at the southern extremity of an island called
Manhattan Island, near the mouth of the Hudson river. Its progress has
been very rapid, and its population is more than double that of any
other city in the new world. The approach to the city is very fine--the
shores of the bay being wooded down to the water's edge, and thickly
studded with farms, villages, and country seats. New York measures about
ten miles round. It is triangular in form. The principal street is
Broadway, a spacious thoroughfare extending in a straight line through
the centre of the city. The houses have a clean, fresh, cheerful
appearance; many of the stores or shops are highly decorated; the public
buildings, including the churches, while they can make no pretension to
grandeur, are good of their kind; the university is probably the finest
building in the city. The hotels in New York are far more extensive
than anything of the kind in Europe, and they are fitted up and
conducted on a scale of princely grandeur. The city of New York was
founded by the Dutch in 1621, and called New Amsterdam; but it was given
to the Duke of York (afterwards James II.) in 1604, and was henceforth
called by his name. The first congress of the United States was held
there in 1789.

Washington is the government capital of the States, and is so called in
honour of the distinguished man--the father of the Republic--to whom I
have already alluded. The entrance to the city by the Pennsylvanian
avenue is 100 feet wide, and planted with some of the trees. The
president's residence is called the "White House." The chief public
offices and halls for the assembly of congress are contained in one
building known as the Capitol. It stands on a hill, and is said to be
the finest building in the Union. It is surrounded by ornamental
grounds, and overlooks the river Potomac.

BOSTON is a maritime city, and a great place of trade; it is
situated on an extensive bay, and is connected with the interior of the
country by canals, railways, and river navigation. It is the great seat
of the American ice trade. In the history of the war of independence it
occupies a conspicuous place, as the Bostonians displayed great energy
in asserting popular rights. At Boston, when the "taxed tea" was sent
over by the British government, a number of the citizens disguised
themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ships in which it had been
brought over, seized upon and staved the chests, and threw their
cont