Having finished this exhibition—­which, by the way, kept me sneezing all the time—­I went next to see a steam sawing, planing, and fitting mill.  Labour being very expensive, these establishments are invaluable here; such an establishment as I saw could supply, from the raw wood in logs, all the doors and window-frames of “Stafford House” in three days, barring the polish and paint.  If Mr. Cubitt is not up to this machinery, this hint may be the means of making his fortune double itself in “quarter-less no time."[M] As we knew that our journey to-morrow must be inexpressibly tedious, we beat an early retreat, requesting a cup of hot tea or coffee might be ready for us half an hour before our departure.  Poor simple creatures that we were, to expect such a thing!  The free and enlightened get their breakfast after being two hours en route, and can do without anything before starting—­ergo, we must do the same:  thus, though there were literally servants enough in the house to form a substantial militia regiment, a cup of tea was impossible to be obtained for love or money.  All we had for it was to bury our disappointment in sleep.

Soon after three the next morning we were roused from our slumbers, and, finishing our toilet, cheered our insides with an unadulterated draught from the Ohio.  All outside the door was dark, cheerless, solitary, and still.  Presently the silence was broken by some violent puffs from a penny trumpet.  “Dat’s de mayle, massa,” said a nigger in the hall, accompanying his observation with a mysterious grin, evidently meant to convey the idea, “You’ll have enough of her before you’ve done.”  Up she came to the door—­I believe, by custom if not by grammar, a man-of-war and a mail-coach are shes—­a heavy, lumbering machine, with springs, &c., apparently intended for scaling the Rocky Mountains.  The inside was about three feet broad and five feet long, and was intended for the convenience (?) of nine people, the three who occupied the centre seat having a moveable leather strap to support their backs.  Outside, there was one seat by the coachman; and if the correspondence was not great, three more might sit behind the coachman, in all the full enjoyment of a splendidly cramped position.  The sides of the carriage were made of leather, and fitted with buttons, for the purpose of opening in summer.  Being a nasty drizzling morning, we got inside, with our two servants, and found we had it all to ourselves.  “I am sure this is comfortable enough,” observed my companion, who was one of the mildest and most contented of human beings.  “Too good to last long,” thought I.