ftOADS, 39 
Charleston stands at a few miljps distance 
from EJkton; there are about twenty houses 
only in it, which are inhabited chiefly by peo¬ 
ple who carry on a herring fishery. Beyond 
it the country is much diversified with hill 
and dale, and the soil being but of an indif¬ 
ferent quality,, the lands are so little cleared* 
that in many parts the road winds through 
uninterrupted woods for four or five miles to^ 
gether. The scenery in this neighbourhood is 
extremely interesting. From the top of the 
hills you meet with numberless bold and ex¬ 
tensive prospects of tbe Chesapeak Bay and of 
the river Susquehannah; and scarcely do you 
cross a valley without beholding in the depths 
• 
of the woods the waters of some little creek or 
rivulet rushing over ledges of rock in a beau¬ 
tiful cascade. The generality of Americans 
stare with astonishment at a person who can 
feel any delight at passing through such a coun¬ 
try as this. To them the sight of a wheat 
field or a cabbage garden would convey plea¬ 
sure far greater than that of the most romantic 
woodland views. They have an unconquerable 
aversion to trees; and whenever a settlement 
is made, they cut away all before them with¬ 
out mercy; not one is spared ; all share the 
same fate, and are involved in the general 
havoc. It appears strange, that in a country 
where the rays of the sun act with such pro- 
