The Homes of the New World

by Fredrika Bremer

Chapters (not described or listed)

To the Reader

To my American Friends

Letter I.

At sea. Steamer “Canada.” Divine service on board. Eating and drinking. Society, acquaintances. Stormy nights. Hymns. Arrival in Halifax. Leaving that city for New York. Beauty of the ocean. Pursuit of a bird.

Letter II.

Arrival at New York; “fireworks.” Astor House. Reception. Mr. Downing. Greenwood cemetery. Soirée at the house of Miss Lynch. Floating on the Hudson. Mr. Downing's villa. Character of his home. Domestic life.

Letter III.

Morning wedding. Social life on the banks of the Hudson. Meals. Beauty of nature. Brilliant foliage of the woods. Happiest hours. Reading American poets: Bryant, Lowell, Emerson. Character of their poetry. Miss C. Sedgwick. Excursions. Indian Summer. Blithewood visit. Katskill mountains. Family party. Bergfalk's visit. Lowell's poem “Prometheus.” Emerson's “Give all to love.” Acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. S(pring). Society and conversation at the Downings'. Morning scenes on the Hudson. Families. Life on the banks of the Hudson. Fulton's first experiment. Hudson River.

Letter IV.

Arrival at Brooklyn. Rose Cottage. Impression of life in the New World. A brief look back at the days spent on the banks of the Hudson. Short trips with the Downings. Silent conversations. Visit with the Hamilton family. Washington Irving. Beautiful evenings. Last evening spent at the Downings'. Romantic scenes and impressions. Getting to Mr. Putnam's villa. Staten Island. The golden forest. Fatiguing days in New York. Mrs. S(kyler). Visits to schools and institutions. Ward's Island. Emigrant's Asylum. Mr. Colden. Home for the restoration of fallen women. The Elysian Fields. Return to Rose Cottage. Marcus and Rebecca, their children and their hearth. Life of young people in America. Variable climate. H. W. Channing. Making travel plans with my new friends.

Letter V.

Getting to the North American Phalanstery. First impression of this establishment. Worker bands. Walks and conversations. Idea of the Phalanstery association, its requirements and its condition. Collegial women. Handsome young people. Objections to this establishment, its weak points, its good points, its noble objective. Inner life. H. W. Channing and his friends. Visiting Miss Lynch in New York. Lessons printed by Channing. The Rutger Institution. Young women authors. Premature publication. Life of society. Questions. Bloomingdale. M. L. Invigorating life. A large-minded sermon. Dinners in New York. Anne Lynch. An evening gathering. The opera. Discourse of H. James on Christian socialism. Channing's opposition.

Letter VI.

Last days in New York. Second discourse improvised by H. W. Channing. Evening gathering. Departure for Connecticut and Massachusetts. Arrival at Hartford. Mrs. Sigourney. Party in Worcester. Elihu Burrit and peace. Small rural interiors. Uxbridge. A cold night. Bright Nordic morning. Thanksgiving festival. Outing to Hopedale. Patriarch Adin Ballou. The objective of the Hopedale Community. Preacher Parker. Trip to Concord. Visit to Waldo Emerson's residence. Elizabeth H. The morning's agenda. The small homes of New England. Socialist gathering in the evening at Boston. P. S.—A retrospective glimpse of Emerson.

Letter VII.

Acquaintances in Boston. Alcott, M. Barnard, H. Longfellow, J. R. Lowell, Garrison and others. Ellen and William Kraft, fugitive slaves. Charles Sumner and Wendel Phillips. The theater. Miss Cushmann as an actress and a private person. Days of joyous life. A sad interruption. Good news. A concert: Beethoven's 4th symphony. Mr. Parker's sermon: conversation. Trip to Cambridge. The poet Lowell, his wife, his internals. The murder of Professor Parkman. The Cambridge library, its Swedish collection. Life in society. Longfellow's internals. A Bee. Solitary stroll. Christmas Eve. Decorations in New England houses. The poet Whittier. Character of Cambridge.

Letter VIII.

I go to live in Boston. The Swedish consul Benzon, his house. Miss Hunt, the woman physician: her home, her character, her education. Emancipated women. Alcott's “conversations.” Transcendentalism.

Letter IX.

Poor health. Physician. Allopathy and homœopathy. A visit to Emerson in Concord. Individuality of W. Emerson. His writings. Extracts from them: on self-confidence; on friendship. The transcendentalists of New England. Miss Margaret Fuller. I meet Marcus S(pring). in Boston. Conversation with Alcott. His school, his goal. Mrs. B(ryant). and fashionable society. Another fashionable society, the “money-stamp,” fashionable people, a new aristocracy. Philanthropist and professor Howe. Laura Bridgeman.

Letter X.

Fresh feelings; joyful thoughts. The Pilgrims. The “Mayflower.” The first Puritan colony in North America: its history, its heroic courage, its struggle, its development, its influence on the people and form of government in the states of North America. The New Englander's goal in life. The ideals of American society. The American family. The role of women. The development of society. An anti-slavery meeting. Negro eloquence. A woman orator. Mr. Quincy. Mr. W. Phillips. A visit to the States-House of Boston. American orators. A sledge-drive; giant sledges. The atmosphere of America is different to that of Europe; its operation on the mind and body. Lectures on Shakspeare by Mrs. Kemble. Different classes of connoisseurs. Vocal peculiarities. Nathaniel Hawthorne. “The Great Stone Face.” Lady novelists and poets. Some sore points. Visit to a manufactory of Lowell. The sailors' preacher. The principal sects of America: Trinitarians and Unitarians. Dr. Ellery Channing: his character, his life, and his death. Conversation with W. Emerson. Stoicism and Christianity. My physician. Mrs. Kemble.

Letter XI.

New York. The state of health in the Northern states. A glimpse back at Boston. Several “conversations.” Great interest. W. Emerson. Fanny Kemble and Laura Bridgeman. Goodbye to the state of the Pilgrims. Return to Rose Cottage. Mr. Beecher the preacher. Churches, rituals, hymns and prayers in North America, in Sweden. Jean Paul's proposal. Travel plans. The great West. Mrs. Kirkland. What a Yankee is. The young Yankee and the Emperor Nicholas. Henry Clay, statesman. Little vexations. Domestic welfare. Visit to the Female Academy at Brooklyn. Influence of the school on women's character. A glimpse at public affairs and the current great battle in the United States. News of Jenny Lind's expected arrival. Cold. Departure for the South.

Letter XII.

Charleston. South Carolina. Still cold, but everywhere verdant flowers and trees. The change in temperature during the sea voyage between New York and Charleston. Initial impression of Charleston. Slaves and slavery. Resolution relative to the question of slavery. Mrs. Howland.

Letter XIII.

South Carolina. Beauty of the air, flowers, and forests. The live-oak. The magnolia. The mockingbird, the nightingale of America. Ravishing impressions. I enjoy life. Pleasant acquaintances. Mrs. Holbrook. A day at Belmont. A picnic on Sullivan's Island. Mr. and Mrs. Gilman. Marriage ceremony in a church. Conversation on slavery. House slaves. Unexpected moral blindness. Influence of the institution of slavery on the whites. Mrs. Howland's household and family life. Bounteous meals. Pleasant evenings. Seminole Indian chief. Casa Bianca on the banks of the Pee Dee. Mr. and Mrs. Poinsett. Handsome gardens. Wealth of America in plants and trees. Evening conversation. Interviewing Negro slaves. Negro preacher. Slave villages. Life and position of slaves in the rice plantations. Fire-flies. Peaceful days. Peaceful message from the inner voice. Itinerary on the Wachamon River. Return to Charleston. Funeral procession of Senator Calhoun from South Carolina.

Letter XIV.

Religious camp-meetings. Night scenes, thunder, fire-altar, hymns, tempestuous conversions, Negro camps, exaltations. Morning preachers. Popular eloquence. Ease of Negros at understanding the gospels, the joy which it gives them. Influence of the camp-meetings on the blacks. Departure for Savannah and Macon. Deserted surroundings. Joyful youth. Beautiful walk in the morning. Rose-hill Cemetery. Professor Sherbe. Trip to Montpellier. Bishop Eliott. Evening games. Morning prayer. A Christian gentleman.

Letter XV.

Vineville near Macon, in Georgia. American interiors. Attractive practices. Mistresses of American homes. Indian tribes of the Southern States.

Letter XVI.

Savannah. “The greatest autograph-collector in the world.” Different impressions. Abolitionists of the South, and their activities. Georgia's future. First colonization of Georgia. James Oglethorpe. The Negros of Savannah. Black preachers. Bonaventure. Orphan asylum.

Letter XVII.

Columbia. Traveling back up the Savannah. The primeval forest. Worshippers of cotton. Dissolute young people. Arrival at Augusta. A slave. Visit to plantations. Clay-eaters. Mr. G(roen). and his family. A festival. Negro singing. A slave market. Good slave owners. Thinking in Georgia about slavery. The duty of America to Africa. Titanic antediluvian creatures. Negro marriages. The colonels in the Southern States. Solitary rambles. Return to Charleston. Good friends. J. W. Miles' book. South Carolina's aristocratic spirit. Colonization. The position of the slave states with regard to the free states. The particular situation of the Southern States. Character of the Negros. Scenes of their life in Charleston. Aristocratic spirit among the Negros. Difficulties of their emancipation. The women in the slave states. Three classes of slave owner. Social life. Divine service of the Negros. Mysteries of Charleston. Goodbye to the South.

Letter XVIII.

Departure from Charleston. Sea voyage. The Spanish on board. Arrival at Philadelphia. Social life and society. Social welfare institutions. Asylums for the insane. Girard College. Philadelphia's penitentiary. The poor house. The Quakers. Quaker women. Lucretia Mott. Swedish church of Philadelphia. The old Swedish colony of Delaware and its current descendants. Benjamin Franklin. Origin of the Quaker sect. George Fox, his life and doctrine. Quaker principles. William Penn. Colonization of Pennsylvania. The aim of the Quaker state. The Quakers and the Puritans. Critique of the Quakers' doctrine. The current influence of the Quaker doctrine. Worldly Quakers. Schisms in Quaker society. A religious service of the orthodox Quakers. Another service with the unitarian Quakers. Lucretia Mott as a preacher. The Declaration of Independence of the United States. Quip of Benjamin Franklin. My living quarters in Philadelphia. Professor Hart. Pleasant acquaintances. A Quaker household. Mary Townsend. The situation of women in teaching. Medical college for women. Philadelphia and vicinity. Departure for Washington. Washington. The Capitol. The Senate. The House of Representatives. An evening at the White House. President Taylor. Vice president Fillmore. Interview with H. Clay. Dorothea Dix, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster as orators. A morning visit with the President. Social life at the hotel. Miss Lynch.

Letter XIX.

My new quarters in Washington. Important events. President Taylor's death. Installation of Fillmore as his successor. Outside calm and inside turmoil of political life. The Fourth of July. Trip to Mount Vernon. Senator Corvin. Washington and Gustaf Wasa. Washington's will. Washington and his mother. Quarrels at the capitol during the current Congress. Character of the Senate chamber and the House of Representatives. The great apple of contention. Position of the parties involved. Henry Clay's compromise bill. Senators H. Clay, Hall, General Houston, Corvin and Chase, Seward, Berrian, Daniel Webster, General Shield, Douglas, Colonel Benton, Soulé, Dickinson, Foote. Deputies from the Mormonites. This sect and its founder. My family life in Washington. The funeral of President Taylor. The Senate is again in perfect warfare. Interesting aquaintances: Professor Henry, Mr. Carey, Horace Mann. Pro-Slavery voices in the Capitol. God's law and the Constitution. Daniel Webster's speech. The fate of the compromise bill. Henry Clay fights for it. Battles at the Capitol. Mr. Schoolcraft, curiosities of the North American Indians. Circulation of life in the United States. Instruction of men and women. Divine service with the free Negroes. The “Slave-pen” of Washington. A look at baptism at a Baptist church. Weary members of Congress. Henry Clay's last major speech, energy and admirable talent as a speaker. Retrospective look at Congress and its members. Departure for Maryland. Villa of General S(tewart). near Baltimore. An evening conversation with Miss Dix. Colonization of Maryland. Lord Calvert Baltimore. Convent of the Visitation. Catholicism in the United States. Baltimore. Hannah Hawkins. Temperance movement. The last words of a freed slave. Visiting free Negroes. Resulting impression. Sarah Douglas. Mary Townsend.

Letter XX.

On the sea-side. Countryside near Philadelphia. What “high life” should be. Traveling to Cape May. Remembrances of Swedish colonists on the shores of the Delaware. Life at Cape May. The republic of the waves. Feelings and days full of refreshment. Latest work of Örsted. Chronicle of a day: mornings, bathing, dining, evenings, fireworks. Vignettes among the waves. Bathing-dances and dancers; misfortunes. Shipwreck of Marchioness Ossoli (Margaret Fuller). Acquaintances, enjoyments and dangers. An authoress. Departure.

Letter XXI.

TO THE CONFERENCE-COUNCILLOR H. C. ÖRSTED, COPENHAGEN.

Purpose of this letter. Örsted's latest work. The firmament. The terrestrial globe. Resemblances among laws; light and shadows; the products, joys and suffering of reason; the development of material and spiritual life in the whole universe. Man. The central idea in the universe. Luminous joy. Influence of Scandinavian men of science in the New World. The prompt application of discoveries in the natural sciences. The electric telegraph. Machines which hasten movement. The Patent Office. Institutes founded to foster progress in the natural sciences. The natural world in the Northern States and in the Southern States. North America is the land of experiment. American experiments. Their future. John Bull and his brother Jonathan. North America is a hospitable land for strangers: those of flesh and blood and thoughts and ideas as well.

Letter XXII.

Letter from home. Rose Cottage. The disappointment of my friends over the new law on fugitive slaves. Boston fermentation. Outcome for the Compromise Bill in Washington. South Carolina's protest against the compromise. Confession and death of the murderer Webster. Cony Island. Life with my friends at the seashore. H. Beecher's sermon and protest against attempts to regulate a pastor's thinking; his position with regard to his parish. Preparation for the trip to the West.

Letter XXIII.

Albany. Trip with Mr. and Mrs. S(pring). on the Hudson and to New Lebanon. A look at a Shaker village in the evening. Shaker divine service: their church, their dress, their dancing, their preaching. Brother Evans. After-dinner conversation with the Shakers. Enjoyable talk with Brother Evans. Objective of Shaker society. How it differs from all other ascetic communities. Arrival of the Lowells during the talk. Supper with the Shakers. The women and girls. Unexpected friendliness and cheerfulness. History of the Shakers. Mother Anne Lee. The present situation of the sect in the United States. Departure. Earliest colonization of New York State. Trip to Albany in the west with the Lowells. From Albany to Niagara. A glorious day. The Mohawk valley, the sun, the sunflowers, arrival at Utica. The spirit of Cato in this new republic. A pleasant life in Utica. Journey to Trenton Falls. The Falls' impression. Departure. Apple thieves. Rochester. Its mills. Falls. Handsome shops. Caring residents. “Rochester knockings.” Frederick Douglass. His autobiography, person, and family. Trip along Lake Ontario and arrival at Niagara. The falls' impression, grandeur, specialness. Comparison with Trollhätten. Color of the water. Rainbows. An origin for Niagara. Scenes of life at Niagara.

Letter XXIV.

Chicago (Illinois). Parting with the Lowells at Buffalo. Voyage on Lake Erie. An old pioneer. The character, situation and importance of Lake Erie. I cross Michigan. The appearance, culture and flowers of the countryside. Detroit. Boring and pleasant people, Anne Arbour. Growth, legislation and outlook for Michigan. Farms of the West. The magnificent sun. Arrival at Chicago. Solitude. New, likable friends. Prairies. Festival of light. Impressive sunlit vast countryside. My home in Chicago. Narratives about the Indians. The Indian chief and “the White Lily.” The rejection of Miss Fourlegs. The miserable appearance of Chicago, and delightful residents. Heat; splendor of the sun. Swedes in Chicago and Illinois. The suffering of the first immigrants. The condition of society in this young state.

Letter XXV.

Watertown (Wisconsin). Morning ramble. Life in the great West. Trip from Chicago to Millewaukee via Lake Michigan. Appearance and life of this state. The Germans of this town. The danger in building houses in Millewaukee. A day spent with the Swedes of Pine Lake. The coming of Swedish immigrants to North America. New Sweden. Trip to Watertown via the diligence. Incredibly bad roads. Madison, capital of Wisconsin. Beautiful situation. Charming household. Trip to the Norwegian colony of Koskonong. Arriving at night. Young Norwegian lady. Morning ramble. Answers of Norwegians to questions about their new situation. The Norwegians are making more out of the West than the Swedes. Why. Chancellor Lathrop. His speech upon installation as chancellor of the new university. The character of discourse in the great West. Temple of the Sun. Blue Mound. Solitude of life on the prairies. Trip to Galena. Unspeakable effect produced by the countryside and grand views on approaching the Mississippi. A small vexation at Waterville. Night travel and arrival at Galena. The Squatters.

Letter XXVI.

On the Mississippi. Sunset. Discovery of this river. The French Jesuits were the first to penetrate the West. Father Marquette. His discoveries, his beautiful life, his beautiful death. Voyage up the Mississippi. Islands covered with vines. The wilderness. Traces of new colonists. Log-house on the Iowa bank of the river. Glorious morning. Unforgettable natural landscape. Remarkable rock formations. First traces of Indians. Indian tepees, fires, men, women, children on the river banks. Minnesota Territory. Indians in canoes. Indians on board ship: their traits, their faces, their persons. Sioux Indians. Our steamboat, Menomonie.

Letter XXVII.

St. Paul (Minnesota). Indians, smoking and adorned. Governor Ramsay and his wife. Location of and access to Minnesota Territory. Indian women. Falls of St. Anthony. Sources of the Mississippi; early history. Spirit Island. Story of Ampato Sapa. Suicide is frequent among the Indians. An island of the Mississippi. Impracticable passages. Excursions in the vicinity of St. Paul. Canadian farmers. Indians and soil in Minnesota. Excursions to Fort Snelling. Visits to Indian teepees. Unexpected luxury. Life of Indian women. Mochpedaga-Wen (Feather-cloud-woman). The old chief. The young warrior. Portraits. Indian conversation sounds. When and how the Indians take a name. Indian traditions about the spirit after death. The religion of the Indians of the north-west, their doctrines regarding nature, their character, their morality, their festivals, their medicine-men. The lot and character of Indian women. Indian tribes that have adopted Christianity and civilization. A Cherokee newspaper. Indian festivals in Minnesota. Indian legend about the three races of men. Minnesota is an excellent country for young servants. The future of Indian civilization in North America. Growing work and progress of missionaries. The burning prairies.

Letter XXVIII.

A trip going down the Mississippi. Return to Galena. Sermon of a great spirit. View of the river from a height. Rock Island. Continuing the trip on the Mississippi. The banks. The states along the Mississippi. Ruins of a former Mormon temple. The people who settle on the shores of the Great River. A colony devoted to peace; Lydia Maria Child's narrative. The passengers. The gracious young woman and the giant. St. Louis, Missouri. A wedding. Mississippi-Missouri conjunction. Evening in Keokuk. A morning visit to the fiancée's home. Visits to Catholic asylums and religious institutions. Development; great proportions, future and position of St. Louis. Solitary journeys; sad scenes and a heavy heart. Senator A(llen). Railroad connection to the Pacific. Stump-orators. Excursions to the outskirts. How life increases here. The Christian Indian Territory. Conversation with an enslaved woman. Senator Benton at St. Louis.

Cincinnati, Ohio. Voyage from St. Louis to Cincinnati. Rocky formations; the Ohio River. River scenes between the mouth of the Ohio and Cincinnati. My quarters in town. The character of Cincinnati at this moment. Large herds of pigs. Interesting acquaintance and thoughts on the future. State-Constitution Convention. A bridal party with three brides. Deficient beauty. Faults of the women; faults of the men. Marriage for money. Divorces. Why prefer living in the West? Cincinnati's climate. Dr. Buchanan. Cassius Clay. His struggle, the danger he courts; his abolitionist discourse. Ohio and Kentucky. Stories about fugitive slaves. The soil and nature of Ohio. Mr. S(ilsbee). Miss Harriet. Miss V. Swedes of Cincinnati. American homes in Cincinnati. The young woman and her mother. Preparation for death. American society. A postscript with some Great Western gossip.

Letter XXIX.

TO THE REV P. J. BÖKLIN.

Cincinnati. Purpose of this letter. What I came to seek in America. The New Man and his world. The Northern States and their life. Schools. Teachers and teacheresses. Intellectual and moral perfecting. Horace Mann's invitation to the friends of Education. The ground that he takes. The popular consciousness of the States of New England. The Southern States, South Carolina and Georgia. Characteristics and beauty of nature there. Moral phenomenon a point of light in the gloomy picture of slavery. Philadelphia and the Quakers. Washington. Congress. The combat over slavery. Statesmen and Washington discourse. Mode of representation. Nationality and the picturesque life peculiar to each State. Death of President Taylor and installation of President Fillmore. How that ceremony differed from a coronation. Beauty of the latter. Traveling through the West. Its wonderful growth and progress. Longing to know in what did these consist. Returning up the Mississippi. Valley of the Mississippi. Writings of Senator Allen on this subject. Colonel Benton on its future. Character of the growth of the Great West. Principally material, but spiritual growth follows. What can give force to good will to man? The response of statesmen and learned men: the constitution and schools. Their insufficiency. The home in North America. Women: their position, their education, their vocation. Superficial uniformity of Americans, with much variety underneath. Contrasts and nuances. Distinguishing characteristics of people of the United States. Sources of these characteristics. Traits of the first settlers. The best men and best women of the New World. Beautiful humanity. Future of the valley of the Mississippi. Features of the theater for the drama of the New World. Its physical geography, population and groups of states. Importance for the history of humanity. Violent movement and rotation in public administration. Dangers it presents. Means of mitigating them. The political game: much activity at elections, more smoke than fire. Associations make things happen. Dangers the country faces. Scenes of the life of the Indians and the negroes are also pertinent. The manner in which the Indians are treated. Emancipation of the blacks. Their education in the free states. A better way to approach their education. Lack of national spirit among the negroes. Perhaps the new bill on fugitive slaves will engender this spirit. Negro church services: hymns, sermons, jubilation. Colonization of negro Christians on the coast of Africa. Thanksgiving Day. Ohio's central life: characteristic facts. Eclectic medical college. Oberlin College. Earnest endeavor to improve schools. Germans in Cincinnati. Schools of Cincinnati. The observatory. Fine arts. Painters. Sculptors. Hiram Powers. Wine making. Plans to visit Cuba and then return to Sweden.

Letter XXX.

Noah's Ark. Departure from Cincinnati. Chase upon the water. The steamer Belle Key and its inhabitants. Improvised negro singing. Cotton region. Cotton-pods. The discovery of the Mississippi by Ferdinand de Soto; the life and death of this Spaniard. The Mississippi and its shores. Mr. Lerner H(arrison). The animals on board. The young sisters. The best of slave-owners. Wicksburg. The region of sugar and Louisiana. Southern beauty with a dark spectre. Delicious summer day. Changing scenes and dark stories. Testimony of the slave-owner on slavery. The young mulattress and the Bible. New Orleans. Christmas celebrations. Mrs. D(uncan). Bad weather.

Letter XXXI.

Bushkiton. Indian festival of purification and reconciliation. New-year's day in the United States. New Orleans slave-market. Gumbo. Julia C. Slave-auction. Visiting prisons. Negro girls. French opera. Looking over the audience. New Orleans beauties. Sunday morning in the French Market. Evening visit to the French cemeteries. Mobile. Summer weather. Mrs. Le V(ert). Magnolia forest. Mobile theatre. Young actress. Beautiful days spent in Mobile. Visit to an Indian camp. Choctas. Mobile society. Octavia and Betsy. Plans to visit Cuba. The state of Alabama. Returning to New Orleans. Adventure on the way there. St. Charles's Hotel. Hotel life. I move into a private house. St. Charles's Hotel on fire. Peaceful life. Anne W. Evening reading. Shelley's Prometheus. New Orleans schools. An examination. African church. Tropical exhorter. New Orleans formerly and today. Slavery. Madame Lallorue. Slave owner and liberator. The way to liberation. Longing for Cuba.

Letter XXXII.

Cuba. Havannah. The palm-trees, the air. Departure from New Orleans. Trips on the Mississippi, plantations, swamps, waves of grass, the ocean, Gulf of Mexico. Life on the sea. Passengers on board. Father and daughter. First glimpse of Cuba. Stormy night, but pleasant. Havanna harbour, like the stillest lake, with sun upon a new world of objects. Robber leader on board. Tropical luncheon. Disembarkation. Through the custom-house to the hotel. Meeting with Jenny Lind. Visiting together. Parting thoughts about her. La Plaza de Armas. Lofty terrace of La Cortine de Valdez. Morro-light. Twittering lizards. Aspect of Havanna. Transparency of the air. No smoke. Roofs with decorative urns. The Havanna carriage: the volante and the calashero. Signoras' attire. The Creoles. People in the streets. The F. (Tolmé) family. Evening reception with Mr. and Mrs. S(chaffenberg). Cathedral, priests, pictures, music. Tomb of Columbus. Church solemnities. Island government and clergy. Serro. Rural abode. First night. Morning in the bishop's garden. Sunday. African dance. Cuban trees. House-keeping cares. Cottages built of bark. Recollections of the last hurricane. Return to Havanna. With the F. family. Trip to Guanabacoa. Fish market. Good friends. Too hot.

Letter XXXIII.

Matanzas. Trip to get me there from Havanna. Glorious morning, scenery, nature. Parasitic plants. Arrival at Matanzas. Home of Mr. J. B(aley). A morning in the Valley of Yumori. Music of Matanzas. Cuban contre-danses. Life-giving caresses of the air. Deliciously tranquil days. A day in the Valley of Yumori. Large number of small insects. Politeness of Spaniards to ladies. Negro ball. Cuban slavery laws. Slave trade. Corruption. Palm Sunday at Matanzas. Parade in the church. Plantation of Ariadne. Life of slaves; their work, the bohea. Various tribes of Africa and their character. Story of a St. Domingo slave. Morning walk in Limonar. A cottage and the life of free negroes in Cuba. Possibilities for slaves here compared to the United States. Plantation life, large dogs, trees, sugar-mill, sugar-cane. Negro dance. Cuban caves. Solitary walks. Parasitic plants. St. Amelia Inhegno. Slaves; severe work life. Suicide. Plantation Sunday. Continual work. Slave countenances. Negro children. Life in the bohea. Whimsical coupling and parting. The sugar-mill. Means used by slaves to earn money. Plants, hummingbirds, heat.

Letter XXXIV.

Cardinas. Five daughters. Coffee plantation in flower. Treatment of animals. Free negroes. Dances in the court of the bohea. The Congo dance. Carlo Congo. Hills of Camerioca. Negro fugitives in the mountains. Life of the ladies of the plantations. Lack of grass-sward, groves of trees and underwood, and other rural pleasures. Cargo of slaves arrived from Africa. Drives under a full moon in an open volante. Caffetal L'Industrie. Mrs. P(hinney). Little negro children. Opinions of Mrs. P. on the slaves. Southern Cross. The cuculio. Passion for drawing. Morning in the banana groves. Palm-trees. Spanish spoken by women as it should be, and by the uneducated. Torment occasioned by cuculios. Cuba a home of beauty. Eudoxie B(acot). Fear of a new attack on Cuba. Preparations by the Spanish army. Evening walks, music. Cuban house. Shopping by volante. Visits. Fans. Rowing up the Canima river. Walking along its banks. Luxuriant and paradisiacally wild appearance of the tropics: palms, bamboo, crabs, humming-birds. Our rowers. Last evening of music in Matanzas.

Letter XXXV.

Havannah. Easter Sunday in this town; churches; processions. Negro Cabildos. Their meeting halls, dances and queens. Boating in the harbour. Mrs. F.'s (Tolmé's) opinions on the character of the negroes.

Letter XXXVI.

San Antonio de los Bagnos. Alone in a posada. Solitary ramble. Negro town. Happy negro couple. Picturesque scene; relaxed life of the tropics. La Miranda. Trip to Caffatal la Concordia. Route to the south coast. Family of Madame C(arrera). Small birch-bark huts. Talking by star-light. Wind, flooding, departure. Return to La Concordia. Spanish seguidillas. Madame C. and her negroes. Flourishing times of the coffee plantations are past. Beauty of the palms and flowers. The two flamingos. A different way of treating slaves; its effect. Last evening at La Concordia. Cuban homes. Foufou. Negro-dance under the almond-tree. La dame blanche and the negro children. Negro songs. A story from Mungo Park in Africa. Havannah. Infirmary of St. Lazare. La Casa de Beneficenza. Great cemetery. Improvements in Cuba. Negroes of Havannah. Negroes of Jamaica. Negro preference for small shops; lack of business spirit. Columbus monument on La Plaza de Armas. Last look at Cuba. Spanish and Cuban gallantry.

Letter XXXVII.

LETTER TO HER MAJESTY, CAROLINA AMELIA, QUEEN DOWAGER OF DENMARK.

Memory of my visit to Sorgenfri. Meeting the nature of South America in Cuba. Vedas of the tropics of the East anticipate a similar Christian literature in the tropics of the West. Nature and humanity. Aims of the States in North America. The Northern and Southern States. Popular education and teachers of the North. Daughters of New England. Woman in the Northern States. Associations, communication, popular literature. Civilizing mission of the Anglo-American. The great West. Growth, breaking ground. The new man and the old one. Mississippi valley: great realm of North America. Southern States: social development lacking; natural beauty, picturesque life. Slavery, its best and worst aspects. Socialist communities. Camp meetings. Cuba. Nature and life of South America begins here. Powers of light and darkness in close proximity. Enslaved and free negroes. Spanish laws on slavery better than in the United States. What Cuba can and should become. Letter continues from Charleston, South Carolina. Slaves in Cuba and the United States. Role of Christianity. America's mission to the negro: emancipation possible; means in women's hands; schools for children. African song. England at fault for slavery's introduction to America. Protests in Virginia and Georgia. Why it's still around. May-flower symbol of Old World's hopes for the New. The American home. Family life in the New World. Dominant sway assigned to woman. Exalted model of motherly woman. Poorer examples from the West. Education of children. Ideal for American women. Hopes of seeing the Queen Dowager again.

Letter XXXVIII.

Last look at Cuba. Solar eclipse of previous day and its dark foreboding. Desires for Cuba. Arrival in Charleston amid bright sunshine, seemingly veiled. Renewed friendship with Mrs. W. H(owland). Departure for Florida on the steamer "Magnolia." Marooned amid a verdant sward. Cheerful society on board. Deliverance. Florida's Lake Monroe. Peaceful water. Alligators. Philanthropic lady (Miss Dix). Dominant lady. Three pairs of "Turtle-doves." Turtle-doves No. 3. A daughter of the sand-hills. Ascending St. John's River. Primitive forests on its banks. Enchanting spectacle. Realm of Pan. Dying youth. Morning walk. The troublesome steamer "Sarah Spalding." Wealth of flora and wildlife. Aquatic life. Parakeets. Turkeys. Alligators. Fish. Evening duets between alligators and whip-poor-wills. Ortega Plantation. Wild orange grove. Harvesting oranges. Travel fatigue. The wise negro. History and climate of Florida. The Ortega family. Rattlesnakes. The black nurse. St. Simon's Island. Mr. C(ooper) and his plantation. His thoughts on negroes and slavery. Southern reformers. Charleston. Savannah. Sailor's home. Charleston meeting and resolution. Topics of conversation. Journalism problems. Heat. Magnificent vegetation. Visits to two schools for negro children. Charleston's Magnolia cemetery. Two tombs there. Trip to Sullivan's Island. The young Yankee. Moonlit night. Plans.

Letter XXXIX.

Letter XL.

Letter XLI.

Letter XLII.

Appendix.

THE

HOMES OF THE NEW WORLD;

IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA.

BY

FREDRIKA BREMER.

TRANSLATED BY MARY HOWITT.

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“SING UNTO THE LORD A NEW SONG.”—Psalm xcvi.

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IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

ARTHUR HALL, VIRTUE, & CO.

25, PATERNOSTER ROW.

1853.

LONDON:

BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.