enough; and had it continued a moment longer, it would have been discreditable too. At my suggestion, Mr. Gregory left the room. I then closed the door, and endeavored to explain to Mr. Garrot the cause of the collection in the hall, and the motives of the individual who had interrupted him. But I found it difficult to make him comprehend it; for I was not a little puzzled myself to shape the matter in such a way as to render the explanation satisfactory, as well as plausible. At length he seemed to understand it; and taking out his tablets, wrote down what I suppose he considered the substance of my explanation, and then handed it to me and read. It ran thus: Americans have very little taste for music, and never listen with pleasure to the violin on Sundays, except in church!"

66

'Tis very well, said I, monsieur; 'tis very well.

Half an hour afterwards, we walked deliberately down stairs, and took our seats at the tea table, as carelessly and as composedly, as if nothing had happened. But I observed, what Monsieur Garrot probably did not, that every eye in the room was occasionally turned upon him. Though in one sense the author of the mischief, and certainly the most censurable of the two, yet I received the thanks of Mr. Gregory, for having put an end to the confusion occasioned by the musical taste of Monsieur Garrot.

It is near the breakfast hour and the city boarders, I perceive, are already dropping in. That well dressed, handsome faced gentleman standing upon the stoop, with his hat under his arm and a rattan in his hand, is Mr. James Kane, of whom you have heard me speak so frequently. The tall, spare man, with whom he is conversing, is Mr. Walter Clark, a merchant of the city, plain and simple in his character and manner, but polite and gentlemanly. The person that has just joined them, is an exceedingly clever man in his way-a little selfcomplacent, perhaps, but a gentleman and a wit: the latter he inherited, among other goods and chattels, from his father, who had a great deal more, by the by, than he

bequeathed to any one. He is, as you perceive, extremely civil and polite; but it is rather because he deems it due to himself, than to others. His wit, though perfectly good natured, is not scattered at random. It has its mark, and is always intended to tell. But notwithstanding his piquancy, and self appreciation, he is a clever companion, particularly over a bottle of good Madeira. His fine rosy face shows this. In short, among the gentlemen of the Tontine, Mr. Caldwell holds no second rank.

That young man standing in the centre of the group on the left, is a Mr. somewhat remarkable for his flow of spirits and fluency of speech. He has acquired some reputation in the city, as a business man, and is quite a favorite with Mr. Kane. He is said to be something of a reader too, and, by the aid of a retentive memory, sustains himself in the midst of a class of young men, much better educated than himself. He has a disposition to satire, which he frequently indulges at the expense of others, but without any taint of malignity. In his open and somewhat random mode of talking, he certainly says some things, and tells some truths, which it would be difficult for any other person to utter without giving offence. He has the advantage, too, of being older, if not abler, than he looks; and, under the guise of a frank and heedless manner, is keenly observant of the conduct and character of those around him. I have no doubt that he has, at this moment, in his portfolio, a full length portrait, not only of many of his personal friends and acquaintances, but of most of the distinguished men of the state. But he is no scholar, and can not give to his sketches an abiding interest.

That plain but gentlemanly looking man, now talking with Mr. Kane, is Mr. Sedgwick, a member of the bar, and one of the most promising young men in the city. His character may be read in his countenance: in which, I think, you may also read that he is from Massachusetts. He brings with him the advantages of family reputation, character, and talents; and sustains these antecedents by

personal merit, purity of mind, and cleverness of manner. He is the professional partner of Mr. Harmanus Bleecker, a gentleman of sterling merit, and withal the best Dutch scholar in the city.

REMINISCENCES OF ALBANY.

From Memoirs of Elkanah Watson, p. 267.

1788.

Curiosity conducted him to the "old Dutch city of Albany," that he might compare their habits and manners with those of the cities of Holland, from whence their ancestors had emigrated more than one hundred and fifty years before; the one surrounded by the progress and refinement of Europe, and the other in contact with savage barbarism. At that period Albany was the second city in the state, containing about six hundred dwellings, generally constructed on the old Dutch model, but was rapidly modernizing, as well in its architecture as customs. The city he regarded as awkwardly situated upon the declivity of a hill. The houses were principally of brick, and many were elegant. Vessels of eight feet draught plied constantly and in great numbers between the city and New York. The trade was immense, and rapidly increasing. A branch of this trade, formerly of great value, had then become nearly extinct-the traffic in furs, which the British had found means to avent from this avenue, chiefly by the ascendency they derived from their forts, within our own territory.

The inhabitants were mostly Dutch, attached to their own customs, and cherishing their national prejudices. As foreigners intermixed with them, these peculiarities were relaxing, and insensibly softening. They had generally adopted in the instruction of their children the English tongue, by the establishment of English schools. Mr. Watson expressed in his journal, the prediction that the Dutch language, in half a century, would be unknown in that city as a spoken language.

He proceeded eight miles from Albany to the new glasshouse, erected by John De Neufville, a former cor

respondent of Mr. Watson, and an inhabitant of Amsterdam. Mr. De Neufville was the negotiator of the treaty made by Holland with the American congress, which essentially produced the war between the former and England in 1781. He commenced business with an hereditary capital of half a million sterling, and lived in Amsterdam and at his country seat in the highest affluence and splendor. He sacrificed his fortune by his attachment to the cause of American independence, and in his efforts to sustain it. The fragments of his estate he had invested in the hopeless enterprise of estab lishing this glass factory. Mr. Watson found this gentleman, born to affluence, in a solitary seclusion, occupying a miserable log cabin furnished with a single deal table and two common chairs-destitute of the ordinary comforts of life.

Ibid, p. 275.

My curiosity satisfied, I sent my horse towards Albany, and embarked on board a returning bateaux, and proceeded down the Mohawk to Little Falls, anxious to examine that place, with an eye to canals. We abandoned ourselves to the current of the river, which, with the aid of our oars, impelled us at a rapid råte. We met numerous bateaux coming up the river, freighted with whole families, emigrating to the "land of promise." I was surprised to observe the dexterity with which they manage their boats, and the progress they make in polling up the river, against a current of at least three miles an hour. The first night we encamped at a log-hut on the banks of the river, and the next morning I disembarked at German Flats.

The meanderings of the river, by my estimate, about doubles the distance of a direct line. We passed a valuable tract of 16,000 acres of land, situated on the north side of the river, which has been granted by the state to Baron Steuben. From Schenectady I pursued the road across a thickly settled country, embracing many fine farms, to Ashley's Ferry, six miles above Albany. On the east side of the river, at this point, a new town has