MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 431 



of the most perfect equality.&quot; Throughout the whole of my 

 intercourse with the United States, no female waiter or help 

 of any degree seated herself at table, or even in the room of 

 a hotel when I was present, and I am unable to determine 

 whether this was the result of accident or design. Perhaps 

 the young ladies may have disdained to honour me with their 

 company. Mr Stuart s treatment on his arrival at Jackson 

 ville, admits of easy explanation. By his own account, &quot; on 

 going into the house tea and supper were nearly finished,&quot; 

 and it was with some difficulty he was admitted to a second 

 table, at which the establishments of western hotels sit down. 

 Mr Stuart had refused to seat himself with the rest of the 

 company at the first table, and in fairness ought to be con 

 sidered an obtruder at the second one. On his arrival he 

 plainly showed that he considered himself somewhat different 

 from the guests of the hotel, by not sitting down at table. If 

 inferior to them it was right he should mess with the estab 

 lishment, and if he had assumed superiority over them, it was 

 right so to punish his arrogance. In either case he met with 

 his desert. Travellers in America may derive instruction from 

 his fate. The individual who moves, snail-like, in a foreign 

 land, canopied with the manners and customs of his own 

 country, and marking his route with the slime of prejudice, 

 need not expect civility from the inhabitants. 



It is quite evident Mr Stuart had been playing the great 

 man in this part of the country. His demand of fresh coffee 

 and eggs in the evening, his questions about breakfast next 

 morning, his allegation that &quot; the hotel people completely 

 lost temper when they noticed that we did not even find fault 

 with them,&quot; and that the, female waiter put forth her foot and 

 ankle for his admiration, all denote in a high degree self-im 

 portance. 



In the seventh chapter of Mr Stuart s work there is the 

 following extract from Professor Silliman, when alluding to an 

 inn in Connecticut. 



&quot; This is a peculiarity in the manners of this country not 

 easily understood by a foreigner, and especially by an Eng 

 lishman. Such a person, if uninstructed in the genius of the 

 country, almost of course presumes that all those he sees in 



