Buffalo—Cleveland—Magnificent Muldoon—Euclid Avenue—Toledo—Detroit—Chicago—Jefferson Davis—A Terrible Moment—Pullman—Milwaukee—St. Paul—Minneapolis—Le Mars—Sioux City—Kansas City—The Parting.
Although there is now only one attendant with the party—the omniscient Edward—the baggage-master does his work so well, the conductor of the train is so active, and the service so perfect, that there is never any hitch about luggage arriving or leaving. Every one is sure to find his property in his room, and to find it at the station in time.
The line of the New York Central Railroad was in very good order, and our special, preceded by the "Pony" engine of Mr. Burrows, the Superintendent of the Division, on which the Duke, Lady Green, and I travelled for a time, arrived at Buffalo at half-past 12 o'clock. Between Magna and a station named Tonawanda, I think, which is more than eleven miles, the "Pony" trotted us over the line in ten minutes. I cannot do justice to the kindness of all the gentlemen, representing the New York Central and Hudson Railway, and the Lake Shore and Michigan Railway, who accompanied us, because I do not recollect their names; but they were so anxious that we should see everything they considered worthy of notice, that no sooner had the train arrived at the Buffalo station than we were driven off in four carriages, under the control of Mr. Caldwell, who was described as General Manager of the Red River Transportation Company, to visit the streets, avenues, and manufactories, which are the main attractions, and could do no more than look at the lunch which was laid out for us in the Central Dining Rooms. I say "us"; but I am bound to admit that the charms of Buffalo did not tempt some of the party to go out. A stove factory exhibited so many excellent contrivances, that the Duke gave an order for some of the sort we saw at Clifton House, which rejoice, as I have said, in the name of "Crowning Glory," and other members of the party followed his example. The Roscoe, Conkling and Platt storm was now raging furiously. One would have thought the Union was in the death-throes. Wherever men met it was the main topic of conversation, the papers teemed with articles and telegrams, and we were constantly asked what we thought about it, and we as constantly declined to say we thought at all. Whilst Mr. Bickersteth and I sat reading the papers in the palace car, awaiting the Duke, a smart lad came in on us sans cérémonie, and introduced himself as the representative of a Buffalo paper. He hungered exceedingly for the Duke, but meantime fell upon us; and next day I was astonished to find I had declared "Roscoe was undoubtedly a statesman, but he had gone beyond his boundary." Poor Mr. Bickersteth fared worse, for he was accused of want of "respect for American reporters," as the following report of the conversation with him will show:
Reporter.—"Mr. Bickersteth, will you please give me your full name and special title?"
Mr. B.—"I do not know that I am obliged to."
Reporter.—"Of course not. Just as you feel about it."
Mr. B.—"Well" (putting a third eye on the interrogator), "you American reporters are devilishly fresh, you know." (Buffalo paper.)
Our friends escaped the inquisitor. At 3 o'clock they returned to the Buffalo station, and we continued our career by the Lake Shore Railway to Cleveland. A new set of acquaintances, guardians, officials, and friends in the form of directors, railway engineers, and local authorities accompanied the Duke. Dinner was served in one of the carriages as we travelled. The little side-tables between the centre thoroughfare accommodate two persons very comfortably, and the manner in which the coloured waiters attended was irreproachable.
At 6 o'clock we reached Cleveland, and the Duke and his party were undignified enough to walk to Kennard House, instead of taking the carriages which were in readiness for us. One disadvantage of dining in the train was experienced when we arrived at the hotel. There was nothing to do; so the Duke and I took a stroll down the main street, and were surprised to find one side of it lighted by electricity, and to see several large shops illuminated on the Brush system in the same way. On our return to the hotel, a gentleman in the hall suggested that we should go and see an exhibition of sparring by "Muldoon—the most magnificent specimen of humanity ever born of woman!" and not wishing to lose such a chance, and animated moreover by the promise that we should see Muldoon go through his famous performances as a "Classical Athlete," we set out under the guidance of a coloured domestic of the hotel to the scene of these enjoyments, the rooms of a gymnasium, which proved to be up a long flight of stairs, in a dingy house, in a back street. Our dark guide, who was sent in advance to secure places, met us on the steps with the news that "Muldoon" had gone, but that we might see the gymnasium if we pleased. Without our "Classical Athlete" there was no attraction for us, and we turned to go home; but, passing by the entrance to a building with an illuminated announcement that it was the "Theatre Comique," and assured by our valet de place that it was "a very nice place," we turned in, passed a bar, paid fifty cents, or two shillings, for a private box, and were conducted over a shaky floor behind the scenes to our loge, from which we surveyed such an audience as one might find in a "penny gaff" nearer home. Our attendant, on leaving, advised us to bolt the door inside. The reason for the precaution was soon evident, for the ladies whose presence was not needed on the stage at the time, in pursuance, it would seem, of the recognised custom at the Theatre Comique, came thundering at the door, and were only appeased by economical libations of beer—and so we escaped to Kennard House, and to bed.
Early in the forenoon (April 19th), before we had well done breakfast, the Mayor, Mr. Herrick, Messrs. Mason, Stone, Wade, Colonel Wilson, and a goodly company of Cleveland citizens of repute, called on the Duke to take him and those of the party who were so minded to visit the oil-works, elevators, and the city generally, to drive up Euclid Avenue, and inspect one or two of the fine houses of which they were with reason proud. The Mayor had evidently something on his mind—he had the air of a man with a care of State affecting him—and after a time the truth was known. His Worship, or His Honour, was as well informed as a Sous-Préfet or a Commissaire of Bureau III.—a very Howard Vincent—and he had heard of our visit to the theatre, and was anxious to explain that it was not one of the regular orthodox Temples of Thespis; that, in fact, it was a blot on the purity of Cleveland, and on the powers of the executive. But "the Forest City," as Cleveland is termed, can tolerate a great deal of imputation, and yet lift up its head proudly as a beautiful and almost unique creation of the American genius—the fairy who turns turnips into coaches and four, mice into valets de place, and dreary marshes into the sites of noble towns, replete with all the developments of the most refined civilisation (in which, however, I do not include our magnificent muscular Classical but Christian athlete Muldoon and the reprobate theatre we had visited).