Before this sail up the Hudson, I conceived nothing could exceed the beauties of the Isle of Wight, and some choice scenes on the lakes of Scotland; but all these must certainly yield the palm to the scenery of the Hudson. To be fully appreciated it must be seen. The surrounding objects, indeed, may be named upon paper, but who can faithfully describe the atmosphere!
The established regulations on board the steam ships, oblige the gentlemen to occupy the fore cabin, and leave the ladies in uninterrupted possession of the after one. We had therefore, no gentlemen in our company, except when on deck. Although this division of the sexes may be viewed with reluctance at first, by those who have husbands and brothers on board; yet ladies are generally reconciled to the arrangement, because they are secure from the multitudinous annoyances, produced by the free consumption of spirits and tobacco. However, the ladies and gentlemen dine together, and on the present occasion, the company amounted to above two hundred. The same scenes variously affect different persons, and this was the first time in my life that I had dined with so large and so heterogeneous an assemblage. I felt much annoyed by hearing the rough phrases bandied about among the _gentlemen_, while taking possession of their places. Soon, however, the dinner appeared, and the company commenced operation in earnest. Although but few words were spoken, it was by no means a silent repast; dispatch was the order of the day--I had never before seen any thing like it--and from the effect of the queer objects that presented themselves to my notice, I confess I felt a much stronger inclination for laughing than feasting. But violent exertions are usually of short duration; and in pure astonishment, I stared when the first signs proclaimed the battle to be over. The gentlemen withdrew to their part of the vessel, and the ladies to the deck, and to the best of my judgement, the whole affair was concluded in less than ten minutes!
My husband and myself embraced the first opportunity of comparing notes. The scenery and the dinner was all during the voyage, that we witnessed in common; the former we enjoyed, the latter we did not. As all the females were consigned to one particular quarter of the vessel, I had an opportunity of spending about twelve hours in company with a fair sample of the American ladies. The chilling impression left on my mind by the image of the captain’s wife, mentioned in the first chapter, had long since passed away; and although a full acquaintance with the character of that worthy lady had been of singular service to me, I was alike averse by nature and judgement, to condemn a whole nation for the reprobated failings of a single individual. The city lady might here be distinguished from the rest, as she paced the deck, by her close adherence to the latest Parisian fashions; and the plain Dutch dame by her plain Dutch dress. Otherwise, there is a greater uniformity of external appearance, than would be seen with us, under similar circumstances. One thing in particular, I must not omit, though I never heard it before observed by any individual--I mean the striking uniformity of look--the statue-like appearance of the countenance, that prevails so universally among the women. They seem to be totally incapable of expressing mental emotions by any visible change of countenance, even when conversing upon excitable subjects. The cause of this I must leave to others to determine.