We proceeded by the western road as far as the outlet from Cayuga Lake, where there is a wooden bridge remarkable for its length, above a mile, and thence by the east side of the lake to Aurora, which is charmingly situated on arising ground above the lake, and is considered an eligible place of residence, on account of the beauty of the surrounding. scenery, and cheapness of the necessaries of life. The village does not consist of a connected street, or rows of houses, but of a number of detached, clean-looking, and apparently comfortable small villas, enclosed in courts, or spots of garden-ground ornamented with a few weeping willows or locust trees. Gypsum is found in large quantity in the northern parts of the land adjoining Cayuga Lake, and much used as manure at the rate of two bushels per acre. There is a great deal of ground in the neighbourhood devoted to orchards, at present in all their glory, loaded with fruit. The coachman drove so near the trees by the road, that we had as many apples as we chose to pull. We dined at a small hotel at Aurora, on pork, which, as we have always hitherto found it in this country, was excellent. The hogs are allowed in this country to run out in the forests and orchards, where they subsist in a great measure in the autumn on nuts, acorns, and fallen apples; and in some instances on fallen peaches. Before being killed they are put up for a short time on Indian corn. The flesh of the hogs fed in this way is firm and good. Our fellow passengers consisted of a Pennsylvania.farmer; an Ithaca store-keeper; and a female, with her son Ulysses. We passed many good farms, some of them recently brought into cultivation, on which the usual processes of house-building, and enclosing by strong wooden rails, were in progress.
There was great deal of keen discussion in the bar-room of this hotel, on the subject of the approaching election of a President of the United States. Upon one occasion it was carried so far, and apparently, as methodically, as if a regular meeting had been arranged to debate the merits of the two candidates. Rather too great warmth was displayed, but we afterwards found that one of the parties was a gentleman travelling through the state in order to learn the general sentiments as to one of the candidates, and that on this occasion he had accidentally got into collision with a gentleman similarly engaged on the other side.
During the night we were for several hours disturbed by a band of music,-clarionets, hautboys, and wind instruments, -close to the hotel. Scots airs were chiefly played. Auld Lang Syne, John Anderson my Joe, &c. It turned out that a marriage had taken place the day before, in a house a door or two from the hotel, and that the friends of the party had ordered a serenade for them. We had not previously observed any public musical performers, not even an organist in the street, at New-York, or any where else.
We pursued our journey on the 5th towards Geneva. Looking back from a height about two miles from Ithaca, and to the north-west of it, we were delighted with a view of the village, the falls, the hills covered with wood, and the lake. We breakfasted at a hotel by the roadside, kept by a person of the name of Pratt. The farm-labourers were seated at table with us, but the breakfast was good. We were hungry, and we solaced ourselves after breakfast with as many fine peaches in the orchard as we chose to devour. Some of our American fellow passengers were not well pleased that the laboufers should have been present, on account, of the strangers, and were anxious to explain, that it was only at such a place as this, off the great roads, that it could have occurred. ,
We had the widow of a farmer in the stage with us, now herself managing above 150 acres. She gave us minute details of her agricultural operations,-her butter, cheese, and cider-making; as well as maple sugar-making ; but although she was, as generally happens here, the proprietor of the land she farmed, and had only taxes of the most trifling amount to pay, it did not appear that the high price of labour allowed her to do much more than to bring up comfortably a family of half a dozen children. The only village we passed on our way to Geneva was Ovid, with its handsomely situated church, and fine piece of green turf between the church and hotel. The American villages are generally announced to you by the spires of their churches peeping through the trees on your approach. No religious sect is more favoured than others. Every church, whether consisting of Baptists, Me thodists, Presbyterians, or Unitarians, has its spire, if the funds be sufficient, generally of wood, frequently with a guttering roof of tin, and of better architecture than the church itself.
The situation of Geneva on a terrace above the lake, is very delightful as well as commanding. It contains some good houses) and a population of 2000 or 8000, seems an agreeable place of resilience, more cheerful-looking, and the landscape and views more pleasing, than any of our resting places, since leaving the vale of the Mohawk. The hotel is large, and well kept, and the people disposed to be obliging ; but it is everywhere, we find, rather- difficult to get the waiter or chambermaid to come to the bed-chamber door for the shoes to clean, and to bring them back, and to bring hot water for shaving in the morning. The custom is in the evening to exchange your shoes, which are left in a corner of the bar-room, for a pair of not very nice looking slippers, which again you exchange next morning in the bar-room for your cleaned shoes. As to shaving, it is a very general practice for travellers to shave in public in the bar-rooms, where there is always a looking-glass. Males frequently wash close to the pump-wells, where then are basins placed on a wooden bench, a practice not uncommon in France. The people in this house seem very attentive to every request; but you have no redress any where if the waiters forget or refuse to attend to requests considered unusual ; and if they are Americans, and not of colour, they will seldom receive money from a passenger, and so generally consider the offer as an insult, that it is not advisable to make it. On the other hand, whenever the waiters are people of colour, or Irish, or generally speaking European, they will not object to receive a douceur; but let the traveller, if he intend to give one, do it in private ; and let him take an opportunity to let the waiter know his intention in time, for otherwise he will not expect anything, and may perhaps in that case turn out less attentive to your requests than the American, who will seldom refuse if your application be made as a matter of favour in civil terms. Civility, as Lady Mary Montague truly observes, costs nothing, and buys every thing. There is so much truth and good sense in the instructions which Professor Silliman of New-Haven, in his tour from Connecticut to Quebec, gives on this subject to English travellers, that my pen cannot, I believe, be better employed than in transcribing them. " We were attended (Dr. S. alludes to an inn in Connecticut) by one of those comely respectable young women, (a daughter of the landlord,) who so often in our public houses perform these services, without departing from the most correct, respectable, and amiable deportment.
This is a peculiarity in the manners of this country which is not at once understood by a foreigner, and especially by an Englishman. Such a person, if uninstructed in the genius of the country, almost of course presumes that all those whom he sees in public houses are in servile situations. If he adopt towards them an imperious and harsh manner, he gives offence, and produces coldness and possibly resentent, so that the interview ends in mutual dissatisfaction. If the traveller should write a book, he of course enlarges on the rudeness of American manners, and it is very possible that even the servants of our inns may give him some occasion for such remarks, if they are treated as persons of their condition commonly are in Europe. Some years since, to an Englishman emigrating to America, the obvious cause of which often disgust the English, and offend the Americans, when the former are travelling among the latter, and especially in the smaller towns and villages, were faithfully pointed out. It was strongly recommended to him, rather to ask as a favour what he had a right to command as a duty; to treat the heads of the public houses with marked respect, and their sons and daughters who might be in attendance, and even the servants, with kindness and courtesy, avoiding the use of terms and epithets, which might imply inferiority and servitude ; to make their duties as light as possible; to manifest no unpleasant peculiarities; and to make no unreasonable demands with respect to food, wines, and cookery. He was assured that with such a spirit be would be treated with respect and kindness ; that he would be cheerfully served ; that the best the house afforded would ba promptly obtained by him ; and should ho even visit the same house again, that he would probably be remembered and welcomed with cordiality. It was suggested that he must indeed occasionally concede something to familiarity and cu riosity ; but that, with an amiable spirit and courteous deportment, he would not meet with rudeness or neglect, or have occasion to write an angry sentence concerning the American. And he was told that even the familiarity and curiosity which are sometimes unpleasant, would be commonly repaid by the communication of valuable local information.
"As the gentleman to whom these remarks were addressed was gay, and had been a military man, he was cautioned not to presume that any mambers of the families at the public houses might be treated with levity, for he would find that fathers and brothers were at hand, and pecuniary considerations would be sacrificed at once to the respectability of the house. After this gentleman had travelled fourteen Month in the United. States, he came to the town where his adviserresided, and thanked him for his cautions. He said that they had been of the greatest service to him,-that he had found the predictions fully verified, and himself treated with hospitality and killdness, while he had seen others of his countrymen, pursuing an opposite deportment, meet with very unpleasant treatment, and creating both for themselves and others perpetual dissatisfaction."
While noticing the customs of inns in this country, I ought not to omit to notice that we have found bells altogether dispensed with since leaving Albany. We understand that American waiters are not fond of being called by the sound of a bell, and that, unless in the large towns we shall hardly see them any where. Bells, however, are not in universal use over Europe,they are more frequent in England than in any, other country. Even in France they are very far from being general. In Turkey there are none, as Lord Byron tells us, "Turkey contains no bells, and yet men dine." There are neither posts nor curtains to beds in that part of the country where we are travelling, nor even the means of putting up a canopy or covering to ex clude light.
My friend who was travelling with us was known to Mr. Macnab, of Geneva, a Scotch gentleman, who has resided here for several years, greatly respected, and who has the charge of the chief land office. He prevailed on us soon after our arrival to remain there on the 6th, by his obliging offer to drive us out in his barouche to see the ncighbouring country. The weather was very propitious on the 6th,-fine clear sky. In the course of our ride we saw great tracts of country lately settled and improved, much of it good, though not all of equally fertile soil,-the farm-houses generally new and good,-several of the farms belonging to British settlers ; one of the largest to an Englishman,-the country roads far better than I expected,-the trees in the forest magnificent, not in point of circumference, for, they are too close to each other even to have lateral branches, but .in point of height and cleanness of the, bark. I am no advo cate, even from what I have already seen, and with the very limited information I possess, for foreigners undertaking the first settlement in this country themselves. The toils of wood-cutting, house-building, and enclosing, are immense ; and, added to these is the great risk to health, which a foreigner and his family, far more than a native, incurs by the exhalations from the wood-cutting process. All the necessary operations are performed better, more quickly, and with less danger to health, by the natives, who are accustomed to them, and better inured to the hardships attendant on bivouacking in the woods before a dwelling house is prepared. The necessary privations are more readily submitted to by the natives than by foreigners, and are truth much less prejudicial to them.
Agricultural societies are almost universal in every county of the state of New-York, and patronized by the state government, which has contributed large funds for the promo tion of its objects, especially in premiums for raising the beat crops. These had been given in some of the neighbouring counties of the northern part of the state to farmers who had been the successful competitors, for raising 80 bushels of winter wheat per English acre, 44 bushels of spring wheat, 84 bushels of oats, 56 bushels of barley, and 132 bushels 06 Indian corn,-a quantity of Indian corn sufficient to furnish bread to eleven men for a year.
On applying for our stage tickets from Geneva to Canandaigua, or to have our places marked, which is according to- the usual custom, the bar-keeper seemed to hesitate. I asked him if all the places were already taken, and received the comfortable answer, that we could never be subjected to aay inconvenience on that account in travelling on this line off road, as extra carriages are always provided to carry for ward any number of travellers that may apply at the regular stage houses. The number of stages leaving the hotel at Geneva where we lodged, was twenty, and they continue to run during the whole year. There seemed to be a great number of boarders in the hotel at Geneva. Mr. Macnab, though possessed of a good house and servants, followed the usual practice, for, not having a family, he bearded at the hotel. Mr. Maenab was in bad health when, we saw him, and died, as I learned, a few months afterwards.
Early on 7th September, we proceeded to Canandaigua, on the lake of the same name, sixteen miles distant from Geneva, through a very ferile district; it is considered the most beautiful village in the state of New-York ; population about 3000. It rises gradually for above a mile from the lake, with an extensive opening for the public buildings in the center of the street. I am not sure if I admire the situation more than that of Geneva, but the style of the houses is decidedly superior. . There is more appearance of their having been designed and set down with taste than I have observed elsewhere. In short, advantage has been taken of the ground, and of its relative situation with the lake, ta place them on the fittest spots. They are generally separate, and distinct dwelling houses; their exterior is painted perfectly white,they recede from the street of the village, the sides of which are shaded with trees, enclosed in neatly laid-out gardens. Some of the houses are large, and too good to be denominated villas. Mr. Blossom's hotel might be called splendid, if every part of it be equal to the dining-room, which is spacious and handsome; but we saw little more of it, our stay-being limited to two or three hours. The dinner was excellent; and the landlord did the honours well at the head of the table. We had the luxury in the middle of the day, which still continues very hot, of partaking of a bottle of London brown stout from a cool cellar, and certain ly never enjoyed it more.
From Canandaigua to Avon, where we finished our journey on the 7th, the distance is about twenty-four miles, ge nerally through good land, equal to any we have seen. We found a very clean and well-managed, though not very large hotel, at Mr. Asa Bowlen's, at Avon, where we agreed to remain till the 9th. The hotel-keeper himself was at the head of every thing, and, attended to his bar-room ; his wife was housekeeper and cook ; and his daughters, smart young ladies when the work was done, after dinner, officiated both as chambermaids and waiters.
During my residence in the United States subsequent to this period, I was frequently witness to the good understanding which generally, though doubtless, not universally, prevails among clergymen, professing different opinions on church forms, and doctrinal points; and I occasionally obberved notices in the newspapers to the same purpose. . The two following I have preserved in the corner-stone of a new Baptist church was laid at Savannah in Georgia, and the ceremonial services were performed by the clergymen of the Methodist, Germans-Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal,and Baptist churches. The Sacrament ofthe Lord's Supper was administered in the Reverend Mr. Post's church, (Presbyterian church at Washington) and as usual, all members of other churches in regular standing were invited to unite with the members of that church, in testifying their faith in, and love to their Lord and Saviour. The invited guests assembled around the table; and it so happened, that Mr. Grundy, a senator from Tennessee, and two Cherokee Indians, were seated side by side."
Nothing is more astounding in the stage-coach intercourse with the peopleof this country, as well as in the bar-rooms where travellers meet, than the freedom, and apparent sincerity of their remarks, and the perfect feeling of equality with which the conversation is maintained, especially on religious matters. I have heard the most opposite creeds maintained without any thing like acrimonious discussion, or sarcastic remark, by persons in the same stage, professing themselves undisguisedly Calvinists, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Unitarians. On one occasion, I recollect the father of a family unhesitatingly avowing, in a considerable party of people in his own house, that he was a free-thinker, and never went to a church; while at the same time his daugh ters, who were young women, had brought my wife for perusal Calvinistic religious tracts, of which she understood them to express their approval. It would perhaps be quite as well, if hypocrisy in religious matters were an unfashionable vice in other countries as well as this. Lord Byron would have found, if he had been here, that it does nor always require to be chanted by a " forty parson power."
The boarders at Avon were not numerous. The landlord did not appear at the head of his table, but his place was supplied by the doctor of the village, who boarded in the house. The dinner was excellent ; plenty of brandy on the table, but, as usual, little of it used. This does seem very odd ; for if you go half an hour afterwards to the bar-room, it is not at all improbable that you may meet some of your dinner companions smoking a cigar, and taking a tumbler or half tumbler of brandy, water, and sugar. For this three pence sterling is in general payable ; sometimes a sixpence at the great houses. The quantity of brandy which the partaker pours into the tumbler, for the bar-keeper puts the bottle into his hands, is usually about half a wine-glass. I have never seen plain brandy, or spirits of any kind used in this country ; but people, by going from house to house, and drinking at the bar-rooms, may take what quantity they like, almost unobserved, and without much expense.
In the afternoon we hired a carriage to take us to Genesee, a small village on the river of the same name, which passes through Rochester, where are the magnificent Falls of the Genesee, that we might have an opportunity of seeing Mr. Wadaworth's flats or meadows, which are thought the finest and most productive in this country; theyconsist of a great tract of low-lying land along the river side, covered with luxuriant herbage. We learned, on arriving at the village of Genesee, that our driver was ignorant of the way to the low grounds, and therefore stopped at the village, nine miles, from Avon, at one of the hotels, where we applied for, and obtained a guide. The farm of Mr. Wadsworth is of great extent, about 4000 acres ; but the beautiful tract of alluvial land does not exceed 1600 or 1700 acres of the moat fertile soil that can be conceived. A few noble oaks, single trees, which are seldom met with here, adorn the fields. I measured one of them, which was twenty-eight feet in circumference. On our return to the village, it was necessary to stop to water the horses. We alighted at the hotel, and asked for some fruit, that we might not be giving trouble without calling for something for which we should have to pay. They brought us some early apples, which are in this country quite a delicious fruit. When we returned to the carriage and asked what we had to pay, and what was the charge for the guide, the latter showed that he almost considered himself insulted by our question. He was very glad to be of any use to strangers : the people of the hotel would receive nothing for the apples, and were happy that they had been able to show us any civility.
The evening continued very warm to its close ; but to our surprise, the next morning was extremely cold. The thermometer had fallen above thirty degrees, being at forty-eight of Fahrenheit. Great coats and shawls were therefore put in requisition and the curtains of the stage let down. At settling our bill, we found no charge for the carriage which had carried us to the sulphur spring and to church ; but before getting off the driver, a man of colour, placed himself in a snug situation, where I could not fail to see him, in expectation of a gratuity. The whole charge at this hotel, exclusive of the hire of the carriage to Genesee, was five dollars, or about seven shillings sterling each person, for two suppers, two breakfasts, one dinner, and two nights' lodgings.
The distance from Avon to Buffalo, the extent of our journey on 9th September, is sixty-seven miles ; the country almost all settled, and some very good farms on the way. The people are busily employed in many places in harvesting Indian corn, between the rows of which, when the crop is taken off there appear pumpkins in considerable quantities, which here are used as food for man and beast. The farm work is entirely done by men. No white woman is ever allowed to work out of doors in the United States.
In clearing the forest, the settlers find it the easiest plan to make a cut through the bark altogether round the trees, a few feet above the ground. The trees decay and die, and, being without leaves, grain crops are raised close to them. Fire is afterwards applied to them, but the stumps remain for a considerable period, in the ground, and give rather a lugubrious aspect to the country when they are in great numbers. When the bark is cut in the manner described, the trees are said to be girdled.
Our road passed through several thriving villages, Caledonia, Le Roy, Batavia, Alden, &c. Le Roy and Batavia are considerable places, the population of each being about 3000. At our dining inn, they gave us in lieu of a pie or pudding, ripe peaches sliced and not boiled, mixed up with cream and sugar. We found the substitute for the ripe peach, a very good one.
The last part of the road, before we reached Buffalo, is the most unpleasant that can be imagined, and had almost shaken us to pieces. The ground is swampy, and the road passe over logs or trees cut on the spot, and placed so near, that the wheels pass from the one to the other. There is not enough of earth or other materials between the logs, and the stage makes such swings in getting along, as would break the springs of any British carriage, but the strong leathern belts of the American carriages never give way. The Americans call this a corduroy road. We did not get on for several miles at the rate of more than three miles an hour, and found on our arrival at the Eagle, a very spacious hotel at Buffalo, that supper had been some time finished. An excellent supper was, however, soon provided, and the fatigues of the journey, occasioned by the roughneo of the road, were speedily forgotten.