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Thanks John, I've added your schedule to comment 1, and will continue to edit it as appropriate, during March.

Thanks to those who are clarifying what it is the USA and what is now in Canada! I needed that.

I loved the description of Boston, and note that Charles Dickens sees it like a theatrical set; all bright colours, and a lightweight feel:

"the houses were so bright and gay: the signboards were painted in such gaudy colours; the gilded letters were so very golden; the bricks were so very red, the stone was so very white, the blinds and area railings were so very green, the knobs and plates upon the street doors so marvellously bright and twinkling; and all so slight and unsubstantial in appearance—that every thoroughfare in the city looked exactly like a scene in a pantomime".

He will be used to stone and brick buildings in England, and drabber colours altogether.

I was surprised at the observed contrast between the "utmost courtesy" of public depts., e.g. of customs officials, compared with what Charles Dickens describes as the English officers being "odious and offensive to foreigners ... there is a surly boorish incivility about our men, alike disgusting to all persons who fall into their hands, and discreditable to the nation that keeps such ill-conditioned curs snarling about its gates."

Wow! I didn't expect that! I thought the stiff upper lip of the British stereotypes came from this time, and the more free-and-easy manners across the Atlantic might then be seen as "boorish" - not this reversal. 😲What an eye-opener!

I haven't got any further yet, but will be ready for the "preachiness" Luffy observes. We've noted in his early novels that Charles Dickens was very outspoken at this time, often going off at a tangent to expound on what he believed to be social evils, in his early novels. He's already expressed his great approval for Dr. Channing, "for the bold philanthropy with which he has ever opposed himself to that most hideous blot and foul disgrace—Slavery." Good for him! But I think it will be a bold stance for a visitor to North America to take at this time.

Bionic Jean wrote: "I was surprised at the observed contrast between the "utmost courtesy" of public depts., e.g. of customs officials, compared with what Charles Dickens describes as the English offic..."

Jean, the preachiness is but a detail. I noticed it merely because it was such a Dickensian thing. I was kind of expecting it and to be honest I thought Dickens reined it in, and showed admirable restraint.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Wow! I didn't expect that! I thought the stiff upper lip of the British stereotypes came from this time, and the more free-and-easy manners across the Atlantic might then be seen as "boorish" - not this reversal. 😲What an eye-opener!
..."

Jean, I had almost the opposite reaction.
Dickens is a fun-loving man, who enjoys talking with folks and getting to know their mannerisms. This could be easier in the States, at that time, because of the free-and-easy manners. I think Dickens may have found it refreshing.

Bionic Jean wrote: "He's already expressed his great approval for Dr. Channing, "for the bold philanthropy with which he has ever opposed himself to that most hideous blot and foul disgrace—Slavery." Good for him! But I think it will be a bold stance for a visitor to North America to take at this time..."

Yes, I thought, too, that this must have been a bold stance, visitor or not.

I enjoyed Dickens' observations at the blind school and the Institution. He can be seen as a caring man who believes in the best in people, giving them every opportunity to thrive.

I chuckled at the court scene when he was surprised that the lawyers did not wear wigs in court.

"A dinner party takes place at five; and at an evening party, they seldom sup later than eleven; so that it goes hard but one get home, even from a rout, by midnight."
I was surprised at the evening dinner parties. They appear to be quite drawn out (people eating at 11pm, for example) and then the rush to be home around midnight.

Speaking of the hotel, I enjoyed this description: the bar is a large room with a stone floor, and there people stand or lounge about all evening: dropping in and out as the humor takes them. There too the stranger is initiated into the mysteries of Gin-sling, Cocktail, Sangaree, Mint Julep, Sherry Cobbler, and Timber Doodle.

The one thing that enhanced my appreciation of American Notes was the superb descriptive eye of Dickens. The great literary critic John Carey wrote that Dickens was peerless among writers because he could write in a way that combined lived experience with the most acute sense of light, shadow, reflection �� in other words, a camera eye. Anything we have of a picture of Boston from that era might be a drab gray monotone. Yes, it is a picture. But only through Dickens is it, using modern vernacular, colorized.

John wrote: "VOLUME ONE
Chapter the Third

It should be noted that Dickens was the first writer, or person for that matter, to bring Bridgman to acclaim. His writing led to the discovery of Annie Sulivan, who taught Helen Keller ..."

Gosh I never knew that, John! As I was reading this part, I was reminded very much of Helen Keller's story. It's something else we can thank Dickens for, for bringing it to a wider audience. 👏

I've not read Lucinda Hawksley (adding to TBR list) - but I can certainly see why she didn't mention Dickens writings on the school for the blind, or the asylum, or the penitentiaries - those are not what anyone would call "tourist destinations". But my goodness I'm so glad Dickens wrote about them.

Those passages about Perkins Institute were wonderfully moving. While reading, I found myself wondering if Catherine was touring Perkins too - and then as if reading my mind - she pops up next to Laura Bridgman who is using her hands to "discover" Catherine Dickens, and avoiding her famous husband. I loved that moment.

I loved Dickens observation about the raw emotions on the faces of the blind, and his comment "a man with eyes may blush to contemplate the mask he wears"

I found it fascinating that the deaf and blind boy, Oliver, who still had a sense of smell was ultimately reachable through that sense in the bread that was put in his hand.

I found the silence of the Prison interesting. Are there prisons anywhere today that force silence on their inmates? It seems like a good idea to me. At any rate, it made for an interesting comparison to the silence of Laura and Oliver at Perkins.

When Dickens wrote about Mr. Taylor, the only preacher he heard in Boston, "who addresses himself peculiarly to seamen", I found myself thinking of "Moby Dick" and the chapters on the Chapel in Nantucket that caters to seamen and uses the more straight-forward language that Dickens quoted.

I laughed when Dicken compared American and English dinners, saying they were about the same other than "the conversation [in America] may possibly be a little louder and more cheerful". I don't know about the cheerfulness of Americans, but I think it is a general stereotype - nowadays - that Americans are loud. Funny, we were even that way in 1842. And, I think, Americans still eat an unusual amount of poultry.

Excellent observations, Bridget. I find it interesting, and perhaps not surprising, that almost immediately after leaving the Brittania, he wanted to see the institutions. I used to think that he was so anxious about this winter trip for copyright matters, but clearly there was an equal or overriding priority.

Bridget and John

Yes. I think we will find much to surprise us as we continue to travel with Dickens through the United States. I too imagined Dickens would get right down to his grievances about the copyright issue. That said, he has begun his trip by earnestly pursuing his interests in prisons and other ‘public institutions�� which he has always focussed on in England as well.

Bridget

I confess that I don’t know anything about travel writers beyond watching Rick Steves on PBS. My guess is there will be little of Steves�� format in Dickens book. We’ll see.

I know I read ahead a bit (I’ve finished Ch IV) but heads-up, everyone. Parts of that Chapter are so funny that I woke family up on the other side of the house just LAUGHING!

I am a person who, like my mother before me - “smiles HARD�� - so to cut me up like that was awesome! He really wasn’t trying too hard to let his humor flow freely when Dickens wrote to Forster! A GREAT chapter!!

Lee wrote: "I know I read ahead a bit (I’ve finished Ch IV) but heads-up, everyone. Parts of that Chapter are so funny that I woke family up on the other side of the house just LAUGHING!

I am a person who, l..."

Ah, even though this is my third reading, that makes me want to get to it. My family has some roots in Massachusetts. My great uncle, whose name was Nazareth, lived in the vicinity of Springfield and worked for the Indian Motorcycle Company.

Those of us like myself with family currently living in Boston will
Find it extremely interesting. And my ancestors were among the original Puritans who settled in Boston in 1634!

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is so very long! I wrote a little before, and have now broken it up by the various institutions, and yet still have a little about the court procedure to finish tomorrow when we read ch 4.

As Bridget says "Those passages about Perkins Institute were wonderfully moving" - now I know where my Perkins brailler comes from! I mentioned before that this reminds me of the later Helen Keller. But I felt so sorry for Laura Bridgeman's mother, not to be recognised at first. It must have been unimaginable wrench for the family to have sent her there where she might thrive, but the little girl's progress is exceptional. I am so pleased that Dickens included Dr Howe's account almost verbatim, and at length. Laura Bridgman, Dr. Howe's Famous Pupil And What He Taught Her by Maud Howe Elliott and Florence Howe Hall (London, 1904) notes that Charles Dickens quoted Dr Howe's reports, and perhaps the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind became more widely known through this. I spent my second day digesting this account in detail.

Dr Samuel Gridley Howe was a philanthropist who, as well as being Director of this Institute, was interested in progressive education and the treatment of the mentally retarded (throughout I use the language of the time). We can tell this in the third part of this chapter, which is about the:

"State Hospital for the insane; admirably conducted on those enlightened principles of conciliation and kindness, which twenty years ago would have been worse than heretical, and which have been acted upon with so much success in our own pauper Asylum at Hanwell."

Charles Dickens is referring to Hanwell's Lunatic Asylum in Middlesex, (England) built in 1831. It is now St. Bernard's Hospital.

Just as I enjoyed the parts about Laura feeling confident enough to play little jokes with herself, I enjoyed the light tone here. The director revealed each patient's malady to Dickens, by playing along with their delusion. This as such an interesting approach, as I never know whether it is best to remind e.g. an early Alzheimer's sufferer of reality (so-and-so has died) or how soon it is kinder to go along with their delusion. Fascinating that he did this for each, and each individual then trusted him (and presumably assumed they were sane).

The lady who believed she was bedecked in finery, and was a great lady who owned a huge house reminded Charles Dickens of Madge Wildfire. Madge Wildfire was a character in The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott

The other reference regular readers of Dickens might pick up is to "a very Chesterfield". Dickens often refers rather scathingly in his works to this aristocratic writer Philip Dorner Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield who wrote a famous books of Letters to his son, concerned with instruction in matters of good breeding.
There's an information post about him if anyone would like to use "search".

But Dickens's words "Immense politeness and good breeding are observed throughout. They all take their tone from the Doctor; and he moves a very Chesterfield among the company."

are evidently aspects which impress him about behaviour in the entire group of buildings.

I loved reading the 4th section about the House of Industry, and the pauper boys and criminal boys (who never met - reminds me of the grammar school I was at where although we shared the same building there were double barred doors between the girls' school and the boys' school!) where it was stressed that even those who were convicted ended up luckier than their fellows on the street, because they would be taught a trade. He observed that it was so different from the workhouses in England (e.g. in Oliver Twist) where inmates were set to working oakum, where their sore and bleeding fingers never healed.

What I take away with me from this long chapter is:

"one great feature of this system, is the inculcation and encouragement, even among such unhappy persons, of a decent self-respect. Something of the same spirit pervades all the Institutions at South Boston."

And also the discussion Charles Dickens has with himself about the benefits of work, and teaching a trade in such institutions. Even though the advantages are great, as he pointed out, in England there was resistance to the idea, because it would be taking jobs away from the men and boys (again, this is of the time) who were not incarcerated, and who also deserved it. Many would argue that they should come first. Some of this seems almost contemporary.

But so far Charles Dickens seems to see both sides. With the Customs Office he had been pleasantly surprised by the respect show by the officials in North America, compared with the boorish, ignorant behaviour of equivalent officials in England. Here again, in the 5th section of this long chapter about the Court System, Charles Dickens is amazed at the courtesy of the lawyers, barristers and prosecuting counsel - but how could he tell them apart, as they did not wear wigs? The accused did not stand in a separate raised platform - and the prosecting counsel did not stand at all! It was altogether more relaxed - and cheaper - and perhaps was not so prone to corruption, but Charles Dickens impishly pointed out that the verbosity and waffling was the same in both countries! 😂

I feel he is unsure which he prefers here, but have not quite reached the end. I am very pleased that the next chapter is shorter, for our three days, so we are more able to look at it in detail.

Thank you John for the heads-up about the length of ch. 3. 🙄 Is is possible if there are any more like this, for you to break them up in to individual days please? Either by theme, or location (as I have just done) - or by quoting a "final suggested sentence" each day, as those who have led our short stories do? Just for the long chapters, I mean. This would help us focus our minds enormously! Thanks 😊

VOLUME ONE
Chapter The Fourth

An American Railroad. Lowell and its Factory System

"I assign a separate chapter to this visit; not because I am about to describe it at any great length, but because I remember it as a thing by itself, and am desirous that my readers do the same."

Thus Dickens begins this relatively short chapter on his visit to Lowell. The train ride is humorous and finds Dickens at his comedic best. There is a car for men, women, and car for black people, which Dickens describes "as a great blundering clumsy chest."

The interactions between Dickens and passengers sounded funny, as he said "everyone talks to you. Politics are much discussed, as are banks, so is cotton. Quiet people avoid the question of the Presidency." This sounds like today.

The first and only stop is Lowell, which appears to be a factory town along a river. He uses the word corporation, which I was surprised to see existed in 1842. The factories appear to employ mostly women and some children. He seems to admire the entire set up, which strikes me almost as a campus of sorts. Everything is clean and efficient.

He is also greatly taken by THE LOWELL OFFERING, a repository of articles written by the females employed at the mills. He reads 400 pages. He returns at night by the same train and actually feigns to fall asleep when a passenger tells him the true principles on which books of travel in America should be written by an Englishman.

Lowell greatly reminds me of Paterson, New Jersey, which is close to where I grew up. Paterson was conceived by Alexander Hamilton and was the first great industrial city of the United States. Here were silk mills and locomotive factories by the score.

Lowell seems much the same. I was struck the campus type set up, where the women lived, worked, and also had a hospital. It sounded almost too pristine for a factory town. This trip for Dickens seemed to be a side detour without Catherine.

Bionic Jean wrote: "I loved reading the 4th section about the House of Industry, and the pauper boys and criminal boys (who never met - reminds me of the grammar school I was at where although we shared the same build..."

Jean, I went through the remaining chapters. It appears that Chapter 3 is an anomaly in the book: it runs to 40 pages, which is double or more than double all of the other chapters. So, I think we should be okay, but if an upcoming chapter looks better to divide for thematic or narrative reasons, I will.

Regarding the mills of Lowell, below is some historical context:

By 1840, the factories in Lowell employed at some estimates more than 8,000 textile workers, commonly known as mill girls or factory girls. These "operatives"—so-called because they operated the looms and other machinery—were primarily women and children from farming backgrounds.

The Lowell mills were the first hint of the industrial revolution to come in the United States, and with their success came two different views of the factories. For many of the mill girls, employment brought a sense of freedom. Unlike most young women of that era, they were free from parental authority, were able to earn their own money, and had broader educational opportunities. Many observers saw this challenge to the traditional roles of women as a threat to the American way of life. Others criticized the entire wage-labor factory system as a form of slavery and actively condemned and campaigned against the harsh working conditions and long hours and the increasing divisions between workers and factory owners.

Thank you John. That's a relief 😆 It seems as if others haven't quite reached the end yet either, but perhaps will overnight (for me).

I meant to say that as you observed, it's good that Charles Dickens is straight into his analysis of social conditions and the plight of the disadvantaged, rather than just a tourist's view, or zooming in on his own copyright problems. But I had to stop.

(My posts froze, and for a while disappeared, (eek 😱!) but when I came back they were here, and now I've hopefully corrected the typos.)

Edit - crossposted

John - Thank you for the great summary and commentary on ch 4. Although I’m up to the same point now, I’d like to backtrack a little if I may.

Your first quotation made me smile, with Charles Dickens excusing himself. Yes, there is no reason at all to separate ch 4 out from the 7 sections of ch 3, that I can see! These are indeed “notes��: hugely enjoyable but with little of the structure we expect, plus a sudden ending to each “chapter��.

So to conclude chapter 3, there are 2 more short sections. After the court proceedings comes the part about Transcendentalists, which I found really interesting and as Sam might say, I “disappeared down a rabbit hole�� trying to find out more! 😆 Charles Dickens was clearly impressed, and it does sound like some of our low church (i.e. not Anglican) denominations here. However I feel the main thing to bear in mind in the context of this book is that Charles Dickens said “if I were a Bostonian, I think I would be a Transcendentalist��, mostly because of the lack of cant, rather than any commitment to its philosophy.

When he was quoting part of Mr Taylor (this is Edward Thompson Taylor - a seaman who became a Methodist minister)’s sermon, he wanted to be fair, so excused it, saying it was more “an instance of the preacher’s eccentricities than his merits��. And it was verbatim, which make me think of Charles Dickens sitting there, jotting it all down using his own invented shorthand, much as he did when he was a Court reporter. 😊

The short 7th part of chapter 3 concerns social customs: a description of society dinner parties and a comparison with English ones. I thought I’d add a bit of context to the phrase “Duke of Clarence .. smothered easily�� as this refers to an historical figure, George the Duke of Clarence, who was supposed to have been drowned in a butt of malmsley wine in 1478. And all those drinks! I had to google those.

It reminded me of the food on board their cargo ship though, inasmuch as there were no vegetables at all! There it was always meat, more meat and roasted apples - and various sorts of alcoholic drink - and this chapter is similar. Has this changed? Or are vegetables not a thing?

So then we stop, more or less in the middle! “Notes�� it certainly is. But what an abundance of topics we have in this chapter alone.

And when we think that this tour, so early in his career, would feed into all his views on schools, handicapped children, the indigent poor, criminals and the justice system, religion, expounded on and given life in his middle and later novels, we see how very important his “notes�� are.

We see Charles Dickens both as a reporter, and as a young man working out his own ideas about life. Already he loved the respect for and towards all, which he is finding in North America, and the lack of ceremony and cant, which he continued to hate all his life. (His Pictures from Italy, later in 1846, presented almost an opposite view, and he was very indignant and critical of the country's systems at times. We read that as our side read to Little Dorrit, if anyone would like to remind themselves and/or read the thread.)

And if any of our Canadian readers (or anyone like Lee, whose ancestors were in these parts) can tell me if any of these buildings and institutions still exist, perhaps under different names, I’d be really interested thanks!

I’ve commented enough, so will post my thoughts on ch 4 tomorrow, or the next day.

(I have now linked all your 4 chapter summaries to the first post as usual for our reads John, in case it helps people keep together, and I will update with new links as we go.)

Petra wrote: ""A dinner party takes place at five; and at an evening party, they seldom sup later than eleven; so that it goes hard but one get home, even from a rout, by midnight."
I was surprised at the evening dinner parties. They appear to be quite drawn out (people eating at 11pm, for example) and then the rush to be home around midnight."

I was a little shocked by this as well. 11pm dinner is earlier than in England? When did these people (on either side of the Atlantic!) sleep?

Peter wrote: "I too imagined Dickens would get right down to his grievances about the copyright issue. That said, he has begun his trip by earnestly pursuing his interests in prisons and other ‘public institutions�� which he has always focussed on in England as well."

Has he mentioned the copyright issue at all? I'm surprised that he doesn't take the opportunity to publicize it if that's what his trip is about. But maybe he feels it's bad practice to talk about money in his relationship with his readers.

This passage really struck me:

It is a great and pleasant feature of all such institutions in America, that they are either supported by the State or assisted by the State; or (in the event of their not needing its helping hand) that they act in concert with it, and are emphatically the people’s. I cannot but think, with a view to the principle and its tendency to elevate or depress the character of the industrious classes, that a Public Charity is immeasurably better than a Private Foundation, no matter how munificently the latter may be endowed.

Julie wrote: "Petra wrote: ""A dinner party takes place at five; and at an evening party, they seldom sup later than eleven; so that it goes hard but one get home, even from a rout, by midnight."
I was surprised..."

Good question, Julie. He does not directly address the issue in the book, as I recall, but he did give public speeches on it during this trip. Perhaps we will come across something where he mentions it in the book. This sentence from a legal center is quite emphatic about why Dickens was rightly troubled by the lack of copyright protections: Dickens's work was not protected by American copyright laws and was ruthlessly plundered by American publishers.

Julie wrote: "Has he mentioned the copyright issue at all? I'm surprised that he doesn't take the opportunity to publicize it if that's what his trip is about. But maybe he feels it's bad practice to talk about money in his relationship with his reader..."

Well, there must be some coming up, Julie because I remember all the "deleted bits" from his letters to John Forster (in his bio). Perhaps Kathleen, who is reading that alongside could fill us in here when they come up ... bearing in mind that John is rightly being circumspect and carefully keeping thing up his sleeve to avoid spoilers 😆

My thoughts:

1. There would be no point discussing copyright with folk on the ship (3 weeks) or the railroad. As you say Julie, Charles Dickens would be careful how he expressed this to ordinary readers with no clout - and the same goes for people there. Why antagonise them? It's not their fault! And as John reminded us, he pretended to be asleep on the train, so as not to need to respond to a loudmouth criticising English tourists. He is no doubt carefully checking them out and biding his time.

2. Charles Dickens has only just arrived! (How long was he in Boston John, do you know?) So he'll be assessing what the lay of the land is, and how receptive people will be. He will be planning his campaign. He needs to discuss this with other writers, publishers, and people of influence who can get the law changed, not just sounding off at random - that never gets anyone anywhere! But he's done a good job so far as Peter says, of assessing the social attitudes and conditions in this part of North America, which will give him a good idea of how his objections will be received. Which brings me to ...

3. Location is all. I don't think Charles Dickens's problems with rampant plagiarism came from here. Our Canadian readers (Peter, Petra, Connie -anyone else?) will know more, but from my struggling grasp of Canadian history, I learned that in the Act of Union 1840, (i.e. just one year before this) Upper and Lower Canada were joined to become the United Province of Canada. Before this it was a part of the British Empire. The boundaries seem to have kept changing.

As Peter reminded us, Canada as we know it was only established in 1867. So in 1841 it was still a Province, i.e. a British colony, and therefore this part of North America would take its laws largely from British Laws (wouldn't it?) so our laws of copyright would apply. Or at least have greater influence!

It's good to see you back in this read Julie 😊

(Edited, re. Connie)

Jean, I live in the northeastern United States in Connecticut. I've only visited Canada, a beautiful country.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Julie wrote: "Has he mentioned the copyright issue at all? I'm surprised that he doesn't take the opportunity to publicize it if that's what his trip is about. But maybe he feels it's bad practice ..."

Jean, he was in Boston for two weeks.

Thanks both! (Sorry Connie 🙄 - now edited)

I've enjoyed your posts about ch 4 John, and look forward to others' thoughts before posting mine on it 😊

I love how in chapter four, Dickens tries to match his prose with the rhythm and speed of the train. Here is an example from the interchange between the author and another passenger. You'll notice this far more if you are listening to audio and crank the speed up or are reading aloud. And we think it all originated with the modernists.

If you are an Englishman, he expects that that railroad is pretty much like an English railroad. If you say ‘No,�� he says ‘Yes?�� (interrogatively), and asks in what respect they differ. You enumerate the heads of difference, one by one, and he says ‘Yes?�� (still interrogatively) to each. Then he guesses that you don’t travel faster in England; and on your replying that you do, says ‘Yes?�� again (still interrogatively), and it is quite evident, don’t believe it. After a long pause he remarks, partly to you, and partly to the knob on the top of his stick, that ‘Yankees are reckoned to be considerable of a go-ahead people too;�� upon which you say ‘Yes,�� and then he says ‘Yes�� again (affirmatively this time); and upon your looking out of window, tells you that behind that hill, and some three miles from the next station, there is a clever town in a smart lo-ca-tion, where he expects you have concluded to stop.

For anyone looking to read any of the material from the Lowell Offering, see, Mind Amongst the Spindles. A Miscellany, Wholly Composed by the Factory Girls: Voices of Resilience: A Literary Anthology from Factory Girls and it can be found on Gutenberg as well:

I must say that until I had read American Notes, I had never heard of the Factory Girls of Lowell. And I had never heard of a campus-like set up like that one in that era.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Julie wrote: "Has he mentioned the copyright issue at all? I'm surprised that he doesn't take the opportunity to publicize it if that's what his trip is about. But maybe he feels it's bad practice ..."

Hi Jean

Yes. For simplicity I’ll call the two provinces by their present names which are now Ontario (once Upper Canada) and Quebec (once Lower Canada.) In 1759 the British forces under General Wolfe defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham which is located at Quebec City in the Province of Quebec. Basically, the English established control over the Province of Quebec and the Province of Ontario. I’m leaving out a couple of other provinces along the Atlantic coast. Recall that the ‘Britannia�� landed first in North America at Halifax, which was and still is the capital of Nova Scotia. Recall from ‘American Notes that Dickens said attending the parliament of Nova Scotia was like looking through ‘the wrong end of a telescope.��

Hang in there. The British then ‘ruled�� Canada and established British Rule, law and domination. There were British forts in both the City of Montreal and Quebec City. Now it gets a bit more complicated �� Ontario was happily British as was Nova Scotia but Quebec not so much. A bit of simplicity now. The victorious British then allowed the people of Quebec, which was formally ruled by France, to keep their language, religion and culture.

I better stop here as Dickens will be coming to Canada in April and then more detailed explanations will be given if anyone is interested.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is so very long! I wrote a little before, and have now broken it up by the various institutions.. I mentioned before that this reminds me of the later Helen Keller..." I'm so glad John let us know of the relationship between Laura Bridgeman and Annie Sullivan. Several years ago, my husband and I were vacationing near Helen Keller's birth home, so we paid a visit there. It was so inspiring to hear the story there at the home/museum and to see where they lived and worked together. Dickens' visit to Perkins was a reminder of the miracle of teaching someone who is deaf and blind!

"State Hospital for the insane; admirably conducted on those enlightened principles of conciliation and kindness, which twenty years ago would have been worse than heretical, and which have been acted upon with so much success in our own pauper Asylum at Hanwell." If only this hospital's humane treatment of its patients could have caught on nationwide. Nellie Bly's 1887 exposé of an insane asylum in New York in Ten Days in a Mad-House was heart-wrenching.

Further comments on Chapter 3:

Like Bridget, I also associated Mr. Taylor (the preacher Dickens listened to in Boston) with Father Mapple (the former whaleman turned preacher in Moby-Dick or, The Whale). They were so similar in their delivery. The only thing missing was the boat prow-shaped pulpit!

Re: Transcendentalism (which I studied in my American Literature high school class but never really understood either), I absolutely LOVED this quote from Dickens: "I was given to understand that whatever was unintelligible would be certainly transcendental." 😂

I'm glad to know that Chapter 3 will be the only long one like this, where Dickens covered so many different topics!

Shirley (stampartiste) wrote: "Further comments on Chapter 3:

Like Bridget, I also associated Mr. Taylor (the preacher Dickens listened to in Boston) with Father Mapple (the former whaleman turned preacher in [book:Moby-Dick or..."

I am glad to know that I am not the only one who struggled with understanding Transcendentalism. I always tried to go back to the root word �� transcend �� but I rather like unintelligible.

Bionic Jean wrote: "Julie wrote: "Has he mentioned the copyright issue at all? I'm surprised that he doesn't take the opportunity to publicize it if that's what his trip is about. But maybe he feels it's bad practice ..."

Thank you, Jean.

And thank you, Peter, for the Canadian history. Considering I live an hour south of the British Columbian border, I know very little about my neighbors.

Sam, I really enjoyed that yes-yes-yes dialogue as well. Dickens is having a lot of fun with the local language.

Peter - that is extraordinarily helpful, thank you! A potted history of Canada. 😊 I have always felt bemused when coming across the different boundaries at different times in history books.

(So glad to see you are still with us, and hope your internet connection holds out!)

I'm really enjoying everyone's comments, and do feel Charles Dickens would have been better advised to split chapter 3 into 2 at least. Like Kathleen I am relieved to be back to shorter chapters, and hope nobody has given up! We got used to some l-o-n-g chapters in Nicholas Nickleby, but in American Notes for General Circulation he packs so much information in, as well as his opinions, and I want to absorb it all!

Having said that, yes, John, I too made a mental note of the basic "feeling/experience above logic" aspect of Transcendentalism, wrote down a couple of names to research more fully in time, and moved on. Kathleen, I loved that line too! And Shirley's thoughts about the Perkins Institute for the Blind, which are so similar to my own. Interestingly, our Royal National Institute for the Blind, was renamed a couple of years ago Royal National Institute of the Blind. A small change, but it reflects a difference in attitude.

Clearly, Boston was to his liking. I do not think you can find a higher accolade than this sentence:

Above all, I sincerely believe that the public institutions and charities of this capital of Massachusetts are as nearly perfect, as the most considerate wisdom, benevolence, and humanity, can make them.

Ch 4

Like others, I appreciate the humour - and rhythm - of the ride on the railroad. I do think Charles Dickens was very restrained in saying “As a black man never travels with a white one, there is also a negro car, as this would be very shocking to his British readers, and gave me a jolt too, even though I knew it must be so at that time.

Charles Dickens quickly moved on with a joke ”which is a great, blundering, clumsy chest, such as Gulliver put to sea in, from the kingdom of Brobdingnag.�� (Just in case anyone is not familiar with Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, one of Dickens�� favourite books, the giant Brobdingnagians feature in book 2, when they put Gulliver in a large box which is then stolen by an eagle and dropped into the sea.) He is thereby diverting his readers - in both senses of the word - from paying too much attention to how black people were treated by white people, but will doubtless return to this later. 🤔

There was a male-only carriage plus a third carriage for unaccompanied women, and men as long as they had a female companion with them. This seems odd, but no doubt an improvement on respectable females in England never being able to travel alone on a railway. Charles Dickens thought so anyway, though he hated those stuffy anthracite stoves everywhere. English dwellings were cold! Even country houses, which anyone who has looked around a stately home can imagine, given their proportions and the few fireplaces.

Nevertheless I really enjoyed the description, and such is the power of his writing that I felt I was there. I do remember a hyper-critical description of travelling on a railroad from the parts extracted and in John Forster’s bio. It’s really venomous, so perhaps it is of a different railroad system later. Kathleen, can you tell if it is this one?

Oh I so enjoyed the passage about the factory workers. It does sound as if it was broadly similar to this in the area of New Jersey you know, John. Again, we understand Charles Dickens’s message that all should be treated with respect, and that they are as deserving as anyone of education.

Thanks for the link to the books Sam. I grew up in a Northern city in England, not far from Manchester's cotton mills, and many of my recent ancestors lived there (i.e. around this time). As those who were in Claudia’s excellent group read of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life will remember, the contrast is profound. And that was published 7 years later in 1848! No wonder Charles Dickens was so impressed with Elizabeth Gaskell's descriptions of utter poverty and suffering in industrial Manchester where the cotton mills were, and which were from her personal knowledge and observations. That novel marked the start of their friendship. But this chapter makes it clear that Charles Dickens had seen for himself such a good model of how things should be in Lowell, and knew it did not have to be like that.

“I solemnly declare, that from all the crowd I saw in the different factories that day, I cannot recall or separate one young face that gave me a painful impression��

These were healthy, well-fed young women enjoying their work and having good educational activities, with access to libraries, a piano, and even their own produced journal. It’s certainly an eye-opener for this English reader. I could cheer when I read:

“The large class of readers, startled by these facts, will exclaim, with one voice, ‘How very preposterous!�� On my deferentially inquiring why, they will answer, ‘These things are above their station.�� In reply to that objection, I would beg to ask what their station is.��

It made a difference that there was no "community" of mill workers (as Dickens describes it) I think. The Manchester workers were trapped by their own poverty, but these Lowell girls came from and would return to their various farming communities after a few years. And in the meantime, as John says: "Unlike most young women of that era, they were free from parental authority, were able to earn their own money, and had broader educational opportunities."

John - The sentence you chose is a perfect summing-up of Dickens’s happy thoughts. I’m really looking forward to starting ch 5 tomorrow, thank you.

VOLUME ONE
Chapter The Fifth

Worcester. The Connecticut River. Hartford. New Haven to New York.

This chapter finds Dickens in a good mood and enjoying his stay in New England. They leave Boston for Worcester, where they lodge in the home of the Governor of Massachusetts.

Dickens finds "the towns and cities of New England are as favorable specimens of rural America, as are their people of rural Americans." The next day they travel by rail to Springfield and then to Hartford by boat. He finds the "small" steamboat to be exactly that -- small.

In Hartford, he first goes to the Insane Asylum and has interactions with several of the patients. I will note that even though he provides an almost humorous look at things there, he does so without patronizing the mentally ill. He gives an autograph to a pleasant woman "who hears voices." He also visits a State Prison. Overall he finds Hartford lovely.

From there he boards the packet named New York and heads to New York on what was called The Sound, but today is known as Long Island Sound. He writes of the differences between British and American packets, and soon they see a jumble of buildings and enter a busy port and are in New York.

In this chapter, I found the Notes at the end of my e book to be most helpful. I learned the named of the Governor of Massachusetts, among other items. I hope others can make use of the notes in their edition.

Interestingly, I was struck by the reference to Blue Laws. The county in New Jersey where I grew up, and to this day, has Blue Laws. Stores are closed on Sunday. It was a vestige from the days of the Dutch Reformed who settled in the area and has not changed. When I left for college to a different part of New Jersey, I was astonished to see stores open on Sundays. I was so used to everything being closed.

And I did enjoy the observation that every American home has a rocking chair. I remember a stately wooden one, so perhaps he is right.

This chapter is a shorter one, a travel chapter within a travel book. Has his visit to New England gone well? Did he like what he saw and the people he met? I would say yes.

I further add that the woman at the Insane Aslyum asked Dickens how
Pontrefact is doing? To which Dickens replies that Pontrefact is doing extremely well and never looked better.

The end notes in my edition say that Pontrefact is just a made up name. Perhaps. But I seem to recall a mansion with this name, though I cannot remember anything more about it and an internet search revealed nothing.

I found a reference to Pontrefact Castle, located in West Yorkshire.

I was a curious as to how the patient would have heard of a castle in England. I suppose she must have been born there, then emigrated to America.

I enjoyed this chapter. Dickens is getting a lot from this trip. He's visiting an astounding number of prisons and asylums, showing his interest in the humane and decent treatment of people who are incarcerated for one reason or another.

I really liked his descriptions of the paddlewheelers: "to an English eye it is definitely less like a steamboat than a huge floating bath. I could hardly persuade myself, indeed, but that the bathing establishment of Westminster Bridge, which I left a baby, had suddenly grown to an enourmous size".

I enjoyed the humor in Chapter 5 about the small steamboat on the Connecticut River that had about half a pony power. I've never seen a rocking chair on a boat, but they are very popular with people who decorate with Early American style furniture.

The Charter Oak in Hartford is still a big deal. The charter from King Charles was hidden in a hollow spot of a huge oak tree during colonial times. Acorns from the original oak were planted in many parks around Connecticut. If the oaks die, their wood is usually used to make commemorative benches or chairs. The large stump of one oak tree in Hartford was made a throne with carvings to appeal to children. There are bridges, housing projects, shopping plazas, and many other things named after the Charter Oak.

Ah, good Internet again. I’m catching up a bit. When Dickens was in Boston he got to connect with the Five of Clubs, a group of Boston intellectuals founded by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow. Longfellow had been to England and brought back a copy of ‘The Pickwick Papers�� and shared it with the group. They named the group after the Pickwick Club. It is well worth it to do a search for The Five of Clubs and William Wordsworth. Dickens met and made life-long friendships with Longfellow and C C Felton. The connections Dickens made with various individuals while touring the US and Canada is, in itself, a fascinating story within a story.

Petra wrote: "I found a reference to Pontrefact Castle, located in West Yorkshire.

I was a curious as to how the patient would have heard of a castle in England. I suppo..."

Thanks Petra. For some reason I recall the name Pontrefact, but cannot place it. His descriptions, as you point out, are excellent. And even he needs his rest �� I got a kick out of him emptying the larder and the stock of bottled ale, and then taking a needed rest.

Peter wrote: "Ah, good Internet again. I’m catching up a bit. When Dickens was in Boston he got to connect with the Five of Clubs, a group of Boston intellectuals founded by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow. Longfell..."

That is fascinating, Peter. I love how he made these literary friendships.

Interestingly enough, with regard to his arrival to New York, he mentions a book called Dietrich’s Knickerbocker by Washington Irving, a writer he admired. But, according to the endnotes, Washington Irving was so antagonized by American Notes that he refused to meet with Dickens during a trip to London. Hmmm. This backstory merits further exploration eventually.