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A delay may gratify a momentary feeling, but will soon loose its charm, and leave us open and unprepared to meet the suspended occupation which will admit of no further indulgence.

But of all the things in which we display an inclination to put off the execution of our various duties, there is not one wherein our folly is so complete and marked, as in the subject of repentance for our misdeeds. It is of paramount importance; it should stand pre-eminent in our minds, and yet we neglect it shamefully. We do not strive with an ardour that burns after immortality. We waste away the day and look not forward to the horrors of the night! However great and momentous may be our offices towards men and society, we should not forget the services which we owe to God, to religion, and to our own souls. When the earth shall have glided into smoke and be consumed in

"The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds ;"

When all our numerous connexions with sublunary beings shall have ceased, what will remain to us if we have not an inheritance among blisful spirits? The answer is a melancholy one, but its justice cannot be denied. Eternal perdition will be the punishment of our apathy and neglect. Escape from the avenging wrath of an offended Holy One will be found impossible. There will be no covert found to hide us from his fury, and no hand to save us from destruction.

Here is a meditation which ought to have a salutary effect; and ought to rouse the sleeping mind to action and deligence. The period of life should be spent in the preparation, so that when the change comes it may not occasion our distress and perdition. This mighty object cannot be obtained by acts of cozenage and chicanery; fraud will perish in the face of truth. We must devote our time in the pursuit, and not fall lagging back in the chase: if once we drop back into the rear from idleness, or lack of promptitude and dispatch, we shall never make up the loss. The hours are soon expended, and if we use them not whilst they are to be counted, we shall ever after live to regret their absence and abuse. To procrastinate is to dally with time, and to make light of important means that might be rendered to great advantage. We cannot

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bespeak the next moment; therefore we should employ well the one within our reach. When we delay any thing, we expect, as of course, that a period will be granted us, wherein to fulfil our purpose; but how dangerous is this presumption, and how grossly extravagant, ere that expected period shall arrive, we may be called from the earth in the midst of our unfinished schemes, and thus will every act of neglect and procrastination be converted to a wilful sin, such as might have been avoided, had we properly employed our time.

When we defer one business to take up another, we generally flee from such as are of most eventual consequence, for those that will gratify our temporal feelings, and be productive of earthly gain or mortal fame. Pleasure, that alluring and fascinating Syren, is too successful in the thraldom which she inweaves for men. By her false and specious shew, or by her voluptuous sacrifices to the passions, she decoys frail man from his post of watchfulness. He foregoes his social duties, and enters on the dance of gaiety and vice; and during their enjoyments, his morals suffer corruption, his virtues becomes tainted, and he wastes that time which ought to have been otherwise and better employed. Our pursuit of pleasure, I say, tempts us to suspend the execution of important functions. We love sin better than virtue; we prefer blazonry and pomp for meek and lowly good. Before we enter upon delights and pastimes, we should weigh well the consequences which sprung therefrom; and should consider whether or not "we have left undone those things which we ought to have done." To neglect a duty merely to admit of recreation, or which is frequently the case, to permit of vice, is dangerous and flagitious; but how often is good put aside for the display of evil.

Besides the injury which we must ourselves sustain therefrom; besides the confusion which must reign in our affairs, and the imperfection with which all our conduct must be marked, our procrastination will extend its harm into the bosom of society. Those dependent upon us, and who look up to us for protection and the fulfilment of many kindnesses, will too often have the mortification of finding themselves neglected and their interests prostituted. They will discover that their reliance is fixed upon

an unsteady vane, that moves in irregularity, that is wavering and undecided, and fickle and unpersevering. If we thus disrespect the responsibility and reliance which attach to us, in respect to our nearest friends, we may be the cause of injury to the whole people amongst whom we dwell. The interests of many will sometimes centre in one person: to to inisuse that individual, or to depreciate his welfare, is to inflict a sorrow in the breasts of a great proportion of mankind.

To be punctual in all we have to do displays wisdom, prudence, and perseverance; and we shall always find a reward for such behaviour and prompti tude in the regularity, the consociation, the smoothness and uniformity which will pervade our household, our minds, and our affairs in general. Death is always making his ravages, and we know not but he will soon affix his seal upon our lives: we should, therefore, be ever watchful against this foe; and we can, in no way, display our vigilance so much as by keeping our concerns in constant good order, that when we shall "shuffle off this mortal coil," we may not leave a duty unfulfilled, whether it relates to ourselves, our relatives, or mankind universally.

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America is a subject of much conversation in England; and her ultimate destiny occupies the attention of the prophetic politicians of every town and village. Some imagine that the assertion of Counsellor Phillips is to be almost immediately realized; that "England shall be what Athens is, and the young America shall be what Athens was;" others believe that the federal bond is made of materials incapable of resisting the combined efforts of surrounding enemies, and the insiduous dissolvents of internal treason, and that she will fall into pieces in a few years. such calculations human powers are totally inadequate; -parallel cases there are none; but if there were, does it follow that a similarity of appearances will produce identically the same results? No confederation was ever formed of a people so enlightened; no constitution

was

To

ever built upon the same or

similar principles; no political body was ever led by chiefs so independent, disinterested, and sagacious; no country ever afforded better means for the supply of every article of reasonable desire; no infant state ever produced such a host of men of talent and genius in so short time-how superlatively foolish then, must be the opinions of those men who positively predict the fate of America, merely because they have seen the rise and fall of other states! Supposing America to be the perfect representation of any other particular state, in situation, talent, morals and government, does it follow that the decisions of eight or nine millions of free agents must be exactly the same as those of the people whom they are supposed to resemble! But America does not approximate in her constitution, nor scarcely in any thing else, to any nation of ancient or modern times; and, consequently, her ultimate fate cannot be decided, but by the fact itself. America must rise before we can say how, or to what height: America must fall before we can determine the duration of her constitution, or the means of her destruction.

Most accounts which we receive of America are written by prejudice, and heightened by passion; often touched up by the hand of party politicians, or defaced by the servile son of selfish chicanery. Many letters are forged, and others written with a decided view to publication; but this which I enclose bears evident marks of the simplicity of friendly correspondence. It was shown to me as a favour by the gentleman (resident in Sheffield) to whom it was ad dressed; and who, after considerable entreaty, gave me leave to transcribe it for the Babbler. If you think it calcu lated to add a mite to the information which we possess of the domestic state of the American settlers, it is very much at your service.

THETA SIGMA DELTA Leeds, April 15th, 1822.

Baltimore, 4th June, 1819.

MY DEAR COUSIN,

I received y 1 your and my sister's letter, of September last, on the 29th of May they arrived here much sooner, but I was at Washington, on business, where I have spent the greater part of the winter. The longer reside in this

country and the more I see of it, the better I like it; every day increases.my partiality for its modes of life, and every hour binds my affections closer to the scenes of domestic felicity which it exhibits. My regret is that I did not come sooner, for I consider myself to have lost ten or twelve years of my life, in respect to my future destination.Had I

spent so much of my time in America I should have been perfectly settled, as well as have had my mind moulded more to the simplicity of the individuals amongst whom I am distined to reside. Baltimore is a large town and contains from sixty to seventy thou sand inhabitants. Sixty years ago, there were only sixteen or eighteen houses in the town, but during the last year, upwards of five-hundred new ones were built. Subsistence is very high, as a single man cannot board even in the plainest manner for less than eighteen shillings per week of your currency. Clothing is very expensive, a superfine coat costing not less than £8. Swindling and gambling are carried on to a great extent here, by a gang of villains, whom the police has not yet been able to disperse or eradicate. This is not so healthy a climate as England, four months of the year being extremely hot, the thermometer often rising as high as 90 or 95 Fahrenheit: the inhabitants in general appear delicate and sickly; but what surprizes me, is, that people from every part of Europe are considered to stand the climate much better than the natives. Can any reason be assigned for this circumstance, or is it one of those which we must piously refer to the immediate influence of the divine agency?

My opinion respecting pen and pocket knife makers, is that it would not answer except five or six of them came together, one in each line; a maker, a grinder, a scale cutter, a finisher, and a steel burner. New Birmingham adjoining Pittsburg is, perhaps, the best place for them to begin, as there is plenty of coal and iron. They would also have an opportunity of supplying the back-settlements much cheaper than the merchants, as provisions are cheaper than in the seaports, and all the profit would be their own. Should any come who are capable of carrying on the trade, it would be adviseable for them to apply to the States government, who would

most certainly assist them, as the American policy is to get every thing manufactured which they possibly can within the bosom of the nation. The merchants however would not encourage but rather use every endeavour to defeat such a project, because it is their interest to import goods from England. I sometimes see the English papers, and have frequently been surprized at the exaggerations of the distresses of the Europeans who arrive here. It is true that merchants, shipowners and captains are likely to take every advan tage they can of the distressed and helpless; and it cannot be wondered, that the people (called here" Redemptioners") who place themselves at the disposal of the captain, to remunerate him for his expenses in bringing them out, should be made the most of by him. This, however, is a very impolitic me thod of proceeding. No one should part with his personal liberty for such a purpose, and no one ought to come who cannot bear his own expences for the voyage. With this exception, I am very certain that the labouring poor (as they are called in England,) are raised to their proper rank in the scale of society. The common labourer earns a dollar and a half per day, equal to 6s. 9d. of your money, whilst provisions of every kind are less than half their price in England; and a mechanic's wages are never less than from ten to fourteen dollars a week, or in English currency from £2. 5s. to £3. 3s.Means like these, of course, produce extravagance in clothing and other articles for appearance. It is a very rare thing to see a mechanic of any kind in a coloured neckerchief. Those who come from Europe generally get employment immediately, and as it is computed that the imigrations (I don't think you have this word in England, but its signification is obvious, it is very general here) amounted to more than fifty thousand last year, you may judge of the increase of population. The taxes are very light, the import duties being sufficient to defray the ordinary expences of government. The general spirit manifested by the inhabitants is decidedly in favour of supporting the American independence on the seas, against any arbitrary title assumed by European nations which may have a tendency to prevent the passing and

repassing of our vessels in any part of the world during time of peace. Each of the States is building one seventy four gunned man of war, and some of them more, so that America will in time be able to gard her extensive line of coast against all invaders. The number of settlers that pass through this city, both Eurepeans and Americans, for the States of Ohio and Indiana is very great, and I am of opinion that they are doing extremely well, as I frequently receive information from the country merchants to that effect.

Have the goodness to inform our mutual and merry friend

that Joanna's blasphemous absurdities have not crossed the Atlantic; but yet, as if mankind were determined to be fools in every part of the world, we have here some equally ludicrous. religious parties. The Jerusalemites, for instance, a principal article of whose belief is, that every one will be of the same business in the next world as they are in the present! I one day asked one what grave diggers were then to do? for which he very politely called me a wicked infidel! But, I must close this part of my letter, and proceed to say a little on a subject which more nearly concerns ourselves.

I have lately purchased 1250 acres of land, which lies about two hundred and forty miles up the country in Virginia. It is situated on the western side of the Alleghany mountains, in N. Lat. 39, and W. Long. between 79 and 80. I went to see it in April, and when I got about a hundred miles up the country, I found myself among a people whose character and manners differed very much from those in the seaports and towns near the ocean: energetic in conduct, and bold in design; but tempered with a watchful simplicity which makes them honourable towards others, but at the same time protects them from being imposed upon in trade. I would by no means, call them perfect models of human character; yet I must be allowed to say that they approxinate nearer to it than any society of men which I have yet had an opportunity of seeing. Amongst them, the traveller may refresh himself and horse, at any house he meets with; but this is sometimes a difficulty, for I do not recollect,

during the whole of my journey to have seen two houses on the road nearer to each other than four miles; often you may ride ten, twelve, or sixteen, without seeing a single vestige of a human habitation, or hearing the voice of man.

Under circumstances like these, can you wonder if the sound of the crowing of the domestic cock has frequently been music of the sweetest kind to me, as it indicated my contiguity to the habitations of man? The houses here are built of logs of wood, very few of them plaistered, and generally composed of only two rooms, one of which is the chamber. Men and women sleep in the same room, and no hesitation arises on account of the presence of a stranger: this convinced me that it is the custom of a country, rather than any particular modes of action, which points out the limits of etiquette, generally denominated decency.' The children never, and the women very seldom, wear either shoes or stockings. The young women's feet have a curious appearance, being so very broad, owing to the pressure of the weight of the body upon them from infancy up to maturity. As many of them are rich, it must be from choice or custom that they do so, rather than for want of means to gratify themselves with this article of European luxury. They chiefly subsist upon bear-bacon, venison, and bread made of Indian corn, of which also I partook during the ten or twelve days which I travelled amongst them.

My land is situated in, perhaps, the most healthy part of America; there is always a pleasant and refreshing breeze blowing from the mountains, and the water is the best I have ever seen; it is so clear that at the depth of six or seven feet, a pin may be distinctly seen at the bottom: I had not an opportunity of analysing its composition.

I met with an Englishman here, one of the least men I ever saw, and staid at his house several days. He, with a boy of about 14 years of age, cultivate about 30 acres of land. Wheat is worth, on an average, three-fourths of a dollar, or 3s. 44d. per bushel. It is no uncommon thing here for a person to settle on a piece of land without knowing to whom it belongs, or fearing the least interruption from the proprietor. When a young man marries, if either of the parents will give him a cow, he can do very well. In the first place he takes posses

sion of some land; his neighbours assist him to build a house, and he goes to work for one or other of them two or three days, at the rate of a bushel of Indian corn per day: next, he can kill deer and bears in abundance; which, with his corn and the milk of his cow, affords him a comfortable subsistence. When his corn is done, he then sets about his own farm, and goes to work for his neighbour again a few days, and supplies himself with more corn, till, at the end of the first year, he is as independent as any of his neighbours.

When returning to Baltimore, I met one of those scourges of African societya trader in human flesh. He had with him 18 Negroes chained together and manacled, whom he was driving on the road, with the lash every now and then resounding through the woods, and betweeu the mountains, in the most appaling manner. They had to travel upwards of 700 miles. Surely America cannot, with propriety, boast of superior liberty, whilst the slave groans within her territories, and in vain laments his miserable condition. Your amiable poet, Cowper said, "slaves cannot breathe in English air ; I would to heaven the sanie could be said of America!

When you write in future, send each letter separately, as they come much cheaper by this means. The American

postage from New York to Baltimore is but 63 cents, or 34d. of your

money.

I am,

Dear Cousin
Yours respectively,

N. B. The above contains all that will be interesting to the public.

THE EDITOR TO HIS READERS,

On the Dispute between

T. S. D. COMMON SENSE, & IANTHE. We have received an article from Common Sense in reply to T. S. D., and at the same time, correcting an error into which Ianthe seems to have fallen, respecting his strictures on music and the drama. We have to regret the asperity, amounting in some cases almost to personality, which he manifests in his controversial capacity; and we are compelled, however reluctantly, and solely on this ground, to reject his paper in

its present form. We thought lanthe's paper sufficiently severe, and indeed more so in some parts, than was quite decorus, yet the gentleman to whom the remarks refer, and who certainly ought, if any one ought, to have been displeas ed, saw the MS. prior to our sending it to press, and made no objection to its pub lication:-on which account we allowed more latitude to that particular article, than it was our original intention to have done.

COMMON SENSE wishes it to be understood, that his remarks were not intended to cast an odium upon any of the amusements referred to by Ianthe; but merely to institute between them a comparison, as to their tendencies. For the oratorio, and the waltz, he entertains as high a respect as he does for the theatre, and is sorry that his opinions should for a moment be mistaken for "the puling bathos of a Puritanic Divine." His arguments, upon the whole, are plausible; yet with all his terseness of style and cogency of argument, we are compelled to decline the insertion of his communication.

T.S. D. remarks that he is “willing that the question shall rest as it is;" being, as he says, "convinced that the dispassioned have sufficient data before them already, to enable them to judge upon this question, and he flatters himself that neither Ianthe's ridicule nor Common Sense's vigorous reasoning will overturn his positions in the estimation of those who are candid seekers after truth. As to any others, it is useless to reason with them: their opinions are previously formed, and every flimsy syllogism - whether in form or notwhen backed by passion, will weigh more than the most cogent arguments not blest with such an auxiliary. To reason with such, would be to reason with a madman, or at least with a man who embodies the essentials of madness."

Upon the whole, we think the question has undergone an examination sufficient for the present: and we shall hold the subject in abeyance for a few weeks; and after that period shall feel no objections to a renewal of the discussion. We wish not to confine ourselves too closely to any one subject, but to combine spirited and useful discussion with variety and novelty of subject. We trust both our correspondents and readers will see the propriety of our arrangements.

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