of
Congress lately promulgated, although apparently stringent, are
virtually a dead letter, in consequence of the facilities for evasion,
and the ingenuity of the offenders. The effort to outrun a rival is
attended by an insane excitement, too often participated in by the
passengers, who forget for the time that they are in a similar situation
to a man sitting on a barrel of gunpowder within a few feet of a raging
furnace. I frequently found myself in such a position, in consequence of
this dangerous propensity, and the remedy suggested to my mind, and
which I recommend to others, was never to take a passage, on American
waters, in a first-class steam-boat, as the principle acted upon is to
maintain the character of a first-rater at all hazards, regardless of
the life or limbs of the helpless passengers.

The _Narraganset_, like most of the large river steamers, was
constructed with three decks, and fitted up in sumptuous style. One
large saloon, with a portion partitioned off for the ladies, serving as
a cabin and dining apartment. There is no professed distinction of class
in the passengers on board steam-boats in America. I found, however,
that the higher grades, doubtless from the same causes that operate in
other parts of the world, kept aloof from those beneath them.

The scene from the upper or hurricane deck (as it is called) was very
attractive. Flowing, as the river Hudson does, through a fine
mountainous country, the magnificent scenery on the banks strikes the
observer with feelings allied to awe. The stream being broad and
tortuous, beetling crags, high mountains and bluffs, and dense forests,
burst suddenly and unexpectedly into view; fearful precipices abound
here and there, amidst luxuriant groves and uncouth pine barrens,
forming altogether a diversity that gives the whole the character of a
stupendous panorama.

Before we were out of the tide, which for miles flows up the river, our
vessel grounded three times, but after puffing and straining for a
considerable time, she got off without damage and pursued her onward
course. Most of my fellow-voyagers were disposed to be distant and
taciturn, and so I enjoyed the grandeurs of the scene in solitary
musings, to which the steamers, sloops under sail, and other vessels
proceeding up and down the river, gave a pleasant enlivenment. The
promenade deck, crowded with lady passengers and beautiful children,
under a gay awning, added to the cheerfulness of the