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.
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