ion of the people is that of
an absence of wealth and of the conveniences of life, with, however, the
means of obtaining a sufficient quantity of food. The blacksmith and the
tavern-keeper are almost the only occupations. The former earns from
twenty shillings and sixpence to twenty-seven shillings per week; and
the profits of the latter must be very great, if we may judge from the
high charges and bad quality of the accommodations. From Greensburgh to
Pittsburgh the improvement, in size and quality, of the houses, is
evident, and the cultivation and condition of the land is much superior
to those of the country through which the travellers had before past.

_Pittsburg_ is, in several points of view, a most interesting town. Its
situation, which is truly picturesque, is at the termination of two
rivers, and at the commencement of a third river, that has a direct
communication with the ocean, though at the immense distance of two
thousand five hundred miles. This place possesses an exhaustless store
of coal.

During the great American war, Pittsburg was an important military post
called _Du Quesne_, and was remarkable for two signal defeats of the
British troops. It is, at present, a place of great importance: the
connecting link between _new_ and _old_ America; and though it is not a
"Birmingham," as the natives bombastically style it, yet it certainly
contains the seeds of numerous important and valuable manufactories.

Agricultural produce finds here a ready and advantageous market. Farming
in this neighbourhood is not, indeed, the most profitable mode of
employing capital; but here, as in other parts of the union, it is an
independent mode of life. The farmer, however, must labour hard with his
own hands. The labourers, or "helps," as they style themselves, are paid
high wages, and are not to be relied on. In many instances they expect
to sit down at table with their master, to live as well as he, and to be
on terms of equality with every branch of the family.

Mr. Fearon remained at Pittsburgh several days, during which time the
rain never ceased. The smoke, also, from the different manufactories, is
extreme, giving, to the town and its inhabitants, a very sombre aspect.
The articles manufactured here are various, and chiefly of copper, iron,
and glass. In one of the glass-warehouses, Mr. Fearon saw chandeliers
and numerous other articles, of a very splendid description, in cut
glass. Among the latter was a pair