reception of a corpse." This order was given with great sang froid; and in less than an hour, the room was occupied by the corpse of her nephew!
So severely is the want of labourers felt here, that Mr. Flower said he would pay to parishes in England half the expense of getting their surplus poor here.
We were now leaving this hospitable family and the prairies, perhaps, for ever. We exchanged blessings, and received parcels, letters, and kind messages for friends in England; wild flower-seeds {301} and a monstrous acorn from the ladies, and a racoon-skin from the young gentlemen, for a lady at Royston. "Enjoin," said Mr. G. Flower, "all those of our friends, who come, not to encumber themselves with merchandize and ventures; it is certain loss. When on the journey, they must endure with patience unto the end, or they will lose the reward of their toil. Tell them that I, whom they knew, and my father, have all our expectations answered; that we believe the country to be more healthy and suitable to Englishmen than any part; that we have soil, climate, and market. I am sure that were Archer, Greaves, J. Foster, and Elias Fordham here, they would enjoy themselves more than in any other place. You will, of course, tell what you have seen, which will do more to give my acquaintance a correct impression than a hundred letters. They must be confounded by the contradictory statements they hear."
We rode off on our way to Princeton, Indiana, through a cold, wet, marshy prairie, over which hang dense fogs, and on which lies water knee-deep in summer. When seen at a distance, it looks like a large lake of water, but on coming into it, the green grass, four feet high, conceals the stinking, stagnant, steaming water.
