rendezvous is not often attacked, although it probably would be, were it not for the strong protection of govern

ment.

THE DOCKS.

The ships are not here, as with us, stationed along the wharves, for at low water, the foundations of these structures are in view, and ships moored by their sides, would be left on the bare sand twice in twenty-four hours, with no small exposure to injury from the rapid influx and retreat of the water, and the great rise and fall which the ship must sustain by such powerful tides as flow in this channel.

To obviate these, and other inconveniences, the ships are hauled into docks, where they lie in perfect security.

These docks, of which there are six wet, besides several dry ones, are among the principal curiosities of the place.

In order to their construction, a large area on the bank of the river is excavated to a sufficient depth, by digging. It has a rectangular form, and is enclosed by very deep, wide, and strong walls of massy hewn stone, sunk below the bottom of the cavity, and rising to the surface of the ground. There is an opening at the bason sufficiently wide to admit one ship at a time. This opening is closed by gates, which are hinged upon opposite sides of the canal, and, when shut, they meet at an angle sufficiently acute to enable them to sustain the pressure of the water in the bason. In short, they are constructed just as locks are in canals. They open inward, and their operation is very intelligible.

When the tide rises so as to bring the water in the river to the same level with that in the bason, the gates either

The water then flows indis

open of their own accord, or easily yield to a moderate power exerted upon them. criminately in the river and bason, and it is at that time, or near it, that ships must pass in or out; for when the tide turns, the current, now setting outwards, closes the gates ;—the water in the bason is retained, and the channel leading to it becomes entirely dry. The ships in the dock remain afloat, and the gates sustain the enormous weight of twenty feet of water. Great firmness is therefore necessary in the structure of the walls and of every part. When there is too much water in the docks, the excess is let out by means of vent holes, and it is obvious that the whole can be drawn off in this manner when it is necessary. The top of the gates is formed into a foot bridge, and a bridge for carts is thrown over the canal, somewhat nearer the outer bason. By means of machine- · ry this last bridge is swung off to one side, when ships

are to pass.

No small inconvenience is sustained by ships in getting into or out of dock; they are sometimes obliged to wait several days either for the spring tides or for their turns. The Ontario will have to wait ten days from the time of her arrival, as she draws too much water for the ordinary tides, and must therefore wait for the next spring tide. Common ships can enter now, but the Ontario* is the largest American ship in the Liverpool trade. Much delay is

* The Ontario never returned to America. In getting out of dock, she struck the ground; the tide left her on the sand, and being heavily laden, she broke by her own weight, and the tide flowed into her. After being detained several months, and repaired at an enormous expense, she put to sea, and was never heard of any more.

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said to be occasioned at the king's and queen's docks, by the captious and tyrannical disposition of the dock master. Last winter, an American captain, pretending to shake hands with this dock master, and, at the same time, affecting to stumble over something, pulled him off, along with himself, into the water. He did not value a fall of ten feet, with some chance of drowning, compared with the pleasure of taking this kind of vengeance on a man who was cordially hated by all the American masters of ships.

The dry docks are intended solely for the purpose of repairing the ship's bottom. They are nothing more than long and deep canals, whose sides are formed into sloping steps, like stairs, and as the object is to exclude the water, the gates open outwards. When a ship is to be admitted, the gates are thrown open at low water, and she comes in with the flood. The dock is wide enough to hold only one ship in its breadth, but it is so long, that several can come in, in succession. After they have arrived at their places, they are moored, and when the tide retires, they are left dry, resting upon the bottom of the dock, and sustained in a perpendicular position by means of props. The gates being closed at low water, the next tide is excluded, and thus the workmen are admitted with safety and convenience quite down to the keel.

The same bridges are used here as across the entrance of the wet docks.

The channel of the river Mersey affords safe anchorage for ships of any burden.

In Liverpool the proportion of women is much greater than of men, especially in the lower orders of society. The men of this description are usually in the army or navy,

and multitudes of the females are maintained by their vices.

Liverpool is well provided with hackney coaches. This is an accommodation which is eminently useful to a stranger, but for which he will commonly pay higher than the citizens. The first time that I had occasion to use a coach, suspecting that the charge was excessive, I took down in my pocket book, the number of the coach and the owner's name, and then, without making any objection to the price, presented the coachman a handful of shillings, and told him to take what he thought proper. He declined taking any thing, but said he would go and consult his master; he returned in a few minutes, and took two shillings instead of three which he had asked at first. The former sum was the legal fee, and the extra shilling was a tax which he was levying on me as a stranger in the country. This trifling anecdote is of no other importance than as an instance of the common disposition to impose on strangers and of the sense of responsibility to the laws and fear of punishment manifested in the present case.

The general appearance of the population of Liverpool, is extremely like that of our own countrymen in our large cities. Every body here talks, dresses and acts, and every thing looks, so much like America, that I can hardly believe I have actually crossed the ocean. Most of those with whom I have hitherto conversed, have been extremely civil and kind, and there is scarcely an appreciable dif ference between us and the people here, either in the manner or matter of conversation.

Indeed Liverpool is in a sense identified with America, so constant and intimate is the intercourse, and such multitudes of Americans resort to this port.

The American trade is very important to Liverpool, and scarcely a week elapses without communication with New-York.

No. IV.-LIVERPOOL.

English dinners-Great men of the city-Wine every where a theme-Coldness of manners-Allerton Hall-Botanical Garden-Mr. Roscoe-His usual retirement-A transport ship-A Quarry-Duelling ground-Environs of Liverpool-St. Domingo-Singular compliment to the Prince of Gloucester-An English hotel-Servants-Wide difference between them and American servants-The cause of it-A French servant.

ENGLISH DINNERS.

I DINED to-day at Birchfield, a beautiful seat in the suburbs of Liverpool, formerly the residence of Mr. Roscoe. The house is surrounded by highly improved grounds, ornamented with gravel walks, winding with many turns among groves and green fields, for the verdure has now become general in this part of England, Mr. Ewart, the possessor of this mansion, has been recently elected a bailiff of Liverpool, and, on this occasion, gave a kind of official dinner to the mayor, the aldermen, the town clerk, and other officers of the city. A previous introduction to their host, gave me the honour of dining with these gentlemen, and several others of the first citizens. There were two gentlemen at table, who, when the income tax was laid, gave in their incomes at twenty thousand pounds sterling, or almost ninety thousand dollars.