omnibus, which allowed us to see the
great beauty of the country to perfection; and, although we had
occasional heavy showers, the day was, on the whole, much more
propitious for travelling, as the atmosphere was very clear, and the
sandy dust was laid. We returned to Utica, or "Utikay," as they call it,
and, having an hour to spare, went and saw the State Lunatic Asylum; but
there was not much to remark upon it, although everything, as seems
generally the case in this country, was very orderly and well kept.

The building, however, was not seen to advantage, as a very large
portion of it was burnt down last year, and the new buildings were not
entirely finished. The gentleman who showed us round was very attentive,
and gave us a report of the establishment, which shows how creditably
every one acted in the trying emergency of the fire. He gave us, also,
two numbers of a little periodical, which is written and published by
the inmates.

We left Utica soon after eleven, and came on to Syracuse, through a
well wooded and better cultivated country than we have yet passed. The
aspect of the country is varied by fields of Indian corn, and tracts of
burnt and charred stumps of trees, the remains of burnt forests. These
stumps are left for some time to rot in the ground, and a few taller
stems, without branches, are left standing, giving the whole a forlorn
appearance but for the thought that the land will soon be cultivated and
return a great produce; were it not for this, one would regret the loss
of the trees, which are turned everywhere here to good account. The
houses and cottages are all wood. The hurdles, used everywhere instead
of hedges, are wood. The floorings of both the large and small stations
are wood, worn to shreds, sometimes, by the tramp of feet. The engine
burns wood. The forests are burnt to get rid of the wood. Long and
enormous stacks of wood line the road continually, and often obstruct
the view. All this made our journey to Syracuse, though interesting,
much tamer than on the preceding days. An accident happened to the
boiler, which detained us at _Rome_, but, as we were luckily near the
station, we soon got another engine. On the whole, one travels with
quite as great a feeling of security as in England.

From Syracuse to Rochester there are two roads, one short and direct,
and another, which, by taking a southern direction, passes through
Auburn, Cayuga, Geneva, and Canandaigua. We were well repaid