The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1858-05-26
From the New York Observer
GRANT THoRBURN ON TOM PAINE.

We select the following about the eel
ebrated author of the cage of Reason, -
written by the venerab e Grant Thor
burn, in March last
II will tell you the truth, as shall
stand before the Judge of all the Earth
year-a step between me and DEATH
70 make the narrative plain, must
first say few words about William Car
yer, with whom Mr.. Paine and myself
boarded. From my youth l admired
Dir. Paine's political writings, and in
my twentieth year was prisoner in
Edinburgh, fo' reading and preaching
his Rights of Man" 1 arrived in
New York iu June, l764 A few weeks
thereafter William Carver arrived from
England. He. wrought as journey man
blacksmith in the same shop with my
self. he making wrought (not cut) nails.
Mr.. Paine aud boarded with Carver.
hence our intimacy. He, his wife, and
NJ. Paine were natives of the same
town in England. often sat with them
on winter evenings, hearing them relate
their youthful prauks and deeds of ri
per years. Thus lear ned bis history
from his cradle, traced him through life,
aud eventually followed him to his grave
in 1909. We agreed on politics, aud
p,rtad br ,put,,oI oousopt ON ,ba &C a 20
of Reason" never in anger. He mar
ricd respectable woman in the town Of
Lewis She died eleven months there
after, by premature delivery, from
brutal treatment He then married a
daughter of the collector of the port of
Lewis; after three years she obtained
divorce for like treatment In 1878,
while he held an ofice in the custom
house (given him by his father in law }
be was detected in taking bribes from
smugglers, and fed to America. He
was appointed Secretary to the Secret
Committee of the House of Congress
and took the oath of office not to divulge
their secrets. He broke his oath by
publishing in the philadelphia Balletin
the project OF secret naissiaa-ee- the
court of France by Silas Dean. He
was summoned before Congress, acknowl
edged himself the author, and was dis
missed with disgrace, [See Journal of
1894 or 5. This treachery occasioned
much trouble to Congress, and in the
Court of Louis XIV, and nearly frus
trated the coming OF Gen. La Fayette,
with the French feet and army
Mr.. Paine now went to France and
was chosen member of the first Con
vention. For time he helped Robes
pierre to establish the freedom of the
press, the liberty of speech, and the
rights of conscience, by means of the
guillotine, and escaped by a miracle =
Mr.. Jefferson sent a frigate to bring
home, Mr.. Paine from the hands of his
enemies. He arrived in the spring of
1902 1 spoke with him in the City
Hotel, few hours after his arrival -
He found letters urging him on to
Washington. A feast was got ready,
and those of like thinking were invited
Paine entered late, his face uDwashed,
his beard uushorn, and reeling like
drunken man. A look of CONSERVATION
slone forth from every face; mirth
ceased; one by one they went out, leav
ing Paine on his chair, fast asleep =.
Next morning he received letters and
instructions to return to New York =
When Aaron Burr came back from Eu
rope, whittier he had fed after his duel
with Hamilton, be kept his law flee i'll
Nassau street under my seed store
From him / obtained the account as
above stated.
Mr.. Paine was absent about eight or
ten days. Meantime the walters spread
abroad the fame of his Incorporate,
slovenly and filthy habits The City
Hotel and every decent house refused
to board him. In this dilemma VIM.
Carver took him.
Mr.. Paine was man of strong mind,
and having seen the cutters of Paris
flooded with blood, his company was
very interesting when not under the
Influence of brandy. He told me that
whenL Louis XIV. was condemned by the
Convention to suffer death, each member,
on voting, was requested to state his
reasons When it came to Mr. Paine,
he voted against his death. II think,
gentlemen" said he, tive are not making
war on the person of the king as man.
We are contending for principle. Un-
fortunately for Louis, he was born a
king; he could not help it. Let us
Danish him to America; there he can
do no harm. Let US spare his life and
give him a sum of money to live on
I think this is the bright spot in Paine's
history. In consequence of his very
Incorporate habits, he was Stunned by
the respectable portion of his friends,
many months before his death. He
asked permission from the trustees of
the Society of Friends, to have bis
bones laid in their burying ground but
they refused He was much hurt by
their re fusal. His father was member