of my mortification and not of my triumph. I was well aware that in my case there were many reasons to doubt of my own success. The machinery was new and ill-made; and many parts of it were constructed by mechanics unacquainted with such work ; and unexpected difficulties might reasonably be presumed to present themselves from other causes. The moment arrived in which the word was to be given for the vessel to move. My friends were in groups on the deck. There was anxiety mixed with fear among them. They were silent, sad, and weary. I read in their looks nothing but disaster, and almost repented of my efforts. The signal was given, and the boat moved on a short distance, and then stopped, and became immoveable. To the silence of the preceding moment now succeeded murmurs of discontent and agitation. and whispers and shrugs. I could hear distinctly repeated, 'I told you so it is a foolish scheme I wish we were well out of it.' I elevated myself on a platform, and stated that I knew not what was the matter; but if they would be quiet and indulge me for half an hour, I would either go on, or abandon the voyage. I went below, and ascertained that a slight maladjustment was the cause. It was obviated. The boat went on; we left New York; we passed through the Highlands; we reached Albany !-Yet even then, imagination superseded the force of fact. It was doubted if it could be done again; or if it could be made, in any case, of any great value.”

If Fulton and his then doubting friends could but be raised from the dead, and witness now the triumphs of steam on the Hudson and the Mississippi,

the Ganges, the Indus, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Nile, and still later, across the broad Atlantic, the sensations of both would be very different to those by which they were animated on the first experimental voyage.

We landed at the outer wharf at Albany, amidst a crowd of competitors for the favour of conducting us to the hotel, the stage, or the rail-road; and after crossing the long wooden bridge, which stretches across the basin of the great Erie canal, we drove to an excellent house in Pearl Street, No. 59, formerly the residence of the late governor, De Witt Clinton, in which, indeed, he ended his useful and honourable life—and having comfortable accommodations provided for us there by Mrs. Lockwood, we took up our abode in one of the most agreeable homes that we had yet found since our landing in the United States.

CHAP. XIV.

Early history of the settlement of Albany-First voyage of Hudson up the North river-Foundation of the Fort and City of Albany-Collisions of the Dutch with the English-Grant of the territory by Charles II. to the Duke of York-Surrender of Albany to the British-Increase of population, by the decennial census-Causes of the rapid prosperity of Albany-Size in area, and extent in resources, of the State-Comparison of surface with England and Wales-Vast scale of the United States of America-Increase of population, in the State of New YorkProbable augmentation of territory and inhabitants-State canals, length, cost, and profits on them-Rail-roads, extent and cost-Early corporation records of Albany-Latest commercial and manufacturing statistics-Agricultural statisticsIncrease in the banks of the State of New York, of each kind -Statistics of Education-amount of funds-Topography of Albany-Site and position-Plan and arrangement of streets and squares-Contrast between ancient and modern housesShops or stores, hotels and boarding-houses.

ALBANY ranks among the very earliest settlements of the Europeans on the continent of North America, having been first settled by the Dutch so early as the year 1612. It was but three years before this, 1609, that the celebrated English navigator, Hudson, then in the service of the Dutch East India Company, set sail from the Texel in Holland, in search of a north-west passage to India. He was unable to accomplish this object, and on abandoning it as impracticable, he steered southward, and entering the bay of the Chesapeake, there saw the first settlement

FIRST VISIT OF HUDSON.

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of the English at James Town, in Virginia. He afterwards sailed for the Delaware, off which he anchored, and proceeded from thence to Long Island, entered the bay of New York, and sailed up the North river, as it was first named, or Hudson, as it is now called after its first discoverer.

While we were on our passage up from New York to Albany, I was repeatedly led to consider what must have been the feelings of the intrepid commander and his enterprising crew at the scenes of beauty and fertility which were perpetually opening upon their sight during their advance up the stream, which they had every reason to believe that they were the first among Europeans to see and admire. Their delight must have been excessive; and the enthusiasm and triumph of the moment must have been worth a year of peril to purchase.

It is said, that though at the first entrance of Hudson into the bay of New York, some of the tribes then occupying Long Island, evinced their hostility to his further progress, by attacks in which some of his men were killed and others wounded, yet that as he advanced up the river, he found the Indians less hostile; expressing, by looks and signs, their disposition to give him welcome; and testifying their friendly spirit by presents of fruits and flowers.

The report which Hudson and his companions gave, when they returned to Holland, of the size and character of the river, induced the Dutch merchants to form an association for opening a traffic upon it; and the Dutch government granted to this association a monopoly of this trade for a certain period.

It was by this company, that the first settlement was formed where Albany now stands, on a spot then called by the Indians Schaunaugh-ta-da, or Once the Pine Plains. The Dutch here built a fort, which was commanded by Henry Christaens. It was first called Aurania, till 1620, then Beverwick till 1625, then Fort Orange till 1647, and then Williamstadt, till 1664. It was at once a fort and a factory of trade, and, like other places of this description, advanced gradually in population, and commerce.

It is worthy of remark, that the English Puritans who first settled in Massachusetts, originally intended to have sailed from Leyden where they were in exile in 1620, for the Hudson river, on whose banks they contemplated making their home. But the Dutch, anxious to prevent any English settlers intruding upon their own colonists, and at the same time unwilling to make any formal opposition to their voyage, for fear of offending the British, are said to have bribed the Dutch captain, in whose ship they embarked from Holland, to carry them so far to the northward that they could not reach the river; and hence their first landing and settlement was made on the coast of the Massachusetts.

It was in 1621 that the foundation of the city of Albany was first laid by the Dutch West India Company, who about the same time, founded the city of New Amsterdam, on the island of Manhattan, where New York now stands. The Dutch settlers at Albany extended themselves gradually from hence eastward into Connecticut, and coming there into collision with the English, disputes arose among them on subjects sufficiently trivial and ludicrous. A