Litchfield enquirer., 1832-10-18
bon rur aEau1nER.

The present age is Characterised By an un- eotnnnon degree ofefsminaey and corruption. Ii,can boast offew nen wholstand superemi- nent in moral greatness :; few who would be willing to sacrifice their repose for the best good of their fellow, bsipgs ; few who. are proof against the judgements of riches, and who have no part nor Iot in inc dtgeneracy of the times. There scene to bs more. ont'Dard shOaO tn all lhs walks of private life, and in all the depastdSents If pOiiticai, moral and religious science, itan sound practical utility. The pure and d3anadnlterated feelings of the heart have given place to cold and careless fHrmality. Associations among the
 mass of mankind are fssmed not so much for the promotion of the egeneral welfare, as to further the interests i6k some aF;fui and in- trguing demagogus; one makespse of Fall his 'niluence to sapplant anOthsr opposition among those who are bound to live together
 in fraternaI harmony. is constantly springing up, producing collisions. hatred and jealous ies matrimonial connections are made, not with design of securing the happiness of the parties, but to augment their wealth. and fos- ter spirit of pride and ostentation; moral and intellectual superiority are not cherished, esteemed and rewarded with half the atten- tion, that is bestowed upona purse proud aris- tOcracy. Petty distinctions xist inevery It. tie village, where inc yainest and most shal- low set etthemselves above the modestand most intelligent; and social circles convene. not for the purpose of exalting character and inn proving the mind, hut for dissipation among the men, and for frivolous amusement, scan dal and detractiOn amongthe women. Even our literary desotees do not tabor toadd dig
 nily to moral cha. actcr. and excite the mind to yirtuous and noble undertakings. but to Rll the soul with mawkish sentimentalism, and. to store the imagination with images of vo- luptuous and demoralizing indulgeneies. Dis guise it as you may. repeat it honestly. and fcarlessly, that the present is an age of cor ruption and imbeciIity. With all its yaunted improvements in the arts, and its gigantic strides in the paths of knowledge. it is an age of coldness. self.aggrandisement, luxury, dis sipation and intrigue. ;a \, s..3
 Happy will 1t be for us, # amid all this sur rounding depravity, our republic stands un- shaken. If our patriots and statesmen haze disinterestedness and honesty enough to main- tain the constitwion inyiolable, we are safs !; but if once ambition, cunning and intrigue gain the ascendancy, we are lost forever the general welfare of our common country will be sacrificed 10 the pefsonal aggraadixemen of some ambitious Cesar. Let all political honesty, be banisbed from o.ir land let i'm morality and irrsligion prevail, and we have no security for \ n,oment-our faliis certain. ossr ruin inevitable. z. 2 Erpenss ef Lising is Isaly.--o Doe lodgss like prince in Florence, and pays ike d beg gar. For the information ofartists and schol- ars desirous to cone abroad. to whom exact knowledge on the subject is most important. I will give you the inventory and cost of my whereabOtt. 5s
 sit at this moment in window of what was formerly the archbishop's palace--a no- ble old edi6ce, with vast staircase and re- sounding arches, and . hall in which you
 might put dozen of the brick houses of our country. My chamber is as large as n hall room, On the second story, looking out upon tlis garden beIongiog to fife house. which ex- tends to the eastern wall of the. city,, Beyond this lies one of the sweetest views iH the world-the ascending aIpphitheatrc of hills. in whose lap lies Florencs, with the tall ene- mics of Fiesoi in the centre, crowned with the monastery In which Milton passed six
 weeks. while gathering scenery for his Para disc. ! can almost count the panes of glass in the windows of the bard's room; and, be. tween the fine old building and my eye, on the slope of the hill, thirty or forty splendid villas, half buried in trees. Madame Catala- ni's among them, piled one above another on the steep ascent, with their columns and pOr- ticoes, as ifthey were mock temples in n vast terraced garden. do not think there is a window in Italy that commands more points of beauty. Cole. the American Landscapes painter, who occupied the room before. me. took a sketch from it. For neighhOrs the, Ne apOlitan ambassador lives on the same floor, the two GreenoDghs in the ground rooms be- low. and the palace of onel of the wealthiest nobles of Florence overlook ks fhe garden, with . front of eighiy-fye windows, from which you are at liberty to select any two or three, and imagine the most celebrated beauty Of Tuscany behind the crimson cnrfains--she daughter of this same noble bearing that re-