Litchfield enquirer., 1834-03-06
No. S9.-WHoLE No. 4Os:

faces insult the graves of their fathers D. He would thank the great Spirit that he made him with ared skin.
 n is a m0Ttilying circumstance, that all works of art, whether in d0ors or out, are. Ohliged'tO be guarded, and fenced round, and protected from our approach, as care fully us cherry tree from robbins, or chickens from hawk. Andwho can doubt not only the propriety but the absolute ne- cessily Ofitf Were not the pictures in the Aheneum Gallery guarded as they are,, and were not all canes and umbrellas re- qtiired to be left below, we should see half the plumeless bipeds that visit it, thrusting- their paws and the ferHles of their unbfel-- las into tho face and eyes of the finest works of Rembsandl, Vandyke. or Aliston. |
 visited the Academy of Arts at Philadel- phia, last spring, and one of the Gnest ob- jects my eye rested upon was a small, ex- quisite marble copy ef tAe Venus de- Me dici, which bad beenTliafked with apencil in the most atrocious manner. It made my blood boil to look at it; and if Il had seen the scoundrel doing it, l am sure noth- ing would have prevented me from making a personal assault Opon him.. A stranger visiting us from the country, inwhich works of art are protected by nothing but tllo sense of respect and reverence Whichthey create, would suppose, iTi travelling thro' our country, and observing how sednlously tho are guarded from touch, that we were a nation of Vandals, and great would be his surprise on learning that we ccnsidered ourselves n Msoss refSneH and intellectual community. It may bo some consolation, to us to know, that if the uniform iesljmo- ny of travellers may be relied upon, our English relations are fully up to ns,in the, development of the organ of Destructive ness, and that abundant proof may be seen of it, even in the monuments of Westmin- ster Abbey. On the continent, however nothing of ihe kind is ever witnessed.- The public have free access to pictuses. monuments, statuary, &c. and the neanest snnlettered beggar no mUre thinks of touch- ing or injuring them than we should think. of going into q geatleman's house and breaking his mirrors to pieces, or writing on his walls for the sake of amusing ours selves. Such conduct, indeed, would he far less reprehensible for individuals can protect themselves; hut tho public is de- fencelcss.
 My duty would seem but half done, were IonFy t6 point out the evil without suggest- ing any thing in the way of remedy What eau be done to wipe of this national blot, which world disgsacea tribe of Hottentotsf Laws are Imperative, flor they are the creatures of public opiaian, andif the ma j6rity are deIermiHcd to indulge themseIves in the luxury of pollatiHg and destroying, the most fearfuf aetions will sfuniber undis- tnrbed in tho statute- -book. The way is to begin at the beginning. Parents and teact- CTS mus, cultivate intheir childrrnand pn- piEs the principle of reverence; must tenclb them that whatever belongs to the public is as sacred us the horns of the altar. A
 love of beautyy a respect fov the fine arts, must be made part of education, lnflu- ential men must, by writing and talking, bring about a change in public opinjon.---- The pulpit itself need not Do silent. for < man who will write upon, or defaee ffis any mannefs q nsoh1fnent, is very far from the kingdom of heaven. know how hard it, is to bring about any important ehang6s in the sentiments and conduct of masses of men and, in this instance. t is pafticnlaf- ly diffic1lt, because many will think h ve-. ry triAing thing. not deserving serioas con- sideratioD and that . hsah is no verse for cutting his pane on every smooth board, aud writing is oB every marble slab. | hope that those who do me the favor fol road these kassy remarks, will remember them and if they esn, By any meansssfstf. any tbips to earreet the evil spoken Oi, they will not faif t0 dS it. Lee it not be said that, in this respects the inhabiishts of New England are below the eGnaigIe of Paris aAd the lszzareni of Naples.
 Sir Isaac Newton was once riding over, Salisbury Plain, when boy keeping sheep called to him, Sir, you had better make haste ons or you will get wet jacket. - NewioB, looking ronnd and observing nei-s ther clouds nor speck on the horiz0n. logged ons taking very little notice of ths rusfie's informatiOn. He had IDa6e but . few miIes. when storm, suddeDly rising, drsBched him to the skim Surprised ak z the circumstance, and determined if possi-3 bIe, to learn how an ignorant boy had ats tained precision of knowledge of thoF weather of which the wisest philosophsrsf would be proud, he rode back, wet ps he ! was. . My lad said Newton. HI give thee guinea if thou win tell me how ihdss cansf foretell the weather SO truiy.' sWill ye, siri I will then;' and the boy, scratcia-