Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1801-1806, 1802-12-18

L JTcad ckccuuon and ~ ibucffng no tcaion
TO efcspe. at which il might he made. Nov il
il was as they pretend. wis fhooid il have hahn. /.
Till as fhc 1umhes Of the nieht, for more than
a year Let even /fde,Hi ingenuity afcribe a
caule.
Was the delay occsfoned by the want cf .
favorable opportunity Did the forged Letters
originate in tie a,rocity OF iub.ie 6end who all
rhis time lay csouching bepea,h rhcsbufh, watch
ling the moment when with advantage he mieht
dart upon the character OF the accuied What
Ia tuprndous model OF fraudulent fsgaeity mutt
he have bccn! He mua have had, indeed. the
keyes. and the wits OF inipiration. His " Kill,
and charms" muit have been enough to mskc
the forets dance or the bolted oanary vomit
up is mouldering depohr. At the waffurc OF
bd wand, rocks mnit have opened, and poured
forth rivers OF soil, and wine - or foods Of
gsul, and bitterness" at his command. Bur,
fill more frangc, thefe powers, which he had
poHe1ed, and exered, all at once forfook him,
and left him within 20 his own unaccoun,able-
nefs He had waited twelve month, for a
lucky chance to play this prodigious prank /;
and, at length, came out at time the rnoa in-
au(picuous to his purpof. Was not lsa win
ter Ga more convenient feafon" When this
contemplated vielim was abfent at the feat of
Government his fyiends away Was NOT That
the moment to launch upon his deflraelion I
Why break forth when in the majefy of pride,
with his face. and eyes, diretied TO the clouds,
he was daily talking our frees, the lira cham
pion OF " bon0y, and power. and glory )" with
his numerous train of friends, and intimates, at
his fde !
Again. Al the time on which thofe Let
tcrs bear date, faarcely one in Newport, except
Mr.. Ruiledgs's accomplices in conlpracy and
rebellion. knew, 20 any extent, what the CON-
p.exion OF his politics was. Though he had
been for fome time in the National Houfe Ct
Representatives, and had there aeted :" non-
defcript" part, " OF equivoca" afped yet
nobody fuipe6ted the lengths which be was ca
pablc OF going. IL was DOT rill the LAR SeAion
Of Congrefs, which was kaf avisis,, that he
came forward with his !" fv7ian, and f,ot6, sEf
ef/Safan." II was not sill then, thar the eyes
of mankind were fixed upon him, rs a mon-
aer Of foch hoIrid mein." So that the flppo-
G,ion of plot agsina him is al,oge,hsr un-
founded, and premature.
Again. II it had been plot. the perfon
who undertook il muil have counte sfeired his
hand. writing. But the hand. writing itlelf de-
cares to the contrary. So far from Ire being
/" an attempt to initiate" tls iomc good Gen
tlemen have fworn) it was evidently cav at
tempt" to d,Dsm5k. At the beginning OF each
of the forged Letters, the letters and words were
very much fsrera. and were kAred the contrary
way, from that which MIR. Rutledgc always
las far as the acknowledged specimens pfoddcsd
extcnded) leaned his writing. This atnatnral,
sod laborcd dkortion, as the Letters both Of
them) proceeded, gradually wore off, and be-
came more and more natural, and, apparently,
eafy. This relapfc. tifthe term is proper one)
appeared to be occaiioned from the fatigue, as
the Letters we're lengthy. of vuryirg his natural
hand. But even in the moit forced parts of il,
there was, as has been fworn TO by many who
made the comparifon. an exaa, and hriking
finiiitude in many inaauces. And the more
natural par,s was TO every free and unprejud'ced
mind, beyond all manner Of doubt. tho hand
writing, or cloven foot, of the 81 bonsrable"
Rutledge. But We fhall have occaGon to fpeak
more fully on this point in the iequel.
Gentlemen have [,poys thar the Letters in
qu-hion, befpokc " an unfneccfssul attempt by
iomc perfon TO initiate" Mr.. Ratledge's hand
writing The truth Of the cafe is. thar they
proclaimed an uniuccefsfol attempt by Mr.. Rot
ledge himfelf to alter, or diffcmblc his own
hand Their eafbs TO the contrary, in any
wife, notwithstanding
There is another confederation which
nigh, hare be prohtably made.
Ifit had been " an agjxees/sfM affrmpf" in
any perfon "fo initiate" the handwriting of
Mr.. Rutlcdge, that perfon mutt have belonged
in NeSport for il would be madnc6 TO fpp.
pofe him TO be Aging dragon, or bird OF
paHage. If there had, in fact, been fuch an
!" affsm,bf;" 70 far as il was unfuccefsfal' it
would inevitably have difcloled, at leaf, fome
broken features of the hand writing Of the per-
fon who made il. Bccauic all thar il had failed
Of the Irritation. it NUT have retained Of its own.
peculiar deicription. For it would be as eafy
10 rut on immortality" as il would be 10
put off, at once, every appearance Of ones uioa'
handwriting. Here would have been vcfiges
whereby they would have traced, and detected,
the lurking perpetrstor. But have they done
il Have they attempted to do it. They have
aGFstlcd. indeed, to make tome furmifes OF the
kind but when sbofe furmifes were like to
come TO the ter, how quick did they haul in
their horns
A certain ingenious philofopher. when ok
ID how he came by his belief in the cxieence Ct
, Cop -replied, that he " believed il, from the
Ieven- fold difficulty Of diibelicvine it," Soms-
hing 70 in the preient cafe. We do not believe
h was an attempt to initiate Mr.. Rutledgcs
r,fS I6asHs nf