STATE OF NEW YORK. 379 



sloping down in wooded and park-like undulations. 

 On landing at Whitehall, I took the train to Saratoga, 

 the Harrogate of days gone by, where I spent a few 

 days very pleasantly; it is a lively spot, with 

 its park and springs, and its fashionable company. 

 Thence the rail carried me to Albany, where I trans- 

 ferred myself and bag to the deck of the "Vibbard," to 

 descend the Hudson, all my heavy traps having been 

 sent on direct from San Francisco to New York ; and 

 here I may add my mite to the general admiration of 

 the American system of booking and transferring 

 luggage. Within a couple of hours we passed Athens, 

 — the people of the State of New York have a liking for 

 classical names : they have their Rome, Syracuse, 

 Utica, Carthage, etc. An hour later Catskill, with Pros- 

 pect House, occupying a splendid position on the brow 

 of a hill, which is a favourite summer resort of the New 

 Yorkers ; and along the banks of the river I noticed a 

 number of enormous ice-houses, built of wood, with 

 gangways running up to the roof to admit the blocks 

 of ice raised by elevators. Newburgh, and after that, 

 West Point, the great military college, we caught a 

 glimpse of, and at six p.m. we reached the American 

 emporium of commerce, where I was fortunate in 

 finding a vacant room at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. 

 New York reminded me of Liverpool on a larger 



