The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. XII, Part 30

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870
Publication date: 1828
Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ;
Number of Pages: 438

USA > Pennsylvania > The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. XII > Part 30

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For beauty, wit, High birth, vigour of bone, desert in service, Love, friendship, charity, are subjects all To envious and calumniating time.

Were it necessary for the present purpose, it could be demonstrated that youth is scarcely less qualfied for hold exploits than for untiring study. Many are the examples from Alexander of Macedonia to Napoleon Bonaparte of early greatness. There are not a few where it has been succeeded by comparative feebleness in middle life.' But the instances are rare of capacity in age engrafted upon slothfulness and imbecility in earlier years.

In pursuing a course of honorable and useful instruc- tion,a broad basis must be laid in attainments of univer- sal value. The disposition and the talent for a particu- lar pursuit may not soon be developed, and until they

If activity and enterprise are better suited to the. temper than a life of study and comparative retirement, commerce presents her never ceasing charms. No corner of the great globe is inaccessible to her visits. She gratifies the most ardent curiosity by an intercourse and immediate alliance with the remotest climes. To the enterprising she affords the widest scope for un- tiring activity; to the generous she furnishes the readi- est and most abundant means for the exercise of liber- ality. Stores of wealth are accumulated by the skill and industry of the merchant. But he feels himself to be rather the faithful steward who is to distribute them, than the avaracious master who is to hoard them during life, or to commit them in a course of unnatural primo- geniture to the perils of profligacy and vicious expen- ditures, when he can no longer dispense or enjoy them .. In a country like our own, where pomp has no para- sites and riches alone cannot secure esteem, the virtues of the liberal merchant are especially conspicuous. Of what avail are boundless treasures to himself, if they cannot purchase for him a coronet or seat him in a palace? How inestimable is their value when they are devoted to the embellishment and honour of his coun- try! The munificence of the De Medici towards the

* " Quid dicam de thesauro rerum omnium, memoria? Cic. de Orat, lib. 1, 19.

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city of Florence, has been emulated in a course of ge- nerous rivalship among ourselves. In one city the ac- quisitions of commerce are directed during the life of their proprietor with judicious kindness to the cultiva- tion of literature, or to open the eyes of the blind. In another they are poured forth in posthumus profusion in various channels, to embellish, to instruct, and to improve. Where shall we look for a parallel to the prudence and care in the acquisition of wealth, or the disinterested liberality in the distribution of it, which have been exhibited in the recent instance of Stephen Girard? His laborious life of never changing fidelity, teaches a striking lesson how wealth the most extensive may be acquired. His devotion of more than six millions to the benefit of his fellow citizens, and of that a large portion directly to the purposes of education, furnishies a bright example how it should be bestowed.

Who can feel the charms of nature, or that knows the value and the bliss of domestic peace, is insensible to the invitations of a country life? There, the ruder passions are softened, and the more restless ones are tranquilized and subdued. Labour gives flavour to the frugal meal and secures repose to the toil worn limbs. If the sphere of action be more limited, that of contemplation is more extensive. If the opportunities tor shining actions are not so frequent and various, the temptations to those of an opposite character are less abundant. Yet a life of retirement would be altogether uncongenial to him whose resources within himself are not a substitute for society. A- mind disciplined by deep reflection, a body invigorated by toil, may qual fy their possessor for the most difficult and responsible employments, and for stations the most dignified and exalted. The ancients would have peopled with spirit- ual instructors the shady grove. They would have im- puted to an intercourse with its tutelar inhabitants, the knowledge and wisdom which solitude and study are competent to confer. They would have sought a sovereign or a general at the door of his cottage, or at the tail of the plough; and they would have justified their choice in the wisdom of a Numa, and the valour of a Cincinnatus.

At every period of civil society when the smallest in- gredient of freedom has entered into the composition ot the government, the public interests have been close- ly united to the profession of the law. Judging by the numbers that throng the path, it is the most attractive to the young aspirant for fame. Little, however, do they who regard at a distance, know the thorns with which its steep ascent abounds. Labour and respon- sibility attend its every footstep; and when at last its giddiest heights are gained, few and fortunate are the travellers who even there can find repose. Yet its la- bours are not inelegant, nor its duties barren in results grateful to the generous mind. Oppression may be burdensome in the extreme, and tyranny may he com- plicated beyond endurance, if the oppressed are left to seek relief by their own unassisted appeals to justice. Many are ignorant of their rights; more are unable to command the time and the means which are required to assert them. Poverty may be crushed by the " oppres- sor's wrongs"-suffering virtue may be unprotected from " the proud man's contumely"-innocence may sink under the rebuke and " insolence of office." To wipe the tear from the widow's and the orphan's eye; to shield the weak from the blow of proud oppression; and to vindicate from all abuse the majesty and the pu . rity of justice, are the duty and the delight of the virtuous lawyer. And oh! how awful, how almost more than human are the powers committed to his charge, if he assume the office of a judge or a seat in the coun- cils of his country. The issues of life and death depend upon his nod; a nation's fate may hang upon his lips. If ignorance or indolence debase his mind, or caprice or passion sway his judgment, the magnitude of his power is equalled by the extremity of his crime.

To all these professions and pursuits a liberal educa-

tion is valuable, to some of them it is indispensable. Besides these, other occupations are presented to the ambitious scholar for which the course of instruction here adopted will eminently qualify him. Every part of this great continent seems destined to become the theatre of improvements, which in many places are al- ready far advanced in their progress, and at periods more or less remote, will embrace the whole. Agri- culture is promoted among us to the rank of a science. Roads and canals are intersecting various portions of the land; connecting distant waters, and penetrating the bosoms or ascending the summits of the proudest mountains. The rapid and universal advancement of an enlightened age requires that the prolific earth should be made to yield its rich resources, and that all the elements should be brought into contribution to facilitate and give effect to the labours of mankind. Already have stores been unlocked which preceding ages had not ventured to explore. Art has revoked the decrees of nature in annihilating distances which she had made extreme. In the furtherance of these gigantic objects, a large supply of talent and science will always be required throughout the land. But it is especially in this portion of it that the qualities referred to will find their home. 'A territory of more than twenty- seven millions of acres is to be compressed into the narrowest limits, as respects the ready interchange of productions and the mutual access and intercourse of its inhabitants; while its broad surface as to its produc- tiveness under the effect of cultivation, and its capa- cious bosom as a rich, various and extensive repository, must be boundless as the firmament. Without detract- ing from the merits of her sister commonwealths, Penn- sylvania claims to possess an unsurpassed combina· · tion of resources and advantages. Her noble rivers, luxuriant soil, unmeasured mines, and vigorous, hardy, practical and industrious population, may challenge as a whole the competition of the fairest of her sisterhood. Every material which is necessary to the moral greatness of man is found in abundance within her bowels. Gold and silver alone are rare. Nor will she lament their scarcity or envy the possession of them in greater ex- tent by her neighbours. When Cræsus, king of Lydia, had displayed to the Athenian lawgiver his shining horde of gold, and hoped that it had excited the admi- tion of the philosopher, he was himself astonished at the suggestion that all of it might become the ready prey of those who had iron to conquer it. This is truly the precious metal, whose use contributes most to human happiness and strength-the material of the plough share and the pruning hook, of the ax, the anvil, and the steam engine.

It is the pride and privilege of Pennsylvania that she can fasten the bonds of union which connect the differ- ent members of this great republic together, by pouring her inexhaustible resources into the lap of each, and by receiving in her turn the supplies of her adventurous and persevering fellow labourers of the north, and the generous products of the fertile south. In situation and in strength she will delight to continue the key stone of the vast political arch as long as it shall rest upon the foundations of freedom and virtue, and while each particular section remains true to its position and firm in its hold. And if, in an evil hour, the schemes of ill directed ambition shall prevail, and this fair frame of government shall be destroyed, she will rise in unassisted strength, and standing in reluctant though secure reli- ance upon her own resources, she will mourn over the glittering fragments that are scattered around her.

In a comprehensive scheme of education, every source of moral and intellectual culture must be resorted to. Were precept alone sufficient to regulate the conduct and inform the understanding, all would be good and wise. Writings under the influence of divine inspira- tion and human intelligence are full of lessons which, if carefully learned and faithfully applied to the actions of men, are sufficient to guard against error and pre-

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[AUGUST

serve an adherence to wisdom, rectitude and truth. But precept is often colder than the heart, and is therefore uncongenial to its feelings. It is less active than the temper, and therefore cannot keep pace with its movements. Even conscience herself, were she always well instructed and correct in her determinations, it is obvious from daily observation, may be lulled to sleep by interest, or if she speaks, her still small voice may be drowned by the tumults of pleasure or of business. The magic ring of the Arabian story which reminded the wearer of his duty as he was about to depart from it, became irksome and was thrown aside. If it were practicable to be attended at all times by some sagacious friend, whose influence could not be resisted, and who should arrest the crring purpose in the breast, it would destroy that moral responsibility, which is an ingredi- ent of our nature. It would require besides, a guardian like the Mentor of Telemachus of more than human wisdom and spotless purity. Next in efficiency to such actual companionship is the example when it can be vividly exhibited, of those whose lives and actions ap- proaching the nearest to perfection, afford the safest model for study and imitation, and whose characters may be exhibited, purified from their bodily particles of human imperfection and infirmity. The Roman youth were urged always to conduct themselves as if the eye of Cato were upon them. Measuring their steps by his example, they were not to stagnate into sloth, or run into vice.

The founders of this institution, influenced by similar considerations have wisely associated with it, some of the names, and thus created an obvious connexion with the characters, that have given especial renown to the nation.

The name of Lafayette is a pledge for the combina- tion of many virtues. It has been said that no man's fame can be established till his death. So feeble is human nature in its best condition, that while this frail body remains united to its immortal companion, there is always danger that a single error may forfeit the repu- tation which it was the well directed object of a long and blameless life to acquire. But a rare union of esti- mable qualities, without the alloy of opposite and counteracting faults-intrepidity without rashness- generosity without extravagance-a desire to excel without dangerous or designing ambition-sincerity without sternness-kindness without effeminacy -- and confidence without credulity - seem to afford a pledge that the straight and consistent course which has been heretofore pursued by the good Lafayette may be con- tinued to the end There was an awful crisis in the struggle of these states for freedom. Exertion was almost exhausted. Disasters had been endured until patriotism tired of their repetition, and no prospect opened of their end. All was gloom. Even hope itself was sinking rapidly into despondency. At such a mo- ment unlooked for succor came. The moral principle was exemplified that no disease is hopeless but despair. The drooping cause of liberty required an influence more imposing than its own merits, and it was afforded in the arm and the countenance of a youthful noble- man. It needed an example of great pecuniary risk, and it was found in the disinterested liberality which set a princely fortune on the cast. The tide of adversity he- gan at once to turn. The sympathies of the world encouraged another effort, and the result was the at- tainment of victory and the security of freedom. Through the varying fortunes of the French nation, which has breathed an atmosphere of intense excitement if not of absolute revolution for more than forty years, it is the glory of Lafayette that he never departed from the line which his generous nature marked out from the begin- ning. In the chaos of anarchy he opposed the mad career of popular phrenzy. In the reign of despotism, he did not disguise his love of liberty. If the hope of contributing to the happiness of his country ever led him to unite in counsels which were ultimately disas-

trous, he had the magnanimity to withdraw from them when the means became licentious or the end unjust. Always the same generous friend, the same gallant sol- dier, the same disinterested patriot. Tranquil and con- sistent in his purposes at the head of armies or under a load of chains-defending the cause of humanity in the senate house, or pouring forth his blood on the field of glory. May the laurel which surrounds his honoured brows long retain its verdure, and when his eyes shall close in death, may it bloom in perpetual freshness on his grave.

The name of Lafayette is here associated with others long since hallowed by the sanctifying influence of the tomb. When the children of America shall have ex- hausted all their fund of gratitude, they will come far short of what they owe to Franklin for the benefits he has conferred upon them and upon mankind. In the city, where for the most part he resided, and where his ashes rest, the eye can scarcely turn to a long establish- ed object of general good, that does not owe its origin largely to his public spirit and exertions. His example has sometimes been quoted as an argument against the necessity and value of polite learning. Nothing could be more erroneous. The founder of the earliest College in the country, now an extensive university; of that noble Library which scatters knowledge with a lavish hand; of that Philosophical Society, whose untiring ef- forts have continued to increase in ardour and useful- ness-could no more be charged with failing in his love of literature, than he could be suspected of wanting the qualities of the heart, while the Pennsylvania Hospital stands a proud and enduring monument of his philan- thropy. His own native force of intellect, indeed enabled him to overcome the want of a systematic edu- cation in early life; yet it was in an enthusiastic devo- tion to the pages of the classic Xenophon, that he be. came enamoured of the character of Socrates and learn- ed to adopt it for his model as a philosopher.

But there is one whose name and example are happily blended with the hopes of this rising institution, who united all the manly consistency of Lafayette, and all the fervent patriotism of Franklin, with qualities which were peculiarly his own. The characters of men of a distant age, like those of the events in which they engaged, may be obscured by time or misrepresented by tradition. Historians have pointed out in the long catalogue of names that have shone in the annals of nations, two that have been handed down spotless. These are Alfred of England, and Marcus Aurelius, who wept when he became an Emperor. But they impute their freedom from all reproach to the imperfection of history itself, and consider their defects so necessarily incident to mankind, that they must have been buried with the recollections of their cotemporaries Not so with Washington. The generation which came with him into life has indeed departed. That too which succeeded and witnessed his exploits, is rapidly passing away, and soon, very soon, not a vestige of it will re- main. But the country is yet full of those who form, as it were, links which are to connect the days of Wash- ington with those of his posterity. It is for them to take care that the knowledge of his especial qualities does not partake of the fleeting properties of almost all things human, and like them melt away and be forgot- ten. Let then his cotemporaries, for such are all that have attained the age of four and thirty years, with the knowledge which they possess, of all that envy may have distorted or disappointment feigned-let them with the influence of immediate contact, and without the advantages which distance of time may afford to a doubtful character-let them record his feelings if they can.

Other heroes may have won more blood stained tro- phies. Other conquerors may have ruled over more populous empires. But the occasion and the individual never were so adapted to each other, conduct never was displayed so eminently fitted to produce its happy

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and glorious result, as in the instance of the American Revolution and the early history of these United States -and George Washington. More brilliant exploits might perhaps have been performed to dazzle the eye, but they might too have marred the work which was to be achieved by an unpretending heroism as novel as it was illustrious. The triumphs of the warrior might perhaps have been more resplendent, but they would have en- dangered the safety of his country. The great man whose name you have assumed, was like many of the heroes of the ancient world, but in the essential pro- perties of greatness, he surpassed them all. Home bred and home devoted he was the model for Ameri- cans. In war the undaunted soldier with the circum- spection of a philosopher, in peace the sagacious states- men with the nerve and vigour of a warrior.

With all the advantages and inducements that have been adverted to, what more could be desired to in- flame the ardour of honourable ambition, or crown the efforts of successful zeal? The character and conquests of your ancestors, are sacred pledges confided to your hands. The cause of science is the cause of freedom, of virtue, and of happiness. The institutions of our country give value and importance to the services of all her citizens, and should stimulate the most diffident of them to put forth his utmost strength. The occupa- tions and pursuits presented to them are full of moral and intellectual enjoyment. The great commonwealth of which we are the immediate inhabitants teems with resources, opportunities and rewards. The names of patriots and sages are assumed by you, as badges of adoption into the parent seminary, and of emulation among her sons. If worthily worn they are emblems of honour; if abused or neglected they are the marks of shame. Thus excited to manly exertion, were your abode cast in the mournful cloister and surrounded by the sands of the inhospitable desert, you could scarcely fail to rise to the rank of accomplished scholars and estimable men. But around you all nature speaks in glorious harmony with the feelings and desires, which every gilded recollection, which every buoyant hope is calculated to inspire. The muse of history is yet young amongst us. Yet her records already show that yonder lofty hills crowned with luxuriant foliage, these copi- ous rivers now loaded with ample freights, those fertile plains now rich in abundant harvests, were bestowed by providence for wiser purposes than to nourish game for the savage, or afford indulgence to his barbarous sports. Their first rude master has departed. His war-whoop at the murderous onset, no longer echoes in the valleys- his retiring footstep no longer marks the mountain path with blood. They are as little destined for the abode of the untutored and ignorant, who in the natural pro- gress of events succeeded. They too have done their duty and have gone to subdue other forests and to pre- pare for the husbandmen other fields. A wilderness has given place to the cultivated plain, and smiling towns lift their spires where at no distant day the stur- dy stroke of the pioneer alone resounded. Every thing is accomplished except the task of the scholar. That great work is reserved especially for you. Guided and conducted by the good and wise, patronized by the liberal, and encouraged by all, this rising institution depends for its reputation and success on those who have enrolled themselves as its pupils and are to carry abroad in their own accomplishments, its character and fame. Should you falter and fail in the great 1 ace that is running by all around you, how deep and lasting will be your reproach. But should you in untiring zeal, successfully strive with them for the mastery, im- mortal may be your glory, immeasurable your re- ward.

Mr. Albert C. Lester, of Quakertown, Bucks coun- ty, shot a large bald Eagle, in the vicinity of that place, a few days since, which measured six feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.

From the Commercial Herald. SKETCHES OF PENNSYLVANIA.

No. 9.

We shall devote the present number to some general observations in regard to the Mountain Ranges of Penn- sylvania, which belonged in strictness to the last, but were excluded from want of space.

It will be remembered that proceeding from the east to west, we have designated and described, six distinct mountain formations, passing through Pennsylvana and extending great distances to the north-east and south- west. There are 1st. the Blue ridge or Welsh moun- tain. 2d, the Blue ridge, of Virginia, known in Penn- sylvania as the Conewago and Lehigh hills. 3d, the Kittatiny or Blue mountains. 4th, the Great Allegha- ny. 5th, the Laurel hill; and the 6th, the Chesnut ridge. We have also described several ranges between the Kittatiny and Alleghany, which occupy the central mountain region of the state.

As a proof of the correctness of our remark, that by the courses of the mountains, the leading communica- tions through the country were in a great degree regu- lated, it is worthy of note that nearly all the important post roads from the north-east to south-west, lie parallel to these ranges, and in the valleys which separate these ranges from each other. From the city of Washington, for example, three great post roads lead to the south- west, below the first, second and third ridges which we have described, and parallel to them.

As a general rule the mountains of Pennsylvania in- crease in elevation as you proceed westward, until you pass the Alleghany. After that, there is a comparative decline. The elevation of the Mine ridge probably ne- ver exceeds 800 feet above tide water-that of the Blue ridge is about 1200, and of the Kittatiny about 1500. The Broad mountain in many places attains to the height of 2000 feet. The Alleghany mountain at Blair's gap, where the Pennsylvania Railway crosses it, is 2291 above the tide water. This is however one of the lowest passes; its general elevation is probably from 2500 to 2800 feet; at the point where it is proposed to tunnel that mountain for the Chesapeake and Ohio Ca- nal, the height is 2754 feet.

In tracing the various mountain ranges, we have not heretofore followed them further than the Hudson river towards the north and east. We have had one reason for this omission. That river is in itself an anomaly. For 150 miles of its course it is an arm of the sea extend- ing through several great mountain formations without interruption to the flow of the tides from the Ocean. No other such instance can be found in the United States.

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The Register of Pennsylvania : devoted to the preservation of facts and documents and every other kind of useful information respecting the state of Pennsylvania, Vol. XII, Part 30

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870 Publication date: 1828 Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ; Number of Pages: 438

Author: Hazard, Samuel, 1784-1870
Publication date: 1828
Publisher: Philadelphia : Printed by W.F. Geddes ;
Number of Pages: 438