_Journey to Philadelphia, and second stay in that city._
On the 23d of May, at eight o’clock, we commenced our journey to
Philadelphia, in the mail stage. I left Pittsburgh with much regret; it
pleased me in every respect, and would have pleased me still more had I
continued there longer. Two roads lead from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg,
the northern and the southern, and as it was of no moment which I took,
I chose the former, as this was travelled by the stage, which leaves
Ramsay’s hotel. We rode fifty-six miles to Armagh, and changed horses
but twice, at M‘Miller’s and New Alexandria. These changes are too
distant to allow the horses to travel with rapidity, and they have in
Pennsylvania a custom of watering the horses every three or four miles.
The country is hilly; the road had been a turnpike, is still so called,
and is furnished with toll-gates, where toll must be paid, but is in a
dreadfully bad state. The traveller is jolted in a barbarous manner, and
still makes but little progress; the heat and the dust of this day were
almost intolerable. We met many travellers and emigrants from the east,
going with their families and goods to the western states, to settle
there. The western states appear to the inhabitants of the eastern and
northern states, in the same light in which Europeans, and particularly
the Germans, view the United States in general. They expect to find here
the land of promise, where milk and honey flows, and are sometimes much
disappointed; though many, however, derive great advantage from the
change.
We passed through East Liberty, Wilkinsburgh, Murrysville, New
Alexandria and Blairsville--all unimportant. The streams were the
Loyalhanna and the Connamaughe, with high and rocky shores. Wooden
bridges are thrown over these rivers, but are so bad that one of our
leaders broke through two planks of one of them, and was extricated with
much difficulty. In the evening we passed over the first of the chains
of mountains, which cross this country from south-west to north-east,
and divide the regions of the Mississippi from the Atlantic states. It
was Chesnut-ridge, which is tolerably high. Beyond this we saw a still
more mountainous region; the valleys we met with were in a state of
cultivation. It was eleven o’clock at night before we reached Armagh,
as the accident on the bridge had detained us some time. At two o’clock,
A. M. we continued our journey.
We rode fifty-eight miles to Alexandria, through Ebensburg, Munster,
Blair’s Gap, Hollydaysburg, and Williamsburg. A few miles beyond Armagh,
we came to another of the parallel ridges, called Laurel hill.
I ascended the mountain on foot; as the sun was just rising, the fresh
and green dress of the trees, together with the fragrance of the
blooming azaleas, made a very pleasing impression on me. These
honeysuckles were in bloom on almost all the mountains which we passed
this day; rose-coloured kalmias began to bloom; the rhododendrons had
not yet commenced. The fragrance of the white acacias was often combined
with that of the azaleas. The other trees which we saw on this mountain,
were chesnut, walnut, and hickory trees, sumac, some large-leaved linden
trees, large pines, maples, and planes; the two latter kinds, however,
were found in greater numbers in the valleys. Amid these mountains, with
their lovely prospects, and this splendid vegetation, the mind feels
itself exalted, and the heart strengthened. This enjoyment, however, of
the traveller, is somewhat diminished by the bad roads, which appear to
be neglected, although the payment of toll is not forgotten.
After we descended Laurel hill, we rode several miles through a
tolerably thick woods, and reached Ebensburg, where we changed horses
for the first time. This is a small and handsomely situated place, of
about three hundred inhabitants, appearing, however, rather to decrease
than increase. Two miles from this place, lies a small and quite
deserted village, called Beula, founded by Welchmen, who, however,
dispersed, as they found it of no advantage to continue there. After
leaving Ebensburg, and behind this place, we ascended the Alleghany
mountains, the highest in this region. The highest point which we passed
is called Blair’s Gap, and considered to be more than three thousand
feet above the level of the sea. The turnpike, though neglected, is
still well laid out, and the ascent of the mountain is by no means
steep. These regions have a remarkable aspect, they consist of ridges,
which adjoin each other, and are of a prismatic form; the ridge above is
perfectly level, and only thirty paces broad. When standing in front of
such a ridge, one mountain appears as high and long as the other, which
adjoins it.
After leaving the Alleghany mountains, of whose vegetation the same
remark might be made as of Laurel hill, we reached a lovely valley,
where we found by the side of a creek, a large stone mill, and a group
of good houses, Blair’s Gap post-office. We here again changed horses.
This creek is called Beaverdam creek, and empties into the Juniata,
between Hollydaysburg and Frankstown. The region near this stream is
said to produce good iron, and, as was before remarked, much use is made
at Harper’s Ferry of Juniata iron. At Frankstown we reached the Juniata,
and passed the rest of the day on its shores. The road often ran close
to the river. Here, as well as on the passage over the mountains,
railings were altogether wanting on the turnpike, and the road often
passes by the edge of deep precipices. When large wagons meet, a false
step of a horse at these dangerous places would have led to our
unavoidable destruction. The road is often cut out of the rock; we
remarked at several places in the mountains, declivities, which seem to
be strewed with pieces of rocks of different sizes in a very remarkable
manner.
Beyond Frankstown we came to a valley, which is formed on the right side
by Lock mountain, and on the left by Brush mountain. Parallel with the
latter, for a short distance runs a ridge, which commences in this
valley, and is called Canoe mountains. It commences with a single hill,
Canoe hill, which forms a right-angle, and in a manner closes the
valley. Between this hill and Lock mountains, the Juniata forces its
passage; the road leads over Canoe hill to a handsome valley, called
Canoe valley, in the centre of which stands an inn with a farm, named
Yellow Spring. This name is derived from a spring, arising in a rocky
basin behind the farm, not far from which it empties into the Juniata.
The spring is said to be chalybeate, and to give the stones over which
it flows a yellow colour; however, neither taste nor sight could
distinguish the chalybeate qualities. Some miles from Alexandria we
passed a defile in the Tussey mountains, where the Juniata again forces
its way. About nine o’clock, P. M., we arrived at Alexandria, where we
passed the night. Here I heard in the evening, for the first time the
croaking of the large frog, known under the name of bullfrog. It
resembles the bleating of a calf, or rather the roaring of a young
steer. Alexandria is a small place, and contains about three hundred
inhabitants.
We intended to leave Alexandria at three o’clock, A. M., but the driver
overslept himself, and we were obliged to wait till four o’clock. We
rode sixty miles to Thomsonstown. The country was again tolerably hilly;
we remained for the most part on the left side of the Juniata. A few
miles below Alexandria we passed indeed by a ford to the right side, but
after passing a mountain, belonging to Warrior’s ride, we returned seven
miles below at Huntingdon, to the left side again, under a roofed
bridge. We passed through Huntingdon; Lamberts, where we changed horses;
and Waynesburg, Lewistown, Mifflin and Mexico. These places in general
were unimportant, but well-built, with many substantial houses. Between
Huntingdon and Waynesburg, the road led through Jack’s mountains, at the
place where the Juniata forces its passage. The road is here generally
cut through the rock, and runs without railings along a deep precipice
by the river. After this, comes Juniata valley, which is formed on the
left by the low Limestone-ridge, behind which, the high Jack’s mountains
rise, and on the right by Blue-ridge, which rises immediately out of the
Juniata. This valley reminded me of the regions on the river Lahn in
Nassau, except that the mountains of the Lahn are not so high as these,
and not so handsomely covered with trees to their summit. Waynesburg,
where we again changed horses, occupies a very romantic situation on the
Juniata. Lewistown on the Juniata, is well-built and finely situated.
The road hence to Thomsonstown, led through a hilly country along the
river and continued bad. On the other side of the river, the high
Tuscarora mountains rise. The river is navigable from this place to
Waynesburg; we saw keel-boats in it. We did not reach Thomsonstown till
ten o’clock at night; we had seen but little of the surrounding country,
though I heard it was very handsome.
May 26th, we arose at two o’clock, A. M., and rode to Lancaster, distant
seventy-one miles, through Millerstown, Coxtown, Harrisburg, High Spire,
Middletown, Rockstown, Franklin, Elizabethtown and Mountjoy. At first
the road went through a hilly country along the left side of the
Juniata; then we crossed in a boat at Beelen’s Ferry. The water was low,
so that the rocky bottom of the river could be seen. A canal, which is
already marked out, is intended to obviate the difficulties of the
navigation, arising from the low state of the water. The road which we
now passed, and which was not a turnpike, led us over three hills,
Limestone-ridge, Mahony-ridge and Dick’s hill to Clark’s Ferry, on the
Susquehanna, a little below the place where the Juniata empties into the
Susquehanna, which is here about a mile wide, and rushes between two
high ridges over a very rocky bed, in which at several places dams have
been raised with passages in order to facilitate the navigation. On the
left side a canal had already been laid out. At Clark’s Ferry, we had an
extremely handsome view of the Susquehanna, which is here surrounded by
such high mountains, that it resembles a lake, and calls to mind Lake
George, in New York. On the left its junction with the Juniata takes
place, and on the right it forces itself through a gap in a high ridge,
which on the right side is called Mount Peter, and on the left, Cave
mountain. Through this opening another valley is seen bounded by the
Blue mountains. The broad Susquehanna is seen in front, and the high
Mount Peter on the other shore.
At Clark’s Ferry we crossed the Susquehanna in a ferry-boat. The water
was so clear, that the rocky bottom could be distinctly seen. Cove
mountain forms an arch on the right shore, and touches the Susquehanna
with its two extremities, not far from Clark’s Ferry, and again eight
miles below; at this place a rocky mountain nine hundred feet high on
the left shore corresponds with it, and forms a part of a ridge called
Second mountain. In a space of eight miles, four ridges of mountains run
parallel to each other, first Mount Peter, then Third mountain,
afterwards Second mountain, and last the Blue mountains. This country is
said to abound in good stone-coal. The road which we travelled is a
turnpike, and runs between the Susquehanna and this mountain, out of
which it is partly cut. The Blue mountains, through which the
Susquehanna forces its way at right angles, forms the last chain of
mountains on our route. I had first seen this chain of mountains at
Nazareth, then at Harper’s Ferry, as I went to the west, and last of
all, as I travelled in an eastern direction from Staunton to
Charlotteville.
Behind the Blue mountains we saw grain and Indian corn flourish in a
cultivated region, and reached Harrisburg. We delayed here about two
hours, and met with a stage which had come from Pittsburgh by the
southern road. Harrisburg is two hundred and nine miles from Pittsburgh,
and a hundred from Philadelphia, occupies a somewhat elevated position
between the left side of the Susquehanna and Paxton creek, and may
contain about four thousand inhabitants. It is the metropolis and seat
of government of the state of Pennsylvania, and contains a capitol, with
the other necessary buildings. These stand on an elevation, commanding
the city; the capitol is in the middle, and on both sides of it are two
buildings containing public offices. All three are of brick, and their
entrances decorated with colonnades of white stone. These columns stand
in a semicircle. The capitol consists of two stories, with a cupola
sustained by columns. The assembly rooms of the senate and of the
representatives are in the lower story; the seats are arranged in a
semicircle, and rise in height as in an amphitheatre. The upper story
contains lodgings for the governor, which are indeed splendid, however,
the present governor, Mr. Shulze, does not use them, and inhabits a
private house in the city. I regretted that my time did not allow me to
form a personal acquaintance with this public officer, of whom such
different opinions have been entertained. The capitol and offices are
covered with slate, whilst the houses of the city are generally roofed
with shingles. The city is regularly built, with paved streets, and
contains many brick houses, a court-house, and a jail. A covered wooden
bridge leads over the Susquehanna, which is divided by an island in the
river into two parts. The piers of this bridge consist of stone, not
united by mortar, but by iron clamps.
At two o’clock in the afternoon we left Harrisburg, and rode thirty-six
miles farther to Lancaster, in hot weather and much dust. The road was
better, the stage more convenient, the changes shorter, and the passage
quicker. We continued on the left side of the Susquehanna for nine
miles; at Middletown we forded the Swatara creek, although a handsome
wooden roofed bridge leads over it, and then left the shores of the
Susquehanna. After passing Conewago creek, we entered Lancaster county,
celebrated for its good cultivation, and almost entirely inhabited by
descendants of Germans. The fields all appear to be extremely well
cultivated; worm-fences were superseded by posts and rails. I was
particularly struck with the barns, which often look better than the
dwelling-houses; the houses are generally of wood, and not handsome,
whereas the barns are generally built of stone, at least the lower parts
containing the stabling, and the two gable-ends. Between these, the barn
is built of wood; a broad ascent leads to the entrance on one side, and
on the other, the barn forms a broad shed over the entrances of the
stables. The cattle and horses appear to great advantage, and the
breeding of sheep seems to receive attention. The houses are surrounded
by orchards, and in the greater part of these I observed cider presses.
The smiths here burn their charcoal close to the shops; I saw near
several of these charcoal kilns on fire, in the villages. We passed by
means of wooden bridges two small creeks, Little Chickie and Big Chickie
creeks.
The bridges over the Swatara rest on dry stone piers. Instead of worm
fences and other hedging, I saw to-day, also, some dry walls, such as I
had seen last summer in Massachusetts. We came to Lancaster at ten
o’clock at night, and found lodgings in a very good tavern. During our
ride in the dark, we saw a large number of fireflies, which abounded
particularly near wet meadows. We had for several days past also seen
very handsomely coloured butterflies of different kinds.
I passed the 27th of May in Lancaster, for three reasons: first, I felt
the effects of my long journey, of the heat, and of want of rest;
secondly, I did not wish to pass Sunday in Philadelphia, where it is
very particularly tiresome; and thirdly, I wished to post up my journal,
which had been necessarily neglected during the preceding days. I took
advantage of the cool morning to view the place.
Lancaster is the chief city of Lancaster county, and contains about six
thousand inhabitants. It is built on a hill; the streets cross each
other at right angles, and are generally paved and supplied with
side-walks, shaded by Italian poplars. The houses are principally of
brick, though some are also quite massive; here and there a frame
building may be seen. A square place stands in the middle of the city,
in whose centre the court-house is erected. The market-houses are not
far from this. The museum contains merely poor wax figures, some Indian
curiosities, stuffed animals, shells, some fishes, and minerals. A tame
gazelle, which had been taught several tricks, was also exhibited; it
could cypher, distinguish different cards, knew names, &c. Some of the
inhabitants visited me, among whom was a Mr. Voigt, of Leipsig, who
conducted us about the place. Lancaster is said to produce the best
rifles in the United States. I bought one for eleven dollars to take
home with me, as a curiosity. Mr. Voigt took us to a public garden near
the city, which was tastefully arranged, and where the inhabitants of
the place enjoyed themselves in playing ten-pins, and in other innocent
amusements. We went afterwards on the Baltimore road, over a roofed
wooden bridge, which leads over Conestoga creek. This bridge resembles
those in Ohio, though much lighter; it cannot last long. The arches in
Ohio are formed of eight or ten planks placed over each other, and
united by screws, so that the bridge seems to rest on springs,
resembling those of carriages; whereas, here the arch consisted of a
single crooked fir tree. In the evening I received a number of visits,
among which I may mention one from a member of congress, Mr. Buchanan,
whose speeches in congress are received with much applause, and a
Mennonist, Mr. Witmer, who showed me a contrivance, invented by himself,
to cool wine.
On the 28th of May we left Lancaster, at five o’clock, A. M. The
turnpike was in a good state, and we advanced on an average five miles
an hour, so that we reached Philadelphia before seven o’clock in the
evening, after travelling sixty-four miles. Between Lancaster and
Philadelphia, we passed through Sandersburg, Paradise, Sadsbury,
Coastville, Downingstown, and Warre; between these there are yet a
number of settlements and taverns. The streams are Conestoga creek, near
which they are digging the navigable canal, Peegnea creek, two arms of
the Brandywine, and last of all the Schuylkill at Philadelphia. Upon the
whole, the country is not hilly; we had only to ascend Mine ridge, on
which we rode for several miles.
The whole country is cultivated in a most excellent manner, and covered
with handsome farms; many barns look like large churches. The fences
were often supplied by dry stone walls, or live hedges. A well-built
hospital stands not far from Lancaster, to which an avenue of Lombardy
poplars leads, here much admired. The country about Brandywine is
classic ground, on which much blood was shed during the revolution. We
passed near to Valley Forge, where the great Washington was encamped
with his corps, whilst the English held Philadelphia. The farther we
proceeded, the more clearly we saw that we approached a large city, for
the number of elegant country-seats increased, and people in handsome
attire met us on foot, on horseback, and in carriages. In Philadelphia
we again took lodgings at the Mansion-house.
Thus I was once more on well known ground, in beloved Philadelphia.
During the few days which I could pass here, old acquaintances were
renewed with pleasure, and new ones formed with new interest. At the
same time I saw several things which had escaped me at my former visit.
Mr. Huygens, who had hitherto been my companion, now left me, and
returned to his friends at Washington.
I rode to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, with my old friend Mr. Roberts Vaux,
the philanthropic Quaker, and with Mr. Niederstetter, chargé d’affaires
of the king of Prussia. I had before omitted to visit this
establishment, as the pupils were just leaving their old temporary
dwelling in the city, to move in their newly-built house. This house is
large and massive. It consists of a principal building, which is reached
by means of a portal, decorated with four doric columns; and of two
wings behind it, one of which is inhabited by the boys, and the other by
the girls. There were at that time eighty pupils in the institution,
fifty maintained by the state of Pennsylvania, thirteen by their
families, five by the state of New Jersey, and twelve by the institution
itself. It has now subsisted for six years; at the beginning it was
founded by voluntary contributions and subscriptions; the legislature of
Pennsylvania afterwards gave eight thousand dollars, and the state
annually pays one hundred and fifty dollars for every pupil which it has
placed here. The direction of the institution consists of a president,
four vice presidents, among which was Mr. Vaux, a treasurer,
a secretary, and at this time, twenty-three directors. A principal
teacher, Mr. L. Weld, four tutors, a matron, and two physicians preside
over the house.
Mr. Weld had passed a long time at Hartford in Connecticut, and had
learned the method of instruction in the deaf and dumb asylum at that
place, which he practises here with great success. He was teaching one
of the lower classes when we arrived. He dictated to the pupils
something on subjects of natural history, which they wrote with great
rapidity on large slates. We put several questions to them, which they
answered with much sagacity. Mr. Niederstetter asked them if they could
form any idea of music; one of the boys answered, he well knew that
there were tones, and that several tones systematically combined made a
sound, but what this was, and how all this was connected together, he
could form no idea. In other rooms, other pupils were engaged in writing
and cyphering. One of them had made much progress in crayon drawing, and
was just working at a portrait of President Adams. The boys learn
trades, several were weaving, others were making shoes, &c., the girls
learn to sew and knit. The clothes, which the pupils wear in the house,
are all made there. They have a common eating room, and each sex has
separate sleeping rooms, where two sleep in one bed; besides, each wing
contains a separate infirmary. Every where I saw the most exemplary
cleanliness and order prevail; the pupils had a very healthy appearance.
I conversed with some of them in writing; one of them asked me, what was
my favourite study, I answered mathematics. Upon this he wrote to me,
that he was also pleased with this study, but found no opportunity of
making great progress in it. In order to teach the pupils the principles
of arithmetic, a machine is used similar to the Russian. A vegetable
garden behind, and at the sides of the building, which was then
preparing, was intended to serve also as a place of recreation for the
pupils. I could not forbear making to Mr. Weld an especial expression of
the great pleasure which this institution and his method of instruction
gave me.
I saw the Academy of Fine Arts last autumn, but went there again, as the
exhibition of paintings had been opened. This collection, however,
consisted merely of portraits, and these were rather indifferent. In
general, the fine arts, as I believe has already been mentioned, do not
yet flourish in the United States to a great degree; perhaps this is to
be attributed to the taste of the Americans, which they inherited from
their English ancestors, and which does not appear to be very great for
painting.[II-33] But I rather believe, and this idea president Jefferson
gave me, that the little encouragement which the fine arts receive in
this country is to be attributed to the equal division of property among
the children, so that in large families an estate cannot be long kept
together.
[Footnote II-33: [This is a very erroneous idea. The taste for
painting and music has not been cultivated, generally, in this
country, on account of the condition of property and society,
which demand of Americans a primary devotion to things absolutely
necessary and useful. As wealth becomes more accumulated, artists
will be encouraged; and then we have no fear of their being long
inferior to the artists of any other nation.]--TRANS.]
I saw also, in company with Messrs. Vaux and Niederstetter, the mint of
the United States, which is established here. In the year 1793, when
Philadelphia was still the seat of government of the United States, this
mint was located in a newly-built private house, and it is as yet the
only one in the United States. The processes in this mint are very
simple, and but few improvements are yet adapted, which so greatly
distinguish the mints of London and Milan. They were doing but little
when we came; we saw nothing but the stretching of the bars of silver
between cylinders, like those in the rolling mills at Pittsburgh, and
the stamping of the pieces, which was done by means of a contrivance
similar to that by which rivet-holes are made in the iron plates for
steam-engine boilers. We saw, moreover, the cutting of half dollar
pieces, which is done by means of a stamp, worked by two men. A third
stands by to place the uncoined pieces in a box, which are then brought
under the stamp by a particular contrivance. After they are coined, they
fall by means of this contrivance into a box which stands below. Since
1803, no larger silver coins are made than half dollars, as the dollars
were immediately bought up and exported to China for trade, because the
merchants there will take no smaller coins than dollars. We saw also a
collection of medals stamped here, some of which, particularly those
which were struck after naval victories, are very well finished. One
side represents the bust of the naval hero in whose honour the medal was
struck, and the reverse represents the action itself. A golden medal was
struck after the victory of General Jackson at New Orleans, one side
exhibiting the bust of the general, and the reverse a figure
representing the United States pointing to the Muse of History, writing
on a shield the name of New Orleans. The medal which the Agricultural
Society bestows at the annual cattle show, is also handsome. It is to be
regretted, that all the medals, which were struck before president
Monroe’s administration, are missing in this collection. The mint itself
is very small, and its boundaries are still more limited by a twelve
horse-power steam-engine. No application, however, is made to congress
for a larger and better building, as it is feared that congress might
then propose to remove the whole establishment of the mint to
Washington.
We visited the Episcopalian church yard, in which lies Dr. Franklin’s
grave, who died in the same year, and rests in the same grave with his
wife. It is near the wall, and covered with a large white marble slab,
with the following inscription:--
Benjamin } Franklin
et } 1790.
Deborah }
I confess these simple words appear to me more eloquent and noble, and
spoke to me in a more affecting manner, than any encomiastic epitaph
could have done. The celebrated Professor Rush, father of the present
secretary of the treasury, is also buried here. This grave-yard, like
the rest in Philadelphia, is in the midst of the city, an evil of which
much is said, but which it would be difficult to remedy.
Another visit was made to Peale’s Museum. I found, however, nothing new,
except a terrible rattlesnake, which was alive, and with two smaller
harmless snakes, formed an extremely ugly ball in a glass case. Its
rattles could not be exactly seen, as they were covered by its flat and
broad body. The body is full of scales, and the head uncommonly broad,
in comparison with the head of other snakes. It was almost stiff, and
only moved the head when any one approached too closely. It had handsome
bright black eyes, and there was a quite small triangular aperture in
the upper lip, through which its long, black, forked tongue was
projected, when irritated. I could not make it open its mouth to see its
teeth. They told me that it was fed with mice, which it first bit, and
after they had died in convulsions, swallowed. Among the many gentlemen
who paid me visits, I mention only Mr. Autenrieth, of Lehigh county, as
he gave me much interesting information concerning the coal mines on the
Lehigh, and at Mauch Chunk, which I intended to visit in a few days. But
I met with a very agreeable surprise in the appearance of the excellent
General Bernard; this worthy officer, whose acquaintance forms one of my
most pleasing recollections of the United States, was to pass but two
days in Philadelphia, in order to advise with a canal commission.
General Bernard is one of the few meritorious men, of whom one hears
nobody speak otherwise than well; and if he had, in an incomprehensible
manner, any enemies, his amiable character would at the first meeting
change them into friends.
I again met with a very friendly reception on the part of Mr. Arnold
Halbach, and his brother. The former had the kindness to attend me in
several of my excursions, as far as his extensive business would allow.
He is a patron of the fine arts, and as such, took me to two painters of
this place, Eicholz and Birch. The former, from Lancaster, is the son of
a coppersmith, in which occupation he himself worked, but having a
talent for portrait painting, he has devoted himself thereto with much
success. His portraits have the merit of strong resemblance, and are
also tolerably well, and correctly painted. The other artist, Birch,
possesses a very fine talent for landscape painting, and particularly
for sea-pieces. I had hoped to meet with views of the United States at
his house, but was disappointed. Mr. Birch told me that landscape
painters found so little encouragement in the United States, that they
lost all courage to design handsome scenes in their native country. His
sea-pieces are very handsome, but none are entirely completed. He is
particularly happy in representing storms. Whilst Mr. Eicholz, with
moderate talents, does much business, Mr. Birch, with great talent,
is often a prey to severe distress.[II-34]
[Footnote II-34: [The reason is, that the portrait painter
ministers to the gratification of personal vanity, or self-love,
and the landscape painter to a refined taste. As the proportion of
egotists to men of refined and cultivated taste, is somewhat less
than a million to one, it is easy to see which branch of the arts
will receive most attention.]--TRANS.]
I saw at the house of a dealer in looking-glasses, a gallery of pieces
by living painters, among others, of Sully. One of these paintings is
really terrific. It represents a man, who, with his horse, is attacked
and entwined by an anaconda. The expression of pain in the horse is very
well represented, but the countenance of the man, as well as the whole
subject, is horrid. Few of the paintings were very remarkable; I was
most pleased with one by Birch: a boat in a storm, in which the crew
were saving themselves from a wreck.
I inquired, in company with Mr. Niederstetter after maps, but the result
was not very satisfactory. It is very difficult to furnish maps of the
United States, as they have not yet been trigonometrically surveyed, and
the only astronomical designation of places and maps are founded on
common surveys. At a dinner given by General Cadwalader, commander of
the Philadelphia militia, and one of the most distinguished citizens,
among other new acquaintances, I made also that of General Harrison, of
Cincinnati, senator of the United States. He had been a general in the
army during the last war, and defeated the English General Proctor,
on the boundaries of Canada, on which occasion, the celebrated Indian
chief, Tecumseh lost his life. But the general, to the great regret and
disadvantage of the army, resigned, on account of a dispute with the
then secretary of war, Armstrong.
At a party, which consisted of perhaps thirty persons, I was much
questioned about my journey, and particularly about my stay at New
Harmony. Mr. Owen’s system does not meet with much favour here, and it
is not thought that his society will last long. Much offence is taken at
its irreligious principles, and much surprise is manifested, that Mr.
M‘Clure, as an old, learned and sensible man, should have been so
captivated by this new system, as to declare in a meeting of a learned
society, when a proposition was made to buy a new building, that they
should only wait a couple of years, till this new social system should
be extended over the country, as land would then be so cheap in the
cities, that it might be purchased almost for nothing.
I must not neglect to mention a little present from Mr. Vaux. It is a
snuff-box, made of the wood of the elm tree at Kensington,[II-35] under
which William Penn made the treaty of 1682, with the Indians. It is very
simple, and decorated merely with a silver medal, on which is inscribed
“Penn’s treaty, 1682,” and below, “unbroken faith.”
[Footnote II-35: Kensington was formerly a distinct village, on
the Delaware above Philadelphia; the city has now extended thus
far, so that it now belongs to the city. The tree was some years
ago struck by lightning and destroyed.]