The buildings for the celebration of public worship, are generally denominated “churches;” I conceive this uniformity of designation is caused by the absence of an established religion. St. Paul’s, in Broadway, a Protestant episcopal church, is the principal ecclesiastical edifice in the city. It is a plain modern structure composed of free-stone, with a steeple of the same material; the east end is ornamented by a colonnade, supporting a pediment enriched with a statue of St. Paul. The whole is well disposed, and produces an agreeable effect; but the interior is merely plain and neat, without any pretension whatever to splendour. This church has the advantage of a burial ground, a convenience somewhat questionable, and by no means general throughout the city.
All the other churches are composed of either brick or red granite, and appear to be erected without any design whatever to add to the beauty of the city. There are neither domes nor towers; the steeples are by no means lofty, and from the elevation of the surrounding dwellings, they seem lower than they are in reality. Each of these erections shelters one bell, or at most two; and when all these are in united operation on a Sunday morning, the universal clanking may be conceived to be any thing but harmonious.
Almost every sect and denomination of religion has its temple and its supporters; but it must be conceded, that the most respectable part of the citizens attend the Protestant episcopal churches; and the proportion in this city, is acknowledged to correspond with that of the larger towns in England.
There are two principal theatres, the Park and the Bowery; besides a number of minor ones, continually springing up and declining. The blacks, who are never behind in rivalling their superiors, contrive to keep open one, and sometimes two theatres; where the popular characters of Lady Macbeth, Juliet, the fair Desdemona, and others, are all some way sustained by the sable sisterhood. A lively inmate of our boarding-house, amused us one morning at breakfast, with an account of his last night’s entertainment at the black theatre, where a sable “Richard” was the point of attraction. In order to please his audience, the crooked-backed monarch politely accommodated his language to the meridian of the place: whenever the word “York” occurred, he invariably altered the text, and called it “New York!”—the “house of New York,” &c. In this instance, the ladies were personated by negresses!
Rents are here much higher than in London. On investigation, I suppose it would be found that the value of building ground in the lower part of this city, is exceeded by no area of equal dimensions in England—perhaps not in the world. The whole of the mercantile business is transacted in that part of the city, which lies below the Park. On inspecting the plan, the reader will perceive that the only direction in which land can be obtained, is upwards, that is to the north; and, as this is allowed by men of business, to be out of the market, the merchant must either have his offices below the City Hall, or be altogether excluded. The value of land in this section being exorbitantly increased by competition, and the desire of all who have business to transact to be as near the market as possible, joined to the scarcity of room, combine to raise the price of land to an extravagant height in every part of the city.
It is considered probable, that New York will at some future period, cover the whole of Manhatten Island. The village of Brooklyn, on the opposite coast of Long Island, and Jersey City, on the western bank of the Hudson, are also becoming very populous from their proximity to this grand market of the Union. A well regulated communication by steam is kept up with these two outports of commerce; a boat starts for the former every three minutes, and for the latter, every ten minutes during the day.
New York, is, beyond dispute, the first commercial city in the New World, and receives into its ports, vessels laden with the produce and manufactures of every quarter of the globe. But the retail department of trade is here conducted in a slovenly and most irregular manner; so much so that it is advisable for the buyer to be acquainted with the value of the article he intends to purchase, before he closes his bargain; or he will run the risk of paying a penalty proportionable to his ignorance.
Auction sales are here numerous beyond conception. Hence that part of the inhabitants having family establishments, and other extensive consumers, supply themselves from these, as frequently as possible. These sales are effected in the lower part of the city; and a red banner displayed, serves as an insigne of an auction sale in this city, as a spear answered the same purpose in ancient Rome.
It is true, that goods sold in this manner, are disposed of in very large quantities, as sales on this principle are expected to be frequented only by shop-keepers; but this difficulty is frequently obviated, by a few families uniting and entering into a reciprocal engagement, to make purchases as opportunities occur, of certain articles agreed upon by the compact. The high prices demanded in the shops, almost compel the public to resort to this expedient in self defence.
Some few however, make very odd kind of bargains at these sales. I remember one of our friends, a young gentleman, purchasing at an auction three hundred fans! This reminded me of Moses, in the “Vicar of Wakefield,” and the gross of green spectacles: but simplicity is far from being fashionable in this part of the world, and poor Moses would have stood no better chance here, than in the hands of Ephraim Jenkinson.