The traveller, who has passed the night in an
inn that would not disgrace the oldest country in Europe, may be compelled
to dine in the shantee [Footnote: _Shanty_, or _Shantee_, is a word much
used in the newer settlements. It strictly means a rude cabin of bark and
brush, such as is often erected in the forest for temporary purposes. But
the borderers often quaintly apply it to their own habitations. The only
derivation which the writer has heard for this American word, is one that
supposes it to be a corruption of _Chiente_, a term said to be used among
the Canadians to express a dog-kennel.] of a hunter; the smooth and
gravelled road sometimes ends in an impassable swamp; the spires of the
town are often hid by the branches of a tangled forest, and the canal
leads to a seemingly barren and unprofitable mountain. He that does not
return to see what another year may bring forth, commonly bears away from
these scenes, recollections that conduce to error. To see America with the
eyes of truth, it is necessary to look often; and in order to understand
the actual condition of these states, it should be remembered, that it is
equally unjust to believe that all the intermediate points partake of the
improvements of particular places, as to infer the want of civilization at
more remote establishments, from a few unfavorable facts gleaned near the
centre.
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