Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. II.djvu/250

Rh we drove for a considerable distance in the water, so deep that I expected to see the whole equipage either swim or sink altogether. And when we reached dry land it was only to take the most extraordinary leaps over stocks and stones. They comforted me by telling me that the diligence was not in the habit of being upset very often! And to my astonishment I really did arrive at Watertown without being overturned, but was not able to proceed without a night's rest.

I proceed with my letter in the capital of Wisconsin, a pretty little town (mostly consisting of villas and gardens) most beautifully situated between four lakes, the shores of which are fringed with live-oaks. I am here in a good and handsome house on the shore of one of the lakes, surrounded by all the comforts of life, and among kind, cultivated people and friends. At Watertown I discovered that the Public Conveyance Company had given orders that I was to have free transit through all parts of the State, and the host of the hotel, where everything was very good and excellent, would not be paid for my entertainment there, but thanked me for “my call at his house.” That, one may term politeness!

At Watertown I became acquainted with some Danes who resided there, and spent a pleasant evening with one of them just married to a young and charming Norwegian lady. They were comfortable and seemed to be doing well in the city where he was engaged in trade. An elderly Danish gentleman, however, who also was in trade in the city, did not seem to get on so well, but complained of the want of society and of some cheerful amusement in the long and solitary evenings. He was a widower, and widowers, or indeed, men without wives and domestic life in America, lead solitary lives, particularly in small towns and in the country.

I left that kind, little city with regret, in order