Letter to Abner
Benedict, Sherbrooke, District of St. Francis, Lower Canada. Benedict family
papers, box 1 folder 7
Burlington
Jan. 28. 1827
Dear Brother;
Your letter of Dec 16 had a pretty long
passage not arriving till Jan. 7th . I should have answered it
forthwith but I was so engaged on my lecture on Electricity that I hardly knew
how to spare an hour from them. Your
letter gave us much pleasure - both from the description of your journey &
the state of things & society in Sherbrooke & the information of your
safe arrival & agreeable situation in the family of Mr. Goodhue.
I hope you will continue to find things as
agreeable as you anticipated. As for
ourselves - Providence smiles on us. You left us on Sabbath morning. The next
Sabbath morning Eliza was safely delivered of a healthy son. We call him George Grenville. She is now
nearly well & rode out a few days
since & would have been able to do so many times, had not the continued
cold have prevented. The boy - now 7
weeks old is large & vigorous - grows fast - begins to smile & notice
the faces & attentions of those about him. Charles is so delighted with him
as to hardly keep from devouring him.
He rides horse - goes to mill - to church & around the house driving
most of the time - Reads however a few words at a time 3 or 4 times a day -
manages plain words of two syllables pretty easily. He often speaks of you - says you are to bring him a “swirrel”
(squirrel) from Canada.
The weather has been cold much of the time
___ since you left. The coldest was
last Sabbath morning, when at 7 o’clock
the therm. Was at - 20 ˝ . Yet at Troy it was at - 30 & at several
places between here & there
-25. It seems to have been very
irregular indeed. A greater fall of
snow here 4 weeks since than the oldest inhabitants recollect. It was very little by then three feet of
pretty solid snow - all at one fall - & a few days after 14 inches more
were added in one night. Yet in some
towns east & south of us considerably more fell that did here. It made the traveling difficult in the
extreme. Last Sabbath the lake froze
over so as to be passable for horses - a thing not usual so early in the
season. Now we have a thaw upon us though I judge it will be cold by morning
again.
I mentioned my lecturing on
Electricity. I thought to earn a few
dollars perhaps by proposing a few lectures on so popular a subject to the
gentlemen and ladies of the village. I
delivered 8 on Electricity - one on Galvanism & shall one more tomorrow
evening on the last subject. I have
studied & written very hard this vacation.
You may judge when I tell you that the lectures I have written occupy
about 120 closely written - foolscap quarto pages. I have indeed done nothing else but study this subject. I believe I now know something about
it. I certainly knew but little before,
though I thought I was I was not quite so ignorant as I was. I shall not, after paying the expenses -
have much money for my trouble - as I hired a roomer at Mr. Thomas - but then I
have ten or a dozen what I think just first rate lectures prepared shall not
have that to do again very soon. My
electrical apparatus is a grand one. I have made during vacation several
additions to it of small but useful articles.
I have made an electrometer - that I would not take $10 for. The glass tube which I spoke of using for that
purpose I shall also make into one of a smaller kind I think. Since the receipt of your letter, I have new letters from Father
______. Both spoke of receiving letter
from you. Father does not know what to
do. I advised him to arrange his business as soon as possible that he may leave
Chatham - to call together as he can his creditors & give them his
property. He fears to ask for a ____
till some prospect is visible of his gaining support somehow. I shall write soon to him. If Aunt Lois was provided for, the way would
be easier I think. I hardly know what
to do myself in the matter. Where I
able to support father and mother in my house (which I am not) I should be unwilling
to do it on one account. Like all old
people especially grandparents - they would ruin my children. I wish you would
put down any truth that may occur to you on this subject. I must write Erastus ____ the matter, for
something must be done ere long. ____ and ____ not labor there as he does. Erastus says in________ answer to a bit of a
lecture which I gave him, that he ____ will become a member of the College of
Nat. Hist. I hope you will be able not only to do much for me, & yourself;
but for our institution also. Anything
about which you may collect , will be useful to us; & any communications on
any topic besides on the subject of Nat Hist I will be patiently
acceptable. I send you a copy of the
Presidents Address. By the ___ Prof.
Porter has accepted an appointment of Prof Language at M_s College - will go in
the spring. I think he has done a
foolish act in so doing & will yet
be sorry for it. They give him
something of a higher salary: but I should rather live here that there by $300
a year. O
On telling Charles that I was writing to you,
he said “tell him I want he to come here and spend his time in our house”. He says he sends a “kiss” to you. We all feel a deep interest in your
happiness & welfare.
Prof.
Eaton’s wife is dead.
With
much love and gratitude,
G.
W. Benedict.