Personal Narrative of Travels in the United States and Canada in 1826 Illustrated by Plates with Remarks on the Present State of the American Navy

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The British Lt. De Roos takes a whirlwind tour through the United States, spending at least half his time on steamers and stagecoaches, travelling at night and groping in fog and d arkness. He does, however, visit dockyards at Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, and manages to do so in clear daylight. He speculates as to whether the U.S. can soon become as great a naval power as Britain. He decides not, and states that "so extensive is the line of sea-coast of our own North-American colonies, and so admirable a nursery do they afford for the rearing of seamen, that I am inclined to believe they would soon prove very powerful competitors with the United States upon the sea, even without the aid of the mother country. Let it be recollected, that they include the shores of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the St. Lawrence, and Newfoundland" (p. 77). The writer then moves on to Canada, visiting St. John's (Saint John), Halifax, Quebec, Montmorency Falls, Montreal, Kingston, York (Toronto), and Queenston before arriving at Niagara Falls which apparently caused "an irresistible melancholy" (p. 153). De Roos is further inconvenienced by a wet and stormy day in which rain patters against his window, until someone explains that the water is merely spray blowing from the Falls. His overall impression of the New World is a good one, however; "How enormous are its resources! How boundless its extent!" (p. 190). And, most importantly, "the naval strength of the United States has been greatly exaggerated" (p. 191). Dionne II 1033. Lane 1724. TPL 1392. Show more