The dogs are all tied up, and the mosquitos have broke loose--it is high
time to leave New York.
The American steam-boats have been often described. When I first saw
one of the largest sweep round the battery, with her two decks, the
upper one screened with snow-white awnings--the gay dresses of the
ladies--the variety of colours--it reminded me of a floating garden, and
I fancied that Isola Bella, on the Lake of Como, had got under weigh,
and made the first steam voyage to America.
The Hudson is a noble stream, flowing rapidly through its bold and deep
bed. Already it has many associations connected with it--a great many
for the time which has elapsed since Henrick Hudson first explored it.
Where is the race of red men who hunted on its banks, or fished and
paddled their canoes in its stream? They have disappeared from the
earth, and scarce a vestige remains of them, except in history. No
portion of this world was ever intended to remain for ages untenanted.
Beasts of prey and noxious reptiles are permitted to exist in the wild
and uninhabited regions until they are swept away by the broad stream of
civilisation, which, as it pours along, drives them from hold to hold,
until they finally disappear. So it is with the more savage nations:
they are but _tenants at will_, and never were intended to remain longer
than till the time when Civilisation, with the Gospel, Arts, and
Sciences, in her train, should appear, and claim as her own that portion
of the universe which they occupy.
About thirty miles above New York is Tarry Town, the abode of Washington
Irving, who has here embosomed himself in his own region of romance; for
Sleepy Hollow lies behind his domicile. Nearly opposite to it, is the
site of a mournful reality--the spot where poor Major Andre was hung up
as a spy.
You pass the State prison, built on a spot which still retains its
Indian name--Sing Sing--rather an odd name for a prison, where people
are condemned to perpetual silence. It is a fine building of white
marble, like a palace--very appropriate for that portion of the
_sovereign_ people, who may qualify themselves for a residence in it.
I had a genuine Yankee story from one of the party on deck. I was
enquiring if the Hudson was frozen up or not during the winter? This
led to a conversation as to the severity of the winter, when one man, by
way of proving how cold it was, said--"Why; I had a cow on my lot up the
river, and last winter she got in among the ice, and was carried down
three miles before we could get her out again. The consequence has been
that she has milked nothing but _ice-creams_ ever since."
When you have ascended about fifty miles, the bed of the river becomes
contracted and deeper, and it pours its waters rapidly through the high
lands on each side, having at some distant time forced its passage
through a chain of rocky mountains. It was quite dark long before we
arrived at West Point, which I had embarked to visit. A storm hung over
us, and as we passed through the broad masses piled up on each side of
the river, at one moment illuminated by the lightning as it burst from
the opaque clouds, and the next towering in sullen gloom, the effect was
sublime.
Here I am at West Point.
West Point is famous in the short history of this country. It is the
key of the Hudson river. The traitor Arnold had agreed to deliver it up
to the English, and it was on his return from arranging the terms with
Arnold, that Andre was captured and hung.
At present, a Military College is established here, which turns out
about forty officers every year. Although they receive commissions in
any regiment of the American army when there may be vacancies, they are
all educated as engineers. The democrats have made several attempts to
break up this establishment, as savouring too much of _monarchy_, but
hitherto have been unsuccessful. It would be a pity if they did
succeed, for such has been the demand lately for engineers to
superintend railroads and canals, that a large portion of them have
resigned their commissions, and found employment in the different
States. This consideration alone is quite sufficient to warrant the
keeping up of the college, for civil engineers are a _sine qua non_ in a
country like America, and they are always ready to serve should their
military services be required. There was an inspection at the time that
I was there, and it certainly was highly creditable to the students; as
well as to those who superintend the various departments.
When I awoke the next morning, I threw open the blinds of my windows,
which looked out upon the river, and really was surprised and delighted.
A more beautiful view I never gazed upon. The Rhine was fresh in my
memory; but, although the general features of the two rivers are not
dissimilar, there is no one portion of the Rhine which can be compared
to the Hudson at West Point. It was what you may imagine the Rhine to
have been in the days of Caesar, when the lofty mountains through which
it sweeps were not bared and naked as they now are, but clothed with
forests, and rich in all the variety and beauty of undisturbed nature.
There is a sweet little spot not far from the college, where a tomb has
been erected in honour of Kosciuscko--it is called Kosciuscko's Garden.
I often sat there and talked over the events of the War of Independence.
Many anecdotes were narrated to me, some of them very original. I will
mention one or two which have not escaped my memory.
One of the officers who most distinguished himself in the struggle was a
General Starke; and the following is the speech he is reported to have
made to his men previous to an engagement:--
"Now, my men,--you see them ere Belgians; every man of them bought by
the king of England at 17s. 6d. a-head, and I've a notion he'd paid too
dear for them. Now, my men, we either beats them this day, or Molly
Starke's a widow, by G---d." He did beat them, and in his despatch to
head-quarters he wrote--"We've had a dreadful hot day of it, General;
and I've lost my horse, saddle and bridle and all."
In those times, losing a _saddle_ and _bridle_ was as bad as losing a
horse.
At the same affair, the captain commanding the outposts was very lame,
and he thought proper thus to address his men:--
"Now, my lads, you see we're only an outpost, and we are not expected to
beat the whole army in face of us. The duty of an outpost, when the
enemy comes on, is to go in, _tree_ing it, and keeping ourselves not
exposed. Now, you have my orders; and as I am a _little lame_, I'll go
in first, and mind you do your duty and come in after me."
I passed several days at this beautiful spot, which is much visited by
the Americans. Some future day, when America shall have become wealthy,
and New York the abode of affluence and ease, what taste may not be
lavished on the banks of this noble river! and what a lovely retreat
will be West Point, if permitted to remain in all its present wildness
and grandeur!
I re-embarked at midnight in the steam-boat descending from Albany, and
which is fitted out as a night boat. When I descended into the cabin,
it presented a whimsical sight: two rows of bed-places on each side of
the immense cabin, running right fore and aft; three other rows in the
centre, each of these five rows having three bed-places, one over the
other. There were upwards of five hundred people, lying in every
variety of posture, and exhibiting every state and degree of repose--
from the loud uneasy snorer lying on his back, to the deep sleeper
tranquil as death. I walked up and down, through these long ranges of
unconsciousness, thinking how much care was for the time forgotten. But
as the air below was oppressive, and the moon was beautiful in the
heavens, I went on deck, and watched the swift career of the vessel,
which, with a favouring tide, was flying past the shores at the rate of
twenty miles an hour--one or two people only, out of so many hundreds on
board of her, silently watching over the great principle of locomotion.
The moon sank down, and the sun rose and gilded the verdure of the banks
and the spires of the city of New York, as I revelled in my own thoughts
and enjoyed the luxury of being alone--a double luxury in America, where
the people are gregarious, and would think themselves very ill-bred if
they allowed you one moment for meditation or self-examination.