ALEXANDER WILSON. 33 



year 1800 ; but after this we bear of bim keeping 

 a school at Frankfort, Pennsylvania, where he had 

 the merit of acquiring several branches of liberal 

 education, particularly mathematics, through means 

 of which, by acting as a land-surveyor, he much im- 

 proved his income, during the hours not devoted to 

 the pupils in his school. These united exertions, 

 however, were very insufficient for the supply of 

 ordinary wants, and his discouraging prospects are 

 thus set forth in a letter to his friend Ord, dated 

 12th July, 1801. 



" I keep a school at twelve shillings a quarter, 

 York currency, with thirty-five scholars, and pay 

 twelve shillings per week for board, and four shil- 

 lings additional for washing, and four shillings a 



week for my horse." " I live six miles from 



Newark and twelve miles from New York, in 

 a settlement of canting, preaching and praying, 

 and snivelling, ignorant Presbyterians. They pay 

 their teacher forty dollars a quarter, for the most 

 spirit-sinking, laborious work, six I may say 

 twelve times weekly. I have no company, and 

 live unknowing and unknown. I have lost all 

 relish for this country; and if Heaven spare me, 

 I shall soon see the shores of old Caledonia." 



In such states of mind, we hardly could augur 

 that one so much dissatisfied with this new and 

 interesting country should have been destined to 

 produce a Work on the Natural History of the most 

 elegant portion of its Zoology ; but it was his dis^ 

 position to be " soon up and ST^D down," as one of 



c 



