Boston
"Boston is a city of sixty thousand souls. Its harbour is magnificent; it is situated on the middle
of an
island, and you reach it from every side by means of causeways which have been constructed
across the
water. Much less commercial bustle is to be seen there than in New-York, but the general aspect
of the
town is much more agreeable. The latter lies on a flat terrain and offers to the eye, no matter from
which
side it is observed, but a single row of houses. Boston, on the contrary, is built on uneven and
mountainous
ground, in such a way that to the observer at a certain distance, it presents some charming views.
It
contains many private houses constructed with taste and elegance; [yet] in the matter of public
edifices, I
see but the government house [State House] in the least remarkable. . . ."
Beaumont (Pierson, 351)
"I was present the twelfth of this month at a rather curious ceremony. The Bostonians celebrated
the
consecration of two flags that they were sending to the Poles. On this occasion the militia and the
regular
troops gathered; the authorities, the learned bodies, etc., etc., assembled; and the procession
paraded to a
place called Faneuil house, where habitually are held the political meetings of
deliberative
assemblies. We took part in the procession, it goes without saying, in our role of distinguished
foreigners.
On entering the Hall we saw an immense gallery entirely filled with very well-dressed ladies,
without
admixture of any man. In almost all public meetings in the United States, this separation of men
and
women takes place. The seance was opened by an invocation on behalf of the Poles
pronounced by
a Congregational minister. The holy man blasted despotism and oppression with all his power
and uttered a
pompous eulogy of insurrection and liberty. Thereupon were unfurled to the regards of the
audience the
two flags, on which different inscriptions were to be seen, among others the last words of
Poniatowski: 'It
is better to die with glory than to surrender/' Great applause broke out in the assembly, especially
when
they pronounced the name of Lafayette, to whom the flags will be addressed so that he may see
that they
reach their destination. Finally, they sang hymns, odes, etc."
Beaumont (Pierson, 357)
[a newspaper account of the same occasion]
"The ceremony of the consecration of the standards about to be forwarded to the Poles by the
Young Men
of Boston, was a brilliant and imposing affair. The military escort was composed of the most
beautiful
body of troops we have seen for many years. It consisted of six companies of light infantry, all in
splendid
uniforms, and a battalion of the United States Infantry, under Capt. Frazier, fine looking
troops, in
a state of the most perfect discipline, and admirably equipped. A corps of Cavalry covered the
flanks of the
procession. The two superb Bands of Boston were employed on the occasion. In the procession
were
noticed, Maj. Gen. Macomb, of the U.S. Army, President Quincy of Harvard University, two
distinguished
French gentlemen, who are on a tour through the United States, to inspect our Prisons, by order
of the
French Government, and other eminent individuals. . . .
The Rev. Dr. Beecher then fervently and eloquently invoked the Divine Blessing on the cause of the Poles, and of civil and religious freedom generally-praying that the rod of the oppressor might be broken, and the oppressed of all nations be emancipated, etc. The auditory were with difficulty repressed from a hearty and noisy expression of their approbation after the Rev. Doctor's patriotic and truly Republican sentiments. . . ."
Tocqueville (Pierson, 358)
"We dined the other day at Mr. Sear's. he has a fortune of five or six millions, his house is a kind
of palace,
he reigns there in great luxury, he treated us with splendour, I have never anywhere seen
dinners more
sumptuous. Among the ornaments of the table was a very pretty lady who is, I believe, his
niece. I
chatted at length with her, but I don't even know if I shall see her again, so the attention is a pure
loss. It's
absolutely the same with all the beauties I meet. We see a good number of them in society. We
take fire
3 or 4 times a week, one driving out the other. But the faces are always new, and I think,
God
pardon me, that we always tell them the same things, at the risk of complimenting a brunette on
the
whiteness of her skin, and a blond on the ebony of her hair. But all that is a bagatelle and
occupies but a
very small place in the lives of two men of politics, utterly devoted to speculations of the most
elevated
order.
We have already been present at two Balls, and we shall see a third this evening. The toilette of the women is exactly the same as in France; the French mode dominates in the United States, and people are perfectly in touch with the least revolutions that it undergoes. Many ladies have questioned me on this subject, and I replied to them (with the same assurance as if they had consulted me on the penitentiary system) of coques (bows?) as learnedly as Michalon or Alcibiade could have done.
Music is cultivated here with a little more success than in New-York; but the mass haven't the inner feeling for music. There is a museum where paintings are show, but as I have not yet seen them, I will ask your permission to speak no further of it. . . ."
Beaumont (Pierson, 364)
"What we have seen of the inhabitants up to this moment differs completely from what we saw at
New-
York. Society, at least the society in which we have been introduced, and I think that it is the
first,
resembles almost completely the upper classes in Europe. Luxury and refinements reign. Almost
all the
women speak French well, and all the men whom we have seen up to now have been in Europe;
their
manners are distinguished, their conversation turns on intellectual matters, one feels oneself
delivered from
those commercial habits and that financial spirit that render the society of New-York so vulgar.
There are
already in existence at Boston a certain number of persons who, having no occupation, seek out
the
pleasures of the spirit. There are a few who write. We have already seen three or four very pretty
libraries
of an altogether literary character. (It must be noted, though, that we hardly see any but
distinguished men,
yet they are otherwise distinguished than those of New York.) It appears, however, that the
prejudice
against those who do nothing (a very useful prejudice on the whole) has still great strength in
Boston, as in
all the states that we have traversed up to now. In Boston the labours of the spirit are directed
especially
toward religious matters. Out of 25 semi-periodical works or pamphlets to be found at the
Athen[a]eum, 12
have more or less to do with religion."
Tocqueville (Pierson, 364-5)
Itinerary