PLEASURES OF A COMPANION. 25? 
observations,, and with whom you might in¬ 
terchange sentiments on all occasions, could 
not but be deemed a pleasing acquisition, I 
should imagine, by a person on a journey 
through a foreign land* Were any one to 
be found, however, of a different opinion, I 
should venture to affirm, that ere he travelled 
far through the United States of America* 
where there are so few inhabitants in pro¬ 
portion to the extent of the country; where, 
in going from one town to another, it is fre¬ 
quently necessary to pass for many miles to¬ 
gether through dreary woods; and where, 
even in the towns, a few of those sea-ports 
indeed excepted which are open to the At¬ 
lantic, there is such sameness in the customs, 
manners, and conversation of the inhabitants, 
and so little amongst them that interests either 
the head or the heart; he would not only be 
induced to think that a companion must add 
to the pleasure of a journey, but were abso^ 
lutely necessary to prevent its appearing insipid, 
and at times highly irksome to him. 
For my own part, I had fully determined 
in my own mind, upon returning from my tour 
beyond the Blue Mountains, never again to 
set out on a journey alone through any part of 
America, if I could possibly procure an agree., 
able companion. The gentlemen I met with 
b a, as well as myself, travelled widely through 
VOL. I. B 
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