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

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      We left the hospitable city of Boston with grateful hearts, and rode over the Mill-dam into the interior of the country. The horses were changed four times, generally in small villages; Farmingham and Westborough appeared to be the only ones of any importance. The country sometimes seemed wild, and but thinly settled, though the state of Massachusetts is said to be the most populous in North America. We saw no grain,8 though in some places we observed Indian corn, and now and then some millet. Apple orchards were abundant – the trees hung so full of fruit that many of the boughs were broken. The apples are small and yellow, and are employed in preparing the favourite beverage called cider. We gradually approached forests, consisting of oak, chesnut, and elm trees. Sumach also occurs in some places, the bark of which is said to be excellent for tanning leather. There are evidently no forest regulations here, and the timber is very much neglected. The road was for the greatest part a good turnpike, and made in the German manner. We crossed several small rivers and rivulets on wooden bridges, which are very slight, though they are built with a great waste of timber. The planks are not even nailed upon the beams, so that I began to be somewhat fearful, especially as the carriage drove rapidly over. About two miles from Worcester we crossed a lake called Guansiganog-pond, on a wooden bridge one-fourth of a mile in length. The banks of this lake are covered with wood, and present a very handsome appearance. On our way, we were overtaken by a considerable thunder-storm, which settled the dust, and procured us a pleasant evening. We arrived at Worcester about 7 o’clock, and alighted at an excellent tavern. This town contains about four thousand inhabitants, and consists of a principal street, with an avenue shaded with old elm trees, and of several bye-streets, which, like the preceding, are altogether unpaved. The houses, generally built of wood, and but few of brick, are all surrounded with gardens, and stand at a considerable distance from each other, so that the town appears like a village. It has four churches, a bank, and three printing-offices, each of which furnishes a newspaper. There are also printing-offices in many of the villages through which we passed, as well as a fire-engine in each. In the evening we paid a visit to the governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Levi Lincoln, who resides at this place. We found this worthy man, who is universally esteemed by his fellow-citizens, at home with his wife and sister-in-law, and were received by him in the most friendly manner. We spent a very agreeable evening in his company. A proof of the public esteem which he enjoys, is, that at the last election, there was not a single vote against him, an example almost unparalleled in the United States. The governor is styled “his excellency.” On the following morning the governor conducted us to a recently established museum, which is designed chiefly for the collection of American antiquities. It is yet in its infancy, and contains but few interesting specimens; the library also is of small extent, notwithstanding we must render full justice to the inhabitants for their laudable zeal in the cause of natural science. We rode around the town in company with the governor, passed the court-house and prison, which unfortunately we had not time to visit, and returned to our inn. The gardens we passed had rather a wild appearance. They cultivate kitchen vegetables, a few watermelons, and fruit; we saw no flowers excepting the sunflower.

      At 10 o’clock we departed in the Worcester stage for Northampton, distant forty-seven miles. Our company in the stage-coach consisted of two gentlemen and ladies from the state of Mississippi, who had undertaken a tour to the northern states on account of the unhealthy climate in their own country, and who entertained us very agreeably with an account of their estates. The road was worse than yesterday, sometimes sandy, and the horses generally bad, so that on the whole, our progress was slow. The country is less populous, as well as less cultivated, though there is more timber, which, however, is also very much neglected. We observed the cypress and a few large cedars. As there are no grazing laws in force, they are obliged on account of the cattle, and particularly on account of the sheep which graze in these woods at large, to make fences of young chesnut trees which are split into four pieces. These fences generally consist of six rails placed upon each other, with an interspace of several inches. They are placed in an angular form, and at the point where the rails meet, they are placed one upon the other, and usually supported upon a large stone. Such a waste of timber and land is only pardonable in a country where the inhabitants are few, and where timber is abundant. A large extent of wood-land has been cleared only within a short time, and the trunks of the trees which remained have been destroyed by fire. The soil is not particularly fertile. We observed numerous blocks of granite, which may be hereafter usefully employed, the large for building, and the small upon the roads. The villages which we passed on our way are Leicester, seven, Spencer, five, Brookfield, seven, Ware, eight, Belchertown, nine, and Madley, ten miles. They are most of them small places, consisting generally of frame houses, standing at a distance from each other, which are very neat and comfortable; each village has a frame church and a school-house. Stores are observed in most of these places, and in Belchertown there is even a fashionable one. The churches are usually provided with long sheds, in which the carriages and horses of the members of the church are protected from the heat and weather during the service. Ware, situated on the river of the same name, which is crossed by a wooden bridge rather better built than usual, was laid out about three years since; it is a neat, flourishing place, and belongs to the Dexter family in Boston, who have established a woollen and cotton manufactory here, the workmen of which, above three hundred in number, form the inhabitants of the place. Mr. Dexter, of Boston, had entrusted me with an important packet of papers for his brother, who resides in Ware, which I delivered in person. We found Mr. Dexter with his beautiful wife, at his neat and well arranged cottage, situated in the centre of a garden, and received a friendly welcome. From his window he can overlook the whole village and manufactories. Heretofore, said Mr. Dexter, I have received the greatest part of my wool from Saxony, which is preferred here to the Spanish; but at present, we have sheep imported from Saxony, which are permitted to roam at large through the wood, as there are no wild animals in Massachusetts to destroy them; they yield a very superior kind of wool. Unfortunately we were not at leisure to accept of Mr. Dexter’s invitation to look at his establishments. At the tavern, which was perfectly clean and comfortable, we obtained a very good dinner, and continued our journey. The inhabitants of Ware are said to be distinguished for their strict morality. They have a common school, to which they are obliged by law to send their children, as is the case throughout Massachusetts, or pay a fine. In Ware there is but one physician, who has a handsome house, and keeps a well furnished apothecary store. The strict republicans are jealous of the large manufacturing establishments, because they are afraid that individual citizens, in consequence of their property, may have too great an influence upon a large mass of people; but I imagine that the republic has nothing to fear on this head, since the effect of individual influence is counterbalanced by the promotion of the welfare of the poorer classes.

      About a mile from Northampton we passed the Connecticut river, five hundred yards wide, in a small ferry-boat, which, as the night had already set in, was not very agreeable. At Northampton we took lodgings at Warner’s Hotel, a large, clean, and convenient inn. In front of the house is a large porch, and in the first story a large balcony. The gentlemen sit below, and the ladies walk above. It is called a piazza, and has many conveniences. Elm trees stand in front of the house, and a large reflecting lamp illuminates the house and the yard. This, with the beautiful warm evening, and the great number of people, who reposed on the piazza, or went to and from the house, produced a very agreeable effect. The people here are exceedingly religious, and, besides going to church on Sundays, they go thrice during the week. When we arrived, the service had just ended, and we saw some very handsome ladies come out of the church. Each bed-chamber of our tavern was provided with a bible. To-day I observed also a new mode of delivering letters and newspapers. The driver of the mail-coach throws the letters and newspapers, with which he is entrusted, before the houses where they are to be left; he sometimes throws them even into open fields, along the lane leading from the main road to the house.

      About two years ago, Messrs. Cogswell and Bancroft established a boarding-school at Northampton. The day after our arrival, 11th of August, Mr. Cogswell paid me a visit, and introduced one of his professors, Dr. Beck, of Heidelberg, a step-son of Dr. De Wette, of Weimar, who teaches the Latin and Greek languages. Another German professor, whom, however, I did not see, directs the gymnastic exercises. Both these gentlemen conducted us to the institute, which is situated on Round Hill, about СКАЧАТЬ