flourishing manufacturing city. So cleanly, so freshlooking, so new did every thing appear. The sky above was clear, and the atmosphere so transparent that objects at the greatest distance were plainly discernible. I, all at once as I gazed, became conscious of a great absence of a something, and I could not exactly make out what it was. It could not be the factories, for there they were all around me, with their little bell turrets, their ladders running up the sides and over the roofs; nor churches, for I saw many white, and glittering in the sunshine. I at last discovered what it was, or rather what it was not. There was no smoke; and so used had I been to see the columns of sooty vapors curling up, and expanding into a dense cloud, that now I almost wished for it as a finish to the picture before me.

A pretty city is Lowell; and when one considers that but a very few years since, scarcely a quarter of a century, the place on which it stands was a leafy wilderness, through which the picturesque Merrimack wound it way, it is really wonderful to observe what the energy and enterprise of man have done. Where the boughs of tall trees, laden with verdure, cast flickering shadows, paving, as with mosaic gold, the grass beneath, factories stand, and spindles almost continually revolve. The water nymphs have been scared from their haunts by water wheels, and the sound of the loom is heard where once the Indian rose up at the voice of the bird.

Of course I was soon attracted to the mills, but I did not visit their interiors until the following Monday. Instead of their being situated, as in England, in dingy suburbs, surrounded by low and miserable dwellings, where the work people lived, huddled together by hun

dreds, they were placed in healthful situations, and gardens or grass plats around them imparted to them quite a cheerful aspect. The ladders, which I just now alluded to, were intended, I afterwards discovered, as fire escapes, in case of the staircases becoming too crowded in the event of an accident. They were all plentifully protected too by lightning conductors, which stood as sentries over every chimney and angle.

I am not aware, by the way, whether any column, or memorial of any kind, has been erected in this country, to the memory of him who drew lightning from the skies and rendered it harmless. It is, however, of little matter, for, as I stood upon the plain flat stone which marks his grave in Philadelphia, and looked at the roofs of the houses around, I could not but think that the philosopher had more monuments than any living man, for every little lightning rod which tapered up from house, tower, and steeple, was a more suitable memorial than the proudest production of the sculptor could possibly be; and there can be but one opinion as to the usefulness of these iron testimonials to the genius of Franklin.

Having seen, and with considerable pleasure, too, the 'Lowell Offering,' I was of course curious to see the class of persons who contributed to and supported a periodical produced under such peculiar circumstances. Accordingly, in the company of a friend, I watched the operatives of one of the mills as they left it in the evening. As I have alluded to the appearance of the Manchester people under a similar aspect, I need not, for the sake of contrast, again refer to them, and will only observe that if the Lowell girls had belonged to another race of beings, the difference between them and those I had hitherto seen,

could scarcely have been more marked. All of the Lowell operatives were neatly dressed, and of the hundreds who passed by us I did not notice, although I looked with very inquisitive eyes, one whose appearance was slatternly or repulsive. The countenances of most were intelligent, and those of some indicated a degree of refinement, which in Manchester I should have no more looked for than for the appearance of the sun at midnight. But as I shall have occasion in a future paper to say a great deal more about these young ladies, I shall not occupy more space at present with this portion of my sketch.

I was quite pleased during my evening perambulation of the streets of Lowell, to observe the good order and general quiet which pervaded every where. Many of the factory girls were taking their walks in pairs or in little groups, and many were busily employed in going from shop to shop-but there were no loiterers (except myself,) no coarse language was heard any where, and at a very early hour the streets were as quiet as those of a country village.

The following day being the Sabbath, I attended one of the churches, and was not altogether surprised to find that the greater proportion of the congregation consisted of females. The building was quite filled, and the utmost attention was paid to the services. A great deal has been written and said abroad respecting the attire of the Lowell operatives, and therefore I looked about, perhaps, a little more than I ought to have done, during the ser mon; but, really, I did not observe any thing at all out of the way. I have seldom, indeed, seen a better dressed set of girls in every respect, and their deportment was far more becoming than that of many who I know would turn

up their pretty noses at the idea of a factory girl wearing silk stockings. I only wish that we could Lowellise our English factory population, and impart to the poor neglected creatures, who are worse off than the African slave, if possible, some of that refinement, the possession of which renders all classes wiser and better in every respect.

I heard much respecting these Lowell girls, and as I looked at them I could not help feeling respect and admiration for their many sterling qualities. I was told, too, anecdotes of some of them, which abundantly proved their self-denying virtues, and their true nobility of character. Tales of privation endured, and toils encountered, in order that the embarrassments of a family might be swept away, or the education of a beloved relative be afforded. For obvious reasons I forbear to mention particulars of cases like these it is enough to know that there are such, and many such, to confirm us in our good opinion and high estimate of the working classes of the mills.

Towards the close of the Sabbath I took a quiet walk along the banks of the river, and returning to my hotel, as I passed by some of the corporation boarding houses, I heard the music of a piano-forte. Several female voices united in a hymn tune, which was very sweetly sung - a tune learned, perhaps, in some pleasant New England village home, and now sung by the far-away factory girls, whose toils were cheered by the sweet hope of a return to it.

Monday morning! The mills are all alive, and in another paper I shall give some account of the hives and the workers.

A VISIT TO SOUTH BOSTON.

A FEW Sundays since I was invited by a friend, who takes a deep and peculiar interest in such matters, to accompany him on a visit to several of the institutions at South Boston, and I the more readily acceded to his proposal of going, as I was anxious to observe the manner in which such places are conducted here, and to compare or contrast their machinery with that of similar charitable, or reformatory, institutions abroad.

Of course it is not my intention to write any thing which may serve as a 'guide' to the places I visited, for it would be sheer impertinence in me to even attempt to point out the peculiarities which are obvious and must be very familiar to most of my readers. My object is simply to note down what particularly struck me on a casual glance, and to give a running commentary consisting of the thoughts and feelings to which such objects gave birth.

It was about half past nine o'clock when we drove to the door of a large stone building, erected on a pleasant eminence, which commanded a fine view of Boston harbor. Passing through an entrance hall, we found (or rather my friend did, who seemed particularly well acquainted with the in's and out's of the place) ourselves in a large apartment, lofty and well lighted. Along one side of the