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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 the rose, and to shed over it a tint more magical than the blush of the morning.”_ The following Epitaph was composed for the Tomb of a Freemason, who lies buried near Bag dad. The whole is written with delicacy and ele gance. Our Masonic brethren will discover pecu liar beauties in it. (Salem Observer. Tread softly here, or pause to breathe A pray’r for him who sleeps beneath, Tho’ savage hands in silence spread The nameless sand that hides the dead! Yet here, as wand’ring Arabs tell, A guardian spirit loves to dwell! ’Tis said, such gentle spirits seek The teai-s on widowkl beauty’s cheek, And bring those precious drops to lave The sainted pilgrim’s secret grave. Tread softly ! tho’ the tempest blows Unheeded o’er his deep repose; Tho’ now the sun’s relentless ray Has parch’d to dust this holy clay, The spirit in this clay enshrin’d Once mounted swifter than the wind— . Once look’d, O Sun, beyond thy sphere, Then dar’d to measure thy career, And rose above this earth so far As Comets pass the meanest star. Tread softly !—midst this barren sand Lie relics of a bounteous hand ! That hand, if living, would have press’d Thee, wand’ring stranger, to his breast, And fill’d the cup of gladness here, Thy dark and dreary path to cheer— O spare this dust!—it was once was part Of one all-kind, all-bounteous heart! If yet with vital warmth it glow’d, On thee its bounty would have flow’d. Tread softly ! on this sacred mound The badge of brotherhood is found ! Revere the signet iu his breast, Its holiest virtue was confess’d— He only liv’d on earth to prove The fulness of a brother’s love. If in thy bosom dwells tire sign Of chanty and love divine, Give to this grave a duteous tear; Thy friend, thy brother, slumbers here. SCRAPS OF REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY. From a venerable and respected Cor respondent (says the Milledgeville Geor gia Recorder) we received the following historical sketch. In the letter inclosing it, the writer justly remraks—‘‘It is by ^misconceptions of the people now a days, thinking that they know all things with out trouble or research, and who know but little accurately of things long past, that facts for history become dimmed, ed, altered, reversed—and supposition, false or true, fills up the pages of histo rians. Many corrections, in such mat ters, might be made to revolutionary his tory, if folks of those days would take the trouble to write them down, when occa sions occur. Washington was created Marshal of France, by Louis XVI, by which authority, alone, he was enabled to command the French army in Ameri ca; this is not noticed, I think, by Wash ington’s biographer.” Messrs. Grantland and Orme.—Some weeks past the writer of this read an obituary notice of Gen. Sir Charles As gill, and of his having been, when Capt. Asgill, selected by lot to die in retalia tion for the execution of Lippincott. Cast ing the mind’s eye back to those days, I thought it strange that the name of Lip pincott, the executioner, had been substi tuted for Captain Huddy, the sufferer on the occasion alluded to—Captain Lippin cott commanded a,banditti under British authority, which prowled about the neigh borhood of New York ; one of Lippin cott’s associates, it was alleged, had been captured by an American party, and executed, no doubt for having labored in his avocation :—the name of this man is not remembered, but the writer will call him A. B. At a future time, Capt. Lip pincott captured Captain Huddy of the continental army, and ordered him to be hanged on the limb of a tree, where he was left suspended, with the following label pinned on the back of his coat— “ Up goes Huddy, for A. B.” In this con dition the body of Captain Huddy was § > found by the people who buried him. It became imperative on Gen. Washing ton to check the enemy in his career of enormity in such matters, in order to guard his officers, in cases of future cap ture by them ; and to this end he ordered from amongst the British officers of the rank of captain, who had surrendered un conditionally, one to be selected by lot, to be executed in retaliation for Captain Huddy: the lot fell upon Captain Asgill. Gen. Washington informed the British general of the measures he had been com pelled to resort to: and that Asgi'11 would be released, on his receiving assurances that the murderers of Huddy had been punished, or were surrendered up to him to receive the punishment which might be justly due. Time passed away: the British general ordered a trial of Lippin cott, who was acquitted by some such quibble as is mentioned by “ An Old Soldier,” in the Boston Sentinel, of Sept. 17th. But this acquittal would not have saved Asgill. In the interim, the pa rents of Capt. Asgill had been informed of the perilous situation of their son. The Father lay at the point of death, given up by his physicians. In a state of mind more easily imagined than expressed, Lady Asgill wrote a letter, full of the feelings of a mother for the fate of an only son, and in the finest dress of the English language, to the Comptede Ver gennes, entreating him to lay her humble petition before their Most Christian Ma jesties, that they would vouchsafe their powerful mediation, to save her son. De Vergennes spread her prayer before their Majesties, who gave it in command to their minister, to communicate thro* their Ambassador near the Congress, how they would feel obliged if Captain Asgill should be spared. Congress, thro’ their President, expressed a wish that their Most Christian Majesties should be gratified, if in the opinion of General Washington, it could be done, having in view the safety of the officers in cases of future capture by the British, or their ad - herents. Congress did not order—they only expressed their wishes that it could be complied with. The General indulged his personal feelings, in yielding to the suggestions of the Congress and the wish es of their Most Christian Majesties ; but, not at the expense of that protecting jus tice which he owed to the army—he, doubtless, believed that the mode he had adopted of retaliating,having createdsuch an excitement as to cause an appeal to such powerful mediation, would answer as a corrective in the future. And Capt. Asgill was enlarged to the condition of ordinary captivity. The writer in his best recollection be lieves the foregoing statement to be sub stantially correct, in so far as a private in dividual who was but youthful in those days, could know and understand them. Public documents might be referred to by those who shall doubt. A REVOLUTIONARY NEW-YEAR’S GIFT. On Thursday, the first of January, Mr. Custis, of Arlington, presented to General Jackson the Military Pocket Telescope used by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of Liberty in the War of the Re volution. To this interesting1 memorial of our olden time, Mr. C. had affixed a silver plate, with the following inscription: Erat auctoris, est conserva toris, Lihertatis. 1775—1783. Mr. Custis, on presenting the gift, ob served, that, although it was in itself of but little value, there was attached unto it recollections of the most interesting character. It had been raised to the eye of the departed Chief, in the most awful and momentous periods of our mighty conflict; it had been his companion from '75 to 83, amid the toils, privations, the hopes, the fears, and the final success, of our glorious struggle for independence, and, as the memorial of the Hero who triumphed to obtain Liberty, it is now appropriately bestowed upon the Hero who triumphed to preserve it. Mr. C. re quested that, as he, the General, was childless, he would be pleased, at his de cease, to leave theTelescope, asAlexander left his kingdom—“ to the most worthy.” General Jackson received the Revolu tionary relic in a manner peculiarly im pressive, which shewed that, however time, hard service, and infirmity, may have impaired a frame no longer young, the heart was still entire, and alive to the heroic and generous feelings of the soldier, the patriot, and the friend. The General replied, that he received a re membrance. of the great Father of his Country with feelings not to be ex pressed by words. That, to this Chief tain, under Heaven, we were all indebted for the liberty and happiness which we now enjoy. That it was with pride and pleasure he found himself selected as the depository of any thiug which had be longed to one, whose memory is fondly cherished by the brave, the wise, and good, of all nations, and continues to grow with the growth, and strengthen with the strength, of our happy country. That the very flattering marks of appro bation and esteem which he received from his fellow-citizens very far exceeded his merits. He could say that he had done his duty, and in the affections of his coun trymen he experienced a most grateful reward for services which it was his for tune and happiness to have rendered.—« That the relic of the great and good he should dearly prize: it would be treasur ed among the comforts and affections of his declining years, and, w'hen he should be no more, descend “ to the most wor thy.” A Comet is now visible from 4 to 6 o’clock in the morning; at 5 o’clock it bears a little to the North of East, at an angle of about 30 degrees from the hori zon, and appears to move with great ra pidity. It appears to be situated near the two principal stars in the head of the Serpent. It is'presumed it is the same which was visible in England about two months ago. wKgmm THE MAIMED SEAMAN. From' the United States Gazette, of Philadelphia. Our readers will no doubt bear in their recollec tion JOHN COTTON, the seaman, who lost both of his arms in defending the brig Patriot against the pirates, and who, a short time since, appealed to the generosity of the merchants and insurers of this city. Cotton was successful in his application in this place and New-York, and subsequently re ceived a handsome addition to his fund from the merchants of Boston. While this gallant fellow was engaged in collect ing the means of rendering the rest of his life com fortable, we often felt a degree of melancholy in contemplating, by anticipation, the solitude of his state. He might talk indeed, and spin his rope yarns 5 for where was there ever a wounded sea man who could not ? But still friends would grow weary in time. Destitute of both arms, he could neither share in common amusements, nor even perform the essential service of dressing and un dressing-. Nor do we know how he managed to “ get his allowance on board,” to use one of Ins own phrases. These evils, with a thousand others, have pass ed our minds, as we have occasionally read accounts of Ills success in collecting means to purchase an annuity. With neither father nor mother, brother, sister, nor any friend by propinquity, to render those kind and feeling services, which money can scarcely buy, we confess that the pensioned sailor had excited our sympathy, although we felt that his petitions had been fully answered. But John, it seems, had no mind to trust to the casual kind ness of strangers, or become burtliensome to ac quaintances, and, like a good seaman, finding his own arms too short, has made a handsome splice. The New-York papers announce Cotton’s feat in the following pithy distich :— MARRIED, “Last Sunday evening, by the Rev. Mr. Ware, John Cotton the brave, to Rebecca the fair.”* * Rebecca Coates of New-York. DONT LET THE DEVIL GET THE START. It is stated in a New-York paper, that Mrs. Sarah E. Maney was lately sentenced to death in South Carolina, for murdering her infant child. She said the devil had ensnared her to do the deed, and t'aat five minutes after she would not have done it. Up on which the editor, with some point, observes :— “ We should have but few crimes, if the thoughts of the guilty, five minutes before the commission, were the same as they are sure to be five minutes after ; butifthey suffer the devil to getfive minutes the start, there is no such thing as taking the lead of him again.” The following curious report, said to have been drawn up by a late learned judge, is taken from a periodical publication of New York. GUN’S CASE.— Gun was indicted at the sessions as a common disturber of the peace. Upon trial it appeared that Gun was a flashy fellow, all fire and tow, and when a little primed, was sometimes very noisy. That one day at Smith’s, (the pros ecutor’s,) refusing to pay the shot, and Smith insisting upon it, he kicked him, and went off. On the other hand, it was said that Gun was, in the main, a quiet, inoffensive creature, who never did any harm, except when set on by others ; that Smith might blame himself, as he had overcharged him, and as some of the witnesses said, had even attempted to ri fle him. The jury, however, found him guilty of an assault—but, on motion of counsellor Blunderbuss, in arrest of judg ment, Gun was discharged. “ Two of a trade seldom agreed’—The Tallow-Chandlers appear determined to extinguish the light which the Whaleeil men ha^e shed on Congress by their me morial for an augmentation of the duty on tallow. The former declare that the re presentations of the latter are over-strain ed, and that with all their complainings they have waxed fat under existing regu lations;, while the latter aver, that the former live by a borrowed light at their expense, and do not ?nelt at the sufferings of their neighbors. The Death-Bed Confessions OF Lady Guernsey, IN which many of the principal causes that led to the death of the late Queen Caroline, of England, are contained. For sale at this office, price 25 cents. gO®A few copies of the above work may be had at Mr. M‘Kewan’s in Mar tinsburg. Wheat, Rye, Corn, and Oats, And all other Country Produce, "ITirriLL be taken in payment for debts V f due to this office, or which may hereafter become due. The highest price in cash will be given for clean Linen and Cotton Rags. Nov. 26, 1823. MEN’S BEAVER HATS. SK. WHITE has just opened, for e sale, several cases of HATS. Some of them are of Cox’s well known manu factory, and are excellent in quality. Dec. 24, 1824. Complete Tutor for the Violin. A FEW copies yet remain on hand, i \ for sale, at the office of the Free Press. Pricq, 75 ceats. CHEAPER 6j CHEAPER » 9 WE have just received another load of goods,which we will sell at still lower rates, viz: Cassimere shawls of the richest colour and with most superb borders, which we will sell at from 2 50 to S3— Rich coloured Tartan Plaids at 62^ cents, Imitation Caroline plaids, Heavy 4-4ths unbleached sheetings at 18f cents, 5-4thsIndigo Blue Checks at 25 cents Men’s kip lined Sc bound Monroe shoes, at g2 Do. calf do. at !g2 25 And of CROCKERY, a further supply of those neat CUPS Sc SAUCERS at 28 cents, Blue Print, Meat and Vegetable Dishes, See. &c. ALSO, 6 bags best Havanna Coffee at 25 cents, Winter strained Sperm Oil at Jgl— 4 firkins most excellent BUTTER, Raisins, Ecc. &c. We respectfully solicit our friends to give us a call, as, although we are not I as conveniently situated as we of right should be, yet we confidently believe they will be compensated for their extra trou ble. D. A. WEED & Co. Jan. 7, 1824. LIST OF LETTERS, REMAINING in the Post Office at Harpers Ferry, Va. on the 31st of December, 1823. A John Avis, William Adams, Robert Ainsworth. B Joseph Baylis, Solomon Brown, Samuel Brontuer, E. C. Breedin, 2 Mary B. Breedin, John H. Brown, Nathaniel Brashears, Charles Bramhall, Adam Battenfield, Thomas Blackburn, 2 C Joshua Cox, Robert Clagett, Peter Conlan, Mary H. Crapes, Margaret Cresfield. D Mrs. Downs, Joel Downer, Mr. Delgarn. F Alsina Fectic, G Samuel Gregory, Henry Glaser, John Grimes, John Gower. H Joseph Holgrave, John Hogeland, James Hughes, Philip Hoffman, Jacob Haines, J John James, Lloyd Johnson. K Thomas Keys, Sarah Kreps. L Edward Lucas, 2 Dr. Long, Jan. 7, 1824. L Thomas Laflferty, Ann Lindsay. M David Martin, Joseph ^filler, Ignatius McAtee, Anne McDad, Mary McCristal, J ohn McFarland, Jane Moler, John McFJevee, Francis Moore. N James Near, J ohn Nickels. P Jesse Phalen, Sarah Phillpott, John Penn. R John Riley, Adam Ruleman, Wm. P. Rowles, Conrod Roler, Eliza Reidenour, Jesse Randal. S John Strider, 5 Alexander Simpson, 2 air. Strider, MaryH. Seleg, William Small, John Sicafoose. Jacob Shough, Jacob Sly, F. W. Stephenson. T John Taylor, 3 U John Upperman. W Lewis Wernwag, 2 John Walker, Jacob Wark. Y Nancy Yeamons. F. BECKHAM, P. M. POST OFFICE REGULATIONS. THE Mail will be closed every Sunday, Tues day, and Thursday, at 4 o’clock, P. M. No credit can be given for postage. The postage on Newspapers is, by law, made payable quarterly in advance. Jan. 7,1824. W. C. CONWE, T1 ESPECTFULLY invites the attention of the -B l citizens of Harpers-Feny and its vicinity to the several splendid Lotteries now drawing in the City of Baltimore. The one of the greatest mag nitude, and which is the first to be finished, is the Grand State Lottery of Maryland, Containing the great capital prize of And being the principal lottery now drawing in the United States. The payment of the prizes of which is warranted by the State of Maryland. Present rate of tickets $15, shares in proportion. University Lottery. The Capital Prize is 20,000 Dollars. Tickets $10, shares in proportion. Monument Lottery. The Capital Prize is 20,000 Dollars. Tickets $10, shares in proportion. Besides the capitals named, the lotteries all cofi tain many other valuable prizes, such as 10,000s, 5,000s, 1000s, See. The drawings will progress as rapidly as the saje of tickets will possibly admit. Address W. C. CONINE, Baltimore. Dec. 27, 1823. OTT Orders left at the office of the FREE PRESS will be promptly transmitted. BOARDERS. THREE or four Boarders will be ' ken by the subscriber. Men of gei teel habits and known punctuality will K accommodated in the best manner pos sible, and on reasonable terms. JAMES COATES Jan. 7, 1824. FOE SALE, AN active Negro Boy, about 17 ’ of age. Inquire of the PRINl Jan. 7, 1824.