The moon rose in the utmost splendour, and lighted up the unagitated surface of the sea, and the fishing-boats which lay at anchor. Before midnight we saw Boston lighthouse, and soon afterwards several other such lights on the coast, which are a most welcome sight, and increase the impatience of the stranger in a remote quarter of the globe.
The following day (4th of July), on which I landed for the second time in the New World, was the anniversary of the day on which America proclaimed its independence. Early in the morning, the salutes of artillery resounded from the coasts, which we now saw clearly before us. In the centre, in the direction of the city of Boston, was the white lighthouse, with its black roof, on a small rocky island,[18] and around it several little picturesque islands, partly of white sand, with plots of grass; partly rocks, which adorn the beautiful bay. At a distance we saw some low mountains, the coast covered with numerous villages, obscured by the smoke of the gunpowder, and numbers of ships and boats sailing in every direction, all adorned with gay flags in honour of the day. We passed in succession several islands, the lighthouse, the telegraph, and drew nearer and nearer to the coast of the Continent, diversified with gentle eminences covered with corn, or beautifully green as in England: and here and there, in the bays and inlets, adorned with lofty trees. These coasts, with the numerous white buildings of the towns and villages, presented a most charming scene in the splendour of the morning sun. At length the long-expected pilot came on board, and in the bay, on our right, we saw the city of Boston, and many steam-boats before it. The sea had no longer the blue colour, but the green tinge which it has on all coasts, and was covered with medusæ, and the leaves of the sea grass, which grows on these shores. The heat was very great, 18° in the shade, by Reaumur's thermometer, on board the ship, when we cast anchor at India Wharf, Boston, on the forty-eighth day of our voyage. The temperature in this oblong basin, which is surrounded with large magazines of naval stores, was by no means agreeable at the moment of our arrival; we, therefore, left the ship as soon as possible, and repaired to the Commercial Coffee House, where we took up our quarters.
Boston, an extensive city, with above 80,000 inhabitants,[19] reminded me, at first sight, of one of the old English towns; but various differences soon appeared. The streets are partly long and broad, partly narrow and irregular, with good flag pavement for foot passengers; the buildings are of brick or stone; but in a great portion of the old town the houses are of wood; the roofs are, for the most part, covered with shingles; the chimneys resemble those in England, but do not seem to be so lofty; the dark colours of the buildings give the city, on the whole, a gloomy appearance. 4 There are many important buildings and churches, which have been described by numerous travellers. In the front of the houses there are frequently little plots of garden, next the street, in the English fashion, planted with tall, shady trees, and flowers. Strangers will immediately look for American plants, especially for those species of trees which are generally cultivated in Europe; but, instead of them, they will observe only European trees, such as Lombardy poplars, Babylonian willows, syringa hibiscus, chestnuts, elms, &c., and it was with much difficulty that I found some stems of the catalpa, which was just then on the point of flowering, and some other native trees. Besides the little grass plots, planted with flowers, in the front of the houses, there are, in Boston, many plantations and avenues of very tall and shady elms, which, like the same species in England, are remarkably vigorous and flourishing. Among these avenues, the principal is that called the Commons, where there were fireworks in the evening of the 4th of July.
Washington-street is looked upon as the finest and longest street in Boston; its length is nearly equal to that of the whole city. Here, as in the first cities of Europe, there are numerous fine and elegant shops, with the most costly articles; and the productions of the West Indies. Cocoa-nuts, oranges, bananas, &c., are nowhere to be found so fresh, and in such perfection as in the seaports of North America. On account of the celebration of this day, most of the shops were closed; but then the entire population seemed to throng the streets, and the gay crowd was very interesting to strangers, as it was not difficult to catch the general features. Though a great part of the Americans have much of the English stamp, there are, however, some essential differences. The peculiar character of the English countenance seems to have disappeared in America, in the strange climate; the men are of a slenderer make, and of taller stature; a general expression of the physiognomy seems to be wanting. The women are elegant, and have handsome features, but frequently a paleness, which does not indicate a salubrious climate, or a healthy judicious way of living.[20] Straw hats, trimmed with black or green ribbons, were in general use. Cloth was much worn, and everything was according to the newest English and French fashions. Among the busy throng were a great number of negroes, who, in the Northern and Eastern States, have been made free. Not far from the public walks was a small narrow street, almost entirely inhabited by negroes and their hybrids. The stranger in Boston looks in vain for the original American race of the Indians. Instead of its former state of nature, this country now shows a mixture of all nations, which is rapidly proceeding in the unjustifiable expulsion and extirpation of the aborigines, which began on the arrival of the Europeans in the New World, and has unremittingly continued.
After we had enjoyed a hasty view of the city, we returned to our inn, where we had an opportunity of making ourselves acquainted with many new customs, differing from those of Europe. It must be confessed that the arrangements in the large and much frequented inns of 5 the great towns in the United States, are, in many respects, inferior to those of Europe. The rooms are very small, and all have beds in them: parlours, that is, rooms without beds, must be hired separately. The hours for meals are fixed—three times in the day; and the signal is usually given, two or three times, by ringing a bell. In general, a number of persons habitually take their meals in these inns; they besiege the house before the appointed time arrives, and, when the signal is given, they rush tumultuously into the eating-room; every one strives to get before the other, and, for the most part, the crowd of guests is far too great, in proportion to the number of the black attendants. Then every one takes possession of the dish that he can first lay his hands on, and in ten minutes all is consumed; in laconic silence the company rise from table, put on their hats, and the busy gentlemen hasten away, whom you see all the day long posted before the inns, or at the fire-side in the lower rooms, smoking cigars and reading the colossal newspapers. The hat, which the Americans seldom lay aside, except in the company of the women, is always taken off at table, which is certainly no small exertion in this land of perfect liberty, as Captain Morrell expresses it.[21] Elegance of dress is far more common in America than in Europe; but then this is all that the gentleman in America cares about, when he has finished his mercantile business, read the newspaper, and performed his part in the government of the State. I have often been surprised at the crowd of idle gentlemen before and in the American inns, who spend the whole day in total inactivity; and these elegant loiterers are, in fact, a characteristic feature of these inns. Here, too, there is a peculiar arrangement, which many travellers have noticed, and which we do not meet with in ours—I mean the bar-room, where a man stationed behind the bar, mixes compounds, and sells all sorts of beverages, in which a quantity of ice and of freshly gathered peppermint leaves are employed. Very agreeable cooling liquors are here prepared, which the heat of the climate calls for. In the evening the European is surprised at being desired to pull off his shoes before a number of people in the bar-room, and to exchange them for slippers, which are piled up in large heaps. The attendance is, in general, indifferent. There are scarcely any white servants, or, at least, they are almost useless; all menial offices must be performed by blacks, who, though free people, are still held in contempt by the Americans, who so highly estimate the dignity of man, and form a rejected caste, like the Parias in India.
At the approach of evening, on the 4th of July, the whole population of Boston was in motion; but the streets were soon entirely deserted, and all the inhabitants had collected in the promenade, called the Commons. The sight was highly interesting. An extensive piece of ground, covered with green sward, stretches in a gentle slope to the water, and is surrounded by avenues of lofty, shady elms. Numerous paths cross each other in the centre, and here there is a gigantic elm, with a wide-spreading crown, measuring from thirty to forty paces in diameter. We regretted that the great crowd of people rendered it impossible to approach this fine tree, on 6 this busy evening. All Boston, rich and poor, was here assembled, in the most elegant dresses. Groups were sitting, or lying in the grass; rows of tables and little stalls were set out, where there was a real oyster feast, in which the people indulged to an extent that rendered the appearance of the tables anything but inviting. As it grew dark, there was a very indifferent display of fireworks, on the eminence, in honour of the day, the expense of which was defrayed by subscription. Several companies of city militia had previously paraded the streets; they are all volunteers, who equip themselves, and that in a very superior manner; but their uniforms are very gay and motley, as may be expected, where every one is left to follow his own taste. Each company, or troop, had a different uniform—one red, another blue, and, in part, richly embroidered with gold. There were very few men in a company. It seemed very strange that the musicians, who preceded them, were, for the most, in plain clothes of all colours, with round hats. "The Yankee-doodle," the favourite popular song of the Americans, was heard in different directions; and it is much to the credit of this motley assemblage, that there was no impropriety of conduct or unseemly noise. The effect of the light on the mixed crowd of whites and negroes was very interesting, and we enjoyed the scene till the coolness and damp of the night air made us retire to our inn.
On the following morning, the shops were opened, and Boston resumed its usual appearance of commercial activity. Our baggage was put on board a schooner bound to New York, to which city I wished to go by land. Our next excursion was to the monument on Bunker's Hill, from which there is the best view of the surrounding country.
Early in the morning we got into our carriages, and drove rapidly through the streets, refreshed by the cool morning breeze, where many wagons were arriving with the productions of the environs. We noticed vehicles of various descriptions, with four or two wheels, often with an awning of linen, or leather, open at the sides, and drawn by two or four horses. The drivers, generally in a white summer dress, with straw hats, sit on a bear skin, which is here worth eight or ten dollars. On the causeway, out of the city, the dust was troublesome, but a number of water-carts (like those used in the streets of London) were already preparing to water the road.
Boston is joined to the continent by a narrow tongue of land, at the two sides of which creeks, or bays run into the land. Over these creeks there are several long wooden bridges, made to draw up in the middle, one of which leads, in a north-west direction, to the neighbouring town of Charlestown; another, more to the south, to Cambridge, where there is a college, or university. All these places have been described by several travellers. We took the road through Charlestown, to the Navy Yard, close to which is the eminence on which the Bunker's Hill monument is erected. The hill is called Breed's Hill, and immediately beyond it is Bunker's Hill, where the English troops were posted during the battle fought in 1775. The Americans were repulsed, and lost their leader, who was a physician. The monument in memory of this action 7 has been begun on the foremost, or Breed's Hill. The granite (Quincy granite) employed in it is found in the neighbourhood, and is of a grey colour.
It was intended, originally, that this monument should be 210 feet high; it is now meant to be only 180 feet high. What is already done is a pyramid between fifty and sixty feet in height, which was covered with a temporary wooden roof. Withinside, a convenient stone staircase leads to the top, and from the small windows in the roof, there is an incomparable view over the city of Boston, Charlestown, the two inlets, the long bridges, the Bay of Boston, with its diversified islands, and the ships with their white swelling sails, coming from, and bound to, all parts of the world. Looking into the country, there is an alternation of verdant hills, numerous villages, and dark woods; the whole forming a highly picturesque landscape. Cattle were grazing near the monument, on the green hill; a well-dressed boy was employed in milking the cows.[22]