THE RISING VILLAGE 1825 TO
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| Allow me to address this Poem to your notice, that in so doing I may
gratify the feelings of affection which a fond brother entertains for you. The celebrated Author of The Deserted Village has pathetically displayed the anguish of his Countrymen, on being forced, from various causes, to quit their native plains, endeared to them by so many delightful |
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| recollections; and to seek a refuge in regions at that time unknown, or but little heard of. It would, perhaps, have been a subject of astonishment to him, could he have known that some of his relations were to be among the number, and that a grandson of his brother Henry, to whom he dedicated his Traveller, would first draw his breath at no | 10 |
great distance from the spot to where
In The Rising Village I have humbly endeavoured to describe the sufferings which the early settlers experienced, the difficulties which they |
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| surmounted, the rise and progress of a young country, and the prospects which promise happiness to its future possessors. You, my dear brother, were born in this portion of the globe, and no person can form a better opinion how far I have succeeded in the attempt which I have made, or judge more correctly of the truth of the descriptions. | 20 |
| The remarks which I have made on the schools are, however, more strictly applicable to a former period, than to the present one. Twenty years ago, with the exception of the College at Windsor, there was only one school in which the Classics were taught, and that one in the capital of this Province. Now the number is greatly increased, and the means of | 25 |
| acquiring a liberal education have been rendered as easy as in any other country. Indeed, this happy Colony has been extremely fortunate in the appointment of those able men, who have been selected, by His Majesty, to preside over it. They have shown, at all times, a warm interest in its prosperity, and have manifested the sincerest desire to | 30 |
| promote its welfare and happiness. The name of Dalhousie and of Kempt must ever be associated with that of Nova Scotia, and claim the gratitude and affection of its inhabitants. | |
| I remain, my dear HENRY, OLIVER GOLDSMITH.
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