Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie
page 265 of 673 (39%)
page 265 of 673 (39%)
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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 |
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