Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1837-05-10
MISCELLANEOUS.
From the New-York Express.


money and morals, that are to be found in
all the Universe Of God. l don't think
Benjamin Franklin was ever seen in
playhouse. In all his long and valuable
life, he never saw an hour that he wished
to kill time. Kill time, indeed It is not
yours to kill; and rather than be an ACT
or, compelled to laugh while theiheart is
sad and to play the baboon, merely to
provoke the laughter of a company of
butfoons, would rather hoe corn on the
sunny side Of hill in the month of Jrlv
And you, gentlemen printers of the
New York Express seem to be admirers
of the play acting fraternity also; weekly,
and sometimes daily, you extol to the
skies some celestial singer. or terrestrial
player but perhaps this is your trade;
1t may be you are well paid for it; like
some lawyers who will plead man from
the ga!lows, though they know in their
coDscIences he deserves to be hung. Bat
you know there is a Moral conscience.
and a Custom-house conscience, and a Po-
litlcal conscience, a conscience for the
parIor, and conscience for the counting
house; now it may be that your conscience
belongs to the last Of this tribe; however,
be this as it may, believe you are honest
enough to print the truth, though it should
be to your own hurt-therefore I think
you will Pri int this fugitive piece of mine
though it should rank yourselves in the
company OF blacklegs. We can stand on
the helg hts of Hallet's Cove and IN the
housetoPs Of Ravenswoods: we can hear
the sound Of your alarm bells; the shouts
OF the Mobiles, and the savage wells of
your rioters; we have lately assumed the
privilege, (here are some people at Wash
lngton who assume privileges which don't
belong to them, as well as we,) Of show
ing unto our neighbors their faults, though
sometimes we can't see our own:-but
this matters not; they need not do as-we
do, but do as we tell them to do. But this
is DEPRESSING, like my esteemed friend
Dickey Riker in his address to the iurv
IN the case of Hamblin, and the rioters,
when he argued upon the propriety of
approving or condemning theatres; in
Ginning rather to the opinion, that dramat-
ic representation has tendency more to
eIGIt than to de6aSe the character of Month
For instance" continued his II onor,
1.-The young go there to be INDUCED, and
the theatre is perhaps more dangerous to
their morals than the beer house, in which
they would probably pass away their
time otherwise, and is certainly less so
than houses of prostitution, or gaming
houses, which last is the worst of alI''
Now, Mr. Printer, have known and es-
teemed Mr.. Riker as. "a good neighbor, as
an upright and humane Judge for MANY
years, as terror to the evil doors, and a
praise to them that do well; but of late
years l have been puzzled, when saw
Mr. RIker s name frequently at the head
OF 4 list Of respectables, and non-respecta-
bIes, In getting up dinner, or a benefit.
or some other mark of public respect, for
one or another of the pay-actors. Itho't
1t was not consistent with his office, as
guardian OF the public morals. Is Mr..
RIker's words in the above address are
truly reported in your paper of the oath.
he says, that dramatic representations
have a tendency more to erait than to de-
base the character of vouth." Mr., R..
and every one else who is willing to omen
their eyes, will confess that Just the re-
verse is the fact; there is not one youth
out OF dozen, who are in the habit of
attending these representations, but are
the most debased Of our young popula-
ton; not excepting those whose frock
coats are cut from the best Yorkshire su-
perfine. Mr. Riker and other bows of
sixty, who have been blessed with a 1iber-
al education, refined taste, and taste
for refinement, may know how to appre-
cate beautiful sentiment from Shaks-
peare and others, land this too is seeking
a gold ring in hogpen,) but the boys Of
fifteen and twenty, 60 onl y to scratch
amongst the mire. The records of the
Court of Sessions will establish this fact.
Colquohon, or some other writer on Lon
don Police, and London crimes, make the
following remarks: Il believe that more
OF the youths among the lower orders in
London, begin their career as thieves, in
order that they may have the means of
gratifying their penehant for Meatrieals,
tnan TOT any other cause that could be
named" wonder if Mr.. Riker thinks
that the youth in New York are made of
any peter material than are the youth in
MT. Riker says in his address, the
young go there to be INDUCED; YES. in
dulged IN what2 He next saws. tbev
better 60 there than to the beer-6ouse ~
the gaming house; now had he only put
the playhouse first, and added, that this
one was just the entering wedge, to the
other three, he would then spoke plain
truth and common sense. and also what be
knows to be a fact. II is a fact of which
we have ocular demonstration, and a his
toricai fact which cannot be contradicted,
that wherevsr you erect playhouse,