The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-03-17
DR.. Mackay's Description Of Phila-
-

DR.. Mackay's Description of Phila-
delphia.
DIR. Mackay, the song writer, in one Of
his letters to the Illustrated London Nows,
gives the following description of Phila.
delphia +:
Philadelphia, the second city of the
Uuion,with population of 900, 900 souls,
Is neither attractive nor imposing It
stands upon level with the waters of the
Delaware, aud does not contain within its
whole boundaries on eminence one-third
Of the height of Lu1gate-hill. 1t con-
tains very large number of churches and
chapels, but none of them is distinguished
for architectural beauty of dome, tower or
spire. The whole place is formal, mean,
precise and unattractive, leaving no i'm
preston upon the mind of the traveller
but that of weary sameness and provok.
ing rectangularity, except in Chestnut
street, (the centre Of business and Wal
nut street, (the fashionable quarter,) all
the streets of the city are built on the
same model. The same third.rate houses
of the kind which the Engishman sees
in Birmingham and Manchester-seem to
rise on every side, all of one color, and of
one shape; all with green Venetian blinds
on the upper, and with white blinds on
the lower stories-all equally prim, dull
and respectable. The foot pavements are
of the same color as the houses, neither
drab nor red, but mixture of both-sug-
gestive of the story of the English Qua
ker of the old school, to whom, as he sat
behind his desk at his warehouse in Man.
chester, was delivered packet, with
bill requesting payment.
The old Quaker opened the packet and
found coat-a hunting-coat, red as
could be. "What is this" he said to
the messenger. There is mistake here,
friend" "No," said the messenger, "'tis
coat for Mr.. Thomas" Thomas"
said the father to the young Quaker, who
had become smitten with an unquakerly
passion for hunting, sis this for thee ?"
"Yea, father" replied the son. "And
what is it p rejoined the sire. "a coat"
replied the son. "Yea, Thomas; but
what color is it?" Why" said Thomas,
somewhat bewildered, and scratching his
head to expedite the delivery of the tardy
answer, Its a kind of fery-drab."
Such is the color of Philadelphia-the
Quaker city, the city Of brotherly love- or
according to the disparaging assertion of
New Workers, the city of brotherly love
and riots" 1t is fery-drab wherever
you turn-fery drab houses, fery.drab
pavements, fery-drab chapels, and fiery.
drab churches. One popularity of Phil.
adelphia, in addition to the unvarying rec.
tangularity of its streets, is, that the car.
riage-ways are always dirty and the foot
ways always clean. Nobody purifes, or
cares to purify, the carriage road but
every body seems to be bent upon clean.
ing the 6ery-drab pavement. Morning,
noon and night the work of ablution goes
on Negro men and women, with fair
admixture of Irish female helps" are
continually squirting water over the pave.
msnts from gutta-perchs tubes, and twirl.
Ing the moisture from their ever-busy mops
over the lower garments of the wayfarers,
till the streets run with water The pass.
Ing vehicles continually churn up the mud
and the road is never allowed to dry, I'm.
less under the irresistible compulsion Of
the the thermometer at zero.