The New-York gazette, and the weekly Mercury — New-York [N.Y.], 1777-11-24 00:00:00, page 2

£/% • the Gazetteer an? New Daily Advertiser,
of Au^uf 30, 1777.
Ilias in Nuce ! or a Nut for all the Cri
tics, Conjurors, and clever Fellows in and
about fo^n, especially the Critical, Month
ly, and London Reviewers.,
Davus sum, non Oedipus. Ter.
1 " That I'm no Conjuror, I agree,
" But hor.eft Dav.us, as you'll fee."
Messieurs, ^^J
AS you have but little or nothing to do this
hot weather, besides picking your teeth,
washing your rumps between Black-friars
bridge and the Temple gardens, &C; I have
sent you the following Riddle to exercise your
brains, by way of an amusement, and am,
most learned and honourable Sirs! your old
friend and brother,
,Crispin, of Shoe lane.
BY letters from Bath, we are assured, that,
in the Jamaica fleetjuft arrived, there came
passenger to England from his travels abroad,
a Foreigner of difindion, of a most remarkable
make, and many agreeable qualities,: but find
ing the town too hot for him, he went down
there last week by one of the machines to pay
his respects to a certain worthy Jamaica gen
tlemah at Bathford, near that city. The
coachman (contrary to their ulual way) was
bbferved to be very civil and kind to him, in
net only taking but half price for his fare,
but also bearing his expences on the road,
'the Foreigner cxprelTed himfelf to the coach
man as well as he could, and only begg'd to
be now hnd then popp'd under water ; for as
.he came out of a very hot country, and was
by defeent, both from father and mother, an.
Anabaptif, he was de/i ous of living and dy
ing in that^rfafo. As the coachman found
that the ourftle was the most convenient and
agreeable to him, he accordingly accommo
dated him in the belt manner he could r The
cutfide passengers were made very merry by
him, snd were so fond of his excellent com
pany, that they all swore, " they could have
cat him up ;" in anfiver to which, he told
them with a very grave face, " that he begged
they would be civil, and not offer any violence
to him, as he was sent over to England by
his maser to visit a particular gentleman, and
his friends, in that polite country ; but was
told when he set fail, that he would have most
remarkable lack indeed if he returned home
alive fiom a people, whose Nobility and
Gentry were no enemies to good eating, drink
ing, and Beeping."
. P. S. As this is a fort of a, (enigmatical gen
tleman, though wellknown to be ? reel matter
of fad, and the English are famous for their
finding out rebuffs, riddles, and conundrums, the
parties, who are here addressed, are desired to
give their opinions, in their next month's Re
views, who this Foreigner was ; and it is
hereby declared, for their emolument and en
couragement, 6 That whoever of them is so
very ingenious and happy as to make the difeo
very, will be entitled to a premium of One
Hundred guineas, to be paid at fight, by
Mellrs. YEther and Vacuum, bankers, in Utopia,
or Feter Nemo, Esq; and Co. bankers in Nu
bibus.”
H. B. If they don't make this very valuable
and important difeovery by the thirtieth day of
February next, Crispin will put on his con
juring cap for gaining the said premium ; but
it is hoped for the honour of the above-men
tioned beau d'Efprits, that they won't fuffcr
themfclves, for once, to be out done by
A COBLER.
rt^ruM^^%re¥^^&:^^^mr3~i^
From the Morning Chronicle.
^SPECULATOR.
Number XXXI.
No Ephen, no trouble)fall my time defboy :
Life's but a Jpaa ; I'll ev'ry inch enjoy.
Farquhar.
HERE are but too many people in this
. A age of dress, diversion, and dissipation,
who seem very much inclined to follow the
letter of the above couplet, without giving
themselves the smallest concern about the spi
rit of it, aad, by mistaking the true enjoy
ment of life, spend every inch of their time
in a manner which brings an infinite deal of
trouble upon them. The Wilders about Town,
whatever they may think of their modes of
living, may be rather laid to defray their time,
than to enjoy it ; and, as life is but a span,
they arc doubly cenfirabie for a conduct which
strongly militates against rcafon and morality
—to fay nothing cf religion which is, with
them, quite out of the queftion.—lt is com
monly said by people of this class, and with
a degree of exultation, that they make the mofi
cf life; but surely, in the eyes of a philoso
phical Speculator, they make the least ofit, by
turning their attention to pleasures and pur
suits which do them no credit as men, which
frequently, indeed, render them highly ob
noxious to society, and difgraceful to the hu
man species.
Numberless are the ways by which men,
whose heads are replete with falfe ideas of
life, and of making a figure in the world,
expose themselves to the corrections of rea
son ; but as extravagance, occafion^d by the
powerful operation of those ideas, appears to
be the predominant pafiion among the thought-
Icfs Anti-Vita's of the age, (who will never
sigh for having loft a day, according to a'
moral computation of time) I beg leave to
lecommend the following Sketch of a cha
racter to their notice—of a Man of Pleasure,
who may be considered (co borrow an allu
sion from one of Dryden's prologues) as
Knight of the Shire, as he represents them all,
! The day upon which George Racket came
into poheuion cf his father's estate (whose
death he had long figbed for, with a reftlels
refs which discovered itfelf in.too glaring a
manner) he looked upon himfelf as the hap
piest man in the three kingdoms; and while
he declared, with the gay Sir Harry, that he
would enjoy " every inch of his life," he,
at the fame time, induced the more rational
part of his acquaintance to believe, that he
would in a few years run himfelf out cf all
that happiness on which he reckoned; with
too much presumption, from a survey of his
acres. —By a series of pursuits, which did no
honour to his head, and which evinced the
corruption of his heart, he wafted his patri
monial fortune with such rapidity, that he
found himfelf much sooner reduced to a level
with those neighbours whom he beheld, in
consequence of their inferiority, with the most
sovereign contempt, than hb sagacious friends,
from the logic of probability had predicted.
Had he been acquainted with the true way
of enjoying life, he would have adopted a very
different line of conduct; he would have re
gulated his behaviour agreeably to the friend
ly admonitions and inftruftions of those whose
understandings he despised, and whose officiouf
nefs he resented, and he would then have
merited universal applause for his prudence,
instead of finding himfelf universally con
demned for his senseless prodigality, for his
fhameful profufion.
The Rackets, however, are not the only
persons by whom the enjoyment of life is mis
taken. . Those who place their Supreme hap
piness in the accumulation of riches, are as
much deceived with regard to their ideas of
felicity, as the unihnking prodigal, who
spends his money with as much alacrity as the
others fare it.—The miser, it may be said,
fe,cures himfelf from a goal, while he locks up
that wealth which he dares not to enjoy: but
in the midst cf that faculty, he is doomed to
feel difquiete.de so afrlieive, that few debtors,
however closely imprisoned, have reason to
envy him for his' opulence. There is, indeed,
• no defending the harrowing situation of a
miser's mind, while he is in a Bate of racking
anxiety, left he should be reduced to want,
and surely there is not a more contemptible
object in the world than the fame man when
he, in his moments of consolation, tells you,
with a sordid Satisfaction, in language similar
to that at the beginning of my paper, that,
as life is Short, he is determined to enjoy it ;
that is, by adding much to much, and Bari ing
himfelf, in order to die rich. Can there be a
more despicable enjoyment?
No maq in England might really enjoy life
more than Dick Grub; he Las a very hand
some independent fortune ; he has a very
good constitution, and he has no taste for
those pleasures which can hardly be pursued
without being considerably detrimental to a
man's pocket, and injurious to his rerfon..
Dick's enjoyment of this world arises- not
from the free use cf the fortune which he in
herited, but from the ways and means which
he finds to increase it; and while he is in
fcarch of them, he grudges himfelf a ; moft the
decent necessaries of life. Continually think
ing of additions to his income, he starts at
every demand made by his house-keeper, for
the defraying of his family expences; and
though he abominates the appellation of an
avaricious fellow, he is as complete a Hunks
as ever Change-Alley produced. Dick fre
quently Shakes his head, with a mixture of
pity and pride, when he hears of George's
confinement in the King's Bench, thanks his
stars that he was not born with his squan
dering disposition, and hugs himfelf with
the thoughts of making himfelf, every day,
a more consequential character, by the im
provement, that is, the enlargement, of his
finances. Confcquehtial he certainly is in
the eßimation of those who mcafure a man's
importance by the money he possesses; but
he will never appear a man of real weight
in the ere of a moralist, whose mensuration
of the human species is not directed by the :
quantity of metal in their coffers.
By whom then is life truly enjoyed ? —The
answer is obvious: by the man who can steer
! with prudence between those two detestable
extremes, and who ftydioufly squares his con
dud by the golden rules of wisdom and vir
tue, by the Beady observance of which he
will be most likely to procure fe/icity here,
and to merit the enjoyment of it hereafter.
T.
From the Gazetteer az^New Daily Ad
vertiser.
To the Nobility and Gentry who frequent
BATH.
My Lords and Gentlemen,
THERE is no character in society more
infamous and deteftabfe than that of a
Gamfler, nor more capable of doing mil
chief; because under the appearance of a
Gentleman, and the disguise of friendship,
he so easily gains admission, firft into the
houses, and then into the bosoms of those
whom he marks for ruin. Fraud and flattery
go before him, treachery and cruelty are at
his elbow; shame, remorse, and beggary fol
low in his footftep's. He is a stranger to all
the principles of virtue, honour, and huma
nity; an enemy to all laws, human and di
vine ; an invader of property, a corrupter of
innocence, and a reproach to government.
The weak and ungarded are his natural prey ;
for which rcafon he seeks a crowd, where he
can best conceal himfelf, and mark his quarry.
He is a hawk among pidgeons, a fox among
geese, and a wolf among iheep; but he con
ceals himfelf under cheep's eloathing, and be
hind a mask of politeness and plausibility ; so
thrt the dupes of nis craft do not fee their ene
my till they feel his devouring fangs.
If this be a true character of a Gamester,
from what motive can persons of honour coun
tenance such perfidious and base fellows, much
less promote them to pNces"of important trust,
and considerable emolument, in preference to
men of unimpeached integrity? Are they
not enemies to iociety, and accountable for
the injuries which individuals may fuflainfrom
so criminal a condu&? What security can a
Gamefler give for the honorable uifeharge of
such a trust ? With what face could he detect
and expose the plots and intrigues of others ?
Would not his former connections enable,
perhaps oblidge him to wink at, and encou
rage such aggressors ? And what could restrain
an indigent wretch of the work principles,
from Sharing in the plunder ?
Should not every considerate parent in the
kingdom Bartle at feeing unexperienced youth
in the power of such a tyrant, or of exposing
them to the base arts of fedufiion in the un
guarded moments of dissipation ? Do we not
often fee, in spite of precaution, the most
worthy families disgraced, and made unhap
py by the infiduous practices cf debauched
adventurers ? But ihould an sera of vicious
intrigue of every kind take place; should the
public Censor be a public Corruptor, would
not thr profligate of both sexes croud to the
gay Standard of licentiousness? Would hot
the feum of this and other kingdoms fettle at
Bath, and turn this grand hospital of the Bri
tilh empire into the Bedlam of Europe?
Would not the rational amusements of our
sober ancestors degenerate into the frantic
routs of Comus, or the darker and more de
tested haunts of embroidered thieves and im
po/lorsf In such an infested air, which rnuft
taint the very fountains of health as well as
manners, what shall guard the blush of medefty
in one sex, or the honest manly sentiments of
the other ?
Every friend to virtue and his country
must shudder at the profpe& ; and all who
have either fortune or reputation to lose, or fa
mily to save, ought to break from it with pre
cipitation, as the den of Circe, and a circle
of “ brewd enchantments."
Bath, Aug. 24.
A Friend to Youth.
From Lloyd's Evening Post, of July 16, 1777.
Sketches of Natural History. [Ex
traded from Abbe Reynal.]
r I AGLE wood, which grows in Cochin-
China, is mere or less esteemed, as it is
more or less resinous. The pieces that con
tain most of this rosin, are commonly taken
from the heart or from the root of the tree.
They are called Calunbac, and are always fold
for their weight in gold to the Chinese, who
account them the highest cordial in nature.
They are carefully preserved in pewter boxes,
to keep them from drying. When they are
to be administered, they are ground upon a
marble, with such liquids as are best suited to
the diferder they are intended to remove. The
inferior Eagle Wood, which always fells for
41. 7s. 6d. 'a pound at least, is carried to Per
sia, Turkey, and Arabia. They use it to
perfume their eloaths, and sometimes their
apartments; upon very extraordinary occasi
ons, and then they mix it with amber. It is
' also used for another purpose. A custom pre
vails among these natiohs, when they are de
fifous of Viewing their visitors great marks of
civility, to prefect them with pipes, then
with coffee and sweet-meats. When conver
sation begins td grew languid, the,Sherbet is
brought in, which is looked upon as a hint to
depart. As fooh as the stranger rises to go
away, they bring in a little pan with Eagle
wood, and perfume his beard, sprinkling it
with rose water
Ginseng is a shrub growing only upon the
highest mountains, in the thickest forefts, and
about craggy rocks. The stem is foniewhat
hairy, strait, round, and of a deep red, ex
cept towards the bottom, where it becomes
whitish. It grows to the height of about
eighteen inches. Towards the top it throws
out branches which bear oblong leaves, that
are small, woolly, jagged, of a dark green
; oq the upper fide, and whitish and glcffy on
the back. The age of the shrub is known by
the shoots, and its value increases in proportion
to its age. The virtues of the Ginseng arc many,
but it is generally allowed to be a strengthener
-of the stomach, and a purifier of the blood.
The Chinese are so fond of it, that they
grudge no price for it. The Governor fends
out ten thoofand Tartar Soldiers every' year,
to gather this plant, and every one is obliged
to bring two ounces of the best Ginseng,
gratis, and for the rest theyare paid its weight
in fiber. Private persons are not allowed to
gather it. This odious prohibition does not
prevent them. If they did not break this wn
juft law, they would not be able to pay for
the commodities they buy in the Empire, and
consequently must submit to the want of them.
The Tea Plant is a shrub about as high as a
mirtle. It is propagated by feeds, which
are sown in holes about three or four inches
deep. No part of it is used but the leaves,
which it bears in abundance at three years old,
but a less quantity at seven. It is then cut
down to the Item to obtain the shoots, every
one of which bears nearly as many leaves as a
whole shrub.
Tea is cultivatedin most provinces of Chi
na, but is, not equally good etvery where,
though care is always taken to place it in a
southern afped, and in valleys. The Tea
that grows in stony ground is far preferable to
that which growsin a light foil, but the worst
fort is that which is produced in clayifb
ground,
The Aferent degrees of perfection in Te,i
do not arise merely from the difference of
foil, but chiefly from the season in which it
is gathered.
The Tea is gathered in March, when the
leaves are yet small, tender, and delicate,
and this is called Imperial Tea, because it is
chiefly reserved for the use of the Court, and
people of rank. The second time of gather
ing it is in April ; the leaves then are larger,
and more spread, but of fefs quality than the
firlb The last and work kind is gathered in
May. It is all closely packed up in chests
made of a coarse kind of tin, that the air
may not get at it, which would spoil its fla
vour.
Tea is the common drink of the Chinese,
and was not introduced among them through
vain expence. Upon trial it was thought to
be endued with many virtues, and extolled as
an excellent diffolvent, a purifier of the blood,
a strengthener of the head and stomach, and a
promoter of digeflion and perfpiratioh.
The high opinion which the Europeans who
firft went into China conceived of its inha
bitants, induced them to adopt the high,
though perhaps exaggerated, opinion the Chi
nese had of Tea. We caught the enthusiasm,
and it has gone on increasing in the north of
Europe and America, where the air is thick,
and loaded with vapours. Whatever may be
the influence of prejudice in general, it must
be allowed, that Tea produces fame good
effects in those countries where the use of it
is universally adopted; but these effects can
not be so great any where as in China. We
know the Chinese reserve the best Tea for
themselves, and adulterate that intended for
exportation, by mixing with it other leaves,
which referable those of Tea in shape, but
may not have the fame, properties. We know,
too, that since the exportation has been so
great, they are not so curious in the choice of
the foil, nor so careful in the preparing it.
Our manner of using it may perhaps contri
bute to jefen its virtues : We drink it too hot
and too strong: we put in a great deal of
sugar,,„ frequently perfumes, and sometimes
pernicious liquors. Besides all this, its being
conveyed so far by sea is alone fufficient to
exhaust most of its salubrious faits.
We shall never be able to determine exactly
the virtues of Tea, till it is transplanted into
our own climates. We began to despair of
success, though the experiments had only been
made with feed, and of a bad fort too: At
last a tree has been brought over, the stem of
which measured fix inches, and has been
put into the hands of Linnaeus, the most cele
brated Botanist in Europe, He has found
means to preserve it, ana thinks he shall be
able to propagate it in open air, even in Swe
den, since it thrives in the northern parts of
China. It will be a very great advantage to
us if we can cultivate a plant, which can ne
ver fuffer so much by change of foil, as by
growing musty in the long voyage it must
undergo, in being brought from abroad. It
is no: long since we had a little profped of
attaining to the art of making Porcelane.
The tree which yields the Gum, from,
which Varnish is made, is called Tfi-chu, and
resembles the afli both in the bark and leaf.
It never grows above fifteen feet, and the stem
commonly measures two feet and a half in
circumference. It bears neither flowers nor
fruit, but is propagated in the following
manner:
In the spring, when the sap cf the Tfi-chu,
begins to form, the strongest ffioot that grows
out of the stem is chosen, and covered all
over with yellow earth; then it is wrapped
round with a mat, to protect it from the
effect of the air. If the sprig soon takes
root, it is cut and planted in autumn; but if
it proves backward this is deferred to another
opportunity. At whatever season it is done,
the young plant must be preserved from, the
ants, which is efleded by filling the whole
with ashes.
The Tfi-chu yields no Varnish till it is
seven or eight years old, #nd then only in
summer. It diftils from incificns made at
different distances in the bark, and is received
in a shell fixed at each incision. It is reckoned
a good produce, when twenty pounds of var
nish are colletled in one night out of a thou
sand trees. The Gum is so noxious, that those
who use it areobliged to take constant precau
tions to guard against its malignancy. The
Artists rub their hands and faces with rape oil
before they begin, and after they have done
their work, and wear a masc, gloves, boots,
and a breast-plate.
'^=H"3=^*^
SCHEME of a lottery confining of 500 tickets at One
Dollar each ; 133 prizes, fubje& to a deduction of
15 per cent. The drawing of the said lottery is una
voidably postponed on account of a few tickets yet on
hand, andthe publick may be assured that it will com
mence on the 12th day of December, at Mr. James Hon
nef's tavern, oppofire the Fly Market. Two indifferent
persons will be appointed to draw it.
1 Prize of ico Dollars, is 100 Dollars.
1 Do. 50 Do. 5® Do.
I Do, 25 Do. 25 Do.
I Do. a Watch, 20 Do. 20 Do.
6 Do. 5 Do. 30 Do,
S Do. 4 Do. 32 Do.
115 Do. 2 Do. 230 Do.
133 Prizes. First drawn, 6 Dollars.
367 Blanks. Last drawn, 6 Do.
Tickets to be had of Timothy Hatch, at Mr. John
King's^ in Wall-street; at Mr Griggs's, in the Sloat;
at Marshall's tavern, in John-street ; and at Honner's
tavern, opposite the Fly Market. A lift of the prizes
will be published in this paper, and notice given where
the fortunate adventurers are to apply for their prizes.
IQOUND adrift near the Jersey fhere, a small petty
auger, with fails, and one oar. The owner, by
proving his property and paying expences, may have her
again : Apply to Jacob Prycr, miller, the back of Fowles
Hook.