452 INTRODUCTION TO THE JOURNAL. 



and fortunes from beneath ,the hoofs of the 

 tyrants of England. 



865. I have not the vanity to suppose myself 

 eminently qualified for any thing beyond my 

 own profession ; but I have been an attentive 

 observer ; I have raised a considerable fortune 

 ' by my own industry and economy ; I have, all 

 my life long, studiefd the matters connected 

 with agriculture, trade, and manufactures. I 

 had a desire to acquire an accurate knowledge 

 of the Western Countries, and what I did ac 

 quire I have endeavoured to communicate to 

 others. It was not my object to give flowery 

 descriptions. 1 leave that to poets and painters. 

 Neither have I attempted any general estimate 

 of the means or manner of living, or getting 

 money, in the West. But, I have contented 

 myself with merely noting down the facts that 

 struck me; and from those facts the reader 

 must draw his conclusions. 



866. In one respect I am a proper person to 

 give an account of the Western Countries. I 

 have no lands there: I have no interests there: 

 I have nothing to warp my judgment in favour 

 of those countries : and yet, I have as little in 

 the Atlantic States to warp my judgment in 

 their favour. I ana perfectly impartial in my 

 feelings, and am, therefore, likely to be impar 

 tial in my words. My good wishes extend to 



