templating this fine scene. The river was low, but I was better pleased with the appearance of the cataract than at any time heretofore. The face of the precipice was sensibly worn since the year 1802, and presented more and bolder varieties to the view than at that time. There was visibly less water running here than we found at Salisbury. A great part of the precipice was naked. After we had satisfied our curiosity we crossed the Mohawk, and, passing through Waterford, crossed the Hudson also on a handsome bridge to Lansingburgh. In the evening we rode to Troy.

Lansingburgh is built on a handsome plain upon the border of the Hudson. The principal street lies parallel with the river. The number of houses is perhaps two hundred and fifty, generally decent buildings. It contains two churches, a Presbyterian and an Episcopal. The bed of Hudson against Lansingburgh is obstructed by a rift of rocks. The inhabitants, who were collected to this spot by high-raised expectations of prosperous trade, have been seriously disappointed in their hopes of clearing the river of these obstructions. Yet they are not discouraged, the legislature having lately made them a grant, which they believe, will go far towards accomplishing their wishes. The road from Lansingburgh to Troy, three miles, is a continued village. In the year 1810, Lansingburgh contained 1,658 inhabitants. In the census of 1800 it was included in the township of Troy.

Troy is one of the most beautiful and well built towns which I have seen. From Water street, which extends one or two miles along the river, five others proceed in a southern direction obliquely to the river, which here bends towards the west. These are crossed by eight others at right angles. The streets are wide, straight, and spacious; and the town, independently of the direction of Water street, perfectly regular. In the year 1789, the ground on which Troy stands was a field belonging to a Dutch gentleman, whose name was Vanderheyden. Originally the township was large. It is now only three miles in length on the river, and scarcely a mile in breadth. The houses in it must of course be new. The number of them is a little short of six hundred. They are chiefly of brick, generally very neat, and often handsome. The public buildings are a Presbyterian, an Episcopal, a Baptist, and a Methodist church, and a Friends' meeting house; a court-house, a gaol, and two banks. The new bank is a handsome building; the other public buildings are decent. The streets are prettily set with trees, and the houses ornamented with gardens and other neat appendages. Upon the whole, there is hardly a town in the country, forming the subject of these letters, which makes so cheerful, brilliant, and beautiful an appearance. Water street, on the

side towards the river, is lined with large stores, many of which are of three and four stories, and are all furnished with wharfs. The river to this place holds the same depth as to Albany. The site of Troy, and of Lansingburgh also, is an elevated, hard, gravelly plain. The scenery around it is delightful. Behind it is Mount Ida, a very handsome eminence. Before it is the Hudson; here a noble stream, with its islands, and beautiful western shore. Above, at the distance of three miles, are the villages of Lansingburgh and Waterford. Below, at the distance of six, is the city of Albany. Troy and Lansingburgh are both settlements, formed for the purposes of trade. Antecedently to the embargo in 1809

Troy was one of the most prosperous towns in the American Union. The inhabitants had engrossed most of the trade carried on by the county of Washington, part of the county of Rensselaer, and the western half of Vermont. That disastrous measure, and those which followed it, drove the people of Vermont to Montreal. This channel of commerce having been thus fairly opened, the stream will not probably return to its former bed without extreme difficulty. I was assured, in Troy, that real property had by these measures already lost one-fourth part of its value. Troy, in the year 1800, then a large township, contained 4,926 inhabitants. In 1810, the present Troy contained 3,895.

The next morning, Saturday, September 28th, we proceeded to Albany. Here we continued until Tuesday morning, in a circle of friends, from whom we received every pleasure which can spring from enlightened and refined society. This city is exceedingly improved. In the year 1792, there were very few houses built in the modern English manner. The body was composed of clumsy Dutch buildings a great number of which had been erected from eighty to one hundred years. Seven successive fires, five of which were kindled by incendiaries, have swept away a large part of these, as well as many other buildings, so that the inhabitants have been compelled to build a considerable part of the town anew. In the year 1790, Albany contained 3,498 inhabitants; in the year 1810, 9,356. The little town of Colonie, which lies on its northern skirt, separated only by a legal line, and inseparable by the eye (so that it is really as much a part of this city as the same number of houses in any other quarter), contains 1,406; making together 10,762. Albany therefore has more than tripled its population in twenty years; Colonie not having been separated from it in the census of 1790. Two-thirds of its houses must, of course, have been added since the first of these dates. Besides, a considerable number of houses have been pulled down to make way for better buildings, to furnish convenience, gratify ambition, or satisfy the calculations of avarice. From these causes Albany is become in its appearance a new town, and is certainly a very handsome one. The public buildings have been as much improved as the private ones. These are the state-house, a house for the great offices of state, ten churches, an arsenal, a prison, and three banks. The state-house is a handsome building at the head of State street, in a noble situation, and furnishes from its cupola a rich and extensive prospect. It contains chambers for the senate and the house of representatives, a court-room, jury-rooms, offices, and lobbies Its external appearance would have been much improved by the addition of a third story. The churches are generally good buildings. The Episcopal church stands on State street, in a commanding situation, and is a rich, expensive structure, but heavy to the eye. The Dutch church in Pearl street I mentioned heretofore. The new Dutch church, on Hudson street, is one of the best and most beautiful edifices of this nature which I have seen. The streets are generally well paved. Upon the whole, few towns in this country appear so advantageously to the eye as Albany. The inhabitants, you will perceive from the account which I have given of its population, are chiefly immigrants, derived from many countries and different nations. Most of them, however, are from the United States; particularly from New York and New England. The state of society must of course be various. Extensively, it is intelligent and refined, and we found it uncommonly agreeable. The inhabitants deserve much credit for their public spirit.

A general disposition prevails among them to increase the beauty of the town, and add to the number of its conveniences, the fruits of which are extensively visible. Among other improvements, they have begun to supply the city with water by aqueducts, the water of their wells being hard and disagreeable. In my own opinion, the people of Albany are advancing in their moral and religious character. The commerce of this city has become very great, and many of its merchants are wealthy. Such are its advantages for trade, that it must become a large commercial town, and have a very numerous population.

[Davison's Traveler's Guide for 1840, has the following account of Albany:]

ALBANY is the capital of the state of New York and in point of wealth, population, trade and resources, is the second city in the state, and the sixth or seventh in the union. It is situated on the west side of the Hudson river, and near the head of tide water. It was settled in 1612; and next to Jamestown in Virginia, is the oldest settlement in the United States. In 1614, a small fort and trading house were built by the Dutch on an island half a mile below the site of the present city; and soon afterwards Fort Orange where the city now stands. The place was first called Aurania; then Beverwyck, till 1625; then Fort Orange till 1647, and Williamstadt till 1664. For a long time after its foundation it was enclosed with palisadoes or pickets, as a defence against the Indians, who were then numerous and powerful in its vicinity.

Though the first appearance of this city is not prepossessing to a stranger, still the taste which has been displayed in the construction of its public and private buildings-the constant din of commercial business which assails the ear of the traveler-the termination of the Erie canal and the Mohawk and Hudson rail road at this place, and many other attendant circumstances, render Albany an important and interesting spot.

The city is divided into five wards, and contains many superb and elegant buildings. The principal avenues are Market, Pearl, and State streets. The two former run parallel with the river, and the latter is very spacious, extending from the Capitol to the Hudson, nearly east and west. Besides these, there are many other streets, less considerable in extent, but populous and crowded with shops and stores.

The Capitol, which contains the legislative halls, the supreme and chancery court rooms of the state, the state library, and other apartments for public business, stands at the head of State street, on an elevation of 130 feet above the level of the river. It is a substantial stone edifice, erected at an expense of $120,000. It is 115 feet in length, 90 in breadth, and 50 feet high, consisting of two stories and a basement.

The Public Square, fronting the Capitol, is arranged in the style of a park, and is surrounded by a costly iron railing, having several delightful walks and avenues.

North of the Capitol stands the Academy, one of the most elegantly constructed buildings in the city. It consists of free stone, 3 stories high, and 90 feet of front.

The City Hall, fronting the foot of Washington street, and near the Capitol square, is a costly edifice of white marble, displaying much taste in its structure, and is ornamental to the part of the city in which it Hist. Coll. iii.

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stands. The dome is gilded, and is a conspicuous object at some distance from the city.

The new State Hall, located north of the City Hall, is constructing of white marble, and, when finished, will not be surpassed by any edifice in the city. It will contain the offices of the secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, surveyor general, attorney general, register in chancery and clerk of the supreme court.

The Female Academy, in North Pearl street, a beautiful and classical edifice, commanding a view of the eastern part of the city and opposite shore of the Hudson, under its popular principal, Mr. Crittenden, receives an extensive patronage.

The Baptist Church, on the same side of the street, and but a few doors from the Academy, is also a very elegant structure. The pediments of both buildings projecting at suitable distances from each other, give a very fine appearance to the street, by relieving the monotony of the long line of dwelling-houses in the neighborhood, without materially obstructing the view of the whole. There are also 20 other houses of public worship, several of which exhibit much taste in their architecture, six banks, and one of the best museums in the country.

The Merchant's Exchange, built of granite, is located on the corner of State and North Market streets.

Hotels. The principal hotels in Albany, are the Eagle Tavern, South Market street; American Hotel, State street; Congress Hall, Capitol square; Mansion House, City Hotel and Temperance House, North Market street. These are all first rate establishments, handsomely furnished and well kept. On a less expensive scale, are the Fort Orange Hotel, Columbian Hotel, and Montgomery Hall, South Market street; and the Franklin House and Rail Road Hotel, State street. During the sessions of the New York legislature, Albany is crowded with strangers, and contains much of the legal talent and learning of the state. The city is eligibly situated for trade, being a great thoroughfare for the northern and western sections of the country.

The Albany basin, where the waters of the Erie canal unite with the Hudson, consists of a part of the river included between the shore and an artificial pier erected 80 feet in width and 4,300 feet in length. The pier contains about 8 acres, and is connected with the city by drawbridges. It is a grand and stupendous work, on which spacious and extensive stores have been erected, and where an immense quantity of lumber and other articles of trade are deposited. The basin covers a surface of 32 acres.

ORIGIN OF THE ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE IN ALBANY.

[It seems to be established beyond dispute, that this Rite was first established in this country at Albany, in the year 1767. The institution being in a flourishing condition at this time, and embracing in its membership all classes in the community, and the ancient lodge being still in existence, the details of the origin and progress of the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection is of sufficient interest to merit a place in this work. From the proceedings of a council held at Boston, furnished to me by Mr. Robert H. Waterman, the following particulars are copied entire, with all the technicalities of the fraternity. It forms a portion of the address of the presiding officer at the council held as above in 1869.]

Scarcely any greater service for the Rite could be done than the preparation and publication of the history in detail of the Rite in this country. As now existing, it came immediately from several independent sources. It was unquestionably first established in Albany, in 1767, by Henry Andrew Francken. In an address delivered in 1851, Ill. Bro. Giles Fonda Yates, says:

My intercourse in 1822 with several old Masons in the city of Albany, led to the discovery that an Ineffable Lodge of Perfection' had been established in that ancient city on the 20th of December, 1767. I also discovered, that not only the Ineffable, but the Superior Degrees of our Rite, had been conferred at the same time on a chosen few, by the founder of the Lodge, Henry A. Francken, one of the Deputies of Stephen Morin of illustrious memory. It was not long, moreover, before I found the original warrant of this Lodge, its book of minutes, the patents of Ill. Brothers Samuel Stringer, M. D., Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and Peter W. Yates, Esquires, Dep. Inspectors General under the old system; also, 'the regulations and constitutions of the nine Commissioners,' etc., 1761, and other documents that had been left by Bro. Francken with the Albany Brethren, when he founded their Lodge. With the concurrence of the surviving members of said Lodge residing in Albany, Dr. Jonathan Eights and the Hon. and R. W. Stephen Van Rensselaer, P. G. M. of the Grand Lodge of New York, I aided in effecting its revival. The necessary proceedings were thereupon instituted to place the same under the superintendence of a Grand Council of Princes of Jerusalem as required by the old Constitutions; and said Grand Council was subsequently opened in due form in said city."

This statement of Ill. Bro. Yates has been called in question: but I have had the gratification of inspecting documents which place the truth of it beyond question. For this I am indebted to the zeal and energy of Ill. Robert H Waterman, 32°, of Albany, and the courtesy of Bro. John W. Bay, 33°, of the same city. I deem a full history of that Lodge worthy