208 PASSAGE TO LOUISVILLE. Book II. 
other side of the Ohio give to the town of Covington 
quite an aristocratic appearance. On this side Cincinnati 
branches inland, into all the little valleys or defiles between 
the hills which enclose the chief valley ; while at the same 
time the city rises on the side of them, and — with some 
detached houses in the finest situations— even reaches the 
top of the elevation. The hills on this side are more 
considerable than those on the Kentucky side ; and, while 
the latter are wooded, groups of trees are scattered over 
the former on a kind of lawn, or around the country-houses, 
commanding the most beautiful points of view. These 
hills seem formed for the growth of the vine, and the vine- 
yards here and there complete a certain European aspect, 
which appears to me to distinguish Cincinnati from other 
American towns. 
In the afternoon of the 23rd we left Cincinnati. The rainy 
weather obliged us to remain in the cabin of the steamboat, 
in which we had taken a passage to Louisville. In the 
evening I went on deck for a moment. The boat, like all 
the western steamers, was one of those large and elegant, 
but unsolid edifices, in which the motion of the machine 
and of the water is felt throughout the whole structure. 
The planks of the deck bent under my footsteps, and the 
whole woodwork of the vessel shared the motion and 
trembling of the river waves. It seemed as if it must 
have gone to pieces every instant. 
Early the next morning we reached Louisville, and on 
the following day embarked for St. Louis. It was the 
25th of June, and it may not be uninteresting to mention 
that in the morning we breakfasted in the saloon with a 
fire. The sun's rays were hot, but the air was chilly in the 
shade. 
Our voyage lay the whole day between wooded hills, 
