crying as he goes, "Get up, Miss Nancy," "Get up, Massa Pete," and so on, according to the name of the beast whose speed he wishes to quicken. I was much diverted on our way, likewise, by the sight of numerous sable grinning Dianas, with grotesque looking turbans on their heads of nearly every colour and design, with little black piccaninnies capering round them, as only nigger children can caper. I was amused, too, at noticing, as we passed along, an old negress, with a very small curlypated urchin in her arms, pointing to us, and apparently explaining to the little darkey that we were a fresh arrival; but whether the youngster understood what she said I have no means of knowing. At length we reached the further suburb of Baltimore, and were again hooked on to the engine, which speedily removed us from the gaze of the hundreds of dark eyes that watched the cars, and we ere long gained the open country, occasionally crossing sections of rivers and lakes, which, as we hung over them, as it were, in the dim twilight, looked anything but pleasant; for had any casualty occurred to the train, in all probability a watery grave would have ended the joys and sorrows of most, if not all of the passengers. I may here also mention, that twilight in America is not of such long duration as in England. I will not, indeed, go to the length of the Irishman, who, on his first arrival in the United States, seeing the moon at its full, confidently told a companion, that the moon in America was not so good as that in Ireland 'sure; but I have repeatedly remarked that the twilights

of the new country are, for what reason I am unable to tell, very speedily changed to the sable darkness of night. I was, I own, a good deal surprised at first, but a little reflection pointed out the reasonableness of supposing, that the density of the atmosphere and other combining agencies may vary materially in different

countries.

We had now reached the State of Pennsylvania, first settled by the celebrated Quaker, William Penn, in 1680, and so well-known for the important part she played in the great struggle with England for American Independence. I should remark, likewise, that Pennsylvania is rich in natural resources, being abundantly provided with valuable iron ore, almost inexhaustible fields of bituminous and anthracite coal, with salt, limestone, and other mineral riches. The bituminous coal is, I believe, confined to the west of the Alleghany ridge: at all events, I never saw anything but anthracite, which burn in a way very similar to coke, without the least particle of blaze or smoke, and evolving sulphurous vapours, to obviate injury from which, most housekeepers use an iron vessel filled with water on the top of the stove, for the purpose of collecting and consuming the fumes on its surface. At Pittsburg, I believe, bituminous coal is very largely used in smelting iron; and if it does exist in great quantities in America, I marvel it has not been introduced for manufacturing purposes into the Northern States; the cost of transit, however, is said to be very heavy.

But to return to the journey-we had at a place, the name of which I now forget, to exchange our railroad car for a seat in a steam-boat to cross a river. After about half-an-hour's delay, during which we had time for taking refreshment, we were again upon the rail and rattling onward to the Quaker City-PHILADELPHIA, which we reached a little before midnight. Ere we arrived, however, my attention was called rather amusingly to an altercation in the carriage about a seat, which a smart young passenger had, no doubt unconsciously, taken from an irascible old gentleman, who would take no apology, but proceeded to high words, and even when somewhat appeased by the other's deprecatory tone, kept mumbling and grumbling till he fell off asleep. A traveller next me smiling at this ludicrous occurrence, we soon got into conversation, and I speedily found that he had come from the old country, tired of its burdensome imposts, in the hope of saving money in a land not cursed with the incessant call of grim tax-gatherers, and their heavy claims on struggling men's industry. Taking a lively interest, like all Englishmen, in his native land, he had many questions to ask, and I to answer. In short, we conversed very pleasantly for a long time, and when the cars reached Philadelphia, he very obligingly, seeing that I was a stranger in that city, offered to escort me to an hotel in a central situation, whence I could easily obtain vehicles to take me in whatever direction I wished.

XI.-PHILADELPHIA, ITS INSTITUTIONS AND PRISONS.

I was very much fatigued on my arrival, after travelling nearly 150 miles pent up in a railway car, and gladly availed myself of my fellow countryman's offer to show me an hotel in the centre of the city:-and certainly he was quite right-for the house he recommended was in the neighbourhood of the Exchange, and some of the largest public establishments in the city; the general features of which, with the reader's permission, I will now briefly describe.

Philadelphia, the second city of the Union (having upwards of 400,000 inhabitants), stands on a somewhat elevated plain, about three miles from the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill, and extends, from one to the other, nearly two miles in breadth, running also for four miles along the Delaware, which is here 120 miles from the ocean. The plan of the city-formal, like most others in America-is nearly a parallelogram, having the Delaware on the east, Schuylkill on the west, Vine Street and Cedar Street being the boundaries north and south. The compactly built part of Philadelphia may be about nine miles in circumference ;but there are also several important suburbs, as Kensington, Richmond, the Northern liberties, Southwark, Moyamensing, &c., governed by local municipalities.

The two principal thoroughfares are Market and Broad Streets, which cross each other almost at right angles, and divide the city into four nearly equal sections;— but the great resorts of fashion are Chestnut and Walnut Streets, which contain the leading shops and stores. Some of the ground, however, instead of being wholly built upon, have been formed into squaresamong which we may mention Independence Square, a very prettily laid out enclosure; Washington Square, a favourite promenade; and Franklin Square, remarkable for having in its centre a magnificent fountain. Many of the streets, too, are planted with rows of trees, and and most of them well-paved and clean. As for the houses, they are substantially built, chiefly of brick, but have few pretensions to elegance, though many of them are fronted on the basement story with marble, and approached by flights of marble steps.

The leading public buildings are mostly constructed of white marble, and may vie in beauty with those of any other city in the Union. Among the most celebrated, are the venerable old STATE HOUSE, where the Declaration of Independence was framed and signed; the CUSTOM HOUSE, in Chestnut Street (built in imitation of the Parthenon, at Athens); the MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE, at the corner of Dock and Walnut Streets, remarkable for its imposing semicircular Corinthian colonnade and elegant cupola; the UNITED STATES' MINT, having two Ionic porticoes and fronts, each 123 feet long, facing Chestnut and Juniper Streets; three