A WORD BEFORE WE GO. In all parts of Europe the traveller is supplied with Guide-books, detailing, for his special information and satisfaction, the leading features of all objects of interest on his route. There is not an antiquated castle, a battle-field, a mountain, or a river, but has its peculiar points revealed for the entertainment of the stranger, as he rambles along from place to place. No doubt this materially adds to the interest and subsequent value of travel; and probably constitutes one of the paramount attractions of a tour in Europe, since all its incidents are thus permanently impressed on the mind. In the United States no such conveniences exist; and this is probably one reason why foreigners generally misunderstand and misrepresent us -they are not sufficiently informed to give a correct estimate of our resources, peculiarities, and institutions. They hastily pass over our railways and rivers, and, for the want of suitable printed-guides, return as profoundly ignorant of the routes traversed as they were at the startingpoint for seeing is not understanding. In her physical aspect and resources, Pennsylvania is pre-eminently the most interesting State in the Union—yet, for the want of popular descriptions and references, her real character is comparatively obscured from the public view. The most intelligent individual may make the tour from the Delaware to the Ohio by railroad, and yet be unable to identify one-half the towns, or mountains, or streams, or otherwise explain correctly the prominent local characteristics of the route traversed. Thousands of persons, of fortune and leisure, owing to this evil, are intimidated from travelling; while many proceed direct to Europe, before visiting the objects of interest in their own immediate land. It was as much with the hope of converting our time to a useful pur(9) pose, as receiving a reasonable compensation for it, that we undertook to sketch, in a sprightly and popular way, some of the prominent features of our time-honoured Commonwealth. If we have collected together, in tolerable order, a mass of matter that will relieve, to some extent, the fatigue and monotony of travel, our main object has been attained. We may add, that over seventeen hundred dollars have been expended for pictorial illustrations, some of which we can point to as fair specimens of the art. During the particular time we were engaged in the preparation of these pages, however, an unusual activity prevailed among our best wood engravers, in consequence of large orders from the Government. We were, therefore, in several instances, forced to employ artists of ordinary talent-though, upon the whole, we think the reader will find little to complain of under this head. The matter is, what it purports to be, off-hand, and no particular credit is claimed or expected for it. We have profited from the works of others to a greater extent than we should, had our time been less limited. Our acknowledgments are due to the works of the late Prof. Richardson, and to those of Mr. Day, Mr. Trego, and others, from which the matter not strictly original has been mainly extracted. With these explanations our work is done. E. B. N. B.-It is proper to add, that not having corrected the latter portion of this work as it was passing through the press, some errors appear which would not otherwise have occurred. PART I. Starting from the Depot-Preston Retreat-Girard College-Fairmount WaterWorks-Lager Beer Establishments-Railroad Bridge-Ice Houses- Tom Moore's Cottage-Laurel Hill Cemetery-Falls of the Schuylkill— Port Richmond-The Wissahickon-Norristown Railroad-Manayunk- The Factory System-Limestone Region-Spring Mill-The Copper Re- gion-The Lead Region-Scenery of the Schuylkill-Conshehocken— Norristown-Montgomery County-Bridgeport-Valley Forge-Historical Associations Phoenixville-Yellow Springs-Tunnel and Bridge—Royer's Ford-Limerick-Pottstown-Berk's County-Douglassville-Birdsboro' -Reading-Union Canal-Schuylkill Navigation Company-The Reading Railroad Company-Dragon's Cave- Revolutionary Incidents-Ham- burg-Port Clinton-Auburn-Orwigsburg-Schuylkill Haven-Mine Hill Railroad-Head's Mansion House-Pottsville-Speculating Scenes-Swa- Coal, its Nature and Origin—Fossils-Coal Vegetation-The Strata of the Earth-The Dip-Valleys-Discovery of Anthracite Coal-Geographi- cal Position, Dimensions and Structure of the Coal Basins-Geological Character of the Coal Formation-Productive Value of Coal Lands-His- tory of Mining Operations-Anthracite for Smelting Iron-Ventillation of Mines and Gaseous Explosions-Fire Damp-Moral Condition of Mi- ners, &c.-Miscellaneous Statistics-Analysis of Anthracite-Weight of Anthracite Coal-General Features of Pennsylvania Anthracite-Com- parative Value of Anthracite and Bituminous Coals-Anthracite Coal Trade of Pennsylvania-Canal and Railroad System connected with the Route to Wilkesbarre-Luzerne County-Fish and Fishing-Wyoming Valley-Falling Spring-Count Zinzendorf-Contentions among the Set- tlers-Revolutionary Battles-Capture of Miss Slocum-The Ice and Railroad Depot-Gas Works-Market Street Bridge-Blockley Alms Hancock's Chair-Public School System-Pennsylvania Lunatic Hospi- |