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who is at the head of the hospitals, charitable institutions, &c. I 
was introduced to him at Dr. Hosack’s. We found Mr. Eddy at 
home, with his two daughters, his son, and partner, who is like¬ 
wise a Quaker. The family was dressed in the plainest style, 
and this simplicity joined to the greatest cleanliness, prevailed 
through the whole house. Mr. Eddy is in possession of a fine 
library, which he showed us; it contained several splendid works 
on natural science; among others, Wilson’s American Ornithology, 
with the splendid supplementary volume published by Charles Lu¬ 
cian Buonaparte, son of Lucian Buonaparte. Mr. Eddy then drove 
with us to the country-seat of Dr. Hosack, on the East River, 
opposite the navy-yard. Dr. Hosack, who was formerly mar¬ 
ried to a sister of Mr. Eddy, accompanied us to the Lunatic 
Asylum. This is five miles from the city, on a hill, in a very 
healthy situation, not far from the Hudson River. The road lies 
between country-seats and handsome gardens, and it is one of the 
most pleasant places I have seen in America* 
The asylum is built of sand-stone, is three stories high, and 
surrounded by a garden; it was built mostly by subscription, but 
is likewise supported by the state government. Mr. Eddy is 
one of its greatest benefactors and patrons. There were one hun¬ 
dred and thirty-three maniacs, by which number the building was 
almost filled; they were about to enlarge it by two other wings. 
Besides the meeting rooms for the committee in the first story, 
there are the apothecary’s shop, and the wards for the poor pa¬ 
tients, who have a large corridor and sitting room. One wing of 
the building is inhabited by the male, and the other by the female 
patients. There are subterraneous passages from the corridors to 
the large yard, which is surrounded by walls, and serve the pa¬ 
tients for walking, exercise, and play. In the middle of each 
yard is a shelter supplied with benches, for bad weather. In the 
upper stories are the rooms for the inspectors, and several other 
apartments where patients may live separately. In the whole 
establishment great cleanliness is observed; but still the institution 
appeared to me less perfect than the asylum of Boston, or that 
of Glasgow in Scotland. The garden is kept in very good order; 
there is likewise a hot-house, which is supplied mostly from Dr. 
Hosack’s collection. On the roof of the house is a platform, from 
which we had a very pleasant and extensive view. 
A Philosophical Society hold their meetings in the same build¬ 
ing containing the American Museum. In one of the rooms is 
a collection of minerals, not yet very extensive, but exhibiting 
many fine minerals from the northern frontiers of the United 
States. Another saloon contains a collection of paintings, which 
do not appear to be very valuable. The best picture was a por¬ 
trait of the celebrated American painter, Benjamin West, who 
