‘W ...
..—.(
F rom‘t7ze N. Y. Mirror.
V LINES.
BY WlJ'.I}lAM cox.
O coldly gleams the setting sun,
And the dews’of eve are chill,
l The flood is lit the valley,
’ And the mist upon lbe hill.
l‘,Iovember’s blast comes sweeping, ‘
' ’- Through the forest lone and sere-—
‘ :And the waning year goes creeping,
To her cold andvwintry bier.
\Vhat matter. Spring is coming,
In a path bestrewn with flowers;
And joyous summer follows,
J-Vith the laughing, rosy hours:
And ‘warm again will beam the sun,
-‘And gently breathe the wind-
, But when comes spring or summer
lTo the winter of the mind !
S
. ~ ' \Vhen the'glow of life has faded,
v Antl;comcs on the ague-cliill—
- And the spirit’s springis broken,
That mock’d each petty ill :
Arid the world’s cold ways are round us—
And hope no longer ciiecrs—— -
.= And fond, bright dreams lie buried
‘ ‘ J .-Inithe ashes of past years.
\VlLy what remains ?_— To bear our fate
- Anti breast tlie downward tide;
A-ml q nell each weak and foolish plaint,
And patiently abide
Our earthly doom: and firmly keep
The spirit free from stain,
And calmly walk in duty’s path-—
“\V,e will not walk in vain:
’ For partial glcams of gladncss
”\‘Vi'll yet come, as of yore;
And. mirili leap up from sadness,
Though joy revt-uriis no more! ,
And temperate au1nmn‘s soothing thoughts
\Vill gently rotmtl as wind-
‘nt ne'er conic spring or sunimcr
To the winter -of the mind,
‘ . - INFALIING B EAUTY.
\ « Elc lllEll——lt)\'i?S a rosy check,
. r ‘ Or a coral lip admires, V
‘e 0‘r'l'roni star-like eyes tlotli scek
’ "Fuel to maintain his fircs;
As old time makes these decay.
Sohis flames -must waste away.
'I
‘But a smor-.th and steadfast mind,
Gentle thoughts and calm desires,
_’ Hearts with equal love combin‘d,
_/ Kindle never-dying fires;
\Vhere these are not, I despise
' Lovely cheeks, or lips, or eyes.
i ‘- Thomas Carctc, 15-10.
2.---.. Cb-(I .. x. .-a . . _ —..~——~-———
RELKARKABLE S'l‘9R1'.
From a notice of Illtrslralions of Ifumrm Life,
a new" work, bv the author of Tremaine
and De Vere, ill the’ monthly Magazine for
April. .
. Tide story-‘Ito which we shall now advert has
the double yaltic of being told, we prcsunie, on
Mr. \Vard’s personal knowledge ,and of illtistrat-
_> iugthe cxtrnordiuarv cliarices on whicli human
t_ l'fe is sotnciinics suffered to depend. The cir-
., cumstances occurred to the well known Sir
1 Evan Nepean, in the Home Department. The
' .
’ I 1 ifiopular version of the story has been, that he
F}, "‘ nvas warned ‘by a vision to save the lives of
g'--,_._ ‘three or four men condemned to die, btit repriev-
ed ;. and who, but for the vi.~:iot'is, vvonltl have
ry pcrislietl, through the tinder-.Secrct'ary’s neglect
,. ,r«.,-l_ * in forwarding the reprieve. On Sir Evan's be-
in’g stiliscfpicntly asked how far this story was
true, his answer was: ‘t 'l‘lieuarrative romances
ti little, but what it alltitlcs to was '.he most ex-
‘trntirtliiirrry tlr'r:g that ever happened to me."
The sitiipic facts, as told _by himself. are these :
One night. during his ollicc as itntler-Secretary,
he felt the most unaccountable wrikefulncss that
c lltll)(.‘ln1t1,L{l!‘-i?tl: he wasin perfect health, had
‘ i \ tlincd early, and had nothing whatever on his
‘piintl to keep him awake. Still, he fotiud all his
attempts to sleep iuipossiblc. and, from eleven
till two‘in tli_c ii'ioruin_L'. had never closed an eye.
At length, weary of this struggle, and as the
twfiliglit was breaking, (it was in summer.) be de-
tertnincd to try wh,'it would be the effect of ti
"walk in the park. There he saw nothing but
the sleepy sentincls. ‘But, in his walk. happen-
, ing to pass the Home Oliice several tlnies. he
_tlionglit oflettiiigliiinsclfin with his key. tliongli
v.-itliout any particular object. The book of
entries of the day before still ‘lay on the table.
and through sheer listlessncsshe opened it. The
first thing he saw appalled him ‘—-“ A reprieve to
be sent to York forthe coincrs ordered for execu-
tion.’ The excciitionliadbccn appointed for the
ncxt day. It struck nim that he had received
7 riri i=e’ft‘irii to liisforder to send the reprieve. Ile
searched the “tniniites ;”’he could not find it
there. In alarm, he went to the house of the
rliicfclerk. who lived in Downlngstrert, knocked
him up. (it. was thcupast three.) and asked him
ifhe knew anything of the reprieve being sent.
«In great alarm, the chief clerk could not remem-
hcr. “ You are scarcely awake,” said Sir Evan,
l ‘ §‘ recollect yoiirsclf; it rnustbavc been sent.”
* t ‘- The chief ‘clerk said that he now recollcctcd
'-he had sent it to the clerk oftlie Crown, whose.
' business it was to forward it to York.
“ Good,” said Sir Evan. “But have you his
’ _ rgceipt and certificate that it is gone?"
. “ No.”
i —, “Then coine witli-ine to his house; we must
— findbim, it is so early." It was now fotir, and
" ‘the clerk oftlic Crown lived in Chancery lane.
Therewas no hackney coach to be seen, and they
almost ran. They were just in time. The
clerk- of the Crown had a country house, and
7 meaning to have a long holiday. he was at that
‘ moment stepping into his gig to go to his villa.-
- Astonished at the visit of the unrler-Secretary of
. 5. State at such an hour, he was still mor'e,_so at his
l ’ausiriess.’’ - i
‘“ Heavens!” cried he, “'tli'e' reprieve is locked
_/up in my desk l” ‘It was brought. Sir Evan
sent to the post ofiice for the truest and flcetest
express. The reprieve reached York next morn-
inrrjust at the moment the unhappy men were
cending the cart. ,
-NVith Sir Evan Nepeau, we fully agree in re-
- garding this’ little narrative as one of the most
extraortlinary that we have ever heard. \Ve
‘shall go further even than he acknowledged, and
say that, to us. it appears striking evidence of
what we should’con.ceive a su pcrior interposition.
It is true that nogliostappears, nor is any prom p.t--
‘ i'ngEroice audibfo ; yet the result dcpentled upon
. so long a succession of what seeined chances, and
each df these chances was at once so improbable
' and so necessary. that we are almost compelled
to regard the whole as matter ofan influence not
to be attributed to man. lfthe first link of the
, chain might. pass for a common occurrence ; as,
- undoubtedly, fits of wakefulness will happen
' without any discoverable ground in the state of
' either body or mind—still, what could be less in
the common course of things than thus waking.
‘ , -he should takeit into his head to get up and take
. a walk in the park at two in the morning? Yet,
- ' ifhe liad,l'ike others. contented himselfwitli tak-
“ ing a walk round his chamber. or enjoying the
' cool air at his window, not one oftlic succeeding
events could have occurred, and the men must
I have been sacrificed. _ Or if, when he took this
walk, hehad be'cn content with getting rid oftbe
I feverishucss oftlic night. atid r_ctnrucil'to‘lii.-s bed
the chain would. litwe" been broken ; for what
4
if
J
V self?
" it
'_ ~- - '\_ . .. -.
var... co. 5
“ Do.\"'r GIVE
«
up "rut-2 snip.”
NOR.$VAE.E{,‘ cotviv. Wrsgenaspmz, an an M,‘ 18837.
_ V‘ .. .--.. ......- r .. .. . 7.. .,..
N0. 14.
was more out ofilie natural course of events than
that, at two in the morning, the idea should
come into the head of any man to go to his office. i
and sit down in the lonely rooms of his depart-_
ment, for no purpose of business or pleasure. but
simply from not knowing what to do with him-
Or if, when he had let liimselfinto those
solitary rooms, the book ofcntries had not lain
on the .tal3l.c : (and this we presume to have been
among the chances, as we can scarcely suppose
books of this official importance to be generally
left to their fate among the servants and messen-
_ gers oftbe otlice ;) or, ifilie entry, instead ofbc-
ing on the first page that opened to his eye, had
been onany other, even the second, as he never
. might liavetaken the trouble ofturniug the page;
or if he and the cliicfclerkzliatl been five minutes
, later at the clerk oftbe Cro\vn’s house. and, in-
stead offinding him at the moment of getting
into his carriage, had been compelled the delay
of bringing him back from the country, all the
prccedingevents would have been useless. The
people would have died at York, for, even as it
was, there was not a moment to spare; they
were stopped on the very verge ofexecution.
The reniarkablc. feature oftbe whole is, that
the chain might have been snapped at every
link, and that every link was eqnally.important.
in the calculation of the probability of any one
ofthe occurrences, a mathematician would find
the chances very hard against it ; but the calcula-
tion would be prodigiously raised against the
pr'ob‘abilit.y of the whole. Ifit is asked whether
a sutlicient grountl for this liinli interposition is to
be discovered in savingtlie lives ofafew wretch-
ed ~culprits, who, as frequently in such cases,
probably returned to their wicked trade as soon
as they escaped. and only plunged themselves
into deeper iniquity, the answer is not for us, in
our ignorance, to mete out the value of a human
life, li_nwever criminal in the eyes oflieaven,
A STEAMBOAT RACE
The manner in which steamboat races, which
so frequently end in the dreadful destruction of
human life, are conducted on the \Vcstern wa-
tcrs, is given in the last Peoria Refister, and
was written by Illr. .S'a2itucl[—I_. Dr;-via, ivlio. was
in cue of the boats.
' 'l‘l!F. 1i.i.\"1*i~“.it.
On \Veducsday morning, the 14th April, the
captain oftlie Franklin stepped on board oftlie
Phillips, both boats being at Louisville, and, af-
ter the usual salutations, put his hand somewhat
significantly to his neck. “\Vhat’s the matter
with your neck ?” asked the captain of the
Phillips. “I strained it," replied the other,
“ lookiugback foryon the last run we made ’-"
“ \Vell.” said captain ,McClain, " If I can~?g"1(::
enough frcightfor ballast‘, you shall strain it look-
ing the other way to-day.” Thus the challenge
was given. and accepted. The thing took wind
and bets of$100 to 75 were made that theFrank-
liti would beat the Phillips one hour. The lat-
ter got" no freight, and had to run under this dis-
advantage.
'riti~: ST.-\I‘.'1‘.
The Franklin leli port at 11 o’clock, with her
usual complement offrieghtand passengers, and
proceeded all in gallant style. Tlie,Pliillips leli
at 35 minutes past 11, just as her challenger was
passing Six~l\lile island. She had no freight.
but she had a good supply or pine knots, in addi-
tion to her stock of wood. which was. for the most
part, dry beech, and excellent. The Franklin
being a daily passenger boat between Cincinnati
and Louisville, of cotirse contracts for and ob-
tains the best wood oti the river. The Phillips
had about thirty cabin. and the same number of
deck passengers; among thelatter wasa bugler
who. from the hurricane deck. sent forth several
stirring airs, as the boat shoved offand got under
way. The effect seemed enchanting. Mer-
chants, clerks draymen, all dropped their pur-
suits, arid became gazers upon tbescene.
OVERHAUL AT MADISON.
Though the Franklin was observed six miles
ahead on our leaving port, yet, from the bends
in the river, and the smokiness of the atmosphere
she was soon lost sight of, and not seen again
until we arrived near Madison, 50 smiles from
Louisville. Here she had stripped ten minutes,
probably to deliver the mail, and was half :1
mile ahead as we passed the town. Thus we
had gained at least twenty minutes upon her in
this distance. Till this time, very few of the
passengers knew oftlie race. The sight oftbe
Franklin the swiftest boat on the \Vestern wa-
tcrs; the fact that she was six miles ahead on
our leaving Louisville, and that we were now
within hail, produced a beliefin the minds ofall
that we could beat her, and made us disposed to
try.
PASS AT wAitsAw.
The boats kept about the same distance from
each other for the nexttliirty miles, to \Varsaw,
where the Franklin was compelled to touch to
deliver the mail. The Phillips shot ahead, and
obtained five or six lengths. when the Franklin
was offagain, under a high head ofstcam. She
gained upon the Phillips ‘mightily.’ Then the
contagion spread through every soul on board.
“ Go ahead, captain——keep her in the wake—
linzza for the Phillips !” was in every rnouth.-—
Nothing could‘ exceed the spirit of the firemen
and deck hands. The hatches were thrown open,
pine knots covered the deck, and two or three
axes kept going in splitting and breaking them ;
the deck passengers were huddled into the‘ bow,
to give the boat more dip; the chain wagons
were hauled front one side to the other. as she
careened i volumes of lurid flame issued from
the tops of the chimneys, while dense clouds of
black smoke filled the atmosphere over us. It
was plain that no less excitement prevailed on
board the Franklin. Thus far she had been
queen of the waters. \Vould she see herself
eclipsed without making a mighty-effort.? The
way that both boats went“ was acaution.”
RISING sun.
The relative distance between the two boats
was but little altered for twelve or fifteen miles
front \Varsaw. The Franklin would sometimes
leave otir wake by putting her head to the right
orto the left, and attempting to getin a line with
us. After repeated failures she at last. succeed-
ed a few miles below Rising Sun. This is
twcniv miles from Warsaiv. From its high
l)3l'lliS‘{1.llll_B view is bad of the river below. The
citjzccds saw the boats approaching, and lined the
b‘auk.s as we passed tlicui. ' In passing the two
tctl with loud and continued cheers. No rc-
boats were " nook and neck," and we were saln- .
spouse was sent back from either boat ; not .a
sound was heard save the sgngrous brealhings of
the scape-pipes and the \vliirl"’of' the watcrwliccls.
The right to respond belonged only to the victor,
and that distiction was yet to be won.
ALARM or THE LADIES,
A few miles above Rising Sun, the boats.
which till now had been abreast, and from ten to
fifty feet apart. struck each other with a slight
concussion. The ladies of whom there were
twelve or fifteen on board the Phillips, became
alarmed, and besouglit their husbands to inter-
fere. \Vhile this consternation prevailed in the
ladies’ cabin and state-rooms, a differeut- scene
was witnessed witliotit; the two boats seemed
to be lashed together, the ofiicers ofeacli shaking
hands across the railings. and the firemen and
crew looking defiance. As the passengers step-
ped out on the guards on either side, they w‘ere
promptly ordered back, that the boats might be
kept in trim, the Phillips, especially, being so
light that the weight of four or five men would
carcen her over like. a canoe. The highest ex-
citement prcvailcd. The Franklin no- longer
regarded the delivery ofthc mail, and, had M r.
I{cndall’s penalty been ten fold greater, it would
not have weighed a feather. The river in front
oftlie boats, from the light of the furnaces, seein-
ecl a sheet offirc, while the sky continued over-
cloudcd with the dense volumes of smoke which
poured forth [from the chimneys. Sometimes
the Franklin would shoot ahead. Otir very
breaths were held in suspense. Then would
the Phillips recover her grotintl,autl pass her art-
versary an equal distance. The cheers which
had been sent forth a minute before were now
returned with hearty good will, and a determina-
tion to triumph, mixed with many horrid im-
precations, was belchctl forth by the crew of
both vessels. In passing Petersburg,tlie boats
again struck with a more violentconcussion than
before; the alarm of the ladies increased, the
captain oftlie Phillips was besought to tlesist,aiid
assured that the ladies in qucst.ion, from their
constitutional nervousness. could not survive the
excitement. Captain McClain yielded to their
importuuitics, and, in passing the point above
the town just named, bore away and left the
channel to the Franklin, while a heart_V cheer,
followed by a gun, resoundcd from the lattcr.—-
Oii board the Franklin it is said the ladies were
even inoie alarmed. Catnplior, ammonia, and
all the rcstoratives on board, flew round in pro-
fusion, until tlie cabin resembled a chiniical
laboratory. .
, ARRIVAL .-yr ciNci'.\'.\‘A'rr.
The Phillips fell in the rear ofthe Frauklin.z-is
i above related, twenty-five miles below Cincin-
nati. Slic tiiaiutaiiicd her distance to port, and
came in three lengths asterii, at ten minutes past
one, having performed the run in tliiitccu lzuurs
and thirty-live minutes-150 miles.
A FABLE.
(By a Democrat ‘dyed in the l/Fool.)
A Fox oocday going through a farm yard,
plenty of provcndcr, coinfurtably rcgaling liim—
self after a hard day's work. The Fox, stepping
up to the patient animal, eyed him for some
time in silence; btit at length he exclaimed:
‘ Honest friend, I see you are very sick, you
have a frightful boil upon the shoulder. which
I am sure must. ‘give you much pain; nay, I
can tell you, ifit is not quickly healed, it will
soon eat up all your substance. Now, only lis-
ten to me; put yourself under my care, and I
promise you Iwill. in a very short time, coin-
pletely rirl you oftbe disorder.’
‘ Nay. friend,’ said the quiet animal in reply,
‘do not, I beg of you, distress yourself so much
on my account, for do you not perceive how
well I thrive as I an) ? The evil you latncnt.
so much is but small, I scarcely feel it, and it
gives me no trouble; bcsidcs,I am not quite un-
niindlul of it, but keep it within bounds. so that
it does notspread too mitcli, so that it rather con-
duccs to my health. as you may stirely see by
my good condition.
‘Alas!’ replied the Fox, in a tone of kind
compassion, ‘ you are shamefully imposed upon.
This disease is a mammoth, and will certainly
destroy you. So listen to my advice, and let
me care you. I promise you for certain, that
in a very short time you will be much better off
than you now are.’ The Fox plied his argu-
merits and promises so well. that the Ox became
convinced, and consented to place itself under
his care. Then the Fox went to work, and la-
bored on the body of the Ox with ardent zeal;
As he worked the crednlous Ox grew worse, but
this convinced him of the Fox's skill : for now
he really was sick, and that was what the Fox
had told him. Of such demonstration the Ox
could not resist the force. Having long submit-
ted to all the Fox’s remedies, the poor animal.
which had been before so plump and fat, saw it-
sclf rapidly sinking, and at length fairly laid it-
self down on the ground in the last agonies of
death. As he lay gasping intliis situation. he
slowly turned its head round to observe his ema-
ciated form. when lo! he now discovered that
in place of one boil, his back and his shoulders
were covered with a thousand !
.‘Alas!’ exclaimed the suffering animal, ‘to
what a dreadful situation I am come! I was
well offbefore with one slight evil but now Iam
dying with a thousand !’
The Fox conceali is dismay at the result
of his promises, repliet, ‘ Good friend, I told
yoti so; see now! was I not right when I told
you the disease would kill you 'l’
‘True,’ moaned the Ox, ‘ you told me so-
butifoneslight sore appeared so bad to you,
though I flourished tmder it, what tnink you of
me now, and of yourself‘ too, when you have
covered me with the disease from my head to
my feet 'I’_
, 1iror._-i.L_.
There are some necessary evils in civil socie-
ty, yvhich, like the boil on the Ox’s shoulder.
when kept within bounds, are beneficial and
wholesome, but when cxtcmled and spread
abroad without check or limitation, lead to ruin
and certain destruction. The Doctor, who finds
his patient in a state of health and soundness.
become sick and ready to die underliis reme-
dies, ought to _0l:en his eyes and acknowledge.
that it would have been better had he left his pa-
ticnt alone. ’
ll-Izuy and ./cc/ut.—-At. the Mitldlcscx _couuty
court, llrcutford, -'l‘uesda_y. .Mary Williains
saw a strong and sturdy Ox in the midst of
sumnionccl .loliri .l.~niain.< for C12.»-. nioncv alleg-
ed to have been lent to lllt: fullllltféfi sxvaiii, or
as she called him ‘Jaliii.’ llotli partit;-s had
been servants on the saint: fiirm. and the tcntlcr
heartctl Vary liati, front time to time, lciit sun-
dry shillingsto.loi.n, lrl'.lll it at lcug-_tli Lllll:filllll-
ed to the sum \\'lllt.‘ll she songlit to recover.--
Moretlian this .l=rhnliatl pr-oiniscd to iiiarrv.
Zllltl ll‘t'.ll".€ Cl g0()Ll \\'tlll'lilll tililjer, [jar] give” hilt‘
his C"“‘l"‘“‘)'3 ll.’-ltl ‘took’i’ her to the fair at
l3rooli—grecu, and had never yet *cnm’rl’ from
‘Luniiun,’ without bringing sometliiug for Mol-
iy: all this had led her to believe that Jalm
wastrust—wortliy. int, alas, man after all is
bill 11 Sinner. and what. the one sex liasiti frail-
ty, the other inakr.-s up by Shem. ,.0gUC-,-37,3111] so
the balance is kept iohsrably even, _
J33; the Court. ‘ '\\7li:it do you say to this claim,
M r. Jenkins ?’
.lol'in Jenkins s<:ratclir:d his head and . looked
alarmed: ‘Ido know I awe the money to slip,
my lord justice.’ ‘
By fur}/nzrzr.‘-.—'l‘ltcri why donut you pay the
money to she 7’ ,
‘ It wor :1 tilfllltfl‘ o’ swcrxtlit-afliizg aiwccn us‘,
said John .lcnkius, looking iinpluringly at i\Iar_v
Villiams. ‘It wor ti iiiuttcr as coom’d over
me like; and ali——l—-ztli—oli. Molly,’ said he,
turning liastily round, ‘ oh, Molly. l’sc gotten a.
place of vonrtrzen shillings a week, and if so be
thoiil’t make tip agin l’sc puttcu up the banus
this worry rlay.’
‘ \Vill ’cc Jalir, tliougli i’ will ’cc l’ deinantl-.
ct] Molly.
‘ Ecs, cos. dom’d if Idozint, as zure as beans
haint clover.’
‘He, he, Julia.’ said hlary, ‘wliat‘ll the world
say then, huh. John ‘I’
‘ Trtic Molly; now do ’cc speak tothe judge,
doaiit ’cc let be son I to prison ;_ do ’cc Molly,
speak to ’uu.’ I
Molly relented, but not before the order was
made out for .lahn to pay the amount within a
tnontli.
Jrlfln.-—Blll. if zo be I be married to she afuro
the inoiitli be up. then be I to pay?
'1'/tc C'ourl.——Ccrtainly not. But. understand
if y0_u do not perform your promise, you must
either pay the uiouc_v or go toprisoii.
])q/izm/anI.———’l’liank ’cc zur. thank ’cc; come
along l\l.olly.’
blolly curtisicd to the Court, and the two lo-
vers fpiitted in a tone of mind that leaves us to
hope they will bless the day that brought them
together again.
The Tables Turncr/.-—_-\t tl;cI}oiicgal Assi'/.-
es the following ctirious cross-exaurination of a
witness occasioned mucli nicrriuicnt in the
COl_ll‘l--
Mr. Dolicrty.--\Vliat business do you fol-
low.
I am a SCll0t"ll1L'l.’~'lt7_‘l'.
Did you turn off your scholars, or did they
turn you off.
I do not wish to answer irrcvclant questions.‘
(Laiigliteiz)
A re you a great f.'ivoritr- with your pupils?
Ali, truth. am I, a iniic_li greater favorite than
you are \\‘llll‘lll6 public.
\-Vlicre were you sir, this night? _
This niglit, said the witness--tlict'c is a learn-_
ed man—tliis night is not come yet. I suppose
you mean that night. (here he looked at the
_lUtlgc. and winked, his eye as if in triuiiiph)
Ipresunic ‘the schooliuastcr was abroad‘ that
night doing nothing’?
Define ‘ nothing.’ said the witness.
Mr. Dolicrty did not comply. \Vell, said the
learned schoolmaster, I will define it-—it is a
footless stocking without a lcg. (‘Roars oflaugli-
tcr in which his lordship joined)
You may go down, sir.
Faith, I believe you are tired enough of inc;
but it is my profcssslon to cnliglitr-n the public,
and if you have any more questions to ask l
will answer them.
Is not gaining ti great. victory the Illti.'~'l glori-
ous thing in the world?’ observed ‘ti lady to the
Duke of \Vcllington at the time of the occupa-
tionof Paris by the allies. The Duke rcplit-tl,
‘It is the gi'catr:st of all calamities except a dc-
feat.’ A memorable saying, and worthy oftiic.
greatest man of this or any other agc.——Lum/on
Age.
‘Nczfcr buy may thing‘ (11. I/1c ]7r,~or.’-—.=\ii
old bachelor, residing in the iieigliborhood of
Kcusington, in order to prevent itinerant traders
from annoying l.iiin by knocking at the door to
dispose of their wares, had afiixcd to his knock-
er a label ‘to this effect :—‘ Notice: The inliab-
hum of this house never buys any thing at the
door.‘ On Tticsday last he was drcatlfully an-
noyed by :1 loud knocking at his parlor window,
and looking out. he saw two fellows with brtisli-
es, and a variety "of similar articles, offering
their r.-ommoditics for sale. Throwing tip the
sash in .'.I pretty considerable rage, .’l.".t‘,(!.\l('tl ihern
with, ‘ Can't you read, you coiifounded pedlars?
‘Yes, master,’ replied one of the liawkcrs.-.-
‘Then rlon’t you see a notice affixed t.o my
knockci',tliat I never buy any thing at the door?
cried the irritated bachelor. ‘ To be sure we do,’
rctorted the other, ‘so we thought wc‘d try antl
do a little htisiiicss at the '10’/'4/:rf02c.” The fel-
low’s sl:rcwdriess so pacified the worthy magen-
ariau, that he straiglitway made a purcliasc;
but next day the following addition was made
to his aiitiotinceiiicnt: ‘ tlor at the wiiidow ei-
thcr.’
From the Review and 'l'c/egrc/1:71.
SPEECH OF IVIIL 2()Ali€DIlIAN
or i\'I-2\V-ll.-XV!-2i\",
On the proposed amcnclnicnt of the Constitution.
rcspcctirzg‘ the .’lurlir:iar_y. .
The House was very nuicli crowded; great
iiitcrest seemed to have been excited. and an
uninterrupted silence c_ont.inucd for about ten
minutes without any iiieniber rising, when the
Speaker asked the Hottsc if they were rcatly for
the question. A pause ensued for some time-—-
no member rose, the Speaker was about to put
the quesbion, when his attention was directed
by thc.address of—“Mr. Speaker.” All eyes
were directed to the quartr-.r from wlieiice the
address came, and Mr. Boardinan of New-I-Ia-
ven, was on his feet, and as nearly as we could
collect his remarks, addressed the chair as fol-
lows:
M r. Speaker-_—I cannot consent, sir, to give ti.
silcut vott.‘ on the quristiou now‘ before the
House, and yet it is not without embarrassment
that I have riscii to discuss 'i__t., On three seve-
ral occasions has it been aiinoiiiiocd from the
chair; as often lizivc its friends been called up-
on to appear in its brhalf, and urged by every
_,C.OllSltlt-2l‘Etl.l0ll of r:2:pt‘-dicntry and honor, to as.
sign seine rctisoii for this important iniiovatiun
in the oi'g=.inic law of.’ the state. Most anxious-
ly, sir, have I waited to liearsouic ofits ll'il)lltiS.
and I tiiidcrstand there are many in this House;
come forward and tell why we are called upon
to Vote for it. \Vli:i.t. reason is there in the pi'c-
scnt condition of tliiugs, in the history of the
past, in the prospect. or the future, that can at
all justify this most iinportrtnt obange in the
constitution of the state? The call has not
been aiis\vcred—-—aii ominous sileiice has broad-
cd over this Assonilxly, and we must either suf-
fer the quc.~:tio:i to be taken witliont debate, or
appear to tlispruvc the t?.'\'pC(ll‘J.'l(‘ty of-_» mL‘8.Slll'L’,
and to C0l‘:lZl‘CI\’CI'l a piropnsitioii whicli has nei-
ther arlvocatcs or :_:i'gtiiiiezits, upon the floor of
this I’ItltlSP. 'l‘.‘ie gt;iitlcii’iaii froiii L'-.tclifieltl,
the other day ltb"~'Cl‘l.l'tl to what. he consider-or!
nitiiiifest defects in the terms of the pi_'on,o:;ctl
ziiiieiitlnient; he said lire had before supposed
the proposition to bc, that ll(3l’€‘.r'tfl.C'l' the .linlg'es
of the supreme court, should hold their ofiictes
for five year's, iusteatl of good bchrz tior, as the
constitution now is--that such had been the
gciic-ral iii:rlei'st:iiidiin__r with ivliicli it. ii-‘as rc-
ceivcd and dlSCll:‘~SCtl in tlic ncivspapcrs. But,
wliatever would lirrvc b;.en his vote upon such a
proposition, he could not think this one accept-
able to the people. Now if the i'-'3s0lt1tion is to
go offupon an interlocutory question like that,
if the iniijority in this House concur in senti-
ment with the ‘geiitlemaii frotii I.itcliflt.-ltl,I cer-
in a discussion upon the merits of the measure.
To my mind, sit‘. the objections raised by the
gentleman from Litclifi».-ld are perfectly deci-
sive; the proposed mncndmeiit provides that
the Judges of the supreme court. iind of the. su-
perior court shall liold their offices for a i.C1‘lI1
not exceeding five y(2ZtI‘S——i.lltlS leaving it to the
legislature to determine wlietlicr it shall be for
one year or five years; or for any intermediate
term. The propriety of fixing some dt-finite
period wil be obvious to every one, and ivliat,-
ever may be the opinions of gentlemen with re-
gard to the general merits of the alteration, I
think all will concur in the c.\'pedieiicy of not
lcaviiig so important a. matter to the discretion
of the Lcgis.l;iture. In truth it: amounts to
a proposition to make the office oflutlge of‘ the
superior court: an annual appointment. I can
l)t‘.l'tlly believe such a. proposition would find It
friend in this House. Sonic legal gciitleiiicn
have ex’-pressed an opinion that ti Judge after
liaving‘ served one term of five years would not,
according to the lcrms of this resolution, be cli-
gililc to another. Upon this point I have no
opinion ; it is u sullicient objection that aiiy nian
of so important an article. Our lttitgiiagc is ca-
pable of expressing :1 rule with the utmost. por-
spicuity, and no where are these qualities more
iiccdcd than in the pl:i‘a.';cology of laws. I did
hope tliat. these siiggcstions would have pre-
vented the prissagc oftlie resolution, that this
preliminary objection would have tliruivu the
rcsoliitiuns out of the House, before we came
to a discussion‘ of the great qIiestion—-or at
least that they would have been met and ex-
plttiiieti ; not one word, liowevcr, llflS4l)CL‘l2_ said
in reply. The gentlcuiuii from Simsbtiryiiitlccd
ltls told us, that “lie shall vote for the amend-
ment as it is, that he hopes and cxpects it will
be cztrritsd in this llott.-:c—tliat he ivishcs it to
go to the people; iftlie terms are wrong they
will correct them; they are t.lie proper l=o'.ii'd to
determine _it.” Now, sir, I do not know wlnit
mcaustliat. gcntlcnian has of ascertaining the
voice of the people, about which we licar so
touch, but this I. know, that the legal, constitu-
tional voice of the people is l'CC01'(l!,(l in the
- ftindamciital law of the land ‘ thcv have li.\'ctl
7 a
the con.-titntion as it:i1ow is, and I, for oiic,can-
I-tot. consent to submit t.o them :1 propor-rition for
amending it, which has not 8. friend on this
floor of sufliciciit courage and liardiliood to ap-
pear in its defence. Br.-sides, the people can-
not alter or amend it; they must say eye or no
to the precise proposition we make; how idlc
then to talk of their correcting it; but, sir, the
rciua rks of the geiitlctiiaii from Sinislinry have
a. more important bearing upon the issue of the
qiiestion before the Iluiisc. They are (‘-ll'!ll‘lOllF
of the decision of tt higher pov.'cr——a power
which broods over the rlclilicrntioii of this Le
g'islatui'e, ill‘-Ll coniniaiids, with tlllt')l'1'lll_!.}‘ certain-
t.y, the most important nic.'tsi.ircs of govern-
ment. The gentlcinaii has given the signal and
the faithful must. rally to the charge. The pro-
position, limvcvcr improper and absurd, however
loathsome and disgiisting, must. be ;s'wallov./ed,
and that too withouta struggle or gt-imacc. Not
ft. reason is offered, not an arguinr‘-ut.is adtluccd;
the party are callt d tip to the performance of
their formal duty, and not a word is said to re-/’
lievt: their own coii-.=cic-iiccs or afford the pitia-
ble agents an answer to their insulted c':r:.stitu-
cuts at honie—-and all this in the I-louse. of Ile-
piesctitatives of an independent sovereign state.
\Vliere, sir, is the spirit. of our fitthcrs—v.-'licre
the noble, cliivalric feeling that resisted the en-
croachnients of British tyranny, and carried ottr
country triumphantly tlirorsgli the crisis of the
Rcvoiutioii? ‘Where is the free, bold spirit
that until now has been tilways quick to resist
the approaclics (tf21l'l)ltl‘{ll‘y power, and to stand
forward first and fearless in defence of the rights
of mankind’! Sir, it. is not; here, an iuisccn, ir-
resistible cabal rules the dcstiuies of the state,
and the inembers of this House sceni willing to
have it so. The order is issued by this secret
conclavc, this irresponsible, unapproachable
power, and who dares to disobey? The decree
has gone fortli——this resolution must. pass——a
majority of this House are prepared to vote for
lt——t.t dark, dreadful, mysterimis power hovers
over the nieuibcrs of this House, and in their
humble and subdued countcnances, we can read
the certainty of their ol;-ediciice. And ivlicre,
sir, is this power eiit.lironed——who wields the
sceptrc over our pi*cstrat.e dignity and honor?
Who is it that (llCl.t'tl’."S the measures we are to
pursue, and what are the dread sanctions b_v
which this abject obedience is enforced‘! VVill
gentlemen tell us? V-‘v'cre. there a spark of spi-
rit. left, were nianjnot totally dcliased,_onc would
have thought that it little covering might have
been afforded for the linutiliat.ing act—a. little,
very little self-inspect would linvc rt qtiircd some
color of apology, some semblance of it reason
taiiily would not take up the time of this House,
for this humble snbserviency. Btiffnone. is _af-
forded, not one word. ‘Ne are then left to.di- —
vine as well as we can, both the reasons and
objects of the measure, and its probable dispo-
sition by the House.. ‘ -
.I repeat, sir, that under such circumstances
I feel some little einbarrassment, in coming‘
forward to-illustrate the kxcellcnce of‘ our es-
tablishedinstitutions. I expected an opportu-
nity of meeting and ttnsiveriiigargtiments infa-
vor of a cliange. The burden of proofis upon
the friends of the tunendiiicnt: it is for them.
to show that the change they would make is
just, expcdhiit and demanded for the protection
or security of‘ the rights of our fellow citizeiis,
But as they liv.vc not done this, allow me tgfittis-u
for any purpose, and would be under tittjttltilre
- . . . ‘£1;-,
cumstauccs, most impolitic and (llStlSl.l'OU$,’_M
The proposition is certaiiily one of verygrcat
great deliberation. Its object is to change c
tenure of the ofliee of Judges of the superior
court. ‘Those Judges now hold their places
dtiring good behavior, and until they become 70
years of age, unless they are removed by im-
peachment or by the Governor at the request. of‘
two-thirds of each House of the Gcncrttl AS-
scmbly. The amcnduiciit proposes to remove
the jndgds now in oflico, and her-eaitcr toaps
point them for a term not exeectliiig five years.
This, it will be readily seen, is it blow at tho
founrl-atiou upon which rests one of the depart-
nieuts of’ the griirtiriiinteiit, and the practical va-
lue and security of all the rest. The coiistiLu-
tion dcfi res and secures our rights, but witliout
an indepeiidciit judiciary to protect tisia the en-
joyment ofthcui, to save us f'ro.ui uiiconstitu-.
tional legislation 2 l one hand, and the fury or
popular vlolcnre and clamor on the other, it is
of no practiea. value, for a constitution isnot
wortli the paper it is written upon, if an honest.
inaii fr.‘ai's for the saf'cty of his pr'operty.or lllS.
l‘lgl.’lS, or cannot rely vitli perfect. certainty up-.
on listvingjusticc done him without sale, denial
or delay.
_ constitution is it form ofcivil govcrniiicnt.——
it is the prminiouut. law of the lantl ; it defines
and limits the power of the Legislature—it con-
fers all the power they posscss, and every sta-
tute l:iiv.ivliicli is contrary to it; is void, and it is
the ditty of the judicial courts to decktrc it. so.
Here is the lounuzitioii of the division ofthego-
vernmcnt into tli;ec' great dcp::rtmcnts—tlie
value and cxcr.-llencc of which is {'.Clil”:()\VlOdgC(l
on all hands. It is indtspensablc if we would
under a govermeutof law and not of mcn——tlie
solemn, formal words oftbe constitution show
how perfectly distinct its framers intended to
keep these three departments; they meant the
judiciary should be and remain a co-ordiua,tc,not,
a_stibordinatc brancli; and with all the immu-
nittes we can give it, it can ll.'l1'(lly protect it-
selfttgainst the other departments. It is so
weak that it. can excite no..alarni—it has no
‘power over the purse or the sword, and is go».
V€l'D€d. by prescribed rules and precede-nts.—~
Thc constitution says the Lcgislattire shall not
stispcnd the writ of habeas corpus, or pass bills
of t1ttaindcr—siipposc, gentlemen, that "you
should brave the constitution and pass 51 bill of
attainder, an indepezadcntjtirlicirtry would stop
you; they would protect the citizen from this
unaiitliorlzed legislation. Not bccattsc they are
:1 higher power, they are not a higher power--u
Cttn l).'lVt.' a reasonable dotiot in the construction -
but because it. is their duty to construe and up-.
tply the lrtivs, and when two laws conflict, it is
tfor them to say which is valid and must be en-.
forced—-tlieyactris umpires between the gov-.
,crnment. and individuals, as well as between con:
Ztcnding individuals; therefore it is that they
‘ought not to be dependent upon either for their
,appoiutment. It is an old and most; true rc-
, mark, that he who holds a power over the sub-
- sistence of ariother,lioldsa power over his will.
If the subsistence of at judge and his family are
.to depend upon the will of the Legislature, do.
‘fyou believe, sir, that he would dare to pro-
l nouncc any law unconstitutional 1 Poor hu-
man nature could not withstand the temptation ;
the rights of the citizen would be sacrificed to
secure the judge in his seat. The judge should
be aloof from the tcniporary excitement of po-
pular feeling; he should be placed in a situa-
tion to look calmly upon thcstornis of popular
freiizy, nor prevented by any e.\-trancoiis influ-
cncc from p1'onouncin_«_r such opinions as all will
approve in the coolness of an after hour. Sup.-
pose an infliiential, pow-~rful citizen, who wields
in his own hands the democracy of the coun-
try,st:mrliiig high in public cstiiuation, and still
higher in his own ambitious aspirations, fortiny
purpose of private. malice or revenge should as-
sail or tlireater: the rights of vour mostinsigni-.«
ficant citizen, iudignrnit of the wrong he would
fly to your courts ofjusticc; and safe under the
wings of an independent judiciary, he would
laugh his opprcssor to scorn. But, gentlemen,
suppose the reverse of this, let tliecourt be
dependent. upon the influence of this same pow-
erful political leader for annual appointment,
and who believes that the rights of the bum-
ble, fricndless citizen wouldibe worth 8. rush.
l'iVCl'_V'_£ZCllll(-‘lllflll has seen more or less, ca-
ses ofiuis very influence in our superior courts;
ll originates in the frailty of our nature, and our
laws should Le franird with special reference to
it. Judges are not different from other men,
they are strl.-jet:t to like passions. apd moved by
the same temptations. \Ve ought therefore to
retnove cit.-ry thing that has a tendency to en.-
l).'.l!'l‘7):;‘R tlrctn them in the expression of a free
and ttuhiasctl opinion.
The Speaker hr-rc called Mr. Boardman to
order. ‘ The gcntlcnian from New-Haven will
please add:css biinsclf to the Chair, not to the
House.’
Mr. B. I siipposetl I was addressing the
Speaker. Iam very sorry if] have done wrong.
in inadvertently turning my eyes from him for
a moment——.I am not aware. sir, of anv inten-
tional indccornm. lfl have occasionallyturned
my face from the Chair, to other parts of the
Ilouse, I have yet to learn there is any thing in
ithattojustify an interruption. The ilecp, ab-
sorbing iutrrcst of the question before the House,
sliouiil aflbrtl some indulgent-o, vrereiiidulgence
necessary-—wlicre it is not, sir, I desire itito be
understood that I know my rights and knowing
will maintain them.
I-regret, sir. exceedingly, that a quesiion of
this importance should be brought up in a mo-
nientof high political excitement. Constitutions
ought noi to be framed or ame_udcd at such pe-.
l7l0tlS; but as it is here, and we must decide up.
on it, allow me to beg of the members of this
House to divest themselves as much as possible,
ofpolitirzal party feeling, and come to the decis-
ion ofthis question npon its true merits. , It is of
too serious and important a nature to be prostitu-
ted tosnch a connexion. If, however. it must
be tried by its party cliaractcr. I am happy to
say that no doctrine is niorc truly democratic, or
has more uniformly enjoyed the support and
countenance oftlie old republican school, than
the inrlcpendence of the Judiciary. To that
school of politicsl have always llei-.‘» ged, and
never have I forgotten or neglected itspriuciples.
To show you, sir, what were the opinions of
the patriarr-hs ofofthe republican party on this
great question, allow me to read a passage or
two from the address of the Convention held at
New Haven. on the ‘29th Aug. 1804, to the peo-_
ple ofthe state. This address was signed by
\Vm. Judd. as President, and H. W. Edwards,
(the present. governor) and Lemuel \Vliitman.
as Clerks“ ,\V|iat is very remarkable, it 'was
forthe agency which Mr. Judd had in pnb1_ish—_
ing this address, that he was arraigned btfore a
federal legislature in Octobt-r, 1803, by a spg-_«
sign some reason why‘ no SUCH clrauge is not-ilctl.
importance, and should be t1iipi‘o:iclied.,._7i-A‘%li_._l.L;-'-1
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Norwalk Chronicler