University of Virginia Library



NEW-YEARS' VERSES.


210

For the Connecticut Courant, January 1, 1795.

The events of all-evolving time,
In this, and many a distant clime,
The tuneful new-year's Muse rehearses,
In novel strain of new-year's verses;
Which, by degrees, with proper pains,
We hope will rise to epic strains.
Nor shall we court the nine old maids,
By former poets us'd for aids,
Since Muse the tenth has slop'd her way,
To these Hesperian walks of day.
O! late arriv'd from Georgium Sidus,
Vouchsafe t' inspire the song, and guide us!—
While men of law and rule grow weary,
O! deign to celebrate the æra!—
Hark! how the music of her tongue,
Makes thread bare subjects fresh and young!
See, dim beneath the arctic pole,
Rude Russian hosts of ruffians roll
A sea-like wave—in barb'rous pride
The Poles to conquer, and divide!
See Frederick aid the base design,
And march his legions from the Rhine!
And see Kosciusko rouse the Poles,
While indignation fires their souls,

211

That tyrants leagu'd should still essay
To bend their necks to foreign sway!
O Son of our great Son of Fame,
May deeds like his, exalt thy name.
May fated Poland yet be free,
And find a Washington in THEE.
The French still sight like veriest witches,
Both those who have, and have not breeches;
And scarce a decade passes o'er,
But sees them wade knee deep in gore;
Sees hosts of foes, though men of might,
Put all their trust in speedy flight;—
And oh! how quick their news is hurl'd,
From realm to realm—from world to world;
For has not Telegraphe the merit,
To make French feats out-race a spirit?
Cannot Balloons as high arise,
To tell them through th' astonish'd skies?
While Guillotine quick lets them know,
By headless ghosts, in realms below.
Nor can the Muse forget the year,
That seal'd the fate of Robespierre;
But 'mid th' aristocratic laugh,
Will here inscribe his epitaph;
Which, in some proper time to come,
We hope will grace his mournful tomb.
“Long, luckless chief! thy guileful form
Astride the whirlwind, rein'd the storm;

212

That storm, where streams of human blood,
Drench'd towns and realms like Noah's flood;
Till hurl'd beneath the Guillotine,
Where gasp'd thy nobles, king, and queen,
Where daily swell'd thy bounteous store,
Of headless trunks and spouting gore;
Where Science' sons and daughters bled,
And priests by hecatombs fell dead—
Its rushing blade thy members freed,
From sins their tyrant head decreed;
And sent thy ghost to shades of night,
To prove, with Danton, which of right,
Should have in hell the highest seat,
An atheist or a hypocrite.”
May heaven our favourite planet bear
Far, far from Gallia's blazing star;
Ye lights of Europe shun its course,
Or order yields to lawless force,
As though a random-comet hurl'd,
Should dash at once and melt the world.
But though the French are giant sinners
Yet have we not Tom Thumb beginners?
Which though a molish sort of mice,
May grow to rats like nits to lice,
Gnaw thro' our vessel's lower quarter,
And fill, and sink her in deep water.
See fraught with democratic lore,
Genet arriv'd on Charleston shore,

213

But, as was meet, first broach'd his mission,
To men of sans-culotte condition;
Who throng'd around with open throats,
As round old Crusoe flock'd the goats,
And learn'd his sermon, to his wishes,
As Austin taught huge shoals of fishes;
Made all the antifederal presses,
Screech shrill hosannas, styl'd addresses;
And while to Court he took his way,
Sung hallelujahs to Genet;
But still our Palinurus saw,
With cool contempt this stormy flaw,
And, spite of all the Belial band,
Steer'd safe our leaky bark to land.
Like Hessian flies, imported o'er,
Clubs self create infest our shore.
And see yon western rebel band,
A medly mix'd from ev'ry land;
Scotch, Irish, renegadoes rude,
From Faction's dregs fermenting brew'd;
Misguided tools of antifeds,
With clubs anarchial for your heads,
Why would ye make with cost and trouble
Yourselves of warlike flames the stubble?
Tire down the arm out-stretch'd to save,
And freedom's cradle make her grave?
See next the veteran troops of Wayne,
March o'er the savage bands of slain,

214

And scatter far, like noxious air,
Those victors of the fam'd St. Clair;
While blust'ring Simcoe, as requir'd,
To bleak Canadian climes retir'd,
And let his tawny friends remain,
To sue for proffer'd peace again.
Here Fame reports, in vast expanse,
A clime extends that baulks romance,
Where sea-like rivers wind their way,
Through vast savannas to the sea;
Clear lakes extend, huge mountains rise,
And spicy vales perfume the skies;
Whatever earth maternal yields
To deck the groves, or cloathe the fields,
All fruits and flow'rets flourish here,
And bloom like Eden's gorgeous year:
Birds bask in air, the game in woods,
And finny nations crowd the floods.
Here then Columbians seek your farms,
When warlike Wayne shall quell alarms;
But let not speculations vain,
Exhaust the purse and turn the brain,
Nor grudge the roaming Indian rude
To hunt his native wilds for food.
Though tir'd I might pass on to mention
Our second Middletown convention;

215

How all the Stelligeri brood,
Their subterranean plots renew'd;
Made speeches with long periods rounded,
Like Babel's masons when confounded;
Strove hard and harder still to hit it,
But got most wofully outwitted;
For lo! on Court-House wall appear'd,
That hand which old Belshazzar fear'd,
And wrote in characters full plain,
His mene tekel o'er again.
All gaz'd aghast at one another,
And smote each jaded knee its brother.
Yet where Bostonia lifts her spires,
Like Phenix from devouring fires,
See federal Virtue take her stand,
And ward Destruction from the land.
Hail Nurse of Heroes! Statesmen sage!
The guard and glory of the age!
Above the mists of mouldering time,
Thy Fame, O ADAMS! soars sublime,
Who first the British lion spurn'd,
And gave the terms when peace return'd;
Cull'd from the lapse of ages past,
And fram'd a Work with time to last;
Display'd in truth's celestial light,
How Freedom, Law, and Power unite.
May choicest flowers with tears bedew'd,
O'er thy brave Warren's grave be strew'd;

216

And long heroic Lincoln stand,
The laurel'd bulwark of the land.
But still no flowers of greatness grow,
Where thorny plagues lurk not below:
There swarms Honestus' rabble throng,
And Lawyer Incest joins the song;
While Jarvis with his bob-tail crew,
Retreats before great Ames's view.
And now, O Muse! throw Candour's veil,
O'er aged Sam. in dotage frail;
And let past services atone,
For recent deeds of folly done;
When late aboard the Gallic ship,
Well fraught with democratic flip,
He praying fell on servile knees,
That France alone might rule the seas;
While Sense and Reason took a nap,
And snor'd in Jacobinic cap.
Now north the Muse revolves her eyes,
Where domes Albanian fright the skies;
And sees the wisdom of the State
Collected, both to legislate,
And to obtain, by slight of hand,
A further tract of Indian land.
At length they send an envoy, greeting,
To bid the natives to a meeting—
And lo! the Indian deputation,
Approach'd the Council of the nation,

217

Who found too late, by Benson told,
Their deep-laid scheme would never hold;
Since Congress, in all Indian treating,
Had stopp'd the separate States from cheating.
Not more amaz'd Philistia's race,
Beheld old Dagon's sore disgrace,
When by the Ark, in ruin spread,
He lay depriv'd of stumps and head—
Than each pale legislator star'd,
When this unwelcome news he heard.
Arriv'd, the speculating band
Shake Squaws and Indians by the hand,
And on each cheek of paint and grease,
Imprint the true fraternal kiss.
Huge mugs of cyder and of flip,
With gin and rum, and salute the lip.
Four weeks they liv'd like pigs in clover,
At length the feasting moon was over;
Their friends who found they'd nought to gain,
Would fain dismiss the greedy train;
Yet still to keep them somewhat quiet,
Resolv'd to have one general riot,
Where all should join, with frisky heads,
The grand Pawaw of whites and reds.
Now opes the dance, a pleasing sight
Of brothers red and brothers white;
A royal Squaw with brooches grac'd,
Superbly clad in Indian taste,

218

With due regard for rank and place,
Is given great Clinton's hand to grace.
They stamp, they reel, loud whoops resound,
As high in savage haze they bound,
'Till frolic fires in Clinton burn,
And bid his second youth return;
He seiz'd the Squaw, and warmly prest
The ocher'd beauty to his breast;
When lo! the Sachem's jealous ire
Flash'd from his eyes vindictive fire.
“Heeiyuh, Big Chief! 'tis Indian's law,
“All Sanup stick um fast his Squaw.”
He said, and dealt a furious blow,
Which laid the sportful hero low.
But here the time would fail to tell,
How high each Indian rais'd his yell;
How each pale legislator glar'd,
As round in wild dismay they star'd;
And how, afraid of scalping knives,
They broke their shins to save their lives;
All which, Fate willing, shall appear
In Epic Song another year.
Hartford, January 1, 1795.
 

In consequence of the prevalence of the yellow fever in New-Haven, in the autumn of 1794, the Legislature of Connecticut held its session at Middletown.


219

GUILLOTINA; OR THE ANNUAL SONG OF THE TENTH MUSE.

220

For the Connecticut Courant, January 1, 1796.

Come Guillotina, Muse divine!
Whose voice o'erawes the tuneful nine,
Come sing again! since Ninety-Five,
Has left some Antis still alive;
Some Jacobins as pert as ever,
Tho' much was hop'd from Yellow-fever;
One Traitor, fond to enrol his name,
With Judas on the list of fame;
A host of unhang'd Democrats,
And Speculators thick as rats;
Some lurking hoards, by patriots hated,
Stil'd very aptly “self-created,”
Since neither heathen God, nor Devil,
Would own engendering such an evil—
'Tis these, in contrast with the Great
Whose virtue saves the unhinging State,
That makes the music of thy rhyme,
Flow annual down the stream of time.
Last winter prov'd a trying season,
The State resum'd its wonted reason,
The Council kept a steady pace,
And Stelligeri dropp'd the chase;
Peace shed her poppies o'er the State,
And all cry'd out appropriate;

221

For well they knew a dire distemper,
That makes the brains and purses scamper,
Had seiz'd on every kind of creature,
And turn'd him to a speculator;
And though our title none could tell,
Yet all agreed 't would do to sell.
Soon Fame's shrill trumpet told the tale,
That We had western lands for sale.
Forth from the East and West, alack,
Nor did the North or South keep back.
Much people—both the high and low,
The squire, the deacon and the beau,

222

With judges, generals, legislators,
(All melted down to Speculators)
Flow'd in amain, from every quarter,
Like Windham frogs from dry'd-up water.
A host like this the northern hoard,
O'er pale Ausonia never poured,
Nor did a more inflated band,
Avenge, long since, the holy-land,
Nor, in our days, seek money hid,
From shore to shore by Captain Kid.—
Thus when old Noah op'd his gate,
And advertis'd to take in freight,
Swift at the all inviting sound,
All kinds of cattle throng'd around,
From which the patriarch cull'd the best,
And let the Deluge take the rest.—
Conven'd they sever'd into squads,
And talk'd of townships, miles, and rods,
With night-hawk wildness in their faces,
Like scrip-men bent on swiftest chases;
While each at other cast an eye,
At once determin'd, cross and sly,
And deem'd by dint of purse or brain,
The largest wastes of woods to gain;
But when they came to prove their skill,
And purse met purse, and will met will,
Till what they brought for stock in trade
Was spent and tavern-bills unpaid,

223

They all agreed to coalesce,
And in the immense of profits mess.
This done, at eve the bargain clos'd,
And all in south-sea dreams repos'd;
Yet waking found their bonds and toil,
But won the right to buy the soil;
Which though they think to get with ease,
The terms must be as Indians please.
And had the anarchial powers that dwell,
In unform'd wilds, 'twixt earth and hell,
Come forward, or sent on a letter,
To sell their realm for worse or better,
In breadth from where Arcturus glows,
To where the Bull turns up his nose,
In length from hence to where in terror,
The wicked find out Chauncey's error,
They'd bought it off like Georgia land,
And paid for't down in notes of hand,
Then quarrell'd which should have the most,
Where matter, time and space are lost.
Nay, had there been a narrow Gore,
Close in upon the Stygian shore,
Claim'd neither by the abodes of pain,
Nor forms that roam the vast Inane,
We should no doubt, from thence be able,
To rear a second modern Babel.

224

How stormy is thy sea of troubles,
How hoar with froth, how full of bubbles,
Oh Speculation! how thy waves,
Toss up and down thy greedy slaves:
For one that makes thy golden coast,
What myriads of thy Tars are lost;
This hour beholds them proudly float,
The next sees each a sans-culotte;
And though the boldest borrow breeches,
And tempt again thy main for riches,
Some whirlpool vast or billowy swell,
May land them and their schemes in—
Ere Jay had reach'd that pigmy coast,
Where Pitt and Grenville rule the roast,
Where once the Lion us'd to roar,
But late has chang'd it to a snore,—
The Anti-Treaty noise began,
Club answer'd Club—man echo'd man;
From town to town the cue was caught
By Faction's Telegraphe of thought.
At length on rapid wings of fate,
Ardent to save the sinking State,
The Envoy came—his steady eye,
Was fix'd upon the distant sky,

225

Regardless of the boisterous scene,
Which seem'd prepar'd to intervene.
No party rage disturb'd his rest,
No vile detraction shook his breast,
But rooted deep in Virtue's soil,
And cultur'd long by patriot toil,
His honours a bright harvest yield,
And wave around his country's field.
Firm in his hand the statesman shows
A solace for his country's woes,
Peace on his path her sun-beams spread,
And glory arch'd around his head.
Swift starting from their darksome den,
The nightly haunt of thieves and men,
Our democrats, broke forth in fury,
And sentenc'd Jay sans judge or jury.
Great Mason saw a precious hour,
Which chance had thrown within his power,
And join'd with Benny Bache to seize
A little cash their wants to ease.
Forth from the Anti-federal mint,
A half-false Treaty came inprint;
For telling truth so long had stray'd
From Bache, he had forgot the trade.
Soon, crowded forward into birth,
The full grown Child was usher'd forth.

226

His face so like his Sire's appear'd,
Such innate worth his visage cheer'd,
That Bache and Mason fled amain,
And swore old Jay was born again.
While thus the slumbering Infant lay,
With eyes just open'd to the day,
A dark revengeful coward brood,
Laid a deep scheme to spill his blood.
Soon far and near the tidings ran,
All swore he ne'er should grow to man.
Among the rest, though scarce alive,
Old Sam crawl'd out and swarm'd his Hive,
(Consisting of the stingless Hone
That Humble-Bee, that shrivel'd Drone,
With all old Falstaff's trainband, come
Inspir'd by patriotic Rum)
While Jarvis rung the pan with greeting,
To make them settle in Town-meeting.
At York stout Nicholson, whose zeal,
Burns greatly for the public weal,
Collects the vagabond and traitor,
With many a “dare Hibernian cratur.”
At Philadelphia Blair the great,
That Irish guardian of the State,
Rais'd his hard foot to give the blow,
And cry'd “to hell the child must go.”

227

Still further south the mongrel throng,
Responsive bray'd the factious song.
At Portsmouth too, poor Johnny's seed,
Produc'd a short-liv'd blust'ring breed,
Whose courage soon began to fail,
When Gilman pointed to the jail.
In Vermont, where the Reverend Niles,
To his own state confines his wiles,
And where the saintly Robinson
Prays that the Will of Burr be done—
The Green-woods politicians met,
To hew the timber of the State;
There printer Haswell, Col. Fay,
The Treaty damn'd—and Mr. Jay;
'Till Prince, Equality's dark son,
Grew weary of their wit and fun,
And, seizing Haswell by the cheek,
He cried out “Brurrur let me peak.
“You tear my libber from my maw,
“Gor dam a man all ober jaw.”
Alas! how vain are mortal dreams,
How flit away the wisest schemes!
Who would have thought this infant Jay,
Could have found means to get away?

228

Yet, strange and wond'rous to relate,
By some surprising spell of Fate,
A Giant from the cradle rose,
And frown'd indignant on his foes,
With step tremendous stalk'd along,
And trampled on the dastard throng.
As now in song the muse proceeds,
Let tears bedew her sable weeds.—
Here lies an Officer of State,
Who met alas! a timely Fate:
A Fate which Jacobins regard,
As their full measure of reward;
For here the deadly secret's told,
Who 'tis that fingers foreign gold;
That “patriots” stripp'd to state of nature,
Bear strong resemblance to the traitor;
That each disorganizing scoffer,
Will take a bribe if any offer.
Come then ye democratic band,
Who yearn t' enthral this favour'd land,
To Edmund's dismal tomb draw near,
And vent your lamentations here,
In groans, as Rachel groan'd at Rama,
Hic cinis—sed—ubique fama.

229

Yes there are men who fiercely burn
Your Constitution to o'erturn;
To blast the Sages of your choice,
They wield the pen and ply the voice;
Nor long will Talents tempt th' affray,
Where Virtue gains Contempt for pay;
But men of fell and factious prate
Shall mount the faithless Car of State.
Where Ignorance sheds his sooty beam,
And rays of Science rarely gleam,
There, fed with lies from day to day,
From venal presses in French pay,
Fell Faction broods—and scents afar,
Predestin'd fields of civil war.
And will the men who till their farms,
Who Freedom love—whom Freedom warms,
Who live in plenty, peace and ease,
Be vex'd by living plagues like these?
They will—have been—and still must be;
For Faction thrives where States are free,
As plants of baleful form and nature,
Thrive in fat soils, by plenteous water;
And thrive it must while there are fools,
And knaves to shape them into tools.—
Spread Knowledge then; this only Hope,
Can make each eye a telescope,
Frame it by microscopic art,
To scan the hypocritic heart;

230

And can, at least, keep Faction under,
As butting rams are aw'd by thunder.
The French have beat all other elves,
And now are beating fast themselves;
In which we wish them to succeed,
Just as the Fates, long since, decreed;
But how that is no mortal ken
Can spy, no more than how and when
New suns shall wake the blaze of day,
Where Chaos holds Eternal sway.
From themes like these th' indignant Muse
Turns, and th' applausive strain pursues.
Prompt at thy Country's call to work,
Thy pathless way where vipers lurk,
Where darksome wastes before thee lay,
Unbless'd but by thy mental ray,
O Hamilton!—that ray how clear,
How like the Sun's resplendent sphere,
When too intense for clouds of flies,
He makes his zenith in the skies.
Let “Calm Observer” hear the Song,
Shrink from the day and bite his tongue;
Far, far above his base controul,
Self-balanc'd stands sage Wolcott's soul,
A Patriot firm—to toils inur'd,
Long for the public weal endur'd,

231

Who, when the pestilential burst,
Laid Philadelphia's Pride in dust,
Mov'd unassuming and sedate,
The various tardy wheels of State.
Now Muse survey this land of peace,
Of Virtue, Law, and Happiness.
The Clime how blest! how rich a soil
Repays the labourer's cheerful toil,
How safe we till the field for food,
While Europe tills the field of blood;
Our sons how tranquil o'er the main,
But their's in hostile navies slain;
Their Anarchists still prowl for prey,
But ours are held, like wolves, at bay;
Their towns, while Emigrations drain,
Rise in our wilds and bloom again;
The Isles rejoice to heap their stores,
In plenty on our smiling shores;
Proud Albion, mistress of the waves,
With France and Spain, our Commerce craves;
Wayne barricades the west frontiers,
And peace is made with grim Algiers.—
Here while the North deep snows infold
The Georgian orange beams in gold;
And here the various climates rear,
Unblasted harvests through the year.

232

Bold Freedom feeds her Vestal Fires,
And every heart and tongue inspires;
While, still in Courts, as once in Fields,
Great Washington her Glory shields;
Long may his Sun unclouded shine,
And set “full orb'd.”
Hartford, January 1, 1796.

[This and the preceding New Year's Verses were principally written by a late eminent physician in Connecticut, distinguished both for his literary talents and professional skill; several of the passages in the Green-House were likewise furnished by him.]

 

This passage was intended to ridicule the mania for lands peculation, which at that time pervaded the United States in general, but raged with increased violence in the Eastern States. The year 1795, was particularly remarkable for this species of adventure, in which nearly every class and description of people engaged with an almost inconceivable degree of ardour. In addition to the immense quantities of land thrown into the market by the sale of the Georgia Territory, the Legislature of Connecticut had authorised the sale of an extensive country belonging to this state, situated on lake Erie, and known by the name of the Western Reserve. It had likewise ceded to a company of its own citizens, the claim of the state to a tract called the Gore, situated within the jurisdiction of New-York, but supposed to be included in the charter of Connecticut, on condition of the purchasers completing the State house in Hartford. To these may be added speculations in Virginia mountains; in Susquehannah title deeds that never existed; in the pine barrens of the south, and the frozen desarts of the north; in fine, in every thing that bore the name of land.

The celebrated Advocate of Universal Salvation.

Alluding to the State-House in Hartford, the building of which was completed by certain persons on condition of receiving from the Legislature of Connecticut a grant or quit claim of the right of that State to the tract of land called the Gore.

“A reverend Dean, preaching at the” British “Court, threatened the sinner with punishment in a place he thought not decent to name in so polite an Assembly.”— Pope.

The Treaty.

The abstract of the Treaty “published from recollection.”

A creature of the doubtful gender, called Honee, Honestus, or Ben Austin, Jun.

See Shakspeare's Henry IV.

This incident, as related, is stated to have occurred at Bennington at the time of discussing the merits of the Treaty. The conduct of Prince, upon this occasion, is a striking proof of that happy consciousness of the dignity of his nature, which ever distinguishes man, when emancipated from the shackles of restraint.

His ashes here—but—every where his Fame. This is the Epitaph of the late celebrated King of Prussia; but we hope his mance will not be offended that we apply it to a character equally GREAT in a different way.


234

The Political Green-House, for the year 1798.

Hartford, January 1, 1799.
Oft has the New-Year's Muse essay'd,
To quit the annual rhyming trade,
Oft has she hop'd the period nigh,
When fools would cease, and knaves would die;
But each succeeding year has tax'd her
With “more last words of Mr. Baxter;”
And most of all, has Ninety-Eight,
Outstripp'd the years of former date.
And while a Jacobin remains,
While Frenchmen live and Faction reigns,
Her voice, array'd in awful rhyme,
Shall thunder down the steep of Time.
Scarce had the New-Year's wintry sun,
His short-liv'd daily course begun,
When lo! a strange offensive brute,
Too wild to tame, too base to shoot,
A Lyon of Hibernian breed,
In Congress rear'd his shaggy head.
What speculations might be made,
Were men acquainted with the trade?
In countries new, the market price
Will often take a wondrous rise,
And things to day are held for nought,
Which scarce to-morrow can be bought.

235

This beast, within a few short years,
Was purchas'd with a yoke of steers;
But now, the wise Vermonters say,
He's worth six hundred cents per day.
When erst Britannia's hostile hosts,
Ravag'd our long extended coasts,
This Lyon, Falstaff-like, impell'd
By “instinct,” shunn'd the dangerous field.
And yet, in him, our patriot props,
Had center'd all their darling hopes,
That he, by spirit, would obtain,
What they had talk'd for long in vain.
It chanc'd one memorable day,
'Mongst gentlemen he happ'd to stray,
Where, ignorant what to say, or do,
His monkey tricks he 'gan to shew,
When Griswold's stick of vigour full,
Knock'd gently on his solid skull;
By courage, strength, and sleight forsaken,
Not “instinct” now could save his bacon,
But as he drew his “WOODEN-SWORD,”
He roar'd and kick'd, and kick'd and roar'd.
With less of Lyon, than of sheep,
The beast retires to wash, and weep;
While Elmendorf and Havens join,
To bathe his wounds with oil and wine.
Long had the Jeffersonian band,
Determin'd here to take their stand,

236

To US, their vile intrigues impart,
And old Connecticut subvert.
Firm on her rock, sublime she stood,
And all their arts indignant view'd;
With smiles beheld them, fill'd with plot,
Come sneaking round that precious spot,
Where erst the Stelligeri Club,
Held converse sweet with Peter Grubb,
And where, though lost their quondam Clerk,
They still keep Records in the dark.
Here then our Jacobins resort,
For business some, and some for Court,
Each unsuspicious of the rest,
(No mischief rankling in his breast)
But each, as order'd, took his station,
And rattled up a Nomination.
Mix'd up of various sorts, and kinds,
Themselves ahead, a few for blinds,
The rest, a coarse, outlandish Crew,
Which scarce a single creature knew.
As harbinger of sure success,
'Twas next agreed to fill the press,
And through the weekly prints, enlighten
The people's stupid skulls by writing.
Soon our “impartial paper” teems
With deep laid plots, and cunning schemes:

237

Don Quixotte, knight of woeful face,
Led on the Revolution race;
Then follow'd on a nameless tribe,
Too poor to mention or describe,
While Granger fill'd with weightier matters.
Employ'd his time in gutting letters.
This precious story soon took wind,
Out turn'd the aged, deaf, and blind,
All honest men from small to great,
Combin'd their force to save the state,
Tumbled each caitiff from his station,
And purg'd the chequer'd Nomination.
Poor Gideon, with astonish'd eye,
Beheld the stroke of Fate draw nigh,
And like Ahithophel the Sage,
In deep despair, commix'd with rage,
Saddled his ass, took leave of pelf,
Wrote No. 4, and hang'd himself.
Long had our Ministers of Peace,
The insults borne of Gallia's race.
At length the envoys deign'd to tell us,
They had to deal with scurvy fellows,
With Autun, and the five-head Beast,
And half the Alphabet at least.
The budget, op'd in Congress, show'd
The whole contrivance of the brood,
And that their heads were bent on brewing
Subjection, infamy, and ruin.

238

While joy each Federal feature crown'd,
And triumph glow'd the Hall around;
Each Jacobin began to stir,
And sate, as though on chesnut burr.
Up the long space from chin, to forehead,
Sate every feature of the horrid;
Their moon-ey'd leaders stood like beacons,
Or as a drove of Satan's Deacons,
When from the burning lake, in ire,
They sat their feet on solid fire,
To find if war, or sly pollution,
Could raise in Heaven a revolution.
Pale melancholy mark'd their features,
The most forlorn of human creatures;
While shame, deep-stamp'd as though with thunder,
Reliev'd th' unmeaning stare of wonder.
At length, from lethargy profound,
Congress awoke, and star'd around:
The major part, with heart and hand,
Extend protection to the land,
Dissolve our treaties, arm our hosts,
And drive the robbers from our coasts.
Next from the press the tidings ran,
From state to state, from man to man,
In Freedom's cause they all combine,
And Georgia, and New-Hampshire join.
The warlike spirit fills the presses,
And teems the nation with addresses,

239

Answers, Resolves, and Toasts in throngs,
Orations, Sermons, Prayers, and Songs.
The spirit freed of righteous hate,
Like wild-fire spreads from state to state,
And made thy sons, Columbia, see
The extreme of insult heap'd on thee—
Made thee behold the just renown
Of Him, who wears thy laurell'd crown,
And gave his heaven-directed pen,
New themes in civic walks of men,
Which, through the world shall waft thy fame,
Beneath the banners of his name.
Eas'd now of much incumbent weight,
Proceeds the business of the State.
Rais'd by the sound of war's alarms,
Our ardent youth all fly to arms,
And from the work-shop, and the field,
The active labourers seize the shield;
While on the silver'd brow of age,
Relumes the fire of martial rage.
Our veteran Chiefs, whose honour'd scars,
Are trophies still of former wars,
Appointed move beneath their SHIELD,
To reap the ripen'd martial field.
And lo! From Vernon's sacred hill,
Where peaceful spirits love to dwell—
Where twice retir'd from war's alarms,
Slept, and awoke, his conquering arms,

240

The Hero comes!—whose Laurels green,
In bloom eternal shall be seen;
While Gallic Ivy fades away,
Before the scorching eye of Day.
He comes!—he comes! to re-array
Your hosts, ye heroes, for th' affray!
Him for your head—collect from far
The shield, the sword and plume of war;
Indignant earth rejoicing hears,
Fell insult bristling up your spears,
And joins her hosts to crush the foes
Of virtue and her own repose.
Now see each jacobinic face,
Redden'd with guilt, with fear, disgrace,
While through the land, with keenest ire,
Kindles the patriotic fire!
See J******** with deep dismay,
Shrink from the piercing eye of day,
Lest from the tottering chair of state,
The storm should hurl him to his fate!
Great Sire of stories past belief!
Historian of the Mingo Chief!
Philosopher of Indian's hair!
Inventor of a rocking chair!
The Correspondent of Mazze'!
And Banneker less black than he!
With joy we find you rise from coguing
With judge M'Kean, and “foolish Logan,”

241

And reeling down the factious dance,
Dispatch the Doctor off to France,
To tell the Frenchmen, to their cost,
They reckon'd here without their host.
See next, brave Massachusetts' Sires,
Whose breasts still burn with Freedom's fires,
Whose dauntless bosoms never yield,
Nor shun the foe, nor quit the field;
Where Independence took her stand,
And shot her light'ning through the land,
Again their true-born zeal display,
Again to Freedom lead the way.
To save our Country from disgrace,
Her Councils shut from Aliens base,
Bostonia's valiant sons combine,
And call their sister states to join.
The fire has caught, the flames arise,
And spread throughout the northern skies.
And shall our southern friends forbear
In Freedom's glorious cause to share?
When blest with sons of brightest name,
Alive to all its growing fame,
Shall they stoop downward to disgrace,
And crouch beneath a foreign race?
Forbid it pride—Each manly soul,
Disdains the renegade's controul,
Columbia's sons shall bear the sway,
In southern, as in northern day.

242

Behold! along yon western plains,
Where wild Misrule with Mischief reigns,
Behold that dark Intriguer steer
A devious course, through Faction's sphere!
Not yet matur'd to Freedom's sun,
His seven short seasons scarcely run,
The brogue still hobbling on his tongue,
His brows with rank rebellion hung,
See him with brazen forehead stand,
Among the fathers of the land,
With daring voice her glory mar,
And gash her face with many a scar.
Ye heirs of Penn's undying name,
Where is your spirit, where your shame!
Rouse from your base degenerate state,
And chace this hireling from his seat.
Once more, far-stretch'd from South to North,
The Pestilence stalks dreadful forth,
And arm'd with subtler venom frowns,
To thin our marts and crowded towns;
He walks unseen the midnight way,
And wasteth at the noon of day.
In vain to check his fell career,
Apollo waves his shield and spear;

243

Where'er the yellow Fiend draws nigh,
He fills with death the tainted sky,
The city wraps in midnight gloom,
And marks whole myriads for the tomb.
In vain from crowded towns they haste,
His shafts unseen their flight arrest;
Man flies from man, as though pursued
In vengeance of a brother's blood,
But finds no refuge from the grave,
Alas! no altar blest to save.
When erst th' Almighty's vengeful ire
Wrapp'd Sodom's guilty domes in fire,
Lot from the scene of horror flew,
And safe to friendly Zoar withdrew;
But here no place a shelter yields,
No Zoar the friendless exile shields.
No rules by which the wisest live,
No aid that Med'cine knows to give,
When Pestilence bursts dreadful forth,
Can save the fated sons of Earth.
Nor bright endowments of the mind,
With learning fraught and taste refin'd,
Nor pitying heart for others woe,
Can turn aside the fatal blow;
Else had his shafts that wing'd the sky,
Pass'd thee, O Smith uninjured by—
Thy friends' delight, thy parents' stay,
Fond hope of their declining day;—

244

Nor had those floods of sorrow, burst,
Lamented Cooper, o'er thy dust;
Nor mourning Science wept forlorn,
O'er learn'd Scandella's timeless urn.

245

Learn then COLUMBIANS, ere too late,
If not to cure, to ward the fate;
For when swart skies find filth beneath,
They breed swift messengers of death.
Let Belgian neatness mantle o'er
The marts and towns around your shore;
And ere the Dog Star's sultry rays
Dawn and decline with solar blaze,
Stretch daily in warm baths your limbs,
Or lave you o'er in tepid streams.
Let no late revels break your rest,
Nor passion rankle in the breast;
The strictest temperance of the board,
And glass, can potent aid afford.

246

From ardent spirits most refrain,
Dire sources of disease and pain.
Ye heirs of wealth! to rural seats
Retire from summer's scorching heats,
And let the virtuous sons of want,
Throng gladd'ning round the sylvan haunt,
On tented plains; and often taste
With you the simple plain repast.
Strange as it seems, this happy land,
Nurses a Jacobinic band,
Who, their united force employ,
Its richest blessings to destroy,
And, in the place of all that's good,
To mark our fate with guilt and blood.
But ere that mighty change is wrought,
Pause for a moment from the thought;
Across the Atlantic wing your way,
And Gallia's wretched land survey.
There the foul breath of every crime,
Contaminates th' extended clime.
There crush'd, and trodden to the ground,
In ten-fold chains the poor are bound,
Their pittance stripp'd by ruffian hands,
Their offspring forc'd to distant lands,
To sickness, and to want a prey,
And wars more fatal far than they.
There the rich soil neglected lies,
No harvest meets the wandering eyes,

247

Commerce reclines her drooping head,
And Industry the land has fled.
Where Justice rears her awful seat,
The blockhead, and the villain meet,
While Law astonish'd quits the place,
And blushing Virtue hides her face.
There a whole Nation sinks deprav'd,
Corrupted, plunder'd, and enslav'd,
Its dignity forever flown,
Its manners lost, its honour gone;
High on the ruins of a throne,
Behold the base-born tyrants frown,
Rapacious, cruel, proud, and vain,
Far spreads the mischief of their reign.
Of each inherent right bereft,
Not Freedom's name, nor semblance left,
The dastard people kiss the rod,
And bow beneath the tyrant's nod.
Hence, let the searching vision bend,
And o'er the moral scene extend.
There Vice unshackled holds her reign,
And binds the nation in her chain.
At Weishaupt's midnight orgies nurs'd,
Th' Illuminated band accurs'd,
Spread mischief with destructive hand,
Through every corner of the land.
There Discord sows the seeds of strife,
There Murder whets the bloody knife,

248

Foul Incest seeks the eye of day,
And Theft, and Robbery mark their prey.
Forth from her sacred Temples thrust,
Her honours prostrate in the dust,
Religion from the Nation flies,
And wings her passage to the skies;
While Blasphemy usurps her seat,
And Atheists triumph in her fate,
Behold! this dark mysterious band,
In myriads spreads through every land,
Steal slily to the posts of state,
And wield unseen the Nation's fate!
Where Virtue builds her still retreats,
Where learning holds her sacred seats,
Behold! array'd in semblance fair,
The fell Illuminatus there!
In scenes like these, let those who dare
E'en wish this peaceful land to share,
Change their dark purpose ere too late,
Or else prepare to meet their fate.
Behold! array'd on Gallia's coast,
A ragged, death-devoted host,
Resolv'd at all events, to land
On Albion's sea-surrounded strand.
Already yields her naval force,
And nought obstructs their daring course.
While London's tempting plunder lies
Unfolded to their greedy eyes.

249

What though no ships their harbours grace,
Great rafts will well supply their place,
They'll “condescend to cross the sea,
And set the slaves of England free.”
“Men,” says the ancient proverb sound,
“Born to be hang'd will ne'er be drown'd”—
This is the source from whence must flow,
The strong inducement Frenchmen show
To quit their home, all dangers share,
And tempt their fate no matter where.
Oft has this silly scheme been laid,
And oft the mighty effort made,
And just as oft, the boasting race
Have met disaster and disgrace.
As every victim of despair
Has all to hope and nought to fear,
With Napper Tandy for their guide,
Again they tempt the dangerous tide,
Among the Irish Bulls, to teach
“The rights of man,” and pow'rs of speech.
Her standard swift Rebellion rais'd,
And o'er the bogs her fury blaz'd;
Teague his potatoe-field forsook,
His harp and mattock Paddy took,
The White-boy, deep in den conceal'd,
Rush'd fearless to the bloody field,
Determin'd, one and all, to dare
In Faction's cause the storm of war.

250

Brave Albion frowns—their courage fails,
In crowds they flock from camps to jails;
Law's awful mandates intervene,
And hemp, as usual, ends the scene.
Intent to sow the seeds of strife,
To mar each bliss of human life,
Spread wide Corruption's putrid flood,
And bathe the nations round in blood,
Extinguish Freedom's last remains,
And rivet Slavery's galling chains;
From France, behold! a savage band
Invade Helvetia's free-born land;
Where factions, jealousies, and hate,
Those fell destroyers of a state,
To French intrigues had op'd the way,
Their force to weaken and betray.
In vain her virtuous sons contend
Their rights to save, their soil defend,
Fell Faction's schemes their views oppose,
And timid Caution aids the foes.
Through threats, and artifices vile,
Corruption base, or secret wile,
Th' Helvetic troops, compell'd, remain
Inactive on the marshall'd plain.
Meanwhile, approach the hostile force,
No arms oppos'd to check their course,
Nor longer deign, with friendly show,
To mask the treach'ry of the foe.

251

Impell'd by courage and despair,
Berne's gallant youth rush forth to war;
But vain their courage, to oppose
Th' o'erwhelming myriads of their foes,
Yet nobly brave they scorn to yield,
And but with death resign the field.
Illustrious Steigner! o'er thy grave
Shall Virtue's freshest laurels wave,
And Freedom long lament thy fate,
With many a tear of deep regret!
Thou gallant Swiss! the praise was thine,
In council as in arms to shine;
Though Faction base, and wav'ring Fear,
Thy just monitions scorn'd to hear,
Though vain thy efforts, to inspire
The sordid soul with patriot fire;
Yet o'er thy country's closing day,
When Freedom shed its parting ray,
With soul sublime, thou scorn'dst to wait
A witness of her mournful fate,

252

With desp'rate courage sought the war,
And bar'd thy bosom to the spear.
O! had thy counsels firm and good,
Thy vet'ran counsels been pursu'd,
Helvetia still had freedom known,
Nor bent beneath the despot's frown;
Nor seen her fertile fields laid waste,
Her hamlets burn'd, her temples raz'd,
Her cities levell'd in the dust,
Her fair a prey to fiend-like lust,
In heaps, the dying and the dead,
Hoar Age and feeble Childhood spread,
By tempests smote, whose pale remains
Lie whitening o'er their native plains!
O then, Columbia! from her fate
A warning draw ere yet too late;
For, from Destruction's lurid sky,
The Fiend has mark'd thee with his eye,
In hope, already shakes thy chains,
And revels o'er thy wasted plains.
Howe'er his varying features show,
If smiles or frowns impress his brow,
Still fix'd, his views remain the same,
Nor once he deviates from his aim.
Then, from his smiles indignant turn,
His proffer'd love with horror spurn,
Beneath those smiles lurks deadly hate,
That friendship but conducts to fate.

253

So, cloth'd in fair and treach'rous guise,
Morocco's image meets the eyes—
Her face in soft allurements drest,
She hides the dagger in her breast,
And, while her arms the wretch surround,
Her poniard gives the deadly wound.
Behold the Chief, whose mighty name
With glory fills the trump of fame!
Before whose genius, smote with dread,
The veteran hosts of Austria fled,
Th' imperial Eagle droop'd forlorn,
His plumage soil'd, his pinions torn,
And Conquest's self, 'mid fields of blood,
Attendant on his footsteps trode;
To gain new palms on Afric's coast,
Lead o'er the deep a chosen host.
And lo! at first, with fav'ring ray,
Kind fortune lights him on his way;
Those ramparts, Europe's ancient pride,
Which erst the Turkish power defy'd,
By stratagem and force compell'd,
To him the towers of Malta yield.
Victorious, thence to Egypt's coast
He leads his fell marauding host;
In vain the Turks oppose their force,
To stop the fierce invader's course,

254

Nor Alexandria's time-worn tow'rs,
Nor Cairo long resist his pow'rs;
By desp'rate courage fierce impell'd
The Mam'luke squadrons tempt the field;
But vain the bold, undaunted band
In close and furious contest stand;
Against the column's solid force,
In vain impel their scatter'd horse,
And wake anew, by deeds of fame,
The ancient glories of their name—
Foil'd, slain, dispers'd, the routed train
In wild confusion quit the plain.
But lo! the ever-varying queen,
Delusive Fortune, shifts the scene:
To crush the towering pride of France,
Behold brave Nelson firm advance!
Beneath his rule, in close array,
The Britons plough the wat'ry way;
To fam'd Rosetta bends his course,
Where deem'd secure from hostile force,
The fleet superior of the foe
A lengthen'd line of battle show.
Lo! from the west, the setting ray
Slopes the long shades of parting day!
The fight begins;—the cannon's roar
In doubling echoes rends the shore;
Wide o'er the scene blue clouds arise,
And curl in volumes to the skies,

255

While momentary flashes spread
Their fleecy folds with fiery red.
More desp'rate still the battle glows
As night around its horrors throws.
Long lines of fire enkindling sweep
A blueish splendour o'er the deep,
Then swells the dread displosive sound,
While deeper darkness closes round.
Yon sable volume, roll'd on high,
With thicker gloom obscures the sky;
And lo! emerging from its womb,
What sudden flames the shade illume!
Evolving slow the clouds retire,
Red glows the wide-extended fire,
And rears sublime a column white,
High as the eagle wings his flight,
'Till veil'd 'mid clouds of pitchy hue,
It shrinks diminish'd from the view;
Wide o'er the seas the splendours play,
In radiance like the blaze of day;
With reflex beams the waves are bright,
Bichierrian heights emerge in light,
While o'er the distant hills and dales,
Night's deepest gloom the landscape veils.
At length, disparting, from the waves
The giant ship concussive heaves;
Still wider spreads the glare of light,
With momentary splendour bright,

256

Far heard, the wild, tremendous sound
In dire explosion roars around—
The lifted surges wide expand,
And dash with refluent waves the strand;
The Nile receding seeks its head,
And pale Rosetta shakes with dread—
Huge burning beams are hurl'd on high,
And masts and yards obscure the sky—
Burnt, mangled, torn, and dy'd in blood,
The Gallic sailors strew the flood,
While the rent hulk, with groaning sound,
Sinks plunging, whirl'd in eddies round.
'Tis silence all:—the cannon's roar
In deaf'ning thunder rings no more;
No light is seen to mark the gloom.
Still as the stillness of the tomb.
Such the dire gloom, in days of yore,
That darken'd Egypt's fated shore,
When Plagues pursued the Prophet's word,
And terror pal'd her haughty lord.
Not long the pause; for lo! once more
Resounds the loud terrific roar,
Flash answering flash, alternate plays,
And lightens ocean with its rays.
But when the Morning's golden eye
Beheld the dusky shadows fly,
Wild Havoc frowning o'er the flood,
His giant form exulting show'd;

257

The Gallic navy foil'd and torn,
With pale discomfiture forlorn,
Wide scatter'd o'er Rosetta's bay,
In prostrate ruin helpless lay;
Two shatter'd fly; the rest remain
To wear the valiant victor's chain;
While o'er the wreck-obstructed tide
The British ships in triumph ride.
All-anxious, from Abucar's height,
The Gallic leaders view the fight,
And desp'rate see their fleet compell'd
To force inferior far to yield.
So when, by night, o'er Memphis trod
Th' avenging minister of God,
At morn pale Egypt view'd with dread,
Her first-born number'd with the dead.
Ambitious Chief! in dust laid low,
Behold the honours of thy brow,
The laurels cull'd on Egypt's shore
Shall wither ere the day be o'er;
Thy armies thinn'd, reduc'd thy force,
Fell Ruin waits thy onward course,
While of thy country's aid bereft,
No safety but in flight is left,
And victory's self but seals thy doom,
And brings thee nearer to the tomb.

258

I see destruction wing her way,
I see the eagles mark their prey,
Where pent in Cairo's putrid wall,
In heaps thy dying soldiers fall;
Or, mid the desart's burning waste,
Smote by the Samiel's fiery blast;
Or press'd by fierce Arabian bands,
With thirst they perish on the sands.
While Bonaparte's dreaded name
Shall shine a beacon's warning flame,
To point to times of future date
Unprincipled ambition's fate.

259

What fruits shall on this victory grow,
All climes shall see, all ages know;
Earth's eastern realms that long have view'd
Descending suns go down in blood,
Now with the western world shall frame
Loud Pæans, Nelson, to thy name.
Shield, still Britannia, shield from harm
The Nations with thy naval arm;
And blighted Europe soon shall see
Her freedom guaranteed by thee.
 

Peter Grubb. The supposed secretary of the Stelligeri, at their midnight caucuses.

The American Mercury.

The signature of a writer in the American Mercury.

By the Constitution of the United States, no foreigner can be elected a Representative in Congress, until he has been seven years a citizen of the United States.

Apollo the God of Physic.

Doctor Elihu H. Smith of New-York.

Doctor—Cooper of Philadelphia.

Doctor I. B. Scandella of Venice, who died in New-York during the prevalence of the Yellow-fever in the Autumn of 1798. The fate of these gentlemen, all of whom possessed distinguished talents, and bade fair to become ornaments to their profession, was attended with some peculiarly interesting circumstances.— During the Yellow-fever in Philadelphia, Doctor Cooper was seized with that malady; a friend of his kindly attended him during his illness. Unfortunately, before he had recovered, that friend was taken sick; strongly impressed with a sense of the obligations he was under, he could not be dissuaded from attending him. A relapse was the consequence, and his life became the sacrifice of the high sense of gratitude which he entertained.

From a congeniality of taste and a similarity in their literary pursuits, Doctor Smith had recently formed an intimacy with Doctor Scandella, who had been but a short time in this country. The latter while at New-York waiting for the sailing of the packet in which he had taken his passage for Europe, learned that a lady in Philadelphia, a foreigner, to whose daughter he was tenderly attached, was sick with the fever. He instantly hastened thither to aid and alleviate the distress of the family; but his exertions were in vain, both the mother and the daughter died. Scandella, in a state of mind much easier to be conceived than described, returned to New-York. There, a stranger, coming from a place highly infectious, and apparently indisposed himself, he found no one who would consent to receive him. In this situation he wrote stating his embarrassment, to Doctor Smith, who, with a warmth of feeling which did honour to his heart, immediately invited him to his house. Scarcely was he established there, when he was taken with the fever. Doctor Smith was indefatigable in his attention to aid and solace his unfortunate friend, but his anxiety for his fate, and fatigue in attending to the duties of his profession, at a time when most of the physicians had quitted the city, combining with a pestilential atmosphere, soon rendered the attention he had paid to his friend, necessary to himself; he was taken sick, and his disorder from its commencement exhibited the most malignant symptoms. A friend with whom he lived, and on whom, after his sickness, the care of Doctor Scandella devolved, did every thing that friendship and active benevolence could suggest for their relief, but to no effect. Scandella died, and Smith soon after followed him to the grave.—See Supplementary Notes.

The awaggering “Army of England.”

At the time when these lines were written, it was the generally received opinion that this venerable patriot had fallen in an engagement between the Bernese and the French. The account of his death was afterwards contradicted, and it appeared that though badly wounded in the battle, he had escaped with life.—This respectable magistrate died in 1799, during the period that Zurich was occupied by the Austrian and Russian troops, and his remains were accompanied to the grave by the principal officers of the army, and interred with military honours.

An image of a beautiful woman, said to be kept by the Emperor of Morocco, for the purpose of punishing his refractory subjects. Such persons are ordered to embrace the image, at which moment, a dagger concealed in it, pierces them to the heart. History informs us, that one of a similar construction, was applied by the tyrant Nabis to the same purpose.

It will not, we imagine, be deemed requisite to apologize for the retention of the above lines; since the events of the French Revolution, and particularly the fortunes of this most extraordinary man, have been such as to set conjecture at defiance, and baffle all human foresight. That the prediction has in part been fulfilled cannot, however, be denied; witness the repulse and slaughter at Acre, the toilsome and distressful march across the desart, which proved fatal to such numbers of the army, and lastly, the abandonment of that army by the flight of their commander, who, by this means alone, most probably, escaped death or capture. At any rate, if our prediction has not held true in its fullest sense, we have at least the satisfaction of having failed in respectable company. The author of the Pursuits of Literature has fallen into a similar mistake in the following line:

“And Pompey points to Buonaparte's tomb.”

These instances among many others, may be adduced to prove, that like their predecessors of ancient days, the bards of modern time possess the spirit of vaticination, with only this slight difference, that, whereas, the former foretold what was to happen, the prophecies of the latter are seldom or never accomplished.


261

Complimentary Address to the Hon. John Nicholas.

[_]

The following verses were written in consequence of Mr. Nicholas's having read a passage from the Green-House in proof of his assertions, that the state of Connecticut were desirous of a war with France.

Hail worthy wight, Virginia's wond'rous son!
For candour fam'd, for calm discussion known—
Fain would the muse thy worth to sing essay,
Fain in thy praise would tune the various lay;
Would tell to distant lands thy deeds sublime,
And register thy name to latest time:
But, as the copious subject meets her eyes,
She sees new Andes upon Andes rise—
Yet, though despairing in her humble lays
To reach the towering summit of thy praise,
Still, by the call of gratitude impell'd,
She tempts with timid step the dangerous field.
Hard is the task thy virtues to rehearse,
And harder still to crowd them into verse;
But, lest confounded by the numerous throng,
Let white rob'd Candour lead th' approving song—
In candour's paths thy feet by instinct run,
Alas! for candour, who can equal John?

262

Not Randolph when the “thousand dollars” shone;
Not Johnny Langdon when his speech was done;
Not Thompson Mason, when, with visage pale,
He rescu'd Callender from Leesburg jail;
Not *** the spouter as, with graceful grin,
He rais'd his hand extatic to his chin,
To tell his transports, when, through second sight,
His father burnt his barn for candle light
To read the treaty, which by Franklin's aid,
A twelvemonth after, with the French was made;
Not Gallatin, when march'd the patriot band,
And crush'd Rebellion's host in whiskey land;
In Freedom's toils, from party spirit free,
E'er dealt in candour, citizen, like thee.
But chief thy modesty demands our lays—
Thy modesty, beyond compeer, or praise—

263

Which spreads its maiden blushes o'er thy face,
And decks each gesture with a nameless grace,
As, with a downcast eye and reddening cheek,
We see thee rise, with diffidence, to speak.
Oft, when the interests of our wavering state
Have swell'd tumultuous into warm debate;
When every forward youth has rais'd his voice,
And fill'd our Congress Hall with senseless noise;
When doubtless one sweet-ton'd persuasive speech
Had put the question out of danger's reach,
Our anxious eyes have seen, with wondering stare,
The shame-fac'd spirit nail thee to thy chair.
Yet, true it is, too oft this lamb-like guest,
This charming inmate of the feeling breast,
Impels the brave, the noble, and the wise,
To shun the eager glance of wondering eyes.
Too oft, by her induc'd, is genius led
Midst solitude's deep shades to hide his head:
And this, with real pain, great John! we see
Unfortunately verified in thee:
For 'tis with deep regret, with grief we find
That thou a re-election hast declin'd.
In this, how much alike thy colleague, Giles,
The late companion of thy patriot toils,
In whom sweet Diffidence beheld, with pride,
Herself in human form personified—
He too, so bashful, like thyself, withdrew
(In this most modest) from the public view.

264

Ah! why does blushing Modesty desire
From scenes of public notice to retire?
Why will she e'er compel the good and great
Thus to relinquish privilege and state?
Ah! yet, if not too late, thy plan forego;
Ah! do not leave thy friends to bitterest woe—
Think, too, what evils must the step pursue,
O! what will E---e without thee do!
How will that tender plant, 'mid tempests stand
All unsupported by thy fostering hand!—
Ah! quit him not on danger's giddy brink,
Oppress'd with diffidence he sure must sink;
No Giles, alas! his untaught steps to stay,
No Nicholas to guide him on his way—
That hopeful plant, beneath too hot a sun,
Will hang its head and wither e'er 'tis noon.
Oh! if thy skill in reading can compare
With that enlightened taste, that judgment rare,
Which taught thy fine discriminative eye
To choose so well, so happily apply,
When strange astonishment each face o'erspread,
As with selection nice the verse you read—
What joy, what transport must have glow'd around
In all who heard the soul-attractive sound!
Methinks midst Congress-Hall I see thee stand,
The Green-House blooming in thy genial hand,
Thy form displaying dignity and grace,
The smile of pleasure lighting up thy face,

265

Round whose red sides no waving tresses flow,
Since Time, with razor keen, has shorn thy brow—
Propitious Time! resolv'd a face like thine,
Without obstruction in full glow should shine,
Nor have by locks obscur'd, or ringlets crost,
The sweet expression of one feature lost:
While thy Stentorian voice, with silver sound,
In tuneful echoes makes the Hall rebound;
With pleas'd surprise, to hear such accents sweet,
The Muses listen from their sacred seat,
Pan drops his lute, Apollo quits his lyre,
All stop to hear, to wonder, and admire;
While she, whose voice of music thrills the soul,
As still at morn she cries the smoaking roll,
In vain to reach thy tones mellifluous tries,
And o'er her basket droops with downcast eyes;
And e'en the Sweep, of far superior skill,
Feels jealousy his sable bosom thrill,
Sick of his trade, he quits the sooty throng,
Resigns his blanket, and gives up his song.
Thou patron kind, through whose auspicious care,
The Green-House shines renew'd, in charms more fair—
O! still extend thy kind protecting hand,
Still let its blooms beneath thy smile expand,
Again in Congress read it, read once more,
And only quote as aptly as before.

266

So shall th' admiring Muse consign thy name
As first of Quoters to eternal fame.
Vain, vain would be th' attempt, in prose or verse,
At large thy various merits to rehearse;
How strong thy patriot feelings and how great
Of Gallic principles thy virtuous hate,
Of French exactions how thou loath'st to hear,
And scarce to TRIBUTE lend'st a patient ear.—
All these, and more, perchance, some future time,
The Muse shall consecrate in deathless rhyme;
'Till then accept this humble mite of praise,
Which grateful feeling to thy merit pays.
 

This able statesman is said to have spoken once in the Senate for five minutes.

A year or two since this patriotic Orator broke out into a violent rhapsody upon the pleasure which glistened in all eyes, on the reading of the Treaty made between the United States and France, in the late war; which Treaty, he observed, was read by the light of the flames which consumed his father's dwelling. It is, no doubt, true that the old gentleman's house was burned; but unless we are misinformed, it was a year or eighteen months previously to the signing of the Treaty. It is probable that Mr. L--- had adopted the sentiments of his friend Swanwick, in the famous debate upon wigs, that, an Orator ought not to be confined too closely to truth.