492 Nahiral History Tour 



description is scarcely to be seen.* There being three ferries 

 expressly for steam-boats, the communication to and from this 

 gay city, across the Hudson, .is constant, and attended with 

 that convenience and facility which characterise the operations 

 of this people. Two, or sometimes more, steam-boats are 

 ,usually attached to each ferry ; and, from sunrise to long after 

 sunset of each day, they are busily employed in transporting 

 passengers, carriages, cattle, and various kinds of goods, to 

 and from market. The ferry-stands are, in fact, drawbridges, 

 regulated to suit the rise and fall of the tide : thus the ingress 

 and egress into and out of the boats become at once both safe 

 and easy. Numerous sloops, schooners, and various other 

 descriptions of 'smaller craft, are constantly seen on the Hud- 

 son ; and when viewed from an elevation, silently and leisurely 

 winding their way among the verdured hills, sails white 

 and spread, the effect is very interesting, and always forms 

 one of the best embellishments to a land scene. The vessels 

 designed for passengers are finished in an elegant style ; their 

 cabins are comfortable, capacious, and convenient, and deco- 

 rated with the richest drapery. In beauty of form and gene- 

 ral appearance, certainly, they excel any packet vessels I have 

 ever seen in Europe. On the water they are easy and light, 

 and, with a moderate wind, sail with astonishing rapidity. 

 Albany is distant from New York 1 60 miles, and one of these 

 vessels (a sloop) has, a few days ago, made this distance in 

 J 3 hours. In burthen, the sloops and schooners will average 

 from about 30 to 1 50 tons, and in number they have been 

 calculated to be upwards of 1 500. 



Here are, besides, four steam-boats which ply up the Hud- 

 son from New York to Albany, calling at the intermediate towns 

 and villages on their way, as the wants of the passengers may 

 require ; and, for beauty, size, and despatch, they excel any 

 I have seen or heard of in any part of the world : those of the 

 Thames, Clyde, or Mersey, would cut a pitiful figure alongside 

 of them. In burthen they are from 500 to 700 tons, and have 

 occasionally accommodated from 150 to 200 passengers with 

 beds. These cabins extend nearly fore and aft, and are so lofty 

 as to contain three and even four tiers of beds : a spectator at 

 his entrance, struck with the magnificence of these apartments, 

 is apt to imagine himself in the mansion of some nobleman. 

 Splendid cabins, however, form not their only recommendation : 

 one of those steamers, the James Kent, a new vessel, and in 



* Since the above was written, the prospect here alluded to has under- 

 gone much improvement. Powle's Hook (the name given to the ferry and 

 shore on the Jersey side, immediately opposite to the city of New York) 

 now displays many large and elegant houses, gardens, and plantations. 



