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•uhsequent f fTottej The steps bv
we a,ce..d from diicvv«*rv
to distove'. , from rcence to sti
fle* are irr», gradual, natural
and easy, Hut to l< up at oner
from absolute ignorance rvrn to
the humonst rudim* uc of know
ledge, ia indeed au llemdt-an ti,k,
and m«ie litqnentl) result front
lucky accidrtn, than any efTort of
the mind. Tins rennuk, which is
h« r.* a>>i bed to the general progress
oi inai kind in the career of im.
prtrv m«-nt, is « X'*mpufied ft fully
es ..btished by their advances in
et ry particular scisnrp. Until tlie
b ginning of ihe eighteenth Centu
ra , the world had adopted the ideas
of \ristotU‘ on alt metaphysical
•utjjt*f IS, and n would have been
blasphemy to have doubleJ their
orthodoxy. Locke explored the
ioletvnl the understanding, and » x
plained some of its ptoccs*es j and
what lasb< •n the tunt>» (juci.ee f J
Within tkt course of one century
a galaxy of illus trious philosophers
base arisen, who seem to have left
scarcely anv thing 10 be discovered
her* - fier. For many ago a,tro
n.tint-r* had vibrated f*..m one ah
aitrdity to .on tiler, which were all
at length mellowed up in the vorti.
ccs ol Duartes , a greater absur
dity than all the rest. Newton ap
peared ; recalled the mind from its
d< ye us eccentric track ; gave it a
projectile impulse, and taught it
t«, move in the orbit of truth. The
M*-rld has not since produced a
Newton ; but a thousand humble
follower* have arisen who have car
ried the science of astronomy be
yond the u'inost limits, whichevcn
his ixtherial genius could reach.
'J hese example* are anificient to
establish ihe position, that the first
step in the progress of (he human
wmd is the most difficulty ami when I
this is attained all the rest will natu • *
rally follow.
If these propositions are correct,
itwillfolluw that when we com
pare two nations with each other,
we should first enquire wrhthcr
their situations have been equally
auspicious to their gaining this
first step , and whether untoward
circumstances have occurred to
retard their pi ogress afterwards.
] shall endeavor to shew, that the
sup riotity which Kurope has en
jt» cd over savage America, results,
in tact, from the fortuitous circum
stance* which attended her first
settlcinont,b» which she was en
abled both to tnuko an earlier
advance in science., and to pur
sue her discoveries to a greater ex
ten .
Greece was inhabited by savage
a'd barb moo* tribes, when the
I’ oe nc lulls, a people of' Asia, sent
foi*u colonies wl.o took up ihor
anode witltni her bosom. These
cob-nuts can led with them the arts
ol the mother country, which
w.rc indeed very inconsiderable
in themselves, but highly impnr
taut, us 1 have already shewn, as
tlie> r> luted to the future progress
o< then possessors. We know but
little ol I‘nanicia, or whether sue
derived het knowledge from others
oi give birth to it liersclf. But
whatever was the mode by which
she acquired it, we may presume
tout it resulted from nearly the
same causes winch c-nspired to
preserve, enlarge aud ripen it,
after it was bandei red to the
Greeks. As tins period is more
within the compass of history, our
conclusions from it will be more
just and accurate, tlntu liotn am
prior arru.
I liese colonists, *mall in num«
ber ; surrounded by numerous
bands of hostile barbarians ; and
unable to occupy au ext»nsive ser.
ritory, contracted themselves with
in the walls of ciiie*, together
iv th a small margin of land around
th tm. As population increased,
this land became insufficient for
their support, and In nee thev w ere
driven to the invention of ntw
arts ; hence they resorted *o com*
incite as a mode of procuring
subsistence ; hence many turned
their enquiries into the walks of
literature, and gave to Greece her
splendid pre-eminence over the
nations of antiquity. Greece lost
her liberties, but retained her,
science. The baibanans who
came to d ’spoil her of her wealth,
carried off also a more precious
trras ire, of whose value they were
unconscious, the sivds ol learutug
an 1 the sub ime speculations oi
•thick*, which required only tune
Jto germinate nod mature. Th*
r>fled flower faded and expired ;
but its sweets were hoaidcd up
In tfie industrious plunderers, to
become the sources of a more
n-rmanent delight. The human
mind, which had flowed like a
majestic river through the favour
ed-soil of Greece, and dispensed
is blessings around, now changed
it« charnel, and by this melor.cho
•y alluvion, left its ancient bed a
naked, dreary and sterile desert,
it happmed, fortunately for i-’.u- !
rope, ihat all the countries into
which literature was introduced as.
ter the rum and subjugation of the
Gracun states, weie limited l-ke
them in extent of territoiy, aboun* :
ding in inhabitants and condensed
within the dimensions of single ci
ties. Ihe necessary consequence
ol populous communities, is, that a
division of labour should take
place, which infallibly leads to ex- \
cellence in ail the arts which em
bellish life, as well as in those
winch minisit. • ~ ihe wants of men,
1 he Arcadian scenes ot rural life
may be the residence of peace,
simplicity, innocence and Iwppi
ness ; but it is in the collision of
towns, that the iiumati energies
ar«* called forth, and the human
mind swells into gigantic stature.
It is in towns that the arts ft. scien
ces receive their birth; and there
also they are earned to prelection.
K .me as.uim d the wreath ot the
mu,** which had been plucked
trom the blow ot Greece; and
siic m her turn resigned it to the
Northern barbarians who hive
iounued the present political so
cieties ot Lurope. From tins
rapid review of the progress ol
L'urn ng, it Lurope I
was pccuhaily nappy, first, hi
| having received the germs of liter-
I ature irom another country ; aud
secondly, in having them deposi
ted in chics, which like hoi-beds
qaickened tneir growth.
The situai.ou of America was
the re vet se of all this. A couu.
tty of unbounded extent; pos
•ecssmg spontaneously every spe
cie* ol wholesome aliment; u>
forests filled with those anunah
wh ch invite man to the chacc ,
these apparent advantages of na
ture are the ieui causes of the
retardation of me human intellect
in America.
Nuuc ol those causes existed
which could compel the American
to take the first sups towards im
provement ; and men are only to
tie driven Irons ignorance by the
a roug arm of necessity.
America it is true was occu
pied, like aocinet Greece, by in
hospitable and ferocius tribes,—
But this circumstance could only
induce them to remove farther
'iom each other, which an un
bounded continent enabled them
to perform, without limitation.—
Nor should it be foigottcn that
uniform experience tells us, that
latte is a cciiam fascination in the
wild aud unrestrained state of na
ture, iv huh would forever deter
men Irom tuc yoke ot civilization,
did uot necessity entarae them.
Z.
INAUGURATION OF Mr. MADISON.
WASHINGTON, March 6.
On Saturday, James Madison,
in obedience to the voice of his
country, assumed the duties of
Ibesident of the United States.—
I he day from its commencement
to its close, wa* marked bv the
liveliest demonstrations of joy.
It appeared as if the people, ac
tuated bv a general aud sponta
neous impulse, determined to
manifest, in the strongest manner
the interest excited by this great
event, and their conviction of the
close connection between it and
tneir happ’nevs. For many dav#
b* fore, citizen* from the adjacent,
and even remote states, h.uj been
pooling into the city until its ca
pacity of accommodation was
attained lo th*- utmost
Ihe duwn ot day was announ*
j ced by a federal salu'e from the
1 navy card and fort Warburtou ;
| and at an early hour, the volun*
1, te«i corps of milttia to as
i semble. bucli was the interest
'lobe present at the in augui a’ton,
that the whole area allotted to cit
izens in the representative hall was
filled & ovei t w mg, several Hours
Ibciore noon, the time assigned tot
Utut puiposc. it it Lccmpmed that
the number of person* surround- j
the capitol, unable to obtain j
aumiiiince, exceeded UD thou- i
*«»nd. The sena e convened at
i eleven o’clock, in the chamber of
! the n pre&entativei, jroveruor Mil.
ledge, the president pro tempore,
■ m the chair. Agreeably to ar
rungem nt, the senator* were pla
ced next to the chair, the Ule pre
sident ol the U. States on the right
•of the chair, foreign ministers
j and suit on the left, judges of the
; supreme court in front, heads of 1 ,
department on (he right of the '
pre*id?nt of ihe senate, member* j
, of the house of representative* on 1
the Hoor, and various other places
| Assigned for other public charae*.
i ters and for ladies.
Mr. Jcftarson arrived about 12
j o’clock. A short time before that
, Mr. Madison left his own bou* ,
; escorted by the troops of cavalry
j ot the city and Georgetown, com
manded by captain brent j and at
twelve, entered the represent;*
live hall, attended by the secreta
ry of the treasury the secretary of
the navy, the attorney general, &
Mr. Coles, secretary to the late
president, &. introduced by a com*
nuttre of tile senate $ when Mr.
Milletlge left the central chair, «<t
conducted Mr Madison to it, seat,
ing himseif on the right. Mr.
Madii-on tarn rose and delivered
the above apeech, [«e our last pa
per.]
i he oath of office was then ad
ministered to him by chief justice
Marshall ; on winch, and as the
president retired, two round of
minute guns were fired. On lea
ving the capital he touud the vo
lunteer militia companies of the
district, nine in number and in
complete uniform, under the com
mand ol colonal M'Kinnc), drawn
up whose line he passed in review,
when he entered hia carriage and
tvns escorted nurnc in the saint
way he came.
A Urge concourse of ladies and
gentlemen, and Mr. Jcticrnon
among the number, immediately
wailed upou him, among whom 1
rctrcshjmn:s wcie liberally dm
tribute*!. ihe company general
ly, after calling on Ait president,
waited on ivlr. Jctferiou to tske
a la-it laic wed before his depar
rture.
iu the evening there was a
grand inauguraMou ball, at Long’s
hotel, the most brilliant and clou
ded ever known in Washington,
at which the late and present
presid-.nt of the United States,
and foreign ministers were present
by invitation. The company is
supposed t° have exceeded four
hundred.
Thus terminated a day memo
rable for an important c Vc nt, and
which, we trust, trill prove
the harbinger of much good iu
store fur our country.
Os the Inaugural Address, with
out attempting a critique, we may
be premised to say, that in point
of style it is chaste and nervous,
and in point of principle worthy
of the man so honorably ca led
upon to preside over the affairs
of a free and enlightened people.
gMr Madison was dressed in a ful
suit of cloth of American manufac
ture, made of the wool of Merinos
raised in this country —his coat
from the manufactory of colonel
Humphreys, and his waistcoat
and small-clothes from that of
Chancellor Livir.gston--the clothes
being we understand, severally
presented by those gemhmen
Aat Intelligencer March g.
SOMETHING CURIOUS
IN THE MEDICAL LINE :
i Being part of a letter from Dr.
If aUrhoufCi of Camebridge , to
Dr. Mitchell , at \exu York ,
extract from the lajl n umber
of the Medical Repofitory—
giving an account of a Woman
4 * zotih a H ole in her
mach .”
IN pages 16 and 17 of my
'printed LeQureon 44 ihe evil
tendency of the ule of Tobacco
upon young perfon*; and ef
peciall y of the pernicious el
feds of (rooking Segars, and
the ule of atdenl and vinous
(pinu,” I have inserted a note
which excited contiderable no
tice and gave oceafion 10
foror good humored raillery a
j mong my friends who would fre
! quently enquire after the goo.
woman 41 with a -hole in her
flomach !"—The note ft and
i thus : “ Opportunities oflook.
“ ing into the ftomachof living
» fuhjefti arc very tare indeed.
“ I remember but two in (lances
“ on the records of medicine
“ One was a woman in the
* “ general hospital at Vienna
! 44 in 1798, file had her llomaci.
| 46 perforated by a large wound,
I 44 which could not be doled
44 up. —Through this wound
“ her food might be seen.
44 When any indigestible food
44 created unealioeUj as four
44 {he took ihe oppressive
44 food out with her fingers, &
44 walhed her stomach out with
44 water and this always relived
44 her, and revived her appetite.
“ Mi ! k was ob'orved to curdle
44 iullantly, except when Ihe
44 had carefully rinsed out her
44 Itomach ; In this case, fays
“ Or. J. Helm , whose patient
“ Ihe was, me coagulation did
44 not take place till alter some
“ time, for want, he fuo.
“ poires, of the gajlric liquor.
44 The coagulation could how
-44 ever, be expedited, by irri.
44 fating the inner furface of the
44 tlomach with the finger.
44 Ad's mt'k was longer in
44 coagulating than cow’s milk.
44 The lad coagulated in a few
4 * minutes. Eggs and cheese
44 were quickly digeiled, but not
44 lo soon as fUfh meat. Vegi.
“tables in genera!, were longer
44 undergoing this procels; of
44 these potatoes and carrots
44 pafled off focneit.”
My credulity, and my place
to this singular narrative in my
publication, has repeatedly oc
casioned a little merriment at
4,1 y expense. My only defence
wasihat I had taken ihe case from
a Biiiilh publication; I found
u in my book of ext rads, but
had neglected to notice what
pub'icaiiou. When a new itn
preifion of the ILeciureon fmoak
ing St gars was spoken of, some
of uiy jrieads fcrioujly advised
me 44 to leave out the German
witn a hole m her flomach !” I
laid but little ; nevertheless 1
went on believing; and deter
mined to wiite to my corref
pondem, Dr. De Carro—(the
gentleman, who by fending mat
ter from Vienna to Jiagdad, laid
the foundation of the Oriental
vicinatton and for which he has
been handsomely rewarded).
My full letters via Eng. never
reached him ; my second thro’
France had a better fate, and
procured me a'full Sc highly fa.
tisfactory answer to my que
ties,refpetling a woman who
could give vijible proofs of the
powers of her digestive organ.
I his gentleman who, beside be
ing an eminent peyfician is a
dilhnguiflied botanist Sc agricul
turahlf, writes thus : 44 There
is not Ihe lea it doubt ofthe truth
of the fad, which you have men
tioned in pages 16 and 17 of
your printed lecture. Several
ol mvmedical friends have in_
viicd this woman to dinner in
Order to lee (uch an extraor
dinary patient. Your lecture
is undergoing a German tranfia
tion, in which I shall notice this
extraordinary cate. 1 known
Dr. Helm perfectly well, & you
may tely on the accuracy of his
report. In the luppofition that
the original publication of this I
cale has not reached, Dr. Helm
here fends you his book.” !
1 he book is in German ; and
I am mortified in confcffing
ray ignorance of th;»t language,
iceing I had (o good an oppor* j
tunny of learning it during inv
• cfidenceat Leyden.
I his woman named There
s\ Petz, was the wife of %
btackfumh. She was ltror«*
and in general healths ; tho
'nether of fevcn children.
She iomctiroes worked in die
fields, and fcmctvnci m tht
blackfmilh Jhop with her { u fj
band. —She at
-nor in the pit of her ttomacn*
which v»*as unanimously declar
es by the physicians, to be
induration of (he spleen. Tins
turmor at length broke throur*
»he membranes, mufclcs, * R( i
leaving an opening of t uo i%.
chcs in diameter direftly into the
cavity of theJlomoch. The mar
gin of it was callous, and ar
most as hard as gnftle; but be
ing deltitutc of cuticle, was
painful when touched. When
she rode in a waggon or was
fubjetted to conliderabie moJ
lion, the biiecame into the itoJ
mach, and ilfued from the oril
fice j it tatted very bitter J
did not mix with the gattrid
juice, but inllantly curdled tl-J
milk mixed with it. Dr. Held
often introduced a cathater a]
far as the upper and the lowel
orifice of the stomach withoul
giving the lealt pain to the pal
tient, or provoking the fmallel
disposition to vomit. She wou'J
Ircquently Waft out her ftou.acl
with milk & water, thro* the c 1
ternal orifice : Sc as Irequeml
relieve her fed from any fool
that oppreff.d her, by taki J
it out with her fingers. Ru: t|
remove all doubt, fays Dr. WI
terfioufe from my mind, d1
Heim, of Vienna, had sent ul
the identical perforated tubes J
wtiod, and ol metal, and aIB
the identical little linen bal
which he had used to afcertal
the powers of this womain
itomach, upon various articifl
of food ; which were put in a!
taken out of her ttomach, 1
you would bifeuit in and out 1
an oven !
PHILADELPHIA, March iJ
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE.
“ To the Senate and House of isl
presentalives of the CommcM
wealth of Pennsylvania.
Gentlemen,
“ f have received information tfl
the supreme court of the Uniil
States, hath ordered ap&remptol
mandamus to be issued at the g]
of Gideon Oluistead and othcil
vs. Elizabeth Sergeant and Easfl
Waters, executrixes of the t*
Mr. hitten.touse, and (bat immc(fl
ate application will be made to fl
( hard Peteis, Judge of the distrl
court of Pennsylvania, for an e J
cution against the persons and!
tects of the said Elizabeth Serge*
and Easter Wateis ; or that raihl
it is an admiralty proceeding!
attachment against their pers!
wid be the coinpuUwry process *
opted on the occasion.
“ B )’ ‘he act of the 2d of Ap!
1803, Mrs Seageant Mrs Wat*
arc directed to pay a sum of mot!
arising out of the sale of the Brit!
brig Active, captured during !
iate revolutionary war, into tl
state treasury ; with the requisit!
of that law the said executri!
have complied. It now becoi!
my duty, agreeably to the pr!
stons or that act, to protect !
. property aid persons of the exe!
trixes against such process. Paii!
as this duty is, 1 am comped!
and am now making arraogeme!
to call out a portion of the mil!
tor that service, that being the o!
means in the power of tue exe!
'ive. as the execution of this i!
may produce serious difficulties!
it respects the relation of the st!
government with that of the 111
I ted States. I have thought pro!
to make this communication, m
which the legislature can act «]!
their wisdom they shall think ciw
dient.
“ SIMON SNIDEP!
" Lancaster, Feh. 11 x 1
almancks. E
For baie at this Office.