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works; to whom all business of this nature is referred,
in the first instance. A large fund is appropriated by
the State for internal improvements, under the direction
of a Board of public works. The members of this Board
are selected from different parts of the State, thereby
giving to each part an equal weight in what relates to
the advantage of the people at large. Education,
likewise, begins to engage the attention of Virginia in a
manner worthy that renowned State. The university
which is soon to go into operation is located in Albe-
marle county, at Charlottesville, a small village in the
healthiest part of Virginia. It has been built under the
direction of the Hon. Thomas Jefferson, ex-president
of the United States. The plan contemplates ten pro-
fessors. The buildings consist of ten pavilions, one
for each professor; five hotels for dieting the students,
six for the proctor, with one hundred and four dormito-
ries, sufficient to lodge two hundred and eight students.
The whole is of uncommon beauty and elegance. The
sums expended upon the building have consumed the
revenue allotted for its support for seven years to come.
There are three colleges in Virginia, besides several
academies and schools.

My visit to Richmond was limited to three or four
days only, and accordingly I left it for Washington, ia
the stage, with three other very respectable passengers.
The party consisted of a Mr. Warrick, a merchant, and
the young man who drew the $100,000 prize, Gillespie's
lottery. He was going to Washington City to break up
the corporation, which report says has made itself liable
for the whole amount. It is well that this minion of for-
tune is neither a son of Mars nor Minerva. He is what
we, in the west, would call a soft young man. It is quite
amusing to see his languishing airs, and how he tries to
look big. This man is young, about twenty-three, of very
pleasing countenance. But the $100,000 will not mend
all defects, when he gets it. Having disposed of tho
$100,000, little remains to be said of the rest.—The mer.
chant was a jolly, talkative soul, all life and humor; he
was going on to New-York to purchase goods; but the
flower of the party was Mr. Warrick, a man of erudition

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and elegant manners-had made the tour of Europe, where he had travelled three years; our time, therefore, passed off very pleasantly during the journey. A circumstance occurred during our ride, which proved that men of genius and general science, arc, for the most part, deficient in the common affairs of life: we stopped to dine; when dinner was over I handed the man of the house twenty-five cents, and stepped into the stagecoach. The others soon followed, one of them observed he should like to know how I happened to come off in the affair of the dinner upon so much better terms than they, as each had to pay seventy-five cents. I told him that all licensed taverns in this State are compelled, by law, under pain of a heavy fine, to have the rates of fare nailed up in the public room or in some public place, so as to be seen by travellers the moment they enter the house. If the tavern-keeper fails to do this, it is optionary with the traveller to pay or not. Finding no rates, I determined not to be swindled; probably the owner suspected the truth, as he took the quarter without utterring a word. None of the party, though all Virginians, and had travelled a great deal, knew that such a law existed! For want of other matter I must amuse the reader with one or two anecdotes, of the same nature, which will pass off the time till we arrive at the boat, where I shall bid him good night and betake myself to rest in one of those delicious alcoves in the 'Mount Vernon.

Travelling in company with some gentlemen in the west, it so happened when we called for dinner, that, not feeling over well, one of the party requested the landlady to make him a cup of tea; she was one of your very important ladies, and called to Jinny to tell Peggy to go to the spring and tell Betsey to come home and put on the tea-kettle: the gentleman, provoked at this round about way of doing business, "Madam," said he, "if you will tell me where the kettle is, I will put it on myself." She took the hint, and got up, as I suspect, to put on the kettle herself, but just as she stepped out of the door she was met by her husband and communicated to him the substance, and the manner she had been

addressed, &c.; she spoke in a low voice, which, nevertheless, I overheard that she rather exceeded the truth. The tea was made, dinner, &c. over, and our bills presented: he charged us four shillings for dinner and oats more than the rate of the county. The knight of the tea-kettle exclaimed, "Where' is your rates, sir!" He was a magistrate, and happened to know the law: "Oh," said he of the tavern, in a style of the greatest importance, mixed with contempt, the law says that you shall have the rates nailed to the ceiling, but there is no ceiling here to nail them to." "The intent and meaning of the law, sir," said the other, "is, that you shall have the rates, and without them you have no right to charge; that you shall not only have them, but it is your duty to have them in the most public part of your house, so that a traveller, the moment he enters, may see what he has to pay, and be regulated accordingly. Put up your money gentlemen, said he, you have no right to pay him a cent, I shall report you, sir, for this," addressing the landlord, and departed. The strangers laughed at the incident; and after exchanging a look between each other, one of them threw the amount of what we had, on the table, leaving monsieur, the landlord, not quite so casy in his mind. This happened in West Virginia.

But this was a rare instance; it is seldom that travellers are imposed upon in any part of the west, indeed; the fare is extremely low, every where in the western country. But we pay for this in the east, at least in old Virginia, particularly those who travel in stages. In coming on last winter, I was initiated into the secret by degrees; they began to broach the subject to me, at Newmarket, Limestone Valley, Va. thro' an old man by the name of Gray, (for the benefit of other travellers.) Being fatigued when I arrived, I went to bed without supper. Next morning we were called as usual, about 3 o'clock, to set out. The old man was up, I called for my bill. What was my astonishment to find it fifty cents. "Where are your rates sir?" said I. "They were in the next room," he said. I picked up the candle, telling him to show them. "Oh dn it," said he, "what a fuss you make; d'ye think I am a going to

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therefore, run the risk of losing his license and his soul, (if he had any) for lying and fraud. Thus do these highway robbers, for they are no better, fleece the traveller. I never saw one of this description thrive in any country; they are always a poor, ncedy sct: God in his wisdom has put his fiat against them, they never will nor ever ought to arrive to any thing. And here is the steam-boat. I promised the reader good night, intending to go to rest. Accordingly I took possession of a good bed, and would soon have resigned myself to Morpheus, but for a strange adventure on board. Several ladies were passengers, some of these came with us from F. some we met at the river. One of those who seemed to rank with the better sort, observed that "the room below was too warm; she must go upon deck for air," and in the course of the night, my companion came to bed, having kept me awake during the time. llow was I surprised, to hear that the lady before named,

was still on deck in company with the C. All this was nothing to me, and probably shall not think of it in the course of a few minutes. What pleasant opportunities to sleep on board these steam-bouts, the murmuring of the water, the rocking of the boat, and the sound of the wheels, which keep regular time to the motion of the boat, the neatness of the chambers and beds, all invite to sweet repose.

Washington City.—An I before observed, the conveyance from Richmond to Washington, by way of Fredericksburg, is partly by land and partly by water. The steam-boat which takes you in at Potomac Creek, at 8 o'clock, P. M. lands at Washington about day-light-by which means we lost the pleasure of an approaching view of the city, which the river commands. When the stcam-boat lands her passengers on the shore of the Potomac, they are a mile, at least, from the inhabited part of the city, with the exception of a few scattered dwellings. To remedy this inconvenience, the proprietors of the line have provided a large vehicle, something like a stage coach; it is called a carry-all, and would carry twenty persons. This vehicle soon brought us in view of the "mighty city," which is nothing more than distinct groups of houses, scattered over a vast surface, and has more the appearance of so many villages, than a city.

It was not long before the towering dome of the capitol met my eye: its massy columns and walls of glittering white. The next object that strikes the eye of a stranger, is the President's house, on the left, while the capitol is on the right, as you advance in an eastern direction. Another object of admiration is the bridge over the Potomac. The capitol, however, which may aptly be called the eighth wonder of the world, eclipses the whole. This stupenduous fabric, when seen at a distance, is remarkable for its magnitude, its vast dome rising out of the centre, and its exquisite whiteness.The President's house, like the capitol, rivals the snow in whitness. It is easily distinguished from the surrounding edifices, inasmuch as they are of brick. Their

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