The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1793-10-16 00:00:00, page 4

hold many who have no other dependence
to carry them through life, than an unful
lied purity of character, hovering round
the gambling table, losing all they pof
fcfs, involved in debt, and rising with
dejefted features, to behold the rising of
the fun. Ye votaries of Gambling, these
arebut consequences which naturally flow ;
they but pave the way to scenes of excess
and debauchery, over which let fancy in
silence brood.
AMONG the many admonitions
which the Moi itor has given to the world,
1 do not remember cne on the detractive
effeds of Gambling. That the social
happiness may, in no wife, be diminished
by innocent diversion, evenifthe instru
ments are cards, or balls, I am not so
much ofa cynic as to deny : But when we
so far forgetour happiness, as to dive in
to the vortex of chance, and rilk our for
tunes and peace of mind in turning of a
card, or a lucky threw ofa dice, or ahit
of the ball, (as a great writer observes)
no language is inadequate to convey njult
idea ofthe deftruftive practice. As the
yr oft deftrudive passion ofthe foul, and
from which the greatest train of evil
conferences flow, it Bands unrivalled —
its votaries, in general, are either pour or
extravagant ; the intellectual faculties cf
either, elated by success or depressed by
loss, make the being not only a pest, but
a gloomy blank in society. It always de
bases, and frequently eradicates, original
virtue. Is there a more melancholy fight
than to fee a youth, riling to manhood,
surrounded by his friends, displaying a
genius which excites the warmest hopes in
every bread, devoting his time and atten
tion to Gambling? That this is a fatal
truth, we need only to turn our views to
the affimblies and taverns —we there be-
In answer to a SERMON preached by a
Swedijh Missionary, at Coneftogoe, An
no Domini 1710, in which he sets forth 0-
pigina! Sin and the Necessity of a Mediator ;
and endeavored by certain arguments, to
induce the Indians to embrace the Chris
tian Religion. After he had ended his
D^icourje, one of the Indian Chiefs replied
to the Sermon. The discourse on both f des
mat communicated by interpreters. The
Mflonary, upon bis return to Sweden,pub
ifaa bit Sermon and the Indian's dnfwer
The MONITOR.
An INDIAN SPEECH,
On Gambling.
having written them in Latin ; be dedica
ted them to the Univerf, of Upfal, and
desired it tofurnijb him with arguments to
confute fucb strong reasonings of the In
dians.
The INDIAN SPEECH, tranfated from
the Latin, is as follows.
SINCE the fubjed of his errand is to
persuade us to embrace a new doctrine,
perhaps it may not be amiss (before we of
fer him the reasons why we cannot com
ply with his request) to acquaint him with
the grounds and principles of that religion
which he would have us abandon.
" Our forefathers wereunder a strong
persuasion (as we are) that those who aft
well in this life, will be rewarded in the
next, according to the degree of their vir
tue ; and on the other hand, those who
behave wickedly here, will undergo such
punishments hereafter, as are proportion
ate to tee crimes they were guilty of.—
This has been constantly and invariabl
received, and acknowleged for a truth,
through every successive generation of our
ancestors ; It could not then, have taken
its rife from a fable ; for human fidion,
however artfully and plausibly contrived,
can never gain credit long among any
people, where free enquiry is allowed ;
which was never denied by our ancestors ;
who on the contrary, thought it the iacred,
inviolable right ofevery man, to examine
and judge firhimfelf. Therefore we think
it evident, that our notion, concerning
future rewards and punishments, was im
mediately revealed from heaven, to fame
of our forefathers, and from them defen
ded to us ; or, that it was implanted in
each of us, at our creation, by the Cre
ator of all things. Whatever the method
might have been, whereby God hath beer
pleased to make known to us his will, and
give us si knowlege of our duty, it is
still, in our sense, a divine revelation.——
“ Does he think, that we who are their
zealous imitators in good works, and in
fluenced by the fame motives as they were
—earaeftly endeavoring, with the greatest
circumfpe&on, to tread the paths or integ
rity, are in a Rate of damnation ? If chef,
be his sentiments, they are surely as impi
ous as they are bold and daring.
" In the next place, we beg fee would
explain himfelf more particularly concern
ing the revelation he (peaks cf. If he ad
mils no other, than what is contained in
his written book, the contrary is evident
from what has been fhewc before ; but it
he fays, that God has revealed himfelft,
us, but rot fuiheient for cur salvation,
then we ask for what ptirpofc should he
have revealed himfelf to us in any wife ?
ft is clear that a revelation, infufficient to
save, cannot put us in a better condition
than we should be in without any revela
tion at all ; we cannot conceive that God
should point out to us the end we ought
to aim at, without opening to us the way
of arriving at that end ; but fuppefing
cur undemanding to be so far illuminated
as to know it to be our duty to please God,
who yet has left us under an incapacity of
doing it ; will this missionary, therefore,
conclude that we fnall be eternally dam
ned ? Will he take upon him to pronounce
damnation against us, for not doing those
things, which he himfelf acknowleges im
possible for us to do ?
" It is our opinion, that every man is
pefleffed with fufficient knowledge for his
own salvation. The Almighty (for any
thing we know) may have communicated
himfelf to different races of people in a
different manner. Some fay they have the
will of God in writing—be it so ; their
revelation has no advantage above ours,
since both muff be equally fufficient to
save, or the end of the revelation would
be fruftrated. Besides, if they be both
true, they mutt be the fame in substance ;
and the difference can only lie in the mode
of communication. He tells us there are
many precepts in his written revelation,
which we are entirely ignorant of ; but
those written commands can only be de
signed for those who have the writings ;
they cannot poflibly regard us ; had the
Almighty thought so much knowledge ne
cessary for our salvation, his goidnefs
would not have so long deferred the com
municating of it to us. And to fay, that
in a matter so necessary, he could not at
Now we desire to propose to him iome
questions.
" Does he believe that cur forefathers,
men, eminent for their piety—conftani
and warm in the pursuit of virtue, hoping
thereby to merit eternal happinels—were
all damned ?
one and the fame time, equally reveal
himfelf to all mankind, is nothing lets
than an absolute denial of his Omnipotence
—without doubt he can make his will ma
nifelt with or without the help ot a book,
or the affiltance of any bookish man what
ever.
" We shall in the next place
con sider the arguments which arise from a
consideration of Providence. If we be the
work of God (which we presume will not
be denied) it follows from thence, th.t we
are under the care and protection of God ;
for it cannot be supposed that the Deity
Ihot'd abandon his own creatures, and be
utterly regardless of their welfare. Then
to fay the Almighty has permitted us to
remain in a fatal error through so many
ages, is to represent him as a tyrant. How
is it consistent with his justice, to force life
upon a race cf mortals without their con
sent and then to damn them eternally,
without ever opening to them a door of
salvation ? Our conceptions of a gracious
God are much more noble, and we think
those who do otherwise do little less than
blaspheme. Again, it is through the care
and Goodness of the Almighty, that from
the beginning of time, through so many
generations, to this day, our name has
been preserved, unblotted out by cur ene
mies, unreduced to nothing ; by the fame
care we now enjoy our lives, and are fur
nifhed with the necessary means of preser
ving those lives. But all those things are
trifling, compared with our salvation ; —
therefore since God his been so careful of
us in matters of little consequence, it will
be absurd to affirm that he has negleded
ur in cases cf the greatest importance.
" Admit that he hath forfaken us, yet
it could not have been without a just cause:
Let us suppose that some heinous crime
was committed by one of our ancestors,
like that we are told happened among ano
ther race of people ; in such a case, God
would certainly punish the criminal, but
would never involve us who are innocent,
in his guilt; those who think otherwih
must make the Almighty a very whimficai,
ill-natured being.
" Once more— Are Christians more
virtuous, or rather are they not much
more vicious than we are ; If fo,how cam.-
it to paL that they are the objeds of God's
Beneficence, while we are negleded ?
Does the Deity, confer his favours with
out reason, and with so much partiality i
In a word, we find the Christians muct
more depraved in th^ir morals than our
(elves, and we judge of their doctrine by tb<
badness of their hies."
"IT is contentment, not riches,"
laid he " that makes a person happy.
Poor and content said the Poet, is rich
enough." Ah! said I, the Poet might
fay so, or at leak a person who bore the
name of poet might, but that he was real
ly a poet, I deny. Poverty has always
been an unwelcome attendant on good po
ets, and it plainly appears from the above
quotation from your would be poet, that
ne never experienced poverty ; if he had,he
must have known that it is impoHible for a
man to be contented, when he is cold and
hungry, or when he has a beloved wife
and children in a starving condition and
nothing wherewith to All their bellies.—
At that instant a rap, rap, rap at the door,
— Come in said I.— Good morning, said my
neighbour S , in a tone of voice so
very low and dirge-like, that I though;
nothing less than his wife or eldcft son
was dead,—Good morning, said I—
" Would you go over and help me skin
my cow" said he,in the fame key that he
bid me good morning—Your cow ! said 1,
is your cow dead ! Yes fir, said he, ffie
got in the mire lait night and is dead ! I
will go and help you said I,—he turned
his back and went out. Alas! Poor Yor
ick ! said I,not that the death of this poor
bead bore any Similitude to that of Yor
ick, but that sentence is so impressed on
my mind that when I fee any person in
distress I immediately exclaim, alas, poor
Yorick !—I will alter the sentence in the
present case—Alas poor bead! Iff had
net forfaken my muse I would write thy
epitaph—thou art gone—and whither no
mortal can tell; but the poor babes,who ex
peaedfuppert from thy tears,are Hill left to
mourn thy untimely fate.—lt is for these
poor babes I lament.—Their father has
not another cow.—Were will he get milk
to feed them ? can this man feel content
ed! Ah! Poverty, "thou art a bitter
draught," this I know by experience, for
I have tailed thy very dregs.— 7c font of
From the FARMERS CHRONICLE.
A FRAGMENT.
-0
affimcb, remember the poor—confrn
that it is very probable that your children
wh feel the p^gs of pcver;y,if you Ihould
escape—consider this,ana lend the poor the
Comforts of life, that the Great Giver cf
all good things, may lend them to vour
children. A. Z.
A PROFESSED and boafling votary cf
infidelity and univerfalfeeptuym, t^k-rg o:-
cafion, in company, to dtji barge the wnole ar
tillery of his wit and ridicule aganfi the com
monly received notions of a god and a future
fate of retribution, particularly the vulgar
chimera of an ev&rta/Lng hilt for imperti
nent sinners of the humin race—and tsnung
confidently affirted, that the world and alFhe
inhabitants were the mere product and sport of
blind, undeJigning chance ; a jenftb^ gentle
man prejent, turning to him made this jrious,
yet jinart reply "G, anting,fr, your fa
vorite doctrine to be true ; that the univerff
at large, and man in particular, has been
thrown into exigence by chance, and may as
cafily be thrown out cf it ; y t t "this fame
land Goddejs chance, may, for aught you
know, have reared upjueb a place as the vul
gar chll hell ; and what is more you youtylf
may chance to fall in,o it—ana when ,&* arc
once in it, you may chance to lie there to all
eternity :—and pray conjider wbai a damn.-
bie chance that will be"
t&#raw.z^: —EFrirrai
Luther Smith,
TAKES this me:h;d to inform hie
friends, and the Public in girir.l,
that he carries on the Clock-M k< { bu.
finefs, in Keene Ibeet, a!moft up, ;: the
Tavern cf Mr. Ralllon—wher may be
had the bed kind of warranted cifeht day
CLOCKS, cheap for Cassi, ay kind of
country produce, or Next Stock —He also
cleans and repairs WATCHES.
C A Slf,~
and the bigbefl price, giva job
Old COPPER and BRASS.
Kiere, Oil. C), 1791.
'//ar ~/)ft irtmeni.
INFORMATION is hereby given to all
the Military Invalids of the United
States, that the funis to which they are
entitled for fix months of their annual pen
sion, from the 4th day of March left, ard
which will became due on the §th of Sep
tember next, will be paid on the laid da,
by the Commifiirais of the Loans, with
in the States refedivcly under the ulual
regulations.
By Command of the/
PrESI DE NT of the UNITED STATES.
H. KNO X, Secretary at War*
A Fine Chance.
THE Subscriber having eft^blifhed a
Prft Rout from this Office, thro*
the towns of Surry, Gilfam, Sullivan, Stod
dard, Packerfeld, Dublin, Jaffrey, Rindge,
Fitzwilliam and Marlborough, now will
fell out, provided any perlon wilt ,^v,
good security for what papers they rtceivl
from the Office—there are now Ico fob
fcribers on said rout, and increasing fafler
ban at any time since its co romencemenh
For further particulars apply tn
WILLIAM W. BLA^
Keene, Sept. 11, 1793.
AND HIS LAST WORDS ON THE
SCAFFOLD:
Who was beheaded at Towit-Hill, London.
on the twenty-fecor.d ' Da, of AuguJlb 1651.
Sept. 18, 1793.
BLANK DEEDS, JUSTICE'S WRIT'S. ^
and EXECUTIONS, BLANK NOTES
^HAND, and RECEIPTS, for fade
at this Office.
/{ CERTAIN lawyer, of a facetious
vein, and libertine principles meeting a gen
tleman, whose features greatly refembied bis
own, was addr^ffid by him with tbs fafioK
—" Can you tell me fr, whence it comes to
pass that jo many people m flake mejor you ?'•
'' No,Jir, replied the Lawyer—but I hearti
ly wife the Devil would make the famt
blunder, by taking you for me."
Chrift'r Love :
PROPHECIES
of the Rev.
This day published,
(and for sale at this Office}
THE
.INECDOEES.