Harpers-Ferry free press. [volume], October 09, 1821, Image 1

About Harpers-Ferry free press. [volume] (Harper's Ferry, Va. [i.e. Harpers Ferry, W. Va.]) 1821-1824

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“to SHEW VIRTUE HER OWN FEATURE, SCORN HER own IMAGE, AND THE VERY AGE AND BODY OF THE TIME, HIS FORM AND PRESSURE.”
VOL. I. IIARPERS-FERRY, VIRGINIA, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1821. No. 10.
, PUBLISHED, WEEKLY, BY
JOHN S. GALLAHER & CO.
CONDITIONS.
The “Free Press” is published at two
dollars per annum, if paid in advance ;
two dollars and twenty-five cents if paid
within six months; or, two dollars and
fifty cents at the expiration of the year.
Distant subscribers are expected to pay
in advance.
|CF° As payment in advance will serve
the interest of all concerned, that mode is
respectfully solicited.
*** Advertisements inserted three times
for one dollar per square; twenty-five
cents for every subsequent insertion.
ON EDUCATION-—No. II.
FOR. THE FREE PRESS.
The leading principle of the Lancaste
rian system is economy. Its grand ob
ject the universal diffusion of knowledge.
The principle of economy is not confined
to pecuniary expenses; it is equally attend
ed to in respect tolime, which is still more
valuable than money. Its arrangements
tend to calling forth all the energies of
pupils, and directing them incessantly
to their own improvement and the im
provement of those associated with them.
By reducing the expenses of education, it,
't more attainable by all classes
nity. By accelerating the
lars, it enables them to
time, and by conti
their faculties upon
of ways, it fixes
ply in their minds.
J successful applica
y branch of useful
gh school of Edin
ilied to instruction
i with such success,
jh Reviewers, “ va
n the very alphabet
4I«id"hren usiknoWirtei?mxmtfis before, pub
licly read 6c translated any part of the New
Testament, ad apertvpam libri,besides giv
ing a complete grammatical analysis of all
the words that occurred.” The Governor
of the state of New-York (De Witt Clin
ton) in his message to the legislature of
that state, remarks, that “ having partici
pated in the first establishment of the
Lancaster!an system in this country—
having carefully observed its progress,
and witnessed its benefits, I can confident
ly recommend it as an invaluable im
provement, which, by a wonderful com
bination of economy in expense and ra
pidity of instruction, has created a new
era in education, and I am desirous that
all our common schools should be sup
plied with teachers of this description.
As this system operates with the sail®
efficacy in education that labor-savi™
machinery does in the useful arts, it will
he readily perceived that it is peculiarly
adapted to this country. For by its means,
one teacher can perform the functions of
ten, and if a pupil can learn in one week
as much as he would in one month in the
'* common way, it is evident, that more
wealth, more labor, more time, and more
' industry, can be devoted to the ordinary
occupations of life without interfering
with the dispensation of knowledge —
Wherever it has been attempted, it has
succeeded, and several parts of the state
! have experienced its benefits.”
These instances have been selected be
cause they are such as to carry conviction
with them to all who are acquainted with
the sources from which they are derived,
one being- of the highest authority in Eu
rope and in the literary world—the other
of the highest authority in this country.
One shews the advantages to be derived
from the application of the Lancasterian
system to the higher branches of educa
tion—the other shews those which have
attended its introduction at the northward
—advantages in which we also may equal
ly participate if we will. an American.
====ragsT rags! ^
THREE cents per pound will be given
at this office for clean Linen and Cot
ton Rags.
ANECDOTES OF NAPOLEON.
General Bonaparte arrived at Nice on
the 21st of March, 1769. You are very
young, said one of his friends, to com
mand an army, “ Let me alone, and I will
soon become old.” He took command of
the army of Italy, which he found in a
disorganized state, being totally destitute
of the requisite material and subsistence.
In four days his active mind created, as
it were by magic, a supply of every thing
except clothing. The soldiers murmured,
and in squads refused to march until paid
and clothed; as he passed a regiment,
one of them more bold than the rest, said
to him : “ Young warrior, look^L.an old
soldier ; how can I march to the enemy
in this ragged condition ?” A perfect
silence reigned; all eyes were fixed on
the general. “ Soldier,” replied Bona
parte, “ you shall be clothed from head
to foot, if it takes the last sous in the mi
litary chest, and here you shall stand a
living monument of your want of patriot
ism, while your brave comrades, naked as
yourself, will follow me. If vanquished,
we have already too much ; if conquerors,
we shall want for nothing. I will show
you the road to the magazines of the
enemy ; it is from them the defenders of
their country must henceforth be fed,
paid, clothed, and covered with glory !”
These word's operated like an electrical
shock through the whole army; acclama
tions rent the air. They marched with
enthusiasm, and on the 9th and 10th of
April, met the enemy with ardor in an
affair at Volti and Montclisimo.
On the 10th of May, 1796, Bonaparte
defeated and routed the Austrians at the
* celebrated battle of the Bridge of Lodi,
defended by the whole army. Generals
Berthier, Massena, and Lannes, perform
ed here prodigies of valor. In his des
patch to the directory, he says : “ If our
loss is small, we owe it to the prompt
execution and sudden effect produced by
the mass and dreadful fire of our redoubt
able column. If I was to mention all who
distinguished themselves, I should be
obliged to name all the caribiniers of the
advanced guard, and all the officers of the
etat major; but I ought not to forget the
intrepid Berthier, who was at the same
time cannonier, horseman and grenadier.”
Under the wails of Milan, on the 28th
of June, of the same year, Bonaparte ad
dressed his army in nearly these words :
“ Soldiers l You have rushed like a
torrent from the high Appenines. You
have overthrown and dispersed all who
opposed your march. Piedmont, deliver
ed from the tyranny of Austria, returns
to its ancient sentiments towards France.
Milan is yours, and the standard of the
republic floats in all Lombardy. The
dukes of Parma and Modena owe their
political existence to your generosity.
The army which threatens you with so
much arrogance finds that no barriers
can secure it against your courage. I he
Po, Teslno, and Adige, considered so
formidable in Italy, you crossed with fa
cility. Your successes have carried joy
f into the bosom of your country ; your
representatives, to consecrate your victo
ries, have ordered a festival to be cele
brated in every parish of the republic.
There your mothers and sisters, brothers
and mistresses, will rejoice at your suc
cesses, and boast with pride that you be
long to them. Yes, soldiers, you have
done much ; but does there remain no
thing more for you to do ? Shall it be
said we knew how to conquer and knew
not how to profit by our victories ? Shall
posterity reproach us of having found a
Cafiuam Lombardy? I see you already
flying to arms, dull repose fatigues you.
In losing days of glory, you lose days of
enjoyments. Let us away then; we have
more forced marches to make ; enemies
to subdue ; laurels to gather, and injuries
to revenge. Let those who sharpened
poniards, kindled civil war in France,
who basely assassinated our ministers,
and burnt our ships at Toulon, tremble !
The hour of vengeance has sounded : But
let the people have no inquietude ; we are
their friends, particularly the descend
ants of Brutus, Scipio, and all those great
men we have taken for models. The
French people respect the whole world,
and will give to Europe a glorious peace,
which will indemnify them for all the
sacrifices they have made. Then you will
return to your firesides, and your fellow
citizens will say, on pointing to you, he
was of the army of Italy ”
On the 16th of November, 1796, com
menced the glorious battle of Arcole
which continued three days, and decided
the fate of Italy. Marshal Alvinizi com
manded the Austrians. This battle is
rendered memorable by the intrepidity of
general Bonaparte, who, advancing in
front of Augereau’s division, at the head
of the grenadiers, to force the passage of
the river below the bridge, in the confu
sion occasioned by the deadly fire of the
enemy, was thrown into a marsh from
which he with pain extricated himself,
and then with difficulty rallied his coliunn
by placing himself at their head. In this
moment his aid Murion fell, and after
him another aid, Elliott, while the valiant
Augereau, seeing generals Lannes, Bon,
and Vernes, hors de combat, in forcing the
passage of the bridge, and their troops
retiring in disorder, seized a standard,
and, with an audacity unexampled, plant
ed it at the extremity of the bridge. The
~ss on.both sides was immense. General
mna.pa.rte. says, in a letter to Carnot,c ne
ver was a field of battle so obstinately dis
puted. I have hardly any generals left.’
In the night after this terrible battle, the
indefatigable Bonaparte, going the rounds
of his camp in a simple uniform, disco
vered a sentinel asleep, and, taking from
him his gun, stood sentinel. After a few
minutes, the soldier awoke, and seeing
his general, cried, “ Bonaparte ! I am a
lost man.” “No, my friend,” said the
general, “ after such fatigues, it is natu
ral for a brave man like you to sleep ; but
remember, in future, to choose a better
time.”
napoleon’s coronation in 1804.
From the Charleston Courier.
Mr. Editor—A few days since, in a
circle of literary friends, the question was
agitated whether Napoleon Bonaparte had
ever been crowned Emperor of the French
•—in opposition to all of them I maintain
ed the affirmative. The truth of my po
sition is established most completely by
the subjoined extract from a recent and
very popular work.* From this it will
appear that in the Church of Notre Dame,
at Paris, the Iron Crown of Charlemagne
encircled the brows of the mighty Napo
leon ; and the unctions and different ce
remonies, enjoined by the catholic church,
were performed by the Pope Pius VI. in
person. L.
“ The ceremony of the coronation gpf
Bonaparte was performed on Monday,
the 2d of Decembex*, 1804. The military
deputations assembled at six o’clock in
the morning, and proceeded to the church
of Notre Dame by 7. The deputations
from the different tribunals of justice, and
the functionaries invited by the emperor,
met at the palace of justice at 7, and walk
ed to the church, where they arrived be
fore 8. They were succeeded by the se
nate, the council of state, the legislative
body, and the tribunate. Each of these
bodies was escorted by a body of cavalry.
The diplomatic corps had a place assign
ed them in the church.
- *• i ne rope leu me r numeries at nine
o’clock, attended by his retinue, and at
ten the departure of the emperor fiom
the palace was announced by discharges
of artillery. The Pope and the Emperor,
instead of going directly to the church
of Notre Dame, repaired to the archi
episcopal palace, where his holiness pro
nounced the usual prayers, while the em
peror put on the imperial robes. They
afterwards went in splendid procession to
the church. The coronation ornaments
of Charlemagne were borne before Bona
parte, and he was preceded by Mr. Ser
rurier, carrying the ring of the empress
upon a cushion ; marshal Moncey with a
basket to receive the mantle of the em
press ; marshal Murat with the empress’
crown ; the empress, with the imperial
mantle, supported by the princesses ; mar
shal Kellerman carrying the crown of
Charlemagne; marshal Perignon the scep
tre of Charlemagne ; marshal Bernadette
the collar of the emperor ; general Beau
harnois his majesty’s ring; marshal Ber
thier the imperial globe; and the grand
chamberlain the basket to receive the
mantle of the emperor. Bonaparte then
entered the church of Notre Dame, with
the crown previously placed on his head
by himself, Sec.
“ Then followed the ceremony of inau
guration. The grand almoner of France
with the first of the French cardinals and
archbishops, conducted their imperial
majesties from the throne to the foot of
the altar, there to receive the sacred unc
tion. His holiness bestowed a triple unc
tion both on the emperor and the empress,
one on the head, the other on the two
hands. After having received the unc
tion, they were reconducted to the throne,
when the Pope performed mass,” £cc.
* History of the Wars of the French Be
-volution, by Fdwarcl Basus.
Beauty without kindness dies unenjoy
ed and undelighting.
SLATE TRADE.
A useful little work, called‘The World
in Miniature,’ published in England, con
tains some highly interesting, though
heart-rending facts, in the volume devo
ted to Africa, respecting the abominable
slave trade, which, to the shame of the
Christian World, is yet carried on to a
great extent. The following curious facts
are taken from the volume alluded to :
u Frempung, king of the Akemists, and
at the same time an intrepid warrior, had
heard so many wonderful things respect
ing the White Sea Monsters, (the Europe
an slave-trader:.) that though he resided
very far inland, he requested the Danes
to send him one of their people to griitify^
his curiosity. Kamp, a clerk, according
ly travelled to his court. When first
ushered into the royal presence, he made
a low obeisance, at the same time me. ing
back his foot; on which his sable majesty
conceived, that like the wild monkies, he
was couching for the purpose of making
a spring at his head. He therefore fell
flat upon the ground, ujider the idea that
he should thus escape, and that the
strange animal would leap over him. At
the same time he called out to his wives
for protection ! and they immediately
formed a circle round him. His majesty
was told that this was only the salutation
of the whites; but he begged that it
might be dispensed with in future. He
soon began to examine his visitor with
somewhat Jess timidity. At first he took
his clothes to be a part of his body; and
the queue of the Dane had led him to sup
pose that he was a large ape, of a species
unknown to him, with a tail growing out
of his neck. The White was then re
quired to eat in his presence. In order
thoroughly to satisfy himself respecting
his real shape, lie desired that he
be requested to strip off his gl'Anes.
his utter astonishment he learned, tL
Kara-p positively refused to comply in th.
presence of more than a hundred women,
but that he had no objection to show him
self undressed to the king alone. On re
ceiving this answer, his majesty previous
ly submitted to the discussion of his coun
cil of stales (the elders) whether it would
be prudent to trust himself alone with a
white man. They decided in the affirma
tive, and the women were ordered to re
tire. Tne Dane then stripped, Frem
pung cautiously approached nearer and
nearer; he touched his limbs with fear
and astonishment, and at length burst out
into l,he exclamation, “Yes; thou art in
deed a man, but as white as the very De
vil i”—-[TV. Y. Com. Adv.
OX&S'ttt3SJW!.--Zr *»BK
Sea Serpent in Lake Ontario.
The Cayuga Republican contains an ar
ticle extracted from the Lewistown Niia
gara Democrat, which appears in the form
of an affidavit before G. S. Keeper, Esq.
one of his majesty’s justice of peace for
the district of Niagara, by two persons
named John Man pin and James Sigler of
Jefferson Co. N. Y. It is said to be sworn
to, signed, &c. in due form, but no sig- *
nature appears in the paper. The two
men deposed, that on the 25th of July,
about 100 miles from Niagara and 20 from
land, while on their passage from Mon
treal to Mackinac, in the canoe Lightfoot,
in company with eight voyagers, they
discovered at a distance of five or six hun
dred yards a body in appearance like a
burnt log of twenty or twenty-five feet in
length—on approaching within three or
four hundred yards, it proved to be all
animal apparently asleep. When within
thirty yards, it raised its head about ten
feet, looked round in an awfully ferocious
manner, and then darted, forward with
great velocity making the water fly in
every direction, and throwing columns at
a vertical height of seven or eight feet
with its tail.
The deposition continues—a After hav
ing gone in a western direction about one
or two miles, he appeared to resume his
former state; avc then resolved to attack
him, and accordingly loaded our guns for
this purpose, and moved slowly towards
him within gun shot. We here had a
distinct view of the animal; he is at least
thirty-seven feet long, two and a half feet
in diameter, (if measured through the
thickest part of the body) is covered with
black scales which a musket ball has but
little effect on, as our shots were all well
directed and appeared to create conster
nation only, he disappearing as before—
he had a tremendous head and similar to
that of a common snake, frequently thrus
ting from his mouth a large red and ve
nomous tongue. After the animal disap
peared, we continued our journey with a i
lively oar as may well be imagined. His A
figure, when in motion, is serpentine*” ^A