Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1856-02-14
mis-. murray ON America.

SS~-
sequence Of which, it has been stated Miss
Murray was obliged to resign her place as one
of Queen Vietoria's maids of honor. 1t bears
the title of Letters from the United States
Canada and Cuba"-the greater part OF the
letters being Of course, from the United States
The New York Post says
at is in the main good natured book the
author likes many things she sees here-the
people to whom she has introducuons, the Gil
mate, the schools and other public institutions,
slavery itself-everything in short but the III
bred familiarity, nasal pronunciation, and thin
dry figures of the Americans, who are too lean
for her standard of health, and accordingly
move her compassion.
The Post gives some extracts from the book,
describing her visits to several northern cities
and then adds;
"In December Miss Murray proceeds south.
ward. At Baltimore she finds the relation of
mistress and servant to possess q more agreea-
Bile aspect than at the North, where it is COM
monty characterized by complaints of annoy
ance on the one side, and saucy indiffer-
ance on the other Here, also, she meets some
southern ladies, whose voices and manner OF
speaking are more refined and graceful than
those of the other States she has visited AT
Washington, at Wizards hotel, she finds in the
evening dancing going on very merliy IN the
ladies' room, the ladies all in demttotLette,'
but she remarks that she did not !" see so gene
rally the absurd Haunting, style OF dress SO re-
markable at New York."
On this occasion she thus speaks of living in
hotels.
"On Christmas day / walked to church with
q young lady, whose family reside within few
miles of this place; but they take up their resi-
dence in this house during the winter. l UNI
derstand that the habit Of hotel life is every
wear becoming more general in the States; this
is partly encouraged by the troubles arising
from servants; the older ladies getrid of house,
keeping, and the young ladies are INDUCED
with constant society; but to English tastes
this mode of existence would be unbearable-
continued noise, hustle and excitement no re-
pose of mind and no home duties. 1t is advan
tageous to foreigner, who wishes to become
acquainted with the people of the country; but
| should suppose il must be ruinous to the
manners and the domestic character of the
higher class Of young women frivolity and in
dolence must be encouraged for any regular
plan Of Industrial occupation is hopeless at
tempt in such places as these. | would rather
take up my abode in any farm house in Eng
land than be condemned to fritter away my life
in a great American hotel. Still, for me, as a
stranger and u traveller, it is uncommonly
pleasant"
The Smithsonian Institute, and the dispute
about the application Of the Smithsonian
legacy, suggests to our tourist the idea that we
want "healther ideas on the subject Of educa-
ton" and "an improved and more practical
female training" She remarks:
AIN this country hear that though it has
no queen, all the comen are queens should
rather call them playthings-do things
treated as if they were unfit or unwilling to
help themselves or others; and while we, IN
England, have cast aside arts of the toilet worthy
only of dolls, | see here false brows, false
bloom. false hair, false everythingl-not always,
but too frequently. Dress in America, as an
almost general rule, is full of extravaganza
and artifciaity; and while women show such
a want of reliance upon their native powers of
pleasing, their influence in society will be more
nominal than real"
At Washington she meets with an interesting
family, natives of New Orleans, who speak Eng
lsh with an accent; but Miss Murray prefers
"our language a little broken, to the broad
and often nasal pronunciation of New England
and New York. The southern people have
pleasing voices, and are much less provincial
in their speech than those of the Northern
States"
She is very severe upon attorney General
Cushing:
al am sorry to find a considerable party in
the United States advocate openly the principle
Of doing evil that good may come as regards
their own country; and Mr.. Gushing, the
Attorney General Of the States, informed me,
without circumlocution, speaking Of the Euro
pean war, that the Turks being efete, and
sea-board being necessary for the Russians, it
was perfectly right and proper that the latter
should devour the former. fit be possible forre-
publcans to be IN the pay Of despotsm, should
imagine this gentleman must be one ofthe favored
emissaries Of the Emperor Nicholas" From
Washington the author proceeds southwark,
finding the manners Of the whites soften as
she goes, and sees new reason to believe in the
necessity and advantages of slavery. Such
being as Uncle Tom, described in Mrs. Stoves
book. she is convinced never had an existence.
Froma volume ofPoems by the late Mary M. Chase