Harpers-Ferry free press. [volume], May 15, 1822, Image 4

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

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POETRY.
STANZAS.
THEY SHALL LIE DOWN ALIKE IN THE DUST.
Job.
Ye hapless; who, repining, grieve
At poverty and ill ;
Who doubtful, question heaven’s decree,
And murmur at its will.
Think ye that affluence is the source
Whence finite blessings flow ?
Think ye that gold can satisfy,
Or splendor peace bestow ?
Think ye ambition’s boasted lure
Can quenchless joy impart?
Think ye the Syren’s draught can prove
The gilead of the heart ?
Mistaken race ! alas, how few
This panacea can boast;
Fe labor, but for bliss untrue,
The care and toil is lost.
Go, learn content, for riches yet
Have never fed the mind ;
Go learn content—the coffer’d wretch
May ne’er enjoyment find.
The choicest robe of Tyrian dye
Oft hides some bosom care,
And virgin smiles, and sparkling wit
Conceal the latent tear.
Art thou obscure ? the writhing cares
Of genius are not thine;
Unknown ? rejoice ! for thou art free,
No slave at folly’s shrine.
Thine are affection’s purest sweets,
And thine is love’s caress ;
Approving peace within thy heart,
A Providence to bless.
Thine are the beauties of the globe,
The charms that sense allure;
For thee, yon azure glories burn,
Say, mortal! art thou poor ?
The hopes that shine along life’s path,
To cheer thee too, are giv’n ;
The star that points the wanderer’s way
Shall lead thee to the heaven.
And while, lamented by the great,
The rich repose in clay,
Thou too shall seek thy final bed,
And slumber sweet as they.
MISCELLANY,
ON THE ART AND FACULTY OF FLYING.
As much has been said of late on the
possibility of flying, in consequence of a
petition to Congress, to grant the invent
or of the art the exclusive privilege of
risking his own life in the attempt, the
following letter, written flue-und-twenty
years ago by Dr. Waterhouse, to a physi
cian in Hingharn, will show that the pre
tension is by no means a novel one. The
serious reflections connected with it, will
be read with interest by those who have
been taught “ to feel another's nvoe.”
[Boston Patriot.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. FEB. 23, 1796.
Dear Sir— Day before yesterday I re
ceived your letter. I waited for more in
formation respecting the unfortunate
stranger, who is the subject of it, or you
would have had an answer by the person
who brought it.
I knew not the name of the gentleman
you inquire after, until I heard he had
shot himself at Hingham, and that he had
left a letter and some papers directed to
me. All that I know of him I shall re
late :
About two months since he came to my
house alone, and introduced himself with
saying that he was a foreigner, and wish
ed an acquaintance with some scientific
man; that he had understood I had tra
velled much in foreign countries, and for
such and such reasons, which he men
tioned, he chose to introduce himself to
me in order to converse on a subject
which had long been the object of his con
templation. The subject was pneumatics,
and mechanics. On these branches of
science he talked sensibly and learnedly.
Sometimes he spoke in French, some
times Dutch, and frequently expressed
himself in Latin. But what gave the
whole a light and whimsical air, was its
ultimate application ; which was neither
more nor less than flying like a bird ! I
endeavored to convince him, that the
structure or anatomy of a bird was very
different, even in their bones, from man,
and from all animals that do not fly ; and
that amongst other peculiarities I would
remind him that there was no instance in
cue vetat iuuc ui aiuiuaicu naiurC) vviicie
there was such an extent of surface, and
such strength, united with such levity^ as
are found in the body of a bird ; and I ex
patiated on the anatomy of a quill and of
a feather, and of their faculty of filling
each tube with air; and that I could not
believe that any wings could be contrived,
whether like that of a bird’s, or like a
bat’s, (which was his favorite notion) that
could raise the human body from the
ground, by merely taking hold of the air.
He then said he would remove my doubts
by actual experiment, and took his leave,
with a promise of calling again in three
days. He came accordingly, and ex
plained himself farther on his favorite
scheme. I listened to him with attention,
because he seemed to think, in general,
like a man of sense, and speak like a gen
tleman. I could, however, discern that
his Cartesian philosophy had not been
sufficiently corrected by later demonstra
tions.
From his good figure, dress, and ad
dress, polite and easy manners, I conclud
ed that he was some unfortunate emigrant
from the continent of Europe, probably an
officer in the service of the monarchy,
who, destitute of money and friends, chose
to apply some of the principles he had
learnt at college, to the purpose of pro
curing subsistence by a novel exhibition.
On this account I never asked his name
or nation.
You ask me, if I suppose he was insane
any time before he committed that shock
ing deed ? The writings and drawings
which he left directed to me, are so far
from evincing a deranged mind, that they
indicate a cool and vigorous intellect, be
ing executed not merely with taste, but
mathematical exactness. Nevertheless,
had I been on the jury, I should have giv
en my verdict a insanity for he shot
himself in a paroxysm of despair, which
implies a suspension of reason.
I have been told that this unfortunate
man quitted his home (Germany J in
consequence of his father insisting that
he should pursue the profession of divi
nity. I have never heard any thing against
his character; but have some evidences
of his humanity in giving freedom to his
slave, after binding him to a trade by
which he could get his living. On the
whole, I take him to be one of those un
iortunate young men, who, having seen
but the superficies of life, believed every
thing to be what it appears; and whose
rapid imagination conceived certain ends,
without possessing fortune, or patience to
pursue the means.
He expresses himself to the following
effect in the melancholy letter which he
left to me : u All my plans having failed,
my money gone, I resolved to put an end
to my life ; but thought it my duty to leave
to you the description of my machines. My
death will make no one unhappy, there
fore 1 go with satisfaction out of this
world. Good sir ! live well and content
ed—when you receive this, I shall be in
another world, where I expect to enjoy
more happiness than I have experienced
in this J”
With the horror such a deed naturally
inspires, we cannot but mix a portion of
commiseration ; especially when we re
collect that the gifts of a vivid imagina
tion bring the heaviest task on the vigi
lance of reason; and that such endow
ments require a degree of discipline,
which seldom attends the higher gifts of
the mind ; clearly proving to us, that na
ture, without the commanding voice of
religion, has left the noblest of her works
imperfect.
With esteem, &c.
BENJAMIN WATERHOUSE.
To Dr. Barker, Hingham.
A DANDY OF THE OLD SCHOOL.
Casanova, in his account of his visit to
Voltaire, describes thus the Duke de
Vi liars whom he met at Ferney:—
“ The exterior of the Duke de Villars,
then governor of Provence, attracted my
principal attention. When I contemplat
ed his figure and demeanor, I fancied I
saw a woman of sixty years of age in
men’s clothes, who, though now lean,
shrunk, and feeble, might have been
handsome in her youth. His copper-co
loured cheeks were painted with rouge,
his lips with carmine, his eye-brows black,
and he had artificial teeth and hair. A
well-scented pomatum kept the curls close
to his head, and a large nosegay, fixed in
the uppermost button hole of his coat,
reached to his chin. He affected the
amiable man in every thing, and spoke so
affectedly and lispingly, that it was diffi
cult to understand him. He was, in
other respects, polite and condescending,
but all his manners were of the taste pre
valent in the time of the Regency.”
A CATECHISM,
A clergyman was lately catechising a
little boy in a familiar way, when the fol
lowing dialogue took place:
Q. Do you know the nature of God ?
A. I do, sir.
Q. What is it ?
A. God is omnipotent and omniscient.
Q. Can God see every thing ?
A. He can, sir.
Q. Does God know every thing?
A. He does, sir.
Q. Does he know what we are talking
about ?
A. He does, sir,
Q. Does he know what you have got
in your breeches pocket ?
A. He does not, sir.
Q. And why does he not?
A. Because I have got no breeches
pocket, sir.
While some convicts were passing
through the streets of Glasgow, a woman,
struck at their hardened conduct, cried
out: “Ah! wretched creatures, how can
you be so merry in your dreadful situa
tion ?” “Merry! mistress, replied one
of them, “ why, bless your funny heart, if
you was in our situation, you would not
only be merry, but actually trims ft or fed !”
A jVice Distinction.—A soldier oi Use
foot guards recently brought up a woman
before the police magistrate for robbing
him of 3s. 9d. The woman was placed
at the bar, and the soldier began to state
his complaint, when he was interrupted
by the magistrate with a ‘Why you are
drunk, sir.’ ‘ Your worship—(hiccup)—
I’m not, as you may say, exactly drunk—
(hiccup)—but my comrade there is more
spberer nor what I am.’ (Hiccup.) The
comrade was called forward, and, as he
advanced towards the table, he had evi
dently great difficulty in keeping his
perpendicular. At the table he arriv
ed, however, and setting himself in the
exact attitude of ‘ Attention 1’ upon drill,
he stared with all his might in the ma
gistrate’s face. ‘Well, sir, are you so
ber?’ he was asked : and twinkling his
eyes for a moment or two, as if deliberat
ing on a correct and proper answer, he
replied, ‘ as nearly as possible, your wor
ship.’ The magistrate himself could not
refrain from laughing at the erect solem
nity with which this discriminating an
swer was given: but he declined interro
gating further, and the woman was dis
missed.—[Lond. pap.
The Duchess of Kingston was always
remarkable for having a very great sense
of her own dignity. Being one day de
tained in her carriage, by a cart of coals
that was unloading in a very narrow
street, she leant with both her arms upon
the door, and asked the fellow, ‘ How dare
you to stop a woman of quality in the
streets ?’ ‘ Woman of quality !’ replied
the man. ‘ Yes, fellow, (rejoined her
grace) don’t you see my arms upon my
carriage ?’ ‘Yes Ido, indeed, (he an
swered) and a pair of devilish coarse arms
they are-”
The Tragic Barber.-—A. hair dresser in
a considerable town lately made an un
successful attempt in tragedy. To silence
an abundant hissing, he stepped forward
with the following speech : “ Ladies and
gentlemen, yesterday I dressed you; to
night I address you; and to-morrow, if
you please, I will redress you. While
there is virtue in powder, pomatum, and
horse tails, I find it easier to make an act
or than to be one. Five la Bagatelle l I
hope I shall yet shine in the capital part
of a beau, though I have not the felicity of
pleasing you in the character of an empe
ror.”
Resemblance and Representation.-—A
Prince, rallying the fatness of a courtier
who had served in many embassies, said
he looked like an ox. “ I know not,” said
the courtier, what I am like; but I know
that I have often had the honor to repre
sent your majesty.
A Jack tar having been long in a French
prison, was asked on his return, whether
he had got a smattering of their lingo?
“ No,” replied Jack, “ they call things by
their wrong names; they call a horse a
shovel, and a hat a chopper A
A learned schoolmaster being lately in
terrogated by one of his scholars, with
respect to the etymology of the word syn
tax, replied, after some sage considera
tion, that it received its meaning from the
circumstance of the ancients having laid
a tax on sin.
Economy.—A person at a public house,
observing an iron fore-stick, and a stone
back-log, exclaimed loudly to the servant
to bring a bundle of nail rods by way of
kindling.
HAUPMRS FIIK VA.
Respectfully informs ins Mends
and the public generally, that he
continues to carry on business at his old
stand near the ferry, where any of the fol
lowing articles can be had at the shortest
notice, viz:
High and low priced gentlemen’s and
ladies’ saddles; high and low priced
coach, gigg, carryall, and wagon harnes
ses ; trunks of every description ; saddle
bags, valises, bridles, martingals, whips,
and spurs; also, plated and common bri
dle-bits and stirrups. He has just receiv
ed a quantity of New England Hog Skins,
of a very superior quality, and a few Alli
gator Skins. Any of the above articles
will be furnished as low for cash as they
can be purchased in the county.
Bailey’s Memoirs.
SUBSCRIBERS to the above work, re
siding in this place, and in the neigh
borhood, are requested to call on Mr.
Howland, and receive their copies.
AGRICULTURAL.
FROM THE AMERICAN FARMER.
On the use of Plaster.—Several years
ago I paid a visit to the late Dr. Charles
A. Warfield, of Anne Arundel county. It
was in the month of August; on enter
ing the lane that leads up to the house,
on my right hand was the finest field of
corn I had seen. It had attracted my at
tention so much that I observed to the
doctor that his corn crop was superior to
any I had ever seen ; that I was astonish
ed, as I had believed the ground was not
so very strong. He replied that he had
just returned from the Berkley Springs,
and had passed over some of the best
lands in Berkley and Jefferson counties,
where he had seen no corn equal to his
own—that he was satisfied with his own
ianu, poor as it mignt oe tnougnt, ana
would not exchange it acre for acre for
the best estate in Berkley county-—that
he had discovered a secret by which he
could make his poor lands produce corn
equal to theirs, at a very small expence.
He further said, “ I have reflected much
on the effects of plaster upon different
soils, and it appeared to me as likely that
by a combination of slacked ashes and
plaster that the effect would be very pow
erful. I ordered my servants to be care
ful to preserve all the ashes during the
winter, which being exposed to the rains
during the winter was sufficiently slack
by spring. I ordered the proportion of
two bushels of ashes to one bushel of
plaster, mixed well together, which was
carried out to the field, and my little ne
gro boys, each with his bag of the mix
ture following the droppers, and with a
large oyster shell emptied the contents on
the seed as it was dropped and covered
over ; this, and this alone, said he, is the
cause of my corn being so much superior
to any you have seen.55 Recollecting this
experiment, I was induced to try it, as did
several of my friends in Baltimore and
Frederick counties, to whom I had com
municated it: all of whom have received
equal benefit from the experiment. Mr.
Robert Carnah stated to me that he had
tried it on poor knolls, in his corn field,
and found his corn on them equal to his
best ground.
When I am told why or how plaster
acts, I will feel myself called upon to dis
cover why it acts best when combined
with ashes; until then, I may content
myself with stating what has happened
in my practice, that others may benefit by
a knowledge of the fact. G. W.
The practice of harrowing over wheat
in the Spring is strongly recommended in
the Plough Boy and other respectable
publications. The effect of this process
is the loosening of the earth and throwing
it around the roots, in such a manner as
to produce more scions, and of course^^^
more wheat. A writer states that he har-^P
rowed over one acre of wheat as an expe
riment, which produced about one-fourth
more wheat than an adjoining acre.
HALLOWELL, APRIL 27.
Mr. Pope of this town has invented
a Threshing Machine, which promises to
be of great utility. The work is done by
striking the grain with a wheel, by which
every ear receives about 100 strokes in
passing through the machine. The ker
nels are not broken. The construction is
simple, and the machine may be formed
of any dimensions according to the power
by which it is to be moved. The one
which we have seen was of a size to be
worked by a man and boy, and will thresh
fifty bushels per day : it costs about $20.
We believe threshing Jive bushels in the
ordinary method is considered a day’s
work for a man.
Mr. Pope, the inventor, is well known
for his wonderful skill and invention dis
played in his celebrated Orrery now be
longing to Harvard University. We trust
that his genius is now about to receive an
ample reward.
All the wool raised in the union, and
much that is imported, is manufactured
in the United States. Our farmers do not
keep sheep enough. Wool is now trans
porting in wagons from this city to the
interior of the state. Such facts are worth
a volume of arguments.
That labor is in demand has been
shown by the increased number of chil
dren employed in our manufactories dur
ing the last year; however, as the fact is
important, we will fortify it. Our Poor’s
Rates, in this district, were, within a few
years, one hundred and eighty thousand,
dollars per annum. They are now redu
ced to one hundred thousand dollars.
\_Dem. Press.
P. C. MAC CASE,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
OFFERS his professional services to
the public. He will attend the courts
of C h arl e stow n, V inches ter , an d M ar tin s
burg. He may be found at Fulton’s Ho
tel, or at his office opposite to Fulton’s.
All communications addressed to him
shall meet immediate attention. Convey
ancing executed at his office.
Charlestown, April 24, 1822.