The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware register., 1825-08-25

'
forth in curses upon injury and ingratitude,
remember that curse not, but forgive
You ask what has made me an exile for life,
and tenant of this wild spot; my answer
is, the ingrattude of others, and my own Just
pride. Could have tanned my own high
spirit, to bear insulting pity and scorntul
charity, would never have forsakcn the
haunts of men, but prefer the savage indie
pendence of mountain hunter, to the pol
lshed servitude of courtly parasite. You
will understand the reason OF my exile from
the events OF my life:
Young stranger, YOU see before you one
whose fame was sounded far and wide across
the fields of America; one whose banners
your fathers followed to battle forty years
ago; one who afterwards presided in the
councils of your nation, and whose head was
raised high among the great ones OF the
land. In the tenant Of this wretched hut,
YOU behold man of lofty ancestry, and once
princely fortune the last of a timc-honored
Family, OH which the cloud OF misfortune has
settled tlaikly and forever. What boots it
that should tell yon that years and years
ago, long ere the freedom of America was
yet in embryo, the name which | bear was
made famous by my ancestors on fields
where the British Lion waved boodily and
trumphantly-that the war cry of our fam
lily was the loudest in conflict, and its flag
foremost in the charge of the brave? Iothe
young and untamed spirit, such recoliectons.
are like the rays of morning which herald
glorious and shining day; but on the old
and wthered heart they fall like sunset
beams, fraught with memory but not with
expectation. But to my story:
My father left his European home for
America, when America was an appendage
to Britain. His wealth and his influence
descended to me. was i'll the prime OF my
days when the aggressions and tyrannies CT
the English ministry gave birth to the rev
olution Of the colonies. Although my inhcr-
itance placed me high in the aristocracy OF
Britain; and my fortune pleaded strongly
against the perils and chances OF such
struggle, did not hesitate moment. en-
braced the righteous cause ardently and
firmly; and from that instant, ancient ties
were severed, and America WAS the lard OF
my allegiance. | became one OF the leaders
other armies. My country was then poor,
and was rich; the brave men whom com
manded were then suffering for the necessi-
ties of life; the treasury was bankrupt, and
advanced from my own purse the means OF
support to my soldiers, who would other
wise have been compelled to disperse. The
events Of the revolutionary contest need
not relate to you, for they must be familiar
to every man between the Mississippi and
the Atlantic. After its triumphant ter
minaton, as the fortunes of my country
were on the increase, my own were Oh the
wane.
all crowded on i'll, and that destiny which
overturns the haughtiest and the prouacst
of families, decreed that mine should lie
PROSTATE in the dust. When the last and
ticadliest vial OF tate was poured upon me,
and the last leaf ofny prosperity had with
cred, and NOT nil then, | applied to my coun-
try, not for charity, but for the repayment of
sacred obligation | asked from her abun-
dance return Of the money | had loaned
her in her destitution; and how, think YOU,
was | paids
"Surely." said !, "with heartfelt gratitude
and boundless liberality."
with inhuman neglect and with heart
less insensibility !" exclaimed the aged man:
the men who then represented the nation,
were nursed in prosperity, until their hearts
were heardencd, and they scorned and ne
elected the veteran warrier who had tramp
led the braycst and the best Of England's
chivalry to the EARTH that their sons might
be free"
"What," said |, were not such claims
as yours, which stood on the double toanda-
tion Of justice and gratitude, promptly ac-
RaoWledScQ ana CneerfullV Cancelled!
Promptly acknowledged, he replied
with mingled grief and irony, "know YOU
not that an American Congress is dctibcra-
tire body, and that tlelibcration IS never
prompt Cheerfully cancelled know You
not that its ruling principle is economy. and
that economy is never cheerful in parting
with its nrc.'
But surely interposed, "thc nation
was just, and paid its debts fully, if not with
good wil,s
Listen to the sequel, and marvel at ma
tional Justice was the reply: "When
exhibited my accounts against the govern
ment, there were some trhing items not
sufficiently authenticated, and the cxami-
nation was postponed from time to time;
more interesting questions arose, on which
members displayed their rhetorical abilities;
congress did not choose to be hurried in its
proceedings; the opportunities Of an aged,
torlorn, and famished man, were consider
ed as forward obtrusons. was friendless
and uniniuential. | could neither lift the
aspiring nor prop the falling; my prayer
was as Intellectual as that of the oppressed
Israclites y the stern Egyptian, and HEAVIER
did not nterpose in my behalf ITS supernat-
aral Affections to force them to their duty
\ winter passed, and left my claims unde-
cided; another and another rolled away, ant
still saw me neglected. True, ! was ling
ering out !. coaiortess old age, obtaining
subsistence in summer from the game in tht