BUFFALO  LADIES,  PLEASE  SKIP.  283

Besides  being  much  struck  with  the  change  in
Buffalo  since  he  first  visited  it,  Mr.  Dickens  was  also
much  struck  by  the  absence  of  female  beauty  from  the
Readings.  In  all  the  cities  hitherto  visited,  the  assem-
blage of  pretty  women  was  remarkable,  but  on  reaching
the  frontier  this  seemed  to  fade  away,  and  a  sort  of
German-Irish- Scotch-mixed-with-Indian  face  took  its
place.  This  was  particularly  noticeable  in  the  streets,
though  we  thought  that  when  the  evening  came  we
should  see  a  difference  ;  but  we  had  not  a  dozen  pretty
women  in  the  hall  (which  was  crammed  to  suffocation).
Nor  were  their  toilettes  at  all  comparable  with  those  of
the  American  ladies  in  other  cities.  These  deficiencies,
however,  were  fully  compensated  for  by  the  brightness
of  their  perception,  and  their  appreciation  of  Mr.
Dickens  and  his  Readings.
After  Buffalo,  we  went  on  our  two  days'  pleasure  trip
to  Niagara,  taking  with  us  such  of  our  staff  as  could
be  spared ;  and  as  the  weather  was  fine,  but  severely
cold,  we  had  what  the  Americans  call  a  good  time.
The  hotel  on  the  Canadian  (or  as  it  is  called  there
the  English)  side  was  not  open,  as  the  winter  was  so
severe  that  but  few  persons  visited  Niagara.  This  was
a  disappointment  to  us,  as  from  this  hotel  the  best
view  of  the  Falls  is  to  be  obtained,  so  we  had  to  stay  at
the  Spencer  House  Hotel,  close  to  the  station,  and
some  two  miles  from  the  Falls.  Although  the  Falls
were  not  visible  at  this  distance,  they  made  themselves


284  CHARLES  DICKENS.
