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The New York News, weekly......... 5,000 copies.
The Independent (Congregational) weekly, 45,000
The Observer (Presbyterian) weekly 25,000
The Evangelist (Presbyterian, New School), weekly,
15,000 copies.

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The Christian Advocate and Journal (Methodist) weekly, 35,000 copies.

The Examiner and Chronicle (Baptist), weekly, 26,000 copies.

The circulation of the different newspapers would no doubt be much affected by the late war. For instance, the circulation of the New York Tribune (weekly) rose to 237,000 copies. The New York Daily News having advocated the cause of the south, its circulation in Richmond was nearly as large as it was in New York. Advertisements in American newspapers are charged for at a much higher rate than they would be in England. For instance, an advertisement in the weekly issue of the New York Tribune for one insertion is charged from 4s. to 6s. per line, according to the place in the paper in which it was to appear. I was quite astonished to see people come to the office and pay at this rate as cheerfully as possible, without any bargaining whatever, for it seemed to be an understood thing that if the advertisement appeared it must be paid for at the rate already named.

New York presents a scene of continual bustle and change. At the hotel where I staid one could no sooner become acquanted with a person than he was off like a bird of passage no one knew where. Every day persons were leaving for different parts of the Union, and every day fresh arrivals came. On one day I counted no fewer than eightyfive new visitors. The hotel is constantly open, never being closed either by night or by day the week round. On entering, the visitor registers his name and address, and if he happen to be travelling without luggage he will be expected to pay in advance; but if he have luggage the hotel bill will be made out once a week, or earlier, should his time be more limited. A key will be given to him, with label attached, having the number of the room he is to occupy, and it is well for the visitor to see that his room is always locked when he leaves it, for in an hotel where hundreds of people go in and out during the day, if anything be lost it will be almost impossible to trace it out. The dining hall would seat about one hundred and twenty at table, and however full it might seem to be, like stuffing a carpet bag, there was always room for more. I soon discovered the reason. The Americans will take a little soup, a little fish, a little fowl, a little flesh, a little pie, pudding, custard, tart, peach, &c., and almost as soon as one could say Jack Robinson they have gulped it all down, or left large fragments on their plates,

and away they go, and others come without ceremony to take their places. As I like to have sufficient time to masticate my food, I generally found that three Americans could dine in succession before I had finished my repast. Nearly twenty negroes were in attendance as waiters, and nothing could exceed the gracefulness with which they removed the chairs for visitors to sit down. One of the darkies seemed quite elated when he informed me that he was present at Fort Sumter when the Union flag was raised, and then, turning with glee the white of his eye, and exposing a set of beautiful white teeth, he said he really believed that they would not have been able to raise the flag if he had not been present.

The

Went this day to New Haven, the semicapital of the state of Connecticut. day was beautifully fine, and the land and sea views were splendid. I have often heard people speak disparagingly of the English railway carriages after having travelled in the American cars, and I remember when on board the steamer this was one of the subjects discussed; and when I mentioned what Dr. Mackay had said about the American cars, several persons laughed outright, and said I should find it quite different from what Dr. Mackay had represented. So far as my present experience is concerned, I think the balance of advantage is on the side of America. The carriages are well lighted, comfortably cushioned, and, as the passenger can walk from one end of the train to another, if the company in one carriage be not such as he wishes to associate with he can take his seat in another. The carriages are eminently adapted for the convenience of social parties. In warm weather, a person keeps passing from one end of the train to the other carrying in one hand a bright metal kettle filled with ice-water, and in the other a kind of cruet stand on which are fixed tumbler glasses, so that passengers may have a cooling draught at pleasure. Booksellers and others use the cars for the disposal of their wares, and appear to drive a flourishing business. The periodical dealers distribute their magazines amongst the passengers, and after a little time they collect them in again, and if any passenger wishes to retain the one in his possession he pays the usual price for it. By this means a great amount of periodical literature is brought into circulation.-On arrival at New Haven, I proceeded to the house of an old friend who had been in America more than twenty years. It was somewhat surprising that, although more than a quarter of a century had elapsed since we had seen each other, and no communication had passed

between us, I was recognised and made welcome with the greatest cordiality. The grape-gathering had taken place that day, and the hops bad been spread to dry, so that my arrival was just at the time of harvest.

Sept. 21.-New Haven is considered by many persons to be the prettiest city in the United States, and this is just the time to see it in its loveliest aspect. It is situate on the northerly shore of a fine broad bay, extending about four miles from Long Island Sound. The harbour is spacious and convenient, and vessels ply between Albany, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Barbadoes, and the Windward Islands. The population of the city is about 50,000, having doubled during the last ten years. Rows of magnificent elm trees grow on the sides of the streets, forming quiet shaded avenues, which call forth expressions of admiration from all beholders. It has long been known as the 66 City of Elms," and some describe it as the "Garden of New England." The private palatial residences have an air of quiet comfort, ample space, rural and architectural elegance, and horticultural adornment, such as few cities possess. The classic groves and shades of Yale College, the pleasant surrounding parks and avenues, and the interesting scenery which continually opens to the view, afford glimpses of beauty calculated to give a new impulse to the cultivation of taste. Amongst its literary institutions, Yale College stands first in rank. It is said that it is the principal university of America. The late war has, however, affected it most seriously, for a very large proportion of the students formerly came from the Southern States, and now they are almost entirely withdrawn. I have heard it said that this withdrawal has had a beneficial effect with respect to the good order of the city, for many of the students from the South were very rude and boisterous. On one occasion a number of them indulged in a lark by taking down during the night some of the signboards belonging to different tradesmen and bringing them to the college, where they commenced chopping them up for firewood. The incensed tradesmen went to demand their signs; but there is a college rule that no student is to be disturbed during prayer, and taking advantage of this rule, one of the students commenced praying aloud while the others went on with their work of destruction. In this prayer he was heard to say:-"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas."

B

The college edifices are built very

much in the factory style, and have very little of architectural adornment; but there is now in course of erection, in connection with the college, a building which is denominated "The School of Fine Arts," which will be a most costly and splendid edifice. The library contains about 72,000 volumes. -Visited the State House, &c.

Sept. 22.-Visited the Connecticut Iron Works, and examined a new sort of steam engine called a "Cast Iron Grasshopper." Its peculiarity is that, instead of a perpendicular piston rod it works on the principle of folding doors. The engine is twenty horses' power, and only occupies three feet square. It is quite a new invention, this being the only one completed, and a patent has already been obtained for it. The person who invented it is not a mechanic, but a bookkeeper, and he has sold his patent right for 10,000 dollars. Saw the Music Hall, a splendid building, and one peculiarity of it is that the gas is lighted by electricity, so that the lighting up of the entire building is only the work of a moment. Visited the United States College of Business and Finance, in which are taught penmanship, bookkeeping, arithmetic, grammar, business correspondence, spelling and defining, commercial definitions, commercial law, forwarding and commission business, insurance business, banking business, telegraphing, architectural drawing, surveying, navigation, French, German, &c. The instuction is communicated in the most practical manner, thus eminently fitting young men for the active duties of life. In addition to the above, instructions are given to advanced students with respect to railroad, express, and steamboat business, algebra, geography, science of government, custom house business, science of accounts, Spanish language, vocal and instrumental music,oil painting, crayon sketching, &c. Certificates of competency are given to those who successfully pass the ordeal of examination. A sound theoretical and good preparatory business experience are secured by the method of instruction here adopted. Care is taken to secure religious and moral excellence in connection with intellectual culture. I am not aware of any similar establishment in England, nor, indeed, anything which is analogous to it. To enter the college when the students are engaged is like entering a miniature world of mercantile traffic, where strict discipline imparts business habits, and a full development of character is almost infallibly secured. Nor are the advantages of such an institution confined to the sterner sex, for the ladies are provided with a system of instruction as

comprehensive as that of the gentlemen, and in the telegraphing department they are even supposed to excel, great proficiency being generally obtained in about three or four months. Education for the young and the middle-aged in America is at the present time exciting an interest which was probably unknown before, and must ultimately be attended with results materially affecting the destinies of this great country.

Sept. 23.-Sometimes, since my arrival in this country, I have put questions to people relative to certain states in the American Union, and it has appeared as if I had been putting questions relative to a foreign land. It is not surprising that this should be the case when the vast area of the United States is taken into consideration. The great extent of some of the States in the Union is rendered more obvious by comparison. Ohio exceeds either Ireland, or Scotland, or Portugal; and equals Belgium, Scotland, and Switzerland together. Missouri is more than half as large as Italy, and larger than Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland. Missouri and Illinois are larger than England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

Sept. 24, Sunday.-Attended the first Baptist Church, and heard an interesting discourse by Dr. Phelps, his subject being "The Gospel Feast.' In the afternoon, heard Dr. Cleaveland, of the Third Congregational Society. This society is known here as the "Blue-skin Puritans." The church is large, and respectably attended. This was the day for the dedication of deacons, which was done by the laying on of hands in the presence of the whole congregation. Dr. Cleaveland delivered a most appropriate discourse on the occasion, his text being, "They that have used the office of a deacon well purchase for themselves a good degree."-Visited the City Cemetery in which are deposited the remains of many eminent men, including Webster, the lexicographer. The monuments were chiefly of white marble, and some of the sculptured representations were of a most beautiful description. In this graveyard I observed, for the first time, inserted in the monumental headstone a photograph of the deceased. I thought this was a most excellent plan of rendering permanent the shadow when the substance was gone.

Sept. 25.-Planted a vine in commemoration of my birthday. It was of the Isabella variety, which is now considered to be the best grape cultivated in the United States. In the afternoon, went to West Rock, a bold rocky eminence, 400 feet high, which gives a commanding view of the city, harbour,

lighthouse, Long Island Sound, &c. The day was splendidly fine, and the views were of an exquisite character. In this locality are still visible the remains of entrenchments thrown up by the Americans during the revolutionary war, to resist the advance of the English under General Garth. Hamilton Park, in this vicinity, has been handsomely arranged, the grounds inside the racecourse having been excavated, so as to form a skating pond, the water being forced into it from the river by means of a steam pump. Near this place also is the workhouse, which is very different from a workhouse in England, which is only such by name, while at New Haven it is a reality. The workhouse receives all persons who are in a condition of indigence, but, if capable, they are required to work, and at the present time the inmates earn the entire cost of the establishment, so that it has ceased to be a charitable institution. I visited the Judge's Cave, which is in a secluded part of the forest. The place possesses historical interest, inasmuch as General Edward Whalley, and General William Goffe, two of the judges whose names were affixed to the warrant for the execution of King Charles the I., took up their residence in this cave after the Restoration. They arrived at New Haven in the spring of 1661; and to protect their friends from the charge of having harboured regicides, they took up their abode in this gloomy cave, which was formed by three huge boulders, but it is now much different to what it was formerly, for, during a thunderstorm, the electric fluid struck the centre rock, and produced a great change. There are, however, fissures sufficiently open for people to pass in and out. A party of Royalists arrived from England with an order to arrest the judges, but by means of concealment the order was never executed.

Sept. 26.-Went to Neck Bridge, on the Mill River, which derived its name from the fact that some of the regicides escaped detection by wading up to the neck in water. Visited Mr. Read's Garden, where there were excellentgrapes, melons, pumpkins, and a great variety of fruits and flowers not grown in England. There was not so much labour bestowed on the gardens here as is generally the case in Lancashire, nor do they appear to be as tastefully laid out. Mr. Read's garden is fifteen acres in extent, yet there are only four men employed in its cultivation, and as vegetation is here very rapid, it is utterly impossible for four men to keep down weeds and have the grounds in excellent condition. I was shown some Indian corn which was only planted in July, and now had

attained a height of from six to eight feet. There were some beautiful humming birds flying about, and culling honey from the flowers. Large and beautiful butterflies, the wings of which displayed the most splendid colours conceivable, were flying about in all directions. There was very little difference in the size between the small humming birds and the large butterflies. In the evening was invited to visit a neighbour. It is quite usual here if an Englishman comes into the locality for him to be invited to pay visits, and a pleasant interchange of conversation.generally follows. Biscuit and wine were handed round, and a lively conversation, interspersed with vocal and instrumental music, occupied the remainder of the evening. Ön returning home, mine host asked me what I thought of the comfort of working men's homes in America, and assured me that the person at whose house we had spent the evening was a working man. I thought that the homes of working men in America were much more comfortable than the homes of working men in England. Mine host, who had had twenty years' experience of America, fully concurred in that opinion.

Sept. 27.-Witnessed a great fire-engine display. Fire insurance is quite an institution in America, and everything relating to it excites general interest. Bands of music and a procession, in which the different companies of the fire brigade, dressed in uniform, appeared, accompanied by their brightly burnished engines, their fire-escapes, hose carriages, and everything relating to fire department, caused a general stir in the city, and it seemed to be quite a holiday occasion. The fire-engines are what they are represented to be, for they are worked by steam power. Each engine only requires

three men to attend to it at one time. The following is the routine :-Three men are constantly kept night and day ready at any moment for action. The horses are on the spot, and almost in a moment they are ready to start for the place whence the alarm issued. Highly combustible materials are ready for ignition, and in a few minutes (generally before it reaches the place where it has to be employed), the steam-engine is ready for work, and the mode of action is so perfect that it not only pours a continuous flow of water upon the fire, but it gives direction signals, so that one mind secures as much unanimity of action as can be obtained by a skillful general on the field of battle. Nothing can exceed the perfection of the arrangements, and it was quite a treat to witness the various manœuvres. Water was forced by steam power to a great altitude

against the spire of one of the tall churches in the city. A silver trumpet was publicly presented to one of the companies present. Probably, in a country where fires are frequent, it has been found necessary to discipline the fire brigade in such a manner that the greatest amount of power might be brought to bear in а very limited time. In the short period that I have been in this city a number of fires have occurred, and a piano manufactory, which equals in size the generality of cotton factories in England, still exhibits its blackened ruins produced by a conflagration.

Sept. 28. This evening went to a "Surprise Party." This is a designation which is probably new to English ears, and therefore it is necessary to explain. When a

couple get married and commence housekeeping, the neighbours agree to pay a visit, but keep it a perfect secret to the parties themselves. I was invited to the house, but was strictly enjoined not to reveal the secret. After I had conversed with the good lady of the house and her husband a considerable time, a rap was heard at the door, and presently were ushered in more than fifty persons all masked, and attired in the most fantastic dresses imaginable. Amongst the rest, one, I observed, was a ghost of large dimensions, but without head. The dressing of the ghost had evidently been a work which required great care, the upper portion of the body being pillowed up in such a manner as to add considerably to the stature. A small aperture was left sufficiently large for one eye to be able to see all that was going on. Then, as if the ghost-like whiteness was to be brought into striking contrast, the negro, as black as black can be, makes his appearance on the scene. As it was completely a masquerade, youth could be made to represent the feebleness of age, and age could represent the agility of youth. Ladies took for the nonce the dress of the gentlemen, and gentlemen assumed the attire of the ladies, not even excepting the crinoline. The transformation was so complete that the family did not know who were their guests, nor did the guests know each other. Everything was carried on in dumb show, but there was evidently much prying to discover the real persons, whose identity had become obscured by the masks and strange dresses in which they appeared. After some time the masquerade closed, the parties retiring. to a dressing room, and on their return there was a cordial greeting. They then proceeded to the supper room, where a plenteous repast was provided, consisting of beef, custards, pies, &c. All the glasses on the

table were filled with water, and I was told that it was never customary on such occasions to have any intoxicating liquor. It ought to be stated that, as it could not be expected that persons would be prepared to entertain, with becoming hospitality, so large a party without previous notice, a few of the guests made the necessary provision. Supper being over, the rest of the evening was spent in lively conversation, and vocal and instrumental music. In New Haven, almost every house possesses its piano, harmonium or melodeon, and as vocal music forms part of the instruction imparted at public schools, the consequence is that in almost every miscellaneous party there will be found persons having a cultivated taste for music. The songs were chiefly of a patriotic character, among which was the following, called

THE PRISONER'S HOPE.

In the prison cell I sit,

Thinking, mother dear, of you,

And our bright and happy home, so far away;
And the tears they fill my eyes,

Spite of all that I can do,

Tho' I try to cheer my comrades and be gay.
Tramp, tramp, tramp! the boys are marching;
Cheer up, comrades! they will come,
And beneath the starry flag
We shall breathe the air again

Of the free land in our beloved home,
Chorus: Tramp, tramp! &c.

In the battle-front we stood
When their fiercest charge they made,
And they swept us off, a hundred men or more;
But before we reached their lines
They were beaten back dismayed,
And we heard the cry of victory, o'er and o'er.
Tramp, tramp, tramp! &c.

So within the prison cell,

We are waiting for the day

That shall come to open wide the iron door:
And the hollow eye grows bright,

And the poor heart almost gay,

As we think of seeing home and friends once more.
Tramp, tramp, tramp! &c.

Some of the company were members of the "Mendelssohn Society," a concert party of considerable repute, and the song was beautifully sung. Another song which was introduced was the following:

We're tenting to-night on the old camp ground,
Give us a song to cheer

Our weary hearts, a song of home,
And friends we love so dear.

CHORUS.

Many are the hearts that are weary to-night,
Wishing for the war to cease,
Many are the hearts looking for the right,
To see the dawn of peace.
Tenting to-night, tenting to-night,
Tenting on the old camp ground.

We've been tenting to-night on the old campground,
Thinking of days gone by,

Of the lov'd ones at home that gave us the hand, And the tear that said good bye.

We are tired of war on the old camp ground,
Many are dead and gone;

Of the brave and true who've left their homes,
Others been wounded long.

We've been fighting to-day on the old camp ground,
Many are lying near;

Some are dead, and some are dying,
Many are in tears.

Towards the midnight hour the party broke up,
congratulating each other about the happy
meeting which had taken place. I inquired
if it never happened that persons on being
visited in such an unceremonious manner,
were highly displeased, and I was assured
that so far from being offended on account
of the liberty which was taken, the parties
visited always regarded it as the highest mark
of honour which the neighbourhood could
confer. America is the country for social
convivial parties, especially in the winter
season. Perhaps the extreme coldness of
the atmosphere gives a zest for indoor
amusements, which is not felt in an equal de-
gree in milder climates. There is what is
termed the "husking bee," a party which is
formed at the corn harvest when the husk
has to be taken from the cob. The work
being completed, they all sit down to supper,
and after this, the evening is spent with
music and rustic games. Nothing can ex-
ceed the conviviality of such occasions, and
they are always anticipated with the greatest
pleasure. In addition to the "husking bee,"
there is also the "carpet bee," the " quilting
bee," and other sorts of "bee," the general
effect of such gatherings being to promote an
excellent feeling one towards another
throughout the neighbourhood. An instance
occurred however, which had quite a contrary
effect. Some of the parlour games are pre-
cisely such as are common in England, but
there are others which are purely of Ameri-
can origin, and amongst others is a game
called "marriage." It happened that a
young man amorously disposed towards a
young lady made offers of love which met no
tender response.
His ardent attachment
abated not a jot in consequence of the slights
which he received, and, as it was impossible
to accomplish his object by fair means, he
determined to be successful by means of a
mischievous hoax. A "bee" took place, at
which both parties were present, and when
the game of "marriage was played, he
and his loved one were most conspicuous,
for he performed the part of the bache-
lor and she the spinster. No interrup-
tion to the general mirthfulness of the oc-
casion took place until the party broke
up, and then he insisted that she should
accompany him home as his wife. She
laughed at his proposal, regarding what had

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