The Litchfield County post., 1827-03-08

and ret al th,n, applied to nay country,
not for charity, but for the repayment ofa
sacred obligation. asked from her a.
bundance the money had loaned her ia
her deStitution; and how do you think |
was paid Z"
Surely" said 7, "with heartfelt graft
tude and boundleSs liberality."
"With inhuman neglect and with heart
less insensibilty !" exclaimed the aged
man the men who then represented the
nation, were nursed in prosperity, until
their hearts were hardened, and they scor-
ned and neglected the veteran warriors
who had tramplcd the bravest and the best
of EngIand's chivalry to the earth, that
their sons might be free.'
What" said [, were not such claims
as yours, which stood on the double foun-
dalton of justice and gratitude, promptly
Promptly acknowledged ~ he replied,
with mingled grief and irony, "know you
not that an American Congress is detb-
crGtiUe BODY, and that deliberation is new
er prompt? Cheerfully cancelled know
you not that its ruling principle is ecOnomy,
and that economy is never cheerful in
parting with its ore?''
''But SURELY" interposed, "the nation
was just, and paid its debts fully, if not
with good will?"
Listen to the sequel, and marvel at
national JUSTICE" was the reply: "When
exhibited my account against the gov
eminent, there were some trifling items
not sufficiently authenticated, which re1ui-
red examination. This examination was
postponed from time to time more interest
ing questions arose, on Which members dis
played their rhetorical abilities; Congress
did not choose to be hurried in its procee-
dings; the opportunities of an aged. for
lorn, and famished man, were considered
as froward obtrusions. was friendless
aud uninfuential; | could neither uplift
the aspiring, nor prop the falling: my pray
er was as Intellectual as that of the oppres-
sed Israelite to the stern Egyptian, and
Heaven did not interpose in my behalf its
supernatural affections to force them to
their duty. A winter past, and left my
claims undecided another and another
rolled away, and still saw me neglected.
True, was lingering out comfortless old
age, obtaining subsistence in the summer
from the game of the woods, and inhabit-
ing in winter a miserable lodging in one of
the narrow alleys of the national metropo-
lis j.? But what Of that the men who were
to canvass my claims Jared sumptuously
and lived in splendor, and felt not the
wretchedness of justice deferred. Business
must take its course, and my claim was 20
affair OF business. One generous man, who
hal known me in better days, did not
shrink from my adversely. He followed
me one wintry day from the hall of the
capitol to my obscure retreat in The me-
tropolis, and with a benevolence that the
proudest heart could not resist, forced me
to his own house, and gave me the most
honorable seat at his own hospitable
board. He would listen to no refusal, and
l remained his guest till spring. IfHeav-
en- has blessings in store for generous
deeds, may the eye Of heaven beam be-
nignly on that generous mans At last my
claims were heard after years of anxiety
and endurance, during which / was once
seized by he tanes ofihe law, and thrown
in mid-wintci into a prison at George
town, which would have been my grave,
Out iOf tHe aCl!'e ana warm hearted Cndrl-
ty Of womln.t 1t is about month since
a pension Of FIVE hundred dollars a year
was awarded 10 me, III lieu of nay claim for
some thousands.
How" | exclaimed, "a pension ~
Then government has made profitable
bargain for your exhausted frame already
leans over the grave, and long ere the re-
ceipt of your pension can equal the amount
of your claim, the clod will rattle on your
coffin"
Little did imagine how soon my pro-
phecy was to be fulfilled fate had already
given the last turn to the hour glass of his
life, and les sands were nearly wasted.
:" came hither yesterday" cortinued
he, to take last look at my mountain
hut, and to prepare for removal few fam
lily memorials, the only valuables which it
contains. have pursued the game to-day
for the last time in these wilds i to-mor-
row, when we descend the mountain, | will
acquaint you with other particulars in my
eventful life, and / will then tell you who
/ am. And now good might've both
need repose."
I hat morrow dawned upon his lfeless
body! l had observed, during his recital,
that his frame frequently shook. as if Strug-