Hesperothen; Notes from the West, Vol. 2 (of 2): A Record of a Ramble in the United States and Canada in the Spring and Summer of 1881Russell, William Howard, Sir
History
Hesperothen; Notes from the West, Vol. 2 (of 2): A Record of a Ramble in the United States and Canada in the Spring and Summer of 1881
Russell, William Howard, Sir
United States -- Description and travel
The victories of the American horses in France and England created
an enthusiasm in the States almost as intense as though they had been
won by the national fleets or armies. From one end of the Union to the
other the news was flashed the same day, and we saw the names of the
conquerors in large letters in every newspaper. Unfortunately there
came at the same time reports of foul play to American competitors at
the hands of some English roughs, and there was a good deal of heat
caused by the objections taken to the entry of the "Cornell Crew" at
Henley. These international contests should be very carefully conducted
and judiciously worked, or they will do more harm than good, if indeed
they do any good at all. The injurious insinuations respecting the age
of Foxhall could but excite indignation in the minds of honourable men
against whom they were directed.
There is a State House in the town, and there is also a mansion
occupied by Commodore Perry, but the most useful inhabitant of the
place appears to have been one Abraham Touro, a Jew, who gave his name
to the park, a cemetery, a synagogue, and a street. Altogether there
is rather an old-world air and look in the town; but one must go along
the Avenues to have an idea of the charms which lead so many of the
principal families of the Eastern States to make the place a resort
when they are not enjoying the delights of travel in Europe, or that
blissful existence which endears Paris to our Transatlantic relatives.
Bellevue Avenue is bordered by a number of very sprightly dwellings,
of every order and disorder of architecture, and rejoicing in all the
extraordinary richness and elaboration of American workmanship in wood,
each standing in a little park of its own, generally rich with trees,
shrubs, and an ornamental garden. Several of these interiors, as we
had reason to know, were furnished in the very best taste, and filled
with objects of art, excellent examples of good masters, principally
foreign, and articles imported from all the corners of the globe. Of
an afternoon the ladies might be seen driving, in very well turned-out
carriages, to some rendezvous where lawn-tennis or a picnic awaited
them; and altogether, even at this time of year, Newport presented a
picture of great refinement and comfort, which enable the visitor to
understand how attractive it must be in the height of the season, and
why it is Americans are so fond of life in Rhode Island.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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