Washington (Pensilvania,) is a very pleasant, fast-increasing, and of course thriving town, through which the great national western road and six others are laid. The College here too is in an unfinished state; it has now only {55} forty-five students, owing to the dismissal of a favourite president, and the appointment of one not liked.[18] VIRGINIA On leaving Washington a few miles, the traveller enters the state of Virginia, which he crosses to Wheeling, a town on the eastern bank of the Ohio. The whole way is in general a fine drive, and in two or three years will be better from the improved roads forming every where as we pass with great judgment and spirit. The National road is a work truly worthy of a great nation, both in its idea and construction; upon it, the traveller will be enabled to pass with comfort, from the eastern coast, westward the whole way to New Orleans; and perhaps by another branch to St. Louis, without being stopt to pay a single toll.[19] This is as it should be; for roads are one of those important works which are scarcely ever executed well by individuals, and which therefore should be done by their representatives, and paid for by the treasury; one is not then stopt every five or ten miles to pay a toll frequently exorbitant; nor would the public be speculated upon {56} by individual proprietors[20] or small companies, who seldom execute these works upon a scale sufficiently liberal. [Illustration] Almost all the labourers employed here upon the roads are either Irish or English, and it is not certain that these republicans have not a secret pride in beholding the natives of the old world toiling for their benefit; however, the earnings of the men are I believe sufficient to render them in time independent, and I must say they look in general well fed, well clothed and comfortable. We passed one party employed in ploughing down part of the uneven road with a strong machine drawn by eight oxen, while two others drew a large wooden scoop to shovel up and lead away the ploughed up soil: it appeared to save much labour. The Irish here have not lost in our esteem; two or three times we have been beholden to individuals of that nation for good-natured little services: one of them lately aided me successfully to get along part of the new road where we had met with some opposition; another actually accompanied us about nine miles on a like occasion, not with a view to remuneration, for I could not persuade him to {57} take any thing for his services but some refreshment at the tavern. I heartily return them the good wishes they so frequently expressed as we passed them. One of the above men had acquired some property; he told me that seven years ago he bought land at six dollars per acre, and that he had just sold a part of it at fifty, and some even so high as seventy dollars per acre. The proximity of the new road had increased thus the value of his land.