Harpers-Ferry free press. [volume], September 24, 1823, Image 4

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

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“ It is the gift of Poetry to consecrate
every place in which it moves, to breathe
around nature an odour more exquisite
than the perfume of t/ic rose, and to shed
ever it a tint more magical than the blush
of the morning_•_\ _ '
EFFUSIONS OF AMERICAN .BARDS.
The following- was written by Sj'tleck
Osborn, to be sung at a dinner party on
the late anniversary of independence : .
Where shall the tyrant rest,
When power’s departed ;
When Freedom rears her crest
O’er the base hearted ?
Earth will, reluctant, take
What death must give her—
That dust to bliss shall wake
Never—-O ! never !'
Swift on the inarch of mind,
Europe is pressing;
Man struggles hard to find
Liberty’s blessing.
Freedom’s bright flag shall spread,
To be furl’d never!
Over the Patriot’s head
Waving forever 1
Where shall the tyrant rest,
Scorn’d by his legions 1
Where be a welcome guest ?
Not in these regions.
Scorn at his grave shall point,
Mocking forever-—
Him shall man re-anoint
Never—O ! never I
Where shall the tyrant lie.
When life’s departed ?.
Who o’er his bier shall sigh ?
Not the true hearted 1
Shame on his tomb shall sit.
Brooding forever!
Laurels shall honor it
Never—O 1 never !
From the Miscellaneous Poems of ihe Bos
ton Bard.
AUTUMN.—TO ELLEN.
The summer’s past—the harvest’s o’er '.
The wintry winds are near ;
The swallow seeks a milder shore ;
The leaf is dead and aear;
The tree is stripp’d—its fruit decay’d,
The lily blooms no more—
The rose -bud on the earth is laid.
The scythe hath laid the field' flower low,
The sickle low the corn;
The axe compels the oak to bow—
The lark hails not the morn :
The daisy’s root the plough hath torn,
The honey suckle’s dead;
The rose leaf on the blast is borne—
All summer’s sweets are fled.
Angelic maid, thy summer too
As soon will pass away,
And thy warm cheek, of roseate hue,
E'en as the rose decay :
Yes, soon the wintry wind of death
O’er thy fair form shall play,
And, like the blast that sweeps the heath,
Shall bear thy charms away.
Oh, then, dear girl, direct thy flight
To that more genial shore,
Where autumn’s blast carl never blight
Thy fadeless beauty more ;
Where He who robes himself in light.
And stills the tempest’s roar,
Shall clothe thee in that beauty bright,
That blooms when Time’s no more.
ANECDOTE OF MBS. JORDAN.
1 he late Mrs. Jorcian possessed a heart
susceptible of the most tender and hu
mane emotions, and thesewere called in
to instant action oy the least approach of
misery or distress. During her short stay
at Chester, where she had been perform
ing, her washer woman with three small
children, was, by a merciless creditor,
thrown into prison. A small debt of for
ty shillings had been worked up, in a
short time, by law expenses, into a bill of
eight pounds. As soon as Mrs. Jordan
heard of the circumstance, she sent for
the attorney, paid his demand, and ob
served, with as much severity as her
good natured countenance could assume,
;4 You lawyers are certainly infernal spi
rits, sent on earth to make poor mortals
miserable.” The attorney, however, poc
ketted the affront, and, with a low bow,
made his exit.
On the afternoon of the same day the
poor woman was liberated. As Mrs.
Jordan, with hr ;• servant, was taking her
usual walk on the Chester walls, the wi
dow with her children followed her ; and
just as she had taken shelter from a show
er of rain in a kind of porch, the poor
woman dropped ou her knees, and, with
much grateful emotion, exclaimed “ God
forever bless you, madam—you have sav
ed me and ray family from ruin.” The
children beholding their mother’s tears.
added, by their cries, to the affecting
scene; which a sensitive mind could not
behold without string feelings of sympa
thy. The natural liveliness of Mrs. Jor
dan’s disposition was not easily damped
by sorrowful scenes; however, though
she strove to hide it, the tears of feeling
stole down her cheek, and stooping to
kiss the children, she slipped a pound
note into the mother’s hand, and in her
usual playful manner replied, “There,
there, now it’s all over ; go good woman.
God bless you—dont say another word/’
The grateful creature would have replied,
but this good female Samaritan insisted
on her silence and departure.
It so happened that another person had
taken shelter under the porch, and wit
nessed the whole of this interesting scene ;
who, as soon as Mrs. Jordan observed
him, came forward, and holding out his
hand, he exclaimed with a deep sigh,
“Lady, pardon the freedom of a stran
ger, but would to the Lord the world
were all like thee 1” The figure of this
man bespoke his calling 1 his counte
nance was paie,anu a sun rauier me >»w»oc
for wear covered his tall and spare person.
The penetrating eye of Thalia’s favorite
votary soon developed his character and
profession, and. with her wonted good hu
mor, retreating a few paces, she replied,
“ No I won’t shake hands with you.”—
“ Why “ Because you are a Methodist
preacher, and when you know who l am,
you’ll send me to the devil 1” “ The Lord
forbid ! I am, as you say, a preacher of the
gospel, which tells us to clothe the naked,
feed the hungry, and relieve the distres
sed ; and do you think! can behold a sis
ter cheerfully obeying,the commands oi
my great master without feeling that spi
ritual attachment that leads me to break
through worldly customs, and offer you
the hand of friend ship Sc brotherly love ?5'
“ Well, well, you are a good old soul I
dare say;- but—-a-—I don’t like fanatics;
and you’ll not like me when I tell you who
I am.” u I hope I shall.” “ Well, then,
T tell you l am a player (the preacher
sighed)—“ Yes, I am a player ; you must
have heard of me—Mrs. Jordan is my
name.” After a short pause, he again
extended his hand, and, with a compla
cent countenance, he replied, “ the Lord
bless, thee, whoever thou art ; his good
ness is unlimited ; be has bestowed upon
thee a large portion of his spirit; and as
to. thy calling, if thy soul upbraid thee
not, the Lord forbid that I should.”
Thus reconciled, and the rain having
abated, they left the porch together.
The offer of his arm was accepted, and
the female Roscius of comedy, and the
melancholy disciple of John Wesley,
proceeded, arm in arm, to the door of
Mrs. Jordan’s dwelling. At parting, the
preacher shook hands with her, saying-—
“Fare thee well, sister; I know not what
the principles of thy calling may be, thou
art the first I ever conversed with ; but
if their benevolent practice equals thine,
I hope and trust, at the great day, the
Lord will say to each, ‘ Thy sins are for
given thee’
Maternal Heroism:-—In Williams’ His
tory of Vermont it is related, that the
Indians having carried off, in one of their
predatory excursions, among other male
children, the son of a white woman, the
mother followed them with her other
children and urged them to return her
little hoy. They complied : and encour
aged by this success, she urged the mat
ter further, and had the address to pre
vail with the savages to give her up
twelve or fifteen of her neighbor’s chil
dren. In a fit of good humor one of the
Indians then offered to carry her on his
back over the river. She accepted of the
Indian’s politeness. The water vras up
to his middle, but her savage gallant
carried her safely over ; and in a short
time she returned with her little band of
boys, to the surprise and joy of their pa
rents.
From T/iacheFs Military Journal.
Captain Houdin, commonly pronounc
ed Udang, is a Frenchman of singular
manners and character, and ludicrous in
his appearance, being rather tali but slen -
der; his features are sharp and irregular,
complexion dark, with small jet black
eyes.—His long hair is brought in a braid
to the top of his head, which is constant
ly covered with powder; he is never seen
without his small sword, nor in conver
sation without a display of vanity and af
fectation. He converses in broken Eng
lish, with rapid articulation, often per
verting words from their legitimate mean
ing. Dr. Thomas and Udang have at
command an inexhaustable fund of mer
riment and humor, and Udang once said
to the doctor, “You can take me off bet
ter than I can myself.” On a return from
Boston, in seventeen hundred and eighty,
he related some incidents that occurred
to him, which have frequently been re
pealed to aid in festive mirth. Sosne wag
knowing his vanity and affectation of con
sequence, had employed a negro wench
to make a familiar address to him in some
public place. T*is was a severe mortifi
cation, and destroyed all the comforts of
his visit. In answer to an inquiry how
he liked Boston, this vexation was upper
most in his mind- “ I like Boston very
W'-'li all but oat d-~d madam nig. v>n
beiu- pressed further he related the par
ticu&r* with all the action and irritation
that the reality occasioned. One gentle
man said to me will you take a walk to
the market—twas one very fine inarke.
de poult, de geese, ebery ting—one very
fixlassortment—dere it was I hear some
body say behind, 4 &W do you do Cafi
tain ■ Udangd I look round, one black
bish say again, making reverence, ‘/Ao/ie
you be vdL Captain Wang. Who be
you speak to me in de market. ¥ou for
get, she say, I was your sweetheart m 77.
Hoi yo tongue, you d—d rascal bis i.
You speak to me in de market, when I
am wid gentlemen, I cut off your hear!, a
will you rascal wench. I was so asham,
I nut de hat over my eyes and run right
home tro five tousand people. Next day
some gentlemen tell me who own de black
bish dat spoke to me in de market, and
advise me to tell de mistess. I go ..o e
house and knock, knock,—by by gooi
open, ‘How do you do Captain Liang,
de same black bish rascal dat spoke to
me in de market—who own you—tell you
mistess one gentleman officer wish to see
her. Madam, say I, do you own dat d—d
madam nig, dat spoke to me in de m&t
ket. She say, 4 If you had not been too
familiar with rnv negro wench, she would
not spoke to you in de market. I say -
you be one d—d rascal yoursell, madam.
FROM THE NEW-YORIC MIRROR AND LADIES
LITERARY GAZETTE.
Original Repartee.—-A certain poet,
who has written some of the best stanzas
and some of the worst lines of any Ame
rican bard; and who, ior some peculiar
eccentricities which he has at length
thrown aside, has been reputed mad, be
ing some time since in the Assembly
Room at the City Hotel, was interrupted
in his 4 dreams of fiction’ by a stranger,
tvho thus accosted him :—4 is your name
Clarke ?’
c Clarke, sir, is. ray name.’
41 have come a great distance, sir, for
the express purpose of seeing you.’
‘Indeed! And do you consider your
! self amply remunerated for the trouble
| and fatigue of a long journey, by a view
I of my delectable person ?’
4 Yes : you are a strangeJooking crea
| fare. I have heard much of you. Some
i people say you are mad, and I have heard
j a number of ladies assert, that if you
j paid proper attention to your dress, you
would be a very pretty man.’
‘ A Pi-ettij man! Now, by heavens, sir,
I consider that as One of the most rasoai
ly compliments they could have paid me.
A pretty man. like yourself, for instance,
is, in my opinion, ohe of the most con
temptible objects that ever came from the
manufactory of heaven Is—4 Why so, sir ?’
4 Recause, sir, the epithet implies the
absence of all that is manly. They might
as well apply the term to the ocean, in a
storm, an eruption of Mount YEtna, or the
Falls of Niagara.’ 4 Well, you are really
a strange fellow ; and, in ray opinion,
more knave than fool.’
4 Do you really think so, sir NT really
wish that I could reciprocate the compli
ment. But I am certain that no trait in
your character will bear any comparison
with your silliness, which, like Aaron’s
rod, or Pharaoh’s lean kine,.swallows up
all the rest.’
‘You are severe sir.’
4 You say that you have come a great
distance for the express purpose of seeing
me, as you would go to see a bear, an ele
phant, or Hottentot Yfeuus,’ 4 Yes.’
4 Now, sir, comply with the terms-—
fifty cents a sight.’ 4 Indeed ! Well, there.’
(Gives him money.)
4 Stay, sir, take back twenty-five cents—
Children half price !’
4 Again !—Why you show no mercy to
one who is anxious to serve you.’
4 To serve ?ne.? Then unite your for
tunes with mine. Every wild beast that
is exhibited in the city, is accompanied
with a monkey.’
The stranger finding the poet4 rather too
many for him,’ as the pugilists say, and
perceiving that he was no more deficient
hireling than in wit and talents, begged
his pardon for having so rudely intruded
upon his meditations, and was about re
tiring, when the poet returned the rest of
his money, and taking him by the hand,
assured him that as impudence and igno
rance are always united, he could very
safely pardon his presumption.
The above dialogue reminds us of the
following anecdote.
A pretty man.—In speaking of the duke
of Marlborough, after the battle of Rami
lies, a puny officer said he was a pretty
man. The father of the young officer,
who was present, turned to him with an
austerity in his countenance he was little
accustomed to wear, 4 And you are a pret
ty fool, thus to characterize the greatest
man in England.’ The sterling weight
of words are not always known to our ju
venile critics.
A QUESTION.—There are two youths
mentioned in Scripture, who, in degrees
oi consanguinity, were so remarkably cir
cumstanced, that their father was their
grandfather, their mothers were their sis
ters, their sisters were their aunts, and
they were each other’s uncle. Who were
they ?
A NEW PUBLICATION. *9
MOW ready for the press, and will be
published as soon as five hundred
subscribers can be obtained,
A NEW KEY
To the Exact Sciences;
OR,
A NEW AND PRACTICAL THEORY
By which Mathematical Problems or Al
gebraic Equations of almost every de
scription can be solved with accuracy,
And with greater facility or simplicity
than they can be by any of the methods
that have yet been given by the several
authors who have written on those sub
jects : In which will also be introduced,
A VARIETY OF USEFUL AND IN
TERESTING PROBLEMS,
that have never yet been proposed, and
which it is believed cannot be solved by
any methods or rules except those here
laid down.
BY FRANCIS TILLETT.
In submitting the above work to the
public, the author presumes it will be ad
mitted, at least by the more enlightened
part of the community, that the exact sci
ences are the best exercises possible for
youthful minds ; the most effectual for
strengthening their reasoning powers,
and for giving them accuracy in the pro
cesses of deduction ; and that any work
which has a tendency or is calculated to
promote or facilitate their acquirement,
will not be considered as undeserving pa
tronage. But he is also sensible, that af
ter the many elaborate productions of
learned men, it may and will be the opi*
lYion of some, that no further improve
ment is necessary or can be made. He
will not attempt to combat such opinions,
further than by observing that all mathe
matical rules or theories, to be useful
must be correct and general, and to be
correct and general must and will be self
evident.
Under an impression that if a true and
correct answer was obtained to proposi
tions of this nature, the most simple pro
cess was the best, he has endeavored to
divest them of all mysterious investiga
tion ; or, if he may be allowed the ex
pression, of all affected erudition ; and to
give such rules as may render them fa
miliar to any capacity well acquainted
with common arithmetic. How far he
may have succeeded in this, the work it
self will be the best criterion to judge by.
gO^It is expected the work will make
pages octavo, which will be
done up in a neat pamphlet form, and be
put to subscribers at 50 cents. Those
obtainiug~Tau'ven 'Sttfj^criocvs, shall have
an eighth copy gratis.
Winchester, Fa. June 16th, 1823. '
The following recommendatory leS&s
are respectfully submitted to the reader :
Winchester, Aug.'27\th, 1823.
Dear Sir—The publication of your new1
theory for the solution of simple, quadra
tic, and the higher equations-, will, I have
no doubt, be interesting and useful to the
public. By the application of your cal
culus to many of the most difficult ques
tions to be found in the popular works on
algebra, its utility and efficacy will ap
pear manifest. Not having fully investi
gated the subject, I am not prepared to
express an opinion on its rationale, or its
merits as an entire system, but as far as
my researches have extended, I have been
both pleased and edified. Your work can
not fail to be important as an auxiliary
to the usual methods of analysis, and as
conducive to further discoveries in an
interesting branch of science.
A. C. SMITH.
Mr. F. Tit,lett.
Strasburg, August 23d, 1823,
I do hereby state, for the satisfaction
of the public in general, and particular
ly for those that have a desire of improv
ing their talents, as it respects the exact
sciences, that I have been a pupil of
Mr. Tillett for a few weeks past, during
which time I have had an opportunity to
investigate his “ new theory for solving
with accuracy all mathematical and al
gebraic equations;” and as far as I am
a judge I believe it to be every way calcu
lated to facilitate the progress of the pu
pil; and therefore worthy of patronage,
The plan brings within a moderate com
pass whatever is useful, levels it to ordi
nary comprehension, and, as a key to the
exact sciences, will, I have no doubt, be
a valuable acquisition.
JOHN L. SMITH.
Strasburg, August 23d, 1823.
I have examined a number of Mr. I ii
lets’s solutions of questions iu simple,
quadratic and cubic questions, and state
with pleasure, that he has invariably ar
rived at a correct conclusion, by a pro
cess much shorter, and more simple, than
any I have ever seen. WM. McCORD.
Winchester, August 30, 1823.
ICPSubscriptions received at the office
of the Free Press.
Complete Tutor for the Violin.
A FEW copies yet remain on h£nd{
for sale, at the office of the Free
Press. Price, 75 cents
Sept. 17, 1S23.; _