70 
and several large stone and brick houses, of which the Franklin 
Hotel, situated on the bank of the lake, is the most spacious and 
beautiful. I went into a bookstore to ascertain what kind of books 
were most sold in this part of the country, and was told that the 
ancient classics and religious books found the most ready sale; 
sometimes also novels, law and medical works. The college is 
said to have several hundred students. In front of the town along 
the lake, there are beautiful country seats and gardens. On 
the other side of the town the woods are but a short distance 
from the houses, and are as yet not much cleared. We saw, how¬ 
ever, several tracts of timber on fire; the trees are burnt in order 
to clear the land. 
Canandaigua, which lies on the north point of the lake of 
the same name, which is about twenty miles long, is an extremely 
beautiful and pleasant town, that has been but lately settled. The 
Duke de la Rochefoucault says, that during his travels in Ame¬ 
rica, in 1790, there was but a single house on this lake, in which 
he spent the night, in a garret used as a store-room. Now it is 
a beautiful commercial town, hgving one bank, a court-house, 
and a very superior tavern. The court was sitting, and there 
was a large collection of people, so that the town exhibited a very 
lively appearance. At this place the road separates, the left goes 
through Batavia and several small villages to Buffalo on Lake 
Erie; the right, to Rochester, and thence to Lake Ontario and 
the Falls of Niagara: and as this road again approaches the 
Erie canal, it is said to be the -most interesting. On this account 
we gave it the preference, although the longest route. 
We left Canandaigua in the afternoon, and rode through 
Victor, Mendon, and Pittsford, to Rochester. On this route 
we observed nothing particularly interesting, excepting several 
new settlements; the inhabitants of which resided in log-houses, 
which had a peculiar, but by no means an unpleasant aspect. 1 
was particularly pleased with the neat and decent appearance of 
the inhabitants. 
We arrived at Rochester at half past eight o ? clock in the even¬ 
ing, and took lodgings at the Eagle Tavern. We crossed the 
Genesee river, which divides Rochester into two parts, on a 
wooden bridge, the first that we had hitherto met in the United 
States that was built firmly and properly. It rests upon stone 
piers, and is made of solid beams, with thick and well fasten¬ 
ed planks. The next morning we walked through the town, 
and were pleased with its rapid increase. In 1812, there was not 
a single house here; nothing but a wilderness; and the land could 
be purchased at one dollar and twenty-five cents per. acre. At 
present, Rochester is one of the most flourishing towns in the 
state of New York. It contains four churches, one bank, a court- 
