m 78 Docuvient. rey, daughter of Nassau W. Senior, fill seven volumes of 150 to 175 pages each. We are also indebted to Mrs. Simpson for the notes used in preparing the preceding sketch. The narrative of American travel, while nowise profound, is interesting as recording the observa- tions of an intelligent and remarkably experienced traveller. The editor's attention was first called to it by Mr. James Bain, chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library. A division into paragraphs has been carried through in order to aid the reader; there are none in the original manuscript. An extract from Mair's Journals de- scriptive of the marriage of Louis XVL and Marie Antoinette ap- peared in the Cornhill Magasine, September, 1899. The 3d. Janry 1791 I embark'd at night on board the Betsey, Capn. Flagg, a brig belonging to Portsmouth in America but bound for Charles- Town South Carolina, we attempted getting out at gun fire next morn- ing by the aid of the land winds which blow at night and till 9 oClock in the morng. but the sea breeze setting in very early we were forc'd to come to an Anchor again, and wait till next morning when we effected it but made little progress that day. we were forc'd to lay to 3 different times to avoid the Keys call'd the West Caicoss, Mayaguana, and At- woods which are Islands extremely flat, uninhabited, and are mostly sand bearing nothing but low shrubs, the nth. day we were on the edge of Soundings when a very strong Southwester came on which oblig'd us to lay to. it continued 36 hours and when it clear'd up we found ourselves carry'd greatly to the Northward by the Currt. which was so strong that whilst we were beating with a foul wind our head W S : W. we were carry'd 69 Miles North in the 24 hours ; we had got oft' Cape Hat- teras, when a severe N : W : gave us the Southing we had lost, and we once more got into our latitude, we had however calms and such baffling weather that we did not get in till the 29th. the land is so very low that you see the trees long before it. the lighthouse is here very necessary otherwise many vessels wou'd get on the bar. there is no fort of consequence (Sullivans being now de- stroy 'd) going up to Charles town but occasionally the passage might be made very strong, the Town looks much better from the Sea, than it is found to be on entring it. for the streets being unpav'd the sand makes it very heavy walking, the houses are very irregular, and mostly but badly built, tho' there are some that are very handsome, the Town- house and the Exchange are good regular buildings, as are the 2 parish churches; had those fronting the warfs been regular and well built it might have vied with the Charteron of Bordeau; there are also several very obnoxious swamps not only about the shore, but in the very middle of the Town, yet houses let prodigious dear, I saw one on the beach of only 2 Rooms on a floor, that sometime since let for 30o£ Ster : pr. An : the warfs are very commodious, and belong to individuals, but its a pity they were not made uniform; the shipping here surpris'd
