There is not a place in the Union where religion is so little attended to as in New Orleans. For a population of 40,000 inhabitants, it has only four churches; Philadelphia, with 120,000 inhabitants, reckons upwards of eighty; New York upwards of sixty. The city of Pittsburgh, with a population of 10,000 souls, has ten churches, far superior to those in New Orleans. Among the Protestant churches, the high church is best provided for, and the members of this congregation are said to be liberal, which they are generally found to be. They have recently finished a rectory for their minister, and show that liberality which so eminently distinguishes them. Of the Presbyterians we have spoken before. Though they would run ten times on a Sunday to church, and hear even as many sermons, yet they neither pay their minister, who by the bye is far from being an amiable character, nor redeem their church out of the hands of Israel, but prefer keeping their money to contributing towards such objects.
The creoles, who are Catholics, seldom visit their church, and when they do, it is only at Easter. They have a very learned bishop, named Dubourgh, a Frenchman, who is not however very popular, and is spoken of for his gallantries, though a man of sixty. It is whispered about that there is a living proof of this. A more religious character is Pere Antoine, a highly distinguished old Capuchin friar, enjoying universal love and popularity. The manner in which I saw the Governor and the city authorities, with the most respectable persons of the county, behave towards him, does as much credit to them as to the object of their consideration.
Of the two theatres, the American is open during five, and the French during eight months in the year. The American theatre has the advantage of becoming more and more national and popular, although at present it is only resorted to by the lower class of the American population; boatmen, Kentuckians, Mississippi traders, and backwoods-men of every description. The pieces are execrably performed. The late Charles Von Weber would not have been much delighted at witnessing the performance of his Der Freyshutz, here metamorphosed into the wild huntsmen of Bohemia. Six violins, which played any thing but music, and some voices far from being human, performed the opera, which was applauded; the Kentuckians expressed their satisfaction in a hurrah, which made the very walls tremble. The interior of the theatre has still a mean appearance. The curtain consists of two sail cloths, and the horrible smell of whiskey and tobacco is a sufficient drawback for any person who would attempt to frequent this place of amusement. The French theatre performs the old classic productions of Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, with the addition of some new ones, such as Regulus, Marie Stuart, and William Tell. The best performer of this theatre, is Madame Clauzel.
Towards the close of December, the carnival commences; society balls, masquerades, or routs, besides a number of private balls, are then the order of the day. The first, the third, and the last masquerade, and the society balls, are the most splendid. They are regularly attended by the daughters of the merchants and planters, who at this time come to the city. There is, however, nothing more tiresome than a masked ball in New Orleans. Some young merchants, and sons of planters, took it into their heads to assume the character of poor paddies, and they dressed themselves accordingly. This would have been for the most unaccomplished American or English Miss, a fair opportunity for displaying at least some wit. But the creole Demoiselles, when addressed by their lovers, had not a word to say, except, “Oh, we know that you are no Paddies—You are very respectable—You are the wealthy C.” Another would say, “Oh, I know that you are not an Irishman—You are the rich Y.” This was the conversation all round. Still more tedious are the public balls given in commemoration of the eighth of January, on the anniversary of the birth-day of Washington, &c. Until last year, and owing to the shyness of the creoles towards their new brothers, the Americans and creoles stood with their ladies apart, neither speaking nor dancing with one another. Last year both parties seemed willing to draw nearer to each other. Even these entertainments, as well as more important affairs, are very subordinate to the all-powerful desire of “making money.” This is the final object of every one, and on every occasion. Any pursuit of a different tendency than that of gaining money, is neglected, and deemed unworthy of consideration. That which every town of 2000 inhabitants is now provided with, a reading-room and circulating library, you would seek in vain at New Orleans. Though the Anglo-Americans attempted to establish such an institution, which is indispensable in a great commercial city, it failed through the unwillingness of the creoles to trouble their heads with reading. Churches or theatres are not more patronised. To improve the moral condition is far from their thoughts, every one being bent upon—making money, as quickly as possible, in order the sooner to leave the place. New Orleans, considering its situation, should again be what it was lately, were it not for the detestable selfishness which pervades all classes, and has established a dominion over the mind, as painful as it is disgusting. The complaints about luxury are unfounded. The wealthy inhabitants live by no means in such high style as they do at New York, Boston, and even Richmond, upon a less income. There is no cause for finding fault with their extravagance, or their dissolute manners, not because they have better moral principles, but because they are too selfish to indulge in pleasures that would cost “money,” and would mar their principal object, which is to amass it. The American from the north, whilst he inhabits New Orleans, lives in a style far inferior to that in which he indulges at home; and even if he be a permanent settler, he chooses rather to go to the north in order to spend his money there. Only three American houses can be said to receive good company, the rest are creoles. The living in New Orleans, however, is good, though expensive. Board and lodging in a respectable house, will cost sixty dollars a month; in an inferior one, forty. The proper season of business for strangers, and those not accustomed to the climate, is the winter. In the summer, every one retires to the north, or across the lake, only such persons remaining as are compelled from circumstances to do so.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Climate of Louisiana.—The Yellow Fever.
That a country, the fourth part of which consists of marshes, stagnant waters, rivers, and lakes, and which is so near the torrid zone, cannot be altogether healthy, is not to be denied. Although Louisiana is not so salubrious a country as the creoles or settlers inured to the climate, would persuade us that it is; on the other hand it is not the seat of the plague, or of continued disease, as the North Americans or Europeans imagine. Louisiana is no doubt a most agreeable country during the winter and spring. The former commences in December, and continues through January. Rains and showers will sometimes fall, during several successive weeks, snow very seldom. North and north-east winds prevail; a south wind will occasionally change the temperature, on a sudden, from a northern April day to the heat of summer. The coldest winter experienced for twenty years past, was that of the year 1821; the gutters were choked up with ice, and water exposed in buckets, froze to the thickness of an inch and a half. Fahrenheit’s thermometer fell to 20° below zero. In this year, the orange, lime, and even fig-trees were destroyed by the frost.
Towards the close of January the Mississippi rises, and the ice of the Ohio breaks up. This river, seldom, however, causes an inundation. This is generally reserved for the Missouri, the principal river that empties itself into the Mississippi. With the month of February the spring breaks forth in Louisiana. Frequent rains fall in this month, the vegetation advances astonishingly, and the trees receive their new foliage. On the 1st of March we had potatoes grown in the open fields, pease, beans, and artichokes. South winds prevail alternately with north-west winds. The month of March is undoubtedly the finest season in Louisiana; there are sometimes night frosts, though scarcely felt by any one except the creoles, and the equally tender orange flowers. The thermometer is in this month at 68°–70°. At this time prevails a disease, the influenza, which arises from the sudden alternations of cold and warm weather; it has carried off several persons. It is always necessary to wear cotton shirts, whether in cold or warm weather. Towards the close of March, the fruit-trees have done blooming, the forests are clad in their new verdure, and all nature bursts out in the most exuberant vegetation; every thing develops itself in the country with gigantic strides. Already the musquitoes are beginning to make their troublesome appearance, and musquito bars become necessary. Still the heat is moderate, being cooled by the north winds and the refreshing waters of the Mississippi. May brings with it the heat of a northern summer, moderated however, by cooling north and north-east breezes. The thermometer is at 78° to 80°. At this season, frequent showers and hurricanes coming from the south, rage with the utmost fury in those extensive plains. With the month of June the heats become oppressive; there is not a breath of air to be felt; the musquitos come in millions; one is incessantly pursued by those troublesome insects. The worst, however, is, that they will sometimes force their way through the musquito bars. Nothing is more disagreeable than this buzzing sound, and the pain occasioned by their sting; they keep you from sleeping the whole night. Still they are not so troublesome as the millepedes, an insect whose sting causes a most painful sensation. In the month of July the heat increases. August, September, and October, are dangerous months in New Orleans. A deep silence reigns during this time in the city, most of the stores and magazines are shut up. No one is to be seen in the streets in the day time except negroes and people of colour. No carriage except the funeral hearse. At the approach of evening the doors open, and the inhabitants pour forth, to enjoy the air, and to walk on the Levee above and below the city. The yellow fever has not made its appearance since 1822. It is not the extraordinary heat which causes this baneful disease, the temperature seldom exceeding 100°. In the year 1825, when the thermometer rose in New York and Boston above 108°, it was in New Orleans, no more than 97°. It is the pestilential miasmata which rise from the swamps and marshes, and infect the air to a degree which it is difficult to describe. These oppressive exhalations load the air, and it is almost impossible to draw breath. If a breeze comes at all, it is a south wind, which, from its baneful influence, exhausts the last remaining force after throwing you into a dreadful state of perspiration. The years 1811, 1814, and 1823, were the most terrible of any for New Orleans. From sixty to eighty persons were buried every day, and nothing was to be seen but coffins carried about on all sides. Whole streets in the upper suburb, (inhabited chiefly by Americans and Germans) were cleared of their inhabitants, and New Orleans was literally one vast cemetery. Among the inhabitants, the poorer classes were mostly exposed to the attacks of the unsparing and deadly disease, as their situation did not permit them to stay at home; thus women were for this reason, less exposed to its effects; and least of all the wealthiest inhabitants, who were not compelled to quit their dwellings. The creoles and others who were seasoned to the climate, were little affected. The creole, mulatto, and negro women, are said to be the most skilful in the cure of the disease. In 1822, hundreds of patients died under the hands of the most experienced physicians, when these old women commonly succeeded in restoring their own patients. Their preservatives and medicines are as simple as they are efficacious, and every stranger who intends to stay the summer in New Orleans, should make himself acquainted with one of these women, in case a necessity should arise for requiring their attendance. They give such ample proofs of their superior skill, as to claim in this point a preference over the ablest physicians.
The inhabitants are in general forewarned of the approaching disease, by the swarms of musquitoes; although they come in sufficient quantity every summer, they make their appearance in infinitely greater numbers previously to a yellow fever.