T ?
0
rriHe Muse inspires,
strain adnures....scoTT.
from tub Albany pmiugii bot.
In looking over some old manuscripts, wo found
the following- lines, which were written by
Catharine U Thompson, formerly of this city,
(late Mrs- Milne of J Jeaufort, S. C.) The hand
which penned these lines, and the heart from
which they flowed so warmly, are now clods
of the valley. Hut if nothing" else was left, this
little relic would be sufficient to bear down
upon the tide of time, a name dear to genius
and philosophy, to friendship and aff ection.
TO A VEIIT TOUXG POET.
Mistaken youth ! while j et 'tis time,
From Fancy fly forsake the lyre ;
Restrain eacli thought that soars sublime,
And quench each spark of feeling's fire.
From Fancy's sweet seducing smile
Turn thy enamoured eyes away
Oh, she is lovely to beguile,
And bright to lead thy soul astray !
Heed not the lyre a fatal spell
It breathes in each melodious strain ;
It bids such rapturous feelings swell !
But heed them not for all s vain.
Vain, as the memory of a dream,
Is rapture's bright bewildering- blaze ;
And falser than a meteor's gleam,
The shadowy scenes that hope displays.
jEach generous, elevated thought,
Must rr eanly bend to Mammon's shrine ;
And every spark, from feeling- caught,
Be buried in his dirty mine.
Oh then, in time, forsake the lyre ;
Forget to tliink, and cease to feel ;
To all that Genuis would inspire,
To all that Fancy would reveal,
Be dull and blind or else, prepare
For sorrow, poverty and care,
And every ill the soul abhors to bear.
-ITay, 1S17. C. B. T.
KITTY S HARD TO PLEASE.
X do not like a man that's tall ;
A man that's little is worse than all.
I much abhor a man that's fat ;
A man that's lean is worse than that.
A young man is a constant pest ;
An old one would my room infest.
I do not like a man that's fair ;
A man that's black I cannot bear
A man of sense I could not rule ;
And from my heart 1 hate a fool.
A drunken man my heart would break :
All these I do sincerely hate,
And yet I love the married state.
TuitCTOV'jj "Extracts, &c.
Variety's the very spice of life,
That gives it all its flavor.
ad.
ttlOM THE SAVANNAH GEORGIAN.
ROME, AS IT IS.
From Anastasius.
J As I approached the ancient mis
tress of the world, the eternal city, the
destroyer of Greece, my heart beat
high. But, arts! if he who names
.Rome names energy, names strength
he who beholds her in her present
fallen state, beholds nothing but fee
bleness and imbecility : he beholds the
prostrate members of a giant, and cor
ruption at work among their moolder-
intr remains. Sheep praze round thr.
'sAtir where captive monarchs were
slaughtered in the name of Jove the
g:erx and good; and silence reigns in
that arena where eighty thousand spec
tators could at once count the pangs of
wretches tortured in frightful reality.,
to represent some ancient fable. The
very monuments of a more recent date
only arise, like fresher weeds, out of
the ashes of former decav-r thev arc
pjily the fungus starting forth from the
cTeviced base of some nobler pile, and
which, by feeding on that fabric's sub
stance, achieves its destruction.
Silva seemed to enjoy my disap
pointment : satire was his profession.
4i These people (said he) cannot pre
vent the sun of their fine climate
from shining at its stated hours ;
hut trwy make their streets impervious
to its cheering light a deep gloom
meets tne eye wnerever towers man s
diode. Thev cannot prohibit the rich
,'P5 ... 1 , - 11
1 1' ...i niniuic fr l r in r m ciinri?i tin.
't's sweets, and convert one sense,
V least, into means of torture. They
yirU'Jt cancel spring's ancient privilege
enameling alike with flowers the hill
ril he valley, the garden and desert ;
T L tf.T tarrv in tbir ftr trwr till
i f. . .
j The companion oluiastasms on nis xuii to
r
CTr
I
the marfc fta3 vanished, and autumn
sears the leaf and embrowns the parch
ed meadow : no one thinks of country
rambies before the summer's close.
They cannot stop the crystal rills while
gushing down the mountain's slope ;
but they suffer their aqueducts to doze
out the captive stream, and to convert
the healthy plain into a pestilential
mursh. 1 hey cannot dive into the
inmost recesses of the human brain, to
nip, in its very first germs, every bright-
I est faculty ; but, conducting its devel-
opements as the Chinese do that of their
j peach and plumb trees, they encom-
j pass each tender shoot of the intellect
! with so many minute fetters, religious,
political and social, that dwarfs are
produced where giants were intended.
Their manuscripts are not suffered to
be inspected $ their pictures are left to
rot ; their very city has ben allowed
to slip from its seven hills into the
sink between. They clip their trees
into men, and their men into sincrers.
In their vaunted " last Judgment,
5
Heaven appears far more dismal than
hell. Their law deems infamous, not
the thief, but the magistrate :the bar-
gello. Their tribunals sell justice to
the highest bidder ; their churches pro
tect irom it the criminal ; and the huge
temple on which we now stand, (for
Irom St. Peter s proud dome went
forth this bitter diatribe,) built at the
expense of all Christendom, on a foun
dation which stands awry, and with a
cupola which yawns with rents con
tains absolutions for every sin as wtll
as confessionals appropriated to every
language, A priest habituated only to
the duties of humility and obedience
during the greatest portion of his life,
near its close becomes the sovereign,
and assumes the supreme power, when
his falling faculties fit him to think only
of death : and as each inferior member
of the imbecile government, like its
tottering chief, must forego a lawful
lineage, so are of each statesman the
views oblique, and the ways devious
and crooked. The word virtue indeed
exists in the language, but is applied to
skill in singing: and as to valor, the
former signification of the same word,
j it is a quality which, during so many
ages, nas oeen let out ior nire, hrst m
the gross by the condottiere, and next
more in detail by the professed bravo,
that it is become discreditable: and
cowardice, under the name of caution,
forms not only the privilege of the
priest, but the pride of the cavalier.
Visit a friend in the day time, and he
surveys you through a grated hole in
his entrance door, ere he dares to let
you in : venture out at night, and from
a distance you are bidden to avert your
eyes, lest one murder witnessed should
necessitate a second. The very head
of the church, when in the holy of the
holies, dares not to take the consecra
ted wine, except through a gilded reed,
lest his lips should suck in poison ; and
in the heart of his capital, the Pontiff
of Rome keeps in his pay (for the safe
ty of his person) the rude mountaineer
of Switzerland, as your Turkish Pacha
does the barbarian from Epirus and
from Coodestan Thank God, how
ever, this map of imbecility and vice
hies fast to its fate ; for if, by a Hte
submission, which the Roman's call a
treaty, the rotten grant of St, Peter's
arch domain is vet saved awhile from
utter ruin, its seals are all torn ofF, and
its ornaments effaced. Nature herself
conspires with man in the work of just
destruction. In that sky so transpa
rent lurks a permanent poison, which,
formerly, only creeping like the adder
sdopg the hollow valley, now soars like
the eagle above the steepest hill, and
invades the last abodes, once safe from
its intrusion. Thus shall soon the
world's ancient mistress again return
to nought: and as the herdsman first
wandered in solitude where Rome in
latter days arose, so shall the herdsman
again wander in solitude where Rome
has ceased to be."
ADVANTAGES
OF A KJVOJrLEDGE OF HISTORY.
cos.ci.rPED.
While history holds up to the view
instances of eminent virtues and splen
did actions, she calls not the student
to a servile imitation of her examples ;
for thus might he unintentionally be led
to error and misconduct. No two
men were ever precisely the same in
moral and intellectual qualities, or in
situations exactly similar ; and there
fore no one can with safety concludu,
that the same conduct could in all res
pects be prudent for him, which his
predecessor has followed. Expedients
springing from our own minds are
formed with more deafness, and exc-
cuted with more spirit than those
which vre' derived from the imitation
of others. While 'the imitator is re
volvingVthe precedents of past times,
and minutely examining them with ref
erence to his own case, he may suffer
the favorable opportunity for action to
escape him, and may be undone for
ever ; or, supposing he takes any par
ticular example for his guide, from a
want of accurate discrimination, he
may be betrayed into some fatal error.
The acute and the discerning will not
fail to combine originality of plan with
the guidance of precedent ; they will
make every proper allowance for the
various dispositions and manners of the
times; they will instantly perceive
where circumstances differ or agree;
and will adopt only so much of the ex
ample, as is exactly proportioned to the
exigency of their own affairs.
History rises to the highest degree
of importance, and attains the full dig
nity of its character, by fixing our atten
tion upon the conduct of divine Provi
dence in the moral government of the
world. It is clear to every one, who
takes the most superficial view of the
past, that great events have often been
effected by trifling means ; that the con
sequences of actions have been much
more extensive, more fatal or calami
tous than were originally designed by
the agents themselves ; that the de
signs of Providence have been brought
about by the caprice of human tempers,
or the violence of human passions ;
and that force, craft, and cruelty have
always met with their just, though
sometimes delayed punishment. The
result of actions has been widely differ
ent from the end proposed by those
who planned them ; and great revolu
tions have been effected contrary to the
intention of the persons who were the
chief instruments of them. Such ex
traordinary discoveries draw us much
nearer, and give us a much better in
sight into the, operations of the Deity,
tban those occurrences in which the
causes are more equal to the effects ;
as is the case with the common aff.iirs
of life. Thus history becomes the
nandmaid of religion, and opens to us
the most wonderf ul prospects of the di
vine interposition in the government
of the world.
Exclusive of the general uses of his
tory, there is a particular application
of it, which one naturally makes to
his own pursuits, his own age, and his
own rubks of thinking. The politi
cian searches the records of past ages
for the rise and fail of states, the mea
sures which advanced their greatness,
and the causes which precipitated them
into ruin. I he soldier looks for mili
tary achievements, the conduct of gene
rals, and the discipline of armies.
Cause and eflect engage the attention
of the philosopher ; and the man of sci
ence is interested by the description of
the phenomena ot nature. The anti-
quarian studies the ancient laws, cus-
toms, and dresses, and other peculiai i-1
ties of nations. The man who is ad-
vancea- in vears is crratuiea witn re-f
marking in the same book those senti-
ments and actions, which he disregard- dence, the vast importance of a news
ed in his youth ; and the habits of think- paper in a family of children. We
ing, which he has formed at one par
ticular period of life, induce him to
search for different sources of enter-
tainment and instruction at another.
Thus every person is influenced by his
peculiar taste: when he consults the
volumes of history, he discovers some
thing in them to suit the complexion of
his ow n mind ; and, from a natural par
tiality to his ' wn pursuits, may be in
clined to think, that the historian wrote
only for his use and entertainment.
Readers, however, of every Age
and description, may find in history
ample materials for improving their
judgment, by tracing the due connexv
ion which subsists between causes and
effects. They ought not to be satis-
I subjoin the following remarkable instance
from Robertson's Charles Vth, Hook 10, C. 5.
" It is a singular circumstance, that the Refor
mation was indebted for its full establishment
in Germany, to the same hand which had for
merly brought it to the brink of destruction, and
that both events should be accomplished by the
same arts of dissimulation. The ends, however,
which Maurice, the Elector of Saxony, had in
view at these different junctures, seem to have
been more attended to, than the means by which
he attained them. It is no less worthy of obser
vation, that the French king, a monarch zealous
for the Catholic Faith, should, at the very same
time when he was persecuting his own protestant
subjects with all the fierceness of bigotry, em
ploy his power in order to maintain and protect
the Reformation in the Empire, and that the
league for this purpose, which proved so fatal to
the Romish Church, should be negotiated and
Wsjgmed by a Roman Catholic Rihop. So icon-
dcijullu does the ivtsdjin of tod superintend and
regirfate the caprice of hitman passions, and ren-
der them subservient towards the accomplishment of
his o-ivn purposes" In the prctace ot Sir vv .
Raleigh's History of the World, many similar ex
amples are taken frcia, the early part of the His
tory of 'England..
fied with the recital of 'events alone
but endeavour to. investigate the cir
cumstances which combined either to
produce, to hasten or to retard them ;
as well as the manner of their opera
tion, and the degreeof their influence.
Historians, indeed, sometimes ex
pose themselves to censure from too
great a refinement of conjecture.
They assign so many motives for the
conduct ot their heroes, that it is high
ly improbable all of them should have
operated. Of this there are abundant
instances in Tacitus, Thuanus, and
Hume. The reader, however, derives
an advantage from the circumstance ;
for although it is not reasonable to con
clude that all such motives had the
influence attributed to them ; yet he is
left at liberty to choose that which he
thinks most probable to have produced
the measure in question.
In whatever abstruseness the science
of politics may be supposed to be in
volved, it is probable, that the motives
which lead to the performance of many
remarkable actions do not lie very deep
in the human mind. The actions
themselves may indeed dazzle by their
splendour, or surprise by their novelty ;
but still they might probably be the re
sult of no greater reach of capacity
than that which is exerted in the man
agement of common concerns. There
is no state of public affairs, to which
the operation of the passions, the vir
tues, the vices, the calls of public or
private interest, and the love of glory,
will not apply ; and into these may be
fairly resolved the conduct of mon
archs, statesmen, and warriors.
Newspapers.
The article On News Papers," se
lected from the Long Island Star, is so
full ol good sense, that we beg our sub
scribers, if they have a neighbor who
is able to take a paper and does not, to
lend it to him to read. We have no
doubt but the perusal will add fifty to
our list, and tk the more the merrier,
as tne old saying goes.
Some will pretend to say, perhaps,
hat the times are nard, and they
can t afford it. Now this, to nine
tenths who make the excuse will he with
out any ju-st foundation. Can't afford
ii ! Why, what a trifle it is. A small
glass of gin, or a pint of beer, which, as
Corporal Trim said, 44 is gone in a mo
ment," will cost more, by thirty per
rent, than a Newspaper, which after
being read by the father of the family,
will impart pleasure and instruction to
the wife, the children, the servants ; and
then, remember it is worth half its cost
as wrapping paper, if it is not thought
best to preserve it.
A newspaper is a school,in a family
of children worth ten dollars a year.
Even the most barren paper brings
something new. Children read or
hear the contents, become intelligent of
j the affairs of the world, and acquire a
store of useful knowledge of more im-
portance to them in life than a present
ot faitv acres ot land. Barents are not
i j
aware of the vast, we say with confi-
have made the remark before, and we
repeat it, that take two families of chil
dren, equally smart, and both going to
the same school let the other be de
prived the use of it, and it would excite
astonishment to mark the difference be
tween them. Full one half, and an im
portant half of education, as it respects
the business of the world, and the abil
ity to rise and make one's self respect
able in it, is derived from newspapers.
What parent would not wish his chil
dren to be respectable? Who would
be willing to have his neighbor's chil
dren more intelligent that his own ?
And yet how trifling is the sum a paper
costs i It is even in these hard times
absolutely contemptible in amount, and
no man ever felt it, except in its benefi
cial consequence, who paid the sub
scription regularly once a year.
Truly, we should suppose, that if a
young man goes a courting, and his
sweetheart finds out that he reads no
newspaper, she could, if she thought
much of herself, send him away, as one
uninformed of his political rights ; igno
rant of a thousand things which ever
young American ought to know, and
therefore unfit to be the husband of an
intelligent girl.
" But the price of newspapers has
not fallen as every thing else has done
-let us see how the printer will get
along with that." I am glad you men
tion it, reader. It is true. Rut recol
lect that the price of every thing was
ns low as at thi; time, evrent wheat and
i .1 r . j
cum, uuia uicsc iiuiu Hai ntuiai '":and decide accordingly, whether such decision
stances are l;elow their proper value, Ucccrd with the fashion cf the yorI4 vr not.
' and will certainly rise, besides, the
newspapers are now enlarged in size,
without any increase in price. We
have this week put down six new sub-
scribers, and it has put us quite in the
notion of adding a hundred or two
more to our list.
As the conclusion of the whole mat'
ter, we should be glad to receive orders
for our paper.
Village Record.
rno:i the loxg-islaxd staix.
The Charms of Newspaper reading to
the intelligent farmer who values the in
struction of himself and his family, con
stitute the relish of the week, and furnish
abundance for profitable reflection and
conversation. If he is a patriot, he can
not be insensible to the welfare of his
country. If he is a philanthropist, he feels
a concern for his fellow man, however
distant. If he is a father, he loses no op
portunity to instruct his children, and can
not but view 'the passing tidings of the
times,' as a most essential part of their
education. Though distant from the me
tropolis though secluded from society
he can know all that is necessary to be
known of the pomp and bustle of chv
life.
By a close attention to the diversified
columns of newspapers, we arc enabled
to . catch the manners living as they rise.
In one column may be seen the march of
armies and the fale of nations and in an
other, the humble advertisement of the
humblest dealer. All may find instruc
tion, amusement or interest, from the
hoary sage to the lisping school boy.
Every subscriber to a newspaper should
carefully preserve them in regular files,
for ths benefit of his posterity. After
the lapse of forty or fifty years, to look
over these and examine the important oc
currences of former days, will give a
clearer view than can be found in any
history. The best account of our revo
lutionary war may be obtained in this way ;
and no doubt, the rising generation will
in future times anxiously look to news
papers for the particulars of the recenc
war, which has conferred such high hon
ors on our countrymen.
It is erroneous to suppose, that news
papers are less valuable during peace,
than in times of war. It is true, those
who delight in recitals of bloody scenes,
and ruined towns, will find less to gratify
that barbarous appetite ; but all who wish
for improvement, or delight in sentiment,
will find cn increased value from the at
tention paid to science, arts, agriculture,
biography, morality, "religion, humour,
poetry, See.
The man 1 who can't find time' to read
one newspaper during the weeV, must be
truly a slave to ignorance or poverty.
The truth is, however, that it is an excuse
for indolence and parsimony, and thus
whole families are deprived of informa
tion on those points which afford one half
the conversation of society. They arc
content to borrow from their more intel
ligent or more cunning neighbors, thii7.
existing in the language of the poet, to
4 vegetate and die.'
It is hoped, however, that such are few.
Our political welfare so essentially de
pends on a general diffusion of intelli
gence, and we have so many examples in
the old world, of ignorant people being
the slaves of superstition and tyranny,
that our young republic should lose no
opportunity to establish itself on the only
permanent foundation.
THE NEXT CENSUS.
Remiarkable ! Some time in January
last, a Mrs. Newson, of Fairfield, (N. Y.)
was delivered of Jour perfect children, two
sons and two daughters. The professors
and students of the medical college at that
place, with many others, called to view
them, and made many presents and prof
fers of assistance to enable the poor fami
ly to bring them up aud properly educate
them. They however lived but four ,
days, and were all erclosed in one cofiin,
to the great grief of all the curious.
1 A cause of the increase of Population.
A paper printed at Levana, Ohio, in
forms that a Mrs. Byrd, of Brown county,
was recently delivered of three children.
Last week we noticed a similar circum
stance of a woman in Richland county ;
and two other instances of the kind, one
of which occurcd in this county, arc fresh
in ihe recollection of our readers. If the
wedded fair of Ohio continue to go cn
at this rate, there is no telling what will
be our census at the end of another ten
years- the bare reflection is enough to
frighten Uncle Sam from numbering us.
Ohio fiaiicr.
THE WORLD'S OPLVIC-Y.
"What will the world say ? This is the great
scarecrow of weak minds. The world ! What is
that which is called the world, but for the most
part an assemblage of licensed knaves, chartered,
coxcombs, and tolerated fools and ideots : and
it would be just as rational to exclaim with the
farmer's wife in the play, What will Mrs.
Grundy say?" as regards the tide'Vf .pinion,
and various currents of society. Whit will the
virtuous and intelligent say ? What will my own.
conscience sav ? How will the action bear in.
right ? These are the rational questions a man
should put to himself upon every important act,
f