Presidents and vice-presidents of railways in this country are great powers, and exercise vast influence, if not in the State, at least on their own lines—aye, and farther too. On one occasion I was informed, when inquiring into the functions of the several officers of a great company, that one of them was charged especially with looking after those interests of the railway which might be affected by legislation—in other words, that he had to see lest the company should suffer detriment from the views of persons who might be returned to positions in which they might carry out theories dangerous to their monopoly. The distance from New York to Philadelphia is ninety miles, which, under ordinary circumstances, is traversed in two hours and a half, or thereabouts; but our special was timed to do it in considerably less. The train passes right through the streets of Jersey City, which would be considered a large town in the old country, and boasts of a population of nearly 90,000. As the bell of the engine tolled, women and children skipped out of the way or ran across the line, when they eluded the vigilance of the railway officials who lowered ingenious barriers as the train approached. But although they say "practice makes perfect," "killed by the cars" is a very ordinary head-line in the American newspapers. The country outside "Jersey City," which is like an ugly continuation of New York, is flat and uninteresting, but the low land which the railroad traverses is dotted by factories and industrial establishments of all kinds. We were soon aware that we were carrying with us the plague of hideous advertisements plastered upon walls, and even upon the natural features of the country, which we had observed in the environs of New York. From imperious commands to "smoke" somebody's "mixture" down to wheedling supplications to "use" somebody else's "oil," the eye encountered at every hundred yards on the hoardings, on the sides of houses, on trees and palings, the mendacious advertisements of quack doctors and sellers of patent or unpatent nostrums, frequently illustrated by woodcuts set forth in glaring colours. So close to Jersey City that we were scarcely aware that it was separated from it by a few fields, we came to Newark, a great town of brick and wood houses, chimneys, factories, and churches, containing more than 120,000 people, and as we ran through the streets we got glimpses of some fine-looking buildings, of which we have nothing more to say.

Then came Elizabeth City, with many well-to-do houses and country seats around, and some small mansions with patches of ground, which would not be quite dignified with the name of "park" in England. "New Brunswick," a manufacturing town of 20,000 people, thirty-two miles from New York, was specially commended to our notice on account of the College called Rutgers', and a few miles farther on we were told that we were passing Princetown College, which is one of the most celebrated institutions in the United States. "Trenton," the capital of New Jersey, is famous for its potteries, but to us it was chiefly attractive in connection with lunch, and we were whirled past the State House, the Penitentiary, and Lunatic Asylum at a speed unfavourable for the calm contemplation of the town which Washington made historical by the defeat he inflicted on the unfortunate subjects of the Grand Duke of Hesse, in the pay of King George. The conviction is growing upon my mind that the party of travellers, of which I have the honour of being one, is not likely to have much experience of actual American railway life, or much knowledge of the ordinary conditions in which people live in the United States. It is neither our fault nor misfortune that we are so specially well taken care of; but my recollection of what the traveller had to endure in crowded railway cars in former days, and in the rush and scuffle at the tables d'hôte of the hotels, whilst it induces me to congratulate myself and our friends on our exemption from such trials, is a satisfactory demonstration that we are not likely to gain much insight into the manners and customs of those who, like ourselves, are wandering over the face of the Union.

Passing a very small Bristol, the train brought us in sight of Philadelphia, where we were safely handed over to a number of gentlemen who were awaiting our arrival with most hospitable intent, and thence we were driven to the Continental Hotel. In the drive through the streets between the railway terminus and the hotel, our friends were very much struck by the fine appearance of the town, which was far superior to New York in the cleanliness of the streets, and quite rivalled the Empire City in the display in the shop-windows and the gay appearance of the large establishments in the main thoroughfares. At the Continental Hotel there was the usual crowd in the hall, before whom we had to defile on our way to our rooms, after the necessary process of inscription in the hotel registry. Then after a short interval for repose we made an excursion through the city, and drove out to the beautiful grounds of Fairmount Park, "the largest in any city in the world," in which stands all that remains of the buildings of the Great Exhibition. If I were writing a guide-book I might give some details, out of many with which our friends favoured us, respecting the World's Fair and the Quaker City, but I am rather inclined to make this a narrative of what we did. Marvellous as are most of the great cities in the States, in relation to their recent origin and extension, Philadelphia, which has a respectable antiquity, is entitled to a high place amongst the wondrous works of American man. In an old book which I came across, describing the colonies and settlements as they were 200 years ago, an anonymous writer, under the date of 1682, says:—"Philadelphia, our intended metropolis, is to be two miles long, and a mile broad. At each end it lies upon a navigable river. Besides the High Street that runs in the middle from river to river, and which is 100 feet broad, it has eight streets laid out to run the same course which are 50 feet broad. Besides Broad Street, which crosses the town in the middle, which is 100 feet broad, there are twenty streets that run the same course, also 50 feet broad. The names of these are to be taken from the things that spontaneously grow in this country, such as the Vine, the Mulberry, the Chestnut, Walnut, Filbert, and the like." And there, sure enough, they were inscribed on the corners of the houses as they are to be seen at this day.

At the Continental Hotel, which must be classed among the number, not very large, of first-class hotels in the Old and New World, we found the dining saloons, halls, passages, and the street in front illuminated by the electric light, which will probably come into use in similar establishments in London in a generation or two; and in the room in which we dined two electric burners were doing the work which ten gas chandeliers each with ten burners were wont to do, as was apparent from their neglected splendour.

The Pennsylvania Railway authorities, represented by Mr. G. B. Roberts, Mr. F. Thomson, and others, did all that lay in their power (and that was great) to enable us to turn our visit to the best account. But it was trying, after all our efforts, to leave so much unseen, and yet be obliged to confess that our powers were taxed by trying to see too much. And the same remarks apply to our journey throughout, which, as my readers will see if they care to read, was performed under high pressure almost from the beginning to the end. There was something more than an exhibition of mere courtesy towards brother directors in the attention paid by the representatives of the great American railway company to the party. They had reason to show attention to Mr. Crosfield, the Auditor, for he had rendered them substantial service, I was told—and I need not say it was not Mr. Crosfield who gave me the information—on one occasion, when they were engaged in a financial operation in London, by testifying to the satisfactory condition of their affairs and accounts. They got their money forthwith. Whatever may be the length and capital of other great railways in the States, our experience, I may say at once, was that in the excellence of the permanent way and carriages, punctuality and speed, the Pennsylvania was not excelled, if closely approached, by any. It is a great corporation. The four general divisions (of which each is subdivided, to the discomfiture somewhat of students of time-tables) of the line comprise 1845 miles, and it is stated that the Company is engaged in extensive absorptions and acquisitions, and that many little lines will be "bolted," and I hope digested, in due course. Their capital is too serious and complicated a matter for me to deal with, but I believe we wise men from the East were convinced that it is as sound as the ground on which the line runs, though I shall not forget the look of incredulity with which one of the gentlemen in the train with us heard the answer to his question respecting the capital of the London and North-Western. "A hundred millions! Dollars, of course, you mean?" "No, sir, a hundred millions sterling." After a while incredulity gave place to respectful admiration. "Five hundred million dollars. Well! that's a big pile, I'll allow." The appearance of Philadelphia caused a most agreeable surprise to the party, and Chestnut Street was voted to excel Broadway in the elegance and magnificence of the shops, although it cannot boast—nor, as far as I know, can any city in the world—of such a colossal store as Stewart's. We especially admired the Park and the Girard Bridge, one of the grandest and most beautiful in existence; but the object which challenged the admiration of the visitors more than anything they had seen so far was the vast pile in which the public departments are to find their gorgeous home, the effect of which will, some of us think, be spoiled rather than enhanced by the portentous clock-tower which is to be raised to a height that shall dwarf all known steeples, campaniles or towers in the two hemispheres by many gratifying feet.

To strangers, interesting and attractive, with many fine buildings and noble public institutions to show, Philadelphia is connected with the most important events in the early life of the Republic, and possesses for an American larger and more numerous souvenirs of the fathers of the Union and of their labours than any other place on the Continent. From some points in the park there is a good coup d'œil to be obtained of the monuments, churches, and undulating sea of roofs between the Schuylkill and the Delaware. The Girard Bridge, on the way, is one of the finest in the world. On every side there was much to admire, but the sun was blazing and fierce—unusually so—and at last we sought the shades of the Continental. There was none very soon after our arrival, for the hotel was, as I have said, illuminated by electricity. I could not recognise the place in which I had once stood in a time of wild excitement. "Sumter was to be relieved!" A throng of men discussing the news that was destined to lead to such stupendous results, so dense I could not make my way to the office where there was now only a crowd of some dozen people waiting to see "this Duke and the Britishers." The clerk, or one of those gentlemen in the office who control the destinies of travellers and visitors to hotels in the States, remembered the time well. He had served in a Pennsylvania regiment (not one of those which went away from McDowell the morning of Bull Run), and had been lieutenant, if not captain, and now, like many of his comrades in higher places, he was engaged in civil pursuits. Many interviews, and to bed.

April 29th.—The Duke was carried off at an early hour to begin the work of the day, into which was to be crammed many inspections and sights. These tell on the tourists somewhat; for as we are handed over, day after day, from one important body of ever kind and indefatigable guides and hosts, we are, of course, paying with our persons, whereas, for those on whom we descend there is but a few hours' hard labour, and then comes repose to them and "good-bye" to us. There is an eminently respectable air about Philadelphia; the shops in the main streets are attractive and beautiful; the citizens look prosperous; the vehicles are soberly luxurious, and the horses sleek. The Auditor, who belongs to the Society of which the founder of the State and city was the great ornament and chief, finds himself at home among many "Friends," and albeit they do not generally affect the attire of the sect, and the broad-brimmed hats, upright collars, single-breasted coats, and knee-breeches of sober hue, of the men, and the coal-scuttle bonnets, square, plain collars, and straight-cut cloth dresses of the women, have given place to garments of modern fashion, the good people called Quakers still form a numerous and influential community. We were told, and I believe truly, that there are more house-proprietors—that is, more people who own the houses they live in—in the population than in any city of the Union; and I was struck by the immense number of dwellings of moderate dimensions, all trim and nice, freshly painted, with flowers in the windows, and little gardens of which we caught glimpses in our early drives through the clean, neat, well-ordered streets. There was a lunch or breakfast at the house of General and President Roberts to fortify the party for a minute inspection of the terminus of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Fifteenth and Filbert Street, where all the arrangements for freighting and unloading the trains and for the great passenger traffic were explained and closely examined, and then they were conducted to the Elevated Road, and found a special train of Pullman palace-cars waiting to convey them to West Philadelphia; and a distinguished company of railway and other potentialities—Mr. G. A. Childs; Vice-Presidents Cassatt, Kneass, and Strickland; Mr. Dubarry, President of the Philadelphia and Erie Company; a number of directors—Messrs. Morris, Felton, Biddle, Shortridge, Cummins, Welsh, &c.—of the main line; Mr. Hinckley, President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Company; Mr. Griscom, of the International Navigation Company; Mr. Drexel, and many others, to do them honour. The drawing-rooms of the cars were ornamented with bouquets of the most lovely flowers; it is a never-failing and always welcome compliment, and Americans rival Parisians in the love, skill, and taste they display in the arrangement of these floral triumphs. The party visited Greenwich Point and Girard Point, and I saw with alarm some stupendous elevators in the distance, for the sun was exceedingly powerful, and we had already been called upon to witness the storage of corn non sine pulvere, at the terminus, but our kindly guardians were not imperative, and an outside view was all that was demanded of us. Passing under the Market Street bridge by the west bank of the river, and crossing to the east side by the line to the Delaware, we found a steamer waiting for us, in which we embarked, and were treated to a very pleasant excursion along the front of the city by water, to Port Richmond and to the freight station, where more elevators menaced us, but were appeased by external worship. The railway cognoscenti declared that all the details of the railroad management, and the sheds, warehouses, &c., were excellent, and this they did before the lunch (No. 2) which awaited the party at the offices of the Pennsylvania Railway in Fourth Street, whereof certain terrapin arrangements elicited expressions of much approval. After lunch, the party were led off, with re-invigorated powers, to visit Independence Hall, calling on Mayor Mr. King, at his office en route. Here there were more introductions, and Mr. Mayor, a bland and genial gentleman, made pretty little speeches to his visitors—"welcomed them as well on account of their distinction among the governing influences of their country, as for their useful mission in effecting an interchange of ideas in connection with improvements in transportation of products and diffusion of commerce." (Not a word of protective duties, Mr. Mayor!) From the Mayor's presence to Independence Hall was but a short way, and after we had inspected the building and its contents (vide Guide-Books), we were taken on to "The Ledger" Office, which is one of the sights of Philadelphia, as Mr. Childs is one of the institutions which his friends would desire to be immortal if that were possible, and the Duke and his friends were received with much courtesy by the learned, urbane, and energetic gentleman, who, having built up a fortune as well as one of the finest newspaper offices in the world, devotes the former to most worthy and liberal objects, and directs in the latter a journal of the highest reputation for literary excellence and political honesty.

Bibliopolery and bibliomania are rather rampagious in America. Were not Caxton and Wynkyn de Worde ancestors of English born in America as well as of English born in England? And who shall say Shakespeare is not the common property of the Anglo-Saxon race wherever they are found? As to that "quae regio in terris," &c. When I was in New York the other day, I was shown the outside of a house on the borders of the Central Park, filling an entire block from Seventieth to Seventy-first Street, and of the interior I heard such an account from "Uncle Sam" that I felt burglarious proclivities, which were restrained possibly by physical feebleness and the chastening reflection that I could not dispose of my plunder without the certainty of detection. It was the Lenox Library, containing priceless early Bibles, Shakespeares, and the like, in addition to treasures of art and belles lettres of the highest order, guarded by a one-headed Cerberus who would not let us in when we sought admission later in the year, for the same reason that London clubs are closed in the autumn. I dare say I could have obtained admission to the Lenox Hospital close at hand had I been duly qualified. Here in Philadelphia Mr. Childs has a library which, tout vu, is a credit to his taste and his industry, and which is rich in the autographic letters of English and American authors and MSS. In a small pamphletette from Robinson's 'Epitome of Literature' there is a very pleasant account of some of the treasures of the collection, and Mr. Childs is as liberal as the day in the display of them to all who desire to see them.

From "The Ledger" Office en route once more. There was still the new City Hall to inspect—a day's work in itself. A short drive brought us to the stupendous mass; Mr. Perkins, President of the Commission, and Mr. McArthur, the architect, received the Duke and his friends, and led them over some portion of the vast erection. It would be impossible, without a series of photographs, to give an idea of the "New Public Buildings," as they are called, which are described as "an immense architectural pile," occupying an area of four and a half acres under one roof, in a square of 428 feet, which with the projections for convenience and architectural effect are extended on the flanks to 470 feet from east to west, and 486½ feet from north to south. It is of the Renaissance, "modified and adapted," as the architect states, "to the varied and extensive requirements" of the great American municipality. I am sorry to say that amongst these is included the necessity for a clock-tower or campanile so out-Heroding Herod in its enormous altitude and ungainly bulk as to give in the architectural drawing an idea of comparative meanness to the bold elevation of the building below. It would seem as if the people of Philadelphia were bent upon emulating the Tower of Babel, or at all events of thrusting up towards heaven a shaft of stone which should be far nearer to it than anything hitherto erected by the hand of man; for this clock-tower is to be reared to such a height, that the centre of the clock-face shall be 361 feet above the level of the pavement. The diameter of the face of the clock is in proportion—20 feet—and even that will not be too much for time-keeping in such an elevated position. Those who revel in such details ought really to get the account of the contractor's work, of the 46,000,000 of bricks, and the 476,000 cubic feet of marble, and of the excavations and tonnage of iron used up already in this building, which is to contain the city offices, the law offices of the State, the military headquarters, and in fact everything State and municipal that requires a local habitation and a name for administrative and executive purposes. The reasons for such a creation were well set forth in the oration of Mr. Benjamin Brewster, on the occasion of the laying of the corner stone seven years ago. It causes one to think what "posterity" means when it is used as a phrase to express the people who live after us according to the orator's position, as we read that amongst those whose names posterity will not willingly let die are "Rittenhouse and Bush, Godfrey and Bartram." British posterity very probably would hear of the extinction of these respected memories without a pang—American posterity is called upon to keep them alive for ever. But tall buildings are appropriately inaugurated by tall talk. Penn and Franklin, it must be admitted, notwithstanding the somewhat narrow view of the character of the Great Quaker taken by very eminent historians in this country, were certainly men deserving well of their fellows, and to be remembered always on the American Continent, and on those portions of the earth where English is the language and English ideas are found; but why should the others "be passed down through time linked with Solon, Lycurgus, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, the crowned monarchs of human thought"?

There was still a visit to be paid to the Academy of Fine Arts, and I can answer for myself at least when I say it was, though it came last, the most agreeable incident in the long day's work. It is an institution of which the promoters may boast with every reason, and which must in time develop the taste and skill of native artists, of which its walls already exhibit creditable specimens.