Philadelphia, I cannot help telling them, that it is a square-cut, formal place, reminding one of those old fashioned gardens on the Dutch plan, so satirised by Pope. Altering the words used by him, it may be said of Philadelphia,

"Street nods at street, each alley has a brother,
And half the city just reflects the other.”

"But," say the Philadelphians when the plan of their city is objected to," surely Pearl Street in New York, which deviates from the straight line, is far from handsome." This is very true; but then it is to be observed, that it has neither regularity nor fine buildings: though for my own part, I prefer a city having streets like Pearl Street with all its irregularity, to one having no variety. The only place in England on the same plan as Philadelphia is Salisbury; at least, after having seen almost every town in the country, it is the only one I can call to mind. The fact is, that most of our towns and cities are built without any plan, and of course, many of them are very ugly; witness Stockport, Folkestone and Whitby: but of others it may be said, that the irregularity itself is beautiful; such are Oxford, Worcester, Colchester and Lancaster. These places are generally admired; but I never heard Salisbury praised for its beauty. I am therefore

fully convinced, that in objecting to Philadelphia, I do so on substantial grounds. The new town of Edinburgh was commenced on the quadrangular plan; and with great propriety, as the old town exhibited nothing of the kind, and one served to set off the other: but the citizens have been wise enough to deviate from strict uniformity, perceiving that when carried to a great extent it becomes faulty. What is the consequence? Why, that as a whole, Edinburgh is paramount in beauty. Its superior locality certainly contributes to it; but art has done wonders in making a proper use of this superior locality. Philadelphia is on a level surface, making the uniformity of the plan still more displeasing. I knew before I saw it, from the description I had heard of it, that I should not admire it; and yet with such an impression on my mind, I found it less pleasing than I anticipated. There is only one street of great width, being the one which runs centrally from east to west, but which having a market-house in it, cannot be called handsome. It is much on a par with Fleet-market in London. Several of the streets are however truly beautiful, Chesnut Street and Arch Street for instance. Never before, did I see ranges of houses so neat, comfortable, and simply elegant. The bricks are kept nicely painted, looking as fresh as if newly

erected; and then they are so set off by the window marble slabs, and the marble steps to the doors which are kept nicely washed, that I suppose no European city can show the like. To complete the beauty, trees are planted on each side of the street. An evening's walk in Chesnut Street, when the best dressed citizens with their wives and smiling daughters are enjoying the luxury of a stroll after the suspension of business, is to a stranger delightful indeed. Dull must be the heart of him who does not participate in the hilarity of the hour.

I have hitherto made no mention of the public buildings in Philadelphia; nor shall I attempt to describe them minutely. Few of the churches have steeples; the reason for which is, that the founders of the city being Quakers, had no liking to them; and the Presbyterians who followed, brought with them opinions of their Popish origin and superstitious tendency, there being at that time a controversy in Scotland on the subject. The modern Presbyterians having lost the objections of their ancestors, and the Episcopalians never holding them, the recently erected churches have the additional ornament of steeples, some of them lofty. The Episcopal church in Tenth Street pleased me the most of all the re

ligious edifices, though not so spacious as some others. It is as chaste a specimen of modern Gothic as is perhaps any where to be seen; and only wants towers of greater height to make it the greatest ornament the city can show. The University, the Hospital, and two of the Banks, are fine buildings, more particularly the latter, which are of tasteful, elegant architecture. The water-works for supplying the city from the Schuylkill are in substantial stone buildings; and are creditable to the public spirit of the citizens, who in this instance have combined embellishment with utility.

Of the different cities which I saw in America, Baltimore was the one which I the most admired; not but I could point out how susceptible it is of improvement. With too much adherence to the quadrangular plan, it has some variety, the ground on which it stands not being level. The houses, though not so tasteful as those in Philadelphia, are generally good, and some of them superb. The streets are wide: the public buildings numerous and beautiful. The Exchange is surmounted by a dome of no mean dimensions, topping the other buildings as in the pride of superiority. The Catholic cathedral has also a large dome, and though unfinished from the want

of funds, is both externally and internally a fine edifice. The Unitarian church placed near it, is one of the most exactly finished edifices in the country. The Presbyterians and Episcopalians have each a fine church; that of the latter in particular is ornamental to the city. When it is considered that in addition to these, Baltimore has a tasteful monument, to commemorate those of her citizens who fell in the action at North Point, and a lofty one, like the Monument in London, in honour of Washington, it will be admitted that it is both a beautiful and interesting city. The public springs which supply the inhabitants with water, are made contributory to elegance as well as comfort, being received into basins protected by iron railing, and are quite equal in appearance to half the fountains in Paris. The prospect from the Washington monument is extensive, but vastly inferior in beauty to that from the State-house at Boston, the circumjacent land being very imperfectly cultivated.

Richmond, the capital of Virginia, has a beautiful site, but it cannot be called a beautiful city. The Capitol stands on an eminence near the Governor's house; but neither of them has much architectural embellishment. They are both unworthy of the State. Why should Virginia,