " that's the young lady who recited last night."
The Colonel took his cigar from his mouth, looked
along the deck, and said —
" She's one of the few women I ever saw walking
without turning in her left toe."
We arrived safely at Liverpool on the 30th June,
one of the hottest days of last summer. I bade
adieu to my numerous travelling companions, and left
the Colonel walking about under a white umbrella lined
with green, mopping his head and looking for his
luggage.

Great as America is, she is only in her infancy.
She lies in the most favoured zone of the globe. Her
varied climate is suited for the growth of everything
that can sustain and enrich a people. She is not

H

64

surrounded, as we are, with hostile nations armed to
the teeth; instead of consuming our iron and manu
factures, she is not only manufacturing largely for her
self but supplying our colonies and other countries ; in
short, with her position, her great mineral and other
resources, she cannot prevent herself becoming the
greatest competitor with which this country has ever
had to contend in the great commercial race ; and in
concluding I cannot do better than quote the advice
of one of the greatest statesman we have ever had.

VIZ :-

" That one great duty is entailed upon us, which we
unfortunately neglect — the duty of preparing, by a
resolute and sturdy effort, to reduce our public burdens,
in preparation for a day when we shall probably have
less capacity than we have now to bear them."

YALE UNIVERSITY

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