CHOWDER.—­Saucepan ready, frizzle pork and onions till quite brown; put a layer at bottom of the saucepan—­saucerful;—­on that, a layer of mashed potatoes—­soup-plateful;—­on that, raw sea-bass,[G] cut in lumps 4 lbs.;—­on that, pork and onions as before;—­add half a nutmeg, spoonful of mace, spoonful of cloves, and double that quantity of thyme and summer savory; another layer of mashed potatoes, 3 or 4 Crackers,[H] half a bottle of ketchup, half a bottle of claret, a liberal pinch of black, and a small pinch of red pepper.  Just cover this with boiling water, and put it on the fire till the fish is cooked.

The gallant commodore and his brother are now employed in building an iron bomb-proof floating battery, four hundred feet long, intended as a harbour defence.  What guns she is destined to mount is a question which has not been definitively settled.

In so large a community as that of New York, the supply of water forms a subject of the highest importance, especially when the rapid increase of the population is taken into account.  Some conception of this extraordinary increase may be formed from the statistical fact that the city, which in the year of Independence contained only 35,000 inhabitants, has now 850,000, if the suburbs are included; nearly 4000 vessels enter the port annually, bearing merchandise valued at 25,500,000l., and bringing 300,000 emigrants, of whom one-third are Irish and one-third German.  The tonnage of New York is upwards of a million, or equal to one-fourth of that of the whole Union:  the business of the city gives employment to upwards of fifty banks.  Religion is represented by 250 churches, of which 46 are Presbyterian, and 45 are Episcopalian.  The Press sends forth 155 papers, of which 14 are published daily and 58 weekly.

This short sketch will suffice to show that the city required a supply of water upon a gigantic scale.  The difficulties were increased by the situation of the town, which is built upon the eastern extremity of an island—­Manhattan—­fourteen miles long and two broad, the highest point of which is but two hundred and thirty-eight feet above the level of the sea.  Various plans for supplying water had been attempted without success, and the health of the population was suffering so much in consequence, that at last American energy, which here had been long dormant, rose like a giant refreshed and commenced that imperishable monument, the Croton aqueduct.[I]

It is impossible to convey any idea of this stupendous work without figures; but I will endeavour to draw upon your patience as little as possible.  My authority is a work published by Mr. Schramke in English, French, and German, and full of explanatory details and plans, &c.  Mr. Schramke being one of the corps of engineers employed upon the work, I conclude his statements are peculiarly accurate.  Long discussions, patient investigations, and careful surveys, combined to fix the position for commencing operations upon