14f8 NOTES ON AMERICA. 



sorry to say that the only tolerably good society is to be met with among 

 the aristocratical and wealthy planters, who are in the habit of frequent- 

 ing the Atlantic cities. With every disposition to exhibit the American 

 character in favourable colours whenever it can be done with truth, yet 

 I cannot say much of the middling and lower orders in the South. 

 They are a coarse and immoral people, often uncivil, and seldom hospi- 

 table. During a journey of upwards of 1500 miles in North and South 

 Carolina, I was generally obliged to pay extravagantly for wretched 

 fare, and worse attendance. This, however, was not always the case, 

 and I recollect, on one occasion more particularly, being most hospitably 

 entertained by one of the small farmers or planters, who had lately come 

 into possession of a considerable sum of money, and who had stored his 

 cabin with finery, which he was anxious to exhibit to a stranger from the 

 Old country. 



I was travelling on the road to Columbia, and had called at his house 

 to ascertain the distance to that pretty little town. He made numerous 

 inquiries as to my route, &c. and when I mentioned that I had that day 

 dined with a gentleman of fortune who resided in the neighbourhood, he 

 became so enamoured of my company, as to insist upon my spending the 

 night at his place : so, not without the hope of amusement, I agreed to 

 postpone my further progress till the next day. 



I was soon introduced to the mistress of the house, whom I was some- 

 what surprised to find a delicate, pretty, and rather lady- like person. She 

 was sitting near the fire of the principal room, which opened imme- 

 diately upon the road-side, and was employed in suckling her infant, an 

 operation which my entrance by no means interrupted. This room was 

 floored with mud, like an Irish cabin. The walls were made of logs, 

 and the interstices were filled up with furze and clay. Large shutters 

 were substituted for windows, and the only piece of furniture which 

 was not suitable to this dirty uncomfortable apartment, was a handsome 

 mahogany cradle, well filled with linen, which appeared to be very fine 

 and white. 



My horse was ordered to the stable, and I rather offended my worthy 

 host by insisting upon acting the part of groom mvself. Four negroes 

 were ready to perform this duty ; but I was by far too experienced a 

 traveller to trust one of the finest horses in South Carolina to their 

 grooming. The road to the stable seemed to have been made with great 

 ingenuity, for the express purpose of snapping off the legs of man and 

 beast, being formed of round logs, covered with slippery mud. The 

 stable was cold, damp, and dirty ; but the Indian corn was sound, and 

 the blades green and fresh, so that I was enabled to secure my fellow- 

 traveller a good supper, though not a comfortable stall. 



Soon after my return to the house we adjourned to the supper-room, 

 which was a small narrow closet, the floor and walls of which were 

 boarded. There was a handsome mahogany table, which nearly filled 

 the room, leaving just space enough for three small benches, which 

 served as chairs. There was no fire-place, no carpet, no curtains, nor 

 funiture of any description, except the stools and the table above- 

 mentioned, which latter was, however, profusely covered with hot bread, 

 muffins, waffles, cakes of various kinds, pickles, preserves, melons, 

 peaches, pork-stakes, broiled chicken, homony, rice, and ham. The tea 

 and coffee pots were of silver, and the china was of the most beautiful 

 and expensive description^ The spoons were of pewter, and there were 



