The price of one is from
15_l._ to 25_l._ It requires a little practice to work at it, but most
American ladies who have large families possess one, and dressmakers use
them a great deal.
_November 4th._--To return to this town of mud and mire, we have been
nearly up to our knees in both to-day, and went on board one of the
large steamers, but found it was not nearly so grandly fitted up as the
one in which we went from New York to Newport. There is an enormous
fleet of steamers here, but the Mississippi still looked most dingy,
muddy, and melancholy. We were given tickets this evening, to hear a
recitation by a poet named Saxe, of a poem of his own, on the Press, and
we soon found ourselves in an enormous hall about 100 feet by 80,
nearly filled by a very intelligent-looking audience. A man near us told
us that Mr. Saxe had a European reputation, which made us feel much
ashamed of our ignorance, in never having heard of him before, and,
unhappily, we came away no wiser than we went as regards the merits of
his poetry; for though our seats were near him, there was something
either in the form of the hall, or in the nature of his voice and
pronunciation, which made us unable to hear what he said. There were
bursts of laughter and applause at times from the audience, but we took
the first opportunity of leaving.
Pages:
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213