uninteresting. We touched at Plattsburg, and passed over the scene of
Mc Donough’s victory over our fleet in the last war. We then arrived
at Burlington, and at nine o’clock the next morning I started to cross
the New England, or Yankee States, on my way to Boston. The coachman
drove six-in-hand, and in a very workmanlike manner, without locking
the wheels, but descending several hills so steep that as a Yankee
expressed himself, It was like driving off the roof of a house. A
detailed description of the road is unnecessary: it wound through the
beautiful and well cultivated valleys of Vermont and New Hampshire,
running for many miles along the banks of the Onion and Connecticut
rivers; whilst the forests on the hills around were every where clothed
in their splendid autumnal garb, and overshadowed some of the prettiest
and happiest looking villages I ever saw in any country; the houses
being chiefly white, with green blinds, and otherwise displaying an
excellent taste in design. Whole fields were strewed with enormous
pumpkins, and others were covered with broom corn, which is no bad
substitute for oats. We passed through Montpelier, and skirted the
rocky mountain of Monadnoc, stopping to look at the Bellow’s fall, on
the Connecticut river, and afterwards arriving at Concord, where the
fire of the British troops was returned by the Americans for the first
time during the revolutionary war, on the 19th of April, 1775. General
Gage had sent them to seize and destroy some stores which had been
secretly collected at Concord. They succeeded in their attempt, but
were subsequently obliged to retreat. The fight took place at the north
bridge, about three quarters of a mile from the bridge over which the
road now passes. The inhabitants are proud, and justly proud, of this
event.
At Lexington, six miles nearer to Boston, stands a plain monument to
the memory of the militia men who were fired upon and dispersed by the
British troops on the same morning, previously to their advance upon
Concord.
I entered Boston by the light of innumerable lamps, that plainly
marked the direction of its many bridges, and took up my quarters at
the Tremont hotel,—decidedly, taken altogether, the best house in the
United States. The table and the bed-rooms were equally good, which is
not the case at any other I had seen. In appearance it more resembles
a government building than a hotel. Breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper
are served up, as usual, at a certain hour; and although that hour at
breakfast time is liberally extended, yet if it happens that a person
be detained too long, he must either go without his dinner, or put up
with cold and disfigured viands placed before him with an ill grace by
a tired waiter, or pay extra for a meal expressly served up for him;
as the hotel charges are two, or two dollars and a half a-day, and it
makes no difference whether he attends the table d’hôte or not.
The principal theatre is exactly opposite the Tremont. The front is
ornamented with Ionic pilasters supporting an entablature and pediment.
The interior is tastefully arranged, but is seldom visited by the first
circles.
The Indian name of Boston was Shawmut, its first English appellation
was Trimountain, and its present name was given in 1630.
At an early day after my arrival, I took the opportunity of ascending
the capitol, which stands on the most elevated corner of “the Common.”
The Common, according to the usual English signification of the word,
deserves a better name, as it is the prettiest promenade in the States.
It contains about seventy-five acres, disposed in a sloping direction
from north to south, varied by other eminences, of which the most
conspicuous is formed by the not yet quite levelled remains of the
British fortifications of 1775. It is surrounded by trees, and the best
houses in Boston; some of them being large and handsome, and not the
less deserving of the epithet because they are of a stone colour, or
any other than that of red brick. But at Boston generally I observed
greater taste in this respect than in any other of the cities which I
visited. On one side of the Common is a mall, or promenade, formed by
parallel avenues of fine elm trees; but yet, notwithstanding the beauty
of its situation, it is deserted by the Boston belles for the gay
glitter of the fashionable shops in Cornhill or Washington street.
To the best of my recollection, every capitol or state-house that
I have seen, or of which I have seen a picture, is surmounted by a
dome or cupola,—that of Boston is particularly conspicuous; but the
smoothness of its exterior is but ill assorted with the richness of the
Corinthian columns in the facade: it should be grooved like the dome of
St. Paul’s. The present heavy appearance of the cupola at Washington
would be very much improved if it were altered in a similar manner.
The capitol at Boston contains a very fine statue of Washington,
by Chantrey. From the top is obtained a fine panoramic view of the
whole city, with the bay, its islands, and their fortifications; its
bridges, wharfs, and enormous warehouses. On the north is the memorable
Bunker’s Hill, with part of the fine obelisk that is to be; the
navy-yard, and the suburb of Charlestown. The bay of Boston, like that
of New York, is fondly thought by some of the inhabitants of each city
to be as fine, if not superior in beauty, to that of Naples;—whether
they have seen it or not, is of little consequence; the bay of Boston,
with its flat treeless islands and headlands, shall be as fine as the
bay of Naples, and so may it remain!
The city resembles Baltimore more than any other in the Union: as a
collection of buildings it is prettier, but I prefer the environs of
the latter city, to the more distant hills that form the amphitheatre
of Boston; which is too large to add much effect to the landscape.
Boston contains 70,000 inhabitants, and the first bridge and the first
canal in the United States were constructed there. It appeared to
me the neatest city in the Union; and although there is no edifice
particularly striking, yet there are many that are handsome, and there
is an air of civic importance pervading every street in the place, so
that the eye does not easily detect the absence of any object that is
necessary to complete the appearance of a place of such pretensions as
Boston. The Fauneuil Hall, named after the founder, who lived a hundred
years ago, must not be forgotten. It is the cradle of American liberty;
because, within its walls, were held and heard the consultations and
the eloquence of those who more than fifty years back were first
aroused to resentment and resistance by the obstinacy of the government
of England. It contains an original full-length portrait of Washington
in his regimentals, by Stewart. The figure is excellent, but the horse
is very indifferently executed. The other ornaments in the hall, are
emblematical of the purposes to which it is applied. Public meetings
and dinners are held there, and the company usually leave behind them
the decorations that have been mottoed for the occasion. The name of
“Skrzynecki” was very conspicuous, among a multitude of others.
Societies have always been in vogue among the young Bostonians. The
objects of some of them are ridiculous enough. Many years ago a sum of
500_l._ was raised by subscription for the purpose of converting
the Jews in England. At a much later period, a self-constituted college
of young fellows sent a diploma to the Emperor of Russia; another gang,
who called themselves “the Peace Society,” sent a deputation to the
same august personage, requesting him to become a member. His answer
was very gracious, and was accompanied by a valuable diamond ring.
A Massachusett’s farmer, hearing of this, immediately packed up and
dispatched to him an enormous turnip (“considerable vegetable”) as a
specimen of American agricultural produce. He received no diamond
ring; which was not a fair return, as it was quite reasonable to
suppose that, as of yore, the head of a “noble Swede” would not be an
unacceptable present to the Autocrat. A pair of colours, which ought to
have been worked by the fair hands of the Boston belles, were lately
forwarded to the Poles through the hands of General Lafayette; and
before I quitted the United States, a meeting favourable to the Poles
was held at New Orleans, and “an army in disguise,” consisting of no
less than twenty-nine volunteers, was waiting at New York in order
to sail to their assistance. The delay, I understood, had arisen on
account of a dispute as to the place of embarkation, because, in case
of their triumphant return, the city that last held them would be
entitled to the whole honour of the expedition.
I was present at a meeting in the Fauneuil Hall, held for the purpose
of adopting resolutions, and electing representatives to attend the
grand meeting on the Tariff question, which was held on the 26th of
October, at New York.
The literary institutions at Boston are very numerous, and the number
of booksellers’ shops is quite surprising. Upwards of 60,000 dollars
are annually expended in public education, and perhaps an additional
150,000 may be the amount laid out in private establishments. There
are fourteen infant schools in the city, and sixty primary schools
affording the means of education to about 4000 children. The next in
order are the grammar-schools and the Latin school, from which the boys
are qualified to go to Cambridge (Harvard) university. Upon entering
the infant schools, the first questions I chanced to hear were very
national, characteristic, and amusing. “When goods are brought into
a country, what do you call it?—Importing goods! and when goods are
taken out of a country, what do you call it?—Exporting goods!” with a
most joyous and tumultuous emphasis upon the distinguishing syllable
of either answer. Cambridge, or Harvard University is about three
miles from Boston, and situated within a large enclosure. The centre
building, amongst several others detached, and standing apart, is of
stone, and contains the lecture and dining rooms, and a library of
37,000 volumes, the best in America. I was shown nothing remarkable in
it, excepting a valuable manuscript of the aphorisms of Hippocrates.
I also saw the apartment containing the philosophical apparatus, and
another in which there was a very good collection of minerals. I could
not refrain from a hearty laugh at the contents of a paper which was
wafered on the outer door of the library, and which I was malicious
enough to copy whilst the librarian was absent in search of the keys.
“Missing, the first and second volumes of the catalogue of books in
the library of Harvard university! If the person who borrowed will
return them immediately to their place on the table, he will oblige
all those who have occasion to consult them, and no questions will be
asked.”—(_Signed by the Librarian_).
The whole annual expenses of an undergraduate do not amount to more
than 250 dollars; for this he is boarded, and instructed by the
lectures of different professors on every subject, from divinity to
“obstetrics” and medical jurisprudence. Christianity is respected and
promoted in its broadest sense, not according to the tenets of any
particular sect: the professor of divinity being obliged to declare
his belief in the Scriptures, as the only perfect rule of faith and
manners, and to promise that he will explain and open them to his
pupils with integrity and faithfulness, according to the best light
that God shall give him, &c.
Massachusetts is the only state of the Union in which a legislative
jurisdiction is made for the support of religion. In every other, a
person is at liberty to belong to any sect, or none if he pleases; but
in this state the constitution compels every citizen to be a member
of some religious order, or pay for the support of some teacher of
religion, although in making the choice it allows him to follow the
bent of his own inclinations.
With respect to the salaries of clergymen it may be mentioned, that
in the large cities they vary from one to three thousand dollars, and
from five hundred to a thousand in the more populous country parishes,
exclusively of perquisites. Every clergyman is paid by his own
congregation; so that his engagement with them is a kind of contract.
At Boston, I attended the Unitarian chapel, in order to hear the
celebrated Dr. Channing, whose preaching was so popular during his
residence in London a few years ago. His language was very fine,
his accent purely English, and his manner more subdued than that
of American preachers in general, who are usually too oratorical
to be impressive. I was fortunate in hearing an exposition of his
doctrine. He considered Christianity as only a kindred light to nature
and reason; that the germs or seeds of the different excellences in
the character of Christ were to be found in the bosom of every man,
but that he alone possessed them in an eminent degree; and that the
doctrine of the atonement had its foundation in the fears of guilty
mankind, &c. &c. The extraordinary eloquence of the preacher did not
however make me a convert to his tenets; yet it riveted my attention
for more than an hour, and I came away with the impression that he
was one of the very finest preachers I had ever heard; although I was
not shaken in the conviction, that where there is no settled form of
prayer, the principal part of the service must necessarily be the
sermon, and that the sermon, if it be at all worth hearing, instead of
containing religious admonition, is usually filled with a discussion
on controverted points of doctrine.
The medical college at Boston is a department of Harvard university.
There has been and still is, as in England, a difficulty in obtaining
subjects for dissection in the United States. It is remedied by
different laws in different states: the more usual provision being,
that the bodies of persons who die in almshouses, or by the hands of
the executioner, or who are unknown, shall be given up for that purpose.
When at Boston, I was favoured with the sight of an admirable
picture just finished by Mr. Alston; the scene being taken from Mrs.
Radcliffe’s novel of the Italian, where the assassin, who is obliged
to commit murder at the instigation of the monk, is terrified by the
fancied apparition of a bleeding hand. The monk, with a stronger
intellect and more determined purpose, is raising the lamp that he
may be enabled to see more clearly into the darkness of the vault.
A better flame and a more murky atmosphere were never painted. The
outline of the figures is extremely good, and the terror in the
countenance of the murderer is finely contrasted with the cool, stern,
and incredulous gaze of the monk.
Mr. Alston, who is the first, if not the only historical painter in
America, has been employed for many years upon a very large picture,
which is not to be seen by any one till finished. The subject is
Belshazzar’s Feast; and the figures are as large as life. He intends to
rest his reputation on the success of this painting, which will not see
the light till he himself is perfectly satisfied with it. Many parts
of it are said to have been repeatedly altered. On one occasion when
it was threatened by fire, Mr. Alston requested a particular friend to
assist him in its removal, but made him walk with his back towards the
picture, that he might not catch a glimpse of it.
Lowell, the Manchester of America, is twenty-seven miles from Boston,
and may be visited in the way from Burlington to Boston. Twelve years
ago there was scarcely a house in the place; and only eight years
ago it formed part of a farming town, which was thought singularly
unproductive, even in the midst of the sterile and rocky region with
which it is surrounded. At present it contains 8000 people, who are
all more or less connected with the manufactories; and thirty-three
large wheels, which are the movers of all the machinery in the place,
are turned by means of canals supplied by the prodigious water-power
contained in the rapid stream of the Merrimack river. There is no
steam-power there, and consequently little or no smoke is visible,
and every thing wears the appearance of comfort and cleanliness. At
present there are 50,000 cotton-spindles in operation at Lowell,
besides a satinet and carpet manufactory. A good English carpet weaver
who understands his business, may earn a dollar a-day; but the calico
weaving is chiefly performed by females, whose general neatness of
appearance reflects the greatest credit upon themselves and their
employers. No less than 40,000 additional spindles had been contracted
for, and workmen were employed upon them in the large building called
the machine-shop, which of itself is well worth the attention of the
traveller. The vast buildings belonging to the Merrimack and Hamilton
companies, are very conspicuous from the road by which the town is
approached from Boston, particularly the latter, which are ranged along
the side of the canal. As yet there is, I believe, no linen manufactory
in the United States. Lowell contains the most extensive cotton-works;
but as a manufacturing town merely, its population and business are
perhaps trebled at Pittsburg on the Ohio. The scenery about Lowell is
not deficient in interest and beauty, but it scarcely merits further
description.
The prices of provisions at Boston for the last two or three years
have been as follows: the best beef has sold at eight or ten cents
(nearly five-pence halfpenny) the pound; mutton from six to eight
cents: venison from ten to twenty-five cents; salmon from ten to twelve
cents, and other fish from two to four cents. Butter from fourteen to
sixteen cents; cheese fourteen and a half; coffee from thirteen to
fourteen cents. Tea of course varies in price according to its quality;
the best tea in all the larger cities selling from about one dollar
and a quarter to two dollars a pound. Before the East India Company
entered into the Canada tea trade, the colonies were supplied from the
United States. But now the course of smuggling, which from the nature
of the country it is morally impossible to prevent, is decidedly in
favour of the Canadas. The duties on tea in the United States have been
reduced nearly fifty per cent, since the 31st of December, 1831; but
still the duties in the Canadas are very much lower; the best gunpowder
tea, for instance, paying a duty of twenty-five cents, whilst in the
Canadas it pays but four pence, and hyson tea paying a duty of eighteen
cents in the United States, and but sixpence in the Canadas, &c. The
Americans have petitioned for a further reduction in the duties; but
it appears that none will be made as yet. If the American government
would allow the tariff duties and the national debt to expire at the
same time, it is not difficult to foresee, that as it is the amount of
duties which governs the trade, the provinces would again be supplied
from the United States, unless the British government should lower
their duties also; and then if this were to be done, and the United
States and the Canadas were on the same footing, as the East India
Company are supposed to purchase their teas as cheaply as they can
be purchased, no fear need be entertained by the Canadas that any
advantage will be gained over the British trade with regard to the
expenses of importation. And in addition to this, the rapid means of
communication with the Upper Province, afforded by the Rideau canal,
will, it is supposed, bid defiance to hurtful competition on the part
of the Americans, when either the time or the cost of conveyance is
considered. The course of the tea trade between the United States
and the Canadas has been so much in favour of the British colonies,
that the East India Company intend this year to send out four ships
to Quebec and Halifax, instead of two as heretofore. Many of the old
contraband traders have amassed large fortunes: the consumer, whether
royalist or republican, having been by no means averse to render
assistance where it was obviously for his own benefit to do so.
At Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, house rent is about fifteen
per cent. cheaper than at New York, where the rent of a good house,
situated, for instance, on a par with those in Gloucester-place in
London, would amount to one thousand or one thousand two hundred
dollars a year; but counting-houses and other houses taken for their
convenient situations with reference to commercial purposes, would rent
in either of the largest cities just mentioned, at a higher rate than
in London.
The assessment or tax upon houses varies in the different cities, from
five to eight dollars in the thousand.
At Boston, the wages of an in-door male servant are from ten to
eighteen dollars a month; of females from one and a quarter to two
dollars a week.
The expense of keeping a horse at livery in either of the larger cities
is about ten dollars a month; but if groomed by a gentleman’s own
servant it may be done for half that sum exclusively of the groom’s
wages. Hay has been very abundant in Boston market for the last two or
three years, and has sold at from ten to fifteen dollars the ton. Oats
at forty-five to fifty cents the bushel, wholesale price.
In Boston a carriage and a pair of horses, including the coachman’s
wages, &c., may be kept at an annual expense of three hundred and fifty
dollars, about 80_l._
I shall ever feel grateful for the hospitable reception I met with at
Boston. The society is excellent—the Bostonians more resembling the
English than the inhabitants of any other city I had visited; and the
bearing and appearance of some of them being so aristocratical that
they have much ado to keep one another in countenance. The governor of
Massachusetts is entitled “his excellency,” and the lieutenant-governor
is addressed as “your honour.” The belles of Boston dress exceedingly
well, better perhaps than any others in the Union; Philadelphia and
Baltimore not excepted. At New York, as I have before remarked, the
colours of their dresses are far too gaudy, and certainly ill-judged as
to the manner and the time of wearing them.
I believe that there is in England a very mistaken idea of American
society; as I have frequently been asked, what could not but appear
to me the most unfair and absurd questions on this subject. With us
the term “yankee” is generally one of ridicule, if not of disdain;
but to apply it in that sense to all the members of society in the
United States, is far too indiscriminate to be just. There is, as
I have before remarked, an aristocracy in every city in the Union;
and, perhaps, as many as four or five different sets or circles,
notwithstanding their boasted equality of condition. As far as I have
been able to judge from what I have seen and heard, the American ladies
are certainly not (generally speaking) what in England would be called
accomplished—in music and drawing, for instance: and still fewer of
them are entitled to the appellation of “a blue;” but if exceedingly
pretty features, elegant dress and manners, and agreeable and sprightly
conversation are to have the same weight with us in forming an opinion
of the state of society in America, that we should allow to them if
speaking of society in England, I cannot but affirm that the refinement
of first circles in the larger American cities is very far advanced,
and much farther than it has credit for in England. Gentlemen, who
are such from feeling, from habit, and from education, are to be met
with in every part of the States; men who are quite distinct from the
tobacco-chewing, guessing, calkilating, fixing, locating, expecting,
and expectorating yankee, whose very twang, even in the merriest
moments, has something in it that is absolutely provoking to the ear of
an Englishman, and in whose presence one is often tempted to exclaim,
“Be their constitution what it may, for heaven’s sake let us have
something gentleman-like!”