I visited Mr. White in his tasteful house on the declivity of a mountain, whence he may see the whole of Mauch Chunk. He has a park behind his house, with tame game, which eat out of his hands. They consist of two stags and a female elk and her young one, which is already nearly as large and strong as a horse. They were obliged to shoot the male elk last autumn, as he attacked Mr. White and gave him eight wounds in the legs, with his horns, which confined the poor man about a month to his bed. The assistant of Mr. White ran to aid him, but received some wounds himself in the body, and would have been killed by the furious animal, if, at the cry of the two unfortunate men, a number of people had not hastened with poles and clubs to relieve them.
At five o’clock in the evening, I left the interesting Mauch Chunk and went sixteen miles on the road to Bethlehem, as far as Cherryville. At Lehighton I took the left shore of the Lehigh passing two small creeks, Big creek, and Aquanshicola creek, and at last, (for the fifth time,) the Blue Mountains, through Lehigh Water Gap. This country must be very handsome, and it was with regret that I saw so little of it, but it began to grow dark, was very rainy weather, and thick clouds covered the Blue Mountains. Two miles from Water Gap we passed through a small place called Berlinville, and were yet two miles distant from Cherryville. In the darkness we could not see the posts which stand wherever roads cross, and there was no turnpike. We accordingly lost our way, and at a cross road knew not which direction to take. We ran about in the rain and the darkness, but found nothing which could have directed us. At last we took a road at random, fortunately the right one! But it was midnight before we reached Cherryville, where we found lodgings in a very good tavern. This whole country is inhabited by Germans, and the German language is the only one spoken.
Cherryville consists of but few houses, has, however, an open and handsome situation, and the roads in the vicinity are planted with handsome and large cherry trees, whence the name of the place. I left this place, June 7th, at eight o’clock in the morning, and rode fourteen miles to much-esteemed Bethlehem. We passed through two small places, Kreiderville and Howardtown, and through a well-cultivated country; the grain and fruit, however, were suffering much from the drought, and beyond Howardtown we rode in a thick cloud of dust. I was uncommonly pleased, and felt quite at home, when, on leaving the woods, I saw the friendly Bethlehem before me. But it was quite different from what it was last autumn; it was then cold, and the trees beginning to lose their leaves; now summer had given every thing new life.
At Bethlehem I went to my old quarters at Bishop’s tavern, and soon after my arrival visited the worthy Mr. Frueauf. He was the more pleased with my visit, as no one in Bethlehem believed that I would fulfil my promise of returning, except himself. He took me to his brother-in-law, the Reverend Mr. von Schweinitz, who, at the very time I was at Bethlehem last autumn, had visited my father in Weimar, and spoken with my wife. Mr. von Schweinitz is on the mother’s side a great grandson of Count von Zinzendorf, and the brother of a deceased Lieutenant von Schweinitz, with whom I had been in early years in a company of the Saxon Guards. He is a very agreeable man, who unites a polished education with an excellent character. At dinner I met with pleasure with the old Dr. Stickel. After dinner I walked with Mr. Frueauf and Mr. von Schweinitz, across Lehigh bridge, to a promenade along the river, leading to a semicircular place. Benches were placed here, and a spring was overarched to keep wine, &c. cool. We then went below the garden of the girl’s school to the mill of the congregation, where there is also a place under a handsome linden tree, affording a very pleasing view into the vale. But Mr. von Schweinitz was unfortunately obliged to leave here this afternoon on business of the society, and I could enjoy his extremely agreeable acquaintance but for a short time.
I now visited Bishop Hueffel and the Rev. Mr. Seidel. I went again with the latter to the girl’s school, and again admired the great order which reigns there, and the handsome and fine work of the girls. In the evening I was present at service in the church; but it was not well attended, and consisted merely in singing several hymns, which Mr. Seidel sang, accompanied by a good organ. This devotional exercise occupied perhaps half an hour, and takes place every evening. The rest of the evening I spent in a very agreeable manner, at Mr. Seidel’s house, in company with Bishop Hueffel and Mr. Frueauf.
The following day passed in a very agreeable manner. I read several allemanic poems of Hebel with Mr. Frueauf, who played to me on his piano, which instrument must not be wanting in any house here; these poems may well be called Pennsylvanian, as they are written in a dialect which is spoken here, especially in Lancaster county and in the western country. Bishop Hueffel showed me his handsome collection of sketches of great masters, which are selected with much taste and science, as well as several other good paintings and drawings. This worthy Bishop, is a man of polished education, in whose society nothing but profit can be obtained, on which account I was particularly sorry that I could not longer stay at Bethlehem. I also visited the sister’s house, and these maidens, who have grown old in honour, seemed to be much pleased with my repeated visit. I was obliged to go through all the rooms, sit with several, and tell them of my travels, which was done with the greatest pleasure. I found many of them employed in making hats of fine chips of the ash tree. These are woven in a loom like a bolting cloth, then cut and sewed into hats. A merchant of this place made this speculation, sells the hats at three quarters of a dollar a piece, and is said to do much business.
But I could stay no longer. I left Bethlehem at five o’clock in the afternoon, with much regret, and rode twelve miles to Easton. The road led through a country tolerably hilly, and partly woody, but generally very well cultivated, and through one small place called Butstown. I had for several days past remarked, that instead of fences, dry walls were made in a very neat manner, consisting of numerous stones gathered from the fields. Easton, which I reached at seven o’clock, is a flourishing place of about three thousand inhabitants. It lies in a valley at the junction of the Delaware and Lehigh. The shores of both rivers, especially of the latter, are high; in this are also many rocks, and the country offers a number of picturesque views. The Delaware forms the boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Easton on the right side belongs to the former. The place is regularly built. The greatest part of the houses are built of brick, though there are also some of stone. A large square place stands in the middle, surrounded with a row of Lombardy poplars, in the centre of which the Court-house is erected. I found these poplars in Pennsylvania, and especially in the eastern parts, preferred as an ornamental tree; in the greater part of the villages the streets, and even the roads, for some distance are planted, and some farms are surrounded with them. But it is said they attract insects, which infest the houses, on which account they have been rooted up in many places, as for instance, in the streets of New York; in Pennsylvania, on the contrary, to obviate this evil, their trunks as far as the branches, are covered with whitewash. The butternut tree, the leaves of which resemble those of the ash, is also used as an ornamental tree. At Easton a roofed wooden bridge leads over the Delaware, resting on two stone piers, and is about two hundred and seventy-seven paces in length. Like the generality of these bridges, it is divided into two parts lengthwise, in order that wagons may not meet each other. A handsome chain bridge, about two hundred and ten paces in length, leads over the Lehigh. It is divided into three parts lengthwise; the extreme parts being for wagons and horses, and the middle and smallest for foot passengers. This bridge was erected ten years ago, and though it has borne heavy loads, has not yielded in the least degree.
I received in the evening visits from several Germans, who live in the place, among whom I mention particularly a physician, Dr. Muller, Mr. Schumann, and Mr. Till, from Bethlehem. The latter is a teacher of music and an instrument maker, in Easton. Mr. Schumann was sent to the seminary of the Moravians at Gnadenfeld in Silesia to become a minister. Not being pleased with this, he left Gnadenfeld, visited several German universities to study medicine, returned to America, and now dedicates himself in Easton to the law.
A military academy was founding in Easton, of which great expectations were formed. It was a private undertaking by Mr. Constant. Since it has been seen, that the military academy at West Point furnishes such excellent subjects, a strict military education is becoming more and more popular in the northern states. The number of pupils at West Point is too limited to admit all the young men for whom application is made. A captain Partridge, who was formerly an officer at West Point, but condemned to be cashiered by a court-martial on account of an act of insubordination towards General Swift and Lieutenant-colonel Thayer, has founded a military school at his own expense at Middletown, in Connecticut, in which he is said to give a very good education and solid instruction to the young men entrusted to him. The result of these schools shows more and more the advantage of a military education, and awakens a spirit of competition among individuals to erect similar schools.
I left Easton, June 9, at four o’clock, in the mail stage, and rode through New Jersey to New York, seventy-two miles. We passed the Delaware, and rode on a good turnpike, through a hilly, well-cultivated country, and through some unimportant places to a tolerably high mountain, called Schooley’s Mountain, where there is a mineral spring much frequented in summer. We afterwards came to a neat place in a handsome valley, called German Valley; then passing through Chester and Mondham, also handsome places, we came to Morristown. All these places in New Jersey are well located, containing generally brick and some large houses; the streets are wide, planted with poplars, and in the centre of each place is a roomy square opening, in the midst of which stands a high pole, whence the national flag waves on public days. Churches also are not wanting; I saw four in Morristown, which appears to contain about one thousand inhabitants. The churches have here generally high and white steeples, so that they may be seen at a considerable distance. We came also through a small place, Springfield, and then reached Elizabethtown, a very handsome place, surrounded with neat country-seats, the greater part of which belong to rich inhabitants of New York. After a short delay we left Elizabethtown, rode two miles farther through a meadow ground, much like Holland, and reached a bay. Here we left the stage, and went on board the steam-boat Bellona, being about fourteen miles distant from New York. This bay is properly an inland lake, and is called Newark bay, after a town on it of the same name. It receives its water from two streams, Passaic and Hackensack, and communicates with the sea towards the south through Staten Island sound, and on the east with the bay of New York through the channel of Castleton, through which we also passed. We had on the left a cape belonging to New Jersey, and on the right Staten Island belonging to New York. As it was narrow here we could see with great ease the handsome country-seats and gardens on both shores. But we enjoyed the handsomest and most unexpected sight, as we entered the bay of New York. On the right was the beautiful shore of Staten Island with Castleton, then the quarantine, where, besides several other vessels, lay a Swedish line-of-battle ship, which being sold to the Colombian government, remained here on account of some difficulties in the payment; beyond the Narrows the sea, then Fort La Fayette; we had in front of us the shore of Long Island, and on the left the bay of New York, with the forts on Governor’s and Bedlow’s Island, and between in the back ground the city of New York, with its pointed spires and forest of masts, in the North and East rivers. This sight is wonderfully beautiful, and well deserves to be represented as a panorama. Arrived in the bay, we turned to the left, passed the above-mentioned fortified islands, left Bedlow’s island and the slightly fortified Ellis’s island, passed Castle-garden, and landed from the North river at seven o’clock in the evening. I immediately repaired to the City Hotel in Broadway, where I had lodged last autumn, and occupied again the same apartment which I then did.