You may lean against any tree in the City and exclaim, "This shadowy
desert, unfrequented woods, I better brook than flourishing peopled
towns."
And yet there are sprinkled up and down the place a few substantial
buildings; one belonging to the Company, on an enormous scale--another
good brick house to Mr. Hack--another to the enterprising Mr.
Gilles--one to Mr. Thomas, and a couple of new taverns. The rest of the
dwellings are made of very slight materials, and the number of canvas
tents and marquees give some parts of the settlement the appearance of a
camp. Most of the new-comers settle down on what is called the Park
Lands, where they are handy to the little rivulet, and they run up a
Robinson Crusoe sort of hut, with twigs and branches from the adjoining
forest, and the climate being fine and dry, they answer well enough as
temporary residences. The principal streets have been laid out in the
survey of the town 132 feet wide, which is nearly twice as wide as
Portland Place, and the squares are all on such a scale of magnitude,
that if there were any inhabitants in them, a cab would almost be
required to get across them.
Pages:
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255