We arrived before the doors were open,
and had to wait some few minutes in the entrance, which is glazed
in, and where the drums of our ears were sorely tried by a noisy
military band, which when you get into the rooms and at a distance
sounded well, but not just alongside. After depositing our cloaks,
we filed by two and two past the President, shaking hands with him
and the wife of the Secretary of State, who receives when there is
no Mrs. President, and then wandered through the six remaining
rooms, being introduced to several people as Mrs. H - - of
England, and Miss W - - of England, which we thought would not
convey much to their minds excepting that we were two very un-smart
Englishwomen; though we were much consoled about our clothes
which did not look so peculiar, every sort of costume being worn,
even to bonnets. No refreshments are given, so that we were glad
that supper was included in the "Menu du jour" at our Hotel.
I shall not pretend to describe Washington to you. Any guide-book
would give a more satisfactory account, but it is much more my
idea of a city of the New World; the streets are well paved, are
nice and broad; then the houses are generally standing in their
own grounds, with trees and flowers; altogether it may be called
an "elegant" city. The people were most kind and civil to us. One
afternoon we made two "cabinet" calls on ministers, but the other
afternoon we went for a drive across the Potomac to Arlington, the
ancestral place of the Lees, which was confiscated after the war
and is now a soldier's burying-ground. It has an exquisite view
across the river. The only thing that distressed us was the
bearing-reins on the nice little pair of chesnuts in the buggy.
The reins are crossed over their nose, passed between the ears,
and fastened tight to the saddle, which forces the head right back
and nearly saws the mouth in two. We never rested until we had
loosened them, which was supposed to be the reason why the horses
broke in their trot afterwards, as they were supposed to require a
support.
The weather has been quite delightful, bright sunny days but not
hot; and if only the houses and hotels were not kept at such a
suffocating temperature, we should be very happy both in and out
of doors. The artificial heat has completely knocked us up in
Brooklyn. We had a lovely big room with a large bay window besides
another window, where we often retired for a blow of fresh air;
the result has been that we both have had bad crying colds.
* * * * *
CHICAGO, May 11th.
We are now half way to Manitoba, and have really done the journey
thus far so easily that it seems nothing of a drag; and if it
wasn't for the Atlantic, A - - would not seem to be at the end of
the world, which we fancied whilst in England.
We left Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, very sorry to part from the
Commodore and his family, who have been most kind and friendly,
trying their best to make us feel at home. Unfortunately, having
only just got the appointment and lately taken up their residence
at the Navy Yard, they could do no entertaining. Anyhow, we have
had a very pleasant insight into the home life of America, which
differs in small ways a good deal from ours, and in character,
habits, and everything there is a widish gulf between the two
races.
Our train here was a splendid one, stopping only about sixteen
times, and doing the nine hundred miles in thirty-six hours. We
had a section in the Pullman, which makes a double seat facing
each other by day, and at night the two seats are converted into a
bed, with the second bed pulled down from the roof, on which
mattresses, blankets, and sheets are all arranged with a
projecting board at the head and foot, and a curtain in front, so
that one is quite private, and we slept like tops. We had also a
dining-car on, where every luxury of the season, to strawberries
and cream, were served by the blackest of niggers in the whitest
of garments, for the sum of a dollar a head per meal.
Only fancy our delight, after leaving Harrisburgh about 3 o'clock
in the afternoon, to find friends in the train, people from an
adjoining county in England who knew all our friends, and with
whom we had much in common. I need hardly tell you that we did
"chin" it until our ways parted at this station, they going to the
Grand Pacific, we to the Treemont which had been recommended to us
as being a quieter hotel for ladies alone.
Men make these hotels their club, where they smoke and lounge all
day; but as there is a second door for ladies, one is not bothered
in any way unless you want to go to the office for information.
We are astonished at the enormous piles of buildings in this city;
land, one would think, must be cheap. All the shops cover an
equally large area, though, in many, several offices are on one
floor. It is too marvellous to think, when one looks at this
place, that three and a half square miles in the centre of the
town, which is now in regular handsome broad streets, the fire of
eleven years ago should have so completely burnt everything to the
ground, though now not a vestige of the conflagration is left. The
houses have even had time to get quite blackened with the smoke of
the soft coal they use, which is found in great quantities all
through Pennsylvania; the mines and furnaces we passed on our way
up.
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