WHEN abroad, he had not the most distant intention of publishing his travels; but finding on his return home, that much of the matter contained in the following letters was quite new to his friends, and being induced to think that it might prove equally new, and not wholly unacceptable to the Public, he came to the resolution of committing them to print: accordingly the present volume[2] is now offered to the world, in an humble hope, that if not entertaining to all readers, it will at least be so to some, as well as useful to future travellers. Footnote 2: The first edition was printed in one quarto volume. IF it shall appear to any one, that he has spoken with too much asperity of American men and American manners, the Author begs that such language may not be ascribed to hasty prejudice, and a blind partiality for every thing that is European. He crossed the Atlantic strongly prepossessed in favour of the people and the country, which he was about to visit; and if he returned with sentiments of a different tendency, they resulted solely from a cool and dispassionate observation of what chance presented to his view when abroad. AN enthusiastic admirer of the beauties of nature, the scenery of the countries through which he passed did not fail to attract a great part of his attention; and interspersed through the book will be found views of what he thought would be most interesting to his readers: they are what he himself sketched upon the spot, that of Mount Vernon, the Seat of General Washington, indeed, excepted, for which he is indebted to an ingenious friend that he met in America, and the View of Bethlehem. He has many more views in his possession; but he thought it better to furnish his Publisher with a few only, in hopes that the engraving from them would be well executed, rather than with a great many, which, had they been given, must either have been in a style unworthy of the public eye, or else have swelled the price of the volume beyond the reach of many that may now read it. Of the resemblance which these views bear to their respective archetypes, those alone can be judges who have been spectators of the original scenes. With regard to the Cataract of Niagara, however, it must be observed, that in views on so small a scale no one must expect to find a lively representation of its wonderful and terrific vastness, even were they executed by artists of far superior merit; the inserting of the three in the present work is done merely in the hope that they may help, together with the ground plan of the precipice, if it may be so called, to give a general idea of the position and appearance of that stupendous Cataract. Those who are desirous of becoming more intimately acquainted with it, will soon be gratified, at least so he has been given to understand by the artist in whose hands they at present are, with a set of views from the masterly pencil of Captain Fisher, of the Royal British Artillery, which are