Part 19 (1/2)
_March_ 3d The meat market here is plentifully supplied with excellent well-fed beef, good veal and h the Americans little {197} esteem the latter The poultry too is well-fed and fine In order to shehat point of perfection feeding and grazing have reached, I present the reader with so it with the advertisement extracted from the Aurora Journal of March 3d, 1820
”SPLENDID AND EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITION!
”The public are respectfully informed that twenty-three head of Fat Cattle, eleven Fat Sheep, and two Fat Goats, advertised to be exhibited at the Merchants' Coffee-House, by Messrs White, Shuster, Fryburg, Drum and Miller, may be seen at B Graves's Drove-Yard and Cattle-Market; where the public generally are respectfully invited to view this nificent and splendid shew of fine cattle of American production: such we believe as has never been exhibited for sale, in one day, in any city in the world, at all events never surpassed!!!”
These animals, such as were ”_never before exhibited in any city in the world_,” I saw; and can vouch at least for their being very fat;--the cattle were offrouessed that they possessed (to use a grazier's phrase,) ”an aptitude for laying on fat” Any particular infor, or of the quantity and kinds of food, was not obtained; but I suspect that though their heads were large they had pretty {198} well _eaten them off_, (as prize cattle are sometirand principle of grazing, laying on flesh with the least expense of food, has not here been sufficiently attended to
When slaughtered, another exhibition wasthose of the goats which were very fat;[70]--the tallow in sohed considerably hty to one hundred and thirty stone of fourteen lb The whole sold for a quarter dollar (13-1/2d) per lb; but previous to the sale, it was paraded about the city in one-horse carts, attended by butchers in neat handsonia, and a ea lad dressed as a sailor in it throwing the line, bringing up the rear I have before had occasion to remark a want of spirit, a flatness--I know not what to call it, a the Americans upon public parades and holidays, when other nations are all life and noise: not a hat was thrown up upon this occasion a the crowd, not one hurrah, not even a smile was to be seen; but all passed by with the quiet and order of {199} business: they all see how hts of conceit upon having the honour to attend the best beef _in the whole world_!
Of the state of Agriculture, the little I saw is not worth a colish farh that it precludes the general use of complex implements of husbandry, and the unexhausted fertility of much of the soil, perhaps, renders the use of therown in this State in course of cropping, and we in to know the value of manure
”TO BE SOLD,
”This day a quantity of Street Dirt, in Lots to suit Purchasers”
Of the present low price of land an instance iven in the late purchase of two hundred acres, six round, and the rest of good quality, including a good and newly-erected brick house upon it; for the whole of which the price was five thousand dollars (about 5 7s 6d sterling per acre) I believe that bargains as good, or nearly so, may now be made
9th For two days past it has rained and froze as it fell; the trees, the shi+ps, buildings, {200} &c are all incrusted with icicles: the strongest branches of the trees are everyunder their loads A shi+p at one of the wharfs, being neglected caainst the wharf and the hull was sunk In the country the scene is brilliant and beautiful beyond description: a letter frohbourhood says, ”the spruce, the pine, and the cedar, are coated with transparency, their lireen of their leaves shows to double advantage through the brilliant covering; the twigs of the yello may be coe berries of the sweet-briar, seem covered with pendant diamonds; the trees at a distance appear to be loaden with blosso, and brilliant; but no description can convey an adequate idea of the 'fairy frost-work'”
_April_ 2d As memoranda relative to the cli to those who , I notice, that this day a heavy snow is falling, wind N N E,--the Therht o'clock A M, exposed in shade, 37 of Fahrenheit; yesterday it was above temperate, but the two days before at the above hour of the , as low as 31 and 32: the apricots and other trees which have already put {201} forth blossoms, must have been injured and many of the trees will probably be killed In consequence of these sudden extrearden cultivation is difficult and uncertain, and the land; a dollar is frequently given for a cauliflower, and a quarter dollar (13-1/2d) is considered a low price; for a coe I was asked nine cents (about 5d,) and etables bear a proportionate price
Called yesterday upon Mr H: the conversation turned upon the right of pri to be so called) is not recognised here It is true that a man is permitted to exercise it in his testamentary dispositions, but it is scarcely ever acted upon I observed, that though the descent of estates to the eldest son was strictly agreeable to the spirit of our government, yet many with us wished its abolition were practicable, and were of opinion that this would be a great point gained to the cause of rational liberty; regarding it as strictly an act of justice, that a father should divide his property evenly a children who all claied, that his ly impressed with the equal claiht in his {202} own case act upon it: yet, he added, that should he do so it would be entirely unaccordant with his actual observation of its effects; for, out of very many instances which had come under his observation, he had hardly known any which had succeeded; the children had received their equal portions, but not the experience necessary to proper eht experience with every dollar, and in the end beca characters, or had at least to begin the world again with nothing--I asked how the children, in the instances which he called to ht up, and if they had been placed out properly at first; for if so, it see man should possess a sum of money for immediate support and hich to start in life He said, that in iven excellent educations, but he acknowledged that they had died before the children had been well introduced into life ”Were it otherwise,” he observed, ”were the parent to live long enough to induce habits of industry and economy, and to see his children well settled in their respective professions or trades, there can be no objection to their being equally portioned; else, an elder brother, especially if he conducts himself worthily, {203} forms a sort of support to the rest of the family, a point d'appui, which preserves a share of respectability to theether that property which would otherwise probably be squandered, that respectability which would otherwise be lost”
3d Mr K having soton, the reed to accompany him We left Philadelphia at mid-day, in the steam boat bound for the small town of Newcastle, on the Delaware, distant about forty e one dollar and a half: there were twenty-four passengers on board; a fine day over head, but snow lay upon the ground and the air piercingly cold Arrived at Newcastle a little before five P M, where stages nuhteen miles over the neck of land which here divides the Delaware fro we had each a ticket, nue of corresponding nuo, and this plan prevented all disputes and confusion
Having all taken our seats in these vehicles, which are a sort of covered waggon having {204} benches placed in rows across, and the luggage being adjusted, they started in cavalcade, and in little more than two hours and a half arrived upon the shore of Chesapeake Bay It was now dark, but everything was quickly reer than the first, and without any loss of time its wheels were set in motion and we proceeded for Balti-to at the wharf there about three o'clock nextThe steam boats here have been already frequently described, I shall only observe therefore that they are of great length, capacious, and as coood meals can make the altogether fifty-eight births There are a set of regulations hung up which are strictly observed; one is that no s is allowed except upon deck; another, that no portmanteau or trunk be admitted into the cabin: travellers will do well therefore to take a sacde-nuit with theet too, to bring some book to their taste in case of a want of conversation, for Aeneral rather reserved The conversation here was chiefly upon the recent fatal duel between Coeneral opinion that the latter could not with honour have avoided the ht man had fallen, both on account of his conduct towards Barron, and also for his quarrelso such coonists, of whoes or caravans carry all the passengers withinside, an arrange with servants expensive: ere eleven young and old, closely packed, and juht li up the side leather
Soon after noon we cae Tavern near to it
The dirt, ill-arrangement and absence of common comforts in an American tavern or hotel have already been expatiated upon as under the walls of the Capitol, at the very seat of govern the Hotel, a poor lad, whose dishabille of dirt and rags defies description, ca less fit for use by rubbing its bristles upon his dirtier hand, to ask if he should brush our coats We enquired {206} for a rooh past one o'clock not a bed had been made, or a breath of acceptable fresh air per finished the toilette as well as ere able, our first visit was to the Capitol
It stands finely upon the edge of a high colance one views the subjacent ground down to the Potoht is seen George Town and the ton, the President's House, the Post-Office, &c but alas! excepting these and a few other s, the horse, the cow, and the swine, still graze quietly around the Capitol of Washi+ngton Viewing however the beautiful site of this city with the eye of its venerable founder, and with hiination cover it with houses and ”the busy hum of men,” if we then look round for the attractions of support for this multitude, the illusion vanishes Commerce cannot but with difficulty flourish upon the shallow bed of the river, and agriculturesterility Wherein thena city in a place favourable alone to the eye? Could he make a mistake? {207} That is not probable Could it be to favour his native State, or to gratify a whireat ht build a city upon piles vainly to shew posterity his power: Frederick of Prussia ton ever kept utility in view, and never airatify a vain wish at the expense of his fellow creatures It is then suggested, that, impressed with the iovernment upon a spot so unattractive to the ht be unbiassed by faction
Of the Capitol the centre is yet to rear its head, the wings alone are finished; these contain the Hall of Representatives and that of the Senate--a Library[71]--a Post-Office for the Members--Committee Rooms, &c
The Hall of Representatives is of semicircular form; a beautiful colonnade of native with capitals of Italianwithin the seed curtain drapery between the columns The President's _throne_ is placed on the centre of the base and fronting the seed so as to radiate froaudy carpet
The Hall of the Senate is as studiously plain as that of the Representatives is gaudy; in the saallery is only upon the base of the semicircle, so that a spectator here fronts the Mehout is far preferable to the other
Of the debates on the tapis I can say but little, not having had tiive them much attention,--they were apparently carried on however with more decorum than from report I had reason to expect, except that the exercise of spitting upon the beautiful carpet was continued as everywhere else; the walls of the stairs and the stairs themselves also were covered with the saliva of tobacco chewers
It being an expected co to the Seat of Government to pay their respects to its head, we drove down to the President's house, at the hour appointed; it is a handso, which has now been restored and repaired since the shock given to it by the English; but the gardens and pleasure grounds, reaching down to the banks of the Potoain up to the Capitol, are as yet only {209} to be seen upon paper; rude nature still rules absolute over the tract Reence, studied or accidental, had left it upon the flight of steps to the President's house, an old plank being laid upon the landing that visitors et dry to the door A servant, not a _man of show_, admitted us into a plain hall, and ushered us up stairs to the private apartment in which we found Mr Munroe seated alone at his bureau with various papers before him; he arose at our entrance, and himself placed chairs for us, which his _independent_ servant had left the roo Mr Munroe appeared a plain quiet entlenomy which bore marks of deep reflection: a conversation of ten minutes on indifferent subjects terave me a friendly shake of the hand with a ”God bless you,” spoken in a pleasing tone, which left upon me a very favourable impression