TALK WITH A FARMER. 93 



senter, the idea of a government giving free trade to all sorts 

 of religious doctrine seemed to be startling and fearful to him. 

 But when I told him what the rent (or the interest on the 

 value) of my farm was, and what were its taxes, he wished 

 that he was young that he might go to America himself; he 

 really did not see how he should be able to live here much 

 longer. He rented a farm of about fifty acres, and was a man 

 of about the same degree of intelligence and information that 

 you would expect of the majority of those owning a similar 

 farm with us. Except that he was somewhat stouter than 

 most Yankees, he did not differ much in appearance or dress 

 from many of our rather old-fashioned farmers. 



The tender-hearted wheelwright could hardly believe that 

 we were really born and brought up in America. He never 

 thought any foreigners could learn to speak the language so 

 well. He too was rather favourably struck with the idea of 

 going to America, when we answered his inquiries with re 

 gard to mechanics wages. He was very cautious, however, 

 and cross-questioned us a long time about the cost of every 

 thing there the passage, the great heat of the climate, the 

 price of beer ; and at length, touching his particular weak 

 ness, he desired to be told candidly how it would be if he 

 should marry before he went. If he should get a wife, a real 

 handsome one, would it be safe for him to take her there ] 

 He had heard a story perhaps we knew whether it was true 

 or not of a man who took a handsome wife out with him, 

 and a black man, that was a great rich lord in our country, 

 took a great liking to her, and offered the man ten thousand 

 pounds for her, which he refused ; and so the great black lord 

 went away very wroth and vexed. When he was gone, the 

 woman upbraided her husband: &quot;Thou fool, why didst thee 

 not take it and let me go with him 1 I would have returned 

 to thee to-morrow.&quot; Then the man followed after the black 



