Vers le cœur de l'Amérique

"Vers le cœur de l'Amérique" by Charles Wagner is a travelogue written in the early 20th century. It traces a French Protestant pastor’s journey to understand the moral energy, civic spirit, and everyday life of the United States through meetings, sermons, and keen on-the-ground observation. Along the way he engages leading figures such as Theodore Roosevelt and John Wanamaker while reflecting on simplicity, community, and the character of American democracy. The opening of the work follows Wagner from his first American literary contacts and translations to the encouragement that finally sends him across the Atlantic, despite family duties and a daunting struggle to learn English. He sails to New York, observes shipboard class divisions and the night approach of the harbor, then records first impressions of skyscrapers, bustling streets, elevated trains, laundries, and Central Park. Short excursions up the Hudson lead to Irvington and the serene cemetery of Sleepy Hollow, his first tentative sermon in English, and a warm stay at John Wanamaker’s Lindenhurst, including quiet family devotions and a charming tea with children. He then visits the White House for an intimate dinner, sketching a vivid, admiring portrait of Roosevelt’s character and ideals, before brief Washington scenes (Lincoln’s pew, the Library of Congress), a rustic interlude with Lyman Abbott at Cornwall-on-Hudson, and a return toward Philadelphia as he prepares to spend a full Sunday at Bethany Church. (This is an automatically generated summary.)