June 7th, at three in the morning, the steam-boat (which was of immense
size, and on the high pressure system) arrived at Albany, having come
one hundred and sixty miles in seventeen hours, including stoppages. I
found that, unluckily, the mail-coach had left the place just before our
arrival, so I booked myself in an accommodation-stage, which was to
reach Boston (a distance of one hundred and sixty miles) in three days,
and entered the wretched-looking vehicle, with a heavy heart, at eight
o'clock.... The machine in which I travelled was slow and crowded. The
proprietor had undertaken to let us rest at night on the road; but we
found that his notions of rest were very imperfect, and that his night
was one of the polar regions.--Having partaken of a wretched dinner at
Sand Lake, we arrived about one in the morning at Cheshire, where we
were to sleep.
By dint of most active exertion, I secured a bed to myself, the narrow
dimensions of which precluded the possibility of participation, and
plunged into it with all possible haste, as there was not a moment to
be lost. Secure in "single blessedness," I was incredibly amused at the
compliments of nocturnal arrangement which passed around me among my
Yankee companions. They were nine in number, and occupied by triplets
the three other beds which the room contained. Whether it was with a
view of preserving their linen unrumpled, or of enjoying greater space,
I cannot tell; but certain it is, that they divested themselves of
clothing to a degree not generally practised in Europe. A spirit of
accommodation appeared to prevail; and it seemed to be a matter of
indifference whether to occupy the lateral portions of the bed, or the
warmer central position, except in one instance, where a gentleman
protested against being placed next to the wall, as he was in the habit
of chewing tobacco in his sleep!
At four o'clock in the morning we again set off, and, as much rain had
fell in the night, the roads were in a dreadful state. The coach company
now consisted of nine passengers inside, one on the top, (which, from
its convex form, is a very precarious situation,) and three on the box,
besides the coachman, who sat on the knees of the unfortunate middle
man,--an uneasy burden, considering the intense heat of the weather.
It matters little to the American driver where he sits; he is indeed, in
all respects, a far different personage from his great-coated prototype
in England. He is in general extremely dexterous in the art of driving,
though his costume is of a most grotesque description. Figure to
yourself a slipshod sloven, dressed in a striped calico jacket and an
old straw hat, alternately arranging the fragile harness of his horses,
and springing again upon his box with surprising agility; careless of
the bones of his passengers, and confident in his skill and resources,
he scruples not frequently to gallop his coach over corderoy roads, (so
called from being formed of the trunks of trees laid transversely,) or
dash it round corners, and through holes that would appal the heart of
the stoutest English coachman, however elated by gin, or irritated by
opposition. I was once whirled along one of these roads, when the
leathers, (barbarous substitutes for springs,) which supported the
carriage gave way with a sudden shock. The undaunted driver instantly
sprang from his box, tore a stake from a rail fence by the road-side,
laid it across under the body of the coach, and was off again before I
properly recovered the use of my senses, which were completely
bewildered by the jolting I had undergone. I can compare it to nothing
but the butt of Regulus, without the nails. When the lash and butt-end
of the whip fail him, he does not scruple to use his foot, as the
situation of his seat allows the application of it to his wheelers.
We dined at New Salem at six, and arrived at Petersham, where we were to
sleep, at twelve o'clock at night, having been twenty hours coming sixty
miles.
Though tired and disgusted with my journey, the prospect of a short
respite from this state of purgatory was embittered during the last few
miles by alarm at the idea of passing the night with one, if not two, of
my fellow-travellers; and I internally resolved rather to sleep upon the
floor.
After a desperate struggle, I succeeded, to my great joy, in securing a
bed for myself, not, however, without undergoing a severe objurgation
from the landlady, who could not understand such unaccommodating
selfishness. Short were our slumbers. By the rigid order of the
proprietor, we were turned out the next morning at three, and pursued
our journey.--_De Roos's Personal Narrative._