The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1782-02-05 00:00:00, page 2

NOTHING can feoner excite the indignation of a
good man, than to hear the (acred name of Friend
ship profliteted upon every trifling occasion. The
riendihips of jhe world are but too often confedera
cies in vice, or leagues ot pleasure. Men of different
ages, -ranks, and in linan ions, indiferiminately herd ng
together, the .acquaintances of libertinifm and folly
usurp the title of Friendship. But this remark is per
haps as old as the creation. Among the virtues too,
particular circumflances may render the intimacies of
Friendship improper and even fatal. I would not be
mistaken No one can be more sensible to the blessings
of a virtuous connection ; and I could fondly ask with
xpoet :
" Is aught so fair
" In all the dewy landscape of the Spring,
" Inthe bright eye of Helper in the morn,
" In Nature's raireft forms, is aught so fair
'' As virtuous Friendfllip r"
Bus, with the mort exalted ideas of Friendship, it is
not less true, that even among the virtuous, a want
of judgment in the choice of intimates is fometimea
but too apparent. Virtue is the essential, but not the
sole quality in true Friendship. There are persons of
the greater wort/!, whole affections claim our highest
regard, whole Friendship, however, from dissimilarity
of sentiments, would be neither definable nor advanta
geous. An.lndian Sage, givingadvice to his son on
this fubjea, iilurtrated his observations with the follow
ing fable :
“ Thou haft heard, my son, fays he, of the great
affection which lizards bear to mankind. Abairan,
the Kiliph of Bagdat, as he was hunting one day in a
neighbouring sorest, being fatigued with the toil of the
chace, and separated from his company, laid himfelf
down to sleep on the green bank of a rivulet. He had
scarce closed his eyes, when one of thole friendly
animals awakened him, by foftly touching him with
his tail ; but how great was his furprize, when he be
held, not many yards off, a large ferpe t rolling to
wards him! He immediately arose, took up his little
deliverer, and fled This accident fil ed his mind with
io mucu gratitude, that hedaily fed the lizard with his
own hand, and cherished it in his bosom. He had not
done so long before his complexion, which was natur
al y healthy and florid , became pale and sickly ; his
eyes grew dim, his appetite was loft, and all the symp
toms of an obstinate disorder appeared upon him.
The physicians, who were immediately called in to his
aHi rance, employed all their art in vain ; the diftem
per increased, and the angle of death seemed at hand
to summon him. Whilst he was in this agony, a flran
ger, at that time in Bagdat, hearing oi the Kaliph's
illnef\ Iciir '. be perr\ tied to make an experiment.
The propofol was at shit rejected, and the author
locked upon as one of th-fe travelling empirics that
infill all great cities. But the firanger persisting
tiro gly in his request, and offering to answer, with
his life, for the success of his attempt, the relations
of Abairan furred him to undertake it. Alchaman
(for that w?s his name) had no sooner looked upon the
eyes of the Kaliph, than he declared the cause of the
malady wasa lizard, whose ventmous breath had in
fected the whole ma's of his blood ; and taking a small
phial from his pocket, he gave the patient a few drops
mixed with water to drink. Abairan, as soon as he
had taken this admirable medicine, found himfelf much
eaefir the deli.ium left him, h : s colour returned, and
the heat of youth flowed again in his veins. Let it
fuffice that the Kaliph having told the flranger how he
came by the lizard, and the reason of his keeping it,
intreated him to make the palace of Bagdad his home,
adding, that since he had restored him to life, he hoped
to receive from him the power of enjoying it too, by
having that opportunity to shew his gratitude, the
greatest pleasure of which good minds are fufceptible.'
to which Alchaman modefliy answered: ' My lord,
the pleasure of doing good is itfelf a fufficient reward ;
for the benevolent have as much happiness in befiow
ing, as the indigent in receiving. If thou haft found
any benefit from my endeavours, all I ask asa reward
is, to be permitted quietly to leave thy city, and to re
turn to that follitude where I conversed with wisdom
and with truth. Thou art a prince, it is true, endued
with all social virtues ; thy reign is a blessing to thy
fubjeßs, and the admiration of thy neighbours ; but
thy friendfllip is as much to be avoided by me as court
ed by the rest of mankind. Pardon, my lord, the
freedom of thy servant's mind, the only empire which
a philosopher should covet. Friendship is founded on
an equality of conditions and a similarity of desires ;
and even virtue, though always necessary to cement it,
isineffeCtual, if this basis be wanting. Confider then
what a vast distance there is between thee and me ;
confider the inconveniencies that must accrue to both
from such a conjunction. Thou haft been educated in
a palace, I in a cell. The welfare of thousands de
pends upon thy care and vigilance asa governor. My
fatisfaHion consists alone in retirement and contempla
tion. Sould we live together, t' on would ft, on one
hand, grow remiss by attending to my Peculations ;
and I, on the other, should be diverted from my medi
tations by the business which would intrude upon thee.
Let us therefore be separate, that each may perform,
as he ought, the part which Providence has assigned
him to aft, and not prove a reciprocal poison to each
other's mind, as thou and the lizard have been to each
other's body.
From Ae UNiVBRSA! MAGAZINE, for June, 1781.
FRIENDSHIP : An Oriental FABLE.
Sept. 24. The Constantine, Wright, and Tartar,
Frafef, from Jamaica, are arrived at BriOol. They
failed with the fleet the ?ft, 2d, 3d, and 4th of July,
had bad weather, met with the Fox frigate, who told
them the French fleet of twenty eight fail of the line
was arrived at the cape with the trade, confining of
400 fail for Europe. The commodore therefore, thought
best to return to Port Royal with the fleet. The Con
flantine and Tartar failed apain the 31st of July, in
company with tfie Rose and Mary of Liverpool, but
does not know when the fleet would fail.
LONDO N.
One morning lart week a genteel young fellow went
to Mrs. Dawes's, in Ratchliffe highway, and being told
by the servant she was not Birring, desired a pen and
ink, Lying he would write his business, and call again
for an answer- The servant left him writing, and just
as he had finifhed, Mrs. Dawes came down, to whom
he gave the letter, faying she would find his business
therein ; that he was going a little farther, and would
return immediately, which not doing, they found, on
examining the parlour, that he had pocketed several
filyer necessaries which were lef' carelefsiy about. The
letter was as follows. “ Madm, being recomand by
a frind of yours at Redereth I maid bold to Call on
you as I have got a great quantity of silks and fattens
to dispose of wich will be fold very chep if you want
any thing of the fort I shall be serve you. J. Daves."
Sii Samuel Hood's fleet and rear-admiral Digby's re
inforcemeht, will make the British squadron on their
arrival in America, amount to 30 fail of the line.
As the Dutch Baltic fleet have now failed, we fha I,
-in all probability, have some very interesting intelli
gence from our squadron, which is gone out to inter,
cept them.
" There has been an addition made to the fireugth
of the lines lately on the right hand fide of the road
leading from Stone house bridge, confiftir g of a number
of deep pits, of a conical shape, like a sugar loaf.
Spikes are to be placed in the bottom, so that the ene
my, being enfiladed from the battery, which commands
the road, would of course retire to this ground, and
being immediate under the fire of the lines, they would
Hand a good chance of being driven into ftonhoufe pool,
it being very bad ground for troops to form on, when
once put in disorder. Engineers think the lines almost
impregnable, and the difficulty of forcing the harbour
must be evident to every thinking person, as a ship
that was to try it, fuppoling the wind in her favour,
has the fire of 100 pieces of cannon carrying 32 pound
shot, to encounter with ; the channel between the
island and the main is but just broad enough for one
ship of 74 guns to go up at a time, and that only at
high tide, with a fair wind. If then our own ships,
with every assistance, find it difficult to go up or down
the harbour, how many inseparable difficulties are
there in the way of an enemy's ship. If they ever at
, tempt it, they will dearly pay for their rashness.
It is asserted now, with more confidence than ever,
that government very seriously intend to establish new
regulationt, for the better administration of affairs in
the east. The complaints of the native powers again 1 !
the insolence and rapacity of the company's servants,
ever since their possession of territorial acquifiti ns in
India, have hitherto been neglected; but at lengfh,
they fee the necessity of preventing such abuses for
the future. Being sensible, therefore, that the late
rapid progress of Hyder Ally was, in a great measure,
owing to the neutrality, if not the encouragement, of
some disgusted princes, who would otherwise have
been our friends, they are resolved to bring forward
some plan of reformation in the course of the ensuing
session of parliament. But, falutary.as such a measure
must appear; it is thought it will meet nith considera
ble opposition. Those bearing a sway in the India
house, or others connected with them, who may have a
son, brother, or other near relation to provide for,
will not, in all probability, admit quietly of an inno
vation, which must necessarily prolong the road to
fortune.
ExtraCt of a letter from Plymouth, September 18,
1781.
The friends of fir George Rodney have been at much
pains for some time pad, to persuade the public of
his bad date of health, by way of excuse no doubt,
for his intention of returning home at this critical pe
riod. That, however, was an unnecessary trouble ;
as every one must be sensible, that spending so much
time in the damp vaults of St. Eaftatja, in taking a
minute cognifance of their content s, even to a fiogle
pound of tub butter and ftockfifh, must hav e affected a
constitutionmuch more at letic than that of the gallant
admiral. So far, hisapology is admitted. But if the
want of his services, after maturely weighing the im
portance of cis atchievements in the Weft-Indies, can
possibly be considered as any loss to his country, it
were to be wished, for his own fake at lead, that the
reason assigned for his resignation, had been owing to
exertions of another kind. What a different appear
ance w uld it have had in the eyes of the public, if
the Sandwich, indead of a Dutch ware-house, had
been the feene of fir George Rodney's toils and fa
tigues! Every man would have regretted the impaired
health of the admiral ; but none finds himfelf interest
ed in the fate of the flore keeper.
If it be rue, as some foreign prints f|t forth, that
the Dutch convoy for the Baltic failed from the Texel
so early as the 10th inflant, it is to be feared they will
pass unmolested, as commodore Stewart's squadron
could not have arrived at its proper flation time enough"
to intercept them. Should this be so, it would be a most
unlucky circumstance, and furnifh another proof, a
mong many of our want of proper intelligence.' But
delay has been the bane of our management all along ;
and we may despair of beingever before-hand in any
thing, if we have fyffered ourfekes to be out-flripped
by Dutch Sluggifhnels.
ft is a matterof much Peculation at present, whether
a lately returned admiral will be invited soon to take
an airing to Windsor. Some think one way, and some
another ; but the most general opinion is, that a trip to
Coventry, for the recovery of his health, will be firft
prescribed him.
The two conquerors of a certain island, it is said,
have not, for some time part, " put up their horses to
gether." Their difference, we hear, firft took its rife
about a small keg of pickled oyfiers, which was found
in a dark corner of the Dutch governor's pantry, af
ter the division of every other article in that place
had been most carefully and nicely adjured. Other
things of equal importance occurred from time to
time to widen the breach between them ; till at length,
they avoided each other with as much care, as they
both did the count de Graffe and the marquis de Bo
uille.
An evening paper fays, " one hundred thousand
pounds of the money railed by the auflion at St. Eu.
flatius wax lodged in the island of Jamaica, for the
purpoes of paying the troops and receipts taken for the
fame. Admiral Rodney's agent applied to the Trea
sury here for his money ; the firft lord of the treasury
said he had nothing to d ~ ,with it, and referred him to
the paymafter-genera] he refufed to account for it, affer
taing that money for the troops on the Jamaica flati
on had been transmitted there some time by government.
The agent does not know how to aft, and several Bri
tish merchants, who had property on the island when
captured, are preparing bills in equity for injunction
to prevent admiral Rodney, or his agents, from recei
ving this money till their claims are heard.
" There is a letter in town from an officer of the
Renown, of 50 guns ; captain Henry, dated St. Salva
dor, in the Rio de la Plata, opposite Buenos Ayres;
this ship failed before commodore Johnftone about fix
weeks, and had a number of arms on board painted
with different devices; it should seem as if she was ta
apprize the natives of the commodore's approach."
Extrad of a letter from New York to a gentleman in
this city, dated July 26, 1781.
" Our last accounts from the Southward are, that
Greene, after his difgraceful repulse by colonel Cru
ger at Ninety-Six, had retreated beyond Tyger river,
where we think many causes will concur to destroy his
force.
Sept. 25. Among the present Greeks even in the day
of servitude, the following narrative will shew that the
remembrance of their former glory is not yet totally ex
tind.-When the late Mr. Anson, lord Anson's brother
was on his travels in the eart, he hired a vessel, to vi^
fit the isle of Tenedos. His pilot, an old Greek, as they
were failing along, laid with some fatisfadion—" There
" 't^as our fleet lay. Mr. Anson demanded," What
“ fleet ?"—"fleet," replied the old man, a little picqued
at the question, "Why our Grecian fleet at the fie^e of
“ Troy!"'
It is presumed that, in a few days, a squadron of
eight or ten ships of the line will fail from Brest, un
der the command of M. de Beauffet, to strengthen the
Spaniards, who, without this reinforcement, will not
be able to, hinder the English from entering the Medi
terranean.
“ The Freneb and the rebels have lately made their
appearance before our lines; but four days ago they
fell back towards the White plains. They industriously
propa ate through the country, that they intend to at
tempt New-York ; which las much believe as that is
forming a plan to florm the tower. Wafliington, per
haps, is willing to make a ^efperate push, but he cannot
have the lea f! hopes without the affifiance of the French
and we do not think they are ripe to knock their heads
against a wall, to please their new confederates, with
whom we are well assured they are upon verytindiffe
rent terms. Their conduct exactly agrees with the in
formation we have received : Washington, in his inter
cepted letter to Huntington, informs him, that the molt
effectual aid he could give the Southern colonies
would be to collect a powerful a r my near New-York
and we have received information from a quarter that
it will be necessary to make their utmost efforts this
campaign, as it would not be much longer in their
powtr to prevent a general peace; and that their operati
ons might be more dicifive, they would not withdraw
their forces before the fall. Should that event take place,
matters will soon wear a different afpe& in America -
but the most fortunate accidents, or the most brilliant
successes, will for ever be ineffectual, unless to attain
our ends we join policy to force.
“ Those here, who are best informed, entertain not
a doubt, that a prudent condud on our parts must
ensure us success; but when they fay a prudent con
duct, they mean one very different from what hath
been hitherto adopted. However justly odious the
leaders of the rebels are on account of the miseries they
have brought on their county, we must, in candor, al
low them profound capacity, and unremitting in
dustry. The advantages that have resulted to them
from their knowledge of die constitution of the country
and the genius of the people, are also very obvious
and would we condefeena to avail ourselves of some of
the examples they have set, it would at least disco
ver what interest preponderates in the country, and
give us some just view of our future expectations:
but it would not be more in vain to look for roses from
fhiftles, than it will be toexped peace and tranquillity
in any of the governments in America, from such mea
fu.es as have been hitherto praftifed in the places
which have been reduced by his majesty's arms, or
which have submitted to his authority ; but this is a
fubjed too copious to be entered upon in a letter, espe
cially at the close of one."
The arrival of fir George Rodney has already open
ed tie mouths of resentment against him for the
tranfadions atSt. Euftius, and.no doubt he will af
ford news piper matter for some time to come ; but the
public should know that he only acted according to the
inftruaions he received from home.
Extras of a letter from Lisbon, Aug. 21.
“ Last week arrived here a Portuguese vessel from the
Eart Indies, the crew of which report, that the town
of Madras was inverted by the troops of Hyder Ally
by land, and that the French blocked it up by sea.
That it was so d^ftitute of resources, that to all ap
pearance it must surrender. We are informed in ano
ther paragraph, that the above vessel, which is called
the Prince of Brafil met at the Azores with the Amrter
dam, a Dutch ship of war, of 64 guns, vice admiral
count de Byiand, and a frigate of the fame nation, the
Dieren, captain Coerman. The Portuguese vessel
brougt back to Europe the captain and other officers
of the Su erb, an English fllip of the line, of 74. guns,
commanded by vice admiral Hughes, from which it is
conjectured that the Superb is loft."
They write from Peterfburgh, of Augurt 17, that
the chevalier Harris, envoy extraordinary from Great
Britain, had lately received an express from London,
which is supposed to contain the answer from his court
to the propositions for peace made by the two impe
rial courts to the belligerent powers.