There is nothing like a streetcar in London, and I cannot imagine there ever will be, for the tracks would have to be laid on the roads, which are much narrower than New York’s avenues, and that would cause complete chaos. Climbing aboard while wearing the full complement of fashionable skirts was a feat so difficult I almost gave up. Imagine trying to get astride a horse without the use of a mounting block, and you will be half-way there. I am sure my technique, a combination of heaving and clambering, can be bettered with practice, but it will never achieve any vestige of elegance. However once on board and perched upon one of the well-worn seats, the journey was swift and smooth. My fellow passengers were an eclectic mix, and I discovered that being seated opposite one another on a streetcar is the one situation in New York where it is deemed ill-mannered to stare. Everyone contemplates their feet.

For my next outing I am resolved to head downtown on the stage horse car, though I have been warned that these vehicles are considerably more difficult to ascend than the streetcar. Even more exciting, I believe that the West Side Elevated Patented Railway will open in the summer. I am not precisely sure what this might be or where it may take you, but it sounds like far too alluring an experience to miss, and I shall try my best to be among one of the earliest passengers.

Travelling alone on public transport is a mundane experience for many New Yorkers, but it is a great novelty to me, and a very liberating experience. I hope that I never become blasé about it, but I resolved, while making the return journey downtown to my home—for already this house feels like home—to try to capture my impressions while they were fresh. So I sat at my new desk and opened a fresh notebook and began this little journal.

I have barely scratched the surface of New York and am curious to know more. I have a list the length of my arm of new adventures crying out to be experienced. Rest assured, I will record all my impressions, good, bad, and indifferent.

Lady Margaret to Lady Victoria Kerr

Lady Margaret to Lady Victoria Kerr

Washington Square, New York, 25 July 1868

Dear Victoria,