_June 10th._--News of firing the City of New Orleans, in order to effect
a rescue of the pirates, reached this city this day. We hear, also, of
the Choctaw Indians fighting, 150 opposed to 150, to avenge the death of
an old woman, killed for a witch. They fought until both sides, with the
exception of ten or twelve, were all killed.[151]
A man was taken and nearly killed, last week, disguised as the devil, in
the act of extorting 150 dollars from a farmer. He was dressed, and spit
fire and brimstone, like a proper devil. He is now in prison. A Yankee
traveller, lodging for the night, struck this felonious devil to the
ground with a club, at the second visit to receive dollars, instead of
paper, as at first offered by the farmer for the ransom of his body and
soul.
_12th._--I met again Mr. Perry from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He states
that the land and farms there are the best in America; the average of
wheat being about eighteen bushels an acre. The best land is to be
bought occasionally at fifty dollars an acre, with improvements which
have cost all the money; so that the land is given. {431} Here, he says,
an English farmer may, as a farmer, find much animal comfort, but no
good society; the mass of the farmers and people being vile, dishonest,
and without any good principles whatever. All try to rob and wrong you,
and each other, and will do it if you associate, or deal in any way with
them; and they will do it without any shame, being shameless. An honest
man, though rich, must be soon ruined, if he puts confidence in them.
"All are tarred with the same brush." The farmers all work. One, worth
ten or twelve thousand dollars, brought in to Mr. Perry a waggon load of
hay, which he warranted was a ton, though it was only sixteen cwt. Out
of a farm of good land, consisting of 500 acres, a farmer does not find
above 300 dollars a-year for the purchase of such necessaries as the
family need from the store. No money is, therefore, to be made by
farming, and the poor live in want all winter, at which time their
labour is to be had for victuals only, and now for 25 cents a-day. From
sober calculation, he finds that four per cent. is the most that can be
obtained from capital employed in agriculture, though six per cent, is
the legal interest. He would, a thousand times, rather give five or six
guineas an acre rent, for land at Feversham in Kent, than have it here
rent-free; for, after paying this heavy rent and taxes and labour, he
should have a good living profit in England, where the climate is good,
but here, one year {432} wears you out more that seven in England.
Grasshoppers too, here, are a plague, destroying every thing, in the
pestilential months of August and September. There is no money; all is
done by barter.
He would recommend me and others to stick by England while we can live
in it, for he is sure, that if people in England would attend to their
duties, and condescend to the meannesses and drudgeries every where
practised here, they must live, and live better at home than ever they
can here. And besides, though things are bad, there is a hope of better
times. Here, there is no hope; things will be worse; for, with such an
unprincipled, vile race of people, how is it possible that liberty and
happiness can be secure? They know nothing of the nature of liberty, nor
want to know. Law, justice, equity, liberty, are things unknown amongst
them. In England, there is a good sound core, and seed that must always
vegetate; here, all is rottenness. Mr. Perry believes, that grazing
cattle in Pennsylvania, would pay much better than cultivating.
_18th._--I re-visited Dr. Dawes's farm, which being in a state of
complete exhaustion, is unable to produce again even the seed of any
thing sown; the rye not affording what is commonly scattered for
gleaners in England, while the peas, tares, and lentils rise not a foot
high. This land can only be restored to fruitfulness by rest, clover,
plaster, {433} and manure, and plenty of cattle and sheep to depasture
and manure it.
_19th._--This being a beautiful morning, the Doctor ordered out his
curricle, and we drove to the seat and plantation of the Right
Honourable T. Law, accompanied by Mr. Joel Simpson. I having been
introduced to Mr. Law, was appointed spokesman, and stood rapping at the
hall of entrance ten minutes before I was heard. At last came a naked,
dirty-legged, bare-footed little girl, to say that Mr. Law was not at
home, nor likely to be before night. Soon after, came her father, the
overseer, who "regretted that Mr. Law was absent at an agricultural
dinner, as he was happy to see all callers." He, at my request, shewed
us the garden, the farm, and the stock. The farm, about 250 acres, is
beautifully situated on high hills, two miles from the Potowmac, but so
stony and unfruitful, that its cultivation is a serious expense, rather
than a benefit, it being unable to maintain itself. The garden and
orchard, a few acres, seem equally poor; small quantities of its produce
are, however, sent from it occasionally to market. At the bottom of it
is a spa, or mineral spring, in which the proprietor bathes. The horses
are all poor and fleshless, but the cattle and cows, about twelve in
number, fat. A cow and a bull of the Yorkshire breed, from England,
dislike (says the man) this climate. {434} The cow gives but little
milk, and pines for the sweet, green pastures of her dear native land.
The English labourers, sent over to this farm, are all gone, being
drunken and worthless, and withal, so uncivil and conceited, that Mr.
Law, who likes men to talk freely with him, could scarcely get a civil
answer from any of them. We were at last conducted into the house, and
introduced to a pint of whiskey. We saw no house-servants, but heard
one, a female slave recently bought, the only slave Mr. Law owns. He
lives in great simplicity. The house is better than the best American
farm-houses; still, it is not a mansion, but rather something between
both. In the centre and front, is a large oblong room, the largest in
the house, and resembling a hall of entrance, at each end of which is a
smaller room for the winter, and on the other side, being a double
house, are three small summer rooms, and chambers over the whole. The
road through the farm up to the house is serpentine, and planted with
dying shrubs. It is rough, stony, and difficult of ascent, and the
entrance-gate (where might stand a porter's lodge) is meaner than a
hog-pen-gate. In this retreat dined the President and 200 gentlemen last
week. The society admitted here is select, and the principal attraction
to it is Mr. Law, who is kind, agreeable, and benevolent to all. In his
personal appearance, he is small, lean, {435} withered, and rustic. His
nose, however, is noble, like Lord Ellenborough's, but his mind is
perhaps nobler than that of any of the family, although he lives in
greater simplicity than a country squire of England.
_21st._--An old Scotsman, a perfect stranger, this morning
conscientiously brought back cloth to Mr. ----'s store, to be
re-measured, the same containing, he found, several yards more than he
had paid for, or expected to find. A mistake had occurred in measuring.
An American lady of respectability, also of this city, was standing by,
and, in the greatest astonishment, exclaimed: "What! bring it back
because there is too much measure? Well, who ever heard the like? I
would not have done so, I'll warrant ye." "O, my dear madam," said he,
"I could not, would not, have it without paying for it; it is not mine."
The proprietor of the store observed, very significantly, looking her
ladyship in the face, "Madam, I know of only one rule, and that is, to
do unto others as you would that they should do unto you." She blushed,
and said no more. This shameless, unprincipled, selfishness is very
universal. It is customary, with this people, never to point out
defects in goods, or errors in accounts, when such defects and errors
exist in their favour. The qualities, honesty and dishonesty, as
exemplified in these two characters, seemed as if they were natural.
{436} _23rd._--The mayor of this city, Samuel N. Smallwood, Esq. now
mayor for the second time, came here, twenty years ago, a pennyless
mechanic, but being industrious, grew with the growth, and strengthened
with the strength, of this infant metropolis. His mother was a yellow
woman, and his origin is still distinguishable in his curled hair, which
he keeps close shorn. This, further south, would have been a sin never
to be forgiven. He is a man of talent, and lives much respected.
This day I passed a pleasant farm on the eastern branch of the Potowmac,
half of it bottom land, and running a mile and a half along the shore,
with a good house and offices, orchards, and large gardens. The hills
are poor, and covered with woods, amongst which cattle and pigs graze,
and breed, and fatten. It contains 667 acres, to be bought at sixty
dollars an acre, works twenty, and might work thirty negroes, worth
9,000 dollars. It requires an additional capital of 6,000 or 7,000
dollars, for cultivating. Although much of this pleasant plantation is
in wood, yet it is said to produce annually,
Dollars
{437} Of Tobacco, 3,000
Corn and grain, 3,000
Garden-stuff, 3,000
Cattle and pigs, bred and fed, 2,000
Rent of fishery, 500
Butter, 1,000
------
12,500
------
If the fishery were fished by the owner,
it would make additional 1,000
------
13,500
------
Thus is a capital of 55,000 dollars employed, netting twelve per cent.,
but the authority relied upon, in thus stating the case, is not the
best.
The Patriot pilot-boat, last war, sailed from New York to Charleston
city, for the Governor of South Carolina's Lady, Mrs. Allstone, Mr.
Burr's daughter,[152] then at Charleston, who, with Mr. Green, her
brother-in-law, and servant, plate and specie, sailed from Charleston.
They were heard of no more, until last month, when one of the pirates,
under sentence of death at New Orleans, confessed that he and others, of
the crew of the Patriot, rose upon the captain and the passengers,
confined them below, scuttled the vessel, and abandoned her, taking to
the boat, in which, with all the money and plate they could find, they
{438} landed on the coast of North Carolina, while the vessel, and all
it contained, sunk to rise no more.
_30th._--I re-visited the seat of Mr. Law, in company with Mr. Elliott,
and the Rev. J. Wright. Mr. Law was dining out, three miles from home. I
saw him not, but kept possession of the house three hours.
Mr. Law told a friend of mine that he brought 100,000 guineas in gold,
but could not now raise, by any means, at a short notice, 1,000_l._ City
lots and land allured him almost to ruin. Land seems a substance, but is
yet only a shadow in many neighbourhoods.
_A common hot day at Washington._--The wind southerly, like the breath
of an oven; the thermometer vacillating between 90 and 100; the sky blue
and cloudless; the sun shedding a blazing light; the face of the land,
and every thing upon it, save trees, withered, dusty, baked, and
continually heated, insomuch that water would almost hiss on it; the
atmosphere swarming with noxious insects, flies, bugs, mosquitoes, and
grasshoppers, and withal so drying, that all animal and vegetable life
is exposed to a continual process of exhaustion. The breezes, if any,
are perfumed by nuisances of all sorts, emptied into the streets,
rotting carcases, and the exhalations of dismal swamps, made vocal and
alive with toads, lizards, and bellowing bull-frogs. Few people are
stirring, except negroes; all faces, save those {439} of blacks, pale,
languid, and lengthened with lassitude, expressive of any thing but ease
and happiness. Now and then an emigrant or two fall dead at the cold
spring, or fountain; others are lying on the floor, flat on their backs;
all, whether idle or employed, are comfortless, being in an everlasting
steam-bath, and feeling offensive to themselves and others. At table,
pleased with nothing, because both vegetable and animal food is
generally withered, toughened, and tainted; the beverage, tea or coffee,
contains dead flies; the beds and bed-rooms, at night, present a
smothering unaltering warmth, the walls being thoroughly heated, and
being withinside like the outside of an oven in continual use. Hard is
the lot of him who bears the heat and burthen of this day, and pitiable
the fate of the poor emigrant sighing in vain for comforts, cool
breezes, wholesome diet, and the old friends of his native land. At
midnight, the lightning-bugs and bull-frogs become luminous and
melodious. The flies seem an Egyptian plague, and get mortised into the
oily butter, which holds them like birdlime.
Having requested some communication on the subject of farming, and other
matters, in Pennsylvania, from a friend, possessing great experience, I
was favoured with the following heads, which contain much information
in a condensed form.
{440} _1st. Pennsylvania._--The land is of the first quality, and the
best farming in the United States is found here. The climate is of a
medium temperature, but the extremes meet as in the other states.
_2nd. Crops._--The average produce is sixteen bushels, per acre, of
wheat; other grain in proportion; but the crops are very subject to the
Hessian fly and mildew.
_3rd. Fruit._--As in the other states, it is inferior to that of Europe,
and no dependence is to be placed on crops.
_4th. Garden._--One acre of land in England, produces more vegetables
than five acres in the United States, taking the year throughout. N.B.
This matter has been most grossly misrepresented.
_5th. Grazing Land._--During five months in the year, there is no
pasture for cattle.
_6th. Price of Land._--Varies from 50 to 100 dollars with improvements,
that is, with a good house and barn.
_7th. Timber._--Sufficient exists at present; but should the population
increase rapidly, it will become a scarce article.
_8th. Game._--Scarce; which is generally the case through the States. No
country in the world is worse supplied with game, and in a few years the
game will be entirely annihilated, owing to the extreme inclemency of
the winters, and there being no cover for them in the woods.
{441} _9th. Fish._--Taking the States through, the supply of this
article is trifling.
_10th. Farmers._--The generality of this class are Germans of the lowest
grade; industrious, but nothing further, and forming no society for an
English yeoman. The rest of the population is composed of descendants
of the old settlers and of low people of Irish origin.
_11th. Residence._--An emigrant requires at the least twelve months.
N.B. The United States teem with jobbing lawyers, land speculators, and
swindlers.
_12th. Grazing and stall-feeding cattle for market._--This line might be
followed to advantage with a capital of 4,000 dollars, and with what is
of more consequence, the knowledge of dealing or trafficking, for
without such knowledge the noble would soon be reduced to nine-pence. A
twelve months' residence is, therefore, indispensably necessary, for
without being fully initiated in the diabolical arts of _lying out_,
_swearing out_, _swindling out_, and _thieving out_, ruin is inevitable.
_13th. Society._--There is none for an Englishman of the old school, who
would scorn to tell a lie, or see his fellow man in want.
_14th. Happiness._--Must be found in your own family; the fruits of your
farm will supply every want, and whilst the government of the United
States continues as at present, you will be secured in that happiness.
{442} _15th._--One matter I had almost forgot, which I must not omit to
mention, as you most likely will be asked questions on the subject by
many of that most useful and invaluable class, English husbandmen.
_1st. Wages._--The highest wages given at this time for _harvest_ are,
2_s._ 3_d._ per day, English money, and found in provision and bad
whiskey.
_2nd. Working hours._--From sunrise to sunset, full sixteen hours.
_3d. How long does the harvest last?_--About three weeks.
_4th. Is it warm in harvest time?_--Excessively so. The thermometer
ranges from 86 to 120. It is impossible to have a just idea of it
without actual experience. And, what is of more consequence, an English
husbandman would be more _debilitated_ in _three years_ in the United
States, than in _sixteen years_ in England.
_5th. How long in the year can labour be procured?_--About six months.
_6th. Are wages paid regularly?_--Very rarely. Mostly defrauded.
_7th. Then who are the persons that can do?_--A man with a family of
hard-working children, possessing 300_l._ sterling, and who should
reside twelve months in the States before he purchases land. And it is
greatly to be feared that both the emigrant and his family must lay in
all the low cunning, and [l]earn to defraud and cheat, as practised
{443} here, and entirely forget old English principles and society, or
else ruin and misery will be his portion.
_8th. Mechanics._--Any part of the world before the United States, for,
whatever they may earn, they will be sure to be defrauded out of half.
_9th. Wages._--Not so much as in England, taking the year through.
_July 6th._--Visited the house of the President, a good, substantial,
pleasant abode, but neither so elegant, superb, nor costly as the seats
of our nobility. I saw nothing about it remarkable; no pictures, save
Washington's; no curiosities, no painted ceilings. The walls are covered
with French paper, and the rooms are furnished with French furniture.
Its front looks over the Potowmac and Alexandria, down to Mount Vernon,
through a vast extent of Southern Virginian scenery. A favourite English
butler shewed us all, and regaled us with good biscuit, brandy, and
sherry.
_7th._--This morning the Hon. Thomas Law, accompanied by Mr. Elliott,
made me a call in return for mine. He very politely regretted his
absence when I called, and invited me to come and spend a day or two
with him at his farm, for the purpose of concluding the conversation now
commenced in the following words.
_Mr. Law._--"You, Mr. F., saw my farm and garden. They are poor, but I
will improve the gravelly hills by carting earth on to them from the
{444} valleys. The English labourers sent to me by Mr. Curwen, I have
dismissed. They could do nothing but plough; they were stupid,
conceited, uncivil, and latterly drunken; whiskey, and the company they
met, seduced them. When I began farming I knew not wheat from rye, or
rye from barley; but I well know what are the benefits of farming."
"You, Sir, pursue it only for your pleasure?" "No, Sir, I want profit."
"In the present distressed state of agriculture little profit is to be
had." "Truly so; but a paper circulation is wanted. Mr. Crawford fully
agreed with me on this point, but disingenuously seceded from it in his
report, on which account I have addressed several pointed letters to
him, which I will send you as well as my address to the agricultural
society of Prince George's county."
"On my return home shall I advise and recommend my countrymen to
emigrate here?" "Why, Sir, I cannot answer that question. I have never
recommended emigration, nor caused any to quit their country; every
thing is strange and unsuitable to English farmers and labourers; he can
cultivate with success only by slaves." "Have you, Mr. Law, no regrets
at having spent so much of your time in this country?" "No, Sir, none
whatever." "What, Sir, none at the loss of that society which you must
have had in common with your family in England?" Here Mr. Law hesitated
a little as if at a loss for an answer. "Why, {445} Sir, I once with
Lord Cornwallis governed India. I returned and saw my acquaintance
sliding into commerce, brewers, manufacturers, and merchants, to be
cheated; such a course had no attractions for me, and I was opposed to
the French war and other government measures. I therefore determined on
visiting and ultimately on living in this country, where I have spent my
time much to my satisfaction, never being at a loss for amusement. I
write and read, and talk and visit, on the most familiar and friendly
terms with my neighbours, with whom I frequently stay all night; and
whenever I please, I can without ceremony go and talk frequently and
freely with the President, Mr. Crawford, Calhoun, and all the heads of
the government, and therefore I have the best society the land affords."
"But, Sir, there are the honours and emoluments of England which _must_
have been yours." "My wants were then, and have always been, very few. I
believe I have always been happier than any of my brothers. As I never
knew how to say 'My lord' to any man, I did not seek or want honours or
emoluments. I saw my family and friends dependant on the funds which are
likely some day to beggar them and many others; a situation from which I
fled." "What, Mr. Law, is likely to remedy the diseases of England?"
"Sir! England is over-peopled. It is not wholly the fault of the
government. A famine will be the remedy." "Could not the surplus
population {446} be transported to the colonies?" "No, Sir. A famine is
the only remedy." "But, Sir, is not a famine calculated to plunge the
country into a dreadful political convulsion and revolution?" "It is,
Sir, but the government is not blameable."
"Morally considered, or with respect to morals, do you not think the
population of this country inferior to that of England?" "The people in
the mass are here more intelligent. You now see them at the worst time.
You see them _generally_ acting unworthily and meanly, but their poverty
and not their will consents. As to slaves, they steal." "And they have a
right to steal," said a third person. I answered, "They, to be sure,
have been robbed on a broad scale." "Why, Sir, the friends of slavery
insist on it that slavery is essential to the existence of liberty. To
what conclusions will they not come?"
"Is there, Mr. Law, no aristocratical feeling in this country?" "Yes,
Sir, amongst the black population." "You mean, Sir, amongst the masters
of blacks?" "Yes, Sir. You, Sir, have visited Mr. Birkbeck?" "I have."
"Is he not a very pleasant, intelligent man?" "He is highly so." "What
is he doing?" "Fast spending dollars." "Had he raised any produce?"
"None." "Why?" "He had been, he said, occupied in settling his
neighbours, who together with himself have been supplied with provisions
from Harmony at 100 per cent, above their value; but cheaper, they have
{447} said, than they could have then and there raised them." "I, Sir,
do not approve of going into the wilderness away from market and
society, while land is to be had with both. What is Harmony?" "It is a
most flourishing settlement, and indeed the only flourishing one I saw
in the wilderness. What think you, Mr. Law, of the climate?" "Why, Sir,
as Lloyd says,
"With things at once so hot and cold,
I can no friendship hold."
Mr. Law talks in an oratorical manner, and with an energy of action
which makes him appear much in earnest. He is full to overflowing, and
quite inexhaustible. "His worth," says Mr. Elliott, "is not one-tenth of
it known, but is thrown away upon this country."
"It is said, Sir, that the population of this country is systematically
unprincipled, and almost without virtue." "That, Sir, is not true. In
the cities, since the commercial distress, the people seem dishonest.
The commercial demand from England, and the withdrawing a paper capital
by this government, have driven the people to desperation. They are
unjustly done by. They were once esteemed good customers. A circulating
medium only is wanted to heal the breach. In the country the people are
anxious to meet their engagements." "Do you, Sir, think that no remedy
but famine remains for England?" "No, Sir! no other." "Then the sooner
it comes the better." "But, Sir, (said he) {448} such confusion, and
horror, and calamity, will characterize the catastrophe as the world has
not seen." "Do you think it will exceed the French revolution? Will the
people of England be more bloody and heartless in such a struggle than
the French?" "The desperation of their situation will make them so.
Consider, Sir, the rage, anguish, and collision of so many starving
millions, screwed up into a space not larger than our state of Virginia.
Here, Sir, we have plenty, and whether sleeping or waking are safe in
our houses, and liberty and prosperity are secure. You, I find, are
deputed to collect information. Dine with me on Monday, and I will get
my sons out to meet you."
Mr. Law finding that I wished a protection or special passport from the
British minister, Mr. Antrobus, went and applied for it, but did not
succeed, it should seem, because I was acquainted with ---- on the black
books of the government. "Mr. C.," said Mr. Law, "is a very intelligent
man, but I find he carried things with a high, offensive hand in
England. He, I believe, Sir, wrote the Watchman and alarmed the church
and the Bishop of Ely."
Mr. Law seems not to like the radicals. "When," says he, "I came to this
country from India, it seemed at first like going down to the grave. I
seemed buried. Tell my family that I drink daily rye-coffee and
whiskey."
{449} Recipe for making rye-coffee, equal to the West Indian, after Mr.
Law's fashion. Swell the rye in warm water before you roast it.
_8th._--I received the following letter from Mr. Law.
_Saturday, 8th July, 1820._
Sir,
I wish you, if you see Mr. Elliott of the Patent-office, to desire
him to come and dine on Monday. If you can visit me early, I will
shew you the neighbourhood, and in conversation you may obtain
whatever opinions I have formed from experience respecting this
country. It is most desirable that correct information should be
given to those who are necessitated to seek an asylum here.
An European ought not to travel far into the interior, as he must
sacrifice every comfort during life. Want of society, want of
hands, want of a market, want of medical aid; in short, almost
every want is experienced for many years; discontent soon destroys
the harmony of associates, and former attachments to those left
behind have double power to excite regrets.
The Americans are a migrating race, and quit their farms to seek
rich back lands; but more of this when I have the pleasure to see
you.
Yours most obediently,
T. LAW.
_Sunday, 9th._--By appointment, I breakfasted with Major Young, 45 years
from Ireland, and {450} from the first an enthusiast in the cause of
America, throughout the revolution up to this time, having been the
companion in arms of General Washington, and appointed to the honour of
delivering Lord Cornwallis his discharge from his parole of honour. His
lordship graciously received it from the Major at his house in London,
much pleased that he was not compelled to return to America to discharge
his parole, having been exchanged for Mr. Laurens in the Tower. "Major,"
said his lordship, "I feel obliged to you and others, and will hold
myself under obligation to serve you at any time." The Major gave him an
opportunity, and was served. Mr. Laurens, while in the tower, was
consulted by a friend of Lord Hillsborough, the minister, on this
question: "What, Mr. Laurens, would you, as a friend to America, advise
England to do at the present juncture." "Why, Sir, the experience of
ages proves that an ounce of honey is worth a ton of vinegar." His
lordship on hearing this, in great rage rejoined, "America has had too
much honey; she shall have more vinegar."
Mr. John Law, during the attack on Washington, served in the United
States' army as a sergeant; but after the British got possession, he
laid aside his uniform, and telling the British officers that he was the
nephew of Lord Ellenborough, invited them to his house, where they spent
a joyful evening together.
{451} _10th._--By Mr. Elliott, I was introduced to Major Roberts, at the
public department of engineers.[153] I was accompanied by Mr. John and
Mr. Edmund Law, two natives of Asia, to the seat of their father to
dinner, where we met Mr. Carter, Mr. Elliott, Colonel Heb, and his
friend, a Cantab. Our dinner consisted of lamb, ham and chicken, and
blackberry pie, with claret, brandy, and whiskey, the latter 15 years
old. Here was all ease and no ceremony. Every guest seemed as free as if
at home, and eat, drank, and talked as he pleased. As this dinner was on
my account, Mr. Law placed me on his right hand as his guest. The two
Asiatic sons of Mr. Law seem generous, kind-hearted, and most
intelligent young gentlemen, free from all aristocratic pride.
Mr. John Law, during our ride to dinner, observed that his father's
objection to slavery was rooted in mere prejudice, because, though he
might buy slaves, he could emancipate them when he pleased. I told Mr.
Law, their father, what they said of this prejudice. "Aye," said he,
"call it what they please, I am acting from a good and proper motive.
Wherever there are blacks, the white population is seen to decrease. The
blacks will free themselves in the south; their resistance and
insurrection will be horrid and irresistible; the free states will never
stir an inch to oppose the blacks or to assist the planters, who have no
feelings in common with the farmers and {452} people of free states. The
former oppose domestic manufactures, because they think England can give
them more for produce than their countrymen, and therefore they are
willing that their countrymen should be drained of money for the support
of British manufactures."
Free blacks, in all the above states, are an especial nuisance, because
they are deemed the cause of insurrection amongst slaves, and act as
brokers to them, or receivers of whatever the slaves steal.
Birkbeck and Flower became the theme of the evening. Mr. Law, and all
present, regretted that they did not settle in this, or some populous
neighbourhood, where they might have lived as the most distinguished
citizens, and at a much less cost than now. They might have visited and
been visited by the President, and all the heads of departments; had a
town and country house, plenty of land, increasing in value, and good
markets; plenty of comforts of all kinds; farms, houses, orchards,
gardens, and every convenience formed to their hands, at less than the
cost of improvements, so that the land is a gift into the bargain. What
madness to go into the wilderness! Their land is not advanced in value
by their mere residence on it. They might have invested money, on land,
in the best western neighbourhoods, and, without sacrificing themselves,
their posterity would have reaped the benefit, which must be slow, but
which is sure to come with population and population only. {453} They
thought that land must increase in value in the west, forgetting that
there was an infinite supply at the same price; and, besides, how could
they be sure that settlers would follow and give an advance. It was
madness so to spend this short life. They ought to have known that
working Yankee families, who do all the labour themselves, are the only
proper pioneers. Gentlemen-farmers should not remove into the west,
until they can live and do better there than here. At any rate it is
time enough to go when they can be the third or fourth buyers of farms;
when they can have the improvements at less than the cost, and the land
nearly into the bargain. Society and visiting, so indispensable to such
intelligent Englishmen, they might here have cheaply. "I entertained
(continued Mr. Law) the President and heads of departments, and 100
friends besides, to dinner, at this house, on such a dinner, as we have
had to-day, and a little light wine, and the cost of all was only 40
dollars. My good neighbours, it is true, sent me hams and rounds of
beef, ready cooked, because they thought I should find it difficult to
cook for so many. If I were in England, I must have my Lord ----, and
others of the same rank; all must be splendid, costly, and pompous; but
all this is not the hospitality which I like and find here. Here we go
and come, as, and when we please; no previous notice is necessary; {454}
we give and take freely of such things as we have, and no one is
inconvenienced. In England a house is alarmed by the arrival of an
unexpected visitor. As neighbours and visitors we are all equal, and
share good things in common."
We walked through the large garden, where Mr. Law boasted that he should
have 2,000 celery plants for market at 12-1/2 cents each. All farmers
send their garden produce three times a week to market. "What I send
(says Mr. Law) pays the expense of the gardener, and puts 100 dollars
into my pocket, exclusive of my butter, which furnishes me with
butcher's meat, &c. My farm, at present, does not, but it will, more
than support my establishment."
He has two women, one white, one black, two or three negro children, and
five or six labourers hired at from eight dollars to twelve dollars per
month, most of whom are to leave in winter.
At eight o'clock the company departed, except myself. Mr. Law pressed me
to stay and spend a day or two longer, so that we might visit Colonel
Heb next day, and see the neighbourhood.
We were seated together alone, on the lawn, in the cool of the evening,
until ten o'clock, when Mr. Law, with a light in his hand, kindly
conducted me to my bed-room. During these two hours we talked freely;
first, on the state of England, which, he says, must fall in a few
years. "With {455} such a debt, and so many drones, and having all the
world rivalling and excluding British manufactures, and with such a
superabundant population, it is impossible that she can long exist in
her present condition. A famine must certainly sweep away superfluous
millions. It will be brought about, first, by a scarce year, and
secondly, by the want of specie to pay for foreign grain; for specie
only will do, when manufactures shall not be wanted in exchange for
grain. Then the British people, instead of lying down and dying
willingly like the Hindoos, a scene which I witnessed, will rise with an
irresistible fury, sweeping all authorities before them." "After such a
storm, will they dispense with monarchy, &c.?" "No, Sir, I think not.
King, lords, and commons, seem acceptable to the people. The church and
the debt only will be annihilated. My friends and others in the funds
see that this catastrophe is coming. They are therefore unhappy. I see
they are eaten up by anxiety; I am happier than any of them. Many of the
rich, and several of my friends and family, live on the European
continent, to spend their money in ease and peace. They are all unhappy
in their prospects. It is true that I have been unsuccessful in my
speculations here, but my wants are few. I was advised by General
Washington to invest my money in and about this city, which every one
then deemed a good speculation, and it would have been so but for the
stupidity and blundering {456} ignorance of this government, which by
diminishing the currency, has reduced our estates 50 or 60 per cent.
and rendered all unsaleable. There is no money for use. It is impossible
that a people can flourish without a circulating medium; a floating
capital, which creates a fixed capital. This government, however, will
see the need of it and resort to it; for, if the capital once in
circulation had remained so, the public lands would have doubled their
present value, and the industrious have flourished instead of sinking
into ruin. The poor and industrious are the only proper objects of the
care and protection of government." "You knew Paley. What think you of
his philosophy, &c.?" "I knew him well; he was a good man, but his
philosophy is false. Utility is made its basis; but impulse and feeling
furnish the best moral guide. Every feeling in man points him to
goodness." "But, Sir," said I, "is not his philosophy in accordance with
Christianity?" "Perhaps it is." I rejoined that I could not help
revering it, and that after reading it I thought myself both wiser and
better. "That may be." "You knew and esteemed Sir Wm. Jones in India.
Was he not a Christian?" "Why sir, Lord Teignmouth has endeavoured to
make him appear so; but he was a free thinker, and unusually vain.
Instead of studying his duties and introducing good laws, he was
ambitious of learning all languages, and of being a finished antiquarian
and poet. He fell a victim to his intense {457} application. He would
never travel, except by night; the sun must not see him. He once
travelled through my district by night, and I accompanied him. At sunset
he would inquire: 'Is my enemy down?' If answered, 'Yes,' he would then
start."
"Did you see M. Volney,[154] during his tour in this country?" "I did;
he came, introduced to me by General Washington, and spent some days
with me; he spoke our language well, and was a very wise man."
_11th._--Mr. Law and myself rose about sunrise. I walked, while he was
engaged in writing some materials or arguments for my journal. He writes
with great velocity.
After breakfast we rode to the pleasant farm of Colonel Heb to dine,
where, with his lady and family, we met a young Cantab, and his lady,
who sweetly sung and played for Mr. Law on the piano, with which he
seemed enraptured.
We then viewed the Colonel's estate, consisting of 600 acres, of hill
and dale, 90 of which are meadow irrigated, and which produces 2,000
dollars in hay annually, while the tobacco[155] crop is {458} commonly
worth from 100 to 150 dollars an acre. Here is a marl bank, by which the
Colonel has improved the estate, which, including its first cost,
employs 20,000 dollars, and nets, from 12 to 15 per cent. It is
cultivated by from 12 to 20 negroes, who seem happy and well treated,
singing and working merrily. The Colonel thinks slaves are better off
than free-men. All slave-holders think so, especially those idle men who
keep them merely for hiring out, that they may live entirely by the
labour and breeding of blacks. Free blacks, in a slave state, are most
of them unhappy.
Mr. Law thinks that Colonel Heb saves little or nothing from this
estate, after deducting the expenses of hospitality, education, and
other out-goings. Part of our dessert, at dinner, was strawberries,
which, during the summer, bear fruit continually, each month yielding a
fresh supply. We quitted this hospitable abode at seven, p. m., and, on
reaching home, resumed our conversation till bedtime.
Mr. Law said, that when last in England, he visited his brother, the now
Bishop of Chester, then living on a small benefice, at Kelshall, near
Royston, where all the neighbourhood seemed dissenters. "My brother did
all he could to please them, but they would not come to church. My
brother did not like it, and feared that his congregation would be
reduced to the clerk and his own family. Indeed it seldom was more.
{459} What a nest," said Mr. Law, "is the church for hypocrites. All
churches are evils, especially when they condemn a difference of
opinion, and compel the dissenters therefrom to support the church.
Religion is matter of opinion; all have a right to think freely thereon.
I wonder how my brother got preferment, when I know he was refractory,
and could not submit to the pride and domination of Lord Ellenborough."
"The convulsion in England," says Mr. Law, "will not last long, but it
will be horrid; it will sweep away the drones. I saw my friends spending
their days ingloriously, and descending to the grave, sick of
themselves, and without doing any good to the world.
"My good brother, the Irish Bishop, the most learned of our family, came
from Ireland, purposely to see me. He is now dead. There is no
independence about bishops. They only seek preferment."
Mr. Law repeated to me some satirical lines which he wrote against
the * * * * * * "These lines his lordship feared should be shown. He
made peace with me and gave up to me. His lordship said, 'I must give
up to Tom, or he will expose me to my brother lawyers, and I shall
become their butt.'" These lines represented the * * * * * * as the
perfection of pride, and seeking to be Chancellor, being already one
in insolence.
{460} "You have not, I suppose, at any time, directly or indirectly,
formed a part of this government?" "No, Sir, I would see them at the
d--l first." "Is Mr. President Monroe a man of business?" "Yes, Sir. The
Presidents are all slaves to their duties, scarcely able to breathe
abroad or take air." On passing by the Capitol, I said, "Does this
sumptuous Capitol accord with the plainness of republicanism?" "No, Sir,
but laying stones one upon another rarely injures any nation; and
besides, republics are vain, and public buildings gratify their vanity,
and attach them to the country. Inasmuch (said Mr. Law) as this
government has left unprotected the manufacturers of the country, and
withdrawn the circulating medium from the people generally, it has done
all which an enemy to this or any country could do, or wish to see
done." I asked Mr. Law if it was worth while to visit Mount Vernon. He
said, "Mount Vernon is inviting, but Judge W. knows nothing."
_12th._--In our ride to the city this morning, with a negro behind us,
two gentlemen, Mr. Law's neighbours, overtook us, but being anxious to
get on before us, apologized for leaving us. "Oh! gentlemen!" said
Mr. L., "we do not want you to wait for us. Go, I pray you, to the devil
if you will!"
At parting with Mr. Law this morning, he promised to send me letters of
introduction to his {461} Right Rev. Brother, the Bishop of Chester, and
his distinguished cousin, J. C. Curwen, Esq. M. P. which letters,
together with the following curious observations, purposely written by
him for the use of this journal, were soon after transmitted to me.
_Observations by Mr. Law._--"I have lately perused an address to the
public from the delegation of the United Agricultural Society of
Virginia. If, after repeated perusals, I had been convinced that the
exclusion of such foreign manufactures as we can make ourselves, by
legislative measures, such as high duties or prohibitions, would be
injurious to agriculturists, I should immediately acknowledge my
acquiescence in their reasoning. To oppose the opinions and arguments of
such able men, and of such united members, exposes any one to the
imputation of vanity, and to inevitable ridicule, should his reasoning
prove inconclusive. I have always been an advocate for permitting men to
pursue their interests unobstructed by governmental interference,
according to the suggestions of their reason, and to seek future
salvation according to the dictates of their conscience; and I have
always been convinced that men will employ their capitals and industry
in that business which produces most profit. This is, indeed, an
incontrovertible axiom in political economy; and the only question to
determine, is whether the exclusion of foreign manufactures be {462} not
a salutary exception to the rule. The delegation above mentioned,
accuses the petitioning manufacturers of soliciting a monopoly. A
monopoly, according to my definition of the term, means an exclusive
privilege in favour of an individual, or a certain class of men, in
preference to all others, who are injured thereby. Now to me it appears
that the duties or prohibitions solicited, are solely for the
encouragement of domestic manufactures, and for the discouragement of
foreign ones; nay, in my opinion, it seems a request in the name of all
Americans, to be shielded from foreign monopoly. This observation will
at first surprise you, but after my explanation it will, I trust, have
more verisimilitude in it than you can now imagine. Suppose a sovereign
to say that in a certain county, or department, he would make a donation
of capital for building machinery, &c. to those who would establish a
certain manufacture. Should any other of his subjects attempt rivalship,
with his, or their own funds, could not those, who had their capitals
gratis, undersell the competitor or competitors? Say that the buildings
and machinery cost 100,000 dollars, and that 50,000 dollars, current
capital, were required to pay workmen, and buy materials. The former
aided by the sovereign, if they made ten per cent. on their current
capital, would receive 5,000 dollars per annum, but the latter, if he
obtained only a {463} profit of 5,000 dollars on his 150,000 dollars
laid out, would only receive three and a third per cent. Now the foreign
manufacturer has a capital from his father, which is useless to him, if
not employed. Say his buildings, machinery, and 50,000 dollars current
capital, produce him 15,000 dollars. If he finds foreigners, who
heretofore purchased from him, attempting to set up for themselves, will
it not be good policy in him to reduce his profits two thirds, to ruin
his incipient rivals? Mr. Brougham, in the House of Commons, used the
following language, when speaking of the loss to merchants by an
excessive exportation of manufactures:--_it was worth while to incur a
loss, in order, by the glut, to stifle in the cradle those rising
manufactures in the United States, which the war had forced into
existence, contrary to the natural course of things_.
"Would it not have been humane and judicious in Congress, to have
prevented this ruinous glut, which contributed, with the order to resume
specie payments, to crush our manufactures, merchants, and storekeepers,
and to injure our farmers, &c.? How have foreigners obtained above
30,000,000 of our stocks, but by manufactures? The importation of
manufactures is now much diminished, and manufactures are rising, and
the price of labour falling. Will, however, any prudent man commence
manufacturing till shielded {464} from a glut? Our manufactures, till
then, cannot prosper, and we must remain dependent on foreigners. If all
men relied upon handicraft, as formerly, then the general rule, before
alluded to, would apply, and we might be supplied by home-spun. Were all
patriots, the nation would prefer home-spun, if even a little dearer
than foreign articles of a similar kind; but, as many will prefer their
own to the general interest, the general government must, in respect to
foreign commerce, interfere. The farmer in England obtains from 8_s._ to
10s. a bushel for his wheat; our farmers obtain 4_s._ 6_d._; the
manufactures in England amount to about 100,000,000_l._ sterling; ours,
to less than that amount in dollars.
"The distress occasioned by the sudden reduction of our circulating
medium from 100,000,000 dollars, to 45,000,000 dollars, has reduced all
property far below its intrinsic value; the banks are prosecuting to
recover sums loaned, mortgages are foreclosed, and landholders in debt
are compelled to sell. When an European purchases land in the western
countries, he has to clear and fence, and to build house and barn and
stable, at a great expense. In the old states, as they are termed, the
land is sold at so much per acre, and the house, barn, &c. are thrown
into the bargain. Land, from four to eight miles from this city, may be
averaged at twenty dollars an acre, ready to {465} be occupied.
Navigation is near; the market is near; the newspapers, as essential
almost to an Englishman as his breakfast, may be received three times
a-week by market-carts. Society is good; the expense of a long journey,
and a thousand inconveniences experienced by new settlers, are avoided.
Horses and oxen, I believe, can be bought cheaper in this neighbourhood.
If a man wants to remove his family and to sell, he can find purchasers
more readily than in the western wilds. Sickness almost always occurs on
the first exposure of new land to the sun. State taxes and county levies
fall heavily on settlers in a new country, requiring public buildings,
roads, bridges, &c.; labour is dear, and not always attainable.
A New England man succeeds in a new country, because he is a
jack-of-all-trades; he can make his own log-house, mend his cart, &c.
There is an old adage, that "fools build, and wise men purchase."
Suppose 150 acres, purchased in this neighbourhood, at twenty dollars an
acre, making 3,000 dollars, the fencing, and building, and clearing,
would cost at least that sum. When three or four Englishmen wish to
purchase together, they ought to keep it a secret, and to employ some
American, not in high life, who can be confided in, to sound persons
wanting to sell; for if a stranger offers to buy, it is immediately
reported over all the neighbourhood, and prices are raised, and it
exaggerates the value. Americans are remarkably shrewd. {466}
Englishmen, in general, are credulous and sanguine. All bargains ought
to be legally formal, under signature and seal.
"Question. Is great Britain capable of sustaining its national debt for
any length of time?
"There are operating against the possibility of this,
_1st._--The rivalship of manufactures of other nations, knowledge
and skill not being an exclusive advantage.
_2nd._--The encrease of poor-rates, by a superabundant population,
and reduction of wages.
_3rd._--The augmentation of payments abroad to British residents,
who avoid taxation by removing to foreign countries.
_4th._--The transfer of sums by the timid and enterprizing, who,
foreseeing embarrassments at home, make purchases abroad of stock
and lands. The British funds yield less than five per cent.; the
French and American yield six.
"These four causes, combining against British prosperity, almost
preclude the hope of supporting the immense load of taxes. The army
cannot, with safety, be much diminished, for as discontent increases
with the addition of burthens, the power of the government must be
increased. It is surprising that the "tight little island" prospers as
it does; there cannot be a stronger proof of a good internal management.
"The industrious classes cannot support, in {467} any community, more
than a certain proportion of drones. The important question is whether
the army, navy, state creditors, hierarchy, servants, residents abroad,
tax-gatherers, &c. can be supported by the industrious. The rapid
increase of poor rates, evinces that a nation has arrived at its acme.
"The arrival of monied men in this country, to purchase lands and to
avoid an apprehended convulsion, is ominous of the approaching crisis.
It is painful to forebode misfortune, and an unwelcome task to predict
evil. Could I anticipate improvements similar to those of Arkwright, &c.
to be long exclusively enjoyed, and were there lands still to be
cultivated, to support augmenting population, I could indulge the hope
of liquidating the debt. At present I behold an inverted pyramid,
propped by machinery, which is giving way. Your own journey, your own
inquiries, must make a forcible impression, that present profits are
precarious, and that happiness is alloyed with apprehensions for the
future."
_13th._--During a conversation this day with Dr. Thornton, of the
post-office,[156] he observed that this city, like that of ancient Rome,
was first peopled with thieves and assassins, and that, during his
residence in it, he had found more villains than he had seen in any
other part of the world. When he was a magistrate, such instances of
unblushing villainy and want of principle amongst the people {468} had
come to his view, as he could not suppose existed any where. "There are,
however," said the doctor, "many good men now in it." There is a
disposition generally amongst the citizens to live above their income.
Persons who live as independent gentlemen, often run into debt with
their butchers, &c., to the amount of several hundred dollars, and delay
a year and a half before they attempt to pay, suffering themselves to be
dunned continually, always promising payment, but never being punctual
in performance, and ultimately paying by instalments of five, ten, or
fifteen dollars; a mode of payment from which the meanest man in England
would shrink.
_15th._--I received a farewell visit from Mr. Thompson, late of Boston,
who states that he finds the inducements to emigrate much fewer and
smaller than he expected. Society, as it at present exists, shews great
want of organization, great want of religion, honour, and virtue, and
the country generally seems destitute of English comforts and
advantages. Yet he is now about to make a commercial attempt, by way of
experiment, which, if not successful, he will return into his former
sphere, well content to remain in it, without again wandering five miles
from it. He believes that none of the tables in America afford the
comforts of an English table. He thinks that the government in its
neglect of seminaries entails imperfection on the people. A bitter
sectarian {469} spirit prevails, and is more vicious than in England,
and there is a miserable, petty feeling of aristocracy. It seems to him
that republicanism is suited only for an infant people.
This evening I took my farewell of the claret club, the focus of liberal
principles and of friendly feelings.
_Sunday, 16th._--Accompanied by Mr. Elliot and the Rev. J. Wright, I
drove to Mount Eagle, the hired seat of Ferdinand Fairfax, Esq., on our
way to Mount Vernon. This gentleman, an English lord, gave us an
introductory letter, penned on the top of a post, to the supreme Judge,
Washington, who received us coldly and reluctantly before he read the
letter, and said, "I do not like to see people on this day, but you may
walk round." He then turned away while Mr. Elliot muttered, "We consider
it no act of impiety to visit the tomb of General Washington, and thus
to come on pilgrimage to the shrine of your illustrious ancestor." On
reading the letter his severity relaxed, and he sent two of his servants
to conduct us to the tomb, through the house and gardens, and to point
out whatever was curious. The road, through the estate, leading to the
mansion, is rough and worn into gullies. Every thing bespeaks the
neglect and apathy of the present owner. The land is poor; the estate is
separated on all sides by a rail fence, that is, rails split and
mortised into posts; and the gardens are surrounded {470} with evergreen
cedar fences, all of which are the work of the late General, for whom
every thing here seems to mourn. The house contains nothing curious save
the huge old iron key of the French Bastile, kept in a glass case, and
the recollection of its being once the abode of General Washington.
Instead of carpets, you see Indian matting on the floors. The furniture
is mean and common, and was brought here by Judge Washington.
The exterior of the house is of wood, sanded over, in imitation of
stone. It suffers for want of paint, while bricks seem falling from the
chimneys without being replaced. Here are no pictures of any value. The
only likeness of the late General is cut from a Chinese pitcher! The
grass upon the lawn and garden, in front and rear of the house, is
rotting and seeding down; it is never mown.
The tomb containing the General, and his lady, and brother, and others
of this renowned family, might be mistaken for a dog-kennel, or a mound,
much resembling a potatoe grave in England. It is situated at the
extremity of the garden, and on the brow of a hill. No monument marks
it. Evergreen cedars of Lebanon grow thick upon it, a branch of which is
often stolen as a sacred relique. I bore away one for the king of
England. In like manner did the Russian minister carry one to his
Imperial master, Alexander. No pilgrim is forbidden {471} thus to
pilfer. The tomb is formed by excavating the earth, and then arching it
over with bricks; three feet of earth is then cast on to the arch, which
completely hides every thing but the entrance at one end, through a
door, formed of half inch fir board, now rotting away. Such a door
would disgrace an English pig-stye. Were pigs to range here, they would
soon enter the tomb, which was built by the brother of the late General,
the latter of whom is to sleep here until a national grave is made by
lottery. Graves and cathedrals are raised, in this country, by means of
lotteries!
While seated on this monumental hill, I exclaimed with Gray. "The paths
of glory lead but to the grave." Mr. Elliot replied. "Why, Sir, I look
on my grave, _already made_, with pleasure, and in the same manner as a
weary traveller does to a down bed at the end of a long journey. I
anticipate, with joy, the rest which there awaits me." "Such a feeling,"
said I, "is desirable, but how few the number of those who so feel!"
We were next taken to the green-houses, which in winter, are filled with
all species of choice exotics, from all quarters of the earth, gifts to
the late General. They now stand out in front of the green-house, with
myrtles, oranges, and lemons, ripe, and in great abundance. There are
aloes too of enormous size; plantains, mace, and coffee trees. {472} I
gathered ripe coffee, which is contained in a kind of rich fruit or
berry, of delicious flavor. The pine-apple also bears in the
green-house, but it seemed in a withering state.
The approach to the house is marked by negro huts, and negroes of all
ages, male and female. In the General's time, all was well managed,
particularly the farm and gardens. He, the Cincinnatus of his time, was
up early, and always vigilant. Now all is ruin, and ruin personified
mourns for him.
The Judge is cold and reserved in his manners, and more than commonly
plain in his dress. He seems to be between fifty and sixty years of age,
of small stature, and lean habit of body. His features possess but
little expression, and he is, indeed, as unlike the late General, as any
man in the United States.
After having seen all we wished, we re-entered the house to thank the
Judge, but he appeared no more, simply sending a message that we were
"welcome, and he hoped pleased." He is, we were informed, an amiable,
good man, but of limited knowledge. We appeared, in his esteem, as
sabbath-breakers. On this account he excused his inhospitality to us;
and, besides, the saying of the late General, "I would not trust any man
an inch beyond my nose, who would set an open example of
sabbath-breaking," might rise in his recollection much to our prejudice.
I felt the {473} Judge's answer to us as a reproof, because I hold it
essential to the good of society that Christian sabbaths should be
respected.
The scenery in the neighbourhood of the house and estate is very
interesting. The umbrageous mount, on which the house stands, is a mile
high from the shores of the great Potowmac, which is here two or three
miles broad.
The British, and all the foreign diplomatic personages, visited this
spot by water, and with the marine band saluted it with solemn dirges.
Our guide told us that none but _great gentlemen_ were permitted to see
the house and gardens on Sunday. I asked if the Judge preached or kept a
parson? He himself reads prayers, morning and evening, and therefore
keeps no parson.
From an attentive perusal of the American history, and a close
examination of the character of Washington, says Mr. ----, it appears to
me that the principal faculty of his mind was judgment, which always led
him to avoid the dangers of precipitancy, and the errors which
sometimes result from a more vivid and brilliant imagination. The
dictates of that judgment constituted the line of his conduct, which was
of course marked with the most consummate prudence. This virtue seems
never to have deserted him, either as a statesman or a warrior, in a
public or private capacity. His prudence and caution were particularly
observable in his military career, and, like Pericles, he never {474}
willingly came to an engagement, when the danger was considerable, and
the success very uncertain; nor did he envy the glory of those Generals,
who are admired and applauded, because their rash enterprizes have been
attended with success. He had many difficulties to encounter, but these
difficulties were readily surmounted. Patriotism animated him, and
prudence conducted him to triumph. With a limited education and little
patronage, he paved his way to greatness, and by his virtues, cast a
blaze of glory around his character, which time can only increase, and
which posterity must contemplate with enthusiasm and rapture. There is
no parallel for such a man in the annals of the world; so singular a
combination of virtues with so few vices. Such disinterested patriotism
and such unimpeachable integrity, with so many temptations to swerve and
so many inducements to betray, were never before united. Immoveable in
the hour of danger, no difficulties could shake, no terrors appal him.
He was always the same, in the glare of prosperity, and in the gloom of
adversity. Like Fabricius, he could not be moved from the paths of
virtue and honor, and like Epaminondas, he made every thing bend to the
interests of his country. His country was his idol, and patriotism the
predominant feeling of his mind. Personal aggrandizement and individual
resentment and interest, were alike sacrificed to this overwhelming
passion, which no difficulty could {475} weaken and no neglect destroy.
Washington was reserved, without being haughty; religious, without being
bigotted; great in all stations, and sublime in all his actions, whether
he moved in the sphere of domestic obscurity, or employed his energies
in wielding the destinies of his country. Antiquity would have made him
a god. Posterity will make him more. Every nation can boast of its
heroes, its statesmen, and its bards, but there are few that have
produced their Washingtons. He stands alone in the history of the world,
and will be venerated while virtue and patriotism have an influence on
human action.
"You will, (says the same eulogist,) no doubt, be astonished to
understand, that the remains of this great and excellent man still
repose in a humble sepulchre on the estate at which he resided, and from
which, like Cincinnatus, he was several times called by his country. The
Americans are certainly not ungrateful, but they seem to have an
aversion to perpetuate a man's name by "monumental brass," or to express
their gratitude by splendid tombs, or ponderous and magnificent
mausolea. Your long acquaintance with Westminster Abbey, where the high
and the low, the great and the obscure, the good man and the villain,
are alike honoured by their country or their friends, may, perhaps, draw
from you a burst of indignation, at the imaginary apathy and
indifference of this great republic, to the memory {476} and past
services of its illustrious dead, but I question whether it be not
correct policy. To begin would be to have no end, and the erection of a
monument to Washington might terminate, as in Russia, with a monument to
a dog. Since the invention of writing, and the present extent of
knowledge, the "storied urn and animated bust," have become almost
useless. History will record with fidelity the illustrious actions of
him who has deserved well of his country, and his name will be as
perpetual as if Pelion had been piled on Ossa, to preserve his memory.
It was doubtless owing to the want of this art, that the humble tumuli
of the Celts, and the massy pyramids of the Egyptians, were formed; they
had no other mode of expressing their gratitude, or of perpetuating the
memory of their dead. After all, perhaps, the best monument is "to read
their history in a nation's eyes.
"It is but justice, however, to state, that though the American
government have refused to erect a monument to the memory of their
illustrious hero, his countrymen have not been quite so fastidious; and
the citizens of Baltimore, with that enthusiasm and public spirit which
have done them so much credit, are now engaged in building a monument
that will, at once, evince their gratitude, their patriotism, and their
taste. It may be safely asserted, that the Americans pay less attention
to the depositories of their dead, than almost any other nation. {477}
They seem to be no sooner laid in the earth, than they are forgotten;
and the tear of sorrow, and the hand of affection, neither bedews nor
decorates the sward, under which the friend, the parent, or the relative
reposes. Among the ancients, you will recollect, this was a part of
their religion, and we owe to the tenderness and affection of a
Corinthian nurse for her deceased charge, the rich and splendid capital
which beautifies the Corinthian shaft. It is in vain to look into the
burial grounds of this country, for the pensive cypress, or the
melancholy willow, the virgin weeping over the urn of her departed
lover, or the mother hanging over the grave of her darling child. No
flower blooms, bedewed with the tear of affection. All is waste and
dreary, and dead as the sunken grave over which you pass; and a few
stones, on which are engraved the name and age of the deceased, are all
that remain to manifest the affection of the living, to those who have
passed away and are no more.
"Bushrod Washington, the present proprietor of Mount Vernon, is the
nephew of the General. He seems to be about 60 years of age, is below
the middle size, and apparently nervous and feeble; his complexion is
pale and cadaverous, but his countenance has the lineaments of
benevolence and good nature. He has long been one of the judges of the
supreme court of the United States, and has, during that period,
discovered no deficiency {478} in his acquaintance with the law. His
decisions are, I believe, generally correct, though not very remarkable.
I know not whether he ever was distinguished for his eloquence at the
bar; but little seems to be known of his powers as an advocate or a
lawyer, and that little does not tend to place him much beyond the grade
of mediocrity. Satisfied with the reputation which the fame of his
uncle, the situation he holds, and the wealth he possesses, cast around
him, he feels no motive to exertion, and no desire to render himself
illustrious by his own efforts. He appears to be one of those men to
whom the pleasures of the domestic circle are more seducing than the
fitful, though captivating splendour which surrounds the temples of the
statesman or the warrior, and he prefers what the world would term the
inglorious repose of domestic felicity, to the feverish agitation and
sickly turmoil of public life.
"Mount Vernon has become, like Jerusalem and Mecca, the resort of
travellers of all nations, who come within its vicinity. Veneration and
respect for the memory of the great and illustrious chief, whose body
it contains, lead all who have heard his name, to make a pilgrimage to
the shrine of patriotism and public worth, and to stroll over the ground
which has been consecrated by the repose, and hallowed by the ashes, of
heroism and virtue. A twig, a flower, or even a stone, becomes
interesting, when taken from the spot {479} where Washington lived and
died, and no man quits it without bearing with him some memento to
exhibit to his family and friends."
_17th._--I was revisited yesterday and to-day by Mr. Law, who, in
speaking of my new acquaintance Mr. Fairfax, says, "he is an amiable,
good, and learned man, but like Charles II. 'he never said a foolish
thing, nor ever did a wise one.' He is ever unprepared to protect
himself from cheats. This gentleman is the great great grandson of the
famous Sir Thomas Fairfax, Cromwell's favourite general; he was once the
richest man in America, but exchanged 100,000 acres of Virginia land for
the same quantity in the west country, which he was told abounded in
iron, silver, and other mines; he thus parted with a substance for a
shadow."[157] "He still," says Mr. Elliott, "possesses 100,000 acres,
and one of the warmest and truest hearts in the world. He was brought up
at Mount Vernon, a favourite of General Washington's, who predicted
great things of him." But, says Mr. Law, he has long been living in
prison bounds. His lady lamented to us on Sunday her want of a carriage,
and the hot walks she had to make to town. This gentleman's brother,
Thomas Fairfax, Esq., commonly known as Lord Fairfax, who, in his own
right is a British peer, possesses large unproductive estates, and lives
frequently in disgrace, but both, though lords in England, would feel
themselves {480} highly insulted were they so to be addressed here.
Both are staunch republicans.
I yesterday added to my acquaintance a lord-chancellor, a lord, and two
princes of the Ossage nation of Indians, who with two other chiefs, last
week, went in state (naked) to the Secretary of war, and stamped, and
said, in great anger, they came not here to be cheated out of their
lands. They are fine dignified fellows, speaking only their own wild
language.
Mr. Law, during conversation this day, observed that if this government
would, and he believed they would, adopt his financial system, the
people here would soon flourish again, and every wild spot become a
garden. "Mr. Crawford, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, although he has
recommended a contrary measure, is exactly of my opinion. We are both as
much alike on this subject as pea to pea."
I said, "Mr. Law, would not a visit to England be agreeable? Would it
not tend to lengthen your life?" "O, Sir, it would, but I could not now
live in England; I must be active, and doing that which I deem for the
good of mankind. My opinions would run counter to the powers which be."
"But, Sir," rejoined I, "is it not our duty to be prudent and to seek
the peace of the land we live in? Because in its peace we shall have
peace."
"Certainly! such is the duty of every good man. {481} Why should he
sacrifice himself and family? Mr. A----, your envoy here, seems
suspicious of you on account of your acquaintance with Mr. ----. I am
sorry Mr. ---- should have given such toasts at the dinner on the 4th of
July, in favour of the radicals. What have the radicals to do with
America? These toasts will be sent home by A----. Envoys have nothing to
do but to watch the conduct of British subjects and give reports. I am
sorry that Mr. ----, who is a good, kind-hearted, polite man, should
thus expose himself, and you, and other friends, to suspicion and
misrepresentation."
_19th._--I received the following letter from Mr. Law, addressed to me
at Mr. ----'s.
_Washington, 18th July, 1820._
Dear Sir,
I enclose you a list of garden seeds; if you will make a statement
of the probable amount, I will pay now, or answer your draft after
the purchase. A pound or two of Swedish turnips and of Norfolk
turnips may be added. I shall be happy to pay every attention to
any of my countrymen coming here, and to give them any information
in my power. I regret that I formed your acquaintance so late. My
hay turns out better than I expected, and I hope to have four or
five acres of turnips, as I am sowing between my rows of corn. Any
farming information I shall be very thankful {482} for. I remain,
with wishes for a safe and speedy voyage,
Your most obedient servant,
T. LAW.
Pray write to me by what vessel you send the seeds.
The following letter from Edward Meacher, gardener to Mr. Law, is a
specimen of the easy freedom and familiarity of Yankee labourers. It is
addressed
To Thomas Law, Esq.
_July, 1820._
Sir,
Considering my ill behaviour towards you the other day, I consider
myself culpable; therefore to prevent such like trouble in future
to you, I shall declare upon oath against spirituous liquors, such
as brandy, rum, gin, and whiskey, _except three drams in the
course of each day_, as long as I live with you. Three drams a day
will not injure my health or temper. Upon these conditions I
expect not to displease you in future, which will be a cause, I
hope, for you to encourage me in your employment.
Sir,
From your faithful servant,
EDWARD MEACHER.
{483} _20th._--This day I bade farewell to Washington city and America,
and to all the bright and vivid spirits I found in it.
_21st._--In company with Mr. E. Dumbleton, and my wicked, beautiful,
silver grey squirrel, a native of Maryland, whose brushy tail is his
nightcap, and who eats razors, buttons, bibles, &c., and is therefore
sentenced to transportation for life, I embarked on board the good ship
_Minerva_ of Boston, to Amsterdam bound, and from Alexandria sailed
gently down the great river Potowmac.
After a passage of about 30 days, we arrived at the Isle of Wight. Here
I had the honour to present my most gracious Sovereign with a precious
relic--a cedar-cane cut from the grave of General Washington; together
with six gallons of "elegant, mighty fine claret," purposely sent on a
Yankee voyage of 10,000 miles, to ripen for the use of British royalty.
{484} CONCLUSION
Having reached home, partially recovered what seemed irrecoverably gone,
my long lost health, and told my story, there seems little or nothing to
add, except a few retrospective observations, summarily bearing on the
preceding descriptions, opinions, and decisions, which throughout are
frankly and fearlessly rendered, chiefly aiming to enlighten the
ignorant, and to abash the wicked. "But," says the reader, "to emigrate
or not to emigrate? That is the question!" It is easier to propound than
to answer this inquiry. To seek a refuge from danger, and to fly from
the coming storm, is on the one hand in accordance with one of the first
laws of nature; and on the other hand, it may be said, that to abandon
our hearths, homes, and altars, because our country mourns and is in
trouble, is cowardly. That numbers have gone, are now going, and will
continue to go, is certain; for when there is a surplus population, and
the hive swarms, what shall set bounds to the free-born? To those, then,
who are inevitably destined to roam, friendless, homeless, really lone
strangers in a strange land, and to see their old, much-loved homes, and
the tombs of their fathers no more, I would say: Study the preceding
well-meant pages. I know your wants and feelings. Study, then, I {485}
would say, by every attainable qualification, principle, and sentiment,
to fortify your minds, and make yourselves all which you ought to be.
Plague not yourselves nor the land of your adoption, by importing and
giving perpetuity to homebred prejudices. A nest you will find; but
every where, like that of the nightingale, a thorn within it. Learn,
therefore, yourselves to forget, and as far as in you lies, teach your
posterity also to forget, and to remember only what they ought to
remember. A British origin will be ever honourable in their heraldry.
This is well worth remembrance, and may they never stain, never
dishonour it; but into whatsoever lands they wander, may they seek the
good and peace of that land, for in its good and peace they shall have
peace themselves!
To those whose disgusts and moral and physical disabilities point them
homewards, as prodigals to the house of their fathers, the broad
Atlantic, in the words of the Hon. J. Q. Adams, offers a highway for
their return; having undergone a process by which they shall, perhaps,
learn the vast sum and value of English homes and comforts.
The old family quarrel has evidently made the natives of both countries
somewhat incommiscible; else how is it that the French, Dutch, Germans,
Irish, and strangers of any other land, are more acceptable to America
than the children of the common parent, Great Britain. For to the latter
the most distinguished Americans have heretofore {486} proudly traced
their pedigree, unless some rank and cancerous blemish was in the root
and core of it. Hence all grades blush not to own and call her mother,
though she is denounced by many, and it must be owned with some justice,
as an unnatural parent. But those events have long since become matter
of historical record, and it is not good policy to visit the sins of the
fathers upon the children, from generation to generation. Let both
countries wisely learn to think correctly of their several governments,
and kindly of each other. Peace and goodwill, in all their fruitful
ramifications, will ever bring more silver dollars to the one, and more
golden guineas to the other, than fire-ships, torpedos, battles, blazing
cities, and heroes covered with glory!
"Well! I guess, after all," exclaimed a Yankee friend, "it is a good
land with small faults; necessary evils; seeming evils; good in
disguise." "Yes, it is a good land," rejoined another, in love with it
at first sight, "mine eyes have seen it for myself, and not another. I
am fascinated with it. My return from it would be impossible, but for
the adamantine chain which binds me to my country. My heart tempts me,
but my duty forbids me to break it." Hasty conclusions like hasty
matches, are rarely happy, and so it was with our enthusiast; for in
less than two years of patient trial and perpetual travel, he very
gladly returned to his native country, joyfully repeating,
{487} ----"Whoe'er thou art,
Cling to thy home. If there the meanest shed
Yield thee a hearth and shelter for thy head,
And some poor plot with vegetables stor'd,
Be all that heav'n allots thee for thy board,
Unsavoury bread, and herbs that scatter'd grow
Wild on the river bank, or mountain brow,
Yet ev'n this cheerless mansion shall provide
More heart's repose than all the world beside."
Finally; were, however, America, of which I now perhaps take my leave
for ever, every thing that the purest patriotism could make it, yet the
climate is an evil, a perpetual evil, a mighty drawback, an almost
insurmountable obstacle to the health, wealth, and well-being of all,
except the native red and black man, the genuine aboriginal, and the
unstained African, for whom alone this land of promise, this vast
section of the earth, this new and better world, seems by nature to have
been intended. Otherwise, it is argued, would noisome pestilence
annually desolate its cities and districts, and every where unsparingly
and prematurely people the grave? In spite, however, of climes, tropical
or changeful, torrid or frigid, and of constitutional predisposition to
sickness, health, physical and moral, is much more at the command of
mankind than she is generally supposed to be. Temperance, abstinence,
and exertion, approximating to labour, in free air, are the essential
handmaids to health, and enable a man to laugh at doctors, and to
withstand the effects of climate. Hence, then, {488} in whatsoever
climes, stations, or circumstances, my reader may be found, let him
learn to think health worth a sacrifice. To persons, whose fortune it
may be to encounter the risks of this dangerous and debilitating
climate, I would especially say: Let ablutions and affusions of pure,
cold spring water, become habitual with you, and as a beverage, let
water be substituted for wine, whiskey, and alcohol in all its forms.
Let milk supply the place of tea, coffee, and other stimulants; and let
tobacco, snuff, and all the family of narcotics, be abandoned. Surely
health is ever, what a late venerable friend of his species was often
wont to call her, _the Sugar of Life_. He who thinks and acts otherwise
rarely finds health, and never deserves her.