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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
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NEW TRAVELS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNITED STATES 
 
 O F 
 
 A M E R 1 C A. 
 
 Performed in 17S8, 
 Sv J. P. BRISSOT DE WARVILLE. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FR.ENCH. 
 
 ji People fwithout Morals may acquire Liberty j but witli9ut 
 Morals they cannot prefer<ve it. 
 
 Nemo illic vitia ridet, nee corrumpere, nee corrumpi 
 feculum voeatur . .. Plufquamibi boni mores valent, 
 qiiam alibi bonse leges. Tacitus, 
 
 FS.OM THE: Press of Joseph Bumstead, 
 Union-Street— Bos ton. 
 
 ^197' 
 
<i£j0n^ tu^^ tij^rfi 
 
 Preface of the Author. 
 
 THS publication of Voyages and Travels wilt 
 doubtlefs appear, at firfl view, an operation 
 foreign to the prefent circumftances of France. I 
 fhdiild even myfelf regret the time- 1 fj)ent in reducing 
 this Work to order, if I did not think that it might 
 be ufefal and necefTary in fupporting our Revolution. 
 The objeiSl of thefe Travels was not to iludy antiques, 
 or to feirch for unknown plants, but to fiudy men 
 who had juft acquired their liberty. A free people 
 can no longer b^ frrangers to' the French. 
 
 We have now, likewife, acquired our liberty. It 13 
 no longer neceflary to learn of the Americans the 
 manner of acquiring it, but we muil be taught by 
 them the ferret of prcferving it. This fecret confifts 
 in the morals of the people j the Americans have it ; 
 ard I fee with grief, not only that we do not yet poffefs 
 it, but that we are not even thorout^hiy perfuaded of 
 i:s abfolute -lereairy iii the prirffcrvation of jiberfy. Tliis 
 is.m i.rpo-tu.r point ; it involves the falvation of the 
 icvo!;id ''•>, li'id therefore merits a clol^: examinaticMi. 
 
 Vv^Dit is liberty ? It i> the molt perfecl ftdtc of focl- 
 ety : it is the ftate in which man ucpcmds but upon the 
 3 ;ws which he makes ; in winch, to make thein good, 
 he ought to perfcft the powers of his mir.d ; in which, 
 to execute them well, he muft errploy all his rcafon ; 
 for coercive menfiir-es are dift^raccFul to freemen — they 
 £re almoft ufvlefs in a free State ; and when the magif- 
 trate calls them to his aid, Iibei;ty is on the decline, 
 morals are nothing more thanreafon applied to all the 
 
IT PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 Rdions of life ; in their force confifts the execution of 
 the laws. Rcafon or morals are to the execution of 
 the laws among a free people, what fetters, fcourges, 
 and gibbets are among llaves. Deftroy morals, or 
 pra6lical re^foii, and you muft fupply their place by 
 fetters and fcourges, or elfe fociety will no longer be^ 
 hut a ftate of war, a fcene of deplorable anarchy, to be 
 terminated by its deflrudion. 
 
 Without morals there can be no liberty. If yon 
 have not the former, you cannot love the latter, and 
 you will foon take it away from others; for if you 
 abandon yourfelf to luxury, to oftentation, to excei5ve 
 gaming, to enormous expences, you necelfarily open 
 your heart to corruption ; you make a traffic of your 
 popularity, and of your talents ; you lell the people to 
 that def})otifm which i's always endie'^voudng to re- 
 plurge them into irs chains. 
 
 Soir.e men endeavour to diftinguifh pu^^liq from 
 private morals ; it is a falfs and chimericil dlilinclion, 
 invented^ by vice, in order to difgiiife its d.^nger. 
 Doubtlei's a rr}an may poilcls the prfvjte virtues with- 
 out the public ; he may be a good father, v/ithout be- 
 ing an ardent friend to liberty ; but he that hss not 
 the private virtues, can never poiTefs the public ; in 
 this rer])e6l they are infeparable ; their bafis is the 
 fame, it is practical reafcn. What I with'ti the walls of 
 your houfe, you trample reafon under foot ; and do 
 you refpedl it abroad-^ in your intercourfe with your 
 tellov/ citizens? He that refpcdls not reafon in the 
 lonely prefence of his houfhsld gods, can have no fin- 
 cere attachment to it at all ; and his apparent venera- 
 tion to the law is but the effedl of fear, or the grimace 
 of hypocrify. Place him cut of danger from the pub- 
 lic force, his fears vanilli, and his vice appears. Bj;- 
 fides, the hypocrify of public virtue entrains another 
 evil ; it fpreads a dangerous fnare to liberty over the 
 abyfs of defpotifm. 
 
 What confidence can be placed in thofe men who, 
 regarding the revolution but as their road to fortune, 
 affume the appearance of virtue but to deceive the 
 people ; who deceive the people but to pillage gnd en- 
 
l^REFACE of, the AUTHOR. ^ 
 
 (lave ther ; who, in their artful dlfcourfes, wheraclo- 
 quence is paid with gold, preach to others the f icnh« 
 of private intereft, while they themfelves facnfi.e all 
 that is facred to their owu ? Men whofe private con- 
 diia is the affaffin of virtue, an opprobrium to liberty, 
 and gives the |ie to the doarines which they preach: 
 
 ^i Curitcsfimulanty et baccanalia ^jivuni. 
 Happy the people who defpife this hypocrif/, who 
 have the courage to degrade,tochafi:ire,to excommuni- 
 eate thefe double men, pofTefTing the tongue cf Cato, 
 and the foul of Tiberius. Happy the people who, well 
 convinced that liberty Is not fu pported by eloquence, 
 but by the exercife of virtue, t-fleem not, but rather 
 cicfpife, the former, when it is f^^^parated from the lit- 
 ter. Such a people, by. their fevere opinions, compel 
 men of talents to acquire morals ; they exclude cor- 
 ruption from their body, and lay the foundatio|i for 
 liberty and long profperity. 
 
 But if this people, improvident and irrefolute, daz- 
 zled by the eloquence of an orator who flitters their^ 
 paffions, pardon his vices, in favour cf his talents ; if 
 they feel not an indignation at feeing an Alcibiades 
 training a mantle of purple, lavifliing his fumptuous 
 rcpafts, lolling on the bofom of his miflrefs, or ravifh- 
 i-nga wife from her tender hufband ; if the view of his 
 enormous wealth-, his exterior graces, the foft found of 
 ^his fpeech, and his traits of courage, could reconcile 
 them to his crimes ; if they could rend?r him the hom- 
 age which is due only to talents united with virtue ; if 
 they could lavifh upon him praifes, places, and honors; 
 then it is that this people difcover the full meafure of 
 their weaknefs, their irrefolution, and their own proper 
 corruption ; they become their own executioners ; and 
 the time is not diftant, when they will be ready to be 
 fold, by their own Alcibiades, to the great king, and to 
 his fat raps. 
 
 Is it an ideal pifture which I here trace, or, is it not 
 
 ours ? I tremble at the refemblance ! Great God ! Ihill 
 
 we have atchieved a revolution the moft inconceivable, 
 
 the moft un€xpeaed,but for th« fake of drawing from 
 
 Ai 
 
vx PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 nihility a few intriguing, low, ambitious mcn,to whom 
 nothing is facred, who have not even the mouth of 
 gold to accompany their foul of clay ? Infamous 
 wretches ! they endeavour to cxcufe th«ir wcaknefs, 
 their Venality, their eternal capitulations with defpot- 
 ifm, by faying,. Thefe people are too much corrupted 
 to be trufted with complete liberty. They themfelves 
 give them theexan:*ple of corruption; they give them new 
 ihack.les,asiflhackles could eniightsn&- ameliorate men. 
 O Providence ! to what deftiny referveft thou the 
 people of France ? They are good, but they are flexi- 
 ble ; they are credulous, they are enthufiaftic, they are 
 eafily deceived. How often, in their infatuation, have 
 they applauded fecret traitors, who have advifed 
 them to the moft perfi<fious meafures ! Infatuation 
 announces either a people whofe aged weaknefs indi- 
 cates approaching difTohition, or an infajit people, or 
 a mechanical people, a people not yet ripe for liberty : 
 for the man of liberty is by nature a man of reafon, 
 he is rational in his applaufes, he is fparing in his ad- 
 miration, if, indeed, he ever indulges this paffion ; be 
 never profanes thefe cffufions, by lavifhing them on 
 men who difhonor themfelvcs. A people degraded to 
 this degree, are ready to carefs the gilded chains that 
 may be offered them. Behold the people of England 
 dragging in the dirt that parliament to whom they 
 owed their liberty, and crowning with laurel* the in-^ 
 famous head of Monk, who fold them to a new tyrant. 
 ^1 have fcrutinized thofe rren, by whom the people 
 are fo eafily infatuated. How few patriots was I able 
 to number among them ! How few men, who (incerely 
 love the people, who labour for their happinefs & ame- 
 lioration, without regard to their perfonal intereft I 
 Thefe true friends, thefe real brothers of the people, 
 arc not to be formed in thofe infamous gambling hou- 
 fes, where the reprefentatives fport with the blood of 
 their fellow citizens ; they are not found among thofe 
 vile courtifans who, preferving their difpofltion, have 
 only changed their mafk : they are not found among 
 thofe patriots of a day, who, while they are preaching 
 the Kights of Man, are gravely occupied with a gilded 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR . v« 
 
 pha3Bton^ or an embroidered vcft. The man of this 
 frivolous tafte has never dcfcended intothofe profound: 
 meditations, which make of humanity, and the exer- 
 cife of reafon, a conftant pleafure and a daily duty. 
 Thefimplicity of wants and of pleafures, may be taken 
 as a fure fign of pa triotifm. He that has few wants, 
 has never that of felling himfelf; while the citizen, 
 who has the rage of oftentation, the fury of gambling,, 
 and of expenfive frivolities, is-always to be fold to the 
 higheft bidder ; and every thing around him betrays 
 his corruption ! 
 
 Would you prove to me your patriotifm ? Let me 
 penetrate into the interior of your houfe. What ! I 
 fee yoar antichatrber full of infolent lackies, who re- 
 gard me with difdain,becanfe I am like Cur'ius, iucomptis 
 capillis .-they addrtfs you with the appellation of/*r</- 
 fiip ; they give you (till thofe vain titles which liberty 
 treads under foot, and you i^ffer it, and you call your- 
 felf a patriot ! — I penetrate- a little further : your ciel- 
 ings are gilded ; magnificent vafes «^dorn your chim- 
 ney pieces ; I walk upon the richeft carpets ; the mbft 
 coftly wines, the moft exquifite difhes, cover your table; 
 a crowd of fervants furround it ; you treat them with 
 haugh^tinefs :— No, you are not a patriot, the moft 
 coafummate pride reigns in your heart, the pride of 
 birth, of riches, and of talents. With this triple pride, 
 a man never believes in the dodrineof equality : you 
 belie your confci^nce, when you proftitute the word 
 patriot. 
 
 But whence comes this difplay of wealth ? You are 
 not rich. Is it from the people ? They are ftill poor. 
 Who will prove to me that it is not the price of their 
 blood? Who will alTure me that there is not this 
 moment exifting, a fecret contract between you and 
 the court? Who will afTure me that you have notfaid 
 to the court, Truft to me the power which remains to 
 you, and I will bring back the people to your f?et ; I 
 will attach them to your car ; I will enchain the 
 tongues and pens of thofe independent men who brav€ 
 you. A people may foraetimes be fubjugated without 
 the aid of baftilles. 
 
 W^ 
 
vUi PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 I do not know if To many pidures as every day 
 ftriks cur eyes, will convince us of the extreme diffi- 
 cw!ty of conneding public incorruptibility with cor- 
 ruption of iiiorals; but I am convinced, that ifwewifli 
 to prefcrve our conftitution, it will be eafy, it will be 
 necelfary, to demonftrate this maxim : " Without 
 ** private virtue, there can be no public virtue, no 
 '* )?ublic fpirit, no liberty." 
 
 But how can we create private virtue among a peo- 
 ple who have juft rifen fiiddenly from the dregs of 
 fervitude, dregs which have been fcttlini; for twelve 
 centuries on their he^.ds ? 
 
 Nu.Tierous means ofF-r themfelves to our hands ; 
 Ijws, iiiftrudion, good examples, education, encour- 
 agement to a rii-ral life, parceling of real property 
 among heirs, refped to the ufeful arts. 
 
 Is it not evident, for inftance, that private morals 
 affociate naturally with a rural life ; that, of confe- 
 quence, manners would much improve, by inducing 
 men to return from the city to the country, and by 
 difcouraging them from migrating from the country 
 to the city ? The reifon v/hy the Americans polTefs 
 fuch pure morals is, becaufe nine-tenths of them live 
 difperfed in the country. I do not fay that we fhould 
 make laws dired to force people to quit the town, or to 
 fix their limits ; all prohibition, all reftraintis unjuft, 
 abfurd, and ineffedual. Do you wifh a perfon to do 
 well ? Make it for his intereft to do it. Would you 
 re-people the country ? Mnke it his intereft to keep 
 his children at hoTr#. Wife laws and taxes well dif- 
 tributed will produce this effed. Laws which tend to 
 an equal diftribution of real property, to difrufea cer- 
 tain degree of eafe among the people, will contribute 
 much to the refurredion of private and public morals; 
 for mifery can take no intereft in the public good, and 
 want is often the limit of virtue. 
 
 Would you extend public fpirit through all France ? 
 Into all the departments, all the villages, favour the 
 propagation of knowledge, the low price of books and 
 of ncwfpapers. How rapidly would the revolution 
 confolidate, if the governraeot had the wifdona to franJt 
 
 « 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR. Ix 
 
 the public papers from the expence of pcftage ! It has 
 often been repeated, that three cr four millions of 
 livres expended in this way, would prevent a great 
 number of diforders which ignorance may countenance 
 or commit J and the reparation of which cofls many 
 more millions. The communication of knowledge 
 would accelerate a number of ufcful undertakings, 
 which greatly diffufe public profpenty. 
 
 I will ftill propofe another law, which would infalJi- 
 hly extend public fpirit and good morals ; it is the 
 fbort duration of public fundionets in their ofFice> and 
 the impofTibiiity of re-ele«5ling theoi without an inter- 
 val. 'By that the legiflstive body would fend out every 
 two years, into the j)rovinces, three. or four hundred 
 patriots, who, during their abode at Paris, would have 
 arifen to the. borizon of the revolution', and obtained 
 inftrutTtion, aclivity in bufmefs, and a public fpirit. 
 The commonwealth, better underftood, would become 
 thus fucceflively tho bufinefs of all ; and it is thus that 
 you v-'-ould repair the dthO. with which reprefentative 
 republics are reproached, that the commonwealth is. 
 the bufinefs of but few. 
 
 I cannot enlarge upon all the means ; but it would 
 be rendering a great fervice to the Revolution, to feek 
 and point out thofe which may give us morals and 
 public fpirit. 
 
 Yet Icannot leave this fubje£l without indulging one 
 refleftipn, which appears to me important ; Liberty;;, 
 either political or individual, cannot ex\i\ a long timie 
 without perfonal independence. There can be no in- 
 dependence without a property, a profeffion, a trade, 
 or an honefl induftrjr, which may infure againfl want 
 and dependence. 
 
 laffure you that the Americans are and will be for 
 ^ long time free ; it is becaufe nine tenths of them 
 live by agriculture ; and when there (hall be five 
 hundred millions of men in America, all may be 
 proprietors. 
 
 We are not in that happy fituation in France : the 
 produdllve lands in France amount to fifty millions of 
 acres ; this, equally dividedj weuld be two acres to a 
 
s PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 perfon ; thefe two acres would not be fufficient for his 
 fabfiftence ; the nature of things calls a great number 
 of the French to live in cifies. Commerce, the me- 
 chanic arts, and divers kinds of induftry, procure their 
 fubfiftence to the inhabitants ; for we mufl not count 
 much at prefent on tjie produce of public offices. Sal- 
 aries indemnify, but do not enrich ; neither do the/ 
 infure againft future want. A man who fhould fpec- 
 ulate upon falaries for a living, would only be a flive 
 of the people, or of foreign powers : every man, there- 
 fore, who wifhcs fincerely to be free, ought to exercife 
 fome art or trade. At this word, trade, the patriots 
 /lill fhiver ; they begin to pay fome refpeft to com- 
 merce ; but though they pretend to cherifh equality, 
 they do not feel themfclves frankly the equals of a 
 mechanic. They have not yet abjured the prejudice 
 which regards the tradcfnan, as below the banker or 
 the merchajit. This vulgar arifiocracy v/ill be the 
 mofl dlmciilt to dellroy.* — If you wifh to honor the 
 mechanic arts, give i!\flru£lion to thofe who e.vercife 
 them ; choof^ among them the beft inftrufted, and 
 sdvp.nce them in public employments ; and difdain 
 not to confer upon them ciiUiiguifhed places in the 
 afi'emblics. 
 
 I regret that the National AfTdmbly has not yet giveti 
 this fil'Jtrry eximple ; thir they have not yet crowned 
 the ganius of agriculture, by calling-to the lirefiJeiu's 
 chair the good cultivator, -Gc'rard ; that the merchants 
 and other' members of the ATcnbly, who tx^r^x^z 
 mechanic arts, have not enjoyed the fame honor. Wny 
 this cxclufion ? it is very well to infert in the Dcclara- 
 
 * // cxi&idi evoi to oflcers chnfen by the people. Wiih 
 w:hat difdain they regard an ariijan from head to foot ! With 
 what fe verity m^ny of our national guards treat ihofs wretches 
 'mho are arrefied b') them ! IVith irhat i>ifoiince thi^ execute 
 fhcir erders \ — Obferve the greater part of the public officers ; 
 they are as hiuyht\ in the exrcife rf their fun^ionSt as they 
 HMere i^ro'ueUing in the Primary Affemhlies. A true patriot is 
 equal at all times ; equally dijiant from bafentfs fj elisions , 
 and infoUtHt in offce. 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR. xi 
 
 tion of Rights, that all men are equal ; but we miift 
 pradife this equality, engrave it on our hearts, confe- 
 crate it in all our aftions, and it belongs to the Nation- 
 al Aflembly to give the great example. It would per- 
 haps force the executive power to refpsft it iikewife. 
 Has he ever been known to defcend into the clafs of 
 profeffions, there to choofe his minifters, his agents, 
 from men of fimplicity of manners, not rich, but well 
 inftrufled, and no courtiers ? 
 
 Our democrats of the court, praife indeed, with a 
 borrowed enthufiafm, a Franklin or an Adams ; they 
 fay, and even with afilly aftonKhnr^entjthat one was a 
 printer, and the other a fchoolmafter ! But do they go 
 to feek in the work-fhops, the men of information ? 
 No.— -But what fignifies at prefent the condudl of an 
 adminiftration, whofe deteftable foundation renders 
 them antipopular, and confequently perverfe .'' They 
 can never appear virtuous, but by hypocrify. To 
 endeavour to convert them, is a folly ; to oppofe to 
 them independent adverfaries, is wifdom : the fecretof 
 independence is in this maxim, Ha<ve fewnxiantSy and a 
 fieadj employment te Jathfy them. 
 
 With thefe ideas man bends not his front before man. 
 The artizan glories in his trade that fupports him : he 
 envies not places of honor ;. he knows he can attain 
 them, if he deferves them : he idolizes no man ; he 
 rcfpefls himfcif too much to be an idolator : he efteems 
 not men becaufe they are in phce, but becaufe they 
 d^ferve well from their country. The leaders of the 
 revolution in Holland, in the fixteenth century, feated 
 on the grafs at a repaft of herrings and ©nions, received, 
 with a ftern fimplicity, the deputies of the haughty 
 Spaniard. This is the portrait of men who feel their 
 dignity, and know the fuperiority of freemen over 
 flaves of kings. 
 
 ^em reque pauperies , neque mors, neque nnncula terrent. 
 
 When Ihall we have this elevated idea of ourfelve^ ? 
 When will all the citizens look with difdain on thofe 
 idols on whom they fornierly proftituted their adora- 
 tion? Indeed, waen Ihall we experience a general 
 diifuilon of public foirit ? 
 
£k PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 I have no uneafinefs about the rifing generation : the 
 pare fouls of our young men breathe nothing but lib- 
 erty ; the contagious breath of perfonal intereft has 
 not yet inleded them. An education truly national^ 
 will create men furpaflrng the Greeks and Romans ; 
 but people advanced in life, accuftomed to fervitude, 
 familiarized with the idolatry of the great— What will 
 reclaim them ? What will ftrip them of the old man ? 
 Inftruflion ; and the bed means of diffufing it, is to 
 multiply popular clubs, where all thofe citizens fo 
 unjuftly denominated paflive, come to gain informa- 
 tion on the principles of the Conftitution, and on the 
 political occurrences of every day. It is there that 
 luay be placed under the eyes of the people, the great 
 examples of'virtue furniOied by ancient and modern 
 hiftory ; it is there that detached parts of the work, 
 which I now publifh, may ferve to (hew my fellow- 
 citizens the means of preferving their liberty. 
 
 O Frenchmen ! who wifh for this valuable inftru^:. 
 tion, ftudy the Americans of the prefent day. Open 
 this book : you will here fee to what degree of profper- 
 Jty the bleflings of freedom can elevate the induftry of 
 man ; how they dignify his nature, and difpofe him to 
 univerfal fraternity: you will here learn by what means 
 liberty is preferved ; that the great fecret of its dura- 
 tion is in good morals. It is a truth that the obferva- 
 tion of the prefent ftate of America demonflrates at 
 every ftep. Thus you will fee, in thefe Travels, the 
 prodigious eifedls of liberty on morals, on induftry, 
 and on the amelioration of men. You will fee thofe 
 flern preibyterians, who, on thefirft fettlement of their 
 country, infeded with the gloomy fuperftitions of 
 Europe, could ereft gibbets for thofe who thought,^ 
 differently from themfelves. You will fee them ad- 
 mitting all fe6ts to equal charity and brotherhood, 
 ^•ejefting thofe fuperflitions which, to adore the Su- 
 preme Being, make martyrs of part of the human 
 race. Thus you will fee all the Americahs, in whofe 
 minds the jealoufy of the mother country had diflem- 
 Inate-I the moft abCiird prejudices againft foreign na- 
 tions, abjure thof^ prejudices, rejedl every idea of war. 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR. xni 
 
 and open the way to an univerfal confederation of the 
 human race. You will fee independent America con- 
 templating no other limits but thofe of the univerfe, 
 no other reftraint but the laws made by her reprefen- 
 tatives. You will fee them attempting all forts of 
 fpeculations ; opening the fertile bofom of the foil, 
 lately covered by forefts ; tracing unknown feas ; 
 cftablifhing new communications, new markets ; natu- 
 ralizing, in their country, thofe precious manufaftures 
 which England had referved toherfelf; and, by this 
 accumulation of the means of induftry, they change 
 the balance that was formerly againft America, and 
 turn it to their advantage. You will fee them faith- 
 ful to their engagements, while their enemies are pro- 
 claiming their bankruptcy. You will fee them invig- 
 orating their minds, and cultivating their virtues ; 
 reforming theirgovcrnment, employing only the lan- 
 guage of reafon to convince the refradory ; multiply- 
 ing every where moral inftitutions and patriotic eftab- 
 lilhments ; and, above all, never feparating the idea 
 of public from private virtues. Such is the confoling 
 pidure, which thefe Travels will offer to the friend of 
 liberty. ' 
 
 The revfrfeis not felf-confbling ; if liberty is a fure 
 guarantee of profperity ,• if, in psrfefling the talents 
 of man, it gives him virtues, thefe virtues, in their 
 turn, become. the fureft fupport of liberty. A people 
 of univerfal good morals would have no need of gov- 
 ernment ; the law would have no need of an executive 
 power. Thie is the reafon why liberty in America is 
 fafely carried to fo high a degree that it borders on a 
 (Iste of nature, and why the government has fo little 
 force. This, by ignorant men, is called anarchy : 
 enlightened men, who have examined the effefts on 
 the fpot, difcern in it the excellence of the govern- 
 ment; becaufe, notwithftanding its weaknefs, fociety 
 is there in a flourifhiog ftate. The profperity of a 
 fociety is always in proportion to the extent of liber- 
 ty ; liberty is in the inverfe proportion to the extent 
 of the governing power: the latter cannot increafc 
 it(eU, but at tke exncnce of the former. 
 
xlv PREFACE of tKe AtJrabR. 
 
 Can a people without government be happy ? Yes ; 
 ifyouxan fnppofe a whole people with good ntiorals; 
 and this is not a chirr.era. Will you fee an example ? 
 obferve the Quakers ot America. Though numerous, 
 though difperfed over the furface of Pennfylvania, 
 they have palled more than a century, without muiii- 
 cipal government, without police., without coercive 
 meafures, to adminifter to the State, or to govern the 
 hofpitals. And why r See the pidure of their manners; 
 you will there lind the explanation of the phenomenon. 
 
 Coercive meafures and liberty never go together : 
 a free people hates the former ; but if thefe meafures 
 are not employed, hov/ will you execute the law ? By 
 the force of reafon and good morals— tr.ko away thefe^ 
 and you muftiborrow the arm of violence, or fall into 
 anarchy. If, then, a people wiflies to banifh the dif- 
 honcufable means of coercion, thty,, inuft exercife 
 their reafon, which will fnew tliem the necefiity of a 
 conftant refpe£l for the law. 
 
 The exercife of this faculty produces among the 
 Amc-icans, agieat number of men defign^tcd by the 
 name oi pri):ciplcii men. This appellation indicates the 
 character of a clafs of men fo little known am.ong us, 
 that they have not acquired a name. There will be 
 one fiT.T.ed, I hsve no doubt; hut, in theme-.m time, 
 I fee none but vibrating, vacillating bcir»gs, who do 
 good by cnthufiafm, and never by rcfleclion. There 
 can be no durable revolution, but where refledlion 
 xnarks the operation, and matures the ideas. It is 
 among thofe men of principle that you find the true 
 heroes of hutranity, the Howards, Fothergills, Pe.ins, 
 Franklins, Wafhingtons, Sidneys, and Ludlows. 
 
 Shew me a man of this kind, whofe wints are cir- 
 CAimfcribed, who admits no luxury, v.'ho has no fecret 
 paflion, no ambition, but that of ferving his country— 
 a man who, as Montiigne f lys, ate dei opinions fupcrce- 
 Icjlt'T, fans an}oir des ina;urs fotiterreines — a man whom 
 refleftion guides in every thing ; t'nis is the man of 
 the people. ;i 
 
 In a word, my countrymen, would you be always 
 free, always indep'^ndent in your elections, and in 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR. iv 
 
 your opinions ? Would you confine the executive 
 power within narrow limits, and diminifli the number 
 of your laws? — hiive morals! — /« pejjlina rtpuUica plu- 
 rim^ leges.. Morals fupply perf;;dly, the necefilty of 
 laws; laws fupply but imperfectly, and in a mifsrable 
 manner, the place of morals. Wouid you augmeiit 
 your population, that chief wealth of natior.s ? V/ould 
 you augment theeafe of individuals, induftiy, agricul- 
 ture, and every thing which contributes to general 
 profperiry ? — have morals ! 
 
 Suchisthe double effeil of morals in the United 
 States, whofe form of government ftill frightens pufi!- 
 lanimons and fuperflitrbus men. The portraits offer- 
 ed to vi?w, in thef^ Travels, will juHify that republi- 
 canifm which knaves calumnidtc with defign, which 
 ignor.mr men do not under/land, but v/hich tV.ey v/ill 
 learn to know and refpefl. How can we better judge 
 of a government than by its ef?efls ? Reafoning * may 
 deceive; experience is always right. If liberty pro- 
 duces good morals, and difFufes infcrmation, why do 
 ffcernea continue to carp at that liind of government, 
 which being founded on tiie greateH: degree of liberty, 
 fecures tlie greateft <^egree of profperity ? ' 
 
 I thought it very ufirful and very necclTary to prove 
 thefe principles from great examples ; and this is my 
 reafon for publiiliing thefe Travels. Examples are 
 more powerful than precepts. Morality, put in a^ion^ 
 carries fomethi.-g of the dramatic, and ttje French love 
 \^^^ drama. 
 This>then,ismy lirfl obje(5l;rtis national, it is unlv.r- 
 fal : for, when it is demonftrated that liberty creates 
 morals, and morals, in their turn, extend and maintain 
 liberty, it is evident, that, to rertrain the progrefs of 
 liberty, isaii execrable prcjedl ; fince it is to reftrain 
 the happinefs, the prc/perity, and the union of the 
 human race. 
 
 * If you jvould fee excelUnt reafoning on this fuhjeSl, read 
 the W3rk jujl puhlified by the celebrated Painty inlitled. 
 Rights of Man ; efpeciallj the mifcellaneoui chapter. 
 
ivi PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 A fecond objefl which guides me in this publication, 
 is likewife national. 1 wifhed to defcribe to my coun- 
 trynnen a people with whom we ought, on every ac- 
 count, toconnecl ourfelvcs in the moft intimate man- 
 ner. The moral relations which ought to conne<5l the 
 two nations, are unfolded in the two firft volumes ; 
 the third connpriles particularly the comnnercial con- 
 r.eclicns. , This third volume was publifhed in 1787, 
 by Mr. Claviere and me. 
 
 There is ftill wanting, to complete this work, a 
 fourth volume, xyhicli ought to treat of the political 
 connections, and of the prefent federal governmeiit of 
 the United StattF. I have the materials, but I have 
 rot the time to reduce them to order. The compara- 
 tive view rf their conftltution with ours, requires a 
 critical and profound ex-^mination. Experience has 
 already determined the qualities of one j the other is 
 ikVil in it3 iiifancy. Perhaps, indeed, it requires a time 
 of more cUmnefs, Icfs ignorance and prejudice in the 
 public mind, to judge wifely of the American conftitu- 
 tion. We muft prepare the way for this maturity of 
 judgment; and thefe Travels wi'.l accelerate it, in 
 fet ting forth with truth, the advantages of th3 only 
 gOTernment which merits any confidence. 
 
 It I had confulted what is called the Love of Glory, 
 and the Spirit of Ancient Literature, I could have 
 fpent fcveral years in poliihing this Work ; but 1 be- 
 lieved, that though neceffary at prefent, it might be 
 too late, and, perhaps, ufelefs in a few years. We 
 h?ve arrived at rhe time when men of letters ought to 
 ftudy, above all things, to be ufef.il ; when they ought, 
 for fear of lofing time, to precipitate the propagation 
 of truths, which the people ought to know ; when, of 
 confequence, we ought to occupy ourfelves more in 
 things than in words ; \yhen the care of iiyle, and the 
 perfedlioi of talle, are but figns of a trilling vanity, 
 and a literary ariftocracy. Were Montefqaieu to rife 
 fro.-n the dead, he would furely blulh at having labour- 
 ed twenty years in making epigrams on laws : he 
 would write for the people ; for the revolution cannot 
 fee maintained but by the people, and by the people 
 
FRCT ACE of tlie AUTHOR. xvU 
 
 Hiftruaed : he would write, then, direaiy and fimply 
 from his own foul, and not torment his ideas to ren- 
 der them brilliant. 
 
 When a man would travel ufefuHy, he (hould itudy, 
 firft, men ; fecondly, bocks ; and thirdly, pieces. To 
 ftudy men he Ihould fee them of all clalfes, of all 
 'j)arties, of all ages, and in all fituations. 
 
 I read in the Gazettes,that the ambaffadors of Tippo 
 Sultan were feafted by every body ; they were carried 
 tothe balls, to the fpedacles, to the manufadures, to 
 the arfenals, to the piilaces, to the camps. After being 
 thus feafted for fix months, I wonder- if, on returning 
 home, they conceived that they kr-ew France. If fuch 
 was their opinion, they were in an error; for they faw 
 only the brilliant part, the furface ;-^ and it is not by 
 the furface that one can judge of the force of a nation. 
 The amb-ilTador fhould defcend from his dignity, 
 travel in a common carriage without his attendants, go 
 into the ftabies to fee the horfes, into the barns to fee 
 the gfain and other produ<ftions of the country. It is 
 thus that Mr. JefFerfon travelled in France and Italy ; 
 he had but one fervant with him ; he faw every thing 
 with his own eyes. I believe that few voyages have 
 been made with io much judgment and utility, as 
 thofeofthat philcfopher. But his modefty coneeals 
 his obfervations from the public eye. 
 
 People difguife every thing, to deceive men in place. 
 A prince gats to an hofpital ; he taftes the foup and 
 the meat. Does any one fuppofe that the fuperintend- 
 ant was fool enough not to have given orders to the 
 cook that day .? 
 
 True obfervation is that of every ^ay. A traveller, 
 before fetting out, ought to know from books and 
 men the country he goes to vifit. 
 
 He will have fome data ; he will confront what h« 
 fees, with what he has heard. 
 
 He ought to have a plan of obfervation ; if he wifhes 
 that-nothing fhould efcape him, he fhould accuftom 
 himfelf to feize objedls rapidly, and to write,^ every 
 night, what he has h^n in the day. 
 
 The choice of perfons to confult, and to rely upon. 
 IS difficult* 
 
 B z 
 
xviii PREFACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 The inhabitants of a country have generally a'pfe- 
 dileftion in favour of it, and ftrangers have prejudices 
 againll it. In A.-* erica I found this prejudice in almoU 
 every ftranger. The American revolution confounds 
 them. They cannot familiarize the idea of a hng-peopU 
 and an eleSii-ve chief , who fhakcs hands v ith a labourer, 
 who has no guards at his gate, who v.'3lk<? on foot,&c. 
 The foreign confuls are thofe who decry, with the mod 
 virulence the American conftitution ; and, I fay itwith 
 griefjl faw much of this virulence among fome of ours. 
 According to them, the United States, when I landed 
 in America, werv^ juft' falling to ruin. They had no 
 government left, the conftitution was deteftable ; there 
 was no confidence to be placed in the A r-ericans, the 
 public debt would never be paid ; and there was no 
 faith, no juftice among them. 
 
 Being a friend of Liberty, thefe calumnies againfl 
 the American government v/ere revolting, to me : I 
 combated them with reafoning. My advetfciries, who 
 objedted to me then their long abode there, and the 
 ihortnefs of mine, ought to be convinced by this time 
 that the telefcope of reafon is rather better than the 
 microfcope of office. They have, in general, foT.e 
 abilities and fome information ; but thty have gener- 
 ally been educated in the inferior places in the French 
 adminiftration, and they have well imbibed its preju- 
 dices. A republic is a monflrous thing in their fight ; 
 a minilter is an idol that they adore ; the people, in 
 their view, is a herd that mufl be governed with ri- 
 gour. A man who lives upon the rapines of defpob- 
 ifm, is always a bad judge of a free country; and feel 
 that they fliould be nothing in fuch a ftate ; and a man 
 does not like to fall into nothing.* 
 
 * J'iJ^e* hy the follojving injtance^ with what infoUnte 
 the agents of defpottfm treat the chiefs ofrefpeSlabU republic^, 
 — I heard M de Moujiier bpafting^y that he told the prefident 
 9f€ongrefsyat his own heufe, that he was but a tavern keep- 
 er ; and the Americans had the complaifance not to demand 
 his recall! What horror muji this man han)e for cur revolu- 
 iion ! Hi declartd himfelftht tncmy of it when he was in 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR. xix 
 
 I met in oiir French travellers, 'tlie fame prejudices 
 as in the confuls. The greater part of Frenchmen 
 who travel or emigrate, have little information, and 
 are not prepared to the art of obfervjtion. Prefump- 
 tucus to ^xcefs, and admirers of their own cuftoms 
 and manners, they ridicule thofe of other nations. 
 Ridicule gives them a double pleafure ; it feeds their 
 own pride, and humbles others. At Philadelphia, for 
 inftance, the men are grave, the Wv/men ferious,no fini- 
 cal airs, no libertine wives, no cofFee-houfes, no agree- 
 able walks. My Frenchman finds every thing detefta- 
 ble at Philadelphia ; becaufe he could not ftrut upon a 
 bonlevard, babble in a coffee-houfe,nor foduce a pretty 
 woman by his important airs and fine curls.. He was 
 almoft offended that they did not admire them ; that 
 they did not fpeak French. 
 
 He was greatly troubled that he could fpeak Amer- 
 ican with the fame facility ; he loft fo tpuch in not 
 being able to fliow his wit. 
 
 If, then, a perfon of this caft attempts to defcribe 
 the Americans, he (hows his own charader, but not 
 theirs. A people grave, ferious,and refleding, cannot 
 be judged of and appreciated, but by a perfon of a 
 like charader. 
 
 It is to be hoped that the revol^ution will change the 
 charafter of the French. If they ameliorate their mor- 
 als, and augment their information, they will go far ; 
 for it is the property of reafon and enlightened liberty 
 to per fed themfelves with ceafing, to fubftitute truth 
 to error, and principle to prejudice. They will then 
 infenfibly lay afide their political prejudices, which 
 tarniih ftill the glorious conftitution which they have 
 founded. They will imitate the Americans as far as 
 local and phyfical circumftances will permit;— they 
 will imitate them, and they will be happier for it^jk/or 
 general happinefs does not confift with abfurdities 
 
 jimericat and expreffed himfelf'witk'vioUnce again/} its Uhi^ 
 trs, Thefe fadis are public ; / denounced them to M. Mont- 
 moritty who tti'verthelefs, to recompenfe him for his aMii-rev(l'* 
 iation manceuvrfSi hatfint him ambajfadvr to Berlin* 
 
XX PRET ACE of the AUTHOR. 
 
 Gontradidlons ; it cannot arife from the complication, 
 nor from the fhock of powers. There is but one real 
 power in government, and it is in referring it back to 
 its fource as often as poflible, that it is to be rendered 
 beneficent; it becomes dangerous in proportion as it is 
 diftint from its Source : in one word, the le/s aSive arid 
 fou'erful the gcvernmenty ike more aSltve,fowerfuU andha^ 
 is thjcciety. This is the phenomenon dcmonftrated in 
 the prefent Hiftory of the United States. ' 
 
 Thefe Travels give the proof of the fecond part of 
 this political axiom ; they prove the adivity, the 
 power, the happinefs of the Americans ; that they are 
 dcftincd to be the firft people on earth, without being 
 the terror of others. 
 
 To what great chain are attached thefe glorio"us ^^i- 
 tlnies ? To three principles: i. Ail power is eledtive 
 in America. 2. The Icgiflativ^ is frequently changed. 
 3. The executive has, moreover, but little force.* 
 
 * This laji point merits fame attention, in thefrefent cir- 
 cumjiances of France, "-l ke preftdent of the United States is 
 eUhed like all other prefidents and go'vernors of States. A 
 7nan cannot concei-ve, in that country, that wifdom and ca- 
 pacity are hereditary, fhe Americans, (nioho Jhake their 
 h»tids at this European folly J from ftxteen years experience y 
 hanje found none of tho/e troubles, at the time of eleSiing a 
 prejident, as were apprehended by icmrant people in Burope, 
 The fame tranquilitv reigns in this eleilion, as in that of the 
 fimple reprefentatii'es. Men who cannot anfwer to arguments, 
 ralfe phantoms, in order to hwve fomething to combat ; they 
 attend not to the effeds of the progrefs of re af on, and the 
 inftinft of analogy which the people pojfefs. The moment 
 they are accufiomed to the eleSiion of the reprefentati've body, 
 nil other eleSlions are ea/y to them. It is the fame reafon 
 atnon^ men infruSied, and the fame i)iJiinS of analogy among 
 thoje not inJiruSfed, which ivjpires an eternal dijirufi of the 
 txecu:i-ue poiuer, in countries vchere ijie chiefs are hereditary, 
 ^d not ele^i've. The moment that we decreed the monarchy 
 Jhenditary, we decreed an eternal difruji tn the people, of the 
 txecuti'vepov/er. It Would he, indeed, agaiifi nature that 
 they Jh§uld have corfid^nce in individuals, who p'ntend to a 
 
PREFACE of the AUTHOR. xxi 
 
 It will be eafy for me one day to deduce from thefe 
 three principles, all the happy efFefts which I have ob- 
 ferved in America. At prefent 1 content myfelf with 
 defcribing their efFeds, hecaufe 1 wifh to leave to my 
 readers the plenftire of recurring to the caufes, and 
 then of defcending from thofe caufes, and making the 
 application to France. I have not even teld all the 
 fads ; I had fo little time both to detail the fads, and 
 draw the confequences. 1 am aftoniffied to have been 
 able tofinifli a work fo voluminous, in the midft of fo 
 many various occupations which continually furround 
 rre ; charged alone with compiling and publifhing a 
 daily paper, undertaken with the fole defire of eftab- 
 lilhing, in the public opinion, this powerful inftrumcnt 
 of revolutions ; a paper in which the defence of good 
 principles, the watching over a thoufand enemies, and 
 
 fupernatural fupericrity , and who really hanje or.e in faSi^ liing 
 independent cf the people. ^ here cannot exiji a7i epen ccnfi-* 
 dencey but in governments where the executi-ve power is e/ec- 
 tivey becaufe ike go<verni/ig is dependent on the gQ<verneel* 
 
 NoWf as ccnjidence is tmpcjfibls under an hereditary msK- 
 archyy as it re/ults xecejfarily frem a ge^erntnent eUHite in all 
 its members, <v:e nifiy explain — lahence tht eternal quarrtli 
 hetrt'een the people and the gc-jerKmeKf, in the frjf caft^- 
 wJience the frequent recurrence to force '^whence trecfons and 
 minijierial delinqucKcies go UKpunijked — uhenct liberty is ^'Z- 
 slaied — and nv hence nations, thus ge-verned, enjo^f hut a f^i'^ 
 tious and partial profferity, often jl air. ed ^jjith blood ; while^ 
 in the other Cafe, where the people y by eleSiions, held in check 
 the members of the government, there exifs an unPiy of inter-^ 
 ejis, ivhich produces a profperityy real, general, and pacific, 
 
 The prejident of th$ United States can make no treaty, fend 
 no ambaffador, nominate to no place, without the aduice of the 
 fenate. ^1 his fenate is ele^iie ; the prefident is refponjible ; 
 he may he accufed, profecuied, fifpendid, condemned; the pub- 
 lic good fuffers nothing from this refponfibility ; the places of 
 prefident and minifiers are not vacant on that account ; hut 
 they are filled by mtn of acknowledged merit ; for the people 
 who eleSly do net, like chiance, take fools for governors ; nor da 
 they, like hinge 3 7r.ake minifiers of knaves and petty tyrasts. 
 
»xii PREFACE of th| AUTHOR. 
 
 repulfing perpetual attacks, occupy my attention with- 
 out ccafing. Much of my ti ncris likewife taken upby 
 my political and civil fun6\ions ; by many particular 
 pamp^ilets ; by the neceflity of afilfling at clubs, where 
 truths are prepared for the public eye ; by the duty 
 vrhich I hive prefcribed to myfelf, to defend the men 
 of colour and the blacks. 
 
 i mention thefe fads to my Readers, to prove to 
 them that 1 have ftillfome right to their indulgence. 
 1 merit it, likewife, for the motive which direfts me. 
 C onjili urn fuiuri ex prater ito <vemt : Gr^at profpefls are 
 opening before us. Let us haften, then, to make 
 known that people whofe hsppy experience ought to 
 be our guide. 
 
 P/kPiSj April 21, 1791. 
 

 Preface, of the Translator, 
 
 No traveller, I believe, ©f this age, has made a 
 more ufeful prefentto Europe, than M. cle War- 
 viUe in the publication of the following Tour in the 
 United States. The people of France will derive great 
 advantages from it ; as they have done from a vsriety 
 of other labours of the fame induftiiciis and patriotic 
 author. Their rrindsare nov/ open to inquiry into 
 the effe£ls of moral and political fyfterrs, as their com- 
 merce and manufaflures are to any improvements thnt 
 their uncmbarralied fituation eaables them to adopt. 
 
 Many people read a little in the preface, before 
 they buy the book ; and I flmll probably be accufed 
 of being in the intercft of the bookfeller, and of making 
 an aflertion merely to catch this fort of readers, when 
 I fay that the Englifh have more* need of informi^tion 
 on the real char?.£lcr and condition of th" United 
 States of America, than any other people of Europe ; 
 and efpecially when I add, that this book is infiritely 
 better calculated to convey tljat ir formation, than any 
 other, or than all others of the kind thst have hitherto 
 appeared. i r 
 
 1 do not know how to convince an EngTrfh reader 
 of the firft of thefe remarks ; but the latter I am fare 
 he will find true on perufing the work. 
 
 The faft is^ we have always been furprizlrgly ifT^io- 
 rantboth of the Americans and of their country. Had 
 ■we known either the one or the other while they were 
 r -lonies, they would have been fo at this day, and 
 probably for many days longer ; did we know ther.i 
 now, we (hould endeavour to draw tliat advantdg<i from 
 them that the natural and adventiti>'^us circurr. fiances 
 of the two coiintries would indicate to reafor.able men. 
 There is no fpot on the globe, out of England, fo in- 
 
XXIV PREFACE of the TRANS L ATOR. 
 
 terelling for us to ftudy under all its conneilions and 
 relations, as the territory of the United States. Could 
 we barter all the Canadas and Nova-Scotias, with all 
 their modifications and fubdivifions, for fuch an anni- 
 cable intercourfe as might have been eftablilhed with 
 that people fmce the clofe of the war, we would have 
 every reafon to rejoice in the change. 
 
 Minifters, as wicked as they are, do more mifchief 
 through ignorance, than from any lefs pardonable 
 caufe. And what are the fources of information on 
 this fubjedl, that are generally drawn from in this 
 kingdom ? Thofe Americans, who bed know their 
 own country, do not write; they have always been 
 occupied in more important affairs. A few light fu- 
 perfi'-ial travellers, fome of whom never appear to have 
 quitted Europe, who have not knowledge enough even 
 to begin to enquire after knowledge ; a few minifterial 
 governors of royal provinces, whofe bufinefs it always 
 was to give falfe information : fuch are the men whofe 
 ■errors have been uniformly copied by fucceeding wri- 
 ters, fyftematized by philofophers, and adlcd out by 
 j)oliticians. 
 
 Thefe blunders affume different Ihapes, and come 
 recommended to us under various authorities. You 
 fee them muftered and embodied in a gazetteer or a 
 geographical grammar,* marching in the fplendid 
 retinue of all the fciencesin the Encyclopedia ; you 
 find them by regiments preffed into the fervice of De 
 Paw, tortured into difcipline, and taught to move to 
 the mufic of Raynal, and then mounted, among the 
 hea%'y ar ned cavalry of Robertfon. Under fuch able 
 commanders, who could doubt of their doing execu- 
 
 * Perhaps no xvorh, that is not fijlematically falfe ^ con- 
 tains more errors tlan the Geot^raphical Grammar puhltjhed 
 under the nama of William Guthrie ; I /peak only of that pa'^t 
 ivhich refpeSls the United States To thofe v/uo ivijh to he 
 informed on thisjuhje^, I would recommend Morfe's Ameri- 
 can Geography, publijhed in jimerica, and noiv reprinted 
 for Stockdalc in London, It contains more information relative 
 U thBt country f than all the books ever irritten in Eurt^e, 
 
PREFACE of the TRANSLATOR. xxy 
 
 tion ? Indeed their operations have been too fatal to 
 «s. Our fa)fe ideas of the Americans have done us 
 more injury, even fince the war, than twenty Ruflian 
 or Spanifh armaments. But the evil ftiU continues ; 
 and every day lelfens the opportunity of profiting from 
 their acquaintance. 
 
 We have refufed, ever fince the war, to conaplimcnt 
 them with an envoy ; we have employed, to take care 
 of our confular interefts, and reprefent the epitomized 
 maje-fty of the Britilh nation,- an American Royalift, 
 who could berecomnncnded to us onlyfor his ftupidity, 
 and to -ikem only for his fufpeded perfidy to their 
 caufe. 
 
 The book which bears the name of Lord Sheffield 
 on the American trade, has ferved as the touchftone, 
 the ftatefinan's confeffion of faith, relative to our po- 
 litical and commercial intercourfe with that country. 
 It is faid to have been written by an American who 
 had left his country in difgrace, and therefore intended 
 to write againft it. And the book really has this ap- 
 pearance ; it has paiTed for a long time in England as 
 a moft patriotic and ufeful performance ; it has taught 
 us to defpife the Americans in peace and commerce, 
 txs the works of other men of this, call: had before told 
 us to do in war and politics. The details in it, fur- 
 nifhed by the clerks of the cuftom-houfe, are doubtlefs, 
 accurate, though of little confequence; but the rea- 
 foning is uniformly wjong, the predidions are alfo 
 falfe, and the conclufions which he draws, and which 
 ofcourfewere to ferve as advice to the government, 
 are calculated to flatter our vanity, to confirm us in 
 our errors, and miflead us incur condud. Had the 
 ableft fophift in Europe been employed to write a boot 
 profefTedly againfi: Great-Britain and in favour of 
 America, he could not have fucceeded {o well. It 
 perfuaded us to refufe any kind of commercial treaty 
 with them ; which forced them to learn a lefTon, of 
 which they might otherwife have been ignorant for 
 half a century. That after beating our armies they 
 could rival our manufaftories ; that they could do 
 without us much better than ^ye'"could without them. 
 C 
 
i^xvi PREFACE of the TRANSLATOR, 
 
 M. de Warvillehas taught his countrymen to thirtk 
 very differently of that people. I believe every reader 
 of thefe travels, who underllands enough of America 
 to enable him to judge, will agree with me in opinion, . 
 that his retnarks are infinitely more judicious, more 
 candid, and lefs erroneous than thofe of any other of 
 the numerous obfervers that have vifited that country. 
 3VIofl of them hare been uniformly fuperficial, often 
 fcurrilous, blending unmerited cenfure with fulfome 
 praife, and huddling together, to form the whole piece, 
 a parcelof iinfinifhed images, that give no more a 
 pidure of that people,than of the Arabs or theGhinefe. , 
 Their only objed, like that of a novel writer, is to ^ 
 make a book that will fell ; and yet they prtferve not 
 even that confiftcncy with ihemfelves, which is indif- 
 penfable in thewildefl romance. 
 
 M. de Warville is a fober, uniform, indefatigable, 
 and courageous defender of the rights of majikind ; 
 he has certainly done much in his own country in 
 bringing forward the prefent Revolution. His great 
 objeS in thefe travels, feems to have bceu, to obferve 
 the elfedls of habitual liberty on man in fociety ; 
 and his remarks appear to be thofe of a wcll-i;ifornied 
 r^afoner, and an unprejudiced inquirer. 
 
 London, Feb. 1,1792. 
 
 =r=e^i^== 
 
Zcj^^th^ 9a0h^ ^U0r^ 
 
 
 NEW TRAVELS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 UNITED STATE S, 
 
 L E T T E R I. 
 Fromk. ClAVlEREio M. BRISSOT deJVJPJlLLE, 
 
 PLAN OF OBSERVATIONS 
 
 On the PcUucal, CitiiU and Military State of the Frc^ 
 Jlrr^ericans ; ikeiir Legijluiion, i^c. 
 
 May 1 8, 1783. 
 
 TKE voyagp which you are going to undertake, 
 my clear friend, will doubriefs form t\\2 moft 
 interefting period of your contemplative life. You 
 are going to tranfport yourfelf into a part of the globej 
 where a pcrfori may, with the leali obilru6lion, brin^- 
 into view the mofinriking and intereftlng fcenes that 
 belong to huinanity. It is with a little courage, much 
 patience, a continu )l diffidence of his own habits of 
 mind and ininners, a total oblivion of his moft cher^ 
 iflied opinions, and of hi-nfelf, and with a determina- 
 tion to be cautious and flow in judging, that he may 
 conclude, what is the iituation where man, the child 
 of the earth, may afienible the greateft fum, and the 
 longeil duration of public and private happinefs. 
 
2t NEW TR AVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 In a few years, and without great dangers, you may 
 contemplate the ivoiX varied fcenes ; you may pafsiii 
 America, from a foil the beft cultivated, and grown 
 old with an a^live population, into the dcfarts, where 
 the hand of m^n has modified nothing, where time, 
 vegetation, and the dead m£.fs of matter, feem to have 
 fnrnirtied the expence of the theatre. 
 
 between thefc extremes, you will find intermediate 
 flages of improvement ; and it is doubtlefs, in con- 
 templating thefe, that rcafon and fenfibility will find 
 the happicfr litusfioii in life. 
 
 The prefent flare of independent America^ will, 
 perhaps, give us a glance at the higheft perfection of 
 hjjTian life that we are permitted to hope for; butv/ho, 
 in judging of it, can feparate himfelf from his age, from 
 jiis temperament, from hlsediicatior,fronY the impreincn 
 of certain circumftancer ? Who can filence his imagiiia- 
 iicn,.5; f^ovcrn the fftiifations which exciteii? Ihope,my 
 Vicnd, thatyci may. have this power; and you ought 
 noihin? to acquire ir, if you wifi) to anfwer 
 end of your Travels. You wifh to enlighten m^n- 
 kH^-io fiiiooth thewa^ to their happinefs ; for this 
 , reafon, you ought to be more on your guard than any 
 one, not io deceive ycurfelf by appearances. 
 
 When, therefore, you fliall form your opinion on 
 the fpOt, of thofe celebrated American conffitutiors, 
 do not exaggerate too much either the vices cf Europe, 
 to which you compare them, or the vi^-tues of Ameri- 
 ca, which you bring into the contrift. Make it a 
 principal objedl to determine whether it may not be 
 laid, in naliiy things are here as they are nvith us ; the dif- 
 ference is fojmall, that it is not worth thie change. This is 
 a proper method to guard againft error. It is well, at 
 the fame time, to form a jult idea of the difficulty of 
 change ; this fliould be always prefent to the mind. 
 Voltaire fays. 
 
 La fatrie eft aux lieux cit Vame ejl enchainee. 
 
 You wifh to contemplate the effefts of liberty on 
 the progrefs of men, of fociety, and of govcrnnaent. 
 May you, in this examination, never lofe fight of im- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 29 
 
 partiality and cool circumfpe^lion, that'your friends 
 iuay not be expofed cither to incredulity> or to decep- 
 tion, 
 
 I do not imagine that you can find in America, 
 nevv^motives to engage every reafonable European t'j 
 the love of liberty. What they will moft th'ank yoU' 
 for is, to defcribe to us what America in faft is, and 
 what, in opinion, fhe may be, in a given time, making 
 a rcafonabie allowance for thofe accidents which trou- 
 ble the repofe of life. 
 
 Men always difpute r they are every where formed 
 of the fame materials, and fubjedl to the fame pafiions : 
 but the matters on which they difpute, are, in a givea 
 country, more or lefs fitted to difturb the general har- 
 mony and individual happinefs. Thus a ftate of uni- 
 verfal toleration renders harmlefs the diverfity of opin- 
 ion in religious matters. 
 
 Jn proportion as political inflitutions fubmit the 
 ruling power: to well-defined forms, at the fame time 
 that they have the public opinion in their favour, pol- 
 itical diffentinns are lefs dangerous. This, my friend, 
 is the point of view under which the political ftate of 
 America ought to be known to us. Let us know, 
 above, all, what we have to expefl, for the prefent and 
 future, from that variety which diftinguifhes fo con- 
 fiderably fome ftates from others, and whether fonie 
 great inconvenience will not refult from it ; whether 
 the federal tranquillity will ever be fhaken by it ; 
 v/hether this variety will corrupt the juftice of fome 
 ftates towards others in their ordinary commerce, and 
 in thofe cafes where the confederation is the judge 5 
 whetherfome ftates will not give themfelves commo- 
 tions and agitations, for the fake of forming their 
 governments, fimilar, or diflimilar, to that of fome 
 others ;. whether ftate jealoufies do not already exift, 
 occafioned by thefe varieties* Such jealoufies greatly 
 injure the Swifs cantons ; they have ruined Holland, 
 and will prevent its reftoration. If thefe jealoufies 
 are unknown to the Americans, and will never arife 
 there, explain to us this phe>iomenon, why it exifts, 
 and why it will continu,'!; for you know, that from 
 C 2 
 
30 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 what you may obferveto us on this fmgle point, your 
 friends may be induced either to ftay where they are, 
 or to give the preference to one ftate in the union 
 over another. 
 
 There is one advantage in America which Europe 
 does not offer ; a man may fettle himfelf in thedefart, 
 and be fafe from political commotions. But is there 
 210 danger in this ? Endeavour to explain to us the 
 ftate of thefavages on that great continent, the molt 
 certain account of their numbers, their manners, the 
 caufcs, more or lefs, inevitable, of wars with them. 
 This part of your accounts will not be the leaft inter- 
 cfting. Forget not to give us, as far as you have op- 
 portunity,all that can be known relative to the ancient 
 itate of America. 
 
 Obferve what arc the remains of the military fpirit 
 among the Americans ; what are their prejudices ii 
 this refpedl ; are there men among them who wiHi 
 tofeG themfelves at the head of armies? Do they enlift 
 any foldiers ? Can you perceive any germe, which, 
 united to the fpirit of idlenefs, would make the pro- 
 feflion of a foldier preferable to that of a cultivator, 
 or an artizan ? For it is this wretched fituation of 
 things in other countries, which furnifhes the means 
 of great armies. Inform us about thofe C/««»;7fl/;, a 
 body truly diftrefling to the political philofopher. 
 
 Solomon fays, there is nothing new under the fun. 
 This ma^ be true ; but are we yet acquainted with all 
 politicalrevolutions, in order to make the circle com- 
 plete ? Hiftory furnifhes thep;£lureof no revolution 
 like that of the United States, nor any. arranjjements 
 fimilar to theirs. Thus you may look into futurity, 
 and fee what perfeverances or changes may contradidl 
 the philofophy of hiftory. 
 
 You ought likewife to forcfee whether foreign wars 
 are to be expelled ; whether the Europeans are right 
 in faying, that the United States will one day wifh to 
 be conquerors. I do not believe it ; I believe rather 
 that their revolution will be contagious, efpecially if 
 their federal fyftem fhall maintain union and peace in 
 all parts of the confederation« This is the m^ftcrpoiat 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 3 1 
 
 of the revolution ; It ought to engage the whole force 
 of your meditations. 
 
 Tell us, finally, if the rage of law-making has pafled 
 the Teas with the colonics of the United States. You 
 will doubtlefs find there, many minds ftruck with the 
 diforders refultingfrom war and independence ; others 
 who preferve a lively image of the great liberty which 
 each individual ought to enjoy ; the firft will be 
 frightened at the lead difturbance, and wi(h to fee a 
 law or a ftatute applied to every trivial thing ; the 
 others think that laws can never be too few. What 
 is the prevailing opinion there on this fubjedl ? When 
 we confider what charms- and what utility rauft be 
 found in the private occupations of men in that coun- 
 try, we fhould think that the commonwealth would 
 remain a long timev/ithout intermingling with them. 
 But we are afTured that lawyers abound there, and 
 enjoy a dangerous Influence ; that the civil legiflation 
 is there, as in England, an abundant fource of law- 
 fuits and of diftrefs. Enlighten us- on this fubjeft. 
 We have often obfervcd, that civil legiflation hascor- 
 cupttd the beft political inftitutions; it is often a 
 crime againftvfociety. 
 
 Inji^rnal police, every where in Europe, is founded 
 on the opinion, that man is depraved, turbulent, and 
 wicked; and the timidity that wealth infpires, difpo- 
 fes the rich to regard the poor as capable only of be- 
 ing reftrained by fetters. Js this European truth a 
 truth in America^ 
 
 L E T T E R II. 
 
 On the Soily Produ^ions, Cultivations ti^c. 
 
 ft^ay ao, if 88, 
 
 AFTER having inftrudled us on all political fub- 
 jefts, and principally thofe on whic^ depend 
 internal and external peace, and the fecurity of indi- 
 viduals, you will have to contemplate the foil of Ame- 
 rica as relative to human induflry, which, in its turn, 
 ififlucnces prodigiouHy the different modes of living. 
 
32 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Itfeems, in thisj-efpeft, that all the great divifion? 
 of the earth (hould ref^mhle each other. It is poffible, 
 however, that America offers, in the fame fpace, more 
 aliments to induftry, more /fata, than can be found in 
 Europe. Fix our ideas upon thofe invitations that 
 nature has traced on the foil of America, inaddrelling 
 herfplf to the human underftanding. To particular- 
 ise minutely what the maps give us only in grofs, will 
 be more worthy of your attention, than the details 
 which intereft the painter, the poet, or the lover of an 
 EngUfh garden. 
 
 We have undertaken to advife the Americans to be 
 cultivators, and to leave to the Europeans thofe man- 
 ufa<5tures which agree not with a country life. You 
 will be curious to difcover their difpofition in this ref- 
 pe(5t. It ought to depend much on th© facility of 
 communication; and if, as it appears, independent 
 America, in a little time, and with fmall expence,, 
 may be interfered by canals in all direftions ; if this 
 advantage is fo generally felt, that they will apply 
 themfelvcs to it at an early period, there is no doubt 
 butin'America human aftivity will be occupied prin- 
 cipally in the produflion of fubfiftcnce, and of raw 
 materials. 
 
 It is the opinion in Europe, thatconfnmption caufes 
 produdion, and that the failure of confumption dif- 
 courages labour; for this reafon they require cities 
 and manufadlures. But there is, in all thefe opinions, 
 a great confufion of ideas, which the fpeftacle of-na- 
 tio IS, rifing undtr the protection of liberty, will aid 
 you in clearing up. You will fee, perhaps, with evi- 
 dence, that a man ceafes to fear the fiiperfiuity of fub- 
 iiftences, when he is no longer under the neccflity of 
 exchanging them for money, to pay his taxes and his 
 rents. Should this be his fear, and he has near him 
 the means of a cheap tranfpart, if he may himfelf load 
 his boat ar.d carry his provifions to market, and make 
 his traffic without quitting his boat, man is too fond 
 of aftivity to fufFer fuperfljity to impeie his induftry. 
 Thus, to engage him to open the bofom of the earth. 
 
- - • -#»^^.^ ^^■^■ 
 I - KEW TIIAVELS IN AMERICA. . 33 
 
 *' thgrc is no need that he lliould beaiTured beforehand 
 " what he (hall do with his grain. Expenccs are the 
 impediments ©f induftry ; and you will fee, without 
 dqabt, in America, a new order of things, where thcfe 
 expences are not etijoarrafTing.; the thcry ef con- 
 fumption, and produdion, is doubtlefs very different 
 from what is fuppofed in Europe. Endeavour, my 
 friend, to call to mind, that in this we have need of 
 more details, comparilons, calculations, f^£tk, and 
 proofs, than travellers generally bring together ; and 
 that this part of political ceconoTiy is flill entirely 
 ne\v, on account of the embarraliVrents, a birr- -flic 5; 
 difficulties, and difgufts which attend them in Europe. 
 It is on the accounts that you will give us in this 
 refpedl, that the opinions of your frieiids will be 
 formed. So rnany?mif:«dventure5 and in ifin formations 
 have hitherto accorrprajied emigrants, though virtu- 
 ous, anc^otherwife well-infcrmc^d, that people are in- 
 timid-ited from the attempt, though ill-fituated in 
 F'lrope. You knr>w what the Genevans have fuffered, 
 rather than go to Ireland. 
 
 Thus, my friend, if you wifh to inftrui5l thcfe who 
 would fly from the tyrannyof Europe, and who would 
 find a fituation of honeil induftry for their children, 
 fcudy the hiftory of efrigrants. Study the caufes of 
 the difafters of travellers; judge of their illuiions; 
 go to the places of deb:irkation, and learn the precau- 
 tions necellary to he taken to render cafy and agreea- 
 ble their firrt arrival. 
 . Begin with fuch as you know to be in e^Cy circum- 
 \' fiances, and defcending, by degrees, to the honeft in- 
 ; dividual, who, full of health and vigour, his coat on 
 his back, and his ftaff in his hand, carries with hicn 
 all he pofTtfles ; inform each one what he ought to 
 exped, if, after conquering all his averfions, and tak- 
 ing all his precautions, he determines to quit Europe, 
 to go to the land of liberty. 
 
 Finally, my friend, in all that concerns private life, 
 as in political relations, in the means of acquii'ing for- 
 tune ; as in the honeft ambition of ferving the public, 
 let your obfervations atteft that you have ncgledted 
 
34 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 no means of comparing the enjoyments of Europe, 
 with what may beexpefted among the tree Americans. 
 
 ^ 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Phr pfa Colony to be eJlMiJhed in America, 
 
 ^ May 21, 1788. 
 
 / HEN we contemplate, the American Revolution, 
 the circiimflances which have oppofed its p^r- 
 fe£lion, the' knowledge we are able to colledl for the 
 ?n.iii*ution of re])'jbMcs on a more perfciSl plan, the 
 Jands deftint-d by Cor-grefs for new States, and the 
 multitude uf happy circumdaiices which may facilitate 
 their preparatives, and prote£l their infancy, we are 
 )iurritd infenfibly into projcAs chimerical at the flrft 
 fight, which become atrr.^ding by refiedfon, and 
 which we abandon, but with regict, on account of 
 the diiKculty of finding a fufScient number of perfons 
 for their execution. 
 
 When a traft of land is offered for fale, and its lim- 
 its afcerti.ined, why cannot it be prepared, in all cir- 
 cu.r.ftances, for a republic, in the fame munner as you 
 prepare a houfe for your friends. 
 
 Penn had already feen the neceflity of regulating 
 beforehand, the coadu(5l of a colony on the foil which 
 they were going to inhabit. We have at prcfent many 
 more advantages than he had, to ordain and execute 
 the fame thing with more fuccefs ; and, inftead of 
 favcges, who gave him trouble, v/e fhould at prefent 
 be fuftaincd and protcded by the States, with which 
 we Ihouid be connected. 
 
 I have no doubt, that having acquired the foil, we 
 might eftjbliih a republic, better calculated for peace 
 and happinefs, than any now exifting, or that ever did 
 r:xift. Hitherto they have formed from chance and in- 
 voluntary combinations ; it has been neceflary in them 
 all, that national innovations Ihould be reconciled 
 \\ith abfurdities, knowledge ?/ith ignorance*, good 
 
Is^EW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 3 5 
 
 fenfe with prejudices, and wife inftitutions with bar- 
 bariftTvs. Hence that chaos, that eternal fource of 
 diftrcfTes, disputes, and diforders. 
 
 If luen of wifdonn and information fliould organize 
 the plan of a fociety before itexifted, and extend their 
 foreflght to every circun fiance of preparing proper 
 jnftitutions for the fornning of inorals, public and pri- 
 vate, and the encouragement of induftry, ought they 
 to be condemned as having formed an Eutopia ? I do 
 not believe it; it is my opinion even, xhM the love of 
 gain, the love of novelty, and the fpirit of philofophy, 
 would lend a hand to an enterprife, which, before the 
 American Revolution, might have beerj judged i^.m- 
 -prafticable. 
 
 Proiitjtherefore of your travels in America, to Inform 
 yourfelf, if, among the lands to be fold by Congrcfs, 
 there exifts not a fituation of eafy accefs, vvliere the 
 nature of the foil is favourable to in.^uflry, and its 
 other circumftances inviting to . the firft fettlers. It 
 fhould befurniflied with eafy communications by land 
 and water. 
 
 For thi« purpofe, there fliould be a topographical 
 tnap and defcription, fufficiently minute and extended, 
 to enable us to trace upon it the fnaller divifions. 
 There ought to be found levels, relative to a certain 
 ,.^point, in order to know beforehand the poflibility of 
 canals. All other objedls of confequcnce ought to be 
 noted at the fame time : fuch as the nature of the foil 
 in every part,the kinds of timber, the quarries of ftone, 
 '&c. This will doubtlefs be an expenfive operation ; 
 but any expences may be undertaken by great afibcia- 
 tions, and here are motives fufHcient to encourage 
 and reward a very expenfive one. 
 
 It will be nece^ary to know, on what conditions the 
 Congrefs would treat for the cellion of fuch a tr?.<5t, 
 and whether they would agree to take the principal 
 part of the payment, only as faft as the fettlers (hould 
 come to take pofleffion of their lands. 
 
 It would be dcfirable that the territory chofen, fiiould 
 he fuch that, at the place of the firfl fettlement, it 
 Vr'^uid be eafy to eftablilh conveniences for the recep- 
 
3 6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA- 
 
 tion of the fettlers, to provide, them fuch neceffarles as 
 will prcferve them from thofe embarrifT.nents and 
 calamities which fometii"nes throw infant ftttlcments 
 into trouble, mifery, and defpair. 
 
 After having acquired an exaft idea of what may be 
 expcfted from the nature of the foil, and its connedion 
 with nfighbouring places, we might then undertake 
 the work of forming a political and civil legiflation, 
 fuited to the new republic, and its local circumftances. 
 Such fhould be the tall; to be accamplifhed before the 
 people departed fro:r» hence ; that every fettler might 
 know beforehand what laws he is to live under, fo that 
 he will confent to them beforehand by choice. 
 
 The previous regulations ought to be carried (a far, 
 that every perfoa fhould forefee where he was going, 
 and what he was to do in order to fulfil his engage- 
 •ments; whether he was a pnrchaferof lands, or had 
 inroiled himfelf as a labourer. 
 
 The lands fhould not be fold out to individuals by 
 chance, and according to the caprice of each purchaf- 
 er ; but a plan fhould be purfued in the population, 
 that the people might aid each other in their labours, 
 and be a mutual folace and protection by their neigh- 
 bourhood. ,>i 
 
 The public expenceSjthofecf religion and education, 
 fhould be furnilhed by the produce of a portion of 
 land referved in each diftridl for that purpoie. Thefe 
 lands could be the public domain ; they ought to be 
 put in cultivation the firfl. There ought perhaps to be 
 a regulation for a regular fupply of workmen on the 
 public lands, roads, and other public works. By this 
 we fhould always h^ve employment for new comers, 
 and might receive ail men capable of labour, provided 
 their manners and charader were fuch as to entitle 
 them to be members of a new republic. 
 
 Thefe details will be fufficientto recall to your mind 
 our frequent converfatlons on a plan of this kind. If 
 you can acquire from Congr fs the certainty of being 
 able to realize it, fo far as it depends on them, and we 
 have only to find the company here to undertake it ; 
 I believe it may be cafily done in Europe. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 37 
 
 The company will have lands to fell; their price will 
 3ug'.r»ent in proportion as they come in vogue ; the 
 company will endeavour to render it an objedt of gen- 
 eral iittention, by the preparations made for the recep- 
 tion of the firft fettlers, in order to avoid the difficul- 
 ties incident to the beginning of an eftablifhment. I 
 doubt not, therefore, that this projed will offer a fufH- 
 cient profpeft of gain, to engage people to adventure 
 in it many :t>illions of livres. v 
 
 The better to determine them to it, the intered 
 ihould be divided into frnall fliares, and proper meaf- 
 ures taken to sffure the holders of fhares of an adminif- 
 tration v/orthy of confidence,; to prevent the abufes cf 
 truft, and watch over the execution of their refolves, 
 both refpefting their intereft and that of the fettlers. 
 
 A profpedus, fufHciently detailed, fhould inform the. 
 Public of the nature of the enterprife, the principal 
 obje6l of which fhould be to realize a republic, founded 
 on the Isfibns of experience and good fenfe, on the 
 principles of fraternity and equality, which aught to 
 unite mankind. 
 
 The principal means of its execution wiM be, to hare; 
 purchafed the lands fo as to be able to re-fcrll them at 
 a price fufficient'y lo'v, to encourage their cultivationi* ; 
 and at the fame time with funicleut profit to the com- 
 pany. For it is natural to obferve, that the difference 
 lietween the original value of lands in their wild (late, 
 and their value when an ci6live fettlement is begun 
 upon them, will aliure to the firft purchafers a prodi- 
 gious profit from their firft advances. 
 
 This, however, fuppofes, as I have already mention- 
 ed, that, receiving a frnall proportion of the purchafe- 
 money when the purch:ire4s made, the Congrefs will 
 confent to receive the principal payments only in pro- 
 portion as the lands may be re-fold to .individuals ; 
 without this condition, the enterprife would require 
 fuch great advances as to difcourage the undertaking. 
 
 Thus, the funds of the company fhould be compofe^^ 
 I. of the firfi payinsnts to be made to Congrefs ; 2. 
 the expences neceffary in acquiring a topographical 
 knowledge of the territqfy,an4 in n:)akir5gitsdivirions ; 
 
3S NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 3. the funds neceflary for public works, and the eftab- 
 llfl^ment for the reception of thofe who arrive, to in- 
 fure them againft want and difcouragement. 
 
 Thefe three objefts will doubtkfs require a confid- 
 crable fund ; but the rifing value of the lands to be 
 fold, and to be paid for only as faft as they are fold, 
 will greatly indemnify the undertakers. Thefe are 
 the folid arguments to be offered to the lovers of gain. 
 Many other confiderations iright be detailed in the 
 profpe£lu€, to determine philofophers and friends of 
 humanity to become (harers. 
 
 This is enough, my friend, to recall to your mind 
 inore ideas than i can give you on the fabjeft. Study 
 it ; and if at the firfi: view it l®oks romantic, find the 
 means of faving it frjom that objection ; converfe upon 
 it with intelligent pcrfcns ; find fuchas are fufiiciently 
 attached to great objedls, to be willing to concur in 
 them with zeal, when they are defigned for the aid and 
 confolation of humanity. 
 
 Age v/ill prevent me from undertaking in this great 
 work. It feenns to me, that there is nothing like it in 
 times paft, that it would be greatly ufeful to the fix- 
 ture, and would mark the American revolution with 
 one of the happieil effej^s which it can produce. Is 
 not this enough to animats the generous ambition of 
 thofe who have youth, health,and cournge, fo as not to 
 be frightened at difliculties, or diflieartened by delays ? 
 
 J.ETTER IV. 
 
 Miy 21, 1788. 
 
 THE Utopia will be but a dream ; and you will 
 fyndy without doubt, the new American fettle- 
 pients invincibly deftined to a fcattering herd of peo- 
 ple, who will form infenfibly, by the addition of new 
 families and individuals ; without following any plan, 
 without providing fuch laws as would be fuitable to 
 them, when their herds ftiall become fufticicntly nu- 
 merous to be reprefented as a republic in the federal 
 ynJQn. It is thus that all political fyftcms f«em con- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 39 
 
 demned to refemble what has already taken place in 
 fuch and fijch a ftate, according as the multit.ude, or 
 fome bold leader, (hall decide. ,- ^ 
 
 We niiift, then, abandon this projetfl ; and then, 
 where '^'ill you place thofe friends whom we wlHi to 
 eflabllfh in America. You will inform yourfeif, foi^ 
 them, of tiie progrcfs of population and civilization in 
 Kentucky, of which they tell Co many wonders. Bjt 
 rtflefl on two things : iirll:. That our fcttlervient will 
 be very uncertain, if we mufl go ourfelves-tojirepar^ir, 
 build houfes. Sec. Some perfons mull, therefore, ^o 
 before the others ; and when fiiall they rejoin ? Ho'.v 
 many accidents may intervene ! When the eaiigranc 
 fiociety Hull be formed in Europe, the members ought 
 all to go at once; but in that cafe they fliould make 
 choice of a certain traft in the neighbourhood of a 
 town, M?l}?re the people could be lodged, till they 
 could build their houfes. This precaution feems to 
 exclude Kentucky ; for no good to-vn is fiiflicientlv 
 near it. You will ftrc, then, my friend, how it will bi 
 poflible to reconcile every thing, and fi:id a pofirion 
 whfre thf piin and vexation wiil notftirpafs thefati:;- 
 fc?<flion. Your t^fit is.not a trifling one in maki»ig this 
 ex.imi nation ; for yoh mufl not forget, that, to fitisfy 
 the perfons whom we wiih not to leave behind, we 
 muil have a fituation v;here we can unite the advanta- 
 ges of commerce with' thofe of agricull-ure ; we mufc 
 hi near a n.r.'igjble river, communicating with thefea; 
 we trlufl have a town, where we can find failors, vel- 
 felf, &:. In a word, thofe among us who- fhall have 
 h^'-n accuit-iied ro the afi-'-iirsof comfherce an.l of 
 manufaflures, mud not be placed in a pofihon v/hich 
 fnill for:^ th<tin abfolutely to. renounce their habirs, 
 and expofe themfelves to regrets ; for you know that 
 one is never v,-eary in walking, as long as a horfe or a 
 carriage marches by his (ide, which he may ufe when- 
 ever he pleafes. 
 
 Iris a pity that Pittlbiirg is not more populouj, or 
 tir.t Virginia isfeparatedbydefarts from the new States. 
 
 It is ufelefs to tnter into more particular details on 
 ihis matter; you knjj^ us : i ihall only rccomnoend to 
 

 40 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA- 
 
 you anntrention to the climate. A fine fky, tempeya- 
 Turc of Paris, no muH^etoes, agreeable lituation, and 
 g?o(i foil, are things indifpenfable. 
 
 Thi niimeron? obfervaiions which you propofe to 
 rdlledl for the iiul:rii6lion of the publii:, will inform us 
 o' niar?y other thi-gs, which I fliould mention here, 
 :• rhcy did not enter into your general plan. In ob- 
 serving cuflorns and tailes. forget not the article of 
 muiic, coT?ridered in its effects on the powers of the 
 mind. The taller for mn lie is general in Europe; we 
 ?^r::ike of it one "of the principal objtds of edjcation. 
 jS it foin America ? 
 
 Finally, As we are not needy adventurers, think, 
 what anfwers ycu mufl give, when o'lr wives, our 
 childrcD, and even ourfelves, ihall ailL you what*ts to 
 3 done on d'ur arrival in confiderable numbers in 
 America ; -'for,-' a* we cannot fend forv/ard a meli'enger 
 v;e onp;'nt f<S ''VVrcvice for cvvr idtbarkution in an un- 
 
 ^. 
 
 L E T T E R V. 
 
 May 22, 1788. 
 
 AFTER having given you my thoughts on general 
 fubjefts, it is unneceflary to be more particular 
 on thofe which promife' a more certain and prdpable 
 -advantage to your travels. I mean the pnrchafe of 
 ■ands or public funds, according as circumftances 
 >nay invite. 
 
 Three clalTes of per'fons roay wifli to purchafe-lands 
 in the Utiited States: thofe who n»ean to employ others 
 10 cultivate tkem, thofe who will cultivate for them - 
 fc-Ives, and thofe who willi to place their money in 
 them, with the profped th?.t thefe lands will increafe 
 in value, in proportion to the population. 
 
 Let us leave the two firft clalfes to tinake their own 
 choice. Your general obfervations, to be publifhed 
 on your return, will inftru6l filch as vvifli to remove to 
 America, how to go and choofe for themf^ves. 
 
 The cafe of the fimple fpeculators is different.. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 41^ 
 
 Some wifli to purchafe, to fell again to a profit as fooa 
 as poflible; others extend their views farther, and^ 
 calculating the vicillitudes of Europe, find it verypni- 
 d'ent to place a dead fund inlands, which, by the efFsdIf 
 o-f neighbouring population, will acquire a great Vuli»c- 
 in the courfe of years. 
 
 Many heads of families, provident for their defcen- 
 dants, place dead funds in a bank, to accumulate, in 
 favour of their children. A greater number would do 
 the fame thing, if there wffre a fatisfaftory folution of 
 all queftions in the Chapter of Accidents. Now, no- 
 thing appears to me better to anfwer this wife precau- 
 tion, than to place fuch money on the cultivated foil 
 of the United States. 
 
 The information that you will be able to give on 
 tiiis fubjed, will be very ufeful. There arc lands, 
 which from their pofition, muft remain uncleared for 
 a longer or fhorter pericJ ; others rendered valuable 
 by the neighbourhood of rivers and other important 
 communications i ethers on account of their timber^ 
 kc. Sec. 
 
 ' But, can lands be purchafed with full furety ? Are 
 there any Aire methods eftablifhed, to recognize ter- 
 ritorial property, tliat may reft for fome time without 
 vifible marks or bounds ? Is there no rilk of finding 
 one's property in the pofieflion of another, cr of hav- 
 ing purchafed that of another ? 
 
 The prefent is the epoch that Vv^ill decide the Euro- 
 peans, as to their confidence in the United States. I 
 doubt not but the States in general will fanftion the 
 conftitution ; and from that time every eye ought to 
 look upon America as being in the road of unfailing 
 profperity. Then, without doubt, many Europeans 
 will think of purchafing lands there. I know of no 
 period when the fpirit of fp^culation has been fo gen- 
 eral as at prefent; no period which prefents a revolu- 
 tion like that of independent America ; and no foun- 
 dation fo folid as that which they are about to eftab- 
 lifh. Thus, paft events prove nothing againft what I 
 prefume of the difpofitions of men's minds relative t© 
 this bufinefs. 
 
^^.v^r-^^^^.- 
 
 42 NEW TRAVELS IN'AMERICA. 
 
 I fhould not be aftonifhed, then, if he who applies 
 himfelf to the knowledge of lands in this point of 
 view, and gives folutions to all queftions of caution 
 and diffidence, Ihould engage the Europeans to very 
 great purchafes. 
 
 LETTER Vli 
 Meihcd of Obfervationsycr mf Trwuels in Jmcrica^* 
 
 May, 1788. 
 
 MY principal ohjed is, tc examint the effefts of liberty 
 on the charader ofmatty cffocietyy mnd of government. 
 This being the grand point of all my obfervation^, in 
 order to arrive at it, 1 muft write every evening, in a 
 journal, what has principally ftruck me in the day. 
 As my obfervations will refer to five or fix grand divi- 
 fions, I fhali make a tablet for each divifion. The fol- 
 lowing are the divifions : 
 
 Federal Gonjernment, 
 
 To collect altthofe points in which the ancient fyf- 
 tem refeiwbles the new : — to obtain all that has been 
 written on the fubjeft ; among other things, the Let- 
 ters of Publius : — to remark the inconveniences of thq 
 old fyftem, the advantages of the new, the objedions 
 madeagainftit, the general opinions on the new gov- 
 crament. 
 
 Ohfer^uations of my Friend Claviere. 
 
 A number of little States, whofe extent is not fo 
 great as to render the operations of their individual 
 government too complicated, may be united under 
 one general government, charged with maintaining 
 
 * I thought f refer topublijh this method : it may be ujeful 
 toother traveller i, Ihe method is mne 9 tht obfer'v$tms 
 ^refrom M, Claviere, 
 
' NEWTRAVEts PN AMERICA. 43 
 
 internal peace, and renderin«: their union refpeftable 
 abroad. Such, without doubt, is the political affocia- 
 tion which is attended- with the greateft advantages. 
 You irjuft then endeavour principally to find v/hat we 
 hava a right to exped from the prefent federal form 
 ©f the United States. 
 
 Government cf each State, 
 
 To confider the compofition of the legiilative boidy,- 
 the fenate, and executive power ; ele<ftions ; any abufes' 
 that may be in them. Compare the effefts of each 
 legiflature, to judge which is the beft. 
 
 Obfern; at ions'. — What sre we to e;cpe(5l from theif 
 diiTimilarities ? In what do they conllfl principally? 
 They all acknowledge the fupremacy of the people ; 
 but it is not preferved to them in an equal manner in 
 all ; and where they cannof refiime it without a fedi- 
 tion, there can be little certainty of peace. Peace is 
 very doubtful, likewife, where the will of the people 
 isfubjeft to the flow forms of inftru£lion. The difFer- 
 ent States fhould be examined after this principle. 
 
 Legijlatiotty Ci-vili Criminal ; Police, 
 
 In examining thefe obje£ls, fadls only are to be at- 
 tended to. Their comparifon with thofe of other 
 countries can be made afterwards. 
 
 State of the Commerce het^iueen each State^ and the Salvages y 
 the Canadians y Nova-Scotia, the Englifh IJlands, France 3 
 Spairiy Holland y Northern States of Europe , Mexico, Chinas 
 iuSiiy Africa. 
 
 To remark the pjincipal articles of exportation and 
 importation ; the number of vefTels employed ; the 
 ftate of money ufed in commerce. 
 
 Ohfer'VKUons, — Forget not to fix well the matters 
 of exchange, efpecially with the Spanifh poflefllons ; 
 for it is principally thence that their gold and filver 
 muft come. Po they go by land to the weHern coaft 
 
44 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 
 
 of America ? Do the free Americans travel among, 
 their neighbours the Spaniards ? • 
 
 Is their money-fyftem a fimple one ? Has it a ftand- 
 ard conllant and eafy to conceive ? Is it of a perma- 
 nent nature ; fo that, in a courfe of time, one may 
 alwivs judge of the price of things, in bringing them 
 to a tenw of comparifon not liable to change? This 
 can only be done by having one integral metal, to 
 which others relate, either as merchandize, or as a bill 
 of credit referring to money, with regard to wkich it 
 expreffes a right, but not an intrinlic value. A piece 
 of coined copper, for inftanc.e, is a bill of credit, on 
 the portion of that metal which is adopted as a lland- 
 ard of value : for coined copper has by no means the 
 intrinfic value of that portion of money which it 
 reprefents. 
 
 Banks» 
 
 Oh/er'vc.tichs. — Banks arcan important article in the 
 commonwealth; the proportion which they obferve 
 between the money they contain, and the bills they 
 circulate, is their great fecret, the criterion of their 
 folidity. Thofe which have liftle or no money, and 
 which circulate many bills, are in a precarious and 
 dangerous condition. Read with attention in Smith, 
 the Hiftory of Banks in Scotland. It is very natural 
 t© be led ailray on this fubjeft, which cannot be too 
 much fimplified, if you wiOi to examine it thoroughly. 
 
 Federal Reiienue of each State— Taxes ^lich they imfoje — 
 Manner cf colle£iing them — ifeB of theje Taxes^, 
 
 Obfer'vations. — What is the prevailing fyftcm of tax- 
 ation ? Is land confidered as the bafis of taxes ? In 
 that cafe, is it known that it is dangerous to difcour- 
 age the farmer ? Why have they not refcrved a domain 
 to the States ? 
 
 7he Federal IXebt sf every State — Thi^e of Individual s — 
 Federal Expc>:c$t •[ each State — I'heir Accountability ^ 
 
 Ob/ervaf ions .-^The debt has been reduced ; and 
 th»y juftify this rtdu£Uon b)r the enorajous prices of 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 45 
 
 provifiors and ftores which have farmed the debt. 
 Read p.gain the Mei^cirs.of Mr. S. you will fee that 
 there was a n-.cment when the fcale of depreciation 
 was unjuft. 
 There ape curious inquiries to be made on this fub- 
 
 ^je£l. Why did they gain fo much before they allowed 
 a depreciation ? Bccaufe they ran a rifk of another 
 kincf; they doubted of the pofiibility of payment, 
 becaufe they v/ere not fure of the fucccfs of the rev- 
 olution, In this point of view, how do tUey juftrfy the 
 fcale of depreci.ition, efpecially towards thoYe who had 
 
 ' no i.'-.terefl in the revolution ? 
 
 ' M:)rey was very fcarce i this was a great g:aufe of 
 
 : dlfjrcdrt. It mufthave been dlftreiring- to thofe who 
 were reduced to the necefllty of borrowing : bene?; 
 great augmentations in the prices of articles. In fon^c 
 
 ..'inftance?, \v3s not the reduction unjufl ? This taken 
 from nrfl: to lait, muft be a very curious 'hiftory. It 
 viiil, perhaps, t?.':ch r.s, that th.cy have n>ar!e a frau- 
 dulent bankruptcy. But, in this cafe, there is noth- 
 ing to fear from this conclufion ; befides, fuppofing 
 extortion on the pait of the creditors, it does not juft- 
 >fy a reduction on the ^art of the debtor : nothing 
 but necefiity can juilify this. The new Encyclopedia 
 fays, that the diforders which occafioned the depreci- 
 sition, exifted before the war. 
 
 Butif pnper-money exifted then, that of every f^ate 
 v/is not in difcredit ; and yet the depreciation has 
 flruck at all piper-money without exception. 
 ft It is faid ill the Encyclopedia, that the depreciation 
 v*^ had not injured ftrangers. Is this-a'faft ? 
 
 k is very important to obtain a juft idea of the Pub- 
 lic expences ueceffary to the Americans in future ; and 
 to penetrate as much as pollible, the public opinion 
 on this fubje(5l. What do they think of loans ? They 
 *" are fometimes a benefit > but the wifeft governments 
 are the moft careful to avoid this refource. When 
 they once begin, they kno^ not v/here they can ftop. 
 
 Public loajis arc always fo much taken from induf- 
 try ; and the theory of jreilofing to it what is thus 
 t^ken, is always deceitful. 
 
46 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 The Air.ericans ought to hold them in averfion, 
 from the evils which they now experience from them ; 
 at leaft, unlefs they owe their liberty to them. 
 
 St£teoftJ:e Counity ngar the great Tcwns — Interior Parts 
 "— Fr 01: tiers— Cithi'vat ion ', its E:Kpirtces and Produce % 
 flcarirg iie-iu Lauds, auhat encourages or hinders it — 
 Money circulating in the Country — Country Manvfadtu-es- 
 
 06jer--vati'ins. — It is faid, that the lands are uiicuUi- 
 vsted near New-York ; that this town is furrounded 
 ^with forcfis, :ind that though fire-wood is cheap, they 
 prefer coals, even at an high price. 
 
 It fhoiild feem, that commerce was in fuch a ftate 
 £1 New -York, that agiicnlture is defpifed there, or 
 that they purchzfe provjfions at a lower price than 
 they can raife them. If this be true, there are fingn- 
 iarities to be explained, which we know nothing of 
 in Europe. 
 
 Confider the ftate of comsnerce and of agriculture 
 in America, under fuch a point of view as to.deter- 
 rrir.e why tliey incline to the one rather than to the 
 other. 
 
 Ycu Vv'ill f.nd, perhcps, tHa't thc^ origin of newcom- 
 ers detcrnnines their vocation. The Bnglifh arrive 
 with their heads filled with commerce, becaufe they 
 h£ve fome pioperty; the S:otch, Irilh, Germans, and 
 ethers, wbc arrive poor, turn to agriculture, snd are, 
 befides, for the greater part, peSfants. In clearing up 
 thefe faclr, you will tell us what a little property, the 
 love of labour, united to fjmplicity of manners, and 
 turned to a<»riculture, will produce. 
 
 What is the true reafon of the low price of cultiva- 
 ted f.irms and houfes ? Doubtlefs there is a great e:<- 
 cefs of produilions, compared with theconfumptions ; 
 in that cafe, farming renders little profit. 
 
 They fpeak much of the advantages of rearing cat- 
 tle. Nations have prejudices, tafUs, whims, like indi- 
 viduals. What do they think of manufadlurcs in the 
 United States ? What is the prevailing mode of agri- 
 culture in America ? 'Do they fpeak of the greit an4 
 the little culture ? 
 
KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 47 
 
 Pri'vate Morals in the Towns and in the Country. 
 
 Qbfervations. — Do you find manners truTj^American? 
 Gr do you not rather, at every inftsnt, find Europe at 
 your heels ? Speak to us of education public and pri- 
 vate. Do they, as in Europe, facrlnce the time of 
 theyouth in ufelefs and iafignificant ftudies ? Make 
 acquaintance, as far as pofiible, with the minifters of 
 religion. Is paternal authority more refpeded there, 
 than in Europe ? Does the mild education of Roufieau 
 prevail among the free Americans ? '' * 
 
 Inequalities tf Fortune. 
 
 Forget not, under this head, the fubjefl of marri- 
 ages, dowers, and teftaments. Ufages, in thefe ref- 
 petfls, prevent or accelerate inequality. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 From M. de^WJRVILLE, 
 
 Havre de Grace, June 3, 1788. 
 
 I AM at laft, my friend, arrived rear* the ocean, and 
 in fight of the (hip that is to carry me from my 
 country. I quit it without regret ; fince the minifte- 
 fiai dcfpotifin which overwhelms it, leaves nothing to 
 cxpe6lfor a long time, but frightful fiorms, fiavery, 
 or war. May the woes which threaten this fi:ne coun- 
 
 |»* try, fpare what I leave in it the rooft dear to my heart ! 
 
 * I Ihall not defcribe the cities and countries which I 
 have paiTed on my wsy hither. My imagination was 
 too full of the di(treilliig f; • ftacle I was leaving be- 
 hind ; my mind was thronged with too many cares 
 and fears, to be able to make obf-TVations. Infenfible 
 to all the fcencs which prefented themfelves to me, I 
 was \vilh difficulty dra^A-n from this intelleftual part- 
 ly fis, at the View df feme parts of Nornaandy, which 
 brought England to my'ini.id. 
 
j^ 8 NEW TR AVELS IN AMERICA 
 
 The fields of Normandy, cfpecially the canton of 
 Caux, difplay a great variecy of culture. Tiie houles 
 of the peafnnts, better built, and better lighted than 
 thofe of Picardy and Be3uce, announce the e^fe which 
 generally reigns in this province. The peafaats are 
 well ilad. You know the odd head-drefs of the wo- 
 iDen of Caux ; the cap in rhe forna of a pyramid, the 
 hair turned back, coaflrained, plaiftered with powder 
 and greafe, and the tinfel which always disfigures fim- 
 pie nnture. But we excufe this little luxury, in con- 
 tildering that, if their hufbands wfere as miferable as 
 the peafants of other provinces, they 'would not have 
 the means of paying the expence. The Norman pea- 
 fants have that arr of contentment and independence 
 which isobfervable in thofeof the Aulirian Flanders ; 
 that calm and open cc^untenance, an infallible fign of 
 the happy nnediocrity, the moral gcodneCs, and the 
 dignity of man. If ever France fhall be governed by 
 a free conftitution, no province is belter fituated, or 
 enjoys nnore means to arrive at an high degree of prof- 
 perity. 
 
 Bclbec and Bottesi near Havre, contain fome fitua- 
 tio{i« quite pifturefque and (delicious for the hermitage 
 of a philoTrpher, or- the manfion of a family ?/ho feek 
 their happinefs within themfelves. 
 
 I fled from Rouen as from all great towns. Mifery 
 dwells there at the fide of opulence. You. there meet 
 a numerou^ train of wretches covered with rags, 
 with fallow c©mpl«xioriS, and deformed bodies. 
 Ever)' thing announces that there are n:anufAftories in 
 that town ; that is to fay, a crowd of miferable beings 
 ■who perifh with hunger, to enable others*to fwiifi ia 
 opulence. 
 
 The merchants of H.ivre complain much; qf the 
 treaty of commerce between France and England ; 
 they think It at leaft premature, confideriigour wr» it 
 of a conftitution, ?.nd the fupcriority of the Englifh 
 induflry. They complain likewife that the merchant 
 was not confiilted in forming it. I endeavoured to 
 confole them by ifeying, that the confequences 6i this 
 treaty, joined witH other circumllances, would daubt- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. A9 
 
 jsfs lead to a free conflitution ; which, by knocking 
 ofFtbe fhackles from French indufrry and commerce, 
 would enable us to repair ourlolTes; and that fome 
 liankruptcies would be but a fir.all price for liberty. 
 ''•Vith regard to the indifference of the miniftry in con- 
 fulting the merchants, I convinced them, that it was 
 as much thcrefuU of fervile fear, and want of public 
 fpirit in the merchants, as of the principles of an un- 
 limited monarchy. It admits to the adminiflratioa 
 none but fnort-fighted intriguers, and prefumptuous 
 knaves ; and this kind of minifters love not confulta- 
 tions. 
 
 Havre is, next to Nantz and Bordeaux, the mofi: 
 confiderable place for the flave trade. Many rich 
 houfcs in this city, owe their fortunes to this infamous 
 traffic, which increafes, inftead of diminifhing. There 
 is, at prefont, a greit demand for flavcs in the colonies, 
 occafioned by the augmentation of the demand for 
 fiigar, coffee, and cotton, in Europe. Is it true then 
 that wealth increafes ? You may believe it, perhaps, 
 if you look into England ; but the interior parts of 
 France give no fuch idea. 
 
 Our negro traders believe, that were it not for the 
 confiderable premiuris given by the government, this 
 trade could not fubfift ; becaufe the Englifh fell their 
 ilaves at a much lower price than the French. I have 
 many of thefe details from an American captain, who 
 is well acquainted with the Indies, and with Africa. 
 He affures me, that the negroes are, in general, treated 
 much better on board the French than the Englifh 
 fhips. And perhaps, this is the reafon why the French 
 cannot fupport a concurrence with the Englifh, who 
 nourifli them worf?, and expend lefs. 
 
 I fpoke with fome of thefe merchants of thefocieties 
 formed in America, England, and France, for the abo- 
 lition of this horrid commerce. They did not know 
 of their exiftince, and they cenfidered their efforts as 
 the movements of a blind and dangerous enthufiafm. 
 Filled with old prejudices, and not having read any of 
 the profound difcufGons which this philofophical and 
 political infurredion has excited in Eigland, they 
 E 
 
so NEW TRA\nELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 leafed not to repeat to me, that the culture of fugar 
 could not be carried on, but by the blacks, and by 
 black flaves. The whites, they fay, cannot undertake 
 it, on account of the extreme heat ; and no work can 
 be drawn out of the blacks, but by the force of the 
 whip. 
 
 To this objedlion, as to twenty others which I have 
 heard an hundred times repeated, I oppafed the vi<Slo- 
 rious anfwers which you know ;* but 1 converted no- 
 body. Intereft ftill fptaks too high ; and it is not 
 .enough inflrudled. 
 
 Thefe French merchants have confirmed to me a 
 fa6l, which the fociety in London has announced to 
 us ; it is, that the Englifh carry on this trade under the 
 name of French houfes, and thus obtain the premiums 
 which the French government give to this commerce. 
 Thefe premiums amount to one hilfof the original 
 price of the flaves. 
 
 I mentioned to them an eflablifiiment formed at 
 Sierra Leona, to cultivate fugar by free hands, and ex- 
 tend their culture and civilization in Africa. They 
 anfwered me, that this fettlement would not long fub- 
 fifl ; that the French and Englifh merchants viewed it 
 with an evil eye, and would employ force to deftroy 
 their rifing colony. f 
 
 Thefe merchants appeared to me to have more pre- 
 judice than inhumanity ; and that if they could be 
 told of a new commerce more advantageous, it would 
 not be difficult to induce them to abandon the fale of 
 the wretched Africans. Write then, print, and be not 
 weary in giving information. 
 
 I fee in this port, one of thofepackets deftined for 
 the correfpondence between France and the United 
 States, and afterwards employed in the very ufelefs 
 and expenfive royal correfpondence with ourlflands ; 
 
 * See Clarkfcn, Fmjfard, tffc. 
 
 f -7 /lis tvfernal frojed has fucceededy hut the triumph ivill 
 net be long \fcr twojocieties are formed in Lo7tdcn,to colonixe 
 in Africa, and cin^ilize the blacks. See, on this fuhjeSit an 
 fjcctlkntfarnphlet, entitled J L'Admiral refute parlui mcme. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 5 1 
 
 a fyftem adopted only to favour, at the public expence, 
 fomc cf the creatures of the miniftry. This fhip, 
 called Marechal de Cajlries, was built in America, and 
 is an excellent failer. This is the bed anfwer to all 
 the fables uttered at the office of Alsrineat Verfiilles,. 
 againft the American timber, and the American con- 
 ftru6tion. 
 
 Adieu, my friend ! the wind is fair, and we r.re on 
 the point cf embarking. I am impatient ; for every 
 thing here affiicts me; even the accents of pntriotifra 
 are alarming and fufpicious. Such is the fatal influ- 
 ence of arbitrary governments: they fever all connec- 
 tions, they cramp confidence, induce fufpicion, and, 
 ©fccnllquence, force men of liberty and feniibility to- 
 feqiiefter themfelves, to be wretched, or to live in eter- 
 nal fear. I p3in;,to you, here, the martyrdom which 
 I have endured for fix months ; I have not feen a new 
 face, that has not given me fpfpicion. This fituation 
 is too violent for me- "n a fev^«^ij2iir§ my bread v;ill be 
 at cafe, rry foul will be quiet. What happinefsT am 
 going to enjoy in breathing a free air ! 
 
 LE T TER II. 
 
 BoJlcn.July 30, 178?. 
 TlJ7iTH what joy, my good friend, did 1 leap to 
 VV ^'^'^ Ihore of liberty I 1 v/as weary of thefea 5 
 and the fight of trees, of towns, and even of men, gives 
 a delicious refrcfliment to eyes fatigued with the dclfert 
 of the ocean. Iflew from defpotif.n, and came at laft 
 to eiijoy the fpe(5lacle of liberty, among a people, 
 where nature, education, and habit had engraved the 
 equality of rights, v/hich every where elfe is'treated ai 
 a chimera. With what pleafuredid I contemplate this 
 town, which firft (hook off the Engliili yoke I which, 
 for a long time, refifted ail the fedu6lions, all the mc-^ 
 naces, all the horrors of a civil v/ar ! How I delicrhted 
 to wander up and down that long ftreet, whofe fimple 
 hcufts cf wood border the iragnificent channel of Bof- 
 
52 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ton, and whofe full ftores cfrer me all the prodiiftlons 
 of the continent which I had quitted ! How I enjoyed 
 the aflivity of the merchant?, the artizans, and the 
 failors ! It was not the noify vortex of Paris ; it was 
 not the unquiet, eager mien of my own country-nen ; 
 it was the rirpj)!e,dignilied air of men who are confcious 
 of liberty, and who fee in all men their brothers and 
 their equals. Every thing in this ^rcet bears the marks 
 cfatownftlilin its inf.incy,but which, even in its in fancy, 
 enjoys a grratprcfpcrity. 1 thought my fclf in thritSalen- 
 tum, of which the lively pencil of Fenelon h?.s left us fo 
 charming animage. But tlieprcfp^rityof thisnewSalen- 
 tum wes not the work of one man, ota king, or a min- 
 iiier ; it is the fruit of liberty, that parent of induflry. 
 Every thing is r.ipid, every thing great, every thing 
 durable with her. A royal or minifi^rial profperity, 
 like a king or a iriiniilcr, h?.3 only the dur.ition of :i 
 irioment. Bjfton is juft rifing from the devaftitims 
 t>f war, and its conrimerce is llouriiliing ; its manufac- 
 tures, produdion?, arts, and fciences, ofF:-r a number 
 of curious and intereHing obfcrvations. 
 
 The manners of the people are not exa£lly the fame 
 as defcribed by M. de Crevecceur. You no longer 
 meet here that Prefbyterian auiterity, which interdic- 
 ted all pleafure?,even that of walking ; which forbade 
 travelling on Sunday, which perfecuted men whofa 
 opinions were different from their own. The Boflo- 
 nians unite fimpliciry of morals with that French 
 politenefs and delicacy of manners which render virtue 
 more amiable. They are hofpitable to ftrangcrs, and 
 obliging to friends ; they are tender hufbands, fond 
 and almoft idolatrous parents, and kind mafters. 
 Mafic, which their teachers formerly profcribed as a 
 diabolical art, begins to make part of their education. 
 In fome houfc-s yoa hear the forte-piano. This art, 
 it is true, is ftill in its infmcy ; but the young novices 
 who cxercife it, are fo gentle, fo complaifant, and fo 
 modeft, that the proud pcrfc^:tion of art gives no plea- 
 fure equal to what they afford. God grant that the 
 Boftonian women may never, like thofe of France, ac- 
 quire the malady of perfedion in this art ! It is never 
 attained, but at the cxpcnce of the da.n^flic virtues* 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 53 
 
 The young women here, enjoy the liberty they do in 
 England, that they did in Geneva when morals were 
 there, and the republic exifted ; and they do notabufe 
 it. Their frank and tender hearts have nothing to 
 fear from the perfidy of men. Examples of this perfi- 
 dy are rare ; the vows of love are believed ; and love 
 always refpeds them, or fhame follows the guilty. 
 - The Boftonian mothers are refcrved ; their air is 
 however, frank, good, and comnsunicative. Entirely 
 devofed to their families, they are occupied in render- 
 ing their hufbands happy, and in training their chil- 
 dren to virtue. 
 
 The law denounces heavy penalties againft adulte- 
 ry ; fuch as the pillory, and imprifonment. This 
 law has fcarcely ever been called into execution. It is 
 becaufe families are happy ; and they are pure, be- 
 caufe they are happy. 
 
 Neatncfs without luxury, is a chara<5leriflic feature 
 of this purity of manners ; and this neatnefs is ieea 
 every whe*e at Bofton, in their drefs, in their houfcs, 
 and in their churches. Nothing is more charming 
 than an infide view of the church on Sunday. The- 
 good cloth coat covers the man ; callicoes and chintzes 
 drefs the women and children, without being fpoiled 
 by thofe gewgaws which whim and caprice have add- 
 ed to them among our women. Powder and poma- 
 tum never fully the heads of infants and children : I 
 fee them with pain, however, on the heads of men : 
 they invoke the art of the hair-dreller ; for, unhappily, 
 this art has already crofTed the feas. 
 
 I fliall nsvcr call to mind, without emctirn, the 
 pleafure lone day had in hearing the refpedlable Mr. 
 Glark?, fuccelTor to Dr. Chauncy. His church is in 
 clofe union with that of Dr. Cooper, to whijjn e very- 
 good Frenchman, and every friend of liberty, owes a 
 tribute of gratitude, for the love he bore the French, 
 and the zeal with which he defended and preached the 
 American independence. I remarked in this auditory, 
 the exterior of that eafe and contentment of which I 
 have fpoken ; that colleaed calmncfs, refulting from 
 the habit of gravity, and the confcicus prcfence of the 
 E 2 
 
54 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Almighty ; that religions decency, which is equally 
 diftant from grovelling idolatry, and from the light 
 and wanton airs of thofcEuropeans who go to a church 
 as to a theatre, 
 
 Spe^atum <vemunt, veniuit fpeSlentur ut ipfa* 
 
 But, to crown my happinefs, I faw none of thofe 
 livid wretches, covered with rags, who iii Europe,- 
 folicitingour compaflion at the foot ot the altar, fcem 
 to bear teftimony againft Providence, our humanity, 
 and the order of fociety. The difcourfe, the prayer, 
 the worfnip, every thing, bore the fame fimplicity. 
 The fermon breathed the heft morality, and it wa's 
 heard with attention. 
 
 The excellence of this morality charafterlzes almoft 
 all the fermons of all the fefts through the Continent. 
 The minifters rarely fpeak dogmas: univerfal tolerance, 
 the child of American independence has banilhed thtr • 
 preaching of dogmas, which always lead to difcullion 
 and quarrels. All thefedls admit nothing but morality, 
 which is the fame in all, and the only preaching proper 
 for a great fociety of brothers. 
 
 This tolerance is unlimited at Bofton ; a town for- 
 merly witnefs of bloody perfecutions, efpecially againft 
 theQuakers; where manycf this fed paid,with their life 
 for their ptrfeverance in their religious opinions. Juft 
 Keuven ! how is it poflible there can exift men believ- 
 ing fincerely in God, and yet barbarous enough to in- 
 ilid death on a woman, the intrepid Dyer,* becaufe flic 
 
 * M. dc Warville appears to have been m'lftnformed 
 tviih vef^iEl to the fever ity of fhe perfecutions againft 
 the ^takers in Maffachufetts ; and particularly the 
 tircuinjlances relating to Airs. Djer. This woman^ 1 
 believe is the only per fon ever put to death in that colony 
 for any thing couneEled ivith religious principles. The 
 Jjighejl penalties infUHed by laiu againji the ^takers ^ 
 tr any other feci, on account of its religion , was baniflj" 
 fjisnt. The fakers then formed afettkmeni at Rhodi 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 55 
 
 ihee*d2Lnd thouii m^n, becaufe fhe did not believe ii\ 
 the divine miffion of pricils, becaufe fhe would follow 
 the gofpel literally ? But let us draw the curtain over 
 thefefccnes of horror ; they will never again fully this 
 new continent, deftined by fleavtn to be the afylum 
 of liberty and humanity. Every one at prefent wor- 
 fhips God in his own way at Bofton. Anahaptifts> 
 Methodifts, Quakers, and Catholics, profefs openly 
 their opinfons : and all offices of government, places 
 and emoluments, are equally open to all feels. Virtue, 
 
 IJland ; hut fever al of them returned frequently t§ 
 J^IafJhckufettSy luith fuch a zeal for making prof elytesy 
 as to diflurh the order of focicty. The difohedience of 
 returning from hamfhment ivas then interdiHed hy the 
 penalty of whipping ; this not anfu.ering thepurpofe^the 
 terrors of death were added. This unhappy vjomMft^ 
 infpiredy itfeems, with the frenzy of martyrdom y came 
 to provoke the pains of this fever e law. She raved in 
 the flreets againff the magiflrates and the church ; went 
 into religious affernbVus^ raifed loud cries to drown the 
 voice of the preachers ^ called them the worjhippers of 
 Baal ; defied the judges^ and faidjhe vjould leave them 
 no peace till theyfijould incur the vengeance of Heaven^ 
 end the d$wn-fcll of their own feEi^ hy putting her t9 
 death ! 
 
 The caufes on hoth parties, which lad to this event f 
 were douhtlejs culpable \ hut, to compare the demerit of 
 each, would require a rcfearch equally dijfficult andufe" 
 lefs at the prefent day. Ferfecution and contumacy are 
 reciprocal ccHifis and fjfcBs of the fame evil i?ifociety \ 
 end perhaps thefe particular perfcuted^uakers were as 
 different in their char after from the prfnt refpeElakle 
 order 0/* Friends in Amirica, as the firfi Puritans of 
 Bojlon were from its pref ant' inhabitants. 
 
 The delirium about witchcraft in Maffachuftts, is 
 fometimes ignor&ntly confounded with the p:rfscuticm of 
 ihf Quakers, TRJNSLJTOJi. 
 
^ NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 talents, and not religious opinions, are the tefts ©r 
 public confidence. 
 
 The minifter^ of different feflslive in fuch harmony, 
 that they fupply each other's places when any one is 
 detained from his putpir. 
 
 On feeing men think fo difrirently on matters of re- 
 ligion, and yet polfefs fuch virtues, it nnay be con- 
 cluded, that one may be very honeft, and believe, of 
 not believe, in tranfubftantiation, and the word. They 
 have concludtd that it is bed to tolerate each^other, 
 and that this is the worfhip moft agreeable to God. 
 
 Before this opinion was fo general among them, 
 they hfid eftabliilied another: it was the neceffity ©f 
 reducing divine worfhip to the greateft finnplicity, to 
 difconne£l it from ^11 its fuperftitious cererVionies,. 
 which gave it the appearance of idolatry ; and partic- 
 ularly, not to. give their priefts enormous falariesj to 
 enable them to live in luxury and idlenefs ; in a word, 
 to reilore the evangelical fimplicity. They have fuc- 
 ceeded. In the country, the church has a glebe ; ia 
 town, the minrfters live on col!e6lions made each Sun- 
 day in the church, and the rents of pews. It is an ex- 
 cellent praftice to induce the minifters to be diligent 
 in their fludies,.and faithful in their duty ; for the 
 preference is given to him whofe difcourfes pleafe the 
 roofl,* and his falary is the moft conliderable : while, 
 among u?, the ignorant and the learned, the debauchee 
 and the man of virtue, are always fure of. their livings.. 
 
 * Th truth of tins remark Ji ruck me at Bejion and elfe- 
 ivhere in the United States. Almoji all the 7ninijiers are men 
 ef talents y or at leajiy men of learning, With theft precarious- 
 falariesj the minifters ef B'jjion not only live it ell t but they 
 marry, and rear large families $f children. This faSi confirms ' 
 the judicious remarks of M.Cla-viere on the adnjantages of the 
 Prie/is marryingy even tvhen their falary isfmall. Their alli- 
 ance njjould he fought after, by fathers nvho nv^iuld qjoijh to 
 give their r!aughters hufoands i-jell inflrucled, and of good 
 morals. The fame thing ivtll happen in France nxhen the 
 fried s fcall be alloived to marry. They ought not thai to 
 dread marriage j thtugh their falaries fiould be Jmall, 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 57 
 
 Itrefalts, likewife, from thl?, that a mode of worflup 
 will not be impofed on thofe who do not believe in it. 
 Is it not tvr.^nny to force men to pay for the fupport 
 of a fyflem which they abhor ? 
 
 The Bnfionians arc become Co philofophical on the 
 fubjedl of religion, that thev have lately ordained a 
 roan who was refufed by the bifliop. The fed to which 
 he belongs have inftalled him in their church, andgiven 
 him the powtr to preach and to teach ; and he preach- 
 es, and he teaches, and difcovers good abilities ; for 
 the people fcldom deceive their.felves in their chcice, 
 — This economical inftitution, which hss no example 
 but in the primitive church, has been cenfured by thofe 
 w.ho believe fiill in the tradition of orders by the di- 
 rect dt'fcendants cf the Apoftles. But the Boflonians 
 are fo nesr believing that every man may be his own 
 preacher, that the apoftolic dodrinehas net found very 
 warm advocates. Th^-y will focn be, in AmiCrica, in 
 the^fitiiation where M. d'Alembert^ has placed the 
 mi'^ifters of Geneva. 
 
 Since the ancient puritan, nufterity has difappeared, 
 y^u are no longer fur})rircd to fee a gsm.e of cards in- 
 troduced among thefe good Prefbyterians. When the 
 n'jind is tranquil, in the enjoyment of competency and 
 peace, it is natural to occupy it in this way, efpecially 
 in a country where there is no theatre, where men 
 make it not a bufinefs to pay court to the women, 
 where they read few books, and cultivate ftill lefs the 
 fciences. This tarte for cards is certainly unhappy in 
 a Republican State. The habit of them contrafls the 
 mind, prevents the acquifition of ufeful knowledge, 
 leads to idlenefs and difiipation, and gives birth to 
 every m.alignant paffion. Happily it is not very con- 
 fiderable in Bofton : you fee here no fathers of families 
 rifking their Avhole fortunes in it. 
 
 There are many clubs at Bofton. M. Chaf^ellux 
 fpeaks of a particular club held once a week. I was 
 at it feveral times, and was much pleafed with their 
 politenefs to ftrangers, and the k-nov ledge difplayed in 
 their converfation. There is no ccfFee-hoUfe atBofton, 
 New-York, or Philadelphia. One houfe in each town, 
 tfaat they call by that namc^ ferves 9$ an exchange. 
 
SS NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 One of the principal pleafures of the inhabitants of 
 thefe towns, confifts in little i)arties for the country, 
 among families and friends. The principal expence 
 of the parties, efpecially after dinner, is tea. In this, 
 as in their whole manner of living, the Americans in 
 general refenable the Englifh. Punch, warm and cold, 
 before dinner; excellent beef, Spanifh and Bordeaux 
 wines, cover their tables, always folidly and abundantly 
 ferved. Spruce beer, excellent cyder, and Philadelphia 
 porter, precede the wines. This porter is equal to the 
 Eiglifh : the nianufafture of it faves a vail tribute 
 forrrjerly paid to the Engliih induftry. The fame may 
 foon be faid with refpeifl to cheefe. 1 have often foi^nd 
 American cheefe equal to the bcfl Chefiiire of E igland, 
 or the Rochfort of France. This may with truth be 
 faid of that made on a farm on Elizabeth Ifland, be- 
 longing to the refpcAable Governor Bovvdoin. 
 
 After forcing the EngliHi to give up their domina- 
 tion, the Americanidetermified to rival them in every 
 thing ufcful. This fpirit of emulation fiievvs itfeif 
 every where : it has eroded atBofton an extenfive glafs 
 manufaftory, belongir.g to M. Breck and others. 
 
 This fpirit of einulation has opened to the Eoftoni- 
 ans, fo many channels of commerce, which lead them 
 to all parts of the globe. 
 
 A'// mcrtalihus crdiium eji ; 
 j^udax Jabeti genus. 
 
 If thefe lines could ever apply to any people, it 
 is to the free Americans. No danger, no diftance, no 
 obftacle impedes therj?. What have they to fear ? AH 
 mankind are their brethren : they wilh peace with all. 
 It is this fpirit of emulation, which multiplies and 
 brings to perfedlion fo many manuf-tftories of cordage 
 in this town ; which has ereded filatures of hemp and 
 flax, oroper to occupy young people, without fubjed- 
 ing them to be crouded together in fuch numbers as 
 to ruin their health and their morals ; proper, like- 
 wife, to occupy that clafs of women, whom the long 
 voyages of their fea-faring hufb^nds and other acci- 
 dents reduce to inoccupation. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMiSRICA. 5^ 
 
 To this fpirlt of emulation are owing themanufaflo- 
 rics of fait, nails, paper and paper-hangings, which 
 are multiplied in this ftate. The rum diftilleries are 
 on the decline, fince the fupprefiion of the flave trade, 
 in which this liquor was employed, and fince the dim- 
 inution of the ufg of ftrong fpirits by the country 
 people. 
 
 This is fortuntae for the human race ; and theAmer- 
 ican induftry will foon repair the fmall lofs it fuftains 
 from the decline of this fabrication of poifons. 
 
 Mafrachnfetts wifhes to rival, in manufaflures, 
 Connedicut and Pennfylvania ; fhe has like the laft, a 
 foeiety formed for the encouragement of manufadures 
 and induftry. 
 
 The greateft monuments of the induftrypfthisflatej 
 are the three bridges of Charles, Maiden and Eflex. 
 
 Boflonhas the glory of having given the firft college 
 or univerfity to the new world. It is placed on an 
 extenfive plain, four miles from Bofton, at a place 
 called Cambridge; the origin of this ufeful inftitution 
 was in 1636. The imagination could not fix on a place 
 that could better unite all the conditions eflential to a 
 feat of education ; fufficiently near to Boll^mrto enjoy 
 all the advantages of a communication with Europe 
 and the reft of the world ; and fufficiently diftant, not 
 to expofe the ftudents to the contagion of licentious 
 manners, common in commercial towns. 
 
 The air ofC?.mbridge is pure, and the environs 
 charming, offering a vaft fpaee for the exercife of the 
 youth. 
 
 The buildings are largei^ numerous, and well diftrib- 
 uted. But, as the number of the ftudents augments 
 every day, it will be neceffary foon to augment the 
 buildings. The library, and the cabinet of philofophy, 
 do honor to the inftitution. The firft contains 1 3,000 
 volumes. The heart of a Frenchman palpitates on 
 finding the works of Racine, ©f Montefquieu, and the 
 Encyclopedia, where 150 years ago, arofe the fmokc 
 of the favage calumet. 
 
 Tlie regulation of the ccurfe of ftudies here,is nearly 
 the fame as that at the univcrfity of Oxford. I 
 
fSo NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 think it Impoflible but that the laft revolution muft 
 introduce a great reform. Free men ought to flrip 
 themfclvts of their prejudices, and to perceive, that, 
 above all, it is nece;Tary to be a man and a citizen ; and 
 that the i\i\dy of the dead languages, of a faftidious 
 philoroi>iiy and the«.iogy, ought to occupy ftw of the 
 moments of a life^ which might be ufsfully employed 
 in ftudies more advantageous to the great family of 
 the human race. 
 
 Such a change in ihe fttidies is more probabIe,as an 
 academy is formed at Bo/lon, compofed of rafpeclable 
 men, who cultivate all the fciences ; and who, difenga- 
 .ged from religious prejudices, will doubtlefs veryfoon 
 point out a courfe of educ ition more fhort and more 
 fure in forming good citizep.s and philofophers. 
 
 Mr. Bowdoin, prefident of this academy, is a man of 
 iinivcrfal talents. He unites with his profound erudi- 
 tion, the virtue? of a niagiitrate, and the principles of 
 a republican polit'cian. His condud has never difap- 
 pointed the cot.fiderKe of his fellow citizens ; though 
 his fon-in-lrr.v, Mr. Temple, has incurred their univer- 
 falMeteftatioUjfor the verfatiiity of his conduft during 
 the war, and his open attachment to the Britifli fince 
 the peace. To recompenfe him for this, the Englifh 
 have given him the confulate-general of America. 
 
 But, to return to the univeiTity of Cambridge-— 
 Supc-intended by the refpedable prcfident Willard. 
 Annong the affociates in the diredion of the ftudies,are 
 diOipguiflicd, Dr. Wigglefworth and Dr. Dexter. The 
 latterls profeffbr of natural philofophy, cbemiftry and 
 medicine; a man of extenfive knowledge, and great 
 modcfty. He told me to my great fatisfadlion, that he 
 gave leflures on the experiments of our fchool of che- 
 miflry. The excellent work of my refpeflable mafter. 
 Dr. Fourcroy, was in his hands, which taught him the 
 rapid flrides that this fcience has lately made in Europe. 
 
 In a free country, every thing ought to bear the 
 ftamp of patriotifm. This patriotifin fo happily dif- 
 played in the foundation, endowment, and encourage- 
 ment of this univerfity, appears every year in a folemn 
 feaft celebrated at Cambridge in honor of the Sciences . 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 6i 
 
 This feaft, which takes place once a year in all the 
 colleges of America, is called the commencement: 
 it refembles the exercifes and diftribution of prizes in 
 our colleges. It is a day of joy for Boilon ; almoll all 
 its inhabitants affemble in Cambridge. The moll 
 diftinguilhed of the fludents difplay their talents in 
 prefence of the" public ; and thefe exercifes, which are 
 generally on patriotic fubjeAs, are terminated by a 
 feaft, where reign the freeft gaiety, and the moft cor- 
 dial fraternity. 
 
 It is remarked, that, in countries chiefly devoted to 
 commerce, the fciences are not carried to any high 
 degree. This' remark applies to Bofton. The univer- 
 fity certainly contains men of worth and learning ;but 
 fcience is not diffufed among the inhabitants of the 
 town. Commerce occupies all their ideas, turns all 
 their heads, and ablbrbs all their fpeculations. Thus 
 you find few eftimablc works, and few authors. The 
 ex'pence of the firft volume of the Memoirs of the 
 Academy of this town, is not yet covered ; it is two 
 years iince it appeared. Sometime fince was publiflied, 
 the hiftory of the late troubles in Maifachufetts ; it is 
 very well written. The author has found much diffi- 
 culty to indemnify himfelf for theexpence of printing 
 ir. Never has the whole of the precious hiftory of 
 New-Hanpfhire, by Belknap, appeared, for want of 
 encouragement. 
 
 Poets, for the fame reafon, muft be more rare thaa 
 other writers. They fpeak, however, of an original, 
 but lazy poet, by the name oi Allen. His verfes are 
 faid-to be full of warmth and force. They mention 
 particularly, a manufcript poem of his, on the famous 
 battle of Bunker-Hill ; but he will not print it. He 
 has for his reputation and his money the carelslTnefs 
 of La Fontaine. 
 
 They publifh a M'.gazine here, though the number 
 of Gazettes is very confiderable. The multiplicity of 
 Gazettes proves the adivity of commerC'?, and the tafte 
 for politics and news; the merits and multiplicity of 
 Literary and Political Magazines nre figns of the cul- 
 ture of the fueaces. 
 
62 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 
 
 You may judge from thefe details, that the arts, 
 except thofe that relpedl navigation, do not receiTC 
 much encouragement here. The hiftory of the Planet- 
 arium of Mr. Pope is a proof of it. Mr. Pope is a very 
 ingenious artift, occupied in clock-making. The 
 machine which he has conftrufted, to explain the 
 movement of the heavenly bodies, would aftonifli you, 
 efpecially when you confider that he has received no 
 fuccour from Europe, and very little from books. He 
 owes the whole to himfelf ; he is, like the painter 
 Trumbull, the child of nature. Ten years of his life 
 have been occupied in perfecting this Planetarium. 
 He had opened a fubfcription to recompenfe his trou- 
 ble, but the fubfcription was never full. 
 
 This difcouraged artifl told me one day, that he 
 was going to Europe to fell this machine, and to con- 
 ftru£t others. This country, faid he, is too poor to 
 encourage the arts. Thefe words, this country // too 
 foiVy ftruck me. I reflefted, that if they were pro- 
 nounced in Europe, they might lead to v/rong ideas of 
 America ; for the idea of poverty carries that of rags, 
 of hunger ; and no country is more diftant from that 
 fad condition. When riches are centered in a few 
 hands, thefe have a great fuperfluity ; and this fuper- 
 fluity may be applied to their pleafures, and to favour 
 the agreeable and frivolous arts. When riches are 
 equally divided in fociety, there is very little fuperflu-. 
 ity, and confequently little means of encouraging the 
 agreeable arts. But which of thefe two countries is 
 the rich, and which is the poor ? According to the 
 European ideas, and in the fenfe of Mr. Pope, it is rhe 
 firft that is rich ; but to the eye of reafon, it is not ; 
 for the other is the happieft. Hence it refults, that 
 the ability of giving encouragement to the agreeable 
 arts,is a fymptom of national cajjim ity. 
 
 Let us not blame the Boftonians ; they think of the 
 ufeful, before j^rocuring to themfelveS the agreeable. 
 They have no orilliant monuments ; but they have 
 neat and commodious churches, but they have good 
 houfes, but they hav? fuperb bridges, and excellent 
 fhips. Their ftrcets are well illuminated at night 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 63 
 
 while many ancient cities of Europe, containing proud 
 monuments of art, have never yet thought of prevent- 
 ing the fatal effefls of nodurnal darknefs. 
 
 Befides the focieties for the encouragement of agri- 
 culture and manufaftures, they have another, knowa 
 by the name of the Humane Society. Their object is 
 to recover drowned perfons. It is formed after the 
 model of the one at London, as that is copied from the 
 one at Paris. They follow the fame methods as in 
 Europe, and have rendered important fuccours 
 
 The Medical Society is not lefs ufeful, than the on-e 
 lart: mentioned. It holds a correfpondence with all the 
 country towns ; to know theTymptoms of local difeafes, 
 propofe the proper remedies, and give iaftru£lioii 
 there-upon to their fellow citizens. 
 
 Another eftablifhment is the aliis-houfe. It is def- 
 tined to the poor, who, by age and infirmity, are uitable 
 to gain their living. It contains at prefsnt about 150 
 perfons. 
 
 Another, called the work-houfe, or houfa of correc- 
 tion, is not fo much peopled as you might imagine. 
 h\ a rifing country^ in an adive port, where provifions 
 are checip, good morals predominate, and the number 
 of thieves and vagabonds is fmall. Thefe are vermin 
 attached to mifery ; and there is no mifery here. 
 
 The flate of exports and imports of this induftri- 
 ous people, to prove to you how many new branches 
 of commerce they have opened fince the peace, I refer 
 to the general table of the commerce of the United 
 States, which I propofe to lay before you. 
 
 A.I employment which is, unhappily, one of the 
 moft lucrative in this ftate, is the profeflion of the 
 Liw. They preferve ftill the expenfive forms of the 
 Englilh pradice, which good fenfe, and the love of 
 order, ought to teach them to fupprefs ; they render 
 advocates neoefTury ; they have like wife borrowed 
 from their fathers, the' Englifh, the habit of demand- 
 ing exorbitant fees. But, notvvithftanding the abufe 
 of law proceedings, they complain very little of the 
 Lawyers. Thofe with whom I have been acquainted, 
 appear to enjoy a great reputation for integrity ; fuch 
 as Sumner, Wendell, Lowell, Sullivan. 
 
:^^fTT^ 
 
 64 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 They did themfelves honour in the affair of the Ten- 
 der Ad, by endeavouring to prevent it from being 
 enabled, and afterwards to diminilh as much as poflible 
 its unjuft efFe(5ts. 
 
 It is in part to their enlightened philanthropy, that 
 is to be attributed the Law of the 26thofMarch, 178I, 
 which condemns to heavy penalties, all perfons who 
 ihall !n:ipcrt or export (laves, or be concerned in this 
 infannous traffic. 
 
 Finally, they have had a great part in the Revolu- 
 tion, by their writings, by their difcourfes, by taking 
 the lead in the affairs of Congrefs, and in foreign ne- 
 gociations. 
 
 To recall this memorable period, is to bring to 
 mind one of the greateft ornaments of the American 
 bar, the celebrated John Adams ; who, from the hum- 
 ble n:ation of a fchool-mafter, has raifed himfelf to 
 the firfl dignities ; whofe name is as much refpedied in 
 Europe, as in his own country, for the difficult embaf- 
 fies with which he has been charged. He has, finally, 
 returned to his retreat, in the midft of the applaufes 
 of his fellow-citizens, occupied in the cultivation of 
 his farm, and forgetting what he was when he tram- 
 pled on the pride of his king, who was forced to re- 
 ceive him as the ambafifador of a free country. 
 Such were the generals and ambaffadors of the 
 beft ages cf Rome and Greece ; fuch were Epaminon- 
 das, Cincinnatus, and Fabius. 
 
 It is not poffible to fee Mr. Adams, who knows Co 
 well the American conftitutions, without fpeaking to 
 him of that which appears to be taking place inFrance. 
 I don*t know whether he has an ill opinion of our cha- 
 radler, of ourconftancy, or of our underftanding; but 
 he does not believe that we can eftabliih a liberty, even 
 equal to what the Englifh enjoy ;* he does not believe, 
 even thr«t we have the right, like the ancient States- 
 General, to require that no tax ffiould be impofed 
 without the confcnt of the people. I had no diffi- 
 culty in combating him, even by authorities, inJcpen- 
 
 • Thg tvent has proved hotf^ much he nvaT deceived* 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 6^ 
 
 dent of the fecial compaft againft wluch no tiiiie, no 
 conceffioHS can prefcribe. 
 
 Mr. Adams is not the only man diftinguifhed in this 
 great revolution,vvho has retired to the obfcure labours 
 of a country life. General Heath is one of thofe wor- 
 thy imitators of the Roman Cincinnatus ; for he likes 
 not the American Cincinnati : their eagle appears to 
 him a gewgaw, proper only for children. Oa Ihewing 
 me a letter from the immortal Wafhington, whom he 
 loves as a father, and reveres as an angel—this letter, 
 fays he, is a jewel which, in my eyes, furpafles all the 
 eagles and all the ribbons in the world. It was a letter 
 in which that General had felicitated him for his good 
 condud on a certain occafion. With what joy did 
 this refpedlable man fhew me all parts of his farm I 
 What happinefs he enjoys on it ! He is a true farmer. 
 A glafs of cyder,which he prefented to me with frank- 
 nefs and good humour painted on his countenance, 
 appeared to me fuperior to the mod exquifite wines. 
 With this fimplicity, men are worthy of liberty, and 
 they are fare of enjoying it for a long time. 
 
 This fimplicity charaderifes almoft all the men of 
 this ftate, who have afted diftinguiflied parts in the 
 revolution : fach, among others, as Samuel Adams, 
 and Mr. Hancock the prefent governor. If ever a man 
 was fincerely an idolator of republicanifm, it is Samuel 
 Adams,and never did a man unite more virtues to give 
 refped to his opinions. He has the excefs of Republi- 
 can virtues, untainted probity, fimplicity, modelly,* 
 and, above all, firmnefs : he will have no capitulation 
 with abufes ; he fears as much the defpotifm of virtue 
 and talents, as the defpotifm of vice. Cherilhing the 
 greatcfi: love and refpcfl for Wafhington, he voted to 
 take from him the command at the end of a certain 
 term ; he recolleded, that Caefar could not have fwc- 
 ceeded in overturning the Republic, but by prolonging 
 
 • When I compare our legijlators, <uoith their airs of im- 
 port ance, alivayj fearing they jhall not make ncife enough ^ that 
 they /hall not he fufficiently praifed\<vjhen I compare them to 
 thefe modern republicans ^ I fear for the fuccefs of the revalu'^ 
 tion* ^ht vain man can ne<ver be far frotn Jlavery ^ 
 
€6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 the comnnand of the 'army. The event has proved 
 that the application was falfc ; but it was by a miracle, 
 and the fafety of a Country Ihould never beriiked,oa 
 the faith of a miracle. 
 
 Samuel Adams is the beft fupporter of the party of 
 Governor Hancock. You know the great facrifices 
 which the latter made in the revolution, and the bold- 
 nefs with which he declared himfelf at the beginning 
 of the infurreftion. The fame fpirit of patuotifm ani- 
 mates him ftill. A great generofity, united to a vaft 
 ambition, forms his charafter : he has the virtues and 
 the addrefs of popularifm ; that is to fay, that, with- 
 out efFort,he Ihews himfelf the equal, & friend of all. I 
 fupped at his houfe with a hatter, who appeared to be 
 in great familiarity with him. Mr. Hancock is amia- 
 ble and polite, when he wifhes to be ; but they fay he 
 does not always chufe it. He has a marvellous gout, 
 which difpenfes him from all attentions, and forbid^ 
 the accefs to his houfe. Mr. Hancock has not the 
 learning of his rival, Mr. Bowdoin ; he feems even to 
 difdain the fciences. The latter is more efteemei by 
 enlightened raca ; the former more beloved by the 
 people. Among the partizans of the governor, I dif- 
 t^nguifhed two brothers, by the name of Jarvis ; oneis 
 Comptroller General of the State ; the other, a Phyfi- 
 cian, and Member of the legiflature. The firft has as 
 much calmnefs of examination and profundity of 
 thought, as the latter has of rapidity in his penetration, 
 agility in his ideas, and vivacity in his expreflion. They 
 refemble each other in one point, that is, in fimplicity 
 —the firfl of republican virtues ; a virtue born with 
 the Americans, and only acquired with us. If I were 
 to paint to you all the eftimable charadlers which I 
 found in this charming town, my portraits would never 
 be finiHied. I foujid every where that hofpitality,that 
 affability, that friendHiip for the French, which M. 
 Ciiaftellux has fo much exalted. I found them efpecially 
 with Mefirs. Breck, Ruffell, Gore, Barrett, Sec. 
 
 The pr.rts adjacent to Bofton, are charming and well 
 cultivated, adorned with elegant houfes and agreeable 
 fitwatioES. Among the furroundir.g eoiinenccs you 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 67 
 
 diftinguilh Bunker-hill. This nam e will recall to your 
 rwind the famous Warren ; one of the firft martyrs of 
 American liberty. I owed an homage to his generous 
 manes ; at^d I was eager to pay it. You arrive at 
 Bunker-hill by the fuperb bridge at Charleftown, of 
 which I have fpoken. This town was entirely burnt 
 by the Englilh, in their attack of Bunker-hill. It is 
 at prefent rebuilt with elegant houfes of wood. You 
 fee here the (lore of Mr. Gorham, formerly Prefident 
 of Congrcfs. This hill offers one of the moft aftoniih- 
 ing monuments of American valor ; it is impofiible to 
 conceive how feven ©r eight hundred men, badly arm 
 cd, and fatigued, having juft conftru£led, in hafte, a 
 few miferable intrenchments, and who knew nothing, 
 or very little, of the ufe ©farms, could refift, for fo 
 long a time, the attack of thoufands of the Engli/h 
 troops, frelb, well difciplined, fucceeding each other 
 in the attack. But fuch was the vigorous refiftance of 
 the Americans, that the Englilh loft twelve hundred 
 men, killed and wounded, before they became mafters 
 of the place. Obferve that they had ^two frigates, 
 which, crofling their fire on Charleftown, prevented 
 the arrival of fuccour to the. Americans. Yet it is 
 very probable that the Englifh would have been forced 
 to retire, had not the Americans failed in ammunition. 
 While the friend of liberty is contemplating this 
 fcene, and dropping a tear to the memory of Warren, 
 his emotions of enthufiafm are renewed on viewing the 
 expreffive pidure of the death of that warrior, painted 
 by Mr. Trumbull, whofe talents may equal, one day, 
 thofe of the moft famous mafters. 
 
 I muft finiOi this long, and too long, letter. Many 
 objefts remain ftill to entertain you with in this ftate, 
 fuch as the conftitution, debts, taxes; but I refer 
 them to the general table which I Qiail make of them 
 for the United States. The taxable heads of this ftate 
 are upwards of ioo,oco ; acres of arable land 200,000; 
 parturage, 340,000 ; uncultivated 2^000^000; tons of 
 Jliipping at Bofton 60,000. 
 
6i KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER IIL 
 'Jturney from Bojion to Nenxj-Torky by land. 
 
 gih. Augufly 178S. 
 
 THE diftance of thefe towns is about two hundred 
 and fifty nniles. Many perfons have united in 
 eftablifhing a kind of diligence, or public ftage, which 
 pafles regularly for the convenience of travellers. In 
 the Aimmer feafon, the journey is performed in four 
 iays. 
 
 Wefet out from Bofton at four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and pafied through the handfome town of Cam- 
 bridge. The country appears well cultivated as far as 
 Wefton, where we breakfaftcd ; thence we paffed to 
 Worcefter to dinner, forty-eight miles from Bofton. 
 This town is elegant, and well peopled : the printer, 
 Ifaiah Thomas, has rendered it famous through all 
 the continent. He prints moft of the works which 
 appear; and it muft be granted that his editions are 
 correft. Thomas is the Didot of the United States. 
 The tavern, where we had a good American dinner,* is 
 a charming houfeof wood, well ornamented ; it is kept 
 by Mr. Peafe, one of the proprietors of the Bofton ftage. 
 He has much merit for his adlivity and induftry ; but 
 it is hoped he will change the prefent plan, fo far as 
 it refpedls his horfes : they are over-done with the 
 length and difficulty of the courfes, which ruin them 
 in a (horttime.befides retarding very much theprogrefs. 
 
 We flept the firft night at Spenfer, a new village in 
 the midft of the woods. The houfe of the tavern was 
 but half built ; but the part that was finifhed, had an 
 air of cleanlinefs which pleafes, becaufe it announces 
 that degree of competence, thofe moral and delicate 
 habits, which are never feen in our villages. The 
 ' chambers were neat, the beds good, the flieets clean, 
 
 • If Iftmetimes cite dinners and fupper$yit is not in memory 
 0f eating and drinking y but it is t§ Jhiyw the manner of li'ving 
 tf the country y and likenvife tofpeak of the prices of prcvifions 3 
 fo much exaggerated by Qhajletlux* 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 6<^ 
 
 fupper paflable ; cyder, tea, punch, and all for four- 
 teen pence a-head. There were four of us. Now, 
 conjpare, my friend, this order of things with what 
 you have a thoufand times ften in our French taverns 
 —chambers dirty and hi«leous,beds infefted with bugs, 
 thofe infefts which Sterne calls the rightful inhabitants 
 of taverns, if indeed long pefTeflion gives a right ; 
 iheets ill wa(hed, and exhaling a fetid odour ; bad cov- 
 ering, wine adulterated, and svery thing at its weight 
 in gold ; greedy fcrvants, who are complaifant only in 
 proportion to your equipage ; grovelling towards a 
 rich traveller, and infolent towards him whom they 
 fufpeft of mediocrity. Such are the eternal torments 
 of travellers in France : add to this, the fear of being 
 robbed, the precautions necelfary to be taken > every 
 night to prevent it ; while, in the United States, you 
 travel without fear, as without arms ;* and you fleep 
 quietly among the woods, in an open cliamber of a 
 houfewhcfe doors fliut without locks. And now judge 
 which country merits the name of civilized, and which 
 bears the afpedl of the greateft general happinefs. 
 
 We left Spenfer at four o'clock in the morning. 
 New carriage, new proprietor. It was a carriage with- 
 out fprings, a kind of waggon. A Frenchiran who 
 was with me, began, at the firft jolt, to curfe the car- 
 riage, the driver, and the country. Let us wait, faid I, 
 a little, before we form a judgment ; every cudom has 
 its caufe ; there is doubtlefs fome reafon why this kind 
 of carriage is preferred to one hung with fprings. In 
 fa6l, by the time we had run thirty miles among the 
 rocks, we were convinced that a carriage with fprings 
 would very foon have been overfet and broke. 
 
 The traveller is well recompenfed for the fatigue of 
 this route, by the variety of romantic fituations, by the 
 beauty of the profpeds which it offers at each ftep, by 
 
 • / tra'velled ivith a Frenchman y nvhoy thinking he had 
 much to fear in a fwvage country ^ had fur nijhed him/elf tciik 
 pifiols. The good American fmiled at his precautions ^ end ad- 
 vifedhim to put his piftols in his trunk ; ht bud^wit enough 
 to heliifve him, * 
 
70 NEW TRAVELS IN AM:ERICA.- 
 
 the peroetual contraft of nature, and the efforts of J 
 Thofe vaft ponds of water, which lofe themfelves in 
 the woods, thefe rivulets, that walh the meadow, pew- 
 ly fnatched from uncultivated nature ; thofe neat houfes 
 fcattered among the forefts, and containing fwirms of 
 children, joyous and healthy, and well clad ; thofs 
 fields, covered with trunks of trees, whofe deftru6lioii 
 is committed to the hand of time, and which are cov- 
 ered under the leaves of Indian corn ; thofe oaks, which 
 preferve ftill the image of their ancient vigour, but 
 which, girdled at the bottom, raife no longer to hea- 
 ven but dry and naked branches, which the firft: 
 ftroke of wind mufl bring to the earth : all thefe ob- 
 jefts, f J new to an European, arreft him, ahforb him, 
 and plunge him into an agreeable reverie. The depths 
 of the forefts, the prodigious fizs and heigth of the 
 trees, call to his mind the time when the favages were 
 the only inhabitants of this couHtry, This ancient 
 tree has beheld them ; they filled thefe forefts ; they 
 have now given place to another generation. The cul- 
 tivator fears no more their vengeance ; his mufket, 
 formerly his necelfary companion at the plough, now 
 refts fufpended in his houfe. Alone, with his wife and 
 children, in the midftof the forefts, he ileeps quietly, 
 he labours in peace, and he is happy. Such were the 
 ideas which occupied me the greater part of my jour- 
 ney : they fometimes gave place to others, arifi ng from 
 the view of the country houfes, which are feen at fmall 
 diftances through all the forefts of MilTachufetts. 
 Neatnefs embellifhes them all. They have frequently 
 but one ftory and a garret ; their walls are papered : 
 tea and coffee appear on their tables ; their daughters, 
 clothed in callicoes, difplaythe traits of civility, frank- 
 nefs, and decency ; virtues which always follow con- 
 tentment and eafe. Almoft all thefe houfes are inhab- 
 ited by men who are both cultivators and artizans ; 
 one is a tanner, another is a fhoemaker, another fells 
 goods ; but all are farmers. The country ftores are 
 well afforted ; you find i.i the lame fhop, hats, nails, 
 liquors. This order of things is neceffary in a new fet- 
 tiement : it is to be hoped that it will coriiinue ; fcr 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 7 1 
 
 this general retail occupies lefs hands, and detaches 
 fewer from the great objedl of agriculture. It 
 is not fuppofed that one third of the land of Maffa- 
 chufetts is under cultivation : it is difficult to fay 
 when it will all be fo, confidering the invitations 
 of the weftern country and the province of Maine. 
 But the uncleared lands are all located, and the pro- 
 prietors have inclofed them with fences of different 
 forts. Thefe feveral kinds of fences are compofed of 
 different materials, which announce the different de- 
 grees of culture in the country. Some are compofed 
 of the light branches of trees ; others, of the trunks 
 of trees laid one upon the other ; a third fort is made 
 of long pieces of wood, fupporting each other by ma- 
 king angles at the end ; a fourth kind is made of long 
 pieces of hewn timber, fupported at the ends by paf- 
 fing into lioles made in an upright pofl ; a fifth is like 
 the garden fences in England : thelaft kind is made'of^ 
 (tones thrown together to the height of three feet. 
 This laftis mod durable, and is common in MalTachu- 
 -fetts. From Spenfer to Brookfield is fifteen miles. 
 The road is good as far as this lafl town. A town you 
 know in the interior of America, dcfignates an extent 
 of eight or ten miles, where are fcattcred an hundred 
 or two hundred houfts. This divifion into towns, is 
 neceffary for affemblinir the inhabitants for elefirons 
 and other purpofes. Without this divifion, the in- 
 habitants might go fometimes to one alfembly, and 
 fometimes to another, which would lead to confufion. 
 Befides, it would render it impollible to know the pop- 
 ulation of any particular canton ; this/erves for the 
 bafisofmany regulations. No people carry their at- 
 tention to this particular, fo far as the Americans. 
 
 The fituation of Brookfield is picture fque. While 
 breakfafl was preparing, I read the gazettes and jour- 
 nals, which are diftributed through all the country. 
 Our breakfaft confifted of cofFee,tea, boiled and roafted 
 meat; the whole for ten pence, New>England currency, 
 for each traveller. From this phce to Wilbraham the 
 road is covered with rocks, and bordered with woods. 
 At this place, a new proprietor, and a new carriage. 
 
7 2 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 A fmall light carriage, well fufpended, and drawn by 
 two horfes, took place of our heavy waggon. We 
 could not conceive hew^fiveof us could fit in this little 
 parifian chariot, and demanded another. The con- 
 dudlor faid he had no other : that there were {o few 
 travellers in this part of the road, that he could not 
 afford to run with more than two horfes ; that mofl of 
 the travellers from New-York flopped in ConneAicut, 
 and mofl of thofe from Boflon at Worcefler. We were 
 obliged to fuhmit. We ftarted like lightning ; and 
 arrived, in an hour and a quarter, at Springfield, ten 
 miles. This road appeared really enchanting : 1 feemed 
 the whole way to be travelling in one of the alleys of 
 the Palais-royal. This man was one of themofl lively 
 and induflrious, at the fame time the mofl patient, I 
 ever met with. In my two journies through this place, 
 I have heard many travellers treat him with very harfli 
 language : he either anfwers net at all, or anfwers by 
 giving good reafons. The greater part of men of this 
 profefiion, in this country, obferve the fame conduft 
 in fiich cafes ; while the leall of thefe injuries in Eu- 
 rope would have occafioned bloody quarrels. This 
 fa£t proves to me, that, in a free country, rcafon 
 extends her empire over all clalies of men. 
 
 Springfield, where we dined, refembles an European 
 town ; that is, the houfes are placed near together. - 
 On a hill that over-looks this town, is a magazine of 
 ammunition and arms belonging to the State of Maf- 
 fachufetts. • This is the magazine that the rebel Shays 
 endeavored to take, and was fo happily defended by 
 General Shepard. We fet out from Springfield, after 
 dinner, for Hartford. We paffed in a ferry-boat, the 
 river that wafnes the environs of Springfield. 
 
 I have paffed twice through Hartford, and both 
 times in the night ; fo that I cannot give an ex id de- 
 fcription of it. It is a confiderable rural town ; the 
 greater part of the inhabitants' live by agriculture; fo 
 that e.ife and abundance univerfally reign in it. It is 
 confidered as one of the mofl agreeable in Connedicut, 
 on account of its fociety. It is the rcfidence of one of 
 the mofl refpcftable men in the Unite^w'^tates, Col. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 73 
 
 Wadfworth. He enjoys a confiderable fortune, which 
 he owes entirely to his own labour and induftry. Per- 
 feftly verfed in agriculture and commerce ; univerfally 
 known for the fervice he rendered to the American 
 and French armies during the war ; generally cfteemed 
 and beloved for his great virtues ; he crowns all his 
 qualities by an amiable and fmgular modcfty. His 
 addrefs is frank, his countenance open, and his dif- 
 courfe iimple. Thus you cannot fail to love him as 
 foon as you fee him ; efpecially as foon as you know 
 him. 1 here defcribe the impreffion he made on me. 
 
 M. de Chaftellux, in making the eulogium of this 
 refpeftable American, has fallen into an error which I 
 ought to rectify. He fays, that he has made many voy- 
 ages to the coaft of Gwinea. It is incredible that this 
 writer (hould pcrfift in printing this as a faft, after Col. 
 WadfvYorth begged him to fupprefs it. ** To advance,** 
 faid he, " that 1 have carried on the Guinea trade, is 
 " to give the idea that I have carried on the flave trade : 
 ** whereas I always had the greateft abhorrence for 
 *' this infamous traffic. I prayed M. de Ghaftellux, 
 *' that in the edition he was about to publifh in France 
 *' he would fupprefs this, as well as many other flrik- 
 *' ing errors which appeared in the American edition 
 " of his work ; and 1 cannet conceive why he has redi- 
 " fied nothing." 
 
 The environs of Hartford difplay a charming culti- 
 vated country ; neat elegant houfes, vaft meadows 
 covered with herds of cattle of an enormous fize, 
 which furnifli the market of New- York, and even 
 Philadelphia. You there fee (heap refembling ©urs; but 
 not, like ours, watched by fliepherds, and tormented 
 by dogs : hogs of a prodigious fize, furrounded with 
 numer<Sus families of pigs, wearing on the neck a tri- 
 angular piece of wood invented to hinder them from 
 pafilng t1ie barriers which inclofe the cultivated fields ; 
 geefq and turkeys in abundance, as well as potatoes 
 and all other vegetables. Produilions of every kind 
 are excellent and cheap : the fruits, however, do not 
 pirtake of this excellent quality, becaufethcy are lefs 
 attended to. Apples fcrve for making cyder ; and great 
 quantities of them are likewifc exported. 
 G 
 
74 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 To defcribe the neighbourhood of Hartford, is to 
 dcfcribe Conneflicut ; it is to defcribe the neighbour- 
 hood of Middleton, of Newhaven, &c. Nature and 
 Art have here difplayed all their treafures ; it is really 
 the Para dife of the United States. M. de Crevecoeur, 
 who has been fo much reproached with exaggeration, 
 is even below the truth in his defcription of this part 
 of the country. Read again his charming pidlure, and 
 this reading will fupply the place of what it. would 
 be ufelefs here to repeat. 
 
 This State owes all its advantages to Its fituatlon. It 
 is a fertile plain, inclofed between two mountains, 
 which render difficult its comnaunicatioiis by h.nd with 
 the other States. It is waihed by the fnperb river 
 Connefticut, which fills into the fei, and furniflies a 
 fafe and eafy navigation. Agriculture being the bads 
 of the riches of this State, they are here more equally 
 divided. There is here more equality, lefs mifery, 
 more fimplicity, more virtue, more of -every thing 
 which conftitutcs republicanifm. 
 
 Conne<5licut appears like one continued town. On 
 quitting Hirtford you enter Weathersfield, a town net 
 lefs elegant, very long, confifting of houfes well built. 
 They tell me it gave birth to the famous Silas Deanc, 
 one of the firft promoters of the American revolution ; 
 from a fchoolmafter in this town, elevated to the rank 
 of an Envoy from Congrefs to Europe : he has fince 
 been arcufed of betraying this glorious caufe. Is the 
 accufation true, or falfe ? It is difficult to decide. But 
 he has been for a long time miferable in London : and 
 it is in favor of the goodnefs of heart of the Ameri- 
 cans, to recount, that his bed friends and benefadors 
 are ftill among the ancient A'nerican Whigs. 
 
 We?thersfleld is remarkable for its vaft fields uni- 
 formly covered with onions ; of which great quantities 
 are exported to the Weft-Indies. It is likewife re- 
 markable for its elegant meeting-houfe, or church. 
 On Sunday it is faid to off-r an enchanting fpedacle, 
 by the number of handfomt; you ng perfons v*no aflemble 
 there, and by the agreeable mufic with which the^ 
 intermingle the divine fervice. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. rS 
 
 Newhaven yieHs not to Weathersfield for the beauty 
 of the fair fex. At their balls during the winter, it is 
 not rare to fee an hundred charming girls, adorned 
 with thofe brilliant complexions feldom met with in 
 journeying to the South, and drefled in elegant fim- 
 plicity. The beauty of complexion is as ftriking in 
 Connecticut, as its numerous population. You will 
 not go into a tavern without meeting with neatnefj, 
 decency, and dignity. The tables are ferved by a 
 young girl, decent and pretty r by an amiable nr^other, 
 whofe age has not effaced the agreeabltnefs of her fea- 
 tures ; by men who have tliat air of dignity which the 
 idea of eqaility infpires r and who are not ignoble 
 and b-ife, like the greateft part of oar tavern-keepers. 
 O J the road you often meet thofe fair Connedicut 
 girls, either driving a carriage, or alone on horfe-back, 
 galloping boldly ; with an elegant hat on the head, a 
 white apron, and a calico gown — ufages which prove 
 at once the eirly cultivation of their reafon, fince they 
 are trufred fo young to themfelves, the fjfety of the 
 road, and the general innocence of manners. You will 
 fee them hazarding themfelves alone, without protec- 
 tors, in the public ftages — lam wrong io iiy I:azi:rding ; 
 who can ofteod them ? They are here under the pro- 
 te»5Hon of public morals, and of their own innocence : 
 it is the confcioufncfs of this innocenc^e which renders- 
 tlvem (?> compl3ifint,and fo go-'^d ; for a ftranger takes 
 them by the harid, and laughs with them, and they 
 are not off-uided at ir. 
 
 Other proofs of t!ie profperity of Conne^icut, are 
 t'le number cf new houfes every where to be feen,and 
 the number of rural manuf.iftories arifing on every 
 fi.ie, of which I fhall fpeak hereafter. But even \n 
 this flate there are many lands to fell. A principal 
 caufe of this is the tafte for emigration to the weftern 
 country. The defire of finding better, embitters the 
 enjoyments even of the inhabitants of ConneClicut. 
 Perhaps this tafte arifes from the hope of efcaping 
 taxes, which though fmall, and almoft nothing ia 
 comparifon with thofe of Europe, appear very heavy. 
 In a country like theUnitedStates,every thing favours- 
 
^6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 * 
 the forming of new fettlements. The new-comers are 
 Aire, every where, of finding friends and. brothers, who 
 fpeak their own language, and admire their courage. 
 JProvifions are cheap the whole way ; they have noth- 
 ing to fear from the fearch of cuftom-houfe clerks, on 
 entering from one province to another, nor river-tolls, 
 nor impcfts, nor vexations ; man is free as the air h« 
 breathes. The tafte for emigration is every day aug- 
 menting, by the accounts in the public papers of the 
 arrival of different families. Man is like iheep every 
 v^'here : he fays. Such an one has fucceededy ivhy jhall not 
 I fucceed ? 1 am jzothhtg here., I jhall he jomething m tht 
 Ohio ; / nvcrk hard here, I Jhall net ivcrk Jo hard there. 
 
 Before arriving at Middleton, where we were to 
 breakfail:, we (lopped on the hill which overlooks thi:t 
 town and the immcnfe valley on which it is built. It 
 is one of the fined and richell profpecls that I have 
 feen in America. I could not fatiate myfelf with the 
 variety of the fcenes which this landlcape laid before 
 rt.e. 
 
 ?yIidd]eton is built like Hartford : broad ftrcer?, 
 trees on the fides, and handf>me honfcs. We changed 
 horfts and carriages at Durham ; and after adir.iring 
 a number of pidurefque fituations on the road, we 
 arrived at Newhaven, where we dined. The univer- 
 fity here enjoys a great reputation through the conti- 
 nent; the port is much frequented; the fociety is 
 faid to be very agreeable. Newhaven has produced 
 the celebrated poet, Trumbull,* author cf theimmoj-- 
 tal poem M'Fingal, which rival?, if not furpifies, in 
 keen pleafantry, the famous Hudibras. Col. Hum- 
 phreys,* (whofe poem, much elteemed in America, is 
 tranllated by M. de Chafteilux,) is likewife a native of 
 this town. The Univerfity is prefided by a refpedtable 
 and learned man, Mr. Stiles. We were obliged to 
 quit this charming town, to arrive in the evening at 
 Fairfield. We palfed the inconvenient ferry at Strat- 
 ford ; afterwards, affailcd by a violent florm, we were 
 
 * M. de Wawille is here tnijinformed. Mr. Trumbull i: 
 native ofWaterbury, and Mr, Humphreys of Derby, 
 
 A 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 7^ 
 
 well enough defended from it by a double curtain of 
 leather which covered the carriage. The driver, 
 though pierced through with the rain, continued his 
 route through the obfcurity of a very dark night. 
 Heaven preferved us from accident, at which I was 
 much aftonifhed. We pafTed the night at Fairfield, a 
 town unhappily celebrated in the laft war. It experi- 
 enced all the rage of the Eiiglifh, who burnt it. Yoii 
 perceive ftill the veftiges of this infernal fury. Moft 
 of the houfes are rebuilt ; but thofe who have feen 
 this town before the war, regret its ancient ftate, and 
 the air of eafe, and even opulence, that then diftin- 
 guifhed it. They fhewed me the houfe of the richefl 
 inhabitant, where all travellers of diftindlion met an 
 hofpitable reception ; and where was often feafted the 
 infamous Tryon, who commanded this expedition of 
 Cannibals. Forgetting all fentiments of gratitude 
 and humanity,- he treated with the laft ''extremity of 
 rigour the miftrefs of this houfe, who had received 
 hi;n as a frie/id ; and after having given her his word 
 for the lafety of her houfe, he ordered it to be fet on 
 fire. AtFairfitld finifhcd the agreeable part of our 
 journey.- From this town to Rve, thirty-three miles, 
 we had to- flruggle againft rocks and precipices. I 
 knew not which to admire moft in the driver, his in- 
 trepidity or dexterity. I cannot conceive how he 
 avoided twenty times dafhing the carriage in pieces, 
 and how his horfes could retain themfelves in defcend- 
 ing the ft<iir-cafe& of rocks. One of thefe is called 
 Horfenerk ; a chain of rocks fo fteep, that if an horfe 
 (hould flip, thecarriag- muft be thrown into a valley 
 twoor three hundred feet. 
 
 From Horfeneck we pafTed to New-Rochelle, a colo- 
 ny founded the laft century by fome French emigrants, 
 which appears not to have profpered. Perhaps this 
 appearance refalts from the laft war ; for this place 
 fnffered much from the neighbourhood of the Englifh, 
 whofe head- quarters were at Ntw-York. This place, 
 however, will always be celebrated for having given 
 birth to one of the moft diftinguilhed men of the laft 
 fevolutioH'— a republican remarkable for his firmnefs 
 Gz 
 
78 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 and his coolnefs, a writer eminent for his nervous 
 ftyle, and his clofe logic, Mr. Jay, at prefent minifter 
 of foreign affairs. , 
 
 The followi.ig anecdote will give an idea of {he 
 firmnefs of this republiciin : at the time of laying th6 
 foundation of the peace in 1783, M. de Vergennes, 
 aftuated by fecret motives, wished to engage the am- 
 bafladors of Congrefs to confine their demands to the 
 iiflieries, and to renounce the weftern territory ; thiit 
 is, the vaftand fertile country beyond the Alleganey 
 mountains. The Minifter required particularly, that 
 the independence of America ihould not be confidered 
 as the bads of the peace ; but, fimply, that it (hould be 
 conditional. To fucceed in this projeil, it was neccf- 
 fery to gain over Jay and Adams. Mr. Jay declared 
 to M. de Vergennes, that he would fooner loL* his life 
 than fign fuch a treaty ; that the Americans fought 
 for independence ; th3t they would never lay down 
 their arms till it (hould be fully confecrated ; that the 
 Court of France had recognifed it, and that there 
 woulcj be a contradidion in her condu6l, if fhe fhould 
 deviate from that point. It was not difficult for Mr. 
 Jay to bring Mr. Adams to this determination ; and 
 M. de Vergennes could never (hake his firmnefs.* 
 
 Confider here the ftrange concurrence of events. 
 The American, who forced the Court of France, and 
 gave laws to the Englilh minifter, was the grandfon of 
 a French refugee of the laft century, who fled to New- 
 RocheJle. Thus the defcendant of a man, whom 
 Louis XIV. had perfecuted with a fooHfli rage, impo- 
 fed hisdecifions on the defcendant of that fovereign, 
 in his own palace, an hundred years after the banifh- 
 xnent of the anceftor. 
 
 Mr. Jay \vas equally immoveable by all efforts of the 
 
 * The talents of Mr. Jay Jh one ivith diftihguifhed lujlre 
 in the connjention of the State of Neiv-Torkfor examining the 
 neijo federal conjiitution^ Mr. Clinton the Go'vernofy at the 
 head of the Antifederalijlsy had at firfi a great majority ; hut 
 he ctuld not refj} the logic of Mr, Jay, and the eloquence of 
 Mr. Hamilton, 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 7^ 
 
 Englllh minifter, whom M. de Vergennes had gained 
 to nis party. He proved to hirn that it was the inter- 
 eft of the Engiifh themfelvcs, that the Americans 
 fliould be independent, and not in a fituation which 
 fhould render them dependant on their ally. He con- 
 verted him to this fentiment ; for his reafoning deter- 
 mined the court of St. James's . When Mr. Jay pafTed 
 through England to return to America, Lord Shel- 
 bournedefired to fee him. Accufed by the nation of 
 having granted too much to the Americans, he defired 
 to know, in cafe he had perfifted not to accord to the 
 Americans the weftern territory, if they would have 
 continued the war ? Mr. Jay anfwered, that he believed 
 it, and that he fhould have advifed it. 
 
 It is thirty one miles from Rye to New-York. The 
 road is good, even, and gravelly. We ftopped at one 
 of the bcft taverns I have feen in America. It is kept 
 by Mrs. H^viland. We had an excellent dinner, and 
 cheap. To other circumftances very agreeable, 
 which gave us good cheer at thishoufe, the air- of the 
 miftrefs was infinitely graceful and obliging ; and fl. 
 had a charming daughter, genteel and well educated, 
 who played very well the forte-piano. Before arriving 
 at New-York, we paffed by thofe places which the En- 
 gliih had fo well fortified while they were mafters of 
 them. You ftill fee their difrerent redoubts and forti- 
 fications, which atteft to the eye of the obferver the 
 folly of this fratricidious war. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Journey from Bo ft on to NenM-Y9rkt hy ProrvUence.* 
 
 ON the 1 2th of Odober, we fet out from Bofton at 
 halfpaftfeven in the morning, and arrived by 
 fix in the evening at Providence. It is forty-nine 
 
 • Though this journey ^as mmde after the dati tf fever al 
 of the fucceeding letter iy it was thought beft to inftrt it hen^ 
 as an appendage t§ thejourmj hj land* 
 
to NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 miles ; the road good, the foil ftony,gravellyand fandjr, 
 and, as ufual for fuch a foil, covered with pines. The 
 country bordering'^the road, appears neither fertile,nor 
 well peopled: you may here fee houfes in decay, and 
 children covered with rags. They had, however, 
 good health, and good complexions. The filence 
 which reigns in the other A-nerican towns on Sunday, 
 reigns at Providence even on Mondays. Every thing 
 here announces the decline of bufinefs. Few veffels 
 are to be feen in the port. They were building, how- 
 ever, two diftilleries ; as if the manufaftories of thw 
 poifon were not already fufficiently numerous in the 
 United States. Whether it be from prejudice or reality, 
 1 feemed to perceive everywhere the filence of death, 
 the effedl ©f paper-money. I feemed to fee, in every 
 face, the air of a Jew ; the refult of a traffic founded 
 en fraud and fiaefTe. I feemed to fee likewifc, in 
 every countenance, the effefls of the contempt which 
 the other States bear to this, and the confcioufnefs of 
 rneriting that contempt. The paper-money at this 
 time was. at a difcountof ten for one.f 
 
 I we it from Providence to Newport in a packet-boat. 
 This journey might be made by land ; but I preferred 
 the water. We arrived in feven hours and ah-ilf; 
 and during two hours we had contrary wind. This 
 diflance is thirty miles. We never loft fight of land ; 
 but it offers nothing pidurefque or curious. A few 
 houfes, fome trees, and a fandy foil, are all that appear 
 to the eye. 
 
 The port of Newport is confidered as one of the beft 
 in the United States. The bottom is good, the har- 
 bour capable of receiving the largeft fhips, and feems 
 deftined by nature to be of great confequence. This 
 place was o* c of the pri'icipal fcenes of the bft war. 
 The fucceflfive arrival of the American, Englifh, and 
 French armies, left here a coniiderable quantity of 
 money.* 
 
 f Providence is ntnu (T797) a'very Jlourijhin^y'prqfper- 
 §us tonvn. 
 
 * TI.e Englijh Jejfrdytd alt the Jim trees ofomamMt and 
 fruit : they totk a/lea/ure in di'uaji^tion* 
 
 J 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. $i 
 
 Since thTe peace, every thing is changed. f The 
 reign of folitude is only interrupted by groups cf idle 
 men> (landing with folded arms at the cor.ners of the 
 (Ireets ; houfes falling to ruin ; miferable fhops, which 
 prefent nothing but a few coarfe Huffs, or bafkets of 
 apples, and other articles of little value ; grafs grow- 
 ing in the public fquare, in front of the court of juf- 
 tice ; rags ftuffed in the windows, or hung upon hide- 
 ous women and lean unquiet children. 
 
 Every thing announces mifery, the triumph of ill 
 faith, and the influence of a bad government You 
 will have a perfect idea of it, by calling to mind the 
 imprefiion once made upon us on entering the city of 
 Liege. Recoiled the crowd of mendicants bcfieging 
 us at every fiep, to implore charity j that irregular 
 mafs of Gothic houfes falling to ruin, windows with- 
 out glafs, roofs half uncovered ; recall to ycur mind 
 the figures of men fcarcely bearing the print of hu- 
 manity, children in tatters, and houfes hung with rags ; 
 in fliort, reprefent to yourfelf the afylum of famine, 
 the rafcality and the impudence that general mifery 
 infpires, and you will recoiled Liege, and have aii 
 image of Newport. 
 
 Thefe two places are neverthclefs well fituated for 
 commerce, and fiirrounded by lands by no means un- 
 fruitful ; but at Liege, the produdions of the country 
 ferve to fatten about fifty idle rcclefiaftics, who, by 
 the aid of ancient religious prejudices, riot in pleafure 
 in the midft of thoufiinds of unhappy wretches who 
 -«re dying with hunger.* At Newport, the people, 
 deceived by two or three knaves, have brought on their 
 own mifery, and deilroyed the bleffings which Nature 
 had lavifhedupon them. They have themfelvesfanc- 
 tified fraud ; and this a6l has rendered them odious to 
 their neighbours, driven commerce from tj>eir doors, 
 and labour from their fields. 
 
 f This tO'-w?! ouced part of its frofperity to the jJa*ue trad6> 
 tvjhich is at prefent fupprejfed. 
 
 * When I <vjrQte thefe lines ^ I woas far from fore feiing the 
 re-volutions of Liege. Liberty difplays her banners there, God 
 ■^,'ant Jhemay triumph i and,atchie've her vjork / 
 
S2 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Read again, my friend, the charming defcription 
 given of this town and this. State, by M. tie Crevecoeur. 
 It is not exaggerated. Every American whom I have 
 queiUoned on this fubjed, has defcribed to me its 
 ancient fplendor, and its natural advantages; whether 
 for commerce, agriculture, or the enjoyments of life. 
 
 The State of Rhcde-IOmd will never again fee thofe 
 happy days, till they take from circulation their paper- 
 money, and reform their government. The magis- 
 trates Ihould belefs dependent on the people than they 
 are at prefent, and the members of the legiflature 
 ihould not be fo often elected. It is inconceivable 
 that fo many honeft people fhould groan under the 
 prefent anarchy ; that fo many Qaakers, who compof^ 
 the bsfis of the population of this State, fhould not 
 combine together to introduce this reform.* — If this 
 reform is not fpeedily executed, I doubt not but the 
 State will be unpeopled. A grerit part of the emigra- 
 tion for t!ie fittlement at Mufkingum on the Ohio, is 
 from this State". Gen. Varnum is at vhtir head. A 
 rumber of families are preparing to join them. Nearly 
 aU'rhe boneft people of Newport would quit the place, 
 if they could fell their effect?. I doubt not, likewile, 
 but the ex-imple of Rhode-lflnnd will be a proof, in 
 the eyes of many people, that republican government 
 is difrifirous. This would be a wrong conchifion : — 
 this example only proves, thit there fhould not be a 
 too frequent rotation in the iegillative power, and that 
 there ought to be a ftibility in the executive; that 
 there is as much danger in placing the magiftrates in 
 a ftate of too great dependence on the people, as there 
 is in making them too independent. It argues, in 
 fad, againft a pure demccracy, hut not agiinft a r cpr e fen- 
 tat I've democracy ; for a rcprefentation of fix months, is 
 but a government by the people themfelves. Repre- 
 fentation, in this cafe, is but a fhadow, which pafles 
 
 * The author is hafpy tofindy that before the puhlicatisn 
 tfthis letter, this State has acceded to the netv federal go'vern- 
 tncnt. This fa^ pr eves y that good principles 'will predcminate 
 fit lajl, and particular ahufts will dif appear* 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. S3 
 
 too fuddenly to be perceived, or to feel its own exig- 
 ence. Of confequence, this example proves nothing 
 againft the wife fyftem of reprefentation, more dura- 
 ble, more independent, and which conftitutes the true 
 republican government, fuch as that of the other 
 United States. But in the midft of thefe diforderSjyou 
 hear nothing of robberies, of murders, or of mendicity; 
 for the American poor do not degrade themfelves fo far as 
 to abjure all ideas of equity, and all (hame. And this 
 is a trait which ftill marks a difference between New- 
 port and Liege ; the Rliode-Iflander does not beg, and 
 he does not fteal — the ancient American blood ftill 
 runs in his veins. 
 
 1 was detained at Newport by the fouth-weft winds, 
 till the 13th, when we fet fail ^t midnight ; the Cap- 
 tain not wilhing to fail fooner, for fear of touching be- 
 fore day on Block-Ifland. The wind and tide carried 
 •us at the rate of nine or ten miles an hour ; and we 
 {l\ouid have arrived at New-York the next eveni'^g," 
 but we were detained at Hell Gate, a kindofgulpb, 
 eight miles from New-York. This is a narrow paf- 
 fage, formed by the approcich of Long-Ifland to York- 
 Illand, and rendered horrible by rocks, concealed at 
 high water. The whirlpool of this gulph is little per- 
 ceived at low water ; but it is not furprifn^g that 
 •veflels which know it not, fhould be dafhed in pieces. 
 They fpeak of an Englifh frigate loft there the hit 
 war. This Hell-Gate is an obftacle to the navigatloa 
 of this ftrait ; but it is not rare in Ammer to run from 
 Newport to New- York, two hundred aniles, in tv/enty 
 hours. As you approach this city, the corftj; a! thefe 
 two iflands, prefent the moft 'Agreeable fpf.^acle. 
 They are adorned with elegant cou'7try houfes. Loiei;- 
 Ifland is celebrated for its high ft.t? of cuUivaMon The 
 price of palTage and your table froia Providence to 
 New-York, is fix dollars. 
 
 I ought to fay one word of the p-\:ket-boats of 
 this part of America^ and of the facilities which they 
 offer. Though, in my opinion, it is more advanta- 
 geous, and often lefs expenfive, to go by land ; yet I 
 o«'e fome praifes to the cleanlinefs arid good order ob- 
 
S4 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 
 
 fervable in thefe boats. The one which I was in con- 
 tained fourteen beds, ranged in two rows, one above 
 the other ; every one had its little window. The 
 chamber was well aired ; fo that you do not breathe 
 that naufeous air which infefts the packets of the 
 Englifli channel. It was well varniihed ; and two 
 clofe corners were made in the poop, which ferve as 
 private places. The provifions were good. There 
 is not a Httle town on all tViis coal!:, but what has thefe 
 kinds of packets going to New-York ; fuch as New- 
 haven, New-London, &c. They have ail the fame 
 neatnefs, the faTie embelliflinfient, the fame conveni- 
 ence for travellers. You may be affured, there is 
 nothing like it on the old continent. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 On N£ W-r O R K. 
 
 Augujiy 1788. 
 
 I HAVE reid again, my dear friend, the description 
 given by Mr. Crevecceur, of this part of the United 
 States ; and after having compared all the articles of it 
 with what I have i^^n^ I muft declare, that*^ all the 
 traits of his picture are juft. 
 
 Nothing is more magnificent than the fituation of 
 this town — between two majeftic rivers, the north and 
 the eaft. The former feparates it from New-Jerfey : 
 it is fd profound, that Ihips of the line anchor in it. 
 I have at this moment under my eyes, a French fliip 
 of 1200 tons,deftined to the Eaft-India trade,which has 
 come into it to refit. Two inconvcnienciesare,howevcr, 
 experienced in this river ; the defcent of ice in the 
 winter, and the force of the north-weft wind. Ships 
 mount this commodious river as far as Albany, a town 
 fituated an hundred and feventy miles from New- York. 
 
 Albany will yield very fnon, in profperity, to a town 
 called Hudfon, built on a fpot, where, four years ago, 
 there was only a firople farm-houfe. At prefent, it 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. t^ 
 
 contains an hundred good dwelling houfcs, a court- 
 houfe, public fountains, &c. More than fifty fliips 
 arc owned here, which export the American produc- 
 tions to thelllands and to Europe. Twowhaleing Hiips 
 are of the number. Their veflels do not winter idly 
 \\\e thofe of Albany, in the port. They trade in the 
 Weft- Indies during this feafon. Poughkeepfie, on the 
 fame river, has doubled its population and its com- 
 merce fince the war. The inattention of the people 
 of Albany to foreign commerce, may be attributed to 
 the fertility of their lands. Agriculture abounds there, 
 and they like not to h;3zard themfelves to the dangers 
 of the fea, for a fortune which they can draw from the 
 ])ouoty of the foil which furpipunds them. The fertil- 
 ity of the uncultivated lands,and the advantages which 
 they offer, attrad fettlers to this quartsh New fettle- 
 n-ients are forniing here, but llowly ; becaufe other 
 States fuinifh lands, if not as fertile, at Icafl attended 
 with more advantages for agriculture, as they are lefs 
 expofed to the excefilve rigours of fo long a winter. 
 
 When this part of America fhall be well peopled, 
 the north river v/ill offer one of the fineft channels for 
 the e.sv'portatioa of its produftionSv Navigable for 
 more than two hundred miles from the ocean, it com- 
 municates with the river Mohawk, with the lakes One- 
 id i, O.itario, Erie, and all that part of Canada. The 
 falls which are found in this route, may be eafily van- 
 quifhsd by canals, fo eafy to conftriicl in a country 
 abounding with men and money. This river commu- 
 nicates with Canada in another quarter, by the lakes 
 George and Champlaine. It is this fituation which 
 v/ill render New-York the channel of the fur-trade, at 
 leaft during the exiftence of this kind of commerce, 
 which fuppcfes the exiftence of favages, and great 
 quantities of uncultivated lands. 
 
 By the Eaft River, New-York communicates with 
 Long-Illand, andf with all theRiftern States. Ships of 
 the line anchor likewife in this river, and near the 
 quay, where they are flieltered from tiie ftorms which 
 fometimes ravage thefe coafts. This happy fituatioR 
 of New-York will explain to you the caufes why the 
 
S6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LngVifh give it the preference over the other parts of 
 America. Being the great market for Connefticiit 
 andJ^Jevv-Jerfey, it pours in upon thofe States the pro- 
 ouaions of the Eift Indies, and' of Europe. It is diffi- 
 cult to obtain an account of the exportations and im- 
 portations of this State. Colonel Lamb, who is at the 
 head of the Cuflom-Houfe, invelopes all his operations 
 inthemoft profound myftery ; it is an eirsft of the 
 Dutch fpirir, which ftill governs this city. The Dutch- 
 man conceals his gains and his commerrc ; he lives 
 butfor hirafelf. I have been able, however, to pro- 
 cure fome details, which you viill find ihtlie general 
 table of the commerce of the United States. The En- 
 glifn have a great predile(^ion for this city, and for its 
 productions ; thus its port is always covered with En- 
 glifh fliips. They prefer even its whe:t ; fo that the 
 American merchants bring wheat ^rom Virginia, ai'.d 
 fell it for that of New-York. 
 
 The prefence of Congrefs with the (iiplomatic body, 
 ard the concourfe of Grangers, contributes much to 
 extend here the ravages of ]u;:ury. The inhabitaiyts 
 are far from complaining at it ; they prefer the fj))en- 
 dour of wealth, and the fiiow of enjoyment, to the 
 Simplicity of m.anners, and the ptire picafures rcfiilt- 
 ing from it. The ufage of fmoking has not difap- 
 peared in this town, with the other cufcoms of their 
 fathers, the Dutch. They fmoke cigars, which come 
 from the Spanifli iflands. They are leaves of tobacco, 
 rolled in form of a tube, of fix inches long, which are 
 fmoked without the aid of any inftrument. This 
 ufage is revolting to the French. it m.ay apperir dif- 
 agreeable to the women, by deffcroying the purity of 
 the breath. The Philofopher condemns it, as it is a 
 fuperfluous want. It has, however, one advantage ; it 
 accuftoros to nricditation, and prevents loquacity. 
 The fmoker afks a queftion ; the arifwer comes two 
 minutes after, and is well founded. The cigar ren- 
 ders to a man the fervice that the philofopher drew 
 from a glafs of water, which he drank when he was 
 in anger. 
 
 The great commerce of this city, and the facility of 
 
Jiving here, augments the population of the State v/ith 
 great rapidity. In 1773* they reckaiied 148,124 
 whites ; i:i 1786, the number was 219, 096. 
 
 If there is a \own on the An^erican continent where 
 the Englifh luxury dlTplays its foHi'!rs, it is NeW-York. 
 You will find here the Englifh falliions. In; the drefs 
 of the women you will fee the rr.oft brilliant filks, 
 gauzes, hats, and borrowed hair. Equipages are rare ; 
 but i'k y arc elegant. The men have more {i-npHcity 
 in their drefs ; they difdain gewgaws, but they take 
 their revenue in the luxury of the table. 
 
 Luxury fantJS already, in this town, a chfs of mej 
 very dangerous in iociety — I mean bachelors. The^. 
 expence of woinen caufes matrimony to be dreadeili 
 by men. 
 
 Tea forms, as in Englnnd, the bads of the princi- 
 pal parties of pleafure. Fruits, though more attendee 
 to in this Stare, nre far from pofTefiing the beauty an< 
 ,^ood nefs of th^^fe of Europe. 1 have feen trees, in 
 September, loaded at once with apples and with- flower^. 
 
 M. dz Crevecocur is right in his dcfcription of the 
 ahasndance and good qiuility of proviilons at New- 
 York, in vegetables, flefli, and efpecially ia fiHi. It is 
 difficult to unite fo many advantages in one place. 
 Proviilons are dearer at New- York, than in any other 
 of the northern or middle States. Many things, efpe- 
 riallythofe of luxury, are de;arer here than in France. 
 A 1 h'lir-dfcfl'rr afks twenty (hillings per month'; 
 walh'.'ig co(ls four fliiilings for a dozen pieces. 
 
 Strangers, who, having lived a long time in ATiciicj, 
 tax the Americans with cR'eating, have declared to me, 
 That this accufation muft be confined to the towns, 
 and that in the country you v/iil iirid them honcfh 
 The Fnench are the moft forward in making thefe 
 complaints; rnd they believe that the Americans are 
 niorr; trickifli with them 
 
 tnis were a fafc, I fhould not be afroniflicvi at it. 
 
 than with the Englifh. If 
 d at^it. The 
 
 French, whom I have Ceen, are eternaliy crying up the 
 fervices which their nation has rendered to the Amer- 
 ican*:, and oppofmg their manners and cuiloms, de- 
 crying .their government, exalting the favours rendered 
 
SS NEW^ TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 by the French government to the Americans, and 
 cii.ninifhing thofe of Congrefs to the French. 
 
 One of the greateft errors of travellers is to calcu- 
 late prices of provif.ons in a country, by the prices in, 
 taverns and boarding-houfcs. It is a falfe bafis ; we 
 jliould take for the town, the price at the market, 
 nnd this is about half the price that one pays at the 
 tavern. This bails would be fllll falfe, if it were ap- 
 plied to the country. There are many articles, which 
 are abundant in the country, and p.re fcarcely worth 
 the trouble oP colleding and brinpi.ng to market. 
 Thtfe refitdions appear to me neceffary to put one 
 on his guard ngaiofi believing too readiiy in the prices 
 eflim.nted by hafty travellers. Other circumijances 
 jikewifj influence the price : fuch, for exarnplc, as 
 ^^'a^, which Mr. Chadellux takes no notice of in his 
 c,x2ggerated ac:ount of American prices. 
 
 Thefe pi ices were about double in New-York dur- 
 ing the vvar, to what they are ntivv. Boarding and 
 lodging by the week, is from four to fix dollars. The 
 fees of lawyers are out of all proportion ; they are, as 
 in E )gland, cxceflive. Phyficians have not the fan^e 
 advant?.;^e in this rcfpefl as lawyers : the good health 
 jger.erally enjoyed here, renders them little ntccfHiry ; 
 yet they r:re fofHcicp.tly numerous. 
 
 I converfc'd with fomcof them, and afked what were 
 the difeafcs moft common : They told me, bilious 
 fevers ; and that the greateft part of difeafes among 
 them were Gccafioned by excclfive cold, and the want 
 «f care; but there are few difaifes here, added they. 
 The air is pure; the inhabitants are tolerably temper- 
 ate ; the people in good circumftances, are not fuifici- 
 tntly rich to give themfelves up to thofe debaucheries 
 ^vhich kill fo many in Europe ; and there are no poor, 
 provifions being fo cheap. 
 
 Let thofe men who doubt the prodigious tffe£ls that 
 liberty produces on man, and on liis induRry, tranf- 
 port themfelves to America. What miracles will they 
 here behold ! whilft every where in Europe the villa- 
 ges and towns are falling to ruin, rather than rug- 
 ivicnting, new edifices are here arifing on all fidts. 
 
:TEY/ TRxWELS IN AMERICA. 89 
 
 Nc:\v-York was in great part confumed Ijy fire in the 
 time of the war. The veftiges of this terrible confla- 
 gration difappear j the aaivity which reigns every 
 where, announces a rifmg pofterity ; they enlarge iti 
 every quarter, and extend their ftreets. Elegant build- 
 ings, in the Englifh ftyle, take place of thofe fliarp- 
 roofed {loping houfes of the Dutch. You find forr.e 
 ftill ftiii'ding in the Dutch ftyle ; they afford fome 
 pleafure to the European obferver ; they trace to hini 
 the origin of this colony, and the manners of thole 
 who inhabit it, while they call to his mind the ancient 
 BeJgic State. 
 
 I walk out by the fide of the North River ; what a 
 rapid change in the fpace of fix weeks ! the river is 
 forced back 200 feet, and, by a fimple mechanifm, 
 they have contlruiled a kind of encafement, compofed 
 of large trunks of trees eroding each other at conve- 
 nient diftances, and faftened together by ftrong beanns. 
 They condu6l:this floating dyke to the place where it 
 is to be fixed, and wliere there is often forty feet of 
 water. Arrived at its deftination, it is funk with an 
 enormous weight of flones. On all fides, houfes are 
 rifing, and flreets extending : I fee nothing but bufy 
 workmen building and repairing. 
 
 At the Time time they are ereding a building for 
 Congrefs. They are likewife repairing the hofpital ; 
 f^ this building is in a bad condition ; not a fick perfort 
 ^*- could be lodged in it at the end of the war ; it was a 
 building almoft abandoned: they have reftored the 
 adminiftration of it to the Quakers, from whom it had 
 been taken away during the war ; they have ordered 
 it to be repaired, and the reparations are executing 
 with the greateft vigour. This building is vaft ; it is 
 of brick, and perfefl'y well fituated on the bank of the 
 N )rth River, It enjoys every advantage : air the 
 mo(l falubrious, that may be renewed at pleafure ; 
 water in abundance ; pleafant and extenfive walks for 
 the fick ; magnificent and agreeable profpe^s ; out 
 of the town, and yet fufficiently near it. 
 
 It is likewife to the Quakers, to thefe men fo much 
 calumniated, of whom 1 -fhall fpeak more fully herc- 
 
90 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 after, that is owing the order obfervable in the work- 
 houfe, of which they have the fuperintendance. 
 
 It is to their zeal that is to be attributed the forma- 
 tion of the fociety for the abolition of flavery. As I 
 Ihall confecrate to this important article a particular 
 chapter, 1 fhall not fpeak of it here. 
 
 A fociety of a more pompous title, but whcfe fer- 
 vices are lefs real, has been lately formed. Its objedl 
 js the general promotion of fcience and uf{;ful know- 
 ledge. They alfemble rarely, and they do nothing. 
 They have, however, eight hundred pounds in the 
 bank, which remain idle. Their prefident is Gov. 
 Clinton ; and he is any other thing rather than a man 
 of .learning. 
 
 Tliis fociety will have little fuccefs here — ^the Dutch 
 are no lovers of letters. 
 
 But though men of learning do not abound in this 
 city, the prefence of Congrefs attrafts from time to 
 time, at leaft from all parts of A:-nerica, the moft cel- 
 ebrated men. I have feen particularly, Mefirs. Jay, 
 Madifon, Hamilton, King, and Thornton. I have 
 already fpoke to you of the firft. 
 
 The name of Madifon, celebrated in America, is 
 well known in Europe, by the meritedeulogium made 
 of him by his countryman and friend, Mr. Jefferfon. 
 
 Though ftill young, he has rendered the greateft 
 fervices to Virginia, to the American confederation, 
 and to liberty and humanity in general. He contrib- 
 uted much, with Mr. White, in reforming the civil 
 and criminal codes of this country. He dillinguifhed 
 himfelf particularly, in the conventions for the accep- 
 tation of a new federal fyftem. Virginia balanced a 
 long time in adhering to it. Mr. Madifon determined 
 lo it the members of the convention, by his eloquence 
 and his logic. This republican appears to be hut 
 about thirty- three years of age. He had, when I faw 
 him, an air of fatigue ; perhaps it was the effect of the 
 immcnfe labours to which he has devoted himfelf for 
 fome time pafV. His look announces a cenfor ; bis 
 converfation difcovers the man of learning ; and his 
 referve was that of a man confcious of his taleots and 
 of his duties. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 91 
 
 During the dinner, to which he invited roe, they 
 fpoke of the refufal of North-Carolina to accede to the 
 new conftitution. The majoritj againft it was one 
 hundred. Mr. Midifon believed that this refufal 
 would have ne weight on the minds of the Americans, 
 and that it would not impede the operations of Con- 
 grefs. I told him, that though this refufal might be 
 regarded as a trifle in America, it would have great 
 v/eight in Europe ; that they would never enquire there 
 into the nr?otives which didlated it, nor confider the 
 fmall confequence of this State in the confederation ; 
 that it would be regarded as a germe of divifion, cal- 
 culated to retard the operations of Congrefs ; and 
 that certainly this idea would prevent the refurredicn 
 of the Am-rican credit. 
 
 Mr. Madifon attributed this refufal to the attach- 
 ment of a great part of the inhabitants of that State 
 to their paper-money, and their tender-a^. He was 
 much inclined to believe, that this difpofition would 
 nbt remain a long time. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton is the fellow-labourer of Mr. Madifon : 
 Ills figure announces a man of thirty-eight or forty 
 years ; he is not tall ; his countenance is decided ; 
 his air is open and martial ; he was aid-de-camp to 
 General Wafhington, who had greit confidence in 
 him. Since the peace he has talten the profeflion of 
 the law, and devoted himfelf principally to public 
 affairs. He has diftinguifhed himfelf in Congrefs, by 
 his eloquence, and the folidity of his reafoning. 
 Among the works which have come from his pen, the 
 XDoft diftinguilhed are, a raimber of letters inferted in 
 the Federalill, of which I fhall have occafion to fpeak 
 hereafter ; and the letters of Phocion, in favour of 
 the royalifts. Mr. Hamilton had fought them with 
 fuccefs duri' g the war. At the eftablifhment of peace, 
 he was of opinion, that it was not beft to drive them 
 todefpair by a rigorous perfecution. And he had the 
 happinefs to g^in over to thefe mild fentiments, thofe 
 of his compatriots, whofe refentment had been juftly 
 excited againft thefe people, for the woes they had 
 brought on their country. 
 
92 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 This Orator triumphed again in the convention of 
 the State of New-York, where the antifederal party- 
 was numerous. When the convention was fornoed at 
 Poughkeepfie, three quarters of the members were 
 oppofed to the new fyftem. Mr. Hamilton, joining 
 his efforts to thofe of the celebrited Jay, fucceeded in 
 convincing the rr.oft obftinate, that the refufal of New- 
 York would entrsin the greatefl: iDisfortunes to that 
 State, and to the confederation. The conftitution 
 was adopted ; the feaft uhich followed the ratificatioh 
 in New-York, was magnificent; the fhip Federalift, 
 which was drawn in proceflion^was named Hamilton,in 
 honor of this eloquent fpeaker. 
 
 He has nDarried the daughter of General Schuyler, 
 a charming woman, who joins to the graces all the 
 candour and rim[)]icity of an American wife. At din- 
 ner, at his houfe, I found General Mifflin, who diftin- 
 guifiied himfelf for his activity in the laft 'war. To 
 the vivacity of a F'-enchman, he appears to unite every 
 obliging chara<5leriftic. 
 
 Mr. King, "wbom I faw at this dinner, pafles fo^ the 
 molt eloquent man in the United States. What ftruck 
 me moft in him, was his modefty. He appears igno- 
 rant of his own worth. Mr. Haniilton has the deter- 
 mined air of a republican. Mr. Madifon, the medita- 
 tive air of a profound politician. 
 
 At this dinner, as at moft others which I made in 
 America, they drank the health of M. de la Fayette. 
 The Americans confider him as one of the heroes of 
 their liberty. He merits their love and efteem ; they 
 have not a better friend in France. His g^nerofity to 
 them has been manifefted on all public occafions, and 
 ftill more in private circumftances, where benefits 
 remain unknown. It is not, perhaps, to the honor of 
 France, or the Frenchmen who have been in America, 
 to recount the fa6l. That he is the only one w"ho has 
 fuccoured the unhappy fufferers in the fire atBofton,* 
 in 1787, and the only one whofe doors are open to the 
 Americans. 
 
 He gwve three hundred pounds Jlerling* 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 93 
 
 Do£lor Thorntorn, intimately corTnedled with the 
 Americans whom I have mentioned, runs a different 
 career, thatof humanity. Though, hy his appearance, 
 he does not belong t6 the fociety of friends, he has 
 their principles, and praftifes their morals with regard 
 to the blacks. He told me the efforts which he has 
 made for the execution of a vaft p^oje6t^ conceived by 
 hiin for their benefit. Perfuaded that there never can 
 exift a fincere union between the whites and the 
 blacks, even on admitting the latter to the rights of 
 freemen, he propofes t6 rend.thenj back, and eil:P.b)i(h 
 them in Africa- This plan is frightful at the firflafpeft ; 
 but, on examinatir»n, it appears to be necetlary and 
 advantageous. i fli.ill not enter upon it here, but re- 
 ferve it for my letter on the ftate of the blacks i» this 
 country. — Mr. Thornton, who appears, hy his vivacity 
 and his agreeable manners, to belong to the French 
 n.ition, was bornat Aitigua: his mother has a planta- 
 tion there. Il; i$ there that, inftead of hird«^ning his 
 heart to the fate of th^ negroes, as mod of the planters 
 do, he has acquired that humanity, that companion 
 for them, with which he is fo much tormented. He 
 told me, he fhould have fet his Hives at liberty, if it 
 had been in his power ; but not being able to do this, 
 he treats thrm like men. 
 
 I cannot finiih this letter without fpeakiri? of another 
 American, whofe talents in finance are well known 
 here; it is Col. Du?r,f-'cretary to the board of treafury. 
 It is difficult to unite to a great facility in calculation, 
 more extenfive views and a quicker penetration into 
 the moft complicated projects. To thefe qualities he 
 joins goodnefs of heart ; and it is to his obliging char- 
 after, and hiszeil, that I owe rauchvalua/ie informa- 
 tion on the finances of this country, which I fiiall. 
 CQ;Tjm?inicate hereafter. 
 
 I fhould ftill be wanting in gratitude, fhould I neg- 
 Jeft to mention the politenefs and attention fliewcd me 
 by the Prefident of Congrefs, Mr. Griffin. He is a 
 Virginianiof very good abil!t!es,of an agreeable figure, 
 affable gnd polite. I faw at his houfe, at dinner, fev :n 
 •r eight women, all drclTcd in great hats, plumes, &c. 
 
Wm^ ^^-f^ :'i-;^.;-: '.^-■. ^' 
 
 94 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 It was with pain that I remarked much of pretcnfion 
 in fome of thefe women; one r.6led the giddy, viva- 
 cious; another, the wonrian offentiment. This laft 
 had many pruderies and grimacss. Two among thenii 
 had thtir bofoms very naked. I was fcandalized at 
 this indecency among republicans. 
 
 A Preildentof Congrefs is far from being furrounded 
 with the fplendor of European monarchs ; and fo much 
 the better. He is not durable in his ftation ; and fo 
 much the better. He never forgets that he is a (imple 
 citizen, and will foon return to the ftation of one. He 
 does not give pompous dinners ; and fo mudb the better. 
 He has fewer parafites, and lefs means of corruption. 
 
 I retDarked, that his tible was freed from many 
 ufiges obferved elfewhere ; — no fatiguing prefenta- 
 tions, no toafts, fo dcTpairing in a numerous fociety. 
 Little wine wns drank after the women had retired. 
 Thefe traits will give you an idea of the temperance cf 
 this country ; temperance, the leading virtue of repub- 
 licans. 
 
 i ought to add one word on the finances of this State. 
 The facility of raifmg an impoft on foreign commerce, 
 puts them in a f tuation to pay, with pun(fluaUty, the 
 expenccs of the Government, the intereft of their State 
 debt, and their part of the civillift cf Congrefs. Their 
 revenues are fnd to amount to _^. 80,000, money of 
 New- York. The expences of the city and county of 
 New-Ycrk amounted, in 1787, to one-eighth of this 
 fum, thi.t if, to ^.10,110. I will add here a ftate cf 
 thefe expences. 
 
 Salaries - - - " 
 
 Kleaions - _ 
 
 pjmps anti wells 
 
 Roads and fireets 
 
 Poor houfes - - ■ - 
 
 Bridewell, or houfe of corrcflion 
 
 Limps - - 
 
 Night watch 
 
 Prifoners 
 
 Uspairs of public building 
 
 • 37 
 
 10 
 
 — 
 
 62 
 
 12 
 
 — 
 
 204 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 734 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 3'79* 
 
 H 
 
 4 
 
 899 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 «'439 
 
 19 
 
 — 
 
 ^931 
 
 2 
 
 — 
 
 372 
 
 ]8 
 
 10 
 
 3 42- 
 
 1^ 
 
 i I 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 95 
 
 Quays - - - 25 — ■— 
 
 City of New-York - - 137 19 — 
 
 County of New-York - - 130 9 — 
 
 £. 10,110 I 10 
 
 The bank of New-York enjoys a good reputation j it 
 ' is well adminiftered. Its cafhier is Kir. William Seton, 
 j; to whom Mr. de Crevecoeur has addrelled his letters; 
 ' afnd what will give you a good idea of his integrity, is, 
 that he was chofen to this important place notwith- 
 ftanding his known attachment to the' Engllfli caufe. 
 This bank receives and pays, without reward, for mer- 
 chants and others, who choofe t6 open an aecompt 
 with it. 
 
 LETTER VL 
 Journey from New-Terk to Philadelphia. 
 
 I WENT from New-York the zjth of Auguft, at fix 
 o'clock in the morning ; and had the North River 
 to pafs before arriving to the flsge. We paifod the 
 ferry in an open boat, nnd landed at Paul us Hook : 
 they reckon two miles for this ferry, for which we 
 pay fixpence, money of New-York. 
 
 The carriage is a kind of open waggon, hung with 
 double curtains of leather and woolen, which you raife 
 or let fail at pleafure : it is not well fufpended. But 
 the road was fo fine, being fand and gravel, that we 
 felt no-inconvenience fronii that circumftance. The 
 horfes are good, and go with rapidity. Thefe carriages 
 have four benches, and may copt:iin twelve perfons. 
 The light baggage is put under the benches, and the 
 trunks fixed on behind. A traveller who does not 
 choofe to take the ftage, has a one-horfe carriage by 
 himfelf. 
 
 Let the Frenchmen who have travelled in thefe rar- 
 riages, compare them to thofe ufed in France ; to thofe 
 
96 irm TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i^ 
 
 heavy diligences, where eight or ten perfons are ftuffed 
 in together; to thoft cabrioltts in the environs of Paris, 
 where two perfons are clofely confined, and deprived 
 of air, by a dirty driver, who torments his miferable 
 jades : and thofe carriages have to run over the fined 
 Tvoads, and yet mske but one league an hour. If the 
 Americans had fuch roads, with what rapidity would 
 they travel ? Since, notwithftanding the inconvenience 
 of the roads, thay now run ninety-fix miles in a dsy. 
 Thus, with only a century and a half of exiftence, and 
 oppofed by a thoufind obftacles, they are already fu- 
 perior to people who have been undifturbed in their 
 progfrefs for fift^=en centuries. 
 
 You find in thife ftages, men of all profefilons. 
 They lucceed each other with rapidity. O le who goes 
 but twenty miles, yields his .place to one who goes 
 farther. The mother and daughter mount the ftage 
 to go ten miles to dine ; another ftage brings them 
 back. At every inftant, then, yoii are malting new 
 acquaintances. Tlie'trequency of thefe carriages, the I 
 facility of finding places in them, and the low and ' 
 fixed price, invite the Americans to travel. Thefe car- 
 ringes have another advantage, they keep up the idea 
 of equality. The member of Congrefs is placed by the 
 fide of the (ho?-maksr who clefted him : they frater- 
 nize together, and convQrfe with familiarity. You 
 fee no perfon here taking upon himfelf thofe important 
 airs, which you too often meet with in France. In 
 that country, a man of condition would bio Ih to travel 
 in a diligence : it is an ignoble carriage ; one knows 
 not with who-n he may fiid hiinfelf. Befides, it is in 
 ftyle iorunpofti this flyle ferves to humiliate thofe who 
 are condemned to a fad mediocrity. From this ine- 
 quality, refuit envy, the tafte for luxury, oftentation, 
 an avidity for gain, the habit of mean and guilty 
 meafures to acquire wealth. It is then fortunate for 
 America, that the nature of things prevents this dif- 
 tinftion in the mode of travelling. 
 
 The artlz^n, or the labourer, who finds himfelf in 
 one of theft- ftages with a man in place, compofes him- 
 U\U is fibut ; or if he endeavors to rife to the level of 
 
 i 
 
r* 
 
 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 9 7 
 
 otlisrs by taking "part In the converf:ition, he at lead 
 gains inftrudtion. The man in place has lefs haugh- 
 tinefs, and is facilitated in gaining, a knowledge of 
 the people. 
 
 The Ton of Governor Livingflon was in the ftage 
 witlime; 1 fhould not have found him out, foeafy 
 and civil was his air, had not the tavern-keepers from 
 time to time addrelTed him with refpeftful familiarity, 
 I am told that the governor himfelf often ufes thofe 
 ftages^. You may have an idea of this refpeftable 
 man, who is at once a writer, a governor, and a plow- 
 man, on learning that he takes a pride in calling him- 
 felf a New- Jerfey farmer. 
 
 The American ftages, then, are the true political 
 carriages. I know that the petits maitres of France 
 would prefer a gay well-fufpended chariot ; but thefe 
 c;\rriages roll in countries of Baftilles, in countries 
 affli«fted with great inequality, and confequently with 
 great mifery. ^. 
 
 The road from New-York td^ewark is in part over 
 a marfli : I found it really aftonifliing ; it recalls to 
 mind the indefatigable induftry of the ancient Dutch 
 fettlers, mentioned by Mr. de Crevecceur. Built 
 wholly of wood, with much labour and perfeverance 
 in the midft of water, on a foil that trembles under 
 your feet, it proves to what point may be carried the 
 patience of man, who is determined to conquer nature. 
 
 But though much of thefe marlhes- are drained, 
 there remains a large extent of them covered with 
 ilagnant waters, which infe£l the air, and give birth 
 to thofe mufqultoes with which you are cruelly tor- 
 mented, and to an epidemical fever which makes great 
 ravages in fummer ; a fever known likewife in Virgin- 
 ia and in the fouthern States, in parts adjacent to the 
 fea. lam affured that the upper parts of New-Jerfey 
 are exempt from this fever, and from mufquitoes ; but 
 this State is ravaged by a political fcourge, more ter- 
 rible than either ; it is paper-money. This paper is 
 ftill, in New-Jerfey, what the people call a legal ten- 
 der ; that is, you are obliged to receive it at its nomi- 
 nal value,, as a legal payment. 
 
9$ NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 I faw, in this journey, many inconvenienced Tefult- 
 ing from this fiftitious money. It gives birth to an 
 infan^ous kind of traffic, that of buying and felling it, 
 by deceiving the ignorant; a cbmmerce which dif- 
 courages induftry, corrupts the morals, and is a great 
 detriment to the public. This kind of ftock-jobber is 
 the enemy to his fellow-citizens. He makes' a fcienre 
 of deceiving ; and this fcience is extretpcly contagious. 
 It introduces a general diftruft. A perfon c^n neither 
 fell his land, nor borrow money upon it ; for fellers 
 and lenders may be paid in a medium which may ftill 
 depreciate, and they know not to what degree it may 
 depreciate. A friend dares not tiuR: his friend, In- 
 ftances of perfidy of this kind have been known, that 
 are horrible. Patriotifm is confequently at an end, 
 cultivation languifhes, and com^merce declines. How 
 is it poffible, faid I to Mr. Livingfton, that a country 
 fo rich, can have recourfe to paper-money r Ne w-Jerfey 
 furnifhes produflions in abundance to New-York and 
 Philadelphia. She draws money, then, corftai -iy 
 from thofe places ; (lie is their creditor. And flfall a 
 creditor make xid of a refource which can be proper 
 only for a miferable debtor r How is. it that the mem- 
 bers of your legiflature have not made thefe reliodlions ? 
 The reafon of it is very fimple, replied he : At the 
 clofc of the ruinous war, that we have experienced, 
 the greater part of our citizens were burdened with 
 debts. They faw in this paper-money, the means of 
 extricating themfelves ; and they had influence enough 
 with their reprefentatives to force them to create it. 
 But the evil falls at length on the authors of it, faid 1 ; 
 they muft be paid themfelves, as well as pay others,, in . 
 this fame paper ; a/id why do they nor fee that it dif- 
 honors their country, that it ruins all kinds of honeft 
 indaflry, and corrupts the morals of people ? Why do 
 they not repeal this legal tender ? A itrong ihterefi: op- 
 pofes it, replied he, of ftock jobbers and fpeculators. 
 They wifli to prolongthis miferable game, in which 
 they are fure to be the winners, though the ruin of 
 their country fnculd be the confequence. We expctl 
 relief only from the new conftixutionj which takes away 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 99 
 
 from the States the power of making paper-money. 
 Alihoneft people wifh the extinaion of it, when filver 
 and gold would re-appear ; and our national induftry 
 would fooa repair the. ravages of the war. 
 
 From Newark we went to dine at New-Brunfwick, 
 and tc'lleep at TfeiUon. The road is bad between 
 the two laft places, efpecially after a rain ; it is a road 
 difficult to be kept i.i repair. We pafled by Prince- 
 Town ; this part of New-Jerfey is very well cultivated. 
 Mr. de Crevecoeur has no-t exaggerated in his defcrip- 
 tion of it. Ail the town^ are well built, whether in 
 wood, ftone, or brick. Thcfe places are too well known 
 in the nuiitary annals of this country, to require that 
 I fli ni'.d fpeak of them. The taverns are much dearer 
 on this road, thin in Mifl'ichufetts and Connedicut : 
 I p lid at Trenton, for a dinner, three Ihillings and 
 fix:pence, money of Pennfylvania. 
 
 We pafTed the ferry from Trenton st f&ven in the 
 morning. The Delaware, which feparates Pennfyl- 
 vania from New-Jerfey, is a fuperb river, navigable for 
 the largeH: fhips. Its navigation is intercepted by the 
 ice during two months in the-year. VefleJs are not 
 attacked here by thofe worms which are fo deftruifliv^e 
 to them in rivers farther fouth. 
 
 The profpeft from the middle of the river is charm- 
 ing : on the right, you fee mills and m an ufa dories ; 
 on the left, two charming little towns, which overlook ' 
 the water. The borders of this river are ftill in their 
 wild ilate. In the forefts which cover them, are fome 
 enormotiSi trees. There are likewife fome houfes ; but 
 they are not equil»/jn point of fnnpli*. elegance, to 
 thofe of MiiTuchufctts. 
 
 We breakfaded at Briftol, a town oppofue to Bur- 
 lington. It was here that the famous Penn drii plant- 
 ed his tiberiiacl,^s. But it was reprefented to him, 
 rhat the. river here did not furnlili anchoring ground 
 fo good and fo hfe as the place already ir.habited by 
 the Swedes, where Philadelphia has fmce been built. 
 He refolved, then, to purchafe this pl^.ce of them, give 
 them other lands in exchange, and to leave Brillol. 
 
 Pafiing the liver Shammory, on a new bridge, and 
 
loo NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 then the village of Frankford, we arrived at Philadel- 
 phia, by a fine road bordered with the beft cultivated 
 lields, and elegant houfes, which announce the neigh- 
 bourhood of a great town. 
 
 1 
 
 L E T 1' E R VII. 
 
 Jcurne^ to Burlington. 
 
 HAD paiTed but a few hours at Philadelphin, when 
 a particular bufinefs called rre to Burlington, on 
 The borders of the Delaware. It is an elegant little 
 town, mere ancient than Philadelphia. Many of the 
 inhabitants are Friends, or Quakers : this was former- 
 Jytheir place of general rendezvous. 
 
 From thence X w?nt t9 the country-houfe pf Mr. 
 temple Franklin. He is the grandfon of the celebra- 
 ted Franklin ; and as well known in France for his 
 amiable qualities, as for his general information. His 
 houfe is five miles from Burlington, on a fandy foil, 
 covered with a foreft of pines. His houfe is fimple, 
 his garden is well kept, he has a good library, and his 
 fituation feemsdeftined for the retreat cf a philofopher. 
 
 I dined here with five or fix Frenchmen, who began 
 their converfation with inveftives againft America and 
 the Americans, againii their want of laws, their paper- 
 money, and^heir ill faith. I defended the Americans, 
 or rather Icfefired to be intruded by fafts ; for I was 
 determined no more to believe in the opinions of indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 You wifh for fafts, faid one of them, who had exit- 
 ed in this country for three years: I will give you 
 fome. I fay that the country is a miferable one. In 
 New-Jerfey, where we now are, there is no money, 
 there is nothing but paper. The money is locked up, 
 faid Mr. Franklin. Would you have a man be fool 
 enough to exchange it for depreciated rags \ Wait till 
 the law Ihall take the paper from circulation. But 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. lai 
 
 you cannot borrow money on the bejfl fecurity. I be- 
 lieve it, faid Mr. Franklin ; the lender fears to be paid 
 in paper. Thefe fads prove not the fcarcity of money, 
 but the prudence of thofe who hold it, and ths influ- 
 ence which debtors have in the legiflaturc. 
 
 They palied to another jpoint. Your laws are arbi- 
 trary, and oftea UDJuft: tor inftance, there is a law 
 laying a tax of a dollar on the fecond dog ; and this 
 tax aug<nent^ in proportion to the number that a man 
 keeps. Thus a labourer has need of dogs ; but he is 
 deprived of their fuccour. He has no need of them, 
 faid Mr. Franklin, he keeps them but for his pleafure ; 
 and if any thing ought to be taxed, it is pleafure. 
 The dogs are injurious to the Iheep ; inftead of de- 
 fending them, they often kill them. I was one of 
 the firil to folicit this law, becaufe we are infefted 
 with dogs from this quarter. To get rid of them we 
 have pu^ a tax oa them, and it has produced falutary 
 effefts. The money arifing from this tax is dcftined 
 to indemnify thofe whofe fheep are deftroyed by thefe 
 animals. 
 
 My Frenchmen returned to the charge : ^But 
 
 your taxes are extremely heavy. You Ihall judge of 
 that, fdys Mr. Franklin ; I have an eftate here of five 
 or fix hundred acres : my taxes laft year amounted to 
 eight pounds, in paper money ; this reduced to hard 
 money, is fix pounds. 
 
 Nothing can be more conclufive than thofe replies. 
 I am fure, however, that this Frenchman has forgot 
 them all; and that he will go and declare in France, 
 that the taxes in New-Jerfey are diftreflingly heavy, 
 and that the impofition on dogs is abominable. 
 
 Burlifigton is feparated from Briflol only by the 
 river. Here is fome commerce, and fome men of con- 
 iiderable capital. The children here have that air of 
 health and decency, which charaderifes the feft of the 
 Quakers, 
 
 I z 
 
102 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Auguft 28, 17^8. 
 
 ON returning from Burlington, I went with Mr. 
 Shoemaker to the houfe of his father-in-law, Mr. 
 Richardfon, a farmer, who lives near Middleton, twen- 
 ty two miles from Philadelphia. 
 
 Mr. Shoemaker is thirty years of age ; he was not 
 educated in the {^^ of Friends : he declared to me, 
 that, in his youth, he was far from their principles ; 
 that he had lived in pleafure ; that growing weary of 
 them, he refledled on his condu6l, and refolved to 
 change it ; that he ftudied the principles of the Qua- 
 kers, and foon became a member of their fociety, not- 
 withftanding the railleries of his friends. He had 
 married the daughter of this Quaker, to whofe houfe 
 we were going. I wifhed to fee a' trde American 
 farmer. 
 
 I was really charmed v/ith the order and neatnefs of 
 this houfe, and of its inhabitants. They have three 
 fons and feven daughters. One ©f the latter only is 
 married ; three others are marriageable. They are 
 beautiful, eafy in their manners, and decent in their 
 deportment. Their drefs is fimple ; they wear fine 
 cotton on Sunday,and that which is not fo fine on other 
 days. Thefe daughters aid their mother in the man- 
 agement of the family. The mother has much adlivi- 
 ty ; fhe held in her arms a little grand daughter, 
 which was carelTed by all the children. It is truly a 
 patriarchal family. The father is occupied conftantly 
 in the fields. We converfed much on the Society of 
 Friends, the Society in France for the abolition, of 
 flavery, the growing of wheat, &c. 
 
 No, never was I fo much edified as in this houfe; 
 it is the afylum of union, friendfliip, and hofpitality. 
 The beds were neat, the linen white, the covering 
 elegant ; the cabinets, defks, chairs, and tables, were 
 of black walnut, well polifhed, and fliining. The gar- 
 den furnifhed vegetables of all kinds, and fruits. 
 There were .ten horfes in the ftable ; the Indian corn 
 of the laft year, (till on the c«b^ lay in large quantities 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 103 
 
 in a cabin, of which the narrow planks, placed at 
 fmall diftancesfrom each otlier, leave openings for the 
 circulation of the air. 
 
 The barn was full of wheat, oats, &c ; their cows 
 furnidi delicious milk for the family, of which they 
 make excellent cheefes ; their .Iheep give them the 
 wool of which the cloth is made, which covers the fath- 
 er and the children. This cloth is fpun in the houfe, 
 wove and fulled in the neighbourhood. All the linen 
 is made in the houfe. 
 
 Mr. Shoemaker (hewed me the place where this 
 worthy cultivator was going to build a houfe for his 
 eleft fon. You fee, faid he to me, the wealth of this 
 good farmer. His father was a poor Scotchman; he 
 came to America, and applied himfelf to agriculture, 
 and by his induftry and economy amafled a large for- 
 tune. This fon of his is like wife rich : he fells his 
 grain to a miller in the neighbourhood ; his vegetables, 
 butter, and checfe, are fent once a week to town. 
 
 I went to fee this miller. I recollected what Mr. de 
 Crevecceur had faid in praife of the American mills. 
 This one merited it for its neatnefs, and for the intel- 
 ligence with which the different operations were dif- 
 tributed. There were three fets of ftones deftined to 
 the making of flour of different degrees of finenefs. 
 They employ only the ftones of France for the iirft 
 quality of flour. They are exported from Bourdeaux 
 and Rouen. In thefe mills they have multiplied the 
 machinery, to fpare hand-labour in all the operations ; 
 fuch as, hoifting the wheat, cleanfing it, raifing the 
 flour to the place where it is to be fpread, colleding it 
 again into the chamber,where it is to be put in barrels. 
 
 Thefe barrels are marked at the mill with the name 
 of the miller; and this mark indicates the quality of 
 the flour. That which is defigned for exportation, is 
 again infpefled at the port ; and, if not merchantable, 
 it is condemned. 
 
 The millers here are flour-merchants ; mills arc R 
 kind of property which enfure a conftant income. 
 
104 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Vijit frotx the good Warner Miflin* 
 
 Augujl -i^othy 1783. 
 
 I WAS Tick, and Warner Miflin came to fee me. You 
 know Warner Miflin ; you have read the eulogiuin 
 made of him by M. de Crevecceiir. It is he that firft 
 freed all his (laves ; it is he who, without a paflport, 
 traverfed the Britifh arnny, and fpoke to General Howe 
 with fo much firmnefs and dignity ; it is he who, fear- 
 ing not the effefts of the general hatred againft th« 
 Quakers, went, at the rifk of being treated as a fpy, to 
 prefent himfelf to General Walhington, to juftify to 
 him the conduft of the Quakers ; it is he, that in the 
 midft of the furies of war, equallya friend to the French, 
 the Englifh, and rhe Americans, carried generous fuc- 
 cours to thofe among them who were fuffering. Well, 
 this angel of peace came to fee me. I am Warner 
 Miflin, fays he ; I have read the book wherein thou 
 defendeft the caufe of the Friends, wherein thou 
 preached the principles of univerfal benevolence ; I 
 knew that thou waft here, and I have come to fee 
 thee; befides, I love thy nation.. I was, I confcfs, 
 much prejudiced againft the French ; I even hated 
 them, having been, in this refped, educated in the 
 Englifli principles. But when I came to fee them, a 
 fecret voice faid to me, that I ought to drive from my 
 heart that prejudice ; that I ought to know them, and 
 love them. 1 have then fought for them. I have 
 Itnown them; and it is with pleafure I have found 
 them to poflTefs a fpirit of mildnefs and general beneVf 
 olence, which I. had never found among the Englifli. 
 
 I cannot report to you all the converfation of this 
 worthy Quaker ; it made a deep imprefliion on my 
 heart. What humanity I and what charity ! It feems, 
 that to love mankind, and to fearch to do them good, 
 coftftitutes his only pleafure, his only exiftence ; his 
 conftant occupation is to find the means of making all 
 men but one family ; and he does not defpair of it. 
 He fpoke to me of the Society of Quakers at Nifmesj 
 
, KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1^5 
 
 and of fome friends in Amrrica and England, who 
 have been to vifit them. He regarded them as inftru- 
 ments defigned to propagate the principles of the foci- 
 ety through the world. I mentioned to him fome ob* 
 ftacle^ ; fach as the corruption of our morals, and the 
 power of the clergy. O, my friend, faid he, is not the 
 arm of the Almighty flronger than the arm of man ? 
 What were we when the fociety took its birth in En- 
 gland ? What was America thirteen years ago, when 
 JSenezet raifed his voice againft: the flavery of the 
 blacks ? Let us always endeavour to do go«d ; fear no 
 obftacles, ahd the good will be done. 
 
 All this was faid without the leaft oftentation. He 
 faid what h« felt, what he had thought a thoufand 
 times ; he fpoke fro;ii the heart, and not from the 
 head. He realized what he had told me of that fecret 
 voice, that internal fpirit, of which the Quakers fpeak 
 fo much ; he was animated by it. Ah ! who can fee, 
 who can he^r a m;,,, io milch exalted above humafi 
 nature, without reilefting on himfelf, without endea- 
 vouring to imitate him, without biufhing at his own 
 weaknefs ? What are the finefl: writings, in comparifon 
 with a life fo pure, a condufl fo conftantly devoted to 
 the good of humanity ? How fmall I appeared in con- 
 templating him ! And (hall we calumniate a fe£l to 
 which a man fo venerable belongs ? Shall we paint it 
 as the centre of hypocrify and deceit ? We muft then 
 fuppofe thatMiflin counterfeits humanity ; that he i> 
 in concert with hypocrites, or that he is blind to their 
 true charader. To counterfeit humanity, to confent 
 to facrifice one*s interefts, to be fcofFed and ridiculed, 
 to impart his goods to the poor, to affranchife his ne- 
 groes, and all this by hypocrify, would be a very bad 
 fpeculation ; hypocrify makes better calculations. 
 Bat, if you fuppofe this man to be true and honeft as 
 to himfelf, can you imagine him to be in concert with 
 knaves ? This would be an abfurd contradiftion. 
 Finally, on hearing this man, full of good fenfe, and 
 endowed with a folid j.udgment, reafoning with fo 
 much force, can you believe that he has been, for all 
 his life, the dupe of a band of Iharpers, when he h 
 
io6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 at the fame tiine in all their molt fecret counfels, and 
 
 oneof their chiefs ? Yes, my friend, I repeat it, the 
 attachment of an angel like Warner Miflin to the ft'£l 
 Of Qaakers, is the faireft apology for that fociety. 
 
 He took me one day to fee his intended wife, Mifs 
 Ameland,whom he was to marry in a few days. She 
 is a worthy companion of this reputable Quaker. 
 What mildnefs ! what modef^y ! and, afe the fame 
 time, what entertainment in. her converfation ! Mifs 
 Ameland once loved the world. She made verfes and 
 mufic, and was fond of dancing. Though young ftill, 
 fae h. 3 renounced all thefe acxufemet;ts, to embrace 
 the life of an .anchorite. In the midft ©f the world fiie 
 has perfilied in her defign, notwithlianding the plea- 
 fantries of her arouaintance.. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 The Funeral of a ^akcr — A ^aker-Me^iing. 
 
 I WAS prefent -at the funeral of Thomas Holwej], 
 one of the elders of the Society of Friends. James 
 Pemberton conduiled me to it. I found a number of 
 Friefids aflembled about the houfe of the deceafcd, 
 and waiting in fiience for the body to appear. It 
 appeared, and was in a coffin of black walnut, without 
 any covering or ornament, borne by four Friends ; 
 fome women followed, who, I wa* told, were tiie neareft 
 relative?, and grand-children of t^e deceafed.* All. his 
 friends followed in fi.'ence, two by two. I was of th« 
 number. There were no places defignated ; young 
 and old mingled together ; but all bor« the fame air 
 of grivity and attention. Tbe burying ground is in 
 the town; but it is not furrounded with houfes. I. 
 faw near fome of the graves, fome pieces of black 
 ftones, on which the names only of the dead were 
 
 * None cf thetn tvtre dreji in hlack. The ^aktrs regard 
 this tejiimony of grief ai childifti» 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i cy 
 
 engraved. The greatefl part of the Qiiakers diflike 
 even this ; they fay, that a man ought to live in the 
 memory of his friends, not by varn infcriptions, but by 
 good aftions. The grave was fix or feven feet deep ; 
 they placed the body by the fide of it. On theoppo- 
 fite fide were feated,on wooden chairs, the four women, 
 who appeared to be the mod affedled. The people 
 gathered round, and remained for five minutes in 
 ' profound meditation. All their countenances marked 
 a gravity ftntable to theoccafion, but nothing of grief, 
 Thi:j interval being elapfed, they let down the body, 
 and covered it with earth ; when a man advanced near 
 the grave, planted his cane in the ground, fixed his 
 hat upon it, and began a difcourfe relative to this fi\d 
 ceremony. He trembled in ail his body, and his eyes 
 were ftaring and wild. His difcourfr; turned upon the 
 tribulations of this life, the necefiity of recurring to 
 God, &c. When he had finiflied, a wcpian threw her- 
 felf on her knees, made a very iliart prayer, the men 
 took off their hats» and all retired. 
 
 I was at firft furprifed, I confxfs, at this trembling 
 of the preacher. We arefo accuf^omed, by our Euro- 
 pean philofophy, to confider thofe appearances as the 
 effedl of hypocrify, and to annex to them the idea cf 
 ridicule, that it was difficult to prevent myftlf from 
 being feized with a like impfeflion : but Irecollefted 
 that fomething fimiiiar had happened to me a hund- 
 red times ; when I had been warmed with a fuhjed^, 
 and drawn into an interefting difcuirion, I have been 
 tranfported out of myfelf to fuch a decree, thst I could 
 neither fee nor hear, but experienced a confiderable 
 trembling. Hence I concluded, that it nriight be nat- 
 ural, efpecially to a man continually occupied in med- 
 itation on the Almighty, on death, atid a future ftate. 
 I went from thence with thefe Friends to their meet- 
 ing. The mofl: profound fiience reigned for near an 
 hour ; when one of their miniilers, or elders, who fat 
 on the front bench, rofe, pronounced four words — 
 then was filent for a minute, then fpoke four words 
 more ; and his whole difcourfe was proiiounced in 
 this manner. This method is generally followed by 
 
tc3 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 their preachers ; for, another who Ipoke after him, 
 obfeived the fame intervals. 
 
 Whether I judged from habit or reafon, I know not ; 
 b'it this manner of fpeaking appeared to me not cal- 
 culated to produce a great effed : for the ienfe of the 
 phrafe is perpetually interrupted ; and the hearer is 
 obliged to guefs at the meaning, or be in fufpenfe ; 
 either of which is fatiguing. But before forming a 
 decifive opinion, we ought to iirnuire into the reafons 
 which have led the Quakers to adopt this method. 
 Certainly the manner of the ancient orators and mod- 
 ern preachers, is better imagined for producing the 
 great efFe£l of eloquence. They fpeak by turns, to 
 the imagination, to the pafiions, and to the reafon ; 
 they pleafe in order to move ; they pleafe in order to 
 convince ; and it is by pleafure that they draw you 
 after them. This is the eloquence neceflary for men 
 enervated and enfeebled, who wifli to fpare them- 
 felves the trouble of thinking. The Quakers are of a 
 different charader ; they early habituate themfelves to 
 meditation"; they are men of much refiedion, and of 
 few words. They have no need, then, of preachers 
 with founding phrafes and long fermons. They dif- 
 dain elegance as an ufelefs amufement ; and long fer- 
 mons appear difproportioned to the force of the human 
 mind, and improper for the divine fervice. The mind 
 fhould not be loaded with too many truths at once, if 
 you wifii they fhould make alaftingimpreffion. The 
 objefb of preaching being to convert, it ought rather 
 to lead to reflsdlion, than to dazzle and amufe. 
 
 I obferved, in the countenances of all this congrega- 
 tion, an air of gravity mix-ed with fadnefs. Perhaps 
 I am prejudiced ; but I fliould like better, while people 
 are adoring their God, to fee them have an air which 
 would difpofe perfons to love each other, and to be 
 fond of the worfliip. Such an air would be attrafting 
 to young people, whom too much feverity difgufls. 
 B^fides, why fhould a p'^rfon with a good confcience, 
 pray to God with a fad countenance ? 
 
 The prayer which terminated the meeting was 
 fervent ; it was pronounced by a minifter, who fell on 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i^^ 
 
 his knees. The men took off their hats; and each 
 retired, after having fhaken hands with his neighbour. 
 What a difference between the fimplicity of thif, 
 and the pomp of the catholic worfliip !^ Reformatio:!, 
 in all ftages, has diminifhed the formalities : You will 
 find this regular diminution in defcending from the 
 Catholic to the Lutheran, from the Lutheran to the 
 Prefbyterian, and from thence to Quakers and Method- 
 ifts. It is thus that human reafon progrefTes towards 
 perfedion. 
 
 In confidering the fimplicity of the Quaker's wor- 
 fliip, and the air of fadnefs that in the eyes of ftran- 
 gers appears to accompany it, an air which one would 
 thi{»kdifgufting to young people even of their own fe(5>, 
 I have been furprifed that the Society (liould maintain 
 a concurrence with more brilliant fe£ls, and even in- 
 creafe by making profelytcs from them. This effeft is 
 principally to be attributed to the fuigular image of 
 domeftic liappinefs which the Quakers enjoy. Re- 
 nouncing all external pleafures, mufic, theatres, and 
 fhows, they are devoted to their duties as citizens, to 
 their families, and to their bufinefs ; thus they are 
 beloved by their wives, cheriHied by their children, 
 2nd efteemed by their neighbours. Such is thefped:a- 
 cle which his often drawn to this Society, men who 
 have ridiculed it in tlieir youth. 
 
 The hiftory of the Quakers will prove the falfity of 
 a principle often advanced in politics. It is this: that, 
 to maintain order in fociety, it is neceffary to have a 
 mode of worfhip flriking to the fenfes ; and that the 
 more fliow and pomp are introduced into it, the better. 
 This is what has given birth to, and ftill juftifies, our 
 full cbants, ouv fpiritual concerts, OMV proceJJtonSf our orna^ 
 jnents, Scz, Two or three hundred thoufand Quakers 
 have none of thefe mummeries, and yet they obferve 
 good order. 
 
 This fa£l has led me to another conclufion, the fol- 
 idity of which has been hitherto difputed. It i<;, the 
 poffibility of a nation of Deijis* A nation of Deifts 
 
 * Ncithr the Englijh r.or Americ€ins attach the fame iSea 
 K 
 
I ro NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 maintaininp: good gcv^nrr.ent, would be a miracle In 
 political religion. And why fhould it not exift, when 
 knowledge lliall be more univerfally extended, when ft 
 ihali penetrate all ranks of fociety ? What difference 
 would there be between a fociety of DfeiUs, and one of 
 Quakers, aflembling to hear a difcourfeon the immor- 
 tality of the foul, and to prayGod in fimple language I 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Viftl to a Bettering-Houfe, or Hcufe of Curredion* 
 
 THIShofpitalisfituatedin the open country, in one 
 of thofe parts of the original plan of PhiUdelr 
 phianotyet covered with hcufes. It is already divi- 
 ded into regular ftreets ; and, God grant that thefe 
 projeded ftrects may never be any thing mere than 
 imaginary I If they fhould one day be adorned with 
 hfiufes, it would be a misfortune to the hofpiiais, to 
 Pennfylvania, and to all America. 
 
 This hofpital is conftrudted of bricks, and compofed 
 of two large buildings ; one for men, and the other 
 for women. There is a feparation in the court, which 
 is common to them. This inftitution has feveral ob- 
 jc(^s ; they receive into it, the poor, the fick, orphans, 
 women in tra'v'ail, and perfons attacked with venereal 
 difeafes. They likewife confine here, vagabonds, dif- 
 orclerly perfons, and girls of fcandalous lives. 
 
 There exilis then, you will fay, even in Philadelphi:! 
 that difgufting co-nmerce of difeafes, rather than of 
 pleafures, which for fo long a time has empoifoned 
 our continent. Yes, my friend, two or three of ti\e 
 moft confiderable maritime towns of the new conti- 
 
 to this r.:'ordihat a Frenchman does. Thty conpder th^c De'ijl 
 as a kind nf Mattrialiji. I uuderjiand by a Deift^ a man 
 nuho bel'ives in God, and the immortality of the foul, 
 
 • This h'jufe is^ properly named ; hecaufe, contrary . 
 firdhay rffl':l of hofpitals, it renders the prfoners better. 
 
 to tee 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 1 1 
 
 ncnt are afiiiaed by this leprofy. It was almoft un- 
 known before the revolution; but the abode of foreign 
 armies has naturalized it, and it is one of thofe fcour- 
 pes for which the frse Anncricans are indebted to us. 
 But this trafnc is not carried on fo fcandalouHy as at 
 Paris or London. It is reftrained, it is held in con- 
 tempt, and almofl: imperceptible. I ought to fay, to 
 the honor of the Anncricans, that it is nouriflied only 
 by emigrants and European travellers ; for the fan^flity 
 of marriage is frill univerfiilly refpei^led in ATierica. 
 Young people marrying early, and without obftacles, 
 are not tempted to go and diilionor, and e.npoifou 
 themfclves in places of prcflitution. 
 
 BiU tofinifli my account of this hofpital, there are 
 particular halls appropriated to each clafs of poor, and 
 to each fpecies of fickiief:; ; and each hall has its fu- 
 perintendant. Tiiis inftitution was rich, and well 
 adminiflered before the war. The greater part of t\|e 
 adminifl-rators were Quakers. The war and p2per- 
 money introduced a difi-erent order af things. The 
 legillature refolved not to ?vdmit to its adminiflration, 
 any perfons but fuch as had taken the oath of fidelity 
 to the State. The Quakers were by this exclude-i, 
 and the management of it fell into hands not fo pure. 
 Tne fpirit of depredation was manifefi in it, and paper- 
 monty was ftill more injurious. Creditors of the hof- 
 pital vi'ere paid, or rather ruined by this operation. 
 About a year ago, on the report of the iofpedlors of 
 the hofpitals, the iegifiature, confidering the abufes 
 pra£tifcd i". th?.t adminiftration, confided that of tlje 
 bettering-houfe sg;iin tp the Quakers. Wi^t'ncut any 
 refcntmeiit of the affronts they had received during 
 the war, and only anxious to do good and pcrfcroi 
 their duty, the Friends accepted the adjr.i!Ui^ration,and 
 exercifs it as before, with zeal and fidelity. This 
 change has produced the effecl which was expeft^d. 
 Order is vifibly re-elrablifhed ; many adminiftrators 
 are appointed, one of whom, by turns, is to vlHt the 
 licfpital every day,: fi:< phyficians are attached to it, 
 Vi'bo perform the fervice gratis. 
 
 I have ieenthc hofpiiaU of France, both at P^ris:,, 
 
X 1 2 NEW TRAVELS IN AINIERICA. 
 
 and in the provinces. I know none of tliem, but the 
 one at Befan^on, that can be compared to this at Phil- 
 adelphia. Every fick, and every poor perfon, has his 
 bed well furnifhed, but without curtains, as it fhould 
 be. Every room is lighted by windows placed cppo- 
 liic, which introduce plenty of light, that great confo- 
 lation to a man confined, of which tyrants for this 
 reafon are cruelly fparing. Thefe windows admit a 
 free circulation of air : nacfl of them open over the 
 fields; and as they are not very high, and without 
 grates, it would be very eafy for the prifoners to make 
 their efcape; but ths ilea never enters their heads. 
 Thi5 fa(5l proves that the prifoners arc happy, and, 
 confeqnently, that the adminiilration is good. 
 
 The kitchens are well kept, and do not exhale that 
 fetid odour which ycu perceive from the b'eft kitchens 
 in France. The, eating-rooms, which are on the 
 .^^und floor, are equally clean, and well aired : neat- 
 nefs and good air reign in every pjrt. A large garden 
 ut the end of the court, furnifhes vegetables for the 
 kitchen. 1 was furpriud to find there, a great num- 
 ber of foreign fhrubs and plants. The garden is well 
 cultivated. In the yird they rear a great number of 
 hogs ; for, in Annericn, the hog, as well as the ox, 
 does the honors of the table through the whole year. 
 
 I could fcarcely defcribe to you the different fenfi- 
 tions which, by turns, rejoiced and affiicted my heart, 
 in going through their diifercnt apartments. An hof- 
 pital, how well foever adminiftered, is always a pain- 
 ful fpeflacle to me. It appears to me fo confoling for 
 a fick man to be at his own* home, attended by his 
 ivifeand children, and vifited by his neighbours, that 
 I regard hcfpitals as vafl fepulchres, where are brought 
 together a crowdofindividuaJs,ftrangers toeach other, 
 and feparated from all they hold dear. And what is 
 n ■• 1 in this fituation ? — A leaf detaahcd from the tree, 
 and driven down by the torrent — a fkeleto.i no longer 
 of any confirtence, and bordering on dilfolution. 
 
 But th's idea foon gives place to another. Since focieties 
 are condemned to be infcfled with great cities, fince 
 inifery and Yic« ara tht^eceffary offspring of thel« 
 
MEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 13 
 
 dtles, a houfe like this becomes the afylum of benefi- 
 eence ; for, without the aid of fuch inftitutions, what 
 would become of the greater part of thofe wretches 
 who here find a refuge ? So. many women, blind, deaf, 
 rendered difgufting by their numerous infirmities. 
 They mud very foon perilh, abandoned by all the 
 world, to whom they are ftrangers. No door but that 
 of their common mother earth would receive thefe 
 hideous fi^yures, r/ere it not for this provifion made by 
 their common friend. Society. 
 
 I faw in this hofpital, all that mifery and difeafe 
 canaffemble. liaw women fuffering on the bed of 
 pain ; others, whofe meagre vifages, roughened with 
 pimples, attell the efredl of fatal incontinence ; others, 
 who waited with groans the moment when Heaven 
 would deliver them from a burden which difhonours 
 them ; others, holding in their arms the fruit, not of 
 a legal marriage, but of love betrayed. Poor inno- 
 cents ! born under the ftar of wretchednefs ! Why 
 fhould men be born, predeftinated to misfortunes ? 
 But, blefs God,, at leaft, that you are in a country 
 where baftardy is no obftacle to refpedlability and the 
 rights of citizenlhip. I faw with pleafure thefe un- 
 happy mothers carefling their infants, and nunlng 
 them with tendernefs. There were few children in 
 the hall of the little orphans ; thefe were in good 
 health, and appeared gay and happy. Mr. Shoema- 
 ker, who condudled me tiiither, and another of the 
 direftors, diftributed fome cakes among them, which 
 they had brought in their pockets. Thus the direc- 
 tors think of their charge even at a diflance, and oc- 
 cupy themfetvcs with their happinefs. Good God 1 
 there is, then, a country where the foul of the govern- 
 or of an hofpital is not a foul of brafs ! 
 
 Blacks are here mingled with the whites, and lodged 
 in the fame apartments. This, to me, was an edify- 
 ing ^^g^t } it feemed a balm to my foul. I faw a ne- 
 gro woman fpinning with aftivity by the fide of her 
 bed. Her eyes feemed to expedl from the director, a 
 word of confolation— She obtained it; and it feemed 
 to be heaven to her to hear, him* lihould have beea 
 
1 14 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 wore happy, had it been for me to have fpoken this 
 word : I ftiould have added many more. Unhappy 
 negroes ! how much reparation do we owe them for 
 the evils we have occafioned them — the evils we ftill 
 occafion them ! and they love us ! 
 
 The happinefs of this negrefs v^as not equaj to that 
 which I faw fparkle on the vifage of a young blind 
 girl, who feemed to leap for joy at the found of the 
 direftor's voice. He alked after her health : (he anf- 
 wered him with tranfport. She was taking her tea by 
 the fide of her little table — Her tea !— My friend, you 
 are aftonilhed at this luxury in an hofpital — It is be- 
 caufe there is humanity in its adminiflration, and the 
 wretches are not crowded in here in heaps to be ftifled. 
 They give tea to thofe whofe condudl is fatisfaftory : 
 and thofe who by their work are able to make fome 
 favings, enjoy the fruits of their induftry. I remark- 
 ed in this hofpital, the women were much more nu- 
 merous than the men ; and among the latter, I faw 
 none of thofe hideous figures fo common in the hof- 
 pitals of Paris—figures on which you trace the marks 
 of crimes, mifery, and indolence. They have a de- 
 cent appearance : many of them alked the director 
 for their enlargement, which they obtained. 
 
 But what refources have they, on leaving this houfe ? 
 They have their hands, anfwered the dircftor, and 
 they may find ufeful occupations. But the women,- 
 jeplied I, what can they do ? Their condition is not 
 fo fortunate, f^iid he. In a town where fo many men 
 are occupied in foreign commerce, the number of 
 unhappy and diforderly females will be augmented. 
 To prevent this inconvenience, it has been lately 
 propofed to form a new eftablifhment, which (hall give 
 to girls of this defcription an ufeful occupation, where 
 the produce of the induftry of each perfon Ihall be 
 preferved and given to her on leaving the houfe ; or. 
 if (he fhould choofe to remain, fhe fliall always enjoy 
 the fruit of her own labour. 
 
 This projeft will, without doubt, be executed ; for 
 the Quakers are ingenious and perfevering, when they 
 ^iive in view the fuccour of the unhappy. My friendj; 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 1 1 
 
 tbe author of this projedl is my condudlor. I fee him 
 beloved and refpefted, conftantly occupied in ufeful 
 things ; and he is but thirty years ot age ! and is it 
 aftonilhing that I praife a feft which produces fuclt 
 prodigies ? 
 
 On our return from the hofpital, we drank a bottle 
 •f cyder. Compare this frugal repaft to the furoptu- 
 ous feafts given by the fuperintendants of the poor of 
 London— by thofe humane infpedtors who aflemble t« 
 confult on making repairs to the amount of fix (hil- 
 lings, and ord'ir a dinner for fix guineas. You never 
 find among the Quakers thefc robberies upon indi- 
 gence, thefc infamous treafons againft beneficence. 
 Blefs them, then, ye rich and poor : ye rich, becaufe 
 their fidelity and prudence economifc your money; 
 ye poor, becaufe their humanity watches over yoo 
 without ceafing. 
 
 The expencesof this hofpital amount to about five 
 pence a day, money of Pennfylvania, for each penfion- 
 er. You know that the beft adminiftcred hofpital in 
 Paris, amounts to about fourteen penct like mone]^ 
 a day ; and, what a difference in the treatment ! 
 
 LETTER Xfl. 
 HOSPITAL for LUNJTICS. 
 
 THIS is the hofpital fojuftly ccIebratcdbyM.de 
 Crevecoeur, and which the humane Mr. Mazzei 
 regards only as a curiofity fcarcely worth feeing. 
 
 The building is fine, elegant and well k«pt. I way 
 charmed with the cleanlinefs in the halls of the fick, 
 as well as in the particular chambers. I obferved the 
 buft of Frankliain the library, and was told that this, 
 honor was rendered him as one of the principalfound- 
 ers of this inftitution. The library is not numerous ;. 
 but it is well chofen. The hall on the firft floor, is 
 appropriated to fick men : there were fix in it. About 
 the fame number of fick woR)en were in ^ like halloa 
 
1 1 6 NEW TR A VELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 the fecond floor. Thefe perfons appeared by n»* 
 '.means miferable ; they fscmed to be at home. I went 
 below, to fee the lunatics; they were about fifteen, 
 male and female. Each one has his cell, with a bed, a 
 table, and a convenient window with grates. Stoves 
 are fixed in the walls, to warai the cell in winter. 
 
 There were no mad perfons among them. Moft of 
 the patients are the vi£lims of religious melancholy, or 
 of difappointed love. Thefe unhappy perfons are 
 treated with the greatefl: tendernefs ; they are allowed 
 to walk in the court ; are conftantly vifited by two 
 phyficians. Dr. Ra(h has invented a kind of fwing 
 chair for tk^ir exercife. 
 
 What a difference between this treatment and the 
 atrocious regulations to which we condemn fuch 
 wretches in France! where they are rigoroufly confined^ 
 and their diforders fcarcely ever fail to increafe upon 
 them. The Turks, on the contrary, manifeft a Angu- 
 lar refpedb to perfons infane : they are eager to admin- 
 ifter food to them, to load them with careffes. Fools 
 in that country are never known to be injurious ;. 
 whereas, with us, they are dangerous, becaufe they are 
 «nhappy. 
 
 The view of thefe perfons affecled me more than 
 that of the fick. The laft of human miferies, in my 
 opinion, is confinement ; and I cannot conceive how a 
 fick perfon can be cured in prifon, for confinement 
 itfelf is a continual malady. The exercife of walking 
 abroad, the view of the field, the murmur of the rivu- 
 lets, and the finging of birds, with the aid of vegeta- 
 ble diet, appear to me the beft means of curing infan- 
 ity. It is true, that this method requires too many 
 attendants ; and the impoflibility of following it for 
 the hofpital of Philadelphia, makes it neceflary to recur 
 to locks and bars. But why do they place thefe cells 
 beneath the ground-floor, expofed to the unwholfome 
 hunidity of the earth ? The enlightened and humane 
 Dr. Rufh told me, that he had endeavored for a long 
 time in vain, to introduce a change in this particular ; 
 and that this hofpital was founded at a time when little 
 attention was thought necelTary for the accommodation 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. ri; 
 
 of fools. I obferved, that none of thefe fools were 
 naked, or indecent ; a thing very common with us. 
 Thefe people preferve, even in their folly, their primi- 
 tive charaderiftic of decency. 
 
 I could not leave this place without being tormented 
 with one bitter reflexion. — A man of the mcft brilliant 
 genius may here finifh his d?ys. If Swift had not 
 been rich, he had dragged out his laft moments ia 
 fuch an hofpital. O ye who watch over them, be gen- 
 tie in your adminiilration ! — perhaps a bencfador of 
 the human race has fallen under your care. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 BENJAMIN FRJNKLim 
 
 THANKS tp God, he ftill exifts !-~ThIs great 
 man, for fo many years the preceptor of the 
 Americans, who fo glorioufly contributed to their in- 
 dependence, death had threatened his days ; but our 
 fears are difiipated, and his health is reftored. I, have 
 juft been to fee him, and enjoy his converfation, in the 
 midft of bis bo^ks, which he ftill calls his befl friends. 
 The piins of his cruel infirmity change not the ferenity 
 of his countenance, nor the calmntfs ofhiscoaverfation. 
 If thefe appeared fo agreeable to our Frenchmen, who 
 enjoyed his friendlbip in Paris, how would they feeoi 
 to them here, where no diplomatic fundlions ijiipofo 
 upon him that mafk of referve v/hich was fcmetimes fo 
 chilling to his guefts. Franklin, lurrounded by his 
 family, appears to be one of thofe patriarchs whona 
 he has fo well defcribed, and whofe language he has 
 copied with fuch fitv.ple elegance. He feems one of 
 thefe ancient philofophers, who at times defcended 
 from the fphere of his elevated genius, to inftru6l weak 
 mortals,by accommodating himfelf to their feeblenefs, 
 I have found in America, a great number of enlight- 
 ened politicians and virtuous men ; but I find none 
 who appear topcflefs, in fo high a degree as Franklin, 
 
M 
 
 1 1 8 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 the charafteriftics of a real ptiilofopher. You know 
 him, my friend. A love for the human race in habit- 
 ual exercife, an indefatigable zeal to ferve them, ex- 
 tenfive information, fimplicity of manners, and purity 
 of morals; all thcfe furnifh not marks of diftin£lion 
 fufHciently obfervable between him and other patriot 
 politicians, unlefs we add another charafteriftic ; it is, 
 that Franklin, in the midfl of the vaft fcene in which 
 he adled lb diftinguifiied a part, had his eyes fixed 
 without ceafing.on a moreextenfive theatre — on Heaven 
 and a future life; the only point of view which tan 
 fuftain, difintereH:, and aggrandize man upon earth, 
 and make* him a true philofopher. All his life has 
 been hut a continued ftudy and pra6licc of philofophy. 
 
 I wiih to give you a fketch of it from fome traits 
 which I have bee;i able to coliecl, as hiis hiflory has 
 been much disfigured. This flietcTi may ferve to rec- 
 tify fome of thofe falfe anecdotes which circulate in 
 Europe. 
 
 Franklin was born at Bofton, in 1706, the fifteenth 
 child of a man v/ho was a dyer and a foap-boiler. H^ 
 wiihed to bring up this (on to his own trade ; but the 
 Ijg took an invi-icible difiike to it, preferring even l!ie 
 life of a failor. The father diiiiking this choice, placed 
 him apprentice with an cider fon, who was a printer 
 and publiilied a news-paper. 
 
 Three traits ofcharaclcr, difplayed at that early 
 period, might liave given an idea of the extraordinary 
 genius which he was afterwards to difcover. 
 
 The puritanic aufterity which at that time predom- 
 inated in IvIifTachufetts, impreffed the mind of young 
 Benjamin in a manner more oblique than it had done 
 that of his father. The old man was in the praflife of 
 inaking long prayers and bencdidions before all his 
 meals. One day, at the beginning of winter, when he 
 was failing his meat, and laying in his provifions for 
 the h^^on, " Father," fays the boy, " it would be a 
 great faving of time, if you v/ould fay grace over all 
 thefe barrels of meat at once, and let that fuffice for 
 the winter." 
 
 Saoa after he w5nt to live with his brother, he be- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 19 
 
 gan to addrefs pieces to him for his paper, in a difgui- 
 fed hand-writing. Thefe eflays were univerfally ad- 
 mired : his brother became jealous of him, and endeav- 
 ored, by fevere treatment, to cramp his genius. This 
 obliged him foon to quit his fervice, and go to feek 
 his fortune at New- York. 
 
 Benjamin had read a treatife of Dr. Tryon on the 
 Pythagorean regimen ; and, fully convinced by its 
 reafoning, he abftained from the ufe cf meat for a long 
 time ; and became irreconcilable to it, until a cod-fifh, 
 which he caught in the open Tea, and found its ftomach 
 full of little fifh, overturned his whole fyftcm. He 
 concluded, that fince the fifhes eat each other, men 
 might very well feed upon other animals. This Pyth- 
 agorean diet was economical to the printer's boy : it 
 faved him fome money to lay out for books ; and read- 
 ing was the firfl: and conftant pafiion of his life. 
 
 Having left his father's houfe without recommen- 
 dation, and almofl without money, depending only 
 upon himfelf, but always confident in his own judg- 
 ment, and rejoicing in his independence, he became 
 the fport of accidents, which ferved rather to prove 
 him, than to difcour.?ge him. Wandering in the 
 flreets of Philadelphia, with only five ihillings in his 
 pocket, not known to a perfon in the town, eating a 
 cruft of bread, and quenching his thirH: in the waters. 
 of the Delaware ; who could have difcerned in this 
 wretched labourer, one of the future legiflators of 
 America, one of the fathers of modern philofophy, 
 and an ambafiador covered v/ith glory in the moft 
 wealthy, the moft powerful, and the moli enlightened 
 country in the world ? Who could have believed that 
 France, that Europe, would one day ere(5> ftatues to 
 that man who had not where to lay his head ? 
 
 This circumftance reminds me of a fimilar one of 
 Roufleau : — Having for his whole fortune fix liards ; 
 harrafTed with fatigue, and tormented with hunger ; 
 he hefitated whether he Ihould facrifice this little piece 
 to his repofe, or to his ftomach. He decided the 
 confli<5lby purchafing a piece of bread, and refigning 
 himfslf to lleep in tlic open air. In this abandonment 
 
aao NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 of nature and men, he ftill enjoyed the one, and d-ef- 
 pifed the other. The Lyonnefe, who difdained Rouf- 
 feau becaufe he was ill dreffed, has died unknown ; 
 while altars are now eredled to the man ill-drefTcd. 
 Thefe examples ought to confole men of genius, whom 
 fortune may reduce to the necefllty of ftruggling 
 againft want. Adverfity but forms them, and perfe- 
 verance will bring its reward. 
 
 Arriving at Philadelphia did not finifh the misfor- 
 tunes of Benjamin Franklin. He was there deceived 
 and difappointed by Governor Keith, who, by fine 
 promifes for his future eftablifliment, which he never 
 realized, induced him to embark for London, where 
 he arrived without money and without recommenda- 
 tions. Happily he knew how to procure fubfiftence. 
 His talent for the prefs, in which no perfon excelled 
 him, foon gave him occupatioji. His frugality, the 
 regularity of his conduit, and the good fenfe of his 
 converfation, procured him the efteem of his comrades: 
 his reputation in this refpeft, exifted for fifty years 
 afterwards in the printing-omces in London. 
 
 An employment promifed him by a Mr. Derham, 
 recalled him to his countjy in 1726, when fortune put 
 him to another proof. His protestor died ; an-d Frank- 
 lin was obliged, for fabfiftence to have recourfe again 
 to the Prefs. He found the means loon aft<?rwards to 
 cftablifh a Printlng-Prefs-himfelf, and to publifii a 
 Gazette. At this period began his good fucctfs, which 
 never afterwards abandoned him. He married a Mifs 
 Read, to whom he was attached by a long friendfhip, 
 and who merited all his efteem. She partook of his 
 enlarged and beneficent ideas, and was the model of 
 a virtuous wife and a good neighbour. 
 
 Hivinc^ arrived at this degree of independence, 
 Franklin had leifure to purfuehis fpeculations for the 
 good of the public. His gazett-e furnilhed him with 
 the regular and conftant means of inftrudling his 
 fellow-citizens. He made this gazette the principal 
 objc6t of his attention ; fo that it acquired a V3ft repu- 
 tation, was read through the whole country, and may 
 be confidcred as having contributed much to perpet- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 12; 
 
 nate in Pcnnfylyania thofe excellent morals which 
 ftill diftinguifh that State. 
 
 I polTefs one of thefe gazettes, compofed by him, 
 and printed at his prefs. It is a precious relick, a 
 monument which I wiili to preferve with reverence, to 
 teach men to blufn at the prejudice whieh makes them 
 def^ife the ufeful and important profefTion of the editor 
 of daily papers. Men of this prcfeflion, among a free 
 people, are their firft preceptors, and beft friends ; 
 and when they unite talents with patriotifm and phi- 
 lofophy, when they ferve as the canal for communica- 
 ting truths, for diflipating prejudices, and removing 
 thofe hatreds which prevent the human race from uni- 
 ting together in one great family, thele men are the 
 curates, the miflionaries, the angels deputed from 
 heaven for the happinefs cf men. 
 
 Lit it not be faid, in ridicule of this profefiion, that 
 an ill ufe is fometiires made cf it, for the defence of 
 vice, of defpotifm, cf errors. Shall we profcribe elo- 
 quence and the ufe of fpeech, becaufe wicked men 
 pr^rfefs them ? 
 
 ^ Bit a work which contributed dill more to difFufe 
 in America the prr.^^ife of frugality, economy, and 
 goO-1 morals, was Pcor Richard's Alma-nack. You are 
 acquainted wirh it ; it had a great reputation in France, 
 but llill more in A-rierica. Franklin continued it for 
 twenty-five years, and fold annually more than ten 
 thaufand copies. \\\ this work, the mofl weighty 
 truths are delivered in the fimplefi: !anguage,and fuited 
 to the coniprehenflofi of all the world. 
 
 In 1736, Franklin began his public career. Flewas 
 appointed Secretary of tlie General Affembly of Penn- 
 fylvania, and cpntinued in that employment for many 
 years. 
 
 In 1737, the EngHfli government confided to him 
 the adminiftration of the general poft-ofHce in Ameri- 
 ca. He made it at once lucrative to the revenue, and 
 ufeful to the inhabitants. It ferved him particularly, 
 to extend every where his ufeful gazettes. 
 
 Since that epoch, nor a year has paffed without his 
 propofing, and carrying into execution, fome projea 
 u%ful tc the colonies. 
 
 L 
 
1 22 NEW TRAVELS IN AINIERICA. 
 
 To bin are owing the companies of infti ranee againfl 
 fire ; companies Co neceflliry in countries where houres 
 are built with wood, and where fires completely ruin 
 individuals ; while, on the contrary, they are difaftrous 
 in a country where fires are not frequent, and not dan- 
 gerous. 
 
 To him is owing the eftabliflinient of the Philofophi- 
 cal Society at Philadelphia, its library, its univerfity, 
 its hofpitals. Sec. 
 
 Pranklin, perfu ided that information could not be 
 extended but by firft colleding it, and by ..fiembling 
 men who are likely to pclTefs it, was ajvvsys extremely 
 ardent to encourage literary and politici;! clubs. In 
 oneofthcfe clubs, which he founded, the follo,wing 
 queftions were put to the candidt^^te : — 
 
 "Do you love all men, of whatever religion they 
 may be ? Do you believe that we ought to perfccute 
 or decry a man for mere fpeculative opinions, or fgr his 
 mode of worfhip ? Do you love truth for its own fake ? 
 And will you em.ploy all your efforts to difcover it, 
 and make it knowji to others r" 
 
 Obferve, again, the fpirit of tiiis club in the queftions 
 put to the meribers at their mc;:tings. — " K low yoii 
 *ny citizen who has lately been reniarkiihle for his in- 
 duftry ? Know you in w.'uu the Society can be ufcful 
 to its brethren, and to all the human rc.Cf.*? Is there 
 any firanger arrived in town .? In what can the Society 
 be ufeful to him ? Is there any your^g perfon beginning 
 bufnef^jWho wants encoHragement r Hive youobferved 
 any defcds in the new afts of the Kgiflature, which 
 can be remedied ? How can the Society be ufeful to 
 
 vou 
 
 7" 
 
 The attention which he paid to thefe inftitutions of 
 literature and humanity, did not divert him from his 
 public fumflions, ncr from his experiments in natural 
 phiiofophy. 
 
 Kis labours on thefe fa bjeds are well known ; I fhall 
 rhcrcfore not fjieak of them, but confine myfelf to the 
 fa*^ which has been little remarked : it is, that Frank- 
 lin always dircaed his labours to thatk.indof public 
 iirility which, without procuring any great eclat to its 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 23 
 
 author, produces great advantage to the citizens at 
 large. It is to this populir tafte, which char^iderifed 
 him, thit we owe the invention of his electrical con- 
 duftors, his econorr-ical (loves, his dilVcrtations, truly 
 philofophical, on the means of pr-evendng chimnejs 
 from fmoking, on the advantages of copper roofs to 
 houfes, the eftabliflii-Bcr.t cf fo many p^per-roiils m 
 Pennfylvania,* Sec. 
 
 The circumftances of his political career are like wife 
 knqjyn to you ; I therefore pafs them over in filence, 
 'But-ioughtTiot^p omit to mention hiscondufl during 
 the war of 1755.' At "that period h©^&ijjoyed.a grc^t 
 reputation in the Englifli colonies. In 1754. he was 
 apjTointed one of the members cf the famous Congrefc, 
 whTch was held at Albany ; the objettof which wa^ to 
 take the necefTary meafures to prevent the invafion of 
 the French. He prefenred to that Congrefs an excel- 
 i^DtpIan cf union and defence, which was adopted by that 
 body ; but it was rejeded in London by the depart- 
 ment for the colonies, under the pretext that it was too 
 democratical. It is probable that, had this plan been 
 purfued, the colonies would not have been ravaged by 
 the dreadful war which followed. During this war, 
 Franklin performed many important fundions. At 
 one time he was fent to cover the frontiers, to raife 
 troops, build forts, &c. You then fee him contefting 
 with the governor, to force him to give his confent to 
 a bill taxing the family of Penn, who were proprietors 
 of one-third of the lands of Pennfylvania, and refufed 
 to. pay taxes. He then was fent deputy to London, 
 where he was fuccefsful in fupporting tl»e caufe of the 
 colony in the Privy Council agair^ll that powerful 
 family. 
 
 * r>»-. Franklin told me that he had ejiablifhed ahont 
 Eighteen paper-mills'. His grand/on, Mr. T. Franklin 'will 
 doubtlefs pukUfo a colleSion cfhis ujeful letters on thefalutary 
 «r pernicious effeiis §f different prcceffes in the arts. The/e 
 letters are fcattered in the Amerlcun gazittei, 7 he collsilien 
 •f thim twculd he curious^ 
 
124 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 The fuperior ilcill and management which he dlf- 
 cover-cd in thefe negociations, were the forerunners of 
 the more important fuccefs which attended him during 
 the war of independence, wJaen he was fent ambaiTa- 
 dor to France. 
 
 On his final return to his country, he obtained all 
 the honors which his important fervices merited. His 
 great 3ge, and his infirmities, have compelled him at 
 j;^ri to renounce his public career, which he has run 
 with fo m,uch glory. He lives retired, with his family, 
 5n a houfe which he has built on the fpot where he 
 iirH: landed, fixty years before, and where he found 
 himfelf wandering without a home, and without ac- 
 r.uaintance. In this houfe he has eftabiillied a print- 
 -ng-prefs and a type-fcundery. From a printer he 
 lad become amba^lidor ; from this he has now return- 
 f-d to his bt'loved prefs, and is fonning to this precious 
 rrt his grandfon, Mr. Bache. He has placed him at. 
 the head of an enterprife which will be infinitely ufs- 
 lul ; it is a complete edition of all the clallic authors, 
 that is, of all thofe moral writers whofe works ought 
 to be the manual for men who with to gain inftruc- 
 iion, and make themfelves happy in doing good to 
 others. 
 
 It is in the midft of thefe holy occupations, that this 
 great man waits for death with tranquillity. You 
 will judge of his philofophy on this point, which is 
 the touchftone of philofophy, by the following letter, 
 written thirty years ago on the death of his brother 
 John Franklin, addreifed to Mrs. Hubbard, his daugh- 
 ter-in-law, 
 
 «* My dear child, 
 
 I AM grieved with you ; we have loft a friend, 
 who, to us, was very dear, and very precious. But it 
 is the will of God and of nature, that thefe mortal 
 bodies fhould be laid afide, when the foul is ready to 
 enter into real life ; for this life is but an embryo ftate, 
 a preparation for life. A man is not completely born, 
 until he is dead. Shall we complain, then, that a 
 new-born has takea his place among the imraertals f 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 2 jr 
 
 We are fpirits. It is a proof of the goodnefs of God, 
 that our bodies are lent us fo long as they can be ufeful 
 to us, in receiving pleafure, in acquiring knowledge, 
 or in doing good to our fellow-creatures ; and he gives 
 anew proof of the fame goodnefs in delivering us from 
 our bodies, when, inftead of pleafure, they caufe us 
 pain ; when inftead of aiding others, we become 
 chargeable to them. Death is then a blefling from 
 God; we ourfelves often prefer a partial death to a' 
 continued pain ; it is thus that we confent to the am- 
 putation of a limb, when it cannot be reftored to life. 
 On quitting our bodies, we are delivered from all kinds 
 of pain. Our friend and we are invited to a party of 
 pleafure which will endure eternally : he has gone 
 firft ; why fhould we regret it, fmce we are fo foon t© 
 follow, and we know where we are to meet ?" 
 
 Appendix to the precedingChapter /wriiten in December, 1 79c. 
 
 FRANKLIN has enjoyed, this year, the blefling of 
 death, for which he waited fo long a time. I will here 
 repeat the reflexions which I printed in my Gazette. 
 of the 1 3th of June laft, on this event, and on the de- 
 cree of the National Affembly on this occafion. 
 
 I willintroduce them with the difcourfe of M. Mira-* 
 beau in that affembly.. 
 
 •* Gentlemen,. 
 
 Franklin is dead^— he has returned to the bofpm 
 of God— the genius who has liberated A*r^erica, and 
 fhed over Europe the torre its of his light ! 
 
 ** The fage of two worlds — the man for whom the 
 hiftory of fciences and the hiftory of empires contend, 
 fhould doubtlels hold an elevated rank in the humaa 
 race. 
 
 "Too long have political cabinets been accuftomed 
 to notify the death of thofe who are great only in their 
 funeral pomp ; too long has the etiquette of courts 
 proclaim-d hypocritical mourning. Nations ought to 
 moura only for their benefactors ; the reprefentaiivis 
 L2 
 
1 26 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 of nations ought to recommend to their hcmage, none 
 but the heroes of humanity. 
 
 " The Congrefs have ordained a mourning of two 
 months for the death of Franklin ; and America, at 
 this moment, is rendering this tribute of veneration to 
 one of the fathers of her conflitution. 
 
 " Would it not be worthy of you, gentlemen, to join 
 them in this truly religious adt, to participate in this 
 homage rendered in the face of the univerfe to the ■ 
 rights of men, to the philofopher,who has contributed 
 the moft to extend their empire over the face of th« 
 earth ? 
 
 " Antiquity would have raifed altars to that power- 
 ful genius, who, for tht benefit of men, embracing 
 heaven and earth, could have curbed the thunders of 
 the one, and the tyrants of the other. Europe, enlight- 
 ened and free, owes at leaft a teftimony of gratitude to 
 the greateft man that ever adorned philofophy and 
 liberty ! 
 
 " I propofe that it be decreed, that the National 
 Affembly go into mourning three days for Benjamin 
 Franklin." 
 
 The Affembly received with acclammation, and 
 decreed with unanimity, the propofal of M. Mirabeau. 
 
 The honour thus done to the memory of Franklin, 
 %vlll refledt glory on the National Affembly. It will 
 give an idea of the immenfe difference between this 
 legiflature and other political bodies ; for, how many 
 prejudices muff have been vanquished, bfefore France 
 could bring her homage to the tomb of a man, whO| 
 from the ftation of a journey printer, had raifed him- 
 felf to the rank oflegiflator, and contributed to place 
 his country on a footing among the great powers of 
 the earth. 
 
 This fublime decree was pronounced, not only with- 
 out hefitation, but with that enthufiafm which is in- 
 fpired by the name of a great man, by the regret of 
 having loft him, by the duty of doing honour to his 
 afhes, and by the hope, that rendering this honor may- 
 give rife to like virtues and like talents in others. 
 
mVf TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 127 
 
 And, O, may this Aflembly, penetrated with the great- 
 nefs of the homage which fhe has rendered to genius, 
 to virtue, to the pure love of liberty and humanity 5: 
 may (he never tarnifii this homage, by yielding to the 
 folicitations of men who may wifh to obtain the fame 
 hojiours for the manes of ambitious individuals, whoo 
 miftaking art for genius, obfcure conception for pro- 
 found ideas, the defire of abafing tyrants for the love 
 of humanity, the applaufe of a volatile people for the 
 veneration of an enlightened world, may think prop- 
 er to afpirc to the honor of a national mourning. 
 
 This hope Ihould doubtlefs infpire the man of genius* 
 the man of worth ; but ye who lincerely indulge the 
 wifh to place yourfelf by the fide of Franklin, exam- 
 ine his life, and have the courage to imitate him.. 
 Franklin had genius : but he had virtues ; he was 
 good, fimple, and modeft ; he had not that proud 
 afperity in difpute, which repulfes with difdain the 
 ideas of others ; he liftened— he had the art of liften- 
 ing — he anfwered to the ideas of others, and not to 
 his own. 
 
 I have feen him attending patiently to young people 
 who, full of frivolity and pri^e, were eager to make 9, 
 parade before him, of fome fuperficial knoprledge of 
 their own. He knew how to eftimate them ; but he 
 would not humiliate them, even by a parade of good- 
 nefs. Placing himfelf at once on a level with them, he 
 would anfwer without having the air of inftrufting 
 them He knew that inftrudlion in its pompous ap- 
 parel, was forbidding. Franklin had knowledge, but it 
 was for the people ; he was always grieved at their ig- 
 norance, and made it his conftant duty to enlighten 
 them. He ftudied for ever to leflen the price of books> 
 in order to multiply them. In a word, genius, {impli- 
 city, good.iefs, tolerance, indefatigable labour, and 
 love for the people — thefe form the charadler of 
 Franklin ; and thefe you muft unite, if you wiih for a 
 name like his. 
 
xi« NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 SteamrBoai — RefleSlions on the CharaBer of the Amtricemri 
 and tht Englijh, 
 
 Sept. I, 1788. 
 
 I BREAKFASTED with Samuel Ameland, one of the 
 richeft and m©ft beneficent of the Societyof Friends. 
 He is a pupil of Anthony Benezet; he fpeaks of him 
 with enthufiafm, and treads in his fteps. He takes an 
 active part in every ufeful inftitution, and rejoices in 
 the occafibn of doing good; he loves the French na-- 
 tion, and fpeaks their language. He treats me with 
 the greateft friendfhip ; offers me his houfe,his horfes, 
 and his carriage. On leaving him, I went to fee an 
 experiment, near the Delaware, on a boat, the objcft 
 of which is to afcend rivers againfl the current. The 
 inventor was Mr. Fitch, who had found a company to 
 fupport the expence. One of the moft zealous aflbci- 
 ates is Mr. Thornton, of whom I have fpoken. This 
 invention was difputed between Mr. Fitch and M. 
 Rumfey of Virginia. • However it be, the machine, 
 which I faw, appears well executed, and well adapted 
 to the defign. The fteam-engine gives motion to three 
 
 * Since ^writing thit letter y I have feen Mr. Rum/ey in 
 England. He is a man cf great ingenuity ; and, by the ex- 
 planation 'vjhich !te has given met it appears that his difcoKf- 
 ery, though founded en afmilar principle nioith that of Mr* 
 Fitch, is 'very diffei ent from ity and far more Rmple in iti. 
 execution M. Rum fey , propofed then {Feb. 1789) to build 
 a 'veffel ij.i ch Jhould go to America by the htlp only of the 
 Ji earn- engine y anU ivit/iout fails. It 'was to make the pmf- 
 fage in ffteen days 1 ptrceioje nvith pain that he has not 
 yet executed his proje3 \ nxhichyijohen executed, ivill introduce 
 into ctmmerce at great m change as the difcovery jof the cape, 
 ef Good H»pe. Author. 
 
 7 he tranjlator is informed ^ that M. Rumfey is purjuing his 
 operations ivith greater 'vigour, »nd mere txienfiiit expe&A- 
 iimi ih§,n c'ver. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 29 
 
 large oars of confiderahle force, which were to give 
 fixty ftrckes per minute. 
 
 1 doubt not but, phyfically fpeaking, this machine 
 may produce part of the effects which are expe<5led 
 from it : but 1 doubt its utility in commerce; for, 
 notwithftanding the affiirances of the undertakers, it 
 muft require many men to manage it, and much ex- 
 pence in repairing the damages occafioned by the vio- 
 lence and multiplicity of the friftion. Yet J will allow, 
 that if the movements can be fimplified, and the ex- 
 pence leliened, the invention may be ufeful in a coun- 
 try where labour is dear, and where the borders of 
 rivers are not accefiihie, like thofe in France, by horfes 
 to draw the boats. This idea was confoling to Dr. 
 Thornton, whom 1 fiw alFailed by railleries on account 
 o{\\\t fteam-boat. Tbefe railleries appear to me very 
 ill placed. The obflacles to be conquered by genius 
 are every where fo confid^rable, the encouragement 
 fo feeble, and the necefTity of fupplying the want of 
 hand-labour in Anerica fo evident, that I cannot, 
 without indignation, fee the Americans difcouraging, 
 by their farcafms, the generous efforts of one of their 
 fellow-citizens. 
 
 V7hcn will men be reafonable enough to encourage 
 each other by their mutual aid, and increafe the gener- 
 al ftockof public good, by mutual mildnefs and ben- 
 evolence } It is for republics tof«?t the example : you 
 fee more of it in America than elfewhere ; it is vifibly 
 taking root, and extending itfelf there. You do not 
 find among the Americans that concealed pride which 
 acquits a benefit, and difpenfes with gratitude ; that 
 felfiih rudenefs which makes of the Englifh a nation 
 by themfelves, and enemies to all others. You will 
 however, find fometimes vefliges of their indifference 
 for other people, and their contempt of ftrangers who 
 travel among them. For example, a ftranger in a foci- 
 ety of Americans, if he has the m.isfortune not to fpeak 
 their language, is fcmetimes left alone ; no perfon 
 takes notice of him. This is a breach of humanity 9. 
 and 3 neglefl of their own intereft ; of humanity, 
 becaufe confoUtion is 4ue to a maa ^liiant frooi his 
 
130 
 
 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 friends, and his ordinary means of amufement ; of 
 their own intereft, beraufe ftrangers, difgufted with 
 this treatment, haften to quit the country, and to pre- 
 jadicc others againft it. 
 
 I fay that this inattention to Grangers is above all 
 remarkable in the Englifli. I do not think that I am' 
 deceived ; I have lived Jong among them, and am gen- 
 erally accufed of too much partiality for them. This^ 
 fdiiie fault is obfervable in the Englilh iflands, I have 
 fcTiarked it in many of them ; and 1 fear that the 
 vices in general of the inhabitants of the iflands will 
 corrupt the Ameiicans, who appear to be remarkab}y 
 fond of extending their connedlions with them. I 
 heard one of them put the folIov.^ing queftlon to fev- 
 eral Aniericans, at a review of the volunteers of Phih- 
 delphia : "Can you tell me whether thefe brave offi- 
 cers are barbers or coblers r" This vulgar pleafantry 
 difcovers the man of prejudice, the infolent and baf^ 
 European, the valet of a defpot. Such railleries tend 
 to deftroy that idea of equality which is the bafis of 
 republics. 
 
 But why do not men of fenfe, who are witneff^^s of 
 thefe follies, refute them with vigour ? Why that 
 cowardly fupplenefs wlych is decorated with the name 
 of pclitenefs ? Is it not evident that it hardens the 
 corrupted man, and fuffers to grow up in feeble minds, 
 prejudices which one vigorous attack would deftroy ? ' 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 The Society of Jgricuhure — The Library. 
 
 Sept. 2, 1788. 
 
 I WAS prefent at a meeting of the Agricultural Soci- 
 ety. It is not of long ftanding, but it is numerous, 
 and poffefles a confiderable fund. If fuch a fociety 
 ought to receive encouragement in any country, it is 
 in this. Agriculture is the firft pillar of this State ; 
 and though you find many good farmers here, yet the 
 great lual* of them want information ; and this info^. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 131 
 
 mation can only be procured by the union of men 
 well verfed in theory and practice. 
 
 The fubjed of this jneeting was an important one. 
 The papillon, or worm, called The Hejjian Flyy had, 
 for feveral years, ravaged the wheat in many parts 
 of the United States. The king of England, fearing 
 that this infeft might psfs into his ifland, had juft 
 prohibited the importation of the American wheat. 
 The Supreme Executive Council cf Pennfylvania, irv 
 order tocounteradl the effects of this prohibition, by- 
 gaining information on the fubjed, applied to the 
 Society of Agriculture ; they defired to know if this 
 infeft attacked the grain, and whether it was poiTible 
 to prevent its ravages. 
 
 Many farmers prefeht at tins meeting, from their 
 own experience, and that of their neighbours and 
 correfpondents, declared, that the infrd depofited its 
 eggs, not in the ear, but in the ftalk ; fo that they 
 were well convinced, that, on threfhing the wheat, 
 thf re could be nothing to fear that the eggs would 
 mix with the grain ; and confequently they could not 
 be communicated with the. grain. 
 
 Mr. Polwel', and Mr. GrifHths, prefident and fecre- 
 tary of this fociety, do equal honor to it ; the one by 
 the neatnefs of his compcfit'on, and the elegance of 
 his ftyle; the other by his indefatigable zeal. 
 
 Among the ufeful i:)riit:utlons which do honor to 
 Philadelphia, you diflinguifh the public libr-iry ; the 
 origin of wliich i^ owing to the celebrated Franklin. 
 It is fupported by fubfcription. The price of entrance 
 into this fociety is ten pounds. Any pcrfon has the 
 privilege of borrowing books. Half of the library is 
 generally in the hands of readers ; and I obferved with 
 pleafure, that the^books were much worn by ufe. 
 
 At the fide of this library is a cabinet of natural 
 hiftory. I obferved nothing curious in It, but ah 
 enormous thigh-bone, and fome tc-eth as enormous, 
 found near the Ohio, in a irafs of prodigious bones, 
 which nature feems to have tl rown tosether in thofe 
 ages whofe events are covered from the f"? cf ^''^"'/ 
 by an impenetrable veil. 
 
I j2 NEVv^ TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 L E T T E 11 XVI. 
 0/j the Marhzt ofFhiladelphia, 
 
 Stpt. 3, 1788. 
 
 IF there exifts, fays Franklin, an Atheift in the uni- 
 verfe, he would be converted on fei;ing Philadelphia 
 — on contemplating a town where every thing is fo 
 well arranged. If an idle man fliould come into exift- 
 ence here, on having conflantiy before his eyes the 
 three amiable fifters. Wealth, Science, and Virtue, the 
 children of Induftry and Temperance, he would foon 
 find himfelf in love with them, and endeavor to obtain 
 them from their parents. 
 
 Such are the ideas offered to the mind on a market- 
 day at Philadelphia. It is, without contradidllon, one 
 of the fineft in the univerfe. Variety and abundance 
 in the articles, order in the diiiribution, good faith 
 and tranquility in the trader, are all here united. One 
 of the effential beauties of a market„is cleanlinefs in 
 the provifions, and in thofe who fell them. Cleanli- 
 nefs is confpicuous here in every thing ; even meat, 
 whofe afpOifl is more or lefs difgufting in other mar- 
 kets, here Itriices your eyes agreeably. The fpedtator 
 5s not tormented with the fight of little ftreams of 
 blood, which infeft the air, and foul the ftreets. The 
 women who bring the produce of the country, are 
 drefTed with decency ; thsir vegetables and fruits are 
 neatly arranged in handfome, well-made bafksts. Every 
 thing is affembled here, the produce of tiie country, 
 and the works of induftry ; flefh, fi(h, fruits, garden- 
 feeds, pottery, ii-on-ware,{hoes, trays, buckets extremely 
 well made, &c. The (Iranger is never wearied in con- 
 templating this multitude of men and 'women moving 
 and crofling in every direflion, without tuinult or in- 
 jiury. You would fay, th it it was a market of brothers, 
 that it was a rendezvous of philofophers, of the pupils 
 of the filent Pythagoras ; for filence reigns without 
 interruption: you hear none of thofe piercing cries, 
 f) common elfewhere ; each one fells, bargains, and 
 buys in filence. The carts and horfes which hav-e 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 33 
 
 troiight in the rupplies,are peaceably arranged in the 
 next ftreet, in the order in which they arrive; when 
 difengaged, they move off in fileftce : no quarrels 
 among the carmen and the porters. You fee none 
 ©four fools and macaronies galloping with loofe reins 
 in the ftreets. Thefe are the aftonifhing effeds of 
 habit ; a habit infpired by the Quakers, who planted 
 morals in this country ; a habit of doing every thing 
 ^vith tranquility and with reafon ; a habit of injuring 
 no perfon, and of having no need of the interpofition 
 of magiftrates. 
 
 To maintain order in fuch a market in France, 
 would require four Judges and a dozen foldiers. Here, 
 the law has no need of roufkets ; education and mor- 
 als have done every thing. Two clerks of the police 
 walk in the market. If they fufpe£l a pound of but- 
 ter of being light, they weigh it : if light, it is fcized 
 for the ufe of the hofpital. 
 
 You fee, here, the fathers of families go to markets 
 It was formerly fo in France : their wives fucceeded 
 to them ; thinking themfelves dilhonored by the 
 tafk, they have refigned it to the fervants. Neither 
 economy nor morals have gained any thing by 
 this change. 
 
 The price of bread is from one penny to two 
 pence the pound, beef and mutton from two 
 pence to four pence, real from one penny to two 
 pence ; hay from twenty to thirty fliillings the 
 ten ; butter from four pence to fix pence the 
 pound ; wood from feven pence to eight pence 
 the cord. Vegetables are in abundance, and 
 cheap. Wines of Europe, particularly thofe of 
 France, are cheaper here than any where elfe. 
 I have drank the wine of Provence, faid to be 
 made by M. Bergaffe, at nine pence the bottle ; 
 but the taverns are extremely dear. Articles of 
 luxury arc expenfive : an hair-drefler cofts you 
 eighteen , pence a day, or twelve fliillings the 
 month. 1 hired a one-horfe chaife three days ; 
 it coll me three louis d*ors. 
 
 M 
 
134 NEVf TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER XVir. 
 
 General Afftmhly if Ptnnfyl'vama — A Farm owned Ij 
 a Frenchman, 
 
 Sept. 6, 178^. 
 HAD made an acquaintance at New-York with 
 Gtneral Mifflin, who was then Speaker of the 
 Iloufe of Reprefentatives of Pennfylvania. I met 
 bim again at Philadelphia. His charader was 
 well drawn by M. de Chaftellux. He is an ami- 
 able, obliging man ; full of a6livity, and very 
 popular. He fills his place with dignity and 
 firmnefs; an enemy to artifice and difguife ; he 
 is frank, brave, difinterefted, and wariiily attached 
 to democratic principles. He is no longer a 
 Quaker : having taken arms, he was forced to 
 quit the Society ; but he ftill profelTes a great 
 cfteem for that fedl, to wluch his wife has al- 
 ways remained faithfal. The General had the 
 complaifance to condufl me one day to the Gen- 
 eral Aflembly. I faw nothing remarkable in it : 
 the building is far from that magnifi'^ence attrib- 
 uted to it by the Abbe Raynal : it is certainly 
 a fine building, when compared with the other 
 edifices of Philadelphia ; but it cannot be put in 
 competition with thofc public buirdings which we 
 call fine in Europe. „i 
 
 There were about fifty members prefent, feated 
 on chairs inclofed by a baluftrade. Behind the 
 baluflrade, is the gallery for fpectators. A Petit 
 Maitrc, who ftiould fall fuddenly from Paris into 
 this Affembly, would undoubtedly find it ridicu- 
 lous. He would feoff at the fimplicity of their 
 cioth coats, and, in fome cafes, at the negligence 
 of their toilettes ,* but every man who thinks, will 
 defire that this Complicity may for ever remain, 
 and become univerfal. They pointed out to me, 
 under one of thefe plain coats, a farmer by the 
 name of Findley, whofe eloquence difplays the 
 jjreateft talents. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 135 
 
 The eftate of Ceneral Miflin, where we went 
 to dine, is five miles from town, by the falls of 
 the Skuylkill. Thefe f-«lls are formed by a con- 
 fiderable bed of rocks : they are not perceivable 
 when the water of the river is high. The Gen- 
 cruKs houfe enjv>ys a moft romantic profpeS. This 
 route prefents the veftiges of many honfes burnt 
 by the E-glifh, who had likewife deftroycd ail 
 tie trees, and irft the country naked. 
 
 I hw at General Millln*?, an old Quaker, who 
 fliook me by my hand with the more pleafiir^, 
 as he faid he found in my air a refembhnce of 
 Anthony B^nezet. Other Quakers told me ths 
 fame thing. There is no great vanity in citin*^ 
 this fact, when I recollecl what M. de Chaftel- 
 liix fiys of his figure ; but he had eyes of good* 
 nefs and humanity. 
 
 Springrsii), where I went to fleep,. 15 a hamlet 
 eight miles up the Skuylkill. Tiie befl houfe iii 
 It is occuj)ied by Mr. h. a Frenchman. Jt e.^.joys 
 the moft fublime prcfpe^l that you can imagine. 
 It is fitu.ited on a hill. On the fouth-eaft, the 
 Skuylkill flows at its feet through a magnificent 
 channel between two mountains covered with 
 wood. On the banks you perceive fome- fcatter- 
 ing houfes and cultivated fields. 
 
 The foil is here compofed of a gre^t quantity 
 of talc, griiiit, and a yellow gravel ; in fome places 
 a very blick earth. In the neighbourhood are 
 qu;irries of marble of a middling finenefg, of 
 which many chiair.ey-pieces are made. 
 
 i fhall give you fome details refpedling this 
 Frenchman's farm ; they will fhuw you the man- 
 ner of living among cultivators here, and they 
 msy be ufeful to afty of our friends who may 
 wifh to efVablilh themfelves in this country, Ob- 
 fervations on the manner of extending eafe and 
 happinefs among men, are, in the eyes of the 
 philofopher, as valuable as thofe which teach the 
 «Ft of alTilTiaating theai. The houfe of Mr. h. 
 
1^6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 is very well built in ftone, two ftcries high, with 
 live or fix fine chambers in eich ftory.- From 
 the two gardens, formed like an amphitheatre, 
 you enjoy that fine profped above mentioned^ 
 Thcfe gardens are we'll cultivated, and contain a 
 great quantity of lee-lives. 
 
 An highway feparates the houfa fronn the farm. 
 He keeps about twenty horned cattle, and ten or 
 twelve horfes. The fituation of things on this 
 farm, proves how little is to be feared from 
 theft and robbery in this country ; everything 
 is left open, or inclofed without locks. His farm 
 confifts of two hundred and fifty acres ; of which 
 the greater part is in wood ; the reft is in wheat, 
 Indian-corn, buck-wheat, and meadow. He fliewed 
 me about an acre of meadow, from which he 
 h3S already taken this year, eight tons of hay : 
 he Cclculatcs, that, including the third cutting, 
 this acre will produce him this year ten pounds. 
 Hi3 other meadows arc lefs manured, and lefs 
 produciive. 
 
 Mr. L. recounted to me fotnQ of his paft mis- 
 fortunes — I knew them before — He was the vic- 
 tim of the perfidy of an intendant ot Guada- 
 loupe, who, to fupprefs the proofs of his own 
 accomplicity in a chndefline commerce, tried to 
 deftroy him by imprifonment, by airafTination, 
 and by poifon. Efcaped frvom thefe perfecutions, 
 Mr. L. enjoys fafety at Springmiil 1 hut he does 
 not enjoy happinefs. He is alone ; and what is 
 a farmer without his wife and family ? 
 
 He pays from five to fix pounds taxes for all 
 his property, confining of an hundred and twen- 
 ty acres of wood land, eighty acres of arable, 
 twenty-five acres of meadow, three acres of gar- 
 den, a great houfe, feveral fmall houfes for hii 
 fcrvants, his barns, and his cattle. By this fad, 
 you may judge of the exaggerations of the de- 
 tradtors of the United States on the fubje£t of 
 taxes. Compare this with what would be paid in 
 
JSIEW TRAX'-ELS in AMERICA. igy 
 
 ?rance for a like property. Mr. L. has attempted 
 to cultivate the vine : he has- planted a vineyarcf 
 near his houfe, on the fouth-eaft expofure, and 
 it fucceeds very well. 
 
 It is a remark to be made at every ftep in 
 America, that vegetation is rapid and ftrong. 
 The peach-tree, for example, grows faft, and pro- 
 duces fruit in great quantities. Within one month 
 after you have cut your wheat, you would not 
 know your field ; it is covered with grafs, very 
 high, and very thick. 
 
 It will be, a long time, however, before the 
 vine can be cultivated to profit in America : 
 Firft, becaufe labour is dear, and the vine requires 
 vaft labour :* Secondly, becaufe the wines of 
 Europe will be for a long time cheap in Ameri- 
 ca. Mr. L. furniflied me with the proof of thi^. 
 He gave me fome very good Roufillon, which, 
 coft him by the fingl* bottle, only eighteen pence ; 
 and 1 know that this fame wine, at firft hand^ 
 coft fivepence or fixpence. 
 
 We ought to regard the birds as a great dif- 
 couragemcnt to the culture of the vine in America. 
 You often fee immenfe clouds of black-bird?, 
 which, fettling On a vineyard, would deftroy it 
 in an inftant. 
 
 I have already mentioned, that the paftures and 
 fields in America are inclofed with barriers of 
 wood, or fences. Thefe, when made of rails fup- 
 ported by pofts, as above defcribed, are expenfive, 
 efpecialiy in the neighbourhood of great towns, 
 
 * In Orleannois, t}e nuhcti operation of cuhi^vath?!^ 
 fhe fvine, and making the 'vintage, cojls to the propri- 
 etor thirty livres, ttXienty-Ji^e Jhillings /Jerling, an acre. 
 A man cannot perform the labour of mors than f-v^ 
 acres a year ; fo that he gets fx pounds, fve jhillivgs 
 a year, and fupports himfelf. Compare this' with the 
 price of labour in America^ and ttat ^ith ii^ price 
 cf Erewb <ti&mh 
 
 M a 
 
1 38 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 where wood is dear. Mr. L. thinks it beft to 
 replace them by ditches fix feet deep, of which 
 he throws the earth upon his meadows, and bor- 
 ders the fides with hedges ; and thus renders the 
 paiTage impraflicable to the cattle. This is an 
 agricultural operation, which cannot be too much 
 recommended to the Americans. 
 
 The country here is full of fprings ; we faw 
 fome very fine ones. Mr. L. told us of one 
 which carries a mill night and day, and fervcs to 
 water his meadows when occafion requires. 
 
 I a(ked him where he purchafed his meat : 
 He fays, when a farmer kills beef, mutton, or 
 veal, he advertifes his neighbours, who take what 
 they choofe, and he falts the remainder. As he 
 is here without his family, he has no fpinning 
 at his houfe ; makes no cheefe, keeps no poultry. 
 Thefe parts of rural economy, which are exercifed 
 by women, are loft to him ; and it is a confider- 
 able lofs. He fows no oats, but feeds his horfes 
 with Indian corn and buck-wheat, ground. I 
 faw his vaft cornfields covered with pumpkins, 
 which are profitable for cattle. He has a joiner's 
 fliop, and a turning-lathe. He makes great quan- 
 tities of lime on his farm, which he fells very 
 well at Philadelphia. He has obtained leave from 
 the State to ered a ferry on the Skuylkill, which 
 he fays will produce him a profit of forty pounds 
 a year. He is about to build a faw-mill. 
 
 The lands newly cleared, produce much more 
 than the lands of France. He had bad wheat 
 this year, though it had promifed well : having 
 grown to a prodigious height, the grain was 
 fhri veiled and meagre. He fays, the THtUew has 
 diminiflied his crop by more than three hundred 
 bufhels. The caufe of the mildew is fuppofed to 
 be this : That when the feafon advances, it is 
 fometimes attended by fogs, and very heavy dews : 
 the fun burftin? through the fog, evaporates the 
 drops gn the italk ; and the fudden change from 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1-3.^ 
 
 cold and wet, to warm and dry, enfeebles and. 
 withers the plant. The mildew is an evil very 
 general in Pennfylvania. 
 
 Mr. L. told me, that there was no other rem- 
 edy but to fow early, that the plant may be 
 more vigorous at the feafon of the mildew. 
 
 This farm had coft him two thoufand pounds ;. 
 and he alTured me that allowing nothing for fome* 
 lolTes occafioned by his ignorance of the coun- 
 try, and of the language on bis firft arrival, and for 
 the improvements he had made, his land produ- 
 ces more than the intereft of his money. He 
 told me, that the houfe alone had coft more 
 than he paid for the whole : and this is very 
 probable. Perfons in general who defire to make 
 good bargains, ought to purchafe lands already- 
 built upon ; fer, though the buildings have coft 
 much, they are counted for little in the fale. 
 
 Though diftant from fociety, and ftruggling 
 againft many difadvantages, he affured me that 
 he was happy ; and that he fhould not fail to 
 be completely fo, were he furrounded by hk 
 family, which he had left in France. 
 
 He is attentive to the fubje<5l of meteorology; 
 it is he that furniihes the meterologic tables pub- 
 liflied every month in the Columbian Magazine : 
 they are certainly the moft exaft that have ap- 
 peared on this continent. He thinks there is no 
 great difference between the climate here and 
 that of Paris : that here, the cold weather is 
 more dry ; that the fnow and ice remain but a, 
 fhort time ; that there never pafre<? a week with- 
 out fome fair days ; that there falls more rain 
 here than in France, bat that it rarely rains two 
 days fucceflively ; that the heat is fometimes more 
 intenfe, that it (provokes more to fweat and 
 to heavinefs ; finally, that the variations are 
 here more frequent and more rapid. 
 
 The following is the refult of the obfervations 
 of this Frenchman for four years : ■■The great- 
 
j?40 NE W TR AVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 eft cold in this part of Pennfylvania, is commoft- 
 \y from ten to twelve degrees below the freez- 
 ing point of Reaumur's thermometer: the greateft 
 heats are from tvventv-fix to twenty eight de- 
 grees above : the mean term of his obfervations 
 far four years, on the temperature, is nine degrees 
 and fix tenths ; the mean height of the barome- 
 ter is twenty-nine inches ten lines and one tenth; 
 Englifli meafure ; the prevailing wind is north- 
 north-weft. In the year there are fifteen days of 
 thunder, fever. ty-fi.v days of rain, twelve days of 
 fnow, five days of tempeft with rain ; thefe 
 «ighty-onc days of rain, with thofe of fnow, give 
 thirty-five inches of water, French meafure. The 
 fky is never obfcured three days together. The 
 country is very healthy, and extremely vegetative. 
 Wheat harveft is from the 8th to the 12th of 
 July. No predominant ficknefs has been remarked 
 euring thefe four years. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 jfoter^ey cf Uve Frenchmen to the Ohis* 
 
 Stpt. 10, 178S. 
 HAVE had the good fortune to meet here a 
 _ Frenchinan, who is travelling in this country, 
 not i.i purfuit of wealth, but to gain informatioa. 
 It is Mr. Saugrain, from Paris: he is an ardent 
 naturalift : fome circumftances firft attached him 
 to the king of Spain, who fent him to Spanifti 
 America to make difcoveries in minerals and 
 natural hiftory. After the death of his protedor, 
 Don Galves, he returned to France. In 1787, he 
 formed the projeft with Mr. Piguet, who had 
 fome knowledge in botany, to viijit Kentuckcy 
 and the Ohio. 
 
 They arrived at Philadelphia, and pafled imm«- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 141 
 
 diately to Pittfburg. There the winter overtook 
 them, tnd the Ohio froze over, which rarely 
 happens. They lodged thenifelves a few miles 
 from Pittlburg, in an open houfe, where they 
 fafFered much from the cold. Tl-j thermometer 
 of Reaumur defcended to 32 degrees, while at 
 Philadelphia it was only at 16. During their ftay 
 here, they made many experiments. Mr. Saugrain 
 weighed fcveral kinds of wood in an hydroftatic 
 balance which he carried with him. He difcovered, 
 likewife, which fpecies would yield the greateft 
 quantity, and the beft quality of potalh. Many 
 experiments convinced him, that the ftalks of In- 
 dian corn yield a greater quantity than wood, in 
 proportion to the quantity of matter. He ex- 
 amined the different mines of the country. He 
 found fome of iron, of lead, of copper, and oi 
 filver. He was told of a rich iron-mine belong- 
 ip.o to Mr. Murray ; but he was not fuffcred 
 to fee it. 
 
 0.1 the opening of the Spring, they defcended 
 the Ohio, having been joined by another French* 
 man, Mr. Rague, and a Virginian. They landed 
 at MuflLinquam, where they fiw General Harmer, 
 and fome people who were beginning a fettle- 
 merit there. 
 
 At fome diftance below this place, they fell in 
 with a party of favages. M. Piguet was killed, 
 and M. Saugrain wounded and taken prifoner ; 
 he fortunately msde his efcape, rtjoined the 
 Virginian, and found the means of returning to 
 Pittfburg, having loft his money and all his effects. 
 He th«n returned t© Philadelphia, where I have 
 met him, on his way to Europe. 
 
 He has communicated to me many obfervation? 
 on the weftern country. The im.menfe valley 
 iF^afhed by the Ohio, appears to him the moft 
 fertile that he has ever feen. The flrength and 
 rapidity of vegetation in that country are incred- 
 ible, the fize of the trees enormous, and their 
 
142 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 variety infinite. The inhabitants are obliged to 
 cxhauli the firft fatnefs of the land in hemp and 
 tobacco, in order to prepare it for the produftion 
 of wheat. The crops of Indian corn are prodi- 
 gious ; the cattle acquire an extraordinary fize, 
 and keep fat the whole year in the open fields. 
 
 The facility of producing grain, rearing cattle, 
 making whilkey, beer, and cyder, with a thoufand 
 other advantages, attract to this country great 
 numbers cf e;r.igrants from other parts cf America. 
 A tT/in in that country, fcaroely works two hours 
 in a dny, for tne fupport of hiir.felf and family ; 
 he pp.ffes mofl- of his time in Idlenefs, hunting, or 
 drinking. "The women fpin, and make cloaths for 
 their hufb'inds and . fan^ilies. Mr. Saugrain faw 
 v^ry gocid woollens and linens made there. They 
 very little money ; every thing is done by 
 
 The 2£llve genius of thp Aaiericans is elways 
 pufliing them forward. Mr. Saugrain has no doubt 
 but fooner rr later the Spaniards will be forced 
 to quit the Miffifippi, and thr.t the A:ncrlcans will 
 pafs it, and elUbiifn thsmfelves in Loiiifnna, 
 which he has feen, and confiders as one of 
 the fin eft countries in the uni verfe. 
 
 Mr. Saugrain canrie from Pitrfourg to Pli-iladel- 
 phia ir\ fsven days, on hor'feback. He could have 
 come in a chaife ; but it would have 4:aken him 
 a longer tirre. It is a poll road, with good 
 taverns cAablifhed the whole v/ay.* 
 
 • Air. Squgrain is fo enchanted ivith the independ- 
 ent life cf the inhabitants of the ixefcrn country ^ that 
 ht returned again in the year lyc^o, io fettle at Scfoto, 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 L E T T E Rr XIX. 
 
 143 
 
 Oil tliz School for the Blacks at Philadtlphiay and 
 the principal Amcricdn Authors iicho ha've K.vritten 
 in their fa'vor. 
 
 THERE exifiis, then, a country where the 
 Negroes are allowed to have fouls, nnd to 
 be endowed with underftanding capable of being 
 formed to virtue and ufeful knowledge ; where 
 they are not regarded as beafts of burden, in 
 order that we may have the privilege of treating 
 them as fach. There exifts a country, where 
 the Blacks, by their virtues and their induftry, 
 belye the calumnies which their tyrants elfewhere 
 lavifli againft them ; where no difference is per- 
 ceived between the memory of a black head whofe 
 hair is craped by nature, and that of a white 
 one craped by art. I have had a proof of this 
 to-day. I have feen, heard, and examined thefe 
 black children. 'They read well, repeat from 
 memory, and calculate with rapidity. I have (ttn 
 a pi«Slure painted by a young negro, who never 
 had a mafter : it was furprifingly well done. 
 
 I faw in this fchool, a mulatto, one-eighth 
 negro; it is impoflible to diftinguifh him from 
 a white bey. His eyes difcovered an extraordinary 
 rivacity ; and this is a general charaderiflic of 
 people of that origin. 
 
 The black girls, befides reading, writing, and 
 the principles of religion, are taught fpinning, 
 needle-work, &c. ; and their miftrefles affure me, 
 that they difcover much ingenuity. They have 
 the appearance of decency, attention, and fub- 
 miflion. It is a nurfery of good fervants and vir- 
 tuous houfe-keepers. How criminal are the planters 
 of the iflands, who form but to debauchery and 
 ignominy, creatures fo capable of being fafiiioned 
 to virtue ! 
 
 It is to Bcnezet that humaaity owes this ufe- 
 
« 44 ' NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ful eftabliftiment— to that Benezet whom Chaf- 
 tellux has not blullied to ridicule, for the fake of 
 gaining the infaaious applaufes of the parafites 
 df defpotifnn. 
 
 The life of this extraordinary man merits to he 
 known to fuch men as dare to think, who efteem 
 more the benefadors of their fellow-creatures, 
 than their oppreflbrs, fo bafely idolized during 
 their life. 
 
 Anthony Benezet was born at St. Qiiintin, ia 
 Picardy, in 1712. Fanaticifnn, under the protec- 
 tion of a bigot king, direfled by an infamous 
 confeflbr, and an infamous woman, fpread at that 
 time its ravages in France. The parents of Be- 
 nezet were warm Calvanifts ; they fled to England, 
 and he embraced the dodrines of the Quakers. 
 He went to America in 1731, and eftablifhed 
 himfelf at Philadelphia in commerce, the bufinefs 
 to which he had been educated. But the rigidity 
 of his principles and his tafte not agreeing with 
 the fpirit of commerce, he quitted that bufinefs 
 in 1736, and accepted a place in the academy of 
 that fociety. From that time all his moments 
 were confecratcd to public inftrudlion, the relief 
 of the poor, and the defence of the unhappy 
 negroes. Benezet poflefled a univerfal philanthro- 
 py, which was not common at that tim.e ; he 
 regarded, as his brothers, all men, of all countries, 
 and of all colours ; he compofcd many works, in 
 which he colIe£led all the authorities from Scrip- 
 ture, and from other writings, to difcourage and 
 condemn the flave trade and flavery. ' His works 
 had reiuch influence in determining the Quakers 
 to emancipate their flaves. 
 
 It was not enough to fet at liberty the unhap- 
 py Blacks ; it was necefl*ary to inftrudl them—to 
 find them fcheol-mafters. And where fhould he 
 find men willing to dcrote themfelves to a tafk 
 which prejudice had rendered painful and difguft- 
 ing/ No obftacle could arreft the zeal of Benezet; 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 45 
 
 he fet the firft example himfelf : he confecrated 
 his little fortune to the foundation of this fchool ; 
 his brethren lent fome afliftance ; and by the help 
 b. of the donations of the fociety of London, the 
 '' fchool for Blacks at Philadelphia enjoys a revenue 
 of 200I, fteiling. 
 
 He confecrated his fortune and his talents to 
 their inftrudion ; and in 1784, death removed 
 him from this .holy occupation, to receive his 
 reward. The tears of the Blacks, which watered 
 his tomb, the llghs of his fraternity, and of every 
 friend of humanity which attended ^ his departed 
 fpirit, muft be a prize more confoling than the 
 laurels of a conqueror. 
 
 Benezet carried always in his pocket a copy of 
 his works on the Slavery of the Blacks, which he 
 gave and recommended to every one he met, who 
 had not (cQn them. It is a method generally 
 followed by the Society of Friends. They extend 
 the works of utility ; and if is the true way of 
 gaining profelytes. 
 
 This philanthropic Quaker was preceded in 
 the fame career, by many others, whom I ought 
 to mention. The celebrated George Fox, founder 
 of this feft, went from England to Barbadoes in 
 167 1, not to preach againft llavery, but to in- 
 ftruft the blacks in the knowledge of God, and 
 to engage mafters to treat them with mildnefs. 
 
 The minds of men were not yet ripe for this 
 reform ; neither were they when William Burling, 
 of Long-Ifland, in 171?, publifhed a treatife 
 againft flavery. He was a refpedlable Quaker : 
 he preached, but in vain ; the hour was net 
 yet come. 
 
 Ought not this circumftance to encourage the 
 friends of the B'.acks in France ? Sixty years of 
 combat were neceffary to conquer the prejudice 
 of avarice in America. One year is fcarcely pafTed 
 (Ince the foundation of the fociety at Paris , 
 and fome apoftates already appear, becaufe fuc- 
 cefi has not crow.ied their firft endeavors. 
 N 
 
i4« NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Burling was followed by Julge Sewall, a pref- 
 byterian of Maffachufetts. He prefented to the 
 General Aflembly, a treatife intitled Jofeph fold by 
 his brethren. He difcovers the purefl principles, 
 and completely overturns the hackneyed argu- 
 ments of the traders, refpeding the pretended 
 wars of tTie African princes. 
 
 It is often faid againft the writings of the 
 friends of the Blacks, that they have not been 
 witnefTes of the fufferings which they defcribe. 
 This reproach cannot be made againft Benjamin 
 Lay, an Englifhman, who, brought up in the 
 African trade, afterwards a planter at Barbadoes, 
 abandoned his plantation, on account of the hor- 
 ror infpired by the frightful terrors of ilavery 
 endured by the Negroes. He retired to Philadel- 
 phia, became a Quaker, and ceafed not the re- 
 mainder of his life to preach and write for the 
 abolition of flavery. His principal treatife on this 
 fubjed appeared in 1737. He was thought to 
 have too much zeal, and to have exaggerated 
 his defcriptions. But thefe defefls were expiated 
 by a life without a ftain, by an indefatigable zeal 
 for humanity, and by profound meditiitions. Lay 
 was firr.ple in his drefs, and animated in his 
 fpeech ; he was all on fire when he fj)oke on 
 flavery. He died in 1760, in the 80th year of 
 his age. 
 
 One of the men moft diftinguifhed in this 
 career of humanity, was a Quaker named John 
 Woolman. He was born in 1720. E rly formed 
 to meditation, . he was judged by the Friends 
 worthy of being a minifter at the age of twenty- 
 two. He travelled much to extend the do£lrines 
 of the fe*5l ; but was always on foot, and with- 
 out money or provifions, becaufe he would imitate 
 the apofties, and be in a Situation to be more 
 ufeful to the poor people and to the Blacks. 
 He abhorred flavery io much, that he would 
 ^ot tafte any food that vras produced by the 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 147 
 
 labour of flaves. The laft difcourfe that he pro- 
 nounced was on this fuhjeft. In 1772, he under- 
 took a voyage to England, to concert meafures 
 with the Friends there, on the fame fubje<El ; 
 where he died with the fmall-pox. He left feveral 
 uft'ful works, one of which has been through 
 many editions, intitled Confiderations on the Sla'ver^ 
 cf the Blacks. 
 
 I thought it my duty, my friend, to give you 
 fonie account of thefe holy perfonages, before 
 dcfcribing to you the fituation of the Blacks ia 
 this immenfe country. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 The MdMs ufed to abolip the Slave Trade, and Sla- 
 very in the United States. 
 
 T'lTTOOLMAN and Benezet had in vain em- 
 V V ployed all their efforts to effcd the aboli- 
 tion of this trafHc under the Englilh government. 
 The miftaken intereft of the- mother country 
 caufed all the petitions to be rejefted in the 
 yoar 1772 ; yet the mincis of men were prepared 
 in fo.Tie of the colonies ; and fcarcely was inde- 
 pendence declared, when a general cry arofe againft 
 this CO nmerce. it appeared abfurd for men de- 
 fending their own liberty, to deny liberty to 
 tthers. A pamphlet was printed, in which the 
 principles on which flavery is founded, were held 
 up in contraft. with thofe which laid the founda- 
 tion of the new conllitution. ^ 
 This palpable method of flating the fubjeiO:, 
 was attended with an happy fuccefs ; and the 
 Congrefs, in 1774.5 de.clared the flavery of the 
 lilacks to be incompatible with the bafis of repub- 
 lican governments. Different legiflatiires haflcned 
 to confecrate this principle of Congreis. 
 
'r^t NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Three diftinfl epochs mark the conduft Of the 
 Americans in this bufinefs — the prohibition of 
 the importation of flavcs — their manumifiaon — 
 and the provifion made for their inftru6lion. All 
 trie different St'^tes are not equally advanced in 
 thefe three objedls. 
 
 In the Northern and Middle States, they have 
 profcribed for ever the importation of Haves ; in 
 others, this prohibition is limited to a certain 
 time. In South-Carolina, virhere it was limited to 
 ihree years, it has lately been extended to three 
 years mere. Georgia is the only State that con- 
 tinues to receive tranfported flayes. Yet, when 
 General Ogkthorpe laid t1ie foundation qt this 
 rclony, he ordained that neither rum nor flaves 
 fhould ever be imported into it. This law, in 
 both its articles, was very foon violated. 
 
 V/e nuift acknowledge, however, that the Amej-- 
 icans, mere than any other people, are convinced 
 that all men are born free and equal : we muft 
 acknowiedge, that they d'lred: themfelves generally 
 by this principle of equality ; that the Quakers, 
 who have begun, who have propagated, and who 
 flill propagate this revolution of fentiment, hare 
 been guided by a principle of religion, and that 
 thev have Acrinced to it their perfonal intereH". 
 
 Unhappily their opinion on this fubjedl has 
 not yet become univerfal ; interefl ftill combats it 
 with fom.e fuccefs in the Southern States. A 
 numerous party ftill argue the impoflibility of 
 cultivating their foil without the hands of Haves, 
 and the impofiibility of augmenting their num- 
 ber without recruiting them in Africa. It is to 
 the iniiuence of this party, in the late general 
 convention, that is to be attributed the only ar- 
 ticle which tarnifhes that glorious monument of 
 human reafon, the new federal fvftem of the 
 United States. It was this party that propofed 
 to bind the hands of the new Congrefs, and to 
 put it out of their power for twenty years t» 
 
N^W TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i4pf 
 
 prohibit the importation .of flaves. It was faid to 
 this auguil affembly. Sign this article, or nve nvill 
 tuitk^iranv from the union. To avoid the evils, which 
 without ameliorating the fate of the Blacks, would 
 attend a political fchifm, the convention were 
 forced to wander from the grand principle of 
 univerfal liberty, and the preceding declaration 
 of Congrefs. They thought it their duty to im- 
 itate Solon, to make, not the beft law pofiible, 
 but the beft that circumftances would bear. 
 
 But, though this article has furprifed th': friends 
 of liberty in Europe, where the fecret caufes of 
 it were not known ; though it has grieved ths 
 fociety in England, who are ready to accufe the 
 new legiflators of a cowardly defedlion from their 
 own principles ; yet we may- regard the general 
 and irrevocable profcription of the flave trade in 
 the United States, as very near at hand. This 
 conclufion refults from the nature of things, and 
 even from the article itfelf of the new conftitu- 
 tion now cited. Indeed, nine States have already 
 done it ; the Blacks, which there abound, ar*i 
 confidered as free. There are then nine afylums 
 for thofe to efcape to from Georgia, not to 
 fpeak of the neighbourhood of the Floridas, where 
 the Haves from Georgia take refuge, in hopes 
 to find better treatment from the S^paniards ; and 
 not to fpeak of thofe vaft forefts and inaccefllble 
 mountains which make part of the Southern 
 States, and where the perlecuted Negro may eafiljr 
 find a retreat from ilavery. Tlie communications 
 with the back country are io eafy, that it U 
 impofiible to ftop the fugitives ; and the expence 
 of reclaiming is difproportioned to their value. 
 And though the free States do not in appear- 
 ance oppofe thofe reclamations, yet the people 
 there hold flavery in fuch horror, that the maf- 
 ter who runs after his human property, meets 
 little relped, and finds little alTiftance. Thus the 
 poflibility of^ flight creates a new difcouragement 
 N 2 
 
I5e: NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 to tl»e importation, as it jniift leffen the value of 
 the Have, induce to a milder treatment, and 
 finally tend, with the concurrence of other cir- 
 curaftances, to convince the Georgian planter, 
 that it is more fimple, more reafonable, and lefs 
 expenfive, to cultivate hy the hands of freemen. 
 We are right then in faying, that the nature of 
 things in America is againft the importation of Haves. 
 Befides, the Congrefs will be authorifed in twenty 
 years to pronounce definitively on this article. By 
 that tifH.e, the fentiments of humanity, and the 
 calculations of reafon, will prevail ; they will no 
 longer be forced to facrifice equity to convenience, 
 or have any thing to fear from oppofition or fchifm. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 Laivs tf the different States, for the ManumiJJion ofSla'oes, 
 
 SLAVERY, my friend, has never polluted every 
 part of the United States. There was never 
 any law in New-Hamplhire, or Maffachufetts, 
 which authorifed it. When, therefore, thofe States 
 profcribed it, they only declared the law as it 
 exifted before. There was very little of it in 
 ConneAicut; the puritanic aufterity which predom- 
 inated in that colony, could fcarcely reconcile 
 itfelf with flavery. Agriculture was better per- 
 formed there by the hands of freemen ; and 
 every thing concurred to engage the people to 
 give liber-; to the flaves : — fo that almoft every 
 one has freed them ; and the children of fuch 
 as are not yet tree, are to have their liberty at 
 twenty-five years of age. 
 
 The cafe of the Blacks in New-York is nearly 
 the f^me ; yet the flaves there are more numerous. 
 
 It is becaufe the bafis of the population there 
 ;s Dutch ; that is to fay, people lefs difpofed 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 151' 
 
 than any other to part with their property. But 
 liberty is aflured there to all t^ie children of the 
 flaves, at a certain age. 
 
 The State of Rhode-Ifland formerly made tL 
 great bafinefs of the flave trade. It is now to- 
 tally and for ever prohibited. 
 
 In New-Jerfey the bulk of the population is 
 Dutch. You find there, traces of that fame 
 Dutch fpirit which I have defcribed. Yet the 
 Wcftern part of the State are difpofed to fre& 
 their Negroes ; but the Eaftern part are oppofed 
 to it. 
 
 It is probable that their obftinacy will be 
 overcoTie ; at leaft it is the opinion of the ref- 
 peftable Mr/ Livingfton, celebrated for the part 
 he has a6Ud in the late revolution : he has de- 
 clared this opinion in a letter written to the 
 Society at Philadelphia. He has himfelf freed all 
 his flaves, which are very numerous. He is one 
 of the moft ardent apoftles of humanity ; and» 
 knowing the charafter cf his countrymen, he 
 reafons, temporifes with their intereft, and doubts 
 not of being able to vanqui/h their prejudices. 
 The Quakers have been more fortunate in Penn- 
 fylvania. In the year 1758, they TOted, in their 
 general meeting, to excommunicate every member 
 ©f the Society who (hould perfift in keeping flavei. 
 In 1780, at their requeft, feconded by a great 
 number of perfons from other feds, the General 
 Aflembly abolilhed flavery for ever, forced th« 
 owners of ilaves to caufe them to he enregiftered» 
 declared their children free at the age of twen- 
 ty eight years, placed them, while under that 
 age, on a footing of hired fervants, afTured to 
 them the benefit of trial by jury, &c. But this 
 a6i did not provide againft all the aijufes that 
 avarice could afterwards invent. It was evaded 
 in many points. A foreign commerce of flaves 
 was carried on by fpeculators ; and fome barba- 
 rous mafters fold their Blacks, to be carried iato 
 
1^2 NEW TRAVELS IN AlVIERICA. 
 
 foreign countries ; others f6nt the negro children^ 
 into neighbouring States, that they might there 
 be fold, and deprived of the benefit of the law- 
 of Pennfylvania, when they fhould come of age ; 
 ethers fent their black pregnant women into ano-- 
 ther State, that the offspring might be (laves ; 
 and others ftole free Negroes, and carried them 
 to the iflands for fale. The Society, ihocked att 
 thefc abufes, applied again to the Aflembly, who 
 palTed a new aft in March laft, cffeftually to 
 prevent them. It ordained, that no Black could 
 be fent into a neighbouring State without his; 
 confent ; conftfcated all vellels and cargoes era- 
 ployed in the fiave trade ; condemned to the^ 
 public works the ftealers of Negroes, &c. 
 
 Doubtlefs we cannot beftow too much praife 
 on the indefatigable zeal of the Society in Penn- 
 fylvania, which folicited thefe laws, nor on the 
 fpirit of equity and humanity difplayed by the 
 legiflaturc in palling them ; but fome regret muft 
 mingle itfelf with our applaufe. Why did not 
 this refpeftable body go farther? Why did it not 
 extend at leaft the hopes of freedom to thofe 
 who were ilaves at the time ©f paffing the 
 firft aft ? They are a property, it is faid ; and all 
 property is facred. But what is a property found- 
 ed on robbery and plunder ? What is a property 
 which violates laws human and divine ? But let 
 this property merit fome regard. Why not limit 
 it to a certain number of years, in order to 
 give at leaft the cheap confolation of hope ? Why 
 not grant to the flave, the right of purchafing 
 his freedom ? What ! the child of the negro flave 
 fhall one day enjoy his liberty ; and the unhap- 
 py father, though ready to leap with joy on be- 
 holding the fortune of his fon, mufl roll back 
 his eyes with aggravated anguiih on his own 
 irrevocable bondage ! The fon has never felt, 
 like him, the torture of being torn from his 
 country, from bis family, from all that is dear 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 155 
 
 to man ; the fon has not experienced that fever- 
 ity of treatment fo conmoii in this country be- 
 f .re this revolution of fentiment ; yet the fon is 
 favoured, and the father configned to defpair. 
 But this injuflice cannot long fully the law of a 
 country where reafon and hutnanity prevail. We 
 may hope that a cspitulation will be made with 
 avarice ; by which thefe Haves will be drawn 
 from its hands. 
 
 Again — Why, in the a6l of Mirch, 1780, is it 
 declared that a Have cannot be a witnefs againft 
 a freeman? You cither fuppofe hii-n lefs true than 
 the free(*jan, or you fL^npofe him differently organ- 
 ifed. The laft fcppcfuicn is abfurd ; the other, 
 if true, is agr.inft ycurfelves ; for, why are they 
 lefs confclentious, frore corrupted, and more 
 wicked? — It is becaufe they are (laves. The 
 crime falls oriV'the head of the maftcr ; and the 
 flavfe is thus degrocc'u and punlHied for the vice 
 of the mj;fler. 
 
 Finally, why da ycu ordain that the maHer 
 ilisU be reim*'irfed frnrrj the public treafury, the 
 price of the ilave wiiQ xnayfaffer death for crimes ? 
 Ift as is eafy to prove, the crimes of Haves are 
 almoft univerfally the fruit of their flavery, and 
 are in proportion to the feverity of their treatment, 
 is it not abfurd to recompenfe the noafter for 
 his tyranny ? When we recolleft that thefe maf- 
 ters have hitherto been accuflomed to confider 
 their flaves as a fpecies of cattle, and that the 
 laws make the mafler refponfible fcr the dama- 
 ges done by his cattle, does it not appear con» 
 tradiftory to reverfe the law relative to thefe 
 Black cattle, when they do a mifchief, for which 
 fociety thinks it neceflary to extirpate them ? In 
 this cafe, the real author of the crime, inftead 
 of paying damages, receives a .reward. 
 
 No, my friend, we will not doubt but thefe 
 flains will foon difipptar from the code ofPenn- 
 fylvania. Reafon is too ■ predominant to fuff«r 
 them long to continue. 
 
154 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 The littie State of Ddaware has followed the 
 example of Pennfylvania. It is moftly peopled by 
 (fakers — infi-ances of giving freedom are there- 
 fore numerous. In this State, famous for the 
 wifdom c»f itsr laws, for its good faith and federal 
 patriotifm, refides that angel of peace, Warner 
 Mifflin. Like Benezet, he occupies his time in 
 extending the opinions of his Society relative to 
 the freedom of the Blacks, and the care of pro- 
 viding for their exiflence and their inftru(flion. 
 It is in part to his zeal that is owing 
 the formation of a Society in that ftate, after 
 the model of the one at Philadelphia, for the 
 ahoiirion of flavery. 
 
 With the Str.te of Delaware finifhes the fyftem 
 of proteftion to the Blacks. Yet there are fame 
 Negroes freed in M iryland, becaufe there are 
 fome Qnakers tliere ; and you perceive it very 
 readily, on comparing the fields of tobacco or 
 of Indian corn belonging to thefe people, with 
 thofe of others ; you fse how much fuperior the 
 hand of a freeman is to that of a Have, in tbe 
 operations of induflry. 
 
 When you run over Maryland and Virginia, 
 you conceive yourfelf in a different world; and 
 you are convinced of it, when you coRverfe with 
 the inhabitants. They fpe.ik not here of projefts 
 for freeing the Negroes ; they praife not the fo- 
 fieties of London and America ; they read not 
 the works of Chirkfon — No, the indolent maf^ers 
 behold with uncaflnefs, the efforts that are ma- 
 king to render freedom univcrfil. The Virgini- 
 ans are p^rfu:ided of the impolTibility of culti- 
 vating tjbacco without flavery; they fear, that 
 if the Blacks become free, they v.-ill caufe trouble ; 
 on rendering them freey they know not what 
 rank to alTign them in foriety ; whether theyfhall 
 eflablifh them in. a fepante diftrid, or fend them 
 out of the country. Thefe are the obje£lions 
 which you will hear repeated every where againft 
 the idea of freeing them. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 155 
 
 The ftrongcft objedlion lies in the charafler, 
 the manners and habits of the Virginians. They 
 feem to enjoy the fweat of (laves. They are fond 
 of hunting ; they love the difplay of luxury, and 
 difdain the idea of labour. This order of things 
 will change when flavery Ihall be no more. It 
 is not, that the work- of a ilave is more profit- 
 able than that of a freeman ; but it is in multi- 
 plying the Ihves, condemning them to a mifer- 
 able nourifhment, in depriving them of clothes, 
 and in running over a large quantity of land 
 with a negligent culture, that they fupply the 
 neccflity of honeft induftry. 
 
 LETTER XXIL 
 
 On the general State, Manners y and Charailer of the 
 Blacks in the Ur.ited States. 
 
 THE free 'Blacks in the Eaftern States, are 
 either hired fervants, or they keep little 
 fhops, or they cultivate the land. You will fee 
 fome of them on board of coafting veffels. They 
 dare not venture themfelves on long voysges, 
 for fear of being tranfported and fold in the 
 iflands. As to their phyfical charadler, the Blacks 
 are vigorous, of a ftrong conftitution,* capable of 
 the moft painful labour, and generally aftive. 
 As fervants, they are fober and faithful. Thufe 
 who keep fhops, live moderately, and never 
 augment their affairs beyond a certain point. 
 The reafon is obvious ; the Whites, though 
 
 * The married Blacks han^e at leaji as many chil- 
 dren as the Whites ; hut it is ehferatedy that more 
 of them die. This is o^joing lefs /# Nature^ than to 
 the want of fortune, and of the care of phyficians 
 mnd Jurgeons. 
 
156 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 they treat them with humanity, like not to give 
 them credit to enable them to undertake any 
 extenfive commerce, nor even to give them the 
 means of a common education, by receiving them' 
 into their counting-boufes. If, then, th3 Blacks 
 are confined to the retails of trade, let us not 
 accufe their capacity, but the prejudices of the 
 Whites, vphich lay obftacles in their way. 
 
 The fame caufes hinders the Blacks who live 
 in the country, from having large plantations. 
 Their' little fields are generally well cultivated ; 
 their log-houfes full of children decently clad, 
 attrad the eye of the phi'.ofopher, who rejoices 
 to fee, that, in thefe habitations, no tears atteft 
 the rod of tyranny. 
 
 In this fituation the Blacks are indeed happy ; 
 but let us have the courage to avow, that neither 
 this happinefs, nor their talents, have yet attained 
 their perfeftion. There exifts ftill too great an 
 interval between them and the Whites, efpecially 
 in the public opinion. This huniiliatir.g difference 
 prevents thofe efforts which they might make to 
 raife themfelves. Black children are admitted to 
 the public fchools ; but you never fee them with- 
 in the walls of a college. Though free, they are 
 always accuftomed to confider themfelves as be- 
 neath the Whites. 
 
 We may conclude from this, that it is unfair 
 to meafure the extent of their capacity by the 
 examples already given by the free Blacks of 
 the North. 
 
 But when we compare them to the flaves of 
 the South, what a difference we find ! — In the 
 South, the Blacks are in a ftate of abjedlion dif- 
 ficult to defcribe ; many of them are naked, ill 
 fed, lodged in miferable huts, on ftraw. They 
 receive no education, no inftrudion in any kind 
 of religion ; they are not married, but coupled. 
 Thus are they brutalized, lazy, vvithout ideas, and 
 without encigy. They give themfelves no trouble 
 
NEW^TRAVELS IN AMERICA. ^57 
 
 to procure, clothes, or to have better food ; they 
 pafs their Sunday, which is' their day of reft, in 
 total inaftion. Inadion is their fupreme happi- 
 nefs ; they therefore perform little labour, and sl,. 
 that in a carelefs manner.^ . 
 
 We muft do juftice to the truth. The Amer- ' 
 icans of the Southern States treat their flave*' 
 with mildnefs ; it is one of the effedls of the 
 general extenfion of the ideas of liberty. The 
 flave labours lefs ; but this is all the alteration 
 made in his ^ircumftanccs, and he is not the 
 better for it, either in his nouriflirnent, his clo- 
 thing, his morals, or his ideas. So that the maf- 
 ter lofes; but the Have does not gain. If they 
 would follow the example of the Northern States, 
 both Whites and Blacks would be gainers by the 
 change. 
 
 When we defcribe the flaves of the South, we 
 ought to diftinguifh thofe that are employed as 
 houfe-fervants, from thofe that work and live in 
 the field. The pidure which I have given, be- 
 longs to the latter ; the former are better clad, 
 more aftive, and lefs ignorant. 
 
 It has been generally thought, and ev«n writ- 
 ten by fome authors of note, that the Blacks 
 are inferior to the Whites in mental capacity. 
 This opinion begins to difappear ; the Northern 
 States furnifh examples to the contrary. I (hall 
 cite two, which are ftriking ones : the firft proves, 
 that, by inftrudion, a Black may be rendered ca- 
 pable of any of the profefllons ; the fecond, that 
 the head of a Negro may be organifed for the 
 mod aftonifhing calculations, and confe<j««ntly 
 for all the fciences. 
 
 I faw at Philadelphia a black phyfician, named 
 James Derham. The follo'ving hiiiory of him 
 ,vas attefted to me by many phyficians : ', 
 
 He was brought up a flave ifi a family of Phil- 
 adelphia, where he learned to read and write, 
 and was inftrudsd in tUe principles of religion. 
 
«5 8 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 When young, he was fold to Dr. John Kearfley, 
 jun. who employed him in compounding medi- 
 cines, and in adminiftering them in fome cafes to 
 the fick. At the death ©t Dr. Kearfley he pafled 
 through different hands, and came to be the 
 property of George Weft, furgeon of the Britifli 
 army, under whom, during the war in America, 
 he performed the lower fundions in phyfic. 
 
 At the clofe of the war he was purchafed by 
 Dr. Robert Dove of New-Orleans, who employed 
 him as his affiftant. He gained the Doftor's good 
 opinion and friendfhip to fuch a degree, that he 
 foon gave him his freedom on moderate conditions. 
 Derham was, by this time, fo well rnftruded, 
 that he immediately began to practice, with fuc- 
 cefs, at New-Orleans : he is about twenty-fix years 
 of age, married, but has no children. His prac- 
 tice brings him three thoufand livres a year. 
 Doflor Wiftar told nne, that he converfed with 
 him particularly on the acute difeafes of the coun- 
 try where he lives, and found him well verfed 
 in the fimple methods now in pradlice of treat- 
 ing thofe difeafes. I thought, faid the Dodor, 
 to have indicated to him fome new remedies ; 
 but he indicated new ones to me. 
 
 He is modeft, and has engaging manners ; he 
 fpeaks French with facility, and has fome know- 
 ledge of Spanifh. 
 
 The other inftance has been cited by Dr. Rnfh, 
 a celebrated phyfician and writer of Philadelphia. 
 It is Thomas Fuller, born in Africa, a flave, near 
 fer/flty years of age, near Alexandria. He can 
 neither read nor write, and has had no inftrudlion of 
 any kiad ; but he calculates with fa rprifmg facil- 
 ity, and will anfwer any queftion in arithmetic, 
 with a promptitude that has no example. 
 
 Thcfe inftances prove, without doubt, that the 
 capacity of the Negroes may be extended to any 
 thing ; that they have only need of inftrudion 
 fjid liberty. The difference between thofe wh« 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 159 
 
 are free and inftriidlcd, and thofe who are not, 
 is ftill nnore vifible in their induftry. The lands 
 inhabited by the Whites and free Blacks, are bet- 
 ter cultivated, produce more abundantly, and offer 
 every where the image of eafe and happinefs. 
 Such, for example, is the afpedt of Connedlicut, 
 and of Pennfylvania. 
 
 Pafs into Maryland and Virginia, and, as I 
 faid, before, you are in another world ; — you find 
 not there tliofe cultivated plains, thofe neat 
 country-houfes, barr.s well diflributed, and numer- 
 ous herds of cattle, fat and vigorous. No : 
 every thing in Maryland and Virginia wears the 
 print of ilavery : a ftarved foil, bad cultivation, 
 houfes falling to ruin, cattle fmall and few, and 
 black walking fkeletons ; in a word, you fee real 
 mifery, and apparent luxury, infulting each other. 
 
 They begin to perceive, even in the Southern 
 States, that, to nourifli a llave ill, is a roiftakea 
 economy ; and that money em.ployed in their 
 purchafe, dees net render its intereft. It is per- 
 haps mere ov^ing to this confideration than to 
 humanity, that you fee free labour introduced in 
 2 part of Virgini3, in that part bordered by the 
 beautiful river Shenadore. In travelling here, yoa 
 will think yourfclf in Pennfylvania. 
 
 Such will be the face of all Virginia, when 
 flavery (hall be at an end. They think flaves 
 neceffary only for the cultivation of tobacco : 
 this culture declines, and muft decline in Vir- 
 ginia. The tobacco of the Ohio and the Miffi- 
 iippi is more abundant, of a better quality, and 
 requires lefs labour. When_ this tobacco fliafl 
 open its way to Europe, the Virginians will be 
 obliged to ceafe from this culture, and alk of 
 the earth, wheat, corn, and potatoes; they will 
 make meadows, and rear cattle. The wife Vir- 
 ginians anticipate this revolution, and begin the 
 culture of wheat. At their head may be reckoned 
 that aftonifliiag man, who though aa adored 
 
i6o NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. . 
 
 General, had the courage to be a fmcere repub- 
 lican ; who alone feems ignorant of his own 
 .^lory ; whofe fingular deftiny it will be to have 
 twice faved his country, to have opened to her 
 the road to profperity, after having condu^led 
 her to liberty. At prefent, wholly occupied in 
 ameliorating his lands, in varying their produce, 
 in opening roads and canals, he gives his country- 
 men an ufeful example, which doubtlefs will be 
 followed. 
 
 He has neverthelefs (mufl I fay it?) a numer- 
 ous crowd of flaves ; but they are treated with 
 the greateft humanity: well fed, well clothed, and 
 kept to moderate labour ; they blefs God wijhowt 
 ceafing, for having given them fo good a mafttr. 
 It is a tafK worthy of a foul fo elevated, fo 
 pure, and fo difinterefted, to begin the revolution 
 in Virginia, to prepare the way for the eman- 
 ripation of the Negroes. This great m::n declared 
 to me, that he rejoiced at what was doing in 
 other States on, this fubjeft ; that he fincerely 
 defired the extenfioii of it in his own country : 
 but he did not diflemble, that there were ftill 
 many obflracles to overcome ; that it was danger- 
 ous to ftrike too vigoroufly at a prejudice which 
 had begun to diminiih ; that time, patience, and 
 information, would not fail to vanquifh it. Almofl 
 all the Virgini-ins, added he, belitve that the 
 liberty of the Blacks cannot foon become general. 
 This is the reafon why they wifh not to form a 
 fociety, which may give dangerous ideas to their 
 Haves. There is another obiHcle — the great plan- 
 tations of which the State is compofed, render 
 it ncceffary for men to live fo difperfed, that 
 frequent meetings of a fociety would be difficult. 
 
 I replied, that the Virginians wer? in an error, ^ 
 that evidently fconer or later the Negroes would 
 obtain their liberty every where. It is then for 
 the intereft of your countrymen to prepare the 
 way to fuch a r^yolution, by endeavouring to 
 
NEW 'reAVELS IN AMERICA. leJi 
 
 reconcile the reftitution of the rights of the 
 Blacks with the interefl of the Whites. The 
 means neceflary to be taken to this efFcft, can 
 only be the work of a focicty r and it is worthy 
 the faviour of America to put himfelf ar their 
 head, and to open the door of liberty to three 
 hundred thoufand unhappy beings of his- own 
 State. He told me, that he defired the forma- 
 tion of a fociety, and that he would fecond it ; 
 but that he did not think the moment favoura- 
 ble. Doubtlefs more elevated views abforbed 
 
 his attention, and filled his foul. The deftiny of 
 America was juft ready to be placed a fecond 
 time in his hand^. 
 
 It is certainly a misfortune that fuch a fociety 
 does not exift in Virginia and Maryland ; for it 
 is to the perfevering zeal of thofe of Philadelphia 
 and New-York, that we owe the progrefs of this 
 revolution in America, and the formation of the 
 fociety in London. 
 
 Why am 1 unable to paint to you the impref- 
 fions 1 received in attending the meetings of 
 thefe different focietie^ ? What ferenity in the 
 countenances of the members ! What fimplicity 
 in their difcourfes, candor in their difcullions, 
 beneficence and energy in their decifions ! Each 
 feewed eager to fpeak, not to Ihew hir brilliance, 
 but to be ufeful. 
 
 With what joy they learned that a like fociety 
 was formed at Paris, in that capital fo renowned 
 for its opulence and luxury, for its influence 
 over a vaft kingdom, and through moft of the- 
 ftates of Europe ! They haftened to publifh it in 
 all the gazettes, as likewife the tranflation of the 
 firft difcourfe pronounced in that fociety. They 
 faw with joy, in the lift of the members, the 
 name of La Fayette, and that of other* perfons 
 known for their energy and patriotifm. 
 
 They did not doubt, if this fociety fliould 
 fcrava the firft obftacles that attend it, and 
 
 O 2 
 
i6t NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. . 
 
 ftiould unite itfelf with that of London, but that 
 the information which they might give on the 
 flave trade, and its unprofitable infamy, would 
 enlighten the governments of Europe, and deter- 
 mine them to fupprefs it. 
 
 It is doubtlefs to this efFufion of joy, and to 
 the flattering recommendations which I carried 
 from Europe, rather than to my feeble efforts, 
 that I owe the honor of being received a mem- 
 ber of thefe focieties. They did not confine 
 themfelves to this ; they appointed committees to 
 aflift me in ray labours, and their archives were 
 opened to me. 
 
 Thefe beneficent focieties are at prefent con- 
 templating new projedls for the completion of 
 their work of juftice and humanity. They are 
 endeavouring to form fimilar inftitutions in other 
 States, and they have fucceeded in the State of 
 Delaware. The bufinefs of thefe focieties is not 
 only to extend light and information to legilla- 
 tures, and to the people at largf,* on the ob- 
 jefts they have in view, and to form the Blacks 
 by early inftrudion in the dirties of citizens ; but 
 they extend gratuitous prote6lion to them in all 
 cafes of individual ©ppreflion, and make it their 
 duty to watch over the execution of the laws 
 which have been obtained in their favour. Mr. 
 Myers Fiflier, one of the firft lawyers of Phila- 
 delphia, is always ready to lend them his aflift- 
 ance, which he generally does with fuccefs, and 
 always without reward. Thefe focieties have com- 
 mittees in different parts of the country, to take 
 notice of any infradtions of thefe laws of liberty, 
 and to propofe to the legiflature, fuch amend- 
 ments as experience may require. 
 
 • In 1787, i/ie Society of Nevo-Tork ojfered a gold 
 medal for the heft difcourfey at the public commence- 
 ment at the College^ on the injuftice and cruelty of 
 the Jla've trade, and the fatal efeift of Jlavery- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 6^ 
 
 Jppendix tt the preceding letter j ^written in 1 79 1. 
 
 MY wiflies have not been difappointed. The 
 progrefs of thefe focieties is rapid in the United 
 States: there is one already formed even inVirginia;*^ 
 even there, men have dared to publiih that truth 
 which has (o often made avarice to tremble — 
 that truth which formerly would have been ftifled 
 in a Baftille : Ged has created men of all nations, 
 cf all languages, of all colours, equally free : Slavery, 
 in all its forms, in all its degrees, is a ^iolaticn cf 
 the Di'vine laius, and a degradation of human nature. 
 
 Believe it, my dear friend, thefe truths, convey- 
 ed in all the public papers, will complete the 
 extirpation of that odious Ikvery, which the na- 
 ture of things in that country is deftroying with 
 great rapidity. For you may well imagine, that, 
 in the rage of emigration to the weftern territory,-!*, 
 the Negroes find it eafy to fly from flavery, and 
 that they are well received wherever they go. 
 
 The folemn examples given by great men, will 
 contribute much to this revolution of principle. 
 What proprietor of human beings does not blufh 
 for himfelf, on feeing the celebrated General 
 Gates aflemble his numerous flaves, and, in the 
 midft of their carefles and tears of gratitude, 
 reftore them all to liberty ; and in fuch a mao- 
 ner as to prevent any fatal confequences that 
 might refult to them from thc^ fudden enjoyment 
 of fo great a benefit. 
 
 The fociety of Philadelphia,^ which may be re- 
 garded as the father of thefe holy inftitutions, has 
 lately taken more effedual mealures, both to in- 
 
 * ji fimilar focisty is lately formed in the State of 
 Conne^icut, probably not known to M, de War'ville. 
 
 '' Translator. 
 
 •f- In all the ccnjiitutions of the neiv States form- 
 ing in the <ivejiern territory, it is declared, that then 
 jhall bi neither Jla'verj nor in-vojuntary J^rvitudt, 
 
I o'4 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ftrufl the Blacks, and to form them to different 
 employments. «* The wretch," fay they, in their ad- 
 drefs to the public, " who has long^ been treated 
 as a bead of burthen, is often degraded fo far as 
 to appear of a fpecies inferior- to that of ether 
 men ; the chains which bind his body, curb like- 
 wife his intelleflual faculties, and enfeeble the 
 fecial affe6lions of his heart." 
 
 To inftruft and counfel thofe who are free, 
 and render them capable of enjoying civil liberty r 
 to excite them to induftr)' ; to fiirnifh them with 
 occupations fuitable to their age, fcx, talents, 
 and other circumftances ; and to procure to their 
 children an education fuitable to their ftation, 
 are the principal objeds of this fociety. 
 
 For this end they hive appointed four com- 
 mittees : firft, a committee of infpe(^ion, to watch 
 over the morals and general condud of the free 
 Blacks ; fecond, a committee of guardians, whofe 
 bufinefs it is to place the children with honefl 
 tradefmen and others, to acquire trades ; third, a 
 committee of education, to overfee the fchools ; 
 fourth,, a committee of employ, who find employ- 
 ment for thofe who are in a fituation to work. 
 Wliat friend of humanity does not leap with 
 joy at the view of an objeft fo pious and fub- 
 lime ? Who does not perceive it is diftited by 
 that fpirit of perfeverance, which animates meri 
 of dignity, habituated to good anions, not from 
 oftentation, but from a confcioufnefs of duty ? 
 Su:h are they who compofe thefe American foci- 
 eties. They will never abandon this g'>od work, 
 until they have carried it to its laft degree of 
 perfeftion ; that is to fay, until, by gentle and 
 equitable means, they Ihall have placed the Blacks 
 in every refpeft on a footing with the White?. 
 Yet thefe are the celeftial focieties which infa- 
 mous avarice blufhes not to calumniate. 
 
 The perfeverance with which thefe focieties 
 k&?c extended their princiffies ia their writifigs. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 165 
 
 brought forward, laft year, a debate in Congrefs, 
 on the fubje£l of procuring a revocation of that 
 article in the conftitution, which fufpends the 
 power of Congrefs for twenty years on the fub- 
 jeft of the (lave trade. 
 
 I ought to have mentioned to you, in my let- 
 ter, an eloquent addrefs to the general conven- 
 tion of 1787, from the fociety rf Pennfylvania. 
 I will cite to you the clofe of it : 
 
 "We conjure you," fay they, "by the attri- 
 butes of the Divinity, infultcd by this inhuman 
 traffic ; by the union of all the human race in 
 our common father, and by all the obligations 
 refuhing from this union ; by the fesr of the 
 juft vengeance of God in national judgments ; 
 by the certainty of the great and terrible day of 
 the diftribution of rewards and puniihnients, by 
 the effi^ncy of the prayers of good men, who 
 would infuit t!ie M.ijefty of He?.ven, if they were 
 to offer them in favciur of our country, as long 
 as the iniquity we now pradlife continues its rav- 
 ages among us; by the facred name of Chriftians ; 
 by the pleafures cf donneftic connc£lions, and the 
 anguifh of their dlffolution ; by the fufferings of 
 our American brethren, groanii^g in captivity at 
 Algiers, which Provir'ence feen-:S to have ordained 
 to awaken us to a fentiment ot the in.juftice and 
 "cruelty of which we are guilty towards the wretch- 
 ed Africans ; by the refped due to coi.fidency in 
 the principles and condud of true republicans ; 
 by our great and intenfe defire of extending hap- 
 pinefs to the millions of intelligent beings who 
 are doubtlefs one day to people this immenfe 
 continent ; finally, by all other confiderations, which 
 religion, reafon, policy, and humanity can fuggeft ; 
 we conjure the Convention of the tJnited States, 
 to make: the fuppreflion of the fiave trade a fub- 
 je£l of ferious deliberation." > 
 
 AddrelTes from all parts of the United States, 
 ilgned by the mod refpedable men, have been 
 
i66 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 prcfented to the new Congrefs. Never was a fuh- 
 je£t more warmly debated ; and, what never hap- 
 pened before in ATierica, it ^ave occafion to the 
 moft atrocious invedlives from the adverfaries of 
 humanity. You will not doubt that thefe adver- 
 faries were the deputies fro.Ti the South. I except, 
 however, the virtuous Madifon, and efpecially Mr. 
 Vining, brother of that refpedlable woman fo un- 
 juftly outraged by Mr. Chaftellux. He defended, 
 with real eloquence, the caufe of the Blacks. 
 
 I tnuft not forget to name among the advo- 
 cates of humanity, Metf. Scott, Gerry, and Boudi- 
 not. You will be aftonifhed to find among their 
 adverfaries the firft denunciator of the Cincinnati, 
 Mr. Burke ; he who unfolded, with fo much en- 
 ergy, the fatal confequences of the inequality 
 which this order would introduce among the cit- 
 izens ; and the fanne man could fupport the 
 much more horrible inequ.^lity eftablifhed between 
 the Whites and Blacks. 
 
 You will be ftill more aftonifhed to learn, that 
 he uniformly employed the language o{ inveflive. 
 This is the we?pon that the partizans of flavery 
 always ufe in America, in England, and in France. 
 
 O le of the moil ardent petitioners to Congrefs 
 in this caufe, was the refpedable Warner Mifflin. 
 His zeal was rewarded with attrocious calumnies, 
 which he always ar.iVered with mildnefs, forgive- 
 nefs, and argui'nent. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 f 
 
 0« replacing the Sugar of the Cane hf the Sugstr 
 
 of Maple. 
 
 ON this continent, my friend, fo polluted and 
 tormented with flavery. Providence has pla- 
 ced two powerful and infallible means of dcftroy- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i<^ 
 
 ing this evil. The means are, the focieties of 
 which we have been fpeaking, and the fugar-maple. 
 
 Of all vegetables containing fugar, this maple, 
 after the fugar-cane, contains the greateft quan- 
 tity. It grows naturally in the United States, 
 and may be propagated with great facility. All 
 America feems covered with it, from Canada to 
 Virginia ; it becomes more rare at the fouthward, 
 on the eaft of the mountains ; but it is found 
 in abundance in the back country. 
 
 Such is the beneficent tree which has, for a 
 long time, recompenfed the happy colonifts, whofe 
 pofition deprived them of the delicate fugar of 
 our iflands. 
 
 They have till lately contented themfelves with 
 beftowing very little labour on the manufacture, 
 only bringing it to a ftate of common coarfe 
 fugar ; but fince the Quakers have difcerned in 
 this produdlion, the means of deftroying flavery, 
 they have felt the neceffity of carrying it to 
 perfe6lion ; and fuccefs has crowned their endeavors. 
 
 You know, my friend, all the difficulties at- 
 tending the cultivation of the cane. It is a 
 tender plant ; it has many enemies, and requires 
 conftant care and labour to defend it from nu- 
 merous accidents : add to thefe, the painful efforts 
 that the preparation and manufadure cofts to the 
 wretched Africans ; and, on comparing thefe to 
 the advantages of the maple, you will be con- 
 vinced, by a new argument, that much pains 
 are often taken to commit unprofitable crimes. 
 The maple is produced by nature ; the fap to 
 be extraded, requires no preparatory labour ; it 
 runs in February and March, a feafon unfuitable 
 for other rural operations. Each tree, without 
 injury to itfelf, gives twelve or fifteen gallons, 
 which will produce at leafi: five pounds of fugar, 
 A man aided by four children, may eafily, during 
 
i58 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 four weeks running of the fap, make fifteen 
 hundred pounds of fugar.* 
 
 Advantages, like thefe, have not failed to ex- 
 cite the attention of the frisnds of humanity ; 
 fo that, hefides the focieties formed for the abo- 
 lition of iluvery, another is formed, whofe expfefs 
 objcd is to perfe£l this valuable produdlion. 
 
 Mr. Drinker f of Philadelphia, made, laft year, 
 fixty barrels of maple fugar on his eftate on 
 the Delaware ; and he has publiflied a pamphlet 
 on the btft method of proceeding in this man- 
 ufaflure. 
 
 Edward Pennington, of Philadelphia, formerly a 
 refiner in the Weft-Indies, has declared this fugar 
 equal to that of tht Iflands, in grain, color and tafte. 
 
 The cultivators in the State of New-York per- 
 ceive, in an equal degree, the advantages of this 
 production ; they have made, this year, a great 
 quantity of fugar, and brought it to great perfeftion. 
 
 Whenever there fnall form from North to South 
 A firm coalition, an ardent emulation to multiply 
 
 * M. Lanthenasy one of the mcfi enlightened defenders 
 pf the Blccks in France » has made fome calculationi 
 en this jHJJeSl, - *vchich ca-nnot he tea often repeated^ 
 Suppojtngi f(.ys hty that a family twill produce in a 
 Jeafont 1500!^. of fugar ^ 80,000 families nvill prO" 
 duce, and that njiuth 'very little trouble^ a quantity 
 equal to ixihat is exported from St. Domingo in the 
 mojl plentiful year, avhirh is reckoned at one hundred 
 and t'voenty tnillio'.is. This fuppofes tivenfj millions of 
 trees y renderijtg five pounds each, ejihnating the acre of 
 the United States qt '3)'^y\']6 fquare feet of France i 
 and fuppojiug tie t^ees planted at feven feet di fiance i 
 about 30,000 acres appropriated to this ufe, tAtould fujiee^ 
 for the ahoue quantity of fugar. 
 
 f Some of the following faffs took place in 1789 
 and 1790, as my friends have ^written me from Phi- 
 ladelphia. I thought proper to infer t them in this Istttr, 
 $0 nuhich they belong* 
 
 i 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i6^ 
 
 the produce of this divine tree, and efpecially 
 when it fliail be deemed an impiety to deftroy 
 it,* not only America may fupply herfelf, but Ihe 
 may fill the markets of Europe with a fugar, the 
 low price of which will ruin the fale of that of 
 the iflands — a produce wafhed with the tears and 
 the blood of flaves. 
 
 What an aftonifhing efFeft it would produce, 
 to naturalize this tree through all Europe ! In 
 France we might plant them at twenty feet dif- 
 tance, in a kind of orchard, which would at the 
 fame time produce pafture, fruits, and other veg- 
 etables. In this manner an acre would contain 
 340 trees, which, even when young, would pro- 
 duce three pounds of fugar a year. This would 
 give 42oife the acre, which, at three pence fterjing 
 the pound, and dedudling one half for the Libour, 
 would yield annually 52I. 6s. fterling, clear profit ; 
 befides other produdlions, which thefe trees would 
 not impede. This calculation might be reafon- 
 ,ably carried much higher; but I chofe to keep 
 it as low as poffible.f 
 
 * ^ farmer has publijhed, that no hfs than thre$ 
 millions of the maple-trees are dejirtyed annually ix 
 clearing the lands in the ftngle State of Neiv-Tork, 
 It is certainly nuarthy the care of i<very Legijlature in 
 the Uniony to prevent the defiruSlion cf Jo ujeful a 
 tree, mohich feems to have been planted by the hand 
 of Heaver* for the conflation of man. , 
 
 \ The author ought to have carried the idea far' 
 ther, The fugar maple for fuel is equal to the befi 
 •ak ; for cabinet vjorky and many fimilar ufes, it is 
 fuperior to moji of the fpecies of nuood ufed in Europe ; 
 as a tree of ornament and pleafure, it is at leaf equal 
 to the ehn or poplar. How many millions of young 
 trees t fo^ the above ufeSy are planted every year in all 
 parts of Europe, to renew and perpetuate the fore/Is, 
 th4 public <walksj the public and private gardens and 
 parks, f border the great r^iads, ^c / for all theft 
 P 
 
170 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 
 
 Thus we (hould obtain a profitable produc* 
 tion ia Europe, and diminifli fo many ftrokes of 
 the whip, which our luxury draws upon the 
 Blacks. Why is it, that in our capital, where 
 the delicacy of fentiment is fometimes equal to 
 that of fenfation, no focieties are formed, whofe 
 obje<5l fliould be to fweeten their coffee with a 
 fugar not embittered by the idea of the excelfive 
 tears, cruelties, and crimes, without which thefe 
 produdlions have not been hitherto procured ? — 
 an idea which caniiot fail to prefent irfelf to the 
 imagination of every humane and enlightened 
 man. Our devotees, our ignorant and inhurrjan 
 priefts, who never fail to be great lovers of cof- 
 fee and fugar, would, by tliefe means, be faved 
 from the horrible part which they take in the 
 moft enornsous crime on which the fun ever- 
 ihone. In confuming thefe articles, do they not 
 encourage thofe whofe guilt is more diredl in the 
 operation of producing them ! And yet, with 
 what coldnefs, with what culpable indift'erence, 
 do thefe pious men look upon o«r Society of the 
 Friends of the Blacks ! 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 On a Plan for the Re-emigration ef the Blacks of 
 the United States, to Africa. 
 
 I HAVE already, my friend, given you a (ketch 
 of the ideas of Dr. Thornton on this fub- 
 jeft. This ardent friend of the Blacks is perfua- 
 dcd, that we cannot hope to fee a fin cere union 
 
 purpojes the fugar maple might be planted, and the 
 juice to he drawn from it might be reckoned a clear 
 proft to the luorld. The experiment of M. Noaillet, 
 in his garden at St. Germains, proves that this Amtf" 
 h'£tt tru wftuld fuQCMtd <w$ll in Europe. 
 
 TRAIfSLATOit. 
 
NEW TRxWELS IN AMERICA. 171 
 
 between them and the Whites, as long as they 
 differ fo much in colour, and in their rights as 
 citizens. He attributes to no other cauf^, the 
 apathy perceivable in many Blacks, even in Maf- 
 fachufetts, where they are free. Deprived of the 
 hope of eleding. or being elefted reprefejitatives, 
 or of rifing to any places of honor and truft, 
 the Negroes feem condemned to drag out their 
 davs in a ftate of fervility, or to languiih in (hops 
 of'jetail. The Whites reproach them with a 
 want of cleanlinefs, indolence, and inattention. 
 But how 'can they be induftrious and aftive, 
 while an infurmountible barrier fcparates them 
 from other citizens ? , . , /. 
 
 Even on admitting them to all the rights of 
 citizens, I know not whether it would be pofii- 
 ble to eifed a hfting and fincere ujiion ;. we are 
 fo ftronoly inclined to love our likenefs, that 
 there would be unceafing fufpicions, jealoufies, 
 and partialities, between tlie Whites and Blacks. 
 We muft then recur to tl)€ projcd of Mr. Tborn- 
 
 torn a projed firft imagined by that great apoftle 
 
 of philanthropy, Dr. Fothergill ! a piojeft 
 
 executed by the Society at London, or rather 
 
 by the beneficent Gtenville Sharp ! a pro- 
 
 Uet for leftoring the Negroes to their country, 
 to eftablifh them there,^ and encourage them 
 in the cultivation of coffee, fugar, cotton, &c. 
 to carrv on maniifaaure, and to open a com- 
 merce with Europe. Mr. Thornton has cccupied 
 himfelf with this confoling idea. He propofed 
 himfelf to be the condudor of the American Ne- 
 groes who lliould repair ta Africa. He propofed 
 to unite them to the new colony at Sierra-Leona. 
 He had fent, at his own expence, into Africa, a 
 weU-inftru£led man, v/ho had fpent feveral years 
 in obferving the produdions of the country, the 
 manufadures moft fuitable to it, the place moft 
 convenient, and the meafures ncceffary to be 
 ^fiken to fecure the colony from infults, and every 
 
172 KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 thing was prepared. He had comiTiUnicated his 
 plan to fome Members of the Legi.fiature cf Maf- 
 fachqfetts, who did not at firft relilh it. They 
 liked better to give lands to their Negroes, and 
 encourage them in the cultivation. But, fays the 
 Doftor, what can they do with their land, un- 
 accuftomed to war, and furrounded by favages ? 
 Suppofing them to fucceed, will you admit their 
 reprefentatives to fit in your AfTemblics, to pre- 
 fide over you ?— No. Reftore them then to their 
 native cour»try. 
 
 The Dodtor was perfuaded, that when his de- 
 sign fhould be known, thoufands (jf the Negroes 
 would follow him. He had remarked, as well as 
 I, the ii juflice of reproaching . them with the 
 •fpirit of idlenefs. If they are lazy, fays he, why 
 fo much expence to go arid fleal them from their 
 counrry for the fake of rheir labour ? • . 
 
 His reafoning begins to convince men of re- 
 flexion, and his plan gives a folution to the 
 problem of Mr. Jefferfon. — See Notes on Firginia. 
 
 The State of Msllichufetts has fince received 
 a reque/^ from the Negroes, for the execution of 
 the proje<5l. They have promifed to give aid to 
 it, as foon as they fr.all be aflured of a fituation 
 in Africa proper for a good eftablifhment : they 
 have even promifed to furnilh veffels, inftruments, 
 provifions, &c. 
 
 What advantage would refult to Africa, to 
 Europe, and even to America, from the execution 
 of this plan ! For the Blacks of Africa would 
 gradually civilize by the afliftance of thofe from 
 America; and the Whites, whom they ought to 
 execrate, would never mingle with them. By this 
 civilization, Europe would open a vaft market to 
 her manufadlures, and obtain, at a cheap rate, 
 and without the effufion of blood, thofe produc- 
 tions which coft her at the illands fo much 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 173 
 
 money and fo many crimes. God grant that this 
 idea may foon be realized I* 
 
 A Society is formed in England, whofe objc^ 
 is to follow the eftablilhment of Sierra-Leona, 
 and open a trade there for the produftions of the 
 country. This fettlement is on land belonging to 
 the Englidi, and dependent on the Engl iih Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Another fociety is formed, whofe objedl is partly 
 the fame, but who wifli to render this eftablifh- 
 ment independent of every European Government. 
 They have lately publiQied their plan, under the 
 following title : Plan of a free c§mmurAtj on the 
 Qoaf of JfricMy formed under the protect ion of Great 
 Britain y but entirely independent of all European Govern^ 
 ment and La-ivs ; <with an in'vitation, tinder certain 
 conditions, to thofe nxjho may dejtre t» partake of the 
 md'vantages of this undertaking. 
 
 In this plan, of which every friend to humanity 
 muft wifh the fuccefs, it is declared, that the 
 Society is founded on the principle of univerfal 
 philanthropy, and not fimply for the neceffities 
 of commerce :— advantages too much prized ; as 
 if the happinefs of all the human race confifted 
 in the acquifition of wealth. 
 
 L E T T E R XXV, 
 
 On Philadelphia, its Buildings, Police, l^c, 
 
 N confidering the vices which tarnifti Old Eu- 
 rop«, and the miid fraternity which unites the 
 
 * TV percein)e the ad'vantages, read the njcork in- 
 titled L'Amiral refute par lui-meme ; and fee the 
 efforts made in England, to ejiablijh coUnies in Africa, 
 and to fiviliz$ the Blacks. 
 P 2 
 
 I 
 
1 74 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Quakerf, Voltaire fometimes flew off in imagina- 
 tion beyond the feas, and longed to go and finifh 
 his days in the City of Brothers. What would 
 he have faid, had he been able to have realized 
 his dream, and to have been a witnefs of the 
 peace which reigns in this town ? I am wrong : 
 Voltaire would have haflened to return to Europe : 
 he burned with the love of glory ; he lived upon 
 incenfe, and he would have received but little 
 here. The gravity of the Quakers would have 
 appeared to him a gloomy pedantry : he would 
 have yawned in their aflemblies, and been morti- 
 fied to fee his epigrams pafs without applaufe ; 
 he would have fighed for the fparkling wit pf 
 his amiable fops of Paris. 
 
 Philadelphia may be confidered as the metrop- 
 olis of the United States. It is certainly the 
 fineft town, and beft built ; it is the mod weal- 
 thy, though not the moft luxurious. You find 
 here more men ot information, more political and 
 literary knowledge, and more learned focieties. 
 Many towns in America are more ancient ; but 
 Philadelphia has forpafled her elders. 
 
 The Swedes were firft eftabliihed on the fpot 
 where this town has been fince built. The Swe- 
 difh church on the banks of the Delaware is more than 
 one hundred years old. It is the oldeft church 
 in the town, at prefent under the care of Dr. 
 Collins, a Swedifh minifter of great learning and 
 merit. He writes very well in Englifli, and has 
 compofed many works in that language ; among 
 which is the Foreign SpeSlator, in which he unfolds 
 the foundeft principles of republican policy. He 
 is a fervent apoftle of liberty. 
 
 Penn brought into his new colony a govern- 
 ment truly fraternal. Brothers who live together 
 have no need of foldiers, nor forts, nor police, 
 nor that forinidable apparatus which makes of 
 European towns garrifons of war. 
 
 At ten o'clock in the evening all is tranquil 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 175 
 
 in the ftreets ; the profound filence which rf igns 
 there, is only interrupted by the voice of the 
 watchmen, who are in fmall numbers, and who 
 form the only patrole. The Greets are lighted 
 by lamps, placed like thofe of London. 
 
 On the fide of the ftreets are footways of brick, 
 and gutters conftruded of brick or wood. Strong 
 polls are placed to prevent carriages from pafling 
 on the footways. All the ftreets are furnifliea 
 with public pumps, in great numbers. At the 
 door of each houfe are placed two benches, 
 where the family fit at evening to take the frefh 
 air, and amufe themfelves in looking at the paf- 
 fcngers. It is certainly a bad cuftom, as the 
 evening air is unhealthful, and the exercife is not 
 fufficient to corred this evil, for they never walk 
 here : they fupply the want of walking, by riding 
 out into the country. They have few coaches at 
 Philadelphia. You fee many handfome waggons, 
 which are ufed to carry the family into the 
 country ; they are a kind of long carriage, light, 
 and open, and would contain twelve perfons. 
 They have many chairs and fulkeys, open on 
 all (ides ; the former may carry two perfons, the 
 latter only one. 
 
 The horfes ufed in thefe carriages are neither 
 handfome nor ftrong ; but they travel very well. 
 I have not yet met with thofe fine horfes of 
 which M. de Crevecceur fpeaks, and which I 
 thought were equal to the enormous brted of 
 Flanders. I fufped the Americans of not taking 
 fufficient care of their horfes, and of nourifhing 
 them ill ; they give them no ftraw in the ftable : 
 on returning from long and fatiguing courfes, 
 they are ferit to pafture. 
 
 Philadelphia is built 011 a regular plan ; Jong 
 and large ftreets ciofs each other at right angles i 
 this regularity, which is 2 real ornament, is at 
 firft embarrafling to a ftranger ; he has i uch 
 difficulty in finding himfelf, efpecially as the 
 
176 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ftreets are not infcribed, and the doors not num- 
 bered. It is ftrange that the Quakers, who are 
 £o fond of order, have not adopted thefe two 
 conveniences ; that they, have not borrowed them 
 from the Englifh, of whom they have borrowed 
 fo many things. This double defeft is a torment 
 to ftrangers. The (hops, which adorn the prin* 
 cipal ftreets, are remarkable for their neatnefs. 
 
 The State Houfe, where the Legiflature aflem- 
 bles, is an handfome building : by its fide they 
 are building a magnificent houfe of jiiftice. 
 
 Mr. Raynal has exaggerated every thing ; the 
 buildings, the library, the ftreets : he fpeaks of 
 ftreets loo feet wide ; there is none of this width, 
 except Market-ftreet ; they are generally from 53 
 to 60 feet wide. He fpeaks of wharves of 20a 
 feet : there is none fuch here ; the wharves in 
 general are fmall and niggardly. He fays they 
 have every where followed the plan laid down by 
 Mr. Penn in building their houfes. They have 
 violated it in building Water-ftreet, where he 
 bad proje^ed elegant wharves. Raynal fpeaks 
 likewlfe of houfes covered with flate, and of mar- 
 ble monuments in the churches, and in the halls 
 of the State Houfe. I have feen nothing of all 
 this. 
 
 Behind the State Houfe is a public garden ; 
 it is the only one that exifts in Philadelphia. 
 It is not large ; but it is agreeable, and one 
 may breathe in it. It is compcfed of a number 
 of verdant fquares, interfered by alleys. 
 
 All the fpace from Front-ftreet on the Dela- 
 ware to Front-ftreet on the Skuylkill, is ^already 
 diftributed into fquares for ftreets and houfes : 
 they build here, but not fo brifkly as at New^ 
 York. The inhabitants wifli for the aggrandize- 
 ment of their city : they are wrong; PhiJadelphia 
 Is already too confiderable. When towns acquire 
 this degree of population, y©u muft have hofpit- 
 als, prifons, foldiers, police^ fpics, and all the 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 177 
 
 fweeping train of luxury ; that luxury which Penn 
 wiflied to avoid. It already appears : they have 
 carpets, elegant carpets ; it is a favourite tafte 
 with the Americans; they receive it from the 
 interefted avarice of their old mafters, the Englifh. 
 
 A carpet in funnmer is an abfurdity ; yet they 
 fpread them in this feafon, and from vanity : 
 this vanity excufes itfelf *by faying that the car- 
 pet is an ornament ; that is to fay, they facrifice 
 reafon and utility to fhow. 
 
 ^ The Quakers have likewife carpets ; but the 
 rigorous ones blasriC this praftice. They men- 
 tioned to me an inftance of a Quaker from 
 Carolina, who, going to dine with one cf the 
 moft opulent at Philadelphia, was offended at 
 finding the pafiage from the jor to the flaircafe 
 covered with a carpet, and wou-'.d not enter the 
 houfc ; he faid that he never dined in a houfe 
 where there was luxury ; and that it was better 
 to clothe the poor, than to clothe the earth. 
 
 If this man jufily ccnfured the prodigality cf 
 carpets, how much more feverely ought he to 
 cenfure the women of Philadelphia ? I fpesk not 
 here of the Quaker v/omen ; I refer my obferva- 
 tions on them to the chapter which I referve 
 for that fociety. But the women of the other 
 fefts wear hats and caps almoft as varied as thofe 
 of Paris. They beflovv immenfe expences on their 
 toilet and head-drefs, r.nd difplay pretenfions too 
 afFefted to be pleafmg. 
 
 It is a great misfortune that, in republics, 
 women fhould facrifice fq much tinne to trifles '5 
 and that men fhould likewife hold this tafte in 
 fome eftimation. 
 
 A very ingenious woman in this town is re- 
 proached with having contributed more than all 
 others t« introduce this tafle for luxury. I really 
 regret to fee her hufband, who appears to be 
 well informed, and of an amiable charader, affed, 
 in his buildings and furniture, a pomp which 
 
1 78 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ought for ever to have been a ftranger to PhH- 
 adelphia ; and why? To draw around him the 
 gaudy prigs and parafites of Europe. And what 
 docs he gain by it? Jealoufy ; the reproach of his 
 fellow-citizens, and the ridicule of ftrangers. When 
 a man enjoys pecuniary advantages, and at the 
 fame time pofTefles genius, knowledge, reflexion, 
 and the love of doing good, how eafy it is to 
 make himfelf beloved and efteemed, by employing 
 his fortune, and perhaps increafing It, in enter- 
 prifes ufeful to the public ! 
 
 Notwithftanding the fatal efFefts that might be 
 cxpedled here from luxury, we may fay with truth, 
 that there is no town where morals are more 
 refpedled. Adultery is not known here : there is 
 no inllance of a wife of any ftdl, who has failed 
 in her duty. 
 
 This, I am told, is owing to what may be called 
 the civil ilr.te of women. They marry without 
 dower; they bring to thtir huibmds only the 
 furniture of their houfes ; and they wait the death 
 of their pirerits, before they come to the pof- 
 ftfilon of their property. 
 
 I have been informed, however, of a Mrs. Liv- 
 ingfton, daughter of Doft. Shippen, who lives 
 feparated from her hufiDind. This feparation was 
 made by mutual agreement. This young woman 
 married Mr. Livingfton only in obedience to the 
 father; obedience of this Kind is very rare ia 
 this country. The father promifed to take her 
 again, if fhe (hould not be pleafed with her huf- 
 band : fhe was not pleafed with him ; the father 
 received her, and ftiQ lives at prefent virtuous 
 and refped^ed. 
 
 You would not have fo good an idea of the 
 morals of this country, if you were to read a 
 fatire lately publilhed, intitled T^c -Times. The 
 author is Mr. Markoe. He difcovers a remarka- 
 ble talent for poetry ; a talent fiinilar to that of 
 •ur ftttyrift Guibert, who lately died in an hof- 
 
NEW TR AVELS IN AMERI C A. 1 7^ 
 
 pital ; but, like him, he paints witU too high 
 colours ; and, like all poets, he often fubftitutes 
 fable for truth. Mr. Markoe infpires the lefs 
 confidence, as he diflionors his writings by an 
 intemperate life. A iatyrill, to be believed, and 
 to be ufeful, ought to exhibit the moft unexcep- 
 tionable morals. 
 
 The celebrated Paine, author of Common Senfe, 
 fo much venerated by the French, is moft cruelly 
 treated in this^fitire. This is not the firft that 
 has been publifhed againft him ; 1 have feen 
 another, very fevere, by an inhabitant of North- 
 Carolina. 
 
 Mr. Paine has enjoyed great fuccefs here; it is 
 not therefore furprifing:, that fatires (hould be 
 written againft him. Whatever may be the caufe 
 of it, it cannot be denied, that his writings had 
 a great efFeft on the American revolution ; and 
 this circumftance ought to place him in the rank 
 of the benefadors of America. 
 
 I have feen another author at Philadelphia, 
 who has imagination and wit ; it is Mr. Craw- 
 ford. He has publiftied feveral poems ; as like- 
 wife obfervatiotis on the (lavery of the Negroes, 
 full of good fenfe and humanity. He has pub- 
 lifhed an addrefs of the famous George Fox to 
 the Jews. Mr. Crawford has a tun*, for myftlcal 
 ideas ; this, aided by great application to ftudy, 
 and an inflammable imagination, has led him to 
 turns of infanity. He was formerly a deift, and 
 has been converted by the celebrated Do£l. Jebb. 
 
 There is no town on the continent where there 
 is fo much printing done as at Philadelphia. 
 Gazettes and book-ftores are numerous in the 
 town, and paper-mills in the State. 
 
 Among the printers and bookfellers of this 
 town, I remarked Mr. Carey, an Irifh printer, 
 wh©, for having publifhed,' in his journal of 
 The Volunteers of Ireland, an article which wounded 
 fome people in place, particularly Mr. Fofter 
 
J So NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 was perfecuted, and obliged to fly to America. 
 Being deftitute of money, M. de la Fayette gavt 
 him afliftance, and enabled him to eftablifh a 
 prefs, on condition that this a6l of generofity 
 fhould remain a fecret. Mr. Carey kept his 
 word : but, having a public quarrel two years 
 afterwaf's with another printer, Mr. Ofwald, who 
 quarrels with all the world, and who called in 
 queftion the origin of Mr. Carey's fortune, he 
 was obliged to reveal the fecret. ' 
 
 This printer, who unites great induftry with 
 great informMtion, publifhes a monthly colleftion, 
 called The American Mufeum, which is equal to 
 the bcft periodical publication in Europe. It 
 contains every thing the moft important that 
 America produces in the arts, in the fciences, 
 and in politics. The part which concerns agri- 
 culture, is attended to with great care. 
 
 There are at prefent very few French mer- 
 chants at Philadelphia. The failure of thofe who 
 firft came, difcouraged others, and has put the 
 Americans on their guard. I have endeavoured 
 to difcover the capfe of thefe failures ; and have 
 found that the greater part of thefe French mer- 
 chants had either begun with little property, or 
 had made imprudent purchafes, or given them- 
 felves up to extravagant expences. Moft of them 
 were ignorant of the language, cuftoms, and 
 laws of the country ; moft of them were feduced 
 by the high price which they received for their 
 goods, in paper money : imagining that this 
 paper would foon rife to par, they amafled as 
 much as pofiible of ir, calculating on enormous 
 profits ; and thus fed the hopes of their corref- 
 pondents in Europe. Thefe hopes were difap- 
 pointed. Some knowledge of bufinefs, of men, 
 of politics, of revolutions, and of the country, 
 would have taught them, that many years muft 
 clapfe before the public dvbt could be paid. It 
 became neccflary to break the illufion, to fell 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 8 1 
 
 this paper at a lofs, in, order to naeet their en- 
 gagements. But they had fet up their equipages ; 
 rhey were in the habit of great expences, which 
 they thought it neceffary to continue for fear of 
 !o(ing their credit, for they meafured Philadel- 
 jihia oa the fcale of Paris. They foolilhly im- 
 agined, that r;;jronahle and enlightened men 
 would fufFer themfelves, like fiayes, to be duped 
 by the glitter, of parxde ; their profits ceafed, 
 their expences 'multiplied, and the moment of bank- 
 ruptcy arrived : they muft juftify thennfelves in 
 the eyes of their correfpondeats, and of France : 
 they accufcd the Americans of difhonefty, of per- 
 fidy, and of rafcality. Thefe calumniators ought 
 to have accufed their own ignorance, their folly, 
 and their extravagant luxury. 
 
 So Tie Frenr.hmen paraded themfelves here pub- 
 licly witti their mlftrelTes, who difplayed thofe 
 light and wanton airs which they had pradifed 
 at Paris.* You may judge of the offence which 
 this indecent foedach would give in a country 
 where women are fo referved, and where the 
 manners are fo pure. Contempt was the confe- 
 quence ; want of credit followed the contempt ; 
 and what is a merchant v.'ithout credit? 
 
 Since the peace, the Quakers have returned to 
 their commerce with great a£tivity. The capitals 
 which diffid- nee had for a long time locked up 
 in their coiFers, are now drawn out to give a 
 fprir.g - to induftry, and encourage commercial 
 ("peculations. The Delaware fees floating the flags 
 of all nations; and entcrprifes are there farmed 
 for all parts of the world. Manufadaries are 
 
 • One of thefe gentlemen had the impudenee io pre- 
 Cent in fo7ne of the be ft families his miftrefsy not as 
 his ««;//>, but as his partner in trade. This nxjovtan 
 "jjcs aft erivards publicly kept by the <^r ?"' -C-.r';:/- ^^^ 
 had not rejped encugh for the morals 
 ^0 induce him t9 ioncccu his turpitude,, 
 
 a. 
 
1 82 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 rifing in the town and in the country ; and 16- 
 dultry avd emulation iiicreafe with great rapidity. 
 Notwithftanding the aftonilhing growth of Balti- 
 more which has drawn part of the commerce 
 from Philadelphia, yet the energy of the ancient 
 capitals of this town, the univer^l eftimation in 
 which the Quaker merchants are held, and the 
 augmentation of agriculture and population, fup- 
 ply this deficiency. 
 
 You will now be able to judge of the caufes 
 of the profperity of this town. Its fituation on 
 a river navigable for the grcateft iliips, renders 
 it one of the principal places of foreign cotn- 
 merce, and at the fame time the grent magazine 
 of all the produftioBS of the fertile lands of 
 Pennfvlvania, and of thofe of fosne of the neigh- 
 bouring States. The vaft rivers, which by their 
 numerous branches communicate to all parts of 
 the State, give a value to the lands, and attract 
 inhabitants. The clinoatp, lefs cold than that of 
 the Nf)rthern States, and kfs warm thnn that of 
 the South, forms another very confiJerable at- 
 traiP'on. 
 
 But I firm!y believe that it is not fimply to 
 tbofd phylical advantages th .t Pcnnfylvania owes 
 her pro5per!ty. It is to the manners of the; in- 
 habitints; it is to the univerfd tolerance which 
 reigned there from the beginning ; it is to the 
 fimp'ifity, economy, indiillry, and perfcverance of 
 the Quak'.rs, which, centering in two points, 
 agriculture and commerce, have carried them to 
 a greater perfedion than they have attained 
 among other fe6ls. The cabin of a fimple cul- 
 tivator gives birth to more children thp.n a gilded 
 palace ; -^nd lefs of them perifa in infancy. 
 
 And fince the table of population of a country 
 appears to you always the mofl: cxadl raeafure of 
 its profperity, compare, at four different epochs, 
 the pumbtr of inhabitants paying capitation in 
 Pennfylvania. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 183 
 
 1760 I 1770 I 1779 I 1786 
 31,667 I 39'7^5 I 4-5'6B3 I 60,925 
 
 You fee that population has more than doubled 
 in twenty-five years, not'.vithi>:;ndif!g the horrible 
 depopulation cf a war of eight years. Obferve 
 in this ftating, that the Blicks are not included, 
 which form about one-fifth of the population of 
 the State. Obferve, that by the calculntion of the 
 general convention in 1787, the number of Whites 
 in this Sr.-;te wjs carried to 360,000 ; which fup- 
 pofes • very nearly a wife and four children for 
 every taxable head. 
 
 Tlie puljlic fpirit which the Qur.kers manifeft 
 in every thing, has given rife to feveral ufeful 
 inilitutions in Philadeljihia, which I have not yet 
 mentioned. 0.,c of theiri is the Difpenjary^ which 
 diftrlhutes medicines gratis to the ilck who are 
 not in a fituation to purchafe them. 
 
 Sie how eafy and cheap it js to do good. Let 
 thofe men blufli, then, who dilSpj|te their fortunes 
 in luxury and in idlenefs ! One thoufand fix hun- 
 dred and forty-feven perfyns were treated by this 
 cftablifhment during the year '^'^'^'j- By calcula- 
 tion this treat»-nent coft to the eftablifhment five 
 n^illings and nine pence for each patient. Thus, 
 for two huiidred pounds fterling, fixtecn hundred 
 and forty-feven perfons sre rendered happy. 
 
 To this pubHc fpirit, fa in2:enious in varying 
 its benefit*:, is owing the Ber.e-vdent Injiilutiou, 
 whofe objefl it is to fuccour, in their cwn houf.r-, 
 poor women in childbed. 
 
 Another Society has for its objed to alleviate 
 the fituation cf prifoners. 
 
 The Philadelphians confine not their attention 
 to their brethren ; they extend it to Grangers ; 
 they have formed a Society for the aififtance of 
 CT^.igrants who arrive from Germany. A fimilar 
 one is foraged at New-York, called the Hibernian 
 §ociety^ fei' the fuccour ef emigrants from Jre- 
 
1 84 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 and. Thefe focieties inforna themfelves, on tlic 
 arrival of a fliip, of the fituation of the emi- 
 grants, rnd procure them immediate eirploy. 
 
 Here is a company for infurance againfi fire. 
 The houfes are conftrudled of . wood and brick, 
 and confequently expofed to the ravages of fire. 
 The infurers are the infured, a method which 
 prevents the abufss to which your company at 
 Paris is expofed. 
 
 In the midfl of aU thefe things which exclfe - 
 my admiration and my tender regr^rd, one trait 
 cf injyrtice givet5 me much pain, becaufj' it kerns 
 to t?rnifh the glory of Pennfylvania. Penn left 
 to his family an immenfe property here. In the 
 lafV war his defcendants took part with the E i- 
 gliili government, and retired to Euglnnd. Tiie 
 legillatiire of Pennfylvrnia palTed a law, taking 
 iVcm them all their lands snd their rents, and 
 voted to giv^ them for the whole, one hundred 
 and fifty thoufand ji'junds. This Aim wrs to 
 hav3 been ])aid in paper-money, ^TMicll rulTtred 
 the:T a confiderable depreciation. The firil term 
 only has been paid. 
 
 It cannot be denied, that there was a great 
 iiijuflice in the eftimation — in the mode of psy- 
 ment— and in the delay. The State of Pennfyl- 
 vania has too much refpeft for property, and too 
 much attachment to juftice, not to repair its ^^ 
 wrongs one day to the family of Pcnn, which *fl| 
 fubfifts at prefent only at the expence of the J 
 
 finglifli nation. 
 
 LETTER XXVr. 
 Prtgrefs of Cultivation in Pennfyl'vania. 
 
 HITHERTO, my friend, we have fpoken only 
 of farms in good culture, and i •• the neigh- 
 bourhood of towns. We muft now penetrate far- 
 tiier^ d^fcend into tho roidft of the yildcrnefsv 
 
JTEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 185 
 
 and obferve the man, detached from fociety, with 
 his axe in his hand, felling the venerable oak, 
 that had been refpedled by the favage, and fup- 
 plying its place by the humble fpire of corn* 
 We muft follow this man in his progrefs, and 
 obferve the changes that his cabin undergoes* 
 when it beconnes the centre of twenty other cabins 
 which rife fuccelfively round it. An American 
 farmer has communicated to me the principal 
 traits of the rural pifture which I am going to 
 lay before you. The firll planter,* or he who 
 begins a fettlement in the v/oods, is generally a 
 man who has loft his fortune and his credit in 
 the cultivated part of the State. He emigrates in 
 the month of April. His firft work is to build 
 a little cabin for himfelf and fannily j the roof is 
 of rough hewn wood, the floor of earth. It is 
 lighted by the door, or fometimes by a little 
 window with oiled paper. A more wretched 
 building adjoining it gives llielter to a cow and 
 two miferable horfes. This done, he attacks the . 
 trees that furround his cabin. To extirpate them 
 by the root would require too much labour. 
 He contents himfelf by cutting them at two or 
 three feet from the ground. The fpace thus 
 cleared is then plowed, and planted with Indian 
 corn. The foil, being new, requires little cul- 
 ture; in the month of Odober it yields a harveft 
 
 * As the tranfiator recollecis to hufve feen this fan- 
 ciful dsfcription many times publijhed in America^ he 
 nvas lejs anxious in re- tray? fating it, to fatter the 
 original author y hy retailing all his ideas, than he nuat 
 to fa-ve the credit of M, de War'ville, by abridging 
 the piece. Credulity is indeed a lefs fault in a trau- 
 tller than prejudice ; but it ought, hcwe^uer, to be cor- 
 re^ed. Accounts like this put one in mind of Dr. 
 Franklin'' s romance of Mary Baker, fo religioufy be- 
 lieved and copied by the Abbe Raynalj in his Hi/lorji 
 (f the ' Tivff Indies. 
 
1 86 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 of forty or fifty bufliels the acre. Even from the 
 month of September, this corn furnifnes a plen- 
 tiful and agreeable nourifhment to his family. 
 Hunting and fifhing, with a little grain, fuffice, 
 during the winter, for the fubfiftence of his fam- 
 ily ; while the cow and horfes of our planter 
 feed on the poor wild grafs, or the buds of trees. 
 During the firft year he fuffers much from cold 
 and hunger ; but he endures it without repining. 
 Being near the favages, he adopts their manner?; 
 his fatigue is violent, but it is fufpended by long 
 intervals of repofe : his pleafures confift in fish- 
 ing and hunting ; he loves fpirituous liquors ; he 
 eats, drinks, and fleeps in the filth of his little 
 cabin. 
 
 Thus roll away the firfl three years of our 
 planter in lazinefs, independence, the variation of 
 pleafure, and of labour. But population augments 
 in his neighbourhood, and then his troubles be- 
 gin. His cattle could before run at large ; but 
 now his neighbours force him to retain them 
 within his little farm. Formerly the wild beafts 
 gave fubfiftence to his family ; they now fly a 
 country which begins to be peopled by men, and 
 confequently by enemies. An increafing fociety 
 brings regulations, taxes, and the parade of laws ; 
 and nothing is fo terrible to our independent 
 planter as all thefe fhackles. He will not con- 
 knt to facrifice a fingle natural right for all the 
 benefits of government ; he abandons then his 
 little eftablifhment, and goes to feck a fecond 
 retreat in the wildernefs, where he can reeom- 
 tnence his labours, and prepare a farm for cul- 
 tivation. Such are the charms of independence, 
 that many men have begun the clearing of farms 
 four times in different parts of this State. 
 
 It has been remarked, that the preaching of 
 the Gofpel always drives off men of this clafs. 
 And it is not furprifing if we confider how much 
 its precepts ^re oppofed to the licentioufncfs pf 
 
KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. iZjf 
 
 their manner of life. But the labour beftowed bj 
 the firft planter gives fome value to the 'farnn, 
 which now comes to be occupied by a nnan of 
 the fecond clafs of planters. He begins by add- 
 ing to his cabin an houfe. A faw mill in the 
 neighbouring fettlement furnifhes him with boards. 
 His houfc is covered with fhingles, and is two 
 ftories high. He makes a little meadow, plants 
 an orchard of two or three hundred apple-trees. 
 His ftable is enlarged ; he builds a fpacious bara 
 of wood, and covers it with ryc-ftraw. Inftead 
 of planting only Indian corn, he cultivates wheat 
 and rye ; the lafl' is deftined to make whifky. 
 But this planter manages ill ; his fields are badly 
 plowed, never manured, and give but foiall crops* 
 His cattle break through his fences, deftroy his 
 crops, and often cut off the hopes of the year. 
 His horfes are ill fed, and feeble ; his cattle often 
 die with hunger in the Spring ; his houfe and 
 his farm give equal proofs of the want of induf- 
 try ; the glafs of his windows has given place 
 to old hats and rags. This man is fond of com- 
 pany; he drinks to excefs ; pafles much of his 
 time in difputing about politics. Thus he con- 
 trails debts, and is forced, after fome years, to. 
 fell his plantation to a planter of the third and 
 laft clafs. 
 
 This is ordinarily a man of property, and of 
 a cultivated mind. His firft objcift is to convert 
 into meadow all his land, on which he can con- 
 du£l water. He then builds a barn of ftone, 
 fometimes an hundred feet in length, and forty 
 in breadth. This defends his cattle from cold, 
 aild they eat lefs when kept warm, than when 
 txpofed to the froft. To fpare the confunaption 
 of fuel, he makes ufe of economical ftoves, and 
 by this he faves immenfe labour in cutting and 
 carting wood. He multiplies the obje<fls of cul- 
 ture ; befides corn, wheat, and rye, he cultivates oat«- 
 k bu^k-wheat. Near his houfe he forms a gardca 
 
iS8 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 
 
 of one or two acres, which gives him quantitief 
 of Abbage, potatoes, and turnips. Near the 
 fpring which furnifhes him with water, he builds 
 a dairy-houfe. He augments the number, and 
 improves the quality of his fruit-trees. His fons 
 are always at work by his fide ; his wife and 
 daughter quit their wheels for the labour of the 
 harveft. The laft objeft of induftry is to build 
 an houfe for his own ufe. This building is gen- 
 erally of ftone ; it is vaft, well diflributed, and 
 well furnifhed. His horfes and cattle, by their 
 good appearance, their ftrength, and fecundity,- 
 prove that they are well fed; and well- attended. 
 His table abounds with delicate and various 
 diflies. His kitchen flows with milk and honey. 
 The ordinary drink of his family, is beer, cyder; 
 and wine ; his wife and daughters manufadui-e 
 their cloathing. In proportion as he grows rich; 
 he perceives the value of the protedion of the 
 laws ; he pays his taxes with punftuality ;- he con- 
 tributes to the fupport of churches and fchools> 
 as the only means of infuring order and tranquillity. 
 
 Two-thirds of the farmers of Pennfylvania be- 
 long to this third clafs. .It is to them that the 
 State owes its ancient reputation and importance. 
 If they have lefs of cunning than their neigh- 
 bours of the South, who cultivate their lands by 
 Haves, they have more of the republican virtues. 
 It was from their farms that the American and 
 French armies were principally fupplied during 
 the laft war; it was from their produce that 
 came thofe millions of dollars brought from the 
 Havanna after the year 1780— millions which 
 laid the foundation of the bank of North-Amer- 
 ica, and fupported the American 'ari»y till tht 
 peace. 
 
 This is a feeble fketch of the happinefs of a 
 Pennfylvania farmer ; a happinefs to which this 
 State calls men of all countries and of all reli- 
 gions. It offers not the pleafures of the Arcadia 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1 89 
 
 of the poets, or thofe of the great towns of Eu- 
 rope ; but it promifes you independenqe, plenty, 
 and happirjefs— in return for patience, induftry, 
 and labour. The moderate price of lands, the 
 credit that may be obtained, and the perfe^l fe- 
 curity that the courts of juHice give to every 
 fpecies of property, plr.ce thefe advantages within 
 the reacli of every condition of men. 
 
 I do not pretend here to give the hiftory of 
 all the fcttlerrents of Pennfylvania. It often hap- 
 pens, that the fame man, or t^e fame familvj 
 holds the place of the firfl and fecond, /gnd fome- 
 times of the third' chfs of pi inters above defcii- 
 b?d. In the counties near ? uhidelphia, you fee 
 vaft houfcs of brick, and far.TS well cultivated, 
 in-the pou'efTion of the defcendants, in the fecond 
 or third degree, of the companions of William 
 Pcnn. 
 
 This pafilon for emigration, of which I have 
 fi)oken, will appear to you unaccountable: that 
 a man fhould voinntarily abandon the country 
 that gave him hirth, the church where he was 
 confecrated to God, the tombs of hts anceftors, 
 the companions and friends of his youth, and 
 all the pleafures of poliflied fociety — to expofe 
 hiisfelf to the dangers and difHculties of con- 
 quering ravage r:^.ti:r*?, !?j in the t^y^-^^ of aQ Eu- 
 ropean philofopher, a phenomenon vvhich contra- 
 dj£ls the ordinary progrefs and principles of the 
 ^ions of men. But fuch is the fad ; and this 
 pafilon contributes to increafe the population of 
 America, not only in the new fettlements, but 
 in the old States ; for, when the number of far- 
 mers is augm.ented in any canton beyond the 
 number of convenient farms, the population lan^ 
 guiihes, the price of lands rife to fuch a degree 
 as to diminilh the profits of agriculture, encour- 
 age idlenefs, or turn the attention to lefs hon- 
 ourable purfuits. The heft preventative of thefe 
 «vil$ is tlie emigration of part of the inhabitants, 
 
ipo NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 This part generally confifts cf the moH: idle and 
 diflipsted, who neceflarily become induftrious in 
 their new fcttltroent ; while the departure aug- 
 ments the means of fubfiftence and population 
 to thofe left behind ; as pruning iticre^fes the 
 fize of the tree, and the quantity of its fruit. 
 
 The third ciafs of cultivators which I have 
 defcribed, is chiefly compofed of Germans. They 
 make a great part of the population of Pennfyl- 
 vania. It is more thin a centuiy fince the firft 
 Germans were eflabllfhed here. They are regard- 
 ed as the mod honeft, the fhoft .iriduftrious and 
 economical of the farmers. They never con'traft 
 debts ; they are, of all the Americans, the leaft 
 attached to the^ ufe of rum and other ardetit 
 fpirits. Thus their fimilies are the moft numer- 
 ous. It is very com -non to fee them have twelve 
 or fourteen children.* It is faid, they have not 
 fo much information as the other x^mericans ; 
 and information is the foal of a Republican Gov- 
 ernment : but yet you fi;;d many men refpefta- 
 ble for their hnowledge nnd undcr(^anding among 
 them, fuch as Ritr^ihoiife, Kiihn, Mulhenberg, &c. 
 
 A principal caufe of emigrition in the back 
 parts of Pennfylvaiiia, is the hope of efcaping 
 taxes ; yet the land-tax is very light, as it does 
 not exceed a penny in the pound of the eftina- 
 tian ; and the eltimatiDn is much under the 
 value of the lands. 
 
 There is rouch irregularity ii the land-t.^x, <»s 
 likewife in the capitation or poll-tax ; but I fee 
 with pleafure that biichelors p:iy more than mai-. 
 ried men. 
 
 * Accortiing to M. Mohtauy one family cf 25,00* 
 f» France has thirteen cliUren ; tiva ba've iiveht:,. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. i^ i 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 ClitNate and Dijeafes of Pemrfyl-vania. 
 
 HAVE already fpoken to yon, my friend, of 
 the climate of this happy town. The refpeft- 
 able Doftor Rufti has jiilt communicated to me 
 fome new and curious details, which I will com- 
 municate. 
 
 This enlightened obfarver, in one energetic 
 phrafe, has pidured to me the variations incident 
 to Philadelphia. We have, faid he, the humidity 
 of Great Britain in the Spring, the heat of Afri- 
 ca in Summer, the temperance of Italy in June, 
 the fky of Egypt in Autumn, the fnows of Nor- 
 way and the ice of Holland during the Winter ; 
 the tempefts, to a certain degree, of the Weft- 
 Indies in each feafon, and the variable winds of 
 Great Britain in every mo.ith of the year. 
 
 Notwithftanding all thrfe changes, the Dodlor 
 thinks, that the climate of Philadelphia is one 
 of the moft healthful in the world. 
 
 In dry weather, the air has a peculiar elafti- 
 city, which renders heat or cold lefs infupporta- 
 ble than they are in phces more humid. The 
 air never becomes heavy and fatiguing, but when 
 the rains are not followed by the beneficent 
 North-weft. During the thr^e weeks th?.t I have 
 paiTed here (in Auguft and September) I have 
 felt nothing of the langJiior of body, arid deprcf- 
 fion of fnirits, which' I e:ipe£ied : though the 
 heat has "been very great, i foUiK< it A}p?t'rt^t)le ; 
 nearly like that of Paris, but it caufed a great- 
 er perfpiration. 
 
 Dodtor Rulh has obfcr^ed, as have many phy- 
 ftcians of Europe, thit the ftate of mind influ- 
 ences much on the health. He cited t^ ine two 
 ftriking exi>mple^ of it. The Englifli feamen 
 wounded ir. the frnou:? n^.val batHc of the i2rh 
 of April 1782, weij cur-cT wiiih the greateft fa- 
 
192 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 cility. The jry of vi6tory gave to their bodies 
 the force of health. He had made the fame ob- 
 lervations on the American foldiers wounded at 
 the batile of Trenton. 
 
 Variability is the charafleriftic of the climate 
 of Peiinfylvania. It has changed by the clearing 
 of lands, and the diminution of waters, which 
 formerly abounded in this pai:t of America. Many 
 creeks, and even rivers, have difappeared by de- 
 grees ; and this is to be expeiSled in a country 
 where forefls give place to cultivated fields. 
 
 Thefe changes hare produced happy eitedls on 
 the health of the people. An old man of this 
 country has ohferved to me, that the health of 
 the Pennfylvtnians augmeots in proportion to 
 the cultivation of the country ; that their rifages 
 are lefs pale than they were thirty or forty years 
 paft ; that for fome time the number of ^centen- 
 aries has iacreafed, and that the feptuagenaries 
 are very rmmerous. 
 
 Ill 1782, there was fuch an extraordinary 
 drought, that the Indian corn did not come to 
 pt?rfeftion, the mes':?ows failed, and the foil be- 
 came fo iniistmmable, that in fome places it 
 caught fir3, and the furfacc was burnt. — -This 
 year it has been exccfilively rainy. On the i8th 
 and 19th of Auguil, there fell tt Philadelphia 
 feven inches of v/ater. Wheat has fuffered much 
 this year from the rains. . 
 
 Happily all parts of the country are not fabC^ 
 jed to the fame variations of the atmofphere ; 
 fo that a general fcarrlty is never known. If ibe 
 h-arveft fails here, at fifty miles diftance it 
 abounds. You fee thit the heat here is about 
 the fame as at P'.ris, and that it is uever io 
 great as at. Rome, fiuce at the latrer place the 
 t'^ermo meter of Reaai;-ur rifes to thiri; degrees. 
 You fee, that the Wi^iter here is not much 
 colder th'i , nt Paris, \^ it rarcjy dcfccxts more 
 than to iwclra degrees belcw the freezing point. 
 
KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 193 
 
 There falls much more rain here than at Paris. 
 The common quantity here is twenty inches in 
 the year, and it has not been known but once 
 in fixty years to rife to twenty-five, while the 
 corn'Tion quantity at Philadelphia is thirty-fiva 
 inches. By comparing the climate of Philadelphia 
 with that of Pekin, nearly in the fame latitude, 
 you will find, from the tables of Kirwan, that the 
 Winters are much colder, and the Summers much 
 warmer, in that part of China, than at Philadelphia. 
 Dodor Rufh attributes the difference to this cir- 
 cu'pftance, that Pennfylvania is bordered with a 
 vaft extent of foreft, and that the country about 
 Pekin is generally highly cultivated. 
 
 My Friend Myers Fifher, who endeavors to 
 explain the cnJiraders of men from the phyfical 
 circuaiftances that furround them, has communi- 
 cated to me an obfervation which he has made 
 in that refpe(5l ; it is, that the a6livity of the 
 inhabitants of a country may be meafured by 
 the rapidity of its rivers, and the variations in 
 its atmofphere. 
 
 He could fee the dullnefs and indecifion of the 
 Virginians in the flow movement of the Potomac; 
 while the rapid current of the rivers of the 
 North painted to him the adlivity of the people 
 of New-England. 
 
 He told me, likewife, that the health of the 
 people might very well confift with the variations 
 of the air, provided that wife precautions were 
 taken. This, as he afTured me, was a part of 
 the difcipline of the Quakers. Thus, according 
 to him, you may meafure the longevity of the 
 People of Pennfylvania by the feft to which they 
 belong. That of the Quakers ought to be placed 
 at the head of this table of longevity; that of 
 the Moravians next ; the Prefbyterians next, &c. 
 
 Daflor Rulh, whofe obfervations in this refped 
 are numerous, has told me, that Tudden variation^ 
 caufed more difeafes and deaths than eitker Jieaf 
 
194- NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 or cold conftantly fucceiTive. He indanced th« 
 rigorous winter of 1780, the buniing fumnier of 
 1782, and the rainy fummer of 1788. Ther>; were 
 then few or no difeafrs ; and thofe which hap- 
 pened were occafioned by imprudence, fuch as 
 cold water drank in heat, or fpiritiious liquors 
 in cold. Pleurifies and inflammatory diforders are 
 iriich dirainifhed within fifty years. The months 
 of May and June are confidered as the moft fal- 
 ubrious, and the valetudinarians are obfervcd to 
 hs belter in Summer than in Winter. 
 
 LETTER XXVin. 
 
 "Oifeafes the mcji common in the United ttatti, 
 Longi'vity. 
 
 AMONG thf difeafes of th;e United States the 
 corfnmption douhtlef^ makes the greateft 
 ravages. It WrS unknown to the original inhab* 
 itants of the country ; it is then the refult of 
 European habits of life tranfported to this new 
 Contlnenr. It is more common in the towns 
 than in the country ; it deftrovs more women 
 than mei ; it is a languid diforder, which drags, 
 by flow fteps, its vi-.Tim to the tomb ; each day 
 plunges the dagger deeper in his breaft, and 
 renders more vifible the incurable wound. Death, 
 without ceafing, flares him in the face, and 
 throws a funeral flirowd over the remainder of 
 his days. The world and its pleafures difappear ; 
 the ties of friendfliip are the only ones that are 
 flrengthened and endeared, and which double the 
 bitterncfs of his approaching diflcyhition. The 
 confumption, in a word, is a long continued ag- 
 ony, a flow tormenting death. 
 
 The phyficians of this country attribute it t0* 
 different caufes ; to the cxcelfive ufe of hot 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. tgf 
 
 drinks, fuch as tea and coffee ; to the habit of 
 reinaining too long in bed, and the ufe of 
 feather-beds, for they know not the ufe of ma- 
 trafles ; to the cufi^m of CAting too much meat, 
 and of drii)king too much fpirituoiis liquors. 
 Women are more fuhjed to it than men ; becaufe, 
 independently of the above caufes, they take but 
 little exercif-, which is the only powerful re.-nedr' 
 igiinfl the ftagnarion of humours, the great prin- 
 ciple of the maraf na : they tafte but little the 
 pleafures of walking ; a movement which, vary- 
 ing the fpe^lacle of nature, gives a refrefhment 
 to the fepfes, a new fpring to the blood, and a 
 new vigowr to the foul. 
 
 A particular caufe of confumptions among the 
 Qjaker women is doubtlefs the habit of gravity 
 and immobility which tliey contrail in early life, 
 and which they preferve tor hours together in 
 their filent meetings. The women of the other 
 feds are equally attacked by confumptions, but 
 it is attributed to dilTerent caufes : they are fond 
 of exccinve dancing ; heated with this, they drink 
 cold water, eat cold unripe fruits, drink boiling 
 tea, go thinly clad in winter, and give no atten- 
 tion to the fudden changes of weather. The 
 Quakers are more reafonable in thefe refpeds ; 
 but they balance thefe advantages by a fatal 
 neglcdl of cxercife. To preferve good health, a 
 female iTiould have the gaiety of a woman of 
 f^fliion, with the prudence and precaution of a 
 Q^iaker. 
 
 A moral or political caufe may likewife aid us 
 in explaining why women are more fuojedl to 
 cortfumptions than men. It is the want of a will,, 
 or a civil exigence. The fubmifiion to which 
 women are habituated, has the effed of chains, 
 which comprefs the limbs, caufe obflrudions, 
 deaden the vita! principle, and impede the cir^ 
 culiition. The depreflion of the mind has a ten- 
 •i^Vicy to enfeeble the body. This fubajiifioa U 
 
}^6 WZW TRATELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 fathers and hufbandsr is more remarkable among 
 the Quakers, than among the other fedls. The 
 time wiil doubtlefs come, when we fhall be con- 
 vinced that phyfical health, as well as political 
 happinefs, may be greatly promoted by equality 
 iind ir»dependence of opinions among all the mem- 
 bers of fociety. 
 
 Confamptions, however, are not (o num.erous in 
 America as is generally imagined. This name is 
 jgnorantly given to many other diforders, which 
 reduce the body to the fame meagre ftate which 
 tollcws a decay of the lungs. This ap])ear?.nce 
 deceives, and may eafily deceive the attendants 
 of the fick, who give information to thofe who 
 keep the bills of m.ortality. 
 
 Another difeafe very common here is the fore- 
 throat ; when putrid, it is mortal. It generally 
 proceeds from excefijve heats, cold drinks, and 
 careleffiefs in clcithing. 
 
 When we reficdl that Europe was formerly fub- 
 jcQ to thefe epidemical difeafes, and that they 
 have dif^ppeared in proportion to the progrefs of 
 cultivation, we are tempted to believe that they 
 belong to new countries in the iufruicy of culti- 
 vation. 
 
 The difeafe known in Europe by the name of 
 influenza, is llkewife common in America : it made 
 great ravages in I7?9. It began in Canada, 
 pafled through New-York, and very foon infedted 
 JPennfylvania and the Southern States. Its fymp- 
 toms arc lafTitude, feeblenefs, chills, heats, and 
 the bead-ach. It refped\s no age or fax, and 
 efpeci.illy precipitates to the tomb thofe who wer« 
 attacked by the confumption. 
 
 The fever and ague may be ranked in the 
 clafs of thefe cruel epidemics ; but it is mora 
 terrible, as its returns are annual. It not only 
 vifits the marfhy countries and the fca-coafts, but 
 it is fecn even in the healthy region of Albany. 
 It is combated by the Peruvian bark ; but the 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 1^7 
 
 anoft fucccfsful remedy Is a journey among the 
 mountains, or into the Northern States. This 
 fever, more humane th3.n men, fubjedls net to 
 its empire the black fiaves. This exemption is 
 attributed to a cuftom they preferve with obfti- 
 racy, of keeping fires always in their cabins, 
 even in the hotteft fcafon. The negroes arc 
 accuftomed to confider exceliive heat as a guar- 
 antee of health ; and you will fee a negrefs, 
 while fhe labours in the field, in the ardour of 
 a burning fun, expofe her infant to its fires, 
 rather than lay it under the rcfrefhing fliade of 
 a tree. This negrefs has not heard of the curi- 
 ous experiaients of Dr. Inginhoufe on the fatal 
 effe6ls of fiiades and the night air, but you fee 
 that file knows their efi*e»5ls. 
 
 Among the maladies common in the United 
 States, muffc be reckoned the pleurify and the 
 peripneumony, though they are lefs frequent than 
 form.erly. The fmall-pox, winch formerly made 
 fuch havock in the United States, is lefs formid- 
 able fince the general pradlice of inoculation. 
 
 There are many phyficians at Philadelphia, and 
 you will perhaps afllgn this as the caufe of fp 
 many difeafes. You will be wrong. They are 
 laid to be Ikilfal ; they are generally ftrangers to 
 quackery. I know fome of them who are highly 
 refpeftable; as well for their virtues, as for their 
 knowledge ; fuch as Rufli, Griffiths, Wifneer ; 
 ' the two lafi: are Quakere. 
 
 The greateft part of thefe phyfician* are, at 
 the fame time apothecaries. They continue to 
 unite thefe two fciences, out of refpeft to the 
 people, who wi(h that the man who orders the 
 medicine fhould likewife prepare it. There are, 
 however, other apothecaries, of whom the phyfi- 
 cians purchafe their drugs. 
 
 The praftice of this country is the EngUfii 
 praftice; that is, they are much in the ufe of 
 violent remedies. Laxatives are little in uf?. 
 R2 
 
198 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Almoft all the phyficians of this country are 
 formed at the fchool of Edinburgh, and this is 
 the caufe of their predilcdion for the Englilh. 
 praftice. 
 
 I know a Dr. Baily of this country, a man of 
 good abilities, but perhaps too inflammable and 
 too cauftic, who, much irritated at the preference 
 given by his countrymen to the Englilh pradlice, 
 was refolved to open a communication between 
 this country and the fchools of France. Thi$ 
 refolution did him the more honor, as he was 
 known in politics for an Anglican, and a decided 
 royaiift. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Lcngevity and Calculations on the Probabilities cf 
 Life in the United States. 
 
 YOU may think, perhaps after the account t 
 that I have given you of the maladies which^lr? 
 afflidl America, that human life is fhorter here-''^ 
 than in Europe. Tt i^ a prejudice ; and as It has 
 been accredited by many writers, and by fome 
 even who have travelled in America, it becomes a 
 duty to deftroy it. 
 
 The Abbe Robin, one of thefe travellers, has 
 declared, that after the age of twenty-five, the 
 American women appear old ; that children die 
 here in greater proportion than in Europe ; that 
 there are very few old people, &c. &c. M. Paw, 
 1 believe, had uttered thcfe fables before him. 
 Nothing is more falfe. I have obferved with care 
 the women between thirty and fifty years of age : 
 they have generally a good appearance, good 
 health, and are even agreeable. I have feen them 
 of fifty, with fuch an air of freflmefs, that they 
 would not have been taken by an European foF 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 193 
 
 more than forty. I have feen women of fixty and 
 leventy, fparkling with health. I fpeak here efpe- 
 cially of the women of New-Hampfhire, Mafla- 
 chufetts, and Connecticut. 
 
 In Pennfylvania you do not fee the fame tints 
 adorning the interefting vilages of the daughters 
 and wives of the Qnakers ; they are generally pale. 
 
 I have paid attention to their teeth. I have 
 feen thofe that are fine ; and where they are 
 otherwife, it is, as in England, more owing to 
 hot drinks than to the clifnate. 
 
 Not only the number of aged pcrfons are more 
 confiderabie here than in Europe, as I am going 
 to prove to you, but they preferve generally their 
 faculties, intelleftual and phyfical. 
 
 I was toid of a Minifter at Ipfwich in MafTa- 
 chufetts, who preached very vi^ell at ninety years 
 of age ; another, of the fame age, wilked on foot 
 to church on Sunday twenty miles. A Mr. Tem- 
 ple died at the age of an hundred in 1765, and 
 left four daughters and four fons of the follow- 
 ing ages, 86-85—83-81—79-77—75-73. 
 
 But I will not confine myfelf to fuch light 
 obfervations. I will give you fome tables of mor- 
 tality, and of the probabilities of life, in this 
 country. This is the ouly method of conveying 
 to you certain information. 
 
 Tables of longevity may be every where con- 
 fidered as the touchftone of Governments ; the 
 fcale on which may be meafured their excellen- 
 cies and their defefts, the perfection or degrada- 
 tion of the human fpecies. 
 
 The general caufes of longevity are, 
 
 Firft. The falubrity of the atmofphere and 0/ 
 the country. 
 
 Second. The abundance and goodnefs of the 
 aliments. 
 
 Third. A life regular, aftlve, and happy. 
 
 We muft, then, confider the exterior circum- 
 ftanccs as relatire to the occupations of mcn>. 
 
200 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 to their ir.orals, to their religion, and their 
 government. 
 
 Wherever property is centered in a few hands, 
 where employnsent is precarious and dependent,, 
 life is not fo long ; it is cut off hy grief and 
 care, which abridge more the principle of life 
 than even want itfeif. Wherever the Government 
 is arbitrary, and tyranny defcends in divifions 
 from rank to rank, and falls heavy on the lower 
 claires, life muft be fhort airsong the people, be- 
 caufe they are ilaves ; and a miferable flave, tram- 
 pled on at every moment, can enjoy neither that 
 eafe, nor that regularity, nor that interior fatis- 
 fadion, which fuftains the principles of life. The 
 excefles and mortifications attending on ambition, 
 abridge, in an equal degree, the life of the clafs 
 which tyrannizes. 
 
 On applying thefe moral and political confider- 
 ations to the United States, you may conclude^ 
 that there can be no country where the life of 
 man is of longer duration ; for, to all the advan- 
 tages of nature, they unite that of a liberty, 
 which has no equal on the Old Continent ; and 
 this liberty,, let us not ceafe to repeat it, is the 
 principle of health. 
 
 If any Government fhould wifh to revive the 
 fpeculation of life annuities on felefled heads, I 
 fhould advife to feleft them in the North of the 
 United States. 
 
 It is difficult here to obtain regular tables of 
 births and deaths. There are fome fedls who do 
 not baptife their children, and whofe regifters 
 are not carefully kept ; others who baptife only 
 their adults. Some of the Tick have no phyficians 
 or furgeons, and their attep.dants who give the 
 information are not exad. The conftant fludua- 
 tions occafioned by emigrations and re-emigrations, 
 ftiil increafe the difficulty. Yet we may approach 
 near the truth, by taking for examples fuch fea- 
 ports as are more occupied in the coafting trade 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. sax 
 
 than in long voyages ; it is for this reafon fiiat 
 I have chofen the towns of Salem and Ipfwich 
 m MafTachufetts. I takf^ thefe tables from the 
 Memoirs of the Academy of Bofton— Memoirs littie 
 known in France. 
 
 Do6lor Halley, for the ftandard of his tables 
 of Diortality, chofe Breflaw in Germany, on ac- 
 count of its interior fitnation and the regular 
 employment of its inhabitants. By the calcula- 
 tions of thefe political arithmeticians, five perfons 
 in twelve die at Breflaw before the age of ^nve 
 years. 
 
 At Ipfwich, a viilage at the Northward of 
 Bofton, fix only in thirty-three die within that 
 age. At BrelliW, one in thirty attains the sge 
 of eighty years ; at Ipfwich, one in eight. This 
 difproportion is enormous ; and this longevity is 
 found in many other parts of MafTachufetts an4 
 New-Hampfhire. 
 
 At Woodftock, in Corme6licuf, one hundre-d 
 and thirteen perfons have died in eleven years; 
 of thefe twenty-one were feventy years old and 
 upwards, and thirteen were eighty and upwards. 
 This gives fomething more than the proportion 
 of an odlogenary in nine. Thefe fa£ts are taken 
 from authentic regift-TS. 
 
 The Minifter of Ap.dover in New-Himpfliire, a 
 rcfpedable and well informed man, has aflured 
 me, that more than one in eight males and 
 females in his neighbourhood, pafs the age of 
 feventy years ; and that this obfervation is th« 
 refult of long experience in that and the neigh- 
 bouring pariihes. 
 
 Compare thefe fa<5l? to thofe (rated by M. 
 Moheau.* He fays, that in the Ifland of Oleron^ 
 of 14,000 inhabitants, there are but five or fix 
 odogenaries, and but one for forty-two in the 
 
 • See Recherches et Confiderations fur U 
 Population de la France, /a-^^ 19?, 
 
toi NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 lift of deaths in the iile of Rhe, which is reck- 
 oned remarkably healthful. 
 
 The minilier of Andover made to me another 
 obfervation, which tends to confirm a fyftem 
 advanced by an author uhofe name I forget— 
 It is, that men of letters enjoy the greatcit lon- 
 gevity. He told me, that the oldefl: men were 
 generally found among the Minifters. This faft 
 will explain fome of the canfes of longevity ; 
 fuch as regularity of morals, information, inde- 
 pendence cf fpirit, and e.ify circumftances. 
 
 Bat you will be better able to judge of tlie 
 longevity in the United States, by the Table of 
 the Probabilities of Life given to me by the 
 refpeclable Dodor Wigglefworth, of the Univerfity 
 of Cambridge. It contains a comparifon cfthefe 
 probabilities in New-England, in England, in 
 Sweden, in Germany, in Holland, and in France. 
 
 The firft column gives the ages ; the following 
 one gives, by years, and decimal parts of a year, 
 the proba^ilines of life among the inhahit^ints 
 of the different places mentioned. You will Cee 
 in this table, that the probabilities of life in 
 this part of the United States, furpafs thofe of 
 England and Sweden, even thofe of the annuit- 
 ants whofe lives ferved for the bafis to the tables 
 of Keriboom ; and th?.t they almoft equal thofe 
 cf the annuitants which ferved as the bafis to 
 the calculations of M. dc Parcieux, for the eftab- 
 lifhment of Wi'c annuities.* 
 
 The fecond column is appropriated to the 
 j>raduate<i of the Univerfity of Cambridge, the 
 DurL^ry of miniflers ard f^atefmen for that part 
 of the country. The probabilities in this col- 
 umn are calculated on the whole lift of gradu- 
 ates, received fmce the yeir 1711. 
 
 '* ff'e readily ceiceive that the probabilities of com- 
 Mon life in France and tlollandj are niK(h ivfemr /f 
 ihefe tables 6/ annuitants. 
 
A Comparative Table of the Probabilities of Life in New-England and in Europe. 
 
 j NEW-ENGLAND. 
 
 ENGL A N D. j 8 W E D E N. 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 P hioi.- 
 
 LAXD, 
 
 EiT.ncf 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i STOCK- 
 
 In tlie 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 CHESTER 
 
 t*-. 
 
 • HOLM. 
 
 Kingdom. 
 
 
 
 ' r 
 
 .« 
 
 
 t* 
 
 ir, 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 -2 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 ^W 
 
 'S 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j :j 
 
 '4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 U 
 
 ^ 
 
 eu 
 
 e 
 
 t-H 
 
 
 
 
 
 r. 
 
 \ , 
 
 
 
 
 
 tfl 
 
 1 < 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 >- 
 rt 
 
 n 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 I 
 1 '-' 
 
 
 '^ 
 
 05 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 CO 
 
 c 
 
 b 
 
 
 
 ' '0 
 
 i 
 
 'a 
 
 
 G 
 
 2 - 
 
 "o 
 
 1 
 
 c/5 
 
 1 
 
 ^1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 : -^ 
 
 
 2S 
 
 36.o7!35.46 
 
 37-89 
 
 26.1 
 
 31.50 
 
 30.8 s- 
 
 32.0c 
 
 34.7835-5«: 
 
 21.40 
 
 ■26.8c 
 
 ly^ 
 
 35-5«l 
 
 ^0.88 
 
 31.76 
 
 33-27 
 
 37.01 
 
 ?o 
 
 33-4033-8I 
 
 34-97 
 
 23.6 
 
 28.93 
 
 28.27 
 
 29.2=; 
 
 32.2732.66 
 
 19.42 
 
 23.9.^ 
 
 P-34 
 
 32.17 
 
 27.80 
 
 28.70 
 
 30.92 
 
 33-9f> 
 
 ^"^ 
 
 30.7030.83 
 
 31.89 
 
 21.5 
 
 26.05 
 
 25.68 
 
 2 5-97 
 
 29.2629.^3 
 
 17-58 
 
 21.6; 
 
 >7.09 
 
 29.03 
 
 24.92 
 
 25.56 
 
 28.36 
 
 30.73 
 
 40 
 
 26.4528.28 
 
 28.74 
 
 19.6 
 
 23.18 
 
 23.08 
 
 22.92 
 
 26.37,26.40 
 
 15.61 
 
 19.2i 
 
 ^3-75 
 
 25.21 
 
 ^,2.13 
 
 22.65 
 
 25-49 
 
 27.30 
 
 4f; 
 
 22. 925.11 
 
 25.80 
 
 17.8 
 
 20.78 
 
 20.52 
 
 20.20 
 
 23-50:23.35 
 
 13-78 
 
 17.1'- 
 
 20.71 
 
 22.57 
 
 19.56 
 
 19-^5 i 
 
 22.34 
 
 23.77 
 
 «;o 
 
 19.8622.08 
 
 22.79 
 
 16.0 
 
 '17-55 
 
 17.99 
 
 17.64 
 
 20.62. 
 
 20.49 
 
 rii.95 
 
 15.1. 
 
 (7.72 
 
 19.26 
 
 17.07 
 
 16.55 [jl 9.4 I| 
 
 20.24 
 
 '?'? 
 
 17.75^18.47 
 
 19.22 
 
 14.2 
 
 14.87 
 
 15.5^ 
 
 15.14 
 
 17.52 
 
 17-47 
 
 10.36 
 
 12. 8<, 
 
 T4.98 
 
 16.15 
 
 ■4.77 
 
 i:!.63! 16.72] 
 
 16.88 
 
 60 
 
 14.63 15.20 
 
 15.49 
 
 JI2.4 
 
 12.36 
 
 13. 2T 
 
 12.36 
 
 10.79 
 
 14.20 
 
 14.86 
 
 8.69 
 
 10.4^ 
 
 [2.2Z) 
 
 r3.ob 
 
 i2.^0 
 
 11.28 [14.101 
 
 13.06 
 
 6-? 
 
 II. 31 
 
 12.29 
 
 12.98 
 
 10.5 
 
 L0.05 
 
 lo.S^ 
 
 11.94 
 
 12.30 
 
 7-39 
 
 8-3^ 
 
 9.78 
 
 10.49 
 
 9.86 
 
 9.15 11.56 
 
 1 1.07 
 
 70 
 
 10.01 
 
 9.68 
 
 10.4C 
 
 8.8 
 
 8.12 
 
 8.6c 
 
 8.05 
 
 8.81 
 
 10.00 
 
 5.81 
 
 6.i>' 
 
 7.60 
 
 7.91 
 
 7-45 
 
 7.48 g.4 
 
 8.34 
 
 7.? 
 
 B-39 
 
 7.63 
 
 8.4c 
 
 7-2 
 
 6.44 
 
 6.5-^ 
 
 7.00 
 
 7-i< 
 
 7.87 
 
 4.09 
 
 4-3 S 
 
 5.89 
 
 6.03 
 
 5-5^ 
 
 6.17 6.8 1| 
 
 5-79 
 
 80 
 
 6.96 
 
 6.03 
 
 6.8: 
 
 5.0 
 
 5.14 
 
 4-7 •' 
 
 5-43 5-2C 
 
 5-75 
 
 
 
 4.27 
 
 4.47 
 
 4.08 
 
 5-o^^i 5-05i 
 
 4-73 
 
 «<? 
 
 :!.o6 
 
 ^02 
 
 4-9' 
 
 
 3-50 3,3 "1 
 
 4-2!?' 4.8c 
 
 
 
 
 3.16 
 
 ^4o' 
 
 2.^6 
 
 4.t8- 1.-8M 
 
 3-4 1 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 The firfl cohm-in gives the ages ; the following ones give, by yt^ars and decimal parts of a year 
 among the inhabitants of the different places mentioned. The fecond column regards the Graduates of I 
 Cambridge, near Bofton : Hingham, which forms the third, is in Mafiachufctts ; and L:>vcr, wliid: fo;r, 
 New-Hampfliire. The other columns a::c taken frcm the work of Dr. Price, 
 
 ^^^ r":-'-);ibilitlcs of lift- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 203 
 
 Hingham, which forms the third column, is 
 at the South-Eaft of Boflon. The occupations and 
 manners of life in this pla^e, are much the fame 
 as in the reft of MafTachufetts. The probabili- 
 ties in this column are taken from the lift of 
 deaths, made with great care for fifty years, by 
 Doflor Gay. 
 
 The column for Dover, fituated on the river 
 Pifcatuay, twelve miles from the fea, in New- 
 Hampftiire, is formed from the lift of deaths kept 
 for ten years, by Dodor Belknap, Minifter of 
 that place. 
 
 The other columns, which regard the countries 
 in Europe, are t-iken from the work of Dr. Price. 
 
 This comparative table will fix your ideas on 
 the fubjed of longevity in the United States. 
 And it is to be hoped that from the care of 
 Do6lor Wigglefworth of the academy of Bofton,and 
 that of the members of the other academies in 
 the feveral States, we may foon have regular and 
 complete tables for the thirteen States. 
 
 To fatisfy your ciiriofity more completely, I 
 will now give ycu a lift of births, marriages, 
 and deaths in a particular town ; that you mar 
 fee the proportion between the births and deaths, 
 and the ages of the deceafed. I v/ill take Salem, 
 which is conftdered as a very unbealthful town. 
 It is a fea-port, in the forty-fecond degree of 
 iatitude, five leagues North-Eaft of Bofton, fitu- 
 ated between two rivers, on a flat piece of land, 
 elevated but twenty feet above the level of the 
 fea at high water : two little hills "in the neigh- 
 bourhood ; foil light, dry, and fandy, without 
 marfhes ; the inhabitants not fubjed to epidem- 
 ical difeafes. They complain at prefent of fome 
 nervous and hyfterical diforders, which were 
 formerly unknown to them. 
 
 Mr. Holyoke fent to the Academy of Bofton 
 the two following tables for this tow a of Salem. 
 
504. NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 TABLE for 1781. 
 
 Deaths, 175 
 
 Births, 317 
 
 Baptiims, ----- -- - -152 
 
 Marriages, -----_ .- - 7© 
 
 Taxable polls ; that is, males above the 
 age of fixteen* and refiding in the 
 town, --------- 897 
 
 Tranfient perfons, - 200 
 
 AGE^ of the DECEASED. 
 
 In being born, - 6 
 
 Within the firft month, - - - - - 6 
 Between one month and one year, - - 30 
 
 ■ one and two years - - - 20 
 
 ■ two and five, ----- 2 
 — — — five and ten, - - - - - - 7 
 
 — ten and fifteen, ----- 3 
 - fifteen and twenty - - - - 6 
 
 ■ ' ■ twenty and twenty five, - - 5 
 
 — ■ twenty-five and thirty, - - - 7 
 — — thirty and forty, - - - - 24. 
 
 forty and fifty, 10 
 
 fifty and fixty, 7 
 
 — — — fixty and feveoty, - - - - 2 
 ———feventy and eighty, - - - - 7 
 — — - eighty and ninety, - - - - 6 
 Ages unknown, --------27 
 
 TABLE for 1782. 
 
 Deaths, --189 
 
 Births, about - * - 3^5 
 
 Baptifms, ---. 158 
 
 Marriages, about ------ - 84 
 
 Taxable polls, 1000 
 
 Number of inhabitants, about - -- Qooe 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. a«; 
 
 JGES of the DECEASED. 
 
 In being born, ---^---» i^ 
 In the firft month, ------- n 
 
 Between one n^onth and one year, - - 27 
 Between one and two years, - - - - 29 
 
 ■■ two and five, - - - - - 28 
 
 " ■ five and ten, - - - - - 12 
 
 -— — — ten and fifteen - - - - - ^ 
 
 " fifteen and twenty, - . - - 2 
 
 ■ twenty and twenty-five, - - . 8 
 — — ■ — twenty-five and thirty, - - - 8 
 
 — — thirty and forty, - * - - - 9 
 
 — — forty and fifty, 8 
 
 ■ fifty and fixty, - - - - - 7 
 '■ fixty and feventy, - - - - 6 
 I " feventy and eighty, - - - - 6 
 
 — — — — eighty and ninety, - - - - 2 
 
 Ages unknown, -------•^(^*- 
 
 You will recolle£l that Salem is one of the 
 rrofl unhealthful towns in America. You do not 
 find in the above two lifts the proportion of great 
 ages that I have mentioned ir. other places. 
 
 The year 1781 gives 175 deaths. If you look 
 for the population of Salem by the general rule 
 of thirty living for one dead, the number of 
 inhabitants would appear to be 5250 — ivhereis it 
 was 9000. You muft then count for Salem fifty 
 living for one deceafed. In London there dies 
 one for twenty-three; and In the country in 
 England, one in forty ; in Paris, one m thirty; 
 in the country, one in twenty-four. 
 
 * hi the American journals they give the lift of deaths, 
 7he follo'winv is one that I took at hazard in the American 
 Mufeum for May, 1790 '.— Deaths y Ne^vhamffiire, one at 
 ~o yean. MaJfaehujittSy many at 71 — one at 106 — one 
 at 92 — sne ettSj. Ccnne^icutj one at 98 — one at gl. 
 Ne-vj-Torky ove at 104. Nei^vferfeyj cne at%0. 
 Fitmfylvania, one at %i^— federal at y6. 
 S 
 
ic6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 • In 1781, at Salem, the births are as one to 
 twenty-feven of the inhabitants. In common 
 years in France it is as one to twenty-fix. 
 
 As to marriages, M. Moheau reckons for the 
 country in France one for 121, and for Paris 
 one for 160. In Salem, you muit count for 1781, 
 only one for 128. But this is far from being 
 the proportion for the country in An^erica. We 
 have no exadl table for this purpofe. We muft wait. 
 
 I cannot terminate this long article on longevity 
 without giving you the table of births and deaths 
 in the Lutheran congregation at Philadelphia for 
 fourteen years, from 1774 ^^ 1788. The propor- 
 tion is curious. 
 
 Births. Deaths. 
 
 From 1774^0 1775 
 
 379 
 
 ,56 
 
 1775 - 1776 
 
 338 
 
 ^7S 
 
 1776 — 1777 
 
 389 
 
 124 
 
 ^777 — 1778 
 
 298 
 
 169 
 
 ,778 — 1779 
 
 303 
 
 ^7^ 
 
 1779 — 1780 
 
 348 
 
 186 
 
 1780 — 1781 
 
 320 
 
 158 
 
 I 81 — 1782 
 
 323 
 
 162 
 
 1783 — 1783 
 
 398 
 
 219 
 
 1783 — 1784 
 
 389 
 
 215 
 
 1784 — *785 
 
 416 
 
 155 
 
 17S5 — 1786 
 
 420 
 
 »57 
 
 1786 — 1787 
 
 4'9 
 
 150 
 
 1787 — 1788 
 
 425 
 
 17S- 
 
 5175 2369 
 
 You will obfcrve, that in years of the war the 
 births were Itfs numerous. This is a natural re- 
 fieaion, which ought always to be made by any 
 one who makes calculations on the population 
 of America. 
 
 Finally, rry friend, to give you a further idea 
 of the rapidity of poptilation in America, take 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 107 
 
 ihe tables of Rhode-Ifland and New-Jerfey, and 
 compare them with the one 1 gave you oa Pe.nii- 
 iylvania. 
 
 Population of Rhode- Ijlaiai, 
 
 Years. Whites. Blacks. 
 
 1730 - 
 1741 - 
 
 1761 - 
 
 ^77\ - 
 1783 - 
 
 - 
 
 15,312 
 ^9'755 
 35.939 
 54H35 
 4B>538 
 
 - 
 
 2,603 
 
 4>375 
 4>697 
 
 5'243 
 3>36i 
 
 
 •NEfV-JERSET, 
 
 
 1738 - 
 
 1745 - 
 17&4 - 
 
 - 
 
 43,388 
 5^^797 
 139^934- 
 
 - 
 
 4,606 
 10,501 
 
 You obferve by thefe tables, that the popular 
 tton of Rhode-Ifl.\nd, which had alnnoft doubled 
 ia twelve years, from thirty to forty-two, has- 
 dirriinillicd during the war. But with what plea- 
 fu'c do you f^e the population in New-Jer/ey. 
 more than tripled in forty years, notwithftanding 
 the obftrudions occafioned by the fame bloody 
 war! And with what pleafure do you, who are 
 the defender cf Blacks, obferve that their num- 
 ber has rrioie than doubled in the fame fpace. 
 of time in New-Jerfey : though the importation 
 of them was prohibited in 1775, though the war 
 Ciofi: the lives o'i a great number of. Negroes, and 
 though many of them were flolen by the Englifli. 
 a^nd fold in their iflands ! 
 
 From all the fa£ls and all the tables which I 
 have given you, it muft be concluded that the. 
 ijfe of man is much longer in the Unitied States 
 af America, than in the mofl filubrioiis coun- 
 tries ot Europe. 
 
ao5 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 f'he Prifcn ef Fhiladelphia, and Prifcns in ger.eral, 
 
 AND Philadelphia likewife has its priron ! I 
 love to believe, that ior the firft thirty or 
 forty years, when the Quakers were the magif- 
 trates, or ruther when there was no need of magif- 
 trates, I love to indulge the belief that there 
 was no prifon. But flnce the Englifli, to deliver 
 themf;Ives from the banditti that infefted their 
 ifland, have praflifed letting them loofe upon the 
 colonies — fince great numbers of foreign adven- 
 turers have overfpread the country, efpecially fince 
 the lafl war, which has augmented their number, 
 reduced many to mifery, and habituated others 
 to crimes — it has been necelTary to rcflrain them 
 by prifons. One fad does honor Xo this State v 
 which is, that ao^ong the prifoners of Philadel- 
 phia, not one in ten is a native of the country. 
 Daring my flay in this town, one robbery only 
 has been committed ; and this was by a French 
 fdiior. 
 
 Al.'nofl all the other prifoners are either Irifr.- 
 inefi or Frenchmen. 
 
 This prifon is a kind cf houfe of corrciftion. 
 The prifoners are obliged to work ; and each 
 enjoys the profit of his own labour. This is the 
 bcft niethod of ameliorating men ; and it is a 
 method ufeci by the Quakers. 
 
 Thofe who govern the houfe of correction in 
 jf'^ew-York, on confenting to take charge of crim- 
 inals condemned by the law, have obtained leave 
 to fubQitnte to whips and mutilation their hu- 
 mane mcthpd of correftion ; and they daily fuc- 
 ceed in leading back to iuduftry and reafon thefe 
 deluded men. 
 
 One of thefe Quakers was r.lked, by what means 
 it was pr.flihle to corre^fl men who c'iflicnor hu- 
 man nature, and who will not work : ** V/e have 
 two powerful inilruaients (replied the Quaker) 
 hunger and hope," 
 
?:£W^ TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 209 
 
 By the fnall niMiber of Pennfylvanians cor*- 
 tallied in the prifcn of Philadelphia, we may con- 
 clude, that, were it not for the ftrangers, the 
 goycrnn[)ent of this town, like that' of Nantucket, 
 naiglit have a prifon with open doors, of which 
 honor and repentance are the only keepers. 
 
 But, after all, what is the ufe of prifons ? 
 Why thofe toi^bs for living men ? The Indians 
 have thefn not ; and they are not the worfe for 
 it. If there exifts a country where it is polTible, 
 and where it is a duty to change this fyftem, it 
 i§ America ; it is therefore to the Americans 
 that I addrefs the following. refiedlions : 
 
 Prifons are fatal to the health, liberty, and 
 morals of men. To preferve health, a man has 
 need of a purs, air, frequent exercife, and whole- 
 fome food. In a prifon, the air is infeded, there 
 is no fpace for exercife, and the food is often 
 deteftable. 
 
 A man is not in health, but when he is with 
 beings who lore him, and by whom he is be- 
 loved. In priron> he is with Grangers and with 
 criminals. There can cxifi: no fcciety between 
 them; or, if there does, he mufl either be obli- 
 gjed to ftruggle without ceaiing againft the horrid 
 principles of theie wicked men, which is a tor- 
 ment to him ; or he adopts their principles and 
 becomes like then. A man by living conftantly 
 with fools, becomes a fool himfelf ; every thing 
 ill life is contagion and correfpondence. 
 
 By imprifonnicnt, you fnatch a man from his 
 wife, his children, his friends ; you deprive him 
 of their fuccour and confolation ; you plunge 
 him into grief and mortification ; you cut hiin 
 off from all thofe connedtions which render his 
 exiftence of any importance. He is like a plant 
 torn up by the roots and fevered frojn its nour- 
 ifliing foil ; and how will you expect it to exiit ? 
 
 The man who hss for a long time vegetated 
 in prifon, who has experienced frequent csavul- 
 $2 
 
21© NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 fions of rage and defpair, is no longer the fame 
 being, on quitting this abode, that he was when 
 he entered it. He returns to his family, from 
 whom he has been long fequeftered ; he no more 
 meets from them, or experiences in himfclf, the 
 fame attachment and the fame tendernefs. 
 
 In putting a man in prifon, you fubjefl him 
 to the power of the gaoler, of the turnkey, and 
 of the commiflTary of the prifon. Before thefe 
 jnen he is obliged to abafe himfelf, to difguife 
 his fenfations, to conftrain his paflions, in order 
 that his mifery may not be increafed. This ftate 
 of hiimilitition and conftraint is horrible to him ; 
 and befides, it renders his mailers imperious, 
 ijnjuft, vexatious, and wicked. 
 
 To oblige a freeman to ufe fupplication to 
 obtain juftlce, is to do him a lading wijury. 
 The tree that is once bent from its natural form 
 never acquires it again. 
 
 The laws which ordain the habeas corpus are 
 wife and natural. But they do not ordain it ia 
 all cafes. A prifoner fur debt, who cannot ob- 
 tain furety, muft remain a prifoner. A man ac- 
 cufed of a capital offence, who will probably be 
 acquitted on trial, cannot enjoy the benefit of 
 this law. Thefe are abufes. 
 
 Is it not much more fimple to imitate the In- 
 dians,, to grant every man the privilege of his 
 own houfe for a prifon, though you are obliged 
 to put a fentinel at his door ? And for thofe wha 
 have no houfe of their own, eftablifii a public 
 houfc, where they can purfuc their occupations-. 
 
 If fuch regulations are neceflary for any fociety, 
 it is furely for the one which has good morals, 
 and wifbes to prcferve them : if thty are any 
 where praflicable, it is among a people where 
 great crimes are rare. Rccollell, my friend, that 
 but within a few years before the laft war, na 
 capital punifhment had erer been iuflifted in 
 Connefticut. 
 
NEW TR AVELS IN AMERICA. 2 1 1 
 
 I am furprifcd then that the penalty of death 
 is not totally aboliflied in this country. Manners 
 here are fo pure, the means of living fo abun- 
 dant, and mifery fo rare, that there can be no 
 need of fuch horrid pains to prevent the com- 
 million of crimes. 
 
 Do£lor Rufh has juft giren force to all thefe 
 arguments in favour of the abolition of the 
 puninimcnt of death. He has not yet fucceededV 
 but it is to be hoped that the State of PennfyU 
 vania, and even all the States, difengaging them- 
 felves from their ancient fuperftition for the En- 
 glifh laws, will foon dare to give to Europe a 
 great example of juftice, humanity and policy. 
 Any objeftions that may be made againll this 
 reform in Europe will not apply to this country. 
 
 LETTER XXXr. 
 Th fakers, 7 heir pri'vate Morals y thar Manners , i^c. 
 
 I HAVE pron>ifed you, wy friend, a particular 
 article of) this rcfpedab.e fociety. I this day- 
 perform my promife. 
 
 You remember with what infulting levity M, 
 de Chaftellux has treated them in the very fu- 
 perficial journal which he has publifhed. Yoa. 
 recolledt the energetic cenfure * which I pafTed 
 on his errors, his falfhoods, and his calumnies. 
 You have not forgot the ftupid perfecution that 
 this cenfure brought on me, and the manoeuvres 
 employed to ftifie my work by that fame witty 
 Marquis, and by other academicians, who wifhed 
 to tyrannize public opinion, and monopolize 
 reputation. 
 
 * See Examen critique des Voyages dans VAmeriqnt 
 Befentrio^iuk dt M. h Marquis dts Qhafiellux, 
 
2 12 NEW TR A VELS IN AMERICA^; 
 
 And now, my friend, I have been able to 
 compare the portrait which I had made of them- 
 with the original; and I am convinced that it is 
 very nearly juft. At lead the portrait does not 
 fhtter them. I endeavoured to guard myftlf from 
 the prejudices which their flattering reception of' 
 me might have occafioned. The way was pre- 
 pared for this reception by the Apology which 
 I- had publiflied in their favour ; it was tranflated 
 into E^iglifh even here, by fome refpeftabie mem- 
 bers of the fociety, and diftributed every where 
 with profufion ; and I fi-nd to my fatisfadlion, - 
 that it has contributed to diffipate the unhappy 
 prejudices which the indifcretions, boafts and 
 farcafms of our frivolous academician had excited 
 againit the Freach nation* 
 
 Simplicity, candour, and good faith, charaftcp- 
 ize the alliens as well as the difcourfes of the 
 Quakers. They are not afFeded, but they are 
 fincere ; they are not poliflied, but they are hu- 
 mane ; they have not that wit, that fparkling^wit 
 —without which a man is nothing in France, 
 and with which he is every thing ; but they 
 have good fsnfe, a found judgment, an upright 
 heart, and an obliging temper of mind. If I 
 wifhed to live in fociety, it would be with the 
 Quakers: if I willied to amufe myfelf, it would 
 be with my countrymen. And their women — 
 you alk, what are they ? They arc what they 
 fhould be, faithful to their hulbands, tender to 
 their children, vigilant and economical in their 
 houfnold, and fimple in their ornaments. Their 
 principal charadteriftic is, that they are not eager 
 to pleafe all the world : neglectful of the exte- 
 rior, they referve all their accomplifhments for 
 the mind. Let us fay it, let us not ceafe to 
 repeat ir, it is among manners like thefe that we 
 are to look for good houfholds, happy families, 
 aad public virtues. But we, riiferahle wretches I 
 gangrened with our own civilization and polite-- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. ^iij 
 
 nefs, we have abjured thefe manners. And who 
 amon)^ us is happy ? Unlefs you can find a man 
 who has the courage to content hirT)feIf with a 
 life of nature, and to live like people of former 
 ages. 1/ you conform to nature, fays Seneca, you 
 nvill ne^er be poor ; if to opinion, you tvill ncnjir ht 
 rich, 
 
 1 will not recall to your mind ail that Nf. 
 Crevecceur has faid of the Qiiakers : 1 only wifti 
 to fjy to you what he has not faid. 
 
 Simplicity is a favorite virtue with the Quakers ; 
 and the men ft ill follow, with fome exadnfcfs, 
 the counfel of Penn : " Let thy garments be 
 plain and fimple ; attend to convenience and de- 
 dency, biu not to vanity. If thou art clean and 
 warm, thy end is accompliHied ; to do more, is 
 to rob the poor.*" 
 
 I have feen James Pembffrton, one of the raofi: 
 wealthy Quakers, and one whofe virtues have 
 placed him among the moft rcfpeftable of their 
 chiefs ; I have feen him wear a thread-bare coat, 
 but it was neat. He likes better to clothe the 
 poor, and to expend money in the caufe of the 
 Blacks, than to change often his coats. 
 
 You knov; the drefs of the Qn :kers — a round 
 hat, generally white; cloth coat; cotton cr wool* 
 len ftockings ; no powder on their hair, which 
 is cut Ihort and hangs round. They commonly 
 carry in their pocket a little comb in a cafe ; 
 and on entering a houfe, if the h:iir is difor« 
 dered, they comb it witncut ceremony before the 
 firft mirror that they m:?er. 
 
 * See Fruits of Solitude, &c. by William Penn^ 
 In thefe irfiances of re-trafjlation, it is fcarcely po/Jt- 
 hle to ^preferie exatily the exprejjions of the original 
 author. Any demiatiom of this fort are therefore to be 
 imputed not to a dcfere of (hanging his phrafsohgy, hut 
 to the misfortune of mt having at hand the erigi ^d 
 nx'ork. 
 
114 NEV/ TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 The white hat which they prefer, has become 
 very common here, fince Franklin has proved the 
 advant:iges which it polTeires, and the inconve- 
 niencies of the black. 
 
 The Quakers in the country generally wear 
 cloth made in their own houfes. And at their 
 general meeting here, in Septennber this year, 
 which confined of more than fifteen hundred, 
 nine-tenrhs of the number were clothed in Ame- 
 rican cloth. This is an example for the other 
 feas. 
 
 There ?.re fome Qiiakers who drefs more like 
 other fefts ; who wear powder, filver buckles, and 
 ruffles. They are called Wet fakers. The others 
 regard them as a kind of fchifmatlcs, or feeble 
 men. They are admitted, indeed, into their 
 churches on Sunday, but never tcf their monthly 
 cr quarterly meetings. 
 
 It is not more than fifteen years fince It was 
 a kir.d of crime in all feds in America to wear 
 powder. Tn general, manners have changed fince 
 the war, by the intercourfe of European armies. 
 Bit to the honor of the Quakers, theirs have not 
 changed. This is to be attributed to the rigor 
 cf their difcipline, and to their difcarding thofe 
 who violate it. 
 
 They put on woollen ftockings the 15th of 
 September ; it is an article of their difcipline, 
 which extends to their cloathing ; and to this i» 
 to be attributed their remarkable longevity. 
 Among the few companions of William Penn in 
 1693, fix are now alive — Edward Diinker, born 
 in 1680, has been dead but two years. It is from 
 the intimate conviction of the advantages of their 
 maxims, that they perfevere in them with fingu^ 
 lar conftancy. Their fingularities are the effeft. 
 of reafon and long experience. 
 
 The Quaker women drefs more comfortably 
 than thcfe of the other feds ; and this renders, 
 them lefs fubjed to fickncfs. Age and fortune. 
 
 I 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. s i ; 
 
 however, caufe much greater diftinflions in their 
 drefs than in that of the rneti. The matrons 
 wear the griveft colours, little hlack bonrrets, 
 and the hair fimply turned back. The young 
 women curl their hair with great cire and anxi- 
 ety ; which cofts them as much tiiTie as rhe moft 
 exquifite toilette. They wear little hats covered 
 with filk or Tutin. Thefe obfervations gave 
 me paii^. Thefe young QnikerelTes, whom 
 nature has fo well endowed, whofe charms 
 liave fo little need of the borrowed hand of art, 
 are remarkable for their choice of the finefl 
 linens, mullins, and filks. Elegant fans play be- 
 tween their fingers. Oriental luxury itfelf would 
 not difdain the linen they wear. Is this agreeable 
 to the dodrine of Penn ? ** Modefty and iriildncfs," 
 fays he, *' are^ the richeft and fi'ieft ornaments 
 of the foul. The more fimple the drefs, the more 
 will beauty and thefe quilities appear.'* 
 
 I fay it with freedom, and I ought to fay it 
 to my friends the Quakers (for I am fure they 
 will read me; and I would not fl -tter my friends ; 
 a hint of good advice is always well received by 
 them) that if any thing can- difcredit their prin- 
 ciples abroad, it is the relaxation infenfibly intro- 
 duced into their manners and cuftoms. Their 
 tafte in linens and filks is regarded by others as 
 a hypocritical luxury, ill-difguifed ; which is ab- 
 furd, at leaft among men fo apparently devoted 
 to fimplicity and aurterity. 
 
 Luxury begins where utility ends. Now, where 
 is the utility to the body in the ufe of the fineft 
 of linen? And how ulefully might the money be 
 employed, which is now applied to this luxury 1 
 There are fo many good adions to be done \ 
 fo many perfons in want ! 
 
 Luxury difplayed in fimple things announces 
 more vanity than when difplayed in an ordinary 
 manner ; for it feems to be confidered as the 
 meafure of wealth, of which they afFed to dt^f- 
 pife the oftentation. Indeed it annoiwices a mind 
 
2i6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 rot truly penetrated with the great principles of 
 mornlity — a mind that places its happinefs, not 
 in virtue, but in appearance. 
 
 And what an ill example is thus given to the 
 other Anericans by the Quakers, who have been 
 to them the models of fimplicity ? Their coun- 
 try does not, aid will not for a long time, 
 manufadure thefe fine liner. s, thefe delicate muflins, 
 of which the texture is fc-^r-^ely perceprible. They 
 mull be purchafed in foreign countries, to which 
 they have recourfe for fo many articles of necef- 
 fity. T! us, this luxury drains from their coun- 
 try the money fo jmich wanted for the exten- 
 fion of ^gricultiire and other ufeful enterprifes. 
 Let the Qriakers who read this article, meditate 
 upon it ; 'et them refle<fl, that the ufe of rum, 
 againft which they raife their voice with great 
 cnerf:y and juftice, cannot wv.ke more ravages in 
 Anerica than the introdudion of luxury into 
 their fociety, 1 made the fame remark on the 
 houfehold furniture of thofe who are rich among 
 them. It has the appearance of fimplicity ; but 
 in many inflances it is certainly expenfive. 
 
 Happily, this luxury has not yet found its way 
 to the tables of the Quakers. Their dinners, are 
 folid, fimple, and elegant, enlivened by fereneand 
 fenfibie converfation, and endeared by hofpitality. 
 They drink beer, Philadelphia porter, cider, and 
 finifh with a ghfs of wine. None of thofe fi- 
 tiguing toafts, which are r-ither provocatives to 
 intoxication than accents of patriotifn. 
 
 Thofe who reproach the Quakers with fadnefs 
 and morofenefs, are unacquainted with their true 
 chara<^er, and have never lived with them. I, 
 who have been received by them as a child, and 
 domcfticated as a friend, judge them very difFer- 
 ently. I have found among them moments of 
 gaiety, of efFufions of the heart, of fprightly and 
 agreeable converfation. They are not buffoons, 
 but they arc ferene ; they are happy, and, if 
 
NEW TR A\niLS IN AMERICA. 2 1 7 
 
 gaiety eonfifls in the exprefiion of heart-felt hap- 
 pinefs, they are gay. 
 
 We Frenchmen have the reputation of being 
 'gay, of laughing at every thing-, of balancing a 
 misfortune by a pun. This is a folly. To 
 laugh is the fign of gaiety, and gaiety is the 
 fign of agreeable fenfations. To be gay, therefore, 
 in the depth of mifery is a faldiood, or a: folly ; 
 to be ferene and unmoved, is wifdom. We ough.t 
 not to be deprefTed by misfortunes ; neither ought 
 we to laugh at the:n : the one is a weaknefs of 
 Blind, tlie other is a. madnefs or Itupidity. 
 
 Tne calTinefs which chirsf^er'zes the Qnakers 
 in their joy, acroTipanies then- lilcewife in their 
 grief, in their difcuihons, and in all their aff.nrs. 
 They owe it to their education ; th'-y are early- 
 taught to curb their pafiions, efj)eciaiiy that of 
 anger; to render themfelves as they cill it, /«- 
 movesii'Ie \ that is, inaccellibie to fuddan emotions : 
 it refults from this, th.it on all occafions, they 
 preferve an empire over theufelves ; and this 
 gives tliem a gre;*t advantage in difcuiTioa over 
 thofe who do not preferve tlie fame temper.; 
 "The greateft fervice," fiys Fein, "that thou 
 canft render to reuf*n, is to clotiie her in cilm- 
 nefs ; and he that defends truth with too much 
 beat, does her more injury than her adverfaries." 
 I fdw an example of the pffed\s of this coolnefs 
 in debate, in my friend My-^rs Fifher, who is a 
 learned and virtuous practitioner of tlie law. I 
 heard him before th« legiflatur!^ defind the caufe 
 of the Pilots, ag'/mft a bill, the objedl of which 
 was, to reduce their p.Ay. Clcarnefs, clofe ret- 
 fcning, and deep erudition, diftinguifhed his dif- 
 courfe ; which was followed by faccers. Hs. pre- 
 ferved conllantly his calmnefs of temper, amidft 
 the frequent attacks and fuddeu interruptions on 
 the part of the me;iibers of the AfTeinbly. 
 
 The Quakers carry to the borders of the tO'Hb 
 this fame tranquility of mind ; snd it evc« fa«- 
 T 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ivikes net the women at this dirir'eiTi r»g TTtoir.eiit. 
 "^rhjs is the fruit of their religious principles, and 
 of a regular virtuous Hfe. They confider Heaven 
 es their country ; and they tannct conceive why 
 death which conduds to it, fliould be a misfortune. 
 
 Thi's habitual ferenity does not diminilh their 
 fc-nfibility. The rcfpeftable Pembtrton recounted 
 to me the death of a beloved daughter, which 
 happened t^te day before. I could fee the tear 
 fteal do'.vn his cheek, which a moment's reflex- 
 ion cnufed fo difappear. He love:! to fpeak to 
 me of her virtues and her rtfijtiation during 
 her leng agony. <* She was an a:i£cl, (fays he) 
 and fhe is new in her place." 
 
 This good father did not exi-egerate. You will 
 iind in this Society many of thtfe ccleflial in-.nges, 
 clothed. in ferenity, the fymbol ef internal peace 
 arjd canfcious virtue. 
 
 I cannot explain to you the facl ; but it is 
 tru?, that I feel an expanCon of f/u! in their 
 fociety. I meet a man of a pure mind — I am at 
 once at mj^ eafe — we are like iati:iiarc and old 
 axrquiintance — .ve underhand each other without 
 fpeaking. A corrupted man, a fliarjier, a fv.an 
 of the world, produces on me a contrary impref- 
 fion. My foul contrads and recoils upon itfelf, 
 like the feniilive plant. 
 
 The portrait which I ha^fe given you of the 
 Qnakers, is not only the refult of my own obf.T- 
 vations, but what has been told me by enlight- 
 ened men of the other fK:3.s, 
 
 I afked one day, in company, the fallowing 
 queflion : " Is there a greater purity of morals, 
 more firr.piicity, more integrity, mora honefly 
 among the Quakers, than any other fcdb ?" A 
 man difiinguillied for his information and his 
 attachment to the new conftitution, anfwcred mc : 
 'f I am a Prefbvterian ; but I muft declare, that 
 the Q^iitkcrs exec! all fcfts in the qualities you 
 riiention." It is not that they are all pure ani 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 219 
 
 irreproachable; it is not, that there are not: feme 
 (liarpers araong them. The reputation, of the 
 fi-'«5l, and the advantage that may be niade of it, 
 have naturally brought into it fome hypocritical 
 profelytes and rafcals. A man would counterfeit 
 a guinea rather than a halfpenny .; but the 
 Qa .kers are very flri6l in expclH.'ig from their 
 fociety thofe who are found guilty, 1 do not fay of 
 crimes, but of thofe breaches of delicacy and probity, 
 which the laws do not punifli. Tne public is ofrcu 
 ignora.it of this e.vcommunicairion ; becaufe tn^* 
 excomniunicated member continu-^s to go to thek 
 public n-cetings on Sunday. Ke cannot be hin- 
 dered ii'O'.t) this ; but he is never admitted tu 
 their iTicnthiy or quarterly meetiiigs. 
 
 LETTER X 111. 
 
 On the Repror.chci ma(U agaiKji the '^ahrs by diffcrtki 
 i-Vrhers. 
 
 '^"F^HE fpcclacle of virtue gives pain to tire 
 1 wicked 5 ^nd they avenge themfelves by 
 decrying it. You muit not 'then bs furprifetl 
 that writerg have endeavoured to injure^ this 
 fanclilied body. One of thofe v/lio attempted 
 it with the mofl bitternefs, is the author of 
 Jlecherches fur hs Etcits Unis-,^ publilhed the befrin- 
 r.iiig of this year. He has dilatc^dj in a long 
 chapter, all the calumnies v/hicli he had before 
 uttL-red in a letter under tlie nnnie of one of 
 liis conntrymenj printed in the Paris Journal of 
 the fi^itcench of Noveinber, 17S6. 
 
 This author is Mr. Mazzei, an Italian, wUo 
 refided fome years in Viiginia, and has fince fet- 
 tled in France. He might naturally, amor.'g tke- 
 jgilanttrs 'ni Virgii^a contract pFifjudiccs sgai^iiiffe 
 
2im NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 the Qtiakers. Friends of diflipation, of luxury, of 
 11a very, of ple?.fure, and of oftentation, regard 
 with an evil eye, a fociety who preach and prac- 
 tice economy and fimplicity. Mr. M.izzd i?, be- 
 /ide?, unacquainted with the Qualters, having 
 never lived in their intimary : his tefiimony then 
 ought to have little weight. He cites as his 
 authority, the Virgiinans and the French military 
 d^f-ers. 
 
 The French, and erpecislly tl-e French oiiicers, 
 rannct in genera! he good judges in this mat- 
 ter ; fome cf the;n ficrliire too much to the ri^ge 
 of ridicule ; others have principles too different 
 from the Quakers ; and almoft all of them are 
 fuperficiai cbftrvcrs. 
 
 Yet I ir.ufl (c,\'t in praife of the French army, 
 that they always refpeeled the Qu-iker*. The 
 corr,m3n<fer in ch.ief had mnde of their meeting- 
 ^'ioufj at N£W|i .., a tragazine of arnns. He gave 
 it up to them on their rtqucfl. An EngliQi 
 General would have conducted very differently. 
 
 I.i another inftt^pce, a Frenth c^cnv br.d 
 quartered f^-me fjidier!; at the boufecf a Quaker ; 
 t)Ut of rtfpeft to their priaciples, he did i^ot 
 fufTcT them to depoflt their arms in the hcufe. 
 
 M. de Chaftellux was f^r fro:D thefc principles. 
 The C2m{^ cf Lis prejudice was, that at the time 
 when he travelled in A;T.er:ca, the Quakers were 
 firt treated with refpc-fi:, l'e:iiufe they n.fufed to 
 take part in the war. Ke caught the gener-iil 
 contagion of diHike, without ever hearing or 
 feeing any of tliem : A id it was to pleafe the 
 prttty graceful women of Paris, that he ridiculed 
 the interior grace of the Quakers. 
 
 Among the writers in thc-Ir favor, zrs Voltaire, 
 R.iynal, M'Auley, Cievecceur. Wliat nannes on 
 this fubje<?\ can be placed jn oppofition to them .? 
 
 In abufmg the Quakers, te is obliged to con- 
 fefs that their fingular ideas have raifed thera 
 in ^.'•tain points much a'dovc other ci^n. 
 
NKW TRATELS IN AMERICA. z.it^ 
 
 Hs pretends, likewlfe, that they have M^^s i 
 and where have I denied it ? Uhi hor.ibmy ihi crunt 
 ^itia, fays Tacitus. And the Quakers are iwen. 
 But I fay their principles guard them more troai 
 vice than thofe of other men. 
 
 Mr. Mazzei confefles, that for econorriy and 
 appliciitlon to bufinefs, their condud is truly 
 txemplary and ivorthy of praife. It is from thcfe 
 two fon'rces that flow all the private and civil vir- 
 tues ; for a nnan, who by principle is economical 
 and attentive to his bufinefs, has nothing to fear 
 from a nuT.erous family. If he has many chil- 
 dren, he loves them ; for he ^^os the nneans cf 
 providing for them with eafe. Such a man is 
 iieithcr a gambler nor a debauchee. Such a maa 
 « a good hufb^.nd ; for, placing all his harSpinef^ 
 in dorr.eftic lire, he is forced to be good, in or^ 
 der to be beloved ; and he cannot be happy, but 
 by rendering thofe happy who are round hiiii. 
 AVhy did not this critic fee the confequences that 
 iruft follow from the truth which he admits ? 
 \Vhy did he not fee that it effaced all the ill 
 that he fays afterwards of the Quakers ? V/hy 
 did he not fee that it raifed them above every 
 other fed ? For, with others, example, habit, or 
 other variable circumftances, may render men 
 economical and vigilant in bufinefs; while every 
 Quaker is fo, from a principle in his religion ; 
 a principle from which he cannot deviate, with- 
 out ceafmg to be a Quaker. Economy and in- 
 duftry are with them an eiTential part .of their 
 religion ; how much ftronger is fuch a motive 
 than all thofe which produce thefe in other men ! 
 
 Mr. Mazzei acknowledges, that in hofpitallty 
 and bericficence they are not inferior to other 
 men. He ought to have faid they were fuperior ;. 
 for charity and hofpitality flow from economy 
 and eafy circumftances. The man who has more 
 means, lefs real wants, and no fantaftical ones, 
 and who r«ally loves his fellow creatures, is ns- 
 Ta 
 
a2i2 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 feifarily beneficent and hefpitable ; and fuch 13 
 the fituation and fach the charaQcr of the Qua- 
 kers. ^ 
 
 But the great reproach that Mr. Mazzei brings 
 upon them is, that they are fupcrior in hypocri^. 
 To judge of this accufation, let us fee in what 
 bypocrify confills. 
 
 For a man to pretend to fentiments which he 
 does not poUlfs, to virtues which he does not 
 praftice — or, in a word, to appear what he is 
 not, is what is nr^eant by hypocrify. 
 
 Now, are not the Quakers what they appear 
 to be ? This is the point to be proved. To con- 
 vi£l them of religious hypocrify y you mu ft prove 
 that they do not believe in the Holy Spirit, and 
 in the Gofpel ; you nfjuft prove them to be Infi- 
 dels ©r AtheiAs under the mallt of Chriftianity. 
 
 If moral hypocrify is intended, you muft prove 
 that they conceal libertinifn, diflip:*tton, and 
 cruelty to their families, under the veil of aufte- 
 rity, economy, and apparent tendernefs. Is it 
 pQlitical hypocrify ? You muit then prove that 
 they wifli fecretly for places and dignities, which 
 they have renounced ; that they long to maflacre 
 their fellow-creatures, while they profefs a horror 
 for the efFufion of human blood ; that they arc 
 reail/ felnxli, under the mafk of friends and bene- 
 factors to the human race ; that they are proud 
 and haughty, under the appearance of" fimplicily. 
 In a word, hypocrify is a vague term ; and as 
 long as it is not applied to fadls, it fignifies no- 
 thing. It does not fufnce for its juftification, to 
 lay, that the Quakers are Protejlant Jcfuits. 
 
 This is but a new calumny, as vague as the 
 other. I afic for fads. \i the Quakers refemble 
 tUc Jtfa'ts in mildntfs, indulgence, tolerance, and 
 the art of pcrfuafion, it ii to refemble them on 
 the virtuous fide. M. Mizzei fays, they do not 
 refemble them in every thing, and- he thus effaces 
 what M. de Chaftellux had wantonly advanced qsl 
 ihis charge. 
 
NEW TR AVEI.S IN AME RICA. iiy 
 
 1 am not aftonidied that the Quakers have the 
 art of pcrfaafion. They have pciTelTed it for an 
 hundred and fifty years ; which is a proof, that 
 they merit the public confidence ; they muft have 
 loil it had they been charletar.s or hypocrites. 
 
 The cry of hypocrify is generally fet up againft 
 the nr.oft grave and religious feds, and rby thofe 
 men who are feeking to juilify their own cor- 
 ruption. It fec:ns, that having renounced all vir*- 
 tues, they like not to .take the trouble to feign 
 them ; or perhaps to get rid of the weight of 
 clteefn which is d'^e to virtue, they calculate,^ 
 that it ia eafrer to deny its cxiiiencc. 
 
 M. Mazzei accufes the Quakers of want of 
 furt£suality and equity m their commerce ; he adds, 
 that it is thsir natirnal chareiSter. Obferve, my 
 friend, that neither Mazzei nor Chaftellux adduce 
 » fmgle fa£l, nor a fingle authority for this affer- 
 tiQru It muH then be a pure calumny. If this 
 were the character of the Quakers, would fads be- 
 wanting to prove it ? 
 
 I have too often h«ard repeated this accufa- 
 tion of knavery againii them ; I have, with the 
 greateft care, confuited Englifh and Americans of 
 all it^^^y and French merchants who have dealings 
 with them ; and I have not been able to hear 
 of a fingle fad. as an infVance of difhonefly. The 
 worit that- has been told me, is, that they are 
 cunning, Urid, and inflexible; that they have no 
 refped for perfons ©r it^^, I was told too, as 
 M. Mazzei has printed, that they underiland very. 
 weii how to fell, that they fell dear. I have 
 fhowed 'v\ my anf^er to Chaftellux, the abfur- 
 dity of any reproach like this. To underftand 
 the art of felling, does not fuppofe a want of 
 probity ; it is the fpirit of commerce ; I will fay 
 rnore, it is the general charader of the Ameri- 
 cans ; they are artful : I will explain the caufc 
 «f it hereafter. 
 
 Mr. Bir.ghaiBj. one of the moll opuUnt utizeiis^ 
 
t24 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 of Phiiadelphh, and one who, frora his oftenta- 
 tion and luxury, cannot be very favourable to 
 the Qn«kcrs, fpokc of them to me in t!ie higheft 
 praife. He laid, that they were extremely punc- 
 tual in fuliiiiing their engagements, and that 
 they never live beyond their income. 
 
 And this will explain the common faying that 
 you fo ofte.'i hear repeated at Philadelphia, that 
 the Quakers are fo cunning that the Jews them- 
 felves cannot live among them. Ufurious Jews 
 can never live among economical men, who have 
 no need of borrowing money at enormous inter- 
 eft -, for a fimilar reafon, a feller of pork cannot 
 liva among Jews. 
 
 M. Mazzei accufes the Quakers of a i^e/tre of 
 gain ; though he is net fo formal in this accu- 
 fation as M. de Chaflellux. I will take this op- 
 portunity to make a remark on this common 
 reproach, with which it is fo fafnionable to re- 
 vile, not only the Quakers but commercial peo- 
 ple in general. 
 
 The author of Philofcphical Travels in England fays, 
 " We are luckily exempted in France, from that 
 fpirit of avarice, tiiat tkfire of gain ; and we owe 
 this exemption to the pride of a numerous body 
 of nobles.'* More luckily, however, we are at 
 prefent exempted from this very ufeful body^ 
 But I would afk this noble traveller, with what 
 fpiyit thefe honorable nobles bep and fawn for 
 lucrative places and penfions ? With what fpirit 
 do they engage, under borrowed names in all 
 fpeculations and flock-jobbing ? With what fpirit 
 do they require large gratifications for their pat- 
 ronage, fecret bribes from the Farmers-General, 
 and a covered intercil in every enterprize that is 
 carried on in the kingdom ? Is this the fame 
 fpirit ; or is it better or wcirfe than the deflrt 
 •f gain which appears to them io vile in a mer- 
 chant ? In two refpeiSls thefe men are infinitely 
 kclow the mcjchant ; in the bypocrify of pr«- 
 
KEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 21$ 
 
 tending to deCpift a metal which tliey burn to 
 polfefs, and in the u{e which they make of if. 
 Money gained in ccmrrerce, is generally en^p'oy- 
 ed in extending comraerce and ufeful fpeculations ; 
 nioney gaii.ed by a nobl^, is fpent in luxury, 
 vanity, debajichfry, and creating new poifoRS in 
 fociety. 
 
 The delire of gain in a imercbant, coniifts m 
 sn^ailing wealth, in j relerving it, and in watch- 
 ing over his a:ffjirs with a conftsnt attention. 
 S'jch then is the crime of the Qnakcrs. But in 
 reproaching them with it, we ought to confider 
 -attentively the circumftances of that fociety : 
 their religious principles exclude them from ail 
 amhitious views, from all places and employments; 
 they muft tnnn attend wholly to their iuduftry, 
 to the fuppcrt and eflablifliment of their children. 
 They have, therefore, more need of amsfTing prop- 
 erty than ether citizens, who may find the means 
 cf placing their children in piihUc ofSces, in t|>c 
 army, the navy, or the church. 
 
 Finally, the Qn^k^rs, having renounced the oc- 
 cupations of intrigue, of amufenents, and even 
 cf literature and the fciences, muft be occupied 
 wholly in bufinefs, and ccnfequently appear more 
 vigilant, that is, in the language of lazy nobil- 
 ity, more avaricious. 
 
 M. Mazzei agrees, that the Quakers are virtu- 
 ous ; but does not allow them to rank in this 
 refped above other fe£ls. He believes, that other 
 feds have produced men ss perfe^i as this. I 
 believe it as well as he : the im?.ge of Feneloii 
 fives me as ngreeable in imprelfion as that of 
 Fothergill or Benezet. But 1 maintain — Firft, that 
 the fedl cf the Quakers, in proportion to theiv 
 number, hns produced more of thefe prodigies. 
 Second, That no fed prefents to us a totality fo 
 perfed and harmonious,, and an affemblage of 
 men fo pure and virtuous, or fo conftant a feries 
 9f great tnd good adk>ns3. To prove this IjStI 
 
1225 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 aflcrtlon, I will only c:vll to your mind the emarr- 
 cipstion of Haves, executed by them with Una- 
 nimity, with the fivr.e fpirit, and followed by 
 numerous efforts to abnjifh (lavery, and to meli- 
 orate and educpte the Blacks. Let any one cite 
 to IDC in all ot'.ier fedts a firrtilar i'lftance of dif- 
 intereftedrefs and humanity. Let a fedl be 
 menricMcd, which, like this, has made it a law 
 never to tske any part either in privateering,* or 
 in contraband trade, even in a foreign country ; 
 for they will not tempt a foreigner to violate 
 ih' laws cf his own country. 
 
 During the 1ft war, the Qnakers pp.iTed a refo- 
 lution, that whoever of their fociety Hiould pay 
 a debt in paper-money (then depreciated) fhould 
 be excomnriunicated ; while, at that time, it w^s 
 a crime to doubt of the goodnefs of this puper ; 
 and the Quakers, like all other citizens, \vcV(i 
 obliged to receive ir from their debtors at the 
 rcfi/inal value. 
 
 LETTER XXXIII. 
 
 T^.: Lximf tf the Society §f fakers, their religious 
 PriJicipIes, i^c. 
 
 ASCCIETY, fimple in it> manners, economi- 
 cal, and devoted principally to agriculture 
 and commerce, mufl neCwlIarily increafe with 
 great rapidity. PennA'ivania may be confidered ss 
 the n-ot'ier country of the Quakers, who form 
 a majority of its population. They are numer- 
 
 ♦ 1 ought to wenticn the c(ir,du6i if a ^aker, 
 nvl& in the Icjl ruj^t,- rejiored to the original czwer, 
 his pert of a prize na'derAally token by a merchaniU 
 ijhipy in nwi-fh he rc/V intejjijitd. 
 
KEW TRAVELS IN AI^IERICA. 227 
 
 ons in the States of New-York, Ncw-Jerfey, 
 Mi-^yland, and Rhode-illand ; fonne in New-Hamp- 
 fttire and MaiTacl.ufetts. Pvliiny of the Qn^kers 
 have plartcd their tabernacles in that delightful 
 valley which is wafhed by the Shenadore beyond 
 the firft chain of mountains. They have no 
 fiaves ; they e.T^pIoy Negroes as hired f^rvants, and 
 have renounced the culture cf tobacco : and this 
 valley is oblerved as the beft cultivated part of 
 Virginia. 
 
 They have pufheci their f ttieinents likewife 
 into the two O^roHnas and Georgin. They are 
 beginning eftabiiihrnents near the O'viO, and have 
 a confidersble one - already at Rcciftone, on the 
 Monongahela. 
 
 It is to be wiflied, for the happioefs of the 
 Indians, and the peace of A-nerics, th.!t all the 
 planters of the frontiers pofieiT-d t*^e pacific 
 principles of the Qn.'kers : a laftirg union would 
 loon be formed between them ; and blood wor»ld 
 ro longer (lain the furrows which American iti- 
 duflry traces in tlie forefts. 
 
 The religion of the Qjakers is the fimpleft 
 imaginable. It confiits in the voice cf confcierce, 
 the internal fentinnent, the divine inftirid, which, 
 in their ©pinion, God has iTrparted to every one. 
 This inftind, this light, this grace, which every 
 perfon brings into the world with hirr, appears 
 to them the only guide neceifary for the con- 
 dud of life. But to underft.^.nd this guide, it ts 
 nccelTary to kiiow it ; to be known, it fnould 
 often be interrop:ated. Hence the necefii ry of 
 frequent meditations ; hence the nullity of all 
 fdrmal worlhip, ^ni the minKtratloa of priefis : 
 for they confider forms as fo many obflacles, 
 which turn the rttention from the voice within ; 
 and priefts poiTefling no more cf the Divine 
 Spirit than other men, cannot fupply the want 
 of meditation. 
 
 I h:iT; ftiQWfl in wy Critique en the Trcrels 
 
a2S NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA, 
 
 of Chaftellux, how much t'liis meditative worfhip 
 of the Deity is fuperior to the mechanical wor- 
 fhip of other fedls. I have proved tii^ the man 
 who adores his Creator by meditating on his 
 own duties^ will nccefldrily bec:>me goad, tolerant, 
 jufl, and beaeficent. You have here the key 
 both of the moral character of the Qnrkers, and 
 of its extraordinary duration. Their virtue is an 
 babit, a fecond nature. 
 
 The Quakers have been much rJdiculed for their 
 belief in this interior principle. For their calnm- 
 Tiiators, foine of whom have called themfejves 
 philofophers, are ignorant that this belief is not 
 peculiar to the Quakers. We find it in a great 
 numoer of fages, who have merited the homage 
 cf mankind. With Pythagoris, it was tlit E'craal 
 Word, the Great Light — with Anaxagoras the Dinjine 
 «So/J — with Socrates, the Good Spirit, cr Demon — 
 with Timeus, the Uncreated Principle — with Hieron, 
 the Author cf Delight^ the God tvithin the Man — 
 with 1*1:1 to, the eternal, ineffable and per fed Principle 
 •f Truth — with Zeno, the Creator and Father cf 
 all^ind with Plotinus, the Root of the Soul. When 
 thefe philorophcrs endeavored to cnaradlerife the 
 influence of this principle within us, they ufed 
 correfpondent exprcflions. Hieron cal'ed it a 
 domejlic God, an internal Go^. — Socrates and Timsus, 
 the Genius, or Angel— ?\o\.\n\\s,y the Di'vine Principlt 
 in Man — and Plato, the Rule of the Soul, the Inter- 
 nal Guide, the Foundation of Firiue, 
 
 1 do not pretend to explain to you all the 
 religious principles of the Qnikers ; this would 
 lead me too far; not that their dogmas are very 
 numerous, for their do£lrine is more fimple and 
 more concife than their morals. But this article, 
 as well as their hiflory, ought to be treated at 
 large. I can alTure you, that all the French 
 authors who have written on them, without ex- 
 cepting Voltaire, have been ignorant of the true 
 fources of inforaaatioa. They have contente^J 
 
• NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. up 
 
 themfelves with fcizing the obje£ls to which 
 they could give a caft of ridicule, and have 
 thrown afide every thing that could render that 
 fociety refpefliblc. 
 
 One inviolable practice of theirs, for inftance, 
 is, never to difpute about dogmas. They have 
 cut off an endlefs chain of difputations, by not 
 admitting the authority either of the Old or 
 New Tcliarrent to be fuperior to that of the 
 internal principle, and by not hiring a clafs of 
 m<»n for the fjle purpofe of difputing and tyran- 
 nizing, under the pretext of ir.ftrudling. What 
 torrents of blood would have been fparcd, if the 
 Citholics and Proteftants had adopted a rule of 
 coiidu£l fo wife ; if inftcad of quarrelling about 
 unintelligible words, about writings that may be 
 changed, about the authority of the Church and 
 the Pope, they had believed in the internal Spirit, 
 which for eich individual may be the fecreC 
 guid« ! this guide has little concern with' dogmas, 
 and much with morals. 
 
 Among the political principles of the Quakers, 
 the moil: rexiarkible are, never to take an oath, 
 and never to take arms. I ilnll fpeak of the 
 latter in an article by itfelf ; as to their refufing 
 to take a!i oath, it may be faid, that an oath 
 adds no weight to the declaration of an honefl 
 man ; and perjury has no terrors for a knave. 
 
 Their dlfcipline is as finnple as their do£lrine. 
 In their marriages, their births, and interments, 
 they ufe only the forms neceflary to verify the 
 exiflence of the faft. 
 
 . A Quaker cannot marry a perfon of another 
 fed ; 1 aficed the reafon of this ; as it appeared 
 to me a fign of intolerance. " The prefervatioa 
 of our fociety," (replied a Quaker) depends on 
 the pref^rvation of the cufto.TiS which diflinguilh 
 us from other men. This fingularity forces ui 
 to be more honelf ; and if we fliould unite our 
 families with Grangers, who are not of our foc^ 
 J3 
 
23« NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 ctj, indivldunls would fwerve from our ufages, 
 and confound them with others. A Quaker wo- 
 nsan who fhould marry a Prefbyterian, fubmits 
 herfelf to the authority of a man over whom we 
 have no influence ; and the fociety fubfifts only 
 by this domeftic, voluntary, and reciprocal iriflu- 
 cnce.*' 
 
 This influence is direfted by their difi-'erent 
 aflemblies. The monthly afi'cmbiies are in general 
 compofed of feveral neighbouring congreg:uions. 
 Their funftions are to provide for the fubfift- 
 €nce of the poor, and the edu:ation of their 
 children ; to exaoiine the new converts, and 
 prove their morals ; to fuflain th« zeal and the 
 religion of others ; to hear and judge their faults 
 by means of fuperintendants appointed for this 
 purpofe ; to decide and fettle any difpute that 
 may arife either between Quakers, cr between a 
 Quiker and a flr/inger, provided the latter wiil 
 fubmit to their arbitrament. This hft ohje(5l is 
 one of the moft important; it prevents thatcru»l 
 fcburge fo ravaging in other countries, the fcourgc 
 of lawyers, the fourcc of fo much corruption, 
 and the caufe of fuch fcandalous divifions. This 
 cuflom muft be of great advantage to ftrangcrs 
 who live in the neighbourhood of Quakers. The 
 fociety excommunicates a member who will not 
 fubmit to this arbitration. 
 
 Appeals are fometimes carried from the month- 
 ly to the quarterly afi'emblies : the principal hufi-* 
 nefs of the latter is to fuperintend the operations 
 «f the former. 
 
 But the Aiperintefldance of the whole fociety 
 belongs to the annual aflemblies. Thcfe receive 
 reports from the inferior bodies refpe^^ing the 
 ftp.te of all parts of the fociety, give their ad- 
 vice, mak? regulations, judge definitively on the 
 appeals from the lowet afi'emblies, and wmc let- 
 ters to each other, in ordsr to maintain a fra- 
 fernal correfpondcace. 
 
NEW TR A VELS IN AMERICA. j| i 
 
 There are feven annual aiTemblies. One at 
 London, to which the Quakers in Ireland fend 
 deputies ; one in New-England, one at New-York, 
 one for Pennfylvania and New-Jerfey, one in 
 Miryland, one in Virginia, one for the two Cur- 
 olinas and (Georgia. 
 
 As the Quakers believe that women m?.y bar 
 called to the miniftry as well as men, and as 
 there are certain articles of difcipline which onlv 
 concern the -women, and the obfervaiKe of which 
 can be fuperiatended only by them, they have 
 likewife their monthly, quarterly, and annual 
 meetings. But they have not the right to make 
 regujations. Ttvis method is much more proper 
 to maintain morals among women, than that of 
 our Catholic confelTors : Vi'hich fubjcds the feeble 
 fex to the artifice, the fancies, and the empire 
 of particular men ; which opens the door to the 
 moli fcandalous fcenes, and often carries inquifi- 
 tion and dilTenfion into the bofom of families. 
 
 The Quakers have no falaricd pricfts ; their 
 minifters are fuch men as are the moft remarka- 
 ble for their zeal ; they fpeak the moft frequent- 
 ly in their meetings ; but all perfons, mak and 
 feiT>;tle, have an equal right to fpeak whenever 
 they feel an inclination. 
 
 Thefe minifters, with fonce approveil elders, 
 hold monthly meetings, by themfelves* for their 
 own inftruiStion. In thefe meetings they revife, 
 and order to be printed, fuch works ss they 
 choofe to have diftributed ; and they never fail 
 to t.ike • fuch meafures, as that ufeful works 
 llvriUid be fold at a low price. 
 
 Jn all thefe aflemblies, fome of which are very 
 rinmerGUF, they have no prefident, and no perfoa 
 who has the lesft authority. Yet the greatcft 
 order and harmony are always obferved. You 
 never hear two peifons (peak at once in any of. 
 their moft interefting deliberations. 
 
 fiut what will furprize you more is, that in 
 
a^a NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 iheir numerous ?ffemblies, nothing is decided but 
 by unanimity. Eich member has a kind of fuf- 
 penfive negative. He has only to fay, / hat^e liet 
 (learnffs ; the queftion is then adjourned, and not 
 cecided till f'vcry member is agreed. 
 
 This Vi(dge appears to me highly honorvible to 
 the fociety ; it proves a wonderful union among 
 this band of brothers ; it proves th'it the fame 
 fpirit animates them, the fpirit of rcafon, of 
 Jnith, and of the public good. Deliberative af- 
 lejTjblies in general, would not be fubjeft to fuch 
 long and violent difcuffions, if, like the Quakers, 
 They were difer-gaged from all perfonal ambition, 
 and if, to refolve doubts, ti^e members addrefied 
 themfelves only to the confciences of men. 
 
 You will, perhaps, conclude from this, that 
 this fociety can do but little bufinefs. This will 
 be a nuftake ; no fociery does more for the pub- 
 lic good. It is owing to them, that Piniadelphia 
 has hitherto been prcftrved from the danger of 
 theatres. Their petition this year, to prevent per- 
 xnifiion being obtained to ered one, has been 
 fijccefsful. 
 
 A thorough knowledge of tlte Quakers, my 
 friend, is not to be obtained by going, like Cha- 
 fteliux, for an hour into one of their churches. 
 Enter into their hrufes ; you will find them the 
 abodes of peace, harmony, gentienefs, and fru- 
 |;ality ; tenderntfs to children, humanity to fer- 
 vants. Go into their hofpitals ; you will there 
 fee the more touching effects of charity, in their 
 •unexampled cleanlinefs, in their aliments, in their 
 beds, and in their fcrupulous attentions. Vifit 
 the afyliims of old age and decrepitude ; you will 
 And the cloth and linen of the poor as decent 
 as that of their benefactors. Each one has his 
 chamber, and enjoys not only the necclTaries, but 
 many of the agreeables of life. 
 
 If you would quit the town, and run ovrr the 
 f.tfms cf the Qt]r.kers, you will difcover a greater 
 
NEW TRATELS IN AMERICA. 2^3 
 
 degree of neatnefs, order, and care, among thcfe 
 ttultivators, than among any other. If you exam- 
 ine the interior organization of the fociety, you 
 will find, in every church, a treaiury for charity, 
 containing more or lefs money, according to the 
 wealth of the congregation. Tkis is employed int 
 afillling young tradefracn, in fuccouring thoffc 
 who have failed in bufinefs through misfortune?, 
 thofe who have fufFered by fire and other acci- 
 dents. Yon will find many rich perfonJ among 
 them, who make it a conftant rule to give to 
 this treafury one-tenth of their revenue. 
 
 I am perfuaded, my friend, that, after having 
 well examined this fociety under all thtfe details, 
 you would cry out, If to-morrow I were reduced 
 to poverty, and to be deftitute of the fucco«r 
 of my friends, God grant that I might finiih 
 my days in a Quaker hofpital : if to-morrow I 
 were to become a farmer, let me have members 
 of this fociety for my neighbours ; they would 
 inftrucl me iby their example and advice, and 
 they would never vex. me with law-faits. 
 
 LETTER XXXIT. 
 
 The Refufal cf ^.akers to takt any part in War. 
 
 THESE wife men have feen that the great bads 
 of univerfil happinefs muft be univerfal peace ; 
 and that to open the way to that peace, we 
 mud pronounce an anathema againft the art of 
 war. Sacred writings have taught us to believe^ 
 that the time will come when nation will no 
 more lift the fword againft nation ; and to lead 
 •to the^ accomplirnment of fo confoling a prophe- 
 cy, this people believe that example is more pov/- 
 erful than words ; that kings will always find 
 the fecr^t of perpetuating wars, as long as they 
 U 2 
 
234 NEWTRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 :can hire men to mur<^er each other ; and that 
 it is their duty z$ a fociety, to refolve never to 
 take arms, or contribute to the expences of any 
 war. They have been torrr.entcd, robbed, imprif- 
 oned, and martyred ; they have fufFcred every 
 thing ; till tyranny itfelf, wearied v^ith their per- 
 leverance, has exempted them from military fer- 
 vice, and has been driven to indireft meafures 
 to force contributions from their hands. 
 
 What then would become of our heroes and 
 our conquerors, cur Fredericks and our Potem- 
 kins, if all religious feds had adopted the fame 
 pacific fpirir, ar»d no man could be found, \vho 
 would confent to be trained like an automaton 
 to the infernal art of killing his fellow-creatures. 
 
 If we wifii for the happinefs of mankind, let 
 us pray, that this fociety may cover the whole 
 globe ; or let us endeavour, at lead, that their 
 humane principles be adopted by all men. Then 
 would be realized that univerfal peace, which the 
 Quakers have already realized in countries where 
 they have borne the fway. 
 
 In Pennfylvania, they found the fecret of de- ' 
 fending themfelves ..from the frourge of military 
 ilaughter, till the war of 1755, between France 
 and E)glarid. Though mingled with the Indians, 
 •?ver any quarrels rofe among them, which led 
 to the fpilliag of blood. 
 
 The government of England, with all its mn- 
 ficsuvres, could never engage the Quakers to give 
 Lny afliftance in this war. They not only refu- 
 fcd this, but ihey refigned all the places which 
 they had held in the government of the colony ; 
 for it was before almoft entirely in their bands; 
 and fuch was their economy, that the produce 
 ©f the cuftom-houfe, and a fmall excife, were 
 always fafficient to defray the public expences ; 
 fo that no other tax was known in the colony. 
 
 The war of T755 changed this order of things, 
 and occafioncd heavy expences, which ths colo- 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN Al^iERICA. 235 
 
 nles were obliged to psy. The Quakers wer^ 
 fabjeded to ther, as well as others ; but they 
 not only refufed, as a fociety, to pay taxes, of 
 which war was the objed, but they excommu- 
 nicated thofe wI)o paid them. They perfevcred 
 in this practice in the hft war. 
 
 At this time an aniinofity was kindled againft 
 them, which is not yet extinguilbed. Faithful 
 to their principles, they declared, that they would 
 take no part in this war, and they excommu- 
 nicated all fuch as joined either the Americrn or 
 Biitifh army. 
 
 I am well conviiiced of the facred and divine 
 principle which authorifes refiftance to oppref^ 
 fion ; and I am well convinced, that opprcffion 
 was here manifeft ;, I muft therefore blame the 
 neutrality of the Quakers on this occafion, when 
 tJieir brethren were fighting for independence. 
 But I believe, likewife, that it was wrong to 
 parfecute them fo violently for their pacific neu- 
 trality. 
 
 If this inftancs of refuflU had been the firft of 
 the kind, or if it had been di£lated by a fecret 
 attachment to the. Britifli caufe, certainly they 
 would have been guilty, and this perfecution 
 would perhaps have been- legitimate. But this 
 neutrality was commanded by their religious opin- 
 ions, conftantly profefled and pradtifed by the 
 iociety from its origin. 
 
 No perfon has fpoken to me with more impar- 
 tiality refpeding the Quakers than General Wafh- 
 ington, that celebrated man, whofe fpirit of juf- 
 tice is remarkable in every thing. He declared 
 to rae, that, in the courfe of the war, he had 
 entertained an ill opinion of this fociety ; he knew 
 but little of them ; as at that time there were 
 but few of that fed in Virginia ; and he had 
 attributed to their political fentiments, the effed 
 of their religious principles. He told me, tha.t 
 haying iince knowa them better, he acquired an 
 
23<S NEW TR AVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 efteem for them ; and that confidering th* ficw- 
 plicity (of their manners, the purity of their mor- 
 als, their exempl^.ry economy, and their altaCh- 
 inent to the conftitution, he, confidered this foci- 
 rty as one of the befl fupports of the new gov- 
 ernment, which requires a great moderation, and 
 a total baniflinient of luxury. 
 
 It was not under this point of view that they 
 were regarded by the Congrefs, which laid the 
 foundation of American Independence. This 
 Co:igrefs joined their perfecutors, and baniflied 
 fome of their moft noted leaders to Staunton, in 
 Virginia, two hundred miles from their families. 
 My friend, Myers Fifher, was of the number. 
 M. Mazzei quotes the violent Addrefs publifiied 
 by Paine againfl them, but takes care not to 
 quote the anfwer made to it by Fiflier. But 
 fuch is the logic of this calumniator of the 
 Quakers. Since the peace, they have been fub- 
 jedled to another kind cf vexation. Each citizen, 
 from fixteen to fifty-five years of age, is obliged 
 by law to ferve in the militia, or to pay a fine. 
 The Quakers will not ferve nor pay the fine. 
 The colleftor, whofe duty it is to levy it, enters 
 their hcufes, takes their furniture, and fells it ; 
 and the Quakers peaceably fubmit. 
 
 This method gives great encouragement to 
 knavery. Colle^ors have been known to take 
 poods to the amount of fix times the fine, to 
 fell for a (hilling what was worth a pound, never 
 to rerupn the furplus, nor even to pay the State, 
 but afterwards become bankrupts. Their fuccef- 
 fors would then come and demand the fine 
 already paid ; but the Quakers have complained 
 of thefe abufes to the Icgiilature, and an aft is 
 palTcd fufpending thefe collections till Sept. 1789. 
 
 It wculd be very eafy to reconcile the wants 
 of the State, and the duty of the citizen, with 
 the religious principles of the Quakers. You 
 jDfiight iSbjeft them only to pacific taxes, and 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 237 
 
 require them to pay a larger proportion of them. 
 This is already done in Virginia, in abolifhing, 
 with refpeit to them, the militia fervice. 
 
 With this view of their charaifter, you will 
 agree with me, my friend, that our government 
 ought to haflen to naturalize this purity in 
 France. Their example might ferve to regenerate 
 our manners ; without which we cannot certainly 
 prelcrvs our liberty, for a long time, though we 
 Ihould be able to acquire it. T!ie Catholic re- 
 ligion, which predominates in France, can be no 
 objedion to it ; for tiie Qnakers hate no feft, 
 but ere friendly to all. They have ever lived in 
 particular harmony with the Citholics of Penn- 
 fylvania and Maryland. James Pemberton told me, 
 that in the war cf 1740, he knew a mob of 
 fanitical Preftyteriaiis, with :-'xes in their hands, 
 going to deftrcy a Catholic chapel. Ten cr 
 twelve Qnakers topped them, exhortt-d them, and 
 they difperfed without eiTe«5ling their defign. 
 
 Living in hannony with all other (c6is, they 
 preferve no refentment ag;*inft the apoftates from 
 their own, notwithftarding the troubles which they 
 experienced froin them, lleafon is the only wea- 
 pon which they ufe. 
 
 ^nftfcript nfjritten in 1790. 
 
 IF the old government had an intereft in in- 
 viting Qnakers to France, this intereft is doub- 
 bled fince the Revolution. The fpirit of that 
 fociety agrees with the fpirit of French liberty in 
 the following particulars : 
 
 That Society has made grest eflablifhmente 
 without effufion of blood ; the N?.tional AlTembly 
 has renounced the idea^ of conqucft, which is 
 almoft univerfally the caufe of war. That Society 
 pradifes univerfal tolerance ; the Afiembly or- 
 dains it. The Society ohfervcs fimplicity ofwor- 
 ^ipi th? AiTsmbly le^ds to it. The Society prac- 
 
lit NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 tifcs good morals, which are the ftrongeft fupports 
 of a free governaient ; the political regeneration 
 of France, which the AlTembly is about to con- 
 fa m mate, conduds necelTarily to a regeneration 
 of morals. 
 
 If the French are armed from North to South, 
 it is for liberty, it is for the terror of defpotifm, 
 it is to obey the commands of God ; for God 
 has willed that man fiiould be free, fince he has 
 endowed him with reijfon ; he hns willed that he 
 fhould life all efforts to defend himfelf from that 
 tyranny which defaces the only image of the Deity 
 in man, his virtues and his talents. 
 
 But notwithftanding this ardor in the French 
 to arm theinfelves in fo holy a caufe ; they c!o 
 not lefs rcfpeft the religious opinions ot the 
 Qu^ikcrs, which forbid tl'.em to fpill the blood 
 ct iljcir ene:»iies. This error of their humanity 
 is (o chr.riTiing, that it is almoH: as good as a 
 truth. V/e are a!l ftriving for the fame object, 
 ufiiverfal fr.itcrnity ; the Quakers by gentlerief>-, 
 we hy refidance. Their means are thofe of a 
 i'oiieiy, ours thofc of a powerful nation. 
 
 LETTER XXXV. 
 
 Jourr.<:y to Mount Vernon^ in Virfi^ria* 
 
 ON the 15th of November, 1788, I fet out 
 from Philadelphia for Wilmington, diilancc 
 twenty-eight miles, and road tolerably good. 
 The town of Chefter, fifteen miles from Philadel- 
 phia, is a place where ftr angers like to reft. It 
 (lands on a creek, which falls into the Delaware. 
 It enjoys fome commerce, and the taverns here 
 are good. 
 
 Wilmington is much more confiderable ; it 
 ftaads likewife on a creel; n^ar the DjUware \. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 239 
 
 the bafis of its cornmerce is the exportation of 
 flour. One mile above Wilmington, you pafs the 
 town of Brandywine ; the name of which will 
 call to your mind a famous battle gained by the 
 EnglilTi over the Americans, eight miles from 
 this town, on a river of the fame name. This 
 town is famous for its fine mills ; the moft con- 
 fiderable of which is a paper-mill belonging to 
 Mr. Gilpin and Myers Fifher, that worthy orator 
 and man of fcience, whom I have off^n men- 
 tioned. Their procefs in making paper, tfpccially 
 in grinding the rags, is much more fimple thaa 
 ours. 1 have feen fpecimensof their paper, both 
 for writing and printing, equal to the fineft m.ade 
 in France. 
 
 Wilmington is a hardfome town, well built, 
 and principally inhabited by Quakers. I have 
 feen many refpeQable perfons among them, par- 
 ticularly Dodor Way. The celebrated Mr. Dick- 
 infon, who refides here, was, unfortunately for 
 me, out of town. 
 
 I pafled two evenings in company wit:h Mifs 
 Vining, that amiable woman, whom the licentious 
 pen of Chaftel'ux has callumniated, as having too 
 much tafle for gallantry. It we believe the tefti- 
 rpony of all her acquaintance, this trait which he 
 hss given her rs an inexcuf-ible libel. The Qua- 
 kers themfelves, to whom her gaiety c:tnnor be 
 pleafing, d^eclare that her condutTt has been uni- 
 formly irreproachable. But I believe, that this 
 malicious and c:;wardly fh^ft, hurled in fecurity 
 from the other lide of the Atlantic, has eflentiall'y 
 injured her. 
 
 At nine miles from Wilmington, I pad Chrif- 
 tine-Bridge, a place of fome commerce. From 
 thence, to the head of Eik, you fee but few plan- 
 tations, you run through eight miles of woods, 
 only meeting with a few log-houfes ; then you 
 arrive at Hcnderfon*s tavern, a very good inn, 
 alone in the niid-ft of vaft foreds. It is twenty- 
 
240 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 two miles from thence to the ferry of the Suf- 
 quehaiinah. The town here is called Havre-de- 
 Grace, a name given it by a Frenchman who 
 laid the foundation of the town. It is at prefent 
 an irregular mafs of about 150 houfes ; but there 
 is no doubt, when the entrance of the river fh a 11 
 be rendered navigable, but this will be an inter- 
 efling fituation, and a populous town. Here is 
 a charming garden belonging to the proprietor 
 of the ferry, from which I had a delicious prof- 
 pedl of that magnificent river ; which in this place 
 is more than a mile and a half wide, interfper- 
 fed with iflands. From thence to Baltimore are 
 reckoned fixty m.iles. The road in general is 
 frightful, it is over a clay foil, full of deep ruts, 
 always in the midfl: of forefts ; frequently ob- 
 ftTuded by trees overfet by the wind, which 
 obliged us to feek a new pafTage among the 
 woods. I cannot conceive why the ftage does 
 not often overfet. Both the drivers and their 
 horfes difcover great (kill and dexterity, being 
 accuftomed to thcfe roads. 
 
 But why are they not repaired ? Overfeers of 
 the roads are indeed appointed, and fines are 
 fometimes pronounced on delinquencies of this 
 kind ; but they are ill coUeded. Every thing 
 here is degraded ; it is one of the effefls of fla- 
 very. The flive works as little as poflible ; and 
 the m;^fter, eager of vile enjoymerits, fir»ds other 
 occupations than fending his negroes to repair 
 the roads. 
 
 Some vaft fields of Indian corn, but bad culti- 
 vation ; pale faces worn by the fever and ague ; 
 naked Nf^groes, and miferable huts, are the moft 
 ftriking images offered to the eye of the travel- 
 ler in Maryland. 
 
 We arrived at Baltimore in the night ; but I 
 viewed this town on my return.^ It centains 
 near two thoufand houfes ; and fourteen thou- 
 fand inhabitants. It is irregularly built, and oa 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 241 
 
 land but little elevated above the furface of Put- 
 apfco Bay, on the North of winch it forms a 
 crefcent. The b;^y is not fufliciently deep ta 
 receive tl^c Icrgcft (hips ; they anchor near Fell's 
 Point, two miles from the centre of the town. 
 There are ftill ftagnant waters in the town ; ,fcw 
 of the ftreets are paved ; and the great quanti- 
 ties of mud after rain, announce that the air 
 muft be unher.Ithful ; hut aik the inhabitants, 
 and and they will tell you, no. You may fay 
 here, like the Swifs, in the heat of a buttle, " If 
 you believe thefe people, nobody can die here!'* 
 Baltimore was hut a village before the war ; 
 but during that period, a confiderable portion 
 of the commerce of Philadelphia was removed to 
 this place. The greateft fiiips come as far as 
 here, and can go no farther ; vaft quantities of 
 provifions defcend the Sufquehannah, and when 
 that river fhall be navigable, Biltimore muft be 
 % very confiderable port. 
 
 The quarrel about federalifm divided the town 
 at the time I was in it ; and the two parties 
 alrnofl: came to blows on the eleclioa of their 
 feprefentatives. 
 
 We left Biltimore for Alexandria st four in 
 the morning ; diftant about fixty miles, bad roads, 
 a rude wagj^jos, excellent horfos, fkilful conduc- 
 tors, poor cultivation, miferable huts, and mifera- 
 ble Negroes. 
 
 They (bowed me a plantation belonging to a< 
 Quaker ; there were no flnv.?s upon it. I faw 
 Brufiuown, a nev/ village that the State of Mary- 
 land has pointed out for the feat of a college. 
 This edifice is nearly completed ; it is on an 
 eminence, and enjoys a good air. We breakfafted 
 in this village, and dined at Bladenfbury, fixteen 
 miles from Alexandria. It is fituited on a Iittl« 
 rivrer, which difr.harges into the Potownfiack, and 
 which admits Biteaus of twenty or thirty tons. 
 We could fiad nothing to drink, but b^ndy ^ 
 W 
 
€42 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 rum, n ixed with water. In countries cultivated 
 by Daves, there is no indufiry and no domeftic 
 tconomy. T}ie people know not the advantage 
 of Tn?king beer or cyder on their f.-r^s. 
 
 Georgetown terminates the Srate of Maryland : 
 it overlooks the Potowmack, hss an aprceable fit- 
 iiation, and a ronfiderable comnn.erce. Regulations 
 and impofts, inconfideratt-'ly laid on commf:rce by 
 the State of Virgiiiia, have baniflied to George- 
 town a confiderable part of the comn^crce of 
 Alex?.ndria. 
 
 This place is eight miles below Georgetown, 
 on the oppofite fide of the Potowmack. Alexan- 
 dria has growri from nothing to its prefrrnt fize 
 within thefe forty years. It is not fo confidf.r- 
 able as Baltimcrr, which it ought to furpafs. 
 Jt is almcft as irregular and ?.s deditute of pave- 
 ments. You fee here a greater parade of luxury ; 
 but it is a miftrablc luxury ; r:rvant.>' with filk 
 f^ockings in boots ; woren elegantly dreiTed, and 
 their heads adorned with fcrithers. 
 
 The inhabitants, at the clofe of the war, im- 
 agined that every natural circin^ftance confj>ired 
 to render it a great coTi:TjerciaI town — the falu- 
 brity of the air, the profundity of the river ad- 
 mitting the largefl: fliips to anchor near the 
 i]uay ; an innnnerire extent of back country, fertile 
 and alsounding in provifions. They h-ivc there- 
 fore buiit on every fide commodious ftore-honfes, 
 and elegant wharves ; but connmcrce ftill lan- 
 guifhes on account of the reftraints above-men- 
 tioned. 
 
 I hafl^ned to arrive at Mount Vernon, the 
 feat of General Wafhington, tsii miles below Alex- 
 andria on the finae river. On this rout you tr;i- 
 verfe a confiderable wood, and after having {)afled 
 over two hills, you difcover a country houfe of 
 an elegant and majcfHc fimplicity. It is preceded 
 by grafs plats ; on one fide of the avenue arc 
 tiie ftabh:, on t1ie other a green-houfe, and 
 
NEW TRAVELvS IN AMERICA. 343 
 
 houfes for a humber of negro rnechanics. In a 
 fpacioui back yard are turkies, gecfe, aiul other 
 poultry. This houfe overlooks the Potcwfrcck, 
 enjoys an extenfive profpecl, has a Va(t ai.ci ele- 
 vated portico en the front next the riVer, .and 
 a conve; ier t diftributicn of the apartments with- 
 in. The General came home in the evening, 
 fistigued with having been to lay out a new. 
 road in fome part of his plantuions. You have 
 often hesrd him compared to Cinrinnatus : the 
 comparifon is doubtlcfs jiirt. This celebrated 
 General is rothing more at prefent than a gcoct 
 famer, conftantly occuj)ied in the care of hiis 
 farm and the i-Tiprovements of cultivation. He 
 has littly built a bnrn, one hundred feet in 
 length, and ccr.Hder.^bly nnorc in breadth, defi- 
 ned to receive the produilions of bis f.-.rm, and" 
 to fiieltcr his cattle, horfes, afies, TKnd nrrults. 
 It is buiit on a plan fenc him by that famout 
 Enpliili, far:j>er Arthur Yaung. But the Ginfral 
 has much i-nproved the plan. This builiinff is 
 in brick, it coft but three hundred pounds ; 7 
 am fare in France it would have coft three t- •a- 
 fand. He planted this year eleven Jumdi^d hufn- 
 els of potatoes. All this is new in Virginit, 
 where they know not the ufe of barns, and 
 where they lay up no provifions for their caftle. 
 His three hui^dred N-groes sre diftributed in 
 different log houfes, in different parts of his 
 plantation, which in this neighhourhcod corfiils 
 of ten thcufand acres. Colonel Humphreys, tiKit 
 poet of wh.om I have fpoken, ^Ifured me that 
 the General pcfltlfes, in different piirts of th« 
 country, more than two hundred thouf^ind ricres. 
 Every thing has tin air of fimplrcity in 1:2 
 houfe : bis table is good, but not oftentatic.ij ; 
 and"«^no deviation is feen from rcgulrrity aid 
 domeftic economy. Mrs. Wathington fuperintcr. ds 
 the whole, and jojns to the qualities of an ex- 
 '.idlsnt houfe-'Aifa, ^h« iinigle dignity vrhichou^ht 
 
a^4 ^'I^W TRATELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 to charaj^erize a woman, whofe hu(band has a<flv24 
 the greatcft part on the theatre of human affairs ; 
 while (he pcffefies that amity, and manifefrs that 
 attention to Grangers, which render hofpitality ^o 
 charn:iing. The fanae virtues are ccnfpicuous in 
 iier intcrefling niece ; but onhappily (he appears 
 AOt to enjoy good health. 
 
 ' M. de Chsftcllux has mingled too much of 
 the bri'liant in his portrait of General Wafhing- 
 XOJ. His eye befpeaks great goodncTs of heart ; 
 TTsanly fenfe marks all his anfwers, and he fome- 
 times animates in converfatio-!, but he has no 
 charafkeriftic features ; which renders it d'.fficalt 
 to fsize him.' He amounces a profound difcre- 
 tion, and a great cifiiJcTce in hirnrjjf ; but at 
 the fame time, an unfhakea firmnefs of chanc- 
 ier, wlien once he hr>s mace his dfjcifion, His 
 .inodetly is artonill^ing fo a Frenchman ; he fpeaks 
 of the Arreric;:! war, a- (i of his vJif^criss, as of 
 .things in which be had '.\o d're£l;on. 
 
 He fpoke to rr>e «->f M. c!» h Fayette with the 
 gre?.teft tendi^rnefs. He regjnicd him as his chUd ; 
 £ud forefaw, with a joy mixed with iiiqaierude, 
 the part that this pupil was going to a A in th« 
 approaching revolution of Fra:'ce. He could not 
 predid, with cJcarccfs, the ev'ent cf this revolu- 
 tion. If, on the one fide, he acknowhdges the 
 .45rdor and entf^uGafrn of the French cV.arader ; 
 «n the other, he fiw an r.flonifliing venenition 
 for their ancient g:ive»'n;neiit, and fcr thof^ mon- 
 archs whofe inviolability appeared to him a ftrangc 
 4dca. 
 
 After paffing three days in the houfe of this 
 celebrated man, who loaded me with kindnefs, 
 «nd gave me iBuch information jelative to th« 
 
 Jate war, and the prefent fituation of tSe Uiiit^ 
 €tatejj 1 returaed to Alexandria. 
 
LETTER XXXVL 
 
 General Ohfir'vnticHS ox Maryland and Firginia^- 
 
 THE Bay of Chefapeak divides Maryland ivdo 
 two parts, nearly equal. The wcftern divi-- 
 flon is the n^ort peopled. Nuinerous bays and 
 navig-ible rivers render this State fingularly com- 
 iTiodious for commerce. It would fbon become 
 extremely flourifliing if flavery were banifhed from 
 it, if a more advantageoHS culture were, fubfti- 
 tuted to that of tobacco, and if the fpirit of tlie 
 Cithclic religion had not adulterated the taft«. 
 for order, regularity, and fevcrity of manners, 
 which charndlerize the other fefts, and which, 
 have fo great an influence in civil and political 
 economy. The people of this fedl were well at- 
 tached to the late Revolution. 
 
 Cotton is cultivated in Maryland, as in Vir- 
 ginia ; but little care is taken to perfeil either 
 its culture or its manufadurc. You fee excellent 
 lands in thefe two States ; but they have very, 
 few gocd meadows, though thefe might be made 
 in abundance. For want of attention and labour;,, 
 the inhabitants make but little hay ; and what 
 they h:;ve is net good. They likewife negle£t 
 the cultivation of potatoes, carrots, and turnips 
 for their cattle, of which their neighbours of. 
 the north make great ufe. Their cattle are Xtit 
 without fliclter iii winter, and nouriflied with the 
 tops of" Indian corn. Of confequence many of 
 them die with cold and hunger; and thofe that 
 .furvive the winter, are miferably meagre. 
 
 They have much perfected in this country the 
 Englifh metliod of inoculation for the firrall-pox. 
 In the manner pra£lifed here, it is very little 
 dJingerous. Gener'.l Washington affurel me, that 
 he makes it a pradHce to have all his Nagroes 
 inoculated, and that he never loft one in the. 
 ©peratrbii. Whoever inocuUtcS ja Vii^^nia, is 
 
 vV 2 
 
V246 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 obliged, by law, to give infarmation to his neigh- 
 bours within the fpace of two iriles. 
 
 The population augments every where in thefe- 
 States, notwlthftanding the great emigration to 
 the Ohio. The horits of Virginia are, without 
 contradi£lion, the fineft in the country ; but they 
 bear double the price of thofe in the northcrti 
 States. The praftice of races, borrowed from the 
 Englifli by the Virginians, is fallen into difufe. 
 The places renowned for this bufinefs are all 
 abandoned ; and it is not a misfortune ; they 
 are places of gambling, drunkennefs, and quarrels. 
 
 The General informed me that he could per- 
 ceive a great reformation in his countrymen in 
 this refpeft ; that they are lefs given to intoxica- 
 tion, that it is no longer fafhionable for a man 
 to force his guefts to drink, and to make it an 
 honor to fend theai home drunk ; that you hear 
 no longer the taverns refounding with thcfe noi- 
 ly parties formerly To frequent ; that the feflions 
 of the courts of juftice were no longer the the- 
 atres of gambling, inebriation, and blood ; and 
 that the dTtinftion of claflfes begins to difappear. 
 
 The towns in Virginia are but f.nall ; this 
 may be f^id even of Richmond with its capitoL 
 This capitol turns the heads of the Virginians ; 
 they imagine, that from this, like the old Ro- 
 mans, they Ihall one day give law to the whole 
 north. 
 
 There U a glafs manufadory forty miles from 
 Alexandria, which exported laft year to the 
 amount often thoufand pounds in glafs: and 
 notwithftanding the general charafler of indolence 
 in this State, the famous canal of the Potowmac 
 advances with rapidity. Crimes are more frequent 
 in Virginia than in the northern States. This 
 refults from the unequal divifion of property, and 
 from Ilavery. 
 
 Wherever you find luxury, and cfpecially a 
 Diifcrablc luxury, there provifions, even of tb« 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMIRICA. 247 
 
 4irft neceflity, will be dear. I experienced this in 
 Virginia. At a tavern there 1 paid a dollar for 
 a flipper, which in Pennfylvania would have coft 
 me two (hillings, in Gonnefticut one. Porter, 
 wine, and every article, bear an excefTive price 
 here. Yet this dearncfs is owing in part to oth^ 
 caufes hereafter to be explained. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIL 
 
 Tie Tcla^.co of Virginia, and the tobacco NoHs. 
 
 I HAVE found, with pleafurc, that your excel- 
 lent article on the tobacco, inferted in our 
 work iie la France ^ et des Etats Vnis, is nearly 
 exaft in all its details. It is true that tobacco 
 requires a ftrong fertile foil, and an uninterrupted 
 care in the tranfplanting, weeding, defending from 
 infeds, cutting, curing, rollingj and packing.. 
 
 Nothing but a great crop, and the total ab- 
 negation of every comfort, to which the Negroes 
 are condemned, can corapenfate the expenccs at- 
 tending this production before it arrives at the 
 market. Thus in proportion as the good lands^ 
 are exhaufted, and by tiie propagating of the prin- 
 ciples of humanity, Itfs hard labour is required 
 of the flaves, thia culture muft decline. And 
 thus you fee already in Virginia fields eticlofed, 
 and meadows fucceed to tobacco. Such is tht 
 fyftem of the proprietors who beft underftand 
 their interelV; among whc#m I place General 
 Wafnington, who h«s lately renounced the culture 
 of this plant. 
 
 If the Virginians knew our wants, and what 
 articles would be inoft profitable to them, they would 
 pay great attention to the culture of cotton ;; 
 the confumpticn of which augments fo prcdigioufly 
 In Europe. 1 will not etihrge here on the fulh- 
 
248 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 je£t of tobacco, which many authors have ex- 
 plained ; but I will give you Come ideas on that 
 kind of piiper-currency called tobacco-money; the 
 ufe of which proves, that nationrs need not give 
 tfie-pi^lves fo much inquietude as they ufually da 
 on the abfence of fpecie. In a free and fertile 
 country, the conftant produce of the land may 
 give a fixed value to any kind of reprefentative of 
 property. 
 
 This State has public magazines, where the 
 tobacco is depofited. Infpeftors are appointed to 
 take charge of thefe magazines, and infpe^^l the 
 quality of the tobacco; which, if merchantable, 
 is received, and the proprietor is furnilhed with 
 a- not« for the quantity by him depofited. This- 
 note circulates freely in the State, according to 
 the known value of the tobacco. The price is 
 di^erent, according to the place where it is in- 
 fpefted'. Thff following places are ranked accord- 
 ing to the rigidity of the infpedion : Hanover- 
 Court, Plttlburg, Richmond, Cabin-Point. When 
 the tobacco is worth fixtcen fhiilings at Richmond, 
 it- is worth twenty-one at Ha »over-Court. The 
 tobacco travels to one place or the ot'ier, accord- 
 ing to its quality ; and if it is refufed at all 
 places, it is exported by contraband to the iflands, 
 or ronfumed in the country. There are two. 
 cuttings in a year of this crop ; the fir/l only is 
 prefentcd for infpeflion, the fecond is confumed' 
 irv the country or fnuggled to the ilVinds. 
 
 As Virginia produces about eight thoufand 
 hogfheads, there circulates in the State about eight 
 hundred thoufand pounds in thefe notes ; this is 
 the reafon why the Vir^^inians have not need of 
 a great quantity of circulatir.g fpecie, nor of cop- 
 per coin. The rapid circulation of 'this tobacco- 
 money fup plies their place. 
 
 This fc.^ rcity, however, offmall money fubjefls > 
 the people to great inconvenien-^ies, and has 
 gifen rife to a pernicious pra^Sticc of cutting 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 24^ 
 
 pieces of filTer coin into halves and qnarters ; a 
 fource of many little knaveries. A pcrfon cuts a 
 dollar into three pieces, keeps the middle piece, 
 and paftes the other two for half dollars. The 
 perfon who receives thefe without weighing, lofes 
 the difference, and the one who tnkes tbtm by 
 weight, nnakes a fraudulent profit hy giving them 
 again at their pretended value ; and fo the 
 cheat goes round. 
 
 But notwithftanding this pitiful refource of 
 cutting the filver, fociety fuffcrs a real injury for 
 want of a plentiful copper coir. ; it is calculated, 
 that in the towns the Innall expences of a family 
 are doubled, on account cf the in^ponibilily of 
 finding faiall change. It fhews a ftriking want of 
 order in the ^overnnrient, and increafes the mifery 
 of the poor. Though to!:acco exhaufts the land 
 to a prodigious degree, 'the proprietors 'take no 
 pains to reflore its vigour; thty take what th« 
 foil will give, and abandon it v/hen It gives no 
 longer. They like better to clear new lands, 
 than to regenerate the old. Yet thefs abandbned 
 lands would ftili be fertile, if tl'ey were properly 
 nianured and cultivated. The Virginiiins U.ke no 
 tobacco in futftance, either in the nofe or nouth ; 
 fonne of them fjnoke, but this pradlice is not fo 
 general among them as in the Carolir as. 
 
 The Americans wifh for the free commerce of 
 tobacco with France ; and they complain n'uch 
 of the monopoly of the Farmers-General, If this 
 monopoly were removed, and the tobacco fuhjeded 
 only to a fmall duty on importr.ticn iato France, 
 there is no doubt but that the Americans would 
 make our /rc.intry the ftore-Vioufe of thofe im- 
 menfe quantities with which they inundate Europe. 
 You know that they are now canicid chiefly to 
 Epgland ; where about the tenth part is confumed, 
 and the reft i| exported. England pays the whole 
 in her own merchandize. J''J<'ge then of the 
 profit C^.; Kjuft draw Uom this exchange j jflieiv 
 
SCO 
 
 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 a.id the comrrifiion, the money expended \n 
 Enghr.d by a great number of Americans whom 
 this comniercc leads thither, and the profits of 
 other brarvches of bufmefs that are the confe- 
 qiience of this. 
 
 Such are the advantages which it is in the 
 po'.ver of Frince to acquire over England ; but 
 we muft abolifti the farms, and content ourfelves 
 with a fiTvail duty on the importation. The high 
 duty paid in England on tobacco, will prevent 
 the AiTicricans from giving^ the preference to that 
 country. It amounts to fifteen pence fterlisig oa 
 th-e pound. Though England confu'Ties little 
 ^tobacco, (he draw^^ from it a revenue of 6000^000 
 pounds fterling. The flate of the finances of that 
 iflmd, will not ,ad;Tiit of her diminilhing this 
 duty in order to rival France. Continue then, 
 iry frie-^d, to preach your do^lrine. 
 
 The great confumption of tobaccoin all coun- 
 tries, 3nd the prohibitive regulations of almoft all 
 jrovej:nnients, may engage the Americans to con- 
 tinue this culture; for as tliey cm furnifli it at 
 a low price, 3S they navigate at Onall expenfe, 
 as no people'' equals them, in enterprize and induf- 
 try, they may undertake to furnifh the whole earth. 
 
 Spain,, for inftance, will doubtlefs become a 
 irarket for them. The author of the Nowveau 
 Voyage en Efpagne makes the revenue which the 
 king draws from this article, amount to twenty^ 
 millions of livres (/833,3335 fterling.) The 
 greater part of this tobacco is brought from Brafil 
 by the Portuguefc, fold to the king at five pence 
 fterling the pound, and then fold by him at eight 
 flii-llings and four-pence. At the expiration of 
 the prefent contra<^, fays .the f.-me author, the 
 Americans will offer a more advantageous on^, 
 and it is fnid they will have the preference. 
 
 This high price encourages a confiderablc con- 
 tr-.band iii Spain, though interdifted by the pains 
 •i 4«ath« The law is too rig^iU t# I16 sx^uted. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 25 1 
 
 The tobacco of the Miffifippi and the Ohio 
 will, doiibtlefs, one day furnifii the greater part 
 of the confucrption of Spain as well zs of France ; 
 which, if the fyflem of liberty fhould be adopted, 
 ^^iII become immenfe. For it is proved, by thofc 
 wlio know the fccrets of the far.n, that the con- 
 rum ption of the latter amou-its to more than 
 thirty millions of pounds annually,* inftead of 
 iifteen, as we have been comnianded to believe. 
 
 LETTER XXXVIIL 
 
 ITie Valley of Shenadore in Firguiia. 
 
 I PROPOSED, my friend, on quirting Alexan- 
 dria, to vifit that champing valley, wafhed by 
 the Shenadorc, of which JcfFerfjn and Crevecoeur 
 have given us fo fed ucing a defcriptioru From 
 thence I intended to return by the val^ of Lan- 
 cafter, and pay my rerpc<^s to the virtnous Mo- 
 ravians. But the approaching Revoluiion in France 
 haftening 'my return, I am obliged to content" 
 myfeif v/ith giving you feme idea of that country 
 where we have been invited to fix our tabernacles ; 
 and to borrow the obfervations of different 
 travellers, who have this ye;u obferved, with great 
 attention, the lands fitua'tcd between the different 
 chains of mountains, which feparate Virginia frooi 
 the weftern territory. 
 
 The Valley of Shenadore, which Hes between 
 the South mountain and the North, or endlefs 
 mountain, is from thirty to forty miles wide, 
 chalky bottons, a fertile foil, and a good air. 
 This fituation offers almcft all the advantages of 
 the^ weftern country, without its inconveniencies. 
 It is almoft in the centre of the United States, 
 and^ has nothing to fear 4vcm foreign enemies. 
 >t lies between two confiderable rivers, wlijch 
 
as2 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 fall into the Chcf>.peak ; and though the navi- 
 gation of thcfe rivers is iaterrupted for the pref- 
 cnt, yet there is no doubt, from the progrefs of 
 the works on the Pjtowmack, that this iacoii- 
 vcnleiice will foon be re'.Tic vcd. 
 
 The price of lands here, as elCewhere, varies 
 according to their quality ; you may purchafe at 
 any price, from one to five guineas the acre, 
 land of the fame quality as in Pennfylvania from 
 four to twenty guineas. 
 
 The averr-ge diftance of thefe lands from com- 
 mercial towns is as follows : fifty miles fronri 
 Ceorge-town, ab^iut fifty miles from Alexandria, 
 eighty or an hundred from Richamnd and from 
 B-iitinriCre. But this part of the country is flill 
 irore iiivitirg for its future profpedls. Of all 
 the rivers that difcharge into the Atlantic, the 
 Powtownr^ck offers the moft dircfl conomunication 
 with the rivers of the weft. This circumftance 
 will make it one day the great channel of inter- 
 cc>urfe for almoft all the United States ; and its 
 fituntion renders it fecure a^^inft being inter- 
 rupted by war. 
 
 But'to realize the advantages which the fitua- 
 tion of this country feems to promife, requires a 
 reformation of ma.Hiers, and the banifhment of 
 luxury, which is more confiderable here than in 
 Pennfylvania. You muft banifh idlenefs and the 
 love of the chice, which are dcep'y rooted in the 
 foul of the Virginians ; and, above all things, 
 you muft banifh llavery ; which infallibly produces 
 thofe greit fcourges of fociety, lazinefs and vice, 
 in one clafs of men ; iininduftrious labour and 
 degrading mifery in another. The view of this 
 deforming wound of humanity, will dir,„ouragc 
 foreigners of fenfibility from coming to this State ; 
 while they have not to dread this difguftiag fpec- 
 tacle in Pennfylvania. 
 
 But it is in a country life in America, that 
 trite hap-pinefs is to be found by him who is wife 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 253 
 
 enough to make it confifl in tranquility of foul, 
 in the enjoyment of hin=ifelf, and of nature. What 
 is the fatiguing agitation of our great citits, 
 cosnpnred to this delicious calmnefs ? The trees, 
 my friend, do not calumniate ; they revile not 
 their benefa^ors ; men of the greateft merit can^* 
 not ahtays fay this of their fellow-creatures. 
 
 LETTER XXXIX. 
 'journey from Bojion to Port/mouth, 
 
 Oaober, 178S. 
 
 I LEFT Bofton the 2d of Oaober, after dinner, 
 v/ith my worthy friend Mr, Barrett ;• to whom 
 I cannot pay too fiiicere a tribute of praife for 
 his amiable qualities, or of gratitude for the 
 readinefs he has manifefted on all occafions in 
 procuring me information on the objefts of my 
 refearch. We ilept at S ilem, fifteen miles from 
 Bofton ; an excellent gravelly road, bordered with 
 woods and meadows. This road paffes the fine 
 bridge of Milden, which I mentioned before, and 
 the town of Lynn re.iiarkable for the manufac- 
 ture of women's flioes. It is calculated that more 
 than an hundred thoufand pairs are annually ex- 
 ported from this town. At Reading, not far from 
 Lynn, is a fimilar manufacture of men's flioes. 
 
 Salem, like all other towns in America, has a 
 priiiting prefs and a gazette. I read in this ga- 
 zette the difcourfe pronounced by M. D'Eprem- 
 inil, when he was arrefted in full parliament in 
 Paris. What an admirable invention is the pr ;,fs I 
 it brings all nations acquainted with each other,' 
 
 * H& is of a reJpeQahle family in Bofton. He is 
 hiely named Co'ful of the United States in France. 
 
154 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 and ele£lerizes all men by the recital of good 
 a£lions, which thus become common to all. 
 This difcourfe tranfported the daughters of my 
 hoftefs : D'Epreminil appeared to th^nn a Brutus.* 
 It was cold, and we had a fire in a Franklin 
 ftove. Thefe are common here, and thofe chim- 
 neys which have them not, are built as defcri- 
 bed by M. de Crevecoeur : they rarc'y fmoke. 
 The niiftrefs of the tavern (RobinVon) was taking 
 tea with her daughters ; they invited us to par- 
 take with them. I repeat it, we have nothing 
 like this in France. It is a general remark tliro* 
 all the United States : a tavern-keeper mui\ be a 
 refpeflable man, his daughters are well drefl, and 
 have an air of decency and civility. We had 
 good provifions, good beds, attentive fervants ; 
 neither the fervants nor the coachmnn afK any 
 money. It is an excellent pra^lice ; for this tax 
 with us not only becomes infuppcrtahle on ac- 
 count of the perfecutions which it occafions, but 
 it ^ives men an air of bafencfs, and accuftoms 
 to the fervility of avarice. Salem has a corifid- 
 erable commerce to the iflands, and a great ac- 
 tivity of bufmefs by the cod fiflicry. 
 
 In pafTing to Beverly, we eroded another ex- 
 cellent wooden bridge. The conftru<ftion of this 
 bridge, and the cekrity with which it was built, 
 gives a lively idea of th« a^ivity and induftry of 
 Mifldchufetts. It coft but three thoufand poujids ; the 
 toll for an horfe and carriage is eight pence ; 
 the opening in the middle for the paflage of 
 velTrls, is of a fimplep mechfmifm than that of 
 eharleftowui Od the road to Beverly I faw a 
 floiirilliing TTianufadure of cotton. 
 
 At Londonderry, a town chiefiy inhabited by 
 Infli, is a confiderable manufacture of linen. 
 We dined at Newrbury with Mr. Tracy, who for- 
 merly enjoyed a great fortune, and has .ilncis 
 
 * ///* / quantum 0^talu( ai illo f 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 25^ 
 
 been reduced by the failure of different enter- 
 prizes, particularly by a contra£l to furnifh mafts 
 for the marine of France. The mifcarriage of 
 this undertaking, was owing to his having em- 
 ployed agents in procuring the firft cargo wha 
 deceived him, and fent a parcel of refufe mafts 
 that were fit only for fire-wood. Though the 
 manner in which Mr. Tracy had been deceived 
 was fufficiently proved ; yet, for the clerks of the 
 marine at Verf-ailles, whcfe intereft it was to 
 decry the American timber, this faft was fufficient 
 to enable them to caufe it ever after to be re- 
 je<f^ed. "And Mr. Tracy*s firft cargo was con- 
 demned and fold at Havre for 250I. He lives 
 retired ; and with the confolation of his refpetSl^ 
 able wife, fupports his misfortunes with dignity 
 and firmnefs. 
 
 Newbury would be one of the bed ports in 
 the United States, were it, not for a dangerous 
 bar at the entrance. The bufmefs of fhip- build- 
 ing has much declined here. In the ye;^r 1772 
 ninety vefiels were built here, in 1788 only three. 
 This town flands at the mouth of the fine river 
 Merrimack, abounding in fifh of different kinds. 
 
 Twenty-four miles of fine road brings you from 
 Newbury to Portfmouth, the capital of New-Hamp- 
 fliire. There is little appearance of adivity in this 
 town. A thin population, many houfes in ruios* 
 women and children in rags ; every thing an- 
 nounces decline. Yet there are elegant houfes 
 and fome commerce. Portfmouth is on thePifcat- 
 uay, a rapid and deep river which never freezes 
 till 'four miles above the town. This was for- 
 merly one of the greateft markets for (hip-timber. 
 Col. Wentworth, one of the moft intelligent and 
 cfieemed citizens, was the agent of the Engliili 
 gcvt.rnment and cf the Eaft-India Company for 
 that article. This company is now renewing its 
 demands for this, timber. Every thing in this 
 town is commerce and fnip-building. 
 
2s6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Prefident Langdon himfelf is a merchant ; he 
 IS extremely well informed in every thing that 
 concerns his country. You may recoiled, that at 
 the time of the invafion of Burgoyne, he was 
 the firft to mount his horfc and lead off his fel- 
 Jow-citizens to fight him. He appears to be well 
 perfuaded, as well as Colonel Went worth, that 
 the fureft road to the profperity of their country, 
 is the adoption of the new federal gover/iment. 
 We left Portfmouth on Sunday, and came to 
 dine at Mr. Dal ton's, five miles from Newbury, 
 ©n the Merrimack : this is one of the fineft fitu- 
 ations that can be imagined. It prefents an agree- 
 able profpeft of feven leagues. This farm is ex- 
 tremely well arranged ; I iaw on it thirty cows, 
 numbers of fheep, &c. and a well furnifhed g'.r- 
 den. Mr. Dalton occupies himfelf much in gar- 
 dening, a thing generally negle£led in America. 
 He has fine grapes, apples, and pears ; but he 
 complains that children Ileal them ; an offence 
 leadily pardoned in a free country. A proprie- 
 tor here, who, to prevent thefe little thefts, 
 Hiould make ufe of thofe infernal mantraps, in- 
 vented by the Englilli, would juflly be execrated 
 by his fellow creatures. 
 
 Mr. Dalton received me with that frarsknefs 
 which btfpeaks a man of worth and talents ; 
 with th;^t holpitality which is more general in 
 MafTachufetts and New-KampOiire, than in the 
 other States. 
 
 The Americans are not ' accuftomed to what 
 we call grand feafts ; they treat Grangers as they 
 treat tbemfelves every day, and they live well. 
 They fay they are not anxious to ftarve them.- 
 felves the week, in order to gormandize on Sun- 
 day. This trait wJH paint to you a people at 
 their eafe, who wifti not to torment tiiemlclves 
 for fiiow. J ' ;,. . ■ 
 
 Mr. Dilton's hoife prefented me with the im* 
 »ge of a true patriarchial family, and of greaJ 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 254 
 
 domeftic felicity ; it is compofed of four or five 
 handfoaie youJig women, dreft with decent fim- 
 plicity, his amiable wife, and his venerable father 
 of eighty years. This refpedable old man pre- 
 ferr<;s a good memory, a good appetite, and take*; 
 habituil exercife. He has no wrinkles in his face, 
 which fe^ms to be a charafteriftic of Americaa- 
 old age ; at leaft I have obfcrved it. 
 
 From IVlr. Dalton's we came to Andover, where 
 my companion prefented me to the refpedable 
 palVor of the parilhj Dr. Symmes, in whom I faw 
 a. true model of a minifter of religion, purity of 
 morals, fimplicity in his manner of Vifc, and gen- 
 tlenefs of character. He. cheers his folitude with 
 a refpedabl^ wife, by whom he has had many 
 ehildren. And the cultivation of his fdrm occu- 
 piis thofe moments which are not neceflarily de- 
 voted to ftudy, and to the care of the fouls com- 
 mitted to his charge. 
 
 LETTER XL. 
 Dek of the United States. 
 
 YOU have feen, my friend, in the Encyclo- 
 pedia, a ftate of the American debt broughi: 
 down to the year 1784. This article, which I 
 believe was furniihed to the compilers by the 
 learned Mr- Jefferfon, contains fome few errors. 
 You may, however, draw from it fome juft ideas 
 relative to the orrgin of the continental debt. 
 There is no work which treats of the changes 
 made in it fir ce 1784, which is the' principal 
 objeft of my preftnt letter.* 
 
 * Since, ivriting this Jiietchy I ha've incorporated into 
 it the operations cf the ne-vu Qongrefs en Mr* Ha^ii- 
 ton's report of September , 1789. 
 X 2 
 
258 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 You who are fo verfed in finance, will dciil>t- 
 lefs be ftruck with the errors comiritted by the 
 Congrefs in l:^ying the foundation of this debt, 
 and with the ftcrility of their plans to remedy 
 the want of money. But your furprize wlil van- 
 i(h, when you examine the critical circumftances 
 of that body of mea to who.« America owes her 
 independence. 
 
 They muft be fuppofed ignorant of the prin- 
 ciples of finance ; a fcience which their former 
 fituation had happily rendered unneceffary. They 
 were preffed by the imperious neceffity of a for- 
 midable invafion, to fubmillion, or to combat ; 
 and they muft pay thofe who Ihould fight their 
 battles. 
 
 The idea of paper money was the firft, and 
 perhaps the only one that could ftrike them. 
 Its objed was fo fublime, and patriotifm fo fer- 
 vent, that every thing was to be expedled from 
 it. The Congrefs believed in it ; and in multi- 
 plying this paper, even in the midft of a rapid 
 depreciation, they are not to be accufed of ill 
 faith ; for they expe(5led to redeem the whole. 
 
 The people manifefted the fame confidence. 
 But the unexpcf^ed accumulation of the quantity, 
 the confequent depreciation, and the gradual dif- 
 appearance of danger, were the natural and uni- 
 ted caufes of a revolution of fcntiment. To be- 
 lieve that this paper would not be redeemed at 
 its nominal value, was in 1777 a crime. To fay 
 that it ought to be fo redeemed, was in 1784 
 another crime. 
 
 Since the eftablilhment of the new federal fyf- 
 tem, the opinion, with refpeft.to the debt, has 
 undergone j^ third revolution. Among a free 
 people, it is impoflible but truth and honor 
 ihould fooner or later predominate. Almoft all 
 the Americans are at prefent convinced, that to 
 arrive at the high degree of profperity to which 
 the nature of things invites them, and to acquire 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 25^. 
 
 the credit necelTary for this purpofe, they muft 
 fulfill, with the moil fcriipulous punfitiiality, all 
 their engagements. Aud this coRviftion has de- 
 termined the new Congrefs to make the finance 
 the firft great objeil of their attention. 
 
 The debt of the United States is divided into 
 two cUfTes, foreign and doTiiefik. The foreign debt 
 is coinpofed, in capital, of a loan made in France 
 of 24,000,000* of livres at 5 per cent, another 
 made in Holland under the guarantee of France, 
 of 10,000,000 at 4 per cent, both amounting ia 
 dollars to 6,296,296; anothtr in Spain at ^ ptr 
 cent, 174,011 dollars. 
 
 * If the fecrei hifory of this debt contrasted in 
 France ivere puhltped, it nvoidd difce^er the origin of 
 Ktamjf fortunes ivhich ha^ve ajionijhsd us. It is certain,, 
 for infance, that, M. de Vergennes difptfed of thefi 
 loans at pleafure, caujed military Jiores and mer- 
 ihandize to be furnijhed by perfons attached to him, 
 and fuffered net their accounts to he difputed. It is a 
 faSly that in his accounts nx'ith Congrefs, there nuas 
 one rnillton of livres that he ne'ver accouKted for,' after 
 all the demands that ^were made to him. It is like- 
 wife a faciy that cut of the forty ftven millions pre- 
 tended to he furnijhed in the abonje articles by France 
 to Congrefs, the employment of twenty one millions is 
 *vjilhout 'vouchers. Many fortunes may be made from 
 twenty one millions. 
 
 Ai, Beaumarchaisy in a memoir publijhed t-ivo years 
 ago, pretends to be the creditor of Congrefs for miU 
 lions, I ha've, in my hands, a report made to Congrefs 
 hy tnxHt refpedable members, in which they pro^ve, that 
 he ficw owes Congrejs 742,4 3 livres, and a millioK 
 more., if the wandering million aho've-menticned, has 
 fallen into his hands, Thefe reporters make a Jiriking 
 fixture of the vuinceuvres praciifed to deceive the Ame- 
 ricans. 
 
 Will not, the National AJfemhly caufe fome account 
 t9 bs rsndertd of the fums fquandered in our pari of 
 
2 Jo NEW TR AVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 In Holland, in four difF-rent loans 3,600,000 
 
 Total capital - - - - 10,070,307 doll* 
 
 In^reft to Dec. 31, 1789, i,6f^\.2^7 
 
 Total, capital and interefir, 11,721,564 
 Domeftic debt liquidated, 
 
 capital and intereft to 
 
 the 31ft Dec. 1790, 40,414,08^5 
 
 Not liquidated, eftimated at 2,000,000 
 
 Total, foreign and domeftic, 54,135,649 dotK 
 
 In the profecution of the war, each individual 
 State had occafion to contradl a debt of its own» 
 which, for a variety of reafons, it was thought 
 beft that the Congrefs Hiould affume and add to 
 the general mafs of the United States. 
 
 The Turns thus affiimed, which are fuppofed to 
 
 abforb nearly the whole of all the State debts* 
 
 amount in the whole to 25,000,000 doll. 
 
 So that the total amount of 
 
 the prefent debt of the 
 
 United Statts is - - 79,124,464 doUi 
 
 Annual intereft of this fum, 
 
 as ftipuiated - - 4,587,444. 
 
 the American tvjar ? Or rather the fzims ivhich, in- 
 (lead of going to fuccour thoje brave Jiruggleis for lib- 
 ertyy 'iioent to adorn the bed-chambers of an aSirefs ?. 
 'Jdeline dird more mi/chief to the Ajnericans, than a. 
 regiment of HeJJians. Where are the account! of her 
 favourite l^eymerange ? Why has not M. Neckar draivn 
 the impenetrable 'veil nichich fcreens them from the pub- 
 lic ? And he himfelfy has he nothing to anfnx;er for the 
 choice he made of corrupted^ 'vjeak, and ^wicked agents, 
 and the facility ivith luhich he ratifed their accounts ? 
 Mr. Morris and Dr. Franklin Iiave been cenfured in 
 the American papers on account of thefe robberies. I' 
 am far from joining in the accufaticns againjl the latter y 
 hut I could nvijh he had given pofitivi anf<vi(rs U the 
 frr iter under the /ignnture of Centinel, 
 
m:vr travels in America. 261 
 
 To complete the lift of what is annually to be 
 paid, we muft add the annual expenfes of the 
 federal govermr.ent. The following is the amount 
 of the year 1790 : 
 
 Civil lift 254,892 
 
 Department of war - - - i55>5 37 
 
 Military penfions * . - - 96,979 
 
 507,408 
 
 You fee, my friend j from thefe details, that 
 the expenfes of govermrient among a free people, 
 are far from that extravagance and pomp which 
 are pretended to be necefTary in other govern- 
 ments to delude the people, and which tend but 
 to render them vicious and miferable. 
 
 You ffiC, that with ont hundred and ten thou- 
 fand fterling, a government is well adminiftered 
 for four miilions of people, inhabiting an extent 
 of country greater than Germany, Flanders, Hol- 
 land, and Switzerland united,* And finally, you 
 fee that the Americans pay lefs than a million 
 fterling a year for having maintained their liberty ; 
 while the Englifti pay more than four millions 
 fterling additional annual expenfe, for having 
 attempted to rob them of it. 
 
 By the meafures taken by the new government, 
 the Americans are in a fair way not only to pay 
 their intereft, but to fink the principal of their 
 debt ; and that without dire^ taxation. 
 
 / /feak 9r:ly of the fettled parts of the Vnited States, 
 
262 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER XLI. 
 Importations into tJn United States, 
 
 IF you doubt, my friend, of the abilities of the 
 United States to pay their debt, and the ex- 
 penfcs of their govern.Tscnt, your doubts will be 
 difTipated on casing your eye over the, tables of 
 their annual exportaiions. 
 
 Many publications give, as an inconteftible 
 maxim, ** A nation muj} import as little as poJfihUj 
 find export as much as pojjihh^'^ If they mean by 
 this that Ave ought to produce as much as pofli- 
 ble at home, it is true ; but if they underfland 
 that a nation is neceflarily poor when (he im- 
 ports much, it is falfe. For if ihe imports. Hie 
 cither confumes, and of coiifequcnce has where- 
 with to pay, or fhe re-exports, and confcquently 
 irakes a profit. This maxim, like moft of the 
 dogmas of commerce, fo cc;,f.dently preached by 
 the ignorant, is either trivial or falfe. The im- 
 portations if.to the United States have much in- 
 creafed fince the peace, as you will fee by the 
 following account of them^ compared with the 
 tables of Lord Sheffield, which reprefent periods 
 antecedent to the war. 
 
 The following is the flatement of the principal 
 srticles ; 
 
 Rum, brandy, and other fplrits 4,000,000 gall. 
 Wine _ - - - , 1,000,000 
 
 Hyfon tea - - - - 1 25,000 Jd>« 
 
 Sugar - ... 20.000,000 
 
 Coffee, cocoa, and chocolate 1,500,000 
 
 Molaffes . . ^ _ 3,000,000 
 
 Salt - _ .r - ^ 1,000,000 bbl. 
 
 Befides the above articles, the importatiens of 
 dry goods amount to more than twenty millions 
 of dollars annually. 
 
 This general eftimate is calculated from the 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 262 
 
 cuilom-houfe books at New- York for three years. 
 Taking for bafis that New-York makes or.e- fifth 
 of the general importations of the United States, 
 it is believed that mod of thefe articles are 
 eftimated much too low; -and this idea is fup- 
 ported by the amount of duties collefted fince 
 the new federal fyftem has begun its operations. 
 A great proportion of thefe articles, you will 
 be convinced, might be better imported from France 
 than from any other country ; and they will be, 
 whenever we fliall underftand our intereft. Mr. 
 Swan fays, that a million and a half of gallons 
 of brandy might be brought annually from 
 France ; that it is cheaper than the rum of 
 Jimaica, and altogether preferred by the Anreri- 
 cans to the rum of our illinds. He is likewife 
 of opifiion, that French wines might be introduced 
 in abundance ; but he recommends to our mer- 
 chants, to obferve good faith in this particular, 
 as they have inundated the United Stites with 
 bad Bourdeaux wine, which h^s refieded general 
 difcredit on all the wines of France. He gives 
 the preference to the .white wines of Grave, Pofifac, 
 Sf. Brife : and then- to the Sauterne^ PregnaCy 
 Barfac : among the red wines, he prefers the 
 Chateau Margou, the Segur, the Haut Helfsy the La 
 Fite, &c. I drank excellent Champ.igne at B^flon 
 and New-York ; and Burgundy at Philadelphia ;. 
 which is a proof th^.t thefe wines will bear the 
 fea. The quantity of twenty millions of imported 
 fugar, is thought to be five millions below the 
 reality : we may add to this, five millions of 
 maple fugar made in the United StAtes. What a 
 difference between this cor.fumption and ours ! 
 According to a calculation on tlie comp3r?itive 
 number of inhabitants, France ought to co ifume 
 two hundred millions ; whereas our confui^ption 
 is but eighty millions. By this f.i(^ you may 
 judge of the difference between the inh'.bltants of 
 the two continents. In America, even fervarits 
 
264 KfEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 life fug^r in abundance. In France, the artifans 
 and pe^fants cannot enjoy thii necelTary article; 
 which is confequently regarded as a fuperfluity. 
 This circumftance will lead you to another obfor- 
 vation, very important: this twenty millions of 
 fugar is brought froT» our illands ; from whence 
 the exportc^tion is rigidly prohibited. For what 
 purpofe then thefe prohibitions for two neighbour- 
 ing people, who have reciprocal wants ? Is not 
 thi^ an invitation to governments to remove 
 barriers which are fo eafily broken over ? 
 
 LETTER XLII. 
 
 Exportation* and ManufaSiures* 
 
 F any thing can give an idea of the high 
 degree of profperity, to which thefe confeder- 
 ated republics arc making rapid ftrides, it is the 
 contemplation of thefe two fubjefls. It is impof- 
 fible to enumerate all the articles to which they 
 have turned their attention ; almoft one-half of 
 which were unknown before the war. Among 
 the principal ones are fhip-building, flour, rice, 
 tobacco, manufactures in woollen, Jinen, hernp, 
 and cotton; the filheries, oils, forges, and the 
 different articles in iron and fteel ; infti^UTnents of 
 agriculture, nails, leather, and the numerous ob- 
 je6ls in which they are employed; pnper, i^nfte*'' 
 board, parchment, printing, pot-afh, ncnrl-afii, hats 
 of all qualities, fhip-timber, ar d the other 'wood of 
 conflrudion ; cabinet work, cordage, cables, car- 
 riages ; works in brafs, copper and ie«d ; g^ais 
 of different kinds ; gunpowder, che'ef*, butter, 
 callicocs, printed linen, indl;^^, forrs, SfX. Ship- 
 building is one of the moft profitable branches 
 of bufinefs in America. Thty built (hips here 
 before the war ; but they verc not permitted te' 
 
KE W TR AVELS IN AMERICA. 25 j 
 
 n^anufaflure the articles necefTiry to equ!i> them ; 
 every article is now made in the country. A 
 fine ihip, called the Majachu/etts, of eight hun- 
 dred tons, belonging to Mr. Shaw, had its fails 
 and cordage wholly from the manufafture at 
 Bofton ; this fingle eftablifhment glfes already 
 two thoufand yards of fail-cloth a week. 
 
 Breweries augment every where, and take place 
 of the fatal diftilleries. Tijere are no lefs than 
 fourteen good breweries in Philadelphia. The in- 
 fant woollen manufa6\ory at Hartford, from Sep- 
 tennber i7?8, to September 1789, gave about five 
 thoufand yards of cloth, foine of which fells at 
 five dollars a yard ; another at Watertown, in 
 Maffachufetts, pron^iifes equal fuccefs, and engages 
 the farmers to multiply their iheep. 
 
 Cotton fucceeds eqnaliy well. The fpinning 
 machines of Arkwright are well known here, and 
 are made in the country. 
 
 We have juft remarked in our work on the 
 United States, that nature invites the Americans 
 to the labour of the forge, by the profufe man- 
 ner in which fhe has covered their foil with 
 wood, and interfperfed it with metal and coals. 
 Pennfylvania, New-Jerfcy, and Delaware, make 
 annually three hundred and fifty tons of fteel, 
 and fix hundred tons of nails, and nail rods. 
 Thefe articles are already exported from America ; 
 as are machines for carding wool and cotton, 
 particularly common cards, which are cheaper than 
 the Englilh, and of a fuperior quality. In thefe 
 three States are fixty-three paper-mills, which 
 xnanufadure annually to the amount of 150,000 
 dollars. The State of Connc£licut laft year made 
 live thoufand reams, which might be worth nine 
 thoufand dollars. 
 
 The prodigious confumption of all kinds of 
 glafs, multiplies the eftabiifhinent of glafs works. 
 The one ^n the Powtowmack employs five hun- 
 dred perfons. They have begun with fuccefs, at 
 
266 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 Philadelphia, the printing of callicoes, cotton, and 
 linen. Sugar refiners are increafing every where. 
 In Pennfylvania are twenty-one powder-mills, which 
 arefiippofed to produce 625 tons of gun-powder, ann. 
 Among the principal articles of exportatarion 
 pre wheat and flour. To form an idea of the 
 augTientation of exports in the article of flour, 
 take the following fads : Philadelphia exported 
 in the year 1786 - 150,000 barrels. 
 
 1787 - 202,000 
 
 1788 - 220.000 
 
 1789 - 360,000 
 
 Many well informed men in America, have 
 written different pamphlets on the augmentation 
 of the commerce and manufaclures in ti.e United 
 States, which deferve attention ; fuch as, " Enquiries 
 ivto the Principles of a Commercial Syjlem. By Tench 
 Coxe" " Letter en the Work of Lord 'Sheffield. 
 By Mr. Bingham?^ " National Arithmetic. By Mr. 
 S<wan" author of the work cited in my lad ktter. 
 
 LETTER XLIII. 
 American Trade to the Eaji -Indies. 
 
 IN this commerce, my friend, you may fee dif- 
 played the enterprifing fpirit of the Americans ; 
 the fir'ft motive to it, was the hope of economi- 
 zing in the price of Eaft-lndia goods, which 
 they formerly imported from England, and^ this 
 economy muft be immenfe, if we judge of it by 
 the great confumptlon of tea in America, and the 
 high price it bears in England. In the year 1761, 
 the Englifh American colonies fent to England 
 85,0001. fterling in Spanifh dollars for this fingle 
 article, and fince that tinwe the confurnption of 
 it has at leaft tripled. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 267 
 
 Another motive which encouraged them to pufa 
 this commerce, was the hope of heing able ta 
 fupply South-America, the Spanifh and other 
 jfiands, and even the markets of Europe, with the 
 goods of the Eaft ; and to obtain every where the 
 preference, by the low price at which they might 
 be afforded. And this projcft is not without 
 foundation. The nature of things invites the 
 Americans to become the firik carriers in the 
 world. They build fliips at trvo-thirds of the 
 expence that they are built in Europe : they nav- 
 igate with kfs fean^cn, and at lefs expencc, al- 
 thoTigh they nouiilli their feamen better : they 
 navigaif with mare fafety, with more cleanlinefs, 
 and with more intelligence, becaufe the fpirit of 
 equality, which reigns at homp, attends them 
 likcwif? at fc-a. No-hing ftlmulates men to be 
 good failors like tlje hope of becoming captains,^ 
 
 The productions of their country are more 
 fi^vourable to this commerce than thcfe of Eu- 
 rope, They carry ginfeng to China ; plank, fiiip- 
 tinbcr, and tlour, fultcd j>rovinons to the Cape of 
 Good Hops, and to the illes of France and Bour- 
 bon. They are not, therefore, obliged to expork 
 fo great a pro| ortion of fpecie as the Europeans, 
 who have cftaMilhrnci tJ in the Eaft. They arc 
 not obliged like them, to maintain, at an enor- 
 mous expence, troops, fort?, Ihips of war, gov- 
 ernors, inttndants, fecrctjrics, clerks, and all the 
 tools of defpotifrn-, as uiciefs as they are expen- 
 five ; of which the price muft be added to that 
 of the articles of this commerce. 
 
 No fea is impenetrable to the navigating genius 
 of the A^T.ericans. You fee their fing every 
 where difplayed ; you fee them exploring all 
 idand?, ftudying their wants, and returning to 
 fupply them- 
 
 Gur languifhing colony of Cayenne, would have 
 pcrifned ten times with famine, if it depended 
 an the. regular prcmifed fupplies of the mother 
 
 
^43 NEW TRAVELS IN A MIlRICA. 
 
 country ! But it is provifioned by the Americans ; 
 who remedy thus the murderous calculations of 
 European Mafters 
 
 A floop from Albany, of fixty tons and eleven 
 men had the courage to go to China. The 
 Chinefe, on feeing her arrive, took her for the 
 cutter of fonie large veflel, and afked" where was 
 the great fhip : We are the great fhip ; anfwered 
 they to the Chinefe, ftiipificd at their hardinefs. 
 
 Oar public papers vaunt the magnificence of 
 the European nations, who make difcovcries and 
 voyages roiind the world : the A.Tiericans do the 
 fanrie thing ; but they boaft not of their exploits 
 with fo much ennphafis. In September, 1790, the 
 ihip Cclumhiay Captain Gray, failed to drfcover 
 the north-vvefl of this continent ; this is his fecond 
 voyage round the world : the brig Hap? ha=; fiiled 
 for the fime objcift. Our p::pers have refounded 
 with the qu-:rrels of t\yQ Eiglifh and Spaniards 
 for \\c coinmerce cf Noorhi Sound, The Arue- 
 yjcans m^ke no qasrrcls 5 hut they have a1re:i(iv 
 made a coDHd^rabJe cor^-rtvct on the fjone cosft 
 in furrs and peltry. Thfy were there trading in 
 the year tyS^, in good intelligence with both 
 *>?.rties. In tije f;me year, no Icfs than forty- 
 four veffcjs ivere fent ftovn the fingle town of 
 35ollon to the ViCrth-wefl of Arnerka, to India, 
 and to China. They bouad not their hopes here : 
 they expe6>, one day, to open a com:r,unicatioii 
 more dired to Njotka Sound. It fs probable 
 thct this place is not iw from the head waters 
 cf the Milliflrippi ; which the Americans will foon 
 navigate to its fource, when they Ihall beoin to 
 people Louifiaaa and the interior of New-Mexico. 
 
 This will be a fortunate epoch to the humaa 
 race, when there fliall be a third great change 
 in the routes of maritime comnierc. The Cspe 
 of Grod Hope will then lofe its reputation, and 
 its afflux of commerce, ag the Mediterranean had 
 ^oft it before. The paflagc wluch the free Ame- 
 
NirW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 269 
 
 ncans are called upon to open, which is ftill un = 
 known, which however, is eafy to eftablifli, and 
 which will place the two oceans, the Atlantic 
 and Pacitic, in communication, is by the pafiage. 
 by the lake of Nicaragua.* Nature fo much fa- 
 vours this communication, which is deftincd to 
 fhorten the route to the Eaft-Indies, that the 
 obftinacy of the nation which now pofleffes the 
 country, cannot long withftand its being opened. 
 The Spaniar:'s wilh to monopolize every thing. 
 The free Americans, on the contrary, feek the 
 advantages of the great family of the human 
 race. 
 
 LETTER XLIV. 
 
 The Wejiern Territory. 
 
 HAVE not the time, my friend, to defcrlbe 
 to you the new country of the Weft; which, 
 though at prefent unknown to the Europeans, 
 muft from the aaturc of things, very foon merit 
 th« attention of every commercial and manufac- 
 turing nation- I Oiall lay before you at prefent 
 only a geiieral view of thefe aftonifhing fettle- 
 ments, and refer to another time the details which 
 a fpeculative philofopher may be able to draw 
 from them. At the foot of the Alleganies, v/hofe 
 fummirs, however, do not threaten the heavens^ 
 like thofe of the Andes and the Alps, begins aa 
 immenfe plain, interfiled with hills of a gentle 
 afccnt, and watered every where with ftreams of 
 all fizes ; the foil is from three to {t'itw feet 
 deep, and of an aftonifhing fertility: it is proper 
 
 ♦ This frojeii e:itfis ; its length prevsnis my gi'^nng 
 it here, The Apiericans expect one day to tpen tJns 
 pajfage, 
 
 Y 2. 
 
 i 
 
270 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 for crery kind of culture, and It multiplies cattle 
 almoft without the care of man. 
 
 It is thtre that thofe eftablifli rtents are formed, 
 vyhofe profperity attradi fo many eiiiigrants ; 
 luch ?s Kentucky, Frankland, Cumberland, Hoi- 
 iion, Mulkingum, and Scioto. 
 
 The oldeil and moft flourifliing of thefe is 
 Kentucky, which began in 1775, had eight thou- 
 fand inhabitants in 1782; fifty thoufand, in 1787, 
 and feventy thoufand ia 1790.* It will foon be 
 a State. 
 
 Cumberland, fituated in the neighbourhood cf 
 Kentucky, contains 8000 inhabitants ; Holfton 
 5 000 ; a'ld Frankland 25,000. 
 
 On beholding the multiplication and happincfs 
 of the human fjjecies in thefe rapid and prof- 
 pcrous fettlements, and comparing them with 
 the languor and debility cf colonics formed by 
 defpots, how auguft and veneijbie does the afpedl 
 of liberty appear! her powtr is equal to her will: 
 fhe commands, and forefis are overturned, moun- 
 tains link to cultivated plains, and nature pre- 
 pares an afylum for nunierous generations; while 
 rhe proud city of Palmyra perifhes with its haugh- 
 ty founder, and its ruins atteft to the world 
 that nothing is durable, but what is fouc.dcu and 
 folfered by freedom. It appears that Kentucky 
 will preferve its advantage over the other fettle- 
 'Tients on the fouth ; its territory is more exten- 
 Aire, its foil more fertile, and its inhabitants more 
 numerous : it is fituated on the Ohio, navigable 
 at almoft all feafons ; this laft advantage is equally 
 enjoyed by the two fettlements of which 1 am 
 j>oing to fpeak. The eftablilliment at the Mufk- 
 
 * By a letttr ffom Colenel Fcwlet'f tt repre/entatinje 
 ■,n the Ugijlature of Virginia from Kentucky, of the \6th 
 if D cumber t ^79*^* nvhicb the tranjlator has Jeen, it 
 appear Sy that the inhabitants of Kentucky at that tims- 
 amounted to one hundrid and fvmty three thoufand. 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 271 
 
 ingum was formed in 1788, by a number of 
 emigrants from Ncw-EngUnd, belonging to the 
 Ohio company. The Mufkingum is a river which 
 falls into the Ohio from the Weft. This people 
 have an excellent foil, and every profpe^ ©f 
 fuccefs. 
 
 From thefe proprietors is formed another afTo- 
 ciation, whofe name is more known in France i 
 it is that of the Scioto Comfany,* a name 
 
 * This tomfany has been much calumniated. It has 
 been accufed t,f Jelling lands ikjhich it daes mt pojjefs, 
 of gi'ving exaggerated accounts of its fertility y of de- 
 ceiviftg the emigrants, of robbing France of her inhah- 
 itantSy and of fending them to he butchered hy the 
 
 favages. But the title of this affcciation is incantefti- 
 ble ; the proprietors tire reputable men ; the defcription 
 which they ba've given of the lands is taken from the 
 
 public and authentic reports of Mr. Hutchins, Geographer, 
 to CoMgrefs. No per fen can difpute their prodigious 
 
 fertility. 
 
 Certainly the aviftocrats of France y n'ho may emigrate 
 thither under the fcolipD idea of formir^ a monarchy, 
 •vcculd he fatally decei'ved in their expe&ations. They 
 "XQiild fy from the French go'vernment, becaufe it efahr 
 lijh.es the equality of rights, and they nuould fall int§ 
 a fociety <where this equality is confecrated even hy the 
 nature of things ; iijhere e^very man i-t folicited, to in- 
 dependence by e'very circumjfance that Jurrcunds him, 
 and ejpecially by the facility of fupplying his wcants ; 
 they nxiould fly to prefer've their titles, their honors, 
 their privileges ; and they ivculd fall into a ntiu 
 
 fociety, where the. titles $f pridt and chance are defpi- 
 
 fed, and even unknoivtt. 
 
 This enterpriTze is fuitable to the poor ef Europe, 
 rvjho have neither property nor employment, and <who 
 have Jirength to labour ^ They ivculd find at Scioto 
 the- means of fxpplying their v:ants ; the foil *would 
 give ■ them its treafures, at the expence of m fight 
 cultivation ; tkc beajis of the forefit vjould C9vtr theh^ 
 
272 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA'. 
 
 taken from a river, which after having traverfed 
 the two millions of acres which they pofllfs, 
 falls into t)>e Ohio. 
 
 This fettleraent wonld foon rife to a high de- 
 gree of profperity, if the proper cautions were 
 taken in the embarkation, and the necefiary means 
 employed to folace them, and to prepare them 
 for a kind of life fo different from that to which 
 they are accuflomed. 
 
 The revolution in the American government, 
 will, doiibtlffs, be beneficial to the favages ; for 
 the government rends elfentially to peace. But 
 as a rapid increafe of population muft neceflarily 
 be the confequence of its operations, the favages 
 muW either blend with the Americans, or a 
 thoufand caufes will fpeedily ar^nihilate that race 
 of men. 
 
 tahlssy until they could rear cattle en their farms. It 
 njL'Ould he then rendering a fervice to the unfortunate 
 people t muho are depri*ved cf the means of fuhfjience 
 by the Revolution ^ to open to them this ajylum, luhere 
 they cculd obtain a property. 
 
 Buty fay the oppofers^ the peer may find thefe ad'van- 
 tages in France. We ha^ve great quantities of uncul- 
 ti'vated land : yes j hut nvill the proprietors fell it 
 for almojl nothing ? Will it produce equally nvith that 
 cf Scioto ? Art pro'vijions as cheap here as there ? No ; 
 tu;hy then declaim fa much againji an emigration, nfful 
 mt the fame time to France, to the indinjiduals and to 
 the United States ? The man <who nuithout much ex- 
 pence^ and in a manner that Jhould make it fvoluntary, 
 could find the means of tratfporting to the forcfis of 
 America the thirty thoufand mendicants, nvhom fear as 
 tve/l as humanity obliges us to fupport in idlenefs in 
 the nei'^hbcurhood of Paris, that man 'iveuld merit a 
 fiii-ui. For he nKould at once cure the capital of a 
 Uprofy, and render thirty thoujand people to happinefs . 
 and good morals. 
 
NEW TRATELS IN AMERICA. 273 
 
 There is nothing to fear, that the danger from 
 the favages will ever arreft the ardor of the 
 Americans for extending their fettlements. They 
 all expecl that the navigation of the MilTifippi 
 becoming free, will foon open to them the mar- 
 kets of the iilands, and the Spanifh colonies for 
 the produflions with which their country over- 
 flows. But the queftion to be folvcd is, whether 
 the Spaniards will open this navigntion willingly,* 
 or whether the Americans will force it. A 
 kind of negociation has been carried on, with- 
 out efFe£l for four years ; and it is fu ppofed, 
 that certain States, fearing to lofe their inhabit- 
 ants by emigration to the Weft, have, in concert 
 with the Spanifh minifter, oppofed it ; and that 
 this concert gave rife to a propofition, that Spain 
 fhould fliut up the navigatioa for twenty-five years, 
 on condition that the Americaiis Hiould have a 
 free commerce with Spain. Virginia and Mary- 
 land, though they had more to fear from this 
 emigi'atioa than the other States, were oppofed to 
 this proportion, as derogatory to the honor of 
 the United States ; and a majority of Congrels 
 adopted the fenti.-nent. 
 
 A degree of diffidence, which the inhabitants 
 of the Weft have fhewn relative to the fecret 
 defigns of Congrefs, has induced many people to 
 believe, that the union would not exift a long 
 time bet^vcen the old and new States ; and this 
 probability of a rupture thty fay, is ftrengthened 
 by fome endeavors of the Englilh in Canada to at- 
 tach the Wcftern fettlers to the Englifli government. 
 
 But a number of reafons determine me to believe, 
 that the prefent u.iion will for ever fubfift. A 
 great part of the property of the Weftern land 
 belongs to people of the Eaft ; the unceafing 
 emigrations ferve perpetually to ftrengthen their 
 connexions ; and as it is for the intereft both 
 
 T/^^ ha've dcni it, ft if now open, ij^f* 
 
 I 
 
S74 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 of the Eaft and the WeH-, to open an extenfive 
 comrnerce with South-America, and to overleap 
 the Miinflipin ; they mufi, and will, remain 
 united for the accomplifnment of this obje(5l. 
 
 The WfTtern inhabitants are convinced that 
 this navigation csrinot remain a long time clofed. 
 They are determined to open it by good will or 
 by force ; and it would not be in the power of 
 Congrffs to moderate their ardour. Men who 
 have flicok off the yoke of Great-Britain, and 
 who are mafl:ers of the Ohio and the Miinaippi, 
 cannot conceive that the infolence of a handful 
 of Spani-srds can think of (hutting rivers and 
 feas 2gainu an hundred thcuf^ind free Americans. 
 The flighted qmrrel will be fufficient to throw 
 them into a flame ; and if ever the Americans 
 ihouid march towards New-Orleans, it will infal- 
 libly fill into their hands. The Spaniards fear 
 this moment ; and it cannot be fir off. If they 
 had the nolicv to open the Milfiffippi, the 
 port of New Orleai^s would become the centre 
 of a lucrative commerce. But her narrow and 
 faperftirious policy will oppofe it ; for file fears,, 
 above all tilings, the communication of thofe 
 principles of independence, which the Americans 
 preach wherever they go ; and to which their 
 cwn fuccefs gives an additional weight. 
 
 In order to avert, the effefts of this enterpriz- 
 ing charcnSler of the free Americans, the Snanifli 
 government has adopted the pitiful projedl of 
 2ttr2clir'.g them to a fettlement on the welt of 
 the Mifiifi'ippi ;* by granting to thofe who fhall 
 cftabiifh themfelves there, the exclufivc right of 
 trading to New-Orleans. This colony is the firft 
 foun3ation of t\\t conqueft of Louifiana, and of 
 the civilization of Mexico and Peru. 
 
 How defirabie it is for the happinefs of the 
 human race, that this communication (liould ex- 
 
 Cel. Morgan is ct the head of this fettlement » 
 
NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 275 
 
 tend ! for cultivation and population here, will 
 augment the profperity of the manufafturing 
 nations of Europe. The French and Spaniards, 
 fettled at the Hatches, on the mod fertile foil, 
 have not, for a century, cultivated a fingle acre ; 
 while th« Ainericans, who have lately made a fet- 
 tlement there, have at prefent three thoufand 
 farms of four hundred acres each ; which furniOi 
 the greater part of the provifions for New Orleans. 
 O LiBERTT ! how great is thy empire ; thou 
 created induftry, which vivifies the dead. 
 
 I tranfport myfelf fometimes in imagination 
 to the fucceeding century. I fee this whole ex- 
 tent of continent, from Canada to Quito, covered 
 with cultivated fields, little villages, and country 
 ho'jfes.* I fee Happinefs and Induilry, fmiling 
 fide hy fide ; Beauty adorning the daughter of 
 Nature ; Liberty and Morals rendering almoft 
 ufelefs the coercion of Government and Laws ; 
 and gentle Tolerance taking place of the ferocious 
 Inquifition. I fee Mexicans, Peruvians, men of 
 the United States, Frenchmen, and Canadians, 
 embracing each other, curfmg tyrants, and bleiTing 
 the reiga of Liberty, which leads to univerfal 
 harmony. But the mines, the llaves, what is to 
 become of them ? The mines will be clofed, and 
 the flaves will become the brothers of their 
 Biafters. As to gold, it is degrading to a free 
 country to dig for it, unlcfs it can be done with- 
 out flaves : and a free people cannot want for 
 figns to ferve as a medium in exchanging their 
 commodities. Gold has always ferved more the 
 caufe of defpotifm than that of liberty j and lib- 
 
 * America twill never ha<ve enormous cities like Lon- 
 don and Paris ; which would abjorh the means of in^ 
 dujfryy and <vitiate morals Hence it tuill refult, that 
 property fwill he more equally dixndedy population greater, 
 manners lefs corrupttd^ and induftrii and happinefs more 
 univerfaL 
 
2-6 NEW TRAVELS IN AMERICA. 
 
 crty will always find lefs dangerous agents to 
 ferve in its place. 
 
 Our fpeculators in Europe are far from imag- 
 ing that two revolutions are preparing on this 
 continent, which will totally overturn the ideas 
 and the commerce of the old : the opening a 
 canal of communication between the two oceans, 
 and abandoning the mines of Peru. Let the im- 
 agination of the philofopher conteoiplate the con- 
 fequences. They cannot but be happy for the 
 hnman race. 
 
 JT(ni0» 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 ^^«ei^^^ 
 
 LetUr, Pagi. 
 
 1. From M» ClavUre t& M, WarvUie-^ 
 hinting a Plan of Ohfernjation on the 
 politicaly civil and military Exiftence of 
 the United States - - - - 27 
 //. Soil^ Produ^ionsy Emigrations - 31 
 ///, Plan of each Settlement to be formed 
 
 in the United States - - . - 34 
 
 iy» Enquiries on the he/f Mode of emigrating 3^ 
 f^. On the Purchaje of Lanis^ and the 
 
 American Funds - - - 40 
 
 FL Method of Obfervations to bg purjued 
 
 in ihefe Travels ► - - 42 
 
 /. From M. Warville to M* Qanjiere^ 
 from Havre de Grace - - 47 
 //. Obfervations on Bo/ion - - 51 
 
 ///. fourncj from Bofion to JNew-lTork 
 
 hrough ConneSiicut - - - 68 
 
 IF. From Bofion to NeW'Tork by Providence 79 
 
 V, OnNew^Tork - • - . « 84 
 
 VI . Journey from New-Tork to Philadelphia 95 
 
 FII. Fiftt to Burlington^ and to the Houfe 
 
 of M, Franklin - ^ -. - igo 
 
 Fill. Vifit to the Farm of a ^aker 102 
 
 IX. Ft fit from Warner Mifflin 104 
 
 X, Funeral of a ^aker. A Quaker Meeting 1 06 
 
 XI. The Bettering^ Houfe - - - no 
 
 XIU Hof^ital of Lunaticks ^ - 115 
 
 Z 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XIII. On Btnjamin Franklin - • - 1 1 7 
 XIV, Steam Boat, Reflexions on the Char- 
 
 aHer of the Americans and the Englijh 128 
 XF. The Agricultural Society, The Library 1 30 
 XFL On the Market of Philadelphia 132 
 
 XFIL On the General AJfemhly of PennfyU 
 
 vania and the Farm of Mr, L, 134. 
 
 XVIII. Journey of M. Saugrain to the Ohio 140 
 
 XIX, The School Jor Blacks at Philadelphia 143 
 
 XX. Endeavors ufed to aholijh Slavery 147 
 
 XXL The Laws made in the different States 
 
 for the Abolition of Slavery - 150 
 
 XXIL General State of the Blacks in the 
 
 United States, Their Manners^ iffc, 155 
 Addition to the preceding Letter^ on the Labors 
 of the different Societies in Favor of 
 the Blacks - - - - 163 
 
 XXIII. On fub/iituting the Sugar of Maple 
 to the Sugar of Cane ; and its Confer 
 quences on the Fate of the Blacks 166 
 
 XXIV. A PrcjeSifcr re-tranfporting the Blacks 
 
 to Africa - - - .170 
 
 XXV. Philadelphia^ its Building., Police, ^c, J73 
 XXl^L On the Progrejs of clearing and cul- 
 tivating Land - - - 184 
 
 XXVII. Climate of Philadelphia ; Difeqfes, ^c. 191 
 
 XXVI I I. Difeajes moji common in United States 194 
 XIX, Longevity — Calculations on theProb^ 
 
 abilities of Life In the United States 
 — Their Population - - - 198 
 XXX, Prifons in Philadclphiay and Pri(ons 
 
 in general _ - . _ 208 
 
 XXXI, On the fakers ; their private 
 
 Morals^ their Manners^ Cujfoms^ ^c, 211 
 XXXI I. On the ReprcHches cajl upon the fa- 
 kers by different Writers - 2ig 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXIIL Religieus Principles of the fakers 226 
 XXXIV. Political Principles of the fakers, 
 
 their Refujal to take Arms y pay Taxes 233 
 XXXV, Jourruy to Mount Vernon - 2^8 
 XXXVL General Obfervations on Maryland 
 
 and Virginia - - - 245 
 
 XXXVI L The Tobacco, and Tobacco Notes of 
 
 Virginia - - - 247 
 
 XXXVIII The Valley of Shenadore 2 si 
 
 XXXIX* Journey from Bofton to Pornfaiouth 253 
 
 XL. The Debt oj the United States 257 
 
 XLL Importations into the United States 262 
 
 XLIL Exportations from the United States 264 
 
 XLIIL Their Trade to the Eaji-Indies, 
 
 and their Navigation in general 266 
 XLIV, Ihe Weflern Territory, and the 
 
 different Settlements in it - 269 
 
 N. B. This Volume cemprifes M. de WarvIlIeV tnjoo 
 firfi Volumes, His thirds on the Commerce of America, 
 has been before publijhei in Englijh, 
 
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