42 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



with which he championed the cause of the Americans. 

 Recently Princetown had the honor of being for a while 

 the place of assembly of the American Congress- 

 after a handful of indelicate soldiers, demanding such 

 a trifle as back pay for five or six years, had frightened 

 the Congress from Philadelphia. 



The unbearable heat prevailing kept us from going 

 forward except slowly, and was the reason why we 

 spent several days in coming from New York to this 

 place. Within a short space two men have died 

 suddenly at Princetown, seeking refreshment in cool 

 drinks when overheated. A diligence, known as the 

 Flying Machine + makes daily trips between Philadel- 

 phia and New York, covering the distance of 90 miles 

 in one day even in the hottest weather, but at the ex- 

 pense of the horses, only three times changed on the 

 journey. Thus, the last trip two horses died in harness 

 and four others were jaded. These flying machines are 

 in reality only large wooden carts with tops, light to be 

 sure but neither convenient nor of neat appearance. 

 They carry from ten to twelve passengers with lug- 

 gage, are drawn by four horses only, and go very fast. 

 The charge for this journey is 5-6 Spanish dollars the 

 passenger. Besides flying machines there are in the 

 country other excursion-machines, neither coach nor 

 cart, run for the behoof of visiting families ; these hold 

 commonly six to eight persons and are probably much 

 like the sort of vehicle which in old prints is repre- 

 sented as conveying Dr. Luther to Worms. In the 

 towns, however, there is no lack of fine carriages, 

 phaetons, and chairs (a two-wheeled cart or chaise) ; 

 throughout America almost every house is supplied 

 with a chaise, in which the fanner takes his broken 

 plow to the smith or his calves to market. 



