Part 9 (1/2)
Back of the City Hall is a large building, called American Museum It contains a nudoe halls A considerable collection of American birds occupies nearly the entire walls of one hall; there are nu collection of fishes very well preserved, and a fine series of turtles, fro, down to the smallest; there was likewise a considerable series of crustaceous aniement
Besides, there were various Indian weapons, dresses, and other curiosities; ancient and modern ariment of the Duke of Naussau, found on the field of Waterloo; several Italian antiquities, the e and exceedingly beautiful speci two hundred and twelve pounds, found in a Mexican silver ; this was found in the year 1814, near Glasgow, state of Kentucky, nine feet under ground, in a nitre cavern, two thousand yards distant fro posture, and was enveloped with deer-skins and Indian cloth In addition to various miscellaneous articles, there was a nus
[Footnote I-12: [_I a number of _Shark's teeth_ placed in its mouth and throat]--TRANS]
The battery, to which I walked, is at the southern extremity of the city and island of New York; there was formerly a Dutch fort here, but it has been pulled down, and the place altered into a public garden, which gives a fine perspective of the entrance of the bay, and of Long Island
West of the battery, in the Hudson river, is a fort, called Castle Clinton, coe, ninety paces long This fort forms a semicircle; on the diameter are the former barracks, and behind the walls, which foruns, under casemates North of this fort, on the same shore, in front of the city, are two other forts of the same description, called North Battery and Fort Gansevoort; being of no use they are abandoned Castle Clinton is now a public pleasure house In the barrack is a coffee-house; boxes for parties are arranged within the battery, and on the platform are amphitheatrical seats, because the yard of the fort is used for fire-works, and other exhibitions Frohted with the large nureat life and bustle Brooklyn is situated on Long Island, opposite to New York The straight, called East river, at Brooklyn, requires about seven minutes and a half to cross it; there are two stea Brooklyn appears to be a flourishi+ng little town, judging by the quantity of stores which are established there I passed to the left, and after having walked upwards of a mile, spent soly fatigued, on account of the great distance
I went on board of the Pallas with Mr Hone, president of the Canal Bank of this city, a rich and respectable man, and with Mr Derviter, a merchant of this city, and a native of Grammont, in Flanders The Pallas rode at anchor in the Hudson, between New York and Jersey City, a little village in the state of New Jersey, opposite New York, on the right side of the river Soon after our arrival, boats likewise arrived with some ladies, who had wished to see the Pallas As the cabin was but small and narrow, the ladies were served, by Captain Ryk, with an elegant luncheon on deck, under an awning; they were some of the most amiable and fashi+onable ladies of the city, and remained on board till three o'clock, and then went on shore during a pretty heavy storht, I observed that the streets were not well lighted I was afterwards infored in a quarrel with the gas-company relative to the lah it was somewhat lessened by the numerous stores, which are kept open till a late hour, and are very splendidly lighted with gas The gas-lights burn in handsoures; at a music store, I saw one in form of a harp
An eminent physician of this city, Dr David Hosack, who, since his second e, is said to have an annual incoht, during the winter season, the professional gentleners His library, and collection of engravings, is then opened for the use of the visitors, and a discourse is soentleh the city; I accepted his politeness, and visited several interesting institutions in his company
The City Hospital was built in the year 1770, by voluntary contributions, and is supported by the interest of its capital, and by the state governround, in a very healthy situation An avenue of old and high ele room, where the board meet; this contains the library, which is particularly rich in botanical works In the basement is the kitchen, and several wards for syphilitic patients They intended to establish a new hospital for these patients, like the lunatic asylus of this hospital, which is now established out of town There ether four hundred patients of both sexes They are attended to by nurses in large wards, each of the about sixteen beds The bedsteads are of wood; upon inquiring why they were not of iron, they replied, they were afraid to use them, on account of the heavy thunder-storeons are attached to the hospital, and alternately attend One physician and one surgeon live free of expense in the hospital, and one of them must always be present for extraordinary cases The apothecary's shop attached to the hospital is kept very neatly; however, it appeared to me to be inferior to those in the hospitals of Boston and Montreal
For the purpose of visiting the newly-erected lunatic asylued and venerable Quaker, who is at the head of the hospitals, charitable institutions, &c I was introduced to him at Dr Hosack's We found Mr Eddy at hohters, his son, and partner, who is likewise a Quaker The family was dressed in the plainest style, and this sih the whole house Mr Eddy is in possession of a fine library, which he showed us; it contained several splendid works on natural science; ay, with the splendid supplementary volume published by Charles Lucian Buonaparte, son of Lucian Buonaparte Mr Eddy then drove with us to the country-seat of Dr Hosack, on the East River, opposite the navy-yard Dr Hosack, as formerly married to a sister of Mr Eddy, accompanied us to the Lunatic Asylum This is five miles from the city, on a hill, in a very healthy situation, not far from the Hudson River
The road lies between country-seats and handsoardens, and it is one of the most pleasant places I have seen in America
[Footnote I-13: [This ornament of human nature, died in the year 1827]--TRANS]
The asyluh, and surrounded by a garden; it was built mostly by subscription, but is likewise supported by the state governreatest benefactors and patrons There were one hundred and thirty-threewas als Besides therooms for the committee in the first story, there are the apothecary's shop, and the wards for the poor patients, who have a large corridor and sitting roo is inhabited by the male, and the other by the fees froe yard, which is surrounded by walls, and serve the patients for walking, exercise, and play In the middle of each yard is a shelter supplied with benches, for bad weather In the upper stories are the rooms for the inspectors, and several other apartments where patients reat cleanliness is observed; but still the institution appeared to ow in Scotland The garden is kept in very good order; there is likewise a hot-house, which is supplied mostly from Dr Hosack's collection On the roof of the house is a platform, from which we had a very pleasant and extensive view
A Philosophical Society hold theirthe American Museum In one of the rooms is a collection ofmany fine minerals from the northern frontiers of the United States Another saloon contains a collection of paintings, which do not appear to be very valuable The best picture was a portrait of the celebrated American painter, Benjamin West, who died in London; this picture is from the s by Teniers, and two others by Salvator Rosa I was particularly pleased with one of the latter; an old soldier praying in a wild landscape before a sis are said to be by Rubens: ainal is in the collection of Mr Schaood plaster-casts of the best Roman antiques, of a Venus of Milo, and the three Graces of Canova, and likewise two gladiators of full size by the same artist
The house of Commodore Chauncey[I-14] is situated on a hill in the navy-yard, which affords a fine view of the wharf and Long Island The commodore took a ith uard of honour of thirty marines, commanded by a captain; in the uns
This mark of respect was quite unexpected in the United States, and of course I was the more surprised and flattered
[Footnote I-14: Coates and two corvettes, not yet naate was finished, but was still under cover Both frigates are called forty-fours, but carry each sixty-four guns These are intended to be thirty-two pounders, which is now the common calibre of the navy of the United States The vessels are built of live oak, from North Carolina; the timbers are salted in order to prevent the dry-rot The three shi+ps of the line, Franklin, Washi+ngton, and Ohio, were in ordinary; they are called seventy-fours, but the two first are each calculated for eighty-six and the latter for one hundred and six guns I saw likewise the renowned steaate Fulton the First, of which many fables have been fabricated in Europe The schooner Shark, of eight guns, was perfectly fitted out, and ready to sail in a few days for the coast of Africa, in order to prevent the slave-trade
At a second visit, we first went on board the steaate, Fulton the First; this vessel is entirely disar shi+p
She is a floating battery, and was to carry thirty thirty-two pounders
Her sides are six feet thick,each other, so that the vesselblock-house Her machinery resembles that of a teaine of one hundred and twenty-horse power is fixed, and one large wheel is moved by it The vessel is very spacious: in several places reverberatory furnaces may be added, in order to heat balls red-hot Before this frigate was disular sails, but the coe masts with the usual sails, for the instruction of the sailors The machinery had been taken out for some months, and placed in an arsenal on the wharf: the place it had occupied was covered with boards, to make a common deck for the sailors Since that time an upper deck has been built, upon which are coate has been spoken of as a real miracle; that she presented towards the enemy a forest of swords and lances, and threw a strea water, &c all of these are stories Her construction during the latter part of the ith England was reat deal of anxiety All co this vessel, objected to her and were of opinion that this large body could only be used to defend straits She never was at sea, and some feared that she would be unfit for it Moreover, as the navy-board at Washi+ngton having objections to the further application of steam to shi+ps of war, it is probable that they will discontinue the building of h the machinery of a second is already finished and placed in the azine
We were likewise on board of the two shi+ps of the line, Ohio and Franklin The Ohio is of a new construction, and has not yet been in service; the Franklin and Washi+ngton, however, have already es The sides of the Ohio are thicker than those of the other shi+ps, and her decks higher: all these men of war have not the modern round, but broad sterns, in each of which is a battery of twelve guns
Only one of the frigates, still standing on the stocks, has an elliptical stern, which unites the defensive power of the round, with the elegance of the broad sterns
Every thing appears to be in an i state at the arsenal In the house where the office of the coents is kept, there is a hall fitted up as a chapel; this serves during the week as a school-rooed in their mathematical studies, under the direction of the chaplain
In the harbour we visited two Liverpool packet-shi+ps, the Williaular es, steam-boats, &c is here called a line Two years since, I saw the packet-shi+p Cortez, at Liverpool, and adeard to elegance and coroo two beds one above the other, and a wash-table In this cabin there are ten of these state-rooms, five on each side, and, besides, near the s in the stern of the shi+p, there are two state-rooentleh the cabin and table The cabin is lighted partly by the s in the stern and partly by a large skylight; the state-roohts There is another roo room, for the ladies, near the mainmast, where the motion of the vessel is the least felt; on each side of their rooht ladies The sides of the dining rooant looking-glasses In the Pacific, between every two state-rooms there are coluany covered with black horse hair cushi+ons, and the floors of both cabins are richly carpeted The stairs which lead into the dining rooany and covered by a shelter, under which sea-sick passengers may sit on benches There is likewise a roof over the poop, where passengers e frouineas, for which price passengers are perfectly accommodated Each packet is of about five hundred tons, and they soe in seventeen days On the 1st and 16th of each ht vessels of this line leaves New York for Liverpool, and on the same day another leaves Liverpool for New York
On the first Sunday of my stay in New York, I visited the new Lutheran church, with the consul, Mr Zilish, because there are at New York but few descendants of Gere Dr Schaeffer preached: he is a native of Philadelphia, and the son of a Ger, but after the sermon came a lamentation upon the miserable state of the church funds, which was not particularly edifying There appeared to be a deficit of eighteen thousand dollars, which the consistory tried to ation was invited to contribute Dr Schaeffer's congregation for in this city, but they parted froh rather in too extravagant a style, as their expenses were disproportioned to their income The minister besides comentation would not be unpleasant to him, as he stood in need of it
It is a difficult h the streets on Sunday, because there are chains stretched across in front of the churches, to prevent their passage during service The land of liberty has also its chains![I-15]