Philadelphia is situated between the Delaware and the Schuylkill, at
about six miles above the junction of the two rivers. In order to reach
the town we had to cross the Delaware, which we did in a steamer of huge
proportions. It was getting dark when we landed at Philadelphia; and we
were much struck with the large and broad streets and well-lighted
shops. It is said of New York, that the winding lanes and streets in the
old part of the town, originated in the projectors of the city having
decided to build their first houses along paths which had been
established by the cattle when turned into the woods. The projectors of
Philadelphia have certainly avoided this error, if error it was; for
there the streets throughout the city are as regular as the squares of a
chess board, which a map of the city much resembles. The streets extend
from one river to the other.
We got up next morning betimes; and as it is our intention to see the
town more thoroughly hereafter, we took advantage of a lovely day (but
what day is not here beautiful) to see a cemetery situated upon a bend
of the Schuylkill. It is very extensive; for they have so much elbow
room in this country that they can afford to have things on a large
scale; and everything here partook of this feature. The plots of ground
allotted to each family were capacious squares, ornamented with flowers,
surrounded by white marble balustrades, and large enough to contain
separate tombstones, often inside walks, and sometimes even iron
arm-chairs and sofas.
Pages:
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104