SPECTATOR'S LIBRARY.
TaAvar.s.
Three Years in North America. By James Stuart, Esq. 2 vols. Id Edition, revised. FicrroN, Cadell, Edinburgh. Deloraine. By the Author of "Caleb 'Williams." Soc. 3 vols. Bentley. The Wondrous Tale of Alroy. The Rise of Iskander. By the Author of "Vivian Grey," "Contarini Fleming." 3 vols Saunders and Otley.
SECOND EDITION OF STUART'S AMERICA.
IT is with very considerable satisfaction that in so brief a space we receive a second edition of this work, and learn moreover that even it is nearly exhausted. Our deliberate opinion of the book, which we ushered in with a kind welcome, is that it is an eminently useful work. It is useful by the information it gives; by the spirit it cultivates; by the example it exhibits, of a Briton without pas sion or prejudice as to other countries, while he has a deep love and a thorough knowledge of his own land. There are few writings, especially travels, so well calculated to do an Englishman good. By the mere force of patient description and accurate recording, an Englishman is able to discern wherein lies the difference between a people sololy governed for themselves, and a people governed, or at least that have been governed for ages, for the benefit of a distinct class.
For some time at least no traveller will visit the States without taking Mr. STUART'S work for a guide. The plainness, accuracy, and particularity of the author's journal, peculiarly adapt his volumes for this use. A table of expenses might, we think, be drawn from it, which would enable the projector of a sojourn in the United States to predict, within a few dollars, the cost of either a tour or a residence in most parts of the country. This is a luxury which no one could enjoy previously. The uncertainty of a tavern-bill is the great evil of travelling: it poisons every Mouthful—it makes the night restless and the morning without joy. In an English inn, there is not merely the glorious uncertainty of the principal bill, but the claims of all the serving tribe are as mysterious as they are numerous. Nobody knows what to give a waiter : it is " optional," but it is also necessary ; and there is nothing certain about the matter, but that he will look askew and grumble, unless he receives more than he expects—and who is to say what he and his brother and sister harpies do expect ?. Their claims are ruled by the size of the house, the quality of the guest, their notions of their own and their visitor's consequence, and many other arbitrary considerations. The same mode of calculation applies to the concoction of the landlord's bill; it is a regular banditti affair—" here we have the prisoners, what will they pay for their ransom ?" The Duke of WELLINGTON, on one occasion, as he sat in his carriage while his horses were changed, on a great South-eastern road, was charged two guineas for a plate of sandwiches, of which perhaps he scarcely ate one, and a single glass of wine. The original cost might have been a shilling or eighteenpence. A meaner man would have been charged half-acrown for being thus refreshed in his carriage. Thus, in England,. an innkeeper is not only permitted to value the supply he affords,. but he estimates name and fame : he rates the Duke of WELLINGTON and other great men according to their standing in the country. The standing of his Grace is pretty well ascertained; but in less remarkable individuals, not so—hence, ingenuity proceeds to fulfil its business. Appearance is speculated on, manners are criticised; the waiter having the best opportunity for observation, is consulted ; and finally, Boniface, with the aid of his daughter dragged from the piano, and his wife from the arrangement of her millinery, settles how much the party in No. 2, or the Apollo,
are to be mulct. Unluckily for the said party, be they unable or
unwilling to stand the exorbitance of the demand, they have no redress. They grumble, it is true; they spoil their tempers ; they
ruin the next stage; send the soul of the innkeeper to the Shades below, and vow to the heavens above that no chance shall ever again induce them to set foot in the Lion or the Lamb, whichever monster the inn may bear for a sign. Now there is nothing of all this in Yankee-land : on going into an hotel, the prices are known and fixed, and according to his stay the visitor can calculate exactly how much he has to pay on his departure. The prices of hotels vary : there are accommodations according to the difference in payment, and a man chooses his hotel by his means. Rank goes for nothing in the States, and wealth for very little. This noble spirit ought to be treasured by the Americans as a grand and virtuous distinction between them and the old corrupt countries of Europe. Mr. STUART observes,
that were the richest man in the land,—such, for instance, as the late Mr. GIRA.RD of Philadelphia, one of the richest men in the world,—to arrive in New York, no matter how splendid his retinue or equipage, it would excite no attention, and but little remark : whereas, let a person of eminent intellectual character appear,—any great orator, for instance, such as Mr. Ca AY,—the whole population would be roused into a state of exeitement.
At Northampton, says Mr. STUART, ". at the hotel where we lodged, kept by Mr. WARNER, the dinner set down to us alone was as good and as well-dressed as at any hotel in London. A very handsome female waiter attended us, and took her seat by us, very much as our equal." (P. 297.) What an incident for Mrs. TROL LOPE It is, however, by no means unfrequently recorded in Mr. STUART'S volumes, as a difference in manners, but which he thoroughly comprehends. The female attendants in the United States are chosen pretty much from the same class as those they 'wait upon. They accept the service, but not on menial conditions.
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