ROCHESTER TO BUFFALO. 181 



St. James Hotel, 



Batavia, New York, 



June Fourteenth. 



A delightful shower of the previous evening cooled 

 the air, and made my journey to Batavia exceedingly 

 pleasant. During the day I passed some of the finest 

 clover and wheat fields that I had seen since leaving 

 Rochester. The rain may have brightened their color 

 and made them look their best, but regardless of this, 

 it is evident that the soil througrh this section of New 

 York is under a very high state of cultivation, and 

 signs of thrift are noticeable on every hand. I found, 

 as is generally the case upon approaching a town, the 

 farms more tastefully laid out, with their wide 

 stretches of wheat, and their pretty conventional 

 " kitchen gardens." 



After these outskirting homes I came upon the 

 more dignified buildings of Batavia proper, where 

 push and enterprise have made some striking advances. 

 It is quite a business town, having its share of 

 manufactories, banks and newspapers, and, with its 

 population of something over four thousand, possess- 

 ing the benefits of a larger place. It is thirty-two 

 miles west of Rochester and thirtv-seven east of 

 Buffalo. The State Institute for tlie Blind is situated 

 here. 



In the evening I lectured at Ellicott Hall, and was 

 introduced by lawyer L. L. Crosby, a comrade of the 

 Grand Army, who, during the late war, was an officer 

 m the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. Among those who 



