imsnu wtamonu-I-I ”“"

REMARKS

ON THE

A@®BE§5§

OF THE

HON. JOHN QUINCY .zz1mMs,.

i DELIVERED arr. W'.£tSHI.N'G TON,

JULY, 4th 1821. A

-ufflfiun

THE numerous Orations, and public Addresses,
which are annually delivered, throughout the United
States, in commemoration of the day, on which our
national Independence was declared, have had, and
continue to have, no inconsiderahle influence upon the
literary taste, and literary character of the nation. Of

these compositions, which are, every year, accumulat-«A

ing upon our hands, some are, in the ordinary accep-
tation of the term, respectable, and a few, highly so:
but there are still, many, of which no writer, of good
talents and cultivated taste, would willingly be repute-
ed the author. Most of these, however, have proba-«
bly been the compositions of youthful writers, in whose
productions mature literary excellence could not,
reasonably, be expected. .    A

But in some instances, the individuals, selected as

orators. for these anniversary celebrations, have been

men, long iknown to fatnerdistinguished, asvvell by
public honours, and high station, as by established re»-

6 V

putation for talents, and literary acquirements. When
mach a selection is made, the public is naturally ledto
expect, thatthe combined powers of genius, wisdom,
and eloquence are about to impart a new dignity and
interest, even to theelevated themes, which the occa-
sion is so Well calculated to suggest; and to add fresh
splendours to the glory of the day.

V Such, probably, was the general expectation, ex;-«
cited, throughout the country, by the annunciation, in
most ofour newspapers, of the appointment of the

Hon. JOHN QUINCY Anams, to pronounce the Anniver-V
sary Oration, on the fourth of July last, at the seat of"

Government. This gentleman has long worn the hon-
ours of the statesman,and the scholar. He has re-
presented one of the most enlightened, and respecta-
ble of the American States, in thetFederal Senate He
has represented our National Government, under suc-
cessive commissions, at several of the principal courts
in Europe: He has occupied the chair of Professor
offlhetoric, in one of the “most celebrated ofour uni-
versities : He has been honoured with the tlegree of
Doctor ofLaWs: He has been elected President of a

National Societ , instituted to im rove the lano*u>ao*e A
I P to  9

and polite literature, of our country: and the office,

twhich he now holds, under theflonstitution of the
United States, is second, in actual importance and

dignity‘, only to that of our chief executive magistrate:
-+--tWhen ina solemn address.‘ deliberately composed,
forthe purpose of celebrating the anniversary of his
country’s emancipation from foreign dominion, and of

, her existence, asa nation, a man, thus highly, and

variouslydistinguished, by civil and literary honours,
a~pp«lies thepowers of this mind, and the resourcessc of

bisltetarnriirig, toythe great andinte-resting;i_ttopics,assess

A *7

ciated with the occasion, his fellow-ciitizens are apt to

think themselves enzzflea’, at his hands, to such an EXi-
hibition of those topics, as may remain a monument of;

national genius, learning and taste. Brut ifflsuch a
claim should, even in such a case, be deemed extra»-
vagant; itsurely cannot be denied, that,in the par-
ticular instance before us, the American, public had
a right to expect, and undoubtedly did expect, a per-
formance, which would be, at least, creditable to the

“ character of the nation. V

A How far Mr. A. has fulfilled this expectation, it can-

, not beta grateful task to a citizen of the United States,

cherishinga reasonable solicitude forthe credit ofhis
country, rigorously to inquire. There can be little
doubt, indeed, (that his countrymen, in general, who
are, in any tolerable degree, competent to judge
of the merits of his Address, must deeply regret, that:
it was ever pu,l:1lisl1ed, or ever spoken- Still, to pen-
mit sucha composition, exhibited on such an occasion,
by a man of suchipre-tensions to genius, erudition and
taste, as Mr, A. to pass without notice, and as a fair
specimen of American literature, or Aitner‘ilcan,.9cniz'z'~
meats, would it be,»virtually, to it C’.‘OU.Ii1l?€.‘,Ua.T]Ce, by our
own silence, an opinion, alreacly, too prevalentabroad,
for the honour of thenation. The truth is, thatfrom
causes perfectly obvious and well understood, but
nowise implying a detiectiof native talents, our stock
of national literature is comporativelysmall; and the
credit, given us for it, abroad, is stillsless, ltwould,

therefore, be extremely unwise in us, to impair what t

little character, of this kind, we may have, by (3‘I3CO,,l:l-F-it

aging, in anyway,ysuchcompositionsof our country»

men, ‘as must, necesslattrily, tend-to diminish~it~,= ,Wtetcan—;s-
not cyforditltse sacrifice, A A t l A “

8

These remarks are not intended, however, to ex-
press an mzqual-z'ft'ed censure upon Mr. A’s. Address;~
nor are they dictated, by even the slightest desire, to
treat it with unmerited harshness, or to withhold from
it any degree of approbation to whichit may be just-
ly entitled. That it contains some useful truths, and
just sentiments, well expressed, is not to be denied:
but it cannot be dissembled, that, though there is some»

what worthy ofcommendation in it; there is still t

much, very much, to be censured} and the taskof
dealing impartially with its faults, would be greatly
alleviated, if this general’ representation were sutli-»
cient to express all,that is faulty, in the performance.
But thereareparts of it, which demand the gravest
and most solemn animadversion; and to which no
justice can be done, but by a tone ofreprehension,
seldom required, orjustitied, in literary criticism. For

A whatever may be the defects, or blemishes, of the Ad-

dress, in point of mere taste, and cornpositiou-—-and
these are neither few, nor small---they sink into rela-
tive insignificance, when compared with the disregard
which the author has, in some instances, tnanifested for
laws vastly higher and more sacred, than those of or-»

  dinary criticism; and the violation of which, requires V

rather the reproof of the professed moralist or theo-
logian, than thatof a literary critic.

‘ If these strictures are unjust---if the language and"

sentiments of certain parts of the Address shall not

  be found to authorize the tone of animadversion, which

hasnow been used; let Mr. A. stand before the pub«-
lic, as A“-saiman more sinned against, thansinning.” »
 A But not to dwell too long upon generalitieailet us

examinesmomelr of the more particular features of the V!

, Address. Among these, the author’s discrimination

9

and taste, in the .9et'aet;ftz‘o2'z of language, is not the least
remarkable. Faults inlmere style,‘ it" slight and not
frequeut,are indeed comparatively venial. Yetyeven
these are, in strictness, and especially in the Writings
ofa professed scholar, fit subjects of criticism. It is,

by no means here intended, however, to treat the as

production in question lzg/per‘-e:'iticallyr. Its prevail»-
ing style, it is true, is perhaps as exceptionable as
that of almost any literary perfbrmance, which has
met the public eye. But the aut.hor’s 0fl'i-:I1CeSia,ga'ittSt

good taste, and the rules of composition, though gee»

nerally flagrant eriougli, are often so fimtastico/, Withal,
as to put one in good liumour; and in many ihstaiices,
it would be almost impossible to commetit upon them,
with acer'bity, or even with gravity. Let the reader
take the few following specimeus:---—--

I “ The d£.s‘¢:o'ma2';z/ of the Mariner’s Compass was soon

followed, by the, extension ofintercourse, between ha-~
tious.,? &c. A ‘ The Irevzalotion of! India to Vasco de G'a—-
ma, and the disc-lrisurc to Columbus, of the American
hemisphere, resulted from thez’2zcompre.<;.9éblc energies
of the human ir1tellect,&c.t [N.. B; ioflflfl for allm---I scan»
DOtqt.10tG~thepC1g0.9 of the Addfless; as l have seenit:
only in a news'paper.]   t 1 . pi i ‘

‘~ Of these, in their order,’ asmen of method say;
and first,ot' the mariner’s compass----Now, nine in ten
of the unlettcrco’ spealaeie, or writers, of English, would

have said, ~15/Le ira-vmliorz’ (insteatvl r of the ‘ discovez‘y’)'

of the mariher’s compass, because they g€'I'"l€I'allyUI1~*

Vderstaucli by '-discovery,’ the finding or bringing tot,

light ofwhat before axis-ted, tliotigli concealed, which
was not exactly the ease with the compassg  a.
scholar-llike man cou'ld,telil them that Jansen “diam

covered’ thez‘clcsco_pc,;» and that one man ‘discoVex'»

B.

in

ed’rthef'steam.lengine; that anotheri"'-discovered’ the.
chronometer, and that anotherstill i‘- discovered’ the 

cotton-gin. Irwenition is quite a different business.
2. As touching India, and the American hemis-

phere, please to observe, the one was ‘ revealed,’ and

the other ‘disclosed.’ by A.striking difference of pro--“

cess I? And so, note the distinction--=--lqdia Was, as one
should , say, A‘ revealed,’ and our hemiisphere, edisa
closed.’ ltjwould not have answered the o‘rator"si

purpose, to say that either of them was ° discovered.’ A

Any one, with-out college-learning, could have said

as much.‘ ‘ Besides, ‘discovery’ had been before,
userlup in the matter of the ‘co.n1pass.’---Possibly, the A

authorhadtincontemplation some sort of ‘revels.
tion and disclosure’ to the intellectual visions of the

two navigators---a f ‘ bearing in’ upon their minds, as

it A were. a If so, his mode‘ of referring to the two events

in question, is very felicitous, and moreover, quite apt

and natural ; and, like Sir Roger de Coverly’s wit,-......
‘peculiarly his own.’ ‘ l »

“ The hand ofthe parent”, (Great Britain) had been “ scarcely ~»

everifelt, but in the alternate application of whips and scorpio’ns;”
(Adldressj i i i

Perhaps a whip of scorpions might, sometimes,forrn .

a convenient scourge in poetry or rhetoric--—-always,

provided it were accommodated‘ with a long handle, i

Indeed,this sort oficat:-oi-nine-tailst was known, I be-
lieve, in ancient times, But in the cases alluded

to by Mr. ‘iA.,  filldr it divided into clislinctiiristtrus

merits of castigation-'---an expedient quite original, by,
the by, in ourold step-mother; , butglike other cruel .

contrivances, it sometimes ‘ ret.urned,’yl I suspect, ‘ to

plague the aiinvteritressf‘ i For whenever it “came to

their tl1I']I.1r0f the scorpions to be applied,"her hand,

 it

I should tihirektimust have had theworst ofithe‘ ham.

gain. But step-mothers must have their own way,
come of it iwhatwill. . _ i t

i “Fleets and armies were transported to record in the characters

oftire, es. the transazlantie wisdom ofBritish legislation.” (Address) t
The word ‘transatlantic,’ is here emphatical, and;

must have been jntendled to correct the common,
but erroneous opinion, that the British parliament
held its sittings during our revolution on thissidei
of the Atlantic. i In, the connexieon inwfhicli it stands,’
it has the same sigriificaricy, as“ in such sentences as

the following: “-The British king emiharkedefor the

tam/zs(.ztlt122it2'c Continent of Europe.’----° The Washitigtori
"74. sailed for the z.“1‘an.s_iatla9zt2'c Mediterraniean.’--'I‘he

I ‘armies,’ I suppose, were transpotfted in, or by, the

‘ fleets.’ Query, in what Vehicles were the fleets
transported)? it e A
“ It is not by the yearly reiteration of the scourge, endured by
your ifatliere, to Wakeifr'om the sepulchre oftiznie the shades of de-
pztrtecl tyranny.” «SL6. ('Address.) i V
A By the tome offlchilles, orithe A tomb of 17z'rgz'l._, We
underetatnd the tOmb“‘i’0"li'iflS€pUlChTe9 if! Which the hero
or the poet is ilaid.;t let sic do ccez‘m‘.9 sz'mz'Zz'6m.§. it We
must, therefore, conclude from this last passage, that
Old Time, who has solong been busy in clestroying,
among other t_li1ings,the sepulchres. of other wo‘rthies,l

isat last laid in his own,’ But it Washardly fair,

riiethiiiks. to stow him away in Su,cl1lC0.mpariy-—--‘ the

  shades of departed tyranny.’ But ideath, like misery,

Fmakes us ° acquainted with strange bed—i"elloWs.’-:7-A

That this latter personage is also laid low, I am glad,

A

ifrommy“ very soul. i But ossa qztm-cant-rnzjl demortuiszfi

aisi 6052243222.,

12

4‘ The naturai ties of domestic l1if'e--—-—the heart‘-rzivefecl kindliness;
V and consanguinity, gradually wither,” &c. p (Address)

t I should by no means dare to say, under my ‘ Bible-«
oath,’what Wasthe precise meanirigpzinterzpdedtobe
expressed, hy (‘heart-m'veted kindliness and consan-
guinity.’ A I have had some suspicion, that the idea
initihe iwriter"s lmizzd, was, that of two ‘or more hearts
‘riveted’ together. (or united) by ‘kindliness,’ 820.,
and yet, this can hardly be made out ; for the image
presented in the l«m,g~a.zage, is plainlyithat of ‘~ kindli-
ness and ~consanguinity,’ riveted by her1.7‘2‘.s'.’ So that
° hearts.’ instead of being 6/umselvms-gunited. must have

been the z'na'truments, or lpinsl, in the riveting process;

and ‘Vkindliness and comisanguitiityfi the I/tirzgsirivetcd,

Now, for once, I feel compelled to inquire, whether,

humanhearts—---(Pharaoh’s, perhaps» and such as his,
only excepted,)—--could, in ‘conscience, been put to
such a use as this? Icannot but feel some doubts
upon the subject, Hammering out peopiefs hearts
into rivets, or spikes. or ‘-grapp1'ing+hool;sp.’ would
seem hardlychristian--like : and no one could xiltivipziae,
in such at case, what use his heart lmigiit he put to

“ They were no longer children, appealing,’’_&c.i “ but, subjects,

‘leaning upon the'$7LatteredcolminnS of"ro'yal.ipromises.” '(Addr,ess.)‘

‘Columnsfi, composed of ‘royal, promiosesii--wnenwi

tmaoterlalsthese, in architecture.‘ But Why, or how’

these same ,‘”subjec,ts,,’i i(th,eii.Ameriican ciolonists,)

should Iieve been leaning zzpon the tops pf i‘(,:olu1nns’.,
or ppilliars, sogme thirty oriforty "feet perhaps,

needslsome, rxflanatilo11.'t‘ Theitnoret common” fr-ac-p-A

ticej ofiia xnan, now-.a-d,ays,'wlieiniiwearytoflstandingi’

upvori his natural supporters, is to lean‘, ‘knot upon a‘

feoliimvn’ or ,sTVtack—-pble, or the likegbnt, like the

atriarch of old, 11 .on the more convenient ,A ro

called a ‘strgf’, or cane--—uuless he happens to be a,
durmly; in which case, a cancgor stic/we anssweire the"
purpose. A A i ~ t A A

i ‘F This treaty of'.p‘e_ace’.’ (of'p1V7.83,) “is theAdess,eaft, appropriate
to the sumptuous bartguet of the deolaration’A’A(of independence.)
“ It is the epilogzte to that unparalleled drain-aA, oft-gliich the declaAA-A_
ration is the prologue. Observe, my countrymen’-and friends, how
the rules unite, pr_esAcribed by the great masters of the fictive.
staged, were preserved in this tragedy of pity and terror in real life_.A

Herewas a begin.ning, ct ’I2’Li'l‘dAdl8i,i and our end, of one mighty ac-«V
tion. The pbeginrtingp wast the declpor-ation.,prwl1ich we have just,‘
read: The middle was that sanguinary, calarnitous, but glorious

war, ‘Av§rhiAch_calls: for deeper ooloure, &c.  '1_‘heA end, was a_Adispo.
Sal by Divine Providence, of the heart ofrthel most serene and,
most potent prince, to acknowledge your -independence,” &tc. (Ad;
dress.) A

‘ Banquet’. and ‘- dessert,’ quoth he? Aye, the deg
claration opfindeppemlence, the ‘- supinptnous banquetg’.
the aclcuowletlgment of it, the '- appropriate dees.§ert:7.
.fld'mz'rer of documents ‘ as ldo live by bread 1’ Why,
the luxury of the table of Lucullus was nothing to:
this. ‘Andi then, the natural and etrilcing points o1l'sz'-1*
m7Ailarz't_y between the cleclarationA of independence, and

a feast-——--and between the aclmovvileclgmpent of it, and,_

a dessert, render the metaphor soppat, or, to Al use the;
best possible epithet, so ‘approp'priate,’ N that every‘
literary epicure must be captivated with the beauty
of it. Obsselrve‘ the strict resemblance The banquet

A comes first ;1 the dessert follows, A So, the declare,-gp

tion goes» first ; and the a.cl<x1owledgArnetitfollows,AThe
banquet begins, the eating-concern; the, dessert ends.

 Even eo. the declaration begins the worlcfiof indew
pendence;Athe acknowledgment finishes it! A Thead»

mirable parallel between Alexander the Great, and;
Harry of l\/1.onrr1outth---‘therelis a river inMacedon,ip

 14

‘t and alsofinoreover, there is ariver inMonmou.tI1’-—-—-a§
is not at whit superior to this figure in the ~Address,
Indeed, it is much inferior, in ‘ regard] ityis no figure

of speech, at all. fl

i'unJz'tz_°es’4¢-~»theiI‘beginning, middle, and end’---moi’ the
American Revolution. Here breathes the Very spirit;
pfiAri.~»totle, and of the Whole posseicomitatust of *-the

A great masters of the fictive stage.” Every regular tra-t

gedy‘, look ye, has * a beginning, a middle and an end :3
So had!/ts flm_erz'com Revolut-iozt.’ 'I‘he declaration was
the begz'rznz'ng ; the war, the middle ,7 the ac/crzowledgment,
theend .’ , (Another ii‘ river in Monnloutli,’ by the Stag
girz'te.’) , The simile between ttheliuntities of a drama-
tic action, andrthe um'tz'esp of our revolutions:-y contest,
is so obvious, sp forcible; and withal, so c[as.9z'cttl; it

i matchesso exactly, at all points, and goes so well,

4'-upon all fours ; that l marvel, greatly, Why no one of
our 4 great masters’ oti poetry. or rhetoricyhas heforei,
done himself the honour, to make it his own. A Wheth-
erany other revolution than our own, or any other
action, matter, or“tl1ing;, either in art, or nature,or

But a loftier theme tayvaits us; even that of‘? the“

human affairs, (except on the flcz‘2"ve* stage) has, or

ever had, these remarkable properties, ‘ apheginning,

a middle, atadtlan end,’ does not appear,.from the con-

text, The presumption, thet'et'ore, is against such a
supposition ‘:--c---But in this case, also, one thing puz-

A zles me:-----I do not exactly, comprehend, how the d-e..«

claration loaf-i ind-epend=ence.,'an’cl the acknowledgment

,[°""l have printed this word, ‘* fictive,” threeitimes, because the a
critic writes such “ ‘a cursed up»-andf—doWn hand,” that I can make

nothing else ofit. But I don’t find it in Webster,nor Entickt; and

gonr fnreman sat*s,~ itiis not in Old Johnsonfs Long Toni, neither,--as

" .Prfint,er’.s Dez2il.]. " r i_ 

15

of it, conform two constituent ports,t(riz. thehegin.  

ning; and end), of this ‘vtnparalleled driama,’ and

yet be, at the ‘same time the Fprologue’ and ‘epi--t

logue’ to the seltlsame drama- Mmporte, so long,
as the ‘unities’ are preserved: Though many a

great man, in carving them out, has ‘ pared his wits,’

at one ends, on ‘nothing has been left in the mid.»
dle.”"‘ * t .   
L “ It ” (the declaration ofindependence) “ left the people of this

Union, cotleot-zfvve, and z'ncZt’m'clual, without organized government.”
'(Address.)  i i i  - i ‘

The people, ‘z'mlz'oz'dual’--* left Withoutorganizecl

goxrernmerit?’ Does the Orator mean, that each and
every of our forefathers of the revolution, were with-

out famz‘[3/—gover11meI1t, or itself-government, or ‘the,

like of that P’ If he does; I might answer, that I

have heard a very different account of them: If he

does not; What does he mean, ‘-for a ducat P’

“ They were bound, by the beneficent laws and institutions, which

their f'orefiathersa had brought with them from their mother-country,,

not as seroitudea, but as rights.” (Adclressy.)
t A‘ sound distinction this—-—--icoirrect to af'r.action.

‘Servitudes P’ Ye Gods! There is a clear distinct»

5‘ In taking); leave of the “unifies,” one cannot but reflect, anti
‘admire, how rapidly the Word is improving, not only in invention,

but in economy, also. “ Thrift, thrift,,Horatio 2” yWhy, the an-
cients, (our masters, and schoohmasters, as they have been c-a1led,)
could make of a great, entire, connected action, only one of the
“unities”. of a regular dtfatna—.—-the “unity of action,” as they
ealled it. “And with this, they were contented to stop, in the
Wprogrese ofhnman improvement!”-«—-just as the English were with

their “ grants of rights?‘ But out iofthe materials ofthis one unity l
W-and without destroying, ortat alllinnpairing, it-—-'zoe have furnish,-L
ed forth no less than three more : Even the unifies of “-a heginyniing

a middle, and an end!’-.’ all,like the littleboys and girls “atxl7’addy’e
Weddin,2~, “yskipping ovyertthef gutters twotby two in couples one
after another."f l i ‘ l i i

16

tion between liens:/ic'en.t ‘laws,’ i or’ ‘institutions,’ and
mervituidesgl anal it is high time, ths.t"the worldknew
it. A Let none, then, any Z07Ig6T,.C0lI‘‘lf'0UI.ld ‘ beneficent
laws and institutions,’ ,with ‘- servyitudesfy It 1 is man»
i1‘i'est,isifrloms the Address, that they are qtxiteddiflerent
things : A Though, Without :\/lr. A.’s d.istin(:t1on, mankind
might have continued to mistakethe one forthe other,

e till doomsdz.-1y.

\ ?~‘ The nation, whose feelings of fraternity for you, had slumber-
ed in the lap of pride, was awakened in the amms of h‘uzrt~iliat£0n,”

y&c. (Address.)

iTosleepi-wtoawlatlie;   ‘grateful vicissitude l’-—---in
the ‘ lamp’ ofofnc, , in the ‘ arms’, of (mot/zer ; pleasing

yy -variety I:-—--Thereis scarcely any thing, more byeautithl,

tl,1lan as beautiful metaphor, arisino‘, likes this, .s79om.‘a22e-
ouslz, Without being ‘far-f'eitched,’, or ‘deer thought,’

i and Without any wearenxd tear of the brains. But it
may be asked, vvhyshould not one awake, where one

lceesesytotsleiep P In eommohcases, he Wzneedis must,’
as Mr. lBaXter says. i But mark. that, in this instance,

the ‘feelings of fraternity’ took the nap; and the

"l”’n::.tion’ awoke from it. A o I
After these specimens of ‘- the sublime and beauti--~

‘ ful’---andto avoid. prolixity. let the following addi»

I tional examples, :37"-usdem gamma’, be talten, without for-~

mall i 5 gloss or ieomment :’ t

4; ‘They [the people of the United ._States] were ‘bound by the

»‘grappl<z'ng—hooIcs of common sutferiyng, under the scourge of’ op-

pression.’ ‘,‘Tilmt-—-which seven years of mercy-ltarrowing war A

‘ had contested, .was*herei laclrnowledg;ed‘.”o “ The frontlet upon her

brow” Almerictfs throw l 9" would nollonrrer beam with fthe Jim?" h-
, V {:5 K ‘ , .

ble splendolur yoffreedom and indepeinrlience ‘; but inyits steed, would

" soon be syubstitutyertmlltiyi imperial di‘ndetm,y_fla,slting,t inly=i,ta,1sei~and ter- 

l  _lustre, the ntn_rIryi'y‘lrad'ian,ce of dorninion" and lpower!”........

“Would youfsoarlto fame",”uponla rocket, or bttm inityoglory from :2. y

17

37wll."”’ ‘.‘l"I."'l:ie power. to vrhose unjust usurpation your fathers
Jzuriecl the gauntlet of deti.vmce.”—-—-arzal so forth, and so forth.

‘But to be serious, (as the “great masters’ of the
chromatic style in music change the l:ey)—-«they I not
fairly ask, whether so much frivolous parade of lam
giiagia-wso much of unnatural conceit, and sop/zomolu
riorzl pu«~rilit_y----so many forced and uncouth meta»
pl'iurs---and in brief. so much gawdy and pedantic
frippery ofistyle. can he found, crowded into so small
a compass, in any other publication extant, as in this
Aihli-ess? Almost tlirougliout the Wliole composition,

ptho author betrays a continued agony of exertion, to

attain pith and point, originality and brilliancy; and
to think anal speak, as no other man ever thought, or
spoke, and, as it may be hoped, no othe.r man ever
‘will. In almost every stage of this strenuous etifort,
vve discover a taste, radically vicious; a deplorable
aloseiice 0i‘d‘iS(‘"tI'ltIl‘lIltliitlg‘ perception, both in language
and iile:l1s;a vain obtrusive and unseasonable affec-
tation of deep arid tnultifotrious learning; and above
all, a deter-minattion to malts----at whatever expense of
propriety----—such a dz'.sjolz2‘2/, as shall ‘- astonish the na-
tives.’   V V V   A t

It is here necessary, for the sake of’ method, to vio-
late Mr. A’s ‘ unities,’ by britiging the and of his Ad»-
dress into the mizlo’loof' this commentary---as great

coxmnentators are wont to do. His contrludirig Words, t

‘- Go Tnoti AND no Liicnwise,’ ausedl me long and dis-
ptressimq pvirplexity. What the iifiunction miggtit re»-
quire, or refer to, I could, by no zbztellectnal effort, di--
vine. i But in the critical moment of incipient despair,

.7mim,m~;.», whispered, that the Or-ator had once been a.  

sjm-irzlplcrzder: And I ll']€?HCe conclurjlexul---wcorreetly, I
hope-um-that he had, perhaps mechanically, and Llnr
V C .

18

eonsciously, (as many men do many things,) closed,
his sddrr-ss. with What, I am, advised, lawyers call

a .«—z':-m'lz'ter, which, I understand, is but matter of form, "

and about tantamount to—--flmen.i"“,i , 

From the style, we advance to the matter or substaizce
of the Add ress, But this is so multifarious, that my
remarks must be confined toa,.few topics, which ap-
P=tE“.r.-‘it’ more particularly than the rest, to require ex»
amination. ‘ = .

Withouit regardiing the order in which these topics
are introduced’ by the author, let us first advert, for a
moment, to a few specimens of his wit, andplayfitlrzess of
hmnour. A These light accomplishments may not hith-
erto have stood out in full relief, to the View of the

jworld, among the more prominent and ‘ commanding

features of his mind. Buthenceforward, it will sure-
ly never be denied, that with all his gravity as a
statesxnan and a sage, the orator has ‘apleasant wit,
and loves a I-imely joke.’ This trait in his character

a twill, be sut*li<:ient:ly displayed, in the two or three

following A examples :

‘ Even the przfme mim'stc-r of England, urging upon his omnipo-
tent pin-liument, laws for grinding the colonies to submission, could
talk, without amazing or diverting his hearers, of the islandqf Vir-

gma, 1’ Again : ‘ After seven years of exploits and achievements

like these-----to use the language of the treaty of peace"-“ it having
pleased the Divine Providence, to dispose the heart of the most
serene and most potent Prince, George the Third, by the grace of

, Gad, Irz'-rzgpof Great 13r'z'tan_T7z., France and Ireland, De/‘lender of the
iFulz'th, Baked‘ if iBr2mswz'c7r, and Lunénberg, ./1rch,-Treasurer and

Prince~Etector oft/zeHoly Roman empire, giro.-4-and the United States
of Anrierica, l0---WHAT ? to forget all past misunderstantlings.”«Szc.->--—

99 l now find, that the author of theilteviieiwi already mentioned,

has offered  different explanation of these ‘ last Words’ ofithe ‘Ade 
, dress : Which of the twain is the correct one; the learned may

decide, _

19

WHAT THEN -‘? Why, His Britannia Majesty ackn.oav“Iedges the United
States--to befree, sovereign and independent states.”-—-Once more :
‘ The end’ (of the »‘ unparalleled drama.) ~“ was the , dis;»om by
Divine Providence of the heart y of the most serene and most potent
_prince, to aclmowledge your independence.’ ’ it

And havingyby the end this lucky cue of 4 most se-
rene and potent,’ the orator cannot resist the temp-
tation, so very natural, still again to repeat it, as thus:
i ‘ That which the Declaration had asserted, was here, in express

and uneqtiivocal terms, a.cImowleclged: A1«In‘r~IoW?, By the mere
disposal of the heart of the most serene and most potent prince .1 1’ A

N ow this is Wliat one should call cl-z'gv2z’fied, and ‘ do...
ing the thing genteelly’ too, at the same time: i The
proud titles of old king George, and the boasted
knowledge of his prime minister, both brought down,
as it were, by two flourishes of the quill! ,.There is
great art, and much excellent discretion, in putting
proper thoughts, as Well as proper words, in proper
places. Indeed it is the whole art -and mystery of
good Writing. And what could be more ‘appropri-
ate,’ than these last passages, to the theme of" 9 a na-
tion born in a day I’ i The hit at the prime minister,
and at the prime minister’s audience, tote, fbr that
matter, is What we call ‘la good one,’ and withal, hap-
pily introduced. In reading this, one cannot but
mark the (.l‘ifi"erence--—-so flattering to our country-—---
between a ‘transatlantic’ British Premier, and our

, own Secretary of State! Do you find our Secretary

speaking in any part of his Address, about thejcou-
rrlnerrrlof Great Britain? Not a whit! An yet, in

point of fact (as every one prnaywp see, ‘by the .map,),

Great Britain is   just as muchia CONTINENTV, as V iI‘gi,11-
iatis an ‘island’---ands ‘-ithat’s‘the l'mmour.~oTf it,’ as
 says. Well, yourtruevvit—---yourtgenuitne Attic»

20

salt andpepp.er—--arethe best c;oo1rI>IM1a:trrtof wisdom
and good sense, after all.   yr  A

t For the rest, the titles» of a king are. surely, law-
ful.game to all the Wor1d,and at ALL Tximts; Some
men, of narrow and austere minds, may, "peradven-
ture.imagine._. that the 0rator"s jokes were not exactly
suited to the occasion. or. in hisroWii'lar.iguage,»to ‘ the

hczllowea’ digrzity of the day ;’t and that the proprieties i

of his situation as a public Orator, were hardlypre-«
served, in What they may possibly call PETTV SAR-

CASMS and PERT WITTICISMS, upon the titular di.~=.tinc-- A

tion of aforeign monarch, and the topograpbicaly hlun-
der ofya foreign minister. But they are welcome to

it their opinions. Itshould be considered,., that whatev-

er is proper to be knowntolthe World. is “proper to be

ipermtuated; and that if these facetious representations,

drawn up, no doubt, with a witty zntent, and worthy,
as they are, to become a partofrecorded history, had

been made merely to the audience of a bnzawoonz, or

to a common gmupe of gossips,ix'1steatl of being; pub-
licly delivered in our national capital. and p9~z'm,‘erl ; they

might have failed to become common property. and i
never have reached posterity !—---By the by. it is no
wonder, that the Orator was apprehensive, as he den-l
~cly-ared‘ himself to be, that he had ‘discomiposed the

sererzity’ of his audience. If his hearers were not as
insensihle to delicate, poignant and seasrmabley wit, as
flints. or any épebblea-stones;’ they muysthave been,

i in an extacy of"mirth.if not absolutely coimrulsed with :

outright. roaring laughter. l But we must hasten to:
graver subjects. ‘L A

Mr. A. "s descant upon the excellencyh of our own 1

principles, and forms OfV”gOV’Bl‘t']fl1et’lt, is. as to sub!»-»
.$talI1tCBai all Very Well. -BLt_t the Sheers and sarcasms,

i/gr

21

Whicli he bestows upon the British nation, because the
portion of civil liberty. which they actually enjoygwas
‘ extorted from their tyrants.’ not as Facknowledg-7neru‘e,’
but has ‘g'ramS.s'., of I"ightS;’ and because theyholdy their

‘ riglt1I*e. as the r1om1z‘z'on of lcirigs’---and not in virtue of
a (:()n:~.‘I‘itul:i0l‘1.ifiramed like ours, by the delegates 

the people. and ratified in primary assemblies, ex-L;
hihit 21 spirit of political glues/cerg. which ought to be,
beneath a great man"s altitude. The distinction. too,
upon which he founds all his exultation, andyall his
ridicule ofthe British vCQ1‘lSil‘iLU'i’l0;z, ie, in point offaect,
merely nominal. For not only the settlement ofthe
crown and governmerit, at the Revolution of I668,
but even ‘~ the Great Charter of Runny Mead,’ which
excites so much of his contempt. vvas-----though not in
form----yet. to every practical and esserzticzl plll"p0E50, as
properly the act of the people, as the federal consti»
tution, under which we live. The truth is. that in
eech oftlleee three ca.ses'., the fu::1demeutal principles
Were~eettled., and the lGfldll']g provisions framed, by
a few superior minds, and chiefly through their imme-
diate aind remote =intluer1ce,»tsenctionetly in the end,
expressly, or virtually, by the physical power, or the
many. tAtnd it as wellescerteined, as any fact of
the kind, transmitted from .530 early a period of Erig-
lieh l1ietory,ll that, but for the provieions which the
Great Charter contzxined, in favour of‘ 'I‘I~'1E. PIZOPLE,
that instrument could, p«rol)ahly., never have beenex-
torted, and if extorted would not here been accepted,
hythe NA'rI<3N- A V H      t   i 
But if the fact were otherwise; and even i F the peo-

ple ofEngl:=md had had no agency; or iinfluence,(li—i

rent. or indirect; in the iacquisition of the ciyvil rights,

which they conferssedly possess,-,1 rvoulydthose riglitsy

22

the, for THAT reason, practically less valuable, than it”

they had been asserted, in primary assemblies? Do
the writ, of I-IABEAS comes, the right of trial by jury,
and the liberty of speech, and of the press, become
useless and contemptible, BECAUSE they may have
beensanctioned, not as ‘ ac/cnowled(g'meu~[s of right,’ but
as ‘ GRANTS 9’ Mr. A. really appears to assugrne, that a
given degree, or any degree of civil liberty, A if’ even
Worth possessing, is, at any rate, a very proper ob-
ject of ridicule, and contempt, unless it can heitraced
to a grant, from the people, to the people, or to a
compact, by the people, mm the people. But it is,
surely, high time for a statesman, and a man ol"g;en-
eral reading, and acquaintance with human af“1‘I;,tix~s, to
discairdyisuch an tinvidious atidabsurddogtna. Our
ovirn formiand principles of government are umlnes-~
tionably, ivery proper for us: But this fact furnishes
no more certainty of their adaptation to the character,
and condition, of other nations, than we have, {roan
our Secretary of States’ stature, and protportions of
person,that his boot is the only one, of pt'Op<~'i+t' (lit-V
Inensions, for any, and every, prime minister in Eu-_
rope. ’ i ‘ p i V
In describing the atrocities of the British armies,
during our revolutionary war, Mr. A. speaks of " our?
fields ravagedl--F-our. towns and 1’lllr,tg‘eS tconsumedl
with yfire’--°tthe harvests of our summers blasted"---—
‘the purity, of vi:~gin~irxr1oce1ice, and the chastity of

matronly virtue violater.l’-—and of '-the living rem»-to

nants efthefield of battle, preserved for the gibbet, by
the fraternal sympathies of ‘Britons, throughout our
land.’  i -

This is, tmqnestionably, pretty high colouring,an(l~
A apparetxtly, notqnite consistent with the Or.at0r’s pres

23

vious declaration, that his ‘purpose was to rekindle
no angry pnssioris frompits embers.’ ~l Atrocities were
doubtless, committed, during the revolutionary war---A-«
I)tf)':-i5ill3ly., some on both sides; and what war-—---what
civil war, especially»--was ever" free from atrocity?
But as the description, just quoted, Was, undoubtedly,
intended, by the (Jrator, and must have been under-
stood, by others, as a rhetorica_l.efl'usion;t it Would,
here, have passed. without notice, except for What
follows, in the context. But he directly, adds, (re-
ferring; to the enormities just recited.) ‘ After seven
years of exploits and achievements, like time, perform-
ed, one/or the orr/are of the Britt};/L Kzing---it having pleas-
ed the Divine Provitilence,’ &c.

‘ Umlcr the orclcw: of the Firitish king I’-——---232$ pursuance
of the orders of’ the British ltingl’ (for the forms of
speech are,,,in substance, precisely the same.) Does
Mr. A. (to say notliing of the other specific imputa-
tions,) meant: to assert, in the face of the world, that
the late lritrrg of Great l?»ritrtin ‘ ordered,’ or enjoined
upon his armies, to 't:2o[uta the _pur2'tg/ of vz'rgz'22~z'nrzo—
canoe, am! I/to c/ta}s*tz'ty/ of mctlronlg tairttte; or, to reserve
tlilt’ living renmemts of the field of btztttlefort/to gz'6brt----
Z/ti-razrg/tort! our l(tr2c[f?’7 If this be not the meaning of the
writer’s lt'ltlg‘t]a,;{€; whet oonceivnlole meaning can be
assiggnetl to it? And it 2'3; what words can express
the enormity of the calurnny? A

The measures, adopted, by the British cabinet, for
the taxation, and suhjugatioti,  of" the American colo-
nies, these retnarks are as far from vindicating, as is
Mr. Afs address. Nor is it so much for the purpose
ot'protecting the memory, of theilate British monarch
from gi-tass and cruel espersions (thoughthatbvvere a
very proper and sutI:icientmotiVe,) as to prevent the



disgrace of’ those aspersions from attachinfg‘ to our
country. that they are now brought into notice. But
the personal character of George the Third, which is,
novv,matter of history, is as Well understood, as that
of any other monarch, of any age or country. He sus-~
tained, when living, and has left behind him, the rep»
utation of a kind. ufirctiorzate, com9cz'mtz'ous and tI]77‘t:,€_g‘/Li
man. It is true, that he was once, in war, an enemy
to our country; but, as in all Wars, to which he was
party, a /tmnarzte and generous enemy. And the well»
intbrmed part of the world will be much more likely
to reggartl the laxiguaige in qtiestion, asa wanton and
atrocious libel upon the ‘memory of that monarch, than

i to believe, that lxerwaslever guilty. or capable, of such

outrages against the laws of humanity and decency,
as that lariguage imputes to him, Wars have taken

place. in the World, long before, and since, that of our

revolution; but, being ended, they do not entail war»-

mzl animosity to the posterity of the combatants.—--—-

And it would be a deep and deplorable reproach to
our national character, that, because our country /ms

been embroiled in hostilities with Great Britain, we

should Vindictively persist in being. _forevm*,tl1e here--
ditary enemies of that nation, and of all that appen-

ttains to it.
 rA French minister, in this country, once spoke of

the prevalence, in some department, or departments,
of our government, ofa ‘ language ofiicial,’ and a ‘~ lan»

“guage corzfider2tz’a[,’ Mr. A. may, possibly, have intend-

ed, in the last passage extracted, and in some others

A of his Address, to refine upon this distinction, by su-

peradding What he may deem---erroneously, Ilhope-~—--

a language popular. But men, fond of public honors,

would‘ do well to remember, that there is a broad difi-»

25

ference between ‘ thatpopularity. which follows.’ andi
that,‘ ‘ which is" run afier.’ The former is holzrmr ; the
latter., disgrace. l l i  A z ‘  * l

 But the injusticeof the languagmlast quoted from

the Address,iWilL probably, appear slight. and alntositl.

venial, when compared with the coldeblooded inhu-
manity, and uimpious hardihood, which could have
dictated such a passage. as the following:---2 It is not

tolevoke, from the sepulchre oftime, the is/tades ofde--

parted Tyranny; it isnot to clraw, frorntheir dread

abode, the Afraillies of an unfortunate monarch, who
i now sleeps with his fathers, and the szrfiQa~rz'r2g.9 ofvvrhosei

latter days may have atoned, at the bari‘ of Divirte JVIer-
cy for the sms, which tl’1_e‘aCc?1sir1g flngel WILL 13tEAI),
from this scrollfilto his charge ; it is not to exult, in the
great moral triumph? &c.“

And this was publicly pronouncecl, at our seat of
governtnent-1--by our Secretary of State----on our great

national ianniiversary.-—-—--and then published tothet

Worldl VVithout decisive evidence of the A fact; it
would appear almost vincredilrlle, thatsuch an'imle-

A cent insult upon the laws of decorum. hu'rnanit_'y., and

religiorzw-sucll a ‘bold and -prol‘ane intrusiioniintothe
unrevealed A and awful lsolerrlnitims old’ the GreatDay of

final account, had been actually‘ cotnrnmed, under

such circumstances, in a civilized ageganrl la.chris-ztian
country. *What_;=could moretleleplyl scand::=nlize‘a
christian, a man of feeling, or a man of common cour-—

ltesy andcommon delicacy. than to hear the personal

% i  it We haV7ie‘a1l heard of a i‘bar’4of‘ju$2fice, and of a mercy—seat,'Aand
e.thr0rte»of irnercy : But El. ‘ bari of lvnercg/.,t (forripitg/A, or o_flkz'nrlrzesr,')l;iis

quite noiiel.l l ‘ .

 true identicail ‘scrol1’,’(thedeclaration Qf'indep%endence,){whicl1;,

the Orator held irthis hand! i
D

26
calamities of a deceased fiswllziw-»ilaein,q,'. s11Ff'r~ring. Wliilé‘
in l‘ili5.', llI'l(l€'I' the fl](‘sSlL aficloictiive visit:-ation.m with Vvhicll
a Holy God over chastened any ofiour taller: and t‘i-nil
race-mthus Wantouly mud im*icliousl_y bv'o.u§ght into pub»
lic View. and parad<=~d before the world. for the pur-»
pose of suggestirigithe chm-itablo supposition. that

they may, porssibly, have ~atom-vi’ for his ~.s~ins!”"‘-—~«--I_

had ‘supposed it“'v»t0 be ar1_est:ablieslaml canon of hunm--
nity, and decency. that. of itlil t".l1ing;s. on lllis :~%i(l4=~» of’
the grave, pcrso/aal ca/.il.zmz'rz'e.9, and i.:~fl£(,7:f’z'oru;. im.=lucml by
‘ the visitation of God,’ were tthae zzntmt Sucre-cl :?i_gairsst
insultgor wzanton ir1t.rusion;; A omllizm. which, l.~:t:,ill
humbly hope, the p!‘E’S‘(?l")’ll l7€ml1io:::,:hli?¥~i nttodo of ‘Nau-
tionality’ has not, yet.,lutterlyl a.l:;ro,._<:;'m.tce><l., in our (‘.'.0U1’1"'s
try. V A o o _ 1

And who is this. thus coolly, and finely ssp«~(-u:ll::2ti:)g.,w
in 3 «public _asssezn.bly*, about a pos.-sihle .s-et»o ~--—--at the
‘ Grand .’—X:.-a.~f.siz<=e’ of the Ur1iw»~x*se:~--—c>li' the .s*iu.s:. and Item»
pom! .¢2§fl‘erirzg.s*, ofa mar1.,rm<l u prince. now in l'l:m dust Pi

Who is tl"1is., discoursirxg, thus l3—xtx1iliaz*ly«—~a.a= ol’ an or- «

dinary topic~»~“-of the ~'-.s~z'ns., which tlgm recox~<ilisag An»
gel» WILLA READ to the charge ofia vmmm,lol~:>.~ um'iumrcth,,,
who ‘now sleepsawith tlniss fatljerssr.’ aml gazwstzrriptum
ousoly “rushing in, where Angels fear to tmstrl?’ Con

A hobo. ‘ a child of mortality.’ pmtalailzg of the’ ’li'o.i1l.ioa
aI1diimp.eix-factions of the ihmnam. moo? For of sue/1 a.

trace,f~wlzoi, uubiddein, Would, wantonly, and pmsuzrxpa.
tuouslyltempt the darkabyssof fi1tm'~it:y,. and by anti-A-A»

V cipation, id:-tag before the Tribunal of: tsheiludge ‘- of

quick andc1ot¢,ad.? a feeble, eririxlg-mortal. like him...

A self; émd“arraign  in 'I‘I~IAT prosernce, of ‘- Sirius? and
o éfmilties P7, One would charitably hope, that M r.‘ A...

A =MAtoneI’ Temporal, h.u-man st1fI’erings'atone for sins! Butiwiitli

theii21;11,tho1j’Ieg thgology we have no concern,

527

had,frocmsome ufnexplained ‘reasons of state,’ for
othertoccult moti»'e,evenqfl'ectcd that spirit ofper-4
sonal rancoutgpwhich his language breathes towards
the memory. of the late British king. For hypocrisy
itself is vastly less shocking and flagitious, than that

‘-'- malice, which burns beyondl the grave.’ f st

There is scarcely any severity of reprehension,

which this part ofthe Address would not fully justify.
Ishould have been ashamed to say less ‘upon it---—-a4»
shamed for my country, .-and for myself, as an indi-
vidual, belonging to it. But the subject is an fun»-
grateful one; and I willingly dismiss it, ‘without say-~
ing more. i i

These remarks have already become so extend-i

ed, that those, which remain, must be few, and gen-
eral. ,  t
The high-sounding rodomontade, the invidious
sarcasms, and the blusterixing defiance, with which the
Orator challenges Great Britain, to a comparison with

the United Statesin arms, in imprpvernents, and in

whatever hascontributed to ‘ the benefit of mankind,’
hold, in all respects, a ciolispicuoyus rank in the Ad-
dress; and especially, as continuingits formal pero-

ration. iTo hold up this part of the pe~rfor»1'nanc—e to

more contempt, would be to treat it with undeserved
lenity. It is much Worse, than barely ridiculous:

Andlthe disgust, which such a display of wanton

‘tboastting, of contemptuous lgibes, and vain-glorious
“C‘l)al‘l”eIlg‘lI‘lg. cannot fail to excite, inan intelligent and
ingenuous mind, ,it would require more than any ordi-
nary command of ,lazh,1gt1age, adeiquatelyto yexpress.

{fBut~ it istime forthe Oratorpto appearagarin,”in his

,pro,per person :-—---  

28 , '

‘ And now,‘ friends and countrymen, if the wise and learned phi»-
losophers ofthe elder world ; the first observers of notation and
aboration;[‘*] the discoverers 0f'ma=ddem'ng ethers, and invisible
planets; the inventors of congreve rockets and sharpened shells,
should find their hearts disposed to inquire, what has America
done for the benefit of lmmkind ? Let our answer be’ &c.—-—'--‘Stancl
f0Tl/L. ye champions of‘ Britannia, ruler oi the waves 2 Stanclfortlz,
yeichivnlrous knights of chorterecl liberties and rotten boroughs!
Enter the lists, ye boosters of inventive genius! Ye mighty mas-
ters of the palette and the brush.’ Ye improvers upon the sculp-
ture of the Elgefn. marbles I Ye, spazoners of fustirzn romances aml
lascivious lyrics ! Come, and inquire, what has America done for
the benefit of mamkind A! In the half century. which has elapsed.
since the cfleclnration of American independence, what linve you
done. for the benefit oi’:-mainliind ?-—--We shall not contend with you
for the prize of music, painting, or sculpture. We shall not dis-"-
turb the extntic trances of your chetrrzists, nor call from the heavens
the ardent gaze of your astronomers. V We will not ask, you, uuho
~was‘ithei»lnst president of your academy. We will not inquire,
by whose mechnriicnl combinations it was, that your stenm—bonts

, stem the currents.’ &c.-—-»--° We will not name the inventor of the

cotton-gfin,’T &c. [And so on, of bank-note engraving, s'tenm—b::it-y
tery and torpeclm]. ° It is not by the contrivance of agents of de-
struction, that America Wishes to commend her inventive genius,
to the iulmirntlion orwtlie ggrntitnde of after times; nor is it even
in the detedtion of the secrets, or the composition of new mods»-
ficumm of pl2.ysz.'cnl nature !---Her glory is not dominion, but libera-
ty. Irlor march is the lVIARCI~I or Minn! , She has a spear and o.
Shii;-id,’ &c. 8.2.0. ‘

y i *5“ ‘- The first observers‘ of notation, and abortmon :" ‘A delicate

and ‘clijgnifie:»d sm‘c:~1sm upon the discoveries of Dr. Bradley, one of l

the most modest and nminble of men-——-n philosopher of distinguish-«
ed celebrity, to whom the vvorldiis indebted forsomeiof the most
profound and ‘.:‘,-pplflllfllfl discoveries in modern astronomy. But Dr.

Brndleiy W22-IS on Englis/Lilian .’

To There is something very shrewd -and lceen in this mode of

M returning a taunt. The hint was probably taken from Dick’sre-

ply l‘.C1l)‘rlVl£?:.'. ‘ I could tell, an I- would, but l’ll see you d---cl
first. Howheit some folks is as much beholden to some other
folks, pas sometother folks is to some folks.’ ‘(Old Play.)

V 29,

What a magnificent apparatus of vapouringand
fool hardiness, have we here !. In the name ofdecen-»
cy and common sense,are we forever to be chaf‘ac-

terised as a nation of bmggarts and iswaggerers, be-
cause those, who appear to the world abroad, as the
representatives of whatever talents, learnirig, or re»
finement the nation may possess, will persist in pro-
voking the contempt of mankincl. by such gasconad-
llilg, bullying trash as this? If a nameless foreign
scrihbler occasionally disgraces the paper which he
blots, with squibs and coarse witticisms upon, our
country; tloes patriotism require, that our Secretary
of Strife should, by Way of retaliation, or otherwise,
set his seal to a self-disgrace, and a disorrace to his
own country ten fold more aggravated? I

‘ Qtticqtiitl dclirant Regard plectuntur .£lc/z»i~ui :’

And if no man in the nation should publickly protest
ag§;aiust. such ehxborate attempts to degrade it, we
shoultd t{r:.s*c7*zm the ridicule, and reproach which such

national va.ir1~glt»ry, and such contemptuoussarcasms V

upon ilihrei,9;n genius, learning, and refinement, in
sciienee :and l;lL'1(3*t‘i.I“lS‘3 are calculated to iinyite. Is it
for our .‘§'ncrcz‘(rr3/ Q/State, the president of our orztfy
national /itcrrrtr-y institution, to pour forthsuch a sweep-
ing torrent of contempt‘ upon acknowledged improve-
ments in us(-lh|, and liberal science, and the elegant
ElpI"l$----l]p()Il that species of excellence, which it is the
ambition of every civilized nation to attain; This
seems quite  much of I/'andalz'.s~m as of 4 natioualty.’

1 It might 1~TlC(30.l'(.l., Well e1“1ough, with the character of
a barbarian, , Vvagiiiig war against the abodes and t
,m0nutnents of civilization and science, But will

the public opinion in this country, excuse or tole-

rate, in the station which Mr. A. occupies, such a

80d

display of taste, whether real or arlifected, for Wllat
have ever been ranked, by the enlightened part of
the world, among the most splendid distinctions of
national glory? May heaven "forf'e-nd!

The attempts wliich have been made in some of
our public"“‘journails, to magnify the merits of this
Address, and, more especially, the magisterial and
arrogant tone assumed in one of them, to siltmce all
critical animadversiou upon it, are, p¢=>rhaps--all cir—-
cumstances cionsidiered-—--as discreditable to the coun-
try, as the Address itself Witch all its blemishes--—»
numerous and palpable as they are---its abuse of’
‘]f:1l'lgut‘tg8, taste, propriety, humanity, and things saw
cred, it has been gravely and most extiravagantly apw
plauded for its ‘sound and elevated philosophy,’ and
for ‘-the orz'gi2zal£ty, peculiar force and poignancy, and
compre/wastes and Irzic/7. csnmgezic cxpre.s'.s'z'on, by Which,’
we are assured, the “composition is distinguished!’

And to make it a subject of‘critical animadversion,
requires... no doubt, a ‘- Brz'tis/L pen,’ or ‘- a tra72.satla7z--

tic bias !"-—-——~and V evinces, moreover, ‘inveterate ma-
levolence, or blind prepossession, or morbid delica-
Cy, or political design, or middling dulness I’---Heaven
preserve the ‘ motley corps of censurers,’ umler the

peltings of this pitiless rebuke! The Address L is

worthy of the v,_inrlication--—-the vindication of the Ad-
dress; tBut the £1PP‘Of,{1:1I‘]lZPfll, and inortlinate $2011‘?-
assurance, rvvhich haveipuudertaken to * look down all
opposition’ of opinion in literature. politics and ‘- mat-
ters and thrings in general,’ may possibly find greater‘
difiieulty than appears to be apprehenclecl, in even

i averting fl.‘_0l'1'1 this one e<lifyir1,§;,efl'usiol’1 of a favourite;

aerator. the reprrehension due toit from an ‘intel‘ligenl:

public. A ‘ ,  
  ,, ,   ‘ , VINDEX.