In the winter and spring of 1837, Reuben Gaylord, still teaching at Illinois College, continued to write letters to his fiancee Sarah Burton in which he shared his experiences and reflections on a variety of topics.  Here are some you might find of interest.

On conversation:

I need no argument to convince you of the importance of cultivating the talent for conversation. -- Feb. 4

On the first day of spring:

Rode fifteen miles before breakfast--all the way from Winchester, where I spent the Sabbath.  Would that I had the pen of a ready writer, so that I could paint something of the glory and beauty of this glorious morning!  I arose at five, and left the house with a light step, so as not to disturb the inmates, and mounted my horse just at "daybreak."  The moon had nearly completed her upper circuit, and was fast dipping into the western ocean.  The air was mild and calm and the birds sang merrily.  After proceeding about four miles, the king of day appeared in the east, and never was sunrise more beautiful or enrapturing.  The clear expanse of heaven above the belt of smoky vapor that lay along the horizon, and the sun rising majestically above the trees, appearing of unusual size as the rays were dispersed by the mist and smoke--all combined to form a scene at once grand and beautiful.  It was well calculated to inspire elevating and devout feelings and to kindle all the finer sensibilities of the soul. -- March 20

The vagaries of travel are clear in his accounts.  On April 5, he was traveling during flooding.  He took a ferry boat on the Illinois River and it deposited him at a small island where around 50-60 other people were awaiting a boat to ferry them on to shore.  It was learned that no boat would come again that day and that they must all camp, with no food or fodder for their horses.  Not wanting to endure this, Gaylord wrote his horse through the flood to Erie.

In Jacksonville, the town in which he lived, there was talk of union between the Congregationalists and Presbyterians.  His various letters of the spring report on the progress and eventual breakdown of the negotiations.

On his daily schedule:

I will now give you the history of one day as a sample of the manner in which I spend my time: Breakfast at 6:30.  Spend a season previous in reading our daily portion of Scripture and prayer.  Prayers at seven.  From that time to eight prepare for recitations, which I hear from eight to ten.  From ten to twelve read church history, in which I am very much interested.  From twelve to one, dinner and recreation.  From one to three, study Greek.  I intend to read the Greek Testament through this term.  Three to five, hear recitations.  After five, study Hebrew. -- May 11

In his spare time, he was studying systematic theology.  The grueling schedule had its effect.  On May 30 he wrote, "Am sometimes nearly sick with headache, caused by too close application to study and too little exercise."

On his decision of how to travel home to Connecticut:

I have concluded to go back to Connecticut this fall on horseback, so I shall keep my horse, and ride for exercise.  My reasons for going this way are briefly these: I shall be so much reduced by the summer term of study and instruction as to need recruiting, and a journey in the usual way by stage and steamboat would fail to benefit me.  But a ride across the country on horseback will, I trust, secure the desired result, and give me a fine opportunity to see and learn much of those states and towns through which I shall pass. -- May 30

He continues to record the deaths of acquaintances in Illinois or back home.  He is concerned about political doings and the national economy.  He worries that the federal government is on the "verge of dissolution."

On meeting Daniel Webster:

The great Mr. Webster has been here, and I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak and shaking his hand.  He addressed us briefly in the college chapel, and on Saturday afternoon spoke to between two and three thousand of our people in Governor Duncan's grove.  His speech was an hour and a half in length--was clear, manly and forcible, and worthy of his distinguished fame.  He passed on to Springfield, thence to Peoria, and goes home by Chicago and the lakes. -- June 23

On Independence Day:

We have just passed another of our nation's birthdays.  Some have prayed, some mourned, and very many have spent the day in laughter and merriment. -- July 6

On the state of American Christianity:

Truly a cloud hangs over the American church which is dark and thick, and it would be well for Christians of all denominations to stop censuring each other, and inquire whether they have not too large a beam in their own eye to see the mote in their brother's eye so clearly that they can cast it out.  When I look at the present state of Christendom I feel sick and desponding, but the Lord reigns and his designs will be accomplished.  And when I remember this, and look at the character of God and His promises, hope revives. -- July6