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V
1} tie L OUNOE R.
str,
THE “ fearrility** hcHowed on you
byfvncof the Merchant's Clerks, rcfult
ed folcly from your unwarrantable and un
provoked publication, which contained a
dash of Hander at them, and very deferv
cdly drew upon you the correspondence
of which you complain. They were cer
tainly warn defenders of their cause,
when being so violently and indWVr'mi
nately abused—to havefuffered the indig
nity in filencc, might have been a prelude
to fomc future attack: when that ennduft
.which has always aftuated them, I trust
would deserve applause rather than cen
furc, in the opinion of every reputable
charafter, who would never step into the
public prints to make their exigence no
better than a curse.
You deny to have implicated all the
Clerks in the charge you exhibited. Why
did you not fpr “the benefit of society
and dignity of the human character” come
I'or'Vard, in the consciousness of your illi-
Jbcraliiy, before von were terrified into
jthc measure, and nppeafe the wradi of
those who never voluntarily ahufed you.
You fnould be as careful in future of your
words as yourartions ; it is a certain sign
•of an ill heart to lie inclined to defamati
on—They who are tnoffenfive can have
no gratification that way ; bur it too of
<en arises from a neglefl of what is lauda
ble in a man’s fell, and an impatience of
feeing it in another, conftqucntly you '
have thrown out a breath of Hander to
blight like an eaftcily wind, and wither
/every reputation that it breathes upon.—
•To, atone for jhcjofi'cnce, you difplaved a
COnAdorable degree -of Ihrewd and farca
flic wit, no doubt from a consciousness of
j our fupcrioiity over ihofe who noticed
you in a former,paper.—That nature has
jjeenjefs bountiful to them in the endow
ments of the head, I cannot pretend to
fay, but in those of the heart, 1 truftand
ho[K, (he will be found to have done them
jullice, when the secrets of all hearts (hall
.be disclosed.
A MERCHANT’S CLERK.
Mr, Smith, please publish the enclofcd, |
and obbge,
A Clerk or Storekeeper.
To the LOUNGER,
, TO make use of your own (imile, the
Volcano has not quite got to its “ highest
t degrye of rageand eruption,” you have as
/s’ct only been (lightly scotched with its
>ihcs, but if ever your real name (hall
dome to be known, you may then expedt
to he overwhelmed with the lava. The
leurrilify, abusive epithets and harharifms
of which you so loudly complain, are all
your own, and were purposely cull’d from
your original, illiberal, and unmerited at
tack on the character of myfelf and others,
and had they not been so, your conduct
richly deserved them. Your insinuation,
that, hee mfe 1 defended my&lf and o
thers from your unj ill afpcrfions, with
fomc warmth, I am therefore guilty, will
not avail you, for by the fame parody of
roaConing, the bad temper displayed in
your iait production, proves, that my
piece (the (I vie of which you so much re
probate) serves to “ pourtray” your, cha
racter in its true and genuine colours.—
integrity of persons incur firuation,
is every thing we have to depend upon,
for making our way through life, if that
is taken from us we are forever ruined,
and I am sure a more base or cowardly
attempt thereat, was never before made.
.Traitor and coward arealmoft synonymous
terms, and you could not have made choice
of a more suitable companion
pronius, for as the old proverb very hap.
pily expreifes it, “ like will draw to
like.”
Your meaning has neither been tortur
ed nor perverted; your calumny was
clearly levelled at all, and every person
who has seen your “ primordial” produc
tion, is allonijhed at the dired and point
ed terms in w hich it was cxpreil'ed; but
. •itfpeiks tor itfelf, and nothing but your
anonymous garb fereens you from the jurt
execrations of ali good men. Your charity
and hopes “ for the benefit of society,” are
much of a piece with your other virtues ,
and 1 am convinced the clerks, &c. of Au- .
gufta, (land not in need of either toeftablilh
their reputation.
You fay you will not diferiminate, be
cause it would bring ruin upon the guilty,
“by fixing a lligma on them.” In the
name of jultice who would you wi(h to
ftigrnatize ? You can scarce expert with
all your malice to fix it upon the inno
cent, and the guilty, (if there are any
such) deserve to bear it.
It is a matter of perfeft indifference to
me, whether you write any more on this
fubjeft, or whether you know me or not,
but if vice had no greater enemy, nor vir-
tne a better fnppcrt than the Lmitgtr y the
fit ft would soon reign triumphant, while
the pthcr would lie banilhcd society.
That your motives were bad, there can
he but little doubt, if they were good,
why not have exprefled yourfelf in such a
manner as would have given offence to
none bur the guilty ? 1 fnali for the pre.
sent conclude with faying, that my cha
rarter and integrity are such, that even
the bare comparison with yours, I (hould
confider nothing kfs than a downright
j insult.
Lincoln county , Egypt y
June I, 1802.
Mr. Smith, you will oblige me by pub
lifning the following itatement:
I HAVE just received your last Satur
day's paper, in which a piece appears sign
ed by William H. Crawford, Esq. and
seems to be his statement of an affair of
honor between Mr. Tait and Mr. Van
Alcn. It is true a challenge palled from
Mr. Tait to Mr. Van Alen, and that Mr.
Crawford was the bearer, or stated to
be so in the challenge. Mr. Van Aleu
called on me and rtquefted me to afioci
ate with fotne other gentlemen, and tak
ing the circumstances of the case into
view, to decide upon his accountability
to Mr. Tait, which was done. Some of
the gentlemen declined giving an opinion,
and so should I, and of carrying the let
ter alluded to by Mr. Crawford, if I had
1 heard what Mr. Crawford alledges to
have been spoken by capt. Van Alen,
and which might have been spoken, as I
did not hear the whole of Mr. Van Alen’s
pleading, viz. That if Mr. Tait should
feel himfelf injured with Cook or his
count'd, he 'fhould be accommodated, or
words to that effort. Now so far as this
piece relates to myfelf I think it needs
explanation, and as 1 vvilh to be bound
by the letter and not the fpiritof an in
ftrumenr, 1 will make my statement as
plain as pofliblc, which properly com
mences with the letter alluded to by Mr.
Crawford. This was an open letter, di
rected to Mr. Tait, which I delivered to
him, and which he read on the morning
after the challenge, and before the call of
Mr. Crawford on Mr, Van Alen fur a
definite answer. Mr, Tait, after reading
the letter, informed me that finding it
to be a letter from capr. Van Alen, he
had nothing to do with it—that Mr.
Crawford was the person to whom Mr.
Van Alen mull address himfelf, and re
turned the letter to me. All this 1 com
municated to Mr. Van Alen and he said
"Tieliad nothing to do with Mr. Crawford,
that he should do no more in the affair, as
Mr. Tait had read his answer. Some
time after this Mr. Van Alen and my
felf were in one of the jury rooms upon
bufmefs—Mr. Crawford came in and ask
ed Mr. Van Alen what he meant to do
in this bufmefs f Mr. Van Alen replied
that he had no further answer to make
than he had already made, which I
was in poffellion of and might shew him.
1 accordingly did so, considering this
speech of capt. Van Alen to be my only
authority for so doing. In the afternoon
of the fame day I was walking from the
court-house to col. Willis’s, and met
Mr7 Crawford in the street ; he asked me
if I confidored myfelf the friend of capr.
Van Alen ? And trom the great stress of
emphalis laid upon the word friend, and
the manner in which it was exprefled,
seemed to ej||H|fe whether I approved of
Mr. Van in the investi
gation of in court. Under this
belief i replied that I did not feel respon
sible for any of capt. Van Alen’s con
durt. If Mr. Crawford called on me
or demanded of me, &c. I did not un
derstand him ; nor do I now understand
what ideas he wilhes to convey by these
Cxprcflions. But from the language a
dopted by Mr. Crawford on this occasion,
it would seem that he wilhed me to be in
a situation that would attach accountabi
lity from me to him. If so, I can allure
the gentleman, that the answer 1 made
him was not produced from any delire to
avoid his resentment, and that if he wish
es to attach rtfponfibility to my situation,
or to make a petfonal dilfcrence of the af
fair between him and myfelf, he is at li
berty to confider me the friend or second
of Mr, Van Alen. In justice to myfelf
I have thought proper to publilb the fore
going statement, and leave the communi
ty to judge of the motives which induc
ed me to answer, contrary, it seems, to
the wilhes of Mr, Crawford,
JOHN M. DOOLY.
Mr. Smith,
1 OBbERVE in your paper of the
29th ult. a piece signed Wm. H. Craw,
ford, stating himfelf a second for a Mr.
Charles Tait, in a difputc between Mr.
Tail and my (elf relative to some obfcr
vafions made use of by me in a court of
justice.
I (hould not have troubled the public
with any observations of mine on the fub
jed, had the gentleman been candid e
nough to have given a full and corred
ftatementof the tranfadion (as is customary
on those occasions) and publilhed it where
his friend’s disgrace had been witnessed.
Hut when I conceive miftatements made
wilfully and maliciously, avich adcfign to
injure mv r reputation, 1 deem it a duty I
owe myfelf, to make a (hort ftatemcnt of
fads, under an apprehension that the gen
tleman’s publication might fall into the
hands of those who are unacquainted with
the charaders, and perhaps merit some
attention.
In aqueftionof some importance, dis
cussed in the superior court of this coun
ty, I aded as an attorney for George
Cook, Esq. In the course of this inve
stigation, some umbrage was taken by
Mr. Tait from what fell from me during
the debate, for which he sent me a chal
lenge by Mr. Crawford. Inconfcqucnce
of which I applied to John M. Dooly,
Esq. to be my second, to which he rea
dily assented. I mentioned to him that,
notwithstanding the difgraceful fuuation
in which Mr. Tait was placed, yet if
he Mr. Dooly, as my friend and second, ~
was of opinion that I ought to meet him,
that I would not hcfitate to dofo, and at
the fame rime observed to him, in mak
ing up that opinion he inuft leave conse
quences out of ‘view; and upon mature
deliberation, next morning, gave it as his
decided opinion, that from Mr. Tail’s
Handing 1 ought not to meet him as a
gentleman. In consequence of which I
lent Mr. Tait the following answer, which
was handed by Mr. Dooly to Mr. Craw
ford, as my second.
“ 12 rh May , 1802.
“Sir.—l received your note yesterday
by Mr. Crawford—l am ferry to add
that the investigation of Mr.
case (and some other circumstances) should
have placed you below any gentleman’s
notice, and that the infamy on that oc
casion (hould have so completely attached
itfeif to your charafter, and it having
been so placed by your own malignant and
dark heart j I think it a duty I ow e the
community and my own feelings, to tell
you that I cofifideryou not in any wife on
a footing with a gentleman. But I will
assure you whenever you (hall have wiped
off that infamy, 1 (hall give you a diffe
rent answer. I know the value of cha
racter and honor; but in the meantime, I
should deem it at present improper, in _
addition to the above reasons, to not ice ~
you, because the person whom you have
so bafcly injured intends to chastise you
for your perfidy towards him, of which
circurnftance I am apprised, and perhaps
attending to your call might deprive him
of that juflice which he so justly claims.
I would further observe, that if this
(hould not be a fatisfadory answer, you
may make an occasion to do yourfelf ju«
ftice,
PETER L. VAN ALEN.
It has been observed by the gentleman
in his publication, that my improper ex
preifions produced the challenge. If he
means that expressions supported by truth,
proofs, letters and certificates, aided by
the decision of two judges of the superi
or court, proving inconteftibiy his friend’s
infamy and disgrace, are to be considered
improper, I plead guilty to the charge.
But the gentleman ought to have recollect
ed that these expressions were made under
the fanftion of the court, and supported
by ample testimony ; notwithstanding the
several attempts made by his friend to sup
press them.
I am not a little furpnfed that the gen
tleman (hould have endeavoured to (hew
some inconfiltcncy in my application for
pitlols and powder ; if he had any correct
idea of propriety, he muff have known
that exilting circumstances warranted* (fie ’
application. He has also in another in
stance, taken great pains to endeavour to
impose on the public a belief that Mr.
Dooly was not my second ; but he appears
to be at war with his own statement; he
tells you in one place that I told him
“ Mr. Dooly was in possession of my an-
Twer, and would communicate it to him,
and that I left the room, that he receiv
ed the answer in which I utterly refufed
to make reparation for the injury done,"
The fad is, that he received the answer
as above ttated, read it in presence of Mr.
Dooly, and pocketed it and passed through
the room I was in after he left Mr.
Dooly, Why did he not refufe to *reT“
ceive it, and inform me he had no answer,
and that I had no second ? But the fatt
was, he‘received my answer from Mr.
Dooly as my second, and recognized him
as fu-h, or how could he stale to the -c c
lie that I had refilled to do his friend '
(lice ? But the only rational conclufior/ 1 *
that he mud have considered the w'. 19 ’
fach a one as his friend melted, or
done great injultice to him as a f tron( j.
Find, for receiving it; and fecondiy f c j
tamely fubrnitting to the contents, y *
llrange to tell, that notwithilandbg ,ij*
preceeding circamftances the gcnu t •
•(hould patrol theftreetsof Walh ; ngf
quest of my second, and I in town i- no a
rant of the circumftanccs. It j 3 a p 6 00r *
mean and pitiful fubterfuge. But we be*
hold him running to Augulla to publilh
what mud expose himfelf, and diferace
"T p'ffible) his friend—but he flattered
himfelf by those means to make it known
to the world that he had been a second to
an apojlate preacher and politician , and a
man who had been disgraced in a court of
juilice. _ If such be the gentleman's p r ;j e
I am willing to leave him in the full e n *
joy men t of it. So compleat was his
friend’s disgrace on the proceeding day
that he never afterwards made his appear!
ance in court during the term, though f re *
quently called—nor could I obtain a fight
of him in the streets, or hear of his beine
there. I was informed that he had tak
en a room in col. Willis’s loft during hi!
Hay in town. As to the obfervatiens of
flic gentleman’s refpeding my faying that
Mr. Cook or his counsel would acconimo.
date Mr. Tait in any mode, is unsound,
ed. Mr Cook had five counsel; ] o b.
served to the court, that if ccnfec]ucnc-|
could deter me from doing my duty u>
my client, I should be unworthy to!>ta
member of that court, orTwords to (hat
effett; for the correctness ofifos llatement
I appeal to the twoprefiding judges, judge
Walton and judge Carnes.
What the objeft of the gentleman’s
publication was, cannot ivith teminry
be afeertained, but lead it might have a
poiTible tendency to injuie mv reputation,
in the fmalieft point of i iew,lheteby pledge
"“TRyfelf to the gentleman and (o ihe com.
munity (however different our fixations
in life may be) that if he feels himfelf in
any refped hurt or injured (as he appears
to be) by any of my conduct towards his
friend Mr. Taif, or for any exprdions
made use of by mein this publication, a.
gainft himfelf, or any other ad or thing,
laid or done by me, I am ready and wil
ling to give him any fatisfaciion he may
require ; hereby debarring rm wl the pri
vilege or power of making arr kind of
acknowledgement to him f r the fame.
PETER L. VAN ALEN.
Wtikes county , June 2.
-n ■■ ■—■■■. ■ ■■
Just Received , and for Sub,
10 Hhds. 4th proof JAMAICA
RUM,
10 Ditto Weft-India and. Northern,
6 quarter calks of old Sherry Wine,
10 Ditto Molaflcs,
Belt Brown Sugar by the hhd,
Greene Coffee by the bid.
Hyfon Tea, bell quality,
Superfine gilt edged Letter Paper,
Ditto common ditto,
India Nankeens, latefl importation,
A well aborted box Inlh Linen,
Webster’s and Woodb ridge’s Spelling
Books,
~' 600 bulhels Alum Salt,
Bsfl green fiik Umbrellas, with acJ
without canes.
Ginghams ditto,
Cambric and lappet Madina,
Dimities of the bell kind,
Gentlemens, ladies, buys and mifica Cob
ton Hole,
Ditto, ditto Hata,
Grey Linens, Calicoes and Chintzes.
All of which will be fold low for Cap
or Produce,
also on consignment,
II Crates well a (Toned Crockery, ana
2 boxes Glass Ware. .
Which will be fold low for Cotton, and
——o liberal price allowed for that article m
*
exchange.
SAMUEL M. SMYTH.
April 22.
$3- THE SubfcribT intend*
ing to be abfentVrom tbproaic. f° r 2 f*
months, has appbintpfl General Ja 2
Twiggs his his abfeocb |
Any perfm having wqfinefa with
wiil plcafe Co call on 1
GEORGE LOW.
Maysfj, _ ■
Wanted Immediately,
For Twelve Months,
AN industrious
take charge of my Saw j
in Bu ke. To such a p:rfon, I will g 1 ”
very liberal wages. ...
THWMAS GLASCOuK,
June 2 %
I