The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-24 00:00:00

A NEW ENGLAND WINTER.

My birthplace is about the same latitude as Lyons, in
France, yet the snows fall three or four feet deep, and lay
on the ground three months at a time. The ice froze 20
inches in thickness ; the thermometer went down at times
to 20, 30, and in some mountain regions 40 degrees below
zero. Then the trees would burst with the frost with a
sound like a cannon, and the ground, frozen three feet deep,
would crack with a noise like thur, der, shaking the house
when it passed near. These cracks extended across the
fields in straight lines for a long distance, and were as deep
as the frost extended, and nearly an inch wide; but after
reaching a certain point of cold, 10 or 20 degrees make
little difference with the feelings. Protect the hands and
feet and the ears and nose from freezing, and the cold
stimulates the system to resist it, and is less uncomfortable
than a drizzly chill above the freezing point. Steady, in-
tense cold is by no means the worst of weather: it makes
the blood circulate briskly, and the system put forth its
energies. The air condensed with the cold is rich in oxygen,
and the frost is exhilarating.
Then the sleigh-rides I The snow is four feet deep, but
trodden in the roadway hard as a rock. All the landscape
is glistening white in the dezzling sunshine. The trees
may be cased all in diamonds, glittering with prismatic
light. You glide along swiftly to the music of the jingling
bells, just fleling the motion, and wrapped in buffalo robes,
bear skins, or softer furs. Perhaps it is a string of twenty
sleighs, with as many couples, gliding through the frozen
landscape by moonlight, with the silvery ring of a thousand
bells and shouts of merry laughter, ending with a supper
and a dance, and then home again before the day breaks.
Skating, too. It is hardly worth buying skates, or learn-
ing the beautiful exercise, for the chance ono has of enjoy-
ing it in England ; but in the Northern States of America
you can calculate on three or four months of skating when
the snow is not too deep upon the ice. Sometimes the
snow falls before the large ponds and rivers freeze over—
sometimes it is blown from the ice. I used to skate miles
up and down the Connecticut river, and when thirsty,
creep carefully to the edges of the air-holes, or "glades,"
in the ice, and drink. The water, clear as crystal, ten or
twelve feet deep, ran in a strong current under me. It
seems very absurd now that I should have run such a risk
for a drink of water ; but every boy, I believe, runs many
such, and shuaders at the danger in after years.

And here, as a striking contrast, is a graphic re.
miniscence of

TUB BOZ BALL.

So it was a ball at the Park Theatre—the Old Drury 0,

New York—where the Cookes, and Keane, and Kembles
had delighted us, that was fixed upon. There was a sup-
per, I believe, and there was a series of tableaux vivans, re-
presenting some of the best scenes in the Tickwicic Papers,
and the earlier works of the "immortal Bcz." I remember
the immense crowd of the "beauty and fashion" of New
York that filled the theatre from its dancing-floor, laid over
stage and pit, to the gallery. I remember the mixed corn-
alittee, official, fashionable, and literary, and some who
aspired to all these distinctions. I think Irving and Cooper
were there—l am sure of Halleck and Bryant, Willis
sported his ringlets there no doubt ; and can I ever for-
get the beaming, rosy, perspiring face of the American
Korner, General George P. Morris ?

There was a rush near the door, a flutter through the
crowded theatre, a hush of expectation, a burst of " See
the Conquering hero comes," and the author of "Pick-
wick" and the " Uncommercial Traveller," with all of
humour and pathos that lie between, burst upon our
astonished and delighted vision. Then the cheers, then
the waving of handkerchiefs from floor to boxes, and all
the tiers—and tears, no doubt, of joy and happiness—and
bouquets innumerable, gave what expression was possible
to the irrepressible enthusiasm of the hour.

I remember Mr Dickens as my eye caught him there,
with all that throng around him, and he the cynosure of
ten thousand eyes, allowing each person present the usual
number. His hair was in the bright gloss of its youthful,
silken curls; his face was full, and ruddy with English
health—not seamed, as now, with the thought and work
of all these years, His dress was, I thought, sufficiently
pronounced; but be was, on the whole, eminently satis-
factory and sufficiently imposing. It was hard to open a
passage where two or three thousand people were crowding
to see, and be near, and, if possible, shake hands with
him, but with tremendous efforts he was escorted around
the room.

We tried to dance. Mrs General Morris honoured the

thrice-honoured author with her fair hand for a quadrille,
but the effort to dance was absurd. I remember being in
a set with two young army officers who were afterwards
heroes in Mexico, but even their prowess could do little
toward carrying their partners through the galop in such
a crush. Happily it was before the age of crinoline, and
what room there was we made the most of ; but it was
like dancing in a canebrake, the poor girls clinging to their
partners to avoid being swept beyond their power to pro-
tect them.

ffe must not pass over the animated description of

A DINNER AT NIAGARA.

But when you go to Niagara, dine once, if never more,
at the International Hotel, It is on a scale to match
Niagara. The drawing room is a gorgeous immensity of
plate-glass, gilding, and upholstery, You walk over a
prairie of carpeting. But the dining room gives the best
idea of infinite space, infinite eating, infinite clatter. A
vast regiment of negro waiters parade, march, counter-
march, and go through a series of distracting evolutions,
to the music of a full band playing in an alcove. There
is a march for them to enter; a three-four movement for
soup ; a piscicato passage for fish ; the covers come off to a
crash of trombones, cymbals, and gongs ; and so the whole
dinner goes off to appropriate music, with an accompani-
ment of champagne corks like the firing of skirmishers.
Altogether, it is a tremendous &flair, even to an Ameri-
can, used to taking his dinner with a few hundred
people about him, I can imagine what it must be to an
Englishman. The expense of such a dinner, with a bill
of fare that would fill four of my pages, is three, or
perhaps four, shillings—but the wines are extra. An
American, who means to do the thing handsomely, takes
champagne. No other wine is worth his drinking. An
English lady, wishing to give an idea of an American she
met in Montreal, described as " the sot C of man who would
take champagne with his soup 1"

The author's indignant remarks upon the reckless
pursuit of riches would perhaps be applicable in
other places besides America. In the main these
remarks are eminently truthful and wise, but
we think such a remark as the following
must be taken cum grano. " Everything,"
says Dr. Nichols, " has a money value
believe the American husband unceasingly
values his wife in the Federal currency; and a fine
child is associated with some such idea as a thou-
sand dollars Our last extract shall give a pic-
ture of an American railway that in this country
we should do well to emulate :--
Let us return, however, to our imaginary trip up the
Hudson and acrcss the Empire State. At Albany, we take
the New York Central Railroad for Niagara. It is some
300 miles, and the fare 203 or 255. In some of the States
the highest fare is three halfpence a mile. The carriages
are much lighter, and to my taste handsomer in appear-
ance than the English. There is no lack of paint, gilding,
upholstery, and ornament. The seats are cushioned and
backed with plush. There are stoves in winter, and icc-
water in summer. In these cars, as these long carriages
seating fifty or sixty persons—are called, are small retiring
rooms for both sexes. Tho doors open upon platforms at
the ends of the cars, and you can walk from ono end of a
train to another while it is in motion. The conductor walks
from end to end inspecting tickets. There is no danger of
robbery, murder, or other outrage, as in the small, locked,
and in* e.cessible compartments of European roads. Not
only does the conductor -walk through to examine the
tickets, see that all is right, and answer inquiries, but the
newsboy comes along loaded with daily and weekly papers
—then he comes with books—all the newest publications,
and then with oranges and confectionary. Overhead
through every car runs a cord in reach of every passenger,
a pull at which will signal the engineer or driver to stop,
in case of accident or other necessity, This cord also

enables the conductor to control the train in any part of
of it. I never heard of any tear that passengers would
needlessly meddle with it.

--s.'ou travel all night, perhaps, or on a long journey two
or three nights in succession. There are sleeping cars, where
for a shilling extra you can have a berth made up, and lie
very comfortably under your blanket all night without dis-
tut baneo. Thcre a was:l-r.. om iu Cao comer of this car
r your r.:orrli:1; ablutiuns.
These railway cars, day and are alwar an well
ventilated as they should be. Th:ro are serae which arc
supplied with warm air is winter, and artificially cooled air
in summer, in which the ventilation is perfect. There are
various contrivances for changing the air and excluding
dust, which answer a good purpoco. I..,'ree competition and
demand and supply, it may be presumed, will in time make
them universal.

From the sr:reit:lama we have given it i 9 ill readily
be seen what p!easant inforaw ion m3y to gleaned
from Dr. Nichol's very inte;•es:iug pager.

Tour Years in the lonian _Wands: their Polircal
and Social Condiron, with a History of tht Bit-
ash Protectorate. Edited by Visccun Kirkwall,
lately on the Staff of Sir Henry Ward, seventh
Lord High Commissioner. Two Vols. Chapman
and Hall.
" The cession of the lonian Islands," very justly
observes the author in his preface, " is assuredly
one of the most extraordinary events of the day,
the due appreciation of which should not be a
matter of indifference to intelligent and patriotic
Englishmen. A great kingdom has voluntarily
retired from a most influential position in the
east of Europe, and has ceded to another nation
one of the strongest fortresses in the world."
Believing that very little is accurately known in
this country either of the social or political condi-
tion of the lonians, or of the merits and faults of
the British Protectorate, Lord Kirkwall has endea-
voured to supply this want of information by the
publication of this very opportune work. To en-
able his readers to form a correct judgment on
the subject, the noble author has given an in-
troductory historical sketch, with a particular ac-
count of the Venetian and other Governments
which preceded the British protectorate. The pro-
tectorate itself occupies the remainder of the first
volume, the ten chapters into which it is divided
being each successively devoted to the history of the
Administrations of the ten Lord High Commis-
sioners who have held dominion at Corfu, from Sir
Themes Maitland, who was appointed after the
Treaty of Paris in 1815, down to Sir Henry Storks,
whose tenure of office is but just at an end. Mr.
Caladstone'a famous mission is of course dwelt upon
at some length. Lord Kirkwall expresses his
wonder that he (Mr. Gladstone) "should ever have
thought the passing of his proposed reforms pos-
sible. Neither the English nor the lonians in
Corfu," he adds, " had ever .believed it. Both were
strongly opposed to the contemplated change."
" To love not wisely but too well," says Lord Kirk-
wall, in reviewing these proceedings, is a very dan-
gerous quality. It is best to wait for reciprocity
before pouring out one's whole heart to strangers.
Mr. Gladstone, who had come out such a warm
Philhellene, departed thoroughly disgusted with
the Greeks in General, and with the lonians in
particular. He would persist in believing that the
comparatively few and timid friends of the Pro-
tectorate were the chief causes of a failure which
was due entirely to the fact, that to ucderstaud c.
people thoroughly even a great genius must live
some time amongst them, speak their language,
and see them at unguarded social moments. Mr.
Mr. Gladstone," he adds, "bequeathed to his suc-
cessor a most unenviable legacy. The wisest states-
man in Europe would have recoiled from the task.
One great genius had been sent out by another
great genius, and yet had failed unmistakably. It
appears, therefore, to have been decided in Eng-
land that extensive knowledge and distinguished
ability were incompatible with success in the Sep-
tinsular Republic, and that an ordinary man of
business would make the best Lord High Commis-
sioner. With what results this decision was fol-
lowed, will hereafter fully appear. The severe
manner in which the English press assailed the con-
duct of the great Philhellene throughout his mis-
sion, led tho public to expect that Parliament would
take up the matter, and call him to some account.
This, however, was not the case, and the subject
EOM fell into oblivion. The reason was very natta-
ral, if we consider the state of political parties at
that time, Mr Gladstone had been sent en his mis-
sion by the Conservatives, who could not, therefore
be expected to find fault with his proceedings. On
the other hand, the Liberal party was silenced by
the fact that on his -return to England be became a
member of the Whig Cabinet ; thus making a most
masterly retreat from his serious repulse in the lonian
Islands." Such a result proving an exception to the
adage, "between two stools," &c. Leaving histo-
rical interpretations and political perplexities, the
second volume of this work is filled with pleasantly
written personal reminiscences of a four years'
residence in the lonian Islands, chiefly at Corfu,
the loss of which, as a place of British resort, is
much deplored. " Corfu, as a naval and military
station, and as a pleasant winter abode for civilians,
will always be deeply and generally regretted. As
regards English society and hospitality it was a
second Malta, whilst in every other respect it greatly
surpassed the attractions of that military hothouse.'
With regard to the subalterns of the army, the ex-
cellent shooting in Greece and Albania, with the
delightful yachting excursions, and the paper bunts
of the ladies and gentlemen, rendered Corfu in their
eyes a kind of earthly peradise. English civilians
and distinguished foreigners also visited with plea.
sure, especially during the winter, the bear tiful
capital of the S=even Islands?' A very effective
picture of the manners and customs of the lonians
may be gathered from these pages of recollections
Here, among other anecdotes is