A French Explorer in the Hudson River Valley of a number of frontier communities. Milbert liked people and, being a charming guest, was hospitably received everywhere. An interesting procession of figures passes through his pages. Milbert was completely at home with them all, and from each he garnered a little more information with which to enrich his profile of American mores. Starting from the Battery, Milbert noted that the lower part of New York, with its narrow winding streets and houses dating from as early as the Dutch occupation, was the oldest and, to him, the least beautiful. To get a good idea of the city, he said, one must walk north along Broadway, a street nearly two miles in length and eighty feet wide. The upper part was lined with trees and handsome houses, and here pretty girls strolled in the late afternoon to be admired. Concerned about their scanty attire, Milbert commented: "I should like to warn them not to rely too much on the caprices of fashion in this fickle American climate, but how could I hope to obtain the attention of these light-hearted beauties when the voices of numerous victims of frivolity can not be heard from the depths of their tombs [in the brick-walled church-yards along this part of Broadway] ?" According to Milbert, New Y>rk at that time—i.e., about 1816 —was a city of 161,000 inhabitants,4 with nearly a hundred churches, one hotel (the Broadway) which prided itself on having eighty rooms, and one theatre. The majority of the houses were brick—neither Greek nor Gothic, but with a certain charm. Wooden houses were rapidly disappearing, and it was illegal to replace them because of the fire hazard. For the same reason most clothing was kept in trunks, so it could easily be removed in case of fire. Milbert's view of the snow-covered intersection of Church and Provost (soon to be Franklin) Streets gives an idea of the exterior of the houses, and it also shows the sleighs of which Americans were so fond. During the coldest weather young and 4The Federal Census of 1810 gives the population of New York City as 96,373; in 1820, as 123,706. 258