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through which the road runs, we passed two other creeks, the 
Skippar and Perkiomen creeks, and at Pottsgrove, over a third, 
called Monataway creek, which here empties into the Schuylkill. 
The road then went over a hilly country through Warrensburg 
and Exertown, and over the Mannokesy and Rush creeks. At 
last we saw Reading, in a lovely valley. It had a military aspect, 
as a company of volunteers had held a review to-day, and were 
recreating themselves at a tavern near the town, after their toils. 
At five o’clock we reached Trautman’s tavern, where we found 
good lodgings. 
Reading contains about five thousand inhabitants; it consists of 
a long principal street, which is very wide, in the middle, and 
of several other streets, which cross it at right angles. The place 
depends on agriculture and some manufactories. Many hats, es¬ 
pecially felt hats, are made here, which are sent in great num¬ 
bers to the slave states and the West Indies. I here visited Mr. 
Hiester, former governor of Pennsylvania. This worthy old man 
bears his age, which is seventy-four years, remarkably well. He 
took me to his son-in-law, Dr. Muhlenberg, the German Lu¬ 
theran minister of this place, son of the celebrated naturalist and 
learned man of this name, who died about ten years ago. We 
took tea at his house, and then walked to the Schuylkill, over 
which a covered wooden bridge led. We saw also a part of the 
canal, on which coal is brought to Philadelphia from the upper 
parts of the Schuylkill. Here at Reading, this canal ascends four 
locks, which appear to be built in a tolerably solid manner. It 
made a strange impression on me to hear every person speak 
German. On the road from Philadelphia, I had every where 
heard this language; but in Reading scarcely any thing else than 
German is spoken, and better than I had heard in the state of 
Ohio, or in Lancaster. Reading possesses a good German school 
under Dr. Muhlenberg’s direction, in which this language is taught 
in its purity. He himself has a numerous and selected library of 
English and German books. Two canal boats run at present al¬ 
ternately every week between Philadelphia and Reading, in 
which about one hundred travellers may be accommodated. They 
leave the one place at three o’clock in the morning, and reach the 
other about five o’clock in the evening. 
I hired at Reading a carriage with two horses, for three dollars 
a day, in order to visit the coal-mines beyond the Blue Moun¬ 
tains. I left Reading at seven o’clock in the morning, and rode 
thirty-six miles to Pottsville. We passed over a turnpike, which 
was occasionally very rough. It several times led us in the 
neighbourhood of the canal, the surface of which is about thirty 
feet wide on an average. It is lead by means of wopden boxes 
over several deep streams. Between Reading and Pottsville 
