The road then went over a hilly country through Warrensburg and Exertown, and over the Mannokesy and Rush creeks. At last we saw Reading, in a lovely valley. It had a military aspect, as a company of volunteers had held a review to-day, and were recreating themselves at a tavern near the town, after their toils. At five o"clock we reached Trautman"s tavern, where we found good lodgings.
Reading contains about five thousand inhabitants; it consists of a long princ.i.p.al street, which is very wide, in the middle, and of several other streets, which cross it at right angles. The place depends on agriculture and some manufactories. Many hats, especially felt hats, are made here, which are sent in great numbers to the slave states and the West Indies. I here visited Mr. Hiester, former governor of Pennsylvania. This worthy old man bears his age, which is seventy-four years, remarkably well. He took me to his son-in-law, Dr. Muhlenberg, the German Lutheran minister of this place, son of the celebrated naturalist and learned man of this name, who died about ten years ago.
We took tea at his house, and then walked to the Schuylkill, over which a covered wooden bridge led. We saw also a part of the ca.n.a.l, on which coal is brought to Philadelphia from the upper parts of the Schuylkill.
Here at Reading, this ca.n.a.l ascends four locks, which appear to be built in a tolerably solid manner. It made a strange impression on me to hear every person speak German. On the road from Philadelphia, I had every where heard this language; but in Reading scarcely any thing else than German is spoken, and better than I had heard in the state of Ohio, or in Lancaster. Reading possesses a good German school under Dr.
Muhlenberg"s direction, in which this language is taught in its purity.
He himself has a numerous and selected library of English and German books. Two ca.n.a.l boats run at present alternately every week between Philadelphia and Reading, in which about one hundred travellers may be accommodated. They leave the one place at three o"clock in the morning, and reach the other about five o"clock in the evening.
I hired at Reading a carriage with two horses, for three dollars a day, in order to visit the coal-mines beyond the Blue Mountains. I left Reading at seven o"clock in the morning, and rode thirty-six miles to Pottsville. We pa.s.sed over a turnpike, which was occasionally very rough. It several times led us in the neighbourhood of the ca.n.a.l, the surface of which is about thirty feet wide on an average. It is lead by means of wooden boxes over several deep streams. Between Reading and Pottsville there are about eighty locks, several of which we pa.s.sed; at one time I saw seven together, which formed a very pleasing sight. About noon we reached a little German place, called Hamburg, half way to Pottsville, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, not far from the Schuylkill and its ca.n.a.ls. On the road to Hamburg, we pa.s.sed but one creek which had a name, Maiden creek. I dined at Hamburg, and met, as it was Sunday, a number of idlers, all Germans, a.s.sembled in the tavern.
Several Germans of education in the United States, made the remark to me, which I found but too true, that next to the Irish, the Germans form the roughest portion of the emigrants. The truth of this remark again forced itself on my attention in Hamburg, and especially in the case of a young doctor, who had formerly studied in several German universities, and gave vent to his giddiness in a vulgar manner. It was the first time in the United States that the _affectation_ of republicanism arrested my attention.
Not far beyond Hamburg, we came to a defile where the Schuylkill forces a pa.s.sage through the Blue Mountains. This narrow vale was very romantic, and my interest in the scene was greatly increased by the numberless blooming kalmias, improperly called laurel, the rhododendra, which offered a splendid sight amidst the rich vegetation of chesnut trees, b.u.t.ternuts, oaks, elms, sycamores, blooming tulip-trees, and sumacs. How frequently I thought of the great pleasure which my father would enjoy, if he could travel with me among these mountains, and admire the treasures of the vegetable world with his experienced eye!
The way led along a mountain over the Schuylkill, which lay deep below me. It forms here a curve, and is made navigable by means of dams, as there was too little room to continue the ca.n.a.l on the side of it. After we had pa.s.sed the chief defile of the Blue Mountains, we left for a time the navigable Schuylkill with its ca.n.a.l, and pa.s.sed through a narrow vale, through which the little Schuylkill flows, which is covered with kalmias, rhododendrons, and some azaleas. Afterwards came another vale, formed by Scrub Hill and Scollop Hill; then a long mountain, called Limestone Ridge. Beyond this mountain we reached Orwigsburg, which, entirely enclosed by mountains, occupies a romantic situation; it is built in the form of a cross, and contains about eight hundred inhabitants. We rode farther, through a valley covered with trees, again reached the Schuylkill with its ca.n.a.l, and at length arrived at Pottsville.
This place is scarcely to be found in any map, as it arose but three or four years ago, and owes its existence to the neighbouring coal-mines.
The navigation of the Schuylkill commences here; this is the place where the vessels which navigate this ca.n.a.l and river, small keel-boats, are built. A couple of saw-mills are erected for this purpose, as well as a high furnace, in which the iron ore found in the neighbourhood is smelted. The coal-mines are worked under the direction of the Schuylkill Coal Company, which has made the Schuylkill navigable at its own expense, in order to transport the coal to Philadelphia and New York.
A bushel of coal, weighing eighty pounds, is sold at Philadelphia for twenty-five cents. The river was made navigable only about eighteen months ago, and it is only since this time, that they have commenced to dig out coal.
Pottsville consists of a single street, lying in a somewhat narrow vale on the right sh.o.r.e of the Schuylkill, and owes its name to a Mr. Pott, who commenced the first iron works. The entrances of two coal-mines are seen on the sh.o.r.e opposite the place; there are some which, however, are not worked on account of scarcity of labourers. I became acquainted in our tavern with a Mr. Baker from New York, who is one of the chief men in this undertaking, as well as with a Mr. Taylor, editor of the paper called the Miner"s Journal, which bears a good character.
I rode with these two gentlemen to the coal-mines, two miles and a half from Pottsville, and not far from Norwegian creek. The coal appears almost on the surface of the ground, in which a certain dark colour denotes its presence. No one thoroughly understands the business of coal-mining, and therefore it has. .h.i.therto been conducted in a very unsystematic and expensive manner. Shafts are made wherever it is thought that coal would be found, and when a vein is discovered it is worked. The veins run from east to west, and then descend in a southern direction at an angle of forty-five degrees; between the veins, slate is commonly found about twelve feet thick. Under the lower layer of slate, coals have been again discovered by boring, but have not yet been farther worked. The shafts are not much above twenty feet deep; the coals are brought up in buckets by means of two windla.s.ses; at one place machinery worked by a horse is employed for this purpose. One shaft contains water, which, as the pumps are not yet in order, must be drawn out in buckets in a very tedious and expensive manner. The coal is of a superior quality, burns very well, and contains no sulphur. About fifty men work in the mines, each of which on an average receives monthly fifteen dollars. Hitherto the society has employed thirty vessels to transport the coals to Philadelphia. They are brought from the mines in large wagons to the head of the navigation, and are weighed before unloading. A profit of a certain amount is expected to arise from the working of these mines, which, however, will only be properly calculated, when the mines are worked more systematically. They design to connect the works with the river, which certainly would be a considerable saving, by means of a rail-road. A mountain, which runs parallel with that containing the mines, and which is yet covered with trees, is also said to contain great quant.i.ties of coal, but has not yet been worked.
After this fatiguing excursion, as I had seen most of the mines, I left Pottsville on the 5th of June, and rode forty miles to Mauch Chunk at the junction of a creek of this name with the Lehigh. After pa.s.sing Orwigsburg we turned to the left towards M"Keansburg, through a woody valley not well settled, and this only near Pine creek. M"Keansburg is a small place, and lies on an eminence, which affords a prospect of a romantic valley, through which Little Schuylkill flows. M"Keansburg adjoins on one side a wood swarming with locusts, which made so much noise that they might be heard at a great distance. These locusts are seldom seen, and their present appearance is ascribed to the uncommonly dry spring. I walked among the trees, and found under the stones several crystallizations; I found among others, a stone perfectly resembling a petrified bird"s head with the beak. Many vegetable petrifactions, such as fern and leaves of the kalmia, are found in the slate between the veins of coal. I was told that the impression of a whole collection of snakes was found in a cavity in the slate, and that the impressions of the heads, particularly, were very distinct.
After leaving M"Keansburg we pa.s.sed valleys and mountains, and reached, in this manner, the narrow and romantic valley of the Lehigh, by a very steep road. Lehighton, which lies at a junction of Mahoning creek and the Lehigh, consists of but few houses, and is supported in a miserable manner; because the land is too hilly and rough for cultivation, and the industrious village of Mauch Chunk, which is but three miles distant, withdraws from it all support. The country, however rough and unproductive as it may be for those who wish to live here, would afford a particular enjoyment to a botanist, and a lover of his science, by its rich and blooming vegetable productions.
It began to grow dark when we reached Lehighton, I nevertheless continued on the road; this grew narrow, was partly cut out of the rock, and closely approached the right sh.o.r.e of the Lehigh as far as Mauch Chunk, which we reached after dark, and in a storm. I took lodging in the only inn, which, however, is very good and respectable, and kept by a quaker, Mr. Atherton. The place has only existed four years, and owes its origin to the neighbouring mines, which, with all the surrounding country, belongs to the Lehigh Coal Company; a company which possesses a large capital, has existed longer than its rival in Pottsville, and conducts its operations more systematically. One of the most important stockholders is a quaker, Mr. White, who lives here, and has properly created every thing, and directs every thing himself. He visited me the same evening, and appeared to be a plain Friend, who however has reflected much on the good of mankind, and speaks very well.
On the next morning Mr. White took me about the place; it lies in a very narrow vale surrounded with high mountains, which rise out of the Lehigh and are covered with trees. The company has made the Lehigh navigable, or rather is at present engaged in this work, by means of dams, locks and ca.n.a.ls, in order to transport the coal to Philadelphia with ease and cheapness.
The ca.n.a.l, in which two locks stand at a distance of one hundred and thirty feet from each other, is thirty feet wide between the locks, the sides of which are covered with planks; behind this covering a wall has been erected, the crevices of which are filled with a liquid mortar. Mr.
White calculates, that the covering of wood will last about thirty years, and that during this time, the wall will unite with the mortar and form a kind of rock. Neither the locks, nor the ca.n.a.l were finished, so that there was as yet but a temporary navigation. The coal is put into flat boats six feet wide and ten feet long; these are attached, two together and five behind each other, so that a kind of raft of ten boats, or rather a box is formed. When this raft arrives at Philadelphia, and the coal unloaded, these boats are taken to pieces, the boards sold, and all the iron which was in them, brought back to Mauch Chunk in carts. Two saw-mills are in constant operation for the building of these boats, the timber is previously cut in form, so that practised workmen may nail together such a boat in an hour. But as soon as the ca.n.a.l and the locks are finished, even this navigation so expensive and destructive to the wood, will cease, and coal be transported in steam-boats, which will pa.s.s up and down the river and ca.n.a.l. The banks of the ca.n.a.l are covered with stones, or rather formally paved, so that they may not suffer from the action of the wheels. The coal is taken from the mine in wagons to the place where it is put into boats, and there weighed. After this the carts move upon a disk which turns, where the horses are quickly unharnessed. The carts are then raised by means of a machine, worked by a horse, and when they have attained a certain height, are brought in an oblique position, so that the coals fall out into a kind of enclosure, where they remain till wanted; the boats are loaded by means of moveable broad iron gutters, which are elevated or depressed according to the height of the water.
Grates are put in this gutter, so that the coals which are too small, and the dust, fall through, and merely the larger pieces fall into the vessel.
Considerable quant.i.ties of iron ore are found near Mauch Chunk, in a sandy state, and near the surface of the earth, which is melted in furnaces, erected for this purpose. But they have not yet succeeded in doing this by means of stone coal, and are obliged to use charcoal. This iron is used to make rail-roads, which lead to the most important coal-mine, nine miles distant. They will facilitate the transportation of the coal to the water in a very great degree, and make this at least three-fourths cheaper. Iron carts are to be used on this rail-road. Its ascent to the mine amounts to one foot in a hundred; the empty carts are to be drawn up by horses, each of which draws four at the rate of three miles an hour; when they are loaded, they are carried to the river by their own weight, and make the pa.s.sage in less than an hour. When they reach a certain point not far from the river, they are sent down an inclined plane, at an angle of forty-five degrees, and by means of machinery yet to be attached, they draw the empty carts by their weight up this plane.
A very good turnpike, now leads to this important mine, nine miles from Mauch Chunk, along the romantic valley of the same name, which ascends but two feet in a hundred, so that we could trot the whole way. I went in company with Mr. White. The mountain is imperceptibly ascended, and it occasions surprise, when, after a ride of eight miles, the woods, which cover the mountains are left, to see Mauch Chunk creek, whose sh.o.r.e has apparently just been left, rushing deep below, and at the top of the mountain to find oneself in a coal-mine. It is a highly interesting sight, and alone worth a pa.s.sage across the ocean. The coal does not here run in veins, but the whole mountain consists of a solid ma.s.s of coal, covered with a layer of clay at most a foot thick. The earth a.s.sumes a dark colour six inches below the surface; coal dust a foot and a half thick, is found at the depth of one foot, then comes the coal in small pieces, which are not used, but at a foot deeper the solid coal begins, which is broken off and sold. They have hitherto bored to the depth of sixty feet, and found nothing but the purest coal; they have however, dug but forty feet deep, and prefer working horizontally rather than perpendicularly. Except some veins of slate, which as solid rocks are not more than two feet thick, no heterogeneous substances are found among the coal. This is entirely black, and only those parts which are more or less exposed to the weather, are iridescent.
These mines, which are not subterraneous, occupy at present a s.p.a.ce of nearly four acres. An iron wedge forced by a hammer is used to break the coal. The stratum of coal is partly horizontal and partly at an angle of forty-five degrees; it seems as if it had been once elevated and broken by a subterraneous power. The workmen are paid daily, gain about eighteen dollars a month, and occupy several houses not far from the mine. They have dug a well in the stratum of coal, which furnishes pure and good drinking water.
We rode back to Mauch Chunk on the excellent road, made altogether on account of the mine. There is a place on the road where iron sand is dug, and whence runs a chalybeate spring, which leaves settlings of ochre. Two miles from Mauch Chunk we ascended the hill, on the other side of which, again quant.i.ties of coal are found. It is, however, very difficult to reach the layer on this high and steep hill, and the transportation of coals thence to Mauch Chunk would be attended with great inconvenience and expense. To obviate this, the company is cutting through the hill at a certain height, a tunnel in the rock, by which means the stratum may, to use the expression, be reached by the rear, and the conveyance of the coals be much facilitated. This tunnel is to be ten feet high and fifteen wide, with a rail-road in the middle. They have cut through two hundred feet already, and have yet one hundred and twenty feet to work, before they reach the coal. This labour is fatiguing and tedious; twelve men work day and night. They blast the rocks with powder, and advance but one foot in twenty-four hours.
In the valley of Mauch Chunk creek, along the road, two furnaces are erected in order to cast the pieces necessary for the rail-road, to avoid their transportation and to accelerate the work on the road. Two saw-mills have also been built in this valley, but the water in the creek is generally too low to depend much on their a.s.sistance in such works. The company employs about one thousand eight hundred workmen, who live partly near the mine, but generally in small houses in the place belonging to the company. Their habitations form a street along Mauch Chunk creek, nearly half a mile long. A great number of them are married and have their families with them. The company has given them a clergyman, and a school with a good teacher, to instruct their children.
A ma.s.sive mill is also erected near the creek, in which all the flour necessary for the place is ground; the country is too rough for culture; the company exchanges in a very profitable manner coal for grain.
Meadows have, however, been laid out in the valley, in order to gain the necessary hay for one hundred and twenty horses, which daily work here.
The creek also works bellows, by means of which the necessary draft of air is preserved in the furnaces and in the forges.
A store belonging to the society, and furnished with all the necessary articles, is also kept here. In this the workmen and their families receive the necessary articles, the price of which is deducted from their wages. Every workman has his leaf in a large book, wherein his account stands, and besides a small pa.s.s-book, wherein a copy of his account is written. Every month, or if the workman prefers oftener, a settlement is made, and he receives a note on the treasurer for the money owing to him, unless he wishes it to remain in the treasurer"s hands. The company makes a great profit in this manner, and the greater part of the money expended flows back again into its treasury. The ground three miles up and down the Lehigh, belongs to the company, so that no one can dispute with them the monopoly of keeping a store. If other companies should be formed to dig coals in the mountains above Mauch Chunk, where great quant.i.ties are said to be found, they could not gain much, as this society has taken possession of the only outlet, the Lehigh, and on account of the locks could lay many difficulties in the way with regard to the transportation of other coal.
I visited Mr. White in his tasteful house on the declivity of a mountain, whence he may see the whole of Mauch Chunk. He has a park behind his house, with tame game, which eat out of his hands. They consist of two stags and a female elk and her young one, which is already nearly as large and strong as a horse. They were obliged to shoot the male elk last autumn, as he attacked Mr. White and gave him eight wounds in the legs, with his horns, which confined the poor man about a month to his bed. The a.s.sistant of Mr. White ran to aid him, but received some wounds himself in the body, and would have been killed by the furious animal, if, at the cry of the two unfortunate men, a number of people had not hastened with poles and clubs to relieve them.
At five o"clock in the evening, I left the interesting Mauch Chunk and went sixteen miles on the road to Bethlehem, as far as Cherryville. At Lehighton I took the left sh.o.r.e of the Lehigh pa.s.sing two small creeks, Big creek, and Aquanshicola creek, and at last, (for the fifth time,) the Blue Mountains, through Lehigh Water Gap. This country must be very handsome, and it was with regret that I saw so little of it, but it began to grow dark, was very rainy weather, and thick clouds covered the Blue Mountains. Two miles from Water Gap we pa.s.sed through a small place called Berlinville, and were yet two miles distant from Cherryville.
In the darkness we could not see the posts which stand wherever roads cross, and there was no turnpike. We accordingly lost our way, and at a cross road knew not which direction to take. We ran about in the rain and the darkness, but found nothing which could have directed us. At last we took a road at random, fortunately the right one! But it was midnight before we reached Cherryville, where we found lodgings in a very good tavern. This whole country is inhabited by Germans, and the German language is the only one spoken.
Cherryville consists of but few houses, has, however, an open and handsome situation, and the roads in the vicinity are planted with handsome and large cherry trees, whence the name of the place. I left this place, June 7th, at eight o"clock in the morning, and rode fourteen miles to much-esteemed Bethlehem. We pa.s.sed through two small places, Kreiderville and Howardtown, and through a well-cultivated country; the grain and fruit, however, were suffering much from the drought, and beyond Howardtown we rode in a thick cloud of dust. I was uncommonly pleased, and felt quite at home, when, on leaving the woods, I saw the friendly Bethlehem before me. But it was quite different from what it was last autumn; it was then cold, and the trees beginning to lose their leaves; now summer had given every thing new life.
At Bethlehem I went to my old quarters at Bishop"s tavern, and soon after my arrival visited the worthy Mr. Frueauf. He was the more pleased with my visit, as no one in Bethlehem believed that I would fulfil my promise of returning, except himself. He took me to his brother-in-law, the Reverend Mr. von Schweinitz, who, at the very time I was at Bethlehem last autumn, had visited my father in Weimar, and spoken with my wife. Mr. von Schweinitz is on the mother"s side a great grandson of Count von Zinzendorf, and the brother of a deceased Lieutenant von Schweinitz, with whom I had been in early years in a company of the Saxon Guards. He is a very agreeable man, who unites a polished education with an excellent character. At dinner I met with pleasure with the old Dr. Stickel. After dinner I walked with Mr. Frueauf and Mr.
von Schweinitz, across Lehigh bridge, to a promenade along the river, leading to a semicircular place. Benches were placed here, and a spring was overarched to keep wine, &c. cool. We then went below the garden of the girl"s school to the mill of the congregation, where there is also a place under a handsome linden tree, affording a very pleasing view into the vale. But Mr. von Schweinitz was unfortunately obliged to leave here this afternoon on business of the society, and I could enjoy his extremely agreeable acquaintance but for a short time.
I now visited Bishop Hueffel and the Rev. Mr. Seidel. I went again with the latter to the girl"s school, and again admired the great order which reigns there, and the handsome and fine work of the girls. In the evening I was present at service in the church; but it was not well attended, and consisted merely in singing several hymns, which Mr.
Seidel sang, accompanied by a good organ. This devotional exercise occupied perhaps half an hour, and takes place every evening. The rest of the evening I spent in a very agreeable manner, at Mr. Seidel"s house, in company with Bishop Hueffel and Mr. Frueauf.
The following day pa.s.sed in a very agreeable manner. I read several allemanic poems of Hebel with Mr. Frueauf, who played to me on his piano, which instrument must not be wanting in any house here; these poems may well be called Pennsylvanian, as they are written in a dialect which is spoken here, especially in Lancaster county and in the western country. Bishop Hueffel showed me his handsome collection of sketches of great masters, which are selected with much taste and science, as well as several other good paintings and drawings. This worthy Bishop, is a man of polished education, in whose society nothing but profit can be obtained, on which account I was particularly sorry that I could not longer stay at Bethlehem. I also visited the sister"s house, and these maidens, who have grown old in honour, seemed to be much pleased with my repeated visit. I was obliged to go through all the rooms, sit with several, and tell them of my travels, which was done with the greatest pleasure. I found many of them employed in making hats of fine chips of the ash tree. These are woven in a loom like a bolting cloth, then cut and sewed into hats. A merchant of this place made this speculation, sells the hats at three quarters of a dollar a piece, and is said to do much business.
But I could stay no longer. I left Bethlehem at five o"clock in the afternoon, with much regret, and rode twelve miles to Easton. The road led through a country tolerably hilly, and partly woody, but generally very well cultivated, and through one small place called Butstown. I had for several days past remarked, that instead of fences, dry walls were made in a very neat manner, consisting of numerous stones gathered from the fields. Easton, which I reached at seven o"clock, is a flourishing place of about three thousand inhabitants. It lies in a valley at the junction of the Delaware and Lehigh. The sh.o.r.es of both rivers, especially of the latter, are high; in this are also many rocks, and the country offers a number of picturesque views. The Delaware forms the boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Easton on the right side belongs to the former. The place is regularly built. The greatest part of the houses are built of brick, though there are also some of stone.
A large square place stands in the middle, surrounded with a row of Lombardy poplars, in the centre of which the Court-house is erected.
I found these poplars in Pennsylvania, and especially in the eastern parts, preferred as an ornamental tree; in the greater part of the villages the streets, and even the roads, for some distance are planted, and some farms are surrounded with them. But it is said they attract insects, which infest the houses, on which account they have been rooted up in many places, as for instance, in the streets of New York; in Pennsylvania, on the contrary, to obviate this evil, their trunks as far as the branches, are covered with whitewash. The b.u.t.ternut tree, the leaves of which resemble those of the ash, is also used as an ornamental tree. At Easton a roofed wooden bridge leads over the Delaware, resting on two stone piers, and is about two hundred and seventy-seven paces in length. Like the generality of these bridges, it is divided into two parts lengthwise, in order that wagons may not meet each other.
A handsome chain bridge, about two hundred and ten paces in length, leads over the Lehigh. It is divided into three parts lengthwise; the extreme parts being for wagons and horses, and the middle and smallest for foot pa.s.sengers. This bridge was erected ten years ago, and though it has borne heavy loads, has not yielded in the least degree.
I received in the evening visits from several Germans, who live in the place, among whom I mention particularly a physician, Dr. Muller, Mr.
Schumann, and Mr. Till, from Bethlehem. The latter is a teacher of music and an instrument maker, in Easton. Mr. Schumann was sent to the seminary of the Moravians at Gnadenfeld in Silesia to become a minister.
Not being pleased with this, he left Gnadenfeld, visited several German universities to study medicine, returned to America, and now dedicates himself in Easton to the law.
A military academy was founding in Easton, of which great expectations were formed. It was a private undertaking by Mr. Constant. Since it has been seen, that the military academy at West Point furnishes such excellent subjects, a strict military education is becoming more and more popular in the northern states. The number of pupils at West Point is too limited to admit all the young men for whom application is made.
A captain Partridge, who was formerly an officer at West Point, but condemned to be cashiered by a court-martial on account of an act of insubordination towards General Swift and Lieutenant-colonel Thayer, has founded a military school at his own expense at Middletown, in Connecticut, in which he is said to give a very good education and solid instruction to the young men entrusted to him. The result of these schools shows more and more the advantage of a military education, and awakens a spirit of compet.i.tion among individuals to erect similar schools.
I left Easton, June 9, at four o"clock, in the mail stage, and rode through New Jersey to New York, seventy-two miles. We pa.s.sed the Delaware, and rode on a good turnpike, through a hilly, well-cultivated country, and through some unimportant places to a tolerably high mountain, called Schooley"s Mountain, where there is a mineral spring much frequented in summer. We afterwards came to a neat place in a handsome valley, called German Valley; then pa.s.sing through Chester and Mondham, also handsome places, we came to Morristown. All these places in New Jersey are well located, containing generally brick and some large houses; the streets are wide, planted with poplars, and in the centre of each place is a roomy square opening, in the midst of which stands a high pole, whence the national flag waves on public days.
Churches also are not wanting; I saw four in Morristown, which appears to contain about one thousand inhabitants. The churches have here generally high and white steeples, so that they may be seen at a considerable distance. We came also through a small place, Springfield, and then reached Elizabethtown, a very handsome place, surrounded with neat country-seats, the greater part of which belong to rich inhabitants of New York. After a short delay we left Elizabethtown, rode two miles farther through a meadow ground, much like Holland, and reached a bay.
Here we left the stage, and went on board the steam-boat Bellona, being about fourteen miles distant from New York. This bay is properly an inland lake, and is called Newark bay, after a town on it of the same name. It receives its water from two streams, Pa.s.saic and Hackensack, and communicates with the sea towards the south through Staten Island sound, and on the east with the bay of New York through the channel of Castleton, through which we also pa.s.sed. We had on the left a cape belonging to New Jersey, and on the right Staten Island belonging to New York. As it was narrow here we could see with great ease the handsome country-seats and gardens on both sh.o.r.es. But we enjoyed the handsomest and most unexpected sight, as we entered the bay of New York. On the right was the beautiful sh.o.r.e of Staten Island with Castleton, then the quarantine, where, besides several other vessels, lay a Swedish line-of-battle ship, which being sold to the Colombian government, remained here on account of some difficulties in the payment; beyond the Narrows the sea, then Fort La Fayette; we had in front of us the sh.o.r.e of Long Island, and on the left the bay of New York, with the forts on Governor"s and Bedlow"s Island, and between in the back ground the city of New York, with its pointed spires and forest of masts, in the North and East rivers. This sight is wonderfully beautiful, and well deserves to be represented as a panorama. Arrived in the bay, we turned to the left, pa.s.sed the above-mentioned fortified islands, left Bedlow"s island and the slightly fortified Ellis"s island, pa.s.sed Castle-garden, and landed from the North river at seven o"clock in the evening.
I immediately repaired to the City Hotel in Broadway, where I had lodged last autumn, and occupied again the same apartment which I then did.
I leave it the reader to imagine with what remarks and feelings I again entered this place. I gratefully turned to the Great Master of Life, who had so manifestly protected me during this long journey, and brought me back again to this place in health!
I pa.s.sed at this time but few days in New York, and I mention but a few circ.u.mstances. I was indeed very busy during these days, but almost every thing was done with a view to my departure.
I made a visit to Colonel Burr, who was a vice-president of the United States at the commencement of this century, and a rival of Mr. Jefferson for the presidency, which was decided in favour of the latter by the vote of Mr. Claiborne. In consequence of this election, Colonel Burr fought a duel with General Hamilton, in which the latter was killed.
Burr afterwards went to the western states, and, as it was said, intended to detach these from the eastern, and form them into a separate state. His plan was, however, discovered, and he was arrested, but acquitted for want of sufficient proof. He then travelled through Europe, and now lives at New York as a lawyer. During his travels in Europe, he came, in 1810, to Weimar, and spoke of a remarkably good reception on the part of my father. I found him to be a little old man, with very lively eyes, who spoke very well.
As I went to pay a visit to Mr. Zimmermann, consul of the Netherlands, a fire occurred in a tar manufactory near his house. It was fortunately checked by the excellent fire companies, before it extended. I had scarcely remarked the fire when the bells were rung, and fire cried in all the streets. In less than five minutes engines arrived, each drawn by about thirty people, by means of two long ropes. In New York numerous fire companies exist, among whom the different engines are divided. The members of these companies have voluntarily engaged themselves for this laborious service, and are relieved, in consequence, from jury and military service. They wear a short frock at a fire, of coa.r.s.e linen, with a leathern belt, and a leathern hat with a number. As in many English cities, there are water pipes laid in the streets, with an inscription at the corner, how many feet distant is the opening. This has an iron cover to which each engine has a key, is brought near, and the water conveyed into it through a leathern hose. As I had nothing to do with the fire, I returned to my lodgings, and pa.s.sed a second fire in another street. This was, however, less important than the former, and soon extinguished.
I went one evening to the Italian opera in the Park Theatre. This opera was established here last autumn, and is an attempt to transplant this exotic fruit to American ground. It does not, however, appear adapted to the taste of the public here; at least the speculation of the Italian theatre is not so profitable as was expected. The members of this theatre came from the Italian opera in London. At their head stands Signor Garcia, a very good ba.s.s. The orchestra was not numerous, but complete, and was directed by a French pianist, Mr. Etienne. Don Giovanni, by Mozart, was given; it was a great satisfaction to me to see this cla.s.sic piece so well represented. At first nothing but operas of Rossini were played, but now operas of Mozart are preferred to the former by judges in this place. The price has been raised, and two dollars is asked for the first tier. The theatre continues till half past eleven, when one returns home through well-lighted streets.
As I heard that Governor Clinton was in the city, I hastened to pay him my respects, but did not find him at home; on this occasion I again saw how large the city was. The house where the governor lived is nearly two miles distant from the City Hotel, without being out of the city.
I remarked that since last autumn three new churches have been built here, of which one, a presbyterian, was very tasteful; since this time also several new houses had been erected in this quarter. The number of the inhabitants of the city increases exceedingly, it now supposed to amount to one hundred and seventy thousand.
I rode also to the navy-yard in Brooklyn, on Long Island, where I paid a visit to the worthy Commodore Chauncy. I found him with his interesting family in excellent health, but very busy, for he had just despatched the corvette Lexington to New Foundland, in order to protect the American fishermen against the chicaneries of vessels of war belonging to other nations, cruising about there. I saw also the frigate Brandywine, which had returned from the Mediterranean sea, after taking General La Fayette to France; she was now undergoing repairs, in order to go to the Pacific ocean. A frigate and corvette were building.
I saw also the celebrated chess-player of Kempelen, which, with some other curiosities is exhibited by its present owner, the mechanician Mr.
Maelzel, from Vienna. He is said to have already gained much money with it in New York. The automaton represents a Turk, sitting behind the table with a chess-board before him. A table with another chess-board stands opposite, on which any of the company begins a game of chess with the automaton. When the automaton is to make a move, a noise of wheels is heard in the table, and at the same time the Turk lifts his left hand, which rests on a cushion, opens his fingers, takes the piece, makes the move, closes his hand, and places it on the cushion again. If his antagonist makes a false move, the Turk knocks with his right hand on the table in anger, shakes his head, and expresses his indignation by a sound. When the Turk gained a game, Mr. Maelzel wound up the machine like a clock, by means of a handle at the table, then the Turk took a knight and placed it successively once in every square. The whole machine stands on four wheels, and may be very easily moved from one part of the chamber to the other. Whilst the Turk plays the game, Mr.
Maelzel stands by; but it cannot be seen in what manner he directs his movements. It is said that Mr. Maelzel is negotiating with the keeper of the National Hotel, where he exhibited his automaton, for the purchase of the chess-player, and has already received an offer of nineteen thousand dollars.