AMERICA TO-DAY

OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS



BY

WILLIAM ARCHER



NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1899


CONTENTS

PART I—OBSERVATIONS


LETTER I
The Straits of New York—When is a Ship not a Ship?—Nationalityof Passengers—A Dream Realized

LETTER II
Fog in New York Harbor—The Customs—The Note-Taker'sHyperæsthesia—A Literary Car-Conductor—Mr. Kipling and the AmericanPublic—The City of Elevators

LETTER III
New York a much-maligned City—Its Charm—Mr. Steevens'Antithesis—New York compared with Other Cities—ItsSlums—Advertisements—Architecture in New York and Philadelphia

LETTER IV
Absence of Red Tape—"Rapid Transit" in New York—The Problem andits Solution—The Whirl of Life—New York by Night—The "White Magic" ofthe Future

LETTER V
Character and Culture—American Universities—Is the American"Electric" or Phlegmatic?—Alleged Laxity of the Family Tie—Postscript:The University System

LETTER VI
Washington in April—A Metropolis in the Making—The White House,the Capitol, and the Library of Congress—The Symbolism of Washington

LETTER VII
American Hospitality—Instances—Conversation andStory-Telling—Overprofusion In Hospitality—Expensiveness of Life inAmerica—The American Barber—Postscript: An Anglo-American Club

LETTER VIII
Boston—Its Resemblance to Edinburgh—Concord, Walden Pond, andSleepy Hollow—Is the "Yankee" Dying Out?—America for theAmericans—Detroit and Buffalo—The "Middle West"

LETTER IX
Chicago—Its Splendour and Squalour—Mammoth Buildings—Wind, Dust,and Smoke—Culture—Chicago's Self-Criticism—Postscript: Social Servicein America

LETTER X
New York in Spring—Central Park—New York not an Ill-GovernedCity—The United States Post Office—The Express System—Valedictory



PART II—REFLECTIONS



NORTH AND SOUTH


THE REPUBLIC AND THE EMPIRE


AMERICAN LITERATURE

THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE


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