Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. I.djvu/63

Rh much so as a young girl. We ate and drank, and some toasts were proposed: I gave one for “The Home” in America as well as in Sweden. In the afternoon we had a little music. I played Swedish polskas; and a young artist, a Mr. C., properly a landscape painter, son-in-law of one of the sons or granddaughters of the family, sang an Italian bravura aria, so beautifully, and with such an exquisite voice, that it was really a refreshment to hear him, and one was sure that he had learned the art in Italy.

I have been entertained at two other houses on the Hudson, and saw in the one a beautiful, animated hostess, and many beautiful articles of luxury, but without that elegant arrangement which distinguishes the house of the Downings; and in the other an original old lady, who has been compared among the neighbours to “ma chère Mère” in “The Neighbours,” and who really gives occasion for the comparison; besides which, we met there a remarkably excellent man, Dr. H., a firm Swedenborgian, and a more agreeable person to talk with than the generality of Swedenborgians whom I have met with. He has built a house for himself upon one of the terraces of the Hudson. A splendid lodge, of grey stone, is already complete, and people are a little curious to know whether a lady is not coming into the house; and it is maintained that the heart of an amiable young girl in the neighbourhood is interested in the question.

N.B. Dr. H. is very much esteemed and liked, especially by the ladies; but he has hitherto exhibited a heart of stone to their charms.

I have been much pleased at this moment by a visit from Bergfalk, as well as by witnessing his state of mind, and the fresh, unprejudiced view which he takes of the good and evil in this New World; and by his warm feeling for Sweden, and the strong hope which he