Chap. I. CINCINNATI. ■ 207 
had happened. The wreck presented a picture of the 
fearful effects of velocity, — an immense heap of debris of 
smashed carriages. Whether any lives were lost I could 
not ascertain, and the passengers in our train talked of 
nothing but the disagreeable delay caused by the acci- 
dent; — this seemed to be their only care. It was im- 
possible to wait for a clearance of the track ; we had 
therefore to get out and walk to Wellington, at no 
great distance, and there await a train from Cincinnati, 
to exchange its passengers with our train, and take us 
to that place. Meanwhile a great storm came on. The 
rain poured down in streams, and compelled the passen- 
gers, three to four hundred in number, to remain crowded 
together until eight o'clock in the evening in a small room, 
— the only one in which we could obtain shelter. The rest 
of the route was travelled in tbe night, and during incessant 
torrents of rain we reached Cincinnati at daybreak. 
We were obliged to remain four days in this city. 
Various matters of business connected with our journey 
had to be transacted, and Mr. M. intended to be married 
here. In the United States this ceremony, with all its 
preparations, can be performed in half an hour, and to 
devote a whole day to it would be a waste of time. But 
the lady was to accompany her husband on the long and 
arduous journey to Chihuahua, and might therefore claim 
a few days. The stoppage gave me an opportunity to see 
the city and its environs. The hill at the foot of which 
Cincinnati is built commands a splendid view over the 
city, over the valley of the Ohio, and the surrounding 
hills. It reminds me somewhat of the valley of the 
Neckar ; but the country around Cincinnati is on a much 
larger scale, and the more luxuriant trees of this region 
give it a more southern character. The tall elms on the 
