220 



MIDDLE STATES. 



17. Amusements. The amusements in the Middle States are more various than in the 

 other sections of the country. As thp three largest cities in the Union are distant one from 

 the other but about a hundred miles : tnere are, of course, greater facilities and encouragements 

 for scenic exhibitions ; and the theatres, especially in New York, are much attended. The 

 actors are generally English, and the best English performers often come over for a season. 

 There is a French opera company, also, who at times perform in the cities, where they give 

 general pleasure, and the Italian opera had, for a time, some success in New York. In the 

 latter city, there are several extensive public gardens, in which a great variety of costly fire- 

 works, shows, and amusements are offered in the warm seasons ; when lighted up at night, they 

 are very brilliant, and they attract crowds of people. There are many small gardens, where 

 refreshments are sold ; and in Philadelphia the number of these is considerable, though some 

 of them contain little else than a few alcoves, covered with creeping plants. Horse-racing, 

 which in New England is almost unknown, is more honored in .he Middle States ; and some 



perplexing words cf 'Cadmus in.' When the pilot came 

 on board, I was struck willi the singular air of exultation 

 with which he delivered himself of tlie intelligence with 

 which he was evidently teeming. To the usual question, 

 he gave a quick answer, and in nearly the same words. 

 ' Cadmus in' again rang in our ears, without leaving us 

 any wiser. 'II',' said our captain, 'you think so much of 

 the arrival of the Cadmus, in 30 days from France, what 

 will 3'ou say to that of niy ship, in 21 frorn Liverpool ' 

 'Your owners may be glad to see you, but then you've not 

 got the old man aboard.' ' We have them here of all 

 years.' 'Ay, ay; but you have no Lafayette in the ship. 

 He has been on the island with the vice-president since 

 yesterday. This morning he is to go up to town, where 

 he will be a welcome guest. Tlie bay above is alive.' 



" I will acknowledge, that I was touched myself at the 

 common feeling thus betrayed by so many differently con- 

 stituted individuals, and at so simple an occurrence ; even 

 the native portion of the crew suspended their labors to 

 hsten to what was said, with a general air of satisfaction. 

 After an absence of 40 years, Lafayette had returned to 

 visit the land in which he had laid the foundation of his 

 fame. That he had reached a country where hearts and 

 arms would alike be open to receive him, was sufficiently 

 manifest in the manner of all around me ; and 1 could not 

 but felicitate myself in being so fortunate as to have ar- 

 rived at a moment likely to elicit some of the stronger 

 emotions of a people who are often accused of insensibility 

 to all lively impressions, and most of whose thoughts, like 

 their time, are said to bo occupied in heedful considera- 

 tions of the future." 



The traveler and his companions left the ship in a boat 

 to see the pageant in honor of Lafayette. " At length the 

 exclamation ' There they come ! ' burst upon the ear ; and 

 there they did come of a certainty, in all the majesty of 

 a fine aquatic procession, and that, too, on a scale of mag- 

 nificence that was admirably suited to the surrounding 

 waters, and, as an American would also probably say, ' to 

 the occasion.' The procession was composed principally 

 of steamboats, and their decks exhibited solid masses of 

 human heads. They were some of them nearly as large 

 as frigates, and not painted as commonly in Europe a 

 gloomy black ; they are of lively and pleasing colors, with- 

 out being gaudy, and have frequently wooden canopies, 

 that serve as additional decks, in which the passengers 

 may walk. The largest, when crowded, will contain a 

 thousand people. 



" There was one boat among the present collection, of 

 great size, that had been constructed to navigate the ocean, 

 and which was provided with the usual masts and rigging 

 of a ship. This was manned by seamen of the public ser- 

 vice, and was gayly decorated with a profusion of flags. 

 Our boat reached the wharf of the Lazaretto a few minutes 

 after the procession. One of the largest of the vessels had 

 stopped at this place, lying with her side to the shore, while 

 the others were whirling and sailing around the spot, giving 

 an air of peculiar life and animation to the scene. Though 

 the whole concourse seemed animated by a common sen- 

 timent of pleasure, I did not fail to observe an air of great 

 and subdued sobriety in the countenances of almost all 

 around rae. As my companion had the address to obtain 



our admission into the steamboat that had come to land, 

 and which was intended to receive Lafayette in person, I 

 was brought into immediate contact with its occupants ; 1 

 found nij'self in the midst of a grave, orderly , well-dressed, 

 but certainly exulting crowd. I heard French spoken; 

 and by the quick, restless eyes, and elevated heads of some 

 half dozen, I could see, that France had her representa- 

 tives in the throng, and tliat they deemed the occasion one 

 on which they had no reason to blush for their country. 



" Lafayette r jtered the vessel amid a deep and respect- 

 ful silence, similar reception of a public man in Eu- 

 rope, would be portentous of a waning popularity. Not 

 an exclamation, not even a greeting of any sort was audi- 

 ble. A lane was opened through the mass of bodies that 

 was nearly solid, and the visiter advanced slowly towards 

 the stern. The expression of his countenance, though 

 gratified and affectionate, seemed bewildered. His eye, 

 remarkable for its fire, even in the decline of life, appeared 

 to seek in vain the features of his ancient friends. At the 

 extremity of the boat, last in the throng, stood a gray- 

 headed and loitering veteran. By common consent, his 

 countrymen had paid this tribute to his services and his 

 age. The honor of receiving the first embrace was his. 

 I should fail in power, were 1 to attempt a description of 

 the effect produced by this scene. The old man extended 

 his arms, and as Lafayette heard his name, he flew into 

 them like one who was glad to seek relief from the feel- 

 ings by which he was t.ppressed. They were long silently 

 folded in each other's arms. 



" I know not, nor do I care, whether there were any 

 present more stoical than myself; lo me, this sight, simple 

 and devoid of pageantry, was truly affecting and grand ; 

 its very nakedness heightened the effect. There was no 

 labored address, no ready answer, no drilling of the feel- 

 ings in looks and speeches. Nature was trusted lo, and 

 v>fell did she prepare her part. Greetings now succeeded 

 to greetings, and the vessel now left the land. There was 

 literally a maze of steamboats ; our own, containing the 

 object of the common interest, kept steadily on her way, 

 quickening or relaxing her speed, to accommodate her 

 motion to that of those in company ; but scarce a minute 

 passed, that some one of the brilliant cor^fo'e was not sweep- 

 ing along one or the other of our sides, bearing a living 

 burden, which, as it was animated by one spirit, seemed 

 to possess but one eye, and one object to gaze at. 



" Castle Garden was the spot where Lafayette was to 

 land. The ramparts of the castle, a terrace at the base of 

 the work, and the whole of the fine sweep of the Battery 

 a distance of more than a quarter of a mile, were teeming 

 with human countenances. The reception I had witness- 

 ed was only a prelude to a more imposing spectacle ; the 

 whole population having poured out to this spot, and 

 standing in readiness to greet their guest. To my eye, 

 there seemed a hundred thousand souls. Our approach 

 to the shore was now positively impeded by the boats. 

 What passed about his person in the following scene, I 

 am unable to say ; but I saw the rocking of the multitude, 

 as he moved among them, and heard the shouts which 

 from time to time escaped a people, whose manners are 

 habitually too self-restrained." 



