CLIMATE, SEASONS, E?C. 



1818. 

 March n 



12. 



of tobacco in their mouths, or segars stuck between 

 their lips, and with dirty hands and faces. Mr. 

 Birkbeck s complaint, on this score, is perfectly 

 just. 



Brunswick, New Jersey. Here I am, after a ride 



of about 30 miles, since two o clock, in what is called 



a Jersey- waggon, through such mud as I never saw 



before. Up to the stock of the wheel ; and yet a pair 



of very little horses have dragged us through it in 



the space of five hours. The best horses and driver, 



and the worst roads I ever set my eyes on. This 



part of Jersey is a sad spectacle, after leaving the 



brightest of all the bright parts of Pennsylvania. 



My driver, who is a tavern-keeper himself, would 



have been a very pleasant companion, if he had not 



drunk so much spirits on the road. This is the great 



misfortune of America ! As we were going up a hill 



very slowly, I could perceive him looking very hard 



at my cheek for some time. At last, he said : 



I am wondering, Sir, to see you look so fresh and 



so young, considering what you have gone through 



in the world &quot; ; though I cannot imagine how 



he had learnt who I was. &quot; I ll tell you,&quot; said I, 



how I have contrived the thing. I rise early, go 



to bed early, eat sparingly, never drink any thing 



stronger than small beer, shave once a day, and 



wash my hands and face clean three times a day, 



at the very least.&quot; He said, that was too much 



to think of doing. 



Warm and fair. Like an English first of May in 

 point of warmth. I got to Elizabeth Town Point 

 through beds of mud. Twenty minutes too late 

 for the steam-boat. Have to wait here at the tavern 

 till to-morrow. Great mortification. Supped with 

 a Connecticut farmer, who was taking on his 

 daughter to Little York in Pennsylvania. The rest 

 of his family he took on in the fall. He has migrated. 

 His reasons were these : he has five sons, the eldest 

 19 years of age, and several daughters. Connecticut 

 is thickly settled. He has not the means to buy 

 farms for the sons there. He, therefore, goes and 

 gets cheap land in Pennsylvania ; his sons will assist 

 him to clear it ; and, thus, they will have a farm 

 each. To a man in such circumstances, and &quot; born 

 &quot; with an axe in one hand, and a gun in the other,&quot; 

 the western countries are desirable ; but not to 

 English farmers , who have great skill in fine cultiva 

 tion, and who can purchase near New York or 



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