TO THE READER.

I have no apology to offer for the numerous imperfections of this work. I have consented to its publication, and have thus, impliedly at least, admitted, that in my own opinion, full of blemishes as I may esteem it to be, there will remain enough, after these shall have been overlooked, to make it not altogether unworthy of a perusal. It is, however, but justice to state, that I left home without the most remote intention of offering to the public the scraps which I might pick up by the way; and therefore made no preparations, either in books, or tests, or instruments.—I promised in compliance with the request of a friend, and which was made in the night preceding the morning on which I set out, to do, and in a certain way, just what I have accomplished, and just so, and in precisely the order, in which this promise was fulfilled, will the reader find it in this volume.

I am aware that the form might have been changed, and the plan re-modelled; and that in the process the weeds might have been left out, and the flowers, if any, retained. But for such a task I have neither the leisure, nor the inclination. The reader will, therefore, have to follow me,-if he follow at all-in the first track, crooked and uninteresting as it may be; and the only consolation I can offer him is, that when he may arrive at a green spot, or pleasant place,

he has my free consent to sit down and enjoy himself as long as he may think proper; and then, either to continue the journey, or turn back.

I will not however, disguise the fact that lies at the bottom of all this:-I should be not only flattered, but derive a sensible pleasure, if these Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes are received by the public with approbation, though it should be so faint as to be heard only in whispers.

THE AUTHOR.

TOUR TO THE LAKES.

MY DEAR ***

Georgetown, D. C. May 31, 1826.

I have this moment (eleven o'clock at night) received your favour of this date, wishing me an "agreeable trip to the Fond Du Lac, and a safe return to my family and friends;" and conveying a "request that I would write you daily, and give you every minutiae of my travels, with such reflections as I may esteem it proper to make; and especially to introduce you to the company I may fall in with, and make you see, as I shall see them myself, the views, both of land and water, which may lie in the way of my journey, omitting by no means, every incident that may have relation to our red people."

I thank you singerely, my dear ***, for your good wishes; and with the best disposition to comply with your request, I fear I should be venturing too far, were I to make you a promise of its fulfilment. However, relying on your partiality, and on your readiness to make the most of a little, if that little be the offering of friendship, I will go so far as to promise to snatch, for you, from the highways of the land and rivers, and from the lakes and mountains, such incidents as may lie within my reach, and throw them back to you; and, if I can, daily, but without regard to order or arrangement; and accompany them with the reflections of the moment, and just as these may arise. In going over some of the grounds, I shall have to tread, of necessity, in paths which

have been often trodden before, and be indebted for my perception of them to others. I make this general acknowledgment beforehand. Indeed, it would be hardly possible to travel through a country, and especially over a public highway, which has been so often and so minutely described, as has so much of the way as lies before me, and between Washington and Buffaloe, by the way of the North river, &c. without recurring to places that every body knows by heart, and even in the order in which they have hitherto been written about; and noting also the very incidents themselves which have been so often heretofore recurred to.. Do not therefore look for any thing new, at least until I shall get without the limits of the states. I may find some special difficulty in introducing you to the company I may fall in with-but I may occasionally attempt even this; and as to the red people, when I shall have gotten among them, it will be precisely the subject about which I would prefer to write; and of these I will say to you what I can. But I despair of making you see things as I may see them myself. My powers are not of that graphic sort—I wish they were.

I shall be off in the morning, and in the six o'clock stage, but shall leave my prayers for your preservation and happiIn haste-but sincerely and truly yours.

ness.

P. S. You knew Ben? he goes as my servant.

MY DEAR ***

Baltimore, Thursday, June 1st, 1826.

I am now in the city of monuments, of hospitality, and of patriotism. I arrived at two o'clock, and am at • Barnum's, whose house is full to within a few inches of overflowing, chiefly of visitors from different parts of the state to the cattle show, which commenced to-day. The party of heads of departments from Washington is here, together with some other officers of the general government, who came up yesterday to attend the exhibition. If I had