Feeling weary and faint, we called
at a house of refreshment, where we had a genuine specimen of American
inquisitiveness.
In five minutes the daughter of the house had asked us where we came
from--what sort of a place it was--how long we had been in the United
States--how long it took us to come--how far we were going--how long we
should stay--and if we did not like that part of America so well that
we would come and settle in it altogether! and in five minutes more our
answers to all these important questions had been duly reported to the
rest of the family in an adjoining room. This inquisitiveness prevails
more in the slave than in the free States, and originates, I believe,
in the fidgetty anxiety they feel about their slaves. The stranger must
be well catechised, lest he should prove to be an Abolitionist come to
give the slaves a sly lesson in geography.
In the afternoon I went to see the school of the coloured children in
Cincinnati. This was established about four years ago by a Mr. Gilmore,
a white gentleman, who is also a minister of the Gospel. He is a man of
some property, and all connected with this school has been done at his
own risk and responsibility.
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