ABSTRACT
It was in the month of August, during a very violent thunder-storm, that a poor traveller knocked at the door of a venerable mansion in New Jersey, and begged, for the love of God, shelter from the severity of the weather. The servants, knowing the hospitality of their master, courteously admitted the stranger into the kitchen, and offered him refreshment. He seemed to be past the meridian of life, and his furrowed countenance displayed the hardships / he had encountered. He bore on his back a wallet, and exhibited an old violin, the companion of his travels, and most useful friend in his distress. The night was fast advancing, and the traveller, after drying his clothes, and recovering from his fatigue, was preparing to proceed to a neighbouring village; when the servants, finding that the storm was not abated, desired the grateful veteran to stop till they informed the family of the circumstance, and asked permission to give him a night’s lodging; adding, ‘Our master never shuts his door against unfortunate strangers, especially if they happen to be Englishmen.’
