First Impressions of the New World | Page 7

the wall was very pretty; but the prettiest effect
was when the supper tables were laid out and the room brilliantly
lighted up. Two long tables stretched the whole length, on which were
placed alternately bouquets and trash of the sweet-cake kind, though
the peaches, water-melons, and ices were very good, and as we had
luckily dined at New York, we were satisfied. The waiters were all
niggers, grinning from ear to ear, white jacketed, active, and clever,
about forty strong. The stewardesses, also of African origin, wore
hoops of extravagant dimensions, and open bodies in front, displaying
dark brown necks many of them lighted up by a necklace or diamond
cross, rivalling Venus herself if she were black. They were really
fearful objects to contemplate, for there was a look of display about
them which read one a severe lesson on female vanity, so frightful did
they appear, and yet rigged out like modern beauties. It was the most
lovely afternoon conceivable, and we stayed on deck, sometimes on the
bow and sometimes on the stern of the vessel, till long after dark. We
preferred the bow, as there was no awning there, and the air was more
fresh and invigorating.
The passage through Long Island Sound was like a river studded on
both sides with villas and green lawns, something like the Thames
between Kingston and Hampton, but much wider, and with higher
background, and altogether on a larger scale. When, owing to the
darkness, we lost sight of these, they were replaced by lighthouses
constantly recurring. This huge Leviathan, considerably longer than the
Africa, proceeded at the rate of about eighteen miles an hour, going
half-speed only, on account of the darkness of the night. The full speed
was twenty-four miles an hour, and remember this was not a
high-pressure engine. After proceeding through this narrow channel for
about 120 miles, we again entered the Atlantic, but speedily reached the

narrow inlet which extends up to this place. You may wonder at our
having been able to make such minute observations upon the saloon,
&c.; but having tried our state cabin, and not relishing it, we paced up
and down the saloon, and occupied by turns most of its 120 chairs, till
three o'clock in the morning brought us to the end of our voyage. There
was no real objection to the cabin, beyond the feeling that it was not
worth while to undress and lie down for so short a time; besides which,
papa was in one of his fidgetty states, which he could only relieve by
exercise.
But how now to describe Newport? Papa is looking out of the window,
and facing it is an avenue of trees running between two lawns of grass
as green as any to be seen in England, though certainly the grass is
coarser than at home. In these lawns stand houses of every shape and
form, and we, being au troisième have a distant view of the sea, which
looks like the Mediterranean studded with ships. As this place (the
Brighton of New York) stands on a small island, this sea view is
discernible from all sides of the house. We walked yesterday a long
way round the cliffs, which are covered with houses far superior to the
average villas in England, the buildings being of a brilliant white and
sometimes stone colour, and of elaborate architecture, with colonnades,
verandahs, balconies, bay windows of every shape and variety, and all
built of wood. The churches are some of them very beautiful, both
Gothic and Grecian. A Gothic one to which we went yesterday
afternoon, was high, high, high in its decorations, but not in the least in
the doctrine we heard, which was thoroughly sound on "God so loved
the world," &c. The fittings up were very simple, and the exterior of the
church remarkable for the grace and simplicity of its outline; for being,
like the houses, built entirely of wood, elaborate carving cannot be
indulged in.
The church which we went to in the morning offered a great contrast to
this, the interior being fitted up with high old-fashioned pews, like
many a village church at home; but besides this, a further interest
attached to Trinity Church, as being the one in which Dean Berkeley
used to preach, and from its remaining unaltered in its internal
appearance from what it was in his days. The pulpit is still the same,

and there is still in the church the organ which he presented to it, at
least the original case of English oak is there, and part of the works are
the same, though some pipes have lately been added. Independently of
Trinity Church, the town of Newport has many associations connected
with Bishop Berkeley's memory, the place where he