TOWN OF HUDSON FROM THE SOUTHWEST, 1817 From Milbert's Itineraire, Plate No. n (copy at NYHS) the arrival of the steamboat. Many of the residents had walked up into the hills to enjoy the cool air and watch the passing boats. Rainbow-hued parasols carried by the ladies to protect their complexions made the scene as gay as a holiday. Giving a porter his small bag, insect box, and gun, Milbert put his briefcase under his arm and walked to the city. At a good tavern in the main street the host gave him a single room, a rarity in the country. Early next morning, on a jaunt toward Mount Merino, he stopped at an elevation extending some distance south- westward from the harbor, which it overlooked to his right, with the river hidden beneath it on the left but visible directly ahead for several miles upstream, and began to sketch the view before him. A sudden storm compelled him to take shelter under a tree where he finished the drawing, including the rain pouring down upon harbor, town, and river. After the storm he went some distance upstream to a height overlooking the houses on the mountain platform as well as those half-circling the harbor 262