CANAL

BOAT FOR
PITTS-

BURGH:

1842.

C. D.

to J. F.

Queer

stagecoach.

'morning, by railroad; and got to a place called York,
' about twelve. There we dined, and took a stage-coach
'for Harrisburgh; twenty-five miles further. This stage-
'coach was like nothing so much as the body of one of
'the swings you see at a fair set upon four wheels and
roofed and covered at the sides with painted canvas.
There were twelve inside! I, thank my stars, was on
'the box. The luggage was on the roof; among it, a
'good-sized dining table, and a big rocking-chair. We
'also took up an intoxicated gentleman, who sat for ten
'miles between me and the coachman; and another in-
'toxicated gentleman who got up behind, but in the
course of a mile or two fell off without hurting himself,
' and was seen in the distant perspective reeling back to
'the grog-shop where we had found him. There were
'four horses to this land-ark, of course; but we did not
'perform the journey until after half-past six o'clock
'that night. . . . The first half of the journey was tame
'enough, but the second lay through the valley of the
'Susquehanah (I think I spell it right, but I haven't
'that American Geography at hand) which is very beau-
'tiful.

...

'I think I formerly made a casual remark to you touching the precocity of the youth of this country. 'When we changed horses on this journey I got down 'to stretch my legs, refresh myself with a glass of Something 'whiskey and water, and shake the wet off my great 'coat-for it was raining very heavily, and continued to 'do so, all night. Mounting to my seat again, I observed something lying on the roof of the coach, which I took

on the roof:

CANAL BOAT FOR PITTSBURGH:

1842.

C. D.

to

J. F.

to be a rather large fiddle in a brown bag. In the course 'of ten miles or so, however, I discovered that it had a 'pair of dirty shoes at one end, and a glazed cap at the other; and further observation demonstrated it to be a 'small boy, in a snuff-coloured coat, with his arms quite 'pinioned to his sides by deep forcing into his pockets. 'He was, I presume, a relative or friend of the coachman's, as he lay a-top of the luggage, with his face 'towards the rain; and, except when a change of position 'brought his shoes in contact with my hat, he appeared 'to be asleep. Sir, when we stopped to water the horses, 'about two miles from Harrisburgh, this thing slowly 'upreared itself to the height of three foot eight, and reveals fixing its eyes on me with a mingled expression of 'complacency, patronage, national independence, and 'sympathy for all outer barbarians and foreigners, said, in shrill piping accents, "Well now, stranger, I guess "you find this, a'most like an English a'ternoon,-hey?” 'It is unnecessary to add that I thirsted for his blood. . . .

itself.

burgh.

'We had all next morning in Harrisburgh, as the canal- At Harris 'boat was not to start until three o'clock in the afternoon. 'The officials called upon me before I had finished break'fast; and as the town is the seat of the Pennsylvanian 'legislature, I went up to the capitol. I was very much. 'interested in looking over a number of treaties made Treaties 'with the poor Indians, their signatures being rough Indians.

'after; and the extraordinary drawing of these emblems, 'showing the queer, unused, shaky manner in which

' each man has held the pen, struck me very much.

with

CANAL

BOAT FOR
PITTS-

BURGH:
1842.

C. D.

to

J. F.

latures.

A levee.

mons.

'You know my small respect for our house of comThese local legislatures are too insufferably 'apish of mighty legislation, to be seen without bile, 'for which reason, and because a great crowd of senators 'and ladies had assembled in both houses to behold Local legis. the inimitable, and had already begun to pour in upon 'him even in the secretary's private room, I went 'back to the hotel, with all speed. The members of 'both branches of the legislature followed me there, 'however, so we had to hold the usual levee before our 'half-past one o'clock dinner. We received a great 'number of them. Pretty nearly every man spat upon 'the carpet, as usual; and one blew his nose with his 'fingers-also on the carpet, which was a very neat one, 'the room given up to us being the private parlor of 'the landlord's wife. This has become so common 'since, however, that it scarcely seems worth mentioning. 'Please to observe that the gentleman in question was a 'member of the senate, which answers (as they very often 'tell me) to our house of lords.

A modelinnkeeper.

The canal boat.

'The innkeeper was the most attentive, civil, and 'obliging person I ever saw in my life. On being asked 'for his bill, he said there was no bill: the honor and 'pleasure &c. being more than sufficient.* I did not 'permit this, of course; and begged Mr. Q to explain to 'him, that, travelling four strong, I could not hear of it on 'any account.

'And now I come to the Canal Boat. Bless your heart ' and soul, my dear fellow,-if you could only see us on board

• Miss Martineau was perhaps partly right then? Ante, p. 325.

CANAL

BOAT FOR

PITTS

BURGH: 1842.

'the canal boat! Let me think, for a moment, at what 'time of the day or night I should best like you to see us. 'In the morning? Between five and six in the morning, 'shall I say? Well! you would like to see me, standing 'on the deck, fishing the dirty water out of the canal with 'a tin ladle chained to the boat by a long chain; pouring In the morning. 'the same into a tin-basin (also chained up in like manner);

and scrubbing my face with the jack towel. At night, 'shall I say? I don't know that you would like to look 'into the cabin at night, only to see me lying on a 'temporary shelf exactly the width of this sheet of paper when it's open (I measured it this morning),* with one

fast.

C. D.

to

J. F.

'man above me, and another below; and, in all, eight and At night. 'twenty in a low cabin, which you can't stand upright in 'with your hat on. I don't think you would like to look in at breakfast time either, for then these shelves have 'only just been taken down and put away, and the 'atmosphere of the place is, as you may suppose, by no 'means fresh; though there are upon the table tea and At break'coffee, and bread and butter, and salmon, and shad, and 'liver, and steak, and potatoes, and pickles, and ham, and 'pudding, and sausages; and three and thirty people 'sitting round it, eating and drinking; and savoury bottles 'of gin, and whiskey, and brandy, and rum, in the bar 'hard by; and seven and twenty out of the eight and 'twenty men, in foul linen, with yellow streams from half'chewed tobacco trickling down their chins. Perhaps 'the best time for you to take a peep would be the After 'present: eleven o'clock in the forenoon: when the barber

breakfa

* 16 inches exactly.

CANAL

BOAT FOR
PITTS-
BURGH:
1842.

C. D. to J. F.

'is at his shaving, and the gentlemen are lounging about 'the stove waiting for their turns, and not more than seventeen are spitting in concert, and two or three are walking overhead (lying down on the luggage every time 'the man at the helm calls "Bridge !"), and I am writing this in the ladies'-cabin, which is a part of the gentlemen's, and only screened off by a red curtain. Indeed it 'exactly resembles the dwarf's private apartment in a caravan at a fair; and the gentlemen, generally, repreThe ladies' sent the spectators at a penny-a-head. The place is just as clean and just as large as that caravan you and I were 'in at Greenwich-fair last past. Outside, it is exactly like 'any canal-boat you have seen near the Regent's-park, or elsewhere.

cabin.

ble.

'You never can conceive what the hawking and spitting 'is, the whole night through. Last night was the worst. Upon my honor and word I was obliged, this morning,

'to lay my fur-coat on the deck, and wipe the half dried Disagreea flakes of spittle from it with my handkerchief: and the only surprise seemed to be, that I should consider it 'necessary to do so. When I turned in last night, I put 'it on a stool beside me, and there it lay, under a cross fire 'from five men-three opposite; one above; and one Making the 'below. I make no complaints, and shew no disgust. I am looked upon as highly facetious at night, for I crack 'jokes with everybody near me until we fall asleep. I 'am considered very hardy in the morning, for I run up, 'bare-necked, and plunge my head into the half-frozen water, by half past five o'clock. I am respected for my 'activity, inasmuch as I jump from the boat to the towing

best of it.

Hardy habits.