274 INDIAN MOUNDS. that one almost wonders their real origin should have been the subject of so much controversy. That the Indians should choose these elevated spots, both for burial grounds for their dead, and for places of safety for their fighting braves,' is not surprising, though it is equally certain that the red man's hand was never employed in their formation. LETTER XXIV. ARRIVAL AT CINCINNATI IMPROVEMENT IN AMERICAN MANNERS-THE CITY DESCRIBED-MISS L AND THE INVALID- - GERMAN SETTLERS DEPARTURE FROM SLAVES INTO THE FREE STATES-THE IRISH IN On board' Ben Franklin,' on the Ohio-November. WE passed two nights on board the 'Consul,' ? and were not sorry when the morning sun showed us we were approaching Cincinnati. No one can help admiring the beauty of the spot on which has been built The Empire City of the West,' for it is all that can be desired for such a purpose. Imagine a valley about twelve miles in circumference, surrounded by hills clothed with fine trees, and intersected by the beautiful Ohio, which, winding through the centre of the rich plain, divides the state of Ohio from that of Kentucky. A portion of the town of Cincinnati is built on the low ground, but it also extends high 276 ARRIVAL AT CINCINNATI. up on the hills, which are everywhere enlivened with the white houses of the suburban villas. In many of the streets (as at Philadelphia) there are rows of trees planted between the carriage road and the trottoir. When we consider that the utmost limit we can give to the age of Cincinnati is fifty years, we may well acknowledge that it is a wonderful city for its time of life.' Fifty years ago, the Empire City was in its infancy, and now within its limits fifty thousand souls draw the breath of life. The first thing we did after landing, was to hire a carriage, and drive at once to the highest ground, in order to obtain as comprehensive a view as possible of the town and adjacent country. The first object that arrested our attention, as we ascended the main street, was Mrs. Trollope's Bazaar. It is very near the Broadway Hotel, and is pointed out with a little triumph, as one of the lions (for its absurdity) of the place. This signal failure in speculation, and consequent cause (according to the Americans) of a great deal of bitterness and uncomfortable feeling on the part of its clever, but certainly misguided foundress, is a sort of Moorish building, of a very fanciful and gingerbread description. As a fancy bazaar, it never answered, and is now made use of in various ways. From the number of Doctors' names, which we saw engraved on the entrance door, we imagined that Trollope's MRS. TROLLOPE'S WRITINGS. 277 Folly,' as it is called, has become the emporium of pills and draughts, instead of perfumes and delicate 'dry goods.' Mrs. Trollope, and her entertaining writings, form a frequent subject of conversation among Americans, especially when they meet with English people. In Cincinnati this was particularly to be remarked, and no wonder, as it was the theatre of her unsuccessful operations, and also that from which she drew the lively description of life and manners, under which the Americans have so greatly smarted. It would be, perhaps, stretching a point to say that Mrs. Trollope is popular in America, but at the same time I feel convinced that, were she to revisit the American continent, her reception in the States would not be an unpleasant one. Truth is very rarely palateable, and no one who has chanced to have been in the United States at the period of Mrs. Trollope's visit, can altogether deny the justice of many of her remarks, or the truth of most of her descriptions. Both people and things have, however, changed in this country since those days, and the improvement in their manners and habits of life has been rapid and great. Of this the Americans are as fully aware, as that for such improvement there was no inconsiderable need; and I consider it no mean proof of their candour that they date their advance in refinement from the appearance of 278 UNINTERESTING INVALIDISM. Mrs. Trollope's most entertaining work on the 'Domestic Manners of the Americans.' Cincinnati is certainly on the whole a very fine city, but like many others in America, there is a great want of uniformity in the buildings, and a considerable deficiency of the public edifices sufficiently grand to attract the attention of the traveller. There seemed to be plenty of business carrying on in the stores, and there was no want of movement in the streets, but the former lacked everything like elegance and beauty of display, and the crowds in the latter seemed too much wrapped up in the weighty concerns of business to have much leisure to waste on the thoughts of dress or deportment. Before dinner we were ushered into the ladies' parlour,' in which we found (rather an uncommon sight here) a gentleman sitting alone. Sitting, however, he was not, for he was lying at full length on the sofa, wrapped in a large cloak, and an interesting halo of invalidism thrown round his person. The person only was in fault, for unfortunately the usually touching state of convalescence failed to throw any interest round an invalid who was short and stout, and moreover was neither young nor good-looking. Having nothing better to do, we amused ourselves with watching the new variety of human natur' before us. He was apparently wrapped up and absorbed in the expectation of some important coming event, |