Cll 
LIFE OF WILSON. 
he had taken a liking to my steed ; so I went on. He followed me 
to the seabeach, about three miles, under pretence of pointing out 
to me the road ; and there, on the sands, amidst the roar of the At- 
lantic, we finally bargained 3 and I found myself in possession of a 
large, well formed and elegant, sorrel horse, that ran oflF with me, 
at a canter, for fifteen miles along the sea shore ; and travelled the 
same day forty-two miles, with nothing but a few mouthfuls of rice 
straw, which I got from a negro. If you have ever seen the rushes 
with which carpenters sometimes smooth their work, you may 
form some idea of the common fare of the South Carolina horses. 
I found now that I had got a very devil before my chair ; the least 
sound of the whip made him spring half a rod at a leap ; no road, 
however long or heavy, could tame him. Two or three times he 
had nearly broke my neck, and chair to boot ; and at Georgetown 
ferry he threw one of the boatmen into the river. But he is an ex- 
cellent traveller, and for that one quality I forgave him all his sins, 
only keeping a close rein, and a sharp look out, 
at ^ ^ ^ 
“ I should now give you some account of Charleston, with the 
streets of which I am as well acquainted as I was with those of 
Newyork and Boston ; but I reserve that till we meet. I shall only 
say, that the streets cross each other at right angles — are paved on 
the sides — have a low bed of sand in the middle ; and frequently 
are in a state fit to compare to those of Norfolk, The town, how- 
ever, is neat — has a gay appearance — is full of shops ; and has a 
market place which far surpasses those of Philadelphia for cleanli- 
ness, and is an honour to the city. Many of the buildings have 
two, three, and four ranges of piazzas, one above anothei*, with a 
great deal of gingerbread work about them. The streets are 
crowded with negroes ; and their quarrels often afford amusement 
to the passengers. In a street called Broad Street, I every day see 
a crowd of wretchedly clad blacks, huddled in a corner for sale : 
people handling them as they do black cattle. Here are female 
