Continued from April 23, 2012
[1829]
[1829]
After being legally deprived of some sleep (chatty
lawyers nearby in the hotel) the Stuarts arose early the next morning and
plowed ahead, breaking their fast at Lewis's Hotel in Kinderhook, lunching
fourteen miles further on, at Richardson's Hotel across from Albany, then
making Troy by evening, where they checked into Troy House, a hotel near the
river on First Street, run by Platt Titus. Stage lines to Albany had been
departing from in front of Troy House since the early days of the century, so
the Stuarts were staying right in one of the main hubs of activity. He briefly
describes Troy, "a considerable city, and the greatest erected upon the
alluvial banks of the Hudson, — in fact, it is not above eight or ten feet
above the level of high water-mark about six miles above Albany. The population
has increased from 3000 or 4000 in 1810, to 11,000 or 12,000 at the present
time." He also mentions Mount Ida, rising to the east above the city to a
height of about 400 feet.
Stuart considers the Titus establishment well-run
and adds, "for the first time, since we left New York, we found bells in
the house — which are a positive annoyance to those for some time unaccustomed
to their noise." Meaning himself, we presume. "There are also male
waiters here." And he hadn't escaped voluble night-owl lawyers either,
circuit court having followed him here to Troy. In spite of bells and briefs
pushers he seemed to manage to sleep well enough this time. At seven the
following morning the Stuarts had breakfast in the dining room, surrounded by,
"those engaged in the business, judges, clerks, lawyers. . . . I had no conversation with any of the
lawyers at breakfast; but in the course of the forenoon I looked into the
court. Three judges were upon the bench; and a proof was taking in presence of
a jury respecting a mill-dam. As soon as I was observed in the interior of the
court, though merely as a stranger, one of the clerks, or other officers of the
court, beckoned to me, and then rose and insisted I should have a seat close to
the table. He explained to me the particulars of the case, which were not
sufficiently interesting to detain me long." Us either. He does insert a
little treatise on court procedures, the main difference between here and
Scotland being the use of civilians in New York rather than other lawyers, as
assistant-advisers to the judges. In both countries the juries still make the
final determination. He mentions that the court building is old and quite run
down but that construction is under way on a new one. Building had begun last
year but completion was still some months off.
Stuart and his wife wander off to do a bit of
exploring. No more able to stay out of a bookstore than I am, he heads across
the street from the hotel and down a few doors to pay a visit to Parker and
Bliss's establishment, enters and stops to chat with William Parker. The
co-proprietor is an agent of New York City's G. & C. Carvill company,
publisher of the Library of Useful Knowledge. When Parker learns his visitor is
British (How did he tell?) he asks about Henry Peter Brougham, English
abolitionist and one of the reference works' chief authors. Stuart would not
have known Brougham but is flattered for his countryman that Parker considers
the Englishman's works the finest in the language, second only to the Bible (he
IS a salesman, after all). The work has sold close to 10,000 copies in New
York, Stuart's told. A number probably can be found here in Troy, what with
Parker's zeal and the city's Willard Female Seminary, Rensselaer School (later
RPI) and Lyceum of Natural History. We'll continue our Trojan education next
time.
© 2012 David Minor / Eagles Byte
