A vexatious incident--John Bull enraged--Woman's rights--Alligators become
hosses--A popular host--Military display--A mirth-provoking gun--Grave
reminiscences--Attractions of the fair--Past and present--A floating
palace--Black companions--A black baby--Externals of Buffalo--The flag of
England.
The night-cars are always crowded both in Canada and the States, because
people in business are anxious to save a day if they have any expedition
to make, and, as many of the cars are fitted up with seats of a most
comfortable kind for night-travelling, a person accustomed to them can
sleep in them as well as on a sofa. After leaving Chicago, they seemed
about to rush with a whoop into the moonlit waters of Lake Michigan, and
in reality it was not much better. For four miles we ran along a plank-
road supported only on piles. There was a single track, and the carriages
projecting over the whole, there was no bridge to be seen, and we really
seemed to be going along on the water. These insecure railways are not
uncommon in the States; the dangers of the one on the Hudson river have
been experienced by many travellers to their cost.
We ran three hundred miles through central Michigan in ten hours,
including stoppages. We dashed through woods, across prairies, and over
bridges without parapets, at a uniform rate of progress. A boy making
continual peregrinations with iced water alleviated the thirst of the
passengers, for the night was intensely hot, and I managed to sleep very
comfortably till awoke by the intense cold of dawn. During the evening an
incident most vexatious to me occurred.
The cars were very full, and were not able to seat all the passengers.
Consequently, according to the usages of American etiquette, the gentlemen
vacated the seats in favour of the ladies, who took possession of them in
a very ungracious manner as I thought. The gentlemen stood in the passage
down the centre. At last all but one had given up their seats, and while
stopping at a station another lady entered.
"A seat for a lady," said the conductor, when he saw the crowded state of
the car. The one gentleman did not stir. "A seat for a lady," repeated the
man in a more imperious tone. Still no movement on the part of the
gentleman appealed to. "A seat for a lady; don't you see there's a lady
wanting one?" now vociferated several voices at once, but without
producing any effect. "Get up for this lady," said one bolder than the
rest, giving the stranger a sharp admonition on the shoulder. He pulled
his travelling cap over his eyes, and doggedly refused to stir. There was
now a regular hubbub in the car; American blood was up, and several
gentlemen tried to induce the offender to move.
"I'm an Englishman, and I tell you I won't be brow-beat by you beastly
Yankees. I've paid for my seat, and I mean to keep it," savagely shouted
the offender, thus verifying my worst suspicions.
"I thought so!--I knew it!--A regular John Bull trick! just like them!"
were some of the observations made, and very mild they were, considering
the aggravated circumstances.
Two men took the culprit by his shoulders, and the others, pressing
behind, impelled him to the door, amid a chorus of groans and hisses,
disposing of him finally by placing him in the emigrant-car, installing
the lady in the vacated seat. I could almost fancy that the shade of the
departed Judge Lynch stood by with an approving smile.
I was so thoroughly ashamed of my countryman, and so afraid of my
nationality being discovered, that, if any one spoke to me, I adopted
every Americanism which I could think of in reply. The country within
fifty miles of Detroit is a pretty alternation of prairie, wood, corn-
fields, peach and apple orchards. The maize is the staple of the country;
you see it in the fields; you have corn-cobs for breakfast; corncobs,
mush, and hominy for dinner; johnny-cake for tea; and the very bread
contains a third part of Indian meal!
I thought the little I saw of Michigan very fertile and pretty. It is
another of the newly constituted States, and was known until recently
under the name of the "Michigan Territory." This State is a peninsula
between the Huron and Michigan Lakes, and borders in one part closely on
Canada. It has a salubrious climate and a fertile soil, and is rapidly
becoming a very productive State. Of late years the influx of emigrants of
a better class has been very great. The State has great capabilities for
saw and flour mills; the Grand Rapids alone have a fall of fifteen feet in
a mile, and afford immense water-power.
In Michigan, human beings have ceased to be "_alligators_" they are
"_hosses_." Thus one man says to another, "How do you do, old hoss?" or,
"What's the time o' day, old hoss?" When I reached Detroit I was amused
when a conductor said to me, "One o' them 'ere hosses will take your
trunks," pointing as he spoke to a group of porters.
On arriving at Detroit I met for the first time with tokens of British
enterprise and energy, and of the growing importance of Canada West.
Several persons in the cars were going to New York, and they took the
ferry at Detroit, and went down to Niagara Bridge by the Canada Great
Western Railway, as the most expeditious route. I drove through the very
pleasant streets of Detroit to the National Hotel, where I was to join the
Walrences. Having indulged the hope of rejoining my former travelling
companions here, I was greatly disappointed at finding a note from them,
containing the intelligence that they had been summoned by telegraph to
Toronto, to a sick relative. They requested me to join them there, and
hoped I should find no difficulty on the journey!
It was the time of the State fair, and every room in the inn was occupied;
but Mr. Benjamin, the very popular host of the National, on hearing my
circumstances, would on no account suffer me to seek another abode, and
requested a gentleman to give up his room to me, which with true American
politeness he instantly did. I cannot speak too highly of the National
Hotel, or of its deservedly popular landlord. I found that I could not
leave Detroit before the next night, and at most hotels a lady alone would
have been very uncomfortably placed. Breakfast was over, but, as soon as I
retired to my room, the waiter appeared with an abundant repast, for which
no additional charge was made. I sat in my room the whole day, and Mr.
Benjamin came twice to my door to know if I wanted anything. He introduced
me to a widow lady, whose room I afterwards shared; and when I went down
at night to the steamer, he sent one of his clerks with me, to save me any
trouble about my luggage. He also gave me a note to an hotel-keeper at
Buffalo, requesting him to pay me every attention, in case I should be
detained for a night on the road. The hotel was a perfect pattern of
cleanliness, elegance, and comfort; and the waiters, about fifty of whom
were Dutch, attended scrupulously to every wish, actual or supposed, of
the guests. If these pages should ever meet Mr. Benjamin's eye, it may be
a slight gratification to him to know that his kindness to a stranger has
been both remembered and appreciated.
I had some letters of introduction to residents at Detroit, and here, as
in all other places which I visited, I had but to sow them to reap a rich
harvest of kindness and hospitality. I spent two days most agreeably at
Detroit, in a very refined and intellectual circle, perfectly free from
those mannerisms which I had expected to find in a place so distant from
the coast. The concurrent testimony of many impartial persons goes to
prove that in every American town highly polished and intellectual society
is to be met with.
My bed-room window at the National Hotel looked into one of the widest and
most bustling streets of Detroit. It was the day of the State fair,
consequently I saw the town under a very favourable aspect. The contents
of several special trains, and hundreds of waggons, crowded the streets,
the "waggons" frequently drawn by very handsome horses. The private
carriages were of a superior class to any I had previously seen in the
States; the harness was handsome and richly plated, and elegantly dressed
ladies filled the interiors. But in amusing contrast, the coachmen all
looked like wild Irishmen enlisted for the occasion, and drove in a
standing posture. Young farmers, many of them dressed in the extreme of
the fashion of Young America, were dashing about in their light waggons,
driving tandem or span; heavily laden drays were proceeding at a slower
speed; and all this traffic was carried on under the shade of fine trees.
Military bands playing 'The Star-spangled Banner,' and 'Hail Columbia,'
were constantly passing and re-passing, and the whole population seemed on
the _qui vive_. Squadrons of cavalry continually passed my window, the men
in gorgeous uniforms, with high waving plumes. Their horses were very
handsome, but were not at all willing to display themselves by walking
slowly, or in rank, and the riders would seem to have been selected for
their corpulence, probably under the supposition that the weight of both
men and horses would tell in a charge.
The air 'Hail Columbia' is a very fine one, and doubtless thrills American
hearts, as ours are thrilled by the National Anthem. Two regiments of foot
followed the cavalry, one with peaceful-looking green and white plumes,
the other with horsetails dyed scarlet. The privates had a more
independent air than our own regulars, and were principally the sons of
respectable citizens. They appeared to have been well drilled, and were
superior in appearance to our militia; but it must be remembered that the
militia of America constitutes the real military force of the country, and
is paid and cared for accordingly; the regular army only amounting to ten
thousand men.
A gun of the artillery followed, and the spectacle made me laugh
immoderately, though I had no one with whom to share my amusement. It was
a new-looking gun of shining brass, perfectly innocent of the taste of
gunpowder, and mounted on a carriage suspiciously like a timber-truck,
which had _once_ been painted. Six very respectable-looking artillerymen
were clustering upon this vehicle, but they had to hold hard, for it
jolted unmercifully. It was drawn by four horses of different colours and
sizes, and they appeared animated by the principle of mutual repulsion.
One of these was ridden by a soldier, seated on a saddle placed so far
upon the horse's neck, that it gave him the appearance of clinging to the
mane. The harness was shabby and travel-soiled, and the traces were of
rope, which seemed to require continual "fixing," to judge from the
frequency with which the rider jumped off to adjust them. The artillerymen
were also continually stopping the vehicle, to rearrange the limber of the
gun.
While I was instituting an invidious comparison between this gun and our
well-appointed, well-horsed, well-manned artillery at Woolwich, the
thought suddenly flashed across my mind that the militia forces of America
beat us at Lexington, Saratoga, and Ticonderoga. "A change came o'er the
spirit of my dream,"--from the ridiculous to the sublime was but a step;
and the grotesque gun-carriage was instantly invested with sublimity.
Various attractions were presented at the fair. There were horse-races and
trotting-matches; a trotting bull warranted to beat the fastest horse in
Michigan; and bands of music. Phineas Taylor Barnum presented the
spectacle of his very superior menagerie; in one place a wizard offered to
show the smallness of the difference between _meum_ and _tuum_; the
Siamese Twins in another displayed their monstrous and inseparable union;
and vocalists were awaiting the commands of the lovers of song.
There was a large piece of ground devoted to an agricultural exhibition;
and here, as at home, Cochin China fowls were "the observed of all
observers," and realised fabulous prices. In a long range of booths,
devoted to the products of manufacturing industry, some of the costliest
productions of the looms of Europe were exhibited for sale. There were
peep-shows, and swings, and merry-go-rounds, and hobby-horses, and, with
so many inducements offered, it will not be supposed that holiday people
were wanting.
Suddenly, while the diversions were at their height, and in the midst of
the intense heat, a deluge burst over Detroit, like the breaking of a
waterspout, in a few minutes turning the streets into rivers, deep enough
in many places to cover the fetlocks of the horses. It rained as it only
rains in a hot climate, and the storm was accompanied by thunder and
lightning. Waggons and carriages hurried furiously along; stages intended
to carry twelve persons at six cents were conveying twenty through the
flood at a dollar each; and ladies drenched to the skin, with white
dresses and silk stockings the colour of mud, were hurrying along over the
slippery side walks. An infantry regiment of militia took to their heels
and ran off at full pelt,--and a large body of _heavy_ cavalry dashed by
in a perfect hurricane of moustaches, draggled plumes, cross-bands,
gigantic white gloves, and clattering sabres, clearing the streets
effectually.
A hundred years ago Detroit was a little French village of wooden houses,
a mere post for carrying on the fur-trade with the Indians. Some of these
houses still remain, dingy, many-windowed, many-gabled buildings, of
antique construction. Canoes laden with peltry were perhaps the only craft
which disturbed the waters of the Detroit river.
The old times are changed, and a thriving commercial town of 40,000
inhabitants stands on the site of the French trading-post. Handsome quays
and extensive wharfs now line the shores of the Detroit river, and to look
at the throng of magnificent steamers and small sailing-vessels lying
along them, sometimes two or three deep, one would suppose oneself at an
English seaport. The streets, which contain very handsome stores, are
planted with trees, and are alive with business; and hotels, banks, and
offices appear in every direction. Altogether Detroit is a very pleasing
place, and, from its position, bids fair to be a very important one.
I had to leave the friends whose acquaintance and kindness rendered
Detroit so agreeable to me, in the middle of a very interesting
conversation. Before ten at night I found myself on an apparently
interminable wharf, creeping between cart-wheels and over bales of wool to
the _Mayflower_ steamer, which was just leaving for Buffalo.
Passing through the hall of the _Mayflower_, which was rather a confused
and dimly-lighted scene, I went up to the saloon by a very handsome
staircase with elaborate bronze balustrades. My bewildered eyes surveyed a
fairy scene, an eastern palace, a vision of the Arabian Nights. I could
not have believed that such magnificence existed in a ship; it impressed
me much more than anything I have seen in the palaces of England.
The _Mayflower_ was a steam-ship of 2200 tons burthen, her length 336
feet, and her extreme breadth 60. She was of 1000 horse-power, with 81-
inch cylinders, and a stroke of 12 feet. I speak of her in the past tense,
because she has since been totally cast away in a storm on Lake Erie. This
lake bears a very bad character, and persons are warned not to venture
upon it at so stormy a season of the year as September, but, had the
weather been very rough, I should not have regretted my voyage in so
splendid a steamer.
The saloon was 300 feet long; it had an arched roof and Gothic cornice,
with a moulding below of gilded grapes and vine-leaves. It was 10 feet
high, and the projections of the ceiling, the mouldings, and the panels of
the doors of the state-rooms were all richly gilded. About the middle
there was an enclosure for the engine, scarcely obstructing the view. This
enclosure was Gothic, to match the roof, and at each end had a window of
plate-glass, 6 feet square, through which the mechanism of the engine
could be seen. The engine itself, being a high-pressure one, and
consequently without the incumbrances of condenser and air-pump, occupied
much less room than one of ours in a ship of the same tonnage. Every
stationary part of the machinery was of polished steel, or bronze, with
elaborate castings; a crank indicator and a clock faced each other, and
the whole was lighted by two large coloured lamps. These windows were a
favourite lounge of the curious and scientific. The carpet was of rich
velvet pile, in groups of brilliant flowers, and dotted over with chairs,
sofas, and _tête-à-têtes_ of carved walnut-wood, cushioned with the
richest green velvet: the tables were of marble with gilded pedestals.
There was a very handsome piano, and both it and the tables supported
massive vases of beautiful Sevres or Dresden china, filled with exotic
flowers. On one table was a richly-chased silver tray, with a silver ewer
of iced water upon it. The saloon was brilliantly lighted by eight
chandeliers with dependent glass lustres; and at each end two mirrors, the
height of the room, prolonged interminably the magnificent scene.
In such an apartment one would naturally expect to see elegantly-dressed
gentlemen and ladies; but no--western men, in palmetto hats and great
boots, lounged upon the superb sofas, and negroes and negresses chattered
and promenaded. Porcelain spittoons in considerable numbers garnished the
floor, and their office was by no means a sinecure one, even in the saloon
exclusively devoted to ladies.
I saw only one person whom I liked to speak to, among my three hundred
fellow-voyagers. This was a tall, pale, and very ladylike person in deep
mourning, with a perfectly uninterested look, and such deep lines of
sorrow on her face, that I saw at a glance that the world had no power to
interest or please her. She sat on the same sofa with me, and was
helplessly puzzling over the _route_ from Buffalo to Albany with a gruff,
uncouth son, who seemed by no means disposed to aid her in her
difficulties. As I was able to give her the information she wanted, we
entered into conversation for two hours. She soon told me her history,
merely an ordinary one, of love, bereavement, and sorrow. She had been a
widow for a year, and she said that her desolation was so great that her
sole wish was to die. Her sons were taking her a tour, in the hope of
raising her spirits, but she said she was just moved about and dressed
like a doll, that she had not one ray of comfort, and that all shrunk from
her hopeless and repining grief. She asked me to tell her if any widow of
my acquaintance had been able to bear her loss with resignation; and when
I told her of some instances among my own relations, she burst into tears
and said, "I am ever arraigning the wisdom of God, and how can I hope for
his consolations?" The task of a comforter is ever a hard one, and in her
instance it was particularly so, to point to the "Balm of Gilead," as
revealed in sacred Scripture; for a stranger to show her in all kindness
that comfort could never be experienced while, as she herself owned, she
was living in the neglect of every duty both to God and man.
She seemed roused for the moment, and thanked me for the sympathy which I
most sincerely felt, hoping at the same time to renew the conversation in
the morning. We had a stormy night, from which she suffered so much as to
be unable to leave her berth the next day, and I saw nothing further of
her beyond a brief glimpse which I caught of her at Buffalo, as she was
carried ashore, looking more despairing even than the night before.
Below this saloon is the ladies' cabin, also very handsome, but disfigured
by numerous spittoons, and beneath this again is a small cabin with berths
two deep round the sides; and in this abode, as the ship was full, I took
a berth for the night with a southern lady, her two female slaves, four
negresses, and a mulatto woman, who had just purchased their freedom in
Tennessee. These blacks were really lady-like and intelligent, and so
agreeable and _naïve_ that, although they chattered to me till two in the
morning, I was not the least tired of them.
They wanted me to bring them all home to England, to which they have been
taught to look as to a land of liberty and happiness; and it was with much
difficulty that I made them understand that I should not be able to find
employment for them. I asked one of them, a very fine-looking mulatto, how
long she had been married, and her age. She replied that she was thirty-
four, and had been married twenty-one years! Their black faces and woolly
hair contrasted most ludicrously with the white pillow-case. After
sleeping for a time, I was awoke by a dissonance of sounds--groaning,
straining, creaking, and the crash of waves and roar of winds. I dressed
with difficulty, and, crawling to the window, beheld a cloudless sky, a
thin, blue, stormy-looking mist, and waves higher than I had ever seen
those on the ocean; indeed, Lake Erie was one sheet of raging, furious
billows, which dashed about our leviathan but top-heavy steamer as if she
had been a plaything.
I saw two schooners scudding with only their foresails set, and shortly
after a vessel making signals of distress, having lost her masts,
bulwarks, and boats in the gale. We were enabled to render her very
seasonable assistance. I was not now surprised at the caution given by the
stewardess the previous night, namely, that the less I undressed the
better, in case of an accident.
While the gale lasted, being too much inured to rough weather to feel
alarmed, I amused myself with watching the different effects produced by
it on the feelings of different persons. The Southern lady was frantic
with terror. First she requested me, in no very gentle tones, to call the
stewardess. I went to the abode of that functionary, and found her lying
on the floor sea-sick; her beautiful auburn hair tangled and dishevelled.
"Oh! madam, how could you sleep?" she said; "we've had such an awful
night! I've never been so ill before."
I returned from my useless errand, and the lady then _commanded_ me to go
instantly to the captain and ask him to come. "He's attending to the
ship," I urged. "Go then, if you've any pity, and ask him if we shall be
lost." "There's no danger, as far as I can judge; the engines work
regularly, and the ship obeys her helm." The _Mayflower_ gave a heavier
roll than usual. "Oh my God! Oh Heaven!" shrieked the unhappy lady;
"forgive me! Mercy! mercy!" A lull followed, in which she called to one of
her slaves for a glass of water; but the poor creature was too ill to
move, and, seeing that her mistress was about to grow angry, I went up to
the saloon for it. On my way to the table I nearly tumbled over a
prostrate man, whom I had noticed the night before as conspicuous for his
audacious and hardy bearing. "I guess we're going to Davy Jones," he said;
"I've been saying my prayers all night--little good, I guess. I've been a
sinner too long. I've seen many a"--a groan followed. I looked at the
reckless speaker. He was lying on the floor, with his hat and shoes off,
and his rifle beside him. His face was ghastly, but, I verily believe,
more from the effects of sea-sickness than fear. He begged me, in feeble
tones, to get him some brandy; but I could not find anybody to give it to
him, and went down with the water.
The two slaves were as frightened as people almost stupified by sickness
could be; but when I asked one of the freed negresses if she were alarmed,
she said, "Me no fear; if me die, me go to Jesus Christ; if me live, me
serve him here--_better to die!_"
It has been said that "poverty, sickness, all the ills of life, are
Paradise to what we fear of death"--that "it is not that life is sweet,
but that death is bitter." Here the poet and the philosopher might have
learned a lesson. This poor, untutored negress probably knew nothing more
"than her Bible true;" but she had that knowledge of a future state which
reason, unassisted by the light of revelation, could never have learned;
she knew yet more--she knew God as revealed in Christ, and in that
knowledge, under its highest and truest name of _Faith_, she feared not
the summons which would call her into the presence of the Judge of all.
The infidel may hug his heartless creed, which, by ignoring alike futurity
and the Divine government, makes an aimless chaos of the past, and a
gloomy obscurity of the future; but, in the "hour of death and in the day
of judgment," the boldest atheist in existence would thankfully exchange
his failing theories for the poor African's simple creed.
Providence, which has not endowed the negro with intellectual powers of
the highest order, has given him an amount of _heart_ and enthusiasm to
which we are strangers. He is warm and ardent in his attachments, fierce
in his resentfulness, terrible in his revenge. The black troops of our
West Indian colonies, when let loose, fight with more fury and
bloodthirstiness than those of any white race. This temperament is carried
into religion, and nowhere on earth does our Lord find a more loving and
zealous disciple than in the converted and Christianized negro. It is
indeed true that, in America only, more than three million free-born
Africans wear the chains of servitude; but it is no less true that in many
instances the Gospel has penetrated the shades of their Egyptian darkness,
giving them
"A clear escape from tyrannizing lust,
A full immunity from penal woe,"
Many persons who have crossed the Atlantic without annoyance are
discomposed by the short chopping surges of these inland seas, and the
poor negresses suffered dreadfully from sea-sickness.
As the stewardess was upstairs, and too ill herself to attend upon any
one, I did what I could for them, getting them pillows, camphor, &c., only
too happy that I was in a condition to be useful. One of them, a young
married woman with a baby of three months old, was alarmingly ill, and, as
the poor infant was in danger of being seriously injured by the rolling of
the ship, I took it on my lap for an hour till the gale moderated, thereby
gaining the lasting kindly remembrance of its poor mother. I am sure that
a white infant would have screamed in a most appalling way, for, as I had
never taken a baby in my arms before, I held it in a very awkward manner;
but the poor little black thing, wearied with its struggles on the floor,
lay very passively, every now and then turning its little monkey-face up
to mine, with a look of understanding and confidence which quite
conciliated my good will. It was so awfully ugly, so much like a black
ape, and so little like the young of the human species, that I was obliged
while I held it to avert my eyes from it, lest in a sudden fit of foolish
prejudice and disgust I should let it fall. Meanwhile, the Southern lady
was very ill, but not too ill, I am sorry to say, to box the ears of her
slaves.
The gale moderated about nine in the morning, leaving a very rough, foamy
sea, which reflected in a peculiarly dazzling and disagreeable way the
cloudless and piercing blue of the sky. The saloon looked as magnificent
as by candle-light, with the sunshine streaming through a running window
of stained glass.
Dinner on a plentiful scale was served at one, but out of 300 passengers
only about 30 were able to avail themselves of it. Large glass tubs of
vanilla cream-ice were served. The voyage was peculiarly uninteresting, as
we were out of sight of land nearly the whole day; my friend the widow did
not appear, and, when I attempted to write, the inkstand rolled off the
table. It was just sunset, when we reached Buffalo, and moored at a wharf
crowded with large steamers receiving and discharging cargo. Owing to the
gale, we were two hours too late for the Niagara cars, and I slept at the
Western Hotel, where I received every attention.
Buffalo is one of the best samples of American progress. It is a regularly
laid out and substantially built city of 65,000 inhabitants. It is still
in the vigour of youth, for the present town only dates from 1813. It
stands at the foot of Lake Erie, at the opening of the Hudson canal, where
the commerce of the great chain of inland lakes is condensed. It is very
"going ahead;" its inhabitants are ever changing; its population is
composed of all nations, with a very large proportion of Germans, French,
and Irish. But their national characteristics, though not lost, are seen
through a medium of pure Americanism. They all rush about--the lethargic
German keeps pace with the energetic Yankee; and the Irishman, no longer
in rags, "guesses" and "spekilates" in the brogue of Erin. Western
travellers pass through Buffalo; tourists bound for Canada pass through
Buffalo; the traffic of lakes, canals, and several lines of rail centres
at Buffalo; so engines scream, and steamers puff, all day long. It has a
great shipbuilding trade, and to all appearance is one of the most
progressive and go-ahead cities in the Union.
I left Buffalo on a clear, frosty morning, by a line which ran between
lumber-yards [Footnote: Lumber is sawn timber.] on a prodigious scale and
the hard white beach of Lake Erie. Soon after leaving the city, the lake
becomes narrow and rapid, and finally hurries along with fearful velocity.
I knew that I was looking at the commencement of the rapids of Niagara,
but the cars ran into some clearings, and presently stopped at a very
bustling station, where a very officious man shouted, "Niagara Falls
Station!" The name grated unpleasantly upon my ears. A man appeared at the
door of the car in which I was the only passenger--"You for Lewiston,
quick, this way!" and hurried me into a stage of uncouth construction,
drawn by four horses. We jolted along the very worst road I ever travelled
on--corduroy was Elysium to it. No level was observed; it seemed to be a
mere track along waste land, running through holes, over hillocks and
stumps of trees. We were one hour and three-quarters in going a short
seven miles. If I had been better acquainted with the neighbourhood, I
might, as I only found out when it was too late, have crossed the bridge
at Niagara Falls, spent three hours in sight of Niagara, proceeding to
Queenston in time for the steamer by the Canada cars!
On our way to Lewiston we met forty of these four-horse stages. I caught a
distant view of the falls, and a nearer one of the yet incomplete
suspension bridge, which, when finished, will be one of the greatest
triumphs of engineering art.
Beyond this the scenery is very beautiful. The road runs among forest
trees of luxuriant growth, and peach and apple orchards, upon the American
bank of the Niagara river. This bank is a cliff 300 feet high, and from
the edge of the road you may throw a stone into the boiling torrent below;
yet the only parapet is a rotten fence, in many places completely
destroyed. When you begin to descend the steep hill to Lewiston the drive
is absolutely frightful. The cumbrous vehicle creaks, jolts, and swings,
and, in spite of friction-breaks and other appliances, gradually acquires
an impetus which sends it at full speed down the tremendous hill, and
round the sharp corner, to the hotel at Lewiston. While I was waiting
there watching the stages, and buying peaches, of which I got six for a
penny, a stage came at full speed down the hill, with only two men on the
driving-seat. The back straps had evidently given way, and the whole
machine had a tendency to jump forward, when, in coming down the steepest
part of the declivity, it got a jolt, and in the most ridiculous way
turned "topsy-turvy," the roof coming down upon the horses' backs. The men
were thrown off unhurt, but the poor animals were very much cut and
bruised.
I crossed Lake Ontario to Toronto in the _Peerless_, a very smart, safe,
iron steamer, with the saloon and chief weight below. The fittings of this
beautiful little vessel are in perfect taste. We stopped for two hours at
the wharf at Niagara, a town on the British side, protected once by a now
disused and dismantled fort. The cars at length came up, two hours after
their time, and the excuse given for the delay was, that they had run over
a cow!
In grim contrast to the dismantled English Fort Massassaqua, Fort Niagara
stands on the American side, and is a place of considerable strength.
There I saw sentinels in grey uniforms, and the flag of the stars and
stripes.
Captain D---- of the _Peerless_ brought his beautiful little vessel from
the Clyde in 6000 pieces, and is justly proud of her. I sat next him at
dinner, and found that we knew some of the same people in Scotland. Gaelic
was a further introduction; and though so many thousand miles away, for a
moment I felt myself at home when we spoke of the majestic Cuchullins and
the heathery braes of Balquidder. In the _Peerless_ every one took wine or
liqueurs. There was no bill of fare, but a long list of wines and spirits
was placed by each plate. Instead of being disturbed in the middle of
dinner by a poke on the shoulder, and the demand, "Dinner ticket, or fifty
cents," I was allowed to remain as long as I pleased, and at the
conclusion of the voyage a gentlemanly Highland purser asked me for my
passage and dinner money together.
We passed a number of brigs and schooners under full sail, their canvass
remarkable for its whiteness; their hulls also were snowy white. They
looked as though "they were drifting with the dead, to shores where all
was dumb."
Late in the evening we entered the harbour of Toronto, which is a very
capacious one, and is protected by a natural mole of sand some miles in
extent. Though this breakwater has some houses and a few trees, it is the
picture of dreary desolation.
The city of Toronto, the stronghold of Canadian learning and loyalty,
presents an imposing appearance, as seen from the water. It stands on
ground sloping upwards from the lake, and manufactories, colleges,
asylums, church spires, and public buildings, the whole faced by a
handsome line of quays, present themselves at once to the eye.
A soft and familiar sound came off from the shore; it was the well-known
note of the British bugle, and the flag whose silken folds were rising and
falling on the breeze was the meteor flag of England. Long may it brave
"the battle and the breeze"! English uniforms were glancing among the
crowd on the quay, English faces surrounded me, English voices rang in my
ears; the _négligé_ costumes which met my eyes were in the best style of
England. A thrill of pleasure went through my heart on finding, more than
4000 miles from home, the characteristics of my own loved land.
But I must add that there were unpleasant characteristics peculiarly
English also. I could never have landed, the confusion was so great, had
not Captain D---- assisted me. One porter ran off with one trunk, another
with another, while three were fighting for the possession of my valise,
till silenced by the cane of a custom-house officer. Then there was a
clamorous demand for "wharfage," and the hackman charged half a dollar for
taking me a quarter of a mile. All this somewhat damped my ecstacies, and
contrasted unfavourably with the orderly and easy way in which I landed on
the shore of the United States.
At Russell's Hotel I rejoined Mr. and Mrs. Walrence, who said "they would
have been extremely surprised if a lady in _their_ country had met with
the slightest difficulty or annoyance" in travelling alone for 700 miles!
My ecstacies were still further toned down when I woke the next morning
with my neck, hands, and face stinging and swollen from the bites of
innumerable mosquitoes.