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We are so much accustomed to the opening sentences of our own Liturgy, "When the wicked man turneth away from the wickedness that he hath committed," &c., that their opening words startled us at first; but their two or three initiatory sentences are well selected to begin the service; the first being, "The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."

Some of the alterations are improvements rather than blemishes, for the constant repetitions in our service are avoided. The Lord's prayer is less frequently repeated, and the collect for the day, when it has to be read in the Communion Service, is omitted where it first occurs with us. A little more freedom of choice, too, is allowed to the minister in several parts of the service. For example: the Apostle's Creed or the Nicene Creed may be substituted for each other, as the latter is not used in the office for the Communion; and instead of reading the Psalter as divided into days in the daily service, some very good selections from the Psalms are made, which may be substituted either on the week days, or on Sundays. The daily Lessons are shortened, and yet all the portions read by us, out of the Canonical Scriptures, are retained, which is managed by omitting all the Lessons taken from the Apocrypha.

The second lessons on Sundays are specially appointed as well as the first, and not made to depend, as with us, on the day of the month.

The Commination Service for Ash Wednesday is omitted, only the two prayers at the end being retained; these are read after the Litany. The Athanasian Creed is never used.

But, after this long digression, to return to my journal. After the service, Mr. Morgan, who had accompanied us to Baltimore with his daughter, introduced us to Dr. Cox, and we were invited by him to return on Thursday to a great missionary meeting, which is to be held in Baltimore; but this, I am afraid, we shall hardly accomplish. In going and returning from church, we saw a good deal of the city. It is built upon slopes and terraces, which gives it a most picturesque appearance. It is indeed generally reputed to be the most beautiful city in the United States, and from the number of monuments it contains, it has been called the "Monumental City." The principal structure of this kind is the Washington monument, situated on a large open area, and upwards of two hundred feet high. It is entirely constructed of white marble, and has a colossal statue of Washington on the top. The town is built on the banks of the Patapsco, about fourteen miles from where its flows into the Chesapeake. It is navigable here for large ships, and presents one of those enormous expanses of water, which form a constant subject of dispute between papa and William, as to whether they are rivers, lakes, or estuaries. Large as the expanse of water is, the distance from the sea is at least 200 miles, and the water is quite fresh.

WILLIAM'S DEPARTURE.--GREENWOOD CEMETERY.--JOURNEY TO WASHINGTON.--ARRANGEMENTS FOR OUR JOURNEY TO THE FAR WEST.--TOPSY.

Washington, 16th Oct. 1858.

I closed my last letter to you on the 12th, and gave it to William to take to you. On the following day we bade him a sorrowful farewell, made all the more melancholy by the day being very rainy, which prevented our seeing him on board. We so very rarely see rain, that when it comes it is most depressing to our spirits, without any additional cause for lamentation; but it never lasts beyond a day, and is always succeeded by a renewal of most brilliant weather.

We left New York yesterday, end slept at Philadelphia. When we went there last week, the first thirty miles of our route was across the Bay of New York, in a steamer, and, on our return, we came the whole way by rail; but there is a third line, which we took on this occasion, called the New Jersey Line, by which we went as far as Burlington by rail, and thence a distance of nineteen miles in a steamboat down the Delaware. It was splendid moonlight, and the town of Philadelphia, which stretches along the banks of the river for nearly five miles, was well lighted, and the river being crowded with ships, the whole effect was very pretty.

As we were about to part, the old gentleman addressed us both, and turning to me, said, "I must tell thee how well it was in thee to come out to this country with thy husband, and not to let him come alone. A man should never allow himself to be separated from a good wife, and thou doest well, both of thee, to keep together." To which complimentary speech I replied, that I had made it the one stipulation in giving my consent to papa's crossing the ocean that I should accompany him; and I confessed that I little thought at the time that I should be taken at my word, or that our berths would be engaged the following day; but hoped rather, by such stipulation, to prevent his going altogether. I added that if all went well with our family at home, as I trusted it would, I had no reason to do otherwise than be very glad I had come. We arrived here at last. The Americans are very proud of their country. But, oh! it would do them all good to see this blessed Washington, which few of them do, except their Senators and Members of Congress, and others connected with government. Well may Dickens term it "the city of magnificent intentions." Such ambitious aspirings to make a great city! Such streets marked out; twice or three times the width of Portland Place! and scarcely anything completed, with the exception of some public buildings, which, to do them justice, are not only on a magnificent scale, but very beautiful. I shall, however, delay my account of Washington till we have seen more of it, as we stay here till Monday afternoon, when we return to Baltimore so as to allow us to make a start for the West on Tuesday.

On Tuesday the 19th inst., therefore, we make our real start for the West, and shall probably the first night reach Harper's Ferry, a place which President Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," which you will find in papa's library, said, was "one of the most stupendous scenes in nature, and well worth a voyage across the Atlantic to witness;" and this was written when these voyages were not so easily accomplished as they are now. But this railway has opened up scenery which was not known to Jefferson, and is said far to surpass, in beauty, even this celebrated Harper's Ferry; but of this we shall soon be able to judge for ourselves.

FOOTNOTE:

I have tried, in vain, to alter this word, which is one coined at home, and used by the family, but cannot find a substitute for it. Lest, however, it be misunderstood, I must explain that it is applied in reference to the truly good and pious among our friends; as the word "saints," ought to be, had not that term been unhappily associated with the ridiculous, and a false pretension to religion.

WASHINGTON.--BAPTIST CLASS-MEETING.--PUBLIC BUILDINGS.--VENUS BY DAYLIGHT.--BALTIMORE AND OHIO RAILWAY.--WHEELING.--ARRIVAL AT COLUMBUS.

Washington, 18th Oct. 1858.

I despatched my last to you the day before yesterday, and now must give you an account of our employments yesterday . The morning was very hot, and very lovely, with a clear blue sky, and I wished that impertinent young lady, Emily, could see what sort of weather we have here, and how her good wishes for us are accomplished, beyond anything she can suppose; for we can barely support the heat in the middle of the day.

The weather being so lovely, we set off to a church in Georgetown, a suburb of Washington, where many of the foreign ministers live, and a very pretty suburb it is; but when we got there, papa's head began to ache so much, that we thought it best to return to a church nearer the hotel, so that if he became worse, he might leave the church, and walk home. We were able, however, to sit out the service, and heard a very dull sermon from a young missionary, who was to sail, two days afterwards, with his wife, from Baltimore, for Africa; his sermon was greatly taken from Livingstone's book, and he spoke more strongly against slavery than we should have looked for in a slave state. After the sermon, papa and I went to him, and we asked him a little about where he was going, &c. &c. He scarcely seemed to know, acknowledged he was but little acquainted with the work he had before him, and, finally, when papa put a piece of gold into his hand, he looked at it, and asked whether it was for himself or the Mission. We answered with some degree of inward surprise, that it was for any useful object connected with it, and we took leave of him, wishing him God-speed, but lamenting that a more efficient man was not going out.

Papa became much more head-achy during the day. Mr. Erskine called to see if we wanted anything, and strongly advised my going to a negro chapel in the evening, and hearing one of the blacks preach. They are mostly Methodists, that is Wesleyans, or Baptists. He said I should hear them singing as I passed the doors, and could go in. Poor papa, by this time, was fit for nothing except to remain quiet, so Thrower and I set out in the evening, and found, not without some difficulty, an upper room, brilliantly lighted, over a grocer's warehouse. We went up two pairs of stairs, and I did so in fear and trembling, remembering what the odour is when a large dining-room is filled with black waiters: a sort of sickly, sour smell pervades the room, that makes one hate the thought, either of dinner, or of the poor niggers themselves. It seems it is inherent in their skin; to my surprise and satisfaction, however, we found nothing of the kind in this room, the windows of which had been well opened beforehand. It was a large, whitewashed apartment, half filled with blacks.

Although I have felt it scarcely possible to describe the scene without a certain mixture of the ludicrous, no feeling of irreverence crossed my mind at the time. On the contrary, my sympathies were greatly drawn out towards these our poor fellow-creatures; and there was something most instructive in the sight of them there assembled to enjoy those highest blessings--blessings of which no man could rob them. Religion seemed to be to them not a mere sentiment or feeling, but a real tangible possession; and one could read, in their appreciation of it, a lesson to one's own heart of its power to lift man above all earthly sorrow, privation, and degradation into an upper world, as it were, even here below, of "joy and peace in believing."

To-day, after posting our letters for England, papa went to General Cass, Secretary of State for the United States, and delivered his letter of introduction from Mr. Dallas, the American Minister in London. He had a long and interesting interview with him.

We went afterwards to the Capitol, and all over it, under the guidance of our coachman, a very intelligent and civil Irishman. We were quite taken by surprise at what we saw; for not only is the building itself, which is of white marble, a very fine one, but the internal fittings, or "fixings," as they perpetually call them here, show a degree of taste for which before leaving England we had not given the Americans credit. Two wings are now being added to the original building, and are nearly completed; and a new and higher dome than the original one is being built over the centre. The wings are destined to be occupied, one by the Senate, and the other by the House of Representatives: in fact, the House of Representatives already make use of their wing; but the Senate will still hold another session in the old Senate House, as the Senators have not yet quite decided upon their "fixings." The new chamber is, however, sufficiently advanced to enable us to form a judgment of what it will be; and although, perhaps, inferior in beauty to that of the House of Representatives, it is in very good taste: but the room where the Representatives meet is really most beautiful. The seats are ranged in semi-circles, with desks before each, in much the same manner as in Paris; which gives a more dignified appearance than the arrangement of the seats in our House of Commons. The floors throughout a great part of the building are in very good tesselated work, made by Minton, in England; as the tiles made in this country do not preserve their colour like the English ones. The ceilings of some of the passages are beautifully decorated; and one of the committee rooms, appropriated to agricultural matters, is remarkably well painted in fresco; all the subjects have allusion to agricultural pursuits. In the centre of the building, round the circular part, under the dome, are some very indifferent pictures, representing subjects connected with the history of America, beginning with the landing of Columbus. Two out of the eight represented incidents in the war of independence; one being the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, who seemed very sorry for himself. The view from the Capitol is fine; the gardens round it are kept in good order, and there being a great deal of maple in the woods, the redness of the leaf gave a brilliant effect to the scene.

When mentioning our visit to General Cass, I omitted to state the magnificence of the Treasury, which adjoins his official residence; an enormous structure, also of white marble. We counted thirty pillars in front, of the Ionic order, besides three more recently added on a wing, these three pillars of great height being cut out of single blocks of marble. We passed this building again in going from the Patent-Office to Lord Napier's, where we had an appointment with Mr. Erskine.

The noble mansion of England's representative is a cube of brick-work painted dark-brown, equal in size, and very much resembling in appearance, our own D. P. H.; but standing in a melancholy street, without the appendages of green-house, conservatory, and gate, as in that choice London mansion. The Honourable Secretary's apartment was downstairs in the area, and the convenience of its proximity to the kitchen, with the thermometer at 85? in the shade, as it was to-day, was doubtless duly appreciated by him, he having just arrived from Turin. We found him waiting for us, and he accompanied us to the President's residence, called the White House. It is a handsome but unpretending building, not like its neighbours, of marble, but painted to look like stone; the public reception-rooms are alone shown, but a good-natured servant let us see the private rooms, and took us out on a sort of terrace behind, where we had a lovely view of the Potomac. The house is situated in a large garden, opposite to which, on the other side of the road, is a handsome, and well-kept square. The house has no pretensions about it, but would be considered a handsome country house in England; and the inside is quite in keeping, and well furnished. The furniture is always renewed when a new President takes possession; and as this is the case every four years, it cannot well become shabby.

The view of the Potomac and of the hill and buildings of George Town was very extensive and remarkable; but before we had feasted our eyes sufficiently on it, we were summoned to see one of the most lovely sights I ever witnessed. Though it was mid-day, and the sun was shining most brilliantly, we saw the exquisitely sharp crescent of Venus in the pale sky, and about half the apparent size of the moon. The object-glass of the instrument was divided into squares, and she passed rapidly across the field of the telescope, sailing, as it were, in ether; by the slightest motion of a tangent-screw of great length, we were able to bring her back as often as we liked, to the centre of the field. This mechanical process might, however, have been rendered unnecessary, had the machinery attached to the instrument been wound up; for when this is the case, if the telescope is directed to any star or point in the heavens, it continues to point to it for the whole twenty-four hours in succession, the machine revolving round in the plane to which it is set. The instrument is a very powerful one, and, like the smaller one we looked through before, was made by Fraunhofer, a famous optician at Munich. There are some other very wonderful instruments which we had not time to see, as we had to make desperate haste to get some dinner, and be off by the late train to Baltimore. But before I take leave of this subject, I must return for a minute or two to that most perfectly lovely creature Venus. She was a true crescent; we could imagine we saw the jagged edge of the inner side of the crescent, but the transition from the planet to the delicate sky was so gradual, that as far as this inner edge was concerned, this was probably only imagination. Her colouring on this jagged side was of the most transparent silvery hue. The outer edge was very sharply defined against the sky, and her colour shaded off on this side to a pale golden yellow with a red or pink tint in it; this being the side she was presenting to the sun. No words can express her beauty. She is the planet that I told you lately looked so very large.

On our way to the station, and in our drives about the town, we had an opportunity of seeing the City of Washington. The town was originally laid out by Washington himself, and divided off into streets, or rather wide avenues, which are crossed by other streets of great breadth; but though the streets are named, in many of them no houses are yet built, and those that are have a mean appearance, owing to their being unsuited in height to the great width of the streets, which are in many cases, I should think, three times the width of Portland Place, and long in proportion. Notwithstanding, therefore, the beauty of the public buildings, the town greatly disappointed us.

On our arrival at Baltimore this evening, Mr. Garrett, the principal director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, called upon us and brought with him Mr. Henry Tyson, the chief engineer, or as he is called, the master of machinery of the road, whom he was kind enough to appoint to go with us as far as Wheeling, the western terminus of the line.

This is the most remarkable railway in America for the greatness of the undertaking and the difficulties encountered in passing the Alleghanies, which the projectors of the road could only do by crossing the range at a height of 2700 feet, a project that most people looked upon as visionary. We are to start to-morrow morning at eight o'clock.

Though Mr. Garrett talked of the directors' car, we presumed it was only a common carriage such as we had been accustomed to, but appropriated to their use; instead of this we found a beautiful car, forty feet long by eight wide, of which the accompanying diagram shows a plan drawn to scale. Outside: painted maroon, highly varnished with Canada balsam: the panels picked out with dark blue. Inside: painted pure white, also varnished. Ceiling the same, divided into small narrow panels, with excellent ventilators at each end. Round the car there were twenty-two windows, not shown in the plan, and three brilliant lamps in the sitting-room and hall, and one in the bed-room; these were lighted when passing through the tunnels. There were three hooks in the wall serving for hat pegs, and at the same time to support two flags for signals. A large map of the mountain pass from Cumberland to Wheeling hung over the sofa opposite the table. The table was covered with green baize stretched tightly over it. On the table were placed a large blotting-book, ink, and pens, three or four daily newspapers which were changed each day, the yearly report of the railway, a peculiar time-table book, containing rules for the guidance of the station men, times of freight and passenger trains meeting and passing each other, &c. Papa has these. The sofas are covered with a pretty green Brussels carpet quilted like a mattress with green buttons, chairs covered with corded wollen stuff, not a speck or spot of ink or smut on anything. A neat carpet, not a speck or spot on it, a sheet of tin under and all round the stove. Pantry cupboard containing knives and forks, spoons, and mugs. Bed-room berths much higher and wider than in a ship. Red coloured cotton quilts, with a shawl pattern, two pillows to each bed, pillowcases of brilliant whiteness, sofa bed larger and longer than a German bed. White Venetian blinds occupied the places usually filled by the door panels and window shutters. Green Brussels carpet like the cover of the sofa; three chairs to match. The windows in the sitting-room had grey holland curtains running on wires with very neat little narrow strips of leather, and a black button to fasten them, and a button and well made button-hole below to keep them from blowing about when the window is open. Looking-glass in neat gilt frame, hung over a semicircular console in the bed-room, another near the washhandstand, where a towel also hangs. Two drawers for clothes, &c. under berths. Table-cloth for meals, light drab varnished cloth, imitating leather, very clean and pretty, china plates, and two metal plates in case of breakages. Luncheon consisted of excellent cold corned beef, tongue, bread and butter, Bass's ale, beer, whiskey, champagne, all Mr. Tyson's. We supplied cold fowls, bread, and claret. The door at the end opens on a sort of platform or balcony, surrounded by a strong high iron railing, with the rails wide enough apart to admit a man to climb up between them into the car, which the workmen always do to speak to Mr. Tyson. Usual step entrance at the other end. The platform can hold three arm chairs easily, and we three sat there yesterday evening, talking and admiring the view. The door was always open and we were in and out constantly. Thrower and Gaspar, a capital German man-servant, sat in the hall. Carpet swept by Gaspar after dinner to remove crumbs. I wear neither bonnet nor shawl, but sit at the table and work, make mems., dry red leaves, and learn their names from Mr. Tyson. Papa is always moving about, and calling me out constantly to admire the view from the balcony. Yesterday on the lower ground it was much too hot in the middle of the day to be there, and we were glad to be within the car, and to shade the glare of the sun by means of our pretty grey curtains, though it was cooler on the mountain.

But I must begin to describe our road more methodically. As we wished to get over the early part of it as expeditiously as possible, we started by the mail train at 8.30. It will be impossible to describe at length all the pretty places we passed, respecting each of which Mr. Tyson had always something to say. Soon after leaving the Washington junction, we came to a sweet spot called Ellicott's Mills, where he had spent his boyhood, and where every rock was familiar to him. The family of Ellicotts, who had resided there from the settlement of the country, were his mother's relations, and by his father's side he was descended from Lord Brooke, who was likewise one of the original settlers, the Warwick branch of the family having remained in England.

We first came in sight of the Blue Ridge at about forty miles from Baltimore. During the greater part of this distance we had been following up the Patapaco river; but soon after this, at the Point of Rocks, we came upon the Potomac. Here the Baltimore and Ohio canal, a work of prodigious magnitude, and the railway run side by side between the river and very high cliffs, though the space apparently could afford room only for one of them. We reached Harper's Ferry a little after twelve, and the view is certainly splendid. Mr. Tyson had made arrangements to give the passengers a little extra time for dinner, that he might take us to see the view from the heights above without materially detaining the train; but the sun was so powerful that we were glad to limit our walk in order to see a little in detail the bridge over which we had just passed in the railway cars. It is a very wonderful work, but not so remarkable for its length as for its peculiar structure, the two ends of it being curved in opposite directions, assuming the form of the letter S. It passes not only over the river but over the canal, and before it reaches the western bank of the river it makes a fork, one road going straight on, and the other, which we went upon, forming the second bend of the S.

The curves in the railway are very sharp, and a speed of thirty-five miles an hour is kept up in going round those which have a radius of 600 feet. This, and repeatedly recurring ascents of a very steep grade, require engines which unite great power with precision in the movements, and these are admirably combined in Mr. Tyson's engines; which, moreover, have the advantage of entirely consuming their own smoke, and we had neither sparks nor cinders to contend with. The common rate of travelling, where the road is level, is forty miles an hour, and at this rate each engine will take eighteen cars with 2600 passengers.

The difficulties they have to contend with on this road are greatly increased by the snow drifts in winter. Mr. Tyson told us that on one occasion the snow had accumulated in one night, by drifts, to fourteen feet in the cuts, and it required ten freight engines of 200-horse power each, or 2000-horse power altogether, to clear it away. Three hundred men were employed, and the wind being bitterly cold, hardly any escaped being frost-bitten. One of the tenders was completely crushed up by the force applied; and in the middle of the night, with the snow still driving, and in a piercing wind, they had to clear away the wreck: nineteen engines, called snow ploughs, are kept solely to clear away the snow.

At five o'clock we reached Cumberland, where we slept. After dinner we walked out in the most lovely night possible to see the town, and the moon being nearly full, we saw the valley as distinctly almost as by daylight. There is a great gap here in the mountain, which forms a prominent feature in the landscape, and a church on the summit of a high hill rendered the picture almost perfect. We here saw the comet for the last time.

Next morning, the 20th October, we started early, in order to be able to take the mountain pass more leisurely, attached ourselves at 6.15 to the express train, and reached Piedmont at 7.30. During this part of our journey we continued to follow up the Potomac, but here we left it to follow up the Savage river, and for seventeen miles continued to ascend to Altamont, where we attained the summit level of 2700 feet above the sea. We cast ourselves off from the express at Piedmont, and afterwards tacked ourselves on to a train which left Piedmont at eight o'clock, and got to Altamont at 9.45; these seventeen miles occupied an hour and three quarters, the grade for eleven miles out of the seventeen being 116 feet per mile.

It is almost impossible to describe the beauty of the scenery here. The road goes in a zig-zag the whole way. We passed several substantial viaducts across the Savage river, often at a great height above the valley, and on many occasions, when the road made one of its rapid turns, a vista of many miles up the gorges was obtained.

Of course the greatest skill is required in driving the engine up what is called the "Mountain Division." We mounted on the locomotive, to have a more perfect view of the ascent. This locomotive is very different to an English one, as the place where the driver sits is enclosed on three sides with glass, so as to shelter him and those with him from the weather. Mr. Tyson thought it necessary to drive a small part of the way himself; but after that, he resigned his position, as will be seen by the following certificate, to one equally qualified for an emergency, though hitherto his peculiar talent in that line had not been developed.

"Baltimore and Ohio Railway, Machinery Department. "Baltimore, Oct. 21st, 1858.

"The term of his occupation has been characterised by a close attention to his duties, and consequent freedom from accidents.

"HENRY TYSON, "Master of Machinery, "Baltimore and Ohio R. R. Co."

Papa, in fact, drove the engine a considerable way up the steepest part of the ascent, and as the driver must command an uninterrupted view of the road before him, he had a capital opportunity of seeing the country. Thrower and I sat on a seat behind him; but he alone had the full view, as the chimney of the engine rather obstructed ours in front, though on each side we saw perfectly. The whistle of the engine, when so close to our ears, was splendid, or perhaps you would have said, terrific.

From Altamont to Cranberry Summit, where the descent begins, there is a comparatively level country, called the Glades, which are beautiful natural meadows undulating and well cultivated, with high ranges of mountains, generally at no great distance from the road, but varying a good deal in this respect, so as sometimes to leave a considerable plain between it and the range. From these glades numerous valleys diverge, and, in looking down these, splendid vistas are obtained. The verdure even now is very bright, and the streams, which are everywhere to be seen, are remarkably clear and pure; so that although the interest of the road was less absorbing than when we were ascending the mountains, it was still very great. From Cranberry Summit the distant views to the westward were quite magnificent.

We now entered on what is called the "Cheat River Region," and the descent to Grafton is even more beautiful than the ascent to Altamont. To give you some slight idea of the nature of the road and of the scenery, I enclose a photograph of one of the bridges over the Cheat River. This is called the Tray Run Viaduct, and it is 640 feet long; the masonry is seventy-eight feet high, and the iron-work above that is eighty feet. The road here is about seven hundred feet above the river, which runs in the valley below. This river, the Cheat, is a dark, rapid, mountain stream, the waters of which are almost of a coffee-colour, owing, it is said, to its rising in forests of laurel and black spruce, with which the high lands here abound.

We passed hereabouts many curious-looking log houses, a photograph of one of which we enclose. You will observe the man with a cradle by his side, and his whip, gun, bottle, jar, &c., also the chimney, which is a remarkable structure, consisting of a barrel above a heap of stones, showing the resources of the West.

Before reaching Grafton, we passed the Great Kingwood tunnel, which is much thought of in America, being 4100 feet in length, though it is greatly beat by many of our tunnels in England; but tunnels are rare in America, as the roads generally run through the valleys.

We may mention that in this day's journey, we passed the source of the Monongahela, the chief branch of what afterwards becomes the Ohio. It is here a tiny little clear stream, winding through the glades we have spoken of.

On Thursday morning, though it was past one before we went to bed, I was up at six, as soon as it was light, to make a sketch from our bed-room window, which will give you hereafter some notion of the scene, though neither description nor drawing can convey any real idea of it. After breakfast, papa and I and Thrower went up a tolerably steep hill to the cottage of three old ladies, whose characters I had an opportunity of studying while papa went on with the guide to the Great National or State Turnpike Road, or "Pike Road" as they called it, which used to be the connecting link between Washington and Southern Virginia. Though much disused it is still well kept up. After going along it for some distance, papa struck up to the top of a high hill, from whence he had a magnificent view of the valleys on both sides of the ridge he was on, and he was surprised to find what large tracts of cultivated ground were visible, while to those below there seemed nothing but forest-covered mountains, but between these he could see extensive glades, where every patch was turned to account. This we afterwards saw from other parts of the road.

While papa was taking his hasty walk, Thrower and I sat down in the log-hut where these three old spinster sisters had lived all their lives. They were quite characters, and cultivated their land entirely with their own hands; though, when we asked their ages, two of them said they were "in fifty," and one "in sixty;" they were most intelligent and agreeable, and two looked very healthy; but the third had just had a severe illness, and looked very ill. One was scraping the Indian corn grains off the cob, using another cob to assist her in the work; we watched the beautifully-productive plant, and admired its growth. Their cottage or hut looked quite comfortable, and there were substantial log stables and farm-buildings adjoining. When the weather permitted, they got down the hill to Grafton to the Methodist meeting. There is no Episcopal church there yet, excepting a Roman Catholic one, to which they will not go, though they speak with thankfulness of the kindness they have received from the priest.

The people marry so early that the place was almost overflowing with children, who certainly bore evidence in their looks to the healthiness of the climate.

This being a slave state, there was a sprinkling of a black population; and among the slaves we were shocked by observing a little girl, with long red ringlets and a skin exquisitely fair, and yet of the proscribed race, which made the institution appear more revolting in our eyes than anything we have yet seen. The cook at the hotel was a noble-looking black, tall and well-made, and so famous for his skill at omelettes, that we begged him to give us a lesson on the subject, which he willingly did. I asked him if he were a slave, and he replied, making me a low bow, "No, ma'am, I belong to myself." The little red-haired girl was a slave of the mistress of the hotel.

We again linked ourselves on to a train which came up at about one o'clock, and at Benton's Ferry, about twenty miles from Grafton, we crossed the Monongahela, over a viaduct 650 feet long; the iron bridge, which consists of three arches of 200 feet span each, being the longest iron bridge in America. Though the water was not very deep, owing to a recent drought, it was curious to see the little stream of yesterday changed into an already considerable river, almost beating any we can boast of in England.

We here left our valued friend Mr. Tyson, who after calling on us at the hotel in the evening, was to return at ten o'clock to Baltimore. We certainly never enjoyed a journey more. He is the most entertaining man you can imagine, full of anecdotes and good stories; and, as we have said before, with such a marvellous memory, that he could repeat whole passages of poetry by heart. His knowledge too of botany was delightful, for there was not a plant or weed we passed of which he could not only tell the botanical and common name, but its history and use. He has travelled much, having been employed in mining business in the Brazils. He has also been in the West Indies, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and on the Continent of Europe.

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