You took upon yourself the charge of doing so well as they may do in these the same country was the very worst Atlantic states? Why should an project that could have been fallen upon. English farmer and his family, who have always been jogging about a snug Moses without being invested with any homestead, eating regular meals, and sleeping in warm rooms, push back to part of his authority; and absolute as the Illinois, and encounter those hard- this was, he found the charge so heavy, ships, which require all the habitual that he called upon the Lord to share it disregard of comfort of an American with him, or to relieve him from it altoback-woodsman to overcome? Why gether. Soon after you went out, a should they do this? The undertaking Unitarian priest, upon my asking what is hardly reconcileable to reason in an you were going to do in that wild counAtlantic American farmer who has half try, said, you were going to form a a dozen sons, all brought up to use the community, who would be " content to axe, the saw, the chisel and the hammer, worship one God." "I hope not," said from their infancy, and every one of I, "for he will have plagues enough whom is ploughman, carpenter, wheel- "without adding a priest to the numwright, and butcher, and can work from "ber." But, perhaps, I was wrong: sun-rise to sun set, and sleep, if need be, for AARON was of great assistance to the upon the bare boards. What, then, leader of the Israelites. must it be in an English farmer and his As if the inevitable effects of disapfamily of helpless mortals? Helpless, pointment and hardship were not suffiI mean, in this scene of such novelty cient, you had too a sort of partnership and such difficulty! And what is his in the leaders. This is sure to produce wife to do; she who has been torn from feuds and bitterness in the long run. all her relations and neighbours, and Partnership sovereignties have furnished from every thing that she liked in the the world with numerous instances of world, and who, perhaps, has never, in poisonings and banishments and rottings all her life before, been ten miles from in prison. It is as much as merchants, the cradle in which she was nursed? who post their books every Sunday, An American farmer mends his plough, can do to get along without quarrelling... his wagon, his tackle of all sorts, his Of man and wife, though they are flesh household goods, his shoes; and, if of flesh and bone of bone, the harmony need be, he makes them all. Can our is not always quite perfect, except people do all this, or any part of it? in France, where the husband is the Can they live without bread for months? servant, and in Germany and Prussia, Can they live without beer? Can they where the wife is the slave. But as for be otherwise than miserable, cut off, as they must be, from all intercourse with, and hope of hearing of, their relations and friends? The truth is, that this is not transplanting, it is tearing up and flinging away. a partnership sovereignty without dis-, agreement, there is but one single instance upon record; that I mean was of the two kings of Brentford, whose cordiality was, you know, so perfect that they both smelt to the same nosegay. This is, my dear sir, no bantering. I am quite serious. It is impossible that separations should not take place, and, equally impossible that the neighbour Society! What society can these people have? 'Tis true they have nobody to envy, for nobody can have any thing to enjoy. But there may be, and there must be, mutual complainings hood should not be miserable. This is and upbraidings; and every unhappiness not the way to settle in America. The will be traced directly to him who has way is, to go and sit yourselves down been, however, unintentionally, the amongst the natives. They are already cause of the unhappy person's removal. settled. They can lend you what you The very foundation of your plan ne- want to borrow, and happy they are cessarily contained the seeds of dis- always to do it. And, which is the content and ill-will. A colony all from great thing of all great things, you have with! their women for your women to commune them? "The fair enchantress Liberty, of whom you speak with not too much RAPP indeed has done great things; rapture, they would have found in any but RAPP has the authority of Moses of these states, and in a garb too by and that of Aaron united in his own which they would have recognised her. person. Besides, Rapp's community Where they now are, they are free inobserve in reality that celibacy which deed, but their freedom is that of the monks and nuns pretend to, though I wild animals in your woods. It is not am not going to take my oath, mind, freedom, it is no government. The GIPthat none of the tricks of the convent SIES in England are free; and any one are ever played in the tabernacles of who has a mind to live in a cave, or Harmony. At any rate, Rapp secures cabin, in some hidden recess of our the effects of celibacy; first, an absence Hampshire forests, may be free too. of the expense attending the breeding The English farmer in the Illinois is and rearing of children, and second, un- indeed beyond the reach of the boroughrémitted labour of woman as well as mongers; and so is the man that is in man. But where, in all the world, is the grave.. When it was first proposed the match of this to be found? Where in the English Ministry to drop quietly else shall we look for a society com- the title of King of France in the enuposed of persons willing and able to meration of our king's titles, and when fórego the gratification of the most it was stated to be an expedient likely to tend to a peace, Mr. WYNDHAM, who was then a member of the Cabinet, said, "As this is a measure of safety, and as doubtless we shall hear of others of "the same cast, what think you of going under ground at once?" It was a remark enough to cut the liver out of powerful propensity of nature, for the sake of getting money together? Where else shall we look for a band of men and women who love money better than their own bodies? Better than their souls we find people enough to love money; but who ever before heard of a set that preferred the love of money the hearers; but Pitt and his associates to that of their bodies? Who before had no livers. I do not believe that ever conceived the idea of putting a any twelve journeymen or labourers in stop to the procreation of children, for England would have voted for the adopthe sake of saving the expense of bear- tion of this mean and despicable meaing and breeding them? This society, sure. which is a perfect prodigy and monster, If indeed the Illinois were the only ought to have the image of MAMMON place out of the reach of the boroughin their place of worship; for that is the grasp, and if men are resolved to get object of their devotion, and not the out of that reach, then I should say, go God of nature. Yet the persons belong- to the Illinois by all means. But as ing to this unnatural association are there is a country, a settled country, a your nearest neighbours. The mascu-free country full of kind neighbours, line things here called women, who full of all that is good; and when this have imposed barrenness on themselves country is to be traversed in order to out of a pure love of gain, are the near-get at the acknowledged hardships of est neighbours of the affectionate, ten- the Illinois, how can a sane mind lead der-hearted wives and mothers and an English farmer into the expedition? daughters, who are to inhabit your It is the enchanting damsel that makes colony, and who are, let us thank God, the knight encounter the hair-breadth the very reverse of the petticoated Ger- escapes, the sleeping on the ground, the mans of harmony. cooking with cross-sticks to hang the pot In such a situation, with so many cir-on. It is the prairie, that pretty French cumstances to annoy, what happiness word, which means green grass becan an English family enjoy in that spangled with daisies and cowslips ! country, so far distant from all that Oh, God! what delusion! And that a resembles what they have left behind man of sense, a man of superior understanding and talent; a man of honesty, once or twice had to begin my nest and honour, humanity, and lofty sentiment, go in like a bird, making it habitable by should be the cause of this delusion; degrees; and, if I, or if such people as I, my dear sir, have seen prairies many years ago, in America, as fine as yours, as my old friends above-mentioned, with Illinois ? All this I told you, my dear sir, in London, just before your departure. I begged of you and Mr. Richard Flower fertile as yours, though not so extensive. every thing found for them and brought I saw those prairies settled on by Ameri- to the spot, had difficulties to undergo, can loyalists, who were carried, with all and sighed for home even after all the their goods and tools to the spot, and difficulties were over, what must be the who were furnished with four years' lot of an English farmer's family in the provisions, all at the expense of England; who had the lands given them; tools given them; and who were thus seated down on the borders of creeks, which gave them easy communication both, not to think of the wilderness. I with the inhabited plains near the sea. begged of you to go to within a day's The settlers that I particularly knew ride of some of these great oities, where were Connecticut men. Men with fa- your ample capital and your great skill milies of sons. Men able to do as could not fail to place you upon a footmuch in a day at the works necessary ing, at least, with the richest amongst in their situation as so many English- the most happy and enlightened yeomen would be able to do in a week. manry in the world; where you would They began with a shed; then rose to a find every one to praise the improvelog-house; and next to a frame-house; ments you would introduce, and nobody all of their own building. I have seen to envy you any thing that you might them manure their land with salmon acquire. Where you would find society caught in their creeks, and with pigeons as good, in all respects, as that which caught on the land itself. It will be a you had left behind you. Where you long while before you will see such would find neighbours ready prepared for beautiful corn-fields as I saw there. you far more generous and hospitable Yet nothing but the danger and disgrace than those in England can be, loaded which attended their return to Connec- and pressed down as they are by the ticut prevented their returning, though inexorable hand of the borough-villains. there they must have begun the world I offered you a letter (which I believe I anew. I saw them in their log-huts, sent you), to my friends the PAULS, and saw them in their frame-houses. They had overcome all their difficulties as settlers; they were under a government which required neither tax nor service from them; they were as happy as people could be as to ease and plenty; "to settle amongst them; and I'll enbut, still, they sighed for Connecticut; gage that you will instantly have and especially the women, young as well "friends and neighbours as good and as old, though we, gay fellows with "as cordial as those that you leave in worsted or silver lace upon our bright "England." red coats, did our best to make them At this very moment, if this plan had happy by telling them entertaining been pursued, you would have had a stories about Old England, while we beautiful farm of two or three hundred drank their coffee and grog by gallons, acres. Fine stock upon it feeding on and eat their fowls, pigs, and sausages Swedish turnips. A house overflowing and sweetmeats, by wheelbarrow loads; for, though we were by no means shy, their hospitality far exceeded our appe tites. I am an old hand at the work of settling in wilds. I have more than 66 66 66 But," said I, you want no letter. "Go into Philadelphia, or Bucks, or Chester, or Montgomery county; tell any of the Quakers, or any body else, "that you are an English farmer, come 66 with abundance; comfort, ease, and, if you chose, elegance, would have been your inmates; libraries, public and private, within your reach; and a communication with England much more quick and regular than that which you now have even with Pittsburgh. Philadelphians You say, that, "know nothing of the western coun"tries." Suffer me, then, to say, that you know nothing of the Atlantic States, which, indeed, is the only apology for your saying, that the Americans have no mutton fit to eat, and that you regard it only as a thing fit for dogs. In this island every farmer has sheep. I kill fatter lamb than I ever saw in England, and the fattest mutton I ever saw, was in company with Mr. Harline, in Philadelphia market last winter. At BRIGHTON, near Boston, they produced, at a cattle show this fall, an ox of two thousand seven hundred pounds weight, and sheep much finer than you and I saw at the Smithfield show in 1814. Mr. Judge Lawrence, of this county, has kept, for seven years, an average of five hundred merinos on his farm of one hundred and fifty acres, besides raising twenty acres of corn and his usual pretty large proportion of grain! Can your western farmers beat that? Yes, in extent, as the surface of five dollars beats that of a guinea. I suppose that Mr. Judge Lawrence's farm, close by the side of a bay that gives him two hours of water carriage to New York; a farm with twenty acres of meadow, real prairie; a gentleman's house and garden; barns, sheds, cider-house, stables, coach-house, corn-cribs, and orchards, that may produce from four to eight thousand bushels of apples and pears: I suppose, that this farm is worth three hundred dollars an acre: that is, forty-five thousand dollars, or about twelve or thirteen thousand pounds. Now, then, let us take a look at your estimate of the expenses of sitting down in the prairies. £ 5500 Copy from my Memorandum Book. Estimate of money required for the So, here is more than one-third of comfortable establishment of my the amount of Mr. Judge Lawrence's family on Bolting-house, now farm. To be sure, there are only about English, prairie; on which the first instalment is paid. | About 720 acres of woodland, and 720 prairie; the latter to be chiefly grass: 18,000 dollars expended on land, buildings, and getting at them; but, what a life is that which you are to lead for a thousand dollars a year, when two good domestic servants will cost four hundred : : New of the money? Will you live like one I am happy, however, that you have of the yeomen of your rank here? given us figures in your account of what Then, I assure you, that your domestics an English farmer may do with two and groceries (the latter three times as thousand pounds. It is alluring, it is dear as they are here) and crockeryware fallacious, it tends to disappointment, (equally dear) will more than swallow misery, ruin, and broken hearts; but it up that pitiful sum. You allow six is open and honest in intention, and it thousand dollars for buildings. Twice affords us the means of detecting and the sum would not put you, in this re- exposing the fallacy. Many and many spect, upon a footing with Mr. Law-a family have returned to rence. His land is all completely fenced England after having emigrated to the and his grain in the ground. His apple- west in search of fine estates. They, trees have six thousand bushels of able workmen, exemplary livers, have apples in their buds, ready to come out returned to labour in their native states in the spring; and, a large part of these amongst their relations and old neighto be sold at a high price to go on ship- bours; but, what are our poor ruined board. But, what is to give you his countrymen to do, when they become market? What is to make your pork, pennyless? If I could root my country as soon as killed, sell for 9 or 10 dol- from my heart, common humanity lars a hundred, and your cows at 45 or would urge me to make an humble at50 dollars each, and your beef at 7 or 8 tempt to dissipate the charming deludollars a hundred, and your corn at a sions, which have, without your perceivdollar, and wheat at two dollars a ing it, gone forth from your sprightly bushel? and able pen, and which delusions are justly high and well-known character for understanding and integrity. The statement, to which I allude, stands as follows, in your tenth letter from the Illinois. A capital of 2,000l. sterling, (8,889 dollars), may be invested on a section of such land, in the following manner, viz.:, However, happiness is in the mind; the more dangerous on account of your and, if it be necessary to the gratification of your mind to inhabit a wilderness and be the owner of a large tract of land, you are right to seek and enjoy this gratification, but, for the plain, plodding, English farmer, who simply seeks safety for his little property, with some addition to it for his children; for such a person to cross the Atlantic states in search of safety, tranquillity and gain in the Illinois, is, to my mind, little short of madness. Yet, to this mad enterprise is he allured by your captivating statements, and which statements become decisive in their effects upon his mind, when they are reduced to figures. This, my dear sir, is the A rail fence round the woods, Purchase of the land, 640 acres, Dollars 1280 1500 part of your writings, which has given 1,000 rods, at 25 cents per 250 .. About 1,800 rods of ditch and Planting 1,800 rods of live fence $600 150 100 .... and how easily they will be overcome. Horses and other live stock.... 1500 Salt, Mr. HULME finds, even at ZANES Implements and furniture...... 1000 VILLE, at two dollars and a half a Provision for one year, and : bushel; but, you tell us, that it soon will sundry incidental charges 1000 ... be at three quarters of a dollar. And thus it goes all through. |