ALEXANDER WILSON. 
33 
year 1800 ; but after this we bear of him 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 srmn down,” as one of 
c 
