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George Head


places mentioned

Introduction

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A

HOME TOUR

THROUGH THE

MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS

OF

ENGLAND,

IN THE SUMMER OF 1835.

BY

SIR GEORGE HEAD,

AUTHOR OF
"FOREST SCENES AHD INCIDENTS IN THE WILDS OF NORTH AMERICA."



NEW-YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-STREET.


1836.


ADVERTISEMENT.

FROM the conviction that no other country can yield to an Englishman more rational grounds of interest than the British dominions, I derive confidence that, in laying before the public the result of a desultory ramble through the Manufacturing Districts, the subject will in part plead for its imperfect execution.

Chance and inclination in a great measure contributed to hasten or retard my departure from the several places I visited, so that the importance of objects described is seldom measured by the opportunities of observation; now and then I remained in a small country town, or in a village on the seashore, for a week— sometimes from a large city flitted in a day; in the great town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for instance, I tarried two days; had I staid long enough to give a detailed account, I might have been there still.

Always a stranger, moving about from place to place at my leisure, seeing with my own eyes, neither troubling myself with the opinions nor prejudices of others, I took no indirect means to obtain information when not readily granted; on the contrary, I never entertained a desire, unconnected with grounds of public interest, to gratify private curiosity, or to inquire further than, as one of the public, anxious for the prosperity of my country, I had a reasonable claim to explore.

My chief aim, whether in description or narrative, has been—fidelity—to render to others, instead of personal opinions, impressions, if possible, as I received them.

On some matters whereon I have treated, I ought, perhaps, to have been more deeply versed; sometimes I have descanted in a trivial strain; but, travelling in homely guise, without pretensions to science, my materials were collected merely from personal observation —my subjects, rough and smooth, were those that first fell in my way—and the volume, from beginning to end, was written to beguile solitary hours, and from the desire of occupation. The period of the tour is the last summer; in a very few instances incidents exclusively belonging to the preceding year have been introduced, but to such deviations reference, when necessary, has been made.

GEORGE HEAD.

No. 9 Tillotson Place,
Waterloo Bridge.

[The contents page appears here]


George Head, A Home Tour through the Manufacturing Districts of England in the Summer of 1835 (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1836) Conversion to HTML and placename mark-up by Humphrey Southall, 2009.

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