Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-06-09
Home and Foreign Travel.


IT is no new thing for Americans to be exhort-
ed to see the wonders of their own country be-
fore they travel in foreign lands. In the early
days of the republic, when the inhabited por-
ton of the country consisted of little more than
fringe of settlements along the seacoast, in
land travel was tedious and difficult, and
offered very little in return for the extreme dis
comfort that attended it. At that time, too, the
number of those who could afford to travel on
this continent or the other merely for pleasure,
was small. AT later period, when the wealth
and population Of the country had increased to
such an extent that there were some people in
all our large cities with means, leisure and taste
for foreign travel, and more who hoped to be
able some day to cross the ocean our people began
to manifest symptoms Of patriotic jealousy to
suspect that foreign tourists brought back, with
foreign manners, foreign opinions and super
cilious estimate of the democratic customs of
our own country, and its attachments in art
literature and the higher developments of civil
ization. At this time it was considered the
patriotic thing to decry the practice of visiting
Europe, an least until an American had travelled
extensively at home, had seen Niagara, the
Natural Bridge, the Mammoth Cave, the Missis-
sippi, and a prairie, which then pretty much
made up the list of our wonders of natural
scenery, and the most patriotic did not pretend
that there was then anything in any of our
towns or cities SO different from the rest as to
be specially worth visiting by an American who
was familiar with few of them.
But even TO see these few show places of our
continent forty years ago involved arduous Jour
neys in slow and numbering stages, over bad
roads, often almost impossible on account of
mud or freshets, and the traveller found at his
stopping places wretched lodgings, uninyiting
fare, and frequently unpleasant company. The
whole formed disagreeable contrast TO the
smooth roads, well-hOrsed coaches, comfortable
inns and obsequious attendance of European
routes. Travelling at its best in those days was
SLOW, laborious process, and long land Journey
was not to be undertaken except by persons in
vigorous health, who had a definite and imnor
tant object in view. Even national pride was
not motive strong enough to induce many peo-
PIE 70 venture upon tediously monotonous
rloe ior weeks through a region more than half
wilderness, for the sake of seeing at the end
great waterfall, or a great cave when. with
very much less discomfort and hardly mora
expense OF time or money, they could find
in Europe a constant succession If ne,,
sensations, scenery, customs and institn.
tons, all different from those they had lef,
behind, splendid architecture, venerable ruins.
mysteriously beautiful in their decay great cities
the magnificent ceremonial of courts, the elabo-
rate luxury Of aristocratic family seats. and
many aspects of nature 10 which our country
SO far as then accessible, afforded no parallel
Although II was constantly reiterated by the
writers Of that time, as if it was an article of
national faith, that no American ought 20 90
abroad until he had seen all that was worth
seeing at home, and especially the few great
natural curiosities we have mentioned. most
people who were able to travel persisted in
lhl"Alhg that such toilsome and disasreeable
journeys were too high price 10 nav for the
privilege oil visiting only two or three nloces ~
interest. '"''' pi"ces Vi
BUT now all this is greatly changed and ,,oro
is much more reason in the e,bor.14.' ~.
Americans to see something of Amer;ca -,
visiting Europe. There is very rancb me- =
this country that is worth seeing than forrner,,,
many curiosities of natural scenery, not 10 y
matched elsewhere in the world, whose exis,
ence was unknown a few years ago, and which
If they had been known, were quite inaccessibl
10 ordinary travellers, are now easily reache,
and travelling is nowhere in the world mor
rapid, safe and comfortable than in the ITnita
States. Niagara still holds its preeminenc
among the great cataraets of the world, and
journey to it from any part of the United State
involves no suspicion of hardship, and take
very little time. The prairies and the Riissi,
sippi are within two days journey 9
the Atlantic coast, and after crossin,
the river, if one continues his iourne
westward, he soon finds bis route as tbickl
crowded with novelties, as If be were travelin,
p the snrPOdes' Instead Of a foreign people