Mohave County miner., 1891-01-31
WHATTHEY THINK OF us.
AN AMERICAN TRAVELLERS Ex-
PERiENCE ABROAD.
Most Absurd N0tioas That nome fngllshmen
Have OF lmsriean urilIyailsa and Cal.
tisatIca---Bur Distances Is What
StaSssrx Then kast.

and crusty self complacency on the
part OF the English people as to
greatly surprise us, writes 4. M.
Phillips In Arkansaw Traveller
The experiences OF one OF our coun-
.rymen in England may serve to show
Ehis. and mark some OF the peculiar
tiles OF British character This gen.
leman. whum we will call Mr.. Ira
verse, bore letters of introduction
from some OF our scientists and people
Of good standing In America, TO gen.
Aemen in England. The presentation
Of these letters secured him the eHtree
oi good society. and In Manchester he
received an invitation 10 dine at the
house Of one Captain Browning,
gentleman occupying good official
position. They sat down to dinner.
the hostess serving the meats and who
addressed him thus:
"Will you have white bread aud
| chicken fxins, or corn bread and COM
mon doin's, Mr.. Traversc?''
Our traveller looked at the lady In
amazement. He would have been sur
prised II the question had been asked
| him 10 the back woods OF Maine or on
the prairies Of Texas, but this was In
the diniug-room OF an English gentle
| mani
His first thought was. "Ihe lady
wishes to insult me, but as she is
lady ! must swallow 1t as well as |
can," 50 he smilingly made answer.
You will excuse me Mrs Browning,
but scarcely understand your ques-
tiOn,n
what, you--an American, and not
understand thatr' she exclaimed.
Il suppose the explanation must be,
you have somehow gotten the idea, We
Yankees across the water are in the
habit OF addressing guests at our din
ing-tables in this manner. II 80, per-
nit me to say, never heard such an
inquiry or anything approaching TO it
in any part of the United States"
Surely you must have heard such a
question before ON your side Of the
Atlantic, the lady continued.
"No, madam, certainly never did.
Pray how did you get the idea, such
crude. j might almost say rude, ex-
preston was in use there9"
why, MIR. Dickens, in his Ameri-
can notes. says he was asked this ques-
tion In America"
We'll, madam, / do not wish TO
question Mr.. Dickens veraclty, but
certainly If anyone in the United
States he was at all likely to meet at
the dining table asked him such a ques-
ton, it must have been to play upon
his credulity, to fool him to the top OF
his bent or jocOsely, as one in Eng
land might use some slang expression,
and not in sober earnest"
In subsequent conversation our trav-
eler found Captain Browning shared
his wife's opinion, that the masses OF
our people are boorish and uneducat-
ed, bearing no favorable comparison
with the people OF England.
1t happened that at this time Mr..
Traverse had not read Dickens SLAM
der upon the American people, en-
titled, American Notes" but on sub
sequent perusal, he found the words
in question put into the mouth OF the
landlord OF hotel at BelleVille.
Illinois. and he often wondered after
wards if this hotel keeper the jolly
dog-might not have had many a
hearty laugh with his comrades at the
way he fooled the credulous aad
prejudiced Englishman.
Our traveller lolnd the average
Briton knows nothing of the mighty
wave OF settlement and civilization
which in the last hundred years has
swept over our American continent
To him the domain OF the United
States is still region OF dense forests.
OF lonely rivers. and OF great prairie
deserts; while buffal0es and savage
Indians still haunt this wilderness-a
la Fenimore Cooper--a few short
hours journey west OF New York city.
The first question asked him by
nearly every one he met, was: Have
you ever seen the Falls OF Niagara?"
ard second, in awe struck tones:
Have you ever been IN the American
iorests?"
In Liverpool lady asked him:
do you live ia New York, Mr.
Traverse?"
No. madam-in Illinois"
"Ah. indeed. How far is that from
New York;"
About a thousand miles west,
madam"
"A thousand miles" she exclaimed
"i suppose such a house as this, fur
nished as this is" looking around
complacently at her good, but not
remarkably sumptuous furniture,
'wonld be quite a curiosity
NO, madam" be replied, 81 assure
you the town live in has a number
OF welI.huilt brick houses in il, ms
well furnished even as your own"
oh! you live in town" she said.
but how do you get the furniture out
there? A thousand miles is such long
distancer'
Our countryman explained to the