PREFACE. 
s 
4v 
dominions in America might be inferior or 
otherwise,, to that of the people of the States, 
who had now indeed thrown off the joke/ but 
were formerly common members of the same 
extensive empire. 
When abroad he had not the most distant 
intention of publishing his travels; but find¬ 
ing on his return home, that much of the matter 
contained in the following letters was quite 
new to his friends, and being induced to think 
that it might prove equally new, and not wholly 
unacceptable to the Public, he came to the re¬ 
solution of committing them to print: accord¬ 
ingly the present volume * is now offered to the 
world, in an humble hope, that if not enter¬ 
taining to all readers, it will at least be so to 
some, as well as useful to future travellers. 
If it shall appear to any one, that he has 
spoken with too much asperity of American 
men and American manners, the author begs 
that such language may not be ascribed to hasty 
prejudice, and a blind partiality for everj^ thing 
that is European. He crossed the Atlantic 
strongly prepossessed in favour of the people, 
and the country, w hich he was about to visit ; 
and if he returned with sentiments of a different 
tendency, they resulted solely from a cool and 
dispassionate observation of what chance pre¬ 
sented to his view when abroad. 
* The first edition was printed in one quarto volume. 
i 
