THANKSGIVING DAT. 215 



his chin on your shoulder, and clears his throat in your ear. He has 

 not the least idea that it annoys you ; it would not annoy him. Oddly 

 enough, this pushing and bumping is far worse in Boston than in 

 New York. 



The great American anniversaries appear to have 

 met with but very scant favour, to judge by the brief 

 remarks passed upon them : 



November 29th. This is Thanksgiving Day, and a horrid 

 nuisance it is. Shops all shut, no late dinner at the hotel, and 

 everyone supposed to be gorging themselves with turkey. Even the 

 prisoners have turkey, and it is a point of honour among the well- 

 to-do people to see that even the poorest family in their district shall 

 not be without their turkey. That is a most admirable trait in the 

 American character. Only in America there is none of the abject 



poverty of East London. Last year, at Concord, Dr. C had 



charge of a district (which means several parishes), and only found 

 one family which needed a turkey. . . 



Bother Washington ! If he had never been born he would not 

 have had a birthday, and that birthday would not have become a 

 sort of bank holiday, to the upsettal of all arrangements. The cars 

 were so crowded that I had to travel in the smoking-car, and even in 

 that there were at least twenty who had to stand ; of course stars 

 and stripes and eagles were everywhere. 



The constant elections, too, come in for severe 

 condemnation : 



These incessant elections are the curse of the country, and I 

 was told yesterday that " Presidential year " costs the country about 

 as much as the whole expenses of the late war. Then, every year 

 the Governor, Mayor, Marshal, <fcc., of each state are elected, and of 

 course it is, as a rule, not the best, but the noisiest and most unscru- 

 pulous candidate who wins. The more thoughtful among Americans 

 are already suggesting that the Presidential term ought to be at 

 least seven years, and the Governorship of a State four years. Of 

 course the Irish, being noisy and unscrupulous, [are getting the 



