Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1820-04-18
ron THE sAzGrrE.

In speaking, euuetlihC oiuSCs VI 'StJ
respectable portion OF the female sex,
portion however, which has little else but
lis irtue and Intelligence 10 prove ITS
claim TO favourable notice, l was SO un-
fortunate as to dignity ii with the TILE OF
ladies. sense OF my misfortune was
soon forced upon me BY one, VINO, having
the high claim OF birth and fortune to dis
tinction 10 society, undertook 20 repei
the outrage which | had committed
against good sense : in which he succeeded
SO well. that had not been very singular
10 nv ideas on the subject, ! should have
been entirely silenced by the force o. ms
arguments. Obi" exclaimed he, how
can YOU be so vulgar as to call those crea-
lures ladies' ~ Why sir, said |, what
should call them? !. TaiIoresses; seam
stresses; women: any thing rather than
ladies'" What then, sir-pardon my sin
eularity--what constitutes lady p
What why she must De bern g e. lady
She must have a father and a mother,
grandfather and grandmother, who were
gentlemen aud ladies'" Well, rejoined !,
such Is my ignorance that have always
thought virtue, an unblemished reputation,
and respectable share of knowledge, sui
ficient to give any woman the character
OF lady. " Ali you were mistaken
there. There must be difference by
birth; else all distinction between the
higher and lower orders Of society would
soon be confounded. hope, therefore,
YOU will learn, in future, never 10 think,
much less to call, any one lady, unless
she be born So" Well, thought to my
self, though you argue conclusively, yet
not every enlightened lady four country, |
even among those who possess the right TO
that title for which you contend, would
thank you for the manner in which you
advocate their cause.
Now, Messrs. Editors, there is no par
tiality in my breast for a perfecl equalit,
of rank in society. 1t is incompatible
with the constitution of our nature, and
the invarisble, if not necessary, tendency
of all human Institutions Of policy. In
all countries, and in all ages, the high and
the Iow--the rich and the poor--tbe ilon.
CURED and the unhonoared, have BEEN
found; and il requires no spirit OF prophe
CIV to ioresee that these distinctions will
always continue to obtain wherever the
human race shall be found, They arise
out Of that infinite variety of capacity and
inclination, with which wise Creator has
seen fit TO endow his imperfect creatures;
and, among beings constituted as We are
become necessary TO order aud good gov
ernment. tits not the idea Of distinctions
among men, but the manner of obtaining
them; not the privileges of rank, but the
tenure by which they are held, against
which these remarks are directed II we
lived under monarchy, and by the terms |
gentleman and lady meant to distinguish
merely the heir to an estate, the wife OF
my lord, or the daughter Of an earl,
should have no objection TO the applica-
tion Of the title as distinguishing those
superior beings from the inferior part Of
the species. But under this free. republi-
can form Of government. where merit is
or ought to be, the only passport TO dis
tinction, and an unsullied fame the only
charter Of respect, il is not a little curious
to see persons who can trace their pedi-
gree back to their great-grandfather, while
all beyond is blank obscurity, valuins
themselves upon their distinctions Of for
tune, and claiming real superiority from
the circumstances attending their birth.
These remarks are not made from feel
ings of envy towards those, whose birth
and fortune secure TO them distinction ~
society. The writer's pretensions TO both
are Of too high cast, ever TO admit the
exercise Of such feeling towards any
one. For by birth, he is rational being /;
directly descended from him, who was
created G 10 the image Of God" who is
6 the King of kings, and Lord Of lords !"
BY fortune, he inherits some OF those in
valuable legacies which the God of nature
generally bequeaths to his honoured heirs
such as /" Mems sana, 10 corpore sano,' .
capacities and desires for benefiting his
fellow-creatures, and an ardent devotion
to the claims of obscure merit against the
unjust pretensions of privileged imbecilit5
But to speak plainly, Messrs. Editors,
and without any regard TO sex, there is
plainly discoverable, throughout our coun-
try, a disposition to attach too much i'm
portance TO the little adyentitious circum-
stances of rank and fortune, to the excIu-
sion of those inherent and ennobiing pro
perties Of our nature, genius aud merit
a disposition hostile 10 the spirit Of our
republican institutions, and fatal to the
best interests Of our country. How often
do we see the imbecile descendant Of an
honorable family lifted up, by the in1n-
ence of bis birth, his fortune and his con-
nexions, 10 places of honour and profit
while honest merit is left to struggle
against insuperable difficulties; and finally
TO sink into obscurity, merely because the
~ .anfrors.ex, l. Loo IL.