A journal of travels in England, Holland, and Scotland, and of two passages over the Atlantic, in the years 1805 and 1806.

Front matter

I\A L, ,'J

JOURNAX. OF TRAVELS

IK

Preface

1 T

HE Trustees of Yale College, in the autumn of 1804, appropriated a sura of money, for the enlargement of their library, and philosophical and chemical apparatus ; and, they determined on sending an agent to Europe, for the purpose of making the contemplated collections. I was commissioned to execute this trust, and was allowed to avail myself of such opportunities as might occur, for acquiring information, especially in chemistry, which it was my duty to teach, in the institution with which I am connected.

Such were my principal objects, in Europe, and to these the greater part of my time was necessarily de- Toted.

At the request of the brother to whom the following pages are addressed, I commenced a journal, whicli was continued, from the first, without a single day's omission, till my return. Instead of filling my letters with descriptions of what I saw, I constantly made ray journal the depository of my observations and thoughts, and it was transmitted to America, in numbers, at convenient intervals.

iv PREFACE.

I wrote at the time^ and an the spot, and was rarely a day behind my date ; my information was derived almost wholly from personal observation, and conversation ; beyond the itineraries and guides of the country, I had little leisure to consult books, and none at all to copy or amend what I had written ; and I felt the less disposition to do it as I was writing to a bro. ther^ who, in the communication of the journal, was restricted to a small circle of friends.

Of course, I wrote with a degree of freedom which made it unpleasant to me to learn, that it had been found impossible to confine the manuscripts within the limits prescribed, and, when I returned, I was informed that they had been perused by many of my acquaintance, and their friends. It now became impossible for me to refuse the loan of them to others, and, in this way, their existence became so generally known, that their publication was talked of as a matter of course. I uniformly declined to listen to any proposition on the subject, as it had been my determination from the first to withhold the work from the press.

But, a good while after ray return, an application was made to me under circumstances so peculiar, that I was compelled to take it into consideration. After perusing the manuscripts, with reference to this object, consulting literary friends, and deliberating, a long time, I consented, not without much anxiety, to at.

PREFACE. V

tertiptthe difficult task of preparing them for publication. It was difficult, because the public, ?iot my friends^ were now to be my judges, and because jt was scarcely possible to preserve the spirit and freedom which had interested the latter, without violating the decorum which was due to the former, and to many respectable individuals, whose names appeared in my journal.

With a design to preserve this medium, the whole has been written anew. Additions, omissions, and alterations have been made, but they have been as few as possible, and it has undergone so little mutation, either in form or substance, that the spirit and character of the work remain essentially unchanged ; how far it has been rendered more fit for the public eye, those, who have perused the original volumes, during a period of more than three years that hav« elapsed, since their completion, will be best able to judge.

Perhaps, I ought to apologize for interweaving in the journal, so much of my own personal history, and for introducing so many of ray own remarks and reflections, but, these things were so combined with the very tissue of the work, that it would have been impossible to have withdrawn them, without destroying, completely, the texture of the fabric. 1*-

Vi PREFACE.

The apology implied^ in this simple unvarnished tale, I am sensible, is very trite^ and by many will be regarded as inadmissible.

However this may be, I have discharged a duty by telling the truth ; what I have said will be believed in my native State, where the principal facts are well

known.

BENJAMIN SILLIMAN.

Yale College, (Connecticut) August 28, 1809.

CONTENTS OF V0LU3IE I.

Page

NO. I.— PASSAGE TO ENGLAND - 13

NO. II.— LIVERPOOL.

Circus — Custom-house — American Hotel — Cavalry — Army of Egypt — Literary institulions — A slave ship - - 34

NO. III. —LIVERPOOL.

Sketch of the town — American trade — Press gangs — Docks — Dry docks 47

NO. IV.— LIVERPOOL.

English dinners — Allerton-hall — Botanical garden — Mr. lloscoe — A transport ship — Environs — English Hotel - 54

NO. v.— MANCHESTER.

Gilead House — Prescot — Warrington — Scenery — Stage companions — Manchester — A family scene — Roman camp — Prince Charles — Volunteers — Duke of Bridgev/ater's canal — Cotton manufactories — Manners and morals of the artists 66

NO. VI.— JOURNEY TO THE PEAK.

Stockport — English stage-coaches — Barren mountains — Buxton — Tidpswell — People of the country — Singular scenerv — Ancient castle 80

X CONTENTS.

NO. XXIII.— .LONDON.

House of Commons 216

NO. XXIV.— LONDON.

Mr. Greville—Mr. Watt— Sir Joseph Banks and his conversazione. -Major Rennel— Dr. Wollaston, &c.—Sir Joseph Banks' public breakfast - - - - 223

NO. XXV.— LONDON.

Brompton-gardens-.Chelsea-gardens and hospital— Smugglers— Mendicants— A successful beg-gar - - 229

NO. XXVI.— LONDON.

Gas-lights—Royal Society— Picture gallery - - 236

NO. XXVIL— LONDON.

American party— Haymarket theatre— Athletic exercises —Sadler's Wells theatre— Royal institution - • 242

NO. XXVIII.— LONDON.

Royal Circus— Old Bailey— Newgate— G.'^ldsmith's Garret—Picture Gallery, &c. 252

NO. XXIX.— LONDON.

NO. XXX.— LONDON.

Anecdotes— Royal Academy— Astley's amphitheatre 264

NO. XXXI.— LONDON.

Animals— Puffs— Lloyd's— Royal Exchange— Shop-keepers, &c. .,------ 2ri

CONTENTS. Xi

NO. XXXII.— LONDON.

Private parties— A liberal clerg-yman— Rev. Mr. Cecil- Asylum, &c 276

NO. XXXIII.— LONDON.

The Thames — Greenwich hospital and park— Royal Observatory ----_... 2gi

NO. XXXIV.— LONDON.

British Museum-.-Collection of busts and statues— Hunger's Museum ---.-__. 288

NO. XXXV.— LONDON.

Incidents— Thunder-storm— Bacon's tree— Rules of walk- »»gr>&c. 295

NO. XXXVL— LONDON.

Excursion to Richmond— Celibacy common in England 299

NO. XXXVIL— LONDON.

The Sabbath— Cockneys— Magdalen Asylum— Surry Cha- Pel 305

NO. XXXVIIL— LONDON.

Excursion— Morning ride— Haymarket theatre— The London stage, &c. - - - . . . -oil

NO. XXXIX.— LONDON.

Foundling Hospital— English preachers— The foundlings —St. Stephen's 317 prospect of serene weather made ample amends for the gloom of the day.

April 8. — This morning, a large hawk, that had strayed beyond his reckoning, hovered over the ship, and settled upon the peak of our fore-top mast, where he poised himself with his wings, as the motion threw him off from his centre. He seemed much fatigued and very happy to find this resting place; — more fortunate he, than the winged messenger that went from the arkj but found no mast or shrub, rising from that " shoreless ocean." When the hawk first alighted, an English gentleman on board remarked, that the American Eagle had come to preside over our passage ; but the omen seems unpropitious, for our tutelary genius has already taken his flight.

In the evening, the sky was clear and serene, and the moon shone with uncommon brightness; our ship, with all her canvass filled by a stiff breeze, moved gracefully and majestically through the water ; the sea, for many yards around, was all in a foam from the rapidity of her motion, which, was so regular, that I was able to walk the deck with a firm step, and to enjoy the conversation ci an intelligent fellow passenger.

Jpril 9. — In the evening, I observed for the first time, the interesting phenomenon of the lunar bow, which was distinctly visible in about 60° of the upper part of the circle.

Jpril 10. — We had no longer the fine vernal sun and mild breezes of yesterday, but a gale from the south-east, with a heavy sea, flying clouds, dashes of rain, and violent squalls. At twilight, the heavens and the ecean presented a scene of great grandeur. The wares ran very high, and the ship danced over

Iheir tops like a feather. The sky became suddenly black ; darkness, almost like that of night, hung over the deep ; — it was, if I may so say, a darkness shed from the clouds, attended with a portentous gloom, unlike the serenity which night produces ; — the white tops of the wavps, as they dashed against each other, and crowned the vast black billows with a seeming ridge of snow, presented a striking contrast to the sable hue of the sea and sky ; and the dexterity of the sailors, who, in the midst of this uproar, climbed the shrouds, and went out to the very ends of the yards to lash the sails, was well adapted to excite my astonishment. I had no fears, but enjoj ed in a high degree the majesty of a scene, for my impressions of which I had hitherto been indebted to painters and poets.

Early in the evening, the wind declined ; the clouds began to disperse, and the beautiful constellation Orion, was the first that appeared to cheer our spirits, after so dismil a day,

April \A. — For several days we continued to sail prosperously on our course, aud no interesting incident occurred, till, towards e^Riing, on the 10th day of our passage, we had the pleasure to descry a fishing vessel, lying at anchor, on tlic banks of Newfoundland. The next day we lay to twice, and fished with little success ; but, in the mean ^m\Q we saw one of the greatest wonders of the great deep ; two whales played about the ship, frequently spouting, and raising their " broad bare backs" out of the water.

After our last attempt at fishing, we stood on our course, and, in a few minutes, discovered what we imagined to be two vessels ; the mate, going up io the round top, saw four more, and presently after, we descried a whole fleet. We concluded that they must be fishing vessels, and steered for them ; having already formed a plan to board them with our boat, for the purpose of purchasing fish, since we had failed in taking any. There was something, however, extremely, singular in the appearance of these vessels. They were apparently without masts or sails ; — their hulls were of a brilliant white, and, as the sea caused them to roll, they gave a copious reflection, from a very bright sun, and seemed all dazzling.

We were employing ourselves in forming various conjectures on the subject, without once suspecting the real fact, when the mate, going aloft with a prospect glass, soon put to flight all our surmises by crying out, Islands of Ice ! ! I felt a mixed emotion, of pleasure and apprehension, from the expected contemplation of cbjecis so splendid and magnificent, and still, so dangerous to our safety. Very soon, the progress of the ship brought other islands into view, and rendered those more distinct which we had first discovered. The subject occupied all the eyes, and engrossed all the thoughts and conversation, of our little family. The weather, from being mild in the morning, although still clear, had become .much colder, in consequence, no doubt, of the vicinity , of such masses of ice. That which we had discovered, was, happily, not of the most dangerous form ; it was altogether, in conspicuous masses, rising, in some instances, 100 feet out of the water ; that which is most dangerous, is the field ice, which lies on the surface, often to a great extent, and, not being visible at any considerable distance, ships are in danger of running upon it, unobserved.

Having still several hours of day light, we flattered ourselves that we should get clear of such a dangerous neighbourhood before night. But the hope seemed as ▼ain as that of passing the horizon itself, for new masses were continually coming into view, and we could perceive them appearing, like white spots, in the very verge of the heavens, just in the line where the sky and water seemed to unite, so that, instead of getting clear, as we had hoped, we found ourselves, towards evening, surrounded by numerous ice-islands on every side.

Their appearance was, to me, extremely interesting and gratifying, and I wish it were in my power to convey to you an adequate idea of these formidable productions of polar frost.

They were all of a very pure and splendid white, with a peculiar brilliancy, arising from the situation of the sun, Avhich was declining ; while the Ice-islands constantly came into view from the east and north, and thus threw back a flood of light upon us, which rendered them more conspicuous as they came nearer, and afl'orded the pleasure of continued discovery. Few of them were larger than a house or a church, but there were two which might well be dignified with the name of floating mountains. They all rolled much with the ■waves, with a ponderous motion, that alternately immersed an additional portion of the mass, and then, by the returning movement, brought a great bulk into view, which had been invisible before, while streams of water, taken up by the inequalities of surface, ran down their sides. It is not easy to give a correct estimation of the magnitude of the largest islands. Their appearance was very magnificent. They covered many acres on the water, and towered above our top-gallant

18 A JOUUNAL OF TRAtELS IN

masts. So peculiar was their appearance, that it is not easy to compare them to any thing but themselves ; yet, they resembled most, some ancient venerable ruin, while the beauty and splendour of the materials made them look like a recent, highly polished work of art, which some convulsion had thrown into vast disorder. Conceive of some very extensive and lofty palace, of white marble, whose walls have been, here and theie, broken down, almost to the ground, but still rise, in numerous and lofty turrets, and whose sides appear, every where, furrowed by the tempests of ages ; — conceive further, of this great pile of ruin as emerging from the ocean, where the heavens alone terminate the view on every side, and that the waves are dashing continually against it, and surrounding its base with foam, and its sides with spray ; and you will then have some idea ef the object which I am aiming to describe.

Sun-setUng. — I have this moment been on deck, and find that we are immediately abreast of another ice-mountain, while new ones are momently coming into view in the eastern edge of the horizon. Those which we have passed now present their shaded sides, and have lost their splendour ; while the most remote, in the same direction, appear like dark clouds, with their tops gilded by the last rays of the sun. The air i-3 very keen for the season. Night is now closing fast upon us, and we must pass it among these floating masses ; it will certainly be an anxious night, and heaven grant it may be a safe one. We have the advantage of serene weather, with a fair though small breeze, and we shall have the moon before midnight.

12 o^ clock at night. — Two men are stationed in the bow to look out for the ice :— one mass has grazed our side, but without doing any harm, and as the moon has risen, and the weather continues fine, I shall retire to rest. I have not, however, forgotten the interesting history of the Lady Hobart British Packet, which perished last year in these seas, by the same accident to which we are now exposed.*

April 16. — Happily we received no injury, being favoured with every circumstance which might give us a safe passage. Had these circumstances, however, been reversed ; — had the night been dark — the sea high, and the weather tempestuous, we could scarcely have escaped ; for, what obstacle would the sides of a ship oppose to the mighty momentum of such masses, impelled by the winds and waves of a tempest ! Between two, she would be crushed, and even the collision with one, if the ship were under full way, would cause the same resistance as a rock, and the ragged edges of the ice would pierce her instantly.

In order to a correct conception of the vast moving power of these bodies, it must not be forgotten that only" a very small portion of their bulk appears above the water. It is well known that this is the case with cakes of ice floating in a river, and, where it is perfectly solid and well formed, only one eighth or one ninth part of its bulk rises above the surface. These masses are, however, far from having this density ; they seem to be principally an accumulation of snow, hardened by degrees upon a bed of ice, and

* After our arrival in England we became acquainied with tlie slill more tragical fate of tlie American ship Jupiter, Capt. Law, which was lost here, with a great liumber of people, only a few days before our arrival on the banks. She encoun- * red the field-ice, and went down within a few minutes after ■ e struck.

increased by the clashing of the water, which constantly freezes upon them in successive layers. The sailors say that one third of these islands appears above water. This estimation is undoubtedly much too high, but, were even this considered as correct, it will be evident that such islands as the largest which we saw, must be bodies of prodigious magnitude. But, every allowance being made, there is reason to believe that not more than one fifth or sixth part of the ice-islands is visible ; of course an ice mountain of 100 feet high, would really have a perpendicular altitude of 500 or 600 feet.

While contemplating these magnificent bodies, Dr. Darvs'in's whimsical project of employing the navies of Europe to navigate them to the tropical regions for the sake of cooling those climates, struck me with peculiar interest ; what project or hypothesis has been too ridiculous to be proposed and defended by philosophy or to be embellished by poetry and fiction !

April 17. — The last night was very tempestuous :-^ the wind, especially towards morning, blew hard, and raised a very heavy sea ; the sky was co'^ered with ragged, angry clouds, which gave us frequent squalls, with rain, hail, and snow, and the ship rolled so violently, that I slept very little ; but, to compensate for all this, the wind was perfectly fair, and sent us forward eight and ten miles an hour. We.- have had the same weather, and have made the same progress, through the day ; but the motions of the ship have been so violent, that it has been impossible to sit at the table. We have been compelled to place our food on the floor, and to sit down around it, with all the simplicity, although not with the quiet and security, of pastoral life.

You would have been much amused could you have witnessed our grotesque appearance ; — one might have been seen bracing a foot against a pannel, and another against a trunk ; — a second and a third, not equallyfortunate in their position, aided each other, by extending their limbs, and placing foot to foot, in opposite directions, while the walls of the cabin supported them behind. Thus situated, with our plates between our knees, we attempted the arduous business of dining. At every roll of the ship there was a kind of manual exercise to be performed. Besides his own plate, each one had to elevate some vessel to prevent its being overthrown ; one held up a. decanter of wine, another a gravy-dish, and a third the soup-bowl ; and it was only in the critical moment between one roll and another, that the knife and fork could be used with safety. Notwithstanding our caution, it has happened more than once to-day, that a sudden and violent motion of the ship has thrown us all, with the loose furniture, and table utensils, into a promiscuous heap, while more solicitude has been manifested for the preservation of the food than of our limbs. As no serious injury has been sustained, we have been very merry on the occasion, and have enjoyed our tumultuous repasts quite as well as on some occasions we should have relished a sumptuous entertainment.

The face of tht» ocean has exhibited a scene of great grandeur through the whole day. The wind continuing to blow very hard, the captain ordered the dead lights to be lashed in, apd this, as well as other movements on board, indicate an expectation of weather still more tempestuous.

April 1 8. — Accordingly, the wind, which during the night veered to the south, but without subsiding at all, in the progress of the morning increased to a gale ; and before noon this gale became a violent tempest, ■with dashes of rain. There was a very heavy sea, and the motions of the ship were so sudden and violent, that it was hazardous to attempt moving without constantly holding fast by some fixed object. No food could be prepared in the caboose, and such refreshment as we had, was received, as yesterday, on the cabin floor, and even in this humble posture, we were not unfrequently thrown from one side of the cabin to the other. The storm increased in violence through the day, so that it far exceeded every thing which I had hitherto seen ; atad in the afternoon, besides the general vehemence of the wind, there were frequent squalls. Just before evening, while the captain was asleep in his state room^ the ship being laid close to the wind, with nothing standing but a double reefed fore-sail, and the tiller in the hands of a common sailor, a sudden and violent squall struck us, which threw the helmsman from his station, so that the ship was no longer under command of the rudder ; — accordingly she lurched^ as the sailors say ; that is, she fell into the trough of the sea, and the next wave, although she was a tall ship, of more than 400 tons, threw her down upon her side, with tremendous violence, so that a part of her deck was under water ; the people, and every moveable thing, were thrown to leeward, and, for a moment, dismay was painted in the faces of the most experienced men on board.

The violence of the shock roused our sleeping captain, who was upon deck In an instant ; — forced the helm up, with a whole volley of oaths, and put the ship before the wind, when she righted. The danger was imminent, though transient, for, had the ship remained in the same position, the next sea would, without doubt, have laid her flat upon the water.

Night, at length, set in, dark and dismal ; — the tempest raged with more violence than ever, and the fury of the sea was wonderful. To an old sailor it miiiht doubtless have appeared no very uncommon thing ; but to me, to whom these incidents were novel, the scene was awfully grand ; and one who has never witnessed a tempest at sea, has not enjoyed one of the highest exhibitions of sublimity.

I have no particular dread of the water, and, excepting this crisis, I had not supposed our situation to be, at any time, imminently dangerous ; yet I could not but be astonished that any machine, constructed of such frail materials as those of a ship, could withstand such shocks as those which we received every moment from the waves, and which caused every timber to tremble, while the creaking of the ship's joints, and the roaring of the winds and waves, rendered it almost impossible to hear any one speak. It was not the consequence of weakness or of fear, but a natural, and I trust pardonable, efloct of the scene before me, that induced me to descend into the cabin, to read a letter of our mother, received immediately before I sailed, in which she had inserted an interesting production of Addison, who had drunk inspiration at fountains more noble than Helicon. It is entitled The Traveller's Hymn, and might well be adopted as the companion of exery adventurer, whose mind does not despise the idea of protection from on high.

24 A JOURNAL or TRAVELS IN

About ten o'clock at night the wind abated, and gradually died away to a still small breeze ; but our situation was more uncomfortable than ever, for the ship, being now without wind to steady her, rolled dreadfully ;— sleep was unattainable, and I could only brace myself, in my birth, and wait for morning. I spent an hour in the evening in viewing the phosphorescence of the waves. It was indeed a beautiful sight. The ocean was covered all over with luminous spots, occasioned by the foam of the waves, while, around the ship, the water glowed and sparkled almost with the brilliancy of burning coals. When we shipped a sea the spray appeared like a shower of fire, falling among the shrouds, and the deck seemed to be covered with glowing embers.

How comes it that the poets, so much celebrated for appropriating every brilliant image of natural scenery, should have m.ade so little use of this ? They have not often alluded to this phenomenon, which is certainly beautiful in itself, and eminentlyjo from its occurring, most remarkably, in tempest and darkness, when beauty is contrasted with grandeur.

Ajn-il 22, — In the gale on the 1 8th, our spars and rigging received considerable injury and our ship sprung a leak, which, when it was discovered, had made about two feet of water in the hold. Our pumps were very bad ; the carpenter was stupid and inactive ; and during several days of squally and variable weather that succeeded, we endured considerable apprehension, till we discovered, that, bad as our pumps were, they were sulTicient to prevent the leak from gaining upon us.

ENGLANB, HOLLAND, AND SCOTLAND. 25

We have sailed, all this day, under the pressure of a gale, which has sent us forward ten miles an hour.

About 4 o'clock this afternoon, I went on deck to view the tumult of the ocean ; the ship was pressed down so much to leeward by the wind, that her deck was inclined like a roof, and I clambctofi to the windward railing, and found a situation where I Could hold fast by the ropes. The sea often dashed over the ship, and involved us in such copious showers, that I found it necessary to go below. I had scarcely descended into the cabin, when we shipped a tremendous sea ; the wave, as the mate informed me, took the ship sideways through her whole length ; its top curled as high as the mainyard-arm, and it fell upon the deck with astonishing violence, a universal crash, and an instantaneous suspension of the motion of the ship, as when an ox is knocked down dead at the slaughter. The sea made a full breach over us, and, for a moment, we were buried beneath it as if we had been sunk ; the decks were swept, and the water came pouring down into the cabin through the sky-light.

April ^3 — The weather has continued extremely variable, and the transitions from clouds to sunshine, •and from sunshine to rain and violent winds, have been so rapid and frequent, that it has not been easy to say which have prevailed, but, in all the bad weather and gales which have attended our passage, we have had the satisfaction of being rapidly impelled towards England.

April 24. — There was a brilliant rainbow this morning in the west, and, as we were now contending v.\ih a head pea, the spray constantly broke o^rr the ships' bow, and preserved a rainbcw whenever tl:e sun

VOL. I. 3

V \^^ A JOURNAL OF TRAVELS lH

shone. At evening, the captain, being confident that the Irish coast conld not be far distant, ordered most of our canvass to be taken in, lest we should run upon it in the dark. During the succeeding night the wind blew furiously, and squalls attended us the next day till towards evening, when the sea suddenly went down and became comparatively smooth ; the gulls had become very numerous, and we had no doubt that land was near. On the succeeding day, we sounded and found bottom, and all eyes were now intent on discovering the wished for object.

April 27.— We looked in vain till 5 o'clock in the afternoon of this day, when a man from the masthead exclaimed — land 1 land ! on the weather bow 1

I went up the shrouds, and saw a mountain in Ireland which appeared like a well defined cloud in the ^dge of the horizon. This more than welcome object occupied our eyes till evening veiled it from our view.

April 28.— In the morning the hills of Ireland became more and more distinct. We saw successively, the heights of Waterford— the lofty mountains of Wicklow, at a great distance over land— the Saltee Islands, near and very distinct, and lastly, Carnsore point and the Tuscar rock, constituting the south-eastern extremity of Ireland, which it was necessary to double in order to enter the [rish channel.