Of the present low price of land an instance may be given in the late purchase of two hundred acres, six miles from Philadelphia, part good grazing ground, and the rest of good quality, including a good and newly-erected brick house upon it; for the whole of which the price was five thousand dollars (about £5. 7s. 6d. sterling per acre.) I believe that bargains as good, or nearly so, may now be made.
9th. For two days past it has rained and froze as it fell; the trees, the ships, buildings, [200] &c. are all incrusted with icicles: the strongest branches of the trees are every minute giving way and falling under their loads. A ship at one of the wharfs, being neglected came down, broke her masts against the wharf and the hull was sunk. In the country the scene is brilliant and beautiful beyond description: a letter from the neighbourhood says, "the spruce, the pine, and the cedar, are coated with transparency, their limbs bending in every fantastic shape, whilst the rich dark green of their leaves shows to double advantage through the brilliant covering; the twigs of the yellow willow may be compared to amber set in crystal; the red maple, and the large berries of the sweet-briar, seem covered with pendant diamonds; the trees at a distance appear to be loaden with blossoms, white, glittering, and brilliant; but no description can convey an adequate idea of the 'fairy frost-work.'"
April 2d. As memoranda relative to the climate must be particularly interesting to those who may think of emigrating, I notice, that this day a heavy snow is falling, wind N. N. E.,—the Thermometer at eight o'clock A. M., exposed in shade, 37° of Fahrenheit; yesterday it was above temperate, but the two days before at the above hour of the morning, as low as 31° and 32°: the apricots and other trees which have already put [201] forth blossoms, must have been injured and many of the trees will probably be killed. In consequence of these sudden extremes of temperature, garden cultivation is difficult and uncertain, and the market produce much higher than in England; a dollar is frequently given for a cauliflower, and a quarter dollar (13½d.) is considered a low price; for a common cabbage I was asked nine cents (about 5d.,) and most other vegetables bear a proportionate price.
Called yesterday upon Mr. H*****: the conversation turned upon the right of primogeniture, a right which (scarcely deserving to be so called) is not recognised here. It is true that a man is permitted to exercise it in his testamentary dispositions, but it is scarcely ever acted upon. I observed, that though the descent of estates to the eldest son was strictly agreeable to the spirit of our government, yet many with us wished its abolition were practicable, and were of opinion that this would be a great point gained to the cause of rational liberty; regarding it as strictly an act of justice, that a father should divide his property evenly among children who all claimed an equal share in his affection. In answer, he acknowledged, that his mind too was so strongly impressed with the equal claim of children to a parent's support, that he believed he might in his [202] own case act upon it: yet, he added, that should he do so it would be entirely unaccordant with his actual observation of its effects; for, out of very many instances which had come under his observation, he had hardly known any which had succeeded; the children had received their equal portions, but not the experience necessary to proper management and economy, and consequently nine times in ten they bought experience with every dollar, and in the end became either idle, dissipated, good-for-nothing characters, or had at least to begin the world again with nothing.—I asked how the children, in the instances which he called to mind, had been brought up, and if they had been placed out properly at first; for if so, it seems to be a manifest advantage that a young man should possess a sum of money for immediate support and with which to start in life. He said, that in many cases the parents had given excellent educations, but he acknowledged that they had died before the children had been well introduced into life. "Were it otherwise," he observed, "were the parent to live long enough to induce habits of industry and economy, and to see his children well settled in their respective professions or trades, there can be no objection to their being equally portioned; else, an elder brother, especially if he conducts himself worthily, [203] forms a sort of support to the rest of the family, a point d'appui, which preserves a share of respectability to them that in America they experience the want of; he keeps together that property which would otherwise probably be squandered, that respectability which would otherwise be lost."
3d. Mr. K*** having some business to transact at Washington, the metropolis of the United States, I took the opportunity and agreed to accompany him. We left Philadelphia at mid-day, in the steam boat bound for the small town of Newcastle, on the Delaware, distant about forty miles; price of passage one dollar and a half: there were twenty-four passengers on board; a fine day over head, but snow lay upon the ground and the air piercingly cold. Arrived at Newcastle a little before five P. M., where stages numbered 1, 2, 3, &c. were waiting to take passengers eighteen miles over the neck of land which here divides the Delaware from the Chesapeake Bay: previous to landing we had each a ticket, numbered, given to us, which each one took to the stage of corresponding number by which he was to go, and this plan prevented all disputes and confusion.
Having all taken our seats in these vehicles, which are a sort of covered waggon having [204] benches placed in rows across, and the luggage being adjusted, they started in cavalcade, and in little more than two hours and a half arrived upon the shore of Chesapeake Bay. It was now dark, but everything was quickly removed into another steam boat, much larger than the first, and without any loss of time its wheels were set in motion and we proceeded for Baltimore at the rate of about ten miles an hour, bringing-to at the wharf there about three o'clock next morning. The steam boats here have been already frequently described, I shall only observe therefore that they are of great length, capacious, and as comfortable as carpets, stoves, good beds, and good meals can make them: this had three cabins, two aft and one before, containing altogether fifty-eight births. There are a set of regulations hung up which are strictly observed; one is that no smoking is allowed except upon deck; another, that no portmanteau or trunk be admitted into the cabin: travellers will do well therefore to take a sacde-nuit with them for the few things they may want at night; let them not forget too, to bring some book to their taste in case of a want of conversation, for Americans are in general rather reserved. The conversation here was chiefly upon the recent fatal duel between Commodores Decatur and Barron; it seemed to be [205] the general opinion that the latter could not with honour have avoided the meeting: one gentleman observed that the right man had fallen, both on account of his conduct towards Barron, and also for his quarrelsome disposition and general seeking such combats; he had, he said, previously killed three antagonists, of whom two were English.
These American stages or caravans carry all the passengers withinside, an arrangement which renders travelling with servants expensive: we were eleven young and old, closely packed, and jumbled away at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour, without interest; for we could only catch a glimpse of the country now and then by lifting up the side leather. Soon after noon we came in sight of the Capitol, and were set down at a large Tavern near to it.
The dirt, ill-arrangement and absence of common comforts in an American tavern or hotel have already been expatiated upon amply; but to meet with such things under the walls of the Capitol, at the very seat of government, I was not prepared. On entering the Hotel, a poor lad, whose dishabille of dirt and rags defies description, came with a brush, which he was making less fit for use by rubbing its bristles upon his dirtier hand, to ask if he should brush our coats. We enquired [206] for a room up stairs to shave, &c., and though past one o'clock not a bed had been made, or a breath of acceptable fresh air permitted to blow into these chambers of contamination!-Having finished the toilette as well as we were able, our first visit was to the Capitol.
It stands finely upon the edge of a high commanding ridge, from whence with one sweeping glance one views the subjacent ground down to the Potomac river, and the elevated country beyond; to the right is seen George Town and the most populous part of Washington, the President's House, the Post-Office, &c. but alas! excepting these and a few other mostly dispersed buildings, the horse, the cow, and the swine, still graze quietly around the Capitol of Washington. Viewing however the beautiful site of this city with the eye of its venerable founder, and with him letting imagination cover it with houses and "the busy hum of men," if we then look round for the attractions of support for this multitude, the illusion vanishes. Commerce cannot but with difficulty flourish upon the shallow bed of the river, and agriculture may long strive for success in vain, with the surrounding sterility. Wherein then must the motive of the statesman be sought for founding a city in a place favourable alone to the eye? Could he make a mistake? [207] That is not probable. Could it be to favour his native State, or to gratify a whim? This is not consonant to the character of his great mind. A despot of Russia might build a city upon piles vainly to shew posterity his power: Frederick of Prussia might have his Potsdam; but Washington ever kept utility in view, and never aimed to gratify a vain wish at the expense of his fellow creatures. It is then suggested, that, impressed with the importance of quiet deliberation, he fixed the seat of government upon a spot so unattractive to the multitude that their representatives might be unbiassed by faction.
Of the Capitol the centre is yet to rear its head, the wings alone are finished; these contain the Hall of Representatives and that of the Senate—a Library[71]—a Post-Office for the Members—Committee Rooms, &c.