Berkeley and Jefferson intelligencer (Martinsburg, Va.), 1806-08-22 00:00:00

Berkeley and Jefferson Intelligencer.
[No. 14 of Volume VIII.]
FRIDAY, August 22, 1806.
[Whole No. 378.]
DR. REES'S NEW CYCLOPÆDIA.
WE have just received the 1st number of the above work, and request those gentlemen who have subscribed for it to call immediately for their books.
Those who feel a desire to procure this great and highly valuable work, had better avail themselves of the present time, as the price will be considerably augmented after the 1st of November next.
We have now a specimen of the work for their inspection, and have the testimony of the first literary characters in England and this country, in its favour. And we think it but fair to say, that, the paper is of excellent quality, and the printing is in the first style of elegance. The embellishments are of a very superior description, and will form, when completed, an incomparably more elegant and correct set of scientific and other plates than has ever been produced.
Intelligencer-Office, August 15, 1806.
FOR SALE, A FULL SET OF DOBSON'S EDITION OF THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA. Apply at the office of the Intelligencer.
NOTICE.
ALL those indebted to the subscriber are requested to make payment on or before the first day of September next. All those failing to comply with the above request, may depend on their obligations being lodged in the hands of Elisha Boyd, Esq. for collection, without respect to persons.
JEREMIAH EVANS.
Martinsburg, August 15, 1806.
WILL be sold at public sale, on the first day of September next, if fair, if not, the next fair day, at the dwelling house of the subscriber, one mile from the mouth of Back-Creek, Milch Cows, young Cattle, about one hundred head of Hogs, and Household and Kitchen Furniture. Credit will be given to the first of May next, for all sums above five dollars; and attendance given by
RICHARD MORGAN.
August 15, 1806.
NOTICE.
AT the request of some of those who have been owing me a considerable length of time, I was induced to wait with them until the present harvest was got in, on their promise to make payment immediately thereafter. I now earnestly solicit every person indebted to me in any manner whatever, to avail themselves of the means now in their power, by a plentiful harvest, of discharging their debts by the 30th instant, either in cash, wheat or flour, for which the current prices will be allowed. Those who neglect this notice, may expect to have their notes and accounts put into the hands of an attorney for collection, after the above mentioned time, without farther notice.
JAMES CAMPBELL.
August 1, 1806.
Jefferson County, ss.
July Court, 1806.
Abram Davenport, Complainant,
against
James Starky, Cyrus Saunders, and
William M'Guire, Defendants.
In CHANCERY.
THE defendant, James Starky, not having entered his appearance agreeable to an act of Assembly and the rules of this court, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the court, that he is not an inhabitant of this commonwealth, upon the motion of the complainant by his counsel, it is ordered that the said defendant, James Starky, does appear here on the second Tuesday in October next, and answer the complainant's bill, and that a copy of this order be forthwith inserted in the Berkeley and Jefferson Intelligencer for two months successively, also published at the front door of the court house of the said county for the same length of time.
A Copy. Attest,
GEORGE HITE, C.J.C.
F. NADEBOUSCH, & Co.
HAVE just received, in addition to their former stock, a very handsome assortment of
Choice Goods,
almost of every description, suitable to the present season. Those Goods have been selected with care from the latest importations; and they are satisfied on particular examination will give satisfaction to the purchaser both as to cheapness and quality—to be had for cash, country produce, or on the usual terms of credit to punctual customers.
Martinsburg, June 30, 1806.
Jefferson County, ss.
May Court, 1806.
John Roberts, Complainant,
against
Allison & Giger, and Benjamin Reil, Defendants.
In CHANCERY.
THE defendants, Allison & Giger, not having entered their appearance agreeable to an act of Assembly and the rules of this court, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the court, that they are not inhabitants of this commonwealth, upon the motion of the complainant by his counsel, it is ordered that the said defendants, Allison & Giger, do appear here on the second Tuesday in September next, and answer the complainant's bill, and that a copy of this order be forthwith inserted in the Berkeley and Jefferson Intelligencer for two months successively, also published at the front door of the court house of the said county for the same length of time.
A Copy. Attest,
GEORGE HITE, C.J.C.
THE subscriber takes the liberty of informing his friends and the public, that he has removed to Alexandria, where he has taken a capacious WAREHOUSE, for the purpose of STORING FLOUR, &c. on terms that he hopes will meet general satisfaction.—As he intends to act in the BROKERAGE and COMMISSION LINE, he offers his services in those capacities, and pledges himself to act with the same due diligence that has gained him the approbation of the public. His rates for storing of Flour and selling it will be 6d. per barrel; that each person shall be entitled to his own Flour, or fresh Flour when called for.—Tho' he will not purchase any Flour stored with him, unless in fault of other purchasers, as he thinks it inconsistent that buyer and seller should be comprised in one person.—He will make advances on Flour stored with him, when it is accompanied with orders to sell within 60 days for cash; in that case 5 per cent commission will be charged, and the accustomed storage.—No amount however inconsiderable, will be paid to waggoners or boatmen, chargeable to the Flour, unless per order of the proprietor.
A. LINDO.
July 21, 1806.
N. B. Every species of public stock, merchandise, lands, houses, lots, and vessels, will be bought and sold on commission. All orders from the country will be duly attended to.
THE subscriber has recently received and is now opening an extensive assortment of the most fashionable EUROPEAN and INDIA MANUFACTURES, of the first textures and most permanent qualities; also, a large and general assortment of almost all kinds of GROCERIES of the best quality;—the whole of which he flatters himself he may with propriety recommend to his friends and customers in particular, and to an impartial public in general. Any further recommendations are considered unnecessary, as the only criterion by which the most reasonable terms are known is by inspection only.
He has also received a handsome assortment of BAR-IRON, Strap ditto, Crowley and Blistered STEEL, SICKLES, and Waldron's highly approved of SCYTHES assorted.
THOMAS C. SMITH.
Martinsburg, June 13, 1806.
Superfine Flour for sale by the barrel.
On the 12th of June last, the Hon: John Q. Adams, was inaugurated as the first Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University, and on that occasion delivered the following Oration.
IT is the fortune of some opinions, as well as of some individual characters, to have been, during a long succession of ages, subjects of continual controversy among mankind. In forming an estimate of the moral or intellectual merits of many a person, whose name is recorded in the volumes of history, their virtues and vices are so nearly balanced, that their station in the ranks of fame has never been precisely assigned, and their reputation, even after death, vibrates upon the hinges of events, with which they have little or no perceptible connexion. Such too has been the destiny of the arts and sciences in general, and of the art of rhetoric in particular. Their advancement and decline have been alternate in the annals of the world. At one period they have been cherished, admired, and cultivated; at another, neglected, despised, and oppressed. Like the favourites of princes, they have had their turns of unbounded influence and of excessive degradation. Now the enthusiasm of their votaries has raised them to the pinnacle of greatness; now a turn of the wheel has hurled them prostrate in the dust. Nor have these great and sudden revolutions always resulted from causes seemingly capable of producing such effects. At one period, the barbarian conqueror destroys, at another headlong, the arts of the vanquished people. The Grecian Muses were led captive and in chains to Rome. Once there, they not only burst asunder their own fetters, but soon mounting the triumphal car, rode with supreme ascendancy over their victors. More than once have the Tartars, after carrying conquest and desolation over the empire of China, been subdued in turn by the arts of the nation, they had enslaved; as if by a wise and equitable retribution of nature the authors of violence were doomed to be overpowered by their own prosperity, and to find in every victory the seeds of defeat.
On the other hand, the arts and sciences, at the hour of their highest exaltation, have been often reproached and insulted by those, on whom they had bestowed their choicest favours, and most cruelly assaulted by the weapons, which themselves had conferred. At the zenith of modern civilization, the palm of unanswered eloquence was awarded to the writer, who maintained, that the sciences had always promoted rather the misery, than the happiness of mankind; and in the age and nation, which heard the voice of Demosthenes, Socrates has been represented as triumphantly demonstrating, that rhetoric cannot be dignified with the name of an art; that it is but a pernicious practice—the mere counterfeit of justice. This opinion has had its followers from the days of Socrates to our own, and it still remains an inquiry among men, as in the age of Plato and in that of Cicero, whether eloquence is an art, worthy of the cultivation of a wise and virtuous man. To assist us in bringing the mind to a satisfactory result of this inquiry, it is proper to consider the art, as well in its nature, as in its effects; to derive our inferences, not merely from the uses, which have been made of it, but from the purposes, to which it ought to be applied, and the end, which it is destined to answer.
The peculiar and highest characteristic, which distinguishes man from the rest of the animal creation, is reason . It is by this attribute, that our species is constituted the great link between the physical and intellectual world. By our passions and appetites we are placed on a level with the herds of the forest; by our reason we participate in the divine nature itself; formed of clay, and compounded of dust, we are, in the scale of creation, little higher than the clod of the valley; endowed with reason, we are little lower than the angels. It is by the gift of reason, that the human species enjoys the exclusive and inestimable privilege of progressive improvement, and is enabled to avail itself of the advantages of individual discovery. As
the necessary adjunct and vehicle of reason, the faculty of speech was also bestowed as an exclusive privilege upon man: not the mere utterance of articulate sounds; not the mere cries of passion, which he has in common with the lower orders of animated nature; but as the conveyance of thought; as the means of rational intercourse with his fellow-creature, and of humble communion with his God. It is by the means of reason, clothed with speech, that the most precious blessings of social life are communicated from man to man, and that supplication, thanksgiving, and praise are addressed to the author of the universe. How justly then, with the great dramatic poet may we exclaim,
"Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not That capability and God-like reason To rust in us, unus'd."
A faculty thus elevated, given us for so sublime a purpose, and destined to an end so excellent, was not intended by the supreme Creator to be buried in the grave of neglect. As the source of all human improvements itself susceptible of improvement by industry and application, by observation and experience. Hence, wherever man has been found in a social state, and wherever he has been sensible of his dependence upon a supreme disposer of events, the value and the power of public speaking, if not universally acknowledged, has at least been universally felt.
For the truth of these remarks let me appeal to the testimony of history, sacred and profane. We shall find it equally clear and conclusive from the earliest of her records, which have escaped the ravages of time. When the people of God were groaning under the insupportable oppressions of Egyptian bondage, and the Lord of hosts condescended by miraculous interposition, to raise them up a deliverer, the want of eloquence was supplied by the chosen object of his ministry, as an argument of his incompetency for the high commission, with which he was to be charged. To supply this deficiency, which, even in the communication of more than human power, Eternal Wisdom had not seen fit to remove, another favoured servant of the Most High was united in the exalted trust of deliverance, and specially appointed for the purpose of declaring the divine will, to the oppressor and the oppressed: to the monarch of Egypt and the children of Israel. "Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God." It was not sufficient for the benificent purposes of divine Providence that the shepherd of his flock should be invested with the power of performing signs and wonders to authenticate his mission, and command obedience to his words. The appropriate instrument to appal the heart of the tyrant upon his throne, and to control the wayward dispositions of the people, was an eloquent speaker; and the importance of the duty is apparent in the distinction, which separated it from all the other transcendent gifts, with which the inspired leader was endowed, and committed it as a special charge to his associate. Nor will it escape your observation, that when the first great object of their joint mission was accomplished, and the sacred system of laws and polity for the emancipated nation was delivered by the voice of heaven from the holy mountain, the same eloquent speaker was separated from among the children of Israel, to minister in the priest's office; to bear the iniquity of their holy things; to offer up to God, their creator and preserver, the publick tribute of their social adoration.
In the fables of Greece and Egypt, the importance of eloquence is attested by the belief, that the art of publick speaking was of celestial origin, ascribed to the invention of a God, who, from the possession of this faculty, was supposed to be the messenger and interpreter of Olympus. It is attested by the solicitude with which the art was cultivated at a period of the remotest antiquity. With the first glimpse of historical truth, which bursts from the oriental regions of my-

theological romance, in that feeble and dubious twilight, which scarcely discerns the distinction between the fictions of pagan superstition and the narrative of real events, a school of rhetorick and oratory, established in the Peloponnesus, dawns upon our view. After the lapse of a thousand years from that time, Pausanias, a Grecian geographer and historian, explicitly asserts, that he had read a treatise upon the art, composed by the founder of this school, a cotemporary and relative of Theseus in the age preceding that of the Trojan war. The poems of Homer abound with still more decisive proofs of the estimation, in which the powers of oratory were held, and of the attention, with which it was honoured as an essential object of instruction in the education of youth.
From that era, through the long series of Greek and Roman history down to the gloom of universal night, in which the glories of the Roman empire expired, the triumphs and the splendour of eloquence are multiplied and conspicuous. Then it was, that the practice of the art attained a perfection ever since unrivalled, and to which all succeeding times have listened with admiration and despair. At Athens and Rome a town-incenting could scarcely be held, without being destined to immortality; a question of property between individual citizens could scarcely be litigated, without occupying the attention, and engaging the studies of the remotest nations and the most distant posterity.
There is always a certain correspondence and proportion between the estimation an art is held in, and the effects which it produces. In the flourishing periods of Athens and Rome eloquence was power. It was at once the instrument, and the spur to ambition. The talent of public speaking was the key to the highest dignities; the passport to the supreme dominion of the state. The rod of Hermes was the sceptre of empire; the voice of oratory was the thunder of Jupiter. The most powerful of human passions was enlisted in the cause of eloquence, and eloquence in return was the most effectual auxiliary to the passions. In proportion to the wonders she achieved, was the eagerness to acquire the faculty of this mighty magician. Oratory was taught as the occupation of a life. The course of instruction commenced with the infant in the cradle and continued in the maidenhood of manhood. It was made the fundamental object of education, and every other part of instruction for childhood and of discipline for youth was bent to the accommodation. Arts, science, letters, were to be thoroughly studied and investigated, upon the maxim, that an orator must be a man of universal knowledge. Moral duties were inculcated, because none but a good man could be an orator. Wisdom, learning, Virtue herself were estimated by their subserviency to the purposes of eloquence, and the whole duty of man consisted in making himself an accomplished public speaker.
With the dissolution of Roman liberty, and the decline of Roman taste, the reputation and the excellency of the oratorical art fell alike into decay. Under the despotism of the Cæsars, the end of eloquence was perverted from persuasion to panegyrick, and all her faculties were soon palsied by the touch of corruption, or enervated by the impotence of servitude. Then succeeded the mid-night of the monkish ages, when with the other liberal arts she slumbered in the profound darkness of the cloister.
At the revival of letters in modern Europe, eloquence, together with her sister muses awoke, and shook the poppies from her brow. But their torpor still tingled in her veins. In the interval her voice was gone; her favourite languages were extinct; her organs were no longer attuned to harmony, and her hearers could no longer understand her speech. The discordant jargon of feudal anarchy had banished the musical dialects, in which she had always delighted. The theatres of her former triumphs were either deserted, or they were filled with the babbler of sophistry and chicane. She shrunk intuitively from the forum, for the last object she remembered to have seen there, was the head of her darling Cicero, planted upon the rostrum. She ascended the tribunals of justice; there she found her child, Persuasion; manacled and pinioned by the letter of the law; there she beheld an image of herself, stammering in barbarous Latin, and staggering under the lumber of a thousand volumes. Her heart fainted within her: she lost all confidence in herself: together with her irresistible powers, she lost proportionably the consideration of the world, until, instead of comprizing the whole
system of publick education, she found herself excluded from the circle of sciences, and declared an outlaw from the realms of learning. She was not, however, doomed to eternal silence. With the progress of freedom and of liberal science in various parts of modern Europe, she obtained access to mingle in the deliberations of their parliaments. With labour and difficulty she learned their languages, and lent her aid in giving them form and polish. But she has never recovered the graces of her former beauty, nor the energies of her ancient vigour. The immeasurable superiority of ancient over modern oratory is one of the most remarkable circumstances, which offer themselves to the scrutiny of reflecting minds, and it is in the languages, the institutions, and the manners of modern Europe, that the solution of a phenomenon, so extraordinary, must be sought. The assemblies of the people, or of the select councils, or of the senate in Athens and Rome were held for the purpose of real deliberation. The fate of measures was not decided before they were proposed. Eloquence produced a powerful effect, not only upon the minds of the hearers, but upon the issue of the deliberation. In the only countries of modern Europe, where the semblance of deliberative assemblies has been preserved, corruption, here in the form of executive influence, there in the guise of party spirit, by introducing a more compendious mode of securing decisions, has crippled the sublime efforts of oratory, and the votes upon questions of magnitude to the interest of nations are all told, long before the questions themselves are submitted to discussion. Hence those nations, which for ages have gloried in the devotion to literature, science, and the arts, have never been able to exhibit a specimen of deliberative oratory, that can bear a comparison with those, transmitted down to us from antiquity.
Religion indeed has opened one new avenue to the career of eloquence. Amidst the sacrifices of paganism to her three hundred thousand gods, amidst her sagacious and solemn consultations in the entrails of slaughtered brutes, in the flight of birds, and the feeding of fowls, it had never entered her imagination to call upon the pontiff, the haruspex, or the augur, for discourses to the people, upon the nature of their duties to their maker, their fellow-mortals, and themselves. This was an idea too august to be mingled with the absurd and ridiculous, or profligate and barbarous rites of her deplorable superstition. It is an institution for which mankind are indebted to Christianity; introduced by the Founder himself of this divine religion, and in every point of view worthy of its high original. Its effects have been to soften the tempers and purify the morals of mankind; not in so high a degree as benevolence could wish, but enough to call forth our strains of warmest gratitude to that good being, who provides us with the means of promoting our own felicity, and gives us power to stand, though leaving us free to fall. Here then is an unbounded and inexhaustible field of eloquence, never explored by the ancient orators, and here alone have the modern Europeans cultivated the art with much success. In vain should we enter the halls of justice, in vain should we listen to the debates of senates for strains of oratory worthy of remembrance, beyond the duration of the occasion which called them forth. The art of embalming thought by oratory, like that of embalming bodies by aromatics, would have perished but for the exercises of religion. These alone have in the latter ages furnished discourses, which remind us, that eloquence is yet a faculty of the human mind.
Among the causes, which have contributed thus to depress the oratory of modern times, must be numbered the indifference, with which it has been treated, as an article of education. The ancients had fostered an opinion, that this talent was in a more than usual degree the creature of discipline; and it is one of the maxims, handed down to us as the result of their experience, that men must be born to poetry and bred to eloquence: that the bard is always the child of nature, and the orator always the issue of instruction. This doctrine seems to be not entirely without foundation, but was by them carried in both its parts to an extravagant excess.
The foundations for the oratorical talent, as well as those of the poetical faculty, must be laid in the bounties of nature; and as the Muse in Homer, impartial in her distribution of good and evil, struck the bard with blindness, when she gave him the powers of song, her Sister not unfrequently, by a like mix-
ture of tenderness and rigour, bestows the blessings of wisdom, while she refuses the readiness of utterance. Without entering however into a disquisition, which would lead me far beyond the limits of this occasion, I may remark, that the modern Europeans have run into the adverse extreme, and appear, during a considerable period, in their system of publick education, to have passed upon eloquence a sentence of proscription. Even when they studied Rhetorick as a theory, they neglected Oratory as an art; and while assiduously unfolding to their pupils the bright displays of Greek and Roman eloquence, they never attempted to make them eloquent themselves. Of the prevailing indifference to this department of human learning, no stronger evidence could be offered, than the circumstances under which we are assembled.
Nearly two centuries have elapsed since the foundation of this university. There never existed a people more anxious to bestow upon their children the advantages of education, than our venerable forefathers; and the name of Harvard is coeval with the first settlement of New-England. Their immediate and remote descendants down to this day have inherited and transmitted the same laudable ardour, and numerous foundations of various kinds attest their attachment to science and literature: yet so far have rhetorick and oratory been from enjoying a pre-eminence in their system of education, that they are now, for the first time, made a separate branch of instruction; and I stand here to assume the duties of the first instructor. The establishment of an institution for the purpose was reserved to the name of BOYLSTON: a name, which, if publick benefits can impart a title to remembrance, New-England will not easily forget: a name, to the benevolence, publick spirit, and genuine patriotism of which, this university, the neighbouring metropolis, and this whole nation have long had, and still have, many reasons to attest: a name, less distinguished by stations of splendour, than by deeds of virtue; and better known to this people by blessings enjoyed, than by favours granted: a name in fine, which, if not encircled with the external radiance of popularity, beams, brightly beams, with the inward lustre of beneficence. The institution itself is not of a recent date. One generation of mankind, according to the usual estimates of human life, has gone by, since the donation of Nicholas Boylston constituted the fund for the support of this professorship. The misfortunes which befel the university, unavoidably consequent upon our revolution, and various other causes, have concurred in delaying the execution of his intentions until the present time; and even now they have the prospect of little more than honest zeal for their accomplishment.
In reflecting upon the nature of the duties I undertake, a consciousness of deficiency for the task of their performance, dwells upon my mind; which, however ungraciously it may come from my lips, after accepting the appointment with which I am honoured, I yet cannot forbear to express. Though the course of my life has led me to witness the practice of this art in various forms, and though its theory has sometimes attracted my attention, yet my acquaintance with both has been of a general nature; and I can presume neither to a profound investigation of the one, nor an extensive experience of the other. The habits of instruction too, are not familiar to me; and they constitute an art of little less difficulty and delicacy, than that of oratory itself: yet as the career must necessarily be new by whomsoever it should here be explored, and as it leads to a course of pleasing speculations and studies, I shall rely upon the indulgence of the friends and patrons to this seminary, towards well-meant endeavours, and assume with diffidence the discharge of the functions allotted to the institution. In the theory of the art, and the principles of the exposition, novelty will not be expected; nor is it perhaps to be desired. A subject, which has exhausted the genius of Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian, can neither require nor admit much additional illustration. To select, combine, and apply their precepts, is the only duty left for their followers of all succeeding times, and to obtain a perfect familiarity with their instructions, is to arrive at the mastery of the art. For effecting this purpose, the teacher can do little more than second the ardour and assiduity of the scholar. In the generous thirst for useful knowledge, in the honourable emulation of excellence, which distinguishes the students of this university, I trust to find
an apology in the deficiency of the lecturer. The richness of the soil will compensate for the unskilfulness of the tillage.
Sons of Harvard! you who are ascending with painful step and persevering toil the eminence of science to prepare yourselves for the various functions and employments of the world before you, it cannot be necessary to urge upon you the importance of the art, concerning which I am speaking. Is it the purpose of your future life to minister in the temples of Almighty God, to be the messenger of heaven upon earth, to enlighten with the torch of eternal truth the path of your fellow-mortals to brighter worlds? remember the reason assigned for the appointment of Aaron to that ministry, which you purpose to assume upon yourself— I know that he can speak well ; and, in this testimonial of Omnipotence, receive the injunction of your duty. Is your intention to devote the labours of your maturity to the cause of justice; to defend the persons, the property, and the fame of your fellow citizens from the open assaults of violence, and the secret encroachments of fraud? fill the fountains of your eloquence from inexhaustible sources, that their streams, when they shall begin to flow, may themselves prove inexhaustible. Is there among you a youth, whose bosom burns with the fires of honourable ambition; who aspires to immortalize his name by the extent and importance of his services to his country; whose visions of futurity glow with the hope of presiding in her councils, of directing her affairs, of appearing to future ages on the rolls of fame, as her ornament and pride? let him catch from the relicks of ancient oratory those unresisted powers, which mould the mind of men to the will of the speaker, and yield the guidance of a nation to the dominion of the voice.
Under governments purely republican, where every citizen has a deep interest in the affairs of the nation, and in some form of publick assembly or other, has the means and opportunity of delivering his opinions, and of communicating his sentiments by speech; where government itself has no arms but those of persuasion; where prejudice has not acquired an uncontrolled ascendancy, and faction is yet confined within the barriers of peace, the voice of eloquence will not be heard in vain. March then with firm, with steady, with undeviating step, to the prize of your high calling. Gather fragrance from the whole paradise of science, and learn to distil from your lips all the honies of persuasion. Consecrate, above all, the faculties of your life to the cause of truth, of freedom, and of humanity. So shall your country ever gladden at the sound of your voice, and every talent, added to your accomplishments, become another blessing to mankind.
HAGUE, June 10.
The following is a copy of the proclamation which was read this day to the military, and announced to the people:
"Louis Napoleon, by the Grace of God, and the constitutional laws of the state, king of Holland, to all who shall see and read this, greeting! Make known to all and every one, that we, with the approbation of his majesty the emperor and king, Napoleon, our illustrious brother, have accepted and do accept the royal dignity of Holland, in conformity to the wish of the country, with the constitutional laws, and with the treaty presented us to-day, and the reciprocal ratifications by the deputies of the Dutch nation. On our accession to the throne, it shall be our most sacred care to be alive to the interests of our people—it shall be our constant wish to give them incessant and manifold instances of our love and of our solicitude: to that end maintaining the liberties of all our subjects, and their rights, and continually employing ourselves to their welfare. The independence of the kingdom is guaranteed by his majesty the emperor and king; the constitutional laws, with our firm will, serve no less for every one as a pledge to the creditors of the state, to personal security, and to liberty of conscience. Conformably to this declaration, we have decreed and do decree as follows:
I. Our ministers of the marine and finances, appointed this day shall immediately enter upon their functions—the other ministers shall continue in the discharge of their functions till further orders. II. All the constituted authorities, civil and military, shall continue in their functions till further orders, or till other appointments shall take place. III. The constitutional laws of the

state, with the treaty concluded at Paris, on the 24th of May, 1806, between his majesty the emperor and king, and the Batavian republic, with the present decree, shall be immediately announced in the most public manner.
We accordingly charge and command, that the present be proclaimed and posted up every where in all public places, charging those to whom it belongs, to take care that the contents of the same be strictly observed.
Given at Paris, June 5, 1806, being the first year of our reign.
LOUIS.
On behalf of the king, VERHEUL.
In consequence of this proclamation, a discharge of the artillery in the Cow Camp took place, and the flags were hoisted on the tower of the great church and on the observatory of the hotel in the inner court.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
General Dispositions.—Article 1. The constitutional laws actually in force, especially the constitution of 1805, as the civil, political, and religious laws, the exercise of which is conformable to the regulations of the treaty concluded on the 24th of May of the present year, shall be preserved inviolate, with the exception of those only which shall be abolished by the present constitutional laws.
2. The administration of the Dutch Colonies is regulated by particular laws, and the expenses of the colonies shall be estimated as a part of the revenues of the state.
3. The public debt is guaranteed by the present laws.
4. The Dutch language shall continue to be employed exclusively in the laws, the publications, ordinances, judgments and all the public acts, without distinction.
5. There shall be no changes made in the name of the present current coin unless it shall be authorized by a particular law.
6. The ancient colours of the state shall be preserved.
7. The council of state shall be composed of thirteen members. The ministers shall hold their rank, their sitting and their votes of deliberation in the said council.
Of Religion.
1. The King and the Law grant equal protection to all religions which are professed in the state. By their authority every thing necessary for the organization, the protection, and the exercise of every kind of worship is to be determined. The exercise of every kind of religion is to be confined to the interior of the churches belonging to the different communions.
2. The King shall enjoy the public exercise of his religion in his palace, and in every other place where he shall reside.
Of the King.
1. The King shall have exclusively and without restriction, the complete exercise of the Government, and all the power necessary to secure the execution of the laws, and to cause them to be respected. He has the nomination to all the Charges and Offices, civil and military, which according to anterior laws, were vested in the Grand Pensiary. He likewise enjoys the pre-eminence and the prerogatives hitherto attached to that dignity. The coin of the state shall bear his image. Justice shall be administered in his name. He has the right of granting pardon, abolition, or the mitigation of the pains produced by judicial awards; nevertheless, he shall not be authorized to exercise this right, but after having heard the Members of the National Court in his Privy council.
2. Upon the death of the King, the office of guardian to the minor king shall be vested in the queen dowager, and in case of her death, in that person who shall be nominated for the purpose by the Emperor of the French.
3. The regent shall be assisted by a council of natives, the qualifications and privileges of whom shall be determined by a particular law. The regent shall not be personally responsible for the acts of his government.
The government of the colonies, and every thing relative to their internal regulation, belong exclusively to the King.
The general administration of the kingdom is confided to the immediate direction of four ministers of state nominated by the King, viz. The minister of foreign affairs, the minister of war and marine, a minister of the finances, and a minister of the interior.
Of the Law.
1. The law is established in Holland by the concurrence of the legislative body, formed by the assembly of their high mightinesses, and by the King. The legislative body is composed of 38 mem-
bers, elected for five years, and nominated as follows: for the department of Holland, 17 members; Guelderland, four; Brabant, four; Friesland, four; Overijssel, three; Zealand, two; Drenthe, one. But the number of their High Mightinesses may be augmented by a law, in case of aggrandizement of territory.
2. To complete the number of members authorized by the foregoing article, their high mightinesses shall present to his majesty, a list of two candidates for each of the vacant places. The King shall make the election out of the candidates proposed.
3. The present Grand Pensiary shall take the title of President of their high mightinesses, and exercise his function in this quality during life. The choice of his successor shall take place in the manner determined by the constitution of 1805.
4. The legislative body shall chuse a recorder out of its own body, by a plurality of votes.
5. The legislative body shall assemble in ordinary twice in the year, viz. from the 15th of April to the 1st of June, from the 15th of November to the 15th of January. On the 15th of November a fifth of the oldest members shall go out from the body. The first member shall go out on the 15th November, 1807—Such members, notwithstanding, may be re-elected.
Of Judiciary Power.
The judiciary institutions shall be preserved in the mode they have been established by the constitution of 1805.
2. Relative to the judiciary power, the King shall exercise all the rights and all the authority vested in the Grand Pensiary by virtue of the constitution of 1805.
3. Every thing that relates to the exercise of military criminal justice shall be separately regulated by an ulterior law.
NEW-YORK, August 1.
We learn by a gentleman arrived at the Lazaretto in the Delaware, from St. Thomas, that on his passage they fell in with sir J. B. Warren's squadron, about 150 miles from this coast. They had touched at several of the West-India islands, and having been informed of the departure of Bonaparte's squadron, and the sailing of the homeward fleet under a weak convoy, sir J. B. Warren was in pursuit of both or either, intending, if he fell in with the fleet alone, to convoy them safe to England.
FRENCH FRATERNITY!!!
Extract of a letter from captain John Hand, jun. of the schooner Caroline, of Alexandria, dated
"Port Spain, (Trinidad) July 8, 1806. "On the 21st of June, in lat. 14, long. 58, was boarded by two French line of battle ships, who took from us about 140 barrels of flour, all the beans and cheese and the greater part of the hams, and never gave us a scrap of a pen for it."
August 2.
We are extremely happy to learn, that a political paper is shortly to be published in this city by T. G. Fessenden, esq., author of Democracy Unveiled, Terrible Tractation, &c. &c. The encouragement already offered, leaves no doubt of the immediate commencement of this paper. It will be extensive in its circulation, will be read with avidity, and prove a thorn in the side of many a disorganizer.
CHAMBERSBURG, August 12.
Col. Aaron Burr, late Vice President of the United States, passed through this place yesterday morning, on his way to the Westward.
"Many are the shapes of death, And many are the ways that lead To his grim cave."
On Wednesday last, Mr. Charles Martin, living on the plantation of Simon Esker, in Antrim township, and a Mr. John M'Farlan, of Washington township in this county, fell victims to the imprudence of entering a well on the place of Mr. Esker, infected with fixed air, or "suffocating choak damp." The circumstances attending this melancholy accident, as related to us by the neighbours of the deceased persons, are, as far as our recollection serves us, as follows:—The water being low in the well, Mr. Martin had procured a person acquainted with the business, to remove some rocks near the bottom which obstructed the passage of the bucket to the water. This person having taken a lighted candle in his hand, had not descended far before he discovered the effects of
the noxious and mephitic vapours upon the candle, and immediately ordered the persons at the windlass to draw him up. He not being willing to go down again, Mr. M'Farlan insisted upon descending, which was permitted—he had scarcely reached the bottom, when upon being requested, he agreed to be drawn up; but when he had arrived about three-fourths of the way, the deleterious air he had respired overpowered him and he fell to the bottom! Mr. Martin's feelings of sympathy having stifled every sense of danger, he rashly and fatally resolved to descend (without being tied) and endeavor, if possible, to rescue M'Farlan from total death. He immediately slipped down the rope, (the bucket having been previously let down) near to the bottom; but finding no symptoms of life in M'Farlan, and probably feeling the effects of the damp, he fixed himself in the bucket to be drawn up; but alas, when within about four feet of the top of the well, like M'Farlan, he fainted away and fell backwards out of the bucket!!—On taking their bodies from the well, by means of a hook, it was found that their heads had been shockingly bruised in falling.
Mr. Martin was an industrious, sober man—he has left a wife and four small children, and his circumstances being low, renders his death to them an irreparable loss. We cannot deny ourselves the pleasure of stating, that the independent Farmers of Antrim have resolved to assist the widow of Mr. Martin.
MARTINSBURG, August 22.
COMMUNICATED.
Was married in Shepherd's Town, on Monday evening last, the 18th instant, by the Reverend Moses Hoge, Major CALEB SWAN, Pay-Master General of the United States' Army, to the amiable Miss MARIA HENRIETTA ABERT, eldest daughter of Mr. John Abert, of that place.
If real merit, virtue and suavity of temper, can ensure an equivalent proportion of felicity in this world, the above couple may flatter themselves with the pleasing idea that they will realize a full portion of earthly happiness.
Married on Tuesday last, by the Rev. Mr. Wimer, Mr. MICHAEL LEP. HART to Miss BARBARA FRENCH, daughter of Capt. Jacob French, all of Berkeley County.
Heads of Department.
The "urgency of public business is over," [and so are the trials of Col. Smith and Mr. Ogden.] Mr. Jefferson has retired to Monticello; Mr. Madison to his seat; Mr. Smith is gone to Baltimore; Mr. Gallatin is in New-York, and General Dearborn was preparing to be off for Kennebec, when he was taken unwell "more or less," at Washington, where he is yet detained.
[New-York Herald.]
We hear says the Washington Federalist that William Pinkney, Esq. to the office of Minister Extraordinary has added to his Mission, the office of Minister Resident at the Court of London, in the room of Mr. Monroe, who, we understand will return home.
It was known some time since, that it was Mr. Monroe's intention to return to America; and it is believed, that he would have returned, ere this, had he not anxiously desired to bring about that accommodation of differences between the two nations, which had every appearance of a speedy and honorable termination, previous to the late proceedings of congress. It is now very certain that the difficulties have not decreased. And the dispatches received here indicate some difficulty in bringing about an adjustment.
Mr. Tillotson, in a suit against Mr. James Cheetham, editor of the New-York "American Citizen" for a libel, obtained a verdict on the 28th ult. for fourteen hundred dollars damages.
[Bal. Tel.]
FOR THE INTELLIGENCER.
THE LIFE OF MAN.
SUCH is the life of man, with busy pace, On shadows bent, he moves from place to place; With various scenes of happiness amused, By turns applauded, and by turns abused: From sorrows school sent weeping from the womb, Spends his short span, then hastens to the tomb. Life's but an empty void, unless confin'd, To duty's path, and useful to mankind.
Mr. Suckling, a clergyman of Norfolk, having a quarrel with a neighbouring gentleman who insulted him, and at last told him, "Doctor your gown is your protection," replied—"Though it may be mine, it shall not be yours," and immediately pulled it off, and threshed the aggressor.
A notorious miser having heard a very eloquent charity sermon, "This sermon, said he, strongly proves the necessity of alms. I have almost a mind to—beg."
CHEERFULNESS.
I pity the man who can live gloomily in this rich, variegated, and beautiful world; who can walk abroad and not admire the canopy of heaven; who in lifting up his eyes is not enraptured with the vast lights which illumine and glorify the celestial expanse; who in roaming the fields is not charmed with the verdure and blossoms of spring, with the scenery and fruits of summer, with the business, the abundance, and the joys of autumn; and who, amidst the blasts and terrors of the dreary season, cannot cheerfully participate in the sweets of retirement. As the operations of nature continually call upon man to be diligent, so her varieties invite him to be cheerful. Because perpetual sunshine would dazzle and fatigue us, the face of the sky is regularly darkened by the shades of night, and occasionally veiled by angry storms. Because an uninterrupted series of prosperity would make us vain, arrogant and luxurious, we are sometimes visited with affliction—Still it is the design of heaven to make us happy, and ours alone is the fault if we are otherwise. What tho' then, amid unnumbered blessings, we may recollect designs which have failed; and hopes which have withered; what if we could find friends in sackcloth and enemies in triumph; what tho' the thunders of war are heard among the distant nations, and black clouds begin to gather in our own hemisphere; yet sorrow and sadness were not made for man. Come hither Cheerfulness, for thou art the health and sunshine of the soul.—Thine are the tranquil spirits, the even temper and the serene brow. Under thy smiling reign we will seldom be transported with mirth, and seldom despond under trouble; we will receive with gratitude, and suffer with constancy; we will be moderate in affluence, and in want contended: and will meet the turbulent and fleeting vicissitudes of life with a manly fortitude and Christian composure.
Sale of Land.
To be sold on the 30th day of October next, a Tract of first-rate Limestone Land, the property of Michael Pultz, dec. containing two hundred and thirty-five acres, lying about three miles from Smithfield, Jefferson County, Virginia. The improvements are a good Dwelling House, with convenient Out-houses, and a good Barn; also, a number of excellent Fruit-Trees of various kinds. The terms of sale will be made known on the day; and a good title made to the purchaser. Due attendance will be given by
NICHOLAS SCHALL and HENRY SYBERT, August 22, 1806.
TAKE NOTICE
IT has heretofore been a practice, with some ill-minded persons, not only to carry off the old wood from my land near this town, but also to take away the cord wood: This is therefore to inform such persons, that I am determined to prosecute them to the utmost extent of the law, if again found in this unwarrantable conduct—and I will give a reward of five dollars to any person who will give information against them, so that the thief may be convicted.
VALENTINE ALE.
Martinsburg, August 22, 1806.

[London, of all the places in the world, perhaps, is most celebrated for scenes of fun and frolic . The following inimitable incident of genuine humor is related as having occurred in that city. Whether it be founded on truth or not, there can be no doubt but many like quizzical occurrences have been witnessed in that World in Miniature . Whoever is acquainted with the humor of Bates and Bernard, of the American Theatre, and can figure to himself this tale told by either of them, will feel extremely gratified by a perusal of it. The spirit of the tale lies in the continual teazing of King , and the patience and chagrin of the Frenchman.]
TOM KING, OR, MONSIEUR TONSON.
THERE liv'd, as fame reports, in days of yore, At least some fifty years ago, or more, A pleasant wight in town, yclep'd Tom King; A fellow that was clever at a joke, Expert in all the arts to tease and smoke, In short, for strokes of humour, quite the thing .
To many a jovial club this King was known, With whom his active wit unrivall'd shone— Choice spirit, grave free-mason, buck, and blood, Would crowd his stories and bon mots to hear, And none a disappointment e'er could fear, His humour flow'd in such a copious flood.
To him a frolic was a high delight— A frolic he would hunt for day and night, Careless how Prudence on the sport might frown: If e'er a pleasant mischief sprang to view, At once o'er hedge and ditch away he flew, Nor left the game till he had run it down.
One night out here, rambling with a friend, Near sum'd St. Giles's chanc'd his course to bend, Just by that spot the Seven Dial's height: 'Twas silence all around and clear the coast, The watch, as usual, dozing on his post, And scarce a lamp display'd a twinkling light.
Around this place there liv'd the num'rous clans Of honest plodding foreign artisans, Known at that time by name of refugees— The rod of persecution from their home, Compell'd the inoffensive race to roam, And here they lighted like a swarm of bees.
Well! our two friends were saunt'ring thro' the street, In hopes some food for humour soon to meet, When in a window near, a light they view; And though a dim and melancholy ray, It seem'd the prologue to some merry play, So t'wards the gloomy dome our hero drew.
Strait at the door he gave a thund'ring knock (The time we may suppose near two o'clock), "I'll ask," says King, "if Thompson lodges here; "Thompson," cries t'other, "who the devil is he?" "I know not," King replies, "but want to see What kind of animal will now appear."
After some time a little Frenchman came, One hand display'd a red-light's trembling flame, The other held a thing they call culotte ; An old strip'd woollen night-cap grac'd his head, A tatter'd waistcoat o'er one shoulder spread, Scarce half awake, he hear'd a yawning note.
Though thus untimely rous'd, he court'ously snipp'd, And soon dress'd our wag in accents mild, Bending his head politely to his knee— "Pray, sare, vat vant you, dat you come so late; "I beg your pardon, sare, to make you wait; "Pray tell me, sare, vat your commands vid me?"
"Sir," replied King, "I merely thought to know, "As by your house I chanc'd to night to go— "But really, I disturb'd your sleep I fear— "I say I thought, that you perhaps could tell, "Among the folks who in this street do dwell, "If there's a Mr. Thompson lodges here."
The shiv'ring Frenchman though not pleas'd to find The business of this unimportant kind, Too simple to suspect 'twas meant in jeer, Shrugg'd out a sigh that thus his rest should break." Then with unalter'd courtesy he spake, "No, sare, no monsieur Tonson lodges here."
Our wag begg'd pardon, and t'ward home he sped, While the poor Frenchman crawl'd again to bed; But King resolv'd not thus to drop the jest, So the next night with more of whim than grace, Again he made a visit to the place, To break once more the poor old Frenchman's rest.
He knock'd—but waited longer than before— No footstep seem'd approaching to the door; Our Frenchman lay in such a sleep profound; King with the knocker, thunder'd then again, Firm on his post determin'd to remain; And oft indeed, he made the door resound.
FOR SALE, A LIKELY NEGRO BOY, About 15 years of age, bred to the Farm- ing business. Enquire of the printer. Martinsburg, July 25, 1806.
BOLTING CLOTHS. JUST received an extensive assort- ment of best warranted BOLTING CLOTHS, of every description, which will be sold unusually low, by KENNEDYS & RAGAN. Hagers-town, June 5, 1806. [1y]
At last King hears him o'er the passage creep, Wood'ring what fiend again disturb'd his sleep, The wag salutes him with a civil leer; Thus drawing out to heighten the surprise (While the poor Frenchman rubb'd his heavy eyes) "Is there—a Mr. Thompson—lodges here?"
The Frenchman falter'd, with a kind of fright— "Y-sare, I'm sure I told you, sare, last night, (And here he labour'd with a sigh sincere) "No monsieur Tonson in de varld I know, "No monsieur Tonson here—I told you so; "Indeed, sare, dere no monsieur Tonson here.
Some more excuses tender'd, off King goes, And the old Frenchman sought once more repose, The rogue next night pursu'd his old career— 'Twas long indeed before the man same nigh, And then he utter'd in a piteous cry, "Sare, pon my soul, no monsieur Tonson here."
Our sportive wight his usual visit paid, And the next night came forth a prattling maid, Whose tongue, indeed, than any jack went faster— Anxious she strove his errand to inquire, He said "tis vain your pretty tongue to tire "He should not stir till he had seen her master."
The damsel then began, in doleful state The Frenchman's broken slumbers to relate, And begg'd he'd call at proper time of day— King told her she must fetch her master down, A chaise was ready, he was leaving town, But first had much of deep concern to say.
Thus urg'd, she went the snoring man to call And long indeed was she oblig'd to bawl, Ere she could rouse the torpid lump of clay— At last he wakes—he rises, and he swears, But scarcely had he totter'd down the stairs, When King attacks him in his usual way.
The Frenchman now perceiv'd 'twas all in vain, To this tormentor mildly to complain, And strait in rage began his crest to rear— "Sare, vat de devil make you treat me so? "Sare, I tell you, sare, tree one two nights ago, "Get tam I swear, no monsieur Tonson here."
True as the night, King went, and heard a strife, Between the barras'd Frenchman and his wife, Which would descend to chase the fiend away; At length to join their forces they agree, And strait impetuously they turn the key, Prepar'd with mutual fury for the fray!
Our hero, with the firmness of a rock, Collected to receive the mighty shock, Ut'ring the old inquiry, calmly stood— The name of Thompson rais'd the storm so high, He deem'd it then the safest plan to fly, With, "Well I'll call when you're in gentler mood."
In short our hero with the same intent, Full many a night to plague the Frenchman went— So fond of mischief was the wicked wit: They threw out water—for the watch they call, But King, expecting, still escapes from all— Monsieur at last was forced his house to quit!
It happen'd that our wag about this time, On some fair prospect sought the eastern clime, Six ling'ring years were there his tedious lot; At length, content, amid his rip'ning store, He treads again on Britain's happy shore, And his long absence is at once forgot.
To London, with impatient hope he flies, And the same night, as former freaks arise, He taks must stroll, the well-known haunt to trace— "Ah! here's the scene of frequent mirth," he said, "My poor old Frenchman, I suppose is dead— "Egad, I'll knock, and see who holds his place."
With rapid strokes he makes the mansion roat, And while he eager eyes the op'ning door, Lo! who obeys the knocker's rattling peal? Why e'en our little Frenchman, strange to say, He took his old abode that very day— Capricious turn of sportive fortune's wheel!
Without one thought of the relentless foe, Who fiend-like, haunted him so long ago, Just in his former trim he now appears; The waistcoat and the night-cap seem'd the same, With rush-light as before, he creeping came, And King's detested voice astonish'd hears.
As if some hideous spectre struck his sight, His senses seem'd bewilderd with affright, His face, indeed, bespoke a heart full sore— Then starting, he exclaim'd, in rueful strain, "Begar! here's monsieur Tonson come again!" Away he ran—and ne'er was heard of more.
The following BLANKS , printed with NEW and ELEGANT TYPE, are always kept for sale at this Office: DEEDS, Common BONDS, CONSTABLE'S BLANKS, Promissory NOTES, &c.
CAME to the plantation of the sub- -scriber last May, a SORREL MARE ; 8 or 9 years old; with a star and snip; near fifteen hands high; shod all round; trotts, racks and canters; and was ap- -praised to 45 dollars. The owner of said estrap is desired to prove property, pay charges and take her away. NEHEMIAH MATSON. Mill-Creek, Berkeley } County, August 3, 1806. }
Now Opening.
THE subscribers respectfully inform their friends and the public in ge- -neral, that they are now opening a very large and most excellent assortment of
Fresh Goods,
of every description—which having been bought very low, they can recommend them to their friends and all those who wish to purchase CHEAP GOODS — Among which are a great variety of RICH FANCY GOODS ; gentle- -men's nice imported HATS , Imperial Willow Sheets; home-made twilled Bags; Flax; BAR-IRON ; Crowley and Blistered STEEL ; real good Soal and Upper LEATHER ; Stone, Glass, Queens, China and Tin WARE ; PAINTS ; Patent and other MEDI- -CINES —All which they are positive- -ly determined to sell very cheap for cash or approved of country produce. JAMES & JOHN LANE. Shepherd's-Town, August 1, 1806.
N. B. They continue to give the highest price in cash for Hides & Skins.
They earnestly request all those in- -debted to them, and whose bonds, notes and accounts are due, to dis charge the same before the 30th of September next: as the request is reasonable, they hope none of their friends will be back- -ward in complying, as no longer indul- -gence can or will be given.
PROPOSALS BY GABRIEL NOURSE, FOR PUBLISHING THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, OR STUDENT'S COMPANION,
Being a collection of words the most useful and elegant, selected from Bayly, John- -son and Sheridan, with an explanation, where any is necessary—agreeable to those justly celebrated authors.
Notwithstanding the multiplicity of publications, offered for the benefit of the rising generation, no apology is neces- -sary for adding this to the number alrea- -dy extant—The want of a compendious little volume, such as the compiler pro- -mises the Student's Companion shall be; not only obviates but answers every ob- -jection to the present augmentation.
This little work is calculated for the purpose both of a Spelling Book and Dic- -tionary, and claims the preference of all others, inasmuch as it will lead both to the sound and understanding of all diffi- -culty words; an excellence which no book in common use, can be said to possess.
From the assistance which the com- -piler expects from some of the first lite- -rary characters in America, and his own assiduity, in the selection, he is flatter- -ed to expect, it will in a short time find a welcome throughout the United States.
It will contain about 90 pages, 2-3 du- -odecimo—handsome type and paper, and bound in the best manner the price will admit of, which will be 52 per do- -zen or 25 cents single—payable on deli- -very.
Subscriptions received at the office of the Intelligencer.
MARTINSBURG, Berkeley County, Virginia; Printed and published by JOHN ALBURTIS.
TERMS OF THE INTELLIGENCER.
The price of this Paper is two dol- -lars per annum, one dollar payable at the time of subscribing, and one when the year expires. Distant subscribers pay for the whole year in advance. The price of Advertisements, to non-sub- -scribers, is one dollar per square for three weeks insertion, and for continu- -ance after that time 25 cents per week; Subscribers will continue to receive a re- -duction of one-fourth on their Advertis- -ments.