260 WANDERINGS IN 



FOURTH w ith me to the inn in Albany, shook me by the 



JOURNEY. 



- hand, and then went his way. I bade him farewell, 

 and again farewell, and hoped that fortune might 

 bring us together again once more. Possibly she 

 may yet do so ; and should it be in England, 

 I will take him to my house, as an old friend and 

 acquaintance, and offer him my choicest cheer. 



The great It is at Albany that the great canal opens into 

 the Hudson, and joins the waters of this river to 

 those of Lake Erie. The Hudson, at the city of 

 Albany, is distant from Lake Erie about three 

 hundred and sixty miles. The level of the lake 

 is five hundred and sixty-four feet higher than the 

 Hudson, and there are eighty-one locks on the 

 canal. It is to the genius arid perseverance of 

 De Witt Clinton, that the United States owe the 

 almost incalculable advantages of this inland navi- 

 gation. " Exegit monumentum aere perennius." 

 You may either go along it all the way to Buffalo, 

 on Lake Erie, or by the stage ; or sometimes on 

 one and then in the other, just as you think fit. 



scenery. Grand, indeed, is the scenery by either route, and 

 capital the accommodations. Cold and phlegma- 

 tic must he be who is not warmed into admiration 

 by the surrounding scenery, and charmed with the 

 affability of the travellers he meets on the way. 



This is now the season of roving, arid joy and 

 merriment for the gentry of this happy country. 

 Thousands are on the move from different parts 

 of the Union for the springs and lakes, and the 



