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ceived good education , but ar ^ unable to Bustain their statfons in England . There is r no >; arrogance Jinc saying .. our circle of sodety ; is far superior to that in most : of the villages in our native country , Except the parson , the . squire , and the - principal farmers , what is the society of many of the English hamlets but ruae and uncultivated ? Here it is different ; for within the circle of a few miles there is more
good company ( I mean well-educated persons ) than in the same circle in England . " We frequently find superior education and , intelligence among the sons of the plough and the axe to those in like situations in England . A person lately offered me his services to split boards for
me : we agreed for price . I observe ^ a correctness in his pronunciation and manner of speaking , apparently far above his situation . I attended him to the woods ; he had with him two younger men than himself . The first singularity that appeared was , after taking off their clothes ,
( having first ground their axes , ) a nail or two were driven into a tree , on which were hung handsome gold watches . These men were well educated , understood geography , history , European politics , and the interesting events that now so much excite the attention of mankind . I went
into my field the other day , and began a conversation with my ploughman : his address and manner of speech , as well as his conversation , surprised me . I found he was a colonel of militia , and a member of the Legislature ; he was indeed a fit companion for men of sense ; and where will you find a person of this
class 111 England with equal intelligence ? " Of the particular , news of this place , there is one piece of intelligence that will surprise you ; . that is * the author of c Letters from the Illinois / ( Mr , B . ) has opened a place of worship at Wanborough ; he officiates himself , stad reads the Church of England Service , so
that Wanborough is the seat of orthodoxy , and our place stands , as a matter of course , in the , ranks of heresy ! " There is an opinion prevailing amongst many in England , that the marriage ceremony in America is , considered lightly of , and but loosely performed * but there
never was a greater mistake ,. , A minor cannot marry without the , consent of his or her guardian or parent . A license must be applied for at the county court , and $ declaration accompanying it from the parent , ' that it is with hi *? consent . Tins license is taken to a magistrate who performs , the ceremony , that ie , the legal W& . it , i * t either « his own house or that Sf i . J *« * J 0 | Kl » tilwiLA-i i . ^ vJMfaoilt iCi ^^ l ^^ kii ftfcejr m- willing to become man ma
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wife ; and their answer of consent . This ia registered at the mj * gfetrate ' s , and re ^ corded fey him at the county t court : if either neglect to make this register , a heavy fine is the punishment of their negligence , and the marriage is considered Uteg ^ L , Thfe is legal marriage in the Illinois ; but both t ^ m ^ r ^ ea inquire of the fcirties , dad t ^ ^ vlflfe ^ fe « & addition of a religious kind , that they rnay choose , and we adopt the vows of the Marriage Service of ; the Church of England , which are as solemnly put and answered , as if performed by a person In canonical habits before the altar . . .
' < Marriages here take place so frequently , that we are certainly in want of female servants ; even our Mrs . C , whp has lived with us upwards of twenty-five years , and is turned of fifty , has not escaped ; she is married to a Mr , W ., having first refused Monsieur H ., an
leaban gardener , of very polite manners , and who may be said to have seen a little of the world , as he marched from Italy to Moscow with Buonaparte , back to France , and proceeded from thence to
this place : he was tall and majestic in person , made very elegant bows to Madame C ., and spoke English enough to assure her he had the highest esteem for her , and would marry her to-morrow if she would consent ; but ; all in vain ;
plain John Bull carriedthe day . We have had ten or twelve marriages within three op four months . This , I think , is settling the Illinois pretty fast , and a good proof that Cobbett has not * as he threatened , ' written us down / nor is there any sign of abandonment , but a good prospect of increase of population , even if emigration should diminish . 44
We hear news from England sufficient to appreciate the wretched situation of our native country , and the disturbed state of Europe in general . We see , or think we see ,, most ; plainly the phial of God ' s-wrath pouring forth
on guilty nations ; and England , notwithstanding its- pulpit flatterers , in the Church and out of the Church , is tasting of that wrath . It appears to mef that we have great cause for gratitude in escaping divine judgments ,- and finding an asylum where we may , I hope , rest in
peace . t € IvSee , on looking from my window ^ the golden harvest waving before me;— - a beautiful rield of wheat , the ^ dmiratlpn of the country , the first fruits > bf my ^' S industry dto' this Jkiad' g ^ MMP' ^ a r * * < v r -, "My wife and ^ family > 0 iif 6 y ^ cfeHent health and spirits , attdVh ^ riot tfe AK mitfhtyu hand smotdKme ilri my t ^ nde res t part , by sending ; his vtifal ^ ni ^ sfengtr to call my dear somWillfom aivayj the day «
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Letters ffroin the Back Settlements of America . Sit
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1820, page 611, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2493/page/47/
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