ht he furls a portion of his canvas; and when the
whitening billows intimate the vicinity of land, he checks his way,
and takes an observation of the sun. But the American neglects these
precautions and braves these dangers. He weighs anchor in the midst
of tempestuous gales; by night and by day he spreads his sheets to the
wind; he repairs as he goes along such damage as his vessel may have
sustained from the storm; and when he at last approaches the term of his
voyage, he darts onward to the shore as if he already descried a port.
The Americans are often shipwrecked, but no trader crosses the seas so
rapidly. And as they perform the same distance in a shorter time, they
can perform it at a cheaper rate.

The European touches several times at different ports in the course of a
long voyage; he loses a good deal of precious time in making the harbor,
or in waiting for a favorable wind to leave it; and he pays daily dues
to be allowed to remain there. The American starts from Boston to go to
purchase tea in China; he arrives at Canton, stays there a few days, and
then returns. In less than two years he has sailed as far as the entire
circumference of the globe, and he has seen land but once. It is true
that during a voyage of eight or ten months he has drunk brackish water
and lived upon salt meat; that he has been in a continual contest with
the sea, with disease, and with a tedious existence; but upon his return
he can sell a pound of his tea for a half-penny less than the English
merchant, and his purpose is accomplished.

I cannot better explain my meaning than by saying that the Americans
affect a sort of heroism in their manner of trading. But the European
merchant will always find it very difficult to imitate his American
competitor, who, in adopting the system which I have just described,
follows not only a calculation of his gain, but an impulse of his
nature.

The inhabitants of the United States are subject to all the wants and
all the desires which result from an advanced stage of civilization; but
as they are not surrounded by a community admirably adapted, like that
of Europe, to satisfy their wants, they are often obliged to procure for
themselves the various articles which education and habit have rendered
necessaries. In America it sometimes happens that the same individual
tills his field, builds his dwelling, contrives his tools, makes his
shoes, and weaves the coarse stuff of which his dress is compo