other, nor make use of any signs, except such as are necessary to convey their wants to the waiters. This system was established at Auburn in 1824. Capt. Lynds assembled the convicts together, and giving the rules by which their conduct must be governed, told them they must henceforth labour diligently, and in perfect silence; that for every infringement of the rules which he had then given them, severe corporeal chastisement should be inflicted. The convicts were at first inclined to receive this as a mere threat, but they were soon convinced, from the energy of will and firmness of character exhibited by Captain Lynds at this crisis, that submission was inevitable.

The adoption of this system of confining each convict in a separate cell at night, rendered the Auburn prison (which at this time, 1824, contained but five hundred and fifty cells) insufficient to accommodate all the convicts in the state. An act was therefore passed by the Legislature, authorizing the erection of a new prison. Sing Sing was selected as the location, and Captain Lynds as the agent to build and conduct it. He was directed to take from the Auburn prison one hundred convicts, to remove them to the ground selected for the site of the new prison, to purchase materials, employ keepers and guards, and commence the construction of the prison. The reasons for taking the

convicts from Auburn, and transporting them so great a distance, instead of from New York, were, that the convicts at Auburn had been more accustomed to cutting and laying stone, and had been brought by Capt. Lynds into the perfect and regular state of discipline he had established at Auburn, and which was justly deemed indispensably necessary to their safe keeping in the open country, and the successful prosecution of the work.

The Auburn prisoners arrived at Sing Sing without accident or disturbance in May, 1825, without a place to receive or a wall to enclose them. On the same day a temporary barrack was erected to receive the convicts at night; they were then set at work, building the prison, making of each one a carpenter, mason, &c. and having no other means to keep them in obedience but the rigid enforcement of discipline by Capt. Lynds. During several years, the convicts, whose numbers were gradually increased, were engaged in building their own prison, and finally completed it in 1829. It then contained eight hundred cells. In 1831, another story was added, and the number of cells increased to one thousand.

What a commentary this on the Lynd system! That it has a tendency to restrain crime, will be seen by the following statistics, given in one of the reports of the prison. In 1831, 199 convicts were

received; in 1832, 188; in 1833, 151—total, 538, which shows a gradual decrease in three years, notwithstanding the great increase of population.

Thus much for the Sing Sing prison. Mount Pleasant, you know, is famous as being the scene of Matthias' impositions. Folger and his wife still reside in the village. He is a gentleman in his appearance and manners, and apparently not more than thirty-two or thirty-three years of age. They hope to live down the prejudices which have been created against them by their connexion with that fiend in human shape-Matthias.

The Mount Pleasant Academy, under the su perintendence of Albert Wells, Esq. is in a flourishing and prosperous condition. The academy edifice is a spacious building of Sing Sing marble, sixty by eighty feet, three stories high, standing on a lot of four acres, delightfully shaded with fruit trees, on one of the most retired streets of the village, commanding too an extensive prospect of the river and adjacent country. In its internal arrangement, there is every desirable convenience for the principal's family and instructors, and the several departments of the school. The remarkable healthiness of the place, the beauty of the scenery, and the facility of communication with both city and coun try, conspire to render this one of the most delightful retreats for a literary institution. This academy

is under the direction of the "Regents." Boys are boarded and educated for $150 per annum. A female seminary is about to be erected here on a liberal and extensive plan.

It

The Franklin Academy, a boarding school for young ladies in this village, is in high repute. is under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Bleeker. There are seventy-five young ladies who board in the family, and receive instruction in the solid and ornamental branches. There is also a male department, entirely unconnected as to location, in which about eighty young gentlemen are instructed in the various branches of English and classical education.

There are on Mount Pleasant a Presbyterian, an Episcopal, a Baptist, and a Methodist church. One newspaper, the "Westchester Herald," conducted with considerable ability by a Mr. Roscoe. In regard to public houses, I can only say that the best is now, and has been for the last thirteen years, kept by Mr. E. Crosby, a son of him of "Spy" memory, where may be obtained very comfortable accommodations. But I have not yet found in my travels, the house that will compare with your "American" and your " New England." Brigham and Gould of the former, and Coleman of the latter, are my beau ideal of publicans.

LETTER IX.

Views of the Hudson-Historical Items-The Hudson a Lake -The old man's story.

New York, March 10, 1836.

FRIEND P.-The congealed waters of the Hudson at this season of the year, totally exclude my ramblings, and I must content myself with the recollections of past journeyings and the reminiscences of other writers. Yes, I must draw in part upon the resources of abler pens, for facts wherewith to fill up my attempted illustrations of the noble North.

Disturnell of this city, has you know, commenced a series of views from original drawings, under the cognomen of "Picturesque Beauties of the Hudson River and its vicinity;" and Samuel L. Knapp, Esq. has undertaken to give historical and descriptive illustrations. Two numbers have already appeared, and should adequate encouragement be afforded, it is the publisher's intention to issue a number every two months. Each number contains three splendid engravings on steel; and the letter-press illustrations, though brief, are credit able to the taste and genius of the author. The vignette in the title page, presenting a view of the Palisades, is exquisite-decidedly the best in the