I beheld a sight which astonished me more than
anything that I had yet seen.

It was filled with cases containing all manner of curiosities--such as
skeletons, stuffed birds and animals, carvings in stone (whereof I saw
several that were like those on the saddle, only smaller), but the
greater part of the room was occupied by broken machinery of all
descriptions. The larger specimens had a case to themselves, and tickets
with writing on them in a character which I could not understand. There
were fragments of steam engines, all broken and rusted; among them I saw
a cylinder and piston, a broken fly-wheel, and part of a crank, which was
laid on the ground by their side. Again, there was a very old carriage
whose wheels in spite of rust and decay, I could see, had been designed
originally for iron rails. Indeed, there were fragments of a great many
of our own most advanced inventions; but they seemed all to be several
hundred years old, and to be placed where they were, not for instruction,
but curiosity. As I said before, all were marred and broken.

We passed many cases, and at last came to one in which there were several
clocks and two or three old watches. Here the magistrate stopped, and
opening the case began comparing my watch with the others. The design
was different, but the thing was clearly the same. On this he turned to
me and made me a speech in a severe and injured tone of voice, pointing
repeatedly to the watches in the case, and to my own; neither did he seem
in the least appeased until I made signs to him that he had better take
my watch and put it with the others. This had some effect in calming
him. I said in English (trusting to tone and manner to convey my
meaning) that I was exceedingly sorry if I had been found to have
anything contraband in my possession; that I had had no intention of
evading the ordinary tolls, and that I would gladly forfeit the watch if
my doing so would atone for an unintentional violation of the law. He
began presently to relent, and spoke to me in a kinder manner. I think
he saw that I had offended without knowledge; but I believe the chief
thing that brought him round was my not seeming to be afraid of him,
although I was quite respectful; this, and my having light hair and
complexion, on which he had remarked previously by signs, as every one
else had done.

I afterwards found that it was reckoned a very great merit to have fair
hair, this being a thing of th