NEW ENGLAND. 



147 



defects, however, arise from ignorance rather than from a want of means or good disposition. 

 In England, the keeper of a hotel or inn is always bred to his business, and is therefore 

 thoroughly acquainted with it. English travelers, with few exceptions, are dissatisfied with our 

 inns. This can be explained by a reference to facts. A stranger on arriving at an English inn, 

 is received at the door in the most cheerful and polite manner. He is conducted to a lodging 

 room which is provided with excellent beds and an abundance of good furniture ; the touch of 

 a bell brings a servant, who, with an air of the utmost alacrity, receives his commands, and with 

 magical celerity almost every wish and want are supplied. The meals are furnished with 

 promptitude, and the cookery shows that a person of skill and experience superintends that 

 department, so much neglected in our own country. Under such circumstances, the stranger 

 finds himself at home, and after the fatigues of a journey, is comfortable and happy. 



At an American tavern the traveler is too often received with cold civility. After waiting for 

 a chamber to be put in order, he is conducted to it. He finds a very small room scantily fur- 

 nished. He looks around for the bell, but none is to be found ; he calls for a servant, but no 

 answer is given. In this dilemma he is obliged to go to the bar-room, and a servant after a lit- 

 tle delay comes to his assistance. When the immediate cah is attended to, on the next occa- 

 sion the same process is to be gone through. When the meal is prepared the traveler finds a 

 profusion of meat and drinks spread before him. But the coffee is not good, the steak is not 

 well cooked, and, in the midst of abundance, he finds little that he can truly relish. 



20. Character, Manners, Customs, ^-c. The people of New England are grave, though 

 they are not without humor ; many of their amusements are of a reflecting kind, and their con- 

 versation tends rather to useful than to light or gay subjects. They are moral and pious, and 

 the descendants of the Puritans retain much of the strictness of their fathers. If not ardent, 

 they are to a great degree persevering, and though inquisitive, they are equally communicative. 

 They are shrewd and calculating, yet not deceitful. They are no " granters of propositions " ; 

 with them almost all things are subjects for discussion, in which they manifest much ingenuity. 

 They have a caution, that prevails in all things, and they seldom answer directly an abrupt ques- 

 tion, without knowing why it is asked. They have the impress of Franklin ; Poor Richard's 

 maxims of thrift fall upon a congenial soil, and no proverbs are oftener quoted, or more followed. 

 They are hke Franklin, to a great degree inventive in practical things, and far the greater num- 

 ber of inventions in the patent office, are from New England. It is peculiar to these people, 

 that they are seldom found without a pocket-knife, which they use with dexterity ; and boys at 

 school are frequently seen whittling, or cutting wood into some shape, for a windmill or other 

 toy. It is a universal trait, and it is said, that a gentleman in Havana, who invited a large com- 

 pany to dine, gave each man from New England a shingle to cut, that they might not carve his 

 furniture. 



The situation of the females marks a high grade of society. Their employment is always 

 domestic, and within the house, and they are never seen engaged in any agricultural occupations 

 with men, as in almost every other country. The origin of the people of New England 

 may be traced in their scriptural names, and there are others that would not have been without 

 honor even in the days of t^romwell, as the prefixes of Relief, Mercy, Rejoice, and Thank- 

 ful, which are still common names. In retired spots there is much of the ancient simpli( ity of 

 character, and the patriarchs who may there be found with a numerous offspring around .hem, 

 are worthy of the following description, which was made for a peasant of the Alps : 



" Thy humble virtues' hospitable home, 

 And spirit patient, pious, proud, and free ; 

 Thy self-respect grafted on innocent thoughts; 

 Thy days of health, and nights of sleep ; thy toils 

 By danger dignified, yet guiltless ; hopes 

 Of cheerful old age, and a quiet grave ; 

 And thy grand-children's love for epitaph.' 



One of the first traits developed in the New England character is, if not a love of gam, at 

 least a disposition to traffic. It commences at an early age, and children at school not only 

 exchange or " swap" knives, and other things, but make lotteries, in which the prizes are paid 

 in gingerbread and raisins, and which leave a little profit to the manager and proprietor. The 

 farmers too, though not the most industrious kind, sometimes bring up horses and cattle t'or a 

 "swap" to the village inn ; and the tin-pedlexs, whose wheels are in every road in the United 

 States, are to a man from New England. 



