Page:Life of Louis Philippe, late king of the French.pdf/15

Rh his sister, dated 14th August, 1797, gives the following account of their journey.

"I hope you received the letter which we wrote you from Pittsburgh two months since. We were then in the midst of a great journey, that we finished fifteen days ago. It took us four months. We travelled during that time a thousand leagues, and always upon the same horses, except the last hundred leagues, which we performed partly by water, partly on foot, partly upon hired horses, and partly by the stage or public conveyance. We have seen many Indians, and we remained several days in their country. They received us with great kindness, and our national character contributed not a little to this good reception, for they love the French. After them, we found the Falls of Niagara, which I wrote yon from Pittsburgh we were about to visit, the most interesting object upon our journey. It is the most surprising and majestic spectacle I have ever seen. It is a hundred and thirty-seven (French) feet high; and the volume of water is immense, since it is the whole river St Lawrence which precipitates itself at this place. I have taken a sketch of it, and I intend to paint a picture in water colours from it, which my dear little sister will certainly see at our tender mother's; but it is not yet commenced, and will take me much time, for truly it is no small work. To give you an idea of the agreeable manner in which they travel in this country, I will tell you, my dear sister, that we passed fourteen nights in the woods, devoured by all kinds of insects, after being wet to the bone, without being able to dry ourselves; and eating pork, and sometimes a little salt beef and corn bread."

While the princes were residing in Philadelphia, the city was visited by the yellow fever, from which, for want of funds, they were unable to fly; but, fortunately, a remittance from their mother reached them in