Chapter XI — In New York
Of the journey to New York I do not purpose to speak. Ben enjoyed it extremely, for it gave him his first view of the great world. As he whirled by town after town and city after city, and reflected how small, after all, was the distance on the map between Milltown and New York, he got a new idea of the size of the world.
"What are you thinking about, Ben?" asked Mr. Manning, observing that our hero looked thoughtful.
"I was thinking how large the world is, sir."
"Didn't you ever think of that before?"
"No, sir; I have always lived in Milltown. I don't think I was ever ten miles from home before."
"Then your ideas were necessarily contracted. One advantage of travel is, that it broadens our views, not only as regards distance, but also of men and things."
Ben assented, though he did not fully understand his companion's statement.