f the working-men
with those, conventionally speaking, above them. Jack considered himself
as good as his master, though not without occasional mortifications at
not finding the sentiment reciprocated. The feeling, however, imparted a
show of independence, rather captivating to one who was not a little
imbued with 'old-country' radicalism. On the other hand, I had been
astonished, not to say disconcerted, at finding--which I did more and
more every day--how much mechanics are looked down upon in the United
States. You have only to wear jacket and apron, and write yourself
artisan, to be excluded from 'good' society as rigidly as if born under
the caste-laws of India. Where there appears to be an equal chance for
all to rise, those who have risen draw the line of demarcation with much
greater severity than strangers are willing to believe.

Another point on which my notions were corrected was, that it was not so
_very_ easy to find work in New York as is commonly reported; and that,
though wages were 20 per cent. higher than I had been accustomed to, the
high price of clothing, lodging, &c. made it, notwithstanding, necessary
for a man to be exceedingly careful of his expenditure, if he wished
really to save money. There was no royal road to wealth on that side the
Atlantic any more than on this.

Yet, among the facts which I liked, there was a set-off for this: it was
the absence of those stupid trade-regulations which in England, and on
the continent of Europe, hamper so annoyingly the movement of commerce,
and complicate so vexatiously the relations between employers and
employed. Few of these relics of feudal-age policy exist in the United
States: a master takes as many apprentices as he pleases, perfectly
regardless of anything his journeymen may think or say to the contrary.
He believes, and not without reason, that while he pays them fair wages
for their labour, they have no right to interfere with his mode of
conducting his business. It was a relief to get clear of the
traditionary customs and usages of European workshops, and to feel that
the way was clearer for rising out of the ranks. But there was one
exception, in a large foundry and engine-factory into which I sometimes
went to see an acquaintance: there the 'old-country' customs, as to
drinking when new hands were taken on, prescribing coercive limitations,
and so forth, were in full vigour. My shopmates were greatly amused one
day by my account of what I