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Show TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA: a few fi ~rna1s, the attenti·O n o f t 1 I · fhorc was attraB.ed tmvard 1 peop eon • u , :\Dd,~t [null b.tttcau, which is a light bo.tt with a fltt bottom, w.ts dil"p~ttchcd for our relief. This was not fcnt, h~wcver~ for tl~c purpnll.! of bringing a lingk pcrfon b.tck arrai.l . but to anlll u· lll gctttng to tlt~ oppolitc !ho1e. It w,ts flipped along a-hc.tJ ~f the large bo~t, and two or three men havitw ll:cppcd into it, rocl·cJ tt about from it~ c to fill.! .~ , I until the ict: was [u t1icit: ntly broken for the brgc boat to fo 10 v. T lG batteau was nov in tbe water, and the men [eating themfelv s a11 mucl as poi1ibk to ards t 1c ficrn, by io do ing rai l~J the bow of it conti krably abov the ice; by means of boat hoo l~s 1t was tl~e n pulled on t~c icc again, a1 r\ by rocking it about as before a pai1agc wa as e, Illy opened. In this 1 anncr we got on, and at the end of three hours and ten minutes found oudclvcs again upo 1 dry land, fully prepare l for enjoying the plcafurcs oC a bright .firefide and a good dinner. The peo )h; at the tavern had ken us coming ac rofs, and h, act-Jrdint;ly prepared for our r~ception; and as ea h individual thought he hnd travelled quite fu enough that day, the pafiengers remain d together till the next morn mg. At the American tncrns, as I before mentioned, a11 forts of people, j u rt a:; th ey ha Jl pc n to arrive, arc crammed together into the one room, where they mull rcconcil th emCclvcs to each other the be(t way th y can. On the 1 r ·fcnt occaiion, th ·company confiilt:d of ::tbout thir teen pe~p!c, among!l whom wert: fnmc eminent lawyers from Virginia and the fouthward, to e her with a jul6e of the fuprcmc court, who '''ere going to Philadc1pbi,t againfi: the approaching [cfftons : it was not, howcv r, till after I quittc l their company that I heard who they were;. for theic kind of gentlemen in 1\mcrica arc fo very plain, both in their ~ppcar nee and manner, that J. {b:anger would not fufpetl: that they \Vcre pcr!ons of the confcquencc which they really arc in the country. There were alio in the company two or thre of the neighbouring htrmcrs, bo, rill1, ignorant, and obtrufivc fellows. It is fear ely porTible for a dozen Americans to fit togcth~r without quarrelling about politics, and the Britiih tr 'aty, which had jufi: been ratified, now gave rife to a long N 0 I S Y D I S P U T A T I 0 N. 59 Jong and acrimonious debate. The farmers were of one opinion, and gabbled away for a long time; the lawyers and the judge were of an-ther, and !n turns they rofe to an[wcr their opponents with all the power of rhetoric whi ·h they poffdfed. Neither party could fay any thing to change the [cntimcnts of the other one; the noify contcfi lalled till late at night, when getting heartily tired they withdrew, not to their refpeCl.ive chambers, but to the general one that held five or fix beds, and in which they laid down in pairs. Here the convcrfation was again revived, and purfued with as much noifc as below, till at laO: fleep clofcJ their eyes, and happily their months at the fame time; for could they have talked in their flecp, I verily believe they would have prated on until morning. Thanks to our fiars ! my friend and I got the only two-bedded room in the houfe to onrfclves. The next morning I left the banks of the Sufquehannah, and the fucceeding day reached Phil:t-dclphia. L E T T E R VII. Philadelphia gayer in the 1Vinter than at any other Seafon.- Celebration in that City of General Wajhington' s Birth Day.-Some Account of Gmcneral Wajl ington' s Perj(m and qf his CharalJ~·r .-AmericaJts dijjati!.fied with his Condu[f as Prcjident.-A Spirit qf Difj'atisfaClion COIH!JJ01l amongjl tht!m. MY DEAR SIR, Philadelphia, February. p II I LADE L PH I A now wears a very diffi rent afpeCl: to what it did when I landed there in the month of November. Both congrefs and the fiate a.Gcrnbly arc fitting, as well as the fupreme federal court. The city is full of {hangers; the theatres are open; and a variety of public and private omufc.:ments arc going forward. On General Wafhing- 1 z ton's |
