The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware 19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: [unknown woman]

Title: Souvenirs of Boston

Dates: 1893-1894

Call No.: Doc. 1565

Acc. No.: 08x61

Quantity: 1 volume (120 p.)

Location: 31 J

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Diary was kept by unknown woman, possibly surnamed Milnes, from Aberdeen, Scotland.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

Although simply titled “Souvenirs of Boston,” in fact the volume details the travels of an unknown Scottish woman to Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Niagara Falls, New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and across the continent to Colorado and southern California, ending in Santa Barbara. The diary opens on December 6, 1893, and closes in May 1894. The diarist recorded her impressions of railway travel, street cars, the places she visited, and the people she met. She spent over a month visiting friends in Boston and participating in their social activities, including meetings of the Saturday Morning Club and whist parties. On Christmas, she helped distribute turkeys and cranberry sauce to poor people. She spent the Lenten season in Montreal, where she met new people and enjoyed tobogganing. She also visited Kingston, Toronto, and Ottawa, before returning to the United States via Niagara Falls, by which she was most impressed. A return to New York City reunited her with acquaintances, and she saw some plays. She was to join a tour group to the West, but the route was changed, so she had to make hurried visits to Washington and Philadelphia on her own. The tour group, organized by Raymond & Whitcomb of New York, left from Niagara Falls, with a stop in Kansas City, before arrival in Colorado, where the group enjoyed the Garden of the Gods, but where many had trouble breathing atop Pike’s Peak. She loved the Rockies and the canyons of Colorado and was sorry to leave them. She seemed to find a visit to Santa Fe fairly interesting, but did not like the landscape of New Mexico or Arizona. She did like most of the places visited in southern California, including San Diego, Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Santa Barbara. She was especially interested in the beautiful flowers and the orange groves in California. Although she grumbled on occasion about poor hotels, bad food, or disagreeable travel companions, for the most part, the diarist took such problems in stride. She seems to have been a seasoned traveler, as she compares adobe houses in New Mexico to those in Egypt, and the Rockies with the Alps. At one point, she noted that Americans always wondered if she were related to Richard Monckton Milnes, which she was not. This is the only clue to her identity.

ORGANIZATION

Chronological entries, but most are not dated.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

The materials are in English.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PROVENANCE

Purchased from Ken Spelman, York, England.

ACCESS POINTS

Topics:

Prisons \z Canada.

Railroad travel.

Voyages and travels.

Winter sports.

Women \x Diaries.

Women \z Great Britain.

Women travelers.

Boston (Mass.) \x Description and travel.

Boston (Mass.) \x Social life and customs.

California \x Description and travel.

Canada \x Description and travel.

Colorado \x Description and travel.

Montreal (Quebec) \x Social life and customs.

Niagara Falls (N.Y. & Ont.) \x Description and travel.

Toronto (Ont.) \x Description and travel.

United States \x Description and travel.

Diaries.

TRANSCRIPTION OF THE DIARY

[Note: abbreviations and most spelling, except for capital letters, preserved; some punctuation and paragraphs added to make the text easier to read. A few passages were recorded out of order – the passages are placed in the correct chronological sequence, with the page numbers clearly marked.]

Souvenirs of Boston

I left New York on the 6^th of Dec. 1893 on a very gray morning to make my first railway journey in America. I got into what is here called a “parlour car.” It corresponds with our 1^st class, but in reality is not at all like. The cars over here are very long, very handsome, & to my mind very inconvenient inasmuch as there are only two exits for the car & probably 50 or 60 people in it. Of course in the so-called parlour cars, there is not room for such a large number on account of the revolving easy chairs with which it is furnished. There is no place for luggage, which accounts for all American only carrying small hand bags, or as they call them “grip sacks.” These cars are so overheated that one must take off all one’s extra wraps at once, & even then one feels ready to gain. Not a breath of fresh air to be got – the windows being all

[p.2]

hermetically sealed, or at least made so that they cannot be opened. The porter, always a coloured man, passes through & opens the ventilators in the roof & then you get a regular draught on yr. head at once. I nearly suffocated for a time & got an intense headache. We passed through a very uninteresting country with a gt. deal of water, as we skirted the Sound most of the way. I was intensely glad to finish my 1^st railroad experience & to see the friendly faces on the platform waiting my arrival. I got a charming welcome from all. Nelly & Sally Dexter & Nelly Dennie were waiting me. We drove away at once home as the Express man had charge of the luggage. The house is charming, light & pretty & not over heated. My room was not warmed at [p.3] all. I was introduced to Mary Dexter, Nelly’s cousin – a portly, handsome white-haired woman with traces of sorrow in her face. We sat talking till dinner time & I had hardly time to get into a clean garment, which I afterwards found quite an unnecessary trouble, as Americans at home do not dress for dinner. We talked till very late & my first impressions were decidedly favorable. I was up betimes in the morning & went out with Nelly to see Boston & call on Miss Dennie. I found Boston very(?) English in appearance & many of its narrow, tortuous streets remind me of the old provincial towns at home. The State House on Beacon Hill with its gold dome is a good landmark. They are building a large new addition to it, in rather a heterogeneous style of architecture.

[p.4]

The Commons is a very nice park & the Boston people are justly proud of its fine old trees, & wage war with all companies who want to make under ground or over ground railways which wd. injure the beauty or destroy the timber(?) in this breathing place. Boston was originally built on three hills, Beacon, Fort, & Copp’s, but these have been much leveled. The Charles river – a fine wide river – separates it from Cambridge with its Harvard University, & Charlestown with Bunker Hill. The old North Church where Paul Revere’s lanterns were hung out(?) to warn the people of the English march to Lexington & Concord. It is a great old church & possesses a service of communion plate given by George II, also the Vinegar(?) Bible. [An 18th century printing of the Bible mistakenly titled one of Jesus’ parables “The Parable of the Vinegar,” rather than “The Parable of the Vineyard,” hence the nickname of Vinegar Bible for that particular edition.] All this quarter of [p.5] the city is inhabited by foreigners & Jews. Walking down Salem St., one arrives at Atlantic Ave. where all the landing wharves for local boats are. We went of course to see L. pool/old Griffin’s Wharf, the scene of the “Boston Tea Party,” where all the tea was thrown into the sea because George III wanted to tax it 3d per pound. A handsome plaque is now put up in the wall to commemorate the event. The “Old State House” corner of Washington & State Sts. is a quaint interesting old place, dating from 1748 & has been restored, still preserving the Lion & the Unicorn on the façade, the only remnant left of British Supremacy. Washington & Tremont Sts. Are the leading thoroughfares & the most congested streets to be found in the world, I imagine. Lines of electric cars are drawn up at times in these streets, making locomotion quite impossible. As to getting a seat

[p.6]

in any of these cars is a feat which requires the utmost dexterity. It is no uncommon thing to find 25 or so people get in after the car is full. They hold onto leather straps from the roof & every time the car stops & [illegible] one’s arms(?) are nearly dislocated. Getting out of this crowded vehicle is about as difficult as getting in. It was perfect penance to me to go into a car, but Americans love not walking. What astonished me most was the placid way they all bore these terrible inconveniences. The English people wd. kick like fury & swear like demons did they have to bear such injustice. They say the suburbs of Boston have grown so much that it has been quite impossible to provide ample means of locomotion for them. [p.7] It does not seem to me as if liberty were at all well understood in this country, & as for class distinction, there is a very gt. deal of it, only every class is ruled by the Almighty Dollar. Here a gt. man is judged & spoken of, not by his worth individually or shining personal quality, but by the extent of his fortune. How the sum total of one’s personalty [sic] is so universally known, I cannot make out.

I was introduced into the Sat. Morning Club by Nelly Dennie. [Saturday Morning Club, founded by Julia Ward Howe. Papers held by the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe/Harvard.] I do not care for its tone. The topics of discussion are far fetched & the ideas of the members on many things very theoretical. There was a lecture given by a Gen. Walker on “Why the population of America did not increase.” It is a very singular thing that after two generations, even Irish people do not have large families. It is a rare

[p.8]

thing for an American woman to have more than two children. I suppose America as a nation is to [sic] extravagant(?) to bring up large families. They love(?) luxury in every form, except in table glass & cutlery, & those are very poor. I had several elaborate Lunches given to me in Boston, & I cd. not help contrasting inwardly the difference between our table equipment & theirs. They go in for heavy cut glass which wd. make a wine drinker swear. No wine is to be seen at any table I have been at, only ice water, & it really does not matter what that is served in. I went to “Whist Afternoons” which are very tiresome, & to my mind not elevating. The Boston women make a science of whist & they have clubs which meet once a [p.9] week in the houses of the members. I went to several. We sat down at once like so many gamblers to our work, & the monotony was only broken by the passing round of the inevitable candies. Some of the receptions struck me as rather pretentious. The chatelaine is inclined to assume at times the air & manner of a “grande dame” & she was not born to that. How much better for society in general if its members only wd. be natural. The typical Boston woman has so studied manner & effect that nature’s grace has disappeared. The studied manner & somewhat stilted form of expression is as much part of the Bostonian as is the inevitable “bag.”(?). On Xmas night, we were all tired, the girls from overwork & I from watching them dispense

[p.10]

turkey & cranberry sauce to all the poor children. I never knew such people for turkey. It is the national dish, & seems to be on every table from Thanksgiving till April. I really began to wonder if they ever ate anything else. I was sick of the “bubbly [illegible]” & never want to taste him again.

I spent a delightful five weeks with the Dexters & was quite sorry when the time came to say goodbye to them. Their cousins Mr. & Mrs. Conrad Reno are most delightful people. I went to the Dennies with an attack of grippe upon me & was obliged to lay up the day I went. It was very awkward as I did not want to cause trouble, yet I was not able to sit up. They were very nice to me, & I quite enjoyed my fortnight [p.11] in the house. The Dennies & the Dexters are two different households. Old Mr. Dennie rules the house, buys all the stores, & attends to everything himself & so everything goes on regularly & well. The food suited me much better & I did not suffer so much from indigestion. Mr. Dennie is a man of 70 years of age & has lovely white hair & is very handsome. He recognizes the fact & appreciates himself & also is very proud of his daughters & nieces who are all he says, good to look at. They all stand in awe of “Uncle Jim” as they call him. He is decidedly eccentric but I liked him. It amused me very much to see him brushing his boots in his shirt sleeves every morning. No servant cleans boots in America.

Nelly is still pretty. She has a cold

[p.12]

face, & has got into a way of discussing things in a cold fashion that some people do not like. As I like her, I do not mind it, & I suppose she has learnt it from having been president of the Sat. Morning Club so long. I fear her religious ideas are very rationalistic, but she does not force them on any one. I met all the family & liked Miss Boardman the best of all. I also went with Nelly Dennie to a Unitarian church. How any one can be Unitarian, I cannot think. There is little faith required, as it is a purely rational religion.

I felt quite sorry to leave Boston where I have been so hospitably treated for so long, & felt very lonely when I saw the last of my kind friends at the door, & started off all alone in a cab to the Union Deport for Montreal. [p.13] Stations are depots & boxes are trunks. Such is nomenclature. I got my luggage & found Mamie(?) Dexter looking out for me at the platform entrance. Nelly is already seated, Sally on the platform. Mamie(?) introduced us to a cousin who traveled as far as Lowell. We said adieu, & we were off on the Central Vermont line to Canada. Every thing is covered with snow, & the rivers are all frozen as we pass. The cousin is very pleasant & talked all the way to Lowell. The only other occupants of the parlour car were a gentleman & lady whom we took for father & daughter, but who were man & wife, she English, he Bostonian, & living in Dakota. Surely she will soon tire of such a husband. It is easy to get a divorce in Dakota. They had a “chameleon” on a gold chain through which we made friends & so the

[p.14]

wife evidently glad to meet a countrywoman told me her life. How unreserved some people are! I wonder if it is well to be so. Surely Burns was right when he said “A’c keep something tae yoursel.” We went along the Merrimac a considerable distance, passed Nashua, Manchester, Concord, &c. These are all manufacturing centres. In Lowell woolen goods are made & in Manchester cottons like in England. At White River Junction, we entered the Green Mts. It wd. in summer be a lovely road, now it is all white, the trees looking like so many giant spectres. On we go, & before getting to Essex Junction, we see with a glorious reflection of a winter sun the distant Adirondacks. It makes me want to go there. On we go & now it is dark, but at last an hour late we arrive at the Grand Trunk St. at Montreal. We make our way to the “bus” [p.15] from the Windsor & soon find ourselves at the door. On entering, we found ourselves in a hall full of men, speaking & shouting, [illegible] & hilarity(?) as made us imagine for a moment we had made a mistake. No manager, no body but some colored boys to be seen. We gave our names & found very nice rooms waiting for us. It was the night of the civic election, hence the excitement & the rotunda of the Windsor Hotel is a general meeting place. We came downstairs, had some supper, & soon went to bed. This is a lovely hotel, & looks so warm with its beautiful woodwork & red carpets. There is a long columned hall extends all the way down the(?) one side to the dining room. A beautiful coal fire blazed in the grate & at once I felt under England’s influence. The dining room is very spacious & full of tables none very small. There is a pretty suite of parlours, as they are called here. We seem

[p.16]

to be well located, at whatever cost. Mr. Swett has gone to Quebec to the Carnival fete, so we can know nothing till he returns. About 10 a.m. Nora Campbell arrived. She looks well & seems happy to see us. We arrange to go to tea with her at 5:00. In the meantime, Miss Maclure calls & we go with her to see Notre Dame, a magnificent Catholic church, & see some of the principal streets of the city. She is so nice. As she is going to remain all night, we arrange for her to come to [illegible] next day & we go back with her to tea. Nora Campbell’s apartment is beautiful. She has furnished it most elegantly & simply. I did so enjoy seeing her again & having tea out of her Dresden cups. She has so many souvenirs of all places around her [or here]. Sat. Mr. Slessor called at breakfast time. [p.17] Very kind of him. His wife & daughter are coming also. They take us on trust. We go out with Nora. It is very cold, but beautiful. We start with Miss Maclure for our first sleigh ride, almost covered with furs. We went through the French quarter & on to [illegible] & over the St. Lawrence. How wonderful is the river. To think that we were driving over on ice where in summer the gt. ocean vessels come up. It seems incredible. I cd. compare it to nothing save a chaotic glacier moraine. In some places where the “shove”(?) has been strong, the blocks of ice are like hills. The road is well made, fenced on both sides & on one side some trees are set in to mark it by night. It is quite a busy scene as all kinds of traffic passes over the river in winter & it is convenient for the French “habitant” to bring his hay &c(?) into market(?) free.

[p.18]

As we drove over we were close to what looked a lake. It seems that the St. Lawrence is not esteemed safe for traffic until there has been a [illegible] & the currents have made themselves a way of escape. The ice blocks are closely wedged together & freeze over leaving these breathing spaces open. It is a wonderful sight. We were most kindly welcomed by the Maclures. They have a shanty on the banks of the river at Longueuil. Such a funny place. They have plenty of room, having two sitting & 5 bedrooms & kitchen. The front door is closed up in winter, & all enter by the back & are at once in the kitchen with its cheerful stove right in the middle of the floor. It is perfection. The girls do everything & are so nice about it. We went in the snow to see the R.C. [p.19] church which is a most handsome building. It is marvelous how the Catholics build so much & so well. Here in Montreal, they possess all the best sites & have all the best land in the town. They pay no taxes on religious buildings & so are well off. We came back to high tea & enjoyed it very much. We took the 7 [o’clock] train &(?) were(?) tired & cold. Nelly goes off to bed & sleeps all night.

Sunday very cold. Went to church at 8 & nearly froze. Nora & Percival came home to lunch with us, & Mr. Welles(?), Mr. & Mrs. Fraser, & Mr. & Mrs. Sumner [or Summer] all called upon us. Mr. Sumner introduced us to Mr. Swett “the manager” who has made us very good terms. Mrs. Fraser seems shy. Two invitations for tomorrow at Mrs. H. Allans(?) & Miss Campbell. We accepted the latter. Mr. Welles(?) seems nice, but different from I expected to find him.

[p.20]

Monday: went to lunch with the Campbells & drove with Nora up the mountain. It is a superb park & the view was beautiful. What must it be in summer when in midwinter when everything is icebound it is so fine. Were invited to lunch with the Allans(?) but cd. not go. What a glorious view we had from the top of the mountain. It reminded me, without being at all like, [of –omitted] the view from the top of the hills going from Inverness to Culloden moor. This mountain is the city park & a magnificent drive it is: I believe it is about an eight mile round. The toboggan slide is on one side of the mountain & we saw some people going down. It seems a favourite pastime here. It is too cold to drive notwithstanding the “sleigh robes” & all the furs we can put on.

On Tuesday [p.21] we wandered about over the city, & went with Mr. Welles(?) to the Carnival fete on the skating rink. It was a fairy like scene. There was a miniature palace in the center of the court & the skaters (all in costume) glided in the most graceful fashion out & in, hither & thither, backwards & forwards, sending the cold ice dust up in our faces (we were in the balcony) as they passed. The waltzing & quadrille dancing were beautiful. Surely there never were such skaters as those Canadians, taught to it from their infancy on. One little thing dressed in white & silver as a “fairy queen” went around most beautifully quite alone, & I am sure she was not more than 8 years old. So much for the precocity of children over here.

We went home with the Campbells to supper. Percival had been naughty(?) & was in bed. Mr. Welles(?) saw us back to the

[p.22]

hotel. I wonder if ever there will be a marriage there. I almost hope not.

Wed. we took the 9. train to Ottawa, a cold day- Ash. Wed. [in 1894, this was Feb. 7] The railway goes through a flat & wooded country, which is being cleared by degrees. There are acres & acres of so-called cleared ground, that is, the wood all cut down & only the stumps of the trees remaining, reminding one of the ghosts of former days & looking like Moslem(?) graveyards. They present a weird spectacle. I am told they are allowed to stand so for two or more years, to rot, & then they burn easily. The land it seems is sour(?) & swampy just there. I cannot help thinking what opportunities our young stalwart farmers with health & strength & plenty of energy perseverance & a will to succeed wd. have over here, by bringing into cultivation these gt. tracks of undeve- [p.23]

loped land. What a gt. deal of hard work will have to be done in Canada. I do not think that at home, we have any idea what Canada is, otherwise our young Scotch farmers wd. not hesitate to come out, but they must be sober & industrious. We got to Ottawa at 12.20 & proceeded at once through mountains of snow to Somerset St. to call on the Wilsons. On arriving there to our dismay, we found that Mrs. Wilson had gone to meet us, & that if she did not find us at the Grand Trunk, she wd. go to the C.P.R. Depot. We waited for some time, the young master, a nice boy of 4 years old entertained us. At length, we thought it wd. be wiser to leave our cloaks & return to see Mrs. Wilson later on. We accordingly started for the Parliament Houses & found ourselves close by the river, where we had our first view of the

[p.24]

lumber. Such stacks of wood & such mountains of snow & ice! We climbed up to the Houses & I do not think I ever saw finer buildings, nor a finer situation. They stand on an eminence overlooking the Ottawa river & dominating the whole country around which is very flat. Unfortunately, being Ash Wed. the Library & the Senate were closed. We accosted an old man in livery at the door, who answered us in a strong Scotch voice “we are all religious people here, come back tomorrow.” Nelly told him we cd. not as we were going back to Montreal, & also said “I have come all the way from Boston to see them.” I then said “and I have come all the way from Scotland.” He looked at me, & then said “you are not Scotch: ye haven’t a Scotch tongue.” For the 1^st time in my life, my nationality was doubted. [p.25] After this old man proved to his satisfaction that I was Scotch, he became quite communicative & took us to see the Chamber of Representatives & [illegible] me sit in the President’s chair. He took us to look through a chink in the door of the Senate, but cd. not open the Library. He escorted us out & told us to take a car out to the “Chaudiere Falls” which wd. only cost us 5 cts. We did go, & were very pleased with them. They were partly frozen & the ice tangles(?) were of a lovely bluish(?) hue. What must Niagara be!! We passed through such mountains of lumber as I cd. not even have dreamt of. The banks of the Ottawa are covered by sawmills & wood chutes, very interesting. We got back to the Wilsons to find a nice repast awaiting us & Mrs. Wilson was charming

[p.26]

& very handsome. She came to the station with us & we both liked her very much. We were tired before we got home.

On Thursday: we went with Nora, Mr. Welles(?) & Mr. Frank to the kennels & enjoyed seeing those lovely dogs so much. We had tea there, got home in time to dress for a dinner at the Frasers. Mr. Sellars was at dinner & another gentleman, & other men(?) came in after. One a Mr. Deveril from P.H.D. who sang two songs to which I played the accompaniments. We spent a very pleasant evening. Mr. Fraser leaves for England on Monday.

Friday: we spent quietly at home & Sat. we went to see a match at the C.A.A. club grounds. How wonderfully these men skate! They are bent nearly double, keep their hand behind them [p.27] & spin along, some most gracefully, others very awkwardly. Mr. Welles(?), Nora & Percival dined with us.

Sunday: I had a wretched cold, & Monday it was quite as bad so did not go out. Mr. Welles(?) took Nelly out tobogganing & she enjoyed it most thoroughly, & was I think very tired, & very sorry to leave at 8 p.m. for home again. Mr. Welles(?), Nora, Percival, & I all saw her off. I missed her so much. She was bright & cheerful in the house. I stayed in all Tuesday till the evening when I went to the Sumners & met Mr. & Mrs. [illegible], Mrs. Willie(?) & her brother(?) & the Slessors(?) & spent a very pleasant evening. A Miss Langster(?) from Aberdeen was also there. I like Mr. Sumner so much. I kept the house for two days with a bad cold, then on Sat. I went tobogganing with Nora & Mr. Welles(?), &

[p.28]

went four times down the slide. I am not overenthusiastic over it, & it was very cold. I only felt going down the slide such a fool I was. We had a delightful walk down the mountain, floundering amongst the snow, & laughing like so many children. I dined with the Campbells, & Mr. Welles(?) took us to see “Erminie” [by Edward Jakobowski] done by the Montreal amateur society. It was well acted but so many “encores” that it made us very late in getting home - & very tired.

Sunday: went to St. George’s & liked the service & Dean Carmichael very much. The Summers waited for me & made me go home with them to dinner. They are so kind.

On Monday: went to have my photograph taken. Hope it will be good.

Tuesday: a tea at Nora’s where I met [p.29] Mrs. Widener(?) Welles(?), Mrs. Kingman & Mrs. Black, all of whom had called. Also, Mrs. Caverhill(?), an old friend of Mrs. Andersons. She told me all about Mrs. Anderson’s last illness, & that the general idea was she was not well treated.

Wed. went to drive with Mrs. Sumner. A lovely drive round the two mountains, & also called on Mrs. Davison (Miss Donald of Glasgow) whom I found at home, & she cd. not place me, so I had to explain to her that I was a friend of Mrs. Crombies, &c., &c. She is a little dark-eyed woman with an unmistakable Glasgow tongue. Went to drive with Miss Slessor(?). She is pretty at times & has lovely auburn hair. Am invited there next Thursday to a character party. I never heard of that before, but one takes the names of a book & puts(?) it on them as a distinguishing feature.

[p.30]

I really am very gay. Went out to spend the day with the Maclures. Came home to dine with the Campbells & go with them to see Henry Irvin in “The Bells.” He was fine but I am sorry I saw that piece in Montreal for I shall never like the sound of the sleigh bells again. All these actors are staying in the hotel which is very full.

Sat. went out with Nora & in the evening went to Mrs. Davisons to supper where I met Mr. & Mrs. Myer(?), the Ewings father & son – rough(?) Scotchmen - & several others, none of whom I liked. Mr. Davison is a very nice man, quiet & kind(?).

Sunday: Nora & Percival came to lunch & I am going to read Faust with Nora at Frau Gebhardts.

Tuesday: Nora gave a big tea, & I not understanding that it was to be a swell affair, went [p.31] in my old gown, & felt very badly when I saw Nora’s face. However, I passed in the crowd. Mrs. Welles(?) helped Nora. I did not catch any body’s name except Miss Richards (an Englishwoman who is visiting some cousins in Montreal). I really think she was glad to meet a countrywoman, & so we had a long talk. She does not admire the pretension of the people over here at all. I think she feels it more than I do. Probably I am used to it now. She is coming to see me. I got home rather late. Mrs. Caverhill & her daughter were there. I must call on Thursday. There is so much calling in Montreal. All one’s time is taken up by visits. Called on Wed. at the Caverhills & then went to the Cathewsons(?) in the evening. Mr. C. is the roughest, most uncouth man I ever came across. They visited Japan & brought home

[p.32]

some beautiful things with them.

Thurs. Called at Mrs. Black. She is very nice, has two boys, lives with her parents & not with her husband. How many unhappy marriages there must be over here. Went to the Slessors party in the evening. About 30 there. Mr. S. very jolly, so is Mr. Willie. They played games & gave prizes. It is hard to amuse grown up people when neither cards nor dancing are allowed. The evening went off well & I got home at 1 a.m. The Sumners brought me home. I like them better every time I see them, also Mrs. Cross(?).

At last, the people in the hotel are thawing & one by one they come to speak, being at last I suppose convinced that I am respectable. The Johnsons make gt. friends with me now. I asked Miss Johnson to go with [p.33] me to see Mr. Piers of the C.P.R. as Mr. Hosmer gave me his card to give him. Unfortunately, Mr. Piers was not at home, but his clerks gave us the information we wanted to get. I left Miss Johnson there & went off to a tea at Mrs. Davisons. She Miss J. is full of Japan. I had a small lunch party on the following [illegible] consisting of Mrs. & Miss Slessor, Mrs. Sumner, Miss Cross(?) & Mrs. Davison. Miss Maclure was ill & Nelly Fraser also. Poor Nelly! I doubt she will never grow up. A tea at Mrs. Cross’s(?) next day at which I met a lot of Scotch people.

Wed. dinner at the Johnsons. Nora Campbell, Mrs. Bell(?), Miss Arubon(?) & Mrs. Lebatie(?).

Sat. The Campbells came to dine with me for the last time, but after they left, I changed my mind & am to stay

[p.34]

in Montreal till after Easter.

Sun. Called on the Sumners, & then went to tea with the Campbells. Had a long talk with Nora over Percival & Japan. I wish the guardians cd. be persuaded to allow Percival to travel for another year. There is no one I shd. like better to travel with than Nora. Holy Week passed very quietly. I visited the Victoria Hospital, the Jubilee Gift of Sir Donald [illegible] & Lord Mt.(?) Stephen to Montreal. I was disappointed with it. Went to tea at the Reids on Thursday & met Mrs. Caulley(?) – a kind(?) of Mrs. Ponsonby de [illegible] & Mrs. Dr. Barclay – a gem of a different water. Good Friday [March 23] was a dull wretched day & made me homesick. I did my packing on Sat. & called at the Cross’s(?) Easter Day. Went to early service at the Cathedral & to St. George’s at XI(?). [p.35] The new St. Peters was open, so I went to the Vesper service. It is a miniature of St. Peters in Rome, & is only an empty shell as yet, but a fine structure. I then went to fetch the Sumners & all went to see Mrs. Cross(?). Mr. Cross was in the parlor. I have not seen him before. Something about him reminded me very much of Uncle George. Mr. Hosmer & Mr. Hughey were there. I bade all farewell with gt. sadness. I am so sorry to leave Montreal. I have had so much kindness from every one here, but I have stayed longer than I intended. The Hutchisons dined with me, & I sat with them for a good while talking of Palestine.

Mon. Said goodbye to the dear old Windsor where I have been so comfortable. Mr. Hutchison & Nora saw me off. I was sorry to say adieu. Hope it is only “à revoir.” [sic]

[p.36-37 – blank; p.38 – entry on p. 38 is from visit to California and so will be found at end of this transcription; p.39 – blank]

[p.40]

March 26^th – Easter Monday

Left Montreal with a thousand regrets on a clear frosty morning very cold. The dear old Windsor - I shall never be so comfortable again till I get to the other side. Mr. Swett said me a very kind goodbye, & hoped to see me at the Brunswick New York. He is such a good hotel manager, never forgetting anything. The servants are all very nice, but it is an expensive thing leaving a hotel this side the water – a pound goes nowhere. Mr. Hutchison & Nora saw me off. There was no parlour car on the train only a sleeper & no buffet, so that Mr. Hutchison went to get me some sandwiches which when I came to eat afterwards found very unpalatable. There were very few passengers. The G.T.R. is rather old fashioned in its belonging(?), & one has not the convenience of the C.P.R.R. but it runs on to Kingston junc. [junction] direct for Toronto, so I [p.41] took it. It was quite close to the St. Lawrence all the way – a very flat country, & at this season everything looks its very worst. There are so many small villages & townships all along this line, & such ramshackle “buses” were at the various stations, & rather uncouth looking people. The snow gradually disappeared, & very soon I saw the waters of the St. Lawrence without ice. The turf(?) on the sides of the railway was being burnt. From Prescott on there was a good deal of wood, & many tracks cut down with only these ghostly trunks remaining looking like specters of the night. Fields were covered with manure heaps, & seem ready to begin spring culture. I kept thinking of the old Indians all the way, as this was the country of the Iroquois & Huron Algonquins. No signs of them now remain. The roads

[p.42]

are dreadful, and wd. certainly not do with light springs [i.e. wagon springs]. Mr. Skinner met me at the junc. [junction] & came down to the hotel with me. Such a change from the Windsor, so forlorn looking, windows broken, tables shabby, & beds & sofas shabbier still. One must take things as they come. Mr. Skinner took me for a little walk & when we got back, his sister had been & gone. I went home with him to dinner & found his brothers(?) charming, clever, & well stored with all kinds of information. They have a beautiful home, with many souvenirs of foreign travel. Three brothers & one sister constitute the family. One brother, the youngest, just came out of hospital, & looks very delicate. I enjoyed my evening very much & got home at 10:30 p.m.

[p.43] Tuesday. Have been all round the town & found it piercingly cold & dust blowing. Went into the R.C. cathedral – a very fine church – well-proportioned, light & pretty with rows of cluster columns & fair stained glass windows, some of which have got such comical subjects, one particularly portrays Joseph at his carpenter’s bench with a lot of shavings on the floor – very different from the stone they showed me at Nazareth as being what served him for a bench. Mary is seated in the corner with a [illegible] spinning wheel, & Christ on the floor with a cross in his hand. So much for wild imagination. The Anglican cathedral is a very fine church, very plain. I met the old Bishop who is now Archbishop I believe. Walked all round to the courthouse, a fine domed building with portico of Ionic columns.

[p.44]

Then round by the hospital, a castellated looking building of that beautiful blue gray stone which looks like Aberdeen granite. All the principal buildings are built of it. I looked at the gt. [Lake] Ontario, which is almost like a sea. It was too breezy to stay long there. I then came back to the shops which are very poor except one silversmiths where I bought my usual spoon. I went out to lunch with the Skinners. They were all at home. Mrs. very nice. Their house looks right on to the lake, & the young men have a smoking room & if need be a bedroom from which they can go right into the lake for their bath. After lunch, Miss Skinner & I started to call on Mrs. Lewis the Archbishop’s wife. We found her very busy preparing for a bazaar to be held in her house tomorrow. She received us very nicely, & I am glad I called. [p.45] We then took the “Road Car” to the Penitentiary. These road cars are heated electrically & are very nice. The Penitentiary is a very large & handsome pile of building built of the beautiful blue grey stone which is so plentiful in Canada. When the enormous doors closed us in, shutting us in from the outside world, I felt my heart sink into my boots, & I cd. realise what Mrs. Osborne or the Duchess of Sutherland felt when they were condemned to imprisonment. Some of the men look so nice, & it hard to believe that all are criminals. All are made to work. There are blacksmith’s forges, ironmongers foundries, carpenter’s shops, stone cutting, engineering places, tailors, bookmakers, bakers, &c, &c. A poor fellow in the bakery spoke to us, & shewed us the oven with all the bread inside. I daresay he was glad

[p.46]

to speak (they are supposed not to speak) & I cd. not help speaking to him. Everything is beautifully clean. The kitchens & dining hall, with the tin plate & mug, fork & knife took my appetite away. In the round(?) hall are two long tables on which the tea mugs are placed. The tea is served here in tubs at 5.30 & each man takes his bread & fills his mug of tea, & retires to his cell, which is very small, only room for his bed, & there eats his supper in loneliness. Each cell is provided with electric light & they can read or write till 9.00 when the light is turned off. The cells are closely barred. The punishment cell is quite dark. Sometimes they are put in there for 24 hrs. on end. There is an excellent library, with all the new books, even to Tolstoi, a school-

[p.47]

room, a Protestant & Catholic chapel, &c. The women sit in a little room(?) away from the men. We then went over the women’s parts. They do laundry & sewing & really with one or two exceptions looked light [sic, meant like] respectable servants. The women’s cells are so much cleaner & nicer than the men’s & some of them are quite decorated. They are all well taken care of, well fed, well clad, but without liberty, & with the convict’s brand. Gangs of the men were working on the road. I wonder they do not try to run off. I enjoyed it very much. From there, we went on to the Rockwood Asylum & went over it. That was the saddest sight I ever saw. Poor creatures! Some of the men were terrible spectacles. One woman put her tongue out at us & then spat. I was glad to get out & am

[p.48]

so thankful I have my reason. It is so much better to die than go mad. We called on the matron, who was very nice. I was glad to find myself in the free open air again. We walked home, & arrived in good time for dinner, & spent a delightful evening. Mr. Willm.(?) saw me home. Found my trunk in my room mended, $1.50. Basket trunks are not good for this country.

Wed. Packed my trunk, wrote to Mrs. Warner, had a visit from Mr. Skinner, went out, had dinner & started for Toronto at 3.30. Mr. Skinner came to see me off. Arrived at 10.15 & was at once taken possession of by the porter of the Queen’s Hotel. Got a pretty little parlour & bedroom off it which I did not like. Got my mail on arrival, & had just sat down to read my letters, when John Robertson [p.49] & James Lawrence arrived. They were both at the station, but did not see [me – omitted]. James saw my trunk, & recognised it. He is a good-looking young man. John Robertson was not at his ease at all. He twirled his hat, & tried to speak differently from his wont. He is a decent fellow. I am going to see his wife this afternoon.

Thursday 29^th. The month will soon be gone. I got my room changed & am now on the 3d floor with plenty of sun, & looking out on the lake. My trunks are sadly battered & must go to be repaired again. I had to send one out for repair at Kingston. This is such a funny hotel. Stairs & passages & little square(?) corridor parlours everywhere. It is said to be the best in the West. The table is much better than the “Windsor” & so are the dishes. This is, so far as I have seen, a very fine city.

[p.50]

Wide, well planted streets, handsome buildings, & good shops. I wandered to & through the market, & saw such cartloads of dead meat round it, that I cd. not refrain from asking a decent looking man with a white collar, & rather respectable hat where it had all come from. Instead of replying, he said ye’ll be a stranger here, where do you come from? Scotland. What part? Aberdeen. I came from Argyle 46 years ago. Whereupon he gave me all the history of his life & ended by shaking hands & wishing me “God speed.” It appears this dead meat is brought(?) twice a week by the killers(?) to sell to the butchers. The P.O. is a very nice building, so are all the banks, churches, & other public offices. After lunch, rode the “Bell Electric Car” to Avenue W to call on Mrs. Robertson. This Bell line [p.51] makes the circuit of the city. Everywhere the dwelling houses are beautiful. They are nearly all villas with gardens. I cd. not help asking where all the people came from who inhabited them. Some of them are palaces. Toronto must be lovely in May. There are so many trees everywhere. Pavements all wood, wealth of wood everywhere. I found Mrs. Robertson a very fragile woman & I fear not long for this world. She is so like Jeanie Stevenson if one cd. imagine Jeanie the mother of four children. I think the Robertsons must have hard work to make both ends meet. She is very nice & seems etherealised by suffering. Poor thing!! She wd. love to go home. Got in late. A C.P.R. dinner.

Friday 30^th. Unpacked my trunks & sent them out to be mended. This country is

[p.52]

very hard on boxes. Went out & saw the normal school galleries, which contain copies & photographs of all the known pictures of the world. Wandered on till I got tired, then got into a Rosedale Car & tore along at a lightning speed to its destination, the outside of Toronto on one side. We passed over the “Rosedale Ravine” & had a very nice drive. I must call Toronto a city of palaces. They houses, not in one quarter alone but everywhere are beautiful. Where the poor live, I know not. No word from Mrs. Pitt yet. It is very singular behaviour. About 3, I again sallied forth in a western direction to look for the university. I got on the wrong track & after a long walk got into a car & went o its destination which was another outlying point of Toronto. Returning by the [p.53] same car, I saw the Trinity Coll. Episc., a pretty white brick building, then on to Osgoode Hall, the seat of some “courts,” I believe the superior courts of the province. It is a classic building. I walked up University Avenue – a magnificent drive & promenade nearly a mile long leading up from Queen St. to Parliament St. It will be the Bushey Park of the Dominion. Parliament buildings are of red stone of Norman architecture, very heavy & not pretty. I marched in hardly knowing what I wanted. Seeing a man in livery, I enquired if there was anything to see. He told me the legislature was sitting & that I had better go up to the Ladies gallery, shewing me the “Lift.” I did as I was told, & soon found myself in the Ladies Gallery of a large, lofty, well-lighted chamber. I heard(?) several Hon. [honorable[ members [illegible] to speak but not being able to hear soon came out, going round the back of the building

[p.54]

& soon arriving at the University, which is just as beautiful as the other is ugly. The university is a long building, nearly a square with an internal quadrangle & stands in a beautiful park, the Library & Observatory facing it, & near by the school of science, a big red building. Certainly the Torontonians love good buildings, both public & private. Still(?) fine dwelling houses beautiful lace trimmed blinds & lace curtains. Aberdeen is nowhere beside this town. Came home tired & wearied; my trunks home again; my dinner over; a solitary drawing room for an hour & a half & now it is nearly 10:00 & I am glad.

Sat. Went out in the morn & after lunch went with Mrs. W. Gaw, the proprietor’s wife, to the House for Incurables. I was very much interested. There are about 118(?) cases there. It is a very nice [p.55] comfortable house, & the patients are very well cared for. Some of the old men look very sadly, but usually they are better pleased with themselves than the women. It is singular why women are so much worse to guide than men. They are never grateful. Everyone knew Mrs. W. Gas & she knows all by name. Her aunt Miss Agnes Dick just dead was the originator of this house & began 20 years ago by receiving a certain number of patients in a private house. Now it has assumed these proportions, so there true is it that a gt. fire is often kindled by a tiny spark. Took tea with the Robertsons. John does his best to speak well.

Sunday April 1^st. Went to the cathedral at 11 a.m. The service is the best I have heard on this side the Atlantic - a good, full choir & congregational singing as well. The service [this entry actually continues on pages 58-59, and so the transcription for those pages follows here]

[p.58 – this is a continuation of p. 55]

was choral and energetic. It took me all my time to keep up with the Psalms. A Bishop I think from “Au Appelle” was preaching a missionary sermon for the Indians of the N.W. I wish I cd. see an Indian. Took a walk & got home about 1.30. Dinner is at 2 p.m. Sundays. I wrote three letters, one to Mrs. Shaw offering congratulations to Mr. Shaw on his appt. to the Solicitor Generalship of Scotland. Took a walk before church, & again went to the Cathedral. The singing was really very fine & the vicar gave an excellent sermon on unbelieving Thomas. He did not condemn “honest doubt” although commending the believing ones who have not seen. It is a gt. problem. A man in the choir had a lovely baritone voice. We came out to a very dimly lighted street, & I nearly fell over the steps with the [p.59] alleluias singing in my ears. Two or three electric lights disputed with the stars for supremacy. Toronto is the quietest city on Sunday I have ever seen. There is not a car on Sunday at all, & to all appearance everybody goes to church. In most places, I shd. have been nervous coming home in such dim light, & the hotel not being in the Sunday thoroughfare, I met no one & my heels echoed all over the streets like the chains of a ghost on a dark stair. I got home safely. I have been wonderfully preserved from accident & danger all my life. God grant I may get home safely again.

[p.56 – note: the events on pages 56-57 actually follow pages 58-59, and so this transcription has them in chronological order, not page number order]

Monday. Went out in the morning & called on Graham. Found him well but so much older looking, having lost his hair. He seems quite pleased with himself & is secretary for so many societies. Came home. After lunch, Mr. Pitt came alone to see me. Mrs. is colded(?) with a swollen face. He is a very nice man, very quiet, & if one shut one’s eyes, from his voice he might be Dr. Cluber(?). He speaks with equally the same accent & his tones are much the same. He wanted to take me home with him. I go down there tomorrow. Saw the Robertsons again. Mrs. says she is much better for having seen me. Poor thing! I hope she is. Graham & James Lawrence came to see me in the evening. The former is a very nice fellow, so I suppose is the other, only he is louder. The Torontonians [p.57] are very rough.

Tuesday 3d. Sent my luggage on to New York, & book 4.55 train on to Oakville, which looks exactly like a clearance in the wood. There was a funny old world omnibus at the station, into which I jumped. The young driver assured me he knew Mr. Pitt’s house, & so we started off – rather a heterogeneous company, judging from the scraps of conversation one heard. At length, the young driver opened the door & told me, we had arrived. He opened a gate & set my bags inside, & told me on no account to go to the back door as there was a ferocious dog. I had not long to wait for Mr. & Mrs. Pitt were both at the door before I got on to the piazza. Poor Mrs. Pitt!! She clung to me, & cried like a child when she saw me. I am the 1^st one of her home friends whom she has seen. She is stouter than she used to be, but otherwise has not altered much. At present [this entry continues on page 60]

[p.60]

she is not looking well, having had the grippe(?) badly & has not yet recovered. She has an awful cough. The house is very nice, & very pretty, with a fine “piazza” & garden sloping right down to the lake. Mr. Pitt received me in a smoking coat, which I afterwards learnt was his house garb. They have no servant, & live in Arcadian simplicity, going to bed when they like, getting up when they like & eating as they like. I like Mr. Pitt very much. He is a gentleman. He may be eccentric a little, I daresay he is, but he is supremely good to his wife, & she is very happy, & does not regret the step she has taken. Everything around is as neat as a [illegible]. It is strange how love transforms people. No one wd. ever have dreamt that Miss Maitland wd. do all her own work, & be happy in doing it, but she is I think perfectly. Mr. Pitt helps a gt. deal, & there [p.61] is very little cleaning, there being no fire. We went to bed at 2 a.m. & I believe Mr. Pitt at 3. They are more owlish than me.

Wed.: I stayed in bed till nearly 10:00, not hearing any sound, & thinking I shd. be cold. I am not used to such late hours, so at 11, I came downstairs, but saw no one, nor heard any noise. Soon however, my host appeared in his dressing gown, saying in the most matter of fact way “he had been making a cup of tea to [sic] his wife who was sick.” I offered to help him, but my offer was politely refused so I collapsed into an easy chair wondering if we shd. get any breakfast. I exhausted a newspaper, & about midday my hostess arrived, & set about getting ready the morning repast, & about 1 p.m. we sat down to breakfast, & there we remained till 2:00. Time is not of much consequence here. Day is turned into night. Mr. Pitt’s

[p.62]

primary work is to clean the lamps & feed the animals, consisting of a big Newfoundland dog & two cats. While this goes on, we sat & talked. About 2, the breakfast things were washed up, & we had some music till 6 pm, when Mr. Pitt goes to the P.O. for the letters. Our evening meal was on the table about 8, & we sat over it till ten, getting to bed about 2 a.m. Such was our existence the four days I was there, except that I took a little walk around the place with “mine host.” It did me a gt. deal of good, as I cd. do nothing but rest, it was too cold to get up, & so I was constrained to stay in bed. I enjoyed it very much for a short time but such irregularity with a man whom I worshipped wd. drive me frantic. Mr. Pitt’s grandfather was a brother of the Earl of Chatham. [p.63] So Miss Maitland has well born connections(?). I never saw a duster in the house all the time I was there. There is so little dust in these places. I left on Sat. the 7^th with regret, as I really felt my visit had been a pleasure to them as well as to me. I have taken quite a craze to buy some land over here. I must wait till I get home however. The old omnibus came to fetch me away & I got into the train & on to Hamilton, where I had to wait half an hour for the train. The country all the way is devoted to fruit culture. The fences are most picturesque, some of them snake fences, others formed of the roots of the trees, pulled up body bulk & set round, looking exactly like an aloe hedge. I thought of [illegible] John’s family while sitting at Hamilton St. [Station] & wished I had got

[p.64]

their address. Perhaps it is better for me not to go & see them. It might be a mutual disappointment. At last, 6 p.m. at the Prospect House, Niagara Falls. It is snowing but despite I must see the “Falls” before it is dark. I sauntered forth, & a little way from the Hotel met a good faced man who offered me a “cheap drive.” I did not want one, but seeing he was an Englishman spoke to him & finally got into his carriage for a 50 ct. drive. He took me round the Islands & I have seen the gt. “Falls,” but not well. They are wonderful. Shall see them better I hope tomorrow. Went home to supper & saw but dared not speak to the first English people I have met since I have been over here – a lady & her daughter. Went early to bed.

Sunday. Got up early, after breakfast bought two beautiful photos of the Falls & at 9:30 [p.65] went to find my Cumberland coachman. There he was waiting me, & so we started out afresh round Goat Island to the American fall. It is very beautiful, but not anything like so majestic as the Canadian or “Horse Shoe Fall.” I went down to the very edge of it. The spray was tremendous, but I had on my waterproof. I saw the most perfect rainbow I ever saw in my life. Words are powerless to describe these falls. Imagination cannot create anything like them & words cannot describe them. We went on to the Horse Shoe Fall & down to the edge of(?) “Terrapin Rock.” The colour of the water is green, one continuous mass of all shades of vivid green going steadily over & causing such a commotion below as even Dante cd. not have imagined. From there on to the “Three Sisters Island” where I had

[p.66]

a glorious view of the Canadian rapids boiling, gurgling, fretting, scolding, thundering madly along till they throw themselves with a terrific roar over the fall into the seething vortex below. We then went to Prospect Point & down an incline [illegible] to the bottom of the American fall, where there is still a good deal of ice – then away over the new “Suspension Bridge” to the Victoria Park where by far the finest view is got. Fortunately, being Sunday, one is not pestered to buy in the same way. It is a fearful cauldron, fascinating in the extreme, & the glory of this vast continent where everything in nature is on such a majestic scale. The waters of all those gt. inland lakes come down & throw themselves away in this violent fashion. What is man or his works beside Niagara Falls!

[p.67] My driver proposed that I shd. walk through the park & see the Dufferin Islands. He put the carriage in a shed & started as my guide, & I really felt I was very brave when I found myself in the most secluded parts with only roaring waters & little bridges & trees around us & not a soul within call. I felt nervous for a time but of course did not shew it, only inwardly regretting I had no umbrella & looking furtively around to see if I cd. catch hold of a branch of a tree did necessity arise. Providence was, as He always has been, good to me, & my driver was a “trump” but I was, to say the least, foolhardy. We went up the hill to the “Burning(?) Spring” but it was closed, however we had a different & almost finer view of the rapids from that point. The way was smooth back to the carriage & I had my last

[p.68]

view of the falls from the Bridge. Perhaps I may never again see them. We then went to the “Whirlpool Rapids,” where the gt. river is only about 300 ft. wide, thus forming a whirlpool by impounding(?) with such force against those rocks so that the middle of the water is [illegible]. It is altogether too grand for words. Got back to the hotel at 1.40 in time for dinner. Left at 5.22 in company with the two English ladies who seem as glad to see me as I them. We all came to the Brazel(?) House, Buffalo, together & shall D. V. [probably stands for Deo volente, i.e. God willing] travel to New York tomorrow. Buffalo is a handsome, regularly built town with an immense number of shoe(?) shops, & a beautiful soldiers monument & county building.

Monday: Had an awful night. What between the noise of the furnace, the bad smell & [p.69] the general discomfort, I never closed my eyes. At 5.30 the electric bell at the head of my bed was set off & I got up anything but refreshed. We started at 9 a.m. & had a very comfortable journey. We had a very nasty(?) lunch at 1.00. At 2.30 we arrived at Albany, & from there the railway goes along the Hudson River to New York. It is a very beautiful river, & to the West the Catskills rise finely(?). They are not high mountains, but a pretty round topped range of hills with gt. potentialities. So far as I can see, the scenery in this country is not beautiful, it is majestic & grand from its immensity. Ida Foulds met me at the station. She looks so ill. Found on arriving a mistake in the address had been made, so that I sent my luggage to 8 W 48 instead of to 8 W 34. Have got a nice room. Had

[p.70]

a plain good dinner, & the people seem nice. After dinner, unpacked my trunk & brushed my boots.

Tuesday: Did have a good sleep. Wrote some letters & went down to the bank. New York did not feel strange to me as it did at first. I saw Mr. Hogue & had a nice talk with him. Got home for lunch & in the afternoon went up to see the Foulds family. Found the old gentleman looking so well, but all the others miserable. I do wish I cd. take Ida away with me for a little. Frank brought me home about 11. I talked all the time from 4 till 10.30.

Wed. Awful storm of wind & sleet like a blizzard. Went to lunch with Mrs. Hays. She sent a carriage for me & took me home again. She does not seem over well, but the girls look so [p.71] much better. They are just about to start for Europe again. What a luxurious house they have!! So many odds & ends they have collected in different parts of the world. The reception rooms are really elegant, rich & in beautiful taste but more for show than for living in. She gave me a beautiful lunch, but like all Americans shut out the light of day & burn candles which seems too silly, but is American fashion. I was taken up to see the girls’ rooms. Every thing is luxurious to an extent not seen in ordinary homes in England. Did not go out. See no one in this house except at meals. It is rather lonely. Am not impressed by the people in the house. They seem all rather ill-bred from my English standpoint. They take not the least notice of me, which is probably well.

[p.72]

Thursday. Another wet day. Had a letter from Mrs. Greder announcing the birth of her granddaughter, & asking all information about Japan & India. I dare not anticipate the pleasure of her company in case of disappointment again. Spent part of the morning in the office of Messrs. Raymond & Whitcomb [a tour company and ticket agency]. In consequence of the paucity of travelers, the itinerary is changed, & I must retrace my steps to Niagara Falls. It is most disappointing, as I might have saved myself so much traveling. It cannot be helped, however. Called at the Brunswick, but found the Johnsons had gone. Saw Mr. Swett. Called on Mrs. Auzé & spent a delightful two hours, then went & made a formal invitation to Ida Foulds to come with me to Washington. I do not know if she will [p.73] come or not. She is very proud, but I hope she will come. Went into the salon after dinner & found Mrs. Ross very pleasant to talk to. She asked me if I were related to R. Monckton Milnes [Richard Monckton Milnes, 1^st Baron Houghton, English poet and politician]. The Americans seem possessed with the idea that I must belong to him. Unfortunately, I cannot claim the relationship.

Friday: Had a letter from Messrs. Raymond & Whitcomb & found the route is changed in so far that all the contingents meet at Niagara Falls instead of at Kansas City. I am sorry because had I known that a week ago, I wd. have either stayed on at Toronto or gone to Chicago. It is no use grumbling now, but it is provoking. I spent the morning in the office trying to see what was the best thing to do, finally decided to come back to Philadelphia. Went to see the “American Artists” at

[p.74]

57^th St. but did not think my 50 cts well spent except that I saw Mr. Fall’s portrait which I did not care for. It is painted without [illegible]. Walked all the way down 6^th(?) Ave. & on to Sterns(?). Came home, Miss Johnson called. She & her mother are living right opposite. Went to see the “Amazons” with Frank & Ida Foulds. Very silly piece – was very tired.

Sat.: Got my skirt finished. Called on the Johnsons, went with them to the Water Colour Gallery – some of the pictures good. After lunch, did some shopping & went to tea with the Foulds family. Fear Mr. Foulds is going to have more trouble with his foot.

Sunday. Went to Holy Trinity. A beautiful service. Saw the river & came home to lunch. Called on Mrs. Jas. Paul, & found her pretty & nice as ever, called on the Foulds, & spent the [p.75] evening writing.

Monday. Went to the bank in the morning, but had no time to go to the Battery. Put as much money to my credit as will, I hope, take me back to England. Also got my tickets at Raymonds & paid them $745.00(?) – a goodly sum. They were very civil. After lunch, went to call on Mrs. Hays & her daughters. Walked over the park to ask for Mr. Foulds & got home in time to dress for dinner at the Johnsons. - We then all went to see Hamlet at Abbey’s Theater with Monnet-Sully and Mrs. Segond-Weber [two popular actors of the day]. It is a fine play, but very long.

Tuesday. Rushed it all day. Went to buy a pair of shoes at Cammeyers, then to Macys for books, then to Raymonds to see about sending my

[p.76]

trunk to Boston. Came home. Started my packing, & in the middle, Ida, Mrs. Hauber & the children called. The man came for the boxes one hr. before I expected him. I then went to call on Mrs. Auzé & Mrs. Swett. The Johnsons & Foulds came to say goodbye, & I am tired & very sorry to leave New York. This is a very nice house to stay in.

Wed. 18^th. Left by the 9.12 train for Washington. Ida met me at the Liberty St. ferry, Frank & Ella with her. We made a delightful journey through the prettiest country I have yet seen in America. New Jersey, Delaware, & Maryland, well wooded & hilly, with every appearance of happiness & prosperity. We passed Elizabethtown, N.J., where Edison has his works & home, Newark, &c., crossed the Delaware River [p.77] & speeded on to Philadelphia. Did not stop there, but went right on to Baltimore where we arrived at 2 p.m. We saw Chesapeake Bay in the distance, & we likewise crossed the wide Susquehanna which enters the Bay about 30 miles from Baltimore. It is a beautiful river, & where the railway crosses forms an island. One thinks of coloured boys & [illegible] with Susquehanna. We left our bags at the station, & took a car up to Mt. Vernon place where we saw the soldiers’ monument, Peabody Institute & liked the pictures in it very much. There is an excellent collection of casts also there. We then took a carriage & drove out to see Druid Hill Park which is the glory of the Baltimoreans. It is a beautiful park, never have I seen anything better out of England.

[p.78]

The natural situation is beautiful & there are plenty of spruce trees to rest the eye upon. Our driver was excellent & took us to all the good points of view. We went by way of Eutaw Place which is beautifully laid out, & full of tulips & hyacinths. The houses are also very fine, are built chiefly of red brick with white marble doorsteps. The people meet & sit on the doorsteps which are generally decorated with handsome pots of flowers. It is called the “Monumental City,” & it deserves the name. It is situated on the Patapsco River, 14 miles from Chesapeake Bay, & has a large shipping trade. We left at 6 p.m. & got to Washington at 7. An uninteresting ride through a sour part of the country. Drove at once to the Hamilton, where we got rooms on the 4^th [p.79] floor, & it seems very comfortable.

Thursday 19^th. Went out at 9.30 & found our way down to Penn. Ave. & on to the Capitol. This is a magnificently laid out city, & the trees are nearly green, making everything look fresh & pleasant to the eye, except that the pavements are filthy with expectoration of tobacco juice. The men are constantly chewing tobacco, & everything is defaced by it, even to the Capitol. The Capitol is very interesting, & we waited in the Chamber of Representatives & saw the proceedings begin. They are without exception the commonest lot of people I have ever seen. Not a decent looking man to be seen. The Senators had not arrived when we were there. The Library is much too small for the books it contains, so a very handsome new

[p.80]

building is being put up on the east side of the Capitol. After lunch, we got a carriage & drive out to Arlington which is very beautiful as well as very interesting. We crossed the Potomac à pas& found ourselves in Virginia, the dream of my childhood & Mrs. Beecher Stowe. The drive to Fort Myer is beautiful. The officers’ qts. (there is always a cavalry regiment there) are most picturesque & the barracks & drill ground are just behind. A little farther on is the National Cemetery where 16,000 soldiers lie side by side, name & number at their heads in straight rows. The officers that served in the war are also buried there, & in the middle of all, overlooking Washington, stands Arlington House, the old home of the Confederate General [p.81] Robert Lee, whose property it became through his wife Miss Custis. The situation of the whole place is perfect. I am so glad to have seen it. Our coachman brought us home by Oakville Cemetery, Georgetown, & we saw the place where John Edward Payne, author of “Home Sweet Home,” lies buried, then by the houses of all the prominent citizens of Washington. We went to the G.P.O. to get some letters, but only found two. Very tired.

Friday. Started in the morning for the White House & saw the reception room, the Treasury where we saw the vaults, & bond(?) room. Nothing much, but the exteriors are all fine. The Foreign Office, or as it is here called the State Depart., & saw the rooms of the Home Secretary & Secretary of War.

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Some good pictures in them, then came back by the Arlington Hotel, went in & looked round the public rooms & they are very fine. After lunch, went to the National Museum & Smithsonian. The former is overcrowded & very dirty; the latter a beautiful collection of birds & fluorites, well kept for this country. Everything is badly kept here. Rudyard Kipling is right in a measure that the American civilization is only a “railway station” one yet. We bought a spoon on our way home.

Sat. Started early to meet the Dexters but they had not come. Then bought some photos of the city. Walked up to the City Hall & Pension Office & on to the B& O Station, up to the new library. It will when finished be a magnifi- [p.83] cent building. The decorations are to be fine. Lovely marbles every where, some from Italy, some from Africa, & some from Vermont & Maryland. It is to cost about £1,000,000 str. We took a lunch & hurried on in a rain storm to take the boat for Alexandria & the electric car from there to Mt. Vernon. It is a most interesting excursion & the view of the Potomac Valley all the way, but particularly from the terrace at Mt. Vernon house, is most beautiful. The house & grounds were bought in 1859 by a Ladies Association & put as nearly as possible in the state in which Washington left them. The house is very pretty, & the family kitchen, laundry, & all other attachments are around. The graves of the Washingtons are all together & are

[p.84]

guarded by an old negro who told us he had been in the family for 52 years, having been a slave in his early days. The key of the old Bastille is here, being given by Lafayette to Washington. The room in which Martha Washington died is right above the one the General died in, & one can see the reverse(?) cut in the door where her cat passed to & fro. It was a most delightful day. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We went to the old Christ Church in Alexandria, & saw the pew where George Washington worshipped, also Gen. R. E. Lee. We then went to the old Carey & Braddock houses which were the headqtrs. of Generals Washington & Braddock in 1755. Took the boat home & found the Dexters had arrived & were at dinner. It was so nice to see them again.

Sunday. Very tired. Wrote all the morning & in the afternoon drove with the Dexters to the [p.85] Soldiers’ Home. It is a lovely drive. The men neither look old nor dilapidated, but all hale & hearty.

Monday. Left Washington with a pang of regret at 8 a.m. Nelly saw us off. Got to Philadelphia at 11.30 & were there met by the Raymond representative, who took charge of my bags & luggage checks. I shall have no more to do with them now for a time. We went to the U.S. Mint & saw all the gold & silver bars awaiting coinage. Then on to the “Independence Hall,” which is really interesting. Saw the table on which the Declaration of Independence was signed & many other relics of these stormy times, not the least of which being the “Liberty Bell,” which was the 1^st bell sounded after the “Declaration,” was cracked in 1835 & has not been sounded since 1843. We then came to Wanamakers, the largest & best store I have seen this side the Atlantic, more like the “Bon Marché” than anything I

[p.86]

have seen. There was a splendid exhibition of Nap. I [Napoleon Bonaparte], the best I have ever seen, & admirably arranged. He has acquired the gt. picture of “Les Conquerants du Monde,” which was exhibited in the Paris Salon two years ago. We then took the cars out to Farimount Park as far as the “Memorial Hall.” There are many nice things is this hall & we were sorry not to have longer there. Got back to the station in time for dinner. Philadelphia is a very nice city, & not at all the dead place I expected to see, from the reports I had heard. The shops are as good & the streets full of people. We enjoyed our dinner in the restaurant at the station, which was scrupulously clean & we had again a white waiter. Coloured ones certainly are an acquired taste.

[p.87] Monday 23d. 6.45 p.m. Started on my long journey with the Philadelphia contingent, seven people in all. A gentleman & his wife, a gentleman & his son, a lady, a gentleman, & myself. Mr. Norton was conductor up to Niagara Falls. We got into our own sleeper at Bethlehem junction on the Lehigh Valley route. It was an experience getting to bed, but the success(?) was greater than the anticipation of it. I have a section all to myself as far as San Diego & so I can stand up to undress. I tried all means of going to sleep, but my efforts were not very successful. I gradually divested myself of nearly all my garments & finally took off my stockings, & was about going to sleep when the conductor came wanting my ticket. After that, sleep was not to be courted. It quite abandoned me. I got into my clothes

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again at 5 a.m., feeling very unrefreshed. We arrived at Niagara Falls at 7 a.m. Tuesday 24^th & left the train, went to the Station Hotel for breakfast & while there made each others acquaintance. The names are Mr. & Mrs. Streeper, Mrs. Gorman, Mr. Acker & son Harry, & Mr. Plank. We all breakfasted together, & then went for a drive round the falls, but as we had all been disappointed of our route, we were not in the frame of mind to really enjoy the scenery. We joined the main body of our party here, & the conductor Mr. Pook, a pleasant brusque sort of man. I do not think much of the looks of the party. Ladies are distinctly in the majority, & very stout ones too. I do not think I am likely to make friends with any save those with whom I started. Mr. & Mrs. Streeper are very nice people. We started from the falls at 1.30 & did not have our expected “special train,” which added still more to our discontent. Had our dinner & supper served by a very dirty lot of “blackies” who flung the things on the table much to Mrs. Gorman’s disgust. I find American grumble quite as much as English people. However, they assured us that very morning it wd. be all right as we shd. have our special service. Mrs. Parks, the conductress, is almost next me with her friend Mrs. Page.

Wed. 25^th. Rose early & still continued grumbling for our breakfast, which we did not have till 9.30, being nearly one hour & a half late at “Blue Island Inn” near Chicago. The country between the Canadian boundary & Chicago is flat & desperately uninteresting. Sure enough, we got our special & had what Mr. S. called an elegant breakfast well served & clean. The boys are as clean as they can be, the linen & sliver

[p.90]

all decent & the dishes also quite nice. Unfortunately, my head had given way from the long fast, & I cd. not do justice to it. We started afresh with our own train & the dining car which is to bear us on to San Diego, all in better spirits. The morning passed away without any startling event & lunch was served at 1 punctually. I got lovely fresh tomatoes, but our pleasure was entirely marred by the train coming in contact with a wagon & pair of horses at Perry Station. The poor driver, 72 years of age, was killed & the steps of two of our cars, one of the springs(?) mutilated, as well as the engine. It took all our pleasure away & made the engine driver very nervous. At the next station, we stopped & had men come to put fresh steps on & make all things right again, & I daresay [p.91] numerous telegrams passed to & fro, but we heard no more of the matter. It is wonderful how the days pass. The journey is not at all fatiguing, in fact, I feel quite rested since I started.

Thursday: got up early & had breakfast about 7 a.m. Immediately, after, we went off to see the city of Kansas. We crossed the Missouri about 8.45 a.m., a grey dirty looking river it is, but swift in its course. I went with Mr. & Mrs. Streeper & we got on an electric car, & went all over Kansas City, Missouri. Then we got on to another car & took another route through the business part of the city, saw the Armour Beef packing place, an enormous building, crossed the state line over the Kansas river, which here joins the Missouri, & on through Kansas City, Kansas, of minor importance to its sister of Missouri. The situation is magnificent

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& may probably two centuries after this may bear some likeness to Edinburgh. Here, there are three tracks, one over the other, railway, cable, & electric elevated. They are very go-ahead people in the west, but I find them very nice. We started again at 10:30 & pursued our way over Kansas state, which is not quite so flat as its neighboring states of Illinois & Iowa. It is purely an agricultural state & in some places the land looks beautiful, in others swampy. We get on to stock breeding places. The cattle seem much smaller than ours & nearly all the work in the fields is done by mules.

Friday: arrived early at Pueblo, Colorado. It is a most curious place, situated in the middle of a desert or almost so. The land is not exactly sand, but it looks like “caked sand.” I wish I were a geologist. It is so much [p.93] more pleasure when one knows something about strata. Pueblo is a mining place. We go on to Manitou at 7 a.m. & there started with breakfast. We all get up early here. After breakfast, carriages were waiting to take us to the “Garden of the Gods,” &c. It is a magnificent drive. The soil is like Devonshire soil, quite red & fine. No rain for a long time, so every thing is very dry. Our party of four got together & we had a beautiful drive. The rocks are marvelous - great red perpendicular spires, looking exactly as they are named Cathedral Spires. I cannot tell what the formation is, but it does not seem to me to be volcanic. The rocks look more as if they had been smoothed & cut by glacial action. The gateway to the “Garden of the Gods” is one of the grandest things I have ever seen & is purely natural. This garden is now the property of Gen. Palmer who has a beautiful house

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in the middle of it. Close to those great red rocks which form the gateway, rise white gypsum rocks, & a white soil, & in the gardens are blocks of granite. There were toadstools & frogs(?) & all sorts of formations: camels kissing each other, seal & a bear putting their heads together, &c &c. Altogether, a most wonderful place. A town rapidly becoming a health resort is springing up around. Manitou is over 6000 ft. above the sea & entirely sheltered on one side by the Pikes Peak range of mountains. Good hotels are plentiful, & very pretty boarding houses, all wood & some of them very artistic in decoration & painted in high art colours. There are very pretty stores to tempt the traveler. Stones of all kinds, cut & uncut, beautiful fox skin mats, Indian ornaments, everything except unmounted photos. There are iron & steel(?) springs, & the waters [p.95] are good for many complaints, rheumatism, &c. After lunch, we started, 23 of us, in a very impromptu fashion, to go up “Pike’s Peak.” The railway is not running regularly yet, but the track is cleared, so the manager said if we cd. make a party of twenty, he wd. run a special up, $4.50¢ [sic] a head. The railway is on the cogwheel principle, similar to the Righi [a mountain in Switzerland]. The height is 14,147 ft. above sea level. I feared to undertake it, but decided I had better do that than be left alone, so we started. It is a magnificent wall, towering granite boulders on either side of us. The road is nine miles long, with a gradient of 866 ft. to the mile. The movement is most disagreeable, almost sea sickening. We stopped four times to take water, &it was wonderful how after the last time, everyone became suddenly still, being affected with sleep. After two hours, we arrived at the top & the 1^st thing we saw on dismounting

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was a young man fainting. He hurried out, & the air was too much for him. He was with difficulty brought round. We all went into the house, but by the end of two minutes, each face became white, & those who cd. sat down. Mrs. Streeper & myself concluded we had better get back to our car, & we had some trouble in doing so, for neither of us cd. walk very well. She was quite faint & I cd. not keep my tears back, & felt all in a trouble. We dared only look at the view from the car window. After 40 minutes, we imagined we had better return. The train had started when all of a sudden we found Mr. Streeper was not with us. We put back & after a few seconds, a gentleman found him walking quietly along. It was arranged to stay for an hour, so he was taking his time. Some officious person started the train & so he became very nearly left. His wife was very [p.97] excited, however the roll was called & we again started on our downward journey, which was not so disagreeable as the upward one. Harry nearly went off when he came in & we all came down feeling glad to have been up but many of us wd. not repeat the journey for $500. I for one. We got to Manitou in safety, thank God, in time for dinner. After that repast, Mrs. Streeper & I went out to have a look at the place, bought some photos, met the gentlemen of our party, & had a walk with them, returning to the car at 8.30, tired & ready for our berths. At 10 p.m. the train started.

Sat. 27^th Awoke at 5 & found we were in the mountain district & very cold. On lifting my blind, I beheld the Rockies towering their white heads as far as the eye cd. reach(?). I got dressed & enjoyed all the way to Leadville immensely. How fine these mountains are! Grand in the extreme, all white.

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We are now at an altitude of 10,000 ft. & the air is very fine. At 7, we arrived at Leadville, a mining town & seemingly in a very dilapidated condition. There are lead & silver mines here, but they are not in a flourishing condition. The mountains are grand from here, we are right in the Rockies. They tower all round the place & are as white as snow can make them. It is cold & I cannot walk. It is true there is no inducement, as everything is dusky with lead ore. The people seem poor. Three years ago there were 25,000 people, now only 10,000. After two hours halt, we resumed our way over the Rockies. A grand route. The line goes in a series of horse shoes up & up till it arrives at the tunnel or “Gt. Divide,” 11,127 ft. high – the highest railway in the world. The scenery is magnificent all the [p.99] way. Rocks & eternal snows above us & cliffs & water courses below us. The tunnel is two miles long, & took 8 minutes to go through. The descent was pretty rapid. A series of bee hive looking buildings attracted my attention. They were coke furnaces, the first I ever saw. On & on we sped through all kinds of wonderfully formed mountains & of all kinds of strata. Red conglomerate & white gypsum close together, a grand journey. At 2.30, we arrived at Glenwood Springs & were at once conveyed to the hotel, a magnificent one belonging to the Raymonds. It is perfect as far as a hotel can be. The sulphur baths are right in the garden & a splendid swimming pond. A lot of men & women were swimming around while we were standing. Americans have very

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little sense of decency. They are a curious race. There is not one in this party whom I wd. call a “gentleman.” They shew ladies no attention at all, except their wives, whom they wait on hand & foot. They are kind enough, but so rough. I got a beautiful room, & we all started out to view the town which is not much, but the place is grandly beautiful, being entirely surrounded with mountains. It was excessively cold & a storm came over the mountains which ended in snow showers. How beautiful these storm clouds are as they top the peaks! We got in about 4.30 & to my very intense mortification, I found my trunk again destroyed, the lid nearly torn off. I think these American express people are perfectly dreadful. They care for no [p.101] one’s property. I enjoyed a good wash & put on clean clothes before dinner. The dinner was not a success, & Mr. Streeper is quite poorly. We played a game of cards, after which we all went to my room & I made a glass of toddy to [i.e. for] Mr. Streeper.

Sunday: Awoke very giddy, with headache & general feeling of discomfort. Shall stay quietly in the house till lunch & at 2.30 we start(? word is smeared) again. Started at 3.10 p.m. & went at once to the observation car. We passed immediately into the grandest scenery anyone cd. imagine. The cañon of the Grand River is about 18 miles long. The railway is alongside the river & seemed as if there were hardly room to pass. The mountain walls rise in towering columns & gigantic pinnacles to a height of 2000 ft. & the roaring torrent of the Grand River rushes madly on

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as if in haste to gather victims into the whirls. In some places, the rocks are flaming red, in others white, & again a mixed strata. One is completely silent & awed before such rocks. On leaving this wonderful place, the country for about forty miles is open & undulating until we arrive at the Eagle River Cañon, where the abrupt walls are dotted with mining camps. The train was stopped at Red Cliff for 10 minutes in order that we shd. see the cañon & the mining shoots (i.e. chutes). The ore is put into buckets & sent down these shoots into wagons waiting for it. We visited two of the miner’s houses – log cabins - & were most cordially received by the owners. Being Sunday, they were at home, & the cabins were as clean & neat as cd. be. A kitchen with stove & all the towels were clean & hung out in a way [p.103] that wd. shame many a cook. A real bed with a red quilt was in the other apartment, & some pictures, &x. This man had lived alone since 1870 & was very intelligent. He shewed us many specimens of both silver & gold ore, & these American women crowded round him so much that he ended up giving them all specimens. I wd. not have missed this experience for anything. We then crossed the “Tennessee Pass” (10,418 ft.), an easy pass, as such things go in Colorado. Then we descended the valley of the Arkansas River between mighty hills covered with snow, & in the valleys shewing some signs of volcanic origin, till we came to Salida, where we stayed all night. We have now passed the main chain of the “Rockies,” grand as only American can show. No comparison can be made between the scenery of this country & the Alps.

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We stopped at Salida all night & on Monday got up at a very early hour in order to see the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas [river]. It is even more wonderful than anything we have yet seen. The towering range of the Arkansas Mts. at one side & the snow clad peaks of the “Sangre de Cristo” range at the other, were grand & most impressive. A bridge spans this terrible chasm, & the train was stopped for 10 minutes to allow us [to – omitted] get out & see the wonders of this place. The train moved off, & we walked over, with the rushing roaring Arkansas foaming on below. I was glad to get over. The Royal Gorge proper is an enormous cleft in the rocks, enough to frighten one. This scenery quite overpowers me. This gorge is entirely granite & is grander & wilder than pen can describe. The train runs along the river which turns [p.105] & twists & seems at times entirely to be closed in the mountains. The river & the iron steed seem to dispute the roadway. It is a wonderful, wonderful place. We soon arrived at Pueblo, where we joined on to the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe railway. Crossing the Raton Pass above Trinidad, 7688 ft., we enter New Mexico, the tunnel dividing it & Colorado. The rest of the day was most uninteresting & I was very sick. Barren looking arid plains.

Tuesday May 1^st: arrived in the early morning at Santa Fe, N.M., probably the oldest town in America. It is right on an arid plain & is the 1^st Mexican town we have seen. The houses are nearly all built of adobe, or sun dried brick, & mud & remind me of Egypt. They are cool in the summer. The people wd. required some thing to keep them cool, for there is no shelter from the sun’s rays. We started

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out on foot to explore, & felt so glad to be able once more to walk. Our steps first took us to a silver store. (A store has the greatest attraction for an American woman.) I bought a spoon & two stick pins, but things are very dear. We went to see the “Guard mounted” at Fort Marcy at 9.00. The American soldiers are a poor lot, & to my thinking very unmartial in bearing, narrow shouldered & halting stepped. However, they wisely say “we are not a nation of soldiers.” We then went up to the churches, visited St. Francisco, San Miguel, the oldest church in the U.S.A., dating from 14^th [sic] century. Bits of the old carving on the wood rafters still remain. An old Spanish bell stands there. The oldest house in America stands close by, & in the doorway stood a group of Mexican women, dark skinned, dark eyes, & very dirty. We visited the convent chapel, where a dead sister was lying. After that, we ladies [p.107] walked up to the Ramona Indian school. The children look so serious & stolid, but are generally quick to learn. They have lovely eyes. We saw many of the Indians on the road. They are not exactly my idea of what Indians ought to be. Their hair is just like a horse’s tail, & are certainly picturesque and not beautiful. We started again at noon, all the better for our walk & the beautiful air which we breathed. The country is very uninteresting, quite arid, looks very volcanic & one wonders how any one can live. At 5 p.m. we got to Albuquerque, a little town half America, half Mexican. Our party got into a car & rode all over the place. The dust was terrific. We talked with some Mexican women in an adobe house. They are well adapted to the climate, as they are cool.

Wed. 2^nd May. Had a most uninteresting

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drive all the morning through the desert of Arizona. Sand & rock with mesquite & sage brush all over, here & there a curiously shaped mountain with evident traces of volcanic motion(?). I never saw so many dead cattle in my life. They come near the trains for shelter & water, & in many cases get killed. We counted 20 dead animals in an hour, & I cannot say how many bones lay bleaching all along. How anything can live, I do not know. Certainly this America is gt. in so far as extent can make it. Towards afternoon, we came to a desert of cacti, aloe & agave. The yucca palms were in full bloom & some of the cactus flowers were lovely. We saw many Indians on the way, each one uglier than their neighbor. Such hair & such dirt!! About 6.30, we [p.109] crossed the Colorado River into the “Golden State.” The needles are very fine pointed volcanic rocks. The dust is disagreeable. We touched the Mojave Desert & had a close night, but woke in the morning to find that the desert had given place to orange groves & rose gardens. We arrived at Riverside, one of the prettiest of S. Californian resorts, at 9.30. A lovely morning, & we enjoyed a walk around & snuffed up the perfumed air. It took me back to happy days & orange groves of long years ago. This is the gt. place for the cultivation of the “navel seedless orange.” The trees are in perfection. Both flower & fruit are there. Magnolia Ave., a long drive 6 or 7 miles long, is the great feature. It consists of several rows of pepper & eucalyptus trees, is well shaded & very fine.

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The cypresses are the finest I have ever seen, but they are often spoilt by being cut into grotesque shapes. These Americans [illegible] so over every thing. It is tiring. They have not been abroad, & do not know much of anything beyond America, which is to them perfection, but which to me is still very imperfect.

Went in the afternoon for a lovely drive around an orange grove 12 miles square, which belongs to an English syndicate. It is lovely, but whether a paying speculation or not, I do not know. Went round a hill from the top of which we had a magnificent view. The country around is hilly, barren, & to all appearance volcanic. It reminds me of Nice with out the sea, the life & the people. Came back to our last dinner on the train. The “Coronado” has served us well. Every [p.111] thing was good, & the service excellent. The steward was very civil & kind. Tomorrow we shall say goodbye to the “special train” & our Roxbury car. I cd. not have believed that I shd. ever become attached to life on a train, but use is everything, & in a fortnight, one acquires or drops a habit. We have all been very good friends, & have led a pleasant time together. The English grammar is not spoken in its purity, it is true, but one even gets used to “we was & they wasn’t.” It is trying to the ear certainly.

Friday: We arrived at San Diego at 6 a.m., my first view of the Pacific from my berth. It is cold & foggy, almost like Edinburg. We got all into omnibuses & were driven to the ferry, crossed over, & after a ride of considerable length through lovely gardens arrived at the Coronado Hotel, Coronado Beach. It is lovely. Hedges of marguerites

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& [a long botanical name] all over the borders. A lovely ocean, the waves of which wash up to the terrace. The beach extends for miles on either side, & the Point Loma to the west is very like the Beachey Head from Eastbourne. The hotel is lovely, but built entirely for fine weather. The court is full of beautiful flowers & palms. I never saw such arum lilies as there are here. I potter all the morning, not feeling very well. Went on the street cards with Mrs. Carpenter in the afternoon, & drove round San Diego. It is an unimportant little town but some of the houses on the hill(?) are beautiful. Such beds of calla lilies! The beauty of the place is the extent [? word smudged] of moor which surrounds it on all sides.

Sat. An excursion round the bay was planned which was to [p.113] cost 75¢. Mrs. Gorman bough my ticket but by some accident it was lost, & I had to get another which cost me $1.50. It put me about a good deal, as those mischances always do. I did not care for the drive as I was not well. Bought some trifles to send home, & lay down to rest.

Sunday. Went to church – a small mission chapel, & had a very nice service. It did me good. Had a short walk with Miss Watson round this lovely, lovely bay. I shd. be glad to embark tomorrow on the Pacific. Its waters look so tempting. Packed my trunks as we start early tomorrow. Four years tonight since my dear uncle died. Four years of change! Alas! The days are often weary & the nights long, but we must go on & not tarry.

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Monday 7^th Started at 7:30 a.m. on a lovely morning, & arrived at Los Angeles about 1:00. The road is not very interesting. A good deal of salt marsh, & much of the alkali which tells on my lips at once. Had lunch, & then went to our rooms. Mine was very bad, & I had some words with the landlord who was very rude & if I cd. or had had anyone with me, I shd. have gone out of the house there & then. It made all things very unpleasant. I shall always think of the Hotel Westminster Los Angeles as one of the most inhospitable houses I have ever been in. I cd. get neither matches, water to drink nor any answer to my bell. Sent my trunk to be mended.

Tuesday. Rode all the morning & all the afternoon with the Streepers on the electric cars for 30¢. The environs are very beautiful, the town itself a bustling place with good shops, but a gt. many cut throat looking people about.

[p.115] Wed. Started at 8:30 for Pasadena. The journey is very pretty – the mountains all the way being beautiful. At S. Pasadena, we got out & our car was locked(?) up. Carriages awaited us to drive around, & we had a most lovely drive through fruit orchards, orange groves, &c. So many evergreen oaks here. We drove to the estate of Lucky Baldwin & walked over his gardens. [Elias Jackson Baldwin was a California businessman; he started the Santa Anita race track.] They are beautiful! Every tree that grows is represented there. The weeping willows are perfectly beautiful, in fact everything is perfect to the showman(?) who, in his way, was perfect also. The little cabin which this lucky Baldwin lived in when first he came to the west stands now in the middle of the garden. He owns 60,000 acres of land in this neighbourhood & over 200,000 in all. He is a horse breeder. We then drove all round the place. Low cottages are dotted around, embowered in roses.

[p.116]

The Raymond Hotel stands high & is seen from a distance. We drove up there. It is closed now, being a summer place, but we were taken over it, & a gardener was there to give us all a bouquet of flowers, lovely carnations & roses. The view from the terrace is lovely. We then made the circuit of Pasadena & there are magnificent residences all round with beautiful grounds. Every luxury(?) that abundant nature & a lovely climate can give is found here. The houses are all so pretty with their wide piazzas covered with creepers & roses. It is only about 20 [15 written underneath] years since Pasadena become known(?), & now it is a fashionable, thriving, monied place. Miss Brown the inventress of the hat(?) hook(?) has a lovely place here with such dainty curtains. We went to the Hotel for lunch, & enjoyed every minute of our stay there. The mountains [p.117] are perfectly beautiful. We left with regret & made out way back to Los Angeles in order to get to Sta. Monica for the night. First impressions of Sta. Monica are beautiful. The Pacific is washing up to the terrace of the Hotel. Got lovely rooms & had a bath at once. Music all the evening. Very fair. Four young ladies played piano, violin, flute, & cornet. Nice hotel.

Thursday: Had a delightful morning at the Hotel Arcadia Santa Monica. It is indeed a lovely place. Sea & mountain views combine in making it the prettiest place we have yet struck in California. We went for a walk. The view were lovely. There are a few nice houses & loads of flowers. There is no display of lavish wealth here, all is peace & beauty, no(?) bad taste – nothing to mar(?) as yet the extreme(?) gifts of nature. Sat for an hour on the terrace, & enjoyed in peace the sunshine. I find too much company

[p.118]

does not suit me. This is a most complex party, made up of the most heterogeneous elements. There is little to recommend it, except protection. I was so sorry to leave Sta. Monica & have made up my mind that if I again visit California (which is not likely), I shall make straight for the Hotel Arcadia. At 11.30 we left. The usual fuss at starting. One old lady was determined she had lost her tickets & wd. not be persuaded to look into her bag, until her son had started to go back to the hotel in search of them, then she looked into this treasured museum, & there sure enough she found them. At last we got off, & in half an hour found ourselves at the(?) S.Pfic. [Southern Pacific] Station Los Angeles where lunch was provided - a most unappetising one to me. The Americans are large & gross eaters. It is wonderful how much these delicate women consume. At 2 p.m. we got right away from Los Angeles, & were borne along [p.119] the prettiest road we have yet found. At first, the sun was so powerful we cd. not see much, but so soon as we cd. look out, we saw one beauty after another. The excitement in the beginning was a tramp riding under the cars. It seems that is quite a common thing. They fix themselves on above the wheels somehow. At Saugus(?) the Santa Barbara [illegible] we passed into the beautiful Santa Clara Valley, with high mountains on either hand of varied & [illegible] form. Orchards & orange groves are passed. The Santa Clara river at first is seen. Soon we arrived at Camulos, which was the home of Ramona, the heroine of H. H. Jackson’s story. We saw the ranch on which she [i.e. Ramona] was brought up. Then comes Sta. Paula, the center of the petroleum district of California. We cd. see the oil tanks; then we passed through a wilderness of cactus & yucca palms – very alkaline on the surface. At [illegible] the hills have receded & the valley widens into a plain & the gt. bean fields

[p.120]

which supply the east with their produce come on the scene. One man sent off 21,000 tons last year. After that, San Buenaventura comes on with its old “mission” well situated as all these old missions were, at the mouth of the Ventura. It is the outlet of a grain & fruit growing country. The broad Pacific now comes into view, & we can see the Islands of Anacapa & Santa Crus [i.e. Cruz], & soon we reach Santa Barbara. The Arlington is to be our home, & to my astonishment we are all put into the annex of the hotel. The rooms are good but are cold & damp, & remind one of a well. It was so cold.

Friday: Awoke to cold & damp worse than an Edinburgh [illegible]. Distinct feelings of rheumatism settled in our joints. We agitated for other rooms, & after a good deal of trouble got them in the main building on the 2d floor & are now better contented.

[here ends the diary, but an entry for Santa Barbara is found on p. 38:]

Santa Barbara

Went for a drive to the “Old Mission” & a twelve mile round(?). It was a nice drive but nothing like the one we had at Pasadena. I did not enjoy it, not feeling well. Saw Mrs. Gorman at lunch. Walked into the town & got some views, saw the stores, &c. The Mexican leather work is quite a trade here. I do not care for it. The abalone shells are found in gt. variety on the Sta. Barbara Islands.