Men born and reared under such circumstances, receive impressions which
they carry through life, and their characters always discover the
peculiarities incident to such birth and rearing--rough and vigorous,
bold and daring, and nobly independent, without polish or deceit,
always sincere, and always honest.
However much the intellect may be cultivated in youth--however much it
may be distinguished for great thoughts and wonderful attainments,
still the peculiarities born of the forest cling about it in all its
roughness--a fit setting to the unpolished diamond of the soul.
The rural pursuits of the country, and the necessities of the isolated
condition of a pioneer population, which necessities are mainly
supplied by ingenuity and perseverance on the part of each, creates an
independence and self-reliance which enter largely into the formation
of the general character. The institution of African slavery existing
in the South, which came with the very first, pioneer, and which was
continually on the increase, added to this independence the habit of
command; and this, too, became a part of Southern character.
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