PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN ; ,AA,'. No. 69, IUGH.STREET, BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD STREETS, PHILADELPHIA
[No. 12, of Vol. lII.]
TRANSLATED
For the GAZETTE vj the UNITED STATES.
A DISCOURSE OF STEPHEN BOEJ'IUS,
Concerning voluntary Servitude : Or the Anti-One.
(luntinuedjr'um A'o. 8 vf this Gazette.)
T? U 1 if, by accident, there fliould be born at
-A—' this day a nation wholly new, not acctiltom
ed to Fubjeciion, nor habituated to the delicacies
tit liberty, and it they were ignorant of both,
and scarcely knew their nanu s : if you present
ed to them the offer, eitlier to be lubjcCt, or to
live in liberty,to Which would they devote tliein
lelves ? We ought not to make any difficulty, in
believing that they would love better to obey
leafon only, than to serve any man : at ieatt e
very people would make this choice, except the
Israelites, who without constraint, and without
any neceliiry made themselves a tyrant : of
which people I never read the history, without
ieeling such a resentment as to become almost
inhuman, and rejoice in all the calamities that
befel them. But certainly all men, who have
in them any thing of the leal character of men,
before they fuffer themselves to be fubje«sied,
they must be either confirained or deceived :
conllrained by the arms of it rangers, as Sparta
and Athens, by the forces of Alexander ; or by
tactions, as tlie domination of Athens had once
before come into the hands of Pilillratus. By
fraud they frequently lose their libertv : and in
this, they are not so often seduced by another
as iliey arc deceived by themselves. Thus the
people of Syracuse, the matter city ol" Sicily,
which is called at this day Saragofia, beingprefl
ed by wars, inconsiderately adopting no order,
but againit danger elevated Dionyfius the firit,
and gave him the charge and command of the
army .- and took no precautions, till they had
made him so great, that this brave fellow, re
turning victorious, as if he had not conquered
his enemies, but his fellow citizens, made him
lell of a captain a king, and of a king a tyrant.
It is not credible, how the people as f'oon as they
are InbjeOted, fall suddenly into so profound an
oblivion of t heir franchifes, that it is not poliible
they should awake to reoain them : Serving so
frankly and lb voluntarily, that one would fay,
at the figlu of them, that they had loft not their
liberty, but their servitude. It is true, that in
the beginning they serve by conftraint,and over
come by force : but those who come after, hav
ing never teen liberty, and knowing not what
it is, serve without regret, and perform with a
good will what their predecefiors did by con
itraint. It is thus, that men born under the
yoke, and afterwards houi iflied and elevated in
servitude; without looking forward, contenting
themlelvesto live as they are born, and not
Thinking that they have other rights, nor other
property, than such as they have found, they
mittake for their nature, the Itate of their birth.
\et there is no heir so prodigal and careless, as
not to edit his eye sometimes upon his parch
ments, to fee whether he enjoys all the rights of
his lucceilion, or whether any one has trel'pafled
or intruded on him or his predecellor. Certain
ly custom, which has in all things a great power
over us, lias in nothing so great a virtue as in
this, to teach us to serve : and, (as they fay of
Mithridates, who familiarized himfelf to drink
ing poison) to teach us to swallow and not to
find bitter the venom of servitude. It cannot be
denied, that nature has a great power over us
to draw us as (he will, ahd to make us properly
be called well or ill born : but we mult confefs
that fiie has less power over us than cullom :
becaute the natural disposition, however good it
is, is loll,if it is not cultivated : and nurture and
education makes us always what it will, in
fpigbt of bature. 1 lie feeds of good, which na
ture has planted in us, are so slender and deli
cate that they enduie not the smallest injury
from a contrary education. They grow not with
more east ih their natural fliapes than they
are bastardized, transformed and brought to no
thing, like the fruit frets, which have all some
natural contexture, which they preserve well, if
you lutler them to grow : but they yield them
selves with equal ease, to bear a foreign fruit
and not their own, as soon as you graft or ino
culate them. The herbs have every one their
peculiar properties, their natural Angularity :
bur the frott, the season, the foil, or the hand
of the gardiner, can either add or diminish much
of their virtues. The plant which we have
leen in one plare, we are fcarcelv able to know
in another.
Wednesday, June 8, 1791.
FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES.
ELEGY 11.
WHAT unknown Beauty so majestic moves !
Soft—let rne pais her, on her charms to gaze ;
The look of lovelinels my heart improves,
Dear to my foul is female virtue's face.
Heavens! tis the woman of my hopeless love !
Tis (he ! tis (he ! the sovereign of my foul !
Time's unrelenting trials cannot prove
Of force energic paffton to ccntroul.
Bled be this hour of new-creating joy—
Haftr—let me follow where her beauty leads ;
Despair no more (hall happiness destroy—
Delightful extacv my grief succeeds.—
—Where will my trembling transports bear me on !
Realcn thy power is baniih'd from my breast.—
Delusion's momentary reign is gone,
Known but to break with agony my reft.—
Such is the fortune of my wayward days,
With Irantic woe, convulsive sorrow, fraught;
With peace that, flattering, to despair betrays ;
And all the keener pangs of torturing tho't.
O I have strove, with carefulnefs, and pain,
This hapless pailion from my foul io rend ;
Have bent to study, sleepless toil'd for gain,
And hail'd wild difiipation for my friend.—
Rich inourfelvcs, with mutual fondnefs blefs'd,
We could have lived, the envy of the age ;
With equal love, carcflitig and carefs'd,
Have smiled tegardlefsof affliction's rage,
For wealth to me isjoylefs and despised,
I ask not riches, as I love no; care;
By me the smile ol competence is prized,
It gives contentment if it cnarms my Fair.
On us. what greater joy could gold bestow
But that it gave us liberty and ease ;
The power to heal the broken heart of woe,
And human pleasure, human weal increase ?
Then, while the look of cheertulnefj, and praise,
The prayer of giatitude, thy footftjps blefs'd ;
To fold thy beauties in a last embrace,
And, life resigning, fink upon thy breast j
Would be my earnest, and my only, prayer.
But now remembrance, exquisite in grief,
Fills all my anguifh'd besom with despair,
And wrests from Mercy'i hand all kind relief.
l 7S°'
FROM THE CONNECTICUT COURANT.
THE PROMPTER.
When a man is going down hill, every one gives liim a kick.
THIS, it is laid, is very natural ; that is, it is
very common. There are two reasons for
this—Firit, it is lnucheafier to kick a mail tlo-mn
hill, than to push him up bill—Second, men love
to fee every body at the bottom of the hill but
then.selves.
Different men have different ways of climbing
into ranks and office. Some bold fellows take a
run and mount at two or three flrides. Others
of less vigor use more art—they creep slyly along
upon their bellies, catching hold of the cliffs anc!
twigs to pull thenifelves up—fonietiines they
ineer a high rock arid are obliged to crawl round
it—at other times they tatch hold of a promi
nent cliff or a little twig, tvliith gives way and
back they tumble, scratching their clothes and
fonietiines their Ikin. However it is, very few
will lift their neighbors—uiilels to get a lift
themselves. Yet fonietiines one of these Crawl
ers will lend a hand to their neighbouring Crawl
ers—affetft to pull hard to raise them all a little,
then getting upon their fliohlders, give a leap
to an eminence, and leave them all in the lurch,
or kick them over, 'i he moment one begins t >
tumble, every one who is near hits him a kick.
But 110 people get so many kicks as poor debt
ors in failing circumltances. While a man is do
ing very well, that is, while his credit is food,
every one helps him—the moment lie is pj efled
for money, however honest and able he maV be,
he gets kicks from all quartets. His frier.ds and
his reputation desert him with the less of his
p'urfe, and he soon tumbles to the bottom of the
hill.
Tvjo minutes advice to some of bur read;rt
Summer is the worst time for gorma/idizing.
The jtomach is relaxed, and left capablc of per
forming its neceflary functions.
In this season the body is liable to ffveri from
the natural warnnh, aiid is perparerf to receive
the noxioiis infection which occafiiins fever by
its being relaxed through heat.
Every man to go to bed sober, and with as lit
tle Cupper as poflible.
This advice to be ftiick up in every tavern in
I town—JJ the Landlord wif/ permit it.
45
C A R R y L.
[Wnole No. 220."]
FROM THE FEDERAL GAZETTE,
Mr. Brown,
T HEREWITH transmit you a very important
A Decree of the National Aflembly of France mi
the fiibjeci of Tobacco—it has a tendency to pro
hibit the carriage of that article in American
bottoms to France, and is therefore of serious
consequence to our navigation and commerce
our rulers will do well to have an eye on the ope
rations of the European governments, which
one after another seem to aim at clipping the
wings of our rising trade in proportion as they
endeavor to protect their own—the corifequences
of these ineafures cannot but be felt in this coun
try by and by, if not.timely noticed and prevented.
Holland is about preventingthe importation of
teas but by their own tart-India Company, in
consequence of, it is thought, importations of
that article from the United States to Amfter
dnin—Spnin excludes our ships and people from
all her colonies and lays heavy duties on our flour
exported to them—France will {hut up her colo
nies to us the moment her liarveit fhal 1 be copi
ous enough to enable her again to supply them
In Portugal our flour is prohibited and even our
grain fold under many diladvantages and reftric-
V° l,s — t ' le Mediterranean the Barbary cor
sairs allow us no acctfs, and our flag is scarce
seen in that sea—Should a pacification happejt
between the Ruffians and Turks, the demand fpr
our supplies of grain must be considerably re
duced by abundant, and cheap supplies from .the
Baltic.—But now for the Decree abovementioned,
of which follows an accurate translation
DECREE on the importation and exportation of
1 obacco, and out lie duties on the importation
thereof.
Article i. Th» importation of manufactured
tobacco is prohibited throughout the kingdom,
nor (hall it be imported in the leaf but in hag
fheads through the ports and in the lhips here
after mentioned.
2. Leaf tobacco shall be only imported by sea
from the United States of America, the Spanilh
colonies, Russia and the Levant—tliefe tobaccos
mud be imported divert, that is, those fro in the
United States in ships of the said States, or in
French ships—those from the Spanilh colonies in
Spanilh or French ships—those from the Ukraine
in Ruffian or French (hips—those from the Levant
in French ships only,—all importation ®f the
said tobaccos in other bottoms is prohibited.
3. The importation of tobacco from the Uni
ted States, the Spanish colonies, the Ukraine and
the l evant, shall only take place at the ports
following, to wit : Bayonne, Botiideaux,Roche
fort, La Rochelle, Nantes, L'Orient, Moilaix,
St. Maioes, Grandville, Honfleur, Cherburg,
Rouen, Havre-de-Grace, Dieppe, St. Valery on
the Somme, Boulogne, Calais, Dunkiik, Mar
seilles, Toulon, Cette, Point-au de mer.
4. It is further permitted tin import foreign to
bacco in the leaf and in good order whatever be
the growth of it—through the custom houses oF
Stralbourg, Valenciennes and Lille, paying du
ties thereon of 25 livres per quintal.
5. The fame duty of 2J livres per quintal shall
be paid on all tobaccos' imported in the ships of
the United States, Spain or Russia.
6. A duty of only 18 livres 15 sols Jjer quintal
shall be paid on tobaccos imported an French
ships direcft from the United States, the Spanish
colonies, Ruflia or the Levant.
The Aflembly suspends the consideration of the
importation of tobaccos from the colonies of
France—by the above regulation a hogshead of
tobacco imported in an American bottom into
France pays about 12 dollars more duty than the
fame hogshead would do in a French (hip the
motion had a good deal of opposition in the As
sembly, and some friends of America warmly in
terposed, which occasioned one member wittily
to observe—" thefegentlemen are so much Ame
ricans that they forget they are Frenchmen"—
the Decree was carried by a considerable ma
jority.
revolutional anecdote.
THE PATRIOTIC BISHOP.
A BISHOP 111 France, immediately on the
publication of the decree which fupprefled titles
of nobility, placdd a charity box in the nioft con
fpiciious part of his hall, and obliged every one
who called hitnlelf My Lord, to put a half crown
in it.