The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1794-09-23 00:00:00, page 1

Hit SPEECH, whenthe figure es Athifa
•was cQnf^mfid I, the flames, andtbe figure
.us Wisdom sprung forth in its place.
iff AT monitor which the genius of
' Kings had vomited forth on France hu
now returned to nothing, and along with
it may all the crimes, and all the misfor
tunci of the world disappear. Armed by
pressed in the arms of his mother—lie bids
the most imperious and the most tender
passions equally give place to the sublime
love of our country —he has covered na
cure with beauty, riches, and Maiefty.
All that is good is his work—he is himfeif
good. Evil belongs only to depraved
man, who allows his fellow creatures to be
oppressed, or is himfclf their oppreflor..—
The author of their nature has bound to
gether ail mankind bv an immense chair, of
love and felicity. PeriSh the tyrants who
have dared to break it; French Republi
cans, it is your talk to purify that earth
--'which they have polluted, and to recall
that jailice which they have banithed.—
Liberty and virtue issued at one moment
from the breast of the divinity, and are
only to be found altogether in men. Gen
erous people ! would you triumph over
all your enemies, practice justice, and pay
to the Divinity the only homage worthy
of his chamber. Let us this day under his
aufpiccs, abandon ourfdves to the just
transport of a pure joy—to-morrow we
fall again fight with the vices and with
the tyrants. We will thus set to the
word the example of Republican virtues,
and thus we dull still honor the Deity.
to the chariot offings ; and to set to the
world an example of baseness, pride, per
fidy, avarice, debauchery, and fahhool:
—But he has created the universe to pro
claim his power—he has created men mu
tually to affi land love one another, and
to arrive at happiness in the path of virtue
—[vis he who hath placed in the heart
of the triumphant oppressor reinorfe and
terror, and inspired the heart of the op
preffeJ innocent with tranquility and cuur
age—he forces the just man to lute the
wicked, and the wicked man to reiped the
just—he embellishes the countenance of
beautywith modesty as it chiefeft ornament
—he makes the maternal bosom to palpi
tate with tendernch and joy—he bathes
with 'delicious tears the eye of the son,
course of his providence for the eltabUjh
ment of liberty, good faith, and justice?
He has not created Kin:, to devour the
human race. He has not create priests
immortal iiand; in engraving on the
heart of man the code of juhice and equal-
ity, pronounced Sentence of death upon ty
rants r Has not he, Since the beginning of
time, decreed the Republic, and marten
out for all nations lor time to come in the
ta alliß in binding us, as beads of burthen,
I HE day, ever to be held auspi
cious, which tuc French people conic
crate to the Supreme Being, has at
length arrived. Never cid the world
which he has created, preGrat to him a
fpeaacle so worthy his regard. He has,
beheld tyranny, guilt, and imposture pre
vail upon the earth, and hcboolds at this
moment a whole nation drugging with all;
the oppressors of mankind, in order that;
they may rails their thoughts and wishes!
towards the Great Being, fulpeuding taej
course of those heroic labors, waich com
pinioned them to undertake, and has giv
en them force to execute ! Ha not his
Os Roberfpierre, Pry^^t ts the National
Conwx/16% to th, p'b,^ ujfoabW to me
hrate the Festival •, the supreme Being.
[No. 26. o f\Q Ji]
&4^&4fcm^ft tgro^fri
From ibe(New York} BIARI.
Jtycelluny.
SPEECH
Or, CH ESHIRE JOURNAL,
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY H £ NRr BLJKE, U CO. in KEENE, New-Hampsmize.
THE
Columbian Informer;
For the CotuA^tAN Informed, &c.
Messrs. Printers,
Phafato publjb in your entertaining ,a„r,
tie following extrad from •' THR
world," and y>u will oblige A.
Fallit te iucaulum petat tua
ViRG.
To Ma. Fitz-Adam.
Sir,
YOU will be told at the ctofe of
this letter the reason why you are troub
led with-it. lam a clergyman; and one
I hope, who ha# hitherto, M near as the
limperfections of his nature would admit,
Iperformed the duties of hit function. I
hope also that 1 (hall .give no offence by
faying, that 1 hare been more arduous
lin teaching the moral duties of chriftiani
ty. than in explaining its myfteritt, or in
gaining the dent of men's tongues to what
their minds can have no conception of.
The great duty of benevolence, as it was
always my fccond care to inculcate, .fa it
turns with the poniard of fanaticifm,and the
poison of Atheism, Kings have always
conipired to assassinate humanity. If they
cannot disfigure the Divinity by fupertti
tion, in order to associate his character to
their crimes, they endeavour to banish
him from the earth that their own guilt
may reign there alone. They cannot wrest
the world from the bofem of its author,
or remorse from their own, bosoms. Ye
unhappy lift up your dejected heads ; you
I mry still with impunity raise your eyes to
wards heaven. Heroes of your country,
your generous zeal is not a brilliant folly ;
these taellites of tyranny may affdflinate,
but cannot wholly annihilate you. Man
whoever thou art, thou mayest still entcr
, tain lofty notions of thyfclf; thou mayest
Ihli entertain connea'ron between thy par
ing exigence and God, and immortali-
;ty. Let nature then resume all her uigni
,ty, and wisdom all her empire. The Sc
; preme Being is not annihilated. It is wis
dom particularly, which our vile enemies
have been anxious to banish from the Re
public; it belongs to wisdom alone to
confirm the profoerities of empires—
the alone can secure the fruits of our
courage ; let us then take her as a guide in
all our enterprizes ; let us be grave and
discreet in all our deliberations, ns men
who have to consult for the interests of
the world ; let us be ardent and indexi
ble in our opposition to combined tyrants ;
firm in danger; patient in labour ; terri
ble in adversity ; inodeft and vigilant in
facer's ; let us be generous to the good ;
compassionate to the unfortunate ; inexor
able to the wicked; let us not hope for
unmingled prosperity, or eafiiy acquired
triumphs, not for any thing which depends
on fortune, or the perverfeneG of others ;
let us rely on our steadiness and on vir
tue ; let us be infallible guardians of dur
own independence ; let us break she im
pious league of Kings, mere br greataefs
of out character, than by force of our
Erms.
Frenchmen! you fight against Kings,
you are worthy then of honoring the Di
vinity. Being of Beings, Author of Na
ture ! the degraded slave the vile agents
of delpotifm.the perfidious and cruel aristo
crat, dishonor thee, by calling upon thy
name, but tlfe defenders of liberty may
commit themselves with confidence to thy
paternal bosom. Being of Beings; we
have no unjust prayer to address to thee :
Thou knowett the creatures to whom thy
hands are farmed: Thou art intimately
acquainted with their wants and their most
secret thoughts. Deteftition of treachery
and tyranny glow in your hearts, along
with the love of joftice and of our country :
our blood is ready to be shed in the cause of
humanity; such are our prayers; fitch are
our sacrifices ; such is the homage which
we present to thee.
TUESDAY, September 23, 1794.
ptyfi%%a v^fraGift MR vfra l4ft MfaMrTdo
was my second delight to praQice. But I
am contained by a fatal (ucceffion of ex
perience to declare, that I have been un
happy in the fame,proption that I have
been benevolent; and have debased My
felf, as often as I have endeavored to ratte
the dignity of human nature.
In the year one thoufaud seven hundred
and thirty eight, when I was a curate of a
parish in York, the following article ap
peared in all the London news-papers.
4 York, March zfth. This day Will
iam Wyatt and John Sympfon wore exe
cuted here for hoafe-breaking. They be
haved in a very penitent manner, but
made no confeffion. At the tree the
hangman was intoxicated with liquor ;
qpd fuppofmg there were three ordered
for execution, was goiqg to put one of
the ropes about the parson's neck as he
flood in the cart, and was with much diffi
culty prevented by the gaoler from so do
ing."
This parfan, fir, was mvfelf; and in
deed every part of the article was literally
true, except that the gaoler was equally
intoxicated with the hangman, and that
it was not till after the rope was forced
about my neck, and the cart just going
;off, that the fheriff's officer interfered and
rectified the mistake.
Thus was I in danger of an irnon nous
death by performing the duties of my of
fice, and from a tender regard to the
fouls of these poor wretches, watching
Uuir lad moments in order to (often their
hearts, and bring them to a confeffon of
the crime for which they were to (after.
But the indignity offered to me at the gal
lows w^g ,Q[ all. There arc in York,
Mr. Fitz-Adam, as well as in London,
(coders at the clergy, and I affare you
tpon the veracity of my function, that 1
haruly ever walked the flrecta of that city
• afterwards, without being fainted by the
name of the bat,-banged parfait.
I'ime had fcreely taken off the edge ofl
this ridicule, when a werfe accident befel
me. It was my misfortune to fend aa ad
vertisement to the Drily Advertiser, fa
ting forth." That if a young woman"
(who happened, though 1 knew it not, to
be the mdtl noted harlot in the town, and
who then kept a coffee-houfe in Covent
garden) “ would apply to the reverend
Mr. IV. B." (which was myfelf with my
name printed at full length) " at the
Blue Boar inn, Holbourn, £he ^
hear of something greatly to her advan
tage."
The occasion of this advertisement was
literally thus, The young woman in
question had formerly been a fervent at
York, and,had been b.rfely and wickedly
seduced by her matter ; who dyin^ a few
years after, and feeling the utmost re
morfc for so injurious an a&, was willing
to make this unhappy culture all the
atonement in his power, by putting pri
vately into ray hands an hundred pounds to
be paid her at his decease; and as he fop
coifed her to be in some ebfrure fervicr
iit London, he conjured me in the most
folcmn manner to find her out, and to de
liver the money into her Own hands.
It was to acquit myfelf of this trust
that f came up to town, and put the a
bovg.mentioned advertifment in the Daily
Advertiser. The young woman, in con
sequence ofit, came the fame day to my
inn, and having convinced me that she was
the real person (though I wondered to fee
her so fine a lady.)and having received the
donation yith great modesty & thankfalnefs
very obligingly invited me to a residence at
her house during my flay in London. 1
made her my acknowedgments, and the
more readily embraced the proposal, as
the added that her house was large, and,
that the young ladies, her lodgers (for ffie,
let lodgings, ffie said, to young ladies)
were particularly pleased with the conver
fatien of the clergy.
J dined with her that day, and continu-
A loud laugh, in which all the compa
ny joined, prevented my reproving this
young gentleman as 1 thought he deserv
ed ; but the language and behaviour of the
ladies to these gentleman, and their coarse
& indecent jells both upon ire & my cloth,
opened my eyes to fee where aid with
whom 1 was. 1 ran down flairs with the
utmost precipitation, and early the next
morning took borfe for York ; where by
the aSlduity of the above mentioned vow g
gentleman, my story arrived before me,
and 1 was ridiculed by half my acquaint
tance for putting myfelf to the trouble and
expence of a journey to town for a braes
of wenches,when i mud undoubtedly 1 ve
known that a Score of them at York
would gladly have obliged me for half the
money.
It was in vain for me to assert my inno
cence by telling the whole Aery ; ] was a
ifecond time made ridiculous, and try
function rendered useless in the place
where 1 lived, by the punctual nerformanee
of my duty, in rcligioufly observing the
lall request ofa dying- friend.
1 quitted York soon after this lift dis
grace, and got recommended, tho' with
feme difficulty, to a curacy in Lincoln
shire. Here 1 lived happily for a consider
able time, and became the favorite com
panionof the squire of the parish. He
■qtybhfortftnan, heafry in hisfriend
ships, bitter in his resentments, and im_
placable to poachers. It so happened,
that fiom about tire time of my coring to
the pariffi,"this gentleman's park and the
country about it were so Shamefully rob
bed of hares, that every body was ex
claiming against the thief. Form, own
part, as I thought it my duty to deleft
knavery of every kind and was fond of all
occasions of testifying my gratitude to mv
patron, 1 walked out early and late te
difeover this midnight robber. At lad I
fuccecded in my search, and caught him in
the very a& of laying his Shares ; and who
Should he be, but the game-keeper of my
benefactor ! This impudent fellow, who
saw himfclf detected, had the address to
cry out thief firft ; and Seizing me by the
collar, late as it was, dragged me to hie
matter's house. I was really so aften
iShed at his consummate assurance,
that! herd myfelf accused without the
power of speaking; and as a farther proqf
of m Y guilt there was found, upon Search
ing me, a great quantity of wire and oth
er things the use of which was fufficiei tly
obvious, and which my wicked accuser
had artfully conveyed into my pocket,
as he was leading me to my judge.
To be as li t'e prolix as I can, I was im
prisoned, tried, and convicted of the fad;
and after having fuffered the utmost rigor
of the law, was obliged at lift to taka
Shelter in town to avoid the thousand in
dignities that were offeredme ia thesoun
tfr
ed till evening in the house, without the
least suspicion of the occupation of its in
habitants ; though I.could not help obfriv
ing that they treated me with extraordina
ry freedom ; that their bosoms were un
covered ; and that they were not quite
so (crapulous upon certain occasions as our
Yorkshire young women; But as I had
never been in town before, and had heard
great talk of the freedom of London la
dies, I concluded it was the factorable
behaviour ; which though I did not ex
tremely like,! forbore, through good-man
ners, to find fault with. At about seven
in the evening, at 1 was drirking tea with
two of the ladies, I was broke in upon by
some yoting gentlemen, one of whom hap
pened to be the son of a near neighbor of
mine at York, who the moment he f<w
me, Iwore a great oath," That! was the
honestest pa ion in England ; fcr that the
boldest wenwher of them all would scruple
to be fitting in a public room at a bau'y
houfe with a brace of whores, without
locking the door.
[Whole No. 78.]
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