IRISHMEN IN AMERICA.

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is said to be admirably conducted. It derives its name, not, as might be supposed, from the union of states: but from the circumstance of its founders (though members of various religious persuasions) having offered the advantages of their college to men of every faith.

After passing Schenectady, we travelled through some exceedingly beautiful scenery. The railroad skirted the Mohawk, through the rich valley of which river our course lay; and here I think it advisable to remark, that there are no such things as railway tunnels, or cuttings, in the United States. The engineers infinitely prefer going round the hills to working their way through them, and perhaps in this peculiar country they are in the right. The workmen employed are mostly Irish; indeed, it would appear that one of the few uses to which an Irishman can be put, is to make a navvy of him. The race are neither better nor worse than adverse circumstances, and their own reckless natures, have made them in other parts of the world; but spirits here are unfortunately cheap, and this, with their own inherent love of independence, renders them perhaps somewhat more dangerous characters than they are at home, where they have not so wide a field for their exploits.

During the latter part of this day's journey, we passed through several pleasant looking villages, the beauty of one of which, with its truly rustic

86

PICTURESQUE VILLAGE.

cottages and happy-faced inhabitants, deserves to be recorded by the magic pen of Miss Mitford herself. It lay imbedded between high granite rocks, from the clefts in which the pine and the cypress shot their dark-green foliage; while a beautiful fall of the Mohawk dashed along through the narrow valley, and glistened and sparkled in the sunshine. Altogether, I thought it one of the most lovely spots on which my eyes had ever rested. Its name is Little Falls;' of course, it has its manufactories, but they are not offensive to the sight, and only add to the prosperous aspect of the place. A great deal of woollen and paper manufactures is carried on at Little Falls; and the mills are worked by the river Mohawk, which has here a fall of upwards of forty feet, within the distance of half a mile.

No sooner did the cars arrive at Utica than the agents of the different hotels rushed tumultuously forward, hemming us in on every side, and boasting as volubly of the merits of their respective establishments, as the noisiest French Commissionaires who ever gained their living in a similar manner. Some of them thrust printed papers into our hands, one of which contained, greatly to my amusement, the following curious announcement:- Civil and gentlemanly porters are always at hand, to attend to the wishes of the guests.' We have taken up our quarters at

ARRIVAL AT UTICA.

87

'Bleeker's Hotel;' it is an immense building, but a considerable portion of it is shut up for the season. But I find that I must now close my letter. I have lingered so long on the Utica journey, that I must send off this dispatch, and trust to sending you an account of Trenton Falls (not a description, that, I know beforehand, would be impossible) in my next letter.

I

Utica-October.

The

NEVER saw so busy a place as Utica. stores, which are large and handsome, seem to contain everything that the most unreasonable person possibly could desire to purchase, and the demand was evidently as great as the supply was good and plentiful. This was the more remarkable, from the circumstance that Utica has sprung up with mushroom-like rapidity in the very heart of the wilderness. The Erie canal and the railroad, both of which run through the town, have done wonders for it, and the surrounding country is now one of the richest and best cultivated districts in the United States. I found, on inquiry, that land could not be purchased for less than fifty dollars an acre, and that much larger sums were frequently paid for it.

Of course, the main objects of our curiosity were the celebrated Trenton Falls, and we were determined to lose no time in gratifying it. The morning after our arrival, therefore, we rose be

A 'FIRST-RATE' ROAD.

89

times, and having hired a light barouche, drawn by a pair of good-shaped, active horses, we prepared to set off on our expedition. The distance from Utica to the Falls is about fifteen miles, and the owner of the vehicle informed us that the road was 'first-rate.' The morning was fine, and a crowd of well-wishers were assembled at the door of the hotel to see the Britishers set off. The landlord took especial care in providing for our comfort, and, as we rattled off, there was a cheering shout " All right! Go a-head!' which was heard half way down the street. We had not proceeded more than a quarter of a mile, when we began to suspect that the first-rate' road existed only in the imagination of the livery-stable keeper. The ruts were often nearly a foot in width, and there was a yielding depth of soil, and an abundance of large stones which defied all attempts at rapid motion. Nothing, in short, but the distant hope of arriving at last at Trenton Falls would have supported us through the bumping and jolting we underwent.

་

Dreadful nice horse, that!' said the driver, looking first with undisguised fondness and admiration at the near animal, and then over his shoulder at his luckless passengers. Dreadful nice horse, that and can go a spell, I reckon!' We did not offer to disprove his assertion; and certainly, if by 'dreadful nice' he meant to imply that the creature was sure-footed, fast, and enduring, he was fully