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House of Commons, where fcarce a day paffes without fome confufion, that makes the speaker hoarse in calling to order; and how different from the mode of converfation in many polite companies of Europe, where, if you do not deliver your fentence with great rapidity, you are cut off in the middle of it by the impatient loquacity of those you converfe with, and never fuffered to finifn it!

The politeness of these favages in converfation, is, indeed, carried to excefs; fince it does not permit them to contradict or deny the truth of what is afferted in their prefence. By this means they indeed avoid difputes; but then it becomes difficult to know their minds, or what impreffion you make upon them. The missionaries who have attempted to convert them to Christianity, all complain of this as one of the great difficulties of their miffion. The Indians hear with patienee the truths of the gofpel explained to them, and give their ufual tokens of affent and approbation you would think they were convinced. No fuch matter. It is mere civility.

A Swedish minifter having affembled the chiefs of the Sufquehannah Indians, made a fermon to them, acquainting them with the principle hiftorical facts on which our religion is founded; fuch as the fall of our first parents by eating an apple; the coming of Chrift to repair the mif chief; his miracles and fuffering, &c-When he had finished, an Indian orator ftood up to thank him. "What you

have told us," fays he, " is all very good. It is indeed bad to cat apples. It is better to make them all into cyder. We are much obliged by your kindness in coming fo far to tell us thofe things which you have heard from your mothers. In return, I will tell you fome of those we have heard from ours.

"In the beginning, our fathers had only the flesh of animals to fubfift on; and if their hunting was unfuccessful, they were ftarving. Two of our young hunters having killed a deer, made a fire in the woods to broil fome parts of it. When they were about to fatisfy their hunger, they beheld a beautiful young woman descend from the clouds, and feat herself on that hill which you fee yonder among the Blue Mountains. They faid to each other, it is a spirit that perhaps has smelt our broiling venison, and wishes to

They prefented her with taste of it, and faid, Come to this place

cat of it; let us offer some to her the tongue she was pleased with the "Your kindness fhall be rewarded. after thirteen moons, and you shall find fomething that will be of great benefit in nourishing you and your children to the latest generations." They did fo, and to their furprize, found plants they had never feen before; but which, from that ancient time, have been conftantly cultivated among us, to our great advantage. Where her right hand had touched the ground, they found maize; where her left hand had touched it they found kidney-beans, and where her backfide had fat on it, tobacco." The good miffionary, difgufted with this idle tale, faid, "what I delivered to you were facred truths; but what you tell me is mere fable, fiction, and falfehood" The Indian, offended. replied, "My brother, it seems your friends have not done you justice in your education; they have not well inftructed you in the rules of common civility. You faw that we, who understand and practife thofe rules, believed all your ftories, why do you refuse to believe ours ?"

When any of them come into our towns, our people are apt to crowd round them, gaze upon them, and incommode them where they defire to be private; this they esteem great rudeness, and the effect of the want of inftruction in the

rules of civility and good manners. "We have," say they," as much curiofity as you, and when you come into our towns, we wish for opportunities of looking at you; but for this purpose we hide ourselves behind bushes where you are to pals, and never intrude ourselves into your company."

Their manner of entering one another's villages has likewife its rules. It is reckoned uncivil in travelling strangers to enter a village abruptly, without giving notice of their approach. Therefore, as foon as they arrive within hearing, they ftop and hollow, remaining there till invited to enter. Two old men ufually come out to them, and lead them in. There is in every village a vacant dwelling, called the ftrangers' houfe. Here they are placed, while the old men go round from hut to hut, acquainting the inhabitanis that ftrangers are arrived, who are probably hungry and weary and every one fends them what he can spare

of victuals, and fkins to repofe on. When the strangers are refreshed, pipes and tobacco are brought: and then, but not before, converfation begins, with enquiries who they are, whither bound, what news, c. and it ufually ends with offers of fervice; if the ftrangers have occafion for guides, or any neceffaries for continuing their journey; and nothing is exacted for the entertainment.

The fame hofpitality, efteemed among them as a principle virtue, is practifed by private perfons; of which Conrad Weifer, our interpreter, gave me the following instance. He had been naturalized among the Six Nations, and spoke well the Mohock language. In going through the Indian country, to carry a meffage from our governor to the council at Onondaga, he called at the habitation of Canaletero, an old acquaintance, who embraced him, fpread furs for him to fit on. placed before him fome boiled beans and venison, and mixed fome rum and water for his drink. When he was well refreshed, and had lit his pipe, Canaffetego began to converfe with him; afked how he had fared the many years fince they had feen each other, whence he then came, what occafioned the journey, &c. Conrad anfwered all his questions; and when the difcourfe began to flag, the Indian, to continue it, faid, Conrad, you have lived long among the white people, and know fomething of their customs; I have been fometimes at Albany, and have obferved. that once in feven days they fhut up their shops, and affemble all in the great houfe; tell me what it is for! What do they do there ?" "They meet there," fays Conrad, "to hear and learn good things "I do not doubt," fays the Indian, "that they tell you fo; they have told me the fame but I doubt the truth of what they fay, and I will tell you my reafons. I went lately to Albany, to fell my skins, and buy blankets, knives, powder, rum, &c. You know I ufed generally to deal with Hans Hanfon; but I was a little inclined this time to try fome other merchants. However, I called firft upon Hans, and afked him what he would give for beaver. He faid he could not give more than four fhillings a pound: but, fays he, I cannot talk on bufinefs now; this is the day when we meet together to learn good things, and I am going to the meeting. So I thought to myleif, fince I cannot do any buline's to-day, I

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hay as well go to the meeting too, and I went with him. I There ftood up a man in black, and began to talk to the people very angrily. I did not understand what he faid; but perceiving that he looked much at me, and at Hanfon, I imagined he was angry at feeing me there: fo I went out, fat down near the house, struck fire, and lit my pipe, waiting till the meeting should break up. I thought too that the man had mentioned fomething of beaver, and I fufpected it might be the subject of their meeting. So when they came out I accofted my merchant. "Well, Hans," fays I, "I hope you have agreed to give more than four fhillings a pound." No," fays he, "I cannot give fo much, I cannot give more than three fhillings and fixpence." I then spoke to several other dealers, but they all fung the fame fong, three and fix-pence, three and fixpence. This made it clear to me that my fufpicion was right; and that whatever they pretended of meeting to learn good things, the purpose was to confult how to cheat Indians in the price of beaver. Confider but a little, Conrad, and you must be of my opinion. If they met so often to learn good things, they would certainly have learned fome before this time. But they are still ignorant. You know our practice. If a white man, in travelling through our country, enters one of our cabins, we all treat him as I do you; we dry him if he is wet, we warm him if he is cold, and give him meat and drink, that he may allay his thirst and hunger and we fpread foft furs for him to rest and fleep on: we demand nothing in return*. But if I go into a white man's houfe at Albany, and ask for victuals and drink, they say, Where is your money? and if I have none,

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It is remarkable, that in all ages and countries, hofpitality has been allowed as the virtue of thofe, whom the civilized were pleafed to call Barbarians; the Greeks celebrated the Scythians for The Saracens poffeffed it eminently; and it is to this day the reigning virtue of the wild. Arabs. St. Paul too, in the relation of his voyage and fhipwreck on the island of Melita, fays, "The barbarous people fhewed us no little kindness, for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the prefent rain, and becaufe of the cold." [This note is taken from a imali collection of Franklin's papers printed for Dilly.]

they fay, Get out, you Indian dog. You fee they have not yet learned thofe little good things that we need no meetings to be inftructed in, because our mothers taught them to us when we were children: and therefore it is impoffible their meetings fhould be, as they fay, for any fuch purpofe, or have any fuch effect; they are only to contrive the cheating of Indians in the price of beaver.

TO MR. DUBOURG, CONCERNING THE DISSENSIONS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA.

LONDON, October 2, 1770.

I SEE with pleasure that we think pretty much alike on the fubjects of English America. We of the colonies have never infifted that we ought to be exempt from contributing to the common expences neceffary to support the profperity of the empire. We only affert, that having parlia ments of our own, and not having reprefentatives in that of Great-Britain, our parliaments are the only judges of what we can and what we ought to contribute in this cafe ; and that the English parliament has no right to take our money without our confent.-In fact, the British empire is not a single state; it comprehends many; and though the parliament of Great-Britain has arrogated to itself the power of taxing the colonies, it has no more right to do so, than it has to tax Hanover. We have the fame king, but not the fame legiflatures.

The difpute between the two countries has already coft England many millions fterling, which it has loft in its commerce, and America has in this refpe&t been a proportionable gainer. This commerce confifted principally of fuperfluities: objects of luxury and fashion, which we can well do without; and the refolation we have formed of importing no more till our grievances are redressed, has enabled many of our infant manufactures to take root; and it will not be eafy to make our people abandon them in future, even should a connection more cordial than ever fucceed the prefent troubles. I have, indeed, no doubt that the parliament of England will finally abandon its

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