We saw something of private social life in German Town. Several families in the neighbourhood were invited to spend an evening with us. It resembled a party on the Continent, where eating and drinking are not of much interest. The marked feature of the whole gathering was extreme yet tasteful simplicity. Some ladies were sumptuously dressed, and there, as in other places, appeared an eye for harmony of colours—a special American endowment, which struck me pleasantly. Manners were agreeable, and there was ease in conversation—a rare enjoyment. The ladies were self-possessed, and could hold their own, yet not rudely; and their kindliness indicated personal interest, which made their visitors feel at home. We arrived at New York at the beginning of October, and were entertained by Mr. Dodge at his princely residence in Madison Avenue. Sir Charles Reed was guest there at the same time, and the arrangements for our reception betokened a cordial welcome. In a “History of New York,” it is stated that “when Henry Hudson discovered the river, now bearing his name, and Hendrick Christiansen, and Adam Block, followed up the discovery, the island of Manhattan was made the chief depôt of the trade, and Christiansen received the appointment of agent for the traffic in furs during the passage of the vessels to and from Holland. He immediately set about the construction of a small fort, with a few rude buildings, on the southern extremity of the island, thus laying the foundation of the future city.” “In May 1626, Peter Minuet arrived at New Netherlands, as Director-General, and immediately effected the purchase of the island of Manhattan, from the Indians for goods and trinkets to the value of sixty guilders or about twenty-four dollars.” “In 1628 a church was organised with fifty communicants under the auspices of James Michaelius, a clergyman from Holland.” From these feeble beginnings sprang the wharfs, the quays, the avenues, the squares, the warehouses, the stores, the halls, the libraries, the museums, the hospitals of New York. When shall we stop in the enumeration of riches belonging to this Queen of the West? Hence, too, we may say came the churches, the congregations, the colleges, the schools, the reformatories and the religious institutions, without number, which form the glory of that Western Metropolis. The first meeting of the Alliance Congress—for the expenses of which twenty thousand dollars had been subscribed—was held in the hall of the Young Men’s Christian Association. The hall contains fifteen hundred sittings, and was decorated with flags, flowers, and mottoes. It was crowded in every corner, and the spectacle from the platform was imposing, the audience being composed, to a large extent, of representatives from the States, and the principal nations of our Eastern Hemisphere.