; ( J /"~"C (rxmtft [No. XXIV.] THE TABLE T. No. XXIV. ■Xoadufion of the Letter began in the last number.J t , Jfter the middle age of life, it is not probable a man will find happiuefs in such oeyMs, as have be 'fore been unpleajantto him." „ T DO not blame my situation, but my temper I r or the difcontentinent I feel. My re#et • all terminate in felf-difapprobation. I fuf- Sded every enjoyment in my younger days P"' I nl ight amass a fortune, with which I could iicrience the delights of leisure and indulgence "ft interruption. But lam now fatisfied that Z only way H> be ha PPy in old a ? e is to , culti : ' e habits of innocent amusement m youth, and roiafte enjoyment as we go along. By this means, ° need not in the latter part of lite counteract the customs that have become familiar to us in the former. . . « My misfortune consists in having, m my ear ly veals of mankind, rejee'led and despised the nailing pleasures of the clay, that I might be more completely prepared for an undilturbed indul gence in future gratification. Sadly however am 1 deceived ! I can form no relish for fucli new ob jects as my new situation presents. « Leifureis dreadful; because I have hitherto been intensely busy. Reading does not destroy inch tedioufnefs ; because I have not formerly been delighted with books. Conversation is un interelling; becanfe I used to (hun it, in order to follow my business. Rural occupations and scenes captivate me not; because I did not fuffer my fell to be pleased with them, when I was young. " If I visit myneighbours and find how content ed the v are, a tl how they envy my easy circum stances, lam out of all patience with myfelf. It is now the chief object of my care to impress on the minds of my children the neceflity of habitu ating themselves to love conversation ; to love in nocent pall-time and amusement; to cherish an inclination for books ; and indeed to raifean at tachment to many other habits that are always within the reach of every one, and which are in offenlive ifnotinunediately ufeful. By this prac tice of genuine philosophy, they become gradual lyand fafely familiarized to enjoyments, ofwhich they mean to participate more liberally,when ad vance of fortune will permit, and an advance of years will authorise. " Fhofe who pass away life as they ought will fuidall parts of it more equally pleasant than is commonly imagined. The dilgulls and loss of plealure attending old age are principally occa lioned by improper habits and falfe hopes,that are formed in our youthful days. Men begin a ca reer of life which, they will tell you, is unplea fantor perhaps vicious, resolving to lay aside their vices or improve their pleasures at some future time, when it is more convenient. Here lies the mistake ; they are lb controuled by cuftoin that they niuft end their days, as they began tliem ; andconfequently they will not probably be hap py and virtuous when they are old, if they were not so, when they were young. Whenever we fee an old man miserable, we must not of course conclude that age is the cause of it, but mult at tribute it to the prevalence of palt errors. " I have never habituated myfelf to take latis faCtion iu any thing but pursuits of business. My activity in fomemeafurc fails me, and toil and anxiety are .becoming insupportable ; but Hill I can find no fabllitute that is not more dilagreea ble. None ofthe habits of my youth are suitable to carry with me into old age. The last periods of my life will therefore yield me little consola tion. Lvery man should accustom himfelftoen joy the innocent pleasures that fall in his v ay, as they present themselves, even if it a little inter feres with acquisitions of property. I am far from atlvifing aperfon to a course of extravagance or dillipation, or to an indolent, vicious life ; but there are many gratifications not incompatible with virtue, and not materially detrimental to interest. Men destined to hard labour have not much occafioil for this precaution, as any change ofcircuinftances with thein will be for the better, lam speaking of those who are extensively enga ged in profitable operations ; and who constantly iubject themselves to felf denial, with a view, as they fay, of enjo yinglife hereafter in greater per fcftion. But let me tell them from experience that no incident can afford tliem pleasure, that counteracts their pall habits ; and that the true ? rt °f happinei's conlilts in innocently snatching u, as we go along, from whatever offers. Those who gain fatisfaction from anticipating happy avs are in a fair way to disappointment. No are happy toamind difqualified by old ha ws fj 01n tailing such gratifications, as theprefent period or present circumflances can afford." m 1 le lc ader will determine forhimfelf whether J a c ?" e rP°^ en t or my preacher has taken the "eft fide ofthe question. SATURDAY, July 4, 1789. On the COIN of the UNITED STATES. IF the unit dollar was made worth exactly 100 difmes of the value of" the English. half-pence, it would be then sod. sterling—and sterling stand ard is, according to Sir Isaac Newton (mailer of the mint, in 1716) the standard of England, France, Holland and Spain ; which I therefore call the commercial standard, or the standard of the commercial countries, which ought to be ob served by us who are to trade chiefly with them. Our Congress dollar has more of alloy than the commercial standard, the gold has the fame al loy : Yet one dollar has so little of alloy more than sterling, that it is of less consequence than the former deviation in the cent weighing but IS7 I_ 2gr. of copper, when the English halfpence is 166 gr. of copper. If one cent was 166 grains, it would be equal to the English halfpence ; and then 100 cents or halfpence making a dollar, would give it the sterling value of sod. (or 10c cents or half pence.) The division into tenths ol account and coin, is wonderfully convenient. How easy to multiply and divide 16849 cents by dots alone—a dot rednces it to difmes and cents—ano ther dot to dollars, &c. thus : 16. 8. 4., 9 are eagles, dollars, &sc. The coin of the United States reduced into ster ling, (which is the standard finenefs of the great commercial nations, France, Britain and Holland, with whom wemuft traffic) would stand thus : s. d. Sterling. Mills. o 1-20 io Cent. o o 1-2 100 10 Di. 1 o 5 1000 100 »o | Dol. | 4 2 10000 | 1000 100 I to j Eag. 41 8 Monies of account are dollars, difmes, cents ; and are wrote Dol. di. cent. 463 9 8 689 6 4 "53 6 « , . . But money of account may be kept 111 only one column, that is in cents or mills ; which are instantly thrown into other denominations by the simple application of dots, thus—You receive 3 Eagles, 9 dollars, 7 cents—Enter those figures in your book without any dot, when they will be read 3907 cents, the cypher filling the place of difmes ; or read it 3 eagles, 9 dollars, 7 cents ; or 39 dollars, 7 cents. Mills, cents and difmes in columns never have more than one figure in the line ; for, asoftenas they amount to 10, the tens are carried forward and the unites are placed in the column. The above table is of a dollar of the value of 5 od. al though we arc to have dollars coined that are fractional respeCting both English and trench monies : J2d. 64-iooths do not answer exacftly to livres, and less to sterling pence or shillings. The Congress division of monies being in an exacfl decimal method, admits of multiplication and division by only placing dots or taking them away. It is the quickest, most certain and easy way of reduction, both for the learned and un learned. Those who can read figures, may avail themselves of the simple application of dots for throwing Congress money from mills or cents into dollars, difmes and cents, or into eagles, dol lars, difmes, cents, and mills, thus—l46B9 cents are changed into the liiger by dots : A dot on the left of the unit's place gives difmes and cents, 1468.9 ; another dot on the left of the ten's place, gives dollars, difmes and cents 140.8.9. If eagles are 10 be paid, another dot on the left of tin. hundred's place, give eagles, dol lars, difmes and cents 14.6.8.9. — Tliefeare again thrown into money of account by writing or reading the figures without the dot for eagles, 146.8.9 ; or if your accounts are kept in only one column, of ccnts, omit all the dots, 14689. Interelt and commiHion how easily reckoned ! 5 per cent. 011 the above sum of 146.8.9 or 14689, amounts to 7dol. 3di. 4cent. 45-100. 5 734<45. ~, . , . , The convenience would be great 111 having the unit dollar at the value of scd. exactly : a cent would then be a halfpenny fterling—lf the dol lar be worth more or less than jod. equal to ico cents, it will, without neceflity, fractions, that will be inconvenient in exchanging. The present declared dollar is worth 52d. 64100 of a penny sterling. The value of gold and silver coins is only to tlx; amount ot the fine metal. Alloy is used onfy for the purpose of hardening them, and is of y ety minute value when separa ted ; it otherwise is a disgrace to those preci ous metals. The Congress dollar contains 375 64-100 grains of fine silver, and 34 15-100 ol copper. The orly standard Spanish dollar dilcov ered by Sir Ifafcc Newton, is the old pillar piecc of eight, wh" _h contains of fine silver 38? 72-100, and of alloy 27J-100 grains, worth exactly rPublifhed on Wediiefday a/id Saturday.] I 53d. 87-100, but palled currently for J4d. —A dollar of 358 i-xo and 29 35-1000 al i loy, would be of the fame standard finenefs, and worth jod. exatftly, and divides into tens, in c ven numbers, without deviating from well known monies of the foreigners, great iii commerce, with whom we mult have Commerce even againlt prejudices.—The dollar of J2d. 64-100 agrees, nearly, with the livre ; 5 of them making such a dollar within 1 4-100 of & penny, wheli the livre is at iod. 1-2 sterling : And the dollar of jod. a grees exaCtly with pence sterling ; which again ex aft/yzgrees with cents : For, jod.being a dollar, 100 cents are jod. the one attends money that is per manent, never varying—the other regards mo ney that is less fixed. Monies that are the lcaft fixed, are the molt suitable to gamesters and Iharp ers ; such too are coins of inferior finenefs to the standard of the great commercial nations ; be it ever so (mail, it (lamps a stigma on it; clipc coins are also the best creatures of those (harpers. The debts and contracts among some of people of the United States at present, gene rally (land stated in sterling money, or in the cur rent monies of the relpedtive States, under the old denomination of pounds, (hillings, and pence : Some however are in dollais—that is Spanilh. pieces" of tight of the value of J4d. sterling. Many millions of accounts of those debts are, henceforward, to be reduced from those minationsto Congrels dollars, difmes and cents fai as to preserve the value of the debts. How is this last to be done ? Will it be as readily perform ed as if the Congress dollars were of the exact value of jod. and the cent of the exa»il value of a halfpenny sterling ? Our citizens well know what pence sterling are, that J4 of them are equal to a Spanilh piece of eight, and 108 halfpence are also of that value; and the people of every State know the par of exchange between the dollar in sterling and in the currency of the State—that the dollar of J4d. sterling is, in the middle States, equal to'9od. currency, See.—So that if the Congress dollar was exa&ly worth jod. sterling, its cents Would be equal to halfpence ; and all sterling debts thrown into halfpence, are at once turned into Congress money. An instance : A is to pay a debt, of £.J4 6 8 sterling, in Congress money. Thac sum contains 13040 pence, or 26080 halfpence, that is cents ; which by dots are thrown into 260.d0. B.di. o.c.—lf a debt is in Currency. £.90 II 1, of the United States, 7/6 the Spanilh dollar, then by firft reducing into halfpence, and fubftradting 2-Jths, you have 26080 cent ; /. e. 260.d01. 18.di. oc. equal to £.90 11 1 currency. There maybeclearer and more concise methods ; but, this is noted off hand. It is not surprizing that objections fliould be made by simple people, to the change of terms from'£. 1. d. to Dol.difwes,cents —But,a(liiredly,the divisions into tens (with those new terms) will presently become familiar, and are the rnoft ex cellent above those of all other nations, for rea dy and corrccft reckoning, to the unlearned as well as the learned. It is the molt natural and harmonious division ever discovered. Some object to the columns of account requisite for separating Dol. dif. cents ; that inconvenience will flow from the us« of three columns, they at present using only two, for dollars and ninetieths ; but,three columns they have been used to in £. d. s. However, the Congress money admits of those people, and all others, pleafuig themselves by a choice of columns from 4 or J down to one : Of which here follow specimens : Eag. dol. dif. cent. mil. 64858 18369 12 1 o 8 7 ao 4 3 1 4 I Dol. dif. cent. mil. Dol. dif. cent. 64 8 5 8 64 8 5 8369 836 ,087 108 74 3 » 4 74 2 9 cents. mil s. cents. 6485 8 6485 836 9 836 108 7 108 ! 743 1 1 4 7429 How plain and simple this last.—Dots will di vide the sum as you please. The eagle containing 10 dollars of jod. (fee table) is worth 2 guineas, French or Englilh, and rather more. The Englilh guinea, current at 21s. iterl. is only worth 20s. Bd. or iod. according to Sir Isaac Newton, who by the bye, aliens, that the finenefs of French, Englilh and Dutch money, is so nearly alike, that heconfiders it the fame in them all, in standard goodness. Therefore fterl. is a standard of the monies of the great commer cial nations, and ought to be equalled, mo!t cx attly, by the monies of the states.' B/