Broadway is the principal place of attraction in New York, but it has so often been described by visitors, that it is a work of supererogation to comment much upon it here; as, however, every tourist can see and describe differently the same objects, I must not pass it in silence, especially as it ranks in the view of the New Yorkers, something as Bond-street and Regent-street do in the metropolis of England.  It is, however, far inferior to these; it is not one, but a continuous line of streets, and, including Canal-street, extends about three miles in length.  The Haarlem Railway comes down a considerable portion of the upper part, the rails being laid in the centre of the street The lower end of Broadway merges into the Battery Park, which is situated at the water’s edge.  In Broadway are to be seen magnificent hotels, theatres, magazines-de-mode, and all the etceteras of a fashionable mart, not omitting to mention crowds of elegantly dressed ladies and exquisitely attired gentlemen, including many of colour; the latter appearing in the extreme of the fashion, with a redundancy of jewellery which, contrasting with their sable colour, produces to the eye of a stranger an unseemly effect.  The shops and stores are fitted up in the Parisian style, appear well attended by customers, and are crowded with the choicest description of goods.

Astor’s Hotel, built by the so-called millionaire of that name, is a large but rather heavy-looking pile of building, and forms a conspicuous object in the park.  Here many of the elite from the provinces sojourn on visiting the city.  The accommodations are stated to be of the first order, and, from a cursory inspection, I should imagine this to be true, the only drawback being the enormous prices charged, exceeding, I was told, the ordinary run of first-class houses of that description.  Noticing from the opposite side of the street that the entrance was much crowded, curiosity led me to cross over and ascend the steps and listen to what was going on, supposing it some political demonstration; in this, however, I was mistaken, for I found that the cause of the commotion was the recent arrival and presence of the celebrated statesman and lawyer, Daniel Webster, en route to Washington, whither he was called by Congressional duties.  I pressed forward to shake hands with this great expounder of American laws, as he is called by the citizens, who seemed, by the way, on the occasion I refer to, to regard him as a sort of divinity.  I could not, however, succeed in getting near enough to accomplish my object, although I strove hard for it.  It was quite amusing to see the anxiety shown by some of those present to effect the same purpose.  The senator kept shaking hands with all around, repeating over and over again, “Glad to see you, citizens, glad to see you.”  Amongst others, a gentlemanly-dressed negro with a gold-headed cane pressed forward and held out his hand.  There was, however, no chance