slave. We crossed Havre de Gras, and two or three other beautiful lakes, with bridges of wood over, to save us some miles round, exclusively for the rail, and arrived at Baltimore Exchange Hotel to dinner. Afterwards strolled about the town; and passed the house of Jerome Bonaparte, who lives in the park quite retired. All the houses here appear as if built within the last few years: the bricks are quite red, and apparently new. The women, as in Philadelphia, are very handsome, except their bosoms, which are quite flat. I climbed to the top of Washington's Monument. It is 180 feet high. The enclosure is flagged with white marble. It was erected by the slave state of Maryland. The inscriptions are: "Born 22nd Feb., 1732. Died 14th Dec., 1799, aged 67. Commander-in-chief of the American army 15th June, 1775. Commission resigned at Annapolis 23rd Dec., 1783. Victorious at Trenton 25th Dec., 1776; and conquered Lord Cornwallis at York Town Oct., 1781. President of the United States 4th March, 1789. Retired to Mount Vernon 4th March, 1797, and died as above." It cost half a million dollars. Home and to-bed, tired as usual.—Population, 125,000.

Wednesday morning, the 18th Sept.—Satisfied myself about business, which appears to be in a thriving state. I then visited the Catholic Cathedral, which cost 300,000 dollars; St. Paul's Church; and several other public buildings; the City Fountain, which supplies the town plentifully with spring water; the Battle Monument, erected to the memory of those who fell in the defence of Baltimore in 1814—James Madison president at the time. Gen. Jackson conquered Sir Henry Pakenham at New Orleans in the same year. Jackson was president in 1832, and re-elected. This battle took place in the 39th year of Independence. General Ross was killed in 1816, at North Point battle, after bombarding Fort M'Henry. The army in the United States is only 6000, commanded by Major-Gen. Scott. The President is the nominal Commander-in-chief. We visited the Race-course, and saw a couple of bad races: it is a burlesque after England. After dinner we proceeded per rail to Washington City, through Delaware, another slave state; but am happy to say both this and Maryland are wearing out—that is, they will soon be free. The market-price in these two states is, for men, from 5 to 10 dollars; and women about half the price. The contrast is great between the States and England in regard to windows. Here they cram as many windows into a house as it will hold, as there is no duty or tax upon anything but business or real property—very wise and just tax. Retired, at Brown's Hotel, Washington, at ten, used up, as usual, with the heat.

THE CAPITOL.

Thursday.—Rose early, much refreshed—as I forgot to mention that, although our beds at Baltimore were entirely covered with net, I was afraid I should have been eaten alive with mosquitoes. Washington is called a capital, having a portion taken from Virginia and Maryland for the senators' use. It is a long straggling town, with very wide streets; called by some the city of magnificent distances, but, more properly speaking, it might be called the city of magnificent intentions. It is located in the district of Colombia—a territory of ten miles square, formed into a separate and detached jurisdiction by the constitution of the United States. The city was laid out by General Washington, and Congress took up its abode there in 1800. The Capitol is situated in an area of twenty-two and a half acres; is a splendid building, on an eminence close to the Potomac river. The Hall of Representatives is in the second story of the south wing, and is of the form of the ancient Grecian theatre. There are twenty-four columns of variegated native marble from the banks of the Potomac. There is a splendid portrait of Lafayette, and another of Washington, by Vanderlyn. Their present speaker is Mr. White—elected the same as ours. The rotunda is very imposing. In its centre stands the great statue, by Greenough, of Washington; and around the walls are the various pictures ordered by Congress—"The Declaration of Independence," "The Surrender at Saratoga," "The Surrender and Capitulation at York Town," and "Washington resigning his Sword at Annapolis," all by Trumbull. I was much struck with Chapman's great picture of "The Baptism of the Indian Princess Pocahontas, before her Marriage with Rolph, the Englishman." The Vice-President of the United States presides in the Senate-house: his salary is only 5000 dollars, and the President's 25,000 dollars. In the library are portraits of Tyler, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Madison, Munro, and Peyton; also Randolph, the first president in 1774 and 1775, and Hancock, the second. Congress meets on the 1st December, and sits till June. Representatives are paid two dollars a-day. The rotunda has been the inaugural scene of General Jackson, Van Buren, and General Harrison. It was here Lawrence, the maniac, attempted the life of General Jackson. The statuary in the rotunda is, "William Penn's Treaty with the Indians:" he is in the act of delivering the treaty to a couple of chiefs. There is "The Indian Princess Pocahontas rescuing Capt. Smith from the Indians." There is "Boone's Combat with the Indians;" and over the eastern door is represented "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth." They were persecuted in England, and fled to New England, amongst wild savages, enemies to civilization and Christianity. The Puritans landed at Plymouth (Massachusetts), and commenced the first English settlement. The Capitol cost 3,000,000 dollars. There are fifty-two senators, and twenty-two representatives.

The President's house is in the western part of the city; and stands on a plot of twenty acres, forty-four feet above the Potomac. It is 170 feet front, and eighty-six deep; built of freestone, with Ionic pilasters. It was shown to us by one Martin Renehan, an Irishman; and as the President was absent, we visited all the rooms, which were meanly furnished—indeed, carpets and chair-bottoms worn out; a common pine dining-table, which the Prince de Joinville, Lord Ashburton, Lord Morpeth, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Pakenham, our present minister, with others, to the number of forty-four (they never have more), dined off. My house is much better furnished; and the President only keeps eighteen servants, including master of the household, &c. The private drawing-room is the best, but that is bad. We saw the bed General Harrison died in. We visited the Treasury department: this is a noble structure, 457 feet in length, and after the architecture of the temple of Minerva, at Athens. There are 250 rooms. It is adjoining the department of state. The Post-office is of the Corinthian style, marble front. The plan is a parallelogram, 204 feet in extent, and sixty-five wide. The Patent-office is 280 feet in length, and seventy in depth, where patents are taken out at the cost of 30 dollars. We saw one that astonished us not a little—a machine for making railways, called a Pile-driver, which makes a railway over a lake, swamp, or forest, and finishes it straight away. It is in operation in the southern states, and found to answer, at one-tenth the cost in England. It is so incredible, I will not describe it. There is another, called the Excavator, that bores through hills, &c. and quickens the work fiftyfold to manual labour. Both these are worked by steam, and the most incredible inventions I ever saw. Otis is the inventor of the latter. There is also a screw-patent in operation in Rhode Island. In the spacious room above are preserved Washington's equipments in war-time. They are uncostly, plain, and humble, showing the unostentatious mind of the great man. Here are all the presents from different courts: members of the United States Government are not allowed to keep them. There is a costly diamond snuffbox from the Emperor of Russia; and a large bottle of pure attar of roses, three times the price of gold. There are portraits of Gortez, conqueror of Mexico in 1521; of