AN ENGLISHMAN'S TRAVELS IN AMERICA:
His Observations Of Life and Manners in the Free and Slave States.
1857
BY J. BENWELL.
PREFACE.
Personal narrative and adventure has, of late years, become so
interesting a subject in the mind of the British public, that the author
feels he is not called upon to apologize for the production of the
following pages.
It was his almost unremitting practice, during the four years he resided
on the North American continent, to keep a record of what he considered
of interest around him; not with a view to publishing the matter thus
collected, for this was far from his thoughts at the time, but through a
long contracted habit of dotting down transpiring events, for the
future amusement, combined, perhaps, with instruction, of himself and
friends. It therefore became necessary, to fit it for publication, to
collate the accumulated memoranda, and select such portions only as
might be supposed to prove interesting to the general reader. In doing
this he has been careful to preserve the phraseology as much as
possible, with a view to give, as far as he could, something like a
literal transcript of the sentiments that gave rise to the original
minutes, and avoid undue addition or interpolation.
It was the wish and intention of the writer, before leaving England, to
extend his travels by visiting some of the islands in the Caribbean Sea,
a course which he regrets not having been able to follow, from
unforeseen circumstances, which are partially related in the following
pages. He laments this the more, as it would have added considerably to
the interest of the work, and enabled him to enlarge upon that fertile
subject, the relative position at the time of the negro race in those
islands, and the demoralized condition of their fellow-countrymen, under
the iniquitous system of slavery, as authorized by statute law, in the
southern states of America. As it was, he was enabled to travel through
the most populous parts of the states of New York and Ohio, proceeding,
_viâ_ Cincinnati, to the Missouri country; after a brief stay at St.
Louis, taking the direct southern route down the Missouri and
Mississippi rivers, to New Orleans in Louisiana, passing Natchez on the
way. The whole tour comprising upwards of three thousand miles.
From New Orleans he crossed an arm of the Gulf of Mexico to the
Floridas, and after remaining in that territory for a considerable time,
and taking part under a sense of duty in a campaign (more to scatter
than annihilate), against the Seminole and Cherokee tribes of Indians,
who, in conjunction with numberless fugitive slaves, from the districts
a hundred miles round, were devastating the settlements, and
indiscriminately butchering the inhabitants, he returned to Tallahassee,
taking stage at that town to Macon in the state of Georgia, and from
thence by the Greensborough Railway to Charleston in South Carolina,
sailing after rather a prolonged stay, from that port to England.
Some of the incidents related in the following pages will be found to
bear upon, and tend forcibly to corroborate, the miseries so patiently
endured by the African race, in a vaunted land of freedom and
enlightenment, whose inhabitants assert, with ridiculous tenacity, that
their government and laws are based upon the principle, "That all men in
the sight of God are equal," and the wrongs of whose victims have of
late been so touchingly and truthfully illustrated by that eminent
philanthropist, Mrs. Stowe, to the eternal shame of the upholders of the
system, and the fearful incubus of guilt and culpability that will
render for ever infamous, if the policy is persisted in, the nationality
of America.
Well may the benevolent Doctor Percival in his day have said, when
writing on the iniquitous system of slave holding and traffic, that
"Life and liberty with the powers of enjoyment dependent on them are the
common and inalienable gifts of bounteous heaven. To seize them by force
is rapine; to exchange for them the wares of Manchester or Birminghan is
improbity, for it is to barter without reciprocal gain, to give the
stones of the brook for the gold of Ophir."
THE ENGLISHMAN IN AMERICA.
CHAPTER I.
"Adieu, adieu! my native shore
Fades o'er the waters blue,
The night-winds sigh, the breakers roar,
And shrieks the wild sea-mew.
Yon sun that sets upon the sea
We follow in his flight;
Farewell awhile to him and thee,
My native Land--Good night!"--BYRON.
Late in the fall of the year 18--, I embarked on board the ship _Cosmo_,
bound from the port of Bristol to that of New York. The season was
unpropitious, the lingering effects of the autumnal equinox rendering it
more than probable that the passage would be tempestuous. The result
soon proved the correctness of this surmise, for soon after the vessel
departed from Kingroad, and before she got clear of the English coast,
we experienced boisterous weather, which was followed by a succession
of gales, that rendered our situation perilous. But a partial
destruction of the rigging, the loss of some sheep on the deck of the
vessel, and a slight indication of leakage, which was soon remedied by
the carpenter of the ship and his assistants, were happily the only
detrimental consequences arising from the weather.
Our progress on the whole was satisfactory, although, when we arrived
between 48 and 52 degrees north latitude, we narrowly escaped coming in
contact with an enormous iceberg, two of which were descried at daybreak
by the "look-out," floundering majestically a little on the ship's
larboard quarter, not far distant, the alarm being raised by an uproar
on deck that filled my mind with dire apprehension, the lee bulwarks of
the vessel were in five minutes thronged with half-naked passengers, who
had been roused unexpectedly from their slumbers, staring in terror at
the frigid masses which we momentarily feared would overwhelm the ship.
The helm being put up, we were soon out of the threatened danger of a
collision, which would have consigned us to a grave in the wide wide
waters, without the remotest chance of escape. This consideration was,
to all on board, a matter of deep thankfulness to the mighty Author of
such stupendous wonders, who had so miraculously preserved our lives.
Had the adventure occurred in the night, our destruction must have been
inevitable, as the ship was sailing under heavy canvas, within a single
point of the wake of one of the icebergs, which was drifting before a
stiff breeze.
Although this encounter proved harmless, we shortly after had another to
dread of a fearful nature. The number of fishing-boats off the coast of
Newfoundland, makes the navigation perilous at almost any time to
vessels approaching too near the banks, and after night-fall, the vessel
going at the rate of ten knots an hour with a smacking breeze, we passed
many of these at anchor, or rather, I suppose, riding on the waves; they
displayed lights, or serious consequences might have ensued. Some of the
skiffs were so near to us, that as I leaned over the ship's
quarter-rail, dreading, and every moment expecting, that we should run
one down, I could distinctly hear the crews hailing us to shorten sail
and keep off. By adopting this course our vessel cleared the danger, and
after slightly touching the banks, which caused the vessel to heel, and
created a momentary panic on board amongst the passengers, she was
steered more out to sea, and by the following morning nothing was to be
seen but a boundless waste of waters, extending as far as the eye could
reach.
After these temporary alarms, with the exception of baffling winds,
which impeded the progress of the ship, and lengthened the duration of
our confinement ten days or a fortnight, our voyage was prosperous,
little occurring to break the monotony of confinement on ship-board that
is experienced in sea-passages in general; the only excitement being a
fracas between the captain and cook, owing to complaints made by the
middle-cabin and steerage passengers, which nearly ended fatally to the
former, who would have been stabbed to a certainty, but for a by-stander
wresting the knife from the hand of the enraged subordinate, who had
been supplied too liberally with spirits by the passengers; a
predominating evil on board all emigrant ships, from the drawback of
duty allowed on spirits shipped as stores, and which are retailed on the
voyage to the passengers. The culprit was confined below during the
remainder of the voyage, and when we arrived at New York presented a
pitiable sight, having been rigidly debarred by the captain's orders of
many of the commonest necessaries, I believe, the whole time. Here he
was released and discharged from the ship, glad enough to escape further
punishment, "prosecution" having been, since the occurrence, held _in
terrorem_ over him.
It was late in the afternoon of an intensely cold day, which caused the
spray to congeal as it dashed against the bulwarks and cordage of the
vessel, that we descried with great pleasure looming indistinctly in the
distance, the shores of Sandy Hook, a desolate-looking island, near the
coast of New Jersey, about seven miles south of Long Island Sound. This
the captain informed me was formerly a peninsula, but the isthmus was
broken through by the sea in 1767, the year after the declaration of
American independence, an occurrence which was at the time deemed
ominous of the severance of the colonies from the mother country, and
which proved in reality to be the precursor of that event.
The sight of _terra firma_, though at a distance and but gloomy in
aspect, put all on board in buoyant spirits; but these were but
transitory, our enthusiasm being soon damped by a dense fog, resembling
those the Londoners are so accustomed to see in the winter, and which in
an incredibly short space of time, in this instance, obscured everything
around. Our proximity to the shore rendered the circumstance hazardous
to us, and it appeared necessary that the vessel's head should be again
put seaward; but this the captain was evidently anxious to avoid, as it
involved the risk of protracting the voyage. A general rummage for
ammunition was therefore ordered, and a supply of this necessary having
been obtained, the ship's carronade was after considerable delay put in
order, and minute guns were fired. After discharging some thirty rounds
or more, we were relieved from the state of anxiety we were in by a
pilot hailing the ship, and in a minute after he was on deck issuing
orders with great pertinacity.
It is impossible for any one unaccustomed to sea voyages to form a just
conception of the relief afforded by the presence of that important
functionary, a pilot. Perhaps a captain's greatest anxiety is, when his
vessel, having braved a thousand perils on the deep, is about to enter
on the termination of its voyage. On the broad expanse of ocean, or, in
nautical phrase, with plenty of sea-room, if his bark is in good
condition, he fears little or nothing, but when his vessel approaches
its goal, visions of disaster arise before him, and he becomes anxious,
thoughtful, and taciturn.
The pilot informed us that he had kept our vessel in chase for a
considerable time, and had burnt a number of newspapers on the deck of
his cutter to attract attention, but all his efforts proved unavailing,
when just as he was about to abandon the pursuit, he descried and hailed
the ship. This being the first specimen of an American whom many of the
passengers had seen in his native climate, their curiosity was aroused,
and they crowded round him, regarding every word and movement with the
greatest attention and interest. The pilot was evidently displeased with
being made "a lion" of, and gave vent to his feelings rather freely,
while there was a curl of hauteur on his lip, that indicated a species
of contempt for the company he was in. This disposition did not convey a
very favourable idea of his countrymen, and was, to say the least of it,
an ill-judged display before strangers; coming, however, as it did, from
an illiterate man, belonging, as I knew from previous inquiry, to rather
an exceptional class of individuals in America, I did not suffer my mind
to be biassed, although I could see that many of the passengers were not
disposed to view the matter in the same light. He was a brusque and
uncouth man, of swaggering gait, about forty years of age, above the
middle stature, and soon let the captain and crew know, by his
authoritative manner and volubility of tongue, that he was chief in
command on the occasion. No one seemed, however, to dispute this, for
the passengers looked on him as a sort of divinity sent to their rescue;
the ship's hands were implicitly obedient, and the captain very soon
after his arrival retired into the cabin, glad to be relieved from a
heavy responsibility.
The following morning, the haze having cleared off, we could again see
the Jersey shore. The sea in every direction was now darkened with
millions of black gulls, wild ducks, and other aquatic birds; we shot
many of these from the ship's deck, but were, much to our mortification,
obliged to see them drift away, the pilot, seconded by our austere
captain, strenuously objecting to a boat being lowered; this was very
discouraging, as such a change in our diet would, after a rather
prolonged voyage, have been acceptable.
A favourable breeze soon carried our good ship to the quarantine ground,
where we dropped anchor, in no little anxiety lest we should be
detained. The medical officers from the college, or rather sanatory
establishment, on shore, almost immediately came on board. All hands
were mustered on deck, and ranged like soldiers on parade ground by
these important functionaries, who, I may remark by the way, appeared
like our pilot to be possessed of considerable notions of power and
authority. After taking a rather cursory inspection they left the
vessel, and we, to our great joy (a case of small pox having occurred
during the passage), were allowed to proceed towards New York, which we
did under easy sail, the breeze rendering a steam-tug unnecessary.
The scenery as we passed up the river was calculated to give a good
impression of the country, the zest being, however, without doubt,
greatly heightened by the monotonous dreariness of a tempestuous voyage.
The highlands and valleys, as we sailed up, had a verdant woody
appearance, and were interspersed with rural and chateau scenery; herds
of cattle remarkable for length of horn, and snow-white sheep, were
grazing placidly in the lowlands. The country, as far as I could judge,
seemed in a high state of culture, and the farms, to use an expression
of the celebrated Washington Irving's, when describing, I think, a
farm-yard view in England, appeared "redolent of pigs, poultry, and
sundry other good things appertaining to rural life."
On arriving at the approach to the entrance or mouth of the river
Hudson, which is formed by an arm of the estuary, we turned the
promontory, leaving Jersey on the left, the battery as we entered the
harbour being in the foreground. The guns-bristled from this fortress
with menacing aspect, and the sentinels, in light blue uniforms and
Kosciusko caps, silently paced the ramparts with automatic regularity.
This fortification, though formidable in appearance, and certainly in a
commanding position, I was subsequently informed is little more than a
mimic fort; this arises from the want of attention paid to defences of
the kind in America, the little existing chance of invasion, perhaps,
causing the indifference to the subject. If, however, the spirit of
aggressive conquest shown by the federal government, of late years, of
which the invasion of Mexico is a fair specimen, should continue to
develop itself, it is not difficult to foresee that it will be necessary
policy to pay greater attention to the subject, and to keep in a more
effective state the seaboard defences of the country, as well as their
army, which is at present miserably deficient. This has heretofore been
so far neglected, as regards the marine, that not long before I arrived
the commander of a French ship of war was much chagrined, on firing a
salute as he passed the battery at New York, to find that his courtesy
was not returned in the customary way. He complained of the omission as
either a mark of disrespect to himself, or an insult to his nation, when
it came out in explanation that the garrison was in such a defective
state that there were not the appliances at hand to observe this
national etiquette.
The city of New York is built almost close to the water's edge, with a
broad levee or wharf running round a great portion of it. Its general
appearance gives to a stranger an impression of its extent and
importance. It has been aptly and accurately described as a dense pack
of buildings, comprising every imaginable variety, and of all known
orders of modernized architecture. The tide flows close up to the
wharves which run outside of the city, and differs so little in height
at ebb or flow, that vessels of the largest class ride, I believe, at
all times as safely as in the West India docks in London, or the
imperial docks of Liverpool. Here was assembled an incalculable number
of vessels of all sizes and all nations, forming a beautiful and
picturesque view of commercial enterprise and grandeur, perhaps outvying
every other port in the world, not excepting Liverpool itself.
As our vessel could not at once be accommodated with a berth, owing to
the crowded state of the harbour, she was moored in the middle of the
stream, and being anxious to go on shore, I availed myself of the
captain's offer to take me to the landing-place in his gig. We went on
shore in an alcove, at the foot of Wall-street, and I experienced the
most delightful sensation on once more setting foot on _terra firma_,
after our dreary voyage. The day, notwithstanding it was now October,
was intensely hot (although a severe frost for two or three days before
gave indications of approaching winter), and the streets being
unmacadamized, had that arid look we read of in accounts of the plains
of Arabia, the dust being quite deep, and exceeding in quantity anything
of the kind I had ever seen in European cities: clouds of it
impregnated the air, and rendered respiration and sight difficult.
Hundreds of rudely-constructed drays were passing to and fro, heavily
laden with merchandize, many of them drawn by mules, and the remainder
by very light horses of Arabian build; the heavy English dray horse was
nowhere to be seen, the breed as I afterwards learned not being
cultivated, from a dislike to its ponderousness.
The lower part of Wall-street presented a busy mart-like appearance,
every description of goods being piled heterogeneously before the
warehouse-doors of their respective owners in the open thoroughfare,
which is at this part very wide. Auctioneers were here busily engaged in
the disposal of their merchandise, which comprised every variety of
produce and manufacture, home and foreign, from a yard of
linsey-woolsey, "hum spun" as they termed it, to a bale of Manchester
long cloth, or their own Sea-Island cotton. The auctioneer in America is
a curious specimen of the biped creation. He is usually a swaggering,
consequential sort of fellow, and drives away at his calling with
wondrous impudence and pertinacity, dispensing, all the while he is
selling, the most fulsome flattery or the grossest abuse on those who
stand around. One of these loquacious animals was holding forth to a
crowd, just below the _Courier and Inquirer_ newspaper office, where
the street widens, as a preliminary introduction to the sale of a
quantity of linen goods that had been damaged at a recent fire in the
neighbourhood. I could not help admiring the man's tact. Fixing his eyes
on an individual in a white dress, with an enormous Leghorn hat on his
head, who was apparently eagerly listening, while smoking a cigar, to
the harangue, he suddenly exclaimed, "There now is Senator Huff, from
the State of Missouri, he heerd of this vendue a thousand mile up river,
and wall knows I'm about to offer somethin woth having; look at him, he
could buy up the fust five hunderd folks hed cum across anywhar in this
city, and what's more, he's a true patriot, made o' the right kinder
stuff, I guess."
He followed up the eulogium at great length, and after liberally
dispensing "soft soap" on the listeners, declared the auction had
commenced. I stood by for some minutes, gazing around and watching the
operations, and was not long in discovering that Senator Huff kept
running up the articles by pretended bids, and was evidently in league
with him, in fact a confederate. This auctioneer was the very emblem of
buffoonery and blackguardism; the rapidity with which he repeated the
sums, supposed by the bystanders to be bid, the curt yet extravagant
praise bestowed on his wares, and his insulting and unsparing remarks if
a comment were made on the goods he offered, or if the company did not
respond in bidding, stamped him as one of the baser sort of vulgarians.
Sales of this description were going on in every direction, and the
street rang with the stentorian voices of the sellers. Many of these
were mock auctions, as an observer of any intelligence would detect, and
as I ascertained beyond doubt almost directly after leaving this man's
stand; for, stepping into an open store close at hand, of which there
are ranges on either side of the street, a sale of jewellery and watches
was going on. A case of jewellery, containing, among other things, a
gold watch and chain, apparently of exquisite workmanship, was put up
just as I entered, and was started at six cents per article. Bid after
bid succeeded, until, at last, the lot was knocked down to a southern
gentleman present at fifty cents per item. On making the purchase, he
naturally wished to know how many articles the box contained. This
information, on the plea that it would delay the sale, was withheld. The
auctioneer, however, insisted on the payment of a deposit of fifty
dollars, in compliance with the published conditions of the sale, which
sum, after a demur on the part of the purchaser, was paid. I could see,
however, that he was now sensible he had been duped, and I afterwards
learnt that some forty or fifty articles, of almost every fancy
description, many of them worthless, such as pins, knives, tweezers, and
a variety of other knick-knacks, were artfully concealed from view, by
means of a false bottom to the case; this being lifted up revealed the
truth. The man was greatly enraged on finding he had been cheated, but
was treated with the most audacious coolness, and after some altercation
left the store, as he said, to seek redress elsewhere, but I have no
doubt he went off with the intention of losing his deposit.
This occurrence put me on my guard, and made me very wary of buying
articles at such auctions during my stay in New York, although the
apparent beauty and cheapness of many of the articles I saw offered,
especially of French manufacture, were sufficient to decoy the most
wary, and I did not wonder at people being victimized at such places.
Emigrants are the chief sufferers, I was told, by such transactions,
from their want of caution, and ignorance of the arts of the
accomplished deceivers who conduct them.
Proceeding up Wall-street in the direction of Broadway, I reached that
portion of it frequented by stock and real-estate brokers. Here crowds
of gentlemanly-looking men, dressed mostly in black, and of busy mien,
crowded the thoroughfare with scrip in hand. Each appeared intensely
absorbed in business, and as I gazed on the assemblage, I could
discover unmistakable symptoms of great excitement and mental anxiety,
the proportion of rueful countenances being much greater than is usually
seen in similar places of resort in England; a sudden depression in the
market at the time might, however, account for much of this, although it
is well known that brokers and speculators on the American continent
engage in the pursuit with the avidity of professed gamblers.
Hundreds of Negroes were hurrying to and fro through the streets, these
were chiefly labourers, decently dressed, and employed either as draymen
or porters. They looked happier than labourers in England; and, being
bathed in a profuse perspiration from the heat of the weather, their
faces shone almost like black satin or patent leather.
After a few days' rest at my boarding-house, to which I was recommended
by a touter, and which was in Canal-street, and was kept by a "cute"
Down-easter, or native of the New England States, with whom I engaged
for bed and board for eight dollars per week, I sallied forth to make my
intended observations, preparatory to leaving for the west. Everything
wore a novel aspect. The number of foreigners seen in the thoroughfares,
the tawdry flimsily-built carriages, which strangely contrast with the
more substantial ones seen in England, and the dresses of the people,
all seemed strange to me. The habiliments of one or two in particular
rivetted my attention. The first was a Kentuckian, who was dressed in a
suit of grey home-spun cloth, and wore on his head a fantastical cap,
formed of a racoon-skin, beautifully striped, the ears projecting just
above his forehead on each side, while the forefeet of the animal,
decorated with red cloth, formed the ear-laps, and the tail depended
over his back like a quieu, producing a ludicrous effect. His appearance
as he passed along attracted little notice, such vagaries being common
in America. My attention was also arrested by a person who was arrayed
in a hunting suit of buck-skin, curiously wrought with strips of dyed
porcupine-quill, and who wore an otter-skin cap and Indian moccasins.
There, is, however, little novelty in this costume, which I frequently
saw afterwards. Caps of the description I have mentioned are commonly
worn in the interior. I subsequently donned one myself, and found it an
admirable adjunct to easy travelling.
During my stay at New York, I found the heat almost overpowering, the
Indian summer (as the period between autumn and winter is there termed)
having set in. An umbrella was quite a necessary appendage at times, to
avoid its effects, which are often fatal to Europeans at the time of the
summer solstice.
In perambulating the city of New York, its appearance is prepossessing
to a visitor; the streets are well laid out, and are wide and regular,
the houses being for the most part of the better class. The white or red
paint (the latter predominates), and the green and white jalousie,
venetian, and siesta blinds, giving a picturesqueness to the scene.
Handsome mats lie outside the doors of many of the better description of
houses.
Broadway is the principal place of attraction in New York, but it has so
often been described by visitors, that it is a work of supererogation to
comment much upon it here; as, however, every tourist can see and
describe differently the same objects, I must not pass it in silence,
especially as it ranks in the view of the New Yorkers, something as
Bond-street and Regent-street do in the metropolis of England. It is,
however, far inferior to these; it is not one, but a continuous line of
streets, and, including Canal-street, extends about three miles in
length. The Haarlem Railway comes down a considerable portion of the
upper part, the rails being laid in the centre of the street The lower
end of Broadway merges into the Battery Park, which is situated at the
water's edge. In Broadway are to be seen magnificent hotels, theatres,
magazines-de-mode, and all the etceteras of a fashionable mart, not
omitting to mention crowds of elegantly dressed ladies and exquisitely
attired gentlemen, including many of colour; the latter appearing in the
extreme of the fashion, with a redundancy of jewellery which,
contrasting with their sable colour, produces to the eye of a stranger
an unseemly effect. The shops and stores are fitted up in the Parisian
style, appear well attended by customers, and are crowded with the
choicest description of goods.
Astor's Hotel, built by the so-called millionaire of that name, is a
large but rather heavy-looking pile of building, and forms a conspicuous
object in the park. Here many of the élite from the provinces sojourn on
visiting the city. The accommodations are stated to be of the first
order, and, from a cursory inspection, I should imagine this to be true,
the only drawback being the enormous prices charged, exceeding, I was
told, the ordinary run of first-class houses of that description.
Noticing from the opposite side of the street that the entrance was much
crowded, curiosity led me to cross over and ascend the steps and listen
to what was going on, supposing it some political demonstration; in
this, however, I was mistaken, for I found that the cause of the
commotion was the recent arrival and presence of the celebrated
statesman and lawyer, Daniel Webster, _en route_ to Washington, whither
he was called by Congressional duties. I pressed forward to shake hands
with this great expounder of American laws, as he is called by the
citizens, who seemed, by the way, on the occasion I refer to, to regard
him as a sort of divinity. I could not, however, succeed in getting near
enough to accomplish my object, although I strove hard for it. It was
quite amusing to see the anxiety shown by some of those present to
effect the same purpose. The senator kept shaking hands with all around,
repeating over and over again, "Glad to see you, citizens, glad to see
you." Amongst others, a gentlemanly-dressed negro with a gold-headed
cane pressed forward and held out his hand. There was, however, no
chance for him in the throng, for he was rudely pushed back, and I heard
several angry exclamations of disapprobation from the crowd, at the
liberty he had taken, one individual in particular crying out, "Kick
that nigger off, what has he to do here." These exclamations caught the
ear of the negro gentleman, and he shrunk back in an instant, as if
electrified. Mr. Webster was a yeoman-like looking person, of rather a
muscular-build, and at one time of life was, no doubt, as I have heard,
possessed of great physical powers; he had a heavy and rather downcast
turn of features, which were not improved by a pair of enormous black
eyebrows; there was, however, an expression in his physiognomy that
indicated deep thought, and a degree of intelligence above the
mediocrity. In addition to this, there was also a pleasing urbanity in
his manner that was certainly contrary to what might have been expected
from his personal appearance and known burly character in business. He
gradually retreated up the steps towards the interior of the hotel, the
excessive attentions paid by the crowd appearing troublesome to him. He
was closely followed, however, by his admirers, whose boisterous
behaviour savoured much more of enthusiasm than deference or politeness.
I had heard that the Americans profess never to do things by halves, and
so set this instance down as a proof of their propensity to "go the
whole hog," as they are wont to term their extremes and eccentricities.
The Town-hall, situate at the base of the Park, which is a triangular
piece of land, well laid out and neatly kept, is a light edifice of some
taste and architectural merit, its chief attraction being the white
marble of which it is constructed, and which is brought from the
quarries at Sing-Sing, some miles up the river Hudson. The effect,
however, is not good; its exposure to the elements having given it a
blurred or chalky appearance. It is surmounted by a small but elevated
cupola, constructed of wood, which some time ago, I was informed by a
citizen, caught fire at a pyrotechnic exhibition, and endangered the
whole edifice, since which, displays of fire-works have been prohibited
in the Park by the civic authorities. At the entrance there is a
spacious vestibule, but this, as well as the interior, though elegant in
its simplicity of style, is meagre of ornament. Proceeding to the
interior, I reached the criminal court, where a squalid-looking prisoner
was undergoing trial for murder. The judges and officers of the court
were almost entirely without insignia of office, and the counsel
employed, I thought, evinced much tact in their proceedings, especially
in the cross-examination of witnesses, although they manifested great
acerbity of feeling towards each other, and their acrimonious remarks
would not, I imagine, have been allowed to pass without remonstrance in
an English court of justice. I was told by a by-stander, with whom I
entered into conversation, that if found guilty, the prisoner would be
conducted to an underground apartment used for the purpose, and
privately executed, the law of the State of New York, from motives that
ought to be appreciated in England, prohibiting public executions. It is
also customary there to allow criminals more time than in England, to
prepare for the awful change they are doomed to undergo.
I was informed by a friend that there are some very astute lawyers in
America, and I subsequently had opportunities to test the accuracy of
the remark. Their code, however, differs materially from the English,
although professing to be based upon its principles; and has the
preeminent advantage of being pretty free from the intricacies and
incongruities that so often tend to defeat justice in the
mother-country, and render proceedings at law so expensive and
perplexing. The slave laws (called the "_codenoir_"), adapted for the
Southern States, must, however, be excepted, for it is notorious, that
to subserve the ends of interested parties, they have been framed so as
to present what may with propriety be termed a concatenation of
entanglement and injustice to the slave subjects; the very wording of
many of these enactments, carrying unmistakable evidence of their being
concocted for the almost sole protection of the slave-owners.
Adjoining the Town-hall, or separated only by an avenue, is a heavy,
monastic-looking building, used as a bridewell, and called the City
Penitentiary. Having remained a considerable time in the hall where the
trial was going on, the agonized state of the prisoner and sickening
details of the murder caused a disinclination for the present to
continue my perambulations, so I stepped into the Café de
l'Independence, in Broadway, and called for a port-wine sangaree,
endeavouring, while I sipped it, smoked a cigar, and read the _Courier
and Inquirer_, to forget the scene I had just witnessed. Leaving soon
after, I pursued my way down Broadway, passing Peel's Museum and the
Astor House, to the Battery Marine Promenade. This is a delightful spot,
the finest in point of situation (although not in extent) of the kind I
ever saw, the Esplanade at Charleston in South Carolina, of which I
shall have by-and-by to speak more particularly, being excepted.
Ladies and gentlemen were promenading up and down, under the umbrageous
foliage of the lofty trees which skirt the Battery Park, and which were
as yet unscathed by the recent frosts, forming a delightful retreat from
the scorching rays of an American sun. The sea view from this point,
with the adjacent scenery, is interesting and attractive; the broad
expanse of ocean in the distance, the highlands looming in the
perspective, the numerous aquatic birds skimming the surface of the
estuary, and the picturesque fort and woody shores of New Jersey, all
tending to diversify the scene and add to its natural beauty. I
afterwards visited this place over and over again, and every succeeding
visit added to my admiration and enhanced its attractions. To the left
lies, in panoramic grandeur, the harbour, literally teeming with ships
of all sizes and all nations; while, on the right, the entrance of the
majestic Hudson or north river, with crowds of magnificent steamers,
traders to Troy, Albany, and the West, forms a prominent feature in that
direction. The passing and repassing of steamers and other vessels of
home-traffic, and the more exciting arrival of ships from foreign parts,
give a zest to the scene which must be witnessed to be fully
appreciated.
A day or two after, having obtained, through a friend, leave of
admission, I crossed over to Brooklyn, and visited the Navy-yard. The
docks of this establishment contained, at this time, many specimens of
American naval architecture of choice description; amongst the rest, a
frigate and several other ships of war lying in ordinary. Everything
appeared to indicate good management and efficiency, as far as a
landsman could judge. This was very discernible on board the vessels we
were allowed to inspect, where the utmost order and cleanliness
prevailed. The officers, I thought, seemed to exact great deference from
the men, and their martinet bearing ill accorded with a republican
service, being decidedly more marked than on board British ships of war
which I had visited at Deptford, Chatham, and elsewhere in England.
Probably a stricter discipline may be found necessary, on account of the
equality that exists in America, which might operate to render those
under command more difficult of control, if such independence were
allowed to be manifested.
I found that the army and navy, in America, are chiefly manned by
English, Dutch and Irish, not a few Poles being in the ranks of the
former: these are impelled, through lack of employment, and the
additional inducement of a tolerably liberal pay, to join the service.
The Americans themselves are too sensible of the inconveniences
attending public services, as well as too acute, to follow such
occupations in time of peace, though when danger has threatened, they
have always shown themselves at the instant service of the State, and as
citizen soldiers are not, perhaps, to be equalled in any other country.
From the Navy-yard I proceeded to Hoboken; this is a place of great
resort in fine weather, and is situate nearly opposite the city of New
York, or rather the eastern part of it. Here I found assembled a large
company of pleasure-seekers in holiday attire, some lounging under the
trees, others in groups at pic-nic, and not a small proportion of the
gentlemen regaling themselves at the refreshment stalls or temporary
cafés, erected on the grounds, on mint juleps and iced sangarees. The
grounds are interspersed with park, woodland, and forest scenery, and
are kept in admirable order, the managers studying to maintain the
appearance of original nature, and to impress on the mind of the
visitor, that he is ruralizing, far from city life, amongst primeval
forest shades; the contiguous scenery is not, however, calculated to
carry out the idea. It is quite the custom for American husbands to
leave their families for the day, and enjoy relaxation in their own way,
a practice that I apprehend would not be sanctioned by our English
ladies, any more than it would be resorted to by English gentlemen, from
motives of kindly and very proper feeling. Here, in a retired spot, is
the duelling ground, which has attained no little notoriety in that
latitude, as the spot where many a knotty point has been quietly solved
by the aid of a pair of pistols or Colt's rifles; although, for the
credit of the citizens of New York and its neighbourhood, it must be
recorded that they are not so ready to fly to this disgraceful
alternative as their ensanguined brethren in the Southern or Slave
States.
My stay in New York being limited by previous arrangements, I was
anxious to get back to the city, although a day might well be taken up
in ruralizing, and exploring the Arcadian beauties of Hoboken, the
favourite resort of the citizens of New York. So, after a pretty general
though cursory survey of its attractions, I recrossed, as I had come, in
a ferry propelled by steam. The construction of this boat, a whole fleet
of which description were busily plying to and fro, being unique, and
unlike any I had seen before, I must not pass it over without remark. In
principle it consisted of two barge-like vessels placed side by side, a
platform being laid on the top, for the engine, passengers, and
steersman; the latter, as in all American steam-vessels, of whatever
size, being perched in an elevated round-house on deck. The stem and
stern of this vessel were alike, the necessity of turning being thus
altogether obviated, as in some of the steam-boats on the Thames.
A practice prevails amongst newspaper publishers in America, which is, I
believe, only resorted to in England in cases of public emergency or
unusual excitement, and that but seldom; I mean that of posting on large
placards the latest arrival of news, home or foreign: thus, whenever you
return home after a sojourn in the city, the eager inquiry is sure to
be, "Any news up town?" This custom keeps up a lively interest in
passing events, and disseminates amongst the citizens at large, the
current news of the day, and if it has no other beneficial effects,
prevents rumours, that commonly circulate in times of public excitement
to the detriment often of many individuals in crowded communities. I
noticed the walls of New York thickly posted with placards chiefly of an
inflammatory political character. Many of these breathed agrarian
principles, that would in Europe have been inadmissible, and would,
without doubt, have led to the immediate arrest and imprisonment of the
authors. Here, however, they are but little noticed by the populace, and
not at all, I believe, by the authorities. Cheap newspapers are pushed
into the face of the passer-by, at the corner of every principal
thoroughfare, the prices varying from two to six cents. These, as may be
supposed, contain, together with the current news, every description of
scandal and trash imaginable, their personality being highly offensive,
injurious, and reprehensible. Thus the freedom of the press is abused in
every part of America, and this powerful engine of "good or ill"
converted from a benefit (as it is if managed with propriety) into a
public nuisance.
One peculiarity, exceedingly annoying to an Englishman, which is
observable even in good society in New York and elsewhere in America, is
a prying curiosity as to the affairs of those with whom they converse.
Their habits at table also often fill one with disgust, and the want of
good-breeding I witnessed on more than one occasion would have been
resented in England. This is the more remarkable, as the Americans
entertain high notions of refinement, and yet, paradoxical as it may
appear, seem to glory in their contempt of good manners. I do not,
however, include the ladies in this remark; on the contrary, I must
unequivocally assert, that I always observed in them, not only in New
York, but in every other part of the North American continent which I
visited, the greatest disposition to cover the misdoings of the opposite
sex, and a great degree of cultivation and politeness; although they are
perfectly freezing in their manners before formal introduction, I do not
doubt that there are many among them of great refinement and powers of
intellect, their personal appearance being also consonant with their
known amiability.
The bustle and drive in the trading quarters of the city is very great.
The merchants and their assistants have a hurried manner of doing
business, discernible in a moment to a stranger, which is much to be
deprecated, and too often leads, as I afterwards found, to disastrous
results. Business with these men is in general quite a "go-a-head" sort
of affair, and not being accompanied with method, in many cases leads to
an embarrassed state of circumstances. Thus it frequently happens, that
on investigation, the assets of a merchant who has stopped payment and
is a supposed bankrupt, realize more than enough to pay the creditors,
and the party finds to his agreeable surprise, that his position is not
so bad after all.
The churches and other places of public worship in New York have a
temporary appearance, the steeples of the former being, when I visited
the city, chiefly of painted-wood. This, I believe, is partly the reason
why bells are not used, although a friend in whose presence I noticed
this, stated that contempt for so English a custom had much to do with
their disuse. If so, the prejudice is not confined to New York alone,
for I was not cheered by the inspiriting sound of a peal in any other
part of the Union I visited, although I think I have heard they are in
use in Philadelphia and some of the eastern cities.
The time I had allotted to remain in New York having expired, and being
anxious to proceed on my route before the close of navigation, I
reluctantly bade adieu to my kind friends in that city, and made
preparations to pursue my way to the more western part of the Union,
hoping to reach the Mississippi country before the season when the
rivers and canals leading to it would be locked up in ice.