DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY treasure %oom THE FORESTERS, AN AMERICAN TALE: BEING A SEQUEL to the HISTORY O F .JOHN BULL the CLOTHIER. In a Series of Letters to a Friend. Jpu&fttj&icfc McortiM to 22 of Cciigreftf. The SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND CONSIDERABLY ENLARGED. PRINTED at BO ST OX, by I. THOMAS and E. T. AND^EVVS, [Proprietors of the Work.]* 5>'.i Uy than, y. wi ite, r. ■ . in BoRon ; bf mas, in Woi C re , arid by • uy. AVt'. i7; i* Wi y fe , Lord Strut, Nicholas Frog, Gvstavus, Madam Kate, Leopold, Frederick, Ferdinand, Canc-hi, The Frank?, ')"■■ ■ I OS i Ai kxander Scorers, O.VONTKl, Roeert Lvism?, J iHN CODl INK Peregrine PicI ThEUPHILUS W|| vat-ear, HUM FUR V PLOUOH9HAft£j Carrier, i » buil-frog, AR, . aodBARE-CLAl", ■irliamtni. Th> CJurch *f Scotland. 77.; Oiu iConfituHiH. The National R-p> - Ti A irrgt/t m r,f Spain. rtn t£t '■ R-publu. Tie Empire of Rufiic. 'The Er.pire cf Germany, 'The Rrvjfian JUon.- TI r Empire of Clin.z. TI' Fr*r.:h R / The United 6: a;- ■ t,j Atneru2. j\ T iVa t Canada. J\YtX' /.' v TJ>> Old I The Old md and J r Cart W 1 1 eiJFIS ALlf.C0m C J, William Broadbrim, •■ ■ ■ Casimir, Cecilius Martgolo, Walter Piteweed, ■ — His Grandson, Peter Pitch, Charles Indigo, George Trusty, Augustine, Ethan Greenwood, Hunter Longknife, Highwaymen, Hounds and Huntsmen, Bears and Wolves, Black Cattle, Rats, Mother Carey's Chick- ens, Ordure, Od 'LQ^'Ujk Pennfylvanie, Delaware. SVfaryland. Virginia. GEORGE Jr^SHIXGTON. "North Carolina. South Carolina. Georgia. Florida. Vermont. Kentucky. Pirates and Privateers. Ships of War and Troops. Indians. . Negro Slaves. Speculators. 'Jacobins. Convicts, 7) *i //* cyy^ /j,1SU* THE FORESTERS. Letter L 'Original Slate of the Foreft. — The Adven- tures of Walter Pipe weed and Ce- cilius Peterson. dear sir, X O perform the promife which I made to you before I began my journey, I will give you fuch an account of this, once foreft, but now cultivated and pleaf- ant country, as I can collect from my con- versation with its inhabitants, and from the perufal of their old family papers, B 2 which It THE FORESTERS. which they have kindly permitted me to look into for my entertainment. By thefe means I have acquainted myfelf with the itory of their firft planting, confequent improvements, and prefent itate ; the re- cital of which will occupy the hours which I fhall be able to fpare from bufinefs, com- pany and deep, during my refidence among them. In reading the character of John Bul!> which was committed to paper fome years ago by one who knew him well, you mult have obferved, that though " he was in the main an honeft, plain dealing fellow, yet he was choleric and inconitant, and very apt to quarrel with his bejl friends" This obfervation you will find fully verified in the courfe of the narrative ; and as the opinions and manners of fuperiors have a very great influence in forming the char- acter of inferiors, you need not be fur- -,rile* anoth- er of Bull's apprentices, who had taken a fancy to the fame kind of life, from a dit- guft to fome things that had happened in the family. He had not been long with Walter before he found it woidd not do for him to remain there. Peterfon was fuppo- fed to be a natural fon of old Lord Peter > after whom he was nick-named. He had the fame affected airs, and a tincture of the high-flying notions of his reputed father. Thefe made him rather diiguitful to Wal- ter, who had learned his manners of Mr. Bull's mother, when me was in her fobcr fenfes, * Lord Baltimore, who firfr fettled Maryland, was a Papift ; his fucceflbrs abjured Popery, and conform- ed to the Church of England. THE FORESTERS. at fenfes, and between her and Lord Peter there had been a long varianee. When •Peterfon perceived that his company was -not dcfired, he had fo much good fenfe as to leave Walter's plantation, and, paddling •acrofs a creek, feated himfelf on a point of land that ran out into the lake. Of this he obtained a leafe of his old mafter, and went to work in the fame manner as Walter had done, who, liking his company beft at a dif- tance, was willing to fupply him with bread and meat till he could icramble for himfelf. Here he took to huibandry, railing corn and the narcotic weed, and buying up black cat- tit, and after a while turned his produce into his old mailer's ware-houfe, and received frolm him the annual compliment of a wag- gon load of dung, excepting that when there had not been fo much as ufual made, he and Walter were to {hare a load between them* To ingratiate himfelf (rill farther with his old mafter, he accepted of a girl out of hh family for a wife, (for John was always fond a* THE FORESTERS. fond of his tenants marrying for fear of their doing worfe) he took as little notice as poflible of his reputed father, and drop- ping, or diibwning his nick-name of Peter- fon, he aflumed that of Marygold, which old Madam Bull underftood as a compli- ment to one of her daughters. He alfo made his court to the old lady by kneeling down and killing the golden fringe of her embroidered petticoat, as was the falhion of that day. This ceremony, though a trifle in itfelf, helped much to recommend him to Mr. Bull, who was a very dutiful fon, and took his mother's advice in moil parts of his bufmefs. In fhort, Cecilius was too much of a politician to fuppofe that filial affecliion ought to Hand in the way of a man's intereft, and in this he judged as ma- ny other men would have done in the fame cixcumflanccs. THE FORESTERS. y letter n. Sicknefs and Delirium of Mr, Bull's Mother, —Adventures of Peregrine Pickle.-— John Codline. — Humphry Plough- share. — Roger Carrier, and The- ophilus Wheat-ear. bear sir, ABOUT the time in which thefe firfl attempts were making, and the fame of them had raifed much jealoufy among fome, and much expe elation among others, there happened a fad quarrel in John BulPs family. His mother, poor woman, had been feized with hyfleric fits, which caufed her at times to be delirious and full of all forts of whims. She had taken it into her head that every one of the family muft hold knife i* THE FORESTERS. knife r.rd fork and fpoon exactly alike ; that they rnuft all wafh their hands and face precifely in the fame manner ; that they mud ut y {land, walk, kneel, "bow, fpit, blow their nofes, and perform every other ani- mal function by the exact, rule of uniformity f which fhe had drawn up with her own hand, and from which they were not al- lowed to vary one hair's breadth. If any one of the family complained of a lame an* cle or ftiffknee, or had the crick in his neck, or happened to cut his finger, or was any other way fo difabled as not to perform his duty to a tittle, (he was fo far from making {he leafl allowance, that fhe would frown, and fcold, and rave like a bedlamite ; and John was fuch an obedient fon to his moth- er, that he would lend her his hand W box their ears, or liis foot to kick their bacV- fides, for not complying with her humour This way of proceeding raifed an uproar the family ; for though rnoft of them co plied, either through affection for the old lady, or through fear, or foine other motive, vet THE FORESTERS. *$ yet others looked four, and grumbled; fome would openly find fault and attempt to remonitrate, but they were anfwered with a kick or a thump, or a cat-o nine- tails, or fhut up in a dark garret till they promifed a compliance. Such wat the logic of the family in thofe days! Among the number of the difafFecr.ed ? was Peregrine Pickle, a pretty clever fort of a fellow about his bufinefs, but a great lov- er of four crout, and of an humour that would not bear contradiction. However, as he knew it would be. fruitlefs to enter into a downright quarrel, and vet could not live there in peace; he had fo much pru- dence as to quit the houfe, which he did by getting out of the window in the night. Not liking to be out of employment, he went to the houfe of Nicholas Frog, his matters old friend and rival, told him the ftory of his fufferings, and got leave to em- ploy himfclf in one of his workfhops till the dorm mould be over. After he had been here a while, he thought Nick's «6 THE FORESTERS. as much too loofe in their manners as Bull's were too ftric"t ; and having heard a ru- mour of the Foreft, to which Nick had fome kind of claim, he packed up his little all, and hired one of Nick's fervants who had been there a hunting, to pilot him to that part of the Foreft to which Nick laid claim. But Frog had laid an anchor to windward of him ; for as Pickle had faid nothing to him about a leafe, ! ■ fuppofed that when Peregrine had got into the For- eft he would take a leafe of his old mafter Bull, which would ftrengthen his title, and weaken his own; he therefore bribed the pilot to {hew Peregrine to a barren part of the Foreft, inftead of that fertile place* to which he had already ient his furveyors, and of which he was contriving *to get pof- feflion. Accordingly the pilot having con- dueled Pickle to a fandy point which n into the lakejfit being the duik of the evt ingjt bade him good night, and walked i I Peregrine, who was fatigued with " march. * Hudfon's River. f Cape Cud, | The month of December, THE FORESTERS. 27 to arch, laid down and went to fleep, but waking in the morning, faw himfelf alone in a very dreary fituation, where he could •get nothing to live upon but clams, and a few acorns which the fquirrels had left. In this piteous plight, the poor fellow folded his arms, and walking along the iandy beach, fell into fiich a foliloquy as this. "So much for travelling ! Abufcd by Bull, cheat- ed .-by Frcv.i. what am I at lafl come to? Here I am* alone, no creatures but bears, and wolves, and fuch vermin around me ! Nothing in the fhape of an human being that I know of, nearer than Pipeweed's plan- tation, and with him I cannot agree ; he is to devoted to old Dame Bull that he and I cannot live together any more than I could with the old woman. But, why mould I defpair ? That is unmanly ; there is at leaft a pcjjibility cf my living here, and if I am disappointed in my worldly profpecl:s, it is but right, for I profefled net to have any. Ivly wiln was to have my own way without difturbance or contradic- tion, and furely I can here enjoy my liber- C z t* a8 THE FORESTERS. ty. I have nobody here to curfe me, or kick me, or cheat me. If I have only clams to eat, I can cook them my own way, and fay as long a grace over them as I pleafe. I can fit or fland, or kneel, or ufe any other pofture at my devotions, without any crofs old woman to growl at me, or any hector- ing bully to cuff me ■ for it. So that if I have loft in one way I have gained in anoth- er. I had better therefore reconcile myielf to my fituation, and make the beft of a bad market. But company is good ! Apropos ! I will write to fome of my fellow-appren- tices ; I know they were as difcontented as myfelf in old Bull's family, though they did not care to fpeak their minds as plainly as I did. I'll tell them how much happi- nefs I enjoy here in my folitude. I'll point out to them the charms of liberty, and coax them to follow me into the wildernefs ; and. by and by, when we get all "together, we fhall make a brave hand of it." Full of tJus refolution, he fat down on a wind-fall- en tree, and pulling out his inkhorn and pa- yer, wrote a letter to John Codiine, Hunt* THE FORESTERS. 29 phvy Pltotgh/barey and Riger Carrier^ three of his fellow-apprentices, informing them of the extreme happinefs he enjoyed in hav- ing liberty to eat his fcanty meals in his own way, and to lay his fwelled ancles and ftiff knee in whatever pofture was molt eafy to him ; conjuring them by their former friendfhip, to come to join him in carry- ing on the good work ib happily begun, &c. Sec. As foon as he had finifhed the letter, (which had deeply engaged his atten- tion) a huntfman happened to come along in queft of game. This was a lucky cir- cumftance indeed, for Peregrine had not once thought of a conveyance for his let- ter ; it proved alfo favourable to him in another view, for the huntfman taking pity on his forlorn fituation, fpared him fome powder and mot, and a few bifcuit which he happened to have in his pocket ; fo tak- ing charge of the letter, he delivered it as it was directed. This letter arrived in good feafon, for. old Madam had grown much worle fmce Pickle $9 THE FORESTERS. Pickle had left the family •, her vapours had increafedy and her longings and aver- fions were much ftrongcr. ? She had a ftrange lurch for embroidered petticoats and high waving plumes •, her Chriftmas pies, mull have double the quantity of fpice that was ufual ; the fervants mult make three bows where they formerly made but one, and they muft never come into her prefence without having curled and powdered their hair in the pink of the mode, for flie had an averfion to every thing plain, and a? flrong relifh for every thing gaudy. Be- fides,, (he had an high-mettled chaplain* who was conftantly at her elbow, and faid. prayers night and morning in a brocaded cope with a gilded mitre on his head *, and he exacted fo many bows and fcrapes of ev- ery one in the family, that it would have puzzled a French dancing-mafler to have kept pace with him. Nor would he per* form the fervice at all, unlefs a verger ftood by him all the while with a yard-wand in his hand -, and if any fervant or apprentice miffed * ArchbifLcp Laud. THE FORESTERS. 3I miffed one bow or fcrape, or made it at the wrong time, or dared to look off his book, or faid Amen in the wrong place, rap went the (tick over his head and ears or knuckles. It was in vain to appeal from the chaplain or the old Dame to their matter, for he was >o obedient a fon that he fuffered them to go\rern him as they pleafed ; nay, though broad hints were given that the chaplain v/as an cmiilary of lord Peter, and was tak- ing advantage of the old lady's hyfterics to bring the whole family into his intereft, John gave no heed to any of thefe inlinuations. As foon as the letter of Peregrine Pickle arrived, the apprentices, to whom it was directed, held a confutation what thev fhould clo. They were heartily tired of the conduct of the chaplain ; they lament- ed the old lady's ill health, and wimed for a cure ; but there was at prefent no hope of it, and they concluded that it wis beft to follow Pickle's advice, and retire with him into the Fore ft. Though they were infecTed with the fpirit of adventure, yet they 32 THE FORESTERS. they were a fet of wary fellows, and knew they could, not with fafety venture thither unlefs they had a Icafe of the land. Hap- pily, however, for them, Bull had a little while before that put the affairs of the For- eft into the hands of a gentleman of the law,* with orders to fee that the matter was properly managed, fo as to yield him fome certain profit. To this fage they ap- plied, and for the proper fee?., which they clubbed for between them, they obtained a leafe, under hand and feal ; wherein, for " fundry caufes him thereunto moving, the- faid Bull did grant and convey unto John Codline and his aiTociates, fo many acres of his Forelt, bounded fo and fo, and which' they were to have,, hold,, and enjoy for ever and ever, yielding and paying lb and fo, and fo forth." When this grand point was gained by the afliftance of the lawyer and his clerks, who knew how to manage bu fi- nd's, the adventurers fold all their fuper- fluities to the pawn-brokers, and got to- gether what thing] they fuppofed they mould'' The Council of Plymouth in Devonshire, THE FORESTERS. 33 ihould want, and leaving behind them a note on the compter,* to tell their matter where they were bound, and what were* their defigns ; they fet off all together and- got fafe into a part of the Foreft adjoining to Pickle, who, hearing of their arrival, took his oaken ftatY in his hand, and hob- bled along as fait as his lame legs could carr) him to fee them, and a joyful meet- ing indeed they had. Having laid their heads together, it was agreed that Codline mould fend for a girl whom he had courtr- ed,f and marry her, and that he mould be eortfidered as the lord of the manor, that Pickle fliouM have a leafe of that part which \ pitched upon, and that Ploughfhare and Carrier (hould for the prefent be con-- fidefed as members of Codline's family. John had taken a great fancy to fifhing, ana thought he could wholly or chieflv fub- fift by it ; but Humphry had a mind for a farm ; ib after a while they parted in friendship. * Letter written on board the Arabella, after the. •-1 ' :r -kation cf the Maflachufetts fcttlcrs. Maflachufetts charter. 34 THJfc FORESTERS. friendship. Humphry, with a pack on his- back and a fpade in his hand, travelled a- crofs the Foreft till he found a wide mead- ow with a large brook* running through it, which he fuppofed to be within John's grant, and intended flill to confider himfelf as a diftant member of the family. But as. it fell out otherwife, he was obliged to get a. new leafe, to which Mr. Frog made fome objections, but they were over-ruled ; and foon after another old fellow fervant, The- gj»hilus Wheat-ear, came and fat down* by him. They being fo much alike in their views and difpofitions, agreed to live to- gether as intimates, though in two families, which they did till Wheat-ear's death, when. Ploughfhare became his fole heir, and the cftate has ever fmce been his. This Hum- phry was always a very induftrious, frugal, faving hufband ; and his wife, though a formal ftrait-laced fort of a body, yet al- ways minded her fpinning and knitting, and took excellent care of her dairy. She al- ways cloathed her children in Jiomefpun gar- mentSj * Connecticut River. THE FORESTERS. 2 5 ments, and fcarcely ever fpent a farthing for outlandifh trinkets. The family and all its concerns were under very exact reg- ulations : not one of them was fuffered to peep out of doors after the fun was fet. It was never allowed to brew on Saturday, left the beer fhould break the Fourth Com- mandment by working on Sunday : and once, it is faid, the ftaliion was impounded a whole week for holding crinu con. with the mare while the Old gentleman was at his devotions, Bating thefe peculiarities, (and every body has fome) Humphry was a very good fort of a man, a kind neighbour, very thriving, and made a resectable fig- ure. Though he lived a retired life, and did not much follow the fafhions, yet he railed a good cftate, and brought up a large family. His children and grand-children have penetrated the interior parts of the country, and feated themiclves on. the bell foil, which they know how to diilinguiih at firft fight, and to cultivate to the great- est advantage. Whereever you find them, you find good huibandmen, THE FORESTERS. letter in. John Codline quarrels with Roger Car- rier, and turns him out of Doors, Car- rier retires to another Part of the Foreji. CoDiAtiE furveys his Land; takes Robert Lumber under his Protection — Begins a Suit with the Fifhermen of Lewis, which, with other Incidents, excites the Jealoufy of Mr. Bull. dear sir, AFTER Ploughfhare's departure, John Codline with his family kept on their ftfhing and planting, and fometimes went a/hunting, fo that they made out to ge| a tolerable fubfifience. John's family grew, and he fettled his fons as fail as they be- came of age, to live by themfelves ; and when THE FORESTERS. 37 when any of his old acquaintance came to fee him, he bade them welcome, and was their very good friend, as hug as they contin- ued to be of his mind, and no longer ; for he was a very pragmatical fort of a fellow, and loved to have his own way in every thing. This w t is the caufe of a quarrel between him and Roger Carrier, for it hap- : Roger had taken a fancy to dip id into water,* as the moft effectual way of wafhing his face, and thought it could no: be made fo clean in any other way. John, who uicd the common v. taking water in his hand, to wafh his f.\cc y was difpleafed with Rogers innovation, and rem orJ.tr ated againit it. The remon- ftrance had no other effect, than to fix Roger's opinion more firmly ; and as a far- ther improvement on his new plan, he pretended that no perfon ought to have his face warned till he was capable of doing it himfelf, without any afliftance from his parents. John was out of patience with this addit:o:: ; and plumply told him, that if i 3 8 THE FORESTERS. if he did not reform his principles and practice, he would fine him, or flog him, or kick him out of doors. Thefe threats put Roger on inventing other odd and whimfical opinions. He took offence at the letter X, and would have had it ex- punged from the alphabet, becaufe it was the fhape of a crofs, and had a tendency to introduce Popery.* He would not do his duty at a military muiter, becaufe there was an X in the colours. After a while he began to fcruple the lawfulnefs of bear- ing arms, and killing wild beafts. But, poor fellow ! the worft of all was, that being feized with a making palfy,f which affected every limb and joint of him, his fpeech was io altered that he was unable to pronounce certain letters and fyllables as lie had been ufed to do. Thefe oddities and defects rendered him more and mere ■ difagreeable to his old friend, who, how- ever, kept his temper as well as he could, .till one day, as John was faying a long grace *■ Rcger Williams's zeal agai-afl theiign of the crojk. f Quakers. THE FORESTERS. 3 $ grace over his meat, Roger kept his hat on the whole time. As foon as the ceremony was over, John took up a cafe-knife from the table, and gave Roger a blow on the ear with the broad fide of it, then with a rifing ftroke turned of? his hat, Roger faid nothing, but taking up "his hat put it on again •, at which John broke out into fuch a paflionatt?* fpecch as this — u You impudent fcoundrel ! is it come to this ? Have I not borne with your whims and fidgets thefe many years, and yet they grow upon you ? Have I not talked with you time after time, and proved to you at plain as the nofe in your face that your no- tions are wrong ? Have I not ordered you to leave them off, and warned you of the confequence, and yet you have gone on .from bad to worfe ? You began with dip- ping your head into -water, and would have all the family do the fame, pretending there was no other way of Warning the 'face. You would have had the children go dirty all their days, under pretence that "hey were not able to warn their own face.*, -and 40 THE FORESTERS. and fo they mufl have been as filthy as the pigs till they were grown up. Then you would talk your own balderdafh lin- go, thee and thou, and nan for/both — and now you mull keep your hat on when I am at my devotions, and I fuppofe would be glad to have the whole family do the fame ! There is no bearing with you any longer — fo now, hear me, I give you fair warning, if you don't mend your manners, and retract, your errors, and promise refor- mation, I'll kick you out of the houfe. I'll have no fuch refractory fellows here : I came into this foreft for reformation^ and reformation I will have." " Friend John (faid Roger) doft not thou remember when then and I lived to- gether in friend Bull's family, hew hard thou didft think it to be compelled to look on thy book all the time that the hooded chaplain was reading the prayers, and how many knptoks and thumps thou and I had ffering to ufe our liberty, which we : -.t we had a right to ? Didft thou - THE FORESTE'RS. 4 t not come hitherunto for the fake of enjoy- nig thy liberty, and did not I come to en- joy mine ? Wherefore then doft thou af- fume to deprive me of the right which thou claimed for thyfelf ?" "Don't tell me (anfwered John) of right and of liberty — you have as much liberty as any man ought to have. You have liberty to do right, and no man ought to have liberty to do .wrong." " Who is to be judge (replied Roger) of what is right or what is wrong ? Ought not I to judge for myfelf ? or, Thinkeft thou it is thy place to judge for mc ?" " Who is to be judge ? (faid John) why the booh is to be judge ; and I -have proved by the book over and over again that you are wrong, and therefore you are wrong, and you have no liberty to do any thing but v-hat is right." .D « Bur 4» THE FORESTERS. - " But friend John, (faid Roger) who h to judge whether thou haft proved my opinions or conduct to be wrong — thou or I ?" " Come, come, (faid John) not fo clofe neither ; none of your idle diflin&ions : I fay you are in the wrong, I have proved it, and you ktioiv it ; you have finned againfl your oiun cotifcience, and therefore you defcrve to be cut off as an incorrigible heretic." " How doft thou know (faid Roger) that I have finned againfl my own confeience ? Canit thou iearch the heart ?" At this John was fo enraged that he gave him a fmart kick on the pofleriors, and bade him be gone out of his houfe, and off his lands, and called after him to tell him, that if ever he mould catch him there again he would knock his brains out. Roger, having experienced the logic of the foot, applied to the feat ,of honour, I ol?, with as much mccbufs as hu- xnaii THE FORESTERS. 4 j man nature is capable of, on fuch occa- ficns ; and having travelled as far as he fuppofed to be cut of the limits of John's leaie, laid himfelf down by the fide of a clear rivulet, which flowed down a hill ; here he compofed himfelf to flecp, and on his awaking found feveral bears about him, but none offered him any intuit. Upon which he faid, and minuted it down in his pocket-book, "Surely the beafts of the wildernefs are in friendfhip with me, and this is defigned by Providence* as my reft- ing place ; here, therefore, will I pitch my tabernacle, and here fliu.ll I dwell more in peace, though fmrrounded by bears and wolves, than when in the midft of thofe whom I counted my brethren." On this fpot he built an hut, and having taken pofleflion, made a vifit to his old mai- ter Bull, who gave him a leafe of the place, with an Lfland or two in an adjoining cove D 2 of The tov.-n of Prnvidence was built by emigrants 'from lfctt8j of whom Roger Wiiibri? *r*3 44 THE FORESTERS. of the great lake, and recommended to him a wife, by whom he had a few chil- dren ; but his plantation was chiefly in- creafed by the flocking of flrangers to him ; for he was a very hofpitable man, and made it a rule in his family not to refufe any who mould come, whether lame or blind, (hort or tall, whether they had two eyes or one, whether they fquinted, or Hammered, or limped, or had any other natural defect or impediment j it was another rule that all mould bear with the infirmities of their neighbours, and help them as they were able. Once, as I was palling through Rogers plantation, I faw one man carrying another on his moulders, which, at firft, I thought a very odd fight ; upon coming up to them, I perceived that the lower one was blind, and the upper one was lame, ib a., they had but one pair of eyes and one pair of legs between them, the lame man availed himfelf of the blind man's legs, and he of the other's eyes, and both went along very well together. I remember alfq, that ae I pafled along, the fences were i& foine THE FORESTERS. 45 feme places made of very crooked, knotty rails ; but the crooks and knots were made to fay into each other io cleverly, that the fences were as tight as if they had been made of fluff fawed ever fo even ; a circum- ftance which convinced me that very crook- ed things might be put together, to advan- tage, if proper pains were taken. When John Codline had fettled the controverfy with Roger, by kicking him out of doors, he began to look about him to fee what his neighbours were doing. Having found a young fellow on his north- eaflern limits, who had come thither with- out his knowledge or permiiTicn, lie took it into his head to furvey the extent of his grounds. The words of his leafe were rather ambiguous, and by virtue thereof, he thought it convenient to extend his claims over the lands on which Robert Lumber (for that was the name of the young fellow) had fettled- It feems that Bob had been fent by fome of John Bull's family to ere£t a iilhing ftage on the. borders of I the 46 THE FORESTERS. the lake, and the lawyer who had the care of the foreft not being acquainted fo much as he ought to have been with the fituatiou of the lands, or having no knowledge of the art- of furveying, had made out a leafe which lapped over Codline's ; fo that each of them had a claim upon the fame land. In fome circumstances this might have been deemed unfortunate, but as it happened it proved lucky for poor Bob. His employers had left him in the lurch, and he would have ftarved to death if John had not taken him under his wing and fent him provifions to keep him alive. He alfo lent him a hand to clear up the bufhes, and furnifhed him with materials to build a faw-mill. This fet Bob on his own legs, and he proved a flurdy faithful fellow. He was of great fervice to John in killing bears and wolve9 that infefted his plantation ; and when he himfelf was in danger, John lent him pow- der, mot, and flints, and fent hands to help him ; and in fo doing he ferved himfelf as well as his neighbour, which was no breach cf morality. Thus they lived pretty peace- ably THE FORESTERS. A7 ably together, till after a while Bob's old owners found the land was grown good for fomething, and then (without paying John for his a in making it lb) appealed to Mr. Bull, and got it awny, and took a ;■* flice of John's land into the bargain.** This was a matter which ftuck in John's throat a great while, and if I am rightly in- formed he has hardly fwallowed it yet. He did not think himfelf fairly dealt bv, me Pickle's land pnt into a new leafe which Bull gave him. To be (hort, John Codliht and John Bull never heartily loved one another ; they were in their temper and difpofition too much alike ; each was eternally jealous of the other ; and this jealoufy was kept alive by a variety oi incidents which it would be too tedious to enumerate. One of them, however, was of lb fmguiar a nature that I think it deferves to be remembered. It was this. Lewis had erected a fifhing ftage * The fettling the line between Maflachufetts and 48 THE FORESTERS. ftage and ware-houfe* on the northeaft, which interfered with Codline's favourite employment. Without confulting his old Mafter Bull, or waiting for his advice or orders, Jack fertt a bailiff with a writ of in- truficn to the iiihermen, and began a fuit in law. Mr, Bull hearing of it, was glad to take advantage of the circumftance^ and fee council in the caufe, which finally went in his favour. But though the iffue of the caufe was of. fo much advantage to him ; yet he ever after looked upon Codline as a forward, meddling fellow, for running on that errand before he was fent y and there were not wanting perfons.who were con- tinually buzzing in his ear, to keep a good Jootw out on that impudent jackanapes, ox he would foon begin to think himfelf as gocd a man as his mafter. * JLouifburg. THE FORESTERS. ^ letter iv. Attempt ?/" Nicholas Frog and Gustavus the Ironmonger, to intrude into the Fore/}.—-' Their quarrel. — Air. Bull'j Sicknefs and Delirium.— His Policy in paying his Debts* — His Quarrel with Frog, and its Ter- mination by Comprontifi. — Plantation of Cart-rut and Bare-clay, called C^sa- rla. — Leafe to Charles Indigo. DEAR SIR, IN my lad letter I had got a little too forward in my flory, in point of time ; but as I write by piecemeal) and often in a hurry, you mull excufe chronological in- accuracy. I now go back to tell you, that between the lands occupied by Marygold, and thofc on which Plcughlhare had made his 50 THE FORESTERS. his Settlement, was a large traft of wafte, where none of Mr. Bull's family had ever been ; but the report of the plantations which one and another of them had made, drew the attention of Bull's neighbours. Among thefe, Nicholas Frog was not an idle Spectator. He was as fly a fellow as you will meet with in a fummer's day, always attentive to his intereft, and never let flip an opportunity to promote it. Obferving that Mr. Bull was rather earelefs of the Foreft, and trufled his lawyers and fervants with the management of it, and knowing there was a large flice of it unoccupied, he clandeftinely fent out fome furveyors in the difguife of hunters, to make a descrip- tion of the country, and report to him at their return. Another good neighbour, Gitflavus the ironmonger, was gaping after- it, and gave out word among his journey- men, that if any of them would adventure thither and fet up their trade, he would uphold them in their pretentions, and lend them any afTiflance in his power. Accord- ingly one of them, by the name of Cnfimir^ ventured. THE FORESTERS. $i ventured to make a beginning on the fhore of a navigable creek j* but did not care to penetrate far into the country, on account of the wolves and bears, which were very numerous thereabout. As foon as Froi? heard of this, he picked a quarrel with Guftavus, and infilled that the land was his, by porTefiion, becaufe he had already fent furveyors thither. It happened, how- ever, that the place which Frog's people had pitched upon was at the mouth of an- other creek,f at a confiderable diftance ; where they had built a hut, on a point of land, and farther up the creek had erected a kind of lodge or hunting houfe,t for the convenience of collecting game. On this plantation Frog had placed Peter Stiver, a one-legged fellow, as his overfeer. As foon as Peter heard of the quarrel between his mailer and Guftavus, he thought the quickeft way of ending it was the beft ; and therefore, without waiting for orders or ceremony, he went and commanded Cafimir off the ground j and with one of his » The Delaware. f Hudfon's river. \ Albany. 5» THE FORESTERS his crutches beat his houfe to pieces about his ears. The poor fellow flared at this rough treatment j but was glad to efcape with whole bones, and humbly requefted leave to remain there with his tools, prom- ising to follow his bufinefs quietly, and become an obedient fervant to Mr. Frog. Upon thefe conditions he was permitted to remain, and the whole tracl: was reputed Frog's property.. While thefe things were doing, Johi* Bull was confined to his houfe with a vio- lent fever and delirium, which ended in the hypochondria,* and his imagination was the feat of every wild freak and ftrange vagary. One while he fancied himfelf an , abfolute monarch ;. then, a prefbyterian ■ clergyman ; then a general of horfe \ then a lord protector : His noddle was filled with a jumble of polemic divinity, political difputes, and military arrangements, and it was not till after much blood-fetting, blrftering, vomiting, purging, cold-bathings and * The civil wars, in England. -THE FORESTERS. 51 and horfe-trotting, that lie began to mend. Under this fevere but wholefome regimen, he at length grew cool and came to him- fi if, but found on his recovery that his af- fairs had gone behind hand during his ^icknefs. Befide the lofs of bufinefs, he had phyficians* and apothecaries' bills to pay, and thofe who had attended upon him as nuries, watchers, porters, occ. all expecled wages or douceurs, and were con- tinually haunting him with, " How does your honor do ? I am glad to fee your honor fo well as to be abroad." They were continually putting themfelves in his way, •and if they did not directly dun him for ■payment, their looks were £o fignificant that a man of left, penetration could eafiiy e gueficd what was their meaning. Bull was fon^ewhat perplexed how to nnfwer all their demands and expectations He was too far behind hand to be able to fatisfy them, and withal too generous to Jet them remain unpaid. At length he hit on tills expedient : " Thcfe fellows, faid J* 54 THE FORESTERS. he to himfelf, have ferved me well, and may be of ufe to me again. Theie is yet a eonfiderabie part of my tcreft unoccupied. I'll offer to ieaie them tracts of land which of: me nothing) and if they will accept them at a low rent, they may prove ufel'ul fer- vants, and Iihall be a gainer as well a8 thev." Having come to this refolution, he began to inquire into the affairs of his for- eft, and found that his neighbours had in- truded upon his claim. Lewis had taken poffeffion at one end ;* Lord Strut at ths other ;f Nicholas Frog in the middie 5 | and his own tenants had heen quarrelling with their new neighbours, as well as among themfelves. " Hey-day ! fays John, this will never do ; I muff keep a good look out upon thefe dogs, or they will get the advantage of me." Away he goes to Frog, and begun to complain of the ill treatment -which he had received. Frcg, who had no * Canada, pofTefTed by the French. •f Flcrk!.:, pofTefTed by the Spaniards. i New Amfteadam and the New .Nuhci lands, by the U-i.id\. THE FORESTERS. 55 ho mmd either to quarrel, or to cry peccavi, like a fly, evafive whore- fon as he was, fli rugged up his moulders, difowned what his fervants had done, and faid, (i he fup- pofed they only meant to kill game, and did not intend to hold pofleflion." Bull Was not to be put off fo •, his blood was up, and he determined to treat Frog's fer- vants as they had treated Cafimir. So, Galling a trufty old flud out of his compting houfe, " Here Bob,* faid he, take one o£ my hunters with a pair of blood-hounds,' and go to that part of the forefl where Pe- ter Stiver has encroached, give him fair Warning ; tell him the land is mine, and I will have it ; if he gives up at once, treat him well, and tell him I'll give him leave to remain there ; but if he offers to make any refiftance, or hefitates about an anfwer, fet your dogs at him and drive him off; kill his cattle, and {^t his houfe on fire : Never fear, I'll bear you out in it." Away goes Bob, and delivered his meffage. Peter * Sir Robert Carr'a expedition againft New Am- lam, now New York, 56 THE FORESTERS. Peter at firft thought it a matter of amufe- ment, and began to divert himfelf With it ; but as foon as the dogs opened upon him, he found his miflake, and rather than run the rilk of being driven off, he quietly fub- mitted to the conditions propofecL " Hang it, faid he to himfelf, what care I who is my landlord ? Gain is my object -, I have already been at great expenfe, and have a profpecl: of getting an eftate. To remove will ruin me ; I'll therefore flay here, and make money under Bull, or Frog, or any ether mafler that will let me ftay." In a fubfequent quarrel which happened between Bull and Frog, the latter feized upon this plantation again, and Peter re- cognized his old mafter •, but upon a com- promife it was given up to Bull in exchange for a tracl: of fwamp* which lay far to the fbuthward. Peter continued on the ground through all thefe changes, and followed his bufmefs with great diligence, collecting game and pelts, and vending them fome- times * Surriaaqi, THE FORESTERS. 57 •times to Mr. Bull, and fometimes to Mr. Frog. However, Bull thought it bed, that in token of fubjection, he fhould change his name ; to which he confented, and partly to pleafe his new mailer, and partly to retain the remembrance of his old one, he dropped the name of Stiver, and ai- fumed the name of Bui/frog. The whole tract which was thus gotten from Frog, was thought too large for one plantation, and therefore Mr. Bull, in pur- fuance of the plan which he had formed, ap- propriated the rents of the plantation, on which Bullfrog was feated, to his brother,* and the other was leafed to two of his fer- vants, Cart-rut and Bare-clay, and fome time after another tract was fet off to Wil- liam Broadbrim, whofe father had been an affiduous rat-catcher in Bull's family; but more of this hereafter. Cart-rut and Bare-clay agreed to divide -their land into two farms, which the v c:.'.i- E ed ■ Duke of York. j8 THE FORESTERS. ed the eaft and weft farms*, but when they came to run the divifion line, their com- pares differed fo much that they could not fix the boundary. This was one caufe of diffention. Another was the different hu- mours and difpofitions of their families.. Thole on the eaft farm were brought up- under Mr. Bull's filter Peg, and as it is well known that fhe and her brother had, long been at variance, fo their domeftics^ had got tinctured with the notions and prej- udices of their refpecT:ive families.. The: family on the weft farm was made up o£ perfons who were fubjecl to the epidemic ague or fhaking palfy \* with fome ftrag— glers from Bullfrog's and Cafimir's families*- From this divcrfity of conftitutions and hu- mours arofe bickerings and quarrels, a dis- inclination to work and fubmit to family, government. Thefe diforders continued a long while, and bufmefs went on very flow— ly, till at length the heads of both families agreed to give up their feparate leafcs, and take a new one of the whole, and let Mr,. Bull * The Quakers, THE FORESTERS. r? Bull appoint an overfeer. By thefe means peace was reitored, and the new overfeer, who was fuppofed to be a defeendant of a natural fon of Julius C^sar, gave the name of his anceftor to the farm, which has ever fince been called C/Esakea. There was another portion of the for- eft, which lay fouthward ot Walter Pipe- weed's plantation, ai.d which no perfon had yet taken up, though fome had made attempts and had been driven off by the numberlefs mufquetoes and land-Pies, which abound in thofe places. Mr. Bull was Hill defirous to reward his friends in the cheapeft manner, and at the fame time to keep his neighbours from encroaching upon him, and fecure the poffefiion of the forcft to himfelf. In purfuance of his plan, and to make fhort work of it at once, he leafed the whole of this fouthern extremity to Chari.es Indigo, who was exprefsly order- ed to take under his care and into his fami- ly all perfons who had attended Mr. Bull, in his late ftcknefs, in quality of hurfes, E 2 druggiffej 6* THE FORESTERS, druggifts, apothecaries, laundreffes, uphol- fters, porters, watchers, &c. &c. By this order Charles found himfelf at once fur- rounded by a large body of retainers of various ranks and qualities, and, being a fpeculator himfelf, he employed a fpecula- tive man, Mr. Pad/ock, who had written a large treatife upon Ideas, to draw up fome rules, for the management of fuch a fami- ly, intending when he mould build an houfe, to paile it up in the parlour, as a di- rectory to his wife. Accordingly Mr. Pad- lock went to work, and with an exquifite mixture of political and metaphyfical knowl- edge, diftinguifhed between the hall, the par- lour, the drefling-room, the gallery, the mu- fic-room, the bed-chambers, the chapel, the kitchen, the water-clofet, &c. ihewing what was to be done in each, and the prop- er fubordination of one to the other, all which would have been of excellent fervice in a palace, and among people who had got to a high degree of refinement, but was ill iuited.to the circumflances of new adven- turers THE FORESTERS. (i Hirers in a foreft. They rather needed to be i'litiucted in the method of felling trees, draining fvvamps, digging clams, guard- ing againft mufquetoes, killing wolves and bears, and erecting huts to keep off the weather. To thefe neceiTary affairs they were obliged to attend, and Mr. Padlock's fine fpun rules were laid by and little thought of. Charles had pitched upon a fandy point, between two brooks, for his mnnfion houfe, and had made a fmall beginning, when his repofe was difturbed by one Au- gustine, a lubberly fellow, who had taken a leafe of Lord Strut, and lived farther ftmthwarfl. This Strut was the largelt landholder in the country, and was never fetisfied v/ith adding field to field. He had already got much mere than he could man- age, and had greatly impoverished hi- homelb. id by attending to his extra territo- ries. His tenants were infected with the fame land fever, and wifiied to have no- neighbour* within fight or call. "With this envious 6* THE FORESTERS. envious difpofition, Auguftine collected a rabble of louiy fellows, and was coming to difpofiefs Charles, thinking him too weak to make a defence ; but Charles was a lad of too much fpunk to be brow-beaten. He armed all his people with fome weapon or other, and advanced till he came with- in Tight of the place where Augufline was, who, on feeing him, took wit in his anger, and went back, without attempting any mifchief. Another difficulty which Charles ex- pected to encounter was from the wild beads ; but luckily for him, thefe creatures got into a quarrel among themfelves, and fought with each other till they had thin- ned their numbers confiderably, fo that Charles and his companions could venture into the woods, where they caught fome few and tamed them, as was the ufual prac- tice among all Mr. Bull's tenants at that day. Of this practice a more particular ac- count ihall be given in my next letter. THE rO'RE-RTERS. 63 letter V. Mr. BullV Project of taming wi/J Animals* ——Its Execution b\ his Tenants. — Their dif- ferent Notions and Conducl in this Matter. DEAR SIR, X OU mull have remarked in your acquaintance with the life and character of Mr. John Bull, that he is very whimfical, and as pofitive as \rhimfical. Among oth- er advantages which he expected from the fettlement of his Foreft, one was, that the wild animals, whom nature had made fero- cious and untraceable in the higheft degree, would be rendered tame and ferviceable, by receiving inftruclion and education from the nurturing hand of humanity. He had con- ceived a notion that every creature has cert sun latent M THE FORESTERS. latent principles and qualities which form a foundation for improvement ; and he thought it a great piece of injuftice that thefe qualities fhould be furrered to remain uncultivated : he had a mind that experi- ments mould be attempted to difcover how far this kind of cultivation was practicable, and what ufe could be made of the animal powers under the direction and control of rational government. Full of this idea, he came to a refolution, that it mould be the duty of every one of his tenants to catch wild beafts of various forts, and difcipline them fo as to find out their feveral proper- ties and capacities, and ufe them accord- ingly ; and this kind of fervice was men- tioned in their refpe&ive leafes as one con- dition of the grants. Some of the tenants, particularly Pere- grine Pickle, John Codline, and Humphry Ploughfhare, entered zealoufly into the meaf- ure from principle. They had, during Mr. Bull's ficknefs and delirium, before fpoken of, formed an aiicciation for their mutual fafcty. THE FORESTERS. 6js fafety.* The object of their union was. two fold : firft, to endeavour by all fair means to tame and difciplme the wild beafts ; and fecondly, in cafe of their prov- ing refractory, to defend themfelves againft their attacks. The other tenants did fome- thing in the fame way ; fome from one principle, and fome from another. Peter Bullfrog, who was as cunning as any of. them, made ufe of thoie which he had. tame.', as his caterers, to provide game for. his table, of which the feathers and furs ferved him as articles of traffic, and brought him in a profitable return. The principal confederation (fetting afide. interell) which induced the more zealous of the Foretters to enter into this bufmefs,. was an idea- that thefe animals were a de- generated part of the human fpecies, and. might be reftored to. their proper rank and order, if due pains were taken. The grounds of this opinion were thefe : Among the traditions of the ancient Druids there was a ftoiy,.' ' The united colonies of New England, 1643. 66 THE FORESTERS. a flory, that out of tivck-c families which inhabited a certain diftric"t by themfelves, ten had been loft, and no account could be given of them ; ond, where, -faid they, is it more likely to find them than in this foreft, in the fhape of fome other creatures ? efpe- cially, if the doctrine cf transmigration; which the Druids held,. be true. Another tradition' was, that one of Mr. Bull's great- great-uncles, by the "name of Afadok, had many years ago difappeared, and the I aft account which had been received of him was, that he had been feen going .towards this foreft j hence it was concluded that his defendants mud be found here, in con- firmation of this argument, it was alleged, that the founds which fome of thefe crea- tures made in their howlings, refembled the language fpoken in that day : nay, fome were pofitive that they had heard them pro- nounce the word Mndokaivando -;* and one hunter roundly fwore that he had (ecn m the den of a bear, an old book which he fuppofed to be a Bible** written- in the Celtic language, * The name of a Sachem, at Penobfcot. THE FORESTERS. 67 language, and this book they concluded muft have been left there by Madok, who could read and fpeak no other language. Another very material circumftance was the difcovery of a reck by the fide of a brook,* inferibed with fome characters which bore no refemblancc to any kind of writing, ancient or modern ; the conclufion from hence was, that it muft be of the re- moter! antiquity : this rock was deemed an unaccountable curiofity, till a certain virtu- ofo took it into his noddle, firft to imagine, and then to become extremely pofitive that the characters were Punic ; and finally this infeription was tranflated, and affirmed to be nothing lefs than a treaty of alliance and commerce between the Pkemrians and the firft inhabitants of this foreft. From all •thefe premifes it was inferred, with fome plaufibility, and more pofitivenefs, that one .fpecies at lead of the favage animals wai .defcended from Madok, and that the others were the pofterity of the long loft ten fam- ilies, who were well known to have had a .commercial * The celebrated rock at Dighton, in Maffachufett* g< THE FORESTERS. commercial connexion with the PhenicianS) and that thefe probably found out their haunt, and followed them for the fake of their former friendmip.— What happy light do modern difcoveries and conjectures throw on the dark pages of antiquity. From thefe principles,- as well as from motives of humanity and of intereft, fome of the Forefters entered with zeal on the confideration and practice of the belt meth- ods to fulfil this condition of. their grants, the difciplining of the favage animals, and they certainly deferve praife for their honeft endeavours ; but, others who pretended to the fame zeal, it is to be lamented, made uie cf this pretence to cover their vanity or their avarice. Had none but gentle means been ufed, it is probable more good inight, on the whole, have been produced ; but as it often happens that many a good project has been ruined for want of pru- dence in the execution, fo it fared with this ; for while the new comers were bufy in ; !'g up their huts, and preparing the land. THE FORESTERS. 69 land for cultivation, both of which were neceffary before they could attend to any- other bufmefs, fome of the favage tribe would be a little impertinent, either by peeping into the huts, or breaking up a nelt where the poultry were hatching, or carrying off a chick or a gofling. Thefe impertinencies bred frequent quarrels, and the poor creatures were fometimes driven off with bloody notes, or obliged to hop on three legs, or even laid fprawling and flyly covered with earth, no fervice or ceremony being faid ever the carcafs, and no other epitaph, than " Poh, they are nothing but brutes, and where's the harm of killing them !" or in rhyme thus : " Tit for tat, tit for tat, " He ftole my chicle, an J I broke his back.'*' Whatever plaufibic excufes might have teen made for thefe proceedings, they feiv- ed to render the creatures jealous of their new neighbours; but inlteadof abating r appetite for mifchief, it fharpened .ihrir invention to take more fly methods of accomplifhing ?o THE FORESTER?. accomplifhing it. The more wary of them kept aloof in the day time, and would not be enticed by the arts which were ufed to draw them in ; however, they were fome- times pinched for food, and the new inhab- itants ufed to throw crufts of bread, hand- fuls of corn, and other eatables, in their way, v/hich allured them by degrees to familiarity. After a while it was found that nothing fucceeded fo well as molnjfes. It was therefore thought a capital manoeu- vre to drop a train of it on. the ground,, which the creatures would follow,, licking it, till they had infenfibly got up to the doors of the houfes, where if any body held a bowl or a plate befmeared with the liquor, they would come and put their nofes into it, and then you might pat. them on the back and fides, or ftroke them, fay- ing, " Poor Bruin, poor Ifgrim, poor Rey- nard, poor Pufs," and the like, and they would fuiTer themfelves to be handled and- fondled till they dropped afieep. When they awaked, they would make a moan and *,vag their, tails,, as if they were afking for more. THE FORESTERS. 71 more, and if it was denied them, they would retire to the woods in difgufl, till the fcent of the mobiles operating on their depraved appetites, invited them to return where it was to be had.. This was, upon repeated trial, found to be the moll effect- ual way of taming them, as they might be taught to imitate any kind of tricks and gcilures, if a dim of mobiles was held out as a reward.. The Foreflers knew that they could nor/ ingratiate themfelves better with their old mailer Bull, than by humouring his itch for projects. They therefore took care to raiie reports and write letters from time to time concerning the wonderful fuccefs which they had met with in civilizing the lavage animals. Bull was greatly pleafed' with thefe reports, and made a practice or fending prefents of trinkets to be diltributed ; among them ; inch as collars, ear-rings, and ncfe-jewels. Several times fome of the mod (lately, and bell inftrwEfced of them were carried to Iris houfe for a ftow, where he tfz THE FORESTERS. he had them drefled up in fcarlet and gold trappings, and led through all his apart*- ments for the entertainment of his family, and feafted with every nick-nack which his cook and confectioner could procure. He was fo fond of being thought their patron and protector, that he ufually fpoke of them as his red children, from the colour of their hides. It is not many years fince one of them, after being led through ieveral fam- ilies and plantations of the tenants, was .carried by a certain witty cur, to Mr. Bull's own houfe, drefled in the habit of a clergy^- 7natj, having been .previoufly taught to lift his paws and roll his eyes, as if in the acl: of devotion. This trick was fo well carried on, that the managers of it picked up a large pocket full of pence, by exhibiting him for a raree-fhowj and the money was applied toward building a menagerie, to which beafts of all kinds might be brought and tamed. This projccl., like many fuch whims, has made more noiie than profit ; for moft of thofe who were fuppofed to be tamed and domefticated, after, they had been.fent back THE TORESTER?.' 73 to their native woods, with a view to their being inftrumental in taming their fellow favages, have returned to their former fe- rocious habits, and fome of them have proved greater rogues than ever, and have done more miichief than they could other- wile have been capable of. Mr. Dull himfelf was once fo full of the project, that he get his chaplain and lbme others to form themfelves into a club ; the profeiled object, of which was, to prop, •. immrfcdge among theie favage creatures. After ibme trials, which did not anfwer ex- pectation, old Madam Bull conceived that the money which was collected might as well be expended in teaching Mr. Bull's own tenants themfelves a little better man- ners \ for fome of them were rather awk- ward and flovenly in their deportment, while others were decent and devout in their own way. Madam, as we have before obferved, was a great zealot in the caufe of uniformity! and had a vafl influence over her fon, by virtue of which, the attention of F the 74 THE FORESTER S. the club was principally directed to the* promoting of this grand objetl. Accord- ingly, every one cf the tenants was furnifh- ed with a Bible and a Prayer Book, a clean napkin, bnfon, platter, and chalice, with a few devotional tracts, and fome young ad- venturers who had been educated, in the family, were recommended as chaplains ; who had alfo by-orders to keep a look out toward the favagc animals, when they fhould fall in their way. The chaplains were tolerably well receiv- ed in mod of the families ; but fome, par- ticularly Codline and Ploughfhare, who gloried in being able to fay their prayers without hooky always looked four upon them, and would frequently fay to them, " Go, take care of the favage objects of your mi> fion, and don't come here to teach us, till you have learned better yourfelves." The chaplains in difgufl, and perhaps in revenge, (for they were but men of like pafTions) would pout and fweii and call fchifmatic and other canonical nick-names, of which there i? THE FORESTERS. is extant a large vocabulary, and would fre- quently write letters, much to the dllad- vantageof their opponents. It is not many years fmce they, with the club which fenl them, were pretty fevercly handled by or, ■• of Codlinc's own chaplains,* and it is ; pofed that they have ever fmce been more niodefv, ; certain it is, that they are now on better terms with their neighbours than formerly ; this may, in part, be owing to Mr. Bull's deferring fhem and refufm » pay them for their fervices ever fmce ihe time that he began to quarrel with his ten- ants. On that occafion fome of them re- moved their quarters ; others liept their old places, and have got along as well as they could -without the help which they formerly received. * Dr. M-v-w. F* 76 THE FORESTERS. letter vl Adventures of Charles Indigo and Peter Pitch. — Charatler of William Broad- brim. His Projects, Principles, and a Specimen of his Harangues, DEAR SIR, 1 HAVE obferved in a former. let- ter, that the leafe which Mr. Bull gave to Charles Indigo, obliged him to receive into his family all fuch perfons as had been at- tendants on Mr. Bull during his ficknefs, and for whom he had no other means of providing. This general indulgence pro- cured to Charles the reputation of a very- friendly, hofpitable perfon, and induced great numbers of other people of various characters, views, and iuterefts, to feek an afylum THE FORESTERS. 7? afylum within his limits. About this time Mr. Lewis had grown Tick and peevifh, and had fcverely cudgelled fome of his appren- tices, becaufc they did not make their I v s and CVs exactly to Iiis mind.* The poor fellows, to prevent worle treatment, fled from his houfe, and took refuge with Mr. Bull, who treated them civilly, and recom- mended them to the Fereft, where they difperfed thcmfelves in the ieveral families of his tenants, and a large party of them took up their abode with Charles, to whom they proved an induflrious, profitable ac- quisition, though fome of the family looked a little fourly upon them* This facility of admitting flrangers pro- duced an effect which had almoit pr fatal to the reputation of the family ; for a number of highwaymen aifo fought flicker there, and by means of their gold and filver, which they had in plenty, made friends in the houfe, and were admitted by night at * Rt\ N:.:itz, by Lewis XIV, ;8 THE FORESTERS. at ? back door. After a while they grew mere bold, and came in the day time, un- der the difguiic cf pedlars, with packs on ;• moulders* One of them actually took his ftand behind a corner of one of the fences, from whence he fallied out on travellers ; this corner obtained, from that circumfbnee, the name of Cape Fev.r ; ancf as the hrft names of places are not eafily got rid of, it retains the name to this day, and perhaps will ever retain it. Here the rafcal intended to have built himfelf a lodge, and taken up his quarters for life ; but the matter was now grown fo public, that Charles, for the honour of his family, or- dered all ftragglers to be feized, and this fellow in particular, after a fevere ftrug- gle, was apprehended and brought to jut- tice. The fame fpot was afterward taken pof- femon of by Peti:r Pitch, a poor fellow who got his living as he did his name, from collecting the refmous juice of the numerous pines which grew thereabout. He T II 2 FORESTERS. 79 He had to work hafd and fare hard, and go a great way for his victuals and clothes ', but after he had lived alone for fome time, he picked up one or two acquaintances of his own (lamp, and they formed a family, which was at firft rather diferderly. Far- ther difcovery of the lands, and the advan- tage of the water carriage, induced fome other people to fit down by him, and in procefs of time he became fo refpectable as to be noticed by Mr, Bull, who, though he never gave him a leafe in form, yet let him have cloth and haberdaihery upon credit, and took his pitch in payment as fail as he could collect it. This kept him in a dependent itatc, and fubjected him to impofitions from Bull's clerks and journev- Tneu. About five and twenty years age, Bull fent him a taylor to try on a new coat,* which was fo firait that it fplrt in feveral places, and never could be altered (o as to fit him j but he was obliged to wear it, rather than quarrel with his patron. Th"s fame taylor was remarkable for cabbage as • lafurredions is North Carolina, 17 -1. 80 THE FORESTERS. as Peter Bullfrog and Humphry Plough- fhare have finee had large experience. To finifh what relates to Charles Indigo, I (hall obferve, that the land on which he began his plantation, was in general fo wet and miry, that it was unfavourable to the production of wheat, and it was for fome time doubtful whether he would be able to raife his own bread. Chance at length effected what labour and ingenuity could not : a bird of paffage having dropped fome kernels of rice in his dung, it was found to thrive exceedingly well \ from whence the hint was taken, and rice became the frandard grain of the plantation. By the cultivation of this, and of a weed which was ufeful to the dyers, he grew rich, and made a rightly figure among his neighbours in point of dreis and equipage ; though his countenance is rather fallow, and he is (abject to frequent returns of the inter- mittent fever. B* THE FORESTERS. ft By the extenfive leafc given to Indigo and his affociates, molt of Mr. Bull's de- pendants and attendants were provided for, and their iervices reconrpenfed with a fhew of generosity on his part, and of fatisfac- tion on theirs-. I have before jiilt hinted at a grant made to William Broadbrim, of which I ihall now give a more particu- lar account- His father had been an old fen-ant of Mr. BuJl>. and had been employed in the very laborious and necefl'ary bufinefs of catching and killing rats. In this employ- ment he was fo very dexterous and luc- -ful, that he recommended himfelf high- ly to his mailer, who not only allowed . him large wages, but promLfed him farther fcompenfe^ During Mr. BulFs ficknefs, e care and diligence of this faithful fer- vant had been unremitted, and his merits were thereby increafed, fo that Mr. Bui:, on his recovery) lound himfelf deeply in- red to him, and he ilill continued his icrvieeo ; tiii ; v» orn out with age and in- mity, %z THE FORESTERS. firmity, he died and had an honourabfe funeral. His fon William then became his heir, and folicited for payment cf the arrears due to his father, which Mr. Bull, accord- ing to the maxim he had laid down for himfelf, and urged by the neceflity of the occafion, proposed to difcharge by a leafe of part cf the Foreft. This happened to fall in, exactly, with William's views, which were cf a- fingular nature. I About this time a nervous diforder ap- peared in Bull's family, which went by the name of the fial'mg polfy* We fhall not pretend to trace the caufes of it, as the origin of filch things is often obfeure and 4 impenetrable ; but the effects were,^ trembling of the nerves, a iliffnefs in the neck and fhculders, and a hefitancy in the ffpeech, fo that it was impeflible for the patients to incline the head, or pronounce certain words and fyllables.. uich as Sir 3 Madam, * Quake riihfe THE FORLjTERS. S j. Muuu.TJ, your Hoiior^ my L -d, &c. nor could one of them raife his hand to take off his hat, or hold it on the book when an t>ath was to oj udrniniitereu. Mi>. BuTs choleric temper misinter- preted this natural infirmity into a fuilen difreipe£L When he. found a change in the behaviour of thefe domei'lics ; that in- plead of bowing to him they flood upright as .i may-pole, and initead cf Sir, and youe Honor, they could utter nothing but Friend* he grew angry, and made a c-ret:y free iiis of his fill ; and when he found that they could not be cured by fuch means, he thruit fome of tliem into a CiAvk clpfet, and (hut them up till they mould, as he termed it, r learn better manners ;" and it is fuppof- td he would have carried his refentrneitf much further, but for this circumftancc :. William Broadbrim, who had himfelfftrojag fymptoms of the diforder, whifpered to- Mr. Ba:!, that if he would give htm to ripen a project which he had conceived, he wo did rid him of ail trouble with thefe people. 8 4 THE FORESTER 5. people. William had a plodding genius* and the fcheme with which his head was pregnant at this time, was nothing more or lefs than to make a fetttement in the foreft, and take all thefe people with him. Bull, who was glad to get rid of them, and of the debt which he owed to William*, readily fell in with the project j and a grant was made out under hand and feal, where- in William Broadbrim, and his heirs, were inverted- with- the right of foil, and all oth- er privileges of proprietorfhipi , in a certain part of the foreft, between the plantation of Marygold and thafof Cart-rut: and Bare- elay, being in the neighbourhood of the 1 fpot where Cafimir had rebuilt his hut, and 1 lived in an ambiguous . fituation, not know- ing who was his landlord. With him Wil- liam made a peaceable compromife, faying, w Friend, I will do thee no violence, there' is room enough for us both." Cafimir was glad of fo good a neighbour, and he had r-eafon to be, for he throve more rapidly af- ter this than before. William THE FORESTERS. 85 William pitched upon a level piece of ground, where two large brooks met, for the fituation of his manfion houfe, and went to work to draw up rules for the gov- ernment of his family. One of which was, that no pcrfon mould be refufed admittance into it, or disturbed in it, or caft out of it, cm account of any natural infirmity. Anoth- er was, that no arms nor ammunition fhould ever be made ufe of, on any pretence- what- ever. The hid of thefe rules gained Wil- liam great reputation among all fenfible men ; the latter was a notion which candor would lead us to fuppofe proceeded from a love of peace, and the exercife of good will toward his fellow-creatures ; though fome were fo ill-natured as to imagine that it was an efFecT: of the diforder in his nerves. When any of William's neighbours, who were of a different way of thinking, fpakc :o him of the impolicy of this rule, and alk- jd him how he expected to defend himfelf ind his family againft the wild beaits, it ;hcy fhould attack him j William, who was fond S6 THE FORESTERS. fend of fcarar.pic, would anfwer thu?— (( There is in all creatures a certain in- flin£t, which difpofcth them to peace. This mftinct. is fo ftrong and .fixed, that upon it, ns upon a foundation, may be erected a complete fyflern of love and concord, which ?11 the powers of anarchy frail net be able to overthrow. To cultivate and improve this infcintl', is the bufmefs of every wife man, and he may reafonabiy expect that an example of this kind, if fteadily and regu- larly adhered. to, will have a very extenfive ^nd beneficial influence, on all forts of creatures; even the wild 'beads of the for- eft will become tame as lambs,. and birds of prey harmlefs as doves, ©oft thou not fee, friend, what influence my example has already had on thofe creatures which are deemed favage ? I go into their dens with fafcty, and they enter my habitation without fori When thev are hungry I feed them., when they arc thirfiy I give them drink, and they in return bear my burdens, and do fuch other kind offices as they are capa- ble of, and I require of them. 1 have even tamed THE FORESTERS. 87 timed fome of them fo far, that Inev have fold mc the land on which they live, and have acknowledged the bargain by a mark made with their toe-nails on parchment. 'They are certainly fome of the beft nitured creatures in the world j their native inftmcl: leads them to love and peace, and foeiabil- ity ; and as long as I fet them a good exam- pie, I have no doubt they will follow it. When fuch is my opinion and expectation, why mould I be anxious about what may, and I truft never will happen ? Why mould I put myfelf in a pofture of defence againfl thofe who may never attack me ? or, why mould I, by the appearance of jealoufy and diftrufl on my part, offend thofe who now put confidence in me ? No, no, I will not fup- pofe that they will ever hurt me. I will not buffer the carnal weapon to be feen in my hcufe, nor mail one of my family ever learn the deteftablc practice of pulling the trigger. I leave the inilruments of deftruclion to : the offspring of Cain and the fced of the ierpent ; whilft I meekly imitate the gei> tienefe 82 THE FORESTERS. tlenefs of the lamb, and the innocence of* the dove." With fuch harangues William would frequently entertain himfelf and his friends, and he was fo fanguine in his benevolent project, that inftead of having his own name, as was ufual, written over his door, he had the words brotherly love, .translated, in- to the Greek language, $IAAAEA$IA, and infcribed in golden characters, as a {land- ing invitation to perfons of all nations and characters, to come and take fhelter under • his roof. T H E FORESTERS. 89 Letter vii. \Diffenfions in 'Broadbrim'/ Family. — His Averjion to Fire- Arms and its Confequetice. Air. BullV fecond Sicknefs, and ficond Marriage. — His Pro] eel for making a new Plantation. — The Care of it committed /# George Trusty. — Trout Fijhery eflab- lified at the Plantation c/* ALEXANDER Scotus. DEAR SIR, 1 HE general invitation which Wil- liam Broadbrim had given to all perfons ■who were deftitute of a home, to come and take (belter under his Toof, and the •gentle, humane treatment which thofe who accepted the invitation met with, fpread his fame abroad, and brought him much company. His family was -fometimes com- G pared 50 THE FORESTERS. pared to the Ark of Noah, becaufe there was fcarcely any kind of being, of what- ever fhape, iize, complexion, difpofition, or language, but what might be found there. He had alfo the art to keep them pretty well employed. Induflry, frugality, and temperance, were the leading princi- ples of his family •, and their thriving was in a ratio compounded of thefe three forces. Nothing was wanting to make them as happy a family as any in the world, but a difpofition among themfelves, to live in peace. Unluckily, this defirable blefiing, on ac- count of the variety of their lvwinours and interefts, was feldom found among them* Ambition, jealoufy, avarice, and party fpirit, had frequent out-breakings, and were with difficulty quelled. It is needlefs to enter into a very particular difcuiTion of the grounds or effects of thefe diiTenfions : family quarrels are not very entertaining either at home or abroad, unlefs to fuch as delight in fcanclal. But there was one caufe of difienfion which it would be im- proper not to notice, becaufe I have already hinted ' THE FORESTERS. 9 t hinted at the principle from which it . cecded. William^ arveHion to fire-arms was fo ilrong, that he would net hitler any of his family to moleft the wild inhabitants of the foreit, though they were ever fo mifchicvous. While the family was fr-.nd 1 , the favagfe animals who lived ifl the neigh- bourhood, being well fed, were toler.d-!> tame and civil, but when the incre. number of the family had penetrated far- ther into the forefl, the haunts of the na- tives were disturbed, and the itragglirg labourers were fometimes furprifed, and having nothing to defend themfelves with, fell a facrifice to favage refentment. Ile- monftrances were prefented to Mr. Bread- brim one after another, but he always in- filled oji it that the fufferer muft have been the aggreflbr, and that " they who take the fword, mult expe£fa to periih by the fword." At length the dead corpfe of one of the labourers, mangled and torn in a dreadful manner, was brought and laid at the doer of William's parlour,'' with a label aifixed G 2 to 1 State houie, 1 7 j 5. 91 THE FORESTERS. to the breaft, on which were written thefe words, " Thou thyfelf muft be accounted my murderer, becaufe thou didil deny me the means of defence/' At fight of this horrid fpe&acle, Broadbrim turned pale I the eye of his mind looked inward ! Nature began to plead her own caufe within him ! he gave way in fome degree to her opera- tions, though contrary to his pre-conceived opinion, and with a trembling hand figned a permiflion for thofe to ufe the carnal iveapotiy* who could do it'without fcruple 5 and when they aiked him for money to buy guns, powder and ball, he gave them a certain fum to provide tlie neceffaries of life, leaving them to put their own con- (tru£Uon on the words. Bv degrees his fqueamifhnefs decreafed, and though it is imagined he has ftill fome remainder of it, yet necefhty has fo often overcome it, that there is not much faid on the fubjecl:, un*. \'ch it be very privately and among friends, During * Milkia a and notwithstanding the collections which Souintum made among his numer- ous THE FORESTERS. 97 ous devotees, thefe projects were either (o impracticable in themfelves, or fo ill con- ducted in the execution, that neither of them anfwered the expectations of the pro- jectors. For want of black cattle, the foil could not be properly tilled -, and for want of grog, the labourers fainted at their work ; the right of inheritance being limited to the male line, women and girls were not fond of living there, and the men could not well live without them \ land, cattle, women, and grogi were to be had elfewhere, and who would be confined to fuch a place ? The land, too, was claimed by Lord Strut,, who fent them writs of ejectment. As to the charitv fchool, it was on trial found that the cofl was more than the profit, and the building, which had fwallowed up thou- fands of charity money, was finally confu- med by fire. Poor George Trufty was difcouraged, and begged Kir. Bull to take the plantation into his own hands ; how- ever, Bull continued to fupply him with caih, and he kept on making attempts. Alterations were made in the terms of fet- tle ment, cS THE FORESTERS. dement, the reftriclions were removed, cat- tle and grog were allowed, Lord Strut was oufted, and poflefTion held ; the fwamps were drained ; rice and indigo were culti- vated inflead of fiik and wine ; and upon the whole, confidence improvements were made, though at fuch a vaft: cxpenfe, that Mr. Bull never faw any adequate returns. The ill fuccefs of this adventure did not deter him from another project. He was extremely fond e-f Trout* and thought if he could have them regularly catched and brought to his table, he mould exceed all his neighbours in delicate living ; and now and then be able to fend a mefs to his par- ticular friends. Lord Peter's family, too, he thought, would be glad to buy them, as they were very ufeful .in the long lents, and frequent meagre days obferved by them. There was a part of the fbreft on the north-eaft quarter, winch was very con- veniently fituated for this employment. It had been occupied by Alexander Scotus, a purbii ■ CoJ fifttery. T 3 E FORESTE R S. 59 a purblind fellow, who had draggled thither no one could tell how 5 and it was matter of doubt whether he derived his light from Bull, or Lewis ; for both of them laid claim to the land, and their claims had not ly decided in law. To mike fure of the matter, Mr. Bull, by advice of his wife, fent a v to bring oft' the family of Scotus, whom he diftributed among the 3 of his tenants ; their ither* a parcel of ftarved people, who could live no whei clfc, and fupported them for fever. h pro virions, fmrnifhed them with Ikiffs, lines, hooks and other implements te carry- on the fifhery *, but everv trout which they catched, coft him ten times as much as if he li.id bought it in the common market 5 nor could lie, after all, get half of what he wanted for his own confumption. His trout fifhery, and his mulberry plantation, rendered him t'.. flock of his u?s, nor couh r gain 1 the intci laid out to THE FORESTERS. cut upon them ; while t^e fc-iefters whe* had fettled at their own expenfe, grew rich and became refpeclable. He had indeed the benefit of their trade, which kept his journeymen at work, and obliged him to enlarge their number ; for the foreftcrs had a refpeel for their old mafterand landlord,, and when they had any thing to fell, they always let him have the refufal of it, and. bought all their goods of him. But though he called himfelf their fatherland his wife their mother, yet lie began to abate of his parental affection for them y and rather> looked on them with a jealous eye, as if t'hey were aiming to deprive him of his- claim, and fet up for independence. Had- he been contented with- the profits of their trade, as was certainly his intereft, they might have remained his tenants to this day ; but ambition, avarice, jealoufy and choler, inflamed by bad counfellors, have wrought fuch a feparation, that it is thought Mr. Bull will go mourning all the remainder of his days, and his grey hairs- VviJl be brought down with forrow to the grave. THE FORESTERS. lot Letter viii. Mr. Bull'/ parrel and Law-Suit wiib Lewis and Lord Strut.-— He gains Pof- fcjfion of the whole Forty?. DEAR SIR, IN my former letters I have endeav- oured to trace the ieveral fteps by which the foreft became cultivated and peopled. Mr. Bull had no lefs than fourteen tenants who held under him, and were fettled on "lands which he claimed as his own, and which he had granted to them in feparate parcels. Their names, were as follows : i Alexander Scotus, * Cafimir, Robert Lumber, William Broadbrim, John Codline, Cecilius Marygold, Roger Carrier, W alter PipeweeJ, Humphry *>* THE FORESTERS. Humphry Ploughfhare, Peter Pitch, Peter Bullfrog, Charles Indigo, Julius Csefar, George Truity. It was obferved that of all the adventu- rers, thofe generally were the leajl thriving^ who received mojl afllftmice from their old mailer. I cannot tell whether it was ow- ing to their being employed in bufmefs to which they had not ferved a regular ap- prenticeihip, or to a natural indolence, and a difpofition to continue hangers-on where they had got a good hold ; for it mud be noted, that Mr. Bull was very generous to fome perfons, and on fome occafions where it fuited his fancy ; and this difpoiition in him was fo prevalent, that they who ken- ned him, and would humour his whims, could work him out of any thing which they had a mind to. On the other hand, thofe adventurers -who came into the foreft on their own ac- count, and had no afliflance at all from their old mailer, nor any thing to help themfelves THE FORESTERS. 103 themfelves with, but their four limbs and five fenfeSj proved to be the mofl induftri- ous and thriving, and after a while told up a good, eftate. They all Teemed to have an afte&ion for INIr. Bull, and it was generally believed to be Gncere. His houfe was ufually fpoken of by them as their home. His warc-houfe was the centre of their traffic ; and he had the addrefs to engrofs the profits of their labour, and draw their earnings into his own fob. To fome of them he would now and then make a pref- ent, to others he would lend a pack of his hounds, when he was out of the humour of hunting -, but they were generally ufeleii> to them for the purpofe of fcouring the woods ; thofe who could afford it, kept dogs of their own, who were better trained to the game, and could better fcent the forefl, being native curs, and not fo fpruce .and delicate a breed as Bull's grey-hounds. It has been before obferved, that each -end of the foreft was occupied by Bull's . His old neighbour Lewis had go?: 104 THE FORESTERS. the north end, and Lord Strut the Couth. Bull's tenants had Ceated themCelves chief- ly on or near the more of the lake, and had not extended very far back, becaufe of the beafts of prey ; but Lewis, like a cunning old fox, had formed a fcheme to get footing , in the interior parts of the country, .and prevent thefe planters from penetrating" be- yond the limits which he intended to aflign them. His emiffaries had been Cent llily into the diftant parts of the foreft, under pretence of taming thefe beafts of prey ; but in fa£tthey had halved the matter with them, and«ha*d themCelves become as Cavage •as the beafts had become tame. They would run, leap and climb with them, and crawl into their dens, imparting to them a lick of molaffes out of their calabafh, and teaching them to fcratch with their paws the fign of a CroTs. They had built Ceveral "hunting lodges on the moft convenient pafl- es of the brooks and ponds, and though thus Scattered in the wood, they were all united cinder one QYerieer, called Onontio, who lived THE FORESTERS. i*j Hived in the manfion-houfe of St. Lewis's Hall. It was matter of wonder among Bull's tenants, for fome time, what could be the reafon that the wild beads had grown more furly and fnappifh of late than formerly ; but after a while, fome hunters made a dif- covcry of the new lodges, which the emif- f.iries of Onontio had erected, and the de- /ign of them being apparent, a general alarm was raifed in the plantations. On the firft news, Walter Pipeweed fent his grandfon George, a fmart, active, lively youth, acrofs the hills, with his compliments to the in- truders, defiring them to move off, and threatening them with a writ, in cafe of non-compliance.* This modcft warning being ineffectual, it was thought that if an Union could be formed among the tenants, they might make a (land againft thefe en- croachments. A meeting was held at Or- angt Hall,\ but no efficient plan could be bit on, without a previous application to H their * 1753. f Albany, 1 ;j4. t6t> THE FORESTERS. their landlord, who hearing of this meeting, conceived a jealoufy with regard to this union which feemed to be their object, and thought it was better to retain the manage- ment of the matter in his own hands, and keep them divided among themfelves, but united in their dependence on him. He therefore fent them word that " he had a very great affection for them, and would take care of their intereft, which was alfo his own ; that he would not fufFer Lewis to fet his half tamed wild beads upon them, nor eject them from their poffemons, but that he would immediately take advice of his council, learned in the law, conjuring them by the affection which they profeffed to bear towards him, to be aiding and af- fifting in all ways in their power, towards bringing the controverfy to an iiTue. At this time, the fteward, to whom Mr. Bull entrufted the care of his bufmefs, was not a perfon of that difcernment and expe- dition which the exigency of affairs requi- red. He had committed divers blunders in his THE FORESTERS. ioj his accounts, and it was fiifpe&ed that he was a defaulter in more refpects tfhfcn one. It cannot, therefore, be expected, that in conducting a controverfy of this magnitude, he mould exactly hit on the right methods, nor employ the belt council which could be had. 'Hie firft ftep taken was to fend the bailiff, with a writ of intru- f.on, which he was ordered to ferve v:!ct;j twlcjiS) upon one of the mefTuages or hunt- ing-feats of Lewis. This bailiff, proceed- ing ramly and againft the heft advice into the foreft, not a ftep of which he was ac- quainted with, found his progrefs impeded 111 a way wholly unexpected. For Onontio had taken care to place a number of his half tamed wild-cats and wolverenes on the boughs of trees, which hung over the path, and as foon as the bailiff came within reach, having firft wetted their tails with their own urine, they whiiked it into his C] they blinded him. This manoeuvre put a flop to the procefs for that time. H 2 Srvr.RAL • Braddock, 1755. io8 THE FORESTERS. Several other attempts of the like kind were made without luccefs, and Lewis at one time had almoft got poffeffion of Orange Hall.* Not only the forefters themfelves, but even Bull's own domeftics, complained bitterly of thefe ineffectual meafures, and their clamors at lait prevailed to make him difcharge his old fleward, and put another into his place. The new ofiicerf foon changed the face of affairs ; he employed no attorneys, nor bailiffs, but thofe of tried and approved abilities, men of enterprife and refolution, by whom the fuit was prof* ecuted in good earned, In every action Bull recovered judgment, and got poffeflion. When Lord Strut came in to the aid of Lew-* is, Bull call him aifo, and took away his ma-* nor of Auguiline, which, with the whole tra£t of land, where Onontio prefided, was annexed to his eftate. The agents who had been employed in this arduous fervice, were not only well paid for doing their duty, but, with the fteward who employed them, were honoured according to the an- cient * 1757. | Pitt's adminiflratioG, THE FORESTERS. 109 tient hut whimfical cuftom of Bull's fam- ily, by having their efiigies pourtrayed on iign-boards, pocket handkerchiefs, fnuff- boxes, and punch-bowls ; fo that while the fit laited, you could not walk the ftreets, nor blow your nofe, nor take a pinch of fnuff, nor a draught of punch, but you were obliged to J'ilute them. Wbe never Bull's fteward called upon die forefters for their quotas of aid towards carrying on this heavy law-fuit, they always readily afforded it -, and fornc of them were really almoft exhaufted by the efforts which they made, to do mere than their fhare. The fteward was fo fenfible of their merit, that on due confutation with Mr. Bull's wife, and her taking him in the right mood, he was prevailed upon to reimburle the ex- tra expenie to them, and mutual compla- cency reigned between the landlord and tenants all the time this fteward remained in office. But thefe times were too good to laft lone: i there were fome who envied the fteward his reputation, and raifed Itories to II© THE FORESTERS. to his disadvantage, which highly affronted him. At this time Mr. Bull was fo much off his guard, as to give heed to thefe re- ports, and take a rafh Hep in a hurry, which he had occafion to repent of at lu3 leifure. He accepted the refignation of this trufty figurant, and put one of his* fil- ter Peg's caft off footmen into his place ; whereby he laid a foundation for his own difgrace, and the diimemberment of his eit.ite, of which I {hall give you a particular account hereafter. Adieu. ' Bitted adminiftration, 1761, THE FORESTERS. in letter ix. Mr. Bull gets into Debt, and by the Advice of his new Wife and her gambling Companion' } begins a £htarrel ivith his Tenants. DEAR SIR, X O trace with precinon all the caufeSj great and fmall, which operated to the difmemberment of John Buirs eft ate, would be no eafv talk ; fome of them per- haps, were fecret^ but of fuch as were open to obfervation, we {hall endeavour to (ket A out the principal. It is well known that he was of a chol- eric habit, and that thofe who were ac- quainted with his humor and paftions, could manage and impofe upon him at their pieafure. Had he been let alone to purfue xi2 THE FORESTERS. purfue his own bufinefs him/elf, his plain,- natural good fenfe, and generofity of mind; would have kept him clear of many diffi- culties ; but he had his advifers, his hang- ers-on, his levee-hunters, his toad-eaters, and fycophants, forever about him, whc> like a pared of blood-fuckers, could never have enough to glut their voracity. When the foreft was fir ft occupied by the tenants, Bull had a wife who minded her own domeftic bufinefs, and did not concern herfelf with his landed intereft. The leafes and grants were made out m his name, and he was fuppofed to be the owner or proprietor ; but the lady whom he had married after his fecond ficknefs, was very afluming, and infifted on having her hand in the management of all his affairs. She vifited the compting-houfe, and made the clerks fhew her their books ; {he overhauled the fteward's accounts, and infpecl:ed his correfpondence ; fhe not only looked after the rents and incomes of tlie foreft, but even intruded into the houfehold concerns THE FORESTER?. iij Concerns of the tenants, and affected to call herfelf their mother, becaufe ike had taken fome care of one or two of them in their firft letting out, although mod of them fcareely ever had ittn her face, or had any acquaintance with her, but by hear fay. It muft be obferved, alfo, that this wo- man had engaged Mr. Bull in fome expen- five law-fuits and fpeculations, which had got him deeply into debt y and he was obli- ged to hire money of ufurers to carry her fc hemes into execution. Had fhe, at the fame time, introduced that frugality and economy into the family, which her duty ought to have prompted her to, this debt might have been kept down ; but the fwarm of harpies which were continually about her, and the courie of gambling which was carried on under her conni- vance and direction, fwallowed up all the profits of the trade, and incomes of the land ; while the luxury and diihpation of the family i/;cre?.fed, in proportion as the means jX4 THE FORESTER?. means of difcharging the debt Jccreafed* In fhort, Mr. Bull was reduced to that humiliating condition, which, by whatever fafhionable name it may now go, was formerly called petticoat government. During the law-fuit with Lewis and Lord Strut,* concerning the foreft, there had been a great intercourfe with the ten- ants. Many of Bull's fervants and retain- ers, who were employed as bailiffs and at- tornies, and their deputies, had been very converfant with them, and were entertained at their houfes, where they always found wholefome victuals, jolly fire fides, and warm beds. They took much notice of every thing that patTed, aiked many ques- tions, and made many remarks on the good- nefs of the land, the pleafant fituation of the houfes, the clean and thriving condition of the children, who were always ready to wait on them, to clean their boots, hold their ftirrups, open and (hut the gates for them, and the like little neceflary fervices, as * War of 1756, THE FORESTERS. xi 5 as well bred children in the country arc wont. The remarks which thefe periods made, when they got home, favored rather of envy, than of gratitude or afTeclion, Some of them would fay : " Thofe fellows live too well in the forelt ; they thrive too faft ; the place is too good for them ; they ought to know who is their matter ; they can afford to pay more rent ; they ought to pay for the help they have had ; if it had not been for Matter Bull, and the alii ft- ance which he has lent them, they would have been turned out of doors ; and now thev are to reap the benefit of his exertions, while he, poor man, is to pay the coft." There were not wanting feme, in the families of the Forefters themielves, who had the meannefs to crouch to thefe fel- lows, and fupplicate their favour and inte- relt with Mr. Bull, to recommend them to fome pods of profit, as under-ftewards, col- lectors of rent, clerks of receipts, and the like petty oinces. Thefe beggarly curs would repeat the fame language, and hold correfpondence n6 THE FORESTERS, correfpondence with the bailiffs, attornies, &c. after they had got home. Whenever any trifling quarrel happened in the families of the tenants, they would magnify it, and fill their letters with complaints of the licentioufnefs of the people, and plead for a tighter hand to be held over them. Such fpeeches as thefe were frequently made, and fuch letters read, in the hearing of Mr. Bull's wife and fteward. Their language grew by degrees to be the current language of the family, and Bull himfelf liftened to it. His choler rofe upon the occafion, and when his hangers-on obferved it, they plied him with ftronger dofes, till his jealoufy and hatred were excited, and a complete revolution in his temper, with regard to his tenants, took place, agreeably to the mod fanguine and malevolent wifhes of his and their enemies. The firft erfetl: of this change was, that his clerks were ordered to charge not only the prices of the goods, which the tenants {hould THE FORESTERS. 117 {hould purcbafe, but to make them pay for the paper* on which their bills of parcels and notes of hand were written, and that at a very exorbitant rate. This was fo in- tolerable an abufe, and withal fo mean, pit- iful and beggarly an expedient to pick their pockets, that they held a meeting among themfelves, and refolved not to buy any more of his goods, as long as this impofi- tion lafted ; and by way of contempt, they hanged and burned the effigies of the ftew- ard, and other perfons who were fufpe&ed of having advifed to thefe new meafures. The refentment (hewn by the tenants on this occafion was quite unexpected. The fecret favourers, and real authors of the mifchief, began to be afraid that they had gone too far for the firft attempt. Bull's journeymen were in an uproar about it, left, by the failure of his trade, they mould be out of bread ; and to fhorten the (lory, he was obliged to give up the point of making them pay for the paper ; thougk Madaip * Stamp ad, 1765. u8 THE FORESTERS. Madam had the fmgular modefty to make a declaration, that it was a mere matter of expediency, and that me had power and right " to bind them in all cafes whatsoever," notwithftanding Mr. Cull's mojl gracious conccflion at that time.* This was conflicted by the tenants as a •moft impudent and barefaced affumption ; for whatever rights Mr. Bull might pretend to have as their old mafter and landlord, yet they never had any idea of a miftrefs over them ; and though they very com- plaifantly returned him their thanks for his prefent goodnefs, yet as they fufpecled that there was more mifchief hatching, they began to inquire more narrowly than ever into his right and title to the land on which they lived. They looked over old parchments and memorandums, confulted council learned in the law, and after due deliberation, they were fully convinced, that their oivn title was at leaft as good as Mr, and that they had a right to refufe him any rent 'Repeal of the ib.mp a<5t, and declaratory acT:, i]6(h THE FORESTERS. 1 m rent or acknowledgment, if it were prude-nt for them to excrciie it. Mr. Bull's jealoufy was now increafed with regard to their intentions, and his fcribbling retainers frequently accufed them of ingratitude and difobedience, and a long •premeditated d.efign to fet up for independ- ence ; a thing which they had not yet thought of, and probably never would, if this abufive treatment had not put it into their heads. But though by thofe means they were led into an inquiry, and a train of thinking, which wtre quite new to them ; yet as old habits are not eafily broken, and their affec- tion for their mafter was very itrong, they endeavoured, with a candour which did them honour, to transfer the blame from him to his wife and Reward, to whofe machina- tions they knew he was a dupe. Thefe bad counfellors foon renewed their attempts in another ftiape, by raifmg the rent, and put- ting an advanced price upon the goods ; and Z2* THE FORESTERS. "by means of additional clerks, packers, por- ters, watchmen, draymen, &c. who were continually in waiting, and to all of whom fees were to be paid, the trade laboured under great embarrafiments, and fome of the foreflers were quite difcouraged, others were vexed and impatient, while fome of the better tempered of them, endeavoured to perfuade the reft to keep up the commu- nication as long as they could. They were loth to quarrel with their old mafter, and yet could not pocket the affronts and abufes to which they were daily expofed. During this fullen interval, many letters patied, many books and precedents were examined, and much ink was fhed, in a controverfy, which, however incapable of a decifion in this way, might have been com- promifedy if Mr. Bull's fir ft thoughts had been as good as his fecond ; but he was fo completely under management, as not to fee his true intereft. It was a common faying among his neighbours, " John Bull's wit comes afterward 5" and in fact it did not THE FORESTERS. m not come, in this cafe, till too late, for when a caufe cnce gets into the law, there are fo many quirks, evafions, demurs, and procraftinations, that it is impoifiblc to make a retreat, till one or both of the •parties have feverely fmarted for thuir v temcri:v. i%% THE FORESTERS. nrr> letter x. Mr. Bull attempts a new Mode of Traffic which difgufs his Tenants. — They refufe to receive his Prefents.—His fingular Kcfcnt" merit again]} John Codline, and thi Effects which it produced. DEAR SIR, I SUPPOSE you are by this time impatient for the ftory of the law-fuit \ how it began, and how it was carried on and ended. I will give it to you as briefly as fo long and intricate a matter will bear to be told ; and I am apprehenfive ycu v/ill think that Mr. Bull was fo ill a politician, or fo badly advifed,; as actually to pick a quarrel with his bed cuilomers. But facts will fpeak for themfelves. Know then, that by the advice of his dear wife, and THE FORESTERS. 123 lier gambling junto, Mr. Bull was prevailed upon to fend a dozen pounds of tea to each of his tenants, as a prefent^ in token of his extreme good will to them, and becaufe he knew that they loved it ; and at the fame time to order his clerks to charge three pence for the paper and pack-thread in which each pound of this exhilerating weed was wrapped. This trifling fum he expected would be paid on demand, in ac- knowledgment of their good will to him as their kind and generous landlord, who had protected and defended them againft all oppofers, and would flill continue to pro- tect and defend them as his beloved chil- dren, and obedient humble fervants. The knowledge of his intention hap- pened to come to them fooner than the prefent, and they began to argue thus among themfelves— " Ha ! how comes this ? What is freer than a gift ? If Mr. Bull really intends the tea as a prefent, why does he exact, three pence ? Had he offered it to us as an article of mcrchandiie, I 2, as 124 THE FORESTERS. as ufual, we might have taken it if we had liked the price, or left it if we had not ; but this is a new way of trading to which we have not been accuftomed. There is a defign in this. If we receive this prefent and pay the trifling acknowledgment of three pence, by and by we fhall have a pref- ent with fix pence annexed, and another with a (hilling, and fo on. If we once eftablifh a precedent, there is no knowing where to flop, and by thefe prefents we may be gulled out of all our loofe corns, and afterwards our real eftates may be de- manded ! No, it is better to prevent an evil than to cure it. We will have none of your prefents, Mr. Bull, if this is to be the confequence. We have paid our debts well — you have had the exclufive benefit of our trade, and have become rich by it, and now in your old age you are grown trick- ifh. It is time for us to be on our guard and keep a fharp look out ; for if a man does not take care of himfelf, who can he expect will take care of him V* Fortified with thefe arguments, they waited for the approach THE FORESTERS. la 5 approach of the meffengers, who were on the road with the prefents. One of them came to Charles Indigo's houfc, and with Mr. Bull's compliments begged his acceptance of a package of tea. "Throw it into that cellar, faid Charles, and let it lie there till I have confidered of the matter." Another came to William Broadbrim ^— but as the way to William's manfion was through a long, crooked, miry lane, he had ordered the porter to flop him, and give him liberty to return without deliver- ing his menage. Peter Bullfrog did the fame ; but fome part of the tea being fmuggled into the houie, as foon as Peter knew it, he threw it into the gutter. John Codline had the greateft difficulty about Mr. Bull's prelent. He would glad- ly have fent back the meflenger, but un- luckily ra6 THE FORESTERS. luckily for him, the gate which led to his houfe was held fall by Bull's Under Stew- ard, who conftantly watched and attended there, to obferve who went in and out, which fervice he was more particularly fond of, becaufe he expected a douceur for open- ing and (hutting the gate. Having admit- ted the mefTenger and received his penny, he ftiffly refufed to let him out again without having delivered the prefent. They^* was tendered, but this could not prevail ; the family were uneafy, they were loth to af- front Mr. Bull, and yet determined not to< receive his prefent. They could not ac- count for the conduct, of the under fteward on any other principle than this, that he ex- pected to get a {hare of the three pence, and of all other profits arifmg from future pref- ents ; and was afraid he mould lofe it if he let the mefTenger return. The family was called together In the chapel, where they held a long confutation, fent feveral mefla- ges to the under fteward, who held faft the gate, and finally refufed to open it. They were driven at length to an extremity, and threw THE FORESTER 1 127 threw the tea into the vault, where it perifh- cd, at the fame time protefting that the whole blame ought to be charged on the under fteward, as thev had no intention of injuring Mr. Bull if they could have avoid- ed it. As foon as this was known in Mr. Bull's family, his wife fell into a violent hyfleric fit, and in her raving phrenzy denounced all the vengeance which it was in her pow- er to execute, on thefe refra£tory, ungrate- ful tenants, who would not accept a pref- ent when it was fo freely offered to them. But when fhe came a little to herfelf, fhe was perfuaded by her gambling companions not to attempt any thing againfl the whole body of the tenants, left they fhould be driven by neceflity to form an union a- mong themfelves, which might defeat the plan ; fhe therefore propofed to Mr. Bull to fin pie out one of the moft refraclorv of them, and fhew his refentment in a partic- ular manner to hiw> hoping that the others would be intimidated and let him fuffer alone. 128 THE FORESTERS. arlone, and be glad to get off f p well them* felves. The perfon fingled out for the ob- ject of refentment was John Godline, and the mode of refentment. was as ridiculous as it was malicious, for it was nothing more nor lefs than to fend a bailiff, with a pack of blood-hounds, to ftand before the great gate that led to the front of his houfe.* This, it was thought, would ftrengthen the authority of the under fteward who had the key of the gate, and would reduce the fam- ily to this dilemma, either to receive no company and carry on no bufmcfs,. or elfe to fubmit to Mr. Bull's new mode of trading. The reafon affigned for this particular mode of revenge was, that Mr. Bull, as lord of the manor, claimed a kind of fove- reign right to the high way. He had for; a long time exacted an acknowledgment, from all paiTengers ; whenever they hap- pened to meet any of his horfes or carriages en the road, whether he was there himfelf or not, they were obliged to doufe the hat, or * B^fto^ort A&, 1774, THE FORESTERS. 127 ar they might be fure of receiving a ftroke of* the whip, if not of being run down by his fervants, who had fpecial orders not ta let any omiiTion of this nature pafs unpun- tfhed. In confcqucnce of this manoeuvre on the part of Mr. Bull, every perfon who had any bufinefs to do with John Codline waa^ Hopped in the road, and ordered to go back, or pafs by, like the Prieft and Levi'te, on the other fide. However, thofe who had a^ mind to fee him, found means to climb' over the fence, or to go up a narrow lane, which, by the help of a (tile and a foot- path, led them. to Codline's back door. This fpecies of punifhrncrrt expofed Mr," Bull to the ridicule of all his neighbours. It alio proved quite ineffectual to the pur- ppfe for which he defigned it. Inftead of hindering company from coming to Cod- line's houfe, it brought more •, and he re- ceived many letters from thofe who could not come in pcrion. But, what was o£ more i 5 o THE FORESTERS. more fervice to him than letters or vifits was this, that many who were indebted to him came and made payment, and thofe who had at various times received favours from bim when they were in diltrefs, fent him prefents, and encouraged him to keep up a good heart, promitbig to ftand by him to the laft extremity, if he mould be redur ced to it. It has been obferved, that one advantage which Mrs. Bull expected would arife from this fpecimen of her refined policy was, that it would difunite the tenants, and frighten fome or perhaps all the others into a com- pliance with the new mode of traffic. This expectation was grounded on one of the fables of Efop, which relates, that a fox who had been caught in a trap, and difen- gaged himfelf by the lofs of his tail, when- ever he appeared among the foxes, was the object of their ridicule \ upon which, he endeavoured to perfuade them that he had been travelling to learn fafhions, and that the neweft fafhion was for foxes to cut off their THE FORESTERS. 131 their tails as a ufelefs and burden fome ap- pendage, and boafted how much more light and nimble he had become fince he had parted with that incumbrance ; to which an old fox replied, that if he would do juf- tice to his argument, he ought to produce the Jh f a rs with which he had cut off his tail, for the conviction of his brethren. This fable, and the moral couched un- der it, raifed a great deal of vain expecta- tion and triumph in the family of Mr. Bull; but the forefters had another of their own. making, which was a match for it. A man meeting a ferpent in the field, (truck at him with a ftick, and there being but one in his view he thought to kill him immediately ; but the fnake fet up fuch a hifs as brought a dozen more out of their holes, who attack- ed the proud murderer in front, rear, and flank, and obliged him to take to his heels for fafety. This fable was fo much admired among the forefters at that time, that they had an engraving made on all their meffage cards, of a wounded ferpent, with this motto, Join or die. Adieu. m THE FORE ST E R S. Eettec xi. The Quarrel begins in- earnejl and is carried into the Law. — Conducl of the Managers on both Sides.— -The firfi Verdi cl in favour of the Forefters given at Saratoga Ha//. BEAR SIR> 1 HE infult which the forefters fup- pofed to be put on them by the obftrudtion , of the road, as mentioned in my laft, cauf- ed a ferious alarm, and. induced them to- call a meeting of the heads of the feveral families to confult for their awn fafety. The refult of this meeting was to endeav- our, by all peaceable means in their power, . to effect an accommodation ;,. but if that mould fail, to prepare, in the beft manner they could, to aflert and maintain their r rights,. pofieflions and properties. In THE FORESTERS. w 3 t n profecution of the former part of their plan, they wrote letters to Mr. Bull, and to feveral members of his family; and with refpect to the latter part, they came to a refolution to buv nothing more of him till he miuld change his rode of conduct, and treat them as he had formerly done. In the letters which they wrote on this occafion, thou:h they profelTed a great deal of refpefl and affection for the old gentleman himfelf; they omitted to fend their compliments to his wife. This was more than Madam could bear. She there- fore, after confulting with her gambling companions, determined upon the two fol- lowing points ; firft, that no anfwer at all mould be given to the letter ; and fecondly, that an action at law mould be entered, and the tenants ejected from their poflef- fions. She would not however have come to this latter determination, if fne had not been aflured by perfons who pretended thoroughly to underftand their family fe- crcts, that the forcfters would not dareu defend i 3 4 THE FORESTERS. defend their title in law ; but on the firft appearance of a legal procefs, would fub- mit to any terms of accommodation which her ladyfhip might think proper to impofe. Full of this idea, fhe roundly fwore that fhe would fee them pro/Irate at her feet, be- fore me would make up the matter with them on any terms whatever-. Influenced by her paffions, Mr, Bull's choler rofe to the higheft pitch. As lord of the manor, he placed bailiffs and blood- hounds in the high way, and denied all paflage to any perfons without his licenfe. He then called upon all the counsellors and attornies. to whom he had given a re- taining fee, and who were very numerous, to exert all their learning and eloquence in maintaining his caufe, prominng them not only a regular payment of their fees, ■but a generous allowance for difburfements and incidental charges, to be paid at fight -by a draught on his banker; and when the caufe fhould be gained, that each one ihould THE FORESTERS. 135 Ihould be entitled to a plantation in the foreft. These fagacious gentlemen, (many of "whom were of Madam's own junto) find- ing that they had a fat client, contrived to hujbatid the job s and fpin out ihe caufe Jecundum artein. They were old profi- cients in the fcience, and knew very well how to take double receipts of their fta- tioners, bailiffs, meflengers, and other re- tainers, /'. e. one receipt for the exact fum paid, and another for double the lame fum *, thele latter were always produced as vouch- ers in the fettlement of accounts, and in -the glorious uncertainty of the law were admitted under the name of duplicates. It would divert you to fee the numberlefs items which they crowded into their bills of coft, and the various pleas and pre- tences which were formed for demurring and continuing the caufe from one femoii to another ; while they were feeding their client with the hope that in every next ieflion it would be decided, On IJH5 THE FORESTERS. Ok the other hand, the forefters finding that Mr. Bull had retained fo many learned • counfellors, ferjeants and barrifters in his fervice, and that he had by far the longeft • purfe, were obliged to ufe the greateft economy in conducing their defence. On looking round to fee who was the moft prudent, the moft deliberate, and the mod -determined among them, and to whom they might with fafety commit their caufe, they unanimoufly pitched upon Walter Pipeiveetfs grandfon George ; who, being elected their chief attorney, modeftly ac- cepted the office on this generous condition, that they mould not infift on his receiving any fee or reward, becaufe he conceived that in ferving them he was doing no more than his duty. This inftance of magna- nimity was interpreted by them as a furc omen of fuccefs. George was a man of good undcrftrmd- •:ing and true fpunk ; he had made confid- ; crable progrefs in the ftudy of the law for .his own amufement, and had praclifed at the THE FORESTERS. 137 -the bar in the defence of his own family- claims againlt the encroachments of Lewis. His abilities were of fuch a nature as to rife and mine with the opportunities which called them into action. This was alfo the cafe with divers other perfons in the families of the forellers ; who would, per- haps, never have thought of engaging in the itudy of the law, had not this co.ntro- vcrfy been agitated ; but would have re- mained in the (late which is thus elegantly defcribed by the poet. u Full many a gem of purefl: ray ferenc, The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear ; Full many a flower fs born to blufh unfecn, And wade its fweetnefs on the defart air." This circumftance was predicted in the hearing of Mr. Bull's wife, by a very learn- ed and honeft gentleman, who would have difluaded her from giving her hufband fuch bad advice as to plunge himfelf into that deep ditch, the law, out of which there is no coming till the laft farthing be paid. K " it i 3 S THE FORESTERS. " If there are any feeds of genius," faul this faithful advifer, " they are drawn into a£Hon by public ferments and troubles ; but might have remained in time of tranquillity forever ufelefs and unknown, perhaps at the plough, under a fhed, or among the lowed clafs of mechanics."* This fage hint was totally difregarded, becaufe, as I before obferved, too much confidence was placed in a fet of advifers, who pretended to know all the family fecrets of the foreft- ers. But the prediction was fully verified when this law-fuit brought to the bar one from his farm, and another from his mer- chandize, one from his fhed, and another from his fhop,f till in facl: they became a match, * Vide Debates in Parliament, March 16, 1775. f This circumftanee gave occafion to the following bagatelle, written, as is fuppofed, by fume difafFected or perhaps difappointed wag, in one of the families. See fell/ on a lofty feat, And humble wifdom at her feet ! On borfeback fee the beggar ride, With princes walking by his fide. Fafe THE FORESTERS. 13* match, in point of numbers at Ieaft, for the whole ho ft of Mr. Bull's attornies. The firft aclion was brought againfl: John Codline, who was deemed the mod furly and refractory of the whole number. It was thought if he could be caft, the ochers would of courfc fubmit. In this way of proceeding, Mr. Bull acted like that fpecies of dog which bears his name, and which is known to attack his enemy by the head. The caufe was learnedly argued at the Court of Bunker ball, and the arguments in favour of the forefters made a very un- expected Pale Crifpin has his laft foregone, To fcrve himfelf and fave his town And Snip the taylor's (hears are loft, Becaufe he's got a higher pofl. So have I fecn the kitchen pot, When fei 0:1 coals proTufely hot, Thr'iw up its fediraent to fcura, BK1 » dance ainidA the fbaaii K 2 i 4 c THE FORESTERS. expecled and very deep imprefhon on the managers for Mr. Bull. They found it a much more ferious affair than they had imagined, and thought it bed to flop fhort and have the cafe hung up> that they might confult their books over again, and pre~ pare themfelves by better authorities and allegations at the next hearing. After a, long time they contrived to Jhift their ffitwndf and let John alone. They advifed Mr. Bull to fend for fome lawyers out of Germany, who had been more ufed to this kind of pleading, and to lay an attachment on the eft ate of Peter Bullfrog, and the farm called Casfarea ; where they expected to gain fome greater advantage, partly becaufe the tenancy was different, being founded on courtefy and not on leafe, and partly becaufe of the diffentions which they heard were fubfifling in thefe families. In this interval alfo Madam Bull's refentment was raifed io high, that {lie fwore point blank that jiot one of thefe refractory fcoun- drels fhould enter her hulband's doors, nor hav* * March, 1776. THE FORESTERS. 141 have the lead connexion with him, but that (lie would drive them off from the land, and re-people the foreft with another let of men. When they had heard of this refolution, the heads of all the families in one of their tonfult;itions, came to a determination to pubiilh an advertifement, letting forth the various abufes and grievances which they had fufFered from Mr. Bull, his wife, and her junto ; and declaring that they looked upon the country as their oiuti, and them- felves free from any obligations to him, and at liberty to look out for other markets, and invite other merchants to form connex- ions with them. This tranfa&ion was {o important an era in the controverfy, that the fourth of July, the day on which the advertisement was dated, has ever fince been celebrated as a day of feftivity. The morning of that anniverfary is ufhered in with a firing of guns and fluttering of pi- geons. At noon you may hear fome young lad fpouting a declamation in favour of free trade ; 14* THE FORESTERS. trade ; which is generally followed by a bowl of punch and a rump of beef, and the day is concluded with a fong and a dance. In the progrefs of the action, feveral points of law were argued at different times with much fkill and learning. On one of thefe occafions George was reduced to a dilemma, and his opponents thought him abfolutely filenced ; but fuddenly rec- ollecting himfelf, he rofe fuperior to them,* and compelled them again to move for a continuance. Thus the caufe was kept fufpended till the third year was almoft clofed. At length a vaunting braggadocio of a barrifter on Mr. Bull's fide, who thought to carry all before him, was fo completely anfwered and confuted in an obftinate argument, that a verdict was giv- en at Saratoga hall in favour of thofe plan- tations, which had been fued for in the northern part of the manor. This verdict relieved the foreflers in fome degree, and it was * Trenton, 1776. THE FORESTERS. 145 was hoped would prove a good precedent for the decifion of the other fuits which were meditating againfl their brethren in the fouthern part. The unfortunate barrifter was feverely reflected on by Mr. Bull's wife, for not do- ing his duty ; and he was obliged to jus- tify himfelf by producing his inftruclions, and by telling a number of ferious truths refpecting the foreft and the forefters, which Mrs. Bull had often heard before but would not believe. The relation of thefe truths was fo very ofrenfive that me influ- enced her hufband never more to employ him ; and as he could get no other bufi- nefs in the law, he afterward employed himfelf in writing plays and romances, in which he was more fuccefsful. 144 THE FORESTERS. Letter xii. The Forefters apply for Help to Mr. Lewis- — are firft treated with Evafton — after- ward obtain their Requeft— Alarm in Mr, Bull'j Family — His Conference with his Wif—Her Manoeuvres upon the Occafton —Difappointed by the Inflexibility of the Forefters. DEAR SIR, X OU may well fuppofe that a three years law-fuit was a very expenfive undertaflng on both fides ; and you wiH wonder how the forefters, circumftanced as they were, could ftruggle with fuch an antagonift ; efpecially when the high way was fo obftruc~ted that they could not car-* ry their provifions to market to procure them cafh. The truth is, that though they were ferved THE FORESTERS. 145 ferved gratis by their prime counfellor, yet they were obliged to give promifibry notcg to the attornies, fcriveners, bailiffs, and mef- fengers, whom they employed under him ; but as the profpedr. of payment was diftant, the notes palled at a diicount, and the only remedy in their power was to iffue men, which inftead of lefTening increafedthe dif»- ficuity. They had early forefeen this difficulty, and applied privately to Mr. Lewis, Mr. Frog, and Lord Strut, to borrow money on intereft. Thefe old curmudgeons, though each of them looked with arr envi- ous eye on Mr. Bull, and fecretly wifhed he might lofe the cauie, yet were induced by various confiderations to evade the ques- tion propofed to them by the foreflers* took the liberty to tell him, that fhe could no longer fuffer her neighbours and herfelf to be fo impofed upon ; that the high way was * Lord G. Gordon's mob. THE FORESTERS. 159 was common to all j that he had no right to flop pafTcngers and examine them, but that every body ought to go about their lawful bufinefs without let or hindrance, and that ihe was determined to form a combination* with Mr. Frog, Mr. Lewis, Lord Strut, and all the other neighbours, to remove the incumbrances which Mr. Bull had thrown in the way, and clear the pafTage. This combination extended to other ob- jects, betides clearing the high way. They were all difpofed to help the forefters againft Mr. Bull, though in different ways. Lewis had already lent them money and feed law- yers to plead for them. Lord Strut, though rich in landed intereft, yet generally antici- pated his revenues, (or as the vulgar phrafe is, ate the calf in the cow's belly) he there- fore had no money to fpare •, but to oblige his friend Lewis, he laid an attachment on a foutherly corner of the forefi, which for merly * Armed neutrality fermed by the Emprcfs of Ruflia, &c. • l6o THE FORESTERS. merly belonged to him; and which from the numerous flowers with which it a- bounds, had got the name of Terra Florida, At the fame time he attached one of Mr. Bull's favourite hunting-feats,* which com- manded- an extenfive profpe£t, and was fit- uate extremely convenient for hunting, fowling, and fifhing. It had formerly be- longed to Strut, but he had foolimly loft it by (taking it in a game of nubift> which he played with Mr. Bull. It was a doubt in law whether real eftate could be held by fuch tenure, but Bull had pojfejfion y and that you know is eleven points of the law. At any rate, it would oblige Bull to defend ; and that would coft him money, and divert fome at leaft of his lawyers from the bull- nefs of the foreft. A secret correfpondence had for fome time been carried on between the fore Iters and Mr. Frog, for a loan of cafh, and a mercantile contract. Bull had fufpe&eei it, but could not prove it, till one night, his- • Gibraltar. THE FORESTERS. 161 his myrmidons caught a meflVger from the foreft and fearched his pockets,* in which were found certain letters and other pipers, which were fuppofed to amount to- full evidence. Upon this occafion an advertifement was publifhed, according to- fafhion, juftifying the meafures about to be taken, and deplo- ring the evils which were connected with them. However fmall a fhare of credit thefe publications obtain, it is generally as much as they deferve. To make (hort work with Frog, Mr. Br.ll got a fearch-warrant, and fent a bailiff to his richeft ware-houfe,f who entered it, per fas aut nefas, tumbled over the mer- chandife, under pretence of fearching for- ftolen goods ; and having taken away as- many as he pleafed, by a writ of venditioni mponas % he put them up at auction, and it; is faid, made a fortune by this job. Mr* Lewis * Capture of Mr. Laurens* | St Euftatiu* tte THE FORESTERS. Lewis was fo exafperated at the outrage thus committed on his friend Frog, that by a writ oifci re facias, he laid claim to the ware-houfe and its contents, and brought in Bull for damages. In fhort, Mr. Bull now found himfelf foufed over head and ears in that deep ditch, the law. Like Ifhmael of old, his hand was againfl: every man, and every man's hand againfl him. Look which way foever he would, he found enemies, and his own family were continually buzzing in his ears, that he would bring his affairs to ruin. By the afliftanee derived from the loans which they had negociated with Lewis and Frog, and the additional counfellors and attornies which Lewis employed for them, the forefters purfued the controverfy with as much vigour as the forms, delays and uncertainty of the law would permit. No tefs than four years longer were confumed in this expenfive quarrel, and Mr. Bull's numerous THE FORESTER?, 163 numerous retinue of lawyers were employ- ing themfelves in the various chicanery and tergiverfations of their profefiion, all the while fattening on the profits of the fuit ; whilft his debt was growing at fuch a rate, that he was at his wit's end to keep the intereit from accumulating as well as the principal. At length, by a capital manoeu- vre of I'ipewecd's grandfon George, aided by the counfellors of Lewis, the caufe was brought to a hearing at Tprk court, and the arguments were of fuch efficacy, that a fecond verdicl was given in favour of the forefters, with large damages. This ver- dicl: came fo near to a final deciilon, that all Mr. Bull's friends were convinced he could no longer maintain an action againft the forefters ; and fome trufty old fervants ventured to whifper in Madam's ear that it was high time to end the controvcrfy, for that it could not poflibly be carried any farther, without bringing the family and the trade to total ruin. " Look, i64 THE FORESTERS. " Look ye, Madam, (faid they) how all the fchemes which you have laid, have been uniformly defeated ; you have pro- fefled to know the family fecrets of thefe forefters ; but thofe fellows who pretended to give you this information have deceived you. In fa£t, they have no fuch fecrets as your ladyfhip imagines* What has been; openly told you all along, is the truth, and you ought long ago to have believed it. Now the conviction has forced itfelf upon you, and you can no longer withfland it. The foreiters have been defending their title in the law, and they have made it ap- pear fo plainly, that no jury in the world- will ever give a verdict againft them. All who are acquainted with new lands 5 know- that the labour attending the improvement of them, is worth ten times more than the land ; and in fact gives the bed title to it. If our mafter will now end the matter by a cornpromife, he may yet fave fome part of the manor at the northward, where is th^ bell of hunting and fifhing j but if he purfuefr- THE FORESTERS. %(> 5 •jmrfues the matter any farther, he will ■lofe it all." Thfse faithful remonflrancesj enforced hy the neeeflity of die cafe, began to have force efFetl: on the turbulent mind of Mad- am. She faw that it was in vain to con- tend againfl the opinions of all mankind, and therefore in her next curtain lecture fhe held a fhort dialogue with Mr. Bull, thus — Mrs. B. My dear, I have been think- ing whether it would not be bed for you to come to a fettlement of this long ccn- troverfy. Mr. B. (groaning inivardlf) So then you have changed your mind, have you ? Mrs. B. Yes, my dear, I find I have been deceived with falfe information, or I would never have advifed you to profecufc .the matter fo far= Mr j*6 THE FORESTERS. Mr. B. Well, but how like a fool ihall I appear to the world, if, after I have threatened and hectored thefe fellows, and fpent fo much money to recover my right, I mould give it up at this time of ,day ? Mrs. B. Why you know, my dear, that you have formerly made conceffions to them, becaufe I judged it expedient. Mr. B. Ay, then I retained my claim of right ; but that will not do now. Mrs. B. True, my dear, you muft give up your right and title to about two- thirds of the foreft ; but you may ft ill hold the other third, and I dare fay no- body will conteft your right to that. And as for that part which you give up, you may fay by it as Lewis did of that which you once- took from him — (i Kang it, it is not worth the keeping ; it has always been a bill of coft to me," and the like. Mr,. THE FORES'TERS. x6y Mr. B. I wifti, my dear, you had given me this advice feme years fooner, I mould have faved my money and my credit too. Airs. B. Why, my dear, I tell you I was deceived ; I am as forry as you are for the lofs of the money and of the foreft, but as the cafe is now circumftanced, I think a com- promife would be beft. Mr. B. Well, I will confider of it. When Mr. Bull had taken the matter into confideration, he thought it beft to wait the iflue of the fuit with Lord Strut about the hunting-feat, for he was loth to lofe that ; and happily for him, when that caufc came to trial, it was argued fo forcibly by his lawyers, that Strut was obliged to give it up. As foon as Bull heard of that, he cried out, " Now is the moment of victory —now is the time for peace." So calling -one of his clerks, " Here, fays he, go and fettle the matter with the forefters, or their deputies, on the beft terms that you can." The ift THE FORESTERS, The deputies and the clerk foon came to an agreement, and a quit-claim deed was drawn, defcribing the butts and bounds of the for- eft, and diftinguifhing what he gave up to them from what he retained. This quit- ch aim being properly engrofTed, he with a trembling hand and aching heart fubfcribed ir, while Madam, (landing behind him, could not help fhedding a tear at the fight of a tranfadlion to which flie would never have *confented but from dire neceflity. THE FORESTERS. i0» Letter XIV. ¥bi Forejlevs frm a Partner/}:'; p.— It proves deficient and ineffecluaL — Their Clock out of Order. — liar Stiong-Bcx empty.— —Dif- turbances in fome of the Families. — A Meet- ing is called to revife and amend the Part- m yjhip. DEAR SIR, 1 WAS loth to break the thread of my narration in my former letters, and you know that we prattling folks love to tell our (lories in our own way, which we are under great advantage to do when we are writing letters. But I will now go back to tell you fomething of the manner in which the forefters managed their domeftic affairs daring the controverfy with Mr. Bull, and fyr lbme time after it was ciofed. M When 170 THE FORESTERS. When the) 1 l 'heir cc: ion with him, it was uncerta. what con- nexions they might form abrpac ut it was judged expedient for ther: .0 be united a- mong themfelves, that no one family fliould connect itfelf in trade with any merchant or factor, without the confent of the others. In fhort, it "became* neceflary for them to enter into a partnerfhip for their mutual intereft and convenience. To do this was a nice point, and required much delicacy. It was to them a new fubjec~t, and they had an untrodden path before them. After much confutation and inquiry, their inge- nuity fuggefted to them the idea of an original focial compact. " Why fhould we ((aid they) look abroad for precedents, when we have enough among ourfelves ? See the beavers in our own brooks and meadows, how they work in complete partnerfhip, each family has its own cell, and a number of cells are placed in one pond. They carry on their operations with peace and unanimity, without even the appearance of a mrvter. Here is a perfect republic, ? complete THE PO HESTERS. i;i iplete equality, a ftrikirig example of order without fubordination, of liberty without jealbufy, of imluftry without coer- cion, of economy without parfimony, of : city without overbearing influence Kvery one knows his own bit fmefs and docs it, their labour goes on with regular- ity and decency ; their united efforts ferve the common cauic, arid the intereft of every one is involved in that of the whole. Let us go and do likewife." The hint took, and a plan of confederation, as it was called, was drawn up on principles of the pureft equality ; each family retaining the entire control of its own domeftic concerns, without any interference of the others, and agreeing to contribute voluntarily its pro- portion of labour and money to fupport the common intereft. This was, in theory, a very pretty de- vice, exaclly fuited to a fet of people who thought themfelves completely virtuous. But as it often happens that great ingenuity ithout much judgment: or policy, I 2 i'l% THE FORESTERS. fo it proved here. Thefe forefters did not confider that their intellects were not, like thofe of the beavers, confined to a few par- ticular objects ; that they were not, like the beavers, void of pafiions and prejudices, void of ambition, jealoufy, avarice and felf- intereft. With all the infirmities of hu- manity, they were expecting to eftablifh a community on a plan fimilar to that in which no fuch deformities can poffibly find admittance. Though for a while, and during the period of the law-fuit, when common dan- ger impelled them to keep themfelves clofe together, this plan anfwered the end better than none ; yet in facl the notion of inde- pendence had So intoxicated their minds, that having call off their dependence on IVIr. Bull, they thought themfelves inde- pendent of all the world .befide. When they had got entirely clear of the contro- verfy with him, they were in the condition of a young heir jufl come of age, who feels proud of his freedom, and thinks, he has THE FORESTERS. 173 has a right to act without control. Each family felt its own importance, and expect- ed a degree of refpecl: from the others, in proportion to its numbers, its property, its exertions, its antiquity, and other trifling considerations, which ought never to have had any place in a partnerfhip of complete equality; and in confequence of this in- toxicating idea of independence, each fam- ily claimed the right of giving or withhold- ing its confent to what was propofed by any or all of the others. In the club room, among a number of ingenious devices, there was a clock, of a moil curious and intricate conftrucfJon, by which all the common concerns of the part- nerfhip were to be regulated. It had one bell, on which thirteen diftincl: hammers ft ruck the hours. Each hammer was moved by independent wheels and weights, each fet of wheels and weights was inclofed in a feparate cafe, the key of which was kept, it ought to have been/by the perfon who reprefented the family at club, b each 174 THE FORESTERS. each maiiuon houfe ; and every family claimed a right either to keep the key at home or fend it to club, when and by whom they pleafed. Now as this clock, like all other automatons, needed frequently to be wound up, to be oiled and cleaned, a very nice and particular adjuftment of circum- fiances was neceffary to preferve the regu- larity of its motions, and make the ham- mers perform their functions with propri- ety. Sometimes one or two of the ham- mers would be out of order, and when it came to the turn of one to ftrike it would be filent ; then there, muft be a running or fending home for the key, and the houfes being at a confiderable diftance, much time was fpent in waiting. Sometimes the merTenger arrived at an unfeafonable ■ hour, when the family was afleep, or abroad in the fields, and it would take up a confider- able time to collect them, and lay the cafe before them, that they might deliberate and determine whether the key mould be fent or not ; and before this could be done* » . < would get mere out of order, By THE FORESTERS. 17$ By this means, the club was frequently perplexed ; they knew neither the hour of the day, nor the day of the month ; they could not date their letter*) nor adjmt their books, nor do bufinefs with any regularity; Br.siDF.s this, there was another inconve- nience. For though they had a ftrong-box, yet it was filled with nothing but bills of parcels, and accounts pretexted for pay- ment, contracts ot loans, and indentures for fervices. No meney could be hud from any of the families, but by their own vol- untary content ; and to gain this cenfent there was great difficulty. Some had ad- v a need what they fuppofed to be more than their proportion ; others had paid lefs. The former wouid give no more, till the tatter had made up their quotas, and there was no authority which could call any one to account, or make him do his duty. Their whole eftates were mortgaged for the money which they had borrowed of Mr. Lewis and Mr. Frog ; and yet they could carry on no bufinefs in partne] In i?6 THE FORESTERS, In facT they had fofmed fuch an unheard of kind of partnerfhip, that though they could- run themfelves in debt, yet they could not oblige one another to raife any money to- difcharge their debts. Each family, however, carried on a fep- arate trade, and they contrived to underfell each other, both at home and at market. Each family alfo had a feparate debt, which fome were providing means to difcharge^ and others neglected. In one or two of the families they went to loggerheads among themfelves. John Codline's family was, for feveral days, a fcene of confufion and diforder ; nothing was feen or heard, but curfing and calling names, kicking fhins- and pulling nofes. John at firft tried to filence them by gentle means, but finding thei'e ineffectual, he at length drew his hanger, and fwore lie would cut off the ears of the firft that fhould dare to make any more nolle. This threatening drove two or three turbulent fellows out of doors, afref: which the houfe was tolerably quiets Something THE FORESTERS. IJ7 Something of the fame kind happened in Robert Lumber's family, but he made fo~ good a ufe of his rift as quelled the difturb- aace at once. In the family of Roeer Carrier there feemed to be a predominant lurch for knavery, for he publickly advertiled that he was ready to pay his debts by notes of hand, fubjecl. to a difcount, the amount of whrch was indefinite, becaufe continually increafing •, and that whoever did not take his pay, when thus offered, might go with- out. The olher families were alarmed at his conduct \ but had no power to oblige him to deal honeftly, and he carried his roguery fo far, as to bid them all defiance. In this ftate of debility and cliftracliion,' it became neceHiry to confult on fome ;reo for a better plan of union. They began to be convinced that they were not .<-, nor capable of fubfifting in fuch a ftate of fociety as had been adopted from them. Something more energetic was wanted 3 7 S THE FORESTERS, wanted to compel the lazy, to check the knavifh, to direft the induftrious, and to keep the hcneft f v om being impofed up- on. It had been often in contemplation to amend the mode of partnership •, but now tlie diibrders in fome of the families be- came lb alarming, that though they had been quelled for the prefent, it- was un- certain whether they would not break cut again, efpecially as one whole family feem- ed determined openly to patronize roguery, Thefe confiderahens ferved to haften the change which had been contemplated. It was accordingly moved in the club, that each family mould appoint one or more perfons to meet together, and confult upon fome alterations- and improvements in the partnerlhip. This meeting was according-, ly held, and the refult of it fhall be the fub- jecl of my next letter. Adieu. THE FORESTERS. 179 better xv. A new Plan of Partner/hip is propo/ed. — • Arguments pro and con. — It is eJiuWJb- t\L — A Chief Steward appointed^ with in- ferior Officers* — Hunting too much in Faflj- ion. — A new Species of Rats introduced. — « Tit'? FatmUes added to the Number of Par!- 1R SIR, XT is not in my power to give you a particular detail oj the whole proceedings of the meeting, which was held to reform 1 \n of partnership, in the manner or your parliamentary journalifts, who make speeches for the members, perhaps better than feme of them make for themfelvea; but I will endeavour to give you a fiimmarj of. l*o THE FORESTERS. of the principles on winch they pro- ceeded. The profefled defign of the meeting was to reform and amend the plan j but in facl when they came to examine it, they found themfelves obliged to pafs the fame fentence on it that was once delivered con- cerning the famous poet Alexander Pope, whofe ufual ejaculation was God mend me ! "Mend you," faid a hackney coachman, (looking with contempt on his dwarnfh form and humpback) "it would not be half fo much trouble to make a new one." A new one was accordingly entered up- on, and the fundamental principle of it was, not to fuppofe men as good as they ought to be, but to take them as they are. u It is true" faid they, " that all men are natu- rally free and equal ; it is a very good idea, and ought to be underftood in every con- tract: and partnership which can be formed ; it may ferve as a check upon ambition and other human p'affions, and put people in mind that they may fome time or other be called THE FORESTERS. jSi Called to account by their equals. But it is as true that this equality is deftroyed by a thoufand caufes which exift in nature and in fociety. It is true that all be a Its, birds, and fiflies are naturally free and equal in fome refpecU, but yet we find them unequal •in other refpects, and one becomes-the.prey of another. There is, and always will be, a fuperiority and an inferiority, in fpite of all the fyitems of metaphyfies that ever exifled. How can you. prevent one man from being llronger, or wifer, or richer than another ? and will not the Uron^ overcome the weak ? will not the cunning circumvent the fooliili ? and will not the borrower become , fervajat to the lender ? Is not this noble, free and independent crea- ture man, necefTarily fubjecb to lords of his own fpecies in every ftage of his exiil- ence ? When a child, is he not under the command of his parents ? Send him to fchool, place him out as an apprentice, put him on beard a ftiip, enrol him in a compa- ny of militia, muft he not be fubjeel to a jflgafter r Place him in any kind of fociety whatever, .ill THE FORESTERS. whatever, and he has wants to be fuppliea, snd pafiions to be^fubdued ; liis active pow« ers need to be directed, and his extravagan- ces to be controlled, and if he will not do it himielf, fomebody mud do it for him. Self government is indeed the moil perfect form of government in the world ; but if men will not govern themfelves, they mull have fome governors appointed over them, who will keep them in order, and make them do their duty. Now if there is in fact fuch an inequality exifting among us, why fnould we act: as if no fuch thing exifted ? "We have tried the haver fcheme of partner- JQrrjj long enough, arid find it will not do. Let us then adopt 'the practice of another kind of induftrious animals which we have among us — -Let us imitate the bees, who are governed by one fupreme head, and, under that direction, conduct their whole econo- my with perfect order and regularity." On this, principle they drew up an entire new plan, in which there was one chief fleward, wh£ was to -manage their united intercfl, THE FORESTERS. iS; Entered, and be rcfponfible to the whole his conduct.. He was to have a kind of council to advife and direct: him, and fev- eral inferior oTicers to alTid him, as there •it be occafion ; and a certain contribu- tion was to be levied on. the trade, or -on the eftates of the whole, which was to make a common flock for the fupport ot* the common intereft ; and they were to erect a tribunal among themfjlves, which fhouid decide and determine all differences. If nine of the families fhouid agree to this plan, it Was to take place 1 ; zvA the others might or might not adopt it; but if any- one ihould finally refufe, or it any fhouid adopt it and afterward fall from it, he was to b* looked upon* as an outcaft, and no perfon was to have any Connexion with him. The meeting having continued a long time, everybody became extremely anxious to know what they were about ; the door] were kept {hut, and no p effort whatever the fecret till the whole was complel i84 THE FORESTERS. completed. A copy was then fent to each family, for them to confider at their leifure. Though curiofity was now gratified, yet anxiety was not relaxed. The new plan of- partnership went by the name of the fiddle ; thofe who were in favour of it call- ed themfelves fiddlers > and thofe who oppo- fed it were ftyled antifiddlers* The former faid it was the beft plan that human wif- dom had ever contrived. The latter imag- ined it " pregnant with mifchief." The former compared it to a ftrong fence about a rich field of wheat. The latter com- pared it to the whale that fwallowed up Jonah. ; In. each family a confutation was held on the queiiion, Whether it ihould be adopted or not ? and liberty was given for every one to fpeak his mind with the ut- moit freedom. The objections, anfwers, replies, rejoinders, and rebutters, which were produced on this occafion, would- .mxke a curious colk£Uon, and form an im- portant T1IK FORESTER?. it$ pottant page in the hiftory cf man. The ':rs were extremely fond of haviiij examined, becauf id it was like a rich e, which the n rubbed mines the brighter. The antijiddlers (aid it was like a worm-eaten bottom vi a (hip, the defects of which would more evi- dently appear, the more it was rippe piec were therefore for r< it a: once, without any examination at all. When they were urged to point out its defects, they would lay, " It is dangerous to put fo much power into the hands of any man, or let of men, left they fhould abufe it. Our liberty and property will be fafe whilft we keep them ourfelves, but v/hen we have once parted with them, we may never be able to get them back again." If the plan was compared to a hovfe> then the objection would be made againft build- ing it too high, left the wind mould blow it down. How {hall we guard it againft ; how fhall we fecure it aga^aft rcV N bci-,? iS6 THE FORESTERS. bers ? and how {hall we keep out rats and mice ? If it was likened to ? . I be aiked, how Iriail we gu \ mak- ing ? how fhall we pr -.. it from run- ning on the rocks and quickfands ? Sometimes it would be compared to a clock, then the quefticn was, how fhall we fecure the pendulum, the wheels and the bal- ance from ruft ? who mall keep the key, and who mall we truft to wind it up ? Sometimes it was reprefented by apurfe, and then it was faid to be dangerous to let any one hold the firings. Money is a tempting objecl, and the heft men are lia- ble to be corrupted. In fhort, the whole of the arguments againfl it might be fummed up in one word —jealousy ; which is well known to be the higheft degree of republican virtue. To THE FORESTERS. 1S7 To fliew the futility of thcfe arguments, h was obfervcd by the oppofite parly, that it was impoflible to put it hiro any man's power to do you good, without at the fame time putting it into his power to do you hurt. If you trull a barber to fhave your beard, you put it into his power to cut your throat. If you truft a baker to make your bread, or a cook to drefs your meat, you put it inro the power of each to poifon you ; nay, if you venture to lie in the fame bed with your wife, you put it into her power to choak you when you are afleep. Shall we therefore let our beards grow till they are long enough to put into our pock- ets, becauie we are afraid of the barber ? fhall we ftarve ourfelves becaufe the baker znd the cock may poifon us ? and (hall we be afraid to go to bed with our wives ? Fie, fie, gentlemen, do not indulge fucji whims : Be careful in the choice of your barbers, your bakers, your cooks, and your wives ; pay them well, and treat them well, and make it their inter eft to treat you well, : them. • x83 THE FORESTEI. After much debate and difcuflion, fomc of the families adopted it without excep- tion, but in others, the oppofition was fo ftrong that it could not be made to pais, but by the help of certain amendments, which were propoi'ed ; and of thefe amend- ments every family which thought proper to make any, made as many as they pleafed. The new plan with its appendage of amend- ments, cut fuch a grotefque figure, that a certain wag in one of the families, like Jotham the fon of Gideon, ridiculed it in the following fable. age, that feveral of the hunters were laid to fleep in the bed of honour ; and the reft were obliged to take to their heels, that they might "live to hunt another day." Some perfons are of the mind that it is not bed to fcek thefe beads in their dens, but rather to guard the fields and take care of the poultry at home. Others are for pur*- fuing them to the thicker! (hades of the foreit. and this feems at prefent to be the prevailing opinion. What the fuccefs of ill hj, time mud determine. Since the new partnership has been ef- tabMied, hufbandry- and trade have been carried on brifldy^ the houfes are full of good ' d the children are well clad and THE FORESTERS. 193 and healthy ; but there is one inconveni- ence which ufually attends a full houfe, and that is, that rati are very numerous, and a new [penes of them have lately found their way thither. Some of them are very fat and ileek, and are not afraid to appear In • p «1 iv light ; though it is fuppofed they burrow under ground, and have fub- terraneous communic ttions from houle tO lioufe. This is an inconvenience againft which no remedy has yet been found ; though feme people, from their apparent ;, are of the' mind that they will ci- ther prey upon one another, or elfe eat til! they burfr.. I had almoR- forgot to tell you that two new families have lately been added to the number of partners. One is that of Ethan woody a (lout, luily fellow, born in the ber, but married in- l frog, from whom, after a long a good tract of ! i originally belonged to his own it was farre] iken po£» w THE FORESTERS. feihon of by his father-in-law. The other is Hunter Longknife *, he was bred in the family of Walter Pipeweed, and has a large fhare of his fpirit of adventure. Having faken up his refidence in the outskirts of the foreft, he has had many a fcuffle with the wild beafts, who are extremely fond of his green corn and young chickens, when^ ever they can get a tafte of them. THE FORESTERS. i 95 Letter xvi. Prefent Stat? if Mr. BuIl.—H'S Wife and his Moth- '-. — $t )ry of the everli'fing Taper. — v> . -.-/ f Mr. Lewis. — His new U "fe and ccf} cjf Mifrefs. — Condition. DTAR SIR r XxFTER giving: you fuch a Jong; detail of the affairs of thefc forefters, I will clofe my correfpondence, for the prefent, with a brief account of the nutation of the principal perlbns wir.h whom they are or have been connected, and whom I have had occafion to mention in my other letters. To begin with Mr. EulL Though he: has given a quit-claim of that part of the for-. it where his old fervants and bed cus- tomers have poiieiTion, ycr he retains the northern . i$6 THE FORESTERS: northern part, together with fome hunting- feats which he promifed to give up to the forefters. The chief produce of this north- ern territory is the furs, which are brought to his ware-houfe and wrought up by his tradefmen. Notwithstanding the lcfs of his title to the lands of the fcrefters, they have not wholly ferfaken him as a trader. He keeps his fulling-mills at work, and fupplies them with cloths of various kinds, but they feel themfelves at liberty either to purchafe of him or his neighbours, or to manufacture for themfelves. He is rather more ccmplaifant to them in his own fhop, than his factors are in fome of his diftant ware-houfes, where they are not allowed to carry their produce to market, nor to re- ceive coffee, cotton, and fugar, as formerly. However, they have found out other places where tbey can buy thefe commodities without afking his permiffion. And as for that capital article tea, which was the occafion of beginning the controveriy, they now feteh it direcllv from the original ware-houfe of old C/;;;p-~Zv, where it is man- ufactured. ' THE FORESTERS. 1-97 Hfactured. They purchafe thetr Rika and muflins of the firfl makers and dealers vfid get their wines directly from the vineyards, I have before told you that Mr. Bull formerly lifed to fend the ordure made in his family to enrich the plantations of the fore fie rs •, but Gnce his quarrel with them, he has been fomewhat at a lofs how to difpofe of it. At firil he threw it into the gutter* before his door. But there was fikeh a large quantity of it, and the flench which it caufed was fo offer, five, that this expedient would not anfwer the end. He then thought of fending it to a place where fome of his family had been employed m botanizing^ in hope that by adding to the fertility of the foil, they would find more encouragement to profecute their inquiries, and that he mould in time receive fome rent or recompenfe. This fcheme, like fome others, the produ£l of his fruitful brain, has been hitherto attended with more coil than • Convicts employed in lighters on the Th tany Bav. in New Holland. i 9 8 THE FORESTERS. than profit ; yet it is fl ill perfifted in, and great expectations are dill indulged. As to his domeftic affairs, his wife dill rules him according to her ufual maxims, and keeps up her gaming club, where fhe wins and lofes alternately ; but between the fhcp and the drawing-room, there is enough gained to pay the intercit of his debt, though it is not imagined he will ever be able to pay the principal. This, like a millftone about his neck, mult finally fink him. You may poflibly be curious to know what is become of his mother, whom I have formerly mentioned to you as having had feme fway in his family. The truth is, that iince he married his prefent wife, the old lady found her influence decreafing and retired to her chamber, where fhe has been for many years confined, and is now whol- ly bed-rid. Mr. and Mrs. Bull, indeed treat the old lady with much decency, and RaTer none to intrude upon. her, but fuch pany THE FORESTERS. 195 company as (he is fond of. Ola Madam has all the infirmities of age about her. She will not fuffer herfelf to be touched nor turned in her bed \ nor the room to be aired, nor her linen ihifted. She keeps her window- fn utters cloied-, and will not admit the leafl Tay of light in her apart- ment, but what proceeds from her own car. die, which having been once dipped i:i conlecrated water, is fuppoied to poiTcfs all the virtues of an everlafting taper. Now I have fpoken of Madam's taper, perhaps you will be amufed with fome ac- count of it. It is a wax candle of a com- mon fize, fet in an old-fafhioned fdver can- dleftick richly embofled and gilt ; but the tuft and duft cf it are fo facrcd, that it is never permitted to be fcoured. The tradi- tion is, that this candleflick formerly be- longed to St. Peter, and the candle firft placed in it, is fuppofed to have been light- ed at the sun, and by a myfterious kind of uniritcrru ceffioHy has been kept burn- ing ever fince* By the light of this ta old aco TT1K FORESTERS. eld Madam reads her bible and books of devotion, which always lie on a table by her bed-fide. "Some perfons of an incredulous turn of iriind', have pretended to call in queftion this myftery ; but it is dill held facred by the old lady, and by mofl of Mr. Bull's own family. There are fome even among the foreflers of. the fame opinion ; and fuch is the liberality in thefe families, that no one is molefted in the indulgence of any inno- cent whim, which does not affecT: the peace of the families, nor the intereft of the part- nership. It was not long ,after the re-eftab- lifhment of harmony between them and Mr. Bull, that thefe perfons fent two can- dles in one lantern, and one in another, to be lighted at this venerable taper, and dipt in the confecrated water. Two of them •were actually lighted in old Madam Bull's prefence, and to her great fatisfaction. The third was lighted at a taper fuppofed to be .derived from the fame original, but " hid under a bufhcl" in one of {liter Peg's cut- hcufes, THE IORES T T. R S. 201 fcottfes, it not being permitted to burn pub- fickly in her family, where the only candles allowed, are of tbe manufacture of Geneva. Thf.rf has been as long a controverfy between different opinionifts on this fub- jec~t, as between the fe claries in Liliput, about breaking the egg at the big or little end. But it is eafy enough to accommo- date the matter by granting that St. Peter's candle, as well as thofe from Geneva, were sriginaHy lighted at the sun ; that the fame fource of light is open to all ; and that it ie of no coniequence of what materials tapers are made, nor in what kind of can- dlefticks they are placed, nor by wliofe hands they are lighted, provided they give Jo clear a light as to a7ifwer the purpofes cf vi/ijn. It it - N nly that I give you fome account of Mr. Lewis. The adventures in his family have been very Gngular. I formerly told you that he feed lawyers to \ the caufe of the foreflers. Thcfe O fubt o.o% THE rORESTERS. fubtile practitioners foon found that ther fame arguments which they were obliged to nfe in favour of the forefters, would apply with equal propriety to the cafe of Mr. Lewis's own family. He had long been a widower, and the family was gov- erned by a fucceffion of kept miitrefies, who minded only their pleafures and the enriching of their own relations and depend- ants. The tenants were abufed, the man- fion houfe was dirty and out of repair, and though the rents were paid into the hands of the Reward, yet much opprelhon and embezzlement, and little economy, were the conftant topics of complaint. After the alteration, produced by the aiTiftance of Lewis's lawyers in the fored, they began to think it was high time to do fomething of the fame kind at home. The only peaceable remedy which they could imagine, was to perfuade Mr. Lewis to marry a reputable woman, who would be agreeable to the family. After much argument he was at length brought to fee the THE FORESTERS. aoj neceflity of the cafe ; and, to prevent a ■ aw-fuit, with which they threatened him, he conferred to take the wife which they recommended. She is a lady of good fenfe wild polite manners, and treats him with the greateft deference and propriety. She has had the manfion thoroughly repaired, the floors and windows cleaned, and the walls whitewafhed, and is not afraid to let her inmofl apartments be vifited by the {un and air. The building is now commo- dious, wholefome and pleafant, and the dirty dog-kennel,* which flood near the door, is demolished. It is fufpecTed by fome that Lewis ftill lias a hankering after his old connexions, but he pro fe lies love to his new wife in the ftrongeft terms imaginable. His cafl off miftrefs has had the audacity to infult the newly married lady, and tetther that (lie lias no bufmei'i to occupy her apartments ; that all Mr. Lewis's profeihons are infinccrCj I that fie ftill poftfies his heart. If O 2 thefe jo THE FORESTERS. rhefe ladies fhould go to pulling caps, Mr." Lewis will be in a critical fituation, as in- deed every man is when two women are contending for him. It is faid that fome of the neighbouring gentlemen, who prefer concubinage to matrimony, have taken the part of the late miftrefs, and infift on her reftoration to bed and board j but how this matter will terminate, can be decided only by futurity. He has alfo been very unfortunate in fome of his diltant plantations and facto- ries. His black cattle have caught the horn diftemper ; fome of his farm houfes have been burnt, and it is thought that feveral years will intervene before his affairs will be fet to rights. Thus, my friend, I have endeavoured to fulfil my promife by giving you fuch an account as I have been able to procure of the forefters and their connexions. I allure you I am extremely delighted with the country and its improvements, which ex- ceed THE FORESTER?. *o 5 ceed by far the expectations of every per- fon who travels this way, ami has formed what he may think a jult idea of the coun- try, by flaying at home and hearing the re- ports of others. There is no pofTibility of conceiving what a line country it is with- out actually feeing it ; I therefore recom- mend to you a journey hither, for a two- fold purpofe, viz. to cure you of the fpleen, and to convince you how much human in- duftry and ingenuity can perform in a fhort time, when nature has already done her part toward making a good country and a happy people. Yours, &c. [The preceding Letters were written 1792.] aoS THE FORESTERS. iLctter xvn. jfealoufy between Lewis and his new Wife.— His Divorce and Expuffon. Bull's Choler againjl the Family.— Their AJfumption of a new Firm, The Franks. — Their Contro* verfy with Bull, and the DefeBion of his Friends.— Whims, Projetls and Innova- tions of the Frafiks. — Remarks on the Plan of Fraternization. dear SIR, IJEING allured that my former let- ters have afforded forne entertainment to. you and your friends, I lhall with pleas- ure refume my pen agreeable to your ro queft, and continue my account of the For- elters and their connexions, THE FORESTERS. %cy My lad gave you the lateft information which could then be hid, relative to the families of Mr. Bull and Mr. Lewis ; and it is proper for me to begin where I left orT, becaufe the circumitances of thole two eternal rivals have had fome influence, and I fear will always have too much on the kn- timents and tranfactions of my favourite? fcreiters. For, notwithstanding all that dignity and independence of character which really exift among them, and which ought to prevail over every inferior princi- ple, yet there are perfons in all thefe fam- ilies, who, from local and commercial at- tachments, or from natural and political connexions, are ftrongly inclined to imitate the manners and adopt the principles of one or the other of thofe ancient rivals. I have told you, that there was a fufpi- cion of a hankering which Lewis indulged toward his call off millrefs ; and that the neighbouring gentlemen favoured the in- trigue. This fufpicion has been fadly ver- ified, and a long and bitter controverfy has- enfued. ao8 THE FORESTERS. enfued between Lewis and the new wife who had been impofed on him. Her jeal- oufy was raifed to a monftrous pitch, and the proofs of his infidelity became fo fla- grant, that nothing would fatisfy her but a divorce, not barely a mcnfd et thoro but a vinculo matrimonii. Arter a long and fol- emn hearing, the fentence was pronounced in due form, and approved by the major part of the family *, who, in confequence, turned him out of doors. The minor part, who adhered to him, were fo roughly hand- led by the majority, that fuch of them as could, were glad to efcape, leaving the reft maimed and wounded on the floors ; which were fo flamed with blood, that they look- ed as if the famous Do£tor Sangrado*, and all his imps had been fully employed in their favourite operation. Such was the noife and uproar on this occafion, thai all the neighbours^ and efpe- cially thofe who favoured Lewis's- intrigue, were alarmed. Mr. Bull, whofe choler you * See the Adventures of Gil Bias. THE FORESTERS. ao$ you know is very eafily raifed, took thia opportunity to fwear the peace againft the whole family of which Lewis was lately at the head. Not content with this, which might have palled merely for a dcfcnfive meafure, he entered a complaint to the grand jury, and had a bill found again ft them " for riotous, routous and disorderly behaviour/* and determined to profecute them with the utmoit rigour of the law. For, find he, within himfelf, " If thefe fellows are (offered to go on at this rate, they will fet a line example to their neighbour^ and turn every thing upfide down. If the conduct of matters doe3 not happen to hit the humours of fer- vants, we fhaH all be turned out of doors a;i well as Lewis. Poor de\i! ! I once hated him as heartily as any body ; but now he is in diftrefs, I pity him, and can fay lb did to Benhadad, he is my brother. If fuch principles and conduct mould pafi unpuniihed, no mafter can be fure of hij property, or power ; all family govern- ment is at an endj and a ilror.g-box is no srity. no THE FORESTERS. fecurity. It is evidently my duty to beftir myfelf ; and befides, what a fine oppor- tunity is now prefented to revenge the conduct of this officious family, who meddled in my controverfy with the for- efters ! Now I will pay them double and round." To carry this refolve into execution, he entered into articles of agreement with Lord Strut and Nicholas Frog to ftand by him ; and gave large fees to the mod able pleaders, particularly to Ferdinand, Frederic and Leopold, who profeflfed to have an inter- eft of their own in fupporting his caufe, Thefe crafty brethren of the long robe, after/making a formal parade of their elo- quence at the bar, contrived by various pretences , and ftratagerm, well known in their profeflion, to fpin out the caufe, and require additional fums of money; which Mr. Bull generoufly, and even profufely advanced. For it is a fettled maxim with him, never to fpoil any piece of work for fear of expenfe. This being, well known to THE FORESTERS. m to thofe whom he employs, they are never in a hurry to finiili a job ; and why mould they, when they have fo able and ready a, pay-mailer. What became of Mr, Lewis after his divorce and cxpuliion, is uncertain. A let- ter* Iras appeared, pretending to have been written by him, which fpcaks in ftrong terms of the ill treatment he has received, and contains a ftrange compound of fever- ity and lenity toward the family. Some are Hill of opinion that he may be reftored :, but it is generally thought that he will not be able very ibon to mow his head again among his old neighbours. The charges which took, place in the family after his expulfion, were numerous and rapid. The new wife did not long preferve her dignity, but was frequently 1 culled and tumbled by the rude hand of ry frohcUbme fellow in the houfe. = name of Lewis was expunged from the ■ U . f i.ouic xvnr. tuted the name of fome remote anceftors of the family who were called The Franhs> and by this firm the houfe is now known. Various devices were propofed for a new coat of arms ; one was a wheel within a wheel, with the word Jacobina for a motto. Another was a bloody robe mounted on a fpear, with the motto, in terrorem. But it feems to be at length determined, that three plain ftripes of white, red and blue, mall be the device, with the motto une et indivifible. Had there been but one colour, the motto would have been more intelli- gible. Notwithstanding all their inteftine divisions, . and their daily and nightly broils among themfclves *, yet the Franks have had the addrefs to mow a bold face to their adverfaries, and to defend their caufe in the law with a refolution truly honourable. Their refources are fuppofed to be confid- erable. Thofe who quitted the family were not permitted to carry otY their clothes and trunks. THE FORESTER* »i 3 trunks, Tome of which contained a valuable booty. The old family plate and jewels, and the ornaments of the devotional clofet, have been fold at au&ion. The real eftate is in effect, mortgaged, by promifTory notes, itfued on its credit, which, though they have greatly depreciated in the market, by reafon of forgeries carried on ia Mr. Bull's family, and by his connivance, yet will probably be redeemed at fome rate of dis- count at prefent unknown. The Franks have alfo found means to • Mr. Bull's moil powerful pleaders, notwithstanding the large fees they received from him. They have even detached Ni- cholas Frog from his connexions with Bull, and taken him into partnerihip with them- ielves •, though it is whifpered that Nicholas is not over and above pleafed with the new mode o$ fraternization, as it hath brought him into a Uw-fuit with Butt, who at once laid attachments on all his filks and fpices. Lord Strut Tras alfo difengaged himfelf from the concern ,• Bull grins hor- xibjf ai 4 T f HE FORESTER ft ribiy at hkn for his infincerity, and threat- ens to iieze all his plate and bullion, (of •which he has an immenfe quantity) to itnake good the damage. Haying introduced the word fraterniza- tion > I mult tell you that tins is one fpeci- men, and there are many others, of that liberty which the Franks have aiTumed, of coining words. It has been the practice of the family for a long time, and they have been flattered by the frequent adop- tion and ufe of their new words in oth- er families, who always regarded them as the moft polite and plaufible, if not the moil deeply learned in the whole neighbour- hood. When words have a real and defi- nite meaning, it is of no-eonfequence who is the original coiner of them, nor by whom they are brought into ufe ; but every one is fond of the productions of his own brain, and every one has a right to claim and en- joy the honour (if there is any) belonging to fuch productions. Never was a word better adapted to any particular purpofc than THE FORESTERS. aij than this. To fraternize, in the fenfe of the Franks, is to make brethren j to cc. bribe, or compel, or uie means of any kind whatever with other people to make them brethren. After tlie divorce and expulfion of Mr-» Lewis, the majority, who ajfumed to gov- ern the family, were fo intoxieated with the idea of the liberty which they enjoyed in being free from their mailer, in toufling and handling their millrefs, in picking the locks and fearching the trunks of the de- ferters, and breaking up the old family hordes, that they began to think this was a kind of liberty which all families had a right to enjoy as well as themfeives. They to a resolution, to endea- vour as far as in them lay, to extend the g« of this liberty to their neigh- bours, beginning with the neareit. They made 'offers of fervice, either fecretly or openly, to bring on revolutions among them, or as they metaphorically exprefled it, M to plant the tree of liberty in their gardens."" ax6 THE FORESTERS, gardens." This was what they meant by jratemtzation. All who favoured their ideas in other men's families were called democrats, and thofe who were not fond of the fraternizing plan were termed arifio- crats, words alfo of their own coining. To {how their contempt of all titular diflinc- tions, they difufed the appellations of Sir, Mcnfieur, your Honor, and the like, and fubftituted the name of citizen, which was fuppofed to be equally applicable to all. But to exprefs their own mod tnodejl opinion of themfelves, in the loweft of all pofhble terms, they affected the name of Sans-culotte, which in plain Englifh fignifies ton?-****; a word, before this time ap- plied only to thole mod contemptible of the fpecies who were too lazy to earn enough to buy a pair of fmall-clothes. To fuch ridiculous lengths will people go, when they fuffer their enthufiaftic imagination to get the better of their judgment ! But the wifeft have their foibles ; and, who is there that cannot recollect, in the courfe of his life, fome inftances of indifcretion ? I should TH 2 FORESTERS. 217 'I should not have detained your atten- tion fo long to this article, had there not been a very abiurd attempt made to extend the plan of fraternization to the Forefterj ; who were already the ddet brethren of the Franks, both in principle and conduct, and heartily wifhed well to their caufe — rBut of this you (ball hear more in my next. I will only further obferve, at this time, that there has appeared in the family of the Franks, a ftrange kind of zeal on the fubject of relight* Before thefe changes took place, Mr. Lewis, and the family in general, entertained* decent, though partial r-efpeck for Lord Peter, and were fond of buying thofe devotional books and trinkets, in which you know he is a large dealer ; but fince the expulfion of Lewis, no notice has been taken of the old gentleman, ex- cept to infult him, by burning all thofe books and trinkets which they could find in the. family, and thus turning his whole trade into ridicule and contempt. To (hew how v\y they disregarded all their former P received ai* THE FORESTERS. received opinions, both true and falfe, they have contrived a new almanack, from which all the old red-letter days are ex- punged, and even the dominical letter is omitted. They have alio revifed their vo- cabulary, and erafed the ' words revelation, refurreBion and fundry others ; and by a new inscription on the family tomb, they have declared their disbelief of immortality.* Yet by an unaccountable inconfiftency, they have dug up feveral corpfes, which were very offenfive ;f and exhibited them pub- lickly, in the fame manner as the Romans performed what they called the apothefis of their Emperors. This idle attempt to annihilate fouls and to deify carcajfes, has not gained them any credit among men of re- flection, becaufe neither one nor the other is fuppofed, by fober people, to be within the reach of human power. It * " Soimne eternel.** f Funeral honours of Voltaire, Rouffefcu, afti Mirabeau. THE FORESTERS. aif It is faid, and I hope it is true, that ihz moil coni:derate among them are dii- pofed to throw a veil ov^er thefe tranfac- tions, and not ro make tUemfefves any more vidiculoius, by oppofing opinions which at leafl are innocent, and wheh have feme claims to rdped from their antiquity. Adieu. P a sao THE FORESTERS. Letter xvni. Miffion of Teneg from the Franks to the Forefters. — Defcription of Mother Carey's Chickens. — BulPs Jealoufy and Choler.— Prudence of the Foreflers, and its Succefs. ——Impudent Attempt of the Chickens, and its Defeat. — Bull's Mejage to Cang-hi y and his fententious Anfwer. — Peaceable Difpo/i- iioti of the Wild Beofls. Agreement with the IJhmaeliies and Lord Strut. — Increafe of Rats. DEAR SIR, 1 HAVE already given you fome idea of the fraternizing fcheme of the Franks ; I fhall now inform you of the means by which they attempted to intro- duce it among the forefters. -Many THE FORESTERS. 221 Many of the Franks nad been in the foreft, and had viiited the plantations and families there, not only dm i?!g the law-imt with Bull, but after the difpute had been terminated. They had kept journals and made remarks on manners, economy, hus- bandry, manufactures, literature, and other things worthy of notice. After they had effected the expulfionof their mailer, t' travellers were very fond of introducing the fame family economy which they had obferved among the Forefters, and of ex- tending the bleflings of fraternity to them, by drawing them into the controverfy in which they were engaged. "Why mould not thefe f orefters (faid they) bear a part of our burden, as we did of their's. We involved ourfelves in their quarrel with Bull, and helped them to terminate it in their favour. One good turn deferves another ; and it is now time for them to enter into our controverfy, and help us in. the fame way." To ■izz THE FORESTERS. To execute this plan, they difpatched a plauGWe, prattling, infmuating petit-maitre, by the name of Teneg, who had been em- ployed in fraternizing the family of Cal- vino, a famous diftiller of gin,* and had there been very fuccefsful. Artifices of the fame kind will not fucceed on all forts of perfons ; but a vari- ation mud be obferved, according to the variety of humours, interefts and prejudi- ces. The forefters were well known to be a wary and difcerning, as well as in- genious kind of people, and fond of novel- ties. To hit their ruling paffion, and there- by influence or deceive their judgment, Te- neg was furnifhed with a bafket of birds' eggs, of a new fpecies, which had recently appeared in the gardens of the Franks. Of thefe birds, I cannot give you the name and description, nor do I knew whether they are included in any of the chiles found by natural] (is ; but to fpeak. in the vulgar phrafe they are known, in fome places, by the * Gin is an abbreviation of Geneva. THE FORESTERS, ti S the name of luar-ha^As ; rather impioperly, I think, becaufe the hawk though, cious is yet a Glent bird r when-.! are i'o very noil I ..-..•.. to the pettrel tribe, and have been not in prop- erly called Mother C com their refemblance to a bird of that name, which is well known to chirp and whittle at the approach and during the height of a norm. Tiie?e birds have f - itlcs,. which mud be ccmfidered as characleriftic of the fpecies. One is, that they vary their i according to the inftruct,ion of their keepers j in this refpect. they refemble end the mod Their of found, when not under any particular direc- tion, is a dull monotony, i .1 repeti- tion of , it to found or with a vowel, or a liquid confonant ; fuch as* - — — -jfi, fa y j , he. If they ch hi trie :z4 THE FORESTER*' trigger, or any noife which feems to be a preparation for mifchief, they will readii/ imitate it, and the found will catch froirr one to another like a feu-de-joye. It is furprifing to fee how eafily they can be trained and difciplined. Teneg, with a bird-call, which he carried in his mouth, could bring them by dozens to light on his head and moulders, and even dive into his pocket, to pick the grains which he carried there to feed them. He could make them flatter about him in all directions, and imi- tate any noife which he was pleafed to make. It is faid, that he has imparted this fecret to fome choice fpirits, his afTociates* Another peculiarity of theft birds is) that they feem to have an averfion to fome particular days, and a predilection for cth^- ers. On the twcnty-fecond of February they are fear eel y ever feen on the wing-, and are remarkably filent ; but on the tenth of Augufl, and the twenty-fecond of September, they appear in great numbers, and are heard to whittle through the whole THE FORESTERS. ft** whale day. The caufe of this peculiarity is one of the fecrets of nature, which, it is hoped, the learned will in time be able to penetrate. The vulgar fuppofition is, that their hilarity in the months of Auguft and September is owing to the great quantity of the feeds of water-melons, which are then to be found, and of which they are faid to be remarkably fond. But this is altogether a vague conjecture, and unwor- thy of a philofophic mind. You will now be ready to alfc, how were thefe eggs to be hatched ? and what ufe could be made of the birds if they fhould be hatched ? To the firft, I aniwer — Tencg ell informed that there were certa'n old bens in the foreft, who would readily perform the orhce of incubation. To the fecond — By a due management of the bird:;, and principally by the force of their notes, ■ expected that they would excite in the forefters, and their children, the fame difpoiition to. miibhicf, with which them- • cs * 2 6 THE FORESTERS, Selves were pofTefTed, and thus prepare the way for a complete frjiernizaiijn. Teneg arrived firft in the plantation of Charles Indigo ; where he placed fome of his eggs under an ©Id lien, and fcattered the feeds of a particular fpecies of grain, on which the chickens were to fubfift till they could pick for themfelves. So prolif- ic was the brooding warmth of the old hen, that the eggs were foon hatched, and the chicks began their natural cry, jaco, jacc, jaco ; but were foon taught the note ivar, iuar, war. The effect was fo furprizing, that feveral of Mr. Indigo's domeftics im- mediately roared out the war-whoop, equip- ped themfelves in the habit of highway- men, and teak to the road, with a view to rob any of Mr. Bull's family, or pluncisF any of his waggons, which they might chance to meet m an unguarded and de*- ftneelefs flate. Teneg iras fo fiuflied with this fuccefs, that he hailed to the other plantations, dis- tributing THE FORESTERS. 4*7 jributing the egga with his own hands, or fending them by trufty meffengers, who were well acquainted with the nefis of the old hens. A brood was foon hatched in each of the plantations, who began their cackling ;is foon as they were out of the ihell. Tiit: effect, was not fo great in atl parts, as \i v...- in Indigo's plantation; for iiiuc excited feveral perfons to kick up a w.^-dance, and become knights of the highway -, yet the number was far who faw through the artifice, and combined to defeat it. Stiil, however, the noife of the chickens was continued, and the highwaymen became fo impudent, that n Mr. Bull heard what was doing, he beg:r.i to fwell with chclcr againil the for- s. " Cuvfe thefe fellows, (faid he) do they intend to aid the Franks againft me ? I'll begin with- them betimes. The high- way is mine ; I'll icize their waggons, and ruin their carrying trade ; and if they have a mind for another iaw-fuit, I am their match." Accordingly, as lord of the )ut his huntfmen and %i% THE FORESTERS. and hounds, feized feveral of their wag* gons and drove them into inelofures, where they might be fecured till a court-manor could be holden for adjudication upon thenv. The irtoft confiderate among the foreft- ers were greatly incenfed, on account of the plots thus formed againft them. Though they refpecced the family of the Franks, and rejoiced at their emancipation from the old abfurd fyflem of family govern** ment, under which they had long groaned ; though they made no fcruple publickly to own them as friends and brethren ; yet they could not approve all the whims and innovations, which had crept into the fam- ily ; nor did they relifh. the plan of fratei> nization, as the Franks intended to carry it on. They- hated the cackling of the chick- ens, and wifhed they had perifhed in the fhell : but they were loth to quarrel with the whole family for the folly and vanity of their fervant ; eipecially as thofe who had the principal hand in fending him were in difgrafce^ and another let had got the ds* retlion THE FORESTERS. *sj rettion of the houfe. They had at the fame time a high refentment againft Bull for feizing their waggons, but thought the bed way of getting them back again was by remonftrance and perfuafion. In thefe chcumftances, a consultation was held by the council of advice, at which prcfided their trufty High Steward, GEORGE, the grandfon of Walter Pipeweed, than whom there is not, perhaps, a man who carries more wifdom in his head, more goodnefs in his heart, or more vigour in his nerves. George has had enough of law-fuits *, and though he will fuffer no man to wrong him with impunity, yet he had rather compro- mife difficulties than inflame them by op- pofition. Therefult of the confultation was, that a letter be written to the Franks, n a very friendly ftylc, complaining of :, and requesting that a better man mi^ht be fent in his place ; that a ipecial meffenger be fent to Bull, to demand fatif- faclion for the damage they had fuuained from his huntfnien ; at the fame time dis- claiming the conduct of the highwayman 930 THE FORESTERS. and declaring that they did not intend t& meddle with the quarrel between Mr. Bull and the Franks •, but to be in friendfhip with both,, and trade with both as ufual. No fooner was this determination known, than thofe who had the direction of the chickens, fet them on raifing a terrible cry, of war, war 9 war~-*jo 9 ja, ja. This was very troublefome and provoking ; but it was thought moft prudent to bear with their impertinent vociferation for a while, in hope that they would foon quit the plantations. Tor as they had come in aH at once, it was not known but that they were birds of paiTage, and might difappear at the feafon of migration ; but even if they fhouid continue, there was an expec- tation that means might be found to tame and filence them, and perhaps render them in fome degree ufeful. . An experiment of this kind was a£tualry made. A flock of thefe chickens, under the direction of a mifchievous old heru once THE FORESTERS. » 3 i once got into a field of William Broadbrim, on the weitern fide of his plantation, and fet up a cry of %vhijky> vrbj/ky, k The noife was to very loud, and their number was fo large, that it was feared they would devour the crop, then almoft ripe for the fickle. A company of arci n I v -.is there- fore lent out, with order? to try the tffeO. of fome particular founds, before they fhould difcharge their arrows. They crept along, making feveral kinds of noife, to no pur- pofe, riii they had got very near, when they fet up a loud cry of Ifujh, IVafn, Wafi y which entirely drowned the noife of tohifkyi -and was io formidable to the chicken?, that they flew away with precipitation, and be- came remarkably fiient. They have not only made no more disturbance in that quarter, but fome of them have fince been obferved hovering about the barn-yards, and mixing with the common poultry. The letter fent to the Franks was well received, and produced the defired effect. Teneg was difqualified and fupcrfeded % but 22% THE FORESTERS. hut he did not think it proper to return, left he fhould lofe his ears. He has fince married a girl of the family of Peter Bull- frog, and taken up his abode in the foreft ; and, fuch is the good-natured policy of thefe people, that he is permitted to refule among them, and to enjoy what he has earned, without any inquiry how he came by it ; provided that he pays his taxes and lives peaceably. The menengcr who went to Mr. Bull, was a long time in confultation with his clerk, before all matters couid be adjufted to mutual fatisfaction. The refult, howev- er, was a tolerable compromiie ; in which Bull engaged to give up the hunting-feats which he had fo long withheld, on condi- tion that the whole body of the forefters fhould become bound to pay the balance of an old account, due to him from the. font hern planters. He alfo promifed to let the dif- fused limits be adjufted by a committed ; to expedite the manor-courts., in which the trefpafies fhould be fairly tried ; and to Til I". FO HESTERS. Ftlcd; Other matters ceil tn di{pute Mere adjure-: \ i'tu one clam tfertedj which prohib- . them from trading .it hie ftigot ware- house, uniefs thev inouid carry their pro- duce in waggons of no larger iize than a whcelb urow. This article was ib fingular and ridiculous, that the council of foreilcrs rejected it. The other parts of the agree- ment met the approbation of twenty out of thirty, which made the initrument valid, ?nd it was figned, fealed, puhlifhed and declared in due form. As foon as this tranfadion was known, and even before the inftrurnent was execu- ted, thofe choice fpirhs whom Teneg had inicrucled, as aforeiaM, in the ufe of the bird-call, fet ail the chickens a crying jo % ja, ja — treaty^ trraty, treaty The found rang through the forefl, and nm reverber- ated from houfe to houfe, and from tree to tree, in iuch a ferprizing manner, that no other noife could, for a while, be heard. Some very fobcr people were actually deaf- Q^ cned ; »34 THE FORESTERS. cncd ; others were vexed with the clamour.' But considering from what caufe it pro- ceeded, they determined to let the chickens cry till they were weary ; and then calmly and coolly to examine the reafons which influenced their keepers thus to fet them a cackling. This examination has been done in a very mafterly manner ; and the peo- ple in general are pretty well fatisfied with the compromife. They fee, that though it is not altogether to their wiuhes, yet it is the beft bargain that could be made. They fee that it has prevented a long law-fuit, the ilTue of which mult have been uncer- tain ; and they had rather enjoy the blef- fmgs of cultivation and of fending their pro- duce to market, than fpend their money in paying council, attornies, folicitors, fcriven- ers and bailiffs ; of which kind of drudgery they have already done enough to make the prefent generation fick of fuch bufmefs. There remained one effort more, which the difciples of Teneg were determined to make, THE FORESTERS, i 2S make, to prevent the agreement from being Carried into effect. It was neceflary that a fum of money mould be allowed for travel- ing charges, clerks' fees, and other incident- al expenies. When this matter came :o be debated in the council of advice, a flock of the chickens, who had been trained for the purpofe, flew into the hall, perched on the table and chairs, and began to cackle with a new note in addition to their former vociferations. Papers, papers, papers. Two of them had the impudence to alight on the moulders of the High Steward, as he fat mufmg in his elbow-chair, and, putting their bills into his ears to fquall this harm, note. George bore it a while calmly, and continued his contemplations ; till, at length, with his deep grum voice, and with a determined air and manner, he pronounc- ed the monolyllable No, ib forcibly, that the cackling ceafed, and the chickens re- tired to their managers, for farther infrac- tion. Their invention was ready, and fome pains were taken to teach them the fame monoiY liable A r . ; with the addition of the word 2 3 /e- ry crumb which fell ; then leaping on the table, whilft the family were at dinner, and ihatching the meat cut of their plates. George profeiied great indignation at this degree of impudence, and fwore that he would permit nc fuch thing in his houfe ; but fomc people are fo uncharitable as to fuppofe this to be only a fi- iieffe, and that he fecretly favours them, for fome ec- cult purpofes. Should this imagination prove to be well founded, it is thought that his name will be changed ; and that inftead of being called Tr-.jly, he will have a name as long as thofe uied in Oliver Crura- well's time, Verier Jtr.s-wn dan triced. H4