Indeed, there is no other way of getting from Bermuda to New York; or of going anywhere from Bermuda—except to Halifax and St. Thomas, to which places a steamer runs once a month. In going to Cuba I had been becalmed, starved, shipwrecked, and very nearly quaranteened. In going to New York I encountered only the last misery. The doctor who boarded us stated that a vessel had come from Bermuda with a sick man, and that we must remain where we were till he had learnt what was the sick man's ailment6. Our skipper, who knew the vessel in question, said that one of their crew had been drunk in Bermuda for two or three days, and had not yet worked it off. But the doctor called again in the course of the day, and informed us that it was intermittent7 fever. So we were allowed to pass. It does seem strange that sailing vessels8 should be subjected to such annoyances9. I hardly think that one of the mail steamers going into New York would be delayed because there was a case of intermittent fever on board another vessel from Liverpool.
It is not my purpose to give an Englishman's ideas of the United States, or even of New York, at the fag end of a volume treating about the West Indies. On the United States I should like to write a volume, seeing that the government and social life of the people there—of that people who are our children—afford the most interesting phenomena10 which we find as to the new world;—the best means of prophesying11, if I may say so, what the world will next be, and what men will next do. There, at any rate, a new republic has become politically great and commercially active; whereas all other new republics have failed in those points, as in all others. But this cannot be attempted now.
From New York I went by the Hudson river to Albany, and on by the New York Central Railway to Niagara; and though I do not mean to make any endeavour to describe that latter place as such descriptions should be—and doubtless are and have been—written, I will say one or two words which may be of use to any one going thither12.
The route which I took from New York would be, I should think, the most probable route for Englishmen. And as travellers will naturally go up the Hudson river by day, and then on from Albany by night train,* seeing that there is nothing to be seen at Albany, and that these trains have excellent sleeping accommodation—a lady, or indeed a gentleman, should always take a double sleeping-berth, a single one costs half a dollar, and a double one a dollar. This outlay13 has nothing to do with the travelling ticket;—it will follow that he, she, or they will reach Niagara at about 4 a.m.
[*It would be well, however, to visit Trenton Falls by the way, which I did not do. They are but a short distance from Utica, a town on this line of railway.]
In that case let them not go on to what is called the Niagara Falls station, but pass over at a station called the Suspension Bridge—very well known on the road—to the other or Canada side of the water, and thence go to the Clifton Hotel. There can be no doubt as to this being the site at which tourists should stop. It is one of those cases in which to see is to be sure. But if the traveller be carried on to Niagara Falls station, he has a long and expensive journey to make back; and the United States side of the water will be antagonistic14 to him in doing so. The ticket from Albany to Niagara cost me six dollars; the carriage from Niagara to the Clifton Hotel cost me five. It was better to pay the five than to remain where I was; but it would have been better still to have saved them. I mention this as passengers to the Falls have no sort of intimation that they should get out at the Suspension Bridge; though they are all duly shaken out of their berths15, and inquired of whether or not they be going west.
Nothing ever disappointed me less than the Falls of Niagara—but my raptures16 did not truly commence for the first half-day. Their charms grow upon one like the conversation of a brilliant man. Their depth and breadth and altitude, their music, colour, and brilliancy are not fully17 acknowledged at the first moment. It may be that my eye is slow; but I can never take in to its full enjoyment18 any view or any picture at the first glance. I found this to be especially the case at Niagara. It was only by long gazing and long listening that I was able to appreciate the magnitude of that waste of waters.
My book is now complete, and I am not going to "do the Falls," but I must bid such of my readers as may go there to place themselves between the rocks and the waters of the Horse-shoe Fall after sunset—well after sunset; and there remain—say for half an hour. And let every man do this alone; or if fortune have kindly19 given him such a companion, with one who may leave him as good as alone. But such companions are rare.
The spot to which I allude20 will easily make itself known to him, nor will he have any need of a guide. He will find it, of course, before the sun shall set. And, indeed, as to guides, let him eschew21 them, giving a twenty-five cent piece here and there, so that these men be not ruined for want of custom. Into this spot I made my way, and stood there for an hour, dry enough. The spray did reach my coat, and the drops settled on my hair; but nevertheless, as a man not over delicate, I was dry enough. Then I went up, and when there was enticed22 to put myself into a filthy23 oil-skin dress, hat, coat, and trousers, in order that I might be conducted under the Falls. Under the Falls! Well I had been under the Falls; but still, wishing to see everything, I allowed myself to be caparisoned.
A sable24 conductor took me exactly to the spot where I had been before. But he took me also ten yards further, during which little extra journey I became soaking wet through, in spite of the dirty oil-cloth. The ducking cost me sixty cents, or half a crown.
But I must be allowed one word as to that visit after sunset; one word as to that which an obedient tourist will then see. In the spot to which I allude the visitor stands on a broad safe path, made of shingles25, between the rock over which the water rushes and the rushing water. He will go in so far that the spray rising back from the bed of the torrent26 does not incommode him. With this exception, the further he can go the better; but here also circumstances will clearly show him the spot. Unless the water be driven in by a very strong wind, five yards make the difference between a comparatively dry coat and an absolutely wet one.
And then let him stand with his back to the entrance, thus hiding the last glimmer27 of the expiring day. So standing28 he will look up among the falling waters, or down into the deep misty29 pit, from which they reascend in almost as palpable a bulk. The rock will be at his right hand, high and hard, and dark and straight, like the wall of some huge cavern30, such as children enter in their dreams. For the first five minutes he will be looking but at the waters of a cataract31,—at the waters, indeed, of such a cataract as we know no other, and at their interior curves, which elsewhere we cannot see. But by-and-by all this will change. He will no longer be on a shingly32 path beneath a waterfall; but that feeling of a cavern wall will grow upon him, of a cavern deep, deep below roaring seas, in which the waves are there, though they do not enter in upon him; or rather not the waves, but the very bowels33 of the deep ocean. He will feel as though the floods surrounded him, coming and going with their wild sounds, and he will hardly recognize that though among them he is not in them. And they, as they fall with a continual roar, not hurting the ear, but musical withal, will seem to move as the vast ocean waters may perhaps move in their internal currents. He will lose the sense of one continued descent, and think that they are passing round him in their appointed courses. The broken spray that rises from the depth below, rises so strongly, so palpably, so rapidly, that the motion in every direction will seem equal. And then, as he looks on, strange colours will show themselves through the mist; the shades of gray will become green and blue, with ever and anon a flash of white; and then, when some gust34 of wind blows in with greater violence, the sea-girt cavern will become all dark and black. Oh, my friend, let there be no one there to speak to thee then; no, not even a heart's brother. As you stand there speak only to the waters.
So much for Niagara. From thence, I went along Lake Ontario, and by the St. Lawrence to Montreal, being desirous of seeing the new tubular railway bridge which is being erected35 there over the St. Lawrence close to that town. Lake Ontario is uninteresting, being altogether too large for scenery, and too foggy for sight-seeing if there were anything to see. The travelling accommodation, however, is excellent. The points of interest in the St. Lawrence are the thousand islands, among which the steamer glides36 as soon as it enters the river; and the rapids, of which the most singularly rapid is the one the vessel descends37 as it nears Montreal. Both of these are very well, but they do not require to be raved38 about. The Canadian towns at which one touches are interesting as being clean and large, and apparently39 prosperous;—also as being English, for we hardly reach the French part of Canada till we get down to Montreal.
This tubular bridge over the St. Lawrence, which will complete the whole trunk line of railway from Portland on the coast of Maine, through the two Canadas, to the States of Michigan and Wisconsin, will certainly be one of the most wonderful works of scientific art in the world. It is to consist of different tubes, resting on piers40 placed in the river bed at intervals41 sufficient to provide for the free navigation of the water. Some of these, including the centre and largest one, are already erected. This bridge will be over a mile and a half in length, and will cost the enormous sum of one million four hundred thousand pounds, being but two hundred thousand pounds short of the whole cost of the Panama railway. I only wish that the shareholders42 may have as good a dividend43.
From Montreal I went down Lake Champlain to Saratoga Springs, the great resort of New Yorkers when the weather in the city becomes too hot for endurance. I was there late in June, but was very glad at that time to sit with my toes over a fire. The country about Saratoga is by no means pretty. The waters, I do not doubt, are very healthy, and the hotels very good. It must, I should think, be a very dull place for persons who are not invalids44.
From Saratoga I returned to New York, and from New York sailed for Liverpool in the exceedingly good ship 'Africa,' Captain Shannon. I have sailed in many vessels, but never in one that was more comfortable or better found.
And on board this most comfortable of vessels I have now finished my book, as I began it on board that one, of all the most uncomfortable, which carried me from Kingston in Jamaica to Cien Fuegos in the island of Cuba.
The End
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1
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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ailment
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| n.疾病，小病 | |
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intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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8
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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annoyances
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| n.恼怒( annoyance的名词复数 )；烦恼；打扰；使人烦恼的事 | |
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10
phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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prophesying
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的现在分词 ) | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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outlay
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| n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费 | |
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14
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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berths
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| n.（船、列车等的）卧铺( berth的名词复数 )；（船舶的）停泊位或锚位；差事；船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 )；占铺位 | |
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16
raptures
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| 极度欢喜( rapture的名词复数 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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allude
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| v.提及，暗指 | |
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eschew
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| v.避开，戒绝 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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shingly
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| adj.小石子多的 | |
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bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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gust
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| n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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glides
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| n.滑行( glide的名词复数 )；滑音；音渡；过渡音v.滑动( glide的第三人称单数 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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descends
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| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
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raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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39
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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piers
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| n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩 | |
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41
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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42
shareholders
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| n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 ) | |
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43
dividend
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| n.红利，股息；回报，效益 | |
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44
invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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