Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-03-01
THE INTELLIGENCEk
DR. MAckAY's DgscnIrr1oN or PnIL ILApE1rnIA.

DR.. MAcEAYis DEsCRIPTIoN or PHILADELPHIA.
I-Dr. Mae<ay, the song writer, in one of his
letters to the Illustrated London News, gives
the following description of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, the second city Of the Uuion.
with population Of GUO,UOU souls. is neither
attractive nor imposing. IL stands upon a level
with the waters uf ihe Drlcwarc, aud does not
contain within its whole boundaries an emf
nence one-tlIird of the height OF Ludsate-lill
II contains very large H,itnLer cf churches
and chaPelS but none of them is distinguished
Tor architectural beauty ofdome. tower or spirc
The whole place Is formal mean, precise and
unattractiYc, leaving no impression upon the
mind ofthe traveller but that of weary same
ness and provoking rectangulaiity, except in
Chestnut street, (thc center Of busiHcSs,) and
Walnut street, (the fashionable quarler) ali the
streets of the city built on the same model
The same thirtl-rait hOuSCs-of the kind which
the EnglisIitnan in birmingham aud Man
cheSter-Seem To rise ON every side all of one
color, and of one shapr; all with green Vcne-
tian blinds on the upper, and with white blinds
on the lower sturicS-nll equally prim, dull and
respectable The foot paVemcntS are OF the same
color as the houses, neither drab nor red, but
mixture Of both-suggcstive Of the story OF the
English Quaker of the old school, 10 whom, as
he sat behind his desk at his warehouse IN Mar
chester, was delivered packet, with bill re-
queSting payment.
4NO piu ShaNCl NlitiS'A Nllc llaCkel anu luullu
a coat-a lunting-cUat, red red could be-
'What is this - he said to the messenger
"Ihere is mistake here, friend" no" said
the messenger, "'tis coat for Mr. Thomas
''IhouiaS, said his father to the young Quaker
who had become Smitteu with an unquakcriv
passion for hunting, els this for thee:'' "Yra,
father" replied the son. ''And what is it, re-
Joined the sire. "A coat" replied the SON.
Yea, Thomas; but what color is iIyn why
said Thomas, somewhat bcgilsicred, and scratch
ing his head Ia expedite the delivery of the tar
dy answer, ITS a kind ofa fiery drab.'' Such
Is the color of lphir--ihc Quarkcr city,
the city of hrotherly love, or according to the
disparaging assertion OF New YOrkcrs, the city
Of 'brotherly love and riots II is ficry.drab
wherever you turn-herY drab houses fiery
drab paveinentS, Icry trab chapels and fiery
drnb churches. One pucuiarity Of Philadel-
phia, i'll addition TO tine unvaryiug rcctaugulari-
ty ofits streets, Is, that the carriageways are
always dirty and the fOot-ways always CLEAN
Nobody Purities, or cares to purify, the carriage
road; but every body seems TO be bent upon
cleaning the fery-drab pavement Morning
moon and night the work of ablutOn goes on
Negro men and women, with fair admixture
of Irish female ''helps.' continually squirting
water over the pavements from gutta -percEa
tubes, and twi'iimg the moisture from their
eyer-Lusy mOps over the lower GARMENTS of tie
wayiareis, Till the streets with water. The
passing vehicles continually chuin up the mud,
aud the road is never allowed TO dry, unless I'm
der the irresistible conpulsi1n oGthc theTmome-
Ter at zero.