Letter from William Bagley to D. W. Bagley, September 13, 1843
Chapel Hill Sept 13/43
My Dear Father
I have none of yours to reply to but this evening affords an opportunity for writing you which I take with pleasure. I had not rec.d a letter from you in so long a time, that I began to suspect you were going to neglect me entirely until I heard through my friend Henry Clements that you had gone to Nags Head; I was very glad indeed to hear it for I knew it would give my little Sisses an opportunity of seeing the Ocean, which, in my opinion, is one of the grandest scenes in nature. There, they had an opportunity of seeing its proud billows lash the shore; & it might have reminded them (if it had not been beyond the comprehension of their young minds) of the command of Him, who said, "Thus far shall thou come & no farther, and here let thy proud waves be stayed." I received a letter from Misses Clementina & Marietta last Wednesday, detailing all the particulars of the trip. I was very glad indeed to hear from them &to see the improvement they have both made in composition & spelling. I have no doubt you all had a very pleasant time indeed, I would have been very glad to have been with you, but it is not necessary for me now to go anywhere for my health as it is better than it has been for several years, you would no doubt be struck with my appearance if you were to see me. Governor Morehead passed through here the other day & seemed to be very much surprised to see me look so well; he says my complexion is entirely changed; sometime ago, in passing through here; he advised me to remain until I became a regular, he said then I would be worth seeing, but the other day when I mentioned to him about staying, he said he would rather I would go home next winter, that you might see how much better I looked.
Chapel Hill is situated in the midst of very beautiful & picturesque scenery. On all sides it is diversified with hills & plains. The College buildings are situated on a little eminence & are composed of five. The South Building, which is much the largest & in which are two recitation rooms, a laboratory, & the halls of the two societies, besides some thirty private rooms, the East Building, in which there is one recitation room, with twenty two rooms for the students, & the West Building, which is composed entirely of private rooms. The tutors occupy one each in the East & West Buildings. There is also a chapel in which we attend church & prayers & another building for recitation rooms exclusively, in which there are four. Thus you have some idea how we are situated here; I would be very well pleased indeed but for the wickedness of the students, for instead of the innocent prattle of my little Sisses, the kind andaffectionate looks & advices of father & mother urging me on to virtue & honor, & the smiling countenances of friends assisting me in my onward course, by their wishes & encouragements, I am almost continually annoyed with oaths of the most horrid kind, & with the conversations of those, who indulge in lewdness, dissipation, & gambling.
But I am well aware that if I ever get an education, I will have to toil for it, & will have to forego many pleasures, still I would rather be no better educated, than to go home to my parents, destitute of morals, having an impenetrable conscience & at last sink into the earth, unregretted & forgotten. Our session ends on the 24th November & I expect to be at Warrenton the 26th ready to meet the barouche & go home with Sis.
I shall need some more money at the close of the session & will make out a bill showing how much is necessary. I owe Mr. Owen $22.15 for money he paid for me on the trip. I shall owe Mrs. Scott (the lady with whom I board) about $55, my washwoman $5.00 & $2 or 3 for other little expenses such as woods, blacking shoes &c, making in all about $85. & I suppose I shall need some to carry me home though you can judge of that. I suspect you think that I have been rather prodigal but I can assure you I have not & if I were dealing with any one else save a kind parent I might have been more particular & put down all the money I expended but I don't think it is required by you; my trip, having my clothes made here, & several books that I have bought accounts for my needinganymore. Give my very best love to my Dear Ma, Cousin, the Grandmas, sisters, cousins & all my friends. Please remember me to my friend Mrs. Henderson, please write soon & regard me as an affectionate son.
William BagleyD.W. BagleyWilliamston, N.C.