Newspaper Page Text
mSCULLAI E»D#.
)KOM * WOI'S M.IJUM.
Till-: PABTISG KISS.
BY MIRAIO AU B. LAMAR.
Ill* net did noto’ertaka ltii bad intent,
AnJ must be buriej but as an intent
That perished by the way.—(Shahm-eare.
The driver sounded his horn, and in one
tnorc hour 1 was to depart in the stage for
my native State. The idea of revisiting thu
home of my childhood—of returning to the
hosotns of my brothers and sisters, and onee
•more beholding my aged parents before the
grave should hide them forever from my view,
tilled tne with rapture that 1 had never expe
rienced before. Already transported in im
agination over the long journey, 1 received
the joyous welcome of the happy family.—
My good old father met me at the gate with
the kindest demonstrations of affection—my
mother, now feeblejwith years and trembling
with affliction, tottered half way down the
stops to grasp my hand and unable to sustain
the shock of joy, she burst into tears, whilst
mv little serious sister Clara, ran to my arms,
and folding hers about by neck, could not re
train even in the midst of her gladness from
affectionately chiding me for not answering
her letters." Blessed little sister ; l kissed
' her pretty black eye, and promised to do
better in future, and thero was pleasure, aye
a bliss even in this reverie of imagination,
which if it could but last, I would not barter
for the wide world’s wealth and all its honors
besides.
But every bliss has its banc. There is not a
glad emotion that enters the human heart hut
it is quickly chased away by some obtrusive
care. The thought tjiat l had to part with
I’anny Mol risen whom Iso much loved, even
unto adoration, soon put an end to the glow of
happy feeling and spread over my heart a cor
responding poignancy of misery. This is the
nature of human happiness. The visits of
joy are as short as those of the votaries of
fashionable life, and the breast that is elated
by her transitory presence will as surely ex
perience an equal depression at her departure.
Her smiles arc like the vivid Hashes of light
ning that cast a momentary splendor on the
brown cheek of night but vanish in an instant
and leave behind four fold darkness. 1
thought of home and iny soul expanded. 1
thought of Fanny and it sank in dejection
I lovod this fair and excellent creature, not
that the beauty of her whole sox seemed epi
tomized in her form and face, but more for
the higher brilliancy of her polished mind,
and above all because of her unsophisticated
purity ©f heart. My love was reciprocated.
Daily we renewed our vows of perpetual con
stancy, and the green-eyed monster, jealousy,
never sullied our minds or disturbed our
peace, but mutually confiding, we enjoyed
the luxury of tendcrcst affection, unmixed
with the bitterness of doubt and distrust; and
if them be such as positive happiness on
earth “it is this, it is this.” Blest in each
others society, we seldom sought any other,
and from our first acquaintance we had never
been separated oven for a week at a time—
to part with her possibly forever—it seemed
like death.
1 had already taken leave of her on the
cvcningof the proceeding day, but now that
1 was about to enter on my journey almost
immediately, 1 could not suppress a rising
propensity, that increased in ardor as the lime
of departure drew nearer, to gaze upon her
sweet innocent face once more—onee more
to seize her little white hand and say “good
bye.” I hastened to her dwelling, ■■'he was at
her piano playing the plaintive air of “Roy’s
Wife,” the very tune of all others I most do
lighted to hear; and she could play 100, with
such enchanting skill—so ja the
heart. On my entrance in the
ceased the music, hut quickly resumerff irnt
my request, and accompanied the instrument
with her voice, which possessed the very sou!
of melody, and breathed a feeling and a pa
thos, ns soul subduing as the magic harmony
of IVourmahal. She sang—
“ Fare thee well for I must leave thee,
“ But oh! let not our partinp grieve thee,
“ For I will Eli 11 he thine, believe me,”
And there was an applicability in these words
to my situation, such a suitableness of senti
ment to the occasion, that made tiicm sink
“deep into mv burning heart,” and tho’ 1
xtannot say that the music, like St. Cecilia’s,
“drew an Angel down,” I will say that she
sang like an Angel, and wore all the celestial
loveliness of one. Could the song never
dose, and her beauty never die, who would
ask for a brighter Heaven!
As soon as she finished the strain, she clos
ed the lid of the piano, and turning her beamy
face with her “ bonny blue eyes” towards me,
she said, “1 now have a task for y'ou to per
form, and it is a compliance with your promise
made a long time ago, to write an original
4>iece in my album. The evening is favora
ble to poetry, and I nni3t insist upon your wri
ting.” At first I thought this was merely in
tended to divert my mind from the melancho
ly which she perceived was gathering on it ;
for I was so far from ever being guilty of wai
ting poetry, that 1 could not sot a moment
suppose she believed me capable of perpe
trating the crime. But before 1 could make
her any answer, she hastily took from hci
piano drawer, a neatly or rather elegantly
bound Album, and spreading it on a table
Where pen and ink were previously placed,
she invited me to the task in a manner too
serious not to convince me that the request
wus made more in earnest than thro’ courte
sy. What should Ido ! 1 had not the heart
to refuse* nor _the genius to comply. My
brain was as “ dry, as the remainder biscuit
after a voyage.” Never did I stand in need
of timid or deplore, its want so much, as on
this occasion. ’Tis true the evening was se
rene and beautiful, and might have warmed
the breast that had the least B|*irk of poetic
feeling about it, but mine had no dormant
energies of that kind to awaken, and neither
the kindling influence of fine weather, nor
the more inspiring power of Fanny’s pre
sence coifld remove my constitutional inabili
ty to rhyme. Should I attempt it, 1 knew
very well that the failure would be so com
pletely shameful, that I should lose much of
her esteem, and not to do it, must inevitably
incur her most serious displeasure. 1 deter
mined however to risk the attempt, and seat
ing myself by tho table, I seized the fieri in
despair, dipped it in tiie stand, and turning
mv eyes (not in “ fine frenzy rolling ”) to
ward the ceiling, 1 began cogitating on what
to fix my fanciful effusion.
Suddenly my mu lugs were interrupted,—
The whole family were iri busy uproar—all
engaged in cleaning and decorating the house.
Fame were hanging new curtains of damask |
GEORGIA TIMES, AND STATE iUGfgtVF ADVOCATE.
over the windows —some replenishing the
flower pots with water and fresh roses, and
Fanny’s youngest sister was fantastically or
namenting a pair of plated candlesticks with
paper leaves. Tho Turkey carpet was re
moved, and the floor dry-rubbed—and indeed
all the preparations usually made for a dan
cing party, were going on, and apparently for
that purpose. 1 thought so then. Presently
a servant girl came in w ith a bundle of ever
greens with which she commenced decorating
the rnaiitlepieCe, and then proceeded to a
large mirror that hung on the opposite wall in
such a position tome that it reflected to my
view, the image of Fanny as she reclined on
the sofa in a thoughtful and pensive manner.
Her countenance was frequently tinged with
a slight melancholy, but now it wore a deep
gloom. 1 certainly had never seen her beau
tiful face so clouded by sadness before. It
was pale—her eyes pored upon the floor—
she appeared abstracted in her mind, for
she took no notice of what was going on un
til the servant enquired of her if she intend
cd to have the walls of the room festooned
with the vines. “Do as you please” she re
plied,and risingfromiierse.it, she left the
room with a tear, as I thought quivering in
her soft blue eye-. What was the cause of all
this, 1 was at a loss to conjecture. 1 enquired
of the maid—her answer was as a dagger to
my heart. “Why, have you not heard” says
she “that this is Miss Fanny’s wedding
night?” I could hear no more —iny brain
reeled, and I sank into a state of insensibili
ty. Suddenly, however, 1 was aroused from
this apathy by the entrance of a tall, young
man, of handsome deportment and-splendid
ly attired, “ with a broad felicity of face,”
bespeaking a light mind and a happy heait.
It was for his coming that all these prepara
tions were made, for he was my rival, who
was that very night to be married to the fair
Fanny. Prompted by desperation, I rushed
impetuous upon his throat—the villain fled,
he was my friend. We were born in the
same village—educated at the same school—
had been intimate from our boyish days—“ I
wore him in my heart’s core,” and not a cir
cumstance had ever transpired until the pre
sent occurrence, to weaken the band of
friendship that united us together. Os all
my friends lid tvas the only one to whom l
ever imparted ilie secret of my attachment to
Fanny. He abused tlmt confidence to sup
plant me in her affection. Ami must I bow
in degrading and hlmliliating resignation to
the wrong? No, rather let m*? perish. Guis
ed he the coward whose arm falter;* ln 8 J 1
revenge. With imprecations on my t>V a * s
bead, I flod tho habitation.
All idea of my journey was now banished
from mv mind. My every thought was devo
ted to revenge—my heart was a furnacd ff ex
asperated passions—my blood boiled for ven
gence. Retiring to my room I whetted my
dagger and reloaded mv pistol. “ i •will mar
his mirth”said Ito myself. “ 1 will burst up
on him in the midst of his anticipated heaven
like an unexpected Aballino.” Ami let no
mistaken piety denounce all human vcngcnce
as unrighteous. The serpent is crushed in the
earth because of his guile that converted the
bloom of Eden into a wilderness of woe, and
so should the demon still he crushed, when
forsaking his reptile shape, he assumes the
human form, and spreads over the paradise of
the heart, a wintry desolation. Reader, when
you shall love as i have loved, and he sup
planted by a wretch calling himself your
friend, but whose smiles are “the very fiend’s
arch mock,” tiicn will you be ready to ex
claim with me,
“ Who'll steep in safety that has done this
' wrong.”
1 know not how the time rolled off, hut
night full had now come on. Dressing my
self in apparel,suitable for the wedding, thith
er I went, sternly determined to “ speak dag
•gers” to the bride, and to use one on the
tftjacherous author of my misery. 'The par
ty was assembled and the nuptial hour was
almost arrived. The hridcs-inaid was plac
ing the last flower in the brides head, and as
she twined it in the shining curl, 1 heard her
distinctly singing tho beautiful verse by Mrs.
Homans
“ Bring flowers (rest; flowers for the bride to wear,
“They were born to blush in her shining hair,
“ She is leaving the jilnce of her childish mirth,
“ she has bid farewell to her Futhor’s hearth,
“ Her place is now by another’s side,
“ Bring flowers lor the lochs of the fair young bride.”
'l’hc long parlor was splendidly illuminated.
The silver chuidalicr suspended in the cen
tre, threw around a brilliant light which the
mirrors augmented by reflection, whilst the
warm flashes that glanced from the spaiking
eyes of the laughing girls, added to the bl tze
and made the loom glow wit!) the lustre of
the skies. The. light of Heaven was there,
and merriment was there. The voiipg voi
ces mingling in sprightly conversation were
so many separate tones of melody—and mirth
was in all—all was gladness, and to those
whom despair had not rendered impenetrable
to joy, it was sweet to look upon the im.oeent
faces, and to witness the unaffected vivaci
ty that prevailed. Once I should have en
joyed the scene, but the chord in my bo
som that might have vibrated in unison,
was now snapped ns under, and amidst all
the splendor and gaiety and joy, that encir
cled me, mv heart retained its midnight dark
ness, still brooding over its ruin, and nourish
ing its gloomy wrath. 1 mixed not with the
joyous company, but retired to the remotest
corner of the room, and folding my arms, im
patiently waited the coining of the bride
groom and his bride, when 1 might take even
to the altar of Hymen, that sanguinary ven
gence which despair prompted, and my
wrongs justified.
They soon came. There was a sudden si
lence in the hall—l raised my eyes, and the
happy couple wt re standing on the floor, their
attendants arranged on either side. The
whole company pressed forward to look upon
the lair young bride. Never hud one shown
so beautiful—never had Fanny appeared so
lovely to my eye as then her countenance
seemed illuminated with unearthly animation
—a silk vail east a thin shadow over its bright
ness like a milk white cloud limiting before
the evening star. She blushed, and the ear
nation on her cheek shone like the glancing
sunbeam" on “ the hill of Ben-lotnond.” Her
tresses were blacker than the raven’s wing—
they roiled down her neck and spread upon
her ivory shoulders. Formed by the hand
of elegance her figure wore tho perfection
of human symmetry—she was the statue of
Medici, animated to life by the warmest,
brightest fires of heaven, exhibiting a constel
lation of beauty where every charm mingled
its light in one unbounded blaze. I gazed
ujKin ber, and the recollection of .former times
came rushing on my soul. 1 thougl t of the
many evenings that Iliad spent with her in
this same halt, under happier circumstances
—of the many protestations of eternal love,
that wc used to exchange as we walked arm
in arm to church of Sabbath mornings, and
of the times that wc have loitered on the
banks of a neighboring river, and sitting be
neath the umbrageous oaks, would speak ol
the fair prospects of happiness before us,
when wc should he united in marriage as wc
were in affection. Often has she told inc iii
these delightful ramhics.that Heaven design
ed us for each other, “ I for her, and she for
tne.” And little did I dream, that 1 should
ever he the victim of her perfidy, and behold
her the bride of another. 1 could not behold
it. A thousand times would I have rather
gone with a sprig of rosemary in iny lingers
to yiew her in the ruins of death. Ami here
let me beg the reader to be charitable to my
weakness ; mock not my misery with unhal
lowed merriment; if ve cannot sympathise
with mv affliction, let us part. 1 sVrite lor
those of softer mould ; with more cl the
“ milk of human kindness,” in their natuie ;
who can feel another’s woe; who delight to
bind the broken spirit, and to calm the agon
ized bosom of despair. There are such, and
ve generous few, the tear that you have for
the w retched, 1 ask it in behalf of him whoev
er lie may he, who has experienced the
blight of ruined affection. Soothe him. by
your kindness if you can, for Ins heart has
become desolate and he stands in need of all
the consolation to.be derived from the tcndcr
cst sympathies of friendship; the virtuous will
ever impart it; the vicious have none to be-
stow.
But to return to iny story.
who was to unite the happy couple together,
now assumed his proper station on the floor,
and in a moment all was still. Whilst he was
addressing to them in a feeling manner a few
prefatory admonitions, I arose from iny seat,
pressed my way through the crowd, and plant
ed myself at my rivals back. 1 laid mv hand
upon my dagger—-paused a moment —’twas
strange, iny heart began ,to falter m its stea
diness. Then it was that the enormity of the
act which 1 was about to perpetrate, flashed a
cross my mind in all its horror. He still looked
like the friend of iny youth—to imbrue mv
hands in his blood—-to murder him—it seemed
too horrid. My every joint trembled,and a cold
sweat bedewed mv forehead. And yet must
he triumph in my ruin ? Revenge is iny due,
and justice demands punishment for his trea
chery and shall 1 shrink from the blow ? There
was a mighty conflict in my hear; for mastery,
bp twccil Us .angry passions and its gentler ini'-
guloeS* But veiyy.-nue-a.lxiumollftd- l thought
my rival saw me, and in the look which seem
ed directed to inc, there was an air of haugh
tiness and exultation that re-iuvigoraUd my
i lc ,yes r oa|ii:nated my resentment. Again
he stood before m Q in all the blackness of his
guilt, the perfidious who had incrci
lessly defrauded me of my “ life's .if". -Flic,
aged Minister proceeded in the marriage cer
emony—if any know a lawful reason why
this couple should not be joined together in
the holy state of matrimony, let them speak.”
Now was my time. I touched the bride upon
the shoulder—she turned—“ Be not alarmed,”
I cried, “for I meditate no injury tovou. Ol
Fanny, when I admired the diamond bright
ness of your beauty, I did not think your
bosom had the diamond’s hardness too. 1
could say no more—utterance forsook me—
iny mind lost its deliberation, and in the
pbrenzy of despair, twisting my fingers in
the locks of the bewildered bridegroom, at
one convulsive efl'ort, I felled him on the floor
and bent my knee upon bis breast. The
whole company were petrified to marble.—
Before the attondiuiUt
from their panic, to render assistance to the
imploring victim at my feet, 1 snatched my
pistoi from its belt, and cocked it at Ins throb
bing temple.—At this moment Fanny caught
mo by the hand, and giving it a geqjde pres-,
sure, she said, “ come, come, arc you not go
ing to write in my Album ? it iins almost'
been an hour since you s it down for that pur
pose. ’ “ Write in your Album fair crea
ture,” saitl I—“ why yes, 1 will write in your
Album,” and arrousing me from {he reverie
into winch I had fallen froiri the time 1 tool*
mv seat by the table, I was much relieved on
finding that the above dreadful circumstance
existed only in a dieam of imagination. A
gaiit I dipped"mv pen in the stand, and .bal
ing nothing poetic about me, 1 wrote the
above. The stage-horn summoned me as 1
finished, and 1 just iiad time to print on Fan
ny’s lira, the parting hiss
MOBAL.
. From the N. Y. .Mas.
“ On a gravestone in Worcrster-Cathetkal is
this emphatic i(ißcri;>liort—‘ Aliskrrimus;’ with
neither name nor nor taxt.” Such
is the peculiar title-page of a peculiar and most
striking piece of composition re-published thik
week by Mess.s. Harper. The force of the. epi
taph, and, consequently a due impression of the
author’s subject, is lost to those who are unac
quainted with the meaning of tho single, but
thriee-cxpressive Latin word which marks tire
monument, —Here lies a perf.it a-rclrh :
With such materials, and unrestrained by any
limitations ot time, or place, or circumstance, the
reader may Judge with what offect a powerful
pen might sketch the. scenes which aif excited
imagination would readily find, scope for. Such a
pen has been employed, and the result is a,short,
vigorous, and impassioned tale, which has secur
ed to the writer the highest prise abroad, ami
promises the like fame oil this side of the-Atlan
tic. The production is anonymous; Jts style
much resembles Bulwcr’s Monos .Sr. JJiainonos,
and other imaginative writings : whether he can
be justly suspected of its authorship-, we do not
know. Oftlie character of the voluulp—which,
we ought not to omit io say, the publishers have
issued in a beautiful form—wc need only here ob
serve,that it assumes to be the auto-biography ot
a victim of passions intense and unrestrained, alid
lending, as such guides must,'to the most despe
rate consequences.
The moral of the work (which forms ,t distinct,
concluding section) is so forcibly expressed, that
w-e quote it —although,- by so doing, we tender
this notice more extended than was our purpose
at the outset.
“ l’jlty years have passed since that day ; one
half ot them in the indulgence of overy ruthless
and desperate passion. 1 deemed existence an
injury ;J thought [myself aggrieved in having
been created ; and 1 felt evil tow ard . all my race,
in the profligate court of Charles, ami afterwards
111 that of Louis, I found an ample so ld for mv |
misanthropic impulses. Like Isbmael, ‘my hand |
was against every man, and every man’s hand
against me-’ And yet 1 prospered ill the world,
and earned in it those distinctions of renown
which others only obum through the exertion
of willful an I systematized ambition. At tie
head of armies, i.i tin. strife of courts, in the dan
gerous intrigues of internal politics, in foreign di- i
plomucy. in private faction or in popular tumult,
Burred- iiivariahlv uiieudt I me.
During this Song career, I -.vis the envied ol the
many; and even now, I could direct universal
attention to my obscurity, by reveiling the desig
nation under which I drew upon myself the eyes
of Europe. But, neither wealth, power, nor
homage, softened the agony of my remorse ; with
in me was the worm that never ifieth. As I
advanced in life, the fiery restlessness which had
hitherto involuntarily propelled me into energet
ic-exertion, forsook me ; and the last frve-&-tiven
ty years of my guilty existence have been past, 1
hope, le-s errtugly than two first. In solitude
and in penitence, in prayer anJ self-imposed pri
vation, have I striven to subdue the strong wick
edness of my heart; but, hivret .uteri lethulis a
runrfo, it goads me night arid day, and an ocean
cf tears coald not wash out the memory of the
one great crime of my bad life. For evet r and
ever, ihe words of Adoni-bezcck recut to me, —
‘As I have done, so God hath requited me,"
No human effort or power can restore me to
tranquillity. t-iuce the hour of lu-r destb, the
curse of Heaven has beetqon me and lpiue: my
sisters have died childless, and 1 live the last of
my race. In the morning I wish for the evening.
The heaven above- mu is its brass, and the
earth beneath me is as iron. Above, below,
man’s wo and joy, I prowl over the face of the
land alone amongst millions; an alien to the com
mon passions of my race, 1 can neither weep
with the mourner, nor smile with the happy.—
And yet 1 fear to die! Existence is mv bane,
the future ismy dread; I loath,what is, but I trem
ble at what is’ to be.—May this expi ate—May
the Almighty be merciful toa wretch who cannot
forgive himself! "
. 1 do not hope that this gloomy career of crime
and misery can interest, but it may instruct.
Though I cannot bequeath a moral legacy as
striking as that of the Moorish King, 1 will
yet strive to contribute iny mite, though a
posthumous one, to ‘tho- welturo ot man-kind.
I have perpetrated and. seen so much ut evil;
have so writhed beneath the horrors of remorse,
that 1 would Willingly make any exertion to
save a fellow-creature from its stings. 1 shall
not, then, deem this painful record to have been
written in vain, ifmy example and fate servebut
to turn one sinner to repentance, or lo impress on
ihe ininil of one wavers, the conviction that—
I*ol. IT IG Al_.
STATE RIGHT'S.
The doctrine of nullification, how trite soever
it may Ue, has been rejected, denounced and
scouted by a large majority of the people of the
United States-. The opposition of the whole fe
deral, tariff. Clay, and Jackson parties, fach from
differenl'niotives, emulating the tin wearied exer
tions "of the others, and wielding the tremendous
power and patronage ol the federal government,
was too great for truth itself to withstand . Ed
ucation, interest and ambition arrayed a mighty
host against it north of the Potortioc ; and the
corrupting influence of power and patronage,
produced so many desertions form-the little band
south of Mason and Dixon’s line, that*, if we pro
[i■• r 1 y nuaufUr- ilu. character of man, we shall
not be surprised,.that when the Old Chief said
sternly, nullification ylmll go down, a panic seiz
ed many, yea, thousands, who would .otherwise
have enlisted under its banner.
We shall examine some of the causes of a mo
ral character, arising from the very nature of man,
by which its more general adoption was prevent
ed. Truth, it is said, is mighty, and will pre
va”. Tire history of the world attests the con
trary There 1“ riot an error of Opinion, how
absurd soever it may ap I 'C"*l- which has not at
some period of the world, prevailed , ” a <l there
is scarcely a truth now established and admitted,
which did not meet such opposition, as to cause
its votaries, for a long time, almost lo .despair ot
its success. Nothing is better calculated to
cause a deep sense of humility to fail on the soul
of a man of feeling, than reflecting on the mass
of false notions in philostqrl.y, morality, religion
and government, in which mankind irom the be
ginning have been involved. And the extreme
difficulty, with which truths, the liiost sublime
rmil important find their way to the heart and the
understanding, especially when they conflict with
prejudices of longstanding,** with the Interests
of large bodies of men, is fully illustrated by
every page of profane ami eetesiastin-.il history.
The early" chrUu«nr> suffered mr.r‘.yr"flom in every
-horrid fern of death, and their members increas
ed slow ly’, till the Empefor Constantine, became
a convert to their faith, ills' countenance arid
support soon converted"jiis courtisaus arid para
site;,. Jt became the rdjgii ri of the court, mar
tyrdom ceased, and Horn that ti ne forward, do
other religion prevailed soextensivtlyin Europe,
. particularly in tho pertioTTembraced by Ihe Ro
man Empire. Nor.was it the force of truth a
lotie, that caused tho success of the reformation
commenced by Luther.- The -gross corruption
mid tyranny of the Carbolic Church aided him
more than any other arguments. In England.
Henry VIII'. ‘established the prot.-stunt reiigioa,
from consideration of a personal character. : Ma
ry, his 'daughter, acknowledged the Supremacy of
the Tope from motives of a similar kind ; and
her successor Elizabeth, ny-establishcd lhp Pro
testant religion, because,, as- her father and mo
ther Anno BtJiyirli.id bw'n-c!tvcrce;l by the Popp
it she. had acknowledged his ’Supremacy, she
v.’ouid-have been in-law a bastard, and .incapable
of filling the throne. 1 nullification Could
have-enlisted iff its support, some individoal,of
great power, Andrew Jackson for instance, its-,
truth would irave flushed at once, on the .mind of
a majority of the peo’p'e of trie United Btutcs,
and, in the Southern -States..there would, have
been, by this time, hut Ititle difference of opinion
Oil this subject, ' -•-■ -b >-* a:,- •
Nullification has not yet prevailed, twin a com
bination of causes against it. It wi!R however,
certainly receive the snuction, at’least of the.
Southern Mates", fruity a combination cf causes in
its I ivor. On this we mainly depend. AVc knowfl '
or believe, tbe principles of the dot-tribe arc sus
ceptible of tbe" clearest arid tm/st-indisputable
proet; but the history of tbe world,*ymd the -is
sue ot ihe hue dottiest btjtweeti the l-’ederat Go,,
verpment and bSouffvCarolinn, admonish us, in
language too plain io bn misupdcrstynrf, thai ab
stract trutb alone is not, of itself, siiffieient to re
cerhtnend any opinion, "or Sct’c-f opinions, to the
adoption of the multttudb.
' Otir system of goVCTntnent is an experiment.
The vyodd never bjt-forc produced one of a pre
cisely. similar character. Democracies, Repub
lics, anil even Confederacies existed -fn ancient
times, and lira modified form in modern limes;
■ hut the idea of a Cr.utd Union, of thirteen jor
twenty-four sovereign Republican p o w"e is, fori fl
ing ono government, for certain general purposes,
with certain specified and limited powers, to he
executed by the permission and for tlm.benefit of
iliti whole, was entirely ti.-tv to the world.- Pa
ley, m English moral istf.at the tiino.of its tidop
liou, spoke of It as entirely novel, ]>ut inclined"
to ihe opinion that it would he succcssl'jL Eve-'
ty t ff-rt,however, td put the principle fn prac
tice, jvbelli, r by Virgrtiiu, lit-ntiu-ky, Pennsylva
nin, Ohio, MqsepchuseUs, Georgia or Carolina
It s arrayed against it fearful opposition. Itis a
natural impulse, arising from tlm conduct of the
world, in too many instances ignorant ajjd bar
barous, io suppose that.-a controversy between
two governments cannot bo adjusted without
bloodshed. Hence, when eqy subh controversy
arose, between a State and the Federal Govern
ment, the idea of civilwar, with its Imrrid train
ol consequences, rushed upon the minds of thou-
Rsm.te, Hiul they shrank „ ,U, terror from the eon
test. Every instance of Nfate interposition lets,
however, proved peaceful, and the success of the
experiment in a low more instances, w ill convince
the mast incredulous, that all assumption of pow
er by the Federal Government e m b'reheckcd by
the authority of tin*aggrieved Mates, without a
ioo, or prejudice, firmly established by the uni
versal edit sent arid practice of mankind, before
the formation of the Union, that controversies
between governments can only he settled by civil
war, and that, (n all governments, there must he
one supreme, absolute and uncontrollable power,
capable.o/ affecting its will, in all cases, by the
sword, must be practically refuted. ibis will
be the case ; and when it is once .discovered that
conventions among civilized people, can he made
to supercede trig, necessity ot civil war, the sys
tem of government of which we and our ances
tors have, been so vain, w ill gradually he extend
ed into other nations—driving civil wars and
cqmniotioris from the universe. On this accouut
afone We have been in the habit of calling our
government an experimcr.t—an improvement on
all other systems. Ours is not the first Republi
can, or , Representative Government, nominally
limited in its character, that has existed ; but it
is the first in which the principle for which we
contend ha3 been recognized. Oil (lie success
of this principle in practice, then depends the
success of the whole system, for the experience
of all ages attests that Republics, controlled by
an absolute majority, cannot exist except in a ve
ry small territory.
But independent of the fact, that {ruth has al
ways found its way to general adoption, with ex
treme slowness-; and that the novelty of the
doctrine of nullification, so far as the political
world is concerned, conflicts with "the establish
ed prejudices of muukiud in favor of exacting,
at the point of the bayonet, unlimited submission
to Some supreme power, it is a fact w hich cannot
be denied, that man is not only disposed to sub
mit to power, hut even to hug the chains of des
potism with which lie is bound. Let any one
cast his eye over the map of the world, even in
its present improved and enlightened condition,
him! he will find nine-tenths of the human race in
a state of degraded vassalage. And this has
been the ease from the beginning of time. It
must then he a principle of human nature, as the
Declaration of Independence axpresses it, “that
mankind ate more disposed to suffer While evils
are sufferable, than to right themselves, by abol
ishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”
This principle has been in operation in our go
vernment; ami.nothing but extreme watchfulness
on our part can prevent it from hSving its usual
eflect—the establishment.of a despotism. For
there is another principle of nature, by which
power accumulates continually in the hand* of
those who exercise it. lienee thewise saying
of Robert Goodloe Harper, that Republicans
might be sleeted ; but all Presidents would go
out of office Federalists. It has been the case in
every instance but one—-'Thomas Jefferson.
In this country, every citizen lores the Union.
It was-formed by a noble ancestry, and is known
to be essential to our continued happiness and
prosperity. Wlicn infractions of the .constitution
are made, and resistance is threatened, tlm inter
ested majority and tbe parasites of "pcfwer, ap
peal to our love of Union, and by representing (ill
oilier evils as light, when compared to ..disunion,
differ the people from investigation. They .for
get thjit continued asssumptions of power will
not 6n|y render tlm constitution a dead letter, but
Jiy-driving the opprossud to upaa tahulUau, us
jn all other governments, dissolve the Union
more certainly than any effort in the first in
stance, to preserve the constitution inviolate.—
This argument was used with its full effect, in
the late contest, and the best men in the nation
were stigmatized asdisunionists.
[.i/a. Spirit of the .Ige.
THE Sffl’TH.
Although not among those who believe*
there is any settled design on the part of the
sober, rational people ol' the non-slave hold
ing states, i v r their legislative bodies, to inter
sere directly w ith the rights of the southern
planters, in relation lo tlic.extrcmcly delicate
subject of slavery, yet wc cannot but think
they have been Unnecessarily worried as well
as -insultcd on various occasions. As holders
of slaves they have been perpetually stigma
tized with injustice, tyranny, and cruelty;
tlfdV have boon placed as it were below the
other citizens' of the Un-ited States: their
characters h-;v& b<-en HsSaib-d, ns btrrer**, sel
ler.-*, and scottrgers of their fellow creatures :
their right to the possession of a large-portion
of their property lias been questioned on ab
stract ■ principles 'of natural law ; and they
have been driven into sectional copibijiations
in defetux: of their rights as well as their cha
actcr. They have been i’ndiicctly charg'd
•with eorruptiun, in arguments to show the de
moralizing c-tlffets of .“slavery, and as patriotic,
us-ht’nofiddo, as high minded a race as-tliis-or
iny other country can been held bp
to the world id lhj3.light of ti delinquent caste ,
tainted wit-ir’hereditary crime. '
V> e say we do not hclipVc there is any or
ganised or meditated [dan among the sober,
rational portion of our fellow citizens) or in
their .legislative bodies, to interfere- with the
guaranteed rights of tb ■ Planters of the-South;
but we should, be blind tothe imlibatioifs vvjtich
exhibit themselves ahnofft every where, if we
did not distinctly perceive that such a plan is
cherished, not only hi this country but Great
Britain, and is in quiet-progress to its ultim
ata nec-quqdisinnent. We sec it in'the force
ol example presented by England m relation
■to her West India possessions; in the lan
gu g of newspapers, pamphlets, public ineet-
i"ffs, and.in- tlicrirlranization of now societies,
lor the purjioi-g ol itflluctlcihg public opinion
and putilic action on this most momentous
subject. We -say public action, because in
this country, it not every whore else, Opinion
is the soycreigri; and the report of tho rifle
follows the. flash not more instantaneously,’
than does action, opinion, among a free and
sovereign people. In vain do laws prefect,
and constitutional provisions guarantee rights
and immunities ;"f!je moment public opinion,
ceases to-siistaiu them, they fall to the ground
and tire' trampled oii with impifnity*. The
laws and the constitution are lint the creature
ot tiie people’s will, and they cun alter ea
sily as they made them.
If therefore, tlre.e is among a certain class
t design on foot,as wc most seriously believe"
there is, to emancipate (he sl it es of this coun
try, without regard tothe laws of the land,
'or Hie rights of property,-as v.'e see in Eng
land; the mode adopted of sdeiitly, arid wa
rily proceeding to disseminate opinions, and
habits of tuiriking, favorable to those purpo
ses, is i ot only the surest, but tho shortest
way to bring about this result. We have
lately seen it asserted in the Washington
Globe,.and in other quartet’s, that this design
is only cherished by enthusiasts and fanatics,
and that the sober, ration. 1 portion of the
people, not only have nq participation in the
project, hut will oppose it to the extent of
their numbers and their power. It mav lie
so. But let us ask, what proportion the sober
anti lational people of the United States, bear
to these enthusiasts, and fanatics?—ls not
Bn land overrun with the latter, and are they
ti'i increasing anti multiply ing every day, nay,
‘ "•cry hour, and every moment of the day I
Does not their wealth, their influence and
t teir power, advance iu proportion, not only
to tb. ir numbers, Imt to the force of that spell
''hu h they throw over the minds, atvd tbst
‘ ’'t"""’ 11 «l»ey cxrrei ,-ovcrthe thought* mid
a 'turns of their disciples ?
Ihe thoughtl„»i ami inexperienced nl ay
jugh at the effort of fanaticism and enthusi.
sin; but it is only these that work miracles
iow-a-days; and liowcver*cheap we may hold
he talents of a V\ ulkcr or a Garrison, we will
enture to say that they sway the minds and
xpress the opinions of more human beings
n tbe United States than all the philosophers
ind metaphysicians of the world qiut together.
I’lio wiser portion of mankind indeed, will
lot be misled by the rash, uncalculating en
husiasm of men who neither think nor rea
ion; they"scorn to yield assent to any thing
out the most aonClusive logic, and despise the
led notions of bad spelling, and bad grammar.
They foiget that these have often overturned
systems and empires; and that the most pow
erful, the most irresistible of all agencies, ex
cept that of Omnipotence itself, is fanaticism
operating on the passion's of the people. All
tile first impulses which struck on the pulse
of the Universe, and all thcrqjlakjliDiis, reli
gions as well as political, 'fifiat-Tuiv*e happened
in our age, proceeded from the ignorant, not
from the wise; from the governed, and not
from the governors.
In our opinion, therefore, the planters of
the South have ample cause tqr apprehension
on the subject to slavery. Already have their
lives more than once been placed in jeopardy
by the persevering attempts of the followers
of the new school of philanthropy, which
holds it both religion and morality to interfere
with tho rights and safety of others, in the
pursuit of a questionable good. We do not
mean to blink tiffs question, and therefore
think wc have made a concession to the ad
voeates of speedy and universal emancipation,
when [jo say a questionable .good. Where
lias the emancipation of the negro as yet, ope
rated to make him better or happier? We
ask the question, Where has lintnan liappi
ness been extended or increased by emanci
pation ? Arc the negiocs "of Ft. Domingo
more enlightened, moral, religions, happy, or
comfortable, than under their old masters?
Does that island yield one tenth part of the
fruits of cultivation, the means of existence
the blessings of life it (lid in the hands of the
whites? Are tiie free blacks of Philadelphia,
\evv-York or Boston, more enlightened in
mind, or moral in habits, or comfortable in
circumstances, than the slaves of the South!
Every body known and sees they arc not.
The poor-houses, .the jails, the penitentiaries,
tile, hospitals, the state prisons, the streets,
distinctly prove they are neither one nor the
other. Tiie records ol crime, and the records
of poverty, are decisive of the question.
Fo far, therefore, experience is against c
mancipalion, unless some hi tter means can be
devised for enabling the manumitted sltms
to benefit by their freedom than have hiihcito
received the- sanction of philanthropy. Vet
in the pursuit of this questionable good to
others, who claim no kindred blood nor kin.
dred color with us. we are alienating the af.
feclions of a large portion of cur fellow citi
zens, weakening the bonds Os our Union, ami
preparing the way for a series of consequen
ces at which the stoutest nerves' will shiver in
tiie contemplation.
The present and ultimate evils of tins ha
bitual interference yyith tbe relations of mas
ter and slave in the South, are sufficiently pal
pable ; the means of.preventing such inter
ference aye not equally so. The mischief is
already done, so far as respects thc'succrssof
the measures taken to render the slave discon
tented and dang; {pus. Emissaries carrying
with them and disseminating books, calling
upon the slaves, in the name of their God,
their Saviour, and their religion, to rise and
return tenfold to their masters the wrongs
they have suffered, liaye been fatally busy a
mong them, and prepared the way for such
scenes a§ were witnessed but the otherdav in
Bower Virginia. When the Governors cf
that state and of Georgia applied to the Chief
.Magistrates of Massachusetts and Ncw-Yor 1 ,
whence it was ascertained these inflainatory
liooks firocccdi and, by* the former he was an
swered, that there was no law to reach the
case : by the, latter, no answer was given.—
Gov. TltrOop it scents did not think it a matter
deserving of notice.
V. hat remains then, when the sister stabs
refuse to aid in protecting, hut that tho South
'shall take upon itself its own protection, and
acton tho universal principle of self (faience?
It is not or.jy their right, but their duty to do
so; and if the other coordinate members of
the union should resort lo measures, to coun
teract, or interfere* w ith, these indispensable
precautions’ then the people of the South must
take care ofthemselves. —The union will then
indeed become to them a curse instead of a
blessing, and they will be justified in the eve
of Ili.u who lias ordained self-preservation;
the first law of nature, iu a final separation
I tout those who, t hough they may not be ac
tive, are yet passive instruments in undermin
ing their interests, blasting their reputation,
and placing in imminent peri! the fives of tilt h
children, 'i’liis is not question of mere poli
tical ascendancy ;no squabble ol'rival denta
■gogues; ho petty strife of temporary interests;
but oue of safety or peril—life or death. —
Here is the link iu the chain of ourunitn
that IS weakest and that will first break. Wc
owe it to the people of the South, not to
•ouch it: we owe it to the union and happi
ness of the states, not to touch it; we owe it
lo the great maxim of doing as wc would be
done bv, not to touch it; and "wo owe it to
every feeling of kindred blood arid kindred in
terests, to check by every lawful means, flic
wild projects, of fanaticism, whose steps in
.every, age, and every nation of the world,
have been marked like thoseof.tlic murderer,
with the blood of innocent victims. Fanati*
cism is the mpst dangerous, as well as remor
seless principle of the human mind; it
knowledges no laws but of its own creation;
it owns no tic of kindred, of nature, or hu
manity ; it laughs at all the restraints of jus
tice ; and pleads the sanction of Heaven b ,r
t he violation of every duty to its God, its coun
try, and its follow creatures.
JV. I) Covr. and Enq-
ihe de Verd*.
Wo have recently heard much of the suffer
ings of tHe inhabitants of those Islands, and
had hoped that a brighter scene had dawned
on the distressed population. We have, how
ever, just received a letter from a valued Iricnd
w ho touched at the islands in tho spring, Iron l
which we make the following extract: —-V
Com. Ade. . -
“ Our stay at Port Pray was 100 short to of
conic faimlliar with the mminers and custuu 1 '’
of the people—hill we were long enough •<>
witness Home of tho suflerings which th |#
group of Islands have recently experience •
The} tire not yet at an end; timy *f*
dying daily, and some of the poor I saw P" j
cd uj» by their Inn hr as butcher’* boy would