THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. 411 



But what a country is this ! all along the 

 road between Boston and Springfield are an- 

 cient moraines and polished rocks. No one 

 who had seen them upon the track of our 

 present glaciers could hesitate as to the real 

 agency by which all these erratic masses, lit- 

 erally covering the country, have been trans- 

 ported. I have had the pleasure of convert- 

 ing already several of the most distinguished 

 American geologists to my way of thinking ; 

 among others, Professor Rogers, who will de- 

 liver a public lecture upon the subject next 

 Tuesday before a large audience. 



A characteristic feature of American life is 

 to be found in the frequent public meetings 

 where addresses are delivered. Shortly after 

 my arrival in Boston I was present at a meet- 

 ing of some three thousand workmen, foremen 

 of workshops, clerks, and the like. No meet- 

 ing could have been more respectable and well- 

 conducted. All were neatly dressed ; even 

 the simplest laborer had a clean shirt. It was 

 a strange sight to see such an assemblage, 

 brought together for the purpose of forming 

 a library, and listening attentively in perfect 

 quiet for two hours to an address on the ad- 

 vantages of education, of reading, and the 

 means of employing usefully the leisure mo- 



