were very glad to be able to attend the service this evening.
There is something very beautiful, I think, in thus setting apart one
day in the year for such a purpose, and it is interesting too, as being
a relic left by the Puritans.

_November 19th._--We are quite charmed with this place, which is a rare
exception to all the other capitals we have seen, inasmuch as more has
not been undertaken than has been carried out; in fact, it has much more
the appearance of a village than of a large city. The beauty of the
river surpasses all description. It is a mile wide, and bends gracefully
towards the direction of the mountains through the gorge from which it
issues forth in its course towards Chesapeake Bay, and here, where the
hills recede to a distance, it expands into a great width, and its face
is covered with islands. The only drawback to its being a grand river is
its shallowness, and want of adaptation, therefore, to the purpose of
navigation. There are no splendid steamboats to be seen here as on the
Ohio, which make one feel that river, at the distance of more than 2000
miles from the sea, to be a noble highway of commerce, linking together
with a common interest distant portions of this vast continent. In the
Susquehanna, one feels that there is nothing but its beauty to admire,
but this _is_ perfect.

Two bridges connect the town with the opposite shore, each of them being
about a mile long. The weather is so piercingly cold, that we did not
venture across, but we took a long walk up the banks, of the river. The
town of Harrisburgh is very small, consisting of only three or four
streets parallel to the river, intersected by about a dozen others at
right angles to it. The centre one of these is a fine broad street,
closed in at the further end by the Capitol. This is a handsome, but
unpretending building of red brick, adorned by a portico, and, as usual,
surmounted by a dome. On entering at the top of a flight of stairs,
there is a circular area, covered in by the dome. Out of this, on one
side, is a very neat Senate House, and on the opposite side is the House
of Representatives. The State library, a very good one, is upstairs. The
flight of stairs up to this, which is continued up to the dome, is wide
and handsome, and of such easy ascent, that I ventured up to the top, in
order to take a bird's-eye view of the scenery we so much enjoyed below.
We were very well repaid for the trouble, especially as the gallery