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Rakdot.ph fo*Bunce,
WM& A MONG the “ affirmative qua
■ | Pftcaticm" of a goo 1 writer, may be rank-
Kb fed, “ a total rejcftion" of Plagiarism ; par*
ll'l ticiiarly from the productions of “ those
1 5 who have had the good fortune to he born in a
16 country the mo/1 learned.'’ But if for the fake
I |of convenience, and byway of {Applying
IK deficiencies of an empty bead, he mult
1 I have recourse to this praftice, I would re
i ms commend it to him to steer clear of all
1 those works which have any claim to cele
I Hrity ; and only to rifle such books as are
I not frequently read—for however much
| we may be disposed to forgive a theft of
Hi I this nature, wc cannot pardon the indif-
V | cretion of the thief who incautiously expo
fes himfeif to detection.—lnconfiftency is
[ not often infeperable from illnature. —
K I The “ Layman” hates the Country in quel
f tion, and all who came from it—damns all
I Transatlantic prejudices ! —But it appears
I that he could not hammer out his ilinatur
fj I ed ideas, without the afliftance of a Trans
atlantic author!—How contemptible must
i he have appeared to himfeif when he was
[ forced by the “Barrenness” of his brain,
[ to resort to the miserable fliift!
When I read his firft piece in the Her
ald—l condemned the sentiments it con
t tained, but I did not condemn the manner in
Ng, which they were exprefled—there was
w jomething imputing in the fttle of thefe
| ettnd paragraph, which in some measure,
prevented an illiterate man like myfelf,
* from diftingnifliing with precision, the ex
aft line of defeent; I did however observe
that there was a “falling offf and won
jgf k dtred that a man who was capable of fel
ting out in so handsome a (tile, by acknow
\ Jedging the goodness of providence, in
granting to us so many wholefoine cor
reftives, and at fametime oblerving the
operation of those very correftives on the
i human mind—l wondered that he fliould
quit the track of just and found refleftion,
and almost instantaneously, run on in a
Brain of unjust, and unmerited ctnfure—
facrificing the principles of veracity to the
I Demon of malevolence ! But my wonder
j’nbfided when 1 found by accident that
the Layman had been guilty of tranferib
ing, aimoft verbatim, the following pas
sage from the Looker-On, (No. 69-*-
page 169,) a periodical paper publijhedin
\ Creat-Bt itain !
“ RrovidJhce, who knows the weakness
44 of our strength and ofcitancy of our
| j “zeal, has not left the children of error to
* 4 this only chance of correction, but has
|| “ thickly (own existence with wholesome
“ mementos and admonitions, and such fa
ll ** lutary shocks, as rccal os at every *n
-41 ft tot to felf recolleftion and silent re
“ inorfe—the efficacy of these correftives
f “ will be alwavs in proportion to the de
-44 gree of principle inculcated in the mind
41 bv early education.”
The Cayman, in the Herald of the 16th
infant, Buys that he will net be deterredfrom
t hoi ling to public vieoo those who claim the pe
culiar good fortune of being born in that country ,
which is objeft of his antipathy. It is dif*
I fiv'ulito comprehend whether he means to
expose their general merits, or individual
I vices ; —if the former, it may be ufeful and
Jalutnry—if the latter, it would be uncha
in litable towards them, and probably dan
(gcrmis to himfeif—however, I would re-
I commend it to him, that if he fliould here
jiltcr be fiezed with the 44 cacoethes feribendi”
’ —to bring forward such pieces as may be
■* inftruftivc and entertaining—such fubjefts
l i r.s will admit of oeiug embellilhcd with Wit
if in her mort amiable guile—whatever may
M be the theme, to let candor and benevo
lence guide his pen, and if he has a drop
to of the “ milk of kindness” in his compo
fiiion, hr need not pilfer from the works
of others—his own productions, if they do
|: not merit putyic applause, may probably
escape without being treated with con
|> tempt. C.
Umsdolph Co 5 Bunch,
Till*. 44 talk of examining the po- I
litical or religious creed of others” by per
ious not qualified to judge tliereof, is not
I new', nor unfortunately for human nature,
I is the imfreprefentation of their observa
tions novel—so that in these particulars
P the Layman is but purluing an old beaten
traft, at a time when he teems to exuit in
■M the idea that his undertaking is “ unprece
dmtvd.” in my reply to his firft publica
.l tion 1 alfirud what I now repeat, that in
'B the sermon to which he had taken excep
| tion, not a expreflion 1 elated to the
11 American government; this he does not
I [ attempt to controvert ; his inlinua-
I* tion then of “ parochial dignity’s riling in
Km tv’ainft the government” to fay
■I !c ib was improper and unjust.
I As to the observation “ of Zeno’s being
mm among those who cringingly fanftioti ab
■ furditics without the trouble of inveftiga
■*l? tion if they have received theauthoiity of
■I hereditary ufacc”—it is of no confequt ncc.
H I io far from being believed bv others, the
Hi Lav man irfthiv particular does not believe
hi> own declaration;. lam not however
B» 0 r C 01 w ‘’° coudemn a cull mi or
ol .my kind -newly because it i- an-
- 1 vrcaknefs o t folly ; y
adopt an opinion merely btraufe It is new.
But there are certain old faftiioned princi
ples,fitch for inftanceas Truth and Justice,
for which I trull I ftial! ever have a due
regard, though to the Layman their origin
1 may appear antient and their qualities con
: temptible.
r “ Some there are” and I wifli your new
correspondent may not find himfeif among
the number, who imagine they add much
I to their own confluence by deriding eve
ry thing having the fanftion of 44 hereditary
usage,” whr. affeft to believe all their fore
-1 fathers were fools, whole absurdities and
errors are to be corrected by their wifede
cendants; as well may we condemn bread
because it is an old faftiioned diet, or wa
ter because it is an old faftiioned drink, as
condemn a custom or usage of any kind,
against which the only exception is, itsan
tiqdity. But I confefs Ido not fee the
particular application of the reasoning in
the Layman’s last production. In his ex
ceptions to a recent funeral sermon, in my
opinion, and I believe in the opinion of
many others, he had misrepresented it—
I stated some of the particulars in which J
confideredhim erroneous, and that I view
ed the character given to a young man cut
off in the bloom of life to be such only as
he merited ; without attempting to juftify
or substantiate his firft insinuations he
talks of hereditary usage See.” Now what
has hereditary usage to do with this fune
ral sermon ? Does he mean that dying has
44 received the authority of hereditary us
age ? Or that funeral sermons, or the sen
timents contained in the one under consi
deration have received, the fame authority,
or that the given to Mr. Ramsay,
has received hereditary fanftion, and
therefore that his character was the fubjeft
of approbation long before he was born r
Or does he know what an hereditary ulage
is ? Be his meaning what it may I do not
perfectly comprehend how it can 44 flatter
ambition or promise dominion” to do jus
tice to a dead man.
But he is resolved to “ hold to public
view those, who arrogantly claim the pe
culiar good fortune of being born in a
country the mod learned” &c. When he
finds the persons who have made these
claims, he can make such arrangments
with them as prudence may diftate , I fliall
not interfere in the exhibition ; but it may
be proper for him to recoiled, that the
preacher to whom he must have alluded,
never pretended to this kind of “ good
fortune” and that he was not even born in
the country refpefting which his observa
tions were made. Consistency I admire,
publications begun in error ought to end
in ablurdity.
The Layman however would not notice
the 44 unprecedented departure from what
we expeft to hear from the clergyman were
it not for the custom of fanftioning what
everfalls from the pulpit.” Ido not know
who he means by the term, we, and there
fore cannot tell, what by them,isexpefted:
Perhaps they are those who dilapprove of
pulpit leftures altogether, especially of
fuch’as seem to have a peculiar applica
tion to themselves, while “ exposing the
errors, and reproving the vices of man
kind.” But my friend seems agitated from
another cause, he seems disturbed that a
preacher in this country Ihould presume,
that any but American born citizens de
served commendation for their moral qua
lities, or mental acquirements. Suppose
the fubjeft of the funeral sermon in ques
tion had been an American one, who
while living had no amiable qualities to
recommend him, and who was as destitute
of benevolence as the Layman—and sup
pose that the utmost energy of language
and the inoft vivid glow of immagiriation
had been exerted in dilcribing him as near
perfection as human nature can attain;
and that it had been aflerted that Ame
rican which gave birth to this valuable ci
tizen, was more learned than any other
country upon earth; would my friend
have excepted to the observations or bluHi
ed at their absurdity ? 1 fear not. It is
no secret, but a well known faft, that
Scotland lias produced men of eminence
in every branch of feience, and that learn
ing is there more encouraged than in Ame
rica. The Layman may deny this, he
may deny that Scotland ever produced
meu of confideralion in the literary world;
but will the faft be thereby altered 3 He
may aflert that more men of learning are
to be found in the United States, and au
thors of more solidity, purity and elegance
of style than ever existed in Scotland ; but
will he be so obliging as to point them out
to his fellow-citizens ? The truth is, Ame
rica does not vet rank high in the world
for ils literature; even manv of those
whole superior abilities might teem calcu
lated to adorn their country, take a voyage
the Atlantic to exercise their talents:
What occasions this 3 What but because
learning is there more patronifed and en
couraged, and genius more lure of meeting
1 its reward than in this country ? I fincere*
!y w ;fh it were other ways, but with all mv
partialities in favour of my native land, I
have not the weakness to aflert that it cau
, ' ith Scotland in literary productions,
and if I were to make such aft affertiou,
the elegant variety of Scotch authors which
compote part of rroft of the libraries in
America would ccnridt me of a foolifh
error? In fact it 4 is within the limits of poffi
biiity that the Layman himfeif might have
borrowed from Scotch authors both his
ideas and ianguage and only added thereto
enough of his own, to deftrov the ele
gance and propriety of the original. To
those however who delight in perverting
the meaning of sentences, it may not be
improper to notice, that to acknowledge
Scotland superior to our country in learn
ing is no more difrei’peftful to our go
l vernment, than to acknowledge the supe
riority of Great-Britain in naval force.
Though it might be thought needless to
reply to one who seems to imagine every
epithet of praise bestowed on another is
so much taken from himfeif, yet a desire
to check an evident attempt to make im
proper impressions on the public mind,
will I trufl excule my noticeing publica
tions which on any other principle ought
to have pafled unregarded. ZENO.
By Yesterday’s Northern Mail.
LATEST NEWS,
Received at Baltimore, by the Castor
and Pollux, from Hamburg.
LOWER ELBE, August 16.
The telegraphs from London to portf
mouth, Plymouth, &c. had been at work
two whole days, to coiled! moll of the re
maining {hips of war into a Channel fleet,
for the reception of the combined French
and Spanish fleets, should they venture to
fleer towards Ireland.
The Vienna Court Gazette of the 3d of
August, containing two supplements ex
traordinary of the 31st July and 2d August
—the firft with details of the capitulation
of Aleflandria, and the second with par
ticulars of the siege of Mantua, down to
the 26th ; but late in the afternoon anoth
erfupplement extraordinary was published,
announcing the surrender of the town
and citadel of Mantua, according to our
expectation in our last number," and of
which we had however already received a
full confirmation from the empire, on Sa
turday and Sunday afternoon.
The Paris papers of the 6th of August
contain nothing very material, nor any
official accounts from the armies of Italy
or Switzerland; but, refpedling the latter,
we know officially, from the Vienna Ga
zette Extraordinary, that some straggling
parties from Moreau’s army infeft the val-
ISy of Bormido, for plunder, which made
field maiflial Suvvarrow give orders to
general Klenau to pursue the French in
their rear towards Genoa, and thus effeeft
a closer jun&ion with the main army.
Eighteen thoufandmen had been detached
from before Mantua, to join the grand ar
my of the Ruffian chief. General Joubert
will find his hands full on affiiming the
command of the united forces of Macdon
ald and Moreau, with the reinforcements
from Nice, as the whole will not amount
to more than 32,000 men. Moreau goes
to the army of Switzerland, and Maflena
is said to be recalled to Paris.
We also learn officially, that the whole
Adriatic coast, except Fans and Ancona,
is evacuated by the French, and that they
retreat towards Foiigno and Spoletto, in
the high road to Rome, which private ac
counts state to be surrounded by the Nea
politan, Roman and Tuscany insurgents.
From Switzerland we hear of no farther
operations.
Several rumors prevailed refpeftingDen
mark joining the coalition, by the inter
ference of his Ruffian majesty; but those
rumors cannot yet be traced to an authen
tic source: thus we cannot without im
propriety, mention any farther particulars
at prefect.
The Petersburg Court Gazette, of the
26th July, contains a long lift of promo
tions in the army, and the official report of
field marshal Suvvarrow of the affairs in
Italy until the :9th June; which con
cludes, “ His Imperial highness the Grand
Duke Constantine Pawlowitch, from a zeal
for the general caule, led the Ruffian front
troops, on the 17th to the reinforcement
of the left wing, and, by his unremitting
perseverance, conduced greatly to our vic
tory.”
The declaration of war by his Ruffian
majesty, against Spain, on account of her
alliance with France, is an event which
must render that kingdom very luke-iuarm
in the republican caule, if it does not ulti
mately detach it.
VIENNA, August 3.
Triumph! triumph! Mantua the key
of Italy, has fallen? and its conqueftis se
cured to the victorious arms of our mo
narch. This day’s court gazette contains
the following three supplements extraordi
nary, upon our rapid fucceffies in Italy :
First J'ufpUment extraordinary to Vienna court
gazette, July 13.
“ General Midas has sent hither by cap
tain Ertel, of the engineers, the capitula
tion of the citadel of Alellacdria, besides
fix stand of colors, which the t j
bid down. fc lon had
Third Supplement Extraordinary,
August 3.
SURRENDER of MANTUA
“ The g enera! of artillery, Barm, Krav
has lent 11s by major Fuhram, of the en!
gineers, the momentous and pleafoo-'
teiirgence of the surrender of the cir v* * i
fortrefs of Mantua. y “ nd
“ The following events preceeded so
surrender of this place. Already j„ t j‘ w
night of the 25th the redoubts on thedyf!
between Cereia and Tee were carried 1 -
aflault. On the 26th the enemy had eva
coated fort St. Georgio, leaving behind
several pieces of cannon and aniunib 0 n
and our troops occupied it immediately’
The prisoners brought in declared, that
the enemy were so feeble, as to have force
men left to relieve the ports. On the - t i
in the night our third parallel almost ready
and advanced to the glacis, the enemy
afraid of a storm upon the hornwork of
Fradella, left the latter about midnight and
retired into the city. Our ports of r rife.j e .
men, who had flily pufbed forward, ob
serving this, patroled after the enemy, and
the works abandoned were immediately
occupied by captain, count Bey, of the
rangers of d’Afpre, with his company, no
tice given of it in the trenches and the
works in the latter were advanced to the
crowning of the glacis and redoubts against
the city. In this hornwork the enemy
left behind 17 pieces of cannon and two
mortars most of them dismounted and
spiked, with the ammunition belonging
to them. 5
“ This induced general Kray, partly to
gain time to continue the works, partly to
make the enemy’s fire cease, to fend early
in the morning of the 26th, lieutenant co
loncl of engineers, count Orlandini, with a
written summons into the fortrefs, to the
commandant, together with an account of
the cirumftances of the enemy’s army, the
surrender of citadel of Aleflandria, as also
the occupation of the citadel of Florence,
Leghorn and Lucca by our troops.
“ The fire hereupon ceased on both
sides, and while general Kray was waiting
for the commandants answer, he gave or
ders to carry on without interruption the
works in .that hornwork for mortar bat
teries, and for battering redoubts in the
third parallel, so that should the enemy not
agree to the capitulation offered them, a
breach could shortly be made and the for
trefs taken by storm.
“ In the night between the 27th and
28th the laid lieutenant colonel count Or
landini returned to gen. Kray, accompani
ed by the French general of brigade of
Moner, and brought him, amongst other
terms of capitulation, that of the free de
parture of the garrison. Gen. Kray an
fwcred that he neither could nor would
grant any terms, without thegarrifons sur
rendering at discretion as prisoners of war.
At last in the evening of the 28th the hos
tile commandant notified in writing, that
he would allow their being made prisoners
of war, on condition of the garrison’s be
ing permitted to return to France, on their
parole not to serve till exchanged for Im
perial Royal prisoners, that, this being
granted he would remain behind three
months prisoner of war, with his generals,
his ftaff and other officers, but in no dis
tant part of the German hereditary do
minions of his majesty the emperor, and
that at the expiration of the said time only
desired to be escorted back to France on
his parole.
“ To avoid all further effufions of blood
and to prevent the deftru&ion of the city
of Mantua, in fine to save time for our fu
ture operations, general Kray found him
felf induced to accept of those proposals.
“ In consequence thereof the capitula
tion was fettled on the 30th ; on the fame
day the garrison about 10,000 men ftron*
marched out by the citadel, laid down
their arms on the glacis, and was imme
diately escorted in three columns to the
French frontiers, agreeably to the above
mentioned conditions. Both the capitu
lation as well as the particulars relative to
this important conquest will forthwith be
publiftied.”
The speedy surrender of Mantua secures
us the conquest of all Italy. The opera
tions of war will now take a different turn,
as Suwarrow and Melas will have free
play. Had the commandant of Mantua
not surrendered that key of Italy, every
preparation had been made to carry it by
storm, in which a considerable number of
Ruflians was to be employed. By this
important exploit, general Kray has added
frefli laurels to his mililarv fame, already
so brilliant by his having defeated Sherer,
and thus laid the foundation of our suc
cesses in Italy. Mantua having fallen, the
speedy surrender of every other fortrefs to
the allies, may now be expected. The
garrison is not to serve against the empe
ror and his allies for a twelvemonth. The
(caleing ladders which would have been
used to storm that fortrefs, had it not sur
rendered, are of a new conftru&ion, so
that two men might have climbed one
ladder.