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Delaware, but is navigable up to the town, the point of en trance to the smaller stream being indicated by a lighthouse. The town lies on an elevated ridge of land between the streams of the Christiana and the Brandywine, and commands, from its elevated position, a fine view of the surrounding country. It is the capital of the little State of Delaware, the smallest in the Union excepting only Rhode Island.

The first settlers here were Swedes and Danes, under the auspices of the celebrated Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, about 1627. In 1655 they fell under the authority of the Dutch, and were by them united to their settlement of New-Amsterdam, under the title of the New Netherlands. In 1664 the whole was conquered by the British, and granted by Charles the Second to his brother James, duke of York, who in 1682 conveyed the Delaware settlements to William Penn. In 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in Philadelphia, a convention of representatives, chosen for the purpose, formed a constitution, and it became a free and independent state, under the name of Delaware, a name originally derived from that of Lord De la Warr, one of the early settlers of Virginia, whose name is thus borne by the state, the river, and the bay. The whole length of the state from north to south is only 90 miles, and its breadth from east to west only 25.

It is divided into three counties, Kent, Newcastle, and Sussex, and contained, by the census of 1830, a population of 76,739 souls, of which there were 57,601 whites, 15,855 free coloured persons, and 3292 slaves. The principal productions of the state are grain and cattle, for which its generally level and highly fertile territory is well adapted.

The state has a school-fund of 170,000 dollars, out of which it maintains a public school in every district of four miles square, though no district is allowed to have any share of the fund that will not raise by self-taxation a sum equal to that which it requires from the state. In addition to these, there are excellent academies at the principal towns of Wilmington, Newcastle, Newark, Dover, Smyrna, Mulford, Lewistown, and Georgetown.

Small as this state is, it has manifested a great degree of enterprise. Besides the great railroad connecting Philadelphia and Baltimore, which runs chiefly through the State of Delaware, they have a canal called the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, which connects the two great bays of that It is fourteen miles in length, sixty feet in breadth,

name.

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and ten in depth, with a rise of eight feet only above the tide to its summit-level. Its ample dimensions adapt it to the passage of the largest schooners; and it is said to present the greatest excavation hitherto attempted in this country, the drains constructed for the passage of the waste water being nearly equal in magnitude to the largest canal in NewYork. At its entrance into the Delaware Bay is a spacious harbour 20 feet deep at low water; it is capable of containing 200 vessels of a large class, and affording them shelter against the dangers of the bay at all seasons of the year. The work cost about a million and a half of dollars, towards which a grant of 300,000 dollars was made by Congress, on the ground of its being a grand national work.

Wilmington contains a population of about 8000 persons, who are mostly engaged in agriculture or trade. I had the good fortune to find settled here an officer in the United States' navy, Captain Gallagher, whom I had known thirty years ago at Norfolk, in Virginia, when he was sailing-master of Commodore Decatur's frigate, the United States, and I was myself an officer on board an English ship then lying in Hampton Roads. He was snugly brought up at a comfortable farm which he called "The Anchorage ;" and in his personal appearance, manners, and taste, he constantly reminded me of Lord Althorp (now Earl Spencer), in the delight with which he conversed of cattle, stock, and farming and grazing operations. I passed some very agreeable hours in the pleasant mansion of my early friend; and our mutual reminiscences were full of interest, for he had seen a great deal of active service, and had been in several sharp actions in the American navy with the British, sometimes among the victors and sometimes among the vanquished. I delivered a course of lectures on Palestine in Wilmington, which were well attended; and, as usual, this made me acquainted with some of the most agreeable families there.

Of places in the more immediate vicinity of Philadelphia, the cemetery at Laurel Hill holds a conspicuous place. The conviction is spreading far and wide, that the dead ought no longer to be buried in the midst of populous cities, but that portions of ground should be set apart for that purpose, remote from the habitations of the living. The beautiful cemetery of Père la Chaise at Paris, if not among the earliest, is at least one of the finest examples of how much beauty, taste, and convenience may be united in such establishments. The larger towns of England are fast following that example; and in America they are treading in the

same path. At Boston, Mount Auburn is said to be one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the country; at Baltimore an exceedingly picturesque spot has been recently purchased for this purpose; and at Philadelphia, Laurel Hill has been for two years enclosed.

It is situated on the eastern bank of the Schuylkill, at a distance of four miles from Philadelphia, in a northwestern direction beyond the Fair Mount Waterworks. The space enclosed is about twenty acres, of which the surface is suffi ciently varied to admit of picturesque grouping in the tombs and trees, the greatest elevation being about 100 feet above high-water mark. The entrance is through a gateway, in the centre of a long Doric colonnade of 216 feet front, and in a pure and chaste style.

On each side the gateway are lodges for the gravedigger and gardener. Within is a handsome cottage-residence for the superintendent, a Gothic chapel for the funeral service of the dead, a house for the accommodation of persons at. tending the funerals, and stabling for forty carriages, with a greenhouse, intended to be used as a shelter for the delicate plants of summer placed about the grounds, but requiring to be kept under cover during the winter. Several old trees existed on the ground before it was enclosed; and to these have since been added upward of 1000 ornamental trees and shrubs, which will every year be increased.

The ground slopes down on the west towards the banks of the Schuylkill, the stream of which flows by it to the south; and as within the enclosed area are craggy rock and sloping lawn, with a finely undulated surface, nothing is wanted but time, and tasteful disposition of the grounds and monuments, to make it one of the most beautiful places near the city.

The Inclined Plane is another of the objects in the neighbourhood worth visiting. It is situated on the western bank of the Schuylkill, at a distance of about three miles from the city in a northwest direction, and forms part of the Great Western railroad leading from Philadelphia to Columbia. On passing the bridge across the Schuylkill, which is 900 feet in length, covered with a roof, and enclosed on both sides, so as to furnish a complete shelter from sun and rain, the Inclined Plane rises from the western bank of the river in an angle of elevation which may be inferred from the length of the plane, which is 2700 feet, and the perpendicular height of its termination, which is 180 feet. At the summit of the Plane are stationary engines, by which the trains of cars are

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drawn up, and the greatest safety is secured. The view of the upper portion of the Schuylkill from hence is beautifully picturesque and the whole of the surrounding_country, clothed in the exuberant foliage of the month of June, exhibits the highest degree of luxuriant fertility.

The village of Manayunk, at a distance of seven miles up the Schuylkill, is another beautiful spot for an excursion; the whole of the way up the river, from Fair Mount to the village, being characterized by the softest and most exquisite rural scenery, and the village itself being an interesting portion of the picture.

Up the Delaware to the towns of Burlington, Bristol, and Bordentown, the seat of Joseph Bonaparte, is another interesting trip; and, indeed, in every direction around Philadelphia, the lover of the picturesque and the beautiful will find abundant sources of pleasure.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Traits of National Manners in America.-Pugilistic Contest in the Congress.-Opin ions of the Press on this Affair-Acquittal of the Speaker of Arkansas.-Justification of Murder.-Mockery of the Law.-Robbers and Cutthroats at New-Orleans.-Horible Act of Lynch Law at St. Louis.-Outrages attributable to Slavery.—Ad、 dress of Judge Fox to the Grand Jury.-Attempted Abolition Riot at Boston.-Scandalous Scenes at Weddings.-Quack Medicines and Necromancy.-Indications of Mourning in Families. Tranquillity of the Streets of Philadelphia. -- Musical Sounds of the Chimney-sweeps.-Grand Evening Party without Wine.-Lectures delivered in Philadelphia.-Public Meetings for Benevolent Objects.-Experiments of Dr. Mitchell on Carbonic Acid Gas.-Freezing of Mercury-Cold at 102° be low Zero.-Production and Properties of Carbonic Acid Snow.-Practical Applica. tion of Dr. Mitchell's Experiments.-Substitution of Carbonic Acid Gas for Steam.→→→ Comparison of Cost and Benefits.-Plan to be tested by the Franklin Institute.Object and Character of that Association.-Improvements already effected by its Labours.-Progressive Advance of American Manufactures.-Last Visit to the State House of Philadelphia.-Oppressive Heat of the Atmosphere.-Fine View of the City and Suburbs from the Steeple.

On the subject of national manners, some public occurrences came to our knowledge in Philadelphia which are sufficiently remarkable to deserve a special record, and the more so as they happened in very different quarters of the Union: from New-Orleans and Arkansas in the extreme south, to Boston in the north; and from St. Louis in the extreme. west, to Philadelphia in the east, and Washington, the seat of government, in the centre. To begin at headquarters, the following is a faithfully abridged report from the proceedings of Congress on the 1st of June, 1838:

"INDIAN HOSTILITY APPROPRIATION BILL.

"Mr. Turney resumed the floor, and finished his speech in support of the bill.

"Mr. Bell rose, and, having complained of the attack of his colleague as unprovoked and unexpected, disclaimed any particular ill-will to him, on the ground that he was acting only as a conduit for the concocted and long-cherished malice of others, who had never thought proper to meet him personally. His colleague was acting as an instrument, as a tool, as the tool of tools.

"Here Mr. Turney (who sat immediately before Mr. Bell) rose, and, looking him in the face, said, 'It is false, it is false !'

"Mr. Bell thereupon struck at Mr. Turney in the face, and blows were for a short time exchanged between them.

"Mr. Turney repeated his assertion that it was false, and the attack was renewed.

"Great confusion ensued. Members rushed from their seats, and cries were heard for the Speaker' and the Sergeant-at-arms!'

"Mr. Duncan said that such things must be the consequence of the abuse which was going on. One or two other members, while crowding to the spot, had some rather sharp verbal encounters.

"The speaker hastily took the chair, called on the sergeant-at-arms to preserve order, and read a British precedent (see Jefferson's Manual, p. 132), where the speaker of the House of Commons had in like manner interposed to quell a disturbance which had arisen while the House was in committee of the whole.

"Mr. Bouldin moved that the House adjourn. The motion was negatived without a count.

"Mr. Pennybacker said that it was a farce that the House should have rules, and refuse to enfore them. He then moved the following resolution :

"The Hon. H. L. Turney and the Hon. John Bell having violated the privileges of this House by assaulting each other in the House while sitting, it is therefore

"Resolved, that the said H. L. Turney and John Bell do apologize to the House for violating its privileges and offending its dignity."

"Mr. Bell then rose, and said he had been ready at any moment to acknowledge that he had violated the order of the House. He, however, appealed to the older members of the House to say whether it had been his habit to use unparliamentary language in that House. He regretted extremely that he had violated the decorum and offended against the dignity of the House.

"Mr. Turney followed, but in a tone so low that but little of what he said could be heard. He was understood to say that he had no intention to insult the House or to violate its rules.

"The resolution was then laid on the table, and the House went back into committee of the whole.

These were the facts of the case, about which there seemed no dispute. The opinions entertained of the conduct of the members partook as of the spirit of party; but in the greatest number of instances in which the editors of the public journals expressed an opinion on the subject (for some were silent), that opinion was condemnatory of both the offending parties. The following example may suffice. The Pennsylvania Herald says,

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