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    weather and in a cabin . Thfeir brother and sister H ^— - are atr present at Weimhigton , in Delaware * John J —— expects his wife and the rest of his family in the spring ; we also hear of many

    coming hither , but so evil are the reports < x » ncerning this colony , that it requires great discrimination to keep clear of imbibing prejudices from interested persons . My daugliter Mary wrote a Icing letter td cousin T some time since , which

    contains many particulars respecting us and the country . Having many other letters to write by the present opportunity , I must conclude with united , dear love from ail my family . " j

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    about , applied only , in a small degree , ( p the large party of settlers who , on their arrival , took shelter in the woods j finding none of the conveniences prepared for them which they had reason to expect . All is going on here to the full as well as can be expected or hoped for ; and if the British settlement does not prosper , it will be the fault of the settlers only .

    m m . A *«• A ^ "t e . •«« % ¦ « * % ~ m ^< fc . w » * 4 > lk ^* Wi 1 11111 ^* jC « A »* m t *^ u Aa to religion , the form of it is now regularly attended to by many , and all have the means of assembling on the Sunday at our small but neat place of worship . We read the Reformed or Unitarian Liturgy , the Scriptures , and sermons from our best English authors .

    Our place of worship is likewise our libraryroom . Religion in the outward form is by no means ostentatious , notwithstanding which , we have a large portion of good , sober and industrious people amongst us , who , I trust , by a virtuous example

    and keeping alive religious feelings , will be ultimately successful in preserving true religion amongst the people <> f the Illinois But to return from spiritual to temporal concerns : I imagine you asking , Are there then no inconveniences in the Illinois ?

    There are . We have not a sufficiency of female servants , on account of the frequency of marriage , which is constantly depriving us of those we have ; and though I have hitherto been well off , yet I am fearful we may be as others are , inconvenienced for want of them . , Boys for

    either plough or house-work are scarce , but the entire absence of pauperism more than amply compensates for these privations . How much I regret that more of the overflowing population of England cannot find their way here , exchanging their poverty for plenty of employment and good fare !

    " We have East and West-India produce in abundance ; silks , crapes , &c . such as you in England only can procure by a breach of the laws . On the first day that I dined at the tavern which I have just finished building in Albion , I drank bottled porter as cheap as in London , and had fine English salt at half

    the price I paid for it in England . Thus I find I have escaped the ruinous system of taxation which has reduced so many thousands to beggary or the workhouse , and so many of the middling classes to a state of pinching * want , whom I have seen shivering through the winter over a few coals called a fire , because their limited means' would not afford a cheerful blaze .

    " A great advantage in settling in the Illinois , rather than any dtfeer *|> art of America , is the state of society amongst us . Most of the persons who emigrate here , are those who have diminished their former fortunes ; persons who have re-

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    Sl 6 Letters from the Stick'Settlements of America .

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    III . Extracts of Letters fro m Mr . Richard Flower , in the Illinois . " Albion , Illinois , June 20 9 1820 . Ci 1 have not written many letters to my friends in England , because I was determined not to state any thing on presumption , or of mere opinion , but only matters of fact , which must stand

    uncontradicted , and bear the test of examination . I proceed £ 0 state to you the circumstances which we are now in ; and you will , my dear Sir , feel satisfaction at my being able to give you the pleasing

    account , that , after nearly a twelvemonth ' s residence , . there is no foundation for reasonable complaint . Every workman or artificer has abundance of employment at a price that , will procure him a plentiful subsistence ; and at this time our little

    town is amply supplied with not only the necessaries of life , but even its luxuries . I have a comfortable habitation , containing four rooms and a hall on the ground floor , and five chambers above ; two wings are added which contain kitchen , china closet , dairy , / and an excellent cellar . My farm produces , as it did at

    Marden , good beef and mutton , with abundance of poultry , eg ^ s milk , cream , butter and cheese . I am quite at home again , and am writing to you surrounded by the same library , standing in the same relative situation , hi my large easy chair , and every earthly comfort to enjoy . I have the happy absence of tax-gatherers , and am never galled with tithe or poorrate collectors . Our settlement , thank

    God ! is remarkably healthy , and my family and sejf Jjave never enjoyed better health than , in the situation which some of your reviewers and critics call * the swamps of the Wabasb / There is no situation in the habitable globe in which less sickness and fever have taken place in ttyt gfawp period of twelve months , and the evil reports that have bmn spread

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1820, page 610, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2493/page/46/