Ruschenberger.] j_ May 15> 



ever appointed, in the University. During this association a warm and 

 enduring regard sprang up between them. 



Dr. Robert Hutchinson Rose had purchased, in 1809, a hundred thou- 

 sand acres of wild land,* which included the township of Silver Lake, 

 near Montrose, the capital of Susquehanna county, Pa., and w r as endeav- 

 oring to attract settlers upon it. He and Prof. James were cordial friends. 

 Possibly influenced by the Professor's good opinion of liis young friend, 

 Dr. Rose invited Dr. Emerson to be his family physician, to become a 

 member of his household, and practise medicine in the neighborhood. 

 Prof. James advised him to accept the offer, suggesting in support of his 

 advice, that a settled occupation in the country would fortify his health, 

 which at that time was slightly impaired. 



Dr. Emerson arrived at Silver Lake about the end of September or 

 beginning of October, 1816. He was a tall, slender man just past the 

 twenty-first anniversary of his birth, and was, no doubt, hopefully fore- 

 casting the future of his career. Before he received Dr. Rose's invitation 

 he had designed an excursion to the Northern States. After a survey of 

 the position he was to occupy, he determined to delay beginning his work 

 until after he had made his projected journey. 



In a letter of seven closely-written foolscap pages, dated Silver Lake, 

 Dec. 5, 1816, and addressed to his friend at home, Alexander L. Hayes, f 

 he gives a full summary of his observations during his excursion. 



He started alone on horseback from Silver Lake, October 15, 1816, and 

 at the close of the next day reached Unadilla, a New York village, not 

 very many miles beyond the northern boundary of Pennsylvania. There 

 he was not a little surprised to learn that a Philadelphia banknote for 

 $100, with which he had supplied himself to pay his traveling expenses, 

 would be received only at a discount. He was obliged to give that note 

 for ninety dollars in notes of New York banks. Travelers of the present 

 time are not taxed in such manner, because our paper money has the 

 same value everywhere in the United States. 



He visited Schoharie, Schenectady, the Balstown Spa, Saratoga, and, 

 passing over the Hudson river at Fish Neck, entered Vermont. From 

 Rutland he crossed the Green Mountains to Montpellier and Danville ; 

 passed several days in Southern Canada, traversed New Hampshire and 

 the province of Maine, and returned by the way of Waterford, Troy and 

 Albany, to Silver Lake, after a ride of about 2000 miles. 



Having been born and bred in the country, he naturally devotes a large 

 part of his letter to descriptions of the soil and the agricultural value of 

 lands which he saw on his way. 



* Precisely, 99,200 acres. History of Susquehanna County, Pa. By Emily C. Blackman. 

 Claxtoii, Remsen &Haffelfinger, Philadelphia, 1873. 



t Alexander L. Hayes, son of Manlove Hayes by his first wife, was born in Sussex 

 county, Del., March 7, 1793, and was President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 

 Lancaster, Pa., from 1833 to 1849, when he resigned, and was again elected 1864 and died 

 in office, 1873. 



See, Biographical Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania. Philada., 1874. 



