Page images
PDF
EPUB

R

confidence: let it be heard, and seen, and felt, that duelling and duelists are infamous-and their plea is gone. If after this, any of our citizens should persist in the practice-they will convict themselves in the face of heaven and earth, of fighting from the impulses of ferocious malignity and thirst of blood.

The political power of the people will be arranged on the side of individual virtue, of domes tic happiness, and of public morals.

Many an unhappy man, who would otherwise be hurried away by notions of false honor, and the dread of open scorn, will be preserved to himself, his family, and his country.

The stream of public opinion, thus efficaciously turned against a crime of frequent occurrence and the blackest die, will obliterate the reproach of our name, and prevent the accumulation of both guilt and sufferance.

As no retrospect is designed what is past being considered as past-an opportunity will be given to those who may have been unwillingly drawn into duels, to declare themselves in the cause of their convictions of truth.

Such, fellow citizens, are the sentiments which have given rise to the Anti-Duelling Associa. tion of New-York. You are earnestly entreated to join in a general and solemn resolution never to confide the interests of your families and your country to the hands of men, who, by future commission of the crime of duel ling, shall prove that they nei ther fear God nor regard man. Such a resolution will refute the slander that your opinions are really favorable to their folly

and their violence. It will put away from you, as individuals, if faithfully kept, the guilt of blood. It will be as beneficial to the community as it will be consolatory to yourselves. It will speak to offenders in a tone which they will not dare to despise. And if this magnanimous conduct will not furnish an example, no example is ever to be furnished in the course of human things, that the voice of the people is the voice of God! By order of the meeting,

JOHN BROOME, Chairman. LEBBEUS LOOMIS, Secr'y. New-York, Aug. 8, 1809.

As a practical comment on the foregoing, the reader is requested to contemplate the sublime virtues of Christian forbearance, and forgiving insult, exemplified in the following anecdote of the brave, the celebrated

MARSHAL TURRENNE,

Ir was well known of this hero, that his true heroism, (for such it really was,) was only to be equalled by his solid and manly piety, equally remote on the one hand, from the superstitions of his own age, and upon the other the indifference of ours. In a court of gallantry, and in times when the point of honor, (falsely so called) was preserved, in its full extravagance, the Marshal was never known, either to fight a Duel, or to be engaged in an Intrigue. The grace, the dignity, with which he once released himself from an embarrassment of this nature, will at once give an exact idea of what he was, and be a sufficient answer to the favorite question of the defend.

ers of duelling," how is it to be refused?"-Let this anecdote of TURRENNE answer them.

A young officer, of noble family, and, with the exception of the following instance in his conduct, of real worth, imagined he had received an insult from the Marshal, and demanded satisfaction in the usual forms. The Marshal made no reply to his challenge; the officer repeated it several times, but the Marshal still maintained the same silence. Irritated at this apparent contempt, the officer resolved to compel him to the acceptance of his invitation; for this purpose he watched himupon his walks, and at length met him in the public street, accompanied by two other general officers: he hurried towards him, and to the astonishment, and even terror of all who saw him, spat in the Marshal's face. Let us endeavor to form some conception of the grossness of the insult. The object of it was the great TURRENNE, a Marshal of France, and one of the greatest generals, that Europe has produced!-The companions of the Marshal, started back in amazement; the Marshal, his countenance glowing with a sense of indignity, seized the hilt of his sword, and had already half unsheathed it, when, to the astonishment of the spectators, he suddenly returned it to the scabbard, and taking his handkerchief from his pocket, Young man, said he, could I wipe your blood from my conscience, with as much ease, as I can your spittle from my face, I would take your life on the spot. Go, Sir

[ocr errors]

Saying this, the Marshal retired, in all the majesty of trium

[blocks in formation]

THE following example of escape from apparently inevitable death is so singular, that I think is deserves to be recorded, and cannot but prove acceptable to your readers.

In the attack of Manilla by sir William Draper, in the year 1762, captain Richard Bishop, of the marines, greatly distinguished himself by his intrepidity and professional knowledge; in consequence of which, he was by that general made governor of the town and fort of Cavite, the principal port in the island of Lu. conia. At this time there was in the neighborhood a Malay of extraordinary bulk and strength, and of the most ferocious dispo sition, who had formerly worked in the dock yard, but had deserted, and having collected nearly a hundred men of like character with himself, committed every species of lawless violence on the persons and property of the peaceable inhabitants. For the apprehension of this man captain Bishop had long offered considerable rewards, but without effect; when, one day riding out with a brother officer attended by about forty men, he saw this desperado, armed with a carbine, a brace of pistols,a

scymetar, and a dagger, issue out of a wood at a short distance, at the head of his troop. Instigated by a sudden emotion of resentment, Bishop determined to inflict on this man the just punishment of his offences; but being himself without weapons, he borrowed a pistol from the holsters of the officer who accompanied him. Thus provided, he galloped up to the Malay, and presented the pistol to his head. The Malay and his followers, confounded at this bold act of a single man, offered no resistance. The pistol missed fire; on which, Bishop, striking the Malay with it a violent blow on the head, knocked him off his horse. the mean while the English troop, hastening to the assistance of their leader, and concluding him to be fully equal to cope with his fallen antagonist, pursued the banditti, who immediately fled, and both parties were soon out of sight. All this was the work only of a few seconds; during which, Bishop seeing the Malay stunned on the ground, alighted in order to secure him; or, if necessary, to kill him with one of his own weapons. No sooner, however, was he off his horse, than the Malay was on his feet, and began a desperate struggle with his rash assailant.

In

It was

the business of the former merely to employ his own offensive weapons; the latter had the double necessity of defeating their use, and of applying them to his own advantage. The Malay was singularly strong and active, in. ured to hard labor, and exerting himself in his native climate: the Englishman of much less muscular force, and that reduced by long privations, and by the

influence of excessive heat; but the disparity was in a considerable degree compensated by the energy of an invincible mind.

This contest for life continued for almost an hour, when at length Bishop, almost fainting with fatigue, was thrown on his back, and the Malay, kneeling on him, drew his dagger, and with all his force aimed at his breast the fatal blow. At that moment Bishop, exerting his last remains of strength, with both hands averted the point of the dagger as it descended, and changing its direction, drove it upwards into the throat of the Malay, who immediately fell down dead upon him.

Bishop, unable to walk, crawled on his hands and knees to his horse, which he found grazing at the distance of a quarter of a mile, near the spot where the contest began. He mounted him with difficulty, and was soon afterwards happily joined by his friends, who had chased their opponents into some dangerous passes, and returned, not without solicitude for the fate of their commander, whom they had so long left.

The victor carried away the spoils of his enemy, part of which, the scymetar and fatal dagger, the writer of this letter has more than once seen.

The

story was first related to him by captain Bishop himself, and afterwards fully confirmed by the late colonel Flint, who at that time served with captain Bishop in the island.

Your readers will naturally look with anxiety to the subsequent history of this gallant officer; and they will learn, with deep regret, that he was lost on

board his majesty's ship the Thunderer, commanded by commodore Walsingham, in the great hurricane which occurred in the

West Indies, in the year 1780.
I am, sir, Your obedient
Servant, P. H. C.
London Athenæum.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

To the Editors of the Panoplist.

ON Tuesday last (September 26) an examination of the students in Theology was held at Andover in the chapel of the new building. A spectator begs leave to inform the public, through the channel of your excellent work, that, in the opinion of the strangers present, the students did great honor both to their instructors and to themselves. For himself he takes the liberty to say, that, although he has very often been a witness of examinations in learning and science, he has never been better satisfied with any exhibition of this nature. The friends of the religion of our forefathers will be pleased to learn, that this is the system which alone and unmixed was disclosed in a manner highly gratifying. The progress of

the students in Sacred Literature was not less honorable than in Theology.

After the examination was finished, a very handsome address was deliv. ered to the audience by Mr. Spring one of the students.

success of the missionary labors. The school at present consists of fifteen scholars. They make good proficiency in learning to speak En glish; for this they have good ad vantages, as some of the children of the interpreter and some others in the school, can speak both the En glish and Wyandot language very well. The scholars are now brought under strict discipline in school.

Mr. George Anderson was employed and went to Sandusky in November last to take charge of the school, and to devote his whole attention to it. In the following extract from his letters the committee will learn how the school is conducted.

"In the morning when we rise, which is always as soon as it is light, the scholars attend to washing them selves and getting ready for school; we are generally ready by a little af ter sunrise to begin school, and always have a lesson round before breakfast. As soon as breakfast is over we attend to family worship altogether; after that we go to school, and commonly have five lessons round before dinner, sometimes but four. After dinner four lessons are com monly said, and then dismiss the school with prayer. After school is out we have our handmill to attend to, to grind corn for our supper. When supper and worship are over, the children are sent to bed. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF Then I have an hour or two to my

The number of the students at present, is thirty-six. Sept. 28th, 1809.

RXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT OF

THE WESTERN MISSIONARY SO-
CIETY TO THE COMMITTEE OF
MISSIONS.

THE Sandusky mission, under their care, having been prosecuted through the last year with diligence, is, not without difficulties nor without many encouraging interpositions of Divine Providence, promoting the

self, which I employ in reading, writ ing letters, &c."

The institution underwent a severe trial last summer, from the unfriendly offices of the traders mentioned in former reports, and from the influ ence of the Seneca prophet.

A speech was sent to governor Hull, superintendant of Indian affairs, by the chiefs of Upper Sandusky,

written for them by one of the most unfriendly of the traders, which contained several charges against Mr. Badger; the sum of which was, that the good people of Pennsylvania had sent a large sum of money by him to Sandusky for the use of the Indians: that the good people of Ohio had sent a number of cattle for them; and that Mr. Badger kept the cattle for his own use, and had never given them one dollar of the money.

His excellency on receiving the speech politely forwarded a copy to the society, requesting them to investigate the case.

The society had previously recommended a visitation of the missionary station by two members of the board, the Rev. Messrs. Thomas Marquis and John Anderson; on receiving the governor's communication another member, the Rev. Elisha Macurdy, was added to the visiting committee.

On the 27th of August Messrs. Marquis and Anderson arrived at Upper Sandusky. Mr. Badger and Mr. Walker, interpreter, met them here. Preached on the 28th, Sabbath, to a large and attentive audience; preached again at night at the black people's town, they all attended and appeared seriously affected. On the 29th they had a conference with the chiefs who sent the forementioned speech to the governor.

The committee proceeded to Low. er Sandusky to the missionary station, where they met with their other member, Mr. Macurdy. They spent a considerable time in viewing the various improvements on the farm, buildings, stock, examining the acCounts of the mission (receipts and expenditures of money,) hearing the children repeat their lessons, and inquiring into the state of the mission generally, and what had been done for the Indians.

It appeared that Mr. Badger had employed all the means put into his hands by the society with care and diligence.

The accounts rendered of all monies and articles forwarded to him were fair and satisfactory.

While the committee was thus engaged, the celebrated Seneca prophet (Cornplanter's brother,) with upVOL. II. New Series.

wards of thirty chiefs and warriors, arrived at Sandusky, to counsel with the Wyandots and neighboring tribes on some of their national con

cerns.

Preparations for entertaining so many visitants, and for conducting the ceremonials of their reception, occupied the minds of the Indians so much, that they could not pay much attention to the concerns of the mission. The arrival of the great prophet, at the same time, encouraged the party, who were attached to paganism.

Their expectations of the beneficial wonders which the prophet would perform were bounded by nothing short of raising the dead.

These circumstances were most unfavorable to the business of the committee. Friendly Indians were in confusion, and the prophet's party were impertinent.

After much delay, the chiefs and warriors of the lower town, and Crane, with several chiefs from the upper town, met the committee in council. They stated all their complaints against Mr. Badger fully, and were made to understand his instructions from the society (as stated above in the minutes of the council at the upper town,) and the benevolent intentions of the society towards them in future.

The committee found their complaints to originate in misrepresentation and misunderstanding generally. Pains had been taken to persuade them, that the cattle and hogs ought to have been given to them to feast upon; that the hands employed by the society to labor on the farm ought to be employed solely in laboring for them: and that farming tools should have been purchased for their use with the money contributed for the mission.

Another source of complaint was the nonfulfilment of promises. When these were examined, it appeared, that they already expected the full accomplishment of every thing which they had been taught to look for, as the ultimate benefits of the mission; and those advantages which were to be produced principally by their own exertions in improving the means afforded them by the society, they ex

Z

« PreviousContinue »