Page:Diary of ten years.djvu/54

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38

settler's life. The first settlers have all the difficulties to contend with. By the time other emigrants arrive, the way will have been greatly smoothed, and prices will be much lower.

I have built my house upon a rising ground which first slopes rapidly, then gently down towards the river, which here is about thirty yards wide; smooth, clear, and without any perceptible current, except as driven by the alternate land or sea breezes. The ground is very picturesque; on both sides it is broken at intervals, into small rounded eminences, rising a little way back from the river, with a gradual ascent, reaching to an extensive level plain behind. It reminds me of the Thames near Richmond, and it sometimes looks not unlike home, and might feel so too, if my friends were with me.******

When I came here there were only ten settlers on the upper part of the river, there are now ninety-seven; but, as I am a colonist of such recent standing, I shall not speak decidedly of the eligibility of this district as a place of emigration, but feel, from what I have seen, quite borne out in my original impression of it as a place where (even with a small capital) a settler may secure an independence, and possess, at least, the substantial comforts, if not the refined luxuries, of life.

Farewell,
Yours ever, &c.