At 10 o’clock we departed in the Worcester stage for Northampton, distant forty-seven miles. Our company in the stage-coach consisted of two gentlemen and ladies from the state of Mississippi, who had undertaken a tour to the northern states on account of the unhealthy climate in their own country, and who entertained us very agreeably with an account of their estates. The road was worse than yesterday, sometimes sandy, and the horses generally bad, so that on the whole, our progress was slow. The country is less populous, as well as less cultivated, though there is more timber, which, however, is also very much neglected. We observed the cypress and a few large cedars. As there are no grazing laws in force, they are obliged on account of the cattle, and particularly on account of the sheep which graze in these woods at large, to make fences of young chesnut trees which are split into four pieces. These fences generally consist of six rails placed upon each other, with an interspace of several inches. They are placed in an angular form, and at the point where the rails meet, they are placed one upon the other, and usually supported upon a large stone. Such a waste of timber and land is only pardonable in a country where the inhabitants are few, and where timber is abundant. A large extent of wood-land has been cleared only within a short time, and the trunks of the trees which remained have been destroyed by fire. The soil is not particularly fertile. We observed numerous blocks of granite, which may be hereafter usefully employed, the large for building, and the small upon the roads. The villages which we passed on our way are Leicester, seven, Spencer, five, Brookfield, seven, Ware, eight, Belchertown, nine, and Madley, ten miles. They are most of them small places, consisting generally of frame houses, standing at a distance from each other, which are very neat and comfortable; each village has a frame church and a school-house. Stores are observed in most of these places, and in Belchertown there is even a fashionable one. The churches are usually provided with long sheds, in which the carriages and horses of the members of the church are protected from the heat and weather during the service. Ware, situated on the river of the same name, which is crossed by a wooden bridge rather better built than usual, was laid out about three years since; it is a neat, flourishing place, and belongs to the Dexter family in Boston, who have established a woollen and cotton manufactory here, the workmen of which, above three hundred in number, form the inhabitants of the place. Mr. Dexter, of Boston, had entrusted me with an important packet of papers for his brother, who resides in Ware, which I delivered in person. We found Mr. Dexter with his beautiful wife, at his neat and well arranged cottage, situated in the centre of a garden, and received a friendly welcome. From his window he can overlook the whole village and manufactories. Heretofore, said Mr. Dexter, I have received the greatest part of my wool from Saxony, which is preferred here to the Spanish; but at present, we have sheep imported from Saxony, which are permitted to roam at large through the wood, as there are no wild animals in Massachusetts to destroy them; they yield a very superior kind of wool. Unfortunately we were not at leisure to accept of Mr. Dexter’s invitation to look at his establishments. At the tavern, which was perfectly clean and comfortable, we obtained a very good dinner, and continued our journey. The inhabitants of Ware are said to be distinguished for their strict morality. They have a common school, to which they are obliged by law to send their children, as is the case throughout Massachusetts, or pay a fine. In Ware there is but one physician, who has a handsome house, and keeps a well furnished apothecary store. The strict republicans are jealous of the large manufacturing establishments, because they are afraid that individual citizens, in consequence of their property, may have too great an influence upon a large mass of people; but I imagine that the republic has nothing to fear on this head, since the effect of individual influence is counterbalanced by the promotion of the welfare of the poorer classes.
About a mile from Northampton we passed the Connecticut river, five hundred yards wide, in a small ferry-boat, which, as the night had already set in, was not very agreeable. At Northampton we took lodgings at Warner’s Hotel, a large, clean, and convenient inn. In front of the house is a large porch, and in the first story a large balcony. The gentlemen sit below, and the ladies walk above. It is called a piazza, and has many conveniences. Elm trees stand in front of the house, and a large reflecting lamp illuminates the house and the yard. This, with the beautiful warm evening, and the great number of people, who reposed on the piazza, or went to and from the house, produced a very agreeable effect. The people here are exceedingly religious, and, besides going to church on Sundays, they go thrice during the week. When we arrived, the service had just ended, and we saw some very handsome ladies come out of the church. Each bed-chamber of our tavern was provided with a bible. To-day I observed also a new mode of delivering letters and newspapers. The driver of the mail-coach throws the letters and newspapers, with which he is entrusted, before the houses where they are to be left; he sometimes throws them even into open fields, along the lane leading from the main road to the house.
About two years ago, Messrs. Cogswell and Bancroft established a boarding-school at Northampton. The day after our arrival, 11th of August, Mr. Cogswell paid me a visit, and introduced one of his professors, Dr. Beck, of Heidelberg, a step-son of Dr. De Wette, of Weimar, who teaches the Latin and Greek languages. Another German professor, whom, however, I did not see, directs the gymnastic exercises. Both these gentlemen conducted us to the institute, which is situated on Round Hill, about a mile from Northampton.
Northampton contains about four thousand inhabitants, and its buildings are, apparently, very much like those of Worcester; it has one bank, a court-house, prison, and a printing-office. From Mr. Cogswell’s institute, you have a magnificent view of the fertile and well-cultivated valley of the Connecticut river, which, in this place, winds between two lofty mountains, Holyoake and Mounttoby. On the left, the lofty mountains of New Hampshire present a beautiful prospect. In 1824, this institution had but forty pupils, and in 1825, it numbered no less than seventy-four, so that Mr. Cogswell is obliged, although he has three large houses belonging to his establishment, to erect a fourth and larger one. The gymnastic exercises, for which a place is provided in the woods, with the necessary apparatus, form a principal part of the instructions of this seminary. The boys are entirely excluded from the world; but that they may not become too much estranged, Mr. Cogswell accompanies them annually in various pedestrian tours through the surrounding country. I visited Mr. Bancroft at his room. Both these gentlemen entertain the warmest enthusiasm for Germany and the German method of instruction, and are determined to regulate every thing according to that system. Mr. Bates, a lawyer introduced to us by Mr. Cogswell, returned with us to town, and showed us the church, court-house, and a collection of minerals, in the possession of Dr. Hunt, in which I admired particularly two specimens of American beryl and several specimens of rock-crystal. On our return to the tavern, I received a visit from a physician, Dr. Seeger, who was educated with Schiller in the military school at Wirtemberg. He wished to become acquainted with me on account of my father, for whom he expressed the highest veneration. I must acknowledge, that, in a country so far from my native land, this afforded me the most sincere gratification, and my acquaintance with the worthy Dr. Seeger, who has been an inhabitant of the United States during the last forty years, and who is universally esteemed as an honest man and a good physician, I shall always remember with pleasure and satisfaction.
At Springfield, twenty miles from Northampton down the Connecticut river, is the government armoury. We left Northampton, to visit this establishment, under the most oppressive heat, with five ladies and two gentlemen in the stage-coach, into which we were crowded, somewhat like those that were shut up in the Trojan horse. We arrived about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and again found an excellent tavern, which was provided with a piazza. Our ride passed through a well-cultivated region of country, along the right bank of the Connecticut river; Indian corn, millet, and potatoes were observed in considerable abundance, in some places we also observed hemp, and sometimes, though seldom, hops.
Springfield is situated on the left bank of the Connecticut river, over which, close