The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-02-23
TIE PACIFIC
COulmertlalAOOert .
S4TURDA Y. FEBRUARY %.
Tom Paine.

For the following facts about him, | am indebted to
the New York Observer of November l. The notice
occupies four columns in the Observer, and as 1
shall copy but q very small part of the article, the
reader who wishes further information is referred to
the Observer. As preliminary I will state that more
than thirty years ago, | undertook to read 1.-The
Age of Reason but instead of reason, I found so
much folly AMI Misrepresentation in the book that
lost all patience. and laid it aside. Paine tried to
make it out that anciently prophets and poets were
Identical; and to show that the Hebrew prophets
were poets, he quoted some lines from their writings
and scanned them as he would lines from Milton, or
Virgil. From this if would seem that be thought
that the Hebrew Bible was written in English.
That Paine rendered important service to the
cause Of American independence is not denied. No
one ever called in question the valuable service
Benedict Arnold rendered to the country in the early
part of the Revolutionary War; but this, with true
Americans, does not suffice to cast a shade of love.
illness, or even to spread u mantle Of charity over his
subsequent career. Whatever share Paine had in
the personal friendship of the fathers of the Revolu-
ton he forfeited by his subsequent life of beastly
drunkenness and degradation, and on this account,
as well as on account of his blasphemy he was
Stunned by all decent people.
Elkanah Watson describes Paine as g coarse and
uncouth in his manners, lOathsOme in his appear
ance. and a disgusting egotst.'
VIM. Carver, with whom Paine boarded for a time,
wrote to him in the following style " respecta-
BILE gentleman from New Rochelle called to see me a
few days back, and said that every body was tired
of YOU there, and no one would undertake to board
and lodge you. | thought this was the case, as L
found you at a tavern in a most miserable situation.
You appeared as if you had not been shaved for a
fortnight, and as to q shirt, it could not be said that
you had one on. 1t was only the remains OF one,
and this appeared not to have been on your back
for q fortnight, and was nearly the color OF tanned
leather; and you had the most disagreeable smell
possible, just like our poor beggars IN England
You say that you found your own liquors during
the time you boarded with me; but you should have
slid, L found only u small part of the liquor L
drank during my stay with you; this part l pur-
chased of John Fellows, which was Il demijohn Of
brandy containing four gallons, and this did not
serve me three weeks 1t is u well known fact,
that you drank one quart of brandy per day, at my
expense, during the different times that you boarded
with me, the demijohn above mentioned excepted"
| have copied only a part of Caryer's letter. 1t
closes thus: "Now, sir, l think [ have drawn a
complete portrait of your character; yet to enter
upon every minutia would be to give a history OF
YOUR life, and to develope the fallacious mask OF
hypocrisy and deception under which you have acted
in your political as well as moral capacity of life. y
Carver was an infdel and had boarded Paine eight
cen months.
Dir. james r.. Manly attended him during his last
sickness, and he writes, "Mr. Paine protested to be
above the fear of death, and a great part of his
conversation was directed to give the impression that
he was perfectly willing to leave this world. and yet
some parts of his conduct were with difficulty recon
80, - -. IL. T. A.. g. -o-4 3 =.
illness he was satisfied to be left alone during the
day. but he required some person to be with him 81
night, urging as his reason, that he was afraid he
should die when unattended.
during the latter part of his life he could not be
left alone night or day; he would not allow hi
curtain to be closed at any time; and if. as some.
times it would happen, he was left alone, he would
scream and halloo, until some person came to him
There was something remarkable in his conduct
about this period, (Which comprises about two weeks
Immediately preceding his DEATH particularly when
We reflect that Thomas Paine was the author of the
age of Reason He would call out during the
paroxysms of distress, without ~intermission, "0h
Lord, help me God help me Jesus Christ help
me = repeating the. same expressions without the
least variation, in a tone of voice that would alarm
the house,
Bishop Fenwick (Roman Catholic Bishop OF
Boston) gives this account ga short time before
Paine died, L was sent for by him. He was prompted
to this by a poor Catholic woman who went to see
him in his sickness, and who told him, that in his
Hretched condition, if anybody could do him any
good, it would be q Roman Catholic priest"
In company with another priest he went. "a
decent looking, elderly woman, (~pr0bably his house
keeper) came to the door and enquired whether we
were the Catholic priests, for said she, Mr.. Paine
has been so much annoyed of late by other denomi-
nations calling upon him that he has left express
orders with me to admit no one to-day but the
clergymen of the Catholic Church" They entered
the parlot and, finding that Paine was asleep, they
waited for his waking. In the mean time she told
the priests about the dying man. Said she, His
cries when left alone are heart-rending. Sometimes
he will say, o God, what have l done to suffer so
much = then, shortly after, But there is no
God ) and again a little after yet if there
should be, what would become of me hereafter?
THUS he will continue for some time. when Oh q
sudden he will scream, as if i'll terror and agony,
and call for me by name. On one of these occasions
which are very frequent, | went to him and enquired
what he wanted. Stay with inc for Gods sake,
he replied, for L cannot bear to be left alone |
then observed that | could not always be with him,
as L had much to attend to in the house. Then >
said he send even a child to stay With me, for it is
hell to be alone L never saw she concluded.
a more unhappy, a more forsaken man,"
On entering the sick room, Paine having awaked,
Bishop Enwick proceeds, 1--WE found him lust get
ting out of his slumber. A more wretched being in
appearance L never saw. He was lying in a bed
suInclenty decent OF itself, but at present, besmeared
with filth. His look was that Of o man greatly
tortured in mind; his eyes ~haggard, his countenance
forbidding, and his whole appearance that of one
whose better days had been but one continued scene
of debauch.''
Upon making known the object of their visit,
Paine interrupted the speaker by saying, 10 That's
enough, sir; l see what you would be about. l wish
to hear no more from you, sir. My mind is made
up on that subject. l look upon the whole of the
Christian scheme to be q tissue of absurdities and
lies, and Jusus Christ to be nothing more than q
cunning knaye and impostOr." He drove them out
exclaimiug, away with you and your God, too.
Leave the room Instantly. All that you have uttered
are lies-flthy lies; and if l had a little more time,
l would prove it, as l did about your inpostor,
Jesus Christi
Paine wrote the g Age of Reason ~ and he spent
several OF his last years in furnishing a commentary
upon his lnhdel principles. This commentary was
contained in his besotted. degraded life and misera-
Ole end; but his friends do not wish the commentary
10 go out IN connection with his writings. They
prefer to have them read without the comments OF
their author. Hence this anxiety to free the great
apostle of l~nhdelity from the obloouy which his life