I Confess I Felt At The Time Not A Little Annoyed With Mr. S - -'s Free-And-Easy Manner, And Apparent Coolness And Indifference When He Told Us He Had No Spare Room In His House To Accommodate Our Party.

We endeavoured to procure lodgings at another tavern, on the opposite side of the street; but soon learned that, in consequence of the arrival of an unusual number of immigrants, all the taverns in the village were already filled to overflowing.

We returned to Mr. S - -, and after some further conversation, he seemed to have taken a kind of liking to us, and became more complaisant in his manner, until our arrangement with Tom Wilson, as already related, relieved us from further difficulty.

I NOW perfectly understand the cause of this apparent indifference on the part of our host. Of all people, Englishmen, when abroad, are the most addicted to the practice of giving themselves arrogant airs towards those persons whom they look upon in the light of dependents on their bounty; and they forget that an American tavern-keeper holds a very different position in society from one of the same calling in England. The manners and circumstances of new countries are utterly opposed to anything like pretension in any class of society; and our worthy host, and his excellent wife - who had both held a respectable position in the society of the United States - had often been deeply wounded in their feelings by the disgusting and vulgar arrogance of English GENTLEMAN and LADIES, as they are called. Knowing from experience the truth of the saying that "what cannot be cured must be endured," we were particularly civil to Mr. S - -; and it was astonishing how quickly his manners thawed. We had not been long in the house before we were witnesses of so many examples of the purest benevolence, exhibited by Mr. S - - and his amiable family, that it was impossible to regard them with any feeling but that of warm regard and esteem. S - - was, in truth, a noble-hearted fellow. Whatever he did seemed so much a matter of habit, that the idea of selfish design or ostentation was utterly excluded from the mind. I could relate several instances of the disinterested benevolence of this kind-hearted tavern-keeper. I shall just mention one, which came under my own observation while I lived near C - -.

I had frequently met a young Englishman, of the name of M - -, at Mr. S - -'s tavern. His easy and elegant manners, and whole deportment, showed that he had habitually lived in what is called the best society. He had emigrated to Canada with 3,000 or 4,000 pounds, had bought horses, run races, entertained many of the wealthy people of Toronto, or York, as it was then called, and had done a number of other exceedingly foolish things. Of course his money was soon absorbed by the thirsty Canadians, and he became deeply involved in debt. M - - had spent a great deal of money at S - -'s tavern, and owed him 70 or 80 pounds.

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Words from 69862 to 70377 of 181664