Travels Through North America, During the Years 1825 and 1826. v. 1-2

We also went with Mr. Tromp to several private wharves on the East river; the largest of these belongs to Mr. Bayard, my banker. On one of the wharves there was a frigate on the stocks, of sixty-four guns, intended for the Greeks; they worked very industriously, and hoped that she would depart for her destination next year. She was built of Carolina live oak like the government vessels. The advantage of this wood is said to be, that in addition to its durability, when balls strike it, they simply make a hole, without many splinters, which latter generally disable more men than the shot themselves. At another wharf lay a frigate of sixty-eight guns, with an elliptic stern; she was built for the republic of Colombia, and is nearly ready for sea; she is built like a ship of the line. Her gun-deck was so high that I could stand upright in it.17 On the upper deck the guns were disposed of in an irregular row, which gave this frigate still more the appearance of a ship of the line. The three masts raked somewhat like those of a schooner, which was said to be more fashionable than useful. When we came on board they were just finishing the officers cabins; they were built of mahogany and maple, roomy, and the state-rooms long, so that the officers are very comfortably situated. The cabins as well as the mess-rooms were below deck, therefore not in the way during an action. In the battery were only the rooms of the captain. There were also two other men of war on the stocks, of smaller dimensions, which are also said to be intended for Colombia. The guns of all these ships were manufactured at Mr. Campbell’s foundry, near West Point.

The house of the American Bible Society, to which I was accompanied by Mr. Eddy, was built by voluntary contributions of its members, and has been three years finished. It is four stories high, built of red sandstone and brick, and cost twenty-two thousand dollars. In the basement story is the office and place of deposit for bound bibles, which lie on shelves, ready to be sent away. The English bibles are sold at one dollar and forty cents, and the Spanish, of which a great number are printed and intended for South America, for one dollar and fifty cents. They also sell a great many new testaments separately.

In the office I saw a great collection of old and new bibles; among them I observed Walton’s Polyglot, of which I had already seen a copy in the library of Harvard College, near Boston; an old bible, printed in Switzerland, in the old German text; also a new very elegant folio bible, printed at Zurich; one in Irish, with the most singular type; a bible half in the Sclavonic and half in the Russian language; in showing the latter they told me that bible societies were prohibited in Russia; also two bibles in Chinese, one printed at Calcutta, and the other at Macao. The printing-office and the bookbindery of the society are in the second, third, and fourth stories of the building, and are in charge of a bookbinder and printer under certain contracts. In the garret they dry the fresh printed sheets. The English and Spanish bibles are stereotyped; they have now in operation twelve or thirteen presses; these presses are made of iron and very simple, but without a drawing a description of them would be unintelligible. To every press there is a workman, and a boy whose business it is to ink the form. At the bookbindery several women and girls are engaged to fold the sheets. These persons work in the third story, and in order to separate them entirely from the males, there is a separate stair for them to ascend. The large hall where the members of the bible society meet, is decorated with two portraits, one of Governor Jay, and the other of Dr. Boudinot, first president of the society.

The high school was also built by subscription; in this building three hundred boys are educated, not gratuitously, as in Boston, but by a quarterly payment, according to the class the boy is in. In the first class every child has to pay three dollars, in the second, five, in the third, seven dollars; the mode of instruction is the Lancasterian. In the lower classes are small children, some only four years old; they learn spelling, reading, writing, and the elements of arithmetic. The boys are generally commanded by the sound of a whistle, like sailors; they rise, seat themselves, take their slates, and put them away, form classes in order to change the different courses of instruction, all of which is done at the whistle of the instructors. In the middle class education is more extended; the children are instructed in grammar, English, Latin, history, geography, physics, and make likewise considerable progress in mathematics. In the highest class the boys are instructed in the higher mathematics, and are prepared to enter college. As I entered the school they were just receiving instruction in geography. The teacher asked, where is Weimar? The answer was, on the Rhine. The instructor then informed the children of the meritorious share my forefathers had in the Reformation, and praised the encouragement given in modern times to literature in Weimar. He spoke altogether with great enthusiasm of German literature, and concluded by wishing that the time might soon come, when instruction in the German language should be given at this school. As I left the room the scholars spontaneously applauded me, and I confess I was affected by it. In this higher class the orders are also given with a whistle, combined however with a small telegraph, which stands on the desk of the principal. This school, which is only seven years old, is already in possession of a very handsome mineralogical cabinet, and a small philosophical apparatus.

The institution for juvenile offenders is situated out of town; it is for children condemned by the court to imprisonment, and are thus confined in a separate prison to improve their principles by education. When they are improved, and have some education, they are then bound out to a farmer in the country, but if they are of an untameable disposition, and need stronger control, they are then disposed of as sailors. The girls are bound out as servants in the country. In order to have a good location for this institution, the society bought, of the United States government, a building, heretofore used as an arsenal, but become useless to the government on account of its distance from the water. It has existed but one year, and has at present forty-four juvenile delinquents. The sexes are separated, and each child occupies a distinct chamber. During the day they are mostly employed in learning, and in domestic occupations. As the building was not sufficiently large to receive all the offenders, a new one was built in the rear of the first, which the boys were employed in erecting. One of the boys who had escaped twice, walked about with an iron chain and heavy iron ball secured to his leg. A young man of respectable family, sixteen years old, who was imprisoned for his great propensity to stealing, was employed as a sub-instructor, account-keeper, and sub-overseer of the institution. Hopes are still entertained that he may be reclaimed.

From this institution, Mr. Eddy led me to another establishment, also founded and supported by voluntary contributions, viz. the Orphan Asylum. The house, in which there are one hundred children of both sexes, is in a very healthy situation; the rooms are large, and the children sleep in wards, which contain twelve beds. They are instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, particularly in mental calculation, and at the age of twelve years they are bound out to farmers. Several of the boys were very expert in mental calculation, and solved the following questions with great facility: – How much is three hundred and twenty multiplied by three hundred and forty; how many days constitute three years seven months and twenty-one days? The manner of instruction is Lancasterian. The principal directors of this institution are Friends, among whom Mr. Collins is said to be the most distinguished.

With Mr. Eddy, I also visited the state-prison, which contains about five hundred and fifty prisoners of both sexes, and can receive seven hundred. The building stands in the village of Greenwich, was built about twenty years, and at that time stood quite insulated; since that period the population has so rapidly increased, that Greenwich is united with New York, and three sides of the prison are surrounded with rows of houses; the fourth faces the Hudson river. In front of the house are the offices and stores, behind this are two courts, which are separated by a church; one yard is for males, and the other for females. The dwellings surround the yards, and are three stories high. The prisoners sleep eight in a room, on straw mats, covered with woollen blankets; every sleeping room is separately locked; the eating-hall is spacious; the fare, good brown bread, soup, and three times a week meat; on other days, fish. The workshops are in appropriate buildings, partly built of wood, standing in separate yards. You find among them all kinds of handicrafts, and all domestic utensils and clothing are manufactured. Articles intended for sale, are generally wooden ware, brushes, and other household utensils. The prisoners receive no money, and if they are backward in working, or otherwise behave ill, they are subjected to solitary confinement, which soon brings them to their senses. There is nothing to object to this building, except that the stairs are of wood, and there is otherwise too much wood about the house, which appears to me dangerous, in case of fire.

On the second Sunday of my stay in this city, I went with the consul, Mr. Zimmerman, to a German Lutheran church, where the venerable Mr. Geisenheimer, performed the service in the German language. It was a curious accident, that, when I entered the church, they sung an ancient hymn, which was composed by Duke William, of Saxe-Weimar. My ancestor certainly never expected that one of the unworthiest of his descendants should, for the first time in his life hear, in the new world, that he had composed church music, and that this hymn should originally greet his ears in New York. The church is very old and inelegant; the congregation was plain: however, they are not in debt, and the church is moreover said to possess a good fund. The organ was good, and the performance of the organist pleasing.

I twice visited the theatre; in Chatham Theatre, situated at the extremity of a public garden, they performed the melo-drama of the Lady of the Lake tolerably well. I was much pleased with the inside of the theatre, and particularly with the decorations; it was full of people, and the heat extreme. Ladies of the first fashion do not go often to the theatre. In the pit persons pulled off their coats, in order to be cool. At the Park Theatre, so called because it is situated near the Park, the drama of William Tell was performed, and the after-piece of Love, Law and Physic. The first is by no means an imitation of Schiller’s drama, but entirely dressed up in English taste, with a full share of battles. Whenever any observation was made in favour of liberty, the pit applauded. The decorations were very handsome, and I was pleased with the internal arrangement of the theatre, but the spectators were not numerous. The visitors of the theatre are entirely unrestrained; the gentlemen keep on their hats in the boxes, and in the pit they make themselves in every respect comfortable.

On the afternoon of the third of October, there was a great procession of negroes, some of them well dressed, parading through the streets, two by two, preceded by music and a flag. An African club, called the Wilberforce Society, thus celebrated the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in New York, and concluded the day by a dinner and ball. The coloured people of New York, belonging to this society, have a fund of their own, raised by weekly subscription, which is employed in assisting sick and unfortunate blacks. This fund, contained in a sky-blue box, was carried in the procession; the treasurer holding in his hand a large gilt key; the rest of the officers wore ribands of several colours, and badges like the officers of free masons; marshals with long staves walked outside of the procession. During a quarter of an hour, scarcely any but black faces were to be seen in Broadway.

Mr. J. R. Livingston, a very respectable citizen of New York, whose country seat is at Massena, near Redhook, about a hundred miles up the Hudson river, near the little town called Hudson, invited me to visit him, and be present at a ball. I accepted the invitation, especially as I was informed I should find assembled there the best society, who generally reside during the summer in the country.

The Grymes’ family, which arrived at New York not long after me, were likewise of the party. Consequently we left New York on the 5th of October, on board the safety-barge Lady Van Rensselaer, for Albany. As Mr. Livingston had invited several other persons of the best families of New York, who were all on board, good conversation was not wanting. About half past five we started, but did not long enjoy the beauties of this noble river, as it soon became dark. During night we were awakened with the unpleasant news that the leading boat had run ashore in a fog. After five hours of useless exertion to get her afloat, we were obliged to go on board the steam-boat Henry Eckford, passing up the river. This boat was old, and no longer used for conveying passengers, but as a tow-boat. She had vessels attached to her, on both sides, laden with goods, which gave her the appearance of a ferry-boat. Though not very pleasantly situated on board of this boat, we had a good opportunity of observing the magnificent banks of the river after the fog disappeared. Instead of arriving at eight o’clock, A. M. we did not reach our place of destination till five o’clock P. M. We were received by the owner, a gentleman seventy-six years old, and his lovely daughter. The house is pleasantly situated on an elevated spot in a rather neglected park. Our new acquaintances mostly belonged to the Livingston family. I was introduced to Mr. Edward Livingston, member of congress, the brother of our entertainer, a gentleman, who for talent and personal character, stands high in this country. He resides in Louisiana, and is employed in preparing a new criminal code for that state, which is much praised by those who are acquainted with jurisprudence.

In the evening about eight o’clock, the company assembled at the ball, which was animated, and the ladies elegantly attired. They danced nothing but French contra-dances, for the American ladies have so much modesty that they object to waltzing. The ball continued until two o’clock in the morning. I became acquainted at this ball with two young officers from West Point, by the name of Bache, great grandsons of Dr. Franklin. Their grandmother was the only daughter of this worthy man; one is a lieutenant of the artillery at West Point, and the other was educated in the same excellent school, and obtained last year the first prize-medal; he was then appointed lieutenant of the engineer corps, and second professor of the science of engineering, under Professor Douglass. On the following day we took a ride in spite of the great heat, at which I was much astonished, as it was so late in the season, to the country-seat of General Montgomery’s widow, a lady eighty-two years of age, sister to the elder Messrs. Livingstons. General Montgomery fell before Quebec on the 31st of October, 1775. This worthy lady, at this advanced age, is still in possession of her mental faculties; her eyes were somewhat dim. Besides her place of residence, which is handsomely situated on the Hudson river, she possesses a good fortune. Adjoining the house is a small park with handsome walks, and a natural waterfall of forty feet. I observed in the house a portrait of General Montgomery, besides a great number of family portraits, which the Americans seem to value highly. According to this painting he must have been a very handsome man. At four o’clock in the afternoon we left our friendly landlord and embarked in the steam-boat Olive Branch, belonging to the Livingston family for New York, where we arrived next morning at six o’clock.

During the last day of my stay at New York, I received two interesting visits, one from the Prussian consul at Washington, Mr. Niederstetter, and the other from a Piedmontese count, Charles Vidua, who has made several journeys through Scandinavia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, &c. and is now travelling through America. Afterwards I paid a few farewell visits. At Mr. Eddy’s I found a whole society of Quakers, men and women; they took much pains to convince me of the excellence of their sect, and seemed not disinclined to adopt me as one of their members; at least they desired me to read the letter of an English sea-captain, who resigned his situation as a captain in the British navy, and turned Quaker. Mr. Eddy gave me likewise Barclay’s Apology for the Quakers, in German, to read and reflect upon.

CHAPTER XI

Journey to Philadelphia. – Stay in that place. – Bethlehem and Nazareth

On the 10th of October we left the city of New York in the steam-boat Thistle, which conveyed us to New Brunswick, through a thick fog which lasted all day. For several days past we had smoky, warm weather, which was ascribed to the burning of a forest in the state of Maine.

The shores of New Jersey seemed flat and swampy, resembling very much the Dutch banks. As we approached New Brunswick, the banks of the Raritan become higher. On our arrival, eight stages were already waiting for us, having each four horses, and the passengers were so numerous that each stage carried from eight to nine persons; we had hardly time to have our baggage packed, and consequently could see nothing of the neighbourhood. We continued our journey through New Brunswick, apparently a busy and well built place, thirty miles by land to Trenton, on the Delaware. The road led through a hilly country, but carefully turnpiked, several pits being filled up to make the road even. This road is formed somewhat according to the manner of German turnpikes, of small beaten stones, with side-roads and ditches. The neighbourhood is mostly woody, consisting of chesnuts and oaks. The forest has been regularly cleared of undergrowth, and has a cleanly appearance. In places where wood has been felled, the land is well cultivated with corn and fruit trees. Most of the good-looking houses we passed were provided with cider-presses. About four o’clock, P. M. we arrived at Trenton, and immediately embarked in the steam-boat Philadelphia.

I was very sorry for this great hurry, because I should have liked to have examined Trenton; it is a very handsome place, and was to me particularly interesting, on account of General Washington’s crossing the Delaware above Trenton, in the winter of 1776-77, and attacking a troop of Hessians, of whom he took one thousand four hundred prisoners. The Hessian Colonel Rall fell in this engagement. This was one of the best fought battles of the American war. There is, moreover, at Trenton, a remarkable bridge crossing the Delaware. It consists of five great suspended wooden arches which rest upon two stone abutments, and three stone piers. The difference between this bridge and others consists in this, that in common bridges the road runs over the tangent, but in this bridge, the roads form the segment of the arch. The bridge is divided in two roads in order that wagons may pass without meeting, and has also side-walks for foot-passengers.

The banks of the Delaware are hilly, well cultivated, and covered with elegant country-seats and villages. The neighbourhood, and the breadth of the river reminded me of the river Main, near Frankfort; unfortunately we could not enjoy this handsome landscape, because as soon as we arrived on board, we set down to dinner, and afterwards it became dark. Amongst other little towns, we passed Bordentown, where Count Survilliers, Joseph Buonaparte, ex-king of Spain, has a very handsome country-seat, and Burlington. About eight o’clock, P. M. we reached Philadelphia. Mr. Tromp, who left New York a few days before, came immediately on board, and conducted us to the Mansion House, where, though we were not so elegantly lodged as at New York, we found every thing neat and comfortable. Next morning we drove out early, in order to get acquainted with the city, which contains more than one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants, and to observe some curiosities. We went up Market street over the Schuylkill. In the middle of this broad Market street or High street, the first objects we perceived were the market-houses; the long, straight, uniform streets, which appeared to be endless, seemed singular to us: they are mostly planted with poplars, and all provided with paved side-walks. In point of showiness of stores and bustle, the streets of Philadelphia are far behind New York.

The two bridges over the Schuylkill are of wood; Market street bridge, consists of three covered arches of very strong wood-work, which rest upon two stone piers, and two stone abutments. These piers and abutments are built upon a rock; the pier on the west side must have cost a great deal of labour, because the rock on which it stands, is dug out forty-one feet below low-water mark. It is said, that this pier required seventy-five thousand tons of stone. The length of this bridge including the piers, is one thousand three hundred feet, whereof the wood-work takes up five hundred and fifty feet; the extent of the middle arch amounts to one hundred and ninety feet, and the two others, each one hundred and fifty feet. A company, in the year 1798, began this bridge, and finished it in six years. At the east end of the bridge is an obelisk, which contains the following inscription: that besides the cost of the ground on which this bridge and its appendages stand, and which amount to forty thousand dollars, there were two hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars expended in building it; about a mile above this bridge there is another over the Schuylkill, which was finished in 1813, and cost one hundred and fifty thousand dollars; it is also of wood, and consists of a single arch, whose segment amounts to three hundred and forty feet, four inches; a toll is paid for crossing both bridges.

Somewhat north of the last bridge, and on the left bank of the Schuylkill are the water-works, by means of which the whole city of Philadelphia is supplied with water, even to the tops of the houses if wanting. The water of the Schuylkill is raised by aid of a dam; the water runs into a basin behind the dam as in a mill-pond; hence it drives by its fall three wheels, each of them sixteen feet in diameter, which are in an appropriate building. These wheels work three horizontal pumps, which force the water through iron pipes into the reservoir, ninety-two feet above the surface of the river. Within twenty-four hours, four million gallons of water can be pumped into the reservoirs. From these basins the water is conveyed by iron pipes into every part of the city. At certain distances there are hydrants, where hoses can be screwed on in case of fire. Generally, one wheel and one pump are worked, the others are kept in reserve, and are only used in case an extra quantity of water is needed, or in case of fire. This work has now been in operation for two years; it was designed by Mr. Graff, an hydraulic engineer; the whole establishment cost four hundred and thirty-two thousand five hundred and twelve dollars; the daily expenses, including two overseers, are five dollars. The dam has also rendered the upper part of the Schuylkill navigable, and in order to unite the upper with the lower part of the river, a canal with a lock to it, has been opened along the western side of the dam.

A high square pyramidal tower attracted our attention; it is a shot-tower, one hundred and sixty-six feet high. The melted lead, which is thrown through a tin box, whose apertures are suited to the size of shot wanting, falls from the whole height into water; while falling it forms itself into shot and becomes cold as it falls in the water. The different numbers of shot are intermixed; in order to separate the perfect from the imperfect shot, they put them in a flat basin, and by a certain motion in an oblique direction, the perfectly round ones roll down into a receiver, whilst the imperfect remain in the basin. After this they throw the good shot into a box of the shape of a bureau, with rockers like a cradle; the drawers have perforated tin bottoms, the upper drawer has the largest holes, and the lower the smallest; when the upper drawer is filled with shot, it is locked, and then the whole box is rocked for some minutes. Through this the shot is separated according to the size, and I believe there are fourteen different numbers. In order to give the shot a perfectly smooth surface, they throw it into a box which is attached to a wheel turned by water, and in this manner they are rolled for some time. They are then packed according to their number, in bags, and carried into the warehouse.