LIFE OF WILSON. 1XXXV 



among some of the booksellers in Albany, and return home by 

 New York." 



Wilson after tarrying at home a few days, departed to the 

 southward, visiting every city and town of importance as far 

 as Savannah in the state of Georgia. This journey being per- 

 formed in the winter, and alone, was of course not attended 

 with many travelling comforts; and to avoid the inconve- 

 niences of a return by land, he embarked in a vessel, and ar- 

 rived at New- York in the month of March, 1809. This was 

 rather an unproductive tour; but few subscriptions being ob- 

 tained. 



TO MR. D. H. MILLER. 



Washington City, December 24, 1808. 

 "Dear Sir, 



" I sit down, before leaving this place, to give you a few 

 particulars of my expedition. I spent nearly a week in Balti- 

 more, with tolerable success, having procured sixteen subscri- 

 bers there. In Annapolis I passed my book through both 

 houses of the legislature: the wise men of Maryland stared and 

 gaped, from bench to bench; but having never heard of such a 

 thing as one hundred and twenty dollars for a book, the ayes 

 for subscribing were none; and so it was unanimously deter- 

 mined in the negative. Nowise discouraged by this shge de- 

 cision, I pursued my route through the tobacco fields, sloughs 

 and swamps, of this illiterate corner of the state, to Washing- 

 ton, distant thirty-eight miles; and in my way opened fifty- 

 five gates. I was forewarned that I should meet with many 

 of these embarrassments, and I opened twenty-two of them 

 with all the patience and philosophy I could muster; but when 

 I still found then coming thicker and faster, my patience and 

 philosophy both abandoned me, and I saluted every new gate 

 (which obliged me to plunge into the mud to open it) with 

 perhaps less Christian resignation than I ought to have done. 

 The negroes there are very numerous, and most wretchedly 

 clad : their whole covering, in many instances, assumes the ap- 



