The Letter Bag of The Great Western; : Or, Life in a Steamer

Aside from __Sam Slick,__ the book which gained Haliburton the greatest notoriety was __The Letter Bag of The Great Western; or, Life in a Steamer__, published in 1840. Much of this book was composed for the diversion of the other passengers on Haliburton's steamship voyage from Bristol to New York in 1839. TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 DEDICATION 7 PREFACE 17 No. I. THE JOURNAL OF AN ACTRESS 27 No. II. LETTER FROM CATO MIGNIOSETTE (THE COLOURED STEWARD) TO MR. LAVENDER 44 No. III. LETTER PROM CAPTAIN HALTPKONT OF THE TH REGIMENT OF FOOT TO LT. FUGLEMAN ——TH REGIMENT OF FOOT LT. FUGLEMAN 54 No. IV. LETTER FROM A MIDSHIPMAN OP H. M. SHIP LAPWING TO AN OFFICER OP THE INCONSTANT 70 No. V. LETTER PROM JOHN SKINNER, BUTCHER. TO MARY HIDE 85 NO. VI. LETTER FROM ONE OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS TO HER KINSWOMAN 94 No. VII. LETTER PROM A NEW BRUNSWICKEBR TO HIS FRIEND AT FREDERICTON 106 No. VIII. LETTER FROM AN ABOLITIONIST TO A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT 121 No. IX. LETTER FROM A CADET OP THE GREAT WESTERN TO HIS MOTHER 133 No. X. LETTER FROM A LAWYER'S CLERK 144 No. XI. LETTER FROM A TRAVELER BEFORE HE HAD TRAVELED 153 No. XII. LETTER FROM A STOKER 165 No. XIII. LETTER FROM A STOCKHOLDER OP THE GREAT WESTERN TO THE SECRETARY 174 No. XIV. LETTER FROM A SERVANT IN SEARCH OP A PLACE 187 No. XV. LETTER FROM A FRENCH PASSENGER TO HIS FRIEND IN LONDON 197 No. XVI. LETTER FROM AN OLD HAND 206 No. XVII. FROM AN AMERICAN CITIZEN TO HIS FRIEND AT BANGOR 213 No. XVIII. LETTER FROM ELIZABETH FIGG TO JOHN BUGGINS 226 No. XIX. LETTER FROM THE SON OF A PASSENGER 238 No. XX. LETTER FROM THE PROFESSOR OF STEAM AND ASTRONOMY, OTHERWISE CALLED THE CLERK, TO THE DIRECTORS 246 No. XXI. LETTER FROM MOSES LEVY TO LEVI MOSES 259 No. XXII. FROM A SERVANT OF A FAMILY TRAVELING TO ASTORIA 265 No. XXIII. THE MISDIRECTED LETTER, No. I 277 No. XXIV. THE MISDIRECTED LETTER, No. II 283 No. XXV. LETTER FROM A LOCO-FOCO OF NEW YORK, TO A SYMPATHISER IN VERMONT 288 No. XXVI. LETTER FROM A COACHMAN ON THE RAILROAD LINE 303 No. XXVII. LETTER FROM THE WIFE OF A SETTLER WHO CANNOT SETTLE 313 No. XXVIII. LETTER PROM THE AUTHOR 332

Aside from Sam Slick, the book which gained Haliburton the greatest notoriety was The Letter Bag of The Great Western; or, Life in a Steamer, published in 1840. Much of this book was composed for the diversion of the other passengers on Haliburton’s steamship voyage from Bristol to New York in 1839.

The book’s ostensible function was the advertisement of the advantages of travel by steamship, but few, after reading the passengers’ accounts of their voyage, would, if they took them seriously, ever venture off shore. The book’s principal sources of amusement – infirmities of the human body (seasickness), the peculiarities of spelling and grammar that arise from faulty or defective education, the cultural mores of other races and lower classes, and the outrageous punning.