The Connecticut courant and Hartford weekly intelligencer — Hartford, Conn., 1775-02-27 00:00:00, page 4

The ''Story of Zeyn Alasm-an, Prince of Balsora.
Continued.
ON this, the statue Zeyn requested
In terms his tutor had suggested.
The Genii then thus silence broke :
(His countenance brightening as he spoke)
" I lov'd your father, prince, 'tis true,
« And for his fake will cherish you ;
“ Already of my special care
'' You've had no despicable Ihare.
“ 'Twas I repeatedly that came
'' To give you counsel in a dream;
“ 'Twas I that on the fattin wrote
<' The lines that have you hither brought,
<< Your noble father, once a year,
“ Was wont to pay a visit here,
“ And every time he took his leave)
“ A precious statue did receive.>
“ I had but nine, and eight I gave, )
<< The ninth, far fairer than the rest,
“ Is what you now from me request ;
« That is not to be given, but gain'd,
“ And thus may dearly be obtain'd:
“ You must find out and bring me here
° : A maiden in her fifteenth year
“ (Beauty's best workmanship, her face,
" Her shape, proportion all, and grace)
“ Who never knew, or wifh'd to know,
" What joys from love's embraces flow ;
" And whom, (your felf-denial such)
“ You neither touch'd, nor wifh'd to touch,
“ This to accomplilh, you must swear
" By all that muffelmen revere.
“ Prince, of the enterprize beware ;
“ If in one article you break
“ The oath tremenduous you must take,
^' To expiate your perjury,
" Dear as you are to me, you die.
The prince was too much entete
The Genii's warning to obey,
And inconsiderately swore
To find what ne'er was found before.
But soon as he his oath had clofs'd,
Him this reflection difcompos'd:
How shall I know the matchiefs she
Poffeft of all this purity ?
The Genii instantly divin'd
What doubts were passing in his mind.
And smiling said, " No time can learn,
'{ Nor the accuteft eye discern
" A method to discriminate
" True innocence from counterfeit.
" The look demure, and bafhful face,7
" Are often nothing but grimace ;>
“ But take you this unerring glass, )
" When one you find you think will suit ye
“ In point of age and shape and beauty,
" Consult this mirror--if 'its foul,
“ Impure her body or her foul;
“ If spotless it remain, and clear,
" Forthwith efc@rt the virgin here ;
" But let me caution you once more
" Well to remember what you've sworn."
x Thus having his injunctions spoke,
He dissipated into smoke;
And with a joyful, lighten'd heart
The prince and Morabec depart,
Regain unhurt th' extensive lake,
And, as before, are ferried back,
Mr. Watson,
The enclosed is an extraß, from a letter wrote by a gentle
man in this colony, to bis friend in the province of the
Massachusetts Bay : if you will please to publijb it, it
will undoubtedly be acceptable to the public, as well as
obliging to your friend and bumble servant.
Dear Sir,
YOUR'S of I received, in which you desire
my thoughts on the doings of the Britifli crown
and court with regard to these colonies. But pre
vious thereto, I would observe, that all our kings
take a solemn oath at their coronation to observe
and cause all laws to be kept, (fee book of oaths
page ill and third) this occasioned Fortefquieu, lord
chancellor to Henry 6th, in his book de Laudibus,&c.
chap, 9th to fay, “ The King of England cannot
alter nor change the laws of his realm." And
Judge Bratton, a law author in the reign of King
Henry the third, fays, " The King in his realm hath
two superiors, God and the Law." True it is, that
mod of the Kings in our nation have been intolera
ble oppressors-.-sometimes by illegal devices they
have drain'd the people of money—sometimes they
have oppressed and destroyed them by making fo
refts. The Kings of England used to claim a pri
vilege of keeping wild beasts and game to them
selves in any place they should .appoint for that
purpose. In Kington's history of England, ne find
that there were no less than 69 forefts in England
at one time. The manner of making these forefts
was thus : a commission was issued out of the court
of chancery under the great seal directed to certain
persons, declaring the King's pleasure to make a
sorest in such a place, commanding them to view the
ground, and to bound so much thereof, as they
p O E T RY.
Should think convenient to make a sorest for his de
light and recreation ; and by virtue of this commissi
on those persons entered on the lands of any man
whatsoever, and set out marks and boundaries, in
order to make a sorest, without any fatisfadtion to
the owner . • and upon the return of their commission
into the chancery with their doings thereon, the
King was entitled to the land now converted into a
sorest, and that by matter of record. The hiltorian
tells us that the new sorest in Hampshire, was raised
by the deftruftion of 22 parish-churches, and many
chapels, villages, and manors for the space of 30
miles ; which the fame hiflorian fays was so displeas
ing to God, that several of those princes came to un
timely ends in that very sorest, as Rufus, who was
shot there, and Richard, brother of Henry firft, was
killed there by a soldier, and Henry, nephew of Ro
bert, eldest son of the conqueror, was hanged like
Abfalom in the boughs of that sorest. But the
making of these forefts was not the greatest oppres
sion the people fuffered ; I look upon the punish
ments inflicted on tiofe that hunted, or were but
fufpefted of hunting and killing any of the game in
these forefts, to be a greater oppression hill. These
punishments varied in different reigns, and were not
always the fame in one and the fame reign, but were
varied according to the King's pleasure. Sometimes
the punishment has been hanging ; sometimes only
gelding and putting out of the eyes would fatisfy the
tyrant. Rufus, caused gorich men in England to
be apprehended and accused them of taking his
bucks in his sorest, but they denied it, and he could
not prove any thing against them, yet he ordered
them to clear themselves by Fire-Ordeal, * which was
a sure way to destroy them ; and thus the King had
liberty to take off any man at his pleasure, only by
accusing him of killing his deer. Thus our nation
has been oppressed by its Kings, which oppreflions
have occasioned the people to make war upon their
Kings, to prevent which calamities the people in
sisted upon two charters being fubferibed by their
Kings, one is called Magna Charta, and the other
the charter of the sorest. King John was the firft
that fubferibed these charters 1199. These charters
have been 32 times on public solemn occasions re
newed and confirmed finee they were firft made.
These charters were called a grant of liberties to
the people: But Lord Coke fays upon it, " That
they are only declaratory of the liberties of England ;
no new freedom being hereby granted, but a relli
tution of such as lawfully they had before, for the
King as King cannot grant privileges to the people,
because as King he is made by the people; and the
creature cannot give or grant liberties to the creator,
but can declare what is the creator's due, as in the
firft chapter of Magna Charta we read thus, “ We
have granted to God,' &c. i. e. we have declared what
is.due to God. But though the King's of England
swore to govern according to these charters, yet they
regarded them no longer than they were forced to
by the people ;. and every opportunity they could,
would break over thele bounds and oppress the
peo le. The people therefore in the reign ofEd
ward firft, finding human policy not strong enough
to bind their Kings, resolved to add religious ob
ligations thereto: accordingly the King then con
firmed the two charters, and further adds, “ And
we will that the fame charters shall be sent under
our seal to the cathedral churches throughout our
realm, there to remain, and shall be read to the peo
ple two times by the year ; and that ail archbishops
and bishops shall pronounce the sentence of excom
munication againit all those that by word or deed, or
counsel, do contrary to the aforefaid charters, or that
in any point break or undo them; and that the said
curses be twice a year denounced and published by
the prelates aforefaid, and if the said prelates or any
of them be remiss in the denunciation of the said sen
tences, the archbishops es Canterbury and York for
the time being, shall compel them to the execution
of their duties in form aforefaid." The Curse is
as follows, viz.
In the name of tbe Fatber, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
Amen. Whereas our Sovereign Lord the King, to the
honor of God and of the holy church, and for the cumfort of
the realm, bath granted for him and bis heirs forever,
these articles above written, Robert,Arch-Bifhop of Can
terbury, primate of all England, admonifatb all bis pro
vence, once, twice, tfthrice ; because that floortnefs will not
fuffer so much delay, as to give knowledge to all the people
of England of these presents by writing. We therefore
enjoin all persons of what efate soever they be, that they
and every of them, as much as in them is, shall uphold
and maintain these articles granted by our sovereign Lord
the King, in all points ; and all those that in any point,
do resist or break, or in any manner hereafter procure, coun
sel, or any way assent to refft or break these ordinances,
or go about it by word or deed, openly or privily, by any
manner of pretence or colour. We the aforefaid arch-
* I fuppole I need not tell you that Fire-Ordeal
was a fort of tryal that women accused of inconti
nency, formerly underwent to prove their innocen
cy ; which was nine coulters laid red hot upon the
ground at unequal distances, which if the accused
passed over without being burnt, after she was hood
wink'd, she was allowed to be innocent, otherwise
guilty.
one, who, whenever he is pleased to accuse one of
killing a rabbit in his sorest, may take away their
lives, and ermfifeate their estates? Can we be fub
je&: to such a Defender of the Faith, as
challenges a right to prescribe to his fubjeds what
they are to believe concerning God, and what duty
God requires of man ? If our Fathers could have borne
such a yoak, there never had been a New-England.
Can we their children, think of taking it upon our
necks? God forbid. Surefy New-England free
men will resolve and maintain their liberty like the
noble Spartans, lead on by the gallant Leonidas to
defend the pass at Thermopyte, againit Xerxes's
whole army, which confined of 2,640,610 men,
the Spartans were determined to a man, either to
conquer or die; and tho' but 4000 in number, yet
they llew above 2:000 of Xerxes's army. See the
difference between freemen and Haves, when they
. come to battle. Let us go and do likcwife. We
have surely as much to fight for as theGrecians bad,
and our enemy, Lord North and Xerxes, appear,
in weakness, pride,ambition and cruelty,to be much
alike. Xerxes was extravagant enough to believe
that all nature, and the very elements, were under
his command : Witness his letter to mount Athos,
which runs thus, " Thou proud and aspiring
" mountain, that lifteft wp thy head to the heavens,
" I advise thee not to be so audacious as to put
" rocksand stones, which cannot be cut, in the
“ way of ray workmen. If thou giveft them this
" opposition, I fhail cut thee entirely down, and
“ throw thee headlong into the fca !''What a re
semblance is there between this, and the Boston.
Port-Bill, and Gen. G 's commission ! which
fliews the fabricators to be alike, and therefore but
little to be regarded. Let us appeal to heaven, and
gird on the sword, and we shall do wtfld.
bifap, by our authority in this writing exprtfed, do ex
communicate and accurfe, and from the body of our Lord
ffas Chris, and from all the company of heaven, and
from all the sacraments es the holy church, do fequefer
and exclude," This you will find at large in the
ftatutc book printed in the reign of Queen Eliza
beth, in three volumes, Anno Domini, 1559. The
29th chap, of Magna Charta is as follows.
No free man shall be taken or imprisoned, or diffazed of
his free-bold, or liberties, or free cufoms, or be out-law 'd
or exiled, or any otherwise defrayed, or will we pass
upon bim, nor condemn bim, but . by lawful judgment of
bis peers, or by the law of the land. We will fell to no
man, we will dey or defer to anyman either juf ice orright.
The learned Lord Coke, that oracle of law, in
the second part of his inflitutes, has many excellent
observations on this chapter, and divides it into nine
several branches, but be is too long for me to copy:
He closes with faying, that, A greater inheritance de-
fends to us from this law, than from our progenitors.
And who, pray, could delire being without these
privileges? Sir, I am now ready to tell you that:
I look upon the grievances recounted by the conti
nental Congress, in their petition to the King, so
many notorious breaches of the law of this chapter in
the charter, and an open betraying of the trust reposed
by this nation in the British crown and court ; and [I
cannot think there is a man of sense in the nation,
that knows these things, but mud be forced to think
of them as I do. If you alk how it comes then, that
some among Us who are men of difeerning are ne
vertheless tefies ? I anfiver, they are bribed to aft
as they do; If you fay this is hard to believe, all
things considered ; I answer, 'tis no harder to be
lieve this now of men, than formerly, a certain
greatman in our nation, was wont to fay, that he
could buy any man in the kingdom with money
enough, though some would coll more than others :
and 'tis said of the fame great man, that he was forc
ed to bribe his parliament to make them vote ac
cording to their confcienc.es. As to the opposition in
the colonies to the late unconstitutional proceedings
of the British parliament, I rejoice to fee it, and I
think every good man will bless God for it ; we
fh)uld be rebels indeed ifwe did not oppose these
growing usurpations. Whether the bishops have
done their duty in excommu dealing the British
court as directed and required by the statute law, is
much to be qne&ioaed; but it is to be hoped that:
the refinance in America, will be a means of bring
ing them to a sense of their duty in this regard. To
conclude, as onr cause is good, I think we need not
fear success ; except on the account of our fins,
which [ hope present fufferings will happily convince
of, and persuade us to convert from, particularly the
guilt we lay under on account of our enslaving the
poor Africans, which I hope will be removed by
their being released, and enabled to bless this heri
tage of the Lord. I can't think that there are ma
ny in thecountry but what will choose the horrors
of a civil war, rather than those of ilavery. We are
so fond of calling what we have our own, that I can
not think our people will ever be willing to submit
to an arbitrary prince.
Can we of New-England think of yielding up
all property in houses, lands? &c. Can we be
willing to fee 20 or 30 of our towns and parishes
depopulated and converted into a sorest, at the plea
sure of a tyrant? Can New-England be fubjedt to