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WESTERN
INIAN
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PUBLISHED UEVEHY SATUDAY MORNING A33TJ521IL SJUiaJl iTSsJiaiPIll Va IBJlSlU'Dil EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS.
Number 12, of Volume 1G: SALISBURY, NORTH CAROLINA, AUGUST 22, 1835. XuW-YomVcSmumS794.
.in.'
Farmers' fKNi?' Department
Vrom the Ileum ssi e Variiu r.
tup; cultivation of win: at.
The following paper, on the cultivation of Wheat,
was read b. fore the Agricultural Society of this
folate, at its meeting in February last, Ly II. Hick
ock, Esq., f Rensselaer county :
There are two causes which, when our winters
are often, operate injuriously on ttlicaf crops.
One is, the high and dry winds, which prevail in
March; these blow oil" the soil in many situations
and by leaving the roots of Wheat exposed, oooa
sion their destruction. Another cause is the
heading of the soil, occasioned by the alterations
of cold and warm weather. The water in the soil,
in the act of freezing, expands ami raises up the
eartii, and also the root. of the wheat plants which
the earth embraces when a thaw sue.;i-d, the
earth lieing h aviesf. f.!J down tirst and lo ives the
roots of the wheat a little elevated, and by repeat
ed changes of the weather, the roots arc so fir
thr. vii out as to perish.
'armors, when convenient, usually sow their
winter grain early in iSeptemler, upon :i supposition
which guides their omiii 'i) practice, th.it grain
thus early sown withstands lest the action of un
favorable seasons. This supposition is founded
up m the very p' lus.ble theory, tint as the oldest
roots will b? longer and more numerous and take a
firmer hold of the soil than tlm which are you.ig
er, thev will Iks less exposed to In; thrown above it,
and at th? same time, from t'eir strength, he more
tenacious of life. But experience informs us, that
wheat, S't-vii as ate as th first or even the second
week i'i October verv often survives with less inju
ry than that which is sown in the early part of
fc5LVte?iiler. Ii-lee I firmers very generally admit,
as the result of their experience, that rye, whoso
laws of ve etiition mast hi ne rly tfie same as those
of wheat, snvn so lale in the. season as liarley to
come up, is ru st likely to withstand an unfavorable
winter. Si ill tlie very plausible tneory, wr.icn lias
been mentioned, very generally induces thiu to
sow rye early as well as wheat, in direct opiositio:
to conclusions, which have been drawn from aciual
observation.
An experiment was made last autumn for the
purp se of collecting some further information on
this subject. On the first day 'of SeptemUr last,
I excavated a spot of ground six feet square. On
thi one side, the excavation was afmit six inches
deep; on the opposite side, its depth did not exceed
one inch, Sjed wheat was placed over the bottom,
so that the kernels were about fnir inches distant
from each other, the excavation was th mi tilled up.
Toe soil was n suitable mixture of gravel, sand, and
clay, fr wh-at, and of ordinary fertility. This
w is the latter part of th? extreme draught which
prevailed last summer, and the soil w. is dry, warm,
and finejv pulverize,! b"fre it was thrown .,,) the
vvhat. The circumstances, except the extreme
dryness of the soil, were highly favorable to the
vegetation of seed at the greatest depth in the
earth. O.i the f I'irfh of the month there vva? a
heavy shower which not on!v wet the soil, but bvit
it dowa cfo-v and h ird. O.i the i i r t of the mor.th,
ine mam began to snow tn-nwives ; Mil moik1
...in., no fiom rr..iter f,.of!i ill ii i! :it t S ree n.vl
t. a. ........................... .j.-. . u.at.i
'.. ' . -
one-half inches. I'vo or three days after the sc.
con ! feat find disp!:iye itself, some ot the roots j and top be cut off, and the bulb if, planted in a ge
were taken up and examined. It now apnea roil ; nial soil, the p'ant will grow.
that, nearly an inch IHow the surf ice of the ground
a new jc.:t was found which was the basis of the
second leaf, and aI-o of a now system of roots.
There were now two tiers of roots ; the seed or
knot adjoining it, had generated h: lower tier, and
the new. j tint the upier one. These two tiers or
systems of roots were connected together by a root
resembling a cord or thread, and in or:e instance,
I cut oft this connecting thread and transplanted
the uper part. This grew with little apparent
check from its curtailuvnt ; but the under part died,
alth Mgh the soil above it was opened so as to af
ford it t!i a 1 vantages of air and solar heat. On
the iOth dav of Septemb r, I examined another
plant, which ha I its regular formations as exact
ed, and, whit was not exported, a blade was disco
vered about an inch long, which had started from
ihe lower sy -fein ( f roots, and would doubtless have
iad its wax to the suiface, had it not lieen dis-
turned. It is to be remarked, that this plant sprung
from seed placed und.r cover of nearly tour inches
of soil, which was about an inch deeper than any
of the other plants examined, and that some of the
tops of the wheat plants ha I boon eaten oiTau 1 trod
den down by accidental intrusion; a fact unregard
ed at the time. On the gOth day of September 1 ex
itmined another root, expecting to see the blade
"from below more perfectly developed, none howev
er was discovered; but a third tier of roots was
found at the surface of the ground, which proceed
ed from the second, as that hat! from the first sys
tem of roots. On the 10th day of October I placed j
-rJoine seed wheat atiout two inches in the ground;
their delay in coining up induced me to suppose
that t!ey had perished from col I and wetness; but
at the expiration of three weks ihey made their
-appearance, and although the ground remained
open several weeks longer, no second leaf appear
ed, of course no j oiut or sec nd system of roots had
Leen formed. Tn? very di.fcrent form itions in the
joots of wheat, which this experiment has disclo
sed, preceded from causes appropriate and capa
ble of being ascertained, but to distinguish them
with certainty, other trials must lie made and con
ducted with greater accuracy than the one of w hich
an account has been given.
From these experiments, though inaccurate, some
conclusions mav erhajs be drawn of practical use.
All J.ints which live over winter, possess an appa
ratus, by which they supply themselves, in autumn,
with fiod tor their sustenance in spring. This
food consists mostly of saccharine matter, which is
enclosed in a proper receptacle. When this recep
tacle is formed near the surface of the earth, the
fomentation of its contents is excited by frequent
changes of weather, the saccharine matter is de
composed, and the plant jierishes from the want of
food, and perhaps also from a rupture of its vessels.
All wheat, shallow-sowed, must have its reser
voirs of food but slightly covered with soil, and of
course they are fully e.Xosed. When wheat is
sown earl at any depth, a second, and sometimes
a third system ol roots is formed within an inch of
the surface. In these, many stems originate, each
of which has its receptacle of nourishment at its
base, and it is quite certain that in most instances,
the food, which was contained in the &ocd and the
adjoining knot, is entirely exhausted by the supplies
of nourishment it atlbrds the upper portions of the
plant. The life of early sowed wheat must, then,
like that which is shallow sowed, depend upon the
preservation of the reservoirs of saccharine matter
which are placed at or near the surface of the
ground, and of course oxjiosed to the unfavorable
action of variable weather during winter.
Wheat which is late sowed, generates no second
blade or new system of roots, and of course the
nourishment lor spring's use is retained in the re
ceptacle which adjoins the seed. If, thru, we sow
sufficiently late in autumn, and place the seed deep
in the soil, we shall provide every security against
the hazards of bad weather, which the nature of
the case admits of.
Jn the ordinary course of husbandry, some of the
wheat is necessarily deposited at a considerable depth
in the soil, and when this takes place sufficiently
late in the sea. son, the receptacle of fx will be
protected by its covering of earth, and a partial
crep will often be realized, although there may be,
when the spring opens, no signs of life on the sur
face of the field. In such cases as the destruction
of the blade, w hich issues from the seed-roots in au
tumn ct.i be but of little imjvirtance, one would
supjiose that the surviving plants will grow the
more vigorously, from their lemg less in numlier,
and by tillering produce many stems with large
well tilied years; such, however, is not the (act;
usually the stems are single and the heads are not
lame. To account for this, it must 1x3 recollected,
that after the ground has thawed in the spring, the
earth settles and often becomes so extremely hard
that doubtless many plants die, in their struggle to
overcome the opposing resistance, and the surprise
is, that anv one should possess vigor enough to pro
trude even a single stein throu U the hard earth
tSiat covers it.
From this view of the subject, the practice may
le recommended, of effectually harrowing the field
in the spring alter the ground has settled, in order
to supply the plant with fresh air, and give a free
pa -sage to its upward growth. After the harrow
lias ben used, the roller ought to lie employed to
reset such roots as have lieen displaced, and di ; i
msh the ova juration of the moisture.
In England, a wheat plant has leen taken up,
separated into eighteen parts, and replanted, and by
successive divisions and replantations, a crop ot
tiiree and one-third pocks of wheat was obtained in
less than eighteen months from the time the sc"d
was sum,. If the roots of wheat can be so minute,
ly divided and successfully replanted, there is little
danger that the freest u-e of the harm v can lie in
jurious, provided the roller hi also used. The fact
appears to lie, that nothing is nec-s.sary to the vor-
nul rowth ot the plant, ir.it tno preservation oi in
.. ....7. t .. 1. 1..'. .....a.m.: tie. :, ri - ie Ml iMer '
tI; '41 (11,111 lllVil ,.-n.lti- ...... ......
i . . ...
winch is its projior vernal food; so, th.it it the roots
Notwithstanding the argu.uop'.s which !i sve been
urged in fr r of sowing wheat late, it mus? lie con
ceded that when earlv sown and our field-, are cul
tivated in the usual uiuct, it produces the largest
crop, if it survive the cold season. W li ther such
improvements may not lie made as to combine the
b;nefits of a sure ami large crop, is a question still
oren to investigation; the probability is, that both
advantages may be secured, by a more correct
knowledge of the proper time to sow, and of the
best methods of culture.
In the first volume of the transactions of the so
ciety fir the promotion of Agriculture, arts an I ma
nufactures, instituted in the Mlo of New York, it
is stated that in Huntington, Suifilk county, fii'ty
tvo bushels of -wheat hid boon raised by manure
on an acre of land, and Mr. Downs is sai 1 to have
raised, on a poor, gravelly, dry soil, by the use of
i'ish as a manure, at the rate of 1JS hushe's of rye
.n-r acre. In this case, the rye would doubtless
have lodged ami been of little value, were it not
that it was twoe eaten off by bis neighbors sheep,
which broke into the lot ; once, when th rye was
f inches hi di, and again when it was about G in
dies high.
The production of so large a crop of wheat and
of rye must have proceeded from causes which are
steady and uniform in their operations, and if all
the circumstances which had occurred to produce
them bad been distinguished am! noted down, sinii-
I 1 ir crops might have boon again raised. Some
things which iccurrel miring the cultivation oi mis
rve crop may lie ascribed to accident or chance,
so tar as Mr. Down's sagacity was concerned, bat
the cause which proximately occasioned the crop,
did not work by acei lent or by chance, but agree
ably to the laws or ' rules from which they never
deviate. This uniformity of ojeration lays the
foundation for making future discoveries, an 1 brings
within the grasp of our faculties the knowledge of
increasing our crops by methods the least labori
ous and expensive.
The period may arrive when the firmer shall
pursue his methods of culture with an anticipation
of the consequences which will result, analagous to
that of the mechanician in the construction of a
machine, and when, by direct means, he shall pro
duce greater crops than ever were obtained by
mere empirical trials.
Time was, when the greatest philosophers taught
the doctrine, that all things pertaining to the sur
face of the earth were too irregular and too much
under the government of chance, to admit of scien
tific inquiry ; this error has, w itliia the tw o last cen-
turies, lieen dispelled. Hut a similar error, in re
gard to rural affairs, is embraced by almost all our
practical farmers, and the task of correcting and
excising it is devolved, it would seem, upon the un
aided efforts of a few individuals. Here then is the
difficulty.
I V01 the llU hmunil.
LAST HOURS OF JOHN RANDOLPH.
The subjoined deposition of Dr. l'arrish. of
Philadelphia, read before the (General Court of Vir
ginia, in the case of .Mr. Randolph's Will, has exci
ted a very general interest :
Joseph Parrish, of the city of Philadelphia, Doc
tor of Medicine, aged fifty-five years, or thereabouts,
lieing pmduced, affirmed and examined on behalf
of illiam Meade, named in the annexed commis
sion, deposeth as follows: That, lieing legally re
quired to make a deposition relative to John Ran
dolph of Roanoke, I hereby state my recollection
of such incidents as I consider calculated to show
the state of his mind during the period of my med
ical attendance.
John Randolph died under my medical care on
the morning of the fifth mouth, (May) twenty-fourth,
eighteen hundred thirty-three, at one quarter be
fore 12 o'clock. He breathed his last in a chain-
lier of the City Hotel, No. 41 North Third street.
I was present at his departure, closed his eyes, and
placed his limbs in a decent position. I was called,
to visit him, on the 'JOth of said month, by Fdward
I'adger, one of the proprietors of the City Hotel.
It was a stormy night the patient had arrived that
afternoon in the stcam'mat from Raltimore. He
was liomid for Furojie, and had Ijeen disappointed
in getting on board the packet. lie soon informed
me he was acquainted with me by character. 'I know
von through (liJes' alluding, I presume, to Win.
I. (iles, late fl overnor of Virginia, respecting
whose case I was repeatedly consulted. The pa
tient apjioared much disturlied on account of some
difficulties he had encountered after leaving the
steamb.at. It was evident he was extremely ill ;
his debilitv was such that caused much distress in
respiration. He apeared fully aware of his dan
ger, told me he bad attended several courses of
lectures on anotomy, describing bis symptoms with
medical accuracy, declaring he must die if he could
not discharge the purifonu matter. On inquiring
how long he liad been sick, he replied 41 Don't ak
me that question ; I have been sick all my life." He
svn told, however, that he had been affected tor
three years with his present disease, which had
been greatly aggravated by his voyage to Russia
"this had killed him." On feeling his pulse he
said: " You can form no judgement by my pulse,
it is so peculiar." I soon ierceivod, that to ma
nage 'he case liefire nie would lie like steering le
twecn Seylla and Chary Iwlis ; and concluded to
proceed bv cautious soundings, rather than advance
under full sail.
I tol l him he bad lieen so long an invalid he
mu-t hive acquire 1 an accurate knowledge of the
genera! c mpse (f practice adapted to his case. He
replied Vrtiinlv, at forty a f ml or a hii iaa,
you know." I remarked there wore iditrvneracios
in ni.inv constitutions, ami wish- 1 1 ascertain what
was peculiar about him. lie sud, I have !oen an
indi osyricracy all my I if?. This appeared tiuly a
most trite and correct view of th" subject, although
the querest did not consider it necessarv to give a
concurring rOlv. He illforill" 1 I1IO that all the
. . ... .
.! i : :..!!..:..: 11.:... i
prep 1 nil ions 01 c.impn r inv i ri ni v inio i '-u :n ui, .too,
as f ether, "it would b! .- me up." Not so of
opium and its prepar if ions ; fir I soon discovered
he was accustomrtl to the free use of this drug in
some firm or other. On one occasion, he told me
that he either del or could (I am not cl ar as to the
words ?bd or could) lake opium like a Turk; but
I certainly receivd from him the impression, that
h was in the habitual use of opium in some shape
or otbr. His conversation was curiously diversi
fied, an I he complained with no small asperity of
the dilfi-ulf ies ho encountered after leaving the
steamboat. He was out into a wretched hack
the glass of the carriage was broken he had lieen
oblige 1 to go from one hotel to another, in search
of lodgings, exposed to the jM'lfmgs of the storm,
and every thing was in a state of discomfort. He
soon introduced the subject of the Quakers, com
plimenting us in his jwculiar manner of neatness,
economy, order, comfort in every thing, except jo
litics "there, always twistical." Before I re
tired, he Topnated a portion of the litanv of the
I'piscopal Church, with apparent fervor. The fol
lowing morning he sent for me early ; I was called
from lied. He apologized handsomely for disturb
ing me ; and from this period we apcarcd mutually
to enter into our new acquaintance in the capacity
of patient and physician. After considerable ex
perience in sick chamliers and death lieds, I may
say I never met with a character so perfectly ori
ginal ami unique. He might sometimes lie com
pared to a spoiled and fractious child ; but a little
oliservation convinced mc; that, in the midst of bis
extreme constitutional irritability, pefuience, impa
tience, and sarcasm, there were some noble traits
of character. Among these, was a keen sense of
propiety. And when this was greatly apjiealed to,
there was a disposition to be convinced and acknow
ledge indiscretions'.
On more than one occasion, it seemed proper for
the patient to understand, that, w hile his physician
felt every disposition to treat him with kindness
and respect, he was not insensible to what was due
to himself. On one occasion, when I proposed
something for his relief he petulantly ami positive
ly refused compliance. I paused, and addressed a
few words to him. His good sense predominated;
he apologized, and was as submissive as an infant.
One evening I proposed a medical consultation,
leaving the choice to himself. With an assurance
of entire confidence in his medical attendant, he
promptly objected to the proposal, with the remark,
"In a multitude of counsel there is confusion ; it leads
to weakness and indecision; the patient may die
while the doctors are staring at each other." On
parting with him, and especially at night, I would
receive the kindest acknowledgments in the most
affectionate tones, generally with the addition, " God J
bless you he noes bless you and he will bless
you." It seems as if his disposition to criticise on
the pronunciation of words could not be restrained
under any circumstances of lioddy suffering or im
mediate danger of death. The slightest deviation
from his standard of propriety must be met and
corrected. In the application of words to convey
id as, he w. extremely exact. He once remarked
to me, that although the French was a vile lan
guage, yet it was preferable to any other for trea
ties and public documents, becau every word was
in its exact place " no double nieanii.tr there it
stands." The night preceding his death, I passed
about two hours in his chamler. He told me, in
a plaintive tone, that his poor John was worn down
with fatigue, and compelled to go to bed. A most
attentive sulistitute supplied his place ; but neither
he nor 1 were like John, who knew where to place
his hand on any thing in a large quantity of bag
gage prepared for an European voyage. The pa
tient was greatly distressed in breathing in conse
quence of difficult exH'ctoration, and requested me,
at myr next visit, to bring instruments for perform
ing the ojeration of bronchotomy, for he could not
live unless releived. Yet, in the same interview,
he directed a certain newspaer to be brought to
him. It was found, affer a dillicult search. He
put on bis spectacles, as lie sat propjied up in
bed ; turned over the paper several times, and
examined it carefully; then placed his finger on
a part, he had selected, and handed it to me,
with a request that I would read it. It was head
ed " Cherokee." In the course of reading, I came
to the word "omnipotence." I gave it the full
sound, omnimtence. He checked me instantly
repeating it according to Walker. I offered mv
reasons for pronouncing it as I did. He did not
rebut, but quickly said, " Pass on." Not long af
ter, I pronounced the word " impetus" with the
e long, lie corrected me instantly. I hesitated on
his criticism, and in an inquiring and doubtful tone,
reMated the word as he had pronounced it. He
sharply replied, " There can be no doubt of it-"
An immediate acknowledgment of the reader, that
he stood corrected, appeared to satisfy the critic,
and the piece was concluded. 1 now observed to
him there was a great deal of sublimity in the
composition. He directly referred me to the Mo
saic account of creation, and repeated, " Let there
le light, and there was light," and, "There is
sublimity." He spoke, in this interview, of the
slanders and lies that had been published against
him in the newspaers. Kven his domestic arrange
ments, his silver cups, A:c, had been noticed, when
every tine might know that silver was more econo
mical than highly finished china, or cut glass, that
was liable to lie broken. I believe the patient never
fully relinquished his hold on life until the day he
died. It is true, he had often said he was living,
he must die or words to that effect ; but these
were rather to Ihj considered as ebullitions of a
morbidly irritated mind. The hoje of getting off
to Lurojie still lingered with him. In proof 1 will
state, that perhaps on the third day of my atten
dance, he informed me that he intended to goon to
New i ork the next morning, and w ished mv bill
to fie left at the bar. I undo i stood it to be his in-
' ieiitiou to embark at New York for Kurope. In
stead of going in the morning, as lie expected, he
was so ex remely ill in the night that I was called
from my bed to visit him. He also requested me
to have some sulphate of morphia, which he had in
his possession as a pure imported article, divided
into pajiers of one grain each. This was done by my
direction at the apothecary store of Charles Ellis,
No. 50 Chestnut street, who put up my prescription
fir the patient. The morning of fhe day that John
Randolph died, I received an early ami urgent mes
sage to visit him. Several persons were in the
room, but soon left it, except his servant John, who
appeared atlected at the situation of his dying mas
ter. I remarked to John, soon after I arrived, that
I had seen his master very low several times before,
and he had revived, and perhaps he would again.
The patient directly said, "John knows better than
j that." The interview of this morning was pecu
i liarly impressive. I had not lieen long with him
lie lore he looked at me with great intensity, and
said, in a very earnest and distinct manner, " I
confirm every disposition in my Will, especial la
titat respecting my slaves, whom I have manumit
ted, and for w hom I have made provision."
"Thisdeclaration was to me altogether unexpect
ed. It involved a subject w hich inour previous inter
vlews had never been touched. It was one I should
not have introduced. Iassured him I was rejoiced to
hear such a declaration from him. He appeared anx
ious to impress it on my mind. Soon after this I pro
posed to go, fir a short time, to attend an urgent
message received just In4 fore I left home, assuring
my patient I would return as speedily as possible.
He positively oljected to my leaving him. " You
must not go; you cannot, you shall not leave me."
He called to his serv ant John to take care that the
Doctor did not leave the room, and John according
ly locked the door and soon reported, " master I
have locked the door and got the key in my pocket,
the doctor can't go now." My proposal to leave
him for a short time, even on a promise of return,
evidently irritated him for a moment. It may
show the situation of his mind, when I state that
in the moment of excitement to which I have re
ferred, be said, " if you do go you need not return."
I apjiealed to him "as to the propriety of such an
order, inasmuch as I was only desirous of discharg
ing my duty towards another patient who might
stand in need of assistance. His manner instantly
changed, and he said, "I retract that expression;"
and, probably a quarter of an hour afterwirds,
castin" on nie an expressive look, he again said, " I
retrsuT that expression " I told him I thought I
under
lerstood him distinctly on the subject ho had
communicated, and I presumed the Will would ex
plain itself fullv. He replied in his peculiar way,
" No. von don't, understand it ; I know you dou't.
Our laws are extremely particular on the eubject of
slaves; a will may manumit them, but provision
for their subsequent support requires that a decla
ration be made in the presence of a white witness;
and it is requisite that the witness, after hearing
the declaration, should continue with the party and
never lose sight of him until lie is jrone or dead,
lou are a good witness for John you see the pro
priety and importance of your remaining with me,
your patients must make allowances for your situa
tion." I saw and felt the force of the appeal.
The interest of the scene increased every moment.
I was now locked in a chamber with a dying states
man of no common order one whose commanding
talents and elevated political station, combined with
great eccentricity of character, had spread his fame
not only through his native land but over Europe.
He then said, 44 John told me this morning master
you are dying.'" I made no attempt to conceal
my views. On the contrary, I assured him I would
speak to him with entire candor on the occasion,
and told him it had been rather a subject of surprise
that he had continued so long. He now made his
preparations to die. Between him and bis faithful
servant there appeared to be a complete understand
ing. He directed John to bring him his father's
breast button, which was immediately prtiduced.
He then directed him to place it in the bosom of
his shirt. It was an old fashioned, large-sized stud.
John placed it in the button hole of the shirt bo
som ; but, to fix it completely, required a hole on
the opjMisite side. When this was announced to
his master, he quickly said, 44 get a knife and cut
one." I handed my penknife to John, who cut the
hole and fixed the valuable relic to the satisfaction
of the expiring patient. A napkin was also called
for, and was placed by John over the breast of the
patient. For a short time he lay perfectly quiet,
his eyes were closed, and I concluded he was dis
jxised to sleep. He suddenly roused from ,'iis state,
with the words " Remorse !" It was twice re peat -
e I ; the last time at the top of his voice, evidently
with great agitation. He cried out 44 Let me see
the word." No reply followed, having learned
enough of ihe character of my patient to ascertain
that when I did not know exactly what, to say no
thing. He then exclaimed 44 Get a dictionary-
let me see the word." I cast my eyes around, and
told him I believed there was none in the room.
44 Write it down then let me see the worth" I
picked up one of his cards from the table. 44 Ran
dolph of Roanoak," and inquired whether I should
write on that ? 44 Yes, nothing more proper." Then
with my- tiencil I wrote Remorse. He took the
card in his hand in a hurried manner, and fastened
his eyes on it with great intensity. 44 Write it on
the back," he exclaimed. I did so, and handed it
to him again. He was excessively agitated at tins
perhid ; lie repeated 44 Remorse! You have no i'iea
what it is, you can form no idea whatever, it has
contributed to bring me to my present situation, but
I have looked to the Lord Jesus Christ, and hope
I have obtained pardon." He then said, 44 Now
let John take your pencil and draw a line under the
word ;" which was accordingly done. I required
what was to be done with the card ? He replied,
4 Put it in your jmcket take o-re of it when I
am dead look at it." The original is now in my
possession.
44 This was an impressive scene. All the plans
of ambition, the honors and the wealth of this world
had vanished as bubbles on the water. He knew
and he felt that his very moments were few, and
even they were numbered. It afforded his physi
cian an opportunity, without being obtrusive, of of
fering to him a few serious observations, and point
ing the expiring statesman to a hope beyond the
grave.
44 My situation at this peruwl was serious and
embarrassing. Locked in the chamber of a patient,
and solemnly called upon as a witness, confirming
a will already made for the filtration and support
of his slaves, when the only human ear that heard
the declarations, except myself and the testator,
was one of the very slaves included in the bequest,
it required no unusual foresight to anticipate the
construction that might be put upon such testimo
ny, erhaps in a distant court where the witt.ess
might be personally unknown. When, added to this,
it was found he was a member of the religious so
eiety of Friends, who had long since washed their
hands from the stain of slavery, and whose senti
ments on that subject were universally known, I
saw that even under a charitable construction of
the testimony, the force of early impressions, and
the bias of education, might be supposed impercep
tible to influence even an upright mind, and give a
coloring to words and facts which, to others differ
ently educated, might lie viewed in another liMit.
44 Under these views, I introduced a subject of
calling in some additional witness, and sugg-ested
sending down stairs for Edmund Badger, whose at
tentions were very great to him. lie replied, 44 1
have already communicated that to him." I stated
it was my intention to be with him as much as pos
sible until his death, but with his concurrence I
would send for two young physicians who should
remain and never lose sight of him until he was
dead, and to whom be could make the declaration.
My son, Doctor Isaac Parish, and my young friend,
and late pupil, Dr. Frances West, were proposed to
him, saying that the latter was a brother of Cap
tain West. He quickly asked, 44 Captain West of
the packet?" On receiving an affirmative reply,
he said, 44 Send for him he is the man I'll have
him." From some circumstances that had come
to niyr knowledge, I had reason to believe that Cap
tain James West was a favorite with the patient.
Before the door was unlocked, he pointed towards
a Bureau, and requested I would take from it a re
muneration for my services. To this I pro:.nrtlv
objected; informing him I should feel as though I
were acting indelicately to comply. He then waived
the subject by saving, 44 In England it is always
customary." The witnesses were now sent for,
and soon arrived. 1 he dying man was propped up
in bed, with pillows nearly erect. Those onl- who
knew his form and singular physiognomy, can f rm
an idea of his appearance at this moment. B":.ig
extremely sensitive to cold, he had a blanket over
his head and shoulders; and he directed John to
place his hat on over the blanket, which aided in