that they cannot exist, but in continual torment : and that, therefore, in their opinion, they are absolutely compelled to resort again to the bottle for relief. But this I apprehend to be a false conclusion. Independent of reason, which seems here to have been carefully kept asleep, and which is indispensably necessary to a full enjoyment and eventful attainment of the great object of his existence. That we are rational, reasonable, intelligent creatures; that our minds are capable of improvement, and that we are bound by the law of reason, of conscience, of nature, and of God, so to improve them, as will most conduce, not only to our best good, but to the best good of sacie-right conclusion, it certainly is no ty. No man, I suspect, will be disposed to call in question the truth of these positions: for, when I say that we are all "reasonable, intelligent, creatures," I do not mean to be understood, that we are all perfect philosophers, şages, statesmen ;-but merely that we have implanted within us the seeds of wisdom, knowledge, virtue, &c. the growth of which to the production of the desired fruit, alone depends upon our own exertions; our own cultivation. Hence the weighty responsibility every person is under, and the solemn obligations imposed on him, to avoid every species of crime, every grade of intempe rance. Those of extreme sensibility, who are much in the habit of meeting at the shrine of Bacchus, make this as an apology, and is in truth, a plausible one; that by reason of reflexion, the mind becomes so highly agitated, so dis. tracted, bewildered, and gene, mark of christian forti ude, manly firmness, or virtuous pride, for one deliberately to pursue a habit which he sees, knows, and acknowledges to be vicious. Every positive vice produces a positive evil. That all evils are positive, no truth is more clear. Yet evil may originate from that which is not in itself vice, as from error of judgment, mistake, &c. It is easily conceivable that one may be perfectly convinced of the cause, without using any means to avoid the effect, viz. If Į spend a day or a night at the Billiard table, no matter whether I win or loose, it is equally unjust as unlawful; this is the cause : and the consequence is a loss of time, a violation of duty and law. So if I go to a porter-house, grogshop, or tavern, and drink off a bottle of wine, &c. I know the consequence will not only be the loss of my money, but a severe headache. Yet how many are there, who almost constantly pursue these habits? Wherefore, if a man with his eyes open, persist in a line of conduct, knowing it to be wrong, knowing it to be vicious in itself, he is guilty by the laws of God and man, and there is no excuse. But where is the character of the drunkard? Alas! it is cast out with the contents of his glass. His character is gone, his body enervated, his spirits depressed; the faculties of the mind languid and dull; his constitution broken down and his health destroyed. He is a burden to himself; a tax upon his friends; a pest to society, a disgrace to human nature. How often is it the case, that while the husband is at the ale house or tavern, spending his money, and thus consummating his career, his disconsolate wife, and helpless children, are perishing with hunger, disease, or cold? If the evil consequences of this habit cxtended no further than to the drunkard himself, we should have abundant reason to praise the Almighty for so great a deliverance. Unfortunately, they extend much further. Nov. 14, 1810. T. S. S. A good heart will at all times betray the best head in the world, For the Weekly Visitor. MR. PRINTER, I AM under the disagreeable necessity of sending you an advertisement, which I wish you to insert in the Weekly Visitor as early as possible, for my desires will not admit of delay, and loss of time may prove an irreparable injury. 66 I am a blooming virgin, young and handsome; being a little turned of thirty, and possessed of— no fortune; yet my person is not disagreeable, and I think I could pronounce the irrevocable words, for better, for worse," to any man I like, having nobody to controul me, (except an aged mother, who wishes to get rid of me as soon as possible) therefore I tender myself a candidate for connubial felicity to any genteel young man of respectable standing, provided he is not a mechanic, (for I do detest mechanics) or a widower, with a parcel of small children. If I could meet with a young man, of two or three and twenty, of orthodox principles, and unexceptionable character-one who is handsome in his person and appearance-can give undeniable proofs of his morality and sobriety-one who is industrious, goodhumoured, facetious, and agreea ble-who is decent and cleanly in his common habits; that neither minds, is a truth so obvious that it needs less the talents of a cham drinks spirituous liquors, chews tobac-pion to defend, than the exertions co, snuffs, nor smokes cygars-one who is tractable, and easy to be governed. On such a man I should think myself happily be stowed. If any young, genteel, man feels an Inclination to enter in a matrimonial contract, and is sensible that he merits the above character, he may have further particulars explained by PRUDENCE LOVE-GOLD. N. B. Red hair would be preferred; (as that is the colour of my own) beardless persons will not be admitted on any terms whatsoever. None need apply who cannot produce the most satisfactory recommendations as to modesty and decorum. Any genteel man, possessed of the above described character, desirous of accepting this offer, is requested to give information through the medium of the Visitor, or by leaving a line in the post-office, directed to P. G. L. will be immediately attended to. For the Weekly Visitor. ON THE ARTS AND SCIENCES. That the arts and sciences have atendency to soften and refine our of a eulogist to paint it. An acquaintance with the arts and sei ences lays open to us sources of pleasure ever new and inexhaustable. Every blade of grass and every rose that blossoms in our way, furnishes us with a subject from which we may derive both pleasure and profit; while the anima! kingdom displays to us the great wisdom and power of our beneficent creator. Man, in a state of barbariam, is necessarily deprived of all those joys which spring from knowledge and improvement. He knows of no country but the spot which he inhabits; has no employment superior to the toils of the chase, or the dread stratagems of war. Inveloped in a cloud of ignorance, he is a stranger to the nobler feelings of the soul, and approximates, as near as a human being is capable of doing, to the condition of the beasts of the forest. How different from such a one is he, whose mind has been enlightened by the rays of science and literature. Unshackled by mortality, he soars aloft to the splendid regions of Heaven, and speculates on the starry firmament; or in quest of distant shores, he ploughs the azure wave, heedless of the blustering tempest. The fine arts, too, of music, poetry, and paint ing, soothe those anxious mo- How desirable, then, is it for us to excel in these excellent quálities, and, if possible, to emulate the condition of angels. If we look back into remote antiquity, and take a view of the first inhabitants of the world, immersed in ignorance and error, and engaged in destructive and inhuman warfare, and then behold the happy effects of the light of science on their manners, we are ready to hail each step that is made in the arts, as a step toward happiness and glory; and we readily pay the homage of an enthusiastic veneration, to those who have improved and entertained the world with their productions. The names of a Bacon, a Locke, a Newton, and a Franklin, will never be forgotten, while genius and merit are revered. They have left behind them, ments which will cutlive the mausoleum of the proudest monarch-and while the memory of the tyrants who have scattered devastation over a groaning country, is buried in oblivion, impartial posterity will sound the praises of Genius and Learning. PROBUS. For the Weekly Visitor. LIBERTY. LIBERTY! chief of all our other blessings, to thee we look up with supreme admiration. For thee we would sacrifice all that we possess, and lose our very lives in thy defence; deprived of thee, life itself becomes a burden, and death a welcome mes. senger. From the first dawn of infan. cy, we pant for liberty; the child delights in being freed from restraint-the unhappy slave sighs at the mere thought of liberty, and the prisoner, confined and chained in the dreary dungeon, thinks of nothing but a way of escape. How often do we read of the daring projects, which, in such a condition, many have formed, and even executed, in or der to regain their liberty. But that liberty which is the most monu-estimable, is the collective liberty of our country; for on it depends the liberty of exery citizen individually. Let us, therefore, maintain to the last that rich inheritance which we received from our fathers, and which they purchased with their blood. JUVENUS. For the Weekly Visitor VARIETY. 696 Mary Barnet, the wife of a pubican at Hammersmith, (England) was indicted for assaulting Peter Augustus Galliot, music master, resident of the same place, in February last. The defendent had applied on the day abovementioned at the residence of the prosecutor, to demand a debt due to her for beer; but the accounts kept by the plaintiff and defendent not harmonizing, as the tapstress secured an octave too high for her customer, the prosecutor's wife refused to pay the bill. This produced a very discordant crash: the defendant harped a good deal. The musician endeavored in vain to play second, but her piano had no chance with the forte of the claimant, whose deep bass and counter tenor drowned every attempt of her deponent to be heard. In vain did Mrs. Galliot endeavor to attenuate the shrillness of Mrs. Barnet's pipe. The more she endeavored to lower the key of her opponent the higher it was pitched, and her flats and sharps were dealt out in such discordant style, that Mr. Galliot who conceived he had the right of playing first fiddle in this sonata, deemed it proper to fall in for the purpose of restoring harmony. He was, however, suddenly astonished at the introduction of another instrument by Mrs. Barnet, who, seizing a poker, was proceeding accompany her own bravura with Mrs. Galliot, by a staccata on the head of her husband, which must instantly have put him out of tune, for life, had he not had the good fortune by a fugue, and some exertion of manual strength, to deprive the lady of her weapon. She nevertheless, continued for near half an hour to serenade him with a Billingsgate solo, much to the amusement of a crowded auditory assembled on the occasion. to The defendant was found guilty of the assault, and sentenced to a fine of 201. WONDERFUL EACT. Sir Hugh Acland, of Devonshire. apparently died of a fever, and was laid out as dead. The |