First impressions of the New World on two travellers from the Old, in the autumn of 1858 — John Shaqi
First impressions of the New World on two travellers from the Old, in the autumn of 1858Trotter, Isabella Strange
History
First impressions of the New World on two travellers from the Old, in the autumn of 1858
Trotter, Isabella Strange
Canada -- Description and travel; United States -- Description and travel
We went to the chapel on Sunday the 5th, where we joined, for the first
time, in the service in America. It differs but little from our own, and
was followed by a not very striking sermon. The Holy Communion was
afterwards administered, and it was a comfort to us to join in it on
this our first Sunday in America. The cadets filled the centre of the
chapel, and are a very good-looking set of youths, wearing a pretty
uniform, the jacket being pale grey with large silver buttons. We dined
at four o'clock at the _table d'hote_, in a room capable of holding
about four hundred. We sat next to the landlord, who carved at one of
the long tables. The dinner was remarkably well cooked in the French
style, but most deficient in quantity, and we rose from table nearly as
hungry as we sat down. Some of the ladies appeared at dinner in evening
dresses, with short sleeves (made _very_ short) and low bodies, a tulle
pelerine being stretched tight over their bare necks. In some cases the
hair was dressed with large ornamental pins and artificial flowers, as
for an evening party. We met them out walking later in the evening, with
light shawls or visites on their shoulders, no bonnets, and large fans
in their hands. This toilette was fully accounted for by the heat, the
thermometer being at 80 deg. in the shade. Many of the younger women were
very pretty, and pleasing in their manners.
We left West Point early on Monday morning, the 6th, taking the
steamboat back to New York, leaving William to pursue his journey to the
White Mountains and Montreal alone, and we are to meet him again at
Boston next week. The steamboat was well worth seeing, being a wonderful
floating house or palace, three stories high, almost consisting of two
or three large saloons, much gilt and decorated, and hung with prints
and filled with passengers. The machinery rises in the centre of the
vessel, as high nearly as the funnel. We went at the rate of twenty
miles an hour. We again enjoyed the beauties of the river, and could
this time see both sides, which we were unable to do on the railway, by
which means too we saw many pretty towns and villas which we had missed
on Saturday. We were back at the hotel by twelve o'clock, and are to
make our next move to-morrow afternoon to Newport, a sea-bathing place,
a little way north of this. We are doing this at the strong
recommendation of Lord Napier, who says, at this time of the year
Newport is worth seeing, as giving a better idea of an American
watering-place than Saratoga, where the season is now drawing to a
close.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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