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THE REFLECTOR.
VOL. I.
MILLKDGEVTLLE, G. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1817.
NO. 4.
CHARACTERS.
lUw.'l 8KKTI II Lti OK AMERICAN UilAlOllS.
MU. WIRT.
T have seen no one who has such natural ad
vantages and so many qualities requisite tor gen
uine eloquence, ns Mr. Wirt. His person is dig
nified and commanding; his countenance open,
manly and playtul; his voice clear and musical ;
and liis whole appearance truly oratorical. Judg
ment and imagination hold a divided dominion
over his mind, and each is so conspicuous that it
is difficult to decide which is ascendant. His
diction unites force, purity, variety and spleu
dor more perfectly than that of any speaker! have
heard. He had great original powers of action,
butthev have been totally unassisted,hy the con
templation cf a good model. His wit is prompt
pure and brilliant, but these less scintillations of
fancy are Inst in the blaze of his reasoning and
declamation.
His premises are always broad and distinctly
laid down, his deductions are faultless, and h'
conclusions of course irresistible from the predi
cate. In this he resembles what he has observed
of Mr. Marshall, admit his first proposition and
the conclusion is inevitable. The march of hi.'
mind is direct to its object, the evolutions by
which lie attains it are so new and apparently
necessary to the occasion, that your admiration
is kept alive, your fancy delighted, and your
judgement convinced, through every stage of the
process. He leaves no objection to his reason
ing unanswered, but satisfies every doubt as he
progresses. His power over his object is so great,
and so judiciously directed, that he sweeps the
whole field of discussion, rearly leaves anything
for his assistants to glean, and sometimes antici
pating the position of his enemy’s battery, renders
it useless, by destroying beforehand the materials
of which its fortifications were to be erected.—
He has been sometimes known to answer by m-
ticipation all the arguments of the opposing ciiin-
scl so perfectly as to leave him nothing to -ay,
which had not been better said already. Tlesc
great combinations are so closely connected, the
succession of their parts so natural, easy and ra
pid, that the whole operation, offensive and de
fensive, appears but one effort. There is no weak
point in his array, no chink in the whole line ol
his extended works. Then the sweet melody of
bis voice, the beautiful decorations of his fancy,
the easy play of a reason, by which all this is ac-
companied, amaze and delight. Ilis pathos is
natural and impressive; there is a pastoral sim
plicity and tenderness in his pictures of distress
when he describes female innocence, helplessness
and beauty, which the husband on whom sliesmil
cd should have guarded even from the winds of
Ke-aceft which wn.ilif v'.i.it It too r"tml
i:.g at midnight on the wintry banks of the Ohio,
mingling her tears with the torrents which froze
ns they fellit is not a theatrical trick to move
a fleeting pity, but a deep and impressive appeal
to the dignified charities of our nature.
Had one with so rich a genius, with such a soul
for eloquence, as Mr. Wirt certainly possesses,
seen Mr. Henry in some of his greatest exhibi
tions, f should not now have had to deplore the
want of a finished orator at any American bar.--
But that bright meteor, shot from its mid heaven
sphere too early for Mr. Wirt, and the glory of
his art descended with him. No Phoenix, lias ri
sen from his ashes. But l am inclined to. think
there is more than one orator now living in the
Unit’d States, who, on such oocasbns as Henry
thundered, lightened and electrified the people,
could wield the Olympic bolt with no feeble hanll.
To obtain the fame of an oratOr there must he
subjects demanding the highest decorations of e-
loquence. The accusation of Demosthenes a-
g&iusthis guardian, or Cicero’s defence of Qniuc-
tigsand Arcliias, would never have made their
names immortal. It was the tire with which they
consumed Philip, and Cataliue, and Verrus, and
Anthony, which has covered them with unfading
glory. It is an odd perversity of our nature, to
admire what is past and to undervalue what i.s
present. This is in the nature of our constitu
tion, for when young, we are more susce
pleasure; and take a pride when old, in persuad
ing others that we have seen more wonderful
things than they.—One might have heard at Home,
from those who were old when Cicero was young,
that he was inferior to Crassus, to Anthony, and
to Hortensius. But the universal tradition of the
effects of Mr. Henry’s eclipsing eloquence silen
ces all these cavils by which less orators might
vindicate the equality of their pretensions. I tear
itliliold our admiration of the ability with wliicji
ityvas uniformly supported. The extent of his
knowledge and the fecundity of his mind enabled
Mr. Fox whenever it suited his views, to Swell
trifles to consequence, and to enhance even t ie
magnitude of important questions, lie was gift
ed with n force and sagacity that enabled him in
stantly to comprehend the most multiplied details,
to analyse the most complicated arguments, and
to reduce the most refined and elaborate positions
to the standard of first piiliciplcs. Always ani
mated himself, he never failed to animate others.
Unambitious of the melody of sounds, or the de
corative embellishments of polished language, lie
studied only the lucid exposition ofliis matter,
and the precision and force of hi* reasoning were
principally directed to guide the judgment and
inform the understanding. He neglected, we
think culpably neglected, that most essenti.il re
quisite ol a finished orator—fluent, copious and
correct diction. Attentive only to h s matter he
was often betrayed into solecisms in language
and violations of grammatical accuracy, that were
unpardonable in a leading public speaker. In this
respect he was infinitely below his great illilstri
ous rival. While we could discern in him all tin
cliara teristics of a vigorous and active mind, we
bad always to regret the absence of those exter
ior graces that uniformly accompanied and enrich
ed the lino powers of his adversary, enhancing
their influence without diminishing their strength.
Mr. Fox as a speaker might be compared to a
rough but masterly specimen of the sculptor’s art;
Mr. Pitt to the exquisitely finished statue. The
former wuited a polish to render him perfect; the
latter possessed in a transcendant degree every
requisite of an accomplished orator. The force
of Mr. Fox’s reasoning flashed like lightning up
on the minds of his hearers : the thunder of Mr.
t'ht’s eloquence gave irresistible effect, to his pow
erful amhconviuciiig arguments, Tho’ Mr. Fox’s
reasoning was always cogent, and occasionally
conclusive in tire detail, it was frequently defec
tive in point f arrangement for establishing hi?
geneial conclusion. Like the lightning to which
we have compared it, numberless distinct flashes
succeed each other in rapid order, without pro
ducing any impression correspondent, either to
their number or their individual force. Bursting
in frequent but often unconnected succession
from his fertile mind, they electrified when they
did not convince, and always left a sense of admi
ration at their acuteness and splendor, even when
their light was eebpsed in the glare of subsequent
flashes. Mr. Pitt’s eloquence, on the contrary,
proceeded with all the majesty of sound and all
the force of fire ; uniting the rapidity of the flash
with the solemnity of the peal, it. enveloped bin
auditors in the light of conviction, and made the
pa tided like the wild flower that unfolds its beau
ties in the desert.
“ Csuld blow tho bitter-biting north
Upon Ida early bumble b'.rtli,
Yet cheerfully he glin'ed forth
Amid the strum.”
Ilia numbers are fraught with simplicity.—
To ., breathe tire warm language ot his heart.
While listening to Iris lays, wc fee! by turns,
the raptures of love ; the wildness of joy; the
despondency of grief; the appallings of terror.
We are involuntarily bopne upon the wings ol
ur.doected fancy, ami sweetly partake of all his
poetic visions.
TOPOGRAPHICAL
sembles basket salt; in others it forms an incrus
tation, and may be taken up like thin ice in vast
sheets. The dews at night dissolve if, and in wet
weather it wholly disappears. Along one of the
borders of tht-Balt Prairie flows thi branch of the
Arkansas alluded to, the rain frequently drives
the salt into it, where it concretes, and is depo ■
sited iii vast quantities along the banks of it; and
impregnates tpe waters of the Arkansas fora cojj
siderable distance below the junction.
FOREIGN.
ARKANSAS.
The Arkansas is a north west branch ol Missis
sippi river, which falls in by two mouths, &. firms
an it.'and, whose north west rn point lies in N. lut.
33° i. W.Ving. 91®. Its length is thirty-live,
ap'U'PlvMh ten,miles. .W
'rte Arkansas falls into' the Mississippi, 158
miles above the Yazoo river. It is called from a
nation of Indians of the same name. It3 source
is nearly in the latitude of Santa Fee, in Nevv-
Mesico";. and it is said to be navigable for bat-
teanx 750 miles. It runs through an immensely
rich and fertile country. About ten or twelve
miles up this river, from the Mississippi, there
was formerly a fort, garrisoned generally by a
company of Spanish soldiers, for the purpose of
defending the trade carried on betw#5n Nevv-t)r-
leans and the severul villages of St. Gene
vieve, ,&c. and particularly for defending the
commerce with the Arkansas Indians, consisting
of about 280 warriors, who were as much at
tached to the French interest as the Cliiekasaiw?
were to that of the English. No settlemci®
were made here except one or two for the im-
.meifiate accommodation of the garrison. The
inundation of the Mississippi occasioned the
evacuation of the above post, and the establish*
incut of another on the northern bank of the ri
ver 36 miles higher up. This post consisting el a
subaltern’s command, six pieces of cannon, and
eight swivels, was attacked about eighteen
months »ftj®A> r a party of Uhickasaws, who kill
ed ten solW of the garrison, and soon after
concluded a peace with the Spaniards. There is
a hamlet close to the fort inhabited only by met*
chants and traders.
During Mr. Dunbar’s excursion up the Red ri
ver and the Washita, he was inhu med by a hull
ter, who had resided 40 years in the latter and
had also explored the Arkansas, that this river is
of great magnitude; having a large and broad
channel—and when the water is low, has great
impression indelfble by the irresistible energy sand banks like those in the Mississippi, so far
with which it was urged. JPerhaps the world tie- “ s I |e l’ a d been up; that the navigation is sale
ver produced at any one period, two individuals
so eminently superior to their con emporaiies, so
peculiarly calculated to be mutual rivals. It was
bv their collision with each other that their pecu
liar perfections were brought to light.—Had they
commenced and continued their political career
on the same side, neither would perhaps have at
tained the eminence which both acquired.' The
planets shine with im re lustre in opposition than
in conjunction.—Life of Fu.r.
as has been said of the Swan of Avon’s music
vas a d> ing strain,
“ v\c ne'er slu’.l ser. his l:ke again.”
CHARLES FOX.
As an orator, Mr Fox deservedly possessed a
most prominent rank among the ornaments of the
Biitish Senate. With powers of mind of the ve
ry first order, and habits ol thought and reflec
tion of the most profound description, it was im
possible for him, while he mixed in pu-Tic affairs,
not to establish an ascendancy in every discus
sion respecting them. Accordingly w e have seen
him on every such occasion, with excepti-n only
of his ill judged secession from parliament, ta
king the foremost ground in oppnsing the mea
sures and policy of that truly great minister and
transceiKlaut statesman the fate Mr. Pitt—whilst
t' e minor members of his party were employed in
skirmishing, or making feeble attacks oil the out
works, Mr. Fox uniformly assailed the citadel
He disdained to enter the lists against any ad ver
s ii v but tile great leader of his opponents, whilst
lie remained to be encountered. The object of
iiis attacks, however, was too firmly entrenched
on the advantage ground of policy and patriotism,
to allow any serious impression tube made on him.
ED MUNI) BURKE.
Tiiis luminary in the hemisphere of science shone
with a brilliancy unextinguished by the black
clouds iif opposition, and undiined by the va
pors of intrigue. Ilis eloquence, spontaneous
and rapid., hurried away evey impediment to his
progress. His youth formed no obstruction to his
talents; burst asunder the fetters of time, with
all tint hardihood of gigantic superiority. He
was a tree that bare at. the same time the blossom
and the fruit—.Sonic of ttl4 sublimes! passages in
tne languages were the immediate offspring of his
imagination, which, forever excursive, held its
flight through the regions of rverv art and science.
His account of the disturbances which took
place in Wales, on the appointment of Mr. Pro
bate. to improve the crown rents,of that princi-
utibia ofi I 11 "' 1 .' - ’ a picturesque and well drawn sketch :
' *' *• He went, like his masters on other occasions,
to seek revenue, and like them he found rebellion :
he was no sooner arrived, than all were in arms
to meet him: tumult, alarm, and uproar, were
heard through the region of Prestatyn ; Snowdon
shook to its base, and Cader Edris was loosened
from its foundation : the fury discord blew her
horn oil the mountains, the rocks poured down
their goathards, and deep caverns vomited out
their miners ; every thing above ground and every
thing uinfkr ground was convulsed.”
Air. Burke, during Lord North’s administra
tion, delivered a speech on American taxation,
which renders this motion (repealing the duty on
tea,) an epoch in philosophical and poltical elo
quence. His ground of argument was expedience
proved from experience. He traced the history
of the American colonies from their first settle
ment to the commencement of the present reign,
demonstrating the advantages of the former poli
cy. “ The measures of the present ministry
were, ho said, a deviation from that system. Ne
ver have the servants of the state looked at the
whole of your complicated interests at one con
nected view. They have taken things by bits and
scraps, just as they pressed, without regard to
their relations and dependencies ; they never had
a system right or wrong, but only occasionally
have invented some miserable tale of the day, in
order to sneak out of the difficulties into which
they lud proudly strutted.”
ROBERT BURNS.
Burns was a favored bard. The strains of his
mu e were the inspiration of nature. Though
combatting the *waut of education, he rose
•»t if M,-. Fox failed in his hostile operations, he I poetic excellence. Reared amid the heaths ami
as never disgraced by his defeat. . Though we | rugged bills of his native country, far from tin*
uld net S'unrov
and commodious, without rocks, shoals or rapids.
—T he soil on it is of the first rate quality ; and
the country of easy access, being lolty open for
ests. unembarrassed by canes or undergrowth.
A multitude of creeks which flow into the Arkan
sas famish fresh water, which the voyager is
obliged to carry with him for the supply of his
immediate wants. This hunter confirmed the ac
count of silver being abundant up that river.
Since the cession of Louisiana to the United
States, a knowledge of its extensive regions has
bee ime highly desirable, and this can be most
advantageously effected by means of its vast, ri
ver*, of which the Arkansas is one. The subject
was early laid before Congress, and in a report
made to that body on Feb. 18, 1804, by Hr. Mit
chell, as chairman of a committee appointed to
enquire into the expediency oi authorising the
President of the United States to cause certain
routes and unknown parts of Louisiana tube ex
plored, it is observed, that “ the Arkansas which
lias been already traced above one thousand miles,
seeiis worthy of being explored with more care,
and to a greater extent than has hitherto been
done. A spacious plain and valley increased an
nually (like the soil in some spots about the Per
sian gulf) with native salt, in quantity sufficient
to impregnate a branch of the Arkansas, and oc
casionally the river into which it falls, with its
briny quality, and ta make it a Salt River down
to the settlement of Onisarque, for considerable
more than six hundred miles of its course, might
be mentioned as no ordinary occurrences. The
masses of virgin silver and gold that glitter in the
veins of the rocks, which underlay the Arkansa-
itself,& minglo with the minerals near certain o-
ther of its streams, and otter themselves- to the
hand of him who will gather, refine and convert
them to use, are no less uncommon and wonder
ful. These extraordinary productions might be
dwelt upon to considerable length in this report,
but credible as both the relations are, the com
mittee forbear to offer any thing more than that
the existence of a salt river, precious mines and
, and of some other remarkable objects, are
stated upon solid and credible testimony.” The
existence of a spacious plain encrusted with salt
mentioned in the above report, seems confirmed
by the following information communicated by
captain Stoddart:
Near the sources of one of the eastern branches
of the Arkansas, says this gentleman, and about
one hundred miles from that river,is situated what
is called the Salt Prairie, which is of considera
ble extent. The Indians represent it as about
sixty miles by twenty ; but an intelligent gentle
man who has frequently passed over and alonj
the borders of it, makes it include an area of a
bout twenty-live miles diameter. It is composei
of hard dark colored snad, and is entirely free
from vegetation. When the moisture of the sand
is exhaited by the heat of the sun, this immense
surface is covered with fine white salt. The quan
tity depends on the degree of heat; and when
Hie mercury in Fareuheit stands at 96, ami no
clouds appear to obstruct the interim rays of the
the salt will rise to the thickness
London. Uct^ 2.—In the southward and for
ward counties the white corn is generally secured
—it is locally abundant and of good quality, but a
month hence will be sufficiently early to report
more specif rtlly r,n these points. The same
may be said 6f the southern and best parts of
Scotland. Tfo not^iern ai d backward district:
have hern ciVnti.q'ly benefited by the finest
of the cur.ejEmoti.h ; but, for the completion of
.heir IrtrvcsijTOf;- ieoend entire!” upon the suc
ceeding, since much of their corn is not ev**'i vet
ripe. Beans will be nearer to an average crop
than was lately expected ; barley, eats and peas,
the largest. Fruit generally deficient, both in
this country and upon the continent. Potatoes
and turnips in great abundance. Great damage
has been sustained both in the last and present
year by the lent com being suffered (in the south)
to lie in the swathe.
Oct. 3.—This morning we received German
papers to the 20th ult. They confirm the ac
count cf the death of her imperial highness, the
consort of the archduke Pala-.ine, in giving birth
to a son ami daughter. The children are said to
be in good health. The. plague continues its rav
ages in Constantinople : but a letter from Peters
burg of the 29th August, seems to threaten an
aggravation of this misery, by superinducing the
horrors of a n@r between'Russia and 'Turkey.—
Our readers have been already apprized of the
execution of Czerny Georges, by order of one of
the Turkish governors, who, it seems, did not
think his character, as a rebel to the Porte, su
perceded by that of a lieutenant general in the
service ot Russia, the knight of St. Anne of the
first class. The intelligence of this event crea
ted a lively sensation in Petersburg, and a cour
ier was immediately despatched to the Russian
minister at Constantinople commanding him to
require categorically, and within 14 days, a pub
lic declaration from the Porte, disavowing this
act, and the exemplary punishment of the perpe
trators ; ar.d if this be not complied with in the
course of 14 days, he shall immediately leave
Constantinople.
Oct. 4.—Ships continue to be equipped in the
river for the purpose of convevjng officers, non
commissioned officers, and privates, to aid the
patriots in South-America. Vt present one ves
sel is quite ready to sail, having on boa-d officers
fully equipped, and 200 privates, to form a rifle
corps. Another is in a forw ard staflfc of- prepara
tion, and has appointments for a cavalry regiment,
600 strong ; a third is freighted with the equip
ments of a lancers’ corps. The officers are alt
men who have seen active service, and are of
every rank, from lieutenant-colonels to ensigns.
The organization is so complete, and the arrange
meats so happily made, that they will be ready
lor immediate service on their arrival in Ameri
ca. Letters fr*m a central part of Spain men
tion, that the tnops destined for South America,
a descent down to Cadiz and other parts of An
dalusia, had bean recalled into Kstremadura, the
government not having the means to subsist and
pay them in the districts in which they were first
ordered to assemble. We understand that Spain
is making an effort to restore its naval and mil
itary force, and that a very considerable order
for naval and artillery stores has lately been re
ceived in this country, to be shipped for Spain.
Trade with America.—There have been impor
ted from the United States of America, in the
course of the last twelve months, above one mill
ion of barrels of flour into the different ports of
the united kingdom. The town of Liverpool a
lone has imported nearly 500,000 barrels. The
average pi ice a barrel is about 60s. The amount
paid to America for thi;..article by Great-Britain
alone, may therefore be estimated at three mill
ions of pounds sterling. But, besides this large,
sum from Great-Britain, the bad harvest of laPt
year throughout a large part of Europe, enabled
America to levy contributions from France, Spain
and Portugal to a very considerable amount for
flour ; and the Americans appear to have man-
sun, the salt will rise to the thicKncss of about
of'the cause, we could not! friendly illuminations of science," his genius ex'one inch and a half. In some instances it re
aged the business very skilfully—for when a de
mand was first expected from Europe, it was uni
versally given out that the U. States could att'ord
but a small quantity of flour to Europe—some
few hundred thousand barrels were talked of at
the utmost. In addition to this artii le Europe
pays large sums to the U. States for tobacco, cot
ton, v ol, pot and pearl ashes, rice, flaxseed, (a-
bout 50,001) hogsheads of seven bushels each an-*
nually imported into Ireland, value from Si. to 5l.
a hogshead or at an average of 41. a hogsliecd,
200,000/.) turpentine ami staves.
The London Courier, of the 2d of last month,
observes : **The American papers which we have
lately received continue to speak of the efforts
making to increase the strength of the Navy of
the U. States, with a view, no doubt, to a more
desperate competition with Great Britain, should
any unforeseen circumstances unhappily occasion
another rupture between the two countries. Such
an event is most earnestly to be deprecated ; but
as, ill the various and fluctuating relations of
states, it is impossible to say how soon trai quility,
apparently the most profound, may be w asted it
may be worth while again to call the public atln-
tion, while it can bo calmly dnected towards the
subject, to the practice oYi the part of the Amo i-
cans of under-rating their vessels ; all oi' winch
are in fact of much greater strength than t,.e cla- \
to which they belong. America is at pi es :it the
