C j 7 
Mrs. Wright's Travels in the United States. 
prepared at stated times, to which you 
must generally contrive to accommo¬ 
date. There are seldom more hands 
than enough to dispatch the necessary 
work; you are not, therefore, beset by 
half-a-dozen menials, imagining your 
wants before you know them yourself; 
make them known, however, and, if 
they be rational, they are generally 
answered with tolerable readiness, and, 
i have invariably Found, with perfect 
civility. One thing I must notice, that 
you are never any where charged for 
attendance. The servant is not yours 
but the inn-keeper’s ; no demands are 
made upon you except by the latter; 
(his saves much trouble, and, indeed, 
is absolutely necessary in a house where 
the servant’s labour is commonly too 
valuable to be laid at the mercy of 
every whimsical traveller; but this ar¬ 
rangement originates in another cause, 
the republican habits and feelings of 
the community. I honour the pride 
which makes a man unwilling to sell 
his personal service to a fellow-crea¬ 
ture ; to come and go at the heck of 
another,—is it not natural that there 
should be some unwillingness to do 
this ? It is the last trade to which an 
American, man or womau, has re¬ 
course ; still some must be driven to it, 
particularly of the latter sex ; but she 
always assumes with you the manner 
of an equal. I have never, in this 
country, hired the attendance of any 
but native Americans; and have never 
met with an uncivil word ; but I could 
perceive that neither would one have 
been taken ; honest, trusty, and proud, 
such is the American in service ; there 
is a character here which all who can 
appreciate it will respect. 
POST CONVEYANCE IN BACK 
SETTLEMENTS. 
The mode in which the contents of 
the post-bag are usually distributed 
through the less populous districts, had 
often before amused me. 1 remember, 
when taking a cross cut in a queer sort 
of a caravan, hound for some settlement 
on the southern shore of Lake Erie, 
observing, with no small surprise, the 
operations of our charioteer; a paper 
flung to the right hand, and anon a pa¬ 
per flung to the left, where no sight or 
sound bespoke the presence of human 
beings. I asked if the bears were 
curious of news; upon which l was in¬ 
formed, that there was a settler in the 
neighbourhood, who ought to have been 
on the look-out, or some of his children 
for him. 44 But when I don’t find them 
Monthly Mag. No, 363, 
ready, 1 throw the paper under a tree ; 
and I warrant you they’ll look sharp 
enough to find it; they’re always curi¬ 
ous of news in these wild parts ;” and 
curious enough they seemed, for not a 
cabin did we pass that a newspaper was 
not flung from the hand of this en¬ 
lightener of the wilderness. Occa. 
sionally making a halt at some solitary 
dwelling, the post-bag and its guardian 
descended together, when, if the as¬ 
sistance of the farmer, who here acted 
as post-master, could be obtained, the 
whole contents of the mail were dis¬ 
charged upon the ground, and all hands 
and eyes being put in requisition, such 
letters as might be addressed to the 
surrounding district, were scrambled 
out from the heap; which, being then 
again scrambled together, was once 
more shaken into the leathern recep¬ 
tacle, and thrown into the waggon ; 
hut it sometimes happened that the set¬ 
tler was from home. On one occasion, 
I remember, neither man, woman, nor 
child was to be found ; tile stage-driver 
whistled and hallooed, walked into the 
dwelling, and through the dwelling, 
sprang the fence, traversed the field of 
maize, and shouted into the wood ; but 
all to no purpose. Having resumed 
his station, and set his horses in motion, 
I enquired how the letters were to find 
their destination, seeing that we were 
carrying them along with us, heaven 
knew where? 44 Oh! they’ll keep in 
the country any how; it is likely in¬ 
deed, they may go down the Ohio, and 
make a short tour of the _ states; this 
has happened sometimes; hut it is a 
chance but they get fo Washington at 
last; and then they’ll commence a 
straight course anew, and be safe here 
again this day twelvemonth may be, 
or two years at farthest.'’ 
At Carthage we found the post-mas¬ 
ter, very naturally, fast asleep; after 
much clatter against his door and 
wooden walls, he made his appearance 
with a camile, and, according to cus¬ 
tom, the whole contents of the mail 
were discharged upon the floor. The 
pooi- Carthaginian rubbed his eyes, as 
he took up one letter after another from 
the heap before him; hut his dreams 
seemed still upon him. 44 Not a letter 
can I see,” he exclaimed, as he again 
rubbed his eyes, and snuffed bis candle. 
44 Friend, lend me your eyes, or you 
may just take the whole load away with 
you.’’ 44 1 am none of the best at de¬ 
cyphering hand-writing,” replied the 
driver - 4 Why then 1 must call my 
4 I wife. 
