a; and he took it into his head that
he would have a piece of English mistletoe brought out in this week's
Cunard, which should be laid upon my breakfast-table. And there it was
this morning. In such affectionate touches as this, these New England
people are especially amiable. . . . As a general rule you may lay it down
that whatever you see about me in the papers is not true; but you may
generally lend a more believing ear to the Philadelphia correspondent of
the _Times_, a well-informed gentleman. Our hotel in New York was on
fire again the other night. But fires in this country are quite matters
of course. There was a large one in Boston at four this morning; and I
don't think a single night has passed, since I have been under the
protection of the Eagle, that I have not heard the Fire Bells dolefully
clanging all over both cities." The violent abuse of his manager by
portions of the press is the subject of the rest of the letter, and
receives farther illustration in one of the same date to me. "A good
specimen of the sort of newspaper you and I know something of, came out
in Boston here this morning. The editor had applied for our
advertisements, saying that 'it was at Mr. D's disposal for paragraphs.'
The advertisements were not sent; Dolby did not enrich its columns
paragraphically; and among its news to-day is the item that 'this chap
calling himself Dolby got drunk down town last night, and was taken to
the police station for fighting an Irishman!' I am sorry to say that I
don't find anybody to be much shocked by this liveliness." It is right
to add what was said to me a few days later. "The _Tribune_ is an
excellent paper. Horace Greeley is editor in chief, and a considerable
shareholder too. All the people connected with it whom I have seen are
of the best class. It is also, a very fine property--but here the _New
York Herald_ beats it hollow, hollow, hollow! Another able and well
edited paper is the _New York Times_. A most respectable journal too is
Bryant's _Evening Post_, excellently written. There is generally a much
more responsible and respectable tone than prevailed formerly, however
small may be the literary merit, among papers pointed out to me as of
large circulation. In much of the writing there is certainly
improvement, but it might be more widely spread."

The time had now come when the course his Readings were to take
independently of the two leading cities must be settled, and the general
tour