LETTER III.

Cheapness of Travelling- Chesapeake and Delaware CanalChesapeake Bay-Baltimore-Equivocal Accommodation. of American Coaches - Baltimore and Ohio Rail-road · Ingenious Principle of Locomotion-Discussion on Slavery -Washington—the Capital - Houses of Congress — the Potomac― Alexandria― Mount Vernon, Country Seat of Washington—his Tomb in the Grounds-Museum at Alexandria-Relics of the Patriot.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

Washington, 20th June, 1831.

HAVING limited the extent of the southern part of my excursion in the states, in consequence of the fast approaching hot season, to the seeing of Washington and its environs; and being anxious, for the same reason, to visit that capital while the cooler weather still prevailed; I determined, after remaining one day in Philadelphia, to proceed thither forthwith, and to defer my acquaintance with the principal city of Pennsylvania, so worthy of being admired for its great beauty and interesting institutions, till my return. While, therefore, I put under sus

JOURNEY TO BALTIMORE.

47

pense for a short period the curiosity you will feel to know something of a town founded by the great and virtuous Penn, I will endeavour to fill up the interval as agreeably as I can, by supplying you with information, if not entirely as interesting, at least that shall have equally the charm of novelty.

In pursuance, therefore, of my design, I left Philadelphia for Baltimore, distant by water ninety-six miles, in that pleasantest of all conveyances in America, a steam-boat. It was truly most splendid and commodious, being much superior to the one in which I came from New York; the copper of her boilers amounting in weight to the enormous quantity of 65,000 lbs. We glided over the surface of the noble Delaware with somewhat of the rapidity of a swallow; and having, as in nearly all these boats, a spacious and elegant deck to walk on, well shaded by an awning from the heat a brilliant sun above us, casting a mellow light on the surrounding landscape - a well-furnished table, as the most squeamish appetite could desire—and without a single jar or jolt in our motion, from bad roads and unelastic springs I required nothing on earth to lend an additional charm to this fairy scene, but the presence of One, far distant across the boundless ocean. But supreme good was never meant to dwell in this state of chequered existence; for

48

CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE CANAL.

in vain should we seek for the "amaranthine bowers" of a better paradise above, could we find one here below!

To give you an idea of the greater cheapness of travelling in America, I need only mention that three dollars, or about 13s. 6d., formed the entire charge of our conveyance through the space of ninety-six miles. For the distance of about fifteen miles from Philadelphia, the character of the river resembles, in flatness, the previous portion of it which I have before described; but in the neighbourhood of Wilmington it rises into considerable elevation, and presents much of picturesque beauty. On arriving at Delaware city—a simple hamlet · magnified into a corporate town, in anticipation of its future greatness -we left our steamer for a small packet-boat, drawn by horses, and continued our progress on the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, which connects the waters of the Chesapeake bay with those of the Delaware river. It is a work of great magnitude and importance, not on account of its length, which is but fourteen miles, but in consequence of the great commercial advantages gained by the union of these two mighty streams, and of the vast difficulty encountered, from the nature of the soil, in its construction; a portion of it, four miles in length, called the Deep Cut, having been excavated in some places to the depth of seventy feet. From its

BAY OF THE CHESAPEAKE.

49

breadth and depth it is calculated for the passage of vessels of considerable burden; and across the canal, at the greatest elevation of the embankment, is thrown a bridge of singular appearance and ingenious construction, rising to the height of nearly ninety feet above the surface of the water.

On reaching the village of Chesapeake - why not equally a city with the other, I could not learn

we again moved our quarters to a second steamboat, and pursued our course down Back Creek and Elk River, the meandering banks of which are diversified by the richest and most luxuriant foliage; recalling forcibly to my remembrance the unexcelled beauty of the vegetation on the shores and islands of the Straits of Malacca. The charm of the whole is greatly heightened by seeing, here and there, a lonely fisherman's hut, most romantically situated amid the deepest seclusion. Some miles lower down, we reached the magnificent Bay of the Chesapeake, one of the finest and deepest in the world; being 170 miles in length to the ocean. There, the waters expand to a breadth of many miles, and exhibit on their bosom several verdant islands, and on their shores, notwithstanding their flatness, much of interesting variety, and many picturesque objects. Fourteen miles from Baltimore, we left the Bay and entered the Patapsco river, conducting immediately to that city, and which is now considered, from its population, the

50

EXTERIOR VIEW OF BALTIMORE.

third in the Union. Passing Fort M'Henry, a military outwork pushed forward on the river for the protection of the town and harbour, and which, in 1814, gallantly repulsed an attack made on it by the British bomb-vessels, we soon afterwards reached our destination.

The appearance of Baltimore, though in reality a fine city, is not near so pretty or interesting as that of Philadelphia; the dingy hue of the atmosphere, arising from steam and other manufacturing chimneys, being much greater than at the latter place the suburbs lining the shore not appearing so good-the houses and stores along the quay presenting a less handsome front-and the Patapsco not being, by any means, equal to the Delaware. So much for mere comparison's sake between the two cities; for, speaking of its absolute merits, it is a highly flourishing and rapidly increasing town, and bids fair to excel its rival, in the course of time, perhaps in population as in commerce. The Washington monumentof which, and of the city, I intend giving you a few notices in a subsequent letter-offers a striking object to the eye on approaching it from the river:

. On landing, I proceeded to take up my quarters at the City Hotel, kept by Mr. Barnum, and considered the best and largest in the States. It is certainly a noble edifice, containing upwards