Young Americans Abroad Part 18

SERENADE, "Qual Suon." {Miss C. Hayes, } {Signor Gardoni,} _Alary_.

DUO, "Un Segreta." {Signor Lablache,} {F. Lablache,} _Rossini_.

TRIO, "Zitti, Zitti." {Miss C. Hayes, } {Signor Gardoni, } {Signor Lablache,} _Rossini_.

PIANO FORTE, Signor Alary.

The glees and madrigals were by the first-named artists; and the pieces were, "Spring's Delight," "Come, let us join the Roundelay," "Foresters sound the cheerful Horn," and "The Winds whistle cold."

The band for the ball was Coote & Tinney's. The concert was very fine. I was most pleased with Miss Hayes,--and next with Lablache, whose voice is the finest I ever heard. The duke came just at the close of the concert, as the seats were being removed for the dancing. Mr. Peabody met him in the reception-room, and led him to the upper end of the ball-room, where he was cordially greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence. The band struck up, "See, the conquering hero comes," and I really felt that such a reception to such a man, and under such circ.u.mstances, was something for an American boy to see; and, if I live thirty or forty years, it will be something to tell about. There were but few comparatively who danced. The company were in groups, in the different rooms, taking refreshments. At one, supper was announced on the ground floor of the house; and here the press was felt to be greater than up stairs. The tables were most gorgeously laid out with every delicacy that unlimited outlay of expense could secure. Perhaps you would like to know some of the company who were present, belonging to England, and who certainly were present for the first time to celebrate the anniversary of American independence. There were the Duke of Wellington, Marquises of Ely and Clanricarde, Lord Glenelg, Lord Charles Manners, Lord Charles Russell, Lord Mayor of London and Lady Mayoress, Viscount Canning, Lord and Lady Dormer, Lord Hill, Lord Stuart, Baron and Lady Alderson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lady Mary Wood; Mr. Justice and Lady Coleridge, the Governor of the Bank of England, Joseph Hume, M.P., and family, Lady Morgan, Miss Burdett Coutts, Admiral Watkins, the Countess of Eglinton, Countess Powlett, Lady Talbot Mala hide, and a very long _et cetera_. Mr. Peabody could not have served his country better than by affording an opportunity for the great and distinguished of England to meet a large party of his countrymen on an occasion dear to Americans, and especially dear when they are far away from their country, and feel that, under the broad flag of the stars and stripes they are every where as safe as if they were in New York or Boston. It was very clear that hostile feeling had ceased, and that the great Anglo-Saxon family can now meet any where and display the brotherhood which they ought ever to feel. Such a meeting could not have taken place twenty years ago; and perhaps this beautiful demonstration would never have been afforded, if the thought had not presented itself to our host, who had the means to carry out the idea with a n.o.bleness that did honor to himself and his country. We left the rooms on a bright, starlight morning, just as day was opening her eye, and were soon comfortably housed at our pleasant home. I write in haste, for we have much to do before we leave London.

Yours affectionately,

JAMES.

Letter 51.

LONDON.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

We have had one of the most agreeable days that I have spent in England.

We received a kind invitation from his excellency Baron Vanderweyer, the Belgian minister, to attend a party given by his lady to the young n.o.bility. The invitations were for five o'clock. We found the finest collection of children and young people, from about four years old up to sixteen, that I ever saw gathered together. I should think there were two hundred and fifty. More beautiful children cannot probably be found; and they were dressed in fine taste, and some very richly. One little fellow, about six years old, was, I think, the n.o.blest-looking boy my eyes ever rested upon. Dr. C. inquired of two or three persons whom he knew, who the lad was; and just then an elegant and fas.h.i.+onable-looking lady expressed how much she felt flattered by the kind things said of the little fellow, and told him that it was her son, the eldest son of the Marquis of O----d, and then called him out of the dance, and introduced the little Lord Ossory to him. Among the ill.u.s.trious juveniles was the future Duke of Wellington, and grandson of the Iron Duke. He is now about four or five years old. I think the sight was one of the prettiest I ever had the pleasure to witness. A few of the parents and older friends of the children were present; and in the company was Mr. Bates, whose kindness to us has been very great.

One evening this week Dr. Choules preached at Craven Chapel, near Regent Street, where he had been requested to speak about America, and he took up Education--the voluntary principle--and Slavery. On the last topic he gave some truths that were probably very unpalatable. He stated that the good people here knew next to nothing of the subject; that its treatment amongst us could not be suffered by strangers; and that all interference with it by this nation was as impolitic, and in as bad taste, as it would be for an American to visit England and commence a crusade against the expenditures of the royal household, as a crying sin, while there was misery among the ma.s.ses in many parts of the kingdom. He spoke of the extreme prejudice which he had met upon the subject, and the rudeness's into which he had found men fall, who seemed to have forgotten every courtesy of life. He gave them many facts, which, though perfectly correct, yet he said he supposed would be interpreted as a special plea on behalf of slavery--although nothing could be more untrue. The prejudice existing here is amusing. They seem to take it for granted that every American raises cotton, sugar, and tobacco, and, therefore, is a slaveholder. However, I find most persons of candor ready to acknowledge that it is questionable whether any good can possibly result from sending English agents to agitate the slavery question in the United States.

There are a great many things which we have seen in London that are less worthy of note than those we have written you about, and yet in themselves are very useful and interesting; and we hope the remembrance of them will be of service to us hereafter. I have been much struck with the prevalence of the same names in the streets as those which are so familiar to me on our signs and boards. We have most clearly a common origin, and there are no two nations in the world between whom there is of necessity so much sympathy on all great questions.

We have visited the exhibition several times since our return, with fresh pleasure on every occasion. In point of show and splendor, we are doing little in compet.i.tion with the English, French and Belgian exhibitors; but we have a wonderful deal here that proves Jonathan to be a smart chap at invention, and no slouch at labor-saving operations. We cannot afford to spend the labor of freemen, who own their houses and farms and gardens, upon single pieces of furniture that would take six months to complete. Our time is too valuable for this. The pauper labor of Europe will, I hope, long continue to be cheaper, than the toil of American mechanics. I do not want to see a man working for thirty cents a day. The people of England must laugh in their sleeves when they see every steamer bringing out our specie from America, and when they see us sacrificing our true interests to aid the destructive policy of free trade. I have never thought so much about the tariff as since I have been here, and I am now convinced that we ought to give suitable encouragement to all kinds of manufactures in our country, and so afford a regular market for the products of the agriculturist. The English agents that flood our country are placing the land under a constant drain; and our specie must go abroad, instead of circulating at home. It is only in times of great scarcity that England will want much of our wheat or corn; and the English very freely avow that they hope to be able, ere long, to get their cotton from the East. It seems to me that our Southern States will need their New England constant market, and that our true policy is to take care of ourselves. Certainly there is a great variety of opinion here about free trade, and I hear gentlemen debate strongly against it. The reciprocity of England is a queer thing.

All this yarn, Charley, grows naturally out of my starting-point about the exhibition.

We go to-night to Bristol, to visit our kind friends once more; thence we run into South Wales, and afterwards set our faces homeward.

Yours, &c.,

WELD.

Letter 52.

BRISTOL

DEAR CHARLEY:--

We have been here with the doctor's friends for several days, and had a most delightful time. Nothing can be more kind than their attentions to us; and the young men--I wish you knew them--have been constantly doing every thing in their power to make our visit here agreeable.

We were glad to find Mr. W---- recovering from his accident; and as the family were at Western Super Mare, a watering-place about seven miles off, for his health, we went and pa.s.sed a couple of days with them. This place is on the banks of the Bristol Channel; the air is thought to be the finest on the western coast of England, and is, we thought, very much like our Newport air. When the tide is in the scenery is pretty, and the Welsh hills; at sunset are beautiful. Off in the Bristol Channel are two islands, called the Flat and Steep Holmes.

The houses here are neat, and the best are lodging-houses. Some of the rows are very pretty, and are sufficiently cosy to accommodate small families.

The true way to enjoy the seaside is to have your own snug quarters.

Here the people are wise enough to build close to the sea, and rows of houses are found all round the bay.

We had a charming ride to a lofty hill, about two miles off, and the prospect was very fine.

Here, as on the continent, we found large numbers of donkeys, with drivers, and ladies use them in their little excursions; and many of them are attached to Bath chairs, a small gig, and a very comfortable conveyance, too, as we proved. The vehicle is made for one person.

I cannot say much for the bathing, which is greatly admired here, but was far too muddy for our taste, after an acquaintance with the n.o.ble beach at home.

The museum of the Baptist College in Bristol is very fine, and the library is large and one of great value. The collection of Bibles is the best in the kingdom, and here is the only copy of Tindal's New Testament. The miniature of Oliver Cromwell, by Cooper, is valuable, and has been often engraved.

We have several times attended wors.h.i.+p at a very beautiful Gothic chapel at Bristol, called Highbury Chapel. It is a perfect gem, built in the Gothic style of the fifteenth century. The edifice is of stone, the roof and wood-work of oak, the pulpit freestone, and over it is a fine painted window. It is one of the prettiest churches we have seen in England; and what gives great interest to the building is the fact that it stands upon the spot where five martyrs were burnt, in the days of Popery, when Queen Mary was on the throne. This burning of Protestants only happens when Catholics have power; they do not advocate the measure in America, although their boast is that their system knows no change.

Inquisitions and martyrs' fires are the adult growth of Popery. If I wanted to know how liberal inst.i.tutions worked, I would look at them where they were established and flourished without hinderance; and if I wanted to know what Popery is, I would go and look at it in its proper territories--Spain, Italy, and Austria. There Popery is intolerant. In France the wings of Romanism are clipped; and if the patronage of the state were withdrawn, as very likely it may before long, the crumbling edifice would fall.

The Rev. Mr. Thomas, the pastor of Highbury Chapel, is a man of superior intellect, and we heard a very fine sermon from him.

I never was in a place where there are so many local charities as I find at Bristol. Every ailment of man seems here to be provided with its needed cure; and as for orphan asylums and refuges for the aged, blind, strangers, &c., they are every where to be found. The Infirmary is a n.o.ble inst.i.tution, and always has two hundred patients in the wards; two thousand were received last year, and eight thousand out-door cases received treatment. A refuge for the houseless poor, opened in winter at eight o'clock, and supported by subscription, has been very useful. I think there are at least thirty different almshouses for the aged and indigent of both s.e.xes; and some of these places are as neat as any thing can be, as to their accommodation.

We like Bristol--its fine old houses, its streets, that tell so plainly of other days, its beautiful environs, and its generous citizens. I wish you could see the prospect from the drawing-room window at a house where we have often visited, and always with pleasure. The house stands on a very high hill; the drawing-room has a large bay window, and outside a balcony. You look down into a charming garden, with fine trees and fountains,--the ground being on a great declivity, I should think a slope of fifty degrees,--and then from the balcony you have the entire city laid out before you, down, down in the valley; while before you, and on either hand, stretch away the hills which adorn this n.o.ble city.

The towers and steeples of the glorious old churches make the prospect, of a fine, clear summer evening, one never to be forgotten. Go where I may, that room, and the kind faces of those who meet in it will often rise in memory.

I have never had my feelings so enlisted by strangers as at Bristol; and we all feel quite at home here.

We are to go off to-morrow on an excursion to Monmouths.h.i.+re, and see Chepstow, Tintern Abbey, and Ragland Castle, and expect that this last of our wanderings will be very gratifying.

I have not told you how much we have enjoyed the fruit in England and on the continent. Cherries and strawberries have been daily on our tables, and of the best kinds. I do not think we ever enjoyed a fruit season so much as this summer. In this humid climate the strawberry grows to an immense size; and the gooseberry, which is here in high favor, is a far finer fruit than with us.

Yours affectionately,

JAMES.

Letter 53.

BRISTOL.

DEAR CHARLEY:--

Let me tell you of a charming trip which we have had this week to Chepstow Castle and its neighborhood. We have told you all about the beautiful scenery of Clifton, and the Hot Wells at this place, and the fine old rooks. Well, now we took pa.s.sage in a little steamer, and went down the Avon between these lofty rocks, and had a new and enlarged view of this wondrous formation. The boat was well filled with tourists, as this is a fas.h.i.+onable trip. The Avon for four miles is quite Rhenish in its aspect; and one or two old castled towers on its crags afford a sort of reminiscence of what we lately saw on the river of rivers.