55 
side, opposite stood the cathedral, and on each side of it, a mas¬ 
sive public edifice, with arcades. Along the bank stood the 
market-houses, built of brick, modelled after the Propylgea, in 
Athens, and divided into separate blocks. We saw in these, 
fine pine-apples, oranges, bananas, peccan-nuts, cocoa-nuts, and 
vegetables of different descriptions; also several shops, in which 
coffee and oysters were sold. The black population appeared 
very large; we were informed, that above one-half of the in¬ 
habitants, forty-five thousand in number, were of the darker 
colour. The custom-house on the Lev6e, is a pretty building. 
We met a merchant, Mr. Ogden, partner of Mr. William 
Nott, to whose house I had letters, who had the politeness to 
take charge of us, and assist us in our search for lodgings. We 
obtained tolerable quarters in the boarding house of Madame 
Herries, Rue de Chartres. The first person I encountered in 
this house, was Count Vidua, with whom I had become acquaint¬ 
ed in New York, and who since had travelled through Canada, 
the western country, and down the Ohio and Mississippi. 
My first excursion was to visit Mr. Grymes, who here inha¬ 
bits a large, massive, and splendidly furnished house. I found 
only Mrs. Grymes at home, who after an exceedingly fatiguing 
journey arrived here, and in fourteen days after had given birth 
to a fine son. I found two elegantly arranged rooms prepared 
for me, but I did not accept this hospitable invitation. After 
some time Mr. Grymes came home, and accompanied me back to 
my lodgings. As our schooner had not yet arrived, we went to 
meet it and found it in the canal, a mile and a half from town, 
where two cotton boats blocked up the way. We had our bag¬ 
gage put into the skiff, and came with it into the basin, where the 
canal terminates. 
In the evening we paid our visit to the governor of the state 
of Louisiana, Mr. Johnson, but did not find him at home. After 
this we went to several coffee-houses, where the lower class 
amused themselves, hearing a workman singing in Spanish, 
which he accompanied with the guitar. Mr. Grymes took me 
to the masked ball, which is held every evening during the car¬ 
nival at the French theatre. The saloon in which they danced, 
was quite long, well planned, and adorned with large mirrors. 
Round it were three rows of benches amphitheatrically arrang¬ 
ed. There were few masks, only a few dominos, none in cha¬ 
racter. Cotillions and waltzes were the dances performed. The 
dress of the ladies I observed to be very elegant, but understood 
that most of those dancing did not belong to the better class of 
society. There were several adjoining rooms open, in which 
there is a supper when subscription balls are given. In the 
ground floor of the building are rooms, in which pharo and 
