© This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text
The electronic edition is a part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill digital library, Documenting the American South.
The text has been encoded using the recommendations for Level 5 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines.
Originals are in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Original grammar, punctuation, and spelling have been preserved.
DocSouth staff created a 600 dpi uncompressed TIFF file for each image. The TIFF images were then saved as JPEG images at 100 dpi for web access.
Page images can be viewed and compared in parallel with the text.
Any hyphens occurring in line breaks have been removed, and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line.
All quotation marks, em dashes and ampersand have been transcribed as entity references.
All double right and left quotation marks are encoded as ".
All single right and left quotation marks are encoded as '.
All em dashes are encoded as —.
Indentation in lines has not been preserved.
Being convinced in my own contience that I have been too negligent with respect
to writing you & especially the last time I must beg to apologize a
little, and endeavour to convince you that it was not from a principle of
ingratitude. I had but a few moments to write in and not having settled myself
in any room was obliged to set down & write in the midst of a parcel of
boys, who were making prodigious noise and inform you as well as I could of my
arrival here; but I am affraid that you was hardly able to read it, &
when you had read it, to understand its contents; which proceeded entirely from
a hurry & the situation I was in with a parcel of boys who were
jabbering around me a parcel of nonsense: it would even have puzzled a
philosopher to have wrote anything with much accuracy, or to have produced many
weighty arguments on any subject whatever; and more especially one who is a new
hand at such business & one who never professed to be a proficient at it.
Hereafter I shall endeavor to take more time & pains, in any
performances of this nature for I consider it as one of the smallest tithes of
gratitude that it is in my power to bestow at present, for the many &
innumerable favours which I have been continually receiving from your hand ever
since my existance; and which I hope I shall never be ungreatful for; if I was I
should certainly incur the divine displeasure, and be punished hereafter
according to my deeds. I have always looked upon ingratitude as one of the most
unpardonable vices that ever governed the human breast, & which
undoubtedly deserves the most severe punishment; & especially that of
ingratitude or disobedience to parents, which certainly is much worse than
ingratitude to an individual who may have done annother a kindness. Even the
thoughts of ingratitude or disobedience to a parent who has [raised] one up from
the cradle and supported him in his helpless infancy when he was not able to
provide for himself, & must consequently have perished had it not been
for the support of his parent or parents, and then after getting to the years of
maturity to transgress the laws of humanity so far as to become ungreatful to a
parent to whom he owes his support, & consequently his life,—
"he would justly deserve to be put to death by the hand of the common
executioner; for commiting so heinous a crime as an example to others who might
follow his example; but I am certain if I should ever live to be so dissipated
& wicked as to be guilty of either of those vices to such an
affectionate father as you have been, if ever I gave myself time to reflect on
my conduct & if it was not in my power to make amends for it, I should
certainly be tempted to be my own executioner; which would be
I have at last begun Geography which I am in hopes will prove much more pleasant
than the study of the Languages, though what I mostly read is the examination,
as I am told that it is a very difficulty thing to be examined on, there being
so great a similitude between the several Countries that after geting through
them it is difficult to recollect the particulars of every Country. I believe
that there is nothing which has a greater tendency to enlarge or extend a
persons ideas & prepare them for the study of the Sciences than this
study. I learn Arithmetic and Geography together the one, one half of the day,
& the other the other half of the day. They teach
As I expect this will be the last year of my continuing here, I shall endeavor to learn as much as I possibly can; which can only be attained by close application, & hard study. I know not what I shall study after July but that may be decided on when you come up.
I have never yet had an opportunity of making myself much acquainted with
history, a thing which I have always thought to be very essentially necessary.
The day after I left home namely thirsday I had the pleasure of arriving safe at
rs
Barnes's
rs R
Barnes
There is a Dancing School at this place; it commenced about six weeks ago. I have
entered as a scholar, being desirous to become acquainted with so genteel an
accomplishment; but I am affraid that there cannot be as much improvement
derived from it as at some
I very much dread the approach of warm weather on account of the chinches which are innumerable; I do really think that there are five times as many as there was last year, & then we were hardly able to rest for them so that we shall not want much bleeding; but we have no musquitoes which is one comfort, for if we had both our condition would be truly deplorable.
The quarterly Examination will begin on the eighth of next Month, & the
semiannual at the usual time I suppose but the annual will begin on the 15th of November, according to the last regulation, &
School will commence again 1st of Jan
but I immagine that it might as well have been delayed untill the 15th as none of the boys would set out from home on Christmas
day & that they would be obliged to do to get here at the appointed
time, and especially those who live at a great distance off.
I should suppose it best to come up before the weather gets very warm, as it
would answer the same purpose then & the journey would be rendered much
more pleasant.
[There] are [here] upwards of an hundred Students
I have a [great] propensity to spend the next year in [traveling] for I could
never bear the thoughts of settling myself as it were in the one quarter of the
Globe, without knowing any thing of foreign Countries. It is certain that much
instruction may be acquired from books, but that cannot give one half as much
satisfaction as which we gain from experience, as it is certain that
experimental knowledge is far preferable to any knowledge that can be derived
from books. It may very reasonably and justly be alleged that I m too young to
travel & that the morals of youths at my age are two apt to be
corrupted, which I must confess is very true but in the first place it must be
considered that the dispositions of mankind are various, & I make no
doubt but there are a great many who would get no improvement even if they were
to travel all the world over but would contract such habits as would ever make them despicable & after getting their minds
dissipated they could never settle themselves to business or be contented in
their minds.
Please to give my duty to my