CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THIS BOOK IS ONE OF A COLLECTION MADE BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 AND BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 1 873 366 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924101873366 THK LIFE THOMAS PAINE, AUTHOR OF "COMMON SENSE," "RIGHTS OF MAN," 'JlGE OFIREASON," '1 ETC., ETC. WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY OBSEEYATIONS ON HIS WEITINGS. BY G. VALE, EDITOE OF " THE CITIZEN OF THE WORLD," NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, CITIZEN OF THE WORLD OFFICE, NO. I BOWERY (CH.4THAM SQUAREj CONTENTS. Profane, containing^ earlier Histories, Cheetham's Trial, Carver's Letter^ &c p. 3-14 PART 1. Mr. Paine, his birth, parentage, early life, education, religious impressions .... 16 Employment, ariives in London, goes to sea 17 Leaves the sea, his Schoi)lhjept in cyipnig to Amer- ica, c^nexiJfi}'^^h*J3it. Rush, his literary 'a^Bpimenjis, a beauiiful ex^ tract *.\r-\\iii/- 20-33 Publishes " Om%ifflj-vgei\s,e,'\ its ef- fects, gives up copy-ri^hL, enters the army as a volunteer 50-53 Publishes the "Crisis," an extract, Cheetham's account of its influence on the Trenton aflRiir, 2d " Crisii," to Lord Huwe, 3d " Crisis," appoint- ed Secretary to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 54, 55 4th " Crisis," on the loss of the battle at Brandywine, salutary effects of this Crisis, 5th " Crisis" (to Lord Il'owe), on predatory war, distribu- tion of forged bills 56 6th "-Crisis," to Carlisle, Clinton, &o., in ridicule of * rightful sovereign," after the treaty with France, 7th " Crisis," to the People of England, resigns his office of Secretary .... 58, 59 Becomes Clerk to the Legislature of Pennsyivaaia, 8th " Crisis," address to the People of England, 9th " Cri- sis," after the loss of Charleston . . 60, 61 ** Crisis Extraordinary" on taxes, pro- poses in a letter to Mr. Isard of South Carolina, a loan from France, aricum- panies Col. Laurens tu France, effects a loan, intention to visit England, advice of Gen. Greene, obtains the deapatchi^B of an English packet, a French fleet, gives Ave hundred dol- lars in relief of the Trejisury .... 62-64 10th " Crisis" after the uapiure t)f Corn- wallis, a supernumerary " Crisis" to Sir Guy Carleton, letter to Lni-dShel- burne, 12th " Crisis," publication of "PubUc Good," his disinterestedness and pecuniary loss from Virginia . . 65-67 HiK letter to Abbe Rayaal, Washing- ton's regard for Mr. Paine's services 68,69 Receives $3,000 from Congress, re- ceives 500Z. frora Pennsylvania, re- ceives from New Yurk an estate at Rochelle, publishes " Dissertation on Government, do. on " Paper Money," commences a private subscription, ■when public failed 71-78 PART in. Mr. Paine, his departure from America, object, reception in France, iron bridge, visits Sir Joseph Banks, his mother, publishes " Prospects on the Rubicon," connexion with Society of Arts, their meanness 75,76 Assisted by Mr. Whiteside, leaves Eng- land for France, account of French Revolution 77 Replies lo Burke, secretly opposed by Government, "Rights of Man," .. 94-96 Goes to France, danger, reply to Abbe Syeyes, returns to London, address at Thatched House, 2d paft of" Rights of Man," Government offers to bribe or purchase the printer 97-100 Prosecuted, his letter, addresses against *■ Rights of Man" by corporations, dec, " Address to the Address- ers" 101-106 Elected to the French Convention, treatment at Dover and Calais, elect- ed for Abbeville, Beauvais, and Ver- sailles, his trial and conviction, re- tailers prosecuted 107-109 A list of his publisheis prosecuted, so- cial life in London, opposition to the death of the King of France, hated by Marat and others, attacked by Capt. Gninstone 110-113 His life in Paris, expelled the Conven- tion by a motion to expel foreigners, is imprisoned by a motion to imprison persons born in England, publishes "Age of Reason," Americans in Paris seek his release, coldness of Wash- ington, and Moms the American Minister in France, writes 2d part of *'Age of Reason," his letter to Mon- roe, and reply 114-118 Released from prison, visits Mr. Mon- roe, miraculous escape, inviced to re- turn to the Convention, publishes "Age of Reason," its principles, Llandaff *s reply, the publisher Wil- liams prosecuted 119-125 His speech on Boissy d'Anglas* consti- tution, adopted, convention termi- nated, Mr. Paine not re-elected, 2d part of "Age of Reason," " Disser- tation on Government," "Agrarian Justine," English Finances, his let- ter to Washington, his letter to a lady at New York, and attachment to America 126, 127 "A Theophilanthropist," his letter on the 16th Fructidor, to Camille Jor- dan, Mr. Paine at one time unpopu- lar in France, resides in Bonne- ville's family, resolves on leaving France 128-130 His moral and social Character in , France 131-134 His treatment by historians and book- sellers, his iron bridge, poetry, his attempt to return, and final return to America 13&140 PREFACE. There are four lives of Mr. Thomas Paine now extant y'but none in print in the United States. Francis Oldys, or a p/rson under that nan\,e, wrote a life of Mr. Paine about th/ year 1792, while Mr. Paine was yet alive, and active in tWe prog- ress of the French Revolution. This life was written in fact by George Chalmers, one of the clerks of the Board of Plant- ation, at the instigation of Lord Hawksbury, afterward Lord Liverpool, for which he gave him five hundred pounds. Mr. Chalmers acknowledged the authorship of this book. This we have never seen ; it has sunk into oblivion ; it partly served the political purpose for which it was written, but the enemies of Mr. Paine and the Rights of Man were too prudent to en- dorse its acknowledged calumnies, and identify themselves with this transaction. Immediately after the death of Paine, Cheetham wrote his life in 1809. Cheetham was an Englishman and had been a zealous disciple of Paine, both in politics and religion ; but he had retrogaded in politics, and deserted the. principles of the democratic party ; Paine had attacked him with his accus- tomed force, and thus converted him into a personal enemy. Mr. Cheetham at this time edited a party paper (the Citizen) in New York, and while he was yet smarting under the lash of Paine, heated by party politics, and fired with revenge, ' like the ass in the fable, he kicked, not indeed the dying, but the dead lion, by writing the life of his adversary. Cheet- * PREFACE, ham, however, connected this with a scheme of interest ; for, becoming the deadly enemy of democracy, and losing the support of his old friends (for he was turned out of the Tam- many society), he was preparing to go to Europe, and enlist in support of the tory government in England, by publishing a paper opposed to Cobbett, who had just come out in opposi- tion to the government ; a'hd Cheetham apparently meant this life of Paine as a passport to the British treasury favor : at least, such was the opinion of the intimate friend of Cheet- ham, Mr. Charles Christian, who gave this relation to Mr. John Fellows and others, whom we have seen, and from whom we have learned this fact. This life of Paine, the only one published in the United States, abounds in calumnies, and af- ter a lapse of some years caused the production of two other lives, one by Clio Rickman, the intimate friend of Mr. Paine for many years, and another by Mr. W. T. Sherwin, both pub- lished in London. Mr. Rickman was an excellent, amiable man, of the quaker profession, with whom Mr. Paine lived both in England and France, at different periods, and with whom he kept up a constant correspondence. The life of Paine, however, by Mr. Rickman, is sullied by a little vanity ; he is to Paine, what Boswell was to Johnson. We are indebt- ed to Mr. Rickman for many facts on which we can rely ; but with the best intentions he was not the man to do Mr. Paine justice. The best life of Paine before published, is that of Sherwin ; and from this life we shall freely extract. But Mr. Sherwin is incorrect on some points, and his whole work is so exclu- sively adapted to a London reader, that it is deteriorated for this market. Mr. Paine changed public opinion in favor of a republic at the time of the Revolution ; his earliest en- ergies were in favor of American liberty ; it was here that his mighty powers were first developed, and here his political principles took root. His success in the United States brought him out in Europe ; and his "Rights of Man," which shook the corrupt government of England, and endeared him to all France and every friend of liberty, was based upon his " Com- mon Sense," which had concentrated public opinion in favor of a declaration of independence. And when the buds of PREFACE. liberty were nipped in England and France, to this country Mr. Paine retired, as his proper home, at the invitation of Jefferson, then the president, and avowedly the greatest and best statesman this country has knovirn. And here, too, he died in peace, in a good old age, the firm and consistent friend of liberty. To this country, then, in a special manner belongs his life ; here are his most numerous friends and personal ac- quaintances ; it is here that the calumnies propagated by Cheetham may be effectually rebutted, by living witnesses yet in the sound possession of their faculties ; and it is here that Paine can be identified with every crisis in the glorious Revolution which gave birth to this nation, which has set the glorious example of republicanism, whose principles are now progressing in the world. The want of a life thus identifying Mr. Paine with the glories of our Revolution, is our apology for our present undertaking. The life of Paine by Cheetham" has had a considerable influence ; for though his calumnies are palpable, and his mo- tives in publishing them apparent, he has given to them a de- gree of credibility by the free use of names, which the reader necessarily concludes are respectable references for the facts he has stated ; fortunately, however, a public trial, in which he was convicted of libel, showed the shallow foundation on which his slander rested, and our acquaintance with some of the persons to whom he refers, enables us flatly to contradict these statements, and to denounce him on the very authority of many of his references as the utterer of gross falsehoods, to which he attached without their consent their names. With much ingenuity he relates a slander as a matter of fact, as if there were abundance of evidence, and apparently refers to the only source of this slander, as if this formed but a small part of his proof. Thus he declared Madame Bonne- ville to 1 • '.. mistress of T. Paine, as if that fact were no- torious ; lie pr )duces no proof, but inserts a letter from Mr. W. Carver, written in anger, after a quarrel, in which such an insinuation is made, merely from the fact of that lady bringing her family to^merica, and leaving her husband in France. Madame Bonneville prosecuted Cheetham for this assertion, and Cheethrna an that trial produced no other evidence than 6 PREFACE. Carver and his angry letter. His counsel admitted the false- ness of the charge, and pleaded only the insinuation in. Car- ver's letter as justifying Cheatham as an historian to repeat the slander. This trial excited great interest at the time. The press generally reported it ; and the brief facts with the counsel's speech have been preserved in a pamphlet form, from which pamphlet we shall give the introduction and a few extracts as pertinent to our object : — [the introduction.] " One James Cheetham, a man who had once been an editor of a republican paper in New York, had abandoned his past professions, and become the advocate of the British party in Atnerica. Among other means to serve them, he undertook to write the life of Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense,' 'Rights of Man,' &c., &c. In this biography, he introduced the name of Madame Bonneville, a virtuous and respectable lady, the wife of N. Bonneville of Paris. He charged her with prostitution ; said Paine was her paramour, and that one of her sons had the features, countenance, and temper of Thomas Paine. For this atrocious attack on the character of Madame Bonneville, and outrage to her feelings, Mr. Cheet- ham was indicted for a libel, and on the 19th of June, 1810, his trial was brought on. The counsel for the libeller took two grounds of defence : 1st. That the facts charged were true. 2d. That the defendant was an historian, and, as such, had a right to publish what he had heard and believed, though it reflected on an innocent person. The first position was, after a contemptible effort to support it, abandoned even by the libeller's counsel. They were ashamed of it themselves. Several ladies of the first distinc- tion, whose daughters had been intrusted to the care of Mad- ame Bonneville, to learn the French language, appeared in court, and attested to the unblemished character of this much- injured female. The counsel for the libeller than had recourse to their last ground, and strenuously maintained the principle they had laid down. They perhaps felt confidence in the court, as it had, in an early stage of the trial, intimated an opinion favor- able to the new and extravagant pretension, \^ich set up a libeller under the title of an historian. Nor was this confi- dence misplaced. Mr. Recorder Hoffman directed the jury, that if they should be of opinion, that Mr. Cheetham had PREFACl!. 7 been informed of what he wrote, and believed it, he was justi- fied, and that, though Madame Bonneville was an innocent woman, they were authorized to acquit Mr. Cheetham. He also read the letter of a man, by the name of Carver, as a justification of the libeller, though his counsel had not men- tioned it. This monstrous doctrine, which leads to the prostration of private reputation, if not to the dissolution of civil society, was promptly rejected by the jury, although composed of men of different political sentiments, who returned in a few min- utes a verdict of guilty. The court, however, when the libeller came up the next day to receive his sentence, highly commended the book which contained the libellous publication, declared that it tended to serve the cause of religion, and imposed no other punishment on the libeller, than the payment of two hundred and fifty dollars, with a direction that the costs- be taken out of it. It is fit to remark, lest foreigners who are unacquainted with our political condition, should receive erroneous impres- sions, that Mr. Recorder Hoffman does not belong to what is called the republican party in America, but has been elevated to office by men in hostility to it, who obtained a temporary ascendency in the councils of the state." EXTRACTS FROM MR. SAMPSOn's SFKECH ON THE "TRIAL OF MR. JAMES CHEETHAM, FOR A LIBEL ON MRS. MARGARET BONNEVILLE, IN HIS LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. "In every other grief than that which this historian has in- flicted on her the innocent find comfort ; for innocence is in all other wrongs, against all other strokes of man's injustice or oppression, a sevenfold shield. Not so where woman's honor is assailed ; suspicion there is worse than death itself. It is that for which alone the innocent wife of Cesar was repu- diated. The man who dares attack it is of all other criminals the greatest. If he be not a traitor it is for this alone that he is worse. For many a man has suffered as a traitor, whom after-ages have revered and honored. But never was he who set his cloven-hoof upon a woman's honor worthy the name of man. [Here the defendant rose and claimed the protection of the court, not so much with a desire to prevent the range of the ingenious counsel, as to prevent the utterance of personalities, that it would not he prudent perhaps to repeat out of court. While the defendant was addressing the court, the counsel calmly advanced, and taking a pinch of snuff, modestly ob- served, that what he was doing was in court, and what was to be done out of court was not to be talked of here. Then , 8 PREFACE. pointing to the defendant, and casting a significant look upon him, he proceeded.] This unrighteous man has, by this very movement of his choler, justified all that I can ever say. If he complains of personalities — he who is hardened in every gross abuse — he who lives reviling and reviled ; who might construct him- self a monument, with no other materials but those records to which he is a party, and in which he stands enrolled as an offender — if he cannot sit still to hear his accusation, but calls for the protection of the court against a counsel, whose duty it is to make his crimes appear— how does she deserve protection whom he has driven to the sad necessity of coming here to vindicate her honor from those personalities which he has lavished on her % Did not his opening counsel say before you that ' he could make the color fade upon this lady's cheek, and wish that she might be in court to hear him 1 re- gret that her own son was not here to testify against her V Was not this monstrous personality! And when it is consid- ered that before this very cause drew near its close, the other counsel of this same defendant rose and told you, that 'they admitted her character was spotless, and for that reason that no reproach was cast upon it, desire you to acquit their inno- cent client, who is a mere historian, who never could have malice, who was more ready to rectify his errors, than others to observe him.' But it is well, and I am glad that I was interrupted ; for the very evil genius that waits upon his life has here, for once, worked to an honest end. For while my voice was almost choked with crowding truths, struggling for utterance, and while the swell of honest indignation rose even to suffoca- tion, he came forward and pointed my attention to that sub- ject which first deserved rebuke. I had said, that in the catalogue of crimes none could be found more base than his. Not treason, for the reasons I have given. Not murder ; for he who murders life, murders all sorrow with it ; but he has doctoed this lady to days of sorrow, and to lingering death. The pirate meets his foe, or seeks liis prey, where death and danger stare him in the face ; and when he falls before the sword of justice, some sympathy may mingle with his shame, and men regret that o^-" so brave in manly enterprise should fall so ignominiously. Bui here is an attack upon a woman far from her husban<;'s sice, from friends and home, whose infant sons are yet too ttnder to avenge their mother's wrongs. The forger wl.o counterfeits some instrument to cheat you of your money, for that crime spins out his wretched days in hard captivity, in infamy and labor-: will you compare his crime with that of one who, by his fabricated histories, pilfers from helpless voman the only PREFACE. 9 precious jewel which she prizes — her more than life, her all — her spotless honor l That which the robber or the thief purloins may be retrieved, or may be spared ; but not the worth of twenty thousand beings such as the libeller, were he worth twenty thousand times as much as ever he will be, reform how he may, would pay the twenty thousandth part of that which he has taken. It is argued that everything should be intended in favor of this defendant', who has written so godly a work against the prince of deists, and for the holy gospel. I am sorry to hear such arguments advanced ; they go almost to burlesque reli- gion itself. He a man of God ! He write for the love of Ged! His book a godly book! a vile, obscene, and filthy compilation, which bears throughout the character of rancor- ous malice, and tramples upon every Christian charity. Libel an innocent woman, lie and calumniate, for the sake of Christianity ! If this be the only godly deed this man has done, Ipray to Heaven to be more merciful to him than he has been to Mrs. Bonneville, and that for this very work of godliness he be not damned. If you be Christian jurors punish him ; for be assured of this, that twenty Paines, were twenty such just now upon this earth, could not conjointly do more harm to Christianity by their most violent efforts, than this man by defending it would do. If any one of wavering faith should hear that the best vindication of God's word was this most libellous and scan- dalous work, he never would be a Christian from that hour. Not every one that saith. Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but least of all he that makes the blessed name of God a cloak for malice and iniquity. He may be like those priests of whom we read in history, who, with the holy cross in the one hand and the bloody sabre in the other, commit atrocities at which nature shudders. Where did he learn, that the God of mercy took delight in human sacrifices, and that, to do him honor, a woman's heart should palpitate upon a bloody altar I Has he ever read the word of God 1 or, this heavenly historian, does he know one letter of the gospel history 1 If he does, he is as blunt and dull in understanding, as he is dead to sensibility and delica- cy. When a woman was brought before the author of the Christian religion, taken in the very fact of adultery, what did he say 1 Heleft behind him a specimen of tenderness ever memorable and divine. 'Let him,' he said to the fanat- ical and malignant rabble, ' let him who is innocent cast the first stone.' And if this Christian historian had ever known or felt the benignant spirit of holy inspiration, would he not be sensible that he was not innocent 1 If he be innocent, then are tigers gentle. 2 10 PREFACE. There was a monastery where deadly crimes were expiated called La Trappe : when sinners entered it they made a ter- rible vow of everlasting silence, and from that awful moment never uttered a word, and daily Avith their nails dug their ,own graves. When the midnight bell tolled them to pray«r, they left their solitary cells, and moved with noiseless step through gloomy cloisters and whispering aisles, with downcast look, turning their rosaries, but never spoke. Such is the peni- tence, such the everlasting silence that would become the ruthless slanderer of Avoman's honor. But he who acts the bully and the bravo, and calls himself the champion of high Heaven, what words can paint the horror he inspires ! Then let us leave him. My duty calls me now to recapitulate the testimony of all his witnesses. The first and principal is Mr. Carver. He, with uplifted hand, affirmed, by the ever-living God, the truth of what he testified — and what was that 1 His letter tells us all: that he and Paine had a dispute for money; and in their correspondence you may find the crimes and baseness they reciprocally urged against each other. Mr. Carver, whose vulgar scurrilous letter makes the chief buttress of this man's defence, the more to spite his adversaries, flings out some calumny against the lady. Carver himself admits, that when she got a sight of it she threatened to prosecute him for that very letter. Yet on no better ground has this audacious libeller defamed her reputation. From the same source springs the infernal hint that little Thomas Bonneville had the countenance and features of Thomas Paine. In his little nose no doubt the historian could discern, by learned inspection, the germes of future blossoms, and gems that in due course of nature should come to this world's light. Carver gives evidence of what he heard from Paine of Mrs. Bonneville, which he himself retailed to Cheetham ; and Cheetham, rather than such sublime history should not shine forth to save poor sinners' souls, becomes Wk historian for the love of God, and gives them to the world as history. This is the history of this historian and his history ! I pushed him (Carver) farther, and he stated that he and his wife had often gone to Mr. Purdy's on the farm to visit Mrs. Bonneville. Then it was, that seeing the toils in which his honesty and decency had fallen, he tapered off by saying he never had seen the slightest indication of any meretricious or illicit commerce between Paine and Mrs. Bonneville ; that they never were alone together, and that all the three chil- dren, the little godson Thomas and all, were alike (he objects of Paine's care. Here ends the black conspiracy and conjuration for the love of God. And now the sickened soul revives, and a PREFACE. 11 bright scene appears : A group of matrons led by those hands which holy wedlock had joined to theirs for ever — heads of families, beloved, distinguished, full of respect and honor ; in form so bright, in innocence so lovely ; so pure in unsus- pected truth, so proud in conscious worth and dignity ; who never till that hour had crossed the threshold of a court of justice, or been where discord reigns; whose lips had never uttered other oaths than those which bound them by the wil- ling ties of constancy and love ; who, when the seraph-voice of piety called them down, first glided from their spheres up- on the wings of heaven-boin charity, and having done their mission, disappeared. But, oh ! it was a holy sacrament when wife and husband twined their oaths together with such so- lemnity, such beaming truth, as when they made before the altar of their God that vow so full at once of joy and awe that linked their future destiny together and made them ever one. They would have told you of this lady's sorrows and her res- ignation, of her spotless conduct, of her merit ; how they in- trusted to her care and tutelage the jewels of their souls, the children of their hearts ; with what reproachless truth ; what anxious duty she answered to the trust; had not the rules of evidence and technical formalities of law cut short their story. Her general character was all they were allowed to testify. Their words were few, but like so many messages of grace or high commands from heaven. The wives of your own bosoms are not more pure than this injured lady is proved, nay, more, admitted now to be. If they were stigmatized by an historian, what would you say of him, that he was innocent or guilty % You have heard the witnesses for Mrs. Bonneville, and you may judge if this historian had inquired of them, instead of grubbing filth from every dunghill, how bright a name she would have Reserved, who has been, nevertheless, doomed by this terrible man to misery. If he had begged access to any of those high distinguished persons under whose roof she lived, whose children she had taught ; of Mr. Emmett, who oppresses no one, but protects the innocent ; or of Mr. Fulton, who knew her and her hus- band in their own country ; if he had asked of Mr. Jarvis — that man of keen sagacity, of observation, with knowledge of mankind and of all the parties ; if he had been satisfied with Mr. Hitt's word, rather than that of ' pious nurses and kind attending doctors,' and reverend teachers, who had disputes and lawsuits; he would have known what all but his mutinous genius now concedes. I have no cause of private malice against him, but quite the contrary. When he had any spark of character, he praised me more than ever I could merit, and I could not but thank him. When he had nothing good to give but his abuse, without offence or change in me, 12 PEEFACE. he gave me that with equal liberality, and I thanked him. Tf i could ask a favor of him now, it would be to abuse me more and more, and never let his malice go to the length of prais- ing me : for although my friends who know me well might not despise me, yet in this community where I am little known, and still almost a stranger, I may not have formed suf- ficient character to stand against his praise, nor be entitled to so much indulgence that it should be believed that I could have his praise, and yet be honest." This same Cheetham, the libeller of Madame Bonneville, and through her of Paine's memory, is the author of other calum nies on P aine. It is by him that the public have been informed that Paine was^runken anddirty in his person ; and so industriously and faithfully have the clergy preached and circulated these calumnies, that we shall scarcely be believed in contradicting them on the very best evidences, his com- panions now alive, and in some cases the very men whom Cheetham impudently names as sources of his information. Thus. Mr. Jarvis, the celebrated painter, with whom Mr. Paine lived, informs us distinctly that Mr. Paine was neither dirty in his habits nor drunken : nay, he good-humoredly ad- ded that he always drank a great deal more than ever Paine did. Mr. John Fellows lived in the same house with Mr. Paine, above a twelvemonth, and was his intimate friend for many years after his return to this country, and never saw him but once even elevated with liquor, and then he had been to a dinner-party. We know more than twenty persons who were more or less acquainted with Mr. Paine, and not one of whom ever saw him in liquor. His habit appears to have been to take one glass of rum and water with sugar in it af- ter dinner, and another after supper. His limit at one period, when at Eochelle, was one quart of rum a week, for himself and friends, for Mr. Paine was rather penurious in his old age. This, and this alone, is the only moral fault we find in his character, and we wish to be his impartial historian. His manner of life at this time we get from Mr. Burger, a respect- able watchmaker in New York, but then a clerk in the only store at Rochelle, who served Mr. Paine with his liquor, and waited upon him when sick, and drove him about the neigh- borhood at the request of his employer, and thus saw much of his social habits. This gentleman never saw Mr. Paine PREFACE. 13 intoxicated. Carver, with whom Paine lived, but from whom he parted in anger, is the only man we know who has not spoken distinctly on that subject ; and he remarks, that " Paine was like other men [at that period], he would some- times take too much." But Carver had unfortunately commit- ted himself on this subject in an angry letter, the same on which Cheetham based his libel. In fact, this letter is the groundwork for all Cheetham's calumnies. Mr. Grant Thor- burn, a few years back, republished this letter in his " Forty Years' Residence," on which occasion Carver vindicates him- self in one of his last publications, where he thus speaks of that letter : — EXTRACT FROM " A BONE TO GNAW FOR GRANT THOEBURN, BY W. CARVER. "When I first read the life of Grant Thorburn, I made this remark, and wrote it on the cover of his book: 'I have read this life of Grant Thorburn. I presume a great part of which it is composed has no more connexion with his life than mine, or the pope of Rome's, to wit: the corresponding letters be- tween Thomas Paine and myself, and those letters I have cut out of his book.' These letters were first printed by Cheet- ham without my consent for base purposes, after he became a tory and a hypocritical turncoat, like Grant Thorburn, who has now reprinted them for the same purpose. They were written by Paine and me in anger. ■ Mr. Paine had boarded with me without any regular agreement, and we quarrelled about the bill, what has happened a thousand times to other people ; he wrote angrily and I angrily replied. But the affair was amicably settled by Walter Morton and John Fellows ; the latter is still living. I think some things Paine said of me were not in earnest, and I answered in anger : the letters should "have been burnt. But" Cheetham said many things of Paine that were not true, after he turned tory. I told him ' I believed that he had had his hand crossed with British gold.' Mr. Charles Christian viras present ; he said to Cheetham : ' That is a bold attack of Carver in your own house.' He replied and said : ' I know Carver ; he will contradict a judge on the bench if he thinks him not right;' but he did not deny the charge. When Paine was on his deathbed, I wrote him the following letter. This shows what opinion I had of him ; I think he was one of the greatest men that ever lived. ' Dear Sir : I have heard that you are much indisposed in health, and that your mind, at present, is not reconciled to me. Be that as it may, I can assure you that, on my part, I 14 ' PKEFACE. bear no ill-will, but still remain your sincere well-wisler : nnd am still a zealous supporter and defender of the principles that you have advocated, believing they are founded on im- mortal truth and justice ; therefore I think it a pity that you or myself should depart this life with envy in our hearts against each other — and I firmly believe that no difference would have taken place between us, ha,d not some of those of your pretended friends endeavored to have caused a separa- tion of friendship between us. I, sir, want nothing of you or from you, but only that the ignorant and superstitious herd may not have it in their pow- er to exclaim and say that Thomas Paine or Carver died without a reconciliation to each other. I have often told my friends, if I were on my dying bed, I should send for you, ho- ping that all our differences might be buried in oblivion before our bodies were buried in the grave, as I hope that my dying pillow may not be' planted with thorns; I consider that time with me is short, and perhaps shorter with you. If I never should see you again in this world, I wish you all the conso- lation that your great mind' is capable of enjoying, and that you may resign yourself with full confidence on your Maker, and leave a noble testimony to the world of the independency of your mind and honesty of your heart ; and this, my friend, will produce to you more comfort than all the prayers of the priests in the Christian world. Yours in friendship, WM. CARVER.' " Mr. Grant Thorburn, mentioned above, scarcely knew Mr. Paine, as Mr. Carver observes, nor does his conduct command respect. Such are the men, who, admitting the truth of Mr. Paine's writings, seek to destroy their eifects by the most puerile attack on his private character. Cheethnm, Thorburn, and others, have repeated slanders suggested in an angry letter ; the enemies of Paine, corrupt statesmen, and the clergy in particular, have so industriously circulated these slanders, as even to deceive the very friends of Mr. Paine. In commen- cing our inquiries we really thought the fact that Mr. Paine was a drunkard in old age was well established. In seeking, however, for the proofs of this, we arrive at a very different conclusion. In the course of this work we shall show the sources from which we have derived our information. G. V. LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. PART I. Most men pursue personal happiness and their own great- ness as worthy objects ; but Mr. Paine labored for the great- ness of the nation of which he was a member, and sought its nappiness ; and in the pursuit of which he built up his own greatness and promoted his own happiness. Nothing will be clearer established by this record of his life than the fact now alluded to ; and this fact marks him as peculiarly distinguish- ed even among great and good men. We are not, how- ever, about to write a eulogyj to enhance his virtues, or to suppress his faults,^ or vices. Paine was a part of human nature, and partook of its imperfections ; and our purpose is fairly to represent him as he was ; but the greater part of Mr. Paine's life was public, and as such we know of no man who had greater virtues or less vices. His natural life is distinctly marked into four periods: his history in England before he embarked for North America; his residence and exertions in this country during the revolutionary war ; his return to Europe, and his exertions in France and England during the great French revolution ajid revolutionary war ; and his ^nal return and residence in the United States till his death. The first part will necessarily be the least interesting ; his merits were only known to a few ; but fortunately among those few was Dr. Franklin (by whose advice he visited this country). We have already noticed Sherwin's life of Paine, and as we find Paine's early life fairly delineated there, with some exceptions, we shall at once transcribe so much of that 16 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. work as suits our purpose ; correcting it where we find it necessary, and making such additions as we think proper from the abundant facts we have accumulated. THE EARLY LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. " Thomas Paine, the subject of these memoirs, was born at Thetford, in the county of Norfolk, England, on the 29th of January, 1737. His parents were obscure as to birth, having nothing to depend upon, except what was derived from their own industry. His father, Joseph Paine, was a member of the society of quakers, a person of sober habits and good moral character : he obtained a decent, but humble livelihood by following his trade, which was that of a staymaker. The maiden name of his mother .was Frances Cocke, the daughter of an attorney at Thetford, and a member of the established church. It was probably owing to the disagreement in the religious tenets of his parents that Paine was never baptized. He was, however, privately named, and through the pious care of his aunt, he was afterward confirmed by the bishop of Norwich. At an early age, Paine was sent to the grammar-school at Thetford, where he was taught reading, writing, and accounts. Before he left this school, he likewise obtained a slight knowl- edge of the Latin tongue ; but from the aversion or contempt which he subsequently acquired for the study of the dead languages, or from want of opportunity, it does not appear that they ever became the objects of settled attention. It does not seem, or at least it is not known, that, during his boyhood, he exhibited any peculiar signs of that genius which was afterward to exalt him to the very pinnacle of political fame. But from a passage in the 'Age of Reason,' it is evident, that however matured in judgment he might be before he became a politician, his first impressions on the sub- ject of religion were made at a very early period of his life. Paine himself says : ' From the time I was capable of conceiving an idea; and acting upon it by reflection, I either doubted the truth of the Christian system, or thought it to be a strange affair ; I scarcely knew which it was : but I well remember, when about seven or eight years of age, hearing a sermon read by a relation of mine, who was a great devotee of the church, upon the subject of what is called redempiion by the Son of God. After the sermon was ended, I went into the garden, and as I was going down the garden steps (for I perfectly recollect the spot) I revolted at the recollection of what I had heard, and thought to myself that it was making God Almighty act like a passionate man that killed his son, when he could not revenge himself any other way ; and as I was sure a man would be hanged that did such a thing, I could A STAYMAKER — (JOES TO SEA. 17 not see for what purpose they preached such sermons. This was not one of those kind of thoughts that had anything in it of childish levity ; it was to me a serious reflection, arising from the idea I had, that God was too good to do such an action, and also too almighty to be under any necessity of doing it. I believe in the same manner to this moment ; and I moreover believe, that any system of religion that has any thing in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be a true system.' — ^^ge of Reason,'' Part I., p. 37. At the age of thirteen he was taken from school by his father, who, unable from his circumstances to apprentice him to any other trade, employed him as an assistant in the business of staymaking. Whether he was ever bound apprentice does not appear, nor is it a matter of much consequence. The sedentary shopboard had few attractions for our author, and he left it the first opportunity. After remaining with his father about three years, he left his native town and proceeded to London, where he doubtless hoped to better his circum- stances ; conceiving, as many had done before him, that the metropolis was the only place where a youth can attain a proper knowledge of the world, and the only scene where natural talent can find an opportunity of displaying itself to the best advantage. His mind, which nature appears to have formed for enterprise, was of too aspiring a turn to be restrict- ed to the limits of a provincial town, or to brook the idea- of being confined for life to a business which would not only have cramped his genius, but which at best would have afforded him but a scanty livelihood. His prospects in Lon- don, however, do not seem to have been at first much more inviting than those he had left in the country. On his arrival, he found himself without either friends or money, and desti- tute of the means of procuring any, except by again having recourse to the business he had just deserted. He applied to a Mr. Morris, a staymaker, in Hanover Street, Long Acre, of whom he procured employment for some weeks. From Lon- don he Vent to Dover, where he worked at his business for a short time, with a Mr. Grace. How long a time elapsed from the period of his leaving his father to his quitting Mr. Grace does not appear, nor, if known, would it be a matter of much interest. Probably, not more than two or three months. Finding himself baffled in the expectations he had formed on quitting his borne, he left his second employer, and went on board the Terrible priva- teer. Captain Death. To a mind like his, which appears at the time we are speaking of, to have been ardent in the ex- treme, it is not surprising that the war which had just then been declared against France, afforded an abundant field of enterprising antfcipation. Situated as he was, and feeMg as he probably did, the army or the navy was his only choice, 3 18 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. and he took the latter because it was nearest at hand. How long he remained on board the Terrible, has not been ascer- tained ; but from his own account of the affair, the time must have been short. 'From this adventure,' says he, 'I was happily prevented by the affectionate and moral remonstranijfe of a good father, who, from his own habits of life, being of the quaker profession, must begin to look upon me as lost.' Paine had been induced to go to sea from the impressions which the master of the school at Thetford had given him ; who having been a chaplain on board a man-of-war, retained much of the enthusiasm of the sea service, and indirectly infused it into the most ardent of his scholars. This affair made a considerable impression at the time ; but, like most of the impressions of youth, it soon wore away, and left his disposition for enterprise in much the same state as it was before the circumstance occurred. Shortly afterward, he entered on board the King of Prussia privateer. Captain Mend%z ; but- as no account has been published of this trans- action, except that given by himself, it does not appear how long he remained at sea, or what occurred to induce him to desert the naval profession altogether, and resume his own business. In the year 1759, he settled at Sandwich as a master-stay- maker. There he soon became acquainted with a young woman of the name of Mary Lambert, to whom he was mar- ried about the end of the same year. She was the daughter of an exciseman, and is said to have possessed considerable personal attractions. His staymaking business not exactly answering his expect- ations, he removed with his wife to Margate, where she died in the year 1760. From Margate he went to London, and from London he again removed to Thetford. Here he resolved upon relinquishing his business altogether. He had long wished for some employment more congenial to his turn of mind. At length, through the interference of Mr. Cocksedge, the recorder at Thetford, he obtained a situation in the excise. This was toward the end of 1763. For some trifliiig fault he was dismissed from this situation, in something more than a year afterward. What the nature of that fault was, has never been satisfactorily explained ; but those who are acquainted with the practices of the excise must be well convinced that if the offence had been of any magnitude, he would never have been restored to the office, which was the cas.e in about eleven months after his dismissal.'' Mr. Paine, it appears, sent a petition to the board of excise begging to be restored to his situation. In the petition, Paine admits the justice of his dismissal, but uses the expression, DISMISSED FROM THE EXCISE. 19 " No complaint of the least dishonesty or intemperance ever appeared against me." For what he was dismissed is not stated, and what is very remarkable, his enemies in the Brit- ish government who must have known the cause of his dis- missal, never made it public, although they sought to destroy him by every means. We consequently conclude that he was not criminal, or such an opportunity would not have been omitted. Those who have lived on the coast of Eng- land know that the impartial exercise of an exciseman's duty, will expose him to*censure ; for they will know that those who make and administer the laws are themselves concerned in smuggling. Clio Rickman, the friend of Paine, exposed a flagitious case of this kind, involving even the prime minister of England, which, from its peculiarity, we shall insert : — " When Admiral Duncan rendezvoused in the Downs with his fleet on the eighth of January, 1806, the Spider (lugger), Daniel Falara, master, was sent to" Guernsey to smuggle arti- cles for the fleet, such as wine, spirits, hair-powder, playing- cards, tobacco, &c., for the supply of the different ships. At her arrival in the Downs, the ships' boats flocked round her to unload her and her contraband cargo. A customhouse extra boat, commanded by William Wallace, seeing the lug- ger, followed and took her ; in doing which he did his duty. On his inspecting the smuggled articles with which she was laden, he foufid a number of cases directed to Admiral Duncan, the Right Honorable William Pitt, the heaven-born minister of England, and to the Right Honorable Henry Dun- das, Walmer Castle. In a few days, Wallace, the master of the customhouse cutter, received orders from government to give the lugger and her smuggled cargo up, on penalty of being dismissed the service, and these cases of smuggled goods were afterward delivered at the prime minister's, Mr. Pitt's, at Walmer Castle." At this very time, says Clio Rickman, there were fourteen poor persons in one jail in England for smuggling. From the • surprising silence of Paine's enemies on the subject of his dismissal, we strongly suspect it was connected with some- thing they did not want exposed. " After his dismission he proceeded to London, where he became a teacher in an academy kept by Mr. Noble of Good- man's Fields. In this situation he remained until the period of his restoration to office. . It is probable that it was during 20 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. his stay in London at this period, he applied himself to the study of astronomy and natural philosophy, and that this is the time he alludes to, when he says, 'As soon as I was able I purchased a pair of globes, and attended the philosophical lectures of Martin and Ferguson, and became afterward ac- quainted with Dr. Bevis of the Society called the Royal Society, and an excellent astronomer.' Indeed, as he himself expresses it, the natural bent of his mind appears to have been to science, and though from his disadvantageous situation in life he necessarily met with many obstacles, it is evident from several of his productions, that he attained a great proficiency in mechanics, mathematics, and astronomy. It was from his being well grounded in the principles of science, during the earlier part of his life, that he afterward became such a pow- erful adept in reasoning ; it was from the mathematical prin- ciples which had been engrafted on his mind while it was yet tender enough to receive the impressions of instruction, that he was subsequently enabled to write with such precision upon almost any subject, that he was enabled to reduce ab- struseness to simplicity, to understand difficult subjects him- self, and to render them intelligible to others." The enemies of Mr. Paine have represented him as an ignor- ant, vulgar man, and his style coarse and rude, but imbued with strong good sense. His worst enemies allow him the latter qualities, except Cheetham ; who, heated by party poli- tics, and corrupted by expectancies from Britain, has outraged common sense by denying Paine aray good qualities, while his own work abounds with proofs to the contrary. Paine's style was clear, forcible, and elegant : in our opinion, he is the best English writer we know. We never misunderstand him ; and it is almost impossible to put the same thoughts in fewer or better chosen words than he has done. Those who have attacked his style, are themselves ignorant or vicious, with no literary character to lose. When the clergy have urged on their hearers the vulgarity of the style of Mr. Paine, it has always appeared to us that they have presumed on the ignor- ance of their hearers, or have themselves been the dupes of what they wished to believe : for Paine was decidedly a learn- ed man, but self-taught, as indeed most learned men are ; for the meager instruction of a school only gives the rudiments the base — that on which the fabric must be raised. Paine's knowledge of the classics was indeed very limited ; perhaps the mere elements obtained when a boy at the grammar- RESTORED TO THE EXCISE. 21 school ; but even this gave him one important advantage : the little he did know enabled him rightly to estimate the value of Greek and Latin, which are of great intrinsic vi^orth only in some cases, and of none to Mr. Paine in any of his pursuits or works ; and when he stated that a Greek milkman knew more of Greek than the best Greek scholar in England, he lifted the veil which covered ignorance ; although a scholar might know much of the grammar or philosophical construc- tion of the language, which a Greek milkman might not. In his biblical criticisms, he showed that the authorized English Bible was not the Word of God ; and thus he cut oft' all refer- ence to ancient languages. His acquaintance with mathemat- ics and natural philosophy was evidently extensive. His ref- erences-to these subjects are frequent, and always pertinent ; while there is no egotistical display of knowledge or learn- ing ; yet every learned man knows well the certainty of de- tecting ignorance in a man who, by references, assumes a knowledge of science which he does not possess. Paine grappled, too, with the higher branches of the mathematics, for he was acquainted with their application to mechanics and to bridges ; and this latter is one of the most difficult subjects to which they are applied. It was not then a compliment that Paine was admitted a member of various learned societies in this country, France, and England. He had substantial claims to such a standing ; and those who have attempted to degrade him on this subject, have* taken a mean advantage of his un- popularity in the religious community, and of the ignorance and prejudices of that community against him. We have nov/ in our possession a part of a letter in Paine's handwriting, on the difficult subject oi fortification, in relation to New York, and which he treats in a scientific and masterly manner. The subject, too, has his own peculiarity, that of utility and being well-timed ; for then it was a desideratum to fortify New York. We return now to the narrative of events, and shall again make use of Sherwin's life, as containing an elegant narrative of the facts we wish to communicate. On Paine's petition to the board of excise, was written : " July 4th, 1766 ; to be restored on a proper vacancy." He was therefore restored; and leaving his srhojastic pursuits, he returned again to the excise for several years. 22 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. " On his reappointment to the excise, our author immedi- ately returned from London to Thetford, where he continued until the spring of 1768, when he was removed to Lewes, in Sussex. There he resided in the -house of a person of the name of Ollive, a tohacconist. With him he remained up- ward of twelve months, when the former died, leaving a widow, a daughter, and several sons. Our author then lett the family for a short time, but soon afterward returned, when he opened the shop on his own account. In consequence of this, and of his having previously lived under the same roof, he soon contracted an intimacy with Miss Ollive, the daughter of his former landlord, whom he married in the year 1771." At this time Paine appears to hav.e mingled a little politics with his pursuits ; and he is reported to have written an elec- tioneering ballad, and to have been paid for it : but we know of none hut a jeu d'esprit, " The Trial and Execution of the Farmer's Dog," in ridicule of both parties, and therefore not likely to be paid for by any one ; besides, Paine when better known, never made a profit of his political works, or even reserved a copyright. We therefore doubt that he was paid for such a service ; although pay for honorable services, is by no means unreasonable. In 1772 he wrote "The Case of the Excise Officers," a small pamphlet, on a very limited and unpopular subject : yet in this pamphlet Mr. Paine's style and principles are rec- ognised. • " The same conciseness, clearness, and benevolence, which form such prominent features in the future productions of Paine, are distinguishable in almost every page of the pamph- let in question. Exclusive of the 'Introduction,' it is divided into two parts : ' The State of the Salary of the Officers of Excise;' and 'Thoughts on the Corruption of Principles, and on the Numerous Evils arising to the Revenue from the too great Poverty of the Officers of Excise.' In the introduc- tion is stated the design of the excise officers, in all parts of the kingdom, to make an application to parliament to have the state of their salaries taken into consideration. The sub- ject is then entered upon and discussed with all the energy and ability which might have been expected from a long-ex- perienced advocate. The d^eductions that are made upon the exciseman's salary by unavoidable contingencies, and the danger to which his duty necessarily exposes him, are recap- itulated in the most forcible manner. Under the second head, the policy of our author's object is insisted upon : he advises THE CASE OF THE EXCISE OFFICERS. 23 the government to rjender their officers honest by relieving their necessities; and the pamphlet concludes by enumerating the advantages that would be ensured by adopting the recom- mendation. Of this pamphlet four thousand copies were printed by Mr. William Lee, of Levi'es ; but to what extent they were circu- lated I have not been -able to learn. It would doubtless be read with pleasure and avidity by the class of men who were interested in the result ; but whatever might be the distresses of the excisemen, it was not likely that they would meet with much sympathy or encouragement from the public. The nature of their occupation, and the unpleasant mode in which the duties of it are performed, have always rendered them objects of public odium ; and however misdirected or useless such odium maybe, it will ever continue an appendage to the character of those who collect this tyrannical impost. The public, therefore, viewed the complaints of the excisemen with indifTerence ; and though considerable exertions were made by various individuals, as well as our author, there was no member to be found to bring the subject before parliament. The distresses of the officers, and the consequent depredations on the revenue, which our author had so ably pointed out, and so zealously endeavored to get removed, were not deemed of sufficient importance to merit parliamentary inquiry, and the proposal, like many other proposals for the removal of public evils, fell to the ground without investigation." During Mr. Paine's residence at Lewes, he was held as a man of talents in the small circle of that town. His company was sought by men of greater affluence than himself. He was decidedly a good companion, whether engaged in amusements or debate. Paine at that timfe was fond of bowls, then a fash- ionable game : even Dr. Young, the elegant author of the Night Thoughts, was a member of a club, and attended a bowlino--green. Paine in this amusement mingled with the best company in the place. He met, too, an evening club at Lewes in the principal tavern, for conversation and debate ; and in that society, the best the town afforded, he carried the palm as a debater. While, however, he was thus social, he neither drank to excess, nor did he indulge in the vulgar habit of swearing, a habit he never contracted ; and which, even in his latter days, he reproved in some of his intimate friends. This fact is confirmed to us by Mr. Jarvis, the celebrated painter, with whom Mr. Paine lived sometime before his death. This is worthy of note ; for his enemies, foiled by 24 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. his arguments, and not being able to attach to him crimes, have assumed faults and magnified them into vices. We have these facts from those who knew Paine at Lewes, and from those who knew the company he kept, and his habits. Carver, with whom Paine afterward lived in New York, was then an apprentice in the town, and used to saddle Mr. Paine's horse, and well remembers both him and his reputation. We know, too, the family of Eickman, who always resided in that neighborhood ; and on their information and others we can rely. " I have already observed, that on the marriage of our author with Miss Ollive, he commenced the business of a tobacconist and grocer, which he carried on in much the same method as his predecessor had done before him. This circumstance, as might have been anticipated, soon rendered him an object of suspicion in the eyes of the commissioners,- and it is not improbable that the zeal which Paine had dis- played in exposing the pernicious consequences of doling out so pitiful a provision to the active class of excisemen, while their betters were spending their days in ease and affluence, had rendered him an object of dislike among his superiors in office. The spirit of independence which he showed on all occasions, and which there is very little doubt he communi- cated in a considerable degree to those around him, was but little calculated to ensure the approbation of persons who regard implicit obedience as the test of merit, who look upon a proposal for reform as a step toward revolution, and the protection of abuses as the only mode of perpetuating the blessings of the English system of government. Considerable pains were taken to discover some flaw in the conduct of Paine ; but so strictly had he performed his duty, that nothing of any consequence could be substantiated against him. His keeping a tobacconist's shop was, however, a sufficient pre- text with those who wished to rid themselves of so trouble- some a servant, and he was a second time dismissed from the excise in April, 1774." At this period Paine became unfortunate in his business ; perhaps he suffered from his social qualities, and a spirit of independence. His companions, we have already remarked, were generally in better circumstances than himself; and these sought his company for its intrinsic worth, for he was both instructive and amusing; and perhaps he incurred" ex- penses and a loss of time, which he was unable to afford : SEPARATES FliOM HIS WIFE. 25 while a sanguine temper would still afford him hope, till his affairs were too bad to mend. His goods, at this period, were sold to pay his debts ; and in the following month. May, 1774, he separated from his wife by mutual consent, and articles were signed on the 4th of June, by which she retained the little prop- erty she had brought him at marriage, and which was just suffi- cient to maintain her in a decent manner for the rest of her life. All the causes of this separation are not known. Mr. Paine uniformly spoke of his wife with kindness ; and Clio Rickman informs us, in his life of Paine, that he frequent- ly sent her money, wilhout letting her know the source whence it came. She was afterward a professor of a sectarian religion in Cranbrook, Kent, and boarded in the house of a watchmaker, a member of the same church ; his house was consequently visited by religious people, many of them with strong prejudices, and some very ignorant. These, after the publication of the " Age of Reason," would sometimes speak disrespectfully of Mr. Paine in her presence, when she uni- formly left the room without a word. If, too, she was ques- tioned on the subject of their separation, she did the same. We have these facts from those who resided with her. Our most intimate fiiend at one period, was a Mr. Bourne, a watch- maker in Rye, about eighteen miles from Cranbrook, England. This gentleman was apprenticed in the house where Mrs. Paine lived : he sat at the same table with her for years. We have these facts confirmed by other residents at Cranbrook. Thus nothing could be learned from her, except that though she differed from Mr. Paine on religious subjects, she could not bear to hear him spoken ill of. Paine, as we have before remarked, spoke respectfully of her ; but if any person became inquisitive, he immediately answered rudely, that " his sep- aration was a private affair." Clio Rickman asserts, and the most intimate friends of Mr. Paine support him, that Paine never cohabited with his second wife. Sherwin treats the subject as ridiculous; but Clio Rickman was a man of integ- rity, and he asserts that he has the documents showing this strange point, together with others, proving that this arose from no phj^sical defects in Paine. When the question was plainly put to Mr. Paine by a friend of ours, he admitted this 26 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE, singular fact; but replied, ^^ I had a cause ; it is no business of anybody." Singular, therefore, as this fact is, as both parties preserved a taciturnity on the subject, we have not the means of arriving at the truth. It was, as Paine said, a private affair ; and we have not the means of withdrawing the veil, and have consequently no right to come to an unchari- table conclusion toward either party. We however infer that Paine had a cause ; without which his wife ought to and would have exposed him, especially as she was surrounded by his bitter enemies. Paine, while at Lewes, was a whig ; and as such never thought of examining the first principles of government. A king, lords, and commons, were admitted as forming the best government by the admixture of the three sorts, royal, aris- tocratic, and democratic. As a whig, all he sought was the preservation of the supposed constitution ; but a trifling ex- pression from one of his companions, gave his thoughts a deeper range, and formed the basis of his "Common Sense" and " Rights of Man," which afterward so materially influenced the people in North America, France, and England. While sitting over some punch after a game at bowls, a Mr. Verral observed of Frederick, king of Prussia, that " he was the best fellow in the world for a king ; he had so much of the devil in him." Simple and accidental as this observation was, it turned Paine's thoughts on the rights by which kings existed and governed, and thus led him into an examinationof the inherent rights of the people; while the breaking up of his business, and separa- tion from his wife, led him forward to the proper scene in which his talents and his principles could be properly estimated. Sherwin, speaking of this period, remarks : " Our author was by this and prior events relieved from every tie which might be supposed to bind him to his country. Deprived of his home, and destitute of friends and employ, ment, he hadto commence life anew, and that without either credit or capital. His parents were become much advanced in years ; their industry was no more than sufficient to pro- cure a maintenance for themselves, and therefore Paine could not have derived, even if he had desired, any assistance from their kindness. The cheerless prospect which lay expanded before him, the misfonunes,that had already befallen him, and the desolate situation in which he was then placed, must have LOSES HIS PROPERTY AND PROSPECTS, 21 impressed upon his mind the idea that to whatever country he went, it was impossible lor his condition to become worse. In England there was no hope. Every change only brought an accumulation of fresh misfortunes. Borne down by poverty, and surrounded by difficulties of every description, his condition appears to have been that of a ruined, hopeless man. In this situation many would have sat down discouraged without a struggle. But despair and dismay appear to have formed no part of Paine's character. He seems never to have sunk into the extreme of depression, or to have risen to that tumultuous gladness which so often accompanies the extreme of elevation. His mind appears never to have 'been crushed by defeat, or elated by success. The unshaken for- titude which can smile on disappointment and danger, and look serenely amidst the tumult of triumph, seems to have been the most prominent feature in his character. "After the sale of his effects and the separation from his wife were concluded, our author again went to London. By what means he procured a living during his stay in the me- tropolis is unknown, but soon after his arrival he obtained an introduction to Dr. Franklin, who advised him to go to Amer- ica. The doctor probably perceived in his interviews with Paine that he was a man possessed of abilities of no ordinary character, and this accounts for the readiness with which he furnished him with a letter of introduction to one of his most intimate friends in the United States. Our author was thus afforded an opportunity of beginning life again, and that at an age when his ardent and enterprising spirit must have been considerably tamed by the sharp lessons of adversity. He had as he himself observes,'served an apprenticeship to life,' and it is more than probable that those sublime ideas on the subject of liberty which were afterward to raise his name so very high in the temple of fame, were produced by his early misfortunes. ' By wo the soul to daring action swells ; By wo in plaintness patience it excels ; From patience, prudent, clear experience springs, And traces knowledge through the cause of things ! Thence hope is formed, thence fortitude, success, Kenown — whate'er men covet and caress.' Savage. Poverty is certainly not the parent of genius, but it is un- questionably its best preceptor. The finest productions we have in the language have been written by men whose intel- lectual powers have forced their way into life under circum' stances of the most abject penury. In most instances it has happened that the fire of genius has been long confined by s 28 LIFK OF THOMAS PAINE. the heavy black clouds of adversity, before it acquired sufR. cient strength to burst its boundary ; and as the streaming lightning is more or less vivid in proportion to the density or lightness of the clouds which encompass it, so it has gener- ally proved that the powers of a fine imagination have been more or less brilliant, in proportion to the poverty or plenty by which the possessor was surrounded. The enlivening wit of Congreve, the melting scenes of Otway, the rural tender- ness and pathetic simplicity of Goldsmith, and the dignified ease and elegance of Thomson, would have been unknown to us, if these luminaries in the hemisphere of literature had been born in a state of affluence ; for though the men might have lived with much more comfort to themselves than they did, it is very probable that the easy couch and plentiful board would have destroyed the inspiration which gave birth to their finest productions. But to our author. He had by this time seen enough of the world to despise its follies, and he had witnessed too ma- ny of the bad effects of misgovevnment in his native country to feel any affection for them, when directed against the country of which he was about to become a citizen. Dr. Franklin could not therefore have selected a man more likely to repay his kindness in vindicating the cause of the people, by whom he was deputed ambassador to England. Our au- thor sailed from this country [England] toward the end of the year 1774, and arrived at Philadelphia about two months afterward." We have thus briefly brought Mr. Paine to the close of the first period of his life ; a period of no important interest to the public ; and only valuable as qualifying him for the other periods, which belonged wholly to the public. His good sense was the work of nature ; his acquired knowledge, whether of books or men, was the effect of study and obser- vation ; but to these was added experience, the result of accident ; but admirably adapted to fit him for his future tasks, of which he could have no conception. We have seen him necessarily a mechanic, a sailor, a tradesman, an exciseman, a storekeeper, and a teacher, acquainted with London, and different sections of Great Britain ; intimate with the cor- ruptions and revenue of the country from his connexion with the excise ; an author, a politician, and associating with vari- ous classes in the community ; with a habit for observation and original- thinking, and thus qualified to address a whole LEAVES ENGLAND. 29 people on the subject of liberty. His father a quaker, his mother of the established church, and his wife and her friends dissenters, he could have but little religious prejudice. While accident, however painful to himself, which sent him to this country, unencumbered with either wife, family, or fortune, contributed highly to render him devoted to the people among whom he was about to reside, during their arduous struggle in support of liberty. 30 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. PART II. FROM MR. PAINe's AFRIYAL IN AMERICA TO THE END OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. Mr. Paine having resolved to leave England, brought letters of recommendation from Dr. Franklin, then on an embassy from a northern state to the British government in London. Mr. Paine left England in the autumn of 1774, and arrived at Philadelphia in the latter part of the same year ; and not in 1772, as Dr. Rush states. Shervirin correctly says : "From this period to the day of his death, the abilities of Paine never lay dormant. Very shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia, he became acquainted with Mr. Aitkin, a re- spectable bookseller of that town. In January, 1775, Mr. Ait- kin commenced the publication of the Pennsylvania Magazine, of which Paine became the editor. Many of the pieces in this publication are truly elegant. In these, as in most of his other writings, he is singularly happy in clothing an original boldness of thought with a peculiar beauty of diction. The article in which he treats of the hidden riches of the earth, and the diligence with which we oii^ht to search after them, is a fine specimen of this rare combination. The well-known song on the death of General Wolfe, appeared in an early number of this magazine ; and it is unquestionably one of the most beautiful productions of the sort in the English language. The ideas would have done honor to any of the poets of old, and the poetry is an example of the most polished versifica- tion. As this little piece is still much admired, even by those who disapprove of its author's political and religious notions, I here insert it, as transcribed from an original copy: SONG ON THE DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE. ' In a mouldering cave, where the wretched retreat, Britannia sat wasted with care : She mourned for her Wolfe, and exclaimed against fate, And gave herself up to despair. The walls of her cell she had sculptured around With the feats of her favorite son, And even the dust, as it lay on the gronnd, Was engraved with some deeds he had done. LINES ON THE DEATH OF WOLFE. 31 The sire of the gods, from his crystalline throne, Beheld the disconsolate dame. And, moved with her tears, he sent Mercury down, And these were the tidings that came: " Britannia, forbear, not a sigh or a tear, For thy Wolfe, so deservedly loved ; Yojar tears shall be changed into triumphs of joy. For thy Wolfe is not dead, but removed. The sons of the east, the proud giants of old. Have crept from their darksome abodes, And this is the news, as in heaven it was told, They were marching to war with the gods. A council was held in the chambers of Jove, And this was their final decree, That Wolfe should be called to the armies above. And the charge was intrusted to me. To the plains of Quebec with the orders I flew, He begged for a moment's delay ; He cried) ' Oh forbear, let me victory hear. And then thy commands I'll obey.' With a darksome thick film 1 encompassed his eyes, And bore him away in an urn ; • Lest the fondness he bore to his own native shore Should induce him again to return." ' In addition to the above, he wrote several other articles for the Pennsylvania Magazine, of considerable literary merit. These principally consist of a letter to the publisher on the utility of magazines in general; 'Useful and Entertaining Hints on the Internal Riches of the Colonies ;' ' Reflections on the Death of Lord Clive ;' and 'New Anecdotes of Alex- ander the Great.' The ' Reflections on the Death of Lord Clive,' I have not seen, though I have been at considerable pains to procure them ; but I have been informed that they cofitain much originality of thought, and that they caused the work to be sought after with great avidity. He likewise wrote for the same publication an elegant little piece in the form of a poetical dialogue, between a snowdrop and a critic, in which the former is made to describe the variety and pleasure in- tended to be conveyed to the public through the medium of the new work, in opposition to the cavilling objections of the latter. These productions are already in the possession of the public, and they serve to show the versatility of our author's disposition.'' Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia, and formerly a member of that congress which declared these states independent, in his letter to Cheetham, says that Paine came to this country with the design of opening a school for the instruction of young ladies in branches of literature not then generally taught. Paine's introduction to Mr. Aitkin appears to have been through Dr. Franklin's recommendations. There Dr. Rush met him ; and afterward, being excited by an article in one of Mr. Aitkin's 32 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. papers on the subject of the African slavery, he sought his acquaintance. And "in that letter ascribes to himself suggest- ing to Paine the subject of his " Common Sense," and the title. That letter, though highly favorable to Paine, is certainly egotistical, which renders this suggestion doubtful ; especially as the object of Cheatham in getting that letter written to him, as well as others from different persons, was obviously to pare off, if possible, any part of Paine's reputation. Dr. Rush was clearly incorrect in one of his dates ; and distinctly "marks his prejudice in conclusively stating, that he declined to see Paine on his last return to this country, on account of the principles avowed in his "Age of Reason." This observation, though intended by Dr. Rush to exalt himself at the expense of Mr. Paine, and as such is published by Cheetham, is, in fact, highly important. It satisfactorily accounts for many of Paine's early sycophants deserting him, without any dereliction of personal worth on his part. Mr. Paine's acquaintance with Dr. Franklin ; the object of his coming to this country (to introduce a higher scale of education than that in use) ; his first employment (engaged or hired to edit a new magazine, and other periodicals pub- lished by Aitkin) ; the success and reputation of those publi- cations, and his acquaintance with Dr. Rush as a consequence of his reputation ; the very idea of Dr. Rush suggesting to Mr. Paine the subject of a pamphlet to act on the people, whether true or false, together with the circumstances just noted, mark Mr. Paine as then possessing literary attainments in an eminent degree ; and ought to have preserved him against the vulgar abuse with Avhich so many of the clergy and his theological opponents have assailed him. This attack on his literary character, successful in an extraordinary de- gree, depended on the suppression of his works ; the pre- sumption of the ignorance of those works by the body of the party addressed ; and on the assumption of the power of the clergy to prevent those works being read. It is remarkable, that Cheetham, dishonest in his purposes, and, comparatively with Paine, of small abilities, and very prejudiced and ignor- ant, makes also this charge, while he himself furnishes the most satisfactory proofs to the contrary. In Cheetham's life HIS STYLE IN POLITE LITERATURE. 33 is to be found the song we have already inserted. He likewise furnishes the following beautiful extract from the pen of Paine, published in an early number of Aitkin's magazine, fi:ora which the style of Paine may be inferred in what is called polite literature. " In one of his lucubrations, adverting to the riches of the earth, the diligence which is necessary to discover, and the labor to possess them, he thus elegantly invites us to industry and research :— ' Though nature is gay, polite, and generous abroad, she is sullen, rude, and niggardly at home. Return the visit, and she adnfiits you with all the suspicion of a miser, and all the reluctance of an antiquated beauty retired to replenish her charms. Bred up in antideluvian notions, she has not yet ac- quired the European taste of receiving visitants in her dres- sing-room : she locks and bolts up her private recesses with extraordinary care, as if not only resolved to preserve her hoards, butio conceal her age, and hide the remains of a face that was young and lovely in the days of Adam. He that would view nature in her undress, and partake of her internal treasures, must proceed with the resolution of a robber, if not a ravlsher. She gives no invitation to follow her to the cav- ern : the external earth makes no proclamation of the interior stores, but leaves to chance and industry the discovery of the whole. In such gifts as nature can annually recreate, she is noble and profuse, and entertains the whole world with the interest of her fortunes, but watches over the capital with the care of a miser. Her gold and jewels lie concealed in the earth in caves of utter darkness; the hoards of wealth, heaps upon heaps, mould in the chests, like the riches of a necro- mancer's cell. It must be very pleasant to an adventurous specu'latist to make excursions into these Gothic regions ; and in his travels he may possibly come to a cabinet locked up in some rocky vault, whose treasures shall reward his toil, and enable him to shine on his return as splendidly as nature herself.' " Were Paine's works known and read, the slander about his vulgar style would necessarily be confuted, without the labor of an advocate ; and we regret the necessity of exposing the meanness which would suggest such a course to suppress a theological opponent.' We are happy to find that his bitter enemies should be compelled to resort to falsehood for such a purpose. This conduct on the part of his personal enemies, 5 34 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. ought then to awaken suspicion that this is not the onlj false and malicious slander under which Paine has too long lain. That a man who could write poetry so well should have written so little, is at once a mark of his good sense and strong resolution. Paine had remarked that poets were gen- erally pretty triflers, and he suppressed "a talent which he thought of little use to society. It is evident that Paine was not naturally fond of politics ; be was led hy circumstances, and a strong sense of justice and utility, into the course he took. The beauties of nature and the happiness of the human family occupied his mind. And the violence done to nature, and to human happiness by tyranny and superstition, together with the remarkable events of his day, deflected his course from the pursuits of peace, which he was so fitted to enjoy, into the more violent but useful course he did pursue. The man who could write the beautiful article we have just quoted, did not want the excitement of a storm.or a revolu- tion to give zest to life. Nothing could be more beautiful than either Paine's poetry or prose ; he possesses not only strength and clearness, hut a beauty of diction surpassed by no English writer we know : and if we wished to recommend a single model for fine English composition, we should cer- tainly name Paine's writings as the best. We find Mr. Paine so completely identified with every great point in the revolution, and of the independence of this coun- try, that we cannot do justice to him without giving a brief but clear account of those events, and the circumstances which led to them. Indeed, some of the most important events to be related were actually created or produced by him. Other men have followed events ; Paine actually crea- ted them. Soon after the discovery of this continent colonies began to be planted in North America. During the last century the French held the north or Canada, and large portions of the south and west.. The English had several colonies in the middle, while other Europeans had made small settlements. These colonies were little regarded at "first ; they were safe- ty-valves for daring spirits who were discontented at home. The inhabitants formed an amalgamation, as they have done CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 35 since, from every clime j but with the exception of those transported to these shores for their crimes, they were indus- trious and independent, the general characteristics of all vol- untary emigrants. Colonies have always been regarded by the English government only as they profit the mother-coun- try, or rather the' party governing. In the first place large grants of territory were made by various English sovereigns, either as rewards to favorites, or for some services received, and these grants being made without a correct knowledge of the country or rights of the natives, they were frequently given with uncertain boundaries ; which,. as we shall presently see, was the remote cause of the American war of independ- ence. When the colonists, by dint of their own industry, could raise a surplus of some produce, they became importers of manufactured goods, and as such an object of attention to the government of Great Britain. But the interference of the British government was for their own benefit. They ap- pointed governors, always sycophants of power, to be paid by the colonists. And they regulated their trade so as to produce to Great Britain the greatest advantage. A liberal policy, the mutual benefit of both parties, has never yet been conceived and executed by any ministry. The very princi- ples of the British government laid the seeds of discontent, and established two interests: the governor pursued his own and the interests of Britain, or rather what he thought the interests of the British government ; while the assemblies formed by the people, and their juries (for. British settlers claimed British rights and customs), naturally preferred the interests of the colonies. In 1750,. a company was formed in London called the Ohio company. They obtained a grant of six hundred thousand acres of land on the rivers Ohio and Mississippi. This grant was made without much regard to the Indian rights, and as it cut off the northern French territories from their southern and western, the French resisted it in practice. The trade of this company was chiefly carried on by the Virginians; but these traders were constantly annoyed by the French, who at last built a fort on the Ohio, and a French governor went so far as to order the seizure of every British subject found tra- 36 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. ding- there. To counteract this the Virginians formed a troop with which to protect their traders, and. in this troop Washington was employed as a volunteer in the year 1753, and in the winter of that year undertook an arduous embassy to the French commandant, through a district that could not then be travelled by a horse, and at this early period marked out spots eligible for forts, especially Fort Duquesne. The embassy failing, force was attempted, and Washingtonbecame lieutenant to Colonel Fry. The French fort became the thea- tre of war, which was alternately taken and retaken ; during which petty battles Colonel Fry died and left Washington in command; and in this situation the general of the revolution gained some fame from a masterly retreat before a very su- perior force of regular French soldiers. When the British government heard of these transactions they resolved to profit by them, and to dispossess the French of some of their terri- tories through the means and at the expense of the colonies. They directed the governors of the several states to form a union, and raise a force ; and that these united governors, as- sisted by two men'ibers of their respective council, should direct the whole, and draw upon the British treasury for the necessary expenses, in the first instance, but to be reimbursed by a tax laid on the colonies by the British parliament. This is the origin of the question which led to the disputes between Great Britain and the colonies, which ultimately led to independence. Franklin was consulted on this subject by Governor Shirley, and he at once declared the principle of taxation by the British parliament, in which they were not represented, to be unconstitutional and unjust. And thus he too, as early as 175.i, was initiated into the principles and in- to the subjects on which he so much distinguished himself at a period twenty years later. In 1755, the king 'of Great Britain, George IL, sent out a large armament, Admiral Boscawen, .to St. Lawrence, and General Braddock to Virginia, without a declaration of war, assuming that the French had commenced hostilities ; and Washington became the aid-de-camp of Braddock. Braddock led his army into the field, relying chiefly on his veterans ; nay, actually despising the militia of the country, and neg. CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLTTTION. 37 lecting the experience of Washington. Near Fort Duquesne he was caught in an Indian defile, and subject to a species of warfare he was unaccustomed to; and in tliat battle he was slain. Washington extricated the army from its' perilous sit- uation, retreated to Philadelphia, and afterward defended the frontiers of Virginia with much ability. Pitt, afterward Lord Chatham, becoming minister in England, pushed the war with vigor ; and sent out Lord Amherst, an excellent commander, assisted by Wolfe, General Forbes, and others. In 1758, Forbes took Fort Duquesne, while Wolfe lost his life at, but took Quebec; and in 1760 Amherst took Montreal; and in 1762, the whole of Canada and French North America was yielded to the English, except New Orleans and the adjacent province. At this period, and in the following year, the col- onists were perfectly content. They did not expect Indian aggression when not supported by French power. Thej were satisfied with Britain imposing on them governors, as repre- sentatives of royalty, while they enjoyed their colonial assem- blies, their trial by jury, and other British rights ; they were in fact, satisfied British subjects, approving of king, lords, and commons, and, like other British subjects, boasted of their liberty and their matchless constitution ; which they really thought, for the opinion was common, that this mixed gov- ernment united all that was excellent in each ; while the parts checking each other, suppressed all that was vicious in royalty, aristocracy, or democracy. They were afterward to be taught the fallacy of these opinions by Thomas Paine. At this period, 1763, they were politically divided, as in England, into whigs and tories ; or those who assumed to defend or extend the popular part of the government, and those who leaned to the aristocratical part, and favored the restriction of representation to property qualifications, and privileged or self-elected corporations: but the whigs predominated. It is to this period, 1763, that the colonists constantly refer in the early part of their revolution, before the declaration of inde- pendence, as the situation to vyhich they wished to be restor- ed ; and therefore it deserves particular attention. Parlia- mentary taxation had been named, but never enforced or acted upon ; and in all their after-petitions all they ask, is the 38 HFE OF THOMAS PAINE. repeal of laws since 1763. "Place us," they repeatedly say, " in the situation in which we then were." No feeling of re- publicanism is perceived in their addresses ; none in their public acts. Nothing of the kind was openly avowed by any of their leading men ; and the individuals who did occasion- ally hint at such an event, were regarded as ultras ; who, however correct in theory, held dangerous and impracticable doctrines : and these were the national feelings up lo the very eve of the declaration of independence ; just before which a change in the whole public sentiment was effected by the powerful pen of Thomas Paine, in his " Common Sense ;" before which publication the only object avowed, even by the great men of the age, and seriously sought after by the rest of the people, was to be placed in the situation of 1763 ; to be restored to royal favor, and to enjoy their old British privileges (not rights). In 1764 commenced the British and colonial troubles. Mr. George Granville had then become minister in Britain. He proposed to raise a revenue in the American colonies for the exclusive use of the British treasury. This was, of course, based upon the late expense of the war, borne by Great Brit- ain, and in consonance with the scheme before noted, of future remuneration to the mother-country. About the same time that this measure was talked of, other obnoxious acts were attempted. In Massachusetts, the governor published in sup- port of the ministry, and attempted to establish a religious test, by giving offices only to episcopalians : on which occa- sion the people sent agents to England. On March 10, 1764», the stamp act was declared (not acted upon); which made certain transactions unlawful if not recorded on stamped paper, paid for as n tax. Against this Virginia led the way by petition and remonstrance ; Massachusetts passed legisla- tive censures ; and these two states took the lead in the whole of the preliminary contests and revolutionary war. The memorials were not received by parliament ; but the parties were suffered to be heard by council. Dr. Franklin at this time was agent for Massachusetts. In 1765 the stamp act passed, and Boston went into mourning ; manifested great public spirit ; and her merchants agreed to import no goods CATJSES OF THE AMERICAN KEVOLTTTION. 39 till the unjust act ^houM be repealed ; while the lower classes committed some acts of violence. In Virginia a legislative action was had on it. Patrick Henry, then a young man, and scarcely acquainted with the rules of the assembly, waited for the action of some of the elder legislators ; but finding them silent, or disposed to conciliate, he rose in his place, and pro- posed a series of resolutions, denouncing the stamp act as violations of their ancient charters, and destructive of British and American freedom, and disclaiming any other authority to enforce taxes than a general assembly. These resolutions, after considerable debate, were admitted, and served ag a precedent for other states. The biographer of Patrick Henry, the late Mr. Wirt, relates, that after Mr, Henry's death, a sealed paper was found, directed to be read only when he had ceased to live. This paper contained the resolutions referred to, with remarks of Mr. Henry in his own handwriting. He observes : " The resolutions passed with a small major- ity ; but the alarm spread throyghout America. The minis- terial party were overwhelmed : the great point of resistance to British taxation was universally established in the colo- nies. This brought on the war, which finally separated the two countries." In every chain of events there are some links of more im- portance than others ; nay, essential to that chain. It is evi- dent that Patrick Henry thought so of these resolutions : it is equally evident that he himself looked forward to a separation of the two countries, and regarded tl\ese resolutions as im- portant to that object ; yet on the face of them they only claim what every Briton claims, and independence and repub- licanism are not even hinted. The time had not yet come for such sentiments to be broached ; nor how it was to come was not then known, either to Patrick Henry or to any other patriot. The man who was destined to convert a nation by a few pages of " common sense," was then in obscurity ; had just resigned staymaking for a paltry office in the English excise, and had never published an article : but the resolutions of Patrick Henry contributed to the crisis which brought Mr. Paine forward as an author ; and as such we regard him as a 40 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. chief link, too, in the chain of events which produced and consummated the revolution. In this same year, 1765, one James Otis, in Massachusetts, proposed a congress to be held in New York. A committee was formed to arrange this. South Carolina was the first to yield to the suggestion. The various governors, alarmed, prorogued the assemblies of Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia : but committees of correspondence were established in each state ; and thus the nucleus of organized resistance was formed. On the day the stamp act was to take effect, Boston had the bells tolled ; public meetings were held, and fast'days appointed. Violence in some cases was used : and to wear homespun became respectable, as marking national principle. The violent opposition to the stamp act induced inquiry in London. Franklin was examined at the bar of the house ; and the whigs generally wished the repeal of the ob- noxious stamp act. In the house of lords it is remarkable, that the bishops first recomrpended force to be used to the Americans ; and the king did not wish the repeal of the act. The law was, however, repealed ; and such were the feelings of the American people, that they manifested 'the most rap- turous joy ; and actually adulated the British government for not doing them so great an injustice as to impose on them taxes without representation. In Virginia a statue was voted to the king. From Massachusetts votes of thanks were agreed upon to the Duke of Grafton and Mr. Pitt ; while Boston, and other parts of the continent, illuminated ; and rejoicings were everywhere heard. Well might Thomas Paine say, as he afterward did, in the "Crisis, No. VII.:" "I found the dispo- sition of the people such, that they might be led by a thread and governed by a reed. Their attachment to Britain was obstinate ; and it was at that time a kind of treason to speak against it. They disliked the ministry, but they esteemed the nation. Their ideas of grievance operated without resent- ment ; and their single object was reconciliation^ The foolish ministers again opened the wound by wishing the states to remunerate those who had suffered by the acts of violence in resisting the stamp act. And in 1767, when Mr. Pitt, or Lord Chatham, had again come into power, but CAUSES OF THE IMEKICAN REVOLUTION. . 41 during his illness, an act was passed, " to restrain the legisla- tive power in New York ;" and soon after an act of perfidy awakened the jealousy and anger of the people ; for some troops landed in Boston, alleging they were driven in precisely to that port by stress of weather. And in the same year, one Charles Townsend, in the English parliament, publicly an- nounced a plan for taxing the Americans by the English par- liament, without giving them offence ; and this plan, thus foolishly announced, consisted in imposing a duty on glass, paint, tea, and paper, to be imported into the colonies ; and to assist this notable scheme, a board of admiralty was impos- ed on the colonies, to be paid by the natives, and whose operations cramped the colonies for the supposed benefit of the mother-country. These measures roused the people, and again awaked the worst feelings. Boston took the lead, closely followed by other parts. The mob committed acts of violence ; while the better sort were loud in petitioning and remonstrating. Lord Chatham, who had been ill, resigned ; Townsend died ; and Lord North succeeded as English chan- cellor of the exchequer, and afterward as prime minister : and to his perseverance in a wrong course, for the sake of consist- ency, England lost her colonies and America gained her in- dependence. This, without merit to Lord North, is another important link in the chain which led to independence. In this year the spirit of resistance was fostered by some tolerable essays from one John Dickenson, Esq., published in a Philadelphia paper ; while the seizing of Hancock's sloop " Liberty," for smuggling, furnished the Bostonians the sub- ject of a riot. To quell this, the governor, Bernard, sent for troops ; and the respectable body of the people, at a large 4)ublic meeting held at Faneuil Hall, proposed arming in fear of French invasion. This was undoubtedly a justifiable ruse to meet the duplicity of the English ministers, whose troops landed by alleged stress of weather at Boston : it shows, too, that the Bostonians meant io fight iot their liberty ; though independence was never named, nor evidently scarcely con- ceived of, except by a very few. In 1769, Lord North, the English minister, obtained a good support both in, the house of commons and in the house of 6 42 . LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. lords ; and he determined to maintain the supremacy of the English governmeat in all things; and to prevent the effects of native juries, proposed trying civil officers, charged with murder or violence in the colonies, in support of the British government, in England. On this occasion all the ports agreed to suspend importations till this grievance should he removed. In 1769, the opposition to the arbitrary measures of the British government was so great in the colonies, and so pow- erful the effect of the non-importation agreement, that the ministers agreed to discontinue all the duties, except that on tea ; thus perseveringly preserving the principle of taxation without representation, while they gave up the greater part of the profit. The war, therefore, that succeeded was a war on principle, not amount, of taxation. On this occasion, Lord Chatham, who had partially recovered from his late ill- ness, violently opposed the ministers. During this and the following year, the spirit of resistance increased, for the Americans were not to be duped by the repeal of taxes, while the principle or right of taxation was maintained. In Boston, where the presence of the soldiers was obnoxious, riots en- sued; individual quarrels between soldiers and citizens be- came party quarrels ; and three of the soldiers were killed by the ropemakers. In New York, the people erected liberty- poles, which the soldiers cut down. But the most powerful incitement to opposition came from the pen of McDougal, a Scotchman, who boldly charged the assembly with betraying the city and colony of New York, because they had discour- aged the people and sanctioned the governor and the troops ; not from attachment, but the necessity of supporting the laws. McDougal was thrown into prison, where he remained three months, and then dismissed without a trial. This fact shows the force of his writings, and we shall afterward find this man rendering essential service, for which the notoriety given him by this persecution qualified him. In 1771, Rhode Island showed considerable excitement. Philadelphia refused to receive the taxed tea ; New York and other places followed, and the vessels returned. But in Bos- ton, where a quantity was assigned, some of the people CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLTTTION.- 43 Pressed like Indians boarded the ships and threw three hun- dred and forty-two chests of tea into the sea. Yet, in this act, they only sought the liberties which the charters granted them ; and in all their requests, they simply asked to be re- stored to the situation they were in in 1763. In all this vio- lence the word independence was never pronounced. In 1774, North, enraged at the conduct of the Bostonians, procured bills, closing their harbor»and destroying their an- cient charter and constitution ; thus punishing a whole peo- ple and people unborn for the specific acts of some. Against this Lord Chatham protests ; and Burke the Irish orator made a brilliant speech. The career of the latter is identified with Paine ; for he afterward became a pensioner to the British government, and apologist for the Bourbon family, and the opponent of the French revolution, and his work on this subject produced Paine's celebrated "Eights of Man." Boston, when her harbors were about to be closed, appealed to other cities and states. Virginia, ever ready and firm in the cause of opposition to arbitrary measures, appoii4ed through her legislature the day for closing Boston harbor (1st of June, 1774), as a d-an of solemn fasting ; a measure always efficacious, for it enlists religious enthusiasm, and presents to the opponent a ghostly power, of immense force, which feels no blows. Cromwell, Mahomet, and Thomas a Becket, perfectly understood these tactics, and succeeded in their use. The governor dissolved the house in May, but the members formed an association, before even they had heard from Boston. They published, too, a manifesto, rec- ommending that no East India produce be used, except salt- petre and spice. At New York, the parties were nearly equal ; but the popularity of M'Dougal, the Scotchman be- fore noticed, for his spirited writings, gave him a conside^- ble influence, well supported as he was by Captain Sears. M'Dougal had both the honor to propose a second congress, the influence to get a committee for that purpose, and the ad- dress to carry this out, together with standing local commit- tees : and this arrangement lasted till the declaration of independence. The various members to this congress, are the distinguished men, whose names are familiar to us as fa- 44 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. thers of the revolution. This congress was generally ap- pointed by the legislatures, and made legal, to effect which there were some pcevious secret meetings in Massachusetts. A committee had been appointed on the state of the province, which consisted of Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, John Hancock, I. Cutting, Eobert Treat Paine, and others. Before they reported they requested the doors might be shut ; and then they proceeded to recommend a congress and an imme- diate decision. A spy of the governor affected a bowel com- plaint, and was suffered to depart ; but neither he, nor the governor, nor his ag«nt, was suffered to enter till the congress was confirmed ; and the governor's dissolution of the asserrt- bly, made on the outside, was neither heard nor regarded. Virginia appointed Washington, Patrick Henry, &c., and de- clared herself ready to support Boston, but at the same time carefully instructed her delegates not to break with Britain ; to support only their British privileges, or what they claimed as the rights of Englishmen. At this period, Rhode Island iss^ied a motto, now familiar to our ears, but which at the same time is degraded by party politics, "United, we stand — divi- ded, we fall." A motto, a song^a toast, or a pamphlet, will sometimes produce a unanimity, which much greater efforts have failed in. Georgia, of all the states, sent no deputies to this congress ; but she, too, soon after, when the danger had not decreased, joined the union. It should be remembered, that about this time, Mr. Thom- as Paine, by the advice of Dr. Franklin, then in England, was embarking for North America. It is evident that Franklin had a design of benefiting his country by this recommenda- tion, in the precise way in which Paine effected it ; for ■Franklin soon followed Paine, and almost immediately offered tn, but an animated one. The candidates were not men b.u prin- ciples. Societies were formed in Paris, and committees oi correspondence and comraunicatioa established thvoughoiu the nation, for the purpose of enlightening the people, and explaining to them tlie principles of civil government ; and so orderly was the election conducted, that it did not give rise even to the rumor of tumult. The states-general were to meet at Versailles in April, 1789, but did not assemble till Maj'. They situated themselves in three separate chambers, or rather the clergy and the aris- tocracy withdrew each into a separate chamber. The major- ity of the aristocracy claimed what they called the privilege of voting as a separate body, and of giving their consent or their negative in that manner ; and many of the bishops and the high-beneficed clergy claimed the same privilege on the part of their order. The tiers etat (as they were called) disowned any knowledge of artificial orders and artificial privileges ; and they were not only resolute on this point, but somewhat dis-lainful. They began to consider aristocracy as a kind of fungus grow- ing out of the corruption of society, that could not be admit- ted even as a branch of it ; and from the disposition the aris- tocracy had shown, by upholding lettres de cachet, and in sundry other instances, it was manifest that no constitution could be formed by admitting men in any other character than as national men. After various altercations on this head, the Hers etat, or commons (as they were then called), declared themselves (on a motion made for that purpose by the Abbe Sieyes) ' the KEPEESENTATivES OF THE NATION ; and that the two orders could be considered but as deputies of corporations, and could only have a deliberative voice but when they assembled in a national struck me in calling the states-general was a great clepartare from the ancient course ;' and he soon after says, ' From the moment I read the list, I saw dis- linrtly, and very nearly as it has happened, all that was to follow.' Mr. Burlte cer- tainly did not see all that was to follow. I have endeavored to impress him, as ■well before as after the states-general met, that there wonld be a revolution ^ but was not able to make him see it, neither would he believe it. How, then, he could distinctly see all the parts, when the whole was out of sight, is beyond my comprehension. And with respect to the ' dejiarture frora the ancient course,' beside the natural weakness of the remark, it shows that he is anacquainted with circumstances. The departure was necessary, from the experience had upon it, that the ancient course v,-as a bad one. The states-general of }6'14 were called at the commencement of the civil war in the minority of Louis XIII. ; but by the clash of arranging them by orders, they increased the confusion thr-y were called to compose. The author of I'InIHgue da Cabinet (Intrigue of the Cab- inet), who wrote befoi-e any revolution was thought of in France, speaking of the states-general of 1614 says: ' They held the public in suspense five months; and by the questions agitated therein, and the heat with which they were ])ut, it appears that the great (les grandes) lihought more to satisfy their particular passions than to procure the good of the nation ; and the whole time passed away in altercations, ceremonies, and parade.'— TZnfn'^e du Cahinel,' vol. i., STEPS TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 87 character with the national representatives.^ This proceeding extinguished the style of etats generaux, or states-general, and erected it into the style it now bears, that of Vassemble na- HoiuiIk, ot national assembly. This motion was not made in a precipitate manner : it was the result of cool deliberation, and concerted between the national representatives and the patriotic members of the two chambers, who saw into the folly, mischief, and injustice of artificial privileged distinctions. It was become evident that no constitution, worthy of being called by that name, could be established on anything less than a national ground. The aristocracy had hitherto opposed the despotism of the court, and affected the language of patriotism ; but it opposed it as its rival (as the English barons opposed King John) ; and it now opposed the nation from the same motives. On carrying this motion the national representatives, as had been concerted, sent an invitation to the two chambers, to unite with them in a national character, and proceed to business. A majority of the clergy, chiefly of the parish- priests, withdrew fmm the clerical chamber and joined the nation ; and forty-five from the other chamber joined in like manner. There is a sort of secret history belonging to this last circumstance, which is necessary to its explanation : it was not judged prudent that all the patriotic members of the chamber, styling itself the nobles, should quit it at once; and in consequence of this arrangement, they drew off by degrees, always leaving some, as well to reason the case, as to watch the suspected. In a little time the numbers increased from forty-five to eighty, and soon after to a greater number ; which, with a majority of the clergy, and the whole of the national representatives, put the malcontents in a very dimin- utive condition. The king, who, very different to the general class called by that name, is a man of a good heart, showed himself disposed to recommend a union of the three chambers, on the ground the national assembly had taken ; butthe malcontents exerted themselves to prevent it, and began now to have another pro- ject in view. Their numbers consisted of a majority of the aristocratical chamber, and a minority of the clerical cham- ber, chiefly of bishops and high-beneficed clergy ; and these men were determined to put everything to issue, as well by strength as by stratagem. They had no objection to a con- stitution ; but it must be such a one as themselves should dictate, and suited to their own views and particular situations. On the other hand, the nation disowned knowing anything of them but as citizens, and was determined to shut out all such upstart pretensions. The more aristocracy appeared, the more it was despised ; there was a visible imbecility and want of intellect in the majority, a sort olje ne sais cjuoi, that 88 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. while it affected to be more than citizen was less than man. It lost ground more from contempt than from hatred ; and •was rather jeered at as an ass than dreaded as a lion. This is the general character of aristocracy, or what are called no- bles or nobility, or rather no-ability, in all countries. The plan of the malcontents consisted now of two things ; either to deliberate and vote by chambers (or orders), more especially on all questions respecting a constitution (by wliich the aristocratical chamber would have had a negative on any article of the constitution), or, in case they could not accomplish this object, to overthrow the national assembly entirely. To effect one or the other of these objects, they began now to cultivate a friendship with the despotism they had hitherto attempted to rival, and the Count d'Artois became their chief. The king (who has since declared himself deceived into their measures) held, according to the old form, a bed ofjusiice, in which he accorded to the deliberation and vote par ieie (by head) upon several objects ; but reserved the deliberation and vote, upon all questions respecting d^constitution, to the three chambers separately. This declaration of the king was made against the advice of M. Neckar, who now began to per- ceive that he was growing out of fashion at court, and that another minister was in contemplation. As the form of sitting in separate chambers was yet appa- rently kept up, though essentially destroyed, the national rep- resentatives, immediately after this declaration of the king, resorted to their own chambers to consult on a protest against it J and the minority of the chamber (calling itself the nobles) who had joined the national cause, retired to a private house to consult in like manner. The malcontents had by this time concerted their measures with the court, which count d'Ar- tois undertook to conduct : and as they saw, from the discon- tent which the declaration excited, and the opposition making against it, that they could not obtain a control over the in- tended constitution by a separate vote, they prepared them- selves for their final object ; that of conspiring against the national assembly and overthrowing it. The next morning the door of the chamber of the national assembly was shut against them, and guarded by troops, and the members were refused admittance. On this they with- drew to a tennis-ground, in the neighborhood of Versailles, as the most convenient place they could find ; and, after renew- ing their session, took an oath never to separate from each other under any circumstances whatever, death excepted, until they had established a constitution. As the experiment of shutting up the house had no other effect than that of pro- ducing a closer connexion in the members, it was opened STEPS IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 89 again the next day, and the public business recommenced in the usual place. We are now to have in view the forming of the new minis- try, which was to accomplish the overthrow of the national assembly. But as force would be necessary, orders were issued to assemble thirty thousand troops, the command of which was given to Broglio, one of the new-intended ministry, who was recalled from the country for this purpose. But as some management .was necessary to keep this plan concealed till the moment it should be ready for execution, it is to this policy that a declaration made by Count d'Artois must be at- tributed, a.nd which is here proper to be introduced. It could not but occur that while the malcontents continued to resort to their chambers separate from the national assem- bly, that more jealousy would be excited than if they were mixed with it, and that the plot might be suspected : but as they had taken their ground, and now wanted a pretence for quitting it, it was necessary that one should be devised. This was effectually accomplished by a declaration made by Count d'Artois, that ' if they took not a part in the, national assembly, the life of the king would be endangered ;'' on which they quit- ted their chambers and mixed with the assembly in one body. At the time this declaration was made, it was generally treated as a piece of absurdity in^ Count d'Artois, and calcu- lated merely to relieve the outstanding members of the two chambers from the diminutive situation they were put in ; and if nothing more had followed this conclusion would have been good. But as things best explain themselves by their events, this apparent union was only a cover to the machina- tions that were secretly going on ; and the declaration accom- modated itself to answer that purpose. In a little time the national assembly found itself surrounded by troops, and thousands daily arriving. On this a very strong declaration was made by the national assembly to the king, remonstrating on the impropriety of the measure, and demanding the reason. The king, who was not in the secret of this business, as him- self afterward declared, gave substantially for answer, that he had no other object in view than, lo preserve public tranquillity, which appeared to be much disturbed. But in a few days from this time the plot unravelled itself. M. Neckar and the ministry were displaced, and a new one formed of the enemies of the revolution ; and Broglio, with between twenty-five and thirty thousand foreign troops, was arrived to support them. The mask was now thrown off, and matters were come to a crisis. The event was, that in the space of three days the new ministry and their abettors found it prudent to fly the nation ; the bastile was taken, and Brog- lio and his foreign troops dispersed, as is already related in a former part of this work." n • 90 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. We shall now introduce Mr. Paine's description of the taking of the bastile, and then proceed with his life, or his connexion with these events and their consequences. " The mind can hardly picture to itself a more tremendous scene than which the city of Paris exhibited at the time of taking the bastile, and for two days before and after, nor conceive the possibility of its quieting so soon. At a distance, this transaction has appeared only as an act of heroism stand- ing on itself: and the close political connexion it had with the revolution is lost in the brilliancy of the achievement. But we are to consider it as the strength of the parties, brought man to man, and contending for the issue. The bastile was to be either the prize or the prison of the assailants. The downfall of it included the idea of the downfall of despotism ; and this compounded image was become as figuratively united, as Bunyan's Doubting Castle and giant Despair. The national assembly before and at the time of taking the bastile, was sitting at Versailles, twelve miles distant from Paris. About a week before the rising of the Parisians and their taking the bastile, it was discovered that a plot was forming, at the head of which was the Count d'Artois, the king's youngest brother, for demolishing the national assem- bly, seizing its members, lind thereby crushing, by a coup de main, all hopes and prospects of forming a free government. For the sake of humanity, as well as of freedom, it is well this plan did not succeed. Examples are not wanting to show how dreadfully vindictive and cruel are all old governments, when they are successful against what they call a revolt. This plan must have been some time in contemplation ; be- cause, in order to carry it into execution, it was necessary to collect a large military force round Paris, and to cut off the communication between that city and the national assembly at Versailles. The troops destined for this service were chiefly the foreign troops in the pay of France, and who, for this particular purpose, were drawn from the distant provinces where they were then stationed. When they were collected, to the amount of between twenty-five and thirty thousand, it was judged time to put the plan into execution. The minis- try who were then in office, and who were friendly to the revolution, were instantly dismissed, and a new ministry formed of those who had concerted the project: — among whom was Count de Broglio, and to his share was given the command of those troops. The character of this man, as described to me in a letter which I communicated to Mr. Burke before he began to write his book, and from an authority which Mr. Burke well knows was good, was that of ' a high-flying aristocrat, cool, and capable of every mischief.' TAKING THE BASTILE. 91 While these matters were agitating, the national assembly- stood in the most perilous and critical situation that a body of men can be supposed to act in. They were the devoted victin'is, and they knew it. They had the hearts and wishes of their country on their side, but military authority they had none. The guards of Broglio surrounded the hall where the assembly sat, ready, at the word of command, to seize their persons, as had been done the year before to the parliament in Paris. Had the national assembly deserted their trust, or had they exhibited signs of weakness or fear, their enemies had been encouraged, and the country depressed. When the situation they stood in, the cause they were engaged in, and the crisis then ready to burst which should determine their personal and political fate, and that of their country, and probably of Europe, are taken into one view, none but a heart callous with prejudice, or corrupted by dependance, can avoid interesting itself in their success. • The archbishop of Vienne was at this time president of the national assembly ;ij|f person too old to undergo the scene that a few days, or a few hours, might bring forth. A man of more activity, andg|fcolder fortitude, was necessary ; and the national assembly cnose (under the form of vice-president, for the presidency still rested in the archbishop) M. de la Fayette ; and this is the only instance of a vice-president being chosen. It was at the moment^this storm was pending, July 11, that a declaration of rights was brought forward by M. de la Fayette, and is the same which is before alluded to. It was hastily drawn up, and makes only a part of a more extensive declara- tion of fights, agreed upon and adopted afterward by the national assembly. The particular reason for bringing it for- ward at this moment (M. de la Fayette has since informed me) was, that if the national assembly should fall in the threatened destruction that then surrounded it, some trace of its princi- ples might have a chance of surviving the wreck. Everything was now drawing to a crisis. The event Avas freedom or slavery. On one side an army of nearly thirty thousand men ; on the other an unarmed body of citizens, for the citizens of Paris on whom the national assemMy must then immediately depend, were as unarmed and undisciplined as the citizens of London are now. The French guards had given strong symptoms of their being attached to the national cause ; but their numbers were small, not a tenth part of the force which Broglio commanded, and their officers were in the interest of Broglio. Matters being now ripe for execution, the new ministry made their appearance in office. The reader will carry in his mind, that the bastile was taken the 14th of July: the point of time I am now speaking to, is the 12th. As soon as the news of the change of the ministry reached Paris in the after- 92 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. noon, all the play-houses and places of entertainment, shops and houses, were shut up. The change of ministry was con- sidered as the prelude of hostilities, and the opinion was rightly founded. The foreign troops hegan to advance toward the city. The Prince de Lambesc, who commanded a body of German cav- alry, approached by the palace of Louis XV. which connects itself with some of the streets. In his march he insulted and struck an old man with his sword. The French are remarka- ble for their respect to old age, and the insolence witli which it appeared to be done, uniting with the general fermentation they were in, produced a powerful efl'ect, and a cry of ' To arms ! to arms .'' spread itself in a moment over the whole city. Arms they had none, nor scarcely any who knew the use of them ; but desperate resolution, when every hope is at stake, supplies, for a while, the want of arms. Near where the Prince de Lambesc was drawn up, were large piles of stones collected for building the new bridge, and with these the people attacked the cavalry. A party ofphe French guards, upon hearing the firing, rushed from their quarters and joined the people ; and night coming on, the ci^lry retreated. The streets of Paris, being narrow, are favorable for defence; and the loftiness of the houses, consisting of many stories, from which great annoyance might be given, secured them against nocturnal enterprises; and the night was spent in providing themselves with every sort of weapon they could make or procure : guns, swords, blacksmith's hammers, car- penters' axes, iron crows, pikes, halberds, pitchforks, spits, clubs, &c. The incredible numbers with which they assembled the next morning, and the still more incredible resolution they exhibit- ed, embarrassed and astonished their enemies. Little did the new ministry expect such a salute. Accustomed to slavery themselves, they had no idea that liberty was capable of such inspiration, or that a body of unarmed citizens would dare to face the military force of thirty thousand men. Every mo- ment of this day was employed in collecting arms, concerting plans, and arranging themselves in the best order which such an instantaneous movement could afford. Broglio continued lying round the city, but made no farther advances this day, and the succeeding night passed with as much tranquillity as such a scene could possibly produce. But the defence only was not the object of the citizens. They had a cause at stake, on which depended their freedom or their slavery. They every moment expected an attack, or to hear of one made on the national assembly ; and in such a situation, the most prompt measures are sometimes the best. The object that now presented itself, was the basrile ; and the eclat of carrying such a fortress in the face of such an TAKING THE BASTILE, 93 army, could not fail to strike terror into the new ministry, Vvho had scarcely yet had time to meet. By some intercept- ed correspondence this morning, it was discovered that the mayor of Paris, M. de Flessels, who appeared to be in their interest, was betraying- them ; and from this discovery there remained no doubt that Broglio would reinforce the bastile the ensuing evening. It was therefore necessary to attack it that day ; but before this could be done, it was first necessary to procure a better supply of arms than they were then pos- sessed of. There was, adjoining to the city, a large magazine of arms deposited at the hospital of the invalids, which the citizens summoned to surrender ; and as the place was not defensible, nor attempted much defence, they soon succeeded. Thus supplied, they marched to attack the bastile ; a vast mixed multitude of all ages and of all degrees, and armed with all sorts of weapons. Imagination would fail of describing to itself the appearance of such a procession, and of the anxiety for the events which a few hours or a few minutes might pro- duce. What plans the ministry was forming, were as un- known to the people within the city, as what the citizens were doing was unknown to them ; and what movements Broglio might make for the support or relief of the place, were to the citizens equally unknown. All was mystery and hazard. That the bastile was attacked with an enthusiasm of hero- ism, such only as the highest animation of liberty could in- spire, and carried in the space of a few hours, is an event which the world is fully possessed of. I am not undertaking a detail of the attacl^but bringing into view the conspiracy against the nation which provoked it, and which fell with the bastile. The prison to which the new ministry were doom- ing the national assembly, in addition to its being the high altar and castle of despotism, became the proper object to begin with. This enterprise broke up the new ministry, who began now to fly from the ruin they had prepared for others. The troops of Broglio dispersed, and himself fled also." The taking of the bastile by a mob has astonished most persons acquainted with that fortress, and especially military men, who know the obstacle to such an undertaking, nor was it generally understood how the moat was passed, or the draw- bridge let down. We learn, however, from Eobert Dale Owen, who had the information from La Fayette, that the chain of the draw-bridge was struck by a well-aimed cannon-ball, or per- haps by a chain-shot, and the chain or chains being th«s 94 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. broken, the bridge fell, the mob rushed over, and effected the rest by gallantry. Sherwin thus speaks on this subject : — "The destruction of the bastile, and the universal diffusion of republican principles throughout the French empire, had rendered that country a singular object of terror to the English government. The mass of the nation saw with pleasure the dawn of French liberty, while the majority of their rulers be- held it as a treasonable invasion of the divine rights of monar- chy. They dreaded the spirit of inquiry which it was calcu- lated to diffuse, and they feared that the government of Eng- land, matchless and enviable as it was represented, would gain no credit by passing through the ordeal of national discussion. The first important attack that was made upon the principles of the French ^evolution was by Mr. Burke at the opening of parliament, 1790. This was followed by an advertisement in several of the newspapers, stating that he intended shortly to publish his opinions on the subject in the form of a pamphlet. The friends of liberty in this country were astonished at the sudden change in the politics of Mr. Burke, as he had, for sev- eral years previous, and particularly during the American war, been considered as a most eloquent and sincere advocate of public freedom. But it was shortly discovered that he had re- ceived a pension of three thousand pounds a year, and this suf- ficiently explained the grounds of hisapostacy. At the period of his parliamentry attack on the French revolution, he corre- sponded with Mr. Paine, and so t.otally unexpected was his conduct, that the latter had written to him from Paris but a few weeks before, to inform him how ♦prosperously matters were going on. When the advertisement was published an- nouncing Mr. Burke's 'Reflections,' Mr. Paine promised the friends of the French revolution that he w'ould answer the work whenever it appeared. He left France in November, 1790, hav- ing been an attentive observer, if not an active adviser, of the important proceedings which had taken place during the pre- ceding twelve months. Mr. Burke'sbook appeared soon after his arrival. The popularity of the author as a literary charac- ter, the exertions of the government and its agents in all parts of the country, the flowery and impassioned language in which the historical and declamatory parts of the book were clothed, and the repeated delays which had retarded its appearance, and, consequently, increased the anxiety of the public, all con- spired to give the work an interest, which its profligacy ot principle and perversity of sentiment were insufficient to over- come. The mass of his readers were captivated by his elo- quence, and but a few took the trouble to reflect on the distort- ed facts, the real falsehoods, and the egregious absurdities wfth which the book abounded. BURKE S AEOSTAC? EIGHTS OF MAN. 95 Mr. Paine lost no time in prepaiing his answer to the work. In less than three months he produced the first part of ' Rights of Man,' in which he had combated and confuted the greater portion of Mr. Burke's doctrines. The work was printed in Februarj^, 1791, for Mr. Johnson, of St. Paul's Church Yard, but on looking it over he discovered some passages which he conceived were liable to be prosecuted, and he declined the publication. This refusal, which was altogether unexpected, occasioned a month's delay. After some difficulty, a publish- er was at lengtli found in Mr. Jordan, at No. 166, Fleet street, and the work was brought out on the 13th of March, 1791. This publication had a two-fold object in view ; — firstly, that of rousing the attention of the people of England to the defects and abuses of their own system of government ; and secondly, that of refuting the falsehoods and exaggerations in Mr. Burke's 'Reflections.' Among other doctrines equally devoid of princi- ple, Mr. Burke had published a commentary on the proceedings of the parliament of 1688, in which lie had argued that the peo- ple of England were bound by the declaration of the said par- liament, who had consented ' to submit themselves, their heirs and posterities for ever,' to the heirs and posterity of William and Mary. Mr. Paine argues, that whatever right the parlia- ment might have to submit themselv&s, they had not, and could not, have any right to enter into any agreement or contract re- specting the government o( posterity, for, says he, ' everj' age and generation must be as free to act for itself «'ra all cases, as the age and generation which preceded it." A more self-evident position than this could not have been advanced, and the re- flections naturally arising from it were quite sufficient to over- turn the absurd conclusions which Mr. Burke had drawn from his omnipotent parliament of 1688. Our author then proceeds to refute his misrepresentations relative to the French revolution, and the causes of it. He enters into an elaborate detail of the events immediately pre- ceding the overthrow of the ancient despotism, and of the con- sequences which it was calculated to produce. In speaking of the destruction of the bastile, and of Mr. Burke's silence on the subject, he thus beautifully expresses himself: "Not one glance of compassion, not one commiserating reflection, that I can find throughout his book, has he bestowed on those who lingered out the most wretched of lives — a life without hope in the most miserable of prisons. It is painful to behold a man employing his talents to corrupt himself. Nature has been kinder to Mr. Burke than he is to her. He is not afTected by the reality of distress touching his heart, but by the showy re- semblance of it striking his imagination. He pities the plu- mage, but foraets the dying bird. Accustomed to kiss the aristocratic hand that hath purloined him from himself, he de- generates into a composition of art, and the genuine soul of 96 LIFE OF THOMAS PAmE. nature forsakes him. His hero or his heroine must be a tra- gedy victim expiring in show, and not the real prisoner of mis- ery sliding into death in the silenee of a dungeon.' Mr. Paine reasons very deeply on the subject of rights, and the origin ot government, in opposition to the dogmatical assertions and high-sounding declamation of his antagonist, and concludes his argument with a comparison between the constitutions of England and France, as the latter then stood under the author- ity of the national assembly. He ridicules the vanity of titles, and the policy of hereditary governors, and vindicates the con- duct of the national assembly in abolishing the one, and neu- tralizing the authority of the other. It has been urged against the work before us, that the au- thor had neglected to arrange his matter methodically. But it should be recollected, that he was compelled to follow the track of his opponent, which, as Mr. Paine very truly observes, was a complete 'wilderness of rhapsodies.' It was therefore impossible to preserve that order which in any other Work would be considered essentially requisite. It may, however, be safely asserted, that the author's meaning is always clear, that his facts are always correctly stated, and that his argu- ments are incontrovertible. With respect to the merits of the work as a composition, its immense circulation and immedi- ate effect in exciting an inquiry into the abuses of the English government, will answer for this part of the subject. Perhaps there never was a period in which the people of that country were less disposed to attend to the discussion of politics than at the time Mr. Paine's pamphlet made its appearance : they had been so often amused, and so often deceived, by men who pretended to advocate their rights, that they were disgusted with the subject, and the apostacy of Mr. Burke was a con- firmation of their sentiments. But the principles contained in the ' Rights of Man,' opened an entirely new field of argument and inquiry, and the thinking part of the people began to view the right of political reform, not as a boon to be expected or desired from the government, but as a power which the nation alone had the authority to exercise. About the middle of May Mr. Paine again went to France. Soon after his arrival the king fled from Paris. On this occasion "he observed to his friend Mr. Christie : 'You see-the absurdity of monarchical governments. Here will be a whole nation disturbed by the folly of one man.' When the king returned to Paris, Mr. Paine was, from an accidental circumstance, in considerable danger of losing his life. An immense concourse of persons of all classes had assembled to witness the event. J mong the crowd was Mr. Paine. An officer proclaimed the order of the national assembly, that all shoul(^be silent and covered. In an instant all hats were on. Mr. Paine, however, had lost his cockade, the emblem of liberty and equality. The ABBE SYEYES HORNE TOOKE. 97 multitude observing that he remained uncovered, supposed that ha vsras one of their enemies, and a cry instantly arose, ' Aristocrat ! Aristocrat ! a la lanterne ! a la lanterne /' He was desired by those who stood near him to put on his hat, and it was sometime before the people could be satisfied by explanation. The Abbe Syeyes, who had been one of the principal au- thors of the new constitution, beitig alarmed at the partial excesses which had been committed by the populace, and falsely attributing them to the propagation of republican prin- ciples, avowed his intention of defending the monarchical against the democratical system of government. Mr. Paine readily accepted the challenge, and offered, in the short space of fifty pages, to controvert all the arguments which the abbe coLild bring forward in defence of his proposition. The latter prudently declined the contest, and thus the matter ended. On the thirteenth July, 1791, he returned to London, but it was not thought prudent that he should attend the public cele- bration of the French revolution, which was to take place on the following day. He was, however, present at the meeting which was held at the Thatched-House tavern, on the twen- tieth of August following. Of the address and declaration which issued from this meeting, and which was at first at- tributed to Mr. Home Tooke, Mr. Paine was the author. A second meeting was intended to have been held at the same place, for a similar purpose, but the proprietor of the tavern was so much alarmed at the clamors of the government party, that he was under the necessity of informing Mr. Home Tooke and his friends that he could not receive them. Mr. Paine was now very much engaged in preparing the second part of the ' Rights of Man' for the press. In the mean- time the ministry had received information that the worlt would shortly appear, and they resolved on getting it sup- pressed if possible. Having ascertained the name of the print- er, they employed* him to endeavor to purchase the copy- right of the second, together with the future copyright of the first part of the 'Eights of Man.' He began first by offering a hundred guineas, then five hundred, and at length a thousand; but Mr. Paine told him, that he ' would never pot it in the power of any printer or publisher to suppress or alter a work of his, by making him master of the copy, or give him the • I am aware that the circumstance of Mr. Chapman's being employed by gov- ernment, has been denied by the partisans of the administration. But from the evidence which he gave on tlie trial, there is every reason to conclude that he was commissioned by the ministry or their immediate agents. He thore states, that hfi refused to go on with the printing of the work from the fear of its being pros- ecuted. Is it probable that any man would be so extremely foolish as to offer a thousand guineas Tor the copyright of a book which he dare not sell, unless he had some prospect in doing it distinct from the profit that was to be derived from the publication? The case is too clear to require farther commentary. 13 98 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. Tight of selling it to any minister, or to any other person, or to treat as a mere matter of traffic that which he mtended should operate as a principle." Finding that Mr. Paine was not to be bribed by pecuniary offers, the ministry next attempted to impede, since they could not suppress, the publication of the work, and in this they partially succeeded. Among other things, it contained several propositions relative to a reduction of the public taxes. It was intended to have appeared on the day of the meeting of par- liament, but when the printer found it was not to be purchased, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the work, and informed Mr. Paine that he would not proceed with the remainder on any consideration. Another printer, therefore, became neces- sary, and this occasioned a delay of a fortnight. From the circumstances, elsewhere stated, there is every reason to con- clude that the proof-sheets were regularly sent to the cabi- net, and that the small addition to the pay of the soldiers, as well as several proposals for reducing the taxes brought for- ward by Mr. Pitt at the opening of parliament, were done for no other object than that of making it appear that Mr. Paine's plan was merely an improvement on that of the minister. But even in this paltry purpose the parties in power were defeat- ed, by the exposure of the circumstances in the appendix to the work. The ' Eights of Man,' part the second, combining principle and practice, was published by Mr. Jordan, of Fleet street, on the sixteenth of February, 1792. Exclusive of a dedication to M. de la Fayette, a preface and an introduction, it is divided into five cliapters : chapter 1, on Society and Civilization ; 2, on the Origin of the present old Governments ; 3, on the old and new Systems of Government ; 4, on Constitutions ; 5, Ways and Means of reforming the Political Condition of Eu- rope, interspersed with Miscellaneous Observations. The second part is, strictly speaking, a continuation of the first. The general design of the work appears to have been an investigation of the abuses of the English government ; an examination of the hereditary and representative systems ; to which are added, a variety of propositions for meliorating the condition of the nation. In going over this work, it is difficult to decide whether the ability or benevolence of the writer is the most deserving of our admiration. The most abstruse and difficult subjects in the science of politics are rendered intelli- gible and interesting, and the abuses which had been accumu- lating for ages, and which antiquity seemed to have rendered sacred and venerable, are examined with a degree of boldness, which is wholly without precedent or parallel. The generality of those who had previously written on the subject of govern ment, appear to have drawn their principles from existing systems, and all that they had attempted to effect, was the " RIGHTS OF MAN," PART II. 99 correction of a few exterior abuses, without daring- to invade the assumed rights of the establishment itself. But our au- thor's attaclf was quite of a different nature : he not only depre- cated the praetice, but he condemned the principle; he not only declared his contempt for the monarch, but his detesta- tion of the monarchy. He had studied the science of politics m the school of human nature, and he spoke as he felt, with- out reverencing, or even referring to the subtleties of the sophists who had gone before him. One of the great objects of the work was to do away with! the delusive notion, that the members of the system ought to be expected to reform themselves. ' There does not,' says he, ' exist within such governments, sufficient stamina whereon to ingraft reformation.' ' The right of reform is in the nation, in its original character, and the constitutional method would be by a general convention elected for the purpose.' He likewise reasons with much energy in the first as well as the second part of the work against the prevalent opinions, with respect to the ntiixed system of government. ' A nation is not a body, the figure of which is to be represented by the human body, but is like a body contained within a circle, having a common centre, in which every radius meets, and that centre is formed by representation. To connect representation with what is called monarchy, is eccentric government. Representation is of itself the delegated monarchy of a nation, and cannot de- base itself by dividing it with another.' Indeed, it requires very little reflection to discover the impossibility of uniting democracy with monarchy or aristocracy, for any beneficial purpose. The union may exist in appearance, but it never can take place in fact. The dignified pride of republicanism dis- owns the base connexion. It is impossible to form an exact estimate of the number of copies which were circulated of the first and second parts of the 'Rights of Man,' but at a very moderate calculation there was at least a hundred thousand of each. When Mr. Paine saw the great interest which it excited, he thought the best mode of promulgating its principles, would be to give up the copyright in favor of the public, which he did about two months after the appearance of the second part. The probability of/ a revolution now became a subject of general discussion. The nation was divided into two numerous and powerful classes, the one consisting of the ignorant and the njajority of the wealthy, arranged under the banners of civil and religious tyranny, and declaring their attachment to all that was super- stitious in the church, and all that was despotic in the state — while the other, more numerous and less dependant, more enlightened though less opulent, being convinced that the government in its existing state, was the cause of the greater oart of the misery with which the country was afflicted, were 100 LIFE OF THOM^iS PAINE. determined to let slip no opportunity of shaking off the load of oppression. That the different branches of government were in a state of the completes! trepidation, is a fact that ad- mits of no question, and that many of the most intelligent men of all parties expected a revolution, is equally indisputa- ble. It is recorded of a certain ancient philosopher, who lived under a capricious tyrant, that he used every morning, when he awoke, to feel whether his head was on his shoulders; and the state of the English people at length became so unsettled, and the stability of the government so problematical, that the king and his ministry might almost consider themselves in as precarious a situation. On the first appearance of the ' Rights of Man,' the ministry saw that it inculcated truths which they could not controvert, that it contained plans which, if adopted, would benefit at least nine tenths of the community, and that its principles were the reverse of the, existing system of government ; they therefore judged that the most politic method would be to treat the wort with contempt, to represent it as a foolish and insignificant performance, unworthy of their notice, and undeserving of the attention of the public. But they soon found the inefficacy of this mode of treatment ; the more contempt they showed, the more the book was read and approved of. Finding, therefore, that their declarations of contempt were as unsuccessful as their project of buying up the work, they determined upon prosecuting the author and publisher. Mr. Paine was not at all surprised at this resolution of the ministry ; indeed, he had anticipated it on the publication of the second part of the work, and to remove any doubt as to his intention of defending the principles which he had so effectually inculcated, he address- ed the following letter to his publisher : — ' February 16, 1792. Sir : Should any person, under the sanction of any kind of authority, inquire of you respecting the author and publisher of the " Eights of Man," you will please to mention me as the author and publisher of that work, and show to such person this letter. I will as soon as I am made acquainted with it, ap- pear and answer for the work personally. Your humble servant, Thomas Paine, Mr. Jordan, No. 166 Fleet Street.' The first intimation which Mr. Paine received of the inten- tions of the ministry, was on the 14th of May, 1792. He was then at Bromley in Kent, upon which he came immediately to town ; on his arrival, he found that Mr. Jordan had that even- ing been served with a summons to appear at the court of King's Bench on the Monday following, but for what purpose PEOSECUTION OF MR. PAINE. lOl was not stated. Conceiving- it to be on account of the work, he appointed a meetin? with Mr. Jordan, on the next morning, when he provided a solicitor, and took the expense of the de- fence on himself. But Mr. Jordan, it appears, had too much regard for his person to hazard its safety on the event of a prosecution, and he compromised the affair with the solicitor of the treasury, by agreeing- to appear in court and plead guilty. This arrangement answered the purpose of both parties — that of Jordan in liberating him from the risk of a prosecution, an'd that of the ministry, since his plea of guilty amounted in some measure to a condemnation of the work. The following letter from Mr. Paine to Sir Archibald Mac- donald, the then attorney-general, will serve to confirm this statement : — ' Sir : Though I have some reason for believing that you were not the original promoter or encourager of the prosecu- tion commenced against the work entitled ' Rights of Man," either as that prosecution is intended to affect the author, the publisher, or the public ; yet as you appear the official person therein, I address this letter to you, not as Sir Archibald Mac- donald, but as attorney-general. You began by a prosecution against the publisher, Jordan, and the reason assigned by Mr. Secretary Dundas, in the house of commons, in the debate on the proclamation. May 25, for ta- king that measure, was, he said, because Mr. Paine could not be found, or words to that effect. Mr. Paine, sir, so far from secreting himself, never went a step out of his way, nor in the least instance varied from his usual conduct, to avoid any mea- sure you might choose to adopt with respect to him. It is on the purity of his heart, and the universal utility of the princi- ples and plans which his writings contain, that he rests the issue; and he will not dishonor it by any kind of subterfuge. The apartments which *he occupied at the time of writing the work last winter, he has continued to occupy to the present hour, and the solicitors of the prosecution knew where to find him ; of which there is a proof in their own office as far back as the 21st of May, and also in the office of my own attorney. But admitting, for the sake of the case, that the reason for proceeding against the publisher was, as Mr. Dundas stated, that Mr. Paine could not be found, that reason can now exist no longer. The instant that I was informed that an information was pre- paring to be filed against me, as the author of, I believe, one of the most useful books ever offered to mankind, I direct- ed my attorney to put in an appearance ; and as I shall meet the prosecution fully and fairly, and with a good and upright c^onscience, I have a right to expect that no act of littleness, will be made use of on the part of the prosecution toward in- 102 LIFE OF THOMAS PAI>'e. fluencing the future issue with respect to the author. This ex- pression may, perhaps, appear obscure to you, but I am in the possession of some matters which serve to show that the action against the publisher is not intended to be a real action. If, therefore, any persons concerned in the prosecution have found their cause so weak as to make it appear convenient to thewj to enter into a negotiation with the publisher, whether for the purpose of his submitting to a verdict, and to make use of the verdict so obtained as a circumstance, by way of precedent, on a future trial against myself; or for any other purpose not fully made known to me ; if, I say, I have cause to suspect this to be the case, I shall most certainly withdraw the defence I should otherwise have made, or promoted, on his (the pub- lisher's) behalf, and leave the negotiators to themselves, and shall reserve the whole of the defence for the real trial. But, sir, for the purpose of conducting this matter with at Jeast that appearance of fairness and openness that shall just- ify itself before the puhlic, whose cause it really is (for it is the right of public discussion and investigation that is ques- tioned), I have to propose to yon to cease the prosecution against the publisher ; and as the reason or pretext can no longer exist for continuing it against him because Mr. Paine could not be found, that you would direct the whole process against me, with whom the prosecuting party will not find it possible to enter into any private negotiation. I will do the cause full justice, as well for the sake of the nation, as for my own reputation. Another reason for discontinuing the process against the publisher is, because it can amount to nothing. First, be- cause a jury in London cannot decide upon the fact of publishing beyond the limits of the jurisdiction of London, and therefore the work may be republished over and over again in every county in the nation, and every case must have a separate pro- cess ; and by the time that three or foi5r hundred prosecutions have been had, the eyes of the nation will then be fully open to see that the work in question contains a plan the best cal- culated to root out all the abuses of government, and to less- en the taxes of the nation upward of six millions annually. Secondly, because though the gentlemen of London may be very expert in understanding their particular professions and occupations, and how to make business contracts with govern- ment beneficial to themselves as individuals, the rest of the nation may not be disposed to consider them sufficiently qual- ified nor authorized to determine for the whole nation on plans of reform, and on sj^stems and principles of government. This would be in effect to erect a jury into a national convention, instead of electing- a convention, and to lay a precedent for the probable tyranny of juries, under the pretence of support- ing their rights. PROSECUTION OF MR. PAINE. 103 That the possibility always exists of packing juries will not be denied ; and, therefore, in all cases where government is the prosecutor, more especially in those where the right of public discussion and investigation of principles and systems of government is attempted to be suppressed by a verdict, or in those where the object of the work that is prosecuted is the reform of abuse and the abolition of sinecure places and pensions, in all these cases the verdict of a jury will itself become a subject of discussion ; and, therefore, it furnishes an additional reason for discontinuing the prosecution against the publisher, more especially as it is not a secret that there has been a negotiation with him for secret purposes, and for proceeding against me only. I shall make a much stronger defence than what I believe the treasury solicitor's agreement with him will permit him to do. I believe that Mr. Burke, finding himself defeated, and not being able to make any answer to the " Eights of Man," has been one of the promoters of this prosecution f and I shall re- turn the compliment to him by showing, in a future publica- tion, that he has been a masked pensioner at fifteen hundred pounds per annum for about ten years. Thus it is that the public money is wasted, and the dread of public investigation is produced. I am, sir, Your obedient humble servant, Thomas Pjiine. Sir A.Macdonald, Attorney-General.' The business being thus settled with respect to Jordan, and he consenting to give up the documents in his possession relative to the ' Rights of Man,' in order to facilitate their means of proceeding against the author, they commenced their prosecution against the latter on the twenty-first of May. On the same day, they issued their celebrated proclamation ag-ainst what they were pleased to term ' seditious writings.' The au- thors of this document preserved a careful silence as to the specific object of theift alarms, but it was easy to discover that their intention was to cry down the ' Rights of Man,' and to influence the verdict of the jury which was to try the author. Another expedient was likewise resorted to — that of procuring addresses in favor of the existing system of government from the corporations, rotten boroughs, and other places under the influence of the ministry. Nothing could be more despicable than these addresses,* and nothing more glaring than the con- * As a contrast to these contemptible and iulsome specimens of servility, I subjoin the following: — . ,„ . ,,,,., ■ ' At a meeting of the Manchester Constitutional Society, held this day, it was unanimously resolved — . j. , ... That the thanks of this society are due to Mr. Thomas Paine, lor the publico- 104 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. duct of their promoters, who were chiefly persons directly or indirectly interested in the support of public abuses : but des- picable as they were, they served in sonie measure the pur- tionofhis "Second Part of the Rights of Man, combining Principle and Practice." a work of the highest importance to every nation under heaven ; but particularly to thisjas containing excellent and practical plans for an immediate and consid- erable reduction of the public expenditure ; lor the prevention of wars; for the extension of our manufactures and commerce ; for the education of the young ; for the comfortable support of the aged ; for the better maintenance of the poor of every description ; and, finally, for lessening, greatly, and without delay, the enormous load of taxes under which this country at present labors. That this society congratulate their countrymen at large, on the influence which Mr. Paine's publications appear to have had, in procuring the repeal of some oppressive taxes in the present session of parliament; and they hope that this adoption of a small part of Mr. Paine's ideas, mill be followed'hy the most strenuous exertions to accomplish a complete reform in the present inadequate state of the representation of the people, and that the other great plans of public benefit, which Mr. Paine has so po\verfully recommended, will be speedily carried into effect. Thomas Walker, President. March 13, 1792.' Samuel Jackson, Secretary. Shefield Society for Constitutional Information, ' This society, composed chiefly of the manufacturers of Sheffield, began about four months ago, and is already increased to nearly two thousand members, and is daily increasing, exclusive of the adjacent towns and villages who are forming themselves into similar societies. Considering, as we do, that the want of knowledge and information in the gen eral mass of the people, has exposed them to numberless impositions and abuses, the exertions of this society are directed to the acquirement of useful knowledge, and to spread the same as far as our endeavors and abilities can extend. We declare that we have derived more true knowledge from the two works of Mr. Thomas Paine, entitled "Rights of Man, ".parts the first and second, than from any author on the subject. The practice as well as the principle of govern- ment is laid down, in those works, in a manner so clear and irresistibly con- vincing, that this society do hereby resolve to give their thanks to Mr. Paine for his two said publications, entitled " Rights of Man," parts first and second. Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this society be given to Mr. Paine, for the affectionate concern he has shown in his second worli in behalf of the poor, the infant, and the aged j who, notwithstanding the opulence which blesses other parts of the community, are, by the grievous weight of taxes, rendered the miserable victims of poverty and wretchedness. Resolved unanimously. That the thanks of this society be given to John Home Tooke, Esq., for his meritorious support of our lawful privileges, as a firm advo- cate of our natural and just rights, the establishment of an equal representation of the people. Resolved unanimously, That this society disdaining to be considered either of a ministerial or opposition party (names of which we are tired, having been so often deceived by both) do ardently recommend it to all their fellow-citizens, into whose hands these resolutions may come, to confer seriously and calmly with each other on the subject alluded to; and to manifest to the world, that the spirit of true liberty is a spirit of order ; and that to obtain justice it is con- sistent that we be just to ourselves. Resolved unanimously. That these resolutions be printed, and that a copy thereof be transmitted to the Society for Constitutional Information, London, requesting their approbation for twelve of our friends to be entered into their society for the purpose of establishing a connexion and a regular communication with that and all other similar societies in the kingdom. By order of the committee. March 14, 1792.' David Martin, Chairman. The above were selected from a number of others of a similar description. They show that Mr. Paine had the approbation of the most independent portion of the people, though his writings were not sanctioned by the aristocracy, the landed interest, or any other class interested in the protection of a corrupt system of government MK. paine's "address to the addressees." 105 pose of the moment in decrying the character of a work; and defaming the reputation of a man whose arguments were un- answerable, and whose character was irreproachable. A great number of pamphlets, intended as answers to the 'Rights of Man,' had issued from the press, but such was the irresistible nature of truth, that these puny and feeble efforts on the part of wounded corr.uption no sooner appeared than they vanished, and a few short weeks consigned them and their authors to eternal oblivion. They therefore determined that an appeal to popular clamor would serve their cause better than an appeal to reason, and the verdict of a packed jury would answer their purpose better than any attempt to argue the merits of the work on the principles of truth and justice. While the ministers of despotism were thus revelling in the anticipation of their plots and schemes for crushing the rising spirit of the country, the author of the 'Rights of Man' was resolved not to shrink from the discussion which his writings had occasioned. He was urged by several gentlemen of the law to prefer a bill of indictment against the publisher of the proclamation as a publication tending to influence the decision of the jury ; but conscious of the rectitude of his intentions, and of the strength of hi? arguments, he preferred meeting the proclamation on its own ground, and defending the princi- ples of the work which had been falsely stigmatized as wicked and seditious. Accordingly, about the month of August, 1792, he prepared another publication in defence of the ' Rights of Man' and of his own conduct, entitled, 'An Address to the Addresers on the late Proclamation.' This is one of the severest pieces of satire that ever issued from the press. The parliamentary orators on both sides the house, anxious to raise a popular outcry against the 'Rights of Man,' had com- menced the session, by describing to the country and to each other blessings which were enjoyed under the British consti- tution. The praises which were bestowed upon the 'radical beauties' of this constitution, and the motives which produced them, are ridiculed by Mr. Paine in a fine strain of irony. Having informed the addressers of these symptoms of alarm, on the part of their mild and merciful governors, he proceeds to a defence of the principles of the ' Rights of Man.' He re- peats his former arguments, and offers additional reasons for the positions he had advanced. He concludes this part of the pamphlet with these words, in reference to the impending prosecution: 'If to expose the fraud and imposition of every species of hereditary government ; to lessen the oppression of taxes ; to propose plans for the education of helpless in- fancy, and the comfortable support of the aged and distressed; to endeavor to conciliate nations to each other; to extirpate the horrid practice of war ; to promote universal peace, civili- zation, and commerce ; and to break the chains of political 14. 106 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. superstition, and raise degraded man to his proper rank ; if these things be libellous, let me live the life of a libeller, and let the name of libeller be engraven on my tomb.' But though Mr. Paine was determined to take every opportu- nity of defending his principles, he maintained that the case was deserving of a much more extensive consideration than could be bestowed upon it by any jury, whether special or common He contends in the work before us, that the question was not so much whether he had or had not written what crown law- yers and packed juries are in the habit of condemning as wicked and seditious libels, but whether individuals had the right to investigate systems and principles of government, and to publish the conclusions resulting from such investiga- tion. It was this right which the ministry were invading under the pretence of prosecuting the author of the 'Rights of Man,' and while in appearance they were merely attempting to suppress what they called the seditious writings of Mr. Paine, they were, in fact, aiming a deadly blow at the rights of every man in the country. It was at first Mr. Paine's intention to have defended him- self personally, but an event happened about two monlhs pre- vious to the trial'which disconcerted his purpose. While he was preparing his ' Letter to the Addressers,' his friends and admirers in France were preparing a wreath of civic honors as a reward for his intrepid exertions in defence of universal liberty. About the middle of September, 1792, a French depu- tation announced to him iuLondon, that the department of Calais had elected him as their representative in the national conven- tion. This was a matter of greater interest to him than the attor- ney-general's prosecution, and he proceeded to Dover with the intention of embarking immediately to Calais. The treatment which he met with at Dover was disgraceful in the extreme * his trunks were all opened, and the contents examined. Some of his papers were seized, and it is probable that the whole would have shared the same fate, but for the cool and steady conduct of Mr. Paine and his attendants. When the custom- house officers had indulged themselves in this manner as long as they thought proper, Mr. Paine and his friends were suffered to embark, and they arrived at Calais, after a pleasant passage of three hours. He very narrowly escaped the vigilance of the despots he had provoked, for it appears that an order to detain him was received at Dover, in about twenty minutes after his embarkation. The reception which he met with at Calais, furnished a striking contrast to the conduct of the government agents at Dover. On the name of Paine being announced, the soldiers at the gates were drawn up, and the officers on guard having embraced him, presented him with • For a full account of this scandalous transactio.., see his Second Letter to Mr. Secretary Duadas, dated Calais, September 15, 1792. * MR. PAINE's honors in FRANCE. 107 the national cockade. A very pretty wooian, who was stand- ing by, desired she might have the honor of putting it in his hat, expressing her hopes that he would continue his exertions in favor of liberty, equality, and France. A salute was then fired from the battery, to announce the arriva4 of their new representative. This ceremony being over, he walked to Deissein's, in the Rue de I'Egalite (formerly Rue de Roi), the men, women, and children, crowding around him, and calling out ' Fiwe Thomas Paine!' He was then conducted to the town-hall, and there presented to the municipality, who with the greatest affection embraced their representative. The mayor addressed him in a short speech, which was interpreted to him by his friend and conductor, M. Audibert, to which Mr. Paine, laying his hand on his heart, replied, that his life should be devoted to their service. At the inn he was waited upon by the different persons in authority, and by the president of the Constitutional society, who desired he would attend their meeting of that night : he cheerfully complied with the request, and the whole town would have been there, had there been room : the hall of the ' Minimes' was so crowded that it was with the greatest diffi- culty they made way for Mr. Paine to the side of the president. Over the chair he sat in, was placed the bust of Mirabeau, and the colors of France, England, and America united. A speaker acquainted him from the tribune with his election, amid the plaudits of the people. For some minutes after this ceremony, nothing was heard but ' Vive la J^ation ! Vive Thomas Paine,' in voices male and female. On the following day an extra meeting was appointed to be held in the church in honor of their new deputy to the conven- tion, the Minimes being found quite suffocating from the vast concourse of people which had assembled on the previous oc- casion. A play was performed at the theatre on the evening after his arrival, and a box was specifically reserved ' for the author of the "Eights of Man," the object of the English proclamation.' ; Mr Paine was likewise, elected as deputy for Abbeville, Beauvais* and Versailles, as well as for the department of Calais, but the latter having been the first in their choice, he preferred being their representative. After remaining with his constituents a short time, he pro ceeded to Paris in order to take his seat as a member of the National Assembly. On the road he met with similar honors to those which he had received at Calais. As soon as he had arrived at Paris, he addressed a letter to the people of France thanking his fellow-citizens for adopting him as their deputy to the convention. Mr. Paine was, shortly after his arrival in Paris, appointed a member of the committee for framing the new constitution. 108 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. While he was peaceably and patriotically performing the duties of his station, the ministry of England were using every effort to counteract the (to them) dangerous principles which he had disseminated. For this purpose they filed a number of informations against the different individuals who had re- tailed the work. The trial of Mr. Paine came on at Guildhall, on the l&th of December, before Lord Kenyon,* and a special jury. The former being pensioned, and the latter being pack- ed, a verdict of guilty followed as a matter of course. The proceedings on this trial are not of much interest, except as they tend to develop the inquisitorial character of an English court of law in matters of libel. The attorney-general had se- lected a few passages from the second part of the ' Eights of Man,' which he thought were most likely to answer his pur- pose, and these, in the verbose vulgarity of the law, he stigma- tized as false, wicked, scandalous, and seditious. He was pru- dent enough to Befrain from any attempt to prove the truth of his charge, well knowing that, with such a judge and such a jury, abuse would be received as a substitute for argument, and the coarsest and most improbable calumnies would be admitted as evidence of the writer's evil intention. The greater part of his speech to the jury was taken up with a comment on a letter relative to the prosecution, which Mr. Paine had written to him from Paris. In this letter he says : ' Had not my duty as a member of the national convention of France called me from England, I should have stayed to have contested the injus- • This man was one of the most cruel, vindictive, and merciless characters that ever disgraced the bench of a British court of justice. As an illustration of his conduct, the following anecdcte will be sufficient ; in the year 1799, a gentleman with whom I have the pleasure of being acquamted, of the name of Waddington. speculated very largely in hops. It is the eustom, and has been so time out of mind, to purchase many of the hops of the growers before they are gathered, and to give so much a pounS for them when gathered and put into bags. Mr. Wad- dington (who was an opulent banker, and whose character, as a commercial man, stood veiy high), about the time he was making'large purchases of this sort, took the lead in calling a meeting in the city of London to petition against the war. The myrmidons of Pitt were set to work to discover how he might be annoyed . They trumped up a charge of forestalling against him for having purchased hops before they were brought to market. Nothing could be more unfounded than this charge, seeing that it had been the practice of thousands of persons for perhaps more than a century. In the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, Elizabeth, Charles II., and Anne, divers acts of parliament had been passed against forestalling, regrating, engros- sing, &c. But in time it was discovered that these acts were not only foolish, but mischievous, and in the i2thyear of the reign of the present king, the whole of them were repealed, npon the ground that they tended to produce dearth and misery. But the common law had not been repealed, or at least Kenyon said so. Upon this was Mr. Waddington indicted, and ajury, packed for the purpose, found him guilty of dealings as honest and common as any in the country: in conse- quence of this verdict, the wicked and malignant judge sentenced this worthy and respectable man to be imprisoned as well as fined, which, considering that it dis- solved all his contracts, produced a forfeiture of his deposiles, and caused a run upon his house and his bank, was, in fact, sentencing him to ruin, and almost to actual beggary. The result of these proceedings brought forth a number of informations against forestallers — fortunately for Kenyon he died soon after, and his successor declared that not to be an offence, which'iCenyon had declared to be an offence for the sole purpose of ruining a man whom Pitt and his colleagues had marked out fur destruction. PERSONS PEESECTJTED. 109 tice of that prosecution ; not upon my own account, for I cared not about the prosecution, but to have defended the principles I had advanced in the work.' He likewise delivers his opinion very freely, upon the capacity of the reigning king, and the profligacy of his sons, and very pointedly asks the attorney-general, whether he conceives such persons are necessary to the government of a nation 1 Mr. Erskine con- tended against the legal right of the prosecutor to avail him- self of the contents of this letter, but the judge overruled the objection. Indeed the whole of the proceedings seem to have been marked out beforehand, and the trial seems to have been nothing but a convenient farce. Mr. Erskine addressed the jury for some hours, but his speech was rather an evasion of the charge, than a justification of the principles he professed to defend. It was, as Mr. Paine observed, on seeing the report of the trial, ' a good'speech for himself, but a very poor defence of the " Rights of Man." ' The jury found a verdict for the erown, without the trouble of deliberation. With respect to the different retailers of the work against whom informations were filed, their fate now became pretty evident. The ministry were not satisfied with punishing the venders of ' Rights of Man ;' they likewise instituted prosecu- tions against the publishers of the ' Letter to tke Addressers,^ and obtained several convictions. The following statement contains, I believe, a correct account of the number of prose- cutions against these works : — A LIST OF THE PERSONS WHO HATE BEEN PEOSECtTTED FOR THE PUBLICATION OF PAINe's WORKS. December 18, 1792. Thomas Paine, ' Eights of Man, Part II.' convicted ; went to France previous to the trial. February 26, 1793. Thomas Spence, 'Rights of Man, Part II.' flaw in the indictment; acquitted. William Holland. ' Address to the Addressers,' one year's imprisonment, and £100 fine. H. D. Symonds. 'Rights of Man,' two years imprisonment, and £20 fine. ' Letter to the Addressers,' one year's im- prisonment, £100, and two sureties of £250 each, and self for £500, for three years, and imprisonment till the fine be paid and sureties given. April 15. Thompson, printer, Birnriingham, ' Rights of Man' and ' Address to the Addressers ;' acquitted. April 17. Richard Phillips, printer, Leicester, ' Rights of Man ;' eighteen months' imprisonment. May 8. J. Ridgway, bookseller, London ; ' Rights of Man,' one year's imprisonment, and £100. 'Letter to the Addres* sers,' one year's imprisonment, and £100 fine ; in each case, 1 10 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. two sureties of £250 each, and self for £500 for three years, and imprisonment till the fine be paid, and sureties given. Junes. D. I. Eaton, 'Rights of Man:' verdict which amounted to an acquittal. July 11. Do. 'Address to the Ad- dressers :' do. Richard Peart and William Belcher, ' Address to the Addres- sers,' and ' Rights of Man ;' imprisonment three months. August ]0. Messrs. Robinsons, 'Rights of Man ;' fine. Daniel Holt, bookseller, Newark, ' Address to the Addres- sers ;' four years' imprisonment, and £50 fine. These prosecutions, though they were far from tranquillizing or satisfying the public mind, were certainly followed by one of their intended effects, that of suppressing the circulation of the work. Such was the acrimony with which the admirers ot Mr. Paine were persecuted in all parts of the country, that it was regarded as highly dangerous for any person to be found with the book in his possession ; for though the law took no cognizance of such an act, the individual became a marked ob- ject of destruction, and so vigilant were the agents of tyranny; that their malice was sure to be gratified by one means or other. On the trials of Hardy, Tooke, and Thelwall, the cir- cumstance of their having patronised the ' Rights of Man' M'as made a very material ground for the charge of high treason, and though the accusation failed, the obloquy, which by this and other means was cast upon the work, tended very greatly to prevent its farther dissemination." We have hitherto only noticed the public character of Mr. Paine in England. Before we follow him into France, we shall extract from Clio Rickman's life of Paine, an article on his civil, social, or domestic habits, observing that Mr. Rickman was his friend and companion, a man of amiable dis- position, extensively known, and esteemed wherever known. We knew the family, and are at this time intimate with those who were familiar with and companions of Mr. Rickman. This gentleman remarks : — " Mr. Paine's life in London was a quiet round of philo- sophical leisure and enjoyment. It was occupied in writing, in a small epistolary correspondence, in walking about with me to visit different friends, occasionally lounging at coffee- houses and public places, or being visited by a select few. Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the French and American ambas- sadors, Mr. Sharp, the engraver, Romney, the painter, Mrs. Wolstonecroft, Joel Barlow, Mr. Hull, Mr. Christie, Dr Priestly, Dr. Towers, Colonel Oswald, the walking Stewart, MR. PAINK AND THE FRENCH CONVENTION. Ill Captain Sampson Perry, Mr« Tufiin, Mr. William Choppin, Captain de Stark, Mr. Home Tooke, &c., &c.,vvere among the number of his friends and acquaintance ; and, of course, as he was my inmate, the most of my associates were frequently his. At this time he read but little, took tiis nap after dinner, and played with my family at some game in the evening, as chess, dominoes, or draughts, but never at cards ; in recitations, sing- ing, music, &c. ; or passed it in conversation : the part he took in the latter was alvvays enlightened, full of information, enter- tainment, and anecdote. Occasionally we visited enlightened friends, indulged in domestic jaunts and recreations from home, frequently lounging at the White Bear, Piccadilly, with his old friend, the walking Stewart, and other clever travellers from France, and different parts of Europe and America. When by ourselves we sat vei-y late, and often broke m on the morning hours, indulging the reciprocal interchange of affectionate and confidential intercourse. ' Warm from the heart and faithful to its fires,' was that intercourse, and gave to us the 'feast of reason and the flow of soul.' " " To return to Mr. Paine and the French convention. On the 25th of July, 1792, the Duke of Brunswick issued his sangui- nary manifesto : in this he stated that the allies were resolved to inflict the most dreadful punishments on the national as- sembly, and on the city of Paris, for their treatment of the royal family ; he even went so far as to threaten to give up the place to military execution. The publication of this doc- ument threw the people of Paris into a state of complete con- fusion. They became frantic and furious, and the manifesto, instead of lulling them into repose, drove them to deeds of desperation. A party was soon formed in the convention for putting the king to death, and the agitated condition of the people facilitated the design. Mr. Paine labored hard to pre- vent this object from being carried into execution, but though his efforts produced a few converts to his doctrine, the major- ity of his colleagues were too enraged with the duplicity of the king, and the detestable conduct of the foreign monarchs, with whom he was leagued, to listen to-anything short of the most unlimited vengeance. The conduct of Louis was too reprehensible to be passed over in silence ; Mr. Paine therefore voted that he should be tried, but when the question whether he should be condemned to death, was brought forward, he opposed it by every argument in his power. His exertions were, however, ineffectual, and sentence of death was passed, though by a very small majority. Mr. Paine was determined to let slip no opportunity of protesting against this measure, and when the question, whether the sentence should be carried into execution, was discussed, he combated the proposition with great energy As he was not in the habit of pronouncing 1 12 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. French, one of the secretaries tead his discourse translated from the original English. It is evident that his reasoning, was thought very persuasive, since those who had heard the discourses of Buzot, Condorcet, and Brissot, to the same purpose without interruption, broke out in murmurs while Paine's opinion was reading ; and Marat, at length, losing all patience, exclaimed that Paine was a quaker, and insinuated that his mind being contracted by the narrow- principles of his religion, was incapable of the liberality that was requisite for condemning men to death. This shrewd argument not being thought convincing, the secretary continued to read, that ' the execution of the sentence, instead of an act of justice, would appear to all the world, and particularly to their allies, the American States, as an act of vengeance, and that if he were sufficiently master of the French language, he would, in the name of his brethren of America, present a petition at their bar against the execution ofthe sentence.' Marat and his associates said that these could not possibly be the sentiments of Thomas Paine, and that the assembly was imposed upon by a false translation. On comparing it with the original, however, it was found correct. Though these exertions were frustrated, they were attended with one effect, that of rendering Mr. Paine an object of hatred among the most violent actors in the revolution. They found that he could not be induced to participate in their acts of cruelty ; they dreaded the opposition which he might make to these sanguinary deeds, and they therefore marked him out as a victim to be sacrificed the first opportunity. The humanity of Mr. Paine was, indeed, one of the most prominent features in his character, and it was equally a matter of indifference to him whether the exercise of this high attribute ofthe human heart was required on a trivial or important, a public or private occasion. Of his strict atten- tion to his public duty in this respect, even at the hazard of his own safety, we have a convincing proof in his opposition to the execution of the king, and of his humane and charitable disposition in a private point of view, the following circum- stances are sufficient to warrant the most unqualified con- clusion. Mr. Paine happened to be dining one day with about twenty friends at a coffee-house in the Palais Egalite, now the Palais Ro!/'?/, when, Tinfoj-tunately for the harmony of the company, a captain in the English service contrived to introduce him- self as one of the party. The military gentleman was a strenuous supporter of the constitution in church and state, and a decided enemy of the French revolution. After the cloth was drawn, the conversation chiefly turned on the state of affairs in England, and the means which had been adopted ME. PAINE AND MAJOR MUNROE. 113 by the government to check the increase of political knowl- edge. Mr. Paine delivered his opinion very freely, and much to the satisfaction of every one present, with the exception of Captain Grimstone, who returned his arguments by calling him a traitor to his country, with a variety of terms equally opprobious. Mr. Paine treated his abuse with much good humor, which rendered the captain so furious, that he walked up to the part of the room where Mr. Paine was sitting, and struck him a violent blow, which nearly knocked him off his seat. The cowardice of this behavior from a stout young man toward a person of Mr. Paine's age (he being then upward of sixty) is not the least disgraceful part of the transaction. There was, however, no time for reflections of this sort; an alarm was instantly given, that the captain had, struck a citizen deputy of the convention, which was considered an insult to the nation at large; the offender was hurried into custody, and it was with the greatest difiiculty that Mr. Paine prevented him from being executed on the spot. It ought to be observed, that an act of the convention had awarded the punishment of death to any one who should be convicted of striking a deputy: Mr. Paine was th<#efore placed in a very unpleasant situation. He immediately ap- plied to Barrere, at that time president of the committee of public safety, for a passport for his imprudent adversary, who after much hesitation complied with his request. It likewise occasioned Mr. Paine considerable personal inconvenience to procure his liberation ; but even this was not sufficient; the captain was without friends, and penniless, and Mr. Paine generously, supplied him with money to defray his travelling expenses. The gentleman who favored me with the account of the foregoing circumstance, has likewise informed me of another anecdote equally honorable to Mr. Paine's feelings. A Major Munroe, who at the beginning of the revolution was employed by Mr. Pitt to send an account to the ministry of what was going on in Paris, remained there till after the declaration of war, when he, with many others, was sent to prison. He had previously occupied the same hotel with Mr. Paine, and though the latter was aware of his errand, he found him an intelligent companion. When the major was imprisoned, he applied to Mr. Paine, who after considerable trouble obtained his release. The major was recently living, and it is but fair to say, that he has often observed to his friends, he should ever feel indebted to the kindness of Mr. Paine, for the interest he employed in procuring his discharge. I have already noticed the feeling of hostility with which our author's exertions in the cause of humanity were received bv some of the members of the convention. Those who had 15 ] 14) LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. deserted the principles of liberty, and who, from the most treacherous and tyrannical motives, were anxious to plunge the ration into a state of anarchy, were naturally the enemies of the great defender of the ' Rights of Man,' and they were de- termined to gratify their vengeance, whenever a possibility of so doing should offer itself. Before entering into a descrip- tion of the steps that were taken for this purpose I will give the reader an account of the mode in which he passed his time at the period we are speaking of. 'In Paris, in 1793,' he observes, ' I had lodgings in the Rue Fauxhourg St. Denis, No. 63. They were the most agreeable for situation of any I ever had in Paris, except that they were too remote from the convention, of which I was then a mem- ber. But this was recompensed by their being also remote from the alarms and confusion into which the interior of Paris was then often thrown. The news of those things used to arrive to us, as if we were in a state of quietude in the country. The house, which was enclosed by a wall and gateway from the street, was a good deal like an old mansion farm-house, and the court-yard was like a farm-yard stocked with fowls, duck™turkeys, and geese; which, for amusement, we used to feed out of the windows of the parlor on the ground-floor. There were some huts for rabbits, and a stye with two pigs. Beyond, was a garden of more than an acre of ground, well laid out, and. stocked with excellent fruit-trees. The orange, apricot, and the green-gage plum, were the best I ever tasted ; and it is the only place where I saw the wild cucumber, which they told me is poisonous. The place had formerly been occupied by some curious person.' In allusion to the dreadful proceedings which were making such havoc among the besjt patriots of France, he continues : — - ' As for myself, I used to find some relief by walking alone in the garden after it was dark, and cursing with hearty good will the authors of that terrible system that had turned the character of the revolution I had been proud to defend. I went but little to the convention, and then only to make my appearance ; because I found it impossible for me to join in their tremendous decrees, and useless and dangerous to oppose them. My having voted and spoken extensively, more so than any other member, against the execution of the king, had already fixed a mark upon me : neither dared any of my associates in the convention to translate, and speak in French for me anything I might have dared to write. Pen and ink were then of no use to me. No good could be done by writing, and no printer dared to print ; and whatever I might have written for my private amusement, as anecdotes of the times, would have been continually exposed to be ex- amined, and tortured into any meaning that the rage of party might fix upon it ; and as to softer subjects, my heart was in AGE OF REASON, PART I. 115 distress at the fate of my friends, and my harp was hung upon the weeping willows.' At this period the national convention was divided into factions, each intent on their own aggrandizement, and each possessing a powerful host of partisans among the people. Terror, hatred, suspicion, revenge, and every other dark and deadly passion, had supplanted the just, liberal, and humane prmciples which marked the commencement of the revolution, and the wide empire of France became one vast slaughter- house, where the supporters of freedom and the advocates of despotism were alternately sacrificed at the shrine of factious violence. The exertions of the friends of liberty sooner increased than lessened the effects of the storm, and to defend the interests of truth and the rights of the people, was to in- vite destruction. The voice of humanity was mute, for the ear of humanity was closed. It is painful to recur to these heart-rending scenes, but justice requires it, and more par- ticularly so, as Mr, Paine was very near falling a victim to the violence of the contending factions. The gentle, conciliating, and open method in which he had conducted himself, had prevented the possibility of impeaching his political conduct, and to this we must attribute the circum- stance of his remaining so long at liberty. The first attempt that was made against him, was by means of an act of the convention, which decreed that all persons residing in France who were born in England should be imprisoned; but as Mr. Paine was a member of the convention, and had been compli- mented with the title of ' citizen of France,' the decree did not extend to him. A motion was afterward made by Bourdon de I'Oise, for expelling foreigners from the convention. It was evident from the speech of the mover, that Mr. Paine was the principal object aimed at, and as soon as the expulsion was effected, an application was made to the two committees of public safety and general surety, of which Robespierre was the dictator, and they immediately put him in arrestation under the former decree for imprisoning persons born in Eng- land. On his way to the Luxembourg he contrived to call upon his intimate friend and associate, Joel Barlow, with whom he left the manuscript of the first part of the 'Age of Reason.' * This work he intended to be the last of his life, but the proceedings in France, during the year 1793, induced him to delay it no longer. ' The circumstance,' says he, ' that has now taken place in France, of the total abolition of the whole national order of priesthood, and of everything apper- taining to compulsive systems of religion, and compulsive articles of faith, has not only precipitated my intention, but rendered a work of this kind exceedingly necessary, lest in * See Mr Barlow's letter, page 335. 116 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. the general wreck of superstition, of false systems of govern- ment, and false theology, we lose sight of morality, of humanity, and of the theology that is true.' At the time this performance was written, Mr. Paine was in almost daily expectation of being sent to the guillotine, where many of his friends had ilready perished ; the doctrines, therefore, which it inculcates, must be regarded as the sentiments of a dying man. This is at least a conclusive proof that the work was not the result of a wish to deceive, that, whether true or false, it was the effu- sion of a disinterested mind ; and, in ordinary cases, the fact of a man writing a book under such circumstances, would be admitted as a logical evidence of the rectitude of the doctrines it contained. I do not, however, intend to enter into any discussion relative to our author's religious opinions, until we arrive at the second part of the work. It is, therefore, only necessary at present, to observe, that Mr. Paine had measured his time with such a degree of precision, that he had not finish- ed the book more than six hours before he was arrested and conveyed to the Luxembourg.* Mr. Paine had remained in prison about three weeks, when it was ascertained to the satisfaction of every one in Paris, except the tyrants who had sent him there, that he had com- mitted no offence ; and in consequence of this, the Americans residing in that city, went in a body to the convention to de- mand the liberation of their fellow-citizen and friend. The following is a copy of the address presented by them to the president of the convention ; an address which sufficiently shows the high estimation in which Mr. Paine was at this time held by the citizens of the United States : — 'Citizens' The French nation had invited the most illus- trious of all foreign nations to the honor of representing her. Thomas Paine, the apostle of liberty in America, a profound and valuable philosopher, a virtuous and esteemed citizen, came to France and took a seat among you. Particular cir- cumstances rendered necessary the decree to put under arrest all the English residing in France. Citizens ! representatives f We come to demand of yoB Thomas Paine, in the name of the friends of liberty, and in the name of the Americans, your brothers and allies ; was there anything more Avanted to obtain your demand we would tell you. Do not give to the leagued despots the pleasure of seeing Paine in irons. We shall inform you that the seals put upon the papers of Thomas Paine have been taken ofi^ that the committee of general safety examined them, and far from • Had such a singularly favorable coincidence as tliis happened in the trans- actions of a Christian theological writer, it would undoubtedly have Been ascribed to the interposition of Divine Providence, but in the present instance (whatever rational men may think on the subject) the faithful will perhaps find it conve- nient tn attribute the circumstance to the inilueace of a power of quite an opposite character. ME. PJIINE IN PEISON. 117 finding among them any dangerous propositions, they only found the love of liberty which characterized him all his life- time, that eloquence of nature and philosophy which made him the friend of mankind, and those principles of public morality which merited the hatred of kings, and the affection of his fellow-citizens. In short, citizens! if you permit us to restore Thomas Paine to the embraces of his fellow-citizems, we offer to pledge our- selves as securities for his conduct during the short time he shall remain in France.' The Americans who presented the foregoing address, re- ceived for answer, that 'Mr. Paine was born in England,' and it was likewise hinted to them that their attempt to reclaim him as a citizen of the United States, could not be listened to, in consequence o[ its not being authorized by the American government. A few days after this, all communication between persons imprisoned, and any person without the prison, was cut off, by an order of the police. In this forlorn and solitary situatiba Mr. Paine continued for six months, and the only hope that remained for him was, that a new minister would arrive from America to supersede Morris, and that he would be authorized to inquire into the causes of his imprisonment ; ' but even this hope,' Mr. Paine observes, ' in the state in which matters were daily arriving, was too remote to have any consolatory effect ; and I contented myself with the thought that I might be re- membered when it virould be too late.' During this long imprisonment he amused himself as well as such a gloomy situation would allow, by writing various pieces of fancy, both in poetry and prose, some of which have since been published. He likewise wrote a considerable pro- portion of the second part of the 'Age of Reason' during his incarceration. When he had been in prison about eight months, he was seized with a violent fever, which nearly de- prived him of life, and from the effects of which he never afterward perfectly recovered. This fever, which rendered him completely insensible for more than a month, was evi- dently the means of preserving his life. Had he remained in health he would probably, according to the routine of the times, have been dragged before the tribunal, and sent to the guillotine, without the trouble of proving either his guilt or his innocence. But the fever fortunat^y averted the im- pending danger, and the first thing he heard of after his recov- ery was the fall of Robespierre. But the fate of this sanguinary man did not restore him to liberty. The desolator was overthrown, but his faction still remained, and, though con- siderably humbled, their hostility toward Mr. Paine was un- abated. The latter seeing that several of his fellow-prisoners wexe released, addressed a memorial to Mr. Monroe (who it 118 LIFE OF THOMAS PAIME. appears had received no instructions from the American government respecting Mr. Paine), on the subject of liis con- finement, who behaved toward him with great kindness and attention. The following is a copy of Mr. Monroe's lettei- to Mr. Paine on this occasion : — Paris, September 18, 1794. 'Dear Sir : I was favortd, soon after ray arrival here, with several letters from you, and more latterly with one in the character of a memorial upon the subject of your confine- ment : and should have answered them at the times they were respectively written, had I not concluded, you would have cal- culated with certainty upon the deep interest I take in your welfare, and the pleasure with which I shall embrace every opportunity in my power to serve you. I should still pursue the same course, and for reasons which must obviously occur, if I did not find that you are disquieted with apprehensions upon interesting points, and which justice to you and our country equally forbid you should entertain. You mention that you have been informed you are not considered as an American citizen by the Americans, and that you have like- wise heard that I had no instructions respecting you by the government. I doubt not the persons who gave you the infor- mation meant well, but I s\ispect he did not even convey accurately his own ideas on the first point: for I presume the most he could say is, that you had likewise become a French citizen, and which by no means deprives you of being an American one. Even this, however, may be doubted, T mean the acquisition of citizenship in France, and I confess you have said much to show that it has not been made. I really suspect that this was all that the gentleman who wrote to you, and those Americans he heard speak upon the subject, meant. It becomes my duty, however, to declare to you, that I con- sider you as an American citizen, and that you are considered universally in that character by the people of America. As such you are entitled to my attention ; and so far as it can be given, consistently with those obligations which are mutual between every government and even transient passenger, you shall receive it. The congress have never decided upon the subject of citizen- ship, in a manner to regard the present case. By being with us through the revolution, you are of our country as abso- lutely as if you had been born there, and you are no more of England than every native American is. This is the true doctrine in the present case, so far as it becomes complicated with any other consideration. I have mentioned it to make you easy upon the only point which could give you any dis- quietude. It is necessary for me to tell you, how much all your coun- MONROE 8 LETTER TO PAINE. 119 trymen — I speak of the great mass of the people — are interested in your welfare. They have not forgotten the history of their own revolution, and the difficult scenes through which they passed ; nor do they review its several stages without reviving in their bosoms a due sensibility of the merits of those who served them in that great and arduous conflict. The crime of ingratitude has not yet stained, and I trust never will stain, our national character. You are considered by them, as not only having rendered important services in our own revolution, but as being, on a more extensive scale, the friend of human rights, and a distinguished and able advocate in favor of pub- lic liberty. To the welfare of Thomas Paine, the Americans are not, nor can they be, indifferent. Of the sense which the president has always entertained of your merits, and of his friendly disposition toward you, you are too well assured, to require any declaration of it from me. That I forward his wishes in seeking your safety is what I well know: and this will form an additional obligation on me to perform what I should otherwise consider as a duty. You are in my opinion, at present, menaced by no kind of danger. To liberate you will be an object of my endeavors, and as soon as possible. But you must, until that event shall be accomplished, bear your situation with patience and forti- tude ; you will likewise have the justice to recollect, that I am placed here upon a difficult theatre, many important ob- jects to attend to, and with few to consult. It becomes me in pursuit of those, to regulate my conduct with respect to each, as to the manner and the time, as will, in my judgment, be best calculated to accomplish the whole. With great esteem and respect consider me personally your friend. James Monroe.' Mr. Paine was released from prison on the 4th of November, 1794, having been in confinement for eleven months. After his liberation he was kindly invited to the house of Mr. Monroe, with whom he remained for about eighteeu months. I intend to be as brief in my extracts as the subject will admit ; but the following, which is taken from one of his letters, written after his return to America, is so descrip- tive of his situation while in prison, and of another narrow escape which he had in addition to the one already noticed, that I consider it necessary for the information of the reader. ' I was one of the nine members that composed the first committee of constitution. Six of them have been destroyed. Syeyes and myself have survived. He by bending with the times, and I by not bending. The other survivor joined Ro- bespierre, and signed with him the warrant of my arrestation. After the fall of Robespierre, he was seized and imprisoned 120 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. in his turn, and sentenced to transportation. He has since apologized to me for having signed the warrant, by saying, he felt himself in danger and was obliged to do it. Herault Sechelles, an acquaintance of Mr. Jefferson, and a good patriot, was my suppliant as member of the committee of constitution ; that is, he was to supply my place, if I had not accepted or had resigned, being next in number of votes to me. He was imprisoned in the Luxembourg with me, was taken to the tribunal and the guillotine, and I, his principal, was left. There were but two foreigners in the convention, Anacharsis Cloots and myself. We were both put out of the convention by the same vote, arrested by the same order, and carried to prison together the same night. He was taken to the guillo- tine, and I was again left. Joel Barlow was with us when we went to prison. Joseph Lebon, one of the vilest characters that ever existed, and who made the streets of Arras run with blood, was my suppliant as member of the convention for the department of the Pais de Calais. When I was put out of the convention he came and took my place. When I was liberated from prison, and voted again into the convention, he was sent to the same prison and took my place there, and he went to the guillotine instead of me. He supplied my place all the way through. One hundred and sixty-eight persons were taken out of the Luxembourg in one night, and a hundred and sixty of them guillotined the next day, of which I know I was to have been one ; and the manner I escaped that fate is curious, and has all the appearance of accident. The room in which I was lodged was on the ground floor, and one of a long range of rooms under a gallery, and the door of it opened outward and flat against the wall ; so that when it was open the inside of the door appeared outward, and the contrary when it was shut. I had three comrades, fellow- prisoners with me, Joseph Vanhuile of Bruges, since president of the municipality of that town, Michael Robins, and Bastini of Louvain. When persons by scores and hundreds were to be taken out of prison for the guillotine, it was always done in the night, and those who performed that office had a private mark or signal by which they knew what rooms to go to, and what number to take. We, as I have said, were four, and the door of our room was marked unobserved by us, with that number in chalk ; but it happened, if happening is a proper word, that the mark was put on when the door was open and flat against the wall, and thereby came on the inside when we shut it at night, and the de- stroying angel passed by it. A few days after this Robespierre fell, and the American ambassador arrived and reclaimed me and invited me to his house. RELEASE FROM PEISON. 121 During the whole of my imprisonment, prior to the fall of Robespierre, there was no time when I cpuld think my life worth twenty-four hours, and my mind was made up to meet its fate. The Americans in Paris went in a body to the convention to reclaim me, but without success. There was no party among them with respect to me. My only hope then rested on the government of America that it would remember me. But the icy heart of ingratitude, in whatever man it may be placed, has neither feeling nor sense of honor. The letter of Mr. Jefferson has served to wipe away the reproach, and done justice to the mass ofthe people of America.' Soon after Mr. Paine's release from prison the convention passed a unanimous vote to invite him to return to the seat he had formerly occupied. The times were still dangerous, as well from without as within, for the coalition of foreign despots was unbroken, and the constitution not settled. Mr. Paine however, thought proper to accept the invitation, being resolved to show that he was not to be alarmed either by prospects or retrospects of danger, and that his principles were neither to be perverted by disgust nor weakened by misfortune. He was liberated, as before stated, in November, 1794 ; his bodily health was at this time very much impaired by long confinement, and in September following he was taken danger- ously ill. He states that he had felt the approach of his dis- order for some time, which occasioned him to hasten to a con- clusion of the second part of the ' As:e of Reason.' This work was published at Paris, early in 1795, and was very shortly afterward reprinted in England, and the United States. At the time he wrote the first part of the work he was without a bible, nor could he procure one. The investigation w-hich it con- tained was therefore rather a general, than a detailed inquiry into the Jewish and Christian systems of belief. The first point which he attacks is the doctrine of revelation. He ad- mits the possibility, though he denies the probability of the Supreme Being having ever held personal communication with man. But even allowing this to be the case, he observes, that 'revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication. After this it is only on account of something which that person says was revelation made to him ; and though he may find hi m- seif obliged to believe it, rt cannot be incumbent on me to believe it in the same manner, for it was not revelation made to me, and I have only his word for it that it was made to him.'* In this manner he'proceeds to controvert the principal argu- ments in favor of Christianity. He asserts that it is a system founded entirely upon hearsay evidence, and that we are not obliged to believe it. He next endeavors to show the similari- ty of the heathen mythology, and that of the Christians, from • Age of Reason, Part I. 16 122 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. which he infers that the latter is a copy of the former. Among the novel positions which he advanced, was an argument to prove that the word prophet had changed its original meaning, that in former times it was synonymous with that of poet or musician ; to prove this he cites the part of the Bible, where we are told the prophets of old performed the functions of their vocation by means of pipes, tabrets, horns, harps, and other musical instruments. Having declared his disbelief of what is called revealed religion, and his reasons for such dis- belief, he next gives his opinion as to what he conceives to be the only true word of God — the only true revelation; and as his ideas on this subject are of do ordinary stamp, I insert them in his own words, as the best mode of doing justice to the author : — ' It is only in the crkation that all our ideas and conceptions of a vjord of God can unite. The creation speaketh a univer- sal language, independently of human speech or human lan- guage, miltiplied and various as they be. ■ It is an ever-existing original, which every man can read. It cannot be forged ; it cannot be counterfeited; it canuot be lost; it cannot be alter- ed ; it cannot be suppressed. It does not depend upon the will of man whether it shall he published or not: it publishes itself from one end of the earth to the other. It preaches to all nations and to all worlds ; and this word of God reveals to man all that is necessary for man to know of God. Do we want to contemplate his power % We see it in the immen- sity of the creation. Do we want to contemplate his wisdom 1 We see it in the unchangeable order by which the incompre- hensible Whole is governed. Do we want to contemplate his munificence 1 We see it in the abundance with which he fills the earth. Do we want to contemplate his mercy 1 We see it in his not withholding that abundance even from the unthank- ful. In fine, do we want to know what God is 1 Search not the book called the Scripture, which any human hand might make, but the scripture called the Creation.' It is not hazarding too much to say that the above breathes as pure a spirit of morality and philosophy, as anything that was ever written on the subject, in either ancient or modern times. It is superior to the bible description of the Deity, for it ascribes to him none of those weaknesses and passions which are so frequently attributed to him by the authors of that book. It is not at all wonderful that the ministers of a corrupt system of religion should calumniate the character of a work, which inculcates the practice of morality as the only religious duty that -men are bound to perform, which teaches the most sub- lime and reverential ideas of the Creator of the universe, and which represents the intercessions of ignorant and bigoted priests, as unnecessary either to the present or future happi- ness of mankind— it is not at all wonderful that such men Watson's apology — petisecution. 123 should look upon such a work with horror, and load its author with every epithet of calumny and reproach. They are in re- ligion, what .courtiers are under a limited monarchy. Both parties are, in nine cases out of ten, aware of the farce, and they tremble at the approach of reason and investigation. From a great portion of the work before us, it is evident that Mr. Paine possessed an extensive knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, and the mode in which he applies these hranch- es of science, to prove the ignorance of the bible writers, and the falsehood of their statements, is worth the reader's atten- tion. For this,*ho\vever, I must refer him to the work itself. The extract which I have already given will enable any person to form an idea of the general character of the book, its prin- ciples and tendency ; I therefore proceed to offer a few obser- vations 6n the second part. . . This work is divided into»an examination, first, of the Old, and, secondly, of the New Testament. In the former our author examines the different books of the Bible in rotation, and proves, very clearly, as far as the evidence of circumstan- ces can go, that they were not written by the persons to whom they are ascribed, and, therefore, that they are anonymous and without authority. He likewise reasons very forcibly against the various acts of horrid cruelty, and gross immorality, which are attributed to the Almighty by Moses, and the other reputed authors of the Bible. In this examination the ancient Jews are stripped of the disguise in which commentators generally clothe them, and exposed in their true character — that of the most ignorant and ferocious race of beings which evei disgra- ced. the character of human nature. Their ignorance is in- ferred from the circumstance of there not being in the whole Bible more than one book in which any branch of useful or scientific knowledge is mentioned (the book of Job) and this it appears is a book of the Gentiles and not of the Jews. The ferocity of their character is established by the almost innu- merable and unprovoked murders with which the Scriptures are filled, and which are blasphemously ascribed to the God of mercy and eternal beneficence. These are the principal grounds on which our author argues against the divinity of the Bible. In the examination of the New Testament, he exposes the contradictions of the different writers, he cites authorities to prove that the gospels were not written till a long time after the evangelists are reported to have lived ; and that they were not formed into a book for more than three hundred years after the death of Christ. They were then collected together by the church, and it was decided by vote which were and which were not the word of God. The work likewise contains some fine ideas on the doctrine of immortality : these form a striking contrast to the gloomy and unnatural doctrines of the resurrection. 124 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. On a superficial view of the subject it appears wonderful that a system of belief which is liable to so many objections, not only on the score of probability, but on that of the common principles of morality, should have obtained so general an in- fluence among mankind. But when we look at the means which have been used to propagate its principles, we may cease to be surprised at the general credence it has acquired. Its professors preached peace and humility, until, by the increase of their numbers, they were enabled to assume a more formi- dable tone, but so slow was their progress, and with such- gen- eral contempt were their doctrines viewed, th&t even this ac- cession of strength did not take place until three or four cen- turies after the death of their founder. As the number of their converts increased, their temporal power became more exten- sive, and aJJ attempts to investigate the truth of their preten- sions were put down as impious heresies. Thus, in the first instance, their faith was protected by its obscurity and the pro- fessed humility of its disciples ; in latter times it has been pro- moted by means of the sword, and the assiduity of the priest- hood ; while all inquiry into the probability or improbability of its precepts, has been suppressed by the powerful reasoning of the fagot and the inquisition. It is not to be denied that the New Testament contains some good moral maxims, but these are no proofs of its divinity, for they existed thousands of years before the appearance of Christ, and they will exist when all the desolating wars and shocking persecutions which have been occasioned by the Christian system of faith, shall be sunk in the Lethean stream of oblivion. They are inherent in human nature, and they consequently do not depend upon the belief of any particular system of opinions. It may suit the convenience of the pious teachers of our es- tablished religion, tb tell us that the practice of virtue, the foundation of our happiness here and of our hopes hereafter, are dependant on the practice of their absurd ceremonies, and the belief of their improbable doctrines ; but it is impossible for the reflecting mind to discover in these dogmas anything more than the motives of an interested priesthood, or the effu- sions of a distempered imagination. The principles of moral virtue are essentially distinct from the belief of any existing system of faith, they result from the relations of a being with his fellow-beings ; justice toward ourselves is wisdom ; justice toward others is virtue. In society all is relative, there is no happiness independent ; we are compelled to sacrifice a part of what we might enjoy, not to be deprived of the whole, and to secure a portion against all assaults. Even here the balance is in favor of reason. However laborious may be the life of the honest man, however encompassed with dangers, however beset with diflSculties it may be, that of the vicious character must be more so. He can " AGE OP REASON," PART II. 125 seldom be tranquil who stands in opposition to the interests of his fellow-men ; it is impossihlafor him to conceal from him- self that he is surrounded by enemies, or by those who are ready to become so, and this situation is always painful, how- ever splendid may be appearances. Let us add to these con- siderations, the sublime rectitude of instinct, which corruption may lead astray, but Avhich no false philosophy can ever anni- hilate, which impels us to admire and love wisdom and gener- osity of conduct, as we do grandeur and beauty in nature and the arts ; and we shall have the source of human virtue, inde- pendent of every religious system of the intricacies of meta- physics, and of the impostures of priests. The publication of the ' Age of Reason ' called forth a great variety of replies, but the only one which is now remembered is the Bishop of Llandaif 's ' Apology for the Bible.' It is much to be doubted whether this work, which is written in open defiance of the plainest rules of reason and logic, would have survived the fate of its companions in the same cause, if it had been written by any other person. His character in the world of letters, and in several of the departments in science, coupled with his conduct in parliament, which induced many to regard him as an independent promoter of the gospel, gave the work an importance which its contents by no means de- served, and the friends of the church lost no time in publishing it throughout the country. Their zeal in this respect, per- haps, in some measure, answered the purpose they had in view, but it certainly conferred no honor on the bishop's literary reputation. Whether the advocates of the Christian faith were or were not conscious of the imperfections of their system, it is evi- dent they were afraid of an inquiry into its merits, and a pros- ecution was commenced against Mr. Williams, the publisher of the 'Age of Reason.' By way of giving a color to this proceeding, they retained Mr. Erskine on the part of the crown, who strained every effort to procure a verdict. Mr Kyd made an ingenious and argumentative reply, in behalf of the defendant, but the jury, being special, readily found him guilty, June 4, 1797. Mr. Paine addressed a letter to Mr. Erskine on the proceedings of this trial, in which he ridicules the absurd practice of discussing theological subjects before such men as special juries are generally composed of, and cites fresh evidence in support *of his former arguments respecting the Bible. Mr. Paine now attended his duty as a member of the con- vention, in which capacity he delivered his opinions whenever occasion required. In April, 1795, a committee was appointed to form another new constitution (the former one having been abolished) and the report of this committee was brought for- ward on the '2.'5d of June following, by Boissy d'Anglas. This 126 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. was the constitution of elders and youngsters, a council of five hundred, a council of ancignts, and an executive directory of five. Mr. Paine wrote a speech in opposition to several of the articles of this constitution, which was translated and read to the conventionby Citizen Lanthera, on the seventh of July. One of the subjects against which Mr. Paine contended, was the unjust distinction that was attempted to be made between direct and indirect taxes. Whatever weight these objections ought to have carried, they were not listened to by the con- vention, and the constitution of Boissy d'Anglas was adopted. By this decree the convention was formally destroyed, and as Mr. Paine was not afterward re-elected, it likewise termi- nated his public functions in France. The reign of terror having in some degree subsided, our author's political pen returned to its former employment. About the time that be brought out the second part of the ' Age of Eeason,' he published several pamphlets on subjects less likely to inflame the passions of the bigoted and the igno- rant, than investigations into the nature of theology. The Sys The first of these is a continuation of the arguments advanced in the ' Rights of Man ;' the second is a plan for creating in every country a national fund ' to pay to every person when ar- rived at the age of twenty-one years the sum of fifteen pounds sterling, to enable him or her to begin the world, and also ten pounds sterling, per annum, during life, to every person, now living, of the age of fifty years, and to all others, when they shall arrive at that age, to enable them to live in old age without wretchedness, and to go decently out of the world.' This little essay contains a good deal of original thinking, and close reasoning, though in the present state of society it is not very probable that its recommendations will be ever adopted. The pamphlet on finance is a proof of Mr. Paine's extensive knowledge on this complicated subject. The events of every day serve to confirm the truth of his opinions respect- ing the English system, and the agitations which have prevailed throughout the country rendered the fulfilment of his predic- tions exceedingly probable. In 1796, he published at Paris a ' Letter to General Wash- ington.' The principal subject of this letter is the treaty which had recently been concluded between the United States and Great Britain. From the articles of tffe treaty, Mr. Paine contends, that those who concluded it had compromised the honor of America, and the safety of her commerce, from a disposition to crouch to the British minister. The cold neglect of Mr. Washington toward Mr. Paine during his im- prisonment, forms likewise a prominent subject of the letter MR. PAINE's attachment to AMERICA — WASHINGTON. 127 and but for this circumstance it is probable it would never have appeared. Notwithstanding the high opinion which Mr. Washington professed to entertain of liis services in be- half of American independence, he abandoned him in a few years afterward to the mercy of Robespierre, and during his imprisonment of eleven months he never made a single effort to reclaim him. This was not the treatment which the author of ' Common Sense ' deserved at the hands of Mr. Washington, either as a private individual, or as president of America Exclusive of Mr. Paine's being a citizen of the United States, and of his being consequently entitled to the protection of the government, he had rendered America services which none but the ungrateful could forget ; he had therefore no reason to expect that her chief magistrate would abandon him in the hour of difficulty. However deserving of our admiration some parts of General Washington's conduct may be, his behavior in this instance certainly reflects no honor upon his character. From a variety of circumstances it appears that Mr. Paine reo-arded the United States as the land of his home. His spirit of universal philanthropy, his republican principles, and his resolution in attaijking fraud and superstition, whether in politics or religion, rendered hinri in a great measure an in- habitant of the world, more than of any particular country; but notwithstanding these peculiarities of disposition, he had domestic feelings and local attachments which neither time nor distance could obliterate. During his residence in Europe, he always declared his intention of returning to America : the following extract from a letter of his to a female literary correspondent at New York, will show the affectionate regard which he constantly cherished for the safety and free- dom of the country whose affairs were the means of first launching him into public life : — ' You touch me on a very tender point, when you say, that ■my friends on your side of the water cannot be reconciled to the idea of my abandoning America even for my native Eng- land. They are right. I had rather see my horse. Button, eating the grass of Bordentown, or Morrissania, than see all the pomp and show of Europe. A thousand years hence, for I must indulge a few thoughts, perhaps in less, America may be what England now is. The innocence of her character, that won the hearts of all nations in her favor, may sound like a romance, and her inimitable virtue as if it had never been. The ruins of that liberty, which thousands bled to obtain, may just furnish materials for a village tale, or extort a sigh from rustic sensibility ; while the fashionable of that day, enveloped in dissipation, shall de- ride the principle and deny the fact. When we contemplate the fall of empires, and the extinction 128 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. of the nations of the ancient world, we see but little more to excite our regret than the mouldering ruins of pompous palaces, magnificent monuments, lofty pyramids, and walls and towers of the most costly workmanship : but when the empire of America shall fall, the subject for contemplative sorrow will be infinitely greater than crumbling brass or mar- ble can inspire. It will not then be said, Here stood a temple of vast antiquity, here rose a Babel of invisible height, or there a palace of sumptuous extravagance; but here, ah ! painful thought ! the noblest work of human wisdom, the greatest scene of human glory, the fair cause of freedom, rose and fell! Read this, then ask if I forgot America.' The name of the lady to whom the above was addressed, was Nicholson. She was afterward married to Colonel Few. Whether or not it was owing to Mr. Paine's opinions on reli- gion I do not know, but on his return to America he Avas totally forsaken by her and her husband. When, however, Mr. Paine's dissolution was at hand, they sought his company, and Mrs. Few expressed a wish to renew their former friendship. But Mr. Paine, weak and debilitated as he was, refused to shake hands with her, and indignantly observed, 'You have neglect- ed me, and I beg you will leave the room.' In 1797, a society was formed of a number of persons in Paris, under the title of 'Theophilanthropists.' Of this society Paine was one of the principal promoters. Their objects were the propagation of morality and extinction of religious prejudices, and their faith the belief of one God. At one of their meetings Mr. Paine delivered a public discourse, in which he stated his reasons for rejecting the doctrines of atheism, which at that time prevailed in many parts of France. This year he likewise published a ' Letter to the People of France, on the Events of the eighteenth Fructidor.' Of the merits or demerits of this pamphlet, I am unable to say any- thing as I have not been able to procure a copy. I believe it was never reprinted. About the middle of the same year he also addressed a let- ter to Camille Jordan, one of the council of five hundred, re- specting his report on the priests, public worship, and bells. I have only seen a mutilated copy of this production, but as far as I can judge from that, it deserves to be classed with the best works of the author. ' It is want of feeling,' says he, ' to talk of priests and bells, while so many infants are perishino- in the hospitals, and aged and infirm poor in the streets from the want of necessaries. The abundance that France pro- duces is sufficient for every want, if rightly applied ; but priests and bells, like articles of luxury, ought to be the least articles of consideration.' The publication of his deistical opinions certainly lost our A MEMBER OF THE THEOPH-ILANTEOPISTS. 129 author a great number of friends, and, it is possible, that this miglit be one of the causes of General Washington's indiffer- ence. The clear, open, and undisguised method in which he had contested established opinions, called forth the united indignation of the whole order of priesthood in England and America, and there was scarcely a house of devotion, in the old world or the new, which did not resound with their pious execrations. They witnessed with amazement and terror the immense circulation of the work, and they trembled at the possibility that men might assume sufficient courage to think for themselves. Thousands of persons who had never seen the book, and who knew nothing of its contents, except through the perverted medium of their spiritual teachers, rent the air with exclamations against the blasphemies of Thomas Paine, and to conclude these truly charitable proceedings, the Eng- lish government called upon the public to condemn the work which they had suppressed by a legal prosecution. Such are the means adopted by the professors of Christianity to suffocate inquiry, and to dispel the doubts of skepticism. To the credit of mankind it ought to be observed, that the powers of the hierarchy are upon the decline. There was a time when Mr. Paine would have been roasted alive for daring to disptite the dogmas of the church, but the progress of science, and its handmaid, civilization, has softened the ferocity of human nature, and a somewhat milder punishment is now re- served for those who may question the divinity of the Chris- tian religion. For this, however, we are not indebted either to the morality of the religion, or the piety of its professors — we owe it to the progress which mankind have made in freeing themselves from the profane and barbarous notions which such a system of belief is calculated to diffuse wherever it is tolerated." Mr. Paine, it appears, lived long enough in France to be- come unpopular, at least for a time. His opposition to the dominant party of Robespiere, and to the death of the king of France, were the political offences which rendered him so. While his "Age of Reason," written in defence of deism, and for the express purpose of arresting the progress of atheism, as he himself informs us, still farther contributed to his un- popularity, for atheism and violence, although not necessarily connected, at one time prevailed ; and during the reign of terror, and even after the death of Robespiere, men who were not of his party, nor intolerant democrats, assumed to be so, to avoid suspicion and death by the guillotine : these therefore dared not associate with Mr. Paine, who steadfastly adhered to his 17 130 LIFE OF THOMAS -PAINE. republican principles without cringing to an intolerant party. Wlien Mr. Paine became unpopular he lived chiefly in retire- ment ; and, though a member of the national assembly, he did not make himself prominent, as he could not sanction their proceedings, and opposition was useless, especially, as he did not speak the language fluently, and never in public. While Mr. Paine was unpopular in France, and when he had but few friends, he resided chiefly with Mr. Bonneville and family. Mr. Bonneville at that time edited a paper, was in good circum stances,andwhenMr.Paine'sremittancesfromthis country were not regular, be cheerfully lent him money. This kindness, on the part of Bonneville, shown at a time when Mr. Paine most needed it, was not lost on him, for he was as grateful as gen- erous, moral qualities always in the same ratio ; and Mr. Paine had afterward an opportunity of returning this kindness ; for, on the elevation of Bonaparte to supreme power, the press of Mr. Bonneville was stopped, and himself injured in his property. At this time Mr. Paine resolved to quit France, where liberty appeared hopelessly absorbed by the splendid military talents and achievements of Napoleon. Mr. Paine then offered an asylum to Mr. Bonneville and family in the United States, and this offer Mr. Bonneville accepted, and soon after Mr. Paine returned to this country. In 1802 Mr. Bonneville forwarded his wife and three sons, intending to follow them as soon as he could settle his affairs. Accident or change of purpose delayed his arrival till after Mr. Paine's death, and hence he became charged with the maintenance of Mrs. Bonneville and family (except the elder son, who returned to his father) till his death. To this gubject we shall again refer in the fourth part of this life, especially as it afforded Cheetham the subject of a libel, of which he was convicted, after the death of Mr. Paine. The social and moral character of Mr. Paine while in France appears to have been the same as in England, and as in this country during the revolution ; yet Sherwin, in his life, seems to admit that at one period, when unpopular, he became intemperate. Joel Barlow, who certainly knew him well, partially admits the charge while he -vindicates the general character of Mr. Paine, in a letter to Cheetham, which we shall MR. PAINe's habits in FRANCE. 131 extract. In spite of these admissions, and others, with various allusions from persons who knew something of him, we are sceptical of the fact, because we were nearly betrayed into an error on this subject, in relation to his course of life after his return to this country. The statement that Mr. Paine was intemperate w"as so commonly asserted, that we never con- templated looking for proof to the contrary, till this fact was forced upon us by the uniform testimony of his most intimate acquaintances ; but as this subject relates to the fourth part of his history, we shall reserve it for its proper place. We introduced it merely to justify our scepticism in relation to his habits in France, when partially in seclusion. This doubt in us does not arise from any desire to screen Mr. Paine from any supposed blemish ; for, if this were the fact, we feel more disposed to justify than to screen him. We know that he was not only temperate in after life, but even abstemious ; and he would therefore stand as a monument of reform in old age> on a subject where reform is most uncommon at that period. Mr. Paine lived in an age when hospitality and excess were so identified that the one could not be shown without the other. In our boyish days bumpers were drank in good society, on public occasions ; the toasts must go round, and the glasses drained in honor to the toast, and occasional excess, even when no public cause induced it, was only a proof of goo(^ fellowship. Nor would the host be satisfied that the guests had done him honor, if noisy mirth, excited by wjne, did not finish the repast ; while the guest did not scruple, on his next-day visit, to complain of present headache, and of double sight, and a staggering gait on the previous evening, as proofs of his good entertainment, and of the liberality of his friend and host. At that time Pitt was a. fovr-bottle man. Fox, when in exertion, would drink wine from a great bowl, and the heir- apparent to the British crown might even go to greater ex- cesses, surrounded by the brilliants of the nation ; among whom Sheridan and Fox were not the least distinguished. If Mr. Paine, then, the companion of some of these men, had done as they did, he would only have been on a level with them, and to the custom of the times must the folly be as- cribed. Since that age the custom has changed, bumpers are 132 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. not insisted on in good society, except in song. A drained glass is not a sine que non. The host indeed spreads the table abundantly, but excess is not the fashion ; each helps himself, and the flow of reason and wit, and innocent games, supply the place of boisterous mirth. The change is rational, but the present age must not condemn the past, for a.\\ follow custom. We feel then no disposition to screen Mr. Paine, . but so many falsehoods have been told on this subject, that we honestly doubt various assertions unsupported by facts. Mr. Clio Rickman followed Mr. Paine to France, became again his companion, and parted with him on the shore when he finally left that country for this. We shall give, that gentleman's account of Mr. Paine's habits in France, as far as he knew. "Mr. Paine was acknowledged deputy for Calais, the 21st of September, 1792. In France, during the early part of the rev- olution, his time was almost wholly occupied as a deputy of the convention and as a member of the committee of consti- tution. His company was now coveted and sought after uni- versally among every description of people, and by many who for some reasons never chose to ivow it. With the Earl of Lauderdale, and Dr. Moore, whose company he was fond of, he dined every Friday, till Lord Gower's departure made it necessary for them to quit France, which was early in 1793. About this period he removed from White's hotel to on^near the Rue de Richelieu, where he was so plagued and interrupt- ed by numerous visiters, and sometimes by adventurers, that in order to have some time to himself he appropriate^ two mornings in a week for his levee days.* To this indeed he was extremely averse, from the fuss and formality attending it, but he was nevertheless obliged to adopt it. Annoyed and disconcerted with a life so contrary to his wishes and habits, and so inimical to his views, he retired to the Faux- bourg St. Dennis, where he occupied part of the hotel that Madame de Pompadour once resided in. •Among these adventurers was a person callin^himself Major Lisle : Mr Paine was at brealtfast when lie was announced ; he stated himself to be lately arrhred from Ireland ; he was dressed in the Irish'uniform, and wore a sreL coclfade • he Self vll ,M ' ^f -'"fo™^^ ■?^n. ="-[1 was gentlemanlvin hfs r^anners!but' el I„T 5 7"^}^- "/ '■'"' "'""' *«> ""'"''" °f =>«S^s and Battles he had been at and ended w,th professing a zealous desire to lerve the republic, wishing Mr' Fame to give h,m a letter of recommendation to the minister at war. Mr Paine was extremely observing, shrewd, and cautious; he treated him with hosDifalkv and politeness, and inquired after some of the leading charaot ™s n Ireland wtf^ TlTltrt"^^^^ "?r ""' "' "" acquainted ; heathen recommended him to take the credentials of his services to the military committee but declined l^»r^ =r '^i^^'r-Sp^'^-"^^'^- ^^' ^^— ' '"--^ oSt i&teK MB. PAINe's habits IN FRANCE. 133 Here was a good garden well laid out, and here too our mu- tual friend Mr. Choppin occupied apartments ; at this residence, which for a town one was very quiet, he lived a life of retire- ment and philosophical ease, while it was believed he was gone into the country for his health, vijhich by this time indeed was much impaired by intense application to business, and by the anxious solicitude he felt for the welfare of public affairs. Here with a chosen few he unbent himself; among whom were Brissot, the Marquis de Chatelet le Roi of the gallerie de honore, and an old friend of Dr. Franklin, Bangal, and some- times General Miranda. His English associates were Christie and family, Mary Wolstonecraft, Mr. and Mrs. Stone, &c. Among his American friends were Capt. Imlay, Joel Barlow, &c., &c. To these parties the French inmates were generally invited. It was about this time a gentleman at Paris thus writes of him to his friend : 'An English lady of our acquaintance, not less remarkable for her talents than for her elegance of man- ners, entreated me to contrive that she might have an interview with Mr. Paine. In consequence of this I invited him to din- ner on a day when we were to be favored with her company. For above four hours he kept every one in astonishment and admiration of his memory, his keen observation of men and manners, his numberless anecdotes of the American Indians, of the American war, of Franklin, Washington, and even of his majesty, of whom he told several curious facts of humor and benevolence. His remarks on genius and taste can never be forgotten by those present.' " The above extract is a part of Mr. Yorke's letter, published we believe in this country, but as that letter contains some falsehoods we have no confidence in it ; for Mr. Yorke says Paine could repeat by heart anything he had written : and Sher- win repeats the statement. This is a mistake, as we are in- formed by Mr. John Fellows and others, his intimates. Mr. Paine would necessarily express himself nearly in the same style, on the same subject, because it was the most clear, the fewest words, and combined the greatest strength. Men who say the best thing first, can but repeat them on a future occa- sion. Mr. Clio Rickman goes on to remark : — " He usually rose about seven, breakfasted with his friend Choppin, Johnson, and two or three other Englishmen, and a Monsieur La Borde, who had been an officer in the ci-devant garde du corps, an intolerable aristocrat, but whose skill in mechanics and geometry brought on a friendship between him and Paine ; for the undaunted and distinguished ability and 134 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. firmness with which he ever defended his own opinions when controverted, do not reflect higher honor upon him than that unbounded liberality toward the opinions of others which con- stituted such a prominent feature in his character, and which never suffered mere difference of sentiment, whether political or religious, to interrupt the harmonious intercourse of friendship, or impede the interchanges of knowledge and information. After breakfast he usually strayed an hour or two in the garden, where he one morning pointed out the kind of spider whose web furnished him with the first idea of constructing his iron bridge ; a fine model of which, in mahogany, is pre served at Paris. The little happy circle who lived with him here will ever remember these days with delight : with these select friends he would talk of his boyish days, play at chess, whist, piquet, or cribbage, and enliven the moments by many interesting anecdotes : with these he would sport on the broad and fine gravel walk at the upper end of the garden, and then retire to his boudoir, where he was up to his knees in letters and papers of various descriptions. Here he remained till dinner-time ; and unless he visited Brissot's family, or some particular friend in the evening, which was his frequent custom, he joined again the society of his favorites and fellow-boarders, with whom his conversation was often witty and cheerful, always acute and improving, but never frivolous. Incorrupt, straightforward, and sincere, he pursued his politi- cal course in France, as everywhere else, let the government or clamor or faction of the day be what it might, with firmness, with clearness, and without a ' shadow of turning.' In all Mr. Paine's inquiries and conversations he evinced the strongest attachment to the investigation of truth, and was always for going to the fountain-head for information. He often lamented we had no good history of America, and that the letters written by Columbus, the early navigators, and others, to the Spanish court, were inaccessible, and that many valuable documents, collected by Philip II, and deposited with the national archives at Simania, had not yet been promulga- ted. He used to speak highly of the sentimental parts of Ray- nal's History." As farther illustration of the character of Mr. Paine while in France we shall now introduce the letter of Joel Barlow to Cheetham, when Cheetham was getting up the life of Paine, just after the death of the latter. He wrote for in information to various persons, suggesting what answers they should give by leading questions. These answers, if they suited his purpose, he published, if not, he suppressed them. , JOEL BAKLOW'S LETTER TO CHEETHAM. 135 or he took the liberty of publishing detached parts of what he had been told, or related direct falsehoods, as in the case ot Mr. Jarvis, who has explicitly denied to us the words which Cheetham puts into his mouth in relation to Mr. Paine. Cheatham, araorig others, wrote to Mr. Barlow, and to him put such sort of questions as we have noticed. Mr. Barlow, in reply, states as follows : — TO JAMES CHEETHAM. " Sir : I have received your letter calling for information re- lative to the life of Thomas Paine. It appears to me that this is not the moment to publish the life of that man in this country. His own writings are his best life, and these are not read at present. The greatest part of the readers in the-United States will not be persuaded as long as their present feelings last, to con- sider him in any other light than as a drunkard and a deist. The writer of his life who should dwell on these topics, to the exclusion of the great and estimable traits of his real char- acter, might, indeed, please the rabble of the age who do not know him ; the book might sell ; but it would only tend to render the truth more obscure, for the future biographer than it was before. But if the present writer should give us Thomas Paine complete in all his character as one of the most benevolent and disinterested of mankind, endowed with the clearest percep- tion, an uncommon shave of original genius, and the greatest breadth of thought ; if this piece of biography should analyze his literary labors, and rank him as he ought to be ranked among the brightest and most undeviating luminaries of the age in which he has lived — yet with a mind assailable by flat- tery, and receiving through that weak side a tincture of vanity which he was too proud to conceal; with a mind, though strong enough to bear him up, and to rise elastic under the heaviest load of oppression, yet unable to endure the contempt of his former friends and fellow-laborers, the rulers of the country that had received his first and greatest services — a mind incapable of looking down with serene compassion, as it ought, on the rude scoffs of their imitators, a new genera- tion that knows him not; a mind that shrinks from their society, and unhappily seeks refuge in low company, or looks for consolation in the sordid, solitary bottle, till it sinks at last so far below its native elevation as to lose all respect for itself, and to forfeit that of his best friends, disposing these friends "(Imost to join with his enemies, and wish, though from dif- ferent motives, that he would haste to hide himself in the 136 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. grave — if you are disposed and prepared to write his life, thus entire, to fill up the picture to which these hasty strokes of outline give but a rude sketch with great vacuities, your book maybe a useful one for another age, but it will not be relished, nor scarcely tolerated in this. The biographer of Thomas Paine should not forget his mathe- matical acquirements, and his mechanical genius. His inven- tion of the iron bridge, which led him to Europe in the year 1787, has procured him a great reputation in that branch of science, in France and England, in both which countries his bridge has been adopted in many instances, and is now much in use. You ask whether he took an oath o'f allegiance to France. Doubtless, the qualification to be a member of the convention required an oath of fidelity to that country, but involved in it no abjuration of his fidelity to this. He was made a French citizen by the same decree with Washington, Hamilton, Priest- ley, and Sir James-Mackintosh. What Mr. M has told you relative to the circum- stances of his arrestation by order of Robespierre, is erro- neous, at. least in one point. Paine did not lodge at the house where he was arrested, but had been dining there with some Americans, of whom Mr. M may have been one. I never heard before, that Paine was intoxicated that night. In- deed the officers brought him directly to my house, which was two miles from his lodgings, and about as much from the place where he had been dining. He was not intoxicated when they came to me. Their object was to get me to go and assist them to examine Paine's papers. It employed us the rest of that night, and the whole of the next day at Paine's lodgings; and he was not committed to prison till the next evening. You ask what company he kept — he always frequented the best, both in England and France, till he became the object of calumny in certain American papers (echoes of the English court papers), for his adherence to what he thought the cause of liberty in France, till he conceived himself neglected and despised by his former friends in the United States. From that moment he gave himself very much to drink, and, conse- quently, to companions less worthy of his better days. It is said he was always a peevish inmate — this is possible. So was Lawrence Sterne, so was Torquato Tasso, so was J. J. Rousseau ; but Thomas Paine, as a visiting acquaintance and as a literary friend, the only points of view in which I knew him, was one of the most instructive men I ever have known. He had a surprising memory and brilliant fancy ; his mind was a storehouse of facts and useful observations ; he was full of lively anecdote, and ingenious original, pertinent remark upon almost every subject. ME. paine's name sttppeessed by historians. 137 He was always charitable to the poor beyond his means, a sure protector and friend to all Americans in distress that he found in foreign countries. And he had frequent occasions ^ to exett his influence in protecting them during the revolu- tion in France. His writings will answer for his patriotism, and his entire devotion to what he conceived to be the best interest and happiness of mankind.* This, sir, is all I have to remark on the subject you mention. Now 1 have only one request to make, and tlipt would doubt- less seem impertinent, were you not the editor of a news- paper ; it is, that you will not publish my letter, nor permit a copy gf it to be taken. I am, sir, &c., Joel Barlow. KALoaAMA, August II, 1809." Mr. Barlow was not always so candid. He has published a poem on the revolution, in which he does not mention Mr. Paine, whose " Common Sense " produced the declaration of independence, and who, throughout the contest, did more toward producing unanimity and funds (the two essentials in war) than any other man. We have now in our house a compact history of the revolution, by S. F. Wilson, published in Baltimore, in which the same injustice is done to Mr. Paine, for he scarcely occupies one line in the history, although "political writings" without giving a name, are referred to, as being very efficacious. Paul Allen in a larger work does him the same injustice. In a biography of distinguished American characters, by Colonel Knapp, published by Conner, a short notice was inserted of Mr, Paine, being a republication of an English biography. This Mr. Conner was obliged to alter, after stereotyping, at the instigation of Collins and Hanna, and other booksellers, not because the facts and sentiments were incorrect, but because the praise of Mr. Paine would spoil the sale of the book. .These facts we learn from Mr. John Fellows and Mr. Conner. In the case of Joel Barlow, there was no personal objection, but he knew that prejudices existed against Mr. Paine, and he succumbed to public feeling; and such we believe the case with other writers. • Mr. Barlow might have added, in regard to Mr. Paine's religion, that as it was the religion of most of the men of science of the pres'ent age, and probably of three fourths of those of the last, there could be no just reason for making it an exception- in his character. IS 138 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. While Mr. Paine was in France, and partly detached from politics, in consequence of imprisonment and the violence of party, he was not idle. Mr. Yorke remarks, in his letter pub- lislied in Sherwin's Life : — " In showing me one day the beautiful models of two bridges he had devised, he observed that Dr. Franklin once told him, that 'books are written to pleasfe, houses built for great men, churches for priests, but no bridge for the people.' These models exhibit an extraordinary degree, not only of skill, but of taste, in mechanics ; and are wrought with extreme delicacy, entirely by his own hands. The largest is nearly four feet in length ; the iron works, the chains, and every other article belonging to it, were forged and manufactured by him- self. It is intended as the model of a bridge, which is to be constructed across the Delaware, extending 480 feet with only one arch. The other is to be erected over a lesser river, whose name I forget, and is likewise a single arch, and of his own workmanship, excepting the chains, which instead of iron, are cut out of pasteboard, by the fair hand of his correspond- ent, the 'Little Corner of the World,' whose indefatigable per- severance is extraordinary. He was offered three thousand pouijds for these models, and refused it. The iron bars, which I before mentioned that I noticed in a corner of his room, were also forged by himself, as the model of a crane, of a new de- scription. He put them together, and exhibited the power of the lever, to a most surprising degree." " Mr. Yorke in the above extract states the correspondence between Lady Smith and Mr. Paine to have been extremely beautiful and interesting; as a proof of this, the following specimen is subjoined : — ' FROM " THE CASTLE IN AIR," TO THE ' LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD." In the region of clouds where the whirlwinds arise, My castle of fancy was built ; The turrets reflected the blue of the skies, And the windows with sun-beams were gilt. The rainbow sometimes, in its beautiful state, Enamplled the mansion around, And the figures thit fancy in clouds can create, Supplied me with gardens and ground. I had grottoes and fountains andoranse tree groves, I had all that enchantment has told"; I had sweet shady walks for the gods and their loves, I had mountains of coral and gold. But a storm that I felt not, had risen and rolled. While wrapt in a sluiriber 1 lay: And when I looked out in the morning, behold ! My castle was carried away. MR. PAINE's POETUY SOCIAUTY. 139 It passed over rivers, anrl valleys, and groves — The world, it was all in my view — I thought of my friends, of their fates, of their loves. And often, full often, of you. At length it came over a beautiful scene, Tliat nature in silence had made : The place was but small — but 'twas sweetly serene, And chequered with sunshine and shade. I gazed and I envied with painful goodwill, And grew tired of my seat in the air : When all of a sudden my castle stood still. As if some attraction was there. Like a lark from the sky it came fluttering down, And placed me exactly in view — When who should I meet, in this charming retreat, 41 This corner of calmness — but you. Delighted to find you in honor and ease, I felt no more sorrow nor pain ; And the wind coming fair, 1 ascended the breeze, And went back with my castle again.' The above was written during his residence in Paris. Mr. Paine had very early in life corresponded with the lady to whom it was addressed, his letters, like the foregoing, being dated from the ' Castle in the Air,' and hers from the ' Little Corner of the World.' For reasons which he knew not, their intercourse was suddenly suspended, and for some time he believed his friend in obscurity and distress. Many years afterward, he met her unexpectedly at Paris, in the most afflu- ent circumstances, and married to Sir Robert Smith. In Mr. Yorke's Letters there is- another piece, on for geiful- ness. This is replete with the most beautiful imagery, but Mr. Yorke, from some motive which I cannot discover, has can- celled so great a part of it, that much of the interest is lost which it would otherwise possess. As the letter of Mr. Jefferson which Mr. Yorke alludes to, shows the high opinion which that gentleman entertained of our author's services, and his wish to accommodate him by every possible kindness, I here subjoin a copy of it : — ' You express a wish in your letter to return to America by a national ship ; Mr. Dawson, who brings over the treaty, and who will present you with this letter, is charged with orders to the captain of the Maryland to receive and accommodate you back, if you can be ready to depart at such a short warning. You will in general find us returned to sentiments worthy of former times ; in these it will be your glory to have steadily labored, and with as much effect as any man living. That you may live long to continue your useful labors, and reap the re- ward in the thankfulness of nations, is my sincere prayer. Accept the assurances of my high esteem, and affectionate at- tachment. Thomas Jefferson.' I-IO LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. Soon after Mr. Paine's release from the Luxembourg, it ap- pears he made an effort to return to America, but he found the obstacles more numerous than he expected. The miscon- duct of Mr. Monroe's predecessor had rendered his reception in France a very unpleasant one, and as soon as he had effect ed a good understanding with the government of that country, he wished to transmit some despatches to America, by a per- son with whom he could likewise confide a verbal communica- tion, and he fixed upon Mr. Paine. For this purpose he ap- plied to the committee of public safety for a passport, but as Sir. Paine had been voted again into the convention, it was only the convention who could grant the passport, and as an application to them would have made his depai'tijce publicly known, he was obliged to sustain the disappointment, and Mr. Monroe to lose the opportunity. When Mr. Monroe left France, our author was to have accom- panied him, but owing to some unforeseen circumstances he was unable to complete his arrangements for that purpose. It was fortunate he could not, for the vessel in which the minister returned was boarded by a British frigate in her passage, and every part of her searched, down even to the hold, for Thomas Paine. He then went to Havre, thinking that he should be able to embark there without its being known, but he found that several British frigates were cruising in sight of the port, and he thereupon returned to Paris. Seeing himself cut off from every opportunity that was within his power to command, he wrote to Mr. Jefferson requesting that if the fate of the election should put him in the chair of the presidency, and he should have occasion to send a frigate to France, he would give him the opportunity of returning by it. This application produced an answer from Mr. Jefferson of which the letter before cited is a copy. He did not, however, go by this vessel, the notice being too short. He next agreed to embark with Commodore Barney, in a vessel he had engaged, but in this, as in some of the former cases, the protecting hand of Providence was very visible, he was accidently detained beyond the time, and the vessel sunk at sea. Such a multitude of difficulties and nar- row escapes were perhaps never concentrated together in the execution of so simple a project. He finally embarked from Havre on the 1st of September, and arrived at Baltimore »n the 30th of October, 1802." 141 PART IV. FROM THE AREIVAL OF MR. PAINE IN BALTIMORE, OCTOBER SOj 1802j TO HIS DEATH IN 1809. The most interesting period of Mr. Paine's life has neces- sarily already been given. He was now an old man, between sixty and seventy, yet vigorous, with his mental faculties unim- paired. His strong desire to end his days in the United States was beautifully and pathetically expressed to a lady, in a letter from France, a few days before his arrival. This we have already given, page 127. The reception of Mr. Paine in the United States was such as might have been expected from his fame and independent course. In a letter to his friend Clio Rickman he thus expresses himself: — "My dear friend : Mr. Monroe, who is appointed minister extraordinary to France, takes charge of this, to be delivered to Mr. Este, banker in Paris, to be forwarded to you. I arrived at Baltimore 30th October, and you can have no idea of the agitation which my arrival occasioned. From New Hampshire to Georgia (an extent of 1500 miles), every newspaper was filled with applause or abuse. My property in this country has been taken care of by my friends, and is now worth six thousand pounds sterling ; which put in the funds will bring me ^£400 sterling a year. Remember me in friendship and affection to your wife and family, and in the circle of our friends. Yours in friendship, Thomas Paine." What course he meant to pursue in America his own words will best tell, and best characterize his sentiments and prin- ciples ; they are these : — " As this letter is intended to announce my arrival to my friends, and my enemies if I have any, for I ought to have none in America, and as introductory to others that will occa- 142 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. sionally follow, I shall close it by detailing the line of conduct f shall pursue. I have no occasion to ask, nor do I intend to accept, any place or office in the government. There is none it could give me that would in any way be equal to the profits I could make as an author (for I have an established fame in the literary world) could I reconcile it to my principles to make money by my politics or religion ; 1 must be in everything as I have ever been, a disinterested volunteer : my proper sphere of action is on the common floor of citizenship, and to honest men I give my hand and my heart freely. I have some manuscript works to publish, of which I shall give proper notice, and some mechanical affairs to bring for- ward, that will employ all my leisure time. I shall continue these letters as I see occasion, and as to the low party prints that choose to abuse me, they are welcome : I shall not descend ^to ansvi^er them. I have been too much used to such common stuff to take any notice of it. Thomas Paine. City of Washington." Mr. Paine did not remain long at Baltimore, but while there the following characteristic circumstance occurred : — "Passing through Baltimore, he was accosted by the Rev. Mr. Hargrove, minister of a new sect, called the New Jeru- salemites. ' You are Mr. Paine,' said Mr. Hargrove. 'Yes.' 'My name is Hargrove, sir; I am minister of the New Jeru- salem church here. We, sir, explain the Scripture in its true meaning. The key has been lost above four thousand years, and we have found it.' ' Then,' said Paine, drily, ' it must have been very rusty.' Mr. Paine visited Washington, and was kindly received by Jefferson, then president ; indeed this gentleman kept up a constant correspondence with him to the day of his death. He had invited him to return to the United States, had sent out a ship for him, and on being asked if he had done so, he replied, " I have, and when he arrives, if there be an office in my gift, suitable for him to fill, I will give it to him ; I will never abandon old friends to make room for new ones." Mr. Paine, it appears, had resolved not to take office, his wants were moderate and his means sufficient. Mr. Paine visited the heads of the departments, and the various leading political characters, by whom he was received with pleasure, and re- MR. PAINE IN NKW YORK. 143 membered with gratitude, not, however, to be depended on when such remembrances came in contact with their popularity. Soon after Mr. Paine came to New York, and put up at the City hotel, then Lovett's hotel, where Grant Thorburn, well known in New York, says, in a pamphlet before noticed, that he visited him, introduced himself, shook hands with him, de- clared that his only object in thus visiting Mr. Paine was to see the man who had written " Common Sense," and was so much talked about; and having gratified his curiosity, as he says, he abruptly retired, to the no small amusement of the party. Thorburn had formerly adopted Mr. Paine's principles, but at this time he was a professor of religion, and held some office in a baptist church, the members of which, hearing that Mr. Grant Thorburn had shaken hands with Thomas Paine, thought proper to suspend him from the church on that account ; for this reason we have introduced the anecdote, as it explains the situation of all the friends of Mr. Paine, who were con- nected with churches, either from principle or policy. While Mr. Paine was at Lovett's hotel, in spite of the in- fluence of the church, he was honored with a public dinner by a respectable and numerous party, and his after-enemy, Cheetham, then editor of a daily paper, the organ of the demo- cratic party, was particularly active in making the arrange- ments. Notwithstanding this public declaration in favor of Mr. Paine, he was not popular ; the church feared him and had set their curse upon him ; children had been taught to lisp his name in connexion with blasphemy ; and those polit- ical leaders who sought after place, without regarding the means to be employed, and who needed the suflJrages of the pious, and above all feared their united opposition, shunned the company of Mr. Paine as something contaminating. The people were deceived by the church, and those who knew better wanted the honesty to stem the torrent. Jefferson, . Clinton, the mayor of New York, and a number of others, high in politics, literature, and situation in life, were honorable exceptions ; while the independence of Mr. Paine would not allow him to conceal his principles or conform in practices which involved even a portion of hypocrisy. On a morning 144) LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. visit to Dr.Mitchill, in company with Mr. John Fellows, the latter reminded Mr. Paine, while in a gig, before they reached the doctor, that Mr. Paine had a morning gown on ; Mr. Paine replied, " Let those dress who need it." Cheetham has said much about the slovenly habits and appearance of Mr. Paine. Mr. Fellows, who knew him well from his first return to this country till his death, denies the whole of it. He remarks that he was careless of his appearance (as the above little anecdote shows), but always cleanly and decent; and, as we before remarked, that he never saw him disguised in liquor but once, when he had been to a dinner-party, and that he was then only excited. This opinion we find uniformly sup- ported by every credible person who knew him. The partial desertion of Mr. Paine, as a matter of policy, by many of the prominent leading political characters, opened a way to others of less influence in society, but more fearless of public opinion ; and some of these, with an indiscreet zeal, thrust themselves upon Mr. Paine, and claimed a sort of championship in his support. At this time Mr. Carver intro- duced himself to Mr. Paine, as a fellow-townsman, who, when a boy, remembered the fame of the latter, at Lewes, in Sussex. Mr. Paine, too, probably, remembered him, for Carver had sometimes saddled his horse, and could remind him of these services and former times. Mr. Carver was at this period a respectable tradesman, a blacksmith and veterinary surgeon. He had a comfortable home, was liberal, and kept a horse and chaise ; but, above all, he was honest, independent, and openly avowed the opinions, political and theological, of Mr. Paine. With him Mr. Paine consented to live till he went to his farm at NewRochelle ; and thus he became a guest, and afterward a boarder and lodger of a man who, without meaning it, did his memory a great injustice, by becoming the tool of Cheetham in a fit of anger. Mrs. Bonneville and her three sons soon after arrived from France, on invitation from Mr. Paine to Mr. Bonneville and the whole family, as mentioned in the introduction to this life. Mr. Paine, who was simple in his habits, indeed economical, offered Mrs. Bonneville his small farm at Bordentown, where he wished to establish her in a school ; but this employment CHEETHAm's falsehoods PAINE IN EETIKEMENT. 145 did not suit the habits or taste of this lady, and thus the ex- pense of herself and family fell entirely on Mr. Paine. He retired to New Rochelle, and boarded with Purdy, who lived on Paine's farm. Madam Bonneville, however, preferred New York, where she occasionally taught French, while the two boys were sent to school at New Rochelle by Mr. Paine ; the eldest, a youth of fourteen, returned to France. Mr. Paine was g-odfather to one of the others, who had been named after him. He now divided his time between New York and New Ro- chelle, boarding in various places, and sometimes living on his farm. Cheetham has represented Mr. Paine at this period, as dis- gustingly dirty, drunken, ill-tempered, and quarrelsome, and with much impudence he has referred to living characters as proofs, and thus he gives to his falsehoods the appearance of truth ; while a portion of the clergy, eager to believe what they wished to be true, have propagated these falsehoods with the utmost zeal. We are, however, fortunate in being ac- quainted with those who were about him at this time, and with some of those to whom Cheetham refers ; and these latter do not hesitate to blast the memory of this writer of Paine's life as a deliberate falsifier, and as an unprincipled man. Both Carver and Mr. Jarvis, the celebrated painter, thus speak of Cheetham, and yet he has had the impudence to re- fer to them for events as facts \yhich he knew to be fabricated. At this time, 1803 and 1804, when Mr. Paine was backward and forward, from New York to New Rochelle, he resided for sevei-al weeks at the private house of Captain Pelton, who also kept the store at New Rochelle. He resided also for two months in the winter with Mr. Staple, at New Rochelle. Mr. D. Burger, the brother-in-law of Mr. Staple, was the clerk to Captain Pelton, and when Mr. Paine was rather poorly, he drove him in a gig daily about the neighborhood. He, too, supplied Mr. Paine with all the liquor he took, which was one quart of rum in a week, to serve himself and visiters. Mr. Burger* is well known to us, he has since lived for many years in New York, as a watch and clock-maker, and for * This gentleman is since dead, but his eldest son lives and remembers the statement of his father. 19 146 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. some time he had the care of the public clocks ; his veracity is not disputed. He describes Mr. Paine as really abstemi- ous, and when pressed to drink by those on whom he called during- his rides, he usually refused with great firmness, but politely. In one of these rides he was met by De Witt Clinton, and their mutual greetings were extremely hearty. Mr. Paine at this time was the reverse of morose, and though careless in his dress and prodigal of his snuff, he was always clean and well clothed. Mr. Burger describes him as familiar even with children, and humane to animals, occasionally sitting by the store, playing with the neighboring children, and communicating a friendly pat, even to a passing dog, assuring him he would not see him hurt. Such were the simple habits of the man, described to be wallowing in filth, drunkenness, and brutality. At the time of Mr. Paine's residence at his farm, Mr. Ward, now a coffee-roaster in Gold street. New York, and an assistant alderman, was then a little boy and residing about Rochelle. He remembers the impressions his mother and some religious people made on him by speaking of Tom Paine, so that he concluded Tom Paine must be a very bad and brutal man. Some of his elder companions proposed going into Mr. Paine's orchard to obtain some fruit, and he, out of fear, kept at a distance behind, till he beheld, to his surprise, Mr. Paine come out and assist the boys in getting apples, patting one on the head and caressing another, and directing them where to get the best. He then advanced and received his share of encour- agement, and the impression this kindness made on him determined him at a very early period to examine his writings. His mother at first took the books from him, but at a later period restored them to him, observing that he was then of an age to judge for himself; perhaps she had herself been gradually undeceived, both as to his character and writings. In 1804, Mr. Purdy having left his farm, Mr. Paine hired one Derick to cultivate it, when he and the family of the Bonnevilles boarded for some time at Mr. James Wilburn's, in Gold street. At this period Mr. John Fellows, still living in New York, and respected as a good citizen, boarded at the PAINE AND MADAME BONNEVILLE. 147 same house, and testifies to the propriety hoth of Mr. Paine's and Madame Bonneville's conduct. Mr. Paine's notions of economy did not however accord with those of Madame Bon- neville. She was constantly incurring expenses which he deemed unnecessary, while she, relying upon the protection which he had promised both her and her husband, did not scruple to send bills in to him which he had not sanctioned. One of these was presented by Mr. Wilburn, for board to the amount of thirty-five dollars, which she had incurred beyond what he had sanctioned. This demand Mr. Paine resisted, perhaps to check Mrs. Bonneville, and make her either con- tent with a simple competence at his farm in Bordentown, or with him at Rochelle, or that she should by industry acquire the means of a more ample expenditure. The action was brought, and Mr. Fellows was a witness ; but the plaintiff was nonsuited, for the debt had been incurred without Mr. Paine's consent. No sooner, however, was the trial ended in the favor of Mr. Paine than he paid Mr. Wilburn the money ; thus justifying the view we have taken of this subject. Honorable and liberal as this transaction is to Mr. Paine, Cheetham, and after him Mr, Paine's enemies, have retailed this story as if it were to his discredit. There is no reconciling tastes or standards of expenditure. Madame Bonneville's was probably too high to be prudent. Taste is a gift of nature, but partly depending on education. A difference of tastes, where two persons are interested, will always lead to divisions, and Madame Bonneville does not seem to have readily yielded, or to have been very scrupulous as to the means she employed. On one occasion, as we learn from Mr. Carver, and as Cheet- ham has expressed in a note (if such authority can be relied on), "Before his return to the city, Madame Bonneville paid him a visit, and arrived just at candle-light. She told him she had an order which she wished him to sign, for clothing for herself and the children, who were all in fact nearly naked. She pre- sented the order. Paine said, ' I'll put it in my pocket and read it in the morning.' — ' No,' said she, ' you must sign it to-night : I want to return and get the things to-morrow.' — ' I cannot read in the night, Fll keep it till morning.' — ' Then,' said Mad- ame Bonneville, with some temper,'if you won't read it to-night, give it me back.' Paine resisted all her importunities : he kept 148 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. the paper until the morning, when he found, that instead of an order for clothing, it was a bond, duly drawn, for seven hundred pounds. Quite enraged, he went to Mrs. Dean's and told her the story, by whom, and by Mr. Carver, it is mentioned to me." In these circumstances Madame Bonneville was some- times left to want what she thought comforts, yet it does not appear that they had any serious quarrels, although these differences interrupted that cordial intimacy which both per- haps expected. Yet, at his death, we shall find he left her, her husband, and family, the bulk of his property, which was then very considerable. During this time Mr. Paine was not idle, he had generally some work on politics, science, or literature, on hand. He mixed a little too with party politics, communicated with some papers and periodicals, and, when Cheetham deserted the demo- cratic cause, he lashed him with the severity of party spirit, but not unjustly ; and hence the revenge which Cheetham afterward took. Mr. Paine now, too, published many little things which had been written long before for amusement when in France or in England. One of these was a piece of poetry in the style of " Chevy Chase," entitled, " The Strange Story of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram," perhaps- the severest thing ever written upon tythes. In 1804 he published an essay on the invasion of England, and a treatise on gun-boats, full of valuable maritime information ; and, in 1805, a treatise on the yellow fever, and suggests modes of prevention, especially in the improvement of the docks, so as to favor cleanliness. He had now been residing for some time at New Eochelle, when Mr. Carver rode out to see him, and in his zeal urged him to come into the city to oblige his friends, and offered him a room in his house. Mr. Paine consented, and thus again became an inmate with. Mr. Carver, without any engagement as to terms, an error extremely injurious in its conse- quence. Mr. Paine lived with the family, and occasionally made purchases for them, thus complicating the accounts. While he thus resided in Cedar street, with Mr. Carver, his friend, Elihu Palmer, with his wife, boarded in the same street, and within sight of Mrs. Burtsell's ; him Mr. Paine visited daily, and when Mr. Paine was seized with an epileptic fit, and PAINE AND JARVIS. 149 fell down stairs, Mrs. Palmer attended on him. The attend- ance which he thus required, when ill, still farther served to complicate the accounts between him and Mr. Carver. Mrs Burtsell, still living in Cedar street, speaks with enthusiasm of the agreeable manners of Mr. Paine. She declares she never saw him intoxicated, though he was daily in her house. ' By the advice of a medical man Mr. Puine now left Mr. Carver's, and lived in Church street with Mr. Jarvis, the celebrated painter, still living.* Here he soon recovered, and he and Mr. Jarvis became good companions ; the one the greatest wit of the age, and the other, though now an old man, not deficient in sprightly thoughts or conversation, and abounding in information. Mr. Jarvis still speaks of their agreeable com- panionship with much gust, and relates a number of anecdotes highly characteristic; and he positively denies to us the language ascribed to him by Cheetham. As Mr. Jarvis was at this time in good circumstances, and received Mr. Paine as a companion, the Cheetham stories of Mr. Paine's dirtiness kill themselves, for it is absurd to suppose Mr. Jarvis would have had such a companion. The following are among the anecdotes related by Mr. Jarvis in relation to Mr. Paine : — " He usually took a nap after dinner, and would not be dis- turbed let who would call to see him. One afternoon, a very old lady, dressed in a large Scarlet cloak, knocked at the door, and inquired^ for Thomas Paine. Mr. Jarvis told her he was asleep. ' I am very sorry,' she s^id, ' for that, for I want to see him very particularly.' Thinking it a pity to make an old woman call twice, Mr. Jarvis took her into Paine's bed-room and waked him. He rose upon one elbow, and then, with an expression of eye that staggered the old woman back a step or two, he asked — 'What do you want 1' — ^'Is your name Paine V — ' Yes,' Well then, I come from Almighty God, to tell you, that if you do not repent of your sins and believe in our blessed Savior Jesus Christ, you will be damned, and' ' Poh, poh, it is not true. You were not sent with such an impertinent message. Jarvis, make her go away. Pshaw, he would not send such a foolish ugly old woman, as you about with his messages. Go away. Go back. Shut the door. The old lady raised both 'her hands, kept them so, and without saying another- word, walked away in mute astonishment." • Died since the manuscript was written. 150 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. Mr. Paine still visited New Rochelle, while ostensibly with Mr. Jarvis. He had left Mr. Carver without any direct settle meat of accounts. Mr. Carver's circumstances had now altered from some family affairs which he could not control, and altered circumstances produced altered feelings. When Mr. Carver was in good circumstances, he thought only of the honor and pleasure of having Mr. Paine under the same roof with him, the terms of his board were a secondary consider- ation. We have already remarked that no agreement was made. Now in altered circumstances, of which Mr. Paine does not appear to be aware, his charge was an object. In the first note from Carver to Mr. Paine on this subject, published by Cheetham, Mr. Carver uses this expression, " 1 have made a calculation of my expenditures on your account, the last time you were at my house, and find they amount to one hundred and fifty or sixty dollars." He charges for twenty- two weeks for Mr. Paine and twelve for Mrs. Palmer, who assisted him in his illness ; and he takes no notice of the few things Mr. Paine had purchased. He reminds Mr. Paine of his riches, and concludes by saying that he should not ask one cent if he could afford it. Mr. Paine at this time did not ex- pect a long life. The fit and subsequent sickness had shaken his constitution. He had put Mr. Carver down in his will for a handsome sum ; and from the manner of the invitation and supposed circumstances of Mr. Carver, perhaps he never ex- pected a formal charge. At any rate, Mr. Paine was indig- nant at this charge, which he considered unjust, and proposed paying the money down at once, and having nothing more to do with him. This he was prevented from doing by Mr. John Fellows, who was present when the demand was made by Mr. Carver's boy. Mr. Fellows and Mr. Morton, the friends of Mr. Paine, considered the charge too high ; and these finally settled the account upon what they considered just principles. The charge might have been perfectly just, as, in Mr. Carver's altered circumstances, he might have remembered former hospitalities, for he refers to them in one of his letters. There might have been but a trifling difference had Mr. Paine made up the account. The fault was, not having a definite agree- ment ; and this foolish affair produced a quarrel. Mr. Paine CARVER S LETTER — CHEETHAM. 151 replied to this note in an angry manner to Mr. Carver, and Carver, remarkable for his boldness, replied in the severest terms possible, giving the very worst construction to every event concerning Mr. Paine he could think of. His epileptic fit he insinuates was drunkenness ; and he infers an improper connexion with Madame Bonneville, merely however in an inuendo, with a sarcastic remark about young Thomas, the godson, being like Mr. Paine. He refers to his trouble when Mr. Paine was sick, and reminds him of the qiuantity of water he procured for his personal cleanliness. This personal quarrel was soon forgotten, and the angry letters should have been destroyed ; but both letters had been read in public by some zealous friends, and copies were taken. They ought to have been obliterated ; but after Mr. Paine's death, in 1809, Cheetham sought out Mr. Carver, obtained a copy, deceived him as to his intention and the nature of his publication, and published these letters against Carver's will. The mere pub- lication of these letters would avail nothing among a candid people ; they were avowedly written in anger, but there were persons who wished to believe. Even among such these angry letters could avail but little ; but Mr. Cheetham, with fiendish ingenuity, not only inserted these letters, but in other parts of his life, presuming on their publication, boldly asserts as facts what Carver had only insinuated, leaving the impres- sion that these letters are additional confirmations of the facts, instead of the only foundation for such reports. Thus he di- rectly charges Mr. Paine with adultery with Madame Bonne- ville. He charges him with drunkenness, coarseness, and dirtiness directly, which are only insinuated or implied in Carver's angry letters. In the first charge Mrs. Bonneville was implicated, and she very properly prosecuted Cheetham. On the trial, which we have read, he could only bring Mr. Carver as witness, and Mr. Carver could only say what he had before written, and his counsel was obliged to withdraw the justification and acknowledge that the accusation was a FALSE and MALICIOUS libel. The other charges applied to Mr. Paine ora/y, and he was dead and could not prosecute. We, after dilicrent inquiry, belike them also false and malicious, and that they have no other foundation than the angry letter 152 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. of Mr. Carver, and the malicious revengeful spirit of Cheat ham ; for this reason we have detailed this foolish quarrel. We have now approached the year 1807, the seventieth of Mr. Paine's life, and two years only before his death. In the sprmg of this year he removed to Broome street, at one Mr. Hitt's, a baker ; here he lived some time ; and while in Broome street he published an examination of the passages in the New Testament, quoted from the Old, and called " Prophesies of Jesus Christ," 'fee. This work shows all the acumen of his former works ; it marks the most laborious examination of the Scriptures. The Bible of Mr. Paine had been most carefully read, it was marked all over ; indeed, no book had been read by him more than that. Mr. Paine lived successively in Partition street and afterward in Greenwich street, near the state-prison ; but his sickness in- creased on him, and boarding-house attention was scarcely suf- ficient. Madame Bonneville took a small house for him, May, 1809, in Columbia*street, and here she attended on him till his death. Mr. Paine was perfectly conscious of his approaching dissolution, and some time before he wished to arrange for his burial in the quakers' burying-ground, as the least obnoxious to his feelings ; and for this purpose he applied to Mr. Willit Hicks, a preacher and influential member of that body, as his father had been of that persuasion. Mr. Hicks saw no objec- tion, he had no prejudice on his own account, and brought this subject before the church; and to their discredit they denied the request. While Mr. Paine was at Mr. Jarvis's he seemed to foresee what would be the scene of his death-bed, and what some fanatical persons would attempt after his death. With that shrewdness of judgment which he always possessed, and which displayed itself during the revolution, by his instantly antici- pating what the British government would do, he was enabled to prepare the people for the various proclamations and de- ceptive propositions before they arrived ; nay, some of these appeared but a repetition of Paine's statements. The conse- quence was, they lost their efl^ect, as far as his influence went. So, on this occasion, he faretold that when on a sick bed attempts would be made to convert him to Christianity * Now Grove stteet ' DEATH-BED OF MB. PAINE. 153 or to make it appear that he was converted ; and that after his death reports would be spread of his death-bed repentance, of his unbelief; then, appealing to Mr. Jarvis, he observed, "Now I am in health, and in perfect soundness of mind ; now is the time to express my opinion." And thus having called Mr. Jarvis to witness, he solemnly repeated his belief in his already written opinions. What Mr. Paine had foreseen came to pass. As his illness assumed a fatal appearance he was visited by men and women who obtruded upon his last moments their religious principles, either from christian simplicity and ignorant sincerity, and, most likely, in some of them, from hypocrisy ; in the hopes of being able to contort some of his answers into a manifestation of fear or conversion, or to give them an opportunity of in- venting a recantation for him. This is by no means an un- charitable supposition from the facts which followed his death, when the second part of Mr. Paine's prophesy was fulfilled by an invention of the kind, and by pious falsehoods promul- gated to willing ears. The position is not uncharitable, for the dying moments of Voltaire have been misrepresented by similar pious frauds. Nor are these the only instances where base falsehoods have been perpetrated in the name of God for a supposed pious purpose. Even the judge, who after- ward sentenced Cheetham for a false and malicious libel on the memory of Mr. Paine and Madame Bonneville, declared Cheetham's life a useful book, because it tended to suppress the influence of Mr. Paine's writings. After these and other proofs of lying, for the sake of God, in remembrance too of the counterpart, we think we are justified in assuming that some of the visiters were hypocrites, and came there to dis- tort his answers, or as an excuse for invention, than for any reasonable hope of converting and saving his soul. Among the most prominent and zealous visiters of Mr. Paine in his last days were the Rev. Mr. Milledollar, a presbyterian clergyman, and the Rev. Mr. Cunningham, about a fortnight before Mr. Paine's death. This latter gentleman told Paine that they visited him as friends and neighbors, and added, " You have now a full view of death, you cannot live long, and whosoever does not believe in Jesus Christ will assuredly be 20 »04) LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. damned." Mr. Paine replied, " Let me have none of your popish stuff. Get away with you. Good morning, good morning." Mr. MilleJollar attempted to address him, but was interrupted by Mr. Paine ; and when they were gone, he said to Mrs. Hedden, his houselteeper, " Don't let'em come here again, they trouble me." In spite of Mr. Paine's declaration these gentlemen again attempted to obtrude themselves upon him, but they were refused admittance, as directed, by Mrs. Hedden, who piously added, " If God does not change his mind, she was sure no human power could." Mr. Willit Hicks, himself a preacher, a most respectable member of the friends, and a man of high standing in the com- munity, yet alive, was then a neighbor of Mr. Paine, and in his last illness visited him daily, and on the day of his death. This gentleman, whom we especially visited, assured us that Mr. Paine was beset by clergymen ; that on one occasion a methodist minister obtruded on Mr. Paine when he, Mr. Hicks, was present. The minister, we suppose sincerely, declared to Mr. Paine, with uplifted hands, that "unless he repented of his unbelief he would be damned." Mr. Hicks describes Mr. Paine as rising in his bed with indignation at the intrusion and ignorant presumption, and, sick as he was, declaring that if he was able he would immediately put him out of the room. We recently met one of these visiting parties who sought to convert Mr. Paine on his death-bed, a Mr. Pigott, formerly a legislator, and now a man of high moral standing. He has a brother a minister, a learned stu- dious man, but unfortunately blind. He was so at the time of Mr. Paine's death, and he felt desirous of converting Mr. Paine, and engaged his brother, Mr. Pigott, our informant, to go with him. With some difficulty they obtained access, for Mr. Paine was then annoyed, as we have seen, ty obtruders ; but as this gentleman had once adopted the opinions of Mr. Paine, and was then blind, these qualities obtained the brothers an audience. Mr. Pigott remarked that Mr. Paine was in bed and sick, but that he received them with politeness, and cheerfully conversed Avith his brother, who was a learned thoughtful man ; but when his brother proceeded to state that he had changed his opinions, and about to urge on Mr. Paine, DEATH-BED OF MR. PAINE. I55 sincerely in this case no doubt, the necessity of re-examina- tion and conversion, Mr. Paine abruptly closed the con- versation, and intimated his displeasure, and a wish for their immediate departure; and they thus left the room. Mr. Pigott describes Mr. Paine as a large-faced man, with a most pene- trating eye, and immense expression of countenance, mark- ing lively sensibilities, which the peculiar character of the visit brought out; for he had seen him pleased with his brother, intelligent and communicative, and then indignant at supposing the brother could change his opinions. The friends of Mr. Paine visited him till his death. Mr. Jarvis saw him one or two days before his dissolution, and on that day he had expected to die during the night, to Mr. Jarvis he expressed a continued belief in his written opinions ; of this we are informed by Mr. Jarvis. Mr. Thomas Nixon, and his old friend Mr.Pelton, visited him expressly on the subject of his opinions, so did Mr. B. F. Hasken, a respectable attor- ney, now residing in Chambers street. New York ; and, as they say, aware that falsehoods might be resorted to, because such means had before been used with others, they put down Mr. Paine's answers in writing. But when they first proposed their questions, as Mr. Paine did not know their motive, he seemed hurt that they should suppose he had any doubts on the subject. We have this account personally from Mr. Hasken, and we shall give a letter from Mr. T. Nixon and Mr. D. Pelton in another place. Mr. Paine suffered consider- ably in his illness, but he retained his mental faculties to the last. Death made slow approaches, and dropsy, attended by a cough and vomiting, were the last symptoms of approaching dissolution. On the eighth of June, about nine in the morn- ing, he died, placid and almost without a struggle, notwith- standing his previous sufferings. And his last words, as re- corded by Dr. Manley were — " I have no wish to believe on the subject," in answer to the question, " Do you wish to believe that Jesus is the Son of God 1" put by the pious doctor himself, who was curious on the subject. Fortunately we have the living testimony of the person who sat up with Mr. Paine on the night previous to his death. This testimony cost us a journey to Boston, but we are 156 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. amply repaid for our labor. On our return we published the testimony in the Beacon of June 5, 1839, Vol. III., page 24-0. A precaution we have taken for these eight years, during which time we have had the command of a press ; for aware that many of the witnesses to this history, being then advanced in years, might die, we published their testimony in detail while yet alive, and capable of verifying our statements if correct, or of contradicting them if erroneous. As a speci- men of this method of chronicling events, which we meant to imbody in this work, we extract the following from the Bea- con (see reference above) :■ — THOMAS PAINE S DEATH-BED. " We have just returned from Boston. One object of our visit to that city, was to see a Mr. Amasa Woodsworth, an engineer, now retired in a handsome cottage and garden at East Cambridge, Boston. This gentleman owned the house rented by Mrs. Bonneville for Mr. Paine at his death ; while he lived next door. As an act of kindness Mr. Woodsworth visited Mr. Paine every day for six weeks before his death ; he frequently sat up with him, and did so on the last two nights of his life. He was always there with Dr. Manley the physician, and assisted in removing Mr. Paine, while his bed was prepared : he was present when Dr. Manley asked Mr. Paine ' if he wished to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God,' and he describes Mr. Paine's answer as animated. He says, that lying on his back, he used some action, and with much emphasis replied, ' I have no wish to believe on that subject.' He lived a short time after this, but was not known to speak, for he died tranquilly. He accounts for the insinuating style of Dr. Manley's letter, by stating that that gentleman just after its publication joined a church. He in- forms us that he has openly reproved the doctor for the falsity contained in the spirit of that letter, boldly declaring before Dr. Manley, who is yet living, that nothing which he saw justified his (the doctor's) insinuations. Mr. Woodsworth assures us that he neither heard nor saw anything to justify the belief of any mental change in the opinions of Mr; Paine previous to his death ; but that being very ill and in pain, chiefly arising from the skin being removed in some parts by long laying, he was generallv too uneasy to enjoy conversa- tion on abstract subjects. This, then, Ls the best evidence that can be procured on this subject, and we publish it while the contravening parties ar(> yet alive, and with the authority of Mr. Woodsworth. — g. v." DEATH OF ME. PAINE. 157 Mr, Woodsworth is yet alive, and his testimony has derived additional importance from the evidence of Mr. Willet Hicks, which we shall shortly give. We refer especially to his re- marks on the conduct of Dr. Manley ; and when we produce Mr. Hicks' evidence, we shall have to request that our readers will return to the previous page, and again read this testimony, and compare it with that evidence. The day after the death of Mr. Paine he was taken from his house in Greenwich village to New Rochelle, attended by a few friends, and was there buried on his farm, and a plain stone was erected to his memory, with the following inscription : — THOMAS PAINE, AUTHOR OF " COMMON SENSE." Died June 8, 1809, aged seventy-two years and five months. Mr. Paine left behind him a manuscript in answer to Bishop Watson. A copy of this is now in the hands of Madame Bon- neville. A catholic priest in this country borrowed another copy of her, which has never been returned. In reviewing the life of Mr. Thomas Paine, we can see no defect in his public character. He was a citizen of the world, and served its interests to the best of his abilities, which were great. " Where liberty is, that is my country," said Dr. Franklin. Mr. Paine replied, " Where liberty is not, that is my country," in reference to his exertions for liberty in the United States, England, and France. Paine wrote for man- kind, and he may be emphatically styled " the friend of man." Here he was a good citizen, and a firm supporter of the gov- ernment ; because that government is based upon the rights of man, with the exception of the recognition of slavery in the southern states, unfortunately engrafted on the community before the war of independence. Whatever may be the opinion of Mr. Paine's theological works, his honesty in pub- lishing them cannot be doubted by any impartial reader. He believed those opinions true, and he believed the truth useful to mankind ; while his especial object was to establish a re- ligious principle in France, then becoming atheistical. The 158 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. best argument in support of deism is to be found in the first part of the " Age of Reason." In this view of the subject Mr. Paine ought to have been taken by the hand by every believer in the existence, wisdom, power, and goodness of one supreme God, the maker and sustainer of the universe. Mr. Paine gave up the copyright of his theological works, just as he had done that of his political, and for the same reason, public good. His prudence in publishing his " Age of Reason," has been doubted; and if he had been ambitious, and had consulted his. own interest, he would have abstained from such a publication ; but he was neither ambitious nor covetous, except of honest fame, from honest and intelligent men, and that he has ob- tained. His political career was run, and the doors apparently closed against an extension of liberty at that time, and there- fore his political usefulness was not injured. The United States had accomplished her independence ; the revolution in France was completed, and liberty disgraced by excesses which the " Age of Reason" was intended to restrain, as it taught toleration ; while in England the cause of liberty wac checked by war, and his political works suppressed ; but church aggressions were oppressive ; fAere the "Age of Reason" had nearly effected a revolution, and the odious system of tythes was almost prostrated. We cannot then admit that Mr, Paine was imprudent in the publication. The age oj reason has now arrived, at least in New York, and every man chooses to read and think for himself, whatever may be his conclusions ; and Mr. Paine was scarcely in advance of the age. Of Mr. Paine's private character, we cannot say it was per- fect. We should be sorry if we could ; fijr then we could not hope to be believed. Mr. Paine was a part of human nature, and partook of its imperfections. He wrote a foolish angry letter to Carver. He was, no doubt, penurious, to a limited extent, in his old age ; and in sickness we can easily conceive of his being sometimes peevish and angry ; he would not be man if he were not ; but these are all the personal blemishes.we can discover, and these are counterbalanced by the most noble and social qualities. He had a heart to feel for the distresses of mankind, and a head to conceive the MR. PAINE's private LIFE. 159 means of relief. The charge of Madame Bonneville and family was at once an act of generosity and gratitude, however unpleas- ant their different tastes, or sense-of propriety rendered their mutual duties. Mr. Paine possessed every prominent virtue (if not in perfection, which human nature forhids) in large proportions ; and to these he added the most social qualities. in public, without being a great talker, he was cheerful, commu- nicative, abounding in information and anecdote, and in private he was not less agreeable, on the testimony of Mr. John Fellows, Mr. Jarvis, and a host of others, his companions. Few people are aware of the morals and decorum of Mr. Paine. We have already observed that he never used vulgar oaths, and that he even goodhumoredly reproved his friends who did. Mr. Jarvis, who gave us the above information, observed that he once, by way of a joke, advised Mr. Paine to recant, and publish his recantation as a hoax, assuring him that he would then make a large fortune and get a good living. Mr. Paine, shaking his head, replied, " Tom Paine never told a lie." We do not discover in Mr. Paine, on any account, even a prevarication ; such was his love of truth, while he had too much sense to be the dupe of the falsehood of others. The charge of drunkenness we can find no ground for, unless it occurred in France for a short period ; and yet the company he there kept seems to forbid it. But as this charge is so generally believed we shall take the liberty of naming a few persons who knew him personally during his last residence in New York, some of whom were in the habit of meeting him in public, and others in public and private societies, his com- panions for years ; and of these, none ever saw him drunk, and most of them are well known and respected for their veracity. Among others, are Mr. John Fellows,* Mr. D. Burger,t Mr. Ming, senr.. Judge Herttell, Mr. Jarvis, Mr. Bassinet, Nassau street, Mr. B. F. Haskin, attorney. Chambers street, Mr. H. Magary, Willet Hicks, &c., &c., to which we could add a number now dispersed about the states, as Amasa Woods- worth, near Boston, and all the old inhabitants of New Rochelle. There exists, too, a note on this subject to Mr. Caleb • Saw him once elevated, after attending a dinner-party. ■f Since dead. 160 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. Bingham, bookseller, Boston, from Mr. Lovett, now deceased, but formerly of the City hotel, New York, where Mr. Paine put up after his last returnto this country. In that note Mr. Lovett declares that Mr. Paine drank less than any of his other boarders, while at his hotel : and this accords with what Mr. Jarvis and others have informed us, that " he did not, and could not, drink much." Our author, for the existence of this note, is Mr. John Fellows, a gentleman well known, and whose veracity was never doubted. The note was written to answer an inquiry, and shown to Mr. John Fellows, our in- formant. This subject is puerile in itself, were there not a host who sincerely believe Mr. Paine to have been disgustingly a drunkard or a sot. Others of liberal minds, would at once perceive that he who possessed all his faculties to an advanced age unimpaired, could not commonly' indulge in such gross excesses; and if he had indulged in excesses sometimes only, it was merely a fault in the age which has passed. But we have a much more important inference, beside a desire to undeceive those who have been duped. We think we have given abundant evidence that Mr. Paine was neither a sot nor drunkard ; and we know of no contrary evidence, nothing but hearsay, which, when approached, vanishes. How then are we to regard this slander, its circulation, its reiteration, the boldness of the assailants, and the variety of forms it assumed, from the pulpit, the press, and in prints ; and in private, from mouth to mouth, till his very friends were deceived, as we were, till we commenced this investigation. What now is the secret cause of slander, but the desire to check the influ- ence of an individual or his writings. Could the " Age of Eeason" and " Rights of Man" have been replied to, as he replied to Burke, we should never have heard these slanders ; and kings and priests, lordlings, an aristocracy and their syco- phants, and the sincerely pious, but duped disciples of Jesus, never would have formed one mighty mass to circulate a petty slander but from /ear. Some feared the truth-^it would dis- turb their old prejudices ; but others feared reform, because where equal rights are maintained, privileges must be yielded and the leeches on society must give up their hold. But why did the slanderers fix on the minor vice of inebriety 1 It is THE SLANDERERS OF MR. PAINE. 161 clear, by fixing on so small a vice as inebriety for the subject of slander, that there was no pretence even for other vices. Had he been unjust, not addicted' to truth, a man wanting principle, or possessed of any public vice, these would neces- sarily have been laid hold of; and this is a negative evidence that no pretence for public vice existed. But how are we to regard his slanderers, the great body of whom are sincere, re- ligious, and feminine. What an amalgamation do the slanderers of Paine present. The young girl of pious education vocifer- ating Tom Paine, the filthy, drunken, Tom Paine ; the pious teacher, perhaps also deceived, but without examination, preaching from the pulpit, that the opponent of the gospel scheme lived and died a degraded, a drunken being. To these are added the arch hypocrite, who knows the slander, but, from interested motives, joins the bitter cry of Tom Paine and inebriety. To these again are added the thousands of decent people of all religions, who, finding it fashionable to pronounce the name of Paine with a sneer, generously believe what everybody says ; and these add their mite of slander, making in the aggregate a mountain. But to these must yet be added the politician, the sneaking artful man who could not afford to lose a vote, and who, conscious of the contrary, chimes in with the pious, and pronounces Tom Paine and excess with su- preme disgust, as an assurance that the speaker, the politician, is neither sot, drunkard, nor infidel; but even the political drunkard will join the throng, and in his beer become ex- tremely pious, and denounce Tom Paine as drunken and dirty, being willing to believe what he wishes to be true, as an excuse for himself, and degrading to the principles which Paine manifested, and which our drunken politician eschews. This mass have sought to overwhelm the name of Paine by associating it with intoxication, for which there is not a par- ticle of proof. We cannot say a shadow, for a shadow there was, and this, perhaps, rendered the extension of the slander easy. Mr. Paine used, but did not abuse, liquor. He had a large florid face, and. this, we believe, favored the report among those who only knew him by sight. If now we push back the slander, on whom does it rest. Are the sincere jus- tified, because of their sincerity, in propagating slander"? Is it 21 162 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. in accordance with their religion 1 It is evident it exists, with religion most sincere. It exists with the ministers of religion^ some of whom were sincere but ignorant, others, not sincere, but interested ; but the whole body was contaminated, minister and people, by circulating slander. This then was the visible religion Mr. Paine would have uprooted, while the political tyrants and sycophants, who joined the crusade, from the basest motives, and they have now their representatives, but ill contrast in sentiment and feelings with the noble principles of the man whose fame they would suppress. " The world MY COUNTRY, TO DO GOOD MY RELIGION," were the subHme senti- ments of this sincere and able advocate of human rights, whose fair fame has been thus abused. Immediately on the death of Mr. Paine, Cheetham, his polit- ical enemy, began to collect materials for his life, which was published the same year. We have already noticed the manner in which he collected those materials, and the recklessness with which he repeated the grossest and most malicious false- hoods, while in the most impudent manner he inserted the names of living witnesses. His conviction in the case of Madame Bonneville did something to undeceive the public ; still Mr. Paine's memory suffers from this malignity. We had by us Mr. Carver's copy of Cheetham's first edition of the "Life of Paine," including the matter for which he (Cheet- ham) was prosecuted. This copy Mr. Carver sold to Mr. Parkins, ex-sheriff" of London, and he, Mr. Parkins, loaned it to us. The book is margined by notes in Carver's hand- writing ; a few of which we shall notice or extract, although they are extremely coarse. The first note on the blank leaf after the preface, charges Cheetham with villifying Mr. Paine, and also Mr. Palmer, and plainly calls Mr. Cheetham a hypocrite. To this Carver puts his name and address, 36 Cedar street. Page 47, Cheetham says, " 'Common Sense' has no merit." Carver adds, "One more of Cheetham's lies." Page 209, Cheetham pretends a great reverence for received religious opinions. Carver adds, "I believe Cheetham was an athiest, as he told me that Mirabeau's 'System of Nature' could never be answered. He was a, hypocrite." Page 210, Carver says, " Cheetham fol- cheetham's falsehoods. 163 lowed Palmer in principles, but was not half as good and moral a man." He adds, " Cheetham was an abominable liar." This last expression is repeated in various parts of the book, with some variations, such as, " Cheetham was a liar, and, if reports are true, he should have treated his wife better." On the last page Carver adds, " I once told Cheetham in his own house, as that he had had his hands crossed with British gold." This is one of the witnesses to whom Cheetham constantly refers; and this witness thus denounces the man who refers to him, in the plain language we have shown, as not to be relied on. Mr, Jarvis is another, and he too uses the same expressions, in relation to Cheetham, which Carver does. Could we then get access to the other living witness to whom Cheetham refers for proofs of Mr. Paine's failings, we might find in them the same indignation and conviction of Cheetham's impudence and falsehoods.* The cunning of Cheetham, in getting up materials for the life of Paine, will clearly be seen by again referring to Joel Barlow's letter to Cheetham (page 135). It is clear that Barlow was deceived, and we were deceived when we first read this let- ter in Cheetham's life of Paine, and continued deceived till we had examined the question of Mr. Paine's habits of temperance during the last.years in New York. We then re-read Barlow's letter, and discovered the cunning. Mr. Barlow was in France at the time of Mr. Paine's death and knew not his habits. Cheetham wrote to him, informed him of his object, mentioned that Paine was drunken and low in his company toward the latter years of his life, and says he was informed that he was drunk when taken to prison in France. Now Mr. Barlow does not contradict Cheetham ; he could not, as Cheetham had the better opportunity of knowing facts, and Mr. Barlow does not suspect him of falsehood ; as who would 1 He therefore * Cheetham sported with truth. He published in his paper an account of Burr's duel with Hamilton, in which he declared that Burr had undergarments of silk, to turn off the ball if hit, and that a garment of silk would do this ; for that a Mr. Lawrence, then well known, had by accident fired off a pistol, that the ball struck his leg, and turned off from the effect of the silk-stocking. On the Sunday following Judge Herttell dined where Cheetham was, when he related the story of this publication as a hoax, and laughed at the people's credulity ; as we are informed by Mr. Herttell. 164 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. presumes Mr. Cheetham correct in the statement, and goes on, not to excuse Paine, but to present his acknowledged good qualities, as a set-off. Then Cheetham publishes this letter, and presents, to a cursory reader, Mr. Joel Barlow as acknowl- edging Mr. Paine's intemperance, and other infirmities, which had no other foundation than Cheetham's declaration, given to deceive Barlow ; who afterward, as we have seen, gives Barlow's letter to deceive the public. In the next place Cheetham informs Mr. Barlow that he had heard Mr. Paine was drunk when sent to prison, and boldly gives his authority; as he did in the libel case Here Mr. Barlow happened to be qualified to judge, for Paine was brought to his house when he was arrested, and Mr. Barlow distinctly disavows the state- ments ; but he is too polite, or too unsuspicious, to suppose himself cheated ; yet it is evident on this assertion and alleged evidence, had Mr. Barlow not known by accident the contrary, he too would have presumed the fact on Cheetham's state- ment, and, perhaps, would have endeavored to excuse Mr. Paine for being intoxicated at such a time ; when the fact was, he was not intoxicated, nor is there any evidence that he was in the habit of being intoxicated. Of the referee, Mr. Murray,our friend Mr. John Fellows thus speaks : — " I happen to know something of the Mr. Murray alluded to above, whose testimony Mr. Barlow proves to be false. It is thus,that Cheetham collected stories injurious to the character of Paine, Mr. Murray was an English speculator in France, in the time of the revolution, and was once imprisoned as a spy. His enmity to Paine and the principles for w^hich France was contending, I am confident (from my knowledge of the man), would induce him to fabricate any story calculated to throw obloquy upon either." Now who, can doubt but that Cheetham knew the qualities of this man, whom he used as a referee, especially after we have seen the unscrupulous character of Cheetham as to truth. But perhaps it will be asked, what could induce Cheetham thus to lie 1 We have before remarked, that Cheetham had edited the leading republican paper ; but that he had become a renegade, and was then in support of the English tory party, and was preparing to go to England, when he died. His life PAINE AND CHEETHAM. 165 of Paine he knew was a passport to the English court, and he intended to defend the Bible and crown against Cobbet, who had shoftly before broken his connexion with the English government, and was then in successful opposition. Such is the evidence we obtained from a gentleman who was then head-clerk to Cheetham, and this we find sustained by others. Besides, Paine had been very severe on Cheetham for his political change ; and this would stimulate his revenge. The following, published by Mr. Paine a short time before his death, will show the relation Mr. Cheetham bore to Mr. Paine at that time, and how badly qualified such a man must be for an impartial biographer. Mr. Paine had published an article in the Public Advertiser, on the defence of the harbor of New York. Cheetham had attacked Paine on that article, and Mr. Paine in his reply remarks : — " Mr. Cheetham speaks much about Locke, and says, that 'all political elementary writers on government since the days of Locke, including Mr. Paine, are but the mere retailers of his ideas and doctrines.' This is John Bullism all over. He also says, that ' on hereditary and elective government, Mr. Paine, in his "Common Sense" and " Rights of Man," has followed Locke idea for idea.' It may be so for what I know, for I never read Locke, nor ever had the work in my hand, and by what I have heard of it from Home Tooke, I had no inducement to read it. It is a speculative, not a practical work, and the style of it is heavy and tedious, as all Locke's writings are. 1 suppose Locke has spoken of hereditary and elective mon- archy, but the representative, as laid down in ' Common Sense' and 'Eights of Man,' is an entirely difl'erent thing to elective monarchy. So far from taking any ideas from Locke or from anybody else, it was the absurd expression of a mere John Bull in England, about the year 1773, that first caused me to turn my mind to systems of government. In speaking of the then king of Prussia, called the Great Frederick, he said, ' He is the right sort of man for a king, for he has a deal of the devil in him.' This set me to think if a system of gov- ernment could not exist that did not require the devil, and I succeeded without any help from anybody. It is a great deal that may be learned from absurdity, and I expect to learn something from James Cheetham. When I do, I will let him know in the Public Advertiser. In the conclusion of the piece of mine, which Mr. Cheetham has vomited his spleen upon, I threvir out some reproach 166 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. against those who, instead of practising themselves in arms and artillery, that they might be prepared to defend New York, should it be attacked, were continually epiploying themselves on imaginary fortifications, and skulking behind projects of obstruction. As Mr. Cheetham supposed himself included in this description (and he thought right), he made, as he imagined, an effectual retort, but in doing this, as in everything else he does, he betrayed his want of knowledge, both as to the spirit and circumstances of the times he speaks of. ' I would not,' says Mr. Cheetham, ' charge with cowardice that gentleman [meaning me], who, in the " times that tried men's souls," stuck very correctly to his pen in a safe retreat, and never handled a musket offensively.' By this paragraph, Mr. Cheetham must have supposed, that when congress retreated from Philadelphia to Baltimore, in the ' times that tried men's souls,' that I retreated with them as secretary to the committee for foreign affairs. In the first place, the committee for foreign affairs did not exist at that time. In the next place, I served in the army the whole of the ' time that tried men's souls,' from the beginning to the end. Soon after the declaration of independence, July 4, 1776, congress recommended that a body often thousand men, to be called the flying camp, because it was to act wherever necessary, should be formed from the militia and volunteers of Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. I went with one division from Pennsylvania, under General Roberdeau. We were stationed at Perth Amboy, and afterward at Bergen ; and when the time of the flying camp expired, and they went home, I went to Fort Lee, and served as aid-de-eamp to Greene, who commanded at Fort Lee, and was with him through the whole of the black times of that trying campaign. I began the first number of the ' Crisis,' beginning with the well-known expression, ' These are the times that try men's souls', at Newark, upon the retreat from Fort Lee, and con- tinued writing it at every place we stopped at, and had it printed at Philadelphia the 19th of December, six days before the taking the Hessians at Trenton, which, with the affair at Princeton, the week after, put an end to the black times. . It therefore is not true, that I stuck to my pen in a safe retreat with congress from Philadelphia to Baltimore in the ' times that tried men's souls.' But if I had done so, I should not have published the cowardice James Cheetham has done. In speaking of the affairof the Driver sloop-of-war, at Charles- ton, South Carolina, he said in his paper, if the Driver and her comrades should take into their heads to come here (New York), we must submit. What abominable cowardice, for a man to have such a thought in his mind, that a city containing paine's repeimand of cheetham. 167 twenty thousand able-bodied men, numbers of them as stout in person as himself, should submit to a sloop-of-war containing about a hundred and fifty men. Afteft this, Mr. Cheetham will take care how he attacks old revolutionary characters, whose undiscouraged intrepidity, in the ' times that tried men's souls,' made a home for him to come to. Thomas Paine New Yobk, Aug. 21, 1807." " EEPEIMAND to JAMES CHEETHAM. If James Cheetham, editor of the ' New York American Citizen,' thinks to draw me into a controversy with him, he is greatly mistaken. In the first place, I hold him too cheap ; and his well-known character for abuse and blackguarding, renders any altercation with him dishonorable ; and beside this, it would take up too much of my time to put his blunders to-rights. He cannot write without blundering, neither can he write truth, of which I will give another instance. He quotes the following paragraph from the first part of ' Eights of Man,' and then grounds a false assertion upon it : — ' Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations that preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies. Man has no property in man, neither has one generation a property in the generation that is to follow.' Mr. Cheetham having made this short quotation says : ' Mr. Paine here and there glances at the absurdity of hereditary government, but the passage just quoted is the only attempt at argument against it contained in the " Rights of Man." ' Is James Cheethann an idiot, or has the envy and malignity of his mind possessed him with a spirit of wilful lying I The short passage he has quoted (which is taken from the middle of a paragraph) is on the third, and in some editions on the fourth page of the first part of ' Rights of Man.' It contains a general principle, on which the arguments and statements against hereditary succession are founded in the progress of that work. If Mr. Cheetham had looked farther into the work, 'Rights of Man ' he would have come to a paragraph ending with the expression, ' hereditary succession cannot be established as a legal thing.' The work then goes on to say : — 'In order to arrive at a more perfect decision on this head (that is, that hereditary succession cannot be established as a legal thing), it is proper to consider the generation which undertakes to establish a family with hereditary powers, apart and separate from the generations which are to follow, and 168 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. also to consider the character in which the generation acts with respect to succeeding generations. ' The generation which selects a person and puts him at the head of its government with the title of king, or any other distinction, acts its own choice, be it wise or foolish, as a free agent for itself. The person so set up is not hereditary, but selected and appointed, and the generation which sets him up do not live under an hereditary government, but under a gov- ernment of its own choice and establishment. "Were the generation which set him up, and the person so set up, to live for ever, it never could become hereditary succession ; and, of consequence, hereditary succession can only take place on the death of the first parties. As, therefore, hereditary succession is out of the question with respect to the first generation, we have now to consider the character in which that generation acts with respect to the commencing generation, and to all succeeding ones. It assumes a character to which it has neither right nor title. It changes itself from a legislator to a testator, and af- fects to make its will, which is to have operation after the demise of the makers, to bequeath the government ; and it not only attempts to bequeath, but to establish over the succeeding generation a new and different form of government from that under which itself lived. Itself, as already observed, lived not under an hereditary government, but under a government of its own choice and establishment, and it now attempts, by virtue of a will and testament, which it has no authority to make, to take from the commencing generation, and all succeeding ones, the right and free agency by which itself acted.' Now, without giving any farther extracts from the work, ' Rights of Man,' on the subject of hereditary succession, what is here given ought to cover James Cheetham with shame for the falsehood he has advanced. But as a man who has no sense of honor has no sense of shame, Mr. Cheetham will be able to read this with an unblushing front. Several writers before Locke had remarked on the absurdity of hereditary succession, but there they stopped. Buchanan, a Scots historian, who lived more than a hundred years before Locke, reproaches Malcolm II., king of Scotland, and his father, Kenethus, for making the crown of Scotland hereditary in his family, ' by which means,' says Buchanan, ' the kingdom must frequently be possessed by a child or a fool; whereas before, the Scots used to make choice of that prince of the royal family that was best qualified to govern and protect his people.' But I know of no author, nor of any work, before ' Common Sense' and ' Rights of Man' appeared, that has attacked and exposed hereditary succession on the ground of illegality, which is the strongest of all grounds to attack it upon ; for if PAINE AND CHEETHAM. 169 the right to set it up do not exist — and that it does not is certain, because it is establishing a form of government, not for thtm- selves, but for a future race of people — all discussion upon the subject ends at once. But James Cheetham has not sense enough to see this. He has got something into his head about Locke, and he keeps it there, for he does not give a single quotation from him to support the random assertion he makes concerning Locke. 'It is to Locke in particular,' says Cheetham, ' who wrote his incomparable essay on government in 1689, that we are almost wholly indebted for those political lights which con- ducted us to our revolution.' This is both libellous and false. The revolutionary contest began in opposition to the assumed rights of the British par- liament ' to bind America in all cases whatsoever,^ and there can be nothing in Locke, who wrote in 1689, that can have reference to such a case. The tax upon tea, which brought on hostilities, was an experiment on the part of the British government to enforce the practice of that assumed right, which was called the declaratory act. James Cheetham talks of times and circumstances he knows nothing of, for he did not come here till several years after the war ; yet in speaking of the revolution, he uses the words we, and us, and our revo- lution. It is common in England, in ridiculing self-conceited importance, to say, ' What a long tail our cat has got!' The people of America, in conducting their revolution, learned nothing from Locke ; nor was his name, or his work, ever mentioned during the revolution, that I know of. The case America w^as in was a new one, without any former ex- ample, and the people had to find their way as well as they could by the lights that arose among themselves, of which I can honestly and proudly say, I did my part. Locke was employed by the first settlers of South Carolina to draw up a form of government for that province, but it was such an inconsistent aristocratical thing, that it was rejected. Perhaps Mr. Cheetham does not know of this, but he may know it if he will inquire. Mr. Cheetham hypocritically says, ' I advise Mr. Paine, as a friend, to write no more.' In return for this civility in words, I will inform him of somethi-ng for his good, which is, that he has been going down hill in the opinion of the republicans for a long time past. Good principles will defend themselves ; but the abuse and scurrility in Cheetham's paper have given very general offence to his subscribers. Another complaint is, that his paper is not a newspaper. It does not give the news from Europe till it becomes old in every other paper. There are, perhaps, two causes for this : as a John Bull, he does not like the news 22 170 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. from Europe ; and as a dabbler in scribbling, he prefers filling his paper with his own stuff. It is probable he will be called upon to explain on what ground of compromise (for it has the appearance of a cotn- promise)the intimacy between him and the Anglo-Irish emissary Cullen, alias Carpenter, began and continued. He is now giving symptoms of becoming a successor of Cullen, as Cullen was the successor of Cobbett. As there is now a well-con- ducted republican paper established in New York (the Public Advertiser), Mr. Cheetham cannot have the same range for his scurrility he had before. Thobias Paine September 5, 1807." " CHEETHAM AND HIS TORY PAPER.* Cheetham is frequently giving symptoms of being the sue cessor of Cullen, alias Carpenter, as Cullen was the successor of Cobbett, alias Porcupine. Like him, he is seeking to involve the United States in a quarrel with France for the benefit of England. In his paper of Tuesday, September 22, he has a long abusive piece against France, under the title of " Remarks" on the speech of the arch-chancellor of France to the French senate. This is a matter that Cheetham, as an adopted American citizen, has no business with ; and as a John Bull it is impertinence in him to come here to spit out his venom against France. But Cheetham cannot live without quarrelin"-, nur write without abuse. He is a disgrace to the republicans, whose principle is to live in peace and friendship with all na- tions, and not to interfere in the domestic concerns of any. Cheetham seems to regret that peace is made on the con- tinent of Europe, and he shows his spleen against it by the following roundabout scurrilous paragraph. ' The people of France,' says he, ' now breathe the air of peace, under slavery, closer, more systematic, military, and universal [Cheetham knows nothing about it], than that with which they were overwhelmed previous to the beginning of the long continued calamity.' This is spoken exactly in the character of a stupid prejudiced John Bull, who, shut up in his island, and ignorant of the world, suppose all nations slaves but themselves ; whereas, those at a distance can see, that of all people enslwed by their own governments, none are so much so as the people of England. Had Cheetham stayed in England till this time, he would have had to shoulder a musket, and this would have been dreadful to him, for, as all • This piece was the cause of a duel between Cheetham and Frank. PAINE AND CHEETHAM. 171 bullies are cowards, the smell of gunpowder would be as horrid to Cheetham, as the scent of a skunk to other animals. The dang-er to which the city of New York was exposed, by the continual abuse of France in such papers as CuUen's, was, that the French government might be induced to consider the city of New York as a British colony, such as it was during the revolutionary war, and exclude her from the commerce of the continent of Europe, as she has excluded Britain. Cheet- ham is following the footsteps of Cullen. The French nation, under all its changes of government, has always behaved in a civil and friendly manner to the United States. We have no cause of dispute with France. It was by the aid of France in men, money, and ships,* that the revolu- tion and independence of the United States were so completely established, and it is scarcely sufferable that a prejudiced and surly-tempered John Bull should fix himself among us to abuse a friendly power. September 25, 1S07." 'NOTE TO CHEETHAM. Mk. Ch,eetham : Unless you make a public apology for the abuse and falsehood in your paper of Tuesday, October 27, respecting me, I will prosecute you for lying. It is by your talent for abuse and falsehood, that you have brought so many prosecutions on your back. You cannot even state truth without running it to falsehood. There was matter enough against Morgan Lewis without going a syllable beyond the truth. Thomas Paine October 21, 1S07." ■ TO THE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK. In a letter from the president of the United States, of Oc- tober 9, after his mentioningthat he did not expect the Revenge back under a month from that date, adds, ' In the meantime, all the little circumstances coming to our knowledge are un- favorable to our wishes for peace.' As this might be useful information to men in mercantile pursuits and speculations, and who had no guide to go by, whether to send out their vessels, or not, I mentioned it to such of my republican friends as called to see nie ; and that the information, if so useful, might not be confined to one distinction of men only, I mentioned it also to Mr. Coleman, of the Evening Post, who came to me on account of a piece I * Six thousand French troops under General Rochambeau, and thirty-one sail- of'-the-line under Admiral de Grasse, assisted at the capture of Cornwallis at Yorktovvn, Virginia, which put an end to the war. J 72 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. sent to him concerning Cheetbam's insulting message to Mr. Frank, of the Public Advertiser. How it got into the news- papers I know not ; Mr. Coleman, I suppose, can give the best account of that. Cheetbam then published a most abusive piece in his paper, and in his vulgar style of language said, " Paine has told a lie" and then insinuated as if I had forged the letter. It is by his propensity to blackguarding and lying, ihat he has brought so many prosecutions on his back. He says he has nine. He will now have one more. If an unprincipled bully cannot be reformed, he can be punished. Thomas Paine. November 20, 1807." " THE EMISSARY CHEETHAM. Cheetham can now be considered in no other light than a British emissary, or successor to the impostor Cullen, alias Carpenter, whom Cheetham handed out in bis newspaper, as a gentlemanly sort of a man. Cheetham finding the republicans are casting him off, is holding out signs to be employed as a British'partisan. Cheetbam, in his papers of December 29 and 30, has two long pieces about the embargo, which he labors to prove is not laid on in consequence of any dispute with England, but in consequence of some imperious demands on the part of France. This John Bull is an idiot in diplomatic affairs. Cheetham says, ' Mr. Monroe's despatches, which were laid before congress, and which congress concluded did not au- thorize an embargo, are dated London, October 10th. In the opinion of congress,' continues Cheetham, ' and I venture to say of Mr. Monroe, an immediate war with England \yas there- fore by no means probable.' Cheetham has been so long in the habit of giving false in- formation, that truth is to him like a foreign language. The president laid the despatches of Mr. Monroe, of October 10th, before congress ; but as they were in daily expectation of later information by the arrival of the Revenge schooner, and also of the personal arrival of Mr. Monroe, congress re- ceived it as preparatory information, but came to no con- clusion on their contents. Cheetham says, that the Leopard, which brought Mr. Mon- roe's despatches, of October 10th, sailed from London on the 16th of October, and that the Revenge sailed from London for Cherbourg, on the same day, at which time, says Cheetham, there was no probability of an immediate war wi'lh England. In a letter I received from London, dated October 15th, and which I published in the Philadelphia Aurora, and in the New York Public Advertiser, the writer, in speaking of the British ministry, says, ' Their cup of iniquity is nearly full, they only PA[NE AKD CHEETHAM- 173 want to go to war with America to fill it up ; and it is the opinion here [London] that that measure is resolved on. They will make no concessions unless it he to deceive.' The letter is dated one day before the Revenge sailed from London, and I suppose came by the Kevenge ; yet Cheatham tells his readers there was then no probability of a war with America. Cheetham's information is never entitled to credit. When the Revenge sailed with the president's proclamation, and the instructions to Mr. Monroe, the writer of this knows she was ordered to come from London to France. It was ex- pected she would be detained in the two countries about a month, and be back here about the 16th of November. Her coming from London to France, would give Mr. Monroe the opportunity (for foreign ministers do not correspond by post, but by express) of communicating to Mr. Armstrong, at Paris, the plans and projects of the British ministry. Soon after the arrival of the Revenge at Cherbourg, a French port on the channel, General Armstrong sent circular letters to the American consuls in France,, to hasten the departure of the American vessels as fast as possible. Several paragraphs in the English newspapers, and which have been copied into the American papers, stated, that the British ministry intended to seize American vessels coming to, or going from, any port in France. As Mr. Monroe would get knowledge of this, as well as the writer of the letter to Thomas Paine, of October 15th, he would communicate it to General Armstrong at Paris ; and this accounts for General Armstrong's circular letter, after the arrival of the Revenge schooner from London. If Britain put her threat in force, that of taking American vessels going to or coming from France, it is probable the French government will retaliate, and take American vessels going to or coming from England ; and this resolution on the part of France, had a natural tendency to prevent American vessels being taken, because Britain, by setting the example, will suffer more by it than France. The British blockading decree, that of seizing neutral ves- sels going to or from France, Was to have been published on the 14th of November, but the news from London of the 14th by the Jane, is silent on the subject. The apprehension of retaliation has, most probably, stopped the British ministry in their career. Jan. 7, 1808." In another letter, dated August 25, 1808 (and Mr. Paine died, as we have seen, in 1809), he thus expresses himself of Cheetham, that " in religion he was a hypocrite, and in politics a John Bull," said in reference to Cheetham's abuse of Bonaparte and the French. Mr. Paine adds in the same 174 LtFE OF THOMAS PAINE. letter : " The ward meetings have done exceedingly right in posting Cheetham. The people in the country and abroad will now know that he does not belong to the popular repub- lican party, and that he is an English impostor." Whether these letters derive some asperity from party pol- tics or not, is a matter of no consequence to our subject. The statement of facts is no doubt correct, and the feelings of Cheetham toward Paine must be anything but friendly. When, therefore, a party hack, as Cheetham doubtless was, disappointed and a renegade, with talents, as he certainly pos- sessed, but embittered in feelings and regardless of truth, as all circumstances contribute to show, what could be expected from such a man, but just what he produced — a life of Paine abounding in bold falsehoods, cunningly contrived, and ad- dressed to a people who wished to be deceived \ The com- pliment paid Cheetham by Judge Hoffman, in extenuation of heavy damages, when convicted by the clearest evidence of gross slander in the case of Madame Bonneville, viz, that "he had produced a work useful to religion," explains the position of Cheetham, his life of Paine, and the public. The politicians succumbed to the religious part of the community, and both sacrificed the fame of Paine to their supposed inter- est. The religious because they thought they did God service, and hypocrites and politicians because they imagined an injury from the association of the name of Paine with theirs. Indi- viduals did lift up their voices in defence of the memory of Paine, but as these had neither the press nor public sympathy, nor public opinion, nor fashion, on their side, their voices were not heard, and falsehood triumphed for a time ; not, however, without witnesses, whose testimony was recorded from time to time, which might be accumulated and presented at a proper season, a time to which Joel Barlow looked forward. That time we believe has now arrived, and Judge Hoffman, were he now alive, dare not repeat his infamous sentiment, that " Cheetham had written a book useful to religion." The very sentiment is now scoffed by the religious people of the age, who are so far advanced in civilization as to scorn a religion that needs falsehood for its support. In the history of nations there are periods of fanaticism, but a steady prog- MARY HINSDALE'S FALSEHOODS. 175 ress in liberality. Cromwell's time was a period of fanati- cism, succeeded indeed by licentiousness ; and after the French revolution a re-action took place, and fanaticism pre- vailed, first in England, and then on this side the Atlantic; and in the darkness of which Cheetham slipped in his life of Paine. But we yet believe that justice will be done to the memory of the man who caused the declaration of inde- pendence, showed how it could be maintained, and was the light of the republic in the "times which tried men's souls," {Paine). And we farther believe that this age is sufficiently intelligent to investigate the merits of one of the men of the revolution, and sufficiently honest to do his memory justice. The second part of Mr. Paine's prophecy was not suffered to want fulfilment. In vain did his friends witness the sin- cerity of his belief, his firmness and calmness at the last moment ; in vain did Dr. Manley try to extort from him a recantation, and in vain did clerical gentlemen assail him when infirm in body. In vain did Mr. Jarvis, Colonel Daniel Pelton, and our living friend Mr. Haskins, and the respected Willet Hicks, receive his last declaration in presence ot death ; in vain was all this. A few zealous pious hypocrites had determined on a conversion, or on a conviction and re- morse, and therefore a woman was made a tool of to propa- gate such charges ; and one Charles Collins, now alive, was found base enough to publish her foolish tales, not avowed till some years after the death of Mr. Paine ; such a circum- stance however is easily jumped over, when that is revealed which is wanted. This subject has however been treated on in the preface to the Boston edition of Mr. Paine's theologi- cal works, written by our friend Mr. John Fellows, now alive, and frequently alluded to in this work, from which we shall therefore extract, as we have examined into it, and, with one exception, are satisfied with the correctness of the statement. "I cannot relinquish this subject without taking notice of one of the most vile and wicked stories that was ever engen- dered in the fruitful imagination of depraved mortals. It was fabricated by a woman, named Mary Hinsdale, and published by one Charles Collins, at New York, or rather, it is probable that this work was the joint production of Collins, and some J 76 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. Other fanatics,-and that they induced this stupid, ignorant woman to stand sponsor for it. It states, in substance, that Thomas Paine, in his last ill- ness, was in the most pitiable condition for want of the mere necessaries of life ; and tliat the neiglibors, out of sheer com- passion, contributed their aid to supply him with sustenance : that he had become converted to Christianity, and lamented that all his religious works had not been burnt : that Mrs. Bonneville was in the utmost distress for having abandoned her religion, as she (M. H.) said, for that of Mr. Paine, which he now told her would not answer the purpose, &c. In all this rodomontade there is not a single, solitary ray of truth to give it a colorable pretext. It is humiliating to be under the necessity of exposing such contemptible nonsense. Collins, if he was not the author, vyas assured of its falsity. But being full of the spirit of fanaticism and intolerance, and believing, no doubt, that the end sanctified the means, he continued to circulate the pious fraud, and the clergy exultingly retailed it from the pulpit. Nothing but religious phrensy could have in- duced Collins, after being warned of the crime he was com- mitting, to persist in publishing this abominable trash.* He had the hardihood even to apply to William Cobbett for the purpose of inducing him to insert it in the life of Thomas Paine, which Mr. Cobbett then contemplated to write. For which he re- ceived due chastisement from the pen of that distinguished writer, in a number of his Register. Mr. Cobbett subse- quently having taken great pains to investigate the falsity of this story, exposed and refuted it in the most ample manner This I have not seen, nor is the Register, containing the article alluded to, before me. Mrs. Bonneville was absent in France at the time of its first appearance in New York, and when shown to her on her return to America, although her feelings were highly agitated at the baseness of the fabrication, she would not permit her name to appear in print in competition with that of Mary Hinsdale. No notice, therefore, has been taken of it, excepting by Mr. Cobbett. Indeed, it was considered by the friends of Mr. Paine generally to be too contemptible to controvert. But as many pious people continue to believe, or pretend to believe in this stupid story, it was thought proper to say a ie\M words upon it in this publication. The facts are as follow : Mary Hinsdale was hired at service in the family of Mr. Willet Hicks, residing at Greenwich * Since writing the above, it has been suggested to me, by a gentleman who knows him, that this base act of Collins is attributable more to his actual stupid- ity than to either his fanaticism or malice. That he is too weak to be aware of the s)n of slander ; and has no doubt, in this case, been made use of, as a mere puppet, by others behind the scene, more knowing and more wicked than him- self. If this be the fact, it is charity to state it to the public, as his case will tend to excite pity, and depreciate, in some measure, the enormity of his guilt in this transaction. STATEMENT OF NIXON AND FELTON. 177 village, in the neighborhood of Mr. Paine, who occasionally- sent some little delicacies to him in the time of his sickness, as every good neighbor would do ; and this woman was the bearer. Here is the whole foundation upon which the dis- torted imaginatiop of Mary Hinsdale, or some one for her, has raised this diabolical fiction. Mr. Hicks was in the habit of seeing Mr. Paine frequently, and must have known if such a wonderful revolution had taken place in his mind, as is stated, and he does not hesitate to say, that the whole account is a pious fraud. Mr. Hicks is a respectable merchant at New York, and any one there, who has any doubts on the subject, by calling on him will be satisfied. Even James Cheetham, the libeller of Mr. Paine, acknowledges that he died in the re- ligious faith which he had inculcated in his writings. Which is also attested by his physician, Dr. Manley, and all those who visited him in his last illness. But to put this matter beyond all cavil, 1 shall add the certificate of two old and highly respectable citizens, Thomas Nixon of New York, and Captain Daniel Pelton of New Eochelle. It was addressed to William Cobbett, under an expectation that he was about to write the life of Thomas Paine, and left with a friend to be handed to him ; but as the undertaking was relinquished, it was never delivered, and is now in my possession, in the hand writing of the signers ; and is as fdllows : — TO MR. WILLIAM COBBETT. Sir: Having been informed that you have a design to write a history of the life and writings of Thomas Paine, if you have been furnished with materials in respect to his religious opinions, or rather of his recantation of his former opinions before his death, all you have heard of his recanting is false. Being aware that such reports would be raised after his death by fanatics which infested his house at the time it was ex- pected he would die, we, the subscribers, intimate acquaint- ances of Thomas Paine, since the year 1776, went to his house— he was sitting up in a chair, and iipparently in the full vigor and use of all his mental faculties. We interrogated him on his religious opinions, and if he had changed his mind or repented of anything he had said or wrote on that subject. He answered, ' not at all,' and appeared rather offended at our supposition that any change should take place in his mind. We took down in writing the questions put to him, and his answers thereto, before a number of persons then in his room, among whom were his doctor, Mrs. Bonneville, &c. This paper is mislaid and cannot be found at present, but the above is the substance, which can be attested by many living wit- nesses. Thomas Nixon. Daniel Felton New York April 24, ISIS." 178 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. We had resolved on so much of the manuscript before we saw Mr. Willet Hicks, before mentioned ; and if it were not a rule in evide?ice to obtain the best, in the most direct manner, we should not have sought an interview, for we had supposed that those who had gone before us had obtained all that was desirable from that gentleman ; but, to our surprise, on seeing Mr. Hicks, as a duty which we owed the public, we learned that Mary Hinsdale never saw Paine to Mr. Hicks's knowledge ; that the fact of his sending some delicacy from his table as a compliment occurred but a very few times, and that he always commissioned his daug/iters on this' errand of kindness, and he designated Mrs. Cheeseman, then a little girl, but now the wife of one of our celebrated physicians, as the daughter especially engaged, and that she states that Mary Hinsdale once wished to go with her, but was refused. So that on the testimony of Mr. Willet Hicks, the whole story of confession of Paine to such a woman, remorse, wretchedness, despair, and conversion, rests on Mary Hinsdale once wishing to go with Mr. Hicks's daughter to Mr. Paine's. The secret of such a fabrication on such a foundation is easily explained. On farther conversation with Mr. Hicks, he informed us, that when it was known that he visited Mr. Paine daily, many, of the FRiEiN'DS (to which sect he belonged, and of which he was a preacher), thought he would make some religious impres- sion on Mr. Paine, and that after his death he was extremely annoyed at numbers of them pressing him to say something detrimental of Paine, or that he was converted. The old gentleman remarked to us : " You can have no idea of the anxiety of our people on this subject ; I was beset by them, both here and in England, where I soon after went on a journey." He remarked, they wished to convict Mr. Paine of calling on Jesus ; they would say, he observed, " Didst thee never hear hear him call on Christ V On reference to our notes, which we took for accuracy, we find, Mr. Hicks even declared : " You cannot conceive what a deal of trouble I had, and as for money, I could have had any sums if I would have said anything against Thomas Paine, or if I would even have consented to remain silent. They informed me that the doctor was willing to say something that would satisfy them if I would engage to WILLET hicks' STATEMENT. 179 be silent only; but," remarked Mr. Hicks to us, "they observed, he (the doctor) knows the standing of Willet Hicks, and that he knew all about Paine, and if he (Mr. Hicks) should contradict what I say, he would destroy my testimony." Such is the simple testimony recently obtained of this gentle- man, who is yet alive, and was, when we saw him, at the resi dence of his son-in-law, Dr. Cheeseman. Mr. Hicks, in con- clusion, remarked of Mr. Paine, that " he was a good man, an honest man," and with great indignation he remarked, " he was not a man to talk with Mary Hinsdale." Here then is the KEY to Mary Hinsdale's fabrication ; the intense feeling of a portion of the friends on the subject of Mr. Paine's works. We say a portion ; for, though Mr. Hicks uses the expression, " he was beset with them, both here and in England," a por- tion could beset him. Mr. Hicks was himself % friend, a pious friend, and a preacher, and an honorable man of high stand- ing, and such as he was and is, such we have no doubt were and are many. -Besides, we can readily conceive that this intense feeling was chiefly among the more orthodox, as some of these in every sect have always/c^< the most. From the multitude who raised the cry of Tom Paine, we need not mi- nutely examine the question as to numbers in this portion of the FRIENDS ; we can readily believe there would be enough to effect the object. If, too, Mr. Hicks, who was rich, could have had any sum, as he expresses himself, then Mary Hins- dale could have had any sum for her invention. We do not know that she did ; but we c^n readily believe that she wou^d not want a Charles Collins, or any one else, to assist her in getting out such a work ; and that those who wished to be- lieve would not be at much trouble to inquire after the credi- bility of the evidence. Will our rea'ders now turn to page 156, where we have inserted Mr. Amasa Woodsworth's testimony, and observe in what language he speaks of Dr. Manley, yet alive, and enjoying a post of honor. Now we do not know that Mr. Hicks referred to Dr. Manley, when he says that the fmwfis informed him the doctor was willing to say something, he might have meant some other doctor ; we merely give his words as he gave them to us. But there is a curious coinci- dence in these two witnesses, both respectable, but who have 180 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. moved in very different spheres, and who, perhaps, have never seen each other since the death of Paine. Their evidence was taken, the one near Boston, two years ago, the other two months ago, in New York, and they both infer a disposition to cheat the public by those who were professionally about Mr. Paine on his death-bed. Dr. Manley has published a letter, and has thus thrown himself on the public, and we have a right to examine that letter. He there, indeed, gives you the last words of Paine, "I have no wish to believe on that sub- ject." But what would he have said had Willet Hicks consented to silence, and if Amasa Woodsworth had not been present. We again remark that we do not know that Mr. Hicks referred to Dr. Manley, but we do know that Dr. Man- ley published a pamphlet, in which he endeavors to insinuate, that in spite of Mr. Paine's declaration, that he did cowceaZ his real sentiments ; and this he infers from looks and exclama- tions which he alone saw and heard. And now let us remind our readers that Amasa Woodsworth says, he was always there with Dr. Manley ; yet Amasa Woodsworth saw none of these expression', and heard no exclamations indicating mental agony, but such expressions as resulted from bodily pain, and that from a cause explicitly given, viz, " the skin in some parts being removed from long lying." The judge, Hoffman, who tried Cheetham on the libel against Madame Bonneville, complimented Mr. Cheetham for writing a very useful book in favor of religion, although it did contain falsehoods and libel ; and in the same way the doctor may think his published letter may be useful to hundreds of thousands, and he no doubt did, and perhaps does think so ; and no doubt some persons will regret that Mr. Willet Hicks stood in the way of some more dignified person than Mary Hinsdale, belying Mr. Paine on his death-bed. The whole, however, is explained by the " intense feelings of a portion of the friends, who could ieset Mr. Hicks in the manner they did, ' Didst thee never hear him call on Christ"?'" or who could intimate a wish that he would say that Paine recanted, or, at least, that he would promise silence, while others should testify falsely ; and who could intimate reward for such perfidy. " As for money I could have had any sum," is the language of Mr. Hicks toward the portion COBBETt's STilTEMENT. 181 of "fbiends" that beset him Now if this feeling could exist among the friends, carried out as we have seen it in the case of Mary Hinsdale, to what extent must it have existed in other classes, more superstitious, less educated, less accustomed to truth and more to passion, as the devoutly pious among every class, who believe their feelings the effects of divine influ ence, and who are consequently easily misled by these feel ings. And when we consider that all this pious feeling was backed by an interested class of clergy, and by corrupt poli- ticians, who wished the votes of the pious, can we be surprised at the calumny under which he has lain, and that even his friends should have been deceived on some points, from the incessant clamor and apparent universality of the accusations. We shall now furnish Mr. W. Cobbett's account of this transaction of Mr. Collins and Mary Hinsdale, on which, per haps, we have thrown some light : — " CURIOUS HISTORY OP A CALUMNY ON PAINE. It is a part of the business of a press, sold to the cause of corruption, to calumniate those, dead or alive, who have most effectually labored against that cause; and, as Paine was the most powerful and effectual of those laborers, so to calumni- ate him has been an object of their peculiar attention and care. Among other things said against this famous man, is, that he recanted before he died ; and that in his last illness, he discov- ered horrible fears of death. This is, to be sure, a very good answer to what these same persons say about his hardened in- fidelity. But, it is a pure, unadulterated falsehood. This falsehood, which I shall presently trace to its origin Cthe heart of a profound hypocrite), was cried a,bout the streets of Liver- vool, when I landed there in November last. Thence it found Its way to the grand receptacle and distributor of falsehood and calumny, i.\\e London press, which has sent it all over this kingdom. One country paper, however, pre-eminent in all that, is fotd and mean, affects to possess original matter and authentic information on the subject ; and, indeed, it pledges itself for the character of the gentleman from whom it says it has received the pretended authentic account. The country paper I allude to, is the Norwich Mercury, printed and pub- lished by one Burks. The Norwich Mercury did not imagine that any one would take the pains to expose this tissue of falsehoods. In the first place, why does he not name his '■gentleman^ of such excel- lent character 1 How these informers skulk ! Mr, Burks can J 82 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. pledge himself for the character of the " gentleman" informer; but, >vhere are we to get a pledge for the character of 'Mr. Burks, who, if we are to judge from this act of his, stands- in need of very good sponsors. Let us look, a little, at the internal evidence o{ the falsehood of this story. Mr. Paine possessed, at his death, an unen- cumbered estate of two hundred and fifty acres of land, not more than twenty miles from Jfew York. He possessed a con- siderable sum beside. These he left by will. Will any one believe, that he was, on his dying-bed, in the want oi proper nourishment, and that he was in a deplorable state as to apart- ments and necessaries % Then, was it likely, that when a neighbor's maid-servant went to carry him a little present of sweetmeats, or the like, that he would begin a conversation on theology with her 1 And is it not monstrous to suppose, that he would call himself the devil's agent to her, and not leave behind him any recantation at all, though he had such ample time for doing it, and though this confidant was so ready to receive it and to take care of it ? The story is false upon the face of it : and nothing but a simpleton, or something a great deal worse, would have given it circulation and afTected to believe it to be true. I happen to know the origin of this story : and I possess the real, original document, whence have proceeded the divers editions of the falsehood, of the very invention of which I was, perhaps, myself, the innocent cause ! About two years ago, I, being then on Long Island, published my intention of writing an account of the life, labors, and death of Paine. Soon after this, a quaker at New York, named Charles Collins, made many applications for an interview with me, which at last he obtained. I found that his object was to persuade me that Paine had recanted. I laughed at him, and sent him away. But be returned again and again to the charge.. He wanted me to promise that I would say that ' it was said,' that Paine had recanted. ' No,' said I; 'but I will say that you say it, and that you tell a lie, unless yon prove the truth of what you say ; and if you do that, I shall gladly insert the fact.-' This posed ' friend Charley,' whom I suspected to be a most consummate hypocrite. He had a sodden face, a simper, and manoeuvred his features, precisely like the most perfidious wretch that I have knoion, or ever read or heard of. He was precisely the reverse of my honest, open, and sincere quaker friends, the Pauls of Pennsylvania. Friend Charley plied me with remonstrances and reasonings, but I always an- swered him. ' Give me pr'oof ; name persons ; state times ; state precise words, or I denounce you as a ^ liar.' Thus put to his trumps, friend Charley resorted to the aid of a person of his own stamp ; and, at last, he brought me a paper, con- taining matter, of which the above statement of Mr. Burks is cobbett's statement. 183 a garbled edition ! This paper, very cnutiously and craftily drawn up, contained only the initials of names. This would not do. I made him, at last, put down the full name and the address of the informer, 'Mary Hinsdale, No. 10 Anthony street, New York.' I got this from friend Charley some time about June last; and had no opportunity of visiting the party till late in October, just before I sailed. The informer was a quaker woman, who, at the time of Mr. Paiue's last illness, was a servant in the family of Mr. Willet Hicks, an eminent merchant, a man of excellent character, a quaker, and even, I believe, a quaker preacher. Mr. Hickfs, a kind and liberal and rich man, visited Mr. Paine in his illness, and, from his house, which was near that of Mr. Paine, little nice things (as is the practice in America) were sometimes sent to him ; of which this servant, friend Mary, was the bearer ; and this was the way in which the lying cant got into the room of Mr. Paine. To 'friend Mary,' therefore, I went on the twenty-sixth of October last, with friend Charley's paper in my pocket. I found her in a lodging in a back-room up one pair of stairs. I knew that I had no common cunning to set my wit against. I began with all the art that I was master of. I had got a pro- digiously broad-brimmed hat on. I patted a little child that she had sitting beside her; I called hev friend; and played all the awkward tricks of an undisciplined wheedler. But I was compelled to come quickly to business. She asked, ' What's thy name, friend V and the moment I said William Cobbett, up went her mouth as tight as a purse ! Sack-making appeared to be her occupation ; and that I might not extract through. her eyes that which she was resolved I should not get out of her mouth, she went and took up a sack and began to sew ; and not another look or glance could I get from her. However, I took out my paper, read it, and stopping at sev- eral points, asked her if it was true. Talk of the Jesuits, in- deed ! The whole tribe of Loyola, who had shaken so many kino-donis to their base, never possessed a millionth part of the cunning of this drab-colored little woman, whose face simplicity and innocence seemed to have chosen as the place of their triumph ! She shuffled; she evaded ; she equivocated ; she warded off; she affected not to understand me, not to understand the paper, not to remember : and all this with so much seeming simplicity and single-heartedness, and in a voice so mild, so soft, and so sweet, that if the devil had been sitting where I was, he would certainly have jumped up and hugged her to his bosom. The result was : that it was so long ago, that she could not speak positively to any part of the matter : that she would not say that any part of the paper was true : that she bad never seen the paper ; and that she had never given ' friend Charley' 184 LIFE OF- THOMAS PAINE. (for so she called him) authority to sa.j any thing about the matter in her name. I pushed her closely upon the suhject of the ^unhappy French female.' Asked her whether she should know her again. — ' Oh, no ! friend ; I tell thee that I have .no recollection of any person or thing that I sajv at Thomas Paine's house.' The truth is, that the cunning little thing knew that the French lady was at hand ; and that detection was easy, if she had said that she should know her upon sight ! I had now nothing to do but to bring friend Charley's nose to the grindstone. Bui Charley, who is a grocer, living in Cherry street, near Pearl street, though so pious a man, and doubtless in great haste to get to everlasting bliss, had moved ovt of the city for fear of the fever, not liking, apparently, to go off to the next world in a yellow skin. And thus he escaped me, who sailed from New York in four days afterward : or Charley should have found, that there was something else on this side the grave, pretty nearly as troublesome and as dread- ful as the yellow fever. This is, I think, a pretty good instance of the length to which hypocrisy will go. The whole, as far as relates to re- cantation, and to the ^ unhappy French female,^ is a lie from the beginning to the end. Mr. Paine declares in his last will, that he retains all his publicly expressed opinions as to religion. His executors, and many other gentlemen of undoubted veracity, had the same declaration from his dying lips. Mr. Willet Hicks visited him till nearly the last. This gentleman says, that there was no change of opinion intimated to him : and will any man believe that Paine would have withheld from Mr. Hicks, that which he was so forward to communicate to Mr. Hicks' servant-girl ? Observe, reader, that in this tissue of falsehoods, is included a most foul and venomous slander on a woman of virtue and of spotless honor. But hypocrites will stick at nothing. Calumny is their weapon, and a base press is the hand to wield it. Mr. Bourke, of Norwich, will not insert this article, nor will he acknowledge his error. He knows that the calumny which he has circulated, has done what he intended it to do ; and he and the ' gentleman' for whose character he pledges himself, will wholly disregard good men's contempt, so long as it does not diminish their gains. This is not at all a question of religion. It is a question of moral truth. Whether Mr. Paine's opinions were correct or erroneous, has nothing to do with this matter. William Cobbett. We have not yet done with this subject. By a curious coincidence we have become acquainted with a Mr. J. W. MARY HINSDALE AND C. COLLINS. 385 Lockwood, of New York. This gentleman had a sister, a mem- ber of the FRIENDS, who died about two-and-twenty years ago. On her death, Mary Hinsdale, who was known to the family, stated to them that she should come to the funeral, for that she had met Mary Lockwood a short time before her death ; and that she (Mary Lockwood) had said to her : " Mary[ Hins- dale], I do not expect to live long ; my views are changed ; I wish thee to come to my funeral, and make this declaration to my friends then assembled," and that consequently she should come. The relatives of the deceased, who were Hicksite* quakers, or friends, knew the falseness of this statement. Those who had sat by her bed-side, and heard her continued and last declarations on religious subjects (for she was em- phatically a religious young woman), knew that no change had taken place. Her brother, our informant, had heard her express her opinions with great satisfaction. He and her other relatives therefore said so to Mary Hinsdale, but invited her to attend the funeraj. Mary Hinsdale did not attend. The falsehood was notorious and occasioned a good deal of loud conversation; and this Mr. Lockwood supposes deterred this orthodox friend from appearing among them. We recently published the above account in the Beacon, and referred to Mr. Cobbett's account, which we had formerly published. On this publication Mr. Collins, frequently named above, called on us, not to complain of our remarks, but to assure us that his conscience could not suffer the Beacon to be left at his house, to be forwarded to a friend in the West Indies, as formerly. To this we made no objection ; but find- ing Mr. C. Collins in our house, and knowing the importance of his testimony, we at once asked him what induced him to publish the account of Mary Hinsdale. He assured us he then thought it true. He believed that she had seen Mr. Paine, ani! that Mr. Paine might confess to her, a girl, when he would not to Willet Hicks. He knew that many of their most respected friends did not believe the account. He knew that Mr. W. Hicks did not, whom he highly respected; but • Followers of Elias Hicks, not orthodox, or believers in tile common scheme of salvation by the atonement. 24 186 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. yet he thought it might he true. We asked Mr. C. Collins what he thought of the character of Mary Hinsdale now 1 He replied, that some of our friends believe she indulges in opi- ates, and do n.ot give her credit for truth. We asked, and do you believe they are justified in theiropinionsl He replied, "0 yes, I believe they speak the truth" (Mr. Lockwood had given us the same opinion), but C, added "This does not affect her testimony when a young woman ; she might then have spoken the truth." Such is the testimony of Charles Collins, in relation to Mary Hinsdale, whom he assisted in publishing her fabrica- tion of Mr. Paine's death-bed scenes, based on hevwishXo see Mr. Paine, and which fabrication has been echoed from pulpit to pulpit, and from press to press, in this country and England, and sanctioned by thousands of pious people who wished the account true. There is one more subject to which our attention has been drawn, and to which Cheetham refers, Mr. Paine's alleged in- gratitude to Mr. Monroe. We have seen in the body of this work that Mr. Monroe took upon himself to declare Mr. Paine a citizen of the Unitfed States, and to presume that Washing- ton, then president, must feel an interest in him. It is evident that Mr. Monroe did all he could in the absence of direct in- structions from his government about Mr. Paine, which he does not appear to have possessed. And we have seen, when Mr. Paine finally left the prison, that he went by invita- tion to Mr. Monroe's house, and that he remained there above a year. We hear nothing of any engagement, and we cannot conceive that Mr. Monroe,as plenipotentiary at Paris,would take boarders, or that Mr. Paine would stay at his house uninvited or one moment beyond an apparent welcome. Mr. Paine's company before, and at this time, was sought by many as an honor. He afterward resided with Mr. Bonneville, either with or without an engagement for board ; but in that case we know, when Bonneville was ruined by Bonaparte, for pub- lishing a republican paper, that Mr. Paine, finding on his return here the means of hospitality, generously invited the whole family to share his comforts. We cannot, therefore perceive in Mr. Paine a natural ingratitude. Cheetham states and others have repeated it, that Mr. Monroe afterward be- ME. MONEOK. 187 came poor, and applied to Mr. Paine, whom he said was then rich, to pay for his board, while residing with the consul at Paris, and that Mr. Paine took no notice of the demand, and was therefore ungrateful. If this really occurred, and we think it likely, all we can say is thatMr. Monroe at this period must have become penurious. He was at that time looking forward to the presidency, which he afterward obtained; and if, while in this situation, he made a demand as a hoarding- house keeper, while acting as ministerinFrance, and that to a distinguished individual whom he had invited to his house, and with whom he had made no such engagement, for none is even pretended, he must have forgotten the dignity of an Amer- ican consul in France, as well as a presumptive successor to the presidency. We are perfectly aware that men, when they be- come old, frequently become parsimonious; Mr. Paine did, in part; and that others, who are both just and generous, on partic- ular occasions, are constitutionally parsimonious. This was the case with Franklin. We have therefore made some inquiry as to Mr. Monroe, and we find that he was not unmindful of his interest. While acting as minister at Paris, Mr. Jefferson, then president, gave him a commission to transact some business in a neighboring country, intending an appropriation to Mr. Monroe for this service, but to save to the country the outfit of an especial minister or consul, which we believe is about nine thousand dollars. This outfit Mr. Monroe, we find, afterward claimed and recovered, and hence we think it possible that he might have made the charge upon Mr. Paine before stated; but unless Mr. Paine had agreed to such a charge, which does not appear from Mr. Monroe's alleged letter, we think the affair rather to the discredit of the latter than to Mr. Paine; and if Mr. Paine treated the subject in the manner alleged, he probably considered as we do, that the demand never ought to have been made. We shall now conclude with the will of Mr. Paine. This falsifies at once, one part of Mary Hinsdale's relation, viz, Mr. Paine's poverty ; and one part being shown to be false we can have no belief in the rest, which depends on the same authority; The fact is, she is now living, and is known as a silly lying woman, disgraced in the eyes of some of her former religious connexions for this very crime. 188 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. THE WILL OF MR. THOMAS PAINE. " The People of the State of Mew York, by the Grace of God, Free and Independent, to all to whom these presents shall come or may concern. Send Greeting : Know ye. That the annexed is a true copy of the wili of Thomas Paine, deceased, as recorded in the office of our sur- rogate, in and for the city and county of New York. In tes- timony whereof, we have caused the seal of office of our said surrogate to be hereunto affixed. Witness, Silvanus Miller, Esq., surrogate of said county, at the city of New York, the twelfth day of July, in the year of our I^ord one thousand eight hundred and nine, and of our Independence the thirty-fourth. Silvanus Miller. The last will and testament of me, the subscriber, Thomas Paine, reposing confidence in my Creator God, and in no other being, for I know of no other, nor believe in any other, I Thomas Paine, of the state of New York, author of the work entitled ' Common Sense,' written in Philadelphia, in 1775, and published in that city the beginning of January, 1776, which awaked America to a Declaration of Independence, on the fourth of July following, which was as fast as the work could spread through such an extensive country ; author also of the several numbers of the ' American Crisis' ' thirteen in all,' published occasionally during the progress of the revolu- tionary war — the last is on the peace ; author also of the ' Eights of Man,' parts the first and second, written and pub- lished in London, in 1791 and '92 ; author also of a work on religion, 'Age of Reason,' parts the first and second. ' N. B. I have a third part by me in manuscript and an answer to the Bishop of Landaff;' author also of a work, lately published, entitled ' Examination of the passages in the New Testament quoted from the Old, and called prophesies concerning Jesus Christ,' and showing there are no prophecies of any such per- son ; author also of several other works not here enumerated, 'Dissertations on the first Principles of Government,' — 'De- cline and Fall of the English System of Finance' — 'Agrarian Justice,' &c., &c., make this my last will and testament, that is to say : I give and bequeath to my executors hereinafter appointed, Walter Morton and Thomas Addis Emmet, thirty shares I hold in the New York Phoenix Insurance Company, which cost me 1470 dollars, they are worth now upward of 1500 dollars, and all my moveable eflfects, and also the money that may be in my trunk or elsewhere at the time of m^ decease, paying thereout the expenses of my funeral, in trust as to the said shares, moveables, and money, for Margaret WILL OF MH. PjnWE. , 189 Brazier Bonneville, wife of Nicholas Bonneville, of Paris, for her own sole and separate use, and at her own disposal, not- withstanding her coverture. As to my farm in New Rochelle, I give, devise, and bequeath the same to my said executors, Walter Morton and Thomas Addis Emmet, and to the survivor of them, his heirs and assigns for ever, in trust, nevertheless, to sell and dispose of the north side thereof, now in the occu- pation of Andrew A. Dean, beginning at the west end of the orchard and running in a line with the land sold to Coles, to the end of the farm, and to apply the money arising from such sale as hereinafter directed. I give to my friends Walter Morton, of the New York Phanix Insurance company, and Thomas Addis Emmet, counsellor-at-law, late of Ireiand,,two hundred dollars each, and one hundred dollars to Mrs. Palmer, widow ofElihu Palmer, late of New York, to be paid out of the money arising from said sale, and I give the remainder of the money arising from that sale, one half thereof to Clio Rickman, of High or Upper Mary-la-bone street, London, and the other half to Nicholas Bonneville, of Paris, husband of Margaret B. Bonneville aforesaid: and as to the south part of the said farm, containing upward of one hundred acres, in trust, to rent out the same or otherwise put it to profit, as shall be found most advisable, and to pay the rents and profits thereof to the said Margaret B. Bonneville, in trust for her children, Benjamin Bonneville and Thomas Bonneville, their education and maintenance, until they come to the age of twenty-one years, in order that she may bring them well up, give them good and useful learning, and instruct them in their duty to God, and the practice of morality, the rent of the land or the interest of the money for which it may be sold, as hereinafter mentioned, to be employed in their education. And after the youngest of the said children shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years, in further trust to convey the same to the said children share and share alike in fee simple. But if it shall be thought advisable by my executors and ex- ecutrix, or the survivor or survivors of them, at any time before the youngest of the said children shall come of age, to sell and dispose of the said south side of the said farm, in that case I hereby authorize and empower my said executors to sell and dispose of the same, and I direct that the money arising from such sale be put into stock, either in the United States bank stock or New York Phoenix Insurance company stock, the interest or dividends thereof to be applied as is al- ready directed, for the education and maintenance of the said children ; and the principal to be transferred to the said children or the survivor of them on his or their coming of age. I know not if the society of people called quakers ad- mit a person to be buried in their burying-ground, who docs not belong to their society, but if they do or will admit me, I 190 LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE. would prefer being buried there, my father belonged to that profession, and I was partly brought up in it. But if it is not consistent with their rules to do this, I desire to be buried on my farm at New Rochelle. The place where I am to be bu- ried to be a square of twelve feet, to be enclosed with rows of trees, and a stone or post and railed fence, with a head-stone with my name and age engraved upo'h it, author of ' Common Sense.' I nominate, constitute, and appoint, Walter Morton, of the New York Phcenix Insurance company, and Thomas Addis Emmet, counsellor-at-law, late of Ireland, and Margaret B. Bonneville, executors and executrix to this my last will and testament, requesting them the said WalterMortonand Thomas Addis Emmet, that they will give what assistance they con- veniently can to Mrs. Bonneville, and see that the children be well brought up. Thus placing confidence in their friendship, I herewith take my final leave of them and of the world. 1 have lived an honest and useful life to mankind ; my time has been spent in doing good; and I die in perfect composure and resignation to the will of my Creator God. Dated this eigh- teenth day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and nine, and I have also signed my name to the other sheet of this will in testimony of its being a part thereof. Thomas Paine, (l.s.) Signed, sealed, published and declared by the testator, in our presence, who, at his request, and in the presence of each other, have set our names as witnesses thereto, the words 'pub- lished and declared' first interlined. "William Keese, James Angevine, Cornelius Rydee." monument to THOMAS PAINE. On the fourth of July, 1837, we visited the tomb, or place of burial, of Thomas Paine, near New Eochelle, and in the Beacon of July 15, 1837, thus described it (see Beacon, Vol. I. page 331) :— " The tomb is close by the road side, but over a stone fence, and now consists of a low, broken, rough, dry stone wall, of oblong shape, of about eight by four feet, with loose stones, grass, and earth, in the centre ; the upright slab, simply mark- ed -W-ith ' THOMAS PAINE, AUTHOR OF COMMON SENSE,' no longer exists. After Cobbett violated the grave, and re- MONUMENT TO PAINE. ]<\\ moved the bones from the remains of Mr. Paine, the headstone was broken, and pieces successively removed by different vis- iters : one large fragnnent was preserved by a lady in an op- posite cottage, in which Mr. Paine had sometimes boarded, and in which Mr. and Madame Bonneville afterward boarded; but this fragment gradually suffered diminution, as successive visiters begged a piece of what they could no longer steal. To preserve the last remnant, this lady has had it plastered up in a wall. We discovered that the lady mentioned, the nearest neighbor to the tomb, would be favorable to the repair of the tomb, and we learned that she believed that such repairs would be popular among the neighbors; and on this under- standing, in which we have not been deceived, we determined to commence a subscription to repair the tomb, or put up a monument ; and before we left the village we obtained from Mr. James, who had then marble saw-mills in New Ruchelle, a promise to be at the expense of putting up a heavy blocic of marble, instead of a head-stone, if purchased by subscription ; subsequently Mr. Frazee, an eminent architect, offered in con- junction with some friends to give the work on a monument, if the materials were procured, and other expenses paid. This has now been accomplished, and paid for. The monument stands on the Paine farm, at the head of the grave, on twenty feet square, enclosed by a substantial wall on three sides, and an iron railing in front (not yet up, March 1841). It is built of the marble of the country, and is valued at about thirteen hundred dollars. The accompanying cut is a faint represent- ation, and the following extract from a letter from the archi- tect will best describe the monument and the feelings of the neighborhood, which is two miles from the village of New Rochelle."— G. V. "New York, Nov. 12, 18X9- To Mr. Vale: Will you please to inform our friends that the monument to Thomas Paine is erected 1. On Friday last I took with me a rigger and went up to the quarries, and on that day we got the marble to the spot with the machinery and other apparatus necessary to the work. — ^At an early hour on Saturday morn- ing, we mustered all hands at the grave, and commenced the erection of the monument in good earnest, and in good spirits. Everything worked well, and at three o'clock, P. M., the crown piece was on, and the erection complete. — No person was hurt, nor any part of the work broken or injured. — The peo- ple up there say it is a chaste and beautiful structure. Its purely Grecian character and simplicity of form, render its general effect truly impressive and interesting. — The summit is twelve and a half feet above the level of the road at that point. 192 LIFK OF THOMAS PAINE. Paine's monument. I was much pleased to find that among the number of fifty persons and more, that were assembled to witness our labors, not an unkind look was seen, nor an unfriendly expression heard, during the time. All looked and spake as though their hearts were glad at seeing such marked regard — such noble and lasting honor paid to the great patriot of our revolution and the defender of the rights of man. I have a little trimming to do yet on the head, which will occupy me the best part of a day ; this I will endeavor to ac complish this week when the monument will be completed. Very truly yours, JOHN FEAZEE." Note. — The manuscript of the life of Mr. Paine, for want of surplus funds, lay by us for four years, and in the interim some changes have necessarily taken place, which we believe we have noticed in the body of the work ; but aware of this delay (not unfavorable to accuracy) and willing to secure the living testi- mony then in being, and which, from the age of some of the parties, was of un- certain tenure, we published in the Beacon from time to time, such evidences as we procured, with all the circumstances, and thus secured, while living, the sane- -ion of some who have since died. — G. V I