ad letters of
introduction, and have made no end of acquaintances. I have been shown
thousands of fireworks, which blind me, and offered dozens of champagne,
which I never touch, and public dinners, which I did not attend. But
during the whole time I have never once seen the inside of a Swedish or
Norwegian house." Which was perfectly true, nor have I ever seen one to
this day. There is a kind of "hospitality" which consists of giving
yourself a grand treat at a tavern or _cafe_, and inviting your strangers
to it to help you to be glorified. But to very domestic people and utter
Philistines, _domestic_ life lacks the charm of a brass band, and the
mirrors and gilding of a restaurant or hotel; therefore, what they
themselves enjoy most, they, with best intent, but most unwisely, inflict
on more civilised folk. But in America and England, where home-life is
_worth_ living and abounding in every attraction, and public saloons are
at a discount, the case is reversed. And in these Western towns, of
which many were, so to speak, almost within hearing of the whoop of the
savage or the howl of the wolf (as Leavenworth really was), we
experienced a refinement of true hospitality in homes--kindness and tact
such as I have never known to be equalled save in Great Britain. One
evening I was at a house in St. Paul, where I was struck by the beauty,
refined manners, and agreeableness of our hostess, who was a real
Chippeway or Sioux Indian, and wife of a retired Indian trader. She had
been well educated at a Canadian French seminary.

We were taken over to see the rival city of Minneapolis, of which word my
brother Henry said it was a vile grinding up together of Greek and
Indian. _Minne_ means water; _Minne-sota_, turbid water, and
_Minne-haha_ does not signify "laughing," but _falling_ water. This we
also visited, and I found it so charming, that I was delighted to think
that for once an Indian name had been kept, and that the young ladies of
the boarding-schools of St. Paul or Minneapolis had not christened or
devilled it "Diana's Bath."

We were received kindly by the Council of the city of Minneapolis. Half
of them had come from the East afflicted with consumption, and all had
recovered. But it is necessary to remain there to live. My wife's
cousin, Mr. Richard Price, who then owned the great saw-mill next the
Fall of St. Anthony, came with this affliction from Philadelphia, and got
over it. After six years' abse